Letters to a Gentleman in Germany, written after a trip frpm Philadelphia to Niagara

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L.ETTE2RS

A

GENTLEMAN

IN

GERMANY,

WRITTEN AFTER

A TRIP FROM PHILADELPHIA TO NIAGARA.

EDITED BY

FRANCIS L.1EBER.

PHILADELPHIA:

CAREY. LEA & BLANCHARD. 1834.

h

-

'-

Entehkp, according

Lka &

liiANCHATiD, in

to the

tile

sylvania.

fiKlGfJS

&

CO.,

Act of Congress,

District

PHINTEUS.

Court for

in the year 1834,

tlie

by CareTi

Eastern District of Penn-

3 0^

/

WASHINGTON

IRVING, ESQ.

Sir,

In dedicating the following pages to you,

know

I

that I

have but acted in accordance with the view of the author, which in this case entirely coincides with so,

we meet your

wishes

is

my

own.

Whether,

another question: but

it

in doino-

seemed

formal, to ask your permission to dedicate so trifling a

work

so to

you, and this previous permission appears so decidedly to counteract the intended courtesy of a dedication, that I preferred to

grace this volume with your

in the

name without your consent obtained

However you may

beforehand.

work,

I

beg you to accept

differ its

from some opinions stated

dedication to you, as a token

of admiration, which the author and his editor feel for the pro-

ductions with which you have enriched the literature of two great nations.

meaning

The it

is

token,

I

am

aware,

is

very disproportionate to the

intended to convey, but

may

not even indistinct

characters express a glowing sentence? I

am, with great regard. Sir,

Your most obedient

servant,

Francis Lieber. Philadelphia, Nov. 1834.

A

—

LrETTERS,

LETTER So you wish me,

I.

deaf- friend, to

write a whole " se-

Why, you seem to have studied with the whom " begging boldly " is constitution-

ries of letters."

Franciscans, with al.

my

&c.

" Vadatis pro eleemosyna confidenier^^* says their

founder and saint in the constitution of the order.

And

On

give

on what

me

shall I write?

the United States?

a subject as vast as their territory, and surely

wish a

series of letters

and heavy

as a novel

You

you do not

running through six volumes

ofold

would be quite out of

!

as big

Besides a book of that size

season.

Nowadays every

thing,

even commentaries on a code, must be twelve-moed out

Nay,

the public.

many, may

I

this

pie.

to

too troublesome for

They

say for most, people?

tellectual dishes to

per

diminutive size

is

require their in-

be chopped and minced into a newspa-

" Sir," said an old and thoroughly experienced

editor lately to me, " an article, calculated for being read,

ought never to exceed haif a column," and he knows the palate of the public as well as

market.

Were

I

in the

to write a history of

tion, I should follow the

*

any man

fruit

modern civilizarule, by making

most philosophical

" Go and beg boldly."

meat or

Editoh,

10

(

)

division into periods according to striking manifesta-

my

tions of powerful and characteristic principles.

would

I

call one of the great divisions the period of folios; the time

when bury

controversialists

more poisonous arrow to opponent, than to remind him that

knew

in the heart of their

of no

he had written but a quarto! See D'Israeli's Curiosities, where he speaks of Nominalists. This huge folio age might go down to Cartesius or thereabouts.* Whatever was the subject, folio

was the

half of the

first

Next

is

the epoch of

—small and

single leaves,

requisite form.

quartos and the dawn ofnewspapers

page occupied by a quaint

The discovery

phantastically ornamented.

title

of a

in letters

new world

and the news of all the wonders successively appearing to the European there, were given to astounded mankind in " flying leaves,"t not so large little diminutive sheets, true as

now

the smallest handbill which informs you of a poc-

ket having been picked or a colt having leaped the fence. Next, comes the period of octavos; newspapers grow rapidly, so does the quantity of books.

succeeded by the

It is

age of twelve-mos (as the booksellers classically

call

duodeci-

• Though our author seems to take the whole in joke, there is much scope for reflection in his remark; and not only is the size of books characteristic of an age, but also, and, perhaps in a still greater degree, their price.

But a few centuries ago, a breviary would be

equivalent for

all

the other personal property,

At

bequeathed to another.

present,

dias, Gazetteers, &c., accessible

on the one gor

on

one heir as an

we have Penny

Magazines, Cyclopse-

by the meanest. Knowledge, whilst soaring,

haixl, to the highest regions,

in all dh-ections, has,

left to

even of considerable value,

tlie

and expanding with increasing

vi-

other hand, followed the general tendency

o^ our age, th&t o? popularization, while, at first, it greatly co-operated in It is of no use to speak of •' penny literature " with the bringing it about. sneer of learned aristocracy.

The cheap

catechisms which contain the sim-

" penplest and most important principles of Christianity, belong to the ny literature;" and complaints, too, were raised in early times against the Christian religion, on account of its having no mystery for an initiated few.

Editor.

itoh

.

expressions used in f Sal and sakro (salt and salt-cellar) are very common Andalusia with reference to beauty and endearment, thongh the author deviates

somewhat from the Spanish use, which generally employs tliese strange Sakro del alma,

expressions as terms of endearment between the two sexes. salt-cellar

she ;ire

is

of

very

my

salt,

soul,

tknt mucha

sal,

she has

salado y vaknion del alma,

frequently used.

— F.niTon.

salt

much one

salt, es

:ind

muy salada, my soul,

hero of

—

92

(

)

whom I

might mention yet a whole list of deviations from the But we do not only meet in reality with persons who

rule.

in plain prose the creations of the poet;

would be considered

you of many events and occurrences which have happened, as I myself know, in real life, and yet would not be tolerated in a novel, merely on account of their esI could tell

sential improbability, or impossibility, perhaps, as the critic

would have and yet

Like

it.

mountains

Italian

were

so purely blue, that,

them, they might be considered

a

as

at a distance, so

dark

landscape painter to copy

belonging

to the

scenery

of a land of visions. I

found

my friend

pensive and sad

does not often indulge; but reason of his melanclioly, that he had

A

humor

that

in

which he of the

could not but agree with

him

it.

friend of his had lately arrived from the

West

Indies

whose beauty was enhanced most melancholy charm, which told that Death had

with his

by

a

when he imformed me

I

good cause for

—

sister, a

lovely girl, but

entered in his book of record, opposite her name, the fearful

word

The

Consumption.

spotless teeth, such as

we

transparent whiteness of her

observe only in those, whose

veins have drunk of the poison of that disease, the deep

crimson of her ful

lips,

the brilliant lustre of her eyes, that fear-

ornament peculiar

to

the victims of this fever,

mocking

paints with delicate vermilion the

which

flush, as if in

scorn of health; the pallid cheek, fanned and softened by the wings of inexorable Death,

seems

to

shower

crifices, as

if to

all

who

hovers around and

bloom and charm upon his youthful

say to those

their beauty, and such

my

who

power

to

sa-

remain, " Behold, such

destroy:"

—

ah,

every

thing about this Spanish girl sufficiently proved that there

was no hope in human skill, and that her noble figure, of which nature might have been proud, and her dark and luxthat all these features beaming with kinduriant tresses,

—

ness and intense attachment to her afllicted brother, the last

and only kinsman

left her,

and that her heart, which never

yet had beaten but in purest innocence, would soon be laid

93

(

)

narrow shrine and become

into the

servants of Death.

and never had

saw

1

a

prey

loathsome

to the

and

this lonely

afflicted couple,

beheld a more affecting picture of silent

I

grief and of despairing love; she had his hand in hers, her

eyes fixed upon

very comfort she wished in

of speaking of their ap-

his, as if desirous

proaching separation, but fearful

to pierce his heart

to give

make

himself to belie his fears and griefs, and to

knew

countenance speak of hopes his heavy heart all this in a

not.

his

And

distant country, far from their friends, their sky,

and native tongue!

A

woman

I

know, did

I

by the

him; he struggling with-

my

intwined with

lady,

not

life,

whom

know

would

I

call

the kindest

whose kindness

the one

is

had visited her, indeed, as often as

her sufferings would permit her to see any one besides

her brother.

It

kind be-

true, that the looks of that

is

ing must soon have told the sufferer that joy and grief

quicken the steps of friendship; yet

this friend

had not

been a companion of her youth, she was not a friend of her friends; her appearance

was not

a record

which

told of a

thousand pleasures enjoyed together, a thousand griefs suffered in faithful companionship. is

That balm of friendship

but slowly collected by single drops on a long journey

through

The

life.

physicians had advised the patient to proceed forth-

with to Havre

She was

my

morning, and

to go with her brother the next

friend had had the painful foresight to

ask the latter whether he was prepared to lose his sister

"

on the passage.

"she

will

tinued

my

I

fear," said he, with moistened eyes,

"Then," con-

never see the shores of France." friend, "

you are

to consider

which you prefer

in

case of death, to hand her over to the deep, or to have her

buried on shore."

"

I

tremble at the idea of parting with

" If this be the case,

her on sea."

my

friend, I shall be

obliged to send a cask of spirits on board." so," he

sobbed, overwhelmed

thoughts.

—

Now,

I

at

all

wish Sterne had described

there

is

the it

something heart-rending

"

Do

so,

do

horror of his

to you.

in the idea of sail-

94

(

)

ing on the lonely track of the wide ocean, in that awful

—vastness above

si-

—

you and vastness beneath with the body, yet nothing but the body of a being you love, and love beyond every other human one, close by you. Even the lence

idea of an easy posture in the coffin has something soothing

compared

The human mind abhors being

to this.

obliged

connect the idea of the narrow, the ugly, and especially

to

of that, which, in any other case, would cause the opposite

who have departed from this I know well, upon feel-

to grief, with the beloved

world.

Things of

this

To some,

ing alone.

kind depend,

grave, there to be devoured

the deep,

United

life,

descend into the watery

by the

ill-shaped inhabitants of

horrid.

is

knew when she I

body

the idea of seeing the shrouded

of a once dear companion in

who

a lady lost

me

told

once the story of her

grief,

her husband on a passage from Brazil to the

States, a

few days

after

they had set

sail,

and could

not persuade herself to part with his body, but rather chose

keep

to

it

near her for more than two months, in the

that bodies are preserved on sea.

When

way

asked, " and j'ou

I

did not prefer to let the ocean receive it?" she uttered,

with a shuddering and trembling voice, pressing her hands against her face:

"Ah! and

My feeling on

—a

fishes

gnaw upon!"* The burial

this point is different.

service

community, under the vastest dome of heaven's canopy, surrounded by the unbounded ocean which on the sea

is to

floating

receive the remains of a departed friend, and soon

ingulph those

who

ly regard, should

—

He

that

pest

this faithful picture of

has in

it

know and

for

it is

our whole course through

me, something sublime.

the spot

where our friends

rest

We

*

life,

love, indeed, to

from the

toils

of

life,

soothing to go unseen to their graves, to plant a

flower on the turf beneath which they slumber; but Shakspeaie

est joy

may

him the last tribute of earthbade him die, call up the tem-

are paying

will

and deepest

put his words into our mouths

grief;

in

if this

moments of the great-

he penetrates so intimately our

comes our spokesman, and we quote him unconsciously.

souls, that

— Ein'mu.

he be-

(

can only be obtained by

which reminds you of things, I let the

me

)

placing the body in a liquid

first

a thousand prosaic and contrasting

would much prefer the

burial on the waves,

heaving billows close for ever over him, from

the breath of to

95

life

has

There

fled.

is

and

whom

something elevating

in the contemplation, that thus matter returns to

matter in this wide element; that death has given sustenance to life according to the eternal laws

mencement of with those

who

all

which regulate the ever-

Maker willed them from the comthings. Though the same takes place

changing substance, as

its

sleep in the

bosom of the earth, I think more grandeur to

that that great truth presents itself with

our mind,

when we contemplate

unbroken element which

rolls

nant with a thousand germs of I

never can forget what

this dissolution in the vast,

from pole life in

I felt

to pole,

and

is

preg-

every drop.

when

I

came

to the

end of

Southey's Life of Nelson, where the hero terminates his career in a barrel of rum.

(

96

)

LETTER

Few

things in

life, it

seems

to

VI.

me, can dispose us

to feel

more sad than the looking over of old letters, and yet all

the interest of a sad story,

all

the painful

How,

events related in a vivid style.

our

life

passes before our inward eye!

a hand that

now

is

cold and

once so dearly loved to you; the date of

stiff;

letters,

has

tragic

moments, Here some lines of in such

there the characters

to contemplate, but

some

charm of

it

you

no longer directed

the buoyant style, and jokes,

and puns of others; the blots of burning tears in one; the yellow paper, cut and smoked by the precautious quarantine; the large capitals of a childish correspondent; the brief

but happy

official

information that your petition at length

has been granted ; a colored and embossed note, whose three or four lines remind you of a world of enjoyment; a tattered letter crossed

and crammed; a note written by a

fair

hand,

and which once accompanied some choice wine, when you were sick in a foreign country; a letter from your old teacher with Greek and Latin quotations; the happy writing of your parents, traced by a hand trembling with joy, after

they had learned that a great

were a

still

man

battle

had been fought and you

alive; the unsolicited praise of

of distinguished authority,

who

your own work by

thus begins his cor-

respondence; the malevolent misrepresentation of your best intentions; the joyous information that your election

is

ing on swimmingly—represented in such documents

golies

—

97

(

the history of your it

life

)

around you

—ruins and

which

ashes,

requires courage to contemplate, a strong resolution to

view without

a bleeding heart; while pain retains its sting,

joy almost turns to

grief, since ruthless

time has written un-

der most of these messengers of pleasure

And fect us,

—" past and gone."

our correspondence of elapsed years can thus

if

we

with what feelings do

not lay

down

af-

an old journal

of ours, not a book of lying sentiments, but a brief and true

Why can

record of names, dates, events and facts?

my journal

ly ever take up

of

Rome

are the faint characters I wrote in Greece with

Why

gun-powder, so sadly dear to me?

my

the tattered leaves, which recall to field,

with

life is

in such

moments

looked again

I

—but

was

my

my left side?

Time

has trod

you ever copy-books? I have a I

had

to write in

religious instruction preceding confirma-

useless to dwell

it is

not look at

—Have

book containing the compositions, which the course of

Why

wine and

spread out before us

strides.

one of your earliest

at

I

hard-

mind Waterloo's

withered blossoms, over which

all its

with his hasty and destroying

tion*

can

without feeling something heavy here at

Because human

I

without sadness?

upon these

led to this introduction to

my

things.

epistle,

from

my

be-

York, in the course of my letters to you, that seven years ago I arrived there on the same day,

ing reminded in

and put

my

foot

ball prostrated

reflective;

I

New

on land

me.

in

the same hour, that in 1815 a

This coincidence made

sought the

field,

and

at

me

at the

Wiehawk, on

perpendicularly above the Hudson, from which

view over the whole I

remembered

•

sat

I

had a

city and the bay, the river and the

down and mused.

country, terloo, I

time

a point

that

Thus reminded

of

Wa-

some time ago you asked me

to

The German Protestants, who consider confirmation as the voluntaryrevow which others made for the infant at the font of baptism,

petition of the

allow no person to be confirmed without previous and regular instruction in

our religion and a public examination, which proves the fitness of being admitted to confirmation.

ment exacts

Lutherans and Calvinists do

this instruction.

Editor.

13

this alike,

and govern-

98

(

)

give you a sketch of my adventures in that battle; I determined to comply with your wish, and searched among my papers for a copy, which my mother gave me once, of my

own for,

the

letter,

days of

first

battle.

I

I

was able

to write after the eventful

did not succeed in finding what I looked

but will, nevertheless, give you a sketch of what you

Do

desire.

not expect a kind of memoirs;

I

played too

humble a part in the chorusses of that great drama, though Nor a French sergeant has, I see, published his memoirs. must you even expect a monography. It will be but a very brief sketch, of some little interest perhaps, in as

much

as

we

love to observe

how a

great and

memorable era

has affected a single individual; of what particular elements that

which we know only

was made up; and

we know

in as

as a great historical

much

as

that

be true, when, as a

to

would be void and wanting of

may

fictitious

all

phenomenon

interest,

which

composition,

salient points.

