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Thou wert that flower of primrose and of prime!
Whose op'ning blow, 'mid many an adverse blast,
Charm'd the lone wanderer through this desert clime,
But charm'd him with a rapture soon o'ercast,
To see thee languish into quick decay.
Yet was not thy departing immature!
For ripe in virtue thou wert reft away,
And pure in spirit, as the blest are pure;

Pure as the dew-drop, freed from earthly leaven,
That sparkles, is exhaled, and blends with heaven!
T. PARK.

SONNET,

BY WORDSWORTH.

Ever since Wordsworth began to write, as one of Mr. Blackwood's critics very justly remarks, he has fixed the attention of every genuine lover and student of English Foetry; and all along he has received from these the tribute of honour due to the felt and received power of his genius. The following is one of a series of Sonnets on the river Duddon, a stream which flows through one of the vallies in the country of the Lakes.

What aspect bore the Man who roved or fled,
First of his tribe, to this dark dell—who first
In this pellucid current slaked his thirst?

What hopes came with him? what designs were spread
Along his path? His unprotected bed

What dreams encompass'd? Was the Intruder nurs'd

In hideous usages, and rites accurs'd,

That thinn'd the living and disturb'd the dead?

No voice replies:-the earth, the air is mute:

And Thou, blue Streamlet, murmuring yield'st no more

'Than a soft record that whatever fruit

Of ignorance thou might'st witness heretofore,

Thy function was to heal and to restore,

To soothe and cleanse, not madden and pollute!

EPIGRAM

On a bad Dinner with excellent Punch.

Friend Palo may boast of true orthodox merit,
What he wants in the flesh, he makes up in the spirit.

PORTRAIT OF JAMES S. EWING, M. D.

The present number of the Port Folio is embellished with a portrait of the late JAMES S. EWING, M. D.; a man whose temper was so frank and generous as to attract many friends; and whose good humour was so habitual as to communicate its pleasant influence to all who came within its sphere. But his character has already been given in this Journal, and it is unnecessary to enlarge upon it again. Our engraving is taken from a portrait drawn from recollection by FAIRMAN, and is esteemed a good likeness.

Dr. Ewing was the author of several mechanical improvements; among which, his Sthenometer, for ascertaining and regulating the degree of pressure in steam-boilers, and his patent hydrants, for one of which he received the extra-Magellanic premium from the American Philosophical Society, and for another, the Scot medal from the Agricultural Society, deserve particular mention. His hydrants are in general use in Philadelphia, and are found to surpass all others in convenience and economy.

For the Port Folio.

ABSTRACT OF PRINCIPAL OCCURENCES.

Maine. A law to promote the sale of the public lands, has been passed, by which it is provided that suitable townships shall be surveyed, and divided into lots of a hundred acres each, and sold to settlers only. The first forty settlers in any township are offered a lot of a hundred acres, to be selected by the purchaser; at thirty cents an acre, one half to be paid in money at the time of contracting, and the other in labour in making roads. After contracts have been made for forty settlers in any township, the residue of the lands in the township is to be sold at the rate of sixty cents an acre.

John Johnson who is now in prison, under conviction for stealing a horse and chaise, was apprehended in Canada, with considerable personal violence, and brought into this state for trial. By a late Montreal MAY, 1824.NO 265

paper it appears that three persons concerned in his arrest, have been tried on an indictment for a riot, assault, and forcibly conveying Johnson out of the province. The defendants were convicted of a riot and assault, but not of deporting him from the province.

Imprisonment for debt has been abolished.

Massachusetts. The lands within six miles of the Middlesex canal on each side, have increased one-third in price; while land in the country generally retains its former value. In the state of New Hampshire, through which the Merrimack flows, timber is now worth from one to three dollars per ton standing: before the canal was made, it was worth nothing, so that in the article of timber alone, that state is supposed to have been benefited to the amount 55

of at least five millions of dollars. The wood land there has risen in price, since the opening of the canal, from $2 per acre to $6, 8, and $10 per acre. Proprietors of land, adjacent to the New York canal, from a small portion of their land, have sold timber to an amount more than sufficient to pay the cost of the whole tract.

