The Northern Standard. (Clarksville, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 13, Ed. 1, Saturday, December 3, 1842 Page: 1 of 4
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35 I
THE NORTHERN STANDARD.
CHAS. DE MORSE
LONG SHALL OUR BANNER BRAVE THE BREEZE THE STANDARD OF THE FREE.
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. I.
CLARKSVILLE DECEMBER 3 1842.
NO. 13.
Pr
I
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY C. DE MORSE.
TERMSt
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AGENTS FOR THE STANDARD.
Tra is G. Wright P. M.Pinc Creek. -Samuel
M. Fulton P. M Franklin Lamar Co;
William Brown Paris Lamar Co.
J0J-v R. Craddock Paris. Lamar Co.
j. V". O- StaNTield P. M. Harrieon Co.
Jesse Silt-V-TON P. M. Fort Snellen Lamar Co.
J. A. CaldwI'-l Warren Fannin Co.
Bailey Enc-lish P-? Fort English FanninCo.
D. Rowlett P. M Lexington Fannin Co.
J. C. Jouett P. II. Rattisli Fannin Co. -t
J. J Wiluams P. M. De Kalb Sortie Co.
Gen. U. Taiuuxt. Bonie Co.
Hon. Jesse Grimes Montgomery Co.
A- Sterne P. M. Nacogdoches.
Tcivis G. Brook? P. M.J San Augustiric.
C. K. Andrews Harrison Co.
Col. James Love Galveston.
T. R. Bagbv Houston."
Col. Wm. L. Cazxeac Austin Tra is County.
A. McDonald HuntSTillc Moctgomcrj- County.
Col. G. T. Wood Liberty.
JTohk W. IlARRi-o-rLa Grange.
B. M. Johsson Washington.
Sam'l B. Briciiam Matagorda.
Hildcmav Literary Dcpotj Louisville Ky.
MoRGiN St Co. Literary Depot New Orleaus.
Charles Hoon Esj. Washington Ark.
Bwiry Sc Taxkeiull Nashville Tenn.
Col. D. P. AnMSTRO.vn Knoxville Tenn.
J. E Montgomery Liunville Giles County Tenn.
I.. S. IIocgiiton Vicksburjr Miss.
Lorevz? Delano P. M- Tark Hill Cherokee Nation.
JtMcs Haemsov. T.-q St Louis xiitouri.
M. T. I.ocvN. Dover. Pope Co. Arkansas.
G. C. Goopino P. M.. Tc rl Toivson.
Wm. Davhnpoi:t C. gVo rnrish. Louisiana.
Vrca the Xcie OrUaiit Picayune.
THE TEXAN SANTA FE EXPEDITION.
by cror.GE w. kexdall.
(Continued )
Our March continued Horrible Condition of our
'Feel Great suffering at Night Antral al San
Domingo Kindness of Int females-San elip-n.iT an0ived us to remain but an hour ail our imme-7-T
- fthe.P-toGra"d'ifdi'RlackALci wants would hare been supplied; but the hard
Hole oj Calcutta Ihe Indian T Mage of San ; heartwi xvrtlch appearctl to delight in acts of cruelly
DiasK.iendhncst of the Inhabitants A NishtnA i . . . '' t .;u ;.!.
at Almeida Arrival at Albuq'itrquc -I Per-
fect Beauty.
A v.alkof'tuo or three hours after leaving the
rancno relieved our limbs of the tortming p:iitis felt
during the latter put of the night but our partially
frosl-bixcn feet commenced swelling at d paining us
severely. 'I he road of the two -previous days had led
over motmuins and rugged hills we now slfack tip-
on the valley of a small stream running mto the Rio
Grande a short distance to our right. After a long
and toilsome march our mi n sufivririg at every step
we encamped upon the holders of the little stream
for the night. Here we experienced great relief from
"bathing our feet in the cool waters.
After issuing to each man a miserable pittance -of
barley bread so hard that it was impossible to cat it
without boiling. Salezar stated that his orders Irom
Arnnji was to tie us together; but as wc were very
tired his hunanhu prevented him from carrying out
the orders. He placed a strong guard around us
however and coolly remarked that n a single man
was missing in the morning the whole parti would
De instantly shot I The heartless wretch took cspe-
cial aood care that none of us should makcan attempt
- - - w i
xif the kind by working the men so hard during the
iiavui.il inuy uiiiiiiKiV sanK uron tue crounu at
night wi'.b hardly the power of moving.