I

it

wish

some Egyptian had noted every evening during one whole year, on his imperishable papyrus, every thing he had done

during the day.

now, had

would be

a

document of no mean value

his occupation been but the superintending of

men engaged But,

It

if I

in building a

thus

tell

you

pyramid, or digging a

a plain, true story,

you must not be

surprised to find strange contrasts, the most

ludicrously placed Life,

by the

some

canal.

common

thing

side of the noblest or gravest.

you know well, does not

select

and

classify,

does not

by gradual transitions, but seems to delight is much like the index of an encyclopedia, where Locke follows Lobster, where Lace precedes Lacepresent things in contrasts,

and

dsemon, and Shakers speare.

in the capital of a altar,

is

the neighboring article to

It places, like the old architects, a

grinning

column, which supports the canopy of an

or covers the walls of the

room where

Jefierson

the Declaration of Independence, with scenes of ote's

life.""

Shak-

monkey

Perhaps the very

spot,

drew up

Don Quix-

on which he fastened his

• Room No. 2, in the Indian Queen in Philadelphia, in which Jefferson dw elt during the memorable Congress, is universally believed to be the room

—

—

99

(

eye when meditating

now

ment,

how he

)

should word that great instru-

We

represents Sancho tossed like a fox.

To

with contrasts every where.

meet

the version of the bible used

by the freest nation of Europe, continues to be prefixed an address to one of England's most obnoxious kings, drawn up in terms of offensive flattery; whilst the sect,

which takes

name from

its

women

of the very

meekness, are

its

sufficient-

Does not the gay

ly bold to speak in their public meetings.

riband of fashion almost touch the gravestone which looks

from the churchyard into Broadway?

Lyon found

Captain

the nest of a snow-bunting built on the breast of a dead in-

and Domitian was brother

fant,*

pasian, and Charles the Fifth's

to Titus

own

and a son of Ves-

sister professed Protes-

tantism.

" Boys, clean your ther, entering

my

Anatomical Tables; "

"He

He

is

for a

old and venerable fa-

was just studying Loder's

I

loose again."

has returned from Elba."

was glorious news

my

rifles," said

room, where

—My

—" Napoleon?"

heart beat high;

boy of sixteen, who had

it

often heard

with silent envy the account of the campaigns of 1813 and -14 from the lips of his two brothers, both of whom had marched in 1813, in common with most young men of good families, as volunteer riflemen,

and returned

as

wounded

officers.

The

one, cured of his wounds, rejoined his regiment; an-

other of

ment

my brothers and myself followed the call of govern-

to enter the

army

as volunteers, though our age

have exempted us from should

we

choose?

all

would

Which regiment

obligation.

Of course one which was garrisoned

near the enemy's frontier, so that

we were

sure not to have

where he drew up the Declaration of Independence, and is shown as such to yet Mr. Jefferson himself, in a letter to Dr. Mease of Philadelphia,

visiters;

states, that

he wrote

that instrument in the

second story of the house

south-west corner of Market and Seventh Streets. It

was

high. *

at that time a

He

two or three story building, but

it is

now

four stories

— EniTon.

In his Narrative of an

Attempt

to reach

at the

then boarded there.

Repulse Bay.

Editob.

—

100

(

campaign

a peaceable

ment among

)

There was

in a distant reserve.

a regi-

the troops near the frontiers of France which

enjoyed a peculiarly high and just reputation;

its

name was

Colberg, bestowed upon the brave band in honor of liant

the only Prussian fortified place

at that

did not surrender to the French.

It

and sturdy Pomeranians,

wretched time which

was composed of brave

a short, broad-shouldered, healthy

In more than twenty "ranged" engagements during

race.

the campaign of —13 and -14, had they

worthy of

their honorable

My

name.

When

selected this regiment.

to

said,

"Well

then,

your mother," he

were

we

go;

With

is it

we?"

She

went

much during

a half-choked voice I said, "

rolled, shall

we went

to

my

father

with your consent?"

We

replied.

big; she had suffered so

shown themselves

brother and myself

the day appointed for the

enlistment of the volunteers arrived,

and

va-

its

defence of the fortress of Colberg, in the year 1806

to her;

our hearts

the

campaign.

first

Mother, we go

to be en-

into our arms, that noble

fell

"Go

wo-

man, worthy of the best times of Rome, and sobbed aloud. *'Go," was

all

her bleeding heart allowed her to utter; and

had she been the mother of twenty sons, she would have fient

them

all.

A

table

was placed in the centre of a square in the city of which several officers were enlisting those who

Berlin, at

offered themselves.

before

we

We

had to wait from ten to one o'clock

could get a chance to have our names taken down;

the throng was so great.

In the beginning of the month of

from Berlin

to

and brothers were calm when

May, we were marched

My

our regiments.

we

mother,

my

sisters,

took leave; tears would

burst out of their burning eyes, which had wept the live-

long night; but they did parting too painful to us. the place of rendezvous. lines,

we looked

for

stolen himself away.

all

they could not to make the

My

father

When

him, to take the

A

great

accompanied us

to

the bugle called us to the

many

last leave;

he had

people accompanied

us out of the city; the beautiful Brandenburg gate was soon

—

101

(

behind us; that

it

we began

looked but forward, happy

I

my lot to carry arms in defence of my country.

was yet

On

to sing.

)

the 16th

we

With all the feelGerman of the north will noble and classical river, when he sees it passed the Rhine.

ings of veneration with which a

ever regard that

for the first time,

was mixed

patriotism such as )^ou

in our breasts a

may expect

to find

glowing of

only in one whose

had fallen in that exciting time. On the we May passed in review before Prince Bliicher, in Namur. On the 26th we marched to a village called Voistin,

morning of

life

25th of

and were incorporated with our regiment.

Its colonel re-

ceived us with a calmness which almost bordered on cold-

was always

ness; he

so.

In the most trying moments, or

when

the cry of victory was raised after a long and doubtful struggle, his face

Our men called him Old him for his justice and bravery, and men. Every man of the army or navy will

betrayed no emotion.

Iron, yet they loved his love of his

understand me.

On

the second of June

we had

our

first

regiment, and the colonel declared that

parade with the

we had

ing of old soldiers; he was satisfied with us.* to be tried.

I

saw on that day,

man who was sergeant in our herself so much that she could gown, when, another

girl

longed

for the first time, the

wo-

regiment, and distinguished boast of three orders on her

after the peace, she

another sergeant.

the bear-

We

was married,

in Berlin, to

In a second regiment of our brigade was

serving as soldier; but she was very different

from our sergeant; her sex was discovered by mere accident; she had marched instead of her brother, that he might sup-

Y6u probably

port their aged parents.

and the

recollect Pochasca,

who followed her lover to the army, fought by was known to nobody but him, was wounded and

girl

his side,

discovered herself only just before she breathed her the Berlin hospital, •

The

—

infantry volunteers,

who were

panies, called detachments, one of

giment, according' to the number

Editor.

last in

to the Princess William. all

riflemen, formed separate com-

which was added

who had

to each battalion or re-

enrolled for a certain regiment.

102

(

We marched to On

the 9th

we

)

Longueville, seven leagues from Brussels.

received lead to cast our

balls,

the

being

rifles

of different calibre, as each volunteer had equipped himself. It is

man

one of the most peculiar situations a

mind can be

in,

when he

of reflecting

casts his balls for battles near at

hand.

In the evening

whom

was lying with two comrades, one of

I

was a Jew,

in a hay-loft; the crazy roof allowed us to

We spoke of home. "My father," said

see the brilliant stars.

the one, " told

me

he was sure he would not see

me

again,

though he never attempted to keep me back," and, added he, " I feel as if I should fall." A ball entered his forehead in the

first battle,

the Jew, said, "

and killed him on the

Nobody

has told

lieve I shall remain on the field." battle of

throat.

spot.

—

home, though with

a scratched skin."

the whole night.

ground, on which

We marched the whole day and

In the morning

the battle-field of Ligny;

we

we

arrived not far from

Before us was a rising

halted.

we saw innumerable

troops ascending

the plain with flying colors, and music playing. a sight a soldier loves to look

Napoleon, that the earth seemed

I

at.

to

soldiers

played

at cards

belong to these

Orders for charging were given;

more and more.

carried cards in their knapsacks

them away, believing

that they bring bad luck.

and carried none, but

timid superstition disgusted

me

made

this

so, that I

up a pack and put it in my knapsack. consisted of very young men, nearly patient for battle, and

was

cannot say, with

the pressure of the coming battle was felt

who

It

be proud to carry so

to

we were proud

brave men, but

brave and calm masses.

Some

Thus,

fulfilled.

the morning of the 15th the general was beaten; hostili-

had begun on the 14th.

many

be-

the

Ligny, before he had fired a shot a ball cutting his " And I," said I, " shall be brushed, but, I think,

shall return

On

second,

me of my death, yet I He fell at my side, in

strangely every prophecy of that night was

ties

The

I

threw

had never

poor instance of purposely picked

Our whole company who were im-

all lads,

a thousand questions in their

—

103

(

)

who

excited state to the old, well-seasoned sergeant-major,

had been given ble calmness,

to us

from the regiment.

which neither betrayed

fear nor excited cou-

amused us much. plain, and by one

rage, but took the battle like a drilling,

We

now marched

His imperturba-

up the sloping

again,

Our

o'clock, in the afternoon, arrived on the battle-ground.

destiny was

first

a trying reserve; the enemy's brass played

hard upon us; shell shots

men I

around us and took several

fell

We were commanded to lie down;

out of our column.

piqued myself on not making any motion when

shells

were

one of their

He

lin.

he

fall,

officers

rode up to

he would do

He

soon after

the

fire,

when our

had been a near neighbor to us in Ber-

me as

me to write home should me should I be shot down.

and asked

much

We

fell.

balls or

Behind us stood some cavalry;

flying over us.

for

longed most heartily to be led into

officer, a well-tried soldier, for

own

yet exercised our right of electing our

we had

officers, as

of us had sufficient experience, spoke these few words: " friends, fire;

it is

you are

tried at once

you upon your conduct.

by the severest

Look

shall not find yourselves

up

My

easier to fight than to stand inactive exposed to test,

me, and

at

show then

that

My honor depends

can be calm as the oldest soldiers.

two

not

none

I

promise you, you

At

mistaken."

length, at about

o'clock, an aide of the general of our brigade galloped

to our

column, and said to the colonel: " Your column

must throw the enemy out of the

left

wing of the

village."'

Presently the colonel rode up to us and said, " Riflemen, you are young,!

am afraid too ardent;

calmness makes the soldier,

hold yourselves in order;" then he turned round: "March

and the

dull, half-sufibcated

drum, from within the deep

lumn, was heard beating such delicious music.

was

all to

be realized for which

suffered so

many

fatigues,

The

signal

out to the right and

Our ardor now

we

we were

was given

left

had

left

Now,

co'-

at last,

our homes, had

had so ardently longed

bugle gave the signal of halt; of Ligny.

!"

for.

The

in front of the village

for the riflemen to

march

of the column, and to attack.

led us entirely

beyond the proper

limits; the

—

104

(

section to

which

the enemy,

I

who

)

belonged ran madly, without

My

retreated.

hindman*

toward

firing,

fell;

rushed

I

on, hearing well but not heeding the urgent calls of our old

The

sergeant.

village

was intersected with thick hedges, fired upon us, but we

from behind which the grenadiers drove them from one to the other.

and what

to fire

ought

I

I,

forgetting altogether

have done, tore the red plume

to

from one of the grenadiers bear-caps, and swung

it

over

my

head, calling triumphantly to

we

arrived at a road crossing the village lengthwise, and the

my comrades.

now succeeded

sergeant-major had

At

length

in his attempt to bring us

somewhat back to our reason. There was a house around the corner of which he suspected that a number of French lay. "

Be

cautious," said he to me, " until the others are up," but

I stepped round and a grenadier stood about fifteen paces

from me; he aimed well,

my boy,"

at

me,

ing.

fell; I

found

my

I

Several times

I

was

face;

good sound

really a

regiment had ever fought,

rough

as

I

was

battle, to

delighted.

or, in fact,

I

observed a hog and a child both equally be-

omit observing contrasts,

young ones and

I

member, made me

• Riflemen,

when who

I

in the

striving to protect

A

never can

them

in this

degree of vanity,

beginning of the

thought that a man's

life

battle, feel

I re-

very

depended upon

attack as tirailleurs and never shoot without aiming, are

placed two by two together.

These couples

whilst the other aims, and vice versa.

the other liind-man.

I

noticed a bird anxiously flying

tremendous uproar and carnage. important,

any

All I had feared

should not have the honor of assisting in a tho-

battle.

its

ask

and when

Dennewitz, one of the most

wildered; they must have soon been killed, and as

about

he was dy-

battle,

sanguinary engagements in which our regiment

I

My

shot ever fired in battle.

they told me, as heavy a one

was, that

Aim

hair on the right side; I shot

approached old soldiers in the

this

"

who saw me.

had shot through his

my first

This was

them whether

my rifle at him.

said the sergeant-major,

antagonist's ball grazed

and he

I levelled

Editor.

assist

each other, one charges

One of them

is

called tlie fore-man,

—

105

(

my

)

After about an hour,

trigger.

got the proper

Irempe*

vering a well,

I felt

was calmed down, and

I

a parchuig

tliirst,

and disco-

took a canteen from the knapsack of a

I

dead soldier, contrived

to fasten it

by thongs obtained

in a

drew up some water. A captain, seeing me, partook of it, and made some remarks about my calmness, which made me feel proud. It happened where the fire was briskest. But I cannot tell you all the similar way, to a pole, and

—

details of the fight,

bloody and so long as that of Ligny;

battle, so

of

my

and what a soldier personally does

friends I have seen falling dead or

me, how desperately we

wounded around

fought on both sides for the pos-

session of the village; and

three times renewed, while

how the troops against us were we received no succour. Suf-

fice it to say, that the battle lasted in all its

The

in a

how many

vigor until dark.

was four times taken and retaken; the last time we had to march in a hollow way, which leads across the centre of the place, and where the struggle had been the village

hottest

all

the afternoon.

Three or four layers of dead and

living, men and horses, impeded the progress of the soldiers, who were obliged to wade in the blood of their comrades,

or to trample upon wounded enemies, imploring them give some assistance, but to

whom

This

turn a deaf ear, whatever might be their feelings. last

attempt to regain the village,

to-

they were obliged to

when

I

was

called

upon

to

getting a cannon over the mangled bodies of com-

assist in

rades or enemies, leaping in agony

when

the heavy wheel

crossed over them, has impressed itself with indelible horror

upon

my

mind.

I

might give you

seen in no picture of a carnage,* painted; but

All I

my

details such as 3'ou

by whatever master

have

it

was

why?

ammunition was exhausted except one

ball,

which

was anxious to save, should any cavalrist attempt to sabre

me. so I

It

was impossible

was obliged,

for •

for

me

to get

new ammunition, and

more than an hour, Temper of steel.

14

to be present at the

Editor.

—

106

(

fire as a

mere

spectator.

)

would not have gone back on

I

any account, though the commander of our company once advised

me

do

to

In the course of the battle, one of

so.

my

friends had, in the heat of the engagement, put his ball into

before the powder.

It is

things that can happen to a

young

the

rifle

one of the most painful soldier.

There

is

a kind

of stigma or suspicion attached to this mishap; besides,

who

likes to leave the battle?

and get the

Yet I advised him

ball extracted.

with a stick," he exclaimed.

He

balls until

he

I

fell.

now

the enemy's

fired

tried to do the same, but

guns enough were strewed on the ground,

I

though

found no car-

box with ammunition.

tridge

Toward evening more;

more and was impossible; our troops were became dark; the bugle blew to

the cavalry began to press us

to regain the village

thinned to the utmost; retreat,

The

go back

then took the gun and am-

munition from a dead Frenchman, and

own

to

" I'd rather fight the whole day

when

signal

it

horse grenadiers approached to charge us.

was given

to

form heaps.^

It

was now, when

men began for the first time to show The colonel observed it by the irregular beat of the gun, when he commanded " Ready." But as if he were on the drilling place, he said, "Your beat is bad; have we drilled so long for nothing? down with your guns; now, 'Ready;'" and every man was calm again. Treat retreating, that our

uneasiness.

good soldiers

soldier-like,

and good

sailors sailor-like,

and

you may always depend upon them. The cavalry charged, but we received them according to the rule, " No firing until

you see the white of their eyes;" and they were reMy brother had been wounded in the foot and was

pelled.

obliged to ride the night through on the pointed cover of

•

Infantry forms, at the approach of cavalry, regular squares; but,

when

troops are so thinned and dispersed as the regiment Colberg- was toward the

end of

this battle, or,

when

the attack of cavalry

is

too sudden and unex-

pected to admit of their regular formation, mere heaps

ai'e

formed; that

the infantry run together and imitate a squai'e as well as they can.

