Ql[)t f annex 5 iUontl)lw bisitor. 



173 



to tlie hours of happiness and scenes of his kin- 

 dred land — his first home. 



The hour of nine was a sigfiial for hats, coats 

 nnd shavvls. The parents and small children 

 rode — the hoys and girls walked to their respec- 

 tive homes, except where tlie distance made a 

 tarry until morning necessary. 



Before going, however, they all went into the 

 little room to see Margaret's two hoys of the 

 same age, who were fine fellows, and who have 

 been till now kept out of view, in compliance 

 with the remark of my uncle Jacoh. that compa- 

 ny should never he entertained with young chil- 

 dren. 



Kind reader, whoever thou act, if thou hast 

 had the patience to peruse the events recorded 

 of my uncle, from the retireoK'nt in which we first 

 found him, living a recluse, his feelings soured 

 by early disappointment, until circun)stances 

 have reconciled him to his relations, and phued 

 him on a footing of amity and happiness not 

 again to be disturbed ; if any thing in this is 

 worthy of examjile, or if any of his sayings or 

 <loings afford a lesson of useful knowledge, then 

 his nephew has been revvarde<l for the labor of 

 writing them down. And if, on the other hand, 

 there should be found among the readers of the 

 Visitor those wlio have wished the pages had 

 been appropriated to other matter, they will now 

 perhaps rejoice to learn that uncle Jacob does 

 not doubt their taste or judgment, and wishes 

 them, in common with others, health, prosperity, 

 and liap[)iness, and writes with his and tljeir 

 most obedient in a lasting farewell. 



ROBERT. 



[We cannot consent tliat this shall be the last 

 ■we will hear of uncle Jacob's nephew.] 



Death of Col. John Trumbull. 



This venerable patriot died here, yesterday 

 morning, at the age of 87 years. His remains 

 are to be removed to New Haven for interment. 



Col. Tniinbidl was born at Lebanon. Conn., on 

 the 6th day of June, 1756. His father, Jonathan 

 Trumbull, was first magistrate of the colony of 

 Connecticut before the separation (lom Great 

 Britain ; he [lossessed, nevertheless, the confi- 

 dence of his countrymen to such a degree, that 

 they annually re-electrd him Governor of the 

 State dining the whole war of the Revolution. 



Immediately after the battle of Lexington, 

 fought on the 19th of April, 177.5, John Trum- 

 bnll attached himself tn the patriot forces in the 

 capacity of Adjutant of the first Coiniecticut 

 regiment. On the arrival of Gen. Washington 

 at Boston, subsequently to the battle of Bunker 

 Hill, Mr. Trumbull, then an accomplished 

 dranahlsman, sketched a plan of the cjieinj's 

 works, with so much accuracy as to secitre the 

 favorable notice of the General, who soon after 

 appointed him to the post of second aid-de- 

 cairip. lie retaine<l the situation but a short 

 time befiire he was appointed major of a brigade 

 at Roxbury. In June, ]77(), Gen. Gates, then 

 promoted to tiie rank of Major General, with the 

 conmiand of the Northern Department, coniprc- 

 heiiding Canada, and the Canadian frontier, ap- 

 pointed Major Trundiull bis Adjutant, with the 

 rank of Colonel. .'M'ter some months of ardu- 

 ous and efficient service, the refusal of the Con- 

 tinental Conirress to date his commission from 

 the time of his appoitilment by Ge.neral Gates, 

 induced Col. Trmnbidl to retire from the army. 

 Thus terminated his miliiaiy career, on the 22^1 

 of February, 1777. 



On bis return to Lebanon, he rt:^umed his pen- 

 cil, and subsequently having succeeded, through 

 the mediation of Sir .John Temple, in olitaining 

 I'.ermission from the British Government to re- 

 side in London, for the purpose of stnilyiiig 

 painting under Mr. West, he tepaire<l to that 

 metropolis. The news of Arnold's treason ;uul 

 the execution of Major Andre resolved the En- 

 iglish goyerrment to adopt retaliatory me.-isnres, 

 ■juid Col. Trumlnill, the destined victim of their 

 revenge, was arrested for high treason and eon- 

 fined in Tothill-ilelils Bridewell. He wi s lieatisd 

 with courteous consideration, and the King was 

 prevailed upon by Mr. West to pledge the royal 

 promise, that, in the worst possible event of the 

 law, his life should he safe. His coniiiiemont 

 was, however, protracted to eight months, at the 

 expiration of which he was liberat<'d by an order 

 in council, and admitted to hail. lielbic the 

 treaty of peace was concluded, he returned to 



America; but in 1784, he rejoined Mr. West,and 

 devoted himself with gri'at assiduity to his favor- 

 ite inofe.ssion. In 1794 he was appointed by Mr. 

 Jay, Secretary of the mission to Great Britain, 

 which post he occupied till the conclusion of 

 the treaty. In 1796 he received the appointment 

 of fifth commissioner from the commissioners 

 appointed to carry into e.xecution the seventh ar- 

 ticle of the treaty, and his iisefid labors in that 

 capacity constitute a part of his country's his- 

 tory. 



In 1817, the reputation which Col. Trmnbull 

 had acquired as an artist, induced the Congress 

 of the United States to secure his services in exe- 

 cuting the splendiil paintings of the Declaration 

 of Inde|iendence, the Surrender at Saratoga, the 

 Snrreniler of Cornwallis, and the Resignation of 

 (Seneral Washington at Annaptilis, which adorn 

 the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington. The 

 TrumhidI Gallery at Yale College, contains fifty- 

 five pictures painted by this great artist, and is 

 one of the most interesting collections of which 

 our country can boast. These paintings were 

 presented to the Institution in consideration of 

 an aimnity of one thousand dollars, to be paid to 

 Col. Trumbull during his life. The profits of 

 their exhibition alter his dece<.?e, were stipulated 

 to be applied towards the expense of educating 

 students in needy circumstances. — JV". Y.Jouriinl 

 of Commerce. JVoi>. 15. 



