The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3)Freneau, Philip Morin
General
The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3)
Freneau, Philip Morin
American poetry
On June 22d, Freneau, who was weak with fever, was taken to the _Hunter_
hospital ship, lying in the East River. Here he languished with an
intermittent fever, that threatened constantly to become "putrid" and
fatal, until July 12th, when:
"The flag came alongside and cleared the hospital ship. But the
miseries we endured in getting to Elizabeth Town were many. Those
that were very bad, of which the proportion was great, naturally
took possession of the hold. No prisoner was allowed to go to the
cabin, so that I, with twenty or thirty others, were obliged to
sleep out all night, which was uncommonly cold for the season.
About ten next morning we arrived at Elizabeth Town Point, where we
were kept in the burning sun several hours, till the Commissary
came to discharge us.
"I was afflicted with such pains in my joints, I could scarcely
walk, and besides was weakened with a raging fever; nevertheless I
walked two miles to Elizabeth Town; here I got a passage in a wagon
to within a mile of Crow's Ferry, which I walked; got a passage
over the ferry and walked on as far as Molly Budleigh's, where I
stayed all night. Next morning, having breakfasted on some bread
and milk, I set homeward; when I came to Obadiah Budleigh's corner
I turned to the right and came home round about through the woods,
for fear of terrifying the neighbors with my ghastly looks had I
gone through Mount Pleasant."
Some days later he despatched the following note to his friend at Santa
Cruz:
"SIR:--I take this opportunity to inform you that instead of
arriving, as I fondly promised myself, at the fragrant groves and
delectable plains of Santa Cruz, to enjoy the fruits and flowers of
that happy clime, I was unfortunately taken and confined on board a
prison ship at New York, and afterwards in a Hospital Ship, where
the damnable draughts of a German doctor afforded far different
feelings to my stomach than the juice of the orange or more
nourishing milk of the cocoa."
IV.
On April 25, 1781, there was established in Philadelphia a new weekly
newspaper, the _Freeman's Journal or North American Intelligencer_,
which was to be "open to all parties but influenced by none," and which
had for its object "To encourage genius, to deter vice, and disrobe
tyranny and misrule of every plumage." The proprietor and printer of
this paper was Mr. Francis Bailey, who not long before had removed his
office from Lancaster, Pa. The editor and ruling spirit, although his
name during three years did not once appear in its columns, was Philip
Freneau. The mark of the young poet is upon every page. Its opening
editorial, which was from his pen, sounded a note that was not once
lowered or weakened while he was in control.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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