.- ... . . - .- I
A bit ng chill' evening was followed by a heavy
Troitlowaids morning fcleep was out of the ques-
tion n c ccld only curl up and by lying close to
jcach other keep from fairly freezing. At daylight
we were ordered to be :eady to march and before sun-
rise vere again upon the ro.id with nothing to eat
To let my readers know the horrible condition of our
feet I will here slate that for the uexi ten days after
this I was unable to pull ofT my stockings without
bringing s1in and all The large blisters hid broken
during the day dried to my stockings and I was obli-
ged to keep them on although full of gravel and pain-
ing me at every step Bad ofT as I was however
many of my companions were in a state far worse.
Towards r.oon we passed through the small village
of San Domingo and here our men fiisl had cause
to thank the women for their kindness. "The latter
came running out of the mud houses in every direc-
tion bringing tot n I las baked pumpkins and dry cars
of corn and fairly shedding tears at our forlorn and
mijcrable appearance. The corn was our principal
food and was swallowed after simply roasting the
cars a short time before the fire.
A littpfail.ier on we entered the village of Siin
Felippe the bank of the Rio Giandc now seen to the
right. Our course was nearly south occosionally
approaching the banks of the river and then leaving
t as the turns threw us off. The women of San Fe-
ippe were every way r.s charitable as those of San
Domingo. Many of them openly reproached Armijo
ns a brute unfit to live and even the men took every
opportunity to manifest their sorrow that we had fal-
len into his hands.
Towards night wo reached Algodonez a small
village near the Rio Grande and here weencamned.
That thr night waul b.- unusually cold wc wereall
aware and .Mr. Van Ness was requested by the mm
joasif haiezar ii ne comu possioiy procure shelter.
Two small rooms wun ; uoor itauing Irumoneto
ihe other and both of tnem hardly large enough for
twenty rnrn. wrre piovidi.il and into these over one
hundred ami eighty of us were driven like to many
sheep. To lie down or even sit down was out of the
question a small window not two feet square let in the
only a;r and in five minutes time wc were half suf-
focated. I thought of the Black Hole of Calcutta
wish all its horrors. A stifling sensation of sickness
and giddiness came over me and I believe that an or-
der of instant execution would have beei preferred
by all rather than to spend the night in this dismal
dark and horrible place. Those nearest :he window
begged the guard to let a part of us out tut (hey sta-
led they had no orders to' unlock the door We;now
tried to break out. and while attempting (his the guard
said they had permission to pass fifty of us out but no
more. Being near the door I was carried out by the
current among the first and never have I experienc-
ed such instantaneous relief. Cold as was the north-
ern blast it was pure I could now breathe.
.We were taken to a cow yard and there herded for
the night. I crawled under a wall to protect inefrom
the weather and although unable to sleep was still
thankful that I had escaped heing smothered.
Untha2Ist October wc reached the laTgc Indian
Tillage of San Dias. The pueblo or town Indians of
New Mexico are by far the better part of the nopul's-
-. . . v . w..v..v ...-.-.
tion are frugal industrious arid honest cultivate
the land and are very kind hearted and hospitable lo
all strangers. Their religion is Roman Catholic
mixed up with many of their own rites and cercmo
nics and .the same-may be said f nearly all the in
habitants ot JNcw Mexico. At San Uias they came
out in.a body to see us and during a short halt the
women gave to eash ofourmena waler-melcn be-
sidcsapplcs cakes and in fact every thing they could
spare. A grey headed old mah. who had been in St.
Louis several titties and spoke a little English told
us that ihe people were in our favor and that Arniijo
was universally hated and despised by all. He would
h.tve said more but our guard hurried us from the
place.
After a long and tedious march many of our men
nearly ready to drop from pain and exhaustion wc
finally reached a little village called Alrheida. Here
wc were penned in a large yard without any protec
tion from the cold. In the early part of the night I
made out to catch a little sleep but before midnight it
was so cold that I rose to hud if possible a warmer lo
cation. I tried to crawl into a large oven standing
in the yard but found it already occupied by two or
three ot my companions surely misery not only
makes us acquainted with strange bed-fellows butal-
so with strange beds.
