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diff --git a/40280.txt b/40280.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8df8801..0000000 --- a/40280.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10836 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Retrospect of Western Travel, Volume I (of -2), by Harriet Martineau - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Retrospect of Western Travel, Volume I (of 2) - -Author: Harriet Martineau - -Release Date: July 19, 2012 [EBook #40280] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RETROSPECT OF WESTERN TRAVEL, VOL I *** - - - - -Produced by Julia Miller, Steven Brown and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - -IMPORTANT WORKS - -JUST PUBLISHED BY - -HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW-YORK. - - * * * * * - -The Works of Charles Lamb. To which are prefixed his Letters, and a -Sketch of his Life, by Thomas Noon Talfourd. 2 vols. 12mo. Portrait. - -A Journal of Travels on the Continent of Europe: viz., in England, -Ireland, Scotland, France, Italy, Switzerland, some Parts of Germany, -and the Netherlands, during the Years 1835 and '36. By Wilbur Fisk, D.D. -8vo. With Engravings. - -Memoirs of Aaron Burr. With Miscellaneous Selections from his -Correspondence. 2 vols. 8vo. Portraits. - -A New Hieroglyphical Bible, with 400 Cuts, by Adams. 16mo. - -Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the Holy Land. 2 vols. -12mo. _Third Edition._ With Engravings. - -The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Comprising the Details -of a Mutiny and atrocious Butchery on board the American Brig Grampus on -her Way to the South Seas in the Month of June, 1827, &c., &c., &c. -12mo. Engravings. - -Sketches of the Life and Character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes, A.M. By -Timothy Mather Cooley, D.D. With some Introductory Remarks by Wm. B. -Sprague, D.D. 12mo. Portrait. - -The Economy of Health; or, the Stream of Human Life from the Cradle to -the Grave. With Reflections, Moral, Physical, and Philosophical, on the -Septennial Phases of Human Existence. By James Johnson, M.D. 18mo. - -The Monk of Cimies. By Mrs. Sherwood. 12mo. Engravings. [Vol. XIV. of -her Works.] - -Henry Milner. Complete. [Vol. XV. of Mrs. Sherwood's Works.] - -Sacred History of the World. By Sharon Turner. Vol. III. [No. 83 of the -Family Library.] - -Scenery of the Heavens. By Thomas Dick, LL.D., Author of "Christian -Philosopher," &c. 18mo. Engravings. - -Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat. By -Edmund Roberts. 8vo. - -Zion's Songster. Compiled by Rev. T. Mason. 48mo. - -Leila; or, the Siege of Grenada. By E. L. Bulwer: Esq., Author of "Eugene -Aram," &c. 12mo. - -Ernest Maltravers. By the Author of "Pelham," "Rienzi," &c. 2 vols. -12mo. - -Attila. By the Author of "Richelieu," "Philip Augustus," "The Gipsy," -&c. 2 vols. 12mo. - -Pelayo: a Story of the Goth. By the Author of "Guy Rivers," -"Mellichampe," &c. 2 vols. 12mo. - -Burton; or, the Sieges. By the Author of "Lafitte," &c. 2 vols. 12mo. - -Live and Let Live; or, Domestic Service Illustrated. By the Author of -"The Linwoods," "The Poor Rich Man," &c. 18mo. - -A Love Token for Children. By the Author of "Live and Let Live," &c. -18mo. - -Cromwell: a Romance. By the Author of "The Brothers," &c. 2 vols. 12mo. - -Recollections of a Southern Matron. By the Author of "Recollections of a -New-England Housekeeper." 12mo. - -Falkner. By the Author of "Frankenstein," "Lodore," &c. 12mo. - -Constance Latimer; or, the Blind Girl. With other Stories. By Mrs. Emma -C. Embury. 18mo. - - -_Anthon's Series of Classical Works for Schools and Colleges, now in the -course of publication._ - ---> The following works, already published, may be regarded as specimens -of the whole series, which will consist of about thirty volumes. - -Sallust's Jugurthine War and Conspiracy of Catiline, with an English -Commentary, and Geographical and Historical Indexes. By Charles Anthon, -LL.D. Sixth Edition, corrected and enlarged. 12mo. With a Portrait. - -Select Orations of Cicero, with an English Commentary, and Historical, -Geographical, and Legal Indexes. By Charles Anthon, LL.D., &c: 12mo. -Third Edition. - -Caesar. With Notes; etc., by Professor Anthon. 12mo. With a Map of -Ancient Gaul, and Plans of Battles, Sieges, &c. - -A Grammar of the Greek Language, for the Use of Schools and Colleges, -with Teutonic, Gothic, Sclavonic, Gaelic, Sanscrit, and Zend Analogies. -By C. Anthon, LL.D. 12mo. - -A System of Greek Prosody and Metre, with Illustrations of the Choral -Scanning in the Dramatic Writers. By C. Anthon; LL.D. 12mo. - - - - -RETROSPECT - -OF - -WESTERN TRAVEL. - -BY - -HARRIET MARTINEAU, - -AUTHOR Of "SOCIETY IN AMERICA," "ILLUSTRATIONS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY," ETC. - -IN TWO VOLUMES. - -VOL. I. - -LONDON: - -PUBLISHED BY SAUNDERS AND OTLEY - -NEW-YORK: - -SOLD BY HARPER & BROTHERS - -1838. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -When I finished my late work on Society in America, I had not the most -remote idea of writing anything more on the subject of the New World. I -have since been strongly solicited to communicate more of my personal -narrative, and of the lighter characteristics of men, and incidents of -travel, than it suited my purpose to give in the other work. It has also -been represented to me that, as my published-book concerns the Americans -at least as much as the English, there is room for another which shall -supply to the English what the Americans do not want--a picture of the -aspect of the country, and of its men and manners. There seems no reason -why such a picture should not be appended to an inquiry into the theory -and practice of their society; especially as I believe that I have -little to tell which will not strengthen the feelings of respect and -kindness with which the people of Great Britain are more and more -learning to regard the inhabitants of the Western Republic. I have, -therefore, willingly acceded to the desire of such of my readers as have -requested to be presented with my Retrospect of Western Travel. - - H. MARTINEAU. - - - - -CONTENTS - -OF - -THE FIRST VOLUME. - - - Page - The Voyage 13 - - First Impressions 35 - - The Hudson 43 - - Pine Orchard House 57 - - Weddings 63 - - High Road Travelling 71 - - Fort Erie 90 - - Niagara 96 - - Priestley 109 - - Prisons 123 - - First Sight of Slavery 139 - - Life at Washington 143 - - The Capitol 164 - - Mount Vernon 186 - - Madison 189 - - Jefferson's University 199 - - Country Life in the South 208 - - City Life in the South 223 - - Restless Slaves 242 - - New-Orleans 254 - - - - -RETROSPECT - -OF - -WESTERN TRAVEL. - -THE VOYAGE. - - - "When the sun dawn'd, gay and glad, - We set the sail and plied the oar; - But when the night-wind blew like breath, - For joy of one day's voyage more, - We sang together on the wide sea, - Like men at peace on a peaceful shore; - Each sail was loosed to the wind so free, - The helm made sure by the twilight star, - And in a sleep as calm as death - We the voyagers from afar - Lay stretched." - - _Paracelsus_, Part iv. - - -The packet-ship in which my passage was taken, the United States, -Captain Nathan Holdrege, was to have sailed from Liverpool on Friday, -the 8th of August, 1834, at eleven o'clock. At half past ten my -fellow-traveller and I, with our friends, were on the way to the dock, -in some doubt about our departure, from the wind being directly against -us, when we met a gentleman interested in the sailing of the vessel, who -told us that we might turn back, as the captain had given up all hope of -getting out of port that day. This was uncomfortable news enough. We had -bidden farewell to many friends, half the pain of parting was over, and -there was little pleasure in having it all to go through again. - -We resolved to proceed to the dock, to put our luggage on board, and see -for ourselves the true state of affairs. It was not very agreeable. The -deck was encumbered with water-casks and chests; the captain was -fidgeting about, giving his orders in a voice rather less placid than -ordinary; a great number of inquiring persons, who had come down to see -us off, had to be told that we were not going to-day, and why; and -several of the American passengers were on the spot, looking very -melancholy. They had entered the 8th in their journals as the day of -sailing, brought down their portmanteaus, paid their bills at the hotel, -and taken leave of Boots and chambermaid. Here they were left with -four-and-twenty dreary and expensive hours upon their hands, and who -knew how many more than four-and-twenty? One declared that the wind -appeared as if it had set in against us, and he should not be surprised -if it was a week before we sailed. Their fate was so truly mournful, -that I was ashamed of feeling any discomfiture on my own account, -domesticated as I was in the nearest and dearest of homes next to my -own. Our disconsolate acquaintance among the passengers were invited to -dispose of their evening with us; and we returned to tell the children, -and everybody whom we met, that we were not gone, and wherefore. Of -course, we presently recollected several reasons why it was well that we -had another day. There were two letters which it was highly desirable I -should write from Liverpool rather than from New-York; and the children -had never before found leisure to show me the cupboards and shelves -where they kept their playthings; so that, if the wind had been fair, I -should actually have gone away without seeing them. - -We sauntered all the afternoon in the Zoological Gardens, and, as we -returned, caught each other looking up at every weathercock we passed. -In the evening our visiters dropped in, each ready with a speculation as -to how the wind would be to-morrow. - -On the morrow the weathercock told no better news; and a note was on the -breakfast-table which informed us that there was no chance of our -sailing that day. I was now really sorry. It was Saturday; and I feared -my host would write no sermon if I remained to keep his household in an -unsettled state. Our seadresses, too, would not serve for a Sunday in -Liverpool, and our books and work were all on board with our wardrobes. -The tidings were therefore welcome which were brought early in the -forenoon, that the captain had engaged a steamboat to tow us out to sea. -By eleven o'clock the carriage of a friend was at the door, with -bouquets of flowers, and baskets of grapes and other acid refreshments, -which it was thought might be welcome at sea. - -"Have you _no_ misgivings?" asked an intimate, before whose imagination -the Western World now rose tremendous in its magnitude. "Have you no -misgivings now?" I had none, and it was well. If I had had such as would -have made me draw back in the last moment, what a world of good should I -have foregone! Not only what knowledge, but what a store of imagery! -What intense and varied enjoyment! and, above all, what friendships! -When I now look back upon what I have gained, and at how small an -expense of peril and inconvenience, I cannot but regard my setting foot -on board ship as one of the most fortunate acts of my life. - -When we arrived at the dock we found there was really to be no further -delay. The knots of friends, the crowds of gazers were gathering; the -steamer was hissing and puffing in the river, and the song of the -sailors was heard, as they were warping our ship out of the dock. In a -few minutes we and the other passengers were requested to step on board. -I first carried my flowers down to my stateroom, intending to hide them -there till we should be out of sight of land, when an apparition of -fresh flowers upon deck might be more than commonly welcome. I then took -my station by a window of the roundhouse, whence I could see all that -passed on shore without being much seen. Thence I could observe my -brother and sisters speaking to each other, and pointing out things -which I could easily interpret. It occurred to me that I could send them -one more token, by means of the little waves which rolled away from the -sides of our ship, and washed the pier on which the crowd was standing. -I threw out a rose at a moment when I caught a watchful eye; and I saw -it borne, after many vagaries, directly under their feet. Suddenly I -missed them from the spot where they were standing, and supposed they -were quite tired (as they well might have been), and had gone home. But -it was not so. They had withdrawn only in order to secure front places -at the extreme end of the pier, whence they might watch us yet longer -than from their former station. There they stood, as long as we could -distinguish any forms from among the crowd. Then three cheers were -exchanged between the crew and the shore, and the passengers strained -their eyes no more. - -The greater number then went below to make arrangements in their -staterooms; and afterward ensued the ceremony of introducing the company -to each other on deck. Our number was twenty-three, six of whom formed -the party to which I belonged; or, rather, so it seemed to ourselves -before we went on board. The distinction was afterward forgotten, for -the company assembled was, with two or three exceptions, so exceedingly -agreeable and so wonderfully congenial, considering how accidentally we -were brought together, that we mingled completely as one party. We had -among us a Prussian physician; a New-England divine; a Boston merchant, -with his sprightly and showy young wife; a high-spirited young South -Carolinian, fresh from a German university; a newly-married couple, -whose station was not exactly discoverable while on board, but who -opened a public-house soon after their arrival in New-York; a Scotch -major, whose peculiarities made him the butt of the young men; an -elderly widow lady; two amiable young ladies; and a Scotch lady, "of no -particular age," but of very particular placidity and good-humour; and a -youth out of Yorkshire, who was leaving his parents' roof for the first -time alone, and who was destined never to return to it. The number was -made up by English and American merchants; young men so accustomed to -pass between Liverpool and New-York, that the voyage was little more to -them than an expedition to Primrose Hill is to a cockney. - -The cold dinner and drinking of healths customary on the day of sailing -succeeded. Then there was the library to look over, and trial to be made -of a seat on the rail, whence we could see the dim shores as we glided -smoothly along in the wake of the steamer. By the time it was dusk the -latter had performed her engagement. We saw the payment handed over, and -the shaking of hands of the two captains, and then she disengaged -herself from us, and began ploughing her way to the north coast of -Ireland. We felt very helpless when she was gone, the little wind there -was being unfavourable. There was so little, however, as to allow us -novices a night of sound sleep at the outset. - -On Sunday we crept along in almost a calm, having a glimpse of the dim -outline of the Isle of Man in the morning, and being still in sight of -Holyhead in the evening. To me it was a day of luxury; for, jaded as I -had been with business and novelty, there was no circumstance of the -voyage that I valued so highly as the impossibility of receiving letters -or news for three weeks or a month. The gliding on thus in a calm, with -time to think and be still, was all that I wanted; but the Americans, -who had home on the horizon before them, and longed to be at rest -there, looked grave on this inauspicious beginning of their transit. On -Monday, however, they felt, from another cause, a good deal worse. The -wind had freshened, but I believe nobody cared which way or how fast it -blew us. The only meal at which I was not present was that of Monday's -dinner. I can testify to the breakfast and tea being quiet and sad -enough, with a sprinkling of languid passengers at table, and a -knowledge of how wretched all the rest were in their rooms. - -On Tuesday began my experience of the pleasures of the sea. The wind had -freshened to a strong breeze, which had so rocked us in our berths that -I rose miserably ill. I was strongly persuaded of the necessity of -exertion in seasickness, of having fresh air, and of getting out of the -way of the sights and sounds of the cabin; and I therefore persevered in -dressing and going up to the deck. There was the captain, with only one -passenger to talk with, and heartily glad at the prospect of another -being convalescent. He seated me on the rail, where I kept my eyes away -from the helpless invalids who were strewed about the deck, and in half -an hour I was quite well. We were careering along in most exhilarating -style. The wind was so strong as to put the wearing a bonnet out of the -question. I had happily been furnished with a sort of cap, which no lady -should go to sea without; a black silk cap, well wadded. With the head -thus defended, and a large warm cloak, a lady may abide almost any -weather, and avoid the _desagremens_ and unwholesomeness of the cabin. -My eye was never weary of watching the dashing and boiling of the dark -green waves, from the gray horizon to the ship's side; and I know of no -motion so gladsome as that of riding the high billows in a brisk breeze. -The captain pointed out to me the first of the monsters of the deep that -I ever saw; a large blackfish, tumbling about joyously by itself in the -stormy sea, now throwing its thick body forward in ungainly gambols, and -now rearing its forked tail perpendicularly as it prepared to dive. - -My flowers did not disappoint my expectations. They were still quite -fresh on the Wednesday, when, as we were out of sight of land, I carried -them up to the deck, and gave each passenger one, that being precisely -my supply. I never saw flowers give so much pleasure before, except in -cases of long confinement from illness. Truly they were very like a -message from home. - -In two or three days more all but two ladies and one gentleman had -settled themselves into the routine of sea life. It was very desirable -that they should do so, as on the 15th we were still little more than -three hundred miles from Liverpool. It would have been dismal to add -idleness and unsettledness to the discouragement caused by such a -beginning of our voyage. Our mode of life was very simple and quiet; to -me, very delightful. I enjoyed it so much that I delayed beginning my -letters home till we had been a week at sea, lest I should write some -extravagance which I should afterward have to qualify or retract. None -of my subsequent experience, however, has altered my feeling that a -voyage is the most pleasant pastime I have ever known. - -The passengers showed themselves upon deck some time between seven and -nine in the morning. Each one either made his way to the binnacle to see -for himself what course we were upon, or learned the important -intelligence from some obliging individual who held the fact at the -general service. We all asked the captain at first, but soon -discontinued the practice when we found that favourable answers were -likely to be rare, and how it must vex him to tell us every morning that -we were scarcely getting on at all. - -After a brisk morning's walk upon deck, no one was sorry to hear the -breakfast-bell. Breakfast was the most cheerful meal of the day. If ever -there was any news to tell, it was then. The early risers could -sometimes speak to the sluggards of a big fish, of a passing sail, of a -frolic among the sailors. I was asked once by a passenger, in a tone -whose laziness cannot be conveyed on paper, "What, did ye see the whale -this mornin'?" - -"No. It came at four o'clock, when I was asleep; but the captain -promises to have me called next time, whatever the hour may be." - -"What, d'ye want to see a whale?" - -"Yes, very much." - -"Well, but I dare say you have seen a pictur' o' one." - -It was not apparent to him that this was not an equally good thing. - -After breakfast, the gentlemen who kept journals produced their -writing-cases in the cabin. The ladies sat in sunny or shaded places on -deck, netting, making table-mats, or reading, or mounted the railing to -talk or look abroad. I had a task to do, which is a thing that should -be avoided on board ship. I had a long article to write; and nothing -else would I do, on fine mornings, till it was finished. It is -disagreeable writing in the cabin, with people flitting all about one. -It is unwholesome writing in one's stateroom in the month of August. The -deck is the only place. The first care, after breakfast, of my clerical -friend the New-Englander, was to find me a corner where the wind would -not blow my paper about, where the sun would not dazzle me, and where I -might be quiet; and then he took his seat behind the roundhouse, with a -row of children from the steerage before him to do their lessons. I -wondered at first how he would teach them without books, slates, or any -other visible implements of instruction; but when I saw him get a -potato, and cut it into two and four parts, to show the children what -halves and quarters were, I was assured he would prosper with them. And -so he did. They went to school to excellent purpose; and I dare say they -will send back grateful thoughts all through their lives upon the kind -gentleman who attended to them on the voyage. - -For some time I was daily baffled in my purpose of writing by the -observation of persons who seemed not only entirely ignorant of the -process of composition, but very anxious to learn it. Not only did the -children from the steerage spy from behind chests and casks, and peep -over my shoulder, but the inquirer about the whale was wont to place -himself directly in front of me, with his arms akimbo, and his eyes -fixed on the point of my pen. Somebody gave him a hint at last, and I -was left in peace. By two o'clock, when the deck began to fill again -after luncheon, my head and eyes had had enough of writing, and I -joyfully mounted the rail. If I wanted to watch the sea undisturbed, I -held a Shakspeare in my hand. If I carried no book, somebody came to -talk. What fleets of Portuguese men-of-war did we see at those hours! I -hardly know whether these little mariners of the deep are most beautiful -when gliding, rich in their violet hues, along the calm sunny surface of -the summer sea, or when they are tossed about like toys by rough dark -waves. One day, when I was exclaiming on their beauty, a young lady, -industriously working at her table-mats, observed that it was very odd -that she had crossed this ocean three times, and had never seen a -Portuguese man-of-war. I concluded that she had never looked for them, -and asked the favour of her to stand by my side for one half hour. She -did so, and saw three. I strongly suspect that those who complain of the -monotony of the ocean do not use their eyes as they do on land. It seems -to be the custom at sea to sit on deck, looking abroad only when the sun -is setting, or the moon rising, or when there is a sail to be speculated -upon. Some of the most beautiful sights I caught were when no one else -was looking down quite into the deep, the only way to see most of the -creatures that live there. One day I was startled, while thus gazing, -with an excessive radiance, like an expanse of brilliant rainbow, far -down in the sunny deep under our bows. My exclamation brought one -witness to behold, as I did, the distinct form of a dolphin come out of -the light. It was a family of dolphins, the only ones that were seen on -the voyage. Many a flying fish darted from the crest of one wave into -another. Many a minuet did Mother Carey's chickens trip, with their -slender web-feet, on the momentary calm left between two billows. Many a -shining visiter came up from the lowest deep to exchange glances and be -gone. I soon found it was in vain to call people to look. These sights -are too transient to be caught otherwise than by watching. When a shoal -of porpoises came to race with the ship, every one on board was up on -the rail to see; and an exhilarating sight it is, when the ship is going -before the wind in a rough sea, and the porpoises dart visibly through -the midst of a billow, and pitch, and rise, and cross each other's path, -swiftly and orderly, without ever relaxing their speed, till they are -tired of play. It is impossible to help having a favourite among the -shoal, and watching him with an interest and admiration which, upon -consideration, are really ridiculous. - -The most generally interesting sight, perhaps, was a sail; and we were -never a day without seeing one or more. Sometimes three or four seemed -to be peeping at us from the horizon. Sometimes our ship and another -were nearing each other almost all day. Once or twice I was startled -with a sudden apparition of one close at hand, with all her sails set, -black in a streak of moonlight, when I went up to bid the sea -good-night. One morning early I found the deck in a bustle, from a ship -having made signals of distress. "A ship in distress!" everybody began -shouting. "A ship in distress!" cried I to the ladies in the cabin, one -of whom came up muffled in a cloak, and another with her nightcap under -her bonnet, rather than miss the romance of the scene. The hearts of the -novices were all ready to bleed; the faces of the gentlemen began to -wear, in anticipation, an expression of manly compassion, as we hung out -our colours, shortened sail (one of the first times we had been going -right on our course), and wore round, while all the people of both ships -gathered on the decks, and the captains brandished their trumpets. She -was French, and her distress was that she had lost her longitude! Our -good captain, very angry at the loss of time from such a cause, said -they ought to have lost their heads with it, shouted out the longitude, -and turned into our course again. The ladies went back to finish their -toilet in an ordinary mood of sensibility, and the French went on their -way, we may conclude, rejoicing. - -A distant sail was one day decided to be a merchant ship from the south -of France, to everybody's apparent satisfaction but mine. I had a strong -persuasion that she was not French, but felt how presumptuous it would -be to say so. I watched her, however; and, at the end of three hours, -directed the captain's attention again to her. He snatched his glass, -and the next moment electrified us all by the vehemence of his -directions to the helmsman and others of the crew. It was a rival -packet-ship, the Montreal, which had left Portsmouth four days before we -sailed. We were in for a race, which lasted three days, after which we -lost sight of our rival, till she reached New-York after us. Our captain -left the dinner-table three times this first day of the race, and was -excessively anxious throughout. It was very exciting to us all. We -concluded, after fair trial, that she beat in a light wind and we in a -strong one. Some weeks after our landing I fell in with two passengers -from the Montreal, who described the counterpart of the scene we had -beheld as having taken place on board their ship. There had been the -same start of surprise on the part of their captain, who had also left -the dinner-table three times; the same excitement among the passengers; -and the same conclusion as to the respective sailing merits of the two -vessels. - -From four to six we were dining. Some of us felt it rather annoying to -be so long at table; but it is a custom established on board these -packets, for the sake, I believe, of those who happen to find the day -too long. Such persons need compassion, and their happier companions can -afford to sacrifice something to their ease; so no one objects openly to -devoting two of the best hours of the day to dinner and dessert. The -rush up to the deck, however, when they are over, shows what the taste -of the majority is. One afternoon the ladies were called down again, and -found in their cabin a surprise at least as agreeable as my flowers. A -dessert of pines and grapes had been sent in by a gentleman who found -that a friend had put a basket of choice fruits on board for his use, -but who preferred favouring the ladies with them. He was sent for to -preside at the table he had thus spread, and was not a little rallied by -his brother passengers on his privileges. These things seem trifles on -paper, but they yield no trifling amusement on a voyage. Our afternoons -were delightful; for the greater number of the forty-two days that we -were at sea, the sun set visibly, with more or less lustre, and all eyes -were watching his decline. There was an unusual quietness on board just -about sunset. All the cabin passengers were collected on one side, -except any two or three who might be in the rigging. The steerage -passengers were to be seen looking out at the same sight, and probably -engaged as we were in pointing out some particular bar of reddened -cloud, or snowy mountain of vapours, or the crimson or golden light -spattered on the swelling sides of the billows as they heaved sunward. -Then came the last moment of expectation, even to the rising on tiptoe, -as if that would enable us to see a spark more of the sun; and then the -revival of talk, and the bustle of pairing off to walk. This was the -hour for walking the deck; and, till near teatime, almost the whole -company might be seen parading like a school. I never grew very fond of -walking on a heaving floor, on which you have to turn at the end of -every thirty paces or so; but it is a duty to walk on board ship, and it -is best to do it at this hour, and in full and cheerful company. - -After tea the cabin was busy with whist and chess parties, readers, and -laughers and talkers. On damp and moonless evenings I joined a whist -party; but my delight was the deck at this time, when I had it all to -myself, or when I could at least sit alone in the stern. I know no -greater luxury than sitting alone in the stern on fine nights, when -there is no one within hearing but the helmsman, and sights of beauty -meet the eye wherever it turns. Behind, the light from the binnacle -alone gleams upon the deck; dim, shifting lights and shadows mark out -the full sails against the sky, and stars look down between. The young -moon drops silently into the sea afar. In our wake is a long train of -pale fire, perpetually renewed as we hiss through the dark waves. On -such a quiet night, how startling is a voice from the deck, or a shout -of laughter from the cabin! More than once, when I heard the voices of -children and the barking of a dog from the steerage, I wholly forgot for -the moment that I was at sea, and, looking up, was struck breathless at -the sight of the dim, gray, limitless expanse. Never, however, did I see -the march of the night so beautiful over hill, dale, wood, or plain, as -over the boundless sea, roofed with its complete arch. The inexpressible -silence, the undimmed lustre, the steady, visible motion of the sky, -make the night what it can nowhere be on land, unless in the midst of -the Great Desert or on a high mountain-top. It is not the clear still -nights alone that are beautiful. Nothing can be more chilling to the -imagination than the idea of fog, yet I have seen exquisite sights in a -night fog; not in a pervading, durable mist, but in such a fog as is -common at sea, thick and driving, with spaces through which the moon may -shine down, making clusters of silvery islands on every side. This was -an entirely new appearance to me, and the white archipelago was a -spectacle of great beauty. Then, again, the action of the ship in a -strong night-breeze is fine, cutting her steady way through the seething -water, and dashing them from her sides so uniformly and strongly, that -for half a mile on either hand the sea is as a white marble floor gemmed -with stars; just like a child's idea of "the pavement of the heavenly -courts." Such are the hours when all that one has ever known or thought -that is beautiful comes back softly and mysteriously; snatches of old -songs, all one's first loves in poetry and in the phantasmagoria of -nature. No sleep is sweeter than that into which one sinks in such a -mood, when one's spirit drops anchor amid the turbulence of the outward -world, and the very power of the elements seems to shed stillness into -the soul. - -There must be many a set-off against such hours, however, or the whole -world would be rushing to sea. There would be parties to the Azores as -there now are to Rome, and people would be doubling the Capes as they -now cross the Simplon. There are disagreeable hours and days at sea; -whole days, when the ship rolls so as to stop employment in the cabin, -and the rain pours down so as to prevent any weary passenger from -putting out his head upon deck; when the captain is to be seen outside -in his seacoat, with the water streaming from nose, chin, hat, and every -projection of his costume; when every one's limbs are aching with -keeping himself from tumbling over his neighbour; when the tea and -coffee are cold, and all that is liquid is spilled, and everything solid -thrown out of its place. The best thing to be done on such days is to -sit in the roundhouse, each one well wedged in between two, the -balustrade in front, and the wall behind; all as loquacious as possible, -talking all manner of sense or nonsense that may occur; those who can -joke, joking; those who can sing, singing; those who know any new games, -teaching them. This is better than the only other thing that can be -done, lying in one's heaving berth; better, not only because it is more -sociable, but because there is a fairer chance of appetite and sleep -after the exercise of laughing (be the laughter about anything or -nothing) than after a day of uncomfortable listlessness. - -A calm is a much less disagreeable affair, though it is not common to -say so. A dead calm affords a fine opportunity to the gentlemen for -writing and reading, and to the ladies for the repairs of the wardrobe. -Sewing, which I think a pleasant employment everywhere else, is trying -to the head at sea; and many omissions and commissions may be observed -in the matter of costume, which the parties would be ashamed of on land. -The difference after a calm is remarkable: the cap-borders are spruce; -the bonnets wear a new air; the gloves are whole; the married gentlemen -appear with complete sets of buttons and rectified stocks. The worst -quality of a calm is that it tries tempers a little too far. If there be -an infirmity of temper, it is sure to come out then. At such a time -there is much playing of shuffleboard upon deck, and the matches do not -always end harmoniously. "You touched mine with your foot." "I did not, -I declare." "Now, don't say so," &c., &c. "You are eight." "No, we are -ten." "I can show you you are only eight." "Well, if you can't count any -better than that," and so on. After three days of calm there may be -heard a subdued tone of scolding from the whist party at the top of the -table, and a stray oath from some checkmated person lower down; and -while the ladies are brushing their hair in their cabin, certain items -of information are apt to be given of how Mr. A. looked when the lady's -partner turned up trumps, and how shockingly Mr. B. pushed past Mr. C. -in going up the cabin to dinner. The first breath of favourable wind, -however, usually blows all these offences away, and tempers turn into -their right course with the ship. - -I had heard so much at home of the annoyances on board ship, that I -made a list of them at the time for the consolation of my friends at -home, who were, I suspected, bestowing more compassion upon me than I -had any title to. I find them noted down as follows:-- - -Next to the sickness, an annoyance scarcely to be exaggerated while it -lasts, there is, first, the damp clammy feel of everything you touch. -Remedy, to wear gloves constantly, and clothes which are too bad to be -spoiled. In this latter device nearly the whole company were so -accomplished that it was hard to say who excelled. - -Next, want of room. The remedy for this is a tight, orderly putting away -of everything; for which there is plenty of time. - -Thirdly, the candles flare, and look untidy from running down twice as -fast as they burn. Remedy, to go out of the way of them; to the stern, -for instance, where there are far better lights to be seen. - -Fourthly, the seats and beds are all as hard as boards: a grievance -where one cannot always walk when one's limbs want resting with -exercise. Remedy, patience. Perhaps air-cushions may be better still. - -Fifthly, warning is given to be careful in the use of water. Remedy, to -bathe in seawater, and drink cider at dinner. - -Sixthly, the cider is apt to get low. Remedy, take to soda-water, ale, -hock, or claret. - -Seventhly, the scraping of the deck sets one's teeth on edge. For this I -know of no remedy but patience; for the deck must be scraped. - -Eighthly, the rattling, stamping, and clattering overhead when the sails -are shifted in the night. Remedy, to go to sleep again. - -Ninthly, sour bread. Remedy, to eat biscuit instead. - -Tenthly, getting sunburnt. Remedy, not to look in the glass. - -These are all that I can allow from my own experience. Some people talk -of danger, but I do not believe there is more than in travelling on -land. Some have called a ship a prison so often, that the saying seems -to have become current. But, in my idea, the evils of a prison are the -being coerced by another person's will; the being disgraced; the being -excluded from the face of nature; and the being debarred from society, -employment, and exercise. None of these objections apply to a ship as a -residence. As for the one point of resemblance, the being unable to -walk a mile or more out and back again, of how many persons is this the -voluntary choice, who were never either in a prison or a ship? I would -never take the responsibility of recommending any elderly, or nervous, -or untravelled persons to put themselves into a place which will not -keep still, nor anything in it, for a month or six weeks, and from which -they cannot get out; but I cannot think the confinement, by itself, -anything to be much complained of. - -A bad captain must be the worst of annoyances, to judge by contrast from -the comfort we enjoyed under the government of an exceedingly good one. -We had all great faith in Captain Holdrege as an excellent sailor; and -we enjoyed daily and hourly proofs of his kindness of heart, and desire -to make everybody about him happy. It was amazing with what patience he -bore the teazings of some who were perpetually wanting to know things -that he could not possibly tell them; when we should be at New-York, and -so forth. The gentleman who unconsciously supplied the most merriment to -the party waylaid the captain one busy morning; one of the first when -there had been anything for the captain to do, and he was in such a -bustle that nobody else dreamed of speaking to him. - -"Captain," said the gentleman, "I want to speak to you." - -"Another time, sir, if you please. I am in a hurry now." - -"But, captain, I want to speak to you very much." - -"Speak, then, sir, and be quick, if you please." - -"Captain, I am very glad you have a cow on board, because of the milk." - -"Hum," said the captain, and went on with his business. - -One Sunday morning, when we were on "the Banks," this gentleman came to -me with a doleful face, to tell me that he thought we should have been -at New-York to-day. I found that he had actually expected this up to the -night before, because he had been told, previous to sailing, that we -should probably spend our fourth Sunday at New-York. It was proposed to -tell him that we should probably be in the Pacific by the next morning, -to see whether he would believe it; but I believe the experiment was not -ventured upon. Some of the passengers, talking one day at dinner of -percussion caps, asked him whether they were used in a regiment of -which he had frequently spoken. He replied that he did not know, as he -had not inquired much into the costume of the army. - -By the 23d of August we were only about one hundred and twenty miles -N.W. of the Azores. On the 1st of September, when our thoughts wandered -homeward to the sportsmen all abroad in the stubble, to the readers of -monthly periodicals in which we were interested, and to our families, -who were doubtless fancying us on the point of landing, we were not far -from where we were a week ago. We had had beautiful weather, but every -variety of westerly wind with it. The passengers began to flag. The -novels were all read; the ladies' work was all done; and shuffleboard -and chess will not do for ever. The captain began to send up an -occasional whet of cherry bounce to the ladies before dinner. For my own -part, I was finishing my writing, and finding my first leisure for -books; and I found myself forgetting New-York, and losing sight of all I -expected to see beyond it, in the pleasures of the sea. We were now -scarcely half way. The turning point of the voyage came the next day in -the shape of a storm. - -Before I went on board I had said that I should like to behold a storm -as fierce as we could escape from without fatal damage. Some passenger -repeated this wish of mine (very common in persons going to sea for the -first time) in the hearing of the mate, who told the sailors; who, -accordingly, were overheard saying one afternoon that I had better come -on deck, and see what I should see. My clerical friend took the hint, -and called me hastily, to observe the crew make ready for a squall. I -ran up, and perceived the black line advancing over the water from the -horizon, the remarkable indication of a coming squall. The sailors were -running up the shrouds to get the sails in. The second mate was aloft, -in the post of danger, his long hair streaming in the wind, while with -us below all was calm. The sails were got in just in time. The captain -did not come down to dinner. Orders were given to "splice the -main-brace;" for the crew had been handling the ropes since four in the -morning. I saw them come for their grog, and then wait for what might -happen next. By sunset the sky was tremendous; the sea rising, the wind -moaning and whistling strangely. When I staggered to the stern, to bid -the sea good-night, according to custom, the waters were splendidly -luminous. Floods of blue fire were dashed abroad from our bows, and -beyond, the whole expanse sparkled as with diamonds. - -All night the noises would have banished sleep if we could have lain -quiet. There was a roar of wind; the waves dashed against the sides of -the ship as if they were bursting in; water poured into our cabin, -though the skylight was fastened down. A heavy fall was now and then -heard from the other cabin; some passenger heaved out of his berth. -After five hours I could hold in no longer, and a tremendous lurch -tossed me out upon the floor, where I alighted upon my thimble and -scissors, the ottoman I was working (and which, I had felt confident, -was far enough off), my clothes, books, and the empty water-bottle. All -these things were lying in a wet heap. I traversed the ladies' cabin to -explore, holding by whatever was fastened to the floor. The only dry -place in which I could lie down was under the table, and standing was -out of the question; so I brought a blanket and pillow, laid down with a -firm hold of the leg of the table, and got an hour's welcome sleep, by -which time the storm was enough to have wakened the dead. The state of -our cabin was intolerable; the crashing of glass, the complaining voices -of the sick ladies, the creaking and straining of the ship; and, above -all, the want of air, while the winds were roaring over head. I saw no -necessity for bearing all this; so, sick as I was, I put my clothes on, -swathed myself in one cloak, and carried up another, wherewith to lash -myself to something on deck. - -There, all was so glorious that I immediately stumbled down again to -implore the other ladies to come up and be refreshed; but no one would -listen to me. They were too ill. I got the captain's leave to fasten -myself to the post of the binnacle, promising to give no trouble, and -there I saw the whole of the never-to-be-forgotten scene. - -We were lying in the trough of the sea, and the rolling was tremendous. -The captain wished to wear round, and put out a sail, which, though -quite new, was instantly split to ribands, so that we had to make -ourselves contented where we were. The scene was perfectly unlike what I -had imagined. The sea was no more like water than it was like land or -sky. When I had heard of the ocean running mountains high, I thought it -a mere hyperbolical expression. But here the scene was of huge wandering -mountains--wandering as if to find a resting-place--with dreary leaden -vales between. The sky seemed narrowed to a mere slip overhead, and a -long-drawn extent of leaden waters seemed to measure a thousand miles; -and these were crested by most exquisite shades of blue and green where -the foam was about to break. The heavens seemed rocking their masses of -torn clouds, keeping time with the billows to the solemn music of the -winds; the most swelling and mournful music I ever listened to. The -delight of the hour I shall not forget; it was the only new scene I had -ever beheld that I had totally and unsuspectingly failed to imagine. - -It was impossible to remain longer than noon, unless we meant to be -drowned. When two or three gentlemen had been almost washed off, and the -ship had been once nearly half her length under water, it was time to go -below, sad as the necessity was. The gale gradually abated. In the -afternoon the ladies obtained leave to have their skylight opened, their -cabin mopped, and the carpets taken up and carried away to dry. - -The sailors got the mate to inquire how I liked the storm. If I was not -satisfied now, I never should be. I was satisfied, and most thankful. -The only thing that surprised me much was, that there was so little -terrific about it. I was not aware till the next day, when the captain -was found to have set it down a hurricane in the logbook, how serious a -storm it was. The vessel is so obviously buoyant, that it appears -impossible to overwhelm her; and we were a thousand miles from any -rocks. In the excitement of such an hour, one feels that one would as -soon go down in those magnificent waters as die any other death; but -there was nothing present which impressed me with the idea of danger but -the terrors of two of the passengers. Of the poor ladies I can give no -account; but one gentleman pulled his travelling-cap forward over his -eyes, clasped his hands on his knees, and sat visibly shaking in a -corner of the roundhouse, looking shrunk to half his size. The fears of -another I regarded with more respect, because he tried hard to hide -them. He followed me throughout, talking in an artist-like style about -the tints, and the hues, and many other things that were to be noted, -but not talked about at the moment. If he succeeded in covering up his -fears from himself, one may well excuse the bad taste of the means -employed. My clerical friend did better. He was on the watch for others -and for himself. In high exhilaration, he helped everybody, saw -everything, and will, to the end of his days, I will answer for it, -forget nothing of that glorious time. - -After the storm we met with few delays. A calm of nine hours enabled the -crew to repair all damage sustained; the rest of the time we were making -progress, though it was sometimes very slow. We went south of "the -Banks," and so missed something besides the fogs; our hoped-for treat of -fresh cod, and the spectacle of the fishermen's boats. Hereabout the dog -in the steerage smelt land, and stood snuffing, with his paws on the -rail. A wild pigeon flew on board, too, supposed to be from -Newfoundland; and the air was sensibly colder, as it becomes on -approaching the shore. The lottery with which the gentlemen had amused -themselves became now very interesting. It consisted of ten tickets, at -a sovereign each, answering to the ten days during which it had been -thought probable that we should land. The two earliest were now sold for -a shilling and eighteenpence; and the Captain gave five pounds for the -last, which bore date the 11th. This seemed to indicate the captain's -expectation that our progress would still be slow; but we were scarcely -more likely to land on the 11th than on the 4th or 5th. - -A passenger beckoned the captain out of the cabin one evening about this -time, and asked him to look down into the hold, where a tallow candle, -with a long wick, was seen leaning over the side of a candlestick, which -was standing on a heap of loose cotton! Such are the perils that -careless sailors will expose themselves and others to. The captain took -care to impress his crew with his opinion on the matter. - -I believe a regular piece of amusement on board these packet-ships is -emptying the letter-bags out on the deck. A fine morning is chosen for -this; and to a person who sits on the rail it affords a pretty picture. -The ladies draw their chairs round the immense heap of letters; the -gentlemen lie at length, and scarcely an epistle escapes comment. A -shout of mirth bursts forth now and then at some singular name or mode -of address; commonly at some Irish epistle, addressed to an emigrant in -some out-of-the-way place, which there is scarcely room to insert, -though the direction runs from corner to corner over the whole square. - -About this time a pedler, who was among the steerage passengers, -appeared on deck with his wares. His pretence was, that some of his silk -handkerchiefs and gloves had got slightly spotted at sea, and that he -was not so anxious as before to carry them to New-York. However this -might be, the merchant showed himself a shrewd man. He saw that the -pleasure of shopping, after being for some weeks out of sight of land, -would open to him the purse of many a passenger. It was most amusing to -see the eagerness of both gentlemen and ladies, and their pleasure in -purchases which they would have disdained on shore. For the next two or -three days the company was spruce in damaged handkerchiefs, and ribands, -and mildewed gloves, rending in all directions; while the pedler escaped -duties, and stepped ashore with a heavy purse and light pack. - -On the 15th we were still between five and six hundred miles from our -port. A sheep had jumped overboard, and so cheated us of some of our -mutton. The vegetables were getting very dry. It was found best not to -look into the dishes of dried fruits which formed our dessert. All was -done that care and cookery could do; but who could have anticipated such -a length of voyage? Open declarations of _ennui_ began to be made by not -a few; and I was almost afraid to own, in answer to questions, that I -was not tired of the sea; but I could not honestly say that I was. The -gentlemen began to spar at table about the comparative merits of England -and America; the Prussian could not find English in which to bemoan -himself sufficiently, and shrugged. The cider, ale, soda-water, and -claret were all gone, and we were taking to porter, which must needs -soon come to an end. Some show of preparation to land was this day made, -and a lively bustle ensued on the first hint from the captain. He went -round to take down the names of the passengers at length, in order to -their being reported on arrival. The ages had to be affixed to the -names; and as the captain could not ask the ladies for their ages, he -committed it to the gentlemen to decide upon each. The ladies, who were -quilling, trimming, and sorting their things in their own cabin, could -not conceive the meaning of the shouts of laughter which came from the -top of the gentlemen's table, till the young Carolinian came and told -what the fun was. The standing joke is to make the young ladies many -years too old, and the old ladies ridiculously young; and this was done -now, the ladies considering the affair no business of theirs. One lady, -who had frequently crossed, told me that ten years before she had been -set down as forty; she stood now as twenty-four. - -On the 17th we were surrounded with weed, and Mother Carey's chickens -began to disappear. Soundings were this day taken, and I was called to -see and touch the first American soil, the thimbleful deposited on the -lead. The next day, Thursday, the wind continuing fair, we were within -one hundred miles of our port, and all was liveliness and bustle. - -The American divine was requested by all the passengers to propose, -after dinner, the health of Captain and Mrs. Holdrege, using the -opportunity to express our hearty thanks to the captain for the whole of -his conduct towards us. The captain rose to speak in acknowledgment of -the toast, but was so taken by surprise with his lady's name being -hailed with our good wishes, that after two words of thanks he shot out -of the cabin, every one understanding the cause of his brevity. In the -evening we were told that we should see land on rising in the morning; -and some of us requested to be called at five. - -At five, on the morning of the 19th, I started up, and at the foot of -the companion-way was stopped by the Scotch lady, who told me I might go -back again, as we were becalmed, and I might see the shore just as well -two hours hence. This was being a little too cool about such a matter. I -saw the dim shore; a long line of the New-Jersey coast, with -distinguishable trees and white houses. By breakfast-time our eyes were -painfully strained, as only one could have the glass at a time, and I -did not like to snatch it from those who were enjoying the pleasure of -recognising familiar objects; tracing the first features of home. I was -taken by surprise by my own emotions. All that I had heard of the -Pilgrim Fathers, of the old colonial days, of the great men of the -Revolution, and of the busy, prosperous succeeding days, stirred up my -mind while I looked upon the sunny reach of land on the horizon. All the -morning I sat dreaming, interrupted now and then by the smiling but -tearful young mother, who expected tidings of her child before the day -was over; or by others, who had less cause for being deeply moved, who -came to describe to me the pleasures of Long Branch (the bathing-place -in view), or to speculate on how long this tedious calm would last. All -the morning I sat on the rail, or played sister Anne to the ladies -below, when once the wind had freshened, and we glided slowly along -towards Sandy Hook. "Now I see a large white house." "Now I see -Neversink. Come up and see Neversink!" "Now I see a flock of sheep on -the side of a hill; and now a fisherman standing beside his boat," and -so forth. - -What were the ladies below for? They were dressing for the shore. The -gentlemen, too, vanished from the deck, one by one, and reappeared in -glossy hats, coats with the creases of the portmanteau upon them, and -the first really black shoes and boots we had seen for weeks. The -quizzing which was properly due to the discarded sea-garments was now -bestowed on this spruce costume; and every gentleman had to encounter a -laugh as he issued from the companion-way. We agreed to snatch our meals -as we pleased this day. No one was to remain at table longer than he -liked. Everything looked joyous. The passengers were in the most amiable -mood: we were in sight of a score of ships crossing the bar at Sandy -Hook; the last company of porpoises was sporting alongside, and shoals -of glittering white fish rippled the water. The captain was fidgety, -however. Those vessels crossing the bar might be rival packet-ships, and -no pilot was yet to be seen. "Here he is!" cried a dozen voices at once; -and an elegant little affair of a boat was seen approaching. A -curious-looking old gentleman swung himself up, and seemed likely to be -torn in pieces by the ravenous inquirers for news. He thrust an armful -of newspapers among us, and beckoned the captain to the stern, where the -two remained in a grave consultation for a few minutes, when the captain -called one of the lady passengers aside to ask her a question. What the -pilot wanted to know was, whether George Thomson, the abolition -missionary, was on board. He was to have been, but was not. The pilot -declared that this was well, as he could not have been landed without -the certainty of being destroyed within a week, the abolition riots in -New-York having taken place just before. What the captain wanted to -learn of the lady passenger was, what my opinions on slavery were, in -order to know whether he might safely land me. She told him that I was -an abolitionist in principle; but that she believed I went to America to -learn and not to teach. So the good captain nodded, and said nothing to -me on the subject. - -Next arrived a boat from the newspaper office of the Courier and -Enquirer, whose agent would not hear of dinner or any other delay, but -shouldered his bag of news, got the list of our names, and was off. The -American passengers, all by this time good friends of mine, came to show -me, with much mirth, paragraphs in the newspapers the pilot had brought, -exhorting their readers not to chew tobacco or praise themselves in my -presence, under penalty of being reported of in London for these -national foibles. - -After dinner we were off Sandy Hook, and the hills of New-Jersey, Long -Island, and Staten Island were growing purple in the cloudy sunset, when -a small shabby steamboat was seen emerging from the Narrows. Oh, the -speculations and breathless suspense as to whether she was coming to us! -In a few minutes there remained no further doubt. Then there was a rush -to the side, and one of the young ladies saw through her tears her two -brothers, and other passengers other relations showing themselves on the -bows of the steamer. They presently boarded us, we strangers having all -retired to the other side. I never liked introductions better than those -which followed. With broad smiles my passenger friends came up, saying, -"I have the great pleasure of introducing to you my brother." "I am sure -you will be glad to hear that my family are all well." These are -occasions when sympathy is very sweet, and when it is always ready. - -Then was heard the captain's loudest voice, crying, "All who wish to go -up to the city to-night get ready directly." We had all previously -agreed how much better it was that we should spend this night on board, -as the harbour would be seen to much more advantage by the morning -light; but we forgot all this in a moment, and nobody dreamed of being -left behind. Our little bundles were made up in a trice, and we left our -ship. The crew and steerage passengers assembled on deck, and gave us -three parting cheers, which might be heard all over the harbour. Our -gentlemen returned them, and our hearts yearned towards our beautiful -ship, as she sat dark upon the evening waters, with all her sails -majestically spread. "Does she not look well now?" "Does she not show -herself beautifully now?" exclaimed one and another, in the hearing of -the gratified captain. - -The light was failing as we entered the Narrows. The captain and several -other friends pointed out to me every headland, bay, and fortification -as we passed. We were detained a long while at the quarantine ground. -The doctor was three miles off, and nearly an hour elapsed before the -great news reached him that we were all quite well, and we were -therefore allowed to proceed. It now rained heavily, and we were obliged -to crowd into the small cabin of the poorest steamer in the bay. There, -by the light of one dim and dirty lamp, was the question first asked me, -in joke, which has since been repeated in so many moods, "How do you -like America?" The weather cleared up in another half hour. We stood in -the dark on the wet deck, watching the yellow lights and shadowy -buildings of the shore we were rapidly nearing, till we felt the -expected shock, and jumped upon the wharf amid the warm welcomes of many -friends, who, in their own joy at alighting on their native shore, did -not forget to make it at once a home to us strangers. - -This was at eight in the evening of the 19th of September, 1834, after a -long but agreeable voyage of forty-two days. - - - - -FIRST IMPRESSIONS. - - - "Navigia, atque agri culturas, moenia, leges - Arma, vias, vesteis, et caetera de genere horum - Praemia, delicias quoque vitae funditus omneis, - Carmina, picturas, ac daedala signa, politus - Usus, et impigrae simul experientia mentis, - Paullatim docuit pedetentim progredienteis." - - _Lucretius_, lib. v. - - -The moment of first landing in a foreign city is commonly spoken of as a -perfect realization of forlornness. My entrance upon American life was -anything but this. The spirits of my companions and myself were in a -holyday dance while we were receiving our first impressions; and -New-York always afterward bore an air of gayety to me from the -association of the early pleasures of foreign travel. - -Apartments had been secured for us at a boarding-house in Broadway, and -a hackney-coach was in waiting at the wharf. The moonlight was -flickering through the trees of the Battery, the insects were buzzing -all about us, the catydids were grinding, and all the sounds, except -human voices, were quite unlike all we had heard for six weeks. One of -my companions took the sound of the catydid for a noise in her head for -many hours after coming into their neighbourhood. As we rattled over the -stones, I was surprised to find that the street we were in was Broadway; -the lower and narrower end, however; but nothing that I saw, after all I -had heard, and the panorama of New-York that I had visited in London, -disappointed me so much as Broadway. Its length is remarkable, but -neither its width nor the style of its houses. The trees with which it -is lined gave it, this first evening, a foreign air. - -Our hostess at the boarding-house shook hands with us, and ordered tea. -While we were waiting for it, and within ten minutes after I had crossed -the first American threshold, three gentlemen introduced themselves to -me, one of whom was the melancholy politician whom I have mentioned -elsewhere[1] as having forewarned me of the total overthrow of the -United States' institutions which would certainly take place while I was -in the country. This gentleman afterward became a dear and intimate -friend; and we found that politics are, perhaps, the only subject on -which we entertain irreconcilable differences of opinion. We often -amused ourselves with recurring to this our first meeting. This -gentleman afforded me an early specimen of the humour which I think one -of the chief characteristics of the Americans. In the few minutes during -which we were waiting for tea, he dropped some drolleries so new to me, -and so intense, that I was perplexed what to do with my laughter. - -Footnote 1: Society in America, vol. i., p. 10. - -While we were at tea a few gentlemen dropped in, and read the newspapers -at the long table at which we were seated. One fixed my attention at -once. He had the carriage of a soldier, with an uncommonly fine -countenance, bearing a general resemblance to the great men of the -Revolution with whose portraits the English are most familiar. I think -it is not a mere fancy that there is an air common to Washington, -Jefferson, and Madison. This gentleman reminded me of them all; and the -quietness with which he made his remarks, and his evident high breeding, -piqued the curiosity of a stranger. He was General Mason, the father of -the young governor of Michigan; and the most eminent citizen of -Detroit. From time to time, in my travels, I met various members of his -family, whose kindness always made me thankful that accident had placed -me in the same house with them at the outset. - -In our rooms we found beds with four posts, looking as if meant to hang -gowns and bonnets upon; for there was no tester. The washstand was -without tumbler, glass, soap, or brush-tray. The candlestick had no -snuffers. There was, however, the luxury, sufficient for the occasion, -that every article of furniture stood still in its place, and that the -apartment itself did not rock up and down. The first few days after a -voyage go far towards making one believe that some things have a quality -of stability, however one may be metaphysically convinced that the sea -affords a far truer hint of the incessant flux and change which are the -law of the universe. If I had rejoiced in the emblem at sea, I now -enjoyed the deception on land. - -At five in the morning I threw up my sash to see what I could see. I -cannot conceive what travellers mean by saying that there is little that -is foreign in the aspect of New-York. I beheld nothing at this moment -that I could have seen at home, except the sky and the grass of the -courtyard. The houses were all neatly and brightly painted, had green -outside blinds to every window, and an apparatus for drying linen on the -roof. A young lady in black silk, with her hair neatly dressed, was -mopping the steps of one house, and a similar young lady was dusting the -parlour of another. A large locust-tree grew in the middle of the -courtyard of the house I was in, and under it was a truly American -woodpile. Two negroes were at the pump, and a third was carrying -muskmelons. - -When the breakfast-bell rang the long and cross tables in the -eating-room were filled in five minutes. The cross table, at which our -hostess presided, was occupied by General Mason's family, a party of -Spaniards, and ourselves. The long one was filled up with families -returning southward from the springs; married persons without children, -who preferred boarding to housekeeping; and single gentlemen, chiefly -merchants. I found this mode of living rather formidable the first day; -and not all the good manners that I saw at public tables ever reconciled -me to it. - -From a trunk belonging to a lady of our party having been put on board -a wrong ship, we had some immediate shopping to do, and to find a -mantuamaker. We suspected we should soon be detained at home by callers, -and therefore determined to transact our business at once, though our -luggage had not arrived from the custom-house, and we were not "dressed -for Broadway," as the phrase is. - -In the streets I was in danger of being run down by the fire-engines, so -busy were my eyes with the novelties about me. These fire-engines run -along the side-pavement, stopping for nobody; and I scarcely ever walked -out in New-York without seeing one or more out on business, or for an -airing. The novelties which amused me were the spruce appearance of all -the people; the pervading neatness and brightness, and the business-like -air of the children. The carmen were all well dressed, and even two poor -boys who were selling matches had clean shirt-collars and whole coats, -though they were barefooted. The stocks of goods seemed large and -handsome, and we were less struck with the indifference of manner -commonly ascribed to American storekeepers than frequently afterward. -The most unpleasant circumstance was the appearance and manner of the -ladies whom we saw in the streets and stores. It was now the end of a -very hot summer, and every lady we met looked as if she were emerging -from the yellow fever; and the languid and unsteady step betokened the -reverse of health. - -The heat was somewhat oppressive. We were in the warm dresses we had put -on while yet at sea, as our trunks had not made their appearance. Trains -of callers came in the afternoon and evening; members of Congress, -candidates for state offices, fellow-passengers and their friends, and -other friends of our friends; and still we were not "dressed for -Broadway." In the evening the luggage of my companions was brought up, -but not mine. Special orders had been issued from the custom-house that -my baggage should pass without examination; and it was therefore at this -moment on board ship. To-night it was too late; next morning it was -Sunday, and everything in the hold was under lock and key, and -unattainable till Monday. There seemed no hope of my getting out all -day, and I was really vexed. I wanted to see the churches, and hear the -preaching, and be doing what others were doing; but the heat was plainly -too great to be encountered in any gown but a muslin one. A lady -boarding in the house happened to hear of the case, and sent her -servant to say that she believed her dresses would fit me, and that she -should be happy to supply me with a gown and bonnet till my trunks -should arrive. I accepted her kind offer without any scruple, feeling -that a service like this was just what I should wish to render to any -lady under the same circumstances; so I went to church equipped in a -morning-gown and second-best bonnet of this neighbourly lady's. - -The church that we went to was the Unitarian church in Chamber-street. -Its regular pastor was absent, and a professional brother from -Philadelphia preached. We were most deeply impressed by the devotional -part of his service, delivered in a voice which I have certainly never -heard equalled for music and volume. His discourse moved us no less. We -looked at one another in much delight. I warned my companion not to be -too certain that this preaching was all we then felt it to be; we had -been six Sundays at sea, and some of the impression might be owing to -this being the renewal of the privilege of social worship in a church. I -heard much of the same preaching afterward, however; and I am now of the -same opinion that I was this first day; that it is the most true, -simple, and solemn that I ever listened to. The moment the service was -over the minister came down from the pulpit, addressed me as an old -friend, and requested me to accept the hospitality of his house when I -should visit Philadelphia. Under the emotions of the hour it was -impossible to help giving a glad assent; and in his house I afterward -enjoyed many weeks of an intercourse as intimate as can ever exist -between members of the same family. We kept up the most rapid and -copious correspondence the whole time I was in America, and he and his -wife were my American brother and sister, the depositaries of all those -"impressions" on the mind of a stranger about which American society is -so anxious. - -General Mason introduced me to Governor Cass, then secretary-at-war, now -ambassador at Paris. Governor Cass is a shrewd, hard-looking man, the -very concentration of American caution. He is an accomplished and an -honest man; but his dread of committing himself renders both his solid -and ornamental good qualities of less value to society than they should -be. The state of Michigan, which is under great obligations to him, is -proud of her citizen; and it is agreed, I believe, on all hands, that -his appointment is more satisfactory and honourable to his country than -that of many who have been sent as ministers to foreign courts. - -I feel some doubt about giving any account of the public men of the -United States; I do not mean scruples of conscience; for when a man -comes forward in political or other kind of public life, he makes a -present of himself to society at large, and his person, mind, and -manners become a legitimate subject of observation and remark. My doubts -arise from the want of interest in the English about the great men of -America; a want of interest which arises from no fault in either party, -I believe, but from the baseness of the newspapers, whose revilings of -all persons in turn who fill a public station are so disgusting as to -discourage curiosity, and set all friendly interest at defiance. The -names of the English political leaders of the day are almost as familiar -in the mouths of Americans as of natives, while people in London are -asking who Mr. Clay is, and what part of the Union Mr. Calhoun comes -from. The deeds of Mr. Clay and the aspirations of Mr. Calhoun would be -at least as interesting in London as the proceedings of French and -German statesmen, if they could be fairly placed under observation; but -every man of feeling and taste recoils from wading through such a slough -of rancour, folly, and falsehood as the American newspapers present as -the only medium through which the object is to be attained. - -Mr. Gallatin's name is, however, everywhere known and welcome. Mr. -Gallatin did me the honour of calling on me in New-York, having heard -that I desired to learn the precise grounds of the quarrel which was -agitating the country about the bank. I was delighted to listen to his -full and luminous report of the question, and of many other matters, on -which he spoke with a freedom and courtesy which would go far towards -making the current of human affairs run smooth, if they were but -general. He told me something of the early part of his career, which -began in 1787; described his three visits to England, and sketched the -character of the reigns of our last two kings, of Louis Philippe, and of -President Jackson. He entered upon the philosophy of the presidentship; -exhibited the spirit of the three great divisions of the United States, -the north, south, and west; explained the principles on which the -letting of land proceeds; described the Germans and other agricultural -population of the country, and showed the process by which the -aristocratic class rises and is replenished in a democratic republic. -While he was talking I felt as if he was furnishing me with new powers -of observation; and when he was gone I hastened to secure what he had -told me, lest its novelty and abundance should deceive my memory. I -believe Mr. Gallatin was at this time seventy-two; but he did not appear -so old. He is tall, and looks dignified and courteous. He is a native of -Switzerland, and speaks with a very slight foreign accent, but with a -flow and liveliness which are delightful. - -I was assured at the outset that the late abolition riots in New-York -were the work of the Irish emigrants, who feared the increase of a free -black population as likely to interfere with their monopoly of certain -kinds of labour. This I afterward found to be untrue. Some Irish may -have joined in "the row," but the mischief originated with natives. It -is remarkable that I heard no more of abolition for many weeks; I think -not till I was about leaving Philadelphia. - -We obtained some "impressions" of the environs of New-York to add to -those we had of the city itself, by going to spend an evening at Mr. -Kings at High Wood, two miles beyond Hoboken, on the New-Jersey side of -the river. The frame cottages, with their thatched verandahs, struck me -as very pretty. I could not say much for the beauty of the corn, whose -plants, long since stripped of their cobs, were standing yellow and dry, -and fast hastening to decay. There were ridges of gray rock, -interspersed with woods, which still flourished in their summer -greenness. Above all was a sunset, which, if seen in England, would -persuade the nation that the end of the world was come. The whole arch -of the sky appeared lined with conflagration. It seemed strange to see -the wagon-driver talking with his bullocks and the old Dutch dame -spinning in the stoop as quietly as if that scarlet sky had been of its -usual summer blue. - -I was shown on the way the spot where Hamilton received his death-wound -from Colonel Burr. It was once made a qualification for office that the -candidate should never have fought a duel. Duelling is an institution -not to be reached by such a provision as this. No man under provocation -to fight would refrain from fear of disqualifying himself for office -hereafter; and the operation of the restriction was accordingly found to -be this; that duels were as frequent as ever, and that desirable -candidates were excluded. The provision was got rid of on the plea that -promissory oaths are bad in principle. The cure of duelling, as of every -other encroachment of passion and selfishness on such higher principles -as, being passive, cannot be imbodied in acts, must be the natural -result of the improved moral condition of the individual or of society. -No one believes that the legal penalties of duelling have had much -effect in stopping the practice; and it is an injury to society to -choose out of the ample range of penalties disqualification for social -duty as one. - -The view from Mr. King's garden at High Wood is beautiful. From one -opening a reach of twelve miles of the Hudson is commanded, from the -Narrows upward. A soft red light was resting on the waters, the last -tinge from the late flaming sky. The dark sloops moored below were thus -rendered visible, while the twilight shrouded the rocks. Opposite there -was a flare in the woods from a glasshouse; and the lights of the city -twinkled afar off, reflected in the waters. - -One of the first impressions of a foreigner in New-York is of the -extreme insolence and vulgarity of certain young Englishmen, who thus -make themselves very conspicuous. Well-mannered Englishmen are scarcely -distinguishable from the natives, and thus escape observation; while -every commercial traveller who sneers at republicanism all day long, and -every impertinent boy, leaving home for the first time, with no -understanding or sympathy for anything but what he has been accustomed -to see at home, obtrudes himself upon the notice, and challenges the -congeniality of such countrymen and countrywomen as he can contrive to -put himself in the way of. I was annoyed this evening, on my return -home, by a very complete specimen of the last-mentioned order of -travellers. - -Need I say, after thus detailing the little incidents which followed my -landing in America, that my first impressions of the country were highly -agreeable? - - - - -THE HUDSON. - - - "Oh, there is not lost - One of earth's charms: upon her bosom yet, - After the flight of untold centuries, - The freshness of her far beginning lies, - And yet shall lie." - - BRYANT. - - -I went three times up the Hudson; and, if I lived at New-York, should be -tempted to ascend it three times a week during the summer. Yet the -greater number of ladies on board the steamboat remained in the close -cabin among the crying babies, even while we were passing the finest -scenery of the river. They do not share the taste of a gentleman who, -when I was there, actually made the steamboat his place of abode during -the entire summer season, sleeping on board at Albany and New-York on -alternate nights, and gazing at the shores all the day long with -apparently undiminishing delight. - -The first time we went up the early part of the morning was foggy, and -the mist hung about the ridge of the Palisades, the rocky western -barrier of the river. There were cottages perched here and there, and -trees were sprinkled in the crevices, and a little yellow strand, just -wide enough for the fisherman and his boat, now and then intervened -between the waters and the perpendicular rock. In the shadowy recesses -of the shore wore sloops moored. Seagulls dipped their wings in the -gleams of the river, and the solitary fishhawk sailed slowly over the -woods. I saw on the eastern bank a wide flight of steps cut in the turf, -leading to an opening in the trees, at the end of which stood a white -house, apparently in deep retirement. Farther on the river widened into -the Tappan Sea, and then the hills rose higher behind the banks, and -wandering gleams lighted up a mountain region here and there. The -captain admitted us, as strangers (of course without any hint from us), -into the wheel-room, which was shady, breezy, roomy, and commanding the -entire view. Hence we were shown Mr. Irvings's cottage, the spot where -Andre was captured, and the other interesting points of the scenery. -Then the banks seemed to close, and it was matter for conjecture where -the outlet was. The waters were hemmed in by abrupt and dark mountains, -but the channel was still broad and smooth enough for all the