The telescope. (Columbia, S.C.) 1815-1818, May 21, 1816, Image 2
the British to the Algcrinei on that ocoailon*?'
whether from regard to the feeliugs of tfio lattor
will not pretuud to say. 'Thtslast reflection,
even as detailed by the writer of the bytiopsis,
vill convince every reader of judgment' that Ive
has here converted. the ordinary incidents of al?
most every sea-fight into an accusation that has
not the leant foundation, even if the basin he ha*
warned be true. llut we itre authorised to state
positively nnri untN|ni vocally, that onl< one sin?
file gun wf?H fiiftl into the Frolic after she fell
on Iward the Wasp. 'llie Frolic was thei* taken
TN>??<?H<*io!i of, all her surviving crew, to the num
Iter of nc:ir fifty, having mil below, leaving the
captain, tho firat lieutenant, anil punter, alone
mi the deck. Captain Jones then recei.ved ttie
sword of Captain Whinvnt?*, and nn doubt did
walk over the deck, which was " covered with
dead, and dying, and wounded men," ait in usu
al on socli occasion*. ? If, however, 14 tha task
of lire ?(??.tin/ t'ie enemy's character in no favor
ah!i? li?ht'*is no " painful" to this writer, why
<lu! ho not moth hi* feelings by detailing the
hi?h and courteous humanity of I^awreuce in
exposing even tiie lives of bin own men to save
the d .-owning ciew of tho IVacock t the gene
rositvof llaiut>rid<re. acknowledged by tieueral
Jivslop?and the conduct of Perry and Mucdo
nonu'i. in paroling on their own authority, their
wovnled antagonist*. treating; them, as was ac
knowledged l?v t'apt. Barclay,*' like brother* ?"
Sii'-1' i candid w riter an this ought certainly to
ha.e i????lee-.bered these thins*. and w* can only
ac oni.f for hi* foi-gftfulucss of notor-iiis truths
by tin- supposition, that he was so iminstrioiiHly
enipli.vcd. w bile engaged in thin work, in the
pursuit* of imagination, that lie forgot entirely
to res ?rt to I i* memory for his facts.
Ir? loosing hack on the Synopsis wc perceive
flint much stress is laid upon the lo*? of the Fro
lic's main \ mil. carried awa\ in the evening
yireviru* to the encasement in a gale. It may
lher?*fore be proper to strife, tliat the Wiuip lost
hcrjib-hoii'n, anil was without it during the ac*
tion, which was fought running ri&ht before thr
'vind. t!ie Wasp under close reefed topsails, and
the Frolic under closed reefed fore-topsail and
leele i nmin sail. In four minutes after the ac
tion be,* :i. the main topmast of the Wasp wa*
?hot away within two feet of the cap, and from
tliat time to the end of the nflhir she was more
disabled in her spars than the Frolic. Neither
ship got a position to rake until the end of the
action, when, in conseipie'ice of the Frolic en
da,'i\oriti|( to sheer from the Whho to avoid so
clone an acti?-??,by hauling upon the wind, both
vessels v. ere taken uback nearlv at the same
time, and the Frolic paying oft' first fell aboard
of the WanpJb
The next engagement Hint occupies the arith.
metical ingenuity of the British oilircr. is that
be*ween the Macedonian and the Cnited States,
Ion ht on ?he 2.?th of t'-e same month of Octo>
brr. On this occasion he falls to cyphering most
vehemently, and the iesult of his calculation is.
anteriority of three to t.vo in ship, guns and
me: . all " picked men/' toj. and " mi Imckram"
no doubt, on the side of us unlucky Americans.