Editor.

is,

107

(

He

an ammunition car.

uncomfortable ride of

it,

)

assured

me

which

willingly believe.

I

afterwards he had an

Of our whole company, which, on entering the engagement, mustered about 150 strong, not more than from twenty to thirty combattans remained. The old soldiers of our regi-

ment

treated us ever after this battle with signal regard,

while, before

We

boys.

it,

tempted twice

by

to

enemy.

the

they had looked upon us rather as beardless

marched

all

night.

On

we

the seventeenth

at-

go to bivouac, but were twice disturbed

we made

Suffering greatly from hunger,

a

meal of raw pork, having met with a hog.

Toward evening

I

was sent with some others

to get

what-

ever might be obtained in the shape of victuals, from the sur-

rounding

villages. It

we

of every thing,

was

a sad charge

found a young

the side of her father,

who had been

by some marauding enemies.

we had

bread;

none.

!

We

In one house, stripped

woman with

She asked us

We received this

by

for a piece of

gave her some potatoes which

had just found, but she said she had nothing with.

an infant,

beaten and wounded

to

we

cook them

day the order of the army,

which

in

Bliicher spoke in high terms of the conduct of the infantry

during the battle; our regiment was singled out by name.

We marched rents;

a great part of the night.

Rain

fell in tor-

had rained the whole of the 17th; the roads were

it

Early in the morning of the 18th we found part

very bad.

of our regiment from which

we had been

separated.

It

was

a touching scene, to see the soldiers rushing to each other, to find ing.

no

comrades

We

rest.

passed the against a

had believed

to be

dead or miss-

quiet,

enough

began early on the 18th our march.

marshal, wrapped up in a cloak

hill,

a delight to

"Be

whom wc

Our men were exhausted, but old Bliicher allowed us

As we

and leaning

it was always " Old one," as he was called.

our soldiers began to hurrah, for

them

my

to see the

lads," said he;

after the victory is

"hold your tongues; time

gained."

He

issued this

morn-

ing his famous order, which ended by assuring our that he

would prove the

possibility of beating

two days

army after

108

(

)

a retreat, and, with inferior numbers; and

which concluded

with the words, ^'We shall conquer because

we must

con-

quer."

We

entered the battle with Bliicher in the afternoon:

you know the history of been again our

It had memorable day. for some time, in

this

lot to stand,

unengaged

we saw some

sight of the battle;

brilliant

stood the huzzars,

charges of our

Not

cavalry putting to rout French squares.

from us

far

commanded by Colonel Colomb. An

came with the order

vance!" called the colonel,

aide

" Volunteers, ad-

to charge a square.

— intending form the body — when the whole regiment, to

as

for the attack of volunteers,

by magic, advanced some steps. He was obliged to order Numerous wounded a company in the common way. Marshal Bliipassed by us while we stood there inactive. cher rode by, and when he observed our uniform, said, "Ah, my Colberger, wait, wait a moment, I'll give you presently if

something

We

do."

to

suffered dreadfully

from the cravings of hunger.

I

found a peasant in the cellar of a house near the road, and threatened to shoot him instantly unless he gave us bread.

He

assured us he had none.

him, while

I

would seem

ys a small

loaf.

palate are,

who

Let

a

No

my

told

I

to prepare to shoot

comrade

to hold

him; he brought

one knows what the enjoyments of the

has not really suffered from hunger or

thirst.

shipwrecked man, who floated for many days with the

scantiest supply of water, tical sun, tell lie felt,

under the scorching rays of

you what he

when,

suffered,

a ver-

and describe to you what

time again, he could quaff the de-

for the first

licious crystal liquid, without the jealous eyes of his fellow sufferers fixed

upon him, counting with the envy of

a

maniac

moments we

receive

an enjoyment, which ever

after gives us a different

view of

the senses through which

we

each draught he takes.

It is in

such

obtained

it.

pear to us in their true light, sanctified by

They then all

tance and necessity in the great world of creation see

how

ap-

their impor;

we

their subtle organization forms a powerful

then

means

(

109

)

of connecting scattered elements, and our inmost soul perceives that they, too, are the gifts of a great God. It

was heart-rending

to halt, as

we

did in the evening, on

Fires were lighted,

the field of battle after such blood-shed.

wounded might creep

that the

in,

for march,

and

when

anxiety was great

in attracting the attention of

delivered

me

my

from

hearty laugh at

The

heard the signal

found

I

I

could

It

up a tremendous shouting, and

I set

ed

my

found a hen-

I I

was perfectly dark; I groped about, but, to At last discomfiture, I found no way of escape.

not get out. utter

them.

and the door shut after me;

house, got

my

to

my

after

awhile succeed-

some of our regiment, who

unpleasant situation, and enjoyed a

expense.

body of the Prussian and English armies marched toward Paris; but half of our army corps, to which great

I belonged, received orders to pursue

thrown himself upon Namur.

We

Vandamme, who had

marched the whole of

the 19th; the heat was excessive, and our exhaustion and

two men of our regiment became de-

thirst so great, that

We

ranged in consequence.

ture

chewed

by the wheels of the cannons.

made

No

clay, over

which the

had marched, and thus had pressed out

artillery

the attempt soldier

is

through a place,

—but

I

my

In

to step

mois-

could not.

allowed by the regulations,

wells on the road; but

its

despair I even

when marching

out of the ranks or to drink from

when we marched

in the course of this

day through Gemblours, where the people had placed large tubs before their doors,

filled

with water,

them some drank

officers

and privates

Such was the impression then made upon me by the consuming thirst, that, for a long time after, I was unable to see liquid

fell

pellmell upon

;

their last draught.

of any kind, without feeling an intense desire to swallow

though

I

might not

in the afternoon

and now

at the

we went

my strength

time

feel thirsty.

to bivouac;

forsook me.

I

the troops, and began to lag behind; feeling to me, but

I

we

it,

At four o'clock

started early again,

could not keep up with it

was

could not do otherwise.

a

most painful I

tried to get

(

hold of a cannon: an

even

to take

permit

me

)

artillerist, pitying

my appearance, wished

on the cannon, but his

Suddenly,

it.

the battle of

110

at

Namur had

about noon,

begun.

I

would not

officer

heard the

Heavens, and

my corps! My strength was suddenly restored;

guns;

first

not with

I I

ran across

enemy were mowing down the high wheat, toward the commander of our brigade, whom I asked him, " Where is my reI espied on an elevation. a field, in

which the

He

giment?"

me

balls of the

very angrily turned round:

"Who

here during the engagement? go to the d

soon as he began to observe

me more

disturbs

," but as

narrowly,

my

ex-

hausted appearance, my youth, and particularly when I quickly said, " Sir, I ask, because I want to fight," he bent

down from tone,

my face, and my rifleman?"

his horse, stroked

"What

do you want,

said, in a I

mild

repeated

my

showed me where I had to go, gave me to drink, and called after me, " Come and see me after the bat" I do," said I. Two minutes aftle: do you understand?" ter he fell. He was a most kind officer, and the soldiers said question; he

he treated the riflemen too kindly.

where my regiment stood, or, as I should band representing it, I dropped down, but fortunately one of my comrades had some eggs, one of which gave me great strength. Our colonel came up to us, saying, " Riflemen, you have twice fought like the oldest soldiers; I have to say nothing more; this wood is to be bugleman, the signal!" and off we went cleared; be calm

When

I

arrived

rather say, the

little

—

with a great hurrah hill

—

!

driving the French before us

toward Namur, which lay on our

like his predecessor

rushing too

fast

down

—was

the

killed.

hill, I

was

My

front.

When

I

afraid that

down

a

hindman

saw our men some enemies

might be hid under the precipice to receive them. Holding myself with my left hand by a tree, I looked over the

saw about seven Frenchmen. " They will thought, and turning round to call to our soldiers,

precipice, and hit

me,"

I

I suddenly experienced a sensation as if

were compressed

in

my

my

whole body

head, and this, like a

ball,

were

111

(

quivering in the else; it

was

was able

my

open

to

I

air.

could feel the existence of nothing

most painful

a

)

me

found myself on the ground; over

enemy.

at the

I

After some time, I

sensation.

eyes, or to see again with them; I

stood a soldier firing

strained every nerve to ask, though in

broken accents, whether, and if so, where I was wounded. " You are shot through the neck." I begged him to shoot

me; the idea of dying miserably, half of hunger, half of my wound, alone in the wood, overpowered me. He, of course, refused, spoke a word of comfort, that, perhaps, I might yet be saved, and soon after himself received a shot through both knees, in consequence of which he died in the hospital, while I

am now writing

an account of his sufferings here, in

Ame-

rica.

My thirst was beyond description; ing.

my

I

thought

sins, as I

it

my

forgave

all; I

recollect I prayed for

beloved ones; and,

speedy end of fore

my

my mind.

chest,

gave

me

I

a

a feverish burn-

should die, and prayed for forgiveness of

I

and begged the Dispenser of blessings

upon

was

if it

my

received a second

more

shower

Napoleon; his

bounty

could be, to grant

All

sufferings.

to

ball,

me

a

relations passed be-

which entering

local pain than the first; I

my

thought

my fervent prayer. I'perceived, as I supposed, that the ball had pierced my lungs, and tried to breathe hard to hasten my dissolution. At several periods I heard God had

granted

soldiers passing I

by and making

their

had no power of giving any sign of

remarks upon me, but life.

A

boy, the son

of a colonel, was led by an old soldier past me; I could see them dimly, and heard the boy exclaim, " Oh, my father 1" I

heard afterwards that his father had been killed, and the se-

cond I

in

now

command had fell

sent the

into a deep

boy out of the

fire.

swoon; the ideas of approaching

death, the burning thirst, and the fever, created

by

my

wounds, together with the desire which had occupied our

minds so often during the good quarters, produced

last days,

a singular

lively and as like reality as

it

was

of seeing once

more

dream, which was as

strange.

I

dreamt that

112

(

)

had died and arrived before the gates of heaven, where

I

presented

my

Peter looked

St.

billet.

at

it,

and

I

was ad-

I

mitted into a wide saloon, where an immense table was spread out, covered with the choicest tal

transported with joy, yet

drink?"

St.

and with crys-

fruits,

most cooling beverages.

vessels filled with the I

asked, "

Do

do

so,

partake of them,

no evil

effects in

possible there without food

I

my

who were

but that those

felt

went

was

who wished

Peter answered, that those

enjoy these refreshments, as was probably at liberty to

I

people here eat and

case,

unwilling to

consequence; to

to

were

life

was

one of the crystal

bowls, and drank in deep draughts the refreshing liquid.

awoke, and found

I

me

a soldier

out of his canteen what

bending over

deliciously and vivifyingly did

But

at a later period I

me

and giving

long believed to be wine, so

I

happened

it

course through every vein.

to

meet the same

soldier,

learned that this reviving liquid was simple water.

It

and

was

extremely hot, and the wounded suffered very much; but this heat, so painful to us, saved

out any bandage over

my

perhaps

wounds,

I

my

life,

since with-

soon must have bled

to

death, had not the clogged blood served instead of a ban-

dage, and stopped in a measure farther bleeding. I

succeeded

in

expressing to the soldier

my

wish that he

me away;

would return with some men

to carry

mised

again became senseless, and

to return,

when

I

but did not.

I

awoke found myself digging

ground, as

I

had seen so

previous battles.

I

speedy dissolution.

many

in

of the dying

he pro-

agony

in

men do

the

in the

shuddered, and prayed once more for a I

had, fortunately, in

my

agony and

struggle, turned from the precipice; had I turned toward it,

I

must inevitably have perished.

clivity,

was such

My

situation,

on a de-

that I could see into the plain of

Namur,

was rejoiced, when I saw by the fire that our troops had, by this time, hard pressed the enemy. My strength was fast going, and when, toward evening and

I

I

was awakened by the peasants sent

ed, but

who

found

it

more

to collect the

wound-

profitable to plunder the dead or

11^

(

)

such of the wounded, as could ofter no resistance, and to

throw both

into the fosses, the

could not speak;

foe, I

common

felt as

I

grave of friend and

was weighing

a rock

if

upon every limb and muscle. They searched

me

and money, and rudely stripped increased

my

wounds.

At

and renewed the

pains last I

was enabled

for

my

that not only

was

I living,

ficiently sensible, to be aware of

One

ation.

un

of

them

said, "./?/«,

eyelids,

but that

my

I

the horrors of

all

mon

camarade, tu

When

etat quHlfaict que tu creves!'^

my

bleeding of

move my

to

this motion, as well as, probably, the expression of

showed them

watch

of m}^ clothes, which

and

look,

was

suf-

my

situ-

es

dans

they had nearly

finished their w^ork, I heard a loud threatening voice, a shot,

and

a

scream of one of the peasants, upon which they

Soon

absconded.

after a soldier of the

Westphalia

He

himself wounded, dragged himself toward me.

all

militia,

had

seen the peasants at their nefarious work, and fired upon

He saw my

them.

below

a surgeon

and dress

my

when he espied to him to come hour work is left off,"*

helpless situation, and

in the valley,

"At

wounds.

he called

this

he replied, and proceeded on his way. tended

to fire at

him

also,

from loading quickly enough. soon with assistance.

I

He

feared he

My

protector in-

wounds prevented him

but his

promised

me

to return

would not return, and saw

him, with a heavy heart, disappear behind the trees; but he did not deceive me.

At

—

painful as it was to him some peasants, who dressed me with the clothes of the dead around me, and made a litter, by means of guns; upon which they carried me into the valley, to a farm where the surgeons were. All the lint had been used, and it was necessary to cut open the uniform I had on, and

about 9 o'clock he returned,

to walk,

employ

— with

the

make me

wadding of

as a substitute.

it

A

eat small crumbs, but I could not

muscle without great pain. *

Es

isl

jezt Feierabend.

15

—Enrroii.

sutler tried to

move

a single

114

(

)

A short time after, a false alarm spread that the French were coming up again; wounded

soldiers are full of apprehension,

and the rumor was believed.

by

for I had,

me away;

take

soner

me

nothing so

I feared

He

when wounded.

carry lime, got

me

into

it,

much

as well as

the road to this farm w^e I

be taken pri-

met

a

made

to

he could, and carried

from the main road.

to a fcirm at a distance

company.

as to

fetched a wheelbarrow,

my

during this time, were excruciating;

On

my kind friend, my speech, to

implored

I

somewhat recovered

this time,

My

bandages

pains,

fell off.

wounded sergeant of

my

heard the militia-man ask him whether he

knew me; he answered in the negative, and I could not tell who I was. My head had struck against the wheel, and my wound had bled anew. " Poor fellow," said the sergeant, " may God assist you;" then, addressing the militia-man, I heard him express his serious doubts as to the possibility of

my

recovery, but requesting him to take care of

me

as long

as I should be alive.

The house

which

to

kind companion tried ground;

mency after

I

rained hard,

it

was taken, was

to

of the weather.

of wounded;

full

my

make some room for me on the and we were exposed to the incle-

my friend

In the morning,

me

having recommended

left

me

to the care of an officer of our

Toward noon a coal-cart some of the wounded to Namur; the officer into it and I then heard him say, " Fetch that

regiment, shot through the belly. arrived, to take

was

carried

;

rifleman:" but those

another in

my

place,

who were and

I

to execute his order,

took

could not speak loud enough to

correct the mistake.

By

the time that evening arrived, the

wounded had

gi-eatly

diminished;

selves to town, had done so. prietor of the house ly, into his

own

— an

house.

old

could eat but very

a son in the army.

who

little.

number of

the

could carry them-

Late

in the evening, the pro-

man

— came, slowly and shy-

He made some

manner, which betrayed much I

all

porridge, and in a

feeling, tried to feed

The poor

old

me, but

man had himself

115

(

On

)

the 22d every one was carried out of the house ex-

We

cept myself and three others, with equally bad wounds.

had not strength to make ourselves sufficiently noticed when

We

the carts arrived.

remained together the whole day in

man had

companionship; the old

silent

he had attempted

after

to feed

the house soon

left

On

me.

the 23d, in the

forenoon, I resolved to creep out of the door, should I perish

by

in the attempt, in order to stand a chance of being seen

passengers. I

It

must have been more than two hours before

succeeded in reaching the road, though but a few rods

from the house;

I fell

from one swoon into another.

persons, passing by, threw

At

do with money? had remained

They

by.

my

face

in

last

Namur,

money

two

to

have their

rifles

me by my

was incrusted with blood and

me by my

boots,

which

tlie

my

soldiers of

could not recognise

Many

me, but what was

to

I

to

company, who

repaired, passed features, because

earth, but they

knew

plundering peasants had not

protect the soles of

It was my custom, in order to my boots, to drive nails in, all over them,

and every evening

I

succeeded in pulling off

new

used to put in a

found the head of an old one gone.

nail,

wherever

I

This had given them

almost the appearance of a steel plate, and as they could be plainly seen

by

passers by, did

me

the essential service I

have mentioned.

