Chapter I: "London, Feb. 20, 1768

"DEAR FRIEND.--I wrote to you a few lines by Capt. Falconer, and I sent you Dr. Watson's new piece, of experiments in inoculation, which I hope will be agreeable to you.

"The Boston people pretending to interfere with the manufactures of this country, make a great clamour here against America in general. I have endeavoured, therefore, to palliate matters a little in several public papers. It would, as you justly observe, give less umbrage if we meddled only with such manufactures as England does not attend to. That of linen might be carried on more or less in every family, (perhaps it can only do in a family way) and silk I think in most of the colonies. But there are many manufactures that we cannot carry on to advantage, though we were at entire liberty. And after all, this country is fond of manufactures beyond their real value: _for the true source of riches is husbandry_. Agriculture is truly _productive of new wealth_; manufacturers only change forms; and whatever value they give to the materials they work upon, they in the meantime consume an equal value in provisions, &c.; so that riches are not _increased_ by manufacturing; the only advantage is, that provisions in the shape of manufactures, are more easily carried for sale to foreign markets, and where the provisions cannot be easily carried to market, 'tis well so to transform them for our own use as well as foreign sale. In families also, where the children and servants of farmers have some spare time, 'tis well to employ it in making something; and in spinning, or knitting, &c. to _gather up the fragments_ of time, _that nothing be lost_; for these fragments though small in themselves, amount to something great in the year, and the family must eat whether they work or are idle. But this nation seems to have increased the number of its manufactures beyond reasonable bounds, (for there are bounds to every thing,) whereby provisions are now risen to an exorbitant price by the demand for supplying home mouths; so that there must be an importation from foreign countries: but the expense of bringing provisions from abroad to feed manufacturers here, will so enhance the price of the manufactures, that they may be made cheaper where the provisions grow, and the mouths will go to the meat.

"With many thanks for your good wishes, I am, dear friend, affectionately yours,

B. FRANKLIN.

"DR. CADWALLADER EVANS."

FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.

THE DESULTORY REMARKER.--No. I.

At lucre or renown let others aim,
I only wish to please the gentle mind,
Whom Nature's charms inspire, and lore of humankind.

_Beattie._

Perhaps there is no nation existing, amongst whom there is so large a proportion of readers, as may be found in the United States. The freedom of our form of government, and its appropriate concomitant, the freedom of the press, impart the requisite facilities for a wide dissemination of knowledge, and furnish the motives and the means for cultivating it with success. Of newspapers, we have, if not a redundant, at least a copious supply. They are introduced into almost every nook and by-place of our extensive territory; and no individual who can read, need deny himself the gratification, of poring over their pages, and learnedly descanting on their contents. The moral influence of these popular vehicles of intelligence, may therefore from these facts, be properly estimated, and the importance of their being judiciously conducted, will at once be acknowledged. It is not the ponderous volume, the learned and elaborate dissertation, the abstruse researches of the ontologist, that moulds the sentiments of the great mass of any people, and implants in their bosoms the every-day principles of action; for to these they are utter strangers, and the laborious student may continue to monopolize them, without exciting in their minds the slightest regret: that however, which is brief, and simple, and practical, in other words, that which will be _generally read_, cannot fail to produce a deep and lasting impression on the public mind.

With these convictions on the subject, it is contemplated, as leisure and inclination may suggest, to furnish a series of occasional papers, under the title indicated above. The plan of the writer, like those of his illustrious predecessors, is broad and liberal; unencumbered by systematic restraint; he intends to ramble over hill and dale, to seek for admission, not only at the cottage, but also at the mansion of opulence; and no topic shall be excluded calculated to promote general utility. To liberalise the public sentiment, to enlighten the public mind, in fine, to _make men better_, and by a necessary consequence, to promote public and private happiness, shall be his cardinal and favourite object. Human life and its incidents, men and things, literature and morals, will all be kept in view; and facts and illustrations, which may be subservient to his purpose, whether derived from observation or reflection, from society or from books, will not be forgotten or disregarded. Of the negative qualities of his proposed papers, he can speak without reserve and with entire confidence; they shall never offend the eye or ear of delicacy or of virtue. Immediate and personal observation, is entitled to a decided preference where it is possible to be consulted; but to him, the extent of whose migrations have been merely "from the blue bed to the brown," this is a resource which will often fail. Distant countries and former periods of time will therefore be contemplated, to use a significant phrase of Dryden, "through the spectacles of books." By thus cultivating an acquaintance with the generations which are past, and by thus holding converse with the mighty dead, we may augment the power of useful information, fortify our good principles, and become better qualified to perform the respective duties assigned us in the world. Human nature continues to travel onward with her venerable but untiring companion, Time, without the least change of character. Every feature, which appertained to her, six thousand years ago, will still be recognized by the discerning observer. It is, therefore, extremely desirable, that experience should not be lost upon us; but that her beacons should serve as a polar star, by which to steer our course with safety, through the dangerous and perplexing labyrinths of life.

