ARTES
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
TVEBOR
CIRCEMSPICE
GIFT OF
REGENT LL HUBBARD
1

UNIV
OF
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Pablished by James Fraser, 215, Regent Street, London,
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FORTY YEARS'
RESIDENCE IN AMERICA;
OR,
The Doctrine of a Particular Providence
EXEMPLIFIED IN THE LIFE OF
GRANT THORBURN,
(THE ORIGINAL LAWRIE TODD,)
SEEDSMAN, NEW YORK.
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JOHN GALT, ESQ.
"The fall of a sparrow, and the crash of an empire, are seen alike by
Him whose eye is every where.”
LONDON:
JAMES FRASER, REGENT STREET.
M.DCCC.XXXIV.
+91
TO HER GRACE
THE DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH
WOULD I DEDICATE THIS BOOK, WERE I MASTER OF THE
COURTLY STYLE.
WHEN I THINK OF HER WHO WAS DUCHESS
FIFTY YEARS AGO, AS I SAW HER FEEDING THE ROBIN,
THE SPARROW, AND THE RAVEN,
FROM HER BASKET OF CRUMBS, ON THE FREEZING
SNOWS OF A WINTER'S MORNING-
AS I SAW HER GATHERING UP THE LOAVES AND FISHES,
AND GIVING THEM TO THE POOR, THAT
NOTHING MIGHT BE LOST-
AS I SAW HER GIVING HER GOLD TO THE WIDOW
AND HER SILVER TO THE ORPHAN OF THE PARISH-
I SAY, WHEN I THINK ON THESE THINGS,
THE NAME
DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH
SOUNDS LIKE MUSIC IN MINE EAR.
THAT YOU, MADAM, MAY LONG ENJOY IN THIS WORLD
THE PEACE WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING,
AND ADMISSION IN THE SKIES,
WHEN THE CASTLES AND PALACES OF EARTH
WILL SHIVER IN THE BLAZE,
IS THE PRAYER OF YOUR SINCERE WELL-WISHER,
GRANT THORBURN.
Lim, Hubbard
Gift
1-22-27
INTRODUCTION.
HAVING just published my "Autobiography," I
agree, of course, with Grant Thorburn in think-
ing that a man is best qualified to write his own
memoirs; not, however, for the reason he assigns,
but because the critics, of whom he seems to
entertain a very independent opinion, generally
review works of that kind with marks of civility.
He evidently thinks that a man knows his own
motives and springs of action better than his
friends do, and that the doctors of universities,
alias the bats of cloisters, have as few means and
opportunities of knowing the world, as the keeper
of a much-frequented seed-store in the city of
New York. It may be so; and I have great
pleasure in saying, that I am as persuaded of
the verity of all the adventures he has recorded
in the subsequent pages, as that he himself is
the vrai original of "Lawrie Todd," though
vi
INTRODUCTION.
Lawrie may be, perhaps, a little curtailed in
the fair proportion. of those singularities which
constitute so much of Mr. Thorburn's right to
distinction.
I really regret that he has not told how we
became "first acquaint," because it may lead
some to imagine that he is not himself very well
pleased I should have taken so great a liberty
with him upon so slight a knowledge; but, after
reading his book, I shall be surprised if they re-
main unconverted from the error of their way,
or suppose that I have been guilty of exaggerating
the lineaments of a character in which Nature, in
some leisure moment, when tired with making
heroes and men of genius, playfully shewed that
her ingredients for variety are inexhaustible. I
did not venture to embody Grant Thorburn, be-
cause a true, entire likeness would have been re-
jected as improbable; and can only say that, in
my opinion, the pencil has not yet been dipped in
hues and tints suitable to convey a correct por-
trait either of his moral entity or of his mortal
effigy.
Of his avatar in London to publish his auto-
biography, I may not speak; but the chirp of
INTRODUCTION.
vii
a bird to the Prisoner of Chillon was not a more
vivid light than when he entered my room. I
am only disturbed that Mr. Fraser should not
have brought out his book as a companion to
Byron's, or some other equally rich and strange.
However, as it is, he is a candle that cannot be
hid under a bushel, but must indeed become
conspicuous.
Barn Cottage,
December 5, 1833.
JOHN GALT.
PREFACE
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page 1
Birth
Death of my Mother- Providential Escapes - Join one
of the Reform Societies of the day - The Life of Thomas
Muir
Page 9
CHAPTER II.
Sail for New York—Arrival-Employment as a Nail-maker
State of this Business forty years ago
·
Page 25
CHAPTER III.
Became acquainted with my future Wife-Commence Trading—
Marriage - Account of the Yellow Fever in 1798. Page 48
CHAPTER IV.
Further Account of the Yellow Fever in 1798-Birth of my first
Child-Some Account of the Yellow Fever in 1822. Page 71
CHAPTER V.
Death of my Wife - Second Marriage- Anecdote of Mr. Van
Hook-Unsuccessful in the Grocery Business- Beginning of
my Business in Seeds and Plants- Review of the Circum-
stances that led me into this- Narrow Escape of my Property
from Destruction by Fire-Begin raising of Seeds on my own
account Disastrous Termination of this branch of my Busi-
ness-Return to New York.
Page 90
X
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
A Scene at Sea-Journey to the Bay State in June 1829. Page 107
CHAPTER VII.
Purchase the Friends' Meeting-House and Grounds-Instance of
Special Providence-Thomas Paine-Anecdote of him-his
narrow Escape from Execution in France-Effects of Infidelity
in France- General Moreau
CHAPTER VIII.
Page 127
Journey to Albany - The Genesee Girl and her little Red Book,
or her Journey overland to Albany; a Story not founded on,
but all fact
CHAPTER IX.
Page 141
Reflections on board a Steam-boat-Dr. Graham's Address
Black Hawk's Reply-Arrival at Boston-Digression — New
York forty years ago - Old Times
Page 153
CHAPTER X.
A Week in Boston
Reflections on present state of Society.
Page 169
CHAPTER XI.
Interview with the Editor of the Subaltern Newspaper-Effects of
Infidelity History of William-A Visit from him. Page 184
CHAPTER XII.
Correspondence between Thomas Paine and William Carver.
CHAPTER XIII.
Death of Thomas Paine-Freethinking
CHAPTER XIV.
A Plant removed
Page 193
Page 209
Mr. and Mrs. E . .
My Opinion of
Theatres of Religious Hypocrisy - A Bookseller and the
Son of a Bookseller
Page 218
CONTENTS.
xi
CHAPTER XV.
Acquaintance with William Cobbett
Success of emigrant Scotch-
men-Remarks on Forms of Government-On Emigration in
general-An Anecdote-" Apartments to let" . Page 227
CHAPTER XVI.
A few Reflections from Forty Years' Observations in America ——
Particular Providence shewn in the national Affairs of America
Concluding Instance of same to Myself .
Page 240
APPENDIX.
A Flower extracted
Liverwort
Hints to Gardeners wishing to Emigrate to the United
States of America
Romance in Real Life
May Morn Song
ADVERTISEMENT
Page 259
262
. 266
269
. 276
278
PREFACE.
I THINK there is as much novelty in the incidents of my
life as I have generally found in works of fiction. I think,
also, that society may learn something from them, and
have, therefore, thought it my duty to put them in print.
I had thought not to have done this till June 16, 1834,
provided my life might have been spared, which would
have completed my fortieth year in America; but events,
unforeseen and beyond my control, admonish me that
the present is the time-and it is always best not to
leave for to-morrow what may be done to-day.
Because it seldom happens that a man publishes
his own life, it is therefore thought something strange,
wonderful, and unaccountable, when such a thing
occurs. It is not, however, without precedents. In
1832, J. Taylor, Esq., of London, published the Re-
cords of his own Life,—and who, in the name of
wonder, has a better right to publish a man's life than
himself? Or, who do you suppose is better qualified
for such a task than himself? Besides, if a man at-
tends to the printing of his own life, it is most likely to
be correct. The way in which some men's lives are
sent forth into the world, is a mere insult to common
sense. If a friend gets hold of it, he twists it this way,
and makes a life to suit his own notion; if an enemy
B
2
PREFACE.
gets hold of it, he twists it the other way, and makes a
life that might have belonged to Buonaparte's father,
for aught that I know. Now, neither of them is the
true life of the dead man; and were he to return from
the grave, perhaps he could not discover ten lines in
the whole book that belonged to himself-only, that
he was born, lived, died, and was buried.
My manner of life, from my youth up, is known to
all the inhabitants of New York. The fact that I
landed on Governeur's Wharf, with only three cents in
my pocket, and my nail-hammer in my hand, and neither
shoe nor stocking on my feet. To be sure, I had both
in my chest; but having been driven far north by
hard weather, my feet got frost-bitten, and could not
therefore put on shoes or stockings for some weeks after I
landed. The fact that our establishment is now the most
extensive of the kind in America, naturally suggests the
inquiry of, how was it brought about? I think, for
myself, I was the most unlikely subject that Providence
could have selected to plant and build up so large a
concern. My education consisted in little more than
learning to read the Bible, and write my own name.
In ciphering, I never reached the Rule of Three;
indeed, I ever thought that addition and multiplication
were the only rules of any real use to a man in busi-
ness-and I think so still; subtraction and division, I
think, are worse than nothing.
When I purchased the first plant, which was the
means of leading me into this business, I may safely
say, that I knew not a geranium from a cabbage-head.
PREFACE.
3
Providence, to be sure, provided the tools, and gave
me a head and hands to use them; my business has
been built up by the abilities of my children.
My
oldest son is a self-taught botanist, though he never
learned a word of Latin; my second daughter is, per-
haps, the best flower-drawer in America. In the line
of our business, we receive from Paris, Amsterdam,
and London, the works of the best artists of the day-
compared with hers, they are found wanting. This is
no vain boast. On the table in my store lie one hun-
dred of her drawings, open to the inspection of all.
Let any one produce a better if they can. Now this,
her natural taste, I not only admire as a beautiful
accomplishment, but it is a real dollar and cent con-
When a gentleman asks the price of a root
laying on the counter, in appearance no better than
a Wethersfield onion, we may say one dollar. He
starts; we turn to the natural drawing of the flower in
her book; he throws down his money with more plea-
sure than he ever did for a play-ticket. Now, who
bestowed these gifts on this son and daughter? It
is not possible to frame a better answer than is to be
found in the second chapter of James :-" Every good
and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of Lights." So you see this great
Babylon was not built by the might of my hand, nor
the strength of my arm.
cern.
Perhaps you will think the father's partiality paints
his daughter's flowers in too fine colours. It is not so:
she is an American; and in whatever art or science
4
PREFACE.
the Americans excel, they are first-second to none.
Was not West, the king's painter, an American? Who
first shewed to the astonished eyes of the Europeans
how lightning could be drawn from the clouds? It was
Franklin, the American. Where was the first boat suc-
cessfully propelled by steam? It was on the waters of
the Hudson, by the Americans. Who was it that first
shewed to the world how a British frigate might be made
to strike in fifteen minutes? It was Hull, an American.
N. B.-During the late thirty years' war in Europe,
it generally took a French frigate seven years to ac-
complish what an American frigate could do in fifteen
minutes; and then, when the mountain did produce
such a mighty mouse, the lucky fellow was hung up
with a legion of honours, and strung all round with
bombast and jingle. And even among the sober-sided,
stiff-jointed, tight-breeched John Bull fraternity, when
they happened to capture the American frigate Chesa-
peake, by the accidental blowing-up of the arm-chest,
it was placed on the Records of the House of Commons
as a victory of as much magnitude as the capture of
forty-five sail of the line from the French in Aboukir
Bay, or the victory of Nelson at Trafalgar, or the
destruction of the whole Spanish Armada; inasmuch
as the officer who made this capture was voted a sword;
the Tower guns, and all the guns within the sound
of Bow Bells, were fired. This is a historical fact.*
* Since my arrival in England (Nov. 1833) I find this fact
doubted, and it may probably be so; but it was related at the
time in America just as I have given it.
PREFACE.
5
But this is a digression from a preface; and I am
afraid the preface will be but a fac-simile of the whole
book. It will give fine scope for the critics; but they
may as well keep themselves easy; for, say what they
will, they cannot make me angry. I hold them all as
a set of insignificant, self-created blockheads; good for
nothing, that I know of, but to tear the works of decent
men, and decent women, in pieces, such as Scott,
Miss Edgeworth, &c.
I have thought, for many years, it was perhaps a
debt I owed society to publish my life, and in this
opinion I have been strengthened by the advice of
many of the best of men in this or any other country—
though no one ever read a line of it; neither have I
told any one my intention. The opinions and advices
mentioned above were given unasked for; neither my
friends, my foes, nor my family, know any thing of my
intentions on this subject. Then, if aught is wrong
said, or wrong done, in the book, I alone am re-
sponsible: if I have given offence to any one, it was
not my intention; and am willing to make him any
reasonable satisfaction-any thing but standing up to
be shot at, and so to have blown away what little
quantity of brains I may happen to have in my head.
I ever thought this was the poorest way of closing a
concern that could be met with. They may call it
honour-but they are very welcome, for me, to the
full share of having their skulls most honourably blown
to pieces, for the satisfaction of any blockhead.
6
PREFACE.
I have another reason for publishing my life just
now: I have thought that even though I might leave
this manuscript, with a request for my children to
publish it after my death, yet (though they never
disobeyed me in all their life) a false delicacy, or the
advice of some most profoundly wise friend, might
prevent it. I think I owe to the Giver of all good a
large debt of gratitude, and I think it is my duty to
make sure that the world shall know it.
As the manuscript has never met the correcting eye
of a man of letters and as I never learned letters
myself, I fear the book will be a curious compound of
digressions, fugitive pieces, with a considerable share
of nonsense.
It was commenced many years ago, and
additions made as the matter occurred, and written in
detached pieces, when I could snatch a few moments
from my very busy life. I have awoke at midnight—
if an idea came in my head that I thought worth pre-
serving, I arose, lighted my lamp, and wrote it down,
fearing it might be lost by morning. The several
pieces that have appeared in the "Commercial Ad-
vertiser," and other periodicals, for some years past,
with my name or initials, will also help to make up
the book.
A word more, and I have done with this long pre-
face; -I never see a book-critic tearing the leaves out
of other people's works, and throwing them about to
the four winds of heaven-(there they stand, scattering
abroad firebrands, arrows, and death ask them what
PREFACE.
7
they are doing they reply, with a smile, Am I not
in sport?)—I say, I never see those mortals thus em-
ployed, but I think of an observation that dropped
from the lips of Mr. Thomas Paine. It was about the
year 1806, when Buonaparte, the great land-sweeper,
and the ships of George, the great sea-sweeper, told
the Americans, that if they presumed to trade to any
save their own respective ports, they, viz. George
said if you go to France, and Buonaparte said if you
go to England, we will sink, burn, and destroy your
ships and for a very substantial reason, too, viz.:
"That, whereas the Americans had only six fir-built
frigates, with a piece of striped bunting at the mast-
head, therefore it was the very height of presumption
in them to talk about naval rights." This very
equitable, and very elegant sentiment, was spouted
from the mouth of one of the common members of
parliament, in that notable year when the sun was
almost totally eclipsed. At this moment, had one of
the astrologers of his country but whispered in his ear,
"The first fir-built frigate that is laid alongside of one
of your royal oaks will sink her in fifteen minutes"
how would he have been confounded! But such really
turned out to be the fact.
As I mentioned before, Mr. Paine and I were con-
versing about these two mighty hunters of the human
race. Mr. Paine was lamenting, in pretty round
terms, that neither law nor justice could reach them,
as the fates had placed them above both. Says I,
8
PREFACE.
Mr. Paine, these simple bodies you speak about, who
have just sense enough left to believe the word of God,
rather than the word of man, have the advantage of
you here
for their book tells them, that a day is
coming when these mighty men of war, and the men
they have slain, will stand alike before the same im-
partial Judge; and this soothes their minds but you
have no salvo. Says he, "There is a set of men in the
world so insignificant that neither God nor the devil
will ever trouble his head about them." At the time, I
thought this was a strange expression to come from the
mouth of the author of " Common Sense;" but I have
sometimes thought since, that perhaps he had those
book-critics in his eye when he made this profoundly
wise speech.
A word of apology, and I have done. No doubt
some of those sober-sided old bachelors will smile at a
man of sixty-one speaking so highly in praise of the
ladies; but, to be serious, the disinterested choice (to
call it by no softer name) of Rebecca her sweet
and winning manners - her despite of gold, when she
thought worth was in the other scale and withal,
her being the first of the sex in whose company I had
spent ten quiet minutes, altogether gave me so high an
opinion of her sisters, that the impression was stamped
where death only can rub it out.
G. T.
LIFE AND TIMES
OF
GRANT THORBURN.
CHAPTER I.
Birth-Death of my Mother-Providential Escapes-Join one of
the Reform Societies of the day-The Life of Thomas Muir.
My life has hitherto been a series of such strange
occurrences, and, in my view, so marked with the
directing hand of Providence, that when I look back,
it appears as if I have been a mere machine, without a
will of my own.
I was born the 18th day of February, 1773, in a
small village named West Houses, near Dalkeith, six
miles south from Edinburgh. My father was poor,
honest, and industrious, and followed the trade of a
nail-maker; in his religious principles was what is now
termed a stiff Scotch Presbyterian; and since I have
had an opportunity of seeing men and their behaviour,
in making the comparison, I think he was the most
conscientious professor I ever met, and possessed of
the greatest share of sound sense, or, as we term it in
Scotland, mother-wit.*
* Extract of a letter, dated Dalkeith, Scotland, Feb. 4, 1833 :
"I arrived safely at Dalkeith on the 31st ult. and found all
B 2
10
GRANT THORBURN.
The first circumstance impressed on my mind is the
death of my mother: I was then in my third year. I
remember nothing of her person or conduct, only the
death-bed scene. I yet see the family around her bed
in tears. I sat on a high chair by the fire-side: I saw
my father give her a drink from a white pint-bowl; he
then softly laid her head on the pillow. A cry, "She
is gone!" and loud lamentation, made me ask, "What
well-your father just about the same as when I saw him fourteen
years ago, except this great affliction, the total loss of sight, so
that he has to be led by the hand- of course he could only recog-
nise me by my voice. He was very happy that I had come to see
him once more, and was so uneasy about me while out late to a
public dinner given to a member of parliament for Lothian, that
he would not go to bed until I came home; to be sure that all was
right. He bears the loss of his sight with the utmost patience,
expressing his entire acquiescence in the will of God; that it was
all right; and 'how could folk expect to have aw' their faculties
when they were ninety years old? He could do fou weel without
sight, only it gave folk trouble, and he was ay thankfu' that he
was in such good health, and could tak his meat as usual,' &c. I
was much affected and struck with his placid, serene appearance
during the singing at family worship, while, with clasped hands
he raised his sightless eyeballs, singing some beautiful portion of
the old version. I never saw any thing so saint-like, and, thought
I to myself, surely you are on the verge of heaven, and seem just
ready to unite with those before the throne of God for ever and
ever.
Methinks he sees the flow'rets bloom
E'en now on Eden's vernal shore ;
Methinks he feels the breezes come
Which waft th' enfranchised spirit o'er.
Well may we desire to have our last end like those of the righte-
ous. He speaks of death with the utmost composure; and gives
good advice to all who converse with him, in such a way as can
hardly fail to reach the heart.”
RESTORATION OF HEALTH.
11
is the matter?" The answer, "You have no more a
mother!" It was true; but then I knew not my loss.
I remember I was cruelly used and neglected by
the woman my father hired to keep his house, in con-
sequence of which I lost the use of my limbs, and so,
not having exercise, I fell into a weak and sickly state
of body; and when I was ten years old I was not so
large as most children are at five.* But in this, as in
all the troubles and misfortunes I have as yet met with
in life, I now see the goodness of God; for I believe
that the means used for restoring my strength, through
the blessing of God, gave me an entirely new constitu-
tion. For from my twelfth year to the present day, I
have been free from any of the hereditary complaints
with which my father, and sister, and brothers, were
afflicted. That I might recover my strength, I was
sent to board on one of the high hills, where the
Romans once had an encampment, in the county of
Mid Lothian, nine miles south from Edinburgh. This
hill abounded with a small snail, that carried a beauti-
ful shell on its back, striped and painted with all the
colours of the rainbow. My employment in the after-
* During this state of confinement to the house, I learned
something of human nature; those around me, not supposing the
mind grows faster in the dwarf than in the giant, did and said
many things in my presence, presuming I knew not their mean-
ing. Many droll scenes have I seen among the lads and lasses,
who used to assemble at our house when my father was absent,
in the long winter evenings; but I was cunning enough not to
tell him, as I knew it would only bring trouble on myself. People
are apt to forget that children can see and reason when they
cannot speak. Among other things, I had seen all the mystery
of nipping and skarting, Scotch folks' wooing, long before I learned
A B C
12
GRANT THORBURN.
noon was to collect a half-pint of these snails. In the
morning they were boiled in new milk; the milk, when
nearly cold, was given me with oatmeal for breakfast:
it was very palatable. I soon regained my health and
spirits, but not my growth, my height being only four
feet ten inches; and at no period of my life have I
weighed over ninety-eight pounds. This, too, Provi-
dence turned to my advantage; for my mind was bent,
not only to equal, but to surpass all my schoolfellows
of my own age, though much larger in body.
With my father I followed the trade of nail-making,
and in this, from the same principle, I equalled all, and
surpassed many of my workfellows. I remember that
a circumstance took place, when in my fourteenth year,
which, though a trifle, I have often since thought was a
true epitome of my after-life. The oldest son of the
Duke of Buccleuch that day had come of age, having
arrived to twenty-one years. At night there were fire-
works to be displayed in front of the palace; and that
the people in the village might join in the festivity, the
town drummer was sent round to give notice that the
gates would be set open for half an hour, and all who
chose to come in that period would be admitted to
see the fun. Something kept me back; and just as
I got near, the time had expired, and the gate was
shut. I was much mortified, and proposed to some.
others in my situation that we would scale the walls,
which were ten feet high, built of stone, and smooth-
plastered with lime. None would agree to this, justly
remarking, that, should they get on the top, they knew
not the dangers of getting down, as there was a deep
ditch on the other side, and in many places about the
AN ESCAPE.
13
enclosures spring-guns and man-traps were set. How-
ever, I was only anxious to get on the top, and could
not think of consequences; so, by getting on the
shoulders of the tallest in the company, I reached the
height, when I began to think of the dangers within;
but finding that reflection was only adding to my fears,
I dropped at once on the other side, and, as Providence
ordered, I fell on a soft bed, collected by the high
winds and falling leaves of November, in the ditch.
Nothing hurt, I ran through the woods, directed to
the spot by the light of the fire-works, and arrived
safe, notwithstanding the spring-guns and traps in the
way. Spring-guns are fixed with wires running a cer-
tain distance, and in such a manner, that, when trod
on, the gun wheels round, and fires on the person
treading on the wire.
After the fire-works were over, and the company
dispersed, I tarried, with other idle boys, collecting
the burnt-out rockets and other fixtures. When I came
back to go out of the gate, I found the porter with a
horsewhip, roundly chastising the boys for keeping him
so long waiting to let them out. I stepped a few yards
back to consider by what means I might escape this
discipline, when I observed a gentleman's servant with
two of his master's sons, one in each hand; I attached
myself to one of the boys, entered into conversation
about the fire-works, and so walked through the gates
unmolested by holding the hand of the laird's son. I
have often thought of my escape since, when, by want
of proper caution, I have mounted some difficult enter-
prise, without considering beforehand in what manner
I was to get out.
14
GRANT THORBURN.
In my sixteenth year, in company with others of my
own age, we were throwing stones to bring down wal-
nuts from a large tree in Lord D.'s park. A stone
weighing about six pounds grazed my ear, struck my
shoulder-bone, and felled me to the earth—a half an
inch nearer, and I think I must have been killed
In September 1795, while the yellow fever was
prevailing in New York, I went on board a sloop*
at Whitehall, bound for Newark. On rounding the
Battery, it was necessary to tack. I was going to as-
sist in pushing the boom to the lee side, which would
oblige me to walk over the hatchway; a gentleman (a
passenger) made a quick move, placed his foot exactly
on the spot my eye had selected, the cover turned-
he fell among stones in the hold and broke his leg,
which necessarily produced a slight fever, and when
the yellow fever prevailed, every fever was merged in
it; so he died in four days of yellow fever. My guar-
dian angel kept me back; the gentleman snatched, as
it were, the very step my foot was lifted to take his
time, not mine, was come.
Twenty years ago, an old wooden barn composed
part of my premises. Directly over the west-end door
hung a cooper's tool; it was used for widening the
bung-holes of casks; the steel and iron part about
two and a half feet long, having a cross wooden handle
on the top two feet long. The steel point was sharp;
its cross handle rested on two nails, with the point
downwards; I opened the door with a hard push
which shook the wooden frame; the instrument drop-
* There were no steam-boats at this period.
PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPES.
15
ped, the point grazed my ear, and was stopped by the
bone on my shoulder. My head was bare; so, had it
struck half an inch nearer the head, it would have en-
tered my skull, and there I might have laid dead for
some hours, as the place was but little frequented.
On the morning of the 25th of December, 1832,
my eldest son sailed for Liverpool. As his life has ever
been precious in my eyes, I felt more than common
anxiety on his account. The day of sailing was un-
commonly fine, with a fair wind. Next, the 26th, it
came on to blow from the east, with rain and snow.
At 6 P.M., going to tea, the wind, rain, and snow blow-
ing in my face, I thought of the ship, the wind in her
teeth, the danger my son might be in, as by this time
it was hardly possible they could have cleared the
land: I was murmuring at Him who holds the winds
in his fist. I presently listened to a noise approaching
on my right hand; it seemed like the rattling of a cart,
which, from the sound, might be one hundred yards
distant. I was then in the middle of Nassau, crossing
to the corner of Liberty Street. I did not quicken my
pace, as I thought I had time to clear the street. Next
moment I thought the noise approached very fast, so
I made two quick steps and stood on the side-walk. (As
the storm was in my face, I had not yet lifted my head
to look round.) At this moment I felt my cloak torn
from my right shoulder by a sudden jerk. Looking
round, one of those large Greenwich stages seemed
turning over to crush me in the earth. The horses had
sheered from the middle of the street; the wheels were
running on the curb-stone edge of the side-walk, so
close and swift, that a stream of fire was issuing from
16
GRANT THORBURN.
the iron of the wheels and the stone, like a train of
powder. I called aloud to give an alarm; a light was
produced, when a woman was discovered lying appa-
rently dead in the gutter, within four feet of where I
stood.* The stage ran over her-there was no driver
on the box-the horses had run off the stand. It was
one of the wheels, or some part of the carriage, that
carried away my cloak. Had I been six inches nearer,
or had my cloak been hooked, I think I should have
been dragged under the wheels, or among the horses'
feet. Thus I received a prompt rebuke, besides a
practical comment on the doctrine of a Providence
every where, and that death is as close on our heels
while we walk the streets, as he is when we bound on
the top of a mountain wave.
In the year 1792, when the French Revolution had
fairly commenced, and the pulpit and the press were
teeming all over Britain with reform, I joined the so-
cieties of what were then called the Friends of the
People, and in London were termed the Corresponding
Societies, whose ostensible motive was to obtain the
reform of Parliament by a more equal representation;
and in the winter of 1793, with seventeen more of the
members of the said society in Dalkeith, I was marched
a prisoner into Edinburgh. A laughable occurrence
here took place, which has often made me smile since.
When we entered the town, marshalled two and two,
* The woman was carried in-doors, and medical aid being at
hand, she soon revived; but to this day she has not fully recovered,
and cannot yet remember what struck her, so suddenly the
machine ran over her. Her husband sued the proprietors, and
recovered heavy damages.
JOINS A REFORM SOCIETY.
17
with a sheriff's officer in front and one in the rear, the
scene attracted a concourse of people, and among them
a great many women; one of them observed, or rather
loudly exclaimed, in her broad Scottish dialect, when
she saw me bringing up the rear rank, "The Losh pre-
sarve us! if the king is afraid of sic a little fellow as that,
(pointing to me) I dinna ken what will become of him!"
After examination by some of their judges, we were all
dismissed, on giving a trifling bail for our appearance.
Thomas Muir, being a prisoner in Edinburgh, at
the same time, and for the same cause as myself, the
following sketch of Mr. Muir's life, I think, will not be
thought inappropriate. Horne Tooke, and others tried
about the same time, and for the same offence, in Lon-
don, were acquitted.
The life of this early, but unfortunate reformer, has
just been published in Glasgow ; and the "Athenæum,"
in noticing the work, gives the following epitome of his
romantic and eventful story.
Thomas Muir was born at Glasgow, in 1765, and as
his parents were wealthy as well as respectable, he ob-
tained an education which enabled him to appear with
distinction as an advocate at the Scottish bar. He had
behaved with great ardour and decision, when the stu-
dents of Glasgow College deprived Edmund Burke of
the lord-rectorship, and bestowed it upon a resolute
Whig, Graham of Gartmere; and he carried the same
spirit and activity of mind into that celebrated associa-
tion called “The Friends of the People," which sprung
up in Britain in the year 1792, and filled the govern-
ment with consternation. Now, be it known that this
formidable society professed nothing save what was
18
GRANT THORBURN.
dutiful, nay, respectful, to this country; each member
had to sign a declaration of love for the government of
Britain, as established by the king, lords, and com-
mons, and the moral character of each citizen was in-
sisted on.
"The Friends of the People" began to
grow popular; they sent delegates to what they called
"The Convention,” held at Edinburgh, an assembly in
which Muir frequently presided. The fame of this
association reached Ireland, and Archibald Hamilton
Rowan addressed them in a strain of great elevation
and eloquence.
It was less to the pleasure of the "Friends of the
People," that the fame of their proceedings had reached
the ear of the cold, quiet, and determined Pitt, who
felt alarm, when men so eloquent and active as Muir,
and of such station as Lord Daer, figured in the Con-
vention he had no wish to put parliamentary con-
structions on their proceedings; he called their speeches
seditious; accused their leaders of disaffection to the
government, and charged them with the design of
forming a democracy on the ruins of the constitution.
Muir, who was then in France, returned to meet the
charge, and was instantly brought to trial. Those were
evil days for honest men, who loved and talked of
freedom. Burns was told by the Board of Excise, that
his business was to act, not to think; and that, what-
ever might be the conduct of government, his duty was
silence and obedience. On the 30th of August, 1793,
Muir was brought to the bar of the Court of Justiciary,
and charged with sedition: he was accused of having
talked of liberty and reform, and desired a musician to
play "ça ira!" The trial lasted eighteen hours: he
THOMAS MUIR THE REFORMER.
dict of" proven
19
defended himself with eloquence and ability; but a ver-
proven" was returned, and he was sentenced
to fourteen years' transportation. The fate of this able
and enthusiastic man excited much sympathy all over
the island no one could love his country more ar-
dently—no one who knew him imagined for a moment
that he wished the subversion of the constitution—and
all felt as we feel now, that at the worst he was an
honest visionary, who thought better of human nature
than it deserved. Fox in the Commons, and Lauder-
dale in the Lords, endeavoured to excite commisera-
tion for him in vain. He was put on board the Surprise
transport: his father and mother, weighed down with
sorrow for their son, visited him frequently; and the
latter presented him with a small pocket Bible—a book
which was his solace in affliction, and afterwards the
means of saving his life.
The romance of Thomas Muir now begins. He was
well received in Sydney, and esteemed as a sensible
man of a retired turn, but who excelled in powers of
conversation, when it was his pleasure to speak. He
purchased land, and seemed contented with his lot.
It was perhaps his misfortune, that his talents and his
principles had excited much sympathy in America :
some generous citizens of the States despatched a ves-
sel to Sydney, to bring him from the land of convicts
to that of freemen; and on the 11th of February, 1796,
he made his escape from bondage, to encounter many
other sorrows.
After being at sea four months, the vessel was
wrecked on the western coast of America, and all on
board perished, save two sailors and Muir. He fell
20
GRANT THORBURN.
into the hands of a tribe of Indians, who behaved with
unexpected kindness; and, charmed by his manners
and address, admitted him to'fellowship, on the easy
condition of painting and dressing himself like a chief
of their race. He effected his escape from those friendly
savages, and after wandering over a wild land for nearly
four thousand miles, half naked and half starved, he
reached Panama, and by his eloquence and misfortunes,
influenced the governor so much, that he furnished him
with clothes and money, and gave him guides to Vera
Cruz. To the governor of Vera Cruz he told the story
of his sufferings both in Scotland and in South America.
The Spaniard was moved, and sent him to Havanna ;
but privately informed the commander of that place,
that a man of Muir's principles would be dangerous in
New Spain, and advised that he should be sent to Old
Spain, in order that the king might determine upon his
fate. He was detained in prison. Some generous
Spaniards sent him clothes, more particularly linen,
which he now regarded as a luxury.
A vast quantity of gold and silver was to be con-
veyed to Spain, and two frigates were ordered to carry
it,-in one of these Muir embarked. During the
voyage he was obliged to work like a common sailor,
and was treated rudely by the officers. They neared
Spain, and thought themselves safe. War, however,
had been declared between their country and England;
and two British frigates, the Emerald and Irresistible,
interposed between them and Cadiz. The battle, fought
within sight of the shore, crowded with spectators, was
fierce and desperate, and continued for two hours. The
slaughter was great among the Spaniards- towards
THOMAS MUIR'S MISFORTunes.
21
the close of the action, Muir was struck with a ball
on the face, and when the vessel was boarded, lay
stretched among the dead. A Scottish officer belong-
ing to the Irresistible, wrote home to his relations-
"Among the sufferers on the Spanish side is Mr.
Thomas Muir, who made so wonderful an escape from
Botany Bay to the Havanna. He was one of the five
killed on board the Nymph, by the last shot fired by
us. The officer at whose side he fell, is now at my
hand, and says he behaved with courage to the last."
Luckily another Scottish officer was not contented with
hearsay—he went on board the Spaniard, and, on look-
ing at the dead and dying, was struck at the unusual
position in which one of them lay: he was sorely
wounded in the face, was covered with blood, and be-
tween his clasped hands he held a small Bible. On
being moved, he uttered a deep sigh, and the book fell
from his hands. The officer took it up, read the name
Thomas Muir upon it, and having cleansed the blood
from the wounds, recognised his old schoolfellow and
companion. The officer did not breathe his name, nor
appear to know him, but bound up his wounds, and
caused him to be moved gently on board a small skiff,
and carried ashore, where, under the care of a skilful
surgeon, he recovered, but so slowly, that he could not
utter a word for two months. Meanwhile, the French
Directory, hearing that Muir was in Spain, desired
their ambassador to defray whatever debts he had in-
curred, fit him out as became a gentleman, and more-
over say, that the French wished to confer upon him
the honour of a free citizenship, and enable him, a son
of freedom and a sufferer, to spend the remainder of
22
GRANT THORBURN.
his days in France. These generous offers came to a
dying man; he reached France, indeed, but his wounds
were uncured, and, perhaps, incurable. He lingered
till September 1798, when, sealing up his pocket Bible
and addressing it to his mother, he expired, and was
buried with much respect by the public authorities.
Such is the story of Thomas Muir, and a tragic one
it is.
His relatives are of the highest respectability; two
of his nephews are at present in London, one of them
a captain in the naval service of the East India Com-
pany. They have no reason to be otherwise than
pleased with being the sister's sons of such a man. His
fault was this he lived too soon; had he lived now,
he would have found times to his mind, and friends in
thousands and tens of thousands, advocating as he did,
but not with more eloquence, an equal representation
of the people. The concluding words of his defence
are not unprophetic.
"Gentlemen of the Jury, this is perhaps the last
time that I shall address my country. What, then, has
been my crime? Not the lending to a relation a copy
of Mr. Paine's works not the giving away to another
a few numbers of an innocent and constitutional publi-
cation; but my crime is for happening to be, according
to the measure of my feeble abilities, a strenuous and
active advocate for an equal representation of the peo-
ple in the House of the People--for having dared to
accomplish a measure, by legal means, which was to
diminish the weight of their taxes, and to put an end to
the profusion of their blood. Gentlemen, from my in-
fancy to this moment, I have devoted myself to the
CURRAN'S SYMPATHY FOR MUIR.
23
cause of the people. IT IS A Good Cause -IT SHALL
ULTIMATELY PREVAIL-IT SHALL FINALLY TRIUMPH.
Say, then, openly, in your verdict, if you do con-
demn me, which I presume you will not, that it is for
my attachment to this cause alone, and for those
vain and wretched pretexts stated in the indictment,
intended only to colour and disguise the real motive of
my accusation.”
Curran, in his defence of Hamilton Rowan, extend-
ed his sympathy to Muir, in a passage which Scotch-
men must ever be proud to quote :
"There is a sort of aspiring and adventurous credu-
lity, which disdains assenting to obvious truth, and de-
lights in catching at the improbability of circumstances,
as its best ground of faith. To what other cause, gen-
tlemen, can you ascribe, that in the wise, the reflect-
ing, and the philosophic nation of Great Britain, a
printer has been gravely found guilty of a libel, for
publishing those resolutions to which the present min-
ister of that kingdom had actually subscribed his name?
To what other cause can you ascribe, what in my
mind is still more astonishing, in such a country as
Scotland—a nation cast in the happy medium between
the spiritless acquiescence of submissive poverty, and
the sturdy credulity of pampered wealth-cool and
ardent adventurous and persevering; winging her
eagle flight against the blaze of every science, with an
eye that never winks, and a wing that never tires--
crowned as she is with the spoils of every art, and
decked with the wreath of every muse, from the deep
and scrutinising researches of Hume, to the sweet and
simple, but not less pathetic and sublime morality of
24
GRANT THORBURN.
her Burns how, from the bosom of a country like
that, genius, and character, and talents, should be
banished to a distant barbarous soil-condemned to
pine under the horrid communion of vulgar vice and
base-born profligacy, for twice the period that ordinary
calculation gives to the continuance of human life."
25
CHAPTER II.
Sail for New York-Arrival-Employment as a Nail-maker.
State of this Business forty years ago.
A SHIP, the Providence of New York, was then lying
at Leith, taking passengers for New York. My father
paid for the passage of my brother and myself, and,
after arranging the matter with our bailsman, we sailed
for New York the 13th of April, 1794.
Ever since I began to act on the theatre of life, it
has been the uniform order of Providence to send his
blessings in a way or manner contrary to my own plans
and arrangements; for instance, when I engaged my
passage from Leith to New York, there was a vessel
lay there also for Philadelphia; my intention was to
go to Philadelphia, and very sorely did I lament when
I could not procure a passage, she being full. Had I
gone to Philadelphia, I never should have possessed
the beautiful establishment where I am now situated,
nor enjoyed the advantages of the first city in the
Union.
To note all the curious scenes in which I was a
party or spectator, during a passage of nine weeks in
a very small vessel, with above a hundred persons,
crew and passengers, would of itself form a book.
Before this I had never been twenty miles from the
house in which I was born; and from the time I was
five years old I do not remember to have slept three
nights out of my father's house. Here I was, in my
twentieth year, without having experienced or seen
C
26
GRANT THORBURN.
aught of the world, set as it were on my own feet,
close jammed in a crowd from whom there was no re-
treating, whose ends, motives, and dispositions, were
as various as their faces. It was a sound maxim of
my father's, that young people ought to earn money
before they got money to spend; however, when he
put his maxim in practice on my brother and myself,
I had some doubts of its utility. After laying in for
us a large wooden chest (which had been a family-
piece for near a century), well filled with clothing, and
a reasonable stock of such provisions as the ship did
not furnish to us steerage-passengers, he gave us 20s.
sterling for contingent expenses after we might land
in America, and to support us before we got into
employment.
Thus equipped, we weighed anchor about sunrise.
In the morning aforesaid a boat putting off from one of
his Majesty's frigates, then lying in the roads, created
a considerable bustle in our little ship. A number of
our passengers were fine-looking young men, equipped
with jacket and trousers for the voyage; afraid of
being impressed made them run below and change
their clothes: I being the most insignificant-looking
person of all our passengers, had no fears of being
impressed, and so staid on deck to see what was to be
done. However, it appeared they were only in search
of a deserter; and not finding him, they left us without
any trouble. In a few hours after, the man that they
were in search of came on board in an open boat from
near Berwick: he was a fine seaman, said he had been
impressed, and now gave them the slip. We were
extremely crowded, the ship having only four feet and
A SCENE AT SEA.
27
a half in height between decks, with two tier of berths
to sleep in round both sides of the steerage: three
persons slept in each berth. With my brother and
myself slept a very large Highland porter; and no
matter what tack the ship was on, he would always
lay in the front of the berth. Being stowed in the
middle between him and my brother, I was often in
danger of being smothered by his enormous weight,
when our side was on the lee-tack. He was subject to
the night-mare and talking in his sleep. One stormy
night he dreamt the ship was sinking, and roared with
all the might of his tremendous voice, "Lord God
Almighty! help! help!" A large Newfoundland dog
on deck took the alarm, and began to bark and roar
with all his might. I awoke with his cry for help, and,
catching his alarm, roared" Murder! murder!" as loud
as I could. A light was soon introduced from the
deck, when a scene appeared that baffles all descrip-
tion: men and women rolling out of their berths, some
with petticoats, some with pantaloons, and some in a
state of nature-children screaming-women wringing
their hands-in short, it would have tried the genius of
an Hogarth to have given a true sketch of the scene.
One wife had on her husband's trousers, while the
man's head was seen just peering through the top of
a part of his wife's dress.
After the passengers had got somewhat over the
sea-sickness, the captain called over the roll, and
appointed every seventh man as head of his mess. His
duty was to receive from the mate the provisions for
one week for himself and six of his comrades, and give
each an equal share. This duty fell to my lot, being
28
GRANT THORBURN.
one of the seven numbers; it was also my duty to take
charge of, and keep clean, our eating utensils this,
with other duties soon imposed on me, gave me full
employment. Each mess was allowed one quart of
molasses per day; after some days the mate neglected
to serve out the molasses. This occasioned much
grumbling among the passengers: a meeting was held
between decks: I was appointed to state the matter
to the captain, which I did in a respectful manner next
day, on the quarter-deck. The mate was called, and
gave as a reason the want of time. I told the captain,
if he would allow the mate to give me the quantity
every morning, I would serve it out to the different
messes: this plan was adopted, and executed by me
to the end of our voyage. Again, every person was
allowed two porter-bottles of water every morning ;
one bottle was to go in the ship's boiler to make our
oatmeal-porridge. As we soon got into warm latitudes,
many of the passengers, instead of depositing their
water in the breakfast-kettle, reserved it for drinking;
but when the porridge was dealing out, they also came
in for their share. Thus, for several mornings, there
was not enough made to supply the several messes. I
soon found out the cause, and stated the difficulty to
the captain. He gave me permission to stand by the
kettle every morning, and see that none received any
of the porridge but such as put in their bottle of water.
This order I faithfully saw executed during the re-
mainder of our passage, and finally gained me the
good-will of all the passengers. I also assisted the
cook in the steerage, and steward in the cabin, where
there were twenty passengers. By this means I found
ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK.
29
constant employment, which made the time pass easily,
which would otherwise have hung heavily on my hands,
and by making the cook and steward my friends, had
my share of the best victuals that the ship could afford;
so that I lived as well as the passengers in the cabin.
Among so many, there were, of course, some curious
characters. As the revolutionary fever had already
broken out, which soon shook all the thrones in Europe,
we had some hot characters among us, which all the
waters of the Atlantic could not cool. We had also
some warm contests on religious points, there being in
our number Presbyterians, Methodists, Universalists,
Burghers, Cameronians, Deists, and an Anti-Burgher
minister. It was not uncommon to see the minister
preaching on the quarter-deck, and singing the old
version of David's Psalms, and at the same time the
Universalists, consisting of eight or ten members,
chanting Winchester's hymns on the forecastle. At
last the captain put a stop to this public contempt by
declaring the Presbyterian to be the established religion
of his ship.
On the 16th of June, about ten o'clock A.M., our
ship came to anchor opposite the city, which in those
days made a very poor appearance from the water, as
the stores were all built of wood; and the only steeples
high enough to be seen to advantage were the Trinity
Church, St. George's Church, and the new Dutch
Church, fronting on Liberty, Nassau, and Cedar Streets.
In a few minutes the vessel was surrounded with boats,
and I believe every passenger went on shore but my-
self; I felt a sort of presentiment that I was about
entering on new, important, and untried scenes. Many
c 2
30
GRANT THORBURN.
of our countrymen came on board inquiring for friends
or news; for in those days a ship arriving with pas-
sengers was a rare sight. I asked an Edinburgh man
who came on board, and who had been in New York
above a year, if he thought my brother and I could get
employment to make nails: he said he thought not, as
they had just got a machine set up for cutting nails
out of iron hoops. This was a piece of discouraging
news, and made me less anxious about going on shore,
especially as all the money we had between my brother
and I was 64 cents; and this was given us by a pas-
senger (who by this time had returned on board,) after
exchanging a guinea, and was what we charged him
for half a pint of wine we gave him for one of his chil-
dren that was sick; and there was no wine in the ship,
they having drank all up except what my brother and
I had at the time. We had been eight weeks out. I
will here remark, that one bottle, scarcely containing a
quart, was all we took on board; and yet we had the
last wine in the ship. About eleven o'clock the captain
returned on board, bringing a piece of fine fresh beef
and some new potatoes, which he told the cook to get
ready for the sailors' dinner; and seeing me look very
sober, and finding I had not been ashore, told me to
join in the mess, and not be discouraged; "for," added
he," if there is a man on board to make a figure and a
fortune, you are the man." With something of a lighter
heart, I went about as usual to assist the cook (he was
a black man) in getting ready the dinner, being anxious
to taste fresh meat; he and I sat down flat on the deck,
his feet against my feet, and a wooden bowl of potatoes
between our legs, and began to scrape off the skin from
NAIL-MAKING.
31
the potatoes. While thus employed, a boat came
alongside; in the boat was Dr. Kemp, one of the
professors of Columbia College; James Anderson, of
Broadway; and George Cleland, hardware-merchant,
of Maiden Lane. When they came on deck, the first
inquired for a farmer's servant; the second, for a ser-
vant-woman; and C. asked if there were any nail-
makers on board. I catched the word, and, looking
up, answered, I was one. He was a tall man, and
looking down on me who no doubt made a very
small appearance, sitting flat on deck, with a bowl of
potatoes nearly as high as my breast-he inquired,
with a tone of surprise, "Can you make nails?" I
answered quickly, "I would wager sixpence (all I had)
I would make more nails in one day than any man in
the country." The answer, manner, and speaker, set
the company into a roar of laughter, which ended by
my receiving a card, to call at his store as soon as
we got on shore. As an apology for the above boast, I
will only state, that a few weeks before I left home, in
one day, from six A.M. to nine P.M., for a wager of six-
pence, I made 3,320 nails. This was more by 400, as
far as ever was heard of among the craft to have been
made by any man in the same time in Britain.