As soon

ing by, to serve as ing by, to carry across

my

me

wounded

escort,

to depart, and the

new comer

arrived at the house

carriers

was allowed

obliged to take his place.

where

my

wounds had been

we found

make room for me, and it was accordingly

it

a cart lite-

was necessary

done.

to

The dipping

on the paved was excessively anand made the French scream lustily, at which

motion of the two-wheeled

cart, the jolting

roads, such as they are in that country, us,

to

pass-

Whenever we came

my

crowded with wounded French; but

noying to

who was

and obliged four persons go-

dressed on the evening of the 30th, rally

soldier,

toward Namur.

any one on the road, one of

When we

me, they managed

as the soldiers recognised

get a stable-door, begged a

116

(

)

me

a soldier of our regiment, the only Prussian besides

in

the cart, and himself very grievously wounded, swore in great anger.

When we entered the city of Namur, the inhabitants showed much kindness to us; so much, indeed, that it became annoying. One man, I think he was a hair-dresser,

my

upon washing

insisted

face,

me

ry touch he gave caused

though

We

were taken

to the

were obliged

Meuse, where two

Two

chained together, received the wounded.

my

deavored here to dress

many

found

of

my

The

comrades.

Toward evening,

the vessel in which

besides which

rained.

it

girls

We

en-

shirt,

thanked the kind souls;

I

and they gave me, in addition, some currants. sel I

to

vessels,

my

wound; and changed

with blood, for a clean one.

stiff

that eve-

The French were

carried to their hospital, but the Prussians

proceed.

him

I told

great pain.

In the ves-

sun was very hot.

was drew water;

I

At Huy,

much.

suffered

where we arrived at about midnight, we received some bread, but we wanted surgeons. In the morning, at about eight o'clock,

Liege; the inhabitants received us with ness. five

I

was carried

into a house,

wounded, and two young

After they had dressed to

my

one of

tried to support I

me

I

arrived in

possible kind-

found four or

most disgusting

consciousness

the yard; that

I

to the hospital; as

my wounds

said

felt

I

required

he was in the thigh,

we had who found me in me to be placed on a litter, and when returned, I found myself on my way to but soon after

in getting there;

A

lady,

was rung, the doors opened, and I

state.

I

the hospital, which was established in an old convent. large bell

them;

in dressing

as well as they could,

fainted away.

this state, ordered

my

in a

He, wounded

proper attendance.

the house,

busy

we

comrades, a school-mate of mine, that

needs must try to get

left

me

where

ladies

some of the wounds were already

all

very unhappy.

The

I

hospital

was placed, with many others, on straw

besides, the uniform

I

now had on

did not

— Tht;

was carried into was

so full,

in the

yard;

my

rank.

show

117

(

Every morning a

)

would enter

cart

into the yard, stop in the

would pass along the straw, to see he found one whose life was extinct, he

centre, and the driver

who was

dead.

If

him out and

pulled

were very quick

to

him

carried

show by

The

to the cart.

living

their motions, that they

were

not yet ready for the cart.

At

length, I succeeded in getting a place in the

with another.

my

Close to

same bed

bed lay a dragoon, whose

left

arm, shoulder, and part of the chest had been carried away

by

a shell shot, so that part of the interior could be seen;

it

was the most cruel wound I have ever beheld. Some time after, a few men, some with one arm, some with one leg, some otherwise wounded, would amuse themselves by marching up and down the long rooms, commanded by

some gay wooden I vvas

So light-hearted

leg.

was found necessary

to prohibit these

the soldier.

is

mock

It

drillings.

once present in the amputation room, when a ser-

geant, after his leg had been taken his pipe, "

was from

Why,

the

fire is

he said

affectation that

off,

gone out it,

exclaimed, drawing

Perhaps,

after all."

but

it

was, at

all

it

events,

soldier-like affectation. I

man

had had a

letter of introduction

Liege,

in

whom

it

to see, in order to obtain the tal;

but

my memory

and credit

to a gentle-

was now very important

failed

for

me

means of leaving the hospi-

me

entirely.

The

cutting off

of several nerves descending from the brain, and the ball

grazing the skull, must have been the causes;

only re-

I

But even if I should be able to find him, would he recognise me? Others had not known me in my sad guise; why should he? Yet I was degained

it

afterwards by degrees.

termined, at

least, to

make

the

trial.

and slowly dragging myself along,

left

I

took a large stick,

the hospital.

I

was

obliged often to rest on the steps in the street, and people

A

showed invariably great kindness toward me.

who

sold fruit took a particular fancy to

ought

to

be hung for allowing such lads as

arms, and overwhelmed

me

woman

me, swore a king I

was

with caresses, which

I

to take

was

in-

— 118

(

hand, anil did

accepting

On

I

was

fourth

tl\e

trial,

When

me

I

refused

At

on the piazza, and imme-

JMy

He

rung

1

hist^

with

the hell

sull'erings

gave

me

were now, for

much money

as

as I

obtained ipiarters in town, and walked every day

I

where any

to a place

soldier could get his

lay wovuuled in Liege, one of

1

wluMi

the servant opened the gate,

to stand

hy name.

the present, at an end.

While

it,

nrade the attempt to tlnd the

1

found the house;

1

gentleman happened

diately called

wanted;

of

in ipiest of, hut did not succeed.

small hope of success. tl^e

mako

to

it.

three different days

genthMuan on

know what

ni)l

my

People very often put money into

of parrying;-

t'apal)le

)

wounds

my

dressed.

brothers was in

the hospital of Brussels, and another in Aix-la-Chapelle just distributed in a triangle.

After

had been

I

with one of our carrieil

on the

met

a considerable time in Liege, 1

company, who

told

litter to the hosj)ital,

me,

tliat,

while

I Avas

he followed on anotlier,

the bones of one of his arms having been shattered; that after

I

had passed

beckoncil

at

belonged

to

He met

by

a

certain

a

buly

corner,

his

carriers

were

the} carried liim into the house;

;

one of the richest wine merchants of the

it

city.

with the utmost kindness in his house, especially

from the young lady, about sixteen yeai'S old. He was glad to tind me, because he could not with case converse with her.

I

went: Julie,

an angel.

woundeil comrade, dist2;usting,

—

this

was her name,

— had

the look of

Alert whenever she could do any thing for anil

— she prayetl

shunning labors, even

not

tlie

my

most

him, when she could not be of

for

anv active service. Often, when painful operations were performing on him. and her assistance was not required, she

would kneel before her

crucifix in a neighboring

pray for the assistance of

Him who

have ever since been unable

to

can heal

all

room, and pains.

I

imagine an angel without

her features. It

was not long before

was delighted

I

at linding this

went

daily to her house.

I

being after such rough hand-

(

ling; the contrast

was immenso.

great youth for a uniform

my

chin

—and with —

seldom seen other?

'ly

a

— the

wound

)

On the other hand, my down iianlly budding on

of a peculiar kind, such as

shall I add, that

we

fell

in love

is

with each

—

(

120

LETTER

Though

I

)

VII.

remained for a long time under the physician's

care in Liege, I returned as soon as possible, for

my

health,

—

my

to

—and too soon

mother, as our soldiers used to

call

company, appropriately expressing in this homely way attachment which an honorable soldier feels towarm the ward his comrades, officers, and regiment; toward that body their

in

which alone he "

he

is

is

worth

obliged to guard against lists

his price,"

and out of which

Our physicians were continually deceptions, when making out the

an insulated nullity.

of convalescents.

The company is the soldier's home; there he knows every body and is known by all; and what a feeling, when, as a battery is to be taken, or some other hard work to be done, the colonel looks round for a few seconds and says. Take the third or fourth in short, the company to which you

—

—

belong!

A

similar feeling extends of course over the

regiment, and, in like manner, as the uniform importance, because

it

is

whole

of great

strengthens the feeling of uniformity

and of honor, and produces a care not coat," so

is

to

" disgrace the

the name, given to a particular regiment in honor

of some signal actions or other worthy deeds, of great

Mere numbers

are too abstract: a regiment

effect.

which has often

stood well the hardest buffetings, will, indeed, confer a peculiar signification

upon such

a

number.

There were,

for

instance, in Napoleon's and Wellington's armies, regiments

—

121

(

)

whose mere number needed only

affords

awaken is more an admirable means of

When,

late in the afternoon of

to be

mentioned

to

every breast a soldier-like feeling; yet a name

in

more

pithy,

significant

—and

rallying in times of danger.

the ISth, our regiment passed Prince Bliicher, he turned to his aide-de-camp, " Colberg?"

answer, and the old

man took

token of respect

off his hat in

There were some moist eyes,

for bur regiment.

With what

sure you.

—" Yes, your grace," was the joy does

a thrilling

I

can as-

not a sailor hear

name of his vessel; and where is the man in the whole navy, where is the American in the whole Union, who would not grieve to see the name of a vessel, which has become the nation's favorite, for instance, of a Constitution, the

Why are the names,

changed

for another not yet historical?

at least,

of famous ships, preserved in the various navies,

when

the vessel herself cannot be kept afloat any longer?

Should for

we have war

again. Congress

might

find a

fit

means

acknowledging the services of the most distinguished

regiments, or rewarding those

who

suffered most, in bestow-

ing upon them peculiar names, taken from the places of their hottest actions, or given in

memory

of our greatest men.

Regiment Washington would not sound badly.

Owing

to

my

able to support

returning to the regiment before its

duties, I fell sick again.

I

I

was

underwent

an attack of the worst kind of typhus fever, and was sent to the hospital at Aix-la-Chapelle.

consciousness

when

I

was brought

W^hen

for several days.

I

I

was

into

it,

in a state of un-

and remained so

awoke, and for the

first

time re-

turned to consciousness, I found mj^self in a long room,

"the Fever Station," ranged along both

in

which there were above sixty beds,

sides.

for

my

main all

brother

there,

who

—the

took

my my acquaintance,

Thus, again separated from

company, and from every human

me

soul of

to the hospital could not re-

knowledge of

my

being in the worst of

the rooms of an hospital, and the atmosphere which car-

ried with

it

to

the senses the quick conviction that I

was

once more surrounded by sick and dying, made a deep im16

—

122

(

pression upon me.

whom

bed,

)

my

saw an old man by the side of

I

immediately recognised for one of the nurses,

I

and asked him where

He

was.

I

he did not understand me.

[

in

French that

my

question in

answered repeated

French, and he told me, " In the hospital of Aix-la-Cha-

denly

What day is it?" the many thousand

"

pelle." all

" Christmas morning."

Sud-

associations, connected in the

mind of a German with Christmas, burst upon me, and, weakened by disease, I cried bitterly.* The old nurse,

*

Christmas

England,

I

is

the most joyous festival in Germany, especially in the Pro-

In Italy, childi'en, as

testant parts.

think,

hang up

is

the custom in the U. States and in

a stocking, into which, during night, the Beffana,

woman answering to the American cryskirtgle, is said to put The name Beffana is a coniiption of Epiphanias, and the chai'acter is represented in the ch-oUcst ways, generally by men, in the streets of many Ita-

an imaginary presents.

Rome, on the

lian places, in

many

fifth

the making of presents

is

before Christmas, children, and

But

of Januaiy, and thereabout.

grown people

begin to " wish,"

too,

sist,

with children, mostly of toys. is

there

among

families;

is

to

con-

nearer the time di-aws, the more mys-

packages come

sci-utinized b_v the children; yet

thing of the kind

The

e.

i.

They

intimate or openly to tell what presents they particularly desire.

tery

Ger-

in

Six weeks

of a character quite different.

in,

whose

size

and form are

none dare to open them, because every

considered taboo in this season.

Sisters

seek a hidden

corner in the house, or go to some aunt to work secretly a purse, a handkerchief, or other articles for

hearsals of farces, written spiracies are going steal a

book

to

members of the family or friends; some have reamong themselves, others of living pictures; con-

on to find out what some person particularly wishes, or to

have others bound

in

the same way,

At

&.c.

last,

Christmas

when, either on Christmas eve or on the morning of the feast, all presents are "laid out," or " built up," as the German phrase is, on large tables, arrives,

in the centre

tapers,

of which stands the Christmas tree, an evergreen, with

When

on moss.

selves to give, or

of the family open.

the parents have arranged every present they have them-

which has been handed

to

them by the

for others, all the tapers are lighted,

If there are grandparents in a family,

them generally takes place on Christmas

when

many

and under which often the birth of the Savior is represented by figures

all

different

" the building up " with

eve; and

what a noise there

the grandchildren are assembled and tiy their toys!

young student, separate from

his

own

take in the Christmas joys in some family or other.

The

There

rents give their presents in such case on Christmas morning.

bachelor, no

members

and the doors flung

is

is

pa-

no

family, that will not par-

We fear

it

is

necessary

—

123

(

Frangois was his name,

you

will

But

feelings.

know

will never

my

will not dismiss this subject

I

and, were he to read this,

it,

my

that I give vent to

But

it is

How

feelings.

it

Kind

old Francois,

how ready

How

to allow

my

me

went

in

closed

by

when,

demands,

its

me!

cious treatment could allow

to

this

my

bed,

I

it

was not yet morn-

thou wert to do any

heavy

a

often hast thou begged the physician

a larger portion,

appetite

at

made walking

service for me, though thy old age

task to thee.

myself

to satisfy

was, and, irritated by fever and inter-

rupted sleep, was angry with thee that ing!

what would

often hast thou tried

calm me, when, watching out of thy time

asked what o'clock

He

gratitude to good old Francois.

paper gratitude be to him?

this

me, and

tried to comfort

and being myself one, soon checked the sad cur-

my

without expressing

to

—kindly

imagine that the mere idea of being surrounded by

soldiers,

rent of

)

time over thee.

in a convalescent state, far

beyond what

a judi-

The grave has probably Be thy memory ever dear

me.

was not long befoie

It

and

I literally suffered,

craving appetite. tain

I

my

—

sickness took a favorable turn,

as I

have already hinted,

was on half

ration,

more, though every morning and evening

for a

whole

to be a

German, to

say to those assure

who

them

feeling"

ration

the physician

feel with the author In the

cannot undcvsland him,

that there

among

when

is

on Christmas

in

made

I

above passage. they

the people toward each other.

would ask Re-

his round.

may believe Germany a universal

tliat

— from a

and could not ob-

We will only when we

us, stir

Every one endeavors

of kind to learn

the wishes of others and secretly to prepare a pleasure, for which the

little

ones will empty their saving boxes, the larger ones paste and paint lamps

and other ornaments at embroidery, &c.,

young

ladies

for the Christmas tree,

so

much

so,

were occupied with

that

fine

work

work

busily

several instances

when

and the

we know

sisters

so late at night for

that their eyes and general health suffered in consequence.

can be abused.

Perhaps, our readers are not aware of the

ladies far surpass others in skill, taste,

and other work

fit

for ladies,

and ingenuity

Editor.

Every thing

fact, that

in all kinds

German

of needle

and that they are ever ready to give pleasure to

those around them, by delicate attentions evinced

work.

many weeks,

ir

making such kind of

124

(

)

duced in strength, and young as I was, I had not sufficient judgment and energy to resist the cravings of my appetite, and began to ask my fellow patients for pieces of bread

which they had

With

left.

greater anxiety have

there a piece of bread travel from bed to bed through sick hands before

it

reached me, than

now

I

seen

I

the

all

wait for the

most savory canvass-back duck. I did not deviate with impunity from the physician's prescriptions; I suffered a relapse,

which brought

given over.

and

still

—

But,

me

so near to the grave that I

The good

often dined, after I interest

stories of

was somewhat restored

— the preaching of some processions of — but others,

was

life

— where —the I

to health,

— the childish disobedience of the soldier

without,

I

survived,

high and low

table of the surgeons,

will lay out his wits to obtain

tastic

I

which grows up among those who have been long

together in a room,

who

—

living.

might give you some good

I

in an hospital.

you know,

as I believe

remain among the

was

carried, before

my

by

stealth a herring

from

to their brethren, the fanthis is not the place for

restoration, to

it.

the hospital of

who had

Cologne, and found again there an apothecary,

al-

ready in Aix-la-Chapelle evinced the warmest interest for

me, and without whose kind

care, I think

probable

it

I

should not write these lines to you. It

was here

time in sion,

my

which

in the hospital of

life,

at

drew from

Cologne that

my own

I,

for the first

experience a conclu-

every subsequent period has been confirmed;

namely, that ignorance creates it,

in

distrust, and, if you extend want of knowledge makes us incapable of acting. As the physical world we must know, before every thing

else,

time and place

—the importance of which

so deeply on our mind, that a traveller,

is

impressed

awakened from sleep

by the stopping of the stage-coach, starts up with the words, Where are we? What o'clock is it? so is it impossible for

—

us to ever,

make a safe step in any occupation or enterprise whatif we have not a just knowledge of our situation.

