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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7456afd --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52621 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52621) diff --git a/old/52621-8.txt b/old/52621-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4bc649e..0000000 --- a/old/52621-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12168 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Society in America, v. 1 (of 2), by Harriet Martineau - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Society in America, v. 1 (of 2) - -Author: Harriet Martineau - -Release Date: July 22, 2016 [EBook #52621] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOCIETY IN AMERICA, V. 1 (OF 2) *** - - - - -Produced by Julia Miller, Martin Pettit 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.) - - - - - - -SOCIETY IN AMERICA - - -BY -HARRIET MARTINEAU, - -AUTHOR OF "ILLUSTRATIONS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY." - -IN TWO VOLUMES. - -VOL. I. (of II) - -NEW YORK -SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, ANN STREET, -AND CONDUIT STREET, LONDON. -1837. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -"To seize a character, even that of one man, in its life and secret -mechanism, requires a philosopher; to delineate it with truth and -impressiveness is work for a poet. How then shall one or two sleek -clerical tutors, with here and there a tedium-stricken esquire, or -speculative half-pay captain, give us views on such a subject? How shall -a man, to whom all characters of individual men are like sealed books, -of which he sees only the title and the covers, decipher from his -four-wheeled vehicle, and depict to us, the character of a nation? He -courageously depicts his own optical delusions; notes this to be -incomprehensible, that other to be insignificant; much to be good, much -to be bad, and most of all indifferent; and so, with a few flowing -strokes, completes a picture, which, though it may not resemble any -possible object, his countrymen are to take for a national portrait. Nor -is the fraud so readily detected: for the character of a people has -such a complexity of aspect, that even the honest observer knows not -always, not perhaps after long inspection, what to determine regarding -it. From his, only accidental, point of view, the figure stands before -him like the tracings on veined marble,--a mass of mere random lines, -and tints, and entangled strokes, out of which a lively fancy may shape -almost _any_ image. But the image he brings with him is always the -readiest; this is tried; it answers as well as another; and a second -voucher now testifies its correctness. Thus each, in confident tones, -though it be with a secret misgiving, repeats his precursor; the -hundred-times-repeated comes in the end to be believed; the foreign -nation is now once for all understood, decided on, and registered -accordingly; and dunce the thousandth writes of it like dunce the -first."--_Edinburgh Review, No._ xlvi. p. 309. - - -This passage cannot but strike upon the heart of any traveller who -meditates giving to the world an account of the foreign country he has -visited. It is the mirror held up before his face; and he inevitably -feels himself, for the moment, "dunce the thousandth." For my own part, -I felt the truth contained in this picture so strongly, before I was -acquainted with the passage itself, that I had again and again put away -the idea of saying one word in print on the condition of society in the -United States. Whenever I encountered half-a-dozen irreconcilable, but -respectable opinions on a single point of political doctrine; whenever -half-a-dozen fair-seeming versions of a single fact were offered to me; -whenever the glow of pleasure at obtaining, by some trivial accident, a -piece of important knowledge passed into a throb of pain at the thought -of how much must remain concealed where a casual glimpse disclosed so -much; whenever I felt how I, with my pittance of knowledge and amidst my -glimmerings of conviction, was at the mercy of unmanageable -circumstances, wafted now here and now there, by the currents of -opinion, like one surveying a continent from a balloon, with only -starlight above him,--I was tempted to decline the task of generalising -at all from what I saw and heard. In the intervals, however, I felt that -this would be wrong. Men will never arrive at a knowledge of each other, -if those who have the opportunity of foreign observation refuse to -relate what they think they have learned; or even to lay before others -the materials from which they themselves hesitate to construct a theory, -or draw large conclusions. - -In seeking for methods by which I might communicate what I have observed -in my travels, without offering any pretension to teach the English, or -judge the Americans, two expedients occurred to me; both of which I have -adopted. One is, to compare the existing state of society in America -with the principles on which it is professedly founded; thus testing -Institutions, Morals, and Manners by an indisputable, instead of an -arbitrary standard, and securing to myself the same point of view with -my readers of both nations. - -In working according to this method, my principal dangers are two. I am -in danger of not fully apprehending the principles on which society in -the United States is founded; and of erring in the application to these -of the facts which came under my notice. In the last respect, I am -utterly hopeless of my own accuracy. It is in the highest degree -improbable that my scanty gleanings in the wide field of American -society should present a precisely fair sample of the whole. I can only -explain that I have spared no pains to discover the truth, in both -divisions of my task; and invite correction, in all errors of fact. This -I earnestly do; holding myself, of course, an equal judge with others on -matters of opinion. - -My readers, on their part, will bear in mind that, in showing -discrepancies between an actual condition and a pure and noble theory -of society, I am not finding fault with the Americans, as for falling -behind the English, or the French, or any other nation. I decline the -office of censor altogether. I dare not undertake it. Nor will my -readers, I trust, regard the subject otherwise than as a compound of -philosophy and fact. If we can all, for once, allay our personal -feelings, dismiss our too great regard to mutual opinion, and put praise -and blame as nearly as possible out of the question, more that is -advantageous to us may perhaps be learned than by any invidious -comparisons and proud judgments that were ever instituted and -pronounced. - -The other method by which I propose to lessen my own responsibility, is -to enable my readers to judge for themselves, better than I can for -them, what my testimony is worth. For this purpose, I offer a brief -account of my travels, with dates in full; and a report of the principal -means I enjoyed of obtaining a knowledge of the country. - -At the close of a long work which I completed in 1834, it was thought -desirable that I should travel for two years. I determined to go to the -United States, chiefly because I felt a strong curiosity to witness the -actual working of republican institutions; and partly because the -circumstance of the language being the same as my own is very important -to one who, like myself, is too deaf to enjoy anything like an average -opportunity of obtaining correct knowledge, where intercourse is carried -on in a foreign language. I went with a mind, I believe, as nearly as -possible unprejudiced about America, with a strong disposition to admire -democratic institutions, but an entire ignorance how far the people of -the United States lived up to, or fell below, their own theory. I had -read whatever I could lay hold of that had been written about them; but -was unable to satisfy myself that, after all, I understood anything -whatever of their condition. As to knowledge of them, my mind was nearly -a blank: as to opinion of their state, I did not carry the germ of one. - -I landed at New York on the 19th of September, 1834: paid a short visit -the next week to Paterson, in New Jersey, to see the cotton factories -there, and the falls of the Passaic; and passed through New York again -on my way to stay with some friends on the banks of the Hudson, and at -Stockbridge, Massachusetts. On the 6th of October, I joined some -companions at Albany, with whom I travelled through the State of New -York, seeing Trenton Falls, Auburn, and Buffalo, to the Falls of -Niagara. Here I remained nearly a week; then, after spending a few days -at Buffalo, I embarked on Lake Erie, landing in the back of -Pennsylvania, and travelling down through Meadville to Pittsburgh, -spending a few days at each place. Then, over the Alleghanies to -Northumberland, on the fork of the Susquehanna, the abode of Priestley -after his exile, and his burial place. I arrived at Northumberland on -the 11th of October, and left it, after visiting some villages in the -neighbourhood, on the 17th, for Philadelphia, where I remained nearly -six weeks, having very extensive intercourses with its various society. -My stay at Baltimore was three weeks, and at Washington five. Congress -was at that time in session, and I enjoyed peculiar opportunities of -witnessing the proceedings of the Supreme Court and both houses of -Congress. I was acquainted with almost every eminent senator and -representative, both on the administration and opposition sides; and was -on friendly and intimate terms with some of the judges of the Supreme -Court. I enjoyed the hospitality of the President, and of several of the -heads of departments: and was, like everybody else, in society from -morning till night of every day; as the custom is at Washington. One -day was devoted to a visit to Mount Vernon, the abode and burial-place -of Washington. - -On the 18th of February I arrived at Montpelier, the seat of Mr. and -Mrs. Madison, with whom I spent two days, which were wholly occupied -with rapid conversation; Mr. Madison's share of which, various and -beautiful to a remarkable degree, will never be forgotten by me. His -clear reports of the principles and history of the Constitution of the -United States, his insight into the condition, his speculations on the -prospects of nations, his wise playfulness, his placid contemplation of -present affairs, his abundant household anecdotes of Washington, -Franklin, and Jefferson, were incalculably valuable and exceedingly -delightful to me. - -The intercourse which I had with Chief Justice Marshall was of the same -character, though not nearly so copious. Nothing in either delighted me -more than their hearty admiration of each other, notwithstanding some -wide differences in their political views. They are both gone; and I now -deeply feel what a privilege it is to have known them. - -From Mr. Madison's I proceeded to Charlottesville, and passed two days -amidst the hospitalities of the Professors of Jefferson's University, -and their families. I was astonished to learn that this institution had -never before been visited by a British traveller. I can only be sorry -for British travellers who have missed the pleasure. A few days more -were given to Richmond, where the Virginia legislature was in session; -and then ensued a long wintry journey though North and South Carolina to -Charleston, occupying from the 2nd to the 11th of March. The -hospitalities of Charleston are renowned; and I enjoyed them in their -perfection for a fortnight; and then a renewal of the same kind of -pleasures at Columbia, South Carolina, for ten days. I traversed the -southern States, staying three days at Augusta, Georgia, and nearly a -fortnight in and near Montgomery, Alabama; descending next the Alabama -river to Mobile. After a short stay there, and a residence of ten days -at New Orleans, I went up the Mississippi and Ohio to the mouth of the -Cumberland river, which I ascended to Nashville, Tennessee. I visited -the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, and spent three weeks at Lexington. I -descended the Ohio to Cincinnati; and after staying there ten days, -ascended the river again, landing in Virginia, visiting the Hawk's Nest, -Sulphur Springs, Natural Bridge, and Weyer's Cave, arriving at New York -again on the 14th of July, 1835. The autumn was spent among the villages -and smaller towns of Massachusetts, in a visit to Dr. Channing in Rhode -Island, and in an excursion to the mountains of New Hampshire and -Vermont. The winter was passed in Boston, with the exception of a trip -to Plymouth, for "Forefather's Day." In the Spring I spent seven weeks -in New York; and a month in a farmhouse at Stockbridge, Massachusetts; -making an excursion, meanwhile, to Saratoga and Lake George. My last -journey was with a party of friends, far into the west, visiting Niagara -again, proceeding by Lake Erie to Detroit, and across the territory of -Michigan. We swept round the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to -Chicago: went a long day's journey down into the prairies, back to -Chicago, and by the Lakes Michigan, Huron, and St. Clair to Detroit, -visiting Mackinaw by the way. We landed from Lake Erie at Cleveland, -Ohio, on the 13th of July; and travelled through the interior of Ohio -till we joined the river at Beaver. We visited Rapp's Settlement at -Economy, on the Ohio, and returned to New York from Pittsburgh, by the -canal route through Pennsylvania, and the rail-road over the -Alleghanies. I sailed from New York for England on the 1st of August, -1836, having then been absent just two years. - -In the course of this tour, I visited almost every kind of institution. -The prisons of Auburn, Philadelphia, and Nashville: the insane and other -hospitals of almost every considerable place: the literary and -scientific institutions; the factories of the north; the plantations of -the south; the farms of the west. I lived in houses which might be -called palaces, in log-houses, and in a farm-house. I travelled much in -wagons, as well as stages; also on horseback, and in some of the best -and worst of steam-boats. I saw weddings, and christenings; the -gatherings of the richer at watering places, and of the humbler at -country festivals. I was present at orations, at land sales, and in the -slave market. I was in frequent attendance on the Supreme Court and the -Senate; and witnessed some of the proceedings of state legislatures. -Above all, I was received into the bosom of many families, not as a -stranger, but as a daughter or a sister. I am qualified, if any one is, -to testify to the virtues and the peace of the homes of the United -States; and let it not be thought a breach of confidence, if I should be -found occasionally to have spoken of these out of the fulness of my -heart. - -It would be nearly impossible to relate whom I knew, during my travels. -Nearly every eminent man in politics, science and literature, and -almost every distinguished woman, would grace my list. I have respected -and beloved friends of each political party; and of nearly every -religious denomination; among slave-holders, colonizationists, and -abolitionists; among farmers, lawyers, merchants, professors, and -clergy. I travelled among several tribes of Indians; and spent months in -the southern States, with negroes ever at my heels. - -Such were my means of information. With regard to my power of making use -of them, I have but a few words to say. - -It has been frequently mentioned to me that my being a woman was one -disadvantage; and my being previously heard of, another. In this I do -not agree. - -I am sure, I have seen much more of domestic life than could possibly -have been exhibited to any gentleman travelling through the country. The -nursery, the boudoir, the kitchen, are all excellent schools in which to -learn the morals and manners of a people: and, as for public and -professional affairs,--those may always gain full information upon such -matters, who really feel an interest in them,--be they men or women. No -people in the world can be more frank, confiding and affectionate, or -more skilful and liberal in communicating information, than I have ever -found the Americans to be. I never asked in vain; and I seldom had to -ask at all; so carefully were my inquiries anticipated, and my aims so -completely understood. I doubt whether a single fact that I wished to -learn, or any doctrine that I desired to comprehend, was ever kept from -me because I was a woman. - -As for the other objection, I can only state my belief, that my friends -and I found personal acquaintance so much pleasanter than any previous -knowledge by hearsay, that we always forgot that we had heard of each -other before. It would be preposterous to suppose that, received as I -was into intimate confidence, any false appearances could be kept up on -account of any preconceptions that could have been entertained of me. - -I laboured under only one peculiar disadvantage, that I am aware of; but -that one is incalculable. I mean my deafness. This does not endanger the -accuracy of my information, I believe, as far as it goes; because I -carry a trumpet of remarkable fidelity; an instrument, moreover, which -seems to exert some winning power, by which I gain more in -_tête-à-têtes_ than is given to people who hear general conversation. -Probably its charm consists in the new feeling which it imparts of ease -and privacy in conversing with a deaf person. However this may be, I can -hardly imagine fuller revelations to be made in household intercourse -than my trumpet brought to me. But I am aware that there is no -estimating the loss, in a foreign country, from not hearing the casual -conversation of all kinds of people, in the streets, stages, hotels, &c. -I am aware that the lights which are thus gathered up by the traveller -for himself are often far more valuable than the most elaborate accounts -of things offered to him with an express design. This was my peculiar -disadvantage. It could not be helped; and it cannot be explained away. I -mention it, that the value of my testimony may be lowered according to -the supposed worth of this circumstance. - -Much is often said about the delicacy to be observed, in the act of -revealing the history of one's travels, towards the hosts and other -friends of the traveller who have reposed confidence in him. The rule -seems to me a very plain one, which reconciles truth, honour and -utility. My rule is to speak of the public acts of public persons, -precisely as if I had known them only in their public character. This -may be sometimes difficult, and sometimes painful, to the writer; but it -leaves no just cause of complaint to any one else. Moreover, I hold it -allowable and necessary to make use of opinions and facts offered in -fire-side confidence, as long as no clue is offered by which they may be -traced back to any particular fire-side. If any of my American friends -should find in this book traces of old conversations and incidents, let -them keep their own counsel, and be assured that the conversation and -facts remain private between them and me. Thus far, all is safe; and -further than this, no honourable person would wish to go. - -This is not the place in which to speak of my obligations or of my -friendships. Those who know best what I have in my heart to say meet me -here under a new relation. In these pages, we meet as writer and -readers. I would only entreat them to bear this distinction in mind, and -not to measure my attachment to themselves by anything this book may -contain about their country and their nation. The bond which unites us -bears no relation to clime, birth-place, or institutions. In as far as -our friendship is faithful, we are fellow-citizens of another and a -better country than theirs or mine. - - - - -CONTENTS. - -VOL. I. - - _Page_ -INTRODUCTION i - - -PART I. - -POLITICS 1 - -CHAPTER I. - -PARTIES 8 - -CHAPTER II. - -APPARATUS OF GOVERNMENT 32 - SECTION I.--The General Government 35 - II.--The Executive 52 - III.--The State Governments 64 - -CHAPTER III. - -MORALS OF POLITICS 82 - SECTION I.--Office 84 - II.--Newspapers 109 - III.--Apathy in Citizenship 115 - IV.--Allegiance to Law 120 - V.--Sectional Prejudice 135 - VI.--Citizenship of People of Colour 144 - VII.--Political Non-Existence of Women 148 - - -PART II. - -ECONOMY 155 - Solitaires 162 - Springs of Virginia 175 - New England Farm-house 193 - West Country Life 201 - Township of Gloucester 205 - South Country Life 212 - Picture of Michigan 232 - The Northern Lakes 270 - -CHAPTER I. - -AGRICULTURE 291 - SECTION I.--Disposal of Land 318 - II.--Rural Labour 338 - - - - -SOCIETY IN AMERICA - - - - -PART I. - -POLITICS. - - " ... Those unalterable relations which Providence has ordained - that everything should bear to every other. These relations, which - are truth itself, the foundation of virtue, and consequently, the - only measures of happiness, should be likewise the only measures by - which we should direct our reasoning. To these we should conform in - good earnest, and not think to force nature, and the whole order of - her system, by a compliance with our pride and folly, to conform to - our artificial regulations. It is by a conformity to this method we - owe the discovery of the few truths we know, and the little liberty - and rational happiness we enjoy." _Burke._ - - -Mr. Madison remarked to me, that the United States had been "useful in -proving things before held impossible." Of such proofs, he adduced -several. Others, which he did not mention, have since occurred to me; -and, among them, the pursuit of the _à priori_ method in forming a -constitution:--the _à priori_ method, as it is styled by its enemies, -though its advocates, with more reason, call it the inductive method. -Till the formation of the government of the United States, it had been -generally supposed, and it is so still by the majority of the old world, -that a sound theory of government can be constructed only out of the -experience of man in governments; the experience mankind has had of -despotisms, oligarchies, and the mixtures of these with small portions -of democracy. But the essential condition of the fidelity of the -inductive method is, that all the elements of experience should be -included. If, in this particular problem, of the true theory of -government, we take all experience of government, and leave out all -experience of man, except in his hitherto governing or governed state, -we shall never reach a philosophical conclusion. The true application of -the inductive method here is to test a theory of government deduced from -the principles of human nature, by the results of all governments of -which mankind has had experience. No narrower basis will serve for such -an induction. Such a method of finding a good theory of government was -considered impossible, till the United States "proved" it. - -This proof can never be invalidated by anything that can now happen in -the United States. It is common to say "Wait; these are early days. The -experiment will fail yet." The experiment of the particular constitution -of the United States may fail; but the great principle which, whether -successfully or not, it strives to embody,--the capacity of mankind for -self-government,--is established for ever. It has, as Mr. Madison said, -proved a thing previously held impossible. If a revolution were to take -place to-morrow in the United States, it remains an historical fact -that, for half a century, a people has been self-governed; and, till it -can be proved that the self-government is the cause of the instability, -no revolution, or series of revolutions, can tarnish the lustre, any -more than they can impair the soundness of the principle that mankind -are capable of self-government. The United States have indeed been -useful in proving these two things, before held impossible; the finding -a true theory of government, by reasoning from the principles of human -nature, as well as from the experience of governments; and the capacity -of mankind for self-government. - -It seems strange that while politics are unquestionably a branch of -moral science, bearing no other relation than to the duty and happiness -of man, the great principles of his nature should have been neglected by -politicians--with the exception of his love of power and desire of -gain,--till a set of men assembled in the State House at Philadelphia, -in the eighteenth century, and there throned a legitimate political -philosophy in the place of a deposed king. The _rationale_ of all -preceding governments had been, "men love power, therefore there must be -punishments for rulers who, having already much, would seize more. Men -desire gain; therefore there must be punishments for those, rulers or -ruled, who would appropriate the gains of others." The _rationale_ of -the new and "impossible" government is "that all men are created equal; -that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable lights; -that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to -secure those rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving -their just powers from the consent of the governed."[1] This last -recognizes, over and above what the former admits, the great principles -of indefeasible rights; human equality in relation to these; and the -obligation of universal justice. - -These, then, are the principles which the statesmen in the State House -at Philadelphia announced as the soul of their embryo institutions; and -the rule through which they were to work was no less than that golden -one which seems to have been, by some unhappy chance, omitted in the -bibles of other statesmen--"Do unto others as ye would that they should -do unto you." Perhaps it may be reserved for their country to prove yet -one more impossible thing--that men can live by the rule which their -Maker has given them to live by. Meanwhile, every true citizen of that -country must necessarily be content to have his self-government tried by -the test of these principles, to which, by his citizenship, he has -become a subscriber. He will scorn all comparisons, instituted as a test -of merit, between his own government and those of other countries, which -he must necessarily consider as of narrower scope and lower aim. Whether -such comparisons be instituted abroad in a spirit of contempt, or at -home in a spirit of complacency, he will regard them equally as -irrelevant, and proving nothing to the best purposes of true citizens. -He will disdain every test but that furnished by the great principles -propounded in the State House at Philadelphia; and he will quarrel with -no results fairly brought out by such a test, whether they inspire him -with shame, or with complacency. In either case, he will be animated by -them. - -If the politics of a country be really derived from fundamental -principles of human nature and morals, the economy, manners, and -religion of that country must be designed to harmonise with these -principles. The same test must be applicable to all. The inalienable -right of all the human race to life, liberty, and the pursuit of -happiness, must control the economical, as well as the political -arrangements of a people; and the law of universal justice must regulate -all social intercourse, and direct all administration of religion. - -Politics are morals, all the world over; that is, politics universally -implicate the duty and happiness of man. Every branch of morals is, and -ought to be considered, a universal concern. Under despotic governments, -there is a pretension, more or less sincere, on the part of the rulers, -to moral regards; but from these the bulk of the people are, by common -consent, cut off. If the bulk of the people saw the truth, that the -principles of politics affect them,--are the message of their Maker as -principles are to them, as well as to their rulers, they would become -moral agents in regard to politics, and despotism would be at an end. As -it is, they pay their taxes, and go out to war when they are bid, are -thankful when they are left unmolested by their government, and sorry or -angry when they feel themselves oppressed; and there they end. It is -owing to their ignorance of politics being morals--_i. e._ matters of -equal concern to all--that this truth is not made manifest in action in -every country on the globe that has any government at all. - -The same is the case of the unrepresented under governments which are -not called despotic. According to the principles professed by the United -States, there is there a rectification of this mighty error--a -correction of this grand oversight. In that self-governing nation, all -are held to have an equal interest in the principles of its -institutions, and to be bound in equal duty to watch their workings. -Politics there are universal duty. None are exempted from obligation but -the unrepresented; and they, in theory, are none. However various may be -the tribes of inhabitants in those States, whatever part of the world -may have been their birth-place, or that of their fathers, however -broken may be their language, however noble or servile their -employments, however exalted or despised their state, all are declared -to be bound together by equal political obligation, as firmly as under -any other law of personal or social duty. The president, the senator, -the governor, may take upon himself some additional responsibility, as -the physician and lawyer do in other departments of office; but they -are under precisely the same political obligation as the German settler, -whose axe echoes through the lonely forest; and the Southern planter, -who is occupied with his hospitalities; and the New England merchant, -whose thoughts are on the sea; and the Irishman, in his shanty on the -canal-bank; and the negro, hoeing cotton in the hot field, or basking -away his sabbath on the shore of the Mississippi. Genius, knowledge, -wealth, may in other affairs set a man above his fellows; but not in -this. Weakness, ignorance, poverty may exempt a man from other -obligations; but not from this. The theory of the government of the -United States has grasped and embodied the mighty principle, that -politics are morals;--that is, a matter of universal and equal concern. -We shall have to see whether this principle is fully acted out. - -Implicated with this is the theory, that the majority will be in the -right, both as to the choice of principles which are to govern -particular cases, and the agents who are to work them. This theory, -obviously just as it appears, as long as it is applied to matters of -universal and equal concern, cannot be set aside without overthrowing -all with which it is involved. We shall have to see, also, whether this -principle is effectually carried out. - -Implicated with this, again, is the principle that a mutable, or rather -elastic form, must be given to every institution. "The majority are in -the right." Such is the theory. Few individuals of this majority can act -for longer than two-score years and ten; few for so long. No one can -suppose that his successor will think or feel as he does, however strict -may be the regard of each to the fundamental principles which are to -regulate his citizenship. It is absolutely necessary, to secure -permanence to the recognition of those principles, that there should be -liberty to change the form which contains them. Else, in the endless -variety of human views and interests, there is danger lest men, being -prohibited from producing a correspondence between the principles they -recognise, and the forms they desire, should, because interdicted from -outward change, gradually alter the spirit of their government. In such -a case, men would be some time in discovering that the fair body of -their constitution has become possessed, while they had supposed her -inspired: and, to pass over the mischiefs which might happen during the -period of her possession, the work of exorcism would be difficult and -perilous. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] Declaration of Independence. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -PARTIES. - - "For these are the men that, when they have played their parts, and - had their exits, must step out, and give the moral of their scenes, - and deliver unto posterity an inventory of their virtues and - vices." - - _Sir Thomas Browne._ - - -The first gentleman who greeted me on my arrival in the United States, a -few minutes after I had landed, informed me without delay, that I had -arrived at an unhappy crisis; that the institutions of the country would -be in ruins before my return to England; that the levelling spirit was -desolating society; and that the United States were on the verge of a -military despotism. This was so very like what I had been accustomed to -hear at home, from time to time, since my childhood, that I was not -quite so much alarmed as I might have been without such prior -experience. It was amusing too to find America so veritably the daughter -of England. - -I looked around me carefully, in all my travels, till I reached -Washington, but could see no signs of despotism; even less of military. -Except the officers and cadets at West Point, and some militia on a -training day at Saugerties, higher up on the Hudson, I saw nothing that -could be called military; and officers, cadets, and militia, appeared -all perfectly innocent of any design to seize upon the government. At -Washington, I ventured to ask an explanation from one of the most -honoured statesmen now living; who told me, with a smile, that the -country had been in "a crisis" for fifty years past; and would be for -fifty years to come. - -This information was my comfort, from day to day, till I became -sufficiently acquainted with the country to need such support no longer. -Mournful predictions, like that I have quoted, were made so often, that -it was easy to learn how they originated. - -In the United States, as elsewhere, there are, and have always been, two -parties in politics, whom it is difficult to distinguish on paper, by a -statement of their principles, but whose course of action may, in any -given case, be pretty confidently anticipated. It is remarkable how -nearly their positive statements of political doctrine agree, while they -differ in almost every possible application of their common principles. -Close and continued observation of their agreements and differences is -necessary before the British traveller can fully comprehend their mutual -relation. In England, the differences of parties are so broad,--between -those who would have the people governed for the convenience of their -rulers; those who would have the many governed, for their good, by the -will of the few; and those who would have the people govern -themselves;--that it is, for some time, difficult to comprehend how -there should be party differences as wide in a country where the first -principle of government is that the people are to govern themselves. The -case, however, becomes clear in time: and, amidst a half century of -"crises," the same order and sequence become discernible which run -through the whole course of human affairs. - -As long as men continue as differently organized as they now are, there -will be two parties under every government. Even if their outward -fortunes could be absolutely equalised, there would be, from individual -constitution alone, an aristocracy and a democracy in every land. The -fearful by nature would compose an aristocracy, the hopeful by nature a -democracy, were all other causes of divergence done away. When to these -constitutional differences are added all those outward circumstances -which go to increase the fear and the hope, the mutual misunderstandings -of parties are no longer to be wondered at. Men who have gained wealth, -whose hope is fulfilled, and who fear loss by change, are naturally of -the aristocratic class. So are men of learning, who, unconsciously -identifying learning and wisdom, fear the elevation of the ignorant to a -station like their own. So are men of talent, who, having gained the -power which is the fit recompense of achievement, dread the having to -yield it to numbers instead of desert. So are many more who feel the -almost universal fear of having to part with educational prejudices, -with doctrines with which honoured teachers nourished the pride of -youth, and prepossessions inwoven with all that has been to them most -pure, lofty, and graceful. Out of these a large aristocratic class must -everywhere be formed. - -Out of the hopeful,--the rising, not the risen,--the aspiring, not the -satisfied,--must a still larger class be everywhere formed. It will -include all who have most to gain and least to lose; and most of those -who, in the present state of education, have gained their knowledge from -actual life, rather than, or as well as, from books. It will include the -adventurers of society, and also the philanthropists. It will include, -moreover,--an accession small in number, but inestimable in power,--the -men of genius. It is characteristic of genius to be hopeful and -aspiring. It is characteristic of genius to break up the artificial -arrangements of conventionalism, and to view mankind in true -perspective, in their gradations of inherent rather than of adventitious -worth. Genius is therefore essentially democratic, and has always been -so, whatever titles its gifted ones may have worn, or on whatever -subjects they may have exercised their gifts. To whatever extent men of -genius have been aristocratic, they have been so in spite of their -genius, not in consistency with it. The instances are so few, and their -deviations from the democratic principle so small, that men of genius -must be considered as included in the democratic class. - -Genius being rare, and its claims but tardily allowed by those who have -attained greatness by other means, it seems as if the weight of -influence possessed by the aristocratic party,--by that party which, -generally speaking, includes the wealth, learning, and talents of the -country,--must overpower all opposition. If this is found not to be the -case, if it be found that the democratic party has achieved everything -that has been achieved since the United States' constitution began to -work, it is no wonder that there is panic in many hearts, and that I -heard from so many tongues of the desolations of the "levelling spirit," -and the approaching ruin of political institutions. - -These classes may be distinguished in another way. The description which -Jefferson gave of the federal and republican parties of 1799 applies to -the federal and democratic parties of this day, and to the aristocratic -and democratic parties of every time and country. "One," says Jefferson, -"fears most the ignorance of the people; the other, the selfishness of -rulers independent of them." - -There is much reason in both these fears. The unreasonableness of party -lies in entertaining the one fear, and not the other. No argument is -needed to prove that rulers are prone to selfishness and narrowness of -views: and no one can have witnessed the injuries that the poor suffer -in old countries,--the education of hardship and insult that furnishes -them with their only knowledge of the highest classes, without being -convinced that their ignorance is to be feared;--their ignorance, not so -much of books as of liberty and law. In old countries, the question -remains open whether the many should, on account of their ignorance, be -kept still in a state of political servitude, as some declare; or -whether they should be gradually prepared for political freedom, as -others think, by an amelioration of their condition, and by being -educated in schools; or whether, as yet others maintain, the exercise of -political rights and duties be not the only possible political -education. In the New World, no such question remains to be debated. It -has no large, degraded, injured, dangerous (white) class who can afford -the slightest pretence for a panic-cry about agrarianism. Throughout the -prodigious expanse of that country, I saw no poor _men_, except a few -intemperate ones. I saw some very poor _women_; but God and man know -that the time has not come for women to make their injuries even heard -of. I saw no beggars but two professional ones, who are making their -fortunes in the streets of Washington. I saw no table spread, in the -lowest order of houses, that had not meat and bread on it. Every factory -child carries its umbrella; and pig-drivers wear spectacles. With the -exception of the foreign paupers on the seaboard, and those who are -steeped in sensual vice, neither of which classes can be politically -dangerous, there are none who have not the same interest in the security -of property as the richest merchant of Salem, or planter of Louisiana. -Whether the less wealthy class will not be the first to draw out from -reason and experience the true philosophy of property, is another -question. All we have to do with now is their equal interest with their -richer neighbours in the security of property, in the present state of -society. Law and order are as important to the man who holds land for -the subsistence of his family, or who earns wages that he may have land -of his own to die upon, as to any member of the president's cabinet. - -Nor is there much more to fear from the ignorance of the bulk of the -people in the United States, than from their poverty. It is too true -that there is much ignorance; so much as to be an ever-present peril. -Though, as a whole, the nation is, probably, better informed than any -other entire nation, it cannot be denied that their knowledge is far -inferior to what their safety and their virtue require. But _whose_ -ignorance is it? And ignorance of _what_? If the professors of colleges -have book-knowledge, which the owner of a log-house has not; the owner -of a log-house has very often, as I can testify, a knowledge of natural -law, political rights, and economical fact, which the college-professor -has not. I often longed to confront some of each class, to see whether -there was any common ground on which they could meet. If not, the one -might bring the charge of ignorance as justly as the other. If a common -ground could be discovered, it would have been in their equal relation -to the government under which they live: in which case, the natural -conclusion would be, that each understood his own interests best, and -neither could assume superiority over the other. The particular -ignorance of the countryman may expose him to be flattered and cheated -by an oratorical office-seeker, or a dishonest newspaper. But, on the -other hand, the professor's want of knowledge of the actual affairs of -the many, and his educational biases, are just as likely to cause him to -vote contrary to the public interest. No one who has observed society in -America will question the existence or the evil of ignorance there: but -neither will he question that such real knowledge as they have is pretty -fairly shared among them. - -I travelled by wagon, with a party of friends, in the interior of Ohio. -Our driver must be a man of great and various knowledge, if he questions -all strangers as he did us, and obtains as copious answers. He told us -where and how he lived, of his nine children, of his literary daughters, -and the pains he was at to get books for them; and of his hopes from his -girl of fourteen, who writes poetry, which he keeps a secret, lest she -should be spoiled. He told us that he seldom lets his fingers touch a -novel, because the consequence always is that his business stands still -till the novel is finished; "and that doesn't suit." He recited to us, -Pope's "Happy the man whose wish and care," &c. saying that it suited -his idea exactly. He asked both the ladies present whether they had -written a book. Both had; and he carried away the titles, that he might -buy the books for his daughters. This man is fully informed of the value -of the Union, as we had reason to perceive; and it is difficult to see -why he is not as fit as any other man to choose the representatives of -his interests. Yet, here is a specimen of his conversation with one of -the ladies of the party. - -"Was the book that you wrote on natural philosophy, madam?" - -"No; I know nothing about natural philosophy." - -"Hum! Because one lady has done that pretty well:--hit it!--Miss Porter, -you know." - -"What Miss Porter?" - -"She that wrote 'Thaddeus of Warsaw,' you know. She did it pretty well -there." - -As an antagonist case, take the wailings of a gentleman of very -distinguished station in a highly aristocratic section of -society;--wailings over the extent of the suffrage. - -"What an enormity it is that such a man as Judge ----, there, should -stand on no higher level in politics than the man that grooms his -horse!" - -"Why should he? I suppose they have both got all they want,--full -representation: and they thus bear precisely the same relation to the -government." - -"No; the judge seldom votes, because of his office: while his groom can, -perhaps, carry nineteen men to vote as he pleases. It is monstrous!" - -"It seems monstrous that the judge should omit his political duty for -the sake of his office; and also that nineteen men should be led by one. -But limiting the suffrage would not mend the matter. Would it not do -better to teach all the parties their duty?" - -Let who will choose between the wagon-driver and the scholar. Each will -vote according to his own views; and the event,--the ultimate -majority,--will prove which is so far the wiser. - -The vagueness of the antagonism between the two parties is for some time -perplexing to the traveller in America; and he does not know whether to -be most amazed or amused at the apparent triviality of the circumstances -which arouse the strongest party emotions. After a while, a body comes -out of the mystery, and he grasps a substantial cause of dissension. -From the day when the first constitution was formed, there have been -alarmists, who talk of a "crisis:" and from the day when the second -began its operations, the alarm has, very naturally, taken its subject -matter from the failure of the first. The first general government came -to a stand through weakness. The entire nation kept itself in order till -a new one was formed and set to work. As soon as the danger was over, -and the nation proved, by the last possible test, duly convinced of the -advantages of public order, the timid party took fright lest the general -government should still not be strong enough; and this tendency, of -course, set the hopeful party to watch lest it should be made too -strong. The panic and antagonism were at their height in 1799.[2] A -fearful collision of parties took place, which ended in the -establishment of the hopeful policy, which has continued, with few -interruptions, since. The executive patronage was retrenched, taxes were -taken off, the people were re-assured, and all is, as yet, safe. While -the leaders of the old federal party retired to their Essex junto, and -elsewhere, to sigh for monarchy, and yearn towards England, the greater -number threw off their fears, and joined the republican party. There are -now very few left to profess the politics of the old federalists. I met -with only two who openly avowed their desire for a monarchy; and not -many more who prophesied one. But there still is a federal party, and -there ever will be. It is as inevitable that there will be always some -who will fear the too great strength of the state governments, as that -there will be many who will have the same fear about the general -government. Instead of seeing in this any cause for dismay, or even -regret, the impartial observer will recognise in this mutual -watchfulness the best security that the case admits of for the general -and state governments preserving their due relation to one another. No -government ever yet worked both well and indisputably. A pure despotism -works (apparently) indisputably; but the bulk of its subjects will not -allow that it works well, while it wrings their heads from their -shoulders, or their earnings from their hands. The government of the -United States is disputed at every step of its workings: but the bulk of -the people declare that it works well, while every man is his own -security for his life and property. - -The extreme panic of the old federal party is accounted for, and almost -justified, when we remember, not only that the commerce of England had -penetrated every part of the country, and that great pecuniary interests -were therefore everywhere supposed to be at stake; but that -republicanism, like that which now exists in America, was a thing -unheard of--an idea only half-developed in the minds of those who were -to live under it. Wisdom may spring, full-formed and accomplished, from -the head of a god, but not from the brains of men. The Americans of the -Revolution looked round upon the republics of the world, tested them by -the principles of human nature, found them republican in nothing but the -name, and produced something, more democratic than any of them; but not -democratic enough for the circumstances which were in the course of -arising. They saw that in Holland the people had nothing to do with the -erection of the supreme power; that in Poland (which was called a -republic in their day) the people were oppressed by an incubus of -monarchy and aristocracy, at once, in their most aggravated forms; and -that in Venice a small body of hereditary nobles exercised a stern sway. -They planned something far transcending in democracy any republic yet -heard of; and they are not to be wondered at, or blamed, if, when their -work was done, they feared they had gone too far. They had done much in -preparing the way for the second birth of their republic in 1789, and -for a third in 1801, when the republicans came into power; and from -which date, free government in the United States may be said to have -started on its course. - -A remarkable sign of those times remains on record, which shows how -different the state of feeling and opinion was then from any that could -now prevail among a large and honourable body in the republic. The -society of the Cincinnati, an association of officers of the -revolutionary army, and other honourable persons, ordered their -proceedings in a manner totally inconsistent with the first principles -of republicanism; having secret correspondences, decking themselves with -an order, which was to be hereditary, drawing a line of distinction -between military and other citizens, and uniting in a secret bond the -chiefs of the first families of the respective States. Such an -association, formed on the model of some which might be more or less -necessary or convenient in the monarchies of the old world, could not be -allowed to exist in its feudal form in the young republic; and, -accordingly, the hereditary principle, and the power of adopting -honorary members, were relinquished; and the society is heard of no -more. It has had its use in showing how the minds of the earlier -republicans were imbued with monarchical prepossessions, and how large -is the reasonable allowance which must be made for the apprehensions of -men, who, having gone further in democracy than any who had preceded -them, were destined to see others outstrip themselves. Adams, Hamilton, -Washington! what names are these! Yet Adams in those days believed the -English constitution would be perfect, if some defects and abuses were -remedied. Hamilton believed it would be impracticable, if such -alterations were made; and that, in its then existing state, it was the -very best government that had ever been devised. Washington was -absolutely republican in his principles, but did not enjoy the strong -faith, the entire trust in the people, which is the attendant privilege -of those principles. Such men, pressed out from among the multitude by -the strong force of emergency, proved themselves worthy of their mission -of national redemption; but, though we may now be unable to single out -any who, in these comparatively quiet times, can be measured against -them, we are not thence to conclude that society, as a whole, has not -advanced; and that a policy which would have appeared dangerous to them, -may not be, at present, safe and reasonable. - -Advantageous, therefore, as it may be, that the present federal party -should be perpetually on the watch against the encroachments of the -state governments,--useful as their incessant recurrence to the first -practices, as well as principles, of the constitution may be,--it would -be for their comfort to remember, that the elasticity of their -institutions is a perpetual safeguard; and, also, that the silent -influence of the federal head of their republics has a sedative effect -which its framers themselves did not anticipate. If they compare the -fickleness and turbulence of very small republics,--Rhode Island, for -instance,--with the tranquillity of the largest, or of the confederated -number, it is obvious that the existence of a federal head keeps down -more quarrels than ever appear. - -When the views of the present apprehensive federal party are closely -looked into, they appear to be inconsistent with one or more of the -primary principles of the constitution which we have stated. "The -majority are right." Any fears of the majority are inconsistent with -this maxim, and were always felt by me to be so, from the time I entered -the country till I left it. - -One sunny October morning I was taking a drive, with my party, along the -shores of the pretty Owasco Lake, in New York state, and conversing on -the condition of the country with a gentleman who thought the political -prospect less bright than the landscape. I had been less than three -weeks in the country, and was in a state of something like awe at the -prevalence of, not only external competence, but intellectual ability. -The striking effect upon a stranger of witnessing, for the first time, -the absence of poverty, of gross ignorance, of all servility, of all -insolence of manner, cannot be exaggerated in description. I had seen -every man in the towns an independent citizen; every man in the country -a land-owner. I had seen that the villages had their newspapers, the -factory girls their libraries. I had witnessed the controversies between -candidates for office on some difficult subjects, of which the people -were to be the judges. With all these things in my mind, and with every -evidence of prosperity about me in the comfortable homesteads which -every turn in the road, and every reach of the lake, brought into view, -I was thrown into a painful amazement by being told that the grand -question of the time was "whether the people should be encouraged to -govern themselves, or whether the wise should save them from -themselves." The confusion of inconsistencies was here so great as to -defy argument: the patronage among equals that was implied; the -assumption as to who were the wise; and the conclusion that all the rest -must be foolish. This one sentence seemed to be the most extraordinary -combination that could proceed from the lips of a republican. - -The expressions of fear vary according to the pursuits, or habits of -mind of those who entertain them: but all are inconsistent with the -theory that the majority are right. One fears the influence in the -national councils of the "Tartar population" of the west, observing that -men retrograde in civilisation when thinly settled in a fruitful -country. But the representatives from these regions will be few while -they are thinly settled, and will be in the minority when in the wrong. -When these representatives become numerous, from the thick settlement of -those regions, their character will have ceased to become Tartar-like -and formidable: even supposing that a Tartar-like character could -co-exist with the commerce of the Mississippi. Another tells me that the -State has been, again and again, "on a lee shore, and a flaw has blown -it off, and postponed the danger; but this cannot go on for ever." The -fact here is true; and it would seem to lead to a directly contrary -inference. "The flaw" is the will of the majority, which might be better -indicated by a figure of something more stable. "The majority is -right." It has thus far preserved the safety of the state; and this is -the best ground for supposing that it will continue to be a safeguard. - -One of the most painful apprehensions seems to be that the poorer will -heavily tax the richer members of society; the rich being always a small -class. If it be true, as all parties appear to suppose, that rulers in -general are prone to use their power for selfish purposes, there remains -the alternative, whether the poor shall over-tax the rich, or whether -the rich shall over-tax the poor: and, if one of these evils were -necessary, few would doubt which would be the least. But the danger -appears much diminished on the consideration that, in the country under -our notice, there are not, nor are likely to be, the wide differences in -property which exist in old countries. There is no class of hereditary -rich or poor. Few are very wealthy; few are poor; and every man has a -fair chance of being rich. No such unequal taxation has yet been -ordained by the sovereign people; nor does there appear to be any danger -of it, while the total amount of taxation is so very small as in the -United States, and the interest that every one has in the protection of -property is so great. A friend in the South, while eulogizing to me the -state of society there, spoke with compassion of his northern fellow -citizens, who were exposed to the risks of "a perpetual struggle between -pauperism and property." To which a northern friend replied, that it is -true that there is a perpetual struggle everywhere between pauperism and -property. The question is, which succeeds. In the United States, the -prospect is that each will succeed. Paupers may obtain what they want, -and proprietors will keep that which they have. As a mere matter of -convenience, it is shorter and easier to obtain property by enterprise -and labour in the United States, than by pulling down the wealthy. Even -the most desponding do not consider the case as very urgent, at present. -I asked one of my wealthy friends, who was predicting that in thirty -years his children would be living under a despotism, why he did not -remove. "Where," said he, with a countenance of perplexity, "could I be -better off?"--which appeared to me a truly reasonable question. - -In a country, the fundamental principle of whose politics is, that its -"rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the governed," it -is clear that there can be no narrowing of the suffrage. However -earnestly some may desire this, no one hopes it. But it does not follow -that the apprehensive minority has nothing left but discontent. The -enlightenment of society remains not only matter for hope, but for -achievement. The prudent speak of the benefits of education as a matter -of policy, while the philanthropic promote it as a matter of justice. -Security of person and property follows naturally upon a knowledge of -rights. However the aristocracy of wealth, learning, and talent may -differ among themselves, as to what is the most valuable kind of -knowledge, all will agree that every kind will strengthen the bonds of -society. In this direction must the aristocracy work for their own -security. If they sufficiently provide the means of knowledge to the -community, they may dismiss their fears, and rest assured that the great -theory of their government will bear any test; and that "the majority -will be in the right." - -If the fears of the aristocracy are inconsistent with the theory of the -government under which they live, so is much of the practice of the -democracy. Their hopefulness is reasonable; their reliance on the -majority is reasonable. But there are evils attendant on their practice -of their true theories which may account for the propounding of worse -theories by their opponents. - -Learning by experience is slow work. However sure it may be, it is slow; -and great is the faith and patience required by men who are in advance -of a nation on a point which they feel that they could carry, if they -had not to wait the pleasure of the majority. Though the majority be -right in respect of the whole of politics, there is scarcely a sensible -man who may not be more in the right than the majority with regard to -some one point; and no allowance can be too great for the perpetual -discouragement hence arising. The majority eventually wills the best; -but, in the present imperfection of knowledge, the will is long in -exhibiting itself; and the ultimate demonstration often crowns a series -of mistakes and failures. From this fact arises the complaint of many -federalists that the democratic party is apt to adopt their measures, -after railing both at those measures, and at the men who framed them. -This is often true: and it is true that, if the people had only had the -requisite knowledge, they would have done wisely to have accepted good -measures from the beginning, without any railing at all. But the -knowledge was wanting. The next best thing that can happen is, that -which does happen: that the people learn, and act upon their learning. -If they are not wise enough to adopt a good measure at first, it would -be no improvement of the case that they should be too obstinate to -accept it at last. The case proves only that out of ignorance come -knowledge, conviction, and action; and the majority is ultimately in the -right. Whenever there is less of ignorance to begin with, there will be -less of the railing, which is childish enough, whether as a mere -imputation, or as a reality. - -The great theory presumes that the majority not only will the best -measures, but choose the best men. This is far from being true in -practice. In no respect, perhaps, are the people more behind their -theory than in this. The noble set of public servants with which the -people were blessed in their revolutionary period seems to have inspired -them at first with a somewhat romantic faith in men who profess strong -attachment to whatever has been erected into a glory of the nation; and, -from that time to this, the federal party has, from causes which will be -hereafter explained, furnished a far superior set of men to the public -service than the democratic party. I found this fact almost universally -admitted by the wisest adherents of democracy; and out of it has arisen -the mournful question, whether an honest man with false political -principles be not more dangerous as a ruler than an unscrupulous man -with true political principles. I have heard the case put thus: "There -is not yet a sufficiency of real friends of the people willing to be -their servants. They must take either a somewhat better set of men whose -politics they disapprove, or a somewhat worse set of men to make tools -of. They take the tools, use them, and throw them away." - -This is true; and a melancholy truth it is; since it is certain that -whenever the people shall pertinaciously require honest servants, and -take due pains to ascertain their honesty, true men will be forthcoming. -Under God's providence, the work never waits for the workman. - -This fact, however, has one side as bright as the other is dark. It is -certain that many corrupt public servants are supported under the belief -that they are good and great men. No one can have attended assiduously -on the course of public affairs at Washington, and afterwards listened -to conversation in the stages, without being convinced of this. As soon -as the mistake is discovered, it is rectified. Retribution often comes -sooner than it could have been looked for. Though it be long delayed, -the remedy is ultimately secure. Every corrupt faction breaks up, sooner -or later, and character is revealed: the people let down their -favourite, to hide his head, or continue to show his face, as may best -suit his convenience; and forthwith choose a better man; or one believed -to be better. In such cases, the evil lies in ignorance--a temporary -evil; while the principle of rectification may work, for aught we can -see, eternally. - -Two considerations,--one of fact, another of inference,--may reassure -those who are discouraged by these discrepancies between the theories of -the United States' government, and the practice of the democratic party, -with regard to both measures and men. The Americans are practically -acquainted with the old proverb, "What is every body's business is -nobody's business." No man stirs first against an abuse which is no more -his than other people's. The abuse goes on till it begins to overbear -law and liberty. Then the multitude arises, in the strength of the law, -and crushes the abuse. Sufficient confirmation of this will occur to any -one who has known the State histories of the Union for the last twenty -years, and will not be wholly contradicted by the condition of certain -affairs there which now present a bad aspect. Past experience sanctions -the hope that when these bad affairs have grown a little worse, they -will be suddenly and completely redressed. Illustrations in abundance -are at hand. - -Lotteries were formerly a great inducement to gaming in Massachusetts. -Prudent fathers warned their sons against lotteries; employers warned -their servants; clergymen warned their flocks. Tracts, denouncing -lotteries, were circulated; much eloquence was expended,--not in vain, -though all sober people were already convinced, and weak people were -still unable to resist the seduction. At length, a young man drowned -himself. A disappointment in a lottery was found to be the cause. A -thrill of horror ran through the community. Every man helped to carry -his horror of lotteries into the legislature; and their abolition -followed in a trice. - -Freemasonry was once popular in the United States; and no one seemed to -think any harm of it, though, when examined, it clearly appears an -institution incompatible with true republicanism. The account given of -it by some friends of mine, formerly masons, is, that it is utterly -puerile in itself; that it may be dignified, under a despotism, by an -application to foreign objects, but that it is purely mischievous in a -republic. Its object, of course, is power. It can have no other; and -ought not to have this, where the making of the laws is the office of -the people. Its interior obligations are also violations of the -democratic principle. All this was as true of masonry twelve years ago -as it is now; but masonry was allowed to spread far and wide. One -Morgan, a freemason, living in the western part of the state of New -York, did a remarkable deed, for which various motives are assigned. He -wrote a book in exposure of masonry, its facts and tendencies. When the -first part was printed and secured, some masons broke into the -printing-office where it was deposited, and destroyed as much of the -work as they could lay hold of. Being partly foiled, they bethought -themselves of stopping the work by carrying off the author. He was -arrested for a trifling debt, (probably fictitious,) conveyed hastily to -a magistrate, some miles off, who committed him for want of bail. The -ostensible creditor arrived at the jail, in the middle of the night, -and let him out; four or five men put him into a carriage, which made -for the Canada frontier. On landing him on British ground, the masons -there refused to have any concern in a matter which had gone so far, and -Morgan was shut up in the fort at Niagara village, where the Niagara -river flows into Lake Ontario. There he was fed and guarded for two -days. Thus far, the testimony is express; and concerning the succeeding -circumstances there is no reasonable doubt. He was put into a boat, -carried out into the middle of the river, and thrown in, with a stone -tied to his neck. For four years, there were attempts to bring the -conspirators to justice; but little was done. The lodges subscribed -funds to carry the actual murderers out of the country. Sheriffs, -jurymen, constables, all omitted their duty with regard to the rest. The -people were roused to action by finding the law thus overawed. -Anti-masonic societies were formed. Massachusetts and other States -passed laws against extra-judicial oaths. In such States, the lodges can -make no new members, and are becoming deserted by the old. The -anti-masonic party flourishes, having a great principle as its basis. It -has the control in a few States, and powerful influence in others. -Morgan's disclosures have been carried on by other hands. A bad -institution is overthrown. The people have learned an important lesson; -and they have gone through an honourable piece of discipline in making a -stand for the law, which is the life of their body politic. - -Thus end, and thus, we may trust, will end the mistakes of the people, -whose professed interest is in a wise self-government. Some worse -institutions even than masonry remain to be cast out. The law has been -again overawed; not once, but many times; and the eyes of the world are -on the people of the United States, to see what they will do. The world -is watching to discover whether they are still sensible of the sacred -value of unviolated law; whether they are examining who it is that -threatens and overbears the law, and why; and whether they are -proceeding towards the re-establishment of the peace and security of -their whole community, by resolutely rooting out from among their -institutions every one which will not bear the test of the first -principles of the whole. - -The other ground of hope of which I spoke as being inferential, arises -out of the imaginative political character of the Americans. They have -not yet grown old in the ways of the world. Their immediate fathers have -done such a deed as the world never saw; and the children have not yet -passed out the intoxication of success. With far less of vanity and -presumption than might have been looked for from their youth among the -nations, with an extraordinary amount of shrewdness and practical talent -shared among individuals, the American people are as imaginative as any -nation I happen to have heard or read of. They reminded me every day of -the Irish. The frank, confiding character of their private intercourses, -the generous nature of their mutual services, the quickness and -dexterity of their doings, their fertility of resource, their proneness -to be run away with by a notion, into any extreme of absurdity--in all -this, and in everything but their deficiency of moral independence, (for -which a difference of circumstances will fully account,) they resemble -the Irish. I regard the American people as a great embryo poet: now -moody, now wild, but bringing out results of absolute good sense: -restless and wayward in action, but with deep peace at his heart: -exulting that he has caught the true aspect of things past, and at the -depth of futurity which lies before him, wherein to create something so -magnificent as the world has scarcely begun to dream of. There is the -strongest hope of a nation that is capable of being possessed with an -idea; and this kind of possession has been the peculiarity of the -Americans from their first day of national existence till now. Their -first idea was loftier than some which have succeeded; but they have -never lost sight of the first. It remains to be, at intervals, -apprehended anew; and whenever the time shall arrive, which cannot but -arrive, when the nation shall be so fully possessed of the complete idea -as by a moral necessity to act it out, they will be as far superior to -nations which act upon the experience and expediency of their time as -the great poet is superior to common men. - -This time is yet very far distant; and the American people have not only -much to learn, and a painful discipline to endure, but some disgraceful -faults to repent of and amend. They must give a perpetual and earnest -heed to one point; to cherish their high democratic hope, their faith in -man. The older they grow, the more must they "reverence the dreams of -their youth." They must eschew the folly and profaneness so prevalent in -the old world, of exalting man, abstractedly and individually, as a -piece of God's creation, and despising men in the mass. The statesman in -a London theatre feels his heart in a tumult, while a deep amen echoes -through its chambers at Hamlet's adoration of humanity; but not the -less, when he goes home, does he speak slightingly, compassionately, or -protectingly of the masses, the population, the canaille. He is -awestruck with the grandeur of an individual spirit; but feels nothing -of the grandeur of a congregated million of like spirits, because they -happen to be far off. This proves nothing but the short-sightedness of -such a man. Such shortness of sight afflicts some of the wisest and best -men in the new world. I know of one who regards with a humble and -religious reverence the three or four spirits which have their -habitation under his roof, and close at hand; who begins to doubt and -question, in the face of far stronger outward evidence of good, persons -who are a hundred miles off; and has scarcely any faith left for those -who happen to be over the sea. The true democratic hope cannot coexist -with such distrust. Its basis is the unmeasured scope of humanity; and -its _rationale_ the truth, applicable alike to individuals and nations, -that men are what they are taken for granted to be. "Countrymen," cries -Brutus, dying, - - - "My heart doth joy that yet in all my life, - I found no man but he was true to me." - - -The philosophy of this fact is clear; it followed of course from Brutus -always supposing that men were true. Whenever the Americans, or any -other people, shall make integrity their rule, their criterion, their -invariable supposition, the first principles of political philosophy -will be fairly acted out, and the high democratic hope will be its own -justification. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[2] Jefferson writes, September, 1798, "The most long-sighted politician -could not, seven years ago, have imagined that the people of this wide -extended country could have been enveloped in such delusion, and made so -much afraid of themselves and their own power, as to surrender it -spontaneously to those who are manoeuvring them into a form of -government, the principal branches of which may be beyond their -control." - -Again, March, 1801:--"You have understood that the revolutionary -movements in Europe had, by industry and artifice, been wrought into -objects of terror in this country, and had really involved a great -portion of our well-meaning citizens in a panic which was perfectly -unaccountable, and during the prevalence of which they were led to -support measures the most insane. They are now pretty thoroughly -recovered from it, and sensible of the mischief which was done, and -preparing to be done, had their minds continued a little longer under -that derangement. The recovery bids fair to be complete, and to -obliterate entirely the line of party division, which had been so -strongly drawn."--_Jefferson's Correspondence_, vol. iii. pp. 401, 457. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -APPARATUS OF GOVERNMENT. - - "The true foundation of republican government is the equal right of - every citizen, in his person and property, and in their management. - Try by this, as a tally, every provision of our constitution, and - see if it hangs directly on the will of the people." - - _Jefferson._ - - -Though it be true that the principles of government are to be deduced -more from experience of human nature than experience of human -governments, the institutions in which those principles are to be -embodied must be infinitely modified by preceding circumstances. Bentham -must have forgotten this when he offered, at sixty-four, to codify for -several of the United States, and also for Russia. He proposed to -introduce a new set of terms. These could not, from his want of local -knowledge, have been very specific; and if general, what was society to -do till the lawyers had done arguing? How could even a Solomon -legislate, three thousand miles off, for a republic like that of -Connecticut, which set out with taking its morals and politics by -handfuls, out of Numbers and Deuteronomy? or for Virginia, rank with -feudal prejudices and methods? or for Delaware, with its monarchical -martyr spirit? or for Louisiana, compounded of Spain, France, and -America? Though at the time of the framing of the constitution, the -States bore a strong general resemblance in their forms of government, -endless minor differences existed, mainly arising from the different -tenure on which they had been held under the English crown. Some had -been provinces, governed by royal commissions, according to royal -convenience. These were New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, the -Carolinas, and Georgia. Others had been under proprietary government; as -Maryland, held under patent, by Lord Baltimore; and Pennsylvania and -Delaware, held by William Penn. Others, again, were under charter -governments; ruled and altogether disposed of by political corporations. -Such were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Within the -memory of middle-aged men, the governor of New Hampshire used to travel -in a coach and six, while the governor of the much more important -Massachusetts went on a horse, with his wife on a pillion. It is within -the memory of living men how Massachusetts rose up in rejection of the -imposition of a clergy by England; while the colonial law of Virginia -ordained parsons to be paid yearly six thousand weight of prime tobacco, -in addition to marriage, burial, and birth-fees; in which days, an -unholy pastor, appointed by Lord Baltimore, was seen to ride about with -the church key in one hand, and a pistol in the other. It is absurd to -suppose that communities, where wide differences of customs, prejudices, -and manners still exist, can be, or ought to be, brought into a state of -exact conformity of institutions. Diversities, not only of old custom, -but of climate, productions and genealogy, forbid it; and reason does -not require it. That institutions should harmonise with the same first -principles, is all that is requisite. Some, who would not go so far as -to offer to codify for countries where they have not get their foot, -are yet apt to ask the use of one or another institution, to which the -Americans seem to be unreasonably attached. It is a sufficient general -answer that institutions are rarely sudden and complete inventions. They -have usually an historical origin, even when renovated by revolution. -Their protracted existence, and the attachment of the people to them are -strong presumptions of their having some use. If their purposes can be -better attained in another way, they will surely be modified. If they -are the result of compromise, they will be abolished, according to the -invariable law by which expediency finally succumbs to principle. That -this will be the fate of certain of the United States' institutions -which no one yet dreams of touching, and few dare to analyze, has been -clearly foreseen, for forty years past, by many of the most upright and -able men in the country. Some of them entertain an agonizing alarm at -the prospect of change. Others, more reasonably, trust that, where no -large pecuniary interests are at stake, the work of rectifying may very -quietly and safely succeed that of reconciling: and the majority have no -idea of the changes which their own hands, or their children's, will -have to effect. The gradual ripening for change may be an advantage in -more respects than one. Political changes which are the result of full -conviction in a free people, are pretty sure to be safe. Time is also -allowed, meanwhile, for men to practice their new lesson of separating -the idea of revolution from the horrors which have no more natural -connexion with it than burning at the stake has with the firm grasp of -speculative truth. - - -SECTION I. - -THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. - -"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect -union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, provide for the -common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of -liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this -Constitution for the United States of America." - -So much for the authority, and the objects of this celebrated -constitution, as set forth in its preamble. - -Its provisions are so well known that it is needful only to indicate -them. In Europe, the difficulty is to avoid supposing the state -governments to be subordinate to the general. "They are coordinate -departments of one simple and integral whole." State government -legislates and administers in all affairs which concern its own -citizens. To the federal government are consigned all affairs which -concern citizens, as foreigners from other states, or as fellow-citizens -with all in certain specified relations. - -The general objects of the instrument are easily stated; and an -apparently clear case of separation between the general and state -governments drawn out upon paper. But the application of the instrument -to practice is the difficulty. - -In this, there are two grand difficulties, among many of inferior -importance. The one is, to construe the instrument; the other is, to -bridge over its awful chasms of compromise. - -There has never been a solemn instrument drawn up yet without leaving -room for varieties of construction. There never can be, under our -present use of abstract terms; no two men's abstractions being alike, or -discoverably so. Of course, the profession in this case is, that words -are to be taken according to their just and natural import; that there -is to be no straining; that they are to be judged of according to common -sense; and so on. The old jests against etymologists are enough to prove -how far men are from agreeing what straining is. As to common sense, men -respond in unison to a revelation of it; but they rarely agree, _à -priori_, as to what it is. This difficulty is a wholly unavoidable one. -The refuge under it is in the maxim "the majority are right." If the -case in dispute be one of judicial import, the citizen may appeal to the -Supreme Court. If it be of a different nature, it must be left to that -other kind of supreme court,--the majority,--and the verdict will be -given through the ballot-boxes. - -The other difficulty, that of compromise, is declared to have been -equally unavoidable. Concession, large mutual concession, was clearly -necessary. To what extent, may be faintly conceived from the following -extract from the Federalist. To some readers, who are more interested in -the present workings of the government, than in the embarrassments of -its inventors, this extract may appear dull. But it is useful to be -presented with an outline of the difficulties incurred in legislating -for a federal republic, both as a fact in political science; as a means -of forming something like a just judgment of the framers of the -constitution; and as a ground of hope that, so much danger having been -surmounted, that which remains may be also overcome. - -"This one tells us, that the proposed constitution ought to be -rejected, because it is not a confederation of the States, but a -government over individuals. Another admits, that it ought to be a -government over individuals, to a certain extent, but by no means to the -extent proposed. A third does not object to the government over -individuals, or to the extent proposed; but to the want of a Bill of -Rights. A fourth concurs in the absolute necessity of a Bill of Rights, -but contends that it ought to be declaratory, not of the personal rights -of individuals, but of the rights reserved to the States in their -political capacity. A fifth is of opinion that a Bill of Rights of any -sort would be superfluous and misplaced; and that the plan would be -unexceptionable, but for the fatal power of regulating the times and -places of election. An objector in a large State exclaims loudly against -the unreasonable equality of representation in the senate. An objector -in a small State is equally loud against the dangerous inequality in the -House of Representatives. From one quarter, we are alarmed with the -amazing expense, from the number of persons who are to administer the -new government. From another quarter, and sometimes from the same -quarter on another occasion, the cry is that the Congress will be but -the shadow of a representation; and that the government would be far -less objectionable, if the number of the expenses were doubled. A -patriot in a State that does not import or export, discerns insuperable -objections against the power of direct taxation. The patriotic -adversary, in a State of great exports and imports, is not less -dissatisfied that the whole burthen of taxes may be thrown on -consumption. This politician discovers in the constitution a direct and -irresistible tendency to monarchy. That, is equally sure that it will -end in aristocracy. Another is puzzled to say which of these shapes it -will ultimately assume, but sees clearly it must be one or other of -them. While a fourth is not wanting, who, with no less confidence, -affirms, that the constitution is so far from having a bias towards -either of these dangers, that the weight on that side will not be -sufficient to keep it upright and firm against its opposite -propensities. With another class of adversaries to the constitution, the -language is, that the legislative, executive, and judiciary departments -are intermixed in such a manner as to contradict all the ideas of -regular government, and all the requisite precautions in favour of -liberty. Whilst this objection circulates in vague and general -expressions, there are not a few who lend their sanction to it. Let each -one come forward with his particular explanation, and scarcely any two -are exactly agreed on the subject. In the eyes of one, the junction of -the senate with the president, in the responsible function of appointing -to offices, instead of vesting this power in the executive alone, is the -vicious part of the organisation. To another, the exclusion of the House -of Representatives, whose numbers alone could be a due security against -corruption and partiality in the exercise of such a power, is equally -obnoxious. With a third, the admission of the president into any share -of a power, which must ever be a dangerous engine in the hands of the -executive magistrate, is an unpardonable violation of the maxims of -republican jealousy. No part of the arrangement, according to some, is -more inadmissible than the trial of impeachments by the Senate, which is -alternately a member both of the legislative and executive departments, -when this power so evidently belonged to the judiciary department. We -concur fully, reply others, in the objection to this part of the plan; -but we can never agree that a reference of impeachments to the judiciary -authority would be an amendment of the error: our principal dislike to -the organisation arises from the extensive powers already lodged in that -department. Even among the zealous patrons of a council of state, the -most irreconcilable variance is discovered, concerning the mode in which -it ought to be constituted. The demand of one gentleman is, that the -council should consist of a small number, to be appointed by the most -numerous branch of the legislature. Another would prefer a larger -number, and considers it a fundamental condition, that the appointment -should be made by the president himself."[3] - -It must have cost Mr. Madison some trouble to vary the mode of -expression in putting this host of objections. We cannot but admire the -ingenuity with which he has brought them into view. But what should we -say to the management which should reconcile the differences themselves? -Concessions, various and large, were obviously necessary. I am not about -to give a catalogue of what these actually were. They may be learned -from any history of the period. Suffice it that the general and state -governments not only urged and established claims, but admitted a set of -prohibitions on themselves. - -In all this there appears no fatal compromise. But there were some which -made the wisest men of the time tremble for the stability of their noble -work. There seems peril enough in the liability to the occurrence of new -questions, which could not be foreseen, and for which an opening might, -or might not, happen to be left. When, in addition to such, there were -some questions left to be settled by a future government, from the -inability of the statesmen of 1787 to agree upon them, these statesmen -might well be uneasy about the stability of their work. Of the first -order of questions is that which is now debated with great -animosity,--whether Congress has power to abolish slavery in the -District of Columbia: a disputed point of construction, on which it -seems to me that no plain person can be blamed for not anticipating any -difference of opinion. Of the second class is that great question, or -nest of questions, respecting Reserved Rights. It was agreed that all -unforeseen questions which might arise with regard to the respective -powers of the general and state governments, should be settled by the -state governments; but then, there was an indefinite limitation -introduced in the clause, that the general government should have all -powers necessary for the prosecution of such and such purposes. This -vague clause has been the occasion of the Union being shaken to its -centre; and it may be thus shaken again, before the questions arising -out of it are all settled. - -Even these, being open questions, are less formidable than the -compromise of the true republican principle which is apparent in some -provisions of the constitution, and in some of the most important -institutions of the country. The northern States, which had abolished, -on principle, a far milder slavery than that of the cotton and -sugar-growing south, agreed to admit slavery in the south as a basis for -direct taxation, and for representation. They did worse. They agreed to -act in behalf of their southern fellow-citizens in the capture and -restitution of runaway slaves, and in the defence of masters against -rebellious slaves. What bitter sorrows of conscience and of feeling this -compromise has cost their children, it is impossible fully to describe. -Of course, the law, being against conscience, _i. e._ the law of man -coming into collision with the law of God, is constantly broken; and -causes of dissension hence arise. I know that slavery is only recognised -by the constitution as a matter of fact; and that it is only twice -mentioned; in connexion with representation, and with the restitution to -their masters of "persons held to labour escaping into another State:" -but the fact remains that a man who abhors slavery is compellable by the -law which his fathers made, to deliver up to the owner a slave whose act -of absconding he approves. It is impossible to estimate the evils which -have proceeded from, and which will yet arise out of this guilty but -"necessary" compromise. - -There was difficulty in bringing the greater and smaller States into -union. The smaller States could not agree to such an unequal -representation as should render them liable to be swallowed up by the -larger; while the larger could not consent to be reduced to an equality -with the smaller. The Senate was established to afford an equal state -representation; while the House of Representatives affords a fair -representation of the nation in the aggregate, according to numbers. But -the principle of the general government is, that it governs the entire -people as one nation, and not as a league of States. There ought, in -consistency with this, to be no state representation at all; and the -Senate is an anomaly. An anomalous institution cannot be very -long-lived. A second chamber, on a more consistent principle, will -probably be established in its place, to fulfil its functions as a Court -of Review, and as a check upon the precipitation of the other house, -and, if need be, upon the encroachments of the executive. There is yet -more of compromise involved in this institution of the Senate; as might -be expected, since there is no end of compromise when principle is once -departed from; yet there are statesmen who defend it on other grounds -than that its establishment was necessary to the foundation of any -federal government at all. One observed to me, "Some things look well in -theory, and fail in practice. This may not be justifiable in theory; but -it works well." If this last sentence be true, the well-working of the -Senate is only a temporary affair; an accident. Its radical change -becomes a question of time merely; and the recent agitation of the -question of Instructions seems to indicate that the time is not very far -distant. - -The appointment of the judges for life is another departure from the -absolute republican principle. There is no actual control over them. -Theirs is a virtually irresponsible office. Much can be and is said in -defence of this arrangement; and whatever is said, is most powerfully -enforced by the weight of character possessed by the judiciary, up to -this day. But all this does not alter the fact that irresponsible -offices are an inconsistency in a republic. With regard to all this -compromise, no plea of expediency can alter the fact that, while the -House of Representatives is mainly republican, the Senate is only -partially so, being anomalous in its character, and its members not -being elected immediately by the people; and that the judiciary is not -republican at all, since the judges are independent of the nation, from -the time of their appointment. - -I was told, on high authority, that the assent of the first nine States -to the constitution, in 1788, was obtained by means not absolutely fair. -What devices were used to procure an apparent majority, I was not -informed; but it is generally supposed that if there had been no -legislatures active on the occasion, if it had been put to the vote -throughout the nation, the ratification would not have taken place when -it did. Chief Justice Marshall gives testimony to this effect in his -Life of Washington. "So small, in many instances, was the majority in -favour of the constitution, as to afford strong ground for the opinion -that, had the influence of character been removed, the intrinsic merits -of the instrument would not have secured its adoption. Indeed, it is -scarcely to be doubted that, in some of the adopting States, a majority -of the people were in opposition." - -That a constitution, so framed, and so carried, should have worked as -well as it has done, seems to point out two very encouraging things; -that we may, without rashness, speak of it as Washington did, when he -said, "I was convinced it approached nearer to perfection than any -government hitherto instituted among men;" and that the world may -quietly and hopefully await the further proceedings of the American -people, in their advances towards an uncompromising democracy. There -will be changes, but not therefore convulsion. There will be the change -which Jefferson foresaw, and provided for without dread. "Still," says -he, so lately as June, 1824, "we consider our constitutions not -otherwise changeable than by the authority of the people, on a special -election of representatives for that very purpose: they are, until then, -the _lex legum_. But can they be made unchangeable? Can one generation -bind another, and all others, in succession for ever? I think not. The -Creator has made the earth for the living, not the dead."--"A generation -may bind itself as long as its majority continues in life; when that has -disappeared, another majority is in place, holds all the rights and -powers their predecessors once held, and may change their laws and -institutions to suit themselves. Nothing then is unchangeable but the -inherent and inalienable rights of man."[4] - -Nothing can be more striking to a stranger than the experience gained, -after some residence in the United States, of the ultimate ascendency of -the will of the majority--_i. e._ of the right--in defiance of all -appearances to the contrary. The review of what I witnessed of this -kind, in the course of two years, with regard to the conduct of Congress -alone, surprises and cheers me. It is true that I see several wrongs -unredressed; several wounds inflicted on the people's liberties yet -unhealed; but these are cases in which the people do not yet understand -what has been done; or have not yet roused themselves to show that they -do. - -In the Senate, the people's right of petition is invaded. Last session, -it was ordained that all petitions and memorials relating to a -particular subject--slavery in the District of Columbia--should be laid -on the table unread, and never recurred to. Of course, the people will -not long submit to this. What has been already achieved in Congress on -this topic is a security that the rest will follow. When I entered the -United States, there was an absolute and most ominous silence in -Congress about slavery. Almost every leading man there told me in -conversation that it was the grand question of all; that every member's -mind was full of it; that nearly all other questions were much affected, -or wholly determined by it; yet no one even alluded to it in public. -Before I left, it had found its way into both houses. The houses had, in -some sort, come to a vote upon it, which showed the absolute abolition -strength in the House of Representatives to be forty-seven. The entering -wedge having been thus far driven, it is inconceivable that the nation -will allow it to be withdrawn by surrendering their right of petition. -When I left, however, the people had virtually no right of petition with -regard to the District over which they--_i. e._ their Congress--have an -exclusive jurisdiction. - -Again. There were loud and extensive complaints, last session, of the -despotism of the chair in the House of Representatives, chiefly in -connexion with the subject of slavery. No members, it was said, were -allowed a fair hearing but those who sat in a particular part of the -house. If this complaint arises out of the peevishness of political -disappointment, it will soon be contradicted by facts. If it is true, it -is a grave injury. In either case, the chair will not long possess this -power of despotism. If the favoured are few, as the complaint states, -the injured many will demand and obtain the power to make themselves -heard in turn; and no spirit of party can long stand in the way of a -claim so just. - -Again. After the gentlemen of Charleston had disgraced their city and -country, by breaking into the post-office, and burning the contents of -the mail-bags, in their dread of abolition papers, a post-master wrote -to a member of the cabinet, desiring his approbation for having examined -and refused to forward certain papers mailed at his office. The member -of the cabinet, Kendall, gave the desired sanction to this audacious -stoppage of the post-office function, declaring that the good of the -community (as judged of by the individual) is a consideration above the -law. The strangers in the land knew not what to make of the -fool-hardiness of hazarding such a declaration, in a man of Kendall's -wit. It was known that he desired the office of post-master-general; -that the president wished him to have it, and that the doubt was whether -the Senate would confirm the appointment. Soon after this apparently -fatal declaration, he was nominated, and the Senate confirmed his -appointment. The declaration, no doubt, seated him in office. The -southern members were won by it. Kendall calculated rightly for his -immediate object. What is to become of him when the people shall at -length recognise the peril and insult to themselves of one of their -favoured servants declaring the will of an individual to be occasionally -subversive of the law--_i. e._ of the will of the majority--remains to -be seen. Meantime, the continuance in office of the person whose -declaration to the above effect remains unretracted, may be regarded as -one of the deepest wounds which has been inflicted on the liberties of -the nation. - -Another attempt, brought on, no doubt, by Kendall's success, to derange -or stop the functions of the post-office, has failed. Mr. Calhoun's -Bill, commonly called the Gag Bill, prohibiting postmasters from -receiving and forwarding any papers whatsoever containing anything -relating to slavery, actually was brought to a third reading by the -casting vote of the president of the Senate. There was fear, at the -time, that this casting vote might ensure the success of the bill, from -the popularity of the vice-president. But the bill was thrown out on the -third reading; and the effect of the casting vote has been, not to aid -the bill, but to injure materially the popularity of the vice-president. -This is so far well. It shows that the people are preparing to grapple -honestly with the great, the hideous question, out of which arise these -minor encroachments upon their liberties. - -Out of the slavery question arose the last monstrous usurpation of -Congress, for which the emphatic rebuke of the nation awaits the sinning -members. The story deserves to be told at length, on account both of its -peculiarities, and of its furnishing a fair illustration of certain -relations between the state and general governments. - -Great Britain was not very learned in the geography of the new world, -in the early days of her colonies there. She gave Virginia a patent for -lands, including what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, -Missouri, and on to the Pacific. Other colonies obtained grants of equal -moderation as to size, and wisdom as to disposition. This absurd -partition, it was found, must occasion irreconcilable quarrels among the -members of the confederation; and Washington proposed that all, after -fixing their own boundaries, should throw into the common stock the huge -unoccupied domain. Virginia led the way in making this honourable -sacrifice. She fixed her own boundary; and the articles of compact -between the United States and the people of the territory north-west of -the Ohio river, declared that the territory should be divided into not -more than five, nor less than three States. This was in 1787. The -boundary prescribed for Ohio and Michigan, was found to be "not -convenient." That is, Ohio found it so; and Michigan was not in a -situation, at the time when Ohio was admitted into the Union, to insist -upon the ancient boundary, prescribed at the time of the cession of land -by Virginia. When Ohio was made a State, the boundary she desired was, -among other particulars, ratified by Congress. - -In 1816, another portion of land, lying within what Michigan supposed to -be her own territory, was taken from her, and added to Indiana, on the -latter being made a State. An equivalent is offered to Michigan in a -portion of land, to be taken out of Wisconsin, on the western side of -Lake Michigan, which is the natural boundary of the territory. Michigan -alleges that the inconvenience of a part of her territory lying on the -other side of the lake would be so great, that the inhabitants would -prefer belonging to Wisconsin; and the land would be ceded, as soon as -Wisconsin becomes a State. The decision of the right of this case is the -proper business of the Supreme Court, whenever the contesting parties -shall have all come into the Union. Meantime, all parties are interested -in bearing down the claims of Michigan. Ohio and Indiana desire to keep -the lands Congress has authorised them to take. The slave States are -anxious to hinder the increase in number of the free States; and by the -ordinance of 1787, slavery is prohibited for ever, north-west of the -Ohio. The slave States hope, by giving to Michigan a slice of Wisconsin, -to make Wisconsin too small to be hereafter divided into two States. In -this object, the south will be foiled. Even if slavery should exist till -Wisconsin is ready for admission into the Union, there are two ways by -which the desire of the south may and will be foiled. By the re-cession -of the inconvenient portion by Michigan, as mentioned above; and by the -willingness of these northern States to make themselves smaller, and add -one to their number, as, by a _proviso_ in the original compact, they -have power to do, than let themselves be overborne by the south. This -part of the contest, for "a balance of power," arises altogether out of -the slavery question. - -Soon after I entered the country, Michigan became qualified to request -admission into the Union. She did so, declaring her discontent with the -boundaries prescribed to her by Congress, and her intention to demand, -in the Supreme Court, on her admission, the re-establishment of the old -ones. I was amused with the different views of the affair presented to -me in different parts of the country. At Cincinnati, in June, 1835, I -was told that the President had just transmitted a threat to Ohio, that -if she did not yield the boundary claimed by Michigan, he would send the -United States troops to fight it out. It was added that the -vice-president had thus far prevailed with the President; it being of -importance to Mr. Van Buren, that Michigan, which he considered in his -interest, should be admitted into the Union in time to vote for him in -the presidential election of 1836. There was much talk at Cincinnati of -the resources of Ohio. The people would turn out, to a man. The -legislature had instantly voted 300,000 dollars to raise troops; and one -hundred and fifty thousand men would immediately be in the field: while -Michigan had neither men nor money;--had absolutely nothing to depend -upon but the six thousand United States' soldiers. This seemed to me to -be too clear a case to be a very true one: and the event belied the -story in almost every particular. Michigan did raise men; (though there -was no war:) she had not the United States' troops: she is not in the -interest of Van Buren; and Ohio could bring no troops into the field. - -Michigan proceeded to organise her state government, and sent her -senators to Washington, during the session of 1835 and 1836. They were -allowed to witness the proceedings, but not, of course, to vote. When I -arrived at Detroit, the capital of Michigan, in the middle of June, -1836, the Governor told me that the Michiganians were in the singular -position of having a state government in full operation, while they were -excluded from the Union. The general opinion seemed to be that some -concession must be made about the boundary line; in which case, Michigan -would be admitted, in time to vote at the presidential election. I -pursued my travels through and around the Territory; and when I returned -to Detroit, a month afterwards, I found the place in a state of high -excitement: an excitement fully warranted by the circumstances which had -occurred. - -Congress had acknowledged Michigan to be a sovereign State; and had -offered to admit her into the Union, on condition of her surrendering -all claim to the disputed portions of territory. - -A grosser usurpation of power can hardly be conceived. Congress here -usurped the function of the Supreme Court in passing sentence against -Michigan: passing sentence, too, without hearing, or having a right to -listen to, evidence on the case. Congress here required of Michigan to -lay down her rights on the threshold of the Union, if she meant to be -admitted. Mr. Adams intrepidly declared in the House of Representatives, -that Michigan had more cause to ply the Nullification doctrine than -South Carolina ever had. A South Carolina nullifier declared in -conversation, that he believed the Michiganians' claims to be just: but -that, sooner than give her the means of summoning another sovereign -State before the Supreme Court, he would vote for her exclusion from the -Union as long as he lives. A strange posture of affairs, where all -justice seemed to be set aside, and the constitution to have become a -dead letter! - -The anxiety next was to know what Michigan would do. There seemed too -many symptoms of yielding. It was mournful to those who felt that now -was the time, now the opportunity, so often sighed for in the best -moments of the best men, for making a heroic stand for the right, to -hear the forebodings about the canal shares, the lake trade, the -probable pecuniary loss in various ways, if there should be delay in the -admission of Michigan into the Union. If we spoke of the constitution, -we were answered with the canal. If we spoke of patriotism, we were -answered with the surplus revenue--the share of it that would be lost. -Then, there were fears of war. We were told that the alternative -was--admission, with its advantages, and a surrender of the contested -lands; and exclusion, with war between infant Michigan and Ohio, backed -by the United States. The alternative was rather, admission, with -submission to unconstitutional force; or exclusion, with the lonely -enjoyment of an honest sovereignty. But this was not the only -alternative. Remaining out of the Union did not involve war. Michigan -might remain out of the Union, peaceably, and under protest, till the -people of the United States should become fully possessed of her case, -and aroused to do her justice. It was with heartfelt delight that I -found, at length, that this last honest course is that which Michigan -has determined to pursue. It is so common for communities, as for -individuals, to miss the moment for doing the greatest of their deeds, -to have the bright object of their preceding worship eclipsed at the -critical moment, to pray incessantly that they may be honest, and then -stand aghast, after all, at an honest deed, that the meeting of the -Convention which was to consider of this affair, was watched with deep -anxiety by the friends of Michigan. We, their visitors, gathered hope -from the tone of the Governor, and others with whom we conversed; from -the aspect of the legislators who were assembled to discuss the -Governor's message;--men with earnest and sensible faces, who looked as -if they were aware that their liberties were at stake; and from the -spirited conduct of Michigan from the beginning of the quarrel. Still, -we were doubtful whether the canal, the surplus revenue, and the -probable war, would not be too much for the fortitude of so young a -people. They have shamed our fears, and made a stand for constitutional -liberty, which will secure to them the gratitude of the Union, to the -latest day of its existence. They have refused to enter the Union on the -unconstitutional terms proposed. The people will see that they are -honourably admitted, and that Congress is duly rebuked. - - -SECTION II. - -THE EXECUTIVE. - -The principle which is professed in the appointment of a chief -magistrate in the United States is, that his removal is to be as easy as -possible, and effected without disturbing for a moment the proceedings -of government. Under the idea that this last must be impossible, some of -the patriots of 1789 were opposed to the institution of the office of -President altogether; and there are now some who desire that the chief -magistrate should be, as nearly as possible, a cipher; that, for this -purpose, his election should be annual; and that, if this cannot be, the -term should continue to be four years, but without renewal. Such declare -that the office was made for the man, Washington, who was wanted, to -reconcile all parties. They maintain that, though it was, for a -considerable time, well filled, it must become, sooner or later, -dangerous to the public welfare: that it comprehends too much power for -a citizen of a republic to hold, presents too high a stake, occupies too -much thought, and employs too much endeavour, to the exclusion of better -objects. - -Some desire that the office should have a duration of six years, without -renewal. - -No one dreams of an attempt to hold the office for a third term; and -there is every prospect that, if any President should be ambitious -enough to desire a second re-election, he would fail, and descend from -his high station with a total loss of honour. - -Some think so highly of the dignity of the chief magistracy, as to -propose that ex-presidents should be debarred from holding lower -offices. This looks too like an approximation to the monarchical -principle to be, or to become, a popular way of viewing the subject. It -is a proposition of the high federalists. I was far more gratified than -amused at seeing Mr. Adams daily in his seat in the House of -Representatives, while the history of his administration was perpetually -referred to by those who discussed the politics of the country with me. -I am aware that two interpretations may be put upon the fact of an -ex-president desiring a lower office. It may occur from a patriotism -which finds its own dignity in the welfare of its country, or from a -restless ambition to be in the public eye. In either case, it seems to -be no matter for a fixed rule. The republican principle supposes every -man to be at all times ready to serve his country, when called upon. The -rest must be left to the character of the man, and the views of his -constituents. - -Others think so much more highly of the dignity of the Senate than of -the executive, as to desire that senators should be ineligible for the -office of President. The object here is two-fold: to exalt the Senate; -and, by making half a hundred offices higher in honour than that of -President, to drain off some of the eager ambition which flows in the -direction of the executive function. But power is more alluring than -honour; and executive offices will always be objects of choice, in -preference to legislative, except with a very small class of men. -Besides, the Senate is already further removed from the control of the -people, than consistency with the true republican principle allows: and -if the people are to be precluded from choosing their chief magistrate -from among the fifty wisest men (as the senators are in theory) that the -States can choose for the guardianship of their interests, the dignity -of both functions would be much lowered. In theory, the people's range -of choice for their chief magistrate is to extend from the -vice-president's chair to the humblest abode which nestles in the rocks -of their eastern coasts, or overlooks the gulf of Mexico. The honour in -which the Senate is held must depend on its preserving the character, -which, on the whole, it has hitherto maintained. A nobler legislative -body, for power and principle, has probably never been known. -Considering the number of individuals of whom it is composed, its -character has, perhaps, been as remarkable as that of the noble array of -Presidents, of which the United States have to boast. If, amidst its -indirect mode of election, and long term of office, it should prove -equally stable in principle, and flexible in its methods of progress, it -may yet enjoy a long term of existence, as honourable as could be -secured by any exclusion of its members from other offices in the -commonwealth. - -By far the greatest apprehension connected with the President's office, -relates to the extent of his patronage. It was highly alarming, at -first, to hear all that was said about the country being ridden with -administration-officers, and office-expectants. A little arithmetic, -however, proved very cheering. The most eminent alarmist I happened to -converse with, stated the number of persons directly and indirectly -interested in the bestowment of office by the executive, to be 150,000. -No exact calculation can be made, since no one can do more than -conjecture how many persons at a time are likely to be in expectation -of any one office. But the above may be taken as the widest exaggeration -which an honest alarmist can put forth. This class of interested persons -is, after all, but a small section of the population. There is every -reason to fear that official corruption is abundant under all -governments; and, for some reasons which will be easily apprehended, -remarkably so under the government of the United States; but, when it is -considered how small a proportion of the people is, at any time, -interested in office, and how many persons in office are to be, in -fairness, supposed honest, the evil of executive patronage diminishes to -the imagination so rapidly as to induce a suspicion that many who say -the most about it are throwing a tub to the whale. The watchfulness on -the executive power thus induced is a benefit which will set off against -a great amount of alarm. It will assist the people to find the true mean -between their allowing the President too much power over the servants -who are to transact their business, and their assuming too much control -over the servants who are to transact his. - -Difficult as it is to resist impressions on the spot, from all that is -said about the power of the executive, and the character of the -President of the time, the worst alarms are derided by the event. It -does not appear as if the President could work any permanent effect upon -the mind and destiny of the nation. It is of great consequence to the -morals and prosperity of the season, that the chief magistrate should be -a man of principle, rather than expediency; a frank friend of the -people, rather than their cunning flatterer; a man of sense and temper, -rather than an angry bigot; a man of business, rather than a blunderer. -But the term of an unworthy or incapable President is pretty sure to be -the shortest; and, if permitted to serve his eight years, he can do -little unless he acts, on the whole, in accordance with the mind of the -people. If he has any power, it is because the people are with him: in -which case, he cannot be very destructive to their interests. If he does -not proceed in accordance with public sentiment, he has no power. A -brief review of the course of the American Presidents seems to show that -their influence subsides into something very weak and transitory; always -excepting that immeasurable and incalculable influence which is breathed -forth through the remotest generations, by the personal character of -conspicuous individuals. - -Washington's influence is a topic which no one is ever hardy enough to -approach, in the way of measurement or specification. Within the compass -of his name lies more than other words can tell of his power over men. -When the British officers were passing up the Potomac, in the last war, -to perpetrate as dastardly a deed of spoliation at the capital as ever -it was the cruel fate of soldiers to be ordered to do, they desired to -be told when they were passing the burial place of Washington, and stood -uncovered on deck as long as they were within sight of Mount Vernon. Any -in England who happen to know how deeply disgraced their country was by -the actors in this expedition, will feel what the power must have been -which, breathing from that shore, humanised for the hour the cowardly -plunderers as they floated by. But it was Washington, the man, not the -President, who moved them to uncover their heads. It is Washington, the -man, not the President, whose name is lovingly spoken, whose picture -smiles benignly in every inhabited nook of his own congregation of -republics. It is even Washington, the man, not the President, whose name -is sacred above all others, to men of all political parties. It was -Washington, the man, who united the votes of all parties in his -presidentship, since, so far from pretending to agree with all, he took -and left, without fear or favour, what convictions he could or could not -adopt from each. The one impression which remains of his presidentship -is its accordance with himself. Had it been, in any respect, a lower -self, there would have been little left of Washington in the people now. - -Adams came in by the strength of the federal party. Supported by the -slave States, and all the federalism of the north, he had the means, if -any President ever had, of leaving a strong and permanent impression on -the face of affairs. He filled up his offices with federalists. -Everything during his term of office favoured the influence of the -federalists. The nation was almost beside itself with panic at the -political convulsions of Europe. Yet, notwithstanding all this, and Mr. -Adams's great weight of character, giving influence to his partialities, -the people revealed themselves, in the choice of his successor, -staunchly republican. - -Jefferson's influence was greater than that of any other President, -except Washington; and the reason is, that his convictions went along -with the national mind. If Jefferson, with the same love of the people, -the same earnestness of temper, and grace of manners, had been in any -considerable degree less democratic, he might have gone creditably -through his term, and have been well spoken of now; but he would not -have been the honourable means of two successors of the same principles -with himself, being brought in; nor would he have lain, as he now does, -at the very heart of the people. At the outset, his state-rights -principle secured him the south, and his philanthropic, democratic -principles, the north. He was popular, almost beyond example. His -popularity could scarcely be increased; but it has never declined. The -common charges against him, of irreligion, of oppression in the -management of his patronage, of disrespect to his predecessors, are -falling into oblivion, while his great acts remain. As to his religion, -whatever might be his creed, its errors or deficiencies, these are still -matters of disagreement among the wise and good; and it is certain that -Jefferson viewed all the realities that came within his ken, with that -calm earnestness which is the true religious spirit. As to the removals -from office, which are still complained of, it should be remembered that -his predecessor had filled as many offices as possible with high -federalists, many of whom provoked their own discharge by their activity -against the government they professed to serve. There is no evidence -that Jefferson went beyond his own principle; and a principle is no -matter of reproach, though it may be of controversy. He says, "Mr. -Adams's last appointment, when he knew he was naming counsellors and -aids for me and not for himself, I shall set aside as far as depends on -me. Officers who have been guilty of gross abuses of office, such as -marshals packing juries, &c., I shall now remove, as my predecessor -ought in justice to have done. The instances will be few, and governed -by strict rule, and not party passion. The right of opinion shall suffer -no invasion from me."--"The remonstrance laments that a change in the -administration must produce a change in the subordinate officers; in -other words, that it should be deemed necessary for all officers to -think with their principal. But on whom does this imputation bear? On -those who have excluded from office every shade of opinion which was not -their's? or on those who have been so excluded? I lament sincerely that -unessential differences of opinion should ever have been deemed -sufficient to interdict half the society from the rights and blessings -of self-government, to proscribe them as unworthy of every trust. It -would have been to me a circumstance of great relief, had I found a -moderate participation of office in the hands of the majority. I would -gladly have left to time and accident to raise them to their just share. -But their total exclusion calls for prompter corrections. I shall -correct the procedure: but, that done, return with joy to that state of -things, when the only questions concerning a candidate shall be, Is he -honest? Is he capable? Is he faithful to the constitution?"[5] - -As to his disrespect to Washington and Adams, it should be remembered -what the party heats of the day were; how Washington's cabinet was -divided between France, war, and general liberty; and neutrality, peace, -and care of the people at home. With such a theme of quarrel, it would -have been a wonder if hasty words had not been sometimes spoken on all -sides. Jefferson's ultimate opinion of Washington, written in confidence -to a friend, in 1814, has happily come to light. At the close, he says, -"These are my opinions of General Washington, which I would vouch at the -judgment-seat of God, having been formed on an acquaintance of thirty -years." One extract is enough: "On the whole, his character was, in its -mass, perfect; in nothing bad, in few things indifferent; and it may -truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly -to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with -whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance."[6] -The friendship in old age between himself and Mr. Adams, and the moral -and intellectual beauty of their close correspondence, are a spectacle -in sight of which all prior party misunderstandings should be forgotten. -There is one infallible test by which to try old men who have had much -to do in the world. If their power and privilege of admiration survive -their knowledge of the world, they are true-hearted; and they occasion -as much admiration as they enjoy. Jefferson stands this test. - -His great acts are much heard of. The reduction of taxes and correction -of abuses with which he began his administration; his having actually -done something against slavery; his invariable decision for advocacy or -opposition, in accordance with the true democratic principle, are now -spoken of more frequently than things less worthy to be remembered. His -influence has been greater than that of any other President since -Washington, exactly in proportion to his nearer approach to the national -idea of a chief magistrate. - -No great change took place during the administration of his two -successors, Madison and Monroe. They were strong in the strength of his -principles, and of their own characters. Madison's term of office would -have been memorable in history, if he had not immediately followed his -friend Jefferson. Their identity of views, put into practice by Madison, -with the simplest honesty and true modesty, caused less observation than -the same conduct immediately succeeding a federal administration would -have done. Hence the affectation, practised by some, of calling Madison -a tool of Jefferson. Those who really knew Mr. Madison and his public -life, will be amused at the idea of his being anybody's tool. - -The reason why John Quincy Adams's administration is little notorious is -somewhat of the same nature. He was a pure President; a strictly moral -man. His good morality was shown in the devotion of his fine powers to -the faithful conduct of evanescent circumstances. His lot was that of -all good Presidents in the quiet days of the republic. He would not use -his small power for harm; and possessed no very great power for -political good. - -General Jackson was brought into office by an overpowering majority, and -after a series of strong party excitements. If ever there was a -possibility of a President marking his age, for good or for evil, it -would have been done during Jackson's administration. He is a man made -to impress a very distinct idea of himself on all minds. He has great -personal courage, much sagacity, though frequently impaired by the -strength of his prejudices, violent passions, an indomitable will, and -that devotion to public affairs in which no President has ever failed. -He had done deeds of war which flattered the pride of the people; and in -doing them, he had acquired a knowledge of the people, which has served -him instead of much other knowledge in which he is deficient. He has -known, however, how to obtain the use, though not the reputation, of the -knowledge which he does not possess. Notwithstanding the strength of his -passions, and the awkward positions in which he has placed himself by -the indulgence of his private resentments, his sagacity has served him -well in keeping him a little way a-head of the popular convictions. No -physician in the world ever understood feeling the pulse, and ordering -his practice accordingly, better than President Jackson. Here are all -the requisites for success in a tyrannical administration. Even in -England, we heard rumours in 1828, and again in 1832, about the perils -of the United States, under the rule of a despotic soldier. The cry -revived with every one of his high-handed deeds; with every exercise of -the veto,--which he has used oftener than all the other Presidents put -together,--with every appointment made in defiance of the Senate; with -the removal of the deposites; with his messages of menace to the French -government. Yet to what amounts the power now, at the close of his -administration, of this idol of the people, this man strong in war, and -subtle in council, this soldier and statesman of indomitable will, of -insatiable ambition, with the resources of a huge majority at his -disposal? The deeds of his administration remain to be justified in as -far as they are sound, and undone if they are faulty. Meantime, he has -been able to obtain only the barest majority in the Senate, the great -object of his wrath: he has been unable to keep the slavery question out -of Congress,--the introduction of which is by far the most remarkable -event of his administration. One of the most desponding complaints I -heard of his administration was, not that he had strengthened the -general government--not that his government had tended to -centralisation--not that he had settled any matters to his own -satisfaction, and left the people to reconcile themselves to his -pleasure as they best might,--but that every great question is left -unsettled; that it is difficult now to tell any party by its principles; -that the principles of such affairs as the currency, land, slavery, -internal improvements, &c. remain to be all argued over again. -Doubtless, this will be tiresome to such public men as have entirely and -finally made up their minds on these subjects. To such, nothing can well -be more wearisome than discussion and action, renewed from year to year. -But the very fact that these affairs remain unsettled, that the people -remain unsatisfied about them, proves that the people have more to -learn, and that they mean to learn it. No true friend of his country -would wish that the questions of slavery and currency should remain in -any position that they have ever yet occupied in the United States; and -towards the settlement of the latter of the two, as far as light depends -on collision of opinions, it is certain that no man has done so much, -whether he meant it or not, as President Jackson. The occasional -breaking up and mingling of parties is a necessary circumstance, whether -it be considered an evil or a good. It may be an evil, in as far as it -affords a vantage-ground to unprincipled adventurers; it is a good, in -as far as it leads to mutual understanding, and improves the candour of -partisans. For the rest, there is no fear but that parties will soon -draw asunder, with each a set of distinctive principles as its badge. -Meantime, men will have reason to smile at their fears of the formidable -personage, who is now descending from the presidential chair; and their -enthusiasm will have cooled down to the temperature fixed by what the -event will prove to have been his merits. They will discuss him by their -firesides with the calmness with which men speak of things that are -past; while they keep their hopes and fears to be chafed up at public -meetings, while the orator points to some rising star, or to some cloud -no bigger than a man's hand. Irish emigrants occasionally fight out the -battle of the Boyne in the streets of Philadelphia; but native Americans -bestow their apprehensions and their wrath upon things future; and their -philosophy upon things past. While they do this, it will not be in the -power of any President to harm them much or long. - - -SECTION III. - -STATE GOVERNMENTS. - -Never, perhaps, did statesmen begin their task of constitution-making -with so much aid from preceding circumstances as the great men of the -Revolution. A social neighbourhood of colonies, all suffering under -colonial grievances, and all varying in their internal government, -afforded a broad hint of the present system, and fine facilities for -putting it in practice. There was much less speculation in the case than -might appear from a distance; and this fact so far takes away from the -superhuman character of the wisdom which achieved the completion of the -United States' constitution, as to bring the mind down from its state of -amazement into one of very wholesome admiration. - -The state governments are the conservative power, enabling the will of -the majority to act with freedom and convenience. Though the nation is -but an aggregation of individuals, as regards the general government, -their division into States, for the management of their domestic -affairs, precludes a vast amount of confusion and discord. Their mutual -vigilance is also a great advantage to their interests, both within each -State, and abroad. No tyrant, or tyrannical party, can remain unwatched -and unchecked. There is, in each State, a people ready for information -and complaint, when necessary; a legislature ready for deliberation; and -an executive ready to act. Many States, in other ages and regions, have -been lost through the necessity of creating their instruments when they -should have been acting. State organisation is never managed without -dispute; and it makes the entire difference in the success of resistance -to aggression whether the necessary apparatus has to be created in haste -and confusion, or whether everything is in readiness for executing the -will of the majority. - -Under no other arrangement, perhaps, could the advantage be secured of -every man being, in his turn, a servant of the commonwealth. If the -general government managed everything, the public service would soon -become the privilege of a certain class, or a number of classes of men; -as is seen to be the case elsewhere. The relation and gradation of -service which are now so remarkable a feature in the United States -commonwealth, could never then happen naturally, as they now do. Almost -every man serves in his township in New England, and in the -corresponding ward or section elsewhere; and has his capability tried; -and, if worthy, he serves his county, his State, and finally the Union, -in Congress. Such is the theory: and if not followed up well in -practice, if some of the best men never get beyond serving their -township, and some of the worst now and then get into Congress, the -people are unquestionably better served than if the selection of -servants depended on accident, or the favour of men in power. Whatever -extraneous impediments may interfere with the true working of the -theory, every citizen feels, or ought to feel, what a glorious career -may lie before him. In his country, every road to success is open to -all. There are no artificial disqualifications which may not be -surmounted. All _humbug_, whether of fashion and show, of -sanctimoniousness, of licentiousness, or of anything else, is there -destined to speedy failure and retribution. There is no hereditary -humbug in the United States. If the honest, wise man, feels himself -depressed below the knave, he has, if he did but know it, only to wait -patiently a little while, and he will have his due. Though truth is -equally great everywhere, and equally sure ultimately to prevail, men of -other countries have often to wait till they reach the better country -than all, before they witness this ultimate prevalence, except with the -eye of faith. The young nation over the Atlantic, is indulged, for the -encouragement, with a speedier retribution for her well or ill doings; -and almost every one of her citizens, if he be truly honourable, may -trust to be fitly honoured before he dies. - -Another conservative effect of the state governments is the facilities -they afford for the correction of solecisms, the renovation of -institutions as they are outgrown, and the amendment of all unsuitable -arrangements. If anything wants to be rectified in any State, it can be -done on the mere will of the people concerned. There is no imploring of -an uninterested government at a distance--a government so occupied with -its foreign relations as to have little attention to spare for domestic -grievances which it does not feel. There is no waiting any body's -pleasure; nobody's leave to ask. The remedy is so close at hand, those -who are to give it are so nearly concerned, that it may always, and, for -the most part, speedily, be obtained, upon good cause being shown. No -external observance is needed, except of the few and express -prohibitions which the general and state governments have interchanged. - -It is amusing to look over the proceedings of the state legislatures for -any one year. Maine amends her libel law, decreeing that proof of truth -shall be admitted as justification. Massachusetts decrees a revision and -consolidation of her laws, and the annihilation of lotteries. Rhode -Island improves her quarantine regulations. Connecticut passes an act -for the preservation of corn-fields from crows. Vermont decrees the -protection of the dead in their graves. New York prohibits the -importation of foreign convicts. New Jersey incorporates a dairy -company. Pennsylvania mitigates the law which authorises imprisonment -for debt. Maryland authorises a geological survey. Georgia enlarges her -law of divorce. Alabama puts children, in certain circumstances, under -the protection of chancery. Mississippi decrees a census. Tennessee -interdicts barbacues in the neighbourhood of camp meetings. Ohio -regulates the care of escheated lands. Indiana prohibits a higher rate -of interest than ten percent. Missouri authorises the conveyance of real -estate by married women. And so on. It seems difficult to imagine how -many abuses can reach an extreme, or be tardy of cure, where the will of -the majority is not only speedily made known, but where the division of -employment is so skilfully arranged that the majority may be trusted to -understand the case on which they are to decide. - -It has always appeared to me that much misapprehension is occasioned by -its being supposed that the strength of the general government lies in -the number of its functions; and its weakness in the extent of its area. -To me it appears directly the reverse. A government which has the -management of all the concerns of a people, the greater and the smaller, -preserves its stability by the general interest in its more important -functions. If you desire to weaken it, you must withdraw from its -guardianship the more general and important of its affairs. If you -desire to shield it from cavil and attack, you must put the more local -and partial objects of its administration under other management. If the -general government of the United States had to manage all legislation -and administration within their boundaries, it could hardly hold -together one year. If it had only one function, essential to all, and -impossible to be otherwise fulfilled, there seems no reason why it -should not work prosperously till there are fifty States around it, and -longer. The importance of the functions of the general government -depends partly upon the universality of the interest in them; and partly -upon the numbers included under them. So far, therefore, from the -enlargement of the area of the United States being perilous to the -general government, by making it "cumbrous," as many fear, it seems to -me likely to work a directly contrary effect. There are strong reasons -why an extension of her area would be injurious to her, but I cannot -regard this as one. A government which has to keep watch over the -defence, foreign policy, commerce, and currency, of from twenty-five to -fifty small republics, is safer in the guardianship of its subjects than -if it had to manage these same affairs for one large republic, with the -additional superintendence of its debtors, its libellers, and the crows -of its corn-fields. - -Little or no room for rebellion seems to be left under the constitution -of the United States. In the progress of human affairs, familiar evils -expire with worn-out institutions, and new dangers arise out of the -midst of renovated arrangements. Assassinations are the form which -resistance to government assumes in pure despotisms. Rebellion is the -name it bears under governments somewhat more liberal. In the United -States, nothing worse than professed Nullification has yet been heard -of--unless Colonel Burr's secret schemes were indeed treasonable. A -brief account of the South Carolina Nullification may exhibit the -relations, and occasional enmities of the general and states government -in a clearer way than could be done, otherwise than by a narrative of -facts. This little history shows, among many other things, that America -follows the rest of the world in quoting the constitution as a sanction -of the most opposite designs and proceedings: what different sympathies -respond to the word "patriotism;" and of how little avail is the letter -of the constitution, when there is variance as to its spirit. - -Georgia laid claim, some years ago, to the Cherokee territory, on the -ground that the United States had no right to make the laws and treaties -by which the Cherokees were protected; that such legislation was -inconsistent with the reserved rights of the sovereign state of Georgia. -Georgia thus acted upon the supposition, that she was to construe the -federal compact in her own way, and proceed according to her own -construction. Congress checked her in this assumption, and rejected her -pretensions by an almost unanimous vote. Soon after the accession of -General Jackson to the presidentship, Georgia, either presuming upon his -favour, or wishing to test his dispositions, began to encroach upon the -Cherokee lands. The Cherokees appealed to the federal government for -protection, under the laws and treaties framed for that very purpose. -The President replied, that Georgia was right in annulling those laws -and treaties, and that the executive could not interfere. The Indian -cause was brought before the Supreme Court. There was difficulty about -the character in which the plaintiffs were to sue, and as to whether -they could sue at all, under that provision of the constitution which -authorises _foreign nations_ to demand justice from the federal -tribunals. The court expressed a strong, opinion however, that the -Cherokees were entitled to protection from the Executive. - -The Supreme Court and Georgia were thus brought into opposition, while -the Executive took the part of Georgia. Compassion for the Cherokees was -now swallowed up in anxiety about the decision of the question of state -rights. The Executive had, as yet, only negatively declared himself, -however; and the Supreme Court had not been driven on to deliver a -verdict against the Georgian laws, by which the Cherokees were -oppressed. The topic of the right of a State to annul the laws and -treaties of the federal government was meantime generally discussed; and -reconsideration was forced upon the President. - -South Carolina presently followed the example of Georgia. She annulled -the acts of Congress, which regarded such revenue laws as she considered -contrary to general principles, and to her own interests. The President -now perceived that if every State proceeded to nullify the acts of -Congress, upon its own construction of the federal constitution, the -general government could not be secure of its existence for a day. While -the Executive was still in a position of observation, the Supreme Court -pronounced, in another case, a verdict against the unconstitutional laws -of Georgia. In 1829, the legislature of Virginia asserted the right of -each State to construe the federal constitution for itself: and thus -there appeared to be three States already in the course of withdrawing -from the Union. - -Congress went on legislating about the tariff, without regard to this -opposition; and the protests of certain States against their proceedings -were quietly laid on the table, as impertinences. The South Carolina -advocates of Nullification worked diligently in their own State to ripen -the people sufficiently to obtain a convention which should proclaim -their doctrine as the will of the State: in which case, they doubted -not that they should secure the countenance and co-operation of most or -all of the southern States. A convention in favour of free trade met at -Philadelphia; another in favour of the tariff met at New York; and the -nullifiers saw reason to turn the discussion of the quarrel as much as -possible from the principle of Nullification to the principle of free -trade. They perceived the strength of the latter ground, whether or not -they saw the weakness of the former; and by their skilful movement upon -it, they eventually caused a greater benefit to the nation, than their -discontent did harm to themselves. - -The President was invited to dine at Charleston on the 4th of July, -1831; and in his answer, he thought fit to announce that he should do -his duty in case of any attempt to annul the laws of the Union. This was -a virtual retractation of his encouragement to Georgia. A committee of -the legislature of South Carolina reported the letter to be at variance -with the duties of the President, and the rights of the States. The heat -was rising rapidly. The nullifiers were loud in their threats, and -watchful in observing the effect of those threats abroad. North Carolina -repudiated the whole doctrine of Nullification: other neighbouring -States showed a reluctance to sanction it. The President's next message -recommended a modification of the tariff, which was known to be no -favorite of his; but the modification he proposed had no other bearing -than upon the amount of the revenue. - -During the session of Congress of 1832, various alterations were made in -the duties, which it was hoped would be to the satisfaction of South -Carolina: but the complaint of her representatives was, that the -reductions which were ordained were on those articles in which she had -no interest; while her burdens were actually increased. These -representatives met at Washington, and drew up an address to the people -of South Carolina, in which they declared their wrongs, and inquired -whether they were to be tamely submitted to. - -The legislature of South Carolina, after the next election, exhibited a -large majority in both houses in favour of Nullification. A convention -was called at Columbia, in consequence of whose proceedings an ordinance -was prepared, and speedily passed through the legislature, declaring all -the acts of Congress imposing duties on imported goods, to be null and -void within the state of South Carolina. It prohibited the levying of -all such duties within the State, and all appeals on the subject to the -Supreme Court. A number of minor provisions were made to hinder the levy -of import duties. The governor was empowered to call the militia into -service against any opposition which might be made by the general -government to this bold mode of proceeding. The entire military force of -the State, and the services of volunteers, were also placed at his -disposal. Arms and ammunition were ordered to be purchased. - -This was too much for the President's anxiety about consistency. He -ordered all the disposable military force to assemble at Charleston; -sent a sloop of war to that port, to protect the federal officers in the -discharge of their duties; and issued a vigorous proclamation, stating -the constitutional doctrine, about the mutual relations of the general -and state governments, and exhorting the citizens of South Carolina not -to forfeit their allegiance. Governor Hayne issued a counter -proclamation, warning the citizens of the State against being seduced -from their state allegiance by the President. This was at the close of -1832. - -Everything being thus ready for an explosion, South Carolina, appeared -willing to wait the result of another session. This was needful enough; -for she was as yet uncertain whether she was to have the assistance of -any of her sister States. Mr. Calhoun, the vice-president, resigned his -office, and became a senator in the room of governor Hayne: and thus the -nullification cause was in powerful hands in the senate. Its proceedings -were watched with the most intense anxiety by the whole Union. The -crisis of the Union was come. - -In the discontented State, the union party, which was strong, though -excluded from the government, was in great sorrow and fear. Civil war -seemed inevitable; and they felt themselves oppressed and insulted by -the imposition of the oath of allegiance to the State. The nullifiers -justified this requisition by saying that many foreigners resident in -Charleston, who did not understand the case, believed that their duty to -the general government required them to support it, while its vessels of -war and troops were in port; however well they might be disposed to the -nullification cause. It was merely as a method of enlightenment, it was -protested, that this oath was imposed. - -The ladies, meanwhile, had a State Rights ball at the arsenal, and -contributed their jewels for the support of the expected war. I could -not learn that they made lint--the last test of woman's earnestness for -war; but I was told by a leading nullifier that the ladies were "chock -full of fight." The expectation of war was so nearly universal that I -could hear of only one citizen of Charleston who discouraged the removal -of his wife and children from the city, in the belief that a peaceful -settlement of the quarrel would take place. - -The legislatures of the States passed resolutions, none of them -advocating nullification; (even Georgia forsaking that ground;) many -condemned the proceedings of South Carolina; but some, while doing so, -made strong remonstrances against the tariff. Five of the States, in -which manufactures had been set up, declared their opposition to any -alteration of the tariff. It is amusing now to read the variety of terms -in which the South Carolina proceedings were condemned; though, at the -time, the reports of these resolutions must have carried despair to the -hearts of the citizens of the solitary discontented State. The effect of -these successive shocks is still spoken of in strong and touching -language by those who had to sustain them. - -While the South Carolina militia were training, and the munitions of war -preparing, the senators and representatives of the State were wearing -stern and grave faces at Washington. The session was passing away, and -nothing but debate was yet achieved. Their fellow legislators looked on -them with grief, as being destined to destruction in the field, or on -the scaffold. They were men of high spirit and gallantry; and it was -clear that they had settled the matter with themselves and with each -other. They would never submit to mere numbers; and would oppose force -to force, till all of their small resources was spent. No one can -estimate their heroism, or desperation, whichever it may be called, who -has not seen the city and State which would have been the theatre of the -war. The high spirit of South Carolina is of that kind which accompanies -fallen, or inferior fortunes. Pride and poverty chafe the spirit. They -make men look around for injury, and aggravate the sense of injury when -it is real. In South Carolina, the black population outnumbers the -white. The curse of slavery lies heavy on the land, and its inhabitants -show the usual unwillingness of sufferers to attribute their maladies to -their true cause. Right as the South Carolinians may be as to the -principle of free trade, no tariff ever yet occasioned such evils as -they groan under. If not a single import duty had ever been imposed, -there would still have been the contrasts which they cannot endure to -perceive between the thriving States of the north and their own. Now, -when they see the flourishing villages of New England, they cry "We pay -for all this." When the north appears to receive more favour from the -general government, in its retrospective recompenses for service in war, -the greater proportion of which service was rendered by the north, the -south again cries, "We pay for all this." It is true that the south pays -dearly; but it is for her own depression, not for others' prosperity. -When I saw the face of the nullifiers' country, I was indeed amazed at -their hardihood. The rich soil, watered by full streams, the fertile -bottoms, superintended by the planters' mansions, with their slave -quarter a little removed from the house, the fine growth of trees, and -of the few patches of pasturage which are to be seen, show how -nourishing this region ought to be. But its aspect is most depressing to -the traveller. Roads nearly impassable in many parts, bridges carried -away and not restored, lands exhausted, and dwellings forsaken, are -spectacles too common in South Carolina. The young men, whose patrimony -has deteriorated, migrate westward with their 'force;' selling their -lands, if they can; if not, forsaking them. There are yet many -plantations of unsurpassed fertility; but there are many exhausted: and -it is more profitable to remove to a virgin soil than to employ slave -labour in renovating the fertility of the old. There is an air of -rudeness about the villages, and languor about the towns, which promise -small resource in times of war and distress. And then, the wretched -slave population is enough to paralyse the arm of the bravest community, -and to ensure defeat to the best cause. I saw the soldiers and the -preparations for war at Charleston, two years after the crisis was past. -When I was to be shown the arms and ammunition, it appeared that "the -gentleman that had the key was not on the premises." This showed that no -immediate invasion was expected; but it was almost incredible what had -been threatened with such resources. The precautionary life of the -community, on account of the presence of so large a body of slaves, may -be, in some sort, a training for war; but it points out the impediments -to success. If South Carolina had, what some of her leading men seem to -desire, a Lacedemonian government, which should make every free man a -soldier, she would be farther from safety in peace, and success in war, -than any quaker community, exempt from the curse of a debased and -wronged servile class. One glance over the city of Charleston is enough -to show a stranger how helpless she is against a foreign foe, if -unsupported. The soldiers met, at every turn, the swarms of servile -blacks, the very luxuries and hospitalities of the citizens, grateful as -these luxuries are to the stranger, and honourable as these -hospitalities are to his entertainers, betoken a state of society which -has no strength to spare from the great work of self-renovation. Those -who remained at home during the winter of 1832 and 1833, might be -hopeful about the conflict, from being unaware of the depressed -condition of their State, in comparison with others: but the leaders at -Washington might well look stern and grave. It is no impeachment of -their bravery, if their hearts died within them, day by day. - -The session was within fourteen days of its close, when Mr. Clay brought -in a bill which had been carefully prepared as a compromise between the -contending parties. It provided that all import duties exceeding twenty -per cent. should be gradually reduced, till, in 1842, they should have -declined to that amount; leaving liberty to augment the duties again, in -case of war. This bill, with certain amendments, not affecting its -principle, was passed, as was the Enforcing Bill,--for enforcing the -collection imposed by act of Congress. A convention was held in South -Carolina: the obnoxious ordinance was repealed; the Enforcing Bill was, -indeed, nominally nullified; but no powers were offered to the -legislature for enforcing the nullification; and the quarrel was, to all -intents and purposes, at an end. - -The triumph remained,--if triumph there were,--with South Carolina. This -was owing to the goodness of her principle of free trade; and in no -degree, to the reasonableness of her nullifying practices. The passage -of the Compromise Bill was a wise and fortunate act. Its influence on -the planting and manufacturing interests is a subject to be considered -in another connexion. Its immediate effect in honourably reconciling -differences which had appeared irreconcileable, was a blessing, not only -to the United States, but to the world. The lustre of democratic -principles would have been shrouded to many eyes by a civil war among -the citizens of the Union; while now, the postponement of a danger so -imminent, the healing of a breach so wide, has confirmed the confidence -of many who feared that the States remained united only for want of a -cause of separation. - -Some ill effects remain,--especially in the irritation of South -Carolina. There is still an air of mystery and fellowship about the -leading nullifiers, and of disquiet among the Union men of Charleston. -But there is cause enough for restlessness in Charleston, as I have -before said; and much excuse for pique. - -Meanwhile, these events have proved to thousands of republicans the -mischief of compromise conveyed in vague phraseology, in so solemn an -instrument as a written constitution. - -There could not have been a doubt on this case, if the question of -construction had not had place, from the unfortunate clause ordaining -that the general government shall have all powers necessary for the -fulfilment of certain declared purposes. While this provision, thus -worded, remains, the nullification theory will be played off, from time -to time. The good consequence will arise from this liability, that a -habit will be formed of construing the constitution liberally, with -regard to the States, wherever there is a doubt as to the exercise of -its powers; but this collateral good is no justification of the -looseness of language by which the peace and integrity of the Union have -been made to hang on a point of construction. The people of the United -States will probably show their wisdom in henceforth accepting the -benefit by shunning the evil. - -In the privacy of their houses, many citizens have lamented to me, with -feelings to which no name but grief can be given, that the events of -1832--3 have suggested the words "use" or "value of the Union." To an -American, a calculation of the value of the Union would formerly have -been as offensive, as absurd, as an estimate of the value of religion -would be to a right-minded man. To Americans of this order, the Union -has long been more than a matter of high utility. It has been idealised -into an object of love and veneration. In answer to this _cui bono_, -many have cried in their hearts, with Lear, "O reason not the need!" I -was struck with the contrast in the tone of two statesmen, a chief -nullifier and one of his chief opponents. The one would not disguise -from me that the name of the Union had lost much of its charm in the -south, since 1830. The other, in a glow, protested that he never would -hear of the Union losing its charm. - -But the instances of carelessness, of levity about the Union, are very -rare; and this is the reason why more show of attachment to it is not -made. The probabilities of the continuance of the Union are so -overwhelming, that no man, not in a state of delusion, from some strong -prejudice, can seriously entertain the idea of a dissolution within any -assignable period. I met with one gentleman in the north, a clergyman, -who expects and desires a dissolution of the Union, saying that the -north bore all the expense of the war, and has had nothing but -obstruction and injury from the south. I saw, also, one gentleman in -South Carolina, who sees no use in the Union, but much expense and -trouble. He declares the only effect of it to be the withdrawing of the -best men from each State to dawdle away their time at Washington. -Another, who desponds about the condition of England, and whose views -are often embellished, and sometimes impaired, by his perceptions of -analogy, expressed his fears that his own country, an offset from mine, -would share the fate of offsets, and perish with the parent. But these -are examples of eccentricity. - -There are many among the slave-holders of the south who threaten -secession. Such of these as are in earnest are under the mistake into -which men fall when they put everything to the hazard of one untenable -object. The untenable object once relinquished, the delusion will clear -away with the disappearance of its cause, and the Union will be to them, -with good reason, dearer than it has ever been. The southern States -could not exist, separately, with their present domestic institutions, -in the neighbourhood of any others. They would have thousands of miles -of frontier, over which their slaves would be running away, every day of -the year. In case of war, they might be only too happy if their slaves -did run away, instead of rising up against them at home. If it was -necessary to purchase, Florida because it was a retreat for runaways; if -it was necessary, first to treat with Mexico for the restitution of -runaways, and then to steal Texas, the most high-handed theft of modern -times; if it is necessary to pursue runaways into the northern States, -and to keep magistrates and jails in perpetual requisition for the -restitution of southern human property, how would the southern States -manage by themselves? Only by ridding themselves of slavery; in which -case, their alleged necessity of separation is superseded. As for their -resources,--the shoe-business of New York State is of itself larger and -more valuable than the entire commerce of Georgia,--the largest and -richest of the southern States. - -The mere act of separation could not be accomplished. In case of war -against the northern States, it would be necessary to employ half the -white population to take care of the black; and of the remaining half, -no one would undertake to say how many are at heart sick and weary of -slavery, and would be, therefore, untrustworthy. The middle slave -States, now nearly ready to discard slavery, would seize so favourable -an opportunity as that afforded them by the peril of the Union. The -middle free States, from Pennsylvania to the Mississippi, having -everything to lose by separation, and nothing to gain, would treat the -first overt act as rebellion; proceeding against it, and punishing it as -such. The case is so palpable as scarcely to need even so brief a -statement as this. The fact which renders such a statement worth making -is, that most of those who threaten the dissolution of the Union, do it -in order to divert towards this impracticable object the irritation -which would otherwise, and which will, ere long, turn against the -institution of slavery. The gaze of the world is fixed upon this -institution. The world is shouting the one question about this anomaly -which cannot be answered. The dwellers in the south would fain be -unconscious of that awful gaze. They would fain not hear the -reverberation of that shout. They would fain persuade themselves and -others, that they are too busy in asserting their rights and their -dignity as citizens of the Union, to heed the world beyond. - -This self and mutual deception will prove a merely temporary evil. The -natural laws which regulate communities, and the will of the majority, -may be trusted to preserve the good, and to remove the bad elements from -which this dissension arises. It requires no gift of prophecy to -anticipate the fate of an anomaly among a self-governing people. Slavery -was not always an anomaly; but it has become one. Its doom is therefore -sealed; and its duration is now merely a question of time. Any anxiety -in the computation of this time is reasonable; for it will not only -remove a more tremendous cause than can ever again desolate society, but -restore the universality of that generous attachment to their common -institutions which has been, and will be, to the American people, -honour, safety, and the means of perpetual progress. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[3] The Federalist, vol. i. p. 277. - -[4] Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 396. - -[5] Jefferson's Correspondence, vol. iii. pp. 467-476. - -[6] Jefferson's Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 236. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -MORALS OF POLITICS. - - "'Tis he whose law is reason; who depends - Upon that law as on the best of friends; - Whence, in a state where men are tempted still - To evil for a guard against worse ill, - And what in quality or act is best, - Doth seldom on a right foundation rest, - He fixes good on good alone, and owes - To virtue every triumph, that he knows." - - _Wordsworth._ - - -Under a pure despotism, the morals of politics would make but a very -short chapter. Mercy in the ruler; obedience in his officers, with, -perhaps, an occasional stroke of remonstrance; and taxpaying in the -people, would comprehend the whole. Among a self-governing people, who -profess to take human equality for their great common principle, and the -golden rule for their political vow, a long chapter of many sections is -required. - -The morals of politics are not too familiar anywhere. The clergy are apt -to leave out its topics from their list of subjects for the pulpit. -Writers on morals make that chapter as brief as if they lived under the -pure despotism, supposed above. An honest newspaper, here and there, or -a newspaper honest for some particular occasion, and therefore -uninfluential in its temporary honesty, are the only speakers on the -morals of politics. The only speakers; but not the only exhibitors. -Scattered here and there, through a vast reach of ages, and expanse of -communities, there may be found, to bless his race, an honest statesman. -Statesmen, free from the gross vices of peculation, sordid, selfish -ambition, cruelty and tergiversation, are not uncommon. But the last -degree of honesty has always been, and is still, considered incompatible -with statesmanship. To hunger and thirst after righteousness has been -naturally, as it were, supposed a disqualification for affairs; and a -man, living for truth, and in a spirit of love, "pure in the last -recesses of the mind," who should propose to seek truth through -political action, and exercise love in the use of political influence, -and refine his purity by disinfecting the political atmosphere of its -corruptions, would hear it reported on every hand that he had a demon. -Yet one who is aware of the enthusiasm with which the Germans hail the -words of Posa at every representation of Don Carlos; one who has seen -how American officials are supported by the people, on the supposition -that they are great men, (however small such men may really be,) one who -has watched the acceleration, within our own time, of the retribution -which overtakes untrustworthy public men, whatever may be their talents -and their knowledge, in contrast with the comparative stability of less -able, but more honest men, can doubt no longer that the time is at hand -for the advent of political principle. The hour is come when dwellers in -the old world should require integrity of their rulers; and dwellers in -the new world, each in his turn a servant of society, should require it -of each other and of themselves. The people of the United States are -seeking after this, feebly and dimly. They have retained one wise saying -of the fathers to whom they owe so much; that the letter of laws and -constitutions is a mere instrument; with no vitality; no power to -protect and bless; and that the spirit is all in all. They have been far -from acting upon this with such steadiness as to show that they -understand and believe it. But the saying is in their minds; and, like -every other true thing that lies there, it will in time exhibit itself -in the appointed mode--the will of the majority. - - -SECTION I. - -OFFICE. - -I was told two things separately, last year, which, if put together, -seem to yield an alarming result. I was told that almost every man holds -office, some time during his life; and that holding one is the ruin of -moral independence. The case is not, however, nearly so bad as this. -There is a kind of public life which does seem to injure the morals of -all who enter it; but very few are affected by this. Office in a man's -own neighbourhood, where his character and opinions are known, and where -the honour and emolument are small, is not very seductive: and these are -the offices filled by the greater number of citizens who serve society. -The temptation to propitiate opinion becomes powerful when a citizen -desires to enter the legislature, or to be the chief magistrate of the -State. The peril increases when he becomes a candidate for Congress; and -there seems to be no expectation whatever that a candidate for the -presidentship, or his partizans, should retain any simplicity of speech, -or regard to equity in the distribution of places and promises. All this -is dreadfully wrong. It originates in a grand mistake, which cannot be -rectified but by much suffering. It is obvious that there must be -mistake; for it can never be an arrangement of Providence that men -cannot serve each other in their political relations without being -corrupted. - -The primary mistake is in supposing that men cannot bear to hear the -truth. It has become the established method of seeking office, not only -to declare a coincidence of opinion with the supposed majority, on the -great topics on which the candidate will have to speak and act while in -office, but to deny, or conceal, or assert anything else which it is -supposed will please the same majority. The consequence is, that the -best men are not in office. The morally inferior who succeed, use their -power for selfish purposes, to a sufficient extent to corrupt their -constituents, in their turn. I scarcely knew, at first, how to -understand the political conversations which I heard in travelling. If a -citizen told another that A. had voted in a particular manner, the other -invariably began to account for the vote. A. had voted thus to please -B., because B.'s influence was wanted for the benefit of C., who had -promised so and so to A.'s brother, or son, or nephew, or leading -section of constituents. A reason for a vote, or other public -proceeding, must always be found; and any reason seemed to be taken up -rather than the obvious one, that a man votes according to the decision -of his reason and conscience. I often mentioned this to men in office, -or seeking to be so; and they received it with a smile or a laugh which -wrung my heart. Of all heart-withering things, political scepticism in a -republic is one of the most painful. I told Mr. Clay my observations in -both kinds. "Let them laugh!" cried he, with an honourable warmth: "and -do you go on requiring honesty; and you will find it." He is right: but -those who would find the highest integrity had bettor not begin their -observations on office-holders, much less on office-seekers, as a class. -The office-holder finds, too often, that it may be easier to get into -office than to have power to discharge its duties when there: and then -the temptation to subservience, to dishonest silence, is well nigh too -strong for mortal man. The office-seeker stands committed as desiring -something for which he is ready to sacrifice his business or profession, -his ease, his leisure, and the quietness of his reputation. He stands -forth as either an adventurer, a man of ambition, or of self-sacrificing -patriotism. Being once thus committed, failure is mortifying, and the -allurement to compromise, in order to success, is powerful. Once in -public life, the politician is committed for ever, whether he -immediately perceives this, or not. Almost every public man of my -acquaintance owned to me the difficulty of retiring,--in mind, if not in -presence,--after the possession of a public trust. This painful -hankering is part of the price to be paid for the honours of public -service: and I am disposed to think that it is almost universal; that -scarcely any man knows quiet and content, from the moment of the success -of his first election. The most modest men shrink from thus committing -themselves. The most learned men, generally speaking, devote themselves, -in preference, to professions. The most conscientious men, generally -speaking, shun the snares which fatally beset public life, at present, -in the United States. - -A gentleman of the latter class, whose talents and character would -procure him extensive and hearty support, if he desired it, told me, -that he would never serve in office, because he believes it to be the -destruction of moral independence: he pointed out to me three friends of -his, men of remarkable talent, all in public life. "Look at them," said -he, "and see what they might have been! Yet A. is a slave, B. is a -slave, and C. is a worm in the dust." Too true. - -Here is a grievous misfortune to the republic! My friend ascribes it to -the want of protection from his neighbours, to which a man is exposed -from the want of caste. This will never do. A crown and sceptre would be -about as desirable in a republic as caste. If men would only try the -effect of faith in one another, I believe they would take rank, and -yield protection, with more precision and efficacy than by any -manifestation of the exclusive spirit that was ever witnessed. Of -course, this proposal will be called "Quixotic;" that convenient term -which covers things the most serious and the most absurd, the wisest and -the wildest. I am strengthened in my suggestion by a recurrence to the -first principles of society in the United States, according to which I -find that "rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the -governed;" and that the theory is, that the best men are chosen to -serve. Both these pre-suppose mutual faith. Let the governed once -require honesty as a condition of their consent; let them once choose -the best men, according to their most conscientious conviction, and -there will be an end of this insulting and disgusting political -scepticism. Adventurers and ambitious men there will still be; but they -will not taint the character of the class. Better men, who will respect -their constituents, without fearing or flattering them, will foster the -generous mutual faith which is now so grievously wanting; and the spirit -of the constitution, now drooping in some of its most important -departments, will revive. - -I write more in hope than in immediate expectation. I saw much ground -for hope, but very much also for grief. Scarcely anything that I -observed in the United States caused me so much sorrow as the -contemptuous estimate of the people entertained by those who were bowing -the knee to be permitted to serve them. Nothing can be more disgusting -than the contrast between the drawing-room gentleman, at ease among -friends, and the same person courting the people, on a public occasion. -The only comfort was a strong internal persuasion that the people do not -like to be courted thus. They have been so long used to it, that they -receive it as a matter of course; but, I believe, if a candidate should -offer, who should make no professions but of his opinions, and his -honest intentions of carrying them out; if he should respect the people -as men, not as voters, and inform them truly of his views of their -condition and prospects, they would recognise him at once as their best -friend. He might, notwithstanding, lose his election; for the people -must have time to recover, or to attain simplicity; but he would serve -them better by losing his election thus, than by the longest and most -faithful service in public life. - -I have often wondered whether a gentleman at Laporte, in Indiana, who -advertised his desire to be sheriff, gained his election. He declared in -his advertisement that he had not been largely solicited, but that it -was his own desire that he should be sheriff: he would not promise to do -away with mosquitoes, ague, and fever, but only to do his duty. This -candidate has his own way of flattering his constituents. - -A gentleman of considerable reputation offered, last year, to deliver a -lecture, in a Lyceum, in Massachusetts. It was upon the French -Revolution; and on various accounts curious. There was no mention of the -causes of the Revolution, except in a parenthesis of one sentence, -where he intimated that French society was not in harmony with the -spirit of the age. He sketched almost every body concerned, except the -Queen. The most singular part, perhaps, was his estimate of the military -talents of Napoleon. He exalted them much, and declared him a greater -general than Wellington, but not so great as Washington. The audience -was large and respectable. I knew a great many of the persons present, -and found that none of them liked the lecture. - -I attended another Lyceum lecture in Massachusetts. An agent of the -Colonisation Society lectured; and, when he had done, introduced a -clergyman of colour, who had just returned from Liberia, and could give -an account of the colony in its then present state. As soon as this -gentleman came forward, a party among the audience rose, and went out, -with much ostentation of noise. Mr. Wilson broke off till he could be -again heard, and then observed in a low voice, "that would not have been -done in Africa;" upon which, there was an uproar of applause, prolonged -and renewed. All the evidence on the subject that I could collect, went -to prove that the people can bear, and do prefer to hear, the truth. It -is a crime to withhold it from them; and a double crime to substitute -flattery. - -The tone of the orations was the sole, but great drawback from the -enjoyment of the popular festivals I witnessed. I missed the celebration -of the 4th of July,--both years; being, the first year, among the -Virginia mountains, (where the only signs of festivity which I saw, were -some slaves dressing up a marquee, in which their masters were to feast, -after having read, from the Declaration of Independence, that all men -are created free and equal, and that rulers derive their just powers -from the consent of the governed;) and the second year on the lakes, -arriving at Mackinaw too late in the evening of the great day for any -celebration that might have taken place. But I was at two remarkable -festivals, and heard two very remarkable orations. They were represented -to me as fair or favourable specimens of that kind of address; and, to -judge by the general sum of those which I read and heard, they were so. - -The valley of the Connecticut is the most fertile valley in New England; -and it is scarcely possible that any should be more beautiful. The -river, full, broad, and tranquil as the summer sky, winds through -meadows, green with pasture, or golden with corn. Clumps of forest trees -afford retreat for the cattle in the summer heats; and the magnificent -New England elm, the most graceful of trees, is dropped singly, here and -there, and casts its broad shade upon the meadow. Hills of various -height and declivity bound the now widening, now contracting valley. To -these hills, the forest has retired; the everlasting forest, from which, -in America, we cannot fly. I cannot remember that, except in some parts -of the prairies, I was ever out of sight of the forest in the United -States and I am sure I never wished to be so. It was like the "verdurous -wall of Paradise," confining the mighty southern and western rivers to -their channels. We were, as it appeared, imprisoned in it for many days -together, as we traversed the south-eastern States. We threaded it in -Michigan; we skirted it in New York and Pennsylvania; and throughout New -England it bounded every landscape. It looked down upon us from the -hill-tops; it advanced into notice from every gap and notch in the -chain. To the native it must appear as indispensable in the -picture-gallery of nature as the sky. To the English traveller it is a -special boon, an added charm, a newly-created grace, like the infant -planet that wanders across the telescope of the astronomer. The English -traveller finds himself never weary by day of prying into the forest, -from beneath its canopy: or, from a distance drinking in its exquisite -hues: and his dreams, for months or years, will be of the mossy roots, -the black pine, and silvery birch stems, the translucent green shades of -the beech, and the slender creeper, climbing like a ladder into the -topmost boughs of the dark holly, a hundred feet high. He will dream of -the march of the hours through the forest; the deep blackness of night, -broken by the dun forest-fires, and startled by the showers of sparks, -sent abroad by the casual breeze from the burning stems. He will hear -again the shrill piping of the whip-poor-will, and the multitudinous din -from the occasional swamp. He will dream of the deep silence which -precedes the dawn; of the gradual apparition of the haunting trees, -coming faintly out of the darkness; of the first level rays, -instantaneously piercing the woods to their very heart, and lighting -them up into boundless ruddy colonnades, garlanded with wavy verdure, -and carpeted with glittering wild-flowers. Or, he will dream of the -clouds of gay butterflies, and gauzy dragon-flies, that hover above the -noon-day paths of the forest, or cluster about some graceful shrub, -making it appear to bear at once all the flowers of Eden. Or the golden -moon will look down through his dream, making for him islands of light -in an ocean of darkness. He may not see the stars but by glimpses; but -the winged stars of those regions,--the gleaming fire-flies,--radiate -from every sleeping bough, and keep his eye in fancy busy in following -their glancing, while his spirit sleeps in the deep charms of the summer -night. Next to the solemn and various beauty of the sea and the sky, -comes that of the wilderness. I doubt whether the sublimity of the -vastest mountain-range can exceed that of the all-pervading forest, when -the imagination becomes able to realise the conception of what it is. - -In the valley of the Connecticut, the forest merely presides over the -scene, giving gravity to its charm. On East Mountain, above Deerfield, -in Massachusetts, it is mingled with grey rocks, whose hue mingles -exquisitely with its verdure. We looked down from thence on a long reach -of the valley, just before sunset, and made ourselves acquainted with -the geography of the catastrophe which was to be commemorated in a day -or two. Here and there, in the meadows, were sinkings of the soil, -shallow basins of verdant pasturage, where there had probably once been -small lakes, but where cattle were now grazing. The unfenced fields, -secure within landmarks, and open to the annual inundation which -preserves their fertility, were rich with unharvested Indian corn; the -cobs left lying in their sheaths, because no passer-by is tempted to -steal them; every one having enough of his own. The silvery river lay -among the meadows; and on its bank, far below us, stretched the avenue -of noble trees, touched with the hues of autumn, which shaded the -village of Deerfield. Saddleback bounded our view opposite, and the -Northampton hills and Green Mountains on the left. Smoke arose, here and -there, from the hills' sides, and the nearer eminences were dotted with -white dwellings, of the same order with the homesteads which were -sprinkled over the valley. The time is past when a man feared to sit -down further off than a stone's throw from his neighbours, lest the -Indians should come upon him. The villages of Hadley and Deerfield are a -standing memorial of those times, when the whites clustered together -around the village church, and their cattle were brought into the area, -every night, under penalty of their being driven off before morning. -These villages consist of two rows of houses, forming a long street, -planted with trees; and the church stands in the middle. The houses, of -wood, were built in those days with the upper story projecting; that the -inhabitants, in case of siege, might fire at advantage upon the Indians, -forcing the door with tomahawks. - -I saw an old house of this kind at Deerfield,--the only one which -survived the burning of the village by the French and Indians, in 1704, -when all the inhabitants, to the number of two hundred and eighty, being -attacked in their sleep, were killed or carried away captive by the -Indians. The wood of the house was old and black, and pierced in many -parts with bullet-holes. One had given passage to a bullet which shot a -woman in the neck, as she rose up in bed, on hearing the tomahawk strike -upon the door. The battered door remains, to chill one's blood with the -thought that such were the blows dealt by the Indians upon the skulls of -their victims, whether infants or soldiers. - -This was not the event to commemorate which we were assembled at -Deerfield. A monument was to be erected on the spot where another body -of people had been murdered, by savage foes of the same race. Deerfield -was first settled in 1671; a few houses being then built on the present -street, and the settlers being on good terms with their neighbours. King -Philip's war broke out in 1675, and the settlers were attacked more than -once. There was a large quantity of grain stored up at Deerfield; and it -was thought advisable to remove it for safety to Hadley, fifteen miles -off. Captain Lothrop, with eighty men, and some teams, marched from -Hadley to remove the grain; his men being the youth and main hope of -the settlements around. On their return from Deerfield, on the 30th of -September 1675, about four miles and a half on the way to Hadley, the -young men dispersed to gather the wild grapes that were hanging ripe in -the thickets, and were, under this disadvantage, attacked by a large -body of Indians. It was afterwards discovered that the only way to -encounter the Indians is in phalanx. Captain Lothrop did not know this; -and he posted his men behind trees, where they were, almost to a man, -picked off by the enemy. About ninety-three, including the teamsters, -fell. When all was over, help arrived. The Indians were beaten; but they -appeared before the village, some days after, shaking the scalps and -bloody garments of the slain captain and his troop, before the eyes of -the inhabitants. The place was afterwards abandoned by the settlers, -destroyed by the Indians, and not rebuilt for some years. - -This was a piteous incident in the history of the settlement; but it is -not easy to see why it should be made an occasion of commemoration, by -monument and oratory, in preference to many others which have a stronger -moral interest attaching to them. Some celebrations, like that of -Forefather's Day, are inexpressibly interesting and valuable, from the -glorious recollections by which they are sanctified. But no virtue was -here to be had in remembrance; nothing but mere misery. The -contemplation of mere misery is painful and hurtful; and the only -salutary influence that I could perceive to arise from this occasion was -a far-fetched and dubious one,--thankfulness that the Indians are not -now at hand to molest the white inhabitants. Then occurs the question -about the Indians,--"where are they?" and the answer leaves one less -sympathy than one would wish to have with the present security of the -settler. The story of King Philip, who is supposed to have headed, in -person, the attack on Lothrop's troop, is one of the most melancholy in -the records of humanity; and sorrow for him must mingle with -congratulations to the descendants of his foes, who, in his eyes, were -robbers. With these thoughts in my mind, I found it difficult to -discover the philosophy of this celebration. A stranger might be -pardoned for being so slow. - -One of the then candidates for the highest office in the State, is -renowned for his oratory. He is one of the most accomplished scholars -and gentlemen that the country possesses. It was thought, "by his -friends," that his interest wanted strengthening in the western part of -the State. The people were pleased when any occasion procured them the -_éclat_ of bringing a celebrated orator over to address them. The -commemoration of an Indian catastrophe was thought of as an occasion -capable of being turned to good electioneering purposes.