Poor Richard Improved, 1748
Poor Richard improved: Being an Almanack and Ephemeris of the
Motions of the Sun and Moon; the True Places and Aspects of
the Planets; the Rising and Setting of the Sun; and the
Rising, Setting and Southing , of the Moon for the
Bissextile Year, 1748.... By Richard Saunders, Philom.
Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin. (Yale University
Library)
Kind Reader,
The favourable Reception my annual Labours have
met with from the Publick these 15 Years past, has engaged me in
Gratitude to endeavour some Improvement of my Almanack. And since
my Friend Taylor is no more, whose Ephemerides so long and
so agreeably serv’d and entertain’d these Provinces, I have taken
the Liberty to imitate his well-known Method, and give two Pages
for each Month; which affords me Room for several valuable
Additions, as will best appear on Inspection and Comparison with
former Almanacks. Yet I have not so far follow’d his Method, as not
to continue my own where I thought it preferable; and thus my Book
is increas’d to a Size beyond his, and contains much more
Matter.
Hail Night serene! thro’ Thee where’er we turn
Our wond’ring Eyes, Heav’n’s Lamps profusely burn;
And Stars unnumber’d all the Sky adorn.
But lo!—what’s that I see appear?
It seems far off a pointed flame;
From Earthwards too the shining Meteor came:
How swift it climbs th’ etherial Space!
And now it traverses each Sphere,
And seems some knowing Mind, familiar to the Place.
Dame, hand my Glass, the longest, strait prepare;—
’Tis He—’tis Taylor’s Soul, that travels there.
O stay! thou happy Spirit, stay,
And lead me on thro’ all th’ unbeaten Wilds of Day;
Where Planets in pure Streams of Ether driven,
Swim thro’ the blue Expanse of Heav’n.
There let me, thy Companion, stray
From Orb to Orb, and now behold
Unnumber’d Suns, all Seas of molten Gold,
And trace each Comet’s wandring Way.—
Souse down into Prose again, my Muse; for Poetry’s no more thy
Element, than Air is that of the Flying-Fish; whose Flights, like
thine, are therefore always short and heavy.
We complain sometimes of hard Winters in this
Country; but our Winters will appear as Summers, when compar’d with
those that some of our Countrymen undergo in the most Northern
British Colony on this Continent, which is that upon Churchill
River, in Hudson’s Bay, Lat. 58d. 56m. Long. from London 94d. 50m.
West. Captain Middleton, a Member of the Royal Society, who had
made many Voyages thither, and winter’d there 1741-2, when he was
in Search of the North-West Passage to the South-Sea, gives an
Account of it to that Society, from which I have extracted these
Particulars, viz.
The Hares, Rabbits, Foxes, and Partridges, in
September and the Beginning of October, change their Colour to a
snowy White, and continue white till the following Spring.
The Lakes and standing Waters, which are not
above 10 or 12 Feet deep, are frozen to the Ground in Winter, and
the Fishes therein all perish. Yet in Rivers near the Sea, and
Lakes of a greater Depth than 10 or 12 Feet, Fishes are caught all
the Winter, by cutting Holes thro’ the Ice, and therein putting
Lines and Hooks. As soon as the Fish are brought into the open Air,
they instantly freeze stiff.
Beef, Pork, Mutton, and Venison, kill’d in the
Beginning of the Winter, are preserved by the Frost for 6 or 7
Months, entirely free from Putrefaction. Likewise Geese,
Partridges, and other Fowls, kill’d at the same Time, and kept with
their Feathers on and Guts in, are preserv’d by the Frost, and
prove good Eating. All Kinds of Fish are preserv’d in the same
Manner.
In large Lakes and Rivers, the Ice is sometimes
broken by imprison’d Vapours; and the Rocks, Trees, Joists, and
Rafters of our Buildings, are burst with a Noise not less terrible
than the firing of many Guns together. The Rocks which are split by
the Frost, are heaved up in great Heaps, leaving large Cavities
behind. If Beer or Water be left even in Cooper Pots by the
Bed-side, the Pots will be split before Morning. Bottles of strong
Beer, Brandy, strong Brine, Spirits of Wine, set out in the open
Air for 3 or 4 Hours, freeze to solid Ice. The Frost is never out
of the Ground, how deep is not certain; but on digging 10 or 12
Feet down in the two Summer Months, it has been found hard
frozen.
