The New-York Weekly Magazine, or Miscellaneous Repository Part 43

But through th' obscurity of this dark gloom, The eye of hope can safely penetrate; And far beyond the precincts of the tomb, A gleam of comfort checks the pow'r of fate.

For virtue ne'er shall unrewarded be, Nor innocence in death forego its charms; Soon may we hope in heav'n our friend to see, Securely resting in his Maker's arms.

ALEXIS.

NEW-YORK _Sept. 8, 1796_.

EPIGRAM.

"O, that a glove I to that hand were prest, "On which reclin'd, that lovely cheek might rest!"

'Twas thus the youth his amorous wish preferr'd, A glove--so cold a suit could ne'er be heard; Ah, surely _bosom friends_ were then unknown, That teach the breast a mutual warmth to own.

_For the +New-York Weekly Magazine+._

THE RISING MOON.

Where yonder clouds adorn the eastern sky, The slowly rising moon, with solemn pace, Scans the fair face of heav'n in silent majesty, And like a light emits her favouring grace.

High though her throne, the sparkling stars, Proud of their leader, s.h.i.+ne more bright; (Devoid of clouds whose influence mars,) While mortals share her useful light.

Slow in her train the moving planets all Glide in their spheres, ambitious to pursue Their faithful trav'ller as she scans the ball, And with their l.u.s.tre combat to outdo.

So man may s.h.i.+ne with intellectual light, And all his virtue to the world impart; That distant fires his relicts may excite To study G.o.d, and humanize the heart.

L. LE FEVRE.

PINE-STREET, _Aug. 30, 1798_.

THE BATCHELOR'S WISH.

Free from bustle, care and strife, Of this short various scene of life, O, let me spend my days.

In rural sweetness with a friend, To whom I may my mind unbend, Not censure heed, or praise.

Though not extravagant, or near, Yet through the well-spent checquer'd year, I'd have enough to leave.

To drink a bottle with a friend, a.s.sist him in distress, not lend, But rather freely give.

Riches bring care, I ask not wealth, Let me enjoy but peace and health; I envy not the great.

'Tis peace alone can make me bless'd.

The rich may take to east, or west, I claim not wealth or state.

I too would chuse to sweeten life, A tender, mild, good-natur'd wife, Young, sensible, and fair.

One who would love but me alone; Prefer my cottage to a throne, And soothe my every care.

Thus happy with my wife and friend; My days I carefully would spend, By no sad thoughts oppress'd.

If heaven has bliss for me in store, Grant me but this, I ask no more, And I am truly bless'd.

NEW-YORK: _+Printed by JOHN BULL, No. 115, Cherry-Street+, where every Kind of Printing work is executed with the utmost Accuracy and Dispatch.--+Subscriptions+ for this +Magazine+ (at 2s. per month) are taken in at the Printing-Office, and by E. MITCh.e.l.l, Bookseller, No. 9, Maiden-Lane._

_UTILE DULCI._

THE NEW-YORK WEEKLY MAGAZINE; or, Miscellaneous Repository.

+Vol. II.+] +Wednesday, September 21, 1796.+ [+No. 64.+

AN ENQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTS OF LOVE ON LIFE AND MANNERS.

There is something irresistibly pleasing in the conversation of a fine woman: even though her tongue be silent, the eloquence of her eyes teaches wisdom. The mind sympathizes with the regularity of the object in view, and struck with external grace, vibrates into respondent harmony.

Whether love be natural or no, it contributes to the happiness of every society into which it is introduced. All our pleasures are short, and can only charm at intervals: love is a method of protracting our greatest pleasure; and surely that gamester, who plays the greatest stake to the best advantage, will at the end of life, rise victorious.

This was the opinion of Vanini, who affirmed that, "every hour was lost which was not spent in love." His accusers were unable to comprehend his meaning, end the poor advocate for love was burned in flames, alas! no way metaphorical. But whatever advantages the individual may reap from this pa.s.sion, society will certainly be refined and improved by its introduction; all laws, calculated to discourage it, tend to embrute the species and weaken the state. Though it cannot plant morals in the human breast, it cultivates them when there: pity, generosity, and honour, receive a brighter polish from its a.s.sistance; and a single amour is sufficient entirely to brush off the clown.

But it is an exotic of the most delicate const.i.tution; it requires the greatest art to introduce it into a state, and the smallest discouragement is sufficient to repress it again. Let us only consider with what ease it was formerly extinguished in Rome, and with what difficulty it was lately revived in Europe: it seemed to sleep for ages, and at last fought its way through tilts, tournaments, dragons, and all the dreams of chivalry. The rest of the world, are, and have ever been, utter strangers to its delights and advantages. In other countries, as men find themselves stronger than women, they lay a claim to rigorous superiority: this is natural, and love which gives up this natural advantage, must certainly be the effect of art. An art, calculated to lengthen out our happier moments, and add new graces to society.

Those countries where it is rejected, are obliged to have recourse to art to stifle so natural a projection, and those nations where it is cultivated, only make nearer advances to nature. The same efforts, that are used in some places to suppress pity and other natural pa.s.sions, may have been employed to extinguish love. No nation, however unpolished, is remarkable for innocence, that has not been famous for pa.s.sion; it has flourished in the coldest, as well as the warmest regions. Even in the sultry wilds of southern America, the lover is not satisfied with possessing his mistress's person, without having her mind.

In all my Enna's beauties blest, Amidst profusion still to pine; For though she gives me up her breast, Its panting tenant is not mine.

The effects of love are too violent to be the result of an artful pa.s.sion. Nor is it in the power of fas.h.i.+on, to force the const.i.tution into those changes, which we every day observe. Several have died of it.

Few lovers are unacquainted with the fate of the two Italian lovers, Da Corsin and Julia Bellamano, who, after a long separation, expired with pleasure in each other's arms. Such instances are too strong confirmations of the reality of the pa.s.sion, and serve to shew that suppressing it, is but opposing the natural dictates of the heart.

AUTHENTICATED ETYMOLOGIES.

When the seamen on board the s.h.i.+p of Christopher Columbus, after a series of fatigues, came in sight of St. Salvador, they burst out into exuberant mirth and jollity. "The lads are in _a merry key_," cried the commodore. _America_ is now the name of half the globe.

The famous Hannibal took his name from that of his mother, _Hannah Bell_, a poor Scotch garter knitter at Carthage.