--Mr. Webster -was invited to be the orator, it being known that he would refuse. "Not -I," said he. "I won't go and rake up old bloody Indian stories." The -candidate was next invited, and, of course, took the opportunity of -"strengthening his interest in the western part of the State." I was not -aware of this till I sometime after heard it, on indisputable authority. -I should have enjoyed it much less than I did, if I had known that the -whole thing was got up, or its time and manner chosen, for -electioneering objects; that advantage was taken of the best feelings of -the people for the political interest of one. - -The afternoon of the 29th we went to Bloody Brook, the fearfully-named -place of disaster. We climbed the Sugar-loaf; a high, steep hill, from -whose precipitous sides is obtained a view of the valley which pleases -me more than the celebrated one from Mount Holyoke, a few miles off. -Each, however, is perfect in its way; and both so like heaven, when one -looks down upon the valley in the light of an autumn afternoon,--such a -light as never yet burnished an English scene,--that no inclination is -left to make comparisons. The ox team was in the fields, the fishers on -the banks of the grey river,--banks and fishers reflected to the -life,--all as tranquil as if there was to be no stir the next day. - -On descending, we went to the Bloody Brook Inn, and saw the strange and -horrible picture of the slaughter of Lothrop's troop; a picture so bad -as to be laughable; but too horrible to be laughed at. Every man of the -eighty exactly alike, and all looking scared at being about to be -scalped. We saw, also, the long tables spread for the feast of -to-morrow. Lengths of unbleached cotton for table cloths, plates and -glasses, were already provided. Some young men were bringing in long -trails of the wild vine, clustered with purple grapes, to hang about the -young maple trees which overshadowed the tables; others were trying the -cannon. We returned home in a state of high expectation. - -The morning of the 30th was bright, but rather cold. It was doubtful how -far prudence would warrant our sitting in an orchard for several hours, -in such a breeze as was blowing. It was evident, however, that persons -at a distance had no scruples on the subject, so thickly did they throng -to the place of meeting. The wagon belonging to the band passed my -windows, filled with young ladies from the High School at Greenfield. -They looked as gay as if they had been going to a fair. By half-past -eight, our party set off, accompanied by a few, and passing a great -number of strangers from distant villages. - -After having accomplished our drive of three or four miles, we warmed -ourselves in a friendly house, and repaired to the orchard to choose our -seats, while the ceremony of laying the first stone of the monument was -proceeding at some distance. The platform from which the orator was to -address the assemblage was erected under a rather shabby walnut-tree, -which was rendered less picturesque by its lower branches being lopped -off, for the sake of convenience. Several men had perched themselves on -the tree; and I was beginning to wonder how they would endure their -uncomfortable seat, in the cold wind, for three hours, when I saw them -called down, and dismissed to find places among the rest of the -assemblage, as they sent down bark and dust upon the heads of those who -sat on the platform. Long and deep ranges of benches were provided; and -on these, with carriage cushions and warm cloaks, we found ourselves -perfectly well accommodated. Nothing could be better. It was a pretty -sight. The wind rustled fitfully in the old walnut-tree. The audience -gathered around, it were sober, quiet; some would have said dull. The -girls appeared to me to be all pretty, after the fashion of American -girls. Every body was well-dressed; and such a thing as ill-behaviour in -any village assemblage in New England, is, I believe, unheard of. The -soldiers were my great amusement; as they were on the few other -occasions when I had the good fortune to see any. Their chief business, -on the present occasion, was to keep clear the seats which were reserved -for the band, now absent with the procession. These seats were -advantageously placed; and new-comers were every moment taking -possession of them, and had to be sent, disappointed, into the rear. It -was moving to behold the loving entreaties of the soldiers that these -seats might be vacated. I saw one, who had shrunk away from his -uniform, (probably from the use of tobacco, of which his mouth was -full,) actually put his arm round the neck of a gentleman, and smile -imploringly in his face. It was irresistible, and the gentleman moved -away. It is a perfect treat to the philanthropist to observe the pacific -appearance of the militia throughout the United States. It is well known -how they can fight, when the necessity arises: but they assuredly look, -at present, as if it was the last thing in their intentions:--as I hope -it may long be. - -The band next arrived, leading the procession of gentlemen, and were -soon called into action by the first hymn. They did their best; and, if -no one of their instruments could reach the second note of the German -Hymn, (the second note of three lines out of four,) it was not for want -of trying. - -The oration followed. I strove, as I always did, not to allow difference -of taste, whether in oratory, or in anything else, to render me -insensible to the merit, in its kind, of what was presented to me: but, -upon this occasion, all my sympathies were baffled, and I was deeply -disgusted. It mattered little what the oration was in itself, if it had -only belonged in character to the speaker. If a Greenfield farmer or -mechanic had spoken as he believed orators to speak, and if the failure -had been complete, I might have been sorry or amused, or disappointed; -but not disgusted. But here was one of the most learned and accomplished -gentlemen in the country, a candidate for the highest office in the -State, grimacing like a mountebank before the assemblage whose votes he -desired to have, and delivering an address, which he supposed level to -their taste and capacity. He spoke of the "stately tree," (the poor -walnut,) and the "mighty assemblage," (a little flock in the middle of -an orchard,) and offered them shreds of tawdry sentiment, without the -intermixture of one sound thought, or simple and natural feeling, simply -and naturally expressed. It was equally an under estimate of his -hearers, and a degradation of himself. - -The effect was very plain. Many, I know, were not interested, but were -unwilling to say so of so renowned an orator. All were dull; and it was -easy to see that none of the proper results of public speaking followed. -These very people are highly imaginative. Speak to them of what -interests them, and they are moved with a word. Speak to those whose -children are at school, of the progress and diffusion of knowledge, and -they will hang upon the lips of the speaker. Speak to the -unsophisticated among them of the case of the slave, and they are ready -to brave Lynch-law on his behalf. Appeal to them on any religious or -charitable enterprise, and the good deed is done, almost as soon as -indicated. But they have been taught to consider the oratory of set -persons on set occasions as a matter of business or of pastime. They -listen to it, make their remarks upon it, vote, perhaps, that it shall -be printed, and go home, without having been so much moved as by a dozen -casual remarks, overheard upon the road. - -All this would be of little importance, if these orations consisted of -narrative,--or of any mere matter of fact. The grievance lies in the -prostitution of moral sentiment, the clap-trap of praise and pathos, -which is thus criminally adventured. This is one great evil. Another, as -great, both to orators and listeners, is the mis-estimate of the people. -No insolence and meanness can surpass those of the man of sense and -taste who talks beneath himself to the people, because he thinks it -suits them. No good parent ventures to do so to his youngest child; and -a candidate for office who will do it, shows himself ignorant of that -which it is most important he should know,--what fidelity of deference -every man owes to every other man. Is such a one aware that he is -perpetually saying in his heart, "God! I thank thee that I am not as -other men are?" - -The other festival, to which I have alluded, was the celebration of -Forefathers' Day;--of the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. I -trust that this anniversary will be hailed with honour, as long as -Massachusetts overlooks the sea. A more remarkable, a nobler enterprise, -was never kept in remembrance by a grateful posterity, than the -emigration of the Pilgrim Fathers; and their posterity are, at least, so -far worthy of them as that they all, down to the young children, seem to -have a clear understanding of the nature of the act, and the character -of the men. I never beheld the popular character in a more cheering -light than on this occasion; and, if I happened to be acquainted with a -misanthrope, I would send him to Plymouth, to keep Forefathers' Day. -Every fact that I review, every line that I write, brings back -delightful feelings towards some of the affectionate and hospitable -friends through whose kindness I saw and learned whatever I learned of -their country; but to none am I more thankful than to those who took me -to Plymouth, and those who welcomed me there. It was an occasion when -none could be on any other terms than pure brotherhood with all the -rest. It was the great birth-day of the New England people; and none -could fail to wish the people joy. - -My party and I reached Plymouth from Hingham the day before the -celebration. As we drew near the coast, I anxiously watched the -character of the scenery, trying to view it with the eyes of the first -emigrants. It must have struck a chill to their hearts;--so bare, so -barren, so wintry. The firs grew more and more stunted, as we approached -the sea; till, as one of my companions observed, they were ashamed to -show themselves any smaller, and so turned into sand. Mrs. Hemans calls -it, in her fine lyric, a rock-bound coast; naturally enough, as she was -told that the pilgrims set their feet on a rock, on landing; but that -rock was the only one. The coast is low and sandy. The aspect of the bay -was, this day, most dreary. We had travelled through snow, all the way -behind; snowy fields, with here and there a solitary crow stalking in -the midst; and now, there was nothing but ice before us. Dirty, grey -ice, some sheeted, some thrown up by the action of the sea into heaps, -was all that was to be seen, instead of the blue and glittering sea. A -friend assured me, however, that all would be bright and cheering the -next morning; informing me, with a smile, that in the belief of the -country people, it never did rain or snow, and never would rain or snow, -on Forefathers' Day. This is actually a superstition firmly held in the -neighbourhood. This friend pointed out to me, in the course of the -afternoon, how the green grass was appearing through the snow on Burial -Hill, on whose slope the descending sun, warm for December, was shining. -We mounted Burial Hill; and when I trod the turf, after some weeks' -walking over crisp snow, I began to feel that I might grow superstitious -too, if I lived at Plymouth. - -Upwards of half the pilgrim company died the first winter. Fifty-one -dropped in succession; and the graves of most of them are on this hill. -Burial Hill was probably chosen to be a _memento mori_ to the pious -pilgrims; its elevation, bristling with grave-stones, being conspicuous -from every part of the town. But, lest it should exhibit their tale of -disaster to their foes, the Indians, the colonists sowed the place of -their dead with corn; making it, for honest purposes, a whited -sepulchre. From this eminence, we saw the island in the harbour where -the fathers landed for service on the first Sunday after their arrival; -also, the hill on which stood a wigwam, from whence issued an Indian to -hold the first parley. A brook flowed between the two hills, on which -stood the Indian and the chief of the intruders. Governor Winslow -descended to the brook; bridged it with stepping-stones, in sight of the -Indian; laid down his arms, and advanced. The meeting was friendly; but -there was so little feeling of security, for long after, that when half -the colonists had perished, the rest were paraded round and round a hut -on Burial Hill, to conceal the smallness of their numbers from the -vigilant Indians. - -We went to the Registry Office, and saw the earliest records of the -colony,--as far back as 1623,--in the handwriting of the fathers. Among -them is a record of the lots of land appointed to those who came over in -the Mayflower. (Little did the builders of that ship dream how they were -working for immortality!) Sometimes a cow is appointed, with a lot, to -six families. Sometimes a black goat. The red cow is ordained to be kept -for the poor, to calve. - -The rock on which the pilgrims first landed, has been split, and the top -part, in order to its preservation, removed within an iron railing, in -front of Pilgrim Hall. The memorable date of the landing, 1620, is -painted upon it; and the names of the fathers, in cast-iron, are -inserted into the railing which surrounds the rock. - -Within the Hall, a plain, spacious building, erected within ten years, -to serve as the scene of the festivities of Forefathers' Day, and also -as a Museum of Pilgrim curiosities, is a picture, by Sargent, of the -Landing of the Pilgrims. Samosat, the Indian chief, is advancing, with -English words of greeting,--"Welcome, Englishmen!" Elder Brewster, and -the other fathers, with their apprehensive wives and wondering children, -form an excellent group; and the Mayflower is seen moored in the -distance. The greatest defect in the picture is the introduction of the -blasted tree, which needlessly adds to the desolation of the scene, and -gives a false idea, as far as it goes. I could not have anticipated the -interest which these memorials would inspire. I felt as if in a dream, -the whole time that I was wandering about with the rejoicing people, -among the traces of the heroic men and women who came over into the -perilous wilderness, in search of freedom of worship. - -Forefathers' Day rose bright and mild. I looked out towards the harbour. -Every flake of ice was gone, and the deep blue sea rippled and sparkled -in the sun. The superstition was fated to endure another year, at least. -All Plymouth was in a joyous bustle, with lines of carriages, and groups -of walkers. After breakfast, we proceeded to the church, to await the -orator of the day. We were detained on the steps for a few minutes, till -the doors should be opened; and I was glad of it, for the sun was warm, -and the _coup d'oeil_ was charming. There was one long descent from the -church down to the glittering sea; and on the slope were troops of gay -ladies, and lines of children; with here and there a company of little -boys, playing soldiers to the music of the band, which came faintly from -afar. Of real soldiers, I saw two during the day. There might be more; -but none were needed. The strangest association of all was of a Pilgrim -Ode sung to the tune of "God save the King!" an air which I should have -supposed no more likely to be chosen for such an occasion than as an -epilogue to the Declaration of Independence. It did very well, however. -It set us all singing so as to drown the harmony of the violins and -horns which acted as instigation. - -The oration was by an ex-senator of the United States. It consisted -wholly of an elaboration of the transcendent virtues of the people of -New England. His manner was more quiet than that of any other orator I -heard; and I really believe that there was less of art than of weakness -and bad taste in his choice of his mode of address. Nothing could be -imagined worse,--more discordant with the fitting temper of the -occasion,--more dangerous to the ignorant, if such there were,--more -disgusting to the wise, (as I know, on the testimony of such,)--more -unworthy of one to whom the ear of the people was open. He told his -hearers of the superiority of their physical, intellectual, and moral -constitution to that of their brethren of the middle and southern -States, to that of Europeans, and all other dwellers in the earth; a -superiority which forbade their being ever understood and appreciated by -any but themselves. He spoke especially of the intensity of the New -England character, as being a hidden mystery from all but natives. He -contrasted the worst circumstances of European society, (now in course -of correction,) with the best of New England arrangements, and drew the -obvious inferences. He excused the bigotry of the Pilgrim Fathers, their -cruel persecution of the Quakers, and other such deeds, on the ground -that they had come over to have the colony to themselves, and did not -want interlopers. He extenuated the recent mobbing practices in New -England, on the ground of their rarity and small consequences, and -declared it impossible that the sons of the pilgrims should trust to -violence for the maintenance of opinion. This last sentiment, the only -sound one that I perceived in the oration, was loudly cheered. The whole -of the rest, I rejoice to say, fell dead. - -The orator was unworthy of his hearers. He had been a senator of the -United States, and had, I was told, discharged his duty there; but he -was little fit for public life, if he did not know that it is treason to -republicanism to give out lower morals in public than are held in -private; to smile or sigh over the vanity of the people by the fireside, -and pamper it from the rostrum; to use the power of oratory to injure -the people, instead of to save. In this case, the exaggeration was so -excessive as to be, I trust, harmless. No man of common sense could be -made to believe that any community of mortal men has ever been what the -orator described the inhabitants of New England to have attained. I was -deeply touched by the first remark I heard upon this oration. A lady, -who had been prevented from attending, asked me, on my return, home, how -I liked the address. Before I could open my lips to reply, her daughter -spoke. "I am heart-sick of this boasting. When I think of our -forefathers, I want to cry, 'God be merciful to us sinners!'" If the -oration awakened in others, as I believe it did, by force of contrast, -feelings as healthful, as faithful to the occasion as this, it was not -lost, and our pity must rest upon the orator. - -I am aware,--I had but too much occasion to observe,--how this practice -of flattering the people from the rostrum is accounted for, and, as a -matter of fact, smiled at by citizens of the United States. I know that -it is considered as a mode, inseparable from the philosophy of politics -there. I dissent from this view altogether. I see that the remedy lies, -not wholly where remedies for the oppression of severe natural laws -lie,--in a new combination of outward circumstances,--but in the -individual human will. The people may have honest orators if they -choose to demand to hear the truth. The people will gladly hear the -truth, if the appointed orator will lay aside selfish fears and desires, -and use his high privilege of speaking from the bottom of his soul. If, -in simplicity, he delivers to the people his true and best self, he is -certain to gain the convictions of many, and the sympathies of all; and -his soul will be clear of the guilt of deepening the pit under the feet -of the people, while trying to persuade them that they are treading on -firm ground. What is to be said of guides who dig pitfalls? - -The day closed delightfully. Almost everybody went to pay respect to an -aged lady, then eighty-eight, a regular descendant of one of the -pilgrims. She was confined to the sofa, but retained much beauty, and -abundant cheerfulness. She was delighted to receive us, and to -sympathise in those pleasures of the day which she could not share. I -had the honour of sitting in the chair which her ancestor brought over -from England, and of feeling the staple by which it was fastened in the -Mayflower. - -The dinner being over, the gentlemen returned to their several abodes, -to escort the ladies to the ball in Pilgrim Hall. I went, with a party -of seven others, in a stage coach; every carriage, native and exotic, -being in requisition to fill the ball-room, from which no one was -excluded. It was the only in-door festival, except the President's -levee, where I witnessed an absolutely general admission; and its aspect -and conduct were, in the highest degree, creditable to the intelligence -and manners of the community. There were families from the islands in -the bay, and other country residences, whence the inhabitants seldom -emerge, except for this festival. The dress of some of the young ladies -was peculiar, and their glee was very visible; but I saw absolutely no -vulgarity. There was much beauty, and much elegance among the young -ladies, and the manners of their parents were unexceptionable. There was -evidence in the dancing, of the "intensity" of which we had heard so -much in the morning. The lads and lasses looked as if they meant never -to tire; but this enjoyment of the exercise pleased me much more than -the affectation of dancing, which is now fashionable in the large -cities. I never expect to see a more joyous and unexceptionable piece of -festivity than the Pilgrim ball of 1835. - -The next day, the harbour was all frozen over; and the memory of the -blue, rippling sea of Plymouth, is therefore, with me, sacred to -Forefathers' Day. - -I was frequently reminded by friends of what is undoubtedly very true, -the great perils of office in the United States, as an excuse for the -want of honesty in officials. It is perfectly true that it is ruin to a -professional man without fortune, to enter public life for a time, and -then be driven back into private life. I knew a senator of the United -States who had served for nearly his twice six years, and who then had -to begin life again, as regarded his profession. I knew a representative -of the United States, a wealthy man, with a large family, who is -doubting still, as he has been for a few years past, whether he shall -give up commerce or public life, or go on trying to hold them both. He -is rich enough to devote himself to public life; but at the very next -election after he has relinquished his commercial affairs, he may be -thrown out of politics. I see what temptations arise in such cases, to -strain a few points, in order to remain in the public eye; and I am -willing to allow for the strength of the temptation. - -But the part for honest men to take is to expose the peril, to the end -that the majority may find a remedy; and not to sanction it by yielding -to it. Let the attention of the people be drawn towards the salaries of -office, that they may discover whether they are too low; which is best, -that adventurers of bad character should now and then get into office, -because they have not reputation enough to obtain a living by other -means, or that honest and intelligent men should be kept out, because -the prizes of office are engrossed by more highly educated men; and -whether the rewards of office are kept low by the democratic party, for -the sake of putting in what their opponents call 'adventurers,' or by -the aristocratic, with the hope of offices being engrossed by the men of -private fortune. Let the true state of the case, according to each -official's view of it, be presented to the people, rather than any -countenance be given to the present dreadful practice of wheedling and -flattery; and the perils of office will be, by some means, lessened. - -The popular scandal against the people of the United States, that they -boast intolerably of their national institutions and character, appears -to me untrue: but I see how it has arisen. Foreigners, especially the -English, are partly to blame for this. They enter the United States with -an idea that a republic is a vulgar thing: and some take no pains to -conceal their thought. To an American, nothing is more venerable than a -republic. The native and the stranger set out on a misunderstanding. The -English attacks, the American defends, and, perhaps, boasts. But the -vain-glorious flattery of their public orators is the more abundant -source of this reproach; and it rests with the people to redeem -themselves from it. For my own part, I remember no single instance of -patriotic boasting, from man, woman, or child, except from the rostrum; -but from thence there was poured enough to spoil the auditory for life, -if they had been simple enough to believe what they were told. But they -were not. - - -SECTION II. - -NEWSPAPERS. - -Side by side with the sinners of the rostrum, stand the sinners of the -newspaper press. The case is clear, and needs little remark or -illustration. The profligacy of newspapers, wherever they exist, is a -universal complaint; and, of all newspaper pressed I never heard any one -deny that the American is the worst. Of course, this depravity being so -general throughout the country, it must be occasioned by some -overpowering force of circumstances. The causes are various; and it is a -testimony to the strength and purity of the democratic sentiment in the -country, that the republic has not been overthrown by its newspapers. - -While the population is so scattered as it now is, throughout the -greater part of the Union, nothing is easier than to make the people -know only one side of a question; few things are easier than to keep -from them altogether the knowledge of any particular affair; and, worse -than all, on them may easily be practised the discovery that lies may -work their intended effect, before the truth can overtake them. - -It is hard to tell which is worst; the wide diffusion of things that are -not true, or the suppression of things that are true. It is no secret -that some able personage at Washington writes letters on the politics -and politicians of the general government, and sends them to the -remotest corners of the Union, to appear in their newspapers; after -which, they are collected in the administration newspaper at Washington, -as testimonies of public opinion in the respective districts where they -appear. It is no secret that the newspapers of the south keep out of -their columns all information which might enlighten their readers, near -and afar, as to the real state of society at home. I can testify to the -_remarkable events_ which occur in the southern States, unnoticed by any -press, and transpiring only through accident. Two men were burned alive, -without trial, by the gentlemen of Mobile, just before my arrival there; -and no newspaper even alluded to the circumstance, till, many months -after, a brief and obscure paragraph, in a northern journal, treated it -as a matter of hearsay. - -It is no secret that the systematic abuse with which the newspapers of -one side assail every candidate coming forward on the other, is the -cause of many honourable men, who have a regard to their reputation, -being deterred from entering public life; and of the people being thus -deprived of some better servants than any they have. Though a faithful -public servant should be able to endure all the consequences of faithful -service, yet there are many cases where men, undecided as to their -choice of public and private life, are fixed in favour of the latter by -this one circumstance. It is the one obstacle too much. A public man in -New England gave me the history of an editor of a newspaper, who began -his professional course by making an avowed distinction between telling -lies in conversation and in a newspaper, where every body looks for -them. Of course, he has sunk deeper and deeper in falsehood; but -retribution has not yet overtaken him. My informant told me, that this -editor has made some thousands of dollars by his abuse of one man; and -jocosely proposed, that persons who are systematically railed at by any -newspaper, should lay claim to a proportion of the profits arising out -of the use of their names and characters. - -The worst of it is, that the few exceptions to this depravity,--the few -newspapers conducted by men of truth and superior intelligence, are not -yet encouraged in proportion to their merits. It is easy to see how a -youth, going into the wilds, to set up a newspaper for the neighbouring -villages, should meet with support, however vicious or crude his -production maybe; but it is discouraging to perceive how little -preference is given, in the Atlantic cities, to the best journals over -the worst. Still, there is a preference; and it appears to be on the -increase; and that increase, again, is in proportion to the intrepidity -of the paper in discussing affairs as they arise. - -There will be no great improvement in the literary character of the -American newspapers till the literature of the country has improved. -Their moral character depends upon the moral taste of the people. This -looks like a very severe censure. If it be so, the same censure applies -elsewhere, and English morals must be held accountable for the slanders -and captiousness displayed in the leading articles of British journals, -and for the disgustingly jocose tone of their police reports, where -crimes are treated as entertainments, and misery as a jest. Whatever may -be the exterior causes of the Americans having been hitherto ill-served -in their newspapers, it is now certain that there are none which may not -be overpowered by a sound moral taste. In their country, the demand lies -with the many. Whenever the many demand truth and justice in their -journals, and reject falsehood and calumny, they will be served -according to their desire. - -This desire is beginning to awaken. Some months before I left the -United States, a man of colour was burned alive, without trial, at St. -Louis, in Missouri; a large assemblage of the "respectable" inhabitants -of the city being present. No one supposed that anybody out of the State -of Missouri was any further implicated with this deed, than as men have -an interest in every outrage done to man. The interest which residents -in other States had in this deed, was like that which an Englishman has -in a man being racked in the Spanish Inquisition; or a Frenchman, in a -Turk being bastinadoed at Constantinople. He is not answerable for it, -or implicated in it, as a fellow-citizen; and he speaks his humane -reprobation as a fellow-man. Certain American citizens, out of Missouri, -contrived, however, to implicate themselves in the responsibility for -this awful outrage, which, one would have thought, any man would have -been thankful to avoid. The majority of newspaper editors made -themselves parties to the act, by refusing, from fear, to reprobate it. -The state of the case was this, as described to me by some inhabitants -of St. Louis. The gentlemen of the press in that city dared not -reprobate the outrage, for fear of the consequences from the murderers. -They merely announced the deed, as a thing to be regretted, and -recommended that the veil of oblivion should be drawn over the affair. -Their hope was widely different from their recommendation. They hoped -that the newspapers throughout the Union would raise such a chorus of -execration as would annihilate the power of the executioners. But the -newspapers of the Union were afraid to comment upon the affair, because -they saw that the St. Louis editors were afraid. The really respectable -inhabitants of that disgraced city were thrown almost into despair by -this dastardly silence, and believed all security of life and property -in their State to be at an end. A few journals were honest enough to -thunder the truth in the ears of the people; and the people awoke to -perceive how their editors had involved themselves in this crime, by a -virtual acquiescence,--like the unfaithful mastiff, if such a creature -there be, which slinks away from its master's door, to allow a passage -to a menacing thief. The influence of the will of the awakening people -is already seen in the improved vigour in the tone of the newspapers -against outrage. On occasion of the more recent riots at Cincinnati, the -editorial silence has been broken by many voices. - -There is a spirited newspaper at Louisville which has done its duty -well, on occasions when it required some courage to do it; informing the -Cincinnati people of the meanness of their conduct in repressing the -expression of opinion, lest it should injure the commerce between Ohio -and Kentucky; and also, justifying Judge Shaw of Massachusetts, against -the outcries of the South, for a judgment he lately gave in favour of -the release of a slave, voluntarily carried into a free State. Two New -York papers, the New York American and the Evening Post, have gained -themselves honour by intrepidity of the same kind, and by the -comparative moderation and friendliness of their spirit. I hope that -there may be many more, and that their number may be perpetually on the -increase. - -The very best newspaper that I saw in the United States was a single -number of the Cleveland Whig, which I picked up at an hotel in the -interior of Ohio. I had seen spirited extracts from it in various -newspapers. The whole of this particular number was valuable for the -excellence of its spirit, and for its good sense. It had very important, -and some very painful subject matter,--instances of overbearing the -law,--to treat of. It was so done as nearly to beguile me, hungry -traveller as I was, of my dinner, and of all thought of my journey. - -One other remarkable paper lies before me: remarkable for its professing -to be conducted on principles of exact justice, and for its accordance -with its principles to a degree which has hardly been dreamed of in a -publication of its kind. There is something heroic in the enterprise, -which inspires a strong hope of its success. If the ability be but -sufficient to sustain it,--of which there seems no reason to -doubt,--there can be no question of its acceptableness. The just and -gentle construction of human actions, and the cheerful and trustful mood -in surveying natural events, are more congenial with the general mind, -than captiousness and distrust towards men, and despondency under the -government of God. Such men as the editor of the Boston Reformer are -sure to command the sympathies of men, however they may appear to run -counter to the supposed tastes of newspaper readers. The following -notice to correspondents is a novelty in its place,--more striking than -any announcements in the news columns. - -"To correspondents.--Our paper is no vehicle of vulgar abuse, or -spiteful attacks on persons or institutions. Our design is to avoid -everything which appeals to or pleases any bad propensity in our nature. -Doubtless there are a thousand petty annoyances somewhat grievous to be -borne; but we cannot go about to redress them. The best way is to -forgive and forget them. We cannot waste our strength on little matters. -We know no way to do good to man, to make society really better, but to -suppress our anger, keep our temper, show an elevated mind and a good -heart. We must look for the good, not for the bad in men, and always -put the best construction we can on all their doings."--_Boston -Reformer._ - - -SECTION III. - -APATHY IN CITIZENSHIP. - -In England the idea of an American citizen is of one who is always -talking politics, canvassing, bustling about to make proselytes abroad, -buried in newspapers at home, and hurrying to vote on election days. - -There is another side to the object. A learned professor of a western -college told me abundance of English news, but declared himself ignorant -of everything that had passed in the home portion of the political -world. He never took any interest in politics. What would be the use of -his disturbing himself? How far does one man's vote go? He does more -good by showing himself above such affairs. - -It was communicated to me that there are more modes of political action -than one: and that, though this professor does not vote, he uses his -utmost influence with the students of his college, in favour of his own -political opinions; and with entire success. If this be true, the -gentleman falls short of his duty in one respect, and exceeds it in -another. - -A clergyman in the north was anxious to assure me that elections are -merely personal matters, and do not affect the happiness of the people. -It matters not to him, for instance, who is in office, and what party in -politics is uppermost: life goes on the same to him. This gentleman had -probably never heard of the old lady who said that she did not care -what revolutions happened, as long as she had her roast chicken, and her -little game at cards. But that old lady did not live in a republic, or -perhaps even she might have perceived that there would have been no -security for roast chickens and cards, if all were to neglect political -action but those who want political power and profit. In a democracy, -every man is supposed to be his own security for life and property: and, -if a man devolves his political charge upon others, he must lay his -accounts for not being so well taken care of as he might be. So much for -the selfish aspect of the case;--the view which might have been -presented, with illustrations, to the old lady, if she had happened to -live in a republic. - -The clergyman ought to see further. He ought to see, in virtue of his -office, how public morals must suffer under the neglect of public duty -by respectable men. If such men were to perform the duties of citizens -as conscientiously as they do those of husbands, fathers, and pastors, -and leave it to the knaves to neglect the duties of citizenship, the -republic might go on as well as a republic with knaves in it can go on. -But if the case is reversed,--if the knaves are eager to use their -political rights for selfish purposes, and the conscientious in other -respects are remiss in the duties of citizenship, the pastors may almost -as well leave off preaching. All good pastoral influence will be borne -down by the spread of corruption. The clergy may preach themselves -hoarse to little purpose, if they live, and encourage others to live, in -the avowed neglect of the first duty of any one relation; and the -exercise of the suffrage is the first duty of republican citizenship. - -A naval officer, a man of an otherwise sound head and heart, told me, -very coolly, that he had never voted more than twice in his life. His -defence, in answer to my remonstrance, was, that he had served his -country in other ways. In as far as this might be meant to convey that -he could not vote at New York when in India, the excuse must be admitted -as valid: but, if it was meant to apply to elections going on before his -eyes, it was much the same as if he had said, "there is no occasion for -me to be a good father, because I have been a good son." - -A member of Congress gave me instances of what would have been the -modifications of certain public affairs, but for the apathy of the -minority about the use of their suffrage. If citizens regulate their -exertions by the probabilities of immediate success, instead of by their -faith in their own convictions, it is indeed no wonder if the minority -leave everything to their adversaries; but this is not the way for men -to show themselves worthy of the possession of political rights. This is -not the way that society has advanced. This is not the way that security -for life and property has been obtained for those idle citizens who are -now leaving that security to the mercy of those whom they believe to be -the enemies of society. - -A public man told me that it would be a great point gained, if every -citizen could be induced to vote, at least once a year. So far is it -from being true that all Americans are the bustling politicians the -English have been apt to suppose. If such political bustle should be -absurd, the actual apathy is something worse. If it were only borne in -mind that rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the -governed, surely all conscientious men would see the guilt of any man -acquiescing in the rule of governors whom he disapproves, by not having -recorded his dissent. Or, if he should be in the majority, the case is -no better. He has omitted to bear his testimony to what he esteems the -true principles of government. He has not appointed his rulers; and, in -as far as he accepts their protection, he takes without having given, he -reaps without having sown; he deprives his just rulers of a portion of -the authority which is their due--of a portion of the consent of the -governed. - -There is another cause for the reluctance to vote which is complained of -by the best friends of the people; but it is almost too humbling and -painful to be discussed. Some are afraid to vote! - -This happens not in the country, nor among the strength of the -population in the towns: but among the feeble aristocracy. There is not, -in the United States, as with us, a system of intimidation exercised by -the rich over the poor. In the country, there are no landlords and -tenants at will. In the towns, the tradesmen do not stand in need of the -patronage of the rich. Though they vote by ballot, and any man who -chooses it may vote secretly, (and many do upon occasion,) there is -rarely any need of such protection. But there is no reason why the -gentry, who may be afraid of hurting one another's feelings, should not -use their power of secret voting, rather than neglect the duty of giving -their suffrage. If the educated and principled men of the community, as -they are esteemed, fall back into idleness and silence, when the time -comes for a struggle for principles, and there is a danger of -disappointing expectations, and hurting feelings, their country has -little to thank them for. They are the men from whom the open discharge -of duty is looked for; they are the men who should show that political -obligation is above private regards. If they have not the virtue to do -this, and take the consequences, let them avail themselves of the -secrecy of the ballot-box, which in England is desired for the -protection of those whom bad arrangements have made dependent for bread -on the rich and powerful. At all events, let them vote, or be ashamed to -accept the privileges of citizenship without having discharged the -duties. - -The fear of opinion sometimes takes the form of an almost insane dread -of responsibility. There are occasions when public men, unable to judge -for themselves of particular classes of circumstances, are obliged to -ask advice of their friends and supporters. Happy he who obtains a full -and true answer from any one! The chances against this are in proportion -to the importance of the case. I knew of one such instance, the result -of which more than one is, I trust, now grieving over in his inmost -heart. An eminent statesman was hesitating whether to offer himself as a -candidate for a very high office. He requested the opinion and advice of -a number of gentlemen in public life, his supporters. All were of the -same opinion; that he should not stand. No one of them chose to take the -responsibility of telling him so. Some of them wrote ambiguous answers, -hoping that he would infer that they thought ill of his chance. Others -rather encouraged the enterprise. The illustrative details which might -be given,--showing the general uniformity, with particular diversity, of -the conduct of the advisers,--would be amusing if they were not too sad. -Suffice it that no one, as far as I could learn, could get over his fear -of responsibility so as to be faithful. They allowed their idol to make -a fool of himself. If he should henceforth be sunk in political -scepticism, perhaps these gentlemen may find that in shunning one kind -of responsibility, they have incurred another, far heavier. - -It is felt, and understood, in the United States, that their near future -in politics is indiscernible. Odd, unexpected circumstances, -determining the present, are perpetually turning up. Almost every man -has his convictions as to what the state of affairs will be, in the -gross, a century hence. Scarcely any man will venture a conjecture as to -what will have happened next spring. This is the very condition, if the -people could but see it, for the exercise of faith in principles. With a -dark and shifting near future, and a bright and fixed ultimate destiny, -what is the true, the only wisdom? Not to pry into the fogs and thickets -round about, or to stand still for fear of what may next occur in the -path; but to look from Eden gate behind to heaven gate before, and press -on to the certain future. In his political as in his moral life, man -should, in the depth of his ignorance and the fallibility of his -judgment, throw himself, in a full sense of security, upon principles; -and then he is safe from being depressed by opposition, or scared by -uncertainty, or depraved by responsibility. - - -SECTION IV. - -ALLEGIANCE TO LAW. - -It is notorious that there is a remarkable failure in this department of -political morals among certain parties in the United States. The mobbing -events of the last few years are celebrated; the abolition riots in New -York and Boston; the burning of the Charleston Convent; the bank riots -at Baltimore; the burning of the mails at Charleston; the hangings by -Lynch-law at Vickesburgh; the burning alive of a man of colour at St. -Louis; the subsequent proceedings there towards the students of Marion -College; and the abolition riots at Cincinnati. Here is a fearful list! - -The first question that arises is, who has done these things? Whose -hands have lighted green fagots round a living man? and strung up a -dozen or twenty citizens on the same gallows? and fired and razed -houses; and sent a company of trembling nuns flying for their lives at -midnight? Here is evidence enough of ignorance,--of desperate, brutal -ignorance. Whose ignorance? - -In Europe, the instantaneous and natural persuasion of men who hear the -tidings is, that the lowest classes in America have risen against the -higher. In Europe, desperate, brutal ignorance is the deepest curse in -the cursed life of the pauper and the serf. In Europe, mobbing is -usually the outbreak of exasperated misery against laws which oppress, -and an aristocracy which insults humanity. Europeans, therefore, -naturally assume that the gentry of the United States are the sinned -against, and the poor the sinners, in their social disturbances. They -draw conclusions against popular government, and suppose it proved that -universal suffrage dissolves society into chaos. They picture to -themselves a rabble of ragged, desperate workmen, with torches in their -hands; while the gentry look on in dismay, or tremble within their -houses. - -It is not so. I was informed, twenty times over, by gentlemen, that the -Boston mob of last year was wholly composed of gentlemen. The only -working man in it was the truck-man who saved the victim. They were the -gentlemen of St. Louis who burned the black man, and banished the -students of Marion College. They were the gentlemen of Cincinnati who -denounced the abolitionists, and raised the persecution against them. -They were the magistrates and gentry of Vickesburgh who hanged -way-farers, gamblers, and slaves in a long row. They were the gentlemen -of Charleston who broke open the Post Office, and violated its sacred -function, to the insult and injury of the whole country. - -The case is plain. There are no paupers to rise against oppressive laws -in a country, where the laws are made by all, and where pauperism is -thereby excluded. There is no degraded class, subject to insults from -the highest, which can be resented only by outrage. The assumption is a -false one, that ignorance and poverty, knowledge and wealth, go -together. Mobbing for European causes, and in European modes, is -absolutely precluded where political rights are universal, and political -power equally diffused through all classes. - -The very few European causes which are in analogy with United States -mobbing, are those riots for opinion, which bear only a subordinate -relation to politics; such as the Birmingham riots, and the attempt of -the Liverpool merchants to push Clarkson into the dock. The cases are -very similar. The mobs of America are composed of high churchmen, (of -whatever denomination,) merchants and planters, and lawyers. - -One complete narrative of a riot, for the fidelity of which I can vouch, -will expose the truth of the case better than a list of deeds of horror -which happened beyond my sight. It is least revolting, too, to treat of -a case whose terror lies in its existence, more than in its -consequences. The actors in the riot, which it was my fortune to -understand, were scarcely less guilty than if they had bathed their -hands in blood; but it is easier to examine, undisturbed by passion, the -case of those whose hands are, to the outward eye, clean. - -A very few years ago, certain citizens in New England began to discover -that the planters of the south were making white slaves in the north, -nearly as successfully as they were propagating black slavery in the -territories of the south and west. Charleston and Boston were -affectionate friends in old times, and are so still, notwithstanding the -hard words that passed between them in nullification days: that is, the -merchants and professional men of Boston are fond of Charleston, on -account of their commercial relations. This attachment has been carried -to such an extreme as to be almost fatal to the liberties of some of the -best citizens of the northern city. They found their brothers dismissed -from their pastoral charges, their sons expelled from colleges, their -friends excluded from professorships, and themselves debarred from -literary and social privileges, if they happened to entertain and -express opinions unfavourable to the peculiar domestic institution by -which Charleston declares it to be her intention to abide. Such is the -plea of those citizens of Boston who have formed associations for the -purpose of opposing, by moral influence, an institution which they feel -to be inconsistent with the first principles of morals and politics. For -a considerable time before my visit to that part of the country, they -had encountered petty persecutions of almost every conceivable kind. -There is no law in Massachusetts by which the free expression of opinion -on moral subjects is punishable. I heard many regret the absence of such -law. Everything was done that could be done to make up for its absence. -Books on any subject, written by persons who avow by association their -bad opinion of slavery, are not purchased: clergymen are no longer -invited to preach: the proprietors of public rooms will not let them to -members of such associations; and the churches are shut against them. -Their notices of public meetings are torn in the pulpits, while all -notices of other public meetings are read. The newspapers pour contempt -and wrath upon them in one continued stream. Bad practices are imputed -to them, and their denial is drowned in clamour. As a single instance of -this last; I was told so universally in the south and west that the -abolitionists of Boston and New York were in the habit of sending -incendiary tracts among the slaves, that it never occurred to me to -doubt the fact; though I was struck with surprise at never being able to -find any one who had seen any one who had actually seen one of these -tracts. Nor did it occur to me that as slaves cannot read, verbal -messages would be more to the purpose of all parties, as being more -effectual and more prudent. Mr. Madison made the charge, so did Mr. -Clay, so did Mr. Calhoun, so did every slave-holder and merchant with -whom I conversed. I chose afterwards to hear the other side of the whole -question; and I found, to my amazement, that this charge was wholly -groundless. No Abolition Society of New York or Massachusetts has ever -sent any anti-slavery paper south of Washington, except the circulars, -addressed to public officers in the States, which were burnt at -Charleston. The abolitionists of Boston have been denying this charge -ever since it was first made, and offering evidence of its -groundlessness; yet the calumny is persisted in, and, no doubt, honestly -believed, to this hour, throughout the south, whither the voice of the -condemned, stifled by their fellow-citizens, cannot reach. - -Only mortal things, however, can be really suffocated; and there has -never yet been an instance of a murder of opinion. There seemed, in -1835, so much danger of the abolitionists making themselves heard, that -an emphatic contradiction was got up, it was hoped in good time. - -The abolitionists had been, they believe illegally, denied by the city -authority the use of Faneuil Hall; (called, in memory of revolutionary -days, the "Cradle of Liberty.") Certain merchants and lawyers of Boston -held a meeting there, in August, 1835, for the purpose of reprobating -the meetings of the abolitionists, and denouncing their measures, while -approving of their principles. The less that is said of this -meeting,--the deepest of all the disgraces of Boston,--the better. It -bears its character in its face. Its avowed object was to put down the -expression of opinion by opprobrium, in the absence of gag laws. Of the -fifteen hundred who signed the requisition for this meeting, there are -many, especially among the younger and more thoughtless, who have long -repented of the deed. Some signed in anger; some in fear; many in -mistake; and of each of these there are some, who would fain, if it were -possible, efface their signatures with their blood. - -It is an invariable fact, and recognized as such, that meetings held to -supply the deficiency of gag laws are the prelude to the violence which -supplies the deficiency of executioners under such laws. Every meeting -held to denounce opinion is followed by a mob. This was so well -understood in the present case that the abolitionists were warned that -if they met again publicly, they would be answerable for the disorders -that might ensue. The abolitionists pleaded that this was like making -the rich man answerable for the crime of the thief who robbed him, on -the ground that if the honest man had not been rich, the thief would not -have been tempted to rob him. The abolitionists also perceived how -liberty of opinion and of speech depended on their conduct in this -crisis; and they resolved to yield to no threats of illegal violence; -but to hold their legal meeting, pursuant to advertisement, for the -despatch of their usual business. One remarkable feature of the case was -that this heavy responsibility rested upon women. It was a ladies' -meeting that was in question. Upon consultation, the ladies agreed that -they should never have sought the perilous duty of defending liberty of -opinion and speech at the last crisis; but, as such a service seemed -manifestly appointed to them, the women were ready. - -On the 21st of October, they met, pursuant to advertisement, at the -office of their association, No. 46, Washington Street. Twenty-five -reached their room, by going three-quarters of an hour before the -appointed time. Five more made their way up with difficulty through the -crowd. A hundred more were turned back by the mob. - -They knew that a hand-bill had been circulated on the Exchange, and -posted on the City Hall, and throughout the city, the day before, which -declared that Thompson, the abolitionist, was to address them; and -invited the citizens, under promise of pecuniary reward, to "snake -Thompson out, and bring him to the tar-kettle before dark." The ladies -had been warned that they would be killed, "as sure as fate," if they -showed themselves on their own premises that day. They therefore -informed the mayor that they expected to be attacked. The reply of the -city marshal was, "You give us a great deal of trouble." - -The committee-room was surrounded, and gazed into by a howling, -shrieking mob of gentlemen, while the twenty-five ladies sat perfectly -still, awaiting the striking of the clock. When it struck, they opened -their meeting. They were questioned as to whether Thompson was there in -disguise; to which they made no reply. - -They began, as usual, with prayer; the mob shouting "Hurra! here comes -Judge Lynch!" Before they had done, the partition gave way, and the -gentlemen hurled missiles at the lady who was presiding. The secretary -having risen, and begun to read her report, rendered inaudible by the -uproar, the mayor entered, and insisted upon their going home, to save -their lives. The purpose of their meeting was answered: they had -asserted their principle; and they now passed out, two and two, amidst -the execration of some thousands of gentlemen;--persons who had silver -shrines to protect. The ladies, to the number of fifty, walked to the -house of one of their members, and were presently struck to the heart by -the news that Garrison was in the hands of the mob. Garrison is the -chief apostle of abolition in the United States. He had escorted his -wife to the meeting; and, after offering to address the ladies, and -being refused, out of regard to his safety, had left the room, and, as -they supposed, the premises. He was, however, in the house when the -ladies left it. He was hunted for by the mob; dragged from behind some -planks where he had taken refuge, and conveyed into the street. Here his -hat was trampled under-foot, and brick-bats were aimed at his bare head; -a rope was tied round him, and thus he was dragged through the streets. -His young wife saw all this. Her exclamation was, "I think my husband -will be true to his principles. I am sure my husband will not deny his -principles." Her confidence was just. Garrison never denies his -principles. - -He was saved by a stout truckman, who, with his bludgeon, made his way -into the crowd, as if to attack the victim. He protected the bare head, -and pushed on towards a station house, whence the mayor's officers -issued, and pulled in Garrison, who was afterwards put into a coach. The -mob tried to upset the coach, and throw down the horses; but the driver -laid about him with his whip, and the constables with their staves, and -Garrison was safely lodged in jail: for protection; for he had committed -no offence. - -Before the mayor ascended the stairs to dismiss the ladies, he had done -a very remarkable deed;--he had given permission to two gentlemen to -pull down and destroy the anti-slavery sign, bearing the inscription, -"Anti-Slavery Office,"--which had hung for two years, as signs do hang -before public offices in Boston. The plea of the mayor is, that he hoped -the rage of the mob would thus be appeased: that is, he gave them leave -to break the laws in one way, lest they should in another. The citizens -followed up this deed of the mayor with one no less remarkable. They -elected these two rioters members of the State legislature, by a large -majority, within ten days. - -I passed through the mob some time after it had begun to assemble. I -asked my fellow-passengers in the stage what it meant. They supposed it -was a busy foreign-post day, and that this occasioned an assemblage of -gentlemen about the post-office. They pointed out to me that there were -none but gentlemen. We were passing through from Salem, fifteen miles -north of Boston, to Providence, Rhode Island; and were therefore -uninformed of the events and expectations of the day. On the morrow, a -visitor who arrived at Providence from Boston told us the story; and I -had thenceforth an excellent opportunity of hearing all the remarks that -could be made by persons of all ways of thinking and feeling, on this -affair. - -It excited much less attention than it deserved; less than would be -believed possible by those at a distance who think more seriously of -persecution for opinion, and less tenderly of slavery than a great many -of the citizens of Boston. To many in the city of Boston the story I -have told would be news: and to yet more in the country, who know that -some trouble was caused by abolition meetings in the city, but who are -not aware that their own will, embodied in the laws, was overborne to -gratify the mercenary interests of a few, and the political fears of a -few more. - -The first person with whom I conversed about this riot was the president -of a university. We were perfectly agreed as to the causes and character -of the outrage. This gentleman went over to Boston for a day or two; and -when he returned, I saw him again. He said he was happy to tell me that -we had been needlessly making ourselves uneasy about the affair: that -there had been no mob, the persons assembled having been all gentlemen. - -An eminent lawyer at Boston was one of the next to speak upon it. "O, -there was no mob," said he. "I was there myself, and saw they were all -gentlemen. They were all in fine broad-cloth." - -"Not the less a mob for that," said I. - -"Why, they protected Garrison. He received no harm. They protected -Garrison." - -"From whom, or what?" - -"O, they would not really hurt him. They only wanted to show that they -would not have such a person live among them." - -"Why should not he live among them? Is he guilty under any law?" - -"He is an insufferable person to them." - -"So may you be to-morrow. If you can catch Garrison breaking the laws, -punish him under the laws. If you cannot, he has as much right to live -where he pleases as you." - -Two law pupils of this gentleman presently entered. One approved of all -that had been done, and praised the spirit of the gentlemen of Boston. I -asked whether they had not broken the law. Yes. I asked him if he knew -what the law was. Yes; but it could not be always kept. If a man was -caught in a house setting it on fire, the owner might shoot him; and -Garrison was such an incendiary. I asked him for proof. He had nothing -but hearsay to give. The case, as I told him, came to this. A. says -Garrison is an incendiary. B. says he is not. A. proceeds on his own -opinion to break the law, lest Garrison should do so. - -The other pupil told me of the sorrow of heart with which he saw the -law, the life of the republic, set at naught by those who should best -understand its nature and value. He saw that the time was come for the -true men of the republic to oppose a bold front to the insolence of the -rich and the powerful, who were bearing down the liberties of the people -for a matter of opinion. The young men, he saw, must brace themselves up -against the tyranny of the monied mob, and defend the law; or the -liberties of the country were gone. I afterwards found many such among -the young men of the wealthier classes. If they keep their convictions, -they and their city are safe. - -No prosecutions followed. I asked a lawyer, an abolitionist, why. He -said there would be difficulty in getting a verdict; and, if it was -obtained, the punishment would be merely a fine, which would be paid on -the spot, and the triumph would remain with the aggressors. This seemed -to me no good reason. - -I asked an eminent judge the same question; and whether there was not a -public prosecutor who might prosecute for breach of the peace, if the -abolitionists would not, for the assault on Garrison. He said it might -be done; but he had given his advice against it. Why? The feeling was so -strong against the abolitionists,--the rioters were so respectable in -the city,--it was better to let the whole affair pass over without -notice. - -Of others, some knew nothing of it, because it was about such a low set -of people; some could not take any interest in what they were tired of -hearing about; some had not heard anything of the matter; some thought -the abolitionists were served quite right; some were sure the gentlemen -of Boston would not do anything improper; and some owned that there was -such bad taste and meddlesomeness in the abolitionists, that people of -taste kept out of the way of hearing anything about them. - -Notwithstanding all this, the body of the people are sound. Many of the -young lawyers are resolved to keep on the watch, to maintain the rights -of the abolitionists in the legislature, and in the streets of the city. -Many hundreds of the working men agreed to leave their work on the first -rumour of riot, get sworn in as special constables, and keep the peace -against the gentry; acting vigorously against the mob ringleaders, if -such should be the magistrates of Boston themselves. I visited many of -the villages in Massachusetts; and there everything seemed right. The -country people are abolitionists, by nature and education, and they see -the iniquity of mob-law. A sagacious gentleman told me that it did him -good to hear, in New York, of this mob, because it proved the rest of -Massachusetts to be in a sound state. It is always 'Boston _versus_ -Massachusetts;' and when the city, or the aristocracy there, who think -themselves the city, are very vehemently wrong, it is a plain proof that -the country people are eminently right. This may, for the humour of the -thing, be strongly put; but there is much truth in it. - -The philosophy of the case is very easy to understand; and supremely -important to be understood. - -The law, in a republic, is the embodiment of the will of the people. As -long as the republic is in a natural and healthy state, containing no -anomaly, and exhibiting no gross vices, the function of the law works -easily, and is understood and reverenced. Its punishments bear only upon -individuals, who have the opposition of society to contend with for -violating its will, and who are helpless against the righteous -visitations of the law. - -If there be any anomaly among the institutions of a republic, the -function of the law is certain to be disturbed, sooner or later: and -that disturbance is usually the symptom by the exhibition of which the -anomaly is first detected, and then cured. It was so with free-masonry. -It will be so with slavery; and with every institution inconsistent with -the fundamental principles of democracy. The process is easily -traceable. The worldly interests of the minority,--of perhaps a single -class,--are bound up with the anomaly:--of the minority, because, if the -majority had been interested in any anti-republican institution, the -republic would not have existed. The minority may go on for a length of -time in apparent harmony with the expressed will of the many,--the law. -But the time comes when their anomaly clashes with the law. For -instance, the merchants of the north trade in products which are, as -they believe, created out of a denial that all men are born free and -equal, and that the just powers of rulers are derived from the consent -of the governed; while the contrary principles are the root which -produces the law. Which is to be given up, when both cannot be held? If -the pecuniary interest of merchants is incompatible with freedom of -speech in fellow-citizens, which is to suffer?--The will of the -majority, the lawmaker, is to decide. But it takes some time to awaken -the will of the majority; and till it awakes, the interest of the -faction is active, and overbears the law. The retribution is certain; -the result is safe. But the evils meanwhile are so tremendous, that no -exertion should be spared to open the eyes of the majority to the -insults offered to its will. There is no fear that the majority will -ultimately succumb to the minority,--the harmonious law to the -discordant anomaly: but it is a fearful thing, meantime, that the brave -should be oppressed by the mercenary, and oppressed in proportion to -their bravery; that the masters of black slaves in the south should be -allowed to make white slaves in the north; that power and wealth should -be used to blind the people to the nature and dignity of the law, and to -seduce them into a preference of brute force. These evils are so -tremendous as to make it the duty of every citizen to bring every -lawbreaker, high or low, to punishment; to strike out of the election -list every man who tampers with the will of the majority; to teach every -child what the law is, and why it must be maintained; to keep his eye on -the rostrum, the bench, the bar, the pulpit, the press, the lyceum, the -school, that no fallacy, no compromise with an anomaly, no surrender of -principle be allowed to pass unexposed and unstigmatized. - -One compound fallacy is allowed daily to pass unexposed and -unstigmatized. "You make no allowance," said a friend who was strangely -bewildered by it,--"you make no allowance for the great number of -excellent people who view the anomaly and the law as you do, but who -keep quiet, because they sincerely believe that by speaking and acting -they should endanger the Union." This explains the conduct of a crowd of -"excellent people," neither merchants, nor the friends of slave-holders, -nor approving slavery, or mobbing, or persecution for opinion; but who -revile or satirize the abolitionists, and, for the rest, hold their -tongues. But is it possible that such do not see that if slavery be -wrong, and if it be indeed bound up with the Union, the Union must fall? -Is it possible that they do not see that if the question be really -this,--that if the laws of God and the arrangements of man are -incompatible, man's arrangements must give way?--I regard it as a false -and mischievous assumption that slavery is bound up with the Union: but -if I believed the dictum, I should not be for "putting off the evil -day." Every day which passes over the unredressed wrongs of any class -which a republic holds in her bosom; every day which brings persecution -on those who act out the principles which all profess; every day which -adds a sanction to brute force, and impairs the sacredness of law; every -day which prolongs impunity to the oppressor and discouragement to the -oppressed, is a more evil day than that which should usher in the work -of renovation. - -But the dictum is not true. This bitter satire upon the constitution, -and upon all who have complacently lived under it, is not true. The -Union is not incompatible with freedom of speech. The Union does not -forbid men to act according to their convictions. The Union has never -depended for its existence on hypocrisy, insult, and injury; and it -never will. - -Let citizens but take heed individually to respect the law, and see that -others do,--that no neighbour transgresses it, that no statesman -despises it unrebuked, that no child grows up ignorant or careless of -it; and the Union is as secure as the ground they tread upon. If this be -not done, everything is in peril, for the season; not only the Union, -but property, home, life and integrity. - - -SECTION V. - -SECTIONAL PREJUDICE. - -It is the practice at Washington to pay the Members of Congress, not -only a per diem allowance, but their travelling expenses; at so much per -twenty miles. Two Members of Congress from Missouri made charges widely -different in amount. Complaints were made that the Members were not -confined to a mail route, and that the country had to pay for any -digressions the honourable gentlemen might be in the humour to make. -Upon this, a Member observed that, so far from wishing to confine the -congressional travellers to a mail route, he would, if possible, -prescribe the condition that they should travel, both in coming and -going, through every State of the Union. Any money thus expended, would -be, he considered, a cheap price to pay for the conquest of prejudices -and dispersion of unfriendly feelings, which would be the consequence of -the rambles he proposed. - -The Members of Congress from the north like to revert to the day when -there were only two universities, Harvard and Yale, to which all the -youth of the Union repaired for education. The southern members love to -boast of the increase of colleges, so that every State will soon be -educating its own youth. The northern men miss the sweet sounds of -acknowledgment which used to meet their ears, as often as past days were -referred to--the grateful mention of the New England retreats where the -years of preparation for active life were spent. The southern men are -mortified at the supposition that everything intellectual must come out -of New England. When they boast that Virginia has produced almost all -their Presidents, they are met by the boast that New England has -furnished almost all the school-masters, professors, and clergy of the -country. While the north is still fostering a reverence for the Union, -the south loses no opportunity of enlarging lovingly on the virtue of -passionate attachment to one's native state. - -There is much nature and much reason in all this. It is true that there -is advantage in the youth of the whole country being brought together -within college walls, at the age when warm friendships are formed. They -can hardly quarrel very desperately in Congress, after having striven, -and loved, and learned together, in their bright early days. The cadets -at West Point spoke warmly to me of this. They told me that when a youth -is coming from afar, the youths who have arrived from an opposite point -of the compass prepare to look cold upon him and quiz him, and receive -him frigidly enough; but the second Sunday seldom comes round before -they wonder at him and themselves, and acknowledge that he might almost -have been born in their own State. On the other hand, it is true that it -would be an absurdity and a hardship to the dwellers in the south and -west to have no means of educating their youth at home; but to be -obliged to send them a thousand miles in pursuit of necessary learning. -It is also true that medical colleges should abound; that peculiar -diseases, incident to climate and locality, may be studied on the spot. -In this, as in many other cases, some good must be sacrificed for the -attainment of a greater good. - -The question is, need sectional prejudices increase under the new -arrangements? Are there no means of counteracting this great evil, -except the ancient methods? Is West Point the last spot whereon common -interests may rally, and whence state jealousies may be excluded? - -I should be sorry if the answer were unfavourable; for this Sectional -Prejudice, carried beyond the point of due political vigilance, is -folly,--childish folly. Events prove it to be so. Deadly political -enemies meet at Washington, and snarl and declaim at one another with -mighty fierceness. They find themselves, some sunny day, lying on the -grass under the shade of a tree, at the country-house of an -acquaintance; they rise up cordial friends. They have actually discussed -the question of questions, the American System and Nullification; and -yet they rise up cordial friends. Again; a Boston gentleman and his lady -travel for health through the south and west. They hear abuse of their -State and city in abundance by the roadside; but their hearts are -touched by the hospitality and friendliness they meet under every roof. -Again; the planter carries his family to a Rhode Island bathing place, -for the hot season: and there he finds some to whom he can open his -heart about his domestic troubles, caused by slavery; he gains their -sympathy, and carries away their esteem. The sectional hatred, if not an -abstraction, is founded mainly on abstractions, and gives way at once -when the parties are confronted. Does it not deserve to be called -childish folly? - -Yet "hatred" is not too strong a term for this sectional prejudice. Many -a time in America have I been conscious of that pang and shudder which -are felt only in the presence of hatred. I question whether the enmity -between the British and the Americans, at the most exasperating crisis -of the war, could ever have been more intense than some that I have seen -flashing in the eyes, and heard from the lips, of Americans against -fellow-citizens in distant sections of their country. I have scarcely -known whether to laugh or to mourn when I have been told that the New -England people are all pedlars or canting priests; that the people of -the south are all heathens; and those of the west all barbarians. Nay, I -was even told in New York that the Rhode Island people were all -heathens, and the New Jersey folks no better. Some Baltimore ladies told -me that the Philadelphia ladies say that no Baltimore lady knows how to -put on a bonnet: but that the Philadelphians have something worse the -matter with them than that; for that they do not know how to be -hospitable to strangers. Without stopping to settle which is the gravest -of these heavy charges, I am anxious to bear my testimony against the -correctness of either. I saw some pretty bonnets, most becomingly worn, -at Baltimore; and I can speak confidently to the hospitality of -Philadelphia. - -Trifling as some instances appear of the manifestation of this puerile -spirit, it sometimes, it always, issues in results which are no -trifle;--always, because the spirit of jealousy is a deadly curse to him -who is possessed by it, whether it be founded on fact, or no. It cannot -co-exist with a generous patriotism, one essential requisite of which is -an enlarged faith in fellow-citizens. All republicans are patriotic, -more or less frequently and loftily. If every American will look into -himself at the moment he is glowing with patriotism, he will find his -sectional prejudices melted away and gone, for the season. The Americans -feel this in their travels abroad, when their country is attacked. They -yearn towards the remotest dwellers in their country as if they were the -nearest and dearest. Would they could always feel thus at home, and in -the absence of provocation! - -The most mortifying instance that I witnessed of this sectional -prejudice was at Cincinnati. It was the most mortifying, on two -accounts; because it did not give way before intercourse; and because -its consequences are likely to be very serious to the city, and, if it -spreads, to the whole west. One may laugh at the untravelled citizen of -the south who declares that he knows the New Englanders very well. "How -should you know the New Englanders?" "O, they drive about in our parts -sometimes:"--"they" meaning the Yankee pedlars with wooden clocks for -sale. One may laugh at the simple youth on board a steam-boat on Lake -Erie, who warned me not to believe anything the Huron people might tell -me against the Sandusky people, because he could tell me beforehand that -it was all false, and that the Sandusky people are far better than the -Huron people. One may laugh at the contemptuous amazement of the Boston -lady at my declaration that I liked Cincinnati; that wild western place, -where she believed people did not sit down to dinner like Christians. -All mistakes of this kind, it is clear, might be rectified by a little -travelling. But it is a serious matter to see the travelled gentlemen, -the professional men of such a place as Cincinnati, setting up their -sectional prejudices in one another's way. - -Cincinnati is a glorious place. Few things can be conceived finer than -the situation of this magnificent city, and the beauty by which she is -surrounded. She is enthroned upon a high platform,--one of the rich -bottoms occurring on the Ohio, which expand the traveller's notions of -what fertility is. Behind her are hills, opening and closing, receding -and advancing; here glowing with the richest green pasturage, and there -crested and ribbed by beeches which seem transplanted from some giant -land. Wherever we went among these hills, we found them rounding away -from us in some new form of beauty; in steep grassy slopes, with a -running stream at the bottom; in shadowy precipices, bristling with -trees; in quiet recesses, pierced by sunset lights, shining in among the -beechen stems, which spring, unencumbered by undergrowth, from the rich -elastic turf. These hill-sides reminded me of the Castle of Indolence, -of the quiet paths of Eden, of the shades that Una trod, of Windsor -Forest,--of all that my memory carried about undulating wood-lands: but -nothing would do; no description that I am acquainted with is rich -enough to answer to what I saw on the Ohio,--its slopes, and clumps, and -groves. At the foot of these hills runs the river, broad and full, busy -with the commerce of the wide West. A dozen steam-boats lie abreast at -the wharf, and many more are constantly passing; some stealing along, -unheard so far off, under the opposite bank; others puffing and -ploughing along the middle of the stream. Fine, level turnpike-roads -branch off from the city among the hills, which open so as to allow a -free circulation of air over the entire platform. Cincinnati is the most -healthy large city in the United States. The streets are wide; and the -terraces afford fine situations for houses. The furnishing of the -dwellings is as magnificent as the owners may choose to make it; for -commerce with the whole world is carried on from their port. Their -vineyards, their conservatories, their fruit and flower gardens delight -the eye in the gorgeous month of June. They have a native artist of -great genius who has adorned the walls of their houses with, perhaps, -the best pictures I saw in the country. I saw their streets filled with -their thousands of free-school children. "These," said a lady to me, -"are our populace." I thought it a populace worthy of such a city. There -is no need to speak of its long ranges of furnaces, of its shipping, of -its incredible commerce in pork, of its wealth and prospects. Suffice it -that one of its most respected inhabitants tells that when he landed in -Ohio, less than fifty years ago, it contained fewer than a hundred -whites; and buffalo lodged in a cane brake where the city now stands; -while the State at present contains upwards of a million of inhabitants, -the city between thirty and forty thousand; and Cincinnati has four -daily, and five or six weekly, newspapers, besides a variety of other -periodicals. - -The most remarkable circumstance, and the most favourable, with regard -to the peopling of Cincinnati is, that its population contains -contributions of almost every element that goes to constitute society; -and each in its utmost vigour. There are here few of the arbitrary -associations which exist among the members of other societies. Young men -come with their wives, in all directions, from afar; with no parents, -cousins, sects, or parties about them. Here is an assemblage from almost -every nation under heaven,--a contribution from the resources of almost -every country; and all unburdened, and ready for natural association and -vigorous action. Like takes to like, and friendships are formed from -congeniality, and not from accident or worldly design. Yet is there a -tempering of prejudices, a mutual enlightenment, from previous -differences of education and habits,--difference even of country and -language. Great force is thus given to any principle carried out into -action by the common convictions of differing persons; and life is deep -and rapid in its course. Such is the theory of society in Cincinnati; -and such is, in some degree, its practice. But here it is that sectional -prejudice interferes, to set up arbitrary associations where, of all -places, they should be shunned. - -The adventurers who barbarize society in new places, have gone westward; -and, of the full population that remains, above one-fifth are Germans. -Their function seems to be, everywhere in the United States, to -develope the material resources of the infant places in which they -settle; and the intellectual ones at a more advanced stage. They are the -farmers and market-gardeners here. There are many English, especially -among the artizans. I saw two handsome white houses, on the side of a -hill above the river, with rich ground lots, and extensive garden walls. -These are the property of two English artizans, brothers, who emigrated -a very few years ago. An Englishman, servant to a physician in -Cincinnati in 1818, turned pork-butcher; was worth 10,000 dollars when I -was there, and is rapidly growing rich. There are many New Englanders -among the clergy, lawyers, and merchants; and this is the portion of -society that will not freely mix with the westerners. It is no wonder if -the earliest settlers of the place, westerners, are proud of it, and are -careful to cherish its primitive emblems and customs. The New Englanders -should not take this as an affront to themselves. It is also natural -enough that the New Englanders should think and speak alike, and be fond -of acting together; and the westerners should not complain of their -being clannish. I was at a delightful party at the house of one of the -oldest inhabitants, where a sprig of the distinctive buck-eye was hung -up in the hall, and a buck-eye bowl of lemonade stood on the table. This -was peevishly commented upon by some of eastern derivation: but I -thought it would have been wiser to adopt the emblem than to find fault -with it. Cincinnati has not gone to the eastern people: the eastern -people have gone to her. If they have adopted her for their city, they -may as well adopt her emblems too, and make themselves westerners at -heart, as well as in presence. These discontents may appear trifling; -but they are not so while they impede the furtherance of great objects. -I was told on the spot that they would be very transient; but I fear it -is not so. And yet they would be very transient if the spirited and -choice inhabitants of that magnificent city could see their position as -it is viewed by people at a distance. When I was one day expressing my -admiration, and saying that it was a place for people of ambition, -worldly or philanthropic, to live in, one of its noblest citizens said, -"Yes, we have a new creation going on here; won't you come and dabble in -the mud?" If they will but remember that it is a new creation that is -going on, and not a fortuitous concourse of atoms; that the human will -is, or may be, the presiding intelligence; that centuries hence, their -posterity will either bless their memories with homage like that which -is paid to the Pilgrim Fathers, or suffer the retribution which follows -the indulgence of human passions, all petty jealousies will surely -subside, in the prospect which lies before every good man. In a place -like Cincinnati, where every man may gratify his virtuous will, and do, -with his own hands, the deeds of a generation, feelings should be as -grand as the occasion. If the merchants of Genoa were princes, the -citizens of Cincinnati, as of every first city of a new region, are -princes and prophets at once. They can foresee the future, if they -please; and shape it, if they will: and petty personal regards are -unworthy of such a destiny. It is melancholy to see how the crusading -chiefs quarrelled for precedence on the soil of the Holy Land: it would -be more so to see the leaders of this new enterprise desecrating their -higher mission by a like contention. - - -SECTION VI. - -CITIZENSHIP OF PEOPLE OF COLOUR. - -Before I entered New England, while I was ascending the Mississippi, I -was told by a Boston gentleman that the people of colour in the New -England States were perfectly well-treated; that the children were -educated in schools provided for them; and that their fathers freely -exercised the franchise. This gentleman certainly believed he was -telling me the truth. That he, a busy citizen of Boston, should know no -better, is now as striking an exemplification of the state of the case -to me as a correct representation of the facts would have been. There -are two causes for his mistake. He was not aware that the schools for -the coloured children in New England are, unless they escape by their -insignificance, shut up, or pulled down, or the school-house wheeled -away upon rollers over the frontier of a pious State, which will not -endure that its coloured citizens should be educated. He was not aware -of a gentleman of colour, and his family, being locked out of their own -hired pew in a church, because their white brethren will not Worship by -their side. But I will not proceed with an enumeration of injuries, too -familiar to Americans to excite any feeling but that of weariness; and -too disgusting to all others to be endured. The other cause of this -gentleman's mistake was, that he did not, from long custom, feel some -things to be injuries, which he would call anything but good treatment, -if he had to bear them himself. Would he think it good treatment to be -forbidden to eat with fellow-citizens; to be assigned to a particular -gallery in his church; to be excluded from college, from municipal -office, from professions, from scientific and literary associations? If -he felt himself excluded from every department of society, but its -humiliations and its drudgery, would he declare himself to be "perfectly -well-treated in Boston?" Not a word more of statement is needed. - -A Connecticut judge lately declared on the bench that he believed people -of colour were not considered citizens in the laws. He was proved to be -wrong. He was actually ignorant of the wording of the acts by which -people of colour are termed citizens. Of course, no judge could have -forgotten this who had seen them treated as citizens: nor could one of -the most eminent statesmen and lawyers in the country have told me that -it is still a doubt, in the minds of some high authorities, whether -people of colour are citizens. He is as mistaken as the judge. There has -been no such doubt since the Connecticut judge was corrected and -enlightened. The error of the statesman arose from the same cause; he -had never seen the coloured people treated as citizens. "In fact," said -he, "these people hold an anomalous situation. They are protected as -citizens when the public service requires their security; but not -otherwise treated as such," Any comment would weaken this intrepid -statement. - -The common argument, about the inferiority of the coloured race, bears -no relation whatever to this question. They are citizens. They stand, as -such, in the law, and in the acknowledgment of every one who knows the -law. They are citizens, yet their houses and schools are pulled down, -and they can obtain no remedy at law. They are thrust out of offices, -and excluded from the most honourable employments, and stripped of all -the best benefits of society by fellow-citizens who, once a year, -solemnly lay their hands on their hearts, and declare that all men are -born free and equal, and that rulers derive their just powers from the -consent of the governed. - -This system of injury is not wearing out. Lafayette, on his last visit -to the United States, expressed his astonishment at the increase of the -prejudice against colour. He remembered, he said, how the black soldiers -used to mess with the whites in the revolutionary war. The leaders of -that war are gone where principles are all,--where prejudices are -nothing. If their ghosts could arise, in majestic array, before the -American nation, on their great anniversary, and hold up before them the -mirror of their constitution, in the light of its first principles, -where would the people hide themselves from the blasting radiance? They -would call upon their holy soil to swallow them up, as unworthy to tread -upon it. But not all. It should ever be remembered that America is the -country of the best friends the coloured race has ever had. The more -truth there is in the assertions of the oppressors of the blacks, the -more heroism there is in their friends. The greater the excuse for the -pharisees of the community, the more divine is the equity of the -redeemers of the coloured race. If it be granted that the coloured race -are naturally inferior, naturally depraved, disgusting, cursed,--it must -be granted that it is a heavenly charity which descends among them to -give such solace as it can to their incomprehensible existence. As long -as the excuses of the one party go to enhance the merit of the other, -the society is not to be despaired of, even with this poisonous anomaly -at its heart. - -Happily, however, the coloured race is not cursed by God, as it is by -some factions of his children. The less clear-sighted of them are -pardonable for so believing. Circumstances, for which no living man is -answerable, have generated an erroneous conviction in the feeble mind of -man, which sees not beyond the actual and immediate. No remedy could -ever have been applied, unless stronger minds than ordinary had been -brought into the case. But it so happens, wherever there is an anomaly, -giant minds rise up to overthrow it: minds gigantic, not in -understanding, but in faith. Wherever they arise, they are the salt of -their earth, and its corruption is retrieved. So it is now in America. -While the mass of common men and women are despising, and disliking, and -fearing, and keeping down the coloured race, blinking the fact that they -are citizens, the few of Nature's aristocracy are putting forth a strong -hand to lift up this degraded race out of oppression, and their country -from the reproach of it. If they were but one or two, trembling and -toiling in solitary energy, the world afar would be confident of their -success. But they number hundreds and thousands; and if ever they feel a -passing doubt of their progress, it is only because they are pressed -upon by the meaner multitude. Over the sea, no one doubts of their -victory. It is as certain as that the risen sun will reach the meridian. -Already are there overflowing colleges, where no distinction of colour -is allowed;--overflowing, _because_ no distinction of colour is allowed. -Already have people of colour crossed the thresholds of many whites, as -guests, not as drudges or beggars. Already are they admitted to worship, -and to exercise charity, among the whites. - -The world has heard and seen enough of the reproach incurred by America, -on account of her coloured population. It is now time to look for the -fairer side The crescent streak is brightening towards the full, to wane -no more. Already is the world beyond the sea beginning to think of -America, less as the country of the double-faced pretender to the name -of Liberty, than as the home of the single-hearted, clear-eyed Presence -which, under the name of Abolitionism, is majestically passing through -the land which is soon to be her throne. - - -SECTION VII. - -POLITICAL NON-EXISTENCE OF WOMEN. - -One of the fundamental principles announced in the Declaration of -Independence is, that governments derive their just powers from the -consent of the governed. How can the political condition of women be -reconciled with this? - -Governments in the United States have power to tax women who hold -property; to divorce them from their husbands; to fine, imprison, and -execute them for certain offences. Whence do these governments derive -their powers? They are not "just," as they are not derived from the -consent of the women thus governed. - -Governments in the United States have power to enslave certain women; -and also to punish other women for inhuman treatment of such slaves. -Neither of these powers are "just;" not being derived from the consent -of the governed. - -Governments decree to women in some States half their husbands' -property; in others one-third. In some, a woman, on her marriage, is -made to yield all her property to her husband; in others, to retain a -portion, or the whole, in her own hands. Whence do governments derive -the unjust power of thus disposing of property without the consent of -the governed? - -The democratic principle condemns all this as wrong; and requires the -equal political representation of all rational beings. Children, idiots, -and criminals, during the season of sequestration, are the only fair -exceptions. - -The case is so plain that I might close it here; but it is interesting -to inquire how so obvious a decision has been so evaded as to leave to -women no political rights whatever. The question has been asked, from -time to time, in more countries than one, how obedience to the laws can -be required of women, when no woman has, either actually or virtually, -given any assent to any law. No plausible answer has, as far as I can -discover, been offered; for the good reason, that no plausible answer -can be devised. The most principled democratic writers on government -have on this subject sunk into fallacies, as disgraceful as any advocate -of despotism has adduced. In fact, they have thus sunk from being, for -the moment, advocates of despotism. Jefferson in America, and James Mill -at home, subside, for the occasion, to the level of the author of the -Emperor of Russia's Catechism for the young Poles. - -Jefferson says,[7] "Were our State a pure democracy, in which all the -inhabitants should meet together to transact all their business, there -would yet be excluded from their deliberations, - -"1. Infants, until arrived at years of discretion; - -"2. Women, who, to prevent depravation of morals, and ambiguity of -issue, could not mix promiscuously in the public meetings of men; - -"3. Slaves, from whom the unfortunate state of things with us takes away -the rights of will and of property." - -If the slave disqualification, here assigned, were shifted up under the -head of Women, their case would be nearer the truth than as it now -stands. Woman's lack of will and of property, is more like the true -cause of her exclusion from the representation, than that which is -actually set down against her. As if there could be no means of -conducting public affairs but by promiscuous meetings! As if there would -be more danger in promiscuous meetings for political business than in -such meetings for worship, for oratory, for music, for dramatic -entertainments,--for any of the thousand transactions of civilized life! -The plea is not worth another word. - -Mill says, with regard to representation, in his Essay on Government, -"One thing is pretty clear; that all those individuals, whose interests -are involved in those of other individuals, may be struck off without -inconvenience.... In this light, women may be regarded, the interest of -almost all of whom is involved, either in that of their fathers or in -that of their husbands." - -The true democratic principle is, that no person's interests can be, or -can be ascertained to be, identical with those of any other person. This -allows the exclusion of none but incapables. - -The word "almost," in Mr. Mill's second sentence, rescues women from the -exclusion he proposes. As long as there are women who have neither -husbands nor fathers, his proposition remains an absurdity. - -The interests of women who have fathers and husbands can never be -identical with theirs, while there is a necessity for laws to protect -women against their husbands and fathers. This statement is not worth -another word. - -Some who desire that there should be an equality of property between men -and women, oppose representation, on the ground that political duties -would be incompatible with the other duties which women have to -discharge. The reply to this is, that women are the best judges here. -God has given time and power for the discharge of all duties; and, if he -had not, it would be for women to decide which they would take, and -which they would leave. But their guardians follow the ancient fashion -of deciding what is best for their wards. The Emperor of Russia -discovers when a coat of arms and title do not agree with a subject -prince. The King of France early perceives that the air of Paris does -not agree with a free-thinking foreigner. The English Tories feel the -hardship that it would be to impose the franchise on every artizan, busy -as he is in getting his bread. The Georgian planter perceives the -hardship that freedom would be to his slaves. And the best friends of -half the human race peremptorily decide for them as to their rights, -their duties, their feelings, their powers. In all these cases, the -persons thus cared for feel that the abstract decision rests with -themselves; that, though they may be compelled to submit, they need not -acquiesce. - -It is pleaded that half of the human race does acquiesce in the decision -of the other half, as to their rights and duties. And some instances, -not only of submission, but of acquiescence, there are. Forty years ago, -the women of New Jersey went to the poll, and voted, at state elections. -The general term, "inhabitants," stood unqualified;--as it will again, -when the true democratic principle comes to be fully understood. A -motion was made to correct the inadvertence; and it was done, as a -matter of course; without any appeal, as far as I could learn, from the -persons about to be injured. Such acquiescence proves nothing but the -degradation of the injured party. It inspires the same emotions of pity -as the supplication of the freed slave who kneels to his master to -restore him to slavery, that he may have his animal wants supplied, -without being troubled with human rights and duties. Acquiescence like -this is an argument which cuts the wrong way for those who use it. - -But this acquiescence is only partial; and, to give any semblance of -strength to the plea, the acquiescence must be complete. I, for one, do -not acquiesce. I declare that whatever obedience I yield to the laws of -the society in which I live is a matter between, not the community and -myself, but my judgment and my will. Any punishment inflicted on me for -the breach of the laws, I should regard as so much gratuitous injury: -for to those laws I have never, actually or virtually, assented. I know -that there are women in England who agree with me in this--I know that -there are women in America who agree with me in this. The plea of -acquiescence is invalidated by us. - -It is pleaded that, by enjoying the protection of some laws, women give -their assent to all. This needs but a brief answer. Any protection thus -conferred is, under woman's circumstances, a boon bestowed at the -pleasure of those in whose power she is. A boon of any sort is no -compensation for the privation of something else; nor can the enjoyment -of it bind to the performance of anything to which it bears no relation. -Because I, by favour, may procure the imprisonment of the thief who robs -my house, am I, unrepresented, therefore bound not to smuggle French -ribbons? The obligation not to smuggle has a widely different -derivation. - -I cannot enter upon the commonest order of pleas of all;--those which -relate to the virtual influence of woman; her swaying the judgment and -will of man through the heart; and so forth. One might as well try to -dissect the morning mist. I knew a gentleman in America who told me how -much rather he had be a woman than the man he is;--a professional man, a -father, a citizen. He would give up all this for a woman's influence. I -thought he was mated too soon. He should have married a lady, also of my -acquaintance, who would not at all object to being a slave, if ever the -blacks should have the upper hand; "it is so right that the one race -should be subservient to the other!" Or rather,--I thought it a pity -that the one could not be a woman, and the other a slave; so that an -injured individual of each class might be exalted into their places, to -fulfil and enjoy the duties and privileges which they despise, and, in -despising, disgrace. - -The truth is, that while there is much said about "the sphere of woman," -two widely different notions are entertained of what is meant by the -phrase. The narrow, and, to the ruling party, the more convenient notion -is that sphere appointed by men, and bounded by their ideas of -propriety;--a notion from which any and every woman may fairly dissent. -The broad and true conception is of the sphere appointed by God, and -bounded by the powers which he has bestowed. This commands the assent of -man and woman; and only the question of powers remains to be proved. - -That woman has power to represent her own interests, no one can deny -till she has been tried. The modes need not be discussed here: they must -vary with circumstances. The fearful and absurd images which are -perpetually called up to perplex the question,--images of women on -wool-sacks in England, and under canopies in America, have nothing to do -with the matter. The principle being once established, the methods will -follow, easily, naturally, and under a remarkable transmutation of the -ludicrous into the sublime. The kings of Europe would have laughed -mightily, two centuries ago, at the idea of a commoner, without robes, -crown, or sceptre, stepping into the throne of a strong nation. Yet who -dared to laugh when Washington's super-royal voice greeted the New World -from the presidential chair, and the old world stood still to catch the -echo? - -The principle of the equal rights of both halves of the human race is -all we have to do with here. It is the true democratic principle which -can never be seriously controverted, and only for a short time evaded. -Governments can derive their just powers only from the consent of the -governed. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[7] Correspondence vol. iv. p. 295. - - - - -PART II. - -ECONOMY. - - "That thou givest them they gather. Thou openest thine hand; they - are filled with good." - - _104th Psalm._ - - -The traveller from the Old World to the New is apt to lose himself in -reflection when he should be observing. Speculations come in crowds in -the wilderness. He finds himself philosophizing with every step he -takes, as luxuriously as by his study fireside, or in his rare solitary -walk at home. - -In England, everything comes complete and finished under notice. Each -man may be aware of some one process of formation, which it is his -business to conduct; but all else is presented to him in its entireness. -The statesman knows what it is to compose an act of parliament; to -proceed from the first perception of the want of it, through the -gathering together of facts and opinions, the selection from these, the -elaborating, adjusting, moulding, specifying, excluding, consolidating, -till it becomes an entire something, which he throws down for parliament -to find fault with. When it is passed, the rest of society looks upon it -as a whole, as a child does upon a table or a doll, without being aware -of any process of formation. The shoemaker, thus, takes his loaf of -bread, and the clock that ticks behind his door, as if they came down -from the clouds as they are, in return for so much of his wages; and he -analyzes nothing but shoes. The baker and watchmaker receive their shoes -in the same way, and analyze nothing but bread and clocks. Too many -gentlemen and ladies analyze nothing at all. If better taught, and -introduced at an early age into the world of analysis, nothing, in the -whole course of education, is probably so striking to their minds. They -begin a fresh existence from the day when they first obtain a glimpse -into this new region of discovery. - -Such an era is the traveller's entrance upon the wilder regions of -America. His old experience is all reversed. He sees nothing of art in -its entireness; but little of nature in her instrumentality. Nature is -there the empress, not the handmaid. Art is her inexperienced page, and -no longer the Prospero to whom she is the Ariel. - -It is an absorbing thing to watch the process of world-making:--both the -formation of the natural and the conventional world. I witnessed both in -America; and when I look back upon it now, it seems as if I had been in -another planet. I saw something of the process of creating the natural -globe in the depths of the largest explored cave in the world. In its -depths, in this noiseless workshop, was Nature employed with her blind -and dumb agents, fashioning mysteries which the earthquake of a thousand -years hence may bring to light, to give man a new sense of the shortness -of his life. I saw something of the process of world-making behind the -fall of Niagara, in the thunder cavern, where the rocks that have stood -for ever tremble to their fall amidst the roar of the unexhausted -floods. I stood where soon human foot shall stand no more. Foot-hold -after foot-hold is destined to be thrown down, till, after more ages -than the world has yet known, the last rocky barrier shall be -overpowered, and an ocean shall overspread countries which are but just -entering upon civilized existence. Niagara itself is but one of the -shifting scenes of life, like all of the outward that we hold most -permanent. Niagara itself, like the systems of the sky, is one of the -hands of Nature's clock, moving, though too slowly to be perceived by -the unheeding,--still moving, to mark the lapse of time. Niagara itself -is destined to be as the traditionary monsters of the ancient earth--a -giant existence, to be spoken of to wondering ears in studious hours, -and believed in from the sole evidence of its surviving grandeur and -beauty. While I stood in the wet whirlwind, with the crystal roof above -me, the thundering floor beneath, and the foaming whirlpool and rushing -flood before me, I saw those quiet, studious hours of the future world -when this cataract shall have become a tradition, and the spot on which -I stood shall be the centre of a wide sea, a new region of life. This -was seeing world-making. So it was on the Mississippi, when a sort of -scum on the waters betokened the birth-place of new land. All things -help in this creation. The cliffs of the upper Missouri detach their -soil, and send it thousands of miles down the stream. The river brings -it, and deposits it, in continual increase, till a barrier is raised -against the rushing waters themselves. The air brings seeds, and drops -them where they sprout, and strike downwards, so that their roots bind -the soft soil, and enable it to bear the weight of new accretions. The -infant forest, floating, as it appeared, on the surface of the turbid -and rapid waters, may reveal no beauty to the painter; but to the eye -of one who loves to watch the process of world-making, it is full of -delight. These islands are seen in every stage of growth. The -cotton-wood trees, from being like cresses in a pool, rise breast-high; -then they are like the thickets, to whose shade the alligator may -retreat; then, like groves that bid the sun good-night, while he is -still lighting up the forest; then like the forest itself, with the -wood-cutter's house within its screen, flowers springing about its -stems, and the wild-vine climbing to meet the night breezes on its lofty -canopy. This was seeing world-making. Here was strong instigation to the -exercise of analysis. - -One of the most frequent thoughts of a speculator in these wildernesses, -is the rarity of the chance which brings him here to speculate. The -primitive glories of nature have, almost always since the world began, -been dispensed to savages; to men who, dearly as they love the -wilderness, have no power of bringing into contrast with it the mind of -man, as enriched and stimulated by cultivated society. Busy colonists, -pressed by bodily wants, are the next class brought over the threshold -of this temple: and they come for other purposes than to meditate. The -next are those who would make haste to be rich; selfish adventurers, who -drive out the red man, and drive in the black man, and, amidst the -forests and the floods, think only of cotton and of gold. Not to such -alone should the primitive glories of nature be dispensed; glories which -can never be restored. The philosopher should come, before they are -effaced, and find combinations and proportions of life and truth which -are not to be found elsewhere. The painter should come, and find -combinations and proportions of visible beauty which are not to be found -elsewhere. The architect should come, and find suggestions and -irradiations of his art which are not to be found elsewhere. The poet -should come, and witness a supremacy of nature such as he imagines in -the old days when the world's sires came forth at the tidings of the -rainbow in the cloud. The chance which opens to the meditative the -almost untouched regions of nature, is a rare one; and they should not -be left to the vanishing savage, the busy and the sordid. - -I watched also the progress of conventional life. I saw it in every -stage of advancement, from the clearing in the woods, where the settler, -carrying merely his axe, makes his very tools, his house, his fireplace, -his bed, his table; carves out his fields, catches from among wild or -strayed animals his farm stock, and creates his own food, warmth, and -winter light,--from primitive life like this, to that of the highest -finish, which excludes all thought of analysis. - -The position or prospects of men in a new country may best be made -intelligible by accounts of what the traveller saw and heard while among -them. Pictures serve the purpose better than reports. I will, therefore, -give pictures of some of the many varieties of dwellers that I saw, -amidst their different localities, circumstances, and modes of living. -No one of them is aware how vivid an idea he impresses on the mind of -humanity; nor how distinct a place he fills in her records. No one of -them, probably, is aware how much happier he is than Alexander, in -having before him more worlds to conquer. - -My narratives, or pictures, must be but a few selected from among a -multitude. My chapter would extend to a greater length than any old -novel, if I were to give all I possess. - -The United States are not only vast in extent: they are inestimably rich -in material wealth. There are fisheries and granite quarries along the -northern coasts; and shipping from the whole commercial world within -their ports. There are tanneries within reach of their oak woods, and -manufactures in the north from the cotton growth of the south. There is -unlimited wealth of corn, sugar-cane and beet, hemp, flax, tobacco, and -rice. There are regions of pasture land. There are varieties of grape -for wine, and mulberries for silk. There is salt. There are mineral -springs. There is marble, gold, lead, iron, and coal. There is a chain -of mountains, dividing the great fertile western valley from the busy -eastern region which lies between the mountains and the Atlantic. These -mountains yield the springs by which the great rivers are to be fed for -ever, to fertilize the great valley, and be the vehicle of its commerce -with the world. Out of the reach of these rivers, in the vast breadth of -the north, lie the great lakes, to be likewise the servants of commerce, -and to afford in their fisheries the means of life and luxury to -thousands. These inland seas temper the climate, summer and winter, and -insure health to the heart of the vast continent. Never was a country -more gifted by nature. - -It is blessed also in the variety of its inhabitants. However it may -gratify the pride of a nation to be descended from one stock, it is -ultimately better that it should have been compounded from many nations. -The blending of qualities, physical and intellectual, the absorption of -national prejudices, the increase of mental resources, will be found in -the end highly conducive to the elevation of the national character. -America will find herself largely blessed in this way, however much she -may now complain of the immigration of strangers. She complains of some -for their poverty; but such bring a will to work, and a capacity for -labour. She complains of others for their coming from countries -governed by a despotism; but it is the love of freedom which they cannot -enjoy at home, that brings such. She complains of others that they keep -up their national language, manners, and modes of thinking, while they -use her privileges of citizenship. This may appear ungracious; but it -proceeds from that love of country and home institutions which will make -staunch American patriots of their children's children. It is all well. -The New England States may pride themselves on their population being -homogeneous, while that of other States is mongrel. It is well that -stability should thus have been temporarily provided for in one part of -the Union, which should, for the season, be the acknowledged superior -over the rest: but, this purpose of the arrangement having been -fulfilled, New England may perhaps hereafter admit, what some others see -already, that, if she inherits many of the virtues of the Pilgrims, she -requires fortifying in others; and that a large reinforcement from other -races would help her to throw off the burden of their inherited faults. - -There can scarcely be a finer set of elements for the composition of a -nation than the United States now contain. It will take centuries to -fuse them; and by that time, pride of ancestry,--vanity of physical -derivation,--will be at an end. The ancestry of moral qualities will be -the only pedigree preserved: and of these every civilized nation under -heaven possesses an ample, and probably an equal, share. Let the United -States then cherish their industrious Germans and Dutch; their hardy -Irish; their intelligent Scotch; their kindly Africans, as well as the -intellectual Yankee, the insouciant Southerner, and the complacent -Westerner. All are good in their way; and augment the moral value of -their country, as diversities of soil, climate, and productions, do its -material wealth. - -Among the most interesting personages in the United States, are the -Solitaries;--solitary families, not individuals. Europeans, who think it -much to lodge in a country cottage for six weeks in the summer, can form -little idea of the life of a solitary family in the wilds. I did not see -the most sequestered, as I never happened to lose my way in the forests -or on the prairies: but I witnessed some modes of life which realized -all I had conceived of the romantic, or of the dismal. - -One rainy October day, I saw a settler at work in the forest, on which -he appeared to have just entered. His clearing looked, in comparison -with the forest behind him, of about the size of a pincushion. He was -standing, up to the knees in water, among the stubborn stumps, and -charred stems of dead trees. He was notching logs with his axe, beside -his small log hut and stye. There was swamp behind, and swamp on each -side;--a pool of mud around each dead tree, which had been wont to drink -the moisture. There was a semblance of a tumble-down fence: no orchard -yet; no grave-yard; no poultry; none of the graces of fixed habitation -had grown up. On looking back to catch a last view of the scene, I saw -two little boys, about three and four years old, leading a horse home -from the forest; one driving the animal behind with an armful of bush, -and the other reaching up on tiptoe to keep his hold of the halter; and -both looking as if they would be drowned in the swamp. If the mother was -watching from the hut, she must have thought this strange dismal play -for her little ones. The hard-working father must be toiling for his -children; for the success of his after life can hardly atone to him for -such a destitution of comfort as I saw him in the midst of. Many such -scenes are passed on every road in the western parts of the States. They -become cheering when the plough is seen, or a few sheep are straggling -on the hill side, seeming lost in space. - -One day, at Niagara, I had spent hours at the Falls, till, longing for -the stillness of the forest, I wandered deep into its wild paths, -meeting nothing but the belled heifer, grazing, and the slim, clean -swine which live on the mast and roots they can find for themselves. I -saw some motion in a thicket, a little way from the path, and went to -see what it was. I found a little boy and girl, working away, by turns, -with an axe, at the branches of a huge hickory, which had been lately -felled. "Father" had felled the hickory the day before, and had sent the -children to make faggots from the branches. They were heated and out of -breath. I had heard of the toughness of hickory, and longed to know what -the labour of wood-cutting really was. Here was an irresistible -opportunity for an experiment I made the children sit down on the fallen -tree, and find out the use of my ear-trumpet, while I helped to make -their faggot. When I had hewn through one stout branch, I was quite -sufficiently warmed, and glad to sit down to hear the children's story. -Their father had been a weaver and a preacher in England. He had brought -out his wife and six children. During the week, he worked at his land, -finding some employment or another for all of his children who could -walk alone; and going some distance on Sundays to preach. This last -particular told volumes. The weaver has not lost heart over his hard -field-labour. His spirit must be strong and lively, to enable him to -spend his seventh day thus, after plying the axe for six. The children -did not seem to know whether they liked Manchester or the forest best; -but they looked stout and rosy. - -They, however, were within reach of church and habitation; buried, as -they appeared, in the depths of the woods. I saw, in New Hampshire, a -family who had always lived absolutely alone, except when an occasional -traveller came to their door, during the summer months. The old man had -run away with his wife, forty-six years before, and brought her to the -Red Mountain, near the top of which she had lived ever since. It was -well that she married for love, for she saw no one but her husband and -children, for many a long year after she jumped out of her window, in -her father's house, to run away. - -Our party, consisting of four, was in the humour to be struck with the -romance of the domestic history of the old man of the mountain, as the -guide is called. We had crossed Lake Winnepisseogee, the day before, and -watched from our piazza, at Centre Harbour, the softening of the evening -light over the broad sheet of water, and the purple islands that rested -upon it. After dark, fires blazed forth from the promontories, and -glimmered in the islands; every flaming bush and burning stem being -distinctly reflected in the grey mirror of the waters. These fires were -signs of civilization approaching the wild districts on which we were -entering. Land on the lake shores has become very valuable; and it is -being fast cleared. - -We were to have set off very early on our mountain expedition, next day; -but the morning was misty, and we did not leave Centre Harbour till near -eight;--nearly an hour and a half after breakfast. We were in a wagon, -drawn by the horses on which the two ladies were to ascend the mountain -from the guide's house. The sky was grey, but promising; for its -curtains were rising at the other end of the lake, and disclosing ridge -after ridge of pines on the mountain side. The road became very rough as -we began to ascend; and it was a wonder to me how the wagon could be -lifted up, as it was, from shelf to shelf of limestone. One shelf sloped -a little too much, even for our wagon. Its line of direction was no -longer within the base, as children are taught at school that it should -be. All the party, except myself, rolled out. The driver, sprawling on -his back on a terribly sharp eminence of limestone, tugged manfully at -the reins, and shouted, "Whoi-ee" as cheerfully as if he had been -sitting on a cushion, in his proper place. He was not a man to desert -his duty in an extremity. He was but little hurt, and nobody else at -all. - -The wagon was left here, and we ascended a mile, a steep path, among -woods and rocks, to the guide's little farm; plunging into a cloud, just -before we reached the house. It was baking day; and we found the old -dame, with a deaf and dumb daughter,--one of three deaf,--busy among new -bread, pies, and apples. Strings of apples hung against the walls; and -there was every symptom of plenty and contentment within and without -doors. The old dame might have been twin sister to Juliet's nurse. She -was delighted to have an opportunity of using her tongue, and was -profuse in her invitations to us to stay,--to come again,--to be -sociable. The exercise she takes in speaking must be one cause of her -buxom health. Out of a pantomime, I never saw anything so energetic as -her action; the deafness of her children being no doubt the cause of -this. She seemed heartily proud of them; the more, evidently, on account -of their singularity. She told us that the daughter now at home had -never left it. "Her father could not spare her to school; but I could -have spared her." What a life of little incidents magnified must their's -be! As one of my companions observed, the bursting of a shoe, or the -breaking of a plate, must furnish talk for a week. The welcome discovery -was made that we had a mutual acquaintance. A beloved friend of mine had -ascended the mountain some weeks before, and had followed her usual -practice of carrying away all the hearts she found there. The old dame -spoke lovingly of her as "that Liza;" and she talked about her till she -had seen my foot into the stirrup, and given me her blessing up the -mountain. - -The path was steep, and the summit bare. There was an opening for a -single moment on our arrival; the mist parted and closed again, having -shown us what a view there was beneath us of green mountains, and blue -ponds, and wooded levels. We were entertained for some time with such -glimpses; more beautiful perhaps than an unrestricted vision. Such -revelations take away one's breath. When all was misty again, we amused -ourselves with gathering blue-berries, which grew profusely under foot. -The old man, too, was ready with any information we desired about -himself; and with abundance of anecdotes of summer travellers, to whom -he had acted as guide. - -He was a soldier of the revolution; and at its close, retired hither, -with his bride, among bears and deer. There are no deer left; and he -killed nineteen bears with his own hand: the last, thirty-five years -before. One of them was nearly the death of him. A shot which he -intended to be mortal was not so. The wounded bear chased him; and there -was nothing to be done but to run round and round a tree, loading his -gun, while the bear was at his heels, blowing foam and blood upon him. -He fired over his shoulder, and dispatched his pursuer. He told us, when -the curtain of mist finally drew up, the opinions of learned men whom he -had conducted hither, about this mountain having once been an island in -the midst of a vast lake. He pointed out how it is, even now, nearly -surrounded by waters; Long Pond, Lake Winnepisseogee, and Squam Lake. -The two last are so crowded with islands that the expression of the -water is broken up. The islands lie in dark slips upon the gleamy -surface, dividing it into too many pond-like portions. But the mountain -horizon was altogether beautiful. Some had sharp peaks, some notched; -the sides of some were bare, with traces of tremendous slides: others, -green as the spring, with wandering sun gleams and cloud shadows. I -found myself much mistaken in my fancy that I did not care for -bird's-eye views. - -The dame was looking out for us when we descended, anxious to detain us -for more talk, and to make us bearers of a present to "that Liza." She -hung some strings of her drying apples over the arm of a gentleman of -the party, with the utmost faith that he would take care of them all the -way to Boston. He kindly received them; and I can testify that he did -his best to make them reach their destination. It was kindness well -bestowed; for no doubt it was a winter luxury of the good dame's to -fancy our mutual friend enjoying her Red Mountain applesauce. The -sending a present to Boston must be a rare event to dwellers in such a -solitude. - -Not many miles from this place, stands a deserted dwelling whose -inhabitants lived in a deeper solitude, and perished all in one night, -far from human aid. No house stands within many miles of it, even now. I -had heard the story before I saw the place; but I had no idea of the -difference between listening to a sad tale, and seeing the spot of which -it is told. In a deep narrow valley among the White Mountains, lived a -family of the name of Willey. Their dwelling was a comfortable -log-house, on a green platform, at the foot of one of the steepest -mountains. There were but few travellers among these mountains in their -day; but those few were kindly welcomed: and the cheerful host and -hostess, and their comely children, were always well spoken of. On a -stormy August night, 1826, a tremendous slide came crashing down the -mountain side, at the rear of the house. If the family had remained in -their chambers, they would have been safe: a rock at the edge of the -green platform, behind the dwelling, parted the slide, so that the -grassy plot remained untouched,--a bright island in the midst, of the -desolation. The family, to the number of nine, were overwhelmed, and all -perished. The bodies of seven were found. The bones of the other two are -doubtless buried under the slide, where rank verdure and young trees are -growing up, as if trying to efface the horrors of the wreck. The scene -must have been dreadful to those who first arrived at the spot, after -the event. The house, safe on its grass plot; its door standing wide; -the beds and clothes of the family showing that they had sprung up from -sleep, and so fled from the only place where they would have been safe; -no one there; a deadly silence brooding over the quiet spot, and chaotic -desolation around;--it is no wonder that the house remains deserted, and -the valley untenanted. - -Some miles further on, the traveller may witness what comfortable cheer -may be afforded by dwellers in the wilderness. All travellers in the -White Mountains know Ethan A. Crawford's hospitality. He cannot be said -to live in solitude, inasmuch as there is another house in the valley: -but everybody is aware how little sociability there is between two -dwellers in a lonely place. One may enjoy life there; and several may -get on well; but two never: and Ethan Crawford's is a virtual solitude, -except for three months in the year. The fate of the Willeys was -uppermost in our minds when we arrived; and we were little prepared for -such entertainment as we found. After a supper of fine lake trout, a son -of our host played to us on a nameless instrument, made by the joiners -who put the house together, and highly creditable to their ingenuity. It -was something like the harmonica in form, and the bagpipes in tone; but, -well-played as it was by the boy, it was highly agreeable. Then Mr. -Crawford danced an American jig, to the fiddling of a relation of his. -The dancing was somewhat solemn; but its good faith made up for any want -of mirth. He had other resources for the amusement of his guests: a gun -wherewith he was wont to startle the mountain echoes, till, one day, it -burst: (leaving nothing for us to do but to look at the fragments:) -also, a horn, which, blown on a calm day, brings a chorus of sweet -responses from the far hill sides. Retirement in such a valley, and with -such resources as Ethan Crawford's, is attractive enough to the passing -traveller; and, to judge by the countenance of the host, anything but -dispiriting to those who have made trial of it. - -No solitude can be more romantic than that at the mouth of the Mammoth -Cave in Kentucky; so called, not because any mammoth-bones have been -found there, but because it is the largest explored cave in the world. I -was told, not only by the guides, but by a gentleman who is learned in -caves, that it can be travelled through, in different directions, to the -extent of sixty miles. We could not think of achieving the entire -underground journey; but we resolved to see all we could; and, for that -purpose, preferred devoting the half of two days to the object, to one -entire day, the weariness of which would probably curtail our rambles. -After a most interesting and exciting journey of nearly two nights and -a day from Nashville, Tennessee, our party, consisting of four, arrived -at Bell's hotel, twelve miles from the cave, at half-past seven, on a -bright May morning. We slept till one o'clock, and then set off in a -stage and four for the cave. My expectations had been so excited, that -every object on the road seemed to paint itself on my very spirit; and I -now feel as if I saw the bright hemp fields, the oak copses, the -gorgeous wild flowers, and clear streams, running over their limestone -beds, that adorned our short journey. - -The house at the cave stands on the greenest sward that earth and dews -can produce; and it grows up to the very walls of the dwelling. The -well, with its sweep,--a long pole, with a rope and bucket at one end, -laid across the top of a high post,--this primitive well, on the same -plot of turf, and the carriage in which two travellers--young men--had -just arrived, were the only occupiers of the grass, besides the house. -We lost no time in proceeding to the cave. The other party of travellers -and the guides carried lamps, and grease to trim them with; an ample -supply of both; for the guides know something of the horrors of being -left in darkness in the mazes of a cave. We went down a steep path into -a glen, from which the golden sunlight seemed reflected, as from water; -so bright was the May verdure. The guides carried our cloaks; which -seemed to us very ridiculous; for we were panting with the heat. But, -when we had wound down to the yawning, shadowy cave, with its diamond -drips and clustering creepers about the entrance, a blast of wintry wind -gushed from it, and chilled our very hearts. I found it possible to -stand on one foot, and be in the midst of melting heat; and leaning -forward on the other, to feel half frozen. The humming birds must be -astonished, when they flit across the entrance, to meet winter in the -middle of the glen, and emerge into summer again on the other side. - -The entrance of the cave serves as an ice-house to the family of the -guide. They keep their meat there, and go to refresh themselves when -relaxed by the heat. The temperature is delightful, after the first two -or three minutes; and we were glad to leave our cloaks by the way side. -The ladies tied handkerchiefs over their heads, and tucked up their -gowns for the scramble over the loose limestone; looking thereby very -picturesque, and not totally unlike the witches in Macbeth. The gloom, -the echo of the footsteps, the hollow sound of voices, the startling -effect of lights seen unexpectedly in a recess, in a crevice, or high -overhead,--these impressions may be recalled in those who have wandered -in caves, but can never be communicated to those who have not. It is in -vain to describe a cave. Call it a chaos of darkness and rocks, with -wandering and inexplicable sounds and motions, and all is done. -Everything appears alive: the slowly growing stalactites, the water ever -dropping into the plashing pool, the whispering airs,--all seem -conscious. The coolness, vastness, suggestions of architecture, and dim -disclosures, occasion different feelings from any that are known under -the lights of the sky. The air in the neighbourhood of the waterfall was -delicious to breathe; and the pool was so clear that I could not, for -some time, see the water, in a pretty full light. That Rembrandt light -on the drip of water, on the piled rocks, and on our figures,--light -swallowed up before it could reach the unseen canopy under which we -stood, can never be forgotten. Milton's lake of fire might have brought -the roof into view:--nothing less. - -The young guides, brothers, were fine dashing youths, as Kentucky youths -are. They told us some horrible tales, and one very marvellous story -about darkness and bewilderment in the labyrinth of the cave. They told -us (before they knew that any of us were English) that "all the lords -and lights of England had been to see the cave, except the king." While -they were about it, they might as well have included his majesty. -Perhaps they have, by this time; good stories being of very rapid -growth. They reported that ladies hold on in the cave better than -gentlemen. One of the party supposed this was because they were lighter; -but the guide believed it was owing to their having more curiosity. - -I was amused at their assurances about the number of miles that we had -walked; and thought it as good a story as any they had told us: but, to -my utter amazement, I found, on emerging from the cave, that the stars -were shining resplendently down into the glen, while the summer -lightning was quivering incessantly over the "verdurous wall" which -sprang up to a lofty height on either hand. There seemed to be none of -the coolness of night abroad. A breathless faintness came over us on -quitting the freshness of the cave, and taught us the necessary caution -of resting awhile at the entrance. - -Supper was ready when we returned; and then the best room was assigned -to the three ladies, while the gentlemen were to have the loft. We saw -the stars through chinks in our walls; but it was warm May, and we -feared no cold. Shallow tin-pans,--milk-pans, I believe,--were furnished -to satisfy our request for ewer and basin. The windows had blinds of -paper-hanging; a common sort of window-blind at hotels, and in country -places. Before it was light, I was wakened by a strong cold breeze -blowing upon me; and at dawn, I found that the entire lower half of the -window was absent. A deer had leaped through it, a few weeks before; and -there had been no opportunity of mending it. But everything was clean; -everybody was obliging; the hostess was motherly; and the conclusion -that we came to in the morning was that we had all slept well, and were -ready for a second ramble in the cave. - -We saw, this day, the Grotto and the Deserted Chamber. Few visitors -attempt the grotto, the entrance to it being in one part only a foot and -a half high. We were obliged, not only to go on hands and knees, but to -crawl lying flat. It is a sensation worth knowing, to feel oneself -imprisoned in the very heart of a mountain, miles from the sun-light, -and with no mode of escape but the imperceptible hole which a child -might block up in five minutes. Never was there a more magnificent -prison or sepulchre. Whether the singularity of our mode of access -magnified to our eyes the beauties we had thereby come into the midst -of, or whether Nature does work most _con amore_ in retired places, this -grotto seemed to us all by far the most beautiful part of the cave. The -dry sandy floor was pleasant to the tread, after the loose limestone; -the pillars were majestic; the freaks of nature most wild and elegant. -The air was so fresh and cool that, if only a Rosicrucian lamp could be -hung in this magnificent chamber, it would be the place of all others in -which to spend the sultry summer's day,--entering when the beauties of -the sunrise had given place to glare, and issuing forth at the rising of -the evening star. - -On our way to the Deserted Chamber, we cut off half a mile by a descent -through a crevice, and a re-ascent by another. We were presently -startled by the apparition of two yellow stars, at what appeared an -immeasurable distance. In this cave, I was reminded, after a total -forgetfulness of many years, of the night-mare visitations of my -childhood; especially of the sense of infinite distance, which used to -terrify me indescribably. Here, too, the senses and the reason were -baulked. Those two yellow stars might have been worlds, many millions of -miles off in space, or,--what they were,--two shabby lamps, fifty yards -off. A new visitor had arrived; and the old man of the solitary house -had brought him down, in hopes of meeting our larger party. One of the -gentlemen presently slipped on the loose stones, and fell into a hole, -with his back against a sharp rock; and he seemed at first unable to -rise. This was the only misadventure we had; and it did not prove a -serious one. He was somewhat shaken and bruised, and rendered unwilling -to go with the rest to the Bottomless Pit: but there was no eventual -injury. He and I staid in the Deserted Chamber, while our companions -disappeared, one by one, through a crevice, on their way to the pit. The -dead silence, and the glimmer of our single lamp, were very striking; -and we were more disposed to look round upon the low-roofed apartment, -piled with stones as far as the eye could reach, than to talk. I tried -to swallow a piece of bread or cake, very like a shoe-sole, and -speculated upon these piles of stones;--by whose hand they were reared, -and how long ago. There is much cane--doubtless, once used for -fuel--scattered about the deeper recesses of the cave; and these stones -were evidently heaped up by human hands: and those not Indian. It is -supposed that this cave was made use of by that mysterious race which -existed before the Indians, and of which so many curious traces remain -in the middle States of the West; a race more civilized, to judge by the -works of their hands, than the Indians have ever been; but of which no -tradition remains. - -Our party returned safe, and refreshed by a draught of water, better -worth having than my luncheon of bread. When we left the cave, our -guides insisted upon it that we had walked, this morning, ten or eleven -miles. I pronounced it four. Others of the party said seven; and the -point remains unsettled. We all agreed that it was twice as much as we -could have accomplished in the heat above ground; and perhaps the most -remarkable walk we had ever taken in our lives. Our hostess was with us -the whole time; and it was amusing to see in her the effect of custom. -She trod the mazes of this cave just as people do the walks of their own -garden. - -The gush of sun-light pouring in at the mouth of the cave, green and -soft, as we emerged from the darkness, was exquisitely beautiful. So was -the foliage of the trees, after the rigid forms which had been printing -themselves upon our eye-sight for so many hours. As we sat at the -entrance, to accustom ourselves to the warm outward air, I saw, growing -high in the steep woods, the richest of kalmias, in full bloom. One of -the gentlemen ran to bring me some; and when it came, it was truly a -feast to the eye. How apt are we to look upon all things as made for us! -How many seasons has this kalmia bloomed? - -We were truly sorry to bid farewell to our motherly hostess, and her -"smart" sons. Theirs is a singular mode of life; and it left nearly as -vivid an impression on our minds as their mighty neighbour, the cave. If -any of us should ever happen to be banished, and to have a home to seek, -I fancy we should look out for a plot of green sward, among flowering -kalmias, near the mouth of an enormous cave, with humming birds flitting -about it by day, and fire-flies and summer lightning by night. - - -In strong contrast in my mind with such a scene as this, stands a gay -encampment in the wilderness, at which I soon after arrived. The -watering places among the Virginia mountains are as new and striking a -spectacle as the United States can afford. The journeyings of those who -visit them are a perpetual succession of contrasts. I may as well give -the whole journey from Cincinnati to the eastern base of the -Alleghanies. - -We left Cincinnati at noon on the 25th of June: as sultry a summer's day -as ever occurs on the Ohio. The glare was reflected from the water with -a blinding and scorching heat; and feather fans were whisking all day in -the ladies' cabin of our steam-boat. Hot as it was, I could not remain -in the shady cabin. The shores of the Ohio are so beautiful, that I -could not bear to lose a single glimpse between the hills. It is -holiday-travelling to have such a succession of pictures as I saw there -made to pass noiselessly before one's eyes. There were the children -running among the gigantic trees on the bank, to see the boat pass; the -girl with her milk-pail, half way up the hill; the horseman on the -ridge, or the wagoner with his ox-team pausing on the slope. Then there -was the flitting blue jay under the cool shadow of the banks; the -butterflies crossing the river in zig-zag flight; the terrapins (small -turtle) floundering in the water, with their pert little heads above the -surface; and the glancing fire-flies every night. - -On the afternoon of this day, we were met by the storm which swept over -the whole country, and which will be remembered as having caused the -death of the son of Chief-Justice Marshall, at Baltimore, on his way to -his dying father. I watched, from the deck, the approach of the storm. -First, the sky, above the white clouds, was of a dark grey, which might -have been mistaken for the deep blue of twilight. Then a mass of black -clouds came hurrying up below the white. Then a flash escaped from out -of the upper grey, darting perpendicularly into the forest; and then -another, exploding like the four rays of a star. I saw the squall -coming in a dark line, straight across the river. Our boat was hurried -under the bank to await it. The burst was furious: a roaring gust, and a -flood of rain, which poured in under our cabin door, close shut as it -was. All was nearly as dark as night for a while, and all silent but the -elements. Then the day seemed to dawn again; but loud peals of thunder -lasted long, and the lightning was all abroad in the air. Faint flashes -now wandered by; and now a brilliant white zig-zag quivered across the -sky. One splendid violet-coloured shaft shot straight down into the -forest; and I saw a tall tree first blaze and then smoulder at the -touch. A noble horse floated by, dead and swollen. When we drew out into -the middle of the river, it was as if spring had come in at the heels of -the dog-days; all was so cool and calm. - -The company on board were of the lowest class we ever happened to meet -with in our travels. They were obliging enough; as everybody is -throughout the country, as far as my experience goes; but otherwise they -were no fair specimens of American manners. One woman excited my -curiosity from the beginning; but I entertained a much more agreeable -feeling towards her when we parted, after several days' travelling in -company. Her first deed was to ask where we were going; and her next, to -take my book out of my lap, and examine it. Much of the rest of her time -was occupied in dressing her hair, which was, notwithstanding, almost as -rough as a negro's. She wore in her head a silver comb, another set with -brilliants, and a third, an enormous tortoiseshell, so stuck in, on one -side, as to remind the observer, irresistibly, of a unicorn. She pulled -down her hair in company, and put it up again, many times in a day, -whenever, as it seemed to me, she could not think of anything else to -be doing. Her young companion, meantime, sat rubbing her teeth with -dragon-root. The other cabin company seemed much of the same class. I -was dressing in my state room between four and five the next morning, -when an old lady, who was presently going ashore, burst in, and snatched -the one tumbler glass from my hand. She was probably as much amazed at -my having carried it out of sight as I was at her mode of recovering it. - -I loved the early morning on the great rivers, and therefore rose at -dawn. I loved the first grey gleams that came from between the hills, -and the bright figures of people in white, (the men all in linen jackets -in hot weather,) on the banks. I loved to watch the river craft; the -fussy steamer making rapid way; the fairy canoe shooting silently -across; the flat-boat, with its wreath of blue smoke, stealing down in -the shadow of the banks, her navigators helping her along in the current -by catching at the branches as they passed: and the perilous looking -raft, with half-a-dozen people on it, under their canopy of green -boughs, their shapeless floor bending and walloping in the middle of the -stream. I loved the trees, looking as if they stood self-poised, their -roots were washed so bare. I loved the dwellings that stood behind their -screen, those on the eastern bank seeming fast asleep; those on the -western shore gay with the flickering shadows cast on them by the breezy -sunrise through the trees. - -On passing Catletsburgh we bade adieu to glorious Kentucky. At that -point, our eyes rested on three sovereign States at one glance, Ohio, -Kentucky, and Virginia. We landed at Guyandot, and proceeded by stage -the next morning to Charleston, on the Kanawha river. The road, all the -way to the Springs, is marvellously good for so wild a part of the -country. The bridges over the streams are, some of them, prettily -finished; and the accommodations by the road side are above the average. -The scenery is beautiful the whole way. We were leaving the great -Western Valley; and the road offered a succession of ascents and levels. -There were many rivulets and small waterfalls; the brier-rose was in -full bloom along the ground; the road ran half way up the wooded hills, -so that there were basins of foliage underneath, the whole apparently -woven into so compact a mass by the wild vine, that it seemed as if one -might walk across the valley on the tree tops. The next day's dawn broke -over the salt works and coal pits, or rather caverns of coal, on the -hill sides. The corn was less tall and rich, the trees were less lofty, -and it was apparent that we were mounting to a higher region. It -occurred to me, in a careless kind of way, that we were now not very far -from the Hawk's Nest. Some ladies in the Guyandot Hotel had said to me, -"Be sure you see the Hawk's Nest." "What is that?" "A place that -travellers can see if they choose; the driver always stops a few minutes -to let them see the Hawk's Nest." I had never heard of it before, and I -never heard of it again. The world is fairly awakened to Niagara; but it -is still drowsy about two scenes which moved me--the one more than -Niagara, the other nearly as much; the platform at Pine Orchard House, -on the top of the Catshills, and the Hawk's Nest. - -The last of the Kanawha River, as we bade adieu to it on the 28th of -June, was smooth and sweet, with its islets of rocks, and the pretty -bridge by which we crossed the Gauley, and entered upon the ascent above -New River. The Gauley and the New River join to make the Kanawha. The -ascent of the mountains above New River is trying to weak nerves. The -horses have to stop, here and there, to rest; and it appears that if -they were to back three steps, it would be death. The road, however, is -really broad, though it appears a mere ledge when the eye catches the -depth below, where the brown river is rushing and brawling in its rocky -bed. A passenger dropped his cap in the steepest part, and the driver -made no difficulty about stopping to let him recover it. What a depth it -was! like the dreamy visions of one's childhood of what winged -messengers may first learn of man's dwelling-place, when they light on a -mountain-top; like Satan's glimpses from the Mount of Soliloquy; like -any unusual or forbidden peep from above into the retirements of nature, -or the arrangements of man. On our left rose the blasted rocks which had -been compelled to yield us a passage; but their aspect was already -softened by the trails of crimson and green creepers which were -spreading over their front. The unmeasured pent-house of wild vine was -still below us on the right, with rich rhododendron blossoms bursting -through, and rock-plants shooting up from every ledge and crevice at the -edge of the precipice. After a long while, (I have nothing to say of -time or distance, for I thought of neither,) a turn in the road shut out -the whole from our sight. I leaned out of the stage, further and -further, to catch, as I supposed, a last glimpse of the tremendous -valley; and when I drew in again, it was with a feeling of deep grief -that such a scene was to be beheld by me no more. I saw a house, a -comfortable homestead, in this wild place, with its pasture and -corn-fields about it; and I longed to get out, and ask the people to let -me live with them. - -In a few minutes the stage stopped. "If any of the passengers wish to go -to the Hawk's Nest ..." shouted the driver. He gave us ten minutes, and -pointed with his whip to a beaten path in the wood to the right. It -seems to me now that I was unaccountably cool and careless about it. I -was absorbed by what I had seen, or I might have known, from the -direction we were taking, that we were coming out above the river again. -We had not many yards to go. We issued suddenly from the covert of the -wood, upon a small platform of rock;--a Devil's Pulpit it would be -called, if its present name were not so much better;--a platform of -rock, springing from the mountain side, without any visible support, and -looking sheer down upon an angle of the roaring river, between eleven -and twelve hundred feet below. Nothing whatever intervenes. Spread out -beneath, shooting up around, are blue mountain peaks, extending in -boundless expanse. No one, I believe, could look down over the edge of -this airy shelf, but for the stunted pines which are fast rooted in it. -With each arm clasping a pine-stem, I looked over, and saw more, I -cannot but think, than the world has in reserve to show me. - -It is said that this place was discovered by Chief Justice Marshall, -when, as a young man, he was surveying among the mountains. But how many -Indians knew it before? How did it strike the mysterious race who gave -place to the Indians? Perhaps one of these may have stood there to see -the summer storm careering below; to feel that his foothold was too -lofty to be shaken by the thunderpeals that burst beneath; to trace the -quiverings of the lightnings afar, while the heaven was clear above his -own head. Perhaps this was the stand chosen by the last Indian, from -which to cast his lingering glance upon the glorious regions from which -the white intruders were driving his race. If so, here he must have -pined and died, or hence he must have cast himself down. I cannot -conceive that from this spot any man could turn away, to go into exile. -But it cannot be that Marshall was more than the earliest of Saxon race -who discovered this place. Nature's thrones are not left to be first -mounted by men who can be made Chief Justices. We know not what races of -wild monarchs may have had them first. - -We travelled the rest of the day through an Alpine region, still full of -beauty. The road is so new that the stopping places seemed to have no -names. The accommodations were wonderfully good. At eleven we reached a -place where we were allowed, not only to sup, but to lie down for two -hours; a similar mercy to that afforded us the night before. Those who -are impatient of fatigue should not attempt this method of reaching the -Virginia Springs, though they are much to be pitied if they adopt any -other. Our first re-entrance upon the world was at Lewisburg, at noon, -on the 29th. It appears to be a neat village. The militia were parading: -very respectable men, I do not doubt, but not much like soldiers. In a -quarter of an hour we were off for the White Sulphur Springs, nine miles -(of dusty road) from Lewisburg, and arrived there at half-past two, just -as the company were dispersing about the walks, after dinner. - -Nothing could be more striking than the contrast between our stage-coach -society and that which was thronging the green area into which we were -driven. We were heated, wearied, shabby, and all of one dust colour, -from head to foot, and, I doubt not, looking very sheepish under the -general stare. Every body else was gay and spruce, and at full leisure -to criticise us. Gentlemen in the piazza in glossy coats and polished -pumps; ladies in pink, blue, and white, standing on green grass, shading -their delicate faces and gay head-dresses under parasols; never was -there a more astonishing contrast than all this presented with what we -had been seeing of late. The friends who were expecting us, however, -were not ashamed of us, and came bounding over the green to welcome us, -and carry us within reach of refreshment. - -It was doubtful whether "a cabin" could be spared to us. We were -fortunate in being so favoured as to be put in possession of one in the -course of the afternoon. Several carriages full of visitors arrived -within a few days, each with its load of trunks, its tin pail dangling -behind (wherewith to water the horses in the wilderness) and its crowd -of expecting and anxious faces at the windows, and were turned back to -seek a resting-place elsewhere. That we were accommodated at all, I -believe to this day to be owing to some secret self-denying ordinance on -the part of our friends. - -On one side of the green, are the large rooms, in which the company at -the Springs dine, play cards, and dance. Also, the bar-room, and stage, -post, and superintendent's offices. The cabins are disposed round the -other sides, and dropped down, in convenient situations behind. These -cabins consist of one, two, or more rooms, each containing a bed, a -table, a looking-glass, and two or three chairs. All company is received -in a room with a bed in it: there is no help for it. The better cabins -have a piazza in front; and all have a back door opening upon the hill -side; so that the attendants, and their domestic business, are kept out -of sight. - -The sulphur fountain is in the middle of the southern end of the green; -and near it is the sulphur bathing-house. The fountain rises in the -midst of a small temple, which is surmounted by a statue of Hygeia, -presented to the establishment by a grateful visitor from New Orleans. - -The water, pure and transparent, and far more agreeable to the eye than -to the taste, forms a pool in its octagon-shaped cistern; and hither -the visitors lounge, three times a day, to drink their two or three -half-pint tumblers of nauseousness. - -I heard many complaints, from new-comers, of the drowsiness caused by -drinking the water. Some lay down to sleep more than once in the day; -and others apologised for their dulness in society; but this is only a -temporary effect, if one may judge by the activity visible on the green -from morning till night. One of the greatest amusements was to listen to -the variety of theories afloat about the properties and modes of -application of the waters. - -These springs had been visited only about fifteen years. No -philosophising on cases appears to have been instituted: no recording, -classifying, inferring, and stating. The patients come from distances of -a thousand miles in every direction, with a great variety of complaints; -they grow better or do not; they go away, and nobody is the wiser for -their experience. It would be difficult to trace them, and to make a -record of anything more than their experience while on the spot. The -application of these waters will probably continue for a long time to be -purely empirical. All that is really known to the patients themselves -is, that they are first sleepy, then ravenous; that they must then leave -the White Sulphur Spring, and go to the Warm Springs, to be bathed; then -to the Sweet Springs, to be braced; and then home, to send all their -ailing friends into Virginia next year. - -Upwards of two hundred visitors were accommodated when I was in the -White Sulphur Valley; and cabins were being built in all directions. The -valley, a deep basin among the mountains; presents such beauties to the -eye, as perhaps few watering-places in the world can boast. There has -been no time yet to lay them open, for the benefit of the invalids; but -there are plans for the formation of walks and drives through the woods, -and along the mountain sides. At present, all is wild, beyond the -precincts of the establishment; and, for the pleasure of the healthy, -for those who can mount, and ramble, and scramble, it seems a pity that -it should not remain so. The mocking-bird makes the woods ring with its -delicious song; and no hand has bridged the rapid streams. If you want -to cross them, you must throw in your own stepping-stones. If you desire -to be alone, you have only to proceed from the gate of the establishment -to the first turn in the road, force your way into the thicket, and look -abroad from your retreat upon as sweet and untouched a scene of mountain -and valley as the eye of the red man loves to rest upon. The gentlemen -who are not invalids go out shooting in the wilderness. A friend of mine -returned from such an expedition, the day after my arrival. He brought -home a deer; had been overtaken by a storm in the mountains, and had, -with his companions, made a house and a fire. Such amusements would -diversify the occupations of Bath and Cheltenham very agreeably. - -The morning after our arrival, we were too weary to be roused by the -notice bell, which rings an hour before every meal; and we were ready -only just in time for the last bell. Breakfast is carried to the cabins, -if required; but every person who is able prefers breakfasting in -company. On rainy mornings, it is a curious sight to see the company -scudding across the green to the public-room, under umbrellas, and in -cloaks and india-rubber shoes. Very unlike the slow pace, under a -parasol, in a July sun. - -There was less meat on the table at breakfast and tea than I was -accustomed to see. The bread and tea were good. For the other eatables -there is little to be said. It is a table spread in the wilderness; and -a provision of tender meat and juicy vegetables for two or three -hundred people is not to be had for the wishing. The dietary is sure to -be improved, from year to year; the most that is to be expected at -present is, that there should be enough for everybody. The sum paid for -board per week is eight dollars; and other charges may make the expenses -mount up to twelve. Pitchers of water and of milk may be seen, at every -meal, all down the tables; little or no wine. - -The establishment is under the management of the proprietor, who has -been offered 500,000 dollars for it, that it may be conducted by a -company of share-holders, who would introduce the necessary -improvements. When I was there, the proprietor was still holding off -from this bargain, the company not being willing to continue to him the -superintendence of the concern. I hope that arrangements, satisfactory -to all parties, may have been made by this time. The average gross -receipts of a season were reported to be 50,000 dollars. It was added -that these might easily be doubled, if all were done that might be. - -Rheumatism and liver complaints seemed the most common grievances. Two -little girls, perhaps four and five years old, sat opposite to me, who -were sufferers from rheumatism. But the visitors who came for pleasure -seemed to outnumber considerably those who came for health. - -After breakfast, we sauntered about the green, and visited various new -acquaintances in their piazzas. Then we went home for our bonnets, and -rambled through the woods, till we were sent back by the rain, and took -shelter beside the fountain. The effect was strange of seeing there a -family of emigrants, parents and nine children, who were walking from -North Carolina into Illinois. There must have been twins among these -children, so many of them looked just alike. The contrast between this -group of way-worn travellers, stopping out of curiosity to taste the -waters, and the gay company among whom they very properly held up their -independent heads, was striking to a stranger. - -We dined at two; and afterwards found that a fire would be comfortable, -though it was the last day of June. As many friends as our room would -hold came home with us, and sat on the bed, table, and the few chairs we -could muster, while one made the wood fire, and another bought -ice-creams, which a country lad brought to the door. These ice-creams -seemed to be thin custard, with a sprinkling of snow in it; but the boy -declared that they were ice-creams when he left home. When we had -finished our dessert, washed and returned the glasses, and joked and -talked till the new-comers of our party grew ashamed of their -drowsiness, we crossed the green to diversify the afternoon amusements -of certain of our friends. Some were romping with their dogs; some -reading books brought by themselves; (for there is no library yet;) some -playing at chess or backgammon; all deploring the rain. - -After tea, we stormed the great scales, and our whole party were -individually weighed. It must be an interesting occupation to the -valetudinarians of the place to watch their own and each others' weight, -from day to day, or from week to week. For my part, I found my weight -just what it always has been, the few times in my life that I have -remembered to ascertain it. Such unenviable persons can never make a -pursuit of the scales, as others can whose gravity is more -discriminating.