and ftill in ufe among People whom we presume to call Savages! "O Eternal! have mercy upon me, because I am paffing away: O Infinite! because I am but a fpeck: O Moft Mighty! because I am weak: O Source of Life! because I draw nigh to the grave: O Omniscient! becaufe I am in darkness: O All bounteous! because I am poor ! O All fufficient! because I am nothing." Man has given nothing to himfelf: he has received all. And "he who planted the ear, fhall he not hear? he who formed the eye, fhall he not fee? he who teacheth Man knowledge, fhall not he know?" I fhould confider myself as offering an infult to the understanding of my reader, and fhould derange the plan of my work, were I to infift longer on the proofs of the existence of GOD. AFRICAN HOSPITALITY. SEG EGO, the capital of Bambar rived, confifts, properly speaking, of four diftinct towns; two on the northern bank of the Niger, called Sego Korro, and Sego Boo; and two on the fouthern bank, called Sego Soo Korro, and Sego See Korro. They are all furrounded with high mud walls; the houses are built of clay of a fquare form, with flat roofs : fome of them have two ftories, and many of them are whitewashed. Befides thefe buildings, Moorish mofques are feen in every quarter, and the streets tho' narrow, are broad enough for every useful purpose, in a country where wheel carriages are en. tirely unknown. From the beft enquiries I could make, I have reafon to believe, that Sego contains altogether, about 30,000 inhabitants. The king of Bambarra conftantly refides at Sego See Korro; he employs a great many flaves in conveying people over the river, and the money they receive, though the fare is only ten Kowrie fhells for each individual, furnishes a confiderable revenue to the king in the course of a year. The canoes are of a fingular conftruction, each of them being formed of the trunks of two large trees, rendered concave, and joined together, not fide by fide, but end ways, the junction being exactly across the middle of the canoe; they are therefore very long, and difproportionably narrow, and have neither decks nor mafts; they are however very roomy, for I obferved in one of them four horfes and feveral people croffing over the river. When we arrived at this ferry, we found a great number waiting for a paffage ; they looked at me with filent wonder, and I distinguished, with concern, many Moors among them. There were three differ ent places of embarkation, and the ferry-men were very diligent and expeditious, but from the crowd of people, I could not immediately obtain a paffage, and fat down upon the bank of the river to wait for a more favourable opportunity. The view of this extenfive city; the numerous canoes upon the river; the crowded population, and the cultivated state of the furrounding country, formed altogether a profpect of civilization and magnificence, which I little expected to find in the bofom of Africa. I waited more than two hours without having an opportunity of croffing the river; during which time the people who had croffed, carried information to Manfong the king, that a white man was waiting for a paffage, and was coming to fee him. He immediately fent over one of his chief men, who informed me that the king could not poffibly fee me, until he knew what had brought me into his country, and that I must not presume to cross the river without the king's permiffion. He therefore advised me to lodge at a diftant village, to which he pointed, for the night; and faid, that in the morning he would give me further inftructions how to conduct myself. This was very difcouraging. However, as there was no remedy, I fet off for the village; were I found, to my great mortification, that no person would admit me into his houfe. I was regarded with aftonishment and fear, and was obliged to fit all day without vist uals in the fhade of a tree and the night threatened to be very uncomfortable, for the wind rofe and there was great appearance of a heavy rain; and the wild beafts are fo very numerous in the neighborhood, that I should have been under the neceffity of climbing up the tree, and refting amongst the branches: About funfet, however, as I was prepar. ing to pafs the night in this manher, and had turned my horse loofe that he might graze at lib. erty, a woman, returning from the labours of the field, ftopped to obferve me, and perceiving that I was weary and dejected, inquired into my fituation, which I briefly explained to her; where upon, with looks of great com. paffion, fhe took up my faddle and bridle, and told me to follow her. Having conducted me into her hut, the lighted up a lamp, fpread a mat on the floor, and told me I might remain there for the night. Finding that I was very hungry, fhe faid fhe would procure me fomething to eat. She accordingly went out, and returned in a fhort time with a very fine fifh, which, having caufed to be half broiled upon fome embers, fhe gave me for fupper. The rites of hofpitality being thus performed towards a ftranger in diftrefs, my worthy benefactrefs, pointing to the mat, and telling me I might sleep there without apprehenfion, called to the female part of her family, who had stood gazing on me all the while in fixed aftonishment, to refume their task of fpinning cotton, in which they continued to employ themfelves great part of the night. They lightened their labour by fongs, one of which was compofed extempore, pity the white man; no mother has he, &c. &c."