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PROSPECTUS OF THE FRIEND.

A WEEKLY ESSAY, BY S. T. COLERIDGE.

Extracted from a letter to a correspondent.

"It is not unknown to you, that I have employed almost the whole of my life in acquiring, or endeavouring to acquire, useful knowledge, by study, reflection, observation, and by cultivating the society of my superiors in intellect, both at home and in foreign countries. You know too, that at dif. ferent periods of my life, I have not only planned, but collected the materials for many works on various and important subjects: so many indeed, that the number of my unrealized schemes, and the mass of my miscellaneous fragments, have often furnished my friends with a subject of raillery, and sometimes of regret and reproof. Waving the mention of all private and accidental hindrances, I am inclined to believe, that this want of perseverance has been produced in the main by an over activity of thought, modified by a constitutional indolence, which made it more pleasant to me to continue acquiring, than to reduce what I had acquired to a regular form. Add too, that almost daily throwing off my notices or reflections in desultory fragments, I was still tempted onward by an increasing sense of the imperfection of my knowledge, and by the conviction, that, in order fully to comprehend and develop any one subject, it was necessary that I should make myself master of some other, which again as regularly involved a third, on with an ever-widening horizon. Yet one habit, formed during long absences from those, with whom I could converse with full sympathy, has been of advantage to me-that of daily noting down, in my memoran.. dum or commonplace books, both incidents and observations; whatever had occurred to me from without, and all the flux and reflux of my mind within itself. The number of these notices, and their tendency, miscellaneous as they were, to one common end, (quid sumas et quid futuri gignimur, what we are, and what we are born to become; and thus, from the end of our being to deduce its proper objects) first encouraged me to undertake my weekly essay, of which you will consider this letter as the Prospectus.

and so

"Not only did the plan seem to accord better than any other with the nature of my own mind, both in its strength and in its weakness; but conscious that, in upholding the principles both of taste and philosophy, adopted by the great men of Europe, from the middle of the fifteenth till toward the close of the seventeenth century, I must run counter to many prejudices of many of my readers (for old faith is often modern heresy). I perceived too in a periodical essay the most likely means of winning, instead of forcing my way. Supposing truth on my side, the shock of the first day might be so far lessened by reflections the succeeding days, as to procure for my next week's essay a less hostile reception, than it could have met with, had it been only the next chapter of a present volume. I hoped to disarm the

VOL. II.

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mind of those feelings, which preclude conviction by contempt, and, as it
were, fling the door in the face of reasoning by a presumption of its absur
dity. A motive too for honourable ambition was supplied by the fact, that
every periodical paper of the kind now attempted, which had been conduct-
ed with zeal and ability, was not only well received at the time, but has be.
able ambition I mean the strong desire to be useful, aided by the wish to be
come permanently, and in the best sense of the word, popular. By honour.
As I feel myself actuated in no

generally acknowledged to have been so.

ordinary degree by this desire, so the hope of realizing it appears less
and less presumptuous to me, since I have received from men of the highest
rank, and established character, in the republic of letters, not only strong
encouragements as to my own fitness for the undertaking, but likewise pro-

mises of support from their own stores.

The object of The Friend, briefly and generally expressed is, to uphold
those truths and those merits, which are founded in the nobler and perma-
nent parts of our nature, against the caprices of fashion, and such pleasures,
ás either depend on transitory and accidental causes, or are pursued from less
worthy impulses. The chief subjects of my own essays will be:
The true and sole ground of Morality, or Virtue as
prudence.

The origin and growth of moral impulses, as
nal and immediate motives.

distinguished from

distinguished from exter

The necessary dependence of taste on moral impulse and habits: and the nature of taste (relatively to judgment in general and to genius) defined, illustrated, and applied. Under this head I comprise the substance of the Lectures given, and intended to have been given, at the royal institution, on the distinguished English Poets, in illustration of the general principles of Poetry: together with suggestions concerning the affinity of the Fine Arts

to each other, and the principles common to them all.

The opening out of new objects of just admiration in our language; and information of the present state and past history of Swedish, Danish, German, and Italian literature, (to which, but as supplied by a friend, I may add the Spanish, Portuguese, and French), as far as the same has not beer already given to English readers, or is not to be found in common French

authors.

Characters met with in real life; Anecdotes and results of my own life and travels, &c. &c. as far as they are illustrative of general Moral Laws, and have no immediate bearing on personal or immediate politics.

Education in its widest sense,

private and national.

Sources of consolation to the afflicted in misfortune, or disease, or distress of mind, from the exertion and right application of the reason, and imagination, and the moral sense; and new sources of enjoyment opened out or an attempt (as an illustrious friend once expressed the thought to me) to add sunshine to daylight by making the happy more happy. By the words "distress of mind," I more è particularly refer to speculative doubt or dise

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lief concerning the moral government of the world and the destination of

man.

Such are the chief subjects, in the development of which I hope to rea lize, to a certain extent, the great object of my essays. It will assuredly be my endeavour, by as much variety as is consistent with that object, to procure entertainment for my readers, as well as instruction: yet I feel myself compelled to hazard the confession, that such of my readers as make the latter the paramount motive for their encouragement of The Friend, will receive the largest portion of the former. I have heard it said of a young lady, if you are told before you see her, that she is handsome, you will think her ordinary; if that she is ordinary, you will think her handsome. I may perhaps apply this remark to my own essays. If instruction and the increase of honourable motives and virtuous impulses be chiefly expected, there will, I would fain hope, be felt no deficiency of amusement; but I must submit to be thought dull by those, who seek amusement only. FRIEND" will he distinguished from its celebrated predecessors, the Spectator, &c. as to its plan, chiefly by the greater length of the separate Essays, by their closer connexion with each other, by the predominance of one object, and by the common bearing of all to one end.