--From the scales, we adjourned to the ball-room, where I -met friends and acquaintances from Mobile and New Orleans; saw -new-comers from the Carolinas and Georgia; was introduced to personages -of note from Boston; recognized some whom I had known at Philadelphia; -and sat between two gentlemen who had fought a duel. There was music, -dancing, and refreshments; laughing and flirting here; grave -conversation there;--all the common characteristics of a ball, with the -added circumstances that almost every State in the Union was here -represented; and that we were gathered together in the heart of the -mountains. - -One more visit remained to be paid this day. We had promised to look in -upon some friends who were not at the ball, in order to try the charms -and virtues of egg-nogg, which had been lauded to us by an eminent -statesman, who has had opportunity, during his diplomatic missions, to -learn what there is best in this world. The egg-nogg having been duly -enjoyed, we at length went home, to write letters as long as we could -hold up our heads, after so extremely busy a day:--a day which may be -considered a fair specimen of life at the White Sulphur Springs. - -One of the personages whom I referred to as low company, at the -beginning of my story, declared himself in the stage-coach to be a -gambler, about to visit the Springs for professional purposes. He said -to another man, who looked fit company for him, that he played higher at -faro than any man in the country but one. These two men slept while we -were mounting to the Hawk's Nest. People who pursue their profession by -night, as such people do, must sleep in the day, happen what may. They -were rather self-important during the journey; it was a comfort to see -how poor a figure they cut at the Springs. They seemed to sink into the -deepest insignificance that could be desired. Such persons are the pests -of society in the south and west; and they are apt to boast that their -profession is highly profitable in the eastern cities. I fear this is no -empty vaunt. - -We left the White Sulphur Springs, a party of six, in "an extra -exclusive return stage," and with two saddle horses. Nothing could be -more promising. The stage was perfectly new, having been used only to -bring General C---- and his lady from Philadelphia to the Springs. We -had a shrewd and agreeable Yankee driver, for the whole way. The weather -was as fine as July weather ought to be; and as cool as is its wont near -the tops of mountains: the very weather for the saddle, or for having -the stage open on all sides; or for walking. The alternations were -frequently tried. Roses and mountain laurels adorned our road; the -breezy woods cast their shadows over us; and we remembered what waters -were springing beneath us;--that we were passing over the sources of the -mighty rivers of the West, which we had lately navigated with deep awe -and delight. The few dwellings we passed were almost all houses of -entertainment; but nothing could be more quiet than their air, nestling -as they did in the most enviable situations, and resembling more the -lodges in the avenues of the parks of English gentry than the hotels of -the high road. - -We reached the Sweet Springs, twelve miles, I believe, from the White -Sulphur, at half-past two. We were as hungry as mountain travellers -should be, and dinner was over. However, we were soon set down to hot -stewed venison, beet, hominy, ham, and fruit pies; and, thus reinforced, -we issued forth to examine the place. The spring at the bathhouse looked -so tempting, that I resolved to bathe at sun-down, which, in this -valley, would be at five o'clock. The establishment here is inferior to -the one we had left. The green was not paled in; the cabins were more -shabby; the dining-room smaller. We had it almost to ourselves. The -season had not begun, few having been yet sufficiently sulphured and -bathed elsewhere to come here to be braced. The water is a little warm; -it has a slight briskness; and bubbles up prettily in its well under the -piazza. The luxury is to have nothing to do with its disagreeable taste, -but to bathe in it, as it gushes, tepid, from its spout. It would be -worth while, if there were nothing but trouble in crossing the mountains -to get to it. The Sweet Springs lie in one of the highest valleys of the -Alleghanies, and one of the fairest. Five times that afternoon did I -climb the steep breezy slope behind our cabin, bringing first one of our -party, then another, to look abroad; and then returning to enjoy the -sun-set alone. The crowds of blue peaks, the bright clearings, the -clumps of forest trees, lilac in the sunset with the shepherds lying in -their shadow, and the sheep grazing on the sunny slopes, the cluster of -cabins below, with their thin smokes rising straight into the golden -air,--the whole looked as if the near heavens had opened to let down a -gush of their inner light upon this high region. Never shall I forget -those tufty purple hills. Cold twilight came on; and we sat round a -blazing wood fire, telling ghost and murder stories till we could have -declared it was a Christmas night. - -At supper, I observed a hale, brisk, intellectual-looking gentleman who -satisfied himself with a basin of liquid; as he did at breakfast the -next morning; and as he may be seen to do at every meal he takes. He -told us his story. Twenty years before, he nearly closed his oesophagus -by taking too powerful an emetic. For twenty years, he has had no -illness; he rises at dawn all the year round, and has never been known -to be low-spirited for two minutes. We all began to think of living upon -liquids; but I have not heard of any of the party having proceeded -beyond the suggestion. - -We rose at five, the next morning, having thirty mountain miles to go -during the day, with the same horses. It must not be supposed that this -mountain travelling is scrambling among craggy peaks, piercing through -dark defiles, and so forth. The roads wind so gently among the slopes, -that a sleeping or blind traveller would not discover that the carriage -was not, for the greater part of the time, proceeding on level ground. -Woody slopes at hand, and a crowd of blue summits afar, are the most -characteristic features of the scenery. A white speck of a house, on its -tiny green clearing, comes into sight, high up among the hills, from a -turn in the road, and the traveller says to himself, "What a perch to -live on!" In two hours, he stops at that very house to dine, not being -aware how he has got up to it, and looking round with wonder on the snug -comforts of the homestead. - -Our thirty miles of this day were delicious. Having breakfasted, we bade -adieu, at half-past six, to the Sweet Springs, steaming in the bitter -cold morning air, and followed a gentleman of our party who had -proceeded on foot to the top of the first ridge. There we found him, -sitting under a tree, having succeeded in warming himself by the walk. -Up the second ridge, the whole party walked, I having started off, ahead -of the rest. It was warm, and I stopped, here and there, to rest and -gather wild flowers. The rhododendrons and kalmias grew in profusion; -and there were plenty of roses, the fine orange columbine of the hills, -vetches, and a few splendid scarlet lilies. The peeps down into abysses -of foliage were glorious; and, yet more, the cloudlike expanse of -mountain tops, growing bluer and fainter till they faded quite away. A -steep road on an opposite mountain was the only sign of humanity being -near. On the summit, however, there was a small farm. In it lived an -elderly woman, who had never been further from the spot than eight -miles. If she was born to travel no further than eight miles, no better -dwelling place could have been assigned her; for hence she sees more at -a glance, any sunset, than some, with all means of locomotion, have ever -beheld. - -It was a strange feeling, the beginning to descend. It was strange to -cross, soon after, the path of the tornado. I had seen something of its -ravages before, on the banks of the Cumberland river: the stoutest -forest-trees wrenched and twisted, like red-hot iron in the vice of the -blacksmith; and snapped off, all at the same height; so that the forest -looked like a gigantic scorched stubble-field. Here, a similar -desolation was seen in immediate contrast with the rich fertility of the -little valley beneath. The hurricane had seared a path for itself up the -mountain side, passing over the lowly roofs in the depths. We arrived to -dinner at a house on Barber Creek, where we entreated to be fed without -delay, on anything whatsoever that was eatable; as time was precious, -this day. Yet were we kept waiting two hours and a half. I found much to -do by the creek side watching the minnows making their way up against -the current; watching two girls who had set up their washing -establishment in pretty style under a tree beside the water; their wood -fire, black cauldron, and stand of tubs; while the bushes stood round -about to be used as drying horses. I also actually saw a hog voluntarily -walk three times through the clear water; and the delay of the dinner -afforded time for speculation whether the race was not improving. When -the dinner was on the table, no one of us could tell what it consisted -of. The dish from which I ate was, according to some, mutton; to others, -pork: my own idea is that it was dog. Whatever it was, it was at last -done with, and paid for, and I was in my saddle, listening to the creek -as it rattled under the grey rocks. Having crossed one mountain top on -foot, in the morning, I was about to pass another on my horse this -afternoon. There is no describing what it is to be pacing upwards, on -the extreme edge of the steep road, with one's feet hanging over the -green abyss; the shadowy mountains retreating, advancing, interlacing, -opening, to disclose a low far-off bit of meadow, with a diminutive -dwelling, quiet as a lonely star. What blessed work road-making must be -in such places! It was with no little pleasure that, after fourteen -miles from Barber Creek, I saw a fine house on an eminence; and then the -town of Fincastle, spread out below us, on some rising grounds. - -The scenes of the day left me little disposed for sociability in the -evening. We were kept waiting long for supper, by the arrival of a party -of New Yorkers; to avoid an introduction to whom, some of us pretended -to read, and some to be asleep, while others did our duty, talk. The -night closed in worthily. From the balcony of my chamber, I saw how -modestly the young moon eyed with me the region which will be spread -before her for ever, but which I was looking back upon for the last -time. - -Here I must break off; and, instead of adding another description of the -Natural Bridge to the hundred which exist, bring into contrast with life -at the Virginia Springs, life in a New England farm-house. - - -Nothing can he quieter or more refreshing, after a winter's visiting at -Boston or New York, than such an abode in a country village as I made -trial of last May. The weeks slipped away only too fast. Dr. and Mrs. -F., their little boy, six years old, and myself, were fortunate enough -to prevail with a farmer's widow at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, to take -us into her house. The house was conspicuous from almost every part of -the sweet valley into which it looked; the valley of the Housatonic. It -was at the top of a steep hill; a sort of air palace. From our parlour -windows we could see all that went on in the village; and I often found -it difficult to take off my attention from this kind of spying. It was -tempting to trace the horseman's progress along the road, which wound -among the meadows, and over the bridge. It was tempting to watch the -neighbours going in and out, and the children playing in the courts, or -under the tall elms; all the people looking as small and busy as ants -upon a hillock. On week-days there was the ox-team in the field; and on -Sundays the gathering at the church-door. The larger of the two churches -stood in the middle of a green, with stalls behind it for the horses and -vehicles which brought the churchgoers from a distance. It was a pretty -sight to see them converging from every point in the valley, so that the -scene was all alive; and then disappear for the space of an hour and a -half, as if an earthquake had swallowed up all life; and then pour out -from the church door, and, after grouping on the green for a few -minutes, betake themselves homewards. Monument Mountain reared itself -opposite to us, with its thick woods, and here and there a grey crag -protruding. Other mountains closed in the valley, one of which treated -us for some nights with the spectacle of a spreading fire in its woods. -From the bases of these hills, up to our very door-step, there was one -bright carpet of green. Everything, houses, trees, churches, were -planted down into this green, so that there was no interruption but the -one road, and the blue mazy Housatonic. The softness of the scene, early -in a May morning, or when the sun was withdrawing, could not be -surpassed by anything seen under a Greek or Italian sky. Sometimes I -could scarcely believe it real: it looked air-painted, cloud-moulded. - -It was as a favour that the widow Jones[8] took us in. She does not let -lodgings. She opened her house to us, and made us a part of her family. -Two of her daughters were at home, and a married son lived at hand. We -had a parlour, with three windows, commanding different views of the -valley: two good-sized chambers, conveniently furnished, and a large -closet between; our board with the family, and every convenience that -could be provided: and all for two dollars per week each, and half price -for the child. She was advised to ask more, but she refused, as she did -not wish to be "grasping." It was a merry afternoon when we followed the -wagon up the hill to our new abode, and unpacked, and settled ourselves -for our long-expected month of May. Never was unpacking a pleasanter -task. - -The blossomy cherry-tree beside my chamber window was the first object I -saw in the morning when I threw up the sash; and beneath it was a broad -fallow, over which the blue jay flitted. By this window there was an -easy chair and a light table, a most luxurious arrangement for reading. -We breakfasted at half-past seven on excellent bread, potatoes, hung -beef, eggs, and strong tea. We admitted no visitors during the forenoon, -as our theory was that we were very busy people. Writing and reading did -occupy much of our time, but it was surprising how much was left for the -exercise of our tongues. Then there were visits to be made to the -post-office, and the crockery store, and the cobbler; and Charley found -occasion to burst in, a dozen times a-day, with a bunch of violets, or -news of the horse or cow, or of the ride he had had, or of the oxen in -the field. - -We all dined together at two. One of the daughters absented herself at -breakfast, that she might arrange our rooms; but both were present at -dinner, dressed, and ready for their afternoon's occupation of working -and reading. One was fond of flowers, and had learned a great deal about -them. She was skilful in drying them, and could direct us to the places -in the woods and meadows where they grew. Some members of the family, -more literary than the rest, were gone westward; but there was a taste -for books among them all. I often saw a volume on the table of the -widow's parlour, with her spectacles in it. She told me, one day, of her -satisfaction in her children, that they were given to good pursuits, and -all received church members. All young people in these villages are more -or less instructed. Schooling is considered a necessary of life. I -happened to be looking over an old almanack one day, when I found, among -the directions relating to the preparations for winter on a farm, the -following: "Secure your cellars from frost. Fasten loose clap-boards and -shingles. Secure a good school-master." It seemed doubtful, at the first -glance, whether some new farming utensil had not been thus whimsically -named; as the brass plate which hooks upon the fender, or upper bar of -the grate, is called "the footman;" but the context clearly showed that -a man with learning in his head was the article required to be provided -before the winter. The only respect, as far as I know, in which we made -our kind hostess uneasy, was in our neglect of Charley's book-studies. -Charley's little head was full of knowledge of other kinds; but the -widow's children had all known more of the produce of the press at his -age than he; and she had a few anxious thoughts about him. - -In the afternoon we rambled abroad, if the weather was fine; if rainy, -we lighted our wood fire, and pursued our employments of the morning, -not uncheered by a parting gleam from the west; a bar of bright yellow -sky above the hill tops, or a gush of golden light burnishing the dewy -valley at the last. Our walks were along the hill road to the lake, on -the way to Lenox, or through the farmyard and wood to a tumbling brook -in a small ravine. We tried all manner of experiments with moss, stones, -and twigs, among its sunny and shadowy reaches, and tiny falls. We -hunted up marsh flowers, wood anemones, and violets, and unfolded the -delicate ferns, still closely buttoned up, and waiting for the full -power of the summer sun. It was some trouble to me, in America, that I -could not get opportunity to walk so much as I think necessary to -health. It is not the custom there: partly owing to the climate, the -extreme heat of summer, and cold of winter; and partly to the absence of -convenient and pretty walks in and about the cities; a want which, I -trust, will be supplied in time. In Stockbridge much pedestrian exercise -may be and is accomplished; and I took the opportunity of indulging in -it, much to the surprise of some persons, who were not aware how English -ladies can walk. One very warm afternoon, we were going on a visit to -Lenox, five miles off. My friends went in a wagon; I preferred walking. -The widow's son watched me along the road, and then remarked, "You will -see no more of her till you get to Lenox. I would not walk off at that -rate, if they gave me Lenox when I got there." - -In the evenings, we made a descent upon the village, or the village came -up to us. In the latter case, our hostess was always ready with a simple -and graceful welcome, and her best endeavours to provide seats for our -many friends. If we staid below till after nine, the family had gone to -rest on our return. We had only to lift the latch, light our candles, -and make our way to the milk-pans, if we were thirsty. For twenty-five -years, the widow has lived on the top of her hill, with only a latch to -her door. She sleeps undefended, for she has no enemies; and in her -village there are no thieves. - -One night, when we were visiting some friends in the valley, it was -brought home to us what it is to live in a place where there are no -hackney coaches, or other travelling shelter. When we should have been -going home, it was a tremendous spring-storm; wind, thunder and -lightning, and rain in floods. We waited long; but it seemed to have no -intention of abating. When at length we did set out, we were a -remarkable looking troop; a gentlemanly young lawyer in a pea jacket; -the other gentlemen in the roughest coats that could be found; the -ladies leaving bonnets and caps behind, with handkerchiefs over their -heads, India-rubbers on their feet, their dresses tucked up, and cloaks -swathed round them. Our party were speeded up the hill by the fear that -Charley would be wakened and alarmed by the storm; but it was a -breathless sort of novelty to be working our way through one continued -pond to the foot of the hill, and then up the slippery ascent, -unbonneted, with the strangling gust in our faces, and no possibility of -our finding our way in the pitchy darkness but by the flashes of blue -lightning. Well clad as we were, we felt, I believe, something like -being paupers, or gentry of the highway, or some such houseless -personages exposed to the pelting of the pitiless storm. Charley was -found to be sound asleep, and we ourselves no worse off than being -steeped over the ankles. - -The time came too soon when I must leave the beloved village, when I -must see no longer the morning baking and the evening milking; and the -soap cauldron boiling in the open air behind the house, with Charley -mounted on a log, peeping into it; and the reading and working, and -tying up of flowers in the afternoon. The time was come when the -motherly and sisterly kiss were ready for me, and my country life in New -England was at an end. It is well for us that our best pleasures have an -immortality like our own; that the unseen life is a glorification of the -seen. But for this, no one with a human heart would travel abroad, and -attach himself to scenes and persons which he cannot but love, but which -he must leave. - -It was not always that the villagers of New England could place -themselves on hill tops, and leave their doors unfastened. There is a -striking contrast between their present security and the fears of their -forefathers, in the days when the nursling went to church, because it -was unsafe at home, in the absence of its father. Father, mother, and -children, all went on one horse to meet the total population within the -walls of the church; the one parent armed, the other prying about for -traces of the fearful red man. Those were the days when the English -regicides had fled to the colonies, and were there secreted. Those were -the days when anything that was to be made known to all was announced in -church, because everybody was sure to be there; and a fast-day was -ordained if anything very remarkable was to be done, or conveyed. -Sometimes formal announcements were made; sometimes intimations were so -interwoven with the texture of the discourse, as that unfriendly ears, -if such should be present, should not apprehend the meaning. When any -emissary of Charles the Second was prowling in search of a concealed -regicide, the pastor preached from some such text as, "Hide the -outcasts. Bewray not him that wandereth;"[9] and the flock understood -that they were to be on their guard against spies. Charles the Second -could never get hold of one of his enemies who had taken refuge in these -colonies. - -On looking abroad over the valley of the Connecticut, from the top of -Mount Holyoke, I saw the village of Hadley, seated in the meadows, and -extending across a promontory, formed by the winding of the river. This -promontory afforded a secure grazing ground for the cattle by day, which -were driven by night into the area of the village, where the church -stood. Goffe, the regicide, was concealed for many years in the -parsonage at Hadley; all the people in the village, except two or three, -being, in this instance, unaware of an outcast being among them. One -Sunday, the Indians attacked the village while the people were all in -church. The women and children were left in the church, while their -husbands, fathers, and brothers went out to do battle with the cruel -foe. It went hard with the whites; the Indians were fast bearing them -down, when an unknown figure appeared in their ranks, with flowing -robes, streaming white hair, and a glittering sword. The cry was raised -that the angel Gabriel had been sent in answer to the prayers of the -women in the church. Every spirit was cheered, every arm was nerved, and -the Indians were beaten off, with great slaughter. Upon this, Gabriel -vanished; but tradition long preserved the memory of his miraculous -appearance. The very few who recognized in him Goffe, with his undressed -hair, and in his morning gown, kept the secret faithfully. How blessed a -change has come over rural life in Massachusetts since those days! Never -may its peace and security be invaded by those social abuses which are -more hateful than foreign spies; more cruel and treacherous than the -injured and exasperated red man of the wilderness! - - -The contrast is also striking between the country life of New England -and that of the west. I staid for some weeks in the house of a wealthy -land-owner in Kentucky. Our days were passed in great luxury; and some -of hottest of them very idly. The house was in the midst of grounds, gay -with verdure and flowers, in the opening month of June; and our -favourite seats were the steps of the hall, and chairs under the trees. -From thence we could watch the play of the children on the grass-plat, -and some of the drolleries of the little negroes. The red bird and the -blue bird flew close by; and the black and white woodpecker with crimson -head, tapped at all the tree-trunks, as if we were no interruption. We -relished the table fare, after that with which we had been obliged to -content ourselves on board the steam-boats. The tender meat, fresh -vegetables, good claret and champagne, with the daily piles of -strawberries and towers of ice-cream, were welcome luxuries. There were -thirty-three horses in the stables, and we roved about the neighbouring -country accordingly. There was more literature at hand than time to -profit by it. Books could be had at home; but not the woods of -Kentucky;--clear, sunny woods, with maple and sycamore springing up to a -height which makes man feel dwarfish. The glades, with their turf so -clean, every fallen leaf having been absorbed, reminded me of Ivanhoe, I -almost looked for Gurth in my rambles. All this was, not many years ago, -one vast canebrake, with a multitude of buffalo and deer: the pea-vine -spreading everywhere, and the fertility far greater than even now. - -One morning I took a lesson in rifle-shooting; the gentlemen having -brought out their weapons for a few hours' sport among the squirrels. A -rifle does not bounce like a musket, and affords, therefore, an easy -beginning. I took aim at twenty-five paces, and hitting within an inch, -thought it best to leave off with credit. A child of eighteen months -stood in the middle of the gravel-walk, very composedly, while the -rifles were popping off; and his elder brothers were busy examining the -shots. Children seem born to their future pursuits, in new countries. -Negro children seem all born riders and drivers. It was an amusement to -see little children that in England could not hold themselves on a large -horse, playing pranks with a whole equipage that they were leading to -water. - -In the afternoon of this day we took a long drive in search of buffalo; -the only herd of those hideous animals now to be seen in Kentucky. None -of the family liked to be left behind, so we filled the barouche and the -phaeton, and Master H., eight years old, in his garden costume, mounted -the mare, whose foal could not be induced to remain at home, and -frolicked beside us all the way. We rattled on through lanes, over open -ground above a pond, beneath locust groves, and beechen shades, seeing -herds of mules, and the finest of cattle within the verge of the woods. -The mules are raised for exportation to the fields of Louisiana. Then we -reached the hill-side where eight buffalo were grazing, four of the pure -and four of a mixed breed. The creatures stood looking at us as if they -had been turned into stone at the sight of us. Their sidelong gaze, as -they stood motionless beside a stump, or beneath a tree, was horrid. I -never saw an eye and attitude of which I should be so much afraid. As -they appeared to have no intention of moving a hair of their tails or -huge necks while we halted, a little slave, named Oliver, was sent up -the hill to put them in motion; there being no danger whatever in the -operation. Oliver disappeared, and no result of his exertions was -visible. When the buffalo and we had mutually stared for another five -minutes, Oliver's master called to him to know what he was about. He -replied that the buffalo looked too hard at him. At last, however, he -went near enough to put them in motion; and then they moved all at once, -each seeming more clumsy than the others in its headlong run. I am glad -to have seen buffalo, but there is nothing to be said for their beauty -or grace. - -In the evening we repaired to the cool grass-plat, to amuse ourselves -with the pretty sport of trying which should find out the first star. It -was then ascertained that two gentlemen present were well qualified to -entertain us with stories of horrible western murders,--more fearful -than any other murders. So we sat till late at night, amidst summer -lightning and the glancing of fire-flies, listening to the most -harrowing and chilling set of tales of human misdeeds and their -retributions, that it ever was my fortune to listen to. The Christmas -firesides of England yield no impressions of horror like the plain facts -of a life in the wilderness, told under the trees, in a sultry night, -while the pale lightning is exploding on the horizon. - -We had tidings of a camp-meeting to be held at some distance, the next -day. I had never seen a camp-meeting; but the notice was too short, and -the distance too great, and I missed the chance. - -One of the slaves of a neighbouring gentleman came and asked his master -what he would give him for two bee-holes. "You are a pretty fellow," -said his master, "to ask me to pay for my own trees." The negro urged -that his master would never have found out the bee-holes for himself; -which was very true. He was referred to his mistress; and it was finally -arranged that three of us English strangers should see the felling of a -bee-tree; a spectacle we had all heard of, but not seen. A large party -dined at this gentleman's house; and, presently after dinner, all set -out in carriages, or on horseback, for the spot in the woods where the -bee-tree stood. It was a shabby black walnut, which seemed scarcely fit -company for the noble array of trees around it. It was of so respectable -a circumference near the ground, however, and the negroes were making -such slow progress into its interior, that it was plain we should have -time for a drive in the woods before the catastrophe; so my host mounted -the box of our barouche, and we wound hither and thither under the -trees, over the rich grass; and, seldom having to stoop to avoid the -branches, catching bright glimpses of a hundred glades. It was a full -hour before the tree fell. We arrived just when it was chopped into the -middle, and some minutes before the event. It is a pretty sight to see -the top branches of the falling glory quiver, its canopy shake, and its -huge bulk come crashing down, while everybody runs away at the shout -which tells that it is coming. This tree fell on the wrong side, and -destroyed several yards of fence, snapping the stakes, and setting them -flying in all directions. - -Straw and sulphur were burned in the hollow of the trunk. A few little -startled bees flew out, and wreaked their vengeance on our host and -myself; but most of them perished very quietly. I was asked whether I -should like to look into the cleft; and when I was stepping over the -bristling branches for the purpose, a bough was put into my hand, with -directions to wave it before me. I returned, stung, but having seen what -I wanted; and then I was told that if I had not waved a bough, I should -have escaped the bees. Mine was the common fate of persons who follow -unasked advice. Our host capered among the trees, with a bee or two -under his cravat and hair. It was impossible to help laughing. A stout -gentleman of the party did the same, under the mere idea of bees being -upon him; and, while tossing his head and arms about, he ran up, with a -great shock, against his own horse; on which sat a little negro, -grinning from ear to ear. The result of the whole was,--half a tumbler -glass full of blackened honey, and the high gratification of the -spectators, native and foreign, unharmed and stung. - -Such is a fair specimen of our life in the West. Contrasts rise up -before my mind's eye, as the scenes of my journeying present themselves; -contrasts in the face of the country, as striking as in the modes of -living. - - -When I was at Salem, in Massachusetts, the friends whose hospitality I -was enjoying proposed an excursion to Cape Ann, (the northern point of -Massachusetts' bay,) and round the peninsula which constitutes the -township of Gloucester. This excursion impressed me strongly, from the -peculiar character of the scenery: but I know not whether it is an -impression which can be conveyed by description. Whether it be or not, I -would recommend all strangers to go and visit this peninsula; and, if -convenient, in fine autumn weather, when the atmosphere lends its best -aid to the characteristic charms of the landscape. - -It was the 19th of October, a foggy morning, when we mounted the -carry-all,--a carriage which holds four,--and drove merrily out of -Salem, upon a carpet of fallen leaves. I love streets that have trees in -them; Summer Street in Boston; State Street in Albany; and Chesnut -Street in Salem. We passed through Beverley, where, as in most of the -small New England towns, the population has a character of its own. At -Marblehead, on the bay, near Salem, the people are noisy, restless, -high-spirited, and democratic. At Beverley, in the near neighbourhood, -they are quiet, economical, sober, and whig. Such, at least, is the -theory: and one fact in this connexion is, that the largest sums in the -Boston savings' banks are from Beverley. We passed over a long -bridge,--a respectable toll-bridge. The Americans are not fond of tolls -of above a certain age,--for fear of monopoly. There is a small bridge, -called Spite Bridge, because it spites the Beverley toll, which is much -used in preference. Seven miles further is Manchester;--how unlike the -English Manchester! A mere with pond-lilies! woods with the glorious -magnolia flourishing in the midst! This is the only place in New England -where the magnolia grows. In summer, parties are formed to visit the -woods; and children make much money as guides and gatherers. -Cabinet-making is the great business of the place. We saw logs of -mahogany lying outside the houses; and much furniture in pieces standing -up against the walls, ready to be packed for New Orleans. The furniture -of the southern cities is almost entirely derived from this -neighbourhood. One manufacturer, who makes the furniture here, and sells -it from his warehouse at New Orleans, has an income of 150,000 dollars. -The inhabitants of Manchester are very prosperous. The houses were all -good, except, here and there, the abode of a drunkard, known by its -unpainted walls, loose shingles, broken shutters, and decayed door-step, -in striking contrast with the neat white or yellow painted houses of the -neighbours, with their bright windows, and spruce Venetian blinds. - -Seven miles further, stands Gloucester; the road to it winding among -wooded rocks; sometimes close down to the shore; and sometimes -overhanging the rippling waters of Massachusetts Bay. The gay autumn -copses harmonized well with the grey granite, out of which they seemed -to grow; and with the pearly sea, sinning out from beneath the -dissolving mist. - -We crossed a little canal which opens into the bay, near Gloucester; and -hastened onto the most interesting ground we had to traverse, stopping -only a few minutes at Gloucester, to consult a map which indicated -almost every rock and house in the peninsula. - -The population of the peninsula is homogeneous. There is probably no -individual beyond Gloucester whose parentage may not be referred to a -particular set of people, at a particular date in English history. It -has great wealth of granite and fish. It is composed of granite; and -almost its only visitors are fish. - -It is a singular region. If a little orchard plot is seen, here and -there it seems rescued by some chance from being grown over with -granite. It was pleasant to see such a hollow, with its apple tree, the -ladder reared against it, the basket beneath, and the children picking -up the fallen fruit. The houses look as if they were squeezed in among -the rocks. The granite rises straight behind a house, encroaches on each -side, and overhangs the roof, leaving space only for a sprinkling of -grass about the door, for a red shrub or two to wave from a crevice, and -a drip of water to flow down among gay weeds. Room for these dwellings -is obtained by blasting the rocks. Formerly, people were frightened at -fragments falling through the roof after a blasting: but now, it has -become too common an occurrence to alarm any body. One precaution is -enforced: no one is allowed to keep more than twenty-eight pounds of -powder in one town or village; and the powder-houses may be seen, -insulated on rocks, and looking something like watch-boxes, at some -distance from every settlement. The school-houses are also remarkable -buildings. The school-house may always be known at a glance: a single -square room, generally painted white or pale green, and reared on a -grassy eminence, with a number of small heads to be seen through the -windows, or little people gathered about the door. There are twenty-one -school-houses in this township of Gloucester, the population of which is -nine thousand. - -We dined at Sandy Bay, in a neat little hotel, whose windows bloomed -with chrysanthemums, nasturtium, and geraniums; and where we feasted on -chowder, an excellent dish when well cooked. It consists of fish, (in -this instance haddock,) stewed in milk, with potatoes. The parlour table -was graced with a fair collection of books; as was almost every parlour -I saw, throughout the country. Sandy Bay is a thriving place. It has a -pretty, and very conspicuous church, and a breakwater, built by the -people, at an expense of 40,000 dollars, but now too small for their -purposes. The Atlantic rolls in upon their coast fiercely in winter: and -the utility of a harbour hereabouts for all vessels, is a sufficient -ground for an application to Congress for an appropriation of 100,000 -dollars, to make a larger breakwater. If the application has succeeded, -Sandy Bay will soon be an important place. While dinner was preparing, -we went down to the little harbour, and saw the dancing fishing-vessels, -the ranges and piles of mackarel barrels, and an immense display of the -fish drying. The mackarel fishery begins in June, and continues almost -through the year. There are three orders of mackarel, to which the -unfortunate individuals which are detained in their summer excursion -are assigned, according to their plumpness; one dollar per barrel being -the superiority of price of one over another. - -After dinner, we proceeded on our travels, first visiting Cape Ann, the -extreme north end of Massachusetts Bay. We had the bay before us, and -the great Atlantic on our left. We ought to have seen Boston; but the -fog had not quite cleared away in the distance. Thatcher's Island was -near, with its two lighthouses, and a bright, green sea playing about -it. Then we turned and drove northward along the shore, with busy and -most picturesque quarries to our left. There were tall poles in the -quarries, with stretched ropes, the pulleys by which the blocks of stone -were raised: there were ox-teams and sleds: there were groups of workmen -in the recesses of the rocks, and beside the teams, and about the little -bays and creeks, where graceful sloops were riding under the lee of tiny -breakwaters, where the embarkation of the stone for foreign parts goes -on. Blocks of granite lay by the road-side, marked, either in reference -to its quality, if for sale; or to its proportion among the materials -which are being prepared to order for some great building in New York, -or Mobile, or New Orleans. Some may wonder how granite should be exposed -for sale in such a district; and who would be likely to buy it. I saw, -this afternoon, gate-posts, corner-posts, and foundations of common -houses, of undressed granite; and, also, an entire house, the abode of -the blacksmith. The friend who sat beside me told me that he hoped to -see many more such mechanics' dwellings before he dies. Stone becomes -cheaper, and wood dearer, continually; and there is no question which is -the more desirable material for those who can afford it. With regard to -beauty merely, I know of no building material to equal granite; dressed -in the city; undressed in the country. We went into a quarry, and saw an -untold wealth of fissured stone. The workmen contrive to pursue their -business even in the winter. When the snow is on the ground, and the -process of drilling is stopped, they remove ordinary pieces out of the -way, and make all clear for their spring labours. They "turn out" -250,000 dollars'-worth a-year; and the demand is perpetually on the -increase. - -Along the north side of the peninsula the road was very pretty. The -grey, distant coast of New Hampshire bounded the sea view. Groups of -children were playing on the sands of a deep cove; and the farmers were -collecting or spreading their manure of sea-weed and fish-heads. Squam -river, which forms the peninsula, flowed out into the sea, and the -village of Annisquam spread along its bank. We crossed the bridge, close -by the only tide mill I ever saw. It works for six hours, and stops for -six, while the flow of the tide fills the pond above. The gates are then -shut, and a water-power is obtained till the tide again flows. - -We saw what we could of Gloucester, on our return to that little town, -before sunset. There are some very good houses, newly-built; and the -place has the air of prosperity that gladdens the eye wherever it turns, -in New England. We ran down to the shore. It is overlooked by a -windmill, from whose grassy platform we beheld the scene in the singular -light which here succeeds an autumn sunset. The sky and sea were, -without exaggeration, of a deep scarlet: Ten Pound Island sat black upon -the waters, with its yellow beacon just lighted. Fishing vessels lay -still, every rope being reflected in the red mirror; and a boat, in -which a boy was sculling across the harbour, was the only moving object. - -After tea, a clergyman and his wife called; and then a long succession -of the hospitable inhabitants of Gloucester came to bid us welcome: from -which it appeared that small articles of intelligence circulate as -rapidly here as in other country-places. In another respect, Gloucester -resembled all the villages and small towns I passed through: in the -pretty attention of presenting flowers. In some of the larger cities, -bouquets of rich and rare flowers were sent to me, however severe might -have been the frost, or however dreary the season. In the smallest -villages, I had offerings, quite as welcome, in bunches of flowers from -the woods and meadows. Many of these last were new to me, and as gladly -received as the luscious hyacinths which greeted me every morning at -Charleston. At Lenox, in Massachusetts, where I spent one night, my -table was covered with meadow-flowers, and with fine specimens of -Jack-in-the-pulpit, and the moccassin-flower, or lady's slipper: and at -Gloucester, when I returned from my early visit to the beach, where I -had been to see the fishermen go out, I found a gorgeous bouquet of -autumn flowers; dahlias more various and rich than could have been -supposed to grow in such a region. - -On our return to Salem, we diverged a little from our road, near -Manchester, to see a farm, whose situation would make an envious person -miserable. The house lies under the shelter of a wooded hill, and enjoys -a glorious view of Massachusetts Bay. The property lies between two -bays, and has a fine fishing-station off the point. The fields look -fertile, and a wide range of pasturage skirts the bay. A woman and -children were busy in the orchard, with a cart and barrels, taking in a -fine crop of apples; and we could only hope that they were sensible of -their privilege in living in such a place. These are the region, -teeming with the virtues of the Pilgrims, and as yet uninfected by the -mercenary and political cowardice of the cities, where the most -gladdening aspects of human life are to be seen. - - -The newly-settled districts of the southern States are as unlike as -possible to all this. They are extreme opposite cases. If human life -presents its fairest aspects in the retired townships of New -England,--some of its very worst, perhaps, are seen in the raw -settlements of Alabama and Mississippi. - -When we drew near to Columbus, Georgia, we were struck with amazement at -the stories that were told, and the anecdotes that were dropped, in the -stage, about recent attempts on human life in the neighbourhood; and at -the number of incidents of the same kind which were the news of the day -along the road. Our driver from Macon had been shot at, in attempting to -carry off a young lady. A gentleman, boarding in the hotel at Columbus, -was shot in the back, in the street, and laid by for months. No inquiry -was made, or nothing came of it. The then present governor of the State -of Mississippi had recently stood over two combatants, pistol in hand, -to see fair play. This _was_ stated as a remarkable fact. The landlord -of the house where we stopped to breakfast on the day we were to reach -Columbus, April 9th, 1835, was, besides keeping a house of -entertainment, a captain of militia, and a member of the legislature of -Georgia. He was talking over with his guests a late case of homicide in -a feud between the Myers and Macklimore families. He declared that he -would have laws like those of the Medes and Persians against homicide; -and, in the same breath, said that if he were a Myers, he would shoot -Mr. Macklimore and all his sons. - -We arrived at Columbus before sunset, and determined to stay a day to -see how the place had got on since Captain Hall saw it cut out of the -woods, ten years before. During the evening, I could do nothing but -watch the Indians from my window. The place swarmed with them; a few -Choctaws, and the rest Creeks. A sad havoc has taken place among them -since; and this neighbourhood has been made the scene of a short but -fierce war. But all looked fair and friendly when we were there. Groups -of Indians were crouching about the entries of the stores, or looking in -at the windows. The squaws went by, walking one behind another, with -their hair, growing low on the forehead, loose, or tied at the back of -the head, forming a fine contrast with the young lady who had presided -at our breakfast-table at five that morning, with her long hair braided -and adorned with brilliant combs, while her fingers shone in pearl and -gold rings. These squaws carried large Indian baskets on their backs, -and shuffled along, bare-footed, while their lords paced before them, -well mounted; or, if walking, gay with blue and red clothing and -embroidered leggings, with tufts of hair at the knees, while pouches and -white fringes dangled about them. They looked like grave merry-andrews; -or, more still, like solemn fanatical harvest men going out for largess. -By eight o'clock they had all disappeared; but the streets were full of -them again the next morning. - -Our hostess was civil, and made no difficulty about giving us a late -breakfast by ourselves, in consideration of our fatigues. Before one -o'clock we dined, in company with seventy-five persons, at one long -table. The provisions were good, but ill-cooked; and the knives so blunt -that it was a mystery to me how the rest of the company obtained so -quick a succession of mouthfuls as they did. - -The Chattahoochee, on whose banks Columbus stands, is unlike any river -I saw in the United States, unless it be some parts of the Susquehanna. -Its rapids, overhung by beech and pine woods, keep up a perpetual -melody, grateful alike to the ear of the white and the red man. It is -broad and full, whirling over and around the rocks with which it is -studded, and under the frail wooden foot-bridge which spans a portion of -its width, between the shore and a pile of rocks in the middle of the -channel. On this foot-bridge I stood, and saw a fish caught in a net -laid among the eddies. A dark fisherman stood on each little promontory; -and a group was assembled about some canoes in a creek on the opposite -Alabama shore, where the steepness of the hills seemed scarcely to allow -a foothold between the rushing water and the ascent. The river is -spanned by a long covered bridge, which we crossed the same night on our -way into Alabama. - -There are three principal streets in Columbus, with many smaller, -branching out into the forest. Some pretty bits of greensward are left, -here and there, with a church, or a detached house upon -each--village-like. There are some good houses, five hotels, and a -population of above 2,000,--as nearly as I could make out among the -different accounts of the accession of inhabitants since the census. The -stores looked creditably stocked; and a great many gentlemanly men were -to be seen in the streets. It bears the appearance of being a thriving, -spacious, handsome village, well worth stopping to see. - -We left it, at seven in the evening, by the long bridge, at the other -end of which we stopped for the driver to hold a parley, about a parcel, -with a woman, who spoke almost altogether in oaths. A gentleman in the -stage remarked, that we must have got quite to the end of the world. -The roads were as bad as roads could be; and we rolled from side to side -so incessantly, as to obviate all chance of sleeping. The passengers -were very patient during the hours of darkness; but, after daylight, -they seemed to think they had been long enough employed in shifting -their weight to keep the coach on its four wheels. "I say, driver," -cried one, "you won't upset us, now daylight is come?" "Driver," shouted -another, "keep this side up." "Gentlemen," replied the driver, "I shall -mind nothing you say till the ladies begin to complain." A reply equally -politic and gallant. - -At half past five, we stopped to breakfast at a log dwelling, composed -of two rooms, with an open passage between. We asked for water and -towel. There was neither basin nor towel; but a shallow tin dish of -water was served up in the open passage where all our fellow-travellers -were standing. We asked leave to carry our dish into the right-hand -room. The family were not all dressed. Into the left-hand room. A lady -lodged there! - -We travelled till sunset through the Creek Territory, the roads -continuing to be extremely bad. The woods were superb in their spring -beauty. The thickets were in full leaf; and the ground was gay with -violets, may-apple, buck-eye, blue lupin, iris, and crow-poison. The -last is like the white lily, growing close to the ground. Its root, -boiled, mixed with corn, and thrown out into the fields, poisons crows. -If eaten by cattle, it injures but does not destroy them. The sour-wood -is a beautiful shrub. To-day it looked like a splendid white fuchsia, -with tassels of black butterflies hanging from the extremities of the -twigs. But the grandest flower of all, perhaps the most exquisite I ever -beheld, is the honeysuckle of the southern woods. It bears little -resemblance to the ragged flower which has the same name elsewhere. It -is a globe of blossoms, larger than my hand, growing firmly at the end -of an upright stalk, with the richest and most harmonious colouring, the -most delicate long anthers, and the flowers exquisitely grouped among -the leaves. It is the queen of flowers. I generally contrived, in my -journeys through the southern States, to have a bunch of honeysuckles in -the stage before my eyes; and they seemed to be visible wherever I -turned, springing from the roots of the forest trees, or dangling from -their topmost boughs, or mixing in with the various greens of the -thickets. - -We saw to-day, the common sight of companies of slaves travelling -westwards; and the very uncommon one of a party returning into South -Carolina. When we overtook such a company proceeding westwards, and -asked where they were going, the answer commonly given by the slaves -was, "Into Yellibama."--Sometimes these poor creatures were encamped -under the care of the slave-trader, on the banks of a clear stream, to -spend a day in washing their clothes. Sometimes they were loitering -along the road; the old folks and infants mounted on the top of a -wagon-load of luggage; the able-bodied, on foot, perhaps silent, perhaps -laughing; the prettier of the girls, perhaps with a flower in the hair, -and a lover's arm around her shoulder. There were wide differences in -the air and gait of these people. It is usual to call the most depressed -of them brutish in appearance. In some sense they are so; but I never -saw in any brute an expression of countenance so low, so lost, as in the -most degraded class of negroes. There is some life and intelligence in -the countenance of every animal; even in that of "the silly sheep," -nothing so dead as the vacant, unheeding look of the depressed slave is -to be seen. To-day, there was a spectacle by the roadside which showed -that this has nothing to do with negro nature; though no such proof is -needed by those who have seen negroes in favourable circumstances, and -know how pleasant an aspect those grotesque features may wear. To-day we -passed, in the Creek Territory, an establishment of Indians who held -slaves. Negroes are anxious to be sold to Indians, who give them -moderate work, and accommodations as good as their own. Those seen -to-day among the Indians, were sleek, intelligent, and cheerful-looking, -like the most favoured house-slaves, or free servants of colour, where -the prejudice is least strong. - -We were on the look-out for Indians, all the way through this Creek -Territory. Some on horseback gave us a grave glance as we passed. Some -individuals were to be seen in the shadow of the forest, leaning against -a tree or a fence. One lay asleep by the roadside, overcome with -"whiskey too much," as they style intoxication. They are so intent on -having their full bargain of whiskey, that they turn their bottle upside -down, when it has been filled to the cork, to have the hollow at the -bottom filled. The piazza at the post-office was full of solemn Indians. -Miserable-looking squaws were about the dwellings, with their naked -children, who were gobbling up their supper of hominy from a wooden -bowl. - -We left the Creek Territory just as the full moon rose, and hoped to -reach Montgomery by two hours before midnight. We presently began to -ascend a long hill; and the gentlemen passengers got out, according to -custom, to walk up the rising ground. In two minutes, the driver -stopped, and came to tell us ladies that he was sorry to trouble us to -get out; but that an emigrant's wagon had blocked up the ford of a creek -which we had to cross; and he feared we might be wetted if we remained -in the stage while he took it through a deeper part. A gentleman was -waiting, he said, to hand us over the log which was to be our bridge. -This gentleman, I believe, was the emigrant himself. I made for what -seemed to me the end of the log; but was deceived by the treacherous -moonlight, which made wood, ground, and water, look all one colour. I -plunged up to the waist into the creek; and, when I was out again, could -hardly keep upon the log for laughing. There was time, before we -overtook the rest of the party, to provide against my taking cold; and -there remained only the ridiculous image of my deliberate walk into the -water. - -It must not be supposed a common circumstance that an emigrant's wagon -was left in a creek. The "camping out" is usually done in a sheltered, -dry spot in the woods, not far from some little stream, where the kettle -may be filled, and where the dusty children may be washed. Sleepy as I -might be, in our night journeys, I was ever awake to this picture, and -never tired of contemplating it. A dun haze would first appear through -the darkness; and then gleams of light across the road. Then the whole -scene opened. If earlier than ten at night, the fire would be blazing, -the pot boiling, the shadowy horses behind, at rest, the groups fixed in -their attitudes to gaze at us, whether they were stretching their -sailcloth on poles to windward, or drawing up the carts in line, or -gathering sticks, or cooking. While watching us, they little thought -what a picture they themselves made. If after midnight, the huge fire -was flickering and smouldering; figures were seen crouching under the -sailcloth, or a head or two was lifted up in the wagon. A solitary -figure was seen in relief against the fire; the watch, standing to keep -himself awake; or, if greeted by our driver, thrusting a pine slip into -the fire, and approaching with his blazing torch to ask or to give -information. In the morning, the places where such encampments have -been cannot be mistaken. There is a clear, trodden space, strewed with -chips and refuse food, with the bare poles which had supported the -sailcloth, standing in the midst, and a scorched spot where the fire had -been kindled. Others, besides emigrants, camp out in the woods. Farmers, -on their way to a distant market, find it cheaper to bring food, and -trust otherwise to the hospitality of dame Nature, than to put up at -hotels. Between the one and the other, we were amply treated with the -untiring spectacle. - -We had bespoken accommodations for the night at the hotel at Montgomery, -by a friend who had preceded us. On our arrival at past eleven o'clock, -we found we were expected; but no one would have guessed it. In my -chamber, there was neither water, nor sheets, nor anything that afforded -a prospect of my getting to rest, wet as my clothes were. We were -hungry, and tired, and cold; and there was no one to help us but a -slave, who set about her work as slaves do. We ate some biscuits that we -had with us, and gave orders, and made requests with so much success as -to have the room in tolerable order by an hour after midnight. When I -awoke in the morning, the first thing I saw was, that two mice were -running after one another round my trunk, and that the floor of the room -seemed to contain the dust of a twelvemonth. The breakfast was to atone -for all. The hostess and another lady, three children, and an array of -slaves, placed themselves so as to see us eat our breakfast; but it -seemed to me that the contents of the table were more wonderful to look -at than ourselves. Besides the tea and coffee, there were corn bread, -buns, buck-wheat cakes, broiled chicken, bacon, eggs, rice, hominy, -fish, fresh and pickled, and beef-steak. The hostess strove to make us -feel at home, and recommended her plentiful meal by her hearty welcome -to it. She was anxious to explain that her house was soon to be in -better order. Her husband was going to Mobile to buy furniture; and, -just now, all was in confusion, from her head slave having swallowed a -fish bone, and being unable to look after the affairs of the house. When -our friends came to carry us to their plantation, she sent in -refreshments, and made herself one of the party, in all heartiness. - -It was Sunday, and we went to the Methodist church, hoping to hear the -regular pastor, who is a highly-esteemed preacher. But a stranger was in -the pulpit, who gave us an extraordinary piece of doctrine, propounded -with all possible vehemence. His text was the passage about the tower of -Siloam; and his doctrine was that great sinners would somehow die a -violent death. Perhaps this might be thought a useful proposition in a -town where life is held so cheap as in Montgomery; but we could not -exactly understand how it was derived from the text. The place was -intensely light and hot, there being no blinds to the windows, on each -side of the pulpit: and the quietness of the children was not to be -boasted of. - -On the way to our friends' plantation, we passed a party of negroes, -enjoying their Sunday drive. They never appear better than on such -occasions, as they all ride and drive well, and are very gallant to -their ladies. We passed a small prairie, the first we had seen; and very -serene and pretty it looked, after the forest. It was green and -undulating, with a fringe of trees. - -Our friends, now residing seven miles from Montgomery, were from South -Carolina; and the lady, at least, does not relish living in Alabama. It -was delightful to me to be a guest in such an abode as theirs. They were -about to build a good house: meantime, they were in one which I liked -exceedingly: a log-house, with the usual open passage in the middle. -Roses and honeysuckles, to which humming-birds resort, grew before the -door. Abundance of books, and handsome furniture and plate, were within -the house, while daylight was to be seen through its walls. In my well -furnished chamber, I could see the stars through the chinks between the -logs. During the summer, I should be sorry to change this primitive kind -of abode for a better. - -It is not difficult to procure the necessaries and comforts of life. -Most articles of food are provided on the plantation. Wine and groceries -are obtained from Mobile or New Orleans; and clothing and furniture from -the north. Tea is twenty shillings English per lb.; brown sugar, -threepence-halfpenny; white sugar, sixpence-halfpenny. A gentleman's -family, where there are children to be educated, cannot live for less -than from seven hundred pounds to one thousand pounds per annum. The -sons take land and buy slaves very early; and the daughters marry almost -in childhood; so that education is less thought of, and sooner ended, -than in almost any part of the world. The pioneers of civilisation, as -the settlers in these new districts may be regarded, care for other -things more than for education; or they would not come. They are, from -whatever motive, money-getters; and few but money-getting qualifications -are to be looked for in them. It was partly amusing, and partly sad, to -observe the young people of these regions; some, fit for a better mode -of life, discontented; some youths pedantic, some maidens romantic, to a -degree which makes the stranger almost doubt the reality of the scenes -and personages before his eyes. The few better educated who come to get -money, see the absurdity, and feel the wearisomeness of this kind of -literary cultivation; but the being in such society is the tax they -must pay for making haste to be rich. - -I heard in Montgomery of a wealthy old planter in the neighbourhood, who -has amassed millions of dollars, while his children can scarcely write -their names. Becoming aware of their deficiencies, as the place began to -be peopled from the eastward, he sent a son of sixteen to school, and a -younger one to college; but they proved "such gawks," that they were -unable to learn, or even to remain in the society of others who were -learning; and their old father has bought land in Missouri, whither he -was about to take his children, to remove them from the contempt of -their neighbours. They are doomed to the lowest office of social beings; -to be the mechanical, unintelligent pioneers of man in the wilderness. -Surely such a warning as this should strike awe into the whole region, -lest they should also perish to all the best purposes of life, by -getting to consider money, not as a means, but an end. - -I suppose there must be such pioneers; but the result is a society which -it is a punishment to its best members to live in. There is pedantry in -those who read; prejudice in those who do not; coxcombry among the young -gentlemen; bad manners among the young ladies; and an absence of all -reference to the higher, the real objects of life. When to all this is -added that tremendous curse, the possession of irresponsible power, -(over slaves,) it is easy to see how character must become, in such -regions, what it was described to me on the spot, "composed of the -chivalric elements, badly combined:" and the wise will feel that, though -a man _may_ save his soul anywhere, it is better to live on bread and -water where existence is most idealized, than to grow suddenly rich in -the gorgeous regions where mind is corrupted or starved amidst the -luxuriance of nature. The hard-working settler of the north-west, who -hews his way into independence with his own hands, is, or may be, exempt -from the curse of this mental corruption or starvation; but it falls -inevitably and heavily upon those who fatten upon the bounty of Nature, -in the society of money-getters like themselves, and through the labours -of degraded fellow-men, whom they hold in their injurious power. - -We saw several plantations while we were in this neighbourhood. Nothing -can be richer than the soil of one to which we went, to take a lesson in -cotton-growing. It will never want more than to have the cotton seed -returned to it. We saw the plough, which is very shallow. Two throw up a -ridge, which is wrought by hand into little mounds. After these are -drilled, the seed is put in by hand. This plantation consists of nine -hundred and fifty acres, and is flourishing in every way. The air is -healthy, as the situation is high prairie land. The water is generally -good; but, after rain, so impregnated with lime, as to be disagreeable -to the smell and taste. Another grievance is, a weed which grows on the -prairie, which the cows like in summer, but which makes the milk so -disagreeable, that cream, half-an-inch thick, is thrown to the pigs. -They only can estimate this evil who know what the refreshment of milk -is in hot climates. Another grievance is, that no trees can be allowed -to grow near the house, for fear of the mosquitoes. Everything else is -done for coolness; there are wide piazzas on both sides of the house; -the rooms are lofty, and amply provided with green blinds; but all this -does not compensate to the eye for the want of the shade of trees. The -bareness of the villages of the south is very striking to the eye of a -stranger, as he approaches them. They lie scorching and glaring on the -rising grounds, or on the plain, hazy with the heat, while the forest, -with its myriads of trees, its depth of shade, is on the horizon. But -the plague of mosquitoes is a sufficient warrant for any sacrifice of -the pleasures of the eye; for they allow but little enjoyment of -anything in their presence. - -On this, and many other estates that we saw, the ladies make it their -business to cut out all the clothes for the negroes. Many a fair pair of -hands have I seen dyed with blue, and bearing the marks of the large -scissars. The slave women cannot be taught, it is said, to cut out even -their scanty and unshapely garments economically. Nothing can be more -hideous than their working costume. There would be nothing to lose on -the score of beauty, and probably much gained, if they could be -permitted to clothe themselves. But it is universally said that they -cannot learn. A few ladies keep a woman for this purpose, very naturally -disliking the coarse employment. - -We visited the negro quarter; a part of the estate which filled me with -disgust, wherever I went. It is something between a haunt of monkeys and -a dwelling-place of human beings. The natural good taste, so remarkable -in free negroes, is here extinguished. Their small, dingy, untidy -houses, their cribs, the children crouching round the fire, the animal -deportment of the grown-up, the brutish chagrins and enjoyments of the -old, were all loathsome. There was some relief in seeing the children -playing in the sun, and sometimes fowls clucking and strutting round the -houses; but otherwise, a walk through a lunatic asylum is far less -painful than a visit to the slave quarter of an estate. The children are -left, during working hours, in the charge of a woman; and they are -bright, and brisk, and merry enough, for the season, however slow and -stupid they may be destined to become. - -My next visit was to a school--the Franklin Institute, in Montgomery, -established by a gentleman who has bestowed unwearied pains on its -organization, and to whose care it does great credit. On our approach, -we saw five horses walking about the enclosure, and five saddles hung -over the fence: a true sign that some of the pupils came from a -distance. The school was hung with prints; there was a collection of -shells; many books and maps; and some philosophical apparatus. The boys, -and a few girls, were steadily employed over their books and mapping; -and nothing could exceed the order and neatness of the place. If the -event corresponds with the appearance, the proprietor must be one of the -most useful citizens the place has yet been honoured with. - -I spent some days at a plantation a few miles from Montgomery, and heard -there of an old lady who treats her slaves in a way very unusual, but -quite safe, as far as appears. She gives them knowledge, which is -against the law; but the law leaves her in peace and quiet. She also -commits to them the entire management of the estate, requiring only that -they should make her comfortable, and letting them take the rest. There -is an obligation by law to keep an overseer; to obviate insurrection. -How she manages about this, I omitted to inquire: but all goes on well; -the cultivation of the estate is creditable, and all parties are -contented. This is only a temporary ease and contentment. The old lady -must die; and her slaves will either be sold to a new owner, whose -temper will be an accident; or, if freed, must leave the State: but the -story is satisfactory in as far as it gives evidence of the -trust-worthiness of the negroes. - -Our drives about the plantation and neighbouring country were delicious. -The inundations from the rivers are remarkable; a perfect Eden appears -when they subside. At the landing place of this plantation, I saw a -board nailed near the top of a lofty tree, and asked what it could be -for. It was the high-water mark. The river, the Alabama, was now upwards -of twenty feet higher than usual; and logs, corn-stalks, and green -boughs were being carried down its rapid current, as often as we went to -the shore. There were evidences of its having laid even houses under -water; but, on its subsiding, it would be found to have left a deposit -of two inches and a half of fine new soil on the fields on either side -of its channel. I never stood on the banks of the southern rivers -without being reminded of Daniell's Views in India and Ceylon: the water -level, shadowy and still, and the thickets actually springing out of it, -with dark-green recesses, with the relief of a slender white stem, or -dangling creeper here and there. Some creepers rise like a ladder, -straight from the water to a bough one hundred and twenty feet high. As -for the softness of the evening light on the water, it is indescribable. -It is as if the atmosphere were purified from all mortal breathings, it -is so bright, and yet not dazzling; there is such a profusion of -verdure. - -There were black women ploughing in the field, with their ugly, scanty, -dingy dresses, their walloping gait, and vacant countenance. There were -scarlet and blue birds flitting over the dark fallows. There was -persimon sprouting in the woods, and the young corn-plants in the field, -with a handful of cotton-seed laid round each sprout. There was a view -from a bluff which fully equalled all my expectations of what the -scenery of the southern States would be; yet, tropical as it was in many -respects, it reminded me strongly of the view from Richmond Hill. We -were standing on the verge of a precipice, of a height which I dare not -specify. A deep fissure to our right was spanned by a log which it made -one shudder to think of crossing. Behind us lay a cotton-field of 7,000 -acres within one fence. All this, and the young aloes, and wild vines, -were little enough like Richmond; and so was the faint blue line of -hills on the horizon; but it was the intervening plain, through which -the river ran, and on which an infinite variety of noble trees grew, as -it appeared, to an interminable distance. Here their tops seemed woven -into compactness; there they were so sprinkled as to display the majesty -and grace of their forms. I looked upon this as a glorification of the -Richmond view. - -It was now the middle of April. In the kitchen garden the peas were -ripening, and the strawberries turning red, though the spring of 1835 -was very backward. We had salads, young asparagus, and radishes. - -The following may be considered a pretty fair account of the provision -for a planter's table, at this season; and, except with regard to -vegetables, I believe it does not vary much throughout the year. -Breakfast at seven; hot wheat bread, generally sour; corn bread, -biscuits, waffles, hominy, dozens of eggs, broiled ham, beef-steak or -broiled fowl, tea and coffee. Lunch at eleven; cake and wine, or -liqueur. Dinner at two; now and then soup (not good,) always roast -turkey and ham; a boiled fowl here, a tongue there; a small piece of -nondescript meat, which generally turns out to be pork disguised; -hominy, rice, hot corn-bread, sweet potatoes; potatoes mashed with -spice, very hot; salad and radishes, and an extraordinary variety of -pickles. Of these, you are asked to eat everything with everything else. -If you have turkey and ham on your plate, you are requested to add -tongue, pork, hominy, and pickles. Then succeed pies of apple, squash, -and pumpkin; custard, and a variety of preserves as extraordinary as the -preceding pickles: pine-apple, peach, limes, ginger, guava jelly, -cocoa-nut, and every sort of plums. These are almost all from the -West-Indies. Dispersed about the table are shell almonds, raisins, -hickory, and other nuts; and, to crown the whole, large blocks of -ice-cream. Champagne is abundant, and cider frequent. Ale and porter may -now and then be seen; but claret is the most common drink. During dinner -a slave stands at a corner of the table, keeping off the flies by waving -a large bunch of peacock's feathers fastened into a handle,--an ampler -fan than those of our grandmothers. - -Supper takes place at six, or seven. Sometimes the family sits round the -table; but more commonly the tray is handed round, with plates which -must be held in the lap. Then follow tea and coffee, waffles, biscuits, -sliced ham or hung-beef, and sweet cake. Last of all, is the offer of -cake and wine at nine or ten. - -The profits of cotton-growing, when I was in Alabama, were thirty-five -per cent. One planter whom I knew had bought fifteen thousand dollars' -worth of land within two years, which he could then have sold for -sixty-five thousand dollars. He expected to make, that season, fifty or -sixty thousand dollars of his growing crop. It is certainly the place to -become rich in; but the state of society is fearful. One of my hosts, a -man of great good-nature, as he shows in the treatment of his slaves, -and in his family relations, had been stabbed in the back in the -reading-room of the town, two years before, and no prosecution was -instituted. Another of my hosts carried loaded pistols for a fortnight, -just before I arrived, knowing that he was lain in wait for by persons -against whose illegal practices he had given information to a -magistrate, whose carriage was therefore broken in pieces, and thrown -into the river. A lawyer with whom we were in company one afternoon, was -sent for to take the deposition of a dying man who had been sitting with -his family in the shade, when he received three balls in the back from -three men who took aim at him from behind trees. The tales of -jail-breaking and rescue were numberless; and a lady of Montgomery told -me that she had lived there four years, during which time no day, she -believed, had passed without some one's life having been attempted, -either by duelling or assassination. It will be understood that I -describe this region as presenting an extreme case of the material -advantages and moral evils of a new settlement, under the institution of -slavery. The most prominent relief is the hospitality,--that virtue of -young society. It is so remarkable, and to the stranger so grateful, -that there is danger of its blinding him to the real state of affairs. -In the drawing-room, the piazza, the barouche, all is so gay and -friendly, there is such a prevailing hilarity and kindness, that it -seems positively ungrateful and unjust to pronounce, even in one's own -heart, that all this way of life is full of wrong and peril. Yet it is -impossible to sit down to reflect, with every order of human beings -filling an equal space before one's mental eye, without being struck to -the soul with the conviction that the state of society, and no less of -individual families, is false and hollow, whether their members are -aware of it or not; that they forget that they must be just before they -can be generous. The severity of this truth is much softened to -sympathetic persons on the spot; but it returns with awful force when -they look back upon it from afar. - -In the slave quarter of a plantation hereabouts I saw a poor wretch who -had run away three times, and been re-captured. The last time he was -found in the woods, with both legs frost-bitten above the knees, so as -to render amputation necessary. I passed by when he was sitting on the -door-step of his hut, and longed to see him breathe his last. But he is -a young man, likely to drag out his helpless and hopeless existence for -many a dreary year. I dread to tell the rest; but such things must be -told sometimes, to show to what a pass of fiendish cruelty the human -spirit may be brought by merely witnessing the exercise of irresponsible -power over the defenceless. I give the very words of the speaker, -premising that she is not American by birth or education, nor yet -English. - -The master and mistress of this poor slave, with their children, had -always treated him and his fellow-slaves very kindly. He made no -complaint of them. It was not from their cruelty that he attempted to -escape. His running away was therefore a mystery to the person to whom I -have alluded. She recapitulated all the clothes that had been given to -him; and all the indulgences, and forgivenesses for his ingratitude in -running away from such a master, with which he had been blessed. She -told me that she had advised his master and mistress to refuse him -clothes, when he had torn his old ones with trying to make his way -through the woods; but his master had been too kind, and had again -covered his nakedness. She turned round upon me, and asked what could -make the ungrateful wretch run away a third time from such a master? - -"He wanted to be free." - -"Free! from such a master!" - -"From any master." - -"The villain! I went to him when he had had his legs cut off, and I said -to him, it serves you right...." - -"What! when you knew he could not run away any more?" - -"Yes, that I did; I said to him, you wretch! but for your master's sake -I am glad it has happened to you. You deserve it, that you do. If I were -your master I would let you die; I'd give you no help nor nursing. It -serves you right; it is just what you deserve. It's fit that it should -happen to you ...!" - -"You did not--you dared not so insult the miserable creature!" I cried. - -"Oh, who knows," replied she, "but that the Lord may bless a word of -grace in season!" - -Some readers may conceive this to be a freak of idiotcy. It was not so. -This person is shrewd and sensible in matters where rights and duties -are not in question. Of these she is, as it appears, profoundly -ignorant; in a state of superinduced darkness; but her character is that -of a clever, and, with some, a profoundly religious woman. Happily, she -has no slaves of her own: at least, no black ones. - -I saw this day, driving a wagon, a man who is a schoolmaster, lawyer, -almanack-maker, speculator in old iron, and dealer in eggs, in addition -to a few other occupations. His must be a very active existence. - -This little history of a portion of my southern journey may give an idea -of what life is in the wilder districts of the south. I will offer but -one more sketch, and that will exemplify life in the wilder districts of -the north. The picture of my travels in and around Michigan will convey -the real state of things there, at present. - -Our travelling party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. L., the before-mentioned -Charley, his father and mother, and myself. We were prepared to see -everything to advantage; for there was strong friendship among us all; -and a very unusual agreement of opinion on subjects which education, -temperament, or the circumstances of the time, made most interesting to -us. The great ornament of the party--our prince of Denmark--was Charley; -a boy of uncommon beauty and promise, and fully worthy of the character -given him by one of our drivers, with whom the boy had ingratiated -himself by his chatter on the box;--"An eternal smart boy, and the -greatest hand at talk I ever came across." - -We landed at Detroit, from Lake Erie, at seven o'clock in the morning of -the 13th of June, 1836. We reached the American just in time for -breakfast. At that long table, I had the pleasure of seeing the -healthiest set of faces that I had beheld since I left England. The -breakfast was excellent, and we were served with much consideration; but -the place was so full, and the accommodations of Detroit are so -insufficient for the influx of people who are betaking themselves -thither, that strangers must patiently put up with much delay and -inconvenience till new houses of entertainment are opened. We had to -wait till near one o'clock before any of us could have a room in which -to dress; but I had many letters to write, and could wait; and before I -had done, Charley came with his shining face and clean collar, to show -me that accommodation had been provided. In the afternoon, we saw what -we could of the place, and walked by the side of the full and tranquil -river St. Clair. The streets of the town are wide and airy; but the -houses, churches, and stores, are poor for the capital city of a -Territory or State. This is a defect which is presently cured, in the -stirring northern regions of the United States. Wooden planks, laid on -the grass, form the pavement, in all the outskirts of the place. The -deficiency is of stone, not of labour. Thousands of settlers are -pouring in every year; and of these, many are Irish, Germans, or Dutch, -working their way into the back country, and glad to be employed for a -while at Detroit, to earn money to carry them further. Paving-stones -will be imported here, I suppose, as I saw them at New Orleans, to the -great improvement of the health and comfort of the place. The block-wood -pavement, of which trial has been made in a part of Broadway, New York, -is thought likely to answer better at Detroit than any other kind, and -is going to be tried. - -The country round Detroit is as flat as can be imagined; and, indeed, it -is said that the highest mountain in the State boasts only sixty feet of -elevation. A lady of Detroit once declared, that if she were to build a -house in Michigan, she would build a hill first. The Canada side of the -river looks dull enough from the city; but I cannot speak from a near -view of it, having been disappointed in my attempts to get over to it. -On one occasion, we were too late for the ferry-boat; and we never had -time again for the excursion. - -A cool wind from the northern lakes blows over the whole face of the -country, in the midst of the hottest days of summer; and in the depth of -winter, the snow never lies deep, nor long. These circumstances may -partly account for the healthiness of the row of faces at the table of -the American. - -The society of Detroit is very choice; and, as it has continued so since -the old colonial days, through the territorial days, there is every -reason to think that it will become, under its new dignities, a more and -more desirable place of residence. Some of its interior society is still -very youthful; a gentleman, for instance, saying in the reading-room, in -the hearing of one of our party, that, though it did not sound well at -a distance, Lynching[10] was the only way to treat Abolitionists: but -the most enlightened society is, I believe, equal to any which is to be -found in the United States. Here we began to see some of the -half-breeds, of whom we afterwards met so many at the north. They are -the children of white men who have married squaws; and may be known at a -glance, not only by the dark complexion, but by the high cheekbones, -straight black hair, and an indescribable mischievous expression about -the eyes. I never saw such imps and Flibbertigibbets as the half-breed -boys that we used to see rowing or diving in the waters, or playing -pranks on the shores of Michigan. - -We had two great pleasures this day; a drive along the quiet Lake St. -Clair, and a charming evening party at General Mason's. After a -pilgrimage through the State of New York, a few exciting days at -Niagara, and a disagreeable voyage along Lake Erie, we were prepared to -enjoy to the utmost the novelty of a good evening party; and we were as -merry as children at a ball. It was wholly unexpected to find ourselves -in accomplished society on the far side of Lake Erie; and there was -something stimulating in the contrast between the high civilisation of -the evening, and the primitive scenes that we were to plunge into the -next day. Though we had to pack up and write, and be off very early in -the morning, we were unable to persuade ourselves to go home till late; -and then we talked over Detroit as if we were wholly at leisure. - -The scenery of Lake St. Clair was new to me. I had seen nothing in the -United States like its level green banks, with trees slanting over the -water, festooned with the wild vine; the groups of cattle beneath them; -the distant steam-boat, scarcely seeming to disturb the grey surface of -the still waters. This was the first of many scenes in Michigan which -made me think of Holland; though the day of canals has not yet arrived. - -15th. An obliging girl at the American provided us with coffee and -biscuits at half-past five, by which time our "exclusive extra" was at -the door. Charley had lost his cap. It was impossible that he should go -bare-headed through the State; and it was lucky for us that a store was -already open where he was furnished in a trice with a willow-hat. The -brimming river was bright in the morning sun; and our road was, for a -mile or two, thronged with Indians. Some of the inhabitants of Detroit, -who knew the most about their dark neighbours, told me that they found -it impossible to be romantic about these poor creatures. We, however, -could not help feeling the excitement of the spectacle, when we saw them -standing in their singularly majestic attitudes by the road-side, or on -a rising ground: one, with a bunch of feathers tied at the back of the -head; another, with his arms folded in his blanket; and a third, with -her infant lashed to a board, and thus carried on her shoulders. Their -appearance was dreadfully squalid. - -As soon as we had entered the woods, the roads became as bad as, I -suppose, roads ever are. Something snapped, and the driver cried out -that we were "broke to bits." The team-bolt had given way. Our -gentlemen, and those of the mail-stage, which happened to be at hand, -helped to mend the coach; and we ladies walked on, gathering abundance -of flowers, and picking our way along the swampy corduroy road. In less -than an hour, the stage took us up, and no more accidents happened -before breakfast. We were abundantly amused while our meal was preparing -at Danversville. One of the passengers of the mail-stage took up a -violin, and offered to play to us. Books with pictures were lying about. -The lady of the house sat by the window, fixing her candle-wicks into -the moulds. In the piazza, sat a party of emigrants, who interested us -much. The wife had her eight children with her; the youngest, puny -twins. She said she had brought them in a wagon four hundred miles; and -if they could only live through the one hundred that remained before -they reached her husband's lot of land, she hoped they might thrive; but -she had been robbed, the day before, of her bundle of baby things. Some -one had stolen it from the wagon. After a good meal, we saw the -stage-passengers stowed into a lumber wagon; and we presently followed -in our more comfortable vehicle. - -Before long, something else snapped. The splinter-bar was broken. The -driver was mortified; but it was no fault of his. Juggernaut's car would -have been "broke to bits" on such a road. We went into a settler's -house, where we were welcomed to rest and refresh ourselves. Three years -before, the owner bought his eighty acres of land for a dollar an acre. -He could now sell it for twenty dollars an acre. He shot, last year, a -hundred deer, and sold them for three dollars a-piece. He and his family -need have no fears of poverty. We dined well, nine miles before reaching -Ypsilanti. The log-houses,--always comfortable when well made, being -easily kept clean, cool in summer, and warm in winter,--have here an air -of beauty about them. The hue always harmonizes well with the soil and -vegetation. Those in Michigan have the bark left on, and the corners -sawn off close; and are thus both picturesque and neat. - -At Ypsilanti, I picked up an Ann Arbor newspaper. It was badly printed; -but its contents were pretty good; and it could happen nowhere out of -America, that so raw a settlement as that at Ann Arbor, where there is -difficulty in procuring decent accommodations, should have a newspaper. - -It was past seven before we left the inn at Ypsilanti, to go thirteen -miles further. We departed on foot. There was a bridge building at -Ypsilanti; but, till it was ready, all vehicles had to go a mile down -the water-side to the ferry, while the passengers generally preferred -crossing the foot-bridge, and walking on through the wood. We found in -our path, lupins, wild geraniums, blue-eye grass, blue iris, wild -sunflower, and many others. The mild summer night was delicious, after -the fatigues of the day. I saw the youngest of golden moons, and two -bright stars set, before we reached Wallace's Tavern, where we were to -sleep. Of course, we were told that there was no room for us; but, by a -little coaxing and management, and one of the party consenting to sleep -on the parlour-floor, everything was made easy. - -16th. We were off by half-past six; and, not having rested quite enough, -and having the prospect of fourteen miles before breakfast, we, with one -accord, finished our sleep in the stage. We reached Tecumseh by -half-past nine, and perceived that its characteristic was chair-making. -Every other house seemed to be a chair manufactory. One bore the -inscription, "Cousin George's Store:" the meaning of which I do not -pretend to furnish. Perhaps the idea is, that purchasers may feel free -and easy, as if dealing with cousin George. Everybody has a cousin -George. Elsewhere, we saw a little hotel inscribed, "Our House;" a -prettier sign than "Traveller's Rest," or any other such tempting -invitation that I am acquainted with. At Tecumseh, I saw the first -strawberries of the season. All that I tasted in Michigan, of prairie -growth, were superior to those of the west, grown in gardens. - -Charley was delighted to-day by the sight of several spotted fawns, -tamed by children. If a fawn be carried a hundred yards from its bush, -it will follow the finder, and remain with him, if kindly treated. They -are prettiest when very young, as they afterwards lose their spots. - -We fairly entered the "rolling country" to-day: and nothing could be -brighter and more flourishing than it looked. The young corn was coming -up well in the settlers' fields. The copses, called "oak-openings," -looked fresh after the passing thunder-showers; and so did the rising -grounds, strewed with wild flowers and strawberries. "The little hills -rejoiced on every side." The ponds, gleaming between the hills and -copses, gave a park-like air to the scenery. The settlers leave trees in -their clearings; and from these came the song of the wood-thrush; and -from the dells the cry of the quail. There seemed to be a gay -wood-pecker to every tree. - -Our only accident to-day was driving over a poor hog: we can only hope -it died soon. Wherever we stopped, we found that the crowds of emigrants -had eaten up all the eggs; and we happened to think eggs the best -article of diet of all on a journey. It occurred to me that we might get -some by the way, and carry them on to our resting-place. All agreed -that we might probably procure them: but how to carry them safely over -such roads was the question. This day we resolved to try. We made a -solemn stir for eggs in a small settlement; and procured a dozen. We -each carried one in each hand,--except Charley, who was too young to be -trusted. His two were wrapped up each in a bag. During eight miles of -jolting, not one was hurt; and we delivered them to our host at -Jonesville with much satisfaction. We wished that some of our -entertainers had been as rich as a Frenchman at Baltimore, who, talking -of his poultry-yard, informed a friend that he had "fifty head of hen." - -At Jonesville, the ladies and Charley were favoured with a large and -comfortable chamber. The gentlemen had to sleep with the multitude -below; ranged like walking-sticks, or umbrellas, on a shop-counter. - -17th. The road was more deplorable than ever to-day. The worst of it -was, that whenever it was dangerous for the carriage, so that we were -obliged to get out, it was, in proportion, difficult to be passed on -foot. It was amusing to see us in such passes as we had to go through -to-day. I generally acted as pioneer, the gentlemen having their ladies -to assist; and it was pleasant to stand on some dry perch, and watch my -companions through the holes and pools that I had passed. Such hopping -and jumping; such slipping and sliding; such looks of despair from the -middle of a pond; such shifting of logs, and carrying of planks, and -handing along the fallen trunks of trees! The driver, meantime, was -looking back provokingly from his box, having dragged the carriage -through; and far behind stood Charley, high and dry, singing or eating -his bit of bread, till his father could come back for him. Three times -this day was such a scene enacted; and, the third time, there was a -party of emigrant ladies to be assisted, too. When it was all over, and -I saw one with her entire feet cased in mud, I concluded we must all be -very wet, and looked at my own shoes: and lo! even the soles were as dry -as when they were made! How little the worst troubles of travelling -amount to, in proportion to the apprehension of them! What a world of -anxiety do travellers suffer lest they should get wet, or be without -food! How many really faint with hunger, or fall into an ague with damp -and cold? I was never in danger of either the one or the other, in any -of the twenty-three States which I visited. - -At one part of our journey to-day, where the road was absolutely -impassable, we went above a mile through the wood, where there was no -track, but where the trees are blazed, to serve as guide-posts, summer -and winter. It was very wild. Our carriage twisted and wound about to -avoid blows against the noble beech-stems. The waters of the swamp -plashed under our wheels, and the boughs crunched overhead. An overturn -would have been a disaster in such a place. We travelled only forty-two -miles this long day; but the weariness of the way was much beguiled by -singing, by a mock oration, story-telling, and other such amusements. -The wit and humour of Americans, abundant under ordinary circumstances, -are never, I believe, known to fail in emergencies, serious or trifling. -Their humour helps themselves and their visitors through any Sloughs of -Despond, as charitably as their infinite abundance of logs through the -swamps of their bad roads. - -We did not reach Sturgis's Prairie till night. We had heard so poor an -account of the stage-house, that we proceeded to another, whose owner -has the reputation of treating his guests magnificently, or not at all. -He treated us on _juste milieu_ principles. He did what he could for us; -and that could not be called magnificent. The house was crowded with -emigrants. When, after three hours waiting, we had supper, two -full-grown persons were asleep on some blankets in the corner of the -room, and as many as fifteen or sixteen children on chairs and on the -floor. Our hearts ached for one mother. Her little girl, two years old, -had either sprained or broken her arm, and the mother did not know what -to do with it. The child shrieked when the arm was touched, and wailed -mournfully at other times. We found in the morning, however, that she -had had some sleep. I have often wondered since how she bore the motion -of the wagon on the worst parts of the road. It was oppressively hot. I -had a little closet, whose door would not shut, and which was too small -to give me room to take off the soft feather-bed. The window would not -keep open without being propped by the tin water-jug; and though this -was done, I could not sleep for the heat. This reminds me of the -considerate kindness of an hotel-keeper in an earlier stage of our -journey. When he found that I wished to have my window open, there being -no fastening, he told me he would bring his own tooth-brush for a -prop,--which he accordingly did. - -18th. Our drive of twelve miles to breakfast was very refreshing. The -roads were the best we had travelled since we left New York State. We -passed through a wilderness of flowers; trailing roses, enormous white -convolvulus, scarlet lilies, and ground-ivy, with many others, being -added to those we had before seen. Milton must have travelled in -Michigan before he wrote the garden parts of "Paradise Lost." Sturgis's -and White Pigeon Prairies are highly cultivated, and look just like any -other rich and perfectly level land. We breakfasted at White Pigeon -Prairie, and saw the rising ground where the Indian chief lies buried, -whose name has been given to the place. - -The charms of the settlement, to us, were a kind landlady, an admirable -breakfast, at which eggs abounded, and a blooming garden. Thirty-seven -miles further brought us to Niles, where we arrived by five in the -afternoon. The roads were so much improved that we had not to walk at -all; which was well, as there was much pelting rain during the day. - -Niles is a thriving town on the river St. Joseph, on the borders of the -Potowatomie territory. Three years ago, it consisted of three houses. We -could not learn the present number of inhabitants; probably because the -number is never the same two days together. A Potowatomie village stands -within a mile; and we saw two Indians on horseback, fording the rapid -river very majestically, and ascending the wooded hills on the other -side. Many Indian women were about the streets; one with a nose-ring; -some with plates of silver on the bosom, and other barbaric ornaments. -Such a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning came on, with a deluge -of rain, that we were prevented seeing anything of the place, except -from our windows. I had sent my boots to a cobbler, over the way. He had -to put on India rubbers, which reached above the knee, to bring his work -home; the street was so flooded. We little imagined for the hour the -real extent and violence of this storm, and the effect it would have on -our journeying. - -The prairie strawberries, at breakfast this morning, were so large, -sweet, and ripe, that we were inclined for more in the course of the -day. Many of the children of the settlers were dispersed near the -road-side, with their baskets, gathering strawberries; they would not -sell any: they did not know what mother would say if they went home -without any berries for father. But they could get enough for father, -too, they were told, if they would sell us what they had already -gathered. No; they did not want to sell. Our driver observed, that money -was "no object to them." I began to think that we had, at last, got to -the end of the world; or rather, perhaps, to the beginning of another -and a better. - -19th. No plan could be more cleverly and confidently laid than ours was -for this day's journey. We were to travel through the lands of the -Potowatomies, and reach the shores of the glorious Lake Michigan, at -Michigan City, in time for an early supper. We were to proceed on the -morrow round the southern extremity of the lake, so as, if possible, to -reach Chicago in one day. It was wisely and prettily planned: and the -plan was so far followed, as that we actually did leave Niles some time -before six in the morning. Within three minutes, it began to rain again, -and continued, with but few and short intervals, all day. - -We crossed the St. Joseph by a rope ferry, the ingenious management of -which, when stage-coaches had to be carried over, was a perpetual study -to me. The effect of crossing a rapid river by a rope-ferry, by -torch-light, in a dark night, is very striking; and not the less so for -one's becoming familiarized with it, as the traveller does in the United -States. As we drove up the steep bank, we found ourselves in the Indian -territory. All was very wild; and the more so for the rain. There were -many lodges in the glades, with the red light of fires hanging around -them. The few log huts looked drenched; the tree-stems black in the wet; -and the very wild flowers were dripping. The soil was sandy; so that the -ugliest features of a rainy day, the mud and puddles, were obviated. -The sand sucked up the rain, so that we jumped out of the carriage as -often as a wild-flower of peculiar beauty tempted us. The bride-like, -white convolvulus, nearly as large as my hand, grew in trails all over -the ground. - -The poor, helpless, squalid Potowatomies are sadly troubled by -squatters. It seems hard enough that they should be restricted within a -narrow territory, so surrounded by whites that the game is sure soon to -disappear, and leave them stripped of their only resource. It is too -hard that they should also be encroached upon by men who sit down, -without leave or title, upon lands which are not intended for sale. I -enjoyed hearing of an occasional alarm among the squatters, caused by -some threatening demonstrations by the Indians. I should like to see -every squatter frightened away from Indian lands, however advantageous -their squatting may be upon lands which are unclaimed, or whose owners -can defend their own property. I was glad to hear to-day that a -deputation of Potowatomies had been sent to visit a distant warlike -tribe, in consequence of the importunities of squatters, who wanted to -buy the land they had been living upon. The deputation returned, -painted, and under other hostile signals, and declared that the -Potowatomies did not intend to part with their lands. We stopped for -some milk, this morning, at the "location" of a squatter, whose wife was -milking as we passed. The gigantic personage, her husband, told us how -anxious he was to pay for the land which repaid his tillage so well; but -that his Indian neighbours would not sell. I hope that, by this time, he -has had to remove, and leave them the benefit of his house and fences. -Such an establishment in the wild woods is the destruction of the -game,--and of those who live upon it. - -At breakfast, we saw a fine specimen of a settler's family. We had -observed the prosperity and cheerfulness of the settlers, all along the -road; but this family exceeded the best. I never saw such an -affectionate set of people. They, like many others, were from one of the -southern States: and I was not surprised to find all emigrants from -North and South Carolina well satisfied with the change they had made. -The old lady seemed to enjoy her pipe, and there was much mirth going on -between the beautiful daughter and all the other men and maidens. They -gave us an excellent breakfast in one of the two lower rooms; the table -being placed across the foot of the two beds. No pains were spared by -them to save us from the wet in the stage; but the rain was too pelting -and penetrating for any defence to avail long. It streamed in at all -corners, and we gave the matter up for the day. We were now entering -Indiana; and one of our intentions had been to see the celebrated Door -Prairie; so called from exquisite views into it being opened through -intervals in the growth of wood with which it is belted. I did obtain -something like an idea of it through the reeking rain, and thought that -it was the first prairie that I had seen that answered to my idea of -one. But I dare say we formed no conception of what it must be in -sunshine, and with the cloud shadows, which adorn a prairie as they do -still water. - -We reached Laporte, on the edge of the Door Prairie, at three o'clock, -and were told that the weather did not promise an easy access to -Michigan City. We changed horses, however, and set forward again on a -very bad road, along the shore of a little lake, which must be pretty in -fine weather. Then we entered a wood, and jolted and rocked from side to -side, till, at last, the carriage leaned three parts over, and stuck. We -all jumped out into the rain, and the gentlemen literally put their -shoulders to the wheel, and lifted it out of its hole. The same little -incident was repeated in half an hour. At five or six miles from -Laporte, and seven from Michigan City, our driver stopped, and held a -long parley with somebody by the road side. The news was that a bridge -in the middle of a marsh had been carried away by a tremendous freshet; -and with how much log-road on either side, could not be ascertained till -the waters should subside. The mails, however, would have to be carried -over, by some means, the next day; and we must wait where we were till -we could profit by the post-office experiment. The next question was, -where were we to be harboured? There was no house of entertainment near. -We shrank from going back to Laporte over the perilous road which was -growing worse every minute. A family lived at hand, who hospitably -offered to receive us; and we were only too ready to accept their -kindness. The good man stopped our acknowledgments by saying, in the -most cheerful manner, "You know you would not have staid with me, if you -could have helped it; and I would not have had you, if I could have -helped it: so no more words about it; but let us make ourselves -comfortable." - -We perceived by a glance at the beard and costume of our host, that -there was something remarkable about him. He was of the Tunker sect of -Baptists, (from _Tunken_, to dip,) a very peculiar sect of religionists. -He explained, without any reserve, his faith, and the reasons on which -it was founded. - -It was all interesting, as showing how the true and the fanciful, the -principle and the emblem, the eternal truth and the supposed type, may -become all mixed together, so as to be received alike as articles of -faith. This man might almost compare with Origen in his mystical -divinations of scripture. The most profitable and delightful part of -his communication related to the operation upon his life and fortunes of -his peace principles. He had gone through life on the non-resistance -principle; and it was animating to learn how well it had served him; as -every high exercise of faith does serve every one who has strength and -simplicity of heart to commit himself to it. It was animating to learn, -not only his own consistency, but the force of his moral power over -others; how the careless had been won to thoughtfulness of his -interests, and the criminal to respect of his rights. He seemed to have -unconsciously secured the promise and the fruit of the life that now is, -more effectually than many who think less of that which is to come. It -was done, he said, by always supposing that the good was in men. His -wife won our hearts by the beauty of her countenance, set off by the -neat plain dress of her sect. She was ill; but they made us thoroughly -comfortable, without apparently discomposing themselves. Sixteen out of -seventeen children were living; of whom two sons and five daughters were -absent, and six sons and three daughters at home: the youngest was three -years old. - -Their estate consists of eight hundred acres, a large portion of which -is not yet broken up. The owner says he walks over the ground once a -year, to see the huckleberries grow. He gave the upset price for the -land; a dollar and a-quarter an acre. He is now offered forty dollars an -acre, and says the land is worth fifty, its situation being very -advantageous; but he does not wish to sell. He has thus become worth -40,000 dollars in the three years which have elapsed since he came out -of Ohio. His sons, as they grow up, settle at a distance; and he does -not want money, and has no inducement to sell. I have no idea, however, -that the huckleberries will be long permitted to grow in peace and -quiet, in so busy a district as this is destined to become. The good man -will be constrained by the march and pressure of circumstances, either -to sell or cultivate. - -The house, log-built, consisted of three rooms; two under one roof; and -another apparently added afterwards. There were also out-houses. In one -of these three rooms, the cooking and eating went on; another was given -up to us ladies, with a few of the little children; and in the other, -the rest of the family, the gentlemen of our party, and another -weather-bound traveller, slept. Huge fires of logs blazed in the -chimneys; two or three of the little ones were offered us as -hand-maidens; and the entire abode was as clean as could be conceived. -Here was comfort! - -As we warmed and dried ourselves in the chimney corners, and looked upon -the clear windows, the bright tin water-pails, and the sheets and towels -as white as snow, we had only one anxiety. It was necessary for Mr. and -Mrs. L. to be at home, a thousand miles off, by a particular day. We had -already met with some delays; and there was no seeing the end of the -present adventure. There was some doubt whether we should not have done -better to cross the southern end of Lake Michigan, from Niles to -Chicago, by a little steam-boat, the Delaware, which was to leave Niles -a few hours after our stage. It had been thought of at Niles; but there -was some uncertainty about the departure of the boat; and we all -anxiously desired to skirt the extremity of this great inland sea, and -to see the new settlements on its shores. Had we done right in incurring -this risk of detention? Right or wrong, here we were; and here we must -wait upon events. - -Our sleep, amidst the luxury of cleanliness and hospitality, was most -refreshing. The next morning it was still raining, but less vehemently. -After breakfast, we ladies employed ourselves in sweeping and dusting -our room, and making the beds; as we had given our kind hostess too much -trouble already. Then there was a Michigan City newspaper to be read; -and I sat down to write letters. Before long, a wagon and four drove up -to the door, the driver of which cried out that if there was any getting -to Michigan City, he was our man. We equipped ourselves in our warmest -and thickest clothing, put on our india rubber shoes, packed ourselves -and our luggage in the wagon, put up our umbrellas, and wondered what -was to be our fate. When it had come to saying farewell, our hostess put -her hands on my shoulders, kissed me on each cheek, and said she had -hoped for the pleasure of our company for another day. For my own part, -I would willingly take her at her word, if my destiny should ever carry -me near the great lakes again. - -We jolted on for two miles and a half through the woods, admiring the -scarlet lilies, and the pink and white moccasin flower, which was -brilliant. Then we arrived at the place of the vanished bridge. Our -first prospect was of being paddled over, one by one, in the smallest of -boats. But, when the capabilities of the place were examined, it was -decided that we should wait in a house on the hill, while the -neighbours, the passengers of the mail-stage, and the drivers, built a -bridge. We waited patiently for nearly three hours, watching the busy -men going in and out, gathering tidings of the freshet, and its effects, -and being pleased to see how affectionate the woman of the house was to -her husband, while she was cross to everybody else. It must have been -vexatious to her to have her floor made wet and dirty, and all her -household operations disturbed by a dozen strangers whom she had never -invited. She let us have some dough nuts, and gave us a gracious glance -or two at parting. - -We learned that a gentleman who followed us from Niles, the preceding -day, found the water nine feet deep, and was near drowning his horses, -in a place which we had crossed without difficulty. This very morning, a -bridge which we had proved and passed, gave way with the stage, and the -horses had to be dug and rolled out of the mud, when they were on the -point of suffocation. Such a freshet had never been known to the present -inhabitants. - -Our driver was an original; and so were some of the other muddy -gentlemen who came in to dry themselves, after their bridge making. One -asked if such an one was not a "smart fellow." "He! he can't see through -a ladder." Our driver informed us, "when they send a man to jail here, -they put him abroad into the woods. Only, they set a man after him, that -they may knew where he is." A pretty expensive method of imprisonment, -though there be no bills for jail building. This man conversed with his -horses in much the same style as with us, averring that they understood -him as well. On one occasion, he boxed the ears of one of the leaders, -for not standing still when bidden, declaring, "If you go on doing so, -I'll give you something you can't buy at the grocer's shop." I was not -before aware that there was anything that was not to be bought at a -back-country grocer's shop. - -At half-past two, the bridge was announced complete, and we re-entered -our wagon, to lead the cavalcade across it. Slowly, anxiously, with a -man at the head of each leader, we entered the water, and saw it rise to -the nave of the wheels. Instead of jolting, as usual, we mounted and -descended each log individually. The mail-wagon followed, with two or -three horsemen. There was also a singularly benevolent personage, who -jumped from the other wagon, and waded through all the doubtful places, -to prove them. He leaped and splashed through the water, which was -sometimes up to his waist, as if it was the most agreeable sport in the -world. In one of these gullies, the fore part of our wagon sank and -stuck, so as to throw us forward, and make it doubtful in what mode we -should emerge from the water. Then the rim of one of the wheels was -found to be loose; and the whole cavalcade stopped till it was mended. I -never could understand how wagons were made in the back-country; they -seemed to be elastic, from the shocks and twisting they would bear -without giving way. To form an accurate idea of what they have to bear, -a traveller should sit on a seat without springs, placed between the -hind wheels, and thus proceed on a corduroy road. The effect is less -fatiguing and more amusing, of riding in a wagon whose seats are on -springs, while the vehicle itself is not. In that case, the feet are -dancing an involuntary jig, all the way; while the rest of the body is -in a state of entire repose. - -The drive was so exciting and pleasant, the rain having ceased, that I -was taken by surprise by our arrival at Michigan City. The driver -announced our approach by a series of flourishes on one note of his -common horn, which made the most ludicrous music I ever listened to. How -many minutes he went on, I dare not say; but we were so convulsed with -laughter that we could not alight with becoming gravity, amidst the -groups in the piazza of the hotel. The man must be first cousin to -Paganini. - -Such a city as this was surely never before seen. It is three years -since it was begun; and it is said to have one thousand five hundred -inhabitants. It is cut out of the forest, and curiously interspersed -with little swamps, which we no doubt saw in their worst condition after -the heavy rains. New, good houses, some only half finished, stood in the -midst of the thick wood. A large area was half cleared. The finished -stores were scattered about; and the streets were littered with stumps. -The situation is beautiful. The undulations of the ground, within and -about it, and its being closed in by lake or forest on every side, -render it unique. An appropriation has been made by Government for a -harbour; and two piers are to be built out beyond the sand, as far as -the clay soil of the lake. Mr. L---- and I were anxious to see the -mighty fresh water sea. We made inquiry in the piazza; and a sandy hill, -close by, covered with the pea vine, was pointed out to us. We ran up -it, and there beheld what we had come so far to see. There it was, deep, -green, and swelling on the horizon, and whitening into a broad and heavy -surf as it rolled in towards the shore. Hence, too, we could make out -the geography of the city. The whole scene stands insulated in my -memory, as absolutely singular; and, at this distance of time, scarcely -credible. I was so well aware on the spot that it would be so, that I -made careful and copious notes of what I saw: but memoranda have nothing -to do with such emotions as were caused by the sight of that enormous -body of tumultuous waters, rolling in apparently upon the helpless -forest,--everywhere else so majestic. - -The day was damp and chilly, as we were told every day is here. There is -scarcely ever a day of summer in which fire is not acceptable. The -windows were dim; the metals rusted, and the new wood about the house -red with damp. We could not have a fire. The storm had thrown down a -chimney; and the house was too full of workmen, providing accommodation -for future guests, to allow of the comfort of those present being much -attended to. We were permitted to sit round a flue in a chamber, where a -remarkably pretty and graceful girl was sewing. She has a widowed mother -to support, and she "gets considerable" by sewing here, where the women -lead a bustling life, which leaves no time for the needle. We had to -wait long for something to eat; that is, till supper time; for the -people are too busy to serve up anything between meals. Two little girls -brought a music book, and sang to us; and then we sang to them; and then -Dr. F. brought me two harebells.--one of the rarest flowers in the -country. I found some at Trenton Falls; and in one or two other rocky -and sandy places; but so seldom as to make a solitary one a great -treasure. - -Our supper of young pork, good bread, potatoes, preserves, and tea, was -served at two tables, where the gentlemen were in proportion to the -ladies as ten to one. In such places, there is a large proportion of -young men who are to go back for wives when they have gathered a few -other comforts about them. The appearance of health was as striking as -at Detroit, and everywhere on this side of Lake Erie. - -Immediately after supper we went for a walk, which, in peculiarity, -comes next to that in the Mammoth Cave; if, indeed, it be second to it. -The scene was like what I had always fancied the Norway coast, but for -the wild flowers, which grew among the pines on the slope, almost into -the tide. I longed to spend an entire day on this flowery and shadowy -margin of the inland sea. I plucked handfuls of pea-vine and other -trailing flowers, which seemed to run over all the ground. We found on -the sands an army, like Pharaoh's drowned host, of disabled butterflies, -beetles, and flies of the richest colours and lustre, driven over the -lake by the storm. Charley found a small turtle alive. An elegant little -schooner, "the Sea Serpent of Chicago," was stranded, and formed a -beautiful object as she lay dark between the sand and the surf. The sun -was going down. We watched the sunset, not remembering that the -refraction above the fresh waters would probably cause some remarkable -appearance. We looked at one another in amazement at what we saw. First, -there were three gay, inverted rainbows between the water and the sun, -then hidden behind a little streak of cloud. Then the sun emerged from -behind this only cloud, urn-shaped; a glistering golden urn. Then it -changed, rather suddenly, to an enormous golden acorn. Then to a precise -resemblance, except being prodigiously magnified, of Saturn with his -ring. This was the most beautiful apparition of all. Then it was quickly -narrowed and elongated till it was like the shaft of a golden pillar; -and thus it went down square. Long after its disappearance, a lustrous, -deep crimson dome, seemingly solid, rested steadily on the heaving -waters. An inexperienced navigator might be pardoned for making all sail -towards it; it looked so real. What do the Indians think of such -phenomena? Probably as the child does of the compass, the upas tree, and -all the marvels of Madame Genlis' story of Alphonso and Dalinda; that -such things are no more wonderful than all other things. The age of -wonder from natural appearances has not arrived in children and savages. -It is one of the privileges of advancing years. A grave Indian, who -could look with apathy upon the cataract and all the tremendous shows of -the wilderness, found himself in a glass-house at Pittsburg. He saw a -glassblower put a handle upon a pitcher. The savage was transported out -of his previous silence and reserve. He seized and grasped the hand of -the workman, crying out that it was now plain that he had had -intercourse with the Great Spirit. I remember in my childhood, being -more struck with seeing a square box made in three minutes out of a -piece of writing-paper, than with all that I read about the loadstone -and the lunar influence upon the tides. In those days I should have -looked upon this Indiana sunset with the same kind of feeling as upon a -cloud which might look "very like a whale." - -We walked briskly home, beside the skiey sea, with the half-grown moon -above us, riding high. Then came the struggling for room to lie down, -for sheets and fresh water. The principal range of chambers could have -been of no manner of use to us, in their present state. There were, I -think, thirty, in one range along a passage. A small bed stood in the -middle of each, made up for use; but the walls were as yet only scantily -lathed, without any plaster; so that everything was visible along the -whole row. They must have been designed for persons who cannot see -through a ladder. - -When I arose at daybreak, I found myself stiff with cold. No wonder: the -window, close to my head, had lost a pane. I think the business of a -perambulating glazier might be a very profitable one, in most parts of -the United States. When we seated ourselves in our wagon, we found that -the leathern cushions were soaked with wet; like so many sponges. They -were taken in to a hot fire, and soon brought out, each sending up a -cloud of steam. Blankets were furnished to lay over them; and we set -off. We were cruelly jolted through the bright dewy woods, for four -miles, and then arrived on the borders of a swamp where the bridge had -been carried away. A man waded in; declared the depth to be more than -six feet; how much more he could not tell. There was nothing to be done -but to go back. Back again we jolted, and arrived at the piazza of the -hotel just as the breakfast-bell was ringing. All the "force" that could -be collected on a hasty summons,--that is, almost every able-bodied man -in the city and neighbourhood, was sent out with axes to build us a -bridge. We breakfasted, gathered and dried flowers, and wandered about -till ten o'clock, when we were summoned to try our fortune again in the -wagon. We found a very pretty scene at the swamp. Part of the "force" -was engaged on our side of the swamp, and part on the other. As we sat -under the trees, making garlands and wreaths of flowers and oakleaves -for Charley, we could see one lofty tree-top after another, in the -opposite forest, tremble and fall; and the workmen cluster about it, -like bees, lop off its branches, and, in a trice, roll it, an ugly log, -into the water, and pin it down upon the sleepers. Charley was as busy -as anybody, making islands in the water at the edge of the marsh. The -moccasin flower grew here in great profusion and splendour. We sat thus -upwards of two hours; and the work done in that time appeared almost -incredible. But the Americans in the back country seem to like the -repairing of accidents--a social employment--better than their regular -labour; and even the drivers appeared to prefer adventurous travelling -to easy journeys. A gentleman in a light gig made the first trial of the -new bridge: our wagon followed, plunging and rocking, and we scrambled -in safety up the opposite bank. - -There were other bad places in the road, but none which occasioned -further delay. The next singular scene was an expanse of sand, before -reaching the lake-shore,--sand, so extensive, hot, and dazzling, as to -realise very fairly one's conceptions of the middle of the Great Desert; -except for the trailing roses which skirted it. I walked on, a-head of -the whole party, till I had lost sight of them behind some low -sand-hills. Other such hills hid the lake from me; and, indeed, I did -not know how near it was. I had ploughed my way through the ankle-deep -sand till I was much heated, and turned in hope of meeting a breath of -wind. At the moment, the cavalcade came slowly into view from behind the -hills; the labouring horses, the listless walkers, and smoothly rolling -vehicles, all painted absolutely black against the dazzling sand. It was -as good as being in Arabia. For cavalcade, one might read caravan. Then -the horses were watered at a single house on the beach; and we proceeded -on the best part of our day's journey; a ride of seven miles on the hard -sand of the beach, actually in the lapsing waves. We saw another vessel -ashore, with her cargo piled upon the beach. The sight of the clear -waters suggested thoughts of bathing. Charley dearly loves bathing. He -follows the very natural practice of expressing himself in abstract -propositions when his emotions are the strongest. He heard the -speculations on the facilities for bathing which might offer at our -resting-place; and besought his mother to let him bathe. He was told -that it was doubtful whether we should reach our destination before -sunset, and whether any body would be able to try the water. Might he -ask his father?--Yes: but he would find his father no more certain than -the rest of us. "Mother," cried the boy, in an agony of earnestness, -"does not a father know when his child ought to bathe?"--There was no -bathing. The sun had set, and it was too cold. - -The single house at which we were to stop for the night, while the -mail-wagon, with its passengers, proceeded, promised well, at first -sight. It was a log-house on a sand-bank, perfectly clean below stairs, -and prettily dressed with green boughs. We had a good supper, (except -that there was an absence of milk,) and we concluded ourselves fortunate -in our resting-place. Never was there a greater mistake. We walked out, -after supper, and when we returned, found that we could not have any -portion of the lower rooms. There was a loft, which I will not describe, -into which, having ascended a ladder, we were to be all stowed. I would -fain have slept on the soft sand, out of doors, beneath the wagon; but -rain came on. There was no place for us to put our heads into but the -loft. Enough. I will only say that this house was, as far as I remember, -the only place in the United States where I met with bad treatment. -Everywhere else, people gave me the best they had,--whether it was bad -or good. - -On our road to Chicago, the next day,--a road winding in and out among -the sand-hills, we were called to alight, and run up a bank to see a -wreck. It was the wreck of the Delaware;--the steamer in which it had -been a question whether we should not proceed from Niles to Chicago. She -had a singular twist in her middle, where she was nearly broken in two. -Her passengers stood up to the neck in water, for twenty-four hours -before they were taken off; a worse inconvenience than any that we had -suffered by coming the other way. The first thing the passengers from -the Delaware did, when they had dried and warmed themselves on shore, -was to sign a letter to the captain, which appeared in all the -neighbouring newspapers, thanking him for the great comfort they had -enjoyed on board his vessel. It is to be presumed that they meant -previously to their having to stand up to their necks in water. - -In the wood which borders the prairie on which Chicago stands, we saw an -encampment of United States' troops. Since the rising of the Creeks in -Georgia, some months before, there had been apprehensions of an Indian -war along the whole frontier. It was believed that a correspondence had -taken place among all the tribes, from the Cumanches, who were engaged -to fight for the Mexicans in Texas, up to the northern tribes among -whom we were going. It was believed that the war-belt was circulating -among the Winnebagoes, the warlike tribe who inhabit the western shores -of Lake Michigan; and the government had sent troops to Chicago, to keep -them in awe. It was of some consequence to us to ascertain the real -state of the case; and we were glad to find that alarm was subsiding so -fast, that the troops were soon allowed to go where they were more -wanted. As soon as they had recovered from the storm which seemed to -have incommoded everybody, they broke up their encampment, and departed. - -Chicago looks raw and bare, standing on the high prairie above the -lake-shore. The houses appeared insignificant, and run up in various -directions, without any principle at all. A friend of mine who resides -there had told me that we should find the inns intolerable, at the -period of the great land sales, which bring a concourse of speculators -to the place. It was even so. The very sight of them was intolerable; -and there was not room for our party among them all. I do not know what -we should have done, (unless to betake ourselves to the vessels in the -harbour,) if our coming had not been foreknown, and most kindly provided -for. We were divided between three families, who had the art of removing -all our scruples about intruding on perfect strangers. None of us will -lose the lively and pleasant associations with the place, which were -caused by the hospitalities of its inhabitants. - -I never saw a busier place than Chicago was at the time of our arrival. -The streets were crowded with land speculators, hurrying from one sale -to another. A negro, dressed up in scarlet, bearing a scarlet flag, and -riding a white horse with housings of scarlet, announced the times of -sale. At every street-corner where he stopped, the crowd flocked round -him; and it seemed as if some prevalent mania infected the whole people. -The rage for speculation might fairly be so regarded. As the gentlemen -of our party walked the streets, store-keepers hailed them from their -doors, with offers of farms, and all manner of land-lots, advising them -to speculate before the price of land rose higher. A young lawyer, of my -acquaintance there, had realised five hundred dollars per day, the five -preceding days, by merely making out titles to land. Another friend had -realised, in two years, ten times as much money as he had before fixed -upon as a competence for life. Of course, this rapid money-making is a -merely temporary evil. A bursting of the bubble must come soon. The -absurdity of the speculation is so striking, that the wonder is that the -fever should have attained such a height as I witnessed. The immediate -occasion of the bustle which prevailed, the week we were at Chicago, was -the sale of lots, to the value of two millions of dollars, along the -course of a projected canal; and of another set, immediately behind -these. Persons not intending to game, and not infected with mania, would -endeavour to form some reasonable conjecture as to the ultimate value of -the lots, by calculating the cost of the canal, the risks from accident, -from the possible competition from other places, &c., and, finally, the -possible profits, under the most favourable circumstances, within so -many years' purchase. Such a calculation would serve as some sort of -guide as to the amount of purchase-money to be risked. Whereas, wild -land on the banks of a canal, not yet even marked out, was selling at -Chicago for more than rich land, well improved, in the finest part of -the valley of the Mohawk, on the banks of a canal which is already the -medium of an almost inestimable amount of traffic. If sharpers and -gamblers were to be the sufferers by the impending crash at Chicago, no -one would feel much concerned: but they, unfortunately, are the people -who encourage the delusion, in order to profit by it. Many a -high-spirited, but inexperienced, young man; many a simple settler, will -be ruined for the advantage of knaves. - -Others, besides lawyers and speculators by trade, make a fortune in such -extraordinary times. A poor man at Chicago had a pre-emption right to -some land, for which he paid in the morning one hundred and fifty -dollars. In the afternoon, he sold it to a friend of mine for five -thousand dollars. A poor Frenchman, married to a squaw, had a suit -pending, when I was there, which he was likely to gain, for the right of -purchasing some land by the lake for one hundred dollars, which would -immediately become worth one million dollars. - -There was much gaiety going on at Chicago, as well as business. On the -evening of our arrival a fancy fair took place. As I was too much -fatigued to go, the ladies sent me a bouquet of prairie flowers. There -is some allowable pride in the place about its society. It is a -remarkable thing to meet such an assemblage of educated, refined, and -wealthy persons as may be found there, living in small, inconvenient -houses on the edge of a wild prairie. There is a mixture, of course. I -heard of a family of half-breeds setting up a carriage, and wearing fine -jewellery. When the present intoxication of prosperity passes away, some -of the inhabitants will go back to the eastward; there will be an -accession of settlers from the mechanic classes; good houses will have -been built for the richer families, and the singularity of the place -will subside. It will be like all the other new and thriving lake and -river ports of America. Meantime, I am glad to have seen it in its -strange early days. - -We dined one day with a gentleman who had been Indian agent among the -Winnebagoes for some years. He and his lady seem to have had the art of -making themselves as absolutely Indian in their sympathies and manners -as the welfare of the savages among whom they lived required. They were -the only persons I met with who, really knowing the Indians, had any -regard for them. The testimony was universal to the good faith, and -other virtues of savage life of the unsophisticated Indians; but they -were spoken of in a tone of dislike, as well as pity, by all but this -family; and they certainly had studied their Indian neighbours very -thoroughly. The ladies of Indian agents ought to be women of nerve. Our -hostess had slept for weeks with a loaded pistol on each side her -pillow, and a dagger under it, when expecting an attack from a hostile -tribe. The foe did not, however, come nearer than within a few miles. -Her husband's sister was in the massacre when the fort was abandoned, in -1812. Her father and her husband were in the battle, and her mother and -young brothers and sisters sat in a boat on the lake near. Out of -seventy whites, only seventeen escaped, among whom were her family. She -was wounded in the ankle, as she sat on her horse. A painted Indian, in -warlike costume, came leaping up to her, and seized her horse, as she -supposed, to murder her. She fought him vigorously, and he bore it -without doing her any injury. He spoke, but she could not understand -him. Another frightful savage came up, and the two led her horse to the -lake, and into it, in spite of her resistance, till the water reached -their chins. She concluded that they meant to drown her; but they -contented themselves with holding her on her horse till the massacre -was over, when they led her out in safety. They were friendly Indians, -sent by her husband to guard her. She could not but admire their -patience when she found how she had been treating her protectors. - -We had the fearful pleasure of seeing various savage dances performed by -the Indian agent and his brother, with the accompaniments of complete -costume, barbaric music, and whooping. The most intelligible to us was -the Discovery Dance, a highly descriptive pantomime. We saw the Indian -go out armed for war. We saw him reconnoitre, make signs to his -comrades, sleep, warm himself, load his rifle, sharpen his -scalping-knife, steal through the grass within rifle-shot of his foes, -fire, scalp one of them, and dance, whooping and triumphing. There was a -dreadful truth about the whole, and it made our blood run cold. It -realised hatred and horror as effectually as Taglioni does love and -grace. - -We were unexpectedly detained over the Sunday at Chicago; and Dr. F. was -requested to preach. Though only two hours' notice was given, a -respectable congregation was assembled in the large room of the Lake -House; a new hotel then building. Our seats were a few chairs and -benches, and planks laid on trestles. The preacher stood behind a rough -pine-table, on which a large Bible was placed. I was never present at a -more interesting service; and I know that there were others who felt -with me. - -From Chicago, we made an excursion into the prairies. Our young -lawyer-friend threw behind him the five hundred dollars per day which he -was making, and went with us. I thought him wise; for there is that to -be had in the wilderness which money cannot buy. We drove out of the -town at ten o'clock in the morning, too late by two hours; but it was -impossible to overcome the introductions to strangers, and the bustle of -our preparations, any sooner. Our party consisted of seven, besides the -driver. Our vehicle was a wagon with four horses. - -We had first to cross the prairie, nine miles wide, on the lake edge of -which Chicago stands. This prairie is not usually wet so early in the -year; but at this time the water stood almost up to the nave of the -wheels: and we crossed it at a walking pace. I saw here, for the first -time in the United States, the American primrose. It grew in profusion -over the whole prairie, as far as I could see; not so large and fine as -in English greenhouses, but graceful and pretty. I now found the truth -of what I had read about the difficulty of distinguishing distances on a -prairie. The feeling is quite bewildering. A man walking near looks like -a Goliath a mile off. I mistook a covered wagon without horses, at a -distance of fifty yards, for a white house near the horizon: and so on. -We were not sorry to reach the belt of trees, which bounded the swamp we -had passed. At a house here, where we stopped to water the horses, and -eat dough nuts, we saw a crowd of emigrants; which showed that we had -not yet reached the bounds of civilisation. A little further on we came -to the river Aux Plaines, spelled on a sign board "Oplain." The ferry -here is a monopoly, and the public suffers accordingly. There is only -one small flat boat for the service of the concourse of people now -pouring into the prairies. Though we happened to arrive nearly first of -the crowd of to-day, we were detained on the bank above an hour; and -then our horses went over at two crossings, and the wagon and ourselves -at the third. It was a pretty scene, if we had not been in a hurry; the -country wagons and teams in the wood by the side of the quiet clear -river; and the oxen swimming over, yoked, with only their patient faces -visible above the surface. After crossing, we proceeded briskly till we -reached a single house, where, or nowhere, we were to dine. The kind -hostess bestirred herself to provide us a good dinner of tea, bread, -ham, potatoes, and strawberries, of which a whole pailful, ripe and -sweet, had been gathered by the children in the grass round the house, -within one hour. While dinner was preparing, we amused ourselves with -looking over an excellent small collection of books, belonging to Miss -Cynthia, the slaughter of the hostess. - -I never saw insulation, (not desolation,) to compare with the situation -of a settler on a wide prairie. A single house in the middle of -Salisbury Plain would be desolate. A single house on a prairie has -clumps of trees near it, rich fields about it; and flowers, -strawberries, and running water at hand. But when I saw a settler's -child tripping out of home-bounds, I had a feeling that it would never -get back again. It looked like putting out into Lake Michigan in a -canoe. The soil round the dwellings is very rich. It makes no dust, it -is so entirely vegetable. It requires merely to be once turned over to -produce largely; and, at present, it appears to be inexhaustible. As we -proceeded, the scenery became more and more like what all travellers -compare it to,--a boundless English park. The grass was wilder, the -occasional footpath not so trim, and the single trees less majestic; but -no park ever displayed anything equal to the grouping of the trees -within the windings of the blue, brimming river Aux Plaines. - -We had met with so many delays that we felt doubts about reaching the -place where we had intended to spend the night. At sunset, we found -ourselves still nine miles from Joliet;[11] but we were told that the -road was good, except a small "slew" or two; and there was half a moon -shining behind a thin veil of clouds; so we pushed on. We seemed -latterly to be travelling on a terrace overlooking a wide champaign, -where a dark, waving line might indicate the winding of the river, -between its clumpy banks. Our driver descended, and went forward, two or -three times, to make sure of our road; and at length, we rattled down a -steep descent, and found ourselves among houses. This was not our -resting-place, however. The Joliet hotel lay on the other side of the -river. We were directed to a foot-bridge by which we were to pass; and a -ford below for the wagon. We strained our eyes in vain for the -foot-bridge; and our gentlemen peeped and pryed about for some time. All -was still but the rippling river, and everybody asleep in the houses -that were scattered about. We ladies were presently summoned to put on -our water-proof shoes, and alight. A man showed himself who had risen -from his bed to help us in our need. The foot-bridge consisted, for some -way, of two planks, with a hand-rail on one side: but, when we were -about a third of the way over, one half of the planks, and the -hand-rail, had disappeared. We actually had to cross the rushing, deep -river on a line of single planks, by dim moonlight, at past eleven -o'clock at night. The great anxiety was about Charley; but between his -father and the guide, he managed very well. This guide would accept -nothing but thanks. He "did not calculate to take any pay." Then we -waited some time for the wagon to come up from the ford. I suspected it -had passed the spot where we stood, and had proceeded to the village, -where we saw a twinkling light, now disappearing, and now re-appearing. -It was so, and the driver came back to look for us, and tell us that the -light we saw was a signal from the hotel-keeper, whom we found, standing -on his door-step, and sheltering his candle with his hand. We sat down -and drank milk in the bar, while he went to consult with his wife what -was to be done with us, as every bed in the house was occupied. We, -meanwhile, agreed that the time was now come for us to enjoy an -adventure which we had often anticipated; sleeping in a barn. We had all -declared ourselves anxious to sleep in a barn, if we could meet with one -that was air-tight, and well-supplied with hay. Such a barn was actually -on these premises. We were prevented, however, from all practising the -freak by the prompt hospitality of our hostess. Before we knew what she -was about, she had risen and dressed herself, put clean sheets on her -own bed, and made up two others on the floor of the same room; so that -the ladies and Charley were luxuriously accommodated. Two sleepy -personages crawled down stairs to offer their beds to our gentlemen. Mr. -L. and our Chicago friend, however, persisted in sleeping in the barn. -Next morning, we all gave a very gratifying report of our lodgings. When -we made our acknowledgments to our hostess, she said she thought that -people who could go to bed quietly every night ought to be ready to give -up to tired travellers. Whenever she travels, I hope she will be treated -as she treated us. She let us have breakfast as early as half-past five, -the next morning, and gave Charley a bun at parting, lest he should be -too hungry before we could dine. - -The great object of our expedition, Mount Joliet, was two miles distant -from this place. We had to visit it, and perform the journey back to -Chicago, forty miles, before night. The mount is only sixty feet high; -yet it commands a view which I shall not attempt to describe, either in -its vastness, or its soft beauty. The very spirit of tranquillity -resides in this paradisy scene. The next painter who would worthily -illustrate Milton's Morning Hymn, should come and paint what he sees -from Mount Joliet, on a dewy summer's morning, when a few light clouds -are gently sailing in the sky, and their shadows traversing the prairie. -I thought I had never seen green levels till now; and only among -mountains had I before known the beauty of wandering showers. Mount -Joliet has the appearance of being an artificial mound, its sides are so -uniformly steep, and its form so regular. Its declivity was bristling -with flowers; among which were conspicuous the scarlet lily, the white -convolvulus, and a tall, red flower of the scabia form. We disturbed a -night-hawk, sitting on her eggs, on the ground. She wheeled round and -round over our heads, and, I hope, returned to her eggs before they were -cold. - -Not far from the mount was a log-house, where the rest of the party went -in to dry their feet, after having stood long in the wet grass. I -remained outside, watching the light showers, shifting in the partial -sunlight from clump to level, and from reach to reach of the brimming -and winding river. The nine miles of prairie, which we had traversed in -dim moonlight last night, were now exquisitely beautiful, as the sun -shone fitfully upon them. - -We saw a prairie wolf, very like a yellow dog, trotting across our path, -this afternoon. Our hostess of the preceding day, expecting us, had an -excellent dinner ready for us. We were detained a shorter time at the -ferry, and reached the belt of trees at the edge of Nine-mile Prairie, -before sunset. Here, in common prudence, we ought to have stopped till -the next day, even if no other accommodation could be afforded us than a -roof over our heads. We deserved an ague for crossing the swamp after -dark, in an open wagon, at a foot pace. Nobody was aware of this in -time, and we set forward: the feet of our wearied horses plashing in -water at every step of the nine miles. There was no road; and we had to -trust to the instinct of driver and horses to keep us in the right -direction. I rather think the driver attempted to amuse himself by -exciting our fears. He hinted more than once at the difficulty of -finding the way; at the improbability that we should reach Chicago -before midnight; and at the danger of our wandering about the marsh all -night, and finding ourselves at the opposite edge of the prairie in the -morning. Charley was bruised and tired. All the rest were hungry and -cold. It was very dreary. The driver bade us look to our right hand. A -black bear was trotting alongside of us, at a little distance. After -keeping up his trot for some time, he turned off from our track. The -sight of him made up for all,--even if ague should follow, which I -verily believed it would. But we escaped all illness. It is remarkable -that I never saw ague but once. The single case that I met with was in -autumn, at the Falls of Niagara. - -I had promised Dr. F. a long story about English politics, when a -convenient opportunity should occur. I thought the present an admirable -one; for nobody seemed to have anything to say, and it was highly -desirable that something should be said. I made my story long enough to -beguile four miles; by which time, some were too tired, and others too -much disheartened, for more conversation. Something white was soon after -visible. Our driver gave out that it was a house, half a mile from -Chicago. But no: it was an emigrant encampment, on a morsel of raised, -dry ground; and again we were uncertain whether we were in the right -road. Presently, however, the Chicago beacon was visible, shining a -welcome to us through the dim, misty air. The horses seemed to see it, -for they quickened their pace; and before half-past ten, we were on the -bridge. - -The family, at my temporary home, were gone up to their chambers; but -the wood-fire was soon replenished, tea made, and the conversation -growing lively. My companions were received as readily at their several -resting-places. When we next met, we found ourselves all disposed to -place warm hospitality very high on the list of virtues. - - -While we were at Detroit, we were most strongly urged to return thither -by the Lakes, instead of by either of the Michigan roads. From place to -place, in my previous travelling, I had been told of the charms of the -Lakes, and especially of the Island of Mackinaw. Every officer's lady -who has been in garrison there, is eloquent upon the delights of -Mackinaw. As our whole party, however, could not spare time to make so -wide a circuit, we had not intended to indulge ourselves with a further -variation in our travels than to take the upper road back to Detroit; -having left it by the lower. On Sunday, June 27th, news arrived at -Chicago that this upper road had been rendered impassable by the rains. -A sailing vessel, the only one on the Lakes, and now on her first trip, -was to leave Chicago for Detroit and Buffalo, the next day. The case was -clear: the party must divide. Those who were obliged to hasten home must -return by the road we came: the rest must proceed by water. On Charley's -account, the change of plan was desirable; as the heats were beginning -to be so oppressive as to render travelling in open wagons unsafe for a -child. It was painful to break up our party at the extreme point of our -journey; but it was clearly right. So Mr. and Mrs. L. took their chance -by land; and the rest of us went on board the Milwaukee, at two o'clock -on the afternoon of the 28th. - -Mrs. F. and I were the only ladies on board; and there was no -stewardess. The steward was obliging, and the ladies' cabin was clean -and capacious; and we took possession of it with a feeling of comfort. -Our pleasant impressions, however, were not of long duration. The vessel -was crowded with persons who had come to the land sales at Chicago, and -were taking their passage back to Milwaukee; a settlement on the western -shore of the lake, about eighty miles from Chicago. Till we should reach -Milwaukee, we could have the ladies' cabin only during a part of the -day. I say a part of the day, because some of the gentry did not leave -our cabin till near nine in the morning; and others chose to come down, -and go to bed, as early as seven in the evening, without troubling -themselves to give us five minutes' notice, or to wait till we could put -up our needles, or wipe our pens. This ship was the only place in -America where I saw a prevalence of bad manners. It was the place of all -others to select for the study of such; and no reasonable person would -look for anything better among land-speculators, and settlers in regions -so new as to be almost without women. None of us had ever before seen, -in America, a disregard of women. The swearing was incessant; and the -spitting such as to amaze my American companions as much as myself. - -Supper was announced presently after we had sailed; and when we came to -the table, it was full, and no one offered to stir, to make room for -us. The captain, who was very careful of our comfort, arranged that we -should be better served henceforth; and no difficulty afterwards -occurred. At dinner, the next day, we had a specimen of how such -personages as we had on board are managed on an emergency. The captain -gave notice, from the head of the table, that he did not choose our -party to be intruded on in the cabin; and that any one who did not -behave with civility at table should be turned out. He spoke with -decision and good-humour; and the effect was remarkable. Everything on -the table was handed to us; and no more of the gentry came down into our -cabin to smoke, or throw themselves on the cushions to sleep, while we -sat at work. - -Our fare was what might be expected on Lake Michigan. Salt beef and -pork, and sea-biscuit; tea without milk, bread, and potatoes. Charley -throve upon potatoes and bread: and we all had the best results of -food,--health and strength. - -A little schooner which left Chicago at the same time with ourselves, -and reached Milwaukee first, was a pretty object. On the 29th, we were -only twenty-five miles from the settlement; but the wind was so -unfavourable that it was doubtful whether we should reach it that day. -Some of the passengers amused themselves by gaming, down in the hold; -others by parodying a methodist sermon, and singing a mock hymn. We did -not get rid of them till noon on the 30th, when we had the pleasure of -seeing our ship disgorge twenty-five into one boat, and two into -another. The atmosphere was so transparent as to make the whole scene -appear as if viewed through an opera-glass; the still, green waters, the -dark boats with their busy oars, the moving passengers, and the -struggles of one to recover his hat, which had fallen overboard. We -were yet five miles from Milwaukee; but we could see the bright, wooded -coast, with a few white dots of houses. - -While Dr. F. went on shore, to see what was to be seen, we had the cabin -cleaned out, and took, once more, complete possession of it, for both -day and night. As soon as this was done, seven young women came down the -companion-way, seated themselves round the cabin, and began to question -us. They were the total female population of Milwaukee; which settlement -now contains four hundred souls. We were glad to see these ladies; for -it was natural enough that the seven women should wish to behold two -more, when such a chance offered. A gentleman of the place, who came on -board this afternoon, told me that a printing-press had arrived a few -hours before; and that a newspaper would speedily appear. He was kind -enough to forward the first number to me a few weeks afterwards; and I -was amused to see how pathetic an appeal to the ladies of more -thickly-settled districts it contained; imploring them to cast a -favourable eye on Milwaukee, and its hundreds of bachelors. Milwaukee -had been settled since the preceding November. It had good stores, (to -judge by the nature and quality of goods sent ashore from our ship;) it -had a printing-press and newspaper, before the settlers had had time to -get wives. I heard these new settlements sometimes called "patriarchal;" -but what would the patriarchs have said to such an order of affairs? - -Dr. F. returned from the town, with apple-pies, cheese, and ale, -wherewith to vary our ship-diet. With him arrived such a number of -towns-people, that the steward wanted to turn us out of our cabin once -more; but we were sturdy, appealed to the captain, and were confirmed in -possession. From this time began the delights of our voyage. The moon, -with her long train of glory, was magnificent to-night; the vast body of -waters on which she shone being as calm as if the winds were dead. - -The navigation of these lakes is, at present, a mystery. They have not -yet been properly surveyed. Our captain had gone to and fro on Lake -Huron, but had never before been on Lake Michigan; and this was rather -an anxious voyage to him. We had got aground on the sand-bar before -Milwaukee harbour; and on the 1st of July, all hands were busy in -unshipping the cargo, to lighten the vessel, instead of carrying her up -to the town. An elegant little schooner was riding at anchor near us; -and we were well amused in admiring her, and in watching the bustle on -deck, till some New-England youths, and our Milwaukee acquaintance, -brought us, from the shore, two newspapers, some pebbles, flowers, and a -pitcher of fine strawberries. - -As soon as we were off the bar, the vessel hove round, and we cast -anchor in deeper water. Charley was called to see the sailors work the -windlass, and to have a ride thereon. The sailors were very kind to the -boy. They dressed up their dog for him in sheep-skins and a man's hat; a -sight to make older people than Charley laugh. They took him down into -the forecastle to show him prints that were pasted up there. They asked -him to drink rum and water with them: to which Charley answered that he -should be happy to drink water with them, but had rather not have any -rum. While we were watching the red sunset over the leaden waters, -betokening a change of weather, the steamer "New York" came ploughing -the bay, three weeks after her time; such is the uncertainty in the -navigation of these stormy lakes. She got aground on the sand-bank, as -we had done; and boats were going from her to the shore and back, as -long as we could see. - -The next day there was rain and some wind. The captain and steward went -off to make final purchases: but the fresh meat which had been bespoken -for us had been bought up by somebody else; and no milk was to be had; -only two cows being visible in all the place. Ale was the only luxury we -could obtain. When the captain returned, he brought with him a stout -gentleman, one of the proprietors of the vessel, who must have a berth -in our cabin as far as Mackinaw; those elsewhere being too small for -him. Under the circumstances, we had no right to complain; so we helped -the steward to partition off a portion of the cabin with a counterpane, -fastened with four forks. This gentleman, Mr. D., was engaged in the fur -trade at Mackinaw, and had a farm there, to which he kindly invited us. - -On Sunday, the 3rd, there was much speculation as to whether we should -be at Mackinaw in time to witness the celebration of the great day. All -desired it; but I was afraid of missing the Manitou Isles in the dark. -There was much fog; the wind was nearly fair; the question was whether -it would last. Towards evening, the fog thickened, and the wind -freshened. The mate would not believe we were in the middle of the lake, -as every one else supposed. He said the fog was too warm not to come -from near land. Charley caught something of the spirit of uncertainty, -and came to me in high, joyous excitement, to drag me to the side of the -ship, that I might see how fast we cut through the waves, and how -steadily we leaned over the water, till Charley almost thought he could -touch it. He burst out about the "kind of a feeling" that it was "not to -see a bit of land," and not to know where we were; and to think "_if_ we -should upset!" and that we never did upset:--it was "a good and a bad -feeling at once;" and he should never be able to tell people at home -what it was like. The boy had no fear: he was roused, as the brave man -loves to be. Just as the dim light of the sunset was fading from the -fog, it opened, and disclosed to us, just at hand, the high, sandy shore -of Michigan. It was well that this happened before dark. The captain -hastened up to the mast-head, and reported that we were off Cape Sable, -forty miles from the Manitou Isles. - -Three bats and several butterflies were seen to-day, clinging to the -mainsail,--blown over from the shore. The sailors set their dog at a -bat, of which it was evidently afraid. A flock of pretty pigeons flew -round and over the ship; of which six were shot. Four fell into the -water; and the other two were reserved for the mate's breakfast; he -being an invalid. - -We were up before five, on the morning of the 4th of July, to see the -Manitou Isles, which were then just coming in sight. They are the Sacred -Isles of the Indians, to whom they belong. Manitou is the name of their -Great Spirit, and of everything sacred. It is said that they believe -these islands to be the resort of the spirits of the departed. They are -two: sandy and precipitous at the south end; and clothed with wood, from -the crest of the cliffs to the north extremity, which slopes down -gradually to the water. It was a cool, sunny morning, and these dark -islands lay still, and apparently deserted, on the bright green waters. -Far behind, to the south, were two glittering white sails, on the -horizon. They remained in sight all day, and lessened the feeling of -loneliness which the navigators of these vast lakes cannot but have, -while careering among the solemn islands and shores. On our right lay -the Michigan shore, high and sandy, with the dark eminence, called the -Sleeping Bear, conspicuous on the ridge. No land speculators have set -foot here yet. A few Indian dwellings, with evergreen woods and sandy -cliffs, are all. Just here, Mr. D. pointed out to us a schooner of his -which was wrecked, in a snowstorm, the preceding November. She looked -pretty and forlorn, lying on her side in that desolate place, seeming a -mere plaything thrown in among the cliffs. "Ah!" said her owner, with a -sigh, "she was a lovely creature, and as stiff as a church." Two lives -were lost. Two young Germans, stout lads, could not comprehend the -orders given them to put on all their clothing, and keep themselves -warm. They only half-dressed themselves: "the cold took them," and they -died. The rest tried to make fire by friction of wood; but got only -smoke. Some one found traces of a dog in the snow. These were followed -for three miles, and ended at an Indian lodge, where the sailors were -warmed, and kindly treated. - -During the bright morning of this day we passed the Fox and Beaver -Islands. The captain was in fine spirits, though there was no longer any -prospect of reaching Mackinaw in time for the festivities of the day. -This island is chiefly known as a principal station of the great -north-western fur trade. Others know it as the seat of an Indian -mission. Others, again, as a frontier garrison. It is known to me as the -wildest and tenderest little piece of beauty that I have yet seen on -God's earth. It is a small island, nine miles in circumference, being in -the strait between the Lakes Michigan and Huron, and between the coasts -of Michigan and Wisconsin. - -Towards evening the Wisconsin coast came into view, the strait suddenly -narrowed, and we were about to bid farewell to the great Lake whose -total length we had traversed, after sweeping round its southern -extremity. The ugly light-ship, which looked heavy enough, came into -view about six o'clock; the first token of our approach to Mackinaw. -The office of the light-ship is to tow vessels in the dark through the -strait. We were too early for this; but perhaps it performed that office -for the two schooners whose white specks of sails had been on our -southern horizon all day. Next we saw a white speck before us; it was -the barracks of Mackinaw, stretching along the side of its green hills, -and clearly visible before the town came into view. - -The island looked enchanting as we approached, as I think it always -must, though we had the advantage of seeing it first steeped in the most -golden sunshine that ever hallowed lake or shore. The colours were up on -all the little vessels in the harbour. The national flag streamed from -the garrison. The soldiers thronged the walls of the barracks; -half-breed boys were paddling about in their little canoes, in the -transparent waters; the half-French, half-Indian population of the place -were all abroad in their best. An Indian lodge was on the shore, and a -picturesque dark group stood beside it. The cows were coming down the -steep green slopes to the milking. Nothing could be more bright and -joyous. - -The houses of the old French village are shabby-looking, dusky, and -roofed with bark. There are some neat yellow houses, with red shutters, -which have a foreign air, with their porches and flights of steps. The -better houses stand on the first of the three terraces which are -distinctly marked. Behind them are swelling green knolls; before them -gardens sloping down to the narrow slip of white beach, so that the -grass seems to grow almost into the clear rippling waves. The gardens -were rich with mountain ash, roses, stocks, currant bushes, springing -corn, and a great variety of kitchen vegetables. There were two small -piers with little barks alongside, and piles of wood for the -steam-boats. Some way to the right stood the quadrangle of missionary -buildings, and the white mission church. Still further to the right was -a shrubby precipice down to the lake; and beyond, the blue waters. While -we were gazing at all this, a pretty schooner sailed into the harbour -after us, in fine style, sweeping round our bows so suddenly as nearly -to swamp a little fleet of canoes, each with its pair of half-breed -boys. - -We had been alarmed by a declaration from the captain that he should -stay only three hours at the island. He seemed to have no intention of -taking us ashore this evening. The dreadful idea occurred to us that we -might be carried away from this paradise, without having set foot in it. -We looked at each other in dismay. Mr. D. stood our friend. He had some -furs on board which were to be landed. He said this should not be done -till the morning; and he would take care that his people did it with the -utmost possible slowness. He thought he could gain us an additional hour -in this way. Meantime, thunder-clouds were coming up rapidly from the -west, and the sun was near its setting. After much consultation, and an -assurance having been obtained from the captain that we might command -the boat at any hour in the morning, we decided that Dr. F. and Charley -should go ashore, and deliver our letters, and accept any arrangements -that might be offered for our seeing the best of the scenery in the -morning. - -Scarcely any one was left in the ship but Mrs. F. and myself. We sat on -deck, and gazed as if this were to be the last use we were ever to have -of our eyes. There was growling thunder now, and the church bell, and -Charley's clear voice from afar: the waters were so still. The Indians -lighted a fire before their lodge; and we saw their shining red forms -as they bent over the blaze. We watched Dr. F. and Charley mounting to -the garrison; we saw them descend again with the commanding officer, and -go to the house of the Indian agent. Then we traced them along the -shore, and into the Indian lodge; then to the church; then, the parting -with the commandant on the shore, and lastly, the passage of the dark -boat to our ship's side. They brought news that the commandant and his -family would be on the watch for us before five in the morning, and be -our guides to as much of the island as the captain would allow us time -to see. - -Some pretty purchases of Indian manufactures were brought on board this -evening; light matting of various colours, and small baskets of -birch-bark, embroidered with porcupine-quills, and filled with maple -sugar. - -The next morning all was bright. At five o'clock we descended the ship's -side, and from the boat could see the commandant and his dog hastening -down from the garrison to the landing-place. We returned with him up the -hill, through the barrack-yard; and were joined by three members of his -family on the velvet green slope behind the garrison. No words can give -an idea of the charms of this morning walk. We wound about in a vast -shrubbery, with ripe strawberries under foot, wild flowers all around, -and scattered knolls and opening vistas tempting curiosity in every -direction. "Now run up," said the commandant, as we arrived at the foot -of one of these knolls. I did so, and was almost struck backwards by -what I saw. Below me was the Natural Bridge of Mackinaw, of which I had -heard frequent mention. It is a limestone arch, about one hundred and -fifty feet high in the centre, with a span of fifty feet; one pillar -resting on a rocky projection in the lake, the other on the hill. We -viewed it from above, so that the horizon line of the lake fell behind -the bridge, and the blue expanse of waters filled the entire arch. Birch -and ash grew around the bases of the pillars, and shrubbery tufted the -sides, and dangled from the bridge. The soft rich hues in which the -whole was dressed seemed borrowed from the autumn sky. - -But even this scene was nothing to one we saw from the fort, on the -crown of the island; old Fort Holmes, called Fort George when in the -possession of the British. I can compare it to nothing but to what Noah -might have seen, the first bright morning after the deluge. Such a -cluster of little paradises rising out of such a congregation of waters, -I can hardly fancy to have been seen elsewhere. The capacity of the -human eye seems here suddenly enlarged, as if it could see to the verge -of the watery creation. Blue, level waters appear to expand for -thousands of miles in every direction; wholly unlike any aspect of the -sea. Cloud shadows, and specks of white vessels, at rare intervals, -alone diversify it. Bowery islands rise out of it; bowery promontories -stretch down into it; while at one's feet lies the melting beauty which -one almost fears will vanish in its softness before one's eyes; the -beauty of the shadowy dells and sunny mounds, with browsing cattle, and -springing fruit and flowers. Thus, and no otherwise, would I fain think -did the world emerge from the flood. I was never before so unwilling to -have objects named. The essential unity of the scene seemed to be marred -by any distinction of its parts. But this feeling, to me new, did not -alter the state of the case; that it was Lake Huron that we saw -stretching to the eastward; Lake Michigan opening to the west; the -island of Bois Blanc, green to the brink in front; and Round Island and -others interspersed. I stood now at the confluence of those great -northern lakes, the very names of which awed my childhood; calling up, -as they did, images of the fearful red man of the deep pine-forest, and -the music of the moaning winds, imprisoned beneath the ice of winter. -How different from the scene, as actually beheld, dressed in verdure, -flowers, and the sunshine of a summer's morning! - -It was breakfast-time when we descended to the barracks; and we -despatched a messenger to the captain to know whether we might breakfast -with the commandant. We sat in the piazza, and overlooked the village, -the harbour, the straits, and the white beach, where there were now four -Indian lodges. The island is so healthy that, according to the -commandant, people who want to die must go somewhere else. I saw only -three tombstones in the cemetery. The commandant has lost but one man -since he has been stationed at Mackinaw; and that was by drowning. I -asked about the climate; the answer was, "We have nine months winter, -and three months cold weather." - -It would have been a pity to have missed the breakfast at the garrison, -which afforded a strong contrast with any we had seen for a week. We -concealed, as well as we could, our glee at the appearance of the rich -cream, the new bread and butter, fresh lake trout, and pile of -snow-white eggs. - -There is reason to think that the mission is the least satisfactory part -of the establishment on this island. A great latitude of imagination or -representation is usually admitted on the subject of missions to the -heathen. The reporters of this one appear to be peculiarly imaginative. -I fear that the common process has here been gone through of attempting -to take from the savage the venerable and the true which he possessed, -and to force upon him something else which is to him neither venerable -nor true. - -The Indians have been proved, by the success of the French among them, -to be capable of civilisation. Near Little Traverse, in the north-west -part of Michigan, within easy reach of Mackinaw, there is an Indian -village, full of orderly and industrious inhabitants, employed chiefly -in agriculture. The English and Americans have never succeeded with the -aborigines so well as the French; and it may be doubted whether the -clergy have been a much greater blessing to them than the traders. - -It was with great regret that we parted with the commandant and his -large young family, and stepped into the boat to return to the ship. The -captain looked a little grave upon the delay which all his passengers -had helped to achieve. We sailed about nine. We were in great delight at -having seen Mackinaw, at having the possession of its singular imagery -for life: but this delight was at present dashed with the sorrow of -leaving it. I could not have believed how deeply it is possible to -regret a place, after so brief an acquaintance with it. We watched the -island as we rapidly receded, trying to catch the aspect of it which had -given it its name--the Great Turtle. Its flag first vanished: then its -green terraces and slopes, its white barracks, and dark promontories -faded, till the whole disappeared behind a headland and light-house of -the Michigan shore. - -Lake Huron was squally, as usual. Little remarkable happened while we -traversed it. We enjoyed the lake trout. We occasionally saw the faint -outline of the Manitouline Islands and Canada. We saw a sunset which -looked very like the general conflagration having begun: the whole -western sky and water being as if of red flame and molten lead. This was -succeeded by paler fires. A yellow planet sank into the heaving waters -to the south; and the northern lights opened like a silver wheat-sheaf, -and spread themselves half over the sky. It is luxury to sail on Lake -Huron, and watch the northern lights. - -On the 7th we were only twenty miles from the river St. Clair: but the -wind was "right ahead," and we did not reach the mouth of the river till -the evening of the 8th. The approach and entrance kept us all in a state -of high excitement, from the captain down to Charley. On the afternoon -of the 8th, Fort Gratiot and the narrow mouth of the St. Clair, became -visible. Our scope for tacking grew narrower, every turn. The captain -did not come to dinner; he kept the lead going incessantly. Two vessels -were trying with us for the mouth of the river. The American schooner -got in first, from being the smallest. The British vessel and ours -contested the point stoutly for a long while, sweeping round and -crossing each other, much as if they were dancing a minuet. A squall -came, and broke one of our chains, and our rival beat us. In the midst -of the struggle, we could not but observe that the sky was black as -night to windward; and that the captain cast momentary glances thither, -as if calculating how soon he must make all tight for the storm. The -British vessel was seen to have come to an anchor. Our sails were all -taken in, our anchor dropped, and a grim, silence prevailed. The waters -were flat as ice about the ship. The next moment, the sky-organ began to -blow in our rigging. Fort Gratiot was blotted out; then the woods; then -the other ship; then came the orderly march of the rain over the -myrtle-green waters; then the storm seized us. We could scarcely see -each others' faces, except for the lightning; the ship groaned, and -dragged her anchor, so that a second was dropped. - -In twenty minutes, the sun gilded the fort, the woods, and the green, -prairie-like, Canada shore. On the verge of this prairie, under the -shelter of the forest, an immense herd of wild horses were seen -scampering, and whisking their long tails. A cloud of pigeons, in -countless thousands, was shadowing alternately the forests, the lake, -and the prairie; and an extensive encampment of wild Indians was -revealed on the Michigan shore. It was a dark curtain lifted up on a -scene of wild and singular beauty. - -Then we went to the anxious work of tacking again. We seemed to be -running aground on either shore, as we approached each. Our motions were -watched by several gazers. On the Canada side, there were men on the -sands, and in a canoe, with a sail which looked twice as big as the -bark. The keepers of the Gratiot light-house looked out from the -lantern. A party of squaws, in the Indian encampment, seated on the -sands, stopped their work of cleaning fish, to see how we got through -the rapids. A majestic personage, his arms folded in his blanket, stood -on an eminence in the midst of the camp; and behind him, on the brow of -the hill, were groups of unclothed boys and men, looking so demon-like, -as even in that scene to remind me of the great staircase in the ballet -of Faust. Our ship twisted round and round in the eddies, as helplessly -as a log, and stuck, at last, with her stem within a stone's throw of -the Indians. Nothing more could be done that night. We dropped anchor, -and hoped the sailors would have good repose after two days of tacking -to achieve a progress of twenty miles. Two or three of them went ashore, -to try to get milk. While they were gone, a party of settlers stood on -the high bank, to gaze at us; and we were sorry to see them, even down -to the little children, whisking boughs without ceasing. This was a -threat of mosquitoes which was not to be mistaken. When the sailors -returned, they said we were sure to have a good watch kept, for the -mosquitoes would let no one sleep. We tried to shut up our cabin from -them; but they were already there: and I, for one, was answerable for -many murders before I closed my eyes. In the twilight, I observed -something stirring on the high bank; and on looking closely, saw a party -of Indians, stepping along, in single file, under the shadow of the -wood. Their simplest acts are characteristic; and, in their wild state, -I never saw them without thinking of ghosts or demons. - -In the morning, I found we were floating down the current, stern -foremost, frequently swinging round in the eddies, so as to touch the -one shore or the other. There seemed to be no intermission of settlers' -houses; all at regular distances along the bank. The reason of this -appearance is a good old French arrangement, by which the land is -divided into long, narrow strips, that each lot may have a water -frontage. We were evidently returning to a well-settled country. The -more comfortable houses on the Canada side were surrounded by spacious -and thriving fields: the poorer by dreary enclosures of swamp. We saw a -good garden, with a white paling. Cows were being milked. Cow-bells, and -the merry voices of singing children, were heard from under the clumps; -and piles of wood for the steam-boats, and large stocks of shingles for -roofing were laid up on either hand. The Gratiot steamer puffed away -under the Michigan bank. Canoes shot across in a streak of light; and a -schooner came down the clear river, as if on the wing between the sky -and the water. I watched two horsemen on the shore, for many miles, -tracing the bay pony and the white horse through the woody screen, and -over the brooks, and along the rickety bridges. I could see that they -were constantly chatting, and that they stopped to exchange salutations -with every one they met or overtook. These, to be sure, were few enough. -I was quite sorry when the twilight drew on, and hid them from me. I saw -a little boy on a log, with a paddle, pushing himself off from a bank of -wild roses, and making his way in the sunshine, up the river. It looked -very pretty, and very unsafe; but I dare say he knew best. The captain -and mate were both ill to-day. The boat was sent ashore for what could -be had. The men made haste, and rowed bravely; but we were carried down -four miles before we could "heave to," for them to overtake us. They -brought brandy for the captain; and for us, butter just out of the -churn. The mosquitoes again drove us from the deck, soon after dark. - -The next morning, the 10th, the deck was in great confusion. The captain -was worse: the mate was too ill to command; and the second mate seemed -to be more efficient in swearing, and getting the men to swear, than at -anything else. After breakfast, there was a search made after a -pilferer, who had abstracted certain small articles from our cabin; -among which was Charley's maple-sugar basket, which had been seen in the -wheel-house, with a tea-spoon in it. This seemed to point out one of the -juniors in the forecastle as the offender; the steward, however, offered -to clear himself by taking an oath, "on a bible as big as the ship," -that he knew nothing of the matter. As we did not happen to have such a -bible on board, we could not avail ourselves of his offer. A comb and -tooth-brush, which had been missing, were found, restored to their -proper places: but Charley's pretty basket was seen no more. - -It was a comfortless day. We seemed within easy reach of Detroit; but -the little wind we had was dead ahead; the sun was hot; the mosquitoes -abounded; the captain was downcast, and the passengers cross. There was -some amusement, however. Dr. F. went ashore, and brought us milk, of -which we each had a draught before it turned sour. He saw on shore a -sight which is but too common. An hotel-keeper let an Indian get drunk; -and then made a quarrel between him and another, for selfish purposes. -The whites seem to have neither honour nor mercy towards the red men. - -A canoe full of Indians,--two men and four children,--came alongside, -this afternoon, to offer to traffic. They had no clothing but a coarse -shirt each. The smallest child had enormous ear-ornaments of blue and -white beads. They were closely packed in their canoe, which rocked with -every motion. They sold two large baskets for a quarter dollar and two -loaves of bread. Their faces were intelligent, and far from solemn. The -children look merry, as children should. I saw others fishing afar off, -till long after dark. A dusky figure stood, in a splendid attitude, at -the bow of a canoe, and now paddled with one end of his long lance, now -struck at a fish with the other. He speared his prey directly through -the middle; and succeeded but seldom. At dark, a pine torch was held -over the water; and by its blaze, I could still see something of his -operations. - -The groaning of our ship's timbers told us, before we rose, that we were -in rapid motion. The wind was fair; and we were likely to reach Detroit, -forty miles, to dinner. Lake St. Clair, with its placid waters and low -shores, presents nothing to look at. The captain was very ill, and -unable to leave his berth. No one on board knew the channel of the -Detroit river but himself; and, from the time we entered it, the lead -was kept going. When we were within four miles of Detroit, hungry, hot, -tired of the disordered ship, and thinking of friends, breezes, and a -good dinner at the city, we went aground,--grinding, grinding, till the -ship trembled in every timber. The water was so shallow that one might -have touched the gravel on either side with a walking-stick. There was -no hope of our being got off speedily. The cook applied himself to -chopping wood, in order to lighting a fire, in order to baking some -bread, in order to give us something to eat; for not a scrap of meat, or -an ounce of biscuit, was left on board. - -It occurred to me that our party might reach the city, either by paying -high for one of the ship's boats, or by getting the mate to hail one of -the schooners that were in the river. The boats could not be spared. The -mate hoisted a signal for a schooner; and one came alongside, very fully -laden with shingles. Fifteen of us, passengers, with our luggage, were -piled on the top of the cargo, and sailed gently up to the city. The -captain was too ill, and the mate too full of vexation, to bid us -farewell; and thus we left our poor ship. We were glad, however, to pass -her in the river, the next day, and to find that she had been got off -the shoal before night. - -As we drew near, Charley, in all good faith, hung out his little -handkerchief to show the people of Detroit that we were come back. They -did not seem to know us, however. "What!" cried some men on a raft, to -the master of our schooner, "have you been robbing a steam-boat?" "No," -replied the master, gravely; "it is a boat that has gone to the bottom -in the lakes." We expected that some stupendous alarm would arise out of -this. When we reached New York, a fortnight after, we found that our -friends there had been made uneasy by the news that a steam-boat had -sunk on the Lakes, and that eight hundred passengers were drowned. -Catastrophes grow as fast as other things in America. - -Though our friends did not happen to see Charley's pocket-handkerchief -from the river, they were soon about us, congratulating us on having -made the circuit of the Lakes. It was indeed matter of congratulation. - - -I have now given sketches of some of the most remarkable parts of the -country, hoping that a pretty distinct idea might thus be afforded of -their primary resources, and of the modes of life of their inhabitants. -I have said nothing of the towns, in this connection; town-life in -America having nothing very peculiar about it, viewed in the way of -general survey. The several departments of industry will now be -particularly considered. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[8] I know not why I should suppress a name that I honour. - -[9] Isaiah xvi. 3. - -[10] It is possible that this term may not yet be familiar to some of my -English readers. It means summary punishment. The modes now in use among -those who take the law into their own hands in the United States, are -tarring and feathering, scourging with a cow-hide, banishing, and -hanging. The term owes its derivation to a farmer of the name of Lynch, -living on the Mississippi, who, in the absence of court and lawyers, -constituted himself a judge, and ordered summary punishment to be -inflicted on an offender. He little foresaw the national disgrace which -would arise from the extension of the practice to which he gave his -name. - -[11] I preserve the original name, which is that of the first French -missionary who visited these parts. The place is now commonly called -Juliet; and a settlement near has actually been named Romeo: so that I -fear there is little hope of a restoration of the honourable primitive -name. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -AGRICULTURE. - - "Plus un peuple nombreux se rapproche, moins le gouvernement peut - usurper sur le Souverain. L'avantage d'un gouvernement tyrannique - est donc en ceci, d'agir à grandes distances. A l'aide des points - d'appui qu'il se donne, sa force augmente au loin, comme celle des - léviers. Celle du peuple, au contraire, n'agit que concentrée: elle - s'évapore et se perd en s'étendant, comme l'effet de la poudre - éparse à terre, et qui ne prend feu que grain à grain. Les pays les - moins peuplés sont ainsi les plus propres à la tyrannie. Les bêtes - féroces ne règnent que dans les déserts." - - _Rousseau._ - - -The pride and delight of Americans is in their quantity of land. I do -not remember meeting with one to whom it had occurred that they had too -much. Among the many complaints of the minority, this was never one. I -saw a gentleman strike his fist on the table in an agony at the country -being so "confoundedly prosperous:" I heard lamentations over the spirit -of speculation; the migration of young men to the back country; the -fluctuating state of society from the incessant movement westwards; the -immigration of labourers from Europe; and the ignorance of the sparse -population. All these grievances I heard perpetually complained of; but -in the same breath I was told in triumph of the rapid sales of land; of -the glorious additions which had been made by the acquisition of -Louisiana and Florida, and of the probable gain of Texas. Land was -spoken of as the unfailing resource against over manufacture; the great -wealth of the nation; the grand security of every man in it. - -On this head, the two political parties seem to be more agreed than on -any other. The federalists are the great patrons of commerce; but they -are as proud of the national lands as the broadest of the democrats. The -democrats, however, may be regarded as the patrons of agriculture, out -of the slave States. There seems to be a natural relation between the -independence of property and occupation enjoyed by the agriculturist, -and his watchfulness over State Rights and the political importance of -individuals. The simplicity of country life, too, appears more congenial -with the workings of democratic institutions, than the complex -arrangements of commerce and manufactures. - -The possession of land is the aim of all action, generally speaking, and -the cure for all social evils, among men in the United States. If a man -is disappointed in politics or love, he goes and buys land. If he -disgraces himself, he betakes himself to a lot in the west. If the -demand for any article of manufacture slackens, the operatives drop into -the unsettled lands. If a citizen's neighbours rise above him in the -towns, he betakes himself where he can be monarch of all he surveys. An -artisan works, that he may die on land of his own. He is frugal, that he -may enable his son to be a landowner. Farmers' daughters go into -factories that they may clear off the mortgage from their fathers' -farms; that they may be independent landowners again. All this is -natural enough in a country colonised from an old one, where land is so -restricted in quantity as to be apparently the same thing as wealth. It -is natural enough in a young republic, where independence is of the -highest political value. It is natural enough in a country where -political economy has never been taught by its only effectual -propounder--social adversity. And, finally, it falls out well for the -old world, in prospect of the time when the new world must be its -granary. - -The democratic party are fond of saying that the United States are -intended to be an agricultural country. It seems to me that they are -intended to be everything. The Niagara basin, the Mississippi valley, -and the South, will be able to furnish the trading world with -agricultural products for ever,--for aught we can see. But it is clear -that there are other parts of the country which must have recourse to -manufactures and commerce. - -The first settlers in New England got land, and thought themselves rich. -Their descendants have gone on to do the same; and they now find -themselves poor. With the exception of some Southerners, ruined by -slavery, who cannot live within their incomes, I met with no class in -the United States so anxious about the means of living as the farmers of -New England. In the seventeenth century, curious purchases of land were -made, and the fathers were wealthy. In those days, a certain farmer -Dexter bought the promontory of Nahant, which stretches out into -Massachusetts Bay, of Black Willey, an Indian chief, for a suit of -clothes; the part of the promontory called Great Nahant measuring a mile -and a half in circuit. Others, who held land in similar or larger -quantities, divided it equally among their children, whose portions had -not been subdivided below the point of comfort, when the great west on -the one hand, and the commerce of the seas on the other, opened new -resources. From this time, the consolidation of estates has gone on, -nearly as fast as the previous division. The members of a family -dispose of their portions of land to one, and go to seek better fortunes -elsewhere than the rocky soil of New England can afford. Still, while -the population of Massachusetts is scarcely above half that of London, -its number of landowners is greater than that of all England. - -The Massachusetts farmers were the first to decline; but now the -comparative adversity of agriculture has extended even into Vermont. A -few years ago, lenders of money into Vermont received thirty per cent. -interest from farmers: now they are glad to get six per cent.; and this -does not arise from the farmers having saved capital of their own. They -have but little property besides their land. Their daughters, and even -their sons, resort to domestic service in Boston for a living. Boston -used to be supplied from Vermont with fowls, butter, and eggs: but the -supply has nearly ceased. This is partly owing to an increased attention -to the growth of wool for the manufacturers; but partly also to the -decrease of capital and enterprise among the farmers. - -In Massachusetts the farmers have so little property besides their land, -that they are obliged to mortgage when they want to settle a son or -daughter, or make up for a deficient crop. The great Insurance Company -at Boston is the formidable creditor to many. This Company will not wait -a day for the interest. If it is not ready, loss or ruin ensues. Many -circumstances are now unfavourable to the old-fashioned Massachusetts -farmer. Domestic manufactures, which used to employ the daughters, are -no longer worth while, in the presence of the factories. The young men, -who should be the daughters' husbands, go off to the west. The idea of -domestic service is not liked. There is an expensive family at home, -without sufficient employment; and they may be considered poor. These -are evils which may be shaken off any day. I speak of them, not as -demanding much compassion, but as indicating a change in the state of -affairs; and especially that New England is designed to be a -manufacturing and commercial region. It is already common to see -agriculture joined with other employments. The farmers of the coast are, -naturally, fishermen also. They bring home fish, manure their land with -the offal; sow their seed, and go out again to fish while it is growing. -Shoemaking is now joined with farming. In the long winter evenings, all -the farmers' families around Lynn are busy shoe-making; and in the -spring, they turn out into the fields again. The largest proportion of -factory girls too is furnished by country families. - -The traveller may see, by merely passing through the country, without -asking information, how far New England ought to be an agricultural -country, if the object of its society be to secure the comfort of its -members, rather than the continuance of old customs. The valleys, like -that of the Connecticut river, whose soil is kept rich by annual -inundations, and whose fields have no fences, gladden the eye of the -observer. So it is with particular spots elsewhere, where, it may be -remarked, the fences are of the ordinary, slovenly kind, and too much -care does not seem to have been bestowed on the arrangements and economy -of the estate. Elsewhere, may be seen stony fields, plots of the -greenest pasture, with grey rocks standing up in the midst, and barberry -bushes sprinkled all about: trim orchards, and fences on which a great -deal of spare time must have been bestowed. Instead of the ugly, hasty -snake-fence, there is a neatly built wall, composed of the stones which -had strewed the fields: sometimes the neatest fence of all; a wall of -stones and sods, regularly laid, with a single rail along the top: -sometimes a singular fence, which would be perfect, but for the expense -of labour required; roots of trees, washed from the soil, and turned -side upwards, presenting a complete chevaux-de-frise, needing no -mending, and lasting the "for ever" of this world. About these -farm-houses, a profusion of mignonette may be seen; and in the season, -the rich major convolvulus, or scarlet runners, climbing up to the -higher windows. The dove-cotes are well looked to. There has evidently -been time and thought for everything. This is all very pretty to look -at,--even bewitching to those who do not see beneath the surface, nor -know that hearts may be aching within doors about perilous mortgages, -and the fate of single daughters; but, it being known that such worldly -anxieties do exist, it is not difficult to perceive that these are the -places in which they abide. - -There is, of course, a knowledge of the difficulty on the spot; but not -always a clear view of coming events, which include a remedy. The -commonest way of venting any painful sensibility on the subject, is -declamation against luxury; or rather, against the desire for it in -those who are supposed unable to afford it. This will do no good. If the -Pilgrim Fathers themselves had had luxury before their eyes, they would -have desired to have it; and they would have been right. Luxury is, in -itself, a great good. Luxury is _delicious fare_,--of any and every -kind: and He who bestowed it meant all men to have it. The evil of -luxury is in its restriction; in its being made a cause of separation -between men, and a means of encroachment by some on the rights of -others. Frugality is a virtue only when it is required by justice and -charity. Luxury is vicious only when it is obtained by injustice, and -carried on into intemperance. It is a bad thing that a Massachusetts -farmer should mortgage his farm, in order that his wife and daughters -may dress like the ladies of Boston; but the evil is not in the dress; -it is rather in his clinging to a mode of life which does not enable him -to pay his debts. The women desire dress, not only because it is -becoming, but because they revolt from sinking, even outwardly, into a -lower station of life than they once held: and this is more than -harmless; it is honourable. What they have to do is to make up their -minds to be consistent. They must either go down with their farm, for -love of it, and the ways which belong to it: or they must make a better -living in some other manner. They cannot have the old farm and its ways, -and luxury too. Nobody has a right to decide for them which they ought -to choose; and declaiming against luxury will therefore do no good. It -is, however, pretty clear which they will choose, while luxury and -manufactures are growing before their eyes; and, in that case, -declaiming against luxury can do little but harm: it will only destroy -sympathy between the declaimers and those who may find the cap fit. - -One benevolent lady strongly desires and advises that manufactures -should be put down; and the increased population all sent away -somewhere, that New England may be as primitive and sparsely peopled as -in days when it was, as she supposes, more virtuous than now. Whenever -she can make out what virtue is, so as to prove that New England was -ever more virtuous than now, her plans may find hearers; but not till -then. I mention these things merely to show how confirmed is the -tendency of New England to manufactures, in preference to agriculture. - -There is one certain test of the permanent fitness of any district of -country for agricultural purposes; the settlement of any large number of -Germans in it. The Germans give any price for good land, and use it -all. They are much smiled at by the vivacious and enterprising Americans -for their plodding, their attachment to their own methods, and the odd -direction taken by their pride.[12] The part of Pennsylvania where they -abound is called the Boeotia of America. There is a story current -against them that they were seen to parade with a banner, on which was -inscribed "No schools," when the State legislature was about -establishing a school system. On the other hand, it is certain that they -have good German newspapers prepared among themselves: that their -politics do them high honour, considering the very short political -education they have had: and that they know more of political economy -than their native neighbours. They show by their votes that they -understand the tariff and bank questions; and they are staunch -supporters of democratic principles. - -Nothing can be more thriving than the settlements of Germans, when they -have once been brought into order. Their fields are well fenced; their -implements of the most substantial make; and their barns a real -curiosity. While the family of the farmer is living in a poor log-house, -or a shabby, unpainted frame-house, the barn has all the pains of its -owner lavished upon it. I saw several, freshly painted with red, with -eleven glass windows, with venetian blinds, at each end, and twelve in -front. They keep up the profitable customs of their country. The German -women are the only women seen in the fields and gardens in America, -except a very few Dutch, and the slaves in the south. The stores of -pumpkins, apples, and onions in the stoup (piazza) are edifying to -behold. Under them sits the old dame of the house, spinning at her large -wheel; and her grand-children, all in grey homespun, look as busy as -herself. - -The German settlers always contrive to have a market, either by placing -themselves near one, or bestirring themselves to make one. They have no -idea of sitting down in a wilderness, and growing wild in it. A great -many of them are market-gardeners near the towns.