All the Water they use for Cooking, Brewing,
&c. is melted Snow and Ice; no Spring is yet found free from
freezing, tho’ dug ever so deep down. All Waters inland, are frozen
fast by the Beginning of October, and continue so to the Middle of
May.
The Walls of the Houses are of Stone, two Feet
thick; the Windows very small, with thick wooden Shutters, which
are close shut 18 Hours every Day in Winter. In the Cellars they
put their Wines, Brandies, &c. Four large Fires are made every
Day, in great Stoves to warm the Rooms: As soon as the Wood is
burnt down to a Coal, the Tops of the Chimnies are close stopped,
with an Iron Cover; this keeps the Heat in, but almost stifles the
People. And notwithstanding this, in 4 or 5 Hours after the Fire is
out, the Inside of the Walls and Bed-places will be 2 or 3 Inches
thick with Ice, which is every Morning cut away with a Hatchet.
Three or four Times a Day, Iron Shot, of 24 Pounds Weight, are made
red hot, and hung up in the Windows of their Apartments, to
moderate the Air that comes in at Crevices; yet this, with a Fire
kept burning the greatest Part of 24 Hours, will not prevent Beer,
Wine, Ink, &c. from Freezing.
For their Winter Dress, a Man makes use of
three Pair of Socks, of coarse Blanketting, or Duffeld, for the
Feet, with a Pair of Deerskin Shoes over them; two Pair of thick
English Stockings, and a Pair of Cloth Stockings upon them;
Breeches lined with Flannel; two or three English Jackets, and a
Fur, or Leather Gown over them; a large Beaver Cap, double, to come
over the Face and Shoulders, and a Cloth of Blanketting under the
Chin; with Yarn Gloves, and a large Pair of Beaver Mittins, hanging
down from the Shoulders before, to put the Hands in, reaching up as
high as the Elbows. Yet notwithstanding this warm Clothing, those
that stir Abroad when any Wind blows from the Northward, are
sometimes dreadfully frozen; some have their Hands, Arms, and Face
blistered and froze in a terrible Manner, the Skin coming off soon
after they enter a warm House, and some lose their Toes. And
keeping House, or lying-in for the Cure of these Disorders, brings
on the Scurvy, which many die of, and few are free from; nothing
preventing it but Exercise and stirring Abroad.
The Fogs and Mists, brought by northerly Winds
in Winter, appear visible to the naked Eye to be Icicles
innumerable, as small as fine Hairs, and pointed as sharp as
Needles. These Icicles lodge in their Clothes, and if their Faces
and Hands are uncover’d, presently raise Blisters as white as a
Linnen Cloth, and as hard as Horn. Yet if they immediately turn
their Back to the Weather, and can bear a hand out of the Mitten,
and with it rub the blister’d Part for a small Time, they sometimes
bring the Skin to its former State; if not, they make the best of
their Way to a Fire, bathe the Part in hot Water, and thereby
dissipate the Humours raised by the frozen Air; otherwise the Skin
wou’d be off in a short Time, with much hot, serous, watry Matter,
coming from under along with the Skin; and this happens to some
almost every Time they go Abroad, for 5 or 6 Months in the Winter,
so extreme cold is the Air, when the Wind blows any Thing
strong.——Thus far Captain Middleton. And now, my tender Reader,
thou that shudderest when the Wind blows a little at N-West, and
criest, ’Tis extrrrrrream cohohold! ’Tis terrrrrrible
cohold! what dost thou think of removing to that delightful
Country? Or dost thou not rather chuse to stay in Pennsylvania,
thanking God that He has caused thy Lines to fall in pleasant
Places. I am, Thy Friend to serve thee,
Luke, on his dying Bed, embrac’d his Wife,
And begg’d one Favour: Swear, my dearest Life,
Swear, if you love me, never more to wed,
Nor take a second Husband to your Bed.
Anne dropt a Tear. You know, my dear, says she,
Your least Desires have still been Laws to me;
But from this Oath, I beg you’d me excuse;
For I’m already promis’d to J——n H——s.
Robbers must exalted be,
Small ones on the Gallow-Tree,
While greater ones ascend to Thrones,
But what is that to thee or me?
Lost Time is never found again.
On the 16th Day of this Month, Anno
1707, the Union Act pass’d in Scotland.