125

(

Thus,

many

)

acts of genius are considered as demonstrations

of great boldness or moral courage, while, in the sagacity of genius which enables ther than others into the

means of

things, that the attempt

is

due.

Soon

my

after

was so

I

which

their families,

besides the service I

became the

the

I

did with

I

to give the instance

an hospital.

write for

to

much

thus rendered

be able to

as to

me

sit

in

them

to

pleasure, because,

them and

my

father confessor of

agreeable

when

I

in

far restored

bed, soldiers would re{|uest

to see far-

safety, as into all other

—But,

which taught me the above truth

fact, it is to

owner

its

their friends,

older comrades, and

which they generally manifested,

surprise

my

read the letter to them, at

having so well ex-

pressed what they wished to say, but had not been able to

communicate

to

me, was ample reward

for

my

trou-

All went on well, until one day, after having read one

ble.

of these letters to a most stupid fellow, wiio had not yet

home the least information of his having escaped with wound from all the murderous battles, I jocosely said, " You don't believe I wrote all this? I gave quite a different sent

a

Enraged he

account of you."

tore the letter, and I never

succeeded in convincing him, that what a joke; and that I could

count of him, even sh6uld raised in him, and his

I

said

was meant

as

have no interest in giving a bad acI

dare to do

it.

Distrust

powers were too limited

was

to obtain a

The fool's wit is incredulity, as case. The same happens every day between go-

proper view of the Raleigh says.

vernments and nations

to

whom

the former neglect to afford

the means of gaining knowledge. It I

was not

was

until long after peace

had been concluded, that

so far restored to health as to

My family had given

me

l)e

able to travel

home.

up; letters had miscarried, and the

news they had heard of me, was of a kind to encourage them but little; so I truly gave them a surprise. Having arlast

rived in Berlin,

I

went home on

foot

from the

post-office; the

streets, the houses, the shops,

every thing the same, and yet

looking so differently to me.

In one year

I

had grown older

^2G

(

many

years.

was

all as

it

)

stepped into the house and looked around;

I

before; the scenes of

my

which enclosed the persons dearest up

stairs;* I

and

fell

into

a dragoon, pelle,

opened the door;

my

who

arms.

it

until I

saw

me;

I

went slowly

," cried

my sister,

had a dog with me, which

I

died in the bed next to mine, in Aix-la-Cha-

me

with the broken accents of a

The animal had been

going.

is fast

where

childhood, the walls

"Ah!

—Now,

had bequeathed to

man who

to

end of

at

Waterloo,

by a ball; I loved the beast, so did he me, and when he saw my sister hanging at my neck and sobbing, he thought it was high time to defend his master; so he flew at her, most mercilessly tearing her gown, lost the

its tail

and, fortunately, before he did injury to her-

it

The exclamations of my dear sister, the howling of the dog, perhaps my own words, soon attracted all the other members of my family, and almost but where am I? self.

Am

I

writing

my

biography?

Waterloo and Berlin

to

Come, come,

New York

let's leap

from

again.

A scene

which strikingly proves the brisk and constant communication between New York and foreign countries, is

exhibited on board the steamboat, which, on packet days,

takes the passengers to their various vessels, waiting at an-

Some

I made the round in more packets than usual happened to start on the same day. I remember, among others, the Liverpool London, Havre, Hamburg, and New Orleans

chor in the stream.

one of these steamboats,

years ago,

as

Ha-

packets, besides, there were vessels going for Mexico,

vana, Rio de Janeiro, and Calcutta

bound them, and other teresting to see

• lies,

how

Contrary winds had

vessels, for a long

time

It

differently the prospect of the

was

in-

voyage

Houses on the continent of Europe are often Inhabited by several fami-

and generally open. The ringing of the

bell, therefore, is

not necessa-

ry to obtain admission, which,

by the way, has some influence upon

intercourse, in our opinion.

Intrigues could not possibly be so frequent

in

France and

bell,

Italy,

and thus to

—EmTOR.

among many classes, had

attract the attention

social

the visitor always to ring the

of the servants, before he could enter.

—

127

(

affected the passengers.

)

Some young travellers looked beam-

ing with joy at the pleasures they expected from a journey in

Europe; others, agents who had crossed the Atlantic many

some

a time, looked perfectly indifferent, whilst the eyes of ladies

showed

from those

that they had taken leave

their hearts yearned.

A

French agent was

still

for

whom

engaged in

folding up his samples, neatly pasted on morocco, and recapitulating, with a friend, his last instructions.

close to

me, four languages

at

—English,

once

I

heard,

German,

French, and Spanish, which, with the addition of Italian,

you may hear almost any day, when it is most frequented.

When York

walking

in that

in

Broadway,

as

hours

long street, which gives to

the character of a crocodile,

seem but created

at the

secondary

all

New

the limbs of which

appendages

to

its

im-

mense spine, I have often been reminded of the question which Mr. Niebuhr's little daughter asked me, as I was strolling with her in the streets of Naples, then occupied by the Austrian army, composed of Hungarian grenadiers, Bohemian artillery, German musqueteers, Illyrians, and I don't know of what others, of whom that military olla potrida consisted. Besides, there were some Italian and Swiss troops in town.

The

little girl

saw

a soldier in a uniform she

had

never seen before, and, in an Oriental style she asked me, " Di che lingua I queslo soldato?^^* •

Of what

tongxie

is

this soldier?

Editok.

—

128

(

)

LETTER

I

YIII.

to see large cities rise out of bed

LOVE

ber of curious things

when

the

still

we

;

num

see a

morning makes

his pre-

parations for the noisy day, and a populous place rubs her eyes.

out;

A

window is opened, and an old woman peeps an aged man goes to the pump to fetch water; the little small

chimney sweeper

—a

forsaken being

sings his shrill tune; the gardeners

wagonner

tables; the

man.

stomach

Then

in

with their vege-

gets ready to start;

opened, of course, such as tisfy the

over the globe

all

come

sell

some

always and every where the

is

are

stalls

things to eat, because to sa-

the hucksters appear; at

last,

first

wish of

a grisette of a fa-

shionable house looks out of the

window, with the duster

her hand, sees what weather

going to be, and

curiosity

by looking

it is

into the street.

baker rings the house

in

satisfies

her

The iceman comes;

the

bell; the carrier trots

along with the

morning paper, and gradually one profession appears

after

the other on the stage of the day, until every thing

once

more

in the fair road of toil

and bustle, and,

boisterous letter carrier raps at the door, as lictor of a

the other

Roman

is

consul.

The

not less interesting.

if

is

at length, the

he were the

transition of one

day

At one and two

into

o'clock

the seranaders retire, and the bill-sticker appears with his

burden of large papers and the paste pot the longest awake, gain drives It is curious to

him the

Love keeps man

earliest out of bed.

observe the diflference in this respect be-

—

1^9

(

)

In Naples, as soon as the doors of

tvveen different cities.

the small houses are opened, the whole family there the

street;

little

man

they have crumbs of bread, for the

and

Rome,

there; in

it

out in the

bring their break-

to

fast in his buckets, or all start together to

the corner, to take

is

urchins wait with bowls, in which

the

some woman at man with horse's

meat, on a pole over his shoulder, whistles, and

ass's

every cat appears before her door, patiently waiting with a high-arched back and

tail erect, for

her turn; she never in-

When

trudes upon the territory of her neighbor.

milkman comes, not with

are satisfied, the

cows and goats themselves,

to

the cats

cans, but with the

milk the liquid, which

all

somewhat

re-

mankind loves, into the servant's minding you of Eldorado. I have

pitcher,

seen, in other places,

asses brought before the doors of the consumptive, that they

might have the salutary milk fresh from the animal; but in

Rome,

I suspect, dislike of labor is the

London, you see breakfast

on the throats which have

only reason.

swallow

to

In

with tea and coffee (mercy

tables,

it)

steaming and

inviting the passers by; in Paris, the old gentleman, with

small-clothes and striped stockings, takes his breakfast, also, in the

open

air

and reads his paper, which the

down from

cartman peruses in driving the busy part.

New York

in

European

But, generally speaking, the early morning

does not offer so

cities;

many

cry. Potatoes! Mackerel! Old

Clothes! Hair Skins! Maccheroni!

seldom, a person

may

but in

Rome

it

who

offers his

many

there are so

of these peculiar cries,

set in music; and, in

Na-

seems, nothing can be sold, without crying and

clamoring "

and then, though

In Boston, you never meet with

and screams, that they have been ples,

Now

be found in that city

articles thus screamingly. it,

various sights as large

people take their breakfast comfortably

home; no women or men

at

New York

the upper city to

it

about.

I

Chief street of Naples.

saw once,

in the

Toledo,* a

The name comes from

was governed by Spanish viceroys.

the times

man who

when Naples

Editoii,

17

#

—

130

(

had

to sell a

)

broken iron mortar, and what

he made

a noise

with his pestle and tongue together! I

made my

New

early tour through the streets of

York,

not forgetting the harbor, and then proceeded to one of the

You know my 'penchant for markets, prisons, steeples, by-ways, and old women. The markets show you how the people live, the prisons how they most frequented markets.

punish, the high steeples teach you geography and topogra-

phy from nature, by-ways highways are

you want

to

know.

How many " messenger

a long conversation have

woman,"

me

have considered I

you many things on which women tell you every thing

tell

and old

silent,

Europe, and,

I

had with some old

they always " a very nice young man." One day, in

in return,

walked from Eisenach and Luther's Wartburg,*

suhl;

I

met the

some place

old Botenfrau of

Mark-

to

in the neigh-

borhood, carrying, in the large basket on her back, pots, bread, clothes, brushes, blacking, hams, and I do not

know

what motley collection besides. She was all kindness to me, told me of her late husband, who had been a soldier, and

whom

she had accompanied as sutler,

were fought over

rent she paid, the excellent

cow she had;

have a cow think her always the always the

his vessel

ter;) in short, I

graphy of

my

*

his battles

fleetest,

(for

people

best, as a captain considers

be she slow as a

eloquent companion,

who

But when we came

When Luther returned,

fly in

in

invited

me

and

I

1520/from the diet of the Germart empire

at

elector of Saxony, his prince, justly feared that the safe conduct,

dered, therefore, some persons to waylay the burg, a castle in the Thurlngian Forest. carried there

Luther worked great interest to

by

his

own

at his vei-sion all

veller in the centre

^T

win-

to take

to a steep hill,

He or-

promised by the emperor, would not be kept toward the reformer.

he was

who

soon was enabled to write a complete bio-

dinner with her.

Worms, the

(all

again,) of her daughters' marriages, the

latter,

and carry him

Luther himself did not

protector.

of the bible.

to

Wart-

know

Beautiful as

tlie

spot

is, it is

Germans, and visited by every pedestrian and other of Germany.

Editok.

that

In this solitude of the forest,

of

tra-

(

asked whether

I

131

)

should not carry her burden up to the top,

she flew into a passion, that

I

had not considered her equal to

her profession.

At an end was

had offended her

in the vital point of her honor, distrusted

our amiable intimacy; I

all

her capacity of acting up to her calling;

had called Alex-

I

ander a coward.

You mentioned,

in

one of your

letters, that 1

should never

allow a striking instance of moral or intellectual power to pass

by without communicating

above reminds

me

it

The

to you.

old

of such an instance, and here

whom

it

woman is.

A

she was sa-

friend of

mine had

tisfied in

every respect; she believed, in turn, that the cook

was

a colored cook,

on her

satisfied

small family.

with

had

part, since she

to

provide but for a

Nevertheless, one day, the cook told her that

she wished to leave her house.

"And why?"

asked the

knowing that she had given no cause for " Because," answered the superintendant of the

lady, with surprise,

complaint.

kitchen, " there are no large dinners or suppers given in

your house." The

fact was, the active

mind

of the cook, con-

scious of thoroughly understanding her art, felt uneasy that

she could not bring

its

powers

into action.

If

you consider

that the cook has no gain or profit whatever in large dinners,

but only more labor, you will allow that

it

would not be

bad for the world, were every one, in his sphere, propelled

by

that zeal and activity

this

humble

which gave impetus

to the

mind

of

individual.

Never omit,

my

friend, to go, in the course of

your jour-

neys, and even, from time to time, at home, to the market. It is

an index, not to be neglected, of the state of a great

many you

things, important in national

economy, and,

see an assemblage of farmers and laboring

besides,

men, whose

behavior and customs you have thus an opportunity to observe.

What

an advanced state of the whole art of farm-

ing does not a single, huge cheese, well

made and

carefully

prepared, such as you see here or in England, indicate! If

you see

fresh and clean butter laid out on white, neat boards,

and vessels near

it,

with bright, polished

br^iss

hoops, and

—

132

(

)

hear not a single rude word, or see a single coarse gesture,

from the persons who brought

may

good management.

If

you

this to the market,

all

safely conclude that their farms and

homes

are under

you see poultry or calves' feet neatly up in good order,

prepared, or the fresh vegetables piled

some

displaying, perhaps, even

taste in

the arrangement,

you may safely conclude that the venders cannot be a lazy, good for nothing set of people. If you see mountains of turkeys, or of beef, sold by butchers, in clean, white linen frocks, you may set it down, for certain, that the people, on the whole, must live well, especially when you see, at the same time, an abundance of produce, which comes hundreds of miles distant, or fish brought up from sea, at considerable

expense.*

If

you hardly meet with

a single constable, and he

common dress, without arms, leisurely walking about, you may believe that the people are pretty well-behaved. But, when you see many police officers and gend'armes walking about with attentive mein; when you see half-nabut in

ked beggars picking up here

a cabbage-leaf, there a

brown

piece of stringy meat, or when, perhaps, you meet with a poor

insane wretch amusing the sellers and buyers by her frantic

movements, when you hear screaming, and scolding, and coarse language, and can discover no neatness, or no great

beyond

variety of produce, no fruit

no vegetable out of season

whom

the farmer

is

—

set

yet but in the

and the lower classes have

its

down

little

most common

size,

the people as one with

first

stages of agriculture,

education.

Savarin, in his inestimable Physiologie

du Gout,

in

my

opinion one of the finest recent productions, gives, as his fourth aphorism, " Dis-moi ce que tii manges, je te dircii

que tu

ce

•

e.9."t

To come

sold at

two

the whole

This

is

truer

to this conclusion,

dollars

fish, as

it

is

still

in the

communi-

not necessary that salmon should be

and a half a pound, and

was the case

of nations or

its

owner refuse

fifty dollars for

Boston market, on April 23d, 1833.

—Editor. j-

titlt

Tell

me what

thou eatest, and

I'll tell

thee what thou

of this work, which we, too, have perused, to our

art.

The whole

infinite pleas>ire

and

133

(

ties

than of individuals.

what people

live,

I

how

and

)

have always liked they

live,

have declared the Italian a lazy farmer,

proved that he

—

visited,

is

one of the very

first

to observe

and had

all

those

—while

can be

it

farmers in the world,

Roman pizzicagnolo and

with me, the

on

who

seen the

which require labor and would not have sweepingly charged the Italian farmer with sloth. There are some parts of Italy utterly great variety of excellent articles, nicety, they

neglected I admit, but even the Neapolitan

— that

being,

whose sole desire is to enjoy himself, see him in the field, walk through the Campagna Felice, and then say whether he is a farmer or not. But the best farmer is found near Turin. I advise you to read a work by Mr. Chateauvieu, a gentleman sent by Napoleon to report on the state of agriculture in Italy and Germany, He was acquainted with English husbandry, too; and he declares the farmer of the fertile parts

of Piedmont, the

first in

the world, as to the cul-

tivation of the ground, not the breeding of live stock.

has Mr. Niebuhr said to me,

when

Often

travelling through Italy,

" There see; the Italians always were pre-eminently an agricultural people.

soldiers; this

is

loved farming;

The Romans essentially

we

mere

are often represented as

wrong; they were farmers and

find the proof in

many

of their

first

men

and best writings."

