MAN at his birth is unquestionably a free agent, and is at liberty to exercise to the fullest extent his natural privileges by becoming a savage; but if he avails himself of the advantages conferred by social life, it is incumbent on him to conform with the regulations by which that society is kept together. We must all make some sacrifice for the public good; or, in other words, make a deposit in the public stock, for which we receive an incalculable interest. True, there are many who do not view the sacrifice in this light, but consider the existing organization of society as having introduced more and heavier afflictions than it has removed. I had a friend who entertained this opinion, and acted upon the principle of free agency until the close of life. I served in the west of Pennsylvania during the Indian wars of Braddock's times. A soldier's life, when in actual service, is full of cares and dangers; but he has moments of enjoyment, unknown to those whose current flows smoothly on, and encounters no obstruction. Attached to my mess was a little Frenchman who had seen much of the world, and became a man of the world from what he had seen. He was about fifty years old, possessing all the animation peculiar to |