the body to partake, in a certain degree, of the feast of the mind.

The effects of the procession, upon the minds and bodies of our citizens, deserve to be noticed.-It forced open every heart, insomuch that many people provided cooling liquors, with which they regaled their fellow-citizens as they walked in the procession. It likewise invigorated the muscles of the body. The company assembled at eight o'clock, and were upon foot at the place of parade, and in the procession till one. The distance they marched was three miles, and yet scarcely a person complained of fatigue, although there were many old and weakly people in the procession. But this sudden excitement of the vigour of the body left a orresponding debility behind it; for I scarcely met a person in the afternoon, that did not complain of fatigue, and discover a desire to retire to rest early in the evening.

It was very remarkable, that every countenance wore an air of dignity as well as pleasure. Every tradesman's boy in the procession seemed to consider himself as a principal in the business. Rank for awhile forgot all its claims, and Agriculture, Commerce and Manufactures, together with the learned and mechanical professions, seemed to acknowledge, by their harmony and respect for each other, that they were all necessary to each other, and all useful in cultivated society. These circumstances distinguished this Procession from the processions in Europe, which are commonly instituted in honour of single persons. The military alone partake of the splendour of such exhibitions. Farmers and tradesmen are either deemed unworthy of such connexions, or are introduced like horses or buildings, only to add to the strength or length of the procession. Such is the difference between the effects of a republican and monarchical government upon the minds of men!

I need not suggest to you how much this mixture of the mechanical and learned professions in a public exhibition is calculated to render trades of all kinds respectable in our country. Farmers and tradesmen are the pillars of national happiness and prosperity. It would seem as if Heaven stamped a peculiar value upon agriculture and mechanical arts in America, by selecting Washington and Franklin to be two of the principal agents in the late revolution. The titles of farmer and mechanic, therefore, can never fail of being peculiarly agreeable in the United States, while gratitude and patriotism live in American breasts. I

wish the different trades in Philadelphia may avail themselves of their late sudden and accidental association, and form themselves into distinct incorporated companies. Many advantages would arise to them from such institutions, especially if part of the objects of their union should be to establish a fund for the relief of the infirm or decayed members of their companies, and of their widows and orphans.Two and six-pence or half a dollar, thrown into a common stock, by each tradesman every month, would produce a fund sufficient for all these benevolent purposes, and would not be missed out of the ordinary profits of his labour. It is impossible to tell how much distress might, by these means, be prevented or relieved.

It would give me pleasure to remark upon the effect of every article that composed the procession. But this would lead me far beyond the limits I have prescribed to myself in this letter.

The triumphal car was truly sublime,-it was raised above every other object. The Constitution was carried by a great law-officer, to denote the elevation of the government, and of law and justice, above every thing else in the United States.

The sight of the ship complete in all its parts, moving upon dry land, conveyed emotions to every heart, that cannot be described. She was a ship of war. I wish the procession could have been conducted without blending the emblems of Peace and war together; but this was impossible, while armies and navies are considered as necessary appendages of the sovereignty of independent states. The United States have taught the nations of the world, that it is possible to terminate disputes by appeals to reason, instead of the sword. I do not despair of this mode of deciding national disputes becoming general, in the course of the approaching century. It will be a less change in human affairs, than has been produced by reason and religion in the course of the last two hundred years.

The clean white dresses of the victuallers and bakers were very happily calculated to excite such ideas of their respective arts, as could not fail of being agreeable to every spectator. The two oxen, with their decorations, made a noble figure. They were destined to the slaughterhouse the next day, for the benefit of the poor; but such was the effect of an agreeable association of ideas, that a general outcry was raised, after they had passed by, against

the fate that awaited them. The most trifling object derived a value from being connected with this delightful and interesting exhibition.

The large stage on which the carding and spinning machines displayed the manufactory of cotton, was viewed with astonishment and delight by every spectator. On that stage were carried the emblems of the future wealth and independence of our country. Cotton may be cultivated in the southern, and manufactured in the eastern and middle states, in such quantities, in a few years, as to clothe every citizen of the United States. Hence will arise a bond of union to the states, more powerful than any article of the New Constitution. Cotton possesses several advantages over wool as an article of dress and commerce. It is not liable to be moth eaten, and is proper both for winter and summer garments. It may moreover be manufactured in America, at a less expense than it can be imported from any nation in Europe. From these circumstances I cannot help hoping, that we shall soon see cotton not only the uniform of the citizens of America, but an article of exportation to foreign countries. Several respectable gentlemen exhibited a prelude of these events, by appearing in complete suits of jeans manufactured by the machines that have been mentioned.

The clergy formed a very agreeable part of the procession-They manifested, by their attendance, their sense of the connexion between religion and good government. They amounted to seventeen in number. Four and five of them marched arm in arm with each other, to exemplify the Union. Pains were taken to connect ministers of the most dissimilar religious principles together, thereby to show the influence of a free government in promoting Christian charity. The Rabbi of the Jews, locked in the arms of two ministers of the gospel, was a most delightful sight. There could not have been a more happy emblem contrived, of that section of the new constitution, which opens all its power and offices alike, not only to every sect of Christians, but to worthy men of every religion.

In the course of the morning, many speeches were made by different gentlemen, that arose out of the incidents of the procession. Mr. P-, who walked with the farmers, just behind a man who was sowing grain, upon passing by the lawyers, said, "We sow, gentlemen, but you reap the fruits of our labours." Upon the procession being detained for

a few minutes, by an accident having happened to the carriage of the blacksmiths' shop, it was said, "that this was all in order, for it was an emblem of the obstructions and difficulties the constitution had met with in its establishment, from the arts of bad, and the ignorance of weak men.

The remarks of every man partook more or less of his profession, and the constitution received nearly as many new names, as there were occupations in the procession.

The instructers of youth, with a numerous collection of boys of every size and age in their train, formed a most agreeable part of the exhibition. A worthy citizen who served in several battles, during the late war, informed me, that this part of the procession affected him so much as to draw tears from his eyes.

I must not forget to mention that the weather proved uncommonly favourable to the entertainment. The sun was not to be seen till near two o'clock, at which time the procession was over. A pleasant and cooling breeze blew all day from the south, and in the evening the sky was illuminated by a beautiful Aurora Borealis. Under this head another fact is equally worthy of notice. Notwithstanding the haste in which the machines were made, and the manner in which they were drawn through the streets, and notwithstanding the great number of women and children that were assembled on fences, scaffolds and roofs of houses, to see the procession, no accident happened to any body. These circumstances gave occasion for hundreds to remark, that “Heaven was on the federal side of the question."

It would be ungrateful not to observe, that there have been less equivocal signs in the course of the formation and establishment of this government, of Heaven having favoured the federal side of the question. The union of twelve states in the form and ten states in the adoption of the Constitution, in less than ten months, under the influence of local prejudices, opposite interests, popular arts, and even the threats of bold and desperate men, is a solitary event in the history of mankind. I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as perfectly satisfied, that the union of the states, in its form and adoption, is as much the work of a divine Providence, as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament, were the effects of a divine power.

Ke

110

OBSERVATIONS ON THE GRAND FEDERAL PROCESSION.

'Tis done! We have become a nation. America has ceased to be the only power in the world, that has derived no benefit from her declaration of independence. We are more than repaid for the distresses of the war, and the disappointments of the peace. The torpid resources of our country already discover signs of life and motion. We are no longer the scoff of our enemies. The reign of violence is over. Justice has descended from heaven to dwell in our land, and ample restitution has at last been made to human nature, by our new constitution, for all the injuries she has sustained in the old world from arbitrary governments-false religions-and unlawful commerce,