Kentucky Gazette

POETRY.

FROM A PENNSYLVANIA PAPER

THE NEWSPAPER.

There is no gratification so useful and agreeable, which can be obtained at a price so moderate, as a newspaper. To have a full sheet of paper handed you every week, for a few dollars for a whole year—detailing all the most important events that happen in the world, stating to you the measures of your government—the conduct of your public functionaries—the movements of your army and navy—useful discoveries—deaths and marriages—essays political moral and humorous—poetry—advertisements: What a mass of matter!

But their usefulness in a family where there are children, is particularly observable. Let one family take a paper, and another be without one—let the children in every other particular have the same opportunities of education, and it may be distinctly observed, that those who have the chance to see the papers, are far the more intelligent, and improve much the more rapidly—A good newspaper is almost equal to a school. A thousand facts useful and pleasing to know, are learned and treasured up, and the persons can hardly tell where they obtained them. There is scarcely an intelligent man of 35 who cannot tell you all the material events of the French revolution and the history of Bonaparte. Where was it learned?—From the Newspapers, almost exclusively.

Suppose Newspapers were struck out of existence, what a cloud of thick darkness would rest upon us! Notwithstanding all the other sources of information remained to us, and the art of printing books continued, we should still grope our way in comparative ignorance. And if the newspapers are not sufficiently valuable to file, they are, nevertheless, worth half the cost—to put up garden seeds for the women—to cut out patterns for the girls—to wrap up papers for the lawyer—to light segars for the tavern keeper—to roll up tobacco for the merchant, or to make kites for the boys.

Who then would not take a newspaper?

And it might be added, who would refuse to pay for it?