Rhode Island. It has been stated that upwards of fifty thousand bushels of apples were gathered from the orchards on Rhode Island, the last

season.

Connecticut. Mr. Stebbins of Simsbury, has proposed to establish a school on a plan similar to that of Fellenberg. By this system the pupils are taught industrious and mechanical habits, at the same time their minds are acquiring the principles of elementary instruction.

It is computed that three hundred thousand dollars are annually expended in New-Haven in consequence of the location of Yale College, and of seminaries for female education. For the last year there have been educated, in six or seven schools of the higher class, about two hundred and fifty young ladies, of which number about two hundred are from other states.

New York. By the annual report of deaths in the city of New York, during the year 1823, it appears that the whole number was 3,444. Of this number there were men 1007, women 734, boys 955, girls 748.-Males 1962, females 1482that is, 480 more males than females, 273 more men than women, and 207 more boys than girls,-1224 of these persons were between 1 and 10 years of age, 1209 were between 20 and 50-109 between 70 and 80, 40 between 80 and 90, 14 between 90 and 100, and 2 upwards of 100.

No less than 683, or almost onefifth of the whole number died of consumption-and 18 of the smallpox, 3 of which last died in November, and 15 in December.

There appears to have been no sweeping disease in the city during the year. The greatest number that fell victims to any single distemper, besides consumption, was 202 by convulsions.

At the last Circuit Court, for Cayuga county, the case of Parnel Moody vs. Elisha Baker, excited a peculiar interest. The Cayuga Republican says, it concerned the cha racter of a young lady, which had been slandered under peculiar circumstances. Special damages were laid in the loss of marriage between the plaintiff, and the son of the defendant. After a long investigation, during which the defendant made no attempt to prove the truth of the words laid, the jury found a verdict for the plaintiff for 1450 dollars.

A full report on the subject of pauperism in this state, has been submitted to the legislature. There are 6,896 permanent, and 15,215 occasional paupers. Of the former, 446 are lunatics or idiots, 287 blind -928 extremely aged and infirm, 797 incapable of labour from other physical infirmities, and 2,604 children under 14, forming together 5,062 persons who are a burthen on the public, and are really entitled to its charity; besides which are 1,789 permanent paupers, of both sexes, capable of labour, and who might, as computed in the report, earn one hundred and fifty thousand dollars annually. Of the whole number of this class, it is supposed that 1,585 males and their families of 989 wives, and 2,167 children, were brought to want by drunkenness, and the report says, "there is little hazard in adding that to the same cause may be ascribed more than one-half of the occasional pauperism." Of the whole number of both classes 10,523 are males, and 11,588 females-5,888 are aliens or naturalized foreigners, and 8,753 are children under 14 years of age. The city of New York alone maintains more than three-sevenths of the

whole number of both classes, and eighteen counties on the Hudson and Ocean, containing about onethird of the whole population, support more than half. In the state there is one permanent pauper for every 220 souls, and one for every 100 occasionally.

A suit, founded upon a contract between S. Whitney, E. Tibbits, G. Hoyt and D. Dekoven, defendants, and W. A. Weaver, a lieutenant in the Navy, has recently been determined in the Court of Chancery. The opinion of the chancellor was that The contract was clear and explicit An officer of the navy of the United States agrees with the owners of the ship America, and a cargo, about to proceed from New York to Lima, that the Franklin, a ship of the navy, of seventy-four guns, also about to proceed to Lima, shall give special protection to the America and her cargo; and that he, the officer, shall go in the America, and shall represent her as a store-ship, bound to the Pacific ocean, with stores for the navy of the United States, and himself, as an officer of the navy, in charge of such stores. In return for this protection and this service, the owners of the America and her cargo, agree to pay to this officer onefifth part of the profits which may arise from the outward voyage of the America and her cargo. The question is, whether this contract was legal or not

"Whether I regard the corruption of a practice which should permit officers of the navy to employ the national force for their private profit, or consider the laws establishing and limiting the emoluments of those officers, I find the strongest reason to decide, that all private compensations are illegal.