steamboats -in the republic to ride in safety. Ridges of rock plunged into the -waters, garnished with trees which seemed to grow without soil; above -them were patches of cultivation on the mountain sides, and slopes of -cleared land, with white houses upon them. Doves flitted among the -nearest trees, and gay rowboats darted from point to point from one -island to another. - -West Point, beautiful as it is, was always visible too soon. Yet to -leave the boat was the only way to remain in sight of the Highlands; and -the charms of the place itself are scarcely to be surpassed. The hotel -is always full of good company in the season. Mr. Cozens keeps a table -for the officers, and is permitted to add as many guests as his house -will hold; but, under such circumstances, he takes pains to admit only -such as are fit company for his permanent boarders. The views from the -hotel are so fine, and there is such a provision of comfort and -entertainment, that there would be no hardship in sitting within doors -for a week; but we made the best use we could of our opportunities, and -saw and achieved everything pertaining to the place, except mounting the -Crow's Nest; an expedition which the heat of the weather prevented our -undertaking. - -In some solitary spots of this settlement the stranger cannot help -meditating on the vast materials of human happiness which are placed at -the disposal of the real administrators of this great country. How great -is the apparatus to be yet put to use! Here, where life is swarming all -around, how few are the habitations of men! Here are woods climbing -above woods to the clouds and stretching to the horizon, in which -myriads of creatures are chirping, humming, and sporting; clefts whence -the waters gush out; green slopes ready for the plough and the sickle; -flat meadows with a few haycocks lying at the foot of mountains as yet -untouched. Grasshoppers spring at every step one takes in the rich -grass, and many a blue dragon-fly balances itself on the tips of the -strongest blades; butterflies, green, black, white, and yellow, dazzle -the eye that would follow them; yet how few men are near! A gay group on -the steps of the hotel, a company of cadets parading on the green, the -ferryman and his fare, and the owners of this, and that, and the other -house perched upon the pinnacles of the hills; these are all as yet -visible in a region which will hereafter be filled with speech and busy -with thought. - -On the steep above the landing-place I was introduced to Mr. Irving, -with whom I had a few minutes' conversation before he stepped into the -ferryboat which was to take him over to the foundry to dinner. Many -other persons with whom I was glad to have the opportunity of becoming -acquainted were at the hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Morris were our guides to -Fort Putnam after dinner; walkers as active and resolute as ourselves. -The beauty from this elevated platform is really oppressive to the -sense. One is glad to divert one's attention from its awful radiance by -walking in precipitous places, by visiting the cell in which it is said, -but doubtfully, that Andre was confined, or even by meditating on the -lot of the solitary cow that has the honour of grazing in the midst of -the only ruins that adorn American scenery. - -A lady in the hotel offered to meet me on the housetop at five o'clock -in the morning to see the sun rise. I looked out at three; there was a -solitary light twinkling in the academy, and a faint gleam out of a -cloudy sky upon the river. At five the sky was so thickly overspread -with clouds that the expedition to the housetop had to be abandoned. The -morning afterward cleared, and I went alone down to Kosciusko's Garden. -I loved this retreat at an hour when I was likely to have it to myself. -It is a nook scooped, as it were, out of the rocky bank of the river, -and reached by descending several flights of steps from the platform -behind the hotel and academy. Besides the piled rocks and the vegetation -with which they are clothed, there is nothing but a clear spring, which -wells up in a stone basin inscribed with the hero's name. This was his -favourite retreat; and here he sat for many hours in a day with his book -and his thoughts. After fancying for some time that I was alone, and -playing with the fountain and the leaves of the red beech and the maple, -now turning into its autumnal scarlet, I found, on looking up, that one -of the cadets was stretched at length on a high projection of rock, and -that another was coming down the steps. The latter accosted me, offering -to point out to me the objects of interest about the place. We had a -long conversation about his academical life. - -The students apply themselves to mathematics during the first and second -years; during the third, to mathematics, chymistry, and natural -philosophy; and during the fourth, to engineering. There is less -literary pursuit than they or their friends would like; but they have -not time for everything. Their work is from seven in the morning till -four in the afternoon, with the exception of two hours for meals. Then -come drill and recreation, and then the evening parade. During six weeks -(I think) of the summer they camp out, which some of the youths enjoy, -while others like it so much less than living under a roof, that they -take this time to be absent on furlough. The friends of others come to -see them while the pretty spectacle of a camp is added to the -attractions of the place. Every care is used that the proficiency should -be maintained at the highest point that it can be made to reach. The -classes consist of not less than one hundred and forty, of whom only -forty graduate. Some find the work too hard; some dislike the routine; -others are postponed; and by this careful weeding out the choicest are -kept for the public service. This process may go some way towards -accounting for the present unpopularity of the institution, and the -consequent danger of its downfall. The number of disappointed youths, -whose connexions will naturally bear a grudge against the establishment, -must be great. There is a belief abroad that its principle and -administration are both anti-republican; and in answer to an -irresistible popular demand, a committee of Congress has been engaged in -investigating both the philosophy and practice of this national military -academy; for some time previous to which there was difficulty in -obtaining the annual appropriation for its support. I have not seen the -report of this committee, but I was told that the evidence on which it -is founded is very unfavourable to the conduct of the establishment in a -political point of view. The advantages of such an institution in -securing a uniformity of military conduct in case of war, from the young -soldiers of all the states having received a common education; in -affording one meeting point where sectional prejudice may be dissolved; -and in concentrating the attention of the whole union upon maintaining a -high degree of proficiency in science, are so great, that it is no -wonder that an indignant and honest cry is raised against those who -would abolish it on account of its aristocratical tendencies. I rather -think it is a case in which both parties are more than commonly right; -that it is an institution which can scarcely be dispensed with, but -which requires to be watched with the closest jealousy, that there may -be no abuse of patronage, and no such combination as could lead to the -foundation of a military aristocracy. - -I saw the well-selected library, consisting of several thousand volumes, -the spacious lecture-rooms, and students' apartments. I often wonder -whether students are at all aware of the wistful longing, the envy, with -which those who are precluded from academical life view the arrangements -of colleges. No library in a private house conveys any idea of the power -of devotion to study which is suggested by the sight of a student's -apartment in a college. The sight of the snug solitary room, the -bookshelves, the single desk and armchair, the larum, and even the -flowerpot or two in the window, and the portrait of some favourite -philosophical worthy; these things send a thrill of envy through the -heart of the thoughtful politician, or man of business, or woman, who -cannot command such facilities for study. I know that the fallacy of -attributing too much to external arrangements enters here; that many -study to as much advantage under difficulties as any academical member -in his retirement; I know, too, that the student shares the human -weakness of finding evil in his lot, and supposing that he should be -better in some other circumstances; I know this by a revelation once -made to me by a college student, for whose facilities I had been -intensely thankful, a revelation of his deep and incessant trouble -because he was living to himself, selfishly studying, and obliged to -wait four or five years before he could bestir himself for his race; -yet, in spite of all this knowledge that the common equality of -pleasures and pains subsists here, I never see the interior of a college -without longing to impress upon its inmates how envied and enviable they -are. It is difficult to remember that the stillness of the cell is of no -avail without the intentness of the mind, and that there is no -efficacious solitude in the deepest retirement if the spirit is roving -abroad after schemes of pleasure or ambition, or even of piety and -benevolence, which are not the appointed duty of the time. But I have -wandered from my new acquaintance in Kosciusko's Garden. - -I was surprised to learn the extraordinary high average of health the -place can boast of. The young men enter at the age of from fourteen to -twenty, stay three or four years, and number about three hundred at a -time. The mortality in the seventeen years preceding my visit was only -five. For eight years before the winter of 1834 there had been no death. -Within a few months after, the superintendent's wife, a servant, and a -cadet died; and this was, of course, considered an extraordinary -mortality. I rather wondered at this account, for the young men look -anything but robust, and the use of tobacco among them is very free -indeed. It is prohibited, but not the less indulged in on that account, -nor from the absence of evil example in their superintendents. My new -acquaintance made very frank confessions on this subject. He told me -that he believed the free use of tobacco had extensively and irreparably -injured his health, and that he bitterly mourned his first indulgence in -it. - -"Do not you mean to leave it off?" said I. - -"No." - -"Do you think you could not?" - -"I could; but it would take three weeks to cure myself; and during that -time I could do nothing; and I cannot afford that. I could not learn my -lessons without it, and the loss of three weeks would injure all my -prospects in life." - -"Hardly so fatally as the ruin of your health, I should think. Is your -case a common one here?" - -"Too common. But I assure you I do all I can to prevent the bad -consequences of my own example. I warn my juniors, as they come in, very -seriously." - -"Do you find your warnings of much use?" - -"I am afraid not much." - -"They have the usual fate of mere precept, I suppose?" - -"Yes, I am afraid so." - -The manners of the cadets are excellent. They are allowed, under -restrictions, to mix with the company at Mr. Cozens's, and thus to be -frequently into ladies' society. There is a book kept at the hotel, -where every cadet must, at each visit, enter his name at length, and the -duration of his stay. - -The second time I was at West Point was during the camping-out season. -The artillery drill in the morning was very noisy and grand to the -ladies, who had never seen anything of the "pomp and circumstance of -glorious war." Then the cadets retired to their tents, and the ladies -flitted about all the morning, making calls on each other. When we had -discharged this first of a traveller's duties, we sauntered to the -cemetery. Never did I see such a spot to be buried in. The green hill -projects into the river so that the monumental pillar erected by the -cadets to the comrade who was killed by the bursting of a gun in 1817 is -visible from two long reaches. One other accident had occurred a little -while before; a cadet had been killed by a comrade in fencing. The tombs -are few, and the inscriptions simple. Broad, spreading trees overshadow -the long grass, and the whole is so hemmed in, so intensely quiet, that -no sound is to be heard but the plash of oars from below and the hum of -insects around, except when the evening gun booms over the heights, or -the summer storm reverberates among the mountains. - -Such a storm I had beheld the evening before from the piazza of the -hotel. I stayed from the parade to watch it. As the thick veil of rain -came down, the mountains seemed to retire, growing larger as they -receded. As the darkness advanced, the scene became strangely compound. -A friend sat with me in the piazza, talking of the deepest subjects on -which human thought can speculate. Behind us were the open windows of -the hotel, where, by turning the head, we might see the dancing going -on; the gallant cadets and their pretty partners, while all the black -servants of the house ranged their laughing faces in the rear. The music -of the ballroom came to us mingling with the prolonged bursts of -thunder; and other and grander strains rose from the river, where two -large steamboats, with their lights, moved like constellations on the -water, conveying a regiment from Pennsylvania which was visiting the -soldiery of New-York State. They sent up rockets into the murky sky, and -poured new blasts of music from their band as they passed our -promontory. Every moment the lightning burst; now illuminating the -interior of a mass of clouds; now quivering from end to end of heaven; -now shedding broad livid gleams, which suddenly revealed a solitary -figure on the terrace, a sloop on the waters, and every jutting point of -rock. Still the dance went on till the hour struck which abruptly called -the youths away from their partners, and bade them hie to their tents. - -On returning from the cemetery we found Mr. and Mrs. Kemble, from the -opposite side of the river, waiting to offer us their hospitality; and -we agreed to visit them in the afternoon. Mr. Kemble's boat awaited us -at the landing-place by three o'clock, and we rowed about some time -before landing on the opposite bank, so irresistible is the temptation -to linger in this scene of magical beauty. The Catholic chapel of -Coldspring is well placed on a point above the river; and the village, -hidden from West Point by a headland, is pretty. From Mr. Kemble's we -were to be treated with a visit to the Indian Fall, and were carried -within half a mile of it by water. We followed the brawling brook for -that distance, when we saw the glistening of the column of water through -the trees. No fall can be prettier for its size, which is just small -enough to tempt one to climb. A gentleman of our party made the attempt; -but the rocks were too slippery with wet weed, and he narrowly escaped a -tumble of twenty feet into the dark pool below. The boys, after bringing -us branches of the black cherry, clustered with the fruit, found a safe -and dry way up, and appeared waving their green boughs in triumph at the -top of the rocks. The tide had risen so that the river was brimming full -as we returned, and soft with the mountain shadows; but we landed at -West Point in time to see the sun set twice, as it happened. At the -landing-place we stood to see it drop behind the mountain; but just -after we had bidden it good-night, I saw that a meditative cadet, lying -at length upon a rock, was still basking in the golden light, and I ran -up the steep to the piazza. There, in a gap between two summits, was the -broad disk, as round as ever; and once more we saw it sink in a -tranquillity almost as grand as the stormy splendour of the preceding -night. Then ensued the evening parade, guitar music in the hotel, and -dancing in the camp. - -This evening a lady and her daughter steamed down from Fishkill with a -request to us to spend a few days there; and a clergyman steamed up from -New-York with an invitation from Doctor Hosack to visit him and his -family at Hyde Park. We could not do both; and there was some difficulty -in contriving to do either, anxiously as we desired it; but we presently -settled that Fishkill must be given up, and that we must content -ourselves with two days at Hyde Park. - -The next morning I experienced a sensation which I had often heard of, -but never quite believed in; the certainty that one has wakened in -another world. Those who have travelled much know that a frequent -puzzle, on waking from sound sleep in new places, is to know where one -is; even in what country of the world. This night I left my window open -close to my head, so that I could see the stars reflected in the river. -When I woke the scene was steeped in the light of the sunrise, and as -still as death. Its ineffable beauty was all; I remarked no individual -objects; but my heart stood still with an emotion which I should be glad -to think I may feel again whenever I really do enter a new scene of -existence. It was some time before my senses were separately roused; -during the whole day I could not get rid of the impression that I had -seen a vision; and even now I can scarcely look back upon the scene as -the very same which, at other hours, I saw clouded with earth-drawn -vapours, and gilded by the common sun. - -At eleven o'clock we left West Point; and I am glad that we felt sure at -the time that we should visit it again; a design which we did not -accomplish, as the place was ravaged by scarlet fever at the season of -the next year that we had fixed for our visit. Mr. Livingston, who had -just returned from his French mission, was on board the boat. My letters -of introduction to him were at the bottom of my trunk; but we did not -put off becoming acquainted till I could get at them. - -Mr. Livingston's name is celebrated and honoured in England (as over all -Europe), through its connexion with the Louisiana Code, this gentleman's -great work. He was born and educated in the state of New-York. While -pursuing his studies at Princeton College in 1779 and 1780, he was -subject to strange interruptions, the professors being repeatedly driven -from their chairs by incursions of the enemy, and their scholars on such -occasions forming a corps to go out and fight. The library was -scattered, the philosophical apparatus destroyed, and the college -buildings shared with troops quartered in the establishment; yet young -Livingston left college a good scholar. He was a member of the fourth -Congress, and there made himself remarkable by his exertions to -ameliorate the criminal code of the United States, then as sanguinary as -those of the Old World. In 1801 he returned to the practice of his -profession of the law in New-York, but was not long permitted to decline -public life. He was appointed attorney of the state of New-York, and -mayor of the city. He remained in the city, in the discharge of his -duties, while the yellow fever drove away every one who could remove. He -nearly died of the disease, and was ruined in his private affairs by -his devotion to the public service. In 1804 he resigned his offices, and -retired to Louisiana (then a new acquisition of the United States) to -retrieve his fortunes; and from thence he discharged all his -obligations, paying his debts, with interest upon them, to the last -farthing. He was deprived, by a mistake of President Jefferson's, of an -immense property which he had acquired there, and was involved in -expensive litigation of many years' duration. The law decided in his -favour, and the controversy ended in a manner the most honourable to -both parties; in a reciprocation of hearty good-will. - -During the invasion of Louisiana by the British Mr. Livingston took a -prominent part in the defence of the state; and, when it was over, -undertook, with two coadjutors, the formidable task of simplifying its -laws, entangled as they were with Spanish prolixities, and all manner of -unnecessary and unintelligible provisions. His system was adopted, and -has been in use ever since. In 1820 the system of municipal law was -revised at New-Orleans under the superintendence of Mr. Livingston, and -his amendments were put in practice in 1823. He was at the same time -engaged, without assistance, in preparing his celebrated penal code. -When it was all ready for the press, in 1824, he sat up late one night -to ascertain finally the correctness of the fair copy; and, having -finished, retired to rest in a state of calm satisfaction at his great -work being completed. He was awakened by a cry of fire. The room where -he had been employed was burning, and every scrap of his papers was -consumed. Not a note or memorandum was saved. - -He appeared to be stunned for the hour; but, before the day closed, he -had begun his labours again, and he never relaxed till, in two years -from the time of the fire, he presented his work to the legislature of -Louisiana, improved by the reconsideration which he had been compelled -to give it. Men of all countries who understand jurisprudence seem to -think that no praise of this achievement can be excessive. - -He afterward represented Louisiana in both Houses of Congress; became -Secretary of State in 1831; and, in 1833, minister to France. His was a -busy life, of doing, suffering, and, we may confidently add, enjoying; -for his was a nature full of simplicity, modesty, and benevolence. His -industry is of itself exhilarating to contemplate. - -During the whole preceding year I had heard Mr. Livingston's name almost -daily in connexion with his extremely difficult negotiations between the -United States and France, or, rather, between President Jackson and -Louis Philippe. I had read his despatches (some of which were made -public that were never designed to be so), and had not been quite -satisfied as to their straightforwardness, but concluded, on the whole, -that he had done as much as human wits could well do in so absurd, and -perplexed, and dangerous a quarrel, where the minister had to manage the -temper of his own potentate as well as baffle the policy of the European -monarch. A desire for peace and justice was evident through the whole of -Mr. Livingston's correspondence; and under all, a strong wish to get -home. Here he was, now ploughing his way up his own beloved river, whose -banks were studded with the country-seats of a host of his relations. He -came to me on the upper deck, and sat looking very placid with his staff -between his knees, and his strong, observing countenance melting into an -expression of pleasure when he described to me his enjoyment in burying -himself among the mountains of Switzerland. He said he would not now -hear of mountains anywhere else; at least not in either his own country -or mine. He gave me some opinions upon the government of the King of the -French which I little expected to hear from the minister of a democratic -republic. We were deep in this subject when a great hissing of the steam -made us look up and see that we were at Hyde Park, and that Dr. Hosack -and a party of ladies were waiting for me on the wharf. I repeatedly met -Mr. Livingston in society in New-York the next spring, when a deafness, -which had been slight, was growing upon him, and impairing his enjoyment -of conversation. The last time I saw him was at the christening of a -grand-niece, when he looked well in health, but conversed little, and -seemed rather out of spirits. Within a month of that evening he was -seized with pleurisy, which would in all probability have yielded to -treatment; but he refused medicine, and was carried off after a very -short illness. Dr. Hosack died some months before him. How little did I -think, as I now went from the one to the other, that both these vigorous -old men would be laid in their graves even before my return home should -call upon me to bid them farewell! - -The aspect of Hyde Park from the river had disappointed me, after all I -had heard of it. It looks little more than a white house upon a ridge. I -was therefore doubly delighted when I found what this ridge really was. -It is a natural terrace, overhanging one of the sweetest reaches of the -river; and, though broad and straight at the top, not square and formal, -like an artificial embankment, but undulating, sloping, and sweeping -between the ridge and the river, and dropped with trees; the whole -carpeted with turf, tempting grown people, who happen to have the -spirits of children, to run up and down the slopes, and play -hide-and-seek in the hollows. Whatever we might be talking of as we -paced the terrace, I felt a perpetual inclination to start off for play. -Yet, when the ladies and ourselves actually did something like it, -threading the little thickets and rounding every promontory, even to the -farthest (which they call Cape Horn), I felt that the possession of such -a place ought to make a man devout if any of the gifts of Providence can -do so. To hold in one's hand that which melts all strangers' hearts is -to be a steward in a very serious sense of the term. Most liberally did -Dr. Hosack dispense the means of enjoyment he possessed. Hospitality is -inseparably connected with his name in the minds of all who ever heard -it; and it was hospitality of the heartiest and most gladsome kind. - -Dr. Hosack had a good library; I believe, one of the best private -libraries in the country; some good pictures, and botanical and -mineralogical cabinets of value. Among the ornaments of his house I -observed some biscuits and vases once belonging to Louis XVI., purchased -by Dr. Hosack from a gentleman who had them committed to his keeping -during the troubles of the first French Revolution. - -In the afternoon Dr. Hosack drove me in his gig round his estate, which -lies on both sides of the high road; the farm on one side and the -pleasure-grounds on the other. The conservatory is remarkable for -America; and the flower-garden all that it can be made under present -circumstances, but the neighbouring country people have no idea of a -gentleman's pleasure in his garden, and of respecting it. On occasions -of weddings and other festivities, the villagers come up into the Hyde -Park grounds to enjoy themselves; and persons who would not dream of -any other mode of theft, pull up rare plants, as they would wild flowers -in the woods, and carry them away. Dr. Hosack would frequently see some -flower that he had brought with much pains from Europe flourishing in -some garden of the village below. As soon as he explained the nature of -the case, the plant would be restored with all zeal and care; but the -losses were so frequent and provoking as greatly to moderate his -horticultural enthusiasm. We passed through the poultry-yard, where the -congregation of fowls exceeded in number and bustle any that I had ever -seen. We drove round his kitchen-garden too, where he had taken pains to -grow every kind of vegetable which will flourish in that climate. Then -crossing the road, after paying our respects to his dairy of fine cows, -we drove through the orchard, and round Cape Horn, and refreshed -ourselves with the sweet river views on our way home. There we sat in -the pavilion, and he told me much of De Witt Clinton, and showed me his -own Life of Clinton, a copy of which he said should await me on my -return to New-York. When that time came he was no more; but his promise -was kindly borne in mind by his lady, from whose hands I received the -valued legacy. - -We saw some pleasant society at Hyde Park: among the rest, some members -of the wide-spreading Livingston family, and the Rev. Charles Stewart, -who lived for some years as missionary in the South Sea Islands, and -afterward published a very interesting account of his residence there. -His manners, which are particularly gentlemanly and modest, show no -traces of a residence among savages, or of the shifts and disorder of a -missionary life; nor of any bad effects from the sudden fame which -awaited him on his return into civilized life. I remember with great -pleasure a conversation we had by the river-side, which proved to me -that he understands the philosophy of fame, knowing how to appropriate -the good and reject the evil that it brings, and which deepened the -respect I had entertained for him from the beginning of our -acquaintance. - -The Livingston family, one of the oldest, most numerous, and opulent in -the States, has been faithful in the days of its greatness to its -democratic principles. In Boston it seems a matter of course that the -"first people" should be federalists; that those who may be aristocratic -in station should become aristocratic in principle. The Livingstons are -an evidence that this need not be. Amid their splendid entertainments in -New-York, and in their luxurious retirements on the Hudson, they may be -heard going further than most in defence of President Jackson's -idiosyncracy. Their zeal in favour of Mr. Van Buren was accounted for by -many from the natural bias of the first family in the state of New-York -in favour of the first president furnished by that state; but there is -no reason to find any such cause. The Livingstons have consistently -advocated the most liberal principles through all changes; and that they -retain their democratic opinions in the midst of their opulence and -family influence is not the less honourable to them for their party -having now the ascendency. - -Dr. Hosack and his family accompanied us down to the wharf to see Mr. -Stewart off by one boat and our party by another, when, on the third day -of our visit, we were obliged to depart. Our hearts would have been more -sorrowful than they were if we had foreseen that we should not enjoy our -promised meeting with this accomplished and amiable family at New-York. - -Dr. Hosack was a native American, but his father was Scotch. After -obtaining the best medical education he could in America, he studied in -Edinburgh and London, and hence his affectionate relations with Great -Britain, and the warmth with which he welcomed English travellers. He -practised medicine in New-York for upward of forty years, and filled the -Professorship of Botany and Materia Medica in Columbia College for some -time. He distinguished himself by his successful attention to the causes -and treatment of yellow fever. But his services out of his profession -were as eminent as any for which his fellow-citizens are indebted to -him. He rendered liberal aid to various literary, scientific, and -benevolent institutions, and was always willing and indefatigable in -exertion for public objects. One of the most painful scenes of his life -was the duel in which Hamilton perished. Dr. Hosack was Hamilton's -second, and, probably, as well aware as his principal and others that -the encounter could hardly end otherwise than as it did. Dr. Hosack was -in New-York with his family the winter after my visit to Hyde Park. He -was one day in medical conversation with Dr. M'Vickar of that city, and -observed that it would not do for either of them to have an attack of -apoplexy, as there would be small chance of their surviving it. Within -two weeks both were dead of apoplexy. Dr. Hosack lost property in the -great fire at New-York; he over-exerted himself on the night of the -fire, and the fatigue and anxiety brought on an attack of the disease he -dreaded, under which he presently sank from amid the well-earned -enjoyments of a vigorous and prosperous old age. He was in his 67th -year, and showed to the eye of a stranger no symptom of decline. His eye -was bright, his spirits as buoyant, and his life as full of activity as -those of most men of half his years. I always heard the death of this -enterprising and useful citizen mentioned as heading the list of the -calamities of the Great Fire. - - - - -PINE ORCHARD HOUSE. - - - "But the new glory mixes with the heaven - And earth. Man, once descried, imprints for ever - His presence on all lifeless things; the winds - Are henceforth voices, wailing or a shout, - A querulous mutter or a quick gay laugh; - Never a senseless gust now man is born. - The herded pines commune, and have deep thoughts, - A secret they assemble to discuss, - When the sun drops behind their trunks which glare - Like grates of hell; the peerless cup afloat - Of the lake-lily is an urn some nymph - Swims bearing high above her head. - - * * * * * - - The morn has enterprise; deep quiet droops - With evening; triumph when the sun takes rest; - Voluptuous transport when the corn-fields ripen - Beneath a warm moon, like a happy face; - And this to fill us with regard for man, - Deep apprehension of his passing worth." - - _Paracelsus_, Part v. - - -However widely European travellers have differed about other things in -America, all seem to agree in their love of the Hudson. The pens of all -tourists dwell on its scenery, and their affections linger about it like -the magic lights which seem to have this river in their peculiar charge. -Yet very few travellers have seen its noblest wonder. I may be -singular; but I own that I was more moved by what I saw from the -Mountain House than by Niagara itself. - -What is this Mountain House? this Pine Orchard House? many will ask; for -its name is not to be found in most books of American travels. "What is -that white speck?" I myself asked, when staying at Tivoli, on the east -bank of the Hudson, opposite to the Catskills, whose shadowy surface was -perpetually tempting the eye. That white speck, visible to most eyes -only when bright sunshine was upon it, was the Mountain House; a hotel -built for the accommodation of hardy travellers who may desire to obtain -that complete view of the valley of the Hudson which can be had nowhere -else. I made up my mind to go; and the next year I went, on leaving Dr. -Hosack's. I think I had rather have missed the Hawk's Nest, the -Prairies, the Mississippi, and even Niagara, than this. - -The steamboat in which we left Hyde Park landed us at Catskill -(thirty-one miles) at a little after three in the afternoon. Stages were -waiting to convey passengers to the Mountain House, and we were off in a -few minutes, expecting to perform the ascending journey of twelve miles -in a little more than four hours. We had the same horses all the way, -and therefore set off at a moderate pace, though the road was for some -time level, intersecting rich bottoms, and passing flourishing -farmhouses, where the men were milking, and the women looked up from -their work in the piazzas as we passed. Haymaking was going on in the -fields, which appeared to hang above us at first, but on which we -afterward looked down from such a height that the haycocks were scarcely -distinguishable. It was the 25th of July, and a very hot day for the -season. The roads were parched up, and every exposed thing that one -handled on board the steamboat or in the stage made one flinch from the -burning sensation. The panting horses, one of them bleeding at the -mouth, stopped to drink at a house at the foot of the ascent; and we -wondered how, exhausted as they seemed, they would drag us up the -mountain. We did not calculate on the change of temperature which we -were soon to experience. - -The mountain laurel conveyed by association the first impression of -coolness. Sheep were browsing among the shrubs, apparently enjoying the -shelter of the covert. We scrambled through deep shade for three or four -miles, heavy showers passing over us, and gusts of wind bowing the -tree-tops, and sending a shiver through us, partly from the sudden -chillness, and partly from expectation and awe of the breezy solitude. -On turning a sharp angle of the steep road, at a great elevation, we -stopped in a damp green nook, where there was an arrangement of hollow -trees to serve for water-troughs. While the horses were drinking, the -gusts parted the trees to the left, and exposed to me a vast extent of -country lying below, checkered with light and shadow. This was the -moment in which a lady in the stage said, with a yawn, "I hope we shall -find something at the top to pay us for all this." Truly the philosophy -of recompense seems to be little understood. In moral affairs people -seem to expect recompense for privileges, as when children, grown and -ungrown, are told that they will be rewarded for doing their duty; and -here was a lady hoping for recompense for being carried up a glorious -mountainside, in ease, coolness, leisure, and society, all at once. If -it was recompense for the evil of inborn _ennui_ that she wanted, she -was not likely to find it where she was going to look for it. - -After another level reach of road and another scrambling ascent I saw -something on the rocky platform above our heads like (to compare great -things with small) an illumined fairy palace perched among the clouds in -opera scenery; a large building, whose numerous window-lights marked out -its figure from amid the thunder-clouds and black twilight which -overshadowed it. It was now half past eight o'clock and a stormy -evening. Everything was chill, and we were glad of lights and tea in the -first place. - -After tea I went out upon the platform in front of the house, having -been warned not to go too near the edge, so as to fall an unmeasured -depth into the forest below. I sat upon the edge as a security against -stepping over unawares. The stars were bright overhead, and had -conquered half the sky, giving promise of what we ardently desired, a -fine morrow. Over the other half the mass of thunder-clouds was, I -supposed, heaped together, for I could at first discern nothing of the -champaign which I knew must be stretched below. Suddenly, and from that -moment incessantly, gushes of red lightning poured out from the cloudy -canopy, revealing not merely the horizon, but the course of the river, -in all its windings through the valley. This thread of river, thus -illuminated, looked like a flash of lightning caught by some strong -hand and laid along in the valley. All the principal features of the -landscape might, no doubt, have been discerned by this sulphurous light; -but my whole attention was absorbed by the river, which seemed to come -out of the darkness like an apparition at the summons of my impatient -will. It could be borne only for a short time; this dazzling, -bewildering alternation of glare and blackness, of vast reality and -nothingness. I was soon glad to draw back from the precipice and seek -the candlelight within. - -The next day was Sunday. I shall never forget, if I live to a hundred, -how the world lay at my feet one Sunday morning. I rose very early, and -looked abroad from my window, two stories above the platform. A dense -fog, exactly level with my eyes, as it appeared, roofed in the whole -plain of the earth; a dusky firmament in which the stars had hidden -themselves for the day. Such is the account which an antediluvian -spectator would probably have given of it. This solid firmament had -spaces in it, however, through which gushes of sunlight were poured, -lighting up the spires of white churches, and clusters of farm buildings -too small to be otherwise distinguished; and especially the river, with -its sloops floating like motes in the sunbeam. The firmament rose and -melted, or parted off into the likeness of snowy sky-mountains, and left -the cool Sabbath to brood brightly over the land. What human interest -sanctifies a bird's-eye view! I suppose this is its peculiar charm, for -its charm is found to deepen in proportion to the growth of mind. To an -infant, a champaign of a hundred miles is not so much as a yard square -of gay carpet. To the rustic it is less bewitching than a paddock with -two cows. To the philosopher, what is it not? As he casts his eye over -its glittering towns, its scattered hamlets, its secluded homes, its -mountain ranges, church spires, and untrodden forests, it is a picture -of life; an epitome of the human universe; the complete volume of moral -philosophy, for which he has sought in vain in all libraries. On the -left horizon are the Green Mountains of Vermont, and at the right -extremity sparkles the Atlantic. Beneath lies the forest where the deer -are hiding and the birds rejoicing in song. Beyond the river he sees -spread the rich plains of Connecticut; there, where a blue expanse lies -beyond the triple range of hills, are the churches of religious -Massachusetts sending up their Sabbath psalms; praise which he is too -high to hear, while God is not. The fields and waters seem to him -to-day no more truly property than the skies which shine down upon them; -and to think how some below are busying their thoughts this Sabbath-day -about how they shall hedge in another field, or multiply their flocks on -yonder meadows, gives him a taste of the same pity which Jesus felt in -his solitude when his followers were contending about which should be -greatest. It seems strange to him now that man should call anything -_his_ but the power which is in him, and which can create somewhat more -vast and beautiful than all that this horizon encloses. Here he gains -the conviction, to be never again shaken, that all that is real is -ideal; that the joys and sorrows of men do not spring up out of the -ground, or fly abroad on the wings of the wind, or come showered down -from the sky; that good cannot be hedged in, nor evil barred out; even -that light does not reach the spirit through the eye alone, nor wisdom -through the medium of sound or silence only. He becomes of one mind with -the spiritual Berkeley, that the face of nature itself, the very picture -of woods, and streams, and meadows, is a hieroglyphic writing in the -spirit itself, of which the retina is no interpreter. The proof is just -below him (at least it came under my eye), in the lady (not American) -who, after glancing over the landscape, brings her chair into the -piazza, and, turning her back to the champaign, and her face to the -wooden walls of the hotel, begins the study, this Sunday morning, of her -lapful of newspapers. What a sermon is thus preached to him at this -moment from a very hackneyed text! To him that hath much; that hath the -eye, and ear, and wealth of the spirit, shall more be given; even a -replenishing of this spiritual life from that which to others is -formless and dumb; while from him that hath little, who trusts in that -which lies about him rather than in that which lives within him, shall -be taken away, by natural decline, the power of perceiving and enjoying -what is within his own domain. To him who is already enriched with large -divine and human revelations this scene is, for all its stillness, -musical with divine and human speech; while one who has been deafened by -the din of worldly affairs can hear nothing in this mountain solitude. - -The march of the day over the valley was glorious, and I was grieved to -have to leave my window for an expedition to the Falls a few miles off. -The Falls are really very fine, or, rather, their environment; but I -could see plenty of waterfalls elsewhere, but nowhere else such a -mountain platform. However, the expedition was a good preparation for -the return to my window. The little nooks of the road, crowded with -bilberries, cherries, and alpine plants, and the quiet tarn, studded -with golden water-lilies, were a wholesome contrast to the grandeur of -what we had left behind us. - -On returning, we found dinner awaiting us, and also a party of friends -out of Massachusetts, with whom we passed the afternoon, climbing higher -and higher among the pines, ferns, and blue-berries of the mountain, to -get wider and wider views. They told me that I saw Albany, but I was by -no means sure of it. This large city lay in the landscape like an -anthill in a meadow. Long before sunset I was at my window again, -watching the gradual lengthening of the shadows and purpling of the -landscape. It was more beautiful than the sunrise of this morning, and -less so than that of the morrow. Of this last I shall give no -description, for I would not weary others with what is most sacred to -me. Suffice it that it gave me a vivid idea of the process of creation, -from the moment when all was without form and void, to that when light -was commanded, and there was light. Here, again, I was humbled by seeing -what such things are to some who watch in vain for what they are not -made to see. A gentleman and lady in the hotel intended to have left the -place on Sunday. Having overslept that morning's sunrise, and arrived -too late for that on Saturday, they were persuaded to stay till Monday -noon; and I was pleased, on rising at four on Monday morning, to see -that they were in the piazza below, with a telescope. We met at -breakfast, all faint with hunger, of course. - -"Well, Miss M.," said the gentleman, discontentedly, "I suppose you were -disappointed in the sunrise." - -"No, I was not." - -"Why, do you think the sun was any handsomer here than at New-York?" - -I made no answer; for what could one say? But he drove me by questions -to tell what I expected to see in the sun. - -"I did not expect to see the sun green or blue." - -"What did you expect, then?" - -I was obliged to explain that it was the effect of the sun on the -landscape that I had been looking for. - -"Upon the landscape! Oh! but we saw that yesterday." - -The gentleman was perfectly serious; quite earnest in all this. When we -were departing, a foreign tourist was heard to complain of the high -charges! High charges! As if we were to be supplied for nothing on a -perch where the wonder is if any but the young ravens get fed! When I -considered what a drawback it is in visiting mountain-tops that one is -driven down again almost immediately by one's bodily wants, I was ready -to thank the people devoutly for harbouring us on any terms, so that we -might think out our thoughts, and compose our emotions, and take our -fill of that portion of our universal and eternal inheritance. - - - - -WEDDINGS. - - - "God, the best maker of all marriages, - Combine your hearts in one!" - - _Henry V._ - - -I was present at four weddings in the United States, and at an offer of -marriage. - -The offer of marriage ought hardly to be so called, however. It was a -petition from a slave to be allowed to wed (as slaves wed) the nursemaid -of a lady in whose house I was staying. The young man could either write -a little, or had employed some one who could to prepare his epistle for -him. It ran from corner to corner of the paper, which was daubed with -diluted wafer, like certain love-letters nearer home than Georgia. Here -are the contents: - - "Miss Cunningham it is My wishes to companion in your Present and I - hope you will Be peeze at it and I hope that you will not think Hard - of Me I have Ben to the Doctor and he was very well satafide with Me - and I hope you is and Miss Mahuw all so - - "thats all I has to say now wiheshen you will grant Me that honour I - will Be very glad. - - "S.B. SMITH." - -The nursemaid was granted; and as it was a love-match, and as the girl's -mistress is one of the tender, the sore-hearted about having slaves, I -hope the poor creatures are as happy as love in debasement can make -them. - -The first wedding I saw in Boston was very like the common run of -weddings in England. It happened to be convenient that the parties -should be married in church; and in the Unitarian church in which they -usually worshipped we accordingly awaited them. I had no acquaintance -with the family, but went on the invitation of the pastor who married -them. The family connexion was large, and the church, therefore, about -half full. The form of celebration is at the pleasure of the pastor; -but, by consent, the administration by pastors of the same sect is very -nearly alike. The promises of the married parties are made reciprocal, I -observed. The service in this instance struck me as being very beautiful -from its simplicity, tenderness, and brevity. There was one variation -from the usual method, in the offering of one of the prayers by a second -pastor, who, being the uncle of the bridegroom, was invited to take a -share in the service. - -The young people were to set out for Europe in the afternoon, the bride -being out of health, the dreary drawback upon almost every extensive -plan of action and fair promise of happiness in America. The lady has, I -rejoice to hear, been quite restored by travel; but her sickness threw a -gloom over the celebration, even in the minds of strangers. She and her -husband walked up the middle aisle to the desk where the pastors sat. -They were attended by only one bridesmaid and one groomsman, and were -all in plain travelling dresses. They said steadily and quietly what -they had to say, and walked down the aisle again as they came. Nothing -could be simpler and better, for this was not a marriage where festivity -could have place. If there is any natural scope for joy, let weddings by -all means be joyous; but here there was sickness, with the prospect of a -long family separation, and there was most truth in quietness. - -The other wedding I saw in Boston was as gay a one as is often seen. The -parties were opulent, and in the first rank in society. They were -married in the drawing-room of the bride's house, at half past eight in -the evening, by Dr. Channing. The moment the ceremony was over, crowds -of company began to arrive; and the bride, young and delicate, and her -maidens, were niched in a corner of one of the drawing-rooms to courtesy -to all comers. They were so formally placed, so richly and (as it then -seemed) formally dressed, for the present revived antique style of dress -was then quite new, that, in the interval of their courtesies, they -looked like an old picture brought from Windsor Castle. The bride's -mother presided in the other drawing-room, and the bridegroom flitted -about, universally attentive, and on the watch to introduce all visiters -to his lady. The transition from the solemnity of Dr. Channing's service -to the noisy gayeties of a rout was not at all to my taste. I imagined -that it was not to Dr. Channing's either, for his talk with me was on -matters very little resembling anything that we had before our eyes; and -he soon went away. The noise became such as to silence all who were not -inured to the gabble of an American party, the noisiest kind of -assemblage, I imagine (not excepting a Jew's synagogue), on the face of -the globe. I doubt whether any pagans in their worship can raise any -hubbub to equal it. I constantly found in a large party, after trying in -vain every kind of scream that I was capable of, that I must give up, -and satisfy myself with nodding and shaking my head. If I was rightly -understood, well and good; if not, I must let it pass. As the noise -thickened and the heat grew more oppressive, I glanced towards the poor -bride in her corner, still standing, still courtesying; her pale face -growing paler; her nonchalant manner (perhaps the best she could assume) -more indifferent. I was afraid that if all this went on much longer, she -would faint or die upon the spot. It did not last much longer. By eleven -some of the company began to go away, and by a quarter before twelve all -were gone but the comparatively small party (including ourselves) who -were invited to stay to supper. - -The chandelier and mantelpieces, I then saw, were dressed with flowers. -There was a splendid supper; and, before we departed, we were carried up -to a well-lighted apartment, where bride cake and the wedding presents -were set out in bright array. - -Five days afterward we went, in common with all her acquaintance, to pay -our respects to the bride. The courtyard of her mother's house was -thronged with carriages, though no one seemed to stay five minutes. The -bridegroom received us at the head of the stairs, and led us to his -lady, who courtesied as before. Cake, wine, and liqueurs were handed -round, the visiters all standing. A few words on common subjects were -exchanged, and we were gone to make way for others. - -A Quaker marriage which I saw at Philadelphia was scarcely less showy in -its way. It took place at the Cherrystreet church, belonging to the -Hicksites. The reformed Quaker Church, consisting of the followers of -Elias Hicks, bears about the same relation to the old Quakerism as the -Church of England to that of Rome; and, it seems to me, the mutual -dislike is as intense. I question whether religious enmity ever attained -a greater extreme than among the orthodox Friends of Philadelphia. The -Hicksites are more moderate, but are sometimes naturally worried out of -their patience by the meddling, the denunciations, and the calumnies of -the old Quaker societies. The new church is thinking of reforming and -relaxing a good deal farther, and in the celebration of marriage among -other things. It is under consideration (or was when I was there) -whether the process of betrothment should not be simplified, and -marriage in the father's house permitted to such as prefer it to the -church. The wedding at which I was present was, however, performed with -all the formalities. - -A Quaker friend of mine, a frequent preacher, suggested, a few days -previously, that a seat had better be reserved for me near the speakers, -that I might have a chance of hearing "in case there should be -communications." I had hopes from this that my friend would speak, and -my wishes were not disappointed. - -The spacious church was crowded; and for three or four hours the poor -bride had to sit facing the assemblage, aware, doubtless, that during -the time of silence the occupation of the strangers present, if not of -the friends themselves, would be watching her and her party. She was -pretty, and most beautifully dressed. I have seldom pitied anybody more -than I did her, while she sat palpitating for three hours under the gaze -of some hundreds of people; but, towards the end of the time of silence, -my compassion was transferred to the bridegroom. For want of something -to do, after suppressing many yawns, he looked up to the ceiling; and in -the midst of an empty stare, I imagine he caught the eye of an -acquaintance in the back seats; for he was instantly troubled with a -most irrepressible and unseasonable inclination to laugh. He struggled -manfully with his difficulty; but the smiles would come, broader and -broader. If, by dint of looking steadfastly into his hat for a few -minutes, he attained a becoming gravity, it was gone the moment he -raised his head. I was in a panic lest we should have a scandalous peal -of merriment if something was not given him to do or listen to. Happily -"there were communications," and the course of his ideas was changed. - -Of the five speakers, one was an old gentleman whose discourse was an -entire perplexity to me. For nearly an hour he discoursed on Jacob's -ladder; but in a style so rambling, and in a chant so singularly -unmusical as to set attention and remembrace at defiance. Some -parenthetical observations alone stood a chance of being retained, from -their singularity; one, for instance, which he introduced in the course -of his narrative about Jacob setting a stone for a pillow; "a very -different," cried the preacher, raising his chant to the highest pitch, -"a very different pillow, by-the-way, from any that -we--are--accommodated--with." What a contrast was the brief discourse of -my Quaker friend which followed! Her noble countenance was radiant as -the morning; her soft voice, though low, so firm that she was heard to -the farthest corner, and her little sermon as philosophical as it was -devout. "Send forth thy light and thy truth," was her text. She spoke -gratefully of intellectual light as a guide to spiritual truth, and -anticipated and prayed for an ultimate universal diffusion of both. The -certificate of the marriage was read by Dr. Parrish, an elderly -physician of Philadelphia, the very realization of all my imaginings of -the personal appearance of William Penn; with all the dignity and -bonhommie that one fancies Penn invested with in his dealings with the -Indians. Dr. Parrish speaks with affection of the Indians, from the -experience some ancestors of his had of the hospitality of these poor -people when they were in a condition to show hospitality. His -grandfather's family were shipwrecked, and the Indians took the poor -lady and her children home to an inhabited cave, and fed them for many -weeks or months. The tree stump round which they used to sit at meals is -still standing; and Dr. Parrish says that, let it stand as long as it -will, the love of his family to the Indians shall outlast it. - -The matrimonial promise was distinctly and well spoken by both the -parties. At the request of the bride and bridegroom, Dr. Parrish asked -me to put the first signature, after their own, to the certificate of -the marriage; and we adjourned for the purpose to an apartment connected -with the church. Most ample sheets of parchment were provided for the -signatures; and there was a prodigious array of names before we left, -when a crowd was still waiting to testify. This multitudinous witnessing -is the pleasantest part of being married by acclamation. If weddings are -not to be private, there seems no question of the superiority of this -Quaker method to that of the Boston marriage I beheld, where there was -all the publicity, without the co-operation and sanction. - -The last wedding which I have to give an account of is full of a -melancholy interest to me now. All was so joyous, so simple, so right, -that there seemed no suggestion to evil-boding, no excuse for -anticipating such wo as has followed. On one of the latter days of July, -1835, I reached the village of Stockbridge; the Sedgwicks' village, for -the second time, intending to stay four or five days with my friends -there. I had heard of an approaching wedding in the family connexion, -and was glad that I had planned to leave, so as to be out of the way at -a time when I supposed the presence of foreigners, though friends, might -be easily dispensed with. But when Miss Sedgwick and I were sitting in -her room one bright morning, there was a tap at the door. It was the -pretty black-eyed girl who was to be married the next week. She stood -only a minute on the threshold to say, with grave simplicity, "I am come -to ask you to join our friends at my father's house next Tuesday -evening." Being thus invited, I joyfully assented, and put off my -journey. - -The numerous children of the family connexion were in wild spirits all -that Tuesday. In the morning we went a strong party to the Ice Hole; a -defile between two hills, so perplexed and encumbered with rocks that -none but practised climbers need attempt the passage. It was a good way -for the young people to work off their exuberant spirits. Their laughter -was heard from amid the nooks and hiding-places of the labyrinth, and -smiling faces might be seen behind every shrubby screen which sprang up -from the crevices. How we tried to surpass each other in the ferns and -mosses we gathered, rich in size and variety! What skipping and -scrambling there was; what trunk bridges and ladders of roots! How -valiant the ladies looked with their stout sticks! How glad every one -was to feast upon the wild raspberries when we struggled through the -close defile into the cool, green, breezy meadow on the banks of the -Housatonic! During the afternoon we were very quiet, reading one of -Carlyle's reviews aloud (for the twentieth time, I believe, to some of -the party), and discussing it and other things. By eight o'clock we were -all dressed for the wedding; and some of the children ran over the green -before us, but came back, saying that all was not quite ready; so we got -one of the girls to sing to us for another half hour. - -The house of the bride's father was well lighted, and dressed with -flowers. She had no mother; but her elder sisters aided her father in -bidding us welcome. The drawing-room was quite full; and while the -grown-up friends found it difficult to talk, and to repress the -indefinable anxiety and agitation which always attend a wedding, the -younger members of the party were amusing themselves with whispered -mirth. The domestics looked as if the most joyous event of their lives -were taking place, and the old father seemed placid and satisfied. - -In a few minutes we were summoned to another room, at the top of which -stood the tall bridegroom, with his pretty little lady on his arm; on -either side, the three gentlemen and three ladies who attended them; and -in front, the Episcopalian minister who was to marry them, and who has -since been united to one of the sisters. It was the first time of his -performing the ceremony, and his manner was solemn and somewhat anxious, -as might be expected. - -The bridegroom was a professor in a college in the neighbouring State of -New-York; a young man of high acquirements and character, to whom the -old father might well be proud to give his daughter. His manners were -remarkably pleasing; and there was a joyous, dignified serenity visible -in them this evening, which at once favourably prepossessed us who did -not previously know him. He was attended by a brother professor from the -same college. When the service was over, we all kissed the grave and -quiet bride. I trust that no bodings of the woes which awaited her cast -a shadow over her spirits then. I think, though grave, she was not sad. -She spoke with all her father's guests in the course of the evening, as -did her husband. How often have I of late tried to recall precisely -what they said to me, and every look with which they said it! - -We went back to the drawing-room for cake and wine; and then ensued the -search for the ring in the great wedding cake, with much merriment among -those who were alive to all the fun of a festivity like this, and to -none of the care. There was much moving about between the rooms, and -dressing with flowers in the hall; and lively conversation, as it must -needs be where there are Sedgwicks. Then Champagne and drinking of -healths went round, the guests poured out upon the green, all the ladies -with handkerchiefs tied over their heads. There we bade good-night, and -parted off to our several homes. - -When I left the village the next morning two or three carriages full of -young people were setting off, as attendants upon the bride and -bridegroom, to Lebanon. After a few such short excursions in the -neighbourhood, the young couple went home to begin their quiet college -and domestic life. - -Before a year had elapsed, a year which to me seemed gone like a month, -I was at Stockbridge again and found the young wife's family in great -trouble. She was in a raging fever, consequent on her confinement, and -great fears were entertained for her life. Her infant seemed to have but -a small chance under the circumstances, and there was a passing mention -of her husband being ill. Every one spoke of him with a respect and -affection which showed how worthy he was of this young creature's love; -and it was our feeling for him which made our prayers for her -restoration so earnest as they were. The last I heard of her before I -left the country was that she was slowly and doubtfully recovering, but -had not yet been removed from her father's house. The next intelligence -that I received after my return to England was of her husband's death; -that he had died in a calm and satisfied state of mind; satisfied that -if their reasonable hopes of domestic joy and usefulness had not been -fulfilled, it was for wise and kind reasons; and that the strong hand -which thus early divided them would uphold the gentle surviver. No one -who beheld and blessed their union can help beseeching and trusting, -since all other hope is over, that it may be even thus. - - - - -HIGH ROAD TRAVELLING. - - - "How far my pen has been fatigued like those of other travellers in - this journey of it, the world must judge; but the traces of it, - which are now all set o'vibrating together this moment, tell me it - is the most fruitful and busy period of my life; for, as I had made - no convention with my man with the gun as to time--by seizing every - handle, of what size or shape soever which chance held out to me in - this journey--I was always in company, and with great variety - too."--STERNE. - - -Our first land travelling, in which we had to take our chance with the -world in general, was across the State of New-York. My account of what -we saw may seem excessively minute in some of its details; but this -style of particularity is not adopted without reasons. While writing my -journal, I always endeavoured to bear in mind the rapidity with which -civilization advances in America, and the desirablness of recording -things precisely in their present state, in order to have materials for -comparison some few years hence, when travelling may probably be as -unlike what it is now, as a journey from London to Liverpool by the new -railroad differs from the same enterprise as undertaken a century and a -half ago. - -To avoid some of the fatigues and liabilities of common travelling, -certain of our shipmates and their friends and ourselves had made up a -party to traverse the State of New-York in an "exclusive extra;" a stage -hired, with the driver, for our own use, to proceed at our own time. Our -fellow-travellers were a German and a Dutch gentleman, and the Prussian -physician and young South Carolinian whom I have mentioned in the list -of our shipmates. We were to meet at the Congress Hall hotel in Albany -on the 6th of October. - -On our way from Stockbridge to Albany we saw a few objects -characteristic of the country. While the horses were baiting we wandered -into a graveyard, where the names on the tombstones were enough to -inform any observer what country of the world he was in. One inscription -was laudatory of Nelson and Nabby Bullis; another of Amasa and Polly -Fielding. Hiram and Keziah were there too. The signs in the American -streets are as ludicrous for their confusion of Greek, Roman, and Hebrew -names, as those of Irish towns are for the arbitrary divisions of words. -One sees Rudolphus figuring beside Eliakim, and Aristides beside Zerug. -I pitied an acquaintance of mine for being named Peleg, till I found he -had baptized his two boys Peleg and Seth. On a table in a little wayside -inn I found Fox's Martyr's; and against the wall hung a framed sampler, -with the following lines worked upon it:-- - - "Jesus, permit thine awful name to stand - As the first offering of an infant's hand: - And as her fingers o'er the canvass move, - Oh fill her thoughtful bosom with thy love, - With thy dear children let her bear a part, - And write thy name thyself upon her heart." - -In these small inns the disagreeable practice of rocking in the chair is -seen in its excess. In the inn parlour are three or four rocking-chairs, -in which sit ladies who are vibrating in different directions, and at -various velocities, so as to try the head of a stranger almost as -severely as the tobacco-chewer his stomach. How this lazy and ungraceful -indulgence ever became general, I cannot imagine; but the nation seems -so wedded to it, that I see little chance of its being forsaken. When -American ladies come to live in Europe, they sometimes send home for a -rocking-chair. A common wedding-present is a rocking-chair. A beloved -pastor has every room in his house furnished with a rocking-chair by his -grateful and devoted people. It is well that the gentlemen can be -satisfied to sit still, or the world might be treated with the spectacle -of the sublime American Senate in a new position; its fifty-two senators -see-sawing in full deliberation, like the wise birds of a rookery in a -breeze. If such a thing should ever happen, it will be time for them to -leave off laughing at the Shaker worship. - -As we approached Greenbush, which lies opposite to Albany, on the east -bank of the Hudson, we met riding horses, exercised by grooms, and more -than one handsome carriage; tokens that we were approaching some centre -of luxury. The view of Albany rising from the river side, with its brown -stone courthouse and white marble capitol, is fine; but it wants the -relief of more trees within itself, or of a rural background. How -changed is this bustling city, thronged with costly buildings, from the -Albany of the early days of Mrs. Grant of Laggan, when the children used -to run up and down the green slope which is now State-street, imposing -from its width and the massiveness of the houses seen behind its rows of -trees! A tunnel is about to be made under the Hudson at Albany; meantime -we crossed, as everybody does, by a horse ferryboat; a device so cruel -as well as clumsy, that the sooner it is superseded the better. I was -told that the strongest horses, however kept up with corn, rarely -survive a year of this work. - -We observed that, even in this city, the physicians have not always -their names engraved on brass doorplates. On the most conspicuous part -of their houses, perhaps on the angle of a corner house, is nailed some -glazed substance like floorcloth, with "Dr. Such-an-one" painted upon -it. At Washington I remember seeing "MAGISTRATE" thus affixed to a mere -shed. - -As we surmounted the hill leading to our hotel, we saw our two shipmates -dancing down the steps to welcome us. There certainly is a feeling among -shipmates which does not grow out of any other relation. They are thrown -first into such absolute dependance on one another, for better for -worse, and are afterward so suddenly and widely separated, that if they -do chance to meet again, they renew their intimacy with a fervour which -does not belong to a friendship otherwise originated. The glee of our -whole party this evening is almost ridiculous to look back upon. -Everything served to make a laugh, and we were almost intoxicated with -the prospect of what we were going to see and do together. We had -separated only a fortnight ago, but we had as much to talk over as if we -had been travelling apart for six months. The Prussian had to tell his -adventures, we our impressions, and the Southerner his comparisons of -his own country with Europe. Then we had to arrange the division of -labour by which the gentlemen were to lighten the cares of travelling. -Dr. J., the Prussian, was on all occasions to select apartments for us; -Mr. S., the Dutchman, to undertake the eating department; Mr. H., the -American, was paymaster; and Mr. O., the German, took charge of the -luggage. It was proposed that badges should be worn to designate their -offices. Mr. S. was to be adorned with a corncob. Mr. H. stuck a -bankbill in front of his hat; and, next morning, when Mr. O. was looking -another way, the young men locked a small padlock upon his button-hole, -which he was compelled to carry there for a day or two, till his -comrades vouchsafed to release him from his badge. - -The hotel was well furnished and conducted. I pointed out, with some -complacency, what a handsome piano we had in our drawing-room; but when, -in the dark hour, I opened it in order to play, I found it empty of -keys! a disappointment, however, which I have met with in England. - -Mr. Van Buren and his son happened to be in Albany, and called on me -this afternoon. There is nothing remarkable in the appearance of this -gentleman, whom I afterward saw frequently at Washington. He is small in -person, with light hair and blue eyes. I was often asked whether I did -not think his manners gentlemanly. There is much friendliness in his -manners, for he is a kind-hearted man; he is also rich in information, -and lets it come out on subjects in which he cannot contrive to see any -danger in speaking. But his manners want the frankness and confidence -which are essential to good breeding. He questions closely, without -giving anything in return. Moreover, he flatters to a degree which so -cautious a man should long ago have found out to be disagreeable; and -his flattery is not merely praise of the person he is speaking to, but a -worse kind still; a skepticism and ridicule of objects and persons -supposed to be distasteful to the one he is conversing with. I fully -believe that he is an amiable and indulgent domestic man, and a -reasonable political master, a good scholar, and a shrewd man of -business; but he has the skepticism which marks the lower order of -politicians. His public career exhibits no one exercise of that faith in -men and preference of principle to petty expediency by which a statesman -shows himself to be great. - -The consequence is, that, with all his opportunities, no great deed has -ever been put to his account, and his shrewdness has been at fault in -some of the most trying crises of his career. The man who so little -trusts others, and so intensely regards self as to make it the study of -his life not to commit himself, is liable to a more than ordinary danger -of judging wrong when compelled, by the pressure of circumstances, to -act a decided part. It has already been so with Mr. Van Buren more than -once; and now that he is placed in a position where he must sometimes -visibly lead, and cannot always appear to follow, it will be seen -whether a due reverence of men and a forgetfulness of self would not -have furnished him with more practical wisdom than all his "sounding on -his dim and perilous way." Mr. Calhoun is, I believe, Mr. Van Buren's -evil genius. Mr. Calhoun was understood to be in expectation of -succeeding to the presidential chair when Mr. Van Buren was appointed -minister to Great Britain. This appointment of President Jackson's did -not receive the necessary sanction from the Senate, and the new minister -was recalled on the first possible day, Mr. Calhoun being very active in -bringing him back. Mr. Calhoun was not aware that he was recalling one -who was to prove a successful rival. Mr. Calhoun has not been president; -Mr. Van Buren is so; but the successful rival has a mortal dread of the -great nullifier; a dread so obvious, and causing such a prostration of -all principle and all dignity, as to oblige observers to conclude that -there is more in the matter than they see; that it will come out some -day why the disappointed aspirant is still to be propitiated, when he -seems to be deprived of power to do mischief. In "Society in America" I -have given an account of the nullification struggle, and of the -irritation, the mysterious discontent which it has left behind.