[13] - -It is scarcely possible to foresee, with distinctness, the destination -of the southern States, east of the Alleghanies, when the curse of -slavery shall be removed. Up to that period, continual deterioration is -unavoidable. Efforts are being made to compensate for the decline of -agriculture by pushing the interests of commerce. This is well; for the -"opening" of every new rail-road, of every new pier, is another blow -given to slavery. The agriculture of Virginia continues to decline; and -her revenue is chiefly derived from the rearing of slaves as stock for -the southern market. In the north and west parts of this State, where -there is more farming than planting, it has long been found that slavery -is ruinous; and when I passed through, in the summer of 1835, I saw -scarcely any but whites, for some hundreds of miles along the road, -except where a slave trader was carrying down to the south the remains -that he had bought up. Unless some new resource is introduced, Virginia -will be almost impoverished when the traffic in slaves comes to an end; -which, I have a strong persuasion, will be the case before very long. -The Virginians themselves are, it seems, aware of their case. I saw a -factory at Richmond, worked by black labour, which was found, to the -surprise of those who tried the experiment, to be of very good quality. - -The shores of the south, low and shoaly, are unfavourable to foreign -commerce. The want of a sufficiency of good harbours will probably impel -the inhabitants of the southern States to renew their agricultural -pursuits, and merely confine themselves to internal commerce. The -depression of agriculture is only temporary, I believe. It began from -slavery, and is aggravated by the opening of the rich virgin soils of -the south-west. But the time will come when improved methods of tillage, -with the advantage of free labour, will renew the prosperity of -Virginia, and North and South Carolina. - -No mismanagement short of employing slaves will account for the -deterioration of the agricultural wealth of these States. When the -traveller observes the quality of some of the land now under -cultivation, he wonders how other estates could have been rendered so -unprofitable as they are. The rich Congaree bottoms, in South Carolina, -look inexhaustible; but some estates, once as fine, now lie barren and -deserted. I went over a plantation, near Columbia, South Carolina, where -there were four thousand acres within one fence, each acre worth fifteen -hundred dollars. This land has been cropped yearly with cotton since -1794, and is now becoming less productive; but it is still very fine. -The cotton seed is occasionally returned to the soil; and this is the -only means of renovation used. Four hundred negroes work this estate. We -saw the field trenched, ready for sowing. The sowing is done by hand, -thick, and afterwards thinned. I saw the cotton elsewhere, growing like -twigs. I saw also some in pod. There are three or four pickings of pods -in a season; of which the first gathering is the best. Each estate has -its cotton press. In the gin, the seed is separated from the cotton; and -the latter is pressed and packed for sale. - -There seems nothing to prevent the continuance or renovation of the -growth of this product, under more favourable circumstances. Whether the -rice swamps will have to be given up, or whether they may be tilled by -free black labour, remains to be seen. The Chinese grow rice; and so do -the Italians, without the advantage of free black labour. If, in the -worst case, the rice swamps should have to be relinquished, the loss -would be more than compensated by the improvement which would take place -in the farming districts; land too high for planting. The western, -mountainous parts of these States would thus become the most valuable. - -It was amusing to hear the praises of corn (Indian corn) in the midst of -the richest cotton, rice, and tobacco districts. The Indian looks with -silent wonder upon the settler, who becomes visibly a capitalist in nine -months, on the same spot where the red man has remained equally poor, -all his life. In February, both are alike bare of all but land, and a -few utensils. By the end of the next November, the white settler has his -harvest of corn; more valuable to him than gold and silver. It will -procure him many things which they could not. A man who has corn, may -have everything. He can sow his land with it; and, for the rest, -everything eats corn, from slave to chick. Yet, in the midst of so much -praise of corn, I found that it cost a dollar a bushel; that every one -was complaining of the expenses of living; that, so far from mutton -being despised, as we have been told, it was much desired, but not to be -had; and that milk was a great rarity. Two of us, in travelling, asked -for a draught of milk. We had each a very small tumbler-full, and were -charged a quarter-dollar. The cultivation of land is as exclusively for -exportable products, as in the West Indies, in the worst days of their -slavery; when food, and even bricks for building, were imported from -England. The total absence of wise rural economy, under the present -system, opens great hope of future improvement. The forsaken plantations -are not so exhausted of their resources as it is supposed, from their -producing little cotton, that they must be. The deserted fields may yet -be seen, some day, again fruitful in cotton, with corn-fields, -pasturage, and stock, (not human,) flourishing in appropriate spots. - -Adversity is the best teacher of economy here, as elsewhere. In the -first flush of prosperity, when a proprietor sits down on a rich virgin -soil, and the price of cotton is rising, he buys bacon and corn for his -negroes, and other provisions for his family, and devotes every rod of -his land to cotton-growing. I knew of one in Alabama, who, like his -neighbours, paid for his land and the maintenance of his slaves with the -first crop, and had a large sum over, wherewith to buy more slaves and -more land. He paid eight thousand dollars for his land, and all the -expenses of the establishment, and had, at the end of the season, eleven -thousand dollars in the bank. It was thought, by a wise friend of this -gentleman's, that it was a great injury, instead of benefit to his -fortune, that his labourers were not free. To use this wise man's -expression, "it takes two white men to make a black man work;" and he -was confident that it was not necessary, on any pretence whatever, to -have a single slave in Alabama. Where all the other elements of -prosperity exist, as they do in that rich new State, any quality and -amount of labour might be obtained, and the permanent prosperity of the -country might be secured. If matters go on as they are, Alabama will in -time follow the course of the south-eastern States, and find her -production of cotton declining; and she will have to learn a wiser -husbandry by vicissitude. But matters will not go on as they are to that -point. Cotton-growing is advancing rapidly in other parts of the world -where there is the advantage of cheap, free labour; and the southern -States of America will find themselves unable to withstand the -competition of rivals whom they now despise, but by the use of free -labour, and of the improved management which will accompany it. There is -already a great importation of mules for field work from the higher -western States. Who knows but that in time there may be cattle-shows, -(like those of the more prosperous rural districts of the north,) where -there are now slave markets; or at least agricultural societies, whereby -the inhabitants may be put in the way of obtaining tender "sheep's -meat," while cotton may be grown more plentifully than even at present? - -I saw at Charleston the first great overt act of improvement that I am -aware of in South Carolina. One step has been taken upwards; and when I -saw it, I could only wish that the slaves in the neighbourhood could -see, as clearly as a stranger could, the good it portended to them. It -is nothing more than that an enterprising gentleman has set up a -rice-mill, and that he avails himself to the utmost of its capabilities; -but this is made much of in that land of small improvement; as it ought -to be. The chaff is used to enrich the soil: and the proprietor has made -lot after lot of bad land very profitable for sale with it, and is thus -growing rapidly rich. The sweet flour, which lies between the husk and -the grain, is used for fattening cattle. The broken rice is sold cheap; -and the rest finds a good market. There are nine persons employed in the -mill, some white and some black; and many more are busy in preparing the -lots of land, and in building on them. Clusters of houses have risen up -around the mill. - -Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, present the extreme case of the -fertility of the soil, the prosperity of proprietors, and the woes of -slaves. I found the Virginians spoke with sorrow and contempt of the -treatment of slaves in North and South Carolina: South Carolina and -Georgia, of the treatment of slaves in the richer States to the west: -and, in these last, I found the case too bad to admit of aggravation. It -was in these last that the most heart-rending disclosures were made to -me by the ladies, heads of families, of the state of society, and of -their own intolerable sufferings in it. As I went further north again, I -found an improvement. There was less wealth in the hands of individuals, -a better economy, more intelligent slaves, and more discussion how to -get rid of slavery. Tennessee is, in some sort, naturally divided on the -question. The eastern part of the State is hilly, and fit for farming; -for which slave labour does not answer. The western part is used for -cotton-planting; and the planters will not yet hear of free labour. The -magnificent State of Kentucky has no other drawback to its prosperity -than slavery; and its inhabitants are so far convinced of this that they -will, no doubt, soon free themselves from it. They cannot look across -the river, and witness the prosperity of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, -without being aware that, with their own unequalled natural advantages, -they could not be so backward as they are, from any other cause. - -Kentucky is equally adapted for agriculture and commerce. She may have -ports on the rivers, along her whole northern and western boundary; and -she has already roads superior to almost any in the United States. She -is rich in stone, and many other minerals; in mineral waters, and in a -soil of unsurpassed fertility. The State is more thickly settled than is -evident to the passing traveller; and the effect will appear when more -markets, or roads to existing markets, are opened. In one small county -which I visited, my host and his brother had farms of fifteen hundred -acres each; and there were two hundred and fifty other farms in the -county. Sometimes these farms are divided among the children. More -commonly, all the sons but one go elsewhere to settle. In this case, the -homestead is usually left to the youngest son, who is supposed likely to -be the most attached to the surviving parent. - -The estates of the two brothers, mentioned above, comprising three -thousand acres, were bought of the Indians for a rifle. We passed a -morning in surveying the one which is a grazing farm. There is a good -red-brick house for the family: and the slave-quarter is large. Nothing -can be more beautiful than the aspect of the estate, from the richness -of its vegetation, and the droves of fine cattle that were to be seen -everywhere. I never saw finer cattle. The owner had just refused sixty -dollars apiece for fourteen of them. Fifteen acres of the forest are -left for shade; and there, and under single oaks in the cleared pasture, -were herds of horses and mules, and three donkeys; the only ones I saw -in the United States. - -We passed an unshaded meadow, where the grass had caught fire every day -at eleven o'clock, the preceding summer. This demonstrates the necessity -of shade. - -We passed "a spontaneous rye-field." I asked what "spontaneous" meant -here; and found that a fine crop of rye had been cut the year before; -and that the nearly equally fine one now before us had grown up from the -dropped seed. - -We enjoyed the thought of the abundance of milk here, after the dearth -we had suffered in the South. Forty cows are milked for the use of the -family and the negroes, and are under the care of seven women. The -proprietor declared to me that he believed his slaves would drive him -mad. Planters, who grow but one product, suffer much less from the -incapacity and perverse will of their negroes: the care of stock is -quite another matter; and for any responsible service, slaves are -totally unfit. - -Instead of living being cheaper on country estates, from the necessaries -of life being raised on them, it appears to be much more expensive. This -is partly owing to the prevailing pride of having negroes to show. One -family, of four persons, of my acquaintance, in South Carolina, whose -style of living might be called homely, cannot manage to live for less -than three thousand dollars a year. They have a carriage and eleven -negroes. It is cheaper in Kentucky. In the towns, a family may live in -good style for two thousand five hundred dollars a year; and for no -great deal more in the country. A family entered upon a good house, near -a town, with one hundred and twenty acres of land, a few years ago, at a -rent of three hundred dollars. They bought house and land, and brought -their slaves, and now live, exclusive of rent and hire of servants, for -two thousand dollars a year, in greater numbers and much higher style -than the South Carolina family. - -The prospects of agriculture in the States north-west of the Ohio are -brilliant. The stranger who looks upon the fertile prairies of Illinois -and Indiana, and the rich alluvions of Ohio, feels the iniquity of the -English corn laws as strongly as in the alleys of Sheffield and -Manchester. The inhuman perverseness of taxing food is there evident in -all its enormity. The world ought never to hear of a want of food,--no -one of the inhabitants of its civilised portions ought ever to be -without the means of obtaining his fill, while the mighty western valley -smiles in its fertility. If the aristocracy of England, for whom those -laws were made, and by whom they are sustained, could be transported to -travel, in open wagons, the boundless prairies, and the shores of the -great rivers which would bring down the produce, they would groan to see -from what their petty, selfish interests had shut out the thousands of -half-starved labourers at home. If they could not be convinced of the -very plain truth, of how their own fortunes would be benefited by -allowing the supply and demand of food to take their natural course, -they would, for the moment, wish their rent-rolls at the bottom of the -sea, rather than that they should stand between the crowd of labourers -and the supply of food which God has offered them. The landlords of -England do not go and see the great western valley; but, happily, some -of the labourers of England do. Far off as that valley is, those -labourers will make themselves heard from thence, by those who have -driven them there; and will teach the brethren whom they have left -behind where the blame of their hunger lies. Every British settler who -ploughs a furrow in the prairie, helps to plough up the foundations of -the British Corn Laws. - -There is a prospect, not very uncertain or remote, of these prairie -lands bringing relief to a yet more suffering class than either English -labourers or landlords; the sugar-growing slaves of the south. Rumours -of the progress of sugar-making from beet in France have, for some time -past, been interesting many persons in the United States; especially -capitalists inclined to speculate, and the vigilant friends of the -slave. Information has been obtained, and some trials made. Individuals -have sown ten acres and upwards each, and manufactured sugar with a -small apparatus. The result has been encouraging; and a large -manufactory was to be opened in Philadelphia on the 1st of November -last. Two large joint-stock companies have been founded, one in New -Jersey and the other in Illinois. Their proceedings have been quickened -by the frosts of several successive seasons, which have so cut off the -canes in the south, as that it cannot supply one quarter of the domestic -consumption: whereas it had previously supplied half. Some of the -southern newspapers have recommended the substitution of beet for canes. -However soon this may be done, the northern sugar planters, with their -free labour, will surely overpower the south in the competition. This is -on the supposition that beet will answer as well as canes; a supposition -which will have Bern granted whenever the south begins to grow beet in -preference to canes. - -A heavy blow would be inflicted on slavery by the success of the beet -companies. The condition of the cane-growing slaves cannot be made worse -than it is. I believe that even in the West Indies it has never been so -dreadful as at present in some parts of Louisiana. A planter stated to a -sugar-refiner in New York, that it was found the best economy to _work -off_ the stock of negroes once in seven years. - -The interest excited by this subject of beet-growing is very strong -throughout the United States. Some result must ensue which will be an -instigation to further action. The most important would be the inducing -in the south either the use of free labour in sugar-growing, or the -surrender of an object so fatal to decent humanity. - -The prettiest amateur farm I saw was that of the late Dr. Hosack, at -Hyde Park, on the Hudson. Dr. Hosack had spared no pains to improve his -stock, and his methods of farming, as well as the beauty of his -pleasure-grounds. His merits in the former departments the agricultural -societies in England are much better qualified to appreciate than I; and -they seem to have valued his exertions; to judge by the medals and other -honourable testimonials from them which he showed to me. As for his -pleasure-grounds, little was left for the hand of art to do. The natural -terrace above the river, green, sweeping, and undulating, is -surpassingly beautiful. Dr. Hosack's good taste led him to leave it -alone, and to spend his pains on the gardens and conservatory behind. Of -all the beautiful country-seats on the Hudson, none can, I think, equal -Hyde Park; though many bear a more imposing appearance from the river. - -Though I twice traversed the western part of the State of New York, I -did not see the celebrated farm of Mr. Wadsworth; the finest, by all -accounts, in the United States. The next best thing to seeing it was -hearing Mr. Wadsworth talk about it,--especially of its hospitable -capabilities. This only increased my regret at being unable to visit it. - -The most remarkable order of land-owners that I saw in the United States -was that of the Shakers and the Rappites; both holding all their -property in common, and both enforcing celibacy. The interest which -would be felt by the whole of society in watching the results of a -community of property is utterly destroyed by the presence of the other -distinction; or rather of the ignorance and superstition of which it is -the sign. - -The moral and economical principles of these societies ought to be most -carefully distinguished by the observer. This being done, I believe it -will be found that whatever they have peculiarly good among them is -owing to the soundness of their economical principles; whatever they -have that excites compassion, is owing to the badness of their moral -arrangements. - -I visited two Shaker communities in Massachusetts. The first was at -Hancock, consisting of three hundred persons, in the neighbourhood of -another at Lebanon, consisting of seven hundred persons. There are -fifteen Shaker establishments or "families" in the United States, and -their total number is between five and six thousand. There is no -question of their entire success, as far as wealth is concerned. A very -moderate amount of labour has secured to them in perfection all the -comforts of life that they know how to enjoy, and as much wealth besides -as would command the intellectual luxuries of which they do not dream. -The earth does not show more flourishing fields, gardens, and orchards, -than theirs. The houses are spacious, and in all respects -unexceptionable. The finish of every external thing testifies to their -wealth, both of material and leisure. The floor of their place of -worship, (the scene of their peculiar exercises,) the roofs of their -houses, their stair-carpets, the feet of their chairs, the springs of -their gates, and their spitting-boxes,--for even these neat people have -spitting-boxes--show a nicety which is rare in America. Their table fare -is of the very best quality. We had depended on a luncheon among them, -and were rather alarmed at the refusal we met, when we pleaded our long -ride and the many hours that we should have to wait for refreshment, if -they would not furnish us with some. They urged, reasonably enough, that -a steady rule was necessary, subject as the community was to visits from -the company at Lebanon Springs. They did not want to make money by -furnishing refreshments, and did not desire the trouble. For once, -however, they kindly gave way; and we were provided with delicious -bread, molasses, butter, cheese and wine; all homemade, of course. If -happiness lay in bread and butter, and such things, these people have -attained the _summum bonum_. Their store shows what they can produce for -sale. A great variety of simples, of which they sell large quantities to -London; linen-drapery, knitted wares, sieves, baskets, boxes, and -confectionary; palm and feather fans, pin-cushions, and other such -trifles; all these may be had in some variety, and of the best quality. -If such external provision, with a great amount of accumulated wealth -besides, is the result of co-operation and community of property among -an ignorant, conceited, inert society like this, what might not the same -principles of association achieve among a more intelligent set of -people, stimulated by education, and exhilarated by the enjoyment of all -the blessings which Providence has placed within the reach of man? - -The wealth of the Shakers is not to be attributed to their celibacy. -They are receiving a perpetual accession to their numbers from among the -"world's people," and these accessions are usually of the most -unprofitable kind. Widows with large families of young children, are -perpetually joining the community, with the view of obtaining a -plentiful subsistence with very moderate labour. The increase of their -numbers does not lead to the purchase of more land. They supply their -enlarged wants by the high cultivation of the land they have long -possessed; and the superfluity of capital is so great that it is -difficult to conceive what will be done with it by a people so nearly -dead to intellectual enjoyments. If there had been no celibacy among -them, they would probably have been far more wealthy than they are; the -expenses of living in community being so much less, and the produce of -co-operative labour being so much greater than in a state of division -into families. The truth of these last positions can be denied by none -who have witnessed the working of a co-operative system. The problem is -to find the principle by which all shall be induced to labour their -share. Any such principle being found, the wealth of the community -follows of course. - -Whether any principle to this effect can be brought to bear upon any -large class of society in the old world, is at present the most -important dispute, perhaps, that is agitating society. It will never now -rest till it has been made matter of experiment. If a very low principle -has served the purpose, for a time at least, in the new world, there -seems much ground for expectation that a far higher one may be found to -work as well in the more complicated case of English society. There is, -at least, every encouragement to try. While there are large classes of -people here whose condition can hardly be made worse; while the present -system (if such it may be called) imposes care on the rich, excessive -anxiety on the middle classes, and desperation on the poor: while the -powerful are thus, as it were, fated to oppress; the strivers after -power to circumvent and counteract; and the powerless to injure, it -seems only reasonable that some section, at least, of this warring -population should make trial of the peaceful principles which are -working successfully elsewhere. The co-operative methods of the Shakers -and Rappites might be tried without any adoption of their spiritual -pride and cruel superstition. These are so far from telling against the -system, that they prompt the observer to remark how much has been done -in spite of such obstacles. - -There must be something sound in the principles on which these people -differ from the rest of the world, or they would not work at all; but -the little that is vital is dreadfully encumbered with that which is -dead. Like all religious persuasions from which one differs, that of the -Shakers appears more reasonable in conversation, and in their daily -actions, than on paper and at a distance. In actual life, the absurd and -peculiar recedes before the true and universal; but, I own, I have never -witnessed more visible absurdity than in the way of life of the Shakers. -The sound part of their principle is the same as that which has -sustained all devotees; and with it is joined a spirit of fellowship -which makes them more in the right than the anchorites and friars of -old. This is all. Their spiritual pride, their insane vanity, their -intellectual torpor, their mental grossness, are melancholy to witness. -Reading is discouraged among them. Their thoughts are full of the one -subject of celibacy: with what effect, may be easily imagined. Their -religious exercises are disgustingly full of it. It cannot be otherwise: -for they have no other interesting subject of thought beyond their daily -routine of business; no objects in life, no wants, no hopes, no novelty -of experience whatever. Their life is all dull work and no play. - -The women, in their frightful costume, close opaque caps, and drab gowns -of the last degree of tightness and scantiness, are nothing short of -disgusting. They are averse to the open air and exercise; they are -pallid and spiritless. They look far more forlorn and unnatural than the -men. Their soulless stare at us, before their worship began, was almost -as afflicting as that of the lowest order of slaves; and, when they -danced, they were like so many galvanised corpses. I had been rather -afraid of not being able to keep my countenance during this part of -their worship; but there was no temptation to laugh. It was too shocking -for ridicule. Three men stood up, shouting a monotonous tune, and -dangling their crossed hands, with a pawing motion, to keep time, while -the rest danced, except some old women and young children, who sat out. -The men stamped, and the women jerked, with their arms hanging by their -sides; they described perpetually the figure of a square; the men and -boys on one side, the women and girls on the other. There were prayers -besides, and singing, and a sermon. This last was of a better quality -than usual, I understood. It was (of all improbable subjects) on -religious liberty, and contained nothing outrageously uncommon, except -the proposition that the American revolution had drawn the last of the -teeth of the red dragon. - -It is not to be supposed that the children who are carried in by their -widowed, or indolent, or poor, or superstitious parents, are always -acquiescent in their destination. I saw many a bright face within the -prim cap-border, which bore a prophecy of a return to the world; and two -of the boys stamped so vigorously in the dance, that it was impossible -to imagine their feelings to be very devotional. The story of one often -serves as an index to the hearts of many. I knew of a girl who was -carried into a Shaker community by her widowed mother, and subjected -early to its discipline. It was hateful to her. One Sunday, when she -was, I believe, about sixteen, she feigned illness, to avoid going to -worship. When she believed every one else gone, she jumped out of a low -window, and upon the back of a pony which happened to be in the field. -She rode round and round the enclosure, without saddle or bridle, and -then re-entered the house. She had been observed, and was duly -reprimanded. She left the community in utter weariness and disgust. A -friend of mine, in a neighbouring village, took the girl into her -service. She never settled well in service, being too proud for the -occupation; and she actually went back to the same community, and is -there still, for no better reason than the saving of her pride. Her old -teachers had, it thus appeared, obtained an influence over her, -notwithstanding the tyranny of their discipline; and it had not been of -a wholesome moral nature. But no more words are necessary to show how -pride, and all other selfishness, must flourish in a community which -religiously banishes all the tenderest charities of life. - -The followers of Mr. Rapp are settled at Economy, on the Ohio, eighteen -miles below Pittsburgh. Their number was five hundred when I was there; -and they owned three thousand acres of land. Much of their attention -seems to be given to manufactures. They rear silkworms, and were the -earliest silk-weavers in the United States. At my first visit they were -weaving only a flimsy kind of silk handkerchief; last summer I brought -away a piece of substantial, handsome black satin. They have -sheep-walks, and a large woollen manufactory. Their factory was burnt -down in 1834; the fire occasioning a loss of sixty thousand dollars; a -mere trifle to this wealthy community. Their vineyards, corn-fields, -orchards, and gardens gladden the eye. There is an abundance so much -beyond their need that it is surprising that they work; except for want -of something else to do. The Dutch love of flowers was visible in the -plants that were to be seen in the windows, and the rich carnations and -other sweets that bloomed in the garden and green-house. The whole place -has a superior air to that of either of the Shaker "families" that I -saw. The women were better dressed; more lively, less pallid; but, I -fear, not much wiser. Mr. Rapp exercises an unbounded influence over his -people. They are prevented learning any language but German, and are not -allowed to converse with strangers. The superintendent keeps a close -watch over them in this respect. Probationers must serve a year before -they can be admitted: and the managers own that they dread the entrance -of young people, who might be "unsettled;" that is, not sufficiently -subservient. - -I was curious to learn how five hundred persons could be kept in the -necessary subjection by one. Mr. Rapp's means are such that his task is -not very difficult. He keeps his people ignorant; and he makes them -vain. He preaches to them their own superiority over the rest of the -world so incessantly that they fully believe it; and are persuaded that -their salvation is in his hands. At first I felt, with regard both to -them and the Shakers, a strong respect for the self-conquest which could -enable them to endure the singularity,--the one community, of its -non-intercourse with strangers; the other, of its dancing exhibitions; -but I soon found that my respect was misplaced. One and all, they glory -in the singularity. They feel no awkwardness in it, from first to last. -This vanity is the handle by which they are worked. - -Mr. Rapp is now very old. His son is dead. It remains to be seen what -will become of his community, with its immense accumulation of wealth, -when it has lost its dictator. It does not appear that they can go on in -their present state without a dictator. They smile superciliously upon -Mr. Owen's plan, as admitting "a wrong principle,"--marriage. The best -hope for them is that they will change their minds on this point, -admitting the educational improvements which will arise out of the -change, and remaining in community with regard to property. This is the -process now in action among the seceders from their body, settled on the -opposite bank of the river, a short distance below Economy. - -These seceders were beguiled by Count Leon, a stranger, who told the -people a great deal that was true about Mr. Rapp, and a great deal that -was false about himself. It is a great pity that Count Leon was a -swindler; for he certainly opened the eyes of the Economy people to many -truths, and might have done all that was wanted, if he had himself been -honest. He drew away seventy of the people, and instigated them to -demand of Mr. Rapp their share of the accumulated property. It was -refused: and a suit was instituted against Mr. Rapp, in whose name the -whole is invested. The lawyers compromised the affair, and Mr. Rapp -disbursed 120,000 dollars. Count Leon obtained, and absconded with -almost the whole, and died in Texas; the burial-place of many more such -men. With the remnant of their funds, the seventy seceders purchased -land, and settled themselves opposite to Beaver, on the Ohio. They live -in community, but abjuring celibacy; and have been joined by some -thorough-bred Americans. It will be seen how they prosper. - -Though the members of these remarkable communities are far from being -the only agriculturists in whom the functions of proprietor and labourer -are joined, the junction is in them so peculiar as to make them a -separate class, holding a place between the landowners of whom I have -before spoken, and the labourers of whom I shall have to treat. - - -SECTION I. - -DISPOSAL OF LAND. - -The political economists of England have long wondered why the Americans -have not done what older nations would be glad to do, if the opportunity -had not gone by;--reserved government lands, which, as it is the -tendency of rent to rise, might obviate any future increase of taxation. -There are more good reasons than one why this cannot be done in America. - -The expenses of the general government are so small that the present -difficulty is to reduce the taxation so as to leave no more than a safe -surplus revenue in the treasury; and there is no prospect of any -increase of taxation; as the taxpayers are likely to grow much faster -than the expenses of the government. - -The people of the United States choose to be proprietors of land, not -tenants. No one can yet foresee the time when the relation of landlord -and tenant (except in regard to house property) will be extensively -established in America. More than a billion of acres remain to be -disposed of first. - -The weightiest reason of all is that, in the United States, the people -of to-day are the government of to-day; the people of fifty years hence -will be the government of fifty years hence; and it would not suit the -people of to-day to sequestrate their property for the benefit of their -successors, any better than it would suit the people of fifty years -hence to be legislated for by those of to-day. A democratic government -must always be left free to be operated upon by the will of the -majority of the time being. All that the government of the day can do is -to ascertain what now appears to be the best principle by which to -regulate the disposal of land, and then to let the demand and supply -take their natural course. - -The methods according to which the disposal of land is carried on are as -good as the methods of government almost invariably are in America. The -deficiency is in the knowledge of the relation which land bears to other -capital and to labour.[14] A few clear-headed men have foreseen the evil -of so great a dispersion of the people as has taken place, and have -consistently advocated a higher price being set upon land than that at -which it is at present sold. Such men are now convinced that evils which -seem to bear no more relation to the price of land than the fall of an -apple to the motions of the planets, are attributable to the reduction -in the price of government lots: that much political blundering, and -religious animosity; much of the illegal violence, and much of the -popular apathy on the slave question, which have disgraced the country, -are owing to the public lands being sold at a minimum price of a dollar -and a-quarter per acre. Many excellent leaders of the democratic party -think the people at large less fit to govern themselves wisely than they -were five-and-twenty years ago. This seems to me improbable; but I -believe there is no doubt that the dispersion has hitherto been too -great; and that the intellectual and moral, and, of course, the -political condition of the people has thereby suffered. - -The price of the public lands was formerly two dollars per acre, with -credit. It was found to be a bad plan for the constituents of a -government to be its debtors; and there was a reduction of the price to -a dollar and a quarter, without credit. In forty years, above forty -millions of acres have been sold. The government cannot arbitrarily -raise the price. If any check is given to the process of dispersion, it -must arise from the people perceiving the true state of their own case, -and acting accordingly. - -Some circumstances seem at present to favour the process of -enlightenment; others are adverse to it. Those which are favourable are, -the high prosperity of manufactures and commerce, the essential -requisite of which is the concentration of labourers: the increasing -immigration of labourers from Europe, and the happy experience which -they force upon the back settler of the advantage of an increased -proportion of labour to land; and the approaching crisis of the slavery -question; when every one will see the necessity of measures which will -keep the slaves where they are. Of the extraordinary, and I must think, -often wilful error of taking for granted that all the slaves must be -removed, in order to the abolition of slavery, I shall have to speak -elsewhere. - -The circumstances unfavourable to an understanding of the true state of -the case about the disposal of land are, the deep-rooted persuasion that -land itself is the most valuable wealth, in all places, and under all -circumstances: and the complication of interests connected with the late -acquisition of Louisiana and Florida, and the present usurpation of -Texas. - -Louisiana was obtained from the French, not on account of the fertile -new land which it comprehended, but because it was essential to the very -existence of the United States that the mouth of the Mississippi should -not be in the possession of another people. The Americans obtained the -mouth of the Mississippi; and with it, unfortunately, large tracts of -the richest virgin soil, on which slavery started into new life, and on -which "the perspiration of the eastern States" (as I have heard the -settlers of the west called) rested, and grew barbarous while they grew -rich. A fact has lately transpired in the northern States which was -already well known in the south,--that the purchase of Florida was -effected for the sake of the slave-holders. It is now known that the -President was overwhelmed with letters from slave-owners, complaining -that Florida was the refuge of their runaways; and demanding that this -retreat should be put within their power. Florida was purchased. Many -and great evils have already arisen out of its acquisition. To cover -these, and blind the people to the particular and iniquitous interests -engaged in the affair, the sordid faction benefited raises a perpetual -boast in the ears of the people about their gain of new territory, and -the glory and profit of having added so many square miles to their -already vast possessions. - -In the eyes of those of the people who do not yet see the whole case, -the only evil which has arisen out of the possession of Florida, is the -Seminole warfare. They breathe an intense hatred against the Seminole -Indians; and many fine young men have gone down into Florida, and lost -their lives in battle, without being aware that they were fighting for -oppressors against the oppressed. Probably few of the United States -troops who fell in the late Seminole war knew how the strife arose. -According to the laws of the slave States, the children of the slaves -follow the fortunes of the _mother_. It will be seen, at a glance, what -consequences follow from this; how it operates as a premium upon -licentiousness among white men; how it prevents any but mock marriages -among slaves; and also what effect it must have upon any Indians with -whom slave women have taken refuge. The late Seminole war arose out of -this law. The escaped slaves had intermarried with the Indians. The -masters claimed the children. The Seminole fathers would not deliver -them up. Force was used to tear the children from their parents' arms, -and the Indians began their desperate, but very natural work of -extermination. They have carried on the war with eminent success, St. -Augustine, the capital, being now the only place in Florida where the -whites can set their foot. Of course, the poor Indians will ultimately -succumb, however long they may maintain the struggle: but, before that, -the American people may possibly have learned enough of the facts of the -case to silence those who boast of the acquisition of Florida, as an -increase of the national glory. - -It would be a happy thing for them if they should know all soon enough -to direct their national reprobation upon the Texan adventurers, and -wash their hands of the iniquity of that business. This would soon be -done, if they could look upon the whole affair from a distance, and see -how the fair fame of their country is compromised by the avarice and -craft of a faction. The probity of their people, their magnanimity in -money matters, have always been conspicuous, from the time of the -cession of their lands by the States to the General Government, till -now: and, now they seem in danger of forfeiting their high character -through the art of the few, and the ignorance of the many. The few are -obtaining their end by flattering the passion of the many for new -territory, as well as by engaging their best feelings on behalf of those -who are supposed to be fighting for their rights against oppressors. -There is yet hope. The knowledge of the real state of the case is -spreading; and, if only time can be gained, the Americans will yet be -saved from the eternal disgrace of adding Texas to their honourable -Union. - -The brief account which I shall give of what is prematurely called the -acquisition of Texas, is grounded partly on historical facts, open to -the knowledge of all; and partly on what I had the opportunity of -learning at New Orleans, from some leaders and agents in the Texan -cause, who did what they could to enlist my judgment and sympathies on -behalf of their party. I went in entire ignorance of the whole matter. -My first knowledge of it was derived from the persons above-mentioned, -whose objects were to obtain the good-will of such English as they could -win over; to have their affairs well spoken of in London; and to get the -tide of respectable English emigration turned in their direction. With -me they did not succeed: with some others they did. Several English are -already buried in Texas; and there are others whose repentance that they -ever were beguiled into aiding such a cause will be far worse than -death. The more I heard of the case from the lips of its advocates, the -worse I thought of it: and my reprobation of the whole scheme has grown -with every fact which has come out since. - -Texas, late a province of Mexico, and then one of its confederated -States, lies adjacent to Louisiana. The old Spanish government seem to -have had some foresight as to what might happen, to judge by the -jealousy with which they guarded this part of their country from -intrusion by the Americans. The Spanish Captain-general of the internal -provinces, Don Nemisio Salcedo, used to say that he would, if he could, -stop the birds from flying over the boundary between Texas and the -United States. Prior to 1820, however, a few adventurers, chiefly Indian -traders, had dropped over the boundary line and remained unmolested in -the eastern corner of Texas. In 1820, Moses Austin, of Missouri, was -privileged by the Spanish authorities to introduce three hundred -orderly, industrious families, professing the Catholic religion, as -settlers into Texas. Moses Austin died; and his son Stephen prosecuted -the scheme. Before possession of the land was obtained, the Mexican -Revolution occurred; but the new government confirmed the privilege -granted by the old one, with some modifications. The chief of the -settlers and his followers were liberally enriched with lands, gratis; -on the conditions of their occupying them; of their professing the -Catholic religion; and of their being obedient to the laws of the -country. - -Other persons were tempted by Austin's success to apply for grants. Many -obtained them, and disposed of their grants to joint stock companies; so -that Texas became the scene of much land-speculation. The companies -began to be busy about "stock" and "scrip," which they proffered as -preparatory titles to land; and a crowd of ignorant and credulous -persons, and of gamblers, thus became greedy after lands which no more -belonged to any Americans than Ireland. - -Leave was given to the actual settlers by the Mexican Government to -introduce, for ten years, duty free, all articles, not contraband, that -were necessary for their use and comfort. Under this permission, much -smuggling went on: and many adventurers settled in Texas for the very -purpose of supplying the neighbouring Indian tribes with contraband -articles. Arms and ammunition were plentifully furnished to the savages; -and slaves to the settlers; though slavery had been abolished in the -country, by whose laws the settlers had engaged to live. - -The next step was, an offer on the part of the United States Government -to purchase Texas, in order to incorporate it with the Union. The offer -was instantly and indignantly rejected by the Mexicans. It may seem -surprising that even with the passion for territory that the people of -the United States have, they should desire to purchase Texas, while -above a billion of acres of land at home were still unoccupied. Slavery -is found to be the solution of this, as of almost every other absurdity -and unpleasant mystery there. Slavery answers only on a virgin soil, and -under certain conditions of the supply of labour. It is destined to die -out of the States which it has impoverished, and which come most closely -into contrast with those which are flourishing under free labour. It is -evidently destined soon to be relinquished by Missouri, Kentucky, -Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware; and not very long afterwards, by the -Carolinas, and perhaps Tennessee. The proprietors of slaves have a -double purpose in acquiring new territory: to obtain a fresh field for -the labour of the slaves they possess; and, (what is at least as -important,) to keep up the equality of the representation of the slave -and free States in Congress. We have before seen that there is a -provision against the introduction of slavery into the lands north-west -of the Ohio. When to the representation of the new States of this -region, shall be joined that of the old States which relinquish slavery, -the remaining slave States will be in a hopeless minority in Congress, -unless a representation from new slave regions can be provided. Texas is -to be obtained first; and, if desirable, to be divided into several -States; and afterwards, the aggressions on the Mexican territory will -doubtless be repeated, as often as a new area for slave labour is -wanted; and an accession of representation, for the support of slavery, -is needed in Congress. Thus it happens that a host of land-speculators, -adventurers and slave-owners have, for a long series of years, been -interested in the acquisition of Texas. - -On the refusal of the Mexican Government to sell Texas, the newspapers -of the slave-holding portion of the United States began to indicate -methods of obtaining the territory, and to advocate the use of any means -for so desirable an object. The agent of the United States at the -Mexican capital is believed to have been instigated by his government to -intrigue for the purpose which could not be obtained by negotiation. The -settlers in Texas made it known along the Mississippi that they might -soon be strong enough to establish slavery openly, in defiance of -Mexico. This brought in an accession of slave-holding settlers, who -evaded the Mexican laws, by calling their slaves "apprentices for -ninety-nine years." The Mexicans took alarm; decreed in the State -Legislature of Texas that no apprenticeship should, on any pretence, be -for a longer term than ten years; forbade further immigration from the -United States; and sent a small body of troops to enforce the -prohibition. This was in 1829 and 1830. - -In 1832, the Mexican troops were unfortunately wanted near the capital, -and called in from the frontiers and colonies. The settlers shut up the -custom-houses in their part of the country, and defied the laws as much -as they pleased. Then a great number of restless, bad spirits began to -pour into Texas from the whole of the United States; men who had to fly -from their creditors, or from the pursuit of justice. There was probably -never seen a more ferocious company of ruffians than Texas contains at -this moment. These men, who had nothing to lose, now set to work to -wrench the territory from the hands of the Mexicans. They actually -proceeded, in 1833, to organize a State Government; opposed earnestly -but feebly by the honest, original settlers, who were satisfied with the -contract under which they had settled, and had everything to lose by the -breach of it. A Convention was called, to prepare a State Constitution, -which Stephen Austin had the audacity to carry to the Mexican capital, -to pray for its ratification by the Mexican Congress. After some time, -he was committed to prison on a charge of treasonable conspiracy. He was -still in prison when I was at New Orleans, in May, 1835; and no one of -the persons who conversed with me on Texan affairs alluded to the fact. -They spoke of him as if living and acting among the settlers. He wrote -to the colonists from his prison, advising strict obedience to the -Mexican laws; and, finally, gave his promise to the government to -promote order in the colonies; and was dismissed, by the clemency of the -administration, without further punishment than an imprisonment of -nearly two years. - -The wilder adventurers among the settlers had chafed at his advice, but -found it necessary to be quiet for a time. The Mexican government put -too much trust in them on this account, and restored, during Austin's -imprisonment, the freedom of immigration, on the old conditions. The -liberty was again shamelessly abused. Slaves were imported _from -Africa_, via Cuba, and illegal land speculations were carried on with -more vigour than ever. Troops were again sent from the capital to -re-open the custom-houses, and enforce their regulations. But it was now -too late. - -It had long been a settled agreement between the Texan adventurers and -many slave-holders of the south, that if slavery could no otherwise be -perpetuated in Texas, it should be done by the seizure of that province; -all possible aid being given by the residents in the United States, who -were a party to the agreement. This was avowed by the adventurers in -Texas; and the avowal has been justified by the subscriptions of money, -arms, and stores, which have been sent through New Orleans; the -companies of volunteers that have given their strength to the bad cause; -and the efforts of members of Congress from the south to hurry on the -recognition of the independence of Texas by the United States -Government. It was with shame and grief that I heard, while I was in New -York, last spring, of the public meeting there, which had been got up by -men who should have put the influence of their names to a better use,--a -public meeting in behalf of the Texan adventurers, where high-sounding -common-places had been played off about patriotism, fighting for the -dearest rights of man, and so forth. The purpose was, I believe, -answered for the time. The price of stock rose; and subscriptions were -obtained. The Texan cause was then in the lowest state of depression. It -soon revived, in consequence of an unfortunate defeat of the Mexicans, -and the capture of the President of their republic, Santa Anna. This, -again, was made to serve as the occasion of a public dinner at New York, -when some eminent members of Congress were passing through, to the -Springs, in the summer. The time will come when those gentlemen will -look back upon their speeches at that dinner as among the deeds which, -dying, they would most wish to blot. By this time, however, the true -character of the struggle was beginning to be extensively recognised: -and, day by day, the people of the United States have been since -awakening to the knowledge of how they have been cheated in having their -best sympathies called forth in behalf of the worst of causes. The great -fear is, lest this should prove to be too late; lest, the United States -having furnished the means by which the usurpation of Texas has been -achieved, the people of the Union should be persuaded that they must -follow their common, and otherwise fair rule, of acknowledging the -independence of all States that are _de facto_ independent, without -having anything to do with the question _de jure_. - -What has been the national conduct of the United States on this great -question? The government has been very nearly impartial. It must be -allowed that factions and individuals were already doing so much that, -if the government wished all possible success to the Texans, it could -hardly do better than be quiet while they were receiving the aid of its -constituents. While the theft of Texas has been achieved, (if it be -achieved,) by United States men, money and arms, the general government -has been officially regarding it as ostensibly and actually a foreign -affair. However much may be true of the general belief in the interest -of its members in the success of the Texan aggression, the government -has preserved a cool and guarded tone throughout; and the only act that -I know of for which it can be blamed is for not removing General Gaines -from his command on the frontier, on his manifestation of partisanship -on the Texan side. General Gaines was ordered to protect the settlers on -the south-western frontier, who might be in danger from the Mexicans, -and from the fierce Indians who were engaged on the Mexican side of the -quarrel. General Gaines wrote to head quarters of his intentions of -crossing, to attack the Mexicans, not only the inner bounds of the -United States territory, but the disputed boundary, claimed by the -United States, and disallowed by Mexico. Immediate orders were -despatched to him to do no such thing; to confine himself, except in a -strong emergency, to the inner boundary; and on no account whatever to -cross the disputed line. This was not enough. An officer who had shown -himself so indisposed to the neutrality professed by his government, -should have been sent where he could indulge his partialities with less -hazard to the national honour. - -Some senators from the south pressed, last session, with indecent haste, -for the recognition of the independence of Texas. The speech of -Ex-President Adams remains as an eternal rebuke to such.[15] This speech -was the most remarkable individual act of the session; and no session -has been distinguished by one more honourable. There was no attempt at a -reply to it, in or out of either House. Mr. Adams left no resource to -the advocates of the Texan cause but abuse of himself: the philosophy of -which he, no doubt, understood as well as other people. Various public -men, in various public assemblies, have declared their desire for the -success of the Texans; and have joined with this the avowal that the -value of slaves will rise fifty per cent, as soon as the independence of -Texas is acknowledged. - -The war is not yet over. The vicissitudes have been so great,--each -party has appeared at times in so hopeless a condition, that the friends -of American honour, and the foes of slavery, do not yet despair of the -ultimate expulsion of the aggressors, and the restoration of Texas to -Mexico. If these hopes must be surrendered,--if slavery is to be -re-established on a constitutional basis, in a vast territory where it -had been actually abolished,--if a new impulse is thus to be given to -the traffic in native Africans,[16]--if the fair fame of the -Anglo-Americans is to be thus early, and thus deeply stained, good men -must rouse themselves the more to enlighten the ignorance through which -the misfortune has happened. They must labour to exhibit the truth, -keeping unshaken their faith in the theory of their constitution that -"the majority will be in the right." - -It is much to be feared that, even if Texas were acknowledged to-morrow -to be a Mexican State, an injury would be found to have been done to the -American people, which it will take a long time and much experience to -repair. No pains have been spared to confirm the delusion, that the -possession of more and more land is the only thing to be desired, alike -by the selfish and the patriotic; by those who would hastily build up -their own fortunes, and by those who desire the aggrandisement of their -country. No one mourned with me more earnestly over this popular -delusion than a member of Congress, who has since been one of the most -vehement advocates of the Texan cause, and has thereby done his best to -foster the delusion. He told me that the metaphysics of society in the -south afford a curious study to the observer; and that they are -humbling to a resident. He told me that, so far from the honour and -happiness of any region being supposed to lie in the pursuit of the -higher objects of life, any man would be pronounced "imbecile" who, -having enough for his moderate wants, should prefer the enjoyment of his -patrimony, his family relations, and intercourse with the society in -which he was brought up, to wandering away in pursuit of more land. He -complained that he was heart-sick when he heard of American books: that -there was no character of permanence in anything;--all was fluctuation, -except the passion for land, which, under the name of enterprise, or -patriotism; or something else that was creditable, would last till his -countrymen had pushed their out-posts to the Pacific. He insisted that -the only consolation arose from what was to be hoped when pioneering -must, perforce, come to a stop. He told me of one and another of his -intelligent and pleasant young neighbours, who were quitting their homes -and civilised life, and carrying their brides "as bondwomen" into the -wilderness, because fine land was cheap there. If all this be true of -the young gentry of the south, as I believe it is, what hope is there -that the delusion will not long remain among those who have no other -guides than Experience;--that slowest of all teachers? - -The people of the United States have, however, kept their eyes open to -one great danger, arising from this love of land. They have always had -in view the disadvantage of rich men purchasing tracts larger than they -could cultivate. They saw that it was contrary to the public interest -that individuals should be allowed to interpose a desert between other -settlers whose welfare depends much on their having means of free -communication, and a peopled neighbourhood; and that it is inconsistent -with republican modes that overgrown fortunes should arise by means of -an early grasping of large quantities of a cheap kind of property, which -must inevitably become of the highest value in course of time. The -reduction in the price of land would probably have been greater, but for -the temptation which the cheapening would hold out to capitalists. -Another reason assigned for not still further lowering the price is, the -danger of depreciating a kind of property held by the largest proportion -of the people. This is obviously unsound; since the property held by -this large proportion of the people is improved land, whose relation in -value to other kinds of property is determined by quite other -circumstances than the amount of the original purchase-money. The number -of people who sell again unimproved land is so small as not to be worthy -to enter into the account. - -Large grants of land have been made to schools and colleges. Upwards of -eight millions of acres have, I believe, been thus disposed of. There -seems no objection to this, at the time it was done; as there can be no -doubt that grants will be cultivated that have such an interest hanging -on their cultivation. These grants were made while there was a national -debt. Now, there is a surplus revenue; and appropriations of this kind -had better be made henceforth from the money which has arisen from the -sale of land than in a way which would force more land into the market. -It is to be hoped, too, that no more recompenses for public service will -be offered in land, like the large grants which were made to soldiers -after the revolutionary war. The soldiers have disposed of their lands -much under the governmental price, in order to obtain a sale; and the -hurtful dispersion of settlers, and the sale of tracts too large to be -well-cultivated, have been thereby assisted. - -The great question incessantly repeated throughout the United States -is, what is to be done with the immense amount of land remaining unsold; -and with the perpetually increasing revenue arising from the sale, as it -proceeds? Various propositions are afloat,--none of which appear to me -so wise as some which remain to be offered. One proposition is to divide -the lands again among the States, apportioning the amount according to -the representation in Congress, or to the population as given by the -last census. Besides the difficulty of making the apportionment fairly, -this plan would afford fatal inducements to a greater dispersion of -people than has yet taken place. It is also argued that no -constitutional power exists by which the cession of 1787 can be -reversed. - -Another proposition is, to let the sale of lands go on as it does now, -and divide the proceeds among the several States, for purposes of -Education, Colonisation of the coloured race, and Internal Improvements. -Under such a plan, there would be endless disputes about the amounts to -be paid over to the different States. The general government would have -a new and dangerous function assigned to it. Besides, as much of the -surplus revenue is derived from duties, it seems a shorter and more -natural method to leave off levying money that is not wanted, than to -levy it, use it, and make a distribution of other funds among the -States. This subject will, however, come under consideration hereafter. - -Others propose that nothing should be done: that the lands should go on -being sold according to the present demand, and the proceeds to -accumulate, till some accident happens,--a war, or other expensive -adventure,--to help to dissipate them. The first part of the proposition -will probably stand good: for it seems a difficult thing to raise the -price of land again:--an impossible thing, till the people shall show -that they understand the case by demanding an increase of price: but the -second part of the proposition cannot be acceded to. It is inconsistent -with the first principles of democracy that large sums of money should -accumulate in the hands of the general government. The accumulation must -be disposed of, and the sources of revenue restrained. - -There are modes of advantageously disposing of the surplus revenue which -are obvious to those whose economical experience is precisely the -reverse of that of the people of the United States. They are not likely -to be at present assented to,--perhaps even to be tolerated by the -inhabitants of the new world. Such as they are, they will be presented -in the next section. - -The lowest price given of late for land, that I heard of, was a -quarter-dollar per acre; (for these are not times when three thousand -acres are to be had for a rifle; and a whole promontory for a suit of -clothes.) Some good land may be still had, at a distance from roads and -markets, from those who want to turn their surplus land into money, for -a quarter-dollar per acre. Some that I saw in New Hampshire under these -circumstances has advanced in five years to a dollar and a half per -acre: and some of about equal quality, about fifteen miles nearer to a -market, sold at the same time for ten dollars per acre. I saw some low -land, on the banks of the river, near Pittsburg, which would not sell at -any price a few years ago, when salt was brought over the mountains on -pack-horses, and sold at a dollar a quart. Now salt is obtained in any -quantity by digging near this land; and the meadow is parted into lots -of ten acres each, which sell at the rate of one thousand dollars per -acre. This is, no doubt, in prospect of the salt-works which are -destined to flourish here. The highest price I heard of being given -(unless in a similar case in New York) was for street lots in Mobile; -one hundred and ten dollars per foot frontage. - -For agricultural purposes, the price of land varies, according to its -fertility, and, much more, to its vicinity to a market, in a manner -which cannot easily be specified. I think the highest price I heard of -was fifteen hundred dollars per acre. This was in the south. In the -north and west, I heard of prices varying from thirty to one hundred -dollars, even in somewhat retired situations. One thing seems to be -granted on all hands: that a settler cannot fail of success, if he takes -good land, in a healthy situation, at the government price. If he -bestows moderate pains on his lot, he may confidently reckon on its -being worth at least double at the end of the year: much more, if there -are growing probabilities of a market. - -The methods according to which the sales of the public lands in the -United States are conducted are excellent. The lots are so divided as to -preclude all doubt and litigation about boundaries. There is a general -land-office at Washington, and a subordinate one in each district, where -all business can be transacted with readiness and exactitude. Periodical -sales are made of lands which it is desirable to bring into the market. -These are disposed of to the highest bidder. The advance of the -population into the wilderness is thus made more regular than it would -be if there were not a rendezvous in each district, where it could be -ascertained how the settlement of the neighbouring country was going on; -titles are made more secure; and less impunity is allowed to fraud. - -The pre-emption laws, originally designed for the benefit of poor -settlers, have been the greatest provocatives to fraud. It seemed hard -that a squatter, who had settled himself on unoccupied land, and done -it nothing but good, should be turned off without remuneration, or -compelled to purchase his own improvements; and in 1830, a bill was -therefore passed, granting a pre-emption right to squatters who had -taken such possession of unsold lands. It provided that when two -individuals had cultivated a quarter section of land, (one hundred and -sixty acres,) each should have a pre-emption right with regard to half -the cultivated portion: and each also to a pre-emption of eighty acres -anywhere else in the same land district. Of course, abundance of persons -took advantage of this law to get the best land very cheap. Two men, by -merely cutting down, or blazing a few trees, or "camping out" for a -night or two, on a good quarter-section, have secured it at the minimum -price. A Report to Congress states that there is reason to believe that -"large companies have been founded, who procure affidavits of -improvements to be made, get the warrants issued upon them, and whenever -a good tract of land is ready for sale, cover it over with their -_floats_, (warrants of the required habitation,) and thus put down -competition. The frauds upon the public, within the past year, (1835,) -from this single source, have arisen to many millions of dollars." Such -errors in matters of detail are sure to be corrected soon after being -discovered. The means will speedily be found of showing a due regard to -the claims of squatters, without precipitating the settlement of land by -unfairly reducing its price in the market. Whatever methods may tend to -lessen rather than to increase the facilities for occupying new land, -must, on the whole, be an advantage, while the disproportion between -land and labour is so great as it now is in the western regions of the -United States. - - -SECTION II. - -RURAL LABOUR. - -English farmers settling in the United States used to be a joke to their -native neighbours. The Englishman began with laughing, or being shocked, -at the slovenly methods of cultivation employed by the American -settlers: he was next seen to look grave on his own account; and ended -by following the American plan. - -The American ploughs round the stumps of the trees he has felled, and is -not very careful to measure the area he ploughs, and the seed he sows. -The Englishman clears half the quantity of land,--clears it very -thoroughly; ploughs deep, sows thick, raises twice the quantity of grain -on half the area of land, and points proudly to his crop. But the -American has, meantime, fenced, cleared, and sown more land, improved -his house and stock, and kept his money in his pocket. The Englishman -has paid for the labour bestowed on his beautiful fields more than his -fine crop repays him. When he has done thus for a few seasons, till his -money is gone, he learns that he has got to a place where it answers to -spend land to save labour; the reverse of his experience in England; and -he soon becomes as slovenly a farmer as the American, and begins -immediately to grow rich. - -It would puzzle a philosopher to compute how long some prejudices will -subsist in defiance of, not only evidence, but personal experience. -These same Americans, who laugh (reasonably enough) at the prejudiced -English farmer, seem themselves incapable of being convinced on a point -quite as plain as that between him and themselves. The very ground of -their triumph over him is their knowledge of the much smaller value of -land, and greater value of labour, in America than in England: and yet -there is no one subject on which so many complaints are to be heard from -every class of American society as the immigration of foreigners. The -incapacity of men to recognise blessings in disguise has been the theme -of moralists in all ages: but it might be expected that the Americans, -in this case, would be an exception. It is wonderful, to a stranger, to -see how they fret and toil, and scheme and invent, to supply the -deficiency of help, and all the time quarrel with the one means by which -labour is brought to their door. The immigration of foreigners was the -one complaint by which I was met in every corner of the free States; and -I really believe I did not converse with a dozen persons who saw the -ultimate good through the present apparent evil. - -It is not much to be wondered at that gentlemen and ladies, living in -Boston and New York, and seeing, for the first time in their lives, -half-naked and squalid persons in the street, should ask where they come -from, and fear lest they should infect others with their squalor, and -wish they would keep away. It is not much to be wondered at that the -managers of charitable institutions in the maritime cities should be -weary of the claims advanced by indigent foreigners: but it is -surprising that these gentlemen and ladies should not learn by -experience that all this ends well, and that matters are taking their -natural course. It would certainly be better that the emigrants should -be well clothed, educated, respectable people; (except that, in that -case, they would probably never arrive;) but the blame of their bad -condition rests elsewhere, while their arrival is, generally speaking, -almost a pure benefit. Some are intemperate and profligate; and such -are, no doubt, a great injury to the cities where they harbour; but the -greater number show themselves decent and hardworking enough, when put -into employment. Every American acknowledges that few or no canals or -railroads would be in existence now, in the United States, but for the -Irish labour by which they have been completed: and the best cultivation -that is to be seen in the land is owing to the Dutch and Germans it -contains. What would housekeepers do for domestic service without -foreigners? If the American ports had been barred against immigration, -and the sixty thousand foreigners per annum, with all their progeny, had -been excluded, where would now have been the public works of the United -States, the agriculture, the shipping? - -The most emphatic complainers of the immigration of foreigners are those -who imagine that the morals of society suffer thereby. My own conviction -is that the morals of society are, on the whole, thereby much improved. -It is candidly allowed, on all hands, that the passion of the Irish for -the education of their children is a great set-off against the bad -qualities some of them exhibit in their own persons; and that the second -and third generations of Irish are among the most valuable citizens of -the republic. The immigrant Germans are more sober and respectable than -the Irish; but there is more difficulty in improving them and their -children. The Scotch are in high esteem. My own opinion is that most of -the evils charged upon the immigrants are chargeable upon the -mismanagement of them in the ports. The atrocious corruption of the New -York elections, where an Irishman, just landed, and employed upon the -drains, perjures himself, and votes nine times over, is chargeable, not -upon immigration, nor yet upon universal suffrage, but upon faults in -the machinery of registration. Again, if the great pauper-palace, over -the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia, be half full of foreigners; if it be -true that an Irish woman was seen to walk round it, and heard to observe -that she should immediately write over for all her relations; the evil -is chargeable upon there being a pauper-palace, with the best of food -and clothing, and no compulsion to work, in a country where there is far -more work and wages than there are hands to labour and earn. There is in -New York a benevolent gentleman who exercises a most useful and -effectual charity. He keeps a kind of registry office for the demand and -supply of emigrant labour; takes charge of the funds of such emigrants -as are fortunate enough to have any; and befriends them in every way. He -declares that he has an average of six situations on his list ready for -every sober, able-bodied man and woman that lands at New York. - -The bad moral consequences of a dispersion of agricultural labour, and -the good moral effects of an adequate combination, are so serious as to -render it the duty of good citizens to inform themselves fully of the -bearings of this question before they attempt to influence other minds -upon it. Those who have seen what are the morals and manners of families -who live alone in the wilds, with no human opinion around them, no -neighbours with whom to exchange good offices, no stimulus to mental -activity, no social amusements, no church, _no life_, nothing but the -pursuit of the outward means of living,--any one who has witnessed this -will be ready to agree what a blessing it would be to such a family to -shake down a shower of even poor Irish labourers around them. To such a -family no tidings ought to be more welcome than of the arrival of -ship-load after ship-load of immigrants at the ports, some few of whom -may wander hitherwards, and by entering into a combination of labour to -obtain means of living, open a way to the attainment of the ends. Sixty -thousand immigrants a-year! What are these spread over so many thousand -square miles? If the country could be looked down upon from a balloon, -some large clusters of these would be seen detained in the cities, -because they could not be spared into the country; other clusters would -be seen about the canals and railroads; and a very slight sprinkling in -the back country, where their stations would be marked by the prosperity -growing up around them. - -The expedients used in the country settlements to secure a combination -of labour when it is absolutely necessary, show how eminently deficient -it is. Every one has heard of the "frolic" or "bee," by means of which -the clearing of lots, the raising of houses, the harvesting of crops is -achieved. Roads are made, and kept by contributions of labour and teams, -by settlers. For the rest, what can be done by family labour alone is so -done, with great waste of time, material, and toil. The wonderful -effects of a "frolic," in every way, should serve, in contrast with the -toil and difficulty usually expended in producing small results, to -incline the hearts of settlers towards immigrants, and to plan how an -increase of them may be obtained. - -Minds are, I hope, beginning to turn in this direction. In New England, -where there is the most combination of labour, and the poorest land, it -is amusing to see the beginning of discoveries on this head. I find, in -the United States' Almanack for 1835, an article on agricultural -improvements, (presupposing a supply of labour as the primary -requisite,) which bears all the marks of freshness and originality, of -having been a discovery of the writer's. - -"If such improvements as are possible, or even easy," (where there is -labour at hand,) "were made in the husbandry of this country, many and -great advantages would be found to arise. As twice the number of people -might be supported on the same quantity of land, all our farming towns -would become twice as populous as they are likely to be in the present -state of husbandry. There would be, in general, but half the distance to -travel to visit one's friends and acquaintances. Friends might oftener -see and converse with each other. Half the labour would be saved in -carrying the corn to mill, and the produce to market; half the -journeying saved in attending our courts; and half the expense in -supporting government, and in making and repairing roads; half the -distance saved in going to the smith, weaver, clothier, &c.; half the -distance saved in going to public worship, and most other meetings; for -where steeples are four miles apart, they would be only two or three. -Much time, expense and labour would, on these accounts, be saved; and -civilisation, with all the social virtues, would, perhaps, be -proportionally promoted and increased." - -Before this can be done, there must be hands to do it. Steeples must -remain four or fourteen miles apart, till there are beings enough in the -intervening space to draw them together. I saw, on the Mississippi, a -woman in a canoe, paddling up against the stream; probably, as I was -told, to visit a neighbour twenty or thirty miles off. The only comfort -was that the current would bring her back four times as quickly as she -went up. What a blessing would a party of emigrant neighbours be to a -woman who would row herself twenty miles against the stream of the -Mississippi for companionship! - -Instead of complaining of the sixty thousand emigrants per annum, and -lowering the price of land, so as to induce dispersion, it would be -wise, if it were possible, in the people of the United States to bring -in sixty thousand more labourers per annum, and raise the price of land. -This last cannot, perhaps, be done: but why should not the other? With a -surplus revenue that they do not know what to do with, and a scarcity of -the labour which they do not know how to do without, why not use the -surplus funds accruing from the lands in carrying labour to the soil? - -It is true, Europeans have the same passion for land as the Americans; -and such immigrants would leave their employers, and buy for themselves, -as soon as they had earned the requisite funds: but these, again, would -supply the means of bringing over more labour; and the intermediate -services of the labourers would be so much gained. If the arrangements -were so made as to bring over sober, respectable labourers, without -their being in any way bound to servitude, (as a host of poor Germans -once were made white slaves of,) if, the land and labour being once -brought together, and repayment from the benefited parties being -secured, (if desired,) things were then left to take their natural -course, a greater blessing could hardly befal the United States than -such an importation of labourers. - -I was told, in every eastern city, that it was a common practice with -parish officers in England to ship off their paupers to the United -States. I took some pains to investigate the grounds of this charge, and -am convinced that it is a mistake; that the accusation has arisen out of -some insulated case. I was happy to be able to show my American friends -how the supposed surplus population of the English agricultural counties -has shrunk, and in most cases disappeared, under the operation of the -new Poor Law, so that, even if the charge had ever been true, it could -not long remain so. By the time that we shall be enabled to say the same -of the parishes of Ireland, the Americans will, doubtless, have -discovered that they would be glad of all the labourers we had ever been -able to spare; if only we could send them in the form of respectable men -and women, instead of squalid paupers, looking as if they were going -from shore to shore, to rouse the world to an outcry against the sins -and sorrows of our economy. - - -It will scarcely be credited by those who are not already informed on -the subject, that a proposition has been made to send out of the country -an equal number of persons to the amount brought into it; ship loads of -labourers going to and fro, like buckets in a well: that this -proposition has been introduced into Congress, and has been made the -basis of appropriations in some State legislatures: that itinerant -lecturers are employed to advocate the scheme: that it is preached from -the pulpit, and subscribed for in the churches, and that in its behalf -are enlisted members of the administration, a great number of the -leading politicians, clergy, merchants, and planters, and a large -proportion of the other citizens of the United States. It matters little -how many or how great are the men engaged in behalf of a bad scheme, -which is so unnatural that it cannot but fail:--it matters little, as -far as the scheme itself is concerned; but it is of incalculable -consequence as creating an obstruction. For itself, the miserable -abortion--the Colonisation scheme--might be passed over; for its active -results will be nothing; but it is necessary to refer to it in its -passive character of an obstruction. It is necessary to refer thus to -it, not only as a matter of fact, but because, absurd and impracticable -as the scheme clearly is, when viewed in relation to the whole state of -affairs in America, it is not so easy on the spot to discern its true -character. So many perplexing considerations are mixed up with it by its -advocates; so many of those advocates are men of earnest philanthropy, -and well versed in the details of the scheme, while blind to its general -bearing, that it is difficult to have general principles always in -readiness to meet opposing facts; to help adopting the partial views of -well-meaning and thoroughly persuaded persons; and to know where to -doubt, and what to disbelieve. I went to America extremely doubtful -about the character of this institution. I heard at Baltimore and -Washington all that could be said in its favour, by persons conversant -with slavery, which I had not then seen. Mr. Madison, the President of -the Colonisation Society, gave me his favourable views of it. Mr. Clay, -the Vice-President, gave me his. So did almost every clergyman and other -member of society whom I met for some months. Much time, observation, -and reflection were necessary to form a judgment for myself, after so -much prepossession, even in so clear a case as I now see this to be. -Others on the spot must have the same allowance as was necessary for me: -and, if any pecuniary interest be involved in the question, much more. -But, I am firmly persuaded that any clear-headed man, shutting himself -up in his closet for a day's study of the question, or taking a voyage, -so as to be able to look back upon the entire country he has -left,--being careful to take in the whole of its economical aspect, (to -say nothing, at present, of the moral,) can come to no other conclusion -than that the scheme of transporting the coloured population of the -United States to the coast of Africa is absolutely absurd; and, if it -were not so, would be absolutely pernicious. But, in matters of -economy, the pernicious and the absurd are usually identical. - -No one is to be blamed for the origin of slavery. Because it is now, -under conviction, wicked, it does not follow that it was instituted in -wickedness. Those who began it, knew not what they did. It has been -elsewhere[17] ably shown how slavery has always, and, to all appearance, -unavoidably existed, in some form or other, wherever large new tracts of -land have been taken possession of by a few agricultural settlers. Let -it be granted that negro slavery was begun inadvertently in the West -India islands, and continued, by an economical necessity, in the -colonies of North America. - -What is now the state of the case? Slavery, of a very mild kind, has -been abolished in the northern parts of the Union, where agricultural -labour can be carried on by whites, and where such employments bear a -very reduced proportion to manufacturing and commercial occupations. Its -introduction into the north-western portions of the country has been -prohibited by those who had had experience of its evils. Slavery, -generally of a very aggravated character, now subsists in thirteen -States out of twenty-six, and those thirteen are the States which grow -the tobacco, rice, cotton and sugar; it being generally alleged that -rice and sugar cannot be raised by white labour, while some maintain -that they may. I found few who doubted that tobacco and cotton may be -grown by white labour, with the assistance from brute labour and -machinery which would follow upon the disuse of human capital; The -amount of the slave population is now above two millions and a half. It -increases rapidly in the States which have been impoverished by slavery; -and is killed off; but not with equal rapidity, on the virgin soils to -which alone it is, in any degree, appropriate. It has become -unquestionably inappropriate in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and -Kentucky. To these I should be disposed to add Missouri, and North -Carolina, and part of Tennessee and South Carolina. The States which -have more slave labour than their deteriorated lands require, sell it to -those which have a deficiency of labour to their rich lands. Virginia, -now in a very depressed condition, derives her chief revenue from the -rearing of slaves, as stock, to be sent to Alabama, Mississippi, and -Louisiana. The march of circumstance has become too obvious to escape -the attention of the most short-sighted. No one can fail to perceive -that slavery, like an army of locusts, is compelled to shift its place, -by the desolation it has made. Its progress is southwards; and now, -having reached the sea there, south-westwards. If there were but an -impassable barrier there, its doom would be certain, and not very -remote. This doom was apparently sealed a while ago, by the abolition of -slavery in Mexico, and the fair chance there seemed of Missouri and -Arkansas being subjected to a restriction of the same purport with that -imposed on the new States, north-west of the Ohio. This doom has been, -for the present, cancelled by the admission of slavery into Missouri and -Arkansas, and by the seizure of Texas by American citizens. The open -question, however, only regards its final limits. Its speedy abolition -in many of the States may be, and is, regarded as certain. - -The institution of slavery was a political anomaly at the time of the -Revolution. It has now become an economical one also. Nothing can -prevent the generality of persons from seeing this, however blind a few, -a very few persons on the spot may be to the truth.[18] - -It has thus obviously become the interest of all to whom slavery still -is, or is believed to be, a gain; of those who hold the richest lands; -of those who rear slaves for such lands; of all who dread change; of all -who would go quietly through life, and leave it to a future generation -to cope with their difficulty,--it has become the interest of all such -to turn their own attention and that of others from the fact that the -time has come when the slaves ought to be made free labourers. They -cannot put down the fact into utter silence. Some sort of compromise -must be made with it. A tub must be thrown to the whale. A tub has been -found which will almost hold the whale. - -It is proposed by the Colonisation Society that free persons of colour -shall be sent to establish and conduct a civilised community on the -shores of Africa. The variety of prospects held out by this proposition -to persons of different views is remarkable. To the imaginative, there -is the picture of the restoration of the coloured race to their paternal -soil: to the religious, the prospect of evangelising Africa. Those who -would serve God and Mammon are delighted at being able to work their -slaves during their own lives, and then leave them to the Colonisation -Society with a bequest of money, (when money must needs be left behind,) -to carry them over to Africa. Those who would be doing, in a small way, -immediately, let certain of their slaves work for wages which are to -carry them over to Africa. Those who have slaves too clever or -discontented to be safe neighbours, can ship them off to Africa. Those -who are afraid of the rising intelligence of their free coloured -neighbours, or suffer strongly under the prejudice of colour, can -exercise such social tyranny as shall drive such troublesome persons to -Africa. The clergy, public lecturers, members of legislatures, religious -societies, and charitable individuals, both in the north and south, are -believed to be, and believe themselves to be, labouring on behalf of -slaves, when they preach, lecture, obtain appropriations, and subscribe, -on behalf of the Colonisation Society. Minds and hearts are laid to -rest,--opiated into a false sleep. - -Here are all manner of people associated for one object, which has the -primary advantage of being ostensibly benevolent. It has had Mr. Madison -for its chief officer: Mr. Clay for its second. It has had the aid, for -twenty years, of almost all the presses and pulpits of the United -States, and of most of their politicians, members of government, and -leading professional men and merchants, and almost all the planters of -twelve states, and all the missionary interest. Besides the -subscriptions arising from so many sources, there have been large -appropriations made by various legislatures. What is the -result?--Nothing. _Ex nihilo nihil fit._ Out of a chaos of elements no -orderly creation can arise but by the operation of a sound principle: -and sound principle here, there is none. - -In twenty years, the Colonisation Society has removed to Africa between -two and three thousand persons;[19] while the annual increase of the -slave population is, by the lowest computation, sixty thousand; and the -number of free blacks is upwards of three hundred and sixty-two -thousand. - -The chief officers of the Colonisation Society look forward to being -able, in a few years, to carry off the present annual increase, and a -few more; by which time the annual increase will amount to many times -more than the Society will have carried out from the beginning. - -The leading Colonisation advocates in the south object to abolition, -invariably on the ground that they should be left without labourers: -whereas it is the Colonisation scheme which would carry away the -labourers, and the abolition scheme which would leave them where they -are. To say nothing of the wilfulness of this often-confuted objection, -it proves that those who urge it are not in earnest in advocating -Colonisation as ultimate emancipation. - -As far as I could learn, no leading member of the Colonisation Society -has freed any of his slaves. Its president had sold twelve, the week -before I first saw him. Its vice-president is _obsédé_ by his slaves; -but retains them all. And so it is, through the whole hierarchy. - -The avowal of a southern gentleman,--"We have our slaves, and we mean to -keep them,"--is echoed on _political_ occasions by the same gentlemen of -the Colonisation Society, who, on _politic_ or religious occasions, -treat of colonisation as ultimate emancipation. - -While labourers are flocking into other parts of the country, at the -rate of sixty thousand per annum, and are found to be far too few for -the wants of society, the Colonisation scheme proposes to carry out more -than this number; and fails of all its ostensible objects till it does -so. A glance at the causes of slavery, and at the present economy of the -United States, shows such a scheme to be a bald fiction. - -It alienates the attention and will of the people, (for the purposes of -the few,) from the principle of the abolition of slavery, which would -achieve any honest objects of the Colonisation Society, and many more. -Leaving, for the present, the moral consideration of the case, abolition -would not only leave the land as full of labourers as it is now, but -incalculably augment the supply of labour by substituting willing and -active service, and improved methods of husbandry, for the forced, -inferior labour, and wasteful arrangements which are always admitted to -be co-existent with slavery. - -The greater number of eminent Abolitionists,--eminent for talents, zeal -and high principle,--are converted Colonisationists. - -This is surely enough. - -It appears to me that the Colonisation Society could never have gained -any ground at all, but for the common supposition that the blacks must -go somewhere. It was a long while before I could make anything of this. -The argument always ran thus. - -"Unless they remain as they are, Africa is the only place for them.--It -will not do to give them a territory; we have seen enough of that with -the Indians. We are heart-sick of territories: the blacks would all -perish.--Then, the climate of Canada would not suit them: they would -perish there. The Haytians will not take them in: they have a horror of -freed slaves.--There is no rest for the soles of their feet, anywhere -but in Africa!" - -"Why should they not stay where they are?" - -"Impossible. The laws of the States forbid freed negroes to remain." - -"At present,--on account of the slaves who remain. In case of abolition, -such laws would be repealed, of course: and then, why should not the -blacks remain where they are?" - -"They could never live among the whites in a state of freedom." - -"Why? You are begging the question." - -"They would die of vice and misery." - -"Why more than the German labourers?" - -"They do in the free States. They are dying out there constantly." - -"What makes them more vicious than other people?" - -"The coloured people always are." - -"You mean because their colour is the badge of slavery?" - -"Yes." - -"Then, when it is no longer so, the degradation, for aught you know, -will cease." - -This is the circle, described by those who pity the slaves. There is -another, appropriate to those who pity the masters. - -"What is to become of the planters, without any labourers? They must -shut up and go away; for they cannot stay in their houses, without any -labourers on the plantations." - -"Are the slaves to be all buried? Or are they to evaporate? or what?" - -"O, you know, they would all go away. Nothing would make them stay when -they were once free." - -"They would change masters, no doubt. But as many would remain in the -area as before. Why not?" - -"The masters could not possibly employ them. They could never manage -them, except as slaves." - -"So you think that the masters could not have the labourers, because -they would go away: and the labourers must go away, because the masters -would not have them." - -To prevent any escape by a nibble in this circle, the other is brought -up round it, to prove that there is no other place than Africa for the -blacks to go to: and thus, the alternative of slavery or colonisation is -supposed to be established. - -All action, and all conversation, on behalf of this institution, bears -the same character,--of arguing in a circle. A magic ring seems drawn -round those who live amidst slavery; and it gives a circular character -to all they think and say and do upon the subject. There are but few who -sit within it who distinctly see anything beyond it. If there were but -any one moral giant within, who would heave a blow at it with all the -force of a mighty principle, it would be shattered to atoms in a moment; -and the white and black slaves it encloses would be free at once. This -will be done when more light is poured in under the darkness which -broods over it: and the time cannot now be far off. - -Whenever I am particularly strongly convinced of anything, in opposition -to the opinion of any or many others, I entertain a suspicion that there -is more evidence on the other side than I see. I felt so, even on this -subject of slavery, which has been clear to English eyes for so long. I -went into the slave States with this suspicion in my mind; and I -preserved it there as long as possible. I believe that I have heard -every argument that can possibly be adduced in vindication or palliation -of slavery, under any circumstances now existing; and I declare that, of -all displays of intellectual perversion and weakness that I have -witnessed, I have met with none so humbling and so melancholy as the -advocacy of this institution. I declare that I know the whole of its -theory;--a declaration that I dare not make with regard to, I think, any -other subject whatever: the result is that I believe there is nothing -rational to be said in vindication or palliation of the protraction of -slavery in the United States.--Having made this avowal; it will not be -expected that I should fill my pages with a wide superficies of argument -which will no more bear a touch than pond-ice, on the last day of thaw. -As I disposed in my mind the opposite arguments of slave-holders, I -found that they ate one another up, like the two cats that Sheridan told -of; but without leaving so much as an inch of tail. - -One mistake, perhaps, deserves notice. Restless slave-holders, whose -uneasiness has urged them to struggle in their toils, and find -themselves unable to get out but by the loss of everything, (but honour -and conscience,) pointed out to me the laws of their States, whereby the -manumission of slaves is rendered difficult or impossible to the master, -remaining on the spot, and prospectively fatal to the freed -slave;--pointed out to me these laws as rendering abolition impossible. -To say nothing of the feebleness of the barriers which human regulations -present to the changes urged on by the great natural laws of -society,--it is a sufficient answer that these State laws present no -obstacle to general, though they do to particular, emancipation. They -will be cancelled or neglected by the same will which created them, when -the occasion expires with which they sprang up, or which they were -designed to perpetuate. The institution of slavery was not formed in -accordance with them: they arose out of the institution. They are an -offset; and, to use the words of one of their advocates, spoken in -another connexion, "they will share the fate of offsets, and perish with -the parent." - -It is obvious that all laws which encourage the departure of the blacks -must be repealed, when their slavery is abolished. The one thing -necessary, in the economical view of the case, is that efficient -measures should be taken to prevent an unwise dispersion of these -labourers: measures, I mean, which should in no way interfere with their -personal liberty, but which should secure to them generally greater -advantages on the spot than they could obtain by roaming. It has been -distinctly shown that slavery originated from the difficulty of -concentrating labour in the neighbourhood of capitalists. Where the -people are few in proportion to the land, they are apt to disperse -themselves over it; so that personal coercion has been supposed -necessary, in the first instance, to secure any efficient cultivation of -the land at all. Though the danger and the supposed necessity are past, -in all but the rawest of the slave States, the ancient fact should be so -borne in mind as that what legislation there is should tend to cause a -concentration, rather than a dispersion of the labourers. Any such -tendency will be much aided by the strong local attachments for which -negroes are remarkable. It is not only that slaves dread all change, -from the intellectual and moral dejection to which they are reduced; -fearing even the removal from one plantation to another, under the same -master, from the constant vague apprehension of something dreadful. It -is not only this, (which, however, it would take them some time to -outgrow,) but that all their race show a kind of feline attachment to -places to which they are accustomed, which will be of excellent service -to kind masters when the day of emancipation comes. For the rest, -efficient arrangements can and will doubtless be made to prevent their -wandering further than from one master to another. The abolition of -slavery must be complete and immediate: that is to say, as a man either -is or is not the property of another, as there can be no degrees of -ownership of a human being, there must be an immediate and complete -surrender of all claim to negro men, women, and children as property: -but there may and will doubtless be arrangements made to protect, guide, -and teach these degraded beings, till they have learned what liberty -is, and how to use it. Liberty to change their masters must, under -certain reasonable limitations, be allowed; the education of their -children must be enforced. The amount of wages will be determined by -natural laws, and cannot be foreseen, further than that they must -necessarily be very ample for a long time to come. It will probably be -found desirable to fix the price of the government lands, with a view to -the coloured people, at that amount which will best obviate squatting, -and secure the respectable settlement of some who may find their way to -the west. - -Suggestions of this kind excite laughter among the masters of slaves, -who are in the habit of thinking that they know best what negroes are, -and what they are capable of. I have reasons for estimating their -knowledge differently, and for believing that none know so little of the -true character and capabilities of negroes as their owners. They might -know more, but for the pernicious and unnatural secrecy about some of -the most important facts connected with slave-holding, which is induced -partly by pride, partly by fear, partly by pecuniary interest. If they -would do themselves and their slaves the justice of inquiring with -precision what is the state of Hayti; what has taken place in the West -Indies; what the emancipation really was there; what its effects -actually are, they would obtain a clearer view of their own prospects. -So they would, if they would communicate freely about certain facts -nearer home: not only conversing as individuals, but removing the -restrictions upon the press by which they lose far more than they gain, -both in security and fortune,--to say nothing of intelligence. Of the -many families in which I enjoyed intercourse, there was, I believe, none -where I was not told of some one slave of unusual value, for talent or -goodness, either in the present or a former generation. A collection of -these alone, as they stand in my journal, would form no mean testimony -to the intellectual and moral capabilities of negroes: and if to these -were added the tales which I could tell, if I also were not bound under -the laws of mystery of which I have been complaining, many hearts would -beat with the desire to restore to their human rights those whose -fellow-sufferers have given ample proof of their worthiness to enjoy -them. The consideration which binds me to silence upon a rich collection -of facts, full of moral beauty and promise, is regard to the safety of -many whose heroic obedience to the laws of God has brought them into -jeopardy under the laws of slave-holders, and the allies of -slave-holders. Nor would I, by any careless revelations, throw the -slightest obstacle in the way of the escape of any one of the slaves who -may be about to shirk their masters, by methods with which I happen to -be acquainted. - -It can, however, do nothing but good to proclaim the truth that slaves -do run away in much greater numbers than is supposed by any but those -who lose them, and those who help them. By which I mean many others -besides the abolitionists _par excellence_. Perhaps I might confine the -knowledge to these last; for I believe no means exist by which the -yearly amount of loss of this kind may be verified and published in the -south. Everybody who has been in America is familiar with the little -newspaper picture of a black man, hieing with his stick and bundle, -which is prefixed to the advertisements of runaways. Every traveller has -probably been struck with the number of these which meets his eye; but -unless he has more private means of information, he will remain unaware -of the streams of fugitives continually passing out of the States. There -is much reserve about this in the south, from pride; and among those -elsewhere who could tell, from far other considerations. The time will -come when the whole story, in its wonder and beauty, may be told by some -who, like myself, have seen more of the matter, from all sides, than it -is easy for a native to do. Suffice it, that the loss by runaways, and -the generally useless attempts to recover them, is a heavy item in the -accounts of the cotton and sugar-growers of the south; and one which is -sure to become heavier till there shall be no more bondage to escape -from. It is obvious that the slaves who run away are among the best: an -escape being usually the achievement of a project early formed; -concealed, pertinaciously adhered to, and endeared by much toil and -sacrifice undergone for its sake, for a long course of years. A weak -mind is incapable of such a series of acts, with a unity of purpose. -They are the choicest slaves who run away. Of the cases known to me, the -greater number of the men, and some of the women, have acted throughout -upon an idea; (called by their owners "a fancy,"--a very different -thing;) while some few of the men have started off upon some sudden -infliction of cruelty; and many women on account of intolerable outrage, -of the grossest kind. Several masters told me of leave given to their -slaves to go away, and of the slaves refusing to avail themselves of it. -If this was meant to tell in favour of slavery, it failed of its effect. -The argument was too shallow to impose upon a child. Of course, they -were the least valuable slaves to whom this permission was given: and -their declining to depart proved nothing so much as the utter -degradation of human beings who could prefer receiving food and shelter -from the hand of an owner to the possession of themselves. - -Amidst the mass of materials which accumulated on my hands during the -process of learning from all parties their views on this question, I -hardly know where to turn, and what to select, that will most briefly -and strongly show that the times have outgrown slavery. This is the -point at which every fact and argument issue, whatever may be the -intention of those who adduce it. The most striking, perhaps, is the -treatment of the Abolitionists: a subject to be adverted to hereafter. -The insane fury which vents itself upon the few who act upon the -principles which the many profess, is a sign of the times not to be -mistaken. It is always the precursor of beneficial change. Society in -America seems to be already passing out of this stage into one even more -advanced. The cause of abolition is spreading so rapidly through the -heart of the nation; the sound part of the body politic is embracing it -so actively, that no disinterested observer can fail to be persuaded -that even the question of time is brought within narrow limits. The -elections will, ere long, show the will of the people that slavery be -abolished in the District of Columbia. Then such truckling politicians, -mercenary traders, cowardly clergy, and profligate newspaper corps, as -are now too blind to see the coming change, will have to choose their -part; whether to shrink out of sight, or to boast patriotically of the -righteous revolution which they have striven to retard, even by the -application of the torture to both the bodies and the minds of their -more clear-eyed fellow-citizens. - -After giving one or two testimonies to the necessity of a speedy change -of system, I will confine myself to relating a few signs of the times -which I encountered in my travels through the south. - -In 1782, Virginia repealed the law against manumission; and in nine -years, there were ten thousand slaves freed in that State. Alarmed for -the institution, her legislature re-enacted the law. What has been the -consequence?--Let us take the testimony of the two leading newspapers -of the capital of Virginia, given at a time when the Virginian -legislature was debating the subject of slavery; and when there was, for -once, an exposure of the truth from those best qualified to reveal it. -In 1832, the following remarks appeared in the "Richmond Enquirer." - -"It is probable, from what we hear, that the committee on the coloured -population will report some plan for getting rid of the free people of -colour. But is this all that can be done? Are we for ever to suffer the -greatest evil which can scourge our land not only to remain, but to -increase in its dimensions? 'We may shut our eyes and avert our faces, -if we please,' (writes an eloquent South Carolinian, on his return from -the north a few weeks ago,) 'but there it is, the dark and growing evil, -at our doors: and meet the question we must at no distant day. God only -knows what it is the part of wise men to do on that momentous and -appalling subject. Of _this_ I am very sure, that the -difference--nothing short of frightful--between all that exists on one -side of the Potomac, and all on the other, is owing to _that cause -alone_. The disease is deep seated; it is at the heart's core; it is -consuming, and has all along been consuming, our vitals; and I could -laugh, if I _could_ laugh on such a subject, at the ignorance and folly -of the politician who ascribes that to an act of the government, which -is the inevitable effect of the eternal laws of nature. What is to be -done? O my God, I don't know; but something must be done.' - -"Yes, something must be done; and it is the part of no honest man to -deny it; of no free press to affect to conceal it. When this dark -population is growing upon us; when every new census is but gathering -its appalling numbers upon us; when within a period equal to that in -which this federal constitution has been in existence, those numbers -will increase to more than two millions within Virginia; when our sister -States are closing their doors upon our blacks for sale; _and when our -whites are moving westwardly in greater numbers than we like to hear -of_; when this, the fairest land on all this continent, for soil and -climate and situation combined, might become a sort of garden spot if it -were worked by the hands of white men alone, _can we, ought we_ to sit -quietly down, fold our arms, and say to each other, 'well, well, this -thing will not come to the worst in our day? We will leave it to our -children and our grand-children and great-grand-children to take care of -themselves, and to brave the storm. Is this to act like wise men? Heaven -knows we are no fanatics. We detest the madness which actuated the _Amis -des Noirs_. But something ought to be done. Means, sure but gradual, -systematic but discreet, ought to be adopted for reducing the mass of -evil which is pressing upon the south, and will still more press upon -her the longer it is put off. We ought not to shut our eyes, nor avert -our faces. And though we speak almost without a hope that the committee -or the legislature will do anything, at the present session, to meet -this question, yet we say now, in the utmost sincerity of our hearts, -that our wisest men cannot give too much of their attention to this -subject, nor can they give it too soon." - -The other paper, the "Richmond Whig," had the same time, the following: - -"We affirm that the great mass of Virginia herself triumphs that the -slavery question has been agitated, and reckons it glorious that the -spirit of her sons did not shrink from grappling with the monster. We -affirm that, in the heaviest slave districts of the State, thousands -have hailed the discussion with delight, and contemplate the distant, -but ardently desired result, as the supreme good which Providence could -vouchsafe to their country." - -This is doubtless true. One of the signs of the times which struck me -was the clandestine encouragement received by the abolitionists of the -north from certain timid slave-holders of the south, who send money for -the support of abolition publications, and an earnest blessing. They -write, "For God's sake go on! We cannot take your publications; we dare -not countenance you; but we wish you God speed! You are our only hope." -There is nothing to be said for the moral courage of those who feel and -write thus, and dare not express their opinions in the elections. Much -excuse may be made for them by those who know the horrors which await -the expression of anti-slavery sentiments in many parts of the south. -But, on the other hand, the abolitionists are not to be blamed for -considering all slave-holders under the same point of view, as long as -no improved state of opinion is manifested in the representation; the -natural mirror of the minds of the represented. - -Chief Justice Marshall, a Virginian, a slave-holder, and a member of the -Colonisation Society, (though regarding this society as being merely a -palliative, and slavery incurable but by convulsion,) observed to a -friend of mine, in the winter of 1834, that he was surprised at the -British for supposing that they could abolish slavery in their colonies -by act of parliament. His friend believed it would be done. The Chief -Justice could not think that such economical institutions could be done -away by legislative enactment. His friend pleaded the fact that the -members of the British House of Commons were pledged, in great numbers, -to their constituents on the question. When it was done, the Chief -Justice remarked on his having been mistaken; and that he rejoiced in -it. He now saw hope for his beloved Virginia, which he had seen sinking -lower and lower among the States. The cause, he said, was that work is -disreputable in a country where a degraded class is held to enforced -labour.[20] He had seen all the young, the flower of the State, who were -not rich enough to remain at home in idleness, betaking themselves to -other regions, where they might work without disgrace. Now there was -hope; for he considered that in this act of the British, the decree had -gone forth against American slavery, and its doom was sealed. - -There was but one sign of the times which was amusing to me; and that -was the tumult of opinions and prophecies offered to me on the subject -of the duration of slavery, and the mode in which it would be at last -got rid of; for I never heard of any one but Governor M'Duffie who -supposed that it can last for ever. He declared last year, in his -message to the legislature of South Carolina, that he considers slavery -as the corner-stone of their republican liberties: and that, if he were -dying, his latest prayer should be that his children's children should -live nowhere but amidst the institutions of slavery. This message might -have been taken as a freak of eccentricity merely, if it had stood -alone. But a committee of the legislature, with Governor Hamilton in the -chair, thought proper to endorse every sentiment in it. This converts it -into an indication of the perversion of mind commonly prevalent in a -class when its distinctive pecuniary interest is in imminent peril. I -was told, a few months prior to the appearance of this singular -production, that though Governor M'Duffie was a great ornament to the -State of South Carolina, his opinions on the subject of slavery were -_ultra_, and that he was left pretty nearly alone in them. Within a -year, those who told me so went, _in public_, all lengths with Governor -M'Duffie. - -I believe I might very safely and honourably give the names of those who -prophesied to me in the way I have mentioned; for they rather court -publicity for their opinions, as it is natural and right that they -should, as long as they are sure of them. But it may suffice to mention -that they are all eminent men, whose attention has been strongly fixed, -for a length of years, upon the institution in question. - -A. believes that slavery is a necessary and desirable stage in -civilisation: not on the score of the difficulty of cultivating new -lands without it, but on the ground of the cultivation of the negro mind -and manners. He believes the Haytians to have deteriorated since they -became free. He believes the white population destined to absorb the -black, though holding that the two races will not unite after the third -mixture. His expectation is that the black and mulatto races will have -disappeared in a hundred and fifty years. He has no doubt that cotton -and tobacco may be well and easily grown by whites. - -B. is confident that the condition of slaves is materially improved, yet -believes that they will die out, and that there will be no earlier -catastrophe. He looks to colonisation, however, as a means of lessening -the number. This same gentleman told me of a recent visit he had paid to -a connexion of his own, who had a large "force," consisting chiefly of -young men and women: not one child had been born on the estate for three -years. This looks very like dying out; but does it go to confirm the -materially improved condition of the slaves? - -C. allows slavery to be a great evil; and, if it were now non-existent, -would not ordain it, if he could. But he thinks the slaves far happier -than they would have been at home in Africa, and considers that the -system works perfectly. He pronounces the slaves "the most contented, -happy, industrious peasantry in the world." He believes this virtue and -content would disappear if they were taught anything whatever; and that -if they were free, they would be, naturally and inevitably, the most -vicious and wretched population ever seen. His expectation is that they -will increase to such a degree as to make free labour, "_which always -supersedes slave labour_," necessary in its stead; that the coloured -race will wander off to new regions, and be ultimately "absorbed" by the -white. He contemplates no other than this natural change, which he -thinks cannot take place in less than a century and a half. A year -later, this gentleman told a friend of mine that slavery cannot last -above twenty years. They must be stringent reasons which have induced so -great a change of opinion in twelve months. - -D. thinks slavery an enormous evil, but doubts whether something as bad -would not arise in its stead. He is a colonisationist, and desires that -the general government should purchase the slaves, by annual -appropriations, and ship them off to Africa, so as to clear the country -of the coloured people in forty or fifty years. If this is not done, a -servile war, the most horrible that the world has seen, is inevitable. -Yet he believes that the institution, though infinitely bad for the -masters, is better for the slaves than those of any country in Europe -for its working classes. He is convinced that the tillage of all the -crops could be better carried on by whites, with the assistance of -cattle and implements, than by negroes. - -E. writes, (October 1835,) "Certain it is that if men of property and -intelligence in the north have that legitimate influence which that -class has here, nothing will come of this abolition excitement. All we -have to say to them is, 'Hands off!' Our _political_ rights[21] are -clear, and shall not be invaded. _We know too much about slavery to be -slaves ourselves._ But I repeat, nothing will come of the present, or -rather recent excitement, for already it is in a great degree passed. -And the time is coming when a struggle between pauperism and property, -or, if you choose, between labour and capital in the north, stimulated -by the spirit of Jacksonism, will occupy the people of that quarter to -the exclusion of our affairs. If any external influence is ever to -affect the institution of slavery in the south, it will not be the -vulgar and ignorant fanaticism of the northern States, intent upon a -cheap charity which is to be done at our expense; but that influence -will be found in English literature, and the gradual operation of public -opinion. Slavery, so to speak, may be evaporated;--it cannot be drawn -off. If it were, the whole land would be poisoned and desolated." - -The best reply to this letter will be found in the memorable speech of -Mr. Preston, one of the South Carolina senators, delivered in Congress, -last spring. It may be mentioned, by the way, that the writer of the -above is mistaken in supposing that there is at present, or impending, -any unhappy struggle in the north between pauperism and property, or -labour and capital. It is all property there, and no pauperism, (except -the very little that is superinduced;) and labour and capital were, -perhaps, never before seen to jog on so lovingly together. The "cheap -charity" he speaks of is the cheap charity of the first Christians, with -the addition of an equal ability and will to pay down _money_ for the -abolition of the slaves, for whose sake the abolitionists have already -shown themselves able to bear,--some, hanging;--some, scourging, and -tarring and feathering; some, privation of the means of living; and all, -the being incessantly and deeply wounded in their social relations and -tenderest affections. Martyrdom is ever accounted a "cheap devotion," or -"cheap charity," to God or man, by those who exact it of either -religious or philanthropic principle. - -Mr. Preston's speech describes the spread of abolition opinions as being -rapid and inevitable. He proves the rapidity by citing the number of -recently-formed abolition societies in the north; and the -inevitableness, by exhibiting the course which such convictions had run -in England and France. He represents the case as desperate. He -advises,--not yielding, but the absolute exclusion of opinion on the -subject,--exclusion from Congress, and exclusion from the slave States. -This is well. The matter may be considered to be given up, unless this -is merely the opinion of an individual. The proposal is about as hopeful -as it would be to draw a cordon round the Capitol to keep out the four -winds; or to build a wall up to the pole-star to exclude the sunshine. - -One more sample of opinions. A gentleman who edits a highly-esteemed -southern newspaper, expresses himself thus. "There is a wild fanaticism -at work to effect the overthrow of the system, although in its fall -would go down the fortunes of the south, and to a great extent those of -the north and east;--in a word, the whole fabric of our Union, in one -awful ruin. What then ought to be done? What measures ought to be taken -to secure the safety of our property and our lives? We answer, let us be -vigilant and watchful to the last degree over all the movements of our -enemies both at _home_ and abroad. Let us declare through the public -journals of our country, that the question of slavery is not, and shall -not be open to discussion;--that the system is deep-rooted amongst us, -and must remain for ever;--that the very moment any private individual -attempts to lecture us upon its evils and immorality, and the necessity -of putting measures into operation to secure us from them, in the same -moment his tongue shall be cut out and cast upon the dung-hill. We are -freemen, sprung from a noble stock of freemen, able to boast as noble a -line of ancestry as ever graced this earth;--we have burning in our -bosoms the spirit of freemen--live in an age of enlightened freedom, and -in a country blessed with its privileges--under a government that has -pledged itself to protect us in the enjoyment of our peculiar domestic -institutions in peace, and undisturbed. We hope for a long continuance -of these high privileges, and have now to love, cherish, and defend, -property, liberty, wives and children, the right to manage our own -matters in our own way, and, what is equally dear with all the rest, the -inestimable right of dying upon our own soil, around our own firesides, -in struggling to put down all those who may attempt to infringe, attack, -or violate any of these sacred and inestimable privileges." - -If these opinions of well-prepared persons, dispersed through the slave -States, and entrusted with the public advocacy of their interests, do -not betoken that slavery is tottering to its fall, there are no such -things as signs of the times. - -The prohibition of books containing anything against slavery, has -proceeded to a great length. Last year, Mrs. Barbauld's works were sent -back into the north by the southern booksellers, because the "Evenings -at Home" contain a "Dialogue between Master and Slave." Miss Sedgwick's -last novel, "The Linwoods," was treated in the same way, on account of a -single sentence about slavery. The "Tales of the Woods and Fields," and -other English books, have shared the same fate. I had a letter from a -Southern lady, containing some regrets upon the necessity of such an -exclusion of literature, but urging that it was a matter of _principle_ -to guard from attacks "an institution ordained by the favour of God for -the happiness of man:" and assuring me that the literary resources of -South Carolina were rapidly improving.--So they had need; for almost all -the books already in existence will have to be prohibited, if nothing -condemnatory of slavery is to be circulated. This attempt to nullify -literature was followed up by a threat to refuse permission to the mails -to pass through South Carolina: an arrangement which would afflict its -inhabitants more than it could injure any one else. - -The object of all this is to keep the children in the dark about how -the institution is regarded abroad. This was evident to me at every -step: and I received an express caution not to communicate my -disapprobation of slavery to the children of one family, who could not, -their parents declare, even feel the force of my objections. One of them -was "employed, the whole afternoon, in dressing out little Nancy for an -evening party; and she sees the slaves much freer than herself." Of -course, the blindness of this policy will be its speedy destruction. It -is found that the effect of public opinion on the subject upon young men -who visit the northern States, is tremendous, when they become aware of -it: as every student in the colleges of the north can bear witness. I -know of one, an heir of slaves, who declared, on reading Dr. Channing's -"Slavery," that if it could be proved that negroes are more than a link -between man and brute, the rest follows of course, and he must liberate -all his. Happily, he is in the way of evidence that negroes are actually -and altogether human. - -The students of Lane Seminary, near Cincinnati, of which Dr. Beecher is -the president, became interested in the subject, three or four years -ago, and formed themselves into an Abolition Society, debating the -question, and taking in newspapers. This was prohibited by the tutors, -but persevered in by the young men, who conceived that this was a matter -with which the professors had no right to meddle. Banishment was -decreed; and all submitted to expulsion but fourteen. Of course, each of -the dispersed young men became the nucleus of an Abolition Society, and -gained influence by persecution. It was necessary for them to provide -means to finish their education. One of them, Amos Dresser, itinerated, -(as is usual in the sparsely-peopled west,) travelling in a gig, and -selling Scott's Bible, to raise money for his educational purposes. He -reached Nashville, in Tennessee; and there fell under suspicion of -abolition treason; his baggage being searched, and a whole abolition -newspaper, and a part of another being found among the packing-stuff of -his stock of bibles. There was also an unsubstantiated rumour of his -having been seen conversing with slaves. He was brought to trial by the -Committee of Vigilance; seven elders of the presbyterian church at -Nashville being among his judges. After much debate as to whether he -should be hanged, or flogged with more or fewer lashes, he was condemned -to receive twenty lashes, with a cow-hide, in the market-place of -Nashville. He was immediately conducted there, made to kneel down on the -flint pavement, and punished according to his sentence; the mayor of -Nashville presiding, and the public executioner being the agent. He was -warned to leave the city within twenty-four hours: but was told, by some -charitable person who had the bravery to take him in, wash his stripes, -and furnish him with a disguise, that it would not be safe to remain so -long. He stole away immediately, in his dreadful condition, on foot; and -when his story was authenticated, had heard nothing of his horse, gig, -and bibles, which he values at three hundred dollars. Let no one, on -this, tremble for republican freedom. Outrages upon it, like the above, -are but extremely transient signs of the times. They no more betoken the -permanent condition of the republic, than the shivering of one hour of -ague exhibits the usual state of the human body. - -The other young men found educational and other assistance immediately; -and a set of noble institutions has grown out of their persecution. -There were professors ready to help them; and a gentleman gave them a -farm in Ohio, on which to begin a manual labour college, called the -Oberlin Institute. It is on a most liberal plan young women who wish to -become qualified for "Christian teaching" being admitted; and there -being no prejudice of colour. They have a sprinkling both of Indians and -of negroes. They do all the farm and house work, and as much study -besides as is good for them. Some of the young women are already fair -Hebrew and Greek scholars. In a little while, the estate was so crowded, -and the new applications were so overpowering, that they were glad to -accept the gift of another farm. When I left the country, within three -years from their commencement, they had either four or five flourishing -institutions in Ohio and Michigan, while the Lane Seminary drags on -feebly with its array of tutors, and dearth of pupils. A fact so full of -vitality as this will overbear a hundred less cheering signs of the -times. A very safe repose may be found in the will of the majority, -wherever it acts amidst light and freedom. - -Just before I reached Mobile, two men were burned alive there, in a slow -fire, in the open air, in the presence of the gentlemen of the city -generally. No word was breathed of the transaction in the newspapers: -and this is the special reason why I cite it as a sign of the times; of -the suppression of fact and repression of opinion which, from the -impossibility of their being long maintained, are found immediately to -precede the changes they are meant to obviate. Some months afterwards, -an obscure intimation of something of the kind having happened appeared -in a northern newspaper; but a dead silence was at the time preserved -upon what was, in fact, the deed of a multitude. The way that I came to -know it was this. A lady of Mobile was opening her noble and true heart -to me on the horrors and vices of the system under which she and her -family were suffering in mind, body, and estate. In speaking of her -duties as head of a family, she had occasion to mention the trouble -caused by the licentiousness of the whites, among the negro women. It -was dreadful to hear the facts which had occurred in her own household; -and the bare imagination of what is inflicted on the negro husbands and -fathers was almost too much to be borne. I asked the question, "Does it -never enter the heads of negro husbands and fathers to retaliate?" "Yes, -it does." "What follows?" "They are murdered,--burned alive." And then -followed the story of what had lately happened. A little girl, and her -still younger brother, one day failed to return from school, and never -were seen again. It was not till after all search had been relinquished, -that the severed head of the little girl was found in a brook, on the -borders of a plantation. Circumstances were discovered that left no -doubt that the murders were committed to conceal violence which had been -offered to the girl. Soon after, two young ladies of the city rode in -that direction, and got off their horses to amuse themselves. They were -seized upon by two slaves of the neighbouring plantation; but effected -their escape in safety, though with great difficulty. Their agitation -prevented their concealing the fact; and the conclusion was immediately -drawn that these men were the murderers of the children. The gentlemen -of Mobile turned out; seized the men; heaped up faggots on the margin of -the brook, and slowly burned them to death. No prudish excuses for the -suppression of this story will serve any purpose with those who have -been on the spot, any more than the outcry about "amalgamation," raised -against the abolitionists by those who live in the deepest sinks of a -licentiousness of which the foes of slavery do not dream. No -deprecatory plea regarding propriety or decency will pass for anything -but hypocrisy with those who know what the laws against the press are in -the south-west, and what are the morals of slavery in its palmy state. I -charge the silence of Mobile about this murder on its _fears_; as -confidently as I charge the brutality of the victims upon its crimes. - -Notwithstanding the many symptoms of an unmanly and anti-republican fear -which met my observation in these regions, it was long before I could -comprehend the extent of it; especially as I heard daily that the true -enthusiastic love of freedom could exist in a republic, only in the -presence of a servile class. I am persuaded that the southerners verily -believe this; that they actually imagine their northern brethren living -in an exceedingly humdrum way, for fear of losing their equality. It is -true that there is far too much subservience to opinion in the northern -States: particularly in New England. There is there a self-imposed -bondage which must be outgrown. But this is no more like the fear which -prevails in the south than the apprehensiveness of a court-physician is -like the terrors of Tiberius Cæsar. - -I was at the French theatre at New Orleans. The party with whom I went -determined to stay for the after-piece. The first scene of the -after-piece was dumb-show; so much noise was made by one single whistle -in the pit. The curtain was dropped, and the piece re-commenced. The -whistling continued; and, at one movement, the whole audience rose and -went home. I was certain that there was something more in this than was -apparent to the observation of a stranger. I resolved to find it out, -and succeeded. The band was wanted from the orchestra, to serenade a -United States senator who was then in the city; and one or two young men -were resolved to break up our amusement for the purpose of releasing -the band. But why were they allowed to do this? Why was the whole -audience to submit to the pleasure of one whistler? Why, in New Orleans -it is thought best to run no risk of any disturbance. People there -always hie home directly when things do not go off quite quietly. - -It is the same, wherever the blacks outnumber the whites, or their -bondage is particularly severe. At Charleston, when a fire breaks out, -the gentlemen all go home on the ringing of the alarm-bell; the ladies -rise and dress themselves and their children. It may be the signal of -insurrection: and the fire burns on, for any help the citizens give, -till a battalion of soldiers marches down to put it out. - -When we were going to church, at Augusta, Georgia, one Sunday afternoon, -there was smoke in the street, and a cry of fire. When we came out of -church, we were told that it had been very trifling, and easily -extinguished. The next day, I heard the whole. A negro girl of sixteen, -the property of a lady from New England, had set her mistress's house on -fire in two places, by very in-artificially lighting heaps of -combustible stuff piled against the partitions. There were no witnesses, -and all that was known came from her own lips. She was desperately -ignorant; laws having been fully enforced to prevent the negroes of -Georgia being instructed in any way whatever. The girl's account was, -that she was "tired of living there," and had therefore intended to burn -the house in the morning, but was prevented by her mistress having -locked her up for some offence: so she did it in the afternoon. She was -totally ignorant of the gravity of the deed, and was in a state of great -horror when told that she was to be hanged for it. I asked whether it -was possible that, after her being prevented by law from being taught, -she was to be hanged for her ignorance, and merely on her own -confession? The clergyman with whom I was conversing sighed, and said it -was a hard case; but what else could be done, considering that _Augusta -was built of wood_? He told me that there was great excitement among the -negroes in Augusta; and that many had been saying that "a mean white -person" (a white labourer) would not have been hanged; and that the girl -could not help it, as it must have been severity which drove her to it. -In both these sayings, the slaves were partly wrong. A white would have -been hanged; but a white would have known that she was committing crime. -It did not appear that the girl's mistress was harsh. But what does not -the observation convey? I have never learned, nor ever shall, whether -the hanging took place or not. The newspapers do not insert such things. - -This burning would be a fearful art for the blacks to learn. There were -four tremendous fires in Charleston, during the summer of 1835; and -divers residents reported to the north that these were supposed to be -the work of slaves. - -Wherever I went, in the south, in whatever town or other settlement I -made any stay, some startling circumstance connected with slavery -occurred, which I was assured was unprecedented. No such thing had ever -occurred before, or was likely to happen again. The repetition of this -assurance became, at last, quite ludicrous. - -The fear of which I have spoken as prevalent, does not extend to the -discussion of the question of slavery with strangers. My opinions of -slavery were known, through the press, before I went abroad: the -hospitality which was freely extended to me was offered under a full -knowledge of my detestation of the system. This was a great advantage, -in as much as it divested me entirely of the character of a spy, and -promoted the freest discussion, wherever I went. There was a warm -sympathy between myself and very many, whose sufferings under the system -caused me continual and deep sorrow, though no surprise. Neither was I -surprised at their differing from me as widely as they do about the -necessity of immediate action, either by resistance or flight, while -often agreeing, nearly to the full, in my estimate of the evils of the -present state of things. They have been brought up in the system. To -them, the moral deformity of the whole is much obscured by its nearness; -while the small advantages, and slight prettinesses which it is very -easy to attach to it, are prominent, and always in view. These -circumstances prevented my being surprised at the candour with which -they not only discussed the question, but showed me all that was to be -seen of the economical management of plantations; the worst as well as -the best. Whatever I learned of the system, by express showing, it must -be remembered, was from the hands of the slave-holders themselves. -Whatever I learned, that lies deepest down in my heart, of the moral -evils, the unspeakable vices and woes of slavery, was from the lips of -those who are suffering under them on the spot. - -It was there that I heard of the massacre in Southampton county, which -has been little spoken of abroad. It happened a few years ago; before -the abolition movement began; for it is remarkable that no insurrections -have taken place since the friends of the slave have been busy afar off. -This is one of the most eloquent signs of the times,--that, whereas -rebellions broke out as often as once a month before, there have been -none since. Of this hereafter. In the Southampton massacre, upwards of -seventy whites, chiefly women and children, were butchered by slaves who -fancied themselves called, like the Jews of old, to "slay and spare -not." - -While they were in full career, a Virginian gentleman, who had a friend -from the north staying with him, observed upon its being a mistaken -opinion that planters were afraid of their slaves; and offered the -example of his own household as a refutation. He summoned his -confidential negro, the head of the house establishment of slaves, and -bade him shut the door. - -"You hear," said he, "that the negroes have risen in Southampton." - -"Yes, massa." - -"You hear that they have killed several families, and that they are -coming this way." - -"Yes, massa." - -"You know that, if they come here, I shall have to depend upon you all -to protect my family." - -The slave was silent. - -"If I give you arms, you will protect me and my family, will you not?" - -"No, massa." - -"Do you mean, that if the Southampton negroes come this way, you will -join them?" - -"Yes, massa." - -When he went out of the room, his master wept without restraint. He -owned that all his hope, all his confidence was gone. Yet, who ever -deserved confidence more than the man who spoke that last "No" and -"Yes?" The more confidence in the man, the less in the system. This is -the philosophy of the story. - -I have mentioned the fact that no insurrections have for a long time -taken place. In some parts of the slave regions, the effect has been to -relax the laws relating to slaves; and such relaxation was always -pointed out to me as an indication that slavery would go out of itself, -if it were let alone. In other parts, new and very severe laws were -being passed against the slaves; and this was pointed out to me as a -sign that the condition of the negro was aggravated by the interference -of his friends; and that his best chance lay in slavery being let alone. -Thus the opposite facts were made to yield the same conclusion. A friend -of mine, a slave-holder, observed to me, that both the relaxation and -the aggravation of restrictions upon slaves were an indication of the -tendency of public opinion: the first being done in sympathy with it, -the other in fear of it. - -There was an outcry, very vehement, and very general among the friends -of slavery, in both north and south, against the cruelty of -abolitionists in becoming the occasion of the laws against slaves being -made more severe. In my opinion, this affords no argument against -abolition, even if the condition of the slaves of to-day were aggravated -by the stir of opinion. The negroes of the next generation are not to be -doomed to slavery for fear of somewhat more being inflicted on their -parents: and, severe as the laws already are, the consequence of -straining them tighter still would be that they would burst. But the -fact is, that so far from the condition of the slave being made worse by -the efforts of his distant friends, it has been substantially improved. -I could speak confidently of this as a necessary consequence of the -value set upon opinion by the masters; but I know it also from what I -myself saw; and from the lips of many slave-holders. The slaves of South -Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, have less liberty of -communication with each other; they are deprived of the few means of -instruction that they had; they are shut in earlier in the evening, and -precluded from supping and dancing for half the night, as they used to -do; but they are substantially better treated; they are less worked by -hard masters; less flogged; better fed and clothed. The eyes of the -world are now upon the American slave and his master: the kind master -goes on as he did before: the hard master dares not be so unkind as -formerly. He hates his slave more than ever, for slavery is more -troublesome than ever; but he is kept in order, by the opinion of the -world abroad and the neighbours around; and he dares not vent his hatred -on his human property, as he once could. A slave-holder declared in -Congress, that the slaves of the south knew that Dr. Channing had -written a book on their behalf. No doubt. The tidings of the far-off -movement in their favour come to them on every wind that blows, calming -their desperation, breathing hope into their souls; making the best of -their masters thoughtful and sad, and the worst, desperate and cruel, -though kept within bounds by fear. - -The word 'hatred' is not too strong for the feeling of a large -proportion of slave-holders towards particular slaves; or, as they would -call them, (the word 'slave' never being heard in the south,) their -'force,' their 'hands,' their 'negroes,' their 'people.' I was -frequently told of the 'endearing relation' subsisting between master -and slaves; but, at the best, it appeared to me the same 'endearing -relation' which subsists between a man and his horse, between a lady and -her dog. As long as the slave remains ignorant, docile, and contented, -he is taken good care of, humoured, and spoken of with a contemptuous, -compassionate kindness. But, from the moment he exhibits the attributes -of a rational being,--from the moment his intellect seems likely to come -into the most distant competition with that of whites, the most, deadly -hatred springs up;--not in the black, but in his oppressors. It is a -very old truth that we hate those whom we have injured. Never was it -more clear than in this case. I had, from time to time in my life, -witnessed something of human malice; I had seen some of the worst -aspects of domestic service in England; of village scandal; of political -rivalship; and other circumstances provocative of the worst passions; -but pure, unmitigated hatred, the expression of which in eye and voice -makes one's blood run cold, I never witnessed till I became acquainted -with the blacks of America, their friends and oppressors: the blacks and -their friends the objects; their oppressors the far more unhappy -subjects. It so happens that the most remarkable instances of this that -I met with were clergymen and ladies. The cold livid hatred which -deformed, like a mask, the faces of a few, while deliberately -slandering, now the coloured race, and now the abolitionists, could -never be forgotten by me, as a fearful revelation, if the whole country -were to be absolutely christianized to-morrow. Mr. Madison told me, that -if he could work a miracle, he knew what it should be. He would make all -the blacks white; and then he could do away with slavery in twenty-four -hours. So true it is that all the torturing associations of injury have -become so connected with colour, that an institution which hurts -everybody and benefits none, which all rational people who understand it -dislike, despise, and suffer under, can with difficulty be abolished, -because of the hatred which is borne to an irremovable badge. - -This hatred is a sign of the times; and so are the alleged causes of it; -both are from their nature so manifestly temporary. The principal cause -alleged is the impossibility of giving people of colour any idea of -duty, from their want of natural affection. I was told in the same -breath of their attachment to their masters, and devotion to them in -sickness; and of their utter want of all affection to their parents and -children, husbands and wives. For "people of colour," read "slaves," and -the account is often correct. It is true that slaves will often leave -their infants to perish, rather than take any trouble about them; that -they will utterly neglect a sick parent or husband; while they will -nurse a white mistress with much ostentation. The reason is obvious. -Such beings are degraded so far below humanity that they will take -trouble, for the sake of praise or more solid reward, after they have -become dead to all but grossly selfish inducements. Circumstances will -fully account for a great number of cases of this sort: but to set -against these, there are perhaps yet more instances of domestic -devotion, not to be surpassed in the annals of humanity. Of these I know -more than I can here set down; partly from their number, and partly from -the fear of exposing to injury the individuals alluded to. - -A friend of mine was well acquainted at Washington with a woman who had -been a slave; and who, after gaining her liberty, worked incessantly for -many years, denying herself all but absolute necessaries, in order to -redeem her husband and children. She was a sick-nurse, when my friend -knew her; and, by her merits, obtained good pay. She had first bought -herself; having earned, by extra toil, three or four hundred dollars. -She then earned the same sum, and redeemed her husband; and had bought -three, out of her five, children when my friend last saw her. She made -no boast of her industry and self-denial. Her story was extracted from -her by questions; and she obviously felt that she was doing what was -merely unavoidable. It is impossible to help instituting a comparison -between this woman and the gentlemen who, by their own licentiousness, -increase the number of slave children whom they sell in the market. My -friend formerly carried an annual present from a distant part of the -country to this poor woman: but it is not known what has become of her, -and whether she died before she had completed her object, of freeing all -her family. - -There is a woman now living with a lady in Boston, requiring high wages, -which her superior services, as well as her story, enable her to -command. This woman was a slave, and was married to a slave, by whom she -had two children. The husband and wife were much attached. One day, her -husband was suddenly sold away to a distance; and her master, whose -object was to increase his stock as fast as possible, immediately -required her to take another husband. She stoutly refused. Her master -thought her so far worthy of being humoured, that he gave her his -son,--forced him upon her, as her present feelings show. She had two -more children, of much lighter complexion than the former. When the son -left the estate, her master tried again to force a negro husband upon -her. In desperation, she fled, carrying one of her first children with -her. She is now working to redeem the other, a girl; and she has not -given up all hope of recovering her husband. She was asked whether she -thought of doing anything for her two mulatto children. She replied -that, to be sure, they _were_ her children; but that she did not think -she ever _could_ tell her husband that she had had those two children. -If this be not chastity, what is? Where are all the fairest natural -affections, if not in these women? - -At a very disorderly hotel in South Carolina, we were waited upon by a -beautiful mulatto woman and her child, a pretty girl of about eight. The -woman entreated that we would buy her child. On her being questioned, -it appeared that it was "a bad place" in which she was: that she had got -her two older children sold away, to a better place; and now, her only -wish was for this child to be saved. On being asked whether she really -desired to be parted from her only remaining child, so as never to see -her again, she replied that "it would be hard to part," but for the -child's sake she did wish that we would buy her. - -A kind-hearted gentleman in the south, finding that the laws of his -State precluded his teaching his legacy of slaves according to the usual -methods of education, bethought himself, at length, of the moral -training of task-work. It succeeded admirably. His negroes soon began to -work as slaves are never, under any other arrangement, seen to work. -Their day's task was finished by eleven o'clock. Next, they began to -care for one another: the strong began to help the weak:--first, -husbands helped their wives; then parents helped their children; and, at -length, the young began to help the old. Here was seen the awakening of -natural affections which had lain in a dark sleep. - -Of the few methods of education which have been tried, none have -succeeded so well as this task-work. As its general adoption might have -the effect of enabling slavery to subsist longer than it otherwise -could, perhaps it is well that it can be employed only to a very small -extent. Much of the work on the plantations cannot be divided into -tasks. Where it can, it is wise in the masters to avail themselves of -this means of enlisting the will of the slave in behalf of his work. - -No other mode of teaching serves this purpose in any degree. The -shutting up of the schools, when I was in the south, struck me as a sign -of the times,--a favourable sign, in as far as it showed the crisis to -be near; and it gave me little regret on account of the slave children. -Reading and writing even (which are never allowed) would be of no use to -beings without minds,--as slaves are prior to experience of life; and -religious teaching is worse than useless to beings who, having no -rights, can have no duties. Their whole notion of religion is of power -and show, as regards God; of subjection to a new sort of reward and -punishment, as regards themselves; and invisible reward and punishment -have no effect on them. A negro, conducting worship, was heard to pray -thus; and broad as the expressions are, they are better than an abject, -unintelligent adoption of the devotional language of whites. "Come down, -O Lord, come down,--on your great white horse, a kickin' and snortin'." -An ordinary negro's highest idea of majesty is of riding a prancing -white horse. As for their own concern in religion, I know of a "force" -where a preacher had just made a strong impression. The slaves had given -up dancing, and sang nothing but psalms: they exhibited the most -ludicrous spiritual pride, and discharged their business more lazily -than ever, taunting their mistress with, "You no holy. We be holy. You -no in state o' salvation." Such was the effect upon the majority. Here -is the effect upon a stronger head. - -"Harry," said his master, "you do as badly as ever. You steal and tell -lies. Don't you know you will be punished in hell?" - -"Ah, massa, I been thinking 'bout that. I been thinking when Harry's -head is in the ground, there'll be no more Harry,--no more Harry." - -"But the clergyman, and other people who know better than you, tell you -that if you steal you will go to hell, and be punished there." - -"Been thinking 'bout that too. Gentlemen _be_ wise, and so they tell us -'bout being punished, that we may not steal their things here: and then -we go and find out afterwards how it is." Such is the effect of -religion upon those who have no rights, and therefore no duties. Great -efforts are being now made by the clergy of four denominations[22] to -obtain converts in the south. The fact, pointed out to me by Mr. -Madison, that the "chivalrous" south is growing strict, while the -puritanic north is growing genial, is a very remarkable sign of the -times, as it regards slavery. All sanctions of the institution being now -wanted, religious sanctions are invoked among others. The scene has been -acted before, often enough to make the catastrophe clearly discernible. -There are no true religious sanctions of slavery. There will be no lack -of Harrys to detect the forgeries put forth as such: and, under the most -corrupt presentments of religion, there lives something of its genuine -spirit,--enough to expand, sooner or later, and explode the institution -with which it can never combine. Though I found that the divines of the -four denominations were teaching a compromising Christianity, to -propitiate the masters, and gross superstitions to beguile the -slaves,--vying with each other in the latter respect, that they might -outstrip one another in the number of their converts,--I rejoiced in -their work. Anything is better for the slaves than apathetic subjection; -and, under all this falsification, enough Christian truth has already -come in to blow slavery to atoms. - -The testimony of slave-holders was most explicit as to no moral -improvement having taken place, in consequence of the introduction of -religion. There was less singing and dancing; but as much lying, -drinking, and stealing as ever: less docility, and a vanity even -transcending the common vanity of slaves,--to whom the opinion of others -is all which they have to gain or lose. The houses are as dirty as ever, -(and I never saw a clean room or bed but once, within the boundaries of -the slave States;) the family are still contented with their "clean -linen, as long as it does not smell badly." A new set of images has been -presented to the slaves; but there still remains but one idea, by and -for which any of them live; the idea of freedom. - -Not for this, however, is the present zeal for religion a less -remarkable sign of the times. - -Another is, a proposition lately made in Charleston to remove the -slave-market further from public observation. This acknowledgment, in -such a place, that there is something distasteful, or otherwise -uncomfortable, in the sale of human beings, is portentous. I was in that -Charleston slave-market; and saw the sale of a woman with her children. -A person present voluntarily assured me that there was nothing whatever -painful in the sight. It appears, however, that the rest of Charleston -thinks differently. - -I was witness to the occasional discussion of the question whether -Congress has power to prohibit the internal slave trade; and found that -some very eminent men had no doubt whatever of such power being -possessed by Congress, through the clause which authorises it to -"regulate commerce among the several States." Among those who held this -opinion were Mr. Madison and Mr. Webster. - -The rapid increase of the suffrage in the north, compared with the -south, affords an indication of some speedy change of circumstances. -Three fifths of the slave population is represented; but this basis of -representation is so narrow in contrast with that of the populous States -where every man has the suffrage, that the south must decrease and the -north increase, in a way which cannot long be borne by the former. The -south has no remedy but in abolishing the institution by which her -prosperity is injured, and her population comparatively confined. She -sees how it is in the two contiguous States of Missouri and Illinois: -that new settlers examine Illinois, pass on into Missouri, where land is -much cheaper, and return to Illinois to settle, because there is no -slavery there: so that the population is advancing incalculably faster -in Illinois than in Missouri. Missouri will soon and easily find her -remedy, in abolishing slavery; when the whites will rush in, as they now -do into the neighbouring States. In the south, the case is more -difficult. It will be long before white labour becomes so reputable -there as elsewhere; and the present white residents cannot endure the -idea of the suffrage being freely given, within any assignable time, to -those who are now their slaves, or to their dusky descendants. Yet this -is what must be done, sooner or later, with more or fewer precautions, -if the south means to hold an important rank in Congress. It is in -contemplation of this difficulty that the loudest threats are heard of -secession from the Union; a movement which, as I have before said, would -be immediately prevented, or signally punished. The abolition of slavery -is the only resource. - -Upon the most remarkable of all the signs of the times relating to -slavery, it is not necessary to say much. Those which I have mentioned -are surely enough to show, as plainly as if a ghost had come from the -grave to tell us, that the time is at hand for the destruction of this -monstrous anomaly. What the issue of the coming change will be is, to my -mind, decided by a consideration on which almost every man is -vociferating his opinion,--the character of the abolitionists. - -It is obvious enough why this point is discussed so widely and so -constantly, that I think I may say I heard more upon it, while I was in -America, than upon all other American matters together. It is clearly -convenient to throw so weighty a question as that of abolition back upon -the aggregate characters of those who propose it; convenient to -slave-holders, convenient to those in the north whose sympathies are -with slave-holders, or who dread change, or who want an excuse to -themselves for not acting upon the principles which all profess. The -character of the abolitionists of the United States has been the object -of attack for some years,--of daily and hourly attack; and, as far as I -know, there has been no defence; for the plain reason that this is a -question on which there can be no middle party. All who are not with the -abolitionists are against them; for silence and inaction are public -acquiescence in things as they are. The case is, then, that everybody is -against them but their own body, whose testimony would, of course, go -for nothing, if it were offered; which it never is.--I know many of them -well; as every stranger in the country ought to take pains to do. I -first heard everything that could be said against them: and afterwards -became well acquainted with a great number of them. - -I think the abolitionists of the United States the most reasonable set -of people that I ever knew to be united together for one object. Among -them may be enjoyed the high and rare luxury of having a reason rendered -for every act performed, and every opinion maintained. The treatment -they have met with compels them to be more thoroughly informed, and more -completely assured on every point on which they commit themselves, than -is commonly considered necessary on the right side of a question, where -there is the strength of a mighty principle to repose upon. The -commonest charge against them is that they are fanatical. I think them, -generally speaking, the most clear-headed, right-minded class I ever -had intercourse with. Their accuracy about dates, numbers, and all such -matters of fact, is as remarkable as their clear perception of the -principles on which they proceed. They are, however, remarkably -deficient in policy,--in party address. They are artless to a fault; and -probably, no party, religious, political, or benevolent, in their -country, ever was formed and conducted with so little dexterity, -shrewdness, and concert. Noble and imperishable as their object is, it -would probably, from this cause, have slipped through their fingers for -the present, if it had not been for some other qualities common among -them. It is needless to say much of their heroism; of the strength of -soul with which they await and endure the inflictions with which they -are visited, day by day. Their position indicates all this. Animating as -it is to witness, it is less touching than the qualities to which they -owe the success which would otherwise have been forfeited through their -want of address and party organisation. A spirit of meekness, of mutual -forbearance, of mutual reverence, runs through the whole body; and by -this are selfish considerations put aside, differences composed, and -distrusts obviated, to a degree which I never hoped to witness among a -society as various as the sects, parties and opinions which are the -elements of the whole community. With the gaiety of heart belonging to -those who have cast aside every weight; with the strength of soul proper -to those who walk by faith; with the child-like unconsciousness of the -innocent; living from hour to hour in the light of that greatest of all -purposes,--to achieve a distant object by the fulfilment of the nearest -duty,--and therefore rooting out from among themselves all aristocratic -tendencies and usages, rarely speaking of their own sufferings and -sacrifices, but in honour preferring one another, how can they fail to -win over the heart of society,--that great heart, sympathising with all -that is lofty and true?[23] - -As was said to me, "the Searcher of hearts is passing through the land, -and every one must come forth to the ordeal." This Searcher of hearts -comes now in the form of the mighty principle of human freedom. If a -glance is cast over the assemblage called to the ordeal, how mean and -trivial are the vociferations in defence of property, the threats of -revenge for light, the boast of physical force, the appeal to the -compromises which constitute the defects of human law! How low and how -sad appear the mercenary interests, the social fears, the clerical -blindness or cowardice, the morbid fastidiousness of those who, -professing the same principles with the abolitionists, are bent upon -keeping those principles for ever an abstraction! How inspiring is it to -see that the community is, notwithstanding all this, sound at the core, -and that the soundness is spreading so fast that the health of the whole -community may be ultimately looked for! When a glance shows us all this, -and that the abolitionists are no more elated by their present success -than they were depressed by their almost hopeless degradation, we may -fairly consider the character of the abolitionists a decisive sign of -the times,--a peculiarly distinct prophecy that the coloured race will -soon pass from under the yoke. The Searcher of hearts brings prophecies -in his hand, which those who will may read.[24] - -I cannot give much space to the theories which are current as to what -the issue will be if the abolition of slavery should not take place. To -me it seems pretty clear, when the great amount of the mulatto -population is considered. Within an almost calculable time, the -population would be wholly mulatto; and the southern States would be in -a condition so far inferior to the northern, that they would probably -separate, and live under a different form of government. A military -despotism might probably be established when the mixture of colours had -become inconvenient, without being universal: slavery would afterwards -die out, through the general degradation of society; and then the -community would begin again to rise, from a very low point. But it will -be seen that I do not anticipate that there will be room or time for -this set of circumstances to take place. I say this in the knowledge of -the fact that a very perceptible tinge of negro blood is visible in some -of the first families of Louisiana; a fact learned from residents of -high quality on the spot. - -How stands the case, finally?--A large proportion of the labour of the -United States is held on principles wholly irreconcilable with the -principles of the constitution: whatever may be true about its origin, -it is now inefficient, wasteful, destructive, to a degree which must -soon cause a change of plan: some who see the necessity of such a -change, are in favour of reversing the original policy;--slavery having -once been begun in order to till the land, they are now for usurping a -new territory in order to employ their slaves: others are for banishing -the labour which is the one thing most needful to their country, in -every way. While all this confusion and mismanagement exist, here is the -labour, actually on the land, ready to be employed to better purpose; -and in the treasury are the funds by which the transmutation of slave -into free labour might be effected,--at once in the District of -Columbia; and by subsequent arrangements in the slave States. Many -matters of detail would have to be settled: the distribution would be -difficult; but it is not impossible. Virginia, whose revenue is derived -from the rearing of slaves for the south, whose property is the beings -themselves, and not their labour, must, in justice, receive a larger -compensation than such States as Alabama and Louisiana, where the labour -is the wealth, and which would be therefore immediately enriched by the -improvement in the quality of the labour which would follow upon -emancipation. Such arrangements may be difficult to make; but "when -there's a will there's a way;" and when it is generally perceived that -the abolition of slavery must take place, the great principle will not -long be allowed to lie in fetters of detail. The Americans have done -more difficult things than this; though assuredly none greater. The -restoration of two millions and a half of people to their human rights -will be as great a deed as the history of the world will probably ever -have to exhibit. In none of its pages are there names more lustrous than -those of the clear-eyed and fiery-hearted few who began and are -achieving the virtuous revolution. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[12] I might add their matter-of-fact credulity, strongly resembling -romance. As a specimen of the _quizzing_ common with regard to the -Germans, I give an anecdote. At the time when the struggle between Adams -and Jackson was very close, a supporter of Adams complained to Mr. W. -that it was provoking that somebody had persuaded the Germans in -Pennsylvania that Mr. Adams had married a daughter of George III.; a -report which would cost him all their votes. Mr. W. said, "Why do not -you contradict it?" "O," replied his friend, "you know nothing of those -people. They will believe everything, and unbelieve nothing. No: instead -of contradicting the report, we must allow that Adams married a daughter -of George III.; but add that Jackson married two." - -[13] I heard some interesting facts about the Germans in Pennsylvania -from Mr. Gallatin, who lived among them for some time. A fact regarding -this gentleman shows what the obscurity of country life in the United -States may be. His estate was originally in Virginia. By a new division, -it was thrown into the back of Pennsylvania. He ceased to be heard of, -for some years, in the interval of his engaging in public affairs. -During this time, an advertisement appeared in a newspaper, asking for -tidings of "one Albert Gallatin" and adding that if he were still -living, he might, on making a certain application, hear of something to -his advantage. - -[14] I need hardly mention that I read "England and America" before I -set out on my travels. It will appear that I am under obligations to -that valuable work for much guidance. - -[15] See Appendix A. - -[16] The Texans pretend to deny that the slave-trade will receive, or is -receiving, an impulse from them. The case is this. In the Texan -constitution, the importation of slaves, _except from the United -States_, is declared piracy. A most wealthy slave-owner of Louisiana -told me, in 1835, that the annual importation of native Africans (by -smuggling) was from thirteen thousand to fifteen thousand. This has much -increased since. As long as there is a market for slaves, there will be -the slave-trade, though there were a preventive cruiser to every mile of -the ocean. - -An official gentleman, from the British West Indies, informed me that -much mischief has ensued from the withdrawing of two or three small -British schooners, which used to cruise about the islands, and were -broken up on the plea of economy;--it being supposed that vessels so -small could do no good which would compensate for their expense. This is -a mistake. If a slave ship surrenders on summons, the ship and cargo are -forfeited, and that is all. If a gun is fired, in defence, the captain -and crew become thereby liable to be hanged as pirates. Of course, those -who man a slave ship are ready to surrender to a cock-boat, with two men -in it, rather than become liable to hanging for property in which they -can have, at most, but a very small interest. Thus a schooner renders as -good aid, and is as much an object of dread, in this kind of service, as -a larger vessel. - -[17] England and America. - -[18] It may surprise some that I speak of those who are blind to slavery -being an anomaly in economy as 'few.' Among the many hundreds of persons -in the slave States, with whom I conversed on the subject of slavery, I -met with only one, a lady, who defended the institution altogether: and -with perhaps four or five who defended it as necessary to a purpose -which must be fulfilled, and could not be fulfilled otherwise. All the -rest who vindicated its present existence did so on the ground of the -impossibility of doing it away. A very large number avowed that it was -indefensible in every point of view. - -[19] With the condition of the African colony, we have here nothing to -do. We are now considering the Colonisation Society in its professed -relation to American slavery. - -[20] Governor M'Duffie's message to the legislature of South Carolina -contains the proposition that freedom can be preserved only in societies -where either work is disreputable, or there is an hereditary -aristocracy, or a military despotism. He prefers the first, as being the -most republican. - -[21] The dispute between the abolitionists and their adversaries is -always made to turn on the point of distinction between freedom of -discussion and political interference. With the views now entertained by -the south, she can never be satisfied on this head. She requires nothing -short of a dead silence upon the subject of human rights. This demand is -made by her state governors of the state governors of the north. It -will, of course, never be granted. The course of the abolitionists seems -to themselves clear enough; and they act accordingly. They labour -_politically_ only with regard to the District of Columbia, over which -Congress holds exclusive jurisdiction. Their other endeavour is to -promote the discussion of the moral question throughout the free States. -They use no direct means to this end in the slave States;--in the first -place, because they have no power to do so; and in the next, because the -requisite movement there is sure to follow upon that in the north. It is -wholly untrue that they insinuate their publications into the south. -Their only political transgression (and who will call it a moral one?) -is, helping fugitive slaves. The line between free discussion and -political interference has never yet been drawn to the satisfaction of -both parties, and never will be. - -[22] Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists and Baptists. - -[23] It may, at the first glance, appear improbable that such a -character as this should belong to any collection of individuals. But -let it be remembered what the object is; an object which selects for its -first supporters the choicest spirits of society. These choice spirits, -again, are disciplined by what they have to undergo for their object, -till they come out such as I have described them. Their's is not a -common charitable institution, whose committees meet, and do creditable -business, and depart homewards in peace. They are the confessors of the -martyr-age of America. As a matter of course, their character will be -less distinctive as their numbers increase. Many are coming in, and more -will come in, who had not strength, or light, or warmth enough to join -them in the days of their insignificance. - -[24] While I write, confirmation comes in the shape of Governor -M'Duffie's message to the legislature of South Carolina, in which he -speaks of the vast and accelerated spread of abolition principles; of -the probability that slavery in the District of Columbia will be soon -abolished; and of the pressing occasion that thence arises for South -Carolina to resolve what she shall do, rather than part with her -domestic institutions. He recommends her to declare her intention of -peaceably withdrawing from the Union, in such a case. Time will show -whether the majority of her citizens will prefer sacrificing their -connexion with the Union, or their slavery; whether the separation will -be allowed by the other States to take place; or, if it be, whether -South Carolina will not speedily desire a readmission. - - -END OF VOL. I. - - -LONDON: -IBOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Society in America, v. 1 (of 2), by Harriet Martineau - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOCIETY IN AMERICA, V. 1 (OF 2) *** - -***** This file should be named 52621-8.txt or 52621-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/6/2/52621/ - -Produced by Julia Miller, Martin Pettit 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 print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Society in America, v. 1 (of 2) - -Author: Harriet Martineau - -Release Date: July 22, 2016 [EBook #52621] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOCIETY IN AMERICA, V. 1 (OF 2) *** - - - - -Produced by Julia Miller, Martin Pettit 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.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="center"><a name="cover.jpg" id="cover.jpg"></a><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<h1>SOCIETY IN AMERICA</h1> - -<p class="bold space-above">BY</p> - -<p class="bold2">HARRIET MARTINEAU,</p> - -<p class="bold">AUTHOR OF "ILLUSTRATIONS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY."</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">IN TWO VOLUMES.</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">VOL. I. (of II)</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">NEW YORK<br />SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, ANN STREET,<br /> -AND CONDUIT STREET, LONDON.<br />1837.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> - -<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p>"To seize a character, even that of one man, in its life and secret -mechanism, requires a philosopher; to delineate it with truth and -impressiveness is work for a poet. How then shall one or two sleek -clerical tutors, with here and there a tedium-stricken esquire, or -speculative half-pay captain, give us views on such a subject? How shall -a man, to whom all characters of individual men are like sealed books, -of which he sees only the title and the covers, decipher from his -four-wheeled vehicle, and depict to us, the character of a nation? He -courageously depicts his own optical delusions; notes this to be -incomprehensible, that other to be insignificant; much to be good, much -to be bad, and most of all indifferent; and so, with a few flowing -strokes, completes a picture, which, though it may not resemble any -possible object, his countrymen are to take for a national portrait. Nor -is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span> fraud so readily detected: for the character of a people has -such a complexity of aspect, that even the honest observer knows not -always, not perhaps after long inspection, what to determine regarding -it. From his, only accidental, point of view, the figure stands before -him like the tracings on veined marble,—a mass of mere random lines, -and tints, and entangled strokes, out of which a lively fancy may shape -almost <i>any</i> image. But the image he brings with him is always the -readiest; this is tried; it answers as well as another; and a second -voucher now testifies its correctness. Thus each, in confident tones, -though it be with a secret misgiving, repeats his precursor; the -hundred-times-repeated comes in the end to be believed; the foreign -nation is now once for all understood, decided on, and registered -accordingly; and dunce the thousandth writes of it like dunce the -first."—<i>Edinburgh Review, No.</i> xlvi. p. 309.</p> - -<p class="space-above">This passage cannot but strike upon the heart of any traveller who -meditates giving to the world an account of the foreign country he has -visited. It is the mirror held up before his face; and he inevitably -feels himself, for the moment, "dunce the thousandth." For my own part, -I felt the truth contained in this picture so strongly, before I was -acquainted with the passage itself, that I had again and again put away -the idea of saying one word in print on the condition of society in the -United States. Whenever I encountered <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span>half-a-dozen irreconcilable, but -respectable opinions on a single point of political doctrine; whenever -half-a-dozen fair-seeming versions of a single fact were offered to me; -whenever the glow of pleasure at obtaining, by some trivial accident, a -piece of important knowledge passed into a throb of pain at the thought -of how much must remain concealed where a casual glimpse disclosed so -much; whenever I felt how I, with my pittance of knowledge and amidst my -glimmerings of conviction, was at the mercy of unmanageable -circumstances, wafted now here and now there, by the currents of -opinion, like one surveying a continent from a balloon, with only -starlight above him,—I was tempted to decline the task of generalising -at all from what I saw and heard. In the intervals, however, I felt that -this would be wrong. Men will never arrive at a knowledge of each other, -if those who have the opportunity of foreign observation refuse to -relate what they think they have learned; or even to lay before others -the materials from which they themselves hesitate to construct a theory, -or draw large conclusions.</p> - -<p>In seeking for methods by which I might communicate what I have observed -in my travels, without offering any pretension to teach the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span>English, or -judge the Americans, two expedients occurred to me; both of which I have -adopted. One is, to compare the existing state of society in America -with the principles on which it is professedly founded; thus testing -Institutions, Morals, and Manners by an indisputable, instead of an -arbitrary standard, and securing to myself the same point of view with -my readers of both nations.</p> - -<p>In working according to this method, my principal dangers are two. I am -in danger of not fully apprehending the principles on which society in -the United States is founded; and of erring in the application to these -of the facts which came under my notice. In the last respect, I am -utterly hopeless of my own accuracy. It is in the highest degree -improbable that my scanty gleanings in the wide field of American -society should present a precisely fair sample of the whole. I can only -explain that I have spared no pains to discover the truth, in both -divisions of my task; and invite correction, in all errors of fact. This -I earnestly do; holding myself, of course, an equal judge with others on -matters of opinion.</p> - -<p>My readers, on their part, will bear in mind that, in showing -discrepancies between an actual condition and a pure and noble theory -of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span> society, I am not finding fault with the Americans, as for falling -behind the English, or the French, or any other nation. I decline the -office of censor altogether. I dare not undertake it. Nor will my -readers, I trust, regard the subject otherwise than as a compound of -philosophy and fact. If we can all, for once, allay our personal -feelings, dismiss our too great regard to mutual opinion, and put praise -and blame as nearly as possible out of the question, more that is -advantageous to us may perhaps be learned than by any invidious -comparisons and proud judgments that were ever instituted and -pronounced.</p> - -<p>The other method by which I propose to lessen my own responsibility, is -to enable my readers to judge for themselves, better than I can for -them, what my testimony is worth. For this purpose, I offer a brief -account of my travels, with dates in full; and a report of the principal -means I enjoyed of obtaining a knowledge of the country.</p> - -<p>At the close of a long work which I completed in 1834, it was thought -desirable that I should travel for two years. I determined to go to the -United States, chiefly because I felt a strong curiosity to witness the -actual working of republican institutions; and partly because the -circumstance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span> of the language being the same as my own is very important -to one who, like myself, is too deaf to enjoy anything like an average -opportunity of obtaining correct knowledge, where intercourse is carried -on in a foreign language. I went with a mind, I believe, as nearly as -possible unprejudiced about America, with a strong disposition to admire -democratic institutions, but an entire ignorance how far the people of -the United States lived up to, or fell below, their own theory. I had -read whatever I could lay hold of that had been written about them; but -was unable to satisfy myself that, after all, I understood anything -whatever of their condition. As to knowledge of them, my mind was nearly -a blank: as to opinion of their state, I did not carry the germ of one.</p> - -<p>I landed at New York on the 19th of September, 1834: paid a short visit -the next week to Paterson, in New Jersey, to see the cotton factories -there, and the falls of the Passaic; and passed through New York again -on my way to stay with some friends on the banks of the Hudson, and at -Stockbridge, Massachusetts. On the 6th of October, I joined some -companions at Albany, with whom I travelled through the State of New -York, seeing Trenton Falls, Auburn, and Buffalo, to the Falls<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span> of -Niagara. Here I remained nearly a week; then, after spending a few days -at Buffalo, I embarked on Lake Erie, landing in the back of -Pennsylvania, and travelling down through Meadville to Pittsburgh, -spending a few days at each place. Then, over the Alleghanies to -Northumberland, on the fork of the Susquehanna, the abode of Priestley -after his exile, and his burial place. I arrived at Northumberland on -the 11th of October, and left it, after visiting some villages in the -neighbourhood, on the 17th, for Philadelphia, where I remained nearly -six weeks, having very extensive intercourses with its various society. -My stay at Baltimore was three weeks, and at Washington five. Congress -was at that time in session, and I enjoyed peculiar opportunities of -witnessing the proceedings of the Supreme Court and both houses of -Congress. I was acquainted with almost every eminent senator and -representative, both on the administration and opposition sides; and was -on friendly and intimate terms with some of the judges of the Supreme -Court. I enjoyed the hospitality of the President, and of several of the -heads of departments: and was, like everybody else, in society from -morning till night of every day; as the custom is at Washington. One<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span> -day was devoted to a visit to Mount Vernon, the abode and burial-place -of Washington.</p> - -<p>On the 18th of February I arrived at Montpelier, the seat of Mr. and -Mrs. Madison, with whom I spent two days, which were wholly occupied -with rapid conversation; Mr. Madison's share of which, various and -beautiful to a remarkable degree, will never be forgotten by me. His -clear reports of the principles and history of the Constitution of the -United States, his insight into the condition, his speculations on the -prospects of nations, his wise playfulness, his placid contemplation of -present affairs, his abundant household anecdotes of Washington, -Franklin, and Jefferson, were incalculably valuable and exceedingly -delightful to me.</p> - -<p>The intercourse which I had with Chief Justice Marshall was of the same -character, though not nearly so copious. Nothing in either delighted me -more than their hearty admiration of each other, notwithstanding some -wide differences in their political views. They are both gone; and I now -deeply feel what a privilege it is to have known them.</p> - -<p>From Mr. Madison's I proceeded to Charlottesville, and passed two days -amidst the hospitalities of the Professors of Jefferson's University, -and their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span> families. I was astonished to learn that this institution had -never before been visited by a British traveller. I can only be sorry -for British travellers who have missed the pleasure. A few days more -were given to Richmond, where the Virginia legislature was in session; -and then ensued a long wintry journey though North and South Carolina to -Charleston, occupying from the 2nd to the 11th of March. The -hospitalities of Charleston are renowned; and I enjoyed them in their -perfection for a fortnight; and then a renewal of the same kind of -pleasures at Columbia, South Carolina, for ten days. I traversed the -southern States, staying three days at Augusta, Georgia, and nearly a -fortnight in and near Montgomery, Alabama; descending next the Alabama -river to Mobile. After a short stay there, and a residence of ten days -at New Orleans, I went up the Mississippi and Ohio to the mouth of the -Cumberland river, which I ascended to Nashville, Tennessee. I visited -the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, and spent three weeks at Lexington. I -descended the Ohio to Cincinnati; and after staying there ten days, -ascended the river again, landing in Virginia, visiting the Hawk's Nest, -Sulphur Springs, Natural Bridge, and Weyer's Cave, arriving at New<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span> York -again on the 14th of July, 1835. The autumn was spent among the villages -and smaller towns of Massachusetts, in a visit to Dr. Channing in Rhode -Island, and in an excursion to the mountains of New Hampshire and -Vermont. The winter was passed in Boston, with the exception of a trip -to Plymouth, for "Forefather's Day." In the Spring I spent seven weeks -in New York; and a month in a farmhouse at Stockbridge, Massachusetts; -making an excursion, meanwhile, to Saratoga and Lake George. My last -journey was with a party of friends, far into the west, visiting Niagara -again, proceeding by Lake Erie to Detroit, and across the territory of -Michigan. We swept round the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to -Chicago: went a long day's journey down into the prairies, back to -Chicago, and by the Lakes Michigan, Huron, and St. Clair to Detroit, -visiting Mackinaw by the way. We landed from Lake Erie at Cleveland, -Ohio, on the 13th of July; and travelled through the interior of Ohio -till we joined the river at Beaver. We visited Rapp's Settlement at -Economy, on the Ohio, and returned to New York from Pittsburgh, by the -canal route through Pennsylvania, and the rail-road over the -Alleghanies. I sailed from New York for England on the 1st of August, -1836, having then been absent just two years.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span></p><p>In the course of this tour, I visited almost every kind of institution. -The prisons of Auburn, Philadelphia, and Nashville: the insane and other -hospitals of almost every considerable place: the literary and -scientific institutions; the factories of the north; the plantations of -the south; the farms of the west. I lived in houses which might be -called palaces, in log-houses, and in a farm-house. I travelled much in -wagons, as well as stages; also on horseback, and in some of the best -and worst of steam-boats. I saw weddings, and christenings; the -gatherings of the richer at watering places, and of the humbler at -country festivals. I was present at orations, at land sales, and in the -slave market. I was in frequent attendance on the Supreme Court and the -Senate; and witnessed some of the proceedings of state legislatures. -Above all, I was received into the bosom of many families, not as a -stranger, but as a daughter or a sister. I am qualified, if any one is, -to testify to the virtues and the peace of the homes of the United -States; and let it not be thought a breach of confidence, if I should be -found occasionally to have spoken of these out of the fulness of my -heart.</p> - -<p>It would be nearly impossible to relate whom I knew, during my travels. -Nearly every eminent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span> man in politics, science and literature, and -almost every distinguished woman, would grace my list. I have respected -and beloved friends of each political party; and of nearly every -religious denomination; among slave-holders, colonizationists, and -abolitionists; among farmers, lawyers, merchants, professors, and -clergy. I travelled among several tribes of Indians; and spent months in -the southern States, with negroes ever at my heels.</p> - -<p>Such were my means of information. With regard to my power of making use -of them, I have but a few words to say.</p> - -<p>It has been frequently mentioned to me that my being a woman was one -disadvantage; and my being previously heard of, another. In this I do -not agree.