\
About sun-down we hauled in the ship to the
wharf, foot of Governeur's Lane: there I first stepped
on shore. Next morning we sallied forth, with the
important card in our hands, marked No. 33, Maiden
Lane, to find George Cleland. At the head of the wharf
we were stopped by a man, whose name, he told us,
was Watkins. He inquired if there were any nail-
makers on board; we said that was our trade, and
16
32
GRANT THORBURN.
informed him we were going to seek 33, Maiden Lane,
where we expected to get employment. He advised
us first to go and see his shops, and said he would give
us employment, and pay us a penny a-pound more for
making nails than ever had been given before, as he
was much in want, all his men having gone to sea
about two weeks before, at the raising of the embargo,
when Mr. Jay sailed as ambassador for London. We
went and found places in his shops (situate in Batavia
Lane) for twelve men to work, and only one man
employed. He made us many tempting offers, which
we partly agreed to accept; only, as we had first
promised to see Cleland, we must give him a call.
Our minds being so far made up to go to Watkins's, I
thought it not worth while to go to Cleland's, but went
back to the ship, and told my brother to go to Cleland's,
to make good our promise. When he came back, how-
ever, and told me Mr. Cleland and his wife were
Scotch folk; that we should have the shop to our-
selves—and his shop was quite empty; that he said he
would do all that Watkins had promised, and also told
me he did not curse and swear as Watkins did; and,
besides, added that they had no children, we concluded
to go with him.
In this first step I took in the streets of New York,
I can see the finger of Providence directing me to the
station I now occupy, viz. the keeping of a seed-shop
in what was formerly the Friends' Meeting-House. At
that time a school was kept on the premises for the
children belonging to the society. My nail-shop was
directly opposite. I then formed an acquaintance
with the boys, which, thirty-two years after, when I
AN UNWELCOME RECEPTION.
33
went to propose purchasing the Meeting-House, I
found to be of great service to me. Now observe, had
I gone to work in Batavia Lane, I never should have
known these young men, nor perhaps that there was
such a place as the Meeting-House. Batavia Lane is
near one mile distant from that quarter.
After-experience made us thank Providence, who
had directed our choice, for they were Christian
people, and treated us as if we had been their own
children; and having the shop to ourselves, we were
not exposed to bad company. We engaged board in
a house which is still standing, No. 8, Dutch Street;
Mr. Banker occupied the ground floor-he was a shoe-
maker; and David Brown, a journeyman carpenter,
lived up stairs. His wife kept a few boarders, and they
being Edinburgh folks, from national feelings we went
to board with them. About sun-down on the 17th,
we brought our baggage from the ship to the said
house; it consisted of a large chest, containing our
clothes, a box of books, mattrass, and blankets. I
suppose, on the whole, we made rather a sorry ap-
pearance; for it was quite repugnant to our notions of
Scottish economy to put on a Sunday coat on a week-
day; at any rate, our appearance, and the appear-
ance of a cart stopping at the door loaded with our
movables, drew out the wrath, tongue, and body of
Mr. Banker to the street. He declared that our trash
should not enter the house; that Brown hired the rooms
above from him, and he should not bring any of his
dirty Irish into his house, &c. Had he called us
lousy Scotch, I would have forgot it; but I could not
swallow being called dirty Irish. However, after a
34
GRANT THORBURN.
parley, we were permitted to deposit our bedding and
luggage in the garret; but I thought it was a very
uncourteous welcome. About seven years after, I got
my revenge: I then kept a grocery. One morning
the said Mr. Banker came into the store- he either
knew me not, or thought I did not know him: he
asked me if I would credit him some articles; he
looked poor; I gave him what he asked, and treated
him with kindness. As he seemed thankful, I inquired
if he had ever known me before. He said it was only
within a few weeks he had seen me. I said I boarded
with Brown, when he lived at No. 8, Dutch Street, in
the year 1794, and was one of the young men whose en-
trance into the house he so firmly opposed, as they were
bringing their chest, &c. from the ship. He said he re-
membered, and was much surprised. I told him I now
had an opportunity of returning good for evil. He was
much confused, left the store, and never returned.
As I stated before, we deposited our luggage in the
garret. Brown's people were poor, and as they had not
a spare bed, we laid our mattrass on the floor, and
made a bed with our own clothes. The weather was
hot, the garret was alive with musquitoes and other
domestic animals: I could not sleep. About mid-
night it began to thunder and rain tremendously; the
rattling of the rain on the shingles-a noise I nevér
had heard before, the loud roar of thunder, and bright
flashes of lightning-such as I never had heard any
thing like it in Scotland, alarmed me so much as drove
sleep from my eyes. Tired with tossing on a sleepless
pillow, I arose with break of day. After thanking God
for his preserving mercies through the night, I thought,
"
A MESSAGE FROM HEAVEN.
35
by way of passing the time till people began to stir,
to unpack our case of books; they had not been
opened since we left Scotland. My brother, and three
of Banker's sons, who slept in the garret, were fast
asleep. I felt feverish and low-spirited with heat and
want of sleep, and wishing myself again in my father's
house, I resolved, if spared, to earn as much money as
would pay my passage home, and to return again as
soon as possible; but He in whose hands are all our
ways had otherwise ordained. He knew I was about
entering on the active scenes of life, and he promised to
be my guide, if I asked his direction. When I opened
the box of books, the first thing that caught my eye
was a small pocket Bible; it had been placed there by
the hands of my pious father. Without any design
I opened the book-my thoughts were ruminating
about my father; my eyes fastened on the words, "My
son, forget not my law," &c. I read on to the end
of the chapter, like one in a dream. When done, I
looked back, and found I had been reading the third
chapter of Proverbs.
Now, reader, I request of you to take the Bible
and read this chapter; and if you are a believer in
a particular Providence, you will not brand me as
an enthusiast, when I say that I looked on it as an
immediate message from Heaven, giving me instruc-
tions how to shape my course, now that I was for the
first time entering on the voyage of life, without an
earthly pilot, full of hope, comfort, and joyful admira-
tion. I fell on my knees, with my face to the east (the
sun was just rising,) where lies Scotland, the land of
my fathers; it was the hour (allowing for the difference
36
GRANT THORBURN.
of time) when my father's family were assembled at
family-worship. I knew he would not forget his sons
in America. I thought I was joining with them in
prayer, and rejoiced that, as sure as the same sun
shone on us both at the same time, so sure the eyes
of the same Lord were on us in all places, to guide,
instruct, and preserve us. I took the walls of that
house to witness, that if the Lord would be with me,
and keep me in the ways in which I ought to go,
and give me meat to eat and raiment to put on, (see
Genesis, xxviii. 20), and return me again to my father's
house in peace,* then, indeed, should the Lord be my
God. I arose, refreshed in body and mind, and went
forth to earn my first cent in America, with a strong
confidence in the promise of God to be my guide and
supporter. The impression until this hour has not worn
from my mind; and I never pass the house, No. 8,
Dutch Street, but I look up to the old garret-win-
dow, and remember with renewed pleasure the import-
* Twenty-four years after this, I did visit my father's house
in peace, and found him in the same house in which I had left
him, and in most comfortable circumstances. At eight o'clock
A.M., on the 8th of August, 1818, I stepped into the same room I
had parted from my father, brother, and sister in, on the 3d of
April, 1794-a period of twenty-four years. As was his custom,
my father was just opening the old Scotch Psalm-book, to com-
mence family-worship before breakfast; the same old family Bible
lay on the same old oak-table-the same eight-day clock stood in
the same corner-the same bedstead and curtains under which I
formerly slept the same shovel and tongs stood by the same fire-
place; in short, I was at home: had I found my father in a
palace, I would not have been at home. I could not speak, but
sat down and cried for ten minutes with real pleasure.
1
TRUST IN GOD,
37
ant transaction, although it is now nearly forty years
ago. I know that those who deny the Bible, and say
it is not the word of God, will smile at this, and
say it
was all enthusiastic delusion. Be it so: but before
these men take this delusion from us, let them give us
something as good in its stead. They offer nothing;
they would take away what supports in trouble, and
give us a blank. In this state of mind I went to work
in Crown (now Liberty) Street, where the house, No. 70,
now stands, on the 18th day of June.
My mind all day filled with the pleasing impres-
sion of the morning scene, I resolved, in God's strength,
to take this third chapter of Proverbs as my pocket-
compass; and I have found, even to the present day,
that in keeping of his commandments, in this life,
there is great reward. I have found favour with and
from God, and he has given me abundant favour with
my fellow-men. I have acknowledged Him in my
ways, and He has directed my steps; He blessed me
with plenty, and in his good and wise providence re-
duced me to poverty, and again shewed me the truth
of his promise by blessing me on every side, and filling
my barns with plenty. He hath shewn me many and
sore troubles; but has always shewn me much more of
his great goodness and kind mercies, in the manner in
which He has brought me out of these troubles. I have
seen pestilence and death walk our streets for twelve
different summers, have seen them falling thick on the
right and on the left hand, while neither I nor any of
my family were hurt by day or by night; being in
every instance, as I thought, providentially prevented
D
38
GRANT THORBURN.
from leaving the city. He kept me in perfect peace,
enabling me to have my heart stayed on Him, and
trusting in Him.
On the 1st of August, Brown's family, wherein we
boarded, removing to the upper part of the city (which
in those days extended a little above the jail, or bride-
well), we, to be near our workshop, went to board with
an old American lady, a widow and her daughter, who
lived in an old wooden shed, where No. 100, Liberty
Street now stands. In those days the river washed
its sloping banks up into Greenwich Street. In this
house we learned the secret, that in whatever country
Providence may cast a man's lot, if he wants to live
comfortably, he must live among the natives of that
country; and, for the same reason, if he wants to take
a wife, he must marry a woman who was born and
brought up in that country. We here found the vic-
tuals cooked as they ought to be; but in European
boarding-houses in the city, we found the proverb hold
good, that God gives victuals, and the devil sends cooks.
How can a woman make pies who never saw a pump-
kin? How can she make cakes who never saw buck-
wheat?—The daughter was a big, masculine, single
lady, about thirty-five years of age; she, however,
had a child; but where she got it I know not, as I
never could find that she had a husband. This child
took sick. On the morning after it had been ill four or
five days, I was nearly falling into a deep pit, just as
I was going to step out of doors. This pit had been
dug by the hogs the night previous. When this was
discovered, the child was given up for lost; there was
NEW ACQUAINTANCES.
39
Next
nothing but weeping, lamentation, and wo.
night it died; and the hogs were set down as the true
prognosticators of its death.
You will observe, that Crown Street (now Liberty
Street) was not paved where the house No. 100 now
stands; it was only a sand-bank at this early period.
The rage for moving up town had just commenced;
so, on the 1st of November, our good landlady and
her big daughter, with a Dutch carman's cart-load of
movables, took their departure for St. James's Street,
and left us to seek new lodgings.
On reflection, I think the three months I resided
at No. 100, Liberty Street, was the only period that I
spent in America in what I may call boyish amuse-
ments. The school for the children belonging to the
Society of Friends was kept in a small building, on
the spot where the meeting-house now stands. Brown,
afterwards Gen. Brown, who bore a conspicuous part
in what was termed the northern campaign (in 1812 or
1813), was at that time their teacher. The boys be-
fore school-hours assembled in our nail-shop, where
they used to warm themselves, and amuse away their
spare time by feeding a young monkey that I had pro-
cured from a Portuguese vessel, and kept in the shop.
They always brought nuts and apples enough to sup-
ply the wants of Jacko and his master too. By this
means I formed an acquaintance with many of those
young lads, who are now useful and respectable men
of business in our city; but, as will be seen in the se-
quel, I was soon to be occupied with more important
matters than feeding monkeys and cracking nuts.
It has always been my custom to rise early; and as
40
GRANT THORBURN.
the house in which I slept was on the right-hand side
in Liberty, a few rods below Lumber Street, where
No. 100 now stands, I kept on that side going and
coming from work. I observed almost every morning,
just as I had crossed from Dash's corner,* coming up
from Greenwich Street, and set my foot on the pave-
ment of the south corner of Broadway and Liberty
Street, that a young woman, apparently from Nassau
Street, met me exactly at the same spot. At first I
thought nothing of this; but the same thing continuing
many days, I began to think, What can this young
woman be doing up so early every morning? Often
the clock struck five as I crossed Broadway- observe,
this was in August and September-she always turned
the corner, and walked down Broadway towards the
Battery. There was nothing about her that struck me
with any other sentiment than curiosity at the circum-
stance of meeting her always on the same spot, and at
so early an hour. Sometimes I would stop for a mo-
ment, and look after her. She was rather tall, about
five feet seven inches high, and slender made; her
face was pale, with sometimes a slight tinge of red on
the cheek, as if occasioned by a hectic fever: I
thought I could read melancholy in her countenance.
Her carriage was very erect, with a slow solemn step,
somewhat like an old war-worn soldier walking senti-
nel before the tent of his general, and meditating on
the scenes and dangers he had passed. As was the
*Mr. John B. Dash lived on the west corner of Liberty Street
and Broadway, where he kept the most extensive retail hardware
store in New York. It is still occupied for the same purpose in
1833.
CURIOSITY EXCITED.
41
fashion at that time, she wore a small black beaver
hat, with two cords on each side to turn up the rim,
just enough to shew the ears; her flaxen hair, which
was long, was turned up in a broad fold, the extreme
ends under the hat, and the broad fold resting between
the shoulders; her other dress was neat and plain, and
denoted neither poverty nor riches.
We still continued to meet and pass each other at
the same time and spot; I satisfying myself with the
conjecture that she was a tailoress or mantua-maker,
and rose thus early to walk on the Battery for the
benefit of her health, before going to work.
One day, about the middle of October, when at
work in the lower part of the yard, I observed a num-
ber of people in the street, looking earnestly towards
Broadway.* Curiosity led me to inquire the cause;
* About this time (October 1794) they were putting the roof
on the City Hotel-this is the first roof that was slated in Ame-
rica. When they came to put on the slates, they were at a stand
-slate-nails were not in the city, as they had never before been
wanted; the American nail-makers had never made such a nail,
for there was no demand for them; (there is an art in making
the slate-nail, known only to those who have learned it.) In
this dilemma, they heard of my brother and I; the builder was a
Scotchman, and knew we could make slate-nails. They applied
to us to know at how much per thousand we would make them;
we promised to answer next day. In the mean time, my brother
and I consulted on what we then thought the principles of equity
and justice; we spoke of $1 per thousand, but concluded this
was too much, and so fixed the price at 93 3-4 cents per thousand.
I often since have smiled at our squeamish simplicity; had we
charged $2 per thousand it would not have been too much. It
was a good day's work to make a thousand, and, when we had
the trade and price in our hands, $2 per day was nothing extra-
42
GRANT THORBURN.
and at the next door stood a hearse, and I was in-
formed there was to be a burial. Not having seen
such a thing in this country, I stopped a few minutes;
the corpse was brought out, followed by an elderly
lady and this same young woman. I then asked a
neighbour who they were; and was informed that was
the wife and daughter of the man who was going to be
buried; that they were poor, but respected by their
neighbours; and the chief support of the family was
the daughter, by her needle. With her light-coloured
hair, black hat, mourning dress, and pale countenance,
she appeared to my mind as resembling one of those
Eastern ladies, who, having offended their tyrant-lord,
are bled to death, and just on the point of fainting be-
fore they draw their last breathing sigh.
We continued to meet, turning the corner, early in
the morning as usual; but a wish never entered my
mind to speak to her. On the last of October we had
not yet got a place to board; we did not like to board
where there was a number kept, for fear of bad com-
pany; and not wishing to go far from our shop, we
found some difficulty in being suited. At my work,
in the afternoon of that day, I was ruminating on what
was best to be done, as we knew not where we were
to lodge. On the next day, at once the burial that
took place next door came into my mind; I thought
with myself thus: The widow is poor, the daughter is
of age, they must have had two beds while the husband
lived; now the mother and daughter may sleep in one,
ordinary. However, my eye-teeth were not then cut; I found
out since, that every one has his price, and makes the best of any
advantage that circumstances may put in his power.
CHANGE OF ABODE.
43
and perhaps they may board and lodge us, to assist
them in getting a living. While I was thus ruminating,
J. Powell, a coach-maker, who hired in the under part
of the same house, came in, as he was wont of an
evening, to see us work at nail-making: I told him our
situation, and asked if he thought we could get board
up stairs, in the house where he lived. After consult-
ing, he went and made the inquiry; the report being
favourable, we carried our chest, and entered our new
abode next day, being the 1st of Nov. 1794. They
lived next door to our workshop, being No. 72, Liberty
Street. When my brother and I had pulled our large
chest up stairs, and landed it in the attic story, where
we were to sleep, thinks I to myself, It's a stirring
place this New York; here we have been little more
than four months, and already lived in three different
families, and all by their, not our movements!
In the latter end of 1794, Mr. Jay arrived with the
famous British Treaty; Congress being then in session,
it was submitted to their consideration. As Washing-
ton and Hamilton, and most of the worthies who had
risked their lives and staked their all, and had just
achieved their country's independence, thought it was
for the good of the nation, it was on the point of be-
coming a law; but the hod-men, and the ash-men, and
the clam-men, thought otherwise: accordingly a meet-
ing was called at 4 P.M., in front of the old City
Hall, at the head of Broad Street, to settle this mo-
mentous question. Having never seen a meeting of the
sovereign people in a free country, I was anxious to
attend; and, that I might have a fair view, and be out
of harm's way, I got perched on a branch of that large
44
GRANT THORBURN.
spreading tree that graced the corner of Broad and
Wall Streets, since the days when the Dutch negroes
used to dance and crack eggs in the ferry-house, cor-
ner of Garden and Broad Streets.* Long before the
hour the broad space was filled with the motley group:
there was the Irish (patriot) labourer, his face powdered
with lime, shirt-sleeves torn or rolled up to his shoul-
ders, came rattling up with his iron-shod brogues; and
the clam-men were there; and the boat-men were there;
and the oyster-men were there; and the ash-men were
there; and the cart-men were there, and their horses
were there-and the horses appeared to possess more
sound sense than their masters; for the horses loved and
licked the hand that fed them, but these ignorant cart-
men knew not Him in whom they live, move, and have
their being. The mob filled the large space, down Broad
as far as Garden Street, down Wall Street as far as the
* This venerable relic of old times was cut down a few years
ago, by some unfeeling blockhead, to make room for a vault
wherein to store Yankee rum-pity but the temperance societies
had been in existence sooner—and, as if to add insult to their
cruelty, it was cut down in the month of May, when in full leaf.
I passed as they had just turned its roots up to the sun, and its
branches and green leaves were strewed in the gutter. I could
not help wishing a curse on every rum-cask that should usurp its
place, hoping they might burst and scald the worms, instead of the
livers of men. How often have I stood, thirty years ago, and
listened to the stories of those three Dutch worthies, (the last of the
Mohicans,) Doctor Anthon, C. W. Ham, and J. Nithcie, smoking
their pipes in a summer's evening under its shade, and bringing
back the days of the Negro Plot, when they burned the negroes
for confessing they set fire to the city, and burned others for their
obstinacy if they would not confess that they set fire to the city.
-[See Records of Historical Society.]
A PUBLIC MEETING.
45
They
Mechanics' Bank, and up as far as New Street.
rolled to and fro, like the waves of the sea. On the
corner (then occupied as a watch-house, but now by
friend Burtsell as a blank-book store) stood a group,
say eight or ten, respectable-looking characters: com-
passion was painted on their face, and pity shone from
their swimming eyes. They looked on the multitude like
affectionate fathers, beholding with sorrow the frantic
tricks of their erring children. At the time I knew
none of them, but afterwards learned that among them
was Gen. Hamilton, Colonels Varick, Giles, &c. men
who had just sheathed their swords, and wiped the dust
and sweat from their brows, after having gained their
country's freedom. On the steps of the City Hall
(for these men had usurped the place of justice) stood
another group of cold, calculating, sinister-looking
faces. In their countenances and eyes you could read
deeds, and plans of deep, dark, and daring political
intrigue. I knew none of them; but their impression
is stamped to this hour on my memory. A tall fellow
got up and called the assembly to order- he might as
well have told Bunker's Hill to be removed to the deeps
of Montaug Point; he then proposed Mr.
as
chairman; he then took out a paper and read some-
thing which neither he nor any one else understood;
he then got some one to second the motions; he then
said, if any one wished to speak, he might say on. In
those days there stood a small house, with its gable-
end to the street (No. 3 or 5, Broad Street), it had a
high stoop, and was occupied by J. Babb, who made
iron-cages wherein to confine tame birds. On this stoop
General Hamilton stood up; his clear, full voice
D 2
46
GRANT THORBURN.
sounded like music over the heads of the rabble, and
they stood still for some minutes; he lowered himself
from the pedestal of his natural eloquence, and spoke
in language simple, plain, and suited to the capacity
of his hearers. His words were truths, and they un-
derstood them; they were cut to the heart, and they
gnashed on him with their teeth: violent hands were
laid on him in the midst of his speech-he was dragged
from the stoop and hustled through the street! Yes,
Americans, with all your boasted pride, you looked
quietly on, and saw your Hamilton, the right-hand
swordsman of Washington, gagged and dragged through
the street by the swinish multitude-a set of Scotch,
English, French, and Irish political renegadoes, looking
down from the tree on the scene below! Thought I
to myself, what a fine thing democracy is in theory!—
Death has wofully thinned the ranks of those fellows
since that day. Whilst they lived, they continued
scratching one another's eyes, and pulling out their
hair. The few that are left continue in their track,
each one trying who shall be uppermost-who shall be
king; and this is what they call the beautiful simpli-
city of a republican government. Simple enough in
all conscience it is; but wherein lies the beauty of the
thing I have not been able to discover. To return:
when the uproar had ceased, Mr. Longfellow roared
out, "All you who approve of adjourning to the bowling-
green, to assist in burning the British treaty, will please
to say aye." The sound of the ayes shook the very
dungeon of the watch-house-the treaty was burned,
while the Irishmen danced the White-boys' march, and
the Frenchmen sung Dan sa la Carmanoll; the boat-
RETIREMENT OF THE MOB.
47
men, the clam-men, the hod and the oyster-men, retired
to the grog-shops around the Whitehall, while the horses
and the cart-men assembled at the cellar-doors around
the Coffee-house Slip. Thus ended the first practical
lesson I had ever seen of republican simplicity.
48
CHAPTER III.
Became acquainted with my future Wife-Commence Trading-
Marriage-Account of the Yellow Fever in 1798.
Ar this period I had not the most distant idea of
settling in this country, but intended to return as soon
as I had earned money sufficient to carry me back;
but in this, as well as in every important period of my
life, God was leading me, as one that was blind, in a
way that I knew not; and though I had often noticed
the young woman who was destined to be my wife, yet
neither now, nor at any former period, had I the most
distant wish to court her acquaintance.*
We were quite at home in our new lodging; our land-
lady, Mrs. Sickles, being a sensible, obliging, motherly
woman, and her daughter, about our own age, ap-
peared to us like a sister. We found her anxious about
the salvation of her soul, a constant attendant on the
preaching of the Methodists, but perfectly ignorant on
the subject of man's ruin by the fall, and of the way of
salvation by Christ. Having been instructed from our
infancy in the doctrines of the Bible, we endeavoured
to point out to her the path which we thought was right.
I soon perceived that she preferred my company and
My wish to board there was merely for convenience, being
next house to our workshop; I had not then the most distant
thought of courting her acquaintance.
MY FUTURE WIFE REBECCA.
49
conversation on these subjects to that of my brother's ;
this made me more industrious to repay her partiality;
and she being anxious to learn, we spent all our leisure
hours in the pleasant task.* She now attended with
us on the preaching of the great Dr. Mason. By the
blessing of God on these means, she got a sight of her
* As one instance of the respect she paid to my opinions, I
will state the following:-A young man, a friend of her's, called
one Saturday afternoon, and asked her mother if she would per-
mit Rebecca to go with him on a sailing party to-morrow (Sunday).
Shortly after, Rebecca came in; her mother told her of her cousin's
proposal; her reply was, " But what will Grant say to that ?" The
same evening, while at tea, the old lady repeated the matter, and
added, that Rebecca wished to know what Grant would say to
that-(Rebecca blushed). Says I, "Grant is not Rebecca's mas-
ter; she has a right to act as she pleases; but remember, almost
every Monday's paper brings an account of some pleasure-boat
being upset and persons drowned; so, if Rebecca has made up her
mind, and is willing to go from a pleasure-boat into eternity (and
maybe into hell), instead of being in church on Sabbath, I have
nothing to say." No more was said on that subject. The next
morning came the cousin in full dress; I said nothing; she would
not go; he kicked up a great dust; the bell was ringing, and
she and I walked to church. I felt pleased, said nothing, but
afterwards pondered the matter in my heart. This to me, how-
ever, was a triumph more pure and holy than ever conqueror
felt who had murdered millions. I thought I had snatched a
beautiful creature from the ways of destruction; and also, I saw
in it that I was gaining ground in her good opinion —a thing
which pleased me much, though, for the life of me, at that moment
I could not give a reason why; but in this way Providence was
causing our hearts to approximate the point where separation is
impossible. We entered the church, and sat down in our humble
pew in the gallery-she, happy under the approbation of con-
science, and I more proud and happy than ever monarch felt on
entering Westminster Hall on the day of his coronation.
50
GRANT THORBURN.
state by nature, and of her deliverance in Jesus; and
found that rest in Him which He gives to all the weary
and heavy-laden that come to Him.
About the end of the year 1796 she joined the
church in Cedar Street, Dr. Mason being minister of the
same; and was then and there, for the first time, bap-
tised. It was on the Friday evening preparatory to the
administration of the Lord's Supper. That important
event deranged all my late plans, and gave a new im-
pulse to my future actions. Before this, my every
exertion was bent to forward the projects I had in view
of returning again to my father's house; but in a mo-
ment my resolution was taken to gain the affections of
this young woman, or fly this country for ever.
As I felt a deep interest on the occasion, considering
myself an instrument in the hands of God in bringing
it about, I took my seat in church, where I might get
a correct view of what passed-when I saw her tall,
slender, erect frame, with slow and measured step, move
up the middle aisle, dressed in a white muslin robe,
plain made, but neat and clean. When I saw her stand
composed in the face of a vast congregation, and give
the regular and distinct tokens of assent to the vows of
God laid upon her by Dr. Mason in a most solemn and
affecting tone of voice, while the congregation seemed
hushed in the stillness of death- when I saw her untie
the black riband under her chin, that held on her hat,
while the minister was descending from the pulpit to
administer the ordinance-when I saw her hands hang-
ing straight by her sides, one holding her black beaver
hat, and the other a white handkerchief—when I saw
her turn up her face to heaven, and shut her eyes, as
DECLARATION OF LOVE.
51
the minister was going to pour the consecrated sign-
when I saw her wipe the pearly drops, I thought her face
shone like the face of an angel; and I swore in my heart
that, by the help of the Lord, nothing on earth but death
should part us. When we returned home, she laid aside
her hat, and stood before the glass adjusting her hair. I
stood at a short distance behind her, looking over her
shoulder; observing my eyes fixed on her face, she
turned round and remarked, she might thank me, as
the instrument under God, for what had come to pass
this night. I replied, God can take a feeble worm in
his hand, and with it thresh the mountains, and make
them fine as chaff. I then told her when and where I
first saw her, and the providential manner in which God
had brought us acquainted, and added, if it was His
will, I hoped nothing but death should part us; and
repeating the words of Ruth to Naomi, I said, "Entreat
me not to leave thee; where thou goest I will go, where
thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my God." Here was my decla-
ration; but the battle was yet to be fought; she looked
with pity and concern in my face, and turned away
with a sigh. Before I could ask the meaning of that
sigh, the door opened, her mother and my brother en-
tered. When, next evening, I learned the cause of this
sigh, it awakened all my fears-it was occasioned, she
said, by the pain it would give me, when she was
obliged to let me know that she had been addressed by
a young man for nearly two years, and was all but
engaged. As I had seen this young man only two or
three times in the house, I had no thoughts of his being
a rival. I found he was a man of property, owned two
52
GRANT THORBURN.
houses, viz. the house on the south corner of Liberty
Street and Broadway, and the house adjoining the cor-
ner, both fronting on Broadway; one himself occupied
as a jewellery store, which was well stocked with goods.
At this time he was computed to be worth $50,000.
Says I," Rebecca, and why don't you marry him?"
Says she, "I can't tell ; * I can't make up my mind.”
What a temptation for a poor girl and her mother,
whose property, perhaps, would not amount to $100!
and how hopeless for me to contend with such a man!
I, a poor stranger and a nailer, who, with hard working,
could scarcely earn 75 cents a-day! He came in the
name of his god (the world) making offers of settlement
on her and her relations; my trust was in the name of
Him who has all hearts in his hands, and can turn them
as easy as he turns the gentle flowing stream. The fifth
and six verses of the third chapter of Proverbs was now
my counsellor.
About this time, in the spring of 1796, my brother
not being in good health, we hired a small store, having
saved about one hundred dollars; we laid it out in
small hardware, and got fifty dollars' worth more on
credit, consisting of pins, needles, scissors, knives, &c.
My brother was to attend the store, while I was to
make nails to support us both. When I began to place
our hundred and fifty dollars' worth of goods on the
shelves, I found they would make a very poor appear-
ance; and as I was just beginning to find out that
* I had confidence, from previous observations, in connexion
with her present answer, "I can't tell," that our marriage was
registered in heaven, and if so, that all the powers on earth, and
all the devils in hell, could not prevent it.
STOCKING A STORE.
53
appearances went a great way in this world, I procured
a number of brick-bats and round sticks of wood: the
wood I sawed in lengths, and covered it with iron-
mongers' paper, having one shaving-box or snuff-box
attached to one end. These, when laid on the shelves,
occupied the space, and appeared to be six, twelve, or
twenty-four boxes, just as the size may be; a brick-bat
thus covered, having a knife and fork outside, looked
as well on the shelf as two dozen real ones; so on with
scissors, &c. &c., till the shelves were decently filled,
and the store made a respectable appearance. I pro-
cured a glass-case to stand on the counter, in which I
kept four, six, or eight of a sort for retailing; and as
they sold off, I procured half-a-dozen more by whole-
sale; so I had no occasion to discompose my brick-
bats nor wood blocks. By mistake, I had tied a round
shaving-box on a brick; a slikie old Scotchman, who
used to step in for a crack, observed it. "Ay, man,"
says he, "but ye hae unco queer things here: wha ever
saw a square shaving-box?" I let him into the secret;
we had a good laugh. Says he, "Ye're an auld-farrant
chap; na doobt but ye'll do very well in this country."
My brother got tired of attending store, and went off to
Philadelphia. I was now in great trouble; we were
beginning to make some pennies by the store, and did
not like to give it up; neither did I like to give up my
nail-making, for this was sure. So I resolved to push
my courtship, calculating, that if I got married, I
would have a shopkeeper of my own; but if not, to sell
off and leave the city; for I could not live in New
York and see her the wife of another; and in the mean
time continued to keep both. For this end I arose at
54
GRANT THORBURN.
and
four o'clock A. M., and made nails till eight; opened
store at eight; staid in till eight P. M.; shut up,
went to nail-making till twelve: thus getting scant four
hours' sleep in the twenty-four. My nail-shop window
opened into the yard of the house where I boarded,
and where my girl lived. She used to come to the
window; I helped her in, where she staid sewing or
knitting till midnight; I working and courting, thus
killing two birds with one stone.
One day about this time, when I thought my pro-
spects were very discouraging on this subject, which
then lay nearest my heart, as I was working with my
hands, my mind and heart were going out to Him who
knows our thoughts before they are uttered, I prayed
that he would give me success in this matter, if agree-
able to his will, or enable me to support the disappoint-
ment, if He, in his holy and wise providence, should
order otherwise. These words, as if whispered by some
invisible being, were spoken on my heart: "He will
fulfil the desire of them that fear him." In searching
for these texts some days after, I found them in Psalm
cxlv. and Psalm xxxvii. 4, 5,-" Delight thyself in the
Lord, and he shall give thee the desire of thy heart;
commit thy way to him, and he will bring it to pass.'
After this I continued my suit with an inward confidence
of success, though all her relations (except her mother)
were in favour of her rival; and in the month of June
1797 we were married. Mrs. Lindsay, that mother of
Israel in our church wife of George Lindsay, long a
respectable stone-cutter in this city, whom my wife had
made her confidant, knowing we were engaged, pro-
posed that we should get married at her house, as she
IS MARRIED.
55
said, to keep things quiet and prevent expense, know-
ing our stock was small. On the evening appointed,
she invited Dr. Mason and his lady, two young women
(distant relations, who lived in her house), Mrs. Sickles
and her daughter (my intended), Mr. Lowndes and
myself, to drink tea at eight o'clock P. M. As I always
liked to save time, this arrangement exactly met my
ideas; I stuck to my hammer till the usual hour of seven
o'clock, joined the company at eight, drank tea, was
married, and got home before ten o'clock. The room
we lived in was six feet by twelve; our furniture was a
bed and bedstead, one pine-table (value of fifty cents),
three Windsor chairs, a soup-pot, tea-kettle, six cups
and saucers, a griddle, frying-pan, and brander. It was
enough it was all we wanted; we were all the world
to one another. Now we have carpets to shake, brasses
to scour, stairs to scrub, mahogany to polish, china to
break, servants to scold; and what does it all amount
to? For your own necessity, one bed, one cup, one
knife and fork, table, and chair, is enough.
Our
Our room, though small, was neat and clean
furniture, though scant, was sufficient for all our wants,
and every article in its place. She laid her hat on the
pine-table, which was covered with a white napkin :
"Now, Rebecca," says I, "here we enter on a new
stage of life's journey, which will terminate only by the
death of one of us." I told her, that ever since the day
I first resolved to gain her affections, or fly the country,
I had felt a confidence in my heart that she would be
mine; she replied, that from the day we first met under
her humble roof, there was something to which she
could not give a name, that induced her to do what she
56
GRANT THORBURN.
thought I would like, and to abandon any project when
she found it met not my approbation.*
In this manner we sat (seen by no eye but His who
sees the heart), conversing and taking sweet counsel
together, till the setting moon gave note of time; we
then, with our arms round each other's neck, bent our
knees before the throne of mercy, and craved a blessing
from Him whose blessing only can make rich and add
no sorrow and He heard us. It is a very sober,
Scotch, presbyterian sort of a wedding, indeed, say
some of those fools whose senseless, noisy mirth, on
these serious occasions, resembles the crackling of
thorns under the pot; but these men know nothing of
the depth of pleasure that is felt by a thankful heart
when pouring out itself before God. I felt more rich
and more happy in receiving this precious gift from the
hand of her heavenly Father, than had I received her
from the hand of a miser on earth, and with her all his
hoards of gold. Besides, these men know not, nor can
they understand, the meaning of that beautiful senti-
ment of Young-
"Religion never was design'd
To make our pleasures less;"
it gives a zest to them, on the contrary, such as none
of those play-house bawlers nor ball-room fools can
ever conceive, till they taste for themselves. The fire
which begins with a vehement flame is soonest reduced
to ashes.
It may be well to observe, that my brother was not
* See page 49, about her cousin wishing her to go to Long
Island on Sunday, as an instance.
EXPERIENCE BOUGHT DEARLY.
57
able to be present at our marriage, as he was at this
time residing in Philadelphia.
About the period that I first commenced business,
the following occurrence took place, which made a
lasting and beneficial impression on my mind. Having
been to the market, on returning home, I was met by a
friend at the corner of the street, who stopped me for
about ten minutes, conversing about the weather, and
other matters of little import. When I got home, my
wife informed me that Mr. Carter had been in, and
wished to pay his bill, but, as she could not find a re-
ceipt, he said he would call again. That night he dis-
appeared with his family, and I believe was never again
seen in New York; so I lost the thirty dollars. Now I
did not so much blame the man, for his intentions, to
me at least, appeared to be honest; but I blamed myself
for standing at the corner of the street when I ought to
have been in my store, to have given him the receipt,
and so have gotten my money. Now, though it is
more than thirty years since this took place, and I still
think on it with regret, yet perhaps it has been the
means of saving me hundreds; for never since have I
stopped in the street to converse about news and wea-
ther: "No," says I to my friend; "if you wish to talk,
come along with me to my store, and talk all day, if
you please; I shall then be able to wait on whoever
calls." Now I appeal to the memory of every man of
business, when, after having stood in the street talking
nonsense for half an hour, if he has not often found, on
entering his place of business, that some one called
whose face he much wished to see,-and, peradventure,
he never had another opportunity.
58
GRANT THORBURN.
A circumstance occurred at this time, which (as I
could never understand what was meant by any thing
coming by chance) I have always viewed as a particular
providence. About eight days before our marriage I
was walking down Courtlandt Street, with the intention.
of arranging with Dr. Mason the time and place for our
marriage (this was before I knew of Mrs. Lindsay's
plan); being on the opposite side of the street to where
the house stood, I observed Mr. Castelli knocking at
the door. As I knew he was informed we were soon to
be married—and report said he took on like a crazy
I slackened pace, and seeing him go in, con-
cluded to call next day, as I had no doubt his business
was someway connected with the affair I was going on.
Next day when I called, Dr. Mason told me he had
cried like a child, and wanted him to use his influence to
put off the match, &c., and added he was sorry for the
man, as he was evidently in a state of derangement.
As I said before, I considered this a kind of providence
in so ordering my time; for, had I been two minutes
sooner, we would have met in the house, which would
have been rather a ludicrous, if not a more serious
affair, as he had sworn in his frenzy to shoot me when-
ever we met. Certain it is, that when he heard we
were married, he attempted to destroy himself, and was
only prevented by the kind attention of his neighbours,
who took turns in watching him for several days and
nights. He often exclaimed, had she only married a
gentleman, he would have thought nothing of it; but
to refuse him, and take a poor black nail-maker, was
more than flesh and blood could bear. At last he
got over the frenzy, and went and married a poor girl,
TURNS NURSE.
59
after a few days' courtship. In a few years he died,
leaving one daughter and the widow heirs to his pro-
perty.
As this history looks so much like romance, I will
mention the names of James Anderson and Abraham
Brouwer, two of his respectable next-door neighbours,
who are still alive,* and can attest the facts. Indeed,
most of the neighbours for three or four blocks round
were witnesses of part of the scene, as it was the town-
talk for many days. Observe, the town was not so
large in those days-twenty-eight years ago.
It was in one of our seasons of yellow fever, about
this time, there came to my house a young man just
out of the ship from Britain; he was the very picture
of life, health, and simplicity; as he was not overbur-
dened with sovereigns, and could not travel further,
and as my house stood in what was called a healthy
situation, I took him in, in hopes of keeping him out
of the way of the fever till times revived, and he might
get into employment. However, before many days,
the fever took violent hold of him. I procured an
able physician, and nursed him myself. On the third
day his rosy cheeks wore a crimson hue; his white
forehead was as yellow as gold dust from North Caro-
lina; the burning fever was galloping through his
veins, and drinking up his British blood: he fastened a
pitiful eye on my face. "Oh," says he, " Mr. Thorburn,
I will die." (I verily believe, had I assented to his
proposition, he would have died.) Says I, "I know
you will die, but it won't be this week." (I spoke un-
* Alive in 1831; since dead, in 1833.
**
60
GRANT THORBURN.
advisedly, but I thought the end here would justify the
means.) This was on Monday morning. Says he,
"Do you really think I can live a week in this situation?"
Says I, "You don't need to live a week in that situation ;
you will be better to-morrow." He was then under the
operation of powerful medicine. I knew, as soon as
it ceased, he would feel at ease, and so might easily
be persuaded to consider himself as half recovered.
Shortly after, he dropped asleep, and slept soundly for
three hours. On waking, he was so much better, that
he really put faith in my prophecy. Taking advan-
tage of his good opinion, I pointed to him the many
advantages a good, sober mechanic enjoyed in this
country over his own-(he was home-sick withal)-
predicted what I expected to see him arrive at, if we
lived a few years, &c. I have lived to see it fulfilled
before my eyes.
There are not many richer, nor
many more respected mechanics in our city; he still
lives, and looks on his children's children, even the
first and second generation. Besides all this, he has
manufactured such a quantity of patent presses, that
he has enabled the printers to throw an extraordinary
blaze of light into every dark nook and corner of this
highly favoured country.
We went to housekeeping in a small wooden build-
ing, No. 22, Nassau Street, having only a ground-
floor; this I partitioned off into a store, kitchen, and
bed-room, which also served for our parlour. Here
we lived in peace and happiness-here, on the 22d of
September, 1798, our only child was born. On that
memorable day, sixty-three persons died of yellow
fever in the city. On this occasion, and through the
THE YELLOW FEVER OF 1798.
61
whole prevalence of that dreadful calamity, I have to
record the preserving goodness and mercy of God.
The fever commenced about the middle of July, and
on the 12th of August it seemed to rage with tenfold
fury; the inhabitants began to fly, and in a few days
the city seemed nearly forsaken. We, having no
friends in the country to fly to, and not having money
to support us there in idleness, concluded it was our
duty to remain, and trust God with our lives and con-
cerns. My employer, George Cleland, before he re-
moved from town, laid in for me a stock of iron and
coals, and told me to make and sell the nails, if I was
able, as all the hardware stores in the lower parts of
the city were shut up. My chief employment now was
to make and sell nails for coffins.*
The first alarm of the yellow fever was given on the
26th of July, 1798. By the 15th of August, fourteen
cases were reported to have terminated fatally. By
the 25th the excitement was terrible; the city was all
commotion. Every vehicle, from the humble dung-
cart to the gilded carriage, was now in requisition, re-
moving families, furniture, and goods—the old man of
eighty, with the stripling of one year, the lame, the halt,
and the blind, all crowding the boats, the lanes, and
outlets from the city, fear quickening their pace, and
the destroying angel at their heels. Hundreds of them
By referring to the printed records of that time, I find that
above three hundred died of the yellow fever in the course of that
week, viz. from the 15th to the 22d, the day on which my first-
born opened his eyes on the light. At that time the city con-
tained about 50,000 inhabitants, 30,000 of whom were supposed
to have fled; so that sixty-three deaths in twenty-four hours, in
a population of 20,000, must have been a dreadful mortality.
E
62
GRANT THORBURN.
died in the towns and villages around; but not one
instance occurred of any inhabitant of Albany, Bergen,
or Brooklyn, ever being seized by this, as it was called,
infectious disease. About this time, many instances
like the following came under my notice: :-A A respect-
able shoemaker, living at the corner of Pine and Front
Streets, removed with his wife and younger children.
His son, about twenty-one, and a confidential towns-
man of mine, and an old coloured woman, requested
permission to stay, as they said they were not afraid of
the fever. In a few days all three were taken sick.
The journeyman was my townsman-I was intimate in
the families. I procured a doctor and nurse, and gave
what attention I could. On the fifth day the son
died; early next morning I found the house locked
up and the key gone. I made an entry through a
lower window-the nurse had fled, and took some of
the small movables by way of compensation.
black woman had rolled from her bed in the agonies
of death, and was lying on the floor: being unable to
lift her, I put a pillow under her head, covered her
body with a sheet, and entered the next room, where
my friend lay, his eyes closing fast in the sleep of
death. In two hours the woman died: I procured a
hearse, and watched by my friend till eight P.M., when
he also died. At the same time, a young man of my
acquaintance lay at No.-, Liberty Street, in the same
situation; I nursed him- he recovered.
- he recovered. Corner of
Dover and Water Streets lay three brothers-I pro-
cured a doctor-a nurse I could not find. When the
doctor entered, and saw one laid on a mattrass on the
floor, one on a cot, in the same room, and one on a
The
A MOURNFUL PROCESSION.
63
He
bed in another room, he seemed struck with fear. He
asked if there was any fire in the house? I procured
some. He lit a cigar, and smoked most profusely. He
proposed bleeding; I took the basin, but for some
minutes his hand trembled so, that he could not strike
the vein. When finished, I went with him to the door.
Says he," You run a great risk.” Says I, "There is no
retreating." This was on Monday the 17th Sept.
called next day-Wednesday and Thursday he did
not appear. I called at his house on Friday about ten
o'clock A.M., and was informed, that his corpse was
now on the road to Potter's Field. Next morning, the
22d September, the elder brother died, aged twenty-
two; the younger ones recovered. The doctor's name
was Brooks, and kept his office in Cherry Street. Re-
turning at eleven o'clock P.M. from visiting my patients,
the night was dark; a thick wetting mist was falling;
the lamps twinkled just enough to shew darkness vi-
sible. Descending the hill, from the corner of Dover
Street, in Pearl, I met two hearses with the dead, one
was issuing out of Peck Slip, the other coming out
from Ferry Street. They turned up Pearl, towards
Chatham Street, on their way to Potter's Field. Each
hearse had a driver and an assistant, with a lantern
between their feet sitting in front. Being heavily laden,
they drove slowly up the hill; the wheels and springs
creaked and groaned under the weight of dead mor-
tality. The drivers sat dumb as mutes; the pale
light of their lanterns flickering across their stupid,
unmeaning countenances, theirs looked as white as
did the face of Samuel, just peering out of the grave,
when called by the witch of Endor from thé mansions
64
GRANT THORBURN.
of the dead. I thought, what a fine subject this for
such a pencil as West's, to make a second edition of
Death on the Pale Horse !
Sabbath, 15th September. -All the churches down
town known by the name of orthodox and reformed
being shut up, the poor who could not fly were very
glad to pick what little crumbs of gospel comfort they
could find in the good old church of the Trinity, which
was open every Sabbath. As the bell was tolling for
afternoon service, Mr. Johnson and his wife, and myself
and wife (we had all been married within the year),
were walking among the tombs; as we turned the east
corner (right under what now is Bliss, the bookseller's
window), Mrs. J., who was a lively girl, turned her
husband round, and exclaimed, in a sort of playful
manner, “ J., if I die of the fever, you must bury me
there," pointing to the spot. Next day she was re-
ported; and on Friday, the 21st, we buried her there!
and there you may see her grave-stone until this
day. I was told the other day, that it is in contem-
plation to run Pine Street through the churchyard to
Greenwich Street; if so, the grave, the story, and the
stone, will be lost, as Harper says, in eternal oblivion;
except some good-natured printer gives it a place in
his Spectator, where it may remain on his dusty shelves
as long as moths grow and worms run. Very many
fell a sacrifice to the fever for want of proper attend-
ance about this time, especially among those who
were left in charge of their masters' houses. Rela-
tions, and sometimes acquaintances, would attend one
another; but many died unknown and unlamented.
At the corner of
Street and Broadway, a re-
WANT OF CONJUGAL AFFECTION.
65
spectable family removed, leaving a man-servant in
charge of the house. After some days, it was noticed
that he did not appear in the street as usual,—it was
supposed that he had shut up the house and fled: in a
day or two after, a person who had charge of a house
whose windows looked into the yard of said house,
observed a man sitting in a sort of arbour, or summer-
house. He, supposing the man had returned, took no
more notice till next day, when, seeing him still sitting
for hours in the same position, he gave the alarm: the
door was forced, and the man found dead-partly
undressed. In this and subsequent fevers, cats and
in some cases dogs were thoughtlessly left shut up,
to die a cruel death; the streets, also, were swarm-
ing with famishing animals, whose piteous howlings
added much to the distress of the few inhabitants who
were unable to leave the city. In these times, that
tried the souls as well as the bodies of men, I saw
parents fly from their sick children, and children from
their parents, husbands from their wives; but never,
except in one solitary instance, did I see a woman
desert her husband in distress. She, to be sure, was
married to a great lump of a fellow old enough to be
her father—rather a sloven, and apparently a proper
subject for the yellow fever. As soon as he was fairly
reported, she snatched up her youngest child, got on
board a potato-sloop at Peck Slip, and never stopped
till she got out at Stonington light-house, or somewhere
down east; for in a few days thereafter I received a
letter from her, wishing to be informed if her husband
was dead. From the tenor of her letter, I expect she
was wofully disappointed when she received my answer;
E 2
66
GRANT THORBURN.
for he lived to lay her head very quietly in the grave
about three years after. She was a real Yankee, but
I did not think she was a daughter of the Puritans.
