The telescope. (Columbia, S.C.) 1815-1818, October 22, 1816, Image 2
t- In 17.{.? nan founded (lie college of Pitiia
delplua, through (ho iuflticiico mid efforts of Dr.
ynraiiklln. The rapid extension of learning in
rJw9itniiylvanU ciio. e.vily bo traced to tho mi
ff pulse given to the nublic mind hv the discoveries
$? and exertions of that valuable "man. ft in im
):? possible to do justice hero to the zealous, uii
MreariodusMdulty with which he devoted himself
ti> tho establishment of useful institutions-?to
tjyo duty of awakening in tlio country a taste
;?? t'ofr science, literature and useful arts. In 1791
t|io 1'hiludelphia college wan placed under new
arrangement** and entitled the University of
lH J'on'iRylvnitia. Jta mediral school has been,
U'Cofa lung time incomparably the best in Amur
ico: but of late* on account of tho death of doc
torn Hush and Ha' ton. and through the great
fi reputation of do.-tor Mitchell and some other
p |?rofe?so!H at New York, great numbers of
^ students have been drawn to the university there.
The college of Co'.uiuhin in the city of New
Y.orlf was founded in 17.1*1, nnd was cnllc<l
King's Coile-o. until the time of the revolotion.
i lis chiofiiistiuction is the valuable botanic gar-|
den that has lately been added to it. Its phi
;$?' 'vwphical apparatus i:< thought bv some to he
;r 4he best in the Coiled .States. Tho college of
Ilhode Inland was chartered in 17t>4. but tbo
?) etlitico was not erected until 1770. This insti
tution is not in a good condition, as its funds
'? "? inadequate, and the state iUolf is wanting
in t'Cgaid to literary th*te.
Having briefly described the principal wdloges
in tho several states, we shall just give the
liamos of an inauv of the remaining ones as we
can find at present. Two remain to be men
tioned be'nngiug to Massachusetts ; Williams*
College in Williamstown. Berkshire. founded
in I79.?s and Howrioiu College at Brunswick
t, in Maine. founded in 1794.?Doitmonth Col
s' lege in N<-w Hampshire, was founded in 17<?9.
| Maryland (?intnms fiv?>, St. Mary's College and
Baltimore ColletM'in tlie city of Haiti more. St.
| -hihu's at Annapolis, founded in 1784. Wosh
l.iligt'?n t oilege :it Chi'stertown founded in 178'-!,
end Cokcsbury. ??r the Methodist College at
Vhi'tgdou. founded in 178."?. Pennsylvania
vmiuiiis four besides the. Cniversitv. I)icl:iu-j
v.-m College, fo'iudcd in 17K.V, Franklin Col
lege founded iu I.~k7; .tefl'ersoii College*found
e?l in IfcOj. ami Washington College, founded
io 1 South Carolina has four, Winne.s
borough C?.!lete. four.deil in 1794, and Charles
ton, Cambridge and Heaufort Colleges, all
founded nij ?he same time. The. college of
C'.ru to;i iuiviug boon discontinued* Colum
b*M College it.i> been instituted iu its stead.
)ii V irginin there was a college established in
I'riuce Kduard county, about 1774, named
vilamptlen Sxdoty College. The Catholic Col
lege at Ueorg-'town, District of Columbia, was
bnnded iu I. Hi; (he University of Georgia in
70..'j ? the Cniversitv of North Carolina at
^liaptl llill. incorporated in 1793; Greenville
^olleg^ mi Tennessee, in 179<; Transylvania
ollci,"1 iu Lexington, Kv. iu 1798; Middle
Irv t" ol.ogr in Vermont in 1800. A college
iifli exi*fe<l at New Orleans for a long pnriod,
?liut we <io not know the date of its establish-!