[2] - -Footnote 2: Society in America, vol. i., p. 91. - -Perhaps Mr. Van Buren may entertain the opinion which many hold, that -that business is not over yet, and that the slavery question is made a -pretext by the nullifiers of the South for a line of action to which -they are impelled by the disappointed personal ambition of one or two, -and the wounded pride of the many, who cannot endure the contrast -between the increase of the free states of the North and the -deterioration of the slave states of the South. However this may be, to -propitiate Mr. Calhoun seems to have been Mr. Van Buren's great object -for a long time past; an object probably hopeless in itself, and in the -pursuit of which he is likely to lose the confidence of the North far -faster than he could, at best, disarm the enmity of the South. - -In the spring of 1836, when Mr. Van Buren was still vice-president, and -the presidential election was drawing near, Mr. Calhoun brought forward -in the Senate his bill (commonly called the Gag Bill) to violate the -postoffice function, by authorizing postmasters to investigate the -contents of the mails, and to keep back all papers whatsoever relating -to the subject of slavery. The bill was, by consent, read the first and -second times without debate; and the Senate was to be divided on the -question whether it should go to a third reading. The votes were equal, -18 to 18. "Where's the vice-president?" shouted Mr. Calhoun's mighty -voice. The vice-president was behind a pillar, talking. He was compelled -to give the casting vote, to commit himself for once; a cruel necessity -to a man of his caution. He voted for the third reading, and there was a -bitter cry on the instant, "The Northern States are sold." The bill was -thrown out on the division on the third reading, and the vice-president -lost by his vote the good-will of the whole body of abolitionists, who -had till then supported him as the democratic and supposed anti-slavery -candidate. As it was, most of the abolitionists did not vote at all, for -want of a good candidate, and Mr. Van Buren's majority was so reduced as -to justify a belief, that if the people had had another year to consider -his conduct in, or if another democratic candidate could have been put -forward, he would have been emphatically rejected. Having once committed -himself, he has gone further still in propitiation of Mr. Calhoun. On -the day of his presidential installation he declared that under no -circumstances would he give his assent to any bill for the abolition of -slavery in the District of Columbia. This declaration does not arise out -of a belief that Congress has not power to abolish slavery in the -District; for he did, not long before, when hard pressed, declare that -he believed Congress to possess that power. He has therefore hazarded -the extraordinary declaration that he will not, under any circumstances, -assent to what may become the will of the people constitutionally -imbodied. This is a bold intimation for a "non-committal man" to make. -It remains to be seen whether Mr. Calhoun, if really dangerous, can be -kept quiet by such fawning as this; and whether the will of the people -may not be rather stimulated than restrained by this sacrifice of them -to the South, so as either to compel the president to retract his -declaration before his four years are out, or to prevent his -re-election. - -How strange it is to recall one's first impressions of public men in the -midst of one's matured opinions of them! How freshly I remember the chat -about West Point and Stockbridge acquaintances that I had that afternoon -at Albany, with the conspicuous man about whom I was then ignorant and -indifferent, and whom I have since seen committed to the lowest -political principles and practices, while elected as professing some of -the highest! It only remains to be said, that if Mr. Van Buren feels -himself aggrieved by the interpretation which is commonly put upon the -facts of his political life, he has no one to blame but himself; for -such misinterpretation (if it exists) is owing to his singular reserve; -a reserve which all men agree in considering incompatible with the -simple honesty and cheerful admission of responsibility which democratic -republicans have a right to require of their rulers. - -Before breakfast the next morning we walked down to the Padroon's house, -known by reputation, with the history of the estate, to everybody. We -just caught a sight of the shrubbery, and took leave to pass through the -courtyard, and hastened back to breakfast, immediately after which we -proceeded by railroad to Schenectady. There we at once stepped into a -canalboat for Utica. I would never advise ladies to travel by canal, -unless the boats are quite new and clean; or, at least, far better kept -than any that I saw or heard of on this canal. On fine days it is -pleasant enough sitting outside (except for having to duck under the -bridges every quarter of an hour, under penalty of having one's head -crushed to atoms), and in dark evenings the approach of the boatlights -on the water is a pretty sight; but the horrors of night and of wet days -more than compensate for all the advantages these vehicles can boast. -The heat and noise, the known vicinity of a compressed crowd, lying -packed like herrings in a barrel, the bumping against the sides of the -locks, and the hissing of water therein like an inundation, startling -one from sleep; these things are very disagreeable. We suffered under an -additional annoyance in the presence of sixteen Presbyterian clergymen, -some of the most unprepossessing of their class. If there be a duty more -obvious than another on board a canalboat, it is to walk on the bank -occasionally in fair weather, or, at least, to remain outside, in order -to air the cabin (close enough at best) and get rid of the scents of the -table before the unhappy passengers are shut up to sleep there. These -sixteen gentlemen, on their way to a Convention at Utica, could not wait -till they got there to begin their devotional observances, but obtruded -them upon the passengers in a most unjustifiable manner. They were not -satisfied with saying an almost interminable grace before and after each -meal, but shut up the cabin for prayers before dinner; for missionary -conversation in the afternoon, and for scripture reading and prayers -quite late into the night, keeping tired travellers from their rest, and -every one from his fair allowance of fresh air. - -The passengers were all invited to listen to and to question a -missionary from China who was of the party. The gentleman did not seem -to have profited much by his travels, however; for he declared himself -unable to answer some very simple inquiries. "Is the religion of the -Christian missionaries tolerated by the Chinese government?" "I am not -prepared to answer that question." "Are the Chinese cannibals?" "I am -not prepared to answer that question." One requested that any brother -would offer a suggestion as to how government might be awakened to the -sinfulness of permitting Sunday mails; during the continuance of which -practice there was no hope of the Sabbath being duly sanctified. No one -was ready with a suggestion, but one offered a story, which every head -was bent to hear. The story was of two sheep-drovers, one of whom feared -God, and the other did not. The profane drover set out with his sheep -for a particular destination two hours earlier than the other, and did -not rest on Sunday like his pious comrade. What was the catastrophe? The -Godfearing drover, though he had stood still all Sunday, arrived at his -destination two hours earlier than the other. "Ah!" "Ah!" resounded -through the cabin in all conceivable tones of conviction, no one asking -particulars of what had happened on the road; of how and where the -profane drover had been delayed. Temperance was, of course, a great -topic with these divines, and they fairly provoked ridicule upon it. One -passenger told me that they were so strict that they would not drink -water out of the Brandywine river; and another remarked that they -partook with much relish of the strong wine-sauce served with our -puddings. - -In addition to other discomforts, we passed the fine scenery of Little -Falls in the night. I was not aware what we had missed till I traversed -the Mohawk valley by a better conveyance nearly two years afterward. I -have described this valley in my other work on America,[3] and must -therefore restrain my pen from dwelling on its beauties here. - -Footnote 3: "Society in America," vol. ii., p. 188. - -The appearance of the berths in the ladies' cabin was so repulsive, that -we were seriously contemplating sitting out all night, when it began to -rain so as to leave us no choice. I was out early in the misty morning, -however, and was presently joined by the rest of my party, all looking -eagerly for signs of Utica being near. - -By eight o'clock we were at the wharf. We thought Utica the most -extempore place we had yet seen. The _right-up_ shops, the daubed -houses, the streets running into the woods, all seemed to betoken that -the place had sprung up out of some sudden need. How much more ancient -and respectable did it seem after my return from the West, where I had -seen towns so much newer still! We were civilly received and -accommodated at Bagg's hotel, where we knew how to value cold water, -spacious rooms, and retirement, after the annoyances of the boat. - -Our baggage-master was fortunate in securing a neat, clean stage to take -us to Trenton Falls (14 miles), where we promised each other to spend -the whole day, on condition of being off by five the next morning, in -order to accomplish the distance to Syracuse in the course of the day. -The reason for our economy of time was not merely that it was late in -the season, and every day which kept us from the Falls of Niagara, -therefore, of consequence, but that our German friend, Mr. O., was -obliged to be back in New-York by a certain day. We all considered a -little extra haste and fatigue a small tax to pay for the privilege of -his companionship. - -We clapped our hands at the sight of the "Rural Retreat," the -comfortable, hospitable house of entertainment at Trenton, standing in -its garden on the edge of the forest, so unlike hotels on the high road. - -As no other company was there, we could choose our own hours. We ordered -a late dinner, and proceeded to the Falls. We had only to follow a path -in the pine forest for a few paces, and we were at the edge of the -ravine which encloses the cascades. - -It is a pity that the Indian name is not retained. Trenton Falls are -called Cayoharic by the Indians. They are occasioned by the descent of -West Canada Creek through a ravine, where it makes a succession of leaps -from platforms of rock, six of these falls being pretty easily -accessible by travellers. Much has been said of the danger of the -enterprise of ascending the ravine; but I saw no peril to persons who -are neither rash nor nervous. The two accidents which have happened -have, I believe, been owing, the one to extreme rashness, and the other -to sudden terror. - -From the edge of the ravine the black water, speckled with white foam, -is seen rushing below with a swiftness which already half turns the head -of the stranger. We descended five flights of wooden steps fixed against -the steep face of the rock, and at the bottom found ourselves at the -brink of the torrent. I never was in so dark and chill a place in the -open air; yet the sun was shining on the opposite face of the rock, -lighting the one scarlet maple which stood out from among the black -cedars and dark green elms. We selected our footing with a care which we -were quite ready to ridicule when we came back; and were not above -grasping the chain which is riveted into the rock where the shelf which -forms the pathway is narrowest, and where the angles are sharpest. The -hollow is here so filled with the voice of many waters, that no other -can be heard; and after many irreverent shouts had been attempted, we -gave up all attempts to converse till we reached a quieter place. Being -impatient to see the first fall, I went on before the rest, and having -climbed the flight of wooden steps, so wetted with the spray of the fall -as to be as slippery as ice, I stood on the platform under a covert of -rock foaming with the thunder of the waters, and saw my companions, one -by one, turn the angle of the path, and pause in front of the sheet of -liquid amber sprinkled with snow. The path on which they stood seemed -too narrow for human foot; and when, discerning me, they waved their -hands, I trembled lest, disregarding their footing, they should be swept -away by the furious torrent. When we found our heads turning with the -rush of the dark waters, we amused ourselves with admiring the little -wells in the rock, and the drip from the roots of a cedar projecting -from the top of the ravine, a never-failing, glittering shower. Between -the fifth and sixth fall there is a long tranquil reach of water; and -here we lingered to rest our bewildered senses before entering upon the -confusion of rocks through which the sixth forces its way. We seesawed -upon a fallen trunk, sent autumn leaves whirling down the stream, and -watched the endless dance of the balls of foam which had found their -way into the tiny creeks and bays opposite, and could not get out again. - -Gay butterflies seemed quite at home in this ravine. They flit through -the very spray of the falls. It seemed wonderful that an insect could -retain its frail life in the midst of such an uproar. When the sun, in -its course, suddenly shone full into the glen through a chasm in its -rocky wall, how the cascade was instantly dressed in glory! crowned with -a rainbow, and invested with all radiant hues! How the poor banished -Indians must mourn when the lights of their Cayoharic visit their senses -again in the dreams of memory or of sleep! The recollection of these -poor exiles was an ever-present saddening thought in the midst of all -the most beautiful scenes of the New World. - -When we had surmounted the sixth fall, we saw indeed that we could go no -farther. A round projection of rock, without trace of anything that I -could call a foothold, barred us out from the privacy of the upper -ravine. The falls there are said to be as beautiful as any that we saw, -and it is to be hoped that, by blasting a pathway or by some other -means, they also may be laid open to the affections of happy visiters. - -They have been seen and reported of. A friend of mine has told me, since -I was there, how Bryant the poet and himself behaved like two -thoughtless boys in this place. Clambering about by themselves one -summer day, when their wives had gone back to the house, they were -irresistibly tempted to pass the barrier, and see what lay beyond. They -got round the rock, I cannot conceive how, by inequalities in its -surface. They met with so many difficulties and so much beauty higher -up, that they forgot all about time, till they found themselves in utter -darkness. They hastened to grope their way homeward through the forest, -and were startled, after a while, by shouts and moving lights. Till that -moment they never recollected how alarmed their wives must be. It was -past ten o'clock, and the poor ladies had been in a state of uneasiness -half the evening, and of mortal terror for the last two hours. They had -got people from the neighbourhood to go out with torches, little -expecting to see their husbands come walking home on their own feet, and -with nothing the matter with them but hunger and shame. I hope the -ladies were exceedingly angry when their panic was over. - -The forest at the top of the ravine was a study to me, who had yet seen -but little forest. Moss cushioned all the roots of the trees; hibiscus -overspread the ground; among the pine stems there was a tangle of -unknown shrubs; and a brilliant bird, scarlet except its black wings, -hovered about as if it had no fear of us. I could learn nothing more -about it than that the people call it the red robin. Before we returned -the moon hung like a gem over the darkness of the ravine. I spent -another happy day among these falls some months after, and was yet more -impressed with their singularity and beauty. - -When we had exchanged our wet clothes, an excellent dinner was served, -and our host himself waited upon us, sitting down by the window when -nothing was wanted. In the course of dinner Mr. H. related to me some -particulars of the slave insurrection at Charleston a few years before, -when upward of thirty slaves were hanged at once. Some circumstance -which he told led me to observe that I should have done as the thirty -did in their place. "Oh," said he, "so should I." I thanked him for his -response, saying that no defence he could now make of slavery would -stand against such an admission. He did not retract, but a long argument -ensued, in which our host became deeply interested. He moved his chair -forwarder and forwarder, till I saw him leaning over the table between -two of the gentlemen to listen. Everybody had long done eating, and -every dish on the table was quite cold, and the debate concluded, before -our host remembered that we had not had our pudding, and started up to -serve us. - -We soon retired to our rooms, being in need of rest after the -discomforts of the canalboat and the fatigues of the day; but it was not -too late for the neighbours to offer their hospitable welcomes. Just -after I was undressed, the cards of visiters were brought me, with a -friendly message; but it was too late to do more than send a message in -return. - -We left the place at a little after five in the morning, in a dismal -rain. While breakfasting at Utica, we engaged an "exclusive extra" to -carry us to Buffalo for eighty dollars, the precise route being agreed -upon, and the choice of times and seasons to remain with us. On going -out to our carriage we found the steps of the hotel occupied by a number -of persons, some from Boston, who offered me welcome to the country, and -any information or assistance I might need. One gentleman put into my -hand a letter of introduction to an influential friend of his at -Cincinnati, as it was understood that I was going there. So from this -strange place, where I had not spent above two hours, we drove off amid -a variety of friendly greetings. - -This day I first saw a loghouse, and first felt myself admitted into the -sanctuary of the forest. These things made the day full of interest to -me, though the rain scarcely ceased from morning till night. -Well-settled farms were numerous along the road, but in the intervals -were miles of forests; dark thronging trees with their soft gay summits. -Till now the autumn woods had appeared at a distance too red and rusty; -these, when looked into, were the melting of all harmonious colours. As -for the forms, some were drooping, some towering, their tall bare stems -wreathed with crimson creepers. The cleared hollows and slopes, with the -forest ever advancing or receding, are as fine to the imagination as any -natural language can be. I looked for an Indian or two standing on the -forest verge, within a shade as dusky as himself; but for this I had to -wait another day. - -Just after dark we arrived at Syracuse, in time for the common supper. I -was surprised at the size and style of the hotel. Land and building -material being cheap, and there being no window-tax, there is little -inducement to economize space in the American houses, and the new hotels -have the ambitious air which is given by spaciousness. The deficiency -lies in furniture, and yet more in attendance; but I really think, that -if travellers will trouble themselves to learn a little of the ways of -the house, so as not to run into opposition to other people's -convenience, much more comfort may be enjoyed in these places than -unaccommodating tourists will believe. Our chambers were quite -sufficiently furnished here; and I never in any place found difficulty -in obtaining as large a supply of water as I wished by simply asking for -it in good time. I observed that the hotel parlours in various parts of -the country were papered with the old-fashioned papers, I believe -French, which represent a sort of panorama of a hunting-party, a fleet, -or some such diversified scene. I saw many such a hunting-party, the -ladies in scarlet riding-habits, as I remember the landlord of the inn -at Bray, near Dublin, to have been proud of in his best parlour. At -Schenectady, the bay of Naples, with its fishing-boats on the water and -groups of lazzaroni on the shore, adorned our parlour walls. It seems -to be an irresistible temptation to idle visiters, English, Irish, and -American, to put speeches into the mouths of the painted personages; and -such hangings are usually seen deformed with scribblings. The effect is -odd, in wild places, of seeing American witticisms put into the mouths -of Neapolitan fishermen, ancient English ladies of quality, or of -tritons and dryads. - -There is taste quite as bad as this in a matter of far more importance, -the naming of places. Syracuse in the State of New-York! I often wonder -whether it is yet too late to revert to the Indian names, to undo the -mischief which has been done by boys fresh from their smattering of the -classics, who have gone into the forest to hew out towns and villages. I -heard many Americans say that the State of New-York ought to be called -Ontario, and the city Manhattan. But, so far from bringing back the -nomenclature to a better state, we not only find Utica, Syracuse, -Manlius, and Camillus, and the village of Geneva on Seneca Lake, with -Ithaca at its other extremity, but the village of Chittenango actually -baptized into Sullivan; and all this in the neighbourhood of the lakes -Onondago, Cayuga, and Owasco. It is as bad as the English in Van -Diemen's Land, who, if I remember rightly, have got Palmyra, Richmond, -and Jericho all in a line. - -Some curious associations arise from a new nation using the language of -the old. While speculating sometimes on what the classical conceptions -can be in the minds of youths who hear every day, in the most sordid -connexion, of Rome, Utica, Carthage, Athens, Palmyra, and Troy, it -occurred to me that some of our commonest English writing must bear a -different meaning to the Americans and to us. All that is written about -cornfields, for instance, must call up pictures in their minds quite -unlike any that the poets intended to create. "Waving corn" is not the -true description to them; and one can scarcely bring one's tongue to -explain that it means "small grain." Their poetical attachments are -naturally and reasonably to their Indian corn, which is a beautiful -plant, worthy of all love and celebration. But the consequence is, that -we have not their sympathy about our sheaves, our harvest wain, our -gleaners; for though they have wheat, their harvest, _par excellence_, -is of corncobs, and their "small grain" bears about the same relation to -poetry with them as turnips with us. Then, again, there is the month of -May, about which we lose their sympathy. Over a great proportion of the -country May is one of their worst months, damp, drizzly, with intervals -of biting winds, as little fit for the climate of a poem as our windy -and dusty March. Many other such particulars might be mentioned, which -it would be a new employment to trace out. - -When I traversed New-York State at a subsequent period with another -party of friends, we saw many Indians before reaching Syracuse. It was -at Oneida Castle, a village on the borders of the Oneida territory, -which was once fortified after the Indian fashion, whence its formidable -name. We saw in such close neighbourhood as to cause many strange -reflections, the Episcopalian church built for the Indians of the -vicinity, who are declared to be reclaimed from idolatry and their -ancient Council Grove, where they met to think their own thoughts and -say their own sayings. This grove is a fine clump of twenty-seven -butternut-trees. We passed through the village on the day when the -Indians had all come in to receive their annual government allowance of -seven dollars a head. Two men were drunk; the rest looked sober enough. -The squaws were neatly dressed in blue pantaloons edged with white, and -had clean blankets over their shoulders. The babies looked fat and -lively. One squaw had her infant lashed to a board at her back. When we -stopped to water the horses we saw several boys with bows and arrows, -and Dr. F. made them understand by signs that any one who could strike a -quarter dollar which he would fix on a post should have it. He made a -notch in the post of a shed, and placed his coin, and forthwith the -arrows flew like hail. One struck deep into a post, and we saw how -easily fatal this weapon might be. An old Indian or two watched the -sport, and assumed the superintendence. The coin fell, and Dr. F. was -going to deliver it to the claimant, when an old Indian came forward -with "No, no." He showed by signs that the coin had fallen, not from its -being struck, but from the post having been shaken. The quarter dollar -was put up again, and soon after struck and bent in the middle by the -arrow of a youth, who looked as happy with his prize as if he had -regained a tract of his native wood. The party gave us some very bright -looks as we drove away. - -In a hotel on this road I found a Sabbath-school history of Lady Jane -Grey, compiled obviously for the purpose of prejudicing the reader's -mind against the Catholics. Among other wise things in it there was an -explanation that the heroine was called "Lady" because she was related -to the king; and people are sometimes called so in England. A clear idea -to give the American youth of our English peerage! - -We left Syracuse at dawn; and this was the morning when, finding -ourselves too hungry to proceed to Skaneatles without food, we were -treated to that abundant breakfast, so characteristically served, which -I have described in my other book.[4] No one likes to breakfast twice -over in description any more than in reality; and I therefore say -nothing about Elbridge here. The greater part of this day, and some of -the next, was spent at Auburn in viewing the prison, walking about the -town, and driving down the shores of the pretty Owasco Lake. - -Footnote 4: "Society in America," vol. iii., p. 87. - -The cultivation of the country now began to show the improvement which -increases all the way to Buffalo. At the head of Cayuga Lake we -travelled over the longest bridge I ever saw, even a mile and eight rods -long. It is wooden, of course, laid upon piles, and more conspicuous for -usefulness than beauty. The great ornament of this route is the village -of Geneva, reared on a terrace which overhangs Seneca Lake. The Northern -States abound in beautiful villages; but I know none more captivating -than this. A long row of handsome white and red houses, each with its -sloping garden, fronts the lake; and behind the dwellings the road is -bordered with locust-trees, which seem to imbower the place. The gardens -are more carefully cultivated than is at all common in America, and they -well repay the trouble bestowed on them. There is a college standing on -high ground above the lake, to which a natural lawn steeply descends -from the open space in front of the building. Holstein, aiddecamp to -Bolivar, was professor of modern languages in this college when I was -first at Geneva. Before my second visit he had removed to Albany. To -crown the temptations of Geneva as a place of residence, it has rather a -choice society. It has been charged with not being healthy, but I -believe this is not true. It seems to be well and speedily supplied with -literature. I saw a placard outside a bookseller's store, "Two Old Men's -Tales, price 80 cents," that is, four shillings. One of my last -interests, before I left England, had been watching over the publication -of this work; and now here it was selling at four shillings, in the back -of the State of New-York! I remarked two things more about this village; -that all the women I saw were pretty, and that a profusion of azalea -grew wild in the neighbourhood. - -The road to Canandaigua ascends for a considerable distance after -leaving Geneva, and the last view of the place from above was exquisite, -imbosomed as it lay in the autumn woods, and with its blue lake -stretched behind it in the sunny atmosphere. One element in the -exhilaration of such scenes in America is the universal presence of -competence. The boys who gather about the stage do not come to beg, or -even to sell, but to amuse themselves while eating their bread and meat, -or on their way to the field. The young women all well dressed, the men -all at work or amusement, the farms all held in fee-simple, the stores -all inadequate to their custom; these things are indescribably cheering -to behold, and a never-failing source of pleasure to the traveller from -Europe. It may be a questionable comfort, but it is a comfort to think, -"if these people are not happy, it is their own fault." Whether their -minds are as easy as their fortunes, it may not be safe to affirm; but -at least the sin and sorrow of social injustice in regard to the first -necessities of life are absent. - -The moon was gleaming over Canandaigua Lake when we came in sight of it, -and a golden planet dropped beneath the horizon when we took the turn -towards the village. We found that Blossom's hotel did not answer to the -favourable description which had been given us of it. This had been a -training day, and the house was so noisy with drunken soldiers, that, -when we had attained the drawing-room, we locked ourselves in till the -house should be cleared, which happened as early as nine o'clock; but we -still found the inn less comfortable than most upon the road. - -The pretty village of Canandaigua is noted for its good society. It -would have given me pleasure to have been able to accept the kind -invitation of some of its inhabitants to prolong my stay now, or to -revisit it the next year; but we had promised Mr. O. to cause no delay -in getting to Niagara; and we engaged, in return for his agreeing to -stop this day, to travel all night; and I never was able to allot any -future time to this place. We saw as much of it, however, as we could in -one day. - -There are many families of Scotch extraction at Canandaigua, and to this -the village owes its superiority in gardens to almost any place in the -country. We spent the greater part of the day with a gentleman who was -born in Scotland, but had settled at Canandaigua thirty-four years -before, when the place was almost a desert. He now sees himself -surrounded by handsome dwellings, trim gardens, and a highly-cultivated -society, able to command resources of books and other intellectual -luxuries to almost any extent, from the directness and ease of -communication with New-York. He had just taken possession of a splendid -new dwelling, and had presented his old one to the Episcopalian church -for a parsonage. He showed me from the top of the house, where his -dwelling had stood, where it stood now, and how it had been moved entire -in a day and a half. I think the distance could not have been much under -a mile. - -After our early breakfast we were engaged till church-time in receiving -and making calls, as there was no time to be lost. We went to the -Episcopalian church with our friends, and heard a sermon which could not -please us, it was so full of dogmatism and bitterness. Our friends -insisted on entertaining the whole of our large party, and invited some -agreeable guests in addition, so that we spent a very profitable as well -as pleasant afternoon. We walked over the grounds, enjoyed the view of -the lake from the housetop, and picked up a good deal of information -about the place and neighbourhood, which might seem to the inhabitants -scarcely worthy of the name of knowledge, but which is inestimable to -the stranger as opening new departments of inquiry, and explaining much -which he did not understand before. - -The stage was ordered for nine, and we returned to Blossom's for an -hour's rest before setting out on our rough night's journey. - -We reached Batavia to breakfast, and soon after found ourselves on the -first piece of corduroy road we had encountered in the country. I -mention this because corduroy roads appear to have made a deep -impression on the imaginations of the English, who seem to suppose that -American roads are all corduroy. I can assure them that there is a -large variety in American roads. There are the excellent limestone roads -which stretch out in three directions from Nashville, Tennessee, and -some like them in Kentucky, on which the tourist might sketch almost -without difficulty while travelling at a rapid rate. There is quite -another sort of limestone road in Virginia, in traversing which the -stage is dragged up from shelf to shelf, some of the shelves sloping so -as to throw the passengers on one another, on either side alternately. -Then there are the rich mud roads of Ohio, through whose deep red -sloughs the stage goes slowly sousing after rain, and gently upsetting -when the rut on the one or the other side proves to be of a greater -depth than was anticipated. Then there are the sandy roads of the -pine-barrens, of an agreeable consistency after rain, but very heavy in -dry weather. Then there is the ridge road, running parallel with a part -of Lake Ontario, and supposed to be the edge of what was once its basin. -The level terrace thus provided by Nature offered the foundation of an -admirable road, one of the best in the states. Lastly, there is the -corduroy road, happily of rare occurrence, where, if the driver is -merciful to his passengers, he drives them so as to give them the -association of being on the way to a funeral, their involuntary sobs on -each jolt helping the resemblance; or, if he be in a hurry, he shakes -them like pills in a pillbox. But the American drivers are a class of -men marked by that merciful temper which naturally accompanies genius. -They are men who command admiration equally by their perfection in their -art, their fertility of resource, and their patience with their -passengers. I was never upset in a stage but once during all my travels; -and the worse the roads were, the more I was amused at the variety of -devices by which we got on, through difficulties which appeared -insurmountable, and the more I was edified at the gentleness with which -our drivers treated female fears and fretfulness. - -By this time a solitary Indian might be frequently seen standing on a -heap of stones by the roadside, or sleeping under a fence. There is -something which rivets the eye of the stranger in the grave gaze, the -lank hair, the blanket-wrapped form of the savage, as he stands -motionless. We were generally to be seen leaning out of every opening in -the stage as long as the figure remained in sight. - -We issued from the corduroy road upon one on which we could easily have -performed twelve miles an hour. Houses with porches of Ionic pillars -began to be scattered by the roadside. We were obviously approaching -Buffalo. Soon the lake was visible, and then we entered the long main -street, and stopped at the entrance of the Eagle hotel. - - - - -FORT ERIE. - - - "That night a child might understand - The de'il had business on his hand." - - BURNS. - - -On consulting a good map, a little promontory may be seen jutting out -into Lake Erie on the Canada shore, nearly opposite to Black Rock. -Perhaps it may be marked Fort Erie, for there Fort Erie stood. - -A lady of Buffalo, who happens to be a good walker, proposed that she -and I should indulge in a ramble to Fort Erie one fine day towards the -end of October. She showed me that she was provided with stout boots, in -case of our having to cross swampy ground; and she said she believed we -might trust to getting some sort of a dinner on the Canada side, and -might therefore go unencumbered with provisions. - -We set out from Buffalo soon after breakfast, and made our way over a -waste, through brush, over fences, along a natural terrace once planted -with guns, down to the ferry at Black Rock. On the way I saw one of the -less prepossessing abodes of settlers so frequently described; its -desolate appearance on the verge of the wood; its untidy garden, and the -cool, uncomfortable manners, and the lank hair, and pale, dingy -countenance of its mistress. I also heard, during our walk, some things -which make me think that Buffalo is as undesirable a place of residence -as any in the free States. It is the rendezvous of all manner of -persons; the passage through which fugitives pass from the States to -Canada, from Canada to the States, and from Europe and the Eastern -States into the wild West. Runaway slaves come here, and their owners -follow in hopes of recapturing them. Indian traders, land speculators, -and poor emigrants come here, and the most debased Indians, the -half-civilized, hang about the outskirts. No influence that the mass of -respectable inhabitants can exert can neutralize the bad effects of a -floating population like this; and the place is unavoidably a very -vicious one. A sufficient proof of this is, that ladies cannot walk -beyond the streets without the protection of a gentleman. Some excellent -English ladies opened a school in Buffalo, and, not being aware of the -peculiarities of the place, followed, with their pupils, the English -practice of taking country walks. They persevered for some time, hoping -to obtain countenance for the wholesome practice; but were compelled, -after a time, not only to give up walking, but to leave the place. It -will be understood that I do not give this as any specimen of American -towns. The corruption of Buffalo is owing chiefly to its frontier -position, and consequent liability to a vicious, transient population. - -After crossing the ferry at Black Rock we pursued our walk in a -southwest direction, sometimes treading a firm sand and sometimes a -greensward washed by the fresh waters of the lake. Though we were on -British ground, we were entertained by an American woman who lived on -the lake shore close by the fort. She treated us with negus and cake -while preparing to get a dinner for us, and amused us with accounts of -how butter and eggs are smuggled into Buffalo from her neighbourhood, -these articles not being allowed to pass the custom-house. My eyes never -rested on the Canada shore without my feeling how absurd it was that -that poor country should belong to us, its poverty and hopeless -inactivity contrasting, so much to our disgrace, with the prosperous -activity of the opposite shore; but here was the climax of absurdity, -the prohibition of a free traffic in butter and eggs! What a worthy -subject of contention between two great nations, the one breaking the -laws to provide Buffalo with butter and eggs, and the preventive force -of the other exercised in opposition! - -Our hostess was sewing when we went in, amusing herself meanwhile with -snatches of reading from "Peter Parley," which lay open before her. She -put away her work to cook for us, conversing all the while, and by no -means sorry, I fancy, to have the amusement of a little company. She -gave us tea, beefsteak, hot rolls and butter, honeycomb, and preserved -plums and crab-apples. Immediately after dinner I went out to the fort, -my friend promising to follow. - -The thickness of the remaining fragments of the walls shows the fort to -have been substantially built. It was held by the Americans to the last -extremity in the war of 1814, and then blown up by a brave man to -prevent its falling into the hands of the British. He remained alone in -the fort to do the deed; and as I now beheld the desolation of the -solitude in which it stands, I felt as if I could enter into what his -feelings must have been on the last day of his life. At one moment all -had been dead silence; at the next the windows in Buffalo were blown out -by the explosion. - -I sat alone beside a pool in the middle of the fort. Fragments of the -building lay tumbled around, overgrown with tall grass, and bristling -with shrubbery. Behind me was the grim forest, with the ruins of a -single deserted house standing within its shadow. Before me lay the -waste of waters, with gulls dipping and sailing. A single birch overhung -the pool beside me, and a solitary snipe, which seemed to have no fear -of me, vibrated on the top of a bulrush. I do not know that I was ever -so oppressed with a sense of solitude; and I was really glad soon to see -my friend standing on a pinnacle of the ruined wall, and beckoning me to -come up. - -This afternoon she told me her wonderful story; a part of which, that -part in which the public may be said to have an interest, I am going to -relate. - -At the time of the war of 1812 Mrs. W. lived in Buffalo with her father, -mother, brothers, and sisters. In 1814, just when the war was becoming -terrific on the frontier, her father and eldest brother were drowned in -crossing the neighbouring ferry. Six months after this accident the -danger of Buffalo was so great that the younger children of the family -were sent away into the country with their married sister, under the -charge of their brother-in-law, who was to return with his wagon for the -mother and two daughters who were left behind, and for the clothes of -the family. For three weeks there had been so strong an apprehension of -a descent of the Indians, the barbarous allies of the British, that the -ladies had snatched sleep with their clothes on, one watching while the -others lay down. It was with some difficulty, and after many delays, -that the wagon party got away, and there were still doubts whether it -was the safer course to go or stay. Nothing was heard of them before -night, however, and it was hoped that they were safe, and that the wagon -would come for the remaining three the next morning. - -The ladies put out their lights early, as they were desired; and at -eight two of the three lay down to sleep, Mrs. W., then a girl of -sixteen, being one. At nine she was called up by the beating of a drum, -the signal that the Indians were at hand. No description can give an -idea of the loathing with which these savages were then regarded; the -mingled horror, disgust, dread, and hatred. The Indians were insidious, -dangerous, and cruel beyond example, even in the history of savage -warfare. These poor ladies had been brought up to hate them with a -deadly hatred; they were surrounded with persons burning with the -injuries inflicted by Indian revenge and barbarity; for weeks they had -lived in hourly dread of death by their hands; their strength was worn, -and their nerves shaken by the long suspense; and now the hoarse drum -woke them up with news that the hour was come. A deadly sickness -overspread their hearts as they started from their beds. They looked -from their windows, but could see nothing through the blank darkness. -They listened, but they knew that if the streets had been quiet as -death, the stealthy tread of the savages would have been inaudible. -There was a bustle in the town. Was the fight beginning? No. It was an -express sent by the scouts to say that it was a false alarm. The wornout -ladies composed their spirits, and sank to sleep again. At four they -were once more awakened by the horrid drum, and now there was a -mustering in the streets which looked as if this were no false alarm. In -the same moment the sister who was watching what passed in the street -saw by torchlight the militia part asunder and fly; and Mrs. W., who was -looking through the back window, perceived in the uncertain glimmer that -a host of savages was leaping the garden fence; leaping along the walks -to the house like so many kangaroos, but painted, and flourishing their -tomahawks. She cried out to her mother and sister, and they attempted to -fly; but there was no time. Before they could open the front door the -back windows came crashing in, and the house was crowded with yelling -savages. With their tomahawks they destroyed everything but the ladies, -who put on the most submissive air possible. The trunks containing the -clothing of the whole family stood in the hall, ready to be carried away -when the wagon should arrive. These were split to fragments by the -tomahawk. These wretches had actually met the wagon with the rest of -the family, and turned it back; but the brother-in-law, watching his -opportunity, wheeled off from the road when his savage guards were -somehow engaged, and escaped. - -The ladies were seized, and, as Mrs. W. claimed protection, they were -delivered into the charge of some squaws to be driven to the British -camp. It was unpleasant enough the being goaded on through such a scene -by savage women, as insolent as the men were cruel; but the ladies soon -saw that this was the best thing that could have happened to them; for -the town was burning in various directions, and soon no alternative -would be left between being in the British camp and in the thick of the -slaughter in the burning streets. The British officer did not wish to -have his hands full of helpless female prisoners. He sent them home -again with a guard of an ensign and a private, who had orders to prevent -their house being burned. The ensign had much to do to fulfil his -orders. He stood in the doorway, commanding, persuading, struggling, -threatening; but he saved the house, which was, in two days, almost the -only one left standing. The whole town was a mass of smoking ruins, in -many places slaked with blood. Opposite the door lay the body of a woman -who, in her despair, had drunk spirits, and then defied the savages. -They tomahawked her in sight of the neighbours, and before her own door, -and her body lay where it had fallen, for there were none to bury the -dead. Some of the inhabitants had barricaded themselves in the jail, -which proved, it was said, too damp to burn; the rest who survived were -dispersed in the woods. - -Before the fire was quite burned out the Indians were gone, and the -inhabitants began to creep back into the town, cold and half dead with -hunger. The ladies kept up a large fire (carefully darkening the -windows), and cooked for the settlers till they were too weary to stand, -and one at a time lay down to sleep before the fire. Mrs. W. often, -during those dreary days, used to fasten a blanket, Indian fashion, -about her shoulders, and go out into the wintry night to forage for -food; a strange employment for a young girl in the neighbourhood of a -savage foe. She traced the hogs in the snow, and caught many fowls in -the dark. On the third day, very early in the morning, six Buffalo men -were enjoying a breakfast of her cooking, when the windows were again -broken in, and the house once more full of savages. They had come back -to burn and pillage all that was left. The six men fled, and, by a -natural impulse, the girl with them. At some distance from the house she -looked behind her, and saw a savage leaping towards her with his -tomahawk already raised. She saw that the next instant it would be -buried in her scull. She faced about, burst out a laughing, and held out -both her hands to the savage. His countenance changed, first to -perplexity; but he swerved his weapon aside, laughed, and shook hands, -but motioned her homeward. She was full of remorse for having left her -mother and sister. When she reached her door the house was so crowded -that she could neither make her way in nor learn anything of their fate. -Under the persuasion that they lay murdered within, she flew to some -British dragoons who were sitting on the ground at a considerable -distance, watching the burning of the remainder of the town. They -expressed their amazement that she should have made her way through the -savages, and guarded her home, where they procured an entrance for her, -so that she reached the arms of her patient and suffering mother and -sister. That house was, at length, the only one left standing; and when -we returned Mrs. W. pointed it out to me. - -The settlers remained for some time in the woods, stealing into a -midnight warming and supper at the lone abode of the widow and her -daughters. The ladies had nothing left but this dwelling. Their property -had been in houses which were burned, and their very clothes were gone. -The settlers had, however, carried off their money with them safely into -the woods. They paid the ladies for their hospitality, and afterward for -as much needlework as they could do; for every one was in want of -clothes. By their industry these women raised themselves to -independence, which the widow lived some tranquil years to enjoy. The -daughter who told me the story is now the lady of a judge. She never -boasts of her bravery, and rarely refers to her adventures in the war; -but preserves all her readiness and strength of mind, and in the silence -of her own heart, or in the ear of a sympathizing friend, gratefully -contrasts the perils of her youth with the milder discipline of her -riper age. - - - - -NIAGARA. - - - "Look back! - Lo! where it comes like an eternity, - As if to sweep down all things in its track, - Charming the eye with dread!" - - BYRON. - - -It is not my intention to describe what we saw at Niagara so much as to -relate what we did. To offer an idea of Niagara by writing of hues and -dimensions is much like representing the kingdom of Heaven by images of -jasper and topazes. - -I visited the falls twice: first in October, 1834, in company with the -party with whom we traversed the state of New-York, when we stayed -nearly a week; and again with Dr. and Mrs. F., and other friends, in -June, 1836, when we remained between two and three days. The first time -we approached the falls from Buffalo, the next from Lewistown and -Queenstown. - -I expected to be disappointed in the first sight of the falls, and did -not relish the idea of being questioned on the first day as to my -"impressions." I therefore made a law, with the hearty agreement of the -rest of the party, that no one should ask an opinion of the spectacle -for twenty-four hours. We stepped into the stage at Buffalo at half past -eight in the morning on the 14th of October. At Black Rock we got out to -cross the ferry. We looked at the green rushing waters we were crossing, -and wondered whether they or we should be at the falls first. We had to -wait some minutes for the stage on the Canada side, and a comely English -woman invited us into her kitchen to warm ourselves. She was washing as -well as cooking; and such a log was blazing under her boilers as no -fireplace in England would hold. It looked like the entire trunk of a -pine somewhat shortened. I could not help often wishing that some of the -shivering poor of London could have supplies of the fuel which lies -rotting in the American woods. - -The road is extremely hard all the way from the ferry to the falls, and -the bridges the rudest of the rude. The few farms looked decaying, and -ill-clad children offered us autumn fruit for sale. We saw nothing to -flatter our national complacency; for truly the contrast with the other -side of the river was mournful enough. It was not till we had passed the -inn with the sign of the "Chippeway Battle Ground" that we saw the spray -from the falls. I believe we might have seen it sooner if we had known -where to look. "Is that it?" we all exclaimed. It appeared on the -left-hand side, whereas we had been looking to the right; and instead of -its being suspended in the air like a white cloud, as we had imagined, -it curled vigorously up, like smoke from a cannon or from a replenished -fire. The winding of the road presently brought this round to our right -hand. It seemed very near; the river, too, was as smooth as oil. The -beginning of the Welland canal was next pointed out to me, but it was -not a moment to care for canals. Then the little Round Island, covered -with wood and surrounded by rapids, lay close at hand, in a recess of -the Canada shore. Some of the rapids, of eight or ten feet descent, -would be called falls elsewhere. They were glittering and foamy, with -spaces of green water between. I caught a glimpse of a section of the -cataract, but not any adequate view, before we were driven briskly up to -the door of the hotel. We ran quickly from piazza to piazza till we -reached the crown of the roof, where there is a space railed in for the -advantage of the gazer who desires to reach the highest point. I think -the emotion of this moment was never renewed or equalled. The morning -had been cloudy, with a very few wandering gleams. It was now a little -after noon; the sky was clearing, and at this moment the sun lighted up -the Horseshoe Fall. I am not going to describe it. The most striking -appearance was the slowness with which the shaded green waters rolled -over the brink. This majestic oozing gives a true idea of the volume of -the floods, but they no longer look like water. - -We wandered through the wood, along Table Rock, and to the ferry. We sat -down opposite to the American Falls, finding them the first day or two -more level to our comprehension than the Great Horseshoe Cataract; yet -throughout, the beauty was far more impressive to me than the grandeur. -One's imagination may heap up almost any degree of grandeur; but the -subtile colouring of this scene, varying with every breath of wind, -refining upon the softness of driven snow, and dimming all the gems of -the mine, is wholly inconceivable. The woods on Goat Island were in -their gaudiest autumn dress; yet, on looking up to them from the fall, -they seemed one dust colour. This will not be believed, but it is true. - -The little detached fall on the American side piqued my interest at -once. It looks solitary in the midst of the crowd of waters, coming out -of its privacy in the wood to take its leap by itself. In the afternoon, -as I was standing on Table Rock, a rainbow started out from the -precipice a hundred feet below me, and curved upward as if about to -alight on my head. Other such apparitions seemed to have a similar -understanding with the sun. They went and came, blushed and faded, the -floods rolling on, on, till the human heart, overcharged with beauty, -could bear no more. - -We crossed the ferry in the afternoon. Our boat was tossed like a cork -in the writhing waves. We soon found that, though driven hither and -thither by the currents, the ferryman always conquers at last, and -shoots his boat into the desired creek; but the tossing and whirling -amid the driving spray seems a rather dubious affair at first. To be -carried down would be no better than to be sucked up the river, as there -is a fatal whirlpool below which forbids all navigation as peremptorily -as the falls. - -I still think the finest single impression of all is half way up the -American Fall, seen, not from the staircase, but from the bank on the -very verge of the sheet. Here we stood this first evening, and amid the -rapids above. In returning, we saw from the river the singular effect of -the clouds of spray being in shadow, and the descending floods in light; -while the evening star hung over one extremity of the falls, and the -moon over the other, and the little perpetual cloud, amber in the last -rays from the west, spread its fine drizzle like a silver veil over the -scene. - -There is nothing like patient waiting in a place like this. The gazer, -who sits for hours watching what sun and wind may be pleased to reveal, -is sure to be rewarded, somewhat as Newton described himself as being -when he set a thought before him, and sat still to see what would come -out of it. It is surprising what secrets of the thunder cavern were -disclosed to me during a few days of still watching; disclosed by a puff -of wind clearing the spray for an instant, or by the lightest touch of -a sunbeam. The sound of the waters is lulling, even on the very brink; -but if one wishes for stillness, there is the forest all around, where -the eyes may become accustomed to common objects again. It is pleasant, -after the high excitement, to stroll in the wild woods, and wonder what -this new tree is and what that; and to gossip with the pigs, slim and -spruce while fed on forest nuts and roots; and to watch the progress of -a loghouse, sitting the while on a stump or leaning over a snake-fence; -and then to return, with new wonder, to the ethereal vision. - -The first evening the gentlemen were all restless under the prohibition -to ask about impressions; every one of them was eager to tell, but too -proud to pour out till others did the same. What an outpouring it was -when it did happen! - -One morning we found an old man, between seventy and eighty years old, -gazing from Table Rock. He was an American. Being on a journey, he had -walked from Queenstown to see the falls. He quietly observed that he was -ashamed to think there had been wars near such a place, and that he -hoped the English and Americans were grown wiser now, and would not -think of fighting any more. This came in echo of my thought. I had been -secretly wishing that all the enemies in the world could be brought -together on this rock; they could not but love as brethren. - -An English family at the hotel seemed marvellously skilled in putting -away all the good influences of the place. The gentleman was so anxious -about where he should settle, so incessantly pettish, so resolutely -miserable, as to bespeak the compassion of all the guests for the ladies -of his family, one of whom told me that she had forgotten all about the -falls in her domestic anxieties. As this gentleman found fault with -everybody and everything, and ostentatiously proved that nothing could -give him any pleasure, it was not surprising that the cataract itself -failed to meet his approbation; yet I was not prepared for the question -he put to me across the table, in the presence of both Canadians and -Americans, whether I did not think the natives made a very silly fuss -about the falls, and whether the Falls of the Clyde were not much finer. -Such are the persons by whom foreigners suppose themselves made -acquainted with the English character. Such is the way in which not a -few English study to mortify the inhabitants, and then come home and -complain of American conceit. I told this gentleman that I perceived he -was speaking of the rapids, and had not seen the falls. - -We wished, while we were in the neighbourhood, to obtain a glimpse of -Lake Ontario, as we were not sure of being able to visit Canada at a -future time. We took the opportunity of two of our party going -northward, to accompany them as far as Queenstown, seven miles off, -where we intended to see Brock's monument, satisfy ourselves with the -view from the top of it, and walk home through the woods in the -afternoon. In the stage were an Irish gentleman and his wife. The lady -amused me by the zeal with which she knitted all the way, just as if she -were in a dark parlour in the Old Jewry; and the gentleman with some -sentiments which were wholly new to me; for instance, he feared that the -independence of the Americans made them feel themselves independent of -God. This consequence of democratic government had not struck me before, -and I never perceived any traces of its existence; but if it should -occur, there will probably soon be an epidemic or a bad season to bring -them to their senses again. - -Before the door of the wretched, foul inn at Queenstown, we sorrowfully -shook hands with our Prussian and Dutch companions, hoping to meet them -again in the course of our travels; which, indeed, happened more than -once. We provided ourselves here with cider, cakes, and sandwiches; -i.e., beefsteak laid between thick dry bread. With this provision we -ascended the hill to the foot of Brock's monument, and found the -portress, an active little Irishwoman, waiting to let us in. She was -delighted to meet ladies from the old country, and heartily invited us -to spread our dinner in her cottage below. She told us all her affairs, -and seemed unwilling to leave us when we told her we meant to stay a -long while on the top of the monument, and would not detain her from her -washtub, but would come down to her by-and-by. She and her husband have, -for showing the monument, sixty dollars a season (that is, while the -boats run), and all that they happen to take in the winter. They were -soon to have a cottage built for them nearer the monument. When we went -down to her cottage she had spread plates, knives, and pickles, and had -her head full of questions and communications. She was grateful for a -small payment for her trouble, and gave us the impression of her being -a very amiable, contented person, whom we should like to see again. - -Sir Isaac Brock fell at the battle of Queenstown, in October, 1812, near -the base of this monument. It is 145 feet high, and, being built on a -pretty steep hill, commands a fine view. To the left a prodigious sweep -of forest terminates in blue Canadian hills. On the right is the -American shore, at this time gaudy with autumn woods. There stands the -village of Lewistown, with its winding descent to the ferry. At our feet -lay Queenstown, its sordidness being lost in distance, and its long -street presenting the appearance of an English village. The green river -rushes between its lofty wooded banks, which suddenly widen at -Queenstown, causing the waters to spread and relax their speed while -making their way, with three or four bends, to the lake. We saw the -white church of Niagara rising above the woods some miles off where the -junction takes place; and beyond, the vast lake spreads its waters, gray -on the horizon. There was life in this magnificent scene. The ferryboat -was buffeted by the waves; groups were in waiting on either side the -ferry, and teams were in the fields. The Irishwoman was grieved that she -had no telescope wherewith to enable us to see what was doing on the -lake. She and her husband had provided one for the accommodation of -visiters. Some travellers (English) had thrown it down from the top of -the monument, and when she asked for payment only bullied her; and her -husband had not been able to afford to get another. - -After dinner we sat on the top of the precipitous wooded bank of the -river, looking down into its green eddies, and watching the family of -white birds which hovered far beneath us, but yet high over the stream. -Meditating, as we were, that we were now sitting on the spot where the -falls were pouring down their flood ages before Babylon was founded or -the Greek Mythology had arisen out of the elements of universal -conviction, it was not surprising that we had no thoughts to spare for -the weather.[5] We did not observe how the sky had been darkening. Two -wagons driven by lads stopped in passing, and their drivers offered us -seats to Niagara. We at first declined, being bent upon walking; but -feeling heavy drops of rain at the moment, we retracted our refusal, and -jumped into one of the vehicles. It was a mere box upon wheels; a -barbarous machine, but of great service to us in the ensuing storm. -Before we reached our hotel we were thoroughly wet, but had obtained a -good deal of information from our driver about the condition of the -Canadian settlers in the neighbourhood. He was the son of a Canadian -father and Scotch mother, who were doing well in the world, as he said -the English settlers do who set the right way to work. The land is not -the best near the road; so that what is seen there is no fair specimen -of the state of the settlers. The farms hereabout consist of about 100 -acres generally, and are all the property of the residents. Labourers -live with the farmers, and receive, besides their board and lodging, -about 120 dollars a year. A gentleman, a farmer and physician, from some -distance, called on me one day when I was out, and left messages for me -with one of our party. He said he wished me to see and do justice to -Canada. People go, he believes, with wrong expectations, and so are -disappointed. He, his wife and daughters, went expecting ease and -comfort, and they have found it; but they have not wealth and luxury. He -declared that civility and cheerfulness would always command good -manners and service. As I had no opportunity of "seeing and doing -justice to Canada," I give this gentleman's testimony. It is very -agreeable, and I do not doubt its justness. - -Footnote 5: It is familiar to all that the cataract of Niagara is -supposed to have worn its way back from the point of the narrowing of -its channel (the spot where we now sat), and that there is an -anticipation of its continuing to retire the remaining twelve miles to -Lake Erie. Unless counteracting agencies should in the mean time be at -work, the inundation of the level country which must then take place -will be almost boundless. The period is, however, too remote for -calculation. An American told me, smiling, that the apprehension has not -yet affected the title to land. And no one knows what secret barriers -may be building up or drains opening. - -Another visiter of a very different kind came to our parlour as I was -preparing for our departure. I looked up from my packing, and saw an -extraordinary apparition in the doorway; a lady bridling, winking, and -attitudinizing in a wonderful manner. On my asking her to come in and -sit down, she said she was deputed by a gentleman to ask my address, in -order to his communicating with me before I should publish my account of -the falls. She seemed deeply grieved at finding that I did not -contemplate any such publication, saying that it would be a serious -disappointment to the gentleman, who hoped I might have been of -essential service to him--by recommending his hotel! It appeared that a -sharp competition was going on about the letting of this hotel, and the -gentleman in question was in hopes of getting it. He seemed to have one -great qualification, the determination to leave no stone unturned. - -The second time I visited Niagara I accomplished the feat of going -behind the fall. In October it was too cold; on a sunny 8th of June -there was no imprudence in it. When I descended the staircase with Dr. -and Mrs. F. after breakfast, we had no such intention; but we were all -tempted farther and farther over the rocks, nearer and nearer to the -sheet, till the puffing away of the spray gave us glimpses of what was -behind, and made us feel that this was the right day and hour. Mrs. F.'s -chest was not very strong, and this was no enterprise for a child; so -Dr. F. and I were to be the favoured ones. We ascended to the guide's -house, and surveyed the extraordinary costume in which we were to make -the expedition. Stout socks and shoes (but I would recommend ladies to -go shod as usual), thick cotton garments reaching to the feet, green -oilskin jackets and hats; in this mountaineer sort of costume is the -adventure to be gone through. As the guide's wife was assisting me, she -hoped I had enjoyed myself since I was last at the falls. - -"Were you aware that I had been here before?" - -"Yes, madam, I remember you well." - -"Why, how is it possible that you should remember me among the thousands -of people who have been here in two seasons? We were not acquainted, -were we?" - -"No, madam; but one evening you stopped and admired my cow." - -"Did not this trumpet help you to remember me?" - -"No, madam; I never saw it before." - -How many ways there are to people's hearts! I now remembered having -remarked to a companion on the beauty and docility of a cow which a -woman was milking. The good wife had treasured up my observation as a -personal compliment. - -Mrs. F. and Charley accompanied us to the edge of the spray, when we -sent them back, charging them not to expect us too soon, as we meant to -look about us a while. - -We had a stout negro for a guide. He took me by the hand, and led me -through the spray. I presently found the method of keeping myself at my -ease. It was to hold down the brim of my hat, so as to protect my eyes -from the dashing water, and to keep my mouth shut. With these -precautions I could breathe and see freely in the midst of a tumult -which would otherwise be enough to extinguish one's being. A hurricane -blows up from the caldron; a deluge drives at you from all parts; and -the noise of both wind and waters, reverberated from the cavern, is -inconceivable. Our path was sometimes a wet ledge of rock just broad -enough to allow one person at a time to creep along; in other places we -walked over heaps of fragments both slippery and unstable.[6] If all had -been dry and quiet, I might probably have thought this path above the -boiling basin dangerous, and have trembled to pass it; but amid the -hubbub of gusts and floods, it appeared so firm a footing that I had no -fear of slipping into the caldron. From the moment that I perceived that -we were actually behind the cataract, and not in a mere cloud of spray, -the enjoyment was intense. I not only saw the watery curtain before me -like tempest-driven snow, but by momentary glances could see the crystal -roof of this most wonderful of Nature's palaces. The precise point where -the flood left the rock was marked by a gush of silvery light, which, of -course, was brighter where the waters were shooting forward than below -where they fell perpendicularly. There was light enough to see one -another's features by, and even to give a shadow to the side of the -projecting rock which barred our farther progress. When we came within a -few paces of this projection, our guide, by a motion of his hand (for -speaking was out of the question), forbade my advancing farther. But it -was no time and place to be stopped by anything but impossibilities. I -saw that though there was no regular path on the other side of the -guide, there were two pieces of rock wide enough for my feet, by -standing on which I might touch the wall which limited our walk. I made -the guide press himself back against the rock, and crossed between him -and the caldron, and easily gained my object--laying my hand on -Termination Rock. When I returned to my place Dr. F. passed both the -guide and myself for the same purpose. In returning my hat blew off, in -spite of all my efforts to hold it on. The guide put his upon my head, -and that was carried away in like manner. I ought to have been -instructed to tie it well on, for mere holding will not do in a -hurricane. It is a proof that we were well lighted in our cavern, that -we all saw the outline of a hat which was jammed between two stones some -way beneath us. The guide made for this, looking just as if he were -coolly walking down into destruction; for the volumes of spray curled -thickly up, as if eager to swallow him. He grasped the hat, but found it -too much beaten to pieces to be of any use. - -Footnote 6: A rope has since been stretched along the rock to serve for -a handrail. This must render the expedition far less formidable than -before. - -Mrs. F. says we looked like three gliding ghosts when her anxious eye -first caught our forms moving behind the cloud. She was glad enough to -see us; for some one passing by had made her expect us at least two -minutes before we appeared. Dripping at all points as we were, we -scudded under the rocks and up the staircase to our dressing-rooms, -after which we wrote our names among those of the adventurers who have -performed the same exploit, and received a certificate of our having -visited Termination Rock. I was told that a fee and a wetting in the -spray may secure such a certificate at any time. Be this as it may, ours -were honest. - -When we came down in our own likeness, Mrs. F. had found a glorious seat -for us on a rock which jutted outward and upward, commanding the entire -range of the falls, with every advantage of light, and also of solitude; -no inconsiderable gain in a place where tourists may be heard discussing -on Table Rock the probability of there being chickens for dinner. I felt -some pain in my chest for a few hours, but was not otherwise injured by -the expedition. When the other members of our party joined us, they were -somewhat surprised to hear what we had done; and one of them followed -our example another day. - -I look back upon this morning as the very best of the many I spent at -the falls. We found several new points of view, and the weather was -divine. We clambered down to the water's edge, where men were gathering -spars and other "curiosities." We sat long amusing ourselves with -watching the vain attempts of the tree-trunks, which had been carried -over from above, to get any farther down the river. They were whisked -about like twigs in the boiling waters, and sometimes made a vigorous -shoot as if to get free of the eddies; but as often as they reached a -particular spot they were sure to be turned back, and sucked up the -stream to try again. I think they must be doing penance there still, -unless, enormous logs as they are, they have been dashed to pieces. When -the sun became too hot to be borne below, we came up to the foot of the -staircase and sat in the shade, drinking from the drip the soft shower -which could not make itself heard amid the solemn roar of the floods. -Here Charley stood, placing spouts of reed which might convey water from -the drip wherewith to wash his spars. Not a word of wonder had we from -him. He gloried in the scene, and feared nothing, climbing, with the -help of his father's strong hand, wherever it was practicable to set his -little foot; but there was no wonder. The age of wonder has not arrived -to children, savages, and other ignorant persons. They know too little -of purposes, means, and obstructions to be aware of what either divine -or human achievement is. A child believes you if you promise to take him -into the moon; and a savage supposes that you eclipse the sun by firing -a musket. An ignorant person annoys Mr. Babbage, after much praise of -his machine, by asking to know one thing more: "If you put a question in -wrong, will the answer come out right?" Charley would hardly have asked -this question, child as he was; but he did not share our wonder at the -cataract. He enjoyed the climbing, and the rainbows, and the emerald -pillars based on clouds, which was the form the floods bore this sultry -noon; but he went on washing his spars as tranquilly as if he had been -beside our favourite brook in the wood at Stockbridge. His pity was -stirred up this morning, however, with a story of a bird which I saw -perish. It had got bewildered in the circuit of the Horseshoe Fall. I -saw it driving and fluttering about for a minute or two in the spray, -when it flew directly into the sheet, and was swallowed up. - -The next day was devoted to Goat Island. Dr. F., who learned English to -the last degree of perfection in little more than two years, happened to -say one day that there was one English word whose exact meaning he did -not understand, _dawdle_. We promised to afford him an exemplification -of it this day. There was also a joke against me. I was now a practised -traveller; and having found how the pleasures of travelling are -economized by business-like habits of arrangement, I was the prompter of -our somewhat inexperienced party about ordering dinner, packing at -convenient times, and so contriving as to have our thoughts at perfect -liberty for pleasure while we were out of doors, instead of having to -run or send to our lodgings about business which might have been settled -while we were there. They asked me whether I could spend a whole day -without thinking of time, meals, or the fitness of things in any way. No -one was better pleased with such liberty than I; so we left behind us -even our watches. It appears, however, that somebody must have carried -money, for food was brought to us, and, doubtless, honestly paid for. - -At some unknown hour of a bright morning, therefore, we set forth from -our hotel, and in due time reached the ferry. The entire party paid -sufficient attention to business to sit properly in the boat, which is -no place for freak and frolic while bobbing about among the eddies. We -_dawdled_ long about the American Fall. I had never before been fully -aware of its power over the senses. To-day I saw a lady who was sitting -on the bank--as safe a seat as an armchair by the fireside--convulsively -turn away from the scene and clasp the ground. Yet the water flows so -tranquilly that I should not be afraid to stand in the flood near the -bank where it takes the leap. I tried the force of the water there, and -found it very moderate. After completing the ascent, Mrs. F. and I were -standing looking at the rapids, when a letter was handed to me. Somebody -had actually been mundane enough to remember the postoffice, and to go -to it! I was glad it was not I. Further sins against the spirit of the -day were presently committed. Of course, I cannot say what time it was, -but, by the heat, probably about the middle of the day, when the ladies -were sitting on the stem of a tree, in a tiny island amid the roaring -rapids--an interesting love-story being their topic--and the gentlemen -were seen approaching with bread, biscuits, cheese, ale, and lemonade. -They had not even forgotten glasses. We ate our dinner on a bench under -the trees, all except Charley, who niched himself in an ash which parted -from the root into many stems. The boy looked like a beautiful fairy, -and, for his own part, declared that this was far better than dining in -any house. - -We dawdled hours away in Goat Island; now lying on the grassy bank with -our feet almost into the rapids; now fanning ourselves in the -translucent green shades of the wood, among rabbits and goats, and then -gathering new wild-flowers from the multitude which blossomed under our -feet, the roar of the falls solemnizing all. The timid ones sat in the -alcove erected above the Horseshoe Fall, while the rest went down to the -Terrapin Bridge and Tower. The tower, forty feet high, is built on rocks -in the midst of the rapids, and its summit affords an absolutely -complete view of the scene. The bridge is built on logs which extend -from rock to rock in the rapids to the edge of the precipice, the flood -gushing beneath in a dizzying whirl. At my first visit this bridge had -been complete, and, to all appearance, secure. I had stood on its -extreme point, which projected over the precipice. There I hung -suspended above the fall, standing in the air on the extremity of a -beam, and without any suspicion that I was not perfectly safe. It was -there that I learned some of the secrets of the cataract. I saw there -what can be seen nowhere else, the emerald columns broken and forced up, -and falling again in gushes of diamonds, which again were melted into -wreaths of dazzling snow. It was now too late to see this any more. The -bridge had broken down some way from the end; the handrail was gone; and -the brink of the precipice was no longer accessible. We got to the -tower, however, and farther; and Charley and his father stepped down -from the bridge among the rocks, and stood amid the water very near the -brink of the great fall! Their position was shown to be perfectly safe -by the verdure of these rocks. Slight shrubs, rooted in their crevices, -were full of leaf. Their smallest twigs were tossed in the never-dying -breeze without being snapped. Yet we were glad when our friends were -safe on the bridge again. - -We descended the Biddle staircase--the spiral staircase fixed against -the perpendicular rock in Goat Island--and pursued a narrow path from -its foot back to the fall, where we found a glacier! An enormous pile of -snow and ice lay against the rock, so solid, under this intense June -sun, that Charley climbed to the top of it. Here every successive pulse -of the cataract was like a cannon shot a few yards off, so that there -was no standing it long; there was much yet to do; and the party -probably observed, though no one chose to mention it, that the sun was -going down. We crossed the detached American Fall by its rustic bridge, -and hunted it back to its retreat in the wood. Our faces were now turned -homeward; but we lingered long in the shades, and afterward at Bath -Island, where some one observed that it would be dusk before we could -reach the ferry, and that the walk home on the Canada side was not of a -kind to be prosecuted in the dark. The sun disappeared before we reached -the ferry-house, and the panorama from the river was seen in the -magnitude and majesty of twilight. In the dark woods on the Canada side -we made ourselves visible to each other by catching fireflies and -sticking them in our bonnets. They sat very still among our bows of -riband, and really served our purpose very well. - -Bad news awaited us at home; news of Mr. Van Buren's casting vote in -favour of the third reading of the Gag Bill, and of a fresh breaking out -of the dreadful Creek war in Georgia; but now that that atrocious bill -has long been thrown out, and the Creek war ended (though with grievous -suffering and humiliation to the poor Creeks), this day of delicious -dawdling (a word which Dr. F. by this time completely understood) stands -out bright enough to be worthy of the scene and of our human life. - - - - -PRIESTLEY. - - - "Ingrata Patria!" - - DANTE'S _Epitaph_. - - "Que l'homme donc s'estime son prix: il a en lui la capacite de - connoitre la verite, et d'etre heureux: mais il n'a point de verite, - ou constante, ou satisfaisante. Je voudrois donc porter l'homme a - desirer d'en trouver: a etre pret et degage des passions pour la - suivre ou il la trouvera."