Alexandria Advertiser And Commercial Intelligencer

THE PARSON'S WIG.

About a century ago, Parson M- of the town of -* . ; (New-England). bought him a wig at Boston, and, returning home, wore it the next Sabbath. at church.

The sight of this strange phenomenon excited very unpleasant sensations in the minds of a large part of the congregation ; insomuch that, with staring and wriggling and scowling and frowning and whispering, but very little notice was taken of the parson's sermon.. The next day-the aggrieved party. repaired to the dwelling house of parson Me to state their grievance and demand redress: Now the burden of their complaint appears to have been, that he should wear a wig of the Boston cut, adjusted and finished in high rate. The parson, being a mild; manly kind of a man (as all parish parsons should be) brought forth his wig and bade them fashion it to their liking: Where. upon they formed a circle composed of all ages, grades and genders, and, taking a pair of scissors, " they cropped off one lock of the wig: and then another and another, till at length, 'all declared that it might be lawfully worn .on a christian's head,- excepting one single dissenter, who art. ed a new objection by alleging, that wearing a wig was a violation of the decalogue, which says. " Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image; or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth : beneath." The parson, who hitherto had-been silent, made the following cogent reply.- " Neighbour," said he," when the wig came from the barber, your objections might have been valid; but in its present state, I defy the nicest critic to show, that it is in the likeness of any thing in heaven above. or on the earth beneath." Nereupon the objector, after having viewed the wig with some suitable attention candidly withdrew his objection.

Thus it will be with the federal constitution of government. It was formed by a body of sages, with Washington at their head; and, after long and patient deliberation, it was adjusted and finished in exact and comely proportions - But people are not willing to give it a fair trial- Innovation is the rage of the day. Indeed, there is no Constitution-maker in this country, so famous as the Abbe Sieyes; but Constitution-cobblers are almost as plenty as Shoe-cobblers, especially in Virginia. The legislature of that state. has very lately resolved to recommend to the states, to amend the federal constitution, in such a manner as would essentially alter its nature, by diminishing the weight of: the Senate ' and proportionally increasing that of the House of Representatives in Congress

If the federal constitution is suffered still to be clipped and new moulded, from time to time, by the rude hand and guilty shears of innovators, finally, and very soon too, as the parson's wig, it will exhibit the likeness of nothing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath.

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