About noon the next day w reached the City of i
Albuquerque tiie largest place in the province of
New .Mexico and the residence of Gov. Armijo a part
ofjhe year. His family were living here when we
passed through. As we marched al ng the princi-
pal street the inhabitajits were gathered on cither side
in(M7nnnln ftlmnirern'i as wo worn rnllerf. The
.. Ilanjj tie men corn and'brcad. and had Sal-
and drove us through without a IiaiL
It was in Albuquerque that I saw a psrfecl speci
. .r f.. ...!.. l...i:o TU ;rl ...... - hainn
itii.il vi ii.iiiaiu iui.iiiii.o. x ui. 4111 mud.ljuui i.v.... i
it- u j ii :
dressed only in a chemise and coarse voollen petti-
coat; but there was an air of grace a charm about
.1. .1....
hcrthat neither birth nor fortune can bestow. She
was standing upon a mud wall the taper fingers of
her right hand supporting a large pumpkin Upon her
head while her left was gracefully resting upon her
nip. Her dark and lustrous eye was beaming upon
us full ofiendcrness and pity while an unbidden tear
of sorrow at our misfortunes was couising down a
cheek o''thc purest and richest brunette. Innoeenc'ti
and the best feelings of our nature were playing in
every lineament of that lovely f ice and ever and anon
as score dive of us more untoitunatc than the rest
would linp halting by again her tears would illumine
a countenance of purity. If
'Chryslal tears from pitj's eye
Are the star; in Heaven high"
sonic of them fell that day from the poor village girl
ilrnivn from llipir firnmmpnt In lirrtitr n lhi enrrmv nfl
-" --...-.. -- -.- ........ .w. ...'. W.....MW..W..HV.
ilosc Upon whom misfortune had laid her heavy
h-tnd.
She could not have been more than fifteen: vet her
ose and flowing dress but half concealing a form of
surnnsnT hrantv nnri fii InP nn n iH ki-Imnlthitt
I r. j - --.. ... .w.rf. -.
sh-was just entet ing into womanhood. Her figure
was faultless and even Ihe chisel of Praxiteles him-
self ne'er modelled ankles of such pure and classic fin-
ish. As we passed every eye was turned toward ber
and exclamations of admiration were upon every lip.
She beckoned to a young man alon and presented
him the pumpkin and as she did it the wora vobrcci-
tos was heard gently falling from her lips in tones of;
softest pit. The fairest flowers are oftenest found in
obscurity and I trust my renders will not doubt my
sincerity wnen i assert mat me prettiest gin i erer saw
was selling woollen stockings at twefily-hve cents a
pair at Holmes' Hole Massachusetts her twin sirter
in beauty was standing in her bare feet upon a mud
wall at Albuquerque New Mexico with n pumkin
upon her head !
Arrival al Sau Placercs Another nighl of Suffer-
ing Valencia Death of Emesl from cold and
fatigue Murder of McAlister Src.
I lingered to take a last look at the beautifjl girl of
Albuquerque and when I turned irom the spot I
could not but regret that the lot of one so kind-hearted
and so f.iir had been cast in such a place. There
are faces we sec in our journey through life surpas-
singly beautiful faces that leave a deep and lasting
impression on the beholders and hers was one of
them. Among the crowds ot beauty her image will
stand out in bold relief and not one of those who saw
her on ihe day we passed through Albuquerque will
ever forget her.
We continued our march somcthrcc or four miles.
and finally encamped near a small rancho called Los
Placeras- Here we had nothing to eat and on com
plaining to Salezar that wc were very hungry he
pointed to the spot where his mules and horses were
feeding and said that the grazing vas excellent!
Because many of the men cat the com given them by
the women raw the fellow called them wolves and
hogs.
Late on the evening of the 24th Octoberand after
a march of uncommon length we reached Valencia.
Here wc had a pint of flour distributed to each but
many of the men were so tired faint and sore from the
long and continued marches and from cold and want
of sleep at night they had neither the will nor the
strength to cook even this scanty ration. On the con-
trary thcy.sank immediately upon the cold ground
and vainly endeavored to smother their pains and sor-
rows in sleep. .
