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IT was about an hour before &longs;un&longs;et, that
the Captain fell in company with one
who had the Cincinnati eagle at his brea&longs;t,
and riding on together, put up at the inn.

The landlady and the &longs;ervants, having
never &longs;een the badge before, were a good
deal &longs;truck with the effigy of the eagle, and
the ribband at which it was pendant. Interrogating
Teague, who had come in
company, and whom they took to be a
common &longs;ervant to both, or at lea&longs;t acquainted
with the affairs of either, what
was the meaning of that bird, or what bird
it was, that the gentleman had at his brea&longs;t?
Teague knew as little about it as they did;
but unwilling to be thought ignorant, took

[figure description] Page 136.[end figure description]

upon him to inform them. It is, &longs;aid he,
a goo&longs;e; and the maining is, that the
&longs;hentleman would ate a goo&longs;e, if your anours
would get one roa&longs;ted this avening,
for his anour to ate with the Captain, who
is my ma&longs;ter; for we have ate nothing all
day long, and a roa&longs;ted goo&longs;e with a shoulder
of mutton, a pace of poark, and bafe
and cabbage, and the like, would be a
very good &longs;lake for a fa&longs;ting &longs;tomach. So,
God &longs;ave your &longs;oul, dear honey, and make
ha&longs;te, and get a goo&longs;e knocked down and
put to the fire, to keep their anours from
&longs;tarving, and to go to bed in a good humour,
when they have drank a cup of ale
or a mug of cyder after the goo&longs;e; and,
ble&longs;s your &longs;oul, dear honey, let it be a
good large fat goo&longs;e, that there may be a
rib or a wing left, that a poor &longs;ervant may
have &longs;ometing to ate, at the &longs;ame time.
The &longs;hentleman was very right to hold out
a token, like the &longs;ign of a tavern-keeper,
with a goo&longs;e, or a pigeon, or a turkey,
that paple may know what he wants, and
not be after the trouble of a&longs;king whether
he would chu&longs;e roa&longs;t bafe and parates, or
pork and par&longs;nips, may it pla&longs;e your anour.

The landlady was a good deal di&longs;tre&longs;&longs;ed,

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having no goo&longs;e about the hou&longs;e. But
&longs;ending out to her neighbours, &longs;he made
&longs;hift to collect a couple of ducks, which
Teague acknowledged would be a very
good &longs;ub&longs;titute. Supper being ordered,
the&longs;e were &longs;erved up, with an apology
from the landlady, that &longs;he had not been
able to procure a goo&longs;e; which &longs;he hoped
the gentleman with the ribbon would excuse,
as &longs;he was informed that a roa&longs;ted
goo&longs;e was &longs;o much to his ta&longs;te. A roa&longs;ted
goo&longs;e to my ta&longs;te! &longs;aid the officer; what
rea&longs;on have you to think that a roa&longs;ted
goo&longs;e is &longs;o much my choice? Surely madam
you cannot mean wit, or to in&longs;inuate
that I my&longs;elf am a goo&longs;e? for one animal
preys not upon another; the maxim is,
dog will not eat dog. I cannot therefore
be a goo&longs;e if I eat one.

Here the landlady explained her meaning,
giving the information &longs;he had received
from the &longs;ervant. The Captain was
greatly irritated, and would have called
him in and cha&longs;ti&longs;ed him in&longs;tantly, had not
the officer interfered; declaring that though
it was an eagle, not a goo&longs;e that he wore
at his brea&longs;t, yet he was not di&longs;&longs;atisfied
at the mi&longs;take, in as much as it had brought

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a couple of good ducks to the table, a fowl
of which he was particularly fond.