</p> - -<p>I am sure, I have seen much more of domestic life than could possibly -have been exhibited to any gentleman travelling through the country. The -nursery, the boudoir, the kitchen, are all excellent schools in which to -learn the morals and manners of a people: and, as for public and -professional affairs,—those may always gain full information upon such -matters, who really feel an interest in them,—be they men or women. No -people in the world can be more frank, confiding and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span>affectionate, or -more skilful and liberal in communicating information, than I have ever -found the Americans to be. I never asked in vain; and I seldom had to -ask at all; so carefully were my inquiries anticipated, and my aims so -completely understood. I doubt whether a single fact that I wished to -learn, or any doctrine that I desired to comprehend, was ever kept from -me because I was a woman.</p> - -<p>As for the other objection, I can only state my belief, that my friends -and I found personal acquaintance so much pleasanter than any previous -knowledge by hearsay, that we always forgot that we had heard of each -other before. It would be preposterous to suppose that, received as I -was into intimate confidence, any false appearances could be kept up on -account of any preconceptions that could have been entertained of me.</p> - -<p>I laboured under only one peculiar disadvantage, that I am aware of; but -that one is incalculable. I mean my deafness. This does not endanger the -accuracy of my information, I believe, as far as it goes; because I -carry a trumpet of remarkable fidelity; an instrument, moreover, which -seems to exert some winning power, by which I gain more in -<i>tête-à-têtes</i> than is given to people who hear <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span>general conversation. -Probably its charm consists in the new feeling which it imparts of ease -and privacy in conversing with a deaf person. However this may be, I can -hardly imagine fuller revelations to be made in household intercourse -than my trumpet brought to me. But I am aware that there is no -estimating the loss, in a foreign country, from not hearing the casual -conversation of all kinds of people, in the streets, stages, hotels, &c. -I am aware that the lights which are thus gathered up by the traveller -for himself are often far more valuable than the most elaborate accounts -of things offered to him with an express design. This was my peculiar -disadvantage. It could not be helped; and it cannot be explained away. I -mention it, that the value of my testimony may be lowered according to -the supposed worth of this circumstance.</p> - -<p>Much is often said about the delicacy to be observed, in the act of -revealing the history of one's travels, towards the hosts and other -friends of the traveller who have reposed confidence in him. The rule -seems to me a very plain one, which reconciles truth, honour and -utility. My rule is to speak of the public acts of public persons, -precisely as if I had known them only in their public character.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span> This -may be sometimes difficult, and sometimes painful, to the writer; but it -leaves no just cause of complaint to any one else. Moreover, I hold it -allowable and necessary to make use of opinions and facts offered in -fire-side confidence, as long as no clue is offered by which they may be -traced back to any particular fire-side. If any of my American friends -should find in this book traces of old conversations and incidents, let -them keep their own counsel, and be assured that the conversation and -facts remain private between them and me. Thus far, all is safe; and -further than this, no honourable person would wish to go.</p> - -<p>This is not the place in which to speak of my obligations or of my -friendships. Those who know best what I have in my heart to say meet me -here under a new relation. In these pages, we meet as writer and -readers. I would only entreat them to bear this distinction in mind, and -not to measure my attachment to themselves by anything this book may -contain about their country and their nation. The bond which unites us -bears no relation to clime, birth-place, or institutions. In as far as -our friendship is faithful, we are fellow-citizens of another and a -better country than theirs or mine.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_Aiii" id="Page_Aiii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<p class="center">VOL. I.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<table summary="CONTENTS"> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"> </td> - <td><span class="smaller"><i>Page</i></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_i">i</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">——————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">PART I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Politics</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Parties</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Apparatus of Government</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—The General Government</td> - <td><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>II.</td> - <td class="left">—The Executive</td> - <td><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>III.</td> - <td class="left">—The State Governments</td> - <td><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_Aiv" id="Page_Aiv">[Pg iv]</a></span>CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Morals of Politics</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—Office</td> - <td><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>II.</td> - <td class="left">—Newspapers</td> - <td><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>III.</td> - <td class="left">—Apathy in Citizenship</td> - <td><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>IV.</td> - <td class="left">—Allegiance to Law</td> - <td><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>V.</td> - <td class="left">—Sectional Prejudice</td> - <td><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>VI.</td> - <td class="left">—Citizenship of People of Colour</td> - <td><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>VII.</td> - <td class="left">—Political Non-Existence of Women</td> - <td><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">——————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">PART II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Economy</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"> Solitaires</td> - <td><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"> Springs of Virginia</td> - <td><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"> New England Farm-house</td> - <td><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"> West Country Life</td> - <td><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"> Township of Gloucester</td> - <td><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"> South Country Life</td> - <td><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"> Picture of Michigan</td> - <td><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"> The Northern Lakes</td> - <td><a href="#Page_270">270</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Agriculture</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_291">291</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—Disposal of Land</td> - <td><a href="#Page_318">318</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>II.</td> - <td class="left">—Rural Labour</td> - <td><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">SOCIETY IN AMERICA</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h2><span>PART I.</span> <span class="smaller">POLITICS.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>" ... Those unalterable relations which Providence has ordained -that everything should bear to every other. These relations, which -are truth itself, the foundation of virtue, and consequently, the -only measures of happiness, should be likewise the only measures by -which we should direct our reasoning. To these we should conform in -good earnest, and not think to force nature, and the whole order of -her system, by a compliance with our pride and folly, to conform to -our artificial regulations. It is by a conformity to this method we -owe the discovery of the few truths we know, and the little liberty -and rational happiness we enjoy." <i>Burke.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Mr. Madison remarked to me, that the United States had been "useful in -proving things before held impossible." Of such proofs, he adduced -several. Others, which he did not mention, have since occurred to me; -and, among them, the pursuit of the <i>à priori</i> method in forming a -constitution:—the <i>à priori</i> method, as it is styled by its enemies, -though its advocates, with more reason, call it the inductive method. -Till the formation of the government of the United States, it had been -generally supposed, and it is so still by the majority of the old world, -that a sound theory of government can be constructed only out of the -experience of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> man in governments; the experience mankind has had of -despotisms, oligarchies, and the mixtures of these with small portions -of democracy. But the essential condition of the fidelity of the -inductive method is, that all the elements of experience should be -included. If, in this particular problem, of the true theory of -government, we take all experience of government, and leave out all -experience of man, except in his hitherto governing or governed state, -we shall never reach a philosophical conclusion. The true application of -the inductive method here is to test a theory of government deduced from -the principles of human nature, by the results of all governments of -which mankind has had experience. No narrower basis will serve for such -an induction. Such a method of finding a good theory of government was -considered impossible, till the United States "proved" it.</p> - -<p>This proof can never be invalidated by anything that can now happen in -the United States. It is common to say "Wait; these are early days. The -experiment will fail yet." The experiment of the particular constitution -of the United States may fail; but the great principle which, whether -successfully or not, it strives to embody,—the capacity of mankind for -self-government,—is established for ever. It has, as Mr. Madison said, -proved a thing previously held impossible. If a revolution were to take -place to-morrow in the United States, it remains an historical fact -that, for half a century, a people has been self-governed; and, till it -can be proved that the self-government is the cause of the instability, -no revolution, or series of revolutions, can tarnish the lustre, any -more than they can impair the soundness of the principle that mankind -are capable of self-government. The United States have indeed been -useful in proving these two things, before held impossible; the finding -a true theory<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> of government, by reasoning from the principles of human -nature, as well as from the experience of governments; and the capacity -of mankind for self-government.</p> - -<p>It seems strange that while politics are unquestionably a branch of -moral science, bearing no other relation than to the duty and happiness -of man, the great principles of his nature should have been neglected by -politicians—with the exception of his love of power and desire of -gain,—till a set of men assembled in the State House at Philadelphia, -in the eighteenth century, and there throned a legitimate political -philosophy in the place of a deposed king. The <i>rationale</i> of all -preceding governments had been, "men love power, therefore there must be -punishments for rulers who, having already much, would seize more. Men -desire gain; therefore there must be punishments for those, rulers or -ruled, who would appropriate the gains of others." The <i>rationale</i> of -the new and "impossible" government is "that all men are created equal; -that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable lights; -that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to -secure those rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving -their just powers from the consent of the governed."<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> This last -recognizes, over and above what the former admits, the great principles -of indefeasible rights; human equality in relation to these; and the -obligation of universal justice.</p> - -<p>These, then, are the principles which the statesmen in the State House -at Philadelphia announced as the soul of their embryo institutions; and -the rule through which they were to work was no less than that golden -one which seems to have been, by some unhappy chance, omitted in the -bibles of other statesmen—"Do unto others as ye would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> that they should -do unto you." Perhaps it may be reserved for their country to prove yet -one more impossible thing—that men can live by the rule which their -Maker has given them to live by. Meanwhile, every true citizen of that -country must necessarily be content to have his self-government tried by -the test of these principles, to which, by his citizenship, he has -become a subscriber. He will scorn all comparisons, instituted as a test -of merit, between his own government and those of other countries, which -he must necessarily consider as of narrower scope and lower aim. Whether -such comparisons be instituted abroad in a spirit of contempt, or at -home in a spirit of complacency, he will regard them equally as -irrelevant, and proving nothing to the best purposes of true citizens. -He will disdain every test but that furnished by the great principles -propounded in the State House at Philadelphia; and he will quarrel with -no results fairly brought out by such a test, whether they inspire him -with shame, or with complacency. In either case, he will be animated by -them.</p> - -<p>If the politics of a country be really derived from fundamental -principles of human nature and morals, the economy, manners, and -religion of that country must be designed to harmonise with these -principles. The same test must be applicable to all. The inalienable -right of all the human race to life, liberty, and the pursuit of -happiness, must control the economical, as well as the political -arrangements of a people; and the law of universal justice must regulate -all social intercourse, and direct all administration of religion.</p> - -<p>Politics are morals, all the world over; that is, politics universally -implicate the duty and happiness of man. Every branch of morals is, and -ought to be considered, a universal concern. Under despotic governments, -there is a pretension, more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> or less sincere, on the part of the rulers, -to moral regards; but from these the bulk of the people are, by common -consent, cut off. If the bulk of the people saw the truth, that the -principles of politics affect them,—are the message of their Maker as -principles are to them, as well as to their rulers, they would become -moral agents in regard to politics, and despotism would be at an end. As -it is, they pay their taxes, and go out to war when they are bid, are -thankful when they are left unmolested by their government, and sorry or -angry when they feel themselves oppressed; and there they end. It is -owing to their ignorance of politics being morals—<i>i. e.</i> matters of -equal concern to all—that this truth is not made manifest in action in -every country on the globe that has any government at all.</p> - -<p>The same is the case of the unrepresented under governments which are -not called despotic. According to the principles professed by the United -States, there is there a rectification of this mighty error—a -correction of this grand oversight. In that self-governing nation, all -are held to have an equal interest in the principles of its -institutions, and to be bound in equal duty to watch their workings. -Politics there are universal duty. None are exempted from obligation but -the unrepresented; and they, in theory, are none. However various may be -the tribes of inhabitants in those States, whatever part of the world -may have been their birth-place, or that of their fathers, however -broken may be their language, however noble or servile their -employments, however exalted or despised their state, all are declared -to be bound together by equal political obligation, as firmly as under -any other law of personal or social duty. The president, the senator, -the governor, may take upon himself some additional responsibility, as -the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>physician and lawyer do in other departments of office; but they -are under precisely the same political obligation as the German settler, -whose axe echoes through the lonely forest; and the Southern planter, -who is occupied with his hospitalities; and the New England merchant, -whose thoughts are on the sea; and the Irishman, in his shanty on the -canal-bank; and the negro, hoeing cotton in the hot field, or basking -away his sabbath on the shore of the Mississippi. Genius, knowledge, -wealth, may in other affairs set a man above his fellows; but not in -this. Weakness, ignorance, poverty may exempt a man from other -obligations; but not from this. The theory of the government of the -United States has grasped and embodied the mighty principle, that -politics are morals;—that is, a matter of universal and equal concern. -We shall have to see whether this principle is fully acted out.</p> - -<p>Implicated with this is the theory, that the majority will be in the -right, both as to the choice of principles which are to govern -particular cases, and the agents who are to work them. This theory, -obviously just as it appears, as long as it is applied to matters of -universal and equal concern, cannot be set aside without overthrowing -all with which it is involved. We shall have to see, also, whether this -principle is effectually carried out.</p> - -<p>Implicated with this, again, is the principle that a mutable, or rather -elastic form, must be given to every institution. "The majority are in -the right." Such is the theory. Few individuals of this majority can act -for longer than two-score years and ten; few for so long. No one can -suppose that his successor will think or feel as he does, however strict -may be the regard of each to the fundamental principles which are to -regulate his citizenship. It is absolutely necessary, to secure -permanence to the recognition of those principles, that there should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> be -liberty to change the form which contains them. Else, in the endless -variety of human views and interests, there is danger lest men, being -prohibited from producing a correspondence between the principles they -recognise, and the forms they desire, should, because interdicted from -outward change, gradually alter the spirit of their government. In such -a case, men would be some time in discovering that the fair body of -their constitution has become possessed, while they had supposed her -inspired: and, to pass over the mischiefs which might happen during the -period of her possession, the work of exorcism would be difficult and -perilous.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Declaration of Independence.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER I.</span> <span class="smaller">PARTIES.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"For these are the men that, when they have played their parts, and -had their exits, must step out, and give the moral of their scenes, -and deliver unto posterity an inventory of their virtues and -vices."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Sir Thomas Browne.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The first gentleman who greeted me on my arrival in the United States, a -few minutes after I had landed, informed me without delay, that I had -arrived at an unhappy crisis; that the institutions of the country would -be in ruins before my return to England; that the levelling spirit was -desolating society; and that the United States were on the verge of a -military despotism. This was so very like what I had been accustomed to -hear at home, from time to time, since my childhood, that I was not -quite so much alarmed as I might have been without such prior -experience. It was amusing too to find America so veritably the daughter -of England.</p> - -<p>I looked around me carefully, in all my travels, till I reached -Washington, but could see no signs of despotism; even less of military. -Except the officers and cadets at West Point, and some militia on a -training day at Saugerties, higher up on the Hudson, I saw nothing that -could be called <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>military; and officers, cadets, and militia, appeared -all perfectly innocent of any design to seize upon the government. At -Washington, I ventured to ask an explanation from one of the most -honoured statesmen now living; who told me, with a smile, that the -country had been in "a crisis" for fifty years past; and would be for -fifty years to come.</p> - -<p>This information was my comfort, from day to day, till I became -sufficiently acquainted with the country to need such support no longer. -Mournful predictions, like that I have quoted, were made so often, that -it was easy to learn how they originated.</p> - -<p>In the United States, as elsewhere, there are, and have always been, two -parties in politics, whom it is difficult to distinguish on paper, by a -statement of their principles, but whose course of action may, in any -given case, be pretty confidently anticipated. It is remarkable how -nearly their positive statements of political doctrine agree, while they -differ in almost every possible application of their common principles. -Close and continued observation of their agreements and differences is -necessary before the British traveller can fully comprehend their mutual -relation. In England, the differences of parties are so broad,—between -those who would have the people governed for the convenience of their -rulers; those who would have the many governed, for their good, by the -will of the few; and those who would have the people govern -themselves;—that it is, for some time, difficult to comprehend how -there should be party differences as wide in a country where the first -principle of government is that the people are to govern themselves. The -case, however, becomes clear in time: and, amidst a half century of -"crises," the same order and sequence become discernible which run -through the whole course of human affairs.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p><p>As long as men continue as differently organized as they now are, there -will be two parties under every government. Even if their outward -fortunes could be absolutely equalised, there would be, from individual -constitution alone, an aristocracy and a democracy in every land. The -fearful by nature would compose an aristocracy, the hopeful by nature a -democracy, were all other causes of divergence done away. When to these -constitutional differences are added all those outward circumstances -which go to increase the fear and the hope, the mutual misunderstandings -of parties are no longer to be wondered at. Men who have gained wealth, -whose hope is fulfilled, and who fear loss by change, are naturally of -the aristocratic class. So are men of learning, who, unconsciously -identifying learning and wisdom, fear the elevation of the ignorant to a -station like their own. So are men of talent, who, having gained the -power which is the fit recompense of achievement, dread the having to -yield it to numbers instead of desert. So are many more who feel the -almost universal fear of having to part with educational prejudices, -with doctrines with which honoured teachers nourished the pride of -youth, and prepossessions inwoven with all that has been to them most -pure, lofty, and graceful. Out of these a large aristocratic class must -everywhere be formed.</p> - -<p>Out of the hopeful,—the rising, not the risen,—the aspiring, not the -satisfied,—must a still larger class be everywhere formed. It will -include all who have most to gain and least to lose; and most of those -who, in the present state of education, have gained their knowledge from -actual life, rather than, or as well as, from books. It will include the -adventurers of society, and also the philanthropists. It will include, -moreover,—an accession small in number, but inestimable in power,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>—the -men of genius. It is characteristic of genius to be hopeful and -aspiring. It is characteristic of genius to break up the artificial -arrangements of conventionalism, and to view mankind in true -perspective, in their gradations of inherent rather than of adventitious -worth. Genius is therefore essentially democratic, and has always been -so, whatever titles its gifted ones may have worn, or on whatever -subjects they may have exercised their gifts. To whatever extent men of -genius have been aristocratic, they have been so in spite of their -genius, not in consistency with it. The instances are so few, and their -deviations from the democratic principle so small, that men of genius -must be considered as included in the democratic class.</p> - -<p>Genius being rare, and its claims but tardily allowed by those who have -attained greatness by other means, it seems as if the weight of -influence possessed by the aristocratic party,—by that party which, -generally speaking, includes the wealth, learning, and talents of the -country,—must overpower all opposition. If this is found not to be the -case, if it be found that the democratic party has achieved everything -that has been achieved since the United States' constitution began to -work, it is no wonder that there is panic in many hearts, and that I -heard from so many tongues of the desolations of the "levelling spirit," -and the approaching ruin of political institutions.</p> - -<p>These classes may be distinguished in another way. The description which -Jefferson gave of the federal and republican parties of 1799 applies to -the federal and democratic parties of this day, and to the aristocratic -and democratic parties of every time and country. "One," says Jefferson, -"fears most the ignorance of the people; the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> other, the selfishness of -rulers independent of them."</p> - -<p>There is much reason in both these fears. The unreasonableness of party -lies in entertaining the one fear, and not the other. No argument is -needed to prove that rulers are prone to selfishness and narrowness of -views: and no one can have witnessed the injuries that the poor suffer -in old countries,—the education of hardship and insult that furnishes -them with their only knowledge of the highest classes, without being -convinced that their ignorance is to be feared;—their ignorance, not so -much of books as of liberty and law. In old countries, the question -remains open whether the many should, on account of their ignorance, be -kept still in a state of political servitude, as some declare; or -whether they should be gradually prepared for political freedom, as -others think, by an amelioration of their condition, and by being -educated in schools; or whether, as yet others maintain, the exercise of -political rights and duties be not the only possible political -education. In the New World, no such question remains to be debated. It -has no large, degraded, injured, dangerous (white) class who can afford -the slightest pretence for a panic-cry about agrarianism. Throughout the -prodigious expanse of that country, I saw no poor <i>men</i>, except a few -intemperate ones. I saw some very poor <i>women</i>; but God and man know -that the time has not come for women to make their injuries even heard -of. I saw no beggars but two professional ones, who are making their -fortunes in the streets of Washington. I saw no table spread, in the -lowest order of houses, that had not meat and bread on it. Every factory -child carries its umbrella; and pig-drivers wear spectacles. With the -exception of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> the foreign paupers on the seaboard, and those who are -steeped in sensual vice, neither of which classes can be politically -dangerous, there are none who have not the same interest in the security -of property as the richest merchant of Salem, or planter of Louisiana. -Whether the less wealthy class will not be the first to draw out from -reason and experience the true philosophy of property, is another -question. All we have to do with now is their equal interest with their -richer neighbours in the security of property, in the present state of -society. Law and order are as important to the man who holds land for -the subsistence of his family, or who earns wages that he may have land -of his own to die upon, as to any member of the president's cabinet.</p> - -<p>Nor is there much more to fear from the ignorance of the bulk of the -people in the United States, than from their poverty. It is too true -that there is much ignorance; so much as to be an ever-present peril. -Though, as a whole, the nation is, probably, better informed than any -other entire nation, it cannot be denied that their knowledge is far -inferior to what their safety and their virtue require. But <i>whose</i> -ignorance is it? And ignorance of <i>what</i>? If the professors of colleges -have book-knowledge, which the owner of a log-house has not; the owner -of a log-house has very often, as I can testify, a knowledge of natural -law, political rights, and economical fact, which the college-professor -has not. I often longed to confront some of each class, to see whether -there was any common ground on which they could meet. If not, the one -might bring the charge of ignorance as justly as the other. If a common -ground could be discovered, it would have been in their equal relation -to the government under which they live: in which case, the natural -conclusion would be, that each understood his own interests best, and -neither could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> assume superiority over the other. The particular -ignorance of the countryman may expose him to be flattered and cheated -by an oratorical office-seeker, or a dishonest newspaper. But, on the -other hand, the professor's want of knowledge of the actual affairs of -the many, and his educational biases, are just as likely to cause him to -vote contrary to the public interest. No one who has observed society in -America will question the existence or the evil of ignorance there: but -neither will he question that such real knowledge as they have is pretty -fairly shared among them.</p> - -<p>I travelled by wagon, with a party of friends, in the interior of Ohio. -Our driver must be a man of great and various knowledge, if he questions -all strangers as he did us, and obtains as copious answers. He told us -where and how he lived, of his nine children, of his literary daughters, -and the pains he was at to get books for them; and of his hopes from his -girl of fourteen, who writes poetry, which he keeps a secret, lest she -should be spoiled. He told us that he seldom lets his fingers touch a -novel, because the consequence always is that his business stands still -till the novel is finished; "and that doesn't suit." He recited to us, -Pope's "Happy the man whose wish and care," &c. saying that it suited -his idea exactly. He asked both the ladies present whether they had -written a book. Both had; and he carried away the titles, that he might -buy the books for his daughters. This man is fully informed of the value -of the Union, as we had reason to perceive; and it is difficult to see -why he is not as fit as any other man to choose the representatives of -his interests. Yet, here is a specimen of his conversation with one of -the ladies of the party.</p> - -<p>"Was the book that you wrote on natural philosophy, madam?"</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p><p>"No; I know nothing about natural philosophy."</p> - -<p>"Hum! Because one lady has done that pretty well:—hit it!—Miss Porter, -you know."</p> - -<p>"What Miss Porter?"</p> - -<p>"She that wrote 'Thaddeus of Warsaw,' you know. She did it pretty well -there."</p> - -<p>As an antagonist case, take the wailings of a gentleman of very -distinguished station in a highly aristocratic section of -society;—wailings over the extent of the suffrage.</p> - -<p>"What an enormity it is that such a man as Judge ——, there, should -stand on no higher level in politics than the man that grooms his -horse!"</p> - -<p>"Why should he? I suppose they have both got all they want,—full -representation: and they thus bear precisely the same relation to the -government."</p> - -<p>"No; the judge seldom votes, because of his office: while his groom can, -perhaps, carry nineteen men to vote as he pleases. It is monstrous!"</p> - -<p>"It seems monstrous that the judge should omit his political duty for -the sake of his office; and also that nineteen men should be led by one. -But limiting the suffrage would not mend the matter. Would it not do -better to teach all the parties their duty?"</p> - -<p>Let who will choose between the wagon-driver and the scholar. Each will -vote according to his own views; and the event,—the ultimate -majority,—will prove which is so far the wiser.</p> - -<p>The vagueness of the antagonism between the two parties is for some time -perplexing to the traveller in America; and he does not know whether to -be most amazed or amused at the apparent triviality of the circumstances -which arouse the strongest party emotions. After a while, a body comes -out of the mystery, and he grasps a substantial cause of dissension. -From the day when the first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> constitution was formed, there have been -alarmists, who talk of a "crisis:" and from the day when the second -began its operations, the alarm has, very naturally, taken its subject -matter from the failure of the first. The first general government came -to a stand through weakness. The entire nation kept itself in order till -a new one was formed and set to work. As soon as the danger was over, -and the nation proved, by the last possible test, duly convinced of the -advantages of public order, the timid party took fright lest the general -government should still not be strong enough; and this tendency, of -course, set the hopeful party to watch lest it should be made too -strong. The panic and antagonism were at their height in 1799.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> A -fearful collision of parties took place, which ended in the -establishment of the hopeful policy, which has continued, with few -interruptions, since. The executive patronage was retrenched, taxes were -taken off, the people were re-assured, and all is, as yet, safe. While -the leaders of the old federal party retired to their Essex junto, and -elsewhere, to sigh for monarchy, and yearn towards England, the greater<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -number threw off their fears, and joined the republican party. There are -now very few left to profess the politics of the old federalists. I met -with only two who openly avowed their desire for a monarchy; and not -many more who prophesied one. But there still is a federal party, and -there ever will be. It is as inevitable that there will be always some -who will fear the too great strength of the state governments, as that -there will be many who will have the same fear about the general -government. Instead of seeing in this any cause for dismay, or even -regret, the impartial observer will recognise in this mutual -watchfulness the best security that the case admits of for the general -and state governments preserving their due relation to one another. No -government ever yet worked both well and indisputably. A pure despotism -works (apparently) indisputably; but the bulk of its subjects will not -allow that it works well, while it wrings their heads from their -shoulders, or their earnings from their hands. The government of the -United States is disputed at every step of its workings: but the bulk of -the people declare that it works well, while every man is his own -security for his life and property.</p> - -<p>The extreme panic of the old federal party is accounted for, and almost -justified, when we remember, not only that the commerce of England had -penetrated every part of the country, and that great pecuniary interests -were therefore everywhere supposed to be at stake; but that -republicanism, like that which now exists in America, was a thing -unheard of—an idea only half-developed in the minds of those who were -to live under it. Wisdom may spring, full-formed and accomplished, from -the head of a god, but not from the brains of men. The Americans of the -Revolution looked round<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> upon the republics of the world, tested them by -the principles of human nature, found them republican in nothing but the -name, and produced something, more democratic than any of them; but not -democratic enough for the circumstances which were in the course of -arising. They saw that in Holland the people had nothing to do with the -erection of the supreme power; that in Poland (which was called a -republic in their day) the people were oppressed by an incubus of -monarchy and aristocracy, at once, in their most aggravated forms; and -that in Venice a small body of hereditary nobles exercised a stern sway. -They planned something far transcending in democracy any republic yet -heard of; and they are not to be wondered at, or blamed, if, when their -work was done, they feared they had gone too far. They had done much in -preparing the way for the second birth of their republic in 1789, and -for a third in 1801, when the republicans came into power; and from -which date, free government in the United States may be said to have -started on its course.</p> - -<p>A remarkable sign of those times remains on record, which shows how -different the state of feeling and opinion was then from any that could -now prevail among a large and honourable body in the republic. The -society of the Cincinnati, an association of officers of the -revolutionary army, and other honourable persons, ordered their -proceedings in a manner totally inconsistent with the first principles -of republicanism; having secret correspondences, decking themselves with -an order, which was to be hereditary, drawing a line of distinction -between military and other citizens, and uniting in a secret bond the -chiefs of the first families of the respective States. Such an -association, formed on the model of some which might be more or less<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> -necessary or convenient in the monarchies of the old world, could not be -allowed to exist in its feudal form in the young republic; and, -accordingly, the hereditary principle, and the power of adopting -honorary members, were relinquished; and the society is heard of no -more. It has had its use in showing how the minds of the earlier -republicans were imbued with monarchical prepossessions, and how large -is the reasonable allowance which must be made for the apprehensions of -men, who, having gone further in democracy than any who had preceded -them, were destined to see others outstrip themselves. Adams, Hamilton, -Washington! what names are these! Yet Adams in those days believed the -English constitution would be perfect, if some defects and abuses were -remedied. Hamilton believed it would be impracticable, if such -alterations were made; and that, in its then existing state, it was the -very best government that had ever been devised. Washington was -absolutely republican in his principles, but did not enjoy the strong -faith, the entire trust in the people, which is the attendant privilege -of those principles. Such men, pressed out from among the multitude by -the strong force of emergency, proved themselves worthy of their mission -of national redemption; but, though we may now be unable to single out -any who, in these comparatively quiet times, can be measured against -them, we are not thence to conclude that society, as a whole, has not -advanced; and that a policy which would have appeared dangerous to them, -may not be, at present, safe and reasonable.</p> - -<p>Advantageous, therefore, as it may be, that the present federal party -should be perpetually on the watch against the encroachments of the -state governments,—useful as their incessant recurrence to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> the first -practices, as well as principles, of the constitution may be,—it would -be for their comfort to remember, that the elasticity of their -institutions is a perpetual safeguard; and, also, that the silent -influence of the federal head of their republics has a sedative effect -which its framers themselves did not anticipate. If they compare the -fickleness and turbulence of very small republics,—Rhode Island, for -instance,—with the tranquillity of the largest, or of the confederated -number, it is obvious that the existence of a federal head keeps down -more quarrels than ever appear.</p> - -<p>When the views of the present apprehensive federal party are closely -looked into, they appear to be inconsistent with one or more of the -primary principles of the constitution which we have stated. "The -majority are right." Any fears of the majority are inconsistent with -this maxim, and were always felt by me to be so, from the time I entered -the country till I left it.</p> - -<p>One sunny October morning I was taking a drive, with my party, along the -shores of the pretty Owasco Lake, in New York state, and conversing on -the condition of the country with a gentleman who thought the political -prospect less bright than the landscape. I had been less than three -weeks in the country, and was in a state of something like awe at the -prevalence of, not only external competence, but intellectual ability. -The striking effect upon a stranger of witnessing, for the first time, -the absence of poverty, of gross ignorance, of all servility, of all -insolence of manner, cannot be exaggerated in description. I had seen -every man in the towns an independent citizen; every man in the country -a land-owner. I had seen that the villages had their newspapers, the -factory girls their libraries. I had witnessed the controversies between -candidates for office on some difficult <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>subjects, of which the people -were to be the judges. With all these things in my mind, and with every -evidence of prosperity about me in the comfortable homesteads which -every turn in the road, and every reach of the lake, brought into view, -I was thrown into a painful amazement by being told that the grand -question of the time was "whether the people should be encouraged to -govern themselves, or whether the wise should save them from -themselves." The confusion of inconsistencies was here so great as to -defy argument: the patronage among equals that was implied; the -assumption as to who were the wise; and the conclusion that all the rest -must be foolish. This one sentence seemed to be the most extraordinary -combination that could proceed from the lips of a republican.</p> - -<p>The expressions of fear vary according to the pursuits, or habits of -mind of those who entertain them: but all are inconsistent with the -theory that the majority are right. One fears the influence in the -national councils of the "Tartar population" of the west, observing that -men retrograde in civilisation when thinly settled in a fruitful -country. But the representatives from these regions will be few while -they are thinly settled, and will be in the minority when in the wrong. -When these representatives become numerous, from the thick settlement of -those regions, their character will have ceased to become Tartar-like -and formidable: even supposing that a Tartar-like character could -co-exist with the commerce of the Mississippi. Another tells me that the -State has been, again and again, "on a lee shore, and a flaw has blown -it off, and postponed the danger; but this cannot go on for ever." The -fact here is true; and it would seem to lead to a directly contrary -inference. "The flaw" is the will of the majority, which might be better -indicated by a figure of something more <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>stable. "The majority is -right." It has thus far preserved the safety of the state; and this is -the best ground for supposing that it will continue to be a safeguard.</p> - -<p>One of the most painful apprehensions seems to be that the poorer will -heavily tax the richer members of society; the rich being always a small -class. If it be true, as all parties appear to suppose, that rulers in -general are prone to use their power for selfish purposes, there remains -the alternative, whether the poor shall over-tax the rich, or whether -the rich shall over-tax the poor: and, if one of these evils were -necessary, few would doubt which would be the least. But the danger -appears much diminished on the consideration that, in the country under -our notice, there are not, nor are likely to be, the wide differences in -property which exist in old countries. There is no class of hereditary -rich or poor. Few are very wealthy; few are poor; and every man has a -fair chance of being rich. No such unequal taxation has yet been -ordained by the sovereign people; nor does there appear to be any danger -of it, while the total amount of taxation is so very small as in the -United States, and the interest that every one has in the protection of -property is so great. A friend in the South, while eulogizing to me the -state of society there, spoke with compassion of his northern fellow -citizens, who were exposed to the risks of "a perpetual struggle between -pauperism and property." To which a northern friend replied, that it is -true that there is a perpetual struggle everywhere between pauperism and -property. The question is, which succeeds. In the United States, the -prospect is that each will succeed. Paupers may obtain what they want, -and proprietors will keep that which they have. As a mere matter of -convenience, it is shorter and easier to obtain property by enterprise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> -and labour in the United States, than by pulling down the wealthy. Even -the most desponding do not consider the case as very urgent, at present. -I asked one of my wealthy friends, who was predicting that in thirty -years his children would be living under a despotism, why he did not -remove. "Where," said he, with a countenance of perplexity, "could I be -better off?"—which appeared to me a truly reasonable question.</p> - -<p>In a country, the fundamental principle of whose politics is, that its -"rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the governed," it -is clear that there can be no narrowing of the suffrage. However -earnestly some may desire this, no one hopes it. But it does not follow -that the apprehensive minority has nothing left but discontent. The -enlightenment of society remains not only matter for hope, but for -achievement. The prudent speak of the benefits of education as a matter -of policy, while the philanthropic promote it as a matter of justice. -Security of person and property follows naturally upon a knowledge of -rights. However the aristocracy of wealth, learning, and talent may -differ among themselves, as to what is the most valuable kind of -knowledge, all will agree that every kind will strengthen the bonds of -society. In this direction must the aristocracy work for their own -security. If they sufficiently provide the means of knowledge to the -community, they may dismiss their fears, and rest assured that the great -theory of their government will bear any test; and that "the majority -will be in the right."</p> - -<p>If the fears of the aristocracy are inconsistent with the theory of the -government under which they live, so is much of the practice of the -democracy. Their hopefulness is reasonable; their reliance on the -majority is reasonable. But there are evils attendant on their practice -of their true<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> theories which may account for the propounding of worse -theories by their opponents.</p> - -<p>Learning by experience is slow work. However sure it may be, it is slow; -and great is the faith and patience required by men who are in advance -of a nation on a point which they feel that they could carry, if they -had not to wait the pleasure of the majority. Though the majority be -right in respect of the whole of politics, there is scarcely a sensible -man who may not be more in the right than the majority with regard to -some one point; and no allowance can be too great for the perpetual -discouragement hence arising. The majority eventually wills the best; -but, in the present imperfection of knowledge, the will is long in -exhibiting itself; and the ultimate demonstration often crowns a series -of mistakes and failures. From this fact arises the complaint of many -federalists that the democratic party is apt to adopt their measures, -after railing both at those measures, and at the men who framed them. -This is often true: and it is true that, if the people had only had the -requisite knowledge, they would have done wisely to have accepted good -measures from the beginning, without any railing at all. But the -knowledge was wanting. The next best thing that can happen is, that -which does happen: that the people learn, and act upon their learning. -If they are not wise enough to adopt a good measure at first, it would -be no improvement of the case that they should be too obstinate to -accept it at last. The case proves only that out of ignorance come -knowledge, conviction, and action; and the majority is ultimately in the -right. Whenever there is less of ignorance to begin with, there will be -less of the railing, which is childish enough, whether as a mere -imputation, or as a reality.</p> - -<p>The great theory presumes that the majority<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> not only will the best -measures, but choose the best men. This is far from being true in -practice. In no respect, perhaps, are the people more behind their -theory than in this. The noble set of public servants with which the -people were blessed in their revolutionary period seems to have inspired -them at first with a somewhat romantic faith in men who profess strong -attachment to whatever has been erected into a glory of the nation; and, -from that time to this, the federal party has, from causes which will be -hereafter explained, furnished a far superior set of men to the public -service than the democratic party. I found this fact almost universally -admitted by the wisest adherents of democracy; and out of it has arisen -the mournful question, whether an honest man with false political -principles be not more dangerous as a ruler than an unscrupulous man -with true political principles. I have heard the case put thus: "There -is not yet a sufficiency of real friends of the people willing to be -their servants. They must take either a somewhat better set of men whose -politics they disapprove, or a somewhat worse set of men to make tools -of. They take the tools, use them, and throw them away."</p> - -<p>This is true; and a melancholy truth it is; since it is certain that -whenever the people shall pertinaciously require honest servants, and -take due pains to ascertain their honesty, true men will be forthcoming. -Under God's providence, the work never waits for the workman.</p> - -<p>This fact, however, has one side as bright as the other is dark. It is -certain that many corrupt public servants are supported under the belief -that they are good and great men. No one can have attended assiduously -on the course of public affairs at Washington, and afterwards listened -to conversation in the stages, without being convinced of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> this. As soon -as the mistake is discovered, it is rectified. Retribution often comes -sooner than it could have been looked for. Though it be long delayed, -the remedy is ultimately secure. Every corrupt faction breaks up, sooner -or later, and character is revealed: the people let down their -favourite, to hide his head, or continue to show his face, as may best -suit his convenience; and forthwith choose a better man; or one believed -to be better. In such cases, the evil lies in ignorance—a temporary -evil; while the principle of rectification may work, for aught we can -see, eternally.</p> - -<p>Two considerations,—one of fact, another of inference,—may reassure -those who are discouraged by these discrepancies between the theories of -the United States' government, and the practice of the democratic party, -with regard to both measures and men. The Americans are practically -acquainted with the old proverb, "What is every body's business is -nobody's business." No man stirs first against an abuse which is no more -his than other people's. The abuse goes on till it begins to overbear -law and liberty. Then the multitude arises, in the strength of the law, -and crushes the abuse. Sufficient confirmation of this will occur to any -one who has known the State histories of the Union for the last twenty -years, and will not be wholly contradicted by the condition of certain -affairs there which now present a bad aspect. Past experience sanctions -the hope that when these bad affairs have grown a little worse, they -will be suddenly and completely redressed. Illustrations in abundance -are at hand.</p> - -<p>Lotteries were formerly a great inducement to gaming in Massachusetts. -Prudent fathers warned their sons against lotteries; employers warned -their servants; clergymen warned their flocks. Tracts, denouncing -lotteries, were circulated;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> much eloquence was expended,—not in vain, -though all sober people were already convinced, and weak people were -still unable to resist the seduction. At length, a young man drowned -himself. A disappointment in a lottery was found to be the cause. A -thrill of horror ran through the community. Every man helped to carry -his horror of lotteries into the legislature; and their abolition -followed in a trice.</p> - -<p>Freemasonry was once popular in the United States; and no one seemed to -think any harm of it, though, when examined, it clearly appears an -institution incompatible with true republicanism. The account given of -it by some friends of mine, formerly masons, is, that it is utterly -puerile in itself; that it may be dignified, under a despotism, by an -application to foreign objects, but that it is purely mischievous in a -republic. Its object, of course, is power. It can have no other; and -ought not to have this, where the making of the laws is the office of -the people. Its interior obligations are also violations of the -democratic principle. All this was as true of masonry twelve years ago -as it is now; but masonry was allowed to spread far and wide. One -Morgan, a freemason, living in the western part of the state of New -York, did a remarkable deed, for which various motives are assigned. He -wrote a book in exposure of masonry, its facts and tendencies. When the -first part was printed and secured, some masons broke into the -printing-office where it was deposited, and destroyed as much of the -work as they could lay hold of. Being partly foiled, they bethought -themselves of stopping the work by carrying off the author. He was -arrested for a trifling debt, (probably fictitious,) conveyed hastily to -a magistrate, some miles off, who committed him for want of bail. The -ostensible creditor arrived at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> the jail, in the middle of the night, -and let him out; four or five men put him into a carriage, which made -for the Canada frontier. On landing him on British ground, the masons -there refused to have any concern in a matter which had gone so far, and -Morgan was shut up in the fort at Niagara village, where the Niagara -river flows into Lake Ontario. There he was fed and guarded for two -days. Thus far, the testimony is express; and concerning the succeeding -circumstances there is no reasonable doubt. He was put into a boat, -carried out into the middle of the river, and thrown in, with a stone -tied to his neck. For four years, there were attempts to bring the -conspirators to justice; but little was done. The lodges subscribed -funds to carry the actual murderers out of the country. Sheriffs, -jurymen, constables, all omitted their duty with regard to the rest. The -people were roused to action by finding the law thus overawed. -Anti-masonic societies were formed. Massachusetts and other States -passed laws against extra-judicial oaths. In such States, the lodges can -make no new members, and are becoming deserted by the old. The -anti-masonic party flourishes, having a great principle as its basis. It -has the control in a few States, and powerful influence in others. -Morgan's disclosures have been carried on by other hands. A bad -institution is overthrown. The people have learned an important lesson; -and they have gone through an honourable piece of discipline in making a -stand for the law, which is the life of their body politic.</p> - -<p>Thus end, and thus, we may trust, will end the mistakes of the people, -whose professed interest is in a wise self-government. Some worse -institutions even than masonry remain to be cast out. The law has been -again overawed; not once, but many times; and the eyes of the world are -on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> people of the United States, to see what they will do. The world -is watching to discover whether they are still sensible of the sacred -value of unviolated law; whether they are examining who it is that -threatens and overbears the law, and why; and whether they are -proceeding towards the re-establishment of the peace and security of -their whole community, by resolutely rooting out from among their -institutions every one which will not bear the test of the first -principles of the whole.</p> - -<p>The other ground of hope of which I spoke as being inferential, arises -out of the imaginative political character of the Americans. They have -not yet grown old in the ways of the world. Their immediate fathers have -done such a deed as the world never saw; and the children have not yet -passed out the intoxication of success. With far less of vanity and -presumption than might have been looked for from their youth among the -nations, with an extraordinary amount of shrewdness and practical talent -shared among individuals, the American people are as imaginative as any -nation I happen to have heard or read of. They reminded me every day of -the Irish. The frank, confiding character of their private intercourses, -the generous nature of their mutual services, the quickness and -dexterity of their doings, their fertility of resource, their proneness -to be run away with by a notion, into any extreme of absurdity—in all -this, and in everything but their deficiency of moral independence, (for -which a difference of circumstances will fully account,) they resemble -the Irish. I regard the American people as a great embryo poet: now -moody, now wild, but bringing out results of absolute good sense: -restless and wayward in action, but with deep peace at his heart: -exulting that he has caught the true aspect of things past, and at the -depth of futurity which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> lies before him, wherein to create something so -magnificent as the world has scarcely begun to dream of. There is the -strongest hope of a nation that is capable of being possessed with an -idea; and this kind of possession has been the peculiarity of the -Americans from their first day of national existence till now. Their -first idea was loftier than some which have succeeded; but they have -never lost sight of the first. It remains to be, at intervals, -apprehended anew; and whenever the time shall arrive, which cannot but -arrive, when the nation shall be so fully possessed of the complete idea -as by a moral necessity to act it out, they will be as far superior to -nations which act upon the experience and expediency of their time as -the great poet is superior to common men.</p> - -<p>This time is yet very far distant; and the American people have not only -much to learn, and a painful discipline to endure, but some disgraceful -faults to repent of and amend. They must give a perpetual and earnest -heed to one point; to cherish their high democratic hope, their faith in -man. The older they grow, the more must they "reverence the dreams of -their youth." They must eschew the folly and profaneness so prevalent in -the old world, of exalting man, abstractedly and individually, as a -piece of God's creation, and despising men in the mass. The statesman in -a London theatre feels his heart in a tumult, while a deep amen echoes -through its chambers at Hamlet's adoration of humanity; but not the -less, when he goes home, does he speak slightingly, compassionately, or -protectingly of the masses, the population, the canaille. He is -awestruck with the grandeur of an individual spirit; but feels nothing -of the grandeur of a congregated million of like spirits, because they -happen to be far off. This proves nothing but the short-sightedness of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -such a man. Such shortness of sight afflicts some of the wisest and best -men in the new world. I know of one who regards with a humble and -religious reverence the three or four spirits which have their -habitation under his roof, and close at hand; who begins to doubt and -question, in the face of far stronger outward evidence of good, persons -who are a hundred miles off; and has scarcely any faith left for those -who happen to be over the sea. The true democratic hope cannot coexist -with such distrust. Its basis is the unmeasured scope of humanity; and -its <i>rationale</i> the truth, applicable alike to individuals and nations, -that men are what they are taken for granted to be. "Countrymen," cries -Brutus, dying,</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"My heart doth joy that yet in all my life,</div> -<div>I found no man but he was true to me."</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>The philosophy of this fact is clear; it followed of course from Brutus -always supposing that men were true. Whenever the Americans, or any -other people, shall make integrity their rule, their criterion, their -invariable supposition, the first principles of political philosophy -will be fairly acted out, and the high democratic hope will be its own -justification.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Jefferson writes, September, 1798, "The most long-sighted -politician could not, seven years ago, have imagined that the people of -this wide extended country could have been enveloped in such delusion, -and made so much afraid of themselves and their own power, as to -surrender it spontaneously to those who are manœuvring them into a -form of government, the principal branches of which may be beyond their -control."</p> - -<p>Again, March, 1801:—"You have understood that the revolutionary -movements in Europe had, by industry and artifice, been wrought into -objects of terror in this country, and had really involved a great -portion of our well-meaning citizens in a panic which was perfectly -unaccountable, and during the prevalence of which they were led to -support measures the most insane. They are now pretty thoroughly -recovered from it, and sensible of the mischief which was done, and -preparing to be done, had their minds continued a little longer under -that derangement. The recovery bids fair to be complete, and to -obliterate entirely the line of party division, which had been so -strongly drawn."—<i>Jefferson's Correspondence</i>, vol. iii. pp. 401, 457.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER II.</span> <span class="smaller">APPARATUS OF GOVERNMENT.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"The true foundation of republican government is the equal right of -every citizen, in his person and property, and in their management. -Try by this, as a tally, every provision of our constitution, and -see if it hangs directly on the will of the people."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Jefferson.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Though it be true that the principles of government are to be deduced -more from experience of human nature than experience of human -governments, the institutions in which those principles are to be -embodied must be infinitely modified by preceding circumstances. Bentham -must have forgotten this when he offered, at sixty-four, to codify for -several of the United States, and also for Russia. He proposed to -introduce a new set of terms. These could not, from his want of local -knowledge, have been very specific; and if general, what was society to -do till the lawyers had done arguing? How could even a Solomon -legislate, three thousand miles off, for a republic like that of -Connecticut, which set out with taking its morals and politics by -handfuls, out of Numbers and Deuteronomy? or for Virginia, rank with -feudal prejudices and methods? or for Delaware, with its monarchical<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> -martyr spirit? or for Louisiana, compounded of Spain, France, and -America? Though at the time of the framing of the constitution, the -States bore a strong general resemblance in their forms of government, -endless minor differences existed, mainly arising from the different -tenure on which they had been held under the English crown. Some had -been provinces, governed by royal commissions, according to royal -convenience. These were New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, the -Carolinas, and Georgia. Others had been under proprietary government; as -Maryland, held under patent, by Lord Baltimore; and Pennsylvania and -Delaware, held by William Penn. Others, again, were under charter -governments; ruled and altogether disposed of by political corporations. -Such were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Within the -memory of middle-aged men, the governor of New Hampshire used to travel -in a coach and six, while the governor of the much more important -Massachusetts went on a horse, with his wife on a pillion. It is within -the memory of living men how Massachusetts rose up in rejection of the -imposition of a clergy by England; while the colonial law of Virginia -ordained parsons to be paid yearly six thousand weight of prime tobacco, -in addition to marriage, burial, and birth-fees; in which days, an -unholy pastor, appointed by Lord Baltimore, was seen to ride about with -the church key in one hand, and a pistol in the other. It is absurd to -suppose that communities, where wide differences of customs, prejudices, -and manners still exist, can be, or ought to be, brought into a state of -exact conformity of institutions. Diversities, not only of old custom, -but of climate, productions and genealogy, forbid it; and reason does -not require it. That institutions should harmonise with the same first -principles, is all that is requisite. Some, who would not go so far as -to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> offer to codify for countries where they have not get their foot, -are yet apt to ask the use of one or another institution, to which the -Americans seem to be unreasonably attached. It is a sufficient general -answer that institutions are rarely sudden and complete inventions. They -have usually an historical origin, even when renovated by revolution. -Their protracted existence, and the attachment of the people to them are -strong presumptions of their having some use. If their purposes can be -better attained in another way, they will surely be modified. If they -are the result of compromise, they will be abolished, according to the -invariable law by which expediency finally succumbs to principle. That -this will be the fate of certain of the United States' institutions -which no one yet dreams of touching, and few dare to analyze, has been -clearly foreseen, for forty years past, by many of the most upright and -able men in the country. Some of them entertain an agonizing alarm at -the prospect of change. Others, more reasonably, trust that, where no -large pecuniary interests are at stake, the work of rectifying may very -quietly and safely succeed that of reconciling: and the majority have no -idea of the changes which their own hands, or their children's, will -have to effect. The gradual ripening for change may be an advantage in -more respects than one. Political changes which are the result of full -conviction in a free people, are pretty sure to be safe. Time is also -allowed, meanwhile, for men to practice their new lesson of separating -the idea of revolution from the horrors which have no more natural -connexion with it than burning at the stake has with the firm grasp of -speculative truth.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.</span></h3> - -<p>"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect -union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, provide for the -common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of -liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this -Constitution for the United States of America."</p> - -<p>So much for the authority, and the objects of this celebrated -constitution, as set forth in its preamble.</p> - -<p>Its provisions are so well known that it is needful only to indicate -them. In Europe, the difficulty is to avoid supposing the state -governments to be subordinate to the general. "They are coordinate -departments of one simple and integral whole." State government -legislates and administers in all affairs which concern its own -citizens. To the federal government are consigned all affairs which -concern citizens, as foreigners from other states, or as fellow-citizens -with all in certain specified relations.</p> - -<p>The general objects of the instrument are easily stated; and an -apparently clear case of separation between the general and state -governments drawn out upon paper. But the application of the instrument -to practice is the difficulty.</p> - -<p>In this, there are two grand difficulties, among many of inferior -importance. The one is, to construe the instrument; the other is, to -bridge over its awful chasms of compromise.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p><p>There has never been a solemn instrument drawn up yet without leaving -room for varieties of construction. There never can be, under our -present use of abstract terms; no two men's abstractions being alike, or -discoverably so. Of course, the profession in this case is, that words -are to be taken according to their just and natural import; that there -is to be no straining; that they are to be judged of according to common -sense; and so on. The old jests against etymologists are enough to prove -how far men are from agreeing what straining is. As to common sense, men -respond in unison to a revelation of it; but they rarely agree, <i>à -priori</i>, as to what it is. This difficulty is a wholly unavoidable one. -The refuge under it is in the maxim "the majority are right." If the -case in dispute be one of judicial import, the citizen may appeal to the -Supreme Court. If it be of a different nature, it must be left to that -other kind of supreme court,—the majority,—and the verdict will be -given through the ballot-boxes.</p> - -<p>The other difficulty, that of compromise, is declared to have been -equally unavoidable. Concession, large mutual concession, was clearly -necessary. To what extent, may be faintly conceived from the following -extract from the Federalist. To some readers, who are more interested in -the present workings of the government, than in the embarrassments of -its inventors, this extract may appear dull. But it is useful to be -presented with an outline of the difficulties incurred in legislating -for a federal republic, both as a fact in political science; as a means -of forming something like a just judgment of the framers of the -constitution; and as a ground of hope that, so much danger having been -surmounted, that which remains may be also overcome.</p> - -<p>"This one tells us, that the proposed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>constitution ought to be -rejected, because it is not a confederation of the States, but a -government over individuals. Another admits, that it ought to be a -government over individuals, to a certain extent, but by no means to the -extent proposed. A third does not object to the government over -individuals, or to the extent proposed; but to the want of a Bill of -Rights. A fourth concurs in the absolute necessity of a Bill of Rights, -but contends that it ought to be declaratory, not of the personal rights -of individuals, but of the rights reserved to the States in their -political capacity. A fifth is of opinion that a Bill of Rights of any -sort would be superfluous and misplaced; and that the plan would be -unexceptionable, but for the fatal power of regulating the times and -places of election. An objector in a large State exclaims loudly against -the unreasonable equality of representation in the senate. An objector -in a small State is equally loud against the dangerous inequality in the -House of Representatives. From one quarter, we are alarmed with the -amazing expense, from the number of persons who are to administer the -new government. From another quarter, and sometimes from the same -quarter on another occasion, the cry is that the Congress will be but -the shadow of a representation; and that the government would be far -less objectionable, if the number of the expenses were doubled. A -patriot in a State that does not import or export, discerns insuperable -objections against the power of direct taxation. The patriotic -adversary, in a State of great exports and imports, is not less -dissatisfied that the whole burthen of taxes may be thrown on -consumption. This politician discovers in the constitution a direct and -irresistible tendency to monarchy. That, is equally sure that it will -end in aristocracy. Another is puzzled to say which of these shapes it -will <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>ultimately assume, but sees clearly it must be one or other of -them. While a fourth is not wanting, who, with no less confidence, -affirms, that the constitution is so far from having a bias towards -either of these dangers, that the weight on that side will not be -sufficient to keep it upright and firm against its opposite -propensities. With another class of adversaries to the constitution, the -language is, that the legislative, executive, and judiciary departments -are intermixed in such a manner as to contradict all the ideas of -regular government, and all the requisite precautions in favour of -liberty. Whilst this objection circulates in vague and general -expressions, there are not a few who lend their sanction to it. Let each -one come forward with his particular explanation, and scarcely any two -are exactly agreed on the subject. In the eyes of one, the junction of -the senate with the president, in the responsible function of appointing -to offices, instead of vesting this power in the executive alone, is the -vicious part of the organisation. To another, the exclusion of the House -of Representatives, whose numbers alone could be a due security against -corruption and partiality in the exercise of such a power, is equally -obnoxious. With a third, the admission of the president into any share -of a power, which must ever be a dangerous engine in the hands of the -executive magistrate, is an unpardonable violation of the maxims of -republican jealousy. No part of the arrangement, according to some, is -more inadmissible than the trial of impeachments by the Senate, which is -alternately a member both of the legislative and executive departments, -when this power so evidently belonged to the judiciary department. We -concur fully, reply others, in the objection to this part of the plan; -but we can never agree that a reference of impeachments to the judiciary -authority would be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> an amendment of the error: our principal dislike to -the organisation arises from the extensive powers already lodged in that -department. Even among the zealous patrons of a council of state, the -most irreconcilable variance is discovered, concerning the mode in which -it ought to be constituted. The demand of one gentleman is, that the -council should consist of a small number, to be appointed by the most -numerous branch of the legislature. Another would prefer a larger -number, and considers it a fundamental condition, that the appointment -should be made by the president himself."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>It must have cost Mr. Madison some trouble to vary the mode of -expression in putting this host of objections. We cannot but admire the -ingenuity with which he has brought them into view. But what should we -say to the management which should reconcile the differences themselves? -Concessions, various and large, were obviously necessary. I am not about -to give a catalogue of what these actually were. They may be learned -from any history of the period. Suffice it that the general and state -governments not only urged and established claims, but admitted a set of -prohibitions on themselves.</p> - -<p>In all this there appears no fatal compromise. But there were some which -made the wisest men of the time tremble for the stability of their noble -work. There seems peril enough in the liability to the occurrence of new -questions, which could not be foreseen, and for which an opening might, -or might not, happen to be left. When, in addition to such, there were -some questions left to be settled by a future government, from the -inability of the statesmen of 1787 to agree upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> them, these statesmen -might well be uneasy about the stability of their work. Of the first -order of questions is that which is now debated with great -animosity,—whether Congress has power to abolish slavery in the -District of Columbia: a disputed point of construction, on which it -seems to me that no plain person can be blamed for not anticipating any -difference of opinion. Of the second class is that great question, or -nest of questions, respecting Reserved Rights. It was agreed that all -unforeseen questions which might arise with regard to the respective -powers of the general and state governments, should be settled by the -state governments; but then, there was an indefinite limitation -introduced in the clause, that the general government should have all -powers necessary for the prosecution of such and such purposes. This -vague clause has been the occasion of the Union being shaken to its -centre; and it may be thus shaken again, before the questions arising -out of it are all settled.</p> - -<p>Even these, being open questions, are less formidable than the -compromise of the true republican principle which is apparent in some -provisions of the constitution, and in some of the most important -institutions of the country. The northern States, which had abolished, -on principle, a far milder slavery than that of the cotton and -sugar-growing south, agreed to admit slavery in the south as a basis for -direct taxation, and for representation. They did worse. They agreed to -act in behalf of their southern fellow-citizens in the capture and -restitution of runaway slaves, and in the defence of masters against -rebellious slaves. What bitter sorrows of conscience and of feeling this -compromise has cost their children, it is impossible fully to describe. -Of course, the law, being against conscience, <i>i. e.</i> the law of man -coming into collision with the law of God, is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>constantly broken; and -causes of dissension hence arise. I know that slavery is only recognised -by the constitution as a matter of fact; and that it is only twice -mentioned; in connexion with representation, and with the restitution to -their masters of "persons held to labour escaping into another State:" -but the fact remains that a man who abhors slavery is compellable by the -law which his fathers made, to deliver up to the owner a slave whose act -of absconding he approves. It is impossible to estimate the evils which -have proceeded from, and which will yet arise out of this guilty but -"necessary" compromise.</p> - -<p>There was difficulty in bringing the greater and smaller States into -union. The smaller States could not agree to such an unequal -representation as should render them liable to be swallowed up by the -larger; while the larger could not consent to be reduced to an equality -with the smaller. The Senate was established to afford an equal state -representation; while the House of Representatives affords a fair -representation of the nation in the aggregate, according to numbers. But -the principle of the general government is, that it governs the entire -people as one nation, and not as a league of States. There ought, in -consistency with this, to be no state representation at all; and the -Senate is an anomaly. An anomalous institution cannot be very -long-lived. A second chamber, on a more consistent principle, will -probably be established in its place, to fulfil its functions as a Court -of Review, and as a check upon the precipitation of the other house, -and, if need be, upon the encroachments of the executive. There is yet -more of compromise involved in this institution of the Senate; as might -be expected, since there is no end of compromise when principle is once -departed from; yet there are statesmen who defend<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> it on other grounds -than that its establishment was necessary to the foundation of any -federal government at all. One observed to me, "Some things look well in -theory, and fail in practice. This may not be justifiable in theory; but -it works well." If this last sentence be true, the well-working of the -Senate is only a temporary affair; an accident. Its radical change -becomes a question of time merely; and the recent agitation of the -question of Instructions seems to indicate that the time is not very far -distant.</p> - -<p>The appointment of the judges for life is another departure from the -absolute republican principle. There is no actual control over them. -Theirs is a virtually irresponsible office. Much can be and is said in -defence of this arrangement; and whatever is said, is most powerfully -enforced by the weight of character possessed by the judiciary, up to -this day. But all this does not alter the fact that irresponsible -offices are an inconsistency in a republic. With regard to all this -compromise, no plea of expediency can alter the fact that, while the -House of Representatives is mainly republican, the Senate is only -partially so, being anomalous in its character, and its members not -being elected immediately by the people; and that the judiciary is not -republican at all, since the judges are independent of the nation, from -the time of their appointment.</p> - -<p>I was told, on high authority, that the assent of the first nine States -to the constitution, in 1788, was obtained by means not absolutely fair. -What devices were used to procure an apparent majority, I was not -informed; but it is generally supposed that if there had been no -legislatures active on the occasion, if it had been put to the vote -throughout the nation, the ratification would not have taken place when -it did. Chief Justice Marshall gives testimony to this effect in his -Life of Washington.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> "So small, in many instances, was the majority in -favour of the constitution, as to afford strong ground for the opinion -that, had the influence of character been removed, the intrinsic merits -of the instrument would not have secured its adoption. Indeed, it is -scarcely to be doubted that, in some of the adopting States, a majority -of the people were in opposition."</p> - -<p>That a constitution, so framed, and so carried, should have worked as -well as it has done, seems to point out two very encouraging things; -that we may, without rashness, speak of it as Washington did, when he -said, "I was convinced it approached nearer to perfection than any -government hitherto instituted among men;" and that the world may -quietly and hopefully await the further proceedings of the American -people, in their advances towards an uncompromising democracy. There -will be changes, but not therefore convulsion. There will be the change -which Jefferson foresaw, and provided for without dread. "Still," says -he, so lately as June, 1824, "we consider our constitutions not -otherwise changeable than by the authority of the people, on a special -election of representatives for that very purpose: they are, until then, -the <i>lex legum</i>. But can they be made unchangeable? Can one generation -bind another, and all others, in succession for ever? I think not. The -Creator has made the earth for the living, not the dead."—"A generation -may bind itself as long as its majority continues in life; when that has -disappeared, another majority is in place, holds all the rights and -powers their predecessors once held, and may change their laws and -institutions to suit themselves. Nothing then is unchangeable but the -inherent and inalienable rights of man."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p><p>Nothing can be more striking to a stranger than the experience gained, -after some residence in the United States, of the ultimate ascendency of -the will of the majority—<i>i. e.</i> of the right—in defiance of all -appearances to the contrary. The review of what I witnessed of this -kind, in the course of two years, with regard to the conduct of Congress -alone, surprises and cheers me. It is true that I see several wrongs -unredressed; several wounds inflicted on the people's liberties yet -unhealed; but these are cases in which the people do not yet understand -what has been done; or have not yet roused themselves to show that they -do.</p> - -<p>In the Senate, the people's right of petition is invaded. Last session, -it was ordained that all petitions and memorials relating to a -particular subject—slavery in the District of Columbia—should be laid -on the table unread, and never recurred to. Of course, the people will -not long submit to this. What has been already achieved in Congress on -this topic is a security that the rest will follow. When I entered the -United States, there was an absolute and most ominous silence in -Congress about slavery. Almost every leading man there told me in -conversation that it was the grand question of all; that every member's -mind was full of it; that nearly all other questions were much affected, -or wholly determined by it; yet no one even alluded to it in public. -Before I left, it had found its way into both houses. The houses had, in -some sort, come to a vote upon it, which showed the absolute abolition -strength in the House of Representatives to be forty-seven. The entering -wedge having been thus far driven, it is inconceivable that the nation -will allow it to be withdrawn by surrendering their right of petition. -When I left, however, the people had virtually no right of petition with -regard to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>District over which they—<i>i. e.</i> their Congress—have an -exclusive jurisdiction.</p> - -<p>Again. There were loud and extensive complaints, last session, of the -despotism of the chair in the House of Representatives, chiefly in -connexion with the subject of slavery. No members, it was said, were -allowed a fair hearing but those who sat in a particular part of the -house. If this complaint arises out of the peevishness of political -disappointment, it will soon be contradicted by facts. If it is true, it -is a grave injury. In either case, the chair will not long possess this -power of despotism. If the favoured are few, as the complaint states, -the injured many will demand and obtain the power to make themselves -heard in turn; and no spirit of party can long stand in the way of a -claim so just.</p> - -<p>Again. After the gentlemen of Charleston had disgraced their city and -country, by breaking into the post-office, and burning the contents of -the mail-bags, in their dread of abolition papers, a post-master wrote -to a member of the cabinet, desiring his approbation for having examined -and refused to forward certain papers mailed at his office. The member -of the cabinet, Kendall, gave the desired sanction to this audacious -stoppage of the post-office function, declaring that the good of the -community (as judged of by the individual) is a consideration above the -law. The strangers in the land knew not what to make of the -fool-hardiness of hazarding such a declaration, in a man of Kendall's -wit. It was known that he desired the office of post-master-general; -that the president wished him to have it, and that the doubt was whether -the Senate would confirm the appointment. Soon after this apparently -fatal declaration, he was nominated, and the Senate confirmed his -appointment. The declaration, no doubt,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> seated him in office. The -southern members were won by it. Kendall calculated rightly for his -immediate object. What is to become of him when the people shall at -length recognise the peril and insult to themselves of one of their -favoured servants declaring the will of an individual to be occasionally -subversive of the law—<i>i. e.</i> of the will of the majority—remains to -be seen. Meantime, the continuance in office of the person whose -declaration to the above effect remains unretracted, may be regarded as -one of the deepest wounds which has been inflicted on the liberties of -the nation.</p> - -<p>Another attempt, brought on, no doubt, by Kendall's success, to derange -or stop the functions of the post-office, has failed. Mr. Calhoun's -Bill, commonly called the Gag Bill, prohibiting postmasters from -receiving and forwarding any papers whatsoever containing anything -relating to slavery, actually was brought to a third reading by the -casting vote of the president of the Senate. There was fear, at the -time, that this casting vote might ensure the success of the bill, from -the popularity of the vice-president. But the bill was thrown out on the -third reading; and the effect of the casting vote has been, not to aid -the bill, but to injure materially the popularity of the vice-president. -This is so far well. It shows that the people are preparing to grapple -honestly with the great, the hideous question, out of which arise these -minor encroachments upon their liberties.</p> - -<p>Out of the slavery question arose the last monstrous usurpation of -Congress, for which the emphatic rebuke of the nation awaits the sinning -members. The story deserves to be told at length, on account both of its -peculiarities, and of its furnishing a fair illustration of certain -relations between the state and general governments.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p><p>Great Britain was not very learned in the geography of the new world, -in the early days of her colonies there. She gave Virginia a patent for -lands, including what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, -Missouri, and on to the Pacific. Other colonies obtained grants of equal -moderation as to size, and wisdom as to disposition. This absurd -partition, it was found, must occasion irreconcilable quarrels among the -members of the confederation; and Washington proposed that all, after -fixing their own boundaries, should throw into the common stock the huge -unoccupied domain. Virginia led the way in making this honourable -sacrifice. She fixed her own boundary; and the articles of compact -between the United States and the people of the territory north-west of -the Ohio river, declared that the territory should be divided into not -more than five, nor less than three States. This was in 1787. The -boundary prescribed for Ohio and Michigan, was found to be "not -convenient." That is, Ohio found it so; and Michigan was not in a -situation, at the time when Ohio was admitted into the Union, to insist -upon the ancient boundary, prescribed at the time of the cession of land -by Virginia. When Ohio was made a State, the boundary she desired was, -among other particulars, ratified by Congress.</p> - -<p>In 1816, another portion of land, lying within what Michigan supposed to -be her own territory, was taken from her, and added to Indiana, on the -latter being made a State. An equivalent is offered to Michigan in a -portion of land, to be taken out of Wisconsin, on the western side of -Lake Michigan, which is the natural boundary of the territory. Michigan -alleges that the inconvenience of a part of her territory lying on the -other side of the lake would be so great, that the inhabitants would -prefer belonging to Wisconsin; and the land would be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> ceded, as soon as -Wisconsin becomes a State. The decision of the right of this case is the -proper business of the Supreme Court, whenever the contesting parties -shall have all come into the Union. Meantime, all parties are interested -in bearing down the claims of Michigan. Ohio and Indiana desire to keep -the lands Congress has authorised them to take. The slave States are -anxious to hinder the increase in number of the free States; and by the -ordinance of 1787, slavery is prohibited for ever, north-west of the -Ohio. The slave States hope, by giving to Michigan a slice of Wisconsin, -to make Wisconsin too small to be hereafter divided into two States. In -this object, the south will be foiled. Even if slavery should exist till -Wisconsin is ready for admission into the Union, there are two ways by -which the desire of the south may and will be foiled. By the re-cession -of the inconvenient portion by Michigan, as mentioned above; and by the -willingness of these northern States to make themselves smaller, and add -one to their number, as, by a <i>proviso</i> in the original compact, they -have power to do, than let themselves be overborne by the south. This -part of the contest, for "a balance of power," arises altogether out of -the slavery question.</p> - -<p>Soon after I entered the country, Michigan became qualified to request -admission into the Union. She did so, declaring her discontent with the -boundaries prescribed to her by Congress, and her intention to demand, -in the Supreme Court, on her admission, the re-establishment of the old -ones. I was amused with the different views of the affair presented to -me in different parts of the country. At Cincinnati, in June, 1835, I -was told that the President had just transmitted a threat to Ohio, that -if she did not yield the boundary claimed by Michigan, he would send the -United States troops<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> to fight it out. It was added that the -vice-president had thus far prevailed with the President; it being of -importance to Mr. Van Buren, that Michigan, which he considered in his -interest, should be admitted into the Union in time to vote for him in -the presidential election of 1836. There was much talk at Cincinnati of -the resources of Ohio. The people would turn out, to a man. The -legislature had instantly voted 300,000 dollars to raise troops; and one -hundred and fifty thousand men would immediately be in the field: while -Michigan had neither men nor money;—had absolutely nothing to depend -upon but the six thousand United States' soldiers. This seemed to me to -be too clear a case to be a very true one: and the event belied the -story in almost every particular. Michigan did raise men; (though there -was no war:) she had not the United States' troops: she is not in the -interest of Van Buren; and Ohio could bring no troops into the field.</p> - -<p>Michigan proceeded to organise her state government, and sent her -senators to Washington, during the session of 1835 and 1836. They were -allowed to witness the proceedings, but not, of course, to vote. When I -arrived at Detroit, the capital of Michigan, in the middle of June, -1836, the Governor told me that the Michiganians were in the singular -position of having a state government in full operation, while they were -excluded from the Union. The general opinion seemed to be that some -concession must be made about the boundary line; in which case, Michigan -would be admitted, in time to vote at the presidential election. I -pursued my travels through and around the Territory; and when I returned -to Detroit, a month afterwards, I found the place in a state of high -excitement: an excitement fully warranted by the circumstances which had -occurred.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p><p>Congress had acknowledged Michigan to be a sovereign State; and had -offered to admit her into the Union, on condition of her surrendering -all claim to the disputed portions of territory.</p> - -<p>A grosser usurpation of power can hardly be conceived. Congress here -usurped the function of the Supreme Court in passing sentence against -Michigan: passing sentence, too, without hearing, or having a right to -listen to, evidence on the case. Congress here required of Michigan to -lay down her rights on the threshold of the Union, if she meant to be -admitted. Mr. Adams intrepidly declared in the House of Representatives, -that Michigan had more cause to ply the Nullification doctrine than -South Carolina ever had. A South Carolina nullifier declared in -conversation, that he believed the Michiganians' claims to be just: but -that, sooner than give her the means of summoning another sovereign -State before the Supreme Court, he would vote for her exclusion from the -Union as long as he lives. A strange posture of affairs, where all -justice seemed to be set aside, and the constitution to have become a -dead letter!</p> - -<p>The anxiety next was to know what Michigan would do. There seemed too -many symptoms of yielding. It was mournful to those who felt that now -was the time, now the opportunity, so often sighed for in the best -moments of the best men, for making a heroic stand for the right, to -hear the forebodings about the canal shares, the lake trade, the -probable pecuniary loss in various ways, if there should be delay in the -admission of Michigan into the Union. If we spoke of the constitution, -we were answered with the canal. If we spoke of patriotism, we were -answered with the surplus revenue—the share of it that would be lost. -Then, there were fears of war. We were told that the alternative -was—admission, with its advantages, and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> surrender of the contested -lands; and exclusion, with war between infant Michigan and Ohio, backed -by the United States. The alternative was rather, admission, with -submission to unconstitutional force; or exclusion, with the lonely -enjoyment of an honest sovereignty. But this was not the only -alternative. Remaining out of the Union did not involve war. Michigan -might remain out of the Union, peaceably, and under protest, till the -people of the United States should become fully possessed of her case, -and aroused to do her justice. It was with heartfelt delight that I -found, at length, that this last honest course is that which Michigan -has determined to pursue. It is so common for communities, as for -individuals, to miss the moment for doing the greatest of their deeds, -to have the bright object of their preceding worship eclipsed at the -critical moment, to pray incessantly that they may be honest, and then -stand aghast, after all, at an honest deed, that the meeting of the -Convention which was to consider of this affair, was watched with deep -anxiety by the friends of Michigan. We, their visitors, gathered hope -from the tone of the Governor, and others with whom we conversed; from -the aspect of the legislators who were assembled to discuss the -Governor's message;—men with earnest and sensible faces, who looked as -if they were aware that their liberties were at stake; and from the -spirited conduct of Michigan from the beginning of the quarrel. Still, -we were doubtful whether the canal, the surplus revenue, and the -probable war, would not be too much for the fortitude of so young a -people. They have shamed our fears, and made a stand for constitutional -liberty, which will secure to them the gratitude of the Union, to the -latest day of its existence. They have refused to enter the Union on the -unconstitutional terms <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>proposed. The people will see that they are -honourably admitted, and that Congress is duly rebuked.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION II.</span><br /><span class="smaller">THE EXECUTIVE.</span></h3> - -<p>The principle which is professed in the appointment of a chief -magistrate in the United States is, that his removal is to be as easy as -possible, and effected without disturbing for a moment the proceedings -of government. Under the idea that this last must be impossible, some of -the patriots of 1789 were opposed to the institution of the office of -President altogether; and there are now some who desire that the chief -magistrate should be, as nearly as possible, a cipher; that, for this -purpose, his election should be annual; and that, if this cannot be, the -term should continue to be four years, but without renewal. Such declare -that the office was made for the man, Washington, who was wanted, to -reconcile all parties. They maintain that, though it was, for a -considerable time, well filled, it must become, sooner or later, -dangerous to the public welfare: that it comprehends too much power for -a citizen of a republic to hold, presents too high a stake, occupies too -much thought, and employs too much endeavour, to the exclusion of better -objects.</p> - -<p>Some desire that the office should have a duration of six years, without -renewal.</p> - -<p>No one dreams of an attempt to hold the office<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> for a third term; and -there is every prospect that, if any President should be ambitious -enough to desire a second re-election, he would fail, and descend from -his high station with a total loss of honour.</p> - -<p>Some think so highly of the dignity of the chief magistracy, as to -propose that ex-presidents should be debarred from holding lower -offices. This looks too like an approximation to the monarchical -principle to be, or to become, a popular way of viewing the subject. It -is a proposition of the high federalists. I was far more gratified than -amused at seeing Mr. Adams daily in his seat in the House of -Representatives, while the history of his administration was perpetually -referred to by those who discussed the politics of the country with me. -I am aware that two interpretations may be put upon the fact of an -ex-president desiring a lower office. It may occur from a patriotism -which finds its own dignity in the welfare of its country, or from a -restless ambition to be in the public eye. In either case, it seems to -be no matter for a fixed rule. The republican principle supposes every -man to be at all times ready to serve his country, when called upon. The -rest must be left to the character of the man, and the views of his -constituents.</p> - -<p>Others think so much more highly of the dignity of the Senate than of -the executive, as to desire that senators should be ineligible for the -office of President. The object here is two-fold: to exalt the Senate; -and, by making half a hundred offices higher in honour than that of -President, to drain off some of the eager ambition which flows in the -direction of the executive function. But power is more alluring than -honour; and executive offices will always be objects of choice, in -preference to legislative, except with a very small class of men. -Besides, the Senate is already further removed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> from the control of the -people, than consistency with the true republican principle allows: and -if the people are to be precluded from choosing their chief magistrate -from among the fifty wisest men (as the senators are in theory) that the -States can choose for the guardianship of their interests, the dignity -of both functions would be much lowered. In theory, the people's range -of choice for their chief magistrate is to extend from the -vice-president's chair to the humblest abode which nestles in the rocks -of their eastern coasts, or overlooks the gulf of Mexico. The honour in -which the Senate is held must depend on its preserving the character, -which, on the whole, it has hitherto maintained. A nobler legislative -body, for power and principle, has probably never been known. -Considering the number of individuals of whom it is composed, its -character has, perhaps, been as remarkable as that of the noble array of -Presidents, of which the United States have to boast. If, amidst its -indirect mode of election, and long term of office, it should prove -equally stable in principle, and flexible in its methods of progress, it -may yet enjoy a long term of existence, as honourable as could be -secured by any exclusion of its members from other offices in the -commonwealth.</p> - -<p>By far the greatest apprehension connected with the President's office, -relates to the extent of his patronage. It was highly alarming, at -first, to hear all that was said about the country being ridden with -administration-officers, and office-expectants. A little arithmetic, -however, proved very cheering. The most eminent alarmist I happened to -converse with, stated the number of persons directly and indirectly -interested in the bestowment of office by the executive, to be 150,000. -No exact calculation can be made, since no one can do more than -conjecture how many persons at a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> time are likely to be in expectation -of any one office. But the above may be taken as the widest exaggeration -which an honest alarmist can put forth. This class of interested persons -is, after all, but a small section of the population. There is every -reason to fear that official corruption is abundant under all -governments; and, for some reasons which will be easily apprehended, -remarkably so under the government of the United States; but, when it is -considered how small a proportion of the people is, at any time, -interested in office, and how many persons in office are to be, in -fairness, supposed honest, the evil of executive patronage diminishes to -the imagination so rapidly as to induce a suspicion that many who say -the most about it are throwing a tub to the whale. The watchfulness on -the executive power thus induced is a benefit which will set off against -a great amount of alarm. It will assist the people to find the true mean -between their allowing the President too much power over the servants -who are to transact their business, and their assuming too much control -over the servants who are to transact his.</p> - -<p>Difficult as it is to resist impressions on the spot, from all that is -said about the power of the executive, and the character of the -President of the time, the worst alarms are derided by the event. It -does not appear as if the President could work any permanent effect upon -the mind and destiny of the nation. It is of great consequence to the -morals and prosperity of the season, that the chief magistrate should be -a man of principle, rather than expediency; a frank friend of the -people, rather than their cunning flatterer; a man of sense and temper, -rather than an angry bigot; a man of business, rather than a blunderer. -But the term of an unworthy or incapable President is pretty sure to be -the shortest; and, if permitted to serve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> his eight years, he can do -little unless he acts, on the whole, in accordance with the mind of the -people. If he has any power, it is because the people are with him: in -which case, he cannot be very destructive to their interests. If he does -not proceed in accordance with public sentiment, he has no power. A -brief review of the course of the American Presidents seems to show that -their influence subsides into something very weak and transitory; always -excepting that immeasurable and incalculable influence which is breathed -forth through the remotest generations, by the personal character of -conspicuous individuals.</p> - -<p>Washington's influence is a topic which no one is ever hardy enough to -approach, in the way of measurement or specification. Within the compass -of his name lies more than other words can tell of his power over men. -When the British officers were passing up the Potomac, in the last war, -to perpetrate as dastardly a deed of spoliation at the capital as ever -it was the cruel fate of soldiers to be ordered to do, they desired to -be told when they were passing the burial place of Washington, and stood -uncovered on deck as long as they were within sight of Mount Vernon. Any -in England who happen to know how deeply disgraced their country was by -the actors in this expedition, will feel what the power must have been -which, breathing from that shore, humanised for the hour the cowardly -plunderers as they floated by. But it was Washington, the man, not the -President, who moved them to uncover their heads. It is Washington, the -man, not the President, whose name is lovingly spoken, whose picture -smiles benignly in every inhabited nook of his own congregation of -republics. It is even Washington, the man, not the President, whose name -is sacred above all others, to men of all political parties. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> -Washington, the man, who united the votes of all parties in his -presidentship, since, so far from pretending to agree with all, he took -and left, without fear or favour, what convictions he could or could not -adopt from each. The one impression which remains of his presidentship -is its accordance with himself. Had it been, in any respect, a lower -self, there would have been little left of Washington in the people now.</p> - -<p>Adams came in by the strength of the federal party. Supported by the -slave States, and all the federalism of the north, he had the means, if -any President ever had, of leaving a strong and permanent impression on -the face of affairs. He filled up his offices with federalists. -Everything during his term of office favoured the influence of the -federalists. The nation was almost beside itself with panic at the -political convulsions of Europe. Yet, notwithstanding all this, and Mr. -Adams's great weight of character, giving influence to his partialities, -the people revealed themselves, in the choice of his successor, -staunchly republican.</p> - -<p>Jefferson's influence was greater than that of any other President, -except Washington; and the reason is, that his convictions went along -with the national mind. If Jefferson, with the same love of the people, -the same earnestness of temper, and grace of manners, had been in any -considerable degree less democratic, he might have gone creditably -through his term, and have been well spoken of now; but he would not -have been the honourable means of two successors of the same principles -with himself, being brought in; nor would he have lain, as he now does, -at the very heart of the people. At the outset, his state-rights -principle secured him the south, and his philanthropic, democratic -principles, the north. He was popular, almost beyond example. His -popularity could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> scarcely be increased; but it has never declined. The -common charges against him, of irreligion, of oppression in the -management of his patronage, of disrespect to his predecessors, are -falling into oblivion, while his great acts remain. As to his religion, -whatever might be his creed, its errors or deficiencies, these are still -matters of disagreement among the wise and good; and it is certain that -Jefferson viewed all the realities that came within his ken, with that -calm earnestness which is the true religious spirit. As to the removals -from office, which are still complained of, it should be remembered that -his predecessor had filled as many offices as possible with high -federalists, many of whom provoked their own discharge by their activity -against the government they professed to serve. There is no evidence -that Jefferson went beyond his own principle; and a principle is no -matter of reproach, though it may be of controversy. He says, "Mr. -Adams's last appointment, when he knew he was naming counsellors and -aids for me and not for himself, I shall set aside as far as depends on -me. Officers who have been guilty of gross abuses of office, such as -marshals packing juries, &c., I shall now remove, as my predecessor -ought in justice to have done. The instances will be few, and governed -by strict rule, and not party passion. The right of opinion shall suffer -no invasion from me."—"The remonstrance laments that a change in the -administration must produce a change in the subordinate officers; in -other words, that it should be deemed necessary for all officers to -think with their principal. But on whom does this imputation bear? On -those who have excluded from office every shade of opinion which was not -their's? or on those who have been so excluded? I lament sincerely that -unessential differences of opinion should ever have been deemed -sufficient to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> interdict half the society from the rights and blessings -of self-government, to proscribe them as unworthy of every trust. It -would have been to me a circumstance of great relief, had I found a -moderate participation of office in the hands of the majority. I would -gladly have left to time and accident to raise them to their just share. -But their total exclusion calls for prompter corrections. I shall -correct the procedure: but, that done, return with joy to that state of -things, when the only questions concerning a candidate shall be, Is he -honest? Is he capable? Is he faithful to the constitution?"<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - -<p>As to his disrespect to Washington and Adams, it should be remembered -what the party heats of the day were; how Washington's cabinet was -divided between France, war, and general liberty; and neutrality, peace, -and care of the people at home. With such a theme of quarrel, it would -have been a wonder if hasty words had not been sometimes spoken on all -sides. Jefferson's ultimate opinion of Washington, written in confidence -to a friend, in 1814, has happily come to light. At the close, he says, -"These are my opinions of General Washington, which I would vouch at the -judgment-seat of God, having been formed on an acquaintance of thirty -years." One extract is enough: "On the whole, his character was, in its -mass, perfect; in nothing bad, in few things indifferent; and it may -truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly -to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with -whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance."<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> -The friendship in old age between himself and Mr. Adams, and the moral -and intellectual beauty of their close <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>correspondence, are a spectacle -in sight of which all prior party misunderstandings should be forgotten. -There is one infallible test by which to try old men who have had much -to do in the world. If their power and privilege of admiration survive -their knowledge of the world, they are true-hearted; and they occasion -as much admiration as they enjoy. Jefferson stands this test.</p> - -<p>His great acts are much heard of. The reduction of taxes and correction -of abuses with which he began his administration; his having actually -done something against slavery; his invariable decision for advocacy or -opposition, in accordance with the true democratic principle, are now -spoken of more frequently than things less worthy to be remembered. His -influence has been greater than that of any other President since -Washington, exactly in proportion to his nearer approach to the national -idea of a chief magistrate.</p> - -<p>No great change took place during the administration of his two -successors, Madison and Monroe. They were strong in the strength of his -principles, and of their own characters. Madison's term of office would -have been memorable in history, if he had not immediately followed his -friend Jefferson. Their identity of views, put into practice by Madison, -with the simplest honesty and true modesty, caused less observation than -the same conduct immediately succeeding a federal administration would -have done. Hence the affectation, practised by some, of calling Madison -a tool of Jefferson. Those who really knew Mr. Madison and his public -life, will be amused at the idea of his being anybody's tool.</p> - -<p>The reason why John Quincy Adams's administration is little notorious is -somewhat of the same nature. He was a pure President; a strictly moral -man. His good morality was shown in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>devotion of his fine powers to -the faithful conduct of evanescent circumstances. His lot was that of -all good Presidents in the quiet days of the republic. He would not use -his small power for harm; and possessed no very great power for -political good.</p> - -<p>General Jackson was brought into office by an overpowering majority, and -after a series of strong party excitements. If ever there was a -possibility of a President marking his age, for good or for evil, it -would have been done during Jackson's administration. He is a man made -to impress a very distinct idea of himself on all minds. He has great -personal courage, much sagacity, though frequently impaired by the -strength of his prejudices, violent passions, an indomitable will, and -that devotion to public affairs in which no President has ever failed. -He had done deeds of war which flattered the pride of the people; and in -doing them, he had acquired a knowledge of the people, which has served -him instead of much other knowledge in which he is deficient. He has -known, however, how to obtain the use, though not the reputation, of the -knowledge which he does not possess. Notwithstanding the strength of his -passions, and the awkward positions in which he has placed himself by -the indulgence of his private resentments, his sagacity has served him -well in keeping him a little way a-head of the popular convictions. No -physician in the world ever understood feeling the pulse, and ordering -his practice accordingly, better than President Jackson. Here are all -the requisites for success in a tyrannical administration. Even in -England, we heard rumours in 1828, and again in 1832, about the perils -of the United States, under the rule of a despotic soldier. The cry -revived with every one of his high-handed deeds; with every exercise of -the veto,—which he has used oftener than all the other Presidents put -together,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>—with every appointment made in defiance of the Senate; with -the removal of the deposites; with his messages of menace to the French -government. Yet to what amounts the power now, at the close of his -administration, of this idol of the people, this man strong in war, and -subtle in council, this soldier and statesman of indomitable will, of -insatiable ambition, with the resources of a huge majority at his -disposal? The deeds of his administration remain to be justified in as -far as they are sound, and undone if they are faulty. Meantime, he has -been able to obtain only the barest majority in the Senate, the great -object of his wrath: he has been unable to keep the slavery question out -of Congress,—the introduction of which is by far the most remarkable -event of his administration. One of the most desponding complaints I -heard of his administration was, not that he had strengthened the -general government—not that his government had tended to -centralisation—not that he had settled any matters to his own -satisfaction, and left the people to reconcile themselves to his -pleasure as they best might,—but that every great question is left -unsettled; that it is difficult now to tell any party by its principles; -that the principles of such affairs as the currency, land, slavery, -internal improvements, &c. remain to be all argued over again. -Doubtless, this will be tiresome to such public men as have entirely and -finally made up their minds on these subjects. To such, nothing can well -be more wearisome than discussion and action, renewed from year to year. -But the very fact that these affairs remain unsettled, that the people -remain unsatisfied about them, proves that the people have more to -learn, and that they mean to learn it. No true friend of his country -would wish that the questions of slavery and currency should remain in -any position that they have ever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> yet occupied in the United States; and -towards the settlement of the latter of the two, as far as light depends -on collision of opinions, it is certain that no man has done so much, -whether he meant it or not, as President Jackson. The occasional -breaking up and mingling of parties is a necessary circumstance, whether -it be considered an evil or a good. It may be an evil, in as far as it -affords a vantage-ground to unprincipled adventurers; it is a good, in -as far as it leads to mutual understanding, and improves the candour of -partisans. For the rest, there is no fear but that parties will soon -draw asunder, with each a set of distinctive principles as its badge. -Meantime, men will have reason to smile at their fears of the formidable -personage, who is now descending from the presidential chair; and their -enthusiasm will have cooled down to the temperature fixed by what the -event will prove to have been his merits. They will discuss him by their -firesides with the calmness with which men speak of things that are -past; while they keep their hopes and fears to be chafed up at public -meetings, while the orator points to some rising star, or to some cloud -no bigger than a man's hand. Irish emigrants occasionally fight out the -battle of the Boyne in the streets of Philadelphia; but native Americans -bestow their apprehensions and their wrath upon things future; and their -philosophy upon things past. While they do this, it will not be in the -power of any President to harm them much or long.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span>SECTION III.</span><br /><span class="smaller">STATE GOVERNMENTS.</span></h3> - -<p>Never, perhaps, did statesmen begin their task of constitution-making -with so much aid from preceding circumstances as the great men of the -Revolution. A social neighbourhood of colonies, all suffering under -colonial grievances, and all varying in their internal government, -afforded a broad hint of the present system, and fine facilities for -putting it in practice. There was much less speculation in the case than -might appear from a distance; and this fact so far takes away from the -superhuman character of the wisdom which achieved the completion of the -United States' constitution, as to bring the mind down from its state of -amazement into one of very wholesome admiration.</p> - -<p>The state governments are the conservative power, enabling the will of -the majority to act with freedom and convenience. Though the nation is -but an aggregation of individuals, as regards the general government, -their division into States, for the management of their domestic -affairs, precludes a vast amount of confusion and discord. Their mutual -vigilance is also a great advantage to their interests, both within each -State, and abroad. No tyrant, or tyrannical party, can remain unwatched -and unchecked. There is, in each State, a people ready for information -and complaint, when necessary; a legislature ready for deliberation; and -an executive ready to act. Many States, in other ages and regions, have -been lost through the necessity of creating their instruments when they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> -should have been acting. State organisation is never managed without -dispute; and it makes the entire difference in the success of resistance -to aggression whether the necessary apparatus has to be created in haste -and confusion, or whether everything is in readiness for executing the -will of the majority.</p> - -<p>Under no other arrangement, perhaps, could the advantage be secured of -every man being, in his turn, a servant of the commonwealth. If the -general government managed everything, the public service would soon -become the privilege of a certain class, or a number of classes of men; -as is seen to be the case elsewhere. The relation and gradation of -service which are now so remarkable a feature in the United States -commonwealth, could never then happen naturally, as they now do. Almost -every man serves in his township in New England, and in the -corresponding ward or section elsewhere; and has his capability tried; -and, if worthy, he serves his county, his State, and finally the Union, -in Congress. Such is the theory: and if not followed up well in -practice, if some of the best men never get beyond serving their -township, and some of the worst now and then get into Congress, the -people are unquestionably better served than if the selection of -servants depended on accident, or the favour of men in power. Whatever -extraneous impediments may interfere with the true working of the -theory, every citizen feels, or ought to feel, what a glorious career -may lie before him. In his country, every road to success is open to -all. There are no artificial disqualifications which may not be -surmounted. All <i>humbug</i>, whether of fashion and show, of -sanctimoniousness, of licentiousness, or of anything else, is there -destined to speedy failure and retribution. There is no hereditary -humbug in the United States. If the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> honest, wise man, feels himself -depressed below the knave, he has, if he did but know it, only to wait -patiently a little while, and he will have his due. Though truth is -equally great everywhere, and equally sure ultimately to prevail, men of -other countries have often to wait till they reach the better country -than all, before they witness this ultimate prevalence, except with the -eye of faith. The young nation over the Atlantic, is indulged, for the -encouragement, with a speedier retribution for her well or ill doings; -and almost every one of her citizens, if he be truly honourable, may -trust to be fitly honoured before he dies.</p> - -<p>Another conservative effect of the state governments is the facilities -they afford for the correction of solecisms, the renovation of -institutions as they are outgrown, and the amendment of all unsuitable -arrangements. If anything wants to be rectified in any State, it can be -done on the mere will of the people concerned. There is no imploring of -an uninterested government at a distance—a government so occupied with -its foreign relations as to have little attention to spare for domestic -grievances which it does not feel. There is no waiting any body's -pleasure; nobody's leave to ask. The remedy is so close at hand, those -who are to give it are so nearly concerned, that it may always, and, for -the most part, speedily, be obtained, upon good cause being shown. No -external observance is needed, except of the few and express -prohibitions which the general and state governments have interchanged.</p> - -<p>It is amusing to look over the proceedings of the state legislatures for -any one year. Maine amends her libel law, decreeing that proof of truth -shall be admitted as justification. Massachusetts decrees a revision and -consolidation of her laws, and the annihilation of lotteries. Rhode<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> -Island improves her quarantine regulations. Connecticut passes an act -for the preservation of corn-fields from crows. Vermont decrees the -protection of the dead in their graves. New York prohibits the -importation of foreign convicts. New Jersey incorporates a dairy -company. Pennsylvania mitigates the law which authorises imprisonment -for debt. Maryland authorises a geological survey. Georgia enlarges her -law of divorce. Alabama puts children, in certain circumstances, under -the protection of chancery. Mississippi decrees a census. Tennessee -interdicts barbacues in the neighbourhood of camp meetings. Ohio -regulates the care of escheated lands. Indiana prohibits a higher rate -of interest than ten percent. Missouri authorises the conveyance of real -estate by married women. And so on. It seems difficult to imagine how -many abuses can reach an extreme, or be tardy of cure, where the will of -the majority is not only speedily made known, but where the division of -employment is so skilfully arranged that the majority may be trusted to -understand the case on which they are to decide.</p> - -<p>It has always appeared to me that much misapprehension is occasioned by -its being supposed that the strength of the general government lies in -the number of its functions; and its weakness in the extent of its area. -To me it appears directly the reverse. A government which has the -management of all the concerns of a people, the greater and the smaller, -preserves its stability by the general interest in its more important -functions. If you desire to weaken it, you must withdraw from its -guardianship the more general and important of its affairs. If you -desire to shield it from cavil and attack, you must put the more local -and partial objects of its administration under other management. If the -general government of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> the United States had to manage all legislation -and administration within their boundaries, it could hardly hold -together one year. If it had only one function, essential to all, and -impossible to be otherwise fulfilled, there seems no reason why it -should not work prosperously till there are fifty States around it, and -longer. The importance of the functions of the general government -depends partly upon the universality of the interest in them; and partly -upon the numbers included under them. So far, therefore, from the -enlargement of the area of the United States being perilous to the -general government, by making it "cumbrous," as many fear, it seems to -me likely to work a directly contrary effect. There are strong reasons -why an extension of her area would be injurious to her, but I cannot -regard this as one. A government which has to keep watch over the -defence, foreign policy, commerce, and currency, of from twenty-five to -fifty small republics, is safer in the guardianship of its subjects than -if it had to manage these same affairs for one large republic, with the -additional superintendence of its debtors, its libellers, and the crows -of its corn-fields.</p> - -<p>Little or no room for rebellion seems to be left under the constitution -of the United States. In the progress of human affairs, familiar evils -expire with worn-out institutions, and new dangers arise out of the -midst of renovated arrangements. Assassinations are the form which -resistance to government assumes in pure despotisms. Rebellion is the -name it bears under governments somewhat more liberal. In the United -States, nothing worse than professed Nullification has yet been heard -of—unless Colonel Burr's secret schemes were indeed treasonable. A -brief account of the South Carolina Nullification may exhibit the -relations, and occasional enmities of the general and states <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>government -in a clearer way than could be done, otherwise than by a narrative of -facts. This little history shows, among many other things, that America -follows the rest of the world in quoting the constitution as a sanction -of the most opposite designs and proceedings: what different sympathies -respond to the word "patriotism;" and of how little avail is the letter -of the constitution, when there is variance as to its spirit.</p> - -<p>Georgia laid claim, some years ago, to the Cherokee territory, on the -ground that the United States had no right to make the laws and treaties -by which the Cherokees were protected; that such legislation was -inconsistent with the reserved rights of the sovereign state of Georgia. -Georgia thus acted upon the supposition, that she was to construe the -federal compact in her own way, and proceed according to her own -construction. Congress checked her in this assumption, and rejected her -pretensions by an almost unanimous vote. Soon after the accession of -General Jackson to the presidentship, Georgia, either presuming upon his -favour, or wishing to test his dispositions, began to encroach upon the -Cherokee lands. The Cherokees appealed to the federal government for -protection, under the laws and treaties framed for that very purpose. -The President replied, that Georgia was right in annulling those laws -and treaties, and that the executive could not interfere. The Indian -cause was brought before the Supreme Court. There was difficulty about -the character in which the plaintiffs were to sue, and as to whether -they could sue at all, under that provision of the constitution which -authorises <i>foreign nations</i> to demand justice from the federal -tribunals. The court expressed a strong, opinion however, that the -Cherokees were entitled to protection from the Executive.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p><p>The Supreme Court and Georgia were thus brought into opposition, while -the Executive took the part of Georgia. Compassion for the Cherokees was -now swallowed up in anxiety about the decision of the question of state -rights. The Executive had, as yet, only negatively declared himself, -however; and the Supreme Court had not been driven on to deliver a -verdict against the Georgian laws, by which the Cherokees were -oppressed. The topic of the right of a State to annul the laws and -treaties of the federal government was meantime generally discussed; and -reconsideration was forced upon the President.</p> - -<p>South Carolina presently followed the example of Georgia. She annulled -the acts of Congress, which regarded such revenue laws as she considered -contrary to general principles, and to her own interests. The President -now perceived that if every State proceeded to nullify the acts of -Congress, upon its own construction of the federal constitution, the -general government could not be secure of its existence for a day. While -the Executive was still in a position of observation, the Supreme Court -pronounced, in another case, a verdict against the unconstitutional laws -of Georgia. In 1829, the legislature of Virginia asserted the right of -each State to construe the federal constitution for itself: and thus -there appeared to be three States already in the course of withdrawing -from the Union.</p> - -<p>Congress went on legislating about the tariff, without regard to this -opposition; and the protests of certain States against their proceedings -were quietly laid on the table, as impertinences. The South Carolina -advocates of Nullification worked diligently in their own State to ripen -the people sufficiently to obtain a convention which should proclaim -their doctrine as the will of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> State: in which case, they doubted -not that they should secure the countenance and co-operation of most or -all of the southern States. A convention in favour of free trade met at -Philadelphia; another in favour of the tariff met at New York; and the -nullifiers saw reason to turn the discussion of the quarrel as much as -possible from the principle of Nullification to the principle of free -trade. They perceived the strength of the latter ground, whether or not -they saw the weakness of the former; and by their skilful movement upon -it, they eventually caused a greater benefit to the nation, than their -discontent did harm to themselves.</p> - -<p>The President was invited to dine at Charleston on the 4th of July, -1831; and in his answer, he thought fit to announce that he should do -his duty in case of any attempt to annul the laws of the Union. This was -a virtual retractation of his encouragement to Georgia. A committee of -the legislature of South Carolina reported the letter to be at variance -with the duties of the President, and the rights of the States. The heat -was rising rapidly. The nullifiers were loud in their threats, and -watchful in observing the effect of those threats abroad. North Carolina -repudiated the whole doctrine of Nullification: other neighbouring -States showed a reluctance to sanction it. The President's next message -recommended a modification of the tariff, which was known to be no -favorite of his; but the modification he proposed had no other bearing -than upon the amount of the revenue.</p> - -<p>During the session of Congress of 1832, various alterations were made in -the duties, which it was hoped would be to the satisfaction of South -Carolina: but the complaint of her representatives was, that the -reductions which were ordained were on those articles in which she had -no interest; while her burdens were actually increased. These -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>representatives met at Washington, and drew up an address to the people -of South Carolina, in which they declared their wrongs, and inquired -whether they were to be tamely submitted to.</p> - -<p>The legislature of South Carolina, after the next election, exhibited a -large majority in both houses in favour of Nullification. A convention -was called at Columbia, in consequence of whose proceedings an ordinance -was prepared, and speedily passed through the legislature, declaring all -the acts of Congress imposing duties on imported goods, to be null and -void within the state of South Carolina. It prohibited the levying of -all such duties within the State, and all appeals on the subject to the -Supreme Court. A number of minor provisions were made to hinder the levy -of import duties. The governor was empowered to call the militia into -service against any opposition which might be made by the general -government to this bold mode of proceeding. The entire military force of -the State, and the services of volunteers, were also placed at his -disposal. Arms and ammunition were ordered to be purchased.</p> - -<p>This was too much for the President's anxiety about consistency. He -ordered all the disposable military force to assemble at Charleston; -sent a sloop of war to that port, to protect the federal officers in the -discharge of their duties; and issued a vigorous proclamation, stating -the constitutional doctrine, about the mutual relations of the general -and state governments, and exhorting the citizens of South Carolina not -to forfeit their allegiance. Governor Hayne issued a counter -proclamation, warning the citizens of the State against being seduced -from their state allegiance by the President. This was at the close of -1832.</p> - -<p>Everything being thus ready for an explosion, South Carolina, appeared -willing to wait the result<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> of another session. This was needful enough; -for she was as yet uncertain whether she was to have the assistance of -any of her sister States. Mr. Calhoun, the vice-president, resigned his -office, and became a senator in the room of governor Hayne: and thus the -nullification cause was in powerful hands in the senate. Its proceedings -were watched with the most intense anxiety by the whole Union. The -crisis of the Union was come.</p> - -<p>In the discontented State, the union party, which was strong, though -excluded from the government, was in great sorrow and fear. Civil war -seemed inevitable; and they felt themselves oppressed and insulted by -the imposition of the oath of allegiance to the State. The nullifiers -justified this requisition by saying that many foreigners resident in -Charleston, who did not understand the case, believed that their duty to -the general government required them to support it, while its vessels of -war and troops were in port; however well they might be disposed to the -nullification cause. It was merely as a method of enlightenment, it was -protested, that this oath was imposed.</p> - -<p>The ladies, meanwhile, had a State Rights ball at the arsenal, and -contributed their jewels for the support of the expected war. I could -not learn that they made lint—the last test of woman's earnestness for -war; but I was told by a leading nullifier that the ladies were "chock -full of fight." The expectation of war was so nearly universal that I -could hear of only one citizen of Charleston who discouraged the removal -of his wife and children from the city, in the belief that a peaceful -settlement of the quarrel would take place.</p> - -<p>The legislatures of the States passed resolutions, none of them -advocating nullification; (even Georgia forsaking that ground;) many -condemned the proceedings of South Carolina; but some, while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> doing so, -made strong remonstrances against the tariff. Five of the States, in -which manufactures had been set up, declared their opposition to any -alteration of the tariff. It is amusing now to read the variety of terms -in which the South Carolina proceedings were condemned; though, at the -time, the reports of these resolutions must have carried despair to the -hearts of the citizens of the solitary discontented State. The effect of -these successive shocks is still spoken of in strong and touching -language by those who had to sustain them.</p> - -<p>While the South Carolina militia were training, and the munitions of war -preparing, the senators and representatives of the State were wearing -stern and grave faces at Washington. The session was passing away, and -nothing but debate was yet achieved. Their fellow legislators looked on -them with grief, as being destined to destruction in the field, or on -the scaffold. They were men of high spirit and gallantry; and it was -clear that they had settled the matter with themselves and with each -other. They would never submit to mere numbers; and would oppose force -to force, till all of their small resources was spent. No one can -estimate their heroism, or desperation, whichever it may be called, who -has not seen the city and State which would have been the theatre of the -war. The high spirit of South Carolina is of that kind which accompanies -fallen, or inferior fortunes. Pride and poverty chafe the spirit. They -make men look around for injury, and aggravate the sense of injury when -it is real. In South Carolina, the black population outnumbers the -white. The curse of slavery lies heavy on the land, and its inhabitants -show the usual unwillingness of sufferers to attribute their maladies to -their true cause. Right as the South Carolinians may be as to the -principle of free trade, no tariff ever yet occasioned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> such evils as -they groan under. If not a single import duty had ever been imposed, -there would still have been the contrasts which they cannot endure to -perceive between the thriving States of the north and their own. Now, -when they see the flourishing villages of New England, they cry "We pay -for all this." When the north appears to receive more favour from the -general government, in its retrospective recompenses for service in war, -the greater proportion of which service was rendered by the north, the -south again cries, "We pay for all this." It is true that the south pays -dearly; but it is for her own depression, not for others' prosperity. -When I saw the face of the nullifiers' country, I was indeed amazed at -their hardihood. The rich soil, watered by full streams, the fertile -bottoms, superintended by the planters' mansions, with their slave -quarter a little removed from the house, the fine growth of trees, and -of the few patches of pasturage which are to be seen, show how -nourishing this region ought to be. But its aspect is most depressing to -the traveller. Roads nearly impassable in many parts, bridges carried -away and not restored, lands exhausted, and dwellings forsaken, are -spectacles too common in South Carolina. The young men, whose patrimony -has deteriorated, migrate westward with their 'force;' selling their -lands, if they can; if not, forsaking them. There are yet many -plantations of unsurpassed fertility; but there are many exhausted: and -it is more profitable to remove to a virgin soil than to employ slave -labour in renovating the fertility of the old. There is an air of -rudeness about the villages, and languor about the towns, which promise -small resource in times of war and distress. And then, the wretched -slave population is enough to paralyse the arm of the bravest community, -and to ensure defeat to the best cause. I saw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> the soldiers and the -preparations for war at Charleston, two years after the crisis was past. -When I was to be shown the arms and ammunition, it appeared that "the -gentleman that had the key was not on the premises." This showed that no -immediate invasion was expected; but it was almost incredible what had -been threatened with such resources. The precautionary life of the -community, on account of the presence of so large a body of slaves, may -be, in some sort, a training for war; but it points out the impediments -to success. If South Carolina had, what some of her leading men seem to -desire, a Lacedemonian government, which should make every free man a -soldier, she would be farther from safety in peace, and success in war, -than any quaker community, exempt from the curse of a debased and -wronged servile class. One glance over the city of Charleston is enough -to show a stranger how helpless she is against a foreign foe, if -unsupported. The soldiers met, at every turn, the swarms of servile -blacks, the very luxuries and hospitalities of the citizens, grateful as -these luxuries are to the stranger, and honourable as these -hospitalities are to his entertainers, betoken a state of society which -has no strength to spare from the great work of self-renovation. Those -who remained at home during the winter of 1832 and 1833, might be -hopeful about the conflict, from being unaware of the depressed -condition of their State, in comparison with others: but the leaders at -Washington might well look stern and grave. It is no impeachment of -their bravery, if their hearts died within them, day by day.</p> - -<p>The session was within fourteen days of its close, when Mr. Clay brought -in a bill which had been carefully prepared as a compromise between the -contending parties. It provided that all import duties exceeding twenty -per cent. should be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> gradually reduced, till, in 1842, they should have -declined to that amount; leaving liberty to augment the duties again, in -case of war. This bill, with certain amendments, not affecting its -principle, was passed, as was the Enforcing Bill,—for enforcing the -collection imposed by act of Congress. A convention was held in South -Carolina: the obnoxious ordinance was repealed; the Enforcing Bill was, -indeed, nominally nullified; but no powers were offered to the -legislature for enforcing the nullification; and the quarrel was, to all -intents and purposes, at an end.</p> - -<p>The triumph remained,—if triumph there were,—with South Carolina. This -was owing to the goodness of her principle of free trade; and in no -degree, to the reasonableness of her nullifying practices. The passage -of the Compromise Bill was a wise and fortunate act. Its influence on -the planting and manufacturing interests is a subject to be considered -in another connexion. Its immediate effect in honourably reconciling -differences which had appeared irreconcileable, was a blessing, not only -to the United States, but to the world. The lustre of democratic -principles would have been shrouded to many eyes by a civil war among -the citizens of the Union; while now, the postponement of a danger so -imminent, the healing of a breach so wide, has confirmed the confidence -of many who feared that the States remained united only for want of a -cause of separation.</p> - -<p>Some ill effects remain,—especially in the irritation of South -Carolina. There is still an air of mystery and fellowship about the -leading nullifiers, and of disquiet among the Union men of Charleston. -But there is cause enough for restlessness in Charleston, as I have -before said; and much excuse for pique.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, these events have proved to thousands of republicans the -mischief of compromise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> conveyed in vague phraseology, in so solemn an -instrument as a written constitution.</p> - -<p>There could not have been a doubt on this case, if the question of -construction had not had place, from the unfortunate clause ordaining -that the general government shall have all powers necessary for the -fulfilment of certain declared purposes. While this provision, thus -worded, remains, the nullification theory will be played off, from time -to time. The good consequence will arise from this liability, that a -habit will be formed of construing the constitution liberally, with -regard to the States, wherever there is a doubt as to the exercise of -its powers; but this collateral good is no justification of the -looseness of language by which the peace and integrity of the Union have -been made to hang on a point of construction. The people of the United -States will probably show their wisdom in henceforth accepting the -benefit by shunning the evil.</p> - -<p>In the privacy of their houses, many citizens have lamented to me, with -feelings to which no name but grief can be given, that the events of -1832—3 have suggested the words "use" or "value of the Union." To an -American, a calculation of the value of the Union would formerly have -been as offensive, as absurd, as an estimate of the value of religion -would be to a right-minded man. To Americans of this order, the Union -has long been more than a matter of high utility. It has been idealised -into an object of love and veneration. In answer to this <i>cui bono</i>, -many have cried in their hearts, with Lear, "O reason not the need!" I -was struck with the contrast in the tone of two statesmen, a chief -nullifier and one of his chief opponents. The one would not disguise -from me that the name of the Union had lost much of its charm in the -south, since 1830. The other, in a glow, protested that he never would -hear of the Union losing its charm.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p><p>But the instances of carelessness, of levity about the Union, are very -rare; and this is the reason why more show of attachment to it is not -made. The probabilities of the continuance of the Union are so -overwhelming, that no man, not in a state of delusion, from some strong -prejudice, can seriously entertain the idea of a dissolution within any -assignable period. I met with one gentleman in the north, a clergyman, -who expects and desires a dissolution of the Union, saying that the -north bore all the expense of the war, and has had nothing but -obstruction and injury from the south. I saw, also, one gentleman in -South Carolina, who sees no use in the Union, but much expense and -trouble. He declares the only effect of it to be the withdrawing of the -best men from each State to dawdle away their time at Washington. -Another, who desponds about the condition of England, and whose views -are often embellished, and sometimes impaired, by his perceptions of -analogy, expressed his fears that his own country, an offset from mine, -would share the fate of offsets, and perish with the parent. But these -are examples of eccentricity.</p> - -<p>There are many among the slave-holders of the south who threaten -secession. Such of these as are in earnest are under the mistake into -which men fall when they put everything to the hazard of one untenable -object. The untenable object once relinquished, the delusion will clear -away with the disappearance of its cause, and the Union will be to them, -with good reason, dearer than it has ever been. The southern States -could not exist, separately, with their present domestic institutions, -in the neighbourhood of any others. They would have thousands of miles -of frontier, over which their slaves would be running away, every day of -the year. In case of war, they might be only too happy if their slaves -did run away, instead of rising up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> against them at home. If it was -necessary to purchase, Florida because it was a retreat for runaways; if -it was necessary, first to treat with Mexico for the restitution of -runaways, and then to steal Texas, the most high-handed theft of modern -times; if it is necessary to pursue runaways into the northern States, -and to keep magistrates and jails in perpetual requisition for the -restitution of southern human property, how would the southern States -manage by themselves? Only by ridding themselves of slavery; in which -case, their alleged necessity of separation is superseded. As for their -resources,—the shoe-business of New York State is of itself larger and -more valuable than the entire commerce of Georgia,—the largest and -richest of the southern States.</p> - -<p>The mere act of separation could not be accomplished. In case of war -against the northern States, it would be necessary to employ half the -white population to take care of the black; and of the remaining half, -no one would undertake to say how many are at heart sick and weary of -slavery, and would be, therefore, untrustworthy. The middle slave -States, now nearly ready to discard slavery, would seize so favourable -an opportunity as that afforded them by the peril of the Union. The -middle free States, from Pennsylvania to the Mississippi, having -everything to lose by separation, and nothing to gain, would treat the -first overt act as rebellion; proceeding against it, and punishing it as -such. The case is so palpable as scarcely to need even so brief a -statement as this. The fact which renders such a statement worth making -is, that most of those who threaten the dissolution of the Union, do it -in order to divert towards this impracticable object the irritation -which would otherwise, and which will, ere long, turn against the -institution of slavery. The gaze of the world<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> is fixed upon this -institution. The world is shouting the one question about this anomaly -which cannot be answered. The dwellers in the south would fain be -unconscious of that awful gaze. They would fain not hear the -reverberation of that shout. They would fain persuade themselves and -others, that they are too busy in asserting their rights and their -dignity as citizens of the Union, to heed the world beyond.</p> - -<p>This self and mutual deception will prove a merely temporary evil. The -natural laws which regulate communities, and the will of the majority, -may be trusted to preserve the good, and to remove the bad elements from -which this dissension arises. It requires no gift of prophecy to -anticipate the fate of an anomaly among a self-governing people. Slavery -was not always an anomaly; but it has become one. Its doom is therefore -sealed; and its duration is now merely a question of time. Any anxiety -in the computation of this time is reasonable; for it will not only -remove a more tremendous cause than can ever again desolate society, but -restore the universality of that generous attachment to their common -institutions which has been, and will be, to the American people, -honour, safety, and the means of perpetual progress.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The Federalist, vol. i. p. 277.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 396.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Jefferson's Correspondence, vol. iii. pp. 467-476.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Jefferson's Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 236.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER III.</span> <span class="smaller">MORALS OF POLITICS.</span></h2> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"'Tis he whose law is reason; who depends</div> -<div>Upon that law as on the best of friends;</div> -<div>Whence, in a state where men are tempted still</div> -<div>To evil for a guard against worse ill,</div> -<div>And what in quality or act is best,</div> -<div>Doth seldom on a right foundation rest,</div> -<div>He fixes good on good alone, and owes</div> -<div>To virtue every triumph, that he knows."</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div class="right"><i>Wordsworth.</i></div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Under a pure despotism, the morals of politics would make but a very -short chapter. Mercy in the ruler; obedience in his officers, with, -perhaps, an occasional stroke of remonstrance; and taxpaying in the -people, would comprehend the whole. Among a self-governing people, who -profess to take human equality for their great common principle, and the -golden rule for their political vow, a long chapter of many sections is -required.</p> - -<p>The morals of politics are not too familiar anywhere. The clergy are apt -to leave out its topics from their list of subjects for the pulpit. -Writers on morals make that chapter as brief as if they lived under the -pure despotism, supposed above. An honest newspaper, here and there, or -a newspaper honest for some particular occasion, and therefore -uninfluential in its temporary honesty, are the only speakers on the -morals of politics. The only speakers; but not the only exhibitors. -Scattered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> here and there, through a vast reach of ages, and expanse of -communities, there may be found, to bless his race, an honest statesman. -Statesmen, free from the gross vices of peculation, sordid, selfish -ambition, cruelty and tergiversation, are not uncommon. But the last -degree of honesty has always been, and is still, considered incompatible -with statesmanship. To hunger and thirst after righteousness has been -naturally, as it were, supposed a disqualification for affairs; and a -man, living for truth, and in a spirit of love, "pure in the last -recesses of the mind," who should propose to seek truth through -political action, and exercise love in the use of political influence, -and refine his purity by disinfecting the political atmosphere of its -corruptions, would hear it reported on every hand that he had a demon. -Yet one who is aware of the enthusiasm with which the Germans hail the -words of Posa at every representation of Don Carlos; one who has seen -how American officials are supported by the people, on the supposition -that they are great men, (however small such men may really be,) one who -has watched the acceleration, within our own time, of the retribution -which overtakes untrustworthy public men, whatever may be their talents -and their knowledge, in contrast with the comparative stability of less -able, but more honest men, can doubt no longer that the time is at hand -for the advent of political principle. The hour is come when dwellers in -the old world should require integrity of their rulers; and dwellers in -the new world, each in his turn a servant of society, should require it -of each other and of themselves. The people of the United States are -seeking after this, feebly and dimly. They have retained one wise saying -of the fathers to whom they owe so much; that the letter of laws and -constitutions is a mere instrument; with no vitality; no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> power to -protect and bless; and that the spirit is all in all. They have been far -from acting upon this with such steadiness as to show that they -understand and believe it. But the saying is in their minds; and, like -every other true thing that lies there, it will in time exhibit itself -in the appointed mode—the will of the majority.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">OFFICE.</span></h3> - -<p>I was told two things separately, last year, which, if put together, -seem to yield an alarming result. I was told that almost every man holds -office, some time during his life; and that holding one is the ruin of -moral independence. The case is not, however, nearly so bad as this. -There is a kind of public life which does seem to injure the morals of -all who enter it; but very few are affected by this. Office in a man's -own neighbourhood, where his character and opinions are known, and where -the honour and emolument are small, is not very seductive: and these are -the offices filled by the greater number of citizens who serve society. -The temptation to propitiate opinion becomes powerful when a citizen -desires to enter the legislature, or to be the chief magistrate of the -State. The peril increases when he becomes a candidate for Congress; and -there seems to be no expectation whatever that a candidate for the -presidentship, or his partizans, should retain any simplicity of speech, -or regard to equity in the distribution of places and promises. All this -is dreadfully wrong. It originates in a grand mistake, which cannot be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> -rectified but by much suffering. It is obvious that there must be -mistake; for it can never be an arrangement of Providence that men -cannot serve each other in their political relations without being -corrupted.</p> - -<p>The primary mistake is in supposing that men cannot bear to hear the -truth. It has become the established method of seeking office, not only -to declare a coincidence of opinion with the supposed majority, on the -great topics on which the candidate will have to speak and act while in -office, but to deny, or conceal, or assert anything else which it is -supposed will please the same majority. The consequence is, that the -best men are not in office. The morally inferior who succeed, use their -power for selfish purposes, to a sufficient extent to corrupt their -constituents, in their turn. I scarcely knew, at first, how to -understand the political conversations which I heard in travelling. If a -citizen told another that A. had voted in a particular manner, the other -invariably began to account for the vote. A. had voted thus to please -B., because B.'s influence was wanted for the benefit of C., who had -promised so and so to A.'s brother, or son, or nephew, or leading -section of constituents. A reason for a vote, or other public -proceeding, must always be found; and any reason seemed to be taken up -rather than the obvious one, that a man votes according to the decision -of his reason and conscience. I often mentioned this to men in office, -or seeking to be so; and they received it with a smile or a laugh which -wrung my heart. Of all heart-withering things, political scepticism in a -republic is one of the most painful. I told Mr. Clay my observations in -both kinds. "Let them laugh!" cried he, with an honourable warmth: "and -do you go on requiring honesty; and you will find it." He is right: but -those who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> would find the highest integrity had bettor not begin their -observations on office-holders, much less on office-seekers, as a class. -The office-holder finds, too often, that it may be easier to get into -office than to have power to discharge its duties when there: and then -the temptation to subservience, to dishonest silence, is well nigh too -strong for mortal man. The office-seeker stands committed as desiring -something for which he is ready to sacrifice his business or profession, -his ease, his leisure, and the quietness of his reputation. He stands -forth as either an adventurer, a man of ambition, or of self-sacrificing -patriotism. Being once thus committed, failure is mortifying, and the -allurement to compromise, in order to success, is powerful. Once in -public life, the politician is committed for ever, whether he -immediately perceives this, or not. Almost every public man of my -acquaintance owned to me the difficulty of retiring,—in mind, if not in -presence,—after the possession of a public trust. This painful -hankering is part of the price to be paid for the honours of public -service: and I am disposed to think that it is almost universal; that -scarcely any man knows quiet and content, from the moment of the success -of his first election. The most modest men shrink from thus committing -themselves. The most learned men, generally speaking, devote themselves, -in preference, to professions. The most conscientious men, generally -speaking, shun the snares which fatally beset public life, at present, -in the United States.</p> - -<p>A gentleman of the latter class, whose talents and character would -procure him extensive and hearty support, if he desired it, told me, -that he would never serve in office, because he believes it to be the -destruction of moral independence: he pointed out to me three friends of -his, men of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> remarkable talent, all in public life. "Look at them," said -he, "and see what they might have been! Yet A. is a slave, B. is a -slave, and C. is a worm in the dust." Too true.</p> - -<p>Here is a grievous misfortune to the republic! My friend ascribes it to -the want of protection from his neighbours, to which a man is exposed -from the want of caste. This will never do. A crown and sceptre would be -about as desirable in a republic as caste. If men would only try the -effect of faith in one another, I believe they would take rank, and -yield protection, with more precision and efficacy than by any -manifestation of the exclusive spirit that was ever witnessed. Of -course, this proposal will be called "Quixotic;" that convenient term -which covers things the most serious and the most absurd, the wisest and -the wildest. I am strengthened in my suggestion by a recurrence to the -first principles of society in the United States, according to which I -find that "rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the -governed;" and that the theory is, that the best men are chosen to -serve. Both these pre-suppose mutual faith. Let the governed once -require honesty as a condition of their consent; let them once choose -the best men, according to their most conscientious conviction, and -there will be an end of this insulting and disgusting political -scepticism. Adventurers and ambitious men there will still be; but they -will not taint the character of the class. Better men, who will respect -their constituents, without fearing or flattering them, will foster the -generous mutual faith which is now so grievously wanting; and the spirit -of the constitution, now drooping in some of its most important -departments, will revive.</p> - -<p>I write more in hope than in immediate expectation. I saw much ground -for hope, but very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> much also for grief. Scarcely anything that I -observed in the United States caused me so much sorrow as the -contemptuous estimate of the people entertained by those who were bowing -the knee to be permitted to serve them. Nothing can be more disgusting -than the contrast between the drawing-room gentleman, at ease among -friends, and the same person courting the people, on a public occasion. -The only comfort was a strong internal persuasion that the people do not -like to be courted thus. They have been so long used to it, that they -receive it as a matter of course; but, I believe, if a candidate should -offer, who should make no professions but of his opinions, and his -honest intentions of carrying them out; if he should respect the people -as men, not as voters, and inform them truly of his views of their -condition and prospects, they would recognise him at once as their best -friend. He might, notwithstanding, lose his election; for the people -must have time to recover, or to attain simplicity; but he would serve -them better by losing his election thus, than by the longest and most -faithful service in public life.</p> - -<p>I have often wondered whether a gentleman at Laporte, in Indiana, who -advertised his desire to be sheriff, gained his election. He declared in -his advertisement that he had not been largely solicited, but that it -was his own desire that he should be sheriff: he would not promise to do -away with mosquitoes, ague, and fever, but only to do his duty. This -candidate has his own way of flattering his constituents.</p> - -<p>A gentleman of considerable reputation offered, last year, to deliver a -lecture, in a Lyceum, in Massachusetts. It was upon the French -Revolution; and on various accounts curious. There was no mention of the -causes of the Revolution, except<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> in a parenthesis of one sentence, -where he intimated that French society was not in harmony with the -spirit of the age. He sketched almost every body concerned, except the -Queen. The most singular part, perhaps, was his estimate of the military -talents of Napoleon. He exalted them much, and declared him a greater -general than Wellington, but not so great as Washington. The audience -was large and respectable. I knew a great many of the persons present, -and found that none of them liked the lecture.</p> - -<p>I attended another Lyceum lecture in Massachusetts. An agent of the -Colonisation Society lectured; and, when he had done, introduced a -clergyman of colour, who had just returned from Liberia, and could give -an account of the colony in its then present state. As soon as this -gentleman came forward, a party among the audience rose, and went out, -with much ostentation of noise. Mr. Wilson broke off till he could be -again heard, and then observed in a low voice, "that would not have been -done in Africa;" upon which, there was an uproar of applause, prolonged -and renewed. All the evidence on the subject that I could collect, went -to prove that the people can bear, and do prefer to hear, the truth. It -is a crime to withhold it from them; and a double crime to substitute -flattery.</p> - -<p>The tone of the orations was the sole, but great drawback from the -enjoyment of the popular festivals I witnessed. I missed the celebration -of the 4th of July,—both years; being, the first year, among the -Virginia mountains, (where the only signs of festivity which I saw, were -some slaves dressing up a marquee, in which their masters were to feast, -after having read, from the Declaration of Independence, that all men -are created free and equal, and that rulers derive their just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> powers -from the consent of the governed;) and the second year on the lakes, -arriving at Mackinaw too late in the evening of the great day for any -celebration that might have taken place. But I was at two remarkable -festivals, and heard two very remarkable orations. They were represented -to me as fair or favourable specimens of that kind of address; and, to -judge by the general sum of those which I read and heard, they were so.</p> - -<p>The valley of the Connecticut is the most fertile valley in New England; -and it is scarcely possible that any should be more beautiful. The -river, full, broad, and tranquil as the summer sky, winds through -meadows, green with pasture, or golden with corn. Clumps of forest trees -afford retreat for the cattle in the summer heats; and the magnificent -New England elm, the most graceful of trees, is dropped singly, here and -there, and casts its broad shade upon the meadow. Hills of various -height and declivity bound the now widening, now contracting valley. To -these hills, the forest has retired; the everlasting forest, from which, -in America, we cannot fly. I cannot remember that, except in some parts -of the prairies, I was ever out of sight of the forest in the United -States and I am sure I never wished to be so. It was like the "verdurous -wall of Paradise," confining the mighty southern and western rivers to -their channels. We were, as it appeared, imprisoned in it for many days -together, as we traversed the south-eastern States. We threaded it in -Michigan; we skirted it in New York and Pennsylvania; and throughout New -England it bounded every landscape. It looked down upon us from the -hill-tops; it advanced into notice from every gap and notch in the -chain. To the native it must appear as indispensable in the -picture-gallery of nature as the sky. To the English traveller it is a -special<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> boon, an added charm, a newly-created grace, like the infant -planet that wanders across the telescope of the astronomer. The English -traveller finds himself never weary by day of prying into the forest, -from beneath its canopy: or, from a distance drinking in its exquisite -hues: and his dreams, for months or years, will be of the mossy roots, -the black pine, and silvery birch stems, the translucent green shades of -the beech, and the slender creeper, climbing like a ladder into the -topmost boughs of the dark holly, a hundred feet high. He will dream of -the march of the hours through the forest; the deep blackness of night, -broken by the dun forest-fires, and startled by the showers of sparks, -sent abroad by the casual breeze from the burning stems. He will hear -again the shrill piping of the whip-poor-will, and the multitudinous din -from the occasional swamp. He will dream of the deep silence which -precedes the dawn; of the gradual apparition of the haunting trees, -coming faintly out of the darkness; of the first level rays, -instantaneously piercing the woods to their very heart, and lighting -them up into boundless ruddy colonnades, garlanded with wavy verdure, -and carpeted with glittering wild-flowers. Or, he will dream of the -clouds of gay butterflies, and gauzy dragon-flies, that hover above the -noon-day paths of the forest, or cluster about some graceful shrub, -making it appear to bear at once all the flowers of Eden. Or the golden -moon will look down through his dream, making for him islands of light -in an ocean of darkness. He may not see the stars but by glimpses; but -the winged stars of those regions,—the gleaming fire-flies,—radiate -from every sleeping bough, and keep his eye in fancy busy in following -their glancing, while his spirit sleeps in the deep charms of the summer -night. Next to the solemn and various beauty of the sea and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> the sky, -comes that of the wilderness. I doubt whether the sublimity of the -vastest mountain-range can exceed that of the all-pervading forest, when -the imagination becomes able to realise the conception of what it is.</p> - -<p>In the valley of the Connecticut, the forest merely presides over the -scene, giving gravity to its charm. On East Mountain, above Deerfield, -in Massachusetts, it is mingled with grey rocks, whose hue mingles -exquisitely with its verdure. We looked down from thence on a long reach -of the valley, just before sunset, and made ourselves acquainted with -the geography of the catastrophe which was to be commemorated in a day -or two. Here and there, in the meadows, were sinkings of the soil, -shallow basins of verdant pasturage, where there had probably once been -small lakes, but where cattle were now grazing. The unfenced fields, -secure within landmarks, and open to the annual inundation which -preserves their fertility, were rich with unharvested Indian corn; the -cobs left lying in their sheaths, because no passer-by is tempted to -steal them; every one having enough of his own. The silvery river lay -among the meadows; and on its bank, far below us, stretched the avenue -of noble trees, touched with the hues of autumn, which shaded the -village of Deerfield. Saddleback bounded our view opposite, and the -Northampton hills and Green Mountains on the left. Smoke arose, here and -there, from the hills' sides, and the nearer eminences were dotted with -white dwellings, of the same order with the homesteads which were -sprinkled over the valley. The time is past when a man feared to sit -down further off than a stone's throw from his neighbours, lest the -Indians should come upon him. The villages of Hadley and Deerfield are a -standing memorial of those times, when the whites clustered together<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> -around the village church, and their cattle were brought into the area, -every night, under penalty of their being driven off before morning. -These villages consist of two rows of houses, forming a long street, -planted with trees; and the church stands in the middle. The houses, of -wood, were built in those days with the upper story projecting; that the -inhabitants, in case of siege, might fire at advantage upon the Indians, -forcing the door with tomahawks.</p> - -<p>I saw an old house of this kind at Deerfield,—the only one which -survived the burning of the village by the French and Indians, in 1704, -when all the inhabitants, to the number of two hundred and eighty, being -attacked in their sleep, were killed or carried away captive by the -Indians. The wood of the house was old and black, and pierced in many -parts with bullet-holes. One had given passage to a bullet which shot a -woman in the neck, as she rose up in bed, on hearing the tomahawk strike -upon the door. The battered door remains, to chill one's blood with the -thought that such were the blows dealt by the Indians upon the skulls of -their victims, whether infants or soldiers.</p> - -<p>This was not the event to commemorate which we were assembled at -Deerfield. A monument was to be erected on the spot where another body -of people had been murdered, by savage foes of the same race. Deerfield -was first settled in 1671; a few houses being then built on the present -street, and the settlers being on good terms with their neighbours. King -Philip's war broke out in 1675, and the settlers were attacked more than -once. There was a large quantity of grain stored up at Deerfield; and it -was thought advisable to remove it for safety to Hadley, fifteen miles -off. Captain Lothrop, with eighty men, and some teams, marched from -Hadley to remove the grain; his men <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>being the youth and main hope of -the settlements around. On their return from Deerfield, on the 30th of -September 1675, about four miles and a half on the way to Hadley, the -young men dispersed to gather the wild grapes that were hanging ripe in -the thickets, and were, under this disadvantage, attacked by a large -body of Indians. It was afterwards discovered that the only way to -encounter the Indians is in phalanx. Captain Lothrop did not know this; -and he posted his men behind trees, where they were, almost to a man, -picked off by the enemy. About ninety-three, including the teamsters, -fell. When all was over, help arrived. The Indians were beaten; but they -appeared before the village, some days after, shaking the scalps and -bloody garments of the slain captain and his troop, before the eyes of -the inhabitants. The place was afterwards abandoned by the settlers, -destroyed by the Indians, and not rebuilt for some years.</p> - -<p>This was a piteous incident in the history of the settlement; but it is -not easy to see why it should be made an occasion of commemoration, by -monument and oratory, in preference to many others which have a stronger -moral interest attaching to them. Some celebrations, like that of -Forefather's Day, are inexpressibly interesting and valuable, from the -glorious recollections by which they are sanctified. But no virtue was -here to be had in remembrance; nothing but mere misery. The -contemplation of mere misery is painful and hurtful; and the only -salutary influence that I could perceive to arise from this occasion was -a far-fetched and dubious one,—thankfulness that the Indians are not -now at hand to molest the white inhabitants. Then occurs the question -about the Indians,—"where are they?" and the answer leaves one less -sympathy than one would wish to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> have with the present security of the -settler. The story of King Philip, who is supposed to have headed, in -person, the attack on Lothrop's troop, is one of the most melancholy in -the records of humanity; and sorrow for him must mingle with -congratulations to the descendants of his foes, who, in his eyes, were -robbers. With these thoughts in my mind, I found it difficult to -discover the philosophy of this celebration. A stranger might be -pardoned for being so slow.</p> - -<p>One of the then candidates for the highest office in the State, is -renowned for his oratory. He is one of the most accomplished scholars -and gentlemen that the country possesses. It was thought, "by his -friends," that his interest wanted strengthening in the western part of -the State. The people were pleased when any occasion procured them the -<i>éclat</i> of bringing a celebrated orator over to address them. The -commemoration of an Indian catastrophe was thought of as an occasion -capable of being turned to good electioneering purposes.—Mr. Webster -was invited to be the orator, it being known that he would refuse. "Not -I," said he. "I won't go and rake up old bloody Indian stories." The -candidate was next invited, and, of course, took the opportunity of -"strengthening his interest in the western part of the State." I was not -aware of this till I sometime after heard it, on indisputable authority. -I should have enjoyed it much less than I did, if I had known that the -whole thing was got up, or its time and manner chosen, for -electioneering objects; that advantage was taken of the best feelings of -the people for the political interest of one.</p> - -<p>The afternoon of the 29th we went to Bloody Brook, the fearfully-named -place of disaster. We climbed the Sugar-loaf; a high, steep hill, from -whose precipitous sides is obtained a view of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> valley which pleases -me more than the celebrated one from Mount Holyoke, a few miles off. -Each, however, is perfect in its way; and both so like heaven, when one -looks down upon the valley in the light of an autumn afternoon,—such a -light as never yet burnished an English scene,—that no inclination is -left to make comparisons. The ox team was in the fields, the fishers on -the banks of the grey river,—banks and fishers reflected to the -life,—all as tranquil as if there was to be no stir the next day.</p> - -<p>On descending, we went to the Bloody Brook Inn, and saw the strange and -horrible picture of the slaughter of Lothrop's troop; a picture so bad -as to be laughable; but too horrible to be laughed at. Every man of the -eighty exactly alike, and all looking scared at being about to be -scalped. We saw, also, the long tables spread for the feast of -to-morrow. Lengths of unbleached cotton for table cloths, plates and -glasses, were already provided. Some young men were bringing in long -trails of the wild vine, clustered with purple grapes, to hang about the -young maple trees which overshadowed the tables; others were trying the -cannon. We returned home in a state of high expectation.</p> - -<p>The morning of the 30th was bright, but rather cold. It was doubtful how -far prudence would warrant our sitting in an orchard for several hours, -in such a breeze as was blowing. It was evident, however, that persons -at a distance had no scruples on the subject, so thickly did they throng -to the place of meeting. The wagon belonging to the band passed my -windows, filled with young ladies from the High School at Greenfield. -They looked as gay as if they had been going to a fair. By half-past -eight, our party set off, accompanied by a few, and passing a great -number of strangers from distant villages.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p><p>After having accomplished our drive of three or four miles, we warmed -ourselves in a friendly house, and repaired to the orchard to choose our -seats, while the ceremony of laying the first stone of the monument was -proceeding at some distance. The platform from which the orator was to -address the assemblage was erected under a rather shabby walnut-tree, -which was rendered less picturesque by its lower branches being lopped -off, for the sake of convenience. Several men had perched themselves on -the tree; and I was beginning to wonder how they would endure their -uncomfortable seat, in the cold wind, for three hours, when I saw them -called down, and dismissed to find places among the rest of the -assemblage, as they sent down bark and dust upon the heads of those who -sat on the platform. Long and deep ranges of benches were provided; and -on these, with carriage cushions and warm cloaks, we found ourselves -perfectly well accommodated. Nothing could be better. It was a pretty -sight. The wind rustled fitfully in the old walnut-tree. The audience -gathered around, it were sober, quiet; some would have said dull. The -girls appeared to me to be all pretty, after the fashion of American -girls. Every body was well-dressed; and such a thing as ill-behaviour in -any village assemblage in New England, is, I believe, unheard of. The -soldiers were my great amusement; as they were on the few other -occasions when I had the good fortune to see any. Their chief business, -on the present occasion, was to keep clear the seats which were reserved -for the band, now absent with the procession. These seats were -advantageously placed; and new-comers were every moment taking -possession of them, and had to be sent, disappointed, into the rear. It -was moving to behold the loving entreaties of the soldiers that these -seats might be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>vacated. I saw one, who had shrunk away from his -uniform, (probably from the use of tobacco, of which his mouth was -full,) actually put his arm round the neck of a gentleman, and smile -imploringly in his face. It was irresistible, and the gentleman moved -away. It is a perfect treat to the philanthropist to observe the pacific -appearance of the militia throughout the United States. It is well known -how they can fight, when the necessity arises: but they assuredly look, -at present, as if it was the last thing in their intentions:—as I hope -it may long be.