In the morning we found that one of our compan-
ions a man named Ernest had died during the night
died from hunger cold and fatigue) His body was
thrown in a ditch close by after the brute who guar
ded us bad cut on his cars. An American with two
or three waggons who was on his way from St. Lou-
is to Chihuahua with machinery was encamped
within two hundred yards of us and saw the whole
of it. Salezar would not allow us to-communicate
with him ; but wc afterwards learned that he was
from a plantation near this city although 1 have now
forgotten his name. The machinery consisted ofa
sugar mill upon a large scale which he had been hir-
ed to set in operation near Monterey or Saltillo.
as we were about starting alter the events I have
. ...
Ju detailed a man named John McAlister a native
of Tennessee and of ap excellent family complained
'"at one or nisanKies was sprained anct that he could
"" "- nc wasueany lame in incomer an
le and could never walk without limping. On start
ing he was allowed to get into a cart which had been
employed to carry som'e of the more feeble of our
men ; but finding it too heavily loaded after being a
mile on the road he was ordered out and told to limp
along the best way he could. Salezar had frequent-
ly told those who were unable to keep up that he
would shoot them rather than have the inarch de'ay-
cd. Although he had already struck and severely
beat several of tHe sick and more unfortunate we
could not believe him brute enough to murder a man
in cold blood whoso only crime was that he was
lame; but in this we were mistaken. On being dri-
ven from the cart McAlisterstatcd his inability to pro-
ceed on foot. Salezar told him to hurry en. Again
the unfortunate man declared himself utterly unable
to walk and this in presence of half a dozen of his
comrades. The worse than brutal captain now
woind up to a pitch of fury commanded him to fol-
low the cart or he would order him shot. " Then
shoot" said McAlister throwiag opon his blanket
"and the quicker the better." Salezar took htm at
his word: and a single ball sent as brave a n;rn ns ov
er Iroet the earth to eternily ! His ears were then cut
off bis blanket and pantaloons stripped fiom him and
1iis body thrown by the road side as food for the
wolves I
A thrill of horfar ran through trie' Crowd as llic
news was spread along that one of our men wasdelib-
crately shot down in cold blood and deep but whispe-
red threats of revenge were heard upon overy lip to
atone for this most unnatural murder. In our pres-
ent conditron we could do nothing. At any time we
could have risen and overpowered the guard; but
their arms were worthless and it would have been
impossible unacquainted as we were With the coun-
try to have cut our way through to Texas without
provisions. Another thing it wasa panol Salezar'
policy to drive us along and'tire us down in order to
- . . i .it i
nrecnt our escape; to weaken us to that decree that
' ... ' -i 3jt
CKSCC ivuuw uc iiiiijusaiiiit.- hju uui uuara ucen
escape iouia oe imuossi
well-armed with rifles or muskets and with plenty of
amunition wc ner er should have benn marched to the
Paso del Norte; but those who had charge of us were
strong merely from our weakness and thus wretch-
edly wc were compelled to journey on in dreary
hope of falling into marc humane hands on reaching
the State of Chihuahua.
McGuffiits Waggons Passed Ctessing tht Rio
Grande gocorra Tht Apaches Rccrossing
the River Arrival al the Dead Man's Journey
Snow al Night Set out on our Dreary March
Meeting Kith Mexican Dragoons Horiible
Sufferings of our Men Golpln Murdered !
AVc reached the Casa Colorado on the evening
McAlister was murdered encamping in a grove of
cotton wood near the Rio Grande. Our sufferings
still continued and by this lime many of ihe men had
parted with nearly every article of dress and every
button to hire the mules or horses of our guard. Had
it not been for this many of the poor fellows would
have been shot.
The next day wc passed the long train of McGuf-
fin's waggons the same wc had seen at San Miguel.
The drivers wereall Americans on their way to the
city of Chihuahua uith the goods but they w'erc not
allowed to speak to us. At night we reached the vil-
lage of Ioia where we encamped.
On 'he ensuing evening alter a long march we
arrived at Psrrida a town immediately on the banks
of the Rio Grande. The next morning we fordjd the
river here some hundred and fifty or two hpnlired
yards wide and for the first time entered the Mexican
territory. I say for the first time because it should
be generally known that Texas claims to the Rio
Grande and sooner or later this will be her bounda-
ry line.