There is no question, that the very essence of papers, which shall successfully prefer claims to popular favour, or to practical utility, _must be variety_. The strength of Johnson himself could not shield his great moral work from the charge of unvaried and monotonous solemnity. He inculcated the doctrine, and exemplified it by his own writings, that even "uniformity of excellence" will at length nauseate the palate, not merely of the fastidious reader, but of him likewise whose only object is truth.

A prominent purpose will be attained, if the dominion of fashionable folly shall be narrowed, and the attention of her votaries withdrawn from the frivolous and giddy circles in which they revolve; and steadfastly directed to the great interests of society, the cause of sound morals and unsophisticated virtue. Is it not a fact calculated to awaken the most profound regret, that many of our fellow citizens, particularly in the wealthy metropolis of Pennsylvania, who are invested with an elevated rank in life, and enjoy in profusion its good things, appear to live only for themselves? Men of this description, are really blanks in existence; and mistake most egregiously, the great errand of life. They may appropriately adopt the language of Pomfret:

Custom the world's great idol we adore;
And knowing this, we seek to know no more.
Now education more than truth prevails,
And naught is current but what custom seals.
Thus from the time we first began to know,
We live and learn, but not the wiser grow.

Although sometimes assuming the province of a censor, the _Desultory Remarker_ will on all proper occasions, delight to unbend the stern and rigid brow of reproof, to mingle in the circles of innocent mirth and cheerfulness. He who increases the stock of "harmless pleasure," makes the public his debtor; but in order to ascertain that such is the character of pleasure, the requisite tests must be faithfully and rigorously applied. Cheerfulness uniformly shuns all intercourse with vice, but virtue is her favourite and appropriate companion.

The innocent are gay--the lark is gay,
That dries his feathers, saturate with dew,
Beneath the rosy cloud, while yet the beams
Of day-spring overshoot his humble nest.

The _Desultory Remarker_ having thus in a spirit at once unreserved and candid, introduced himself to the reader will for the present respectfully take his leave; but with the hope of having other opportunities of cultivating a further acquaintance.

FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.

_Letters of a Citizen to his Friends in the Country._

No. II.

My own observation, and the opinions of others, induce me to believe, that generally speaking, less attention is given to _education_ among the farmers of Pennsylvania than was the case half a century ago. At any rate, the opportunity for instruction within the last fifty years, has not kept pace with the increased ability to furnish it.

Land has appreciated, and the productions of the soil have yielded great profits to the husbandman; but the intellectual harvest has been of little account. The habits and manners of each successive generation, display the avidity with which foreign customs and fashions are embraced by the yeomanry of the country, but these _outside_ evidences of what is called _refinement_, have added nothing to the stock of our mental resources, and greatness. My purpose however, is to suggest plans of improvement, rather than to find fault with existing errors, for I am convinced that if a liberal and judicious system be adopted for enlarging the minds of our youth, and storing them with sound principles, the follies, (perhaps the vices,) which now so much engross their attention, disfigure their character, and mar their usefulness, would be ultimately corrected. Scholastic learning _alone_ will not, I am fully satisfied, mend the heart, or sanctify the understanding; but I am equally sure, that _ignorance as a quality_, never contributed to render the mind over which it held a dark and dreary reign, in a greater degree susceptible of those benign views, and exalted aims, which give to the _accountable being_, a just conception of the design of his Creator.

If my opinion be worth any thing, of which you must be the judges, I would recommend the establishment of schools in every neighbourhood; but upon a very different foundation from that which generally obtains. Instead of an itinerant schoolmaster, who goes forth in the latter part of autumn in search of subsistence through the winter months, often without qualifications for the task he solicits, and not unfrequently of equivocal moral reputation, select a teacher estimable for his private virtues as a man, and respectable for his literary and scientific acquirements; remunerate him with a liberal salary; erect a suitable and comfortable building for the accommodation of the school: supply it with maps, globes, &c., and commence a library of useful books. Send your children regularly to school throughout the year, and thus make their education as much a business, and duty, as the cultivation of your farms. Short of this, will not fulfil the obligations which every parent owes to his offspring. We are social beings, and our prosperity and happiness depend primarily upon ourselves, and secondarily upon others; so that we are advancing our own interests and comforts, when we promote that of those by whom we are surrounded. In every neighbourhood in the country there are a few individuals whose pecuniary means will not permit them to defray the expenses of education, which the more wealthy can afford, and the condition of the indigent has been seriously affected in this respect, by the institution of _boarding schools_. To those seminaries, the children of the affluent are sent; the common schools are consequently neglected; the poor go uninstructed, and a wide, and fatal distinction is thus created, among the inhabitants of the same vicinage. Rather, fellow citizens, than perpetuate this sort of classification in society, direct your attention to the formation of good schools at home, to which every child may be admitted; where all may partake of the same common benefits and blessings. You will thus place all on a par in the advantages of instruction, create in the minds of all, the same respect for those moral obligations which hold the community together in the bond of safety and peace, and confer upon your offspring the most solid security.