You may it

think that

if I

must have been easy

for

like so well to

me

to fall in

view markets,

with the Ameri-

can custom, according to which, gentlemen often go to the

market

to designate

the custom.

what

shall

be sent home.

I

cannot say

some one else, though, at the same time, you ought to remember that going to the market here is very different from what it would be I relish

great profit,

is,

I

rather leave this to

" Physiologic du Gout ou Meditations de Gastronomie

Transcendante,- Ouvrage theorique, hisiorique

aux Gastronomes

parisiens.

cieties Suvantes.

Paris.

The

Far un author

is

et

a tordre du Jour.

Professeur,

D6di4 Membre deplusieurs So-

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin,

late judg-e

of the Court of Cassation, member of the Legion of Honor, &c. &c. TOR.

—Enr-

— 134

(

)

on the continent of Europe, and though, from considering

far

may

I

add,

am

I

a proper attention to our viands be-

neath a thinking man, as you in

Germany

are but too apt

no

to do,

and the consequence of which

where many.

in a less favorable state than in the interior of Ger-

man

breed of our

we

we

very curious that a

cattle,

hogs, &c.,

consider horticulture

wine,

fruits,

who improves

by agricultural societies, worthy of the patronage

we

flour, &c., that

we

speak with pleasure in

new

vegetable, that

glorify in comparing the variety of garden and

we

fruits,

now

tury ago;

that only

when the moment

at length arrives

the pains have been taken, and

all

bestowed

tion has been

rious articles

—

—the

degree of judgment or

it

the atten-

be considered be-

to attend to the

relish.

all

consumption of the va-

actual

that then only should

neath an elevated mind

matter with any

Is that not important,

returns at least three times every day with every

being? to

Why

is it

pay proper care

ly?

The

field

our disposal, with the scanty supply of a cen-

at

—and

which

for

of

are at great pains to im-

public prints of the introduction of a

all

is

take the greatest trouble to improve the

the most elevated men, that

prove

that cookery

called a benefactor of his country

agriculture; that

that

me

has always appeared to

It

is

is,

which

human

man of superior mind may shave smoothwe do: Cato bestowed

not unworthy of a to his razors that

they

ancients did not think as

attention on cookery, and

many

families had

names

indi-

cating the care some one of their forefathers had taken to

introduce a

new

vegetable, and the people's gratitude in

consequence. It is

likewise altogether erroneous to suppose gourmets

and friands

to exist

only in the higher

On

lates are spoiled.

classes,

greater lovers of good dishes than the higher. a farmer

"

How

when he

sweet

it

talks of a peculiarly

all

Listen to

good kind of corn,

and ate last and assuring you " he never ate

tastes;" of a hog, he raised

Sunday, smacking his a finer pig in

whose pa-

the contrary, the lower classes are

lips

his life."

Look

at the brightness

of his

135

(

eye when he then

you of excellent

ale,

or fine wine, and

me, whether he loves good things or

tell

man

hear a

tells

)

not.

If I

boasting that he cannot find any difference be-

tween a good and poor dinner, and that he engulfs him, that nature

five minutes, I pity

it

in

tongue and

left his

throat unprovided with those fine nerves of taste, to feel the great variety of salts, fect us,

by which the

him

lieve that she intended pell-mell, every thing

human

able that

Who

being.

dull ears

bad?

different nutriments af-

with pleasurable or unpleasant sensations; and be-

which swallows,

entire, rather than for a

boasts of having received from nature

which are unable

to discriminate

It is these nerves of the

man

for a shark,

whole and

many

to distinguish and relish so

mainly impelled him

to

good music from

tongue and palate which endifferent tastes,

master nature and maintain

himself the lord of the creation,

for,

without them there

would be no cultivation, industry, or commerce. Of what use is it to try to depreciate the value of vated

taste,

when every

proves the great importance attached to

and

how powerful

means of

a culti-

thing around us, and every language,

the sensation

this delicate sense?

is,

it

which

The word

by is

all

nations;

received by

taste itself is ap-

plied to the

most refined objects of a moral and

character.

We

intellectual

hardly can speak of the commonest

affair,

of the most abstract, of poetr}^, or of religion herself, with

i

out constantly borrowing words which originally refer to impressions, received by means of that wronged instrument of sensation. it

" Sweet boy," " dear, sweet mother," does Is not this word even applied to the

not sound sweet?

whom our religion reveals? Does not the bitter cup of sorrow, when mentioned, convey a meaning which we cannot express by any other words? Who does not feel

highest being

at the expression Attic salt, all the acuteness of

gifted people to

whom

it

refers?

You

wit of the

can not only use with

great success all ideas, supplied by the sense of taste, in a metaphorical meaning, such as "bread of life," "well of

— 136

(

life,"

we

but

)

use every day words, with which

we

cannot

dispense, and yet they are derived from the sensations

owe

nerves of

to the

taste

and those nearly related

many much has

while

expressions are hardly any longer metaphorical, so constant use effaced their original meaning: of the above, and besides,

among

imbody the

rites, as

act of taking

as, for

instance,

others, thirsting,

Nor

food of mind, craving for novelty, &c. refused to

we

it:

pungent, insipid, sour and sweet (tem-

satisfied, disgusting,

per,) tasteless, surfeited, to relish an author, &c.;

many

to

has religion

nourishment into her

the paschal lamb, agapes, &c., and the founder of

our religion

calls his disciples

but rather give

it its

Let us

the salt of the earth.

not, therefore, treat the sense of taste

proper rank as

with superciliousness,

we would

to

any thing

else.

What

keeps not only body and soul together, but the

dif-

ferent classes in a nation, and connects nations with one

Throw

another?

many

are

a glance at the industry of a people;

employed

many, not

directly

in providing for

employed

for the use of the farmer?

in this

how

—the stomach, and how way, make instruments exists mainly by the

Commerce

wants of the mouth; property receives value from these wants; and, in short, civilization, as well as our preservation, is

intimately connected with

Of no statistics

— our

appetite.

place in the world, perhaps, have

They

than of Paris.

which we should not

we more accurate

are obtained at a price at

like to collect them,

though much more

attention ought to, and will be, in course of time, directed to statistics

with

us,

without which a great part of

lating remains but a groping in the dark.

But

all legis-

let us

make

use, at least, of the valuable materials obtained in this line

by

others.

from

Galignani's

official reports, a

New

Paris Guide communicates,

mass of interesting

statistical details,

of which I will only give you a few; you conclusions yourself.

They

may draw

relate to the year 1826.

the

—

137

(

For

was paid

rent,

^ Annual maintenance ^, andJ repairoi houses

)

3,166,666£

st, j C

'

.

(

I (

Food

The

°^ ^^ shillings for each inhabitant.

_„, 666£ 791, arc

St.,

-nor lo 18 shillings. °

12,221, 150£

St.,

or

+

« "

1

13£

«

"

various items under this principal head are enume-

you may imagine how inteThe expenditure on clothing amounts to

rated in the official paper, and resting they are.

on food, namely,

one-fifth of that

to

lings 4 pence for each inhabitant. shillings 3

2,444,230£, or 55

shil-

Fuel, 1,674,375^, or 38

Washing, l,24G,S75£, being 28

pence each.

lings 6 pence for each person.

shil-

Lighting, Furniture, Salaries

form other items of these documents.

for servants, &c.,

you now consider how much of the

fuel

If

used for cook-

is

ery, and that the expense for clothing, in a city like Paris, is

much

in the

part

greater in proportion to the expense for food than

whole country of France besides, you

all

will find

what

gastric concerns play in the social life of our spe-

cies.*

would pay more attention to the subwhich is, as in all sidevelop by art the peculiar character of each

If people in general

ject of cookery, the true principle of

milar cases, to

given subject, imprinted upon

many

be tormented with so health, as

juice

the case in

is

is left

in the

it

by

nature,

we

should not

senseless dishes, nor ruin our

Germany, with meat boiled

white strings, or roasted until

it

until

no

looks like

bread found under the ashes of Pompeii, nor in the United States with dishes to

swimming

in fat; but

we would endeavor

have on our tables juicy dishes with the flavor and aro-

ma, which nature, in her wisdom, has given In general,

may

it

to each.

be said that American cookery has

somewhat engrafted

the French upon the English, the capi-

dish of which

roast beef, all others being secondary;

tal

in the

same way

ment, and •

The

in Part

all

is

as the

English

call

hanging, capital punish-

the rest of punishments secondary.

However,

reader will find ample extracts of these very interesting statements

XXVII. of the London Penny Magazine.

IS

Editor.

—

—

138

(

honor

to

how

out

English cookery!

No

meat

proper

to treat

have the

in its

other nation has found style.

The Americans

materials for a plentiful and savory table,

finest

some of which do not grow Europe;

)

at all, or

not so plentifully in

might be done, were not cookery allowed to go on in

way, but received proper I

do not mean

from shop

to

one, and the

shop; but

I

who

its

old

from reflecting people.

atitention

to say that they

ought

to imitate an acquain-

when first the oysters appear, shop, and selects among bushels of them but only perfect one among the bushels, in each do mean to say, that health and many other

of mine,

tance

much

example, tomato or the egg-plant: and

for

goes,

considerations require that proper attention be given to the subject.*• tills

That readers country, in

some

travellers,

in

Europe may not suppose we are altogether starving

good

we

things, as they

might be led

to

in

do from the accounts of

here insert the following, cut at random out of a Phila-

delphia newspaper.

It is

the

December 25th, 1833. "2 saddles Bears' Meat; 2

of fare of the American coffee house, of

bill

saddles Fine Mountain Venison; 2 saddles Alba-

—

ny Mutton; 500 Terrapins large size, very fine; 40 pair Canvass Back Ducks; Pheasants, Snipe, Woodcock, Red Necks, Black Duck, Broad Bills, Vermicelli Soup; Chickens —Barba— Stewed and Barbacued; Sweetbreads; Sweetbreads Larded, Rabbits; Potatoes — Boiled or Roasted; Spanish Olives; French Mallard, Dried Salmon,

Young Ducks,

cued and Fricasseed; Squabs

Olives; Pickles of various kinds; Sardines, ters;

style;

shallots;

Rabbit; lets;

Dutch Herring; Tripe and Oys-

—plain, stewed, roasted, broiled and fried; Mutton Chops, with Anchovy Toast; Welch Lamb Chops —French and English

Oysters

Pork Steaks, Beef Steaks, with tomato sauce or

Ham

onions; Veal Cut-

and Eggs; Omelet; Chocolate; Cocoa; Coffee; Tea.

" A regular supply of Sauces, received direct from London.

" In addition made, as

will

to the above

render

it

list

of dishes, such arrangements have been

possible to serve

up

all

descriptions of

Game

in their

proper seasons, together with every luxury the epicure can desire.

" N. B.

The curism

Relishes always ready."

following advertisement tries to

mingle with

may

find a place here, as

it

shows how

epi-

politics in a large city:

" Green turtle-soup on Election Day. "A

fine fat turtle,

weighing 250

lbs., will

be cooked and served up

in

soup, steaks, calipash and calipee, on Tuesday next, the 14th instant, the

day of the election, &c."

Editor.

139

(

It is a fact, that the

)

Americans have very small churches

The

and exceedingly large markets.

is,

that food

mankind can

the only thing upon which poor

is

The

reason

Roman

Presbyterian, the Quaker, the

agree.

Catholic, the

Baptist, the Methodist, the Jackson-man, the Calhoun, the

Clay, the M'Lean, the

Van Buren men,

the federalist, the

democrat, the anti-mason, the abolitionist and colonization-man, the nullifier and the union-man ably at the same butcher's

What

ox.

country can that there

stall

—

all

meet peace-

and take meat of the same

neither religious forbearance, nor the love of effect, is effected

is at least

by the

Thank heaven,

palate.

one thing on this earth on which people

Don't smile at me, I am in earnest. What would become of mankind were not this cement in existence, to hold families, nations, mankind together? I will conclude my dissertation on cookery with one more agree.

remark, namely, that the dinner, when well prepared, neatly arranged, and of savory taste,

portance with

all

is

of very great moral im-

There

the industrial classes.

an hour during which a hard laboring

man

is

hardly

enjoys his family

more, and when his wife has a better opportunity to show that her attention to his comfort

than the dinner hour. but

I

and a

know

I

is

of no finer sight than

fine piece of

deserving of his industry,

have seen

man

a table,

in,

many

situations,

with a clean cloth

meat, and some good vegetables,

showing the care of the housewife, husband comes

in

and

sitting

children, and thanking the

Lord

— when

down with

—

all

presently the a nice

set of

for all his bounty, eats

with

a hearty appetite, while

the wife, with her eyes directed

toward him, enjoys the

silent praise

which

his partaking

twice and three times of the dish bestows upon her work. I went with my brother-in-law, who was proceed to the West Indies, to see him " out to sea."

After breakfast, to

A

pilot-boat followed our vessel, like a dancing

and nimble

horse led behind a carriage, to take the rider at the spot of separation.

Slowly we

sailed,

with a sluggish breeze, along

140

(

that beautiful bay,

of Naples

—why,

in its appearance

once more the

I

)

which people have compared

bay

to the

cannot say, probably, because every item

Out of Sandyhook,

is different.

sea, its vivifying

breeze and

its

enjoyed

I

expanding

sight, the

heaving of the billows and the sharp line of the

horizon.

Did

be sure that

I

believe in the migration of souls, I should

I

was once

some

a gull, or

sea-bird, enjoying

the mighty view from his soaring sails above; or or,

perchance, an oyster?

there must be

some

hope not; but, certain

I

mighty element, boyhood; walde

—

when

I

Lost

I

it

for

which

was from the

was deeply

saw, for the

cod,

it is,

that

soon as

perceive

I

I beheld, for the first time,

the

the dreams of

my

longed in

I

all

spire of the city-church of Greifs-

affected; I sat

first

I a

nerves which pro-

affinity, as

remember when

I

my

peculiarity in

duces a decided sensation of the sea.

was

and gazed, overcome, as

time, Raphael's

in the pleasure of gazing, I

Madonna

di Sisto.

then stood before the hea-

venly picture for two hours, when the keeper gently tapped

me

on the shoulder and told

me

that the doors of the gal-

lery were to be closed.

The ideas

sea

we

is

beautiful in itself, yet

connect with

more

still

The knowledge

it.

so

that

from the it

is

not

bounded by our horizon, that this same swelling and heaving mass extends from here to China, that billow follows on billow, without end, that

without number, that

sea

—

this, it is its

glory and

danger, that inspire us with awe or delight.

It is the

and on its

it

has rolled and roared for years

it

connects the most distant nations,

its

back rides history

we do not

which

creates

thought.

behold, as this state

much

as

that

of our soul,

which we espy,

—half

feeling, half

Otherwise our sensations would be the same on

beholding a lake of moderate

we

it is

size,

whose opposite shores

cannot discern; and there can be

Casper Hauser would have

felt

little

other sensation, had he seen the sea, as for the first time, gardens

and

doubt but that

as little pleasure, or

fields;

when he

any

observed,

while he wept on be-

141

(

This

holding the starlight sky.* in

itself,

we

but

)

is

much grander

a

are accustomed to

and

it,

unknown deep

threaten with destruction; the idea of the

not connected with •

sight

does not

it

is

it.

Casper Hauser was an individual

who had been

kept, by some atrocious

hand, in a narrow dungeon in Bavaria, from his earliest infancy to about his sixteenth year, shut out from

quirement of knowledge of rately described in a small

now

highest distinction,

all

this

The

communication with the world.

youth when he entered the world

is

ac-

accu-

work by Mr. Von Feuerbach, a gentleman of the

deceased.

Boston, 2d edition, 1833.

has been translated and published in

It

Since the publication of this work, the poor

youth has been murdered, probably by the same hand that had murdered

The

already his childhood.