* Trifling as this recital may appear to the reader, to a perfon in my fituation, the circumftance was affecting in the highest degree. I was oppreffed by fuch unexpected kindness, and fleep fled from my eyes. In the morning I prefented my compaffionate landlady with two of the four brafs buttons which remained on my waistcoat, the only rec ompence I could make her. * Verfification under our poetical head, HENRY AND REBECCA. NE mifty morning, fuch as Henry was walking fwiftly thro' a thick wood on the fkirts of the parifh, he fuddenly started on hearing a diftant groan, expreffive, as he thought, both of bodily and mental pain. He ftopped to hear it repeated that he might purfue the fouud. He heard it again, and though now but in murmurs, yet as the tone impliplied exceffive grief, he directed his courfe to that part of the wood from whence it came. As he advanced, in fpite of the thick fog, he difcerned the appearance of a female fcudding away on his approach. His eye was fixed on this object; and regardlefs where he placed his feet, foon he fhrunk back with horror, on perceiving they had nearly trod upon a new-born infant, lying on the ground a lovely male child, entered on a world been made to receive him. "Ah!" cried Henry, forgeting the perfon who had fled, and with a fmile of compaffion on the helplefs infant, "I am glad I have found you-you give more joy to me, than you have done to your haplefs parents. Poor dear," (continued he, while he took off his coat to wrap it in,)" I will take care of you while I live--I will beg for you rather than you fhall want-but first, I will carry you to those who at prefent can do more for you than myself." Thus Henry faid and thought, while he inclofed the child carefully in his coat, and took it in his arms. But about to walk his way with it, an unlucky query ftruck him, where he fhould go. "I must not take it to the dean's," he cried, " because lady Clementina will fufpect it is not nobly, and my uncle will fufpect it is not lawfully born. Nor mult I take it to lord Bendham's for the felf fame reafon-though, could it call lady Bendham mother, this whole village, nay the whole country round would ring with rejoicings for its birth. How frange!" continued he, "that we fhould make fo little of human creatures, that one fent among us, wholly independent of his own high value, becomes a curfe in ftead of a bleffing by the mere accident of worthlefs circumftances." He now, after walking out of the wood, peeped through the folds of his coat to look again at his charge-he started, turned pale, and trembled, to behold what, in the furprise of firft feeing the child, had escaped his obfervation. Around its little throat was a cord entwined by a flipping noofe, and drawn half-way-as if the trembling hand of the mur derer had revolted from its dreadful office, and he or she had left the infant to pine away with nakednefs and hunger, rather than fee it die. Again Henry wifhed himself joy of the treasure he had found; and more fervently than before; for he had not only preferved one fellow-creature from death, but another from murder. Once more he looked at his charge, and was tranfported to obferve, upon its ferene brow and fleepy eye, no traces of the dan. gers it had paffed-no trait of Thame either for itfelf or its parents-no difcompofure at the un welcome reception it was likely to encounter from a proud world! He now flipped the fatal ftring from its neck; and by this affectionate difturbance caufing the child to cry, he ran (but he fcarce new whither) to convey it to a better nurse, He at length found himself at the door of his dear Rebeccafor fo very happy Henry felt at the good luck which had befallen him, that he longed to beftow a part of the blefling upon her he loved. He fent for her privately out of the houfe to speak to himWhen the came, "Rebecca," said he (looking around that no one obferved him) "Rebecca, I have brought you fomething you will like." "What is it?" she asked. "You know, Rebecca, that you love deferted birds, ftrayed kittens, and motherless lambs— I have brought fomething more pitiable than any of thefe. Go, get a cap and a little gown, and then I will give it you.' "A gown!" exclaimed Re-becca. "If you have brought me a monkey, much as I fhould esteem any prefent from you, indeed I cannot touch it." "A monkey !" repeated Herry, almost in anger-then changing the tone of his voice, exclained in triumph, "It is a child !" **Found it ?" Indeed I did. The mother, I fear, had juft forfaken it." "Inhumane creature!" "Nay, hold, Rebecca! I am fure you will pity her when you fee her child-you then will know fhe must have loved it- and will confider how much fhe certainly had suffered, before the left it to perish in a wood.” "Cruel!" once more exclaimed Rebecca. "Oh! Rebecca, perhaps, had fhe poffeffed a home of her own, fhe would have given it the best place in it-had the poffeffed money, fhe would have dreffed it with the nicest care-or had the been accustomed to difgrace, the would have gloried in calling it hers! But now, as it is, it is fent to us, to you and me, Rebecca, to take care of." Rebecca, foothed by Henry's compaffionate eloquence, held out her arms and received the important parcel-and, as fhe kindly looked in upon the little stranger, "Now are not you much obliged to me," said Henry, "for having brought it to you? I know no one but yourself to whom I would have trufted it with pleafure." Much obliged to you," repeated Rebecca with a very ferious face, if I did but know what to do with it-where to put it-where to hide it from my father and fifters." "Oh! any where" - returned Henry-" It is very good-It will not cry-but if they should difcover it, they will take it from you, profecute the wretched mother, and fend the child to the work-house." "I will do all I can!" replied Rebecca," and I know I can take milk from the dairy, and bread from the pantry, without its being miffed, or my father much the poorer. But if it fhould cry That inftant they were interrupt ed by the appearance of the ftern curate at a little distance. Henry was obliged to run fwiftly away, while Rebecca returned by stealth into the house with her innocent burden. AN ORATION, Pronounced at ROXBURY, July 4, 1800, by request of the Inhabitants, in Commemoration of American IndepeNDENCE. A Br Luther Richardson. CITIZENS AND FELLOW COUNTRYMEN! NEW era in the annals of time has commenced; tyranny has yielded the fceptre to patriotifm; liberty, guided by reafon, has began her bright career. Science has erected her tem |