An hours brisk walk now brough u.-. to the miser-
able village Socorra where we were allowed to rest
the remainder of the day. The town was filled with
Apache Indians a large and powerful tribe who are
continually committing every species of depredation
upon the inhabitants of the States of Chihuahua and
DurangOi but who trade ofTthe properly they steal
in that quarter lo the people of New Mexico I A pret-
ty stale of things truly but so it is. I was told that
many of the horses in New Mexico really belonged
to persons in the former Slates and that the purchas-
ers bought them with powder and lead knowing that
it was to be used against their brethren I
We left Socorra early on the morning of the 29th
of October and after walking nearly forty miles rea-
ched the Bosque de los Apaches hi dark. The dis-
tance from Socorra to Paso del Norte I have now for-
gotten but there is no settlement between the two pla-
ces. We crossed the river again the next morning
and another long and tedious march brought us to
Fra Christoval the camping ground before entering
the Dead Man's Journey! This is a well-known
stretch ninety miles in width across a large bend in
the.Rio Grande. It is a level and sterile plain and
without water except in the spring when the Dead
Man's Lake hcarthc centre is partially filled by the
rains. At the time wc passed it was dry.
On leaving San Miguel. Armijo had given Salezar
no less than eihtrfcn oxen for our use on the road.
Up to this time the villain had not killed one of them
but he now had one slaughtered. It was the poop st
one in lite lot however nnd hardly aflbrded a meal
orall. That night i( snowed violently for some two
or three hou'sandin the morning our blankets were
perfectly whiteand heavy. Praised my head and sur-
veyed the scerie. My comrades wcre'scaltercd about
over the ground completely imbedded in snow and
looked likeso many logs. No one would havesus-
pected that animated beings were under those little
mounds were it not that a hollow and dislrcssino
cough proceeded from nearly every one of them. The
exposure we had gone through had given us all ex-
tremely bad colds colds that wc were unable to cure
or guard against.
Wc remained at this camp until near the middle of
the afternoon. Salezar stating that we were to he
driven thiough the entire ninety miles without sleep.
The noon day sun had lhatved away the snew before
wc started so that wc had no prospect ot any thing
wherctvith to quench thirstonths dreary waste be-
fore us. The sun was within two hours of its setting
when we started and at a brisk pace we hurried on
until dark. A raw night wind now set in chilling
u through and through and even the most violent
exercise could not keep us warm. The mules of our
guard went begging for riders for even their Owners
were obliged to dismount te prevent freezing:
About nine o'clock at night wc passed a regiment
of dragoons under Col. Munoz on their way from
Durango to Santa Fe. Some of the soldiers inform
ed our men that they had mrt Col. Cook's paity near
oninuanua and that they were well treated on the
road. 1 here was consolation in this for we had
heard many rumors of the bad treatmrnt we might
expect on the other side of the Passo del Norte.
Never shall I forget the horrors of that dreadful
night. Although my lame ankle pained me extreme-
ly it was nothing to'thc biting cold and the helpless
drowsiness which cold begets. Towards daylight
many ofour men were fairly walking in their sleep
and staggeringabotit from one side of the road to the
other like so many drunken men. Completely chill-
ed through even their senses were benumbed and
they would sink by the road side and beg tb be left
behind to sleep anJ to perish. A stupor a perfect in-
difference of life came over many of us and the stron-
ger found employment in waking up and assisting
the weaker. Anxiously did wc wait the coming of
the sun for that at least would bring warmth and an-
imation to our paralyzed limbs and faculties.
Daylight came at last and with it came a halt of an
hour to bring up the stragglersand count the prison-
ers. By Ihe time the last of us were up the trumpet
again sounded an advance and once moie we were
upon the road. Towards noon we passed the Dead
.Man s Lake and found its bed perfectly dry. The
coolness of the weather however and the tact thai
wc had nothing to eat prevented that evil which in
warme1 lemperature would hare caused sufferings of
a nature to be fell but not described
As the sun was about setting those of us who Were
in front were startled by the report of two guns fol-
lowing each other in quick succession. Wc turned to
.iscerlaih the cause and sooh found that a poor unfor-
ttinats man named Golpin a merchant and who had
started upon the expedition with a small amount of
goods had been shot by the rear guard for no other
reason thau that he vas loo sick and treat lo leep up!