I rather supposed she must have sprung from those
lang-sided, corn-fed wenches and whale-killing sailors,
who peopled all that country round Cape Cod ; whereof
you may see a more particular account in Knicker-
bocker's history of those times.
Of all the nostrums in use at this time, the vinegar
of the four thieves was the most sovereign,-a story
was tied to its tail, which insured its character as a
most powerful specific. In 1555, or some other year
either before or after, a dreadful plague raged in Mar-
seilles, in France. The people fled, the city was visited
by no one except four thieves, who daily entered,
robbed the houses, and carried their plunder to the
mountains. The astonished citizens, who had hid
themselves in dens and caves of the earth for fear of
the plague, saw them daily pass and repass with their
ill-gotten gear, and wondered most profoundly why
the plague did not seize them. In process of time,
however, one of these thieves was taken by some of the
man-traps of these days: they were just going to
break him on the wheel, when he said, if they would
spare his life, he would learn them to make the vinegar
of four thieves, by means of which they had escaped
the plague when robbing the city. His request was
granted; and lo! in New York we had it in such pro-
fusion, that it reached to the mouth and nose of most
of the men in the city, though many of them were
above five feet ten inches high; and so powerful was
its effects on some of the venders, that whereas for-
A QUACK DOCTOR.
67
merly they were obliged to plod their way through the
lanes and streets of the city on their legs, they were
now enabled to sit in a carriage, and to be drawn
along by four-footed beasts and creeping things of
the earth. Where they got so much of this thievish
vinegar, I never could find out; but I strongly suspect
it was made from crab-apples by some of those Hack-
ensack farmers in the Jerseys. Be this as it may, you
could hardly meet a man in the street but had a bottle
at his nose, till their nose-points and upper lips were
tanned as brown as the sole of a new-made boot. As
for the few women who were left, they contented
themselves by stuffing their brains with Scotch snuff,
which had quite as good an effect in preventing the
yellow fever.
At this time there was a famous doctor in the city,
by the name of Church. I well remember, on my first
landing, about four years previous, of imbibing a won-
derful antipathy against him, and all patent medicines
- their makers and their sellers throughout the world.
The incident was this: I stepped from the good ship
Providence, in which I had crossed the Atlantic, on
shore at Governeur's wharf, about 7 A. M., camé saun-
tering up the middle of Wall Street (there were few
carts then to obstruct the way); arriving at the old
Federal Hall, where now stands the Custom-House, I
observed a placard about a yard square, and headed
with letters as large as my hand, Scotch Ointment for
the Itch. I was confounded: I rubbed my eyes and
read it again. Says I, it is an abominable lie; for I
never heard of such an ointment in Scotland, nor did
I ever see any use for it there. I stood and looked,
68
GRANT THORBURN.
and reasoned more calmly on the matter.
Says I
to myself, well, this man must make a living by selling
this stuff to somebody; but it is impossible he could
live by rubbing the hides of what few Scotchmen are
here, for I have not met one to-day, as I know of. I
therefore concluded, that here must be collected,
whether homespun or imported, a group of dirty fel-
lows, all scratching and itching for something, other-
wise he could not live among them. So when the
yellow fever commenced, he, amongst the first, came
out with his specifics, his preventives, his pills, and his
purgatives: says I, he shall never get a cent of my
money, die or live. I had not forgot the box of oint-
ment I saw on the wall; but, perhaps, this prejudice
was the means of saving my life; for I verily believe,
had I swallowed one half of the stuffs then recom-
mended, I would not have lived half my days. To con-
clude, this man died and was buried: one of his coun-
trymen (they were Englishmen) composed an epitaph,
which was never published—part of it runs thus :-
"He cured a million of Scotchmen in his day:
Death itch'd for him, and scratch'd the man away."
At this time the post-office was removed, and kept,
during the fever, in the house of Dr. James Tillery,
corner of Broadway and Wall Street. The doctor (a
better never crossed the doors of Edinburgh College)
gave it as his opinion, that there was no danger to be
apprehended by persons out of town coming or sending
for their letters any time from 9 A. M. to sun-down.
As almost every man at this time was his own letter-
carrier, Broadway was pretty well frequented in the
SERVICE AT THE CHURCHES.
69
above hours by persons going to or returning from
the post-office. On Sabbath, too, the episcopal minis-
ters, who had removed to Greenwich and Bloomingdale,
came down, as the bell tolled, on horseback or in a
chair, tied the horse to one of the trees, said their
prayers and read their sermons, and so went home
again; thus they kept their churches open during the
fever of 1798. Dr. P., too, stood like a son of thun-
der, and preached every Sabbath-day in the church in
Ann Street, now occupied by the sons of St. Patrick.
The Methodists, too, in John Street: these sober-sided
old fellows, who almost preach for nothing and find
themselves, stood, as it were, between the living and
the dead. Their church-doors were seldom closed. In
the quietness of the day, and stillness of the night,
their notes of prayer and songs of praise could be
heard for many blocks around. In this there was
something soothing to the poor mortals, who were
standing round the open graves, waiting till death
came behind and pushed them in. But the reformed
and orthodox churches were all shut up. I wondered,
at the time, if the letters of the merchant, or the prayer-
book of the Episcopal, were of more consequence to
them, than preaching to the dry bones and dying
mortals was to the orthodox and reformed ministers.
Now, you may observe, I am not laying down any
fundamental or fixed principle in this matter. I am
telling you what I thought at the time. It brought to
my mind, and I could not help drawing a comparison
with a story which may be found in Harrison's Museum,
printed at No. 3, Peck Slip. It happened about twenty
years before Buonaparte entered Italy; and shewed to
70
GRANT THORBURN.
the world, that the Pope in Rome had no more power
in heaven and earth, nor in the waters under the earth,
than the most weak and sickly of Adam's sons; inas-
much as all the bulls he could muster could not so
much as stop the progress of a single French pistol-
ball. I say it was at this time, when the bishops in
France were believed by the poor ignorant frogs to be
something more than men, that the Bishop of Paris,
after being well fed and well watered (with wine), took
an English nobleman out to shew him his kingdom,
and the glory thereof. He had fine gardens, and fine
green-houses; fine mountains, and fine baths; Brussel
carpets, and beautiful parlours; a beautiful library,
and elegant pictures;-but one thing needful was
wanting, which is a very essential article in comfortable
housekeeping, namely, he had no beautiful wife- this
the canons, these powerful engines of the church, for-
bid. Having seen all these pretty articles, "Ah!" ex-
claimed the nobleman, "what a pity! death will come
and rob you of them all." "Ah!" replied the bishop,
"there's the rub; most willingly would I forego my
seat in Paradise, provided I could retain my place in
Paris." Now, for the life of me, I could not help
thinking, that some of the shepherds of the flock at
that time in New York were exactly, on this point, of
the same opinion with the Bishop of Paris.
71
CHAPTER IV.
Further Account of the Yellow Fever in 1798-Birth of my first
Child-Some Account of the Yellow Fever in 1822.
On the 25th of August, my brother, living in the family
of Rich and Thompson, as their clerk, was taken down
with the prevailing disease. By this time there was
hardly as many in health as were required to take care
of the sick. I considered it my plain duty to assist
the family in attendance on my brother: he recovered;
and on the first day he was able to rise from his bed,
Mr. Rich was taken with the same disease. The family
having paid the same attention to my brother as if he
had been their own child, I thought it my duty to
assist them. About this time, two or three young men
of our acquaintance, who had assisted in sitting up and
attending on my brother, were taken down. When the
families with whom these young men resided removed
to the country, they had been so imprudent as to re-
main in charge of their employers' houses; and when
they were taken sick, there was none in the house to
give them drink. Presuming they might have caught
the disease from my brother, I was doubly bound to
attend them. In one house, corner of Dover and Water
Streets, lay three brothers; in another, corner of Pine
and Front Streets, lay two young men; and one in
No. 65, Liberty Street. Being all without attendance,
I was obliged to go from one to the other, by day and
by night, for three weeks. I still enjoyed good health
72
GRANT THORBURN.
and spirits, for God kept me from all over-anxiety and
fear. My wife expecting every day to be confined, her
mother lived with her for company, as I was most of
my time out attending the sick. At last her mother
got so alarmed, we advised her to go into the country:
I then providentially met with a sensible elderly woman,
and engaged her to live in our house, and to take care
of my wife, whatever might happen. I so arranged
matters, that this woman slept with my wife, and I
fixed my bed in a garret above.*
Often after I went up to bed, have I sat and listened
till I found they were asleep, then taken off my shoes
and gone out softly, and staid with the sick all night;
and they never knew I was gone. Had they known
it, they would not have permitted me to go on any
account whatever. The time was awful and melan-
choly, and our neighbours on the right and on the left
hand had all fled or died. From the 25th of August
to the 22d of September, I was night and day with the
sick; and though, as I said before, my health was good,
yet I was almost worn down with fatigue. By this
time, my friends and acquaintances, whom I was called
in providence to attend, had all got better or died.
On the morning of the 22d, about five o'clock, I buried
the last: he was the oldest of the three brothers I men-
tioned as being sick at the corner of Dover and Water
Streets: the other two recovered. He was only twenty-
* I frequently, at this time, used to see two small boys going
along the streets selling coffins from a little hand-cart. They told
me their father was from England, and then lived in Warren
Street. He and four journeymen made coffins night and day.
They sold them at four dollars each, made of white pine.
BIRTH OF A SON.
four years old when he died.
73
old when he died. Their parents died before
we left Scotland. We came together from the same
town, where we had all sat with our parents in the
same pew in the same church.
When I returned from seeing the remains of my
young friend conveyed to Potter's Field, with five or
six more, in the solitary hearse, my wife and I having
mingled our tears over the early fall of this promising
young man, we joined in our morning prayers, thanking
God for his goodness, and praying for a continuance of
his preserving favour, we took breakfast. I then went
to work, thinking that getting again in my usual way
would soonest cure me from the effects of late fatigue.
At one o'clock (my regular dinner-hour) I came in: I
found my wife in better health and spirits than she
had been for some days, and had been washing a few
things: a Mrs. Hunter, our next-door neighbour, who
removed early in the fever, was also there. I was sur-
prised at meeting her, and asked if she was not afraid.
She answered, that for two or three days she had such
a continual anxiety on her mind about Mrs. Thorburn,
that she could no longer resist her inclination to come
and see her. Mrs. Hunter having fled from the fever,
was at this time living with her sister, about a mile out
of town she was a widow and a mother of children,
and therefore qualified to assist in the emergency at
hand; for, about an hour after dinner, my wife was
taken with pains, and before sun-down my first child
was born.*
* It may be well to remark here, that although Mrs. Hunter
tarried with my wife six days, she returned to her home in the
country, and did not catch the fever. This fact is remarkable, as
F
74
GRANT THORBURN.
Having only one room in my dwelling, I walked
the solitary street from Maiden Lane to Liberty, rumi-
nating on the awful desolation. At length, tired with
anxious suspense, I entered between hope and fear:
my eyes got a glimpse which rivetted my soul. One of
the women sat at the head of the bed, the other at the
foot; every thing had gone well; my wife lay with her
face to the candle, the head of her infant pillowed on
her arm; his eyes open and gazing on the light, as if
wondering what strange world he had entered. With
one of her sweetest smiles, such an one as had long
before won my youthful heart, she said, "Come here,
and see what I have brought you." At that moment
there was not, perhaps, a happier man in the universe.
I had just witnessed so much of God's goodness, that I
had no anxiety for the future.
Let me here observe, how kind and merciful God
ordered the time of this event!-1st. Had it happened
but a few days sooner, some of my patients would have
suffered, as after that I could not leave the house, my
wife having only the old woman to assist her; but, as I
stated above, on the morning of that day I buried the
last I was called on to attend that season. 2d. Hap-
pening in daylight, I considered it a mercy, when we
consider the pestilence that then walked our streets.
3d. Had it happened on one of those nights when I was
out with the sick, the consequence would have been
dreadful, as they knew not of my being from home;
and I looked on the coming of Mrs. H., at that critical
many who returned to the city a month after this took the fever
and died those who had been in the country, and returned
early, seemed more liable to catch the infection.
AFFECTING SCENE.
75
hour, as an angel sent from God to help in time of
need. For although I had first engaged a midwife,
and she had fled — a doctor also; yet, when they were
wanted, they were not to be found: so my wife had no
help but those two women. But, by the help of God,
all was done well.
A circumstance happened the same hour that my
son was born, which will give some idea of the deso-
late state of the city. At that time, in the third house
from where I lived, there boarded a respectable physi-
cian, by the name of Dr. Dingly; the family went to
the country, leaving the doctor and a young man, his
assistant, alone in the house. On the 16th the Doctor
fell sick, was attended by the young man, and visited
by many of his own profession till the 22d; when,
finding he was dying, they ceased coming. When my
wife was in labour I walked out along the street, till I
came to the house where he lay: the street-door being
wide open, I stepped in, and knocked softly. Re-
ceiving no answer, I listened; I thought I heard the
groans and heavy breathing of one dying. Walking
up stairs, I was struck with a sight that might make
one's very eyes weep blood. The doctor, a large man,
was laid on a cot, in the middle of the room; his eyes,
already glazed with the varnish of death, were fixed on
the ceiling, but seemed without meaning; his spacious
chest was heaving with the last struggles of expiring
nature. I spoke he took no notice. Not yet having
seen any person, I called, but received no answer.
a sideboard stood a bottle with some wine, beside it a
large silver spoon; I poured out a few drops. When
the spoon entered his mouth, he seized it with such
On
76
GRANT THORBURN.
force between his teeth as made the spoon sound
through the solitary room: the noise went to my heart
—it rung like the knell of death. I lifted a branch of
weeping willow that lay on the floor, swept the flies
from his face, walked round the cot, put up a prayer
for his soul, and left the room. Returning in half an
hour, his spirit had fled to God who gave it. I saw no
one in the house. Three hours after, the hearse came
and took away his corpse.*
Doctor Dingly was a native of England; settled in
my neighbourhood about six months previous; had got.
into very respectable practice, and, as I understood,
intended to have brought over his family, had he lived
to the following spring.
66
In those lonely Sabbath evenings when no "church-
going bell" invited to the house of prayer, and no
gospel's joyful sound" was heard in our city, Rebecca
and I used to sit and recount the names of the number
of our friends who had gone into eternity since the last
* On the 15th of September, Peter M'Dougal, a Scotchman
and respectable merchant, died of the prevailing disease. A
young gentleman of the same family lay, as was supposed, at
the point of death in the same house. A coffin was procured
and placed under his bed ready to receive the corpse. A pit was
dug in the east corner of the Scotch Presbyterian churchyard,
in Cedar Street; there the body of Mr. M'Dougal was laid, and
a load of lime thrown over the coffin. The pit was left open for
nearly one week, as it was intended to deposit the body of the
young man in the same grave. Every morning I walked round
to see if the pit was closed, in this way to ascertain whether he
was dead or alive; at length he recovered, and the pit was shut
up. He paid the carpenter for his coffin, and is alive at this
day.
SOLEMN THOUGHTS.
77
Sabbath's sun. I remember hearing a sermon on a
Sabbath afternoon, and before the sun rose the next
Sabbath morning, seven who were in the meeting, and
with whom I was personally acquainted, had gone into
eternity. We used to sit and make up our accounts,
expecting to follow our friends before another Sabbath;
we then sung the 121st Psalm, and retired in peace.
It is now thirty-six years since I witnessed these
scenes of death and danger, and yet I often look back
and wonder when I think how the tender frame and
quiet spirit of my young partner was supported. Irre-
sistible fear had driven from her her mother, who ought
to have been her chief earthly support and comfort in
her hour of peril; thousands were falling on our right
hand and on our left; death was daily passing our
door, and looking up into our windows; yet her mind
was kept in perfect peace, her heart being fixed, trust-
ing in her God. The wise men of this world may call
this enthusiasm - be it so; but it is a pearl of great
price in times of trouble.
Death and we shook hands so often in those times,
that his bony fingers appeared as soft as a lady's
glove.
Should I live to see this city again visited with the
yellow fever, I have determined to remove as soon as
my neighbours, unless detained by a call of duty, as
on former occasions. I took notice of many things
during the prevalence of the late fever that I think
may be of use to the inhabitants to be informed of,
should the return of another such calamity compel
them to leave their homes.
But, before I proceed, I owe my friends and neigh-
78
GRANT THORBURN.
I
bours an apology in return for the interest they took
in my fate while I remained in the infected district.
have resided in this neighbourhood since the death of
Dr. Treat, in the year 1795, and never left it during
the prevalence of the yellow fever in all that period;
and as the fever never, till this last season, prevailed
in my neighbourhood, I did not take the alarm till it
was too late to remove. In my house resides an old,
infirm female relative; it was almost impossible to
remove her and to have left her in the care of a
stranger would have been cruel. Our plants (near
2,000) would have all perished in a few days; any
person that has been in the habit of raising plants,
knows there is a certain attachment beyond their value
in dollars and cents-vegetable life is life still. I
know those cold, calculating mortals whose ideas
never rose above a bale of cotton or a cask of mo-
lasses, will smile at this. It only shews that they are
neither burdened with mother-wit nor philosophy.
Besides, our whole stock of seeds, pease, and beans,
would have been destroyed, as the rats came round me
in hundreds in a few days after my neighbours re-
moved; and had not the cats, in nearly equal num-
bers, quickly followed, I could hardly have stood my
ground. But these useful cats, (like some of our good
democrats, who generously serve the public for ten or
twelve dollars per day,) compelled by hunger, and no
doubt in gratitude for what food and shelter I gave
them, so completely cleared the premises, that I have
not seen a rat since the 10th of September last. Let
me here remind the public, should they again leave
their homes, not to forget these poor animals, and
ARRANGEMENTS FOR LIFE OR DEATH. 79
suffer them to die by hundreds in the streets with
hunger. A wise king once said, "A merciful man is
merciful to his neighbour's beast." What are we to
think of them who had no mercy on their own beasts?
Here, if I could command words, I ought to record
the philanthropy of two Long Island milkmen, and a
generous-hearted Irishman, who, for several weeks,
left at my doors a quart of milk each for the good of
the starving cats; also, of a very big coloured woman,
residing at the corner of John and Cliff Streets, who
might be seen every morning in the street, before her
door, dividing the offals, which she had collected from
the market, among forty or fifty cats.
On the 7th of September, having sent the last of
my family to the country, and considering it my duty
to remain, I made my arrangements for life or death,
just as Providence might order. I engaged a nurse to
live in my house, and, after several fruitless attempts,
a respectable physician undertook to attend me if
wanted. This was no easy matter to obtain, as I
lived in the infected district. I rose at my usual
hour every morning, wrought as usual all day, and
went to bed at ten, my regular hour for many years
past; and, by way of preventive, as has always been
my custom whenever the fever prevailed, put on my
winter clothes; and, before I left my room in the
morning, took half a glass of rue water, which is made
by putting two ounces of green rue in a porter-bottle,
and adding one pint of clear rain water, and one pint
of Holland gin.
From the most particular observations I have been
able to make, I am satisfied, in my own mind, that we
80
GRANT THORBURN.
would have no yellow fever in New York, in a public
sense, and but few cases in a private sense, without a
first exciting cause. I believe the air of the city was
in a state to receive infection, but the flame would not
have burst out, except some foul vessel, like the match
applied to the powder, first commenced the blaze. I.
founded this opinion on the fact, that the fever has
always commenced its march from the neighbourhood
of our wharves; and for several weeks previous to the
late fever, a number of very dirty, suspicious-looking
vessels, apparently Spanish or Portuguese, lay near
the spot where it first commenced. What effect the
contents of one of these nasty vessels might have, could
they be discharged among the inhabitants of Bergen
or Harlem Heights, it is hard to tell. But one thing
we are all sure of, that neither the sick, the dead, nor
their bedding, has ever spread the contagion in the
villages.
By fever in a private sense, I mean individuals
who took the fever. I believe there was not one who
remained in the infected district till the beginning of
October, but what had the seeds of the disease ripe in
their blood, and wanted only some act of imprudence,
such as intoxication, colds, over-fatigue, &c. to set the
disease a-going. I could fill a volume of instances in
support of this opinion, to which I was an eye-witness
in the late and former fevers.
I have above stated, that I never saw a single
instance of what I could term a spontaneous case of
yellow fever. The first case in my neighbourhood the
season past was Mr. Tate, a respectable coloured man,
temperate, strong, and healthy. He was one of the
CASES OF YELLOW FEVER.
81
temporary watch
was on duty the night of the 3d of
September was dressed in thin clothes no great-
coat-it rained in the night, he got partially wet-
complained of pain in the bones next day— he was out
next night again—no great-coat-weather very hot.
He told me it changed about two o'clock in the morn-
ing, and that he felt the cold very sensibly. At half-
past five the thermometer stood in my yard at fifty-
two. I took hold of his hand — his pulse beat high
I advised him to call a physician-he was afraid of
being reported-he took medicine; while under its
operation was out and in—sometimes dressed, some-
times in bed. On Saturday, the 7th, at five P. M., I
spoke to him in the street. On Sunday evening a
physician was called for the first time, and by half-
past seven he was dead.
Sept. 14.—It rained early this morning. Smith and
his wife, residing at 21, Nassau Street, stood nearly half
an hour collecting water from a gutter-got completely
wet-taken down same day. Smith died in seven, and
his wife some days after him. James North, stocking-
weaver, in my house, having business in the Bowery,
met with an old acquaintance-stayed till night—was
overtaken by a thunder shower-got completely wet-
next morning had the fever in its highest degree, and
died the seventh day. Two out of the five sugar-house
cases commenced in a similar manner; but as all
their places of residence was in the upper part of the
city, I never got any account of the others. There is
one fact worth recording here, viz. Mr. Christian, the
foreman, a sober, regular, temperate man, was the
only person about the works who ate and slept nearly
F2
82
GRANT THORBURN.
through the whole fever season at the sugar-house, and
he enjoyed his usual health. The other men slept up
town, and came to work in the morning. It appeared
to me, from the manner in which the doctors reported
cases to the Board of Health, that they had entered
into a conspiracy to scare the already frightened in-
habitants of New York. About the 10th of September,
Peter Sims was reported sick of yellow fever in Orange
Street; it was added that he had attended Tate. This
was incorrect, for Tate had no attendance. The fact
is, Sims was at Tate's funeral: next day, being a little
indisposed, he called a physician, who, as soon as he
learned where he had been, pronounced it yellow
fever; however, he was able to go about his usual
business in a few days.
Next week, Abraham Gordon was reported sick of
yellow fever, with the addition that he had been in
Tate's house. Gordon belonged to the temporary
watch lay down the fore part of the evening, and,
having overslept himself, hurried out, forgetting his
watch-coat; in one hour was struck with a chill — had
a sharp attack of the fever, but recovered.
A man was reported sick of yellow fever, and, by
way of addition, it was stated this man assisted to
extinguish the fire in the coal-yard at the bottom of
Rector Street. Here was a most alarming instance of
the poisonous atmosphere in Washington Street. Now
for the whole truth. The fire was extinguished be-
tween twelve and one o'clock P. M., a very hot day;
if I am not mistaken, the 21st of September. This
man, covered with sweat, dust, and smoke, (and may-
be a little stimulated withal,) throws off his clothes,
CONDUCT OF THE DOCTORS.
83
and plunges in the stream. I have no doubt but that
the doctors who reported the above cases knew the
attending circumstances; and had they been reported
along with the cases, it would have tended to diminish
the terror of the infected district, and thrown light on
the commencement of this terrible disease. But, how-
ever important this might have been to every inha-
bitant of this city, it appeared (at least to me) there
was something like a premeditated plan to suppress
every thing that might throw light on the subject.
When a physician was called, his first inquiry was,-
not how the patient had conducted himself for the last
two or three days - whether he had been exposed to
extra fatigue, cold, or excess of any kind-but, Where
have you been? If it was ascertained that the patient
had been in any part of the city to the southward of
Beekman Street, his case was immediately pronounced
yellow, although, as in several instances, it proved to
have been only a slight attack of barley fever. It was
enough to make common sense blush to read the daily
reports at this period. It was only after a long and
violent contest that any fever to the east of Beekman
Street was admitted to be yellow; while it was as
clear as a sun-beam, that the fever began at the
water's edge, on the west point of the city, and marched
with a steady step till it reached the eastern shore at
Corlær's Hook, and there stopped, having no more
subjects to feed on.
One beautiful moonlight evening, towards the end
of September, I walked up Broadway to view its de-
solations. I stopped fifteen minutes near the spot in
Chamber Street where the man used to fix his spy-
84
GRANT THORBURN.
glass to look at the moon. It appeared as if I then
stood on the line between the living and the dead.
Below, was the stillness of death, only interrupted now
and then by the groans of the sick and dying, the
rattling of the hearse, the voice of the solitary watch-
man, and the squalling of the starved cats. Above,
was the usual bustle of street-walkers; and the wind
blowing gently from the north, I could plainly dis-
tinguish the broad, hoarse laugh of the crowds around
the doors of the Circus, whose interior was crowded with
our citizens, who, only a few days previous, had fled
before the face of death; but now, in the full tide of
fancied security, joined chorus with master-sweeps and
their apprentices, making the air resound as if hell had
broken loose. I thought, if these people had any feel-
ings, they could by no means be of the finer kind.
I will now conclude my remarks by giving a few
of my thoughts on things as they passed. I thought
the machine used for conveying the sick poor to the
hospital was the most improper that could be con-
trived for that purpose, as I never could discern any
difference between it, either in shape, size, or colour,
and the one used for carrying the dead to Potter's
Field. The rich, who were removed after being taken
sick, fared little better; only they were dragged off in
a gilded chariot, while the former rode in a hearse;
but few, very few, of either rich or poor, who were
removed when sick, ever returned. I thought the life
of the patient was generally decided by the treatment
they received during the three or four hours after being
attacked by the prevailing disease.
On the 14th of September I received, through the
MOTIVES FOR REMAINING AT HOME. 85
post-office, letters from two respectable physicians,
then out of town, exhorting me, by all the arguments
of religion, nature, and friendship, to fly from the in-
fected district, as a man ought to fly whose house was
on fire, &c. In my mind I felt very grateful for their
disinterested and kind intentions; and, had it been in
my power, I would have left the city, had it only been
to please them; but I had a post which I thought it
was my duty to keep, even at the risk of my life; be-
sides, the comparison of a "house on fire" I did not
think was strictly applicable to my situation. I thought
it was like going into battle, where every shot might
kill me or my neighbour-but all would not fall; and
though death flies thick, the man or officer who leaves
his post is deservedly punished. I thought when I
saw a man issuing from the war-office, with his com-
mission to fight the battles of his country, and another
issuing from a surgeon's hall, with his diploma to
practise the healing art, that both, in some sense, took
their lives in their hands; the one to defend his country's
rights, and the other as a guardian of the public health.
I thought when I saw the lamp-lighter every morning
come from Greenwich, climb the infected fence to trim,
and again at night to light every lamp in the district—
when I saw the bakers from the Bowery, and the milk-
men from Long Island, come their rounds every morn-
ing (men who lived in pure air), and not take the fever,
I thought that fear had fallen on certain doctors where
no fear was. When I saw six or seven respectable
physicians daily go their rounds in the infected district,
some on foot, and some in their chairs, and at times
attending the sick poor, from whom they could not
86
GRANT THORBURN.
expect any compensation, I thought they deserved
a statue of gold. When I saw the assistants of the
Board of Health, every day, with about fifty pounds
weight of keys, exploring every infected corner of this
district, and the same drivers of the hearse daily pass
my doors with their load of mortality, I thought either
the doctrine of the fever's being communicated by
smell or breathing was not correct, or that Providence,
in mitigation of this calamity, by a miracle preserved
the lives of these men in the performance of their
necessary duties. There was another remarkable fact:
I never could learn that any of the regular night-watch
took the fever, though they stood their regular tours
through all the infected district; nor the men who
watched the banks by night and by day. But these
men were sober, steady, cautious livers, who knew the
value of great-coats, even in a summer night. It is
true, five or six of the temporary watch died; but they
were a different sort of men from our old sober Dutch
cartmen, many of whom compose the city watch. I
do not mean to say that no temperate livers fell victims
to the yellow fever-I know many; and I have known
some of this class to sit from nine to eleven o'clock
at night, in the long cool passages of their houses,
enjoying a most agreeable current of air, and think
they were promoting health by checking perspiration.
I have known some, by taking preventives, reduce
their bodies till they raised the fever in their blood.
One of this class I could name who died of the yellow
fever with his pockets full of antibilious pills. One
or two cases were reported of persons who, it was said,
came from the country, walked in the infected district,
OPPOSED TO RECEIVED OPINIONS.
87
went home, took the fever, and died. It may be true;
but I suspect, if the circumstances had been properly
investigated, they would have borne another com-
plexion. Among a hundred instances I could mention
in opposition to this doctrine of instantaneous infec-
tion, I will mention only one. The wife of Mr. Chris-
tian, foreman of the sugar-house in Liberty Street,
removed to the country, with her three children, about
the beginning of July. About the middle of Septem-
ber, hearing of the many cases reported in and about
the sugar-house, she got so alarmed for the fate of her
husband, who still resided in the sugar-house, that she
returned with her children and lived eight days in the
sugar-house-went back to the country-came to the
town again in November, with her children, all in
good health; neither of whom had one hour's sick-
ness, though they had eat, slept, and breathed, in the
most infected spot of the whole infected district for
eight days and nights. How well this fact corresponds
with the cases of two children in Dutch Street, re-
ported with great pomp, no doubt, to the Board of
Health, who, as the report stated, had been looking
through the board fence, corner of Broadway and
Liberty Street! It turned out, however, that they had
been to market fell in with a liberal Dutch market-
man (a rare occurrence!) — got as many peaches as
they could eat took sick — but in a few hours they
were playing in the street as usual!
I will now conclude with two short remarks. I can-
not think the churchyards produce yellow fever. For
twenty-five years that I lived within ten yards of one,
I have not been one day sick. Had the fever either
88
GRANT THORBURN.
commenced, or lingered in its march, when it reached
the churchyard, there might have been some founda-
tion for the idea; but I think, if the advocates for
burying in town were to visit the beautiful stillness in
death that is visible in and about the burial-ground of
New Haven, (where the weary seem emphatically at
rest,) they would no longer wish to lay their departed
friends in vaults running under the pavements of the
streets, where their bones are kept in perpetual motion
by the rolling of carriages and carts.
I think, when our worthy friend, B. Romaine, came
down Broadway, exploring the dry gutters and clean
pavements, in search of the origin of the fever, had he
just put on his spectacles, he might have seen at the foot
of Rector Street the spot where it began; he might
have seen it spread along Washington, before it reached
Greenwich Street; he might have seen it in Lumber,
then creeping up Rector Street; and, being a master
of figures, he might have counted near forty days from
its commencement before it spread its poisonous
breath among the clean, healthy, and airy mansions of
Broadway. Had he taken the above precaution, I
don't think he would have laid the blame on the poor
water-carts, sprinkling the light dust of the street with
clear salt-water. Had I not found the name of so re-
spectable a citizen to the work above quoted, I would
have thought it was a conspiracy among the patent
coat-cleaners and sellers of cough-drops, to encourage
trade. Fifty years ago, the small pox created as great
an alarm, and proved as fatal, as the yellow fever does
now. The very mention of yellow fever inspires the
minds of most people with such a terror, that they are
PRECAUTIONS URGED.
89
unable to think or speak aright on the subject. The
ghost of Buonaparte, landing on the Battery at the
head of a thousand Cossacks, could not have produced
a more precipitate retreat than was witnessed in New
York last August. If our great men and little men,
wise men and learned men, would agree for a while
to suspend their fast-held opinions- let it once be
said, the same cause will produce the same effect every
where; that the same degree of heat, filth, and mois-
ture, will produce the same poison in New York as
it does in Havanna; that the foul air in the hold of a
vessel coming from a higher latitude, will gather more
strength and virulence from having been pent up for
weeks or months, and if allowed to explode at our
wharves, will catch our already inflammable air, as cer-
tainly as the spark from the flint applied to the powder.
Surely, every friend to a besieged city will agree to
put down the enemy within, as well as prevent his
approach from without. Let those whose business it is
act like rational men, and make the best use of the
means Providence has put in their power; then may
we expect, through His blessing, to escape this dread-
ful scourge.
090
CHAPTER V.
Death of my Wife Second Marriage Anecdote of Mr. Van
Hook-Unsuccessful in the Grocery Business Beginning of
my Business in Seeds and Plants Review of the Circum-
stances that led me into this-Narrow Escape of my Property
from Destruction by Fire-Begin raising of Seeds on my own
account-Disastrous Termination of this Branch of my Busi-
ness-Return to New York.
My wife recovered soon, and enjoyed good health till
the month of August 1800, when she was seized with
the symptoms of a rapid consumption; and though
every means was resorted to, she died, in the peace
and hope of the Gospel, on the 28th of November of
the same year. On her death-bed she was often visited
by the elders and praying members of our church.
Often she told me how thankful she was that God had
made her to be acquainted with me, which was the
means of introducing her into such society. Had I
married that man of the world, she would say, what
now would have been all his riches to me? Not one of
his acquaintances is able to speak a word of comfort
to my soul. On the morning of her death the sun rose
in all his rich effulgence, so strikingly mild and beau-
tiful at that season of the year: his beams fell on the
end of a brick building, in such a position that it re-
flected its light in her face. I asked her if I should
close the shutters. She answered, No; it did not hurt
her eyes; it made her think of the glories of heaven,
DEATH OF FIRST WIFE.
91
where they have no need of the sun, neither of the
moon, the Lamb being the light thereof. Her mother
and I sat by her bed-side: she turned her face towards
the wall, and in five minutes, without speaking a word
or heaving a groan, her spirit escaped from its cage.
As much as I valued this precious gift of Heaven, I
dared not repine. He gave her to me as by a miracle,
and He had a right to his own when he pleased. A
few hours before she died, I sat by the side of her bed,
with her son on my knee. She fastened her expres-
sive eyes on him for some minutes. I said, "Rebecca,
have you any regret in leaving this child?" "None!"
she firmly replied: "I have given him over to the
care of his heavenly Father, who will never leave
him nor forsake him; and his earthly father I know
will be kind to him, for my sake." The hope that
supports nature in such extremities must be from
above.
Being thus left with a child two years and two
months old, with a care of a house and store, and
thinking it more creditable and wise to marry a wife
than to hire a housekeeper, I again entered into that
state in 1801. Shortly after this, the introduction of
cut-nails cut me off from making a living by my ham-
mer. I now kept a grocery, and had a good run of cus-
tomers: I still resided at No. 22, Nassau Street.
On the east corner of Nassau and Liberty Streets
there lived the venerable old gentleman, Mr. Isaac Van
Hook, so well known as the sexton of the New Dutch
church opposite his house, for nearly fifty years. James
Laing and William Smith, both cabinet-makers, and
carrying on a respectable business, having in their em-
92
GRANT THORBURN.
ployment ten or twelve journeymen and apprentices;
these men took a mad resolution, gave up the business,
sold their stock, hired the corner house over the head
of poor old Van Hook,* turned him and his tobacco-
pipes out of doors, and commenced the grocery business.
Theirs being a corner, took away the most of my
customers; insomuch that I was obliged to look round
for some other mode to support my family. This, you
may be sure, I considered a great misfortune; but, in
the sequel, you will see that Providence was thus pre-
paring the way to put me into a more agreeable and
profitable business; and what we may often think is a
great misfortune at the time, is only making the way
for a greater blessing.
About this time the ladies in New York were
beginning to shew their taste for flowers; and it
was customary to sell the empty flower-pots in the
grocery-stores; these articles also comprised part of
my stock.
In the fall of the year, when the plants wanted
shifting, preparatory to their being placed in the par-
lour, I was often asked for pots of a handsomer quality,
or better make. As I stated above, I was looking
* This Mr. Van Hook was so great a smoker, that the pipe
was not out of his mouth perhaps one hour in the twenty-four :
he used the longest kind of Liverpool pipes. In the house, in
the street, in the church, and in his bed, have I seen him with
the pipe in his mouth. One day, a wag sent a countryman to
ask if he sold any smoked tongues? The old man took the hint,
said he had none to sell, but directed him across the street to old
Mr. Watkey's, another noted smoker; between them they smoked
the man, and, after drinking some good old Hollands, parted
good friends.
BEGINNINGS OF A NEW TRADE.
93
round for some other means to support my family. All
at once it came into my mind to take and paint some
of my common flower-pots with green varnish paint,
thinking it would better suit the taste of the ladies than
the common brick-bat coloured ones. I painted two
pair, and exposed them in front of my window. I
remember, just as I had placed the two pair of pots in
front of my window on the outside, I was standing in
the side-walk, admiring their appearance, a carriage
came along, having the glasses let down, and one lady
only in the carriage. As the carriage passed my shop,
her eye lit on the pots; she put her head out at the
window, and looked back, as far as she could see, on
the pots. Thinks I, this will take; and it did take —
for these two pots were the links of a chain by means
of which Providence was leading me into my present
extensive seed-establishment. They soon drew atten-
tion, and were sold. I painted six pair; they soon
went the same way. Being thus encouraged, I con-
tinued painting and selling to good advantage: this
was in the fall of 1802. One day, in the month of
April following, I observed a man for the first time
selling flower-plants in the Fly-market, which then
stood in the foot of Maiden Lane. As I carelessly
passed along, I took a leaf, and rubbing it between
my fingers and thumb, asked him what was the name
of it. He answered, a rose-geranium. This, as far as
I can recollect, was the first time that I ever heard
that there was a geranium in the world; as, before
this, I had no taste for, nor paid any attention to,
plants. I looked a few minutes at the plant, thought
it had a pleasant smell, and thought it would look well
94
GRANT THORBURN.
if removed into one of my green flower-pots, to stand
on my counter to draw attention. I remember after
smelling the first leaf of the rose-geranium, and also
when I received additions to my stock, how I was
struck with wonder and amazement, at the power,
wisdom, and goodness of God, in imparting to the
green leaf of one plant the fragrance of another, such
as the balm, musk, pennyroyal, &c. How conde-
scending to our senses, how indulgent, as it were, even
to our childish and playful fancies! It was thus my
mind was struck when I smelt the first leaf. Thought
I, it is strange that a green leaf, plucked from a plant
no way similar, should possess all the flavour of the
flower plucked from another.
Observe, I did not purchase this plant with the in-
tention of selling it again, but merely to draw atten-
tion to my green pots, and let the people see how well
the pots looked when the plant was in them. Next
day, some one fancied and purchased plant and pot.
Next day I went, when the market was nearly over,
judging the man would sell cheaper, rather than have
the trouble of carrying them over the river, as he lived
at Brooklyn, and in those days there was neither
steam nor horse-boats. Accordingly, I purchased two
plants; and having sold them, I began to think that
something might be done this way; and so I continued
to go at the close of the market, and always bargained
for the unsold plants. And the man finding me a use-
ful customer, would assist me to carry them home, and
shew me how to shift the plants out of his pots and put
them into green pots, if my customers wished it. So I
soon found by his tongue that he was a Scotchman,
བ༔
TURNS SEEDSMAN.
95
and being countrymen, we wrought to one another's
hands: thus, from having one plant, in a short time I
had fifty. The thing being a novelty, began to draw
attention; people carrying their country friends to see
the curiosities of the city, would step in to see my
plants. In some of these visits the strangers would
express a wish to have some of these plants, but
having so far to go, could not carry them.
Then they
would ask if I had no seed of such plants; then,
again, others would ask for cabbage, turnip, or radish-
seed, &c.
He
These frequent inquiries at length set me to think-
ing, that if I could get seeds, I would be able to sell
them; but here lay the difficulty, as no one sold seed
in New York, no one of the farmers or gardeners saved
more than what they wanted for their own use; there
being no market for an overplus. In this dilemma, I
told my situation to George Inglis, the man from whom I
had always bought the plants in the Fly-market.
said he was now raising seeds, with the intention of selling
them next spring along with his plants in the market ;
but if I would take his seeds, he would quit the mar-
ket, and stay at home and raise plants and seeds for
me to sell. A bargain was immediately struck; I pur-
chased his stock of seeds, amounting to fifteen dollars ;
and thus commenced a business on the 17th of Septem-
ber, 1805, that already is the most extensive of the
sort in the United States.
It is worth while to look back on the steps by
which Providence led me into this business, without
my ever planning or intending to become a seedsman.
1. By the introduction of cut-nail machines cut-
96
GRANT THORBURN.
ting me off from making a living by my own trade of
nail-making.
2. By shutting me up, so that I could not make a
living by keeping grocery.
3. By directing my mind to the painting of green
pots, which induced me to purchase the first plant that
ever drew my attention; and this merely with a view
of ornamenting my store, and not for the purpose of
sale.
4. In being led, by the sale of this plant, to keep a
quantity of them for the same purpose, which induced
people to ask for the seed of the plants, and also for
vegetable seeds, long before I ever thought of selling
seeds.
I now advertised in the papers of the day garden-
seeds. In a short time my small stock was all sold out:
I knew not where to replace them. In this difficulty
a friend* stepped into the store, and introduced me to
his friend, Mr. Morgan, just arrived from London, having
a small invoice of garden-seeds, which he was willing
to sell at a small advance. A bargain was soon
struck, for the invoice contained the very articles I
was daily asked for, and knew not where to obtain.
Next day, on opening the casks, I found a catalogue
of seeds for sale by William Malcolm and Co., London ;
this was at that time a prize to me, for never before
this had I seen a seed-catalogue. This catalogue had
noted on the margin the time of sowing—a thing I was
totally ignorant of. Having now a plan, I published a
* T. L. Rich, for a long time a respectable merchant-tailor
in Wall Street.
GREAT FIRE.
97
catalogue of my own, and, with the assistance of my
friend the gardener at Brooklyn, adapted the time to
suit our own climate; so that now, when my customers
asked when such and such seeds ought to be sown, I
was able to give the necessary information. Next fall,
I sent a small remittance with an order to Mr. M.
The seeds arrived in good season, and, with the seeds
raised by my friend at Brooklyn, composed a good
assortment to commence business in the spring. The
seeds I had imported and got raised here, proving very
good, my sales increased beyond what my friend could
supply; and some of the market-gardeners, supposing
they might be able to sell me seeds, had this year raised
seeds for that purpose. Having no other resource, I
was fain to purchase such as were offered; and, being
a mechanic by profession, and alike ignorant of seeds
and gardening, I had long to struggle with the imposi-
tions of unprincipled seed-raisers, they often selling mè
spurious seeds, and asserting they were of the most
genuine quality.
Having at length brought the business to a pretty
respectable footing, it narrowly escaped total destruc-
tion, in 1808, by a great fire, which commenced in
a soap and candle manufactory adjoining the store.
This fire broke out at midnight, the 25th of August,
and was so rapid that five of the inmates of the house
where it commenced perished in the flames. Several
circumstances occurred in connexion with this fire in
which I could discern the kind hand of Providence,
and are in themselves so remarkable that they deserve
never to be forgotten. It was impressed on my mind,
long before it took place, that that factory would be
G
98
GRANT THORBURN.
burned. For many months previous, when the fire-
company belonging to engine No. 16 came to the
pump, corner of Liberty and Nassau Streets, on the
first Monday in every month (according to law), to
wash and clean the engine, I used to tell them, in a
jocose manner, how I wished them to act when the
candle-box (as I termed the building) should take fire.
I got my property insured a short time before the fire
took place; it was in time of the long embargo.
I had on hand a large stock of early York cabbage
and other seeds, which I was obliged to import, but
which could not then be imported, on account of the
restrictions existing. At dinner, the day previous to
the fire, I told my wife I was going to pack my most
valuable seeds, and head them up in flour-barrels, that
they might be safely removed when the fire broke out
next door. I came from my store between nine and
ten o'clock that evening. My wife was much fatigued
with nursing our youngest child, who was sick at the
time; I told her to lie down, and I would nurse till she
got some sleep. She arose about five minutes before
twelve. As I laid my head on the pillow, the clock
in the corner of my room struck twelve. I must have
dropped to sleep immediately; for the next day I found
my clock in the New Dutch Church, with the hands
stopped at fifteen minutes past twelve; it having been
stopped and carried into the church at that minute,
to save it from the fire. I was awoke by a loud scream
from my wife, who was then rocking the cradle;
I sprung on the floor before my eyes were opened,
and asked what was the matter. She said we were all
on fire. I opened the back window, and was saluted
PRESENCE OF MIND.
99
by a column of smoke and fire, issuing from the back
of the soap-works. Having for many months previous
resolved in my mind how I would act when the thing
took place, I was in nowise alarmed; she being dressed,
I told her to take herself and child to a place of safety,
and I would wake up and take care of the other child-
ren and servants. I afterwards dressed, and put on a
pair of double-soled boots, fearing that in the confusion
I might tread on a rusty nail in some of the boards
that might be pulled down. I then went in my store,
which was by this time on fire, and secured my
valuable papers and money, by pinning them in my
jacket-pocket; I wet my night-cap and put it on, to
preserve my hair from being singed. As the engines.
came up, I directed them to the places where their
services would be most useful, and then ran from
place to place, saving and preserving such property
as I could.
The buildings where the fire originated stood on the
south side of my premises, my back store, a wooden
building two stories high. The wind blew fresh from
the south, which covered this building with flame;
but, notwithstanding, there was so little damage done
this building, that ten dollars put it in as good repair
* Had the wind been from the north-west, there is no knowing
where the conflagration would have stopped. As the New Dutch
Church was undergoing repairs, and a new steeple erecting, the
churchyard was filled with shavings, and had these caught on fire,
it would have taken hold of the scaffolding, and the church must
have inevitably shared the same fate, and have been reduced to a
heap of ruins. The want of the bell of that church added much
to the misfortune, it laying mute in the church-garret; and of
course the alarm could not be so soon sounded as was desirable.
100
GRANT THORBURN.
as it was before the fire began. There was only an
inch-board between the factory and my back building.
The day previous, I had been painting pots with green
varnish. The shelf on which the painted pots stood
was next to the factory; one pot, containing about
four pounds of verdigris, mixed with spirits of tur-
pentine and varnish; a pitcher also, containing half a
gallon of rosin, varnish, &c., with a jug containing
half a gallon of spirits of turpentine. The fire burned
through the boards directly opposite where these in-
flammable articles stood; the end of the shelf burned
through, and dropping about twelve inches, rested on
the floor, and then was extinguished; but by what
means no one could tell, as no engine, person, or water,
could reach that spot during the fire. The heat melted
the paint that was on the outside of the pots and jug,
running down the sides; when the fire subsided, they
were found glued fast to the board. The jug with
spirits of turpentine was corked; the pots containing
paint and varnish were without covering, but com-
pletely filled up with black coals, which must have
fallen in while burning. Yet for all this these inflam-
mable articles did not take fire; had they taken fire,
my whole premises must have been consumed.
