"He looks better than last year. He read us an essay on national defence, comparing the different expenses and powers of gunboats and ships of war and, batteries in protecting a sea coast; and gave D. C. [Daniel Constable] a copy of his Examination of the texts of scriptures called prophecies, etc. which he published a short time since. He says that this work is of too high a cut for the priests and that they will not touch it."
These brothers Constable met Fulton, a friend of Paine's just then experimenting with his steam-boat on the Hudson. They also found that a scandal had been caused by a report brought to the British Consul that thirty passengers on the ship by which they (the Constables) came, had "the Bible bound up with the 'Age of Reason,' and that they spoke in very disrespectful terms of the mother country." Paine had left his farm at New Rochelle, at which place the travellers heard stories of his slovenliness, also that he was penurious, though nothing was said of intemperance.
Inquiry among aged residents of New Rochelle has been made from time to time for a great many years. The Hon. J. B. Stallo, late U. S. Minister to Italy, told me that in early life he visited the place and saw persons who had known Paine, and declared that Paine resided there without fault. Paine lived for a time with Mr. Staple, brother of the influential Captain Pelton, and the adoption of Paine's religious views by some of these persons caused the odium.* Paine sometimes preached at New Rochelle.
* Mr. Burger, Pelton's clerk, used to drive Paine about
daily. Vale says:
"He [Burger] describes Mr. Paine as really abstemious, and
when pressed to drink by those on whom he called during his
rides, he usually refused with great firmness, but politely.
In one of these rides he was met by De Witt Clinton, and
their mutual greetings were extremely hearty. Mr. Paine
at this time was the reverse of morose, and though careless
of his dress and prodigal of his snuff, he was always clean
and well clothed. Mr. Burger describes him as familiar with
children and humane to animals, playing with the neighboring
children, and communicating a friendly pat even to a passing
dog." Our frontispiece shows Paine's dress in 1803.
Cheetham publishes a correspondence purporting to have passed between Paine and Carver, in November, 1806, in which the former repudiates the latter's bill for board (though paying it), saying he was badly and dishonestly treated in Carver's house, and had taken him out of his Will. To this a reply is printed, signed by Carver, which he certainly never wrote; specimens of his composition, now before me, prove him hardly able to spell a word correctly or to frame a sentence.*
* In the Concord (Mass.) Public Library there is a copy of
Cheetham's book, which belonged to Carver, by whom it was
filled with notes. He says: "Cheetham was a hypocrate turned
Tory," "Paine was not Drunk when he wrote the thre pedlars
for me, I sold them to a gentleman, a Jew for a dollar—
Cheetham knew that he told a lie saying Paine was drunk—any
person reading Cheetham's life of Paine that [sic] his pen
was guided by prejudice that was brought on by Cheetham's
altering a peice that Paine had writen as an answer to a
peice that had apeared in his paper, I had careyd the peice
to Cheetham, the next Day the answer was printed with the
alteration, Paine was angry, sent me to call Cheetham I then
asked how he undertook to mutilate the peice, if aney thing
was rong he knew ware to find him & sad he never permitted a
printer to alter what he had wrote, that the sence of the
peice was spoiled—by this means their freind ship was
broken up through life———" (The marginalia in this
volume have been copied for me with exactness by Miss E. G.
Crowell, of Concord.)
The letter in Cheetham shows a practised hand, and was evidently written for Carver by the "biographer." This ungenuineness of Carver's letter, and expressions not characteristic in that of Paine render the correspondence mythical. Although Carver passed many penitential years hanging about Paine celebrations, deploring the wrong he had done Paine, he could not squarely repudiate the correspondence, to which Cheetham had compelled him to swear in court. He used to declare that Cheetham had obtained under false pretences and printed without authority letters written in anger. But thrice in his letter to Paine Carver says he means to publish it. Its closing words are: "There may be many grammatical errours in this letter. To you I have no apologies to make; but I hope a candid and impartial public will not view them 'with a critick's eye.'" This is artful; besides the fling at Paine's faulty grammar, which Carver could not discover, there is a pretence to faults in his own letter which do not exist, but certainly would have existed had he written it The style throughout is transparently Cheethan's.
* "A Bone to Gnaw for Grant Thorburn." By W. Carver
(1836).
In the book at Concord the unassisted Carver writes: "The libel for wich [sic] he [Cheetham] was sued was contained in the letter I wrote to Paine." This was the libel on Madame Bonneville, Carver's antipathy to whom arose from his hopes of Paine's property. In reply to Paine's information, that he was excluded from his Will, Carver says: "I likewise have to inform you, that I totally disregard the power of your mind and pen; for should you, by your conduct, permit this letter to appear in public, in vain may you attempt to print or publish any thing afterwards." This is plainly an attempt at blackmail. Carver's letter is dated December 2, 1806. It was not published during Paine's life, for the farrier hoped to get back into the Will by frightening Madame Bonneville and other friends of Paine with the stories he meant to tell. About a year before Paine's death he made another blackmailing attempt. He raked up the scandalous stories published by "Oldys" concerning Paine's domestic troubles in Lewes, pretending that he knew the facts personally. "Of these facts Mr. Carver has offered me an affidavit," says Cheetham. "He stated them all to Paine in a private letter which he wrote to him a year before his death; to which no answer was returned. Mr. Carver showed me the letter soon after it was written." On this plain evidence of long conspiracy with Cheetham, and attempt to blackmail Paine when he was sinking in mortal illness, Carver never made any comment. When Paine was known to be near his end Carver made an effort at conciliation. "I think it a pity," he wrote, "that you or myself should depart this life with envy in our hearts against each other—and I firmly believe that no difference would have taken place between us, had not some of your pretended friends endeavored to have caused a separation of friendship between us." But abjectness was not more effectual than blackmail. The property went to the Bonnevilles, and Carver, who had flattered Paine's "great mind," in the letter just quoted, proceeded to write a mean one about the dead author for Cheetham's projected biography. He did not, however, expect Cheetham to publish his slanderous letter about Paine and Madame Bonneville, which he meant merely for extortion; nor could Cheetham have got the letter had he not written it. All of Cheetham's libels on Paine's life in New York are amplifications of Carver's insinuations. In describing Cheetham as "an abominable liar," Carver passes sentence on himself. On this blackmailer, this confessed libeller, rest originally and fundamentally the charges relating to Paine's last years.
It has already been stated that Paine boarded for a time in the Bayeaux mansion. With Mrs. Bayeaux lived her daughter, Mrs. Badeau. In 1891 I visited, at New Rochelle, Mr. Albert Badeau, son of the lady last named, finding him, as I hope he still is, in good health and memory. Seated in the arm-chair given him by his mother, as that in which Paine used to sit by their fireside, I took down for publication some words of his. "My mother would never tolerate the aspersions on Mr. Paine. She declared steadfastly to the end of her life that he was a perfect gentleman, and a most faithful friend, amiable, gentle, never intemperate in eating or drinking. My mother declared that my grandmother equally pronounced the disparaging reports about Mr. Paine slanders. I never remember to have seen my mother angry except when she heard such calumnies of Mr. Paine, when she would almost insult those who uttered them. My mother and grandmother were very religious, members of the Episcopal Church." What Mr. Albert Badeau's religious opinions are I do not know, but no one acquainted with that venerable gentleman could for an instant doubt his exactness and truthfulness. It certainly was not until some years after his return to America that any slovenliness could be observed about Paine, and the contrary was often remarked in former times.* After he had come to New York, and was neglected by the pious ladies and gentlemen with whom he had once associated, he neglected his personal appearance. "Let those dress who need it," he said to a friend.