On the 19th of this Month, Anno 1493,
was born the famous Astronomer Copernicus, to whom we owe the
Invention, or rather the Revival (it being taught by Pythagoras
near 2000 Years before) of that now generally receiv’d System of
the World which bears his Name, and supposes the Sun in the Center,
this Earth a Planet revolving round it in 365 Days, 6 Hours,
&c. and that Day and Night are caused by the Turning of the
Earth on its own Axis once round in 24 h. &c. The Ptolomean
System, which prevail’d before Copernicus, suppos’d the Earth to be
fix’d, and that the Sun went round it daily. Mr. Whiston, a modern
Astronomer, says, the sun is 230,000 times bigger than the Earth,
and 81 Millions of Miles distant from it: That vast Body must then
have mov’d more than 480 Millions of Miles in 24 h. A prodigious
Journey round this little Spot! How much more natural is
Copernicus’s Scheme! Ptolomy is compar’d to a whimsical Cook, who,
instead of Turning his Meat in Roasting, should fix That, and
contrive to have his whole Fire, Kitchen and all, whirling
continually round it. February. XII
Month.
Don’t after foreign Food and Cloathing roam,
But learn to eat and wear what’s rais’d at Home.
Kind Nature suits each Clime with what it wants,
Sufficient to subsist th’ Inhabitants.
Observing this, we less impair our Health,
And by this Rule we more increase our Wealth:
Our Minds a great Advantage also gain,
And more sedate and uncorrupt remain.
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To lead a virtuous Life, my Friends, and get to Heaven in
Season, |
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You’ve just so much more Need of Faith, as you have
less of |
Reason.
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To avoid Pleurisies, &c. in cool Weather; Fevers,
Fluxes, &c. in |
On the 4th day of this month, Anno 1710,
was born Lewis the 15th, present king of France, called his most
christian majesty. He bids fair to be as great a mischief-maker
as his grandfather; or, in the language of poets and orators, a
Hero. There are three great destroyers of mankind,
Plague, Famine, and Hero. Plague and Famine destroy
your persons only, and leave your goods to your Heirs; but Hero,
when he comes, takes life and goods together; his business and
glory it is, to destroy man and the works of man.
In horrid grandeur haughty Hero reigns,
And thrives on mankind’s miseries and pains.
What slaughter’d hosts! What cities in a blaze!
What wasted countries! and what crimson seas!
With orphans tears his impious bowl o’erflows;
And cries of kingdoms lull him to repose.
Hero, therefore, is the worst of the
three; and thence David, who understood well the effects of
heroism, when he had his choice, wisely pitch’d on Plague as
the milder mischief. March. I
Month.
The Sun, whose unexhausted Light
Does Life and Heat to Earth convey;
The Moon, who, Regent of the Night,
Shines with delegated Ray;
The Stars, which constant seem to Sight,
And Stars that regularly stray:
All these God’s plastick Will from Nothing brought,
Assign’d their Stations, and their Courses taught.
|
The Heathens when they dy’d, went to Bed without a
Candle. |
Knaves and Nettles are akin;
Stroak ’em kindly, yet they’ll sting.
On the 20th of this month, 1727, died the
prince of astronomers and philosophers, sir Isaac Newton, aged 85
years: Who, as Thomson expresses it, Trac’d the boundless works
of God, from laws sublimely simple.
What were his raptures then! how pure! how strong!
And what the triumphs of old Greece and Rome,
By his diminish’d, but the pride of boys
In some small fray victorious! when instead
Of shatter’d parcels of this earth usurp’d
By violence unmanly, and sore deeds
Of cruelty and blood; Nature herself
Stood all-subdu’d by him, and open laid
Her every latent glory to his view.
Mr. Pope’s epitaph on sir Isaac Newton, is
justly admired for its conciseness, strength, boldness, and
sublimity:
Nature and nature’s laws lay hid in night;
God said, Let Newton be,
and all was light.
On Education all our Lives
depend;
And few to that, too few, with Care attend:
Soon as Mamma permits her darling Joy
To quit her Knee, and trusts at School her Boy,
O, touch him not, whate’er he does is right,
His Spirit’s tender, tho’ his Parts are bright.
Thus all the Bad he can, he learns at School,
Does what he will, and grows a lusty Fool.
Life with Fools consists in Drinking;
With the wise Man Living’s Thinking.