This incident, in it&longs;elf laughable, led
the officer to relate the trouble he had had
with a clergyman who had made a wor&longs;e
mi&longs;take than this, taking the eagle for a
graven image, contrary to the injunction
of the decalogue, which prohibits the making
any &longs;uch repre&longs;entation for the purpose
of wor&longs;hip, as he alledged this to be.
In an&longs;wer to the clergyman, he had alledged
the improbability that he who had been
in the &longs;ervice &longs;o many years, at a di&longs;tance
from church, or church wor&longs;hip, except
when a dei&longs;tical chaplain came the way,
&longs;hould think &longs;o much of religion, as to
have any wor&longs;hip at all; much le&longs;s to have
become &longs;uper&longs;titious, and to wear an image
at his bo&longs;om. The truth was, that
he wor&longs;hipped any god, true or fal&longs;e, very
little; at lea&longs;t, &longs;aid few or no prayers, on
&longs;uch occa&longs;ions; and was very far from being
an idolater, and paying adoration to
a gold or &longs;ilver image; that this was nothing
more than a hieroglyphic, being the
effigies of a bald eagle, which is a native
of America, and de&longs;ignates the cau&longs;e for
which her &longs;oldiery had fought; in the
&longs;ame manner as the eagle was the &longs;tandard

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of the Roman legion; or the lion and the
unicorn are the arms of England, or the
thi&longs;tle that of Scotland; that the emblem
of the American bald eagle had, on the&longs;e
principles, been cho&longs;en by the Cincinnati
for their badge; of which &longs;ociety he was
a member, and wore this device, not venerating
it as the image of any bird or
bea&longs;t what&longs;oever.

The clergyman admitted, that, in strictness,
this &longs;ymbol might not be a graven
image, as the term would intend engraving
on wood or metal, with the point of
an in&longs;trument; and under this mental reservation,
the wearer might &longs;ave him&longs;elf
in &longs;aying that it was not a graven image:
but it was at lea&longs;t a molten one, which
comes within the meaning of the prohibition;
being the repre&longs;entation of a fowl,
and doubtle&longs;s for the purpo&longs;e of idolatry.
For what el&longs;e could be the u&longs;e or meaning
of it. It was not a common broach, u&longs;ed
as a ligament to the &longs;hirt or coat; and it
was unworthy of a man to &longs;uppo&longs;e it could
be worn merely for ornament; boys and
petit maitres delighting in the&longs;e things,
but no one el&longs;e. It could not be any &longs;ort
of time-piece, worn for the purpo&longs;e of ascertaining
di&longs;tance. In fact, it was the

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portrait of a bird, the &longs;ignal of &longs;ome heathen
deity; as the cock was &longs;acred to Escalapius,
the owl to Minerva, the peacock
to Juno, and the dove to Venus. The eagle
was &longs;acred to Jupiter; and it was mo&longs;t
probable, that it was in honour of this
fal&longs;e god, that the image was worn.

It an&longs;wered no end to rea&longs;on with the
eccle&longs;ia&longs;tic; for he grew but the more enraged,
and in&longs;i&longs;ted that it was an idol;
&longs;hewing from &longs;ome texts of &longs;cripture, that
in the la&longs;t times idolaters were to &longs;pring
up; and that this &longs;ociety, which the Cincinnati
in&longs;tituted, might be the Gog and
Magog &longs;poken of in the Apocalyp&longs;e.

Said the Captain, It was natural enough
for the clergyman to make this deduction;
as in maintaining the cau&longs;e of truth again&longs;t
Pagans, he is led to dwell much on the
&longs;ubject of idolatry. But for my part, the
principal objection that lies with me against
your in&longs;titution, is that which lies
again&longs;t all partial in&longs;titutions what&longs;oever;
they cut men from the common ma&longs;s, and
alienate their affections from the whole,
concentring their attachments to a particular
point and intere&longs;t. A circum&longs;tance
of this kind is unfavourable to general
philanthropy, giving a temporary and