Next day, when the carpenter and his men came
to repair what little damage was done, they were the
first to observe this circumstance; and being struck
with surprise, not only called me, but several of the
neighbours, besides others, to see it, before they re-
moved the articles. One of the neighbours observed,
it was impossible that they could have stood there
during the fire without being burned; when one of the
CAUSE FOR GRATITUDE.
101
**
carpenters told them to lift up the pots and jugs.
They found them glued fast to the board, and were
then convinced, that, however strange, it was true.
For my own part, I saw in it the power of Him whose
hand is in every thing, whether it is the fall of an
empire or a sparrow. In short, the small damage that
was done to my premises surprised many; and many
came from a distance to view the buildings for months
after. Eight or nine houses were burned on the rear
and on the windward side of the factory where the fire
commenced; while my store, which was joined by nails
and boards, had scarcely the smell of fire on its roof.
In 1808, when all intercourse between America
and Britain was suspended, and we were therefore pre-
vented from importing such seeds as are necessary
in
our business, I was advised by my friends to attempt the
raising of them myself. I was drawn into this business
much against my own inclination and better judgment,
as you will see in the sequel.
A few years previous, a gardener from England,
by the name of Thornly, purchased about seven acres
of land near Newark Bridge, which he improved as a
kitchen-garden, and for raising a few seeds; but fail-
ing of success, and getting in debt, he absconded.
He owed me a few hundred dollars at the time; so
when he got to Philadelphia he executed a deed,
whereby he constituted me owner of the soil, the first
intimation of which was my receiving said deed per mail.
* Mr. Jacob I. Roome, the person who copied this book from
the manuscript, being at that time sexton of the South Dutch
Church, and also a member of fire-engine No. 16, can attest this
to be a real fact.
G 2
102
GRANT THORBURN.
As there was a considerable crop of seeds on the ground
at the time, I resolved to gather the seeds as part pay-
ment, and as there was a mortgage for two hundred
dollars on the premises, to let the land go to whom-
soever had the best claim. The seeds were gathered,
but the crop hardly paid the men's wages; but still
I was persuaded to pay the mortgage and keep the
place, as my well-intending friends all said it would
do wonders under the management of an active man.
It did wonders with a witness; for, after striving and
toiling by sunlight and moonlight, in wet weather and
dry weather, I found, at the end of five years, I had
spent the whole earnings of my life, and was several
thousands worse than nothing. I now gave up my all
to my creditors; and that I might be enabled to com-
mence business anew, I applied, with an empty pocket
and a clear conscience, for the benefit of the insolvent
act. For this end it was necessary, as a first step,
that I should either go to jail or the limits. I preferred
the former, as I could board for half the expense. So,
in December 1813, I left my wife with one dollar and
sixty-two cents, and four young children to support,
without any certainty where the next dollar was to
come from, in a solitary house, the nearest neighbour
being one fourth of a mile distant, and on a stormy day.
You may suppose my feelings at this moment were not
of the most pleasant kind.
The following circumstance took place, which struck
me forcibly at the time, and on which I often reflect
with wonder and gratitude. As I was walking down.
the main street in Newark, on my way to jail, the
sheriff's officer politely going some distance either be-
PROVIDENTIAL SUPPLY.
103
fore or behind me, it matters not which, I was accosted
by a man whom I had not seen for two years previous.
Says he," Mr. Thorburn, I have owed you fifteen dol-
lars for a long time, but it never was in my power to
pay you till now; just step in this store, and I will
pay you," pointing to one close by. I received the
money with as much wonder and thankfulness as if
I had seen it drop from the clouds in my path. I had
not seen this man for so long a time, that I never
expected the money. This circumstance inspired me
with so much confidence in a superintending Provi-
dence, that I went into jail with a light heart, and
slept-yes, my mind was so composed, after witness-
ing this signal proof of the goodness of God, as a
Provider, that all my anxieties on account of my
family fled, and I slept. I knew that He who hangs
creation on his arm, and feeds her at his board, would
not suffer my children to starve.* Well, having staid
the time appointed in jail, and gone through the forms
by law prescribed, I came out whitewashed from all
claims as far as the law could go; but I thought I
was as much bound in justice as ever I was to pay
my honest debts, should Providence put it in my
power, by prospering my future exertions. He did
prosper my future exertions, and I can now shew
receipts for thousands of dollars which were by law
cancelled.
In the course of my life, I have experienced at times
the depths of sorrow and the heights of delight; but
just enough of the former to give a relish to the latter.
* This man told me, some months after, that at the time he
paid me that money he knew nothing of my difficulties.
·
104
GRANT THORBURN.
When I failed, and gave up my property to my cre-
ditors, as usual, it was sold by the sheriff. At the
public sale of my furniture, a cradle, in which lay one
of my children asleep, then about two months old,
was sold among the rest. This was more than my
philosophy could stand. A gentleman among the
company had it knocked down to him; he observed,
with a smile, he supposed the child now was his
property, as well as the cradle. Being answered in
the affirmative, he called the mother of the child, and
made her a present of both. Such seasonable acts of
kindness, in times of trouble, give a double relish to
the deed. While I was filled with gratitude to the
instrument, I was also thankful to Him who has the
hearts of all in his hands, believing that all men
are to me what he makes them to be. He who gave
Joseph favour in the eyes of his fellow-men is the same
yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
In 1815, I returned to New York with my family,
and only about twelve dollars in my pocket. Being out
of employment, I hired myself as porter to the store of
Mr. D. Durham.* He always treated me with kindness,
though the other servants about his office complained
of him as being a hard master. In January 1816 a
friend advanced me five hundred dollars, with which I
* Nothing is more easy than to bespatter the fair fame of a
man whose enterprise and genius have raised him above his
fellows. They hate him because they cannot rise to his summit;
and of such were the enemies of D. Durham. Though his name
was seldom blazoned in the papers, or blown at the corner of the
street by the trumpet of fame, yet I myself have often witnessed
his deeds of private charity, and sometimes he made me his
almoner. None now will deny that his death was a public loss;
RE-COMMENCES BUSINESS.
105
commenced business in the cellar of a house, corner of
Nassau Street and Liberty. For seven years previous,
in spite of all my exertions, every thing went back-
ward,-now every thing seemed to thrive of itself.
Previous to my removal to New Jersey, my seed-
establishment was kept at No. 20, Nassau Street.
After my failure, it was occupied by Mr. Grundy as
a seed-shop; and he being in possession of the original.
stand, nearly engrossed all my former custom. He,
however, neglected his business, took to habits of dis-
sipation, was sold out by the sheriff in turn; when I
purchased part of the stock and all the fixtures, and
continued the business in my old stand.
On the day of my discharge under the insolvent act,
Mr. Grundy was the only person who brought forward
any opposition. It was not founded on the plea of
fraud, but in trying to make out some sort of a flaw
in the papers, as not having got the full two-thirds of
my creditors to sign off, or something to that purpose;
and had it not been that the recorder saw through the
motive, and withal being a man proverbial for leaning
to the side of mercy, he would have frustrated my dis-
charge at that time.
I have often found that the persons to whom I had
shewn the most kindness, generally returned me evil
for good. When Mr. Grundy arrived in America, he
lodged first in my house, and continued under my roof
several years, where he was always treated with kind
cut off in a moment, in the midst of plans and improvements,
which, had he lived, would have given life and employment to
thousands. This tribute of gratitude I owe to the memory of a
man who was my friend in the gloomiest times.
106
GRANT THORBURN.
attention; yet when I was surrounded with difficulties
and trouble, he proved my most determined enemy.
Again I had an opportunity of returning good for
evil. When he got low, I gave him employment: the
last shilling he received in the world was from my
hand. The streets were glazed with ice: I urged him
to go home before night; he stopped on the way with
a friend; it was very dark; he fell backward, and was
dead before morning.
Finding my business again in a prosperous state,
I left New York the 8th of July, on a visit to my friends
in Scotland.
107
CHAPTER VI.
A Scene at Sea-Journey to the Bay State in June 1829.
On the 8th September, 1818, I sailed from Greenock,
in the Iris, Captain S., of New York. One morning,
at sun-rise, having been out near four weeks, we dis-
covered a vessel far astern, seemingly following our
track. The captain, after looking some time with his
glass, observed, "That fellow wants to speak us." I
requested him to slacken sail, as perhaps they were in
distress. Having now a fair wind and a good breeze,
he was loath to comply: again applying his glass, and
laying it down, says he, "They want to speak us.” I
again renewed my entreaties; the captain ordered to
take in sail. When the vessel came up, she proved to
be a small schooner from Nova Scotia, bound to Liver-
pool, laden with rum; had encountered a storm three
days previous; her decks were swept, and almost a
wreck, with only five gallons of water on board.
"Now, captain," says I, " had you known their situ-
ation, you would have lain by all day for them." Says
he, "I would." 66
Well, sir," says I, "I hope you
will remember this." (At this time we were about the
middle of the Atlantic.) Our captain told them to
launch their boat, and he would give them a cask of
water. They replied, their boat was stove, and would
not live in the water. We then lowered our small boat,
rolled a hogshead of water overboard; three of our men
108
GRANT THORBURN.
in the boat dragged it to the schooner, where it was
hoisted on board. They gave the three men as much
rum as they would drink, besides a quart-bottle full to
each. They also sent a demijohn, containing five
gallons, with a quantity of onions and lemons, for the
captain. As our men came on board, I observed the
bottles under their jackets; I followed them below to
ascertain what they had got, and found it as above
stated; (observe, I was the only cabin passenger-
there were twenty-two in the steerage). It was now
eleven o'clock A.M.; the heavens began to gather black-
ness, and, as I thought, threatened a storm. I told the
captain the situation of the three men; the liquor they
had drunk on board the schooner already made them
unfit for duty. "Now," says I, "when the others go
down to dinner, they will drink the three bottles, which
will make them all drunk; and as the sky looks threat-
ening, it may be attended with serious consequences."
I therefore advised that he would go in the forecastle,
and get from them two of the bottles, which after-
wards he might divide among them when necessary.
He shrugged his shoulders, and said there was no
danger.
Twelve o'clock P.M. it blew fresh. While the cap-
tain and I were at dinner, I heard considerable noise
on deck, between the mate and men, but said nothing.
As was my custom after dinner, I was sitting on the
forecastle, smoking my pipe. A woman from the
steerage, with a child in her arms, came flying along
and screaming with all her might, "O! Mr. Thorburn,
Mr. Thorburn, come, come, the captain is murdering
the men!" I made for midships as fast as possible,
A MUTINY.
109
when I beheld the captain with a broad-sword, swing-
ing away among the crew like a man thrashing oats.
In about an hour after, when the uproar had nearly
ceased, I learned that the men had drunk up all the
rum, as I predicted. The gale had increased almost
to a storm, as I predicted. The sails wanted handing,
but the crew were top-heavy and bottom-heavy, and
when ordered, first by the mate and then by the cap-
tain, they were unable to go aloft. He ordered one of
them to be tied up and flogged; the others resisted; he
ran for his sword, and was flourishing away like a sans-
culotte in the streets of Paris, when I arrived at the
scene of action. Among our hands was a strong active
fellow by the name of Tom: he was with Commander
Porter, in the Little Essex, when she fought the two
British sloops of war till the blood of the whole crew
had nearly run out at the scuppers. This man seized
the captain's arm, wrenched the sword from his hand,
and next moment it skimmed the waves like a sea-gull.
The captain sprung into the cabin at three steps, re-
turned with both hands full of pistols, and began firing
away like one of our Pearl Street Invincibles, in the
Park, on the 4th of July. Finally, the crew laid hold of
the captain, pistols and all, pushed him down the cabin
stairs, and shut the door. During all this affray, the
mate stood holding on by the fore-chains, and trembling
like a dog on a sand-heap. He was a poor milk-and-
water-looking son of a woman: he looked more like
a psalm-singer from Danbury, than a mate on the
quarter-deck of a ship. Having sailed from New York
with this captain and crew, I knew the trim of all of
them. I was on very good terms with the men, having
H
110
GRANT THORBURN.
lent them books to read when they had leisure. With
the help of the mate, passengers, and such of the crew
as were able to work, we got the ship in safe trim.
I then went down to the captain. He was as mad as a
March hare. I told him there was a ship to leeward :
he took his glass, and after a minute's observation, said
she was bound to the States, and added, he would run
down, go on board of her, and leave the ship to the
mate. I used every argument to dissuade him from
this, without effect. I then went and got two of the
women passengers out of the steerage, each having a
child in her arms. I hastily told them how they should
play their part. (You will here observe, he had a wife
and children in New York, of whom he appeared very
fond, as nothing pleased him so much as conversing
about them.) We now descended into the cabin, re-
newed the attack on the side of domestic economy,
spoke to him of his own wife and children, &c. The
tears of the mothers, and smiles of the babes, at length
prevailed: he consented to stay by the ship. (Perhaps
it may be well to remark, by the way, that if this man
had been a bachelor, we might all have gone to the
bottom, for in this case he could have had no fellow-
feeling for either wives or children.) By this time we
had neared the vessel, and was preparing to speak, she
lying to for us. I requested the captain to say nothing.
about our situation, as by her sailing it was likely she
would make New York a week before us, (we got in
first by two days, however,) and the news would give
his family and mine much uneasiness: to this he as-
sented. The ship was the Comet, from Havre to New
York.
CONDUCT OF THE CAPTAIN.
111
He
But here our troubles were only commencing.
told me next morning, he was resolved to make for
Halifax, and deliver over to the British authorities his
mutineers. I told him, as soon as the men got know-
ledge of his intention they would throw him overboard
(as they knew the British government made short work
with such characters), then make the first land, and run
off. So by this means we passengers may all go to
Davy's locker. He finally proposed, that if the pas-
sengers would divide themselves into watches (there were
seventeen men, nine to go with him, and I with eight
others on the mate's watch, he would keep on his
course. I then dived into the steerage, and had a vast
deal of trouble to get the men to comply; they all said
the captain was to blame for not taking the liquor from
the men. I said it mattered nothing to us now who
was to blame; but if he steered for Halifax, and we
went to the bottom, they would never see New York.
With many more frightful words I laboured to persuade
them. At length the women and children began to
cry, and the men were compelled to give in. I then
told them the captain had another request, which was,
that every man who had either a gun or a fowling-
piece should loan them to him till our arrival at New
York; with this they also refused to comply: at length
they offered me their guns to carry into the cabin; I
told them I cared no more for the captain than for the
crew, only in as far as our own safety was concerned,
and provided we once had our foot in New York, he and
they might go to Hackensack, in the Jerseys, for any
thing I cared: but says I, gentlemen, half measures
won't do now; don't behave like children, but act like
112
GRANT THORBURN.
men; every one of you shoulder his musket, walk down
in the cabin; the men will thus see you are determined
to support the captain's authority, right or wrong; if he
has injured them, they can get redress by the laws of
their own country; but let us look to ourselves. This
had the desired effect; they up with their pieces (seven
in number), went off into the cabin, while I remained
behind. The crew eyed them askant, but I saw their
insolent looks had fled, and were replaced with some-
thing like fear. The captain then ordered two of the
men to be confined in the forecastle, to be fed on
bread and water till we arrived at New York, and
threatened to shoot them if he caught them abaft the
windlass. One of the confined was Tom aforesaid, a
desperate mad fellow; he swore he would not be so
treated, and threatened to come on deck. I advised
him to submit, and if he sued the captain when we ar-
rived, I would assist him as far as was right. He was
fond of reading, and I supplied him and his fellow-
prisoner with books, which made the time pass more
easily. But between them and the captain I had my
hands full; the latter was very passionate, and when
in this state was not to be controlled; however, he was
passionately fond of music and Scotch songs. We had
a few Paisley weavers among the passengers who could
sing and play well; I gave them the hint, and when-
ever the evil spirit was upon him, I stepped into the
steerage. J. M'Farlain and his bass mate straightway
were on deck, exerting their powers, vocal and instru-
mental; the sounds never failed to absorb all his atten-
tion, and in this way we kept down the evil spirit, just
as David of old played the devil out of Saul. From
A CARD.
113
this night till our arrival in New York (three weeks) the
other passengers and I stood our regular watches with
the captain, mate, and crew,-no very pleasant affair,
you may be sure, to mount watch at eight, turn in at
twelve, rise again at four, and stand till eight; but the
thought of home, and hopes of meeting them I held
most dear, still kept my spirits up. Were life's voyage
never clouded in tempests, we could not so sweetly
relish the sunshine of prosperity. These events took
place in the cold dark stormy nights of October. Often
in the beginning of my watch have we shipped a sea,
been drenched to the skin, walked the deck four soli-
tary hours; yet I was not sick for an hour, nor ever
caught the slightest cold. On the 3d of November we
arrived, after fifty-six days' passage. Finding all well
more than repaid me for all my past troubles. As
soon as the ship struck the wharf, the hands jumped on
shore and run off, the captain offering no hinderance.
Next day the following appeared in the "New York
Gazette," 4th November, 1818.
“A Card.—We the passengers on board the ship
Iris, from Greenock, return our thanks to captain J. S.
for his care and attention to our health and safety
during the voyage; also to Mr. Grant Thorburn, of New
York, cabin-passenger, for his mild and conciliatory
exertions in suppressing and averting the consequences
of an alarming dispute among the crew, whereby our
lives and the safety of the vessel was for some time in
imminent danger.
JAMES ANDERSON,
JOHN LAWRENce,
(Signed)
in behalf of the other passengers.”
114
GRANT THORBURN.
It's of no use for a man to write his journal, except
he can get it printed, otherwise nobody will know that
he has been travelling at all; and as I kept one when
journeying to the Bay State, in June 1829, I will here
occupy a few pages in giving it publicity.
I heard much of a country peopled by the daugh-
ters of Puritans and sons of the pilgrims; and, be-
sides, that of late years they had made such rapid
advances in what they termed rational religion, that
I thought it was there and then that the millennium,.
so much spoken of in the " Progress of the Pilgrim,"
was about to commence. I was anxious to see this
people, not to take the height of their corn-stalks,
nor the diameter of their pumpkins; but among them
I thought was to be found the perfection of the
church militant, and I longed to see a sight so im-
posing. You will see in the sequel how sadly I was
disappointed. But I'll begin with Fulton Slip, from
which we started, in the steam-boat Franklin.
we passed the Gates of Hell, and got over the Hog's
Back, two dangerous rocks in the sound, on the eastern
shore of Manhattan island, the captain, knowing from
former experience that his goodly boat knew the road
well enough to go by herself, turned his attention
to more important matters. He sent forth a little
boy, his face as black as Lehigh coal; a bell, white
as silver, in his hand, went tinkle, tinkle, round the
deck. "Passengers will go to the captain's office and
pay their fare." (Thinks I, these Yankees have their
office of deposits every where.) I was carried along
with the crowd, and came to a stand with my head right
under the port-hole, or office-window as they called it;
After
CIVILITY ON BOARD A STEAMER.
115
when up came squeezing a long-legged fellow, and
shoved me aside like a thing of nought. Says I," Sir,
in New York he who comes first with his pail to the
pump gets it first filled." He looked down on me—
that was all; he held between his finger and thumb,
while it floated with the breeze, a $50 bill,—as much as
to say, you see I have more money in my purse than
wit in my head. Captain Bunker, with one eye ob-
served the manœuvre, while with the other he was giv-
ing change from a ten-dollar bill. Says he, " Mr. T.,
it's your turn next (I wondered where he got my
name); you are getting squeezed among these big
men; I'll let you go." Mr. Long-legs looked as flat as
a pancake without yeast. This wee bit of civility from
the captain gave me a good opinion of his heart and
head.
Having nothing else to do, I observed him
through the passage, upstairs and downstairs, sunlight
and moonlight; he was always doing the thing as it
ought to be; always good-natured and laughing. I
believe if he stood in a storm on the last plank of his
boat he would smile; though he looks like one that
would never give up the ship while two of her timbers
hung together.
Next morning we saw Newport. I wondered to see
a great heap of men, I daresay near a hundred of them,
bigging up something like a great stane dyke, with
windows in it. I asked the captain what it was for. He
said they were making a battery of one hundred and
fifty guns, for the protection of Newport. I thought
their poverty would be a good protection for them. I
asked if the men wrought by the day or the job. He
said, by the day, he believed. I thought so; for from
116
GRANT THORBURN.
the time the boat came near enough to see the white of
their eyes, till we had passed them so far that we could
not tell the colour of their coat, they stood gaping and
looking; and from a hundred men, with each a hammer
in his hand, you could not hear a stroke in a minute.
I thought it must be another Rip Rap Contract.
I asked if the town or state paid them? He an-
swered, it was Uncle Sam* paid them. Oho! thinks I,
this solves the whole mystery; these men will never
finish this, till once another job as good comes to hand.
Poor Uncle Sam, he has not only to pay his stewards
high wages for collecting his rents, but some of them
share off 25 or 30 per cent for commissions; and
others, knowing that their reign will be short (as the
next man who comes into power will kick them out of
doors), make the most of their time, and so become
defaulters for the whole. I really wonder how Uncle
Sam gets along so well as he does.
At Providence, coaches were ready;
we flew
through the dust and sweat of the day like Jehu. At
the tavern of the dinner was ready, but there
was no contract for time to eat; after grace from Dr.
Cox (which I thought was too long for the occasion),
we began to eat. Scarcely had I swallowed half of my
first course, when in came the driver hallooing, "All
ready!" I thought there was something like a stable-
yard understanding between him and the landlord ;
for while we were brushing the dust from our clothes,
mustering, and saying grace, he was eating and drink-
ing as fast as he could, and I did not observe that he
* Uncle Sam, a crank word for the United States.
:
VISIT TO BUNKER'S HILL.
117
paid any thing. Having a fine stern breeze, we flew
along at the rate of ten knots an hour, amidst clouds of
smoke and dust. All along I could see houses, and
doors, and windows, and folks looking out of them;
but I had no time to inquire either into their principles
or practice so I wisely resolved (as I thought) to
suspend all further inquiries till I got to Boston, setting
down in my mind, that if I found the fountain pure, the
streams would be pure also. We arrived at the Eagle
Tavern about sun-down; the ladies' hats and frocks,
which in the steam-boat shewed colours enough to have
decked fifteen rainbows, were now one, viz. ashes on
ashes, and dust on dust.
Next day being Saturday, as I could not prosecute
my main inquiry, I went to Bunker's Hill. By the
monument I stood with feelings all my own: the history
of that battle brought to my mind the first of my news-
paper recollections; but a tale hangs there, which I
have not time to repeat, nor a wish to tell to every
ear - but the monument-I wish it were finished.
The young ladies of Boston can do it alone. Let them
with one consent place a neat little box on every side-
board; when their young friend presents them with a
box-ticket, receive it with thanks, and add, “Now we
are going to finish the monument,- for one year from
this date we will suspend this pleasure." Let the price
of the tickets be placed in that box, and our monu-
ment of gratitude will rise. The Boston Elm, a monu-
ment of antiquity,—I stood under its shadows with
great delight, and thought of former days. Were a
neat stone fence two feet high, and an iron railing three
feet more, placed round this tree, it would protect its
H 2
118
GRANT THORBURN.
bark from the knife of idle boys, and its roots from the
foot of the ox; six wagon-loads of good fresh mould
laid on the surface would help to invigorate its old age;
one dollar from each of the owners of those princely
mansions round the mall would accomplish this.
I rose about five on Sabbath morning, resolving
to examine the exterior and interior of the churches.
Whenever I could spy a steeple for a guide, into most
of them I found access, as the sextons were either
dusting inside or sweeping outside. I thought this
was hardly consistent with purity, for they might give
the man a dollar a-week more, and he would do
this work on Saturday afternoon. I was struck with
the grandeur of all of them (they beat our New York
churches hollow). I was pleased that they did not
let the house of God lay in ruins, while they them-
selves were living in palaces of wainscot. But there
was such a wonderful profusion of scarlet curtains
and scarlet cushions behind the pews and before the
pews, behind the pulpit and before the pulpit, I thought
it had an awful squinting at the mother of harlots
riding on the scarlet beast, whereof you may see a
more particular account in the 17th chapter of the Re-
velations, from the first verse to the end. In another
church, where the back of the pulpit was near as broad
as the east end of the City Hotel, in Broadway, was an
anchor hung up, large enough for the Washington 74;
and, in place of tarred ropes, it was bound round the
stock with fine scarlet cords; the wall was covered
with scarlet cloth. I should think there was a hundred
yards of it, which hung in beautiful festoons over the
flukes of the anchor. The sexton told me the cloth and
A SABBATH AT BOSTON.
119
anchor was made a present to the church by a single
gentleman, and that it cost a thousand dollars. Pre-
suming the man was a bachelor, as the words single
gentleman seemed to imply, I thought he had better
have bought furniture with the one thousand dollars,
and gone to housekeeping with one of those bonny
lasses I saw playing under the elm-tree; and he had
better have painted the back of the pulpit a good sky-
blue colour, and given the balance to the poor mis-
sionaries, or even to one of the Female Auxiliary Tem-
perance Societies, whereby these kind-hearted creatures
would have been enabled to feed and clothe a few
score of these poor starving brats whose fathers drink
up all their money in rum, because the bread is so
dear. But I don't mean to enter into the merits of
this case.
I only tell you what I thought: this was a
rational church, and I daresay the man thought he
was acting on rational principles, and that is enough
for me, especially as I found the puritan churches
decked out pretty much in the same manner,- -nothing
but the eternal red scarlet every where, like the hats of
the fat cardinals at Rome.
At ten the bell rang, as it does in New York: the
minister told the folks to join with him in singing to
the praise and glory of God. Had you seen me at this
moment, with mouth open, and eyes staring with sur-
prise, when, instead of joining with him in singing to
the praise and glory of God, up starts a long string of
young lads and lasses, who sung out most lustily to
the praise and glory of themselves, and behind them
was an organ, roaring as loud as the arms of the man
and the wind of the bellows could make it: I thought,
120
GRANT THORBURN.
if this be worship, a pair of Scotch bag-pipes might
do as well. I turned to see how the minister brooked
the affront, as no one joined with him; when lo! there
he stood, as mute as a mummy, his psalm-book shut,
a hand on each side of the pulpit, supporting his noble
frame; his face, instead of displaying anger, (as I ex-
pected,) was almost mantling with a complacent smile,
as he looked under the broad brims of the lasses' hats,
and seemed absorbed in contemplating the sweetness
of their warbling throats. His ruddy cheek and glisten-
ing brow told me, in accents louder than the organ's
roar, that, however satisfied he might be to worship
God by proxy, he did not carry the principle into
the ordinary walks of life,-at least in as far as eating
and drinking was concerned. By the time they had
sung a verse, I found it was a good old Scotch tune,
by the name of French, they were at; and as I had
joined with a thousand voices in the old Grayfriars'
Kirk, Edinburgh, forty years ago, in singing "David's
Psalms" to this same tune, I up with my book, turned
my back to the minister like the rest, and sung away
as loud as I could, keeping time with the lads up stairs.
The folks stared: one said, “He is a Yorker,”—others
that I was daft; but, thinks I, they may laugh that
wins; I am doing my duty in joining with the lasses (if
the minister wont) in singing praise, and at any rate,
am leaving testimony against this anti-puritan mode of
worship; so I sung on to the end of the hymn. Thinks
I to myself, these folks' religion may be rational enough
for aught that I know; but they appear to me to have
a queer way of shewing it. I thought how much better
this thing is done in Scotland. Professor Silliman, in
A FEMALE PSALM-SINGER.
121
his journey through that country, takes notice of being
in the Tron Kirk of Edinburgh, where generally about
a thousand people assemble for worship on Sabbath
days. He says they all joined, men, women, and
children, in singing the Scotch version of the Psalms :
it made him feel as if standing on the outside of
heaven's walls, and hearing the sound as the sound of
many waters, &c., and it thrilled his very soul. These
are not the exact words, (as I have not his book by me,)
but they are the substance.
In the afternoon I went to another church, to see
if I could find any thing more pure. The minister,
after inviting the people to join with him, &c., hav-
ing read a hymn, and the organ played a solo, a
woman, dressed pretty enough, and her cheeks I
thought rather more ruddy than nature commonly
paints them in the month of June, got up and sang
most sweetly all alone by herself, praise and glory in
the name of the whole congregation, as I could neither
see man nor minister that joined her nothing was
heard but her sweet pipes, and the tin pipes of the
organ. After I got out, I asked a decent-looking man
who she was that sung? He said she belonged to the
play-actor folk; and, if he was right informed, had
been singing at twelve o'clock the night previous, in
one of the theatres, to the praise and glory of the devil.
The puritan church paid her $300, and the devil's
church $600 per annum; so, between the two she cuts
a bright figure. I said to myself, if one of those stern
old pilgrims, who landed on Plymouth rock that cold
stormy day, with their noses as red as a north-west
moon, were to enter now, how these pigmy degenerates
- 122
GRANT THORBURN.
would sneak into mice-holes! To return-(but I must
observe, that all the ministers I heard in this eastern
country are readers, not preachers of the gospel).
After the woman had finished her song, the minister
made a very decent prayer. In it he sought the Lord
to lay plentifully to his hands of the food of souls, &c.
Now, thinks I, we will have a preaching. Well, his
prayer finished, without a blush on his face, he pulls
from his pocket a roll of black leather, in form of a
tobacco-pouch; from this he unrolls about a sheet of
paper, and, without ever opening the Bible, reads a
text from the head of the sheet, and so reads on till he
comes to Amen, at the end of the sheet. I wondered
at the indecency (to call it no worse) of the man. Did
he think he was addressing a stock or a stone, that
did not hear him? Did he suppose his Maker did not
know, that all the food he was about to deal out to the
hungry souls before him was in his pocket? I have
heard this same mode of prayer used by reading
ministers in New York. I hope hereafter they will
pray for the blessing of light, and eyesight, and the
use of their tongue; for, by this system of reading, I
had almost said they put it out of the power of God
Almighty to help them. I have been to Guilford and
Stonington, to Bambury and Danbury—every where
they read their sermons, and sing praise by proxy.
It was harvest, and very warm. Saturday was fine
for getting in the grain: it was full moon. Many of
the farmers kept their men-servants and maid-servants,
their oxen and their jack-asses, at work till one o'clock
on Sunday morning. At half-past ten they got all to
church. The minister began to read off his task; but
AN INATTENTIVE CONGREGATION,
123
scarcely had he got to thirdly, when I looked round I
found they were all asleep, except a few old women,
(and they would have been asleep also, but having
dozed for the last forty years under the droppings of
this drowsy preaching, for the life of them they could
not sleep an hour longer,) and about two dozen of
Sunday scholars in the gallery, who were cutting sticks
to make windmills. I observed that the teachers, male
and female, were asleep, and the minister was read-
ing the dead languages. To keep myself awake, my
thoughts run a-head in the following strain:-Before
this, I never could comprehend what was the employ-
ment of those chaps in Yale College, who are called
professors of the dead languages. I now felt satisfied
that it must be they who teach the young Yankees to
read sermons; but what a pity the old farmers, their
fathers, should squeeze and starve all the rest of the
family to raise forty dollars per month, to pay board
and fees, and fire and candles, and pens and paper, to
teach a boy to read sermons in New Haven. Only
send them to New York, and Picket will teach them
for ten shillings per month to read nearer to the points
than many whom I heard; and Carvill, corner of Pine
Street and Broadway, for one hundred, will give them
as many sermons as they can read in fifty years: this,
too, would save a great deal of paper, for a sermon
reads just as well when printed as written. We have
heard much of the march of intellect since the days of
the pilgrims; but with regard to pulpit life, oratory,
and eloquence, it has been in an awful retrograde line.
Cotton Mather, and his contemporary champions of
truth, would preach hours on a stretch without a paper
124
GRANT THOrburn.
within a mile of them except their Bible. The Ed-
wardses and Witherspoons, the Rogerses and Lins, the
Livingstons and Masons of our day, made the souls of
their hearers, as well as the walls of their churches,
tremble, with their extempore pulpit eloquence. Now
we have boys fresh from the college; their beards as
soft as the down on a mushroom-top; green spectacles
to hide their conscious shame, reading from a dead
paper to a company of dead souls, and with a manner,
too, as dead as the devil (who always attends church)
could wish it. Why, if these men were to go into
congress, the bench, or even the theatre so, they would
be kicked from the hall, or hissed from the stage. Is it
not a shame, to say the least of it, that a man in con-
gress, or in a court of justice, will speak hours to the
purpose, and often in support of a doubtful point,
without paper, and yet a minister of the gospel, who
has the range of three worlds-heaven, earth, and
hell-with all the sublime doctrines of the Bible at
his finger-ends, can't speak forty minutes without a
quire of paper held up as an extinguisher of truth be-
tween their eyes and the eyes of their hearers? If you
want to convince men in argument, they must see the
fire of truth flash from your eyes. When Paul stood
before Felix, and reasoned of righteousness, temper-
ance, and a future judgment, his eyes kindled with the
mighty theme, darting conviction through the eyes of
the tyrant into the dark corners of his guilty, black,
iron-bound soul-case, which made him tremble on his
throne,—yes, on his throne, and before a prisoner in
chains, too. Truth, when well spoken, (not read,) will
make any tyrant tremble.
EXTEMPORE PREACHING.
125
There is no excuse for this banisher of pulpit elo-
quence, laziness is the cause. Forty years ago,
you would rarely have seen a paper in any pulpit
in New York. The abilities of our young men are
as good now as they were then: memory, like all
faculties of the mind, will improve by using; ministers
only, of all public speakers, take neither pride nor
pains to excel. Were I a minister, I would throw
my paper in the fire, and say, I will be second to
none, were it only for the honour of the profession.
The ministers in the devil's church* deal out their
fictions and lies in such a solemn strain of eloquent
pathos, that they can chain the attention of their audi-
ence, and bathe them in tears for hours; but many of
the ministers of the Most High deal out their solemn
realities as if they were mere fictions, and they can
barely keep the people from going to sleep. The
tr
thoughts that breathe and words that burn" never
flowed from off a paper. One Sabbath evening, about
seventeen years ago, I went into the brick meeting to
hear Dr. Wight, from Connecticut, preach. There he
stood, with all the insignia of office-white bands, silk
cloak, and tassels enough to bedeck a modern hearse-
a tall, fine-looking man. I thought he was Boanerges
personified. Out came his paper: he read along pretty
well for fifteen minutes. The thunder began to roll
over Snake Hill, in the Jerseys; the heavens were
clothed in darkness, his spectacles failed, and he was
obliged to sit down, till the sexton procured lighted
candles. I thought this spoke more than volumes
against the pernicious practice of reading. However,
*Theatre.
126
GRANT THORBURN.
next day I learned he had been a professor of theology
for seven years previous, and being a man of a very
charitable turn of mind, I thought it was probable he
might have given away whatever little stock of divinity
he once possessed, for the benefit of those young stu-
dents whose heads he had been polishing, and thereby
left nothing to himself. I also learned he had been a
preacher for twenty years, ten of which he had passed
away under the title of doctor of divinity; but there
he sat, and could not speak one word for his Master,
without the help of paper, ink, and candle-light. Such
were my reflections returning home in the steam-boat
Washington, Captain Comstock.
The men
But I have said nothing of the town.
were kind, sociable, and sober. I heard it said that
their temperance societies existed long before the revo-
lution. The merchants are not quite so bustling as in
New York, but I think they do it more cannily. You
meet very few by two o'clock who have five hundred
dollars short painted on their countenance. Their
markets are fine, neat, and clean-all shut up as
tight as a store at night. No drunken, dirty rascal
sleeps there at night, as in our markets, on the stalls,
till aroused in the morning by the butcher throwing
down his quarters of beef. Their provision-shops are
well supplied, and are a great convenience to the in-
habitants—a blessing we are deprived of in New York
by law. The ladies are handsome, good cooks, and
good-natured: it is all we want of them.
127
CHAPTER VII.
Purchase the Friends' Meeting-House and Grounds- Instance
of Special Providence- Thomas Paine - Anecdote of him ·
His narrow Escape from Execution in France - Effects of
Infidelity in France General Moreau.
DURING the time I was gardening in New Jersey, I
sunk twelve thousand dollars and upwards; but when,
in 1825, I made the purchase of the Friends' Meeting-
House, this loss was providentially made up to me in
one day, inasmuch as I paid twenty thousand five
hundred dollars for the Meeting-House and ground,
and in a few days thereafter was offered forty thou-
sand, and lately was offered fifty thousand and
upwards. The house was situated in Liberty Street,
and had been occupied by the Society as a place of
burial, school, and meeting-house,* for upwards of 140
years. The present building, however, was erected
within the last thirty-five years.
For the following reasons I think I see the kind
hand of Providence in this matter. As it was a
* It is another curious incident in my life, that I was
making nails on the opposite side of the street at the time the
Meeting-House (now my store) was building-part of the nails
used were made by myself. Little thought my good friends
(the Quakers), while they were paying me for nails to assist in
rearing the Meeting-House, that, at the same time, they were
preparing for me a shop, wherein to sell seeds—but so Pro-
vidence orders our lot.
128
GRANT THORBURN.
transaction of great importance, I earnestly prayed for
direction from Him who has said, "Acknowledge me
in all your ways, and I will direct your steps." I
did so, and I think he directed me in that important
matter; for, 1st, Every step I took towards fur-
thering my views succeeded beyond my expectations:
2d, Every time I went to see any of the persons
concerned in the sale, I always found them at home,
and did the business I went about, without once going
what we call a needless errand. 3d, I bought it at
private sale-a circumstance which has not happened,
in the sale of so much valuable property in the lower
part of the city, for very many years. The circum-
stance is more remarkable, as several individuals had
also applied to make a purchase; also the New York
Athenæum, and other public bodies; besides several
gentlemen, who wished to have it for building lots..
Likewise a company of gentlemen in the lower part
of the city had a plan laid out, and a company
organised to purchase it at any rate, for the purpose
of converting it into a select school for their daughters.
In this state of things, each party was preparing for
the contest of public sale. One broker since told me
that he was authorised to bid as high as $32,000.
I purchased six lots for $26,000, Mr. Tilletson
paying $5,200: so our four lots on Liberty Street,
with the building, cost us only $20,800. Every one
who knew the circumstance was surprised, and unable
to conceive a reason for its being sold at private
sale. Under the above circumstances, for my own
part, I can only say that so Providence ordered it
should come to our hands; for, had it come to public
REMARKABLE FACT.
129
sale, it would have gone far higher than our business
would afford to pay the interest for the purchase-
money.
Our expenses in erecting a green-house, and other
necessary fixtures for carrying on our business to ad-
vantage, were great; however, our sales so increased,
that we were able to meet the demands.
The following is one, out of many instances, in
which Providence directed me, almost by miracle, in
the furtherance of the seed-establishment. In April
1803, I commenced the selling of seeds. One evening,
in the fall of the year, a merchant gave me an order
for a quantity of spring-wheat: at that time I knew
not there was such an article in use. However, I
promised to get it if possible. At the same time, there
lived, at the corner of Stone and Mill Streets, a grain-
broker, by the name of Reynolds. Next morning, I
started, with the intention of making my first inquiry
of him. Having a small bill against Mr. Henry Coster,
whose office was situated in William Street, directly
opposite the post-office, I took it along with me, as it
lay in my way.
When I entered the office, Mr. Coster
was conversing with a gentleman; Mr. Coster inquired
my business, and insisted that I should stop their con-
versation continuing, I again offered to retire, but was
prevented by Mr. Coster, who observed he should be
at leisure presently. In a few minutes, the gentleman
went out; I finished my business, and, just as I
crossed over to the post-office, I met J. Patrick
coming out with a handful of letters. As we were
going the same way, his office being on the west side
of Old Slip, we kept company, talking about the
130
GRANT THORBURN.
weather, &c. till we came to the corner of Stone
Street. Just as I was turning to pursue my original
intention of calling on Reynolds, at the corner of Mill
Street, says Mr. Patrick, "Mr. Thorburn, as you are
a seedsman, do you know of any one who wants a
quantity of spring-wheat, which was sent me yesterday
from Hudson?" Surprise prevented me from answering
for a few moments: I did not tell him I was in pursuit
of the article, but we walked to his store, when I made
an easy purchase of the whole. Returning and ru-
minating on the circumstances and occurrences of the
last half hour, I thought I would still call on Reynolds.
He had no spring-wheat, nor did he know where it
could be found. He said very few raised it, and it
was seldom brought to the city.
Thus you see had I not met Mr. Patrick at that
precise moment, I should have gone on a needless
errand; and had not Mr. Coster twice detained me
against my wishes, I should not have met Mr. Patrick
coming out of the post-office.
I could relate many such instances, in which I could
see the directing hand of Providence, and abundant
proofs that not a sparrow falls to the ground without
the notice of our heavenly Father:
In each event of life how clear
Thy ruling hand I see;
Each blessing to my soul more dear,
Because conferred by Thee.
When I look back I remember some ludicrous and
curious scenes in which I have been part actor. I have
come in contact with several of the men whose names
have bore a conspicuous part in the history of the last
&c.
VISIT TO THOMAS PAINE.
131
forty years: such as Thomas Paine, General Moreau,
When Thomas Paine escaped from the dungeon
of the Committee of Safety, men whom the writings of
Paine, and such as Paine, had turned into monsters,
he put up at the City Hotel in this city. One morning
about nine o'clock a person came in my store, and
stated that he was standing on the steps in front. As
I lived next street, and being anxious to see him, I,
with two gentlemen who happened to be in the store at
the time, went round to have a look at him; but before
we got there he stepped in. While I stood considering
how to get a sight of him, I observed Samuel Loudon,
the printer, enter the hotel. As I knew Samuel and
he were copatriots through the whole of the American
revolution, I presumed he was going to see his old
friend. I proposed to my companions to go in; and as
I was acquainted with Mr. Loudon, we would thus get
introduced. They declined going. As I went alone,
I asked the waiter—
"Is Mr. Paine at home?"
"In his own room?"
"Alone?" "Yes."
"Can I see him ?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Follow me."
He ushered me into a spacious room, where the
table was set for breakfast—a gentleman at the table
writing, another reading the paper. At the further end
of the room a long, lank, coarse-looking figure stood
with his back to the fire. From the resemblance to
portraits I had seen in his Rights of Man, I knew it
was Paine. While I followed the waiter, presuming
Paine was alone, I was preparing an exordium to in-
troduce myself to a plain republican alone; but when
132
GRANT THORBURN.
I thus found myself in company with the great author
of "Common Sense," for a moment I was at a stand.
Says I, "Gentlemen, is Mr. Paine in this room?" He
stepped towards me and answered, "My name is Paine."
I held out my hand, and while I held his, says I,
"Mr. Paine, and you, gentlemen, will please excuse my
abrupt entry; I came out of mere curiosity to see the
man whose writings have made so much noise in the
world." Paine answered, "I am very glad your curi-
osity is so easily satisfied." Says I, "Good morning,
gentlemen;" walked out, and shut the door behind me.
I heard them all burst out into a loud laugh. Thinks
I, they may laugh that win; I have seen Paine, and,
all things considered, have made a good retreat. The
gentlemen called the waiter, and inquired who that was.
"It is Thorburn, the seedsman." They reported the
matter at the coffee-house, and among their acquaint-
ances. As the story travelled, it was told with all
manner of additions. One was, that I told Paine he
was a rascal; had it not been for his books I would
never have left my native country, &c. &c.
In short,
there was nothing heard for many days but Thorburn's
visit to Mr. Paine.
At that time I was clerk, or psalm-singer, in the
Scotch Presbyterian Church in Cedar Street, of which
the famous Dr. John M. Mason was the minister. The
church-session caught the alarm; an extra meeting was
called. To be sure I was not noticed to attend-per-
haps they were afraid of contamination from one who
had shook hands with Mr. Paine. Be that as it may,
I was suspended from office for some months.
A few years after this, when Paine had fallen into
ANECDOTE OF PAINE.
133
disrepute, and his company shunned by the more re-
spectable of his friends, on account of his unpopular
writings and hard drinking, he boarded in the house
of one William Carver, a blacksmith and horse-doctor.
This Carver and I had wrought journeywork together
in the same shop ten years before that period; so,
having free access to the house, I frequently called to
converse with Mr. Paine. One evening he related the
following anecdote:-He said it was in the reign of
Robespierre, when every republican that the monster
could get in his power was cut down by the axe of the
guillotine, Paine was in the dungeon, and his name on
the list, with twenty more, ordered for execution next
morning. It was customary for the clerk of the tribunal
to go through the cells at night and put a cross with
chalk on the back of the door of such as were to be
guillotined in the morning. When the executioner
came with his guard round, wherever they found a
chalk the victim was brought forth. There was a
long passage in the cellar, or dungeon, of this bastile,
having a row of cells each side containing the prisoners.
The passage was secured at each end, but the doors
of the cells were chiefly left open, and sometimes the
prisoners stepped into one another's room to converse.
Paine had gone into the next cell, and left his door
open, back to the wall; thus having the inside out.
Just then came the chalkers, and, probably being drunk,
crossed the inside of Paine's door. Next morning when
the guard came with an order to bring out twenty, and
finding only nineteen chalks (Paine being in bed, and
his door shut), they took a prisoner from the further
end of the passage, and thus made up the number.
I
134
GRANT THORBURN.
So Mr. Paine escaped; and before the mistake was
discovered (about forty-eight hours after), a stronger
party than Spirie's cut off his head, and about thirty
of his associates; and so Paine was set at liberty.
But being afraid to trust his head any longer among
these good democrats, for whom he had written so
much, he made the best of his way for this country.
I asked him what he thought of his almost mira-
culous escape. He said, "The Fates had ordained
he was not to die at that time.” Says I,
"Mr. Paine,
I will tell you exactly what I think you know you
have written and spoke much against what we call the
religion of the Bible; you have highly extolled the per-
fectibility of human reason when left to its own guidance,
unshackled by priestcraft and superstition; the God
in whom you live, move, and have your being, has
spared your life that you might give to the world a
living comment on your own doctrines. You now shew
to the world what human nature is when left to itself,
to wander in its own counsels; here you sit, in an
obscure, uncomfortable dwelling, powdered with snuff,
and stupified with brandy; you, who was once the
companion of Washington, Jay, and Hamilton, are now
deserted by every good man; and even respectable
deists cross the streets to avoid you." He said, "He
cared not a straw for the opinions of the world." Says
I, "I envy not your feelings." So we parted. In
short, he was the most disgusting human being you.
could meet in the street. Through the effect of in-
temperance his countenance was bloated beyond de-
scription-he looked as if God had stamped his face
with the mark of Cain. A few of his disciples, who
THE INFIDEL SILenced.
135
stuck to him through good and through bad report,-
to hide him from the gaze of men, had him conveyed
to Greenwich, where they supplied him with brandy
till he died.
One evening, shortly after he gave me the history of
his escape from the guillotine, I found him in company
with a number of his disciples, as usual abusing the
Bible for being the cause of every thing that is bad in
the world. As soon as I got an opportunity to edge in
a word, says I," Mr. Paine, you have been in Ireland,
and other Roman Catholic countries, where the common
people are not allowed to read the Bible; you have
been in Scotland, where every man, woman, and child,
has the Bible in their hands; now, if the Bible were so
bad a book, they who used it most would be the worst
people. In Scotland, the peasantry are intelligent,
comfortable, sober, and industrious; in Ireland, they
are ignorant, drunken, and live but little better than
the brutes. In New York, the watch-house, bridewell,
alms-house, penitentiary, and states - prison, is filled
with Irish; but you won't find a Scotchman in these
places." This being an historical fact which he could
not deny, and the clock having just struck ten, he
took a candle from the table and walked up stairs,
leaving his friends and myself to drawn our own con-
clusions.