"THE

"It would be superfluous to state, that I shall receive with gratitude any communications addressed to me : but it may be proper to say, that, all remarks and criticisms in praise or dispraise of my contemporaries (to which however nothing but a strong sense of a Moral Interest will ever lead me) will be written by myself only; both because I cannot have the same certainty concerning the motives of others, and because I deem it fit, that such strictures should always be attended by the name of their author, and that one and the same person should be solely responsible for the insertion as well as composition of the same.

"I may not inaptly conclude this Prospectus with a quotation from Petrarch" D Vita Solitaria:"

"Crede mihi, non est parvæ fiduciæ, polliceri opem decertantibus, consili. ́um dubiis, lumen cæcis, spem dejectis, refrigerium fessis. Magna quidam hæc sunt, si fiant; parva si promittantur. Verum ego non tam aliis legem ponam, quam legem vobis meæ propriæ mentis exponam: quam qui proba verit, teneat ; cui non placuerit, abjiciat. Optarem, fateor, talis esse, qui prodesse possem quam plurimis."

Grasmere, near Kendall,

February 2d, 1809.

A

S. T. COLERIDGE.

MEMOIRS OF HAYTI-FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

LETTER IV.

The Cape, Island of Hayti, Feb. 1804.

SINCE my last we have been alarmed to a serious degree, by a strange and uncommon transaction. On Sunday, the fifth instant, the town was filled with soldiers, who had orders to kill all the dogs. Some others entered the houses and drove the dogs out, who no sooner apwere stationed at the corners of the streets, with drawn swords, while pearing in the streets, were crushed with stones, bayonetted, or cut to . pieces with sabres. This barbarous and inhuman conduct excited universal terror and consternation among the whites, who considered it as a signal to notify them of their approaching fate. Few ventured into the streets, and those who did, appeared pale and gloomy, and bearing every mark of distress and fear. In the evening the streets were full of dead dogs, and most of the poor animals that had not been destroyed, appeared with the loss of some of their limbs. This piece of cruelty, it was afterwards said, was done by the direction of Christophe, in consequence of a dog having made an attempt to bite his horse as he was riding. But this is hardly to be credited. I am satisfied in my own mind, that it was done with a view of affrighting the whites, by displaying the vengeance to which they were themselves soon to be devoted in the destruction of the animal which had been so wickedly employed in torturing and tearing to pieces so many of the blacks.

The foreigners now in this place consist of very few others than Americans, who, you know, are to be found in every part of the world. Some are resident merchants, but the chief part of them are sojourners. The treatment we receive from the Haytians may be considered as civil; as for respect, we see very little of that, and I am sorry to find that they have no higher opinion of the American character, than other people, who form their judgment of us from mercantile intercourse. We are considered as a nation of traders, whose sole pursuit sacrifice probity, virtue, and honour. Dessalines has been heard to say, is money, and who, for the attainment of their favourite object, would

that "If a bag of coffee was to be placed on the brink of Hell, an American would be the first man to go for it."

In the present unsettled state of affairs, we meet with much difficulty in the transaction of business. The officers of the custom house do not yet completely understand the routine of business belonging to their department, and they have a number of absurd and useless regulations, which cause detentions and an infinity of trouble.

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The males in this country, as stated in a former letter, above the age of fourteen are all soldiers. A sufficient number are left in the towns to perform the necessary offices of mechanics, tradesmen, porters, servants, &c. These compose the militia, and are liable at any time to be called into service at a moment's warning. The rest are employed in the army, or in agriculture. The regular troops, as chasseurs, dragoons, and grenadiers, who are usually employed as the city guards, or as the personal guards of the officers, are the best disciplined troops, and always appear in uniform. These men are sometimes permitted to go out to work, and it is a very common thing to employ a fellow at a five-penny-bit job, who has a cocked hat on, and a sword by his side. These troops, however, are, at best, but poorly clad, and worse fed. They receive a small allowance of very hard bread, and get no pay, for the government, though they promise to pay them, are too fond of money to let it out of the treasury.

with a sword on.

"There's

The great body of the troops, who are stationed at the forts in the country are complete raggamuffins, and have often reminded me of Falstaff's "good householders, yeomen's sons," when he says but a shirt and a half in all my company; and the half shirt is two napkins tacked together, and thrown over the shoulders like a herald's coat without sleeves." Large companies are frequently marched into town for the purpose of carrying arms and utensils into the country, and it was upon these occasions I have seen them. One has had on a pair of small clothes, another a jacket, a third a hat, and perhaps an apology for a shirt; and many a poor fellow have I seen with nothing on but his cartridge-box. On one occasion I saw a fellow in his shirt, These poor devils get nothing to cat but plantains, and perhaps are sometimes favoured with a point at a herring. They are compelled to draw large heavy waggons, laden with military apparatus into the country, are severely treated by their commanders, and kept in the most absolute subjection. They are continually murmuring at the hardness of their situation, their short allowance, and cruel treatment, and it is my firm belief, that if they had an opportunity of leaving the Island many of them would do it. Several have requested me to take them to America. I asked why they wished to leave the land of liberty; one of them replied, that he began to see that the motto of the government, "Liberty or Death," meant liberty for the great men, and death for the poor. There was a great deal of truth in his observation, for it is very certain there is not a government on earth, the subjects of which are more servilely treated.

Some days since, a mutiny was detected at the arsenal by the commanding officer. There was a company of artillerists, about eighty

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