netit. In I Louisiana state there is great atten
r ion paid ') e<locotimM-parish schools, similar
k ;{ ? th'!:--s of Massachusetts antf ' ft?nrocctir.utjJ
i! ;eing supporteil from the state treasury; for
.Ar'Ach pari.'? -J(;oS per annum are appointed to
r<Y>aint:ii i a teacher. A similar arrangement;
tuttf9 'a's' 1 l,'acR 'n Tonne *soe, which at present
rjjjm'ri t\.o college* and 'several academies. We
iwtir n?t know the number of colleges iu Ken
?_aicky or Ohio, but v e are a.-sured tlfat learning
Fartd attended f t there, and that U|m?ii the
tli" new >t.ites have, for several years,
C0nt4w,i ,l,u,'r* -/-ca' f"r encouragement than
orinl0 states have lately done. In Pennsyl
;?eitrf'a iMr^ ',n* an academv. except those that
L
I his |)ic colleges j but tho establishment of town
looite^' *ehoms, enjoined by their constitution,
i vera^l t cowatediy recommended by their present
f: ^ovfr'tor, has, ir.itwithstanding, been hitherto
t; f,. ueglcf.ted.
tit The Lancnsterian schools, which must form
in a now era in tins history of learning: all over the
be world, will probably lie adopted through the
of f'-iited States in a short titno ; but oh! systems
nut >?rhap<t fortunattdy for mankind) are. not easily
^??ntbolished, then: id one school conducted upon
iMCitMnr's plan at Georgetown, Columbia*
ilinoiri Philadelphia; two in Baltimore* ono in
joclnnali; ami one was established in l'it*>
rgi but we do not know whether it has been
titinued } anil and nil edifice for one is erect
ogot Richmond. Wc do not at present recol
I (let to have, seen any notice of tho existence
of any others, but believo tltero is one in Now
Wwk,
W| The next most striking featore in the history
of American literature seems to bo the progress
of their literary journals. Tho first newspaper
Srlntcd in America was the lloston Neun-Lot*
ir, established in April 1/04, in the. town of
ttlo*ton, ny ono Mr. Orrene. Tho next was
tho fioMAt) tia'/jctte, fonnneneed in I72J, by
James Franklin, brother of nenjamin Franklin.
Till* was also in lloston. Tho first newspaper
printed in Pennsylvania was Tho Ainetican
Weekly Mercury, commenced in Dec. 1719.
I bV A. Bradford. The first in New-York was
?the New-York Gazette, commenced in Oct.
? l,y Wm. Bradford. Tho first in Khoile
Island was the Rhode l*land (laxette, by James
Franklin, mentioned before. Tliis was in 17!\%.
The ftrst in Connecticut was in 175.1, by a Mr.
barker.
After this tbthjncrehe has been extremely
rapid : in l77!Tt$o nuinher in tho United States
was twenty five; in IROI it amounted to one
hundred and eighty j And in 1BI0 it had in
creased to three hundred and iixty-four. The
amount of tho nowsj>Apers At that peiiod, in
ilits country nml in Kngland} in to be found in
the Register vr,|. t, p. ||61 |
There does not appear to have been tlmt
yvntrossive Attention peld to literary Aocieties
| which miftfit Iiavc been expected \ we Aro rAther
j disponed to believe thet tnoto now established
.ire In coinpnritivo decline. The first instil*
iloK of <til? kind
V
American Philosophical Society, (mined by
tlio exertions of l)?\ Franklin, Dr. Dnuil, Mr.
Kwing, Dr. Smith, and Mr. Divid Rittenhouse,
at l'hilndelphiii it} the year 1743. Ill 1700
another wan established there, culled (bo Amer
ican Society for the promoting and propugntit'jr
useful knowledge in I'itiladelpliia. In 1709
both were united and have since remained so.
The American Academy of Arts ami Sciences,
wa* established at Uoston in 1780) and tVe
Connecticut Academy of Attn and Sciences
ut Ncw-llnvcn in 1799. The Historical Socie
ty in Massachusetts, wan formed in 1791.
There in also an historical society in New
York. Medicul societies are very numerous,
ami tho scicnco of mediciiie appears to be bet
ter attended to at present than it lias been at
any former period in this country. A few
years ago there was instituted in Philadelphia,
principally by tho exertions of Drt Harton, a
sucifcty fur the cultivation of natural history,
and entitled.tho I.innoau Society ; and similur
ones have been formed in other places; but we
understand they have not been, oven tolerably,
successful. In almost everv state is an Agri
cultural Socicty. Of this class the chief ones
are those in Massachusetts, New-York, und
Philadelphia.
11 may be well to tako a brief view of the
AnioriciiU literati of early times, in order to
shew the grout comparative delicicncv of the
present period, '1 owards the conclusion of
the seventeenth century we notice two Amer
ican writers, Cotton Mather, author of the
Magi.ulia Americana, and Mr. J. ISlair, au
thor of several sermons and religious tracts.