"This is, in substance, a contract for a bribe to a public officer. It is unnecessary to examine the turpitude of this transaction, in comparison with bribes to magistrates, or

other agents of the public, or to graduate the guilt of different cases of the same crime. All such bribes, and all such contracts are illegal. The motives of such contracts must always be corrupt; or, if such a case can exist without the guilt of corruption, the direct tendency of all such transactions to corruption, renders it necessary that they should be universally unlawful."

While a young man was gunning lately near the beach at the mouth of East Chester Bay, about 14 miles from New York, he discovered something floating on the water, which proved to be a living animal of the deep. He watched it for several hours, and at last, as the animal approached the shore, and extended its jaws, he discharged his piece directly in its mouth, upon which it bellowed most tremendously, and became so furious that it attacked and beat off the gunner's dog, which had sprung towards the animal the moment it was fired at. The gunner repeated his fire, and the third shot proved mortal. It has since been brought to this city, and proves to be a seaelephant, weighing upwards of 600 pounds, and measuring about nine feet in length. This animal is rarely seen in northern latitudes.

At Cooperstown three important causes were lately tried. 1. Mary Arnold vs. Joseph W. Moffit was an action on the case for seduction and breach of promise. No defence was made. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff, with three thousand dollars damages. 2. Sophia Pringle vs. Rev. Nath. Huse, was a similar case. In consequence of an understanding that the parties were soon to be married, they had interchanged mutual releases of all former promises. The defendant immediately married another person, and pleaded, successfully, the release in bar of this action. 3. A young girl, in humble circumstances, as she is called in the newspapers, brought

an action against Garret V. Deniston, judge-advocate-general of New York, for seduction, and recovered nine hundred dollars.

New Jersey. A copper mine has lately been discovered in Somerset county, near the town of Bridgewater. A number of levels have been driven and shafts sunk to a considerable depth, and many tons of a red oxyde of copper are wrought from the mine. The ore, when assayed, has been found to be extremely valuable, surpassing in richness that of any other known copper mines.

Pennsylvania.

Commissioners

have been appointed to survey a route for a canal from the Susquehannab to the Schuylkill river, through Lancaster and Chester Counties: also, two routes between the Susquehannah and the Alleghany rivers.

The following is a statement of deaths in the City and Liberties of Philadelphia, in each month, from the 1st of January, 1823, to the 1st of January 1824. January, 314 Febuary, 254

March,

207

April, 290 May, 210 June,

370

July, 486 August, 495 September, 551 October, 457 November, 445 December, 521 4600

Of these, 2366 were adults and 2234 children;-641 died in the Alms-House, and 800 people of colour are included. There have been born during the same period, 2977 male, and 2836 female children, making the total number of births 5813; leaving a difference in favour of births 1213.

Delaware. The good people of Wilmington are so much dissatisfied with the route which has been selected for the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal, that they are determined to destroy the commerce of Philadelphia by withdrawing their custom from that city, and transferring it to New York! If this nota

ble scheme does not effect their purpose, it may be apprehended that they will set fire to the Delaware

river.

Virginia. Four hundred thousand dollars have been appropriated for the improvement of the navigation of James River.

At a late meeting of the citizens of Alexandria it was unanimously resolved to present, a memorial to Congress for the retrocession of that town to Virginia.

On the question of renewing a Bank Charter, it was lately decided by the speaker of the Legislature, whose descision was sustained by a large majority, that a member being a stockholder of the Bank, was not, therefore, deprived of his vote-the interest being considered too remote to disqualify him.

An opposite descision took place some time ago, in the Senate of South Carolina on the question of renewing the Charters of the SouthCarolina and State Banks.

The decision in Virginia appears to us to be the proper one, though not for the reason which is here stated. As long as a representative holds his seat. we think he is entitled to vote on every question which comes before the House, excepting in cases specially provided for by the rules or by statute.

Alabama. The Legislature of the state of Alabama, have passed a law, which may be styled an act for the encouragement of gambling.

It provides that every person who keeps a billiard table, in the city of Mobile, shall pay a sum of 150 dollars. The aggregate of this bonus on vice constitutes the only compensation of the Judge of the county court of that county.

Imprisonment of females for debt has been abolished.

Mississippi. A law has been passed declaring the limits of each county to be the prison bounds, and prohibiting the imprisonment of any white woman for debt.

Louisiana. A petit jury lately sen

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