She resists, he presses, she screams, and in comes the rival servant Grafton, to her rescue. They fight, she escapes, and immediately Governour Carver seizes them, arrests their deadly revenge, gives them a sermon on duelling, and orders them to be tied back to back for their offence. In the mean time, Samoset, an Indian Chief, falls into a violent passion for this same Juliana, and as she is one day, probably in the month of January, taking a walk in the woods for a prospect, she finds one all mildness and serenity, clearness and extent. Here this impertinent Samoset interrupts her soliloquy and attempts to carry her off, and though he is opposed by Winslow, (who happened to be on a shooting frolick that morning, and came in the way at the very moment) he very nearly effects his design; but is fortunately prevented from accomplishing his wicked purposes by the very timely interposition of king Massasoit; who severely reprimands the Indian lover for his treachery, and dismisses him with a severe lecture on illicit attachment. The king and Juliana now go in quest of Winslow, who is missing after his fight with Samoset. It is not a little surprising that Juliana never told the king of the battle Winslow had with the Indian traitor, and should suffer him to get off so easily; however a circumstance still more surprising follows upon the heels of this first surprising emotion. Juliana and the king come across another Birnam wood, de nominated an Indian ambush. For what purpose an ambush is laid we are not informed, nor can we readily imagine; the Indians were avowedly friendly to the pilgrims, and no war took place in Plymouth until many years after the landing. But so it is, they met with an ambush, and after the king carried his soldiers through their manual exercise of trees, Juliana and himself hide themselves behind the bushes; which is the most singular way of finding out a person who was missing that we believe was ever exhibited on any stage. Winslow, however very opportunely comes by at this moment; the moving grove surrounds him, frightens him out of his wits, and then out bolts the king and his mistress, for the purpose probably of producing a decided contrast in his feelings, for stage effect. The lovers are afterwards united by Governour Carver, who officiates as priest, and they form the first couple, which were ever married in New England. Having brought this story to a conclusion, let us see if there is any other to relate. Though there is none which has any connection with the last, yet there are many more in the piece. First of all, an Irishman and an Indian squaw, are in love with each other, then an Indian chief, a relation of king Massasoit, is restored to him, by means of Governour Carver, in a most surprising manner. Besides all this, we are treated with a feast of shells, where no part of the fable is promoted, and where a witty Indian eats the inside of an oyster and presents the shell to a pilgrim; and after which Govern our Carver talks to the Indians as if they were courtiers in a ball room, and they answer him as if they were perfectly well acquainted with the arts and sciences in civilized life. The pilgrims speak of the falls of Niagara, before they could have been known; and Massasoit talks of weighing the islander's observations in the balance of justice before he had seen a pair of scales, or could understand there was such distinction in language as justice and injustice. In conclusion, the natives and the pilgrims assemble in one place, to see the wedding, it is presumed, of Winslow and Juliana. When lo! the goddess of liberty appears in a cloud, which descends gradually upon the stage; but neither the descent nor the appearance of the goddess excites any surprise. Quite the contrary; she must have been an intimate acquaintance of the pilgrims, for the governour walks up to the cloud, with a very polite and gentlemanly deportment, hands her goddess-ship out, and conducts her to the front of the stage. Here she makes a long harangue, and illustrates her observations in 1620, by allusions to events (with which she must have supposed her hearers to have been acquainted) which took place in 1807; and after telling them how great, powerful, and wise their descendants were likely to be, she is conducted back to her cloud in the same order as before; and then a marriage dance on the beach or in the woods concludes the entertainment. It will appear from this representation that the composition in quesstion is a compound of incongruous episodes; that none of them are connected; that the dialogue is absurd, the characters not preserved, and the serious incidents laughably ridiculous. Yet we cannot dismiss the subject without observing, that the period of the landing of our forefathers at Plymouth, embraces more circumstances of domestic vicissitude and national importance, calculated to form a serious drama, than almost any historical epoch of which we have an account. An event however which is not yet sufficiently darkened by the veil of time to warrant any deviations from fact, in the dramatick relation; but one which every lover of his country must wish should be commemorated by some writer who could do justice to the subject; who could portray with liveliness the perils of the unknown ocean, which washed the shore of Plymouth, and the numerous other difficulties which the pilgrims encountered; and who should be able, with a pen like Virgil's, to rescue the names of Winslow, Carver, and Bradford, the founders of this country, from the musty records of primitive times. It is not the disorder, but the physician; it is not a casual concurrence of calamitous circumstances; it is the pernicious hand of government, which alone can make a whole people desperate. JUNIUS. REVIEW of Mr. Giles's first Speech in the Senate of the United States, on the Resolution of Mr. Hillhouse to repeal the Embargo Laws. THE numerous questions which the Embargo laws have occasioned, have excited general attention by stronger appeals to interest in the discussion, than can probably be found in the elements of any other controversy, except that of the adoption of the constitution, that has ever been agitated in the United States. It may now, perhaps, be too late to enter at large into the merits of the principal topicks involved in the consideration of that measure: but the importance which has been attached by the democratick party to the SPEECH of MR. GILES, under review, seems to demand an exposition of its visionary and impracticable fancies, and a refutation of the assumed arguments by which the advocates of the embargo justify a continuance of the policy, upon which it was originally founded. As the views of this most ingenious gentlemen, are chiefly relied upon by his party, and as his ambition we