They wrought both late and early, For he thought upon his mother, Grew strong beneath her fancied voice And now, when swells the tempest, We hush our household glee, While our prayers go with the mariner HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF GEORGIA. NUMBER THREE: CONCLUDED. GLANCING our eyes over the pages of history, we find the colony of Georgia in a flourishing condition up to the time of the Revolutionary war. At its commencement, the command of the forces destined for the subjugation of America was tendered to Oglethorpe, he being the senior officer on the King's Staff; but he declined it, giving to the ministry as his reason, that he knew the Americans too wellthat they never could be subdued by arms; but that obedience could be secured by doing them justice, and redressing their wrongs. Sir William Howe, being the next officer in rank, was appointed and accepted, and the war proceeded. Had Oglethorpe accepted this appointment, Georgia, his own colony, nurtured by his benevolence, would have been reclaimed to the mother country. It would have never joined the American confederacy, and would at this day have been a southern Canada, skirting the free states of the Union. As it was, the popularity of Sir James Wright, the royal governor, almost effected it; and had Oglethorpe's influence been brought to bear upon it, as commander-in-chief of the royal forces, the change would have been inevitable. But instead of this, he lived to see the little band of one hundred and sixteen emigrants, which came over with him in the ship Anne, who, over a century ago, first pitched their tents upon the bluff of Yamacraw, grow and expand into a proprietary government-a royal province-a free, sovereign and independant state, and taking rank with her sister colonies, among the noblest nations of the earth; and he lived to visit, and personally welcome to England the ambassador,* who came to represent at * JOHN ADAMS, second President of the United States. England's court that colony which he planted more than half a century ago, upon the banks of the Savannah. In the expressive language of a modern writer, 'The infant became a sovereign, while its parent was still a subject.' After the fall of Savannah, in 1778, and the failure of the combined forces of the French and Americans, under General Count D'Estang and General Lincoln, in 1779, the royal government was reëstablished under that able executive, Sir James Wright; and the whole of Georgia, save a little spot in the county of Wilkes, was subjugated to the British arms.* Then was the midnight of the Revolution-all seemed dark and gloomy-all that had been struggled for seemed to be lost to the eye of man; but help was at hand, and, under the gallant and brave Clarke, the sturdy Pickens, with the dauntless valor of the yeomanry of Wilkes, was this darkness dispelled; the gray dawn of freedom soon burst forth, and, in three years from that gloomy time, the state was regenerated and disenthralled. Had Wilkes County been conquered, liberty would have become extinct, and oppression would have reigned in its stead. Here at least the battle was not to the strong, nor the race to the swift.' It was not to the counsel of the people, that liberty was thus gained, but if we recur to that seven years' war, we will see that it was the counsel and will of the GOD of battles, who went forth to fight for them, and but for him the colony would have been trodden under foot, and utterly destroyed. While this is applicable to Georgia, it is applicable to the whole Union, for, though the signal and divine interposition of our liberties, by HIM who doeth great wonders, when these liberties were at the point of being wrested from us, it was then that we were saved, as a nation, from British tyranny and British oppression. It is now within a few months of one hundred and sixteen years, since the landing of Oglethorpe upon the Bluff of Yamacraw. Let us review a little of her past history-contrasting her infancy with her manhood. Soon after the Spanish invasion, the entire population of the colony of Georgia scarcely numbered four thousand souls; and the only points of note were Ebenezer, Darien, St. Simons and Savannah, which were the mere frontier outposts of a province whose rich interior was inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians. Then there were only five trading stores, and commerce employed but one vessel and a few perriauguas. Four or five schools, and as many churches, were all the educational and religious means of the colony, and the government was conducted by a body of distant trustees, and often exercised through unworthy agents. The first colony which came over, brought with them their minis. ter, and the foundations of Savannah were laid amid prayers and thanksgivings. The first colonial minister was the Rev. Dr. Herbert, an Episcopalian, the Rev. Samuel Quincy succeeded, and when he VOL. XXXIII. Historical Collections of Georgia, Vol. I. left, was followed by the Rev. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. The Rev. George Whitfield, whose eloquence has justly styled him the 'prince of pulpit-orators,' succeeded Mr. Wesley; and the only parish over which this eminent man was settled, was Christ Church, in Savannah. His character and eloquence are too well known to admit here of description. Suffice it to say, however, he with others, such as Gronou, Wesley, Boyd and McLeod, will favorably compare with any clergy in any colony planted in America. It is true, that intestine troubles, Indian wars, and a sanguinary revolution, checked the growth of piety for a while, but the war over, the constitution and government of the state formed, the church arose and triumphed. From the one church first organized at the founding of Savannah, hundreds have arisen throughout the land, opening their gates each Sabbath, inviting worshippers to their altars; and hundreds of ministers have gone forth into various parts of the state, proclaiming the gospel to their fellow-creatures; and the very incense of devotion arises morning and evening, like a cloud of glory to heaven. And what shall we say of the educational history of Georgia? The first college south of William and Mary in Virginia, was Bethesda College in Georgia. Founded by the celebrated Whitfield, he aimed to make it the first of universites; and he labored in England and America to establish it on a solid foundation. His death, and the Revolution which soon followed, crushed the project, and now naught but ruins mark the spot, where the students of Bethesda, with their black gowns and square caps, lived and studied.