That is true and no lie.'

This kind of 'tongue-lashing' he was doomed. to bear for the rest of the campaign, as well as for years after his return home.

If a theft was detected in any of the frontier settlements, a summary mode of punishment was always resorted to. The first settlers, as far as I knew of them, had a kind of innate or hereditary detestation of the crime of theft, in any shape or degree, and their maxim was that 'a thief must be whipped.' If the theft was something of some value, a kind of jury of the neighborhood, after hearing the testimony, would condemn the culprit to Moses's law, that is, to forty stripes save one. If the theft was of some small article, the offender was doomed to carry on his back the flag of the United States, which then consisted of thirteen stripes. In either case, some able hands were selected to execute the sentence, so that the stripes were sure to be well laid on.

This punishment was followed by a sentence of exile. He then was informed that he must decamp in so many days and be seen there no more on penalty of having the number of Iris stripes doubled.

For many years after the law was put in operation in the western part of Virginia, the magistrates themselves were in the habit of giving those who were brought before them on charges of small thefts, the liberty of being sent to jail or taking a whipping. The latter was commonly chosen, and was immediately inflicted, after which the thief was ordered to clear out.

In some instances stripes were inflicted; not for the punishment of an offense, but for the purpose of extorting a confession from suspected perThis was the torture of our early times, and no doubt sometimes very unjustly inflicted.

sons.

If a woman was given to tattling and slandering her neighbors, she was furnished by common consent with a kind of patent right to say whatever she pleased, without being believed. Her tongue was then said to be harmless, or to be no scandal.

With all their rudeness, these people were given to hospitality, and freely divided their rough fare with a neighbor or stranger, and would have been offended at the offer of pay. In their settlements and forts, they lived, they worked, they fought and feasted, or suffered together, in cordial harmony. They were warm and constant in their friendships. On the other hand they were revengeful in their resentments; and the point of honor sometimes led to personal combats. If one man calied another a liar, he was considered as having given a challenge which the person who received it must accept, or be deemed a coward, and the charge was generally answered on the spot with a blow. If the injured person was decidedly unable to fight the aggressor, he might get a friend to do it for him. The same thing took place on a charge of cowardice, or any other dishonorable action. A battle must follow, and the person who made the charge must fight either the person against whom he made it, or any champion who chose to espouse his cause. Thus circumstanced, our people in early times were much more cautious of speaking evil of their neighbors than they are at present.

Sometimes pitched battles occurred, in which time, place, and seconds

were appointed beforehand. I remember having seen one of these pitched battles in my father's fort, when a boy. One of the young men knew very well beforehand that he should get the worst of the battle, and no doubt repented the engagement to fight; but there was no getting over it. The point of honor demanded the risk of battle. He got his whipping; they then shook hands, and were good friends afterwards.

The mode of single combat in those days was dangerous in the extreme. Although no weapons were used, fists, teeth and feet were employed at will; but above all, the detestable practice of gouging, by which eyes were sometimes put out, rendered this mode of fighting frightful indeed. It was not, however, so destructive as the stiletto of an Italian, the knife of a Spaniard, the small sword of the Frenchman, or the pistol of the American or English duelist.

Instances of seduction and bastardy did not frequently happen in our early times. I remember one instance of the former, in which the life of the man was put in jeopardy by the resentment of the family to which the girl belonged. Indeed, considering the chivalrous temper of our people, this crime could not then take place without great personal danger from the brothers or other relations of the victims of seduction, family honor being then estimated at a high rate.

I do not recollect that profane language was much more prevalent in our early times than at present.

Among the people with whom I was conversant, there was no other vestige of the christian religion than a faint observance of Sunday, and that merely as a day of rest for the aged and play-day for the young.

The first christian service I ever heard was in the Garrison church in Baltimore county, in Maryland, where my father had sent me to school. I was then obout ten years old. The appearance of the church, the windows of which were Gothic, the white surplice of the minister, and the responses in the service, overwhelmed me with surprise. Among my school-fellows in that place, it was a matter of reproach to me that I was not baptized, and why? Because, as they said, I had no name. Such was their notion of the efficacy of baptism.

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CHAPTER XXX.

THE REVOLUTION.

THE American revolution was the commencement of a new era in the history of the world. The issue of that eventful contest snatched the sceptre from the hands of the monarch, and placed it, where it ought to be, in the hands of the people.

On the sacred altar of liberty it consecrated the rights of man, surrendered to him the right and power of governing himself, and placed in his hands the resources of his country, as munitions of war for his defense.The experiment was indeed bold and hazardous; but success has hitherto more than justified the most sanguine anticipations of those who made it. The world has witnessed, with astonishment, the rapid growth and confirmation of our noble fabric of freedom. From our distant horizon, we have reflected a strong and steady blaze of light on ill fated Europe, from time immemorial involved in the fetters and gloom of slavery.Our history has excited a general and ardent spirit of inquiry into the nature of our civil institutions, and a strong wish on the part of the PEOPLE in distant countries, to participate in our blessings.

But will an example, so portentous of evil to the chiefs of despotic institutions, be viewed with indifference by those who now sway the sceptre with unlimited power, over the many millions of their vassals?— Will they adopt no measures of defense against the influence of that freedom, so widely diffused and so rapidly gaining strength throughout their empires? Will they make no effort to remove from the world those free governments, whose example gives them such annoyance? measures of defense will be adopted, the effort will be made; for power is never surrendered without a struggle.