He had made a bargain with one of the guard to ride
his mule a short distance for u hich he was to pay
him his only shirt! While in the act of taking itoifi
Salezar ordered a soldier to shoot him. Ihe Iim ball
only wounded the wretched man but the second kill-
ed him instantly and he fell with his shirt still about
his face. Golpin was a citizen of the United States
and reached Texas a short time before the departure
of the expedition He was a harmless inoffensive
man of delicate constitution and during the greater
part of the time we were upon the road was obliged
to ride in one of the waggons. The brutal Salezar
rather than be troubled with him any longer took
this method of ridding himself ofaN incumbrance! It
may be difficult for many of my readers to believe
that such an act of wanton barbarity could be perpe-
trated by a people pretending te be civilized to be
Christian 1 I should certa.nly be loth lo stake my
reputation by telling the story were there not nearly
two hundred" witnesses of the scene.
From the Edinburgh Journal.
THE LITERARY PROFESSION.
The prevalent notion amongst many literary men.
the public alike is that of Master Shallca as to his
class "Beggars ail. Sir John" but this is surely a
great mistake. We are not aware ofa single one of
the conspicuous literary men of England of our time
who has not had reason to thank his pen for what it
has done fet him. Indeed the literary has been scarce-
ly behind the legal profession during the last age in
respect of the cases or advancement from one grade
of society to another which have Iictn achieved by it.
Its young adventurers have not secured any peerages
and" not very many baronetages or knighthoods; but
its disadvantage in this part of the contrast is from a
mere lormal cause affecting the legal profession.
Great lawyers necessarily come into great political
situations in which these honors are matters of course-
Great authois arc perhapsaswell with thcirhonored
names uncciipsed by titles and the universal esteem in
which they are held when their morals are not un
worthy of lame. We have only to run over some of
the principal names and to reflect on the histories
connected with them in order to be assured that the
case is a3 here represented.
Sir Walter Scott entered life as the son ofa Scottish
solicitor and promised to be nothing better than the
sixth pail ot employed oarriste tin nis pen oruugm
him place fortune and "title. Had he not unfortunate-
ly involved himself in business affairs fcr which his
original motive was a dread ofprecariousness of liter-
ary3 gains had he trusted in short to literary gains
alone he must have died a man worth 100000 and
made good his wish to found a landed and titled
family.
Mr. Campbell as is generally known was an un-
friended youth studying at a Scottish university with
perhaps only the life ofa poor teacher or preacher
before him when his first poem obtained for him
friends and fame. He has not perhaps realized
wealth; butjhe has always lived in the style of a gen-
tleman and moved in the highest circles of society.
Messrs. Woodsworth and Southcy arc not remark-
able for the gains they have made'by literature; but
tlicv hive been able toll e as gcntlenun in the imlul-
sn.B o niimcir peculmr tastes esoecially the love
of study; which are just the tastes of all others now-a-daysIeast
within the power of men who arc nol entire-
ly independent:
If we arc not mistaken Mr. Moore lias been raised
in fortune by the aid of his muse ft .-. wi - r
days ago that he enjoyed 5000 per anum on ac-
count of one portion of his writings alcnejand he has
since been endowed with a pension of 300 the ex-
press reward of his literary merit.
The English Tibullus.may not be rich; butamongu
the various fates of the sons cf Dublin citizens there
are worse than thtt cf enjoying a moderate compe-
tency with the society of the most refined part of the
first nation on earth.
Mr. Washington Irving was oriTinallv a merchant
land did not" succeed in business; but devoted himself
to letters: ar.d it wajonly the other dav that he nunm-
cd Unquestionably" in consequence of literary distinc-
tion the office of his country's ambassador to Spain.
Mr. Jeffrey has we beHeve no reason' to regret
his political writings. His birth and original pros
peels were act superior to those of Scott. He is now
a man of Iare fortune ar.d a judge fully as much
through his literary celebrity as anything else.
The editor of the opposite critical organ is the son
ofa Scotch clergyman a respectable degree in socie-
ty but not one which endows its children with much
fortune. To him literature has given a large income
as well as personal importance. It is ro discredit to
him to say that he would have remained compara-
tively poor as well as obscuro in his original profes-
sion. His early associate Mr. Wilson has been
not less indebted to his literary talents for station and
income let the horde of " the unemployed" who
daily pace the Parliament House in Edinburgh
bear witness.