Of the hurcceding period is Mr. Logan, the
botanist, from Lurgan in Ireland, donor of
tho Lognnian library now contained in the city
library of Philadelphia, author of the 7'V
iwrimeula W .!/??letemuta tie lHaufarnm (iciw
iitttone, a descrtatiou upon light, a translation
of Cicero de &e/ircfhte,oic. The next of con
so'|uunce was Dr. Iteujamin Franklin, so well
known um a politician, a philosopher, and as
the " lirst in America who cultivated an easv,
unalfected, polished style of writing." lie
[began his career as a writer in 17.V-!. In 17J'2
he made his grand discoveries in electricity,
and since that has bad a more gc'icral reputation
1 than any literary man of bis country, notw itli
I standing the high merit of some of his rivals.
I The Itev. Mr. Jonathan Kdoards, tho the
| ologian ami metaphysician, was born about
' the same same time with Franklin, but died:
in 1T3H. Ilis 44 Inquiry into the Freedom!
of the human Will,*' Ims, by Futopeau wi iters,
been pronounced " one of the greatest ctt'orts
of the human mind." Dr. Hcikcley, tho au
thor of the Minute Philosopher, can hardly be
numbered among American authors, though his*
generosity to the cause of literature during his
residence here, gives him a strong claim upon
American gratitude. Dr. Win. Smith* for
merly president of the college of Philadelphia,
and who died in 1803, was an able and volumin
ous writer, upon divinity and different branches
j of nciuncc.
Dr. Samuel Johnson, the first president of
King's college in New-York, is known as the
author of a system of logic, ami one of
ethics.; and also of a Hebrew grammar) but
these have been superseded by better works nf
the late time. Thomas Clap, formerly presi
dent of Yale college, and John Winthrop, are
known chieily as profound scholars; though
tin* latter is said to have written an excellent
work l)e Cometis. Dr. Moultrie was the author
of ? work De Feb re Flava ; and Dr. Linning,
in the year 17.1.1, published a History of tlic
Yellow* Fever. Dr. Chalmers wrote on the
Weather and Diseases of Houth C arolina, but
his moat valuable work is an essay on fevers.?
Mark Catesby was a learned botanist of the
?ame period: lie explored a great j>ortion of
the Atlantic states, the Florida*, Ike7and pub
lished the Natural History of Carolina, Flori
da mid the liahama Islands. Governor Cotden,
of New-York, was at that time, a devoted bo
tanist, and a writer on medicine, botany and
history. Hut he who of that age stood next to
Linneus himself \ and whom that incomparable
naturalist pronounced " the greatest natural
botanist in the world," was Mr. John Bartnim,
born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 170I.
Dr. John Mitchell, of Virginia, wrote on a vari
ety of subjects?natural philosophy, naturil
history, history, politics, husbandry, &e. Il?t
was a native of Kngland. Dr. Clayton, who
was born in Virginia, wrote several works,
about the same time, upon the Ixttany of that
state. The principal writers on the subject of
diviuity about the time of the revolution, were
Dr. Mnhcw, Dr. Chauncy, Dr. John F.wing,
and the r?yv. Myles Cooper. Mr. Davites' w?T*
tings are of a date somewhat earlier. Dr. John
Witherspoon, late president of Princeton col
lege, wrote not only on religious subject-*, but
likewise on literature, polities; end general sci
ence. He was an author wh? possessed uncom
mon strength and clearness of mind. David
Kit tollhouse, who was 1mm in 1732, at German
town in Pennsylvanis, was the nutlmr of sever
al essays published in the transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, but is chiefly
known as a man of acutenees hi mattiematic*,
and ingenuity in mechanics. f??. K/ra Htilfs,
late president of Yale college, is hardly num
bered among American authors, but chiefly cele
Imnted as the most learned man this country has
ever produced, lie was Alto one of the most
active promoters of literature, lie was educa
ted in Yale, and died there in 1705.
There have been several able politic.il wri
ters wlio rose about the period of tho revolution.