We might stute, in contradiction to this, that,
in the *h>t itince, the Macedonian, instead of
elc?'un hundred is twelve hundred tons, and the
S uited State* onlv fourteen hundred and liftv,
instead of sixteen hundred ami thirty, as stated
hy the writer of die. Synopsis.?In the second
place, that the l7nil?d States had neither shift
ing guns nor howitzers in the tops, and that the
irttmutr of men on one side is considerably ev
niMgornted, on the other considerably diminish*
?d ? but tho writer ban kindly saved us the
trMiblo,
V mc??*i he U compelled to notice, that44 the re
liiilw executiondon* in thi* action was atill
n? ?'-o ?lis,)rM1M?rtiiimte thin in any former 011?/'
ti? ?? it, one hnndredgml four to twelve. Ad
mating tie relative (orfre to lie what lie ?tat*!,
to two, we linve hero a relative low of ?l^
ni'tKf nine to our. Thi* lie ascribes tfi^the
\el manner in which the action uah foujjnt 1"?
That ifl, a-4 we shall directly substantiate, to the
minerioritv of *kill displayed by (ant. Decatur,
.ir.il the shyness of capt. <!arden. To the proof.
44 Our sl'iip," saysthe Itritish officer,44 had the
weather rmh?;c j but captain Cardan kept at
4 lon? l?ulIs' till all lit*top-masts were shot away
ami I-is ship had become an unmanageable
wreck.'* Why did he do *0 K<Tho Macedonian,
it ins ?'nee .been ascertained, easily outsails the
Cnited States ; she wua to wind wardin the en
gagement ? the two vessels crossed each other
o > opposite tacks, each dead upon a wind, and
il.'i* commenced the nctVm. It was therefore
in hi* power to close with Id* antagonist,*1)4 In
hi* only. Theno fncts were proved by the con
current testimony of all his officers on catttaio
Carden's court martial, which, on that testimo
ny, parsed o direct censure on Ids conduct in
not closing when it was in his power. It mutt
be acknowledged however that the Macedoni&n
was, jis writer states, 14 an unmanageable
w?-f < k" in a very few minutes nftei* she cawe
within touching'distance of the United States)
and r?aliv we. think it rather hard to be thus, as
it were, censured for the shyness of oar enemy,
or^'or our skill in taking sdvuntage of it. it
on?y proves what we have all alonjxasserted,that
our nfltrers and seimen are superior to those bf
<?ref-t liritnin. Vailiiite their oi#a?ter* tA they
may,this is the iirm ii tlde conclusion to be drawn*
even from the statements of their own apologists.
As much reliance is placed, by the Writer oi l
the tf vnop#;*, on the alledged superiority of the
American frigates, and the weight of their me
tal. we will?,fate the following facts, which are
?If lived from a gontlei mil present on the occa
sion to which we refer. Not more than three
months previous to the declaration of war, the
United Hat's and Macedonian were lying to
gether ot Norfolk, where Captain Cardan was
treated with the hospitality for which that place
i* distinguished, ami where he and Commodore
Decatur often dined together at the houses of
?different gentlemen. The sama officers and
crew* were attached to both ships that were in
them when the enaaxement afterwards .took
place t and they visited each others ship dail>.
On one of fho *. meetings, at the tabia of tfto
Conwd at Norfolk,in th'o presence of a number
cf gentlemen, the covariation turned on the
comparative force of flnj two ships, iltclr rrroa*
ment, and the number oh well as the excellence
of .their crews, .Captain Carden then stated,
that a British thirty-eight gun.frigate was fully
ascertouwxl by experience to be the mojjt cflt
cltfrtt idR-rle docked vessel that ever 44 swam the
ocean j" that any increase of size wm Worse
thai) use less, as it only rendered thorn niore tin*
manageable ; that' long eighteen jroundprs Itad
been demonstrated to lie better than twe'qty
fours, and could actually throw a greater weight
of metal in a given timet because tnelr ligldiicss
rendered them more itanagcablo ; that an in
creased thickness of sides rendered a shin only
more heavy, without bringing any counterbal
ancing advantage, avit couliVnot be increased
so at to stop an eighteen pound shot, wliilo the
Hides of their frigates would resist grape and
canuister as well as oarsj and, finally* that it
was also ascertained that a greater number of
men than their regulations allowed was not only
useless, hut pernicious, because it onlr crowded
them together, and exposed them to greater
slaughter. Captain Carden proceeded to state,
that this reasoning wan founded on his own ex
perience, he having obtained his promotion in
consequence of being first lieutenant of a Bri
tish thirty-eight, which captured a French fri
gate, mounting forty-four twentv-four pounders.