Mr. Paine was very fond of company; but his
habits being intemperate, his chief associates were
mostly among the second orders in society. From
my acquaintance with William Carver, the black-
smith, at the corner of Cedar and Temple Streets,
I often used to spend the evening conversing with
136
GRANT THORBURN.
Mr. Paine. He had seen much of men and their man-
ners; had a clear, strong head, but (as I thought) a
very unsound heart. Politics and religion were the
chief topics of our discourse. We agreed on the for-
mer; on the latter we differed, but always in a friendly
way. One evening he was describing, in his usual strong
manner, the mischiefs (as he termed it) produced in
society by the Bible and its followers. Says I," Mr.
Paine, the first night I slept in America was on a hard
mattrass, laid on the floor of a close garret, in a hot
night in the warm month of June—the place swarmed
with musquitoes and other domestic animals, and when-
ever sweet sleep approached, they drove her from my
pillow: sore, feverish, and sunk in spirit, I rose by
break of day to while away the time till the family got
up. I commenced unpacking my box of books; I
opened the first book that came to hand, merely to see
if it had received any injury by confinement in the hold
of the vessel for so many weeks; my eye lit on the
words, 'My son'"-(this book was in two small volumes:
often when I went to see Mr. Paine I put it in my
pocket, to set him right when he misquoted a passage.)
Having the book by me, I asked, and he assented, to
hear it read—it was the third chapter of Proverbs; we
sat with the table between us, his eyes fixed on my face
till I had done. "Now," says I, " Mr. Paine, put your-
self in my situation a poor, sick stranger, just en-
tering on the untried scenes of life without a pilot, and
conceive, if you can, a set of instructions more suit-
able: why, sir, it drove away my fever and my fears
I went forth, to commence my new career, with a heart
as light as a feather, trusting in Him who hangs crea-
A YOUNG ENTHUSIAST.
137
tion on his arm, and feeds her at his board." He heard
without interruption, when, patting me on the head,
with a good-natured smile, " Ah," says he," but thou
art a young enthusiast." So we parted for the night.
I will now, to give Mr. Paine his due, mention one
good action he performed. The man who suffered
death instead of Paine left a widow, with two young
children, in poor circumstances. Paine brought them
all with him to this country, supported them while he
lived, and, it is said, left most of his property to them
when he died. The widow and children lived in apart-
ments up town by themselves; I saw them often, but
never saw Paine in their company: he then boarded
with Carver. I believe his conduct was disinterested
and honourable to the widow. She appeared to be
about thirty years of age, and was very far from being
handsome.
The friends of Mr. Paine, merely in attempting to
contradict my statement, have lately asserted that this
woman was not the widow of the man guillotined, and,
from what I lately learned, I believe she was not. One
thing I know, when he first brought her out, he and
his friends passed her off as such; and it's a pity they
should have taken from him the credit of the only good
action he was ever thought to have performed.
There are some who have read little, and thought
less, on the events that have passed before our eyes
within the last forty years, who may honestly wish to
see the experiment tried, whether society can exist in
any thing like a state of order, without the religion
of the Bible: but the experiment has been tried and
found wanting. The Governor of the world, as if to
I 2
138
GRANT THORBURN.
leave men without excuse, gave the management of
the affairs of France, for several years of her late re-
volution, into the hands of men who were freethinkers
in principle, and enemies to religion by profession.
Having the power, they put their principles into prac-
tice: they abolished the Sabbath, and substituted
every tenth as a day of rest or amusement they
shut up the churches, and banished the ministers, ex-
cept a few, whom they styled priests of the religion
of nature they dressed up a female, (the Fanny
Wright of Paris, no doubt,) according to their notion
of some heathen deity, whose costume was any thing
but modest-they placed her on a pedestal in one of
their public squares or temples-they bowed the knee
and paid her divine homage, under the style and title of
the Goddess of Reason! Yes, gentle reader, these men
were the philosophers of the day, the Timothy Jenkinses
of France, who shouted in the ears of the simple, We
are the men-we are the men! and wisdom will die
with us! It was enough to make the devil blush.
The gutters of Paris were turned into a scarlet die,
so mighty was the devastation and murders of these
philanthropists—these friends of man! Buonaparte, and
a few other men of strong mind, seeing the nation was
rolling fast towards the dark gulf of worse than savage
barbarism, took the reins from the hands of these un-
skilful drivers; they scattered the council of 500 into
thin air, restored to the people their weekly Sabbath,
their altar, and their priests-and again were the people
happy. Now, my good friends, look out for the rocks
on which others have split. We have as much, and
more, liberty to carry as we can fairly stagger under:
GENERAL MOREAU AND HIS LADY.
139
no religious denomination can lord it over another in
America, as the constitution has placed these as they
ought to be, all on a level; and while we have neither
lords temporal or spiritual in our country, you will
never be hurt by priestcraft. If it is a craft, I think it
is the poorest craft I know of in America; for except
in New York, and two or three of the largest cities,
they scarcely are paid enough to keep soul and body
together. Were we, as in England, obliged to pay
tenths to a man whose church we never enter, we
might complain of priestcraft; but here we have free
churches, and in every church are free pews for those
who are unable to pay: so, in America, above any
other spot in the world, it may emphatically be said,
"the poor have the gospel preached unto them."
,
When General Moreau fled from Buonaparte's per-
secution, he took up his abode in New York-he and
his lady, the beautiful Madame
daughter of a
banker in Paris. She was said, at that time, to be the
richest and handsomest woman in Europe. Be that as
it may, she was very à pretty little woman, and fond of
flowers. The general condescended to all her whims
and notions about plants; and very well he might, for
he was rather ugly, and old enough to be her father.
When any thing was to be arranged among the plants,
she was not pleased except the general and I had the
fixing of them. One day I was placing some pretty little
modest Scotch daisies in his study, I cast my eyes on
his hat, coat, sword, and other accoutrements, hanging
on one side. Thinks I to myself, it is but a few months
since with that sword in hand, he was arranging the
ranks, and directing the most masterly retreat, perhaps,
140
GRANT THORBURN.
on military record; and here he is seemingly exerting
all his mind in ranking up flower-pots. He observed
the direction of my eyes, and spoke in French to his
servants, who told me the general wished to know
what I thought. I said, I wished to know if that sword
and hat was with him on the field of battle. He said
it was.
I told him what I thought; he explained to
the general, who laughed as loud as Frenchmen
generally do.
It was a pity he ever left New York: he was a
pleasant, unassuming man, and was much liked. He
had plenty of money, and might have been very happy
here, had he been only contented. I would rather live
in America on an annuity of 20007. sterling, than mount
the throne of any monarch in Christendom.
141
CHAPTER VIII.
Journey to Albany-The Genesee Girl and her little Red Book,
or her Journey overland to Albany; a Story not founded
on, but all fact.
It was in that tremendous weather, in the winter of
1831, that froze the soles and bodies of men, 1 rose
before day, that I might catch the first ferry-boat. The
moon shone bright, the north wind blew as if charged
with particles of pulverised flint, the pavements were
thronged with the dear sisters of the Assistant Society,*
pattering along with their little feet, o'er cutting ice
and frozen snow, some going to the house of prayer,
and some going to the house of mercy; but all engaged
Composed chiefly of rich, handsome, and delicate females,
members of the, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian,
Dutch Reformed, Baptists, Universalists, Unitarians, Friends
(Quakers), Moravians, Congregationalists, &c., agreeing to differ
on points, but going hand and hand in their labours of love, fol-
lowing, in this respect, the footsteps of their Master, who ever
was found in the hovels of the wretched, and by the sick bed of
the miserable; for in America we have no privileged church to
create and foster jealousies among brethren-the Lord Jesus Christ
is the only king and head of the church in America; it is he
alone who carries the keys of hell and of death, -a bunch too
heavy for the feeble arm of any of Adam's sickly sons, not even
excepting the strong man Samson. These American bodies have
some strange notions about things; they won't believe that there
is a man in all the universe of God whose arm is strong enough
to carry the keys of hell and of death, except the man Christ
Jesus.
142
GRANT THORBURN.
(like Young's departed friends) "on errands full of
love."* I gazed on the little groups as they passed
along under the pinching beams of that ecliptic moon.
Bless the women! though I, surely their record is on
high, for their worth goes unrewarded in this world. By
the by, you may recollect, it was this self-same cold,
calculating moon that stepped between us and the sun
one forenoon last winter, whereupon there ensued such.
a season of freezing, that the like had not been felt
since the year 1782, when they rolled the cannons over
the ice from Whitehall to Communipaw in the Jerseys.
I say
it was on this morning we left Hoboken, &c.
But before we commence (as friend Harper says, after
he has made five and twenty leaves of a book), I would
hereby forewarn every man, woman, and child, if they
have any regard for life or limb, for soul or for body,
that they travel not to Albany in winter on the Jersey
side of the Hudson river: the reason you will find as we
get along the road. We left Hoboken with about fifteen
passengers, close packed in a stage with wheels, and a
very neat coach. I was politely asked to step into the
coach, and so foolish was I and ignorant (never having
travelled by land), I thought this same fine close car-
riage would go through thick and thin with me all the
way to Albany: in two short hours my eyes were opened.
We stopped in Hackinseck, at a tavern, grocery, grog-
shop, and post-office, all under one concern (if I mistake
not); for we carried Uncle Sam's letter-bags (which,
*This was in the winter of 1831, the time when the sincerely
pious thought they were doing God more service by rising at five
A.M. in January, and walking a half mile to the place where
prayer was wont to be made.
TRAVELLING IN JERSEY.
143
In
by the way, was another grievance, as we had to stop
every few miles to change the mail). The keeper of
the office began to bluster and swear he had neither
carriages, covered or uncovered, to forward so many
passengers. He said the Jockey Club in New York
took all the money and gave him all the trouble.
short, says he, unless you remain here till four o'clock
P.M., you must go on with such conveyance as I can
furnish. Here one of our passengers, a great, black-
whiskered fellow, told the landlord to his face, he would
rather stay in h― till four o'clock than stop in such
an abominable rum-hole. As we applied to our Ho-
boken driver, he said his orders were to drop us at Hack-
inseck, and bring back the carriages; and sure enough
he turned about, and back he went. Looking at our
commodious carriages on their return, one of our com-
pany observed, "These are kept as decoy ducks.” I
thought, in our case, they had decoyed geese; for no
person with brains ought to expect any good thing to
come out of Jersey. Here we were detained nearly an
hour. I stepped into the bar-room -a large place.
In the centre stood an old-fashioned ten-plate stove,
surrounded by fifteen or twenty large, lazy-looking
fellows. On the stove (which was very hot) stood a
number of pots, mugs, pitchers, and jars of beer,
brandy, ale, and cider; some, running over with the
heat, made a hissing and a noise, and the fume which
rose to the ceiling, and intermixed with clouds of pipe
and cigar smoke, rebounded again on the heads of the
smokers, nearly shutting out the light of day, and
brought to mind the midnight revels of Macbeth's
witches dancing round the infernal fire, with Satan
144
GRANT THORBURN.
standing on the edge of the caldron, stirring the in-
gredients in their incantations. Had I the powers,
pencil, and canvass of Hogarth, I would have daubed
these fellows into lasting fame. After waiting an hour,
we were sent forward, viz.: two in an open chair, four
in a light wagon, and the remainder, eight, I think,
in a common Jersey farming-wagon, all the machines
being without covers. It now commenced raining;
and by the time we got to the next stage, we looked
like moving pillars of salt, our hats and coats being
covered to the thickness of one-eighth of an inch with
ice transparents. At the town of Goshen, we changed
the mail, thawed our garments, and eat our dinner.
As we got north, the sleighing got better; so we were
accommodated with a covered box and runners; but
alas! it was like the man's lantern without a candle.
The cover was of white-wood boards, placed a quarter
of an inch apart, without paint, leather, or canvass, to
protect them from the weather. (You will here ob-
serve, that seventy-five cents' worth of canvass, and
twenty-five cents' worth of paint, and half an hour of
time, would have made this machine both air and
water-tight.) But in Jersey, time, cents, and every
comfort, seemed all swallowed up with the rum-jugs
and the ten-plate stoves. We travelled all night.
The rain and snow descending through the roof, our
hats were frozen to our capes, and our cloaks to one
another. In the morning, when we stopped at the village
of Cocksackie, we looked like some mountain of ice
moving down the Gulf-stream. I thought the machine
used at the Dry Dock would have been an excellent ap-
pendage here to have lifted us bodily into the breakfast-
CHARACTER OF NEW JERSEY MEN.
145
room and this is what the horse-flesh fraternity in
New York advertise as their safe, cheap, comfortable,
and expeditious winter establishment for Albany.
I have met some who would not believe that the
iniquities of the fathers are visited on the children; but
let these same men only go into New Jersey, that is to
say, provided there should be any winter in that state
next January or February, and they will then and there
see the doctrine in practical operation. I saw delicate-
looking women hewing wood and drawing water; I
saw children standing on the snow and sliding on the
ice without stocking or shoe on their feet; while the
lazy, drunken father was spending his time and money
by the ten-plate stove. I have ever thought laziness.
and drunkenness to be the very essence of iniquity,
and here I saw it visited on the innocent children with
a witness. I thought the very brute creation of Jersey
were groaning in pain under the wickedness of the men.
Horses and cows stood trembling by the board-fence,
the bones sticking through their hide-bound skins,
without the slightest covering to protect them from
the piercing winds. Cedar poles and brush were there
in abundance; but the men were chained to the ten-
plate stoves, while they ought to have been construct-
ing a place of shelter for their dumb beasts. The
clean rye-straw was blowing about with the four winds
of heaven, which ought to have been gathered to the
cutting machine, boiled with a few potatoes or coarse-
ground Indian meal. Their cows would then have paid
them three-fold in milk, and the horses in willing and
efficient labour; but these abominable ten-plate stoves
and cider-mugs seemed to swallow every hour and
K
146
GRANT THORBURN.
every comfort they might enjoy. Here the sleighs
were bad, and the horses were bad; the victuals were
bad, and the cooks were bad; the roads were bad, and
the fences were bad; indeed, you might almost have
told when you entered York state, as things began to
mend every mile.
woman.
Among our passengers was a young woman about
seventeen, who, having spent the winter in and about
New York, was returning to her friends in the west:
she was under the protection of a young man, who,
from his polite, yet cool attentions, I thought must have
been nearer related than a cousin. Had she been a
witness at the Hall or Court House, the papers would
have said she was a very interesting young lady; but
as I don't quite understand the phrase in the connexion,
it is as well to say at once she was a handsome young
Most of this day's journey there sat on her
right hand a respectable farmer from Ohio-a man of
sound principles, and who, by his observations, must
have seen much of men and their manners. He ap-
peared to be about fifty. On her left sat a young man
about twenty-two, in the vigour of life and health, and
whiskered to the mouth and eyes-(observe this was
not her protector). Our farmer, in answer to a ques-
tion by a passenger, when speaking of the inhabitants
of the new settlements, observed, wherever there was
a church and a stated minister, the people, for five or
six miles around, were more orderly, circumspect, and
sober, than were those who did not enjoy this privilege,
This observation drew forth the tongue, the learning,
and the eloquence of our young hero of the whiskers;
he had been to college, and was studying some learned
DANGEROUS SITUATION.
147
profession: he spoke long and loud about witchcraft
and priestcraft-said the laws of Lycurgus were better
than the laws of Moses, and the Bible of Mahomet
was better than the Acts of the Apostles. He said the
stories about hell and the devil were only invented to
scare the ignorant, and that death at the most was only
a leap in the dark. But ah! this leap in the dark :
we little thought we were so near the precipice, and
that in a few minutes our courage would be put to the
test. It had rained for the last twenty-four hours,
the sleighing got bad, the horses were sinking to the
knees, and the driver swore he would take to the river.
We thought that he was in jest; but finding him turn
in that direction, the passengers, one and all, remon-
strated, but to no effect. At every stopping-place,
while the horses drank water, he drank rum.
He was
now at that point of high pressure that he declared he
feared neither death nor the devil.
This scene took place between Newburgh and
Catskill. We knew the ice had been strong enough
to bear a hundred sleighs; but the rain had run from
the frozen hills on each side, and the ice was now co-
vered to the depth of at least two feet of water; the
wind was fresh, and the waves rolled as if no ice was
under. Our apprehensions arose from our danger of
getting into air-holes, which could not be seen, as all
appeared but one sheet of water. At this juncture the
rain ceased, and snow began to fall in broad flakes, so
thick and so fast that the driver could hardly discover
the head of his leaders or forward horses; and, to add
to our fears, the banks were so steep we could not effect
a landing for nearly a mile a-head. I looked at our
148
GRANT THORBURN.
farmer; I thought, as he had travelled the length and
breadth of the land, he must have encountered dangers
by field and by flood; his eye was uneasy, startled, and
twinkling with something like fear. I asked what he
thought: he thought it was both unsafe and imprudent.
I looked at the young woman; she looked pale, thought-
ful, and serious, but spoke not: on her lap she carried
a small willow basket, the lids opening to the handle.
While I was observing the effects of fear on her coun-
tenance, she took from her basket a little red book,
about two and a half inches long, two broad, and one
thick; she opened the book, turned a few leaves, fixed
her eyes, and read about a minute. As she shut and
replaced the book in the basket, she turned her face
towards the heavens-she closed her eyes, and her lips
moved. Now, reader, if you ever stood at Werck-
meister's window, corner of Liberty Street and Broad-
way, you may have seen a painting of a beautiful Italian
nun at her devotions: well, if you have seen this, you
may figure to yourself the countenance of this young
woman in that trying moment. As she opened her fine
black eyes, the hue of fear, which for a few moments had
blanched her rosy cheeks, passed away like the shadows
of a showery cloud by the side of a green hill on an
April morning. I knew not the book, nor what words.
she had read, nor did I think it prudent to ask; but I
was sure it must have been something that she took for
inspiration, and that was enough for the present case.
I thought how cruel would it have been in one of those
hoary-headed philanthropists of the Temple of Reason,
at this critical moment to undeceive this young woman,
could such a thing have been possible.
HOPE AND FEAR.
149
During the remainder of our perilous ride, she sat
composed, but spoke not. I looked at the whiskered
young man; he trembled in every limb: ten minutes
before, he looked stout enough and fierce enough to
have made the passage of Lodi on the right hand of
Buonaparte; but now he sat in dismay-this leap in
the dark took him by surprise-he was like one without
hope; while she placed her tender foot firmly on the
Rock of Ages, and with her hand she took a grasp upon
the skies, then bid the waves roll, nor feared their idle
whirl. At this moment I saw before me what I thought
was hope, and no hope, personified-hope, in the person
of this young female, who could not so much as set
her foot upon the ground for very delicateness; yet she
neither screamed nor wrung her hands, she neither
needed smelling-bottle nor hartshorn, but sat strong
in the faith of her little red book; and no hope in
the person of this young man, who, from strength of
body and vigour of mind, might have passed for one
of the very lords of the creation; but now sat unstrung
and feeble as a child;—they had taken from him his
little red book, and given him a blank book in its
place: he had no hope. At this juncture a passenger
crept through the green baize covering and sat with
the driver. What unanswerable argument he used, I
know not, but strongly suspect it was in the shape of a
safety-fund note ;* for in five minutes the driver and
his horses returned to the earth from whence they had
lately sprung.
We stopped at the village of Catskill. While they
were placing the victuals on the table for dinner, I
* Bank notes so called.
150
GRANT THORBURN.
are
asked Miss Campbell, in as polite a manner as possible,
for a sight of the little red book she carrried in her
basket. Its title was,
Its title was, "Daily Food for Christians,
being a Promise, and another Scriptural Portion, for
every Day in the Year," &c. Boston.* I asked her
what portion it was that seemed to please her so much
while we were sleighing in the water. She pointed to
the 15th, 16th, and 17th February, and their texts;
that of the 16th runs thus:-" As the mountains a
round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his
people," &c. &c. The hymn, "Ye fearful saints, fresh
courage take," &c. [If you want to read the whole, go
and buy the book; it costs only 2s. 6d.] As I returned
her book, I observed, "There are some who say this
book is all delusion." "What if it is? it is at least a
cheap, a comfortable, and a very innocent delusion,”
says she; "they may call it what they please; but I
intend to make it my companion through all my jour-
neys in life, unless they produce a better book." This
conversation took place by a window, in the large din-
ing-room, out of the hearing of the other passengers.
Now, master or miss reader, there was nothing mi-
raculous or unaccountable in the matter of the red book.
This young woman had read of some who, in times of
trouble, had drawn support from the leaves of the Bible.
She was now in a situation where there was no refuge
She thought of the
on the right hand or on the left.
little book; in turning to the text for that day of the
month (this was on the 23d), her eye lit on the texts
above cited; they were in Isaiah, xli. 14, xlviii. 15;
* This book is reprinted from the London edition.
AN ENGLISH LADY.
151
Psalm cxxv. 2. When you read these words, and
reflect that she believed them to be inspired, you
will not wonder at her sitting unmoved in the midst
of the danger.
After dinner we resumed our journey through clouds
of falling snow. About nine P.M. the wind chopped
round, the moon shone bright, it froze and blew a hur-
ricane all night. Next day was clear and fine sleigh-
ing; at two P.M. we stopt at Bement's; the sun shone
full down on State Street, the sleighs and the bells
danced merrily along, and every thing bore the appear-
ance of life and comfort. In our company was a lady
who a few days before had arrived in one of the Liver-
pool packets, and was on her way to join her husband
in the west. Fear on the river stopped not her utter-
ance, but had quite a contrary effect. She was a small
body, and when her little English tongue broke loose,
it went like the hammer of a mill-clack: if the fellow
was in her country, he would be prosecuted and mightily
punished for such presumptuous behaviour to pas-
sengers; and declared, if she lived to see Albany, she
would have satisfaction, if there were any laws in this
country, &c. While the driver was untying our bag-
on the top of the
gage, says I, "Mam, that big house
hill, is the place where the king, lords, and commons,
are now sitting, and making laws as fast as you would
pitch half-pennies: over the way is Mr. Van Blarcum,
the lawyer's office. Now, if you are willing to spend a
sovereign or two, and board ten or twelve days in this
hotel, you will find as much law and justice to punish
• The State, or Court-house, where the governor, senate,
and house of assembly, were then making laws.
152
GRANT THORBURN.
that driver for putting you in bodily fear in this as in
your own country." She looked in my face for a mo-
ment. " Dogs take the fellow!" says she; "I would not
stay another week from my husband for all the coach-
men in America." "Good by, mam," says I. So she
jumped into the Schenectady, or some other stage; I
saw no more of her.
He
The above story is a simple tale of truth; I have
written merely what I saw and heard. In July, 1833,
a respectable-looking elderly gentleman came in the
store and asked for me; I answered to my name.
said his name was Campbell; lived in the state of Genesee,
in the far west; that his daughter desired him to call
with her respects, she being the young woman who made
one of the passengers in the sleigh from New York to
Albany, in February 1831; that she was married to a
young gentleman whose views in matters of religion
coincided with her own; that she was very happy, &c.
This Mr. Campbell emigrated from the west of Scotland,
and landed in America when his daughter was a child;
he taught her to put her trust in the same God who had
been the guide of his youth, and the staff of his riper
years.
153
CHAPTER IX.
Reflections on board a Steam-boat-Dr. Graham's Address-
Black Hawk's Reply-Arrival at Boston-Digression-New
York Forty Years ago Old Times.
MAY 25th, 1833, I left New York per steam-boat
Franklin, Mr. Bunker, the old commodore himself,
commander. Intending this as a voyage of discovery,
that I might learn something more of men and of their
manners, I took no encumbrance, save only a small
trunk, and left all my live lumber at home. The
history of one steam-boat voyage on our north or
eastern waters may answer for the history of one hun-
dred at the same season of the year-it being the season
when men, as well as the bird creation, make choice
of a mate. You may always observe a reasonable
proportion of these twos made one.
On board, you
may easily distinguish them from those who have been
buckled together in this holy alliance for the past three
years; for, provided you are a keen observer of nature,
you will see the fair new-made one cling fast to the arm
of her natural support up stairs and down stairs to the
table, or to the promenade, always linked together as
close as the bands of matrimony can tie them. Even
in a crowd, where they can't go abreast, you may see
her pressing sideways along, still grasping the arm, as
if she were afraid he might drop into oblivion. After
supper, and when most of the passengers have retired,
you may see them pacing the deck, or sitting in a
lonely corner, like the turtle-dove on a solitary tree,
K 2
154
GRANT THORBURN.
repeating their tales of love. There they sit till mid-
night. But now the cold north-east wind comes pour-
ing down from St. Anthony's Nose (a high rock on the
Hudson river so named), or round the bleak corners of
Point Judith (a point in the sound, so named, where it
sometimes freezes in the month of June, and the waters
are proverbially turbulent). These winds are more like
to form icicles than to fan the flames of love, and ad-
monish them to retire. They now walk to the door of
the ladies' cabin; but hitherto they may go, but no
farther. Here the imperious law of the boat, in direct
contradiction to the words of the ceremony, part those
asunder whom God has joined together: no more dares
he to set a foot there, than were he to enter the harem
of a Turk. There, with the pearl dancing in her eye,
they shake hands, and part as if it were for ever -she
to sleep if she can, and he to the bar to drown his sor-
row in a glass of champagne.
I now saw a few pairs of them whom I had ob-
served on my former voyage three years ago. Then
they were newly linked now they were settled down
in all the sober realities of life. No squeezing side-
ways arm and arm in a crowd; no leading down stairs
or pulling up stairs by the hand, or tip of the fingers,
like the hauling of a drowning man from a mill-pond;
no snatching at a fan, a glove, or a handkerchief, be-
fore it had reached the deck; but merely a very sedate
ejaculation of" My dear, you have dropped your fan,"
when very quietly raising it up, to be sure. I thought
how much easier they now got along, the one before
and the other behind, in all the composure of true
Indian style.
RUMINATIONS.
155
If any of my thinking readers should suppose that
the picture is too high coloured, they have only to visit
Albany and Boston by steam, between the month of
June and the month of January, and they will see the
same comedy and the same tragedy acted over some
scores of times.
Next morning I arose at five A.M.: having washed,
shaved, and dressed, I sat down with my pipe in lound*
corner, forward, to smoke, and ruminate on what I had
seen and heard the day previous. Says I to myself,
I have been young and now am old, yet have I never
seen an unhappy marriage but where the improper con-
duct of the husband lay at the root of the evil. The
temper of a woman must be very bad indeed if a man
of sense can't lead her along. It is contrary to a
woman's nature to be driven; but by kindness and
persuasion you may lead her any where.
Mrs. Socrates, if history speaks true, was a woman
of a violent temper, and a tremendous scold; yet her
husband, who was a man of sense, could get along with
her very comfortably. It is written of her, that one day
having scolded near half an hour without being able to
draw an angry word from his tongue, or to discompose
a single idea in his contemplative brain, thus finding
the powers of wind had no effect, she thought she would
try the powers of water; so seizing a vessel that usually
stands in the corner of the room, she made for the front
window, where seeing he still sat composedly on the
stoop, solving some problems among the stars, she
emptied the whole contents on the bald head of her
*
Snug corner.
156
GRANT THORBURN.
husband. He then mildly observed to a friend who sat
by, "After thunder we may always expect a shower."
No doubt this sensible remark of the husband made
the old lady draw in her head and smile; and, I dare-
say, when they met again on the stairs, they were as
good friends as ever they had been since the first day
they were linked together. Now, had Mr. Socrates
been as hot-headed as some fiery fools of husbands that
I have known, he would have ran up stairs and broke
her favourite china tea and milk-pots, and may be
driven his hand through the looking-glass. She, in
revenge, would then have torn his portrait in pieces,
and maybe have cut the throat of his favourite cat.
Then there would have been hell upon earth in the
house; but instead of this, he only poured the soothing
oil of forbearance on her stormy temper, and soon the
waves were still.
Those pests of society-the bachelors of forty-as
an apology for their sins of omission, and their sins of
commission, in transgressing alike against the laws of
nature and of nature's God, will assert that they are
afraid of being caught in the matrimonial trap, see-
ing so many promising young ladies have made very
indifferent wives, and very bad housekeepers. This, I
say again, is a mere excuse; besides, it is a downright
slander. I can say, from thirty-seven years' experience
and observation in these matters, that I never saw a
bad wife except there was first a BAD husband. When
two are yoked together, they must calculate to draw
equal if they expect to get along easy. In the higher
walks of life (for there I believe the daughters of Eve
suffer more keenly for the sins of their grandmother
RUMINATIONS.
157
than they do in the lower) I have seen the young, ac-
complished wife, before twenty moons had waned since
she changed her name, sitting lone and solitary as the
sparrow on the house-top. Perhaps her health was
now delicate; the nourishing and cherishing care of
her partner was almost necessary to her existence ;
but he was gone-gone to some political, literary, or
maybe some jockey-club. Perhaps he returns at mid-
night, breathing the fumes of wine, and steaming with
the smoke of cigars-a pretty sort of a fellow to be
sure! how unequal the yoke to a young lady of twenty!
and yet he has the confidence to account himself a
suitable companion to a sensible, delicate, well-edu-
cated female. Such usage and worse when often re-
peated, will sour the temper of any woman, though
naturally as sweet as the dew-drop appending to the
mountain-rose. I have heard the eloquent Dr. Mason
assert from the pulpit that there were more ways of
breaking the heart of a woman besides breaking her
head.
Again, in the lower walks of life have I seen a
delicate little woman--she was clean and neat about
her house, her person, and her dress, but very un-
equally yoked to a great lump of a fellow, with an arm
as thick as the leg, and a hand as heavy as the foot of
an ox. He was by trade a currier of hides, a profound
politician, a thorough reformer, and a warm friend of
the people; and so completely was he filled with a
disinterested love for all mankind, that he had not one
particle left to bestow on his wife and children; for
every night, as the sun went down, would he, after
scrubbing his own hide, and drinking his tea, adjourn
158
GRANT THORBURN.
himself off to the Indian Wigman, or Tammany Hall,
and there would he harangue, cajole, rebuke, and
debate, till the going down of the moon; and having
made the science of political economy and national
government his study from his youth up, he was posi-
tively never able to spare a moment of his time to think
how he should govern himself or his own house.
In these long, lone winter nights, there sat his
pretty little wife, her pale and interesting face yet
more pale from the flickering light of the lamp-there
she sat, one child asleep in her lap, her foot on the
cradle rocking the babe, and at the same time mending
his coat or darning his stockings. About twelve a.m.
his heavy foot is heard on the stairs; his head buoyant
as the balloon, from the fumes of ale and the smoke of
cigars. Rough and uncouth as her portion of animated
clay appeared, she yet welcomes him with a smile.
"Han," said he (her name was Hannah), " have you
got any thing to eat?" Softly raising the child from
her lap, and depositing it on the bed, she went quietly
about placing something on the table to fill his capa-
cious jaws. As the cradle stood still, the babe began
to stir. "John," said she, " please to turn the cradle
"Rock the cradle yourself, and be hanged
to you!" and, strutting across the floor in all the swell
of strong stimulance and self-importance, "Rock the
cradle yourself, I am one of the lords of creation!" A
lord of the creation, indeed; it is enough to make the
devil blush.
a little."
This thing took place in 1798, when the federal
and democratic parties divided the country, or when,
to the shame of America, Who is for France, or Who
DOCTOR GRAHAM'S ADDRESS.
159
is for England, was the watch-word-not a solitary
voice for their country-Washington, Hamilton, Jay,
Adams, and a few others who had bled for independ-
ence, excepted. I think Louis-Philippe served those
chaps right, when they went as a deputation from our
meddling, officious, would-be conspicuous wise men of
Gotham. They went to congratulate him on the
revolution of July 1830, which placed him on the
throne, and made him a king. Very consistent with
republicanism!
Having heard their flat address," Gentlemen," said
he (in plain Scotch), "hereafter learn to mind your
own business, and never burn your own noses in other
people's kail; right about face, march!" These are not
the exact words, to be sure, but certainly the substance.
The New York republican procession, with the
French cockade on their hats, and the New York
republican committee's address to King Philippe of
Paris, in 1830, are two of the most beautiful specimens
of republican simplicity I was ever witness to, except
it may be the following, from the "New York Com-
mercial Advertiser," of June 1833.
"The Address of John A. Graham, LL.D. of the
City of New York, to Black Hawk and his Com-
panions, on the 17th inst.
We
"Brothers! open your ears; you are brave men ;
you have fought like tigers, but in a bad cause.
have conquered you. We were sorry, last year, that
you took up the tomahawk against us; but we believe
that you did not know us then as you do now.
think, in time to come, that you will be wise, and that
We
160
GRANT THORBURN.
we shall be friends for ever.
You see that we are a
We
great people, numerous as the flowers of the field, as
the shells on the sea-shore, or the fish in the sea.
put one hand on the eastern, and, at the same time,
the other on the western ocean. We all act together-
if sometimes our great men talk loud and long at our
council-fires; but shed one drop of the white men's
blood, our young warriors, as thick as the stars of the
night, will leap on board our great boats, which fly on
the waves and over the lakes swift as the eagle in the
air-then penetrate the woods, make the big guns
thunder, and the whole heavens red with the flames of
the dwellings of their enemies.
“Brothers! the President has made you a great
talk. He has but one mouth, but that one has sounded
the sentiments of all the people. Listen to what he
has said to you-write it on your memories. It is
good-very good.
"Brothers! Black Hawk, take these jewels-a pair
of topaz earrings beautifully set in gold, for your wife
or daughter, as a token of friendship; keeping always
in mind that women and children are the favourites of
the Great Spirit. These jewels are from an old man
whose head is whitened with the snows of seventy win-
ters—an old man who has thrown down his bow, put
off his sword, and now stands leaning on his staff,
waiting the commands of the Great Spirit.
"Brothers! look around you, see all the mighty
people, then go to your homes, open your arms to re-
ceive your families; tell them to bury the hatchet, to
make bright the chain of friendship; to love the white
men, and live in peace with them, as long as the rivers
BLACK HAWK'S REPLY.
161
run into the sea, and the sun rises and sets. If you do
so, you will be happy. You will then insure the pro-
sperity of unborn generations of your tribes, who will
go hand in hand with the sons of the white men, and
all shall be blessed by the Great Spirit. Peace and
happiness, by the blessing of the Great Spirit, attend.
you.
"Farewell!
JOHN A. GRAHAM."
Black Hawk's Reply.
Brother, we like your talk. We will be friends.
We like the white people; they are very kind to us.
We shall not forget it. Your counsel is good, and we
shall attend to it. Your valuable present shall go to
my squaw. It pleases be very much, and we shall
always be friends."
But to return to the gentlemen in high life, and the
mechanics in low life. Had the former staid at
home, when his partner was indisposed and unable to
accompany him abroad,- had he with his own hand
held the medicine-cup to her lips,-had he set by her
bed and conversed, or read to her from some enter-
taining book (as he was in duty bound), he never would
have cause to complain of a sour-tempered wife. And
had the latter kept at home at night, and assisted his
true yoke-fellow to nurse the child, while she was wash-
ing the clothes (for the bird creation will assist his
mate to rear their young), he never would have broke
the heart and soured the temper of his delicate wife.
So I think I have shewn, without all controversy, that
if a man only bears his share in the troubles of life, a
woman will never flinch from bearing her's.
162
GRANT THORBURN.
Those consummate blockheads the bachelors, they
too must join the hue and cry to deface and to defame
the most beautiful part of the creation. Conscious that
they are running contrary to all laws, human and divine,
they come forth with hard words in place of arguments;
they are not able, say they, to support a wife; why, it
costs many of you more money in six months to pay
for the soda-water you drink, and the cigars you smoke
and give away, (two articles that you can well dispense
with, and articles too that your fathers never saw,) than
it would take to support a sensible woman for a twelve-
month. You are afraid of the expense of a family.
He that hangs creation on his arm, and feeds her at his
board, he that hears the young ravens when they cry,
will never suffer the young Yankees to starve. When
you have got money enough to buy furniture, you will
then go to housekeeping and marry. Here the fowls
of the air will teach you; in the spring he looks out
for his mate; he has not got a stick or a straw towards
housekeeping together they gather the sticks and the
straws; in a few days a dwelling is prepared for the
little family. But the bachelors in every thing put the
cart before the horse-always wrong end foremost with
them. They say, as soon as they get a nest, they will
then look out for a bird thus running quite cross-
grained in the teeth of nature.
My
When I was not worth 150 dollars I married.
wife earned thirty-one and a half cents per day with
her needle, I earned seventy-five cents per day with my
hammer; yet I never until this day was without a loaf
of bread and a shilling. You have read how Lawrie
Todd began housekeeping; the inventory is true:
A GOODLY CARGO.
163
we had but three chairs-it was one more than our
need; you may have a hundred, but you can only sit
on one at a time: Had I my life to begin anew, and
in the same circumstances, I would just do as I did
then; at the age of twenty-two I would rather lodge
by the bush with the woman of my choice, than to strut
over a turkey carpet, gape on the sofa, yawn by the
piano, and dream over the sideboard, in all the dark,
gloomy, and horrible forebodings of a bachelor of forty;
for they know the time is past-twenty-five is never to
be recalled.*
By the time I got through these ruminations, Provi-
dence came in sight. My ticket for the stage was
No. 2; whether it was what people call chance, or
whether it was a plan of the captain's, I know not: be
that as it may, I found myself seated with my back to
the driver, comfortably stowed away with eight well-
dressed females,-I being the only male creature on
board. I soon learned they were two mothers with
their four daughters and two young waiting-maids. I
knew none of them, but soon found out they had been
to Philadelphia, had visited my store, and were now on
their way home to Boston. Having so precious a cargo
in charge, I thought myself in duty bound to do what
in me lay for their comfort: at every watering place,
such as were thirsty I got abundantly refreshed with
lemonade, milk-punch, or spring water when we
* These sinners against the laws of nature ought to be told,
that by examining the records of births all over the world, they
will find an equal number of males and females born annually,
which says, that every man ought to have his own wife, and
woman is entitled to one husband.
every
164
GRANT THORBURN.
stopped to dine, while the other passengers were feast-
ing on beef and brandy, we quietly sipped our tea and
cake in a neat little room by ourselves. To shorten the
time on the road, I amused them with Hogg's Tales and
Scott's Stories; you may be assured there was not a
heavy eye in the coach. About 7 P. M. we were quietly
set down at the Tremont. Since my former visit, three
years ago, I received many invitations from ladies and
gentlemen from Boston, who had called to look at our
store. I discovered by the way that I had left most
of my cards behind; reflecting on the circumstance,
thinks I, should I pass the door of any of those good
folks, they will think, either that I am destitute of com-
mon civility, or wanting in truth; so I inserted the fol-
lowing in the " Boston Transcript.
""
"NOTICE. Through the progress of the two years
just gone by, I received many pressing invitations —
beautiful cards-and made many fair promises to call
on Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So first time I was in Boston ;
unhappily, however, in the notes of preparation, I came
off forgetting most of my cards and part of my wits in
New York. Not wishing to be thought guilty of a
breach of promise, or wanting in the common civilities
of life, I wish only to inform my good friends aforesaid,
if they will leave their address at the Seed Store,
No. 52, North Market Street, I will endeavour to
redeem my pledge.
"If spared, I intend remaining about a week."
I had another reason for publishing this notice: I
knew that among some of the fashionable folks they
think they are obliged to practise a great deal of hy-
pocrisy. I remember many years ago of carrying a
SCENE IN FASHIONABLE LIFE.
165
bill to a fashionable lady in Broadway, New York;
she and another lady were just coming to the door-
the former asked me to step into the parlour; she was
warm in her thanks to her neighbour for calling, and
seemed earnest in her invitations for her to call again
soon. As I had never seen any thing of fashionable
life, you may think I was almost confounded, when,
after shutting the front door with a loud slam, she re-
turned into the parlour, and, without paying any at-
tention to me, began to harangue to her daughter most
vehemently; she wished that "hateful woman would
never enter her door again, that she always gave her
the headache, as her tongue was as rough as the sound
of a grindstone,” &c. &c. Thinks I to myself, this is
another way of doing business. She paid my bill,
however, that was my business; the other affair was
her own.
So I thought about my cards; it may be
that some of those fine ladies, whose cards are so
smooth and brightly polished, after all, would rather
see the grave-digger coming into the house than to see
me: so, thinks I, this notice will put all to rights;
those that are sincere will send their cards, and on
them I will call; those that are not sincere will see the
advertisement, and so take the will for the deed.
I must here digress, while I state what New York
was forty years ago, and what it is now, and then I will
return to Boston.
At that period, most of our dry-goods stores were in
Pearl and William Streets-the shop in front, and gene-
rally a room behind; a glass-door intervened, through
which the master of the house could see while eating his
dinner; and if a person entered, he immediately arose,
166
GRANT THORBURN.
left all, and waited on his customer. But look at it
now. Half-past three P.M. yesterday, I called at the
boarding-house of Mr. S. in Broadway- rang the bell
was answered by a black nigger. "Is Mr. B. within?”
"He is at dinner, and can't be disturbed when at
dinner." Says I," Go tell Mr. B. my business is urgent,
and can't be delayed." However, he did not appear
till after fifteen minutes, while I sat in the parlour
gazing on some shabby pictures, and magnifying every
minute into ten. When he appeared, says I, "Sir, I
have seen your employer, near forty years ago, rise
from his dinner to sell a yard of tape." This fellow is
now third or fourth clerk under, in a vendue store in
Pearl Street; receives about one hundred dollars per
annum and board: he was just from the tail of the
plough about eighteen months ago; he now wore a
coat much in appearance like the wind-sail of a vessel
in the tropics, it reached to the middle of his thighs,
which, with his legs, were covered with a stuff called
gum elastic, adhering so close as to resemble in
appearance the bandages around the limbs of an
Egyptian mummy, and made his legs appear not much
thicker than a Bologn sausage; the toes of his shoes
were as broad as the heel; his neck screwed up in a
black leather collar. His face was of the true Wea-
thersfield cut, of a mixed hue, between Dutch-pink
and brick-dust. His nose sharp enough to have
gouged the eye of a musquito; whiskers enough to
have covered his whole visage, had they only been
transplanted over the surface. Such is the miserable
remnant of mortality who expects to become a mer-
chant for the next generation.
A DIGRESSION.
167
You will excuse this digression-I felt so provoked
with the young fop, I could not proceed till I recorded
his folly.
Perhaps now may be a fitting place to insert the
following:-
"Old Times.-We have been favoured by a friend
with the following list of established merchants in New
York anterior to the Revolution, together with one or
two items of history, that will perhaps be interesting to
many now on the theatre of action.
"The following are the names of all the importing
merchants, previous to the American Revolution, that
resided in New York :-
"Abeel and Byvank, Joseph Blackwell, Samuel
Bowne, James Bowne, Robert Bowne, Geo. Bowne,
William Butler, Thomas and Walter Buchanan, Sa-
muel Broome, John Broome, James Beekman, `Corsa
and Bull, Dirck Brinckerhoof, Evert Bancker, Richard
Bancker, David Beekman, Benj. Booth, Garrit Beek-
man and Son, Edward Goold, Henry Breveort, Ge-
rardus Beekman, Cornelius Clopper, Peter Clopper,
Peter I. Curtenius, Elias Desbrosses, James Desbrosses,
Wm. Denning, Abraham Duryee, Gerardus Dycking,
Thomas Ellisen, Walter Franklin, Samuel Franklin,
James Franklin, Thomas Franklin, George Folliott,
Gilbert Forbes, Ennis Graham, Peter Geolet, Joseph
Hallett, Nicholas Hoffman, Andrew Hamersley, Henry
Haydock, Ebenezer Hazard, Jacob Le Roy, Jacobus
Lefferts, Francis Lewis, Gabriel H. Ludlow, Gabriel
W. Ludlow, William Ludlow, Isaac Low, Nicholas
Low, George Ludlow, Philip Livingston, Edward
Laight, Robert Murray, John Murray, James Morton,
168
GRANT THORBURN.
John Morton, Charles M'Evers, James M.Evers, Tho-
mas Moore, Peter Mesier, Wm. Neilson, Garret Noel,
Jeremiah Platt, Daniel Phoenix, James Parsons,
Thomas Pearsall, Lewis Pintard, John J. Roosevelt,
Alexander Robinson, Henry Remsen, Thomas Randall,
John Reade, Richard Ray, Samuel Ray, John Ray,
Isaac Sears, Christopher Smith, William Smith, So-
lomon Simpson, James Seagrove, David Seabury,
Comfort Sands, Oliver Templeton, Wm. Ustick, Henry
Van Vleck, Peter Vanderbilt, Hubert Van Wagenen,
Henry White, Hugh Wallace, Alexander Wallace,
John Walts, Jacob Watson, Richard Yates, Ham-
bleton Young; in all 105, and all are dead except
as follows:-Wm. Smith, David Seabury, Comfort
Sands.
"In November 1774, a committee of sixty persons
was chosen to carry into execution the non-importa-
tion agreement made by congress; of which sixty
there is now living only William W. Gilbert and
Comfort Sands.
"After the Lexington battle, 19th April, 1775, a
new committee was chosen in May 1785, of 100
persons, of which there is not now living but three of
them, Wm. W. Gilbert,* Comfort Sands, and Peter
Van Schaick, of Kenderhook. In November 1775,
twenty-one members were chosen for New York, in
the provincial Congress of the State, all of which are
dead except Comfort Sands."
* Since dead.
169
CHAPTER X.
A Week in Boston-Reflections on Present State of Society.
BUT to return to Boston and the cards. The day
after my advertisement appeared, the second edition of
cards came pouring in like hail from a thunder-cloud
in the month of July. Punctual to the hour, I
ascended the steps of the princely mansion of the
handsome Mrs. Ottis, just as the clock struck seven.
When the door of the parlour opened, the blaze of
lights, dress, youth, and beauty, was something more
than my senses were prepared to receive. "Be not
forgetful to entertain strangers, for some have thereby
entertained angels unawares," was the first idea that
struck my mind. The lady of the manor on which I
now stood once entered my store; she was to me a
stranger; I entertained her, not knowing I was enter-
taining one, in many respects, so far superior to what
we usually meet in the ordinary walks of life. My
thoughts on this occasion may have taken a wrong
flight, (as they have done many a time both before
and since,) but I merely state what they were. It
was the first time I had met an assembly where the
sights were so imposing. The amusements of the
evening commenced with what they call handing
round tea, (a thing I had never seen performed in
Scotland): first came a servant with tea-cup and
saucer; another with bread and butter; then there
came cake, rusk, tongue, and sweetmeats: here I was
L
170
GRANT THORBURN.
— I
brought to a dead stand my hands were full
could neither eat nor drink. Says I, Madam, this
tea-drinking concern of yours reminds me of the man
who was going to bury his wife in Scotland. They
nad three miles to walk, and were going pretty fast :
'Not so fast, friends,' says the husband; 'don't let us
make a toil of a pleasure.' Now," says I, " Madam,
your tea- concern is all very good; but the way in
which you manage the business makes a real toil of a
pleasure at least to me." The lady took the hint,
and very politely placed before me a small stand, when
I got along very comfortably.