On the 25th of this month, Anno 1599,
was Oliver Cromwell born, the son of a
private gentleman, but became the conqueror and protector (some say
the tyrant) of three great kingdoms. His son Richard succeeded him,
but being of an easy peaceable disposition, he soon descended from
that lofty station, and became a private man, living, unmolested,
to a good old age; for he died not till about the latter end of
queen Anne’s reign, at his lodgings in Lombard-street, where he had
lived many years unknown, and seen great changes in government, and
violent struggles for that, which, by experience, he knew could
afford no solid happiness.
Oliver was once about to remove to New-England,
his goods being on shipboard; but somewhat alter’d his mind. There
he would doubtless have risen to be a Select Man, perhaps a
Governor; and then might have had 100 bushels of Indian corn
per Annum, the salary of a governor of that then small
colony in those days.
Great Julius on the mountains bred,
A flock, perhaps, or herd had led;
He that the world subdu’d had been
But the best wrestler on the green. Waller.
Read much; the Mind, which never can be still,
If not intent on Good, is prone to Ill.
And where bright Thoughts, or Reas’nings just you find,
Repose them careful in your inmost Mind.
To deck his Chloe’s Bosom thus the Swain
With pleasing Toil surveys th’ enamel’d Plain,
With Care selects each fragrant flow’r he meets,
And forms one Garland of their mingled sweets.
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Sell-cheap kept Shop on Goodwin Sands, and yet had Store
of |
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Liberality is not giving much but giving
wisely. |
Finikin Dick, curs’d with nice Taste,
Ne’er meets with good dinner, half starv’d at a feast.
On the 21st of this month, Anno 1692,
the brave admiral Russel beat the French fleet near La Hogue, and
burnt, sunk, and destroy’d, near 20 sail of their men of war, in
sight of Lewis XIV and K. James II, who were encamped on the shore
with a considerable army that was to be transported under convoy of
that fleet to Ireland, in order to replace the latter on the throne
of the 3 kingdoms. That design was defeated, and this glorious
victory obtained with very little loss on our side. But
O when shall (long-lost) Honour
guide the war,
See Britain blushes for each dastard tar;
Lost to all sense of shame, the fight who flies,
And leaves the convoy to secure the prize.
Not so, when Britain to each distant shore,
O’er subject seas her conquering thunders bore;
Fame then upon the tow’ring top-mast show’d
Her waving pinions whereso’er they flow’d;
And Victory, thro’ all the yielding deep,
With eagle wings, hung o’er each valiant ship.
Then honour struck the stroke, true love of fame
In each brave breast glow’d with a gen’rous flame,
Not yet extinct in All; the same we view
Boscawen, Warren, Anson, still in you.
For (to mention a late instance only) on the 3d of this same
month, in the year preceding, these gallant and successful seamen,
defeated at once two grand designs of the enemy (the retaking of
Louisburgh, and total destruction of our East-India settlements) by
attacking their joint fleets, just after they came out of port,
taking 6 men of war of the line, and 6 Indiamen, with some others
of lesser note, and dispersing the rest. June. IV Month.
Of all the Charms the Female Sex desire.
That Lovers doat on, and that Friends admire,
Those most deserve your Wish that longest last,
Not like the Bloom of Beauty, quickly past;
Virtue the Chief: This Men and Angels
prize,
Above the finest Shape and brightest Eyes.
By this alone, untainted Joys we find,
As large and as immortal as the Mind.
Alas! that Heroes ever were made!
The Plague, and the Hero, are both of a Trade!
Yet the Plague spares our Goods which the Heroe does not;
So a Plague take such Heroes and let their Fames rot. Q.P.D.
On the 20th of this month, 1743, commodore
Anson took the Spanish Acapulco ship, valued at a million
Sterling.
On the 27th, Anno 1709, Charles XII. of
Sweden, was defeated in the battle of Pultawa, by the Muscovites.
This man had a great mind to be a Hero, too; and, besides
doing much mischief to his neighbours, he brought his own country
to the brink of ruin.
A philosophic Thought.
I pluck’d this morn these beauteous flow’rs,
Emblem of my fleeting hours;
’Tis thus, said I, my life-time flies,
So it blooms, and so it dies.
And, lo! how soon they steal away,
Wither’d e’er the noon of day.
Adieu! well-pleas’d my end I see,
Gently taught philosophy:
Fragrance and ornament alive,
Physic after death they give,
Let me, throughout my little stay,
Be as useful and as gay;
My close as early let me meet,
So my odour be as sweet.
