will not be without its use. It will exemplify, that tranquillity depends not in change of place, but must have its source in the mind; and that a man, by crossing in a boat from one shore to another, cannot leave his cares and vexations behind. him.

66

"In this out-of-the-world village, I live neither

pleasing, nor pleased; for a rustic cannot re"ceive much gratification from the society of a "man of letters; and surely the man of letters "cannot derive any pleasure from the company "of a rustic. It is only by a collision of minds "of the same tendency, that inquietude can be "soothed, and the intellect invigorated.

મંદ

"My condition is, however, more tolerable "than it was. Here I have no mincing, impera"trix to say to me," Mr. George, my children do "nothing, I must insist, Sir, you will be more "attentive to Bobby and Neddy." Deo Gratias! "O thou eater of broken meats! Thou lilly"livered, super-serviceable rogue of a Tutor! "Avaunt!

"I was lately at New-York. But I went not "to pay my respects to Members of Congress, "but with the hope of encountering the friend "of my heart, and the companion of my adversity.

"I slept at Howe's, and during the night was 66 perpetually annoyed with the cry of fire! fire! "As the noise increased, I arose with not less

"trepidation than Eneas, when he ascended to "the top of old Anchises' palace:

"But here, as in all modern conflagrations,

(whether real or poetic), there was more smoke ❝than fire, and more consternation than danger; "so I sunk again to slumber, from which not “even the ghost of Hector could have awakened

me.

"Shan you exchange soon the dull walks of "West Chester, for the animated streets of New"York? Come over, I beseech you, and enable "me once more to exclaim with rapture Vixi !"

With the first frost the family of Mr. Ludlow removed from the solitude of West Chester, to the gaieties of Neru-York; and I again took possession of a room boasting every convenience of accommodation, where I could prosecute, without disturbance, y acubrations till a late hour. The library of Caritat supplied me with every book in the French and my own idion; and before a cheerful fire, I could pass nights of rapture in the acquisition of elegant and useful knowledge. The emoluments I had derived from the publication of my little Novel, induced me to undertake another, which I was resolved to make more voluminous; for Americans expect quantity in a book not less eagerly than in other

merchandise, and the maxim of the old Greek is not yet established in the New World.*

After revolving many schemes, I was determined to continue my former narrative, by writing the adventures of its principal character; for, in the Farmer of New Jersey, they are only partially related, and William, (the hero of the tale), I discovered to be a favourite among the ladies.

Having finished my tale, my next care was to find a publisher; for which purpose I addressed a letter to the Editor of the Port Folio. In a few days the letter-bag was distended with petitions from the Philadelphia booksellers, who lavished every allurement of eloquence on the convenience of their presses, and the skill of their workmen; but none offered to buy the manuscript, and it was never my intention to give it away. However, my prospects were soon after brightened by a letter in a different strain from a copyright-purchasing patron, of the name of Dickins; to whom I dispatched my manuscript, together with a letter written in a state of mind that generated the ΕΠΕΑ ΠΤΕΡΟΕΝΤΑ.

About this period the attention of the public was turned towards the City of Washington, where the Members of both Houses of Congress had assembled to decide on the nomination of a President for the United States.

In the year 1789, General Washington was chosen President over the new system of confe* Μέγα Βιβλίον, μέγα κακόν.

For

derated Government, and in the year 1793, when the term of his Presidentship had expired, he was reelected in the office. He therefore continued four years more invested with the executive power of the Government; but at the second termination of the time stipulated by the Constitution for a new election to be made, desirous of retiring from public business, he resigned his important office. This was in 1797, when Mr. Adams was elected into the Presidentship, and Mr. Jefferson was chosen Vice-President. three years the party of Mr. Adams lost none of its influence; but in the fourth the contending party acquired a visible ascendency, and it was the predominant opinion, that Mr. Jefferson would be chosen President in the next election. The event justified the expectation; Mr. Jefferson obtained the suffrages of the majority; he was elected into the office of first Magistrate of the nation, and Mr. Adams, who still had kept at Washington, and still indulged in hope, till the very moment that fixed his doom, now felt himself become again a private citizen, and departed the same night, in the stage-coach, for his paternal abode. It was by ballot that Mr. Jefferson's right to the office was decided; for in the nomination of the different States, Mr. Burr had an equal number of votes; but a ballot assigned the office to Mr. Jefferson, and it consequently followed that Mr. Burr became Vice-President.

The election of a new President of the United States could not but engage the feelings of the public. It raised the expectations of some, and damped the hopes of others; or, more properly speaking, all regarded the event as it related to their interest.

The City of Washington was now the centre of attraction to the nation. Multitudes flocked to it, in different directions, to hear the inaugural speech of Mr. Jefferson.

Of this general enthusiasm I was not without my share. Mr. Jefferson's notes on Virginia was the book that first taught me to think; and my heart now beat with the desire to hear the accents of wisdom fall from the tongue of that man, whose pen had engrafted much truth on my mind. I therefore departed for the city of Washington, passing through, in my way to it, Philadel phia and Baltimore.