</p> - -<p>The band next arrived, leading the procession of gentlemen, and were -soon called into action by the first hymn. They did their best; and, if -no one of their instruments could reach the second note of the German -Hymn, (the second note of three lines out of four,) it was not for want -of trying.</p> - -<p>The oration followed. I strove, as I always did, not to allow difference -of taste, whether in oratory, or in anything else, to render me -insensible to the merit, in its kind, of what was presented to me: but, -upon this occasion, all my sympathies were baffled, and I was deeply -disgusted. It mattered little what the oration was in itself, if it had -only belonged in character to the speaker. If a Greenfield farmer or -mechanic had spoken as he believed orators to speak, and if the failure -had been complete, I might have been sorry or amused, or disappointed; -but not disgusted. But here was one of the most learned and accomplished -gentlemen in the country, a candidate for the highest office in the -State, grimacing like a mountebank before the assemblage whose votes he -desired to have, and delivering an address, which he supposed level to -their taste and capacity. He spoke of the "stately tree," (the poor -walnut,) and the "mighty assemblage," (a little flock in the middle of -an orchard,)<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> and offered them shreds of tawdry sentiment, without the -intermixture of one sound thought, or simple and natural feeling, simply -and naturally expressed. It was equally an under estimate of his -hearers, and a degradation of himself.</p> - -<p>The effect was very plain. Many, I know, were not interested, but were -unwilling to say so of so renowned an orator. All were dull; and it was -easy to see that none of the proper results of public speaking followed. -These very people are highly imaginative. Speak to them of what -interests them, and they are moved with a word. Speak to those whose -children are at school, of the progress and diffusion of knowledge, and -they will hang upon the lips of the speaker. Speak to the -unsophisticated among them of the case of the slave, and they are ready -to brave Lynch-law on his behalf. Appeal to them on any religious or -charitable enterprise, and the good deed is done, almost as soon as -indicated. But they have been taught to consider the oratory of set -persons on set occasions as a matter of business or of pastime. They -listen to it, make their remarks upon it, vote, perhaps, that it shall -be printed, and go home, without having been so much moved as by a dozen -casual remarks, overheard upon the road.</p> - -<p>All this would be of little importance, if these orations consisted of -narrative,—or of any mere matter of fact. The grievance lies in the -prostitution of moral sentiment, the clap-trap of praise and pathos, -which is thus criminally adventured. This is one great evil. Another, as -great, both to orators and listeners, is the mis-estimate of the people. -No insolence and meanness can surpass those of the man of sense and -taste who talks beneath himself to the people, because he thinks it -suits them. No good parent ventures to do so to his youngest child; and -a candidate for office who will do it,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> shows himself ignorant of that -which it is most important he should know,—what fidelity of deference -every man owes to every other man. Is such a one aware that he is -perpetually saying in his heart, "God! I thank thee that I am not as -other men are?"</p> - -<p>The other festival, to which I have alluded, was the celebration of -Forefathers' Day;—of the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. I -trust that this anniversary will be hailed with honour, as long as -Massachusetts overlooks the sea. A more remarkable, a nobler enterprise, -was never kept in remembrance by a grateful posterity, than the -emigration of the Pilgrim Fathers; and their posterity are, at least, so -far worthy of them as that they all, down to the young children, seem to -have a clear understanding of the nature of the act, and the character -of the men. I never beheld the popular character in a more cheering -light than on this occasion; and, if I happened to be acquainted with a -misanthrope, I would send him to Plymouth, to keep Forefathers' Day. -Every fact that I review, every line that I write, brings back -delightful feelings towards some of the affectionate and hospitable -friends through whose kindness I saw and learned whatever I learned of -their country; but to none am I more thankful than to those who took me -to Plymouth, and those who welcomed me there. It was an occasion when -none could be on any other terms than pure brotherhood with all the -rest. It was the great birth-day of the New England people; and none -could fail to wish the people joy.</p> - -<p>My party and I reached Plymouth from Hingham the day before the -celebration. As we drew near the coast, I anxiously watched the -character of the scenery, trying to view it with the eyes of the first -emigrants. It must have struck a chill to their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> hearts;—so bare, so -barren, so wintry. The firs grew more and more stunted, as we approached -the sea; till, as one of my companions observed, they were ashamed to -show themselves any smaller, and so turned into sand. Mrs. Hemans calls -it, in her fine lyric, a rock-bound coast; naturally enough, as she was -told that the pilgrims set their feet on a rock, on landing; but that -rock was the only one. The coast is low and sandy. The aspect of the bay -was, this day, most dreary. We had travelled through snow, all the way -behind; snowy fields, with here and there a solitary crow stalking in -the midst; and now, there was nothing but ice before us. Dirty, grey -ice, some sheeted, some thrown up by the action of the sea into heaps, -was all that was to be seen, instead of the blue and glittering sea. A -friend assured me, however, that all would be bright and cheering the -next morning; informing me, with a smile, that in the belief of the -country people, it never did rain or snow, and never would rain or snow, -on Forefathers' Day. This is actually a superstition firmly held in the -neighbourhood. This friend pointed out to me, in the course of the -afternoon, how the green grass was appearing through the snow on Burial -Hill, on whose slope the descending sun, warm for December, was shining. -We mounted Burial Hill; and when I trod the turf, after some weeks' -walking over crisp snow, I began to feel that I might grow superstitious -too, if I lived at Plymouth.</p> - -<p>Upwards of half the pilgrim company died the first winter. Fifty-one -dropped in succession; and the graves of most of them are on this hill. -Burial Hill was probably chosen to be a <i>memento mori</i> to the pious -pilgrims; its elevation, bristling with grave-stones, being conspicuous -from every part of the town. But, lest it should exhibit their tale of -disaster to their foes, the Indians, the colonists<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> sowed the place of -their dead with corn; making it, for honest purposes, a whited -sepulchre. From this eminence, we saw the island in the harbour where -the fathers landed for service on the first Sunday after their arrival; -also, the hill on which stood a wigwam, from whence issued an Indian to -hold the first parley. A brook flowed between the two hills, on which -stood the Indian and the chief of the intruders. Governor Winslow -descended to the brook; bridged it with stepping-stones, in sight of the -Indian; laid down his arms, and advanced. The meeting was friendly; but -there was so little feeling of security, for long after, that when half -the colonists had perished, the rest were paraded round and round a hut -on Burial Hill, to conceal the smallness of their numbers from the -vigilant Indians.</p> - -<p>We went to the Registry Office, and saw the earliest records of the -colony,—as far back as 1623,—in the handwriting of the fathers. Among -them is a record of the lots of land appointed to those who came over in -the Mayflower. (Little did the builders of that ship dream how they were -working for immortality!) Sometimes a cow is appointed, with a lot, to -six families. Sometimes a black goat. The red cow is ordained to be kept -for the poor, to calve.</p> - -<p>The rock on which the pilgrims first landed, has been split, and the top -part, in order to its preservation, removed within an iron railing, in -front of Pilgrim Hall. The memorable date of the landing, 1620, is -painted upon it; and the names of the fathers, in cast-iron, are -inserted into the railing which surrounds the rock.</p> - -<p>Within the Hall, a plain, spacious building, erected within ten years, -to serve as the scene of the festivities of Forefathers' Day, and also -as a Museum of Pilgrim curiosities, is a picture, by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> Sargent, of the -Landing of the Pilgrims. Samosat, the Indian chief, is advancing, with -English words of greeting,—"Welcome, Englishmen!" Elder Brewster, and -the other fathers, with their apprehensive wives and wondering children, -form an excellent group; and the Mayflower is seen moored in the -distance. The greatest defect in the picture is the introduction of the -blasted tree, which needlessly adds to the desolation of the scene, and -gives a false idea, as far as it goes. I could not have anticipated the -interest which these memorials would inspire. I felt as if in a dream, -the whole time that I was wandering about with the rejoicing people, -among the traces of the heroic men and women who came over into the -perilous wilderness, in search of freedom of worship.</p> - -<p>Forefathers' Day rose bright and mild. I looked out towards the harbour. -Every flake of ice was gone, and the deep blue sea rippled and sparkled -in the sun. The superstition was fated to endure another year, at least. -All Plymouth was in a joyous bustle, with lines of carriages, and groups -of walkers. After breakfast, we proceeded to the church, to await the -orator of the day. We were detained on the steps for a few minutes, till -the doors should be opened; and I was glad of it, for the sun was warm, -and the <i>coup d'œil</i> was charming. There was one long descent from -the church down to the glittering sea; and on the slope were troops of -gay ladies, and lines of children; with here and there a company of -little boys, playing soldiers to the music of the band, which came -faintly from afar. Of real soldiers, I saw two during the day. There -might be more; but none were needed. The strangest association of all -was of a Pilgrim Ode sung to the tune of "God save the King!" an air -which I should have supposed no more likely to be chosen for such an -occasion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> than as an epilogue to the Declaration of Independence. It did -very well, however. It set us all singing so as to drown the harmony of -the violins and horns which acted as instigation.</p> - -<p>The oration was by an ex-senator of the United States. It consisted -wholly of an elaboration of the transcendent virtues of the people of -New England. His manner was more quiet than that of any other orator I -heard; and I really believe that there was less of art than of weakness -and bad taste in his choice of his mode of address. Nothing could be -imagined worse,—more discordant with the fitting temper of the -occasion,—more dangerous to the ignorant, if such there were,—more -disgusting to the wise, (as I know, on the testimony of such,)—more -unworthy of one to whom the ear of the people was open. He told his -hearers of the superiority of their physical, intellectual, and moral -constitution to that of their brethren of the middle and southern -States, to that of Europeans, and all other dwellers in the earth; a -superiority which forbade their being ever understood and appreciated by -any but themselves. He spoke especially of the intensity of the New -England character, as being a hidden mystery from all but natives. He -contrasted the worst circumstances of European society, (now in course -of correction,) with the best of New England arrangements, and drew the -obvious inferences. He excused the bigotry of the Pilgrim Fathers, their -cruel persecution of the Quakers, and other such deeds, on the ground -that they had come over to have the colony to themselves, and did not -want interlopers. He extenuated the recent mobbing practices in New -England, on the ground of their rarity and small consequences, and -declared it impossible that the sons of the pilgrims should trust to -violence for the maintenance of opinion. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> last sentiment, the only -sound one that I perceived in the oration, was loudly cheered. The whole -of the rest, I rejoice to say, fell dead.</p> - -<p>The orator was unworthy of his hearers. He had been a senator of the -United States, and had, I was told, discharged his duty there; but he -was little fit for public life, if he did not know that it is treason to -republicanism to give out lower morals in public than are held in -private; to smile or sigh over the vanity of the people by the fireside, -and pamper it from the rostrum; to use the power of oratory to injure -the people, instead of to save. In this case, the exaggeration was so -excessive as to be, I trust, harmless. No man of common sense could be -made to believe that any community of mortal men has ever been what the -orator described the inhabitants of New England to have attained. I was -deeply touched by the first remark I heard upon this oration. A lady, -who had been prevented from attending, asked me, on my return, home, how -I liked the address. Before I could open my lips to reply, her daughter -spoke. "I am heart-sick of this boasting. When I think of our -forefathers, I want to cry, 'God be merciful to us sinners!'" If the -oration awakened in others, as I believe it did, by force of contrast, -feelings as healthful, as faithful to the occasion as this, it was not -lost, and our pity must rest upon the orator.</p> - -<p>I am aware,—I had but too much occasion to observe,—how this practice -of flattering the people from the rostrum is accounted for, and, as a -matter of fact, smiled at by citizens of the United States. I know that -it is considered as a mode, inseparable from the philosophy of politics -there. I dissent from this view altogether. I see that the remedy lies, -not wholly where remedies for the oppression of severe natural laws -lie,—in a new combination of outward circumstances,—but in the -individual<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> human will. The people may have honest orators if they -choose to demand to hear the truth. The people will gladly hear the -truth, if the appointed orator will lay aside selfish fears and desires, -and use his high privilege of speaking from the bottom of his soul. If, -in simplicity, he delivers to the people his true and best self, he is -certain to gain the convictions of many, and the sympathies of all; and -his soul will be clear of the guilt of deepening the pit under the feet -of the people, while trying to persuade them that they are treading on -firm ground. What is to be said of guides who dig pitfalls?</p> - -<p>The day closed delightfully. Almost everybody went to pay respect to an -aged lady, then eighty-eight, a regular descendant of one of the -pilgrims. She was confined to the sofa, but retained much beauty, and -abundant cheerfulness. She was delighted to receive us, and to -sympathise in those pleasures of the day which she could not share. I -had the honour of sitting in the chair which her ancestor brought over -from England, and of feeling the staple by which it was fastened in the -Mayflower.</p> - -<p>The dinner being over, the gentlemen returned to their several abodes, -to escort the ladies to the ball in Pilgrim Hall. I went, with a party -of seven others, in a stage coach; every carriage, native and exotic, -being in requisition to fill the ball-room, from which no one was -excluded. It was the only in-door festival, except the President's -levee, where I witnessed an absolutely general admission; and its aspect -and conduct were, in the highest degree, creditable to the intelligence -and manners of the community. There were families from the islands in -the bay, and other country residences, whence the inhabitants seldom -emerge, except for this festival. The dress of some of the young ladies -was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>peculiar, and their glee was very visible; but I saw absolutely no -vulgarity. There was much beauty, and much elegance among the young -ladies, and the manners of their parents were unexceptionable. There was -evidence in the dancing, of the "intensity" of which we had heard so -much in the morning. The lads and lasses looked as if they meant never -to tire; but this enjoyment of the exercise pleased me much more than -the affectation of dancing, which is now fashionable in the large -cities. I never expect to see a more joyous and unexceptionable piece of -festivity than the Pilgrim ball of 1835.</p> - -<p>The next day, the harbour was all frozen over; and the memory of the -blue, rippling sea of Plymouth, is therefore, with me, sacred to -Forefathers' Day.</p> - -<p>I was frequently reminded by friends of what is undoubtedly very true, -the great perils of office in the United States, as an excuse for the -want of honesty in officials. It is perfectly true that it is ruin to a -professional man without fortune, to enter public life for a time, and -then be driven back into private life. I knew a senator of the United -States who had served for nearly his twice six years, and who then had -to begin life again, as regarded his profession. I knew a representative -of the United States, a wealthy man, with a large family, who is -doubting still, as he has been for a few years past, whether he shall -give up commerce or public life, or go on trying to hold them both. He -is rich enough to devote himself to public life; but at the very next -election after he has relinquished his commercial affairs, he may be -thrown out of politics. I see what temptations arise in such cases, to -strain a few points, in order to remain in the public eye; and I am -willing to allow for the strength of the temptation.</p> - -<p>But the part for honest men to take is to expose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> the peril, to the end -that the majority may find a remedy; and not to sanction it by yielding -to it. Let the attention of the people be drawn towards the salaries of -office, that they may discover whether they are too low; which is best, -that adventurers of bad character should now and then get into office, -because they have not reputation enough to obtain a living by other -means, or that honest and intelligent men should be kept out, because -the prizes of office are engrossed by more highly educated men; and -whether the rewards of office are kept low by the democratic party, for -the sake of putting in what their opponents call 'adventurers,' or by -the aristocratic, with the hope of offices being engrossed by the men of -private fortune. Let the true state of the case, according to each -official's view of it, be presented to the people, rather than any -countenance be given to the present dreadful practice of wheedling and -flattery; and the perils of office will be, by some means, lessened.</p> - -<p>The popular scandal against the people of the United States, that they -boast intolerably of their national institutions and character, appears -to me untrue: but I see how it has arisen. Foreigners, especially the -English, are partly to blame for this. They enter the United States with -an idea that a republic is a vulgar thing: and some take no pains to -conceal their thought. To an American, nothing is more venerable than a -republic. The native and the stranger set out on a misunderstanding. The -English attacks, the American defends, and, perhaps, boasts. But the -vain-glorious flattery of their public orators is the more abundant -source of this reproach; and it rests with the people to redeem -themselves from it. For my own part, I remember no single instance of -patriotic boasting, from man, woman, or child, except from the rostrum; -but from thence there was poured enough<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> to spoil the auditory for life, -if they had been simple enough to believe what they were told. But they -were not.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION II.</span><br /><span class="smaller">NEWSPAPERS.</span></h3> - -<p>Side by side with the sinners of the rostrum, stand the sinners of the -newspaper press. The case is clear, and needs little remark or -illustration. The profligacy of newspapers, wherever they exist, is a -universal complaint; and, of all newspaper pressed I never heard any one -deny that the American is the worst. Of course, this depravity being so -general throughout the country, it must be occasioned by some -overpowering force of circumstances. The causes are various; and it is a -testimony to the strength and purity of the democratic sentiment in the -country, that the republic has not been overthrown by its newspapers.</p> - -<p>While the population is so scattered as it now is, throughout the -greater part of the Union, nothing is easier than to make the people -know only one side of a question; few things are easier than to keep -from them altogether the knowledge of any particular affair; and, worse -than all, on them may easily be practised the discovery that lies may -work their intended effect, before the truth can overtake them.</p> - -<p>It is hard to tell which is worst; the wide diffusion of things that are -not true, or the suppression of things that are true. It is no secret -that some able personage at Washington writes letters on the politics -and politicians of the general <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>government, and sends them to the -remotest corners of the Union, to appear in their newspapers; after -which, they are collected in the administration newspaper at Washington, -as testimonies of public opinion in the respective districts where they -appear. It is no secret that the newspapers of the south keep out of -their columns all information which might enlighten their readers, near -and afar, as to the real state of society at home. I can testify to the -<i>remarkable events</i> which occur in the southern States, unnoticed by any -press, and transpiring only through accident. Two men were burned alive, -without trial, by the gentlemen of Mobile, just before my arrival there; -and no newspaper even alluded to the circumstance, till, many months -after, a brief and obscure paragraph, in a northern journal, treated it -as a matter of hearsay.</p> - -<p>It is no secret that the systematic abuse with which the newspapers of -one side assail every candidate coming forward on the other, is the -cause of many honourable men, who have a regard to their reputation, -being deterred from entering public life; and of the people being thus -deprived of some better servants than any they have. Though a faithful -public servant should be able to endure all the consequences of faithful -service, yet there are many cases where men, undecided as to their -choice of public and private life, are fixed in favour of the latter by -this one circumstance. It is the one obstacle too much. A public man in -New England gave me the history of an editor of a newspaper, who began -his professional course by making an avowed distinction between telling -lies in conversation and in a newspaper, where every body looks for -them. Of course, he has sunk deeper and deeper in falsehood; but -retribution has not yet overtaken him. My informant told me, that this -editor has made some thousands of dollars<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> by his abuse of one man; and -jocosely proposed, that persons who are systematically railed at by any -newspaper, should lay claim to a proportion of the profits arising out -of the use of their names and characters.</p> - -<p>The worst of it is, that the few exceptions to this depravity,—the few -newspapers conducted by men of truth and superior intelligence, are not -yet encouraged in proportion to their merits. It is easy to see how a -youth, going into the wilds, to set up a newspaper for the neighbouring -villages, should meet with support, however vicious or crude his -production maybe; but it is discouraging to perceive how little -preference is given, in the Atlantic cities, to the best journals over -the worst. Still, there is a preference; and it appears to be on the -increase; and that increase, again, is in proportion to the intrepidity -of the paper in discussing affairs as they arise.</p> - -<p>There will be no great improvement in the literary character of the -American newspapers till the literature of the country has improved. -Their moral character depends upon the moral taste of the people. This -looks like a very severe censure. If it be so, the same censure applies -elsewhere, and English morals must be held accountable for the slanders -and captiousness displayed in the leading articles of British journals, -and for the disgustingly jocose tone of their police reports, where -crimes are treated as entertainments, and misery as a jest. Whatever may -be the exterior causes of the Americans having been hitherto ill-served -in their newspapers, it is now certain that there are none which may not -be overpowered by a sound moral taste. In their country, the demand lies -with the many. Whenever the many demand truth and justice in their -journals, and reject falsehood and calumny, they will be served -according to their desire.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p><p>This desire is beginning to awaken. Some months before I left the -United States, a man of colour was burned alive, without trial, at St. -Louis, in Missouri; a large assemblage of the "respectable" inhabitants -of the city being present. No one supposed that anybody out of the State -of Missouri was any further implicated with this deed, than as men have -an interest in every outrage done to man. The interest which residents -in other States had in this deed, was like that which an Englishman has -in a man being racked in the Spanish Inquisition; or a Frenchman, in a -Turk being bastinadoed at Constantinople. He is not answerable for it, -or implicated in it, as a fellow-citizen; and he speaks his humane -reprobation as a fellow-man. Certain American citizens, out of Missouri, -contrived, however, to implicate themselves in the responsibility for -this awful outrage, which, one would have thought, any man would have -been thankful to avoid. The majority of newspaper editors made -themselves parties to the act, by refusing, from fear, to reprobate it. -The state of the case was this, as described to me by some inhabitants -of St. Louis. The gentlemen of the press in that city dared not -reprobate the outrage, for fear of the consequences from the murderers. -They merely announced the deed, as a thing to be regretted, and -recommended that the veil of oblivion should be drawn over the affair. -Their hope was widely different from their recommendation. They hoped -that the newspapers throughout the Union would raise such a chorus of -execration as would annihilate the power of the executioners. But the -newspapers of the Union were afraid to comment upon the affair, because -they saw that the St. Louis editors were afraid. The really respectable -inhabitants of that disgraced city were thrown almost into despair by -this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>dastardly silence, and believed all security of life and property -in their State to be at an end. A few journals were honest enough to -thunder the truth in the ears of the people; and the people awoke to -perceive how their editors had involved themselves in this crime, by a -virtual acquiescence,—like the unfaithful mastiff, if such a creature -there be, which slinks away from its master's door, to allow a passage -to a menacing thief. The influence of the will of the awakening people -is already seen in the improved vigour in the tone of the newspapers -against outrage. On occasion of the more recent riots at Cincinnati, the -editorial silence has been broken by many voices.</p> - -<p>There is a spirited newspaper at Louisville which has done its duty -well, on occasions when it required some courage to do it; informing the -Cincinnati people of the meanness of their conduct in repressing the -expression of opinion, lest it should injure the commerce between Ohio -and Kentucky; and also, justifying Judge Shaw of Massachusetts, against -the outcries of the South, for a judgment he lately gave in favour of -the release of a slave, voluntarily carried into a free State. Two New -York papers, the New York American and the Evening Post, have gained -themselves honour by intrepidity of the same kind, and by the -comparative moderation and friendliness of their spirit. I hope that -there may be many more, and that their number may be perpetually on the -increase.</p> - -<p>The very best newspaper that I saw in the United States was a single -number of the Cleveland Whig, which I picked up at an hotel in the -interior of Ohio. I had seen spirited extracts from it in various -newspapers. The whole of this particular number was valuable for the -excellence of its spirit, and for its good sense. It had very important, -and some very painful subject matter,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>—instances of overbearing the -law,—to treat of. It was so done as nearly to beguile me, hungry -traveller as I was, of my dinner, and of all thought of my journey.</p> - -<p>One other remarkable paper lies before me: remarkable for its professing -to be conducted on principles of exact justice, and for its accordance -with its principles to a degree which has hardly been dreamed of in a -publication of its kind. There is something heroic in the enterprise, -which inspires a strong hope of its success. If the ability be but -sufficient to sustain it,—of which there seems no reason to -doubt,—there can be no question of its acceptableness. The just and -gentle construction of human actions, and the cheerful and trustful mood -in surveying natural events, are more congenial with the general mind, -than captiousness and distrust towards men, and despondency under the -government of God. Such men as the editor of the Boston Reformer are -sure to command the sympathies of men, however they may appear to run -counter to the supposed tastes of newspaper readers. The following -notice to correspondents is a novelty in its place,—more striking than -any announcements in the news columns.</p> - -<p>"To correspondents.—Our paper is no vehicle of vulgar abuse, or -spiteful attacks on persons or institutions. Our design is to avoid -everything which appeals to or pleases any bad propensity in our nature. -Doubtless there are a thousand petty annoyances somewhat grievous to be -borne; but we cannot go about to redress them. The best way is to -forgive and forget them. We cannot waste our strength on little matters. -We know no way to do good to man, to make society really better, but to -suppress our anger, keep our temper, show an elevated mind and a good -heart. We must look for the good, not for the bad in men,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> and always -put the best construction we can on all their doings."—<i>Boston -Reformer.</i></p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION III.</span><br /><span class="smaller">APATHY IN CITIZENSHIP.</span></h3> - -<p>In England the idea of an American citizen is of one who is always -talking politics, canvassing, bustling about to make proselytes abroad, -buried in newspapers at home, and hurrying to vote on election days.</p> - -<p>There is another side to the object. A learned professor of a western -college told me abundance of English news, but declared himself ignorant -of everything that had passed in the home portion of the political -world. He never took any interest in politics. What would be the use of -his disturbing himself? How far does one man's vote go? He does more -good by showing himself above such affairs.</p> - -<p>It was communicated to me that there are more modes of political action -than one: and that, though this professor does not vote, he uses his -utmost influence with the students of his college, in favour of his own -political opinions; and with entire success. If this be true, the -gentleman falls short of his duty in one respect, and exceeds it in -another.</p> - -<p>A clergyman in the north was anxious to assure me that elections are -merely personal matters, and do not affect the happiness of the people. -It matters not to him, for instance, who is in office, and what party in -politics is uppermost: life goes on the same to him. This gentleman had -probably never heard of the old lady who said that she did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> not care -what revolutions happened, as long as she had her roast chicken, and her -little game at cards. But that old lady did not live in a republic, or -perhaps even she might have perceived that there would have been no -security for roast chickens and cards, if all were to neglect political -action but those who want political power and profit. In a democracy, -every man is supposed to be his own security for life and property: and, -if a man devolves his political charge upon others, he must lay his -accounts for not being so well taken care of as he might be. So much for -the selfish aspect of the case;—the view which might have been -presented, with illustrations, to the old lady, if she had happened to -live in a republic.</p> - -<p>The clergyman ought to see further. He ought to see, in virtue of his -office, how public morals must suffer under the neglect of public duty -by respectable men. If such men were to perform the duties of citizens -as conscientiously as they do those of husbands, fathers, and pastors, -and leave it to the knaves to neglect the duties of citizenship, the -republic might go on as well as a republic with knaves in it can go on. -But if the case is reversed,—if the knaves are eager to use their -political rights for selfish purposes, and the conscientious in other -respects are remiss in the duties of citizenship, the pastors may almost -as well leave off preaching. All good pastoral influence will be borne -down by the spread of corruption. The clergy may preach themselves -hoarse to little purpose, if they live, and encourage others to live, in -the avowed neglect of the first duty of any one relation; and the -exercise of the suffrage is the first duty of republican citizenship.</p> - -<p>A naval officer, a man of an otherwise sound head and heart, told me, -very coolly, that he had never voted more than twice in his life. His -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>defence, in answer to my remonstrance, was, that he had served his -country in other ways. In as far as this might be meant to convey that -he could not vote at New York when in India, the excuse must be admitted -as valid: but, if it was meant to apply to elections going on before his -eyes, it was much the same as if he had said, "there is no occasion for -me to be a good father, because I have been a good son."</p> - -<p>A member of Congress gave me instances of what would have been the -modifications of certain public affairs, but for the apathy of the -minority about the use of their suffrage. If citizens regulate their -exertions by the probabilities of immediate success, instead of by their -faith in their own convictions, it is indeed no wonder if the minority -leave everything to their adversaries; but this is not the way for men -to show themselves worthy of the possession of political rights. This is -not the way that society has advanced. This is not the way that security -for life and property has been obtained for those idle citizens who are -now leaving that security to the mercy of those whom they believe to be -the enemies of society.</p> - -<p>A public man told me that it would be a great point gained, if every -citizen could be induced to vote, at least once a year. So far is it -from being true that all Americans are the bustling politicians the -English have been apt to suppose. If such political bustle should be -absurd, the actual apathy is something worse. If it were only borne in -mind that rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the -governed, surely all conscientious men would see the guilt of any man -acquiescing in the rule of governors whom he disapproves, by not having -recorded his dissent. Or, if he should be in the majority, the case is -no better. He has omitted to bear his testimony to what he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>esteems the -true principles of government. He has not appointed his rulers; and, in -as far as he accepts their protection, he takes without having given, he -reaps without having sown; he deprives his just rulers of a portion of -the authority which is their due—of a portion of the consent of the -governed.</p> - -<p>There is another cause for the reluctance to vote which is complained of -by the best friends of the people; but it is almost too humbling and -painful to be discussed. Some are afraid to vote!</p> - -<p>This happens not in the country, nor among the strength of the -population in the towns: but among the feeble aristocracy. There is not, -in the United States, as with us, a system of intimidation exercised by -the rich over the poor. In the country, there are no landlords and -tenants at will. In the towns, the tradesmen do not stand in need of the -patronage of the rich. Though they vote by ballot, and any man who -chooses it may vote secretly, (and many do upon occasion,) there is -rarely any need of such protection. But there is no reason why the -gentry, who may be afraid of hurting one another's feelings, should not -use their power of secret voting, rather than neglect the duty of giving -their suffrage. If the educated and principled men of the community, as -they are esteemed, fall back into idleness and silence, when the time -comes for a struggle for principles, and there is a danger of -disappointing expectations, and hurting feelings, their country has -little to thank them for. They are the men from whom the open discharge -of duty is looked for; they are the men who should show that political -obligation is above private regards. If they have not the virtue to do -this, and take the consequences, let them avail themselves of the -secrecy of the ballot-box, which in England is desired for the -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>protection of those whom bad arrangements have made dependent for bread -on the rich and powerful. At all events, let them vote, or be ashamed to -accept the privileges of citizenship without having discharged the -duties.</p> - -<p>The fear of opinion sometimes takes the form of an almost insane dread -of responsibility. There are occasions when public men, unable to judge -for themselves of particular classes of circumstances, are obliged to -ask advice of their friends and supporters. Happy he who obtains a full -and true answer from any one! The chances against this are in proportion -to the importance of the case. I knew of one such instance, the result -of which more than one is, I trust, now grieving over in his inmost -heart. An eminent statesman was hesitating whether to offer himself as a -candidate for a very high office. He requested the opinion and advice of -a number of gentlemen in public life, his supporters. All were of the -same opinion; that he should not stand. No one of them chose to take the -responsibility of telling him so. Some of them wrote ambiguous answers, -hoping that he would infer that they thought ill of his chance. Others -rather encouraged the enterprise. The illustrative details which might -be given,—showing the general uniformity, with particular diversity, of -the conduct of the advisers,—would be amusing if they were not too sad. -Suffice it that no one, as far as I could learn, could get over his fear -of responsibility so as to be faithful. They allowed their idol to make -a fool of himself. If he should henceforth be sunk in political -scepticism, perhaps these gentlemen may find that in shunning one kind -of responsibility, they have incurred another, far heavier.</p> - -<p>It is felt, and understood, in the United States, that their near future -in politics is indiscernible.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> Odd, unexpected circumstances, -determining the present, are perpetually turning up. Almost every man -has his convictions as to what the state of affairs will be, in the -gross, a century hence. Scarcely any man will venture a conjecture as to -what will have happened next spring. This is the very condition, if the -people could but see it, for the exercise of faith in principles. With a -dark and shifting near future, and a bright and fixed ultimate destiny, -what is the true, the only wisdom? Not to pry into the fogs and thickets -round about, or to stand still for fear of what may next occur in the -path; but to look from Eden gate behind to heaven gate before, and press -on to the certain future. In his political as in his moral life, man -should, in the depth of his ignorance and the fallibility of his -judgment, throw himself, in a full sense of security, upon principles; -and then he is safe from being depressed by opposition, or scared by -uncertainty, or depraved by responsibility.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION IV.</span><br /><span class="smaller">ALLEGIANCE TO LAW.</span></h3> - -<p>It is notorious that there is a remarkable failure in this department of -political morals among certain parties in the United States. The mobbing -events of the last few years are celebrated; the abolition riots in New -York and Boston; the burning of the Charleston Convent; the bank riots -at Baltimore; the burning of the mails at Charleston; the hangings by -Lynch-law at Vickesburgh; the burning alive of a man of colour at St. -Louis; the subsequent proceedings there towards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> the students of Marion -College; and the abolition riots at Cincinnati. Here is a fearful list!</p> - -<p>The first question that arises is, who has done these things? Whose -hands have lighted green fagots round a living man? and strung up a -dozen or twenty citizens on the same gallows? and fired and razed -houses; and sent a company of trembling nuns flying for their lives at -midnight? Here is evidence enough of ignorance,—of desperate, brutal -ignorance. Whose ignorance?</p> - -<p>In Europe, the instantaneous and natural persuasion of men who hear the -tidings is, that the lowest classes in America have risen against the -higher. In Europe, desperate, brutal ignorance is the deepest curse in -the cursed life of the pauper and the serf. In Europe, mobbing is -usually the outbreak of exasperated misery against laws which oppress, -and an aristocracy which insults humanity. Europeans, therefore, -naturally assume that the gentry of the United States are the sinned -against, and the poor the sinners, in their social disturbances. They -draw conclusions against popular government, and suppose it proved that -universal suffrage dissolves society into chaos. They picture to -themselves a rabble of ragged, desperate workmen, with torches in their -hands; while the gentry look on in dismay, or tremble within their -houses.</p> - -<p>It is not so. I was informed, twenty times over, by gentlemen, that the -Boston mob of last year was wholly composed of gentlemen. The only -working man in it was the truck-man who saved the victim. They were the -gentlemen of St. Louis who burned the black man, and banished the -students of Marion College. They were the gentlemen of Cincinnati who -denounced the abolitionists, and raised the persecution against them. -They were the magistrates and gentry of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>Vickesburgh who hanged -way-farers, gamblers, and slaves in a long row. They were the gentlemen -of Charleston who broke open the Post Office, and violated its sacred -function, to the insult and injury of the whole country.</p> - -<p>The case is plain. There are no paupers to rise against oppressive laws -in a country, where the laws are made by all, and where pauperism is -thereby excluded. There is no degraded class, subject to insults from -the highest, which can be resented only by outrage. The assumption is a -false one, that ignorance and poverty, knowledge and wealth, go -together. Mobbing for European causes, and in European modes, is -absolutely precluded where political rights are universal, and political -power equally diffused through all classes.</p> - -<p>The very few European causes which are in analogy with United States -mobbing, are those riots for opinion, which bear only a subordinate -relation to politics; such as the Birmingham riots, and the attempt of -the Liverpool merchants to push Clarkson into the dock. The cases are -very similar. The mobs of America are composed of high churchmen, (of -whatever denomination,) merchants and planters, and lawyers.</p> - -<p>One complete narrative of a riot, for the fidelity of which I can vouch, -will expose the truth of the case better than a list of deeds of horror -which happened beyond my sight. It is least revolting, too, to treat of -a case whose terror lies in its existence, more than in its -consequences. The actors in the riot, which it was my fortune to -understand, were scarcely less guilty than if they had bathed their -hands in blood; but it is easier to examine, undisturbed by passion, the -case of those whose hands are, to the outward eye, clean.</p> - -<p>A very few years ago, certain citizens in New England began to discover -that the planters of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> south were making white slaves in the north, -nearly as successfully as they were propagating black slavery in the -territories of the south and west. Charleston and Boston were -affectionate friends in old times, and are so still, notwithstanding the -hard words that passed between them in nullification days: that is, the -merchants and professional men of Boston are fond of Charleston, on -account of their commercial relations. This attachment has been carried -to such an extreme as to be almost fatal to the liberties of some of the -best citizens of the northern city. They found their brothers dismissed -from their pastoral charges, their sons expelled from colleges, their -friends excluded from professorships, and themselves debarred from -literary and social privileges, if they happened to entertain and -express opinions unfavourable to the peculiar domestic institution by -which Charleston declares it to be her intention to abide. Such is the -plea of those citizens of Boston who have formed associations for the -purpose of opposing, by moral influence, an institution which they feel -to be inconsistent with the first principles of morals and politics. For -a considerable time before my visit to that part of the country, they -had encountered petty persecutions of almost every conceivable kind. -There is no law in Massachusetts by which the free expression of opinion -on moral subjects is punishable. I heard many regret the absence of such -law. Everything was done that could be done to make up for its absence. -Books on any subject, written by persons who avow by association their -bad opinion of slavery, are not purchased: clergymen are no longer -invited to preach: the proprietors of public rooms will not let them to -members of such associations; and the churches are shut against them. -Their notices of public meetings are torn in the pulpits, while all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> -notices of other public meetings are read. The newspapers pour contempt -and wrath upon them in one continued stream. Bad practices are imputed -to them, and their denial is drowned in clamour. As a single instance of -this last; I was told so universally in the south and west that the -abolitionists of Boston and New York were in the habit of sending -incendiary tracts among the slaves, that it never occurred to me to -doubt the fact; though I was struck with surprise at never being able to -find any one who had seen any one who had actually seen one of these -tracts. Nor did it occur to me that as slaves cannot read, verbal -messages would be more to the purpose of all parties, as being more -effectual and more prudent. Mr. Madison made the charge, so did Mr. -Clay, so did Mr. Calhoun, so did every slave-holder and merchant with -whom I conversed. I chose afterwards to hear the other side of the whole -question; and I found, to my amazement, that this charge was wholly -groundless. No Abolition Society of New York or Massachusetts has ever -sent any anti-slavery paper south of Washington, except the circulars, -addressed to public officers in the States, which were burnt at -Charleston. The abolitionists of Boston have been denying this charge -ever since it was first made, and offering evidence of its -groundlessness; yet the calumny is persisted in, and, no doubt, honestly -believed, to this hour, throughout the south, whither the voice of the -condemned, stifled by their fellow-citizens, cannot reach.</p> - -<p>Only mortal things, however, can be really suffocated; and there has -never yet been an instance of a murder of opinion. There seemed, in -1835, so much danger of the abolitionists making themselves heard, that -an emphatic contradiction was got up, it was hoped in good time.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p><p>The abolitionists had been, they believe illegally, denied by the city -authority the use of Faneuil Hall; (called, in memory of revolutionary -days, the "Cradle of Liberty.") Certain merchants and lawyers of Boston -held a meeting there, in August, 1835, for the purpose of reprobating -the meetings of the abolitionists, and denouncing their measures, while -approving of their principles. The less that is said of this -meeting,—the deepest of all the disgraces of Boston,—the better. It -bears its character in its face. Its avowed object was to put down the -expression of opinion by opprobrium, in the absence of gag laws. Of the -fifteen hundred who signed the requisition for this meeting, there are -many, especially among the younger and more thoughtless, who have long -repented of the deed. Some signed in anger; some in fear; many in -mistake; and of each of these there are some, who would fain, if it were -possible, efface their signatures with their blood.</p> - -<p>It is an invariable fact, and recognized as such, that meetings held to -supply the deficiency of gag laws are the prelude to the violence which -supplies the deficiency of executioners under such laws. Every meeting -held to denounce opinion is followed by a mob. This was so well -understood in the present case that the abolitionists were warned that -if they met again publicly, they would be answerable for the disorders -that might ensue. The abolitionists pleaded that this was like making -the rich man answerable for the crime of the thief who robbed him, on -the ground that if the honest man had not been rich, the thief would not -have been tempted to rob him. The abolitionists also perceived how -liberty of opinion and of speech depended on their conduct in this -crisis; and they resolved to yield to no threats of illegal violence; -but to hold their legal meeting, pursuant to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>advertisement, for the -despatch of their usual business. One remarkable feature of the case was -that this heavy responsibility rested upon women. It was a ladies' -meeting that was in question. Upon consultation, the ladies agreed that -they should never have sought the perilous duty of defending liberty of -opinion and speech at the last crisis; but, as such a service seemed -manifestly appointed to them, the women were ready.</p> - -<p>On the 21st of October, they met, pursuant to advertisement, at the -office of their association, No. 46, Washington Street. Twenty-five -reached their room, by going three-quarters of an hour before the -appointed time. Five more made their way up with difficulty through the -crowd. A hundred more were turned back by the mob.</p> - -<p>They knew that a hand-bill had been circulated on the Exchange, and -posted on the City Hall, and throughout the city, the day before, which -declared that Thompson, the abolitionist, was to address them; and -invited the citizens, under promise of pecuniary reward, to "snake -Thompson out, and bring him to the tar-kettle before dark." The ladies -had been warned that they would be killed, "as sure as fate," if they -showed themselves on their own premises that day. They therefore -informed the mayor that they expected to be attacked. The reply of the -city marshal was, "You give us a great deal of trouble."</p> - -<p>The committee-room was surrounded, and gazed into by a howling, -shrieking mob of gentlemen, while the twenty-five ladies sat perfectly -still, awaiting the striking of the clock. When it struck, they opened -their meeting. They were questioned as to whether Thompson was there in -disguise; to which they made no reply.</p> - -<p>They began, as usual, with prayer; the mob shouting "Hurra! here comes -Judge Lynch!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> Before they had done, the partition gave way, and the -gentlemen hurled missiles at the lady who was presiding. The secretary -having risen, and begun to read her report, rendered inaudible by the -uproar, the mayor entered, and insisted upon their going home, to save -their lives. The purpose of their meeting was answered: they had -asserted their principle; and they now passed out, two and two, amidst -the execration of some thousands of gentlemen;—persons who had silver -shrines to protect. The ladies, to the number of fifty, walked to the -house of one of their members, and were presently struck to the heart by -the news that Garrison was in the hands of the mob. Garrison is the -chief apostle of abolition in the United States. He had escorted his -wife to the meeting; and, after offering to address the ladies, and -being refused, out of regard to his safety, had left the room, and, as -they supposed, the premises. He was, however, in the house when the -ladies left it. He was hunted for by the mob; dragged from behind some -planks where he had taken refuge, and conveyed into the street. Here his -hat was trampled under-foot, and brick-bats were aimed at his bare head; -a rope was tied round him, and thus he was dragged through the streets. -His young wife saw all this. Her exclamation was, "I think my husband -will be true to his principles. I am sure my husband will not deny his -principles." Her confidence was just. Garrison never denies his -principles.</p> - -<p>He was saved by a stout truckman, who, with his bludgeon, made his way -into the crowd, as if to attack the victim. He protected the bare head, -and pushed on towards a station house, whence the mayor's officers -issued, and pulled in Garrison, who was afterwards put into a coach. The -mob tried to upset the coach, and throw down the horses; but the driver -laid about him with his whip, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> the constables with their staves, and -Garrison was safely lodged in jail: for protection; for he had committed -no offence.</p> - -<p>Before the mayor ascended the stairs to dismiss the ladies, he had done -a very remarkable deed;—he had given permission to two gentlemen to -pull down and destroy the anti-slavery sign, bearing the inscription, -"Anti-Slavery Office,"—which had hung for two years, as signs do hang -before public offices in Boston. The plea of the mayor is, that he hoped -the rage of the mob would thus be appeased: that is, he gave them leave -to break the laws in one way, lest they should in another. The citizens -followed up this deed of the mayor with one no less remarkable. They -elected these two rioters members of the State legislature, by a large -majority, within ten days.</p> - -<p>I passed through the mob some time after it had begun to assemble. I -asked my fellow-passengers in the stage what it meant. They supposed it -was a busy foreign-post day, and that this occasioned an assemblage of -gentlemen about the post-office. They pointed out to me that there were -none but gentlemen. We were passing through from Salem, fifteen miles -north of Boston, to Providence, Rhode Island; and were therefore -uninformed of the events and expectations of the day. On the morrow, a -visitor who arrived at Providence from Boston told us the story; and I -had thenceforth an excellent opportunity of hearing all the remarks that -could be made by persons of all ways of thinking and feeling, on this -affair.</p> - -<p>It excited much less attention than it deserved; less than would be -believed possible by those at a distance who think more seriously of -persecution for opinion, and less tenderly of slavery than a great many -of the citizens of Boston. To many in the city of Boston the story I -have told would be news:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> and to yet more in the country, who know that -some trouble was caused by abolition meetings in the city, but who are -not aware that their own will, embodied in the laws, was overborne to -gratify the mercenary interests of a few, and the political fears of a -few more.</p> - -<p>The first person with whom I conversed about this riot was the president -of a university. We were perfectly agreed as to the causes and character -of the outrage. This gentleman went over to Boston for a day or two; and -when he returned, I saw him again. He said he was happy to tell me that -we had been needlessly making ourselves uneasy about the affair: that -there had been no mob, the persons assembled having been all gentlemen.</p> - -<p>An eminent lawyer at Boston was one of the next to speak upon it. "O, -there was no mob," said he. "I was there myself, and saw they were all -gentlemen. They were all in fine broad-cloth."</p> - -<p>"Not the less a mob for that," said I.</p> - -<p>"Why, they protected Garrison. He received no harm. They protected -Garrison."</p> - -<p>"From whom, or what?"</p> - -<p>"O, they would not really hurt him. They only wanted to show that they -would not have such a person live among them."</p> - -<p>"Why should not he live among them? Is he guilty under any law?"</p> - -<p>"He is an insufferable person to them."</p> - -<p>"So may you be to-morrow. If you can catch Garrison breaking the laws, -punish him under the laws. If you cannot, he has as much right to live -where he pleases as you."</p> - -<p>Two law pupils of this gentleman presently entered. One approved of all -that had been done, and praised the spirit of the gentlemen of Boston. I -asked whether they had not broken the law. Yes. I asked him if he knew -what the law was.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> Yes; but it could not be always kept. If a man was -caught in a house setting it on fire, the owner might shoot him; and -Garrison was such an incendiary. I asked him for proof. He had nothing -but hearsay to give. The case, as I told him, came to this. A. says -Garrison is an incendiary. B. says he is not. A. proceeds on his own -opinion to break the law, lest Garrison should do so.</p> - -<p>The other pupil told me of the sorrow of heart with which he saw the -law, the life of the republic, set at naught by those who should best -understand its nature and value. He saw that the time was come for the -true men of the republic to oppose a bold front to the insolence of the -rich and the powerful, who were bearing down the liberties of the people -for a matter of opinion. The young men, he saw, must brace themselves up -against the tyranny of the monied mob, and defend the law; or the -liberties of the country were gone. I afterwards found many such among -the young men of the wealthier classes. If they keep their convictions, -they and their city are safe.</p> - -<p>No prosecutions followed. I asked a lawyer, an abolitionist, why. He -said there would be difficulty in getting a verdict; and, if it was -obtained, the punishment would be merely a fine, which would be paid on -the spot, and the triumph would remain with the aggressors. This seemed -to me no good reason.</p> - -<p>I asked an eminent judge the same question; and whether there was not a -public prosecutor who might prosecute for breach of the peace, if the -abolitionists would not, for the assault on Garrison. He said it might -be done; but he had given his advice against it. Why? The feeling was so -strong against the abolitionists,—the rioters were so respectable in -the city,—it was better to let the whole affair pass over without -notice.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p><p>Of others, some knew nothing of it, because it was about such a low set -of people; some could not take any interest in what they were tired of -hearing about; some had not heard anything of the matter; some thought -the abolitionists were served quite right; some were sure the gentlemen -of Boston would not do anything improper; and some owned that there was -such bad taste and meddlesomeness in the abolitionists, that people of -taste kept out of the way of hearing anything about them.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding all this, the body of the people are sound. Many of the -young lawyers are resolved to keep on the watch, to maintain the rights -of the abolitionists in the legislature, and in the streets of the city. -Many hundreds of the working men agreed to leave their work on the first -rumour of riot, get sworn in as special constables, and keep the peace -against the gentry; acting vigorously against the mob ringleaders, if -such should be the magistrates of Boston themselves. I visited many of -the villages in Massachusetts; and there everything seemed right. The -country people are abolitionists, by nature and education, and they see -the iniquity of mob-law. A sagacious gentleman told me that it did him -good to hear, in New York, of this mob, because it proved the rest of -Massachusetts to be in a sound state. It is always 'Boston <i>versus</i> -Massachusetts;' and when the city, or the aristocracy there, who think -themselves the city, are very vehemently wrong, it is a plain proof that -the country people are eminently right. This may, for the humour of the -thing, be strongly put; but there is much truth in it.</p> - -<p>The philosophy of the case is very easy to understand; and supremely -important to be understood.</p> - -<p>The law, in a republic, is the embodiment of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> the will of the people. As -long as the republic is in a natural and healthy state, containing no -anomaly, and exhibiting no gross vices, the function of the law works -easily, and is understood and reverenced. Its punishments bear only upon -individuals, who have the opposition of society to contend with for -violating its will, and who are helpless against the righteous -visitations of the law.</p> - -<p>If there be any anomaly among the institutions of a republic, the -function of the law is certain to be disturbed, sooner or later: and -that disturbance is usually the symptom by the exhibition of which the -anomaly is first detected, and then cured. It was so with free-masonry. -It will be so with slavery; and with every institution inconsistent with -the fundamental principles of democracy. The process is easily -traceable. The worldly interests of the minority,—of perhaps a single -class,—are bound up with the anomaly:—of the minority, because, if the -majority had been interested in any anti-republican institution, the -republic would not have existed. The minority may go on for a length of -time in apparent harmony with the expressed will of the many,—the law. -But the time comes when their anomaly clashes with the law. For -instance, the merchants of the north trade in products which are, as -they believe, created out of a denial that all men are born free and -equal, and that the just powers of rulers are derived from the consent -of the governed; while the contrary principles are the root which -produces the law. Which is to be given up, when both cannot be held? If -the pecuniary interest of merchants is incompatible with freedom of -speech in fellow-citizens, which is to suffer?—The will of the -majority, the lawmaker, is to decide. But it takes some time to awaken -the will of the majority; and till it awakes, the interest of the -faction is active, and overbears<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> the law. The retribution is certain; -the result is safe. But the evils meanwhile are so tremendous, that no -exertion should be spared to open the eyes of the majority to the -insults offered to its will. There is no fear that the majority will -ultimately succumb to the minority,—the harmonious law to the -discordant anomaly: but it is a fearful thing, meantime, that the brave -should be oppressed by the mercenary, and oppressed in proportion to -their bravery; that the masters of black slaves in the south should be -allowed to make white slaves in the north; that power and wealth should -be used to blind the people to the nature and dignity of the law, and to -seduce them into a preference of brute force. These evils are so -tremendous as to make it the duty of every citizen to bring every -lawbreaker, high or low, to punishment; to strike out of the election -list every man who tampers with the will of the majority; to teach every -child what the law is, and why it must be maintained; to keep his eye on -the rostrum, the bench, the bar, the pulpit, the press, the lyceum, the -school, that no fallacy, no compromise with an anomaly, no surrender of -principle be allowed to pass unexposed and unstigmatized.</p> - -<p>One compound fallacy is allowed daily to pass unexposed and -unstigmatized. "You make no allowance," said a friend who was strangely -bewildered by it,—"you make no allowance for the great number of -excellent people who view the anomaly and the law as you do, but who -keep quiet, because they sincerely believe that by speaking and acting -they should endanger the Union." This explains the conduct of a crowd of -"excellent people," neither merchants, nor the friends of slave-holders, -nor approving slavery, or mobbing, or persecution for opinion; but who -revile or satirize the abolitionists, and, for the rest, hold their -tongues.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> But is it possible that such do not see that if slavery be -wrong, and if it be indeed bound up with the Union, the Union must fall? -Is it possible that they do not see that if the question be really -this,—that if the laws of God and the arrangements of man are -incompatible, man's arrangements must give way?—I regard it as a false -and mischievous assumption that slavery is bound up with the Union: but -if I believed the dictum, I should not be for "putting off the evil -day." Every day which passes over the unredressed wrongs of any class -which a republic holds in her bosom; every day which brings persecution -on those who act out the principles which all profess; every day which -adds a sanction to brute force, and impairs the sacredness of law; every -day which prolongs impunity to the oppressor and discouragement to the -oppressed, is a more evil day than that which should usher in the work -of renovation.</p> - -<p>But the dictum is not true. This bitter satire upon the constitution, -and upon all who have complacently lived under it, is not true. The -Union is not incompatible with freedom of speech. The Union does not -forbid men to act according to their convictions. The Union has never -depended for its existence on hypocrisy, insult, and injury; and it -never will.</p> - -<p>Let citizens but take heed individually to respect the law, and see that -others do,—that no neighbour transgresses it, that no statesman -despises it unrebuked, that no child grows up ignorant or careless of -it; and the Union is as secure as the ground they tread upon. If this be -not done, everything is in peril, for the season; not only the Union, -but property, home, life and integrity.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span>SECTION V.</span><br /><span class="smaller">SECTIONAL PREJUDICE.</span></h3> - -<p>It is the practice at Washington to pay the Members of Congress, not -only a per diem allowance, but their travelling expenses; at so much per -twenty miles. Two Members of Congress from Missouri made charges widely -different in amount. Complaints were made that the Members were not -confined to a mail route, and that the country had to pay for any -digressions the honourable gentlemen might be in the humour to make. -Upon this, a Member observed that, so far from wishing to confine the -congressional travellers to a mail route, he would, if possible, -prescribe the condition that they should travel, both in coming and -going, through every State of the Union. Any money thus expended, would -be, he considered, a cheap price to pay for the conquest of prejudices -and dispersion of unfriendly feelings, which would be the consequence of -the rambles he proposed.</p> - -<p>The Members of Congress from the north like to revert to the day when -there were only two universities, Harvard and Yale, to which all the -youth of the Union repaired for education. The southern members love to -boast of the increase of colleges, so that every State will soon be -educating its own youth. The northern men miss the sweet sounds of -acknowledgment which used to meet their ears, as often as past days were -referred to—the grateful mention of the New England retreats where the -years of preparation for active life were spent. The southern men are -mortified at the supposition that everything intellectual must come out -of New <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>England. When they boast that Virginia has produced almost all -their Presidents, they are met by the boast that New England has -furnished almost all the school-masters, professors, and clergy of the -country. While the north is still fostering a reverence for the Union, -the south loses no opportunity of enlarging lovingly on the virtue of -passionate attachment to one's native state.</p> - -<p>There is much nature and much reason in all this. It is true that there -is advantage in the youth of the whole country being brought together -within college walls, at the age when warm friendships are formed. They -can hardly quarrel very desperately in Congress, after having striven, -and loved, and learned together, in their bright early days. The cadets -at West Point spoke warmly to me of this. They told me that when a youth -is coming from afar, the youths who have arrived from an opposite point -of the compass prepare to look cold upon him and quiz him, and receive -him frigidly enough; but the second Sunday seldom comes round before -they wonder at him and themselves, and acknowledge that he might almost -have been born in their own State. On the other hand, it is true that it -would be an absurdity and a hardship to the dwellers in the south and -west to have no means of educating their youth at home; but to be -obliged to send them a thousand miles in pursuit of necessary learning. -It is also true that medical colleges should abound; that peculiar -diseases, incident to climate and locality, may be studied on the spot. -In this, as in many other cases, some good must be sacrificed for the -attainment of a greater good.</p> - -<p>The question is, need sectional prejudices increase under the new -arrangements? Are there no means of counteracting this great evil, -except the ancient methods? Is West Point the last spot <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>whereon common -interests may rally, and whence state jealousies may be excluded?</p> - -<p>I should be sorry if the answer were unfavourable; for this Sectional -Prejudice, carried beyond the point of due political vigilance, is -folly,—childish folly. Events prove it to be so. Deadly political -enemies meet at Washington, and snarl and declaim at one another with -mighty fierceness. They find themselves, some sunny day, lying on the -grass under the shade of a tree, at the country-house of an -acquaintance; they rise up cordial friends. They have actually discussed -the question of questions, the American System and Nullification; and -yet they rise up cordial friends. Again; a Boston gentleman and his lady -travel for health through the south and west. They hear abuse of their -State and city in abundance by the roadside; but their hearts are -touched by the hospitality and friendliness they meet under every roof. -Again; the planter carries his family to a Rhode Island bathing place, -for the hot season: and there he finds some to whom he can open his -heart about his domestic troubles, caused by slavery; he gains their -sympathy, and carries away their esteem. The sectional hatred, if not an -abstraction, is founded mainly on abstractions, and gives way at once -when the parties are confronted. Does it not deserve to be called -childish folly?</p> - -<p>Yet "hatred" is not too strong a term for this sectional prejudice. Many -a time in America have I been conscious of that pang and shudder which -are felt only in the presence of hatred. I question whether the enmity -between the British and the Americans, at the most exasperating crisis -of the war, could ever have been more intense than some that I have seen -flashing in the eyes, and heard from the lips, of Americans against -fellow-citizens in distant sections of their country. I have scarcely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> -known whether to laugh or to mourn when I have been told that the New -England people are all pedlars or canting priests; that the people of -the south are all heathens; and those of the west all barbarians. Nay, I -was even told in New York that the Rhode Island people were all -heathens, and the New Jersey folks no better. Some Baltimore ladies told -me that the Philadelphia ladies say that no Baltimore lady knows how to -put on a bonnet: but that the Philadelphians have something worse the -matter with them than that; for that they do not know how to be -hospitable to strangers. Without stopping to settle which is the gravest -of these heavy charges, I am anxious to bear my testimony against the -correctness of either. I saw some pretty bonnets, most becomingly worn, -at Baltimore; and I can speak confidently to the hospitality of -Philadelphia.</p> - -<p>Trifling as some instances appear of the manifestation of this puerile -spirit, it sometimes, it always, issues in results which are no -trifle;—always, because the spirit of jealousy is a deadly curse to him -who is possessed by it, whether it be founded on fact, or no. It cannot -co-exist with a generous patriotism, one essential requisite of which is -an enlarged faith in fellow-citizens. All republicans are patriotic, -more or less frequently and loftily. If every American will look into -himself at the moment he is glowing with patriotism, he will find his -sectional prejudices melted away and gone, for the season. The Americans -feel this in their travels abroad, when their country is attacked. They -yearn towards the remotest dwellers in their country as if they were the -nearest and dearest. Would they could always feel thus at home, and in -the absence of provocation!</p> - -<p>The most mortifying instance that I witnessed of this sectional -prejudice was at Cincinnati. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> the most mortifying, on two -accounts; because it did not give way before intercourse; and because -its consequences are likely to be very serious to the city, and, if it -spreads, to the whole west. One may laugh at the untravelled citizen of -the south who declares that he knows the New Englanders very well. "How -should you know the New Englanders?" "O, they drive about in our parts -sometimes:"—"they" meaning the Yankee pedlars with wooden clocks for -sale. One may laugh at the simple youth on board a steam-boat on Lake -Erie, who warned me not to believe anything the Huron people might tell -me against the Sandusky people, because he could tell me beforehand that -it was all false, and that the Sandusky people are far better than the -Huron people. One may laugh at the contemptuous amazement of the Boston -lady at my declaration that I liked Cincinnati; that wild western place, -where she believed people did not sit down to dinner like Christians. -All mistakes of this kind, it is clear, might be rectified by a little -travelling. But it is a serious matter to see the travelled gentlemen, -the professional men of such a place as Cincinnati, setting up their -sectional prejudices in one another's way.</p> - -<p>Cincinnati is a glorious place. Few things can be conceived finer than -the situation of this magnificent city, and the beauty by which she is -surrounded. She is enthroned upon a high platform,—one of the rich -bottoms occurring on the Ohio, which expand the traveller's notions of -what fertility is. Behind her are hills, opening and closing, receding -and advancing; here glowing with the richest green pasturage, and there -crested and ribbed by beeches which seem transplanted from some giant -land. Wherever we went among these hills, we found them rounding away -from us in some new form of beauty; in steep grassy slopes, with a -running stream at the bottom; in shadowy precipices,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> bristling with -trees; in quiet recesses, pierced by sunset lights, shining in among the -beechen stems, which spring, unencumbered by undergrowth, from the rich -elastic turf. These hill-sides reminded me of the Castle of Indolence, -of the quiet paths of Eden, of the shades that Una trod, of Windsor -Forest,—of all that my memory carried about undulating wood-lands: but -nothing would do; no description that I am acquainted with is rich -enough to answer to what I saw on the Ohio,—its slopes, and clumps, and -groves. At the foot of these hills runs the river, broad and full, busy -with the commerce of the wide West. A dozen steam-boats lie abreast at -the wharf, and many more are constantly passing; some stealing along, -unheard so far off, under the opposite bank; others puffing and -ploughing along the middle of the stream. Fine, level turnpike-roads -branch off from the city among the hills, which open so as to allow a -free circulation of air over the entire platform. Cincinnati is the most -healthy large city in the United States. The streets are wide; and the -terraces afford fine situations for houses. The furnishing of the -dwellings is as magnificent as the owners may choose to make it; for -commerce with the whole world is carried on from their port. Their -vineyards, their conservatories, their fruit and flower gardens delight -the eye in the gorgeous month of June. They have a native artist of -great genius who has adorned the walls of their houses with, perhaps, -the best pictures I saw in the country. I saw their streets filled with -their thousands of free-school children. "These," said a lady to me, -"are our populace." I thought it a populace worthy of such a city. There -is no need to speak of its long ranges of furnaces, of its shipping, of -its incredible commerce in pork, of its wealth and prospects. Suffice it -that one of its most respected inhabitants tells that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> when he landed in -Ohio, less than fifty years ago, it contained fewer than a hundred -whites; and buffalo lodged in a cane brake where the city now stands; -while the State at present contains upwards of a million of inhabitants, -the city between thirty and forty thousand; and Cincinnati has four -daily, and five or six weekly, newspapers, besides a variety of other -periodicals.</p> - -<p>The most remarkable circumstance, and the most favourable, with regard -to the peopling of Cincinnati is, that its population contains -contributions of almost every element that goes to constitute society; -and each in its utmost vigour. There are here few of the arbitrary -associations which exist among the members of other societies. Young men -come with their wives, in all directions, from afar; with no parents, -cousins, sects, or parties about them. Here is an assemblage from almost -every nation under heaven,—a contribution from the resources of almost -every country; and all unburdened, and ready for natural association and -vigorous action. Like takes to like, and friendships are formed from -congeniality, and not from accident or worldly design. Yet is there a -tempering of prejudices, a mutual enlightenment, from previous -differences of education and habits,—difference even of country and -language. Great force is thus given to any principle carried out into -action by the common convictions of differing persons; and life is deep -and rapid in its course. Such is the theory of society in Cincinnati; -and such is, in some degree, its practice. But here it is that sectional -prejudice interferes, to set up arbitrary associations where, of all -places, they should be shunned.</p> - -<p>The adventurers who barbarize society in new places, have gone westward; -and, of the full population that remains, above one-fifth are Germans. -Their function seems to be, everywhere in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> United States, to -develope the material resources of the infant places in which they -settle; and the intellectual ones at a more advanced stage. They are the -farmers and market-gardeners here. There are many English, especially -among the artizans. I saw two handsome white houses, on the side of a -hill above the river, with rich ground lots, and extensive garden walls. -These are the property of two English artizans, brothers, who emigrated -a very few years ago. An Englishman, servant to a physician in -Cincinnati in 1818, turned pork-butcher; was worth 10,000 dollars when I -was there, and is rapidly growing rich. There are many New Englanders -among the clergy, lawyers, and merchants; and this is the portion of -society that will not freely mix with the westerners. It is no wonder if -the earliest settlers of the place, westerners, are proud of it, and are -careful to cherish its primitive emblems and customs. The New Englanders -should not take this as an affront to themselves. It is also natural -enough that the New Englanders should think and speak alike, and be fond -of acting together; and the westerners should not complain of their -being clannish. I was at a delightful party at the house of one of the -oldest inhabitants, where a sprig of the distinctive buck-eye was hung -up in the hall, and a buck-eye bowl of lemonade stood on the table. This -was peevishly commented upon by some of eastern derivation: but I -thought it would have been wiser to adopt the emblem than to find fault -with it. Cincinnati has not gone to the eastern people: the eastern -people have gone to her. If they have adopted her for their city, they -may as well adopt her emblems too, and make themselves westerners at -heart, as well as in presence. These discontents may appear trifling; -but they are not so while they impede the furtherance of great objects. -I was told on the spot that they would be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> very transient; but I fear it -is not so. And yet they would be very transient if the spirited and -choice inhabitants of that magnificent city could see their position as -it is viewed by people at a distance. When I was one day expressing my -admiration, and saying that it was a place for people of ambition, -worldly or philanthropic, to live in, one of its noblest citizens said, -"Yes, we have a new creation going on here; won't you come and dabble in -the mud?" If they will but remember that it is a new creation that is -going on, and not a fortuitous concourse of atoms; that the human will -is, or may be, the presiding intelligence; that centuries hence, their -posterity will either bless their memories with homage like that which -is paid to the Pilgrim Fathers, or suffer the retribution which follows -the indulgence of human passions, all petty jealousies will surely -subside, in the prospect which lies before every good man. In a place -like Cincinnati, where every man may gratify his virtuous will, and do, -with his own hands, the deeds of a generation, feelings should be as -grand as the occasion. If the merchants of Genoa were princes, the -citizens of Cincinnati, as of every first city of a new region, are -princes and prophets at once. They can foresee the future, if they -please; and shape it, if they will: and petty personal regards are -unworthy of such a destiny. It is melancholy to see how the crusading -chiefs quarrelled for precedence on the soil of the Holy Land: it would -be more so to see the leaders of this new enterprise desecrating their -higher mission by a like contention.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span>SECTION VI.</span><br /><span class="smaller">CITIZENSHIP OF PEOPLE OF COLOUR.</span></h3> - -<p>Before I entered New England, while I was ascending the Mississippi, I -was told by a Boston gentleman that the people of colour in the New -England States were perfectly well-treated; that the children were -educated in schools provided for them; and that their fathers freely -exercised the franchise. This gentleman certainly believed he was -telling me the truth. That he, a busy citizen of Boston, should know no -better, is now as striking an exemplification of the state of the case -to me as a correct representation of the facts would have been. There -are two causes for his mistake. He was not aware that the schools for -the coloured children in New England are, unless they escape by their -insignificance, shut up, or pulled down, or the school-house wheeled -away upon rollers over the frontier of a pious State, which will not -endure that its coloured citizens should be educated. He was not aware -of a gentleman of colour, and his family, being locked out of their own -hired pew in a church, because their white brethren will not Worship by -their side. But I will not proceed with an enumeration of injuries, too -familiar to Americans to excite any feeling but that of weariness; and -too disgusting to all others to be endured. The other cause of this -gentleman's mistake was, that he did not, from long custom, feel some -things to be injuries, which he would call anything but good treatment, -if he had to bear them himself. Would he think it good treatment to be -forbidden to eat with fellow-citizens; to be assigned to a particular -gallery in his church; to be excluded from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> college, from municipal -office, from professions, from scientific and literary associations? If -he felt himself excluded from every department of society, but its -humiliations and its drudgery, would he declare himself to be "perfectly -well-treated in Boston?" Not a word more of statement is needed.</p> - -<p>A Connecticut judge lately declared on the bench that he believed people -of colour were not considered citizens in the laws. He was proved to be -wrong. He was actually ignorant of the wording of the acts by which -people of colour are termed citizens. Of course, no judge could have -forgotten this who had seen them treated as citizens: nor could one of -the most eminent statesmen and lawyers in the country have told me that -it is still a doubt, in the minds of some high authorities, whether -people of colour are citizens. He is as mistaken as the judge. There has -been no such doubt since the Connecticut judge was corrected and -enlightened. The error of the statesman arose from the same cause; he -had never seen the coloured people treated as citizens. "In fact," said -he, "these people hold an anomalous situation. They are protected as -citizens when the public service requires their security; but not -otherwise treated as such," Any comment would weaken this intrepid -statement.</p> - -<p>The common argument, about the inferiority of the coloured race, bears -no relation whatever to this question. They are citizens. They stand, as -such, in the law, and in the acknowledgment of every one who knows the -law. They are citizens, yet their houses and schools are pulled down, -and they can obtain no remedy at law. They are thrust out of offices, -and excluded from the most honourable employments, and stripped of all -the best benefits of society by fellow-citizens who, once a year, -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>solemnly lay their hands on their hearts, and declare that all men are -born free and equal, and that rulers derive their just powers from the -consent of the governed.</p> - -<p>This system of injury is not wearing out. Lafayette, on his last visit -to the United States, expressed his astonishment at the increase of the -prejudice against colour. He remembered, he said, how the black soldiers -used to mess with the whites in the revolutionary war. The leaders of -that war are gone where principles are all,—where prejudices are -nothing. If their ghosts could arise, in majestic array, before the -American nation, on their great anniversary, and hold up before them the -mirror of their constitution, in the light of its first principles, -where would the people hide themselves from the blasting radiance? They -would call upon their holy soil to swallow them up, as unworthy to tread -upon it. But not all. It should ever be remembered that America is the -country of the best friends the coloured race has ever had. The more -truth there is in the assertions of the oppressors of the blacks, the -more heroism there is in their friends. The greater the excuse for the -pharisees of the community, the more divine is the equity of the -redeemers of the coloured race. If it be granted that the coloured race -are naturally inferior, naturally depraved, disgusting, cursed,—it must -be granted that it is a heavenly charity which descends among them to -give such solace as it can to their incomprehensible existence. As long -as the excuses of the one party go to enhance the merit of the other, -the society is not to be despaired of, even with this poisonous anomaly -at its heart.</p> - -<p>Happily, however, the coloured race is not cursed by God, as it is by -some factions of his children. The less clear-sighted of them are -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>pardonable for so believing. Circumstances, for which no living man is -answerable, have generated an erroneous conviction in the feeble mind of -man, which sees not beyond the actual and immediate. No remedy could -ever have been applied, unless stronger minds than ordinary had been -brought into the case. But it so happens, wherever there is an anomaly, -giant minds rise up to overthrow it: minds gigantic, not in -understanding, but in faith. Wherever they arise, they are the salt of -their earth, and its corruption is retrieved. So it is now in America. -While the mass of common men and women are despising, and disliking, and -fearing, and keeping down the coloured race, blinking the fact that they -are citizens, the few of Nature's aristocracy are putting forth a strong -hand to lift up this degraded race out of oppression, and their country -from the reproach of it. If they were but one or two, trembling and -toiling in solitary energy, the world afar would be confident of their -success. But they number hundreds and thousands; and if ever they feel a -passing doubt of their progress, it is only because they are pressed -upon by the meaner multitude. Over the sea, no one doubts of their -victory. It is as certain as that the risen sun will reach the meridian. -Already are there overflowing colleges, where no distinction of colour -is allowed;—overflowing, <i>because</i> no distinction of colour is allowed. -Already have people of colour crossed the thresholds of many whites, as -guests, not as drudges or beggars. Already are they admitted to worship, -and to exercise charity, among the whites.</p> - -<p>The world has heard and seen enough of the reproach incurred by America, -on account of her coloured population. It is now time to look for the -fairer side The crescent streak is brightening towards the full, to wane -no more. Already is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> world beyond the sea beginning to think of -America, less as the country of the double-faced pretender to the name -of Liberty, than as the home of the single-hearted, clear-eyed Presence -which, under the name of Abolitionism, is majestically passing through -the land which is soon to be her throne.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION VII.</span><br /><span class="smaller">POLITICAL NON-EXISTENCE OF WOMEN.</span></h3> - -<p>One of the fundamental principles announced in the Declaration of -Independence is, that governments derive their just powers from the -consent of the governed. How can the political condition of women be -reconciled with this?</p> - -<p>Governments in the United States have power to tax women who hold -property; to divorce them from their husbands; to fine, imprison, and -execute them for certain offences. Whence do these governments derive -their powers? They are not "just," as they are not derived from the -consent of the women thus governed.</p> - -<p>Governments in the United States have power to enslave certain women; -and also to punish other women for inhuman treatment of such slaves. -Neither of these powers are "just;" not being derived from the consent -of the governed.</p> - -<p>Governments decree to women in some States half their husbands' -property; in others one-third. In some, a woman, on her marriage, is -made to yield all her property to her husband; in others, to retain a -portion, or the whole, in her own hands. Whence do governments derive -the unjust power<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> of thus disposing of property without the consent of -the governed?</p> - -<p>The democratic principle condemns all this as wrong; and requires the -equal political representation of all rational beings. Children, idiots, -and criminals, during the season of sequestration, are the only fair -exceptions.</p> - -<p>The case is so plain that I might close it here; but it is interesting -to inquire how so obvious a decision has been so evaded as to leave to -women no political rights whatever. The question has been asked, from -time to time, in more countries than one, how obedience to the laws can -be required of women, when no woman has, either actually or virtually, -given any assent to any law. No plausible answer has, as far as I can -discover, been offered; for the good reason, that no plausible answer -can be devised. The most principled democratic writers on government -have on this subject sunk into fallacies, as disgraceful as any advocate -of despotism has adduced. In fact, they have thus sunk from being, for -the moment, advocates of despotism. Jefferson in America, and James Mill -at home, subside, for the occasion, to the level of the author of the -Emperor of Russia's Catechism for the young Poles.</p> - -<p>Jefferson says,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> "Were our State a pure democracy, in which all the -inhabitants should meet together to transact all their business, there -would yet be excluded from their deliberations,</p> - -<p>"1. Infants, until arrived at years of discretion;</p> - -<p>"2. Women, who, to prevent depravation of morals, and ambiguity of -issue, could not mix promiscuously in the public meetings of men;</p> - -<p>"3. Slaves, from whom the unfortunate state of things with us takes away -the rights of will and of property."</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p><p>If the slave disqualification, here assigned, were shifted up under the -head of Women, their case would be nearer the truth than as it now -stands. Woman's lack of will and of property, is more like the true -cause of her exclusion from the representation, than that which is -actually set down against her. As if there could be no means of -conducting public affairs but by promiscuous meetings! As if there would -be more danger in promiscuous meetings for political business than in -such meetings for worship, for oratory, for music, for dramatic -entertainments,—for any of the thousand transactions of civilized life! -The plea is not worth another word.</p> - -<p>Mill says, with regard to representation, in his Essay on Government, -"One thing is pretty clear; that all those individuals, whose interests -are involved in those of other individuals, may be struck off without -inconvenience.... In this light, women may be regarded, the interest of -almost all of whom is involved, either in that of their fathers or in -that of their husbands."</p> - -<p>The true democratic principle is, that no person's interests can be, or -can be ascertained to be, identical with those of any other person. This -allows the exclusion of none but incapables.</p> - -<p>The word "almost," in Mr. Mill's second sentence, rescues women from the -exclusion he proposes. As long as there are women who have neither -husbands nor fathers, his proposition remains an absurdity.</p> - -<p>The interests of women who have fathers and husbands can never be -identical with theirs, while there is a necessity for laws to protect -women against their husbands and fathers. This statement is not worth -another word.</p> - -<p>Some who desire that there should be an equality of property between men -and women, oppose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> representation, on the ground that political duties -would be incompatible with the other duties which women have to -discharge. The reply to this is, that women are the best judges here. -God has given time and power for the discharge of all duties; and, if he -had not, it would be for women to decide which they would take, and -which they would leave. But their guardians follow the ancient fashion -of deciding what is best for their wards. The Emperor of Russia -discovers when a coat of arms and title do not agree with a subject -prince. The King of France early perceives that the air of Paris does -not agree with a free-thinking foreigner. The English Tories feel the -hardship that it would be to impose the franchise on every artizan, busy -as he is in getting his bread. The Georgian planter perceives the -hardship that freedom would be to his slaves. And the best friends of -half the human race peremptorily decide for them as to their rights, -their duties, their feelings, their powers. In all these cases, the -persons thus cared for feel that the abstract decision rests with -themselves; that, though they may be compelled to submit, they need not -acquiesce.</p> - -<p>It is pleaded that half of the human race does acquiesce in the decision -of the other half, as to their rights and duties. And some instances, -not only of submission, but of acquiescence, there are. Forty years ago, -the women of New Jersey went to the poll, and voted, at state elections. -The general term, "inhabitants," stood unqualified;—as it will again, -when the true democratic principle comes to be fully understood. A -motion was made to correct the inadvertence; and it was done, as a -matter of course; without any appeal, as far as I could learn, from the -persons about to be injured. Such acquiescence proves nothing but the -degradation of the injured party. It inspires the same<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> emotions of pity -as the supplication of the freed slave who kneels to his master to -restore him to slavery, that he may have his animal wants supplied, -without being troubled with human rights and duties. Acquiescence like -this is an argument which cuts the wrong way for those who use it.</p> - -<p>But this acquiescence is only partial; and, to give any semblance of -strength to the plea, the acquiescence must be complete. I, for one, do -not acquiesce. I declare that whatever obedience I yield to the laws of -the society in which I live is a matter between, not the community and -myself, but my judgment and my will. Any punishment inflicted on me for -the breach of the laws, I should regard as so much gratuitous injury: -for to those laws I have never, actually or virtually, assented. I know -that there are women in England who agree with me in this—I know that -there are women in America who agree with me in this. The plea of -acquiescence is invalidated by us.</p> - -<p>It is pleaded that, by enjoying the protection of some laws, women give -their assent to all. This needs but a brief answer. Any protection thus -conferred is, under woman's circumstances, a boon bestowed at the -pleasure of those in whose power she is. A boon of any sort is no -compensation for the privation of something else; nor can the enjoyment -of it bind to the performance of anything to which it bears no relation. -Because I, by favour, may procure the imprisonment of the thief who robs -my house, am I, unrepresented, therefore bound not to smuggle French -ribbons? The obligation not to smuggle has a widely different -derivation.</p> - -<p>I cannot enter upon the commonest order of pleas of all;—those which -relate to the virtual influence of woman; her swaying the judgment and -will of man through the heart; and so forth. One<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> might as well try to -dissect the morning mist. I knew a gentleman in America who told me how -much rather he had be a woman than the man he is;—a professional man, a -father, a citizen. He would give up all this for a woman's influence. I -thought he was mated too soon. He should have married a lady, also of my -acquaintance, who would not at all object to being a slave, if ever the -blacks should have the upper hand; "it is so right that the one race -should be subservient to the other!" Or rather,—I thought it a pity -that the one could not be a woman, and the other a slave; so that an -injured individual of each class might be exalted into their places, to -fulfil and enjoy the duties and privileges which they despise, and, in -despising, disgrace.</p> - -<p>The truth is, that while there is much said about "the sphere of woman," -two widely different notions are entertained of what is meant by the -phrase. The narrow, and, to the ruling party, the more convenient notion -is that sphere appointed by men, and bounded by their ideas of -propriety;—a notion from which any and every woman may fairly dissent. -The broad and true conception is of the sphere appointed by God, and -bounded by the powers which he has bestowed. This commands the assent of -man and woman; and only the question of powers remains to be proved.</p> - -<p>That woman has power to represent her own interests, no one can deny -till she has been tried. The modes need not be discussed here: they must -vary with circumstances. The fearful and absurd images which are -perpetually called up to perplex the question,—images of women on -wool-sacks in England, and under canopies in America, have nothing to do -with the matter. The principle being once established, the methods will -follow, easily, naturally, and under a remarkable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> transmutation of the -ludicrous into the sublime. The kings of Europe would have laughed -mightily, two centuries ago, at the idea of a commoner, without robes, -crown, or sceptre, stepping into the throne of a strong nation. Yet who -dared to laugh when Washington's super-royal voice greeted the New World -from the presidential chair, and the old world stood still to catch the -echo?</p> - -<p>The principle of the equal rights of both halves of the human race is -all we have to do with here. It is the true democratic principle which -can never be seriously controverted, and only for a short time evaded. -Governments can derive their just powers only from the consent of the -governed.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Correspondence vol. iv. p. 295.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>PART II.</span> <span class="smaller">ECONOMY.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"That thou givest them they gather. Thou openest thine hand; they -are filled with good."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>104th Psalm.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The traveller from the Old World to the New is apt to lose himself in -reflection when he should be observing. Speculations come in crowds in -the wilderness. He finds himself philosophizing with every step he -takes, as luxuriously as by his study fireside, or in his rare solitary -walk at home.</p> - -<p>In England, everything comes complete and finished under notice. Each -man may be aware of some one process of formation, which it is his -business to conduct; but all else is presented to him in its entireness. -The statesman knows what it is to compose an act of parliament; to -proceed from the first perception of the want of it, through the -gathering together of facts and opinions, the selection from these, the -elaborating, adjusting, moulding, specifying, excluding, consolidating, -till it becomes an entire something, which he throws down for parliament -to find fault with. When it is passed, the rest of society looks upon it -as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> whole, as a child does upon a table or a doll, without being aware -of any process of formation. The shoemaker, thus, takes his loaf of -bread, and the clock that ticks behind his door, as if they came down -from the clouds as they are, in return for so much of his wages; and he -analyzes nothing but shoes. The baker and watchmaker receive their shoes -in the same way, and analyze nothing but bread and clocks. Too many -gentlemen and ladies analyze nothing at all. If better taught, and -introduced at an early age into the world of analysis, nothing, in the -whole course of education, is probably so striking to their minds. They -begin a fresh existence from the day when they first obtain a glimpse -into this new region of discovery.</p> - -<p>Such an era is the traveller's entrance upon the wilder regions of -America. His old experience is all reversed. He sees nothing of art in -its entireness; but little of nature in her instrumentality. Nature is -there the empress, not the handmaid. Art is her inexperienced page, and -no longer the Prospero to whom she is the Ariel.</p> - -<p>It is an absorbing thing to watch the process of world-making:—both the -formation of the natural and the conventional world. I witnessed both in -America; and when I look back upon it now, it seems as if I had been in -another planet. I saw something of the process of creating the natural -globe in the depths of the largest explored cave in the world. In its -depths, in this noiseless workshop, was Nature employed with her blind -and dumb agents, fashioning mysteries which the earthquake of a thousand -years hence may bring to light, to give man a new sense of the shortness -of his life. I saw something of the process of world-making behind the -fall of Niagara, in the thunder cavern, where the rocks that have stood -for ever tremble<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> to their fall amidst the roar of the unexhausted -floods. I stood where soon human foot shall stand no more. Foot-hold -after foot-hold is destined to be thrown down, till, after more ages -than the world has yet known, the last rocky barrier shall be -overpowered, and an ocean shall overspread countries which are but just -entering upon civilized existence. Niagara itself is but one of the -shifting scenes of life, like all of the outward that we hold most -permanent. Niagara itself, like the systems of the sky, is one of the -hands of Nature's clock, moving, though too slowly to be perceived by -the unheeding,—still moving, to mark the lapse of time. Niagara itself -is destined to be as the traditionary monsters of the ancient earth—a -giant existence, to be spoken of to wondering ears in studious hours, -and believed in from the sole evidence of its surviving grandeur and -beauty. While I stood in the wet whirlwind, with the crystal roof above -me, the thundering floor beneath, and the foaming whirlpool and rushing -flood before me, I saw those quiet, studious hours of the future world -when this cataract shall have become a tradition, and the spot on which -I stood shall be the centre of a wide sea, a new region of life. This -was seeing world-making. So it was on the Mississippi, when a sort of -scum on the waters betokened the birth-place of new land. All things -help in this creation. The cliffs of the upper Missouri detach their -soil, and send it thousands of miles down the stream. The river brings -it, and deposits it, in continual increase, till a barrier is raised -against the rushing waters themselves. The air brings seeds, and drops -them where they sprout, and strike downwards, so that their roots bind -the soft soil, and enable it to bear the weight of new accretions. The -infant forest, floating, as it appeared, on the surface of the turbid -and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>rapid waters, may reveal no beauty to the painter; but to the eye -of one who loves to watch the process of world-making, it is full of -delight. These islands are seen in every stage of growth. The -cotton-wood trees, from being like cresses in a pool, rise breast-high; -then they are like the thickets, to whose shade the alligator may -retreat; then, like groves that bid the sun good-night, while he is -still lighting up the forest; then like the forest itself, with the -wood-cutter's house within its screen, flowers springing about its -stems, and the wild-vine climbing to meet the night breezes on its lofty -canopy. This was seeing world-making. Here was strong instigation to the -exercise of analysis.</p> - -<p>One of the most frequent thoughts of a speculator in these wildernesses, -is the rarity of the chance which brings him here to speculate. The -primitive glories of nature have, almost always since the world began, -been dispensed to savages; to men who, dearly as they love the -wilderness, have no power of bringing into contrast with it the mind of -man, as enriched and stimulated by cultivated society. Busy colonists, -pressed by bodily wants, are the next class brought over the threshold -of this temple: and they come for other purposes than to meditate. The -next are those who would make haste to be rich; selfish adventurers, who -drive out the red man, and drive in the black man, and, amidst the -forests and the floods, think only of cotton and of gold. Not to such -alone should the primitive glories of nature be dispensed; glories which -can never be restored. The philosopher should come, before they are -effaced, and find combinations and proportions of life and truth which -are not to be found elsewhere. The painter should come, and find -combinations and proportions of visible beauty which are not to be found -elsewhere. The architect should come, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> find suggestions and -irradiations of his art which are not to be found elsewhere. The poet -should come, and witness a supremacy of nature such as he imagines in -the old days when the world's sires came forth at the tidings of the -rainbow in the cloud. The chance which opens to the meditative the -almost untouched regions of nature, is a rare one; and they should not -be left to the vanishing savage, the busy and the sordid.</p> - -<p>I watched also the progress of conventional life. I saw it in every -stage of advancement, from the clearing in the woods, where the settler, -carrying merely his axe, makes his very tools, his house, his fireplace, -his bed, his table; carves out his fields, catches from among wild or -strayed animals his farm stock, and creates his own food, warmth, and -winter light,—from primitive life like this, to that of the highest -finish, which excludes all thought of analysis.</p> - -<p>The position or prospects of men in a new country may best be made -intelligible by accounts of what the traveller saw and heard while among -them. Pictures serve the purpose better than reports. I will, therefore, -give pictures of some of the many varieties of dwellers that I saw, -amidst their different localities, circumstances, and modes of living. -No one of them is aware how vivid an idea he impresses on the mind of -humanity; nor how distinct a place he fills in her records. No one of -them, probably, is aware how much happier he is than Alexander, in -having before him more worlds to conquer.</p> - -<p>My narratives, or pictures, must be but a few selected from among a -multitude. My chapter would extend to a greater length than any old -novel, if I were to give all I possess.</p> - -<p>The United States are not only vast in extent: they are inestimably rich -in material wealth. There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> are fisheries and granite quarries along the -northern coasts; and shipping from the whole commercial world within -their ports. There are tanneries within reach of their oak woods, and -manufactures in the north from the cotton growth of the south. There is -unlimited wealth of corn, sugar-cane and beet, hemp, flax, tobacco, and -rice. There are regions of pasture land. There are varieties of grape -for wine, and mulberries for silk. There is salt. There are mineral -springs. There is marble, gold, lead, iron, and coal. There is a chain -of mountains, dividing the great fertile western valley from the busy -eastern region which lies between the mountains and the Atlantic. These -mountains yield the springs by which the great rivers are to be fed for -ever, to fertilize the great valley, and be the vehicle of its commerce -with the world. Out of the reach of these rivers, in the vast breadth of -the north, lie the great lakes, to be likewise the servants of commerce, -and to afford in their fisheries the means of life and luxury to -thousands. These inland seas temper the climate, summer and winter, and -insure health to the heart of the vast continent. Never was a country -more gifted by nature.</p> - -<p>It is blessed also in the variety of its inhabitants. However it may -gratify the pride of a nation to be descended from one stock, it is -ultimately better that it should have been compounded from many nations. -The blending of qualities, physical and intellectual, the absorption of -national prejudices, the increase of mental resources, will be found in -the end highly conducive to the elevation of the national character. -America will find herself largely blessed in this way, however much she -may now complain of the immigration of strangers. She complains of some -for their poverty; but such bring a will to work, and a capacity for -labour. She<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> complains of others for their coming from countries -governed by a despotism; but it is the love of freedom which they cannot -enjoy at home, that brings such. She complains of others that they keep -up their national language, manners, and modes of thinking, while they -use her privileges of citizenship. This may appear ungracious; but it -proceeds from that love of country and home institutions which will make -staunch American patriots of their children's children. It is all well. -The New England States may pride themselves on their population being -homogeneous, while that of other States is mongrel. It is well that -stability should thus have been temporarily provided for in one part of -the Union, which should, for the season, be the acknowledged superior -over the rest: but, this purpose of the arrangement having been -fulfilled, New England may perhaps hereafter admit, what some others see -already, that, if she inherits many of the virtues of the Pilgrims, she -requires fortifying in others; and that a large reinforcement from other -races would help her to throw off the burden of their inherited faults.</p> - -<p>There can scarcely be a finer set of elements for the composition of a -nation than the United States now contain. It will take centuries to -fuse them; and by that time, pride of ancestry,—vanity of physical -derivation,—will be at an end. The ancestry of moral qualities will be -the only pedigree preserved: and of these every civilized nation under -heaven possesses an ample, and probably an equal, share. Let the United -States then cherish their industrious Germans and Dutch; their hardy -Irish; their intelligent Scotch; their kindly Africans, as well as the -intellectual Yankee, the insouciant Southerner, and the complacent -Westerner. All are good in their way; and augment the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>moral value of -their country, as diversities of soil, climate, and productions, do its -material wealth.</p> - -<p>Among the most interesting personages in the United States, are the -Solitaries;—solitary families, not individuals. Europeans, who think it -much to lodge in a country cottage for six weeks in the summer, can form -little idea of the life of a solitary family in the wilds. I did not see -the most sequestered, as I never happened to lose my way in the forests -or on the prairies: but I witnessed some modes of life which realized -all I had conceived of the romantic, or of the dismal.</p> - -<p>One rainy October day, I saw a settler at work in the forest, on which -he appeared to have just entered. His clearing looked, in comparison -with the forest behind him, of about the size of a pincushion. He was -standing, up to the knees in water, among the stubborn stumps, and -charred stems of dead trees. He was notching logs with his axe, beside -his small log hut and stye. There was swamp behind, and swamp on each -side;—a pool of mud around each dead tree, which had been wont to drink -the moisture. There was a semblance of a tumble-down fence: no orchard -yet; no grave-yard; no poultry; none of the graces of fixed habitation -had grown up. On looking back to catch a last view of the scene, I saw -two little boys, about three and four years old, leading a horse home -from the forest; one driving the animal behind with an armful of bush, -and the other reaching up on tiptoe to keep his hold of the halter; and -both looking as if they would be drowned in the swamp. If the mother was -watching from the hut, she must have thought this strange dismal play -for her little ones. The hard-working father must be toiling for his -children; for the success of his after life can hardly atone to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> him for -such a destitution of comfort as I saw him in the midst of. Many such -scenes are passed on every road in the western parts of the States. They -become cheering when the plough is seen, or a few sheep are straggling -on the hill side, seeming lost in space.</p> - -<p>One day, at Niagara, I had spent hours at the Falls, till, longing for -the stillness of the forest, I wandered deep into its wild paths, -meeting nothing but the belled heifer, grazing, and the slim, clean -swine which live on the mast and roots they can find for themselves. I -saw some motion in a thicket, a little way from the path, and went to -see what it was. I found a little boy and girl, working away, by turns, -with an axe, at the branches of a huge hickory, which had been lately -felled. "Father" had felled the hickory the day before, and had sent the -children to make faggots from the branches. They were heated and out of -breath. I had heard of the toughness of hickory, and longed to know what -the labour of wood-cutting really was. Here was an irresistible -opportunity for an experiment I made the children sit down on the fallen -tree, and find out the use of my ear-trumpet, while I helped to make -their faggot. When I had hewn through one stout branch, I was quite -sufficiently warmed, and glad to sit down to hear the children's story. -Their father had been a weaver and a preacher in England. He had brought -out his wife and six children. During the week, he worked at his land, -finding some employment or another for all of his children who could -walk alone; and going some distance on Sundays to preach. This last -particular told volumes. The weaver has not lost heart over his hard -field-labour. His spirit must be strong and lively, to enable him to -spend his seventh day thus, after plying the axe for six. The children -did not seem<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> to know whether they liked Manchester or the forest best; -but they looked stout and rosy.</p> - -<p>They, however, were within reach of church and habitation; buried, as -they appeared, in the depths of the woods. I saw, in New Hampshire, a -family who had always lived absolutely alone, except when an occasional -traveller came to their door, during the summer months. The old man had -run away with his wife, forty-six years before, and brought her to the -Red Mountain, near the top of which she had lived ever since. It was -well that she married for love, for she saw no one but her husband and -children, for many a long year after she jumped out of her window, in -her father's house, to run away.</p> - -<p>Our party, consisting of four, was in the humour to be struck with the -romance of the domestic history of the old man of the mountain, as the -guide is called. We had crossed Lake Winnepisseogee, the day before, and -watched from our piazza, at Centre Harbour, the softening of the evening -light over the broad sheet of water, and the purple islands that rested -upon it. After dark, fires blazed forth from the promontories, and -glimmered in the islands; every flaming bush and burning stem being -distinctly reflected in the grey mirror of the waters. These fires were -signs of civilization approaching the wild districts on which we were -entering. Land on the lake shores has become very valuable; and it is -being fast cleared.</p> - -<p>We were to have set off very early on our mountain expedition, next day; -but the morning was misty, and we did not leave Centre Harbour till near -eight;—nearly an hour and a half after breakfast. We were in a wagon, -drawn by the horses on which the two ladies were to ascend the mountain -from the guide's house. The sky was grey, but promising; for its -curtains were rising at the other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> end of the lake, and disclosing ridge -after ridge of pines on the mountain side. The road became very rough as -we began to ascend; and it was a wonder to me how the wagon could be -lifted up, as it was, from shelf to shelf of limestone. One shelf sloped -a little too much, even for our wagon. Its line of direction was no -longer within the base, as children are taught at school that it should -be. All the party, except myself, rolled out. The driver, sprawling on -his back on a terribly sharp eminence of limestone, tugged manfully at -the reins, and shouted, "Whoi-ee" as cheerfully as if he had been -sitting on a cushion, in his proper place. He was not a man to desert -his duty in an extremity. He was but little hurt, and nobody else at -all.</p> - -<p>The wagon was left here, and we ascended a mile, a steep path, among -woods and rocks, to the guide's little farm; plunging into a cloud, just -before we reached the house. It was baking day; and we found the old -dame, with a deaf and dumb daughter,—one of three deaf,—busy among new -bread, pies, and apples. Strings of apples hung against the walls; and -there was every symptom of plenty and contentment within and without -doors. The old dame might have been twin sister to Juliet's nurse. She -was delighted to have an opportunity of using her tongue, and was -profuse in her invitations to us to stay,—to come again,—to be -sociable. The exercise she takes in speaking must be one cause of her -buxom health. Out of a pantomime, I never saw anything so energetic as -her action; the deafness of her children being no doubt the cause of -this. She seemed heartily proud of them; the more, evidently, on account -of their singularity. She told us that the daughter now at home had -never left it. "Her father could not spare her to school; but I could -have spared her." What a life of little incidents magnified must their's -be! As<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> one of my companions observed, the bursting of a shoe, or the -breaking of a plate, must furnish talk for a week. The welcome discovery -was made that we had a mutual acquaintance. A beloved friend of mine had -ascended the mountain some weeks before, and had followed her usual -practice of carrying away all the hearts she found there. The old dame -spoke lovingly of her as "that Liza;" and she talked about her till she -had seen my foot into the stirrup, and given me her blessing up the -mountain.</p> - -<p>The path was steep, and the summit bare. There was an opening for a -single moment on our arrival; the mist parted and closed again, having -shown us what a view there was beneath us of green mountains, and blue -ponds, and wooded levels. We were entertained for some time with such -glimpses; more beautiful perhaps than an unrestricted vision. Such -revelations take away one's breath. When all was misty again, we amused -ourselves with gathering blue-berries, which grew profusely under foot. -The old man, too, was ready with any information we desired about -himself; and with abundance of anecdotes of summer travellers, to whom -he had acted as guide.</p> - -<p>He was a soldier of the revolution; and at its close, retired hither, -with his bride, among bears and deer. There are no deer left; and he -killed nineteen bears with his own hand: the last, thirty-five years -before. One of them was nearly the death of him. A shot which he -intended to be mortal was not so. The wounded bear chased him; and there -was nothing to be done but to run round and round a tree, loading his -gun, while the bear was at his heels, blowing foam and blood upon him. -He fired over his shoulder, and dispatched his pursuer. He told us, when -the curtain of mist finally drew up, the opinions of learned men whom he -had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> conducted hither, about this mountain having once been an island in -the midst of a vast lake. He pointed out how it is, even now, nearly -surrounded by waters; Long Pond, Lake Winnepisseogee, and Squam Lake. -The two last are so crowded with islands that the expression of the -water is broken up. The islands lie in dark slips upon the gleamy -surface, dividing it into too many pond-like portions. But the mountain -horizon was altogether beautiful. Some had sharp peaks, some notched; -the sides of some were bare, with traces of tremendous slides: others, -green as the spring, with wandering sun gleams and cloud shadows. I -found myself much mistaken in my fancy that I did not care for -bird's-eye views.</p> - -<p>The dame was looking out for us when we descended, anxious to detain us -for more talk, and to make us bearers of a present to "that Liza." She -hung some strings of her drying apples over the arm of a gentleman of -the party, with the utmost faith that he would take care of them all the -way to Boston. He kindly received them; and I can testify that he did -his best to make them reach their destination. It was kindness well -bestowed; for no doubt it was a winter luxury of the good dame's to -fancy our mutual friend enjoying her Red Mountain applesauce. The -sending a present to Boston must be a rare event to dwellers in such a -solitude.</p> - -<p>Not many miles from this place, stands a deserted dwelling whose -inhabitants lived in a deeper solitude, and perished all in one night, -far from human aid. No house stands within many miles of it, even now. I -had heard the story before I saw the place; but I had no idea of the -difference between listening to a sad tale, and seeing the spot of which -it is told. In a deep narrow valley among the White Mountains, lived a -family of the name of Willey. Their dwelling was a comfortable -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>log-house, on a green platform, at the foot of one of the steepest -mountains. There were but few travellers among these mountains in their -day; but those few were kindly welcomed: and the cheerful host and -hostess, and their comely children, were always well spoken of. On a -stormy August night, 1826, a tremendous slide came crashing down the -mountain side, at the rear of the house. If the family had remained in -their chambers, they would have been safe: a rock at the edge of the -green platform, behind the dwelling, parted the slide, so that the -grassy plot remained untouched,—a bright island in the midst, of the -desolation. The family, to the number of nine, were overwhelmed, and all -perished. The bodies of seven were found. The bones of the other two are -doubtless buried under the slide, where rank verdure and young trees are -growing up, as if trying to efface the horrors of the wreck. The scene -must have been dreadful to those who first arrived at the spot, after -the event. The house, safe on its grass plot; its door standing wide; -the beds and clothes of the family showing that they had sprung up from -sleep, and so fled from the only place where they would have been safe; -no one there; a deadly silence brooding over the quiet spot, and chaotic -desolation around;—it is no wonder that the house remains deserted, and -the valley untenanted.</p> - -<p>Some miles further on, the traveller may witness what comfortable cheer -may be afforded by dwellers in the wilderness. All travellers in the -White Mountains know Ethan A. Crawford's hospitality. He cannot be said -to live in solitude, inasmuch as there is another house in the valley: -but everybody is aware how little sociability there is between two -dwellers in a lonely place. One may enjoy life there; and several may -get on well; but two never: and Ethan Crawford's is a virtual solitude, -except<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> for three months in the year. The fate of the Willeys was -uppermost in our minds when we arrived; and we were little prepared for -such entertainment as we found. After a supper of fine lake trout, a son -of our host played to us on a nameless instrument, made by the joiners -who put the house together, and highly creditable to their ingenuity. It -was something like the harmonica in form, and the bagpipes in tone; but, -well-played as it was by the boy, it was highly agreeable. Then Mr. -Crawford danced an American jig, to the fiddling of a relation of his. -The dancing was somewhat solemn; but its good faith made up for any want -of mirth. He had other resources for the amusement of his guests: a gun -wherewith he was wont to startle the mountain echoes, till, one day, it -burst: (leaving nothing for us to do but to look at the fragments:) -also, a horn, which, blown on a calm day, brings a chorus of sweet -responses from the far hill sides. Retirement in such a valley, and with -such resources as Ethan Crawford's, is attractive enough to the passing -traveller; and, to judge by the countenance of the host, anything but -dispiriting to those who have made trial of it.</p> - -<p>No solitude can be more romantic than that at the mouth of the Mammoth -Cave in Kentucky; so called, not because any mammoth-bones have been -found there, but because it is the largest explored cave in the world. I -was told, not only by the guides, but by a gentleman who is learned in -caves, that it can be travelled through, in different directions, to the -extent of sixty miles. We could not think of achieving the entire -underground journey; but we resolved to see all we could; and, for that -purpose, preferred devoting the half of two days to the object, to one -entire day, the weariness of which would probably curtail our rambles. -After a most interesting and exciting journey of nearly two nights<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> and -a day from Nashville, Tennessee, our party, consisting of four, arrived -at Bell's hotel, twelve miles from the cave, at half-past seven, on a -bright May morning. We slept till one o'clock, and then set off in a -stage and four for the cave. My expectations had been so excited, that -every object on the road seemed to paint itself on my very spirit; and I -now feel as if I saw the bright hemp fields, the oak copses, the -gorgeous wild flowers, and clear streams, running over their limestone -beds, that adorned our short journey.</p> - -<p>The house at the cave stands on the greenest sward that earth and dews -can produce; and it grows up to the very walls of the dwelling. The -well, with its sweep,—a long pole, with a rope and bucket at one end, -laid across the top of a high post,—this primitive well, on the same -plot of turf, and the carriage in which two travellers—young men—had -just arrived, were the only occupiers of the grass, besides the house. -We lost no time in proceeding to the cave. The other party of travellers -and the guides carried lamps, and grease to trim them with; an ample -supply of both; for the guides know something of the horrors of being -left in darkness in the mazes of a cave. We went down a steep path into -a glen, from which the golden sunlight seemed reflected, as from water; -so bright was the May verdure. The guides carried our cloaks; which -seemed to us very ridiculous; for we were panting with the heat. But, -when we had wound down to the yawning, shadowy cave, with its diamond -drips and clustering creepers about the entrance, a blast of wintry wind -gushed from it, and chilled our very hearts. I found it possible to -stand on one foot, and be in the midst of melting heat; and leaning -forward on the other, to feel half frozen. The humming birds must be -astonished, when they flit across the entrance, to meet winter in the -middle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> of the glen, and emerge into summer again on the other side.</p> - -<p>The entrance of the cave serves as an ice-house to the family of the -guide. They keep their meat there, and go to refresh themselves when -relaxed by the heat. The temperature is delightful, after the first two -or three minutes; and we were glad to leave our cloaks by the way side. -The ladies tied handkerchiefs over their heads, and tucked up their -gowns for the scramble over the loose limestone; looking thereby very -picturesque, and not totally unlike the witches in Macbeth. The gloom, -the echo of the footsteps, the hollow sound of voices, the startling -effect of lights seen unexpectedly in a recess, in a crevice, or high -overhead,—these impressions may be recalled in those who have wandered -in caves, but can never be communicated to those who have not. It is in -vain to describe a cave. Call it a chaos of darkness and rocks, with -wandering and inexplicable sounds and motions, and all is done. -Everything appears alive: the slowly growing stalactites, the water ever -dropping into the plashing pool, the whispering airs,—all seem -conscious. The coolness, vastness, suggestions of architecture, and dim -disclosures, occasion different feelings from any that are known under -the lights of the sky. The air in the neighbourhood of the waterfall was -delicious to breathe; and the pool was so clear that I could not, for -some time, see the water, in a pretty full light. That Rembrandt light -on the drip of water, on the piled rocks, and on our figures,—light -swallowed up before it could reach the unseen canopy under which we -stood, can never be forgotten. Milton's lake of fire might have brought -the roof into view:—nothing less.</p> - -<p>The young guides, brothers, were fine dashing youths, as Kentucky youths -are. They told us some horrible tales, and one very marvellous story<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> -about darkness and bewilderment in the labyrinth of the cave. They told -us (before they knew that any of us were English) that "all the lords -and lights of England had been to see the cave, except the king." While -they were about it, they might as well have included his majesty. -Perhaps they have, by this time; good stories being of very rapid -growth. They reported that ladies hold on in the cave better than -gentlemen. One of the party supposed this was because they were lighter; -but the guide believed it was owing to their having more curiosity.</p> - -<p>I was amused at their assurances about the number of miles that we had -walked; and thought it as good a story as any they had told us: but, to -my utter amazement, I found, on emerging from the cave, that the stars -were shining resplendently down into the glen, while the summer -lightning was quivering incessantly over the "verdurous wall" which -sprang up to a lofty height on either hand. There seemed to be none of -the coolness of night abroad. A breathless faintness came over us on -quitting the freshness of the cave, and taught us the necessary caution -of resting awhile at the entrance.</p> - -<p>Supper was ready when we returned; and then the best room was assigned -to the three ladies, while the gentlemen were to have the loft. We saw -the stars through chinks in our walls; but it was warm May, and we -feared no cold. Shallow tin-pans,—milk-pans, I believe,—were furnished -to satisfy our request for ewer and basin. The windows had blinds of -paper-hanging; a common sort of window-blind at hotels, and in country -places. Before it was light, I was wakened by a strong cold breeze -blowing upon me; and at dawn, I found that the entire lower half of the -window was absent. A deer had leaped through it, a few weeks before; and -there had been no opportunity of mending it. But everything was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> clean; -everybody was obliging; the hostess was motherly; and the conclusion -that we came to in the morning was that we had all slept well, and were -ready for a second ramble in the cave.</p> - -<p>We saw, this day, the Grotto and the Deserted Chamber. Few visitors -attempt the grotto, the entrance to it being in one part only a foot and -a half high. We were obliged, not only to go on hands and knees, but to -crawl lying flat. It is a sensation worth knowing, to feel oneself -imprisoned in the very heart of a mountain, miles from the sun-light, -and with no mode of escape but the imperceptible hole which a child -might block up in five minutes. Never was there a more magnificent -prison or sepulchre. Whether the singularity of our mode of access -magnified to our eyes the beauties we had thereby come into the midst -of, or whether Nature does work most <i>con amore</i> in retired places, this -grotto seemed to us all by far the most beautiful part of the cave. The -dry sandy floor was pleasant to the tread, after the loose limestone; -the pillars were majestic; the freaks of nature most wild and elegant. -The air was so fresh and cool that, if only a Rosicrucian lamp could be -hung in this magnificent chamber, it would be the place of all others in -which to spend the sultry summer's day,—entering when the beauties of -the sunrise had given place to glare, and issuing forth at the rising of -the evening star.</p> - -<p>On our way to the Deserted Chamber, we cut off half a mile by a descent -through a crevice, and a re-ascent by another. We were presently -startled by the apparition of two yellow stars, at what appeared an -immeasurable distance. In this cave, I was reminded, after a total -forgetfulness of many years, of the night-mare visitations of my -childhood; especially of the sense of infinite distance, which used to -terrify me indescribably. Here, too, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> senses and the reason were -baulked. Those two yellow stars might have been worlds, many millions of -miles off in space, or,—what they were,—two shabby lamps, fifty yards -off. A new visitor had arrived; and the old man of the solitary house -had brought him down, in hopes of meeting our larger party. One of the -gentlemen presently slipped on the loose stones, and fell into a hole, -with his back against a sharp rock; and he seemed at first unable to -rise. This was the only misadventure we had; and it did not prove a -serious one. He was somewhat shaken and bruised, and rendered unwilling -to go with the rest to the Bottomless Pit: but there was no eventual -injury. He and I staid in the Deserted Chamber, while our companions -disappeared, one by one, through a crevice, on their way to the pit. The -dead silence, and the glimmer of our single lamp, were very striking; -and we were more disposed to look round upon the low-roofed apartment, -piled with stones as far as the eye could reach, than to talk. I tried -to swallow a piece of bread or cake, very like a shoe-sole, and -speculated upon these piles of stones;—by whose hand they were reared, -and how long ago. There is much cane—doubtless, once used for -fuel—scattered about the deeper recesses of the cave; and these stones -were evidently heaped up by human hands: and those not Indian. It is -supposed that this cave was made use of by that mysterious race which -existed before the Indians, and of which so many curious traces remain -in the middle States of the West; a race more civilized, to judge by the -works of their hands, than the Indians have ever been; but of which no -tradition remains.</p> - -<p>Our party returned safe, and refreshed by a draught of water, better -worth having than my luncheon of bread. When we left the cave, our -guides insisted upon it that we had walked, this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> morning, ten or eleven -miles. I pronounced it four. Others of the party said seven; and the -point remains unsettled. We all agreed that it was twice as much as we -could have accomplished in the heat above ground; and perhaps the most -remarkable walk we had ever taken in our lives. Our hostess was with us -the whole time; and it was amusing to see in her the effect of custom. -She trod the mazes of this cave just as people do the walks of their own -garden.</p> - -<p>The gush of sun-light pouring in at the mouth of the cave, green and -soft, as we emerged from the darkness, was exquisitely beautiful. So was -the foliage of the trees, after the rigid forms which had been printing -themselves upon our eye-sight for so many hours. As we sat at the -entrance, to accustom ourselves to the warm outward air, I saw, growing -high in the steep woods, the richest of kalmias, in full bloom. One of -the gentlemen ran to bring me some; and when it came, it was truly a -feast to the eye. How apt are we to look upon all things as made for us! -How many seasons has this kalmia bloomed?</p> - -<p>We were truly sorry to bid farewell to our motherly hostess, and her -"smart" sons. Theirs is a singular mode of life; and it left nearly as -vivid an impression on our minds as their mighty neighbour, the cave. If -any of us should ever happen to be banished, and to have a home to seek, -I fancy we should look out for a plot of green sward, among flowering -kalmias, near the mouth of an enormous cave, with humming birds flitting -about it by day, and fire-flies and summer lightning by night.</p> - -<p class="space-above">In strong contrast in my mind with such a scene as this, stands a gay -encampment in the wilderness, at which I soon after arrived. The -watering places among the Virginia mountains are as new and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> striking a -spectacle as the United States can afford. The journeyings of those who -visit them are a perpetual succession of contrasts. I may as well give -the whole journey from Cincinnati to the eastern base of the -Alleghanies.</p> - -<p>We left Cincinnati at noon on the 25th of June: as sultry a summer's day -as ever occurs on the Ohio. The glare was reflected from the water with -a blinding and scorching heat; and feather fans were whisking all day in -the ladies' cabin of our steam-boat. Hot as it was, I could not remain -in the shady cabin. The shores of the Ohio are so beautiful, that I -could not bear to lose a single glimpse between the hills. It is -holiday-travelling to have such a succession of pictures as I saw there -made to pass noiselessly before one's eyes. There were the children -running among the gigantic trees on the bank, to see the boat pass; the -girl with her milk-pail, half way up the hill; the horseman on the -ridge, or the wagoner with his ox-team pausing on the slope. Then there -was the flitting blue jay under the cool shadow of the banks; the -butterflies crossing the river in zig-zag flight; the terrapins (small -turtle) floundering in the water, with their pert little heads above the -surface; and the glancing fire-flies every night.</p> - -<p>On the afternoon of this day, we were met by the storm which swept over -the whole country, and which will be remembered as having caused the -death of the son of Chief-Justice Marshall, at Baltimore, on his way to -his dying father. I watched, from the deck, the approach of the storm. -First, the sky, above the white clouds, was of a dark grey, which might -have been mistaken for the deep blue of twilight. Then a mass of black -clouds came hurrying up below the white. Then a flash escaped from out -of the upper grey, darting perpendicularly into the forest; and then -another, exploding like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> the four rays of a star. I saw the squall -coming in a dark line, straight across the river. Our boat was hurried -under the bank to await it. The burst was furious: a roaring gust, and a -flood of rain, which poured in under our cabin door, close shut as it -was. All was nearly as dark as night for a while, and all silent but the -elements. Then the day seemed to dawn again; but loud peals of thunder -lasted long, and the lightning was all abroad in the air. Faint flashes -now wandered by; and now a brilliant white zig-zag quivered across the -sky. One splendid violet-coloured shaft shot straight down into the -forest; and I saw a tall tree first blaze and then smoulder at the -touch. A noble horse floated by, dead and swollen. When we drew out into -the middle of the river, it was as if spring had come in at the heels of -the dog-days; all was so cool and calm.</p> - -<p>The company on board were of the lowest class we ever happened to meet -with in our travels. They were obliging enough; as everybody is -throughout the country, as far as my experience goes; but otherwise they -were no fair specimens of American manners. One woman excited my -curiosity from the beginning; but I entertained a much more agreeable -feeling towards her when we parted, after several days' travelling in -company. Her first deed was to ask where we were going; and her next, to -take my book out of my lap, and examine it. Much of the rest of her time -was occupied in dressing her hair, which was, notwithstanding, almost as -rough as a negro's. She wore in her head a silver comb, another set with -brilliants, and a third, an enormous tortoiseshell, so stuck in, on one -side, as to remind the observer, irresistibly, of a unicorn. She pulled -down her hair in company, and put it up again, many times in a day, -whenever, as it seemed to me, she could not think of anything else to -be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> doing. Her young companion, meantime, sat rubbing her teeth with -dragon-root. The other cabin company seemed much of the same class. I -was dressing in my state room between four and five the next morning, -when an old lady, who was presently going ashore, burst in, and snatched -the one tumbler glass from my hand. She was probably as much amazed at -my having carried it out of sight as I was at her mode of recovering it.</p> - -<p>I loved the early morning on the great rivers, and therefore rose at -dawn. I loved the first grey gleams that came from between the hills, -and the bright figures of people in white, (the men all in linen jackets -in hot weather,) on the banks. I loved to watch the river craft; the -fussy steamer making rapid way; the fairy canoe shooting silently -across; the flat-boat, with its wreath of blue smoke, stealing down in -the shadow of the banks, her navigators helping her along in the current -by catching at the branches as they passed: and the perilous looking -raft, with half-a-dozen people on it, under their canopy of green -boughs, their shapeless floor bending and walloping in the middle of the -stream. I loved the trees, looking as if they stood self-poised, their -roots were washed so bare. I loved the dwellings that stood behind their -screen, those on the eastern bank seeming fast asleep; those on the -western shore gay with the flickering shadows cast on them by the breezy -sunrise through the trees.</p> - -<p>On passing Catletsburgh we bade adieu to glorious Kentucky. At that -point, our eyes rested on three sovereign States at one glance, Ohio, -Kentucky, and Virginia. We landed at Guyandot, and proceeded by stage -the next morning to Charleston, on the Kanawha river. The road, all the -way to the Springs, is marvellously good for so wild a part of the -country. The bridges over the streams are, some of them,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> prettily -finished; and the accommodations by the road side are above the average. -The scenery is beautiful the whole way. We were leaving the great -Western Valley; and the road offered a succession of ascents and levels. -There were many rivulets and small waterfalls; the brier-rose was in -full bloom along the ground; the road ran half way up the wooded hills, -so that there were basins of foliage underneath, the whole apparently -woven into so compact a mass by the wild vine, that it seemed as if one -might walk across the valley on the tree tops. The next day's dawn broke -over the salt works and coal pits, or rather caverns of coal, on the -hill sides. The corn was less tall and rich, the trees were less lofty, -and it was apparent that we were mounting to a higher region. It -occurred to me, in a careless kind of way, that we were now not very far -from the Hawk's Nest. Some ladies in the Guyandot Hotel had said to me, -"Be sure you see the Hawk's Nest." "What is that?" "A place that -travellers can see if they choose; the driver always stops a few minutes -to let them see the Hawk's Nest." I had never heard of it before, and I -never heard of it again. The world is fairly awakened to Niagara; but it -is still drowsy about two scenes which moved me—the one more than -Niagara, the other nearly as much; the platform at Pine Orchard House, -on the top of the Catshills, and the Hawk's Nest.</p> - -<p>The last of the Kanawha River, as we bade adieu to it on the 28th of -June, was smooth and sweet, with its islets of rocks, and the pretty -bridge by which we crossed the Gauley, and entered upon the ascent above -New River. The Gauley and the New River join to make the Kanawha. The -ascent of the mountains above New River is trying to weak nerves. The -horses have to stop, here and there, to rest; and it appears that if -they were to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> back three steps, it would be death. The road, however, is -really broad, though it appears a mere ledge when the eye catches the -depth below, where the brown river is rushing and brawling in its rocky -bed. A passenger dropped his cap in the steepest part, and the driver -made no difficulty about stopping to let him recover it. What a depth it -was! like the dreamy visions of one's childhood of what winged -messengers may first learn of man's dwelling-place, when they light on a -mountain-top; like Satan's glimpses from the Mount of Soliloquy; like -any unusual or forbidden peep from above into the retirements of nature, -or the arrangements of man. On our left rose the blasted rocks which had -been compelled to yield us a passage; but their aspect was already -softened by the trails of crimson and green creepers which were -spreading over their front. The unmeasured pent-house of wild vine was -still below us on the right, with rich rhododendron blossoms bursting -through, and rock-plants shooting up from every ledge and crevice at the -edge of the precipice. After a long while, (I have nothing to say of -time or distance, for I thought of neither,) a turn in the road shut out -the whole from our sight. I leaned out of the stage, further and -further, to catch, as I supposed, a last glimpse of the tremendous -valley; and when I drew in again, it was with a feeling of deep grief -that such a scene was to be beheld by me no more. I saw a house, a -comfortable homestead, in this wild place, with its pasture and -corn-fields about it; and I longed to get out, and ask the people to let -me live with them.</p> - -<p>In a few minutes the stage stopped. "If any of the passengers wish to go -to the Hawk's Nest ..." shouted the driver. He gave us ten minutes, and -pointed with his whip to a beaten path in the wood to the right. It -seems to me now that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> I was unaccountably cool and careless about it. I -was absorbed by what I had seen, or I might have known, from the -direction we were taking, that we were coming out above the river again. -We had not many yards to go. We issued suddenly from the covert of the -wood, upon a small platform of rock;—a Devil's Pulpit it would be -called, if its present name were not so much better;—a platform of -rock, springing from the mountain side, without any visible support, and -looking sheer down upon an angle of the roaring river, between eleven -and twelve hundred feet below. Nothing whatever intervenes. Spread out -beneath, shooting up around, are blue mountain peaks, extending in -boundless expanse. No one, I believe, could look down over the edge of -this airy shelf, but for the stunted pines which are fast rooted in it. -With each arm clasping a pine-stem, I looked over, and saw more, I -cannot but think, than the world has in reserve to show me.</p> - -<p>It is said that this place was discovered by Chief Justice Marshall, -when, as a young man, he was surveying among the mountains. But how many -Indians knew it before? How did it strike the mysterious race who gave -place to the Indians? Perhaps one of these may have stood there to see -the summer storm careering below; to feel that his foothold was too -lofty to be shaken by the thunderpeals that burst beneath; to trace the -quiverings of the lightnings afar, while the heaven was clear above his -own head. Perhaps this was the stand chosen by the last Indian, from -which to cast his lingering glance upon the glorious regions from which -the white intruders were driving his race. If so, here he must have -pined and died, or hence he must have cast himself down. I cannot -conceive that from this spot any man could turn away, to go into exile. -But it cannot be that Marshall was more than the earliest of Saxon race -who discovered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> this place. Nature's thrones are not left to be first -mounted by men who can be made Chief Justices. We know not what races of -wild monarchs may have had them first.</p> - -<p>We travelled the rest of the day through an Alpine region, still full of -beauty. The road is so new that the stopping places seemed to have no -names. The accommodations were wonderfully good. At eleven we reached a -place where we were allowed, not only to sup, but to lie down for two -hours; a similar mercy to that afforded us the night before. Those who -are impatient of fatigue should not attempt this method of reaching the -Virginia Springs, though they are much to be pitied if they adopt any -other. Our first re-entrance upon the world was at Lewisburg, at noon, -on the 29th. It appears to be a neat village. The militia were parading: -very respectable men, I do not doubt, but not much like soldiers. In a -quarter of an hour we were off for the White Sulphur Springs, nine miles -(of dusty road) from Lewisburg, and arrived there at half-past two, just -as the company were dispersing about the walks, after dinner.</p> - -<p>Nothing could be more striking than the contrast between our stage-coach -society and that which was thronging the green area into which we were -driven. We were heated, wearied, shabby, and all of one dust colour, -from head to foot, and, I doubt not, looking very sheepish under the -general stare. Every body else was gay and spruce, and at full leisure -to criticise us. Gentlemen in the piazza in glossy coats and polished -pumps; ladies in pink, blue, and white, standing on green grass, shading -their delicate faces and gay head-dresses under parasols; never was -there a more astonishing contrast than all this presented with what we -had been seeing of late. The friends who were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> expecting us, however, -were not ashamed of us, and came bounding over the green to welcome us, -and carry us within reach of refreshment.</p> - -<p>It was doubtful whether "a cabin" could be spared to us. We were -fortunate in being so favoured as to be put in possession of one in the -course of the afternoon. Several carriages full of visitors arrived -within a few days, each with its load of trunks, its tin pail dangling -behind (wherewith to water the horses in the wilderness) and its crowd -of expecting and anxious faces at the windows, and were turned back to -seek a resting-place elsewhere. That we were accommodated at all, I -believe to this day to be owing to some secret self-denying ordinance on -the part of our friends.</p> - -<p>On one side of the green, are the large rooms, in which the company at -the Springs dine, play cards, and dance. Also, the bar-room, and stage, -post, and superintendent's offices. The cabins are disposed round the -other sides, and dropped down, in convenient situations behind. These -cabins consist of one, two, or more rooms, each containing a bed, a -table, a looking-glass, and two or three chairs. All company is received -in a room with a bed in it: there is no help for it. The better cabins -have a piazza in front; and all have a back door opening upon the hill -side; so that the attendants, and their domestic business, are kept out -of sight.</p> - -<p>The sulphur fountain is in the middle of the southern end of the green; -and near it is the sulphur bathing-house. The fountain rises in the -midst of a small temple, which is surmounted by a statue of Hygeia, -presented to the establishment by a grateful visitor from New Orleans.</p> - -<p>The water, pure and transparent, and far more agreeable to the eye than -to the taste, forms a pool in its octagon-shaped cistern; and hither -the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> visitors lounge, three times a day, to drink their two or three -half-pint tumblers of nauseousness.</p> - -<p>I heard many complaints, from new-comers, of the drowsiness caused by -drinking the water. Some lay down to sleep more than once in the day; -and others apologised for their dulness in society; but this is only a -temporary effect, if one may judge by the activity visible on the green -from morning till night. One of the greatest amusements was to listen to -the variety of theories afloat about the properties and modes of -application of the waters.</p> - -<p>These springs had been visited only about fifteen years. No -philosophising on cases appears to have been instituted: no recording, -classifying, inferring, and stating. The patients come from distances of -a thousand miles in every direction, with a great variety of complaints; -they grow better or do not; they go away, and nobody is the wiser for -their experience. It would be difficult to trace them, and to make a -record of anything more than their experience while on the spot. The -application of these waters will probably continue for a long time to be -purely empirical. All that is really known to the patients themselves -is, that they are first sleepy, then ravenous; that they must then leave -the White Sulphur Spring, and go to the Warm Springs, to be bathed; then -to the Sweet Springs, to be braced; and then home, to send all their -ailing friends into Virginia next year.</p> - -<p>Upwards of two hundred visitors were accommodated when I was in the -White Sulphur Valley; and cabins were being built in all directions. The -valley, a deep basin among the mountains; presents such beauties to the -eye, as perhaps few watering-places in the world can boast. There has -been no time yet to lay them open, for the benefit of the invalids; but -there are plans for the formation of walks and drives through the woods, -and along the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> mountain sides. At present, all is wild, beyond the -precincts of the establishment; and, for the pleasure of the healthy, -for those who can mount, and ramble, and scramble, it seems a pity that -it should not remain so. The mocking-bird makes the woods ring with its -delicious song; and no hand has bridged the rapid streams. If you want -to cross them, you must throw in your own stepping-stones. If you desire -to be alone, you have only to proceed from the gate of the establishment -to the first turn in the road, force your way into the thicket, and look -abroad from your retreat upon as sweet and untouched a scene of mountain -and valley as the eye of the red man loves to rest upon. The gentlemen -who are not invalids go out shooting in the wilderness. A friend of mine -returned from such an expedition, the day after my arrival. He brought -home a deer; had been overtaken by a storm in the mountains, and had, -with his companions, made a house and a fire. Such amusements would -diversify the occupations of Bath and Cheltenham very agreeably.</p> - -<p>The morning after our arrival, we were too weary to be roused by the -notice bell, which rings an hour before every meal; and we were ready -only just in time for the last bell. Breakfast is carried to the cabins, -if required; but every person who is able prefers breakfasting in -company. On rainy mornings, it is a curious sight to see the company -scudding across the green to the public-room, under umbrellas, and in -cloaks and india-rubber shoes. Very unlike the slow pace, under a -parasol, in a July sun.</p> - -<p>There was less meat on the table at breakfast and tea than I was -accustomed to see. The bread and tea were good. For the other eatables -there is little to be said. It is a table spread in the wilderness; and -a provision of tender meat and juicy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> vegetables for two or three -hundred people is not to be had for the wishing. The dietary is sure to -be improved, from year to year; the most that is to be expected at -present is, that there should be enough for everybody. The sum paid for -board per week is eight dollars; and other charges may make the expenses -mount up to twelve. Pitchers of water and of milk may be seen, at every -meal, all down the tables; little or no wine.</p> - -<p>The establishment is under the management of the proprietor, who has -been offered 500,000 dollars for it, that it may be conducted by a -company of share-holders, who would introduce the necessary -improvements. When I was there, the proprietor was still holding off -from this bargain, the company not being willing to continue to him the -superintendence of the concern. I hope that arrangements, satisfactory -to all parties, may have been made by this time. The average gross -receipts of a season were reported to be 50,000 dollars. It was added -that these might easily be doubled, if all were done that might be.</p> - -<p>Rheumatism and liver complaints seemed the most common grievances. Two -little girls, perhaps four and five years old, sat opposite to me, who -were sufferers from rheumatism. But the visitors who came for pleasure -seemed to outnumber considerably those who came for health.</p> - -<p>After breakfast, we sauntered about the green, and visited various new -acquaintances in their piazzas. Then we went home for our bonnets, and -rambled through the woods, till we were sent back by the rain, and took -shelter beside the fountain. The effect was strange of seeing there a -family of emigrants, parents and nine children, who were walking from -North Carolina into Illinois. There must have been twins among these -children, so many of them looked just alike. The contrast between this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> -group of way-worn travellers, stopping out of curiosity to taste the -waters, and the gay company among whom they very properly held up their -independent heads, was striking to a stranger.</p> - -<p>We dined at two; and afterwards found that a fire would be comfortable, -though it was the last day of June. As many friends as our room would -hold came home with us, and sat on the bed, table, and the few chairs we -could muster, while one made the wood fire, and another bought -ice-creams, which a country lad brought to the door. These ice-creams -seemed to be thin custard, with a sprinkling of snow in it; but the boy -declared that they were ice-creams when he left home. When we had -finished our dessert, washed and returned the glasses, and joked and -talked till the new-comers of our party grew ashamed of their -drowsiness, we crossed the green to diversify the afternoon amusements -of certain of our friends. Some were romping with their dogs; some -reading books brought by themselves; (for there is no library yet;) some -playing at chess or backgammon; all deploring the rain.</p> - -<p>After tea, we stormed the great scales, and our whole party were -individually weighed. It must be an interesting occupation to the -valetudinarians of the place to watch their own and each others' weight, -from day to day, or from week to week. For my part, I found my weight -just what it always has been, the few times in my life that I have -remembered to ascertain it. Such unenviable persons can never make a -pursuit of the scales, as others can whose gravity is more -discriminating.—From the scales, we adjourned to the ball-room, where I -met friends and acquaintances from Mobile and New Orleans; saw -new-comers from the Carolinas and Georgia; was introduced to personages -of note from Boston; recognized some whom I had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> known at Philadelphia; -and sat between two gentlemen who had fought a duel. There was music, -dancing, and refreshments; laughing and flirting here; grave -conversation there;—all the common characteristics of a ball, with the -added circumstances that almost every State in the Union was here -represented; and that we were gathered together in the heart of the -mountains.</p> - -<p>One more visit remained to be paid this day. We had promised to look in -upon some friends who were not at the ball, in order to try the charms -and virtues of egg-nogg, which had been lauded to us by an eminent -statesman, who has had opportunity, during his diplomatic missions, to -learn what there is best in this world. The egg-nogg having been duly -enjoyed, we at length went home, to write letters as long as we could -hold up our heads, after so extremely busy a day:—a day which may be -considered a fair specimen of life at the White Sulphur Springs.</p> - -<p>One of the personages whom I referred to as low company, at the -beginning of my story, declared himself in the stage-coach to be a -gambler, about to visit the Springs for professional purposes. He said -to another man, who looked fit company for him, that he played higher at -faro than any man in the country but one. These two men slept while we -were mounting to the Hawk's Nest. People who pursue their profession by -night, as such people do, must sleep in the day, happen what may. They -were rather self-important during the journey; it was a comfort to see -how poor a figure they cut at the Springs. They seemed to sink into the -deepest insignificance that could be desired. Such persons are the pests -of society in the south and west; and they are apt to boast that their -profession is highly profitable in the eastern cities. I fear this is no -empty vaunt.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p><p>We left the White Sulphur Springs, a party of six, in "an extra -exclusive return stage," and with two saddle horses. Nothing could be -more promising. The stage was perfectly new, having been used only to -bring General C—— and his lady from Philadelphia to the Springs. We -had a shrewd and agreeable Yankee driver, for the whole way. The weather -was as fine as July weather ought to be; and as cool as is its wont near -the tops of mountains: the very weather for the saddle, or for having -the stage open on all sides; or for walking. The alternations were -frequently tried. Roses and mountain laurels adorned our road; the -breezy woods cast their shadows over us; and we remembered what waters -were springing beneath us;—that we were passing over the sources of the -mighty rivers of the West, which we had lately navigated with deep awe -and delight. The few dwellings we passed were almost all houses of -entertainment; but nothing could be more quiet than their air, nestling -as they did in the most enviable situations, and resembling more the -lodges in the avenues of the parks of English gentry than the hotels of -the high road.</p> - -<p>We reached the Sweet Springs, twelve miles, I believe, from the White -Sulphur, at half-past two. We were as hungry as mountain travellers -should be, and dinner was over. However, we were soon set down to hot -stewed venison, beet, hominy, ham, and fruit pies; and, thus reinforced, -we issued forth to examine the place. The spring at the bathhouse looked -so tempting, that I resolved to bathe at sun-down, which, in this -valley, would be at five o'clock. The establishment here is inferior to -the one we had left. The green was not paled in; the cabins were more -shabby; the dining-room smaller. We had it almost to ourselves. The -season had not begun, few having been yet sufficiently sulphured and -bathed elsewhere to come here to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> braced. The water is a little warm; -it has a slight briskness; and bubbles up prettily in its well under the -piazza. The luxury is to have nothing to do with its disagreeable taste, -but to bathe in it, as it gushes, tepid, from its spout. It would be -worth while, if there were nothing but trouble in crossing the mountains -to get to it. The Sweet Springs lie in one of the highest valleys of the -Alleghanies, and one of the fairest. Five times that afternoon did I -climb the steep breezy slope behind our cabin, bringing first one of our -party, then another, to look abroad; and then returning to enjoy the -sun-set alone. The crowds of blue peaks, the bright clearings, the -clumps of forest trees, lilac in the sunset with the shepherds lying in -their shadow, and the sheep grazing on the sunny slopes, the cluster of -cabins below, with their thin smokes rising straight into the golden -air,—the whole looked as if the near heavens had opened to let down a -gush of their inner light upon this high region. Never shall I forget -those tufty purple hills. Cold twilight came on; and we sat round a -blazing wood fire, telling ghost and murder stories till we could have -declared it was a Christmas night.</p> - -<p>At supper, I observed a hale, brisk, intellectual-looking gentleman who -satisfied himself with a basin of liquid; as he did at breakfast the -next morning; and as he may be seen to do at every meal he takes. He -told us his story. Twenty years before, he nearly closed his -œsophagus by taking too powerful an emetic. For twenty years, he has -had no illness; he rises at dawn all the year round, and has never been -known to be low-spirited for two minutes. We all began to think of -living upon liquids; but I have not heard of any of the party having -proceeded beyond the suggestion.</p> - -<p>We rose at five, the next morning, having thirty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> mountain miles to go -during the day, with the same horses. It must not be supposed that this -mountain travelling is scrambling among craggy peaks, piercing through -dark defiles, and so forth. The roads wind so gently among the slopes, -that a sleeping or blind traveller would not discover that the carriage -was not, for the greater part of the time, proceeding on level ground. -Woody slopes at hand, and a crowd of blue summits afar, are the most -characteristic features of the scenery. A white speck of a house, on its -tiny green clearing, comes into sight, high up among the hills, from a -turn in the road, and the traveller says to himself, "What a perch to -live on!" In two hours, he stops at that very house to dine, not being -aware how he has got up to it, and looking round with wonder on the snug -comforts of the homestead.</p> - -<p>Our thirty miles of this day were delicious. Having breakfasted, we bade -adieu, at half-past six, to the Sweet Springs, steaming in the bitter -cold morning air, and followed a gentleman of our party who had -proceeded on foot to the top of the first ridge. There we found him, -sitting under a tree, having succeeded in warming himself by the walk. -Up the second ridge, the whole party walked, I having started off, ahead -of the rest. It was warm, and I stopped, here and there, to rest and -gather wild flowers. The rhododendrons and kalmias grew in profusion; -and there were plenty of roses, the fine orange columbine of the hills, -vetches, and a few splendid scarlet lilies. The peeps down into abysses -of foliage were glorious; and, yet more, the cloudlike expanse of -mountain tops, growing bluer and fainter till they faded quite away. A -steep road on an opposite mountain was the only sign of humanity being -near. On the summit, however, there was a small farm. In it lived an -elderly woman, who had never been further from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> the spot than eight -miles. If she was born to travel no further than eight miles, no better -dwelling place could have been assigned her; for hence she sees more at -a glance, any sunset, than some, with all means of locomotion, have ever -beheld.</p> - -<p>It was a strange feeling, the beginning to descend. It was strange to -cross, soon after, the path of the tornado. I had seen something of its -ravages before, on the banks of the Cumberland river: the stoutest -forest-trees wrenched and twisted, like red-hot iron in the vice of the -blacksmith; and snapped off, all at the same height; so that the forest -looked like a gigantic scorched stubble-field. Here, a similar -desolation was seen in immediate contrast with the rich fertility of the -little valley beneath. The hurricane had seared a path for itself up the -mountain side, passing over the lowly roofs in the depths. We arrived to -dinner at a house on Barber Creek, where we entreated to be fed without -delay, on anything whatsoever that was eatable; as time was precious, -this day. Yet were we kept waiting two hours and a half. I found much to -do by the creek side watching the minnows making their way up against -the current; watching two girls who had set up their washing -establishment in pretty style under a tree beside the water; their wood -fire, black cauldron, and stand of tubs; while the bushes stood round -about to be used as drying horses. I also actually saw a hog voluntarily -walk three times through the clear water; and the delay of the dinner -afforded time for speculation whether the race was not improving. When -the dinner was on the table, no one of us could tell what it consisted -of. The dish from which I ate was, according to some, mutton; to others, -pork: my own idea is that it was dog. Whatever it was, it was at last -done with, and paid for, and I was in my saddle, listening to the creek -as it rattled under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> the grey rocks. Having crossed one mountain top on -foot, in the morning, I was about to pass another on my horse this -afternoon. There is no describing what it is to be pacing upwards, on -the extreme edge of the steep road, with one's feet hanging over the -green abyss; the shadowy mountains retreating, advancing, interlacing, -opening, to disclose a low far-off bit of meadow, with a diminutive -dwelling, quiet as a lonely star. What blessed work road-making must be -in such places! It was with no little pleasure that, after fourteen -miles from Barber Creek, I saw a fine house on an eminence; and then the -town of Fincastle, spread out below us, on some rising grounds.</p> - -<p>The scenes of the day left me little disposed for sociability in the -evening. We were kept waiting long for supper, by the arrival of a party -of New Yorkers; to avoid an introduction to whom, some of us pretended -to read, and some to be asleep, while others did our duty, talk. The -night closed in worthily. From the balcony of my chamber, I saw how -modestly the young moon eyed with me the region which will be spread -before her for ever, but which I was looking back upon for the last -time.</p> - -<p>Here I must break off; and, instead of adding another description of the -Natural Bridge to the hundred which exist, bring into contrast with life -at the Virginia Springs, life in a New England farm-house.</p> - -<p class="space-above">Nothing can he quieter or more refreshing, after a winter's visiting at -Boston or New York, than such an abode in a country village as I made -trial of last May. The weeks slipped away only too fast. Dr. and Mrs. -F., their little boy, six years old, and myself, were fortunate enough -to prevail with a farmer's widow at Stockbridge, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>Massachusetts, to take -us into her house. The house was conspicuous from almost every part of -the sweet valley into which it looked; the valley of the Housatonic. It -was at the top of a steep hill; a sort of air palace. From our parlour -windows we could see all that went on in the village; and I often found -it difficult to take off my attention from this kind of spying. It was -tempting to trace the horseman's progress along the road, which wound -among the meadows, and over the bridge. It was tempting to watch the -neighbours going in and out, and the children playing in the courts, or -under the tall elms; all the people looking as small and busy as ants -upon a hillock. On week-days there was the ox-team in the field; and on -Sundays the gathering at the church-door. The larger of the two churches -stood in the middle of a green, with stalls behind it for the horses and -vehicles which brought the churchgoers from a distance. It was a pretty -sight to see them converging from every point in the valley, so that the -scene was all alive; and then disappear for the space of an hour and a -half, as if an earthquake had swallowed up all life; and then pour out -from the church door, and, after grouping on the green for a few -minutes, betake themselves homewards. Monument Mountain reared itself -opposite to us, with its thick woods, and here and there a grey crag -protruding. Other mountains closed in the valley, one of which treated -us for some nights with the spectacle of a spreading fire in its woods. -From the bases of these hills, up to our very door-step, there was one -bright carpet of green. Everything, houses, trees, churches, were -planted down into this green, so that there was no interruption but the -one road, and the blue mazy Housatonic. The softness of the scene, early -in a May morning, or when the sun was withdrawing,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> could not be -surpassed by anything seen under a Greek or Italian sky. Sometimes I -could scarcely believe it real: it looked air-painted, cloud-moulded.</p> - -<p>It was as a favour that the widow Jones<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> took us in. She does not let -lodgings. She opened her house to us, and made us a part of her family. -Two of her daughters were at home, and a married son lived at hand. We -had a parlour, with three windows, commanding different views of the -valley: two good-sized chambers, conveniently furnished, and a large -closet between; our board with the family, and every convenience that -could be provided: and all for two dollars per week each, and half price -for the child. She was advised to ask more, but she refused, as she did -not wish to be "grasping." It was a merry afternoon when we followed the -wagon up the hill to our new abode, and unpacked, and settled ourselves -for our long-expected month of May. Never was unpacking a pleasanter -task.</p> - -<p>The blossomy cherry-tree beside my chamber window was the first object I -saw in the morning when I threw up the sash; and beneath it was a broad -fallow, over which the blue jay flitted. By this window there was an -easy chair and a light table, a most luxurious arrangement for reading. -We breakfasted at half-past seven on excellent bread, potatoes, hung -beef, eggs, and strong tea. We admitted no visitors during the forenoon, -as our theory was that we were very busy people. Writing and reading did -occupy much of our time, but it was surprising how much was left for the -exercise of our tongues. Then there were visits to be made to the -post-office, and the crockery store, and the cobbler; and Charley found -occasion to burst in, a dozen times a-day, with a bunch of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> violets, or -news of the horse or cow, or of the ride he had had, or of the oxen in -the field.</p> - -<p>We all dined together at two. One of the daughters absented herself at -breakfast, that she might arrange our rooms; but both were present at -dinner, dressed, and ready for their afternoon's occupation of working -and reading. One was fond of flowers, and had learned a great deal about -them. She was skilful in drying them, and could direct us to the places -in the woods and meadows where they grew. Some members of the family, -more literary than the rest, were gone westward; but there was a taste -for books among them all. I often saw a volume on the table of the -widow's parlour, with her spectacles in it. She told me, one day, of her -satisfaction in her children, that they were given to good pursuits, and -all received church members. All young people in these villages are more -or less instructed. Schooling is considered a necessary of life. I -happened to be looking over an old almanack one day, when I found, among -the directions relating to the preparations for winter on a farm, the -following: "Secure your cellars from frost. Fasten loose clap-boards and -shingles. Secure a good school-master." It seemed doubtful, at the first -glance, whether some new farming utensil had not been thus whimsically -named; as the brass plate which hooks upon the fender, or upper bar of -the grate, is called "the footman;" but the context clearly showed that -a man with learning in his head was the article required to be provided -before the winter. The only respect, as far as I know, in which we made -our kind hostess uneasy, was in our neglect of Charley's book-studies. -Charley's little head was full of knowledge of other kinds; but the -widow's children had all known more of the produce of the press at his -age than he; and she had a few anxious thoughts about him.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p><p>In the afternoon we rambled abroad, if the weather was fine; if rainy, -we lighted our wood fire, and pursued our employments of the morning, -not uncheered by a parting gleam from the west; a bar of bright yellow -sky above the hill tops, or a gush of golden light burnishing the dewy -valley at the last. Our walks were along the hill road to the lake, on -the way to Lenox, or through the farmyard and wood to a tumbling brook -in a small ravine. We tried all manner of experiments with moss, stones, -and twigs, among its sunny and shadowy reaches, and tiny falls. We -hunted up marsh flowers, wood anemones, and violets, and unfolded the -delicate ferns, still closely buttoned up, and waiting for the full -power of the summer sun. It was some trouble to me, in America, that I -could not get opportunity to walk so much as I think necessary to -health. It is not the custom there: partly owing to the climate, the -extreme heat of summer, and cold of winter; and partly to the absence of -convenient and pretty walks in and about the cities; a want which, I -trust, will be supplied in time. In Stockbridge much pedestrian exercise -may be and is accomplished; and I took the opportunity of indulging in -it, much to the surprise of some persons, who were not aware how English -ladies can walk. One very warm afternoon, we were going on a visit to -Lenox, five miles off. My friends went in a wagon; I preferred walking. -The widow's son watched me along the road, and then remarked, "You will -see no more of her till you get to Lenox. I would not walk off at that -rate, if they gave me Lenox when I got there."</p> - -<p>In the evenings, we made a descent upon the village, or the village came -up to us. In the latter case, our hostess was always ready with a simple -and graceful welcome, and her best endeavours to provide seats for our -many friends. If we staid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> below till after nine, the family had gone to -rest on our return. We had only to lift the latch, light our candles, -and make our way to the milk-pans, if we were thirsty. For twenty-five -years, the widow has lived on the top of her hill, with only a latch to -her door. She sleeps undefended, for she has no enemies; and in her -village there are no thieves.</p> - -<p>One night, when we were visiting some friends in the valley, it was -brought home to us what it is to live in a place where there are no -hackney coaches, or other travelling shelter. When we should have been -going home, it was a tremendous spring-storm; wind, thunder and -lightning, and rain in floods. We waited long; but it seemed to have no -intention of abating. When at length we did set out, we were a -remarkable looking troop; a gentlemanly young lawyer in a pea jacket; -the other gentlemen in the roughest coats that could be found; the -ladies leaving bonnets and caps behind, with handkerchiefs over their -heads, India-rubbers on their feet, their dresses tucked up, and cloaks -swathed round them. Our party were speeded up the hill by the fear that -Charley would be wakened and alarmed by the storm; but it was a -breathless sort of novelty to be working our way through one continued -pond to the foot of the hill, and then up the slippery ascent, -unbonneted, with the strangling gust in our faces, and no possibility of -our finding our way in the pitchy darkness but by the flashes of blue -lightning. Well clad as we were, we felt, I believe, something like -being paupers, or gentry of the highway, or some such houseless -personages exposed to the pelting of the pitiless storm. Charley was -found to be sound asleep, and we ourselves no worse off than being -steeped over the ankles.