Among the many fine eatables placed on the board,
or paraded round the room, an article came in, in size
and appearance resembling a seven-pound ham, very
neatly roasted. In answer to my question, the queen
of the feast informed me it was a roasted yam. Never
having seen a roasted yam, and never having tasted a
yam in my life, my curiosity was awake. In a few
minutes the heart of the yam was nicely scooped out
with a silver spoon, placed on pretty little china
plates, neatly compounded with the sweetest of
butter and essence of spice. According to order, it
was handed first to the ladies; all were loud in praise
of the yam: then to the gentlemen; nothing was
heard but the delicious yam-the famous St. Domingo
yam. (I thought of the man with the long nose riding
through the town of Straatsburgh.) I took one tea-
spoonful of the yam, then another. Thinks I to myself,
were it not for the sweet butter and odoriferous spice,
the heart of a corn-stalk would taste better. The lady
of the feast asked how I liked the yam. Says I,
A COUNTRYMAN AND A SEDAN CHAIR. 171
Madam, it reminds me of the story of a young
countryman, whose grandmother died and left him a
fortune. He came into Edinburgh to see life. Ob-
serving that people were carried from street to street
in sedan-chairs, he applied to the porters for a ride.
They seeing he was a flat, one of the porters winked
to his mate, who drew out the bottom of the chair,
on one side, just as his fellow opened the door to let
the young man step in on the other side. When he
stepped in, the door was shut, and the young man
stood on the pavement. Away they go, through mud
and through mire, always crossing where the mud was
deepest. At length, they stopped in front of the hotel
where he lodged: being let out, and his fare paid,
'Well,' says the carriers, how did you like your
ride?' 'O,' says he, it was very good; but, were
it not for the name of the thing, a body might just as
well walk.' Now, madam," says 1,
66 were it not for
the name of the thing, a good Scotch potato would
make a better feast." I am sure that the laugh which
followed did the mistress and her guests more good
than all they derived by eating the yam.
<
6
By and by the music and the dance went round: a
lively widow of forty asked if I would waltz with her;
I told her if she would shew me how it was done, and
I liked it, I would try. She jumped up and threw her
arm round the slender waist of a tall girl; away they
flew to the sound of the tamborine; when done, she sat
down by me on the sofa. Well," says she, "how
do you like it?" Says I, "Madam, I think it's
coming to rather too close quarters." I never till
that hour knew exactly what waltzing was; and, I
66
172
GRANT THORBURN.
·
must say, I tremble for the sons and fathers of the
next generation, if we are to go on in imitation of those
vile European customs. I asked her if the lads took
hold of the lasses when they were at those pranks: she
said they did. "Then," says I, "the lasses are the
more fools to let them."
June 5th.-Went to Faneuil Hall to witness the
proceedings of the meeting held to raise funds for
completing the Bunker Hill monument. As I entered,
a gentleman whom I knew not spoke to me by name,
and introduced me to the mayor, who directed one of
his friends to provide for me a comfortable seat. I
felt grateful for their kind attention. The circum-
stances, and the place, brought to my memory one
of my earliest newspaper recollections. One evening
about the beginning of September 1775, the Edin-
burgh stage-coach stopped at my father's door, and
delivered the paper as usual. It contained the British
account of the battle of Bunker's Hill, and concluded,
of course, with the prediction of the total destruction
of the American cause. My father, I remember, ex-
pressed much sorrow while reading the account to his
family, and in his evening prayer remembered most
fervently the poor oppressed Americans. Being then
in
my third
year, I knew not the nature of the contest,
but thought it strange that my father should be sorry
when our side won- as we used to say at school.
While the speakers were depicting in eloquent
language the happy results that have flowed upon
mankind, in consequence of that important battle, I
thought perhaps there was not one in all that large
assembly who could feel exactly as I did at that
REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST.
173
moment. I beheld the ground on which scores in
each contending rank had dropped into eternity,
with each repeating charge: I thought of my father's
principles with regard to that contest, and how they
grew with my mind, and strengthened with my years,
and the influence they held on my after-life. His
principles made me set up as a reformer of the world,
before I scarcely could tell my right hand from my
left. These principles made me a prisoner in chains
before I completed my nineteenth year; these principles
procured me the privilege to banish myself, when, by
the directing care of Providence, and the help of the
good ship Providence, belonging to my worthy friend
Mr. Samuel Campbell of New York, I was landed
in America; thus placing me in the best country in
the world - the best state in that country
city in that state -the best street in that city—and,
as I think, the best spot in that street: so, you see,
had it not been for the principles so successfully
contended for on that hill, on that day, it is not
probable I ever should have seen America, and this
book and its author would never have seen the light
of the sun in Boston. Such were my ruminations
after the meeting broke up, as I was plodding my way
through Washington Street, to spend the evening with
a select party at the house of Mr. ; but as the
the best
history of one steam-boat trip will answer for one
hundred on the same waters, so the description of
one evening party will answer for six in the same city.
The next day I visited many of the gardens in and
around Boston. Nothing I have seen in America will
bear the least comparison with the houses and gardens
L 2
174
GRANT THORBURN.
of the Messrs. Perkins. The vegetable and flower-gar-
dens, the green-houses and hot-houses, the grape, peach,
apricot, and nectarine-houses, particularly those of
Thomas Perkins, are superior to most, and inferior to
none, of the same sort I have ever seen in Britain. And
why should they not? These men are as rich as princes,
and more hospitable than kings. Such-men are the
true nobility of any country: the majority of what are
styled nobles, and noble bloods, all over Europe, were
nothing originally but royal robbers. When no law
but the law of might prevailed, some mighty robber
associated with himself a set of lewd and lawless
fellows of the common sort, and robbed, plundered,
and destroyed their weak neighbours: the sons, ap-
proving of their fathers' sins, kept possession of the
stolen goods from one generation to another. In
process of time they styled themselves noblemen :
and at this day you may find fellows in Europe boast-
ing of their blood and pedigree, whose fathers, had
there been either law or justice in the country, would
have been hanged. But such princely merchants as
are to be met with in every quarter of Massachusetts-
men who have made their own fortunes (not made by
the father)—these are the true nobility.
Next morning, at half-past six, I called at the coun-
try-seat of Gen. Derborn; walked round the premises.
some time, thinking the family might not be up: a few
minutes before seven I knocked-the door was opened
by the general himself-found breakfast on the table-
his lady and daughter present, in a very becoming
morning-dress: ate a comfortable breakfast, and got
so absorbed in a very interesting conversation, that
SIGHTS AT BOSTON.
175
time flew without our taking note, till it was lost; it
was near ten before we rose from the table. I have
not met a more agreeable lady than the mother, a
more polite lady than the daughter, nor a more
finished gentleman than the general.
I don't
In the afternoon, visited Mount Auburn.
think a spot more beautiful and more suitable for the
long home of the weary traveller can be found in the
world. As you trace the neat and solitary walks, darkly
shaded by the thick foliage of the ancient trees, the very
breeze seems to whisper in your ear, there the weary
are at rest. The monuments are simplicity itself: no
gorgeous robes nor war trophies there; nothing save
the emblems of the solemn realities of eternity. One
plain square stone denotes the names of five children,
sons and daughters of T. and E. Story, once the hope
of their parents. After recording the name and age of
each, (they all died under twenty-four months,) it adds,
of such are the kingdom of heaven.”
The Botanic Garden at Cambridge is well enough,
but the green-house is a mere apology for a thing;
considering, too, that it forms part of a public institu-
tion. It is neither long enough nor broad enough—
it is neither wide enough nor deep enough — in short,
it is a mere burlesque of a house to be called a public
botanic garden green-house. The churches and col-
leges, the students' houses, and professors' houses, are
all well enough. The students appeared to have food
to eat, and raiment to put on. Some of them looked
like fools, and some of them are fools from the foun-
dation. The former wore coats shaped like a flour-
barrel, both ends out; and they also wore strong black
176
GRANT THORBURN.
leather collars bound about the neck, which made
them look like a snapping turtle, sitting on the edge
of a ditch in a summer day, with its mouth open to
catch flies. I thought they were making those chaps
doctors or lawyers, or some other sort of necessary evil—
for I could not, for the life of me, conceive what other
use they could make of them, except they were to
stick them on a bean-pole to scare crows. The latter,
I thought, were intended for readers (not preachers of
the Gospel). Their heads, I thought, the professors
might as well save themselves the trouble of polishing,
as they had only to send them down to Cape Cod, or
Stonington, where, in rummaging some old chest in
the garret, they might find as many sermons, preached
by their grandfathers, sixty years ago, as would serve
them to read for their lifetime. Indeed, I have always
thought it was time and money thrown away to teach
a man to speak Greek when he had only to read
English sermons in Connecticut.
The professors, too, are men of sense, and, I wish I
could add, men of feeling also; but were they pos-
sessed of one drop of this sweet milk of human kindness,
sure am I they never could look on that fine Protia
Argentia* of theirs without the most painful sensations.
There he stands, or rather is compelled to sit, in the
centre of the stage; and, for aught that I know, he
may have sat there for half a century. Again and
again has he strove to rise his silver locks towards his
native heavens again and again has he been beat
down. Bowing to the earth, twisted this way, bent,
* Classical name of the Silon tree.
ARRIVAL OF A NEW EXOTIC.
177
coiled, and confounded the other way- like a snake
with forty rattles, or like some lang-legged Yankee,
crammed in a molasses cask, till his heels grew fast
on his shoulders and all these chapters of misery
arose from a narrow contracted spirit, a narrow con-
tracted purse, or a narrow contracted house. It is a
pity but some old rich bachelor would die in that
neighbourhood, and, by way of atonement for the sin
of omission, would leave some thousands to build a
green-house for the college, on condition that they would
call it after his own name-then, indeed,
then, indeed, his memory
would live among the orange-trees and myrtles, though
his name might perish from the house of his fathers.
I knew none of the gentlemen about the place, but
they knew me, and treated me as a friend. I there
found a geranium I had never seen; it was named the
Davieanum. I was very kindly presented with a plant.
I carried it through flood and through field, in stage and
in steam-boat, bringing it safe to New York without
losing a leaf. As the good people of these states in
congress assembled assume the right to alter a man's
name, so when I, with much care and labour, got this
exotic safely landed in my own state, thought I also had
a right to give it a new name; so, instantly procuring
a painted stick, had it newly labled Quinceyanium, in
respect to the worthy president of the institution.
Next day I went forth with my package of cards
to make my calls of ceremony-knocked at the door of
Mrs. in Beacon Street: the door was opened by
was
a smart-looking white waiter, who said Mrs.
from home. (I could read in the man's eyes he spoke
not the truth.) I gave him my card, and told him to
178
GRANT THORBURN.
give it to Mrs.
when she came in―(perhaps I
ought to have sent in my card at first, but I wished to see
how matters were managed among the quality). Walking
slowly from the door, I was tapped on the shoulder by
the man, who said Mrs.
was at home and wished
to see me. I was shewn into the parlour: Mrs.
was sitting on the sofa, in a neat eleven-o'clock dress.
She met me in the middle of the room, and taking
both of my hands-❝ O! Mr. Thorburn," says she,
"had I known it was you, I would have been at home."
"Then," says I, "madam, you really are at home."
"I am."
Well," says I, "I have often read of the
witches in New England, who could be home and not
home at the same time- but I never saw one of them
till this moment. But," says I, "had they been all as
handsome witches as thou, I don't think they would
have burned so many of them." She smiled.
"But,"
says I, “madam, are you not ashamed to hire a man
by the month to tell such tough stories for you? (she
blushed.) It was as easy to have said you were fixing
your curls, or crimping your cap, and could not be
spoke to till four o'clock P. M." She said it was true,
but we can't get along without a portion of deceit.
However," says I, “ madam, I am not come to scold,
but to crave your help in a small difficulty. Here are
two cards, Mrs. A- and Mrs. B- within a few
doors of you; are you on visiting terms ?"
"We are."
“Then, madam, as I can't be in three places at one
time, like you young witches," (a blush)—says I, "so
you may blush—(observe here, she took it all in good
part — perhaps the compliment at the beginning might
gild the pill-and she really was pretty)-and as your
>
JOURNEY TO BRADFORD.
179
card says seven this evening, cannot you invite them,
or get them to invite you? this will be like killing three
dogs with one bone." She said it was a good idea, and
carried it into effect most brilliantly that same evening.
Next morning, going to Medford in the stage, and
thinking on the occurrences of the day previous, says
I to myself, how much happier might we live in this
goodly land, where Providence is daily loading us with
more benefits than falls to the lot of any other people
under the sun, were we only to use them like beings
possessed of common sense. The rich make themselves
very unhappy by relinquishing their own liberty and
independence, and tamely submitting to the caprice
and folly (to call it by no worse name) of the most
powerful of all tyrants, fashion-each striving to outdo
his fellow in extravagance and show. Mrs. A
goes to drink tea with Mrs. B————, she there finds a
new and very expensive addition to the tea-equipage ;
she goes home in misery, and can neither eat, rest, or
sleep; she then my dears her husband day and night
continually, till he procures for her the like, or maybe
something more costly. Now this is the only speck
on the sun of a woman's blaze of excellence; but even
this, a man of sense may, in a great measure, remedy,
by kindly and candidly making known to his partner
his real situation and circumstances.
The second class make themselves miserable by
looking up at, trying to imitate, and envying their su-
periors. A great majority of the labouring class make
themselves miserable by getting drunk, forgetting to
make hay when the sun shines, and forgetting to
lay up stores in summer, that they may be able to sit
180
GRANT THORBURN.
by a good fire, and crack their nuts in winter, as the
squirrels do—and almost every one thinks his neigh-
bour happier than himself, and this is because he can-
not see the snakes that gnaw his neighbour's heart.
The only secret of happiness is in comparison: when
you think your troubles are more than any man's, look
round, and you will see thousands in a worse condition
than yourself: when you break your arm, be very glad
your legs are whole; when you break your leg, be
very thankful it was not your neck; and when Willie
Wilson's draft for $200 comes back protested, be very
thankful that it was not Jamie Jammison's for $400.
Just view every thing as coming from the directing
hand of a wise particular Providence, and, my life for
it, all the powers of earth and hell will never be able
to rob you of your confidence.
Saturday, 8th of June, left Boston at 12 o'clock m.
My feelings and impressions were of the most pleasing
nature—the most polite attention and kindness was
shewn me every where by the gentlemen and the
ladies.
I can only say to all the good folks of Boston,
should any of them visit my store, I will endeavour to
return the compliment. At Providence I tarried two
days, where I met with the same kindness, particularly
from Mr. one of the best and kindest men in
Rhode Island, at whose house I lodged.
On reviewing the last ten days, I think I have seen
more of what may be termed high life than ever I
before witnessed; and from what I have seen,
I am
more than ever convinced, that if each knew his neigh-
bour's troubles, he would find that what are termed the
PICTURE OF THE RICH.
181
good and evils of life are pretty equally divided. I
have seen the man whose riches increased, and wealth
flowed in from every quarter: he was the envy of his
neighbours, because they knew not the sorrows that
wrung his heart ; he had no children to share in his
wealth, and no babes to whom he might leave his sub-
stance; this was the worm that continually gnawed at
the root of his gourd. I have seen the servant, while
dusting the costly furniture, and cleaning the handsome
grate, place the shovel on the side where the tongs
used to stand. Such a trifle as this have I seen throw
the wife of that rich man into a state of so much tur-
moil and passion, that the blood receded not from her
face, nor the fire from her eyes, nor did the music of
her tongue cease to play, for an hour to come. I have
seen the poor man, who had barely food to eat, or rai-
ment to put on but then he could rejoice in the
strong arms of three industrious sons, while his wife
could smile at the light step, the ruddy cheek, and
healthy looks of her active daughters.
The rich man fares sumptuously every day; but in
most cases, by abusing his mercies he turns them into
a curse. I have seen the prosperous merchant return
from his office to his house in Broadway, or palace
near town. His table was furnished with every luxury
three or four courses; then nuts, fruit, and wine:
perhaps half a dozen fowls of the same feather in com-
pany they have a real set-to of eating and drinking,
for four hours on a stretch. Had you seen these men
in Wall Street, at two P.M., their eyes sparkling with
intelligence, and the whole countenance lit up with
mercantile enterprise, and look on them now they
M
182
GRANT THORBURN.
are like beings of another sphere. It is seven P.M.;
the table is strewed with apple-skins and orange-skins
with nut-shells and almond-shells - cigars half-
smoked and whole-smoked bottles half-full and
whole-full-wine, red, white, and blue, mixing with
the shells, skins, and tobacco aforesaid, forming alto-
gether a beautiful chemical, vegetable, and compound
dye, which flows from the board for the benefit of
trade, and the hopes of the merchant of Brussels. But
look now at their keen, calculating, Wall-Street eyes;
they are sunk, glazed, and vacant half-shut, half-
asleep — their chairs turned half round, facing one
another in pairs; there they sit, staring in one another's
faces, muttering half sentences of incoherent nonsense,
and looking like a set of most consummate fools. No
wonder that the ladies retire from such a scene, as soon
as the bottles and cork-screw are called for. Next
morning, at nine A.M., you may see them crawling out
of bed; the weather is hot; their heads are buoyant
from the fumes of wine; they stagger across the room,
and are brought up at the back-window by a chair or
sofa; for ten minutes they sit inhaling the sweet breeze
from the cooling waters of the Hudson; having shaved,
washed, and dressed, they descend, holding fast to the
banisters. The breakfast-table is set with every thing
to tempt the appetite, but appetite they have none:
a pump-bolt itself could not cram these good things
of God down their burning throats. Again they walk
slowly on to Wall Street, where, in some soda-water
or doctor's shop, they drown their burning thirst.
Now this is what these men call good living; fast
living it is in all conscience; and I think these must be
A CONTRAST.
183
the very sort of bodies mentioned in the Auld Book, who
"live not out half their days." I know some of these
men; they were boys when I was married; now they are
old men at forty. You may see them of a fine after-
noon crawling along by Trinity Church; you may know
them by their short step of three inches; by placing
the heel first on the ground no elastic spring of the
foot, that bends to the toe no such thing with them;
already are their toes twice dead plucked up by the
gout. You may see them bending on their staff, or
holding with both hands to the railing of the church-
yard perhaps reading the monument of his grand-
mother, or the tombstone of some brother of the cup,
long departed, and he himself grinning in horrid anti-
cipation of the fast-approaching night when he, with
his gouty feet and corny toes, will moulder in that
clay. So much for good living.
At six A.M.,
Now look at the sober house-mason.
March 10th, he goes forth to work; at eight, his pretty
little daughter, with a basket of bread and butter, and
maybe a smoked herring, all covered with a clean neat
cloth--a small tin kettle with his pint of coffee: he sets
himself down on a cold stone, where he eats his bread
with a merry heart and a good appetite. Now if this
man is blessed with a thankful heart, and a trust in a
kind Providence, he is happier by far than the man who
fares sumptuously every day, and has no such trust :
no gout, cramp, or dyspepsia, ever disturbs his rest.
184
CHAPTER XI.
Interview with the Editor of the Subaltern Newspaper-Effects
of Infidelity— History of William-A Visit from him.
66
newspaper.
I CALLED to see Mr. of the Subaltern
"2
This gentleman had given me some very hard names,
because he and I differed about Mr. Paine's principles
and practice. He had said, "I was an old bigoted
Scotch dotard." I called at his printing-office. "Is
Mr. within?" (he sat by a table examining some
papers.) My name is
sir." Says I, "Have
you ever seen me?” "Not to my knowledge," says
he. Says I, holding out my hand, "My name is
Thorburn." He coloured for a moment. Says I,
"You and I have had a small paper war; now, if
there is any bad feeling between us, I am come
to make it good." We were friends immediately.
I do not presume to call
66
Now," says I," Mr.
you to an account for your opinions; that is a matter
between God and your own conscience; but I claim
an equal right to hold mine. You think society can
exist, and be in more comfortable circumstances, with-
out religion and the Bible than with them. I think
otherwise the experiment was fairly tried in France
thirty years ago, when the Freethinkers had the govern-
ment in their hands. They abolished the Sabbath-
they shut up the churches, and the country became one
field of blood. The tendency of your system is to send
our clerks and mechanics to the fields on Sunday,
EFFECTS OF INFIDELITY.
185
where they soon spend their money, find bad company,
and contract bad habits; come home at night sorely
fatigued, and maybe drunk; next day are unable to
enter on the necessary labours of the week. Ours
leads them to the temple of Him in whom we live,
move, and have our being, to thank Him for the mer-
cies of the past week; and in this there is a luxury of
pleasure that only the thankful heart can feel. There,
they are not exposed to bad company; are not tempted
to spend their money; they do not get drunk; they
rest and recruit their frame: on Monday morning
they enter on the labours of the week, refreshed in body
and mind, and no horrible regret at a day mispent.'
In this strain we conversed in a comfortable manner
near half an hour, and parted better friends that when
we met.
Of late a good deal has been said about Miss
Wright and her Temple of Reason. I think the plain,
simple, but true history of myself and William affords
as good a practical comment on the effects of infidel
principles as any thing I have met with.
In a short time, it will be forty winters since I first
landed in New York; I was then in my twentieth year,
without a face that I knew, or a friend to counsel or
direct. On the first Sabbath morning after we landed,
three young men of our passengers called and inquired
where I was going to-day? I said, "To church." They
answered, "We have been near ten weeks confined to
the ship; let us now walk out and see the country; our
health requires exercise, and we can go to church ano-
ther day." I said, "As long as I can remember I have
gone to church with my father every Sabbath of my
186
GRANT THORBURN.
i
life; and when we parted, his last words were, Re-
member the Sabbath-day." They went to the coun-
try—I went to church; they spent a few shillings of
their wages-I put two one-penny corporation-bills*
Some of them were good mechanics,
in the plate.
and got from eight to ten dollars per week; my
branch was poor, and it was only by close appli-
cation I earned five dollars per week. They continued
going in the country, found loose company, spent most
of their week's wages, came home half drunk, some-
times caught by a thunder-storm, which spoiled their
fine clothes and hats; rose late on Monday morning,
bones and head aching, and could work but little all
that day. I went to church, saved my wages, rose
early on Monday morning, my bones rested, my head
sound, and started on the labours of the week with
a light heart and quiet conscience. At the end of the
year they could shew fine clothes and powdered heads.
on Sunday; but I could shew $100, piled in the
corner of my chest. They have all been gone long
ago; having lived fast, they died early; while I, as
one consequence of regular living, have not been con-
fined by sickness for one day in all that period.
Now, Mr. Deist and Mrs. Deist, you who profess to
reform the world by destroying the Bible and abolishing
the Sabbath—you who profess to speak and write for
the good of society, I would ask you, who lived the
most comfortable life, they or I? Who were the most
useful members of society? They died, and left their
Paper money, then in circulation in New York, before the
United States had established a mint.
+ Collection for the poor.
A VISIT FROM WILLIAM.
187
wives and children beggars. If I die to-night, my
family have the tools and hands to make themselves
independent of the world.*
About three months after I landed, there came from
England into the shop where I wrought a man by the
name of William; he had a fine little woman for a
wife, and one or two young children.
He was an
excellent mechanic, and the first, I believe, who manu-
factured coach-springs in New York; he was, by reli-
gious profession, a Baptist, and went to the church.
in Gold Street. Dr. Foster, I believe, was then the
pastor. He continued a consistent professor, attending
church regularly with his wife and children. But Wil-
liam was a warm politician—a democrat, as red hot as
the iron he hammered. He was soon found out by the
radicals of that day. About this time there came to
the city a man by the name of Palmer, who was either
born blind, or had lost his sight by disease. This blind
leader of the blind used to lecture on Deism, in what
was then called the Assembly Room, in Williams Street.
William was led by some of his new associates into this
dungeon of despair, and drank deep in their dark and
cheerless doctrine. In a short time he came out a
flaming Deist; and instead of going with his wife and
children to church, he led them to Long Island, or the
fields in Jersey; or he went by himself to some low
tavern, and harangued on Mr. Paine's " Age of Rea-
* One of the young men of whom I speak was a baker: in
a fit of intemperance, while working dough in the trough alone,
he lost his balance, tumbled in with his head buried in dough,
and in this situation was found dead. This fact is known to
scores of his countrymen now in this city.
J
188
GRANT THORBURN.
son," to any set of blockheads who would hear him.
His children, as they grew up, being left to wander
as they pleased, soon associated with bad company,
and turned out worse than good for nothing. He had
commenced business for himself, and for some time was
in a very thriving way. But now every thing was for-
gotten in his zeal for propagating his new principles.
You might find him in every street and corner, pouring
out his new light; and so vulgar and brutish was the
language in which he blasphemed every thing which
society in general holds sacred, that moderate men of
any principles got disgusted, shunned his company and
shop, and his worldly circumstances began to fall into
decay. As old shopmates, he and I have ever been,
and now are, on the most friendly terms when we
meet; and from the beginning have I expostulated
and warned him of the ruin he was bringing on him-
self and family in this world, laying the next aside.
Though he could not deny the truth of what I said, yet
he seemed like one who had gone so far, that he was
ashamed to recede.
One morning about ten o'clock, a few weeks ago,
he called on me and asked for something to buy his
breakfast, as he had not tasted any thing that day.
I looked on him with sorrow, almost to crying; says
I, William, has it really come to this with you?"
He said he had not a cent, a friend, or child to help
him in the world. I asked for his sons and daughters
by name-they had all gone to ruin, or were dead. The
few old friends of the Williams Street Illuminati, now
that he was poor, knew him not. I gave him a small
sum, and told him to call on me in his extremity. Says
ནྭ
ARGUMENT WITH A DEIST.
189
William, there are my sons and daughters; they
are an honour to their parents, being all useful mem-
bers of society. Your children and mine were brought
up neighbours to one another-what should make
them to differ?" He was silent. Says I, "I told
you, thirty-four years ago, your mad principles would
beggar yourself and ruin your family. While you
carried your children to the fields, or left them to
wander in the road to destruction, I carried mine to
the church, where they were not exposed to bad com-
pany; and now they walk in the ways of wisdom,
which are pleasantness and peace." I added, “You
must now be convinced that religion is the best thing
for this world; and in the next, they who profess it
will be as well off as you.
But if the Bible is true,
you may say with the miser, I was starved in this,
and damned in that which is to come."" He confessed
I had the best of the argument, and said he might have
been a rich man if he had stuck to the principles he
brought with him from England. He said he thought
of going into the alms-house - it was a good last
retreat." And for this," says I to William, "you
have to thank Christianity; for where the Bible is not
known, they have neither alms-house nor hospital." I
have only to add, that this story is no fiction, nor com-
bination of characters that may have existed; but it is
literally true. My friend William now lives; he is a
man of truth, though a Deist, and will vouch for what
I have said, were he asked. If any one doubts, I can
point them to some of the men, still alive.
Have just had a visit (this August 2, 1833) from my
friend William; he calls as usual when his funds run
M 2
190
GRANT THORBURN.
low; gave him something of the needful. Being a hot
day, and not many customers, we sat and conversed
about old times. Says I," William, it is now thirty-
nine years since the first week that you and I wrought
together. Now," says I," William, there is no use of
disguise about principles, or any thing else, between
you and me. You must be in the grave soon, and I,
though nearly twenty years younger, may be there
first; but would you do as you have done, could you
recall the last forty years of your life?" He answered
firmly, he would not. Says I,
“In what would you
improve?" Says he, "I never again would deny my
religion, or forsake my church;" and added," he believed
he would have been among the richest mechanics in
New York, had he only continued in the principles he
brought with him from England." I said, "I believed
he was right;" for, says I, "William, you will remem-
ber often when you got engaged in a dispute, your bel-
lows and hammer lay still, and your fire went out, while
mine was flying like the clapper of a grist-mill." He
smiled, and said, "I was correct." I asked,
"Where
he found those who were most ready to help, now that
he could not help himself,-among his freethinking
friends, or among the church-going folks?" He said,
"Last winter he was some time confined to bed by
sickness, and was often visited by ladies and gentlemen
from the Methodist and other churches, and by the
humane societies." They told him (it is his own words),
"though they were opposed to his principles, yet it was
their duty not to see him want;" and added,
"that
they were very kind to him; but very few of his free-
thinking brethren ever came near him." Now, Wil-
THE ARGUMENT CONTINUED.
191
liam," says I," twenty-five years ago you branded all
these church-going people as a set of unqualified hypo-
crites; but you have lived to experience the benefits of
their principles and practice; they, at least, in this
way follow the example of the Master they profess to
serve, for he always was found in the hovels of the
poor, and by the sick-bed of the wretched. Did you
ever see Miss Fanny Wright brave the winter's blast
and enter the abodes of misery, like those ladies you
speak of? Did you ever hear of a Deist founding a
hospital? Did you ever hear of a Deist giving thirty
thousand dollars to a blind institution, as was lately
done by a rich professor in Boston." He acknow-
ledged he had not, and that religion was the best
thing for this world, and would do no harm in the
next. He said he had gone wrong; but now it was too
late to retract.
William is honest, sober, and kind to man and
beast; industrious, too, he was thirty-eight years ago,
till he changed his coat; then he spent a large por-
tion of his time in reasoning, disputing, and spreading
abroad his new light. He is courteous, and always
was charitable when he had wherewithal to give. These,
and other good qualities still in his possession, he
learned from the Bible in his youth; and though he has
long since thrown away the book, he yet continues to
practice many of its most beautiful precepts.
Those monsters who reigned with Robespierre, and
cemented the pavements in Paris with the blood of
women, were not Christians; they, to be sure, were born
under a most Christian, or a most catholic majesty, and
might have had the sign of the cross at baptism; but
192
GRANT THORBURN.
with regard to its principles and practice they were as
ignorant as the beasts that perish; they were professed
freethinkers, philanthropists—so full of love for all man-
kind, that they thought it was doing the Goddess of
Liberty service to cut half the throats of the present
generation, so that they might transmit the same privi-
lege to the generations to come.
ว
:
193
CHAPTER XII.
Correspondence between Thomas Paine and William Carver.
MANY of my readers will laugh at the unconnected
nature of my little book; but I hope the interest is not
lessened by it.
I will now fill a chapter with a correspondence be-
tween Thomas Paine and William Carver; for in a short
time the men to whom Mr. Paine was personally known
will have vanished from the earth; and what follows will
furnish a valuable document for future historians, and
will be read with interest, and no doubt with benefit,
by many of the present generation who knew him not.
I understand the writer is still an inhabitant of this
city, and is considered a man of truth and honourable
dealing with his neighbours; and though he continues
an admirer of Paine's principles, he has always con-
demned his practice.
Extracted from Cheetham's Life of Paine,
p. 253, published in 1809.
No. I.
New York, November 21st, 1806.
CITIZEN FRIEND-I take this opportunity to inform
you that I am in want of money, and should think it as
a favour if you would settle your account; you must
consider that I have a large family, and nothing to
support them with but my labour. I have made cal-
culation of my expenses on your account the last time
194
GRANT THORBURN.
that you was at my house, and find they amount to
one hundred and fifty or sixty dollars; your stay was
twenty-two weeks, and Mrs. Palmer twelve weeks'
board on your account. I expect, therefore, you will
have the goodness to pay me; for you must recollect
you was with me almost the whole of the winter before
last, for which you only gave me four guineas. If I,
like yourself, had an independent fortune, I should not
then require one cent of you; but real necessity, and
justice to my family, thus prompt me to urge payment
from you.
Yours in friendship,
Mr. Thomas Paine.
WILLIAM CArver.
No. II.
MR. CARVER-I received your letter ofthe 21st inst.,
and as there are several mistakes in it, I sit down to cor-
rect them. You say to me in your letter," You must
recollect you was with me almost the whole of the
winter before last, for which you only gave me four
guineas." This is a mistatement in every part of it. I
paid you four dollars per week for the time I was at
your house. I told you so when I gave you the money,
which was in the shop. I had lodged and boarded at
Mr. Glen's in Water Street, before I came to your
house. I paid him five dollars per week; but I had
a good room with a fire-place, and liquor found for
dinner and supper. At your house, I had not the same
convenience of a room, and I found my own liquor,
which I bought of John Fellows: so that you were paid
THOMAS PAINE AND WILLIAM CARVER. 195
to the full worth of what I had. As I paid by the
week, it does not signify how long or short the time
was; but certainly it was not" almost the whole of the
winter." I had burnt out my wood at Mr. Glen's, and
did not choose to buy any new stock, because I wanted
to go to New Rochelle to get Purdy off the farm; I
therefore came to your house in the mean time. How
does it happen that those who receive do not remember
so well as those who pay?
You say in your letter,-" You have made a calcu-
lation of your expenses on my account the last time I
was at your house, and find that they amount to one
hundred and fifty or sixty dollars; that I was twenty-
two weeks, and Mrs. Palmer twelve weeks on my ac-
count." I know not how you calculate, nor who helps
you, but I know what the price of boarding is. The
time I was at your house consists of two parts. First,
from the time I came from New Rochelle till I was
taken ill; and from thence till I came away, Nov. 3;
I know not exactly the time I came from New Ro-
chelle, but I can know by writing to Mr. Shute. I
know it was some time before the eclipse, which was
the 16th June. The time I was taken ill I can know
by referring to my will, which is in the hands of a
friend.
You seem not to know any thing about the price of
boarding. John Fellows took board and lodging for
me and Mrs. Palmer at Winship's, Corlær's Hook.
Winship asked seven dollars per week for me and her.
The room I was to have was a handsome spacious room,
and Mrs. Palmer had none, nor a fire to come to when
the weather grew cold. As to myself, I suffered a grea
196
GRANT THORBURN.
deal from the cold. There ought to have been a fire in
the parlour.
The things which Mrs. Palmer did for me were those
which belonged to the house to do-making the bed
and sweeping the room; and when it happened Mrs.
Palmer was not there, which often happened, I had a
great deal of trouble to get it done. The black woman
said she should not do any thing but what Mrs. Carver
told her to do; and I had sometimes to call John from
his work to do the servant-woman's, work, and your wife
knew it. Sometimes the room became so dirty, that
people that came to see me took notice of it, and won-
dered I staid in such a place. I am at a loss to under-
stand you when you say, "I have made a calculation
of my expenditures on your account, and find they
amount to one hundred and fifty or sixty dollars." Why
did you not send me the particulars of that expendi-
ture, that I might know if those particulars were true or
false? The expense, however, that you were at on my
account, was the addition of one more to your family
than you had before I came, and no more, except for
the time Mrs. Palmer was there, which was not twelve
weeks; and your wife often called her down to cut out
and make things for herself and children. I had tea
with brown sugar, and every thing else in common with
the fare of the kitchen; so, that unless I ate more than
any body else, I was of no more expense than any
body else. What liquor I had, I sent out for myself.
On what ground then is your calculation founded?
I suppose the case is, that you have been a good deal
cheated, and your wife and son try to make you believe
that the expense has been incurred upon my account.
THOMAS PAINE AND WILLIAM CARVER. 197
I had written thus far on the Sunday evening, when
Mr. Butler called to see me, and I read it to him, and
also your letter; and I did the same to John Fellows,
who came afterwards. Any body seeing your letter,
and knowing no further, would suppose that I kept you
out of a great deal of property, and would not settle the
account. Whereas the case is, that I told you, the last
time you came for money, and I gave you ten dollars,
that I did not choose to pay any more till the account
was settled; you ought, therefore, to have come for that
purpose, instead of writing the letter you did, which
contains no account at all. I did not like the treat-
ment I received at your house; in no case was it
friendly, and in many cases not civil, especially from
She did not send me my tea or coffee till
every body else was served, and many times it was not
fit to drink. As to yourself, you ought not to have left
me the night I was struck with the apoplexy. I find
you came up in the night and opened the little cup-
board, and took my watch; did you take any thing
else ?
your wife.
I shall desire John Fellows and Mr. Morton to call
on you and settle the account, and then I desire that
all communications between you and me may cease.
Butler called on me last evening, Tuesday, and told me
your goings on at Martin's on the Sunday night. I did
not think, Carver, you were such an unprincipled false-
hearted man as I find you to be; but am glad I have
found it out time enough to dispossess you of all trust I
reposed in you when I made my will, and of every thing
else to which your name is there mentioned.
THOMAS PAINE.
198
GRANT THORBURN.
No. III.
MR. THOMAS PAINE-I received your letter, dated
the 25th ult., in answer to mine, dated November 21;
and, after minutely examining its contents, I found that
you had taken the pitiful subterfuge of lying for your de-
fence. You say that you paid me four dollars per week
for your board and lodging, during the time that you were
with me prior to the first of June last, which was the
day that I went up by your order to bring you to New
York, from New Rochelle. It is fortunate for me that I
have a living evidence that saw you give me four gui-
neas, and no more, in my shop, at your departure at that
time; but you said you would have given me more, but
that you had no more with you at present. You say,
also, that you found your own liquors during the time
you boarded with me; but you should have said, “ I
found only a small part of the liquor I drank during
my stay with you; this part I purchased of John Fel-
lows, which was a demijohn of brandy, containing four
gallons, and this did not serve me three weeks." This
can be proved, and I mean not to say any thing that
I cannot prove; for I hold truth as a precious jewel.
It is a well-known fact, that you drank one quart of
brandy per day at my expense, during the different
times you have boarded with me, the demijohn above
mentioned excepted, and the last fourteen weeks you
were sick. Is not this a supply of liquor for dinner and
supper? As for what you paid Mr. Glen, or any other
person, that is nothing to me. I am not paid, and found
you room and firing besides. You say, as you paid by
the week, it matters not how long your stay was.
I ac-
THOMAS PAINE AND WILLIAM CARVER. 199
cede to your remark, that the time of your stay at my
house would have been of no matter, if I had been paid
by the week; but the fact is otherwise. I have not been
paid at all, or at least but a very small part: prove
that I have, if you can, and then I shall be viewed by
my fellow-citizens in that contemptible light that they
will view you in, after the publication of this my letter
to you. You ask me the question, "How is it that those
who receive do not remember as well as those that
pay?" My answer is, I do remember, and shall give
you credit for every farthing I have received, and no
more. I will ask you, what consolation you derive to your
mind in departing from truth, and endeavouring to evade
paying a just and lawful debt? I shall pass over a great
part of your letter with silent contempt, and oppose
your false remarks with plain truths. As the public
will see your letter as well as mine, they will be able to
judge of your conduct and mine for themselves. You say
that I seem not to know any thing about the price of
boarding in the city; but I know the price is from three
dollars to five, and from that to ten, with an additional
charge if the boarder should be sick for three months or
upwards. I shall shew you how I calculate my ex-
penditures, by the bill that will be rendered to you; and
I believe it will be an important lesson to those that
may undertake to board you hereafter. I have no
person to help me to calculate or write; but fortunately
took the advice of a friend, and got him to keep the
account of all the times you staid with me.
You as-
sert, that your being at my house only added one more
to the family; I shall prove that it added to the num-
ber of three. You know very well when you came I
200
GRANT THORBURN.
told you I must hire a servant-girl if you staid with me.
This I did for five months, at five dollars per month and
her board. This I would not have done, unless you
had given me ground to believe you would have paid
me. After your departure she was discharged. Now,
sir, how will you go to prove that yourself, and Mrs.
Palmer, and the servant-girl, are one? In order to do
this, you must write a new system of mathematics.
You complain that I left your room the night that you
pretend to have been seized with the apoplexy; but I
had often seen you in those fits before, and particularly
after.drinking a large portion of ardent spirits -- those
fits having frequently subjected you to falling. You
remember you had one of them at Lovett's Hotel, and
fell from the top of the stairs to the bottom. You
likewise know I have frequently had to lift you from
the floor to the bed. You must also remember that
you and myself went to spend the evening at a certain
gentleman's house, whose peculiar situation in life for-
bids me to make mention of his name; but I had to go
to apologise for your conduct; you had two of those
falling fits in Broadway, before I could get you home.
You tell me that I came up stairs in the night and
opened the cupboard and took your watch; this is
one more of your lies-for I took it during the time
your room was full of different descriptions of persons,
called from a porter-house and the street, at the eleventh
hour of the night, to carry you up stairs.
had fallen over the banisters, and the cupboard-door
was open, the watch lay exposed. I told you the next
morning I put your watch in my desk, and you said I
had done right. Why did you not complain before?
After you
THOMAS PAINE AND WILLIAM CARVER. 201
I believe that I should do the same again, or any
other person in my situation; for had the watch been
lost, you would have thought that I, or some one of
my family, had got it. I believe it will not be in your
power to make one of my fellow-citizens believe, that
at this period of my life I should turn rogue for an
old silver watch..
You go on and say, "Did you take any thing else?"
Have you assumed the character of a father confessor,
as well as a son of Bacchus? Did you lose any
thing? Why did you not speak out? You have been
so long accustomed to lying, one more will not choke
you. Now, sir, I have to inform you I lost a silver
spoon that was taken to your room and never returned.
Did you take that away with you? If not, I can
prove that you took something else of my property
without my consent. You likewise gave a French boy
that you imported to this country, or was imported on
your account, a nice pocket-bottle that was neither
yours nor mine, it being the property of a friend, and
has since been called for. I lent the bottle to you at
the time you was sick with what you call apoplexy,
but what myself and others know to be nothing more
than falling drunken fits. I have often wondered that
a French woman, and three children, should leave
France and all their connexions to follow Thomas
Paine to America. Suppose I were to go to my native
country, England, and take another man's wife, and
three children of his, and leave my wife and family in
this country, what would be the natural conclusión
in the minds of the people, but that there was some
criminal connexion between the woman and myself?
202
GRANT THORBURN.
You have often told me that the French woman alluded
to has never received one letter from her husband
during the four years she has been in this country.
How comes this to pass? Perhaps you can explain
the matter. I believe you have broken up the domestic
tranquillity of several families with whom you have
resided; and I can speak by experience as to my own.
I remember you undertook to fall out with my former
wife—and one of the foolish epithets you attempted
to stigmatise her with, was, that she originally was only
in the character of a servant. Was this a judicious
remark of the "Author of the Rights of Man?" I
well remember the reply she made to you, which was,
that you had not much to boast of on that ground, as
yourself had been a servant to the British government.
And now again you try to break up our tranquillity
by insinuating that my wife and son have deprived me
of my property. I call this pitiful employment for a
man who calls himself a philanthropist. When you
tell me that Mrs. Palmer did the work belonging to
my family, you know the assertion to be false, which
can be proved by her and others that resided in the
house. You have written well on just and righteous
principles, and dealt them out to others, but totally
deny them in practice yourself; and, for my part,
I believe you never possessed them. An old acquaint-
ance of yours and mine called on me a few days ago.
I asked him if he had not been to see you. His an-
swer was, he had not, neither did he want to see you.
He said he believed that you had a very good head,
but a very bad heart. I believe he gave a true descrip-
tion of your character in a few words. It has been
THOMAS PAINE AND WILLIAM CARVER. 203
my opinion for some time past, and many more of those
you think are your friends, that all you have written
has been to acquire fame, and not the love of principle;
and one reason that led us to think as we do, is, that
all your works are stuffed with egotism.
You say,
further, that you were not treated friendly during your
stay with me, and hardly civilly. Have you lost all
principles of gratitude, as well as those of justice and
honesty, or did you never possess one virtue?
From the first time I saw you in this country to
the last time of your departure from my house, my
conscience bears me testimony that I treated you as
a friend and a brother, without any hope of extra re-
ward, only the payment of my just demand. I often
told many of my friends had you come to this country
without one cent of property, then, as long as I had
one shilling, you should have a part. I declare when I
first saw you here I knew nothing of your possessions,
or that you were worth four hundred sterling per year.
I, sir, am not like yourself. I do not bow down to a
little paltry gold, at the sacrifice of just principles. I,
sir, am poor, with an independent mind, which perhaps
renders me more comfort than your independent for-
tune renders you. You tell me further, that I shall be
excluded from any thing and every thing contained
in your will. All this I totally disregard. I believe
if it was in your power, you would go further, and say
you would prevent my obtaining the just and lawful
debt you contracted with me; for, when a man is vile
enough to deny a debt, he is not honest enough to pay
without being compelled. I have lived fifty years on
the bounty and good providence of my Creator, and I
204
GRANT THORBURN.
do not doubt the goodness of his will concerning me.
I likewise have to inform you that I totally disregard
the powers of your mind and pen; for, should you, by
your conduct, permit this letter to appear in public, in
vain may you attempt to print or publish any thing
afterwards. Do you look back to my past conduct
respecting you, and try if you cannot raise one grain
of gratitude in your heart towards me for all the kind
acts of benevolence I bestowed on you. I shewed your
letter, at the time I received it, to an intelligent friend;
he said it was a characteristic of the vileness of your
natural disposition, and ought to damn the reputation
of any man.
You tell me that I should have come to
you, and not written the letter. I did so three times;
and the last you gave me the ten dollars, and told me
you were going to have a stove in a separate room, and'
then you would pay me. One month has passed, and I
wanted the money, but still found you with the family'
that you resided with; and delicacy prevented me
from asking you for pay of board and lodging. You
never told me to fetch the account, as you say you did.
When I called the last time but one, you told me to
come on the Sunday following, and you would pay or
settle with me; I came according to order, but found
you particularly engaged with the French woman and
her two boys whether the boys are yours, I leave you
to judge; but the oldest son of the woman, an intelli-
gent youth, I suppose about fourteen years of age, has
frequently told me and others, that you were the com-
plete ruin of their family, and that he despised you;
and said that your character at present was not so well;
known in America as in France,
THOMAS PAINE AND WILLIAM CARVER. 205
-
You frequently boast of what you have done for
the woman above alluded to; that she and her family
have cost you two thousand dollars and since you
came the last time to New York you have been boun-
tiful to her, and given her one hundred dollars at a
time. This may be all right. She may have rendered
you former and present secret services, such as are not
in my power to perform; but, at the same time, I think
it would be just in you to pay your debts. I know
that the poor black woman at New Rochelle, that you
hired as a servant, who, I believe, paid every attention
to you in her power, had to sue you for her wages
before you would pay her, and Mr. Shute had to
become your security.
A respectable gentleman from New Rochelle called
to see me a few days past, and said that every body
was tired of you there, and no one would undertake to
board and lodge you. I thought this was the case, as
I found you at a tavern in a most miserable situation.
You appeared as if you had not been shaved for a fort-
night, and as to a shirt, it could not be said that you
had one on; it was only the remains of one, and this
likewise appeared not to have been off your back for a
fortnight, and was nearly the colour of tanned leather;
and you had the most disagreeable smell possible, just
like that of our poor beggars in England. Do you not
recollect the pains I took to clean you? That I got a
tub of warm water and soap, and washed you from
head to foot, and this I had to do three times before I
could get you clean. I likewise shaved you and cut
your nails, that were like bird's claws. I remember a
remark that I made to you at that time, which was,
N
206
GRANT THORBURN.
that you put me in mind of Nebuchadnezzar, who is
said to have been in this situation. Many of your toe-
nails exceeded half an inch in length, and others had.
grown round your toes, and nearly as far under as they
extended on the top. Have you forgotten the pains I
took with you when you lay sick, wallowing in your
own filth? I remember that I got Mr. Hooton (a friend
of mine, and whom I believe to be one of the best-
hearted men in the world) to assist me in removing and
cleaning you. He told me he wondered how I could.
do it; for his part he would not like to do the same
again for ten dollars. I told him you were a fellow-
being, and that it was our duty to assist each other in
distress. Have you forgotten my care of you during
the winter you staid with me? How I put you in bed
every night, with a warm brick at your feet, and treated.
you like an infant one month old? Have you forgotten,
likewise, how you destroyed my bed and bedding by
fire, and also a great-coat that was worth ten dollars?
