Gazette Of The United States, & Philadelphia Daily Advertiser

Extract of a letter from Burlington (N.J.)
to a friend in Philadelphia,
Dated February 24th, 1800.

"The commemoration of the death of
General Washington, and the honors paid
to his memory, in this place, affected my
mind in so pleasing a manner, that I cannot
refrain sending you a short account of them.
I am persuaded that in no town upon the
continent, of equal magnitude, were more
pains taken to express the most heart-felt
reverence for the illustrious deceased. All
the citizens were assembled on the occasion;
the ladies having previously taken their seats
in the church, Captain M'Ilvain's elegant
company of Light Infantry, preceded by
muffled drums and solemn music, led the
long and mournful procession; the numerous
Students of the Seminary, headed by the
President of the Board of Trustees, walked
next, and were followed by the Principal of
the Academy and the Rector of the Church;
after whom marched all the public functionaries
and the citizens of the town. The
whole procession was regular and affecting,
and conducted under the orders of Major-General
Bloomfield. When arrived at the
door, the troops and the students formed a
lane, through which the procession moved
slowly into the church, where the first sounds
that saluted the ear were those of a solemn
dirge, performed on the organ, by a gentleman
from Philadelphia, accompanied by the
deep and mellow tones of the gong; while
the eye at the same time was surprised and
delighted at the view of a beautiful, emblematic
Obelisk, 13 feet high, erected on the
stage prepared for the orator at the east end
of the church. To the ladies, who designed
and executed the paintings on this monument,
great praise and credit are certainly
due. It stands an unequivocal evidence
of their ingenuity and taste. The masonic
emblems, the jewel of a past master, and an
hour glass run out, appear first at the top of
the Obelisk, between which is an inscription
bearing the day of the General's death and
his age. A figure of Fame is then represented
with a trumpet to her mouth and a
flowing scroll in her hand, displaying the
principal scenes of his battles and victories,
Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth and York.
Under these is a picture of the General
crowned with laurels and ornamented with
the Colours of the Union inverted, and
insignia of war; inscribed beneath it in golden
letters are these words, Hic jacet heros
Brave!—A distant view of the sun
setting in the ocean is next exhibited;
a rock is represented in the fore ground.
to which an eagle is directing her rapid
flight; on the rock is "graven" (as "with
an iron pen and lead") Constitution, U
and below, in golden letters, On yonder:
I rest; at the bottom is an elegant perspective
view of a distant encampment. The
whole Obelisk is painted to imitate marble
and the sable drapery which hung behind,
the profusion of gilding, and the judicious
selection of colouring gave it a funereal aspect
truly melancholy and affecting. As
the anthems and words were equally
calculated to call forth sentiments congenial
with the occasion, and the exercise
did credit to the composition. The ladies
and gentlemen who assisted on this occasion
displayed such sweetness of modulation
and aptitude of musical excellence, that I could
not help wishing a greater attention to musical
improvement among us, than generally
prevails. I wish you could have heard them
execute the two following lines, altered from
Collins's beautiful little Ode:
"By weeping maids, his dirge was sung,
"By mourning swains his knell was rung.
Pope's ode, Vital Spark, was also very ably
performed, and had a visible effect upon the
audience. The music was conducted by the
Rev. Mr. Staughton, principal of the Academy,
and therefore I need not tell you that
it was done with propriety and judgment;
a prayer suitable to the occasion was introduced
by the Rev. Dr. Wharton, Rector of
the Church; and the oration was delivered
by your friend William Griffith, Esq. As
this discourse will shortly be published, I
shall say no more of it at present, than that
it fully answered the high expectations I
had formed of it, from the acknowledged
abilities and patriotism of its author; it
was elegant without profuseness, instructive
without dogmatism, federal without animosity,
combined harmony of language with
energy of reasoning, and the ornaments of
rhetoric, with the simplicity of truth.
These Ladies I understand are Miss Mary
Ann M'Ilvaine of Burlington, and Miss M'Lean
of Elizabeth Town: t Job xix