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artificial credit to tho&longs;e who are of the body,
among&longs;t them&longs;elves; &longs;o that while &longs;ome
lend character, others borrow; and the
individuals do not &longs;tand on the natural basis
of their own merit. On this principle,
I do not much approve of clubs and societies,
unle&longs;s in the ca&longs;e of &longs;ome humane
or charitable in&longs;titution; or for the purpose
of carrying on &longs;ome beneficial work
or improvement. I do not know that in
your conveening annually together, you
have any object in view of this nature. I
have not heard of any bridges you have
built, or any canals dug, or locks made for
the purpo&longs;e of facilitating navigation. I
do not &longs;ee of what u&longs;e your in&longs;titution is;
unle&longs;s it be, that your pronouncing an oration
now and then, may be favourable to eloquence.
But of this I much doubt, as
&longs;uch ab&longs;tract di&longs;cour&longs;es u&longs;ually degenerate
into common place. The great object of
an orator is, to per&longs;uade the judgment, or
affect the pa&longs;&longs;ions. In this ca&longs;e, the judgment
is already per&longs;uaded, the affections
already gained. Having therefore, no object,
what exertion can the mind make?
Be the cau&longs;e what it may, certain it is that
&longs;uch compo&longs;itions are &longs;eldom or ever found
to be models of eloquence; more

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especially where the &longs;ubject is of an exten&longs;ive
nature, as the revolution of America, and
the &longs;truggles of its heroes. For here &longs;o
wide a canva&longs;s is &longs;pread, that it is difficult
to fill it up; and to take a particular part
would &longs;eem to be a dereliction of the re&longs;t;
for which dereliction no &longs;pecial rea&longs;on
could be given. You could not embrace
all the characters who have figured or
have fallen, or catch at particular names
of the illu&longs;trious. Con&longs;ining your&longs;elf,
therefore, to general ob&longs;ervations, you
make no particular impre&longs;&longs;ion, and your
orations become frigid to the hearers.

I have felt the truth of all this, &longs;aid the
Cincinnati gentleman, and the difficulty of
compo&longs;ing an oration to &longs;atisfy my own
wi&longs;hes. For being appointed by the society
to pronounce one at our next meeting,
to which I am now on my way, I
have been trying my hand at it, and find
it as you &longs;ay, very difficult; but have attributed
this, not to the nature of the
compo&longs;ition; but to the inferiority of my
powers. Not &longs;o, &longs;aid the Captain; for in
the hands of the greate&longs;t ma&longs;ters, this kind
of compo&longs;ition labours. We do not find
that even the oration of I&longs;ocrates, on the
Lacedemonian war, which he was ten

[figure description] Page 143.[end figure description]

years in compo&longs;ing, has obtained &longs;uch celebrity
among the ancients, as &longs;uch great
labour would be&longs;peak. I have read the
panegyric of Trajan, by Pliny; and find
it but a cold compo&longs;ition. Plato's oration
in honour of tho&longs;e who had fallen in the
battles of Marathon and Platea, is the be&longs;t
of this kind that antiquity can produce,
and doubtle&longs;s has great excellence of simplicity
of painting. The touches are delicate
and fine, and I do not know but we may
place it among the mo&longs;t beautiful productions.
It amu&longs;es with magic wildne&longs;s of
fancy, at the &longs;ame time, re&longs;trained and
guided by an exqui&longs;ite judgment. But it
is rather a poem than an harangue. For
though the compo&longs;ition is in pro&longs;e, yet it
breathes the &longs;oul of a bard, and is inchanting
by the flow of the words, and the elevation
of the images. In modern times,
the be&longs;t thing we have of this nature, is
the panegyric of Cromwell, &longs;uppo&longs;ed to be
written by the great Milton, but not delivered.
The ingenuity di&longs;covered in the
mode of prai&longs;ing him, de&longs;erves every possible
commendation. But the greater part
of addre&longs;&longs;es that I have &longs;een to great men
now-a-days, or orations on public

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occasions, are turgid, or jejune, or little worth
our notice.