I have shewn the remnant of the coat to a tailor, who
says that cloth of that quality could not be bought for
six dollars per yard. You never said that you were
sorry for the misfortune, or said that you would recom-
pense me for it. I could say a great deal more, but
I shall tire you and the public's patience. After all
this, and ten times as much more, you say you were
not treated friendly or civilly. Have I not reason to
exclaim, and say- O the ingratitude of your obdurate
heart!
You complain of the room you were in; but you
know it was the only one I had to spare — it is plenty
large enough for one person to sleep in. Your phy-
THOMAS PAINE AND WILLIAM CARVER. 207
sicians, and many others, requested you to remove to a
more airy situation, but I believe the only reason why
you would not comply with the request was, that you
expected to have more to pay, and not to be so well
attended; you might think nobody would keep a fire,
as I did, in the kitchen, till 11 or 12 o'clock at night,
to warm things for your comfort, or take you out of
bed two or three times a-day, by a blanket, as I and
my apprentice did for a month: for my part, I did so
till it brought on a pain in my side, that prevented me
from sleeping after I got to bed myself.
I remember, during one of your stays at my house,
you were sued in the justices' court by a poor man, for
the board and lodging of the French woman, to the
amount of about thirty dollars; but, as the man had
no proof, and only depended on your word, he was
nonsuited, and a cost of forty-two shillings thrown
upon him. This highly gratified your unfeeling heart.
I believe you had promised payment, as you said you
would give the French woman money
to go and pay it
with. I know it is customary in England, that when
any gentleman keeps a lady, he pays her board and
lodging. You complain that you suffered with the cold,
and that there ought to have been a fire in the parlour.
But the fact is, that I expended so much money on
your account, and received so little, that I could not
go to any further expense, and if I had, I should not
have got you away. A friend of yours, that knew my
situation, told you that you ought to buy a load of
wood to burn in the parlour; your answer was, that
you should not stay above a week or two, and did not
want to have the wood to remove. This certainly
208
GRANT THORBURN.
would have been a hard case for you, to have left me
a few sticks of wood.
of
Now, sir, I think I have drawn a complete portrait
your character; yet, to enter upon every minutia,
would be to give a history of your life, and to develope
the fallacious mask of hypocrisy and deception, under
which you have acted in your political as well as moral
capacity. There may be many grammatical errors in
this letter. To you I have no apologies to make; but
I hope the candid and impartial public will not view
them "with a critic's eye.”
Thomas Paine, New York,
Dec. 2, 1806.
WILLIAM CARVER.
209
CHAPTER XIII.
Death of Thomas Paine-Freethinking.
Ir is not true, as has been reported, that Mr. Paine
recanted his freethinking principles on his death-bed.
His physician-a man of good standing and respect-
ability— informed me, that in the same hour that Mr.
Paine died he was in the room. Mr. Paine's com-
plaint was excruciating, and ever as the convulsions
returned, he would exclaim-" Lord, help! Lord, help!
Lord Jesus, help!" he had then a few minutes' respite
from the pains. The doctor stood by his bed: says he,
"Mr. Paine, you have published to the world, and we
all know your sentiments on that subject; I ask you
now, as a man who will be in eternity before one hour,
am I to understand you as really calling on the Lord
Jesus for help?" He thought for about one minute,
and then replied -" I don't wish to believe on that
man." These were his last words, for in twenty
minutes thereafter he died. It is a fact, that he ap-
plied (officially) to the Society of Friends to have his
body buried in their ground; and when notified of
their refusal, seemed much hurt:
"Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die.”
YOUNG.
Mr. Paine, with all his failings, was a man of
strong mind. I remember (and I have heard him state
the fact), when Louis XVI. was condemned by the
Convention to suffer death, each member, on voting,
N 2
210
GRANT THORBURN.
was obliged to state his reasons; when it came to Mr.
Paine, he voted against his death; and, among others,
gave the following very sound reason :-" As I think,”
says he, "gentlemen, we are not making war on the
person of the king, as a man-we are contending for
principle. Unfortunately for Louis he was born a king.
—he could not help it—it was not his fault. Let us
spare his life-give him a sum of money to live on, and
banish him to America-there he can do no harm." I
thought this the best speech he ever made since the day
he wrote the book on "Common Sense."
About January 1830, there appeared in the Com-
mercial Advertiser a piece taken from Blackwood's
Magazine, of November last, an anecdote of Thomas
Paine :* how it found its way into Blackwood, I know
not; but the incidents are true to a letter. I was in
Scotland some years ago; and, if I remember right,
my brother, who now lives in the neighbourhood of
Edinburgh, was so pleased with the story, that he
made me leave it with him in writing. I suspect this
accounts for it. Be this as it may, this, the history of
myself and William, has brought all the freethinkers
between Passamaquoddy and Baltimore on my back.
I have received as many books, pamphlets, newspapers,
and letters, as did our good friend General M'Clure,
when he proposed, in the august assembly of this state,
to take all the collars from the dogs, and tie them round
the necks of the bachelors. (By the by, I think the
General was more than half right in that affair; for in
a country like this, where we have more victuals than
we can eat, and more trees growing than there are men
* See page 136.
FREETHINKING.
211
to cut them down, I think no bachelor above twenty-
five ought to be tolerated.) I have deferred answering
any of them till they were done, thinking I might then
make a kind of wholesale job, and make one letter do
for them all. I find no fault with these gentlemen how
free they think, or how deep they think, or how long they
think; but I think they have taken a liberty of thinking
about me, and putting their thoughts in black and white,
to such a length, that neither common decency nor com-
mon sense will warrant. And first, a curious fellow in
Providence--Subaltern by name--calls me an old dotard
Scotchman, and says as much as I won't let Mr. Paine
slumber in the grave of the venerated dead. (Mark
this, gentlemen! venerated dead!) Now, what he means
by dotard, I know not; but suppose it may be one of
his crank Yankee words for drunkard; but if this is his
meaning, I can only tell him it's not true, for I never
was drunk in my life—but a Scotchman I am, and I
glory in the name. I would rather be a Scotch me-
chanic, possessing the comforting principles of their
simple and sedate family fireside religion, than be Em-
peror of all the Russias, with his crown, lands, and
royalty; for I think (and I have as good a right to be
a freethinker as any of them) that the national, moral
character of the Scotch will stand an unanswerable
argument against all the sophistry of Deism, as long as
wood grows and water runs. He next blames me about
disturbing Mr. Paine's grave. Why, I thought that every
freethinker, in America at least, knew that Mr. Paine,
like his old friend Mahomet, had no grave under the
sun. He once had a grave; but his warm disciple, the
rapacious Cobbett, had his dry bones scratched out of
212
GRANT THORBURN.
•
the ground, and carried with him to England. This is
fact; and if fame speaks true, he had them made into
jacket-buttons, and sold to the radicals, at a very high
price, thus supporting the principle of making the most
of his friends every where. On his late visit of love to
this country, he sold his little black pigs to all the good
democrats who would buy them for five pounds currency
a-piece, when, at the same time, they could have bought
better pigs from the Dutch farmers at Bergen for one
dollar. Another of these thinking gentlemen calls me
an old nail-maker-that's not true, for all the nails I
ever made were new when I had finished them. Another
tells me to let the subject rest, for I have not got the
brains to pursue it. Now, this is an honest fellow, and
speaks the truth. Another says, it's not true when I
assert that the common people in Ireland don't read
the Bible. Says he, "They do read the Bible, but it is
not the Bible of the fanatics and missionaries-it is
the Bible of the Fathers." Now, I never had the plea-
sure to see this same Bible of his Fathers; but I have
been thinking if it is not a better specimen of domestic
manufacture than many of the sons, it must be a pretty
rough sort of an article. Another says "I got Dr.
Brownlee, or one of the holy Vandals who want to stop
the mail on Sunday, to write Cardeus, Index,* &c.
Now, this is not true; for neither man, woman, or child,
either composed, wrote, read, or saw a word of any of
* These names refer to communications made from time to
time to newspapers and other public journals. I gave the sub-
stance of the history of William and myself (page 185) under the
signature of “Cardeus;" and the correspondence between Paine
and Carver (page 193) under the signature of " Index."
THREE PLAIN QUESTIONS.
213
these pieces, till I put them in the hands of the printer.
Besides, I never saw a Vandal in America since the
year
1813 or 1814, when they burned up all the bonnie books
and pictures at Washington. Again, there is not a
doctor of law, of physic, or divinity, in the city, who saw
as much of Thomas Paine as I did; and therefore I think
they are not so competent to write about him; besides,
truth is so easily told, that the veriest fool can give a
straight story, where no twistification is necessary. But
the last, though not the least in importance, puts the
following plain questions :—1st, Did you not fail in
1813? 2d, Having become rich, is it consistent with
your Bible to refuse paying your honest debts? 3d,
Where did you get the money to pay for the Quaker
Meeting-house? And then he tells me to pull the beam
out of my own eye, as my Bible directs, &c. Now, as
I believe this is an honest inquirer after truth, and
preaches sound Bible doctrine, I will answer him in words
of truth and soberness. I will answer the last question
first. I got the money to pay for the Quaker Meeting-
house (as you call it) from Mr. Robert Lenox, in Broad-
way. 2d, I am not rich in money, though I account
myself the richest man in America, as I would not
change situation even with your friend Andrew himself;
for no growling, hungry democrat can squeeze me out
of my living, and he, honest man, has to please all the
sovereign people, and millions of them are most sove-
reign and consummate fools. To return. I did pay
my honest debts. When I failed in the Jerseys, property
that cost me above twelve thousand dollars was sold by
the sheriff for about two thousand eight hundred. I
returned to New York without a dollar. Mr. G. H.
214
GRANT THORBURN.
(of the house of H. B. & B.), a man of feeling, loaned
me five hundred dollars. I repaid this money, and
settled with all my lawful creditors to their satisfaction.
To some I paid the whole original bill; to some seventy-
five cents on the dollar, and some few fifty; but the
last sums were their own proposals. There is one ex-
ception in the person of a very respectable and wealthy
merchant in South Street, who always refused to receive
any part of a considerable sum I owed him when I
failed, till, as he expressed himself, I was more able to
spare it.
The heavy purchase of the meeting-house,
and above four thousand dollars' assessments since, has
put it out of my power to pay him any thing as yet;
but I account myself no less his debtor. Any decent
persons who wish to satisfy themselves of the truth of
this assertion, and will call at the store, I will shew
them receipts to the amount of nearly three thousand
dollars for debts I owed before I obtained the benefit
of the Insolvent Law. Mr. Joon Battin, dry-goods
merchant, 276, Greenwich Street, and John H. Shep-
herd, writing-master, 80, Mulberry Street, will vouch for
what I state, as far as my transactions went with them.
Now, my honest-intending, free-thinking friends, I
hope you are satisfied on this point. When you put
the questions, I sincerely think that you supposed the
censures implied in them were true; and as you thought
I had set up for a preacher of righteousness, you had a
most undoubted right to say, "Physician, heal thyself."
I agree with you, that I know members of churches
rolling in wealth, while the widows and orphans they
have defrauded are begging. But our Bible coun-
tenances no such deeds of darkness; it says a day is
A PLOT.
215
coming when these deeds will be brought to light, and
punished. An angel of light is no less an angel be-
cause the devil steals his cloak when he wants to de-
ceive. If the Mechanics' Bank was not a sound one,
and their $10 bills equal in value to ten hard dollars,
the counterfeiting fraternity would never forge them.
Who ever thought of counterfeiting a Marble or Ex-
change Bank bill?
*
The substance of these remarks on freethinking, and
my replies to their attacks, which I had made through
one of the New York newspapers, provoked the ire of
Miss Fanny Wright and her cousins. In their pro-
found wisdom they deigned not or could not, or in
their sovereign contempt they would not, answer them.
But a plot, as deep and dark as ever sprung from the
kitchen of hell, was planned, matured, and partly put
in motion, with a view to hurt my reputation. The first
act in the play commenced with the following copy of
a letter, dated at
" Philadelphia, Dec. 3, 1829.
“ MR. GRANT THORBURN,
"SIR-The directors of the American Sunday
School Union have observed some notices in the New
York papers, under your signature, relative to the effects
of infidelity upon those who have embraced its cheerless
doctrines. They conceive that views of the kind such as
you have advanced, are precisely those needed at present
to check the irreligious spirit which is prevalent among
us. Practical narratives of the effects of such senti-
* Two unauthorised banks.
216
GRANT THORBURN.
ments upon the characters and destinies of individuals,
are calculated to arrest the attention of the reader much
more than a course of abstract reasoning.
"Actuated by these views of the subject, the Sun-
day School Union propose to publish in a tract the
narrative which you have caused to be printed in the
papers of New York; that is, if the directors succeed
in making an arrangement upon the subject with you.
They propose that you should re-write the whole, im-
proving it by alteration and addition, as you may think
proper. It would be well if you could add a few anec-
dotes, similar to that published in the Evening Post'
of Tuesday last; and matter enough should be furnished
to fill about twelve duodecimo pages.
"The Sunday School Union do not expect that
you will take this trouble without compensation, and
they are willing to make you a payment of one hundred
dollars, if your manuscript shall suit their purpose.
"If you decline this proposal, you will please to
communicate that decision to me as soon as you con-
veniently can. If you accept it, be good enough, with-
out delay, to commence preparing the copy for the
printer; for we should like to put it into his hands in
the course of eight or ten days, if possible. Let your
letter enclose the manuscript; and signify to us how
you should like to have the money transmitted.
"I am, sir, with much respect, yours, &c.
“Robert Baird,
"Agent of Sunday School Union.”
It never entered my head that this letter was a for-
gery. I therefore answered it in substance, that I did
FORGERY DISCOVERED.
217
not write for money-
revise manuscripts-that if they thought the pieces
referred to worth any thing, they might crop, prune,
alter, or amend them, as they pleased; and thought
they were too flush of money to offer one hundred
dollars for an article of so small value, &c. In a few
days Mr. Baird called at my store, and shewed me the
answer I had written him, and said he knew not what
it meant. I produced the letter with his signature,
which he read with attention, and pronounced it a for-
gery
in toto: but added, it was an excellent imitation.
This letter I now have in my possession. It bears the
Philadelphia post-mark, Dec. 3, 1829.
that I had no time to make and
Now, these kind-hearted philanthropists had thought
to bring me into a ludicrous mess by drawing on the
American Sunday School Union for one hundred dol-
lars; but the bait was lost. I had no thought that
Miss Fanny or her friends were the authors of this
piece of beautiful simplicity. Men who were continu-
ally talking about the immutability of truth, and the
eternal fitness of things, I thought would not have seen
fit to practice such a small piece of deception.
The second act (viz. the C affair) was only a
link of the same chain. This also fell short of its aim :
it gave me a lesson, however, on my own folly and
ignorance, that will not soon be forgotten. Some of
the foregoing pieces were copied into many of the
periodicals in America, and a few into those of Europe.
I began to think I was something, when, in reality, I
was lighter than nothing and vanity.
218
Mr. and Mrs. E ..
Theatres
CHAPTER XIV.
A Plant removed - My Opinion of
of Religious Hypocrisy-A Bookseller, and the
Son of a Bookseller.
SOME years ago, being a passenger on board of the
steam-boat North America, we stopped at West Point.
The annual examination of the cadets had just closed.
the secretary of war, at that time, had been
presiding, and, in consequence of an invitation from the
corporation of Newburg, came on board of our boat,
on his way to visit that ancient borough. He and
his lady were escorted to the wharf by all the officers
and professors of that station, with a company of cadets,
and a fine band of music. On our way going up, I
was introduced to them, by a gentleman, one of our
passengers, and enjoyed a pleasant conversation with
him till we arrived at Newburgh. There, on the wharf,
ready to receive him, were assembled the corporation,
and most of the respectable men of the town: a
procession was formed. I was invited to join; and we
were thus escorted, with a band of music, to the
Orange Hotel, and were marshalled into the large
room, where the glass and the toasts went round. I
was called on, and gave the health of the secretary of
war hoping he would never need to test the practi-*
cal part of his office. From my plain dress he sup-
posed I belonged to the Friends, and remarked, he
presumed, by profession, I was opposed to war. I
answered, "I am not a follower of Fox; but I hold it is
A PLANT REMOVED.
219
better to receive a blow on one cheek, and then turn
the other, than to have one's head blown off altogether
by a cannon or pistol-ball." This produced a hearty
laugh, in which he joined, and so that matter ended.
Mrs. E. is a handsome woman, and has been much
spoken against. However, of her character I pretend
not to judge; but from her manners and conversation,
the short time we were in company, I formed a very
favourable opinion. If the proposition be true, that the
face is the index of the mind, sure am I that nothing
unholy or impure can dwell in hers. I have thought it
most likely that some of those brainless, senseless,
pennyless, blustering young officers, whose company
her husband, from the nature of his office, could not
altogether avoid, may have boasted of favours which
they never received; and so, with the fiend-like malice
of hell, conspired to deface one of the most beautiful
objects in all the creation of God. Just like the old
devil, their master, who could not rest when he saw the
beautiful, youthful, and happy simplicity of our grand-
mother Eve, but must needs come with his lies and
serpent-like tricks, and was never satisfied till he got
the gates of the garden of Eden shut in her face.
One morning, about three years ago, there came
into our premises a young man, leading on his arm a
very pretty girl. They stopped about an hour; she
seemed very fond of flowers, and particularly fixed
her laughing eyes on a beautiful japonica. He ap-
peared much inclined to indulge her taste, and would
have bought it, but the price was five dollars. Her I
knew-him I knew not. He appeared to me, however,
to be one of those Broadway clerks, who, instead of
220
GRANT THORBURN.
going to church, ride out of a Sunday, and spend their
week's wages; by which means they have no money
to spare either to treat their sweetheart or to pay
their washerwoman. Be this as it may, that evening
between eight and nine o'clock (the time of shutting
our gates) the plant disappeared. My suspicions fell
on the young man as above. I resolved next morning
on going immediately to the house of the young lady,
with pretext of giving her some advice about the plants
I knew she had in the yard, hoping I would find my
own gracing the company. At once my mind took a
different turn. I thought with myself thus: these
young people seemed very fond of one another-pity
that I should spoil so much happiness for the sake of
a paltry five-dollar bill. Should I find the plant, it
will expose him, and, no doubt, spoil the marriage—
for her father is a sterling, honest Dutchman. Now,
thought I, should they get married, she may save him
from the paws of the devil, from whom many a simple
bachelor has been snatched ere this by the helping
hand of a good wife; besides, should the old gentle-
man approve the match, no doubt he will empty one
of the black leather bags to set them a housekeeping,
and she having the money, will be able to indulge her
fine taste for plants; so, by this means, I may help
to count some of the dollars, and thus recover more
than I have lost. On thus reflecting, I very quietly
gave up the pursuit. To make a long story short, in
a few weeks after this they were married, by the consent
of all parties; but whether my surmises were right
or wrong founded, gave me no further concern — as
from the delicate hand of the pretty daughter I came
OPINION ON THEATRES.
221
in for a share of the old gentleman's dollars, sufficient
to make up the previous loss, and pay a reasonable
per centage besides.
Now the same cords of love that impelled him to
follow, still leads him along with her to the house of
God. Each beautiful Sabbath morning they pass my
door on their way to church; she still hangs on his
arm, and looks in his face as fondly as she did on that
morning when they first entered my garden. I can
read, in their animated conversation, and the frequent
turn of the head to look on each other's face, as they
pass along, that they are happy in each other,
may they long continue so!
and
It is more than three years since this thing took
place; but I never look on them without a feeling of
gratitude to that kind, directing Providence, which
turned the course of my thoughts, and prevented me
from precipitately running into a project which might
have destroyed so much happiness, and ruined him,
soul and body — for I think his wife was the means of
his reformation.
I have some peculiar notions on Theatres, which I
think it well to put in print. When Mr. of the
London theatre, arrived in our city, as is the custom
of most strangers, he called at our store. In compliance
with an invitation, I spent an evening with him at his
lodgings, and found him to be a man of sound sense,
a believer in revealed religion, and in the doctrine of
a Particular Providence. Our conversation, of course,
turned on theatrical subjects. He was surprised when
he learned I had never seen a play. I said, for aught
that I knew, plays might be good enough in themselves,
222
GRANT THORBURN.
but as I always went to bed at exactly ten o'clock, I
could not forego the pleasure of lying down on my
comfortable bed, after being tired with the labours of
the day, for all the plays in the world; besides, from the
general character of the actors, and of those who fre-
quented the house, I could never think that the theatre
was a school for morality. I observed, that wherever I
had seen a play-house erected, there sprung up imme-
diately around it a porter-house, a gambling-house, an
oyster-house, and a house that perhaps was worse than
any of them; and that the frequenters of the former
were generally the supporters of the latter. I told him
that one night, about thirty years ago, a fire broke out
in the house next door to the theatre in Chatham Street.
It was play-night, and most of the audience emptied
themselves into the street. The fire was soon extin-
guished; the mob returned into the house, making a
great crowd. I thought now was a good opportunity
to see the inside of a play-house, and how matters
were managed there; so in I crowded among the rest.
As soon as order was restored, a fellow came out,
dressed like an English wagoner: he had a whip in
his hand, and walked round the stage singing a song ;
he gave a smart crack with the whip—the people
clapped their hands, and roared out encore! encore !
Thinks I to myself, either the people must be fools, or
I very dull of apprehension, as I neither saw nor heard
any thing to raise a smile. Seeing nothing on the
stage to draw my attention, I turned my face to the
boxes; but here a sight met my eyes which spoke
louder than the thunder of Witherspoon's eloquence,
or the still small voice of Miller's strong arguments
RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY.
223
mem-
against the immorality of the stage. It was the fashion
of that day for the ladies to wear their frocks cut
pretty low in the neck. Well, there sat mothers
ladies who moved in circles very respectable
bers of churches, and grandmothers withal. There
they sat, surrounded by daughters and grand-daughters,
from twelve to twenty-four, in all the immodesty of
naked truth. Thinks I, for the soul of them they dare
not appear in church so. However, I supposed this
might be the meaning of the words I saw on a large
green blanket they had hung up over the stage
"Holding the mirror up to nature." He remarked,
with a smile, that there was too much truth in what I
had said.
When I have leisure, and observe any thing very
smart or very ludicrous, I generally write it down.
In the forenoon of last August there came into the
store a genuine Mansfield Yankee. He stood leaning
on the counter near ten minutes without speaking.
"Well, sir," said I, "what is wanting?"
"Nothing particular," said he; "only I am the
son of B—— D——, who kept a book-store in Water
Street, thirty-three years ago, and with whom you were
well acquainted."
"You look like him," said I; " and how do you
live?"
By serving the Lord," said he, " as well as I
knows how."
Then," says I, “ you are a preacher."
"No; I teach the languages."
I thought it must be the dead languages, for he
looked as dead as a snail; and I knew by the " cut of
224
GRANT THorburn.
his jib," and the stock he sprung from, that he was
preparing to open his battery on charity; so, thinks
I, I will have the first shot. "And why are you not
teaching now?" said I.
My health will not admit; it was too sedentary,"
replied he.
'Well,” said I, "go and hoe corn-that's a healthy
trade."
"It blisters my hands," replied he.
"When first I began to handle the hammer," said
I," my hands blistered too; but I wrought the blister
down, and wrought till my hands grew as hard as a horn;
and though I have wrought, on an average, from six in
the morning till nine at night for fifty years past, yet
my hands have not blistered since: besides, you say
you serve the Lord as well as you know how. But,"
says I, "you must be first diligent in business, and
then fervent in spirit, if you mean to serve Him; and
Paul also comes in, closing the matter at once; hẹ
says, 'the man that won't work should not eat.'
Now," says I, "when a widow with two children
comes begging, right or wrong, I help her; but a
bachelor of thirty, sound in leg and limbs, let him
work or die." I turned to speak to a customer-he
was off-I saw no more of him.
This young fellow is a chip of the old block;
the father did little else for twenty-five years than
go from house to house, talking largely on the
theory of religion; with regard to the practice of the
thing, he knew nothing about it. You might find him
in almost every house and family belonging to the
brick church and Wall Street congregation, talking
WORSE THAN AN INFIDEL.
225
to the children and the servants on religion-laying
down in plain colours and ambiguous terms, to the
master and mistress of the house, the vast difference
there did exist between Antinomianism and Hopkin-
sianism between Arminianism and Socinianism, &c.
&c., in great swelling words, and words of profound
nonsense. The man and wife sat with eyes staring and
jaws extended, swallowing every word as gospel itself;
wondering at the head that could contain more than
was to be found in the whole of Boston's "Body of
Divinity." In this way he would sit till dinner was
announced. He was invited, of course. At four P.M.
he would resume the application, and, if listened to,
would sit till tea, or adjourn to some other house and
act the same farce, till he made sure of his tea. In
this way he took the care of all the families in both
churches on his generous shoulders, while his own
wife and children might have gone to ruin for him.
Now this man (and there are many such), though
every day he was quoting Scripture by the yard, was
worse than an infidel, inasmuch as he provided not for
those of his own house. He had a store of books, pro-
cured from his honest and sincere brethren of the
church (who thought him a very dungeon of divinity);
but you might have called at his store one hundred
times in a week, you would never find him there. He
gave notes, too, and got some of his honest, unsus-
pecting brethren in the church to endorse them. He
thought no more of the matter. When his friend got
notice, that the holder looked to him for payment, he
waits on brother D. S.: "How is this, brother ?”
O, my dear sir, I never thought a word about the
o 2
226
GRANT THORBURN.
note-thought it not due for a month to come yet-
never gave a note before," &c. This was all his friend
got for $150; and though this fellow pretended igno-
rance, yet there was not a Yankee between Eastport and
Gravesend who knew the meaning of a note better than
himself.
Now this is no painted character, but a true fac-
simile of C. D. bookseller in Water Street, near Flet-
cher, about thirty-three years gone by. I had a sub-
stantial remembrance from himself; and at this day I
could direct your attention to twa score and twa just
exactly such mortals-men who do more harm to the
cause they profess to support than all the infidels who
have lived since the days of Herod the tetrarch.
227
CHAPTER XV.
Acquaintance with William Cobbett-Success of emigrant Scotch-
men. -Remarks on Forms of Government-On Emigration in
general-An Anecdote-" Apartments to let.”
WHEN William Cobbett kept seed-store in New York,
in May 1818, the following address appeared in the
"Evening Post :"
"William Cobbett's Address to the Public.
"I have received from my own farm, in Hamp-
shire, a quantity of the seed of Ruta Baga, or Russia
Turnip, of which I shall sell all that I do not want for
my own use at the price of one dollar for a pound
weight. It will be put up in pound parcels, and sold
by my man in his wagon, in the Fly-market, New
York, every Saturday, between an early hour in the
morning and two o'clock in the afternoon: I shall put
my name on the parcels.
"A store-keeper who has been selling Russia
turnip-seed in New York, having a fine large farm,
has a specimen, bought, I am informed, of my man,
and says it was raised from his seed. This may, pro-
bably, not be recognisable in a court of law; but it
may be worth the consideration of this store-keeper,
whether it be not recognisable in a court of con-
science.* Mr. Thorburn has advertised that his Russia
turnip-seed is as good as mine; I am very glad of it,
* It is enough to make the devil blush to hear Cobbett talk
of conscience.
228
GRANT THORBURN.
for in that case it is a great deal better than seedsmen
in England sell, except by mere accident. I am ex-
ceedingly glad that America contains a seedsman who is
scrupulous about what he sells; though in that respect
she possesses, what I believe my native country-dear
old England—never possessed, viz. an honest seedsman.
"Dated at Hyde Park, L. I., 16th June, 1818.
(Signed) "WILLIAM COBBETT."
Next day I carried the following answer to the
"Evening Post," and offered to pay for its inser-
tion: Coleman refused. However, it was published in
another.
“MR. PRINTER,
"SIR,-Now that Bonaparte and Wm. Cobbett
have gone into dignified retirement- the one to catch
shrimps in Saint Helena, the other to raise Ruta Baga
turnips on Long Island I presume you are not so
pressed with important matter but that, if inclined, you
can spare me part of a column of your paper to state
the following facts. Perhaps, too, when you consider
the mighty inequality of the parties one, a small
seedsman; the other, a powerful author, whose porcu-
pine quill, dipped in republican gall, has shook the
monarch's throne-pity may induce you to give me a
chance to rub off the dust thrown on my coat by an
advertisement in your paper of yesterday, signed' Wil-
liam Cobbett ;' in which, if I understand his meaning,
he says I sold Russia turnip-seed, and told people it
was raised from his turnips, or was his seed; and talks
about the courts of law and courts of conscience, &c.
REPLY TO COBBETT.
229
The following is the truth: - Coming up Wall Street,
about the 2d or 3d of last April, I was overtaken by
the young man who attends the business of Mr. Cob-
bett's Register office in this city. He stated that Mr.
Cobbett was anxious to get some one to sell his Russia
turnip-seed, and that at his office there was some of
the turnips, to which, if I would send, he would give
me one. I thanked him, and said I would sell the seed
for Mr, Cobbett, he allowing me good commissions -
sent to the office (not to the wagon), got the turnip,
placed it on the counter, and to all inquiries said it
was of Cobbett's turnips, and that I would warrant my
Russia turnip-seed to be as good as his; as mine was
not got from a seed-shop, but was brought over by a
gentleman, who, like Mr. Cobbett, came off as fast as
his feet could carry him, and who got his seed, not from
a seedsman, but from a friend in old England, just as
Mr. Cobbett got his. I also told my customers that I
was surprised, when he, Mr. Cobbett, knew that the
people in this country were so wise and enlightened,*
how he thought he would make them believe he was
the first to introduce that turnip, when we had it in our
Fly-market every spring these twenty years past; that
ten years ago I had sold the seeds that produced the
same roots of turnip; that we always knew it by the
name of Russia, or Swedish, or Ruta Baga; and that
the bulb was always yellow.
There is not an old
farmer on Long Island but remembers raising that
self-same turnip when Mr. Cobbett was writing long
letters in his dear old England.'
"
"In the year 1796, a large field of these turnips
* See his Letters to the People of England.
230
GRANT THORBURN.
was raised by Wm. Prout, on that piece of ground
now occupied by the Navy Yard, at the city of Wash-
ington. If Mr. Cobbett will turn to page 545 of
Porcupine's Gazette,' published at that time by Mr.
Wm. Cobbett, printer, in Philadelphia, perhaps he will
find an account of said field. At No. 43, Beekman
Street, in New York, lives a gentleman who assisted
in pulling the Russia turnips from said field, in 1796.
Had Mr. Cobbett been the first to introduce this fine
vegetable into America, he deserved, as Mr. Windham
said on another occasion, a statue of gold.'* To con-
clude, it's not the least of the wonders of the 19th
century to see William Cobbett and Grant Thorburn
scolding one another in the Fly-market, and quarrelling
about who sells the best Ruta Baga seed at $1 per
pound.
(Signed)
"GRANT THORBURN."
Next morning after this advertisement appeared I
received a polite letter of apology, with an invitation
to call and see him. I went, and spent half a day
very agreeably, in getting the history of his life, &c.
He asked how I, a nailmaker, come to be so extensive
in the seed-business. I answered, I landed in this
country with only three cents in my pockets: while
making nails, it was as much as I could do to earn
* Some time about the year 1800, Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia,
obtained a verdict of some thousand dollars against Cobbett, for
defamation of character; he then sold out, and went home. He
applied to parliament for a sinecure, or share of the secret-service
money. Mr. Windham, in his speech on that occasion, remarked,
that for the services Cobbett had rendered to the cause of kings
by his writing in America, he deserved a statue of gold.
ADVANTAGES OF GOING TO CHURCH. 231
seventy-five cents per day. Two dollars I paid for my
board, twenty-five cents for washing, and twenty-five
cents to spend, making sure to lay up two dollars per
week. Now, says I, mark the difference. Some of
my fellow-passengers 'received twelve dollars per week;
on Sundays they went to the country, got in company,
spent their week's wages, contracted loose habits, and
went to the devil. I went to church; put two cents
in the plate; if the preacher was lively, I heard him—
if he was sleepy, I slept also; at any rate, I saved my
money, rested my body, rose on Monday morning
refreshed for work: while they spent their money,
fatigued their body, and on Monday rose with the
headach, unable to work. Now, says I, you see it was
by keeping the Lord's day that I came to be a seeds-
man; and added, whatever religion might do for us
in the next world, it was the most profitable concern a
man could follow in this. He looked earnestly in my
face, and said he believed I was right. I made these
observations to him, as I suspected that he was a free-
thinker.
I think, also, that I owe some of my success to
the circumstance of my being a Scotchman. Among
the emigrants who arrive at New York from all parts
of the world, I observe there are none who so soon
establish themselves in respectable business as the
poor Scotch mechanic-he who has only his clothes
and tool-chest, and five shillings in his pocket: those
who bring money, and commence business, generally
lose it. There are but few among the English, Irish,
French, Dutch, or Germans, who get along so well, as
far as I have noticed. The uniform and first means of
232
GRANT THORBURN.
the Scotchmen's rise in the world, lays in the habit they
had contracted in their own country of going to church
on Sabbath, while the majority of other emigrants walk
out in companies, and more or less spend their money;
but, no matter from what principle, the Scotchman
goes to church-there he can't spend his money. Thus
he soon acquires the means to put himself in business.
His national pride prompts him to aspire; and while
he is seen plodding along on the easy and humble
tenor of his way, his heart is planning and swelling in
schemes of honourable ambition, till soon he raises
himself amongst the first. This day there is only one
merchant in New York who was in business forty years
ago, when first I saw it, and, thank God, he is a
Scotchman!
If it is merely for the pleasure of living under a
republican form of government, I would not advise
any man who is comfortably settled in a situation or
business, whereby he makes a living, to throw away
certainty for hope; you will find political rascals as
plenty in a republic as in a monarchy, and perhaps
more, as they have more scope for intrigue. You
also will find common sense as much insulted by a
set of fellows talking about equal rights, while they
give right to nobody about the public good, while
they are filling their pockets with the public money
against family pride and kingcraft, and as soon as they
make money enough out of the people to set up a two
or four-wheel carriage, dress up an imported flunkie
footman, or Virginia negro, with a green coat, red
collar, black hat, and gold belt, daub something on
his carriage-doors by way of arms, being the likeness
ENGLAND AND AMERICA COMPARED. 233
of nothing in heaven above or on the earth beneath ;
thus imitating, as near as he can, nobility and royalty;
and this is his republican simplicity! Talking about
disinterested regard for the public good, while it is
only to bring down every one to his level, that he
may rise on their ruin. And then there are the elections,
which never stop. Kept in continual motion by a set
of political puppets behind the curtains, descending
to means low, dirty, and dishonourable, where no
honourable man can follow; so that there is some
danger of the government being left to the manage-
ment of men who are the off-scourings of all things.
If our elections came only once in six years, I should
almost think our government was perfect. But it is
not the difference between having a king and a
president that makes America more desirable to live
in than perhaps any other country under the sun; but
we have a large and a fruitful land—a vast deal more
land than we have people to eat the fruits thereof. In
Europe, they have more people than land to feed them
on. The climate does so much for man in America,
he has but little to do for himself; in Europe, the
whole population are in continual anxiety about crops
and weather; our chief anxiety is, how to get clear of
our produce: we have no corn-laws, no poors' rates,
and no church establishments, that bone of contention
which has separated the brethren in Europe for the last
thousand years.
A man of family will confer a larger
* As an instance of the good feeling which exists among the
religious denominations in America, I will state the following:
One day, a meeting was advertised by the Christians to devise
ways and means for the conversion of the Jews; next day, a
234
GRANT THORBURN.
and more lasting benefit on his posterity by placing his
children in America, than were he to buy a throne for
each of them in Europe.
Farmers coming to America with money may buy
a farm, and live where and how just as they please.
A good mechanic will always get employment;
but if he has a family, he ought to have fifty guineas
in his pocket to carry him to the interior, as so many
land at New York, and having no money to carry
them farther, there is generally more men about town
than can get work. A man with a family should bring
nothing to America of household stuff, except bedding;
all iron and wooden ware can be got here cheap.
Finally, let no man leave Europe to settle in Ame-
rica under the impression that he can live without
industry. Thousands have gone there with this mis-
taken notion, and great has been their disappoint-
ment. Professional men, or such as hope to live by
meeting was advertised by the Jews to devise ways and means
for the conversion of the Christians, I thought this was in
them one step towards conversion, as it shewed at least a true
Catholic spirit. Forty-two years ago I was a member of the Relief
Church in Scotland; I thought then every body else was going to
the devil, except it might be a few Burghers and Antiburghers;
some of them, I thought, might get into heaven by hard squeez-
ing; but where Peter was to stow away the Baptists, Methodists,
Episcopals, High Kirk folk, and a thousand others, I never could
contrive. When I came to New York, however, and visited the
churches and different denominations, I found in some another
doctrine, but in prayer all substantially the same -- "God be
merciful to me a sinner," was the motto of their prayer and the
burthen of their songs. I now thought, that in every country
they who work righteousness are accepted of Him; that bar-
barian, Scythian, bond and free, are all one in Christ Jesus.
ON EMIGRATION.
235
their wits, of all others, are earnestly admonished to
remain at home — of such we have an overstock, of
domestic production. But to those who have some
means, who are willing to go into the interior of the
country, and there submit with untiring industry and
frugality to the hardships and privations incident to
the life of a pioneer, flattering prospects may be safely
presented. Such is the increase of settlements and
spread of population, that, taken in connexion with
the genius of our political institutions, it is not an
idle vision to suppose that the children of such,—if
they tread in the footsteps of their fathers,— may not
only attain to affluence, but to the first offices in the
gift of a free people independence is an inevitable
result. Nor would I discourage the emigration of
young men of good habits, who are acquainted with
agricultural pursuits; the wages of such persons are
high, and land cheap; and if they refrain from rum,
which is still cheaper, which is the ruin of a large pro-
portion of those who emigrate to America, they can
hardly fail of being benefited by such a change: a
few years' industry, with frugality, will enable them to
purchase a farm, a large one if new land, and a small
one if improved.
Thousands of young farmers yearly remove from
the more populous states of the north and east,
leaving the comforts of the paternal roof for the un-
tried hardships of a frontier life, with the well-founded
hope of greater ultimate prosperity. The avenues that
are open to native enterprise are equally free to all.
I repeat, however, and would earnestly impress the
236
GRANT THORBURN.
folly of removing to the United States with the de-
lusive hope of gaining a subsistence without labour.
Those who have no trades, and rely solely on the
precarious employment furnished to mere manual la-
bour in the sea-port towns, can probably do full as
well at home, and are perhaps less likely to contract
habits that destroy both body and soul; for it is a
well-known and melancholy fact, that foreigners
from whom the means of intoxication are in a great
measure withheld in Europe, by reason of the cost
avail themselves of its cheapness in America to such
an extent, that a large portion of them soon become
useless to themselves, and a nuisance to the country
of their adoption.
Another class who are sure to do well in America
is young women for domestic servants. Let them only
continue in the same sober, modest, obedient, and
orderly tenor of life in which they have been brought
up in Scotland and England, and they are sure to
receive six, and sometimes seven dollars per month
wages. Young professional men, particularly Scotch-
men, (for they can live where an Englishman will
starve), who are willing to receive just compensation
enough for their services, as will keep soul and body
together for a few years, till their worth and abilities
are known, generally rise into respectability; but doc-
tors, ministers, and lawyers, having families, except
they have money to live independent, had better stay
at home. It's very rare that I have known an emigrant
to reside five years in America, who ever returned with
the intention of remaining where they came from. I
AN ANECDOTE.
237
have known some who had made what they thought a
fortune return; but the most of them came back before
they had been twelve months in their own country.
The following anecdote is indicative of the feelings
of most young men, after they have resided a year or
two in this country, and get weaned, or spean'd as we
say in Scotland. About twenty years ago, two brothers,
farmers' servants from Lanarkshire, arrived at Philadel-
phia; they both got service with one of those substan-
tial farmers (lords of the soil) within four or five miles
of town, whose tables are daily loaded with necessaries
and luxuries, and where the farmer and his white ser-
vants eat at the same table. The one was named
Sandy, and the other Jock. One morning, after they
had been about eighteen months in their place, as they
were dressing, Jock says, "Ah! Sandy, I had an awful
dream last night." "And what did you dream, man?"
says Sandy. "Aye, but it was an awful dream," says
Jock. "And what did you dream?" says Sandy; "did
you dream
"Far waur
had broken your leg?"
you
than that," says Jock. "And what was it, man? did
you dream your mither was deed ?” "Waur than that
yet." “And what was it ye dream'd, man?" says
Sandy; "did ye dream ye was in the bad place?”
"It was waur than that yet," says Jock. "And what
was it, man?" says Sandy. "O! I dream'd I was at
home again," says Jock.
It is very rare that I have seen a woman, whatever
may
have been her sphere of life in Britain, provided
she was rising of forty years before she left her home,
that ever got reconciled to or was happy in America.
The husband, led abroad in society by his business, soon
238
GRANT THORBURN.
makes new friends; the children soon make new as-
sociates, and form new attachments; but the mother
finds every thing strange. The modes and manners of
housekeeping are strange to her; there is even a sort
of vocabulary, as it were, belonging to the domestic
affairs of every country, that a woman brought up in
another country never can learn; and though her hus-
band and children are all happy around her, though
she can buy apples of the best flavour here as cheap as
she can buy potatoes in her own country, and though
she has every thing in abundance around her, yet she
longs for the conversation and company of those who
were the companions of her youth. Nothing to her
like London, like Edinburgh, like Dublin, or even like
her hut on the barren side of some hill in Scotland.
66
Some years ago, there came to New York from
London a smart bachelor, aged about twenty-eight.
He had a high opinion of himself, and the place he
came from. Wishing to hire a room for an office on
the ground floor, he noticed a card in a window,
Apartments to let," was waited on, and shewn the
premises by the tradesman's daughter who owned the
house. She was a beautiful, modest, sensible girl; he
was pleased with the apartment, but more so with the
young lady; as he afterwards said, there was a music in
her voice which made him ask questions. Having been
told the price, says he, "Is the damsel to be let with
the apartment?" (at the same time making a polite
attempt to take hold of her hand). She made a step
backwards, and looking him full in the face, replied,
"Sir, the damsel is to be let alone." He hired the
room, took possession next day, but the apt reply kept
A NEAT REPLY.
239
66
sounding in his ears, Sir, the damsel is to be let
alone." He never left his office satisfied without
having a word or a look from her; he soon became her
professed admirer, and before twelve months she be-
came his wife. The countenance and respectability of
her relations has given him a standing in society; he is
attentive to business, and every thing seems thriving
and happy about them.
240
CHAPTER XVI.
A few Reflections from Forty Years' Observations in America-
Particular Providence shewn in the national Affairs of America
-Concluding Instance of same to Myself.
MEN, Fidlers, and Trollopes, who travel forty days
in America, fifteen of which are generally spent in the
death of sleep, ought not to be branded as impostors.
The public, if they think at all, are not to expect any
correct information concerning a people, their country,
and their manners, from either fiddlers or mounte-
banks, who may happen to spend a few strolling days
in the line of their profession in that country. If they
do expect so great a miracle, then they richly deserve
to be imposed on. But no; they are not imposed on:
they buy these as they do any other work of fiction,
to see who among all those hundred-and-one book-
makers can tell the most plausible lie. Therefore the
writers and printers are not impostors; for the people
desire to have it so.
I am satisfied the book bearing the name of Mrs.
Trollope was never written by an English lady. A
lady implies every thing that is mild, pleasant, beauti-
ful, engaging, modest, and discreet. I remember, fifty
years ago in Scotland, to say that a woman was a
soldier's trollope, implied every thing that was bad,
hateful, and disgusting. Besides, no modest and dis-
creet woman will be found travelling alone through
seas and floods, in ships and boats, with mates, cooks,
MRS. TROLLope.
241
and captains, except she were completely unsexed.
Besides, the book professes to be an exposé of the
"Domestic Manners of the Americans." Now, sure
am I that no woman, having the feelings of a woman,
would ever expose, if she could, the failings and
frailties of her sisters, and in such language, too, as
that book contains-more like the licentious slang of
some minor theatre, or the polluted breath of some
London fishwife. If it has been written by a woman,
thank God we have no such women in America.
There is, perhaps, no country on earth where ladies
are so highly respected and thought of as they are in
America (I speak from forty years' observation). Had
the writer of Trollope really been a lady of feeling, she
would have rejoiced to find that there was at least one
country under the sun where woman holds the exact
place in society which nature and the God of nature
has assigned her, that of being the companion and
help-mate of man, not his slave. From these reflections,
my own mind is satisfied that Trollope is no woman,
or, if she be, she must be one who wears the breeches.
The very fact of her travelling with Miss F. Wright
ought to expel her from women's company.
It is really provoking to hear European writers
comparing themselves with themselves, and exalting
themselves by themselves, and impeaching the Ameri-
cans for want of refinement. Its like C****** teaching
honour, or the devil preaching truth. The real stand-
ard of refinement all over the world can only be
estimated by the place which woman holds in society,
and by the usage she receives from those lords of the
creation, falsely so called. Mrs. Trollope has the
Р
242
GRANT THORBURN.
ignorance to compare the modest, beautiful, sprightly,
and sensible ladies in America, with the poor, debased
daughters of Eve in Europe. I know that God has
made many of their women as angels for beauty, but
the men have transformed them into devils. Among
your singers and players are some of the handsomest
women in the world; but the European savage-man,
has debased them beneath the brutes that perish. In
Africa they are the beasts of burden and labouring slaves
of the man; in Asia they are the soulless automatons
of his pleasures, and the labouring slaves of his profits;
and in proportion as they excel in beauty, in the same
proportion are they transferred from one heartless
tyrant to another, and with more unconcern than they
would part with an ass or a colt from the stall. But
in Europe their degradation is yet keener and deeper,
for there they receive just education enough to shew
them their high origin, and the place in society which
by right is their own; thus making them see and
feel more acutely the abject state into which they
are plunged by the cruelty of man. Many of them,
young, lovely, and sensitive creatures, are shut up in
monasteries (and this, too, by those who gave them
birth), or compelled to be buckled to some old worn-
down, rich, titled debauchee, whereby all the sweet
sensibilities of their nature are destroyed, and all the
useful purposes for which the God of nature made
them are lost to the world. In comparison with this,
the burning of a Hindoo widow, or a Jewess of old
placing the son of her youth in the red-hot arms of
Moloch, is like tender mercies. Even in our own
day, we have seen in France-that country of chivalry,
EUROPEAN REFINEMENT.
243
refinement, and gallantry-the young, the learned, the
high-born and accomplished females, led out by ruffians
whose hands yet smoked with the blood of a sister—we
have seen them tied in groups, as is done by the wild
savage in our western wilderness we have seen their
beautiful heads roll in the basket of the guillotine, till
the arms of the executioner grew faint we have seen
men (falsely called) in Europe stand by with indifference
and see the beautiful Mary of Scotland murdered by
a fire-cat of a sister, and, in our day, the fascinating
Marie Antoinette of France by the ruffianly Sans-
culottes. Were such brutalities attempted in America
on woman, every rifle, from Eastport to the Rocky
Mountains, would be raised in her defence and yet
these men have the very great modesty to talk to the
Americans about refinement.
