Adams, with a master's mate (Mr. Creighton) and eight men, was sunk by a double headed shot from the batteries, while in tow of the Nautilus, which killed three men and badly wounded one, who, with Mr. Creighton, and the other four, were picked up by one of the boats. The only damage the gun boats sustained, was in their rigging and sails, which were considerably cut with the enemy's round and grape shot.

At 11, A. M., the squadron anchored five miles N. E. by N. from Tripoli, and repaired the damage received in the action.

On September the 2d, the bomb vessels having been repaired and ready for service, lieutenants Dent and Robinson resumed the command of them. Lieutenant Morris of the Argus took command of No. 3; and lieutenant Trippe, having nearly recovered from his wounds, resumed the command of No. 6, which he so gallantly conducted on the 3d. Captain Chauncey, with several young gentlemen, and sixty men from the John Adams, volunteered on board the Constitution. At 5, P. M., the signal was made to weigh; kept under sail all night. At 11, P. M., a general signal to prepare for battie: a Spanish polacre, in ballast, came out of Tripoli, with an ambassador of the grand seignior on board, who had been sent from Constantinople to Tripoli to confirm the bashaw in his title: this ceremony takes place, in all the Barbary regencies, every five years. The cap. tain of this vessel informed, that our shot and shells had made great havoc and destruction in the city and among the shipping, and that a vast number of people had been killed; also, that three of the boats, which had been sunk by our shot, in the actions of the 3d and 28th ult., had been got up, repaired, and fitted for service.

On the 3d, at 2, P. M., Tripoli bore S. S. W., two and a half miles distant, wind E. by N. At half past 2, the signals were made for the gun boats to cast off, advance, and attack the enemy's gallies and gun

boats, which were all under weigh in the eastern part of the harbour, whither they had for some time been working up against the wind. This was certainly a judicious movement of their's, as it precluded the possibility of the American boats going down to attack the town, without leaving the enemy's flotilla in their rear, and directly to windward. The bomb vessels were accordingly ordered to run down within proper distance of the town, and bombard it, while the gun boats were to engage the enemy's gallies and boats to windward.

At half past 3, P. M., the bombs having gained the station to which they were directed, anchored, and commenced throwing shells into the city. At the same time, the gun boats opened a brisk fire on the gallies, and within point blank shot, which was warmly returned by them and fort English, and by a new battery, a little to the westward; but as soon as the boats had arrived within good musket shot of their gallies and boats, they gave way and retreated to the shore within the rocks and under cover of musketry from fort English. They were followed by the boats, and by the Siren, Argus, Vixen, Nautilus, and Enterprize, as far as the reefs would permit them to go with prudence. The action was then divided. One division of the boats, with the brigs and schooners, attacked fort English, whilst the other was engaged with the enemy's gallies and boats. The bashaw's castle, the mole, crown, and several other batteries, kept up a constant fire on our bomb vessels, which were well conducted, and threw shells briskly into the town; but, from their situation, they were very much exposed, and in great danger of being sunk. The Constitution ran within them to draw off the enemy's attention, and amuse them whilst the bombardment was kept up. She brought to within reach of grape, and fired eleven broadsides into the bashaw's castle, town, and batteries, in a situation where more than seventy guns could

In a few minutes after, when she had apparently nearly gained the intended place of destination, she suddenly exploded, without their having previously fired a room filled with splinters and other combustibles, which were intended to create a blaze, in order to deter the enemy from boarding, whilst the fire was communicating to the fusees which led to the magazine. The effect of the explosion awed their batteries into profound silence with astonishment. Not a gun was afterwards fired for the night. The shrieks of the inhabitants informed us that the town was thrown into the greatest terror and consternation by the explosion of the magazine, and the bursting and falling of shells in all directions. The whole squadron waited with the utmost anxiety to learn the fate of the adventurers, from a signal previously agreed on in case of success, but waited in vain; no signs of their safety were to be observed. The Argus, Vixen, and Nautilus hovered round the entrance of the port until sun-rise, when they had a fair view of the whole harbour. Not a vestige of the ketch or boats were to be seen. One of the enemy's largest gun boats was missing, and three others were seen very much shattered and damaged, which the enemy were hauling on shore.

From these circumstances it was believed, that these boats were detached from the enemy's flotilla to intercept the ketch, and, without suspecting her to be a fire ship, the missing boat had suddenly boarded her, when the gallant Somers and heroes of his party, observing the other three boats surrounding them, and no prospect of escape, determined at once to prefer death and the destruction of the enemy, to captivity and torturing slavery, put a match to the train leading directly to the magazine, which at once blew the whole into the air, and terminated their existence. My conjectures respecting this affair are founded on a resolution, which captain Somers, lieutenant Wadsworth, and Israel

had formed, neither to be taken by the enemy, nor suffer them to get possession of the powder on board the Intrepid. They expected to enter the harbour without discovery, but had declared, if they should be disappointed, and the enemy should board them, before they reached the point of destination, in such force as to leave them no hopes of a safe retreat, they would put a match to the magazine, and blow themselves and their enemies up together; determined, as there was no exchange of prisoners, that their country should never pay ransom for them, nor the enemy receive a supply of powder through their means. The disappearance of one of the enemy's boats, and the shattered condition of three others, confirm me in my opinion that they were an advanced guard, detached from the main body of the flotilla on discovering the approach of the Intrepid, and that they attempted to board her, before she had reached her point of destination otherwise the whole of their shipping must have suffered, and perhaps would have been totally destroyed. That she was blown up before she had gained her station is certain, by which the service has lost three very gallant officers. Captain Somers, and lieutenants Wadsworth and Israel were officers of conspicuous bravery, talents, and merit; they had uniformly distinguished themselves in the several actions; were beloved and lamented by the whole squadron.