Ho concluded by Haying, that from thin experi
ence he felt satisfied he could take the lTuited
State# with the Macedonian, though at the Name
time he disclaimed any intention to question the
skill or bravery of the American officers. These
opinions were held by nil the liritinh naval offi
cer* in all their delrates on the subject, either in
the ports of Kngland, the United (States, or the
Mediterranean tea.
Now really, in all humility, we conceive our
Helves entitled.beings youn^and inexperienced
nation, to some little credit for having taught the
thrice valiant ami experienced officers of our e
nemv, that they absolutely did not know what
they were talking about, and that their " expe
rience" had most wofilllv deceived them. It is
certainly an evidence of the superior geniiiH of
our country, that even against the authority of
such great men?and, more than all, agaiiiHt the
practice of llritaiif, from whom we are from time
to time reproached with Imrrowing all we know,
?we should have persisted in building ships with
such thick sides, and dared to tight nor with ?4
pounders. \N e further think, in the simplicity
of our Ijearh, (perhaps it may be from our igno
rance of surh matters) that the oftlccr who at this
time of day, like Decatur, discovers "a novel
manner of fighting his ship," by the which he
renders his enemy " an unmanageable wreck*"
and kilts and wounds more than one third of his
crew, with so little loss or damage to himself,
deserves some little credit for his ffenitis. : AU<*
heral and a noble enemy would have ac!
lodged this at once, instead of consulting.!!!!^
worth's Assistant, or Cocker's Arithmetic, and
racking his brain for palliatives* the
which lie is himself forced to ar*'":1'
notwithstanding every alleged
he is in many instances obliged at
to the confession that this alone will notac
for the disparity of loss. The solution
enigma lies, we* repeat again, not ill "
ami scantling" of our ships, the
metal, or the number of their I,
superiority of their officer* pnd tn
morally and physically bcttOTtl$i\
Hritisli no\y?who can point guns and aland the
pointing ofnnenfemy better??id trho will n?i<
titer risk hanging of drowning to desert from
their ships whenever they h^re an opportunity
The last thing we shall''notice in the forego
ing part of the Hynopsis, ii the author's spiteful
denunciation against poofKew-London, where
the Macedonian,togetner with the United States
and Hornet, was blockaded by a British fleet?
Not content with having burnt that good town
onco before, he is for burning it again, for af
fording a shelter to one of hit< 11. M.'s captured
frigates. Now this is really carrying the joke a
little ton far. One would have supposed that
burning & town onco would content a magnam
mous enemy?-but some people are never satis*
lied. One mighf also have supposed that " a
British naval officer," who had, like our author*
beou on the coast of America during the whole
war, would have known, that by burning New*
London he would have been never the nearer to
burning the Macedonian,which lay several miles
up the little river Thames ; consequently, even
our fiery ofllcer's fire could hardly luve reached
her such a long way off?unless he could have
set the river on'firc, which however would |?er?
hops be no hard matter for such a smart sensi
ble officer an he appears to be*
FOHKION NEWS.
^nirr.**r.n.)
TRIAL OP OBNBIIAL DRBKLLE.
SUting of March 24.?'The Court assembled
Atone o'clock* and the audience boing enjoined
to observe profound silence, the accused wan In
troduced. The Judge Mai-?hul made a long and
eloquent address, which he concluded* by oh
nerving that the evidence adduced in support of
the prosecution was ho clear and conclusive,
that a verdict of conviction appeared to be i r re
list ible. Mr. Derryer, Counsel for the defence,
addressed the coujrt no Iwhulf <?f l?i?* <? limit?af
ter which t?en. Debelle read the following ad
dress. ** When the king \va? restored to the
wishes of France, ( had been disgraced and per
Hccuted for several years, and lived in retirement
in a village in DaunUlne. I blessed Providence
fir having restored to my country its rightful
sovereign, and suffered no opportunity to pa*s
without manifesting my attachment to the au
gust family of the 4 ourbons, whom I had served
from my cnildhood. When llonaparte entered
Orcrfoblc* lie sent to me, orders to take upon me
the command of the department of the llromc.