--PASCAL. - - -Among the select classes of men to whom the common race looks up with -the heart-throb of mingled reverence and sympathy, none is perhaps so -eminent as that of sufferers for opinion. If ever we are conscious of a -breathing of the Godhead in man, it is in the sanctified presence, -actual or ideal, of martyrs to truth. Such men, as a class, are liable -to particular faults, are usually marked by the imperfections which -attend their virtues, as shadows are a consequence of sunshine. But in -no case are men in general so tolerant of faults as in theirs; I do not -mean in their own day, when they are not commonly recognised as -confessors and martyrs, but when they stand out from the records of -time, complete characters in history. The turbulence, jealousy, and -self-will of such men are allowed for more liberally than the same -faults in other orders of men; more slightly noticed; more eagerly -extenuated. And why? Because, of all men, they most infallibly and -extensively command sympathy. As truth is the one eternal good, the -single pursuit of truth is the one eternal virtue which wins and -elevates all human souls. But when, as in some rare instances, this -devotion to truth is seen purified from the failings which elsewhere -seem its natural accompaniments; when the hero is seen holy, harmless, -and undefiled as the sage; when no regrets need mingle with the -admiration of the disciple, as delicious a contemplation is afforded to -the moral taste as the moral creation yields. - -Such was Priestley, the singled-minded martyr, but the meek inquirer; -the intrepid confessor, but the humble Christian; the gentle -philosopher, the sympathizing friend. Circumstances have been -unfavourable to a wide, but not to a full knowledge of his character. -The comparatively few to whom his mind and heart have been absolutely -laid open, regard him with a love which is only not idolatrous because -it is perfectly reasonable. The many know him as a man who was driven -away from Birmingham by a mob who destroyed his house, papers, and -philosophical apparatus, burned his church, and sought his life; and -that he took refuge in America, and died there. Some go on to believe -what was said at the time; that he was a turbulent man, a -mischief-maker, and either a conceited smatterer in theology and -philosophy, or a deep malignant infidel, they do not know which. Others -hold him to have been a good kind of man, who rashly drew upon his own -head the tempests of his time, and had to bear only the natural though -hard consequences of his own imprudence. But those whose knowledge of -him is complete can tell that his imputed turbulence was intellectual -activity; his conceit a simplicity too lofty for the apprehension of his -enemies; his infidelity a devout constancy to truth. His depth was all -of wisdom; his hatreds were of cant, hypocrisy, and designed obstruction -of truth. He exposed himself to tribulation as innocently and -unconsciously as he bore it meekly and heroically. He never sought -martyrdom, for he loved life and its comforts in the bosom of his family -and friends; he valued repose for his philosophical pursuits, and -thought his daily probation sufficient for every man's strength. He was -playing backgammon with his wife after supper when the mob came upon -him; he was so wholly unprepared that his MSS. and private letters lay -all exposed to the rioters; and the philosopher suffered--calmly and -bravely suffered--the anguish of feeling himself a hated and an injured -man. Yet, thus taken by surprise, his emotions were not for himself, or -for the many near and dear friends who were being overwhelmed with him. -While he stood looking over a garden hedge where he could see the flames -devouring his church, and hear the shouts of the mob which was -demolishing his house, he dropped a natural expression of pity for the -misery of those poor people when they should discover what mischief they -had done. No word was ever heard from him about the effect which the -sufferings of the day would have upon anybody's mind or upon any future -time. He simply did the duty, and bore the probation of the hour, -leaving unconsciously an example of sublime patience which has raised -and kindled more minds than the highest order of good men ever dream of -influencing, and whose force will not be spent while men are moved by -disinterestedness or thrilled by heroism. - -Of his retirement in America we have many particulars, but still not -enough. Enough can never be learned of the course of life of one whose -more homely virtues were now put to the severest test, after those which -are commonly esteemed more lofty had well stood their trial. The -following passage delivers over to us the impression of the -philosopher's latter days, which Priestley's own correspondence and the -notices of his friends leave on the mind of an affectionate admirer of -the man. - -"There, in one of its remote recesses, on the outer margin of -civilization, he who had made a part of the world's briskest activity, -who had led on the speed of its progress, whose mind had kept pace with -its learning, and overtaken its science, and outstripped its freedom and -its morality, gathered together his resources of philosophy and -devotion; thence he looked forth on the vicissitudes and prospects of -Europe with melancholy but hopeful interests, like the prophet from his -mount on the land whose glories he was not to see. But it was not for -such an energetic spirit as his to pass instantaneously into the -quietude of exile without an irrecoverable shock. He had not that dreamy -and idle pietism which could enwrap itself in the mists of its own -contemplations, and believe Heaven nearer in proportion as earth became -less distinct. The shifting sights and busy murmurs that reached him -from afar reminded him of the circulation of social toils which had -plied his hand and heart. Year after year passed on, and brought him no -summons of duty back into the stir of men; all that he did he had to -devise and execute by his own solitary energies, apart from advice and -sympathy, and with no hope but that of benefiting the world he was soon -to leave. The effort to exchange the habits of the city for those of the -cloister was astonishingly successful. But his mind was never the same -again; it is impossible not to perceive a decline of power, a tendency -to garrulity of style and eccentricity of speculation in his American -publications. And yet, while this slight though perceptible shade fell -over his intellect, a softened light seemed to spread itself over his -character. His feelings, his moral perceptions were mellowed and ripened -by years, and assumed a tenderness and refinement not observable before. -Thanks to the genial and heavenly clime which Christianity sheds round -the soul, the aged stem burst into blossom. And so it will always be -when the mind is really pervaded by so noble a faith as Priestley's. -There is no law of nature, there are no frosts of time to shed a -snowblight on the heart. The feelings die out when their objects come to -an end; and if there be no future, and the aims of life become shorter -and shorter, and its treasures drop off, and its attractions are spent, -and a few links only of its hours remain in the hand, well may there be -no heart for effort and no eye for beauty, and well may love gather -itself up to die. But open perfection to its veneration and immortality -to its step; tell it of one who is and always will be the inspirer of -genius, the originator of truth, the life of emotion; assure it that all -which is loved shall live for ever; that that which is known shall -enlarge for ever; that all which is felt shall grow intenser for ever, -and the proximity of death will quicken instead of withering the mind; -the eye will grow dim on the open page of knowledge; the hand will be -found clasping in death the instruments of human good; the heart's last -pulse will beat with some new emotion of benignity. In Priestley's case -there was not merely a sustainment, but a positive advancement of -character in later years. The symptoms of restlessness gradually -disappear without abatement of his activity; a quietude as of one who -waits and listens comes over him; there are touches of sentiment and -traces of tears in his letters, and yet an obvious increase of serenity -and hope; there is a disposition to devise and accomplish more good for -the world, and ply himself while an energy remained, and yet no anxiety -to do what was beyond his powers. He successively followed to the grave -a son and a wife; and the more he was left alone, the more did he love -to be alone; and in his study, surrounded by the books which had been -his companions for half a century and over half the earth, and sitting -beneath the pictures of friends under the turf, he took his last survey -of the world which had given him so long a shelter; like a grateful -guest before his departure, he numbered up the bright and social, or the -adventurous hours which had passed during his stay; and the philosophers -who had welcomed him in his annual visits to London, the broad, -sagacious face of Franklin, the benignant intelligence of Price, rose up -before him, and the social voices of the group of heretics round the -fireside of Essex-street floated on his ear; and as the full moon shone -upon his table and glistened in his electrical machine, his eye would -dream of the dining philosophers of the Lunar Society, and glisten to -greet again the doughty features of Darwin, and the clear, calculating -eye of Watt. Yet his retrospective thoughts were but hints to suggest a -train of prospective far more interesting. The scenes which he loved -were in the past, but most of the objects which clothed them with -associations of interest were already transferred to the future: there -they were in reserve for him, to be recovered (to use his own favourite -phrase, slightly tinged with the melancholy spirit of his solitude) -'under more favourable circumstances;' and thither, with all his -attachment to the world, whose last cliffs he had reached, and whose -boundary ocean already murmured beneath, he hoped soon to emigrate."[7] - -Footnote 7: "Monthly Repository," New Series, vol. vii., p. 235. - -Priestley had much to suffer in America. His severest woes befell him -there. There he lost his beloved son Harry; then his wife departed; and -trials which exceeded even these put his Christian acquiescence to the -fullest proof. To an intimate friend he writes, "From how much trouble -has my wife been relieved! She had a great mind, but the events that -have taken place since her death would have affected her deeply. My -trials, now towards the close of life, are as great as I can bear, -though I doubt not that a wise and good Providence overrules all events, -and I have daily a more habitual respect to it. Nothing else could -support me.... We are frail, imperfect beings, and our faith is at best -but weak, and requires to be strengthened by reading and reflection. I -never omit reading, and I do it with more satisfaction than ever, a -considerable portion of scripture every day, and by this means my mind -is much relieved." - -This is not the device of the devotee, the refuge of the disappointed -man, who takes to religion as the only resource left him. This is the -declaration of a philosopher, whose youth and whose riper years were -given to the close study of the book which was now the pillow of his -age. - -I know not how it may appear to persons less familiarized than myself -with the spirit of the man and the eloquent moderation of his language, -but I have always regarded the letter on the death of his son Harry as -an exquisite revelation of a healthy mind in sorrow:-- - - "TO THE REV. T. LINDSEY. - - "Northumberland, Dec. 17, 1795. - - "Dear Friend, - - "I think that, in my last of the 7th instant, I mentioned Harry's - being indisposed, in consequence, we imagined, of his attending his - limekiln in the night. It proved to be a more serious illness than - we or the physician imagined. He grew worse till the 11th, when he - died, it is now almost certain, of an inflammation and mortification - of the stomach. Having had little or no apprehension of danger till - near the time of his death, the shock, you may suppose, was very - great; and, being the first event of the kind, I am affected more - than I thought I should have been, though I have unspeakable - consolation in believing that nothing can befall us without the - appointment of the best of Beings, and that we shall meet our - departed children and friends in a better state. - - "He had recovered from an ague which was common in this part of the - country this summer; but, after this, he had frequent colds from - exposing himself to cold and wet, and not taking proper care of - himself afterward, which certainly laid the foundation of his - subsequent and last illness. - - "Had he been bred a farmer, he could not have been more assiduous - than he was. He was admired by everybody for his unremitting labour, - as well as good judgment, in the management of his business, though - only eighteen years old. With respect to his ardour in his pursuits, - he was more like what I was at his age than any of my children, - though our objects were very different. He was strictly virtuous, - and was uncommonly beloved by all that worked under him; and it was - always said that he was better served than any other farmer in this - country. He had a sense of honour and generosity which, I am sorry - to say, is not common here. I hope, therefore, that he had the - foundation of something in his character on which a good - superstructure may be raised hereafter. We thought his temper, and - even his looks, altered for the worse by the severe illness he had - at Hackney; but it is remarkable, that some time before his death - (as his mother, who never left him, says), and very visibly - afterward, he had the same sweet, placid, and even cheerful - countenance that he had when he was young; much like that of his - sister, whom, at that time, he greatly resembled. I never saw the - countenance of a dead person so pleasing; and so it continued till - he was buried. Even this seemingly trifling circumstance gives me - much satisfaction. I know you and Mrs. Lindsey will excuse my - writing so much about myself and family. I could not write so much - to anybody else. - - * * * * * - - "My wife is much affected, as you will suppose, by the death of - Harry; but, at the same time, discovers proper fortitude. By her - constant attendance upon him she has made herself ill, but seems to - be getting better."[8] - -Footnote 8: Rutt's Life, Correspondence, and Works of Priestley, -vol. i., part ii., p. 327. - -This is the man whom Johnson dared to execrate. At a chymical lecture he -knit his brows, and was displeased with the lecturer for citing so often -the discoveries of Dr. Priestley. When excuse was made that chymical -lectures could not be faithfully given without citing Priestley's -discoveries, "Well," said the moral Johnson, "I suppose we must give -even the devil his due." Thus may even great men revile greater, -denouncing those to whom it would be well for them to kneel. - -There are some who are as blind to Priestley's merits as Johnson, -without half his excuse. Before I went to America I was aware that the -Unitarians there, who ought to know everything about the apostle of -their faith who took refuge in their country, were so far in the dark -about him, as that they misapprehended his philosophy, and -misrepresented its tendencies in a way and to a degree which seemed -irreconcilable with the means of information within their reach. I knew -that Dr. Channing's celebrated note on Priestley remained unretracted, -though rebuked on the spot[9] with much spirit and tenderness by a then -young divine, who better understood the Christian sage. I knew that the -tendency of this sect in America to lean upon authority, with some other -causes, must indispose them to do justice to Priestley. But, till I was -among them, I had no idea that it was possible for those of them who -were not ignorant of the character of the philosopher to allow their -fear and dislike of some of his convictions to render them so insensible -as they are to the majesty of the man. They themselves would deny the -insensibility, and point to this and that testimony to Priestley being a -well-meaning man, which may be found in their publications. But facts -show what the insensibility is. Dr. Channing speaks of him now in a tone -of patronage, admitting that he is under obligations to him for one or -two detached sermons which breathe the true spirit. Another clergyman -puts forth a small volume of selections from Priestley's works, with an -apologetical preface, which states, that whatever Priestley's doctrines -and writings may have been as a whole, there are portions which may be -picked out for people to profit by. Such facts show that the character -and mission of the man are not understood. Priestley was, above most -men, one who came at a right point of time to accomplish a particular -service; to break up the reliance on authority in matters of opinion and -conscience, and insensibly to show, in an age when prejudice and denial -were at fierce war, how noble and touching is the free, and fervent, and -disinterested pursuit of truth. His character is to everlasting; but his -writings are, for the most part, suitable to only a particular position -of affairs, a critical social state. Those who, like the Americans, are -unprepared for--alienated from--his philosophy, and who are remarkable -for their dependance on authority in matters of opinion, cannot possibly -sympathize with Priestley's convictions, and a full appreciation of him -ought not to be expected of them. But they had better, in such a -position of circumstances, let his works alone. It is not necessary or -desirable that they should study writings to which no impulse of -sympathy or admiration leads them; but it is most desirable that they -should not speak and write apologetically and patronisingly of one of -the largest-minded and most single-hearted of sages. In the transition -which the religious and philosophical society of America has to make -from reliance on authority to a state of individual research and -conviction, the philosopher may or may not yet become an apostle to -them. In their present condition he cannot be so. The warmest friends of -both see that it cannot be so. They only desire that his reputation -should be left unvisited as his remains; and that, while no traveller is -drawn aside from his path to seek the philosopher's tomb, no -presumptuous hand should offer to endorse his merits, or push the claims -to partial approbation of one who was created to command reverent -discipleship; reverent discipleship in the pursuit of truth, if not in -the reception of doctrine. - -Footnote 9: In the "Christian Disciple." - -The first point of my travels fixed in my intentions was the retreat of -Priestley, and my pilgrimage thither was accomplished within a few weeks -after I landed. From Pittsburg we crossed the Alleghanies by the road -through Ebensburg, and in four days reached Youngmanstown, eighteen -miles from Northumberland. We breakfasted at Lewisburg on the 11th of -November, and were very glad to leave behind us the most fretful stage -company we were shut up with in all our travels. We crossed the -Susquehanna in peace and quiet; and could freely enjoy our meditations, -as every mile brought us nearer the philosopher's resting-place. I wish -I could communicate to others of his disciples the harmony between the -scenery and the man which now exists, and ever will exist, in my own -mind. Priestley himself wrote, "I do not think there can be, in any part -of the world, a more delightful situation than this and the -neighbourhood;" and I revolved this in my thoughts as I gazed upon the -broad, shoaly, and gleamy river bordered with pines, and the swelling -hills and sloping fields which sometimes intervened between us and the -river. The morning was one of lustrous clouds and mild gleams, and the -whole scene was of the tranquil character, and dressed in the soft light -which is most accordant with the mood of those traversing the scenery -with such reasons as mine. I was full of stronger emotions than when I -found myself in sight of the spray of Niagara. There is nothing so -sanctifying as the ideal presence of the pure in spirit; and not all the -thronging images of what Niagara had witnessed since the earliest -worship of an extinct race was paid there, before the ancient empires of -the earth were heard of, affected me so much as the thought of the sage -who came hither to forgive his enemies and hope all things for the -world, in the midst of his hourly privations and daily regrets. - -Abrupt wooded rocks dignify the river banks near the town; and nothing -can be much more beautiful than the situation of the place, in the fork -of the Susquehanna. The town itself, however, would delight an -improvement-hater. It has scarcely advanced at all since Priestley's -time. Some of the inhabitants complain that this stagnation is owing to -the want of enterprise among their capitalists; but there would be -enterprise there as elsewhere, if there was an average prospect of -reward. Others allege that the place is not healthy. It is certainly -subject to fever and ague, but the causes are thought to be removable. -Sunbury, on the other shore of the eastern branch of the river, is a -rival, a thriving competitor of Northumberland, but the growth of -neither is to be compared with that of most American towns. The only -interest connected with Northumberland still is its being Priestley's -city of refuge. - -We were hospitably received at the clean little inn, and I presently -discovered that our hostess could give me more information about -Priestley than anybody else in the place. Her father had been intimately -acquainted with the philosopher; had been his confidant in his latest -and severest trials; and she herself remembered him well, and could -relate many little incidents which delighted me as giving life to -objects that were before my eyes. No words can convey the passionate -admiration, the devoted love with which this good lady spoke of him. A -power went out of him which melted his enemies, and converted those who -came with hatred into his presence; and it exalted the love of his -friends to the highest pitch that human affection can reach. "All that -I have formerly said of Dr. Priestley is nonsense," declared a stiff -religious bigot after an accidental interview with the philosopher. "I -have now seen him for myself, and you must let me see more of him." Our -good hostess told me how unequalled his preaching was, so simple, and -earnest, and tender, quite unlike any other person's preaching, and his -looks so bright: she dwelt on his goodness to his neighbours, and how -inexhaustible were his charities; so thoughtful, so steady, so -perpetual. She laughed again at the remembrance of his childlike gayety, -bursting out in the midst of his heart-soreness, and declared that he -was never long depressed; he was so sure that all was right in reality, -that he could never be dismayed at its seeming otherwise for a time. She -remembered that "he was much thought of when he first came," yet she -never felt afraid of him. She was present at the only time when he was -seen wholly overcome with grief, and will never forget the oppression of -heart, the anguish of seeing tears streaming down his face when no one -could do anything to help him. But her recollections of him are chiefly -joyous; of his eagerness about his philosophical pursuits; the cheerful -tone of his preaching; his sympathy with young people. Never was a -lovelier picture of old age given--of its virtues, nor, alas! of its -privileges--than by this affectionate observer. Her testimony is -confirmed by every other that exists. I saw the gentleman who was with -him when he received his Voltaic pile, and who told me how eagerly he -pointed out the wire dissolving, and made his friend take a shock in his -forefinger. All who conversed with him mentioned that his feelings -became more sensitive towards the end of his life; his eyes were -frequently seen to glisten in conversation, and he smiled oftener. A -gentleman, now well known as an unbeliever of the last degree of -bigotry, who shrinks with as much hatred and fear from the very mention -of religion as persons of an opposite character from infidelity, bore a -singular testimony to the state of Priestley's mind in his latter days. -This gentleman was observing to me that it was strange, considering how -irritable Priestley's temper was by nature, and that he died of a -harassing and depressing disease, that he was eminently placid during -the last few months of his life. I observed that his religion was of a -sustaining nature, being no superstition, but a firmly-grounded, -long-tried faith; and that the natural explanation of his tranquillity -was, that he was in a thoroughly religious state of mind. "Religious! -bless me, no!" cried the gentleman; "he was always very cheerful -whenever I saw him." - -At the house of his grandson, cashier of the bank at Northumberland, I -saw a delightful portrait of him. It is from a copy of this picture that -the engraving in the "Gallery of Portraits," published by the Society -for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, is taken. The face and air are -worthy of the man; gentle and venerable. The philosopher's house we -found occupied by a judge and his lady, who are Quakers, while their -children are orthodox; but this double difference of religious opinion -does not impair their respect for the former inhabitant of their -dwelling. They preserve with an honourable reverence every vestige of -him and his pursuits. They show the willows that were planted in his -time in the garden, and have preserved the round hole he made in the -window-shutter of his study for the advantage of his optical -experiments, and even the bit of wainscot which he scorched with his -burning glasses. They took me to the corner of the library where he -breathed his last, and to the balustrade on the top of the roof where he -went up to meditate at eventide. It commands a beautiful prospect of the -course of the two branches of the Susquehanna, and of their junction. - -Priestley's Hill is so called from its vicinity to the lands held by his -family. It is pleasant to know that he was possessed of abundance during -the last years of his life. His own wants were few, almost all his -expenditure being in charity and in his philosophical pursuits. He had -enough for these, and to settle his sons on good farms. No man bestowed -and accepted money with a better grace than he; his generous English -friends, who had the best reasons for being aware of this, had the -satisfaction of knowing that no pecuniary anxieties mingled with the -trials of his closing years. - -The tombs of the three--of Priestley, his excellent wife, and his son -Harry--are in a family graveyard which is on the outskirts of the little -town, and some way from the family residence. It is walled round, and -has an iron gate. I was familiar with the account of Harry's funeral, -written at the time, and could not understand how it happened that he -lay in this place. It is clear, from the testimony of persons on the -spot, that his body had never been moved; and as the place of interment -is described as being woodland, we must suppose that the bare place -where he lies was within the verge of the forest in 1795. A resident in -the neighbourhood wrote thus: "I attended the funeral to the lonely -spot, and there I saw the good old father perform the service over the -grave of his son. It was an affecting sight, but he went through it with -fortitude, and, after praying, addressed the attendants in a few words, -assuring them that, though death had separated them here, they should -meet again in another and a better world." - -How little did I think when, some years ago, I read and reread the -narrative of Harry's death--striving to extract from it something more, -and yet something more to throw light on the character of father and -son--that I should stand by that very grave and plant a rose upon it! -Few feet have wandered that way, and no hands seem to be busied about -those graves; but I was thankful to have been there among the first of -many pilgrims who will yet see the spot. For another pupil of the -philosopher's, whose homage I carried with my own, I planted a snowberry -on Priestley's grave. When that other and I were infants, caring for -nothing but our baby plays, this grave was being dug for one who was to -exert a most unusual influence over our minds and hearts, exercising our -intellects, and winning our affections like a present master and parent, -rather than a thinker who had passed away from the earth. Here I now -stood by his grave, listening to tales which seemed as fresh as if he -were living and walking yesterday, instead of having been wept before I -knew any of the meanings of tears. - -The inscription on Priestley's tomb is singularly inappropriate: "Return -unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. -I will lay me down in peace, and sleep until I awake in the morning of -the resurrection." Phrases from the Old Testament and about the soul on -the grave of Priestley! - -I remained in the neighbourhood several days, and visited as many of the -philosopher's haunts as I could get pointed out to me; and when I was at -length obliged to resume my journey down the Susquehanna, it was with a -strong feeling of satisfaction in the accomplishment of my object. These -are the places in which to learn what are the real, in distinction from -the comparatively insignificant, objects of regard; of approbation and -hatred; of desire and fear. This was the place to learn what survived -of a well-exercised and much-tried man. He made mistakes; they are -transient evils, for others have been sent to rectify them. He felt -certain of some things still dubious; this is a transient evil, for he -is gone where he will obtain greater clearness; and men have arisen and -will arise to enlighten us, and those who will follow us. He exploded -errors; this was a real, but second-rate good, which would have been -achieved by another, if not by him. He discovered new truths; this is a -real good, and as eternal as truth itself. He made an unusual progress -towards moral perfection; this is the highest good of all, and never -ending. His mistakes will be rectified; the prejudices against him on -their account will die out; the hands that injured him, the tongues that -wounded him, are all, or nearly all, stilled in death; the bitter tears -which these occasioned have long since been all wept. These things are -gone or going by; they have reached, or are tending to the extinction -which awaits all sins and sorrows. What remains? Whatever was real of -the man and of the work given him to do. Whatsoever truth he discovered -will propagate itself for ever, whether the honour of it be ascribed to -him or not. There remain other things no less great, no less real, no -less eternal, to be reckoned among the spiritual treasures of the race; -things of which Priestley, the immortal, was composed, and in which he -manifestly survives; a love of truth which no danger could daunt and no -toil relax; a religious faith which no severity of probation could -shake; a liberality proof against prejudice from within and injury from -without; a simplicity which no experience of life and men could corrupt; -a charity which grew tenderer under persecution and warmer in exile; a -hope which flourished in disappointment and triumphed in the grave. -These are the things which remain, bearing no relation to country or -time; as truly here as there, now as hereafter. - -These realities are the inheritance of those who sit at home as well as -of those who wander abroad; yet it may be forgiven to the weak, whose -faith is dimsighted and whose affections crave a visible resting-place, -if they find their sense of privilege refreshed by treading the shores -of the exile's chosen Susquehanna. - - - - -PRISONS. - - - "In the prison of Coldbath Fields, in which the silent system is - believed to be brought to the greatest degree of perfection, under - the management of a highly intelligent and able governor, who has at - his command every possible advantage for working the system, there - were in the year 1836 no less than 5138 punishments 'for talking and - swearing.'"--_Second Report of the Inspectors of Prisons of Great - Britain, 1837._ - - "Silence and Secrecy!... Do thou thyself but hold thy tongue for one - day; on the morrow how much clearer are thy purposes and duties! - what wreck and rubbish have those mute workmen within thee swept - away, when intrusive noises were shut out!"--_Sartor Resartus._ - - -I have shown in my account of Society in America that, after visiting -several prisons in the United States, I was convinced that the system of -solitary confinement at Philadelphia is the best that has yet been -adopted.[10] So much has been heard in England of the Auburn prison, its -details look so complete and satisfactory on paper, and it is so much a -better system than the English have been accustomed to see followed at -home, that it has a high reputation among us. But I think a careful -survey of the institution on the spot must lessen the admiration -entertained for this mode of punishment. - -Footnote 10: "Society in America," part iii., chap. iv. - -The convicts are, almost without exception, pale and haggard. As their -work is done either in the open air or in well-ventilated shops, and -their diet is good, their unhealthy appearance is no doubt owing chiefly -to the bad construction of their night-cells. These cells are small and -ill-ventilated, and do not even answer the purpose of placing the -prisoners in solitude during the night. The convicts converse with -nearly as much ease, through the air-pipes or otherwise, at night, as -they do by speaking behind their teeth, without moving the lips, while -at work in the day. In both cases they feel that they are transgressing -the laws of the prison by doing an otherwise innocent and almost -necessary act; a knowledge and feeling most unfavourable to reformation, -and destructive of any conscientiousness which retribution may be -generating in them. Their anxious and haggard looks may be easily -accounted for. They are denied the forgetfulness of themselves and their -miseries which they might enjoy in free conversation; and also the -repose and the shelter from shame which are the privileges of solitary -confinement. Every movement reminds them that they are in disgrace; a -multitude of eyes (the eyes of the wicked, too) is ever upon them; they -can live neither to themselves nor to society, and self-respect is -rendered next to impossible. A man must be either hardened, or restless -and wretched under such circumstances; and the faces at Auburn are no -mystery. - -The finishing of the day's work and the housing for the night are sights -barely endurable. The governor saw my disgust, and explained that he -utterly disapproved of strangers being allowed to be present at all -this; but that the free Americans would not be debarred from beholding -the operation of anything which they have decreed. This is right enough; -the evil is in there being any such spectacle to behold. The prisoners -are ranged in companies for the march from their workshops into the -prison. Each fills his pail and carries it, and takes up the can with -his supper as he passes the kitchen; and, when I was there, this was -done in the presence of staring and amused strangers, who looked down -smiling from the portico. Some of the prisoners turned their heads every -possible way to avoid meeting our eyes, and were in an agony of shame; -while the blacks, who, from their social degradation, have little idea -of shame, and who are remarkable for exaggeration in all they do, -figured away ridiculously in the march, stamping and gesticulating as if -they were engaged in a game at romps. I do not know which extreme was -the most painful to behold. It is clear that no occasion should be -afforded for either; that men should not be ignominiously paraded -because they are guilty. - -The arrangements for the women were extremely bad at that time; but the -governor needed no convincing of this, and hoped for a speedy -rectification. The women were all in one large room, sewing. The attempt -to enforce silence was soon given up as hopeless; and the gabble of -tongues among the few who were there was enough to paralyze any matron. -Some rather hopeful-looking girls were side by side with old offenders -of their own colour, and with some most brutish-looking black women. -There was an engine in sight which made me doubt the evidence of my own -eyes; stocks of a terrible construction; a chair, with a fastening for -the head and for all the limbs. Any lunatic asylum ought to be ashamed -of such an instrument. The governor liked it no better than we; but he -pleaded that it was his only means of keeping his refractory female -prisoners quiet while he was allowed only one room to put them all into. -I hope these stocks have been used for firewood before this. - -The first principle in the management of the guilty seems to me to be to -treat them as men and women; which they were before they were guilty, -and will be when they are no longer so; and which they are in the midst -of it all. Their humanity is the principal thing about them; their guilt -is a temporary state. The insane are first men, and secondarily diseased -men; and in a due consideration of this order of things lies the main -secret of the successful treatment of such. The drunkard is first a man, -and secondarily a man with a peculiar weakness. The convict is, in like -manner, first a man, and then a sinner. Now, there is something in the -isolation of the convict which tends to keep this order of -considerations right in the mind of his guardians. The warden and his -prisoner converse like two men when they are face to face; but when the -keeper watches a hundred men herded together in virtue of the one common -characteristic of their being criminals, the guilt becomes the prominent -circumstance, and there is an end of the brotherly faith in each, to -which each must mainly owe his cure. This, in our human weakness, is the -great evil attendant upon the good of collecting together sufferers -under any particular physical or moral evil. Visiters are shy of the -blind, the deaf and dumb, and insane, when they see them all together, -while they would feel little or nothing of this shyness if they met each -sufferer in the bosom of his own family. In the one case, the infirmity, -defying sympathy, is the prominent circumstance; in the other, not. It -follows from this, that such an association of prisoners as that at -Auburn must be more difficult to reform, more difficult to do the -state's duty by, than any number or kind of criminals who are classed by -some other characteristic, or not classed at all. - -The wonderfully successful friend of criminals, Captain Pillsbury, of -the Weathersfield prison, has worked on this principle, and owes his -success to it. His moral power over the guilty is so remarkable, that -prison-breakers who can be confined nowhere else are sent to him to be -charmed into staying their term out. I was told of his treatment of two -such. One was a gigantic personage, the terror of the country, who had -plunged deeper and deeper in crime for seventeen years. Captain -Pillsbury told him when he came that he hoped he would not repeat the -attempts to escape which he had made elsewhere. "It will be best," said -he, "that you and I should treat each other as well as we can. I will -make you as comfortable as I possibly can, and shall be anxious to be -your friend; and I hope you will not get me into any difficulty on your -account. There is a cell intended for solitary confinement, but we have -never used it, and I should be sorry ever to have to turn the key upon -anybody in it. You may range the place as freely as I do if you will -trust me as I shall trust you." The man was sulky, and for weeks showed -only very gradual symptoms of softening under the operation of Captain -Pillsbury's cheerful confidence. At length information was given to the -captain of this man's intention to break prison. The captain called him, -and taxed him with it; the man preserved a gloomy silence. He was told -that it was now necessary for him to be locked in the solitary cell, and -desired to follow the captain, who went first, carrying a lamp in one -hand and the key in the other. In the narrowest part of the passage the -captain (who is a small, slight man) turned round and looked in the face -of the stout criminal. "Now," said he, "I ask you whether you have -treated me as I deserve? I have done everything I could think of to make -you comfortable; I have trusted you, and you have never given me the -least confidence in return, and have even planned to get me into -difficulty. Is this kind? And yet I cannot bear to lock you up. If I had -the least sign that you cared for me...." The man burst into tears. -"Sir," said he, "I have been a very devil these seventeen years; but you -treat me like a man." "Come, let us go back," said the captain. The -convict had the free range of the prison as before. From this hour he -began to open his heart to the captain, and cheerfully fulfilled his -whole term of imprisonment, confiding to his friend, as they arose, all -impulses to violate his trust, and all facilities for doing so which he -imagined he saw. - -The other case was of a criminal of the same character, who went so far -as to make the actual attempt to escape. He fell, and hurt his ankle -very much. The captain had him brought in and laid on his bed, and the -ankle attended to, every one being forbidden to speak a word of reproach -to the sufferer. The man was sullen, and would not say whether the -bandaging of his ankle gave him pain or not. This was in the night, and -every one returned to bed when this was done. But the captain could not -sleep. He was distressed at the attempt, and thought he could not have -fully done his duty by any man who would make it. He was afraid the man -was in great pain. He rose, threw on his gown, and went with a lamp to -the cell. The prisoner's face was turned to the wall, and his eyes were -closed, but the traces of suffering were not to be mistaken. The captain -loosened and replaced the bandage, and went for his own pillow to rest -the limb upon, the man neither speaking nor moving all the time. Just -when he was shutting the door the prisoner started up and called him -back. "Stop, sir. Was it all to see after my ankle that you have got -up?" - -"Yes, it was. I could not sleep for thinking of you." - -"And you have never said a word of the way I have used you!" - -"I do feel hurt with you, but I don't want to call you unkind while you -are suffering as you are now." - -The man was in an agony of shame and grief. All he asked was to be -trusted again when he should have recovered. He was freely trusted, and -gave his generous friend no more anxiety on his behalf. - -Captain Pillsbury is the gentleman who, on being told that a desperate -prisoner had sworn to murder him speedily, sent for him to shave him, -allowing no one to be present. He eyed the man, pointed to the razor, -and desired him to shave him. The prisoner's hand trembled, but he went -through it very well. When he had done the captain said, "I have been -told you meant to murder me, but I thought I might trust you." "God -bless you, sir! you may," replied the regenerated man. Such is the power -of faith in man! - -The greatest advantage of solitary confinement is that it presents the -best part of a prisoner's mind to be acted upon by his guardians; and -the next is, that the prisoner is preserved from the evil influences of -vicious companionship, of shame within the prison walls, and of -degradation when he comes out. I am persuaded that no system of -secondary punishment has yet been devised that can be compared with -this. I need not, at this time of day, explain that I mean solitary -imprisonment with labour, and with frequent visits from the guardians of -the prisoner. Without labour, the punishment is too horrible and unjust -to be thought of. The reflective man would go mad, and the clown would -sleep away his term, and none of the purposes of human existence could -be answered. Work is, in prison as out of it, the grand equaliser, -stimulus, composer, and rectifier; the prime obligation and the prime -privilege. It is delightful to see how soon its character is recognised -there. In the Philadelphia penitentiary work is forbidden to the -criminal for two days subsequent to his entrance; he petitions for it -before the two days are out, however doggedly he may have declared that -he will never work. Small incidents show what a resource it is. A -convict shoemaker mentioned to a visiter a very early hour of the winter -day as that at which he began to work. "But how can you see at that time -of a winter's morning? it must be nearly dark." "I hammer my leather. -That requires very little light. I get up and hammer my leather." - -On his entrance the convict is taken to the bathroom, where he is well -cleansed, and his state of health examined into and recorded by the -physician and warden. A hood is then put over his head, and he is led to -his apartment. I never met with one who could in the least tell what the -form of the central part of the prison was, or which of the radii his -cell was placed in, though they make very accurate observations of the -times at which the sun shines in. At the end of two days, during which -the convict has neither book nor work, the warden visits him, and has a -conversation with him about the mode of life in the institution. If he -asks for work, he is offered a choice of three or four kinds, of which -weaving and shoemaking are the chief. He is told that if he does a -certain amount of work, he will have the full diet provided for hard -labourers; if less, he will have what is sufficient for a moderate -worker; if more, the price of it will be laid by to accumulate, and paid -over to him on his leaving the prison. He is furnished with a Bible; and -other books, provided by the friends to the institution, circulate among -the convicts. Some who have books at home are allowed to have them -brought. A convict gentleman whom I visited had a fine library at home, -and was plentifully supplied from thence. It was difficult to find -occupation for this unhappy man, who had never been used to labour. He -was filling bobbins when I saw him, and he wrote a great deal in various -languages. His story was a dreadful one, too horrible to be related. His -crime was murder, but committed under such intense provocation, real or -imaginary, that he had the compassion of every one who knew his history. -He had been justice of the peace for twenty years; and his interest was -so strong that he had little doubt of being able to obtain a pardon, and -for some years was daily racked with expectation. He told me that it was -opposed by political enemies only; and this belief did not, of course, -tend to calm his mind. Pardon came at last, when nine years of the -twelve for which he was sentenced had expired. He was released a year -and a half after I saw him. - -In his case there were peculiar disturbing influences, and his seclusion -was doubtless more painful and less profitable than that of most -prisoners. His case was public; his station and the singularity of the -circumstances made it necessarily so; and the knowledge of this -publicity is a great drawback upon reformation and upon repose of mind. -The most hopeful cases I met with were those of men who came from a -distance, who were tried under a feigned name, or whose old connexions -were, from other circumstances, unaware of their present condition. Of -course I cannot publicly relate facts concerning any of these. They -disclosed their stories to me in confidence. I can give nothing but -general impressions, except in a few cases which are already notorious, -or where death has removed the obligation to secrecy, by rendering it -impossible for the penitent to be injured, while his reputation may be -benefited by its being known what were the feelings of his latter days. - -After a general survey of the establishment, which furnished me with all -that the managers had to bring forward, I entered, by the kind -permission of the board, upon the yet more interesting inquiry of what -the convicts had to say for themselves. I supposed that, from their long -seclusion from all society but that of their guardians, they would be -ready to communicate very freely; and also, judging from my own -feelings, that they could not do this in the presence of any third -person. I therefore requested, and was allowed to go entirely alone, -the turnkey coming at the end of a specified time to let me out. No one -of them, except the gentleman above mentioned, had any notice whatever -of my coming. Their door was unlocked at an unusual hour, and I stepped -in. My reception was in every case the same. Every man of them looked -up, transfixed with amazement, one with his shuttle, another with his -awl suspended. I said that if my visit was not agreeable, I would call -the turnkey before he was out of hearing, and go away. If the contrary, -perhaps I might be favoured with a seat. In an instant the workman -sprang up, wiped his stool with his apron for me, and sat down himself -on his workbench. In a few cases I had to make a further explanation -that I did not come for prayer and religious discourse. The conversation -invariably took that turn before I left, as it naturally does with the -anxious and suffering; but two or three rushed at once into such -shocking cant, that I lost no time in telling them the real object of my -visit; to learn what were the causes of crime in the United States. I -also told them all that I could not give them news from the city, -because this was against the rules of the prison. They were glad to -converse with me on my own conditions, and I am confident that they -presented me faithfully with their state of mind as it appeared to -themselves. I have never received confidence more full and simple than -theirs, and much of it was very extraordinary. All, except two or three, -voluntarily acknowledged their guilt; the last point, of course, on -which I should have chosen to press them. It seemed a relief to them to -dwell on the minutest particulars relating to their temptation to their -crime, and the time and mode of its commission. One man began protesting -his innocence early in our conversation; following the practice common -among felons, of declaring himself a guilty fellow enough, but innocent -of this particular crime. I stopped him, saying that I asked him no -questions, and had no business with his innocence or guilt, and that I -did not like such protestations as he was making: we would talk of -something else. He looked abashed, and within half an hour he had -communicated his first act of dishonesty in life; the festering wound -which I have reason to believe he never before laid open to human eye. - -Several incidents of this nature which occurred persuade me that almost -anything may be done with these sufferers by occasional intercourse and -free sympathy. Each time that I went I was amazed at the effect of words -that had passed, lightly enough, days or weeks before. I found them all -expecting a pardon; and the most painful part of my duty to them was -undeceiving them about this. It was dreadful to see the emotion of some; -but I knew they would have no repose of mind, so necessary in their -case, while racked with this hope; I therefore took pains to explain -what punishment was for, and how rarely pardon could be justified. On my -subsequent visits it was cheering to see how completely they had -understood me, and how they had followed out the subject to their own -entire conviction. - -"Well, J.," said I to a young man who had been rather languid about his -work, making only three shoes a week while expecting a pardon, "how have -you been since I saw you?" - -"Very fairly indeed, madam. I make seven shoes a week now." - -"Ah! then you have left off fretting yourself about a pardon. You have -made up your mind to your term, like a man." - -"Yes, I have been thinking about that, and something more. I have been -thinking that perhaps it is well that I am here now; for, madam, I got -that that I took so easily, that I believe, if I had not been caught, I -should have gone back to the same place and taken more, and so have come -in for ten years instead of five." - -Twenty months afterward I heard of this man from the warden. He was in -health, cheerful, and industrious. I have no doubt of his doing well -when he comes out. - -A negro, in for a very serious offence, which he acknowledged, told me -of another committed long before, which, since his imprisonment, had -weighed much more heavily on his mind, perhaps because no one knew it or -suspected him; it was a theft of sixteen dollars, committed with some -treachery. This subject had been entirely dismissed, and had even gone -out of my mind when we talked over the expiration of his term and his -prospects in life. "Where do you mean to go first?" said I. "Stay in -Philadelphia till I have worked for those sixteen dollars, and paid -them," said he. This was without the slightest leading on my part. - -Several told me more about their mothers than about anything else in -their former lives; and those who were tried under false names seemed -more afraid of their mothers knowing where they were than of any other -consequence. In every case some heartsore was at the bottom of the -guilt. Many were as ignorant as Americans ever are, and had sought to -get rid of their griefs, as ignorant people do, by physical excitement. -First passion, then drink, then crime: this is the descent. Most -declared that the privation of tobacco was the first tremendous -suffering within the prison; then the solitude; then the vain hope of -pardon. The middle part of their term is the easiest. Near the end they -grow restless and nervous. Every one that I asked could promptly tell me -the day of the month. - -"May I ask," said I to one for whom I had much regard, "may I ask what -all these black marks on your wall are for?" I was not without a -conjecture, remembering that he was to go out on the 17th of the next -August, this being the 1st of December. - -He looked down, and said he had no secret in the matter, only that I -should think him very silly. I told him that I did not think any -amusement silly to one who had so few. - -"Well, madam, I have been trying to find out what day of the week the -17th of next August will be; but I can't quite make it out, because I -don't know whether the next is leap year." - -The holding out my hand to them at parting brought every one of them to -tears; yet there was nothing unmanly in their bearing; there was no lack -of health, no feebleness of spirits, though a quietness of manner such -as might be anticipated in men under punishment and subject to remorse. -There was a degree of contentment (when the expectation of pardon was -removed) which I did not look for. They spoke (such as were qualified) -of other prisons with horror, and with approbation approaching to -thankfulness of the treatment they met with in this, where they were not -degraded as if they had done nothing but crime, as if they were not -still men. I was much moved by the temper of one, and much humbled (as I -often was) at thinking for how little guilt some are heavily visited, -when there is not one of us, perhaps, who may not justly feel that, -however safe and honoured he may appear, he has done worse, and deserved -a more fearful retribution. - -A friend of mine, who knew that I was visiting the penitentiary, asked -me to see two brothers who were in for forging and coining. The case -was notorious, the elder brother being an old offender. I agreed to -inquire for them; and upon this my friend somewhat imprudently told the -mother of the convicts and the wife of the younger one what I had -promised, and sent them to see me. I soon perceived that the wife was -telling me a number of family particulars in the hope that I should -communicate them to her husband. I felt myself obliged to put a stop to -this, as I was upon honour, and could not think of violating any of the -rules of the prison, one of which was that the convicts should receive -no intelligence from without. The wife's reply was heart-wringing. She -said she did not wish to show disrespect to any rules; there was but one -thing that she implored me to convey to her husband. He had expected a -pardon in three months from his conviction; five months had now passed, -and he would be wondering. She only wanted him to know that it was -through no want of exertion on her part that he was still in prison. I -was compelled to refuse to communicate anything, and even to let the -young man know that I had seen any of his family. But in my own mind I -resolved not to see the convict till the warden, who was absent, should -return to Philadelphia, and to tell him the whole, that he might -communicate what he thought proper. By these means I believe the -prisoner heard some comfortable tidings after I saw him, and I am sure -he had never a hard thought of his good wife. I promised her a most -minute account of her husband's situation, to which there could be no -objection. She had done nothing wrong, and was not to be punished, -though it appeared that some of the ladies of Philadelphia thought -otherwise, as they took from her the needlework she had undertaken for -the support of herself and her children during her husband's -imprisonment. These virtuous ladies could not think of countenancing -anybody connected with forgers and coiners. - -I found the young man weaving. After some talk about the work, during -which I saw that his mind was full of something else, I obviated all -danger of his putting questions which I could not answer by asking him -whether he had relations in the city. This put an end to all reserve. He -mentioned his father, and the brother who had led him into crime, with a -forbearance and delicacy of forgiveness which were extremely touching. -He was not aware that I knew how different a tone might have been -excused, might have been almost justified. But he spoke most of his -wife. He told me that he had always been weak, too easily persuaded, -from being afraid of some people about him; and that his wife, who had a -nobler mind, always kept him up, yet managing to do it when they were -alone so as never to expose his weakness. He had unfortunately come to -Philadelphia two days before her, and in that interval he had been -threatened and persuaded into endeavouring to pass two counterfeit -five-franc pieces. This was all. But he himself did not extenuate his -offence or appear to think it a trifle. He observed, indeed, that at -that time he was not aware what sins against property were; he used to -think, that if some people had so much more than they wanted, there was -no great harm in those who have too little taking some from them. He had -had much time for thought since, and now saw so plainly how necessary it -was that men should be protected while living in society, that he -believed no compulsion could now make him break the laws in any such -way. But the mischief was done. He had made his wife wretched, and all -was over. I convinced him that it was not. His term was five years; and -when it was fulfilled he would still be a young man, and might cherish -his wife for a good many years. It was well that we thought so at the -time, for the hope gave him substantial comfort. He lifted up his head -from his loom, where it had sunk down in his bitter weeping, and began -to talk upon the subject I dreaded, pardon. I saw what kind of mind I -had to deal with, reasoning and reflective. I led him to consider, as he -had found out the purposes of law, the purposes of punishment; and, at -length, put the question to him whether he thought he ought to be -pardoned. Trembling from head to foot, and white as the wall, he bravely -answered "No." I asked him whether it would not be better to settle his -mind to his lot than to be trembling for four years at every footstep -that came near his cell, expecting deliverance, and expecting it in -vain. He did not answer. I told him that when he was heartsick with -expecting in vain, perhaps some hard thought of his wife--that she had -not done all she could--might rise up to trouble him. "Oh no, no, -never!" he cried. I had now obtained what I wanted for her. - -I told him I should endeavour to see his wife. He desired me to tell her -that he was in health, and had brought himself to own to me what he had -done, and that he should be pretty comfortable but for thinking how he -had used her; but he would try to make up for it one day. He was quite -cheerful when I left him. - -The wife called on me the next day. She said she could not stay long, as -she was about to set off, with her children, for a remote part of the -country. It was a dreadful thing to her to leave her husband's -neighbourhood; but she had been deprived of the means of support by her -work being taken from her, and no resource remained but going to her -father's house. She was surprised, and seemed almost sorry (no doubt -from a jealousy for his reputation), that her husband had acknowledged -his offence. She said he had not acknowledged it when he went in. I told -her every particular about his cell and employments, as well as his -looks and conversation, till, when I had done, she started up, saying -that she was forgetting her children, and her journey, and everything. -When we had parted she came back again from the door to ask "one thing -more;" whether I thought there would ever be anything in the world that -she could do for me. I thought it very possible in a world of change -like this, and promised to rely upon her if she could ever serve me or -mine. - -She settled herself at her father's, and after a while drooped in -spirits, and was sure something would happen. When bad news came she -cried, "There! I knew it!" As the turnkey passed her husband's cell one -day he heard some noise and looked in. The young man was just falling -from his loom in a fit of apoplexy. There was no delay in doing all that -can be done in such cases; but in a few hours he died. There is no -reason to suppose that his imprisonment had anything to do with the -attack. It was probably a constitutional tendency, aggravated by anxiety -of mind. - -The prison must be tried some years longer before a complete comparison -of it with others can be made; but it appears at present, that if there -be some few diseases which may possibly be aggravated by the silence and -thoughtfulness attendant on solitary confinement (which I do not know to -be the case), there are many more which disappear under the regularity -of temperature and of hours, and the good diet of the establishment. -There was certainly less sallowness and anxiety in the faces of the -inmates than struck me in the other prisons. One man amazed me by -calling the four years he had passed here the most comfortable he had -ever known; but when he told me the wretchedness of his previous life, -I fully believed him. - -I found, on visiting the elder of the brothers, how complete is the -secrecy preserved in the prison. I had been repeatedly told that these -brothers came in together, and, therefore, had no hesitation in -mentioning the one to the other. I was thunderstruck with the vehemence -with which the elder turned upon me with the question, "Is _my_ brother -in this prison?" "I was told you came in together," replied I. "Then -they put him in just after me," cried he. "What did they find him guilty -of? What part of the prison is he in? What work does he do?" and a -number of other questions; none of which, of course, I would answer. I -was not very sorry that he was accidentally made acquainted with what he -had led his young brother into. I fear he could bear it only too well. -When I told the warden the mistake I had made, I found that the younger -brother came in three weeks after the elder. - -The cases I became acquainted with were not all hopeful. Some of the -convicts were so stupid as not to be relied upon, more or less. Others -canted so detestably, and were (always in connexion with their cant) so -certain that they should never sin more, that I have every expectation -that they will find themselves in prison again some day. One fellow, a -sailor, notorious for having taken more lives than probably any man in -the United States, was quite confident that he should be perfectly -virtuous henceforth. He should never touch anything stronger than tea, -or lift his hand against money or life. I told him I thought he could -not be sure of all this till he was within sight of money and the smell -of strong liquors; and that he was more confident than I should like to -be. He shook his shock of red hair at me, and glared with his one -ferocious eye, as he said he knew all about it, as he had been the worst -of men, and Christ had had mercy on his poor soul. When I had got him -away from his cant, and upon subjects on which he could talk with some -simplicity, I found that even this man preferred this prison to others -that he had been in. It so happened that no conviction for murder had -ever been procurable against him; his imprisonments were all for theft. -His account of the old Walnut-street prison was dreadful. He there daily -heard stories of crimes, from four in the winter afternoons till -daylight. "Poor boasting! for the crimes they bragged of were never -done." I asked him how he got into that prison. "For a couple o' -larcenies, a grand and a little," said he, with the most business-like -nonchalance. He was waylaid by two old burglars on his coming out, and -on the spot agreed upon an enterprise for the next night. His mother -died in his arms; he went and committed the burglary, was caught, and -before midnight was in prison again. His accounts of his deeds were too -scientific for my understanding; but I made out enough to be ready when -he asked my advice what to do when he came out. I answered as if he were -in earnest, advising him to leave Philadelphia and all towns, and settle -in the woods, out of the way of grogshops, bad company, and other -people's property. But his keepers expect that he will end his days with -them, and this is the hope of that part of society which fears his -ferocity. - -As the system of solitary imprisonment gains ground, I trust that the -practice of prison-visiting will gain ground too. It is most desirable -that it should not be left wholly in the hands of proselyting -religionists, but be shared by those who better understand human nature -and command a greater variety of influences. For the sake of religion -itself this is desirable, to rescue it from becoming a mere prison -solace; an excitement seized when no other can be had, and to be laid -aside when old pursuits offer themselves for resumption. Kind-hearted -persons will have an opportunity of doing extensive and unquestionable -good by keeping up the social affections of the prisoners, giving them -new ideas, making them cheerful, and investing with pleasant -associations whatever things are honest, pure, lovely, and of good -report. - -In other prisons much might thus be done, though not, I think, with such -extraordinary effect as under the system of solitary confinement. I was -struck with something I saw at the Charlestown prison (Massachusetts). -Several convicts, black and white, who had behaved well, were practising -singing, which is allowed as an indulgence. It seemed strange to hear -"The heavens are telling" from such lips; but I listened to it with more -pleasure than in some far finer places. Any kind person who can -introduce a new innocent pursuit into a prison as a solace to its -inmates cannot fail to be doing an important good. - -This reminds me that a service may be rendered, not so much to the -convicts as to society, by any persons who can supply the prisons where -stonecutting is going on with a good set of epitaphs. At Auburn they are -wanted, and much more at Nashville (Tennessee), where the stonecutting -department is superintended by an honest Englishman, whose stock of -epitaphs is small and of miserable quality. We half undertook to prepare -and collect some for him, but found it a less easy task than we had -supposed. We got out our pencils at three o'clock one summer morning, -when our stage had broken down on a bad Tennessee road; but one of our -party observing that this was the first time he had ever heard of making -epitaphs for amusement, there was an end of the attempt; and the -Nashville prison remains unsupplied, unless somebody else has done -better than we. - -I suspect the fault lies in the supposition that epitaphs of general -application cannot be made at all. An epitaph should be the breathing of -emotion arising out of a particular case; and none made for -stonecutters' use can have much life or truth. Still, they may have -grammar and general propriety, so as to be an advantageous substitute -for some at present in use, if only persons can be found to compose them -on such considerations. - -I saw at the Charlestown prison a sight more impressive to me than all -else that the walls contained; a man of might, but whose power has taken -a wrong direction; his hand being against every man, and every man's -against him. He is a prison-breaker so formidable as to be regarded and -treated as if he were of Satanic race, and not as made up of flesh and -blood, and emotions that may be roused, and affections subject to the -touch. He seems, indeed, to have become somewhat of the Satanic kind, -for he is now piqued to do all the harm he can. His pride is in for it; -his reputation stands upon it. I was shown an enormous block of stone -which he had displaced by the aid of a "gentleman" outside, who, for -fear of the prison-breaker's blabbing, committed suicide on his -recapture. The strong man was heavily fettered, confined in a different -cell every night, and conducted to it by a procession of turnkeys. As we -stood aside in the echoing passage to let the array go by, there was -something really grand in the air of the man who had virtually said to -himself, "Evil, be thou my good!" He stepped slowly, clanking his -chains, and looking us full in the face as he passed. He cannot but have -a calm sense of power when he nightly sees the irons, the bars and -locks, and the six fellow-men, all in requisition to keep him from -working his will. As we saw him slowly turn into his cell, and heard -lock after lock shot behind him, I could not help thinking that there -was much true monarchical feeling within those four narrow walls. - - - - -FIRST SIGHT OF SLAVERY. - - - "Ed io, ch'avea di riguardar desio - La condicion, che tal fortezza serra, - Com' i fu dentro, l'occhio intorno invio, - E veggio ad ogni man grande campagna - Piena ad duolo, e di tormento rio." - - DANTE. - - -From the day of my entering the States till that of my leaving -Philadelphia I had seen society basking in one bright sunshine of -good-will. The sweet temper and kindly manners of the Americans are so -striking to foreigners, that it is some time before the dazzled stranger -perceives that, genuine as is all this good, evils as black as night -exist along with it. I had been received with such hearty hospitality -everywhere, and had lived among friends so conscientious in their regard -for human rights, that, though I had heard of abolition riots, and had -observed somewhat of the degradation of the blacks, my mind had not yet -been really troubled about the enmity of the races. The time of -awakening must come. It began just before I left Philadelphia. - -I was calling on a lady whom I had heard speak with strong horror of the -abolitionists (with whom I had then no acquaintance), and she turned -round upon me with the question whether I would not prevent, if I could, -the marriage of a white person with a person of colour. I saw at once -the beginning of endless troubles in this inquiry, and was very sorry it -had been made; but my determination had been adopted long before, never -to evade the great question of colour; never to provoke it; but always -to meet it plainly in whatever form it should be presented. I replied -that I would never, under any circumstances, try to separate persons -who really loved, believing such to be truly those whom God had joined; -but I observed that the case she put was one not likely to happen, as I -believed the blacks were no more disposed to marry the whites than the -whites to marry the blacks. "You are an amalgamationist!" cried she. I -told her that the party term was new to me; but that she must give what -name she pleased to the principle I had declared in answer to her -question. This lady is an eminent religionist, and denunciations spread -rapidly from her. The day before I left Philadelphia my old shipmate, -the Prussian physician, arrived there, and lost no time in calling to -tell me, with much agitation, that I must not go a step farther south; -that he had heard on all hands, within two hours of his arrival, that I -was an amalgamationist, and that my having published a story against -slavery would be fatal to me in the slave states. I did not give much -credit to the latter part of this news, and saw plainly that all I had -to do was to go straight on. I really desired to see the working of the -slave system, and was glad that my having published against its -principles divested me altogether of the character of a spy, and gave me -an unquestioned liberty to publish the results of what I might observe. -In order to see things as they were, it was necessary that people's -minds should not be prepossessed by my friends as to my opinions and -conduct; and I therefore forbade my Philadelphia friends to publish in -the newspapers, as they wished, an antidote to the charges already -current against me. - -The next day I first set foot in a slave state, arriving in the evening -at Baltimore. I dreaded inexpressibly the first sight of a slave, and -could not help speculating on the lot of every person of colour I saw -from the windows the first few days. The servants in the house where I -was were free blacks. - -Before a week was over I perceived that all that is said in England of -the hatred of the whites to the blacks in America is short of the truth. -The slanders that I heard of the free blacks were too gross to injure my -estimation of any but those who spoke them. In Baltimore the bodies of -coloured people exclusively are taken for dissection, "because the -whites do not like it, and the coloured people cannot resist." It is -wonderful that the bodily structure can be (with the exception of the -colouring of the skin) thus assumed to be the pattern of that of the -whites; that the exquisite nervous system, the instrument of moral as -well as physicial pleasures and pains, can be nicely investigated, on -the ground of its being analogous with that of the whites; that not only -the mechanism, but the sensibilities of the degraded race should be -argued from to those of the exalted order, and that men come from such a -study with contempt for these brethren in their countenances, hatred in -their hearts, and insult on their tongues. These students are the men -who cannot say that the coloured people have not nerves that quiver -under moral injury, nor a brain that is on fire with insult, nor pulses -that throb under oppression. These are the men who should stay the hand -of the rash and ignorant possessors of power, who crush the being of -creatures, like themselves, "fearfully and wonderfully made." But to -speak the right word, to hold out the helping hand, these searchers into -man have not light nor strength. - -It was in Baltimore that I heard Miss Edgeworth denounced as a woman of -no intelligence or delicacy, whose works could never be cared for again, -because, in Belinda, poor Juba was married, at length, to an English -farmer's daughter! The incident is so subordinate that I had entirely -forgotten it; but a clergyman's lady threw the volume to the opposite -corner of the floor when she came to the page. As I have said elsewhere, -Miss Edgeworth is worshipped throughout the United States; but it is in -spite of this terrible passage, this clause of a sentence in Belinda, -which nobody in America can tolerate, while no one elsewhere ever, I -should think, dreamed of finding fault with it. - -A lady from New-England, staying in Baltimore, was one day talking over -slavery with me, her detestation of it being great, when I told her I -dreaded seeing a slave. "You have seen one," said she. "You were waited -on by a slave yesterday evening." She told me of a gentleman who let out -and lent out his slaves to wait at gentlemen's houses, and that the tall -handsome mulatto who handed the tea at a party the evening before was -one of these. I was glad it was over for once; but I never lost the -painful feeling caused to a stranger by intercourse with slaves. No -familiarity with them, no mirth and contentment on their part, ever -soothed the miserable restlessness caused by the presence of a -deeply-injured fellow-being. No wonder or ridicule on the spot avails -anything to the stranger. He suffers, and must suffer from this, deeply -and long, as surely as he is human and hates oppression. - -The next slave that I saw, knowing that it was a slave, was at -Washington, where a little negro child took hold of my gown in the -passage of our boarding-house, and entered our drawing-room with me. She -shut the door softly, as asking leave to stay. I took up a newspaper. -She sat at my feet, and began amusing herself with my shoestrings. -Finding herself not discouraged, she presently begged play by peeping at -me above and on each side the newspaper. She was a brighteyed, -merry-hearted child; confiding, like other children, and dreading no -evil, but doomed, hopelessly doomed, to ignorance, privation, and moral -degradation. When I looked at her, and thought of the fearful -disobedience to the first of moral laws, the cowardly treachery, the -cruel abuse of power involved in thus dooming to blight a being so -helpless, so confiding, and so full of promise, a horror came over me -which sickened my very soul. To see slaves is not to be reconciled to -slavery. - -At Baltimore and Washington again I was warned, in various stealthy -ways, of perils awaiting me in the South. I had no means of ascertaining -the justness of these warnings but by going on, and turning back for -such vague reasons was not to be thought of. So I determined to say no -word to my companions (who were in no danger), but to see the truth for -myself. The threats proved idle, as I suspected they would. Throughout -the South I met with very candid and kind treatment. I mention these -warnings partly because they are a fact connected with the state of the -country, and partly because it will afterward appear that the stranger's -real danger lies in the North and West, over which the South had, in my -case, greatly the advantage in liberality. - - - - -LIFE AT WASHINGTON. - - - "With studious thought observed the illustrious throng, - In Nature's order as they pass'd along; - Their names, their fates." - - DRYDEN'S _AEneid_. - - -Washington is no place for persons of domestic tastes. Persons who love -dissipation, persons who love to watch the game of politics, and those -who make a study of strong minds under strong excitements, like a season -at Washington; but it is dreary to those whose pursuits and affections -are domestic. I spent five weeks there, and was heartily glad when they -were over. I felt the satisfaction all the time of doing something that -was highly useful; of getting knowledge that was necessary to me, and -could not be otherwise obtained; but the quiet delights of my -Philadelphia home (though there half our time was spent in visiting) had -spoiled me for such a life as every one leads at the metropolis. I have -always looked back upon the five weeks at Washington as one of the most -profitable, but by far the least agreeable, of my residences in the -United States. - -Yet we were remarkably fortunate in our domestic arrangements there. We -joined a party of highly esteemed and kind friends: a member of the -House of Representatives from Massachusetts, his wife and sister-in-law, -and a senator from Maine. We (the above party) had a drawing-room to -ourselves and a separate table at Mrs. Peyton's boarding-house; so that -we formed a quiet family group enough, if only we had had any quiet in -which to enjoy the privilege. - -We arrived at Washington on the 13th of January, 1835, the year of the -short session of Congress which closes on the 4th of March, so that we -continued to see the proceedings of Congress at its busiest and most -interesting time. - -The approach to the city is striking to all strangers from its oddness. -I saw the dome of the Capitol from a considerable distance at the end of -a straight road; but, though I was prepared by the descriptions of -preceding travellers, I was taken by surprise on finding myself beneath -the splendid building, so sordid are the enclosures and houses on its -very verge. We wound round its base, and entered Pennsylvania Avenue, -the only one of the grand avenues intended to centre in the Capitol -which has been built up with any completeness. Our boarding-house was -admirably situated, being some little way down this avenue, a few -minutes' walk only from the Capitol, and a mile in a straight line from -the White House, the residences of the heads of departments and the -British legation. - -In Philadelphia I had found perpetual difficulty in remembering that I -was in a foreign country. The pronunciation of a few words by our host -and hostess, the dinner-table, and the inquiries of visiters were almost -all that occurred to remind me that I was not in a brother's house. At -Washington it was very different. The city itself is unlike any other -that ever was seen, straggling out hither and thither, with a small -house or two a quarter of a mile from any other; so that, in making -calls "in the city," we had to cross ditches and stiles, and walk -alternately on grass and pavements, and strike across a field to reach a -street. Then the weather was so strange; sometimes so cold that the only -way I could get any comfort was by stretching on the sofa drawn before -the fire up to the very fender (on which days every person who went in -and out of the house was sure to leave the front door wide open); then -the next morning, perhaps, if we went out muffled in furs, we had to -turn back and exchange our wraps for a light shawl. Then we were waited -upon by a slave appointed for the exclusive service of our party during -our stay. Then there were canvass-back ducks, and all manner of other -ducks on the table, in greater profusion than any single article of -food, except turkeys, that I ever saw. Then there was the society, -singularly compounded from the largest variety of elements: foreign -ambassadors, the American government, members of Congress, from Clay and -Webster down to Davy Crockett, Benton from Missouri, and Cuthbert, with -the freshest Irish brogue, from Georgia; flippant young belles, "pious" -wives dutifully attending their husbands, and groaning over the -frivolities of the place; grave judges, saucy travellers, pert newspaper -reporters, melancholy Indian chiefs, and timid New-England ladies, -trembling on the verge of the vortex; all this was wholly unlike -anything that is to be seen in any other city in the world; for all -these are mixed up together in daily intercourse, like the higher circle -of a little village, and there is nothing else. You