</p> - -<p>The time came too soon when I must leave the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> beloved village, when I -must see no longer the morning baking and the evening milking; and the -soap cauldron boiling in the open air behind the house, with Charley -mounted on a log, peeping into it; and the reading and working, and -tying up of flowers in the afternoon. The time was come when the -motherly and sisterly kiss were ready for me, and my country life in New -England was at an end. It is well for us that our best pleasures have an -immortality like our own; that the unseen life is a glorification of the -seen. But for this, no one with a human heart would travel abroad, and -attach himself to scenes and persons which he cannot but love, but which -he must leave.</p> - -<p>It was not always that the villagers of New England could place -themselves on hill tops, and leave their doors unfastened. There is a -striking contrast between their present security and the fears of their -forefathers, in the days when the nursling went to church, because it -was unsafe at home, in the absence of its father. Father, mother, and -children, all went on one horse to meet the total population within the -walls of the church; the one parent armed, the other prying about for -traces of the fearful red man. Those were the days when the English -regicides had fled to the colonies, and were there secreted. Those were -the days when anything that was to be made known to all was announced in -church, because everybody was sure to be there; and a fast-day was -ordained if anything very remarkable was to be done, or conveyed. -Sometimes formal announcements were made; sometimes intimations were so -interwoven with the texture of the discourse, as that unfriendly ears, -if such should be present, should not apprehend the meaning. When any -emissary of Charles the Second was prowling in search of a concealed -regicide, the pastor preached from some such text<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> as, "Hide the -outcasts. Bewray not him that wandereth;"<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> and the flock understood -that they were to be on their guard against spies. Charles the Second -could never get hold of one of his enemies who had taken refuge in these -colonies.</p> - -<p>On looking abroad over the valley of the Connecticut, from the top of -Mount Holyoke, I saw the village of Hadley, seated in the meadows, and -extending across a promontory, formed by the winding of the river. This -promontory afforded a secure grazing ground for the cattle by day, which -were driven by night into the area of the village, where the church -stood. Goffe, the regicide, was concealed for many years in the -parsonage at Hadley; all the people in the village, except two or three, -being, in this instance, unaware of an outcast being among them. One -Sunday, the Indians attacked the village while the people were all in -church. The women and children were left in the church, while their -husbands, fathers, and brothers went out to do battle with the cruel -foe. It went hard with the whites; the Indians were fast bearing them -down, when an unknown figure appeared in their ranks, with flowing -robes, streaming white hair, and a glittering sword. The cry was raised -that the angel Gabriel had been sent in answer to the prayers of the -women in the church. Every spirit was cheered, every arm was nerved, and -the Indians were beaten off, with great slaughter. Upon this, Gabriel -vanished; but tradition long preserved the memory of his miraculous -appearance. The very few who recognized in him Goffe, with his undressed -hair, and in his morning gown, kept the secret faithfully. How blessed a -change has come over rural life in Massachusetts since those days! Never -may its peace and security be invaded by those social abuses which are -more hateful than foreign spies;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> more cruel and treacherous than the -injured and exasperated red man of the wilderness!</p> - -<p class="space-above">The contrast is also striking between the country life of New England -and that of the west. I staid for some weeks in the house of a wealthy -land-owner in Kentucky. Our days were passed in great luxury; and some -of hottest of them very idly. The house was in the midst of grounds, gay -with verdure and flowers, in the opening month of June; and our -favourite seats were the steps of the hall, and chairs under the trees. -From thence we could watch the play of the children on the grass-plat, -and some of the drolleries of the little negroes. The red bird and the -blue bird flew close by; and the black and white woodpecker with crimson -head, tapped at all the tree-trunks, as if we were no interruption. We -relished the table fare, after that with which we had been obliged to -content ourselves on board the steam-boats. The tender meat, fresh -vegetables, good claret and champagne, with the daily piles of -strawberries and towers of ice-cream, were welcome luxuries. There were -thirty-three horses in the stables, and we roved about the neighbouring -country accordingly. There was more literature at hand than time to -profit by it. Books could be had at home; but not the woods of -Kentucky;—clear, sunny woods, with maple and sycamore springing up to a -height which makes man feel dwarfish. The glades, with their turf so -clean, every fallen leaf having been absorbed, reminded me of Ivanhoe, I -almost looked for Gurth in my rambles. All this was, not many years ago, -one vast canebrake, with a multitude of buffalo and deer: the pea-vine -spreading everywhere, and the fertility far greater than even now.</p> - -<p>One morning I took a lesson in rifle-shooting;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> the gentlemen having -brought out their weapons for a few hours' sport among the squirrels. A -rifle does not bounce like a musket, and affords, therefore, an easy -beginning. I took aim at twenty-five paces, and hitting within an inch, -thought it best to leave off with credit. A child of eighteen months -stood in the middle of the gravel-walk, very composedly, while the -rifles were popping off; and his elder brothers were busy examining the -shots. Children seem born to their future pursuits, in new countries. -Negro children seem all born riders and drivers. It was an amusement to -see little children that in England could not hold themselves on a large -horse, playing pranks with a whole equipage that they were leading to -water.</p> - -<p>In the afternoon of this day we took a long drive in search of buffalo; -the only herd of those hideous animals now to be seen in Kentucky. None -of the family liked to be left behind, so we filled the barouche and the -phaeton, and Master H., eight years old, in his garden costume, mounted -the mare, whose foal could not be induced to remain at home, and -frolicked beside us all the way. We rattled on through lanes, over open -ground above a pond, beneath locust groves, and beechen shades, seeing -herds of mules, and the finest of cattle within the verge of the woods. -The mules are raised for exportation to the fields of Louisiana. Then we -reached the hill-side where eight buffalo were grazing, four of the pure -and four of a mixed breed. The creatures stood looking at us as if they -had been turned into stone at the sight of us. Their sidelong gaze, as -they stood motionless beside a stump, or beneath a tree, was horrid. I -never saw an eye and attitude of which I should be so much afraid. As -they appeared to have no intention of moving a hair of their tails or -huge necks while we halted, a little slave, named Oliver,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> was sent up -the hill to put them in motion; there being no danger whatever in the -operation. Oliver disappeared, and no result of his exertions was -visible. When the buffalo and we had mutually stared for another five -minutes, Oliver's master called to him to know what he was about. He -replied that the buffalo looked too hard at him. At last, however, he -went near enough to put them in motion; and then they moved all at once, -each seeming more clumsy than the others in its headlong run. I am glad -to have seen buffalo, but there is nothing to be said for their beauty -or grace.</p> - -<p>In the evening we repaired to the cool grass-plat, to amuse ourselves -with the pretty sport of trying which should find out the first star. It -was then ascertained that two gentlemen present were well qualified to -entertain us with stories of horrible western murders,—more fearful -than any other murders. So we sat till late at night, amidst summer -lightning and the glancing of fire-flies, listening to the most -harrowing and chilling set of tales of human misdeeds and their -retributions, that it ever was my fortune to listen to. The Christmas -firesides of England yield no impressions of horror like the plain facts -of a life in the wilderness, told under the trees, in a sultry night, -while the pale lightning is exploding on the horizon.</p> - -<p>We had tidings of a camp-meeting to be held at some distance, the next -day. I had never seen a camp-meeting; but the notice was too short, and -the distance too great, and I missed the chance.</p> - -<p>One of the slaves of a neighbouring gentleman came and asked his master -what he would give him for two bee-holes. "You are a pretty fellow," -said his master, "to ask me to pay for my own trees." The negro urged -that his master would never have found out the bee-holes for himself;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> -which was very true. He was referred to his mistress; and it was finally -arranged that three of us English strangers should see the felling of a -bee-tree; a spectacle we had all heard of, but not seen. A large party -dined at this gentleman's house; and, presently after dinner, all set -out in carriages, or on horseback, for the spot in the woods where the -bee-tree stood. It was a shabby black walnut, which seemed scarcely fit -company for the noble array of trees around it. It was of so respectable -a circumference near the ground, however, and the negroes were making -such slow progress into its interior, that it was plain we should have -time for a drive in the woods before the catastrophe; so my host mounted -the box of our barouche, and we wound hither and thither under the -trees, over the rich grass; and, seldom having to stoop to avoid the -branches, catching bright glimpses of a hundred glades. It was a full -hour before the tree fell. We arrived just when it was chopped into the -middle, and some minutes before the event. It is a pretty sight to see -the top branches of the falling glory quiver, its canopy shake, and its -huge bulk come crashing down, while everybody runs away at the shout -which tells that it is coming. This tree fell on the wrong side, and -destroyed several yards of fence, snapping the stakes, and setting them -flying in all directions.</p> - -<p>Straw and sulphur were burned in the hollow of the trunk. A few little -startled bees flew out, and wreaked their vengeance on our host and -myself; but most of them perished very quietly. I was asked whether I -should like to look into the cleft; and when I was stepping over the -bristling branches for the purpose, a bough was put into my hand, with -directions to wave it before me. I returned, stung, but having seen what -I wanted; and then I was told that if I had not waved a bough, I should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> -have escaped the bees. Mine was the common fate of persons who follow -unasked advice. Our host capered among the trees, with a bee or two -under his cravat and hair. It was impossible to help laughing. A stout -gentleman of the party did the same, under the mere idea of bees being -upon him; and, while tossing his head and arms about, he ran up, with a -great shock, against his own horse; on which sat a little negro, -grinning from ear to ear. The result of the whole was,—half a tumbler -glass full of blackened honey, and the high gratification of the -spectators, native and foreign, unharmed and stung.</p> - -<p>Such is a fair specimen of our life in the West. Contrasts rise up -before my mind's eye, as the scenes of my journeying present themselves; -contrasts in the face of the country, as striking as in the modes of -living.</p> - -<p class="space-above">When I was at Salem, in Massachusetts, the friends whose hospitality I -was enjoying proposed an excursion to Cape Ann, (the northern point of -Massachusetts' bay,) and round the peninsula which constitutes the -township of Gloucester. This excursion impressed me strongly, from the -peculiar character of the scenery: but I know not whether it is an -impression which can be conveyed by description. Whether it be or not, I -would recommend all strangers to go and visit this peninsula; and, if -convenient, in fine autumn weather, when the atmosphere lends its best -aid to the characteristic charms of the landscape.</p> - -<p>It was the 19th of October, a foggy morning, when we mounted the -carry-all,—a carriage which holds four,—and drove merrily out of -Salem, upon a carpet of fallen leaves. I love streets that have trees in -them; Summer Street in Boston; State Street in Albany; and Chesnut -Street in Salem.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> We passed through Beverley, where, as in most of the -small New England towns, the population has a character of its own. At -Marblehead, on the bay, near Salem, the people are noisy, restless, -high-spirited, and democratic. At Beverley, in the near neighbourhood, -they are quiet, economical, sober, and whig. Such, at least, is the -theory: and one fact in this connexion is, that the largest sums in the -Boston savings' banks are from Beverley. We passed over a long -bridge,—a respectable toll-bridge. The Americans are not fond of tolls -of above a certain age,—for fear of monopoly. There is a small bridge, -called Spite Bridge, because it spites the Beverley toll, which is much -used in preference. Seven miles further is Manchester;—how unlike the -English Manchester! A mere with pond-lilies! woods with the glorious -magnolia flourishing in the midst! This is the only place in New England -where the magnolia grows. In summer, parties are formed to visit the -woods; and children make much money as guides and gatherers. -Cabinet-making is the great business of the place. We saw logs of -mahogany lying outside the houses; and much furniture in pieces standing -up against the walls, ready to be packed for New Orleans. The furniture -of the southern cities is almost entirely derived from this -neighbourhood. One manufacturer, who makes the furniture here, and sells -it from his warehouse at New Orleans, has an income of 150,000 dollars. -The inhabitants of Manchester are very prosperous. The houses were all -good, except, here and there, the abode of a drunkard, known by its -unpainted walls, loose shingles, broken shutters, and decayed door-step, -in striking contrast with the neat white or yellow painted houses of the -neighbours, with their bright windows, and spruce Venetian blinds.</p> - -<p>Seven miles further, stands Gloucester; the road<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> to it winding among -wooded rocks; sometimes close down to the shore; and sometimes -overhanging the rippling waters of Massachusetts Bay. The gay autumn -copses harmonized well with the grey granite, out of which they seemed -to grow; and with the pearly sea, sinning out from beneath the -dissolving mist.</p> - -<p>We crossed a little canal which opens into the bay, near Gloucester; and -hastened onto the most interesting ground we had to traverse, stopping -only a few minutes at Gloucester, to consult a map which indicated -almost every rock and house in the peninsula.</p> - -<p>The population of the peninsula is homogeneous. There is probably no -individual beyond Gloucester whose parentage may not be referred to a -particular set of people, at a particular date in English history. It -has great wealth of granite and fish. It is composed of granite; and -almost its only visitors are fish.</p> - -<p>It is a singular region. If a little orchard plot is seen, here and -there it seems rescued by some chance from being grown over with -granite. It was pleasant to see such a hollow, with its apple tree, the -ladder reared against it, the basket beneath, and the children picking -up the fallen fruit. The houses look as if they were squeezed in among -the rocks. The granite rises straight behind a house, encroaches on each -side, and overhangs the roof, leaving space only for a sprinkling of -grass about the door, for a red shrub or two to wave from a crevice, and -a drip of water to flow down among gay weeds. Room for these dwellings -is obtained by blasting the rocks. Formerly, people were frightened at -fragments falling through the roof after a blasting: but now, it has -become too common an occurrence to alarm any body. One precaution is -enforced: no one is allowed to keep more than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> twenty-eight pounds of -powder in one town or village; and the powder-houses may be seen, -insulated on rocks, and looking something like watch-boxes, at some -distance from every settlement. The school-houses are also remarkable -buildings. The school-house may always be known at a glance: a single -square room, generally painted white or pale green, and reared on a -grassy eminence, with a number of small heads to be seen through the -windows, or little people gathered about the door. There are twenty-one -school-houses in this township of Gloucester, the population of which is -nine thousand.</p> - -<p>We dined at Sandy Bay, in a neat little hotel, whose windows bloomed -with chrysanthemums, nasturtium, and geraniums; and where we feasted on -chowder, an excellent dish when well cooked. It consists of fish, (in -this instance haddock,) stewed in milk, with potatoes. The parlour table -was graced with a fair collection of books; as was almost every parlour -I saw, throughout the country. Sandy Bay is a thriving place. It has a -pretty, and very conspicuous church, and a breakwater, built by the -people, at an expense of 40,000 dollars, but now too small for their -purposes. The Atlantic rolls in upon their coast fiercely in winter: and -the utility of a harbour hereabouts for all vessels, is a sufficient -ground for an application to Congress for an appropriation of 100,000 -dollars, to make a larger breakwater. If the application has succeeded, -Sandy Bay will soon be an important place. While dinner was preparing, -we went down to the little harbour, and saw the dancing fishing-vessels, -the ranges and piles of mackarel barrels, and an immense display of the -fish drying. The mackarel fishery begins in June, and continues almost -through the year. There are three orders of mackarel, to which the -unfortunate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> individuals which are detained in their summer excursion -are assigned, according to their plumpness; one dollar per barrel being -the superiority of price of one over another.</p> - -<p>After dinner, we proceeded on our travels, first visiting Cape Ann, the -extreme north end of Massachusetts Bay. We had the bay before us, and -the great Atlantic on our left. We ought to have seen Boston; but the -fog had not quite cleared away in the distance. Thatcher's Island was -near, with its two lighthouses, and a bright, green sea playing about -it. Then we turned and drove northward along the shore, with busy and -most picturesque quarries to our left. There were tall poles in the -quarries, with stretched ropes, the pulleys by which the blocks of stone -were raised: there were ox-teams and sleds: there were groups of workmen -in the recesses of the rocks, and beside the teams, and about the little -bays and creeks, where graceful sloops were riding under the lee of tiny -breakwaters, where the embarkation of the stone for foreign parts goes -on. Blocks of granite lay by the road-side, marked, either in reference -to its quality, if for sale; or to its proportion among the materials -which are being prepared to order for some great building in New York, -or Mobile, or New Orleans. Some may wonder how granite should be exposed -for sale in such a district; and who would be likely to buy it. I saw, -this afternoon, gate-posts, corner-posts, and foundations of common -houses, of undressed granite; and, also, an entire house, the abode of -the blacksmith. The friend who sat beside me told me that he hoped to -see many more such mechanics' dwellings before he dies. Stone becomes -cheaper, and wood dearer, continually; and there is no question which is -the more desirable material for those who can afford it. With regard to -beauty merely, I know of no <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>building material to equal granite; dressed -in the city; undressed in the country. We went into a quarry, and saw an -untold wealth of fissured stone. The workmen contrive to pursue their -business even in the winter. When the snow is on the ground, and the -process of drilling is stopped, they remove ordinary pieces out of the -way, and make all clear for their spring labours. They "turn out" -250,000 dollars'-worth a-year; and the demand is perpetually on the -increase.</p> - -<p>Along the north side of the peninsula the road was very pretty. The -grey, distant coast of New Hampshire bounded the sea view. Groups of -children were playing on the sands of a deep cove; and the farmers were -collecting or spreading their manure of sea-weed and fish-heads. Squam -river, which forms the peninsula, flowed out into the sea, and the -village of Annisquam spread along its bank. We crossed the bridge, close -by the only tide mill I ever saw. It works for six hours, and stops for -six, while the flow of the tide fills the pond above. The gates are then -shut, and a water-power is obtained till the tide again flows.</p> - -<p>We saw what we could of Gloucester, on our return to that little town, -before sunset. There are some very good houses, newly-built; and the -place has the air of prosperity that gladdens the eye wherever it turns, -in New England. We ran down to the shore. It is overlooked by a -windmill, from whose grassy platform we beheld the scene in the singular -light which here succeeds an autumn sunset. The sky and sea were, -without exaggeration, of a deep scarlet: Ten Pound Island sat black upon -the waters, with its yellow beacon just lighted. Fishing vessels lay -still, every rope being reflected in the red mirror; and a boat, in -which a boy was sculling across the harbour, was the only moving object.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p><p>After tea, a clergyman and his wife called; and then a long succession -of the hospitable inhabitants of Gloucester came to bid us welcome: from -which it appeared that small articles of intelligence circulate as -rapidly here as in other country-places. In another respect, Gloucester -resembled all the villages and small towns I passed through: in the -pretty attention of presenting flowers. In some of the larger cities, -bouquets of rich and rare flowers were sent to me, however severe might -have been the frost, or however dreary the season. In the smallest -villages, I had offerings, quite as welcome, in bunches of flowers from -the woods and meadows. Many of these last were new to me, and as gladly -received as the luscious hyacinths which greeted me every morning at -Charleston. At Lenox, in Massachusetts, where I spent one night, my -table was covered with meadow-flowers, and with fine specimens of -Jack-in-the-pulpit, and the moccassin-flower, or lady's slipper: and at -Gloucester, when I returned from my early visit to the beach, where I -had been to see the fishermen go out, I found a gorgeous bouquet of -autumn flowers; dahlias more various and rich than could have been -supposed to grow in such a region.</p> - -<p>On our return to Salem, we diverged a little from our road, near -Manchester, to see a farm, whose situation would make an envious person -miserable. The house lies under the shelter of a wooded hill, and enjoys -a glorious view of Massachusetts Bay. The property lies between two -bays, and has a fine fishing-station off the point. The fields look -fertile, and a wide range of pasturage skirts the bay. A woman and -children were busy in the orchard, with a cart and barrels, taking in a -fine crop of apples; and we could only hope that they were sensible of -their privilege in living in such a place. These are the region,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> -teeming with the virtues of the Pilgrims, and as yet uninfected by the -mercenary and political cowardice of the cities, where the most -gladdening aspects of human life are to be seen.</p> - -<p class="space-above">The newly-settled districts of the southern States are as unlike as -possible to all this. They are extreme opposite cases. If human life -presents its fairest aspects in the retired townships of New -England,—some of its very worst, perhaps, are seen in the raw -settlements of Alabama and Mississippi.</p> - -<p>When we drew near to Columbus, Georgia, we were struck with amazement at -the stories that were told, and the anecdotes that were dropped, in the -stage, about recent attempts on human life in the neighbourhood; and at -the number of incidents of the same kind which were the news of the day -along the road. Our driver from Macon had been shot at, in attempting to -carry off a young lady. A gentleman, boarding in the hotel at Columbus, -was shot in the back, in the street, and laid by for months. No inquiry -was made, or nothing came of it. The then present governor of the State -of Mississippi had recently stood over two combatants, pistol in hand, -to see fair play. This <i>was</i> stated as a remarkable fact. The landlord -of the house where we stopped to breakfast on the day we were to reach -Columbus, April 9th, 1835, was, besides keeping a house of -entertainment, a captain of militia, and a member of the legislature of -Georgia. He was talking over with his guests a late case of homicide in -a feud between the Myers and Macklimore families. He declared that he -would have laws like those of the Medes and Persians against homicide; -and, in the same breath, said that if he were a Myers, he would shoot -Mr. Macklimore and all his sons.</p> - -<p>We arrived at Columbus before sunset, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>determined to stay a day to -see how the place had got on since Captain Hall saw it cut out of the -woods, ten years before. During the evening, I could do nothing but -watch the Indians from my window. The place swarmed with them; a few -Choctaws, and the rest Creeks. A sad havoc has taken place among them -since; and this neighbourhood has been made the scene of a short but -fierce war. But all looked fair and friendly when we were there. Groups -of Indians were crouching about the entries of the stores, or looking in -at the windows. The squaws went by, walking one behind another, with -their hair, growing low on the forehead, loose, or tied at the back of -the head, forming a fine contrast with the young lady who had presided -at our breakfast-table at five that morning, with her long hair braided -and adorned with brilliant combs, while her fingers shone in pearl and -gold rings. These squaws carried large Indian baskets on their backs, -and shuffled along, bare-footed, while their lords paced before them, -well mounted; or, if walking, gay with blue and red clothing and -embroidered leggings, with tufts of hair at the knees, while pouches and -white fringes dangled about them. They looked like grave merry-andrews; -or, more still, like solemn fanatical harvest men going out for largess. -By eight o'clock they had all disappeared; but the streets were full of -them again the next morning.</p> - -<p>Our hostess was civil, and made no difficulty about giving us a late -breakfast by ourselves, in consideration of our fatigues. Before one -o'clock we dined, in company with seventy-five persons, at one long -table. The provisions were good, but ill-cooked; and the knives so blunt -that it was a mystery to me how the rest of the company obtained so -quick a succession of mouthfuls as they did.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p><p>The Chattahoochee, on whose banks Columbus stands, is unlike any river -I saw in the United States, unless it be some parts of the Susquehanna. -Its rapids, overhung by beech and pine woods, keep up a perpetual -melody, grateful alike to the ear of the white and the red man. It is -broad and full, whirling over and around the rocks with which it is -studded, and under the frail wooden foot-bridge which spans a portion of -its width, between the shore and a pile of rocks in the middle of the -channel. On this foot-bridge I stood, and saw a fish caught in a net -laid among the eddies. A dark fisherman stood on each little promontory; -and a group was assembled about some canoes in a creek on the opposite -Alabama shore, where the steepness of the hills seemed scarcely to allow -a foothold between the rushing water and the ascent. The river is -spanned by a long covered bridge, which we crossed the same night on our -way into Alabama.</p> - -<p>There are three principal streets in Columbus, with many smaller, -branching out into the forest. Some pretty bits of greensward are left, -here and there, with a church, or a detached house upon -each—village-like. There are some good houses, five hotels, and a -population of above 2,000,—as nearly as I could make out among the -different accounts of the accession of inhabitants since the census. The -stores looked creditably stocked; and a great many gentlemanly men were -to be seen in the streets. It bears the appearance of being a thriving, -spacious, handsome village, well worth stopping to see.</p> - -<p>We left it, at seven in the evening, by the long bridge, at the other -end of which we stopped for the driver to hold a parley, about a parcel, -with a woman, who spoke almost altogether in oaths. A gentleman in the -stage remarked, that we must<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> have got quite to the end of the world. -The roads were as bad as roads could be; and we rolled from side to side -so incessantly, as to obviate all chance of sleeping. The passengers -were very patient during the hours of darkness; but, after daylight, -they seemed to think they had been long enough employed in shifting -their weight to keep the coach on its four wheels. "I say, driver," -cried one, "you won't upset us, now daylight is come?" "Driver," shouted -another, "keep this side up." "Gentlemen," replied the driver, "I shall -mind nothing you say till the ladies begin to complain." A reply equally -politic and gallant.</p> - -<p>At half past five, we stopped to breakfast at a log dwelling, composed -of two rooms, with an open passage between. We asked for water and -towel. There was neither basin nor towel; but a shallow tin dish of -water was served up in the open passage where all our fellow-travellers -were standing. We asked leave to carry our dish into the right-hand -room. The family were not all dressed. Into the left-hand room. A lady -lodged there!</p> - -<p>We travelled till sunset through the Creek Territory, the roads -continuing to be extremely bad. The woods were superb in their spring -beauty. The thickets were in full leaf; and the ground was gay with -violets, may-apple, buck-eye, blue lupin, iris, and crow-poison. The -last is like the white lily, growing close to the ground. Its root, -boiled, mixed with corn, and thrown out into the fields, poisons crows. -If eaten by cattle, it injures but does not destroy them. The sour-wood -is a beautiful shrub. To-day it looked like a splendid white fuchsia, -with tassels of black butterflies hanging from the extremities of the -twigs. But the grandest flower of all, perhaps the most exquisite I ever -beheld, is the honeysuckle of the southern woods. It bears little -resemblance to the ragged flower which has the same name elsewhere.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> It -is a globe of blossoms, larger than my hand, growing firmly at the end -of an upright stalk, with the richest and most harmonious colouring, the -most delicate long anthers, and the flowers exquisitely grouped among -the leaves. It is the queen of flowers. I generally contrived, in my -journeys through the southern States, to have a bunch of honeysuckles in -the stage before my eyes; and they seemed to be visible wherever I -turned, springing from the roots of the forest trees, or dangling from -their topmost boughs, or mixing in with the various greens of the -thickets.</p> - -<p>We saw to-day, the common sight of companies of slaves travelling -westwards; and the very uncommon one of a party returning into South -Carolina. When we overtook such a company proceeding westwards, and -asked where they were going, the answer commonly given by the slaves -was, "Into Yellibama."—Sometimes these poor creatures were encamped -under the care of the slave-trader, on the banks of a clear stream, to -spend a day in washing their clothes. Sometimes they were loitering -along the road; the old folks and infants mounted on the top of a -wagon-load of luggage; the able-bodied, on foot, perhaps silent, perhaps -laughing; the prettier of the girls, perhaps with a flower in the hair, -and a lover's arm around her shoulder. There were wide differences in -the air and gait of these people. It is usual to call the most depressed -of them brutish in appearance. In some sense they are so; but I never -saw in any brute an expression of countenance so low, so lost, as in the -most degraded class of negroes. There is some life and intelligence in -the countenance of every animal; even in that of "the silly sheep," -nothing so dead as the vacant, unheeding look of the depressed slave is -to be seen. To-day, there was a spectacle by the roadside which showed -that this has nothing to do with negro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> nature; though no such proof is -needed by those who have seen negroes in favourable circumstances, and -know how pleasant an aspect those grotesque features may wear. To-day we -passed, in the Creek Territory, an establishment of Indians who held -slaves. Negroes are anxious to be sold to Indians, who give them -moderate work, and accommodations as good as their own. Those seen -to-day among the Indians, were sleek, intelligent, and cheerful-looking, -like the most favoured house-slaves, or free servants of colour, where -the prejudice is least strong.</p> - -<p>We were on the look-out for Indians, all the way through this Creek -Territory. Some on horseback gave us a grave glance as we passed. Some -individuals were to be seen in the shadow of the forest, leaning against -a tree or a fence. One lay asleep by the roadside, overcome with -"whiskey too much," as they style intoxication. They are so intent on -having their full bargain of whiskey, that they turn their bottle upside -down, when it has been filled to the cork, to have the hollow at the -bottom filled. The piazza at the post-office was full of solemn Indians. -Miserable-looking squaws were about the dwellings, with their naked -children, who were gobbling up their supper of hominy from a wooden -bowl.</p> - -<p>We left the Creek Territory just as the full moon rose, and hoped to -reach Montgomery by two hours before midnight. We presently began to -ascend a long hill; and the gentlemen passengers got out, according to -custom, to walk up the rising ground. In two minutes, the driver -stopped, and came to tell us ladies that he was sorry to trouble us to -get out; but that an emigrant's wagon had blocked up the ford of a creek -which we had to cross; and he feared we might be wetted if we remained -in the stage while he took it through a deeper part. A<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> gentleman was -waiting, he said, to hand us over the log which was to be our bridge. -This gentleman, I believe, was the emigrant himself. I made for what -seemed to me the end of the log; but was deceived by the treacherous -moonlight, which made wood, ground, and water, look all one colour. I -plunged up to the waist into the creek; and, when I was out again, could -hardly keep upon the log for laughing. There was time, before we -overtook the rest of the party, to provide against my taking cold; and -there remained only the ridiculous image of my deliberate walk into the -water.</p> - -<p>It must not be supposed a common circumstance that an emigrant's wagon -was left in a creek. The "camping out" is usually done in a sheltered, -dry spot in the woods, not far from some little stream, where the kettle -may be filled, and where the dusty children may be washed. Sleepy as I -might be, in our night journeys, I was ever awake to this picture, and -never tired of contemplating it. A dun haze would first appear through -the darkness; and then gleams of light across the road. Then the whole -scene opened. If earlier than ten at night, the fire would be blazing, -the pot boiling, the shadowy horses behind, at rest, the groups fixed in -their attitudes to gaze at us, whether they were stretching their -sailcloth on poles to windward, or drawing up the carts in line, or -gathering sticks, or cooking. While watching us, they little thought -what a picture they themselves made. If after midnight, the huge fire -was flickering and smouldering; figures were seen crouching under the -sailcloth, or a head or two was lifted up in the wagon. A solitary -figure was seen in relief against the fire; the watch, standing to keep -himself awake; or, if greeted by our driver, thrusting a pine slip into -the fire, and approaching with his blazing torch to ask or to give -information. In the morning, the places where such <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>encampments have -been cannot be mistaken. There is a clear, trodden space, strewed with -chips and refuse food, with the bare poles which had supported the -sailcloth, standing in the midst, and a scorched spot where the fire had -been kindled. Others, besides emigrants, camp out in the woods. Farmers, -on their way to a distant market, find it cheaper to bring food, and -trust otherwise to the hospitality of dame Nature, than to put up at -hotels. Between the one and the other, we were amply treated with the -untiring spectacle.</p> - -<p>We had bespoken accommodations for the night at the hotel at Montgomery, -by a friend who had preceded us. On our arrival at past eleven o'clock, -we found we were expected; but no one would have guessed it. In my -chamber, there was neither water, nor sheets, nor anything that afforded -a prospect of my getting to rest, wet as my clothes were. We were -hungry, and tired, and cold; and there was no one to help us but a -slave, who set about her work as slaves do. We ate some biscuits that we -had with us, and gave orders, and made requests with so much success as -to have the room in tolerable order by an hour after midnight. When I -awoke in the morning, the first thing I saw was, that two mice were -running after one another round my trunk, and that the floor of the room -seemed to contain the dust of a twelvemonth. The breakfast was to atone -for all. The hostess and another lady, three children, and an array of -slaves, placed themselves so as to see us eat our breakfast; but it -seemed to me that the contents of the table were more wonderful to look -at than ourselves. Besides the tea and coffee, there were corn bread, -buns, buck-wheat cakes, broiled chicken, bacon, eggs, rice, hominy, -fish, fresh and pickled, and beef-steak. The hostess strove to make us -feel at home, and recommended her plentiful meal by her hearty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> welcome -to it. She was anxious to explain that her house was soon to be in -better order. Her husband was going to Mobile to buy furniture; and, -just now, all was in confusion, from her head slave having swallowed a -fish bone, and being unable to look after the affairs of the house. When -our friends came to carry us to their plantation, she sent in -refreshments, and made herself one of the party, in all heartiness.</p> - -<p>It was Sunday, and we went to the Methodist church, hoping to hear the -regular pastor, who is a highly-esteemed preacher. But a stranger was in -the pulpit, who gave us an extraordinary piece of doctrine, propounded -with all possible vehemence. His text was the passage about the tower of -Siloam; and his doctrine was that great sinners would somehow die a -violent death. Perhaps this might be thought a useful proposition in a -town where life is held so cheap as in Montgomery; but we could not -exactly understand how it was derived from the text. The place was -intensely light and hot, there being no blinds to the windows, on each -side of the pulpit: and the quietness of the children was not to be -boasted of.</p> - -<p>On the way to our friends' plantation, we passed a party of negroes, -enjoying their Sunday drive. They never appear better than on such -occasions, as they all ride and drive well, and are very gallant to -their ladies. We passed a small prairie, the first we had seen; and very -serene and pretty it looked, after the forest. It was green and -undulating, with a fringe of trees.</p> - -<p>Our friends, now residing seven miles from Montgomery, were from South -Carolina; and the lady, at least, does not relish living in Alabama. It -was delightful to me to be a guest in such an abode as theirs. They were -about to build a good house: meantime, they were in one which I liked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> -exceedingly: a log-house, with the usual open passage in the middle. -Roses and honeysuckles, to which humming-birds resort, grew before the -door. Abundance of books, and handsome furniture and plate, were within -the house, while daylight was to be seen through its walls. In my well -furnished chamber, I could see the stars through the chinks between the -logs. During the summer, I should be sorry to change this primitive kind -of abode for a better.</p> - -<p>It is not difficult to procure the necessaries and comforts of life. -Most articles of food are provided on the plantation. Wine and groceries -are obtained from Mobile or New Orleans; and clothing and furniture from -the north. Tea is twenty shillings English per lb.; brown sugar, -threepence-halfpenny; white sugar, sixpence-halfpenny. A gentleman's -family, where there are children to be educated, cannot live for less -than from seven hundred pounds to one thousand pounds per annum. The -sons take land and buy slaves very early; and the daughters marry almost -in childhood; so that education is less thought of, and sooner ended, -than in almost any part of the world. The pioneers of civilisation, as -the settlers in these new districts may be regarded, care for other -things more than for education; or they would not come. They are, from -whatever motive, money-getters; and few but money-getting qualifications -are to be looked for in them. It was partly amusing, and partly sad, to -observe the young people of these regions; some, fit for a better mode -of life, discontented; some youths pedantic, some maidens romantic, to a -degree which makes the stranger almost doubt the reality of the scenes -and personages before his eyes. The few better educated who come to get -money, see the absurdity, and feel the wearisomeness of this kind of -literary cultivation; but the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> being in such society is the tax they -must pay for making haste to be rich.</p> - -<p>I heard in Montgomery of a wealthy old planter in the neighbourhood, who -has amassed millions of dollars, while his children can scarcely write -their names. Becoming aware of their deficiencies, as the place began to -be peopled from the eastward, he sent a son of sixteen to school, and a -younger one to college; but they proved "such gawks," that they were -unable to learn, or even to remain in the society of others who were -learning; and their old father has bought land in Missouri, whither he -was about to take his children, to remove them from the contempt of -their neighbours. They are doomed to the lowest office of social beings; -to be the mechanical, unintelligent pioneers of man in the wilderness. -Surely such a warning as this should strike awe into the whole region, -lest they should also perish to all the best purposes of life, by -getting to consider money, not as a means, but an end.</p> - -<p>I suppose there must be such pioneers; but the result is a society which -it is a punishment to its best members to live in. There is pedantry in -those who read; prejudice in those who do not; coxcombry among the young -gentlemen; bad manners among the young ladies; and an absence of all -reference to the higher, the real objects of life. When to all this is -added that tremendous curse, the possession of irresponsible power, -(over slaves,) it is easy to see how character must become, in such -regions, what it was described to me on the spot, "composed of the -chivalric elements, badly combined:" and the wise will feel that, though -a man <i>may</i> save his soul anywhere, it is better to live on bread and -water where existence is most idealized, than to grow suddenly rich in -the gorgeous regions where mind is corrupted or starved amidst<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> the -luxuriance of nature. The hard-working settler of the north-west, who -hews his way into independence with his own hands, is, or may be, exempt -from the curse of this mental corruption or starvation; but it falls -inevitably and heavily upon those who fatten upon the bounty of Nature, -in the society of money-getters like themselves, and through the labours -of degraded fellow-men, whom they hold in their injurious power.</p> - -<p>We saw several plantations while we were in this neighbourhood. Nothing -can be richer than the soil of one to which we went, to take a lesson in -cotton-growing. It will never want more than to have the cotton seed -returned to it. We saw the plough, which is very shallow. Two throw up a -ridge, which is wrought by hand into little mounds. After these are -drilled, the seed is put in by hand. This plantation consists of nine -hundred and fifty acres, and is flourishing in every way. The air is -healthy, as the situation is high prairie land. The water is generally -good; but, after rain, so impregnated with lime, as to be disagreeable -to the smell and taste. Another grievance is, a weed which grows on the -prairie, which the cows like in summer, but which makes the milk so -disagreeable, that cream, half-an-inch thick, is thrown to the pigs. -They only can estimate this evil who know what the refreshment of milk -is in hot climates. Another grievance is, that no trees can be allowed -to grow near the house, for fear of the mosquitoes. Everything else is -done for coolness; there are wide piazzas on both sides of the house; -the rooms are lofty, and amply provided with green blinds; but all this -does not compensate to the eye for the want of the shade of trees. The -bareness of the villages of the south is very striking to the eye of a -stranger, as he approaches them. They lie scorching and glaring on the -rising grounds, or on the plain, hazy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> with the heat, while the forest, -with its myriads of trees, its depth of shade, is on the horizon. But -the plague of mosquitoes is a sufficient warrant for any sacrifice of -the pleasures of the eye; for they allow but little enjoyment of -anything in their presence.</p> - -<p>On this, and many other estates that we saw, the ladies make it their -business to cut out all the clothes for the negroes. Many a fair pair of -hands have I seen dyed with blue, and bearing the marks of the large -scissars. The slave women cannot be taught, it is said, to cut out even -their scanty and unshapely garments economically. Nothing can be more -hideous than their working costume. There would be nothing to lose on -the score of beauty, and probably much gained, if they could be -permitted to clothe themselves. But it is universally said that they -cannot learn. A few ladies keep a woman for this purpose, very naturally -disliking the coarse employment.</p> - -<p>We visited the negro quarter; a part of the estate which filled me with -disgust, wherever I went. It is something between a haunt of monkeys and -a dwelling-place of human beings. The natural good taste, so remarkable -in free negroes, is here extinguished. Their small, dingy, untidy -houses, their cribs, the children crouching round the fire, the animal -deportment of the grown-up, the brutish chagrins and enjoyments of the -old, were all loathsome. There was some relief in seeing the children -playing in the sun, and sometimes fowls clucking and strutting round the -houses; but otherwise, a walk through a lunatic asylum is far less -painful than a visit to the slave quarter of an estate. The children are -left, during working hours, in the charge of a woman; and they are -bright, and brisk, and merry enough, for the season, however slow and -stupid they may be destined to become.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p><p>My next visit was to a school—the Franklin Institute, in Montgomery, -established by a gentleman who has bestowed unwearied pains on its -organization, and to whose care it does great credit. On our approach, -we saw five horses walking about the enclosure, and five saddles hung -over the fence: a true sign that some of the pupils came from a -distance. The school was hung with prints; there was a collection of -shells; many books and maps; and some philosophical apparatus. The boys, -and a few girls, were steadily employed over their books and mapping; -and nothing could exceed the order and neatness of the place. If the -event corresponds with the appearance, the proprietor must be one of the -most useful citizens the place has yet been honoured with.</p> - -<p>I spent some days at a plantation a few miles from Montgomery, and heard -there of an old lady who treats her slaves in a way very unusual, but -quite safe, as far as appears. She gives them knowledge, which is -against the law; but the law leaves her in peace and quiet. She also -commits to them the entire management of the estate, requiring only that -they should make her comfortable, and letting them take the rest. There -is an obligation by law to keep an overseer; to obviate insurrection. -How she manages about this, I omitted to inquire: but all goes on well; -the cultivation of the estate is creditable, and all parties are -contented. This is only a temporary ease and contentment. The old lady -must die; and her slaves will either be sold to a new owner, whose -temper will be an accident; or, if freed, must leave the State: but the -story is satisfactory in as far as it gives evidence of the -trust-worthiness of the negroes.</p> - -<p>Our drives about the plantation and neighbouring country were delicious. -The inundations<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> from the rivers are remarkable; a perfect Eden appears -when they subside. At the landing place of this plantation, I saw a -board nailed near the top of a lofty tree, and asked what it could be -for. It was the high-water mark. The river, the Alabama, was now upwards -of twenty feet higher than usual; and logs, corn-stalks, and green -boughs were being carried down its rapid current, as often as we went to -the shore. There were evidences of its having laid even houses under -water; but, on its subsiding, it would be found to have left a deposit -of two inches and a half of fine new soil on the fields on either side -of its channel. I never stood on the banks of the southern rivers -without being reminded of Daniell's Views in India and Ceylon: the water -level, shadowy and still, and the thickets actually springing out of it, -with dark-green recesses, with the relief of a slender white stem, or -dangling creeper here and there. Some creepers rise like a ladder, -straight from the water to a bough one hundred and twenty feet high. As -for the softness of the evening light on the water, it is indescribable. -It is as if the atmosphere were purified from all mortal breathings, it -is so bright, and yet not dazzling; there is such a profusion of -verdure.</p> - -<p>There were black women ploughing in the field, with their ugly, scanty, -dingy dresses, their walloping gait, and vacant countenance. There were -scarlet and blue birds flitting over the dark fallows. There was -persimon sprouting in the woods, and the young corn-plants in the field, -with a handful of cotton-seed laid round each sprout. There was a view -from a bluff which fully equalled all my expectations of what the -scenery of the southern States would be; yet, tropical as it was in many -respects, it reminded me strongly of the view from Richmond Hill. We -were standing on the verge of a precipice, of a height which I dare not -specify.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> A deep fissure to our right was spanned by a log which it made -one shudder to think of crossing. Behind us lay a cotton-field of 7,000 -acres within one fence. All this, and the young aloes, and wild vines, -were little enough like Richmond; and so was the faint blue line of -hills on the horizon; but it was the intervening plain, through which -the river ran, and on which an infinite variety of noble trees grew, as -it appeared, to an interminable distance. Here their tops seemed woven -into compactness; there they were so sprinkled as to display the majesty -and grace of their forms. I looked upon this as a glorification of the -Richmond view.</p> - -<p>It was now the middle of April. In the kitchen garden the peas were -ripening, and the strawberries turning red, though the spring of 1835 -was very backward. We had salads, young asparagus, and radishes.</p> - -<p>The following may be considered a pretty fair account of the provision -for a planter's table, at this season; and, except with regard to -vegetables, I believe it does not vary much throughout the year. -Breakfast at seven; hot wheat bread, generally sour; corn bread, -biscuits, waffles, hominy, dozens of eggs, broiled ham, beef-steak or -broiled fowl, tea and coffee. Lunch at eleven; cake and wine, or -liqueur. Dinner at two; now and then soup (not good,) always roast -turkey and ham; a boiled fowl here, a tongue there; a small piece of -nondescript meat, which generally turns out to be pork disguised; -hominy, rice, hot corn-bread, sweet potatoes; potatoes mashed with -spice, very hot; salad and radishes, and an extraordinary variety of -pickles. Of these, you are asked to eat everything with everything else. -If you have turkey and ham on your plate, you are requested to add -tongue, pork, hominy, and pickles. Then succeed pies of apple,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> squash, -and pumpkin; custard, and a variety of preserves as extraordinary as the -preceding pickles: pine-apple, peach, limes, ginger, guava jelly, -cocoa-nut, and every sort of plums. These are almost all from the -West-Indies. Dispersed about the table are shell almonds, raisins, -hickory, and other nuts; and, to crown the whole, large blocks of -ice-cream. Champagne is abundant, and cider frequent. Ale and porter may -now and then be seen; but claret is the most common drink. During dinner -a slave stands at a corner of the table, keeping off the flies by waving -a large bunch of peacock's feathers fastened into a handle,—an ampler -fan than those of our grandmothers.</p> - -<p>Supper takes place at six, or seven. Sometimes the family sits round the -table; but more commonly the tray is handed round, with plates which -must be held in the lap. Then follow tea and coffee, waffles, biscuits, -sliced ham or hung-beef, and sweet cake. Last of all, is the offer of -cake and wine at nine or ten.</p> - -<p>The profits of cotton-growing, when I was in Alabama, were thirty-five -per cent. One planter whom I knew had bought fifteen thousand dollars' -worth of land within two years, which he could then have sold for -sixty-five thousand dollars. He expected to make, that season, fifty or -sixty thousand dollars of his growing crop. It is certainly the place to -become rich in; but the state of society is fearful. One of my hosts, a -man of great good-nature, as he shows in the treatment of his slaves, -and in his family relations, had been stabbed in the back in the -reading-room of the town, two years before, and no prosecution was -instituted. Another of my hosts carried loaded pistols for a fortnight, -just before I arrived, knowing that he was lain in wait for by persons -against whose illegal practices he had given <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>information to a -magistrate, whose carriage was therefore broken in pieces, and thrown -into the river. A lawyer with whom we were in company one afternoon, was -sent for to take the deposition of a dying man who had been sitting with -his family in the shade, when he received three balls in the back from -three men who took aim at him from behind trees. The tales of -jail-breaking and rescue were numberless; and a lady of Montgomery told -me that she had lived there four years, during which time no day, she -believed, had passed without some one's life having been attempted, -either by duelling or assassination. It will be understood that I -describe this region as presenting an extreme case of the material -advantages and moral evils of a new settlement, under the institution of -slavery. The most prominent relief is the hospitality,—that virtue of -young society. It is so remarkable, and to the stranger so grateful, -that there is danger of its blinding him to the real state of affairs. -In the drawing-room, the piazza, the barouche, all is so gay and -friendly, there is such a prevailing hilarity and kindness, that it -seems positively ungrateful and unjust to pronounce, even in one's own -heart, that all this way of life is full of wrong and peril. Yet it is -impossible to sit down to reflect, with every order of human beings -filling an equal space before one's mental eye, without being struck to -the soul with the conviction that the state of society, and no less of -individual families, is false and hollow, whether their members are -aware of it or not; that they forget that they must be just before they -can be generous. The severity of this truth is much softened to -sympathetic persons on the spot; but it returns with awful force when -they look back upon it from afar.</p> - -<p>In the slave quarter of a plantation hereabouts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> I saw a poor wretch who -had run away three times, and been re-captured. The last time he was -found in the woods, with both legs frost-bitten above the knees, so as -to render amputation necessary. I passed by when he was sitting on the -door-step of his hut, and longed to see him breathe his last. But he is -a young man, likely to drag out his helpless and hopeless existence for -many a dreary year. I dread to tell the rest; but such things must be -told sometimes, to show to what a pass of fiendish cruelty the human -spirit may be brought by merely witnessing the exercise of irresponsible -power over the defenceless. I give the very words of the speaker, -premising that she is not American by birth or education, nor yet -English.</p> - -<p>The master and mistress of this poor slave, with their children, had -always treated him and his fellow-slaves very kindly. He made no -complaint of them. It was not from their cruelty that he attempted to -escape. His running away was therefore a mystery to the person to whom I -have alluded. She recapitulated all the clothes that had been given to -him; and all the indulgences, and forgivenesses for his ingratitude in -running away from such a master, with which he had been blessed. She -told me that she had advised his master and mistress to refuse him -clothes, when he had torn his old ones with trying to make his way -through the woods; but his master had been too kind, and had again -covered his nakedness. She turned round upon me, and asked what could -make the ungrateful wretch run away a third time from such a master?</p> - -<p>"He wanted to be free."</p> - -<p>"Free! from such a master!"</p> - -<p>"From any master."</p> - -<p>"The villain! I went to him when he had had his legs cut off, and I said -to him, it serves you right...."</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p><p>"What! when you knew he could not run away any more?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, that I did; I said to him, you wretch! but for your master's sake -I am glad it has happened to you. You deserve it, that you do. If I were -your master I would let you die; I'd give you no help nor nursing. It -serves you right; it is just what you deserve. It's fit that it should -happen to you ...!"</p> - -<p>"You did not—you dared not so insult the miserable creature!" I cried.</p> - -<p>"Oh, who knows," replied she, "but that the Lord may bless a word of -grace in season!"</p> - -<p>Some readers may conceive this to be a freak of idiotcy. It was not so. -This person is shrewd and sensible in matters where rights and duties -are not in question. Of these she is, as it appears, profoundly -ignorant; in a state of superinduced darkness; but her character is that -of a clever, and, with some, a profoundly religious woman. Happily, she -has no slaves of her own: at least, no black ones.</p> - -<p>I saw this day, driving a wagon, a man who is a schoolmaster, lawyer, -almanack-maker, speculator in old iron, and dealer in eggs, in addition -to a few other occupations. His must be a very active existence.</p> - -<p>This little history of a portion of my southern journey may give an idea -of what life is in the wilder districts of the south. I will offer but -one more sketch, and that will exemplify life in the wilder districts of -the north. The picture of my travels in and around Michigan will convey -the real state of things there, at present.</p> - -<p>Our travelling party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. L., the before-mentioned -Charley, his father and mother, and myself. We were prepared to see -everything to advantage; for there was strong<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> friendship among us all; -and a very unusual agreement of opinion on subjects which education, -temperament, or the circumstances of the time, made most interesting to -us. The great ornament of the party—our prince of Denmark—was Charley; -a boy of uncommon beauty and promise, and fully worthy of the character -given him by one of our drivers, with whom the boy had ingratiated -himself by his chatter on the box;—"An eternal smart boy, and the -greatest hand at talk I ever came across."</p> - -<p>We landed at Detroit, from Lake Erie, at seven o'clock in the morning of -the 13th of June, 1836. We reached the American just in time for -breakfast. At that long table, I had the pleasure of seeing the -healthiest set of faces that I had beheld since I left England. The -breakfast was excellent, and we were served with much consideration; but -the place was so full, and the accommodations of Detroit are so -insufficient for the influx of people who are betaking themselves -thither, that strangers must patiently put up with much delay and -inconvenience till new houses of entertainment are opened. We had to -wait till near one o'clock before any of us could have a room in which -to dress; but I had many letters to write, and could wait; and before I -had done, Charley came with his shining face and clean collar, to show -me that accommodation had been provided. In the afternoon, we saw what -we could of the place, and walked by the side of the full and tranquil -river St. Clair. The streets of the town are wide and airy; but the -houses, churches, and stores, are poor for the capital city of a -Territory or State. This is a defect which is presently cured, in the -stirring northern regions of the United States. Wooden planks, laid on -the grass, form the pavement, in all the outskirts of the place. The -deficiency is of stone, not of labour. Thousands of settlers are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> -pouring in every year; and of these, many are Irish, Germans, or Dutch, -working their way into the back country, and glad to be employed for a -while at Detroit, to earn money to carry them further. Paving-stones -will be imported here, I suppose, as I saw them at New Orleans, to the -great improvement of the health and comfort of the place. The block-wood -pavement, of which trial has been made in a part of Broadway, New York, -is thought likely to answer better at Detroit than any other kind, and -is going to be tried.</p> - -<p>The country round Detroit is as flat as can be imagined; and, indeed, it -is said that the highest mountain in the State boasts only sixty feet of -elevation. A lady of Detroit once declared, that if she were to build a -house in Michigan, she would build a hill first. The Canada side of the -river looks dull enough from the city; but I cannot speak from a near -view of it, having been disappointed in my attempts to get over to it. -On one occasion, we were too late for the ferry-boat; and we never had -time again for the excursion.</p> - -<p>A cool wind from the northern lakes blows over the whole face of the -country, in the midst of the hottest days of summer; and in the depth of -winter, the snow never lies deep, nor long. These circumstances may -partly account for the healthiness of the row of faces at the table of -the American.</p> - -<p>The society of Detroit is very choice; and, as it has continued so since -the old colonial days, through the territorial days, there is every -reason to think that it will become, under its new dignities, a more and -more desirable place of residence. Some of its interior society is still -very youthful; a gentleman, for instance, saying in the reading-room, in -the hearing of one of our party, that,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> though it did not sound well at -a distance, Lynching<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> was the only way to treat Abolitionists: but -the most enlightened society is, I believe, equal to any which is to be -found in the United States. Here we began to see some of the -half-breeds, of whom we afterwards met so many at the north. They are -the children of white men who have married squaws; and may be known at a -glance, not only by the dark complexion, but by the high cheekbones, -straight black hair, and an indescribable mischievous expression about -the eyes. I never saw such imps and Flibbertigibbets as the half-breed -boys that we used to see rowing or diving in the waters, or playing -pranks on the shores of Michigan.</p> - -<p>We had two great pleasures this day; a drive along the quiet Lake St. -Clair, and a charming evening party at General Mason's. After a -pilgrimage through the State of New York, a few exciting days at -Niagara, and a disagreeable voyage along Lake Erie, we were prepared to -enjoy to the utmost the novelty of a good evening party; and we were as -merry as children at a ball. It was wholly unexpected to find ourselves -in accomplished society on the far side of Lake Erie; and there was -something stimulating in the contrast between the high civilisation of -the evening, and the primitive scenes that we were to plunge into the -next day. Though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> we had to pack up and write, and be off very early in -the morning, we were unable to persuade ourselves to go home till late; -and then we talked over Detroit as if we were wholly at leisure.</p> - -<p>The scenery of Lake St. Clair was new to me. I had seen nothing in the -United States like its level green banks, with trees slanting over the -water, festooned with the wild vine; the groups of cattle beneath them; -the distant steam-boat, scarcely seeming to disturb the grey surface of -the still waters. This was the first of many scenes in Michigan which -made me think of Holland; though the day of canals has not yet arrived.</p> - -<p>15th. An obliging girl at the American provided us with coffee and -biscuits at half-past five, by which time our "exclusive extra" was at -the door. Charley had lost his cap. It was impossible that he should go -bare-headed through the State; and it was lucky for us that a store was -already open where he was furnished in a trice with a willow-hat. The -brimming river was bright in the morning sun; and our road was, for a -mile or two, thronged with Indians. Some of the inhabitants of Detroit, -who knew the most about their dark neighbours, told me that they found -it impossible to be romantic about these poor creatures. We, however, -could not help feeling the excitement of the spectacle, when we saw them -standing in their singularly majestic attitudes by the road-side, or on -a rising ground: one, with a bunch of feathers tied at the back of the -head; another, with his arms folded in his blanket; and a third, with -her infant lashed to a board, and thus carried on her shoulders. Their -appearance was dreadfully squalid.</p> - -<p>As soon as we had entered the woods, the roads became as bad as, I -suppose, roads ever are. Something snapped, and the driver cried out -that we were "broke to bits." The team-bolt had given<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> way. Our -gentlemen, and those of the mail-stage, which happened to be at hand, -helped to mend the coach; and we ladies walked on, gathering abundance -of flowers, and picking our way along the swampy corduroy road. In less -than an hour, the stage took us up, and no more accidents happened -before breakfast. We were abundantly amused while our meal was preparing -at Danversville. One of the passengers of the mail-stage took up a -violin, and offered to play to us. Books with pictures were lying about. -The lady of the house sat by the window, fixing her candle-wicks into -the moulds. In the piazza, sat a party of emigrants, who interested us -much. The wife had her eight children with her; the youngest, puny -twins. She said she had brought them in a wagon four hundred miles; and -if they could only live through the one hundred that remained before -they reached her husband's lot of land, she hoped they might thrive; but -she had been robbed, the day before, of her bundle of baby things. Some -one had stolen it from the wagon. After a good meal, we saw the -stage-passengers stowed into a lumber wagon; and we presently followed -in our more comfortable vehicle.</p> - -<p>Before long, something else snapped. The splinter-bar was broken. The -driver was mortified; but it was no fault of his. Juggernaut's car would -have been "broke to bits" on such a road. We went into a settler's -house, where we were welcomed to rest and refresh ourselves. Three years -before, the owner bought his eighty acres of land for a dollar an acre. -He could now sell it for twenty dollars an acre. He shot, last year, a -hundred deer, and sold them for three dollars a-piece. He and his family -need have no fears of poverty. We dined well, nine miles before reaching -Ypsilanti. The log-houses,—always <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>comfortable when well made, being -easily kept clean, cool in summer, and warm in winter,—have here an air -of beauty about them. The hue always harmonizes well with the soil and -vegetation. Those in Michigan have the bark left on, and the corners -sawn off close; and are thus both picturesque and neat.</p> - -<p>At Ypsilanti, I picked up an Ann Arbor newspaper. It was badly printed; -but its contents were pretty good; and it could happen nowhere out of -America, that so raw a settlement as that at Ann Arbor, where there is -difficulty in procuring decent accommodations, should have a newspaper.</p> - -<p>It was past seven before we left the inn at Ypsilanti, to go thirteen -miles further. We departed on foot. There was a bridge building at -Ypsilanti; but, till it was ready, all vehicles had to go a mile down -the water-side to the ferry, while the passengers generally preferred -crossing the foot-bridge, and walking on through the wood. We found in -our path, lupins, wild geraniums, blue-eye grass, blue iris, wild -sunflower, and many others. The mild summer night was delicious, after -the fatigues of the day. I saw the youngest of golden moons, and two -bright stars set, before we reached Wallace's Tavern, where we were to -sleep. Of course, we were told that there was no room for us; but, by a -little coaxing and management, and one of the party consenting to sleep -on the parlour-floor, everything was made easy.</p> - -<p>16th. We were off by half-past six; and, not having rested quite enough, -and having the prospect of fourteen miles before breakfast, we, with one -accord, finished our sleep in the stage. We reached Tecumseh by -half-past nine, and perceived that its characteristic was chair-making. -Every other house seemed to be a chair manufactory. One bore the -inscription, "Cousin George's Store:" the meaning<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> of which I do not -pretend to furnish. Perhaps the idea is, that purchasers may feel free -and easy, as if dealing with cousin George. Everybody has a cousin -George. Elsewhere, we saw a little hotel inscribed, "Our House;" a -prettier sign than "Traveller's Rest," or any other such tempting -invitation that I am acquainted with. At Tecumseh, I saw the first -strawberries of the season. All that I tasted in Michigan, of prairie -growth, were superior to those of the west, grown in gardens.</p> - -<p>Charley was delighted to-day by the sight of several spotted fawns, -tamed by children. If a fawn be carried a hundred yards from its bush, -it will follow the finder, and remain with him, if kindly treated. They -are prettiest when very young, as they afterwards lose their spots.</p> - -<p>We fairly entered the "rolling country" to-day: and nothing could be -brighter and more flourishing than it looked. The young corn was coming -up well in the settlers' fields. The copses, called "oak-openings," -looked fresh after the passing thunder-showers; and so did the rising -grounds, strewed with wild flowers and strawberries. "The little hills -rejoiced on every side." The ponds, gleaming between the hills and -copses, gave a park-like air to the scenery. The settlers leave trees in -their clearings; and from these came the song of the wood-thrush; and -from the dells the cry of the quail. There seemed to be a gay -wood-pecker to every tree.</p> - -<p>Our only accident to-day was driving over a poor hog: we can only hope -it died soon. Wherever we stopped, we found that the crowds of emigrants -had eaten up all the eggs; and we happened to think eggs the best -article of diet of all on a journey. It occurred to me that we might get -some by the way, and carry them on to our <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>resting-place. All agreed -that we might probably procure them: but how to carry them safely over -such roads was the question. This day we resolved to try. We made a -solemn stir for eggs in a small settlement; and procured a dozen. We -each carried one in each hand,—except Charley, who was too young to be -trusted. His two were wrapped up each in a bag. During eight miles of -jolting, not one was hurt; and we delivered them to our host at -Jonesville with much satisfaction. We wished that some of our -entertainers had been as rich as a Frenchman at Baltimore, who, talking -of his poultry-yard, informed a friend that he had "fifty head of hen."</p> - -<p>At Jonesville, the ladies and Charley were favoured with a large and -comfortable chamber. The gentlemen had to sleep with the multitude -below; ranged like walking-sticks, or umbrellas, on a shop-counter.</p> - -<p>17th. The road was more deplorable than ever to-day. The worst of it -was, that whenever it was dangerous for the carriage, so that we were -obliged to get out, it was, in proportion, difficult to be passed on -foot. It was amusing to see us in such passes as we had to go through -to-day. I generally acted as pioneer, the gentlemen having their ladies -to assist; and it was pleasant to stand on some dry perch, and watch my -companions through the holes and pools that I had passed. Such hopping -and jumping; such slipping and sliding; such looks of despair from the -middle of a pond; such shifting of logs, and carrying of planks, and -handing along the fallen trunks of trees! The driver, meantime, was -looking back provokingly from his box, having dragged the carriage -through; and far behind stood Charley, high and dry, singing or eating -his bit of bread, till his father could come back for him. Three times -this day was such a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> scene enacted; and, the third time, there was a -party of emigrant ladies to be assisted, too. When it was all over, and -I saw one with her entire feet cased in mud, I concluded we must all be -very wet, and looked at my own shoes: and lo! even the soles were as dry -as when they were made! How little the worst troubles of travelling -amount to, in proportion to the apprehension of them! What a world of -anxiety do travellers suffer lest they should get wet, or be without -food! How many really faint with hunger, or fall into an ague with damp -and cold? I was never in danger of either the one or the other, in any -of the twenty-three States which I visited.</p> - -<p>At one part of our journey to-day, where the road was absolutely -impassable, we went above a mile through the wood, where there was no -track, but where the trees are blazed, to serve as guide-posts, summer -and winter. It was very wild. Our carriage twisted and wound about to -avoid blows against the noble beech-stems. The waters of the swamp -plashed under our wheels, and the boughs crunched overhead. An overturn -would have been a disaster in such a place. We travelled only forty-two -miles this long day; but the weariness of the way was much beguiled by -singing, by a mock oration, story-telling, and other such amusements. -The wit and humour of Americans, abundant under ordinary circumstances, -are never, I believe, known to fail in emergencies, serious or trifling. -Their humour helps themselves and their visitors through any Sloughs of -Despond, as charitably as their infinite abundance of logs through the -swamps of their bad roads.</p> - -<p>We did not reach Sturgis's Prairie till night. We had heard so poor an -account of the stage-house, that we proceeded to another, whose owner -has the reputation of treating his guests <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>magnificently, or not at all. -He treated us on <i>juste milieu</i> principles. He did what he could for us; -and that could not be called magnificent. The house was crowded with -emigrants. When, after three hours waiting, we had supper, two -full-grown persons were asleep on some blankets in the corner of the -room, and as many as fifteen or sixteen children on chairs and on the -floor. Our hearts ached for one mother. Her little girl, two years old, -had either sprained or broken her arm, and the mother did not know what -to do with it. The child shrieked when the arm was touched, and wailed -mournfully at other times. We found in the morning, however, that she -had had some sleep. I have often wondered since how she bore the motion -of the wagon on the worst parts of the road. It was oppressively hot. I -had a little closet, whose door would not shut, and which was too small -to give me room to take off the soft feather-bed. The window would not -keep open without being propped by the tin water-jug; and though this -was done, I could not sleep for the heat. This reminds me of the -considerate kindness of an hotel-keeper in an earlier stage of our -journey. When he found that I wished to have my window open, there being -no fastening, he told me he would bring his own tooth-brush for a -prop,—which he accordingly did.</p> - -<p>18th. Our drive of twelve miles to breakfast was very refreshing. The -roads were the best we had travelled since we left New York State. We -passed through a wilderness of flowers; trailing roses, enormous white -convolvulus, scarlet lilies, and ground-ivy, with many others, being -added to those we had before seen. Milton must have travelled in -Michigan before he wrote the garden parts of "Paradise Lost." Sturgis's -and White Pigeon Prairies are highly cultivated, and look just like any -other rich and perfectly level land.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> We breakfasted at White Pigeon -Prairie, and saw the rising ground where the Indian chief lies buried, -whose name has been given to the place.</p> - -<p>The charms of the settlement, to us, were a kind landlady, an admirable -breakfast, at which eggs abounded, and a blooming garden. Thirty-seven -miles further brought us to Niles, where we arrived by five in the -afternoon. The roads were so much improved that we had not to walk at -all; which was well, as there was much pelting rain during the day.</p> - -<p>Niles is a thriving town on the river St. Joseph, on the borders of the -Potowatomie territory. Three years ago, it consisted of three houses. We -could not learn the present number of inhabitants; probably because the -number is never the same two days together. A Potowatomie village stands -within a mile; and we saw two Indians on horseback, fording the rapid -river very majestically, and ascending the wooded hills on the other -side. Many Indian women were about the streets; one with a nose-ring; -some with plates of silver on the bosom, and other barbaric ornaments. -Such a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning came on, with a deluge -of rain, that we were prevented seeing anything of the place, except -from our windows. I had sent my boots to a cobbler, over the way. He had -to put on India rubbers, which reached above the knee, to bring his work -home; the street was so flooded. We little imagined for the hour the -real extent and violence of this storm, and the effect it would have on -our journeying.</p> - -<p>The prairie strawberries, at breakfast this morning, were so large, -sweet, and ripe, that we were inclined for more in the course of the -day. Many of the children of the settlers were dispersed near the -road-side, with their baskets, gathering strawberries; they would not -sell any: they did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> know what mother would say if they went home -without any berries for father. But they could get enough for father, -too, they were told, if they would sell us what they had already -gathered. No; they did not want to sell. Our driver observed, that money -was "no object to them." I began to think that we had, at last, got to -the end of the world; or rather, perhaps, to the beginning of another -and a better.</p> - -<p>19th. No plan could be more cleverly and confidently laid than ours was -for this day's journey. We were to travel through the lands of the -Potowatomies, and reach the shores of the glorious Lake Michigan, at -Michigan City, in time for an early supper. We were to proceed on the -morrow round the southern extremity of the lake, so as, if possible, to -reach Chicago in one day. It was wisely and prettily planned: and the -plan was so far followed, as that we actually did leave Niles some time -before six in the morning. Within three minutes, it began to rain again, -and continued, with but few and short intervals, all day.</p> - -<p>We crossed the St. Joseph by a rope ferry, the ingenious management of -which, when stage-coaches had to be carried over, was a perpetual study -to me. The effect of crossing a rapid river by a rope-ferry, by -torch-light, in a dark night, is very striking; and not the less so for -one's becoming familiarized with it, as the traveller does in the United -States. As we drove up the steep bank, we found ourselves in the Indian -territory. All was very wild; and the more so for the rain. There were -many lodges in the glades, with the red light of fires hanging around -them. The few log huts looked drenched; the tree-stems black in the wet; -and the very wild flowers were dripping. The soil was sandy; so that the -ugliest features of a rainy day, the mud and puddles, were obviated. -The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> sand sucked up the rain, so that we jumped out of the carriage as -often as a wild-flower of peculiar beauty tempted us. The bride-like, -white convolvulus, nearly as large as my hand, grew in trails all over -the ground.</p> - -<p>The poor, helpless, squalid Potowatomies are sadly troubled by -squatters. It seems hard enough that they should be restricted within a -narrow territory, so surrounded by whites that the game is sure soon to -disappear, and leave them stripped of their only resource. It is too -hard that they should also be encroached upon by men who sit down, -without leave or title, upon lands which are not intended for sale. I -enjoyed hearing of an occasional alarm among the squatters, caused by -some threatening demonstrations by the Indians. I should like to see -every squatter frightened away from Indian lands, however advantageous -their squatting may be upon lands which are unclaimed, or whose owners -can defend their own property. I was glad to hear to-day that a -deputation of Potowatomies had been sent to visit a distant warlike -tribe, in consequence of the importunities of squatters, who wanted to -buy the land they had been living upon. The deputation returned, -painted, and under other hostile signals, and declared that the -Potowatomies did not intend to part with their lands. We stopped for -some milk, this morning, at the "location" of a squatter, whose wife was -milking as we passed. The gigantic personage, her husband, told us how -anxious he was to pay for the land which repaid his tillage so well; but -that his Indian neighbours would not sell. I hope that, by this time, he -has had to remove, and leave them the benefit of his house and fences. -Such an establishment in the wild woods is the destruction of the -game,—and of those who live upon it.</p> - -<p>At breakfast, we saw a fine specimen of a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>settler's family. We had -observed the prosperity and cheerfulness of the settlers, all along the -road; but this family exceeded the best. I never saw such an -affectionate set of people. They, like many others, were from one of the -southern States: and I was not surprised to find all emigrants from -North and South Carolina well satisfied with the change they had made. -The old lady seemed to enjoy her pipe, and there was much mirth going on -between the beautiful daughter and all the other men and maidens. They -gave us an excellent breakfast in one of the two lower rooms; the table -being placed across the foot of the two beds. No pains were spared by -them to save us from the wet in the stage; but the rain was too pelting -and penetrating for any defence to avail long. It streamed in at all -corners, and we gave the matter up for the day. We were now entering -Indiana; and one of our intentions had been to see the celebrated Door -Prairie; so called from exquisite views into it being opened through -intervals in the growth of wood with which it is belted. I did obtain -something like an idea of it through the reeking rain, and thought that -it was the first prairie that I had seen that answered to my idea of -one. But I dare say we formed no conception of what it must be in -sunshine, and with the cloud shadows, which adorn a prairie as they do -still water.</p> - -<p>We reached Laporte, on the edge of the Door Prairie, at three o'clock, -and were told that the weather did not promise an easy access to -Michigan City. We changed horses, however, and set forward again on a -very bad road, along the shore of a little lake, which must be pretty in -fine weather. Then we entered a wood, and jolted and rocked from side to -side, till, at last, the carriage leaned three parts over, and stuck. We -all jumped out into the rain, and the gentlemen literally put<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> their -shoulders to the wheel, and lifted it out of its hole. The same little -incident was repeated in half an hour. At five or six miles from -Laporte, and seven from Michigan City, our driver stopped, and held a -long parley with somebody by the road side. The news was that a bridge -in the middle of a marsh had been carried away by a tremendous freshet; -and with how much log-road on either side, could not be ascertained till -the waters should subside. The mails, however, would have to be carried -over, by some means, the next day; and we must wait where we were till -we could profit by the post-office experiment. The next question was, -where were we to be harboured? There was no house of entertainment near. -We shrank from going back to Laporte over the perilous road which was -growing worse every minute. A family lived at hand, who hospitably -offered to receive us; and we were only too ready to accept their -kindness. The good man stopped our acknowledgments by saying, in the -most cheerful manner, "You know you would not have staid with me, if you -could have helped it; and I would not have had you, if I could have -helped it: so no more words about it; but let us make ourselves -comfortable."</p> - -<p>We perceived by a glance at the beard and costume of our host, that -there was something remarkable about him. He was of the Tunker sect of -Baptists, (from <i>Tunken</i>, to dip,) a very peculiar sect of religionists. -He explained, without any reserve, his faith, and the reasons on which -it was founded.</p> - -<p>It was all interesting, as showing how the true and the fanciful, the -principle and the emblem, the eternal truth and the supposed type, may -become all mixed together, so as to be received alike as articles of -faith. This man might almost compare with Origen in his mystical -divinations of scripture.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> The most profitable and delightful part of -his communication related to the operation upon his life and fortunes of -his peace principles. He had gone through life on the non-resistance -principle; and it was animating to learn how well it had served him; as -every high exercise of faith does serve every one who has strength and -simplicity of heart to commit himself to it. It was animating to learn, -not only his own consistency, but the force of his moral power over -others; how the careless had been won to thoughtfulness of his -interests, and the criminal to respect of his rights. He seemed to have -unconsciously secured the promise and the fruit of the life that now is, -more effectually than many who think less of that which is to come. It -was done, he said, by always supposing that the good was in men. His -wife won our hearts by the beauty of her countenance, set off by the -neat plain dress of her sect. She was ill; but they made us thoroughly -comfortable, without apparently discomposing themselves. Sixteen out of -seventeen children were living; of whom two sons and five daughters were -absent, and six sons and three daughters at home: the youngest was three -years old.</p> - -<p>Their estate consists of eight hundred acres, a large portion of which -is not yet broken up. The owner says he walks over the ground once a -year, to see the huckleberries grow. He gave the upset price for the -land; a dollar and a-quarter an acre. He is now offered forty dollars an -acre, and says the land is worth fifty, its situation being very -advantageous; but he does not wish to sell. He has thus become worth -40,000 dollars in the three years which have elapsed since he came out -of Ohio. His sons, as they grow up, settle at a distance; and he does -not want money, and has no inducement to sell. I have no idea, however, -that the huckleberries will be long permitted to grow in peace and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> -quiet, in so busy a district as this is destined to become. The good man -will be constrained by the march and pressure of circumstances, either -to sell or cultivate.</p> - -<p>The house, log-built, consisted of three rooms; two under one roof; and -another apparently added afterwards. There were also out-houses. In one -of these three rooms, the cooking and eating went on; another was given -up to us ladies, with a few of the little children; and in the other, -the rest of the family, the gentlemen of our party, and another -weather-bound traveller, slept. Huge fires of logs blazed in the -chimneys; two or three of the little ones were offered us as -hand-maidens; and the entire abode was as clean as could be conceived. -Here was comfort!</p> - -<p>As we warmed and dried ourselves in the chimney corners, and looked upon -the clear windows, the bright tin water-pails, and the sheets and towels -as white as snow, we had only one anxiety. It was necessary for Mr. and -Mrs. L. to be at home, a thousand miles off, by a particular day. We had -already met with some delays; and there was no seeing the end of the -present adventure. There was some doubt whether we should not have done -better to cross the southern end of Lake Michigan, from Niles to -Chicago, by a little steam-boat, the Delaware, which was to leave Niles -a few hours after our stage. It had been thought of at Niles; but there -was some uncertainty about the departure of the boat; and we all -anxiously desired to skirt the extremity of this great inland sea, and -to see the new settlements on its shores. Had we done right in incurring -this risk of detention? Right or wrong, here we were; and here we must -wait upon events.</p> - -<p>Our sleep, amidst the luxury of cleanliness and hospitality, was most -refreshing. The next morning it was still raining, but less vehemently. -After<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> breakfast, we ladies employed ourselves in sweeping and dusting -our room, and making the beds; as we had given our kind hostess too much -trouble already. Then there was a Michigan City newspaper to be read; -and I sat down to write letters. Before long, a wagon and four drove up -to the door, the driver of which cried out that if there was any getting -to Michigan City, he was our man. We equipped ourselves in our warmest -and thickest clothing, put on our india rubber shoes, packed ourselves -and our luggage in the wagon, put up our umbrellas, and wondered what -was to be our fate. When it had come to saying farewell, our hostess put -her hands on my shoulders, kissed me on each cheek, and said she had -hoped for the pleasure of our company for another day. For my own part, -I would willingly take her at her word, if my destiny should ever carry -me near the great lakes again.</p> - -<p>We jolted on for two miles and a half through the woods, admiring the -scarlet lilies, and the pink and white moccasin flower, which was -brilliant. Then we arrived at the place of the vanished bridge. Our -first prospect was of being paddled over, one by one, in the smallest of -boats. But, when the capabilities of the place were examined, it was -decided that we should wait in a house on the hill, while the -neighbours, the passengers of the mail-stage, and the drivers, built a -bridge. We waited patiently for nearly three hours, watching the busy -men going in and out, gathering tidings of the freshet, and its effects, -and being pleased to see how affectionate the woman of the house was to -her husband, while she was cross to everybody else. It must have been -vexatious to her to have her floor made wet and dirty, and all her -household operations disturbed by a dozen strangers whom she had never -invited. She let us have some dough nuts, and gave us a gracious glance -or two at parting.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p><p>We learned that a gentleman who followed us from Niles, the preceding -day, found the water nine feet deep, and was near drowning his horses, -in a place which we had crossed without difficulty. This very morning, a -bridge which we had proved and passed, gave way with the stage, and the -horses had to be dug and rolled out of the mud, when they were on the -point of suffocation. Such a freshet had never been known to the present -inhabitants.</p> - -<p>Our driver was an original; and so were some of the other muddy -gentlemen who came in to dry themselves, after their bridge making. One -asked if such an one was not a "smart fellow." "He! he can't see through -a ladder." Our driver informed us, "when they send a man to jail here, -they put him abroad into the woods. Only, they set a man after him, that -they may knew where he is." A pretty expensive method of imprisonment, -though there be no bills for jail building. This man conversed with his -horses in much the same style as with us, averring that they understood -him as well. On one occasion, he boxed the ears of one of the leaders, -for not standing still when bidden, declaring, "If you go on doing so, -I'll give you something you can't buy at the grocer's shop." I was not -before aware that there was anything that was not to be bought at a -back-country grocer's shop.</p> - -<p>At half-past two, the bridge was announced complete, and we re-entered -our wagon, to lead the cavalcade across it. Slowly, anxiously, with a -man at the head of each leader, we entered the water, and saw it rise to -the nave of the wheels. Instead of jolting, as usual, we mounted and -descended each log individually. The mail-wagon followed, with two or -three horsemen. There was also a singularly benevolent personage, who -jumped from the other wagon, and waded through all the doubtful places, -to prove them. He leaped and splashed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> through the water, which was -sometimes up to his waist, as if it was the most agreeable sport in the -world. In one of these gullies, the fore part of our wagon sank and -stuck, so as to throw us forward, and make it doubtful in what mode we -should emerge from the water. Then the rim of one of the wheels was -found to be loose; and the whole cavalcade stopped till it was mended. I -never could understand how wagons were made in the back-country; they -seemed to be elastic, from the shocks and twisting they would bear -without giving way. To form an accurate idea of what they have to bear, -a traveller should sit on a seat without springs, placed between the -hind wheels, and thus proceed on a corduroy road. The effect is less -fatiguing and more amusing, of riding in a wagon whose seats are on -springs, while the vehicle itself is not. In that case, the feet are -dancing an involuntary jig, all the way; while the rest of the body is -in a state of entire repose.</p> - -<p>The drive was so exciting and pleasant, the rain having ceased, that I -was taken by surprise by our arrival at Michigan City. The driver -announced our approach by a series of flourishes on one note of his -common horn, which made the most ludicrous music I ever listened to. How -many minutes he went on, I dare not say; but we were so convulsed with -laughter that we could not alight with becoming gravity, amidst the -groups in the piazza of the hotel. The man must be first cousin to -Paganini.</p> - -<p>Such a city as this was surely never before seen. It is three years -since it was begun; and it is said to have one thousand five hundred -inhabitants. It is cut out of the forest, and curiously interspersed -with little swamps, which we no doubt saw in their worst condition after -the heavy rains. New, good houses, some only half finished, stood in the -midst<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> of the thick wood. A large area was half cleared. The finished -stores were scattered about; and the streets were littered with stumps. -The situation is beautiful. The undulations of the ground, within and -about it, and its being closed in by lake or forest on every side, -render it unique. An appropriation has been made by Government for a -harbour; and two piers are to be built out beyond the sand, as far as -the clay soil of the lake. Mr. L—— and I were anxious to see the -mighty fresh water sea. We made inquiry in the piazza; and a sandy hill, -close by, covered with the pea vine, was pointed out to us. We ran up -it, and there beheld what we had come so far to see. There it was, deep, -green, and swelling on the horizon, and whitening into a broad and heavy -surf as it rolled in towards the shore. Hence, too, we could make out -the geography of the city. The whole scene stands insulated in my -memory, as absolutely singular; and, at this distance of time, scarcely -credible. I was so well aware on the spot that it would be so, that I -made careful and copious notes of what I saw: but memoranda have nothing -to do with such emotions as were caused by the sight of that enormous -body of tumultuous waters, rolling in apparently upon the helpless -forest,—everywhere else so majestic.</p> - -<p>The day was damp and chilly, as we were told every day is here. There is -scarcely ever a day of summer in which fire is not acceptable. The -windows were dim; the metals rusted, and the new wood about the house -red with damp. We could not have a fire. The storm had thrown down a -chimney; and the house was too full of workmen, providing accommodation -for future guests, to allow of the comfort of those present being much -attended to. We were permitted to sit round a flue in a chamber, where a -remarkably pretty and graceful girl was sewing. She has a widowed mother -to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> support, and she "gets considerable" by sewing here, where the women -lead a bustling life, which leaves no time for the needle. We had to -wait long for something to eat; that is, till supper time; for the -people are too busy to serve up anything between meals. Two little girls -brought a music book, and sang to us; and then we sang to them; and then -Dr. F. brought me two harebells.—one of the rarest flowers in the -country. I found some at Trenton Falls; and in one or two other rocky -and sandy places; but so seldom as to make a solitary one a great -treasure.</p> - -<p>Our supper of young pork, good bread, potatoes, preserves, and tea, was -served at two tables, where the gentlemen were in proportion to the -ladies as ten to one. In such places, there is a large proportion of -young men who are to go back for wives when they have gathered a few -other comforts about them. The appearance of health was as striking as -at Detroit, and everywhere on this side of Lake Erie.</p> - -<p>Immediately after supper we went for a walk, which, in peculiarity, -comes next to that in the Mammoth Cave; if, indeed, it be second to it. -The scene was like what I had always fancied the Norway coast, but for -the wild flowers, which grew among the pines on the slope, almost into -the tide. I longed to spend an entire day on this flowery and shadowy -margin of the inland sea. I plucked handfuls of pea-vine and other -trailing flowers, which seemed to run over all the ground. We found on -the sands an army, like Pharaoh's drowned host, of disabled butterflies, -beetles, and flies of the richest colours and lustre, driven over the -lake by the storm. Charley found a small turtle alive. An elegant little -schooner, "the Sea Serpent of Chicago," was stranded, and formed a -beautiful object as she lay dark between the sand and the surf. The sun -was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> going down. We watched the sunset, not remembering that the -refraction above the fresh waters would probably cause some remarkable -appearance. We looked at one another in amazement at what we saw. First, -there were three gay, inverted rainbows between the water and the sun, -then hidden behind a little streak of cloud. Then the sun emerged from -behind this only cloud, urn-shaped; a glistering golden urn. Then it -changed, rather suddenly, to an enormous golden acorn. Then to a precise -resemblance, except being prodigiously magnified, of Saturn with his -ring. This was the most beautiful apparition of all. Then it was quickly -narrowed and elongated till it was like the shaft of a golden pillar; -and thus it went down square. Long after its disappearance, a lustrous, -deep crimson dome, seemingly solid, rested steadily on the heaving -waters. An inexperienced navigator might be pardoned for making all sail -towards it; it looked so real. What do the Indians think of such -phenomena? Probably as the child does of the compass, the upas tree, and -all the marvels of Madame Genlis' story of Alphonso and Dalinda; that -such things are no more wonderful than all other things. The age of -wonder from natural appearances has not arrived in children and savages. -It is one of the privileges of advancing years. A grave Indian, who -could look with apathy upon the cataract and all the tremendous shows of -the wilderness, found himself in a glass-house at Pittsburg. He saw a -glassblower put a handle upon a pitcher. The savage was transported out -of his previous silence and reserve. He seized and grasped the hand of -the workman, crying out that it was now plain that he had had -intercourse with the Great Spirit. I remember in my childhood, being -more struck with seeing a square box made in three minutes out of a -piece of writing-paper, than with all that I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> read about the loadstone -and the lunar influence upon the tides. In those days I should have -looked upon this Indiana sunset with the same kind of feeling as upon a -cloud which might look "very like a whale."</p> - -<p>We walked briskly home, beside the skiey sea, with the half-grown moon -above us, riding high. Then came the struggling for room to lie down, -for sheets and fresh water. The principal range of chambers could have -been of no manner of use to us, in their present state. There were, I -think, thirty, in one range along a passage. A small bed stood in the -middle of each, made up for use; but the walls were as yet only scantily -lathed, without any plaster; so that everything was visible along the -whole row. They must have been designed for persons who cannot see -through a ladder.</p> - -<p>When I arose at daybreak, I found myself stiff with cold. No wonder: the -window, close to my head, had lost a pane. I think the business of a -perambulating glazier might be a very profitable one, in most parts of -the United States. When we seated ourselves in our wagon, we found that -the leathern cushions were soaked with wet; like so many sponges. They -were taken in to a hot fire, and soon brought out, each sending up a -cloud of steam. Blankets were furnished to lay over them; and we set -off. We were cruelly jolted through the bright dewy woods, for four -miles, and then arrived on the borders of a swamp where the bridge had -been carried away. A man waded in; declared the depth to be more than -six feet; how much more he could not tell. There was nothing to be done -but to go back. Back again we jolted, and arrived at the piazza of the -hotel just as the breakfast-bell was ringing. All the "force" that could -be collected on a hasty summons,—that is, almost every able-bodied man -in the city and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>neighbourhood, was sent out with axes to build us a -bridge. We breakfasted, gathered and dried flowers, and wandered about -till ten o'clock, when we were summoned to try our fortune again in the -wagon. We found a very pretty scene at the swamp. Part of the "force" -was engaged on our side of the swamp, and part on the other. As we sat -under the trees, making garlands and wreaths of flowers and oakleaves -for Charley, we could see one lofty tree-top after another, in the -opposite forest, tremble and fall; and the workmen cluster about it, -like bees, lop off its branches, and, in a trice, roll it, an ugly log, -into the water, and pin it down upon the sleepers. Charley was as busy -as anybody, making islands in the water at the edge of the marsh. The -moccasin flower grew here in great profusion and splendour. We sat thus -upwards of two hours; and the work done in that time appeared almost -incredible. But the Americans in the back country seem to like the -repairing of accidents—a social employment—better than their regular -labour; and even the drivers appeared to prefer adventurous travelling -to easy journeys. A gentleman in a light gig made the first trial of the -new bridge: our wagon followed, plunging and rocking, and we scrambled -in safety up the opposite bank.</p> - -<p>There were other bad places in the road, but none which occasioned -further delay. The next singular scene was an expanse of sand, before -reaching the lake-shore,—sand, so extensive, hot, and dazzling, as to -realise very fairly one's conceptions of the middle of the Great Desert; -except for the trailing roses which skirted it. I walked on, a-head of -the whole party, till I had lost sight of them behind some low -sand-hills. Other such hills hid the lake from me; and, indeed, I did -not know how near it was. I had ploughed my way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> through the ankle-deep -sand till I was much heated, and turned in hope of meeting a breath of -wind. At the moment, the cavalcade came slowly into view from behind the -hills; the labouring horses, the listless walkers, and smoothly rolling -vehicles, all painted absolutely black against the dazzling sand. It was -as good as being in Arabia. For cavalcade, one might read caravan. Then -the horses were watered at a single house on the beach; and we proceeded -on the best part of our day's journey; a ride of seven miles on the hard -sand of the beach, actually in the lapsing waves. We saw another vessel -ashore, with her cargo piled upon the beach. The sight of the clear -waters suggested thoughts of bathing. Charley dearly loves bathing. He -follows the very natural practice of expressing himself in abstract -propositions when his emotions are the strongest. He heard the -speculations on the facilities for bathing which might offer at our -resting-place; and besought his mother to let him bathe. He was told -that it was doubtful whether we should reach our destination before -sunset, and whether any body would be able to try the water. Might he -ask his father?—Yes: but he would find his father no more certain than -the rest of us. "Mother," cried the boy, in an agony of earnestness, -"does not a father know when his child ought to bathe?"—There was no -bathing. The sun had set, and it was too cold.</p> - -<p>The single house at which we were to stop for the night, while the -mail-wagon, with its passengers, proceeded, promised well, at first -sight. It was a log-house on a sand-bank, perfectly clean below stairs, -and prettily dressed with green boughs. We had a good supper, (except -that there was an absence of milk,) and we concluded ourselves fortunate -in our resting-place. Never was there a greater mistake. We walked out, -after supper,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> and when we returned, found that we could not have any -portion of the lower rooms. There was a loft, which I will not describe, -into which, having ascended a ladder, we were to be all stowed. I would -fain have slept on the soft sand, out of doors, beneath the wagon; but -rain came on. There was no place for us to put our heads into but the -loft. Enough. I will only say that this house was, as far as I remember, -the only place in the United States where I met with bad treatment. -Everywhere else, people gave me the best they had,—whether it was bad -or good.</p> - -<p>On our road to Chicago, the next day,—a road winding in and out among -the sand-hills, we were called to alight, and run up a bank to see a -wreck. It was the wreck of the Delaware;—the steamer in which it had -been a question whether we should not proceed from Niles to Chicago. She -had a singular twist in her middle, where she was nearly broken in two. -Her passengers stood up to the neck in water, for twenty-four hours -before they were taken off; a worse inconvenience than any that we had -suffered by coming the other way. The first thing the passengers from -the Delaware did, when they had dried and warmed themselves on shore, -was to sign a letter to the captain, which appeared in all the -neighbouring newspapers, thanking him for the great comfort they had -enjoyed on board his vessel. It is to be presumed that they meant -previously to their having to stand up to their necks in water.</p> - -<p>In the wood which borders the prairie on which Chicago stands, we saw an -encampment of United States' troops. Since the rising of the Creeks in -Georgia, some months before, there had been apprehensions of an Indian -war along the whole frontier. It was believed that a correspondence had -taken place among all the tribes, from the Cumanches, who were engaged -to fight for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> Mexicans in Texas, up to the northern tribes among -whom we were going. It was believed that the war-belt was circulating -among the Winnebagoes, the warlike tribe who inhabit the western shores -of Lake Michigan; and the government had sent troops to Chicago, to keep -them in awe. It was of some consequence to us to ascertain the real -state of the case; and we were glad to find that alarm was subsiding so -fast, that the troops were soon allowed to go where they were more -wanted. As soon as they had recovered from the storm which seemed to -have incommoded everybody, they broke up their encampment, and departed.</p> - -<p>Chicago looks raw and bare, standing on the high prairie above the -lake-shore. The houses appeared insignificant, and run up in various -directions, without any principle at all. A friend of mine who resides -there had told me that we should find the inns intolerable, at the -period of the great land sales, which bring a concourse of speculators -to the place. It was even so. The very sight of them was intolerable; -and there was not room for our party among them all. I do not know what -we should have done, (unless to betake ourselves to the vessels in the -harbour,) if our coming had not been foreknown, and most kindly provided -for. We were divided between three families, who had the art of removing -all our scruples about intruding on perfect strangers. None of us will -lose the lively and pleasant associations with the place, which were -caused by the hospitalities of its inhabitants.</p> - -<p>I never saw a busier place than Chicago was at the time of our arrival. -The streets were crowded with land speculators, hurrying from one sale -to another. A negro, dressed up in scarlet, bearing a scarlet flag, and -riding a white horse with housings of scarlet, announced the times of -sale. At<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> every street-corner where he stopped, the crowd flocked round -him; and it seemed as if some prevalent mania infected the whole people. -The rage for speculation might fairly be so regarded. As the gentlemen -of our party walked the streets, store-keepers hailed them from their -doors, with offers of farms, and all manner of land-lots, advising them -to speculate before the price of land rose higher. A young lawyer, of my -acquaintance there, had realised five hundred dollars per day, the five -preceding days, by merely making out titles to land. Another friend had -realised, in two years, ten times as much money as he had before fixed -upon as a competence for life. Of course, this rapid money-making is a -merely temporary evil. A bursting of the bubble must come soon. The -absurdity of the speculation is so striking, that the wonder is that the -fever should have attained such a height as I witnessed. The immediate -occasion of the bustle which prevailed, the week we were at Chicago, was -the sale of lots, to the value of two millions of dollars, along the -course of a projected canal; and of another set, immediately behind -these. Persons not intending to game, and not infected with mania, would -endeavour to form some reasonable conjecture as to the ultimate value of -the lots, by calculating the cost of the canal, the risks from accident, -from the possible competition from other places, &c., and, finally, the -possible profits, under the most favourable circumstances, within so -many years' purchase. Such a calculation would serve as some sort of -guide as to the amount of purchase-money to be risked. Whereas, wild -land on the banks of a canal, not yet even marked out, was selling at -Chicago for more than rich land, well improved, in the finest part of -the valley of the Mohawk, on the banks of a canal which is already the -medium of an almost inestimable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> amount of traffic. If sharpers and -gamblers were to be the sufferers by the impending crash at Chicago, no -one would feel much concerned: but they, unfortunately, are the people -who encourage the delusion, in order to profit by it. Many a -high-spirited, but inexperienced, young man; many a simple settler, will -be ruined for the advantage of knaves.</p> - -<p>Others, besides lawyers and speculators by trade, make a fortune in such -extraordinary times. A poor man at Chicago had a pre-emption right to -some land, for which he paid in the morning one hundred and fifty -dollars. In the afternoon, he sold it to a friend of mine for five -thousand dollars. A poor Frenchman, married to a squaw, had a suit -pending, when I was there, which he was likely to gain, for the right of -purchasing some land by the lake for one hundred dollars, which would -immediately become worth one million dollars.</p> - -<p>There was much gaiety going on at Chicago, as well as business. On the -evening of our arrival a fancy fair took place. As I was too much -fatigued to go, the ladies sent me a bouquet of prairie flowers. There -is some allowable pride in the place about its society. It is a -remarkable thing to meet such an assemblage of educated, refined, and -wealthy persons as may be found there, living in small, inconvenient -houses on the edge of a wild prairie. There is a mixture, of course. I -heard of a family of half-breeds setting up a carriage, and wearing fine -jewellery. When the present intoxication of prosperity passes away, some -of the inhabitants will go back to the eastward; there will be an -accession of settlers from the mechanic classes; good houses will have -been built for the richer families, and the singularity of the place -will subside. It will be like all the other new and thriving lake and -river ports of America. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>Meantime, I am glad to have seen it in its -strange early days.</p> - -<p>We dined one day with a gentleman who had been Indian agent among the -Winnebagoes for some years. He and his lady seem to have had the art of -making themselves as absolutely Indian in their sympathies and manners -as the welfare of the savages among whom they lived required. They were -the only persons I met with who, really knowing the Indians, had any -regard for them. The testimony was universal to the good faith, and -other virtues of savage life of the unsophisticated Indians; but they -were spoken of in a tone of dislike, as well as pity, by all but this -family; and they certainly had studied their Indian neighbours very -thoroughly. The ladies of Indian agents ought to be women of nerve. Our -hostess had slept for weeks with a loaded pistol on each side her -pillow, and a dagger under it, when expecting an attack from a hostile -tribe. The foe did not, however, come nearer than within a few miles. -Her husband's sister was in the massacre when the fort was abandoned, in -1812. Her father and her husband were in the battle, and her mother and -young brothers and sisters sat in a boat on the lake near. Out of -seventy whites, only seventeen escaped, among whom were her family. She -was wounded in the ankle, as she sat on her horse. A painted Indian, in -warlike costume, came leaping up to her, and seized her horse, as she -supposed, to murder her. She fought him vigorously, and he bore it -without doing her any injury. He spoke, but she could not understand -him. Another frightful savage came up, and the two led her horse to the -lake, and into it, in spite of her resistance, till the water reached -their chins. She concluded that they meant to drown her; but they -contented themselves with holding her on her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> horse till the massacre -was over, when they led her out in safety. They were friendly Indians, -sent by her husband to guard her. She could not but admire their -patience when she found how she had been treating her protectors.</p> - -<p>We had the fearful pleasure of seeing various savage dances performed by -the Indian agent and his brother, with the accompaniments of complete -costume, barbaric music, and whooping. The most intelligible to us was -the Discovery Dance, a highly descriptive pantomime. We saw the Indian -go out armed for war. We saw him reconnoitre, make signs to his -comrades, sleep, warm himself, load his rifle, sharpen his -scalping-knife, steal through the grass within rifle-shot of his foes, -fire, scalp one of them, and dance, whooping and triumphing. There was a -dreadful truth about the whole, and it made our blood run cold. It -realised hatred and horror as effectually as Taglioni does love and -grace.</p> - -<p>We were unexpectedly detained over the Sunday at Chicago; and Dr. F. was -requested to preach. Though only two hours' notice was given, a -respectable congregation was assembled in the large room of the Lake -House; a new hotel then building. Our seats were a few chairs and -benches, and planks laid on trestles. The preacher stood behind a rough -pine-table, on which a large Bible was placed. I was never present at a -more interesting service; and I know that there were others who felt -with me.</p> - -<p>From Chicago, we made an excursion into the prairies. Our young -lawyer-friend threw behind him the five hundred dollars per day which he -was making, and went with us. I thought him wise; for there is that to -be had in the wilderness which money cannot buy. We drove out of the -town at ten o'clock in the morning, too late by two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> hours; but it was -impossible to overcome the introductions to strangers, and the bustle of -our preparations, any sooner. Our party consisted of seven, besides the -driver. Our vehicle was a wagon with four horses.</p> - -<p>We had first to cross the prairie, nine miles wide, on the lake edge of -which Chicago stands. This prairie is not usually wet so early in the -year; but at this time the water stood almost up to the nave of the -wheels: and we crossed it at a walking pace. I saw here, for the first -time in the United States, the American primrose. It grew in profusion -over the whole prairie, as far as I could see; not so large and fine as -in English greenhouses, but graceful and pretty. I now found the truth -of what I had read about the difficulty of distinguishing distances on a -prairie. The feeling is quite bewildering. A man walking near looks like -a Goliath a mile off. I mistook a covered wagon without horses, at a -distance of fifty yards, for a white house near the horizon: and so on. -We were not sorry to reach the belt of trees, which bounded the swamp we -had passed. At a house here, where we stopped to water the horses, and -eat dough nuts, we saw a crowd of emigrants; which showed that we had -not yet reached the bounds of civilisation. A little further on we came -to the river Aux Plaines, spelled on a sign board "Oplain." The ferry -here is a monopoly, and the public suffers accordingly. There is only -one small flat boat for the service of the concourse of people now -pouring into the prairies. Though we happened to arrive nearly first of -the crowd of to-day, we were detained on the bank above an hour; and -then our horses went over at two crossings, and the wagon and ourselves -at the third. It was a pretty scene, if we had not been in a hurry; the -country wagons and teams in the wood by the side<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> of the quiet clear -river; and the oxen swimming over, yoked, with only their patient faces -visible above the surface. After crossing, we proceeded briskly till we -reached a single house, where, or nowhere, we were to dine. The kind -hostess bestirred herself to provide us a good dinner of tea, bread, -ham, potatoes, and strawberries, of which a whole pailful, ripe and -sweet, had been gathered by the children in the grass round the house, -within one hour. While dinner was preparing, we amused ourselves with -looking over an excellent small collection of books, belonging to Miss -Cynthia, the slaughter of the hostess.</p> - -<p>I never saw insulation, (not desolation,) to compare with the situation -of a settler on a wide prairie. A single house in the middle of -Salisbury Plain would be desolate. A single house on a prairie has -clumps of trees near it, rich fields about it; and flowers, -strawberries, and running water at hand. But when I saw a settler's -child tripping out of home-bounds, I had a feeling that it would never -get back again. It looked like putting out into Lake Michigan in a -canoe. The soil round the dwellings is very rich. It makes no dust, it -is so entirely vegetable. It requires merely to be once turned over to -produce largely; and, at present, it appears to be inexhaustible. As we -proceeded, the scenery became more and more like what all travellers -compare it to,—a boundless English park. The grass was wilder, the -occasional footpath not so trim, and the single trees less majestic; but -no park ever displayed anything equal to the grouping of the trees -within the windings of the blue, brimming river Aux Plaines.</p> - -<p>We had met with so many delays that we felt doubts about reaching the -place where we had intended to spend the night. At sunset, we found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> -ourselves still nine miles from Joliet;<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> but we were told that the -road was good, except a small "slew" or two; and there was half a moon -shining behind a thin veil of clouds; so we pushed on. We seemed -latterly to be travelling on a terrace overlooking a wide champaign, -where a dark, waving line might indicate the winding of the river, -between its clumpy banks. Our driver descended, and went forward, two or -three times, to make sure of our road; and at length, we rattled down a -steep descent, and found ourselves among houses. This was not our -resting-place, however. The Joliet hotel lay on the other side of the -river. We were directed to a foot-bridge by which we were to pass; and a -ford below for the wagon. We strained our eyes in vain for the -foot-bridge; and our gentlemen peeped and pryed about for some time. All -was still but the rippling river, and everybody asleep in the houses -that were scattered about. We ladies were presently summoned to put on -our water-proof shoes, and alight. A man showed himself who had risen -from his bed to help us in our need. The foot-bridge consisted, for some -way, of two planks, with a hand-rail on one side: but, when we were -about a third of the way over, one half of the planks, and the -hand-rail, had disappeared. We actually had to cross the rushing, deep -river on a line of single planks, by dim moonlight, at past eleven -o'clock at night. The great anxiety was about Charley; but between his -father and the guide, he managed very well. This guide would accept -nothing but thanks. He "did not calculate to take any pay." Then we -waited some time for the wagon to come up from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> ford. I suspected it -had passed the spot where we stood, and had proceeded to the village, -where we saw a twinkling light, now disappearing, and now re-appearing. -It was so, and the driver came back to look for us, and tell us that the -light we saw was a signal from the hotel-keeper, whom we found, standing -on his door-step, and sheltering his candle with his hand. We sat down -and drank milk in the bar, while he went to consult with his wife what -was to be done with us, as every bed in the house was occupied. We, -meanwhile, agreed that the time was now come for us to enjoy an -adventure which we had often anticipated; sleeping in a barn. We had all -declared ourselves anxious to sleep in a barn, if we could meet with one -that was air-tight, and well-supplied with hay. Such a barn was actually -on these premises. We were prevented, however, from all practising the -freak by the prompt hospitality of our hostess. Before we knew what she -was about, she had risen and dressed herself, put clean sheets on her -own bed, and made up two others on the floor of the same room; so that -the ladies and Charley were luxuriously accommodated. Two sleepy -personages crawled down stairs to offer their beds to our gentlemen. Mr. -L. and our Chicago friend, however, persisted in sleeping in the barn. -Next morning, we all gave a very gratifying report of our lodgings. When -we made our acknowledgments to our hostess, she said she thought that -people who could go to bed quietly every night ought to be ready to give -up to tired travellers. Whenever she travels, I hope she will be treated -as she treated us. She let us have breakfast as early as half-past five, -the next morning, and gave Charley a bun at parting, lest he should be -too hungry before we could dine.</p> - -<p>The great object of our expedition, Mount<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> Joliet, was two miles distant -from this place. We had to visit it, and perform the journey back to -Chicago, forty miles, before night. The mount is only sixty feet high; -yet it commands a view which I shall not attempt to describe, either in -its vastness, or its soft beauty. The very spirit of tranquillity -resides in this paradisy scene. The next painter who would worthily -illustrate Milton's Morning Hymn, should come and paint what he sees -from Mount Joliet, on a dewy summer's morning, when a few light clouds -are gently sailing in the sky, and their shadows traversing the prairie. -I thought I had never seen green levels till now; and only among -mountains had I before known the beauty of wandering showers. Mount -Joliet has the appearance of being an artificial mound, its sides are so -uniformly steep, and its form so regular. Its declivity was bristling -with flowers; among which were conspicuous the scarlet lily, the white -convolvulus, and a tall, red flower of the scabia form. We disturbed a -night-hawk, sitting on her eggs, on the ground. She wheeled round and -round over our heads, and, I hope, returned to her eggs before they were -cold.</p> - -<p>Not far from the mount was a log-house, where the rest of the party went -in to dry their feet, after having stood long in the wet grass. I -remained outside, watching the light showers, shifting in the partial -sunlight from clump to level, and from reach to reach of the brimming -and winding river. The nine miles of prairie, which we had traversed in -dim moonlight last night, were now exquisitely beautiful, as the sun -shone fitfully upon them.</p> - -<p>We saw a prairie wolf, very like a yellow dog, trotting across our path, -this afternoon. Our hostess of the preceding day, expecting us, had an -excellent dinner ready for us. We were detained a shorter time at the -ferry, and reached the belt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> of trees at the edge of Nine-mile Prairie, -before sunset. Here, in common prudence, we ought to have stopped till -the next day, even if no other accommodation could be afforded us than a -roof over our heads. We deserved an ague for crossing the swamp after -dark, in an open wagon, at a foot pace. Nobody was aware of this in -time, and we set forward: the feet of our wearied horses plashing in -water at every step of the nine miles. There was no road; and we had to -trust to the instinct of driver and horses to keep us in the right -direction. I rather think the driver attempted to amuse himself by -exciting our fears. He hinted more than once at the difficulty of -finding the way; at the improbability that we should reach Chicago -before midnight; and at the danger of our wandering about the marsh all -night, and finding ourselves at the opposite edge of the prairie in the -morning. Charley was bruised and tired. All the rest were hungry and -cold. It was very dreary. The driver bade us look to our right hand. A -black bear was trotting alongside of us, at a little distance. After -keeping up his trot for some time, he turned off from our track. The -sight of him made up for all,—even if ague should follow, which I -verily believed it would. But we escaped all illness. It is remarkable -that I never saw ague but once. The single case that I met with was in -autumn, at the Falls of Niagara.</p> - -<p>I had promised Dr. F. a long story about English politics, when a -convenient opportunity should occur. I thought the present an admirable -one; for nobody seemed to have anything to say, and it was highly -desirable that something should be said. I made my story long enough to -beguile four miles; by which time, some were too tired, and others too -much disheartened, for more conversation. Something white was soon after -visible. Our driver<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> gave out that it was a house, half a mile from -Chicago. But no: it was an emigrant encampment, on a morsel of raised, -dry ground; and again we were uncertain whether we were in the right -road. Presently, however, the Chicago beacon was visible, shining a -welcome to us through the dim, misty air. The horses seemed to see it, -for they quickened their pace; and before half-past ten, we were on the -bridge.</p> - -<p>The family, at my temporary home, were gone up to their chambers; but -the wood-fire was soon replenished, tea made, and the conversation -growing lively. My companions were received as readily at their several -resting-places. When we next met, we found ourselves all disposed to -place warm hospitality very high on the list of virtues.</p> - -<p class="space-above">While we were at Detroit, we were most strongly urged to return thither -by the Lakes, instead of by either of the Michigan roads. From place to -place, in my previous travelling, I had been told of the charms of the -Lakes, and especially of the Island of Mackinaw. Every officer's lady -who has been in garrison there, is eloquent upon the delights of -Mackinaw. As our whole party, however, could not spare time to make so -wide a circuit, we had not intended to indulge ourselves with a further -variation in our travels than to take the upper road back to Detroit; -having left it by the lower. On Sunday, June 27th, news arrived at -Chicago that this upper road had been rendered impassable by the rains. -A sailing vessel, the only one on the Lakes, and now on her first trip, -was to leave Chicago for Detroit and Buffalo, the next day. The case was -clear: the party must divide. Those who were obliged to hasten home must -return by the road we came: the rest must proceed by water. On Charley's -account,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> the change of plan was desirable; as the heats were beginning -to be so oppressive as to render travelling in open wagons unsafe for a -child. It was painful to break up our party at the extreme point of our -journey; but it was clearly right. So Mr. and Mrs. L. took their chance -by land; and the rest of us went on board the Milwaukee, at two o'clock -on the afternoon of the 28th.</p> - -<p>Mrs. F. and I were the only ladies on board; and there was no -stewardess. The steward was obliging, and the ladies' cabin was clean -and capacious; and we took possession of it with a feeling of comfort. -Our pleasant impressions, however, were not of long duration. The vessel -was crowded with persons who had come to the land sales at Chicago, and -were taking their passage back to Milwaukee; a settlement on the western -shore of the lake, about eighty miles from Chicago. Till we should reach -Milwaukee, we could have the ladies' cabin only during a part of the -day. I say a part of the day, because some of the gentry did not leave -our cabin till near nine in the morning; and others chose to come down, -and go to bed, as early as seven in the evening, without troubling -themselves to give us five minutes' notice, or to wait till we could put -up our needles, or wipe our pens. This ship was the only place in -America where I saw a prevalence of bad manners. It was the place of all -others to select for the study of such; and no reasonable person would -look for anything better among land-speculators, and settlers in regions -so new as to be almost without women. None of us had ever before seen, -in America, a disregard of women. The swearing was incessant; and the -spitting such as to amaze my American companions as much as myself.</p> - -<p>Supper was announced presently after we had sailed; and when we came to -the table, it was full,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> and no one offered to stir, to make room for -us. The captain, who was very careful of our comfort, arranged that we -should be better served henceforth; and no difficulty afterwards -occurred. At dinner, the next day, we had a specimen of how such -personages as we had on board are managed on an emergency. The captain -gave notice, from the head of the table, that he did not choose our -party to be intruded on in the cabin; and that any one who did not -behave with civility at table should be turned out. He spoke with -decision and good-humour; and the effect was remarkable. Everything on -the table was handed to us; and no more of the gentry came down into our -cabin to smoke, or throw themselves on the cushions to sleep, while we -sat at work.</p> - -<p>Our fare was what might be expected on Lake Michigan. Salt beef and -pork, and sea-biscuit; tea without milk, bread, and potatoes. Charley -throve upon potatoes and bread: and we all had the best results of -food,—health and strength.</p> - -<p>A little schooner which left Chicago at the same time with ourselves, -and reached Milwaukee first, was a pretty object. On the 29th, we were -only twenty-five miles from the settlement; but the wind was so -unfavourable that it was doubtful whether we should reach it that day. -Some of the passengers amused themselves by gaming, down in the hold; -others by parodying a methodist sermon, and singing a mock hymn. We did -not get rid of them till noon on the 30th, when we had the pleasure of -seeing our ship disgorge twenty-five into one boat, and two into -another. The atmosphere was so transparent as to make the whole scene -appear as if viewed through an opera-glass; the still, green waters, the -dark boats with their busy oars, the moving passengers, and the -struggles of one to recover his hat, which had fallen overboard. We<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> -were yet five miles from Milwaukee; but we could see the bright, wooded -coast, with a few white dots of houses.</p> - -<p>While Dr. F. went on shore, to see what was to be seen, we had the cabin -cleaned out, and took, once more, complete possession of it, for both -day and night. As soon as this was done, seven young women came down the -companion-way, seated themselves round the cabin, and began to question -us. They were the total female population of Milwaukee; which settlement -now contains four hundred souls. We were glad to see these ladies; for -it was natural enough that the seven women should wish to behold two -more, when such a chance offered. A gentleman of the place, who came on -board this afternoon, told me that a printing-press had arrived a few -hours before; and that a newspaper would speedily appear. He was kind -enough to forward the first number to me a few weeks afterwards; and I -was amused to see how pathetic an appeal to the ladies of more -thickly-settled districts it contained; imploring them to cast a -favourable eye on Milwaukee, and its hundreds of bachelors. Milwaukee -had been settled since the preceding November. It had good stores, (to -judge by the nature and quality of goods sent ashore from our ship;) it -had a printing-press and newspaper, before the settlers had had time to -get wives. I heard these new settlements sometimes called "patriarchal;" -but what would the patriarchs have said to such an order of affairs?</p> - -<p>Dr. F. returned from the town, with apple-pies, cheese, and ale, -wherewith to vary our ship-diet. With him arrived such a number of -towns-people, that the steward wanted to turn us out of our cabin once -more; but we were sturdy, appealed to the captain, and were confirmed in -possession. From this time began the delights of our voyage.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> The moon, -with her long train of glory, was magnificent to-night; the vast body of -waters on which she shone being as calm as if the winds were dead.</p> - -<p>The navigation of these lakes is, at present, a mystery. They have not -yet been properly surveyed. Our captain had gone to and fro on Lake -Huron, but had never before been on Lake Michigan; and this was rather -an anxious voyage to him. We had got aground on the sand-bar before -Milwaukee harbour; and on the 1st of July, all hands were busy in -unshipping the cargo, to lighten the vessel, instead of carrying her up -to the town. An elegant little schooner was riding at anchor near us; -and we were well amused in admiring her, and in watching the bustle on -deck, till some New-England youths, and our Milwaukee acquaintance, -brought us, from the shore, two newspapers, some pebbles, flowers, and a -pitcher of fine strawberries.</p> - -<p>As soon as we were off the bar, the vessel hove round, and we cast -anchor in deeper water. Charley was called to see the sailors work the -windlass, and to have a ride thereon. The sailors were very kind to the -boy. They dressed up their dog for him in sheep-skins and a man's hat; a -sight to make older people than Charley laugh. They took him down into -the forecastle to show him prints that were pasted up there. They asked -him to drink rum and water with them: to which Charley answered that he -should be happy to drink water with them, but had rather not have any -rum. While we were watching the red sunset over the leaden waters, -betokening a change of weather, the steamer "New York" came ploughing -the bay, three weeks after her time; such is the uncertainty in the -navigation of these stormy lakes. She got aground on the sand-bank, as -we had done; and boats were going from her to the shore and back, as -long as we could see.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p><p>The next day there was rain and some wind. The captain and steward went -off to make final purchases: but the fresh meat which had been bespoken -for us had been bought up by somebody else; and no milk was to be had; -only two cows being visible in all the place. Ale was the only luxury we -could obtain. When the captain returned, he brought with him a stout -gentleman, one of the proprietors of the vessel, who must have a berth -in our cabin as far as Mackinaw; those elsewhere being too small for -him. Under the circumstances, we had no right to complain; so we helped -the steward to partition off a portion of the cabin with a counterpane, -fastened with four forks. This gentleman, Mr. D., was engaged in the fur -trade at Mackinaw, and had a farm there, to which he kindly invited us.</p> - -<p>On Sunday, the 3rd, there was much speculation as to whether we should -be at Mackinaw in time to witness the celebration of the great day. All -desired it; but I was afraid of missing the Manitou Isles in the dark. -There was much fog; the wind was nearly fair; the question was whether -it would last. Towards evening, the fog thickened, and the wind -freshened. The mate would not believe we were in the middle of the lake, -as every one else supposed. He said the fog was too warm not to come -from near land. Charley caught something of the spirit of uncertainty, -and came to me in high, joyous excitement, to drag me to the side of the -ship, that I might see how fast we cut through the waves, and how -steadily we leaned over the water, till Charley almost thought he could -touch it. He burst out about the "kind of a feeling" that it was "not to -see a bit of land," and not to know where we were; and to think "<i>if</i> we -should upset!" and that we never did upset:—it was "a good and a bad -feeling at once;" and he should never be able to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> tell people at home -what it was like. The boy had no fear: he was roused, as the brave man -loves to be. Just as the dim light of the sunset was fading from the -fog, it opened, and disclosed to us, just at hand, the high, sandy shore -of Michigan. It was well that this happened before dark. The captain -hastened up to the mast-head, and reported that we were off Cape Sable, -forty miles from the Manitou Isles.</p> - -<p>Three bats and several butterflies were seen to-day, clinging to the -mainsail,—blown over from the shore. The sailors set their dog at a -bat, of which it was evidently afraid. A flock of pretty pigeons flew -round and over the ship; of which six were shot. Four fell into the -water; and the other two were reserved for the mate's breakfast; he -being an invalid.</p> - -<p>We were up before five, on the morning of the 4th of July, to see the -Manitou Isles, which were then just coming in sight. They are the Sacred -Isles of the Indians, to whom they belong. Manitou is the name of their -Great Spirit, and of everything sacred. It is said that they believe -these islands to be the resort of the spirits of the departed. They are -two: sandy and precipitous at the south end; and clothed with wood, from -the crest of the cliffs to the north extremity, which slopes down -gradually to the water. It was a cool, sunny morning, and these dark -islands lay still, and apparently deserted, on the bright green waters. -Far behind, to the south, were two glittering white sails, on the -horizon. They remained in sight all day, and lessened the feeling of -loneliness which the navigators of these vast lakes cannot but have, -while careering among the solemn islands and shores. On our right lay -the Michigan shore, high and sandy, with the dark eminence, called the -Sleeping Bear, conspicuous on the ridge. No land speculators have set -foot here yet. A few Indian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> dwellings, with evergreen woods and sandy -cliffs, are all. Just here, Mr. D. pointed out to us a schooner of his -which was wrecked, in a snowstorm, the preceding November. She looked -pretty and forlorn, lying on her side in that desolate place, seeming a -mere plaything thrown in among the cliffs. "Ah!" said her owner, with a -sigh, "she was a lovely creature, and as stiff as a church." Two lives -were lost. Two young Germans, stout lads, could not comprehend the -orders given them to put on all their clothing, and keep themselves -warm. They only half-dressed themselves: "the cold took them," and they -died. The rest tried to make fire by friction of wood; but got only -smoke. Some one found traces of a dog in the snow. These were followed -for three miles, and ended at an Indian lodge, where the sailors were -warmed, and kindly treated.</p> - -<p>During the bright morning of this day we passed the Fox and Beaver -Islands. The captain was in fine spirits, though there was no longer any -prospect of reaching Mackinaw in time for the festivities of the day. -This island is chiefly known as a principal station of the great -north-western fur trade. Others know it as the seat of an Indian -mission. Others, again, as a frontier garrison. It is known to me as the -wildest and tenderest little piece of beauty that I have yet seen on -God's earth. It is a small island, nine miles in circumference, being in -the strait between the Lakes Michigan and Huron, and between the coasts -of Michigan and Wisconsin.</p> - -<p>Towards evening the Wisconsin coast came into view, the strait suddenly -narrowed, and we were about to bid farewell to the great Lake whose -total length we had traversed, after sweeping round its southern -extremity. The ugly light-ship, which looked heavy enough, came into -view about six<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> o'clock; the first token of our approach to Mackinaw. -The office of the light-ship is to tow vessels in the dark through the -strait. We were too early for this; but perhaps it performed that office -for the two schooners whose white specks of sails had been on our -southern horizon all day. Next we saw a white speck before us; it was -the barracks of Mackinaw, stretching along the side of its green hills, -and clearly visible before the town came into view.</p> - -<p>The island looked enchanting as we approached, as I think it always -must, though we had the advantage of seeing it first steeped in the most -golden sunshine that ever hallowed lake or shore. The colours were up on -all the little vessels in the harbour. The national flag streamed from -the garrison. The soldiers thronged the walls of the barracks; -half-breed boys were paddling about in their little canoes, in the -transparent waters; the half-French, half-Indian population of the place -were all abroad in their best. An Indian lodge was on the shore, and a -picturesque dark group stood beside it. The cows were coming down the -steep green slopes to the milking. Nothing could be more bright and -joyous.</p> - -<p>The houses of the old French village are shabby-looking, dusky, and -roofed with bark. There are some neat yellow houses, with red shutters, -which have a foreign air, with their porches and flights of steps. The -better houses stand on the first of the three terraces which are -distinctly marked. Behind them are swelling green knolls; before them -gardens sloping down to the narrow slip of white beach, so that the -grass seems to grow almost into the clear rippling waves. The gardens -were rich with mountain ash, roses, stocks, currant bushes, springing -corn, and a great variety of kitchen vegetables. There were two small -piers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> with little barks alongside, and piles of wood for the -steam-boats. Some way to the right stood the quadrangle of missionary -buildings, and the white mission church. Still further to the right was -a shrubby precipice down to the lake; and beyond, the blue waters. While -we were gazing at all this, a pretty schooner sailed into the harbour -after us, in fine style, sweeping round our bows so suddenly as nearly -to swamp a little fleet of canoes, each with its pair of half-breed -boys.</p> - -<p>We had been alarmed by a declaration from the captain that he should -stay only three hours at the island. He seemed to have no intention of -taking us ashore this evening. The dreadful idea occurred to us that we -might be carried away from this paradise, without having set foot in it. -We looked at each other in dismay. Mr. D. stood our friend. He had some -furs on board which were to be landed. He said this should not be done -till the morning; and he would take care that his people did it with the -utmost possible slowness. He thought he could gain us an additional hour -in this way. Meantime, thunder-clouds were coming up rapidly from the -west, and the sun was near its setting. After much consultation, and an -assurance having been obtained from the captain that we might command -the boat at any hour in the morning, we decided that Dr. F. and Charley -should go ashore, and deliver our letters, and accept any arrangements -that might be offered for our seeing the best of the scenery in the -morning.</p> - -<p>Scarcely any one was left in the ship but Mrs. F. and myself. We sat on -deck, and gazed as if this were to be the last use we were ever to have -of our eyes. There was growling thunder now, and the church bell, and -Charley's clear voice from afar: the waters were so still. The Indians -lighted a fire before their lodge; and we saw their shining<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> red forms -as they bent over the blaze. We watched Dr. F. and Charley mounting to -the garrison; we saw them descend again with the commanding officer, and -go to the house of the Indian agent. Then we traced them along the -shore, and into the Indian lodge; then to the church; then, the parting -with the commandant on the shore, and lastly, the passage of the dark -boat to our ship's side. They brought news that the commandant and his -family would be on the watch for us before five in the morning, and be -our guides to as much of the island as the captain would allow us time -to see.</p> - -<p>Some pretty purchases of Indian manufactures were brought on board this -evening; light matting of various colours, and small baskets of -birch-bark, embroidered with porcupine-quills, and filled with maple -sugar.</p> - -<p>The next morning all was bright. At five o'clock we descended the ship's -side, and from the boat could see the commandant and his dog hastening -down from the garrison to the landing-place. We returned with him up the -hill, through the barrack-yard; and were joined by three members of his -family on the velvet green slope behind the garrison. No words can give -an idea of the charms of this morning walk. We wound about in a vast -shrubbery, with ripe strawberries under foot, wild flowers all around, -and scattered knolls and opening vistas tempting curiosity in every -direction. "Now run up," said the commandant, as we arrived at the foot -of one of these knolls. I did so, and was almost struck backwards by -what I saw. Below me was the Natural Bridge of Mackinaw, of which I had -heard frequent mention. It is a limestone arch, about one hundred and -fifty feet high in the centre, with a span of fifty feet; one pillar -resting on a rocky projection in the lake, the other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> on the hill. We -viewed it from above, so that the horizon line of the lake fell behind -the bridge, and the blue expanse of waters filled the entire arch. Birch -and ash grew around the bases of the pillars, and shrubbery tufted the -sides, and dangled from the bridge. The soft rich hues in which the -whole was dressed seemed borrowed from the autumn sky.</p> - -<p>But even this scene was nothing to one we saw from the fort, on the -crown of the island; old Fort Holmes, called Fort George when in the -possession of the British. I can compare it to nothing but to what Noah -might have seen, the first bright morning after the deluge. Such a -cluster of little paradises rising out of such a congregation of waters, -I can hardly fancy to have been seen elsewhere. The capacity of the -human eye seems here suddenly enlarged, as if it could see to the verge -of the watery creation. Blue, level waters appear to expand for -thousands of miles in every direction; wholly unlike any aspect of the -sea. Cloud shadows, and specks of white vessels, at rare intervals, -alone diversify it. Bowery islands rise out of it; bowery promontories -stretch down into it; while at one's feet lies the melting beauty which -one almost fears will vanish in its softness before one's eyes; the -beauty of the shadowy dells and sunny mounds, with browsing cattle, and -springing fruit and flowers. Thus, and no otherwise, would I fain think -did the world emerge from the flood. I was never before so unwilling to -have objects named. The essential unity of the scene seemed to be marred -by any distinction of its parts. But this feeling, to me new, did not -alter the state of the case; that it was Lake Huron that we saw -stretching to the eastward; Lake Michigan opening to the west; the -island of Bois Blanc, green to the brink in front; and Round Island and -others interspersed. I stood now at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> the confluence of those great -northern lakes, the very names of which awed my childhood; calling up, -as they did, images of the fearful red man of the deep pine-forest, and -the music of the moaning winds, imprisoned beneath the ice of winter. -How different from the scene, as actually beheld, dressed in verdure, -flowers, and the sunshine of a summer's morning!</p> - -<p>It was breakfast-time when we descended to the barracks; and we -despatched a messenger to the captain to know whether we might breakfast -with the commandant. We sat in the piazza, and overlooked the village, -the harbour, the straits, and the white beach, where there were now four -Indian lodges. The island is so healthy that, according to the -commandant, people who want to die must go somewhere else. I saw only -three tombstones in the cemetery. The commandant has lost but one man -since he has been stationed at Mackinaw; and that was by drowning. I -asked about the climate; the answer was, "We have nine months winter, -and three months cold weather."</p> - -<p>It would have been a pity to have missed the breakfast at the garrison, -which afforded a strong contrast with any we had seen for a week. We -concealed, as well as we could, our glee at the appearance of the rich -cream, the new bread and butter, fresh lake trout, and pile of -snow-white eggs.</p> - -<p>There is reason to think that the mission is the least satisfactory part -of the establishment on this island. A great latitude of imagination or -representation is usually admitted on the subject of missions to the -heathen. The reporters of this one appear to be peculiarly imaginative. -I fear that the common process has here been gone through of attempting -to take from the savage the venerable and the true which he possessed, -and to force upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> him something else which is to him neither venerable -nor true.</p> - -<p>The Indians have been proved, by the success of the French among them, -to be capable of civilisation. Near Little Traverse, in the north-west -part of Michigan, within easy reach of Mackinaw, there is an Indian -village, full of orderly and industrious inhabitants, employed chiefly -in agriculture. The English and Americans have never succeeded with the -aborigines so well as the French; and it may be doubted whether the -clergy have been a much greater blessing to them than the traders.</p> - -<p>It was with great regret that we parted with the commandant and his -large young family, and stepped into the boat to return to the ship. The -captain looked a little grave upon the delay which all his passengers -had helped to achieve. We sailed about nine. We were in great delight at -having seen Mackinaw, at having the possession of its singular imagery -for life: but this delight was at present dashed with the sorrow of -leaving it. I could not have believed how deeply it is possible to -regret a place, after so brief an acquaintance with it. We watched the -island as we rapidly receded, trying to catch the aspect of it which had -given it its name—the Great Turtle. Its flag first vanished: then its -green terraces and slopes, its white barracks, and dark promontories -faded, till the whole disappeared behind a headland and light-house of -the Michigan shore.</p> - -<p>Lake Huron was squally, as usual. Little remarkable happened while we -traversed it. We enjoyed the lake trout. We occasionally saw the faint -outline of the Manitouline Islands and Canada. We saw a sunset which -looked very like the general conflagration having begun: the whole -western sky and water being as if of red flame and molten lead. This was -succeeded by paler fires.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> A yellow planet sank into the heaving waters -to the south; and the northern lights opened like a silver wheat-sheaf, -and spread themselves half over the sky. It is luxury to sail on Lake -Huron, and watch the northern lights.</p> - -<p>On the 7th we were only twenty miles from the river St. Clair: but the -wind was "right ahead," and we did not reach the mouth of the river till -the evening of the 8th. The approach and entrance kept us all in a state -of high excitement, from the captain down to Charley. On the afternoon -of the 8th, Fort Gratiot and the narrow mouth of the St. Clair, became -visible. Our scope for tacking grew narrower, every turn. The captain -did not come to dinner; he kept the lead going incessantly. Two vessels -were trying with us for the mouth of the river. The American schooner -got in first, from being the smallest. The British vessel and ours -contested the point stoutly for a long while, sweeping round and -crossing each other, much as if they were dancing a minuet. A squall -came, and broke one of our chains, and our rival beat us. In the midst -of the struggle, we could not but observe that the sky was black as -night to windward; and that the captain cast momentary glances thither, -as if calculating how soon he must make all tight for the storm. The -British vessel was seen to have come to an anchor. Our sails were all -taken in, our anchor dropped, and a grim, silence prevailed. The waters -were flat as ice about the ship. The next moment, the sky-organ began to -blow in our rigging. Fort Gratiot was blotted out; then the woods; then -the other ship; then came the orderly march of the rain over the -myrtle-green waters; then the storm seized us. We could scarcely see -each others' faces, except for the lightning; the ship groaned, and -dragged her anchor, so that a second was dropped.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p><p>In twenty minutes, the sun gilded the fort, the woods, and the green, -prairie-like, Canada shore. On the verge of this prairie, under the -shelter of the forest, an immense herd of wild horses were seen -scampering, and whisking their long tails. A cloud of pigeons, in -countless thousands, was shadowing alternately the forests, the lake, -and the prairie; and an extensive encampment of wild Indians was -revealed on the Michigan shore. It was a dark curtain lifted up on a -scene of wild and singular beauty.</p> - -<p>Then we went to the anxious work of tacking again. We seemed to be -running aground on either shore, as we approached each. Our motions were -watched by several gazers. On the Canada side, there were men on the -sands, and in a canoe, with a sail which looked twice as big as the -bark. The keepers of the Gratiot light-house looked out from the -lantern. A party of squaws, in the Indian encampment, seated on the -sands, stopped their work of cleaning fish, to see how we got through -the rapids. A majestic personage, his arms folded in his blanket, stood -on an eminence in the midst of the camp; and behind him, on the brow of -the hill, were groups of unclothed boys and men, looking so demon-like, -as even in that scene to remind me of the great staircase in the ballet -of Faust. Our ship twisted round and round in the eddies, as helplessly -as a log, and stuck, at last, with her stem within a stone's throw of -the Indians. Nothing more could be done that night. We dropped anchor, -and hoped the sailors would have good repose after two days of tacking -to achieve a progress of twenty miles. Two or three of them went ashore, -to try to get milk. While they were gone, a party of settlers stood on -the high bank, to gaze at us; and we were sorry to see them, even down -to the little children, whisking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> boughs without ceasing. This was a -threat of mosquitoes which was not to be mistaken. When the sailors -returned, they said we were sure to have a good watch kept, for the -mosquitoes would let no one sleep. We tried to shut up our cabin from -them; but they were already there: and I, for one, was answerable for -many murders before I closed my eyes. In the twilight, I observed -something stirring on the high bank; and on looking closely, saw a party -of Indians, stepping along, in single file, under the shadow of the -wood. Their simplest acts are characteristic; and, in their wild state, -I never saw them without thinking of ghosts or demons.</p> - -<p>In the morning, I found we were floating down the current, stern -foremost, frequently swinging round in the eddies, so as to touch the -one shore or the other. There seemed to be no intermission of settlers' -houses; all at regular distances along the bank. The reason of this -appearance is a good old French arrangement, by which the land is -divided into long, narrow strips, that each lot may have a water -frontage. We were evidently returning to a well-settled country. The -more comfortable houses on the Canada side were surrounded by spacious -and thriving fields: the poorer by dreary enclosures of swamp. We saw a -good garden, with a white paling. Cows were being milked. Cow-bells, and -the merry voices of singing children, were heard from under the clumps; -and piles of wood for the steam-boats, and large stocks of shingles for -roofing were laid up on either hand. The Gratiot steamer puffed away -under the Michigan bank. Canoes shot across in a streak of light; and a -schooner came down the clear river, as if on the wing between the sky -and the water. I watched two horsemen on the shore, for many miles, -tracing the bay pony and the white horse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> through the woody screen, and -over the brooks, and along the rickety bridges. I could see that they -were constantly chatting, and that they stopped to exchange salutations -with every one they met or overtook. These, to be sure, were few enough. -I was quite sorry when the twilight drew on, and hid them from me. I saw -a little boy on a log, with a paddle, pushing himself off from a bank of -wild roses, and making his way in the sunshine, up the river. It looked -very pretty, and very unsafe; but I dare say he knew best. The captain -and mate were both ill to-day. The boat was sent ashore for what could -be had. The men made haste, and rowed bravely; but we were carried down -four miles before we could "heave to," for them to overtake us. They -brought brandy for the captain; and for us, butter just out of the -churn. The mosquitoes again drove us from the deck, soon after dark.</p> - -<p>The next morning, the 10th, the deck was in great confusion. The captain -was worse: the mate was too ill to command; and the second mate seemed -to be more efficient in swearing, and getting the men to swear, than at -anything else. After breakfast, there was a search made after a -pilferer, who had abstracted certain small articles from our cabin; -among which was Charley's maple-sugar basket, which had been seen in the -wheel-house, with a tea-spoon in it. This seemed to point out one of the -juniors in the forecastle as the offender; the steward, however, offered -to clear himself by taking an oath, "on a bible as big as the ship," -that he knew nothing of the matter. As we did not happen to have such a -bible on board, we could not avail ourselves of his offer. A comb and -tooth-brush, which had been missing, were found, restored to their -proper places: but Charley's pretty basket was seen no more.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span></p><p>It was a comfortless day. We seemed within easy reach of Detroit; but -the little wind we had was dead ahead; the sun was hot; the mosquitoes -abounded; the captain was downcast, and the passengers cross. There was -some amusement, however. Dr. F. went ashore, and brought us milk, of -which we each had a draught before it turned sour. He saw on shore a -sight which is but too common. An hotel-keeper let an Indian get drunk; -and then made a quarrel between him and another, for selfish purposes. -The whites seem to have neither honour nor mercy towards the red men.</p> - -<p>A canoe full of Indians,—two men and four children,—came alongside, -this afternoon, to offer to traffic. They had no clothing but a coarse -shirt each. The smallest child had enormous ear-ornaments of blue and -white beads. They were closely packed in their canoe, which rocked with -every motion. They sold two large baskets for a quarter dollar and two -loaves of bread. Their faces were intelligent, and far from solemn. The -children look merry, as children should. I saw others fishing afar off, -till long after dark. A dusky figure stood, in a splendid attitude, at -the bow of a canoe, and now paddled with one end of his long lance, now -struck at a fish with the other. He speared his prey directly through -the middle; and succeeded but seldom. At dark, a pine torch was held -over the water; and by its blaze, I could still see something of his -operations.</p> - -<p>The groaning of our ship's timbers told us, before we rose, that we were -in rapid motion. The wind was fair; and we were likely to reach Detroit, -forty miles, to dinner. Lake St. Clair, with its placid waters and low -shores, presents nothing to look at. The captain was very ill, and -unable to leave his berth. No one on board knew the channel of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> -Detroit river but himself; and, from the time we entered it, the lead -was kept going. When we were within four miles of Detroit, hungry, hot, -tired of the disordered ship, and thinking of friends, breezes, and a -good dinner at the city, we went aground,—grinding, grinding, till the -ship trembled in every timber. The water was so shallow that one might -have touched the gravel on either side with a walking-stick. There was -no hope of our being got off speedily. The cook applied himself to -chopping wood, in order to lighting a fire, in order to baking some -bread, in order to give us something to eat; for not a scrap of meat, or -an ounce of biscuit, was left on board.</p> - -<p>It occurred to me that our party might reach the city, either by paying -high for one of the ship's boats, or by getting the mate to hail one of -the schooners that were in the river. The boats could not be spared. The -mate hoisted a signal for a schooner; and one came alongside, very fully -laden with shingles. Fifteen of us, passengers, with our luggage, were -piled on the top of the cargo, and sailed gently up to the city. The -captain was too ill, and the mate too full of vexation, to bid us -farewell; and thus we left our poor ship. We were glad, however, to pass -her in the river, the next day, and to find that she had been got off -the shoal before night.</p> - -<p>As we drew near, Charley, in all good faith, hung out his little -handkerchief to show the people of Detroit that we were come back. They -did not seem to know us, however. "What!" cried some men on a raft, to -the master of our schooner, "have you been robbing a steam-boat?" "No," -replied the master, gravely; "it is a boat that has gone to the bottom -in the lakes." We expected that some stupendous alarm would arise out of -this. When we reached New York, a fortnight after, we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> found that our -friends there had been made uneasy by the news that a steam-boat had -sunk on the Lakes, and that eight hundred passengers were drowned. -Catastrophes grow as fast as other things in America.</p> - -<p>Though our friends did not happen to see Charley's pocket-handkerchief -from the river, they were soon about us, congratulating us on having -made the circuit of the Lakes. It was indeed matter of congratulation.</p> - -<p class="space-above">I have now given sketches of some of the most remarkable parts of the -country, hoping that a pretty distinct idea might thus be afforded of -their primary resources, and of the modes of life of their inhabitants. -I have said nothing of the towns, in this connection; town-life in -America having nothing very peculiar about it, viewed in the way of -general survey. The several departments of industry will now be -particularly considered.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> I know not why I should suppress a name that I honour.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Isaiah xvi. 3.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> It is possible that this term may not yet be familiar to -some of my English readers. It means summary punishment. The modes now -in use among those who take the law into their own hands in the United -States, are tarring and feathering, scourging with a cow-hide, -banishing, and hanging. The term owes its derivation to a farmer of the -name of Lynch, living on the Mississippi, who, in the absence of court -and lawyers, constituted himself a judge, and ordered summary punishment -to be inflicted on an offender. He little foresaw the national disgrace -which would arise from the extension of the practice to which he gave -his name.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> I preserve the original name, which is that of the first -French missionary who visited these parts. The place is now commonly -called Juliet; and a settlement near has actually been named Romeo: so -that I fear there is little hope of a restoration of the honourable -primitive name.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER I.</span> <span class="smaller">AGRICULTURE.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"Plus un peuple nombreux se rapproche, moins le gouvernement peut -usurper sur le Souverain. L'avantage d'un gouvernement tyrannique -est donc en ceci, d'agir à grandes distances. A l'aide des points -d'appui qu'il se donne, sa force augmente au loin, comme celle des -léviers. Celle du peuple, au contraire, n'agit que concentrée: elle -s'évapore et se perd en s'étendant, comme l'effet de la poudre -éparse à terre, et qui ne prend feu que grain à grain. Les pays les -moins peuplés sont ainsi les plus propres à la tyrannie. Les bêtes -féroces ne règnent que dans les déserts."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Rousseau.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The pride and delight of Americans is in their quantity of land. I do -not remember meeting with one to whom it had occurred that they had too -much. Among the many complaints of the minority, this was never one. I -saw a gentleman strike his fist on the table in an agony at the country -being so "confoundedly prosperous:" I heard lamentations over the spirit -of speculation; the migration of young men to the back country; the -fluctuating state of society from the incessant movement westwards; the -immigration of labourers from Europe; and the ignorance of the sparse -population. All these grievances I heard perpetually complained of; but -in the same breath I was told in triumph of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> rapid sales of land; of -the glorious additions which had been made by the acquisition of -Louisiana and Florida, and of the probable gain of Texas. Land was -spoken of as the unfailing resource against over manufacture; the great -wealth of the nation; the grand security of every man in it.</p> - -<p>On this head, the two political parties seem to be more agreed than on -any other. The federalists are the great patrons of commerce; but they -are as proud of the national lands as the broadest of the democrats. The -democrats, however, may be regarded as the patrons of agriculture, out -of the slave States. There seems to be a natural relation between the -independence of property and occupation enjoyed by the agriculturist, -and his watchfulness over State Rights and the political importance of -individuals. The simplicity of country life, too, appears more congenial -with the workings of democratic institutions, than the complex -arrangements of commerce and manufactures.</p> - -<p>The possession of land is the aim of all action, generally speaking, and -the cure for all social evils, among men in the United States. If a man -is disappointed in politics or love, he goes and buys land. If he -disgraces himself, he betakes himself to a lot in the west. If the -demand for any article of manufacture slackens, the operatives drop into -the unsettled lands. If a citizen's neighbours rise above him in the -towns, he betakes himself where he can be monarch of all he surveys. An -artisan works, that he may die on land of his own. He is frugal, that he -may enable his son to be a landowner. Farmers' daughters go into -factories that they may clear off the mortgage from their fathers' -farms; that they may be independent landowners again. All this is -natural enough in a country colonised from an old one, where land is so -restricted in quantity as to be apparently the same thing as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> wealth. It -is natural enough in a young republic, where independence is of the -highest political value. It is natural enough in a country where -political economy has never been taught by its only effectual -propounder—social adversity. And, finally, it falls out well for the -old world, in prospect of the time when the new world must be its -granary.</p> - -<p>The democratic party are fond of saying that the United States are -intended to be an agricultural country. It seems to me that they are -intended to be everything. The Niagara basin, the Mississippi valley, -and the South, will be able to furnish the trading world with -agricultural products for ever,—for aught we can see. But it is clear -that there are other parts of the country which must have recourse to -manufactures and commerce.</p> - -<p>The first settlers in New England got land, and thought themselves rich. -Their descendants have gone on to do the same; and they now find -themselves poor. With the exception of some Southerners, ruined by -slavery, who cannot live within their incomes, I met with no class in -the United States so anxious about the means of living as the farmers of -New England. In the seventeenth century, curious purchases of land were -made, and the fathers were wealthy. In those days, a certain farmer -Dexter bought the promontory of Nahant, which stretches out into -Massachusetts Bay, of Black Willey, an Indian chief, for a suit of -clothes; the part of the promontory called Great Nahant measuring a mile -and a half in circuit. Others, who held land in similar or larger -quantities, divided it equally among their children, whose portions had -not been subdivided below the point of comfort, when the great west on -the one hand, and the commerce of the seas on the other, opened new -resources. From this time, the consolidation of estates has gone on, -nearly as fast as the previous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> division. The members of a family -dispose of their portions of land to one, and go to seek better fortunes -elsewhere than the rocky soil of New England can afford. Still, while -the population of Massachusetts is scarcely above half that of London, -its number of landowners is greater than that of all England.</p> - -<p>The Massachusetts farmers were the first to decline; but now the -comparative adversity of agriculture has extended even into Vermont. A -few years ago, lenders of money into Vermont received thirty per cent. -interest from farmers: now they are glad to get six per cent.; and this -does not arise from the farmers having saved capital of their own. They -have but little property besides their land. Their daughters, and even -their sons, resort to domestic service in Boston for a living. Boston -used to be supplied from Vermont with fowls, butter, and eggs: but the -supply has nearly ceased. This is partly owing to an increased attention -to the growth of wool for the manufacturers; but partly also to the -decrease of capital and enterprise among the farmers.</p> - -<p>In Massachusetts the farmers have so little property besides their land, -that they are obliged to mortgage when they want to settle a son or -daughter, or make up for a deficient crop. The great Insurance Company -at Boston is the formidable creditor to many. This Company will not wait -a day for the interest. If it is not ready, loss or ruin ensues. Many -circumstances are now unfavourable to the old-fashioned Massachusetts -farmer. Domestic manufactures, which used to employ the daughters, are -no longer worth while, in the presence of the factories. The young men, -who should be the daughters' husbands, go off to the west. The idea of -domestic service is not liked. There is an expensive family at home, -without sufficient <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>employment; and they may be considered poor. These -are evils which may be shaken off any day. I speak of them, not as -demanding much compassion, but as indicating a change in the state of -affairs; and especially that New England is designed to be a -manufacturing and commercial region. It is already common to see -agriculture joined with other employments. The farmers of the coast are, -naturally, fishermen also. They bring home fish, manure their land with -the offal; sow their seed, and go out again to fish while it is growing. -Shoemaking is now joined with farming. In the long winter evenings, all -the farmers' families around Lynn are busy shoe-making; and in the -spring, they turn out into the fields again. The largest proportion of -factory girls too is furnished by country families.</p> - -<p>The traveller may see, by merely passing through the country, without -asking information, how far New England ought to be an agricultural -country, if the object of its society be to secure the comfort of its -members, rather than the continuance of old customs. The valleys, like -that of the Connecticut river, whose soil is kept rich by annual -inundations, and whose fields have no fences, gladden the eye of the -observer. So it is with particular spots elsewhere, where, it may be -remarked, the fences are of the ordinary, slovenly kind, and too much -care does not seem to have been bestowed on the arrangements and economy -of the estate. Elsewhere, may be seen stony fields, plots of the -greenest pasture, with grey rocks standing up in the midst, and barberry -bushes sprinkled all about: trim orchards, and fences on which a great -deal of spare time must have been bestowed. Instead of the ugly, hasty -snake-fence, there is a neatly built wall, composed of the stones which -had strewed the fields: sometimes the neatest fence of all; a wall of -stones and sods, regularly laid, with a single rail<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> along the top: -sometimes a singular fence, which would be perfect, but for the expense -of labour required; roots of trees, washed from the soil, and turned -side upwards, presenting a complete chevaux-de-frise, needing no -mending, and lasting the "for ever" of this world. About these -farm-houses, a profusion of mignonette may be seen; and in the season, -the rich major convolvulus, or scarlet runners, climbing up to the -higher windows. The dove-cotes are well looked to. There has evidently -been time and thought for everything. This is all very pretty to look -at,—even bewitching to those who do not see beneath the surface, nor -know that hearts may be aching within doors about perilous mortgages, -and the fate of single daughters; but, it being known that such worldly -anxieties do exist, it is not difficult to perceive that these are the -places in which they abide.</p> - -<p>There is, of course, a knowledge of the difficulty on the spot; but not -always a clear view of coming events, which include a remedy. The -commonest way of venting any painful sensibility on the subject, is -declamation against luxury; or rather, against the desire for it in -those who are supposed unable to afford it. This will do no good. If the -Pilgrim Fathers themselves had had luxury before their eyes, they would -have desired to have it; and they would have been right. Luxury is, in -itself, a great good. Luxury is <i>delicious fare</i>,—of any and every -kind: and He who bestowed it meant all men to have it. The evil of -luxury is in its restriction; in its being made a cause of separation -between men, and a means of encroachment by some on the rights of -others. Frugality is a virtue only when it is required by justice and -charity. Luxury is vicious only when it is obtained by injustice, and -carried on into intemperance. It is a bad thing that a Massachusetts -farmer should mortgage his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> farm, in order that his wife and daughters -may dress like the ladies of Boston; but the evil is not in the dress; -it is rather in his clinging to a mode of life which does not enable him -to pay his debts. The women desire dress, not only because it is -becoming, but because they revolt from sinking, even outwardly, into a -lower station of life than they once held: and this is more than -harmless; it is honourable. What they have to do is to make up their -minds to be consistent. They must either go down with their farm, for -love of it, and the ways which belong to it: or they must make a better -living in some other manner. They cannot have the old farm and its ways, -and luxury too. Nobody has a right to decide for them which they ought -to choose; and declaiming against luxury will therefore do no good. It -is, however, pretty clear which they will choose, while luxury and -manufactures are growing before their eyes; and, in that case, -declaiming against luxury can do little but harm: it will only destroy -sympathy between the declaimers and those who may find the cap fit.</p> - -<p>One benevolent lady strongly desires and advises that manufactures -should be put down; and the increased population all sent away -somewhere, that New England may be as primitive and sparsely peopled as -in days when it was, as she supposes, more virtuous than now. Whenever -she can make out what virtue is, so as to prove that New England was -ever more virtuous than now, her plans may find hearers; but not till -then. I mention these things merely to show how confirmed is the -tendency of New England to manufactures, in preference to agriculture.</p> - -<p>There is one certain test of the permanent fitness of any district of -country for agricultural purposes; the settlement of any large number of -Germans in it. The Germans give any price for good land, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> use it -all. They are much smiled at by the vivacious and enterprising Americans -for their plodding, their attachment to their own methods, and the odd -direction taken by their pride.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> The part of Pennsylvania where they -abound is called the Bœotia of America. There is a story current -against them that they were seen to parade with a banner, on which was -inscribed "No schools," when the State legislature was about -establishing a school system. On the other hand, it is certain that they -have good German newspapers prepared among themselves: that their -politics do them high honour, considering the very short political -education they have had: and that they know more of political economy -than their native neighbours. They show by their votes that they -understand the tariff and bank questions; and they are staunch -supporters of democratic principles.