The Enquirer

MISCELLANEOUS.

An Account of a rare compliment from a Crowned Sovereign to a great General.

TO THE HON. SAMUEL L. MITCHILL.

DEAR SIR,

It is stated in history that the patriots of Poland were defeated on the 10th of October 1794, and their leader Thaddeus Kosciuszko made a prisoner. He recovered slowly of his severe wounds, & was at length set at liberty by the Russians. After which he came to New York by the way of England, and was received in the most friendly manner by Horatio Gates and many more of the Officers and other gentlemen with whom he had been acquainted during the revolutionary war. While he was in America, there came from the Russian Minister in London, a consignment of several boxes, addressed to the care of Messrs George & William Ludlow, merchants, for Gen. T. Kosciuszko not being there, they were sent after him to N. Y. and arrived in good order. At the time of their arrival, the general was absent, on a tour to the southern states. On being informed of the politeness of the Czarina, he directed the parcels to be stored until further order, but returned to Europe without giving any other instruction concerning them. The things arrived sometime in 1796. They remained in store about eight years. The proprietor having abandoned them, and left the country, they were at length sold for the payment of expenses. On examining the contents, the boxes were found to enclose a lathe for turning. It was of the most elegant construction, and was accounted one of the completest sets of Turner's Machinery that ever was seen. This apparatus is of the kind that a gentleman may employ for his own private exercise and amusement. Every part is executed in an uncommon style of neatness and elegance; and any person of mechanical taste and ingenuity, who possesses a Carpenter's chest and tools, may truly regret that he is not master of Kosciuszko's lathe and implements. It consists of three principal parts. 1. The Lathe and Work Table. These are composed chiefly of fine mahogany, the latter is five feet long, two feet wide, and 3 feet high. The columns and pilasters are of the yew-tree, above twenty in number, and the dentals are of ivory, above the lathe, surmounted by a cupola with columns and pilasters of the yew-tree, supporting a dome. Into the top of the column is introduced an exquisite piece of clock work for raising and lowering the two wheels. The standard of the former is of stately yew, elevated four feet. The cap, neck mouldings, and base mouldings, are of ivory, and sub-plinths of ebony. The felloes of the wheel are of mahogany: the spokes of Turkish box curiously carved and the naves of ebony. They are of the kind denominated flywheels. There are closets and cabinets in which the tools and implements may be disposed and kept. 2. The seat or bench on which the operator sits while he works. This is made of mahogany, yew & ivory like the table. The cushion is stuffed and covered with Maroquin Leather. It is capable of being raised or lowered, and beneath it is a cabinet for the reception of raw materials and conveniences of all sorts. Tools of every kind that a Turner requires, such as an entire set of calipers, Chisels, Chucks of every variety, Bits of all shapes and sizes, Screws of each desirable magnitude, and common and spring Chucks to suit any sort of business; all capable of being disposed for use, on a superb rack of black ebony adorned with ivory. There is an entire apparatus for making Screws of the utmost fineness and evenness of spiral: with Pedals, Bands and Regulators complete, as well as Brass Urns for containing the Oil. The maker's name is Yave, by an inscription upon the Column or Standard, it appears to have been made at St. Petersburgh in 1788. It is represented to have cost 500l. sterling, or about 2200 dollars. And although at present, from neglect, it is somewhat tarnished with dust, it is nevertheless a beautiful piece of Furniture, and worthy of a place in the Magazine of the first rate connoisseur or mechanist. There have been various conjectures concerning this singular present. And none of them is hitherto wholly satisfactory. The most probable story is thus told. The Poles had been defeated at Warsaw, and their country divided among the strongest powers. Russia had acquired a large share of the spoil and territory. Kosciuszko was wounded and disabled, and no longer an object of dread. He had even been released & had quitted the region of his misfortunes. He had gone to England, and had thence passed to America. The Sovereign who had wrought all this woe to him and to Poland, appears to have been satisfied with her acquisitions and exploits. She certainly had no reason to hate Kosciuszko. His resistance to her arms was an act of patriotism, and had no tincture of insurrection or treason. She must have admired the man whom she prostrated. She seems to have extended toward him when ruined, and exiled, a portion of remembrance and sympathy. And the donation of this magnificent Lathe & Tools, is considered as a proof of her recollection and Kindness. Whether her intention was respectful or sarcastic, is a subject of some doubt. Turning, it is well known, is one of the most ingenious and neat of the mechanical employments. And men of fortune and leisure are known occasionally to occupy themselves in its various and diversified arts; yet the compliment is rather of an ambiguous nature. The transition from military to mechanic life, conveys nothing that flatters very highly the pride of man. The Chisel is considered far less honorable to him who uses it, than the sword. If the Empress intended to tell him by the present, that she thought a trade would better become him than a profession, there might be something insulting in the communication. To a man, who valued himself upon his knowledge of war, and the employment of all his powers to emancipate his country, it must be mortifying, in the hours of misfortune, to be informed that the Carpenter's Chest was more fit for him than the Armorer's. The mere suggestion, to a person of elevated and heroic spirit, that as he had been unlucky in arms, he might be innocently and securely employed in the Arts, would be unwelcome, if not painful. Reflections like these naturally arise in the mind. They probably agitated the soul of Kosciuszko. What he thought is uncertain, for he observed a studious silence about the whole affair, and returned to Europe, without vouchsafing any expression of sentiment. In this state of abandonment, the property remained until 1804, when it was sold for the payment of charges. Mr. Bolen, the person who bought it, has kept it to the present time, chiefly as a rare and exquisite mechanical curiosity. It is a pity that it has not fallen into the hands of some gentleman who would use it according to its original destination. It is, indeed, remarkable, that such an offering from an Empress to a general, should have been thus neglected; & it is to be expected that among our tool-men, who work in wood and metal for amusement, there may yet be found one, who will purchase the Lathe which Catherine presented to Kosciuszko.