We need not repeat in this class the names of
many that are tnenttoncd.alwve. John Dicken
son, of Delaware, author of the Farmer's let
ters. displayed in that) and other writings, great
reeling, together with still greater acutenes*,
eloquence and taste. It will be sufficient In this
place to mention tho names of Thoma* Paine,
James OUs, Samuel Adams, John Adams, jmr
ernor Hutchinson, Riohard
H, C. Nlcboli William Jj
toti> ModUon, Jiy
u? near to uur own jwriod, but wo mu4 fir?J
name the remaining writer* of (lie Inst century.
Dr. 1). Hush, nml Dr. ltarton, properly be
long to ttint orn, ntul governor Howdoin ol Mas
sachusetts decidedly cm'iuh* us lie died in 1780,
but lib >!? hardly ranked among the number of
nutliors j lie however wrote much that had been
published ?i the Memoirs of the American A?
ademy of Art* and Science*. Of historical wri
ter* we have already mentioned Governor Col
den. author of a History of the Five Nations of
Indian*, Win. Smith, author of a history of the
Province of New-York, uud governor Hutchin
son, author of a history of Massachusetts. He>
tiide.V these were samuol Smith, who wrote the
history ??f Nuw-Jursey, Dr. Jeremy Helknap,
who wrote the History of New Hampshire, Dr.
Samuel Williams, author of thu History of Ver
mont, I. Sulivan author of a History of the
District of Maine, and Dr. Iloujamin Trum
bull author of the Civil ami F.ccle?iiii<ttcal His
tory of Connecticut. Mr. Ilo'.iert Proud'* his
tory of Pennsylvania is a rorrect and valuable
collection but possesses no literary merit. Geo.
It. Minot author of the Continuation of the His-!
tory of Massachusetts, is said to have been a
writer of rare talents, and his early loss was
much lamented. Hut thu firht in this depart
ment is Dr. David Ramsay, author a History of
tlio American revolution, a History of the Re
volution in South Carolina, a History of the life
of Wa?hington, flee. Next on the subject, but
much inferior, is Marshal.
Of the poets of the last century we shall u.it
here stop to spoak, as America can claim but
little in this way, either of past or present merit.
The names of Harlow, Trumbull, Dwiglit.
Humphreys, Freneau, II. T. I'aine, &c. have
not those high claims upon which to build a na
tional character. Of late we have seen Home
very flue specimens of poetic tulent circulation
through the papers, but we do not think the pre
sent period likely to produce any great ellbrt
worthy of the sublimity of American genius.?
.Viles' Ueffiatrr.
MISCELLANY.
J'AltKNTAI. APPRTKIV.
Much has been said tii depreciate (he female
character. Poets, historians, and Philosopher*
have labored, in nil ages to render women con
temptiblo from imbecility, ridiculous from vani
t.V, and otten hateful from malignity. They
have dwelt upon (he characters of Xantip|n>,
Messcliiio, Julia, Aspatia, &c. till this sex has
become almost proverbial for weakness and vice.
Hut this, we fear, is in a great degree the re
sult of ignorance, disappointment or irritation.
Among this sex we are nappy to recogni'/.o. mo
dels ol every excellence?beings who are not
only calculated to excite the warmest aftectiofi,
but wlm have also the power to bestow unadul
terated happiness. In periods of the greatest j
distress and danger, when our sunshine friends I
abandon us to misery and despair, women cling
to uk with unyielding constancy and unshaken
attachment. In all the vicisituden of life, and
in all the changes of fortune, alio it* still the
same kind, tender, and affectionate friend,
whoso attachment oppression cannot wither, nor
misfortune destroy. No one can say that sex
in contemptible in genius or learning, that has
nroduced a l)e Htael, a Dacier, a Hapho, and a
Montague?in morals, a Lucretia, a Portia,
and an Octavja?and innumerable examples in
alt the nobler and more exalted sentiment* of
the heart. A late instance which occurred in
France should teach us to revere a sex that pos
sesses such devoted and disinterested attach
ment as distinguish Madame Lavellctte. Hut
we have not to wander from the shores of
our own country to search for examples of hero
ic attachment in all the relations ot lite. We
do not hesitate to say that few instances have oc
curred of greater warmth of maternal love than
than has recently been exhibited by Mrs. ('ra
ther. Robbed of a son, a Imy of about twelve
years of age, by a negro slave, wlu> Imre him
from .South Coridiua to New-York, and there a
bandoned him to jier'wh with famine, Mrs. l\
from some slight i.itimation of a discovery, two
year* after his departure, left her home, with a
sucking child in Iter arms, and on horse-back,
and alone, proceeded from town to town, still
led on by fresh hope, till she found Iter lung lost
son at too house of a Mr. Hlackman, in New
Jersey, to which she had l>eon dirert?vl by a gen
tleman in Haltimore. Thus equipped she tra
velled upwards id' 1,000 miles on horseback,
500 miles in stages and steam bouts, thouh she
had never before been froin home?at first bur
tailed by the delicious expectation of regaining
her darling son, and afterwards supported by the
exquinite joy of having found him. It is a
memorable Instance of tho energy of maternal
love, and should be preserved in the pii'jct of
American history.?Natioiiul Itc^htrr.