Meteorological Journal kept at Concord 

 by A. CH.iNDLER. 



18*3. 



October. 



[Barum-jTliermo:n-i Wind. i Clouds. 

 I eter. j eter. 1 From. Force. From. Am't. 



Maximum licijht uf the Barometer, £9.93 on the 15th. 

 Minimum '■ " " 29.20 " 3d. 



Mean " ' ■" 29.60 



Maximum •' " Tiicrmonieter, 6.")" on the 2i!. 



Minimum '' " " '26" " SOlb. 



Mean " " '' 4 1'^'5. 



R£M.\p.Ks. — Oct. 7 ill, having been ab.sent for 

 the past ten diiys the observations were intrusted 



to other hands, and as the person did not under- 

 stand how to observe the wind tiiid clouds, those 

 observations have been necessarily omitted. It 

 will be seen too that the barometer was noted 

 only to the nearest tenth of an inch ; the iher- 

 tnometer I believe has been ohserveil correctly. 

 The first, and forenoon of the second day, was 

 rainy. — 8th, began to rain moderately yesterday 

 towards night ; continued so imtil this afternoon, 

 when it poured down in fine order. — 9tli, cleared 

 up in the night; whole quantity of rain 2^ in- 

 ches. — 12th, rained lightly in the eve. — 14th, bril- 

 liant bank of northern light in the eve. — 15th, 

 very hard frost this morning. — 23d, rained lightly 

 in the forenoon ; in the afternoon it rained, hailed 

 and snowed by turns, the snow melted as it 

 reached the ground ; tlie hills around us were 

 covered with snow towards night. — 27th, cold 

 N. E. wind with rain and sleet, the rain freezing 

 as it reaches the ground ; afternoon tnore mode- 

 rate. 



Co.NsciErvcE. ' We are apt to connect the 

 voice of conscience with the stillness of mid- 

 night. But I think we wrong that innocent 

 hour. It is that terrible 'next morning,' when 

 reason is wide awake, upon which remorse fas- 

 tens its fiings. Has a man gambled away bis 

 all, or shot his friend in a duel ? — has he com- 

 mitted a crime, or incinred a laugh? — it is the 

 next morning;, when the irretrievable past rises 

 before him like a spectre — then doth the church- 

 yard of memory yield up its grisly dead — then 

 is the witching hour, when the foul fiend within 

 tis can least tempt perhaps, but most torment. 

 .At night we have one thing to hope for, one 

 refuge to fly to — oblivion and sleep! But at 

 Jnorning, sleep is over, and we are called upon 

 coldly to review, and react, and live again the 

 waking bitterness of self-reproach. * * * 

 The conscience is the most elastic material in 

 the world. To-day you cannot stretch it over !i 

 mole-hill, to-morrow it hides a mountain." 



Wonderful Procreation of the Earth. 



Hon. Cai.i;b Cusiii.ng, who never lets an op- 

 portunity escape for gathering usefiil informa- 

 tion, and the result of whose mission to China 

 we trust may be important in more tlian one re- 

 spect to the countiy, on his vogage across the At- 

 lantic in the ill-iiited Missouri, touched at the 

 Madeira islands. These islands are evidently 

 mountains at some time [iroliably thrown out of 

 the bowels of the sea. Wr. dishing wrii.'s home 

 to a friend in relation to the island of Pico, one 

 of the Madeira grouji, that it-.; great fertility is to 

 he directly traced to ihe ashes and scoiia that 

 have <leEcended on the sides directly from the 

 craters above in burning lava. The facts that 

 the volcanic islands have a greater fertility than 

 the soil of more ancient formation, and that these 

 islaiuls are composed ot' inateri.-ils coming from 

 unknown depths in the hos<im of the earth, go to 

 de-monstrate that all the snb.'^tances of whicii the 

 earth is conqKised are fruitful in the productions 

 necessary for the snbsi.sience of man and beast. 

 Why is it that vegetables and tree« spnng out of 

 the ground as soon as the soil is lifted above the 

 waters.' why is it, that the natural produtnions of 

 all countries in similar latitudes . and altitudes are 

 ihesMnie — that the beach, the riak and the rock- 

 maple at one point, anil in its imnu'iliate neigh- 

 borhood upon a heavier soil, the hemlock and Ihe 

 spruce, should aKvays ho found ? Why do the 

 grasses at di.nV.'renl [loints iind at gi'eat distances, 

 spring up as the natuial gro\Mli, where human 

 hands liave never stievviMl the seed .' 



The entire surface of rock ex[iosed to the at- 

 mosphere is constantly decomposing and chang- 

 ing into particles of soil : the air, the rain, the 

 frost, the ahernalions of freezing ;Hid 'thawing, 

 are constantly wearing or breaking oft' the fur- 

 fttcc of all rocks. That soil which lias most re- 

 cently been made from the rock is most fertile; 

 anil perhaps that decomposed lock is best which 

 is of the most recent formation. The volcanic 

 regions of the world are invariably productive, 

 and l.tie ground most recently made frotn lav.i 

 which has been tlnown iioni the bowels of the 

 earth is most of all fertile. The- sides of /Etna 

 and Vesuvius, the most li(?autWcil for their veget- 

 able products in the world, receive the aliment 

 I'or the greater growth from the matter thrown 

 out of the interior of the earth. The rich Ma- 

 deira islands, the peak «f Teneriffe, so |)ro- 