i Intimidated by his order, and fearing a renewal
of the prosecutions of myself and family which
wo ha<i experienced npwards of five years* I set
out for Valenqe alone, and with the intention of
joining the Hoval Authorities, for the mainte*
"fiance of tranquility. I had the good fortune to
5 revent the tumults and te-actions which on the
point of taking place in that deportment. I fre
quently tucountcred imminent danger* in de
feuding the friend* of the and the mea
sures which I took afforded to the Dnko D*An?
goulemo tho facility of entering Montellmnrt
with tho effusion of blood. If Iliad tho wenk
n^ss to obey i\ii order of tlie Usurper* it not thnt
erf* amply expiated by the H116 of conduct 1
Sursued, and tho ftervi'ces whiefj I rendered t<?
lie royal canoe ? A singlo instance of weakness
?an error of the moment* will* 1"trust, meet
with indulgence In (ho algut of the Judge* who
have in their power ti?k appreciate tho purity of
njy motives, The law allow* you the right of pro
nouncing upon the intentions of tho accused f?
you will not refuse to fulfil its objects toward* a
person under accusation, whose conduct has
been uniformly influenced by a'love of country f
I resign myself entirely to the clemency of our
August Sovereign, for whom I never ceascd to
to offer prayers. Happy shall I bo in an Oppor
tunity to prove-my dovolion and fidelity towards
him, and to obliterate a momentary act of inad
vcrtency, bv tho last drop of my blood?I await
mv doom?Viiv te ttol /" Tho President ask
?mi th? general if it was he who uavo the order to
defend the bridge of the Droine r A. No, it wa?
not?nordid I know who did give such au order.
The council withdrew to deliberate at hall'
past 4 o'clock. At a quarter before eight, the
Sitting was resumed, and the Presidunt put the
following onestion:?Is General Debelle guil
ty? 1st, Or having without rijjht or lawful autho
rity, sei/tHl the command of tho Department of
Drome, particularly of the town of Valence.?
2d. Of having been"party in the hostile military
operations, by raising, or causing armed troop'.**
to be raised, dud in hnving inarched them against
the troops that remained faithful to the King
The nccond permanent council of war of the first
military division unanimously declare in the af
firmative, on the first question, and by n mino
rity of ft votes on the 21. Yes?the Marshal
de-Camp Debelle is guilty. Upon which the
Attorney (Scneral having prayed the application
of the punishment, the Council condemed Gene
ral Debelle, in expiation of crimes of which he
lias been convicted, to tho penalty of death, to be
framed from thu Legion of Honour^ to the costs
if the prosecution, and the polling of the sen
iencc. . * ?
MOM LATK U)*W>* WP?tl.
The valuable snuffbox of Bonaparte, enrich
id with 142 of tli? finest diamonds, which was
pun (I in his carriage after; the battle of Watcr
[>o, ha* been sent from BritMls to tfngltuul to
'?n^!/l?pll?H ef til* mftu Charlotte, with
frince Leopold- will be solemtmcd in Easter
Veek* Cain^ffal house it. we
their
The
ir or* wo bac
drawn sword drtwn
unately fallen a aaerifice to TUf^e^npti n,
at an exhibition in Scotland, the sword taking a
wrong direction.
" Cnrjoua Serpent*?At Anjongo on the Mala
coast, them in a curious small black serpent,
d from the shape of its head, tbo crescent
e, though it should rather be classcd with the
lypus. It is described as having teeth on the
uter line of the crcsceut, small enough to rc
quire a microscope to discern them. The bite
i? said to be mortal \ and it is added that tlie
slime, with which the creaturc in covered, avul
which, like the snail, it leaves along it* track, is
poisohou*. No eyca can be discovered. On
cutting off the head, tho other end Immediately
supplies the loss ; it m*vea in a rctrogade man
ner and lives after the amputation.