* As soon as the constitution of the state had been settled, the great minds of her statesmen were turned to the cause of education, and the result was the organization of a State University, through the enterprise of Jackson, Baldwin, Milledge, and other popular men of the state, Legislation busied itself with the subject of common schools and county academies, while private enterprise started into operation numerous institutions for the improvement of the young. At this day, there are six chartered colleges, with a large number of high schools and seminaries, over and above the many county academies and township schools. The state is supplied with sufficient educational apparatus to train up the entire rising generation, though much of this is dormant and unemployed, the probable result of which is the sparseness of population. Says one of her distinguished citizens, 'Could we but concentrate the energies of the popular mind-could we but educate the great body of her people-there would spring forth a literature that would give tone and shape to American genius; and institutions of learning would arise, scattering their influence broadcast o'er the land, that should flourish like a tree of life, planted on each side of the river of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, whose leaves should be for the healing of the nations.' So much for the cause of education in Georgia. * Georgia Historical Collections. Hon. James Jackson, Hon. John Milledge, Governors of Georgia; Hon. Abraham Baldwin, U. S. Senator from Georgia. University of Georgia, Athens; Mercer University, Panfield; Female College, Macon; Oglethorpe University, Midway; Emory College, Oxford; Medical College, Augusta. Having viewed Georgia in her infancy, let us behold her in the strength of her manhood. But a short time, and what a change? The infant colony, though fifty years younger than any of the old thirteen states, is now third in size of the Union of twenty-eightthe scanty population of her few small towns and villages have increased to upwards of seven hundred thousand-the one vessel and few perriauguas of her early commerce have given place to over seven hundred, that go down to the sea, and do business on the great waters,'-the exports and imports, which were then valued at fifteen hundred pounds, now exceed four millions of dollars-the broad fields and wide forests, once the domain of the red-man, have been peopled with towns and cities-' the flaming courser, with iron hoofs,' now speedeth on its way, where once was the path of the Indian trader-the little school-house has its instructions echoed back by the burr of a hundred academies, and the humble church by the prayers and praises of a hundred temples. The government, which then ruled with unequal and often tyrannical power, is now supplanted by popular institutions of her own framing, resting upon wisdom, justice, and moderation, as the pillars in her own dome of freedom.* Behold Georgia in her early days-then almost gasping for an infant's breath, now standing up in the robust strength of her noble manhood. Behold her extensive boundaries-her teeming population-her productive agriculture-her flourishing literature-her religious institutions-her vast schemes of internal improvement-her civil and religious liberty, which she exerted herself so strenuously to secure— and tell me whether you can find any country that has more natural and internal resources than the State of Georgia. October 13, 1848. TO MY LAMP. BY C. RUSSEL CLARK. SPEECHLESS Companion of my evening hour, And wind-gods hold their fearful, boist'rous sway; With beaming eye, still cheer my peaceful hearth, As solemn measured hours above me roll, Heavy with record of a busy earth. Ah! when I roam from all I hold most dear, I'll oft recall thine eye, and what it beamed on here! *THE coat of arms of the State of Georgia represents a temple supported by three pillars; Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation. A CHILD АТ A WINDOW. BY THOMAS MACKELI AR. BUT yester-noon my curious eye espied I turned to gaze upon the child again. Her face was fair, her eyes were bright and blue, Of curl or texture, glossiness or hue; But whether more of mirth were in her face, Or innocence, or modesty, 't were not An easy word to say. A sweet red spot, In her own native self her chiefest charm she bore. THE STONE HOUSE ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. CHAPTR SIXTEENTH '—a palmer clad in black attyre, Of rypest yeares, and heares all hoarie gray, SPENSER'S FAERIE QUEENE. the Tor and the German had not been alone in the attempted rescue; a third person was anxiously waiting outside of the prison walls; faithful Padre was there, faithful to the last, and ready?' 'aye ready,' with his cassock rolled up, and his machete in his good right hand, he stood amid the pelting storm like a staunch old crusader, a representation of the church-militant, and of his stout heart did knock somedele against his ribs, it was not occasioned by fear, but rather by the solicitude with which he awaited the event. After parting that day with Blas and Adelaida, he heard of the arrival of the schooner, and in the afternoon had walked down to the quay in hopes of meeting with some of the persons belonging to her that he might inform them that one of their countrymen was then in the prison under sentence of death. There was a vague idea in his mind that something might result from it, even a rescue did not seem altogether improbable, for General Morales (who succeeded Boves in the command of the division) had left immediately after the execution of Ribas with his troops, leaving only a scanty garrison in the city in consequence of a report |