In Europe, too, where dwell the most Catholic
Majesties, the most Christian Majesties, the Kings by
the grace of God, the Defenders of the Faith, the
Heads of the Church, and the Lords Spiritual, even
there these men of refinement will take the most
comely of their women, strip them of their chief orna-
ment, modesty, then tear off rag after rag, till scarcely
a fig-leaf is left; then they place them on a large table,
which they call a theatre, and sometimes on a rope,
and there they make them dance to the sound of an
Irish fiddle, or a pair of Scotch bagpipes; and this
is what they call in Paris, in London, in Dublin, and
in Edinburgh, worshipping the fair sex. Now a body
*
* I would here inform Messrs. Fidler, Trollope, and Co., and
all other forty-day travellers, who may wish to make a book, that
244
GRANT THORBURN.
would really suppose that this is all right, for it is all
done just under the noses of those holy men aforesaid.
They also have dancing bears, and live elephants, and
monkeys, which they make to dance about just as they
make their ladies do; and it's all done for money
indeed, they will do any thing in Europe for money.
Some sell their bodies to the doctors while they live,
and some sell their souls to the devil when they die
and all for money.
Another source of misery to the ladies in Europe,
and which sours all the sweet charities of their lives, is
their family distinctions, their bloods, and their titles.
Thousands of them are here sacrificed, like Jephtha's
daughter; hence the forced marriages, the unhappy
marriages, the runaway marriages, the elopements, and,
finally, their crim. con. trials,-names, the meaning of
which is unknown to the ladies in America.
In America, when a young woman comes to her
eighteenth year, she is of age, and can marry the man
of her choice, despite of cold-blooded parents, or self-
interested guardians. There are no laws to obstruct
the freedom of marriages in America, (as far as ever I
could learn,) no licenses, no proclamations at the desk,
or advertisements on the church-door. Any man and
woman, of any age or condition, can go to the mayor,
magistrate, minister, or justice of the peace, taking
from what I have seen, I am confident there is not a lady in
America, having a drop of American blood in her veins, but
rather than expose her person, as is done by the women in Europe,
to the brutal gaze of those noble blackguards, she would take a
prayer-book in one hand, and a wooden cross in the other, and
walk into the flames of martyrdom.
COMPARISONS.
245
with them two witnesses to prove that they are both
single people, and they get married without further
ceremony. Now, Mrs. Trollope would call this an
instance of the loose state of morals in America; but
experience shews it has quite a different effect. In
Europe, some popish priest or bishop gives them a
license to become man and wife in a political sense,
and some Beelzebub or Lucifer gives them a license to
keep as many masters and mistresses as they please.
The marriage is merely to enable the first son of the
next generation to hold the estate; but with regard to
love or natural affection, they know just as little as the
Esquimaux in his cabin of ice: and yet these tramplers
on every thing that is pure, holy, and becoming in life,
have the impudence to preach modesty and refinement
to the Americans.
The laws are severe against bigamy, and are seldom
infringed except by foreigners, who have left wives
in Europe. In fact, the Americans know little, not
even by name, of the many vices that are rife in old
countries.
In Europe, the ladies among the higher casts are
waited on by white slaves-in America, by black :
among the inferiors in Europe, the women are the slaves
of the men-in America, the men are the WILLING
slaves of the women: in short, domestic economy in
America is comprehended in two words, the man pro-
vides, and his wife takes care of what he provides.
With regard to governments, it matters little to me
whether the head is called a king or a president, pro-
vided they are a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to
them that do well. Even in hell they have a king, to
P 2
246
GRANT. THORburn.
keep order in that pit; and among the powers of the
air, they can't get along without having a prince. All
nature obeys the law of its Maker, men and devils only
excepted; and they require a strong arm to keep them
in order.
In America, I would prefer living under a repub-
lican government, but not in Britain. I think now
that they have got their parliament so far reformed,
they have as much liberty as they can fairly stagger
under. If they get along, quietly and easily, to cancel
their sinecures as the present incumbents die, and
also, by degrees, in lessening their church burdens, and
keep themselves from going to war, they will do very
well. The experiment of having religion supported in
a country without the interference of government, has
been tried in America for the last fifty years, and with
the most complete success. I verily believe there is
more pure and undefiled religion amongst the epis-
copal churches in the state of New York alone, than is
to be found in the same church all over England.
Such a thing as a horse-racing, cock-fighting, fox-
hunting, tavern-keeping parson, is not known in Ame-
rica. Were they so to appear, the people would just
withdraw their support, and the priests drop into ob-
livion. There is no priestcraft in America: where
civil government is kept out of the church, priestcraft
cannot exist. Before the revolution in America, the
episcopals lorded it over God's heritage,-now every
tub stands on its own bottom.
Those simple dreamers, who, for the last fifty years,
have been turning the world upside-down, and writing
so many fine-spun theories on government, always
PARLIAMENTARY DIGNITIES.
247
men
assume the false position at the outset, that man is a
perfect being. Mr. Thomas Paine wrote and spoke so
much and so long about the perfectibility of human
nature, that he became a perfect beast himself. Were
it not for insulting the dignity of the British nation,
in the persons of some of its members in parliament, I
could give the history of two or three of them,
whose heads are so long, that they themselves really
think they can govern the universe, and yet they never
learned to govern their own tongues, to govern their
own wives, to govern their own hearts, sons, servants,
or affairs. The fact is, they are so filled with a dis-
interested ambition to rule, that, were it possible, they
would take the reins from the hands of the Governor of
the world.
These men, like all other madmen, are continually
striving to destroy the very means in which is involved
their life and safety. Were it not for the arm of a
strong government, when O'Connell, Hunt, and Co. col-
lect such a mass of folly and wickedness around them
in the fields, as sometimes is done, one word from a
bravo in the crowd, and the leaders (like the keeper of
some wild beasts let loose) are torn in pieces. We saw
it done repeatedly within the last forty years in France;
and human nature is the same, under the same circum-
stances, every where.
In America, we have too much liberty. The im-
ported patriot, as ignorant as a goose, and as poor as
Job's hen-turkey, has as good a vote for the men who
tax, assess, and take from me my property, as I have
myself. This is giving him who has nothing, LIBERTY
to be sure, but it is to take from me what is not his.
248
GRANT THORBURN.
Often these men have not been three weeks in the
country, but as they always vote for our side, we have
some easy modes of creeping through our naturalisation
laws. From this, and many more defects I could name,
we need never expect to see a government without
faults.
Democracy and Republicanism* sound fine in
theory; and were men what God made them, it would
work well in practice; and herein lays the mighty
odds-God made man upright, but he sought out many
inventions-God made him wise, and he made himself
a fool. In Europe many are civilised-some about
half-and a number are still in a state of nature. Take
a few from every country, town, and village, and per-
haps you cannot select three from each hundred that
* In America, the genius and habits of the people, with their
broad spread and thin population, befits them exactly (as I think)
to taste fairly the experiment of the strength and stability of a
republican form of government; and from what I have seen I
feel confident it grows stronger with its age; and if the principles
laid down in General Jackson's proclamation are enforced so as
to ensure the future union of the states, I believe it will continue
as long as wood grows and water runs. But if twenty-three
states are to submit to the direction of one, then is the union at
an end. Soon shall we have a chief, a protector, a king, or a
landgrave, at the head of every state-soon shall we need a stand-
ing army to prevent aggressions on the lines, and to cut one ano-
ther's throats, as the wise men in Europe have been doing for the
last 1500 years. Then, when future generations read of Wash.
ington, who gained independence for his country, and of the band
of worthies who gave her a constitution, how will they curse the
cupidity of the present generation, who let these blessings slip
through their fingers before these worthies had all slept with their
fathers!
A MERCIFUL REPUBLICAN !
249
are men of sound sense -seventy-five are fools, and
twenty-two are rogues; therefore, the more men that
are engaged in a matter, the greater is the quantity of
human folly and wickedness collected. Besides, I
never knew a genuine bawling republican in my life
(and I have seen many) but he was a most consummate
tyrant, as far as his little brief authority went. Some
years ago I knew one of these thorough-going imported
republicans in New York; the "Rights of Man" was
continually in his mouth, and the horse-whip in his
hand. He was a cabinet-maker by trade; and one
day the police justice cancelled the indentures of seven
of his apprentices, on account of barbarous and cruel
usage.
I don't think there is a nation in Europe could
exist twenty years under a republican form of govern-
ment; they are not so well informed as the people in
America generally are; besides, from their youth the
Americans are accustomed to something like this form
of self-government, by selecting persons to fill many of
their offices, as road-masters, poor-masters, militia-
officers, &c. &c. It is not so much the form of our
government that makes the people so happy in America,
as the fact that we are not saddled with any of the cus-
toms of the dark ages, which yet hang about the necks
of the good folks of Britain. In America, every man
that professes religion attends to the religion of his own
house; and if twenty heads of houses conclude to build
a church, and engage a minister to lead their devotions
on Sabbath, the government has no concern in the
matter. In Europe, they hire men at a high price to
become a head for their church, but in America Christ
250
GRANT THORBURN.
is the only head of the church that they will acknow-
ledge, and they own no Lord but the Lord Jehovah.*
We have no poors' rate, and no noble blood. This
noble blood spoils a great many happy marriages in
Europe; but in America nature displays her most per-
fect works. We have no standing army, because we
don't need one; in Europe, the people must be kept in
order by the point of the bayonet; but in America the
people have common sense enough to keep themselves
in order. Our government is the cheapest; and were it
not that our elections are so frequent, I should think
it was the best in the world. It's really amusing to hear,
when you go to London or Edinburgh, how ignorant the
people are with regard to every thing appertaining to
America; and yet every week they have a new book of
travels from some strolling Fidler, Hall, Hamilton, or
* About seventy years ago (if fame speaks true) none were
admitted into the House of Parliament but members, ladies, and
the servants of noblemen. Dr. M'Intosh of Edinburgh being in
London while the house was sitting, and probably not knowing
the regulation, and having a desire to see how matters were con-
ducted, presented himself at the door. From something about his
dress, or probably from the very circumstance of his wanting ad-
mittance, they supposed he must be a nobleman's servant. There
were two keepers - the first accosts him "What lord do you
belong to." Instantly replies the doctor, "To the Lord Jehovah."
"The Lord Jehovah!" echoes the keeper, looking inquiringly in
the face of his fellow; "the Lord Jehovah! why, I never heard of
that lord: I am sure," raising his voice," he is not in all the
Court Calendar. Where lays the estate? "In the northern
hemisphere,” replies the doctor gravely. As they knew as little
about the hemisphere as they did about the Lord; "O, damn
him!" says keeper No. 2, " let him pass; it must be some poor
Scotch lord, I suppose."
د"
A WHITE YANKEE.
251
Trollope. These Fidlers, however, are not fools; they
know that a wise man cannot live in a country unless
the majority of the people are fools. It is for this reason
that a Scotchman cannot get along in Connecticut
among the cunning Yankees, because they understand
how to hold as well as he does how to pull.
"
I was in Scotland fifteen years ago; had with me
my son, a lad about ten; stopped to see a lady at the
seat of Lord A- near Edinburgh; was introduced
as Mr. Thorburn from America-and this is his son, a
young Yankee (the lad was both white and ruddy). The
good lady stoops; lays her arm round his neck, her
hand on his left shoulder, and, looking him full in the
face, exclaims, "The Losh preserve us, but he's as
white as our ain folk!" Observe, this was at a lord's
house, in 1818-not among the mobites. It is funny to
hear their wise men speak, and their wise women write,
about the Americans, as if they were nothing but a
set of simple men, the sons of silly women. They speak
about our generals and colonels being cow-keepers, and
horse-keepers, and bar-keepers, &c.; they speak about
our captains and our militia as being shoe-makers and
tailors, having guns without locks; they speak about
our commodores as being packers of cod-fish, and our
ambassadors as being printers or doctors, and petty-
fogging lawyers. All this may be true; but, then, when
they come in contact with them, they find themselves
most commonly out- generaled. Washington and
Hamilton generaled them out of a whole continent-
General Jackson packed up their generals in rum hogs-
heads-the shoe-makers and tailors, having guns with-
out locks, locked up Burgoyne, Cornwallis, &c.-the
252
GRANT THORBURN.
packers of cod-fish caught a whole fleet on the lakes
at one hawl-and Franklin the printer, Adams, Jay,
Laurence, and other petty-fogging lawyers, out-witted
and supplanted their diplomatists, in 1776, at almost
every court in Christendom.
With regard to the navy in America, there is no
doubt but man to man, and gun to gun, they will be
able to defend themselves against any nation under the
sun. The late war gave a lesson to these men, whose
principle of right consisted in making the weak submit
to the strong, which they will not soon forget; but as
now they know where each other's strength lays, they
will find it their interest to cultivate one another's
friendship. Their fleets combined will be able to
protect the world from oppressors.
In reading the history of America for the last fifty
years, it often occurs to my mind, that Providence has
taken the affairs of the country into his own immediate
direction. I think we can't look back on the late war
without being convinced that the Governor of the world
turned the mistakes and blunders of our own governors
into public blessings, and in a way and manner, too,
contrary to our own plans and most sanguine calcu-
lations. For instance, when the war of 1812 broke
out, our governors thought they had only to send a
few men into Canada, carrying a pole with a striped
handkerchief at its top, and that all the whole country
would join them. But after losing millions of money
and thousands of men, they found themselves com-
pletely discomfited, foiled, and laughed at. And it
was right it should be so. It was both unjust and
impolitic ; — unjust, because the Canadians were our
AMERICA'S Defences.
253
brethren, and never had done us any harm. If their
masters, three thousand miles away, had robbed our
ships, it was not their fault-they could not help it;
it was impolitic, because, had our government issued a
proclamation, telling them we were brethren of the same
soil, we had no quarrel with them, and if they would
let us alone we would let them alone-had this been
done, I verily believe that, ere this time, Canada would
have now formed the twenty-fifth state in the Union.
But look at the ocean, that highway of nations ;
there we had been robbed and plundered because we
wanted the means of defence. These leviathans of the
deep, with their mouths of one hundred fires, told us
to stand by or they would sink us in the mighty waters.
On these waters, though our cause was just, we thought
we could do nothing. But there we looked on, while
the Lord wrought gloriously for America—where we
looked for disgrace, he gave us honour, and for defeat
he gave us victory; till at length the skill of the
officers, and the strength of the six American fir-built
frigates, was proclaimed from the Park and Tower guns
of London.
Look also at New Orleans; their ships darkened
our rivers; their men were numerous as the locusts in
Egypt; their officers and soldiers were all mighty men
of war, having just conquered the conqueror of the
world, and laid his invincibles low, even in the dust.
But here these noble fellows, whose swords had just
let loose the heart's blood of Buonaparte's lancers,
were cut down like grass in the field, and scattered
abroad like chaff before the wind, by the unerring aim
of the American rifle. They were the invaders, the
Q
254
GRANT THORBURN.
Americans were the defendants; but in Canada the
Americans were the invaders, and were discomfited.
All these things are arguments with me in favour
of the doctrine of a Particular Providence, in regard to
nations. As respects myself, in addition to what has
been already stated, I beg to give another instance, in a
circumstance which happened to me only in April last,
and with which I shall conclude this account of my
life. I could have put on record some scores of such
instances, any one of which might suffice to convince a
reasonable person of the consoling doctrine of the minis-
try of angels, or a class of beings, though invisible to
us, by far superior in power and intelligence, and who
stand ready, at the nod of their Master, to execute his
will in a moment, even to the utmost boundaries of
space but here our feeble mind is lost. On what
other principles are we to account for the curious in-
cidents which frequently happen to every observing
man, viz. of thinking or speaking about a person whom,
perhaps, we have not seen for years, and he will
immediately appear; and sometimes going through
scenes in your sleep in which you will be a prominent
actor next day? These things must be whispered on
our senses, or impressed into our souls, by some being
to us invisible. Heaven, earth, and sea, are full of
wonders and mysteries, of which those wise men (self-
styled philosophers) never dreamed.
*
In April last, then, we received a letter from Mr. C.,
ordering about $250 worth of seeds and trees, and stating
that B. and Co. would pay our bill. Before comply-
* Hence the Scottish proverb, "Speak of the de'il and he'll
appear."
INSTANCE OF A PARTICULAR PROVIDEnce. 255
ing with the order we shewed the letter to B. and Co. ;
they stated, had the amount not exceeded $100 they
would have paid it, but being already considerable in
advance, they were not inclined to go further; but
added, they considered him a good man, and thought
we should be safe in trusting him to that amount. My
son being anxious to fill the order, I consented; the
goods and invoice were forwarded, but receiving no
answer, after six weeks we wrote to him again, re-
questing him to send us a draft on P. W. and Co.;
still no answer came. One day, during the cholera,
about the beginning of September, I picked up a piece
of paper from the floor, which, from some words on it,
brought the matter to my mind. I told my son I was
getting anxious about the matter of C., and was re-
solved to stir in the business; my son thought we had
better let it rest till after the cholera, as it was probable
Mr. C. might be out of town, &c. However, the thing
kept harassing my mind, so I determined to see the
Messrs. B., and consult with them before the day closed.
I called at their office about fifteen minutes past four
P.M., presuming they would have returned from din-
ner: I waited some time, and they not returning, I
went home, drank my tea, and resolved to call again,
if spared, next morning—but something in my mind
kept prompting me on; so, having finished tea, I re-
turned to the office and found Mr. B. alone. I
shewed him Mr. C.'s letter, and asked his advice. He
advised me to draw on C. at ten days' sight, in favour
of R. C., to give the draft to him (Mr. B.), and he
would give it to C. to forward. I came home, told my
son, bid him go to tea, and draw the drafts as soon as
256
GRANT THORBURN.
he came back. He smiled, and said he could not see
what made me so pushing in this business all at once.
Says I, "I can't either; but something hurries me on,
that I can't rest satisfied till I push it as fast as I can.”
The draft was drawn that night. Next morning I gave it
to B., with an earnest request that he would give it to
Mr. C. to forward by that day's mail. About a month
after, Mr. B. came into our store, and told us a long
story about the failure of Mr. P., and how much they
had lost by him, but added, your draft is paid, and
paid, too, the very day before he failed. Next day
Mr. C. stepped in and told us the same story, adding,
"You are a lucky fellow, Thorburn, for had not the
draft gone on that very day, I don't think you would
have got one cent." Now, in reviewing this matter, I
can't help being assured, in my own mind, that there
was some invisible influence that urged me on in a
manner, for which I could not account, to bestir my-
self in this business on that very day; and I also think
I can see the hand of Providence in inclining the hearts
of both Messrs. B. and C. to transact their parts of the
business on that same day, with more promptness, per-
haps, than if their own interests had been at stake.
APPENDIX.
259
APPENDIX.
A FLOWER EXTRACTED.
[From the New York Commercial Advertiser, May 19,
1829.1
THE following characteristic communication is too good
to be delayed for a single day; and 've make room for
it without hesitation :
To the Editors of the Commercial Advertiser.
I really believe that you gentlemen printers save
more money to the good people of this city, by the
cautions you give, and the exposures you make of the
practice and tricks of thieves, than all the paltry sum
of ten dollars which you usually ask, to pay for paper,
ink, and carrying. Since last fall, when you gave an
account of the fellow who stole the gold fish, we have
not been sensible of a single depredation: but one
morning last week, about six A. M., a figure strolled
into our yard, his feet being half covered with a pair
of sea-green morocco slippers; his stockings, which
had once been white, rolled down to his ancles, and
displayed part of a leg, which, from appearance, had
not been anointed with soap since the 4th of July last;
260
GRANT THORBURN.
his cassimere pantaloons of the same colour as the
Scotch snuff that is made in Chatham Street, and
ornamented at the top by a bunch of seals as large as a
mock orange, and as yellow as if they had really been
made from gold found in North Carolina; around his
neck, too, he wore an iron chain, appended to some-
thing at the end which was meant as an apology for a
watch, but from the spider-like appearance of his spine,
I thought it might be intended as a preventor, (as the
sailors say,) to keep the extremities from separating
from the trunk; or, like the men of Jersey, who with
an ox-chain fasten the small, to keep them from run-
ning away with the large wheels of their wagon. His
face was pretty enough, and on the whole he might
pass for a very handsome fellow; but in the vacant
stare of his eye, you might easily perceive that Madam
Nature, getting tired with labouring all day to form a
handsome person, at last being vexed with the job, had
rolled him from her work-bench, forgetting to put
brains in his head. Thinking he wanted the capacity to
contemplate the beauties of nature aright, and there-
fore must have some other object in view by so early a
visit, I told Argus to look out. In a few minutes he
reported a hyacinth flower broke off, and deposited in
the steeple crown of his hat. On examining the spot,
I found a red Groot voorst (probably so named after
one of the ponderous beauties of Amsterdam) had just
been cropped off by the ground. I arose in anger,
and was just going to upbraid him, when three decent
young lads, and their pretty young lasses, entered the
gate. Thinks I to myself, I won't discompose them,
and, bad as he was, expose him to the ridicule of the
APPENDIX.
261
ladies; so I asked him to step into the store. Says I,
‹‹
Sir, you have not paid for the flowers in your hat."
Says he, "I intend to pay."
66
Then," says I, "we're
agreed at once, for I intend you shall pay. The price,
cut to order, is twenty-five cents; but as you helped
yourself without leave, I will only charge Wall Street
commissions; so you may give me fifty cents, and be
off. Having got the money in my hand, I began to
deliver an extempore lecture on the baseness of such
conduct, comparing it with the ox in the meadow, who,
having not sense to discern these beautiful works of the
Creator, tramples them in the mire with his cloven feet;
but, being conscience-struck, he shuffled himself out of
the gate, up into Broadway, as fast as his long legs
and green sluffs could carry him.
P.S.-Stepping into the green-house the other day,
I observed a decent-looking woman holding up, ad-
miring, and smiling at a pretty rose-bud she had just
plucked from a bush. As she did not attempt con-
cealment, I was sure it was not done in evil design, or
with malice prepense (as they say at the Hall of Justice).
Says I,“ Madam, I daresay you thought no harm when
you broke off that rose?" Says she, "I thought where
there were so many to pluck off, one would not be
missed." " "But," says I," ma'am, had you thought for
a moment that if every lady who visits this place was to
carry away a rose, or break off a branch, in a short time
we should have nothing left to look at but bare poles
and brickbats." She looked so, and said she was sorry,
and I really believe she was sorry; so I cut a slip or
two of geranium, and a sprig of myrtle, to tie to the
rose, and so made a bouquet complete. She went
Q2
262
GRANT THORBURN.
home more repenting than if I had scolded as loud as
Mrs. Socrates of old, when she emptied the salt water
bath on the bald head of her husband.
LIVERWORT.
[From the New York Commercial Advertiser,
17th August, 1829.]
We cannot deny the use of our columns to our
friend Grant Thorburn for the following characteristic
letter in defence of his favourite plant.
If our
"Sub-
scriber" who ridiculed it on Saturday has any music in
his soul, he will laugh; and if he has any magnanimity,
he will "give it up." His closing allusion is very good;
but we suspect Mr. Thorburn went to church so many
times yesterday, that he had not time to refer to the
text of his authority. It was not the king of Assyria
who preferred" the rivers of Damascus" to "all the
waters of Israel," but Naaman, an officer of the king
of Syria.
"Liverwort again.-I met a grave-digger the other
day, and asked him how was trade. He said it
had not been so dull before in the month of August
since the year 1816-and were it not that a few young
ladies get every week squeezed to death by their corsets,
he did not believe he would make salt to his kail.*
That year there were so many black spots on the sun
that the cucumbers were frozen to death in July, and
seed became so scarce that the Yankees were obliged
to invent a machine whereby they made seed from the
wood of the white-wood tree, and peddled it round
* Scotch soup.
APPENDIX.
263
per
the Continent for the moderate price of one dollar
ounce. Now, I am thinking, Mr. Stone, that this same
subscriber of yours must be an undertaker, or grave-
digger, whose business of late has been so much cur-
tailed by the introduction of liverwort and mustard-
seed (the character of the latter is so firmly fixed he
dare not say a word against it), that having nothing
better to kill his dull time, he sits down to vent his
spite on the poor liverwort. I think, too, Mr. Printer,
he gives you a pretty good knock on the head in the
outset of the letter, when he says, he is provoked to
see you puffing up an herb which has no medical
qualities. In all the vegetable kingdom, a plant or
herb has not yet been discovered that God made with-
out possessing medical properties. Your subscriber
next comes down on the poor sobersided Shaking
Quakers a set of the best mechanics and honestest
fellows I ever met with and were it not that they
hold the doctrine of that consummate blockhead,
Malthus, I would call them among the best members
of society too. He therefore almost commands you
not to come out with your white paper and black
printer's-devil advertisements, thus aiding and abetting
these monstrous Shakers to deceive the public. I
really wonder what makes the man so angry. He asks
you, too, if you have any interest in the apothecaries'
stores? I think I sell more of that weed (without
medical properties) than any apothecary in town, and
therefore think he strikes me over your tall head. But
if he is really in search of truth, and will call at the
meeting-house in Liberty Street, I will give him the
names of some gentlemen, probably of his own ac-
264
GRANT THORBURN.
quaintance, in whose renovated countenances he may
read the medical properties of this herb. Every im-
provement in science or mechanics has been met by
the opposition of the ignorant or interested. When
the bright eye of CLINTON first sketched the lines of a
canal through a thousand hills and dales, an host of
fellows, who could not see an inch before their nose,
wrote volumes to prove that he was born blind. If
this same liverwort grew only on the banks of the
Ganges, it would be a sovereign remedy; but as it is
to be found in abundance on the banks of the Hack-
ensack river, in New Jersey, we are to be told it is the
only herb that ever God Almighty made which has no
medical properties. This thing will sound strange in
the hall of Princeton College. It reminds me of the
great king of Assyria, who would not believe the pro-
phet when he told him to wash away his leprosy in that
clear running brook close by- but he must needs go
to one of the great rivers in Damascus wherein to
bathe his royal brown hide. To be serious, this herb
is doing much good in pulmonary complaints — it is a
pity to knock it in the head at once anonymously.
Yours, &c.
GRANT THORBURN.”
[From the New York Commercial Advertiser,
19th August, 1833.]
MESSRS. EDITORS-It is provoking to read in your
paper, occasionally, an editorial puff of some herb which
has no medical properties. Eighteen months ago there
was a cure (related by the newspapers) produced by
APPENDIX.
265
liverwort. The article became immediately very com-
mon, and every body who had a liver complaint or
affection of the lungs drank freely and continually of
the decoction, till every one was satisfied that the liver-
wort was an inert article. Now you are trying to get it
up into use again. The leaf has three lobes, which gave
name to the plant, as the liver has three lobes likewise:
this is the origin; but many suppose it derived its
name from its virtues in diseases of the liver. I was
knowing to the following fact:-A child had the quincy
very bad-so bad that there was danger of suffocation.
The doctor prescribed an emetic and a blister-plaster;
but an old woman came in, and said that the swallow
was affected, and the best thing was a poultice made
of a swallow's nest. This took with the father and
mother, and the doctor's medicine was laid aside. The
nest procured consisted of excrement and clay, and was
applied for two days, when the child died. So with the
liverwort. Have you an interest in the apothecaries'
stores which induces you to recommend it so highly?
I presume not; therefore do not deceive the public
with the advertisement of the Shakers, which was got
up to produce a sale of the article.
The New York Observer" recommended and wrote
columns, and printed hundreds of certificates of drunk-
ards who were cured by Chambers' remedy. A year
afterwards the same editor stated he had been deceived,
for every one of whom he had published a cure were
still drunkards. So it is with all these quackeries. I
fear the day will never come when the community will
not be stuffed with nostrums got up merely to make
money,
A SUBSCRIBER.
266
GRANT THORBURN.
HINTS TO GARDENERS WISHING TO EMIGRATE TO THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
[From the London Gardener's Magazine.]
SIR,-Being a well-wisher to gardeners, both from
principle and interest, (as it is by that craft I live,) I
think I may be of some service to those who intend
coming to this country by letting them know on what
footing they must stand on their arrival. We have
neither lords spiritual nor temporal in this country,
with seventy thousand pounds sterling a year at their
backs; and who, to assist them in spending so much
money, must employ perhaps thirty horsemen, a hun-
dred labourers, and it may be, thirty gardeners.
Every tub here stands on its own bottom, and almost
every man is his own gardener; and perhaps not in
all America are there three gentlemen who employ two
gardeners for the twelve months round. While our
present system of government continues, as we have
no hereditary estates, and property is consequently
always shifting, we never shall have what are called
overgrown fortunes. No man is able to employ ten
gardeners in this country; therefore, while the present
system continues in Britain, gardeners will meet with
better encouragement there than in America. Such a
thing as head-gardener, a grieve (bailiff), or overseer,
is not known in this country, except some of the latter,
in the southern states, among the blacks.* But, not-
withstanding all this, a gardener may live very comfort-
* Some of the young cockneys who have visited this country,
with more money in their purses than wit in their heads, have
returned, and got some one to write for them a book, or, as they
generally style it, "A Journal of their Journey overland in
APPENDIX.
267
ably in America
single men (that is, such as are not
married) are generally engaged by the year, and receive
from twelve to fifteen dollars per month, bed, board, and
washing. It is expected from them to raise vegetables
sufficient to supply the family, to take the care of a
few flower-beds, and sometimes a small green-house.
If they are careful of their money, by attending church
on Sunday, instead of travelling about in steam-boats,
chairs, or frequenting ice-cream gardens, they, in a
few years, will have enough to hire some acres near the
city, where they may commence market-gardening for
themselves. I have known many who, in a short time,
have established themselves very comfortably in this
way; and, as land is cheap, and neither poor-rates
America." These would-be authors, almost without an excep-
tion, describe in lively colours (and it is generally the only lively
paragraph in the book) the inconsistency of the people and
government of America keeping slaves in the South. This charge
is true in the abstract, but these men forget, or perhaps they
never knew (as they are not deep read) that these slaves were
introduced into America under the reigns of George I., II., and
III.; rather au inconsistent act of a government composed of
lords spiritual as well as temporal, and kings by the grace of God,
defenders of the faith, &c.! So, when the Americans were old
enough to govern themselves, they found they were saddled with
this last curse of the European dark ages. But there is no way
to get quit of them, except they do as the Hessians, and other
white slave-holders do in Europe, that is, sell them from one
master to another to be shot at for so much per head. However,
they are now sending them back to their own country as fast as
practicable; and, in the mean time, they eat better, sleep better,
are clothed better, and have less hard work, than the white slaves
in Birmingham, Manchester, &c. Another generation, I confi-
dently trust, will not find a slave from one end of the Union to
the other.
G. T.
268
GRANT THORBURN.
nor tithes to pay, if they mind their own business,
they will get along very quietly. But I would not
advise a gardener who has a family to come here, ex-
cept he can bring with him one hundred or two hun-
dred guineas; for it often happens that some months
go over his head before he gets into a situation. In
the mean time it takes considerable sums to support
his family. If he has no children, and his wife under-
stands taking care of a dairy, they may both get em-
ployed, and live in the same house with the family
he managing the garden, and she the dairy; but if he
has sons grown up, or of the age of eighteen or twenty
years, he might hire a piece of land near the city, and
commence raising green-house plants for sale. I have
known some do very well in this way, and among
them is your worthy friend Thomas Hogg. But if a
man come here from principle, he will not regret being
put to a little inconvenience, when he reflects that he
has delivered his children from the burdens and bond-
age of Europe, and placed them where their worth and
industry will be suitably rewarded. Some of the wise
men in Britain of late years have been devising plans
whereby to stop the growth of the poor population ;
but in America there is room and sustenance for the
whole population of Europe for very many centuries to
come. A man wants only health, (thirty-eight years I
have been in New York, and have not one day been
confined by sickness,) hands, a good character, and a
good spade to work his way in this country.
Yours, with respect,
New York, Sept. 15, 1832.
GRANT THORBURN.
1
APPENDIX.
269
ROMANCE IN REAL LIFE.
[From the New York Commercial Advertiser of
September 12th, 1833.]
Having spent an hour in company with this young
lady, on the day of her arrival in New York, and being
privy to some of the facts, I think they are worth pre-
serving.
"From Susquehannah's utmost springs,
Where savage tribes pursue their game,
His blanket tied with yellow strings,
A shepherd of the forest came."-FRENEAU.
On Sunday evening last, we were fortuitously wit-
nesses of an incident equally interesting and painful.
Many people have denounced Shakspeare's Othello as
too unnatural for probability. It can hardly be credited
that such a fair, beautiful, and accomplished woman
as Desdemona is represented to have been, could have
deliberately wedded such a blackamoor as Othello;
but if we ever entertained any incredulity upon the
subject, it has all been dissipated by the occurrence of
which we are to speak.
About two years ago, an Indian of the Chippewa
nation formerly said to have been a man of some
rank in his tribe, but now a missionary of the Metho-
dist church among his red brethren-was sent to Eng-
land to obtain pecuniary aid for the Indian mission
cause in Upper Canada. What was his native cog-
nomen -whether it was the "Red Lightning," or the
"Storm King," or "Walk-in-the-Water,' we know
not; but in plain English he is known as Peter Jones.
An Indian is a rare spectacle in England. Poets and
romancers have alike invested the primitive sons of the
""
270
GRANT THORBURN.
American forest with noble and exalted characteristics,
which are seldom discernible to the duller perceptions
of plain matter-of-fact people; and which English eyes
could alone discover in the hero of the present story.
But no matter: Mr. Peter Jones was not only a mis-
sionary from the wilderness, and, as we doubt not, a
pious and useful man among his own people, but he
was a bona fide Indian, and he was of course made a
lion of in London. He was feasted by the rich and
the great. Carriages and servants in livery awaited his
pleasure, and bright eyes sparkled when he was named.
He was looked upon as a great chief-a prince—an
Indian king; and many romantic young ladies, who
had never passed beyond the sound of Bow-bells,
dreamed of the charms of solitude amid the great
wilds "the antres vast and deserts wild" of the
great west; of the roaring of mighty cataracts, and
the bounding of buffalos over the illimitable prairies;
of noble chieftains, leading armies of plumed and lofty
warriors, dusky as the proud forms of giants in twi-
light; of forays and stag-hunts, and bows and arrows,
and the wild notes of the piercing war-whoop, in those
halcyon days, when, unsophisticated by contact with
the pale face,
"Wild in woods the noble savage ran;"
and all that sort of thing, as Mathews would most un-
poetically have wound off such a flourishing sentence.
But it was so :—
"In crowds the ladies to his levees ran-
All wished to gaze upon the tawny man;
Happy were those who saw his stately stride-
Thrice happy those who tripp'd it at his side."
66
APPENDIX.
271
Among others who perchance may have thought of
kings barbaric, pearls and gold," was the charming
daughter of a gentleman of Lambeth, of wealth and
respectability. But she thought not of wedding an
Indian, even though he were a great chief, or half a
king-not she! But Peter Jones saw, or thought he
saw-for the Indian Cupids are not blind-that the
young lady had a susceptible heart. Availing himself,
therefore, of a ride with the fair creature, he said some-
thing to her which she chose not to understand —but
told it to her mother. Peter Jones sought other op-
portunities of saying similar things, which the damsel
could not comprehend-before him--but she con-
tinued to repeat them to her mother. He sought an
interview with her; it was refused. He repeated the
request; it was still refused, but in a less positive
manner. Finally, an interview was granted him with
the mother, and the result was, that before Peter Jones
embarked on his return to his native woods, it was
agreed that they might breathe their thoughts to each
other on paper across the great waters: thus was
another point gained. And, in the end, to make a
long story short, a meeting was agreed upon, to take
place the present season in this city, with a view of
marriage. The idea is very unpleasant, with us, of
such ill-sorted mixtures of colours; but prejudices
against red and dusky skins are not so strong in
Europe as they are here. They do not believe in
England that
"These brown tribes who snuff the desert air,
Are cousins-german to the wolf and bear.”
272
GRANT THORBURN.
The proud Britons, moreover, were red men when
conquered by Julius Cæsar. What harm in their be-
coming so again? But we must hasten our story.
On Tuesday morning of last week, a beautiful young
lady, with fairy form-" grace in her step, and heaven
in her eye”—stepped on shore from the elegant packet-
ship United States. She was attended by two clerical
friends of high respectability, who, by the way, were
no friends of her romantic enterprise. She waited
with impatience for her princely lover to the end of
the week, but he came not. Still she doubted not his
faith, and, as the result proved, she had no need to
doubt; for on Sunday morning Peter Jones arrived,
and presented himself at the side of his mistress! The
meeting was affectionate, though becoming. The day
was spent by them together, in the interchange of con-
versation, thoughts, and emotions, which we will leave
to those better skilled in the romance of love than our-
selves to imagine.
Though a Chippewa, Peter Jones is nevertheless a
man of business, and has a just notion of the value and
importance of time. He may also have heard of the
adage, “there's many a slip," &c.; or, perchance, of
the other,
a bird in the hand," &c. But no matter.
He took part, with much propriety, in the religious
exercises of the John Street church, where he happened
to be present, which services were ended at nine o'clock
by an impressive recitation of the Lord's Prayer in the
Chippewa dialect. Stepping into the house of a friend
near by, we remarked an unusual ingathering of clergy-
men, and divers ladies and gentlemen. We asked a
APPENDIX.
273
reverend friend if there was to be another religious
meeting? "No," he replied; "but a wedding!" “A
"A
wedding!" we exclaimed with surprise. "Pray who
are the happy couple?" "Peter Jones, the Indian
missionary," he replied, "and a sweet girl from Eng-
land!"
It was then evident to our previously unsuspecting
eyes, that an unwonted degree of anxious and curious
interest pervaded the countenances of the assembling
group. In a short time, chairs were placed in a sus-
picious position at the head of the drawing-room, their
backs to the pier-table. A movement was next per-
ceptible at the door, which instantly drew all eyes to
the spot, and who should enter but the same tall
Indian, whom we had so recently seen in the pulpit,
bearing upon his arm the light, fragile, and delicate
form of the young lady before mentioned, her eye
dropping modestly upon the carpet, and her face fair
as the lily. Thereupon up rose a distinguished clergy-
man, and the parties were addressed upon the subject
of the divine institution of marriage; its propriety, con-
venience, and necessity, to the welfare of society and
human happiness. This brief and pertinent address
being ended, the reverend gentleman stated the pur-
pose for which the couple had presented themselves,
and demanded if any person or persons present could
shew cause why the proposed union should not take
place. If so, they were requested to make their objec-
tions then, or for ever after hold their peace. A solemn
pause ensued. Nothing could be heard, but a few
smothered sighs. There they stood, objects of deep
and universal interest-we may add, of commisera-
274
GRANT THORBURN.
tion. Our emotions were tumultuous and painful. A
stronger contrast was never seen. She, all in white,
and adorned with the sweetest simplicity; her face as
white as the gloves and dress she wore, rendering her
ebon tresses, placed à la Madonna on her fair fore-
head, still darker; he, in rather common attire, a tall,
dark, high-boned, muscular Indian: she, a little, deli-
cate European lady; he, a hardy, iron-framed son of
the forest: she, accustomed to every luxury and in-
dulgence, well educated, accomplished, and well-be-
loved at home, possessing a handsome income, leaving
her comforts, the charms of civilised and cultivated
society, and sacrificing them all for the cause she had
espoused-here she stood, about to make a self-immo-
lation; and, far away from country and kindred, and
all the endearments of a fond father's house, resign
herself into the arms of a man of the woods, who could
not appreciate the sacrifice! A sweeter bride we never
saw. We almost grew wild. We thought of Othello-
of Hyperion and the satyr, or the bright-eyed Hindoo
and the funeral pile! She looked like a drooping
flower by the side of a rugged hemlock! We longed
to interpose and rescue her; but it was none of our
business. She was in that situation by choice, and
she was among her friends. The ceremonies went on:
she promised to "love, honour, and obey" the Chip-
pewa; and, all tremulous as she stood, we heard the
Indian and herself pronounced man and wife! It was
the first time we ever heard the words "man and wife"
sound hatefully. All, however, knelt down, and united
with the clergyman in prayers for a blessing on her,
that she might be sustained in her undertaking, and
APPENDIX.
275
have health and strength to endure her destined hard-
ships and privations. The room resounded with the
deep-toned, heartfelt, and tearful response-Amen!
The audience then rose, and after attempting, with
moistened eyes, to extend their congratulations to the
happy pair," slowly and pensively retired. The sweet
creature is now on her way to the wilds of Upper
Canada-the Indian's bride!
Such is the history of a case of manifest and pal-
pable delusion. Peter Jones cannot say, with Othello,
that "she loved him for the dangers he had passed."
The young lady was not blinded by the trappings of
military costume, or the glare of martial glory. But
she is a very pious girl, whose whole heart and soul
has been devoted to the cause of heathen missions;
and she has thus thrown herself into the cause, and re-
solved to love the Indian for the work in which he is
engaged. For our own part, we must say, that we
wish he had never crossed the Niagara. But the die is
cast, and the late comely and accomplished Miss
F——————, of London, is now the wife of Mr. Peter Jones,
of the Chippewas; but that she is deluded, and knows
nothing of the life she is to encounter, there can be no
doubt. As evidence of this, she has brought out the
furniture for an elegant household establishment: rich
China vases for an Indian lodge, and Turkey carpets
to spread on the morasses of the Canadian forests!
Instead of a mansion she will find a wig-wam, and
the manufacture of brooms and baskets instead of
embroidery.
In justice to the spectators of the scene, however,
it is proper to state, that a few of her real friends in
276
GRANT THORBURN.
this city-those into whose immediate society she was
cast-laboured diligently to open her eyes to the real
state of the case, and the life of hardship and trial
which she is inevitably destined to lead. Poor girl!
We wish she was by her father's ingle in Lambeth,
and Peter Jones preaching to the Chippewas, with the
prettiest squaw among them for his wife!
MAY MORN SONG.
The following beautiful verses, from a Scotch Magazine, ought
to have a place in every book.
The grass is wet with shining dews,
Their silver bells hang on each tree,
While opening flower and bursting bud
Breathe incense forth unceasingly;
The mavis* pipes in greenwood shaw,
The throstle+ glads the spreading thorn,
And cheerily the blithesome lark‡
Salutes the rosy face of morn.
"Tis early prime;
And hark! hark! hark!
His merry chime
Chirrups the lark :
Chirrup! chirrup! he heralds in
The jolly sun with matin hymn.
* Mavis-the thrush.
+ Throstle, or Scotch blackbird -a fine singer.
Skylark. None but those who have heard, can form any
idea of the soul-stirring effects of this sweet songster, when,
mounting to the sky an hour before sunrise, he sings his Maker's
praise.
APPENDIX.
Come, come, my love! and May-dews shake
In pailfuls from each drooping bough;
They'll give fresh lustre to the bloom
That breaks upon thy young cheek now.
O'er hill and dale, o'er waste and wood,
Aurora's smiles are streaming free;
With earth it seems brave holiday,
In heaven it looks high jubilee.
And it is right;
For, mark, love, mark!
How, bathed in light,
Chirrups the lark.
Chirrup! chirrup! he upward flies,
Like holy thoughts, to cloudless skies.
They lack all heart who cannot feel
The voice of heaven within them thrill
In summer morn, when mounting high,
This merry minstrel sings his fill.
Now let us seek yon bosky* dell,
Where brightest wild-flowers choose to be,
And where its clear stream murmurs on-
Meet type of our love's purity.
No witness there,
And o'er us, hark!
High in the air
Chirrups the lark.
Chirrup! chirrup! away soars he,
Bearing to heaven my vows to thee!
* Mossy.
R
277
278
ADVERTISEMENT.
PERHAPS there is not in the world a city where the
seed business can be carried to the same extent as in
New York. The port of London, to be sure, carries her
wares, and brings back the produce from every corner
of the world; but then, owing to the moist atmosphere
in which they are raised, there are very few of their seeds
will stand to cross the Atlantic, or any other long voy-
age. They generally become heated, and this destroys
the germinating principle; and even if the seed should
grow, it is rarely they produce a good vegetable. The
contrast is so great between Britain and the West
Indies, or southern parts of our continent, that they
won't answer. Our climate being drier, the seeds
answering better, and our port being nearer, we, more
or less, supply all the West India Islands, besides
New Orleans, and most of the western states; as the
seeds raised in the middle states are found to 'thrive
better than those raised in any other section of the
country. Our establishment is large, but it is only
in its infancy, in comparison to what it could be
brought to, provided we had the means. Most of such
institutions in Europe are supported by government
patronage, or incorporated bodies.
It has been my chief earthly ambition to bring this
ADVERTISEMENT.
279
business to its present high standing. It is now second
to none; and as Providence has placed me in this
charge, I think it is my duty to bring it to the utmost
perfection possible. Money nor ease is not my object.
I never eat a mouthful of the bread of idleness; and if
money were in view, we could make more, perhaps, by
the sale of the property than we make by the profits in
trade. As I have devoted the best days of my life in build-
ing it up, I mean to devote the fruits of the history of
my whole life (if any) towards its completion. A build-
ing and stock is wanted to contain all the bulky imple-
ments, useful and patent, for husbandry, gardening,
and horticulture; a room is wanted to contain a com-
plete library on the science of botany, gardening, &c. ;
where also might be kept a gallery of paintings illus-
trative of the system of botany, &c.; all to be open
for public inspection gratis.
Should this object be accomplished, I am happy;
but if not, I am perfectly contented—I have done my
duty.
I once thought of consulting my friends on the ex-
pediency of publishing, or not publishing, this book;
but having resolved to send it forth to the world, if
Providence spared my life to complete my fortieth
year's residence in America, I thought it of no use to
consult any one. The very circumstance of asking a
friend's advice implies that you have a higher opinion
of his discretion than of your own; and he, to confirm
you in this opinion, will run quite contrary to your
project; and if perchance he succeeds, he then hugs
himself most complacently in the high opinion you en-
tertain of his wisdom and discretion. I remember,
280
ADVERTISEMENT.
about seven years ago, when I learned that the Friends'
Meeting-house was for sale, I looked on it as a de-
sirable situation for my business.
I consulted my
family and friends: they all, without exception, strenu-
ously advised me against the purchase. However, I
followed my own plan and made it. Every one said I
was daft (crazy): when, in a week thereafter, I was
offered ten thousand dollars for my bargain, O! then
I was profoundly wise and long-headed. But had I
sunk under the heavy purchase, I should have been
set down as a consummate, headstrong fool. So wags
the world.
•
Besides, notwithstanding the many books of travel-
lers in America, lately published, I find the majority o
emigrants totally ignorant of the most essential points
on which they ought to be informed, before leaving
their own country. The nature of my business for the
last thirty years has brought me in almost daily contact
with them; I therefore think myself better qualified to
give such information than these three months' or
three years' travellers, who will give you two or three
pages descriptive of a place which they entered at sun-
set, slept six hours, and perhaps left at sunrise next
morning.
GRANT THORBURN.
LONDON:
J. MOYES, CAstle street, LEICESTER SQUARE,

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