less unfounded; but, from all the evidence in the case, it is plain, that it was a brutal and cowardly assault, in which several persons took part, with a disposition, that, in the fury of the moment, sought to disable this great patriot, whom they so rancorously hated. If such was their purpose, it to a considerable degree succeeded.

that

The natural indignation that was roused against the au thors of this ruffian-like attack, the animosity that existed towards the revenue officers, for their insolent and oppressive conduct; the keen feelings natural to a state of violent political excitement; the sympathy and admiration that were cherished for the liberal character, powerful talents and efficient services of the leading patriot of his day,—all conspired to make the public give this transaction the odium of a scheme of assassination. Pity for the sufferer made them also impute the impairment of his reason to this event exclusively. It is not, however, necessary to believe, an assassination had been planned, in order to cover the perpetrators of this barbarous assault with ignominy. Nor can the mental alienation, which afterwards afflicted him, and deprived the world of his great talents, in the vigour of manhood, for he was at this time only in his forty-sixth year, be wholly attributed to the wound he received. His disposition was so ardent, and his mind so excitable, that its natural tendency, under aggravating circumstances, was to insanity. Had he lived in ordinary times, in the usual exercise of professional or political duties, undisturbed by adverse events, he might have escaped the misfortune that befell him. His generous and social humour, his wit and ready talent, would have rendered his career easy and tranquil. But he was called upon to act in public affairs at a most arduous epoch: he had to maintain a continual struggle against insidious placemen and insolent oppressors: he himself was denounced, proscribed, and frequently insulted. The feelings of his own injuries, joined to those for his country, kept his mind in constant action, anxiety and irritation. Having espoused the cause of his fellow-citizens, with all his strength and all his mind, at a time when new wrongs and new difficulties were incessantly recurring, he knew no repose. His faculties were perpetually agitated, and he did not sufficiently master and subdue his indignation

against subaltern agents, though prime movers in this mis. chief, yet who were in reality deserving only of his contempt. It was an unfortunate yielding to his anger, the placing himself, as he did in some degree, on a level with the commissioners of the customs, whom he ought merely to have unmasked and left to public scorn, without degrading himself to a personal rencounter. The injuries he sustained in it impaired his power of self-control, and contributed essentially to his subsequent derangement.

Close of the Lives of Adams and Jefferson.-WEBSTER

IN 1820 Mr. Adams acted as elector of president and vice-president, and in the same year we saw him, then at the age of eighty-five, a member of the convention of this commonwealth, called to revise the constitution. Forty years before, he had been one of those who formed that constitution; and he had now the pleasure of witnessing that there was little which the people desired to change. Possessing all his faculties to the end of his long life, with an unabated love of reading and contemplation, in the centre of interesting circles of friendship and affection, he was blessed in his retirement with whatever of repose and felicity the condition of man allows. He had, also, other enjoyments. He saw around him that prosperity and general happiness, which had been the object of his public cares and labours. No man ever beheld more clearly, and for a longer time, the great and beneficial effects of the services rendered by himself to his country. That liberty, which he so early defended, that independence, of which he was so able an advocate and supporter, he saw, we trust, firmly and securely established. The population of the country thickened around him faster, and extended wider, than his own sanguine predictions had anticipated, and the wealth, respectability and power of the nation sprang up to a magnitude, which it is quite impossible he could have expected to witness in his day. He lived. also, to behold those principles of civil freedom, which had been developed, established, and practically applied, in

America, attract attention, command respect, and awaken imitation, in other regions of the globe; and well might, and well did, he exclaim, "Where will the consequences of the American revolution end!"

If any thing yet remain to fill this cup of happiness, let it be added, that he lived to see a great and intelligent people bestow the highest honour in their gift, where he had bestowed his own kindest parental affections, and lodged his fondest hopes. Thus honoured in life, thus happy at death, he saw the Jubilee, and he died; and with the last prayers which trembled on his lips, was the fervent supplication for his country, " Independence for

ever!"