have this or -nothing; you pass your days among these people, or you spend them alone. -It is in Washington that varieties of manners are conspicuous. There the -Southerners appear to the most advantage, and the New-Englanders to the -least; the ease and frank courtesy of the gentry of the South (with an -occasional touch of arrogance, however) contrasting favourably with the -cautious, somewhat _gauche_, and too deferential air of the members from -the North. One fancies one can tell a New-England member in the open air -by his deprecatory walk. He seems to bear in mind perpetually that he -cannot fight a duel, while other people can. The odd mortals that wander -in from the western border cannot be described as a class, for no one is -like anybody else. One has a neck like a crane, making an interval of -inches between stock and chin. Another wears no cravat, apparently -because there is no room for one. A third has his lank black hair parted -accurately down the middle, and disposed in bands in front, so that he -is taken for a woman when only the head is seen in a crowd. A fourth -puts an arm round the neck of a neighbour on either side as he stands, -seeming afraid of his tall wirehung frame dropping to pieces if he tries -to stand alone; a fifth makes something between a bow and a courtesy to -everybody who comes near, and proses with a knowing air: all having -shrewd faces, and being probably very fit for the business they come -upon. - -Our way of life was so diversified that it is difficult to give an -account of our day; the only way in which one day resembled another -being that none had any privacy. We breakfasted about nine, surrounded -by the heaps of newspapers, documents, and letters which the post and -newsmen brought to the parliamentary members of our party. We amused -ourselves with the different versions given by the Globe and the -Intelligencer--the administration and opposition papers--to speeches and -proceedings at which we had been present the day before; and were kindly -made acquainted by our representative friend with the nature of much of -his business, the petitions he had to present, the dilemmas in which he -was placed by his constituents of different parties, and his hopes and -fears about favourite measures in progress. The senator happened, from a -peculiar set of circumstances, to be an idle man just now. He taught me -many things, and rallied me on my asking him so few questions, while, -in fact, my head was already so much too full with what was flowing in -upon me from all sides, that I longed for nothing so much as to go to -sleep for a week. This gentleman's peculiar and not very agreeable -position arose out of the troublesome question of Instructions to -Representatives. Senators are chosen for a term of six years, one third -of the body going out every two years; the term being made thus long in -order to ensure some stability of policy in the Senate. If the -government of the state from which the senator is sent changes its -politics during his term, he may be annoyed by instructions to vote -contrary to his principles, and, if he refuses, by a call to resign, on -the ground of his representing the opinions of the minority. This had -been the predicament of our companion; and the question of resigning or -not under such circumstances had become generally a very important and -interesting one, but one which there was no means of settling. Each -member in such a scrape must act as his own judgment and conscience -dictate under the circumstances of the particular case. Our companion -made a mistake. When the attempt to instruct him was made, he said he -appealed from the new legislature of his state to the people who chose -him. He did appeal by standing candidate for the office of governor of -the state, and was defeated. No course then remained but resigning; -which he did immediately, when his senatorial term was within half a -session of its close. He had withdrawn from the Senate Chamber, and was -winding up his political affairs at the time when we joined his party. - -At a little before eleven we usually set out for the Capitol, and passed -the morning either in the Senate Chamber or the Supreme Court, unless it -was necessary to make calls, or to sit to the artist who was painting my -portrait, or to join a party on some excursion in the neighbourhood. We -avoided spending the morning at home when we could, as it was sure to be -entirely consumed with callers, and we became too much exhausted before -the fatigues of the evening began. Much amusement was picked up in the -artist's apartment in the Capitol; members and strangers dropped in, and -the news of the hour circulated; but the Senate Chamber was our -favourite resort. We returned home to dinner some time between four and -six, and the cloth was seldom removed before visiters entered. The -stream continued to flow in during the whole evening, unless we were -all going out together. We disappeared, one by one, to dress for some -ball, rout, levee, or masquerade, and went out, more or less willingly, -according as we left behind us visiters more or less pleasant. The half -hour round our drawing-room fire after our return was the pleasantest -time of the day, weary as we were. Then our foreigners' perplexities -were explained for us; we compared impressions, and made common property -of what had amused us individually; and, in some sort, set our -overcharged minds in order before we retired to rest. - -Our pleasantest evenings were some spent at home in a society of the -highest order. Ladies, literary, fashionable, or domestic, would spend -an hour with us on their way from a dinner or to a ball. Members of -Congress would repose themselves by our fireside. Mr. Clay, sitting -upright on the sofa, with his snuffbox ever in his hand, would discourse -for many an hour in his even, soft, deliberate tone, on any one of the -great subjects of American policy which we might happen to start, always -amazing us with the moderation of estimate and speech which so impetuous -a nature has been able to attain. Mr. Webster, leaning back at his ease, -telling stories, cracking jokes, shaking the sofa with burst after burst -of laughter, or smoothly discoursing to the perfect felicity of the -logical part of one's constitution, would illuminate an evening now and -then. Mr. Calhoun, the cast-iron man, who looks as if he had never been -born and never could be extinguished, would come in sometimes to keep -our understandings upon a painful stretch for a short while, and leave -us to take to pieces his close, rapid, theoretical, illustrated talk, -and see what we could make of it. We found it usually more worth -retaining as a curiosity than as either very just or useful. His speech -abounds in figures, truly illustrative, if that which they illustrate -were but true also. But his theories of government (almost the only -subject on which his thoughts are employed), the squarest and compactest -that ever were made, are composed out of limited elements, and are not, -therefore, likely to stand service very well. It is at first extremely -interesting to hear Mr. Calhoun talk; and there is a never-failing -evidence of power in all he says and does which commands intellectual -reverence; but the admiration is too soon turned into regret, into -absolute melancholy. It is impossible to resist the conviction that all -this force can be at best but useless, and is but too likely to be very -mischievous. His mind has long lost all power of communicating with any -other. I know of no man who lives in such utter intellectual solitude. -He meets men, and harangues them by the fireside as in the Senate; he is -wrought like a piece of machinery, set a going vehemently by a weight, -and stops while you answer; he either passes by what you say, or twists -it into a suitability with what is in his head, and begins to lecture -again. Of course, a mind like this can have little influence in the -Senate, except by virtue, perpetually wearing out, of what it did in its -less eccentric days; but its influence at home is to be dreaded. There -is no hope that an intellect so cast in narrow theories will accommodate -itself to varying circumstances; and there is every danger that it will -break up all that it can, in order to remould the materials in its own -way. Mr. Calhoun is as full as ever of his nullification doctrines; and -those who know the force that is in him, and his utter incapacity of -modification by other minds (after having gone through as remarkable a -revolution of political opinion as perhaps any man ever experienced), -will no more expect repose and self-retention from him than from a -volcano in full force. Relaxation is no longer in the power of his will. -I never saw any one who so completely gave me the idea of possession. -Half an hour's conversation with him is enough to make a necessarian of -anybody. Accordingly, he is more complained of than blamed by his -enemies. His moments of softness in his family, and when recurring to -old college days, are hailed by all as a relief to the vehement working -of the intellectual machine; a relief equally to himself and others. -Those moments are as touching to the observer as tears on the face of a -soldier. - -One incident befell during my stay which moved everybody. A -representative from South Carolina was ill, a friend of Mr. Calhoun's; -and Mr. Calhoun parted from us one day, on leaving the Capitol, to visit -this sick gentleman. The physician told Mr. Calhoun on his entrance that -his friend was dying, and could not live more than a very few hours. A -visiter, not knowing this, asked the sick man how he was. "To judge by -my own feelings," said he, "much better; but by the countenances of my -friends, not." And he begged to be told the truth. On hearing it, he -instantly beckoned Mr. Calhoun to him, and said, "I hear they are -giving you rough treatment in the Senate. Let a dying friend implore you -to guard your looks and words so as that no undue warmth may make you -appear unworthy of your principles." "This was friendship, strong -friendship," said Mr. Calhoun to me and to many others; and it had its -due effect upon him. A few days after, Colonel Benton, a fantastic -senator from Missouri, interrupted Mr. Calhoun in a speech, for the -purpose of making an attack upon him, which would have been insufferable -if it had not been too absurdly worded to be easily made anything of. He -was called to order; this was objected to; the Senate divided upon the -point of order, being dissatisfied with the decision of the chair; in -short, Mr. Calhoun sat for two full hours hearing his veracity talked -about before his speech could proceed. He sat in stern patience, -scarcely moving a muscle the whole time; and, when it was all settled in -his favour, merely observed that his friends need not fear his being -disturbed by an attack of this nature from such a quarter, and resumed -his speech at the precise point where his argument had been broken off. -It was great, and would have satisfied the "strong friendship" of his -departed comrade if he could have been there to see it. - -Our active-minded, genial friend, Judge Story, found time to visit us -frequently, though he is one of the busiest men in the world; writing -half a dozen great law-books every year; having his full share of the -business of the Supreme Court upon his hands; his professorship to -attend to; the District Courts at home in Massachusetts, and a -correspondence which spreads half over the world. His talk would gush -out for hours, and there was never too much of it for us; it is so -heartfelt, so lively, so various; and his face all the while, -notwithstanding his gray hair, showing all the mobility and -ingenuousness of a child's. There is no tolerable portrait of Judge -Story, and there never will be. I should like to bring him face to face -with a person who entertains the common English idea of how an American -looks and behaves. I should like to see what such a one would make of -the quick smiles, the glistening eye, the gleeful tone, with passing -touches of sentiment; the innocent self-complacency, the confiding, -devoted affections of the great American lawyer. The preconception would -be totally at fault. - -With Judge Story sometimes came the man to whom he looked up with -feelings little short of adoration--the aged Chief-justice Marshall. -There was almost too much mutual respect in our first meeting; we knew -something of his individual merits and services; and he maintained -through life, and carried to his grave, a reverence for woman as rare in -its kind as in its degree. It had all the theoretical fervour and -magnificence of Uncle Toby's, with the advantage of being grounded upon -an extensive knowledge of the sex. He was the father and the grandfather -of women; and out of this experience he brought, not only the love and -pity which their offices and position command, and the awe of purity -which they excite in the minds of the pure, but a steady conviction of -their intellectual equality with men; and, with this, a deep sense of -their social injuries. Throughout life he so invariably sustained their -cause, that no indulgent libertine dared to flatter and humour; no -skeptic, secure in the possession of power, dared to scoff at the claims -of woman in the presence of Marshall, who, made clearsighted by his -purity, knew the sex far better than either. - -How delighted we were to see Judge Story bring in the tall, majestic, -brighteyed old man! old by chronology, by the lines on his composed -face, and by his services to the republic; but so dignified, so fresh, -so present to the time, that no feeling of compassionate consideration -for age dared to mix with the contemplation of him. The first evening he -asked me much about English politics, and especially whether the people -were not fast ripening for the abolition of our religious establishment; -an institution which, after a long study of it, he considered so -monstrous in principle, and so injurious to true religion in practice, -that he could not imagine that it could be upheld for anything but -political purposes. There was no prejudice here on account of American -modes being different; for he observed that the clergy were there, as -elsewhere, far from being in the van of society, and lamented the -existence of much fanaticism in the United States; but he saw the evils -of an establishment the more clearly, not the less, from being aware of -the faults in the administration of religion at home. The most animated -moment of our conversation was when I told him I was going to visit Mr. -Madison on leaving Washington. He instantly sat upright in his chair, -and with beaming eyes began to praise Mr. Madison. Madison received the -mention of Marshall's name in just the same manner; yet these men were -strongly opposed in politics, and their magnanimous appreciation of each -other underwent no slight or brief trial. - -Judge Porter sometimes came, a hearty friend, and much like a -fellow-countryman, though he was a senator of the United States, and had -previously been, for fourteen years, Judge of the Supreme Court of -Louisiana. He was Irish by birth. His father was vindictively executed, -with cruel haste, under martial law, in the Irish rebellion; and the -sons were sent by their noble-minded mother to America, where Alexander, -the eldest, has thus raised himself into a station of high honour. Judge -Porter's warmth, sincerity, generosity, knowledge, and wit are the pride -of his constituents, and very ornamental to the Senate. What their charm -is by the fireside may be imagined. - -Such are only a few among a multitude whose conversation filled up the -few evenings we spent at home. Among the pleasantest visits we paid were -dinners at the president's, at the houses of heads of departments, at -the British legation, and at the Southern members' congressional mess. -We highly enjoyed our dinings at the British legation, where we felt -ourselves at home among our countrymen. Once, indeed, we were invited to -help to do the honours as English ladies to the seven Judges of the -Supreme Court, and seven great lawyers besides, when we had the merriest -day that could well be. Mr. Webster fell chiefly to my share, and there -is no merrier man than he; and Judge Story would enliven a dinner-table -at Pekin. One laughable peculiarity at the British legation was the -confusion of tongues among the servants, who ask you to take fish, -flesh, and fowl in Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Irish, or French. -The foreign ambassadors are terribly plagued about servants. No American -will wear livery, and there is no reason why any American should. But -the British ambassador must have livery servants. He makes what -compromise he can, allowing his people to appear without livery out of -doors except on state occasions; but yet he is obliged to pick up his -domestics from among foreigners who are in want of a subsistence for a -short time, and are sure to go away as soon as they can find any -employment in which the wearing a livery is not requisite. The woes of -this state of things, however, were the portion of the host, not of his -guests; and the hearty hospitality with which we were ever greeted by -the minister and his attaches, combined with the attractions of the -society they brought together, made our visits to them some of the -pleasantest hours we passed in Washington. - -Slight incidents were perpetually showing, in an amusing way, the -village-like character of some of the arrangements at Washington. I -remember that some of our party went one day to dine at Mr. Secretary -Cass's, and the rest of us at Mr. Secretary Woodburys'. The next morning -a lady of the Cass party asked me whether we had candied oranges at the -Woodburys'. "No." "Then," said she, "they had candied oranges at the -attorney-general's." "How do you know?" "Oh, as we were on the way, I -saw a dish carried; and as we had none at the Cass's, I knew they must -either be for the Woodburys or the attorney-general." There were candied -oranges at the attorney-general's. - -When we became intimate some time afterward with some Southern friends, -with whom we now dined at their congressional mess, they gave us an -amusing account of the preparations for our dinner. They boarded (from a -really self-denying kindness) at a house where the arrangements were of -a very inferior kind. Two sessions previous to our being there they had -invited a large party of eminent persons to dinner, and had committed -the ordering of the arrangements to a gentleman of their mess, advising -him to engage a French cook in order to ensure a good dinner. The -gentleman engaged a Frenchman, concluding he must be a cook, which, -however, he was not; and the dinner turned out so unfortunately, that -the mess determined to ask no more dinner-company while they remained in -that house. When we arrived, however, it was thought necessary to ask us -to dinner. There was little hope that all would go rightly; and the two -senators of the mess were laughingly requested, in case of any blunder, -to talk nullification as fast as possible to us ladies. This was done so -efficaciously, that, when dinner was over, I could not have told a -single dish that was on the table, except that a ham stood before me, -which we were too full of nullification to attack. Our hosts informed -us, long afterward, that it was a bad dinner badly served; but it was no -matter. - -At the president's I met a very large party, among whom there was more -stiffness than I saw in any other society in America. It was not the -fault of the president or his family, but of the way in which the -company was unavoidably brought together. With the exception of my -party, the name of everybody present began with J, K, or L; that is to -say, it consisted of members of Congress, who are invited -alphabetically, to ensure none being left out. This principle of -selection is not, perhaps, the best for the promotion of ease and -sociability; and well as I liked the day, I doubt whether many others -could say they enjoyed it. When we went in the president was standing in -the middle of the room to receive his guests. After speaking a few words -with me, he gave me into the charge of Major Donelson, his secretary, -who seated me, and brought up for introduction each guest as he passed -from before the president. A congressional friend of mine (whose name -began with a J) stationed himself behind my chair, and gave me an -account of each gentleman who was introduced to me; where he came from, -what his politics were, and how, if at all, he had distinguished -himself. All this was highly amusing. At dinner the president was quite -disposed for conversation. Indeed, he did nothing but talk. His health -is poor, and his diet of the sparest. We both talked freely of the -governments of England and France; I, novice in American politics as I -was, entirely forgetting that the great French question was pending, and -that the president and the King of the French were then bandying very -hard words. I was most struck and surprised with the president's -complaints of the American Senate, in which there was at that time a -small majority against the administration. He told me that I must not -judge of the body by what I saw it then, and that after the 4th of March -I should behold a Senate more worthy of the country. After the 4th of -March there was, if I remember rightly, a majority of two in favour of -the government. The ground of his complaint was, that the senators had -sacrificed their dignity by disregarding the wishes of their -constituents. The other side of the question is, that the dignity of the -Senate is best consulted by its members following their own convictions, -declining instructions for the term for which they are elected. It is a -serious difficulty, originating in the very construction of the body, -and not to be settled by dispute. - -The president offered me bonbons for a child belonging to our party at -home, and told me how many children (of his nephew's and his adopted -son's) he had about him, with a mildness and kindliness which -contrasted well with his tone upon some public occasions. He did the -honours of his house with gentleness and politeness to myself, and, as -far as I saw, to every one else. About an hour after dinner he rose, and -we led the way into the drawing-room, where the whole company, gentlemen -as well as ladies, followed to take coffee; after which every one -departed, some homeward, some to make evening calls, and others, among -whom were ourselves, to a splendid ball at the other extremity of the -city. - -General Jackson is extremely tall and thin, with a slight stoop, -betokening more weakness than naturally belongs to his years. He has a -profusion of stiff gray hair, which gives to his appearance whatever -there is of formidable in it. His countenance bears commonly an -expression of melancholy gravity; though, when roused, the fire of -passion flashes from his eyes, and his whole person looks then -formidable enough. His mode of speech is slow and quiet, and his -phraseology sufficiently betokens that his time has not been passed -among books. When I was at Washington albums were the fashion and the -plague of the day. I scarcely ever came home but I found an album on my -table or requests for autographs; but some ladies went much further than -petitioning a foreigner who might be supposed to have leisure. I have -actually seen them stand at the door of the Senate Chamber, and send the -doorkeeper with an album, and a request to write in it, to Mr. Webster -and other eminent members. I have seen them do worse; stand at the door -of the Supreme Court, and send in their albums to Chief-justice Marshall -while he was on the bench hearing pleadings. The poor president was -terribly persecuted; and to him it was a real nuisance, as he had no -poetical resource but Watts's hymns. I have seen verses and stanzas of a -most ominous purport from Watts, in the president's very conspicuous -handwriting, standing in the midst of the crowquill compliments and -translucent charades which are the staple of albums. Nothing was done to -repress this atrocious impertinence of the ladies. I always declined -writing more than name and date; but senators, judges, and statesmen -submitted to write gallant nonsense at the request of any woman who -would stoop to desire it. - -Colonel Johnson, now Vice-president of the United States, sat opposite -to me at the president's dinner-table. This is the gentleman once -believed to have killed Tecumseh, and to have written the Report on -Sunday Mails, which has been the admiration of society ever since it -appeared; but I believe Colonel Johnson is no longer supposed to be the -author of either of these deeds. General Mason spoke of him to me at -New-York with much friendship, and with strong hope of his becoming -president. I heard the idea so ridiculed by members of the federal party -afterward, that I concluded General Mason to be in the same case with -hundreds more who believe their intimate friends sure of being -president. But Colonel Johnson is actually vice-president, and the hope -seems reasonable; though the slavery question will probably be the point -on which the next election will turn, which may again be to the -disadvantage of the colonel. If he should become president, he will be -as strange-looking a potentate as ever ruled. His countenance is wild, -though with much cleverness in it; his hair wanders all abroad, and he -wears no cravat. But there is no telling how he might look if dressed -like other people. - -I was fortunate enough once to catch a glimpse of the invisible Amos -Kendall, one of the most remarkable men in America. He is supposed to be -the moving spring of the whole administration; the thinker, planner, and -doer; but it is all in the dark. Documents are issued of an excellence -which prevents their being attributed to persons who take the -responsibility of them; a correspondence is kept up all over the country -for which no one seems to be answerable; work is done, of goblin extent -and with goblin speed, which makes men look about them with a -superstitious wonder; and the invisible Amos Kendall has the credit of -it all. President Jackson's Letters to his Cabinet are said to be -Kendall's; the Report on Sunday Mails is attributed to Kendall; the -letters sent from Washington to appear in remote country newspapers, -whence they are collected and published in the Globe as demonstrations -of public opinion, are pronounced to be written by Kendall. Every -mysterious paragraph in opposition newspapers relates to Kendall; and it -is some relief to the timid that his having now the office of -postmaster-general affords opportunity for open attacks upon this -twilight personage; who is proved, by the faults in the postoffice -administration, not to be able to do quite everything well. But he is -undoubtedly a great genius. He unites with his "great talent for -silence" a splendid audacity. One proof of this I have given elsewhere, -in the account of the bold stroke by which he obtained the sanction of -the Senate to his appointment as postmaster-general.[11] - -Footnote 11: "Society in America," vol i., p. 60. - -It is clear that he could not do the work he does (incredible enough in -amount any way) if he went into society like other men. He did, however, -one evening; I think it was at the attorney-general's. The moment I went -in, intimations reached me from all quarters, amid nods and winks, -"Kendall is here:" "That is he." I saw at once that his plea for -seclusion (bad health) is no false one. The extreme sallowness of his -complexion, and hair of such perfect whiteness as is rarely seen in a -man of middle age, testified to disease. His countenance does not help -the superstitious to throw off their dread of him. He probably does not -desire this superstition to melt away; for there is no calculating how -much influence was given to Jackson's administration by the universal -belief that there was a concealed eye and hand behind the machinery of -government, by which everything could be foreseen, and the hardest deeds -done. A member of Congress told me this night that he had watched -through four sessions for a sight of Kendall, and had never obtained it -till now. Kendall was leaning on a chair, with head bent down, and eye -glancing up at a member of Congress with whom he was in earnest -conversation, and in a few minutes he was gone. - -Neither Mr. Clay nor any of his family ever spoke a word to me of -Kendall except in his public capacity; but I heard elsewhere and -repeatedly the well-known story of the connexion of the two men early in -Kendall's life. Tidings reached Mr. and Mrs. Clay one evening, many -years ago, at their house in the neighbourhood of Lexington, Kentucky, -that a young man, solitary and poor, lay ill of a fever in the noisy -hotel in the town. Mrs. Clay went down in the carriage without delay, -and brought the sufferer home to her house, where she nursed him with -her own hands till he recovered. Mr. Clay was struck with the talents -and knowledge of the young man (Kendall), and retained him as tutor to -his sons, heaping benefits upon him with characteristic bounty. Thus far -is notorious fact. As to the causes of their separation and enmity, I -have not heard Kendall's side of the question, and therefore say -nothing; but go on to the other notorious facts, that Amos Kendall left -Mr. Clay's political party some time after Adams had been, by Mr. Clay's -influence, seated in the presidential chair, and went over to Jackson; -since which time he has never ceased his persecutions of Mr. Clay -through the newspapers. It was extensively believed, on Mr. Van Buren's -accession, that Kendall would be dismissed from office altogether; and -there was much speculation about how the administration would get on -without him. But he appears to be still there. Whether he goes or stays, -it will probably be soon apparent how much of the conduct of Jackson's -government is attributable to Kendall's influence over the mind of the -late president, as he is hardly likely to stand in the same relation to -the present. - -I was more vividly impressed with the past and present state of Ireland -while I was in America than ever I was at home. Besides being frequently -questioned as to what was likely to be done for the relief of her -suffering millions--suffering to a degree that it is inconceivable to -Americans that freeborn whites should ever be--I met from time to time -with refugee Irish gentry, still burning with the injuries they or their -fathers sustained in the time of the rebellion. The subject first came -up with Judge Porter; and I soon afterward saw, at a country-house where -I was calling, the widow of Theobald Wolfe Tone. The poor lady is still -full of feelings which amazed me by their bitterness and strength, but -which have, indeed, nothing surprising in them to those who know the -whole truth of the story of Ireland in those dreadful days. The -descendants of "the rebels" cannot be comforted with tidings of anything -to be done for their country. Naturally believing that nothing good can -come out of England--nothing good for Ireland--they passionately ask -that their country shall be left to govern herself. With tears and -scornful laughter they beg that nothing may be "done for her" by hands -that have ravaged her with gibbet, fire, and sword, but that she may be -left to whatever hopefulness may yet be smouldering under the ashes of -her despair. Such is the representation of Ireland to American minds. It -may be imagined what a monument of idiotcy the forcible maintenance of -the Church of England in Ireland must appear to American statesmen. "I -do not understand this Lord John Russell of yours," said one of the most -sagacious of them. "Is he serious in supposing that he can allow a -penny of the revenues, a plait of the lawn-sleeves of that Irish Church -to be touched, and keep the whole from coming down, in Ireland first, -and in England afterward?" We fully agree in the difficulty of supposing -Lord John Russell serious. The comparison of various, but, I believe, -pretty extensive American opinions about the Church of England yields -rather a curious result. No one dreams of the establishment being -necessary or being designed for the maintenance of religion; it is seen -by Chief-justice Marshall and a host of others to be an institution -turned to political purposes. Mr. Van Buren, among many, considers that -the church has supported the state for many years. Mr. Clay, and a -multitude with him, anticipates the speedy fall of the establishment. -The result yielded by all this is a persuasion not very favourable (to -use the American phrase) "to the permanence of our institutions." - -Among our casual visiters at Washington was a gentleman who little -thought, as he sat by our fireside, what an adventure was awaiting him -among the Virginia woods. If there could have been any anticipation of -it, I should have taken more notice of him than I did; as it is, I have -a very slight recollection of him. He came from Maine, and intended -before his return to visit the springs of Virginia, which he did the -next summer. It seems that he talked in the stages rashly, and somewhat -in a bragging style--in a style, at least, which he was not prepared to -support by a harder testimony--about abolitionism. He declared that -abolitionism was not so dangerous as people thought; that he avowed it -without any fear; that he had frequently attended abolition meetings in -the North, and was none the worse for it in the slave states, &c. He -finished his visit at the Springs prosperously enough; but, on his -return, when he and a companion were in the stage in the midst of the -forest, they met at a crossroad--Judge Lynch; that is, a mob with hints -of cowhide and tar and feathers. The mob stopped the stage, and asked -for the gentleman by name. It was useless to deny his name, but he -denied everything else. He denied his being an abolitionist; he denied -his having ever attended abolition meetings, and harangued against -abolitionism from the door of the stage with so much effect, that the -mob allowed the steps to be put up, and the vehicle to drive off, which -it did at full speed. It was not long before the mob became again -persuaded that this gentleman was a fit object of vengeance, and -pursued him; but he was gone as fast as horses could carry him. He did -not relax his speed even when out of danger, but fled all the way into -Maine. It was not on the shrinking at the moment that one would -animadvert so much as on the previous bragging. I have seen and felt -enough of what peril from popular hatred is, in this martyr age of the -United States, to find it easier to venerate those who can endure than -to despise those who flinch from the ultimate trial of their principles; -but every instance of the infliction of Lynch punishment should be a -lesson to the sincerest and securest to profess no more than they are -ready to perform. - -One of our mornings was devoted to an examination of the library and -curiosities of the State Department, which we found extremely -interesting. Our imaginations were whirled over the globe at an -extraordinary rate. There were many volumes of original letters of -Washington's and other revolutionary leaders bound up, and ordered to be -printed, for security, lest these materials of history should be -destroyed by fire or other accident. There were British parliamentary -documents. There was a series of the Moniteur complete, wherein we found -the black list of executions during the reign of terror growing longer -every day; also the first mention of Napoleon; the tidings of his escape -from Elba; the misty days immediately succeeding, when no telegraphic -communication could be made; his arrival at Lyons, and the subsequent -silence till the announcement became necessary that the king and princes -had departed during the night, and that his majesty the emperor had -arrived at his palace of the Tuileries at eight o'clock the next -evening. Next we turned to Algerine (French) gazettes, publishing that -Mustaphas and such people were made colonels and adjutants. Then we -lighted upon the journals of Arnold during the Revolutionary war, and -read the postscript of his last letter previous to the accomplishment of -his treason, in which he asks for hard cash, on pretence that the French -had suffered so much by paper money that he was unwilling to offer them -any more. Then we viewed the signatures of treaties, and decreed -Metternich's to be the best; Don Pedro's the worst for flourish, and -Napoleon's for illegibility. The extraordinary fact was then and there -communicated to us that the Americans are fond of Miguel from their -dislike of Pedro, but that they hope to "get along" very well with the -Queen of Portugal. The treaties with oriental potentates are very -magnificent, shining, and unintelligible to the eyes of novices. The -presents from potentates to American ambassadors are laid up here; gold -snuffboxes set in diamonds, and a glittering array of swords and -cimeters. There was one fine Damascus blade, but it seemed too blunt to -do any harm. Then we lost ourselves in a large collection of medals and -coins--Roman gold coins, with fat old Vespasian and others--from which -we were recalled to find ourselves in the extremely modern and -democratic United States! It was a very interesting morning. - -We took advantage of a mild day to ascend to the skylight of the dome of -the Capitol, in order to obtain a view of the surrounding country. The -ascent was rather fatiguing, but perfectly safe. The residents at -Washington declare the environs to be beautiful in all seasons but early -winter, the meadows being gay with a profusion of wild flowers; even as -early as February with several kinds of heart's-ease. It was a -particularly cold season when I was there; but on the day of my -departure, in the middle of February, the streets were one sheet of ice, -and I remember we made a long slide from the steps of our boarding-house -to those of the stage. But I believe that that winter was no rule for -others. From the summit of the Capitol we saw plainly marked out the -basin in which Washington stands, surrounded by hills except where the -Potomac spreads its waters. The city was intended to occupy the whole of -this basin, and its seven theoretical avenues may be traced; but all -except Pennsylvania Avenue are bare and forlorn. A few mean houses -dotted about, the sheds of a navy-yard on one bank of the Potomac, and -three or four villas on the other, are all the objects that relieve the -eye in this space intended to be so busy and magnificent. The city is a -grand mistake. Its only attraction is its being the seat of government, -and it is thought that it will not long continue to be so. The -far-western states begin to demand a more central seat for Congress, and -the Cincinnati people are already speculating upon which of their hills -or tablelands is to be the site of the new Capitol. Whenever this change -takes place all will be over with Washington; "thorns shall come up in -her palaces, and the owl and the raven shall dwell in it," while her -sister cities of the east will be still spreading as fast as hands can -be found to build them. - -There was a funeral of a member of Congress on the 30th of January; the -interment of the representative from South Carolina, whose death I -mentioned in connexion with Mr. Calhoun. We were glad that we were at -Washington at the time, as a congressional funeral is a remarkable -spectacle. We went to the Capitol at about half an hour before noon, and -found many ladies already seated in the gallery of the Hall of -Representatives. I chanced to be placed at the precise point of the -gallery where the sounds from every part of the house are concentred; so -that I heard the whole service, while I was at such a distance as to -command a view of the entire scene. In the chair were the President of -the Senate and the Speaker of the Representatives. Below them sat the -officiating clergyman; immediately opposite to whom were the president -and the heads of departments on one side the coffin, and the judges of -the Supreme Court and members of the Senate on the other. The -representatives sat in rows behind, each with crape round the left arm; -some in black; many in blue coats with bright buttons. Some of the -fiercest political foes in the country; some who never meet on any other -occasion--the president and the South Carolina senators, for -instance--now sat knee to knee, necessarily looking into each others' -faces. With a coffin beside them, and such an event awaiting their exit, -how out of place was hatred here! - -After prayers there was a sermon, in which warning of death was brought -home to all, and particularly to the aged; and the vanity of all -disturbances of human passion when in view of the grave was dwelt upon. -There sat the gray-headed old president, at that time feeble, and -looking scarcely able to go through this ceremonial. I saw him -apparently listening to the discourse; I saw him rise when it was over, -and follow the coffin in his turn, somewhat feebly; I saw him disappear -in the doorway, and immediately descended with my party to the Rotundo, -in order to behold the departure of the procession for the grave. At the -bottom of the stairs a member of Congress met us, pale and trembling, -with the news that the president had been twice fired at with a pistol -by an assassin who had waylaid him in the portico, but that both pistols -had missed fire. At this moment the assassin rushed into the Rotundo -where we were standing, pursued and instantly surrounded by a crowd. I -saw his hands and half-bare arms struggling above the heads of the -crowd in resistance to being handcuffed. He was presently overpowered, -conveyed to a carriage, and taken before a magistrate. The attack threw -the old soldier into a tremendous passion. He fears nothing, but his -temper is not equal to his courage. Instead of his putting the event -calmly aside, and proceeding with the business of the hour, it was found -necessary to put him into his carriage and take him home. - -We feared what the consequences would be. We had little doubt that the -assassin Lawrence was mad; and as little that, before the day was out, -we should hear the crime imputed to more than one political party or -individual. And so it was. Before two hours were over, the name of -almost every eminent politician was mixed up with that of the poor -maniac who caused the uproar. The president's misconduct on the occasion -was the most virulent and protracted. A deadly enmity had long subsisted -between General Jackson and Mr. Poindexter, a senator of the United -States, which had been much aggravated since General Jackson's accession -by some unwarrantable language which he had publicly used in relation to -Mr. Poindexter's private affairs. There was a prevalent expectation of a -duel as soon as the expiration of the president's term of office should -enable his foe to send him a challenge. Under these circumstances the -president thought proper to charge Mr. Poindexter with being the -instigator of Lawrence's attempt. He did this in conversation so -frequently and openly, that Mr. Poindexter wrote a letter, brief and -manly, stating that he understood this charge was made against him, but -that he would not believe it till it was confirmed by the president -himself; his not replying to this letter being understood to be such a -confirmation. The president showed this letter to visiters at the White -House, and did not answer it. He went further; obtaining affidavits -(tending to implicate Poindexter) from weak and vile persons whose -evidence utterly failed; having personal interviews with these -creatures, and openly showing a disposition to hunt his foe to -destruction at all hazards. The issue was, that Lawrence was proved to -have acted from sheer insanity; Poindexter made a sort of triumphal -progress through the states, and an irretrievable stain was left upon -President Jackson's name. - -Every one was anxiously anticipating the fierce meeting of these foes on -the president's retirement from office, when Mr. Poindexter last year, -in a fit either of somnambulism or of delirium from illness, walked out -of a chamber window in the middle of the night, and was so much injured -that he soon died. - -It so happened that we were engaged to a party at Mr. Poindexter's the -very evening of this attack upon the president. There was so tremendous -a thunder-storm that our host and hostess were disappointed of almost -all their guests except ourselves, and we had difficulty in merely -crossing the street, being obliged to have planks laid across the flood -which gushed between the carriage and the steps of the door. The -conversation naturally turned on the event of the morning. I knew little -of the quarrel which was now to be so dreadfully aggravated; but the -more I afterward heard, the more I admired the moderation with which Mr. -Poindexter spoke of his foe that night, and as often as I subsequently -met him. - -I had intended to visit the president the day after the funeral; but I -heard so much of his determination to consider the attack a political -affair, and I had so little wish to hear it thus treated, against the -better knowledge of all the world, that I stayed away as long as I -could. Before I went I was positively assured of Lawrence's insanity by -one of the physicians who were appointed to visit him. One of the poor -creature's complaints was, that General Jackson deprived him of the -British crown, to which he was heir. When I did go to the White House, I -took the briefest possible notice to the president of the "insane -attempt" of Lawrence; but the word roused his ire. He protested, in the -presence of many strangers, that there was no insanity in the case. I -was silent, of course. He protested that there was a plot, and that the -man was a tool, and at length quoted the attorney-general as his -authority. It was painful to hear a chief ruler publicly trying to -persuade a foreigner that any of his constituents hated him to the -death; and I took the liberty of changing the subject as soon as I -could. The next evening I was at the attorney-general's, and I asked him -how he could let himself be quoted as saying that Lawrence was not mad. -He excused himself by saying that he meant general insanity. He believed -Lawrence insane in one direction; that it was a sort of Ravaillac case. -I besought him to impress the president with this view of the case as -soon as might be. - -It would be amusing, if it were possible to furnish a complete set of -the rumours, injurious (if they had not been too absurd) to all parties -in turn, upon this single and very common act of a madman. One would -have thought that no maniac had ever before attacked a chief magistrate. -The act might so easily have remained fruitless! but it was made to bear -a full and poisonous crop of folly, wickedness, and wo. I feared on the -instant how it would be, and felt that, though the president was safe, -it was very bad news. When will it come to be thought possible for -politicians to have faith in one another, though they may differ, and to -be jealous for their rivals rather than for themselves? - - - - -THE CAPITOL. - - - " ... You have unto the support of a true and natural aristocracy - the deepest root of a democracy that hath been planted. Wherefore - there is nothing in art or nature better qualified for the result - than this assembly."--HARRINGTON'S _Oceana_. - - -The places of resort for the stranger in the Capitol are the Library, -the Supreme Court, the Senate Chamber, and the Hall of Representatives. - -The former library of Congress was burnt by the British in their -atrocious attack upon Washington in 1814. Jefferson then offered his, -and it was purchased by the nation. It is perpetually increased by -annual appropriations. We did not go to the library to read, but amused -ourselves for many pleasant hours with the prints and with the fine -medals which we found there. I was never tired of the cabinet of -Napoleon medals; the most beautifully composed piece of history that I -ever studied. There is a cup carved by Benvenuto Cellini, preserved -among the curiosities of the Capitol, which might be studied for a week -before all the mysteries of its design are apprehended. How it found its -way to so remote a resting-place I do not remember. - -Judge Story was kind enough to send us notice when any cause was to be -argued in the Supreme Court which it was probable we might be able to -understand, and we passed a few mornings there. The apartment is less -fitted for its purposes than any other in the building, the court being -badly lighted and ventilated. The windows are at the back of the judges, -whose countenances are therefore indistinctly seen, and who sit in their -own light. Visiters are usually placed behind the counsel and opposite -the judges, or on seats on each side. I was kindly offered the -reporter's chair, in a snug corner, under the judges, and facing the -counsel; and there I was able to hear much of the pleadings and to see -the remarkable countenances of the attorney-general, Clay, Webster, -Porter, and others, in the fullest light that could be had in this dim -chamber. - -At some moments this court presents a singular spectacle. I have watched -the assemblage while the chief-justice was delivering a judgment; the -three judges on either hand gazing at him more like learners than -associates; Webster standing firm as a rock, his large, deep-set eyes -wide awake, his lips compressed, and his whole countenance in that -intent stillness which easily fixes the eye of the stranger; Clay -leaning against the desk in an attitude whose grace contrasts strangely -with the slovenly make of his dress, his snuffbox for the moment -unopened in his hand, his small gray eye and placid half-smile conveying -an expression of pleasure which redeems his face from its usual -unaccountable commonness; the attorney-general, his fingers playing -among his papers, his quick black eye, and thin tremulous lips for once -fixed, his small face, pale with thought, contrasting remarkably with -the other two; these men, absorbed in what they are listening to, -thinking neither of themselves nor of each other, while they are watched -by the groups of idlers and listeners around them; the newspaper corps, -the dark Cherokee chiefs, the stragglers from the Far West, the gay -ladies in their waving plumes, and the members of either house that have -stepped in to listen; all these I have seen at one moment constitute one -silent assemblage, while the mild voice of the aged chief-justice -sounded through the court. - -Every one is aware that the wigs and gowns of counsel are not to be seen -in the United States. There was no knowing, when Webster sauntered in, -threw himself down, and leaned back against the table, his dreamy eyes -seeming to see nothing about him, whether he would by-and-by take up his -hat and go away, or whether he would rouse himself suddenly, and stand -up to address the judges. For the generality there was no knowing; and -to us, who were forewarned, it was amusing to see how the court would -fill after the entrance of Webster, and empty when he had gone back to -the Senate Chamber. The chief interest to me in Webster's pleading, and -also in his speaking in the Senate, was from seeing one so dreamy and -_nonchalant_ roused into strong excitement. It seemed like having a -curtain lifted up through which it was impossible to pry; like hearing -auto-biographical secrets. Webster is a lover of ease and pleasure, and -has an air of the most unaffected indolence and careless -self-sufficiency. It is something to see him moved with anxiety and the -toil of intellectual conflict; to see his lips tremble, his nostrils -expand, the perspiration start upon his brow; to hear his voice vary -with emotion, and to watch the expression of laborious thought while he -pauses, for minutes together, to consider his notes, and decide upon the -arrangement of his argument. These are the moments when it becomes clear -that this pleasure-loving man works for his honours and his gains. He -seems to have the desire which other remarkable men have shown, to -conceal the extent of his toils, and his wish has been favoured by some -accidents; some sudden, unexpected call upon him for a display of -knowledge and power which has electrified the beholders. But on such -occasions he has been able to bring into use acquisitions and exercises -intended for other occasions, on which they may or may not have been -wanted. No one will suppose that this is said in disparagement of Mr. -Webster. It is only saying that he owes to his own industry what he must -otherwise owe to miracle. - -What his capacity for toil is was shown, in one instance among many, in -an affair of great interest to his own state. On the 7th of April, 1830, -the town of Salem, Massachusetts, was thrown into a state of -consternation by the announcement of a horrible murder. Mr. White, a -respectable and wealthy citizen of Salem, about eighty years of age, was -found murdered in his bed. The circumstances were such as to indicate -that the murder was not for common purposes of plunder, and suspicions -arose which made every citizen shudder at the idea of the community in -which he lived containing the monsters who would perpetrate such a deed. -A patrol of the citizens was proposed and organized, and none were more -zealous in propositions and in patrolling than Joseph and John Knapp, -relatives of the murdered man. The conduct of these young men on the -occasion exposed them to dislike before any one breathed suspicion. -Several acquaintances of the family paid visits of condolence before the -funeral. One of these told me, still with a feeling of horror, how one -of the Knapps pulled his sleeve, and asked, in an awkward whisper, -whether he would go up stairs and see "the old devil." The old -gentleman's housekeeper had slept out of the house that particular -night; a back window had been left unfastened, with a plank placed -against it on the outside; and a will of the old gentleman's (happily a -superseded one) was missing. Suspicious circumstances like these were -found soon to have accumulated so as to justify the arrest of the two -Knapps, and of two brothers of the name of Crowninshield. A lawyer was -ready with testimony that Joseph Knapp, who had married a grand-niece of -Mr. White, had obtained legal information, that if Mr. White died -intestate, Knapp's mother-in-law would succeed to half the property. -Joseph Knapp confessed the whole in prison, and Richard Crowninshield, -doubtless the principal assassin, destroyed himself. The state -prosecutors were in a great difficulty. Without the confession, the -evidence was scarcely sufficient; and though Joseph Knapp was promised -favour from government if he would repeat his evidence on the side of -the prosecution in court, it was not safe, as the event proved, to rely -upon this in a case otherwise doubtful. The attorney and -solicitor-general of the state were both aged and feeble men; and, as -the day of trial drew on, it became more and more doubtful whether they -would be equal to the occasion, and whether these ruffians, well -understood to be the murderers, would not be let loose upon society -again, from bad management of the prosecution. The prosecuting officers -of the government were prevailed upon, within three days of the trial, -to send to seek out Mr. Webster and request his assistance. - -A citizen of Salem, a friend of mine, was deputed to carry the request. -He went to Boston: Mr. Webster was not there, but at his farm by the -seashore. Thither, in tremendous weather, my friend followed him. Mr. -Webster was playing checkers with his boy. The old farmer sat by the -fire, his wife and two young women were sewing and knitting coarse -stockings; one of these last, however, being no farmer's daughter, but -Mr. Webster's bride, for this was shortly after his second marriage. My -friend was first dried and refreshed, and then lost no time in -mentioning "business." Mr. Webster writhed at the word, saying that he -came down hither to get out of hearing of it. He next declared that his -undertaking anything more was entirely out of the question, and pointed, -in evidence, to his swollen bag of briefs lying in a corner. However, -upon a little further explanation and meditation, he agreed to the -request with the same good grace with which he afterward went through -with his task. He made himself master of all that my friend could -communicate, and before daybreak was off through the woods, in the -unabated storm, no doubt meditating his speech by the way. He needed all -the assistance that could be given him, of course; and my friend -constituted himself Mr. Webster's fetcher and carrier of facts for these -two days. He says he was never under orders before since his childish -days; but in this emergency he was a willing servant, obeying such -laconic instructions as "Go there;" "Learn this and that;" "Now go -away;" and so forth. - -At the appointed hour Mr. Webster was completely ready. His argument is -thought one of the finest, in every respect, that he has produced. I -read it before I knew anything of the circumstances which I have -related; and I was made acquainted with them in consequence of my -inquiry how a man could be hanged on evidence so apparently insufficient -as that adduced by the prosecution. Mr. Webster had made all that could -be made of it; his argument was ingenious and close, and imbued with -moral beauty; but the fact was, as I was assured, the prisoners were -convicted on the ground of the confession of the criminal more than on -the evidence adduced by the prosecutors; though the confession could -not, after all, be made open use of. The prisoners had such an opinion -of the weakness of the case, that Joseph, who had been offered favour by -government, refused to testify, and the pledge of the government was -withdrawn. Both the Knapps were hanged. - -The clearness with which, in this case, a multitude of minute facts is -arranged, and the ingenuity with which a long chain of circumstantial -evidence is drawn out, can be understood only through a reading of the -entire argument. Even these are less remarkable than the sympathy by -which the pleader seems to have possessed himself of the emotions, the -peculiar moral experience, of the quiet, good people of Salem, when -thunderstruck with this event. While shut up at his task, Mr. Webster -found means to see into the hearts which were throbbing in all the homes -about him. "One thing more," said he to my friend, who was taking his -leave of him on the eve of the trial. "Do you know of anything -remarkable about any of the jury?" My friend had nothing to say, unless -it was that the foreman was a man of a remarkably tender conscience. To -this we doubtless owe the concluding passage of the argument, delivered, -as I was told, in a voice and manner less solemn than easy and tranquil. - -"Gentlemen--Your whole concern should be to do your duty, and leave -consequences to take care of themselves. You will receive the law from -the court. Your verdict, it is true, may endanger the prisoner's life; -but, then, it is to save other lives. If the prisoner's guilt has been -shown and proved beyond all reasonable doubt, you will convict him. If -such reasonable doubts still remain, you will acquit him. You are the -judges of the whole case. You owe a duty to the public as well as to the -prisoner at the bar. You cannot presume to be wiser than the law. Your -duty is a plain, straightforward one. Doubtless, we would all judge him -in mercy. Towards him, as an individual, the law inculcates no -hostility; but towards him, if proved to be a murderer, the law, and the -oaths you have taken, and public justice, demand that you do your duty. - -"With consciences satisfied with the discharge of duty, no consequences -can harm you. There is no evil that we cannot face or fly from but the -consciousness of duty disregarded. - -"A sense of duty pursues us ever. It is omnipresent, like the Deity. If -we take to ourselves the wings of the morning, and dwell in the -uttermost parts of the seas, duty performed or duty violated is still -with us, for our happiness or our misery. If we say the darkness shall -cover us, in the darkness as in the light our obligations are yet with -us. We cannot escape their power nor fly from their presence. They are -with us in this life, will be with us at its close; and in that scene of -inconceivable solemnity which lies yet farther onward, we shall still -find ourselves surrounded by the consciousness of duty, to pain us -wherever it has been violated, and to console us so far as God may have -given us grace to perform it." - -How must the mention of the tremendous "secret" have thrilled through -the hearts of citizens who had for weeks been anxiously searching every -man's countenance to find it out. The picture given as from the -pleader's imagination was, as every man knew, derived from the -confession of the criminal. - -"The deed was executed with a degree of self-possession and steadiness -equal to the wickedness with which it was planned. The circumstances, -now clearly in evidence, spread out the whole scene before us. Deep -sleep had fallen on the destined victim and on all beneath his roof. A -healthful old man, to whom sleep was sweet, the first sound slumbers of -the night held in their soft but strong embrace. The assassin enters -through the window, already prepared, into an unoccupied apartment. With -noiseless foot he paces the lonely hall, half lighted by the moon; he -winds up the ascent of the stairs, and reaches the door of the chamber. -Of this he moves the lock, by soft and continued pressure, till it turns -on its hinges, and he enters, and beholds his victim before him. The -room was uncommonly open to the admission of light. The face of the -innocent sleeper was turned from the murderer, and the beams of the -moon, resting on the gray locks of his aged temple, showed him where to -strike. The fatal blow is given! and the victim passes, without a -struggle or a motion, from the repose of sleep to the repose of death! -It is the assassin's purpose to make sure work; and he yet plies the -dagger, though it was obvious that life had been destroyed by the blow -of the bludgeon. He even raises the aged arm, that he may not fail in -his aim at the heart, and replaces it again over the wounds of the -poniard. To finish the picture, he explores the wrist for the pulse! he -feels it, and ascertains that it beats no longer! It is accomplished. -The deed is done. He retreats, retraces his steps to the window, passes -out through it as he came in, and escapes. He has done the murder; no -eye has seen him, no ear heard him. The _secret_ is his own, and it is -safe! Ah, gentlemen, that was a dreadful mistake. Such a secret can be -safe nowhere. The whole creation of God has neither nook nor corner -where the guilty can bestow it and say it is safe. Not to speak of that -Eye which glances through all disguises, and beholds everything as in -the splendour of noon, such secrets of guilt are never safe from -detection, even by men. True it is, generally speaking, that 'murder -will out.' True it is that Providence hath so ordained, and doth so -govern things, that those who break the great law of Heaven by shedding -man's blood seldom succeed in avoiding discovery. Especially, in a case -exciting so much attention as this, discovery must come, and will come, -sooner or later. A thousand eyes turn at once to explore every man, -every thing, every circumstance connected with the time and place; a -thousand ears catch every whisper, a thousand excited minds intensely -dwell on the scene, shedding all their light, and ready to kindle the -slightest circumstance into a blaze of discovery. Meantime, the guilty -soul cannot keep its own secret. It is false to itself; or, rather, it -feels an irresistible impulse of conscience to be true to itself. It -labours under its guilty possession, and knows not what to do with it. -The human heart was not made for the residence of such an inhabitant. It -finds itself preyed on by a torment which it does not acknowledge to God -or man. A vulture is devouring it, and it can ask no sympathy or -assistance either from heaven or earth. The secret which the murderer -possesses soon comes to possess him; and, like the evil spirits of which -we read, it overcomes him, and leads him whithersoever it will. He feels -it beating at his heart, rising to his throat, and demanding disclosure. -He thinks the whole world sees it in his face, reads it in his eyes, and -almost hears its workings in the very silence of his thoughts. It has -become his master. It betrays his discretion, it breaks down his -courage, it conquers his prudence. When suspicions from without begin to -embarrass him, and the net of circumstance to entangle him, the fatal -_secret_ struggles with still greater violence to burst forth. It must -be confessed; it _will be_ confessed; there is no refuge from confession -but suicide; and suicide is confession." - -Mr. Webster was born in 1782, in New-Hampshire. His father was a farmer -who had retreated into the wilderness, and, as his son says, "had -lighted his fire nearer to the North Pole than any other citizen of the -States." The good man had, however, come down into the meadows at the -foot of the hills before his second son Daniel was born. By the means -which are within reach of almost every child in his country--the schools -and colleges of easy access--Daniel became qualified for an -apprenticeship to law; and by industry, great intellectual power, and -some few fortunate accidents, rose into notice, employment, and -eminence. He has for some years been considered the head of the federal -party, and he is therefore now on the losing side in politics. His last -great triumph was his exposure of the nullification doctrine in 1833. -Since that time he has maintained his influence in Congress by virtue of -his great talents and former services; but, his politics being in -opposition to those of the great body of the people, he is unable to do -more than head the opposition in the Senate. He was an unsuccessful -candidate in the last presidential election; and there seems little -probability of his attainment of office, unless by his taking the lead -of the abolition movement. For this it is probably now too late. The -abolitionists have done the most difficult part of the work in rousing -the public mind; they are chiefly of the democratic side in politics; -and they do not entertain, I believe, that faith in the great leader of -the federalists which would induce them to support his claims as the -anti-slavery candidate for the next presidentship. - -Mr. Webster owes his rise to the institutions under which he lives; -institutions which open the race to the swift and the battle to the -strong; but there is little in him that is congenial with them. He is -aristocratic in his tastes and habits, and but little republican -simplicity is to be recognised in him. Neither his private conversation -nor his public transactions usually convey an impression that he is in -earnest. When he is so, his power is majestic, irresistible; but his -ambition for office, and for the good opinion of those who surround him, -is seen too often in alternation with his love of ease and luxury to -allow of his being confided in as he is admired. If it had been -otherwise, if his moral had equalled his intellectual supremacy, if his -aims had been as single as his reason is unclouded, he would long ago -have carried all before him, and been the virtual monarch of the United -States. But to have expected this would have been unreasonable. The very -best men of any society are rarely or never to be found among its -eminent statesmen; and it is not fair to look for them in offices which, -in the present condition of human affairs, would yield to such no other -choice than of speedy failure or protracted martyrdom. Taking great -politicians as they are, Mr. Webster's general consistency may be found -not to have fallen below the average, though it has not been so -remarkable as to ensure on his behalf a confidence at all to be compared -with the universal admiration of his talents. - -Mr. Webster speaks seldom in the Senate. When he does, it is generally -on some constitutional question, where his reasoning powers and -knowledge are brought into play, and where his authority is considered -so high, that he has the glorious satisfaction of knowing that he is -listened to as an oracle by an assemblage of the first men in the -country. Previous to such an exercise he may be seen leaning back in his -chair, not, as usual, biting the top of his pen, or twirling his thumbs, -or bursting into sudden and transient laughter at Colonel Benton's -oratorical absurdities, but absent and thoughtful, making notes, and -seeing nothing that is before his eyes. When he rises, his voice is -moderate and his manner quiet, with the slightest possible mixture of -embarrassment; his right hand rests upon his desk, and the left hangs by -his side. Before his first head is finished, however, his voice has -risen so as to fill the chamber and ring again, and he has fallen into -his favourite attitude, with his left hand under his coat-tail, and the -right in full action. At this moment the eye rests upon him as upon one -under the true inspiration of seeing the invisible and grasping the -impalpable. When the vision has passed away, the change is astonishing. -He sits at his desk, writing letters or dreaming, so that he does not -always discover when the Senate is going to a division. Some one of his -party has not seldom to jog his elbow, and tell him that his vote is -wanted. - -There can scarcely be a stronger contrast than between the eloquence of -Webster and that of Clay. Mr. Clay is now my personal friend; but I have -a distinct recollection of my impression of his speaking while he was -yet merely an acquaintance. His appearance is plain in the extreme, -being that of a mere west-country farmer. He is tall and thin, with a -weather-beaten complexion, small gray eyes, which convey an idea of -something more than his well-known sagacity, even of slyness. It is only -after much intercourse that Mr. Clay's personal appearance can be -discovered to do him any justice at all. All attempts to take his -likeness have been in vain, though upward of thirty portraits of him, by -different artists, were in existence when I was in America. No one has -succeeded in catching the subtile expression of placid kindness, mingled -with astuteness, which becomes visible to the eyes of those who are in -daily intercourse with him. His mode of talking, deliberate and somewhat -formal, including sometimes a grave humour and sometimes a gentle -sentiment, very touching from the lips of a sagacious man of ambition, -has but one fault, its obvious adaptation to the supposed state of mind -of the person to whom it is addressed. Mr. Clay is a man of an irritable -and impetuous nature, over which he has obtained a truly noble mastery. -His moderation is now his most striking characteristic; obtained, no -doubt, at the cost of prodigious self-denial on his own part, and on -that of his friends of some of the ease, naturalness, and -self-forgetfulness of his manners and discourse. But his conversation is -rich in information, and full charged with the spirit of justice and -kindliness, rising, on occasion, to a moving magnanimity. By chances, of -some of which he was totally unaware, I became acquainted with several -acts of his life, political and private, which prove that his moderation -is not the mere diffusion of oil upon the waves, but the true stilling -of the storm of passion and selfishness. The time may come when these -acts may be told; but it has not yet arrived. - -Mr. Clay is sometimes spoken of as a "disappointed statesman," and he -would probably not object to call himself so; for it makes no part of -his idea of dignity to pretend to be satisfied when he is sorry, or -delighted with what he would fain have prevented; but he suffers only -the genuine force of disappointment, without the personal mortification -and loss of dignity which are commonly supposed to be included in it. He -once held the balance of the Union in his hand, and now belongs to the -losing party; he more than once expected to be president, and has now no -chance of ever being so. Thus far he is a disappointed statesman; but, -at the same time, he is in possession of more than an equivalent for -what he has lost, not only in the disciplined moderation of his temper, -but in the imperishable reality of great deeds done. No possession of -office could now add to his dignity any more than the total neglect of -the present generation of the people could detract from it. The fact -that Mr. Clay's political opinions are not in accordance with those now -held by the great body of the people is no disgrace to him or them, -while the dignity of his former services, supported by his present -patience and quietness, places him far above compassion, and every -feeling but respect and admiration. This admiration is exalted to -enthusiasm in those who know how difficult it is to a man of Mr. Clay's -nature, who has lived in public all his life, to fall back into -obscurity; an obscurity not relieved, alas! by the solace of a cheerful -home. Few spectacles can be more noble than he is in that obscurity, -discoursing of public men and affairs with a justice which no rivalship -can impair, and a hopefulness which no personal disappointment can -relax. - -Mr. Clay is the son of a respectable clergyman in Virginia, and was born -in April, 1777. His father died when he was quite young; and he was, in -consequence, left to the common educational chances which befriend all -the young citizens of the United States. He studied law after leaving -the common school at which his education began, and settled early at -Lexington, in Kentucky, where his residence has ever since been fixed. -His first important act was labouring diligently in favour of a plan for -the gradual abolition of slavery in Kentucky, which was proposed in -1798. His exertions were, however, in vain. In 1803 he entered the -legislature of his state, and in 1806 was sent, with the dignity of -senator, to Washington, having not quite attained the requisite age. In -1809 he found occasion to advocate the principle of protection to -domestic manufactures, which he has since had the very questionable -honour of imbodying in his famous American System. In 1811 he became -Speaker of the House of Representatives, and for three years exercised -in that situation a powerful influence over the affairs of the country. -In 1814 he was appointed one of the commissioners who negotiated the -treaty of Ghent; and when that business was concluded, he repaired to -London with his colleagues, Messrs. Adams and Gallatin, and there -concluded the commercial convention which was made the basis of all the -subsequent commercial arrangements between the United States and Europe. -In 1825 Mr. Clay accepted the appointment of Secretary of State under -Mr. Adams, an act for which he is still extensively and vehemently -blamed, but with how much or how little reason I do not pretend, from -want of knowledge of the party politics of the time, to understand. -While in this office he did a great deal in procuring, with much labour -and difficulty, a recognition of the independence of the Spanish -colonies in South America; a recognition which had the all-important -effect of deterring the great European powers from their contemplated -intervention on behalf of Spain. Mr. Clay's speeches were read at the -head of the armies of the South American republics; and if his name were -forgotten everywhere else, it would stand in the history of their -independence. Mr. Clay has since been a powerful advocate of internal -improvements, and the framer of "the American System;" the founder of -the protective policy, which I believe he is more proud of than of any -act of his public life, while many others are justly amazed that a man -of his sagacity should not see the unsoundness of the principle on which -the whole system is based. Much more honour is due to him for the -Compromise Bill, by which he virtually surrendered his system, and -immediately put an end to the nullification struggle. Mr. Webster -victoriously exposed the badness of the nullification principle, and Mr. -Clay removed the present cause of its exercise. The one humbled South -Carolina to the dust on her nullification ground, the other left her in -triumphant possession of her principle of free trade, while disarming -her by a wise and well-principled compromise. - -The one act of Mr. Clay's public life for which he must be held to -require pardon from posterity, is that by which he secured the -continuance of slavery in Missouri, and, in consequence, its -establishment in Arkansas and Florida; the one an admitted state, the -other a territory destined to be so. Mr. Clay is not an advocate of -slavery, though, instead of being a friend to abolition, he is a dupe of -colonization. When he held the destinies of American slavery in his -hand, he had, unhappily, more regard for precedent in human arrangements -than for the spirit of the divine laws in the light of which such -arrangements should be ever regarded. He acted to avert the conflict -which cannot be averted. It was still to take place; it is now taking -place, under less favourable circumstances; and his measure of -expediency is already meeting with the retribution which ever follows -upon the subordination of a higher principle to a lower. For many of his -public acts Mr. Clay will be permanently honoured; with regard to -others, the honour will be mingled with allowance for error in -philosophy; for this one he will have to be forgiven. - -Mr. Clay married an excellent woman, who is still living, the surviver -of six daughters, taken away, some of them in the bloom of promise, and -one in the maturity of virtue. The great stateman's house is very -desolate. He must seek in his own strength of soul, and in the love and -honour with which his friends regard him, that good which has been -denied to him in the latter days of his political and domestic life. - -His recollections of Europe are very vivid and pleasurable. We spent -many an hour of my visit to him in Kentucky in talking over our mutual -English friends, till we forgot the time and space we had both traversed -since we parted from them, and looked up surprised to find ourselves, -not at a London dinner-table, but in the wild woods of the West. Mr. -Clay has not kept up his knowledge of British life and politics so -accurately as some of his brother-statesmen; but he is still full of the -sayings of Castlereagh and Canning, of Lords Eldon and Stowell, of -Mackintosh and Sydney Smith. - -The finest speech I heard from Mr. Clay in the Senate was on the sad -subject of the injuries of the Indians. He exposed the facts of the -treatment of the Cherokees by Georgia. He told how the lands in Georgia, -guaranteed by solemn treaties to the Cherokees, had been surveyed and -partitioned off to white citizens of the state; that, though there is a -nominal right of appeal awarded to the complainants, this is a mere -mockery, as an acknowledgment of the right of Georgia to divide the -lands is made a necessary preliminary to the exercise of the right; in -other words, the Indians must lay down their claims on the threshold of -the courts which they enter for the purpose of enforcing these claims! -The object of Mr. Clay's plea was to have the Supreme Court open to the -Cherokees, their case being, he contended, contemplated by the -Constitution. A minor proposition was that Congress should assist, with -territory and appliances, a body of Cherokees who desired to emigrate -beyond the Mississippi. - -It was known that