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dren two affectionate brothers, and District of Maine society two most promising citizens. The surviving relations are in a situation easier to be imagined than described.

Lynchburg, Vir. Dec. 28. On Saturday, the 24th instant, at the store of Mr. Abner Early, in Campbell, a period was put to the life of Mr. Bluford Early, who expired a few minutes after receiving the contents of a loaded gun, from the hands of Isaac Butterworth.... said to have been done intentionally ....a controversy having previously taken place between them. The particulars of this event we have not learnt. Mr. Early was a man much respected, and in the prime of life.

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Columbia Missisippi Territory Indiana do..

Total......1,159

SINGULAR DISCOVERY.

Several workmen engaged in digging a well for Mr. Samuel Wigton, Hudson, New-York state, a few rods from an upright rock, which forms the bank of the river in front of that city, a few days since threw up a number of fragments of well burnt bricks, which were found about 40 feet under the surface of the earth. The account which the workmen gave of a discovery so singular, was at first considered as a trick to impose on the credulous people, until two gentlemen, to convince themselves, descended to the bottom of the well, and with a pick axe, dug some out of the hard compacted gravel, which still retain perfectly the impression of the mould. No whole bricks were seen, though a workman broke with his spade one which he thinks was entire, and says the pieces when put together, would have made a brick of about eight or nine inches in length. The horizontal or allovial strata of earth, perforated in digging the well, were as follows, or nearly so: five feet yellow sand, sixteen feet of yellow clay, seventeen feet marl, very ponderous, and of a blue colour, resembling that of the lime rock in the vicinity; one and an half feet redish ocherons and gravel, six inches hard pan, or gravel cemented with marl, one and an half feet fine yellow sand, and three feet coarse slaty gravel.

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JOHN CONRAD & Co. PHILADELPHIA; M. & J. CONRAD & CO. BALTIMORE, RAPIN, CONRAD & Co. WASHINGTON CITY; SOMERVELL & CONRAD, PETERSBURG; BONSAL, CONRAD & CO. NORFOLK; BERNARD DORNIN, NEW-YORK; WHITING, BACHUS, & WHITING, ALBANY; SAMUEL PLEASANTS, RICHMOND; BEERES & HOWE, NEW-HAVEN; CROW & QUERY,

CHARLESTON, S. C.

H. MAXWELL, PRINTER, NO. 25, NORTH SECOND-STREET.

1804.

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NOVEL-READING.

I HAVE just been reading a dissertation upon novel-reading, in which the writer says a great many grave and weighty things on the subject, and finally winds up by asserting, that supposing the whole stock of the Novelist's library to amount to one thousand, five hundred of these are void of all judgment, genius and taste, composed without knowledge of the world, or skill in composition; and of the remainder, four hundred and ninetynine are calculated only to corrupt and deprave the morals. While engaged in pondering on this very comprehensive declaration, who should enter the apartment but Miss D..... on a visit to my sister. This lady has an ample fortune, a lively curiosity, studious temper, and, though young and handsome, no lover. She has therefore abundant leisure, and all the means of reading at com

mand. Novels are her favourite ed such a number of these as would performances, and she has collectenable her to supply the whole stock of a circulating library. As soon as she was seated, I read to her this desired her opinion upon the subsevere sentence upon novels, and ject.

who is this profound judge? I should Pray, said she a little indignant, like to be acquainted with a man, who knows of the existence, nay, novels. I have never been able to who has, himself, read one thousand collect even the titles of threefourths of that number, and have spared neither pains nor pence in the attempt.

hypothetical; but why should you This number, said I, is merely suppose him to have read all the thousand?

to suppose him possessed of comBecause I am charitable enough mon justice and common sense;

and either of these would hinder him from judging without inquiry, of deciding without knowledge; and especially, would forbid him to pronounce so absolute and so severe a sentence without a careful and extensive examination of the subject. I doubt much, said I, whether, in this case, he has read very closely or extensively. I am told, that he has little leisure for that kind of reading which the world, in general, has agreed to call mere pastime or amusement, and his taste leads him far away from such a library as yours.

"Tis a pity then, replied the lady, that he did not forbear to judge so severely and so positively. One in ten, that is one hundred in the thousand is the least that we novel-readers can allow him as a sample, by which to judge of the rest. If he has read this number impartially and carefully, let him then pronounce judgment, telling us, at the same time, by what shred he has judged of the piece, and then, though we may reject his decision as groundless and absurd, yet we shall not deny his right to deliver an opinion. Without a suitable examination, this surely is a most rash and culpable thing, thus to condemn, as labouring only for corruption and depravity, so great a number of that unfortunate class of men, called authors. Novelists, in general, write for the sake of a subsistence. Their end is not only innocent but laudable, and the means they employ is to gratify that passion of enlightened minds which loves to contemplate human life in the mirror which genius holds up to it.

Those who condemn novels, or fiction, in the abstract, (continued the lady) are guilty of shameful absurdity and inconsistency. They are profoundly ignorant of human nature; the brightest of whose properties is to be influenced more by example than by precept: and of human taste; the purest of whose gratifications is to view human characters and events, depicted by a vigorous and enlightened fancy....

They condemn every thing which has gained the veneration of the world in all ages. They who condemn novels as they are actually written, evince nothing but an early prejudice, which will not permit them to examine before they judge, or a casual bias in favour of particular pursuits, which always leads a narrow mind to condemn all other reading as frivolous or pernicious.

You are very severe methinks, said I. Are you really willing to maintain that all novels are ingenious and beneficial?

That would be the height of the ridiculous, she replied. I love poetry, and revere the poets; but I never dreamed that all the verse that ever was written or published is useful and good. I love books, and read not a little; but I do not imagine that every thing printed is necessarily full of entertainment or instruction. Neither can I refuse to teach a child to read, because he may possibly light upon something in the form of books trifling or pernicious. It would be just as wise to sew up his mouth, because he may possibly swallow a poisoned berry, or a brass pin: to break both his legs, because he may possibly walk under a penthouse when it is falling. As to prohibit him from reading every thing called a novel, because there are books under that denomination, which may possibly deprave the morals, or vitiate the taste.

But my good friend, said I, you cannot but be aware that your comparisons are out of place. Many serious people prohibit novels altogether, merely because a vast majority of them are bad; because the chances of hurt, from reading them, greatly exceed the chances of benefit.

I deny it, said the zealous lady. A profligate novel is an extreme rarity. To write immoral tales, whatever recluse pedants may say, is by no means the road to popularity. In every kind of composition, it is always a small proportion, and the smallest proportion that is excellent. The larger proportion is

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