A youth, the son of one who is competent to defray the expense of his education at a boarding school, or college, is sent from home at the age of sixteen; is absent three or four years; has formed new associations, and contracted new notions; he returns to his birth-place; he has outgrown the recollections, and intimacies of his childhood; he feels a sort of elevation above the children of his neighbourhood, who have been groping in ignorance during his absence; he stands aloof; jealousy takes hold on the minds of those who observe this difference, and every evil passion begins its operation; the consequences are as sad, as they are certain.

Contemplate the reverse of the picture. Behold the youth of adjoining farms for several miles in circumference, collected together in one school; pursuing the same studies; partaking of the same general care, in a moral and religious point of view, which every conscientious teacher will find it his pleasure to extend toward his pupils; participating in the same innocent recreations; growing up together with similar views of private duty, and public obligation; witness such an instance as this, and you may be assured that from hence will proceed much which will dignify and adorn the locality, where it is found to exist.

As these reflections have occurred to me, I have taken the freedom of presenting them to your consideration. I am influenced by no other motive than that which would induce me to be the humblest agent in promoting the true interests of our country, and enlarging, if it were in my power, the circle of human happiness.

CIVIS.

FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.

HISTORY.

There is scarcely any thing which is more injurious to the mind, or which will more effectually prevent the acquisition of knowledge, than a habit of reading for amusement only.--For, it will necessarily happen, that impressions, which have not been strengthened by reflection, will be quickly obliterated; and we cannot expect to derive permanent advantage from the mere pursuit of temporary enjoyment.

To obviate the effects of a practice so pernicious, and to accustom the mind to the investigation of causes, the study of history is peculiarly adapted, for while it furnishes to the reflecting mind, ample room for the exercise of its powers, it is in itself, sufficiently attractive, to engage the attention of the most careless reader, it is indeed delightful, to

--------------------------"Steal
From all we may be, or have been before;

to associate with men, upon whom a world has gazed with fear and wonder, to mingle in the conflicts Of nations, and to dwell upon the restlessness of ambition, the fearless perseverence of patriotism: nor is it less instructive to mark the gradual unfoldings of virtuous or vicious propensities, and to observe how frequently the sacrifice of all the enjoyments of life to the attainment of some favourite objects has been rewarded, with the hopeless gloom attendant upon satiety. History may thus be said to convey to us the experience of ages; and he must be an indifferent or a prejudiced observer, who cannot find his own feelings portrayed in the motives which it developes.

But, with whatever views we may have undertaken this important study, we shall find it fruitless of permanent benefit, unless we shall have been impressed with the conviction of the absolute necessity of examining into the evidence of facts, and the correctness of deductions. It is thus only that we can be preserved from the danger of imbibing erroneous opinions on subjects affecting the common prejudices of mankind, or the peculiar doctrines of our authors. It is this assumption of popular sentiments which has degraded the human character, and reduced the highest intellectual powers to a dependence upon the lowest; and it is this reliance upon the impartiality of the historian, which has lent its assistance to the speculations of a false philosophy, in leading men into all the wanderings of scepticism. Let the student of history who is in pursuit of truth, endeavour to acquaint himself with the private opinions of the author whom he has taken for his guide, and let him beware, lest he admit any conclusion, however unimportant, which may seem to be at variance with the dictates of reason or of experience. Two important ends will thus be attained. By establishing a connection between the events detailed in history, and the reasonings founded upon them, they will be more likely to be retained in the memory; and by convincing himself of the fallacies in the arguments of its opponents, the reality of any truth will be more deeply impressed upon the mind. He who is thus habituated to scrutiny, will derive instruction from the errors of those with whom he is conversant; and may be compared (to borrow from the beautiful simile of bishop Horne,) to those who visit the country in spring, for whom "the very hedges are in bloom, and every thorn produces a a flower."