The 19th of this month, 1719, died the
celebrated Joseph Addison, Esq; aged 47, whose writings have
contributed more to the improvement of the minds of the British
nation, and polishing their manners, than those of any other
English pen whatever. July. V.
Month.
When great Augustus rul’d the World and Rome,
The Cloth he wore was spun and wove at Home,
His Empress ply’d the Distaff and the
Loom.
Old England’s Laws the proudest beauty name,
When single, Spinster, and when married, Dame,
For Housewifery is Women’s noblest Fame.
The Wisest houshold Cares to Women yield,
A large, an useful, and a grateful Field.
To Friend, Lawyer, Doctor, tell plain your whole Case;
Nor think on bad Matters to put a good Face:
How can they advise, if they see but a Part?
’Tis very ill driving black Hogs in the dark.
On the 1st of this month, Anno 1690, was
fought the memorable battle of the Boyne, in Ireland; when God
crown’d our great deliverer, King William,
with success and victory. He was one of the right sort of
Heroes. Your true hero fights to preserve, and
not to destroy, the lives, liberties, and estates, of his
people. His neighbours also, and all that are oppress’d, share his
cares and his protection. But this sort is thin sown, and comes up
thinner. Hercules was one, among the ancients; and our glorious
Billy, of Cumberland, another among the
moderns: God bless him! I might have mention’d, in the month of
April, his happy victory over the rebels; who, with the united
assistance of the kings of France and Spain, the Pope and the
Devil, threatened destruction to our religion and liberties; but
had all their schemes defeated by this battle. The sacred names of
justice and religion were made use of as the cloaks
of that invasion, wicked as it was. A pretended prince was to be
restor’d to his rights, forsooth; and we were all to be
converted to the Catholic faith! Strada says, that when the duke of
Parma heard of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, in 1588 (which by
the way happen’d the 21st of this same month) he said very piously,
That it was an enterprize so well concerted, as nothing could
have disappointed but the sins of the people of
England. It seems they were unworthy so great a blessing. And
he makes this further reflection on queen Elizabeth’s proclaiming a
thanksgiving: Mistaken woman! Blind nation! says he,
to return thanks for the greatest misfortune that could
have befallen them! For had that enterprize succeeded, they
would all have been converted to the true Catholick Faith. The
most christian king, and his catholick majesty, and
his Holiness, and the sham defender of the faith,
(Fine titles all!) have now an opportunity of making the same pious
reflections. August. VI Month.
To make the cleanly Kitchen send up Food,
Not costly vain, but plentifully Good.
To bid the Cellar’s Fountain never fail,
Of sparkling Cyder, or of well-brew’d Ale;
To buy, to pay, to blame, or to approve,
Within, without, below-stairs, and above;
To shine in every Corner, like the Sun,
Still working every where, or looking on.
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Suspicion may be no Fault, but shewing it may be a great
one. |
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He that’s secure is not safe. |
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The second Vice is lying; the first is Running in
Debt. |
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The Muses love the Morning. |
On the 2d of this month, Anno 1704, was
fought the famous battle of Hochstet, in which the joint armies of
the French and Bavarians were totally defeated, by the duke of
Marlborough and prince Eugene, 20,000 killed, and 13,000 taken
prisoners, with the French general, marshal Tallard. There was
never any victory, the news of which gave greater joy in England;
the nation being under the greatest apprehensions for their army,
when it was known that the French and Bavarians were joined, and
were much more numerous than the English and Dutch: For it was
generally thought, that if the English were beaten, at so great a
distance from home, very few would ever be able to reach their
native country again; Hochstet being on the banks of the Danube,
very far in Germany.
Muschitoes, or Musketoes, a
little venomous fly, so light, that perhaps 50 of them, before
they’ve fill’d their bellies, scarce weigh a grain, yet each has
all the parts necessary to life, motion, digestion, generation,
&c. as veins, arteries, muscles, &c. each has in his little
body room for the five senses of seeing, hearing, feeling,
smelling, tasting: How inconceivably small must their organs be!
How inexpressibly fine the workmanship! And yet there are little
animals discovered by the microscope, to whom a Musketo is
an Elephant! In a scarce summer any citizen may provide
Musketoes sufficient for his own family, by leaving tubs of
rain-water uncover’d in his yard; for in such water they lay their
eggs, which when hatch’d, become first little fish, afterwards put
forth legs and wings, leave the water, and fly into your windows.
