Fowle's New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

VOL. XXX.

"OPEN TO ALL
PARTIES
Battle between Truth and Falsehood.

A
VISION.

To impede virtue by misrepresentation,
and blacken innocence by calumny,
has been the clandestine employment of
vice in every age and nation; and though
the hand of time has endeavored to detect
the forgeries of falsehood, and the pen of satire has been drawn in the cause of truth
and integrity; yet even their united forces
have proved insufficient to retard the celerity
of scandal, or stop the current of detraction.

One would almost be inclined to imagine
that there was an evil principle in our nature,
exciting every man to consider his
neighbour's wisdom as a reproach to his
own folly, and his neighbour's exaltation
as an obstacle to his own happiness. Hence
arise the burnings, envy, the malice of comparison, and the bickerings of animosity; to
this we must in a great measure attribute the
removal of merit, the progress of folly, and
the retrogression of wisdom and knowledge.

The celerity of one writer draws after it the
abuse and aspersion of a thousand; and the
beauty of one distinguished female calls forth
all the arrows of censure, and gives vent to
all the poison of malevolence; the prying
eye of envy is continually looking through
the wrong end of the perspective, to magnify every blemish, diminish every perfection: No incitements are left to animate
languor or encourage virtue; to disentangle
sophistry, or investigate truth; while
the great and good are only rendered more
miserable by their accomplishments, and incur a punishment where they had deserved
a reward.

Such were my last night's meditations on
the hard lot of mankind, when sitting in my
elbow chair, I indulged the dark suggestions
of melancholy, and listened to the dictates
of experience, lamenting evils which I could
not remove, and probing wounds which I
could not heal, when that sleep I had long
in vain solicited, stole at length, insensibly upon me, and conveyed me in a moment to the ideal regions where imagination wanders without restraint, and reason
reigns her sceptre into the hands of fancy.

I found myself on a sudden transported into
the fair and spacious plain, where I saw at
a distance two armies prepared for action,
and on the point of engaging with each
other. I stood for a while undetermined
whether I should proceed to the field of
battle or retire to some place of safety, when
a celestial form, with looks of sweetness and
complacency approached towards me.---
"Mortal," said the ariel being, with a smile,
"I read your uncertainty, and know your
doubts; behold in me the genius of instruction: I am come to calm thy fears,
and withdraw the veil of ignorance from
thy understanding. Know then, the place
which thou seest before thee is the spot appointed
to determine the fate of mankind in this decisive day, between the rival powers of truth
and falsehood, who have been long contending for the empire of the world; come
with me to yonder eminence, whence thou
mayest view the conflict unhurt, and undiscovered: follow me and be safe." I obeyed with cheerfulness the command of my
heavenly guide, who conducted me to the
promised asylum, which hung immediately
over the field of battle, and whence I could
perceive the disposition of the armies, and be
an eye witness of every motion.

The forces of truth were commanded by
those illustrious generals, merit, learning.
and time, who were joined by two powerful female allies, modesty and beauty: those
of falsehood were led by calumny, ignorance
and malice; envy and detraction were employed as aid-de-camps, and were, as I afterwards found, of infinite service in the engagement. And now
--- together rush'd
Both armies main with ruinous assault,
And undistinguishable rage.

The first attack was made by falsehood's
right wing, under the conduct of calumny,
on the left wing of truth, commanded by
merit, who by dint of courage and conduct
kept the field for some time, and seemed
to imbibe fresh spirit from the enemy's
spears, which fell blunted to the ground.
Calumny observing this, listened to the advice of experience, changed her weapons,
and ordered her troops to make use of poisoned arrows which fell in such frequent
and irresistible showers that the troops of
merit were forced to give way, and yield to
superior force. Time who was in the rear,
advanced immediately to the assistance of
merit, and endeavoured to rally his distressed
friends, but was too slow in his motions to
counteract the vigilance and activity of his
adversary.

I could not help observing upon this occasion, that the success of falsehood was in a
great measure owing to the assistance of ridicule, who from a subaltern, in the service
of calumny had lately raised himself by
art and chicanery to a distinguished rank in
the army: His troops also, like those of the
generals under whom he fought, used poisoned arrows, which they shot in the manner of the Parthians, so that they seemed to
fly from the enemy while they attacked him.

In the midst of the battle I remarked,
with a mixture of surprise and indignation,
a warrior, who by the splendor of his dress,
and the gaiety of his appearance, seemed no
inconsiderable personage; but who several
times, to my great astonishment deserted
from truth to falsehood, and again from falsehood to truth, shifting sides almost every
moment, and who was yet received by each
with an equal degree of satisfaction. I found

VI
ONLY TO BE JUST."

No. 1528:
upon enquiry, the name of this hero was will,
and soon learned that he had more of Thersites than Ajax in his composition, and served rather to divert and entertain both armies
than to be of any real consequence or importance to either.

From this ridiculous object my senses were
soon called off to another part of the field, to
mark the bold and successful attacks of
learning on ignorance, whom he could have
put to flight with the utmost facility, had not
he listened to the dictates of pride, and pushed his victory too far; the fatal consequence
of which was, that ambushes were laid for
him by the enemy, into which he fell with
precipitation, and could not escape from them
without danger and difficulty.

Though the two amazons modesty & beauty most heartily engaged in the defence of
their beloved monarch, I could not help observing the former was greatly deficient in
conduct, and the latter failed in point of courage; so that their forces were easily subdued
by impudence and malice. Their defeat indeed would have occasioned a general overthrow, and determined the victory in favor
of falsehood, had not virtue arrived very seasonably to the relief of truth, with a considerable reinforcement. At his approach
every cheek was flushed with confidence,
and every eye sparkled with delight. Merit
rallied his scattered troops, and even modesty grew bold under his auspices; beauty
smiled with fresh charms, and learning once
more took the field with re-animated vigour. Integrity, who had the first command
under this new ally, had brought with him
a quantity of shields, proof against spears of
malice, and impenetrable by the arrows of
calumny; with these the army of truth was
soon equipped, and renewed the battle with
fresh ardour and redoubled courage.

Falsehood began now in her turn to despair; her forces retreated on every side,
and victory was just on the point of declaring herself the patroness of truth, when
the half subdued combatant, by the advice
of cunning, whom she always consulted,
took a dangerous and desperate resolution,
which proved but too successful. She
clothed herself in the habit of truth, assumed her air, gesture, and discourse, and
coming to the enemy's camp, insinuated
herself into the hearts of the soldiery, and
seduced the whole army over to her territories, where it was some time before the
captives discovered the fraud, and found
themselves the deluded victims of treachery
and dissimulation. The cries made by the
unhappy prisoners on a sudden awaked me,
to lament once more the undeserved fate
of truth, thus doomed to fall a sacrifice to
the stratagems of falsehood, who has the
insolence to boast her perpetual triumphs
over the united efforts of learning, merit
and virtue.