</p> - -<p>Nothing can be more thriving than the settlements of Germans, when they -have once been brought into order. Their fields are well fenced; their -implements of the most substantial make; and their barns a real -curiosity. While the family of the farmer is living in a poor log-house, -or a shabby, unpainted frame-house, the barn has all the pains of its -owner lavished upon it. I saw several, freshly painted with red, with -eleven glass windows, with venetian blinds, at each end, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> twelve in -front. They keep up the profitable customs of their country. The German -women are the only women seen in the fields and gardens in America, -except a very few Dutch, and the slaves in the south. The stores of -pumpkins, apples, and onions in the stoup (piazza) are edifying to -behold. Under them sits the old dame of the house, spinning at her large -wheel; and her grand-children, all in grey homespun, look as busy as -herself.</p> - -<p>The German settlers always contrive to have a market, either by placing -themselves near one, or bestirring themselves to make one. They have no -idea of sitting down in a wilderness, and growing wild in it. A great -many of them are market-gardeners near the towns.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> - -<p>It is scarcely possible to foresee, with distinctness, the destination -of the southern States, east of the Alleghanies, when the curse of -slavery shall be removed. Up to that period, continual deterioration is -unavoidable. Efforts are being made to compensate for the decline of -agriculture by pushing the interests of commerce. This is well; for the -"opening" of every new rail-road, of every new pier, is another blow -given to slavery. The agriculture of Virginia continues to decline; and -her revenue is chiefly derived from the rearing of slaves as stock for -the southern market. In the north and west parts of this State, where -there is more farming than planting, it has long been found that slavery -is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> ruinous; and when I passed through, in the summer of 1835, I saw -scarcely any but whites, for some hundreds of miles along the road, -except where a slave trader was carrying down to the south the remains -that he had bought up. Unless some new resource is introduced, Virginia -will be almost impoverished when the traffic in slaves comes to an end; -which, I have a strong persuasion, will be the case before very long. -The Virginians themselves are, it seems, aware of their case. I saw a -factory at Richmond, worked by black labour, which was found, to the -surprise of those who tried the experiment, to be of very good quality.</p> - -<p>The shores of the south, low and shoaly, are unfavourable to foreign -commerce. The want of a sufficiency of good harbours will probably impel -the inhabitants of the southern States to renew their agricultural -pursuits, and merely confine themselves to internal commerce. The -depression of agriculture is only temporary, I believe. It began from -slavery, and is aggravated by the opening of the rich virgin soils of -the south-west. But the time will come when improved methods of tillage, -with the advantage of free labour, will renew the prosperity of -Virginia, and North and South Carolina.</p> - -<p>No mismanagement short of employing slaves will account for the -deterioration of the agricultural wealth of these States. When the -traveller observes the quality of some of the land now under -cultivation, he wonders how other estates could have been rendered so -unprofitable as they are. The rich Congaree bottoms, in South Carolina, -look inexhaustible; but some estates, once as fine, now lie barren and -deserted. I went over a plantation, near Columbia, South Carolina, where -there were four thousand acres within one fence, each acre worth fifteen -hundred dollars. This land has been cropped yearly with cotton since -1794, and is now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> becoming less productive; but it is still very fine. -The cotton seed is occasionally returned to the soil; and this is the -only means of renovation used. Four hundred negroes work this estate. We -saw the field trenched, ready for sowing. The sowing is done by hand, -thick, and afterwards thinned. I saw the cotton elsewhere, growing like -twigs. I saw also some in pod. There are three or four pickings of pods -in a season; of which the first gathering is the best. Each estate has -its cotton press. In the gin, the seed is separated from the cotton; and -the latter is pressed and packed for sale.</p> - -<p>There seems nothing to prevent the continuance or renovation of the -growth of this product, under more favourable circumstances. Whether the -rice swamps will have to be given up, or whether they may be tilled by -free black labour, remains to be seen. The Chinese grow rice; and so do -the Italians, without the advantage of free black labour. If, in the -worst case, the rice swamps should have to be relinquished, the loss -would be more than compensated by the improvement which would take place -in the farming districts; land too high for planting. The western, -mountainous parts of these States would thus become the most valuable.</p> - -<p>It was amusing to hear the praises of corn (Indian corn) in the midst of -the richest cotton, rice, and tobacco districts. The Indian looks with -silent wonder upon the settler, who becomes visibly a capitalist in nine -months, on the same spot where the red man has remained equally poor, -all his life. In February, both are alike bare of all but land, and a -few utensils. By the end of the next November, the white settler has his -harvest of corn; more valuable to him than gold and silver. It will -procure him many things which they could not. A man who has corn, may -have everything. He can sow his land with it; and, for the rest, -everything<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> eats corn, from slave to chick. Yet, in the midst of so much -praise of corn, I found that it cost a dollar a bushel; that every one -was complaining of the expenses of living; that, so far from mutton -being despised, as we have been told, it was much desired, but not to be -had; and that milk was a great rarity. Two of us, in travelling, asked -for a draught of milk. We had each a very small tumbler-full, and were -charged a quarter-dollar. The cultivation of land is as exclusively for -exportable products, as in the West Indies, in the worst days of their -slavery; when food, and even bricks for building, were imported from -England. The total absence of wise rural economy, under the present -system, opens great hope of future improvement. The forsaken plantations -are not so exhausted of their resources as it is supposed, from their -producing little cotton, that they must be. The deserted fields may yet -be seen, some day, again fruitful in cotton, with corn-fields, -pasturage, and stock, (not human,) flourishing in appropriate spots.</p> - -<p>Adversity is the best teacher of economy here, as elsewhere. In the -first flush of prosperity, when a proprietor sits down on a rich virgin -soil, and the price of cotton is rising, he buys bacon and corn for his -negroes, and other provisions for his family, and devotes every rod of -his land to cotton-growing. I knew of one in Alabama, who, like his -neighbours, paid for his land and the maintenance of his slaves with the -first crop, and had a large sum over, wherewith to buy more slaves and -more land. He paid eight thousand dollars for his land, and all the -expenses of the establishment, and had, at the end of the season, eleven -thousand dollars in the bank. It was thought, by a wise friend of this -gentleman's, that it was a great injury, instead of benefit to his -fortune, that his labourers were not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> free. To use this wise man's -expression, "it takes two white men to make a black man work;" and he -was confident that it was not necessary, on any pretence whatever, to -have a single slave in Alabama. Where all the other elements of -prosperity exist, as they do in that rich new State, any quality and -amount of labour might be obtained, and the permanent prosperity of the -country might be secured. If matters go on as they are, Alabama will in -time follow the course of the south-eastern States, and find her -production of cotton declining; and she will have to learn a wiser -husbandry by vicissitude. But matters will not go on as they are to that -point. Cotton-growing is advancing rapidly in other parts of the world -where there is the advantage of cheap, free labour; and the southern -States of America will find themselves unable to withstand the -competition of rivals whom they now despise, but by the use of free -labour, and of the improved management which will accompany it. There is -already a great importation of mules for field work from the higher -western States. Who knows but that in time there may be cattle-shows, -(like those of the more prosperous rural districts of the north,) where -there are now slave markets; or at least agricultural societies, whereby -the inhabitants may be put in the way of obtaining tender "sheep's -meat," while cotton may be grown more plentifully than even at present?</p> - -<p>I saw at Charleston the first great overt act of improvement that I am -aware of in South Carolina. One step has been taken upwards; and when I -saw it, I could only wish that the slaves in the neighbourhood could -see, as clearly as a stranger could, the good it portended to them. It -is nothing more than that an enterprising gentleman has set up a -rice-mill, and that he avails himself to the utmost of its capabilities; -but this is made much of in that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> land of small improvement; as it ought -to be. The chaff is used to enrich the soil: and the proprietor has made -lot after lot of bad land very profitable for sale with it, and is thus -growing rapidly rich. The sweet flour, which lies between the husk and -the grain, is used for fattening cattle. The broken rice is sold cheap; -and the rest finds a good market. There are nine persons employed in the -mill, some white and some black; and many more are busy in preparing the -lots of land, and in building on them. Clusters of houses have risen up -around the mill.</p> - -<p>Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, present the extreme case of the -fertility of the soil, the prosperity of proprietors, and the woes of -slaves. I found the Virginians spoke with sorrow and contempt of the -treatment of slaves in North and South Carolina: South Carolina and -Georgia, of the treatment of slaves in the richer States to the west: -and, in these last, I found the case too bad to admit of aggravation. It -was in these last that the most heart-rending disclosures were made to -me by the ladies, heads of families, of the state of society, and of -their own intolerable sufferings in it. As I went further north again, I -found an improvement. There was less wealth in the hands of individuals, -a better economy, more intelligent slaves, and more discussion how to -get rid of slavery. Tennessee is, in some sort, naturally divided on the -question. The eastern part of the State is hilly, and fit for farming; -for which slave labour does not answer. The western part is used for -cotton-planting; and the planters will not yet hear of free labour. The -magnificent State of Kentucky has no other drawback to its prosperity -than slavery; and its inhabitants are so far convinced of this that they -will, no doubt, soon free themselves from it. They cannot look across -the river, and witness the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>prosperity of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, -without being aware that, with their own unequalled natural advantages, -they could not be so backward as they are, from any other cause.</p> - -<p>Kentucky is equally adapted for agriculture and commerce. She may have -ports on the rivers, along her whole northern and western boundary; and -she has already roads superior to almost any in the United States. She -is rich in stone, and many other minerals; in mineral waters, and in a -soil of unsurpassed fertility. The State is more thickly settled than is -evident to the passing traveller; and the effect will appear when more -markets, or roads to existing markets, are opened. In one small county -which I visited, my host and his brother had farms of fifteen hundred -acres each; and there were two hundred and fifty other farms in the -county. Sometimes these farms are divided among the children. More -commonly, all the sons but one go elsewhere to settle. In this case, the -homestead is usually left to the youngest son, who is supposed likely to -be the most attached to the surviving parent.</p> - -<p>The estates of the two brothers, mentioned above, comprising three -thousand acres, were bought of the Indians for a rifle. We passed a -morning in surveying the one which is a grazing farm. There is a good -red-brick house for the family: and the slave-quarter is large. Nothing -can be more beautiful than the aspect of the estate, from the richness -of its vegetation, and the droves of fine cattle that were to be seen -everywhere. I never saw finer cattle. The owner had just refused sixty -dollars apiece for fourteen of them. Fifteen acres of the forest are -left for shade; and there, and under single oaks in the cleared pasture, -were herds of horses and mules, and three donkeys; the only ones I saw -in the United States.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span></p><p>We passed an unshaded meadow, where the grass had caught fire every day -at eleven o'clock, the preceding summer. This demonstrates the necessity -of shade.</p> - -<p>We passed "a spontaneous rye-field." I asked what "spontaneous" meant -here; and found that a fine crop of rye had been cut the year before; -and that the nearly equally fine one now before us had grown up from the -dropped seed.</p> - -<p>We enjoyed the thought of the abundance of milk here, after the dearth -we had suffered in the South. Forty cows are milked for the use of the -family and the negroes, and are under the care of seven women. The -proprietor declared to me that he believed his slaves would drive him -mad. Planters, who grow but one product, suffer much less from the -incapacity and perverse will of their negroes: the care of stock is -quite another matter; and for any responsible service, slaves are -totally unfit.</p> - -<p>Instead of living being cheaper on country estates, from the necessaries -of life being raised on them, it appears to be much more expensive. This -is partly owing to the prevailing pride of having negroes to show. One -family, of four persons, of my acquaintance, in South Carolina, whose -style of living might be called homely, cannot manage to live for less -than three thousand dollars a year. They have a carriage and eleven -negroes. It is cheaper in Kentucky. In the towns, a family may live in -good style for two thousand five hundred dollars a year; and for no -great deal more in the country. A family entered upon a good house, near -a town, with one hundred and twenty acres of land, a few years ago, at a -rent of three hundred dollars. They bought house and land, and brought -their slaves, and now live, exclusive of rent and hire of servants, for -two thousand dollars a year, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> greater numbers and much higher style -than the South Carolina family.</p> - -<p>The prospects of agriculture in the States north-west of the Ohio are -brilliant. The stranger who looks upon the fertile prairies of Illinois -and Indiana, and the rich alluvions of Ohio, feels the iniquity of the -English corn laws as strongly as in the alleys of Sheffield and -Manchester. The inhuman perverseness of taxing food is there evident in -all its enormity. The world ought never to hear of a want of food,—no -one of the inhabitants of its civilised portions ought ever to be -without the means of obtaining his fill, while the mighty western valley -smiles in its fertility. If the aristocracy of England, for whom those -laws were made, and by whom they are sustained, could be transported to -travel, in open wagons, the boundless prairies, and the shores of the -great rivers which would bring down the produce, they would groan to see -from what their petty, selfish interests had shut out the thousands of -half-starved labourers at home. If they could not be convinced of the -very plain truth, of how their own fortunes would be benefited by -allowing the supply and demand of food to take their natural course, -they would, for the moment, wish their rent-rolls at the bottom of the -sea, rather than that they should stand between the crowd of labourers -and the supply of food which God has offered them. The landlords of -England do not go and see the great western valley; but, happily, some -of the labourers of England do. Far off as that valley is, those -labourers will make themselves heard from thence, by those who have -driven them there; and will teach the brethren whom they have left -behind where the blame of their hunger lies. Every British settler who -ploughs a furrow in the prairie, helps to plough up the foundations of -the British Corn Laws.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span></p><p>There is a prospect, not very uncertain or remote, of these prairie -lands bringing relief to a yet more suffering class than either English -labourers or landlords; the sugar-growing slaves of the south. Rumours -of the progress of sugar-making from beet in France have, for some time -past, been interesting many persons in the United States; especially -capitalists inclined to speculate, and the vigilant friends of the -slave. Information has been obtained, and some trials made. Individuals -have sown ten acres and upwards each, and manufactured sugar with a -small apparatus. The result has been encouraging; and a large -manufactory was to be opened in Philadelphia on the 1st of November -last. Two large joint-stock companies have been founded, one in New -Jersey and the other in Illinois. Their proceedings have been quickened -by the frosts of several successive seasons, which have so cut off the -canes in the south, as that it cannot supply one quarter of the domestic -consumption: whereas it had previously supplied half. Some of the -southern newspapers have recommended the substitution of beet for canes. -However soon this may be done, the northern sugar planters, with their -free labour, will surely overpower the south in the competition. This is -on the supposition that beet will answer as well as canes; a supposition -which will have Bern granted whenever the south begins to grow beet in -preference to canes.</p> - -<p>A heavy blow would be inflicted on slavery by the success of the beet -companies. The condition of the cane-growing slaves cannot be made worse -than it is. I believe that even in the West Indies it has never been so -dreadful as at present in some parts of Louisiana. A planter stated to a -sugar-refiner in New York, that it was found the best economy to <i>work -off</i> the stock of negroes once in seven years.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span></p><p>The interest excited by this subject of beet-growing is very strong -throughout the United States. Some result must ensue which will be an -instigation to further action. The most important would be the inducing -in the south either the use of free labour in sugar-growing, or the -surrender of an object so fatal to decent humanity.</p> - -<p>The prettiest amateur farm I saw was that of the late Dr. Hosack, at -Hyde Park, on the Hudson. Dr. Hosack had spared no pains to improve his -stock, and his methods of farming, as well as the beauty of his -pleasure-grounds. His merits in the former departments the agricultural -societies in England are much better qualified to appreciate than I; and -they seem to have valued his exertions; to judge by the medals and other -honourable testimonials from them which he showed to me. As for his -pleasure-grounds, little was left for the hand of art to do. The natural -terrace above the river, green, sweeping, and undulating, is -surpassingly beautiful. Dr. Hosack's good taste led him to leave it -alone, and to spend his pains on the gardens and conservatory behind. Of -all the beautiful country-seats on the Hudson, none can, I think, equal -Hyde Park; though many bear a more imposing appearance from the river.</p> - -<p>Though I twice traversed the western part of the State of New York, I -did not see the celebrated farm of Mr. Wadsworth; the finest, by all -accounts, in the United States. The next best thing to seeing it was -hearing Mr. Wadsworth talk about it,—especially of its hospitable -capabilities. This only increased my regret at being unable to visit it.</p> - -<p>The most remarkable order of land-owners that I saw in the United States -was that of the Shakers and the Rappites; both holding all their -property in common, and both enforcing celibacy. The interest which -would be felt by the whole of society<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> in watching the results of a -community of property is utterly destroyed by the presence of the other -distinction; or rather of the ignorance and superstition of which it is -the sign.</p> - -<p>The moral and economical principles of these societies ought to be most -carefully distinguished by the observer. This being done, I believe it -will be found that whatever they have peculiarly good among them is -owing to the soundness of their economical principles; whatever they -have that excites compassion, is owing to the badness of their moral -arrangements.</p> - -<p>I visited two Shaker communities in Massachusetts. The first was at -Hancock, consisting of three hundred persons, in the neighbourhood of -another at Lebanon, consisting of seven hundred persons. There are -fifteen Shaker establishments or "families" in the United States, and -their total number is between five and six thousand. There is no -question of their entire success, as far as wealth is concerned. A very -moderate amount of labour has secured to them in perfection all the -comforts of life that they know how to enjoy, and as much wealth besides -as would command the intellectual luxuries of which they do not dream. -The earth does not show more flourishing fields, gardens, and orchards, -than theirs. The houses are spacious, and in all respects -unexceptionable. The finish of every external thing testifies to their -wealth, both of material and leisure. The floor of their place of -worship, (the scene of their peculiar exercises,) the roofs of their -houses, their stair-carpets, the feet of their chairs, the springs of -their gates, and their spitting-boxes,—for even these neat people have -spitting-boxes—show a nicety which is rare in America. Their table fare -is of the very best quality. We had depended on a luncheon among them, -and were rather alarmed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> at the refusal we met, when we pleaded our long -ride and the many hours that we should have to wait for refreshment, if -they would not furnish us with some. They urged, reasonably enough, that -a steady rule was necessary, subject as the community was to visits from -the company at Lebanon Springs. They did not want to make money by -furnishing refreshments, and did not desire the trouble. For once, -however, they kindly gave way; and we were provided with delicious -bread, molasses, butter, cheese and wine; all homemade, of course. If -happiness lay in bread and butter, and such things, these people have -attained the <i>summum bonum</i>. Their store shows what they can produce for -sale. A great variety of simples, of which they sell large quantities to -London; linen-drapery, knitted wares, sieves, baskets, boxes, and -confectionary; palm and feather fans, pin-cushions, and other such -trifles; all these may be had in some variety, and of the best quality. -If such external provision, with a great amount of accumulated wealth -besides, is the result of co-operation and community of property among -an ignorant, conceited, inert society like this, what might not the same -principles of association achieve among a more intelligent set of -people, stimulated by education, and exhilarated by the enjoyment of all -the blessings which Providence has placed within the reach of man?</p> - -<p>The wealth of the Shakers is not to be attributed to their celibacy. -They are receiving a perpetual accession to their numbers from among the -"world's people," and these accessions are usually of the most -unprofitable kind. Widows with large families of young children, are -perpetually joining the community, with the view of obtaining a -plentiful subsistence with very moderate labour. The increase of their -numbers does not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> lead to the purchase of more land. They supply their -enlarged wants by the high cultivation of the land they have long -possessed; and the superfluity of capital is so great that it is -difficult to conceive what will be done with it by a people so nearly -dead to intellectual enjoyments. If there had been no celibacy among -them, they would probably have been far more wealthy than they are; the -expenses of living in community being so much less, and the produce of -co-operative labour being so much greater than in a state of division -into families. The truth of these last positions can be denied by none -who have witnessed the working of a co-operative system. The problem is -to find the principle by which all shall be induced to labour their -share. Any such principle being found, the wealth of the community -follows of course.</p> - -<p>Whether any principle to this effect can be brought to bear upon any -large class of society in the old world, is at present the most -important dispute, perhaps, that is agitating society. It will never now -rest till it has been made matter of experiment. If a very low principle -has served the purpose, for a time at least, in the new world, there -seems much ground for expectation that a far higher one may be found to -work as well in the more complicated case of English society. There is, -at least, every encouragement to try. While there are large classes of -people here whose condition can hardly be made worse; while the present -system (if such it may be called) imposes care on the rich, excessive -anxiety on the middle classes, and desperation on the poor: while the -powerful are thus, as it were, fated to oppress; the strivers after -power to circumvent and counteract; and the powerless to injure, it -seems only reasonable that some section, at least, of this warring -population should make trial of the peaceful principles which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> are -working successfully elsewhere. The co-operative methods of the Shakers -and Rappites might be tried without any adoption of their spiritual -pride and cruel superstition. These are so far from telling against the -system, that they prompt the observer to remark how much has been done -in spite of such obstacles.</p> - -<p>There must be something sound in the principles on which these people -differ from the rest of the world, or they would not work at all; but -the little that is vital is dreadfully encumbered with that which is -dead. Like all religious persuasions from which one differs, that of the -Shakers appears more reasonable in conversation, and in their daily -actions, than on paper and at a distance. In actual life, the absurd and -peculiar recedes before the true and universal; but, I own, I have never -witnessed more visible absurdity than in the way of life of the Shakers. -The sound part of their principle is the same as that which has -sustained all devotees; and with it is joined a spirit of fellowship -which makes them more in the right than the anchorites and friars of -old. This is all. Their spiritual pride, their insane vanity, their -intellectual torpor, their mental grossness, are melancholy to witness. -Reading is discouraged among them. Their thoughts are full of the one -subject of celibacy: with what effect, may be easily imagined. Their -religious exercises are disgustingly full of it. It cannot be otherwise: -for they have no other interesting subject of thought beyond their daily -routine of business; no objects in life, no wants, no hopes, no novelty -of experience whatever. Their life is all dull work and no play.</p> - -<p>The women, in their frightful costume, close opaque caps, and drab gowns -of the last degree of tightness and scantiness, are nothing short of -disgusting. They are averse to the open air and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>exercise; they are -pallid and spiritless. They look far more forlorn and unnatural than the -men. Their soulless stare at us, before their worship began, was almost -as afflicting as that of the lowest order of slaves; and, when they -danced, they were like so many galvanised corpses. I had been rather -afraid of not being able to keep my countenance during this part of -their worship; but there was no temptation to laugh. It was too shocking -for ridicule. Three men stood up, shouting a monotonous tune, and -dangling their crossed hands, with a pawing motion, to keep time, while -the rest danced, except some old women and young children, who sat out. -The men stamped, and the women jerked, with their arms hanging by their -sides; they described perpetually the figure of a square; the men and -boys on one side, the women and girls on the other. There were prayers -besides, and singing, and a sermon. This last was of a better quality -than usual, I understood. It was (of all improbable subjects) on -religious liberty, and contained nothing outrageously uncommon, except -the proposition that the American revolution had drawn the last of the -teeth of the red dragon.</p> - -<p>It is not to be supposed that the children who are carried in by their -widowed, or indolent, or poor, or superstitious parents, are always -acquiescent in their destination. I saw many a bright face within the -prim cap-border, which bore a prophecy of a return to the world; and two -of the boys stamped so vigorously in the dance, that it was impossible -to imagine their feelings to be very devotional. The story of one often -serves as an index to the hearts of many. I knew of a girl who was -carried into a Shaker community by her widowed mother, and subjected -early to its discipline. It was hateful to her. One Sunday, when she -was, I believe, about sixteen, she feigned illness, to avoid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> going to -worship. When she believed every one else gone, she jumped out of a low -window, and upon the back of a pony which happened to be in the field. -She rode round and round the enclosure, without saddle or bridle, and -then re-entered the house. She had been observed, and was duly -reprimanded. She left the community in utter weariness and disgust. A -friend of mine, in a neighbouring village, took the girl into her -service. She never settled well in service, being too proud for the -occupation; and she actually went back to the same community, and is -there still, for no better reason than the saving of her pride. Her old -teachers had, it thus appeared, obtained an influence over her, -notwithstanding the tyranny of their discipline; and it had not been of -a wholesome moral nature. But no more words are necessary to show how -pride, and all other selfishness, must flourish in a community which -religiously banishes all the tenderest charities of life.</p> - -<p>The followers of Mr. Rapp are settled at Economy, on the Ohio, eighteen -miles below Pittsburgh. Their number was five hundred when I was there; -and they owned three thousand acres of land. Much of their attention -seems to be given to manufactures. They rear silkworms, and were the -earliest silk-weavers in the United States. At my first visit they were -weaving only a flimsy kind of silk handkerchief; last summer I brought -away a piece of substantial, handsome black satin. They have -sheep-walks, and a large woollen manufactory. Their factory was burnt -down in 1834; the fire occasioning a loss of sixty thousand dollars; a -mere trifle to this wealthy community. Their vineyards, corn-fields, -orchards, and gardens gladden the eye. There is an abundance so much -beyond their need that it is surprising that they work; except for want -of something else to do. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> Dutch love of flowers was visible in the -plants that were to be seen in the windows, and the rich carnations and -other sweets that bloomed in the garden and green-house. The whole place -has a superior air to that of either of the Shaker "families" that I -saw. The women were better dressed; more lively, less pallid; but, I -fear, not much wiser. Mr. Rapp exercises an unbounded influence over his -people. They are prevented learning any language but German, and are not -allowed to converse with strangers. The superintendent keeps a close -watch over them in this respect. Probationers must serve a year before -they can be admitted: and the managers own that they dread the entrance -of young people, who might be "unsettled;" that is, not sufficiently -subservient.</p> - -<p>I was curious to learn how five hundred persons could be kept in the -necessary subjection by one. Mr. Rapp's means are such that his task is -not very difficult. He keeps his people ignorant; and he makes them -vain. He preaches to them their own superiority over the rest of the -world so incessantly that they fully believe it; and are persuaded that -their salvation is in his hands. At first I felt, with regard both to -them and the Shakers, a strong respect for the self-conquest which could -enable them to endure the singularity,—the one community, of its -non-intercourse with strangers; the other, of its dancing exhibitions; -but I soon found that my respect was misplaced. One and all, they glory -in the singularity. They feel no awkwardness in it, from first to last. -This vanity is the handle by which they are worked.</p> - -<p>Mr. Rapp is now very old. His son is dead. It remains to be seen what -will become of his community, with its immense accumulation of wealth, -when it has lost its dictator. It does not appear that they can go on in -their present state without a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> dictator. They smile superciliously upon -Mr. Owen's plan, as admitting "a wrong principle,"—marriage. The best -hope for them is that they will change their minds on this point, -admitting the educational improvements which will arise out of the -change, and remaining in community with regard to property. This is the -process now in action among the seceders from their body, settled on the -opposite bank of the river, a short distance below Economy.</p> - -<p>These seceders were beguiled by Count Leon, a stranger, who told the -people a great deal that was true about Mr. Rapp, and a great deal that -was false about himself. It is a great pity that Count Leon was a -swindler; for he certainly opened the eyes of the Economy people to many -truths, and might have done all that was wanted, if he had himself been -honest. He drew away seventy of the people, and instigated them to -demand of Mr. Rapp their share of the accumulated property. It was -refused: and a suit was instituted against Mr. Rapp, in whose name the -whole is invested. The lawyers compromised the affair, and Mr. Rapp -disbursed 120,000 dollars. Count Leon obtained, and absconded with -almost the whole, and died in Texas; the burial-place of many more such -men. With the remnant of their funds, the seventy seceders purchased -land, and settled themselves opposite to Beaver, on the Ohio. They live -in community, but abjuring celibacy; and have been joined by some -thorough-bred Americans. It will be seen how they prosper.</p> - -<p>Though the members of these remarkable communities are far from being -the only agriculturists in whom the functions of proprietor and labourer -are joined, the junction is in them so peculiar as to make them a -separate class, holding a place between the landowners of whom I have -before spoken, and the labourers of whom I shall have to treat.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">DISPOSAL OF LAND.</span></h3> - -<p>The political economists of England have long wondered why the Americans -have not done what older nations would be glad to do, if the opportunity -had not gone by;—reserved government lands, which, as it is the -tendency of rent to rise, might obviate any future increase of taxation. -There are more good reasons than one why this cannot be done in America.</p> - -<p>The expenses of the general government are so small that the present -difficulty is to reduce the taxation so as to leave no more than a safe -surplus revenue in the treasury; and there is no prospect of any -increase of taxation; as the taxpayers are likely to grow much faster -than the expenses of the government.</p> - -<p>The people of the United States choose to be proprietors of land, not -tenants. No one can yet foresee the time when the relation of landlord -and tenant (except in regard to house property) will be extensively -established in America. More than a billion of acres remain to be -disposed of first.</p> - -<p>The weightiest reason of all is that, in the United States, the people -of to-day are the government of to-day; the people of fifty years hence -will be the government of fifty years hence; and it would not suit the -people of to-day to sequestrate their property for the benefit of their -successors, any better than it would suit the people of fifty years -hence to be legislated for by those of to-day. A democratic government -must always be left free to be operated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> upon by the will of the -majority of the time being. All that the government of the day can do is -to ascertain what now appears to be the best principle by which to -regulate the disposal of land, and then to let the demand and supply -take their natural course.</p> - -<p>The methods according to which the disposal of land is carried on are as -good as the methods of government almost invariably are in America. The -deficiency is in the knowledge of the relation which land bears to other -capital and to labour.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> A few clear-headed men have foreseen the evil -of so great a dispersion of the people as has taken place, and have -consistently advocated a higher price being set upon land than that at -which it is at present sold. Such men are now convinced that evils which -seem to bear no more relation to the price of land than the fall of an -apple to the motions of the planets, are attributable to the reduction -in the price of government lots: that much political blundering, and -religious animosity; much of the illegal violence, and much of the -popular apathy on the slave question, which have disgraced the country, -are owing to the public lands being sold at a minimum price of a dollar -and a-quarter per acre. Many excellent leaders of the democratic party -think the people at large less fit to govern themselves wisely than they -were five-and-twenty years ago. This seems to me improbable; but I -believe there is no doubt that the dispersion has hitherto been too -great; and that the intellectual and moral, and, of course, the -political condition of the people has thereby suffered.</p> - -<p>The price of the public lands was formerly two dollars per acre, with -credit. It was found to be a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> bad plan for the constituents of a -government to be its debtors; and there was a reduction of the price to -a dollar and a quarter, without credit. In forty years, above forty -millions of acres have been sold. The government cannot arbitrarily -raise the price. If any check is given to the process of dispersion, it -must arise from the people perceiving the true state of their own case, -and acting accordingly.</p> - -<p>Some circumstances seem at present to favour the process of -enlightenment; others are adverse to it. Those which are favourable are, -the high prosperity of manufactures and commerce, the essential -requisite of which is the concentration of labourers: the increasing -immigration of labourers from Europe, and the happy experience which -they force upon the back settler of the advantage of an increased -proportion of labour to land; and the approaching crisis of the slavery -question; when every one will see the necessity of measures which will -keep the slaves where they are. Of the extraordinary, and I must think, -often wilful error of taking for granted that all the slaves must be -removed, in order to the abolition of slavery, I shall have to speak -elsewhere.</p> - -<p>The circumstances unfavourable to an understanding of the true state of -the case about the disposal of land are, the deep-rooted persuasion that -land itself is the most valuable wealth, in all places, and under all -circumstances: and the complication of interests connected with the late -acquisition of Louisiana and Florida, and the present usurpation of -Texas.</p> - -<p>Louisiana was obtained from the French, not on account of the fertile -new land which it comprehended, but because it was essential to the very -existence of the United States that the mouth of the Mississippi should -not be in the possession of another people. The Americans obtained the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> -mouth of the Mississippi; and with it, unfortunately, large tracts of -the richest virgin soil, on which slavery started into new life, and on -which "the perspiration of the eastern States" (as I have heard the -settlers of the west called) rested, and grew barbarous while they grew -rich. A fact has lately transpired in the northern States which was -already well known in the south,—that the purchase of Florida was -effected for the sake of the slave-holders. It is now known that the -President was overwhelmed with letters from slave-owners, complaining -that Florida was the refuge of their runaways; and demanding that this -retreat should be put within their power. Florida was purchased. Many -and great evils have already arisen out of its acquisition. To cover -these, and blind the people to the particular and iniquitous interests -engaged in the affair, the sordid faction benefited raises a perpetual -boast in the ears of the people about their gain of new territory, and -the glory and profit of having added so many square miles to their -already vast possessions.</p> - -<p>In the eyes of those of the people who do not yet see the whole case, -the only evil which has arisen out of the possession of Florida, is the -Seminole warfare. They breathe an intense hatred against the Seminole -Indians; and many fine young men have gone down into Florida, and lost -their lives in battle, without being aware that they were fighting for -oppressors against the oppressed. Probably few of the United States -troops who fell in the late Seminole war knew how the strife arose. -According to the laws of the slave States, the children of the slaves -follow the fortunes of the <i>mother</i>. It will be seen, at a glance, what -consequences follow from this; how it operates as a premium upon -licentiousness among white men; how it prevents any but mock <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>marriages -among slaves; and also what effect it must have upon any Indians with -whom slave women have taken refuge. The late Seminole war arose out of -this law. The escaped slaves had intermarried with the Indians. The -masters claimed the children. The Seminole fathers would not deliver -them up. Force was used to tear the children from their parents' arms, -and the Indians began their desperate, but very natural work of -extermination. They have carried on the war with eminent success, St. -Augustine, the capital, being now the only place in Florida where the -whites can set their foot. Of course, the poor Indians will ultimately -succumb, however long they may maintain the struggle: but, before that, -the American people may possibly have learned enough of the facts of the -case to silence those who boast of the acquisition of Florida, as an -increase of the national glory.</p> - -<p>It would be a happy thing for them if they should know all soon enough -to direct their national reprobation upon the Texan adventurers, and -wash their hands of the iniquity of that business. This would soon be -done, if they could look upon the whole affair from a distance, and see -how the fair fame of their country is compromised by the avarice and -craft of a faction. The probity of their people, their magnanimity in -money matters, have always been conspicuous, from the time of the -cession of their lands by the States to the General Government, till -now: and, now they seem in danger of forfeiting their high character -through the art of the few, and the ignorance of the many. The few are -obtaining their end by flattering the passion of the many for new -territory, as well as by engaging their best feelings on behalf of those -who are supposed to be fighting for their rights against oppressors. -There is yet hope. The knowledge of the real state of the case is -spreading; and, if only time can<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> be gained, the Americans will yet be -saved from the eternal disgrace of adding Texas to their honourable -Union.</p> - -<p>The brief account which I shall give of what is prematurely called the -acquisition of Texas, is grounded partly on historical facts, open to -the knowledge of all; and partly on what I had the opportunity of -learning at New Orleans, from some leaders and agents in the Texan -cause, who did what they could to enlist my judgment and sympathies on -behalf of their party. I went in entire ignorance of the whole matter. -My first knowledge of it was derived from the persons above-mentioned, -whose objects were to obtain the good-will of such English as they could -win over; to have their affairs well spoken of in London; and to get the -tide of respectable English emigration turned in their direction. With -me they did not succeed: with some others they did. Several English are -already buried in Texas; and there are others whose repentance that they -ever were beguiled into aiding such a cause will be far worse than -death. The more I heard of the case from the lips of its advocates, the -worse I thought of it: and my reprobation of the whole scheme has grown -with every fact which has come out since.</p> - -<p>Texas, late a province of Mexico, and then one of its confederated -States, lies adjacent to Louisiana. The old Spanish government seem to -have had some foresight as to what might happen, to judge by the -jealousy with which they guarded this part of their country from -intrusion by the Americans. The Spanish Captain-general of the internal -provinces, Don Nemisio Salcedo, used to say that he would, if he could, -stop the birds from flying over the boundary between Texas and the -United States. Prior to 1820, however, a few adventurers, chiefly Indian -traders, had dropped over the boundary line<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> and remained unmolested in -the eastern corner of Texas. In 1820, Moses Austin, of Missouri, was -privileged by the Spanish authorities to introduce three hundred -orderly, industrious families, professing the Catholic religion, as -settlers into Texas. Moses Austin died; and his son Stephen prosecuted -the scheme. Before possession of the land was obtained, the Mexican -Revolution occurred; but the new government confirmed the privilege -granted by the old one, with some modifications. The chief of the -settlers and his followers were liberally enriched with lands, gratis; -on the conditions of their occupying them; of their professing the -Catholic religion; and of their being obedient to the laws of the -country.</p> - -<p>Other persons were tempted by Austin's success to apply for grants. Many -obtained them, and disposed of their grants to joint stock companies; so -that Texas became the scene of much land-speculation. The companies -began to be busy about "stock" and "scrip," which they proffered as -preparatory titles to land; and a crowd of ignorant and credulous -persons, and of gamblers, thus became greedy after lands which no more -belonged to any Americans than Ireland.</p> - -<p>Leave was given to the actual settlers by the Mexican Government to -introduce, for ten years, duty free, all articles, not contraband, that -were necessary for their use and comfort. Under this permission, much -smuggling went on: and many adventurers settled in Texas for the very -purpose of supplying the neighbouring Indian tribes with contraband -articles. Arms and ammunition were plentifully furnished to the savages; -and slaves to the settlers; though slavery had been abolished in the -country, by whose laws the settlers had engaged to live.</p> - -<p>The next step was, an offer on the part of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> United States Government -to purchase Texas, in order to incorporate it with the Union. The offer -was instantly and indignantly rejected by the Mexicans. It may seem -surprising that even with the passion for territory that the people of -the United States have, they should desire to purchase Texas, while -above a billion of acres of land at home were still unoccupied. Slavery -is found to be the solution of this, as of almost every other absurdity -and unpleasant mystery there. Slavery answers only on a virgin soil, and -under certain conditions of the supply of labour. It is destined to die -out of the States which it has impoverished, and which come most closely -into contrast with those which are flourishing under free labour. It is -evidently destined soon to be relinquished by Missouri, Kentucky, -Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware; and not very long afterwards, by the -Carolinas, and perhaps Tennessee. The proprietors of slaves have a -double purpose in acquiring new territory: to obtain a fresh field for -the labour of the slaves they possess; and, (what is at least as -important,) to keep up the equality of the representation of the slave -and free States in Congress. We have before seen that there is a -provision against the introduction of slavery into the lands north-west -of the Ohio. When to the representation of the new States of this -region, shall be joined that of the old States which relinquish slavery, -the remaining slave States will be in a hopeless minority in Congress, -unless a representation from new slave regions can be provided. Texas is -to be obtained first; and, if desirable, to be divided into several -States; and afterwards, the aggressions on the Mexican territory will -doubtless be repeated, as often as a new area for slave labour is -wanted; and an accession of representation, for the support of slavery, -is needed in Congress. Thus it happens that a host of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>land-speculators, -adventurers and slave-owners have, for a long series of years, been -interested in the acquisition of Texas.</p> - -<p>On the refusal of the Mexican Government to sell Texas, the newspapers -of the slave-holding portion of the United States began to indicate -methods of obtaining the territory, and to advocate the use of any means -for so desirable an object. The agent of the United States at the -Mexican capital is believed to have been instigated by his government to -intrigue for the purpose which could not be obtained by negotiation. The -settlers in Texas made it known along the Mississippi that they might -soon be strong enough to establish slavery openly, in defiance of -Mexico. This brought in an accession of slave-holding settlers, who -evaded the Mexican laws, by calling their slaves "apprentices for -ninety-nine years." The Mexicans took alarm; decreed in the State -Legislature of Texas that no apprenticeship should, on any pretence, be -for a longer term than ten years; forbade further immigration from the -United States; and sent a small body of troops to enforce the -prohibition. This was in 1829 and 1830.</p> - -<p>In 1832, the Mexican troops were unfortunately wanted near the capital, -and called in from the frontiers and colonies. The settlers shut up the -custom-houses in their part of the country, and defied the laws as much -as they pleased. Then a great number of restless, bad spirits began to -pour into Texas from the whole of the United States; men who had to fly -from their creditors, or from the pursuit of justice. There was probably -never seen a more ferocious company of ruffians than Texas contains at -this moment. These men, who had nothing to lose, now set to work to -wrench the territory from the hands of the Mexicans. They actually -proceeded, in 1833, to organize a State<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> Government; opposed earnestly -but feebly by the honest, original settlers, who were satisfied with the -contract under which they had settled, and had everything to lose by the -breach of it. A Convention was called, to prepare a State Constitution, -which Stephen Austin had the audacity to carry to the Mexican capital, -to pray for its ratification by the Mexican Congress. After some time, -he was committed to prison on a charge of treasonable conspiracy. He was -still in prison when I was at New Orleans, in May, 1835; and no one of -the persons who conversed with me on Texan affairs alluded to the fact. -They spoke of him as if living and acting among the settlers. He wrote -to the colonists from his prison, advising strict obedience to the -Mexican laws; and, finally, gave his promise to the government to -promote order in the colonies; and was dismissed, by the clemency of the -administration, without further punishment than an imprisonment of -nearly two years.</p> - -<p>The wilder adventurers among the settlers had chafed at his advice, but -found it necessary to be quiet for a time. The Mexican government put -too much trust in them on this account, and restored, during Austin's -imprisonment, the freedom of immigration, on the old conditions. The -liberty was again shamelessly abused. Slaves were imported <i>from -Africa</i>, via Cuba, and illegal land speculations were carried on with -more vigour than ever. Troops were again sent from the capital to -re-open the custom-houses, and enforce their regulations. But it was now -too late.</p> - -<p>It had long been a settled agreement between the Texan adventurers and -many slave-holders of the south, that if slavery could no otherwise be -perpetuated in Texas, it should be done by the seizure of that province; -all possible aid being given by the residents in the United States, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> -were a party to the agreement. This was avowed by the adventurers in -Texas; and the avowal has been justified by the subscriptions of money, -arms, and stores, which have been sent through New Orleans; the -companies of volunteers that have given their strength to the bad cause; -and the efforts of members of Congress from the south to hurry on the -recognition of the independence of Texas by the United States -Government. It was with shame and grief that I heard, while I was in New -York, last spring, of the public meeting there, which had been got up by -men who should have put the influence of their names to a better use,—a -public meeting in behalf of the Texan adventurers, where high-sounding -common-places had been played off about patriotism, fighting for the -dearest rights of man, and so forth. The purpose was, I believe, -answered for the time. The price of stock rose; and subscriptions were -obtained. The Texan cause was then in the lowest state of depression. It -soon revived, in consequence of an unfortunate defeat of the Mexicans, -and the capture of the President of their republic, Santa Anna. This, -again, was made to serve as the occasion of a public dinner at New York, -when some eminent members of Congress were passing through, to the -Springs, in the summer. The time will come when those gentlemen will -look back upon their speeches at that dinner as among the deeds which, -dying, they would most wish to blot. By this time, however, the true -character of the struggle was beginning to be extensively recognised: -and, day by day, the people of the United States have been since -awakening to the knowledge of how they have been cheated in having their -best sympathies called forth in behalf of the worst of causes. The great -fear is, lest this should prove to be too late; lest, the United States -having furnished the means<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> by which the usurpation of Texas has been -achieved, the people of the Union should be persuaded that they must -follow their common, and otherwise fair rule, of acknowledging the -independence of all States that are <i>de facto</i> independent, without -having anything to do with the question <i>de jure</i>.</p> - -<p>What has been the national conduct of the United States on this great -question? The government has been very nearly impartial. It must be -allowed that factions and individuals were already doing so much that, -if the government wished all possible success to the Texans, it could -hardly do better than be quiet while they were receiving the aid of its -constituents. While the theft of Texas has been achieved, (if it be -achieved,) by United States men, money and arms, the general government -has been officially regarding it as ostensibly and actually a foreign -affair. However much may be true of the general belief in the interest -of its members in the success of the Texan aggression, the government -has preserved a cool and guarded tone throughout; and the only act that -I know of for which it can be blamed is for not removing General Gaines -from his command on the frontier, on his manifestation of partisanship -on the Texan side. General Gaines was ordered to protect the settlers on -the south-western frontier, who might be in danger from the Mexicans, -and from the fierce Indians who were engaged on the Mexican side of the -quarrel. General Gaines wrote to head quarters of his intentions of -crossing, to attack the Mexicans, not only the inner bounds of the -United States territory, but the disputed boundary, claimed by the -United States, and disallowed by Mexico. Immediate orders were -despatched to him to do no such thing; to confine himself, except in a -strong emergency, to the inner boundary; and on no account whatever to -cross the disputed line. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> was not enough. An officer who had shown -himself so indisposed to the neutrality professed by his government, -should have been sent where he could indulge his partialities with less -hazard to the national honour.</p> - -<p>Some senators from the south pressed, last session, with indecent haste, -for the recognition of the independence of Texas. The speech of -Ex-President Adams remains as an eternal rebuke to such.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> This speech -was the most remarkable individual act of the session; and no session -has been distinguished by one more honourable. There was no attempt at a -reply to it, in or out of either House. Mr. Adams left no resource to -the advocates of the Texan cause but abuse of himself: the philosophy of -which he, no doubt, understood as well as other people. Various public -men, in various public assemblies, have declared their desire for the -success of the Texans; and have joined with this the avowal that the -value of slaves will rise fifty per cent, as soon as the independence of -Texas is acknowledged.</p> - -<p>The war is not yet over. The vicissitudes have been so great,—each -party has appeared at times in so hopeless a condition, that the friends -of American honour, and the foes of slavery, do not yet despair of the -ultimate expulsion of the aggressors, and the restoration of Texas to -Mexico. If these hopes must be surrendered,—if slavery is to be -re-established on a constitutional basis, in a vast territory where it -had been actually abolished,—if a new impulse is thus to be given to -the traffic in native Africans,<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a>—if the fair fame of the -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span>Anglo-Americans is to be thus early, and thus deeply stained, good men -must rouse themselves the more to enlighten the ignorance through which -the misfortune has happened. They must labour to exhibit the truth, -keeping unshaken their faith in the theory of their constitution that -"the majority will be in the right."</p> - -<p>It is much to be feared that, even if Texas were acknowledged to-morrow -to be a Mexican State, an injury would be found to have been done to the -American people, which it will take a long time and much experience to -repair. No pains have been spared to confirm the delusion, that the -possession of more and more land is the only thing to be desired, alike -by the selfish and the patriotic; by those who would hastily build up -their own fortunes, and by those who desire the aggrandisement of their -country. No one mourned with me more earnestly over this popular -delusion than a member of Congress, who has since been one of the most -vehement advocates of the Texan cause, and has thereby done his best to -foster the delusion. He told me that the metaphysics of society in the -south<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> afford a curious study to the observer; and that they are -humbling to a resident. He told me that, so far from the honour and -happiness of any region being supposed to lie in the pursuit of the -higher objects of life, any man would be pronounced "imbecile" who, -having enough for his moderate wants, should prefer the enjoyment of his -patrimony, his family relations, and intercourse with the society in -which he was brought up, to wandering away in pursuit of more land. He -complained that he was heart-sick when he heard of American books: that -there was no character of permanence in anything;—all was fluctuation, -except the passion for land, which, under the name of enterprise, or -patriotism; or something else that was creditable, would last till his -countrymen had pushed their out-posts to the Pacific. He insisted that -the only consolation arose from what was to be hoped when pioneering -must, perforce, come to a stop. He told me of one and another of his -intelligent and pleasant young neighbours, who were quitting their homes -and civilised life, and carrying their brides "as bondwomen" into the -wilderness, because fine land was cheap there. If all this be true of -the young gentry of the south, as I believe it is, what hope is there -that the delusion will not long remain among those who have no other -guides than Experience;—that slowest of all teachers?</p> - -<p>The people of the United States have, however, kept their eyes open to -one great danger, arising from this love of land. They have always had -in view the disadvantage of rich men purchasing tracts larger than they -could cultivate. They saw that it was contrary to the public interest -that individuals should be allowed to interpose a desert between other -settlers whose welfare depends much on their having means of free -communication, and a peopled neighbourhood; and that it is inconsistent -with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>republican modes that overgrown fortunes should arise by means of -an early grasping of large quantities of a cheap kind of property, which -must inevitably become of the highest value in course of time. The -reduction in the price of land would probably have been greater, but for -the temptation which the cheapening would hold out to capitalists. -Another reason assigned for not still further lowering the price is, the -danger of depreciating a kind of property held by the largest proportion -of the people. This is obviously unsound; since the property held by -this large proportion of the people is improved land, whose relation in -value to other kinds of property is determined by quite other -circumstances than the amount of the original purchase-money. The number -of people who sell again unimproved land is so small as not to be worthy -to enter into the account.</p> - -<p>Large grants of land have been made to schools and colleges. Upwards of -eight millions of acres have, I believe, been thus disposed of. There -seems no objection to this, at the time it was done; as there can be no -doubt that grants will be cultivated that have such an interest hanging -on their cultivation. These grants were made while there was a national -debt. Now, there is a surplus revenue; and appropriations of this kind -had better be made henceforth from the money which has arisen from the -sale of land than in a way which would force more land into the market. -It is to be hoped, too, that no more recompenses for public service will -be offered in land, like the large grants which were made to soldiers -after the revolutionary war. The soldiers have disposed of their lands -much under the governmental price, in order to obtain a sale; and the -hurtful dispersion of settlers, and the sale of tracts too large to be -well-cultivated, have been thereby assisted.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span></p><p>The great question incessantly repeated throughout the United States -is, what is to be done with the immense amount of land remaining unsold; -and with the perpetually increasing revenue arising from the sale, as it -proceeds? Various propositions are afloat,—none of which appear to me -so wise as some which remain to be offered. One proposition is to divide -the lands again among the States, apportioning the amount according to -the representation in Congress, or to the population as given by the -last census. Besides the difficulty of making the apportionment fairly, -this plan would afford fatal inducements to a greater dispersion of -people than has yet taken place. It is also argued that no -constitutional power exists by which the cession of 1787 can be -reversed.</p> - -<p>Another proposition is, to let the sale of lands go on as it does now, -and divide the proceeds among the several States, for purposes of -Education, Colonisation of the coloured race, and Internal Improvements. -Under such a plan, there would be endless disputes about the amounts to -be paid over to the different States. The general government would have -a new and dangerous function assigned to it. Besides, as much of the -surplus revenue is derived from duties, it seems a shorter and more -natural method to leave off levying money that is not wanted, than to -levy it, use it, and make a distribution of other funds among the -States. This subject will, however, come under consideration hereafter.</p> - -<p>Others propose that nothing should be done: that the lands should go on -being sold according to the present demand, and the proceeds to -accumulate, till some accident happens,—a war, or other expensive -adventure,—to help to dissipate them. The first part of the proposition -will probably stand good: for it seems a difficult thing to raise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> the -price of land again:—an impossible thing, till the people shall show -that they understand the case by demanding an increase of price: but the -second part of the proposition cannot be acceded to. It is inconsistent -with the first principles of democracy that large sums of money should -accumulate in the hands of the general government. The accumulation must -be disposed of, and the sources of revenue restrained.</p> - -<p>There are modes of advantageously disposing of the surplus revenue which -are obvious to those whose economical experience is precisely the -reverse of that of the people of the United States. They are not likely -to be at present assented to,—perhaps even to be tolerated by the -inhabitants of the new world. Such as they are, they will be presented -in the next section.</p> - -<p>The lowest price given of late for land, that I heard of, was a -quarter-dollar per acre; (for these are not times when three thousand -acres are to be had for a rifle; and a whole promontory for a suit of -clothes.) Some good land may be still had, at a distance from roads and -markets, from those who want to turn their surplus land into money, for -a quarter-dollar per acre. Some that I saw in New Hampshire under these -circumstances has advanced in five years to a dollar and a half per -acre: and some of about equal quality, about fifteen miles nearer to a -market, sold at the same time for ten dollars per acre. I saw some low -land, on the banks of the river, near Pittsburg, which would not sell at -any price a few years ago, when salt was brought over the mountains on -pack-horses, and sold at a dollar a quart. Now salt is obtained in any -quantity by digging near this land; and the meadow is parted into lots -of ten acres each, which sell at the rate of one thousand dollars per -acre. This is, no doubt, in prospect of the salt-works<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> which are -destined to flourish here. The highest price I heard of being given -(unless in a similar case in New York) was for street lots in Mobile; -one hundred and ten dollars per foot frontage.</p> - -<p>For agricultural purposes, the price of land varies, according to its -fertility, and, much more, to its vicinity to a market, in a manner -which cannot easily be specified. I think the highest price I heard of -was fifteen hundred dollars per acre. This was in the south. In the -north and west, I heard of prices varying from thirty to one hundred -dollars, even in somewhat retired situations. One thing seems to be -granted on all hands: that a settler cannot fail of success, if he takes -good land, in a healthy situation, at the government price. If he -bestows moderate pains on his lot, he may confidently reckon on its -being worth at least double at the end of the year: much more, if there -are growing probabilities of a market.</p> - -<p>The methods according to which the sales of the public lands in the -United States are conducted are excellent. The lots are so divided as to -preclude all doubt and litigation about boundaries. There is a general -land-office at Washington, and a subordinate one in each district, where -all business can be transacted with readiness and exactitude. Periodical -sales are made of lands which it is desirable to bring into the market. -These are disposed of to the highest bidder. The advance of the -population into the wilderness is thus made more regular than it would -be if there were not a rendezvous in each district, where it could be -ascertained how the settlement of the neighbouring country was going on; -titles are made more secure; and less impunity is allowed to fraud.</p> - -<p>The pre-emption laws, originally designed for the benefit of poor -settlers, have been the greatest provocatives to fraud. It seemed hard -that a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span>squatter, who had settled himself on unoccupied land, and done -it nothing but good, should be turned off without remuneration, or -compelled to purchase his own improvements; and in 1830, a bill was -therefore passed, granting a pre-emption right to squatters who had -taken such possession of unsold lands. It provided that when two -individuals had cultivated a quarter section of land, (one hundred and -sixty acres,) each should have a pre-emption right with regard to half -the cultivated portion: and each also to a pre-emption of eighty acres -anywhere else in the same land district. Of course, abundance of persons -took advantage of this law to get the best land very cheap. Two men, by -merely cutting down, or blazing a few trees, or "camping out" for a -night or two, on a good quarter-section, have secured it at the minimum -price. A Report to Congress states that there is reason to believe that -"large companies have been founded, who procure affidavits of -improvements to be made, get the warrants issued upon them, and whenever -a good tract of land is ready for sale, cover it over with their -<i>floats</i>, (warrants of the required habitation,) and thus put down -competition. The frauds upon the public, within the past year, (1835,) -from this single source, have arisen to many millions of dollars." Such -errors in matters of detail are sure to be corrected soon after being -discovered. The means will speedily be found of showing a due regard to -the claims of squatters, without precipitating the settlement of land by -unfairly reducing its price in the market. Whatever methods may tend to -lessen rather than to increase the facilities for occupying new land, -must, on the whole, be an advantage, while the disproportion between -land and labour is so great as it now is in the western regions of the -United States.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span>SECTION II.</span><br /><span class="smaller">RURAL LABOUR.</span></h3> - -<p>English farmers settling in the United States used to be a joke to their -native neighbours. The Englishman began with laughing, or being shocked, -at the slovenly methods of cultivation employed by the American -settlers: he was next seen to look grave on his own account; and ended -by following the American plan.</p> - -<p>The American ploughs round the stumps of the trees he has felled, and is -not very careful to measure the area he ploughs, and the seed he sows. -The Englishman clears half the quantity of land,—clears it very -thoroughly; ploughs deep, sows thick, raises twice the quantity of grain -on half the area of land, and points proudly to his crop. But the -American has, meantime, fenced, cleared, and sown more land, improved -his house and stock, and kept his money in his pocket. The Englishman -has paid for the labour bestowed on his beautiful fields more than his -fine crop repays him. When he has done thus for a few seasons, till his -money is gone, he learns that he has got to a place where it answers to -spend land to save labour; the reverse of his experience in England; and -he soon becomes as slovenly a farmer as the American, and begins -immediately to grow rich.</p> - -<p>It would puzzle a philosopher to compute how long some prejudices will -subsist in defiance of, not only evidence, but personal experience. -These same Americans, who laugh (reasonably enough) at the prejudiced -English farmer, seem themselves incapable of being convinced on a point -quite as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span> plain as that between him and themselves. The very ground of -their triumph over him is their knowledge of the much smaller value of -land, and greater value of labour, in America than in England: and yet -there is no one subject on which so many complaints are to be heard from -every class of American society as the immigration of foreigners. The -incapacity of men to recognise blessings in disguise has been the theme -of moralists in all ages: but it might be expected that the Americans, -in this case, would be an exception. It is wonderful, to a stranger, to -see how they fret and toil, and scheme and invent, to supply the -deficiency of help, and all the time quarrel with the one means by which -labour is brought to their door. The immigration of foreigners was the -one complaint by which I was met in every corner of the free States; and -I really believe I did not converse with a dozen persons who saw the -ultimate good through the present apparent evil.</p> - -<p>It is not much to be wondered at that gentlemen and ladies, living in -Boston and New York, and seeing, for the first time in their lives, -half-naked and squalid persons in the street, should ask where they come -from, and fear lest they should infect others with their squalor, and -wish they would keep away. It is not much to be wondered at that the -managers of charitable institutions in the maritime cities should be -weary of the claims advanced by indigent foreigners: but it is -surprising that these gentlemen and ladies should not learn by -experience that all this ends well, and that matters are taking their -natural course. It would certainly be better that the emigrants should -be well clothed, educated, respectable people; (except that, in that -case, they would probably never arrive;) but the blame of their bad -condition rests elsewhere, while their arrival is, generally speaking,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span> -almost a pure benefit. Some are intemperate and profligate; and such -are, no doubt, a great injury to the cities where they harbour; but the -greater number show themselves decent and hardworking enough, when put -into employment. Every American acknowledges that few or no canals or -railroads would be in existence now, in the United States, but for the -Irish labour by which they have been completed: and the best cultivation -that is to be seen in the land is owing to the Dutch and Germans it -contains. What would housekeepers do for domestic service without -foreigners? If the American ports had been barred against immigration, -and the sixty thousand foreigners per annum, with all their progeny, had -been excluded, where would now have been the public works of the United -States, the agriculture, the shipping?</p> - -<p>The most emphatic complainers of the immigration of foreigners are those -who imagine that the morals of society suffer thereby. My own conviction -is that the morals of society are, on the whole, thereby much improved. -It is candidly allowed, on all hands, that the passion of the Irish for -the education of their children is a great set-off against the bad -qualities some of them exhibit in their own persons; and that the second -and third generations of Irish are among the most valuable citizens of -the republic. The immigrant Germans are more sober and respectable than -the Irish; but there is more difficulty in improving them and their -children. The Scotch are in high esteem. My own opinion is that most of -the evils charged upon the immigrants are chargeable upon the -mismanagement of them in the ports. The atrocious corruption of the New -York elections, where an Irishman, just landed, and employed upon the -drains, perjures himself, and votes nine times over, is chargeable, not -upon immigration, nor yet upon universal <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>suffrage, but upon faults in -the machinery of registration. Again, if the great pauper-palace, over -the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia, be half full of foreigners; if it be -true that an Irish woman was seen to walk round it, and heard to observe -that she should immediately write over for all her relations; the evil -is chargeable upon there being a pauper-palace, with the best of food -and clothing, and no compulsion to work, in a country where there is far -more work and wages than there are hands to labour and earn. There is in -New York a benevolent gentleman who exercises a most useful and -effectual charity. He keeps a kind of registry office for the demand and -supply of emigrant labour; takes charge of the funds of such emigrants -as are fortunate enough to have any; and befriends them in every way. He -declares that he has an average of six situations on his list ready for -every sober, able-bodied man and woman that lands at New York.</p> - -<p>The bad moral consequences of a dispersion of agricultural labour, and -the good moral effects of an adequate combination, are so serious as to -render it the duty of good citizens to inform themselves fully of the -bearings of this question before they attempt to influence other minds -upon it. Those who have seen what are the morals and manners of families -who live alone in the wilds, with no human opinion around them, no -neighbours with whom to exchange good offices, no stimulus to mental -activity, no social amusements, no church, <i>no life</i>, nothing but the -pursuit of the outward means of living,—any one who has witnessed this -will be ready to agree what a blessing it would be to such a family to -shake down a shower of even poor Irish labourers around them. To such a -family no tidings ought to be more welcome than of the arrival of -ship-load after ship-load of immigrants at the ports, some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> few of whom -may wander hitherwards, and by entering into a combination of labour to -obtain means of living, open a way to the attainment of the ends. Sixty -thousand immigrants a-year! What are these spread over so many thousand -square miles? If the country could be looked down upon from a balloon, -some large clusters of these would be seen detained in the cities, -because they could not be spared into the country; other clusters would -be seen about the canals and railroads; and a very slight sprinkling in -the back country, where their stations would be marked by the prosperity -growing up around them.</p> - -<p>The expedients used in the country settlements to secure a combination -of labour when it is absolutely necessary, show how eminently deficient -it is. Every one has heard of the "frolic" or "bee," by means of which -the clearing of lots, the raising of houses, the harvesting of crops is -achieved. Roads are made, and kept by contributions of labour and teams, -by settlers. For the rest, what can be done by family labour alone is so -done, with great waste of time, material, and toil. The wonderful -effects of a "frolic," in every way, should serve, in contrast with the -toil and difficulty usually expended in producing small results, to -incline the hearts of settlers towards immigrants, and to plan how an -increase of them may be obtained.</p> - -<p>Minds are, I hope, beginning to turn in this direction. In New England, -where there is the most combination of labour, and the poorest land, it -is amusing to see the beginning of discoveries on this head. I find, in -the United States' Almanack for 1835, an article on agricultural -improvements, (presupposing a supply of labour as the primary -requisite,) which bears all the marks of freshness and originality, of -having been a discovery of the writer's.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span></p><p>"If such improvements as are possible, or even easy," (where there is -labour at hand,) "were made in the husbandry of this country, many and -great advantages would be found to arise. As twice the number of people -might be supported on the same quantity of land, all our farming towns -would become twice as populous as they are likely to be in the present -state of husbandry. There would be, in general, but half the distance to -travel to visit one's friends and acquaintances. Friends might oftener -see and converse with each other. Half the labour would be saved in -carrying the corn to mill, and the produce to market; half the -journeying saved in attending our courts; and half the expense in -supporting government, and in making and repairing roads; half the -distance saved in going to the smith, weaver, clothier, &c.; half the -distance saved in going to public worship, and most other meetings; for -where steeples are four miles apart, they would be only two or three. -Much time, expense and labour would, on these accounts, be saved; and -civilisation, with all the social virtues, would, perhaps, be -proportionally promoted and increased."</p> - -<p>Before this can be done, there must be hands to do it. Steeples must -remain four or fourteen miles apart, till there are beings enough in the -intervening space to draw them together. I saw, on the Mississippi, a -woman in a canoe, paddling up against the stream; probably, as I was -told, to visit a neighbour twenty or thirty miles off. The only comfort -was that the current would bring her back four times as quickly as she -went up. What a blessing would a party of emigrant neighbours be to a -woman who would row herself twenty miles against the stream of the -Mississippi for companionship!</p> - -<p>Instead of complaining of the sixty thousand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> emigrants per annum, and -lowering the price of land, so as to induce dispersion, it would be -wise, if it were possible, in the people of the United States to bring -in sixty thousand more labourers per annum, and raise the price of land. -This last cannot, perhaps, be done: but why should not the other? With a -surplus revenue that they do not know what to do with, and a scarcity of -the labour which they do not know how to do without, why not use the -surplus funds accruing from the lands in carrying labour to the soil?</p> - -<p>It is true, Europeans have the same passion for land as the Americans; -and such immigrants would leave their employers, and buy for themselves, -as soon as they had earned the requisite funds: but these, again, would -supply the means of bringing over more labour; and the intermediate -services of the labourers would be so much gained. If the arrangements -were so made as to bring over sober, respectable labourers, without -their being in any way bound to servitude, (as a host of poor Germans -once were made white slaves of,) if, the land and labour being once -brought together, and repayment from the benefited parties being -secured, (if desired,) things were then left to take their natural -course, a greater blessing could hardly befal the United States than -such an importation of labourers.</p> - -<p>I was told, in every eastern city, that it was a common practice with -parish officers in England to ship off their paupers to the United -States. I took some pains to investigate the grounds of this charge, and -am convinced that it is a mistake; that the accusation has arisen out of -some insulated case. I was happy to be able to show my American friends -how the supposed surplus population of the English agricultural counties -has shrunk, and in most cases disappeared, under the operation of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> -new Poor Law, so that, even if the charge had ever been true, it could -not long remain so. By the time that we shall be enabled to say the same -of the parishes of Ireland, the Americans will, doubtless, have -discovered that they would be glad of all the labourers we had ever been -able to spare; if only we could send them in the form of respectable men -and women, instead of squalid paupers, looking as if they were going -from shore to shore, to rouse the world to an outcry against the sins -and sorrows of our economy.</p> - -<p class="space-above">It will scarcely be credited by those who are not already informed on -the subject, that a proposition has been made to send out of the country -an equal number of persons to the amount brought into it; ship loads of -labourers going to and fro, like buckets in a well: that this -proposition has been introduced into Congress, and has been made the -basis of appropriations in some State legislatures: that itinerant -lecturers are employed to advocate the scheme: that it is preached from -the pulpit, and subscribed for in the churches, and that in its behalf -are enlisted members of the administration, a great number of the -leading politicians, clergy, merchants, and planters, and a large -proportion of the other citizens of the United States. It matters little -how many or how great are the men engaged in behalf of a bad scheme, -which is so unnatural that it cannot but fail:—it matters little, as -far as the scheme itself is concerned; but it is of incalculable -consequence as creating an obstruction. For itself, the miserable -abortion—the Colonisation scheme—might be passed over; for its active -results will be nothing; but it is necessary to refer to it in its -passive character of an obstruction. It is necessary to refer thus to -it, not only as a matter of fact, but because, absurd and impracticable -as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> the scheme clearly is, when viewed in relation to the whole state of -affairs in America, it is not so easy on the spot to discern its true -character. So many perplexing considerations are mixed up with it by its -advocates; so many of those advocates are men of earnest philanthropy, -and well versed in the details of the scheme, while blind to its general -bearing, that it is difficult to have general principles always in -readiness to meet opposing facts; to help adopting the partial views of -well-meaning and thoroughly persuaded persons; and to know where to -doubt, and what to disbelieve. I went to America extremely doubtful -about the character of this institution. I heard at Baltimore and -Washington all that could be said in its favour, by persons conversant -with slavery, which I had not then seen. Mr. Madison, the President of -the Colonisation Society, gave me his favourable views of it. Mr. Clay, -the Vice-President, gave me his. So did almost every clergyman and other -member of society whom I met for some months. Much time, observation, -and reflection were necessary to form a judgment for myself, after so -much prepossession, even in so clear a case as I now see this to be. -Others on the spot must have the same allowance as was necessary for me: -and, if any pecuniary interest be involved in the question, much more. -But, I am firmly persuaded that any clear-headed man, shutting himself -up in his closet for a day's study of the question, or taking a voyage, -so as to be able to look back upon the entire country he has -left,—being careful to take in the whole of its economical aspect, (to -say nothing, at present, of the moral,) can come to no other conclusion -than that the scheme of transporting the coloured population of the -United States to the coast of Africa is absolutely absurd; and, if it -were not so, would be absolutely pernicious. But, in matters of -economy,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> the pernicious and the absurd are usually identical.</p> - -<p>No one is to be blamed for the origin of slavery. Because it is now, -under conviction, wicked, it does not follow that it was instituted in -wickedness. Those who began it, knew not what they did. It has been -elsewhere<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> ably shown how slavery has always, and, to all appearance, -unavoidably existed, in some form or other, wherever large new tracts of -land have been taken possession of by a few agricultural settlers. Let -it be granted that negro slavery was begun inadvertently in the West -India islands, and continued, by an economical necessity, in the -colonies of North America.</p> - -<p>What is now the state of the case? Slavery, of a very mild kind, has -been abolished in the northern parts of the Union, where agricultural -labour can be carried on by whites, and where such employments bear a -very reduced proportion to manufacturing and commercial occupations. Its -introduction into the north-western portions of the country has been -prohibited by those who had had experience of its evils. Slavery, -generally of a very aggravated character, now subsists in thirteen -States out of twenty-six, and those thirteen are the States which grow -the tobacco, rice, cotton and sugar; it being generally alleged that -rice and sugar cannot be raised by white labour, while some maintain -that they may. I found few who doubted that tobacco and cotton may be -grown by white labour, with the assistance from brute labour and -machinery which would follow upon the disuse of human capital; The -amount of the slave population is now above two millions and a half. It -increases rapidly in the States which have been impoverished by slavery; -and is killed off; but not with equal rapidity, on the virgin soils<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> to -which alone it is, in any degree, appropriate. It has become -unquestionably inappropriate in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and -Kentucky. To these I should be disposed to add Missouri, and North -Carolina, and part of Tennessee and South Carolina. The States which -have more slave labour than their deteriorated lands require, sell it to -those which have a deficiency of labour to their rich lands. Virginia, -now in a very depressed condition, derives her chief revenue from the -rearing of slaves, as stock, to be sent to Alabama, Mississippi, and -Louisiana. The march of circumstance has become too obvious to escape -the attention of the most short-sighted. No one can fail to perceive -that slavery, like an army of locusts, is compelled to shift its place, -by the desolation it has made. Its progress is southwards; and now, -having reached the sea there, south-westwards. If there were but an -impassable barrier there, its doom would be certain, and not very -remote. This doom was apparently sealed a while ago, by the abolition of -slavery in Mexico, and the fair chance there seemed of Missouri and -Arkansas being subjected to a restriction of the same purport with that -imposed on the new States, north-west of the Ohio. This doom has been, -for the present, cancelled by the admission of slavery into Missouri and -Arkansas, and by the seizure of Texas by American citizens. The open -question, however, only regards its final limits. Its speedy abolition -in many of the States may be, and is, regarded as certain.</p> - -<p>The institution of slavery was a political anomaly at the time of the -Revolution. It has now become an economical one also. Nothing can -prevent the generality of persons from seeing this, however blind a few, -a very few persons on the spot may be to the truth.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span></p><p>It has thus obviously become the interest of all to whom slavery still -is, or is believed to be, a gain; of those who hold the richest lands; -of those who rear slaves for such lands; of all who dread change; of all -who would go quietly through life, and leave it to a future generation -to cope with their difficulty,—it has become the interest of all such -to turn their own attention and that of others from the fact that the -time has come when the slaves ought to be made free labourers. They -cannot put down the fact into utter silence. Some sort of compromise -must be made with it. A tub must be thrown to the whale. A tub has been -found which will almost hold the whale.</p> - -<p>It is proposed by the Colonisation Society that free persons of colour -shall be sent to establish and conduct a civilised community on the -shores of Africa. The variety of prospects held out by this proposition -to persons of different views is remarkable. To the imaginative, there -is the picture of the restoration of the coloured race to their paternal -soil: to the religious, the prospect of evangelising Africa. Those who -would serve God and Mammon are delighted at being able to work their -slaves during their own lives, and then leave them to the Colonisation -Society with a bequest of money, (when money must needs be left behind,) -to carry them over to Africa. Those who would be doing, in a small way, -immediately, let certain of their slaves work for wages which are to -carry them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> over to Africa. Those who have slaves too clever or -discontented to be safe neighbours, can ship them off to Africa. Those -who are afraid of the rising intelligence of their free coloured -neighbours, or suffer strongly under the prejudice of colour, can -exercise such social tyranny as shall drive such troublesome persons to -Africa. The clergy, public lecturers, members of legislatures, religious -societies, and charitable individuals, both in the north and south, are -believed to be, and believe themselves to be, labouring on behalf of -slaves, when they preach, lecture, obtain appropriations, and subscribe, -on behalf of the Colonisation Society. Minds and hearts are laid to -rest,—opiated into a false sleep.</p> - -<p>Here are all manner of people associated for one object, which has the -primary advantage of being ostensibly benevolent. It has had Mr. Madison -for its chief officer: Mr. Clay for its second. It has had the aid, for -twenty years, of almost all the presses and pulpits of the United -States, and of most of their politicians, members of government, and -leading professional men and merchants, and almost all the planters of -twelve states, and all the missionary interest. Besides the -subscriptions arising from so many sources, there have been large -appropriations made by various legislatures. What is the -result?—Nothing. <i>Ex nihilo nihil fit.</i> Out of a chaos of elements no -orderly creation can arise but by the operation of a sound principle: -and sound principle here, there is none.</p> - -<p>In twenty years, the Colonisation Society has removed to Africa between -two and three thousand persons;<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> while the annual increase of the -slave population is, by the lowest computation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> sixty thousand; and the -number of free blacks is upwards of three hundred and sixty-two -thousand.</p> - -<p>The chief officers of the Colonisation Society look forward to being -able, in a few years, to carry off the present annual increase, and a -few more; by which time the annual increase will amount to many times -more than the Society will have carried out from the beginning.</p> - -<p>The leading Colonisation advocates in the south object to abolition, -invariably on the ground that they should be left without labourers: -whereas it is the Colonisation scheme which would carry away the -labourers, and the abolition scheme which would leave them where they -are. To say nothing of the wilfulness of this often-confuted objection, -it proves that those who urge it are not in earnest in advocating -Colonisation as ultimate emancipation.</p> - -<p>As far as I could learn, no leading member of the Colonisation Society -has freed any of his slaves. Its president had sold twelve, the week -before I first saw him. Its vice-president is <i>obsédé</i> by his slaves; -but retains them all. And so it is, through the whole hierarchy.</p> - -<p>The avowal of a southern gentleman,—"We have our slaves, and we mean to -keep them,"—is echoed on <i>political</i> occasions by the same gentlemen of -the Colonisation Society, who, on <i>politic</i> or religious occasions, -treat of colonisation as ultimate emancipation.</p> - -<p>While labourers are flocking into other parts of the country, at the -rate of sixty thousand per annum, and are found to be far too few for -the wants of society, the Colonisation scheme proposes to carry out more -than this number; and fails of all its ostensible objects till it does -so. A glance at the causes of slavery, and at the present economy of the -United States, shows such a scheme to be a bald fiction.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span></p><p>It alienates the attention and will of the people, (for the purposes of -the few,) from the principle of the abolition of slavery, which would -achieve any honest objects of the Colonisation Society, and many more. -Leaving, for the present, the moral consideration of the case, abolition -would not only leave the land as full of labourers as it is now, but -incalculably augment the supply of labour by substituting willing and -active service, and improved methods of husbandry, for the forced, -inferior labour, and wasteful arrangements which are always admitted to -be co-existent with slavery.</p> - -<p>The greater number of eminent Abolitionists,—eminent for talents, zeal -and high principle,—are converted Colonisationists.</p> - -<p>This is surely enough.</p> - -<p>It appears to me that the Colonisation Society could never have gained -any ground at all, but for the common supposition that the blacks must -go somewhere. It was a long while before I could make anything of this. -The argument always ran thus.</p> - -<p>"Unless they remain as they are, Africa is the only place for them.—It -will not do to give them a territory; we have seen enough of that with -the Indians. We are heart-sick of territories: the blacks would all -perish.—Then, the climate of Canada would not suit them: they would -perish there. The Haytians will not take them in: they have a horror of -freed slaves.—There is no rest for the soles of their feet, anywhere -but in Africa!"</p> - -<p>"Why should they not stay where they are?"</p> - -<p>"Impossible. The laws of the States forbid freed negroes to remain."</p> - -<p>"At present,—on account of the slaves who remain. In case of abolition, -such laws would be repealed, of course: and then, why should not the -blacks remain where they are?"</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span></p><p>"They could never live among the whites in a state of freedom."</p> - -<p>"Why? You are begging the question."</p> - -<p>"They would die of vice and misery."</p> - -<p>"Why more than the German labourers?"</p> - -<p>"They do in the free States. They are dying out there constantly."</p> - -<p>"What makes them more vicious than other people?"</p> - -<p>"The coloured people always are."</p> - -<p>"You mean because their colour is the badge of slavery?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Then, when it is no longer so, the degradation, for aught you know, -will cease."</p> - -<p>This is the circle, described by those who pity the slaves. There is -another, appropriate to those who pity the masters.</p> - -<p>"What is to become of the planters, without any labourers? They must -shut up and go away; for they cannot stay in their houses, without any -labourers on the plantations."</p> - -<p>"Are the slaves to be all buried? Or are they to evaporate? or what?"</p> - -<p>"O, you know, they would all go away. Nothing would make them stay when -they were once free."</p> - -<p>"They would change masters, no doubt. But as many would remain in the -area as before. Why not?"</p> - -<p>"The masters could not possibly employ them. They could never manage -them, except as slaves."</p> - -<p>"So you think that the masters could not have the labourers, because -they would go away: and the labourers must go away, because the masters -would not have them."</p> - -<p>To prevent any escape by a nibble in this circle, the other is brought -up round it, to prove that there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span> is no other place than Africa for the -blacks to go to: and thus, the alternative of slavery or colonisation is -supposed to be established.</p> - -<p>All action, and all conversation, on behalf of this institution, bears -the same character,—of arguing in a circle. A magic ring seems drawn -round those who live amidst slavery; and it gives a circular character -to all they think and say and do upon the subject. There are but few who -sit within it who distinctly see anything beyond it. If there were but -any one moral giant within, who would heave a blow at it with all the -force of a mighty principle, it would be shattered to atoms in a moment; -and the white and black slaves it encloses would be free at once. This -will be done when more light is poured in under the darkness which -broods over it: and the time cannot now be far off.</p> - -<p>Whenever I am particularly strongly convinced of anything, in opposition -to the opinion of any or many others, I entertain a suspicion that there -is more evidence on the other side than I see. I felt so, even on this -subject of slavery, which has been clear to English eyes for so long. I -went into the slave States with this suspicion in my mind; and I -preserved it there as long as possible. I believe that I have heard -every argument that can possibly be adduced in vindication or palliation -of slavery, under any circumstances now existing; and I declare that, of -all displays of intellectual perversion and weakness that I have -witnessed, I have met with none so humbling and so melancholy as the -advocacy of this institution. I declare that I know the whole of its -theory;—a declaration that I dare not make with regard to, I think, any -other subject whatever: the result is that I believe there is nothing -rational to be said in vindication or palliation of the protraction of -slavery in the United States.—Having made this avowal; it will not be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> -expected that I should fill my pages with a wide superficies of argument -which will no more bear a touch than pond-ice, on the last day of thaw. -As I disposed in my mind the opposite arguments of slave-holders, I -found that they ate one another up, like the two cats that Sheridan told -of; but without leaving so much as an inch of tail.</p> - -<p>One mistake, perhaps, deserves notice. Restless slave-holders, whose -uneasiness has urged them to struggle in their toils, and find -themselves unable to get out but by the loss of everything, (but honour -and conscience,) pointed out to me the laws of their States, whereby the -manumission of slaves is rendered difficult or impossible to the master, -remaining on the spot, and prospectively fatal to the freed -slave;—pointed out to me these laws as rendering abolition impossible. -To say nothing of the feebleness of the barriers which human regulations -present to the changes urged on by the great natural laws of -society,—it is a sufficient answer that these State laws present no -obstacle to general, though they do to particular, emancipation. They -will be cancelled or neglected by the same will which created them, when -the occasion expires with which they sprang up, or which they were -designed to perpetuate. The institution of slavery was not formed in -accordance with them: they arose out of the institution. They are an -offset; and, to use the words of one of their advocates, spoken in -another connexion, "they will share the fate of offsets, and perish with -the parent."</p> - -<p>It is obvious that all laws which encourage the departure of the blacks -must be repealed, when their slavery is abolished. The one thing -necessary, in the economical view of the case, is that efficient -measures should be taken to prevent an unwise dispersion of these -labourers: measures, I mean, which should in no way interfere with their -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span>personal liberty, but which should secure to them generally greater -advantages on the spot than they could obtain by roaming. It has been -distinctly shown that slavery originated from the difficulty of -concentrating labour in the neighbourhood of capitalists. Where the -people are few in proportion to the land, they are apt to disperse -themselves over it; so that personal coercion has been supposed -necessary, in the first instance, to secure any efficient cultivation of -the land at all. Though the danger and the supposed necessity are past, -in all but the rawest of the slave States, the ancient fact should be so -borne in mind as that what legislation there is should tend to cause a -concentration, rather than a dispersion of the labourers. Any such -tendency will be much aided by the strong local attachments for which -negroes are remarkable. It is not only that slaves dread all change, -from the intellectual and moral dejection to which they are reduced; -fearing even the removal from one plantation to another, under the same -master, from the constant vague apprehension of something dreadful. It -is not only this, (which, however, it would take them some time to -outgrow,) but that all their race show a kind of feline attachment to -places to which they are accustomed, which will be of excellent service -to kind masters when the day of emancipation comes. For the rest, -efficient arrangements can and will doubtless be made to prevent their -wandering further than from one master to another. The abolition of -slavery must be complete and immediate: that is to say, as a man either -is or is not the property of another, as there can be no degrees of -ownership of a human being, there must be an immediate and complete -surrender of all claim to negro men, women, and children as property: -but there may and will doubtless be arrangements made to protect, guide, -and teach these degraded beings, till they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> have learned what liberty -is, and how to use it. Liberty to change their masters must, under -certain reasonable limitations, be allowed; the education of their -children must be enforced. The amount of wages will be determined by -natural laws, and cannot be foreseen, further than that they must -necessarily be very ample for a long time to come. It will probably be -found desirable to fix the price of the government lands, with a view to -the coloured people, at that amount which will best obviate squatting, -and secure the respectable settlement of some who may find their way to -the west.</p> - -<p>Suggestions of this kind excite laughter among the masters of slaves, -who are in the habit of thinking that they know best what negroes are, -and what they are capable of. I have reasons for estimating their -knowledge differently, and for believing that none know so little of the -true character and capabilities of negroes as their owners. They might -know more, but for the pernicious and unnatural secrecy about some of -the most important facts connected with slave-holding, which is induced -partly by pride, partly by fear, partly by pecuniary interest. If they -would do themselves and their slaves the justice of inquiring with -precision what is the state of Hayti; what has taken place in the West -Indies; what the emancipation really was there; what its effects -actually are, they would obtain a clearer view of their own prospects. -So they would, if they would communicate freely about certain facts -nearer home: not only conversing as individuals, but removing the -restrictions upon the press by which they lose far more than they gain, -both in security and fortune,—to say nothing of intelligence. Of the -many families in which I enjoyed intercourse, there was, I believe, none -where I was not told of some one slave of unusual value,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> for talent or -goodness, either in the present or a former generation. A collection of -these alone, as they stand in my journal, would form no mean testimony -to the intellectual and moral capabilities of negroes: and if to these -were added the tales which I could tell, if I also were not bound under -the laws of mystery of which I have been complaining, many hearts would -beat with the desire to restore to their human rights those whose -fellow-sufferers have given ample proof of their worthiness to enjoy -them. The consideration which binds me to silence upon a rich collection -of facts, full of moral beauty and promise, is regard to the safety of -many whose heroic obedience to the laws of God has brought them into -jeopardy under the laws of slave-holders, and the allies of -slave-holders. Nor would I, by any careless revelations, throw the -slightest obstacle in the way of the escape of any one of the slaves who -may be about to shirk their masters, by methods with which I happen to -be acquainted.</p> - -<p>It can, however, do nothing but good to proclaim the truth that slaves -do run away in much greater numbers than is supposed by any but those -who lose them, and those who help them. By which I mean many others -besides the abolitionists <i>par excellence</i>. Perhaps I might confine the -knowledge to these last; for I believe no means exist by which the -yearly amount of loss of this kind may be verified and published in the -south. Everybody who has been in America is familiar with the little -newspaper picture of a black man, hieing with his stick and bundle, -which is prefixed to the advertisements of runaways. Every traveller has -probably been struck with the number of these which meets his eye; but -unless he has more private means of information, he will remain unaware -of the streams of fugitives continually passing out of the States. There -is much reserve about this in the south, from pride;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span> and among those -elsewhere who could tell, from far other considerations. The time will -come when the whole story, in its wonder and beauty, may be told by some -who, like myself, have seen more of the matter, from all sides, than it -is easy for a native to do. Suffice it, that the loss by runaways, and -the generally useless attempts to recover them, is a heavy item in the -accounts of the cotton and sugar-growers of the south; and one which is -sure to become heavier till there shall be no more bondage to escape -from. It is obvious that the slaves who run away are among the best: an -escape being usually the achievement of a project early formed; -concealed, pertinaciously adhered to, and endeared by much toil and -sacrifice undergone for its sake, for a long course of years. A weak -mind is incapable of such a series of acts, with a unity of purpose. -They are the choicest slaves who run away. Of the cases known to me, the -greater number of the men, and some of the women, have acted throughout -upon an idea; (called by their owners "a fancy,"—a very different -thing;) while some few of the men have started off upon some sudden -infliction of cruelty; and many women on account of intolerable outrage, -of the grossest kind. Several masters told me of leave given to their -slaves to go away, and of the slaves refusing to avail themselves of it. -If this was meant to tell in favour of slavery, it failed of its effect. -The argument was too shallow to impose upon a child. Of course, they -were the least valuable slaves to whom this permission was given: and -their declining to depart proved nothing so much as the utter -degradation of human beings who could prefer receiving food and shelter -from the hand of an owner to the possession of themselves.</p> - -<p>Amidst the mass of materials which accumulated on my hands during the -process of learning from all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span> parties their views on this question, I -hardly know where to turn, and what to select, that will most briefly -and strongly show that the times have outgrown slavery. This is the -point at which every fact and argument issue, whatever may be the -intention of those who adduce it. The most striking, perhaps, is the -treatment of the Abolitionists: a subject to be adverted to hereafter. -The insane fury which vents itself upon the few who act upon the -principles which the many profess, is a sign of the times not to be -mistaken. It is always the precursor of beneficial change. Society in -America seems to be already passing out of this stage into one even more -advanced. The cause of abolition is spreading so rapidly through the -heart of the nation; the sound part of the body politic is embracing it -so actively, that no disinterested observer can fail to be persuaded -that even the question of time is brought within narrow limits. The -elections will, ere long, show the will of the people that slavery be -abolished in the District of Columbia. Then such truckling politicians, -mercenary traders, cowardly clergy, and profligate newspaper corps, as -are now too blind to see the coming change, will have to choose their -part; whether to shrink out of sight, or to boast patriotically of the -righteous revolution which they have striven to retard, even by the -application of the torture to both the bodies and the minds of their -more clear-eyed fellow-citizens.</p> - -<p>After giving one or two testimonies to the necessity of a speedy change -of system, I will confine myself to relating a few signs of the times -which I encountered in my travels through the south.</p> - -<p>In 1782, Virginia repealed the law against manumission; and in nine -years, there were ten thousand slaves freed in that State. Alarmed for -the institution, her legislature re-enacted the law. What has been the -consequence?—Let us take the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span>testimony of the two leading newspapers -of the capital of Virginia, given at a time when the Virginian -legislature was debating the subject of slavery; and when there was, for -once, an exposure of the truth from those best qualified to reveal it. -In 1832, the following remarks appeared in the "Richmond Enquirer."</p> - -<p>"It is probable, from what we hear, that the committee on the coloured -population will report some plan for getting rid of the free people of -colour. But is this all that can be done? Are we for ever to suffer the -greatest evil which can scourge our land not only to remain, but to -increase in its dimensions? 'We may shut our eyes and avert our faces, -if we please,' (writes an eloquent South Carolinian, on his return from -the north a few weeks ago,) 'but there it is, the dark and growing evil, -at our doors: and meet the question we must at no distant day. God only -knows what it is the part of wise men to do on that momentous and -appalling subject. Of <i>this</i> I am very sure, that the -difference—nothing short of frightful—between all that exists on one -side of the Potomac, and all on the other, is owing to <i>that cause -alone</i>. The disease is deep seated; it is at the heart's core; it is -consuming, and has all along been consuming, our vitals; and I could -laugh, if I <i>could</i> laugh on such a subject, at the ignorance and folly -of the politician who ascribes that to an act of the government, which -is the inevitable effect of the eternal laws of nature. What is to be -done? O my God, I don't know; but something must be done.'</p> - -<p>"Yes, something must be done; and it is the part of no honest man to -deny it; of no free press to affect to conceal it. When this dark -population is growing upon us; when every new census is but gathering -its appalling numbers upon us; when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span> within a period equal to that in -which this federal constitution has been in existence, those numbers -will increase to more than two millions within Virginia; when our sister -States are closing their doors upon our blacks for sale; <i>and when our -whites are moving westwardly in greater numbers than we like to hear -of</i>; when this, the fairest land on all this continent, for soil and -climate and situation combined, might become a sort of garden spot if it -were worked by the hands of white men alone, <i>can we, ought we</i> to sit -quietly down, fold our arms, and say to each other, 'well, well, this -thing will not come to the worst in our day? We will leave it to our -children and our grand-children and great-grand-children to take care of -themselves, and to brave the storm. Is this to act like wise men? Heaven -knows we are no fanatics. We detest the madness which actuated the <i>Amis -des Noirs</i>. But something ought to be done. Means, sure but gradual, -systematic but discreet, ought to be adopted for reducing the mass of -evil which is pressing upon the south, and will still more press upon -her the longer it is put off. We ought not to shut our eyes, nor avert -our faces. And though we speak almost without a hope that the committee -or the legislature will do anything, at the present session, to meet -this question, yet we say now, in the utmost sincerity of our hearts, -that our wisest men cannot give too much of their attention to this -subject, nor can they give it too soon."</p> - -<p>The other paper, the "Richmond Whig," had the same time, the following:</p> - -<p>"We affirm that the great mass of Virginia herself triumphs that the -slavery question has been agitated, and reckons it glorious that the -spirit of her sons did not shrink from grappling with the monster. We -affirm that, in the heaviest slave districts of the State, thousands -have hailed the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span>discussion with delight, and contemplate the distant, -but ardently desired result, as the supreme good which Providence could -vouchsafe to their country."</p> - -<p>This is doubtless true. One of the signs of the times which struck me -was the clandestine encouragement received by the abolitionists of the -north from certain timid slave-holders of the south, who send money for -the support of abolition publications, and an earnest blessing. They -write, "For God's sake go on! We cannot take your publications; we dare -not countenance you; but we wish you God speed! You are our only hope." -There is nothing to be said for the moral courage of those who feel and -write thus, and dare not express their opinions in the elections. Much -excuse may be made for them by those who know the horrors which await -the expression of anti-slavery sentiments in many parts of the south. -But, on the other hand, the abolitionists are not to be blamed for -considering all slave-holders under the same point of view, as long as -no improved state of opinion is manifested in the representation; the -natural mirror of the minds of the represented.</p> - -<p>Chief Justice Marshall, a Virginian, a slave-holder, and a member of the -Colonisation Society, (though regarding this society as being merely a -palliative, and slavery incurable but by convulsion,) observed to a -friend of mine, in the winter of 1834, that he was surprised at the -British for supposing that they could abolish slavery in their colonies -by act of parliament. His friend believed it would be done. The Chief -Justice could not think that such economical institutions could be done -away by legislative enactment. His friend pleaded the fact that the -members of the British House of Commons were pledged, in great numbers, -to their constituents on the question. When it was done, the Chief -Justice remarked on his having been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span> mistaken; and that he rejoiced in -it. He now saw hope for his beloved Virginia, which he had seen sinking -lower and lower among the States. The cause, he said, was that work is -disreputable in a country where a degraded class is held to enforced -labour.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> He had seen all the young, the flower of the State, who were -not rich enough to remain at home in idleness, betaking themselves to -other regions, where they might work without disgrace. Now there was -hope; for he considered that in this act of the British, the decree had -gone forth against American slavery, and its doom was sealed.</p> - -<p>There was but one sign of the times which was amusing to me; and that -was the tumult of opinions and prophecies offered to me on the subject -of the duration of slavery, and the mode in which it would be at last -got rid of; for I never heard of any one but Governor M'Duffie who -supposed that it can last for ever. He declared last year, in his -message to the legislature of South Carolina, that he considers slavery -as the corner-stone of their republican liberties: and that, if he were -dying, his latest prayer should be that his children's children should -live nowhere but amidst the institutions of slavery. This message might -have been taken as a freak of eccentricity merely, if it had stood -alone. But a committee of the legislature, with Governor Hamilton in the -chair, thought proper to endorse every sentiment in it. This converts it -into an indication of the perversion of mind commonly prevalent in a -class when its distinctive pecuniary interest is in imminent peril. I -was told, a few months prior to the appearance of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span> this singular -production, that though Governor M'Duffie was a great ornament to the -State of South Carolina, his opinions on the subject of slavery were -<i>ultra</i>, and that he was left pretty nearly alone in them. Within a -year, those who told me so went, <i>in public</i>, all lengths with Governor -M'Duffie.</p> - -<p>I believe I might very safely and honourably give the names of those who -prophesied to me in the way I have mentioned; for they rather court -publicity for their opinions, as it is natural and right that they -should, as long as they are sure of them. But it may suffice to mention -that they are all eminent men, whose attention has been strongly fixed, -for a length of years, upon the institution in question.</p> - -<p>A. believes that slavery is a necessary and desirable stage in -civilisation: not on the score of the difficulty of cultivating new -lands without it, but on the ground of the cultivation of the negro mind -and manners. He believes the Haytians to have deteriorated since they -became free. He believes the white population destined to absorb the -black, though holding that the two races will not unite after the third -mixture. His expectation is that the black and mulatto races will have -disappeared in a hundred and fifty years. He has no doubt that cotton -and tobacco may be well and easily grown by whites.</p> - -<p>B. is confident that the condition of slaves is materially improved, yet -believes that they will die out, and that there will be no earlier -catastrophe. He looks to colonisation, however, as a means of lessening -the number. This same gentleman told me of a recent visit he had paid to -a connexion of his own, who had a large "force," consisting chiefly of -young men and women: not one child had been born on the estate for three -years. This looks very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span> like dying out; but does it go to confirm the -materially improved condition of the slaves?</p> - -<p>C. allows slavery to be a great evil; and, if it were now non-existent, -would not ordain it, if he could. But he thinks the slaves far happier -than they would have been at home in Africa, and considers that the -system works perfectly. He pronounces the slaves "the most contented, -happy, industrious peasantry in the world." He believes this virtue and -content would disappear if they were taught anything whatever; and that -if they were free, they would be, naturally and inevitably, the most -vicious and wretched population ever seen. His expectation is that they -will increase to such a degree as to make free labour, "<i>which always -supersedes slave labour</i>," necessary in its stead; that the coloured -race will wander off to new regions, and be ultimately "absorbed" by the -white. He contemplates no other than this natural change, which he -thinks cannot take place in less than a century and a half. A year -later, this gentleman told a friend of mine that slavery cannot last -above twenty years. They must be stringent reasons which have induced so -great a change of opinion in twelve months.</p> - -<p>D. thinks slavery an enormous evil, but doubts whether something as bad -would not arise in its stead. He is a colonisationist, and desires that -the general government should purchase the slaves, by annual -appropriations, and ship them off to Africa, so as to clear the country -of the coloured people in forty or fifty years. If this is not done, a -servile war, the most horrible that the world has seen, is inevitable. -Yet he believes that the institution, though infinitely bad for the -masters, is better for the slaves than those of any country in Europe -for its working classes. He is convinced that the tillage of all the -crops could be better carried on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span> by whites, with the assistance of -cattle and implements, than by negroes.</p> - -<p>E. writes, (October 1835,) "Certain it is that if men of property and -intelligence in the north have that legitimate influence which that -class has here, nothing will come of this abolition excitement. All we -have to say to them is, 'Hands off!' Our <i>political</i> rights<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> are -clear, and shall not be invaded. <i>We know too much about slavery to be -slaves ourselves.</i> But I repeat, nothing will come of the present, or -rather recent excitement, for already it is in a great degree passed. -And the time is coming when a struggle between pauperism and property, -or, if you choose, between labour and capital in the north, stimulated -by the spirit of Jacksonism, will occupy the people of that quarter to -the exclusion of our affairs. If any external influence is ever to -affect the institution of slavery in the south, it will not be the -vulgar and ignorant fanaticism of the northern States, intent upon a -cheap charity which is to be done at our expense;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span> but that influence -will be found in English literature, and the gradual operation of public -opinion. Slavery, so to speak, may be evaporated;—it cannot be drawn -off. If it were, the whole land would be poisoned and desolated."</p> - -<p>The best reply to this letter will be found in the memorable speech of -Mr. Preston, one of the South Carolina senators, delivered in Congress, -last spring. It may be mentioned, by the way, that the writer of the -above is mistaken in supposing that there is at present, or impending, -any unhappy struggle in the north between pauperism and property, or -labour and capital. It is all property there, and no pauperism, (except -the very little that is superinduced;) and labour and capital were, -perhaps, never before seen to jog on so lovingly together. The "cheap -charity" he speaks of is the cheap charity of the first Christians, with -the addition of an equal ability and will to pay down <i>money</i> for the -abolition of the slaves, for whose sake the abolitionists have already -shown themselves able to bear,—some, hanging;—some, scourging, and -tarring and feathering; some, privation of the means of living; and all, -the being incessantly and deeply wounded in their social relations and -tenderest affections. Martyrdom is ever accounted a "cheap devotion," or -"cheap charity," to God or man, by those who exact it of either -religious or philanthropic principle.</p> - -<p>Mr. Preston's speech describes the spread of abolition opinions as being -rapid and inevitable. He proves the rapidity by citing the number of -recently-formed abolition societies in the north; and the -inevitableness, by exhibiting the course which such convictions had run -in England and France. He represents the case as desperate. He -advises,—not yielding, but the absolute exclusion of opinion on the -subject,—exclusion from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span> Congress, and exclusion from the slave States. -This is well. The matter may be considered to be given up, unless this -is merely the opinion of an individual. The proposal is about as hopeful -as it would be to draw a cordon round the Capitol to keep out the four -winds; or to build a wall up to the pole-star to exclude the sunshine.</p> - -<p>One more sample of opinions. A gentleman who edits a highly-esteemed -southern newspaper, expresses himself thus. "There is a wild fanaticism -at work to effect the overthrow of the system, although in its fall -would go down the fortunes of the south, and to a great extent those of -the north and east;—in a word, the whole fabric of our Union, in one -awful ruin. What then ought to be done? What measures ought to be taken -to secure the safety of our property and our lives? We answer, let us be -vigilant and watchful to the last degree over all the movements of our -enemies both at <i>home</i> and abroad. Let us declare through the public -journals of our country, that the question of slavery is not, and shall -not be open to discussion;—that the system is deep-rooted amongst us, -and must remain for ever;—that the very moment any private individual -attempts to lecture us upon its evils and immorality, and the necessity -of putting measures into operation to secure us from them, in the same -moment his tongue shall be cut out and cast upon the dung-hill. We are -freemen, sprung from a noble stock of freemen, able to boast as noble a -line of ancestry as ever graced this earth;—we have burning in our -bosoms the spirit of freemen—live in an age of enlightened freedom, and -in a country blessed with its privileges—under a government that has -pledged itself to protect us in the enjoyment of our peculiar domestic -institutions in peace, and undisturbed. We hope for a long continuance -of these high <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span>privileges, and have now to love, cherish, and defend, -property, liberty, wives and children, the right to manage our own -matters in our own way, and, what is equally dear with all the rest, the -inestimable right of dying upon our own soil, around our own firesides, -in struggling to put down all those who may attempt to infringe, attack, -or violate any of these sacred and inestimable privileges."</p> - -<p>If these opinions of well-prepared persons, dispersed through the slave -States, and entrusted with the public advocacy of their interests, do -not betoken that slavery is tottering to its fall, there are no such -things as signs of the times.</p> - -<p>The prohibition of books containing anything against slavery, has -proceeded to a great length. Last year, Mrs. Barbauld's works were sent -back into the north by the southern booksellers, because the "Evenings -at Home" contain a "Dialogue between Master and Slave." Miss Sedgwick's -last novel, "The Linwoods," was treated in the same way, on account of a -single sentence about slavery. The "Tales of the Woods and Fields," and -other English books, have shared the same fate. I had a letter from a -Southern lady, containing some regrets upon the necessity of such an -exclusion of literature, but urging that it was a matter of <i>principle</i> -to guard from attacks "an institution ordained by the favour of God for -the happiness of man:" and assuring me that the literary resources of -South Carolina were rapidly improving.—So they had need; for almost all -the books already in existence will have to be prohibited, if nothing -condemnatory of slavery is to be circulated. This attempt to nullify -literature was followed up by a threat to refuse permission to the mails -to pass through South Carolina: an arrangement which would afflict its -inhabitants more than it could injure any one else.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span></p><p>The object of all this is to keep the children in the dark about how -the institution is regarded abroad. This was evident to me at every -step: and I received an express caution not to communicate my -disapprobation of slavery to the children of one family, who could not, -their parents declare, even feel the force of my objections. One of them -was "employed, the whole afternoon, in dressing out little Nancy for an -evening party; and she sees the slaves much freer than herself." Of -course, the blindness of this policy will be its speedy destruction. It -is found that the effect of public opinion on the subject upon young men -who visit the northern States, is tremendous, when they become aware of -it: as every student in the colleges of the north can bear witness. I -know of one, an heir of slaves, who declared, on reading Dr. Channing's -"Slavery," that if it could be proved that negroes are more than a link -between man and brute, the rest follows of course, and he must liberate -all his. Happily, he is in the way of evidence that negroes are actually -and altogether human.</p> - -<p>The students of Lane Seminary, near Cincinnati, of which Dr. Beecher is -the president, became interested in the subject, three or four years -ago, and formed themselves into an Abolition Society, debating the -question, and taking in newspapers. This was prohibited by the tutors, -but persevered in by the young men, who conceived that this was a matter -with which the professors had no right to meddle. Banishment was -decreed; and all submitted to expulsion but fourteen. Of course, each of -the dispersed young men became the nucleus of an Abolition Society, and -gained influence by persecution. It was necessary for them to provide -means to finish their education. One of them, Amos Dresser, itinerated, -(as is usual in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span> sparsely-peopled west,) travelling in a gig, and -selling Scott's Bible, to raise money for his educational purposes. He -reached Nashville, in Tennessee; and there fell under suspicion of -abolition treason; his baggage being searched, and a whole abolition -newspaper, and a part of another being found among the packing-stuff of -his stock of bibles. There was also an unsubstantiated rumour of his -having been seen conversing with slaves. He was brought to trial by the -Committee of Vigilance; seven elders of the presbyterian church at -Nashville being among his judges. After much debate as to whether he -should be hanged, or flogged with more or fewer lashes, he was condemned -to receive twenty lashes, with a cow-hide, in the market-place of -Nashville. He was immediately conducted there, made to kneel down on the -flint pavement, and punished according to his sentence; the mayor of -Nashville presiding, and the public executioner being the agent. He was -warned to leave the city within twenty-four hours: but was told, by some -charitable person who had the bravery to take him in, wash his stripes, -and furnish him with a disguise, that it would not be safe to remain so -long. He stole away immediately, in his dreadful condition, on foot; and -when his story was authenticated, had heard nothing of his horse, gig, -and bibles, which he values at three hundred dollars. Let no one, on -this, tremble for republican freedom. Outrages upon it, like the above, -are but extremely transient signs of the times. They no more betoken the -permanent condition of the republic, than the shivering of one hour of -ague exhibits the usual state of the human body.</p> - -<p>The other young men found educational and other assistance immediately; -and a set of noble institutions has grown out of their persecution. -There were professors ready to help them; and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span> gentleman gave them a -farm in Ohio, on which to begin a manual labour college, called the -Oberlin Institute. It is on a most liberal plan young women who wish to -become qualified for "Christian teaching" being admitted; and there -being no prejudice of colour. They have a sprinkling both of Indians and -of negroes. They do all the farm and house work, and as much study -besides as is good for them. Some of the young women are already fair -Hebrew and Greek scholars. In a little while, the estate was so crowded, -and the new applications were so overpowering, that they were glad to -accept the gift of another farm. When I left the country, within three -years from their commencement, they had either four or five flourishing -institutions in Ohio and Michigan, while the Lane Seminary drags on -feebly with its array of tutors, and dearth of pupils. A fact so full of -vitality as this will overbear a hundred less cheering signs of the -times. A very safe repose may be found in the will of the majority, -wherever it acts amidst light and freedom.</p> - -<p>Just before I reached Mobile, two men were burned alive there, in a slow -fire, in the open air, in the presence of the gentlemen of the city -generally. No word was breathed of the transaction in the newspapers: -and this is the special reason why I cite it as a sign of the times; of -the suppression of fact and repression of opinion which, from the -impossibility of their being long maintained, are found immediately to -precede the changes they are meant to obviate. Some months afterwards, -an obscure intimation of something of the kind having happened appeared -in a northern newspaper; but a dead silence was at the time preserved -upon what was, in fact, the deed of a multitude. The way that I came to -know it was this. A lady of Mobile was opening her noble and true heart -to me on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span> horrors and vices of the system under which she and her -family were suffering in mind, body, and estate. In speaking of her -duties as head of a family, she had occasion to mention the trouble -caused by the licentiousness of the whites, among the negro women. It -was dreadful to hear the facts which had occurred in her own household; -and the bare imagination of what is inflicted on the negro husbands and -fathers was almost too much to be borne. I asked the question, "Does it -never enter the heads of negro husbands and fathers to retaliate?" "Yes, -it does." "What follows?" "They are murdered,—burned alive." And then -followed the story of what had lately happened. A little girl, and her -still younger brother, one day failed to return from school, and never -were seen again. It was not till after all search had been relinquished, -that the severed head of the little girl was found in a brook, on the -borders of a plantation. Circumstances were discovered that left no -doubt that the murders were committed to conceal violence which had been -offered to the girl. Soon after, two young ladies of the city rode in -that direction, and got off their horses to amuse themselves. They were -seized upon by two slaves of the neighbouring plantation; but effected -their escape in safety, though with great difficulty. Their agitation -prevented their concealing the fact; and the conclusion was immediately -drawn that these men were the murderers of the children. The gentlemen -of Mobile turned out; seized the men; heaped up faggots on the margin of -the brook, and slowly burned them to death. No prudish excuses for the -suppression of this story will serve any purpose with those who have -been on the spot, any more than the outcry about "amalgamation," raised -against the abolitionists by those who live in the deepest sinks of a -licentiousness of which the foes of slavery do<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span> not dream. No -deprecatory plea regarding propriety or decency will pass for anything -but hypocrisy with those who know what the laws against the press are in -the south-west, and what are the morals of slavery in its palmy state. I -charge the silence of Mobile about this murder on its <i>fears</i>; as -confidently as I charge the brutality of the victims upon its crimes.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the many symptoms of an unmanly and anti-republican fear -which met my observation in these regions, it was long before I could -comprehend the extent of it; especially as I heard daily that the true -enthusiastic love of freedom could exist in a republic, only in the -presence of a servile class. I am persuaded that the southerners verily -believe this; that they actually imagine their northern brethren living -in an exceedingly humdrum way, for fear of losing their equality. It is -true that there is far too much subservience to opinion in the northern -States: particularly in New England. There is there a self-imposed -bondage which must be outgrown. But this is no more like the fear which -prevails in the south than the apprehensiveness of a court-physician is -like the terrors of Tiberius Cæsar.</p> - -<p>I was at the French theatre at New Orleans. The party with whom I went -determined to stay for the after-piece. The first scene of the -after-piece was dumb-show; so much noise was made by one single whistle -in the pit. The curtain was dropped, and the piece re-commenced. The -whistling continued; and, at one movement, the whole audience rose and -went home. I was certain that there was something more in this than was -apparent to the observation of a stranger. I resolved to find it out, -and succeeded. The band was wanted from the orchestra, to serenade a -United States senator who was then in the city; and one or two young men -were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span>resolved to break up our amusement for the purpose of releasing -the band. But why were they allowed to do this? Why was the whole -audience to submit to the pleasure of one whistler? Why, in New Orleans -it is thought best to run no risk of any disturbance. People there -always hie home directly when things do not go off quite quietly.</p> - -<p>It is the same, wherever the blacks outnumber the whites, or their -bondage is particularly severe. At Charleston, when a fire breaks out, -the gentlemen all go home on the ringing of the alarm-bell; the ladies -rise and dress themselves and their children. It may be the signal of -insurrection: and the fire burns on, for any help the citizens give, -till a battalion of soldiers marches down to put it out.</p> - -<p>When we were going to church, at Augusta, Georgia, one Sunday afternoon, -there was smoke in the street, and a cry of fire. When we came out of -church, we were told that it had been very trifling, and easily -extinguished. The next day, I heard the whole. A negro girl of sixteen, -the property of a lady from New England, had set her mistress's house on -fire in two places, by very in-artificially lighting heaps of -combustible stuff piled against the partitions. There were no witnesses, -and all that was known came from her own lips. She was desperately -ignorant; laws having been fully enforced to prevent the negroes of -Georgia being instructed in any way whatever. The girl's account was, -that she was "tired of living there," and had therefore intended to burn -the house in the morning, but was prevented by her mistress having -locked her up for some offence: so she did it in the afternoon. She was -totally ignorant of the gravity of the deed, and was in a state of great -horror when told that she was to be hanged for it. I asked whether it -was possible that, after her being prevented by law from being taught, -she was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span> to be hanged for her ignorance, and merely on her own -confession? The clergyman with whom I was conversing sighed, and said it -was a hard case; but what else could be done, considering that <i>Augusta -was built of wood</i>? He told me that there was great excitement among the -negroes in Augusta; and that many had been saying that "a mean white -person" (a white labourer) would not have been hanged; and that the girl -could not help it, as it must have been severity which drove her to it. -In both these sayings, the slaves were partly wrong. A white would have -been hanged; but a white would have known that she was committing crime. -It did not appear that the girl's mistress was harsh. But what does not -the observation convey? I have never learned, nor ever shall, whether -the hanging took place or not. The newspapers do not insert such things.</p> - -<p>This burning would be a fearful art for the blacks to learn. There were -four tremendous fires in Charleston, during the summer of 1835; and -divers residents reported to the north that these were supposed to be -the work of slaves.</p> - -<p>Wherever I went, in the south, in whatever town or other settlement I -made any stay, some startling circumstance connected with slavery -occurred, which I was assured was unprecedented. No such thing had ever -occurred before, or was likely to happen again. The repetition of this -assurance became, at last, quite ludicrous.</p> - -<p>The fear of which I have spoken as prevalent, does not extend to the -discussion of the question of slavery with strangers. My opinions of -slavery were known, through the press, before I went abroad: the -hospitality which was freely extended to me was offered under a full -knowledge of my detestation of the system. This was a great advantage, -in as much as it divested me entirely of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span> character of a spy, and -promoted the freest discussion, wherever I went. There was a warm -sympathy between myself and very many, whose sufferings under the system -caused me continual and deep sorrow, though no surprise. Neither was I -surprised at their differing from me as widely as they do about the -necessity of immediate action, either by resistance or flight, while -often agreeing, nearly to the full, in my estimate of the evils of the -present state of things. They have been brought up in the system. To -them, the moral deformity of the whole is much obscured by its nearness; -while the small advantages, and slight prettinesses which it is very -easy to attach to it, are prominent, and always in view. These -circumstances prevented my being surprised at the candour with which -they not only discussed the question, but showed me all that was to be -seen of the economical management of plantations; the worst as well as -the best. Whatever I learned of the system, by express showing, it must -be remembered, was from the hands of the slave-holders themselves. -Whatever I learned, that lies deepest down in my heart, of the moral -evils, the unspeakable vices and woes of slavery, was from the lips of -those who are suffering under them on the spot.</p> - -<p>It was there that I heard of the massacre in Southampton county, which -has been little spoken of abroad. It happened a few years ago; before -the abolition movement began; for it is remarkable that no insurrections -have taken place since the friends of the slave have been busy afar off. -This is one of the most eloquent signs of the times,—that, whereas -rebellions broke out as often as once a month before, there have been -none since. Of this hereafter. In the Southampton massacre, upwards of -seventy whites, chiefly women and children, were butchered by slaves who -fancied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span>themselves called, like the Jews of old, to "slay and spare -not."</p> - -<p>While they were in full career, a Virginian gentleman, who had a friend -from the north staying with him, observed upon its being a mistaken -opinion that planters were afraid of their slaves; and offered the -example of his own household as a refutation. He summoned his -confidential negro, the head of the house establishment of slaves, and -bade him shut the door.</p> - -<p>"You hear," said he, "that the negroes have risen in Southampton."</p> - -<p>"Yes, massa."</p> - -<p>"You hear that they have killed several families, and that they are -coming this way."</p> - -<p>"Yes, massa."</p> - -<p>"You know that, if they come here, I shall have to depend upon you all -to protect my family."</p> - -<p>The slave was silent.</p> - -<p>"If I give you arms, you will protect me and my family, will you not?"</p> - -<p>"No, massa."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean, that if the Southampton negroes come this way, you will -join them?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, massa."</p> - -<p>When he went out of the room, his master wept without restraint. He -owned that all his hope, all his confidence was gone. Yet, who ever -deserved confidence more than the man who spoke that last "No" and -"Yes?" The more confidence in the man, the less in the system. This is -the philosophy of the story.</p> - -<p>I have mentioned the fact that no insurrections have for a long time -taken place. In some parts of the slave regions, the effect has been to -relax the laws relating to slaves; and such relaxation was always -pointed out to me as an indication<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span> that slavery would go out of itself, -if it were let alone. In other parts, new and very severe laws were -being passed against the slaves; and this was pointed out to me as a -sign that the condition of the negro was aggravated by the interference -of his friends; and that his best chance lay in slavery being let alone. -Thus the opposite facts were made to yield the same conclusion. A friend -of mine, a slave-holder, observed to me, that both the relaxation and -the aggravation of restrictions upon slaves were an indication of the -tendency of public opinion: the first being done in sympathy with it, -the other in fear of it.</p> - -<p>There was an outcry, very vehement, and very general among the friends -of slavery, in both north and south, against the cruelty of -abolitionists in becoming the occasion of the laws against slaves being -made more severe. In my opinion, this affords no argument against -abolition, even if the condition of the slaves of to-day were aggravated -by the stir of opinion. The negroes of the next generation are not to be -doomed to slavery for fear of somewhat more being inflicted on their -parents: and, severe as the laws already are, the consequence of -straining them tighter still would be that they would burst. But the -fact is, that so far from the condition of the slave being made worse by -the efforts of his distant friends, it has been substantially improved. -I could speak confidently of this as a necessary consequence of the -value set upon opinion by the masters; but I know it also from what I -myself saw; and from the lips of many slave-holders. The slaves of South -Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, have less liberty of -communication with each other; they are deprived of the few means of -instruction that they had; they are shut in earlier in the evening, and -precluded from supping and dancing for half<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span> the night, as they used to -do; but they are substantially better treated; they are less worked by -hard masters; less flogged; better fed and clothed. The eyes of the -world are now upon the American slave and his master: the kind master -goes on as he did before: the hard master dares not be so unkind as -formerly. He hates his slave more than ever, for slavery is more -troublesome than ever; but he is kept in order, by the opinion of the -world abroad and the neighbours around; and he dares not vent his hatred -on his human property, as he once could. A slave-holder declared in -Congress, that the slaves of the south knew that Dr. Channing had -written a book on their behalf. No doubt. The tidings of the far-off -movement in their favour come to them on every wind that blows, calming -their desperation, breathing hope into their souls; making the best of -their masters thoughtful and sad, and the worst, desperate and cruel, -though kept within bounds by fear.</p> - -<p>The word 'hatred' is not too strong for the feeling of a large -proportion of slave-holders towards particular slaves; or, as they would -call them, (the word 'slave' never being heard in the south,) their -'force,' their 'hands,' their 'negroes,' their 'people.' I was -frequently told of the 'endearing relation' subsisting between master -and slaves; but, at the best, it appeared to me the same 'endearing -relation' which subsists between a man and his horse, between a lady and -her dog. As long as the slave remains ignorant, docile, and contented, -he is taken good care of, humoured, and spoken of with a contemptuous, -compassionate kindness. But, from the moment he exhibits the attributes -of a rational being,—from the moment his intellect seems likely to come -into the most distant competition with that of whites, the most, deadly -hatred springs up;—not in the black, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span> in his oppressors. It is a -very old truth that we hate those whom we have injured. Never was it -more clear than in this case. I had, from time to time in my life, -witnessed something of human malice; I had seen some of the worst -aspects of domestic service in England; of village scandal; of political -rivalship; and other circumstances provocative of the worst passions; -but pure, unmitigated hatred, the expression of which in eye and voice -makes one's blood run cold, I never witnessed till I became acquainted -with the blacks of America, their friends and oppressors: the blacks and -their friends the objects; their oppressors the far more unhappy -subjects. It so happens that the most remarkable instances of this that -I met with were clergymen and ladies. The cold livid hatred which -deformed, like a mask, the faces of a few, while deliberately -slandering, now the coloured race, and now the abolitionists, could -never be forgotten by me, as a fearful revelation, if the whole country -were to be absolutely christianized to-morrow. Mr. Madison told me, that -if he could work a miracle, he knew what it should be. He would make all -the blacks white; and then he could do away with slavery in twenty-four -hours. So true it is that all the torturing associations of injury have -become so connected with colour, that an institution which hurts -everybody and benefits none, which all rational people who understand it -dislike, despise, and suffer under, can with difficulty be abolished, -because of the hatred which is borne to an irremovable badge.</p> - -<p>This hatred is a sign of the times; and so are the alleged causes of it; -both are from their nature so manifestly temporary. The principal cause -alleged is the impossibility of giving people of colour any idea of -duty, from their want of natural affection. I was told in the same -breath of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span> attachment to their masters, and devotion to them in -sickness; and of their utter want of all affection to their parents and -children, husbands and wives. For "people of colour," read "slaves," and -the account is often correct. It is true that slaves will often leave -their infants to perish, rather than take any trouble about them; that -they will utterly neglect a sick parent or husband; while they will -nurse a white mistress with much ostentation. The reason is obvious. -Such beings are degraded so far below humanity that they will take -trouble, for the sake of praise or more solid reward, after they have -become dead to all but grossly selfish inducements. Circumstances will -fully account for a great number of cases of this sort: but to set -against these, there are perhaps yet more instances of domestic -devotion, not to be surpassed in the annals of humanity. Of these I know -more than I can here set down; partly from their number, and partly from -the fear of exposing to injury the individuals alluded to.</p> - -<p>A friend of mine was well acquainted at Washington with a woman who had -been a slave; and who, after gaining her liberty, worked incessantly for -many years, denying herself all but absolute necessaries, in order to -redeem her husband and children. She was a sick-nurse, when my friend -knew her; and, by her merits, obtained good pay. She had first bought -herself; having earned, by extra toil, three or four hundred dollars. -She then earned the same sum, and redeemed her husband; and had bought -three, out of her five, children when my friend last saw her. She made -no boast of her industry and self-denial. Her story was extracted from -her by questions; and she obviously felt that she was doing what was -merely unavoidable. It is impossible to help instituting a comparison -between this woman and the gentlemen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span> who, by their own licentiousness, -increase the number of slave children whom they sell in the market. My -friend formerly carried an annual present from a distant part of the -country to this poor woman: but it is not known what has become of her, -and whether she died before she had completed her object, of freeing all -her family.</p> - -<p>There is a woman now living with a lady in Boston, requiring high wages, -which her superior services, as well as her story, enable her to -command. This woman was a slave, and was married to a slave, by whom she -had two children. The husband and wife were much attached. One day, her -husband was suddenly sold away to a distance; and her master, whose -object was to increase his stock as fast as possible, immediately -required her to take another husband. She stoutly refused. Her master -thought her so far worthy of being humoured, that he gave her his -son,—forced him upon her, as her present feelings show. She had two -more children, of much lighter complexion than the former. When the son -left the estate, her master tried again to force a negro husband upon -her. In desperation, she fled, carrying one of her first children with -her. She is now working to redeem the other, a girl; and she has not -given up all hope of recovering her husband. She was asked whether she -thought of doing anything for her two mulatto children. She replied -that, to be sure, they <i>were</i> her children; but that she did not think -she ever <i>could</i> tell her husband that she had had those two children. -If this be not chastity, what is? Where are all the fairest natural -affections, if not in these women?</p> - -<p>At a very disorderly hotel in South Carolina, we were waited upon by a -beautiful mulatto woman and her child, a pretty girl of about eight. The -woman entreated that we would buy her child.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span> On her being questioned, -it appeared that it was "a bad place" in which she was: that she had got -her two older children sold away, to a better place; and now, her only -wish was for this child to be saved. On being asked whether she really -desired to be parted from her only remaining child, so as never to see -her again, she replied that "it would be hard to part," but for the -child's sake she did wish that we would buy her.</p> - -<p>A kind-hearted gentleman in the south, finding that the laws of his -State precluded his teaching his legacy of slaves according to the usual -methods of education, bethought himself, at length, of the moral -training of task-work. It succeeded admirably. His negroes soon began to -work as slaves are never, under any other arrangement, seen to work. -Their day's task was finished by eleven o'clock. Next, they began to -care for one another: the strong began to help the weak:—first, -husbands helped their wives; then parents helped their children; and, at -length, the young began to help the old. Here was seen the awakening of -natural affections which had lain in a dark sleep.</p> - -<p>Of the few methods of education which have been tried, none have -succeeded so well as this task-work. As its general adoption might have -the effect of enabling slavery to subsist longer than it otherwise -could, perhaps it is well that it can be employed only to a very small -extent. Much of the work on the plantations cannot be divided into -tasks. Where it can, it is wise in the masters to avail themselves of -this means of enlisting the will of the slave in behalf of his work.</p> - -<p>No other mode of teaching serves this purpose in any degree. The -shutting up of the schools, when I was in the south, struck me as a sign -of the times,—a favourable sign, in as far as it showed the crisis to -be near; and it gave me little regret<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span> on account of the slave children. -Reading and writing even (which are never allowed) would be of no use to -beings without minds,—as slaves are prior to experience of life; and -religious teaching is worse than useless to beings who, having no -rights, can have no duties. Their whole notion of religion is of power -and show, as regards God; of subjection to a new sort of reward and -punishment, as regards themselves; and invisible reward and punishment -have no effect on them. A negro, conducting worship, was heard to pray -thus; and broad as the expressions are, they are better than an abject, -unintelligent adoption of the devotional language of whites. "Come down, -O Lord, come down,—on your great white horse, a kickin' and snortin'." -An ordinary negro's highest idea of majesty is of riding a prancing -white horse. As for their own concern in religion, I know of a "force" -where a preacher had just made a strong impression. The slaves had given -up dancing, and sang nothing but psalms: they exhibited the most -ludicrous spiritual pride, and discharged their business more lazily -than ever, taunting their mistress with, "You no holy. We be holy. You -no in state o' salvation." Such was the effect upon the majority. Here -is the effect upon a stronger head.</p> - -<p>"Harry," said his master, "you do as badly as ever. You steal and tell -lies. Don't you know you will be punished in hell?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, massa, I been thinking 'bout that. I been thinking when Harry's -head is in the ground, there'll be no more Harry,—no more Harry."</p> - -<p>"But the clergyman, and other people who know better than you, tell you -that if you steal you will go to hell, and be punished there."</p> - -<p>"Been thinking 'bout that too. Gentlemen <i>be</i> wise, and so they tell us -'bout being punished, that we may not steal their things here: and then -we go and find out afterwards how it is."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span> Such is the effect of -religion upon those who have no rights, and therefore no duties. Great -efforts are being now made by the clergy of four denominations<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> to -obtain converts in the south. The fact, pointed out to me by Mr. -Madison, that the "chivalrous" south is growing strict, while the -puritanic north is growing genial, is a very remarkable sign of the -times, as it regards slavery. All sanctions of the institution being now -wanted, religious sanctions are invoked among others. The scene has been -acted before, often enough to make the catastrophe clearly discernible. -There are no true religious sanctions of slavery. There will be no lack -of Harrys to detect the forgeries put forth as such: and, under the most -corrupt presentments of religion, there lives something of its genuine -spirit,—enough to expand, sooner or later, and explode the institution -with which it can never combine. Though I found that the divines of the -four denominations were teaching a compromising Christianity, to -propitiate the masters, and gross superstitions to beguile the -slaves,—vying with each other in the latter respect, that they might -outstrip one another in the number of their converts,—I rejoiced in -their work. Anything is better for the slaves than apathetic subjection; -and, under all this falsification, enough Christian truth has already -come in to blow slavery to atoms.</p> - -<p>The testimony of slave-holders was most explicit as to no moral -improvement having taken place, in consequence of the introduction of -religion. There was less singing and dancing; but as much lying, -drinking, and stealing as ever: less docility, and a vanity even -transcending the common vanity of slaves,—to whom the opinion of others -is all which they have to gain or lose. The houses are as dirty as ever, -(and I never saw a clean room<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span> or bed but once, within the boundaries of -the slave States;) the family are still contented with their "clean -linen, as long as it does not smell badly." A new set of images has been -presented to the slaves; but there still remains but one idea, by and -for which any of them live; the idea of freedom.</p> - -<p>Not for this, however, is the present zeal for religion a less -remarkable sign of the times.</p> - -<p>Another is, a proposition lately made in Charleston to remove the -slave-market further from public observation. This acknowledgment, in -such a place, that there is something distasteful, or otherwise -uncomfortable, in the sale of human beings, is portentous. I was in that -Charleston slave-market; and saw the sale of a woman with her children. -A person present voluntarily assured me that there was nothing whatever -painful in the sight. It appears, however, that the rest of Charleston -thinks differently.</p> - -<p>I was witness to the occasional discussion of the question whether -Congress has power to prohibit the internal slave trade; and found that -some very eminent men had no doubt whatever of such power being -possessed by Congress, through the clause which authorises it to -"regulate commerce among the several States." Among those who held this -opinion were Mr. Madison and Mr. Webster.</p> - -<p>The rapid increase of the suffrage in the north, compared with the -south, affords an indication of some speedy change of circumstances. -Three fifths of the slave population is represented; but this basis of -representation is so narrow in contrast with that of the populous States -where every man has the suffrage, that the south must decrease and the -north increase, in a way which cannot long be borne by the former. The -south has no remedy but in abolishing the institution by which her -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span>prosperity is injured, and her population comparatively confined. She -sees how it is in the two contiguous States of Missouri and Illinois: -that new settlers examine Illinois, pass on into Missouri, where land is -much cheaper, and return to Illinois to settle, because there is no -slavery there: so that the population is advancing incalculably faster -in Illinois than in Missouri. Missouri will soon and easily find her -remedy, in abolishing slavery; when the whites will rush in, as they now -do into the neighbouring States. In the south, the case is more -difficult. It will be long before white labour becomes so reputable -there as elsewhere; and the present white residents cannot endure the -idea of the suffrage being freely given, within any assignable time, to -those who are now their slaves, or to their dusky descendants. Yet this -is what must be done, sooner or later, with more or fewer precautions, -if the south means to hold an important rank in Congress. It is in -contemplation of this difficulty that the loudest threats are heard of -secession from the Union; a movement which, as I have before said, would -be immediately prevented, or signally punished. The abolition of slavery -is the only resource.</p> - -<p>Upon the most remarkable of all the signs of the times relating to -slavery, it is not necessary to say much. Those which I have mentioned -are surely enough to show, as plainly as if a ghost had come from the -grave to tell us, that the time is at hand for the destruction of this -monstrous anomaly. What the issue of the coming change will be is, to my -mind, decided by a consideration on which almost every man is -vociferating his opinion,—the character of the abolitionists.</p> - -<p>It is obvious enough why this point is discussed so widely and so -constantly, that I think I may say I heard more upon it, while I was in -America, than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span> upon all other American matters together. It is clearly -convenient to throw so weighty a question as that of abolition back upon -the aggregate characters of those who propose it; convenient to -slave-holders, convenient to those in the north whose sympathies are -with slave-holders, or who dread change, or who want an excuse to -themselves for not acting upon the principles which all profess. The -character of the abolitionists of the United States has been the object -of attack for some years,—of daily and hourly attack; and, as far as I -know, there has been no defence; for the plain reason that this is a -question on which there can be no middle party. All who are not with the -abolitionists are against them; for silence and inaction are public -acquiescence in things as they are. The case is, then, that everybody is -against them but their own body, whose testimony would, of course, go -for nothing, if it were offered; which it never is.—I know many of them -well; as every stranger in the country ought to take pains to do. I -first heard everything that could be said against them: and afterwards -became well acquainted with a great number of them.</p> - -<p>I think the abolitionists of the United States the most reasonable set -of people that I ever knew to be united together for one object. Among -them may be enjoyed the high and rare luxury of having a reason rendered -for every act performed, and every opinion maintained. The treatment -they have met with compels them to be more thoroughly informed, and more -completely assured on every point on which they commit themselves, than -is commonly considered necessary on the right side of a question, where -there is the strength of a mighty principle to repose upon. The -commonest charge against them is that they are fanatical. I think them, -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span>generally speaking, the most clear-headed, right-minded class I ever -had intercourse with. Their accuracy about dates, numbers, and all such -matters of fact, is as remarkable as their clear perception of the -principles on which they proceed. They are, however, remarkably -deficient in policy,—in party address. They are artless to a fault; and -probably, no party, religious, political, or benevolent, in their -country, ever was formed and conducted with so little dexterity, -shrewdness, and concert. Noble and imperishable as their object is, it -would probably, from this cause, have slipped through their fingers for -the present, if it had not been for some other qualities common among -them. It is needless to say much of their heroism; of the strength of -soul with which they await and endure the inflictions with which they -are visited, day by day. Their position indicates all this. Animating as -it is to witness, it is less touching than the qualities to which they -owe the success which would otherwise have been forfeited through their -want of address and party organisation. A spirit of meekness, of mutual -forbearance, of mutual reverence, runs through the whole body; and by -this are selfish considerations put aside, differences composed, and -distrusts obviated, to a degree which I never hoped to witness among a -society as various as the sects, parties and opinions which are the -elements of the whole community. With the gaiety of heart belonging to -those who have cast aside every weight; with the strength of soul proper -to those who walk by faith; with the child-like unconsciousness of the -innocent; living from hour to hour in the light of that greatest of all -purposes,—to achieve a distant object by the fulfilment of the nearest -duty,—and therefore rooting out from among themselves all aristocratic -tendencies and usages, rarely speaking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span> of their own sufferings and -sacrifices, but in honour preferring one another, how can they fail to -win over the heart of society,—that great heart, sympathising with all -that is lofty and true?<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> - -<p>As was said to me, "the Searcher of hearts is passing through the land, -and every one must come forth to the ordeal." This Searcher of hearts -comes now in the form of the mighty principle of human freedom. If a -glance is cast over the assemblage called to the ordeal, how mean and -trivial are the vociferations in defence of property, the threats of -revenge for light, the boast of physical force, the appeal to the -compromises which constitute the defects of human law! How low and how -sad appear the mercenary interests, the social fears, the clerical -blindness or cowardice, the morbid fastidiousness of those who, -professing the same principles with the abolitionists, are bent upon -keeping those principles for ever an abstraction! How inspiring is it to -see that the community is, notwithstanding all this, sound at the core, -and that the soundness is spreading so fast that the health of the whole -community may be ultimately looked for! When a glance shows us all this, -and that the abolitionists are no more elated by their present success -than they were depressed by their almost hopeless degradation, we may -fairly consider the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span> character of the abolitionists a decisive sign of -the times,—a peculiarly distinct prophecy that the coloured race will -soon pass from under the yoke. The Searcher of hearts brings prophecies -in his hand, which those who will may read.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p> - -<p>I cannot give much space to the theories which are current as to what -the issue will be if the abolition of slavery should not take place. To -me it seems pretty clear, when the great amount of the mulatto -population is considered. Within an almost calculable time, the -population would be wholly mulatto; and the southern States would be in -a condition so far inferior to the northern, that they would probably -separate, and live under a different form of government. A military -despotism might probably be established when the mixture of colours had -become inconvenient, without being universal: slavery would afterwards -die out, through the general degradation of society; and then the -community would begin again to rise, from a very low point. But it will -be seen that I do not anticipate that there will be room or time for -this set of circumstances to take place. I say this in the knowledge of -the fact that a very perceptible tinge of negro blood is visible in some -of the first families of Louisiana; a fact learned from residents of -high quality on the spot.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span></p><p>How stands the case, finally?—A large proportion of the labour of the -United States is held on principles wholly irreconcilable with the -principles of the constitution: whatever may be true about its origin, -it is now inefficient, wasteful, destructive, to a degree which must -soon cause a change of plan: some who see the necessity of such a -change, are in favour of reversing the original policy;—slavery having -once been begun in order to till the land, they are now for usurping a -new territory in order to employ their slaves: others are for banishing -the labour which is the one thing most needful to their country, in -every way. While all this confusion and mismanagement exist, here is the -labour, actually on the land, ready to be employed to better purpose; -and in the treasury are the funds by which the transmutation of slave -into free labour might be effected,—at once in the District of -Columbia; and by subsequent arrangements in the slave States. Many -matters of detail would have to be settled: the distribution would be -difficult; but it is not impossible. Virginia, whose revenue is derived -from the rearing of slaves for the south, whose property is the beings -themselves, and not their labour, must, in justice, receive a larger -compensation than such States as Alabama and Louisiana, where the labour -is the wealth, and which would be therefore immediately enriched by the -improvement in the quality of the labour which would follow upon -emancipation. Such arrangements may be difficult to make; but "when -there's a will there's a way;" and when it is generally perceived that -the abolition of slavery must take place, the great principle will not -long be allowed to lie in fetters of detail. The Americans have done -more difficult things than this; though assuredly none greater. The -restoration of two millions and a half of people to their human rights<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span> -will be as great a deed as the history of the world will probably ever -have to exhibit. In none of its pages are there names more lustrous than -those of the clear-eyed and fiery-hearted few who began and are -achieving the virtuous revolution.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> I might add their matter-of-fact credulity, strongly -resembling romance. As a specimen of the <i>quizzing</i> common with regard -to the Germans, I give an anecdote. At the time when the struggle -between Adams and Jackson was very close, a supporter of Adams -complained to Mr. W. that it was provoking that somebody had persuaded -the Germans in Pennsylvania that Mr. Adams had married a daughter of -George III.; a report which would cost him all their votes. Mr. W. said, -"Why do not you contradict it?" "O," replied his friend, "you know -nothing of those people. They will believe everything, and unbelieve -nothing. No: instead of contradicting the report, we must allow that -Adams married a daughter of George III.; but add that Jackson married -two."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> I heard some interesting facts about the Germans in -Pennsylvania from Mr. Gallatin, who lived among them for some time. A -fact regarding this gentleman shows what the obscurity of country life -in the United States may be. His estate was originally in Virginia. By a -new division, it was thrown into the back of Pennsylvania. He ceased to -be heard of, for some years, in the interval of his engaging in public -affairs. During this time, an advertisement appeared in a newspaper, -asking for tidings of "one Albert Gallatin" and adding that if he were -still living, he might, on making a certain application, hear of -something to his advantage.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> I need hardly mention that I read "England and America" -before I set out on my travels. It will appear that I am under -obligations to that valuable work for much guidance.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> See Appendix A.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> The Texans pretend to deny that the slave-trade will -receive, or is receiving, an impulse from them. The case is this. In the -Texan constitution, the importation of slaves, <i>except from the United -States</i>, is declared piracy. A most wealthy slave-owner of Louisiana -told me, in 1835, that the annual importation of native Africans (by -smuggling) was from thirteen thousand to fifteen thousand. This has much -increased since. As long as there is a market for slaves, there will be -the slave-trade, though there were a preventive cruiser to every mile of -the ocean. -</p><p> -An official gentleman, from the British West Indies, informed me that -much mischief has ensued from the withdrawing of two or three small -British schooners, which used to cruise about the islands, and were -broken up on the plea of economy;—it being supposed that vessels so -small could do no good which would compensate for their expense. This is -a mistake. If a slave ship surrenders on summons, the ship and cargo are -forfeited, and that is all. If a gun is fired, in defence, the captain -and crew become thereby liable to be hanged as pirates. Of course, those -who man a slave ship are ready to surrender to a cock-boat, with two men -in it, rather than become liable to hanging for property in which they -can have, at most, but a very small interest. Thus a schooner renders as -good aid, and is as much an object of dread, in this kind of service, as -a larger vessel.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> England and America.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> It may surprise some that I speak of those who are blind -to slavery being an anomaly in economy as 'few.' Among the many hundreds -of persons in the slave States, with whom I conversed on the subject of -slavery, I met with only one, a lady, who defended the institution -altogether: and with perhaps four or five who defended it as necessary -to a purpose which must be fulfilled, and could not be fulfilled -otherwise. All the rest who vindicated its present existence did so on -the ground of the impossibility of doing it away. A very large number -avowed that it was indefensible in every point of view.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> With the condition of the African colony, we have here -nothing to do. We are now considering the Colonisation Society in its -professed relation to American slavery.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Governor M'Duffie's message to the legislature of South -Carolina contains the proposition that freedom can be preserved only in -societies where either work is disreputable, or there is an hereditary -aristocracy, or a military despotism. He prefers the first, as being the -most republican.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> The dispute between the abolitionists and their -adversaries is always made to turn on the point of distinction between -freedom of discussion and political interference. With the views now -entertained by the south, she can never be satisfied on this head. She -requires nothing short of a dead silence upon the subject of human -rights. This demand is made by her state governors of the state -governors of the north. It will, of course, never be granted. The course -of the abolitionists seems to themselves clear enough; and they act -accordingly. They labour <i>politically</i> only with regard to the District -of Columbia, over which Congress holds exclusive jurisdiction. Their -other endeavour is to promote the discussion of the moral question -throughout the free States. They use no direct means to this end in the -slave States;—in the first place, because they have no power to do so; -and in the next, because the requisite movement there is sure to follow -upon that in the north. It is wholly untrue that they insinuate their -publications into the south. Their only political transgression (and who -will call it a moral one?) is, helping fugitive slaves. The line between -free discussion and political interference has never yet been drawn to -the satisfaction of both parties, and never will be.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists and Baptists.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> It may, at the first glance, appear improbable that such a -character as this should belong to any collection of individuals. But -let it be remembered what the object is; an object which selects for its -first supporters the choicest spirits of society. These choice spirits, -again, are disciplined by what they have to undergo for their object, -till they come out such as I have described them. Their's is not a -common charitable institution, whose committees meet, and do creditable -business, and depart homewards in peace. They are the confessors of the -martyr-age of America. As a matter of course, their character will be -less distinctive as their numbers increase. Many are coming in, and more -will come in, who had not strength, or light, or warmth enough to join -them in the days of their insignificance.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> While I write, confirmation comes in the shape of Governor -M'Duffie's message to the legislature of South Carolina, in which he -speaks of the vast and accelerated spread of abolition principles; of -the probability that slavery in the District of Columbia will be soon -abolished; and of the pressing occasion that thence arises for South -Carolina to resolve what she shall do, rather than part with her -domestic institutions. He recommends her to declare her intention of -peaceably withdrawing from the Union, in such a case. Time will show -whether the majority of her citizens will prefer sacrificing their -connexion with the Union, or their slavery; whether the separation will -be allowed by the other States to take place; or, if it be, whether -South Carolina will not speedily desire a readmission.</p></div></div> - -<p class="center space-above">END OF VOL. I.</p> - -<p class="center space-above">LONDON:<br /> -IBOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Society in America, v. 1 (of 2), by Harriet Martineau - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOCIETY IN AMERICA, V. 1 (OF 2) *** - -***** This file should be named 52621-h.htm or 52621-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/6/2/52621/ - -Produced by Julia Miller, Martin Pettit 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 print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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