Mr. Clay would probably bring forward his great topic -that day. Some of the foreign ambassadors might be seen leaning against -the pillars behind the chair, and many members of the other house -appeared behind and in the passages; and one sat on the steps of the -platform, his hands clasped, and his eyes fixed on Mr. Clay, as if life -hung upon his words. As many as could crowd into the gallery leaned over -the balustrade; and the lower circle was thronged with ladies and -gentlemen, in the centre of whom stood a group of Cherokee chiefs, -listening immoveably. I never saw so deep a moral impression produced by -a speech. The best testimony to this was the disgust excited by the -empty and abusive reply of the senator from Georgia, who, by-the-way, -might be judged from his accent to have been about three months from the -Green Island. This gentleman's speech, however, showed us one good -thing, that Mr. Clay is as excellent in reply as in proposition; prompt, -earnest, temperate, and graceful. The chief characteristic of his -eloquence is its earnestness. Every tone of his voice, every fibre of -his frame bears testimony to this. His attitudes are, from the beginning -to the close, very graceful. His first sentences are homely, and given -with a little hesitation and repetition, and with an agitation shown by -a frequent putting on and taking off of the spectacles, and a trembling -of the hands among the documents on the desk. Then, as the speaker -becomes possessed with his subject, the agitation changes its character, -but does not subside. His utterance is still deliberate, but his voice -becomes deliciously winning. Its higher tones disappointed me at first; -but the lower ones, trembling with emotion, swelling and falling with -the earnestness of the speaker, are very moving, and his whole manner -becomes irresistibly persuasive. I saw tears, of which I am sure he was -wholly unconscious, falling on his papers as he vividly described the -woes and injuries of the aborigines. I saw Webster draw his hand across -his eyes; I saw every one deeply moved except two persons, the -vice-president, who yawned somewhat ostentatiously, and the Georgian -senator, who was busy brewing his storm. I was amazed at the daring of -this gentleman; at the audacity which could break up such a moral -impression as this Cherokee tale, so told, had produced, by accusing Mr. -Clay of securing an interest in opposition to Georgia "by stage starts -and theatric gesticulations." The audience were visibly displeased at -having their feelings thus treated, in the presence even of the Cherokee -chiefs; but Mr. Clay's replies both to argument and abuse were so happy, -and the Georgian's rejoinder was so outrageous, that the business ended -with a general burst of laughter. The propositions were to lie over till -the next day; and, as I soon after left Washington, I never learned -their ultimate fate. - -The American Senate is a most imposing assemblage. When I first entered -it I thought I never saw a finer set of heads than the forty-six before -my eyes: two only being absent, and the Union then consisting of -twenty-four states. Mr. Calhoun's countenance first fixed my attention; -the splendid eye, the straight forehead, surmounted by a load of stiff, -upright, dark hair; the stern brow; the inflexible mouth; it is one of -the most remarkable heads in the country. Next him sat his colleague, -Mr. Preston, in singular contrast; stout in person, with a round, ruddy, -good-humoured face, large blue eyes, and a wig, orange to-day, brown -yesterday, and golden to-morrow. Near them sat Colonel Benton, a -temporary people's man, remarkable chiefly for his pomposity. He sat -swelling amid his piles of papers and books, looking like a being -designed by nature to be a good-humoured barber or innkeeper, but forced -by fate to make himself into a mock-heroic senator. Opposite sat the -transcendant Webster, with his square forehead and cavernous eyes; and -behind him the homely Clay, with the face and figure of a farmer, but -something of the air of a divine, from his hair being combed straight -back from his temples. Near them sat Southard and Porter; the former -astute and rapid in countenance and gesture; the latter strangely -mingling a boyish fun and lightness of manner and glance with the -sobriety suitable to the judge and the senator. His keen eye takes in -everything that passes; his extraordinary mouth, with its overhanging -upper lip, has but to unfold into a smile to win laughter from the -sourest official or demagogue. Then there was the bright _bonhommie_ of -Ewing of Ohio, the most primitive-looking of senators; and the benign, -religious gravity of Frelinghuysen; the gentlemanly air of Buchanan; the -shrewdness of Poindexter; the somewhat melancholy simplicity of Silsbee; -all these and many others were striking, and for nothing more that for -their total unlikeness to each other. No English person who has not -travelled over half the world can form an idea of such differences among -men forming one assembly for the same purposes, and speaking the same -language. Some were descended from Dutch farmers, some from French -Huguenots, some from Scotch Puritans, some from English cavaliers, some -from Irish chieftains. They were brought together out of law-courts, -sugar-fields, merchants' stores, mountain farms, forests, and prairies. -The stamp of originality was impressed upon every one, and inspired a -deep, involuntary respect. I have seen no assembly of chosen men, and no -company of the highborn, invested with the antique dignities of an -antique realm, half so imposing to the imagination as this collection -of stout-souled, full-grown, original men, brought together on the -ground of their supposed sufficiency, to work out the will of their -diverse constituencies. - -In this splendid chamber, thus splendidly inhabited, we spent many hours -of many weeks. Here I was able to gain no little knowledge of the state, -political and other, of various parts of the country, from my large -acquaintance among the members of the Senate. When dull official reports -were read, and uninteresting local matters were discussed, or when the -one interminable speaker, Benton, was on his legs, one member or another -of the body would come and talk with us. I have heard certain of the -members, stalking from their seats towards those of the ladies, compared -to cranes in search of fish. The comparison is not a bad one. - -I wished every day that the ladies would conduct themselves in a more -dignified manner than they did in the Senate. They came in with waving -plumes, and glittering in all the colours of the rainbow, causing no -little bustle in the place, no little annoyance to the gentlemen -spectators, and rarely sat still for any length of time. I know that -these ladies are no fair specimen of the women who would attend -parliamentary proceedings in any other metropolis. I know that they were -the wives, daughters, and sisters of legislators, women thronging to -Washington for purposes of convenience or pleasure, leaving their usual -employments behind them, and seeking to pass away the time. I knew this, -and made allowance accordingly; but I still wished that they could -understand the gravity of such an assembly, and show so much respect to -it as to repay the privilege of admission by striving to excite as -little attention as possible, and by having the patience to sit still -when they happened not to be amused, till some interruption gave them -opportunity to depart quietly. If they had done this, Judge Porter would -not have moved that they should be appointed seats in the gallery -instead of below; and they would have been guiltless of furnishing a -plea for the exclusion of women, who would probably make a better use of -the privilege, from the galleries of other houses of parliament. - -I was glad of an opportunity of hearing both the South Carolina senators -soon after my arrival in Washington. They are listened to with close -attention, and every indication of their state of feeling is watched -with the interest which has survived the nullification struggle. Mr. -Calhoun on this occasion let us a little into his mind; Mr. Preston kept -more closely to the question before the body. The question was whether a -vote of censure of the president, recorded in the minutes of the -proceedings of the Senate the preceding session, should be expunged. The -motion for the expunging was made by Colonel Benton, and rejected, as it -had been before, and has been since; though it was finally carried, to -the agony of the opposition, at the end of last session (February, -1837). - -Mr. Preston was out of health, and unable to throw his accustomed force -into his speaking; but his effort showed us how beautiful his eloquence -is in its way. It is not solid. His speeches, if taken to pieces, will -be found to consist of analogies and declamation; but his figures are -sometimes very striking, and his manner is as graceful as anything so -artificial can be. I never before understood the eloquence of action. -The action of public speakers in England, as far as I have observed (and -perhaps I may be allowed to hint that deaf persons are peculiarly -qualified to judge of the nature of such action), is of two kinds; the -involuntary gesture which is resorted to for the relief of the nerves, -which may or may not be expressive of meaning, and the action which is -wholly the result of study; arbitrary, and not the birth of the -sentiment; and, therefore, though pleasing, perhaps, to the eye, -perplexing to the mind of the listener. Mr. Preston's manner unites the -advantages of these two methods, and avoids most of their evils. It is -easy to see that he could not speak without an abundant use of action, -and that he has therefore done wisely in making it a study. To an -unaccustomed eye it appears somewhat exuberant; but it is exquisitely -graceful, and far more than commonly appropriate. His voice is not good, -but his person is tall, stout, and commanding, and his countenance -animated. - -Mr. Calhoun followed, and impressed me very strongly. While he kept to -the question, what he said was close, good, and moderate, though -delivered in rapid speech, and with a voice not sufficiently modulated. -But when he began to reply to a taunt of Colonel Benton's, that he -wanted to be president, the force of his speaking became painful. He -made protestations which it seemed to strangers had better have been -spared, that he would not turn on his heel to be president; and that he -had given up all for his own brave, magnanimous little State of South -Carolina. While thus protesting, his eyes flashed, his brow seemed -charged with thunder, his voice became almost a bark, and his sentences -were abrupt, intense, producing in the auditory that sort of laugh which -is squeezed out of people by the application of a very sudden mental -force. I believe he knew little what a revelation he made in a few -sentences. They were to us strangers the key, not only to all that was -said and done by the South Carolina party during the remainder of the -session, but to many things at Charleston and Columbia which would -otherwise have passed unobserved or unexplained. - -I was less struck than some strangers appear to have been with the -length and prosy character of the speeches in Congress. I do not -remember hearing any senator (always excepting Colonel Benton) speak for -more than an hour. I was seldom present in the other house, where -probably the most diffuse oratory is heard; but I was daily informed of -the proceedings there by the representative who was of our party, and I -did not find that there was much annoyance or delay from this cause. -Perhaps the practice may be connected with the amount of business to be -done. It is well known that the business of Congress is so moderate in -quantity, from the functions of the general government being few and -simple, that it would be considered a mere trifle by any parliament in -the Old World; and long speeches, which would be a great annoyance -elsewhere, may be an innocent pastime in an assembly which may have -leisure upon its hands. - -The gallery of the splendid Hall of Representatives is not well -contrived for hearing, and I rarely went into it for more than a passing -view of what was going on; a view which might be taken without -disturbance to anybody, as the gallery was generally empty, and too high -raised above the area of the hall to fix the eye of the members. My -chief interest was watching Mr. Adams, of whose speaking, however, I can -give no account. The circumstance of this gentleman being now a member -of the representative body after having been president, fixes the -attention of all Europeans upon him with as much admiration as interest. -He is one of the most remarkable men in America. He is an imbodiment of -the pure, simple morals which are assumed to prevail in the thriving -young republic. His term of office was marked by nothing so much as by -the subordination of glory to goodness, of showy objects to moral ones. -The eccentricity of thought and action in Mr. Adams, of which his -admirers bitterly or sorrowfully complain, and which renders him an -impracticable member of a party, arises from the same honest simplicity -which crowns his virtues, mingled with a faulty taste and an imperfect -temper. His hastiness of assertion has sometimes placed him in -predicaments so undignified as almost to be a set-off against the -honours he wins by pertinacious and bold adherence to a principle which -he considers sound. His occasional starts out of the ranks of his party, -without notice and without apparent cause, have been in vain attempted -to be explained on suppositions of interest or vanity; they may be more -easily accounted for in other ways. Between one day and another, some -new idea of justice and impartiality may strike his brain, and send him -to the house warm with invective against his party and sympathy with -their foes. He rises, and speaks out all his new mind, to the perplexity -of the whole assembly, every man of whom bends to hear every syllable he -says; perplexity which gives way to dismay on the one hand and triumph -on the other. The triumphant party begins to coax and honour him; but, -before the process is well begun, he is off again, finding that he had -gone too far; and the probability is, that he finishes by placing -himself between two fires. I now describe what I actually saw of his -conduct in one instance; conduct which left no more doubt of his -integrity than of his eccentricity. He was well described to me before I -saw him. "Study Mr. Adams," was the exhortation. "You will find him well -worth it. He runs in veins; if you light upon one, you will find him -marvellously rich; if not, you may chance to meet rubbish. In action he -is very peculiar. He will do ninety-nine things nobly, excellently; but -the hundredth will be so bad in taste and temper, that it will drive all -the rest out of your head, if you don't take care." His countrymen will -"take care." Whatever the heats of party may be, however the tone of -disappointment against Mr. Adams may sometimes rise to something too -like hatred, there is undoubtedly a deep reverence and affection for the -man in the nation's heart; and any one may safely prophesy that his -reputation, half a century after his death, will be of a very honourable -kind. He fought a stout and noble battle in Congress last session in -favour of discussion of the slavery question, and in defence of the -right of petition upon it; on behalf of women as well as of men. While -hunted, held at bay, almost torn to pieces by an outrageous -majority--leaving him, I believe, in absolute unity--he preserved a -boldness and coolness as amusing as they were admirable. Though he now -and then vents his spleen with violence when disappointed in a favourite -object, he seems able to bear perfectly well that which it is the great -fault of Americans to shrink from, singularity and blame. He seems, at -times, reckless of opinion; and this is the point of his character which -his countrymen seem, naturally, least to comprehend. - -Such is the result of the observations I was able to make on this -gentleman when at Washington. I was prevented seeing so much of him as I -earnestly desired by his family circumstances. He had just lost a son, -and did not appear in society. It is well known in America that Mr. -Adams will leave behind him papers of inestimable value. For forty years -(I was told) he has kept a diary, full and exact. In this diary he every -morning sets down not only the events of the preceding day, but the -conversations he has had with foreigners, and on all subjects of -interest. This immense accumulation of papers will afford such materials -for history as the country has never yet been blessed with. Perhaps no -country has ever possessed a public man, of great powers, and involved -in all the remarkable events of its most remarkable period, who has had -industry enough to leave behind him a similar record of his times. This -will probably turn out to be (whether he thinks so or not) the greatest -and most useful of his deeds, and his most honourable monument. - -Those whose taste is the contemplation of great and original men may -always have it gratified by going to Washington. Whatever may be thought -of the form and administration of government there; however certain it -may be that the greatest men are not, in this age of the world, to be -found in political life, it cannot be but that, among the real -representatives of a composite and self-governing nation, there must be -many men of power; power of intellect, of goodness, or, at least, of -will. - - - - -MOUNT VERNON. - - - "He might have been a king - But that he understood - How much it was a meaner thing - To be unjustly great than honourably good." - - _Duke of Buckingham on Lord Fairfax._ - - -On the 2d of February I visited Mount Vernon, in company with a large -party of gentlemen and ladies. Of all places in America, the family seat -and burial-place of Washington is that which strangers are most eager to -visit. I was introduced by Judge Story to the resident family, and was -received by them, with all my companions, with great civility and -kindness. - -The estate of Mount Vernon was inherited by General Washington from his -brother. For fifteen years prior to the assembling of the first general -Congress in Philadelphia, Washington spent his time chiefly on this -property, repairing to the provincial legislature when duty called him -there, but gladly returning to the improvement of his lands. The house -was, in those days, a very modest building, consisting of only four -rooms on a floor, which form the centre of the present mansion. Mrs. -Washington resided there during the ten years' absence of her husband in -the wars of the Revolution; repairing to headquarters at the close of -each campaign, and remaining there till the opening of the next. The -departure of an aiddecamp from the camp to escort the general's lady was -watched for with much anxiety as the echoes of the last shot of the -campaign died away; for the arrival of "Lady Washington" (as the -soldiers called her) was the signal for the wives of all the general -officers to repair to their husbands in camp. A sudden cheerfulness -diffused itself through the army when the plain chariot, with the -postillions in their scarlet and white liveries, was seen to stop before -the general's door. Mrs. Washington was wont to say, in her latter -years, that she had heard the first cannon at the opening and the last -at the close of every campaign of the revolutionary war. She was a -strong-minded, even-tempered woman; and the cheerfulness of her -demeanour, under the heavy and various anxieties of such a lot as hers, -was no mean support to her husband's spirits, and to the bravery and -hopefulness of the whole army, whose eyes were fixed upon her. She -retired from amid the homage of the camp with serene composure when the -fatigues and perils of warfare had to be resumed, and hid her fears and -cares in her retired home. There she occupied herself industriously in -the superintendence of her slaves, and in striving to stop the ravages -which her husband's public service was making in his private fortunes. - -After the peace of 1783 she was joined by her husband, who made a -serious pursuit of laying out gardens and grounds round his dwelling, -and building large additions to it. He then enjoyed only four years of -quiet, being called in 1787 to preside in the convention which framed -the Constitution, and in 1789 to fill the presidential chair. Mrs. -Washington was now obliged to leave the estate with him, and it was -eight years before they could take possession of it again. In 1797 -Washington refused to be made president for a third term, and retired -into as private a life as it was possible for him to secure. Trains of -visiters sought him in his retreat, and Mrs. Washington's -accomplishments as a Virginia housewife were found useful every day; but -Washington was at home, and he was happy. In a little while he was once -more applied to to serve the state at the head of her armies. He did not -refuse, but requested to be left in peace till there should be actual -want of his presence. Before that time arrived he was no more. Two years -after his retirement, while the sense of enjoyment of repose was still -fresh, and his mind was full of such schemes as delight the imaginations -of country gentlemen, death overtook him, and found him, though the call -was somewhat sudden, ready and willing to go. In a little more than two -years he was followed by his wife. From the appearance of the estate, it -would seem to have been going to decay ever since. - -Our party, in three carriages, and five or six on horseback, left -Washington about nine o'clock, and reached Alexandria in about an hour -and a half, though our passage over the long bridge which crosses the -Potomac was very slow, from its being in a sad state of dilapidation. -Having ordered a late dinner at Alexandria, we proceeded on our way, -occasionally looking behind us at the great dome of the Capitol, still -visible above the low hills which border the gray, still Potomac, now -stretching cold amid the wintry landscape. It was one of the coldest -days I ever felt, the bitter wind seeming to eat into one's very life. -The last five miles of the eight which lie between Alexandria and Mount -Vernon wound through the shelter of the woods, so that we recovered a -little from the extreme cold before we reached the house. The land -appears to be quite impoverished; the fences and gates are in bad order; -much of the road was swampy, and the poor young lambs, shivering in the -biting wind, seemed to look round in vain for shelter and care. The -conservatories were almost in ruins, scarcely a single pane of glass -being unbroken; and the house looked as if it had not been painted on -the outside for years. Little negroes peeped at us from behind the -pillars of the piazza as we drove up. We alighted in silence, most of us -being probably occupied with the thought of who had been there before -us; what crowds of the noble, the wise, the good, had come hither to -hear the yet living voice of the most unimpeachable of patriots. As I -looked up I almost expected to see him standing in the doorway. My eyes -had rested on the image of his remarkable countenance in almost every -house I had entered; and here, in his own dwelling, one could not but -look for the living face with something more than the eye of the -imagination. I cared far less for any of the things that were shown me -within the house than to stay in the piazza next the garden, and fancy -how he here walked in meditation, or stood looking abroad over the -beautiful river, and pleasing his eye with a far different spectacle -from that of camps and conventions. - -Many prints of British landscapes, residences, and events are hung up in -the apartments. The ponderous key of the Bastile still figures in the -hall, in extraordinary contrast with everything else in this republican -residence. The Bible in the library is the only book of Washington's now -left. The best likeness of the great man, known to all travellers from -the oddness of the material on which it is preserved, is to be seen -here, sanctioned thus by the testimony of the family. The best likeness -of Washington happens to be on a common pitcher. As soon as this was -discovered, the whole edition of pitchers was bought up. Once or twice I -saw the entire vessel locked up in a cabinet, or in some such way -secured from accident; but most of its possessors have, like the family, -cut out the portrait and had it framed. - -The walk, planned and partly finished during Washington's life, the -winding path on the verge of the green slope above the river, must be -very sweet in summer. The beauty of the situation of the place surprised -me. The river was nobler, the terrace finer, and the swelling hills -around more varied than I had imagined; but there is a painful air of -desolation over the whole. I wonder how it struck the British officers -in 1814, when, in passing up the river on their bandit expedition to -burn libraries and bridges, and raze senate chambers, they assembled on -deck, and uncovered their heads as they passed the silent dwelling of -the great man who was not there to testify his disgust at the service -they were upon. If they knew what it was that they were under orders to -do, it would have been creditable to them as men to have mutinied in -front of Mount Vernon. - -The old tomb from which the body of Washington has been removed ought to -be obliterated or restored. It is too painful to see it as it is now, -the brickwork mouldering, and the paling broken and scattered. The red -cedars still overshadow it, and it is a noble resting-place. Every one -would mourn to see the low house destroyed, and the great man's chamber -of dreamless sleep made no longer sacred from the common tread; but -anything is better than the air of neglect which now wounds the spirit -of the pilgrim. The body lies, with that of Judge Washington, in a vault -near, in a more secluded but far less beautiful situation than that on -the verge of the Potomac. The river is not seen from the new vault, and -the erection is very sordid. It is of red brick, with an iron door, and -looks more like an oven than anything else, except for the stone slab, -bearing a funeral text, which is inserted over the door. The bank which -rises on one side is planted with cedars, pines, and a sprinkling of -beech and birch, so that the vault is overshadowed in summer, as the -places of the dead should be. The president told me that the desolation -about the tomb was a cause of uneasiness to himself and many others; and -that he had urged the family, as the body had been already removed from -its original bed, to permit it to be interred in the centre of the -Capitol. They very naturally clung to the precious possession; and there -is certainly something much more accordant with the spirit of the man -in a grave under the tiles of his own home than in a magnificent shrine; -but, however modest the tomb may be--were it only such a green hillock -as every rustic lies under--it should bear tokens of reverent care. -The grass and shade which he so much loved are the only ornaments -needed; the absence of all that can offend the eye and hurt the spirit -of reverence is all that the patriot and the pilgrim require. - -Before we reached the crazy bridge, which it had been difficult enough -to pass in the morning, the sweet Potomac lay in clear moonshine, and -the lights round the Capitol twinkled from afar. On arriving at our -fireside, we found how delightful a total change of mood sometimes is. -Tea, letters, and English newspapers awaited us; and they were a -surprising solace, chilled or feverish as we were with the intense cold -and strong mental excitement of the day. - - - - -MADISON. - - - "For neither by reason nor by her experience is it impossible that a - commonwealth should be immortal; seeing the people, being the - materials, never die; and the form, which is motion, must, without - opposition, be endless. The bowl which is thrown from your hand, if - there be no rub, no impediment, shall never cease; for which cause - the glorious luminaries, that are the bowls of God, were once thrown - for ever."--HARRINGTON'S _Oceana_. - - -While I was at Washington I received a kind invitation from Mr. and Mrs. -Madison to visit them at their seat, Montpelier, Virginia. I was happy -to avail myself of it, and paid the visit on my way down to Richmond. At -six o'clock in the morning of the 18th of February my party arrived at -Orange Courthouse, five miles from Montpelier; and while two proceeded -to Charlottesville, where we were to join them in three or four days, a -friend and I stopped, first to rest for a few hours, and then to proceed -to Mr. Madison's. After some sleep, and breakfast at noon, we took a -carriage for the five miles of extremely bad road we had to travel. The -people of the inn overcharged us for this carriage, and did not mention -that Mr. Madison had desired that a messenger should be sent over for -his carriage as soon as we should arrive. This was the only occasion but -one, in our journey of ten thousand miles in the United States, that we -were overcharged; while, I suspect, the undercharges, where any literary -reputation is in the case, are more numerous than can be reckoned. - -It was a sweet day of early spring. The patches of snow that were left -under the fences and on the rising grounds were melting fast. The road -was one continued slough up to the very portico of the house. The -dwelling stands on a gentle eminence, and is neat and even handsome in -its exterior, with a flight of steps leading up to the portico. A lawn -and wood, which must be pleasant in summer, stretch behind; and from the -front there is a noble object on the horizon, the mountain-chain which -traverses the state, and makes it eminent for its scenery. The shifting -lights upon these blue mountains were a delightful refreshment to the -eye after so many weeks of city life as we had passed. - -We were warmly welcomed by Mrs. Madison and a niece, a young lady who -was on a visit to her; and when I left my room I was conducted to the -apartment of Mr. Madison. He had, the preceding season, suffered so -severely from rheumatism, that, during this winter, he confined himself -to one room, rising after breakfast, before nine o'clock, and sitting in -his easy-chair till ten at night. He appeared perfectly well during my -visit, and was a wonderful man of eighty-three. He complained of one ear -being deaf, and that his sight, which had never been perfect, prevented -his reading much, so that his studies "lay in a nutshell;" but he could -hear Mrs. Madison read, and I did not perceive that he lost any part of -the conversation. He was in his chair, with a pillow behind him, when I -first saw him; his little person wrapped in a black silk gown; a warm -gray and white cap upon his head, which his lady took care should always -sit becomingly; and gray worsted gloves, his hands having been -rheumatic. His voice was clear and strong, and his manner of speaking -particularly lively, often playful. Except that the face was smaller, -and, of course, older, the likeness to the common engraving of him was -perfect. He seemed not to have lost any teeth, and the form of the face -was therefore preserved, without any striking marks of age. It was an -uncommonly pleasant countenance. - -His relish for conversation could never have been keener. I was in -perpetual fear of his being exhausted; and at the end of every few hours -I left my seat by the arm of his chair, and went to the sofa by Mrs. -Madison on the other side of the room; but he was sure to follow and sit -down between us; so that, when I found the only effect of my moving was -to deprive him of the comfort of his chair, I returned to my station, -and never left it but for food and sleep, glad enough to make the most -of my means of intercourse with one whose political philosophy I deeply -venerated. There is no need to add another to the many eulogies of -Madison; I will only mention that the finest of his characteristics -appeared to me to be his inexhaustible faith; faith that a well-founded -commonwealth may, as our motto declares, be immortal; not only because -the people, its constituency, never die, but because the principles of -justice in which such a commonwealth originates never die out of the -people's heart and mind. This faith shone brightly through the whole of -Mr. Madison's conversation except on one subject. With regard to slavery -he owned himself almost to be in despair. He had been quite so till the -institution of the Colonization Society. How such a mind as his could -derive any alleviation to its anxiety from that source is surprising. I -think it must have been from his overflowing faith; for the facts were -before him that in eighteen years the Colonization Society had removed -only between two and three thousand persons, while the annual increase -of the slave population in the United States was upward of sixty -thousand. - -He talked more on the subject of slavery than on any other, -acknowledging, without limitation or hesitation, all the evils with -which it has ever been charged. He told me that the black population in -Virginia increases far faster than the white; and that the -licentiousness only stops short of the destruction of the race; every -slave girl being expected to be a mother by the time she is fifteen. He -assumed from this, I could not make out why, that the negroes must go -somewhere, and pointed out how the free states discourage the settlement -of blacks; how Canada disagrees with them; how Hayti shuts them out; so -that Africa is their only refuge. He did not assign any reason why they -should not remain where they are when freed. He found, by the last -returns from his estates, that one third of his own slaves were under -five years of age. He had parted with some of his best land to feed the -increasing numbers, and had yet been obliged to sell a dozen of his -slaves the preceding week. He observed that the whole Bible is against -negro slavery; but that the clergy do not preach this, and the people do -not see it. He became animated in describing what I have elsewhere -related[12] of the eagerness of the clergy of the four denominations to -catch converts among the slaves, and the effect of religious teaching of -this kind upon those who, having no rights, can have no duties. He -thought the condition of slaves much improved in his time, and, of -course, their intellects. This remark was, I think, intended to apply to -Virginia alone, for it is certainly not applicable to the southwestern -states. He accounted for his selling his slaves by mentioning their -horror of going to Liberia, a horror which he admitted to be prevalent -among the blacks, and which appears to me decisive as to the -unnaturalness of the scheme. The willing mind is the first requisite to -the emigrant's success. Mr. Madison complained of the difficulty and -risk of throwing an additional population into the colony, at the rate -of two or three cargoes a year; complained of it because he believed it -was the fault of the residents, who were bent upon trading with the -interior for luxuries, instead of raising food for the new comers. This -again seems fatal to the scheme, since the compulsory direction of -industry, if it could be enforced, would be almost as bad as slavery at -home; and there are no means of preventing the emigrants being wholly -idle, if they are not allowed to work in their own way for their own -objects. Mr. Madison admitted the great and various difficulties -attending the scheme, and recurred to the expression that he was only -"less in despair than formerly about slavery." He spoke with deep -feeling of the sufferings of ladies under the system, declaring that he -pitied them even more than their negroes, and that the saddest slavery -of all was that of conscientious Southern women. They cannot trust their -slaves in the smallest particulars, and have to superintend the -execution of all their own orders; and they know that their estates are -surrounded by vicious free blacks, who induce thievery among the -negroes, and keep the minds of the owners in a state of perpetual -suspicion, fear, and anger. - -Footnote 12: "Society in America," vol. ii., p. 160. - -Mr. Madison spoke strongly of the helplessness of all countries cursed -with a servile population in a conflict with a people wholly free; -ridiculed the idea of the Southern States being able to maintain a -rising against the North; and wondered that all thinkers were not agreed -in a thing so plain. He believed that Congress has power to prohibit the -internal slavetrade. He mentioned the astonishment of some strangers, -who had an idea that slaves were always whipped all day long, at seeing -his negroes go to church one Sunday. They were gayly dressed, the women -in bright-coloured calicoes; and, when a sprinkling of rain came, up -went a dozen umbrellas. The astonished strangers veered round to the -conclusion that slaves were very happy; but were told of the degradation -of their minds; of their carelessness of each other in their nearest -relations, and their cruelty to brutes. - -Mrs. Madison's son by a former marriage joined us before dinner. We -dined in the next room to Mr. Madison, and found him eager for -conversation again as soon as we had risen from table. Mrs. M. is -celebrated throughout the country for the grace and dignity with which -she discharged the arduous duties which devolve upon the president's -lady. For a term of eight years she administered the hospitalities of -the White House with such discretion, impartiality, and kindliness, that -it is believed she gratified every one and offended nobody. She is a -strong-minded woman, fully capable of entering into her husband's -occupations and cares; and there is little doubt that he owed much to -her intellectual companionship, as well as to her ability in sustaining -the outward dignity of his office. When I was her guest she was in -excellent health and lively spirits; and I trust that though she has -since lost the great object of her life, she may yet find interests -enough to occupy and cheer many years of an honoured old age. - -Mr. Madison expressed his regret at the death of Mr. Malthus, whose -works he had studied with close attention. He mentioned that Franklin -and two others had anticipated Malthus in comparing the rates of -increase of population and food; but that Malthus had been the first to -draw out the doctrine, with an attempt at too much precision, however, -in determining the ratio of the increase of food. He laughed at Godwin's -methods of accounting for the enormous increase of population in America -by referring it to emigration, and having recourse to any supposition -rather than the obvious one of an abundance of food. He declared himself -very curious on the subject of the size of the Roman farms, and that he -had asked many friends where the mistake lies in the accounts which have -come down to us. Some Roman farms are represented as consisting of an -acre and a quarter, the produce of which would be eaten up by a pair of -oxen. The estate of Cincinnatus being three times this size, he could -scarcely plough after having lost half of it by being surety. Either -there must be some great mistake about our notion of the measurement of -Roman farms, or there must have been commons for grazing and woods for -fuel, the importation of grain from Sicily and other places not having -taken place till long after. He asked by what influence our corn-laws, -so injurious to all, and so obviously so to the many, were kept up, and -whether it was possible that they should continue long. He declared -himself in favour of free trade, though believing that the freedom -cannot be complete in any one country till universal peace shall afford -opportunity for universal agreement. - -He expressed himself strongly in favour of arrangements for the security -of literary property all over the world, and wished that English authors -should be protected from piracy in the United States without delay. He -believed that the utterance of the national mind in America would be -through small literature rather than large, enduring works. After the -schools and pulpits of the Union are all supplied, there will remain an -immense number of educated sons of men of small property who will have -things to say; and all who can write, will. He thought it of the utmost -importance to the country, and to human beings everywhere, that the -brain and the hands should be trained together; and that no distinction -in this respect should be made between men and women. He remembered an -interesting conversation on this subject with Mr. Owen, from whom he -learned with satisfaction that well-educated women in his settlement -turned with ease and pleasure from playing the harp to milking the cows. - -The active old man, who declared himself crippled with rheumatism, had -breakfasted, risen, and was dressed before we sat down to breakfast. He -talked a good deal about the American presidents and some living -politicians for two hours, when his letters and newspapers were brought -in. He gayly threw them aside, saying he could read the newspapers every -day, and must make the most of his time with us, if we would go away as -soon as we talked of. He asked me, smiling, if I thought it too vast -and anti-republican a privilege for the ex-presidents to have their -letters and newspapers free, considering that this was the only earthly -benefit they carried away from their office. - -I will not repeat his luminous history of the nullification struggle; -nor yet his exposition, simple and full, of the intricate questions -involved in the anomalous institution of the American Senate, about its -power of sanctioning appointments to office, and whether its weight -should be increased by making its sanction necessary to removal from -office; to which increase of power he was decidedly opposed. This part -of his conversation, though very instructive to me at the time, would be -uninteresting to the English reader in this connexion. - -He declared himself perfectly satisfied that there is in the United -States a far more ample and equal provision for pastors, and of -religious instruction for the people, than could have been secured by a -religious establishment of any kind; and that one of the greatest -services which his country will be hereafter perceived to have rendered -to the world, will be the having proved that religion is the more cared -for the more unreservedly it is committed to the affections of the -people. He quoted the remark of Voltaire, that if there were only one -religion in a country, it would be a pure despotism; if two, they would -be deadly enemies; but half a hundred subsist in fine harmony. He -observed that this was the case in America, and that so true and -pregnant a remark as this ought to be accepted as an atonement for many -that would die of untruth. He went on to notice the remarkable fact that -creeds which oppose each other, and which, in concatenation, would seem -to be most demoralizing, do, by virtue of some one common principle, -agree in causing the moral elevation of those who hold them. He -instanced Philosophical Necessity, as held by Hume, Kaimes, Edwards, and -Priestley. He told me how he had once been prejudiced against Priestley, -and how surprised he was, when he first met the philosopher at -Philadelphia, to find him absolutely mild and candid. - -The whole of this day was spent like the last, except that we went over -the house looking at the busts and prints, which gave an English air to -the dwelling, otherwise wholly Virginian. During all our conversations, -one or another slave was perpetually coming to Mrs. Madison for the -great bunch of keys; two or three more lounged about in the room, -leaning against the doorposts or the corner of the sofa; and the -attendance of others was no less indefatigable in my own apartment. - -The next morning we found our host in fine spirits. He described, with -much vivacity, the variety of visits from strangers that he was subject -to, saying that some were taxes and others bounties. He laughed about -the ludicrous effect sometimes produced by an utter failure of sympathy -in matters of grave pursuit; and told us of a ride he took with a young -English geologist who was on a visit to him, and who spurred up to him -in a fit of transport, holding a stone almost into his eyes, and -exclaiming, "Graywacke, sir! graywacke, graywacke!" the host all the -time being quite unable to understand or sympathize with this vehement -rapture. - -I glanced at the newspapers when they came in, and found them full of -the subject of the quarrel with France, the great topic of the day. Mr. -Madison gave me an account of the relations of the two countries, and of -the grounds of his apprehensions that this quarrel might, in spite of -its absurdity, issue in a war. This is all over now, but some of his -observations remain. He said it would be an afflicting sight if the two -representative governments which are in the van of the world should go -to war; it would squint towards a confirmation of what is said of the -restlessness of popular governments. If the people, who pay for war, are -eager for it, it is quite a different thing from potentates being so who -are at no cost. He mentioned that George the Fourth, as prince regent, -was a large gainer in the last war, from his share of the Droits of the -Admiralty, amounting to 1,000,000_l._ per annum; a pretty premium, Mr. -Madison observed, to pay a king for going to war. He told me about the -formation of the philosophical and humane agreement between Franklin and -Frederic of Prussia, that merchant ships, unarmed, should go about their -business as freely in the war as in peace. The Salem merchants, who were -formerly in favour of war, and who suffered from captures in the course -of it, were, on the present occasion, petitioning against war and for -reprisals. - -Franklin was near seventy when Mr. Madison first knew him. He went to -the Hall of Congress in a sedan, and sat all the time, writing what he -had to say, and getting it read, because he could not stand. He was -soon afterward bedridden, when Madison was his frequent visiter. He had -much self-command; and, when seized by severe pain, soon roused himself -to converse almost as if it did not exist. One of the most striking -points about him was his dislike of argument. He would listen to his -adversary, and then overthrow him with an anecdote. - -After avowing a very unfashionable admiration of Darwin's poetry, and -declaring that the splendour of the diction put his imagination into a -very gay state, Mr. Madison went into a speculation about what would -eventually become of all existing languages and their literature; -declaring that he had little hope of the stability of languages when -terms of even classical derivation are perpetually changing their -meanings with time. Then, by some channel, now forgotten, we got round -to the less agreeable subject of national debts and taxation, when, as -might be expected, Mr. Madison expressed his horror of the machinery -necessary under a system of indirect levy, and his attachment to a plan -of moderate expenditure, provided for by direct taxation. He remarked -upon Pitt's success in obtaining revenue when every other man would -rather have surrendered his plans than used the means he employed. He -observed that king, lords, and commons might constitute a government -which would work a long while in a kingdom no bigger than Great Britain, -but that it would soon become an absolute government in a country as -large as Russia, from the magnitude of its executive power; and that it -was a common but serious mistake to suppose that a country must be small -to be a republic, since a republican form, with a federal head, can be -extended almost without limits, without losing its proportions, becoming -all the while less, instead of more, subject to change. In a small -republic there is much noise from the fury of parties; while in a -spreading but simply working republic, like that of the Union, the -silent influence of the federal head keeps down more quarrels than ever -appear. - -We were compelled to leave Montpelier while our intercourse was thus in -full flow. Mr. Madison would not say farewell seriously, he was so -confident that we should visit him again on our return from the South -and West. I need not say that we earnestly wished to do so; but we never -saw him again, not having an opportunity in the summer to diverge from -our route so as to approach his residence. We heard excellent reports of -him from time to time; of his vigour and cheerfulness, and of his -application to political and literary pursuits. In the spring of the -following year, however, he declined, and died on the 28th of June, -1836. - -I have written of him under a strong desire to say nothing that he would -have objected to have repeated, suppressing whatever he dropped relating -to private persons or to public men yet living, while attempting to -afford what gratification I could to the strong interest felt in England -about this virtuous statesman. It is something that, living under -institutions framed by the few for the subordination of the many, the -English feel the interest they do about such men as Jefferson and -Madison; men inspired by the true religion of statemanship, faith in -men, and in the principles on which they combine in an agreement to do -as they would be done by. This political religion resembles personal -piety in its effect of sustaining the spirit through difficulty and -change, and leaving no cause for repentance, or even solicitude, when, -at the close of life, all things reveal their values to the meditative -sage. Madison reposed cheerfully, gayly, to the last, on his faith in -the people's power of wise self-government. As for Jefferson, he has -left, in his last letter to Madison, a few sentences which we may be -thankful for, as golden links added to the chain by which the glorious -memories of these two good men are indissolubly connected:-- - -"The friendship which has subsisted between us, now half a century, and -the harmony of our political principles and pursuits, have been sources -of constant happiness to me through that long period. It has been a -great solace to me to believe that you are engaged in vindicating to -posterity the course we have pursued for preserving to them, in all -their purity, the blessings of self-government, which we had assisted, -too, in acquiring for them. If ever the earth has beheld a system of -administration conducted with a single and steadfast eye to the general -interest and happiness of those committed to it; one which, protected by -truth, can never know reproach, it is that to which our lives have been -devoted. To myself, you have been a pillar of support through life. Take -care of me when I am dead, and be assured that I shall leave with you my -last affections."[13] - -Footnote 13: Jefferson's Memoir and Correspondence, vol. iv., p. 428. -Date, February 17, 1826. - - - - -JEFFERSON'S UNIVERSITY. - - - "That the legislator should especially occupy himself with the - education of youth, no one can dispute; for when this is not done in - states, it is a cause of damage to the polity. For a state must be - administered with reference to its polity; and that which is the - peculiar characteristic of each polity is that which preserves and - originally constitutes it; as, for instance, the democratical - principle in a democracy, and the oligarchical in an oligarchy; and - that which is the best principle always constitutes the best - polity."--ARISTOTLE, _Politik._, book viii. - - -The existence of the University of Virginia is scarcely recognised by -British travellers. I was welcomed there as the first who had ever -visited it. Charlottesville lies out of the ordinary route of tourists; -but Monticello, the seat of Jefferson, is within sight of his favourite -institution, and Mr. Madison's residence is only about thirty-five miles -off; and it seems surprising that such a combination of interesting -objects should not have drawn more pilgrim feet that way. - -It was between five and six in the morning when we entered the stage at -Orange Courthouse, which was to deposite us at Charlottesville before an -early dinner. The snow had wholly disappeared, and I looked out eagerly -to see what aspect the far-famed Virginia wore. For the greater part of -the way all looked very desolate; the few dwellings were dingy; large -mansions, with slave-dwellings clustered near. The trees were bare, the -soil one dull red, the fences shabby. The eye found a welcome relief in -the woods of stone-pine, and in an occasional apparition of the -beautiful bluebird, perching upon a stump or flitting over the fallows. -We breakfasted at a farm a little way off the road, whither we had to -pick our way by a fieldpath, which was a perfect slough. The hostess was -friendly, and served an excellent breakfast to the stage-passengers in a -bedchamber. - -From this point the road improved. The mountains were before us; and, as -we approached them, the undulating surface of the country presented many -beauties. It was Sunday. We mounted an eminence all grown over with -stone-pine, and on the top we found, in the heart of the grove, a small -church where worship was going on, while seventeen horses, two of them -with sidesaddles, were fastened to the trees around. This church was -free to all sects, but at present used by the Presbyterians, they being -the most numerous sect in the neighbourhood. - -We arrived at Charlottesville, at the foot of the mountains, by one -o'clock, and joined the friends whom we found awaiting us at dinner at -the hotel. A Unitarian clergyman was to preach in the courthouse in the -afternoon: a rare event, I imagine; for we heard afterward that one of -the professor's ladies could not sleep the night before from the idea of -a Unitarian being so near. We attended the service, which was very -spiritless. The whole burden fell upon the minister, there being no -preparation for singing, and apparently no interest beyond mere -curiosity. Two long rows of students from the University were there, and -I thought I never saw so fine a set of youths. Their demeanour was -gentlemanly to the last degree, except in the one particular of -spitting, and the seriousness of their manner must have been gratifying -to the preacher. - -After the service we walked to the University, at the distance, I think, -of a little more than a mile from the town. The singular ranges of -college buildings are visible from a considerable distance, as they -advantageously crown an eminence, presenting the appearance of a piazza -surrounding an oblong square, with the professors' houses rising at -regular intervals. We found that the low buildings connecting these -larger dwellings were the dormitories of the students; ground-floor -apartments opening into the piazza, and designed to serve as places of -study as well as sleep. The professors' houses are inconveniently small. -Jefferson wished, in the first instance, that the professors should be -young men; and this fact and the smallness of the dwellings have given -rise to the ridiculous belief, entertained by some people, that -Jefferson made celibacy a condition of holding professorships in his -university. Instead of this, ladies' faces may be seen at many windows, -and plenty of children tripping along in the piazzas. At one end of the -quadrangle is the Rotunda, containing the lecture-rooms, library, and -other apartments; and outside the other end a Gothic chapel was about to -be erected. Well-kept grass-plats and gravel-walks fill up the -quadrangle. - -The number of students at the time of my visit was 206. They are not -admitted under the age of sixteen, except in the case of a younger -brother accompanying one above that age. Each dormitory is designed to -accommodate two students; but, when there is room, any student may rent -a whole one if he chooses. The ordinary expenses are so moderate as to -be worth specifying:-- - - Board, including furniture, washing, and attendance $100 - Fuel and candles 15 - Rent of half a dormitory 8 - Use of the library and public rooms 15 - Fees to professors, say 75 - ---- - Total $213 - -exclusive of books and stationary, clothing and pocket-money. The -students wear a uniform which is very becoming and not at all -conspicuous, being merely a coat of particularly simple fashion and dark -colour. - -Of the two hundred and six students whom I had the pleasure of seeing, -one hundred and fifty-one belonged to the state, five came from the -Northern States, and the rest from the South and West; six from South -Carolina, though there are colleges both at Charleston and Columbia. -Professor Patterson spoke of the youths among whom he was living as -being as steady and promising a set of young men as could be met with. -We heard afterward a somewhat different account in a stagecoach; but, of -course, the testimony of a professor is worth much more than that of two -chance travellers; and all that I saw of the appearance and manners of -the students was very creditable to the institution. Every student -visits each professor's house twice in the session, once to dinner and -once to a ball; and, I suppose, as much oftener as he may be asked. The -session lasts ten months, the vacation being in the hot months of July -and August. - -The distinctive principle of this University is that each student is -free to attend the schools of his choice, and no others; provided that, -being under twenty-one years of age, he shall attend at least three -professors. The professors highly approve of this arrangement, finding -that it enables young men to qualify themselves rapidly and effectually -for particular callings, in cases where time is valuable; and that the -youths put vigour into their pursuits, in proportion as they are free, -within a reasonable limit, to gratify their tastes and fulfil their own -purposes in the choice of their studies. - -There are nine professorships, and in each school there are three -regular lectures a week, besides the instructions suited to the several -classes into which the school is divided. The professors when I was -there were-- - -Professor Harrison, Ancient Languages and History. This gentleman must -find himself fully occupied. He was the sole instructer that session of -seventy-five young men in Latin and Greek, and, of such as desired it, -in Hebrew. His qualifications are understood to be of a very high order. - -Professor Bloettermann had sixty-four pupils in Modern Languages, -viz., French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Anglo-Saxon; and was ready -to teach, moreover, the Danish, Swedish, Dutch, and Portuguese -languages. - -Professor Bonnycastle (Mathematics) had a large attendance, consisting -of one hundred and nine, divided into five classes, beginning with the -theory of Arithmetic, and concluding the course of Pure Mathematics with -the Integral Calculus. There is, moreover, a class of Mixed Mathematics -for such of the more advanced students as choose to pursue it, and -another of Civil Engineering. - -Professor Patterson undertakes the Natural Philosophy, having an -attendance of seventy-three pupils. The apparatus provided for the use -of this school is very extensive and complete; and an observatory, with -the necessary astronomical instruments, is open to the students. - -Professor Emmet, Chymistry and Materia Medica, eighty-nine pupils. - -Professor Magill, Medicine, forty-one pupils. - -Professor Warner, Anatomy and Surgery, forty-four pupils. An extensive -museum is attached to the Medical Department, and the anatomical school -is regularly supplied with subjects, from which the lectures are -delivered. The advantage claimed for this, above all other medical -schools in the country, is that its session lasts ten months instead of -four. - -Professor Tucker, Moral Philosophy, sixty-seven pupils, who are divided -into two classes; the examinations of the junior class being in -Rhetoric, Belles Lettres, Logic, and Ethics, from the professor's -lectures, Blair's and Campbell's Rhetoric, and Stewart's "Active and -Moral Powers." The senior class studies Mental Philosophy and Political -Economy; and the examinations are from the professor's lectures, Brown's -Lectures, Say's and Adam Smith's Political Economy. - -Professor Davis, Law, forty-eight pupils. The students of this school -have instituted a Law Society, at whose meetings the professor presides, -and where the business of every branch of the profession is rehearsed. - -Three honorary distinctions are conferred in this University; a -certificate of proficiency, conferred by the faculty on any proficient -in a particular branch of study; that of graduate in any school, for -proficiency in the general studies of any school; and the third, of -Master of Arts of the University of Virginia, is obtained by graduation -in the schools of Ancient and Modern Languages, Mathematics, Natural -Philosophy, Chymistry, and Moral Philosophy. All these are obtained when -deserved, and not in consequence of any prescribed term of study having -been gone through. The title of Doctor of Medicine is conferred on the -graduate in the Medical Department. The certificates and diplomas are -delivered in the presence of all the members of the University and of -the public on the last day of the session, in the Rotunda, amid many -observances and rites. - -It will be observed that there is no Theological Professorship. It was -noticed by the religious North at the time of the foundation of the -University, that this was probably the first instance in the world of -such an establishment exhibiting this kind of deficiency, and the -experiment was denounced as a very hazardous one. The result seems to -have been, that while theological instruction has been obtainable -elsewhere, a greater number and variety of young men, of different -religious persuasions, have been educated at this institution than would -have been likely to resort to it if it had, by the choice of a -theological professor, identified itself with any single denomination. -The reasons for the omission of a Professorship of Divinity are stated -in the first Report of the Commissioners who met in August, 1818, at -Rockfish Gap, on the Blue Ridge, for the purpose of organizing the plans -of this institution. Jefferson was understood to be the author of the -report, which contains the following passage: - -"In conformity with the principles of our constitution, which places all -sects of religion on an equal footing; with the jealousy of the -different sects, in guarding that equality from encroachment and -surprise; and with the sentiments of the legislature, in favour of -freedom of religion, manifested on former occasions, we have proposed no -Professor of Divinity; and the rather, as the proofs of the being of a -God, the Creator, Preserver, and Supreme Ruler of the universe, the -Author of all the relations of morality, and of the laws and obligations -these infer, will be within the province of the Professor of Ethics; to -which, adding the developments of those moral obligations, of those in -which all sects agree, with a knowledge of the languages of Hebrew, -Greek, and Latin, a basis will be formed common to all sects. Proceeding -thus far without offence to the constitution, we have thought it proper -at this point to leave every sect to provide, as they think fittest, the -means of further instruction in their own peculiar tenets." - -There are no daily public prayers at this institution, but there are -regular services on Sundays, administered by clergymen of the four -denominations, in turns of a year each. These clergymen officiate on the -invitation of the professors, officers, and students. The attendance -upon public worship is purely voluntary; and, as might be expected as a -consequence, it is regular and complete. - -This institution may well be called Jefferson's University. The first -conception was his; the whole impulse and direction; the scheme of its -studies, and the organization of its government. His letters to his -intimate friends during the last five years of his life breathe a -rational ardour about this enterprise which is very animating to those -connected with the university, and which affords a fine stimulus to the -students, who are daily reminded of what they owe to him, and what were -his expectations from them. "I fear not to say," he writes, "that within -twelve or fifteen years from this time (1825), a majority of the rulers -of our state will have been educated here. They shall carry hence the -correct principles of our day; and you may count assuredly that they -will exhibit their country in a degree of sound respectability it has -never known, either in our days or those of our forefathers. I cannot -live to see it. My joy must only be that of anticipation." In his last -letter to Madison, a few months later, he says, "And if I remove beyond -the reach of attentions to the university, or beyond the bourne of life -itself, as I soon must, it is a comfort to leave that institution under -your care, and an assurance that it will not be wanting." - -The following passage in the same letter renders strangers curious to -learn the politics of the university. "In the selection of our Law -Professor, we must be rigorously attentive to his political principles. -You will recollect that, before the Revolution, Coke-Littleton was the -universal elementary book of law students; and a sounder whig never -wrote, nor of profounder learning in the orthodox doctrines of the -British constitution, or in what were called English liberties. You -remember, also, that our lawyers were then all whigs. But when his -black-letter text, and uncouth but cunning learning got out of fashion, -and the honeyed Mansfieldism of Blackstone became the student's -hornbook, from that moment that profession (the nursery of our Congress) -began to slide into toryism, and nearly all the young brood of lawyers -are now of that hue. They suppose themselves, indeed, to be whigs, -because they no longer know what whigism or republicanism means. It is -in our seminary that that vestal flame is to be kept alive; it is thence -to spread anew over our own and the sister states." On inquiry I found -that, out of the 206 students, seven held the principles of the -democratic party. There seemed to be little or none of the federalism of -the North, but a strong attachment to Calhoun on the part of the -majority in the establishment. The evil influences of slavery have -entered in to taint the work of the great champion of freedom. The -political attachments of this once democratic institution are to the -leader who, in order to uphold slavery, would, to judge him by himself, -establish a Lacedaemonian government throughout the South; making every -white man a soldier, in order to preserve a false idea of honour, and to -obviate danger from the oppressed servile class. To observing eyes it -appears plain that the hour is approaching when these young men must, -like all other American men, choose their part, and enter decisively -into struggle to maintain or overthrow the first principles of freedom. -It will then be seen whether "the vestal flame" has been kept alive, or -whether the name of him who cherished it has been honoured with mere -lip-worship, while the labours of his latter years have been despised -and undone. The eyes of the world will be fixed on Jefferson's -University during the impending conflict between slaveholders and -freemen. - -To return to our Sunday afternoon. It was known that we should soon -arrive at the University with our letters of introduction, and a truly -hospitable welcome was prepared for us. We called first at Professor -Patterson's, where we found ourselves, in half an hour, as much at home -as if we had been acquainted for months. We were obliged to decline -taking up our abode there at once, but promised to return the next -morning, and remain for as long a time as we could spare. Professor -Tucker, long known in England, and at present more extensively so -through his very acceptable Life of Jefferson, was recovering from an -illness which confined him to his room, and sent to ask me to visit him -there. I was glad that he was well enough to see me, and that I had thus -the benefit of a good deal of his lively, sensible, and earnest -conversation. - -A great disappointment awaited our rising on the Monday morning. On the -Sunday afternoon the sun had been so hot that we threw off our shawls. -The next morning we looked out upon a snowstorm. There was, from the -beginning, no hope of our getting to Monticello. Jefferson's house upon -the mountain was actually in sight, and there was no possibility of our -reaching it, and we were obliged to satisfy ourselves with the traces we -found of him about the University. Professor Patterson's carriage came -for us early, and we passed a morning of the liveliest gossip with the -ladies and children of the family, while the professors were engaged in -their duties. The frankness of the whole society was particularly -winning, and so was the cordiality among themselves; a degree of mutual -good understanding which is seldom found in the small society of a -college, village-like in its seclusion and leisure, with added -temptations to jealousy and censoriousness. The ladies of Professor -Patterson's family gave me a spirited and amiable description of their -arrival as strangers at the University, and of the zeal and kind -consideration with which they were welcomed and aided on every hand. Two -facts struck me in the course of our feminine talk on the subject of -housekeeping; that chickens are there to be had for a dollar a dozen, -plump fowls ready for the fire; and that Mrs. Patterson's coachman, a -slave, could read. These ladies, seeing apparently only domestic slaves -kindly treated like their own, spoke lightly on the great subject, -asking me if I did not think the slaves were happy; but their husbands -used a very different tone, observing, with gloom, that it was a dark -question every way. - -Four of the professors and two or three students, fine, well-mannered -young men, joined us at dinner, and many ladies and others of the -professors in the evening. I was amused and gratified by the interest -shown in the living authors of England, especially the ladies. Every -particular that I could tell about Mrs. Somerville and Mrs. Marcet was -eagerly listened to. The Herschel family, Mr. Malthus, and many more, -were fully and affectionately discussed. The great treat of the evening -to me was a long conversation with Professor Hamilton on the German -language and literature, and on the mutual criticism of the Germans and -the English. He offered a comparison of the genius of the Greek and -German languages, which, for want of sufficient learning, I do not -pretend to appreciate, but which impressed me strongly with admiration -of his powers of conversation. - -One of the ladies took an opportunity of asking me privately to request -leave to attend a lecture with the Natural Philosophy class in the -morning. Ladies are excluded by rule; but she thought that the rule -might for once be infringed without injury in the case of foreign -ladies. The professor kindly made no difficulty, and my prompter highly -enjoyed her single opportunity. - -We breakfasted before eight, and went immediately to survey the large -building, the Rotunda. First we saw the library, a well-chosen -collection of books, the list of which was made out by Jefferson. The -students read in the Rotunda, and take out books by order. In the -gallery above the books, the mineralogical collection, belonging to -Professor Patterson, is arranged, and open to observation. Higher up -still is a whispering gallery. The lecture to which we were admitted was -on Heat. It was clear, fluent, and entertaining. The young men appeared -to be good listeners; some wrote down almost all they heard, and many -asked questions of the professor at the conclusion of the lecture. - -Mr. Tucker begged us to go to his chamber to luncheon, as he was still -unable to venture out of it. We had a delightful hour there. The sick -gentleman's room was crowded with guests, all busy with question and -remark, our time being short, and the quantity we had to say, like old -friends in a brief meeting, being inexhaustible. A serious request was -made to us that we would stay a month, giving up a portion of our -southern journey in exchange for the good offices of the University. We -could not possibly do this; but there can be no doubt of what our -enjoyment would have been during a whole month of intimate intercourse -with such stirring people as this graceful, kindly little society is -composed of. Having said all that so many tongues could, in an hour's -time, about the Theory of Rent, Colonel Thompson, and Mr. Malthus; the -value of public censure and eulogy; Mrs. Somerville again, Philadelphia -ale, American politics, and a hundred other things, we were obliged to -go. Keepsakes of the ladies' work were put into our hands, and packets -of sandwiches into the carriage; and a party escorted us to our inn, bad -as the weather was. Letters of introduction were hastily prepared and -sent after us, and during our whole visit nothing was omitted which -could concern our comfort or enhance our pleasure. As I cast my last -look from the window of the stage towards the University, it was with -less regret than pleasurable astonishment at my own experience of the -speed with which it is possible for foreign minds to communicate, and -lasting regard to be established. - - - - -COUNTRY LIFE IN THE SOUTH. - - - "For Nature here - Wantoned as in her prime, and played at will - Her virgin fancies." - - MILTON. - - "These views of the degradation of the Southern States receive a - melancholy and impressive confirmation from the general aspect and - condition of the country, viewed in contrast with its former - prosperity. With natural advantages more bountiful than were ever - dispensed by a kind Providence to any other people upon the surface - of the globe, there is, from the mountains to the seacoast, one - unbroken scene of cheerless stagnation and premature - decay."