After this, &longs;aid the Cincinnati gentleman,
I &longs;hall he&longs;itate to &longs;how you the e&longs;&longs;ay
I have made towards a compo&longs;ition of this
nature, as you appear to be &longs;o good a judge
in this re&longs;pect, and to know the deficiencies
that may appear in any effort of this kind.

Nay, rather, &longs;aid the Captain, you ought
to be the more confident in &longs;o doing; for
knowing the difficulty of the work, I &longs;hall
be the more ready to excu&longs;e what comes
&longs;hort of perfection.

I &longs;hall then take the liberty, &longs;aid the
Cincinnati gentleman, to read you a few
paragraphs. I &longs;hall be happy to hear it,
&longs;aid the Captain. The Cincinnati gentleman
read as follows:

Compatriots—I wi&longs;h to &longs;ay tho&longs;e
things that never have been &longs;aid, and that
never will be &longs;aid again. Becau&longs;e, in this
ca&longs;e, there will be the characteri&longs;tics of
novelty and &longs;ingularity; the two great
con&longs;tituents of plea&longs;ure, in all intellectual
entertainments. But what can I &longs;ay new?
Has not the whole world re&longs;ounded with
the ju&longs;tne&longs;s of the cau&longs;e in which we have
been engaged; with the greatne&longs;s of the
attempt to with&longs;tand the power of Britain?

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And have not we, our&longs;elves, felt, &longs;een,
and known the great variety and change
of good or bad fortune? What will it contribute
to our immediate enjoyment to go
over &longs;uch &longs;cenes, unle&longs;s the particular achievements
of each officer can be enumerated,
which decency forbids, and which
indeed, cannot be done in the limits of
one harangue. Leaving, therefore, ourselves,
and the&longs;e &longs;cenes, wholly out of
the que&longs;tion, let us &longs;peak a little of tho&longs;e
whom we left behind. But why need we
&longs;peak; for all time will &longs;peak of them.
The bards that &longs;hall live, will draw hence
their choice&longs;t allu&longs;ions. Con&longs;ider them,
indeed, as more happy than you, becau&longs;e
they a&longs;cended from among the group of
their companions, who were at that time
in&longs;tant witne&longs;&longs;es of their achievments. The
warriors who fall in battle, are the mo&longs;t
glorious &longs;ubjects of panegyric. Hector and
Achilles, form the mo&longs;t &longs;plendid part of the
&longs;ong of Homer, and in a great degree, because
their bodies were interred in the presence
of the two armies. Oh what a noble
object! an army mourning a brave officer,
and tears drawn even from the foe, &longs;truck
with the &longs;ublime of his per&longs;onal prowe&longs;s,
and excellent knowledge of the military art.

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Much unlike, and far above tho&longs;e who languish
with &longs;ickne&longs;s on a bed in calm life,
where relations &longs;tanding round, wi&longs;h the
departure of the &longs;hade, and gape for the
po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ion which he leaves behind. But
the fame of a &longs;oldier none but him&longs;elf can
enjoy, there can be no heir or devi&longs;ee of
his property. It is his own, and it mounts
with him. His blood only remains to
ble&longs;s the earth, from which flowers and
ro&longs;es &longs;pring, and clothe the woods and
groves with enchantment and delight. For
here the &longs;ong of poe&longs;y is awakened, and at
morn, and noon, and at &longs;till eve, they are
heard who rehear&longs;e where the brave fell,
and where they &longs;leep. Sublime &longs;pirits!
whether you inhabit the Pagan ely&longs;ium
or the Chri&longs;tian heaven, you are happy;
and li&longs;ten to tho&longs;e immortal lyres which
are &longs;trung to the deeds of heroes.