Within the last few years wc have had an extraordi-
nary example of a rise in afiluenoc and consideration
in consequence of literature in the person of Mr". Dic-
kens. Society sees few revolutions in personal for-
tune greater or more rapid than that which this most
meritorious person has passed through since 133G
when he published his first sketches in the Morning
Chronicle. He walksthe world more in the manner
ofa Roman conqueror than any man since the days
of Rome.
Look again to Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer nov-
els written probably in a few weeks paid at the rate
df fifteen hundred pounds each political arising
from a literary distinction a baronetcy! Arc these
tilings significant of a miserable profession? In short
it appears that literature far from being necessarily
associated with vexation and penury is entitled to take
place amongst the means which talent raises itself in
the world Nor has it been otherwise since there
was a printed literature in England. If we look back
ovor the list of those who w.ere more particularly de-
pendent on their litetary abilities we shall find that
there have been at all times men rising to opulence
or at least comfort and to personal distinction by
these means.
The position of Johnson after his early struggles
Lwere over was not an unenviable one. Hume from
almost nothing raised himself by his writings to con-
siderable wealth and to high offices which brought
him more; so that he died in the enjoyment ofa thou-
sand a year ar.d left 15000. Pope got wealth by
his muse and Swift attained to considerable ecclesi-
astical perferment though not to what he aimed at
a bishopric. Addison rose to be Secretary of State;
and Prior from a pothouse boy became like Irving
an ambassador. Dryden with such fecundity of brain
as he possessed must have been well enough off. but
for the silly wotnun that called him husband. We
do not know much of rare Ben. but many surmise
that sottish habits alone prevented him from being a
rich fellow enough. In Shakespeare elevated from .
woolslaplcr's son to the absolute foitune and style of a
country gentleman wc have a striking case of ad-
vancement by means of literature for certainly it was
mainly through that cause that he attained wealth
seeing lhat his qualifications as a player were so poor.
Wc stop with Spencer who may be thought an unfa-
vorable instance as he died In dirtress; but we are not
satisfied that this distress was connected in any way
with his poetry. Elizabeth employed patronized
and endowed himjand that grant of land in the south of
Ireland must have been no small matter. It was only
a transient disturbance of the peace of the country
which'damagedthe poet's spirits and brought him to
his grave. Probably if he had survived the confu-
sion for a little all might have been well with
him.
Whrn wc consider these things it is difficult to ac-
count for the tendency which is everywhere shown
to whine about the poor rewards of literature and the
doom ol indigence and Starvation which lungs over
the heads of all who give themselves to pen and ink.
Can it be owing to our actual known instances of
poverty-struck scribblers and starved poets? No
doubt some men of letters have come a miserable end.
The mind' lights in a moment on Chattcrton Sa-
vage and Otway. But arc these casualties not to ba
found in all ranks of men and all professions? Arc
there not many starved apothecaries? Aretherc not
many miserably poor solicitors? Has not the church
also its army of martyrs curates steeped in pover-
ty and poor probationers who live upon protracted
hope all their days? Wc do not hear of these men
but wc always hear of unfoitunate authors; and hence
perhaps the notion that misery is the almost exclu-
sive associate of genius It is also to be observed
that many ol the mishaps and sad ends of literary
men arc to be traced to their own imprudence that
thing ol power which nothing can overcome or
gainsay.
When any of the ordinary child 'en of men happen
to be destitute ofa sense of the value of money and
consequently spend in oncday what they gain in six
the usually go to wreck. It were unreasonable to
expect that men of genius arc to be exempted from
the same rule. Goldsmith lived in difficulties and
died three thousand pounds in debt; but Goldsmith
was a prosperous and well paid author. He might
have been comfortable if he only could have used
his gains with common discretion. Thereare many
literary nicn'ln the present day whose case is precise-
ly the same. They realize for years a large income
ihey live beyond it they get into debt and diffi-
culty; and then perhaps they join in the cry about
the inadequate rewards of the press and the wots of
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De Morse, Charles. The Northern Standard. (Clarksville, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 13, Ed. 1, Saturday, December 3, 1842, newspaper, December 3, 1842; Clarksville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80464/m1/1/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.