Probatum est. September. VII
Month.
One glorious Scene of Action still behind,
The Fair that likes it is secure to find;
Cordials and Med’cines gratis to dispense,
A beauteous Instrument of Providence;
Plaisters, and Salves, and Sores, to understand,
The Surgeon’s Art befits a tender Hand,
To friendless Pain unhop’d-for Ease to give,
And bid the Hungry eat, and Sickly live.
Two Faults of one a Fool will make;
He half repairs, that owns and does forsake.
Harry Smatter,
Has a Mouth for every Matter.
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When you’re good to others, you are best to yourself. |
On the first of this month, Anno, 1733,
Stanislaus, originally a private gentleman of Poland, was chosen
the second time king of that nation. The power of Charles
XII. of Sweden, caused his first election, that of Louis XV. of
France, his second. But neither of them could keep him on the
throne; for Providence, often opposite to
the wills of princes, reduc’d him to the condition of a private
gentleman again.
On the 2d of this month, Anno 1666,
began the fire of London, which reduc’d to ashes 13,200 houses and
89 churches: Near ten times as much building as Philadelphia!
The great Art of
succeeding in Conversation (saith Mons. St.
Evremond) is, To admire little, to hear much, always to
distrust our own reason, and sometimes that of our friends;
never to pretend to wit; but to make that of others appear as much
as possibly we can; to hearken to what is said, and to answer to
the purpose.
Ut jam nunc dicat jam nunc debentia dici.
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Observe, the precept is hear much, not speak
much. Herbert, the |
————a well bred guest,
Will no more talk all than eat all the feast.
And, When you do speak, says another, speak to the
purpose; Or else to what purpose do you speak? Observe
the present disposition of the company; and
Let what you say the converse suit,
Not say things merely ’cause they’re good.
For if you thus intrude your sense,
It then becomes impertinence:
Your salt is good, we may agree,
But pray don’t salt our Punch and Tea.
And thus, if we may credit Fame’s Report,
The best and fairest in the Gallic Court,
An Hour sometimes in Hospitals employ,
To give the dying Wretch a Glimpse of Joy;
T’ attend the Crouds that hopeless Pangs endure,
And soothe the Anguish which they cannot cure;
To clothe the Bare, and give the Empty Food;
As bright as Guardian Angels, and as good.
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Half Wits talk much but say little. |
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If Jack’s in love, he’s no judge of Jill’s Beauty. |
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Most Fools think they are only ignorant. |
On the 12th of this month, Anno 1702,
admiral Rooke and the duke of Ormond attack’d the French and
Spanish fleet, and the town of Vigo. Nine galeons and 6 of their
men of war were taken; 14 men of war and 4 galeons, were sunk and
burnt.
On the 14th of this month, Anno 1644,
was born William Penn, the great founder of
this Province; who prudently and benevolently sought success to
himself by no other means, than securing the liberty, and
endeavouring the happiness of his people. Let no envious
mind grudge his posterity those advantages which arise to them from
the wisdom and goodness of their ancestor; and to which their own
merit, as well as the laws, give them an additional title.
On the 28th, Anno 1704, died the famous
John Locke, Esq; the Newton of the Microcosm: For, as
Thomson says,
He made the whole internal world his own.
His book on the Human Understanding, shows it.
Microcosm, honest reader, is a hard word, and, they say,
signifies the little world, man being so called, as
containing within himself the four elements of the greater,
&c. &c. I here explain Greek to thee by English, which, I
think, is rather a more intelligible way, than explaining English
by Greek, as a certain writer does, who gravely tells us, Man
is rightly called a little world, because he is a
Microcosm.
On the 29th, Anno 1618, was the famous
sir Walter Rawleigh beheaded; to the eternal shame of the
attorney-general, who first prosecuted him, and of the king, who
ratify’d the sentence.
How happy is he who can satisfy his hunger with
any food, quench his thirst with any drink, please his ear with any
musick, delight his eye with any painting, any sculpture, any
architecture, and divert his mind with any book or any company! How
many mortifications must he suffer, that cannot bear any thing but
beauty, order, elegance and perfection! Your man of taste,
is nothing but a man of distaste. November. IX Month.
Nor be the Husband idle, tho’ his Land
Yields plenteous Crops without his lab’ring Hand:
Tho’ his collected Rent his Bags supply,
Or honest, careful Slaves scarce need his Eye.