The

Already nations, which, from the the earliest period of their history, have constantly crimsoned the earth with each other's blood, have become a band of brothers for the destruction of every germ of human liberty. Every year witnesses an association of the monarchs of those nations, in unhallowed conclave, for the purpose of concerting measures for effecting their dark designs. Hitherto the execution of those measures has been, alas! too fatally successful.

It would be impolitic and unwise in us to calculate on escaping the hostile notice of the despots of continental Europe. Already we hear, like distant thunder, their expressions of indignation and threats of vengeance. We ought to anticipate the gathering storin without dismay, but not with indifference. In viewing the dark side of the prospect before us, one source of consolation, of mubh magnitude, presents itself.

It is confidently expected, that the brave and potent nation, with whom we have common origin, will not risk the loss of that portion of liberty, which at the expense of so much blood and treasure, they have secured for themselves, by an unnatural association with despots, for the unholy purpose of making war on the few nations of the earth, which possess any considerable portion of that invaluable blessing; on the contrary, it is hoped by us that they will, if necessity should require, employ the bravery of their people, their immense resources, and the trident of the ocean, in defense of their own liberties, and by consequence those of others.

Legislators, fathers of our country! lose no time, spare no expense in hastening on the requisite means of defense, for meeting with safety and with victory the impending storm, which sooner or later must fall upon us.

CHAPTER XXXI.

CIVILIZATION.

THE causes which led to the present state of civilization in the western country, are subjects which deserve some consideration.

The state of society and manners of the early settlers, as presented in these notes, shews very clearly that their grade of civilization was indeed low enough. The descendants of the English cavaliers from Maryland and Virginia, who settled mostly along the rivers, and the descendants of - the Irish, who settled in the interior parts of the country, were neither remarkable for science or urbanity of manners. The former were mostly illiterate, rough in their manners, and addicted to the rude diversions of horse racing, wrestling, shooting, dancing, &c. These diversions were often accompanied with personal combats, which consisted of blows, kicks, biting, and gouging. This mode of fighting was what they called rough and tumble. Sometimes a previous stipulation was made to use the fists only. Yet these people were industrious, enterprising, generous in their hospitality, and brave in the defense of their country.

These people, for the most part, formed the cordon along the Ohio river, on the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky, which defended the country against the attacks of the Indians during the revolutionary war. They were the janizaries of the country, that is, they were soldiers when they chose to be so, and when they chose laid down their arms. Their military service was voluntary, and of course received no pay.

With the descendants of the Irish I had but little acquaintance,

although I lived near them. At an early period they were comprehended in the Presbyterian church, and were more reserved in their deportment than their frontier neighbors, and from their situation being less exposed to the Indian warfare, took less part in that war.

The patriot of the western region finds his love of country and national pride augmented to the highest grade, when he compares the political, moral, and religious character of his people, with that of the inhabitants of many large divisions of the old world. In Asia and Africa, generation after generation passes without any change in the moral and religious character or physical condition of the people.

On the Barbary coast, the traveler, if a river lies in his way and happens to be too high, must either swin it or wait until it subsides. If the traveler is a christian, he must have a firman and a guard. Yet this was once the country of the famous Cathagenians.

In Upper Egypt, the people grind meal for their dhoura bread, by rubbing it between two flat stones. This is done by women.

In Palestine, the grinding of grain is still performed by an ill-constructed hand mill, as in the days of our Savior. The roads to the famous city of Jerusalem are still almost in the rude state of nature.

In Asiatic Turkey, merchandise is still carried on by caravans, which are attended with a military guard; and the naked walls of the caravansera is their fortress and place of repose at night, instead of a place of entertainment. The streets of Constantinople, instead of being paved, are in many places almost impassable from mud, filth, and the carcasses. of dead beasts. Yet this is the metropolis of a great empire.

Throughout the whole of the extensive regions of Asia and Africa, man, from his cradle to his grave, sees no change in the aspect of any thing around him, unless from the desolations of war. His dress, his

ordinary salutations of his neighbors, his diet and his mode of eating it, are prescribed by his religious institutions; and his rank in society, as well as his occupation, are determined by his birth. Steady and unvarying as the lapse of time in every department of life, generation after generation beats the dull monotonous round. The Hindoo would sooner die a martyr at the stake, than sit on a chair or eat with a knife and fork.

The descendant of Ishmael is still "a wild man." Hungry, thirsty and half naked, beneath a burning sun, he traverses the immense and inhospitable desert of Zahara, apparently without any object, because his forefathers did so before him. Throughout life he subsists on camel's milk and flesh, while his only covering from the inclemency of the weather is a flimsy tent of camel's hair. His single, solitary virtue, is that of hospitality to strangers: in every other respect he is a thief and a robber.

The Chinese still retain their alphabet of thirty-six thousand hieroglyphics. They must never exchange it for one of twenty letters, which would answer an infinitely better purpose.

Had we pursued the course of the greater number of the nations of the earth, we should have been this day treading in the footsteps of our forefathers, from whose example in any respect we shonld have thought it criminal to depart in the slightert degree..