His kind

From the time of his final retirement from public life, in 1807, Mr. Jefferson lived as became a wise man. Surrounded by affectionate friends, his ardour in the pursuit of knowledge undiminished, with uncommon health, and unbroken spirits, he was able to enjoy largely the rational pleasures of life, and to partake in that public prosperity, which he had so much contributed to produce. ness and hospitality, the charm of his conversation, the ease of his manners, the extent of his acquirements, and especially the full store of revolutionary incidents, which he possessed, and which he knew when and how to dispense, rendered his abode in a high degree attractive to his admiring countrymen, while his high public and scientific character drew towards him every intelligent and educated traveller from abroad. Both Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson had the pleasure of knowing, that the respect, which they so largely received, was not paid to their official stations. They were not men made great by office, but great men, on whom the country, for its own benefit, had conferred office. There was that in them, which office did not give, and which the relinquishment of office did not, and could not, take away. In their retirement, in the midst of their fellow-citizens, themselves private citizens, they enjoyed as high regard and esteem, as when filling the most important places of public trust.

`There remained to Mr. Jefferson yet one other work of patriotism and beneficence,-the establishment of a university in his native state. To this object he devoted years

of incessant and anxious attention, and, by the enlightened liberality of the legislature of Virginia, and the co-operation of other able and zealous friends, he lived to see it accomplished. May all success attend this infant seminary ; and may those who enjoy its advantages, as often as their eyes shall rest on the neighbouring height, recollect what they owe to their disinterested and indefatigable benefactor; and may letters honour him, who thus laboured in the cause of letters.

Thus useful, and thus respected, passed the old age of Thomas Jefferson. But time was on its ever-ceaseless wing, and was now bringing the last hour of this illustrious man. He saw its approach with undisturbed serenity. He counted the moments, as they passed, and beheld that his last sands were falling. That day, too, was at hand, which he had helped to make immortal. One wish, one hope, if it were not presumptuous,-beat in his fainting breast. Could it be so-might it please God-he would desire once more to see the sun,-once more to look abroad on the scene around him,-on the great day of liberty. Heaven, in its mercy, fulfilled that prayer. He saw that sun-he enjoyed its sacred light-he thanked God for his mercy, and bowed his aged head in the grave. "Felix, non vitæ tantum claritate, sed etiam opportunitate mortis."

Morals of Chess.-FRANKLIN.

PLAYING at chess is the most ancient and universal game known among men; for its original is beyond the memory of history, and it has for numberless ages been the amusement of all the civilized nations of Asia,-the Persians, the Indians, and the Chinese. Europe has had it above a thousand years; the Spaniards have spread it over their part of America, and it begins to make its appearance in these States. It is so interesting in itself as not to need the view of gain to induce engaging in it; and thence it is never played for money. Those, therefore, who have leisure for such diversions cannot fil one that

is more innocent; and the following piece, written with a view to correct (among a few young friends) some little improprieties in the practice of it, shows, at the same time, that it may, in its effects on the mind, be not merely innocent, but advantageous, to the vanquished as well as the victor.

For

The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired, or strengthened, by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions. life is a kind of chess, in which we have points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effects of prudence or the want of it. By playing at chess, then, we learn,

1. Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, considers the consequences that may attend an action; for it is continually occurring to the player, "If I move this piece, what will be the advantage of my new situation? What use can my adversary make of it to annoy me? What other moves can I make to support it, and to defend myself from his attacks?"

2. Circumspection, which surveys the whole chessboard, or scene of action, the relations of the several pieces and situations, the dangers they are respectively exposed to, the several possibilities of their aiding each other, the probabilities that the adversary may take this or that move, and attack this or the other piece, and what different means can be used to avoid his stroke, or turn its consequences against him.

3. Caution, not to make our moves too hastily. This habit is best acquired by observing strictly the laws of the game, such as, "If you touch a piece, you must move it somewhere; if you set it down, you must let it stand and it is therefore best that these rules should be observed; as the game thereby becomes more the image of human life, and particularly of war; in which, if you have incautiously put yourself into a bad and dangerous position, you cannot obtain your enemy's leave to withdraw your troops, and place them more securely, but you must abide all the consequences of your rashness.