THE
RURAL MAGAZINE,
AND
LITERARY EVENING FIRE-SIDE.

Vol. I.     Philadelphia, Sixth Month, 1820.     No. 6.

FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.

THE DESULTORY REMARKER.

No. V.

Dr. Johnson.

Numerous and important are the boasted advantages of our free government. Men and things are professedly estimated, in this region of sturdy republicanism, in exact accordance with their true character. Our just and beautiful theories inculcate the doctrine, that VIRTUE and TALENT are the only proper grounds of distinction in society; and if this were faithfully illustrated in practice, merit would not be opposed by serious obstacles, in emerging from obscurity. If such a desirable state of things were realized, how rapidly would our country advance in prosperity! Monarchical institutions, which sanction the hereditary descent of RANK and DISTINCTION, would contrast very unpleasantly with those which are bottomed on the cardinal principle, that all men are by NATURE CREATED EQUAL. It becomes us therefore to inquire, whether the fancied superiority, which in relation to this subject, we arrogate to ourselves, be in reality any thing but in name.

In prosecuting this inquiry, let personal observation, and personal experience, be candidly consulted. If we have voluntarily substituted, for what in other countries results from the exercise of despotic power, an idol of our own creation, and bow to it with the same deference and fealty, what becomes of our claim to the title of independence? The effect of such a deception will be no less productive of mental and moral degradation, than if the laws of the land had authorized the establishment of PRIVILEGED ORDERS. The real republican character is particularly distinguished by its simplicity. The inroads of luxury, and the inordinate influence of wealth, are anxiously to be deprecated, as destructive to rational liberty. Titles of nobility are not within our reach; but the glitter of wealth may equally awaken our ambition, and monopolize our attention. Here there is danger, against the approach of which it is the part of prudence and of wisdom to be vigilant.

When an individual is supposed to be affluent, have we ever known his merit to be unjustly overlooked or disregarded? Are not riches uniformly invested with the magic power of extenuating the faults, and magnifying the good qualities of their possessor? The answers to these questions will at once be given without hesitation,

The complexion of society in Philadelphia, is considered, in many respects, of that chastened and respectable character, which is well becoming the nature of our institutions. Our metropolis has always been distinguished for Benevolence, of which, as well as of other good qualities, honourable mention might be made. But indiscriminate approbation must be withheld, if we maintain our allegiance to truth. There is in this city an aristocracy of wealth, which has a withering and destructive effect on the best interests of social life.—Wealth, in certain circles, is considered an indispensable recommendation; and perhaps in some instances, the only one its possessor is required to prefer! It is not pretended, that this golden qualification should be contemned in the abstract; for, when not abused, it furnishes the means not only of procuring many valuable and rational gratifications, but of extensive utility to others. But we err egregiously, in permitting it to supplant, in our estimation, the only distinctions of real value;—those which have been indicated above. Such a blind devotion to its charms, casts a reflection upon our character for good sense, equally just and severe with that which properly belongs to a retailer of the stale and pointless bon-mots of monarchs, for wit, merely because they issue from the fountain of royalty. This slavish subserviency, is altogether unworthy of freemen; they must, if true to themselves, discard the influence of PRIVILEGED ORDERS, and view things as they really are.—Many an individual, who now fills a large space in the public eye, would, if overtaken by adversity, scarcely be discerned at all without the aid of a microscope. He would, when deserted by prosperity, return to his native insignificance, and assume his proper station in life.

Our conduct to all men should be friendly and decorous, but to those who are struggling with adverse circumstances, and who possess sterling recommendations to our notice, it should be zealously and liberally extended. The great man, to whom we are indebted for our motto, knew what it was to be beset by those potent adversaries,—griping poverty, and chilling neglect. He concluded one of his letters to Cave, the editor of the Gentleman's Magazine, in these remarkable words, "I am yours IMPRANSUS." If by this he intended to convey the idea, that he was fasting because he had not the means of procuring a dinner, what a melancholy reflection does it suggest to the mind. Even Lord Chesterfield himself, whose delicate nerves were so dreadfully shocked by the "savageness" of Johnson, had he been acquainted with the circumstance, and foreseen his future celebrity, would have hastened to his relief. Who that beheld Dr. Franklin, in the garb of a printer's boy, walking up Market Street, eating one of his rolls of bread, and carrying the other under his arm, could have believed, that at a future period he would become one of the most celebrated men of the age. So deceptive are external appearances, and so irresistible must be the conclusion, that VIRTUE and TALENT are not excluded from the humblest walks of life.—Hence the folly and injustice of establishing PRIVILEGED ORDERS.

So long ago as the days of Horace, the seductive power of gold was considered as directly hostile to the cause of virtue. The following lines are extracted from his ode to his friend Sallust, as translated by Dr. Francis.

THE VILLAGE TEACHER.

It was finely remarked by an Indian, that the white man has not so deep and intimate a sense of his dependence upon God as the Indian. He owes more, apparently, to himself and his fellows. Entrenched in his palaces of stone, he can smile at the pitiless