So much for the exordium of the oration;
it was all he had yet written. The
evening pa&longs;&longs;ed away in hilarity; and the
conver&longs;ation turned again on the Cincinnati
order; but particularly what may be called
the arms of the in&longs;titution, viz. Britannia
repre&longs;ented as a fine woman, with
her bo&longs;om bare, affrighted; and Cincinnatus,
an accoutred knight, attacking her

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thus unarmed, as St. George did the dragon;
the eagle, the bird of Jove, in the
mean time gra&longs;ping the lightning in his
claws, an image that would &longs;eem unnatural:
Whereas the eagle might be represented
in the clouds near Jove, where the
lightning might be left to work its forked
cour&longs;e, without the handing of the eagle;
and in the other figure, Cincinnatus might
rai&longs;e his lance again&longs;t the lion that &longs;upports
the crown, not again&longs;t the godde&longs;s of the
i&longs;land.

From the&longs;e &longs;trictures which the Captain,
without pretending to be a connoi&longs;&longs;eur,
made, the tran&longs;ition was ea&longs;y to a criticism
on the motto of the badge; viz.
Omnia reliquit, &longs;ervare, rempublicam. The
infinitive is here u&longs;ed in&longs;tead of the gerund,
with the prepo&longs;ition, ad &longs;ervandam;
as if it was intended to expre&longs;s his motion,
or change of place, and not the object.
But in fact, the motto does not at all express
that in which the merit of Cincinnatus
did con&longs;i&longs;t. It was not in his leaving
every thing to accept the commi&longs;&longs;ion of
the Roman &longs;enate; but in re&longs;igning his
commi&longs;&longs;ion, and, the work done, going to
his plough again. His prai&longs;e would have
been expre&longs;&longs;ed better by the phra&longs;e of,

[figure description] Page 148.[end figure description]

Victor ad aratrum redit. In fact, it cannot
apply well to our army; mo&longs;t of our
officers not having much to leave when
they accepted their commi&longs;&longs;ions; but discovered
a Cincinnati-like di&longs;po&longs;ition, in returning
after war to the employments of
civil life. It is true, there would have
been le&longs;s tin&longs;el, and more bullion, in the
patrioti&longs;m of retiring without a badge, as
Cincinnatus did: But it is a thing that can
do little harm, and it is plea&longs;ing to indulge
a whim.

It may doubtle&longs;s be &longs;aid, that there were
officers that left the plough, and fought,
and returned to it, as well as tho&longs;e who
are within the limitations of the institution,
and entitled to a badge; that, troops
who had &longs;erved a &longs;hort enli&longs;tment, and
militia per&longs;ons, at lea&longs;t tho&longs;e who fought
a little, were not wholly de&longs;titute of &longs;ome
claim to the badge of merit. Even tho&longs;e
who lo&longs;t property might be &longs;aid to &longs;uffer,
and advance preten&longs;ions to the reward of
honour. Not that all of them &longs;hould claim
gold medals, or even &longs;ilver; but &longs;ome
bra&longs;s, &longs;ome copper, pewter, a bit of tin,
or pot metal, ju&longs;t as the &longs;pecific value of
their &longs;ervices might entitle them. Perhaps
while &longs;ome wore it at the brea&longs;t,

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others might be enjoined to war it at the
breeches pocket, and thus, as well by the
point from which appendant, as by the bob
it&longs;elf, de&longs;ignate the proportion of their
honour.

After this, &longs;ome things were &longs;aid on the
&longs;ubject of introducing honourary members;
again&longs;t which the Captain declared
him&longs;elf: That every thing ought to be
pre&longs;erved &longs;ui generis; as nature makes no
honourary animals; but all are of the species,
or take not the name: a bear is a
real bear, a &longs;heep is a &longs;heep; and there is
no commixture of name, where there is
a difference of nature. But it did not appear
to be of any great con&longs;equence, one
way or the other. For the order would
never come to any great head, as there
was no oppo&longs;ition given. For this is necessary
to keep alive attachment to what is
arbitrary, and founded, not in utility, but
caprice. For as the fire dies without air,
&longs;o whim without contradiction.

The officer was a man of liberality and
good &longs;en&longs;e, and acknowledged the truth
of this. But the evening being now far
&longs;pent, candles were called for, and they
went to bed.

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