Earl of Stanhope,

who

took a great and active

interest in Hauser, has published, for private distribution,

some

formation on this interesting individual, a copy of which

is

and we may communicate parts of acquisition of notions

course, through the

it

to the public.

on

additional in-

way

its

— Casper had,

and knowledge through the sense of

to us,

as to the

sight, to go,

same processes and gradual acquaintance with the

of

effects

of colors on his eyes, as a person, born blind, when restored to sight in riper

A view of a gaiden or a landscape, which appears beautiful to us, would

years.

at first displease

him much,

he had learnt to judge of distances, or experi-

until

A white-washed wall, a red shawl would At the same time he never complained of " the man "

ence had taught him perspective. please him far more.

who had kept him to him,

when

and produced

in

the dungeon? on the contrary, he was anxious to return

the world burst upon him with that uneasiness of

its

thousand

new

impressions,

mind and melancholy which are the cause of

when he descends from his higli Alps, The first time that Casper felt the him by his barbarous keeper, was when he

the consuming home-sickness of a Swiss

where he great

lives in the greatest simplicity.

wrong committed

beheld the starlight sky. lating to this fact, to

against It is

we have appended tliis note. common interest: "It was in summer evening, vens.

We will extract the

his instructer

it,

same time

its

sight,

for

all

fixing accurately with his eye the different groups

to him,

remarking the

But who has placed

who

all

stars

a fine

tliat

it;

could at the

were point-

most distinguished for their brightness, and

tliat I

'That,' he exclaimed,

have ever yet seen

in the world.

these numerous beautiful candles there?

puts them ouf'

He

description.

and was ever returning to gaze upon

indeed the most beautiful sight

them''

the words to which

seems to us of un-

for the first time the starry hea-

observing the differences of their respective colors. •is

in

it

month of August, 1829, when, on

showed him

His astonishment and transport surpassed

not be satiated with

ed out

the passage in the above-mentioned book re-

which our author, probably, alludes

When

he was told

that, like

who

lights

the sun with

—

142

(

We had

Champagne with

us,

)

some fowl and a pdte de

foies gras, which tasted excellent on the ocean.

ternoon,

we made

veller a

happy

signal to our pilot-boat

Two vessels came

passage.

number, and some

They I

and

ed for the ties, I

if

The former

fight.

in

great

Hobbes

is

right,

to

at a

man's natural

is

game

in the streets

but a slight occasion had been wanting,

the coats were ready pulled

all

both

be

warring

at least, that

have seen them here dispute

of the suburbs; as

us,

af-

tra-

in a deplorable state

are strange people, these Irish.

with regard to them state.

with

in

They seemed

laden with Irish emigrants.

In the

and wished the

off,

and both parties gird-

inhabitants of

two

Irish coun-

forget their names, had a hard fight in the streets of

A

Philadelphia!

similar occurrence took place while I re-

were mayor, on such an occasion, I would let the fire-engines play upon them, and, a hundred to one, they would be cooled down and, perhaps, be ashamed sided in Boston.

If I

But the worst

of their brutal folly.

the following it

out of the paper, because

neither

you nor

aflfray I

ever heard of

must send you the whole account,

I

I

it

shows man

had ever dreamt

to see

'Who

nue

him

When he

placed them there above, that they

At

to give lighti"

down, and his eyes

which

in a light in

which he was already acquainted, they always continue asked again:

to give light,

may always

he

fell into

he

conti-

bowed

length, standing motionless, with his head

staring,

is

as I cut

a train of deep and serious meditation.

again recovered his recollection, his transport had been succeeded

by deep sadness. He sank trembling upon a chair, and asked, why that wicked man had kept him always locked up, and had never shown him any of these beautiful things.

broke out with

into a

difficulty

been,

fit

He

(Casper) had never done any harm.

be soothed; and

may now

He then

of crying, which lasted for a long time, and which could

also

said, that

be locked up

for a

the

man with whom he had always to know

few days, that he may learn

how hard it is to be treated so. Before seeing this beautiful celestial display, Casper had never shown any thing like indignation against that man; and much less had he ever been willing to hear that he ought to be punished. Only weariness and slumber were able fall

asleep

—

a thing that

about 11 o'clock."

to quiet his sensations;

had never happened to him before

Editor.

and he did not

—

until

was

143

(

" Dublin, June 27.

)

— One of the most sanguinary

faction-

unhappy country took place of Ballyheag, thirteen miles from

fights that ever disgraced this

on Tuesday,

at the races

Tralee, between two clans, the Cooleens and the Lawlors,

who have

been

at feud

above half a century, and

still

defy

both the law and the gospel, in taking vengeance of each other,

whenever opportunity

Rumors

neration.

to the

at Tralee, for a force sufficient to

keep

i'^cordingly, on the day previous,

the peace at the races,

(Monday,)

to ge-

country magistrates, they applied to the

commanding

officer

from generation

some days previous, and information having

culation for

been given

offers,

of the intended fight having been in cir-

detachment of the 69th regiment, with

a strong

three officers, marched from Tralee barracks to Ballyheag,

and on Tuesday took up a position on the race-ground, on the bank of the river Cashen, to be ready to interfere on the first

symptoms of

The two

the expected riot.

factions soon ap-

peared on the ground, in great numbers, but remained quiet till

stones. it

Then

the races were over, at three o'clock.

battle began, in earnest,

A

the appointed

on the river strand, with sticks and

gentleman who witnessed the combat, describes

as one of the most savage and merciless scenes he ever

witnessed or could imagine to have taken place in a Christian country.

The

soldiers could do nothing to stem the

At

torrent of fury and blows that raged on every side. least,

one thousand

men were

the resident parties, numbers

engaged,

"The

all

addition to

came from miles around,

take part in the conflict, against

seen before,

for, in

men whom

to

they had never

for the pleasure of a fight.

Cooleens,

it

appears, received aid from the mountains

of Ballylongford, and even

county of Limerick.

some came

to join

them from the

Captain Hawson, of Ennismore, and

other magistrates, present with the troops, caused the Riot

Act

to be read, but

no body would

listen to

it.

women were occupied, supplying their friends, on with stones, which they carried in their aprons! tle

The very both sides,

The

bat-

soon spread to such an extent, that neither the soldiers

(

144

)

nor police could possibly interfere effectually to separate the

By

parties.

make

the magistrate's orders, they endeavored to

individual prisoners, and,

it

appears, that about twen-

ty were lodged in Lists well Bridewell, but were not per-

mitted to

fire

going on

fast

a shot.

— Indeed, the work of destruction was

enough; no quarter was given, and ghastly

to those who fell and to those who At length, the Cooleens retreated to the river's where many were driven in and drowned. Several

wounds were given both stood up. brink,

attempted to escape by swimming, but were

barbarously

still

by the victorious Lawlors. It was full tide, and two sand-boats on the shore were afloat, into which numbers of

pelted

the defeated party crowded, and pushed off across the ferry, but, being overladen, they sank, and all on board perished.

Four bodies were found next morning at the ferry, and twelve others, men and women, have since been taken up in other parts of the river.

many have been

It is

known how

not yet accurately

sacrificed, either

on shore or in the melan-

choly noyades that followed, but eight or ten lay dead on the strand of battle, at the northern side of the river, and their friends

move

on the southern dared not venture across

them.

It

(of retaliation) last

was expected that another savage

to re-

conflict

would take place on Wednesday, when the

accounts came from Tralee."

Oh

for the civilized Christians!

a stag, follows the

sharp," did

it

to

show

be driven by want,

A stag which fights with

impetus of nature; a knight his skill

or, at least,

who "ran may

and gallantry; a robber

by the

passion of gain, bad

and degenerated, yet originally natural; but here

—

it is

too

disgusting.

When

I

arrived in town, as I had nothing else to do, I

to a bookseller's.

Books

interest

sic merit, or as pathological is

me

either

symptoms of

by

the time.

always something to be learned from them.

went

their intrin-

If I

There

am

de-

tained in a small place where I have no acquaintance, I in-

variably go to the bookseller's,

if

there

Booksellei*s, generally speaking, are,

is

by

one to be found. their

very trade,

—

145

(

minded men of

liberal

may

from them you

)

a certain range of knowledge; and

often learn facts uhich

may

give you

an insight into the disposition or state of society. I

new number

found with the bibliopolist, a

ny Magazine; what

a clever publication

new number!

will rejoice at receiving this

ture-book. tiate of

If the editors

would only be

However,

Gothic churches!

and many others with me.

What mighty

clever book.

Some

are!

the

is

engines

I

it is

his best pic-

a little less insa-

am grateful to them, Penny Cyclopsedia a these publications

all

people deride the propagatioii> of knowledge,

and the idea of

its

want being

of the community. spite of

So

of the Pen-

How my boy

it is!

felt

by the laboring portion

Let them smile, the world goes on

them; and, though

London

a turn out of

in

tailors, to

enforce a claim for leisure to improve their minds, be foolish and a caricature, yet

a sign of the time, as the cari-

it is

catures of the time, properly taken, always are; and

ther have a tailor risian

women,

who wants

to

improve

his

Pd

ra-

mind, than Pa-

so ignorant that, in the time of the cholera,

they believed in a universal poisoning, and brutally killed suspected persons with their

own

hands.

have sometimes thought a very brief encyclopedia

I

might be written

—A Pocket Cyclopaedia on

a

Hieroglyphic

You have seen the Dictionnaire des Giroueltes,^ in which the name of every French politician is given with as many vanes represented as he has undergone political mePlan.

tamorphoses. ficant

enough

This plan can be expanded. if

we

say,

A.

drums; C. D., an orator of E.

F., a patriot

B

,

five

a

Is it not signi-

parson of three kettle-

whale-heads or jets d'eau;

of four sinecures; G. H., an author of a

single hand-organ, grinding the J.

a

same tune over and over;

K., a publisher of six cider-presses; L. M., a printer of

hundred blunderbusses; or Talleyrand,

fox-tails, as there are • Dictionary

of Vanes.

cocks, Indicative of the tracts

a politician of ten

pachas of three horse-tails?

For some

—This wotk contains besides the vanes or weather-

number of

political

changes of each individual, ex-

of his speeches, manifestos, SsC, as proofs that the number of vanes

correct.

Editor.

19

is

146

(

)

politicians the hieroglyphic representation of their instabi-

by means of vanes, will not answer, were we to allow them a dozen. A top will express it more exactly, for it keeps constantly whirling. I mean politicians, whose model

lity

is

a Cobbett, except that

show

height, and

science

whose

is

very few elevate themselves

like the

moveable disk

in a

their principle,

They change

which

Nothing is,

to

is stable in

have none.

They seem

to

—

as often as their &hirt.

and are yet,

Throw

have something rotary motion,

a

in other respects, similar to these animalcules.

the water of

honor, and

every side

them, except

their politics as Lipsius did his religion, al-

of the nature of certain infusory animals

most

of ronletie, and

game

politics are like a round-robbin, turning to

but nowhere tangible.

to his

whose con-

their arts without disguise;

let

and you will

them ferment

call

— the

power upon the dregs of honesty and in the sunshine of patronage,

these vile creatures

more

by thousands

into ex-

you observe them. I also found, at the bookseller's a number of the Chinese Register, published in Canton. In this number was a review of an article on Canton, in the Encyclopedia Ameriistence

cana,

which

What

con.

viler the

is

closely

founded on the German Conversations-Lexi-

an intercourse, at present, exists between the

different parts of the world! I

spoke of bad books as pathological symptoms of the

time.

I

must send you the

title

peculiar sign of " bad times," cal

symptom

of mankind.

is,

of one, which,

if it is

no

at all events, a pathologi-

People love the horrid; the

poorer classes will flock to executions, and to meet the appetite of the wealthier, the following advertisement

serted in the

werp,

in

be had tlie

at

1S32:

was

papers, at the time of the siege of

in-

Ant-

— "The public are informed that places may

the Theatre des Varieth,

siege."

this:—

London

The

title

at

Antwerp,

of the book which

I

for seeing

mentioned

is

;

(

''

147

)

Cheapest and most popular

Work

ever

published. THE

TERRIFIC REGISTER; OR,

RECORD OF

JUDGITIEIVT8, CALAMITIES.

CRI]?IEI!!>,

PROVIDENCES, AND

FROM THE LONDON EDITION. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, ENLARGED AND IMPROVED. Published in Numbers of

SIXTEEN

large octavo Pages.

Price only 6 1-4 cents each. Ofie or

more numbers will appear every week.

EACH NUMBER EMBELLISHED WITH

AN ENGRAVING ON

WOOD, BY NORTON, FROM THE ORIGINAL DESIGN.

oi'the Work embraces: BARBARITIES inflicted by savage Hordes;

The Plan Accounts of

CRUEL PUNISHMENTS witli whicfi crime lias been BARBAROUS MURDERS; ATROCIOUS ASSASSINATIONS;

visited;

DIABOLICAL CRUELTIES; and SANGUINARY CONFLICTS;

BLOODY DUELS

DARING VILLANIES; FRAUDS, PLOTS, CONSPIRACIES, and REBELLIONS;

REMARKABLE ROBBERIKS, EXECUTIONS,

and

PERSECUTIONS,

for

PIRACIES,

CONSCIENCE' SAKE;

WELL AUTHENTICATED

STORIES of APPARITIONS, and strange and fearful SUPERSTITIONS, DISASTROUS ACCIDENTS; PERILOUS ENTERPRISES and MIRACULOUS ESCAPES, by Sea and Land

AWFUL

and SINGULAR INTERPOSITIONS; PLAGUE, FAMINE, FIRE, EARTHQUAKE,

VISITATIONS,

Accounts of

AND OTHER SPECIAL CHASTISEMENTS OF PROVIDENCE.

ALREADY

WORK, ENGRAVINCrS,S,'c.

IN HAND, FOR THIS

UPWARDS OF ONE HUNDRED

—

148

(

Horrid

more

as this catalogue

at the

who

reader

—

may

enjoys

)

be,

all

who

does not shudder

these horrors?

in spite of its

appealing to the worst cravings of a

I think, still

worse

dn Crime et de P InEvenements lespius trngiqiies, Empoi-

is

nocence, Reciieil des

And yet, gross mi^,

the " Chrnniqiie

sonnemen/s, Massacres, ^Sssassinats, Parricides Forfuits; comrnis en France depuis

le

et

autres

Commencement de la

MonarchicjusqiC a nosjours;^'''^ by Baron Lamothe Langon, reputed father of Memoirs of Madame du Barri, Louis XVIII,, Femme de Qualite. Langdon does not write for an entirely He knowingly and willingly strives to exilliterate public. cite, in

the very worst way, surfeited minds, while the Regis-

ter is chiefly calculated for the uneducated,

who, like children,

have always a peculiar relish for the grotesque, wild, awful, overpowering, or gigantic. t

But the most disgusting inby the managers of a Lon-

stance of the kind was afforded

don

theatre,

when they informed

the public that the

murder

of Thornton would be represented, and the very vehicle in

And we preRomans took in the

which the murder was committed, exhibited. tend to be surprised at the pleasure the fights of gladiators!

The trast

•

heat,

when

returned home, was suffocating; the con-

I

between the fresh sea-breeze and the dead heat of the

Chronicle of Crime and Innocence; or Collection of the most

trag'ic

Events, Poisoning's, Massacres, Assassinations, Paj-ricides, and other foul

Deeds, from the Beginning of the Monarchy down to

tlie

present Time.

—

Editor.

f The following' notice, of the papers of 1833, may find a place here: " New Publications. The following works are announced as being sale at Lemoine's, a Paris bookseller in the Place Vendome:

—

«'

Crimes of the Popes, from

" Crimes of chy

the

St.

for

Peter to Pius VI., inclusive.

Kings of France, from the commencement of the monar-

to Charles X., inclusive.

Crimes of the Queens of France, from the commencement of the monarchy to Marie Antoinette, inclusive. •'

"The announcement

is

followed by the attractive puff, that these works

were prohibited by the ex-government.

Editor.

149

(

city

If

think

No

was immense.

which made me

had been cast upon me.

we mention, in a letter, the time when we write it, I we ought, likewise, to inform the person who is fa-

me

at all at

what temperature

in

me

write

If a friend

written.

I

the heavy atmosphere,

in

stir

feel as if lead

vored with our communication,

write

)

95° above zero,

I set

was

it

at 10°

below, or

him down

as a friend

amiably

His friendship must be deeply seated,

can depend upon.

not to have frozen in the former case, and be firm as Anto-

have melted away

nio's, not to

in the latter.

May

day, but which must belong to

some

flannel

seems to pervade

may

on such a day, you thing very near

nature

set

—

him down

the white

lie to

and a longing for

said,

man

if a

a

is

good-natured

for a saint, or

some-

Dryness and moisture, cold and

it.

are, at least, of as

mine once

all

is

stray week, lost

during winter, when the red nose gives the pantaloons, as a friend of

man

call itself

If a

kindly disposed on a day which makes bold to

much importance

to be

known

heat,

as the time,

and the wearing of a watch forms altogether a very imperfect

A

accomplishment.