Let him whom Choice allures, or Fortune yields,
To live amidst his own extended Fields,
Diffuse those Blessings which from Heav’n he found,
In copious Streams to bless the World around;
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Pardoning the Bad, is injuring the Good. |
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He is not well-bred, that cannot bear Ill-Breeding in
others. |
On the 2d of this month, Anno 1641, the
Long Parliament met, who began the great rebellion, as some
call it, or the glorious opposition to arbitrary power, as
others term it; for to this day party divides us on this
head, and we are not (perhaps never shall be) agreed about it.
Party, says one, is the madness of many, for the gain
of a few: To which may be added, There are honest
men in all parties, wise men in none: Unless
those may be call’d wise, for whose profit the rest are
mad.
To thy lov’d haunt return, my happy muse,
For now behold the joyous winter-days
Frosty, succeed; and thro’ the blue serene
For sight too fine, th’ etherial nitre flies,
Killing infectious damps, and the spent air
Storing afresh with elemental life.
Close crouds the shining atmosphere; and binds
Our strengthen’d bodies in its cold embrace,
Constringent; feeds an animates our blood;
Refines our spirits, thro’ the new-strung nerves
In swifter sallies darting to the brain;
Where sits the soul, intense, collected, cool,
Bright as the skies, and as the season keen.
All nature feels the renovating force
Of Winter, only to the thoughtless
eye
Is Ruin seen———.
Muse, Shoes; Days, Stays; Serene, between;
Air, Fair; Life, Wife, Strife, &c. &c. Rhimes,
you see, are plenty enow; he that does not like blank verse, may
add them at his leisure, as the poets do at Manhatan. December. X Month.
Open to all his hospitable Door,
His Tennent’s Patron, Parent to the Poor:
In Friendships dear, discording Neighbours bind,
Aid the distress’d, and humanise Mankind:
Wipe off the sorrowing Tear from Virtue’s Eyes,
Bid Honesty oppress’d, again arise:
Protect the Widow, give the Aged Rest,
And blessing live, and die for ever blest.
In Christmas feasting pray take care;
Let not your table be a Snare;
But with the Poor God’s Bounty share.
|
Adieu my Friends! till the next Year. |
On the 13th of this month, 1545, the famous
council of Trent began.
On the 23d, 1688, K. James Abdicated his
kingdoms, and embarked for France.
The fall of Niagara, which Popple’s map lays
down in the N-West corner of this province, is, according to
Henepin, compounded of two great cross streams of water, and two
falls, with an isle sloping along between. The waters fall from a
horrible precipice above 600 foot, and foam and boil in an hideous
manner, making an outrageous noise, more terrible than thunder; for
when the wind blows out of the South, their dismal roaring may be
heard more than 15 Leagues off.
Conrad, the 3d emperor of Germany, besieged
Guelph, duke of Bavaria, in the city of Wansburg. The women
perceiving the town could not hold out, petitioned the emperor that
they might depart only with so much as they could carry on their
backs; which the emperor condescended to, expecting they would have
laden themselves with silver and gold; but they all came forth with
every one her husband on her back; whereat the emperor was so moved
that he wept, received the duke into his favour, gave all the men
their lives, and extolled the women with deserved praises.
Quere, Is this story more to the honour of the wives or of
the husbands? My dame Bridget says
the first, I think the latter: But we submit our dispute to
the decision of the candid reader.
A wit’s a feather, and a chief a rod;
An honest man’s the noblest work of God. Pope.
Leap-Year, or
Bissextile, is every fourth year: It is so called, by reason it
leaps a day more that year than in a common year; for in a common
year any fix’d day of the month does change the day of the week to
the day following; but in Bissextile, it skips or leaps over a day.
This Leap-Year is occasioned by the odd 6 hours in a year, over and
above 365 days, which odd hours make a day in 4 years; and because
the month of February is the shortest month in the year, this day
is added thereto; so that every 4th year February has 29 days, and
makes the year to consist of 366 days; that is, two days above 52
weeks; and this is the sole reason why, in Leap-Year, any fix’d
feast (as Christmas Day for example) is found two days in the week
further on than it was the Year before. To know when it is
Leap-Year, divide the year of our Lord by 4, and if nothing
remains, it is Leap-Year; but if 1, 2, or 3 remains, then it is
accordingly the 1st, 2d, or 3d year after Leap-Year.
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