understand is to be considered the champion of that party, we are willing to enter into his reasonings somewhat at large'; and shall first offer a faithful abstract of his arguments in defence of the administration, which is contained in this attempt, and afterwards produce such remarks as have occurred to us upon the momentous question, which it is its intention to discuss. He begins with a great deal of declamation about his retirement from the political world, and his astonishment that the embargo laws should have met with any opposition, since, from the opportunities he had had of observing thereupon, he thought he knew something of the general objects of those laws; though he at the same time confessed he felt a real want of information on the subject. From this avowal at the outset we were not at all surprised to discover numerous other contradictions in the inferences which he draws, from more important points than the consequence which results from either his knowledge of the embargo laws, or his want of information on the subject. Mr. Giles in the first place understands the intention of the embargo laws to be two fold; a precautionary, operating upon ourselves, and a coercive intention, operating upon the aggressing belligerents. And as the only fair estimate of the measure to be obtained must be by considering our situation at the time of its adoption, he proceeds to inform us that the government had a tolerably correct account of it. He says we had merchandise and vessels actually afloat to the value of roo millions of dollars; that merchandise and vessels to the amount of 50 mil. lions more were expected shortly to be set afloat; and that 50,000 sea men would be required to navigate the property. In this state of things France had issued her hostile edicts, and government were informed of an intention on the part of Great Britain to issue her Orders in Coun cil," the character and object of which were known." Here Mr. Giles pauses in his argument to offer a panegyrick on Mr. Jefferson for saving all this property and all these seamen, and then proceeds to admit that they had gone voluntarily into that very "hard and ignomin ious service," to prevent which has been the principal occasion of the difficulties under which we labour. First, he says the fact of their enlistment in foreign service is greatly exaggerated, then he endeav ours to excuse the President for driving them out of the country, and afterward affirms that they have not gone away. Thus it is that the warm and sincere advocate of Mr. Jefferson runs away with discretion, and debases his talents by contradiction. After taking for granted, however, that the precautionary part of the embargo policy, has been attained, one principal object of which he admits was the security of our seamen, he proceeds to prove its coercion on foreign nations. But he is stopped at the threshold by the consideration of its injuring ourselves more than our enemy, and he might have added of our friends as well as our enemies. He remarks however, very jocosely, that the ships of the merchant are only twelve months older now than they were twelve months ago, which reminds us of Touchstone's account of the progress of time. "'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine, And after one hour more 'twill be eleven ; The concluding part of the quotation, "rot and rot," has so strong an application to our ships, that we cannot help thinking the exclamation of Hamlet, "that's worm-wood!" may have a literal as well as metaphorical signification in the apprehension of Mr. Giles. The merchant, however, he says, must comfort himself with the satisfaction that he has any ships left to rot, for had it not been for the embargo he would have lost them all, and the enemy would then have derived the benefit of their capture. He wishes the merchant to suck comfort from melancholy:' But the farmer, he remarks, so far from being in a deplorable, is in an enviable situation. Hear this, ye farmers of New-England, "You have mistook your interest all this while, By heavens! he finds, although you cannot, Yourselves to be in marvellous in good case." He says (the merchant having of late paid double taxes) the farmer sees fourteen millions of dollars in the treasury, of course there are no taxes; but he admits the great depreciation not to say destruction of his produce. Yet he has enough to eat and drink, let him be thankful for that; let him remember, that though his surplus produce is not worth any thing now, it would have been just as bad if the embargo had not been put on, for the merchant would have lost all his vessels by capture, and would of course have been unable to pay for it. In addition to this, the farmer has hitherto raised too large crops, he has injured his land in order to get rich too fast. The embargo will teach him his interest in this respect. The farmer, therefore, should make a just estimate of his " enviable situation," and pray to God in future to give him small crops, and thank the good government of his country for teaching him to discover the smiles of prosperity through the tears of his purse. Mr. Giles then launches forth into the wide sea of panegyrick, fills the sail of domestick manufacture, and wafts her into the haven of suc cess. No storms can threaten it when sheltered by the high lands of the embargo system; but from the operation of a mild and serene atmosphere, it will widen its roots and scatter its seeds so far, that the remotest corners of this happy, happy nation shall repose gratefully under its shade, and its final eradication can then neyer take place, unless occasioned by some concussion of the elements, fatal to the exist ence of the empire. He now comes to consider what he sat out upon, the effects of the embargo laws in coercing foreign powers. And first, he admits that they have not had their complete effect. This leads him into a double consideration of their operation on the aggressing belligerents, and the causes by which complete success has been frustrat ed. Notwithstanding the embargo, he admits that the orders in council and imperial decrees continue; but for all this it has raised the price of flour in the West-Indies, and operating with the expectation of a small crop in England, has raised it there also; and the prices of cotton, tobacco, and naval stores are considerably enhanced, according to Liverpool price currents. But the greatest coercion of all is, that we have lessened the inducements of belligerents to go to war with us, A coercion of this kind is a novel principle, we believe, in the code of national resentments, and as it is altogether so dignified, magnanimous, and energetick, we give Mr. Jefferson full credit for having originated the idea, and Mr. Giles equal praise for enforcing it so ably. |