The following extract from the Richmond
Compiler (the editor of which merits no little
1?raise for the promptitude with which he made
mown the singular case) w ill give our readers
some further particulars :
" I'tnimina Prathev.?Mrs. Prather, her stick
ing child, and her long lost son, reached this
city on Sunday lust?Him is on her return home,
where her husband and seven other children
will hail her arrival, with rapture. If we dwell
so long on her cose, it in because it is a new one
-*it is one where the most heroic resolution has
been exhibited, and danuors dared whit It would
have cowed the soul of almost any other woman
and it is a cat*, wlioro tho most'extraordinary
train of circumstances concurred bring her
the reward of all her virtues. It is one of those
cases which (Might to he snatched from oblivion.
It deserves to live for her own honor, for (hat of
her sex* and for that of Iter country.
" As wo have already learnt, through tho
Haltimore American, the morning on which it
was so good a.4 to republish the Article which ap
peared in this paper, (stating her case and her
advertisement) tlie cony of the American fell
into the hands of a sailor* who had boon mate
to captain Hlackman. Itfortunatelv happened
fcry vet let h|4 fluiv'l in HiitimOio
1 '
but (Sit;, before. iilutkman ha.l left Iter,
but llio mate remained in her. lie hail long bo
fori) heard tin: story of hi.-t ?ui>fortoiics trum tin*
lips of tlio b??y himself, uml was ut no l.?ss to
recognize iit (lie dcbcrintioii of the paper, tie:
little lout sailor bo*. With that warm |;ear|f
which mo often heals in the bailors Iiimoiii, re
paired to theollico of tin; Americuti, ami in
loriiioil the editor of the discovery ho had iiiatlo
?referring the mother to a hum chant in town,
to whom the vessel hail been consigned. Whilu
thin clue wan plepariiig for Lor, the pom woman
hud been to the jail, uml found that the runaway,
whom she had liei-.i to nee within it.-v walls, wixa
not her own. Agoni/.etl by this disappointment,
"he whs almut giving herself op t.? de?pair, wliou
the information of the sailor, unco more shed a
beam of hone spun her heart. Who How to tint
consignee, (Mr. Haiders tonj and obtained jV.jih
him a letter to bin cori opundoijt in Philadel
phia, who would give bur tin account of tho
jriaec where cUptnin Illackmau then was. Hho
Imntcnud to f'Uladcljiliin, und wui informed by
the correspondent ul (lie benevolent HaMerstun,
that Hlucl.mauwas at <treat l$i<g Harbour, in
Now-Jersey. The fctagv brought Iter within a
few miles of his farm, which distance she tra
velled on foot, when the tint object which met
on the farm of Illackmau, wus her long ln-.t
son! Tliuy knew each other at the lirst Hij^ht.
44 The littlo boy who in now about fouiiecu
years of age give*a very clear unroot of his ad
ventures. In the woods near lib. father's house,
lie was seized by the slave, who, pieseutinjj a
pistol, threatened to shoot him, if lie made any
resistance, lie mounted the hov on one of the
horses lie had stolen, while he took the other.
In this situation he journeyed on from Lauren*
district to New -York?usutg the boy as a kind
of pai?| ort?now devising one tale and then an
other to account for their travelling?sometime*
exhibiting the pistol and denouncing vengeance,
against the Imy, if he dared to stir Irom Ins side,
never sulleriiig him to leave his pioseiicc or hold
a private conversation with an v other person.?