--_Southern Review_, vol. ii., p. 513. - - -There was no end to the kind cautions given me against travelling -through the Southern States, not only on account of my opinions on -slavery, but because of the badness of the roads and the poverty of the -wayside accommodations. There was so much of this, that my companion and -I held a consultation one day, in our room at Washington, spreading out -the map, and surveying the vast extent of country we proposed to -traverse before meeting my relatives at New-Orleans. We found that -neither was afraid, and afterward that there was no cause for fear, -except to persons who are annoyed by irregularity and the absence of -comfort. The evil prognostications went on multiplying as we advanced; -but we learned to consider them as mere voices on the mountain of our -enterprise, which must not deter us from accomplishing it. We had -friends to visit at Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina; Augusta, -Georgia; Montgomery, Alabama; and Mobile. At Richmond we were cautioned -about the journey into South Carolina; at Charleston we were met with -dreadful reports of travelling in Georgia; in Georgia people spoke of -the horrors of Alabama, and so on; and, after all, nothing could well be -easier than the whole undertaking. I do not remember a single difficulty -that occurred all the way. There was much fatigue, of course. In going -down from Richmond to Charleston with a party of friends, we were nine -days on the road, and had only three nights' rest. Throughout the -journey we were obliged to accommodate ourselves to the stage hours, -setting off sometimes in the evening, sometimes at midnight; or, of all -uncomfortable seasons, at two or three in the morning. On a journey of -many days, we had to inform ourselves of the longest time that the stage -would stop at a supping or breakfasting place, so that we might manage -to snatch an hour's sleep. While the meal was preparing, it was my wont -to lie down and doze, in spite of hunger; if I could find a bed or sofa, -it was well; if not, I could wrap myself in my cloak, and make a pillow -on the floor of my carpet-bag. I found that a sleep somewhat longer than -this, when I could go to bed for two hours, was more fatiguing than -refreshing. The being waked up at two, when I had lain down at midnight, -was the greatest discomfort I experienced. But little sleep can be -obtained in the stage from the badness of the roads. It was only when -quite wearied out that I could forget myself for an hour or two amid the -joltings and rollings of the vehicle. In Alabama, some of the passengers -in the stage were Southern gentlemen coming from New-York, in comparison -with whose fatigues ours were nothing. I think they had then travelled -eleven days and nights with very short intervals of rest, and the -badness of the roads at the end of a severe winter had obliged them to -walk a good deal. They looked dreadfully haggard and nervous, and we -heard afterward that one of them had become incessantly convulsed in the -face after we had left them. It is not necessary, of course, to proceed -without stopping in such a way as this; but it is necessary to be -patient of fatigue to travel in the South at all. - -Yet I was very fond of these long journeys. The traveller (if he be not -an abolitionist) is perfectly secure of good treatment, and fatigue and -indifferent fare are the only evils which need be anticipated. The toils -of society in the cities were so great to me that I generally felt my -spirits rise when our packing began; and, the sorrow of parting with -kind hosts once over, the prospect of a journey of many days was a very -cheerful one. The novelty and the beauty of the scenery seemed -inexhaustible; and the delightful American stages, open or closed all -round at the will of the traveller, allow of everything being seen. - -The American can conceive of nothing more dismal than a pine-barren on a -rainy day; but the profound tranquillity made it beautiful to me, whose -rainy days have been almost all spent in cities, amid the rumbling of -hackney-coaches, the clink of pattens, the gurgle of spouts, and the -flitting by of umbrellas. It is very different in the pine-barrens. The -sandy soil absorbs the rain, so that there is no mud; the pines stand -meekly drooping, as if waiting to be fed; the drip is noiseless; and the -brooks and pools are seen bubbling clear, or quietly filling, while not -a wing cleaves the air, each bird nestling in the covert of its domestic -tree. When the rain ceases towards evening, the whole region undergoes a -change. If a parting ray from the west pierces the woods, the stems look -lilach in the moist light; the vines glitter before they shake off their -last drops; the redbird startles the eye; the butterflies come abroad in -clouds; the frogs grow noisy, and all nature wakens up fresh as from her -siesta. The planter may be seen on his pacing white horse in a glade of -the wood, or superintending the negroes who are repairing the fence of -his estate. One black holds the large dibble, with which the holes for -the stakes are made; others are warming their hands at the fire which -blazes on the ground; many hands to do slovenly work. While any light is -left, the driver is apt to shorten his road by cutting across a knoll -instead of winding round it; and then the wheels are noiseless on the -turf; the branches crash as the vehicle is forced between the trees; and -the wood-pigeons, frightened from their roost, flutter abroad. - -When the sun has gone down all is still within the stage; the passengers -grow drowsy unless hunger keeps them awake. Each one nods upon his -neighbour's shoulder, till a red light, gradually illuminating all the -faces, and every moment growing brighter, rouses the dullest. Each tells -somebody else that we are coming to a fire in the woods. First there are -lines of little yellow flames on each side the path; the blazing up of -twigs too dry to have been made incombustible by the morning's rain. -Then there is a pond of red fire on either hand, and pillars of light -rising from it; tall burning stems, throwing out jets of flame on all -sides, or emitting a flood of sparks when touched by the night breeze. -The succeeding darkness is intense. The horses seem to feel it, for they -slacken to a footpace, and the grazing of a wheel against a pinestem, or -the zigzag motion of the vehicle, intimates that the driver's eyes have -been dazzled. Presently the horses set off again, and the passengers -sink once more into silence. They are next roused by the discordant horn -of the driver, sending out as many distinct blasts as there are -passengers, each blast more of a screech than the last, and the final -flourish causing a shout of laughter in the coach; laughter animated a -little, perhaps, by the prospect of supper. Right or left soon appears -the loghouse, its open shutters and door giving token that a large fire -is blazing within. The gentlemen hand out the ladies at the door, and -then stand yawning and stretching, or draw to the fire while they can, -before the ladies take possession of the best places. The hostess, who -is busy cooking, points to a lamp, with which the ladies light -themselves to her chamber, to put up their hair under their bonnets for -the night. Little impish blacks peep and grin from behind the stove or -shine in the heat of the chimney-corner. If any one of them has ever -received a compliment on his dexterity, he serves with most ostentatious -bustle, his eyes wide open, his row of white teeth all in sight, and his -little body twisting about with every affectation of activity. An -observer may see some fun going on behind the mistress's back; a whisk -of a carving-knife across a companion's throat, or a flourish of two -plates like cymbals over the head. - -At last supper is ready; the broiled venison, the ham collops and eggs, -and apple-sauce; the infusion which is called tea or coffee; and the -reeking corn-bread. Before the clatter of knives has ceased, the stage, -with its fresh horses, is at the door; the ladies snatch a final warming -while the driver finishes his protracted meal, their eyes being now at -liberty to study the apartment, looking round for some other object than -the old story, the six presidents who smile from the walls of almost -every loghouse in America, and the great map of the United States, with -a thumbmark, amounting to an erasure, on the spot of the very territory -where this particular loghouse happens to be. If we wanted to consult a -map in a hurry in such places as these, we never had to hunt out our -present situation. There was always the worn spot to serve as the centre -to our investigations. The passengers, however wearily they might have -descended from the stage, are pretty sure to enter it again with a -spring; warm and satisfied, with a joke on their tongues, and a good -supper to sleep or muse upon. - -The sleep seldom lasts long, however. You are sure to come to a creek, -where nobody has ever erected a bridge, or where a freshet has carried -one away, and no measures have been taken to rebuild it. With drowsy -groans, the passengers rouse themselves, and get out at the driver's -bidding under the cold stars or the drifting clouds. The ladies slip on -their India-rubber shoes, for their first step may be into soft mud. -They stand upon a bank if there be one, in order not to be run over in -the dark; while the scow shows by the reflection of the light at her bow -where the river is. When she touches the bank the driver calls to -everybody to keep out of the way, cracks his whip, and drives his -lumbering carriage down the bank and into the scow; the passengers -follow; the scow is unchained, and the whole load is pushed across the -stream, or pulled, if it happens to be a rope-ferry. When the expected -shock tells you that you have arrived at the other side, the driver -again cracks his whip, and the horses scramble. If they should refuse to -mount the steep bank, and back a step upon the passengers instead, every -one would infallibly be driven into the river. A delicate coaxing is -therefore employed; and I imagine the animals must be aware what a -ticklish thing any freak of theirs would be in such a situation, for I -never knew them decline mounting the bank without a single back step. - -If the teambolt or other fastening of equal consequence should happen to -break, there is a chance of two hours' rest or so. Something snaps; the -vehicle stops, the gentlemen get out; the ladies gaze from the windows, -while somebody half-dressed comes out with a lantern from any dwelling -that may be in sight, and goes back again for hammer and nail, or, at -worst, a piece of cord, and you proceed at a slow footpace to the -nearest hotel. There the slaves, roused from the floor, where they are -lying like dogs, go winking about, putting fresh logs on the smouldering -fire, and lighting a lamp or two. After repeated inquiries on the part -of the ladies, who feel the first minutes of their two hours slipping -away without any promise of rest, a female slave at last appears, -staring as if she had never seen anybody before. The ladies have already -taken out nightcap, soap, and towel from their carpet-bags. They motion -the woman up stairs, and follow her. They find the water-jug, if there -be one, empty, of course. With infinite coaxing they get the attendant -to fill it. Long after they are undressed it comes, clear or "sort o' -muddy," as may be. If there are no sheets or yellow ones, the ladies -spread their dressing-gowns over the bed, and use their cloaks for a -covering. As soon as they have lain down, a draught begins to blow in -the strangest way on the top of their heads. They examine, and find a -broken window behind the bed. They wrap up their heads and lie down -again. As soon as they are fairly dreaming that they are at home, and -need not get up till they please, the horn startles them; they raise -their heads, see a light under the door, and the black woman looks in to -drawl out that they must please to make haste. It seems like a week -since they lay down; but they are not rested, and turn away sick and -dizzy from the flickering light. - -In the morning you wonder where your fatigue is gone. As the day steals -through the forest, kindling up beauty as it goes, the traveller's whole -being is refreshed. The young aloes under the fallen trunks glitter with -dew; the gray moss, dangling from the trees, waves in the breath of the -morning. The busy little chameleons run along the fences, and the -squirrel erects his brush as you pass. While the crescent moon and the -morning star glittered low down in the sky, you had longed to stay the -sun beneath the horizon; but, now that he is come, fresh vigour and -enjoyment seem to be shed down with his rays. - -At such an hour you often come up with a family departing from the spot -where they had "camped out" for the night. I never had the pleasure of -camping out, but I know exactly what it must be like, for I have seen -establishments of this sort in every stage of the process, from the -searching out a spot blessed with a running stream, a shelter to -windward, a dry soil, and plenty of fuel, to the piling the wagon with -the pots, pans, and children previous to starting at dawn. There is a -striking air of cheer about the family when beginning their new day; -leaving behind the desolation they have made; the scorched turf, the -scattered brushwood, chips, and meat-bones, and setting forth in renewed -strength in the fresh morning. I owe to these people many a picture such -as will never meet my eye in the galleries of art. - -Our stationary rural life in the South was various and pleasant enough; -all shaded with the presence of slavery, but without any other drawback. -There is something in the make-shift, irregular mode of life which -exists where there are slaves, that is amusing when the cause is -forgotten. - -The waking in the morning is accomplished by two or three black women -staring at you from the bedposts. Then it is five minutes' work to get -them out of the room. Perhaps, before you are half dressed, you are -summoned to breakfast. You look at your watch, and listen whether it has -stopped, for it seems not to be seven o'clock yet. You hasten, however, -and find your hostess making the coffee. The young people drop in when -the meal is half done, and then it is discovered that breakfast has been -served an hour too early, because the clock has stopped, and the cook -has ordered affairs according to her own conjectures. Everybody laughs, -and nothing ensues. After breakfast a farmer in homespun--blue trousers -and an orange-brown coat, or all over gray--comes to speak with your -host. A drunken white has shot one of his negroes, and he fears no -punishment can be obtained, because there were no witnesses of the deed -but blacks. A consultation is held whether the affair shall go into -court; and, before the farmer departs, he is offered cake and liqueur. - -Your hostess, meantime, has given her orders, and is now engaged in a -back room, or out in the piazza behind the house, cutting out clothes -for her slaves; very laborious work in warm weather. There may be a -pretence of lessons among the young people, and something more than -pretence if they happen to have a tutor or governess; but the -probability is that their occupations are as various as their tempers. -Rosa cannot be found; she is lying on the bed in her own room reading a -novel; Clara is weeping for her canary, which has flown away while she -was playing with it; Alfred is trying to ascertain how soon we may all -go out to ride; and the little ones are lounging about the court, with -their arms round the necks of blacks of their own size. You sit down to -the piano or to read, and one slave or another enters every half hour to -ask what is o'clock. Your hostess comes in at length, and you sit down -to work with her; she gratifies your curiosity about her "people," -telling you how soon they burn out their shoes at the toes, and wear out -their winter woollens, and tear up their summer cottons; and how -impossible it is to get black women to learn to cut out clothes without -waste; and how she never inquires when and where the whipping is done, -as it is the overseer's business, and not hers. She has not been seated -many minutes when she is called away, and returns saying how babyish -these people are, that they will not take medicine unless she gives it -to them; and how careless of each other, so that she has been obliged to -stand by and see Diana put clean linen upon her infant, and to compel -Bet to get her sick husband some breakfast. - -Morning visiters next arrive. It may be the clergyman, with some new -book that you want to look at; and inquiries whether your host sees any -prospect of getting the requisite number of professors for the new -college, or whether the present head of the institution is to continue -to fill all the chairs. It may be a lank judge from some raw district, -with a quid in his cheek, a swordcane in his hand, and a legal doubt in -his mind which he wants your host to resolve. It may be a sensible -woman, with courtesy in her countenance and decision in her air, who is -accustomed really to rule her household, and to make the most of such -human material and such a human lot as are pressing around and upon -her. If so, the conversation between her and your hostess becomes rapid -and interesting; full of tales of perplexity and trouble, of droll -anecdotes, and serious and benevolent plans. Or it may be a lady of a -different cast, who is delighted at the prospect of seeing you soon -again. You look perplexed, and mention that you fear you shall be unable -to return this way. Oh, but you will come and live here. You plead -family, friends, and occupation in England, to say nothing of England -being your home. Oh, but you can bring your family and friends with you. -You laughingly ask why. She draws up and replies, "for the honour and -glory of living in a republic." - -Meantime Clara has dried her tears, for some one has recovered her -canary, and the door of the cage is shut. The carriage and saddle-horses -are scrambling on the gravel before the door, and the children run in to -know if they may ride with you. Cake, fruit, and liqueurs, or perhaps -tea, are brought in, and then the ladies depart. The clergyman thinks he -will ride round with your party, hearing that you are going to inspect -Mr. A.'s plantation. He warns you that it will not be "pleasant to see -even the best plantations," and your trembling heart fully agrees. - -You admire the horsemanship of your host on his white horse, and the -boys on their black ponies. The carriage goes at good speed, and yet the -fast _pace_ of the saddle-horses enables the party to keep together. -While you are looking out upon a picturesque loghouse, peeping forth -from a blossomy thicket, or admiring a splendid hedge of the Cherokee -rose in straggling bloom, Rosa rouses herself from a revery, and asks -you to tell her all about Victoria. - -"What shall I tell you?" - -"What religion is she? A Unitarian, I suppose, like you." - -Church of Englandism and dissent being explained, Rosa resumes, in a -plaintive voice, "Is she betrothed yet." - -"Not that I know of." - -"Oh, I hope she is! I wish I knew! When will she be queen? When she is -eighteen, won't she? Oh! I thought she was to be of age, and be made -queen at eighteen. How long will she be a queen?" - -"As long as she lives." - -"As long as she lives! Why I thought--" - -Rosa has no idea of rulers not being changed every four or eight years. -Even her imagination is almost overpowered at the idea of being set -above everybody else for life. - -The carriage stops, and you are invited to step out, and view the -ravages of a tornado a season or two ago; you see how clear a path it -made for itself in the forest, and how it swept across the river, -tearing down an answering gap through the tall canebrake on the opposite -bank. The prostrated trees lie sunk in swamp, half hidden by flowering -reeds and bright mosses, while their stumps, twice as tall as yourself, -are all cropped off, whatever may be their thickness, precisely at the -same height, and so wrenched and twisted as to convince you that you -never before conceived of the power of the winds. The boys show you a -dry path down to the river side, that you may see the fishtraps that are -laid in the stream, and watch the couples of shad-fishers--dark figures -amid the flashing waters--who are pursuing their occupation in the glare -of noon. The girls tell you how father remembers the time when there -were bears in that canebrake, and there was great trouble in getting -them to come out of their thick covert to be killed. When father first -came here, this side of the river was all canebrake too. Is not a -canebrake very ugly? It may not have any picturesque beauty; but your -eye rests upon it with satisfaction, as a tropical feature in the scene. - -You proceed, and point out with admiration a beautifully-situated -dwelling, which you declare takes your fancy more than any you have -seen. The children are amused that you should suppose any one lives -there, overshadowed with trees as it is, so that its inhabitants would -be devoured by moschetoes. Your hostess tells you that it is called Mr. -B.'s Folly. He spent a good deal of money and much taste upon it, but it -is uninhabitable from being rather too near the river. The fever -appeared so immediately and decisively that the family had to leave it -in three months, and there it stands, to be called B.'s Folly. - -Your host paces up to the carriage window to tell you that you are now -on A.'s plantation. You are overtaking a long train of negroes going to -their work from dinner. They look all over the colour of the soil they -are walking on: dusky in clothing, dusky in complexion. An old man, -blacker than the rest, is indicated to you as a native African; and you -point out a child so light as to make you doubt whether he be a slave. A -glance at the long heel settles the matter. You feel that it would be a -relief to be assured that this was a troop of monkeys dressed up for -sport, rather than that these dull, shuffling animals should be human. - -There is something inexpressibly disgusting in the sight of a slave -woman in the field. I do not share in the horror of the Americans at the -idea of women being employed in outdoor labour. It did not particularly -gratify me to see the cows always milked by men (where there were no -slaves); and the hay and harvest fields would have looked brighter in my -eyes if women had been there to share the wholesome and cheerful toil. -But a negro woman behind the plough presents a very different object -from the English mother with her children in the turnip-field, or the -Scotch lassie among the reapers. In her pre-eminently ugly costume, the -long, scanty, dirty woollen garment, with the shabby large bonnet at the -back of her head, the perspiration streaming down her dull face, the -heavy tread of the splay foot, the slovenly air with which she guides -her plough, a more hideous object cannot well be conceived, unless it be -the same woman at home, in the negro quarter, as the cluster of slave -dwellings is called. - -You are now taken to the cotton-gin, the building to your left, where -you are shown how the cotton, as picked from the pods, is drawn between -cylinders so as to leave the seeds behind; and how it is afterward -packed, by hard pressure, into bales. The neighbouring creek is dammed -up to supply the water-wheel by which this gin is worked. You afterward -see the cotton-seed laid in handfuls round the stalks of the young -springing corn, and used in the cotton field as manure. - -Meantime you attempt to talk with the slaves. You ask how old that very -aged man is, or that boy; they will give you no intelligible answer. -Slaves never know, or never will tell their ages, and this is the reason -why the census presents such extraordinary reports on this point, -declaring a great number to be above a hundred years old. If they have a -kind master, they will boast to you of how much he gave for each of -them, and what sums he has refused for them. If they have a hard master, -they will tell you that they would have more to eat and be less flogged, -but that massa is busy, and has no time to come down and see that they -have enough to eat. Your hostess is well known on this plantation, and -her kind face has been recognised from a distance; and already a negro -woman has come to her with seven or eight eggs, for which she knows she -shall receive a quarter dollar. You follow her to the negro quarter, -where you see a tidy woman knitting, while the little children who are -left in her charge are basking in the sun, or playing all kinds of -antics in the road; little shining, plump, cleareyed children, whose -mirth makes you sad when you look round upon their parents, and see what -these bright creatures are to come to. You enter one of the dwellings, -where everything seems to be of the same dusky hue: the crib against the -wall, the walls themselves, and the floor, all look one yellow. More -children are crouched round the wood fire, lying almost in the embers. -You see a woman pressing up against the wall like an idiot, with her -shoulder turned towards you, and her apron held up to her face. You ask -what is the matter with her, and are told that she is shy. You see a -woman rolling herself about in a crib, with her head tied up. You ask if -she is ill, and are told that she has not a good temper; that she struck -at a girl she was jealous of with an axe, and the weapon being taken -from her, she threw herself into the well, and was nearly drowned before -she was taken out, with her head much hurt. - -The overseer has, meantime, been telling your host about the fever -having been more or less severe last season, and how well off he shall -think himself if he has no more than so many days' illness this summer: -how the vegetation has suffered from the late frosts, pointing out how -many of the oranges have been cut off, but that the great magnolia in -the centre of the court is safe. You are then invited to see the house, -learning by the way the extent and value of the estate you are visiting, -and of the "force" upon it. You admire the lofty, cool rooms, with their -green blinds, and the width of the piazzas on both sides the house, -built to compensate for the want of shade from trees, which cannot be -allowed near the dwelling for fear of moschetoes. You visit the -icehouse, and find it pretty full, the last winter having been a severe -one. You learn that, for three or four seasons after this icehouse was -built, there was not a spike of ice in the state, and a cargo had to be -imported from Massachusetts. - -When you have walked in the field as long as the heat will allow, you -step into the overseer's bare dwelling, within its bare enclosure, where -fowls are strutting about, and refresh yourself with a small tumbler of -milk; a great luxury, which has been ordered for the party. The -overseer's fishing-tackle and rifle are on the wall, and there is a -medicine chest and a shelf of books. He is tall, sallow, and -_nonchalant_, dropping nothing more about himself and his situation than -that he does not know that he has had more than his share of sickness -and trouble in his vocation, and so he is pretty well satisfied. - -Your hostess reminds the party that they are going out to dinner, and -that it is quite time to be returning to dress. So you go straight home -by a shorter road, stopping no more, but looking out, now at a glorious -trumpet honeysuckle dangling from a branch, now at a lofty, spreading -green tree, red hot close to the ground, while a sheet of flame is -spreading all about its roots, the flames looking orange and blue in the -bright sunshine. - -You are glad to find, on arriving at home, that you have half an hour to -lie down before you dress, and are surprised, on rising, to feel how you -are refreshed. You have not very far to go to dinner; only to Mr. E.'s -cottage on the Sand Hills. The E.'s have just come for the summer, the -distant city being their winter residence. If you find the -accommodations poor, you must excuse it in consideration of their recent -removal. The E.'s live in very good style in the city. The cottage is -half way up a gentle ascent, with a deep, sandy road leading to the -wooden steps of the front piazza, and pine forests in the rear. The -entertainment to-day is not solely on your account; it is a parting -dinner to young Mr. and Mrs. F., who are going to reside farther West. -They are leaving their parents and friends, and the family estate, and -are to live in a loghouse till a proper dwelling can be built. Mrs. F. -is rather low in spirits, but her mother means to send the old family -nurse with her, so that she will have one comfort, at any rate, and will -be able to trust her infant out of her sight now and then. As for Mrs. -E., she informs you that she has come out to the cottage sooner than she -usually does, as she is expecting her confinement. She has all her five -children in her presence always; and as she cannot trust them for an -hour with her "people," their noise and the heat would be intolerable in -town; but here, where her room opens upon the piazza, she can have the -children always in her sight or hearing with less fatigue than in the -city. You ask whether such a charge be not too much for her. Certainly; -but there is no use in complaining, for it cannot be helped. She never -had a nurse that was not more plague than use. It is not only that the -servants tell the children improper things, and teach them falsehood, -but it is impossible to get the little boys' faces washed without seeing -it done; and the infant may, as likely as not, be dropped into the fire -or out of the window. Ladies must make the best of their lot, for they -cannot help themselves. - -The dinner is plentiful, including, of course, turkey, ham, and sweet -potatoes; excellent claret, and large blocks of icecream. A slave makes -gentle war against the flies with the enormous bunch of peacocks' -feathers; and the agitation of the air is pleasant while the ladies are -engaged in eating, so that they cannot use their own fans, which are -hung by loops on the backs of their chairs. The afternoon is spent in -the piazza, where coffee is served. There the ladies sit, whisking their -feather fans, jesting with the children, and talking over the last -English poem or American novel, or complaining bitterly of the dreadful -incendiary publications which Mr. E. heard from Mr. H., who had heard it -from Mr. M., that Judge R. had said that somebody had seen circulated -among the negroes by some vile agent of the horrid abolitionists of the -North. - -You go in to tea, and find the table strewed with prints, and the piano -open, and Mrs. F. plays and sings. The gentlemen have done discussing -the French war and the currency, and are praising the conduct of the -Committee of Vigilance; frankly informing you, as a stranger, of the -reasons of its formation, and the modes of its operation in deterring -abolitionists from coming into the neighbourhood, in arresting them on -any suspicion of tampering with the negroes, and in punishing them -summarily if any facts are established against them. While you are -endeavouring to learn the nature of the crime and its evidence, you are -summoned. There is going to be a storm, and your party must get home, if -possible, before it comes on. In such a case Mrs. E. will say nothing in -opposition to your leaving her so early. She would not be the means of -exposing you to the storm. You hasten away, and reach home during the -first explosion of thunder. - -You find there a bouquet, sent to you with Miss G.'s compliments; a -splendid bunch of quince, yellow jessamine, arbor vitae, hyacinths, -cherry, and other blossoms. It is not nearly bedtime yet; and you sit on -the sofa, fanning yourself, with the table-lamp dimmed by the momentary -glare of blue lightning. Your hostess learns from the servants that poor -Miss Clara went to bed in great grief, the cat having killed her canary -in the afternoon. It has been a sad day for poor Clara, from the -adventures of her bird; but she is now fast asleep. - -Your host amuses you with anecdotes of South country life. He asks you -how you were struck with Mrs. L., whose call you returned yesterday. You -reply that she seems a cheerful, hearty personage, who makes the best of -a poor lot; and you relate how pleased you were at the frankness with -which she owned, pointing to the stocking she was darning, that she knew -little of books nowadays, or of music, as she was making shirts and -darning stockings for her sons all the year round. You were sorry to see -such evidences of poverty; chairs with broken backs, and a piano with -three legs, and a cracked flute; but glad that Mrs. L. seemed able to -look on the bright side of things. Your host throws himself back, and -laughs for three minutes; and, when he recovers, informs you that Mrs. -L. is the wealthiest widow in the state. You protest that you looked -upon her with respect as a meritorious widow, doing her best for a large -family. Your host repeats that she is the richest widow in the state, -and that she and all her family are odd about money. She has a sister in -a neighbouring state, Mrs. M., who is even more bent upon economy. Last -year Mrs. L. visited this sister, who lives in a country town. The -sisters went out in Mrs. M.'s carriage, to make calls and do shopping. -Mrs. L. observed that her sister's carriage was attended by a little -mulatto girl, who let down the steps, and put them up, and mounted -behind very dexterously. "The child is clever enough," said Mrs. L.; -"but, sister, your carriage should have a proper footman. You should not -be seen in town with a girl behind your carriage." Mrs. M. promised to -consider the matter. The next day a spruce mulatto lad was in waiting, -of whom Mrs. L. fully approved. When she looked in his face, however, as -he was letting down the steps at the entrance of a store, she was struck -by his remarkable likeness to the girl of yesterday, and observed upon -it. Mrs. M. laughed, and owned she had got a suit of boy's clothes made -since yesterday for the girl to wear during morning drives, and she -thought this an excellent plan. Many such a story does your host amuse -you with; observing that, though America has fewer humourists than -England, they may be met with in abundance in rare settlements and -retired districts, where they can indulge their fancies without much -suffering from public opinion. - -The storm abates. You are the oracle as to what o'clock it is; and, as -you are confident that it is near eleven, the chamber lights are -brought. You dismiss your dusky attendants, and throw yourself on your -ample sofa for half an hour, to recall what you have seen and heard this -day, and meditate on the scope and tendencies of Country Life in the -Southern States. - - - - -CITY LIFE IN THE SOUTH. - - - "Ye thus hospitably live, - And strangers with good cheer receive." - - PRIOR. - - "Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound - Reverbs no hollowness." - - SHAKSPEARE. - - -The disasters of our railroad journey to Charleston have been described -elsewhere.[14] We were to have arrived at the city about six P.M. of the -10th of March, when every object would have looked bright in the -sunshine of a spring evening. As it was, we reached the railroad station -at ten minutes past four the next morning. There was much delay in -obtaining our luggage and getting away from the station. We could not -think of disturbing the slumbers of the friends whose hospitality we -were about to enjoy, and we therefore proceeded in the omnibus which was -in waiting to the Planter's Hotel. We were all hungry, having scarcely -tasted food since noon the day before; and very weary, having travelled -the whole of two nights, and enjoyed no sufficient rest since we left -Richmond, nine days before. Every little event became a great one to -persons so exhausted. The omnibus jolted and stopped, and we were told -that an accident had happened. The gentlemen got out, but the darkness -was total. A light was brought from a private house, and it appeared -that a wheel had touched the kerbstone! It seemed as if horses were -never backed in Charleston, so long were we in proceeding. When I -afterward saw what the streets of Charleston are like, I do not wonder -at any extreme of caution in a driver. The soil is a fine sand, which, -after rain, turns into a most deceptive mud; and there is very little -pavement yet. The deficiency of stone is, however, becoming supplied by -importation, and the inhabitants hope soon to be able to walk about the -city in all weathers, without danger of being lost in crossing the -streets. They told me, as an _on dit_, that a horse was drowned last -winter in a mudhole in a principal street. - -Footnote 14: Society in America, vol. ii., p. 183. - -At the hotel all was dark and comfortless. We made a stir among the -servants; the gentlemen got two men to light a fire, and fetch us wine -and biscuits; and we persuaded two women to make up beds and warm some -water. We were foolish enough to be tempted to take wine and water, as -we could have neither tea or coffee; and when we rose from our -unrefreshing sleep an hour after noon, we formed such a dismal group of -aching heads as could hardly be matched out of a hospital. - -Two of us proceeded, in a light pretty hack-carriage, to the friend's -house where we were expected. Nothing could be more considerate than our -reception. A pile of English and American letters and newspapers awaited -us, and our hostess knew that we must be fatigued; a fire was therefore -immediately lighted in my chamber, and we were told that the day was our -own; that our dinner would be sent up to us, and that we should not be -expected in the drawing-room till we chose to join the family. I shall -not soon forget the refreshment of lingering over family letters and -London newspapers; of feeling that we were not liable to be called up in -the dark for a fortnight at least; and of seeing my clothes laid in -drawers, for the first time, I think, since I landed. A chest of drawers -is seldom to be seen in the chambers, or, at least, in the -guest-chambers of American houses. We were favoured in the article of -closets with rows of pegs, but I believe I had the use of a chest of -drawers only two or three times during my travels. - -A circumstance happened this day which, as being illustrative of -manners, may be worth relating. The day before I left Richmond, -Virginia, two companions and myself had employed a hack-carriage, driven -by a black, for some hours; and, on dismissing it, had paid the fare, -which we thought reasonable, two dollars and a half. The proprietor of -the carriage and master of the driver had by some means heard who it was -that had been his customer. Finding that I had left Richmond, he took -the trouble to send the two dollars and a half down to Charleston, five -hundred miles, with a message that it was not for the honour of Virginia -that I should pay carriage hire! and the money was awaiting me on my -arrival. - -I had soon reason to perceive that Charleston deserves its renown for -hospitality. A lecturer on phrenology sent us tickets for his course; -six carriages were immediately placed at my disposal, and the servants -came every morning for orders for the day. The difficulty was to use -them all and equally; but, by employing one for the morning drive and -another for the evening visiting, we contrived to show our friends that -we were willing to avail ourselves of their kindnesses. I believe there -was scarcely a morning during our stay when some pretty present did not -arrive before I rose; sometimes it was a bouquet of hyacinths, which -were extremely rare that year, from the lateness and severity of the -frosts; sometimes it was a dish of preserve or marmalade; sometimes a -feather fan, when the day promised to be hot; sometimes a piece of -Indian work; sometimes of indigenous literary production. One morning I -found on my window-seat a copy of the Southern Review, and a bouquet of -hyacinths from General Hayne; and the next a basket of wafers from Mrs. -P.; and the third a set of cambric handkerchiefs, inimitably marked with -complimentary devices, from Mrs. W. - -In the midst of all this there was no little watchfulness, among a -totally different set of persons, about my proceedings with regard to -the negroes. I had not been in the city twenty-four hours before we were -amused with ridiculous reports of my championship on behalf of the -blacks; and, long after I had left the place, reported speeches of mine -were in circulation which were remarkably striking to me when I at -length heard them. This circumstance shows how irritable the minds of -the people are upon this topic. I met with no difficulty, however, -among my associates. I made it a rule to allow others to introduce the -subject of slavery, knowing that they would not fail to do so, and that -I might learn as much from their method of approaching the topic as from -anything they could say upon it. Before half an hour had passed, every -man, woman, or child I might be conversing with had entered upon the -question. As it was likewise a rule with me never to conceal or soften -my own opinions, and never to allow myself to be irritated by what I -heard (for it is too serious a subject to indulge frailties with), the -best understanding existed between slaveholders and myself. We never -quarrelled, while, I believe, we never failed to perceive the extent of -the difference of opinion and feeling between us. I met with much more -cause for admiration in their frankness than reason to complain of -illiberality. The following may serve as a specimen of this part of our -intercourse:-- - -The first time I met an eminent Southern gentleman, a defender of -slavery, he said to me (within the half hour), - -"I wish you would not be in such a hurry away. I wish you would stay a -year in this city. I wish you would stay ten years, and then you would -change your opinions." - -"What opinions?" - -"Your opinions on slavery." - -"What do you know of my opinions on slavery?" - -"Oh, we know them well enough: we have all read 'Demerara.'" - -"Very well: now we shall understand each other; for I must tell you that -I think about slavery exactly as I did when I wrote that story. Nothing -that I have seen shows me that I have anything to qualify of what is -said there. So now you do know my opinions." - -"Oh yes. I don't want to know anything more of your opinions. I want you -to know mine." - -"That is exactly what I want. When will you let me have them?" - -We had engaged to dine with this gentleman the next week; it was now -arranged that our party should go two hours earlier than the other -guests, in order to hear this gentleman's exposition of slavery. He was -well prepared, and his statement of facts and reasons was clear, ready, -and entertaining. The fault was in the narrowness of his premises, for -his whole argument was grounded on the supposition that human rights -consist in sufficient subsistence in return for labour. Before he began -I told him that I fully understood his wish not to argue the question, -and that I came to hear his statement, not to controvert it; but that I -must warn him not to take my silence for assent. Upon this understanding -we proceeded, with some little irritability on his part when I asked -questions, but with no danger of any quarrel. I never found the -slightest difficulty in establishing a similar clear understanding with -every slaveholder I met. In the drawing-room of the boarding-house at -Richmond, Virginia, three gentlemen, two of whom were entire strangers, -attacked me in the presence of a pretty large company one afternoon. -This was a direct challenge, which I did not think fit to decline, and -we had it all out. They were irritable at first, but softened as they -went on; and when, at the end of three hours, we had exhausted the -subject, we were better friends than when we began. - -Some of the reports of my championship of the negroes arose from a -circumstance which occurred the day after my arrival at Charleston. Our -host proposed to take us up a church steeple, to obtain a view of the -city and its environs. The key of the church was at the Guardhouse -opposite, and our host said we might as well go for it ourselves, and -thus get a sight of the Guardhouse. One of the city authorities showed -us over it, and we stayed a few moments in a room where a lady was -preferring a complaint against two negro boys for robbing a henroost. -They were proved guilty, and sentenced to be flogged at the place of -punishment at the other end of the city. - -The view from the church steeple was very fine; and the whole, steeped -in spring sunshine, had an oriental air which took me by surprise. The -city was spread out beneath us in a fanlike form, in streets converging -towards the harbour. The heat and moisture of the climate give to the -buildings the hue of age, so as to leave nothing of the American air of -spruceness in the aspect of the place. The sandy streets, the groups of -mulattoes, the women with turbaned heads, surmounted with water-pots and -baskets of fruit; the small panes of the house windows; the yucca -bristling in the gardens below us, and the hot haze through which we saw -the blue main and its islands, all looked so oriental as to strike us -with wonder. We saw Ashley and Cooper rivers, bringing down produce to -the main, and were taught the principal buildings--the churches and -the Custom-house, built just before the Revolution--and the leading -streets, Broad and Meeting streets intersecting, and affording access to -all that we were to see. It would be wise in travellers to make it their -first business in a foreign city to climb the loftiest point they can -reach, so as to have the scene they are to explore laid out as in a -living map beneath them. It is scarcely credible how much time is saved -and confusion of ideas obviated by these means. I gained much by -mounting the State House at Boston, Pennsylvania Hospital at -Philadelphia, the new hotel at Baltimore, the Capitol at Washington, the -high hills about Cincinnati, the college at Lexington, the hill where -the Statehouse is to be at Nashville, the Cotton-press at New Orleans, -and this church steeple at Charleston. - -Another care of the traveller should be to glance at the local -newspapers. This first morning I found a short newspaper article which -told volumes. It was an ordinance for raising ways and means for the -city. Charitable and religious institutions were left free from -taxation, as were the salaries of the clergy and schoolmasters. There -was a direct levy on real property, on slaves, and on carriages, and a -special tax on free people of colour; a class who, being precluded from -obtaining taxable property and luxuries, were yet made to pay by means -of a polltax. - -Our mornings were divided between receiving callers and drives about the -city and in the country. The country is flat and sandy, and the only -objects are planters' mansions, surrounded with evergreen woods, the -gardens exhibiting the tropical yucca, and fenced with hedges of the -Cherokee rose. From the lower part of the city glimpses of the main may -be had; but the intervening space is very ugly, except at high tide; an -expanse of reeking slime over which large flocks of buzzards are -incessantly hovering. On the top of each of the long row of stakes -discovered at low water sits a buzzard. A fine is imposed for killing -one of these birds, the unsalaried scavengers of the moister districts -of the city. - -The houses which we visited in returning calls were generally handsome, -with capacious piazzas, rich plants and bouquets, and good furniture. -The political bias of the inhabitant was often discoverable from the -books on the table, or the prints and casts on the walls. In no society -in the world could the division of parties be more distinct, and their -alienation more threatening than in Charleston at the time I was -there.[15] The Union gentlemen and ladies were dispirited and timid. -They asked one another's opinion whether there was not some mysterious -stir among the nullifiers; whether they were not concerting measures for -a new defiance of the general government. This anxious watchfulness -contrasted strangely with the arrogant bearing of the leading -nullifiers. During my stay Mr. Calhoun and his family arrived from -Congress; and there was something very striking in the welcome he -received, like that of a chief returned to the bosom of his clan. He -stalked about like a monarch of the little domain; and there was -certainly an air of mysterious understanding between him and his -followers, whether there was really any great secret under it or not. -One lady, who had contributed ample amounts of money to the -nullification funds, and a catechism to nullification lore, amused while -she grieved me by the strength of her political feelings. While calling -on her one morning, the conversation turned on prints, and I asked an -explanation of a strange-looking one which hung opposite my eye; the -portrait of a gentleman, the top of the head and the dress visible, but -the face obliterated or covered over. She was only too ready to explain. -It was a portrait of President Jackson, which she had hung up in days -when he enjoyed her favour. Since nullification she had covered over the -face, to show how she hated him. A stranger hardly knows what to think -of a cause whose leaders will flatter and cherish the perpetrators of a -piece of petty spite like this; yet this lady is treated as if she were -a main pillar of the nullification party. - -Footnote 15: For an explanation of nullification, and a short history -of the struggle of the nullifiers, see "Society in America," vol. i., -p. 92-109. - -Some of our mornings were spent in going with the Hayne and Calhoun -families to the public library, to a panorama, and to the arsenal. The -library is supported by private subscriptions, and is very creditable to -the city, whose zeal about its books might well have been exhausted by -the repeated destruction of the library by fire and in the war. We -amused ourselves with files of newspapers which have survived all -disasters; old London Gazettes and colonial papers extending as far back -as 1678. - -We visited the arsenal twice; the second time with Mr. Calhoun and -Governor Hayne, when we saw the arms and ammunition, which were not -visible the first time, because "the key was not on the premises;" a -token that no invasion was immediately expected. There were two bombs -brought in by Governor Hayne, and all the warlike apparatus which was -made ready during the nullification struggle. It is difficult to believe -that Mr. Calhoun seriously meant to go to war with such means as his -impoverished state could furnish; but there is no doubt that he did -intend it. The ladies were very animated in their accounts of their -State Rights Ball, held in the area of the arsenal, and of their -subscriptions of jewels to the war fund. They were certainly in earnest. - -The soldiers were paraded in our presence, some eleven or twelve -recruits, I believe; and then Mr. Calhoun first, and Governor Hayne -afterward, uncovered and addressed them with as much gravity and -effusion of patriotic sentiment as if we had been standing on the verge -of a battle-field. Some of our party were of Union politics, and they -looked exceedingly arch during the speechifying. It will be too sad if -this child's play should be turned into bloodshed after all, for the -gratification of any man's restless ambition, or in the guilty hope of -protracting slavery under the reprobation of the whole of society except -a small band of mercenaries. - -My chief interest in these expeditions was in the personages who -accompanied me. Governor Hayne's name is well known in England from his -having furnished the provocation to Webster's renowned speech, -exhibiting the constitutional argument against nullification; and from -his being afterward the leader of the struggle in South Carolina, while -Mr. Calhoun fulfilled the same function in Congress. He is descended -from the Haynes whose cruel sufferings in the Revolutionary War are -notorious, to the disgrace of the British; one of the two brothers -having perished through the miseries of a British prison-ship, and the -other having been hanged by Lord Rawdon and Colonel Balfour, under -circumstances which, I believe, justify the horror and reprobation with -which the act is viewed by all who have heard the story. It is one of -the most dreadful tales of the Revolutionary War, and the English have -not been behind the Americans in their feeling with regard to the case. -The circumstances are briefly these:-- - -Colonel Isaac Hayne was a peaceful planter at the time of the breaking -out of the war. He lived upon his estate all the year round, and was -remarkably quiet and domestic in his temper and habits. He served in the -American army during the siege of Charleston; and, on the fall of the -city, returned to his plantation, under the guarantee of security to -person and property shared by all who had capitulated at Charleston. The -smallpox broke out in his family; all his children had it; one was dead, -and his wife dying, when Colonel Hayne received peremptory orders to -repair to the British standard, to take up arms as a British subject, or -to surrender himself prisoner at Charleston. He declared that no force -should separate him from his dying wife and children, and asserted his -inviolability under the capitulation of Charleston. The British officer, -Colonel Bellingall, who brought the order, assured him of his immediate -return home if he would repair to Charleston, to give an assurance that -he would "demean himself as a British subject while the country should -be covered with a British army." Colonel Hayne went, with the written -agreement of Colonel Bellingall in his hand. He was, however, detained, -and offered the alternative of lasting imprisonment or of signing an -unconditional promise to obey orders as a British subject. He declared -that he never would bear arms against his country, and was assured that -this act would never be required of him. There were several witnesses to -his having signed under this protest and assurance. He returned to his -family, finding another of his children dead, and his wife just -expiring. - -He observed the strictest neutrality while the promise under which he -signed was kept. His house was alternately occupied by English and -American troops, when the prospects of the republicans began to improve; -and he is known to have refused to let his horses be used by friends in -the American force; in short, to have kept his engagement like a man of -honour. His position was, however, considered too perilous a one, and he -was summoned to join the British standard. He considered that this was -such a violation of a promise on the part of the British officers as set -him free. He joined his countrymen, fought, and was captured. He was -imprisoned at Charleston for some weeks till Lord Rawdon came to town, -and then, after two days' notice, brought before a court of inquiry, -consisting of four general officers and five captains. Having no idea -that this was anything more than a preliminary measure, and finding that -the members of the court were not sworn, nor the witnesses examined on -oath, Colonel Hayne called no witnesses, and the proceedings closed -without his being aware that he had gone through an affair of life or -death. He was wholly taken by surprise, therefore, at the news conveyed -to him by letter that he was to die on the gibbet the next day but one. -He was respited for forty-eight hours, in order that he might see his -children, and in consideration of the "humane treatment shown by him to -the British prisoners who fell into his hands," and he spent the -interval in the discharge of business and affectionate intercourse with -his friends. His chief regret was, that this act would probably provoke -retaliation, and so lead to the shedding of much innocent blood. He -required his eldest son, a boy of thirteen, to be present at his -execution, in order to receive his body, and see that it was laid in the -family burial-place. The boy, frantic with grief, declared that he -should not long survive him; and it is not surprising that he shortly -became insane and died. Colonel Hayne met his fate with a tranquillity -which convinced his enemies that (to use their own words), "though he -did not die in a good cause, he must, at least, have acted from a -persuasion of its being so." - -Such stories are very painful, but they ought not to be forgotten. The -horrors of colonial war may not be over; and it is well that the -conflicts of duty and affection which can take place only in wars of -this character should be remembered, while Great Britain has colonies -which she may oppress, and noble subjects, like Colonel Hayne, whom she -may be even now alienating, and whose contrariety of affections she may -be yet again driven or tempted to solve in blood. - -The present representative of the family was made speaker of the South -Carolina House of Representatives at the age of twenty-seven. He was -afterward attorney-general of the state, a senator in Congress, and -governor of the state. During the preparations for war in 1832, he was -the soul of every movement. He is now considered to be deeply involved -in the Southern transactions relating to the acquisition of Texas, -whatever these may in reality be, and to have linked his fortunes with -the slavery question. When I saw him he was forty-four years of age, -with a robust, active frame, a lively, pleasant countenance, and very -engaging manners, with much of the eagerness of the schoolboy mixed with -the ease of the gentleman. He can do everything better than reason, as -appeared in the senatorial conflict, in which he was ground to powder by -the tremendous weight and force of Webster's constitutional argument and -sound declamation. Governor Hayne can state clearly, enforce ardently, -illustrate gracefully, and boast magnificently, but he cannot reason. -His best friends are probably the most anxious to admit this; for there -is such want of reason in his present course of opposition to the first -principles on which society is founded, and in his attachment to wornout -feudal institutions, that the observer, however friendly, finds himself -reduced to the alternative of supposing this busy mind perverted by -unholy passions or by an unbalanced imagination. - -Governor Hamilton is less known at a distance, but he is, perhaps, a yet -more perfect representative of the Southern gentleman. He is handsome, -and his manners have all the grace without much of the arrogance of the -bearing of his class. I was much struck, too, with his generous -appreciation of the powers and virtues of the great men of every party -at Washington; a moral grace which I should have been glad to see shared -in a greater degree by some of his neighbours. Governor Hamilton has -done what he could to impair the favourable impressions he makes upon -all who know him by the atrocious report he issued in 1835, as chairman -of a committee of the South Carolina Legislature appointed to consider -what steps should be taken in defence of "the peculiar domestic -institutions of the South." This report is unconstitutional in its -requisitions, and savage in its spirit towards the abolitionists. - -With these gentlemen, their friends, and the ladies of their families, -we saw many sights and passed many pleasant hours; and with gentlemen -and ladies of the opposite party we spent other portions of our leisure. -I was told much of the Poorhouse, rather in a tone of boasting; and I -was anxious to see what a poorhouse could be in a region where all -labourers were private property, and where pauperism would therefore -seem to be obviated. Infirmity, vice, and orphanhood keep up a small -amount of pauperism even here, reducing capitalists to a state of -dependance. There were about one hundred and twenty inmates when I -visited the institution, and the number was soon to be reduced by the -periodical clearance made by sending the children to the Orphan-house, -and the insane to the State asylum at Columbia. The intemperate and -vagrants were employed in coffin-making and stone-breaking. By a slight -stretch of the law, persons found drunk are sent here and locked up for -a month. We saw two respectable-looking men who had been brought in -intoxicated the day before, and who looked duly ashamed of their -situation. - -The Orphan-house has been established about forty years, and it -contained, at the time of my visit, two hundred children. As none but -whites are admitted, it is found to be no encouragement to vice to admit -all destitute children, whether orphans or not; for the licentiousness -of the South takes the women of colour for its victims. The children in -this establishment are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and the -girls sewing; but the prejudice against work appears as much here as -anywhere. No active labour goes on; the boys do not even garden. No -employment is attempted which bears any resemblance to what is done by -slaves. The boys are apprenticed out to trades at fourteen, and the -girls to mantuamaking, almost the only employment in which a white -Southern woman can earn a subsistence. The children are taken in from -the age of two years, but they generally enter at the ages of four, -five, or six. I was rather surprised to see them badged, an -anti-republican practice which had better be abolished; but I wondered -the less when I observed the statue of Pitt still standing in the -courtyard, with the right arm shot off in the war, however. There is a -good-sized church connected with this establishment, which was well -filled on the afternoon when I went with the family of a friend, who was -taking his turn with his brother clergy to preach. - -Charleston is the place in which to see those contrasting scenes of -human life brought under the eye which moralists gather together for the -purpose of impressing the imagination. The stranger has but to pass from -street to street, to live from hour to hour in this city, to see in -conjunction the extremes between which there is everywhere else a wide -interval. The sights of one morning I should remember if every other -particular of my travels were forgotten. I was driven round the city by -a friend whose conversation was delightful all the way. Though I did not -agree in all his views of society, the thoughtfulness of his mind and -the benevolence of his exertions betokened a healthy state of feeling, -and gave value to all he said. He had been a friend of the lamented -Grimke; and he showed me the house where Grimke lived and died, and told -me much of him; of the nobleness of his character, the extent of his -attainments, and how, dying at fifty-four, he had lived by industry a -long life. My mind was full of the contemplation of the heights which -human beings are destined to reach, when I was plunged into a new scene; -one which it was my own conscientious choice to visit, but for which the -preceding conversation had ill-prepared me. I went into the slave -market, a place which the traveller ought not to avoid to spare his -feelings. There was a table on which stood two auctioneers, one with a -hammer, the other to exhibit "the article" and count the bids. The -slaves for sale were some of them in groups below, and some in a long -row behind the auctioneers. The sale of a man was just concluding when -we entered the market. A woman, with two children, one at the breast, -and another holding by her apron, composed the next lot. The restless, -jocose zeal of the auctioneer who counted the bids was the most infernal -sight I ever beheld. The woman was a mulatto; she was neatly dressed, -with a clean apron and a yellow head-handkerchief. The elder child clung -to her. She hung her head low, lower, and still lower on her breast, yet -turning her eyes incessantly from side to side, with an intensity of -expectation which showed that she had not reached the last stage of -despair. I should have thought that her agony of shame and dread would -have silenced the tongue of every spectator; but it was not so. A lady -chose this moment to turn to me and say, with a cheerful air of -complacency, "You know my theory, that one race must be subservient to -the other. I do not care which; and if the blacks should ever have the -upper hand, I should not mind standing on that table, and being sold -with two of my children." Who could help saying within himself, "Would -you were! so that that mother were released!" Who could help seeing in -vision the blacks driving the whites into the field, and preaching from -the pulpits of Christian churches the doctrines now given out there, -that God has respect of persons; that men are to hold each other as -property, instead of regarding each other as brethren; and that the -right interpretation of the golden rule by the slaveholder is, "Do unto -your slaves as you would wish your master to do unto you if you were a -slave!" A little boy of eight or nine years old, apparently, was next -put up alone. There was no bearing the child's look of helplessness and -shame. It seemed like an outrage to be among the starers from whom he -shrunk, and we went away before he was disposed of. - -We next entered a number of fine houses, where we were presented with -flowers, and entertained with lively talk about the small affairs of gay -society, which to little minds are great. To me every laugh had lost its -gayety, every courtesy had lost its grace, all intercourse had lost its -innocence. It was a relief to think of Grimke in his grave, escaped from -the hell in which we were pent. If there be a scene which might stagger -the faith of the spirit of Christianity itself; if there be an -experience which might overthrow its serenity, it is the transition from -the slavemarket to the abodes of the slavemasters, bright with sunshine, -and gay with flowers, with courtesies, and mirth. - -If the moral gloom which oppresses the spirit of the stranger were felt -by the residents, of course this condition of society would not endure -another day. Much trouble is experienced, and there are many sighs over -the system; but the anxiety is not to any great number what it was to -the sisters of Grimke; such a poisoner of life as to induce them to -sacrifice property, home, friends, and repose, in order to obtain ease -of mind for themselves, and to do something towards destroying the curse -by which their native region is blighted. Every day shows how many -mansions there are in this hell; how variously the universally allowed -evil visits minds of different strength and discernment. All suffer, -from the frivolous and sophisticated child to the far-seeing and -disciplined saint. The difficulty is to have patience with the -diversity, and to wait, as God waits, till the moral gloom strikes upon -every heart, and causes every eye to turn for light where some already -see it. At the same hour when the customary sins of the slavemarket were -being perpetrated, hundreds of the little people of Charleston were -preparing for their childish pleasures--their merry dancing-schools, -their juvenile fancy balls--ordering their little slaves about, and -allowing themselves to be fanned by black attendants while reposing in -preparation for the fatigues of the evening; ministers of the Gospel -were agreeing to deprive persons of colour of all religious education; -a distant Lynch mob was outraging the person of a free and innocent -citizen; elegant ladies were administering hospitality, and exchanging -gossip and sentiment; and Angelina Grimke was penning the letter which -contains the following passages, a private letter to a friend who was -shortly to undergo the strengthening process of being mobbed:-- - -"I can hardly express to thee the deep and solemn interest with which I -have viewed the violent proceedings of the last few weeks. Although I -expected opposition, yet I was not prepared for it so soon; it took me -by surprise, and I greatly feared abolitionists would be driven back in -the first onset, and thrown into confusion. So fearful was I, that, -though I clung with unflinching firmness to our principles, yet I was -afraid of even opening one of thy papers, lest I should see some -indications of compromise, some surrender, some palliation. Under these -feelings I was urged to read thy appeal to the citizens of Boston. -Judge, then, what were my feelings on finding that my fears were utterly -groundless, and that thou stoodst firm in the midst of the storm, -determined to suffer and to die rather than yield one inch. - -"Religious persecution always begins with mobs. It is always -unprecedented in the age or country in which it commences, and, -therefore, there are no laws by which reformers can be punished; -consequently, a lawless band of unprincipled men determine to take the -matter into their own hands, and act out in mobs what they know are the -principles of a large majority of those who are too high in church and -state to condescend to mingle with them, though they secretly approve -and rejoice over their violent measures. The first Christian martyr was -stoned by a lawless mob; and if we look at the rise of various sects, -Methodists, Friends, &c., we shall find that mobs began the persecution -against them, and that it was not until after the people had spoken out -their wishes that laws were framed to fine, imprison, or destroy them. -Let us, then, be prepared for the enactment of laws, even in our free -states, against abolitionists. And how ardently has the prayer been -breathed, that God would prepare us for all that he is preparing for us! - -"My mind has been especially turned towards those who are standing in -the forefront of the battle, and the prayer has gone up for their -preservation; not the preservation of their lives, but the preservation -of their minds in humility and patience, faith, hope, and _charity_. If -persecution is the means which God has ordained for the accomplishment -of this great end, emancipation, then, in dependance upon him for -strength to bear it, I feel as if I could say, 'Let it come;' for it is -my deep, solemn, deliberate conviction, that this is a cause worth dying -for. - -"At one time I thought this system would be overthrown in blood, with -the confused noise of the warrior; but a hope gleams across my mind that -our blood will be spilt instead of the slaveholders'; our lives will be -taken, and theirs spared. I say 'a hope,' for, of all things, I desire -to be spared the anguish of seeing our beloved country desolated with -the horrors of a servile war." - -The writer of this letter was born into the system, under the same -circumstances with the ladies who repeatedly asked me if I did not find -that the slaves were very happy. So widely different are the influences -of the same circumstances upon different minds! - -Our evening engagements were as strangely contrasted as those of the -morning. We were at parties where we heard loud talk of justice and -oppression; appeals to the eternal principles of the one, when the -tariff was the subject, and expressions of the most passionate -detestation of the other, which might, but for the presence of black -faces in the rooms, lead a stranger to suppose that he was in the very -sanctuary of human rights. We were at a young heiress's first ball, -where every guest was presented with a bouquet on entering; where the -young ladies waltzed, and the young gentlemen gave a loose to their -spirits, and all who were present had kindly greetings for the stranger. -Nothing could be gayer than the external aspect of these entertainments; -but it is impossible for the stranger to avoid being struck with the -anxiety which shows itself through it all. I think I never was in -society in any of the Southern cities without being asked what I would -do if I had a legacy of slaves, or told, in vindictiveness or sorrow, -that the prosperity of the North was obtained at the expense of the -South. I was never in Southern society without perceiving that its -characteristic is a want of repose. It is restlessly gay or restlessly -sorrowful. It is angry or exulting; it is hopeful or apprehensive. It is -never content; never in such a state of calm satisfaction as to forget -itself. This peculiarity poisons the satisfaction of the stranger in -the midst of the free and joyous hospitality to which he would otherwise -surrender himself with inconsiderate delight. While everything is done -that can be conceived of to make you happy, there is a weight pulling at -your heartstrings, because you see that other hearts are heavy, and the -nobler the heavier. While the host's little child comes to you at first -sight, and holds up her mouth for a kiss, and offers to tell you a -story, and pours out all her mirth and all her generosity upon you, the -child's father tells you that there is a dark prospect before these -young creatures, and Heaven knows what lot is in store for them. Your -vigilance is kept active by continual suggestions that society is -composed of two classes, which entertain a mortal dread of each other. -If ever you forget this for an hour, it is recalled by the sight of a -soldier at the corner of a street, of a decaying mansion or deserted -estate, or of some anti-republican arrangement for social or domestic -defence. You reproach yourself because you are anxious and cannot be -deceived; and feel as if it were ingratitude to your entertainers not to -think them the secure and happy people which, in alternation with their -complaints of all the external world, they assure you they are. - -Our evenings were diversified with attendance upon phrenological -lectures--which, however, soon ceases to be a variety, from the absolute -sameness of all courses of lectures on that subject--with readings at -home, and with a visit to a scene which I was strongly urged not to -omit, the Saturday night's market held by the slaves. - -I should have been sorry to miss this spectacle. The slaves enjoy the -amusement and profit yielded by this market. They sit in rows, by -lamplight, some with heaps of fruit and vegetables before them, or -surrounded by articles of their own manufacture: boxes, bedsteads, -baskets, and other handiworks, very cheap, and of good workmanship. The -bananas, pines, imported apples, and oranges, which are seen in great -abundance, are usually the property of the master; while the -manufactured articles, made at spare hours, are nominally the slave's -own. Some are allowed to make use of their leisure in preparing for the -market, on condition of bringing their masters six dollars each per -week, retaining whatever surplus they may gain. I could not learn the -consequence of failing to bring in the six dollars per week. They enjoy -the fun and bustle of the market, and look with complacency on any white -customers who will attend it. Their activity and merriment at market -were pointed out to me as an assurance of their satisfaction with their -condition, their conviction that their present position is the one they -were made for, and in which their true happiness is to be found. - -At the very same moment I was shown the ruins of the church of St. -Philip, destroyed by fire, as they frowned in the rear of the lamplight; -and I was informed that the church had once before been on fire, but had -been saved by the exertions of a slave, who "had his liberty given him -for a reward." - -"A reward!" said I. "What! when the slaves are convinced that their true -happiness lies in slavery?" - -The conversation had come to an awkward pass. A lady advanced to the -rescue, saying that some few, too many, were haunted by a pernicious -fancy, put into their heads by others, about liberty; a mere fancy, -which, however, made them like the idea of freedom. - -"So the benefactor of the city was rewarded by being indulged, to his -own hurt, in a pernicious fancy?" - -"Why ... yes." - -My impressions of Charleston may easily be gathered from what I have -said. It seems to me a place of great activity, without much -intellectual result; of great gayety, without much ease and pleasure. I -am confident that, whatever might be the reason, the general mind was -full of mystery and anxiety at the time of my visit; and that some -hearts were glowing with ambitious hopes, and others sinking in fears, -more or less clearly defined, of the political crisis which seems to be -now at hand. These are the influences which are educating the youth of -Charleston, more powerfully than all schools and colleges, and all -books; inducing a reliance on physical rather than moral force, and -strengthening attachment to feudal notions of honour and of every kind -of good; notions which have no affinity with true republican morals. The -prospects of the citizens are "dark every way," as some declared; for -the rising generation must either ascend, through a severe discipline -and prodigious sacrifices, to a conformity with republican principles, -or descend into a condition of solitary feudalism, neither sanctioned by -the example nor cheered by the sympathy of the world; but, on the -contrary, regarded with that compassion which is precisely the last -species of regard which the feudal spirit is able to endure. - -We left Charleston in company with Mr. Calhoun and his family. The great -nullifier told me many and long stories of his early days. Not being -aware of my strong impressions respecting his present views and -purposes, he could have no idea of the intense interest with which I -listened to his accounts of the first kindling of his burning mind. He -was five years old, standing between his father's knees, when his first -political emotions stirred within him, awakened by his parent's talk of -the colony and of free times just after the Revolution. If some good -angel had at that moment whispered the parent, inspiring him to direct -that young ambition to the ultimate grandeur of meek service, to animate -that high spirit to a moral conflict with all human wrongs, we might -already have owed to a mind so energetic the redemption of the negro -race from the affliction, and of the republic from the disgrace of -slavery, instead of mourning over the dedication of such powers to the -propagation and exasperation of the curse. I feared how it would be; -what part he would take in the present struggle between the two -principles of greatness, physical force with territorial conquest, and -moral power shown in self-conquest. I feared that Mr. Calhoun would -organize and head the feudal party, as he has done; but I never had any -fears that that party would prevail. When we parted at Branchville he -little knew--he might have been offended if he had known--with what -affectionate solicitude those whom he left behind looked on into his -perilous political path. I am glad we could not foresee how soon our -fears would be justified. Mr. Calhoun is at present insisting that the -pirate colony of Texas shall be admitted into the honourable American -Union; that a new impulse shall thereby be given to the slavetrade, and -a new extension to slavery; and that his country shall thereby surrender -her moral supremacy among the nations for a gross and antiquated feudal -ambition. He vows, taking the whole Union to witness, that these things -shall be. The words have publicly passed his pen and his lips, "Texas -shall be annexed to the United States." His best friends must hope that -the whole world will say, "It shall not." - - - - -RESTLESS SLAVES. - - - "O! das Leben, Vater, - Hat Reize, die wir nie gekannt. Wir haben - Des schoenen Lebens oede Kuetse nur - Wie ein umirrend Raeubervolk befahren. - Was in den innern Thaelern Koestliches - Das land verbirgt, O! davon--davon ist - Auf unsrer wilden Fahrt uns nichts erschienen." - - SCHILLER. - - "We ask - But to put forth our strength, our human strength, - All starting fairly, all equipped alike, - Gifted alike, and eagle-eyed, true-hearted." - - PARACELSUS. - - -The traveller in America hears on every hand of the fondness of slaves -for slavery. If he points to the little picture of a runaway prefixed to -advertisements of fugitives, and repeated down whole columns of the -first newspaper that comes to hand, he is met with anecdotes of slaves -who have been offered their freedom, and prefer remaining in bondage. -Both aspects of the question are true, and yet more may be said on both -sides. The traveller finds, as he proceeds, that suicides are very -frequent among slaves; and that there is a race of Africans who will not -endure bondage at all, and who, when smuggled from Africa into -Louisiana, are avoided in the market by purchasers, though they have -great bodily strength and comeliness. When one of this race is -accidentally purchased and taken home, he is generally missed before -twenty-four hours are over, and found hanging behind a door or drowned -in the nearest pond. The Cuba slaveholders have volumes of stories to -tell of this race, proving their incapacity for slavery. On the other -hand, the traveller may meet with a few negroes who have returned into -slaveland from a state of freedom, and besought their masters to take -them back. - -These seeming contradictions admit of an easy explanation. Slaves are -more or less degraded by slavery in proportion to their original -strength of character or educational discipline of mind. The most -degraded are satisfied, the least degraded are dissatisfied with -slavery. The lowest order prefer release from duties and cares to the -enjoyment of rights and the possession of themselves; and the highest -order have a directly opposite taste. The mistake lies in not perceiving -that slavery is emphatically condemned by the conduct of both. - -The stories on the one side of the question are all alike. The master -offers freedom--of course, to the worst of his slaves--to those who are -more plague than profit. Perhaps he sends the fellow he wants to get rid -of on some errand into a free state, hoping that he will not return. The -man comes back; and, if questioned as to why he did not stay where he -might have been free, he replies that he knows better than to work hard -for a precarious living when he can be fed by his master without anxiety -of his own as long as he lives. As for those who return after having -been free, they are usually the weak-minded, who have been persuaded -into remaining in a free state, where they have been carried in -attendance on their masters' families, and who want courage to sustain -their unprotected freedom. I do not remember ever hearing of the return -of a slave who, having long nourished the idea and purpose of liberty, -had absconded with danger and difficulty. The prosecution of such a -purpose argues a strength of mind worthy of freedom. - -The stories on this side of the question are as various as the -characters and fortunes of the heroes of them. Many facts of this nature -became known to me during my travels, most of which cannot be published, -for fear of involving in difficulty either the escaped heroes or those -who assisted them in regaining their liberty. But a few may be safely -related, which will show, as well as any greater number, the kind of -restlessness which is the torment of the lives of "persons held to -labour," the constitutional description of the slave-class of the -constituents of government. - -Slavery is nowhere more hopeless and helpless than in Alabama. The -richness of the soil and the paucity of inhabitants make the labourer a -most valuable possession; while his distance from any free state--the -extent of country overspread with enemies which the fugitive has to -traverse--makes the attempt to escape desperate. All coloured persons -travelling in the slave states without a pass--a certificate of freedom -or of leave--are liable to be arrested and advertised, and, if unclaimed -at the end of a certain time, sold in the market. Yet slaves do -continue to escape from the farthest corners of Alabama or Mississippi. -Two slaves in Alabama, who had from their early manhood cherished the -idea of freedom, planned their escape in concert, and laboured for many -years at their scheme. They were allowed the profits of their labour at -over-hours; and, by strenuous toil and self-denial, saved and hid a -large sum of money. Last year they found they had enough, and that the -time was come for the execution of their purpose. They engaged the -services of "a mean white;" one of the extremely degraded class who are -driven by loss of character to labour in the slave states, where, labour -by whites being disgraceful, they are looked down upon by the slaves no -less than the slaves are by the superior whites. These two slaves hired -a "mean white man" to personate a gentleman; bought him a suit of good -clothes, a portmanteau, a carriage and horses, and proper costume for -themselves. One night the three set off in style, as master, coachman, -and footman, and travelled rapidly through the whole country, without -the slightest hinderance, to Buffalo. There the slaves sold their -carriage, horses, and finery, paid off their white man, and escaped into -Canada, where they now are in safety. - -They found in Canada a society of their own colour prepared to welcome -and aid them. In Upper Canada there are upward of ten thousand people of -colour, chiefly fugitive slaves, who prosper in the country which they -have