On September the 5th they were employed in supplying the gun boats with ammunition, &c., and repairing the bomb vessels for another attack, but the wind shifting to the N. N. F., a heavy swell setting on shore, and other indications of bad weather, determined the commodore, for greater safety, to take the guns, mortars, shot, and shells out of the boats into the Constitution and John Adams, which was accordingly done. The weather continuing to wear a threatening aspect until the 7th, and their ammunition being reduced to a quantity not more than

sufficient for three vessels to keep up the blockade; no intelligence of the expected reinforcement; and the season so far advanced as to render it imprudent to hazard the gun boats any longer on the station; he gave orders for the John Adams, Syren, Nautilus, Enterprize, and Scourge to take the bombs and gun boats in tow, and proceed to Syracuse with them, the Argus and Vixen to remain with the Constitution to keep up the blockade.

On September the 10th, the United States ship, President, commodore Barron, and Constellation, cap. tain Campbell, hove in sight, and soon joined company, when the command of the squadron was surren dered to commodore Barron, with the usual ceremony. They continued in company till the 12th, when three strange ships came in sight, standing direct for Tripoli. Chase was given, and two of them boarded and taken possession of by the Constitution, the President in company, about four leagues from Tripoli, but not more than five miles from the land; while the Constellation and Argus were in chase of the third. The two boarded by the Constitution were loaded with about sixteen thousand bushels of wheat. Tripoli is in a starving condition, and there can be no doubt but these cargoes were meant as a supply and relief

and especially by that class from whom, with regard to fortune and education, most might have been expected, on cards. It is now upwards of four hundred years since they were invented, and doubtless they have been the instrument of the consumption of more time, more money, and more happiness than any other thing in the world.

Cards may be considered as the instrument of gaming, or merely as the means of killing time. In the former light, no one can be found hardy enough to be their apologist. If any thing can be said in their defence, it must be in the light of mere pastime and diversion, and so far as pastime or diversion of a sedentary nature is allowable, cards seem to have admirably answered the purpose, for surely no amusement has ever been pursued with greater eagerness and perseverance, and by greater numbers, than cards.

The

Mere pastime is, however, all the purpose they answer. As played at present, they are peculiarly unmeaning and nonsensical. names and figures by which they are distinguished are barbarous and absurd. What relation is there between the figures on cards and the meaning custom gives to the English words clubs and diamonds, hearts and spades? What possible instruction can be gathered from them? The coarse and childish figures called king, queen, and knave are scarcely human; and though the present improved state of the arts, one would imagine, would more promptly manifest itself in the portraits upon cards than in any thing, yet no alteration has taken place, in this respect, since their invention.

One naturally imagines that, if cards had a particular inventor, he must had more meaning and design in his contrivance than modern players are aware of, and, perhaps, by finding out and reviving the original design of the original inventor, cards might, in some degree, be rescued from the charge of

folly and absurdity, to which they are at present liable.

Upon inquiry it will be found, that the inventor did not act totally without design, for we are informed that he intended the four suits to represent the four orders of the state. Hearts, cœurs, which should be choeurs, choirmen, the church, the Spaniards represent copes, or chalices instead of hearts. Spades, in French, piques, pikes; in Spanish swords, spada, the military order or nobility. Diamonds, carreaux, on Spanish cards dineros, coins, the moneyed or mercantile part. Clubs, trefoil in French, in Spanish basta, a club or country weapon, the husbandman or peasantry.

This distribution of the community into classes evinces considerable judgment, and we may easily perceive that games and combinations might be built upon this de'vice by no means deficient in usefulness and dignity.

My author does not tell me in what manner the inventor directed his cards to be played, so that the results might bear some relation to the mutual influence of these classes in society; but, as they were invented for the amusement of a king, there is little doubt that the mode of playing them originally prescribed was adapted to convey some political instruction.

Human society is, in reality, a stage on which these identical parties are eternally contending for the mastery. Success, in this great real game, depends, like success in cards, partly on skill, and partly on contingency, or what we call chance. In this respect cards are a juster picture of human life than draughts or chess, in which success is made entirely to depend upon superior prudence or foresight.

But, alas! what a lamentable example of the perversion of a thing from its original design is to be found in cards!

In modern times, and, perhaps, in a few years after the invention, cards became a mere pastime of

idiots destitute of sense and meaning, or the instrument by which stupid and depraved minds sought relief from the langour of idleness, in risking their money.

For the Literary Magazine.

A CASE OF MURDER.

AUSTERE moralists are inclined to consider drunkenness as a crime to be punished by human tribunals, but this system, if adopted, would involve law-makers and judges in very great difficulties. They would find it impossible to form an adequate scale applicable to the offence.

For example, how shall casuists determine the degree of guilt of one whom a few drops of any thing spirituous intoxicates into a mischievous insanity, and of one who can drink bottle after bottle with impunity, or whom topping only sinks into impotent stupidity, or idiotic good-nature? And does not the guilt of drunkenness consist rather in the indulgence of appetite than in the deprivation of reason?

Every crime, indeed, chargeable on human nature, is capable of casuistical distinctions, by which, if the makers or expounders of law would hearken to them, they would be entangled in endless riddles.

Few would hesitate to pronounce a man guilty of murder who should plunge his knife into a poor sick wretch who was unable to help himself. This deed would not be thought justified by any guilt imputed to the sick man, for it is not every individual who is commissioned to punish, with death, another who, in his opinion, deserves it. What judgment, then, are we required to pass upon the following incident?

A friend of mine, who studied at a celebrated university, having a strong attachment to anatomy, took great pleasure in attending dissections. One evening he, and many others, were anxiously attending the