The Glasgow Chronicle contains ti e follow
ing p^sii*ge?~t' It is a lamentable fact, that the
prices of weaving arc now generally at a point of
depression that has scarcely been paralleled in
the worst of times. Printed goods, Madras*
handkerchiefs, and gingham*, have fallen in
weaving tnore than SO per cent, since autumn ;
and more than 50 per cent, below the rate of or*
<1 iuarv trade. A good tradesman can hardly
earn half a guinea a week | ami weavers, on an
average, not more than six shillings. The dis
tress of the manufactures arises chiefly from the
completely glutted state ofe very foreign market t
and In some degree from the failure of demand
in the home trade. The German and North A*
merican markets are those which are 'expected
first to recover, but the spring threatens to be
passed very disagreeably. We may, however,
take this opportunity of noticing tlmt the ac
counts in the English and Irinh napcirt of the fai
lures in Glasgow, arc prodigiously exaggerated."
Hingttlur Kscape.?The following in from a
Dublin paper : A Itomun Catholic clergyman,
when oil his way homo to a village in tho county
of Cavan, was accosted by a man on horseback,
who asked the clergyman to recommend him
lodgings. The man pretended to he afraid to
stop at the house the priest recommended, as it
was full of Orangemen.. The priest offered a l>cd,
and a place for his horse, at oh own residence,
to which the stranger assented \ after taking
some refreshment, they retired to their apatt*
inents. Tho man servant of the clergyman hav
ing occasion to go into the stranger's bed cham
ber before be hail gone to bed, observed under
liis great coat a blunderbuss. On quitting the
room, which he did instantly, ho went to his
master, and told him he did not like the appear
ance of his guest, that he was armed and proba
hiv had bauintoritions. Ilis master, upon this
statement, desired him not to go to bod, but to
arm himself with a pitch folk, and sit Dp in the
; kitchen t while he ht the same time loaded a
caso of pistols, and sat up also reading, to be
guile tho time. In the dead of the night the
priest's door was opened, and the man wnmn he
had sheltered entered the room, presented the
Iduoderbuss, and desired him to deliver his mo
ney, or he would shoot him } tlift clergyman re
quested he would put down the blunderimsst lest
it should actually go off, and that he would shuw
him whut money he had ? the priest than threw
?on the table a few ten pennies* saying that was
all the money he had t on which the other re
I died, he knew he had plenty of money, and that
to came for the |*.irpose of getting it, and tliat if
lie had not brought him to Ids house, be Mould
liavt that night broken into it. Tbe prieit then
i?t money bo 1ia?l was in the
of the room, nud pu
bU KjHB his pocket, to?k out the key, v
hethttttro* th'etablo t during the time In
boeu in the room, the ruffian was threati
him with immediate doHtruHtion \ howeve
took up^tho key*laid down tho blunder
end went towards the desk, when tho i
drew ono,of tho jointoU, fired at him, and l
him on the upot P Tho moment tho tepo
the shot was hoard, the hall dour wan forct
nud 4.mru elites I, and rushed into tho r<
the priest collected for the womt eveut, tm
the nlundcrbyss, uhen he htaitl the crash ?
door, and firing amount thorn n< they ent
killed two. and A third with the reserved pi
the servant attacked tho fourth with th?? |
folk, and inflicted a wound in hi* back, bu
unluckily escaped.
Letter* from Paris mention, that the Ft
had not only stopped tho circulation of tin
papers, but had refused to deliver Jimtvlcu
pert which arrive at out ports.
A letter from I'aris, dated March 20, t
" Tho following new tarifTis to be adopted j
ton in Freuch vessel* from countries out o
ropo, 4<> francs per quintal metiique ; from
pari of Kuriipe, .10 fianc* | io foreign vesai'
liy land, 35 frnoot. Short staple*, in Ft
voshcIs, from the i.idiesand Turkey, 15 fro
from other couutriea out ol Hum: c. '20 do. t
any part of Kurope, dO do. } in fureign ve?
or ny laud 35 do."
? HON A1'ARTE.