The boy submitted to bis fate, 'seeing no favora
ble opportunity of making bis escape. At
l'riucctowu their money gave out: and Mr.
(ireen's letter give* the authentic history of
their adventures in that place. The moiiev
which the benevolence ol its inhabitant* had
put into the pockets of the child, was soon taken
away by the rapacity of the negro. This mis
erable state of pilgrimage ended h( New-York,
where the slave sold the horses, and left tin*
boy to perish iu the streets?telling him that
he was about to enter on board of the vessels.
The pour boy, never blessed with a hearty
coiniilitutiou, s it lie rod much from sickness uk
well as famine. Ho utlotriptcd to interest,
strangers iu his behalf; but his tale was so wild
and improbable, that no one would credit ir.
lie lingered nearly a twelve month in a mo*',
destitute situation, being obliged to throw him
self into an oyster-cellar, with negroes, to ob
tain subsistence by opening oysters. Hut, a*
il poverty uud want of sympathy were not
enough to try him, be became dangerously ill
being taken will** the measles and thu mump*
at the same moment. lie could write, but
know not bis father's nddress. At length,
wandering on the wharves of New-York, ho
Cretailed on Capt. lilack man to take him <m
oard his vessel. With this man, to whom lift
owes so much, and whose kindness has left th?
deepest impression of gratltudo upon his heart,
he made several trips?two to Vredcricksburg,
one or two to ilultimore and Philadelphia,-ami
one, during the last spring, to Charleston. Do
it understood, that lie never breathed his tale
to Captain Jllackmnu?he had been so unfertile
nate in producing conviction upon others, that
he never tried to tell it to his Captain. Whilst
at Charleston, he intunded to nave made hi*
escape, but never met with a favorable oppor
tunity. 1I? had liegun a letter to his friends
but the vessel sailed befure he could complete
it. The Captain found the unfit*'shod fragment
in his cabin but could not understand it, until
the latt accident had furnished him a clue to it.
On their return to (freut-Kgg-llaibnr, tlio
Captain retired to his farm, and gave the boy
the choice^ to go with iiim, or remain iu tho
vessel. King being deeply attached to him,
preferred going to the farm?and it was here,
that his persevering mother found the recom
peiMc of all her tfurrificcs in tho arms of her son.
"It ii a* honorable to the American character
as it is to her own, that wherever sho has been,
she has met with nothing but sympathy and
respect. Mho had declined receiving any pe
cuniary assistance, thinking site had motlov
enough to cairy bur honte, and 44 not bejnij
satisfied in her ?on'cicnte," as she sa\ s, to
to take it when she might not want it?but,
as her resources bewail to lail her and her friend-*
made the discovery, thov put money into her
hands, and paid her fare both in the stagos and
steam-boat?'The <:tenm-bnat on the I'otomac.
would not take a rent for her passage. A
I'otninac Creek, where she had left lifer horse,
she H'.'aiu mounted him with Iter two children.
She acknowledges with the utmost gratitude
the kiuiluesi she iwet wit It from the generous
inhabitants of Fredericksburg i?many of whose
hands, we know, are "open as day t> melting
charity."
44 She is now in this citv?and will rr-iimft
her w eary pilgrimage as ?oon n* tin1 weather
clears up. JSlie ban yet I or .">? if? miles to re*
trace \ and, bv the time *he crosses hey own
threshold, wi!! have jnurneved near 10(H) miles
on hor?elmelc? e\< losive of -I oi .r>tU> mile* in tho
stage and steam boats?ha\ ing sc arce ever be
fore tpiitled her own home, almost totally unus
ed to the fatigue* of travelling, ami never be
fore exposed to it* privations and dangers.?
Hiich is the onnojgy of maternal love !"
<?al)n<*ili,fix* rctohrflti'il singer, Im* iiur ?1mntv
tied five <li(?ii?nh(l ilqc/its of (in'omprivm of U?i)?
?ia* fnr two mnitllm itl Nt. Peter* huri{ti?
flio empty** ?* I <lo not j?m fifiv ?>f u?y
Jlold-wanliuU nl tlmt rnto." "Itfilmt'bo tlto
CMi'/* ro|?1ic?l Uftlu iolli, u your n?nj??*tv'!???? only
t?> innko jonr field nittral'ft!* sing." \
^?1 ? 1