chosen for a refuge. Scarcely an instance is known of any of them -having received alms, and they are as respectable for their intelligence -as for their morals. One peculiarity in them is the extravagance of -their loyalty. They exert themselves vehemently in defence of all the -acts of the executive, whatever they may be. The reason for this is -obvious: they exceedingly dread the barest mention of the annexation of -Canada to the United States. - -It is astonishing that, in the face of facts of daily occurrence like -that of the escape of these men, it can be pleaded in behalf of slavery -that negroes cannot take care of themselves, and that they prefer being -held as property. A lady of New-York favoured me with some of her -recollections of slavery in that state. She told me of a favourite -servant who had been her father's property for five-and-twenty years. I -believe the woman was the family nurse. She was treated with all -possible indulgence, and was the object of the attachment of the whole -household. The woman was never happy. During all these dreary years she -was haunted with the longing for freedom, and at last fell ill, -apparently from anxiety of mind. From her sickbed she implored her -master so movingly to make her free, and her medical attendant was so -convinced that her life depended on her request being granted, that her -master made the desired promise, but very unwillingly, as he thought -freedom would be more of a care than a blessing to her. She immediately -recovered, and in spite of all entreaty, pecuniary inducement, and -appeals to her gratitude, left the family. She shed many tears, mourned -over parting with the children, and thanked the family for all the -favour with which she had been treated, but declared that she could not -remain. Everything savoured too strongly of the bondage she had been -unable to endure. She took a service not far off, deposited her earnings -with her old master, and frequently visited the family, but, to the -last, shrank from all mention of returning to them. - -While I was in the United States, a New-York friend of mine was counsel -for a native African who sued his mistress for his earnings of many -years. This man had been landed in the South after the year 1808, the -date fixed by the Constitution for the cessation of the importation of -negroes. He was purchased by a lady to whom he proved very profitable, -his services being of a superior kind. She let him out, and he paid over -to her all the money he earned. After many years she visited New-York, -bringing this man with her, not anticipating that, in that free city, he -would gain new lights as to his relation to her. He refused to return, -and brought his mistress into court to answer his demand for the -repayment of all the money he had earned abroad, with interest, and -compensation for his services at home during his illegal bondage. As a -knowledge of the law was necessarily supposed on both sides, the counsel -for the slave made compulsion his plea. This was not allowed. The -slave's maintenance was decided to be a sufficient compensation for his -services at home, and he was decreed to receive only the earnings of his -hired labour, without interest. His counsel had, however, the pleasure -of seeing him, in the strength of his manhood, free, and in possession -of a large sum of money to begin life with on his own account. - -A woman once lived in Massachusetts whose name ought to be preserved in -all histories of the State as one of its honours, though she was a -slave. Some anecdotes of her were related in a Lyceum lecture delivered -at Stockbridge in 1831. Others were told me by the Sedgwicks, who had -the honour of knowing her best, by means of rendering her the greatest -services. Mum Bett, whose real name was Elizabeth Freeman, was born, it -is supposed, about 1742. Her parents were native Africans, and she was a -slave for about thirty years. At an early age she was purchased, with -her sister, from the family into which she was born, in the State of -New-York, by Colonel Ashley, of Sheffield, Massachusetts. The lady of the -mansion, in a fit of passion, one day struck at Mum Bett's sister with -a heated kitchen shovel. Mum Bett interposed her arm and received the -blow, the scar of which she bore to the day of her death. "She resented -the insult and outrage as a white person would have done," leaving the -house, and refusing to return. Colonel Ashley appealed to the law for -the recovery of his slave. Mum Bett called on Mr. Sedgwick, and asked -him if she could not claim her liberty under the law. He inquired what -could put such an idea into her head. She replied that the "Bill o' -Rights" said that all were born free and equal, and that, as she was not -a dumb beast, she was certainly one of the nation. When afterward asked -how she learned the doctrine and facts on which she proceeded, she -replied, "By keepin' still and mindin' things." It was a favourite -doctrine of hers, that people might learn by keeping still and minding -things. But what did she mean, she was asked, by keeping still and -minding things? Why, for instance, when she was waiting at table, she -heard gentlemen talking over the Bill of Rights and the new constitution -of Massachusetts; and in all they said she never heard but that all -people were born free and equal, and she thought long about it, and -resolved she would try whether she did not come in among them. - -Mr. Sedgwick undertook her cause, which was tried at Great Barrington. -Mum Bett obtained her freedom, and compensation for her services from -twenty-one years of age. "What shall I do with all this money of yours?" -said Mr. Sedgwick. "Fee the lawyers handsomely; pay 'em well," said she, -"and keep the rest till I want it." She was offered every inducement to -return to Colonel Ashley's, but she recoiled from all that reminded her -of slavery. She begged the Sedgwicks to take her into their family, -which they did; and with them she spent twenty years of great comfort. -Her example was followed by many slaves; and from the day of her -emancipation in 1772, more and more claimants were decreed free under -the Bill of Rights, till slavery was abolished in Massachusetts. - -Her services to the Sedgwick family are gratefully remembered by them. -She is believed to have saved her master's life by following her own -judgment in his treatment when she was nursing him in a dangerous fever. -When her master was in Boston, and the rural districts were liable to -nightly visitations from marauders after Shay's war (as an insurrection -in Massachusetts was called), the village of Stockbridge, in the absence -of the gentlemen, depended on Mum Bett for its safety, so general was -the confidence in her wisdom and courage. The practice of the marauders -was to enter and plunder gentlemen's houses in the night, on pretence of -searching for ammunition and prisoners. Mum Bett declared that she could -have no cowards in the village; as many as were afraid had better go up -the hills to sleep. Several children and a few women went up the hills -in the evening to farmhouses which were safe from intrusion. All brought -their valuables of small bulk to Mum Bett for security. Everybody's -watches, gold chains, rings, and other trinkets were deposited in an -iron chest in the garret where Mum Bett slept. - -The marauders arrived one night when Mrs. Sedgwick was very ill, and Mum -Bett was unwilling to admit them. She quietly told her mistress that her -pistols were loaded, and that a few shots from the windows would -probably send the wretches away, as they could not be sure but that -there were gentlemen in the house. Her mistress, however, positively -ordered her to let the people in without delay. Mum Bett obeyed the -order with much unwillingness. She appeared at the door with a large -kitchen shovel in one hand and a light in the other, and assured the -strangers that they would find nothing of what they asked for; neither -Judge Sedgwick, nor ammunition and prisoners. They chose to search the -house, however, as she had expected. Her great fear was that they would -drink themselves intoxicated in the cellar, and become unmanageable; and -she had prepared for this by putting rows of porter bottles in front of -the wine and spirits, having drawn the corks to let the porter get flat, -and put them in again. The intruders offered to take the light from her -hand, but she held it back, saying that no one should carry the light -but herself. Here was the way to the cellars, and there was the way to -the chambers: she would light the gentlemen wherever they chose to go, -but she would not let the house be set on fire over her sick mistress's -head. "The gentlemen" went down to the cellar first. One of the party -broke the neck of a bottle of porter, for which she rebuked him, saying, -that if they wished to drink, she would fetch the corkscrew, and draw -the cork, and they might drink like gentlemen; but that, if any one -broke the neck of another bottle, she would lay him low with her shovel. -The flat porter was not to the taste of the visiters, who made wry -faces, and said, if gentlemen liked such cursed bitter stuff, they might -keep it, and praised spirits in comparison; upon which Mum Bett coolly -observed that they were "sort o' gentlemen that lived here that did not -drink spirits." - -At the foot of the cellar stairs stood a barrel of pickled pork, out of -which the intruders began helping themselves. In a tone of utter scorn -Mum Bett exclaimed, "Ammunition and prisoners, indeed! You come for -ammunition and prisoners, and take up with pickled pork!" They were -fairly ashamed, and threw back the pork into the barrel. They went -through all the chambers, poking with their bayonets under the beds, -lest Judge Sedgwick should be there. At last, to Mum Bett's sorrow, they -decided to search the garrets. In hers the iron chest came into view. -She hoped in vain that they would pass it over. One of the party -observed that it looked as if it held something. Mum Bett put down the -light, kneeled on the chest, and brandished her weapon, saying, "This is -my chist, and let any man touch it at his peril." The men considered the -matter not worth contesting, and went down stairs. They were actually -departing without having met with a single article of value enough to -carry away, when a young lady, a niece of Judge Sedgwick's, wishing to -be civil to the wretches, asked them, at the hall door, whether they -would like to see the stables. They were glad of the hint, and stole one -horse (if I remember right), and ruined another with hard riding. Mum -Bett's expression of wrath was, "If I had thought the pesky fools would -have done such a thing, I would have turned the horses loose over night -in the meadow; they would have come back at my call in the morning." - -She was considered as connected with Judge Sedgwick's family after she -had left their house for a home of her own. By her great industry and -frugality she supported a large family of grandchildren and -great-grandchildren. There was nothing remarkable about her husband, and -her descendants do not appear to have inherited her genius. Mum Bett -lies in the Stockbridge graveyard, in the corner where the people of -colour _lie apart_. Her epitaph, written by a son of Judge Sedgwick, is -as follows:-- - - ELIZABETH FREEMAN, - Known by the name of - MUM BETT, - Died December 28, 1829. Her supposed age was 85 years. - She was born a slave, and remained a slave for nearly thirty years: - she could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she - had no superior nor equal: she neither wasted time nor - property: she never violated a trust, nor failed to - perform a duty. In every situation of domestic - trial, she was the most efficient helper - and the tenderest friend. - GOOD MOTHER FAREWELL. - -As far as energy and talent are concerned, I should not hesitate to say -that in her own sphere Mum Bett "had no superior nor equal;" and the -same may be said about the quality of fidelity. I know of a slave in -Louisiana who picked up a parcel containing 10,000 dollars, and returned -it, with much trouble, to its owner. I know of a slave in South -Carolina, belonging to a physician, who drives his master's gig, and has -made a wonderful use of what he sees in the course of his morning's -duty. While waiting for his master at the doors of patients, this slave -occupied himself with copying in the sandy soil the letters he saw on -signs. When he believed he had caught the method, he begged a slate, or -paper and pencil, and brought home his copies, coaxing the boys of the -family to tell him the names of the letters. He then put them together, -and thus learned to read and write, without any further help whatever. -Having once discovered his own power of doing and learning, he went on -in the only direction which seemed open to him. He turned his attention -to mechanism, and makes miniature violins and pianos of surprising -completeness, but no use. Here he will most likely stop; for there is no -probability of his ever ceasing to be a slave, or having opportunity to -turn to practical account a degree of energy, patience, and skill which, -in happier circumstances, might have been the instruments of great -deeds. - -The energies of slaves sometimes take a direction which their masters -contrive to render profitable, when they take to religion as a pursuit. -The universal, unquenchable reverence for religion in the human mind is -taken advantage of when the imagination of the slave has been turned -into the channel of superstition. It is a fact, that in the newspapers -of New-Orleans may be seen an advertisement now and then of a lot of -"pious negroes." Such "pious negroes" are convenient on a plantation -where the treatment is not particularly mild; as they consider -nonresistance a Christian duty, and are able to inspire a wonderful -degree of patience into their fellow-sufferers. - -The vigour which negroes show when their destiny is fairly placed in -their own hands, is an answer to all arguments about their helplessness -drawn from their dulness in a state of bondage. A highly satisfactory -experiment upon the will, judgment, and talents of a large body of -slaves was made a few years ago by a relative of Chief-justice Marshall. -This gentleman and his family had attached their negroes to them by a -long course of judicious kindness. At length an estate at some distance -was left to the gentleman, and he saw, with much regret, that it was his -duty to leave the plantation on which he was living. He could not bear -the idea of turning over his people to the tender mercies or unproved -judgment of a stranger overseer. He called his negroes together, told -them the case, and asked whether they thought they could manage the -estate themselves. If they were willing to undertake the task, they must -choose an overseer from among themselves, provide comfortably for their -own wants, and remit him the surplus of the profits. The negroes were -full of grief at losing the family, but willing to try what they could -do. They had an election for overseer, and chose the man their master -would have pointed out; decidedly the strongest head on the estate. All -being arranged, the master left them, with a parting charge to keep -their festivals, and take their appointed holydays as if he were -present. After some time he rode over to see how all went on, choosing a -festival day, that he might meet them in their holyday gayety. He was -surprised, on approaching, to hear no merriment; and, on entering his -fields, he found his "force" all hard at work. As they flocked round -him, he inquired why they were not making holyday. They told him that -the crop would suffer in its present state by the loss of a day, and -that they had therefore put off their holyday, which, however, they -meant to take by-and-by. Not many days after an express arrived to -inform the proprietor that there was an insurrection on his estate. He -would not believe it; declared it impossible, as there was nobody to -rise against; but the messenger, who had been sent by the neighbouring -gentlemen, was so confident of the facts, that the master galloped, with -the utmost speed, to his plantation, arriving as night was coming on. As -he rode in a cry of joy arose from his negroes, who pressed round to -shake hands with him. They were in their holyday clothes, and had been -singing and dancing. They were only enjoying the deferred festival. The -neighbours, hearing the noise on a quiet working day, had jumped to the -conclusion that it was an insurrection. - -There is no catastrophe yet to this story. When the proprietor related -it, he said that no trouble had arisen; and that for some seasons, ever -since this estate had been wholly in the hands of his negroes, it had -been more productive than it ever was while he managed it himself. - -The finest harvest-field of romance perhaps in the world is the frontier -between the United States and Canada. The vowed student of human nature -could not do better than take up his abode there, and hear what -fugitives and their friends have to tell. There have been no exhibitions -of the forces of human character in any political revolution or -religious reformation more wonderful and more interesting than may -almost daily be seen there. The impression on even careless minds on the -spot is very strong. I remember observing to a friend in the ferryboat, -when we were crossing the Niagara from Lewistown to Queenstown, that it -seemed very absurd, on looking at the opposite banks of the river, to -think that, while the one belonged to the people who lived on it, the -other was called the property of a nation three thousand miles off, the -shores looking so much alike as they do. My friend replied with a smile, -"Runaway slaves see a great difference." "That they do!" cried the -ferryman, in a tone of the deepest earnestness. He said that the leap -ashore of an escaped slave is a sight unlike any other that can be -seen. - -On other parts of the frontier I heard tales which I grieve that it is -not in my power to tell, so honourable are they to individuals of both -races, friends of the slaves. The time may come when no one will be -injured by their being made public. Meantime, I will give one which -happened many years ago, and which relates to a different part of the -country. - -A., now an elderly man, was accustomed in his youth to go up and down -the Mississippi on trading expeditions; and both in these and in -subsequent wanderings of many years--to Hayti among other places--he has -had opportunity to study the character of the negro race; and he is -decidedly of opinion that there is in them only a superinduced -inferiority to the whites. In relating his experiences among the -coloured people, he told the following story:-- - -When he was a young man, he was going down the Mississippi in a boat -with a cargo of salt, when he stopped at a small place on the Kentucky -shore called Unity, opposite to a part of Arkansas. While he was there a -slavetrader came up with his company of upward of two hundred slaves, -whom he was conveying to the New-Orleans market. Among these A. remarked -a gigantic mulatto--handsome in countenance and proud in bearing--who -was nearly naked, and fettered. He had an iron band round his waist and -round each wrist, and these bands were connected by chains. The trader -observed to A. that this man was the most valuable slave he had ever had -on sale. I think he said that he would not take two thousand dollars for -him; he added that he was obliged to chain him, as he was bent on -getting away. When the trader's back was turned, the mulatto looked at -A. as if wishing to talk with him. - -"Why are you chained in this way?" asked A. - -"Because my master is afraid of losing me. He knows that I am the most -valuable slave he has, and that I mean to get away." - -"Have you told him so?" - -"Yes." - -"And how do you mean to get away?" - -"I don't know; but I mean it." - -After a pause, he said in a low voice to A., - -"Could not you give me a file?" - -"No," said A., decidedly. "Do you think I don't know the law? Do you -think I am going to help you away, and get punished for it? No; I can't -give you a file." - -As A. went back to his boat he saw the slave looking wistfully after -him, and his heart smote him for what he had said. He bethought himself -that if he could manage to put an instrument of deliverance in the man's -way without touching it, he might keep within the letter of the law, and -he acted upon this notion. He looked about his boat, and found a strong -three-sided file, which he put between his coat and waistcoat, so that -it would be sure to drop out when the coat was unbuttoned. He sauntered -back on shore, and the mulatto, who watched all his movements, came up -to him, eagerly whispering, - -"Have you got a file? Are you going to give me a file?" - -"No," said A. "I told you that I knew better than to give you a file." - -The slave's countenance fell. - -"However," continued A., "I should not wonder if I can tell you where to -get one. If you look about by yonder woodpile, I think, perhaps, you may -find a file. No, not now. Go back to your company now, and don't look at -me; and, when I am gone on board my boat, you can wander off to the -woodpile." - -A. unbuttoned his coat as he appeared to be picking up the scattered -wood round the pile, and presently returned to his boat, whence he saw -the mulatto presently walk to the woodpile, and stoop down just at the -right spot. A. watched all day and late into the night, but he saw and -heard nothing more. - -In the morning the slavetrader came on board the boat, exclaiming -angrily that A. had a slave of his concealed there. A. desired him to -search the boat, which he did, looking behind every bag of salt. He was -confident that A. must have helped the man away; chained as he was, he -could not have got off without help. As for himself, he had rather have -lost thousands of dollars than this man; but he always knew it would be -so; the fellow always said he would get away. - -Thus grumbling, the trader departed to make search in another direction. -In an hour he returned, saying that the slave must either be drowned or -have got over into Arkansas. His irons and a strong file were lying on a -point of land projecting into the river about a mile off, and the marks -were visible where the fugitive had taken the water. A. went, and long -did he stay, questioning and meditating; and during all the years that -have since elapsed, it has been his frequent daily and nightly -speculation whether the mulatto escaped or perished. Sometimes, when he -remembers the gigantic frame of the man, and the force of the impulse -which urged him, A. hopes that it may have been possible for him to -reach the opposite shore. At other times, when he thinks of the width of -the Mississippi at that part, and of the tremendous force of the -current, which would warrant the assertion that it is impossible for a -swimmer to cross, he believes himself convinced that the fugitive has -perished. Yet still the hope returns that the strong man may be living -in wild freedom in some place where the sense of safety and peace may -have taught him to forgive and pity his oppressors. - - - - -NEW-ORLEANS. - - - "Though everybody cried 'Shame!' and 'Shocking!' yet everybody - visited them."--MISS EDGEWORTH. - - -When arrived at the extreme southwest point of our journey, it was -amusing to refer to the warnings of our kind friends about its -inconveniences and dangers. We had brought away tokens of the -hospitality of Charleston in the shape of a large basket of provision -which had been prepared, on the supposition that we should find little -that we could eat on the road. There was wine, tea, and cocoa; cases of -French preserved meat, crackers (biscuits), and gingerbread. All these -good things, except the wine and crackers, we found it expedient to -leave behind, from place to place. There was no use in determining -beforehand to eat them at any particular meal; when it came to the -point, we always found hunger or disgust so much more bearable than the -shame of being ungracious to entertainers who were doing their best for -us, that we could never bring ourselves to produce our stores. We took -what was set before us, and found ourselves, at length, alive and well -at New-Orleans. - -At Mobile I met some relatives, who kindly urged my taking possession of -their house at New-Orleans during my stay of ten days. I was thankful -for the arrangement, as the weather was becoming hot, and we could -secure more leisure and repose in a house of our own than in a -boarding-house or as the guests of a family. With the house we were, of -course, to have the services of my friend's slaves. He told me something -of their history. He had tried all ways to obtain good service, and -could not succeed. He had attempted wages, treating his people like free -servants, &c., and all in vain. His present plan was promising them -freedom and an establishment in a free state after a short term of years -in case of good desert. He offered to take care of the money they earned -during their leisure hours, and to pay them interest upon it, but they -preferred keeping it in their own hands. One of them sewed up 150 -dollars in her bed; she fell ill, and the person who nursed her is -supposed to have got the money; for, when the poor slave recovered, her -earnings were gone. - -We left Mobile for New-Orleans on the 24th of April. The portion of -forest which we crossed in going down from Mobile to the coast was the -most beautiful I had seen. There was fresh grass under foot, and the -woods were splendid with myrtles, magnolias, and many shrubs whose -blossoms were new to me and their names unknown. We had plenty of time -to look about us; for the hack which carried the four passengers whom -the stage would not contain broke down every half hour, and the stage -company had to stop till it could proceed. We had an excellent dinner in -the gallery of a loghouse in the midst of the forest, where we were -plentifully supplied with excellent claret. There had been showers all -day, with intervals of sunshine, but towards sunset the settled gloom of -the sky foreboded a night of storm. I was on the watch for the first -sight of the Gulf of Mexico. I traced the line where the forest retires -to give place to the marsh, and the whole scene assumes a sudden air of -desolation. At this moment the thunder burst, sheets of lightning glared -over the boiling sea, and the rain poured down in floods. Our umbrellas -were found to be broken, of course; and we had to run along the pier to -the steamboat in such a rain as I was never before exposed to; but it -was well worth while getting wet for such a first sight of the Gulf of -Mexico. It soon grew dark; and, before morning, we were in Lake -Pontchartrain, so that this stormy view of the gulf was the only one we -had. - -We amused ourselves in the morning with tracing the dim shores of the -State of Mississippi to the north, and of Louisiana to the west. About -nine o'clock we arrived in sight of the long piers which stretch out -from the swamp into the lake, the mudcraft, the canoes, with blacks -fishing for crabs; the baths, and the large Washington hotel, with its -galleries and green blinds, built for coolness, where gentlemen from -New-Orleans go to eat fish and bathe. Next we saw the train of railroad -cars waiting for us; and, without the loss of a moment's time, we were -whirled away to the city, five miles in a quarter of an hour. I have -expressed elsewhere[16] my admiration of the swamp through which our -road lay; an admiration which faded as we traversed the lower faubourg, -and died away in the Champs Elysees. Before ten o'clock we were breaking -the seals of our English letters in the drawing-room of our temporary -home. - -Footnote 16: "Society in America," vol. ii., p. 179. - -When we had satisfied ourselves with home news, unpacked, dressed, and -lunched, we took our seats by the window in the intervals of visits from -callers. All was very new, very foreign in its aspect. Many of the -ladies in the streets wore caps or veils instead of bonnets; the negroes -who passed shouted their very peculiar kind of French; and everything -seemed to tell us that we had plunged into the dogdays. I never knew -before how impressions of heat can be conveyed through the eye. The -intensity of glare and shadow in the streets, and the many evidences -that the fear of heat is the prevailing idea of the place, affect the -imagination even more than the scorching power of the sun does the -bodily frame. - -I was presented with a pamphlet written by a physician, which denies the -unhealthiness of New-Orleans as strenuously as some of its inhabitants -deny its immorality. To me it appears that everything depends on what is -understood by Morals and Health. As to the morals of the city, I have -elsewhere stated the principal facts on which my unfavourable judgment -is founded.[17] In regard to another department of morals, the -honourable fact of the generous charity of New-Orleans to strangers -should be stated. Great numbers of sick and destitute foreigners are -perpetually thrown upon the mercy of the inhabitants, and that mercy is -unbounded. I have reason to believe that the sick are not merely nursed -and cured, but provided with funds before departing. When I visited the -hospital, it contained two hundred and fifty patients, not above fifty -of whom were Americans. As to the health of the place, I believe the -average is good among that portion of the population which can afford to -remove northward for the hot months; but very low if the total white -population be included. The pamphlet which I read argues that, though -the fever is very destructive during a portion of the year, mortality -from other diseases is much below the common average; that the -variations of temperature are slight, though frequent; and that the -average of children and old persons is high. All this may be true; but a -place must be called peculiarly unhealthy whose inhabitants are -compelled, on pain of death, to remove for three or four months of every -year. Instead of arguing against such a fact as this, many citizens are -hoping and striving to put an end to the necessity of such a removal. -They hope, by means of draining and paving, to render their city -habitable all the year round. Plans of drainage are under consideration, -and I saw some importations of paving-stones. The friends of the -New-Orleans people can hardly wish them a greater good than the success -of such attempts; for the perpetual shifting about which they are -subjected to by the dread of the fever is a serious evil to sober -families of an industrious, domestic turn. It is very injurious to the -minds of children and to the habits of young people, and a great -hardship to the aged. I was struck with a remark which fell from a lady -about her children's exercise in the open air. She said that she always -took them out when the wind blew from over the lake, and kept them at -home in warm weather when it blew from any other quarter, as it then -only made them "more languid" to go out. This did not tend to confirm -the doctrine of the pamphlet; but I was not surprised at the remark when -I looked abroad over the neighbouring country from the top of the -hospital. Thence I saw the marsh which was given to Lafayette, and which -he sold, not long before his death, to a London firm, who sold it again. -On this marsh, most of which was under water, the city of New-Orleans -was begun. A strip of buildings was carried to the river bank, where the -city spread. - -Footnote 17: Ibid, p. 326. - -In the midst of the flooded lots of ground stood the gas-works; -surrounded by stagnant ponds lay the Catholic cemetery. The very -churches of the city seemed to spring up out of the water. The blossomy -beauties of the swamp could not be seen at this height, and all looked -hideously desolate in the glaring sun. The view from the turret of the -Cotton-press is much more advantageous. It commands many windings of the -majestic river, and the point where it seems to lose itself in the -distant forest; while below appears everything that is dry in all the -landscape: the shipping, the Levee, the busy streets of the city, and -the shady avenues of the suburbs. - -The ladies of New-Orleans walk more than their countrywomen of other -cities, from the streets being in such bad order as to make walking the -safest means of locomotion. The streets are not very numerous; they are -well distinguished, and lie at right angles, and their names are clearly -printed up; so that strangers find no difficulty in going about, except -when a fall of rain has made the crossings impassable. The heat is far -less oppressive in the streets than in the open country, as there is -generally a shady side. We were never kept within doors by the heat, -though summer weather had fairly set in before our arrival. We made -calls, and went shopping and sight-seeing, much as we do in London; and, -moreover, walked to dinner visits, to the theatre, and to church, while -the sun was blazing as if he had drawn that part of the world some -millions of miles nearer to himself than that in which we had been -accustomed to live. It is in vain to attempt describing what the -moonlight is like. We walked under the long rows of Pride-of-India trees -on the Ramparts, amid the picturesque low dwellings of the Quadroons, -and almost felt the glow of the moonlight, so warm, so golden, so soft -as I never saw it elsewhere. We were never tired of watching the -lightning from our balcony, flashing through the first shades of -twilight, and keeping the whole heaven in night-long conflagration. The -moschetoes were a great and perpetual plague, except while we were -asleep. We found our moscheto-curtains a sufficient protection at night; -but we had to be on the watch against these malicious insects all day, -and to wage war against them during the whole evening. Many ladies are -accustomed, during the summer months, to get after breakfast into a -large sack of muslin tied round the throat, with smaller sacks for the -arms, and to sit thus at work or book, fanning themselves to protect -their faces. Others sit all the morning on the bed, within their -moscheto-curtains. I wore gloves and prunella boots all day long, but -hands and feet were stung through all the defences I could devise. After -a while the sting of the moscheto ceases to irritate more than the -English gnat-sting; but, to strangers, the suffering is serious; to -those of feverish habit, sometimes dangerous. - -Sunday is the busiest day of the week to the stranger in New-Orleans. -There is first the negro market to be seen at five o'clock. We missed -this sight, as the mornings were foggy, and it was accounted unsafe to -go out in the early damp. Then there is the Cathedral to be attended, a -place which the European gladly visits, as the only one in the United -States where all men meet together as brethren. As he goes, the streets -are noisy with traffic. Some of those who keep the Sunday sit at their -doors or windows reading the newspapers or chatting with their -acquaintance. Merchants are seen hastening to the counting-house or the -wharf, or busy in the stores. Others are streaming into the church -doors. There are groups about the cathedral gates, the blacks and the -whites parting company as if they had not been worshipping side by side. -Within the edifice there is no separation. Some few persons may be in -pews; but kneeling on the pavement may be seen a multitude, of every -shade of complexion, from the fair Scotchwoman or German to the -jet-black pure African. The Spanish eye flashes from beneath the veil; -the French Creole countenance, painted high, is surmounted by the neat -cap or the showy bonnet; while between them may be thrust a gray-headed -mulatto, following with his stupid eyes the evolutions of the priest; or -the devout negro woman telling her beads--a string of berries--as if her -life depended on her task. During the preaching, the multitude of -anxious faces, thus various in tint and expression, turned up towards -the pulpit, afforded one of those few spectacles which are apt to haunt -the whole future life of the observer like a dream. Several Protestants -spoke to me of the Catholic religion as being a great blessing to the -ignorant negro, viewing a ritual religion as a safe resting-place -between barbarism and truth. Nothing that I saw disposed me to agree -with them. I saw among Catholics of this class only the most abject -worship of things without meaning, and no comprehension whatever of -symbols. I was persuaded that, if a ritual religion be ever a good, it -is so in the case of the most, not the least, enlightened; of those who -accept the ritual as symbolical, and not of those who pay it literal -worship. I could not but think that, if the undisguised story of Jesus -were presented to these last as it was to the fishermen of Galilee and -the peasants on the reedy banks of Jordan, they would embrace a -Christianity, in comparison with which their present religion is an -unintelligible and effectual mythology. But such a primitive -Christianity they, as slaves, never will and never can have, as its -whole spirit is destructive of slavery. - -Half a year before my visit to New-Orleans, a great commotion had been -raised in the city against a Presbyterian clergyman, the Rev. Joel -Parker, on account of some expressions which he had been reported to -have used, while on a visit in New-England, respecting the morals of -New-Orleans, and especially the desecration of the Sunday. Some -meddlesome person had called a public meeting, to consider what should -be done with the Rev. Joel Parker for having employed his constitutional -freedom of speech in declaring what almost everybody knew or believed to -be true. Many gentlemen of the city were vexed at this encroachment upon -the liberty of the citizen, and at the ridicule which such apparent -sensitiveness about reputation would bring upon their society; and they -determined to be present at the meeting, and support the pastor's -rights. Matters were proceeding fast towards a condemnation of the -accused and a sentence of banishment, when these gentlemen demanded that -he should be heard in his own defence, a guarantee for his personal -safety being first passed by the meeting. This was agreed to, and Mr. -Parker appeared on the hustings. Unfortunately, he missed the -opportunity--a particularly favourable one--of making a moral impression -which would never have been lost. A full declaration of what he had -said, the grounds of it, and his right to say it, would have turned the -emotions of the assemblage, already softened in his favour, towards -himself and the right. As it was, he did nothing wrong, except in as far -as that he did nothing very right; but there was a want of judgment and -taste in his address which was much to be regretted. He was allowed to -go free for the time; but the newspapers reported all the charges -against him, suppressed his replies, and lauded the citizens for not -having pulled the offender to pieces; and Mr. Parker's congregation -were called upon, on the ground of the resolutions passed at the public -meeting, to banish their pastor. They refused, and appealed to all the -citizens to protect them from such oppression as was threatened. No -further steps were taken, I believe, against the pastor and his people; -his church flourished under this little gust of persecution; and, when I -was there, a handsome new edifice was rising up to accommodate the -increased number of his congregation. I wished to hear this gentleman, -and was glad to find that his flock met, while the building was going -on, in the vestry of the new church; a spacious crypt, which was crowded -when he preached. I had not expected much from his preaching, and was -therefore taken by surprise by the exceeding beauty of his discourse; -beauty, not of style, but spirit. The lofty and tender earnestness of -both his sentiments and manner put the observer off his watch about the -composition of the sermon. I was surprised to perceive in conversation -afterward tokens that Mr. Parker was not a highly-educated man. I was -raised by the lofty tone of his preaching far above all critical -vigilance. - -I had much opportunity of seeing in the United States what is the -operation of persecution on strong and virtuous minds, and I trust the -lesson of encouragement will never be lost. As it is certain that the -progression of the race must be carried on through persecution of some -kind and degree; as it is clear that the superior spirits to whom the -race owes its advancement must, by their very act of anticipation, get -out of the circle of general intelligence and sympathy, and be thus -subject to the trials of spiritual solitude and social enmity--since -thus it has ever been, and thus, by the laws of human nature, it must -ever be--it is heart-cheering and soul-staying to perceive that the -effects of persecution may be, and often are, more blessed than those of -other kinds of discipline. Many quail under the apprehension of -persecution; some are soured by it; but some pass through the suffering, -the bitter suffering of popular hatred, with a strength which intermits -less and less, and come out of it with new capacities for enjoyment, -with affections which can no longer be checked by want of sympathy, and -with an object in life which can never be overthrown. Mr. Parker's case -was not one of any high or permanent character; though, as far as his -trial went, it seemed to have given calmness and vigour to his mind. (I -judge from his manner of speaking of the affair to me.) The -abolitionists are the persons I have had, and always shall have, chiefly -in view in speaking of the effects of persecution. They often reminded -me of the remark, that you may know a philanthropist in the streets by -his face. The life, light, and gentleness of their countenances, the -cheerful earnestness of their speech, and the gayety of their manners, -were enough to assure the unprejudiced foreign observer of the integrity -of their cause and the blessedness of their pilgrim lives. - -The afternoon or evening Sunday walk in New Orleans cannot fail to -convince the stranger of the truth of the sayings of Mr. Parker, for -which he afterward was subjected to so fierce a retribution. Whatever -may be thought of the duty or expediency of a strict observance of the -Sunday, no one can contend that in this city the observance is strict. -In the market there is traffic in meat and vegetables, and the groups of -foreigners make a Babel of the place with their loud talk in many -tongues. The men are smoking outside their houses; the girls, with broad -coloured ribands streaming from the ends of their long braids of hair, -are walking or flirting; while veiled ladies are stealing through the -streets, or the graceful Quadroon women are taking their evening airing -on the Levee. The river is crowded with shipping, to the hulls of which -the walkers look up from a distance, the river being above the level of -the neighbouring streets. It rushes along through the busy region, -seeming to be touched with mercy, or to disdain its power of mischief. -It might overwhelm in an instant the swarming inhabitants of the -boundless level; it looks as if it could scarcely avoid doing so; yet it -rolls on within its banks so steadily, that the citizens forget their -insecurity. Its breadth is not striking to the eye; yet, when one begins -to calculate, the magnitude of the stream becomes apparent. A steamboat -carries down six vessels at once, two on each side and two behind; and -this cluster of seven vessels looks somewhat in the proportion of a -constellation in the sky. From the Levee the Cathedral looks well, -fronting the river, standing in the middle of a square, and presenting -an appearance of great antiquity, hastened, no doubt, by the moisture of -the atmosphere in which it stands. - -The Levee continues to be crowded long after the sun has set. The -quivering summer lightning plays over the heads of the merry multitude, -who are conversing in all the tongues, and gay in all the costumes of -the world. - -Another bright scene is on the road to the lake on a fine afternoon. -This road winds for five miles through the swamp, and is bordered by -cypress, flowering reeds, fleurs-de-lis of every colour, palmetto, and a -hundred aquatic shrubs new to the eye of the stranger. The gray moss -common in damp situations floats in streamers from the branches. Snakes -abound, and coil about the negroes who are seen pushing their canoes -through the rank vegetation, or towing their rafts laden with wood along -the sluggish bayou. There is a small settlement, wholly French in its -character, where the ancient dwellings, painted red, and with broad -eaves, look highly picturesque in the green landscape. The winding white -road is thronged with carriages, driven at a very rapid rate, and full -of families of children, or gay parties of young people, or a company of -smoking merchants, going to the lake to drink or to bathe. Many go -merely as we did, for the sake of the drive, and of breathing the cool -air of the lake, while enjoying a glass of iced lemonade or sangaree. - -It was along this road that Madame Lalaurie escaped from the hands of -her exasperated countrymen about five years ago. The remembrance or -tradition of that day will always be fresh in New-Orleans. In England -the story is little, if at all, known. I was requested on the spot not -to publish it as exhibiting a fair specimen of slaveholding in -New-Orleans, and no one could suppose it to be so; but it is a -revelation of what may happen in a slaveholding country, and can happen -nowhere else. Even on the mildest supposition that the case admits of, -that Madame Lalaurie was insane, there remains the fact that the -insanity could have taken such a direction, and perpetrated such deeds -nowhere but in a slave country. - -There is, as every one knows, a mutual jealousy between the French and -American creoles[18] in Louisiana. Till lately, the French creoles have -carried everything their own way, from their superior numbers. I believe -that even yet no American expects to get a verdict, on any evidence, -from a jury of French creoles. Madame Lalaurie enjoyed a long impunity -from this circumstance. She was a French creole, and her third husband, -M. Lalaurie, was, I believe, a Frenchman. He was many years younger -than his lady, and had nothing to do with the management of her -property, so that he has been in no degree mixed up with her affairs and -disgraces. It had been long observed that Madame Lalaurie's slaves -looked singularly haggard and wretched, except the coachman, whose -appearance was sleek and comfortable enough. Two daughters by a former -marriage, who lived with her, were also thought to be spiritless and -unhappy-looking. But the lady was so graceful and accomplished, so -charming in her manners and so hospitable, that no one ventured openly -to question her perfect goodness. If a murmur of doubt began among the -Americans, the French resented it. If the French had occasional -suspicions, they concealed them for the credit of their faction. "She -was very pleasant to whites," I was told, and sometimes to blacks, but -so broadly so as to excite suspicions of hypocrisy. When she had a -dinner-party at home, she would hand the remains of her glass of wine to -the emaciated negro behind her chair, with a smooth audible whisper, -"Here, my friend, take this; it will do you good." At length rumours -spread which induced a friend of mine, an eminent lawyer, to send her a -hint about the law which ordains that slaves who can be proved to have -been cruelly treated shall be taken from the owner, and sold in the -market for the benefit of the State. My friend, being of the American -party, did not appear in the matter himself, but sent a young French -creole, who was studying law with him. The young man returned full of -indignation against all who could suspect this amiable woman of doing -anything wrong. He was confident that she could not harm a fly, or give -pain to any human being. - -Footnote 18: Creole means _native_. French and American creoles are -natives of French and American extraction. - -Soon after this a lady, living in a house which joined the premises of -Madame Lalaurie, was going up stairs, when she heard a piercing shriek -from the next courtyard. She looked out, and saw a little negro girl, -apparently about eight years old, flying across the yard towards the -house, and Madame Lalaurie pursuing her, cowhide in hand. The lady saw -the poor child run from story to story, her mistress following, till -both came out upon the top of the house. Seeing the child about to -spring over, the witness put her hands before her eyes; but she heard -the fall, and saw the child taken up, her body bending and limbs hanging -as if every bone was broken. The lady watched for many hours, and at -night she saw the body brought out, a shallow hole dug by torchlight in -the corner of the yard, and the corpse covered over. No secret was made -of what had been seen. Inquiry was instituted, and illegal cruelty -proved in the case of nine slaves, who were forfeited according to law. -It afterward came out that this woman induced some family connexions of -her own to purchase these slaves, and sell them again to her, conveying -them back to her premises in the night. She must have desired to have -them for purposes of torture, for she could not let them be seen in a -neighbourhood where they were known. - -During all this time she does not appear to have lost caste, though it -appears that she beat her daughters as often as they attempted in her -absence to convey food to her miserable victims. She always knew of such -attempts by means of the sleek coachman, who was her spy. It was -necessary to have a spy, to preserve her life from the vengeance of her -household; so she pampered this obsequious negro, and at length owed her -escape to him. - -She kept her cook chained within eight yards of the fireplace, where -sumptuous dinners were cooked in the most sultry season. It is a pity -that some of the admiring guests whom she assembled round her hospitable -table could not see through the floor, and be made aware at what a cost -they were entertained. One morning the cook declared that they had -better all be burned together than lead such a life, and she set the -house on fire. The alarm spread over the city; the gallant French -creoles all ran to the aid of their accomplished friend, and the fire -was presently extinguished. Many, whose curiosity had been roused about -the domestic proceedings of the lady, seized the opportunity of entering -those parts of the premises from which the whole world had been hitherto -carefully excluded. They perceived that, as often as they approached a -particular outhouse, the lady became excessively uneasy lest some -property in an opposite direction should be burned. When the fire was -extinguished, they made bold to break open this outhouse. A horrible -sight met their eyes. Of the nine slaves, the skeletons of two were -afterward found poked into the ground; the other seven could scarcely be -recognised as human. Their faces had the wildness of famine, and their -bones were coming through the skin. They were chained and tied in -constrained postures, some on their knees, some with their hands above -their heads. They had iron collars with spikes which kept their heads -in one position. The cowhide, stiff with blood, hung against the wall; -and there was a stepladder on which this fiend stood while flogging her -victims, in order to lay on the lashes with more effect. Every morning, -it was her first employment after breakfast to lock herself in with her -captives, and flog them till her strength failed. - -Amid shouts and groans, the sufferers were brought out into the air and -light. Food was given them with too much haste, for two of them died in -the course of the day. The rest, maimed and helpless, are pensioners of -the city. - -The rage of the crowd, especially of the French creoles, was excessive. -The lady shut herself up in the house with her trembling daughters, -while the street was filled from end to end with a yelling crowd of -gentlemen. She consulted her coachman as to what she had best do. He -advised that she should have her coach to the door after dinner, and -appear to go forth for her afternoon drive, as usual; escaping or -returning, according to the aspect of affairs. It is not told whether -she ate her dinner that day, or prevailed on her remaining slaves to -wait upon her. The carriage appeared at the door; she was ready, and -stepped into it. Her assurance seems to have paralyzed the crowd. The -moment the door was shut they appeared to repent having allowed her to -enter, and they tried to upset the carriage, to hold the horses, to make -a snatch at the lady. But the coachman laid about him with his whip, -made the horses plunge, and drove off. He took the road to the lake, -where he could not be intercepted, as it winds through the swamp. He -outstripped the crowd, galloped to the lake, bribed the master of a -schooner which was lying there to put off instantly with the lady to -Mobile. She escaped to France, and took up her abode in Paris under a -feigned name, but not for long. Late one evening a party of gentlemen -called on her, and told her she was Madame Lalaurie, and that she had -better be off. She fled that night, and is supposed to be now skulking -about in some French province under a false name. - -The New-Orleans mob met the carriage returning from the lake. What -became of the coachman I do not know. The carriage was broken to pieces -and thrown into the swamp, and the horses stabbed and left dead upon the -road. The house was gutted, the two poor girls having just time to -escape from a window. They are now living, in great poverty, in one of -the faubourgs. The piano, tables, and chairs were burned before the -house. The feather-beds were ripped up, and the feathers emptied into -the street, where they afforded a delicate footing for some days. The -house stands, and is meant to stand, in its ruined state. It was the -strange sight of its gaping windows and empty walls, in the midst of a -busy street, which excited my wonder, and was the cause of my being told -the story the first time. I gathered other particulars afterward from -eyewitnesses. - -The crowd at first intended to proceed to the examination of other -premises, whose proprietors were under suspicion of cruelty to their -slaves; but the shouts of triumph which went up from the whole negro -population of the city showed that this would not be safe. Fearing a -general rising, the gentlemen organized themselves into a patrol, to -watch the city night and day till the commotion should have subsided. -They sent circulars to all proprietors suspected of cruelty, warning -them that the eyes of the city were upon them. This is the only benefit -the negroes have derived from the exposure. In reply to inquiries, I was -told that it was very possible that cruelties like those of Madame -Lalaurie might be incessantly in course of perpetration. It may be -doubted whether any more such people exist; but if they do, there is -nothing to prevent their following her example with impunity as long as -they can manage to preserve that secrecy which was put an end to by -accident in her case. - -I could never get out of the way of the horrors of slavery in this -region. Under one form or another, they met me in every house, in every -street; everywhere but in the intelligence pages of newspapers, where I -might read on in perfect security of exemption from the subject. In the -advertising columns there were offers of reward for runaways, restored -dead or alive; and notices of the capture of a fugitive with so many -brands on his limbs and shoulders, and so many scars on his back. But -from the other half of the newspaper, the existence of slavery could be -discovered only by inference. What I saw elsewhere was, however, -dreadful enough. In one house, the girl who waited on me with singular -officiousness was so white, with blue eyes and light hair, that it never -occurred to me that she could be a slave. Her mistress told me -afterward that this girl of fourteen was such a depraved hussy that she -must be sold. I exclaimed involuntarily, but was referred to the long -heel in proof of the child's being of negro extraction. She had the long -heel, sure enough. Her mistress told me that it is very wrong to plead -in behalf of slavery that families are rarely separated; and gave me, as -no unfair example of the dealings of masters, this girl's domestic -history. - -The family had consisted of father, mother, and four children, this girl -being the eldest, and the youngest an infant at the breast. The father -was first sold separately, and then the rest of the family were -purchased in the market by the husband of my friend, the mother being -represented to be a good cook and house servant. She proved to be both; -but of so violent a temper that it was necessary to keep her own -children out of her way when she had a knife in her hand, lest she -should murder them. The anxiety of watching such a temper was not to be -borne, and the woman was sold with her infant. Here was the second -division of this family. The behaviour of the eldest girl was so -outrageously profligate, that she was about to be disposed of also. And -yet she was only a fair illustration of the results of the education by -circumstance that slaves receive. When detected in some infamous -practices, this young creature put on air of prudery, and declared that -it gave her great pain to be thought immodest; that, so far from her -being what she was thought, she had no wish to have any other lover than -her master. Her master was so enraged at this--being a domestic Northern -man, and not a planter--that he tied her to the whipping-post and -flogged her severely with his own hands. The story of this dispersed and -wretched family has nothing singular in it. With slight variations, it -may be found repeated in every Southern settlement the traveller visits. - -Just about the time that this was happening, a family in the -neighbourhood was poisoned by a slave. I think one died, and the others -had a narrow escape. The poisoner was sold in the market, as the -proprietor could not afford to lose his human property by the law taking -its course. - -About the same time the cashier of a bank in New-Orleans sent one of his -slaves out of the way, in order to be undisturbed in the violence which -he meditated against the negro's attached wife. The negro understood the -case, but dared not refuse to go where he was bid. He returned -unexpectedly soon, however; found his home occupied, and stabbed the -defiler of it. The cashier was the stronger man, and, in spite of his -wound, he so maltreated the negro that he expired on the barrow on which -he was being conveyed to jail. Nothing ensued on account of this affair; -though, when the cashier was some time after found to be a defaulter, he -absconded. - -I would fain know what has become of a mulatto child in whom I became -much interested at New-Orleans. Ailsie was eight years old, perfectly -beautiful, and one of the most promising children I ever saw. She was -quick, obedient, and affectionate to a touching degree. She had a kind -master and mistress. Her mistress's health was delicate, and the child -would watch her countenance wistfully, in the constant hope of saving -her trouble. She would look very grave if the lady went up stairs with a -languid step, take hold of her gown, and timidly ask, "What, an't ye -well?" I used to observe her helping to dress her mistress's hair, her -little hands trembling with eagerness, her eye following every glance of -the eye which ever looked tenderly upon her. Her master declared he did -not know what to make of the child, she looked so scared, and trembled -so if she was spoken to; and she was, indeed, the most sensitive of -children. As she stood at the corner of the dinner-table to fan away the -flies, she was a picture from which it was difficult to turn away. Her -little yellow headdress suited well with her clear brown complexion and -large soft black eyes; nothing that she could at all understand of the -conversation escaped her, while she never intermitted her waving of the -huge brush of peacock's feathers. Her face was then composed in its -intelligence, for she stood by her mistress's elbow; a station where she -seemed to think no harm could befall her. Alas! she has lost her kind -mistress. Amid the many sad thoughts which thronged into my mind when I -heard of the death of this lady, one of the wisest and best of American -women, I own that some of my earliest regrets were for little Ailsie; -and when I think of her sensibility, her beauty, and the dreadful -circumstances of her parentage, as told me by her mistress, I am almost -in despair about her future lot; for what can her master, with all his -goodness, do for the forlorn little creature's protection? None but a -virtuous mistress can fully protect a female slave, and that too seldom. - -Ailsie was born on an estate in Tennessee. Her father is a white -gentleman not belonging to the family, her mother the family cook. The -cook's black husband cherished such a deadly hatred against this poor -child as to be for ever threatening her life, and she was thought to be -in such danger from his axe that she was sent down the river to be taken -into the family where I saw her. What a cruel world, what a hard human -life must Ailsie find that she is born into! - -Such facts, occurring at every step, put the stranger on the watch for -every revelation of the feelings of the masters about the relation of -the two races. Some minute circumstances surprised me in this connexion. -At the American Theatre in New-Orleans, one of the characters in the -play which my party attended was a slave, one of whose speeches was, "I -have no business to think and feel." - -At a dinner-party where three negroes were waiting, and where Ailsie -stood fanning, a gentleman of very high official rank told a facetious -story, at which everybody laughed heartily (being, indeed, quite unable -to help it, the manner of the narrator was so droll) except a gentleman -next me who had once been a slavetrader. The senator told us of a couple -from the Green Island, Pat and Nancy, who had settled on the -Mississippi, and, in course of time (to use the language of the region), -"acquired six children and nine negroes." Pat had a mind to better his -fortunes, and to go unencumbered higher up the river; and he therefore -explained his plans to Nancy, finishing with, "and so, my darlin', I'll -lave you; but I'll do my best by you; I'll lave you the six dear, nate, -pretty little childer, and I'll take the nine nasty dirty negroes." -While every other American at the table laughed without control, I saw -my neighbour, the former slavetrader, glance up at the negroes who were -in attendance, and use a strong effort not to laugh. - -The stranger has great difficulty in satisfying himself as to the bounds -of the unconsciousness of oppression which he finds urged as the -exculpatory plea of the slaveholder, while he mourns over it as the -great hinderance in the way of social reformation. It has been seen that -an audience at the theatre will quietly receive a hit which would -subject the author to punishment if he were an abolitionist. When I -listened to the stories told by ladies to each other in their morning -calls, showing the cleverness of their slaves, I often saw that they -could not but be as fully convinced as I was that their slaves were as -altogether human as themselves. I heard so many anecdotes--somewhat of -the character of the following--that I began to suspect that one use of -slaves is to furnish topics for the amusement of their owners. - -Sam was sadly apt to get drunk, and had been often reproved by his -master on that account. One day his master found him intoxicated, and -cried out, "What, drunk again, Sam? I scolded you for being drunk last -night, and here you are drunk again." "No, massa, same drunk, massa; -same drunk." - -But enough of this dark side of the social picture. I find myself -dwelling long upon it, and frequently recurring to it, because all other -subjects shrink into insignificance beside it; but these others must not -be forgotten. - -The gay visiting season at New-Orleans was over before we arrived, but -we were in several parties. The division between the American and French -factions is visible even in the drawing-room. The French complain that -the Americans will not speak French; will not meet their neighbours even -half way in accommodation of speech. The Americans ridicule the toilet -practices of the French ladies; their liberal use of rouge and pearl -powder. If the French ladies do thus beautify themselves, they do it -with great art. I could not be quite sure of the fact in any one -instance, while I am disposed to believe it from the clumsy imitation of -the art which I saw in the countenance of an American rival or two. I -beheld with strong disgust the efforts of a young lady from Philadelphia -to make herself as French as possible by these disagreeable means. She -was under twenty, and would have been rather pretty if she had given -herself a fair chance; but her coarsely-painted eyebrows, daubed cheeks, -and powdered throat inspired a disgust which she must be singularly -unwise not to have anticipated. If this were a single case it would not -be worth mentioning; but I was told by a resident that it is a common -practice for young ladies to paint both white and red, under the idea of -accommodating themselves to the French manners of the place. They had -better do it by practising the French language than by copying the -French toilet. New-Orleans is the only place in the United States where -I am aware of having seen a particle of rouge. - -Large parties are much alike everywhere, and they leave no very distinct -impression. Except for the mixture of languages, and the ample provision -of ices, fans, and ventilators, the drawing-room assemblages of -New-Orleans bear a strong resemblance to the routs and dinner-parties of -a country town in England. Our pleasantest days in the great Southern -city were those which we spent quietly in the homes of intimate -acquaintances. I vividly remember one which I was told was a true -Louisiana day. We ladies carried our workbags, and issued forth by -eleven o'clock, calling by the way for a friend, Ailsie's mistress. The -house we were to visit was a small shaded dwelling, with glass doors -opening into a pretty garden. In a cool parlour we sat at work, talking -of things solemn and trivial, of affairs native and foreign, till -dinner, which was at two. We were then joined by the gentlemen. We left -the dinner-table early, and the gentlemen trundled rocking-chairs and -low stools into the garden, where we sat in the shade all the afternoon, -the ladies working, the gentlemen singing Irish melodies, telling good -native stories, and throwing us all into such a merry mood, that we -positively refused the siesta which we were urged to take, and forgot -what a retribution we might expect from the moschetoes for sitting so -long under the trees. After tea we got to the piano, and were reminded -at last by the darkness of the number of hours which this delightful -Louisiana visit had consumed. We all walked home together through the -quiet streets, the summer lightning quivering through the thick trees in -singular contrast with the steady moonlight. - -We should have liked to spend every day thus, with friends who always -made us forget that we were far from home; but a traveller's duty is to -see every variety of society which comes within his reach. I was sought -by some, and met accidentally with other persons who were on the eve of -departure for Texas. Attempts were made to induce me to go myself, and -also to convince me of the eligibility of the country as a place of -settlement for British emigrants, in the hope that the arrival of a -cargo of settlers from England might afford to the Texans a plea of -countenance from the British government. The subject of Texas is now so -well understood, that there is no occasion to enlarge upon the state of -the question as it was two years and a half ago; and besides, if I were -to give a precise account of the conversations between myself and the -friends of the Texan aggression, my story would not be believed. The -folly and romance of some of the agents employed, and the villany which -peeped out of every admission extorted from the advocates of the scheme, -would make my readers as astonished as I was myself, that any attempts -should be made in the neighbourhood of the scene to gain the sympathy of -strangers who were at all above the rank of knaves and fools. Suffice it -that one class of advocates told me that I should be perfectly safe -there, as the inhabitants were chiefly persons who could fight bravely -against the Mexicans, from having nothing to lose, and from their having -been compelled to leave the United States by their too free use of arms: -while the opposite species of agent enlarged, not only on the beauty of -the sunsets and the greenness of the savannahs, but on the delightful -security of living under the same laws as the people of the United -States, and amid a condition of morals kept perfectly pure by Colonel -Austin's practice of having every person whom he conceived to have -offended whipped at the cart's tail; the fact being carefully concealed -that Colonel Austin was at that time, and had been for two years, in -jail in the Mexican capital. - -Our friends indulged us in what they knew to be our favourite pleasure, -in country drives. There can be no great choice of drives in the -neighbourhood of a city which stands in a swamp; but such places as were -attainable we reached. One was a ropewalk, 1200 feet long, under a roof. -It looked picturesque, like every other ropewalk that I ever saw; but -what struck me most about it was the sudden and profound repose we -plunged into from the bustle of the city. The cottages of the negroes -were imbowered in green, and the whole place had a tropical air, with -its thickets of fig and catalpa, and its rows of Pride-of-India trees. -This last tree looks to my eye like a shrub which has received mistaken -orders to grow into a tree. Its fragrance is its great charm. The -mixture of its lilach flowers with its green leaves impairs the effect -of the foliage, as far as colour is concerned; and the foliage is, -besides, not massy enough. A single sprig of it is beautiful; and, -probably, its fragrance propitiates the eyes of those who plant it, for -I found it considered a beautiful tree. The dark shades of these -thickets are enlivened by a profusion of roses, and the air is fanned -by myriads of insects' wings. How the negroes make friendship with the -tribes of insects which drive the white man to forego the blessing of -natural shade, I could never understand; but the black never looks more -contented than when he shrouds himself in rank vegetation, and lives in -a concert of insect chirping, droning, and trumpeting. - -We were taken to the Battle-ground, the native soil of General Jackson's -political growth. Seeing the Battle-ground was all very well; but my -delight was in the drive to it, with the Mississippi on the right hand, -and on the left gardens of roses which bewildered the imagination. I -really believed at the time that I saw more roses that morning than -during the whole course of my life before. Gardens are so rare in -America, from want of leisure and deficiency of labour, that, when they -do occur, they are a precious luxury to the traveller, especially when -they are in their spring beauty. In the neighbourhood of Mobile, my -relative, who has a true English love of gardening, had introduced the -practice; and I there saw villas and cottages surrounded with a -luxuriant growth of Cherokee roses, honeysuckles, and myrtles, while -groves of orange-trees appeared in the background; but not even these -equalled what I saw, this warm 4th of May, on our way to the -Battle-ground. One villa, built by an Englishman, was obstinately -inappropriate to the scene and climate; red brick, without gallery, or -even eaves or porch; the mere sight of it was scorching. All the rest -were an entertainment to the eye as they stood, white and cool, amid -their flowering magnolias, and their blossoming alleys, hedges, and -thickets of roses. In returning, we alighted at one of these delicious -retreats, and wandered about, losing each other among the thorns, the -ceringas, and the wilderness of shrubs. We met in a grotto, under the -summer-house, cool with a greenish light, and veiled at its entrance -with a tracery of creepers. There we lingered, amid singing or silent -dreaming. There seemed to be too little that was real about the place -for ordinary voices to be heard speaking about ordinary things. - -The river was rising, as we were told in a tone of congratulation. The -eddies would be filled, and our voyage expedited. The canes in the -sugar-grounds were showing themselves above the soil; young sprouts that -one might almost see grow. A negro was feed to gather flowers for us, -and he filled the carriage with magnolia, honeysuckle, and roses, -grinning the while at our pleasure, and at his own good luck in falling -in with us. - -The Battle-ground is rather more than four miles from the city. We were -shown the ditch and the swamp by which the field of action was bounded -on two sides, and some remains of the breastwork of earth which was -thrown up. There has been great exaggeration about the cotton-bags, of -which there were only a few in a line with the earthen defence, instead -of an entire breastwork, as has been supposed in all the jokes and all -the admiration which have been expended on the expedient. It was a -deadly battle-field. It makes the spectator shudder to see the wide open -space, the unsheltered level, over which the British soldiers were -compelled to march to certain destruction. Never was greater bravery -shown by soldiers; and never, perhaps, was bravery more abused by the -unskilfulness of leaders. The result proves this. The British killed -were nearly 3000: the Americans had six killed and seven wounded. By all -accounts, General Jackson showed consummate ability throughout the whole -brief campaign, and the British leaders an imbecility no less -remarkable. - -I was shown a house on a plantation where, twelve days before the -battle, the son of the proprietor was quietly dining at one o'clock, -when a slave ran in and told him that some men in red coats were in the -yard. The young man instantly comprehended that the British had captured -the American scouts. He bolted through the window, and into a canoe, and -crossed the river amid a shower of balls, seized a horse, and galloped -to the city. The troops, dispersed on different points, were collected -by drum and bell; and, between two o'clock and eleven at night, the city -was made ready to abide the enemy's approach. It is still -incomprehensible to the Americans why the British, who actually did -throw a party over the river, did not all step ashore on the opposite -side of the Mississippi, and quietly march the four miles up to the -city, and into it. It could have offered no defence, nor was there any -impediment by the way. - -The headquarters of both generals are very conspicuous on the plain. Sir -Edward Pakenham and a party of his officers were spied by the Americans -standing in the balcony of the house they inhabited. A gunner was -ordered to take aim at them. Seeing the importance of the shot, he was -flurried, and struck the river a mile off. He was ordered to retire. He -knew that this was the crisis of his professional fate, and implored -that he might be granted one more chance. He then hit the pillar which -supported the balcony, immediately under the feet of the group of -officers, who hurried pellmell into the house. - -After eleven days of housekeeping in New-Orleans we were obliged to -depart, having been fortunate enough to secure berths in a capital boat -which started northward on the 6th of May. The slaves in our temporary -abode had served us intelligently and well. Wishing to see what they -could do, we did not give any orders about our table. We were rarely at -home at dinner, but our breakfasts and occasional dinners were more -luxurious than if we had provided for ourselves. Excellent coffee, -French bread, radishes, and strawberries at breakfast; and at dinner, -broth, fowls, beefsteak, with peas, young asparagus, salad, new -potatoes, and spinach, all well cooked; claret at dinner, and coffee -worthy of Paris after it; this was the kind of provision with which we -were favoured. Everything was done to make us cool. The beds were -literally as hard as the floor. We had a bath of the coldest water -prepared morning and night; all the doors and windows were kept open, -and the curtains drawn, to establish draughts and keep out the sun. -There was ice in the water-jug, ice on the lump of butter, ice in the -wineglass, and icecream for dessert. - -Abroad, all was, as in every other American city, hospitality and -gayety. I had rather dreaded the visit to New-Orleans, and went more -from a sense of duty than from inclination. A friendship that I formed -there, though already eclipsed by death, left me no feeling but -rejoicing that I had gone; and I also learned much that was useful in -helping me to interpret some things which met my observation both -previously and subsequently. But my strongest impression of New-Orleans -is, that while it affords an instructive study, and yields some -enjoyment to a stranger, it is the last place in which men are gathered -together where one who prizes his humanity would wish to live. - - - - -END OF VOL. I. - - - - +=====================================================================+ - | | - | Transcriber's notes Latin-1 | - | | - | Footnotes have been moved to directly under the paragraph they refer| - | to in the text version. | - | | - | Text printed in italics in the original is represented here between | - | underscores, as in _text_. | - | | - | Text printed in small capitals in the original work has been | - | changed to ALL CAPITALS. | - | | - | Spelling has been made consistent throughout but kept to author's | - | original format except where noted below. | - | | - | Page 17 our births that changed to our berths that | - | Page 22 crimsom changed to crimson | - | Page 24 heaving birth; changed to heaving berth; | - | Page 40 New-York replaces New York | - | Page 66 ever attained replaces every attained | - | Page 88 house-top, changed to housetop, | - | Page 89 . replaces, - miles an hour, becomes miles an hour. | - | Page 93 their strength replaces their strengh | - | Page 96 extremely had changed to extremely hard | - | Page 139 FIRST SIGHT OF SLAVERY . added | - | Page 139 DANTE . added | - | Page 155 postmaster replaces portmaster | - | Page 164 Napolean changed to Napoleon | - | Page 199 eagerly replaces eargerly | - | Page 217 B.'s Folly.. - . removed | - | Page 223 CITY LIFE IN THE SOUTH . added | - | Page 241 slave-trade, changed to slavetrade, | - | Page 251 in the ferry-boat, changed to in the ferryboat, | - | Page 252 when he slopped changed to when he stopped | - | | - +=====================================================================+ - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Retrospect of Western Travel, Volume I -(of 2), by Harriet Martineau - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RETROSPECT OF WESTERN TRAVEL, VOL I *** - -***** This file should be named 40280.txt or 40280.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/2/8/40280/ - -Produced by Julia Miller, Steven Brown and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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