St. Helena, March 19.?We nailed from
on thu &2?t of la?t November j on our |w;
\vc lay at tlic capo of Ciood Ifono tli.co w
from whence wo proceeded to St. Helena, v
wo continued tliroo days. ltonn*'arte had
number of person* from 11. M. S. Nor.hui
land, 74, with the eminent of the Admiral,
wanted nlso olght able seamen, and one o
ship's boats, to amuse himself round the im
but this was immediately refused, Sentinc
placed at different stations j and one night
studious mood, lie overreached the boundat
signed him. In this situation, the sentim
duty stopped him. Surprised to he som<
roughly addressed, ne asked the man if he !
who it was he detained, and was answere
the sentinel in the affirmative. Bonapart
uardless of the caution of the sentinel, advti
further beyond his limits, when the lattei
charged his musket at him, but missed him.
tliin conduct of.tho soldier, Honaparie comi
c?l to ti>o Governor i and the man was ask
he meant to shoot Gen. Bonaparte, whsn I
plied that he did i he was honorably acquit
The London papers are fdled with letters
fit. Helena. Jsouy apprar* to enjoy hi
much in that enchanting sj>ot in the ocean,
a Intce'.tcitainmcnt, he was so much ph
with a lady who sang and performed on tin
no, that ho seized her bv the ears, and gave
two severe pinches, which is tho climax o
approbation and ddjxht. It is said, that
on board the Northumberland. he pincltM
ears of all the officers,exccpt the Admiral,
they said anv thing to please him.
Friduy se'night,l>et
20 and 30 packages were removed from tl?
cretary of States'oflice for the war dcpiirfi
for Portsmouth, to be put on board hi* inuj<
ship Newcastle, bound to .St. Helena,
are supposed to contain books.and other p.
ty forucii. Honaparte.
The Duke of Wellington has written, h>
mission* to Louis XVlil. on the state of j
affairs in Franco* He tells tho King, " ly
abides in peace by my word, and on my rc
sibility j yet but one wort) would be reuuls
rouse it from its inaction, 'lite word will I
tered if mo>e ?lability and prudence are n>
troduced into the government. The tran
ty of this country depends entirely on the
sence of tho allied troops j th?ir removal *
be the signal of a now and inevitable convu
Tho ultra royalist majority of the chambei
merits dissentions and distrust. Your inn
may rest assured that the greatest evil hn
source in vour own palace." Since the re
of this letter, the language of ministers tnv?
the chamber of deputies has assumed a (i
tone.
Madame Lavalettc, was set at liberty oi
16th March, by a decree of thu Chandler ot
conation. The keeper and domestic* ot
hukband have hern ?cnt before the Court of
size, on tho charge of having facilitated hi
cape front the Conciergerie. Messrs. Wi
Bruce and Hutchinson, are sent before the
court, accused of having consummated the
escnpo. '
On Sunday the 17th March, about half
13 o'clock* violent shocks of an earthquake
experienced in various parts of Kngland.
undulation* were dittinethr felt ami seen f<
veral second*. The earth seemed to und
like water for a little while, and then to ?
lenving those who perceived it eonfoumle
first* and terrified on recollection at the da
which they had cscaped.
Jlnectlnfc nf ?V. M. de I.
iette, living with his deliverer, had apnroa
the frontier. The postoiastor examined his r
tetinuze, and recognised him through his
guise, instantly a postillion was sent oft' at
sliced. M. do I-avalette urfced his deman
horses. The postmaster hail jtfSt quitted
house, and given orders that none should be
plied. The travellers fancied theinsclvci
covered, and caw no means of escaping,
country with which thoy were unacnuai
they resolved upon defending themselves
selling their lives dearly. The postnissti
length returned unattended, and then add
inghimself to M. dc Lavalette, he said,(>
liftve the appearance of amm of honor, yo
going to'lintsseW, wheio you will see M. di
valetle. deliver hirti these two hundred L
which I owe him, and which ho Is no dotil
want of 1 and without waiting for an a;mwe
threw the money into the carriage and withd
saying, you will lie drawn by my be*t liorst
postillion is gone on to provide relay* for