Have

formality?

—

all

I

steel

thermometer ought never

not met with a buck, this evening,

the year round, a

"

off his cravat? all

pocket

Does not heat change every thing? dissolve

to be wanting.

A

dandy a quatre epingles

Oh!" was

mouth

half open,

From

a

the time with a languid motion of his hand.

all

the great effect which

exercises

left

bare neck!" I exclaimed; "

he uttered, with eyes half closed and

fanning

—had

all

who

upon individuals,

found that this unusual heat

I

have learned

I

to

understand,

with greater clearness, the causes of several phenomena in the private

nor has

it

life as

well as in the history of Asiatic nations,

me

passed without giving

me, with regard

to literature.

great excellence of Shakspeare.

the evening,

I

a lesson, important to

proved

It

He

to

me

stood the

was nearly exhausted and had

after another, grave, satirical, or

my mind,

When,

tried

one book

in

humorous; La Secchia ra-

pila, or Camoens, and nothing would do,

opened would interest

once more the fire.

when no book

I resorted, at last,

I

again to

150

(

Shalfspeare.

opened the volume

I

In him

ceives me.

electric rapidity to

companied

me

)

is

a life

random: he never de-

at

which communicates

every thinking

on land and sea, in camp and prison,

me by

often delighted

became now

the fire-side,

He who

comfort in this suffocating heat.

and saddens you, when you read him,

your mind,

in

ever event

may

and

much

I

it

ever ready to

meet.

He

think,

may now

rise or sink.

is

with the

a question whether he be not ac-

by the Germans.

not yet entirely got over their period

notions in regard to taste.

I

cannot follow

Schlegel in all his admiration of this most gifted of

of Apollo, nor Mrs. Jamieson. designs where there are to

—

like

me

They

I

find beauties

none.

some designs of Raphael

flowings of genius; but as they do.

like

certainly be called nearly

with the Germans as he

would be

The English have

ties

is

of itself at sunrise

tually held in higher esteem at present

of French

my

he finds within you an echo, whether the

a national poet

English; nay,

has

also

be placed, what-

your hope or the sun of your success

Shakspeare, as

may

Memnon, which sounded

at sunset; so

star of

who

occur to you, or with whatever character,

high or low, exalted or sensual, you the statue of

has ac-

instructs, cheers, is

may

whatever situation you

with

itself

He who

soul.

—

sons

all

and deep

Shakspeare's beau-

are sometimes the over-

believe him, nevertheless, as great

The English seem very

generally to have com-

mitted the mistake of considering Shakvspeare as a mere genius, powerful

tion on his

and gigantic indeed, but without much

own works,

reflec-

or any wise arrangements of his

dramatic plans. This mistake has produced a great

effect

own

upon

their literature: they allowed, for a long time, Shakspeare to

stand alone, and followed French

The Germans, on

the other hand,

correctness, so called.

now

often strive to find

plan and well-devised beauty in every part; even in those

where sober

would consider admiration too great a stretch of our love for the poet. I cannot find any thing so enormously elevated in Isabella, or such peculiar

places

wisdom

in the

reflection

devising of her character, as Schlegel does;

——

131

(

nor would, in

all

alive, tell us that

ciencies in him.

His

fect?

)

probability, Shakspeare himself,

So there

he did.

But was he

deficiencies,

are,

however, are but like the momenta-

when

his

incorrect in

But never would

if

I

wrote — " Shak-

plans, as Blair

Some

speare, a great, but incorrect genius."

may

him

his steed carries

rapidly through the highest regions.

him

defi-

a god, and could he be per-

ry derangement of his drapery,

call

were he

undoubtedly,

of his pieces

not be well suited to our imagination in every detail,

they come to be represented, but this has nothing to do

with the poet, or the true merit of his works.

were

to be represented in his time;

His pieces

and whatever

is

called

into existence in this world, must assume a form, which

form

is

by the

subject to changes.

My

opinion

which the French believe

rule

Aristotle, and

not influenced

is

to

have found in

which has forced their dramatic poets

absurdities, such as

you

find

none

into

in Shakspeare.

Shakspeare, to use an unpoetic comparison of a poet, takes

human

the whole

life

like a lemon, presses out the juice

essence, and throws away the pulp.

deep, great, essential truth; but,

you must go

to the

if

In

him

you wish

all is

for reality,

reality.

why,

market, or to the courts, and patiently

wait five years for the denouement of an intricate

The French

and

truth

classical dramatists give

affair.

you neither truth nor

Their greatest conspiracies, which change the

fate

of a whole dynasty, are begun and terminated within one

day, during which time, the most designing statesmen are

won

all

the time in public

much more

natural, say they,

over, the conspiracies going on

places

— why?

because

it

is

that the authorities of the state should be stock-blind, than that the spectator should allow that there, is

unnatural

must turn

to

actor,

who needs

the audience in order to be understood

change of the scenery acts,

where every thing

— from the lamp-daylight to the

which again

is

a

admissible, or that between the

are unnatural, a longer time than ten mi-

nutes can be imagined to elapse. It

must be owned, however,

that the English are return-

152

(

)

ing to a better judgment; and soon, treat a

of

Tate as persons,

who

That

art, are treated in all countries.

turn,

is

proved to

that Shakspeare

me by

it is

to

be boped, will

mutilate statues and other works

nothing so

spirits

much

as

cannot re-

by the

and Mozart have never appeared

to

fact,

Tate

and Bishop.

The Germans approach

the

works of

this great philoso-

pher, lofty historian, and powerful poet, with a devotion

which

strives but to enter deeper

and deeper into his vast

designs and immortal beauties, while the English, as yet,

allow the Pegasus, which he rode more masterly than to appear before

them only

maimed and hamstrung. ardent followers.

after the noble animal has

May

Shakspeare

is

Mrs. Jamieson as

find

all,

been

many

important to the English

or ourselves as the greatest of our warriors or legislators.

«

153

(

LETTER

>

IX,

SEND you to-day some of Major Jack Downing's Letters, which will amuse you, though some of their allusions I

may

As

be unintelligible to a foreigner.

tion of

them

published

is

I

you

will send

soon as a collec-

The

a copy.

terest of these letters lies partly in the simple

in-

and blunt,

yet forcible, and not unfrequently convincing manner, with

which

certain intricate questions, of

nation, are treated in

much importance

to the

them, partly in the peculiar compound

of the bluntness and shrewdness of a country Yankee, being personified in

Major Jack Downing, the pretended author

of the Letters, partly, also, in the impudence of the real author,

who, sans /aeon, makes the major

tell

long stories

of what happened between him and the president, the vicepresident,

Mr. Clay, Calhoun, Biddle, and other

guished citizens; and, again, in the singular

distin-

mode which

the

author has chosen for bringing forth his views and argu-

ments, as Jack

Downing pretends

to

belong to the party of

the president, while the real author

is

a

member

of that

party which thinks that the president has wantonly disen-

chanted the constitution, feat at

Baylen:

—"

With you, on

//

as

Napoleon

a desenchante

said of

Dupont's de-

VarmV

the other side of the water, people

have no doubt but that the whole vessel of the founder,

if

would

state

must

the highest magistrate and the most prominent

20

—

154

(

men

)

Here people

are handled with such bold familiarity.

The

think differently.

New

the butchers of

president signs himself in a letter to

York, who had sent him a peculiarly hat-maker,

fine piece of beef, or to a

who

him

presented

with some broad-brimmed beaver, " Your humble servant,"

and the law

is

yet observed.

Downing's Letters cannot be compared

which was

are altogether of a higher cast.

work — "Letters

The

author

would

is a

there

hence the necessity of secrecy, which lends

real danger;

no inconsiderable charm a

to those of Junius,

With Junius

seen

on Junius, by Newhall, Boston, 1831?"

merchant

be, if a "

Have you ever

to his letters.

in Salem,

and curious enough

it

cute" Salem merchant should have pene-

He

trated the secret.

Lord

ascribes their authorship to

Temple, and makes out his case pretty well. This is, however, not the only American work on the authorship of

The game

these famous productions.

venom is deadly; in name has been uttered

of Junius

;

his letters

were written

they amuse some, instruct others.

riosity to the philologist

the true

high; his

Yankee idiom

his

for the high-

Downing's, on the other hand, are

est in the nation. all:

is

commons

the house of lords and

They

for

will be a cu-

some hundred years hence, when

will

have given way,

languages in time do; and, in

fact,

they are

as all provincial

now

of interest

to the student, unacquainted with the peculiar expressions

New

of

England,

tached to them

—and

a little

when they

glossary ought to be

are collected together.*

heard, however, some true blue Yankees assert, that

ing does not write

classical

Toscan Yankee spoken? different

Yankee; but where

The Connecticut idiom

from that of Boston or

New

Hampshire.

at-

have

I

Downis

the

is

very

I

once

heard two Mecklinburghers earnestly dispute on the question •

whether

The

a purer

Low-German

is

spoken

Letters of both the Jack Downing's (the major

thological person, of whom there are

two

in Strelitz or is

not the only my-

editions; there are

two Bacchuses,

two Venuses, &c.,) have been separately published since the author wrote the above, yet no glossaiy has been appended to them. Editou.

—

155

(

However,

Schvverin.

Low-German

)

this is not quite the

same; because

a decided dialect, with a different

grammar, Yankee consists much more in some peculiar words, or words used in a peculiar sense, and in the pecuis

&c., while

liar it

mode

of expression, in strange metaphors, &c.,

consists as

and

is,

much

in

in fact,

compared rather

therefore, in this respect, to be

the language of the

—

thought and pronunciation as in words;

common people

ter never failed to disgust

But

in Berlin.

the

to

lat-

me, while the former may be very

amusing.

Some

of Downing's illustrations are capital, at which no-

body, of whatever party he

though he leans strongly

now and

then gives his

to

own

may

party some smart

times he wanders in allegories

meddle with. But

that

be, can help smiling;

hits.

Some-

—the most dangerous things

many of the

proved by their great popularity.

view has yet taken them up.

and

one side of the question, yet he

am

I

They

istructive and sprightly article

to

letters are well written is

surprised that no re-

afford opportunity for

an

on the various jargons, and

same time, some single books which have exercised

at the

a great influence in politics, such as Junius, the

Rendu of Necker, &c. Did we live in ancient

Compte

Downing, being a mysgrow into aheros: gods may have sometimes a mythological personage become such by strange processes. I was reading, shortly ago, with what great fear the crew of Captain Kotzebue's times. Jack

terious person, would, without question, gradually

vessel,

made

when he circumnavigated

their first approach to

had passed

it,

the poor Russian tars were so rejoiced, that,

ex tempore creating a deity of

god Horn, covite

in the act of It

flag.

the world a second time,

Cape Horn, and how, when they this Cape,

they represented

paying particular respect

would do the captain and

his

to the

Mus-

crew good

to

know how entirely the terrors of this Cape are lost on our whalers, who think no more of weathering it than Cape Cod; and prefer

it

much

to the tedious passage

through the Straits

of Magellan.

Children,

illiterate

people, and nations in their earliest

156

{

by a

stages, are constantly impelled

make

)

desire to personify, to

the abstract, or invisible, concrete and palpable.

This

celebration of the Russian sailors, though but in sport, af-

Had

fords, nevertheless, an exhibition of this natural desire. it

happened

we

in earlier ages,

should soon have had sacri-

win the good graces of the jealous god Horn, whose symbol might have been a large horn, out of which he blew the gales which harass the circumnavigators of the Cape, or who might have been represented with a huge horn fices offered to

on his forehead,

to buffet the vessels;

two thousand years, might have " symbolics" of

this mytlios.

many thousand

one of the

the illiterate

and a Creuzer,

tried his ingenuity

The name Cape Horn

after

on the

itself is

instances of the facility with

which

mould and change things to make them fitted to The Cape was discovered by Lemaire and

their capacity.

Schouten, and called Cape Hoorn, in honor of the city of

Hoorn, not been

far

from the Texel, where their expedition had

The English

fitted out.

Horn,

a

changed the name into

sailor

good name for any cape, and for

this

par

excel-

lence.

Imagine

tween tels

me now

New

going on board a steamboat, plying be-

York and Albany, those

refined floating ho-

and swift couriers on the Hudson, which, one might say,

arts,

which

fine arts, are the

country presents to a foreigner.

this

in respect to

most striking objects It is a fact, that

the Americans, these enthusiastic utilitarians, to venture a bull, lavish

an elegance upon these steamboats, which would

be unaccountable, were we not acquainted with the powerful effect

"

of competition.

Courier and Inquirer!

Sir, the

rope, sir,"

— says

a little fellow,

dle of that paper, in

landing.

"

The

some

Standard,

street not far sir!

news from Washington," your

"

Le Blanc's

sir," calls another; "

A

trial

a

Eubun-

from the steamboat-

A Jackson

calls

refusal of the Courier, that

ministration.

Latest news from

approaching you with

paper; the latest

another, concluding from

you

are a friend of the ad-

and conviction for murder,

revolution in Paris," says his oppo-

(

157

)

you approach, the more these officious messengers of the events and gossip of two hemispheres nent; and the nearer

thicken around you. one;

"The

third; "

—"The

Daily Advertiser!" exclaims

Gazette!" says another;

There

is

"The Advocate!"

Downing

a letter of Jack

"

again the spokesman of the Daily Advertiser. fire in

Charleston," says his competitor; "

a

in to-day," says

The

A

great

total loss of

the ship Raleigh," utters another news-pedler; "

The Tem-

perance Recorder!" and a quarto paper is held out to you; " what? " Oranges, sir," asks a " The Anti-Masonic man, pushing through the crowd of urchins and lads. " I

want nothing but

to

be

left

alone."

steam begins to whistle with to

its

—" Very

well, sir."

—The

sharp noise, an overmatch

every other sound, except the similar cutting tone of

caping steam from the pipes of opposition boats.

The

es-

vessel,

yet fastened to the pier, moves forward and backward, like an impatient horse, dashing the water against the side of the

wharf; the loud bell rings over your head; the opposition boats ring their bells, too; ladies and gentlemen, with their children, rush in over the narrow bridge,

which connects

the boat with the land, together with pushing porters and

searching friends; trunks

your

over your head, veils

fly

by

your eyes, carpet bags knock you wheelbarrows endanger your toes and shins.

face, canes threaten

right and

The

float

left,

single strokes are tolling; the opposition toll their sin-

comers hasten from the different

gle strokes, too; late

puffing and blowing; tions;

—some people

hackney coaches call

rattle

from

streets,

all

direc-

from the wharves, some leap on

board, and climb over the railing; the boat

moves more

—

unruly to and fro; a bundle of tracts is thrown to you: " Please, sir, distribute them;" a baby, with a cap of sky-blue sarsinet, silver tassels,

and yellow feathers,

is

yet handed

over to a red-faced, panting Irish woman, with a bonnet of contrasting colors, and

—some

people remain disappointed

on shore, looking, with an angry

face, after the boat, be-

cause a single second costs them twelve hours, perhaps, twenty-four.

The

shrill

steam ceases

—the boat moves

on.

!

(

)

bundles and vallises are yet thrown from the wharf;

Some one

158

falls into

the

water— never mind,

the boat cannot stop.

Presently, a second boat darts from between two other piers the dangerous race begins, and

Another

fortable.

bell!

paid their passage, please

Another

the

American

feels

com-

to step to

the captain's office!"

rush, another squeeze; oh, for the everlasting trou-

bles in this

Since

now

"Passengers who have not

I

life

have been in

this country, the size

and general

arrangement of these boats have been considerably improved, much as I admired them, when I first arrived. The same is

the case with the packets to Liverpool and Havre.

I

lately

visited one of these stately vessels, and was struck with the

improvements,

in respect to the vessel itself, as well as the

comfort and elegance of the accommodations for the passengers, though the vessel in

which

I

came from England was

then, and justly so, considered a model of a fine ship, and

of a comfortable and elegant packet.

These packets be-

tween the two worlds belong to a branch of statistics, important for the correct understanding of the history of our times.

The

large steamboats on the

Hudson have

a

room

sively devoted to the use of the ladies, where they

down

or arrange their dress; adjoining

and gentlemen

;

so that the different

is a

exclu-

may

lie

parlor for ladies

members of a family may

see each other below deck, and yet the ladies need not go into

the

common room for gentlemen, nor the latter need enter tne The next room is the long cabin, which

lady's cabin proper.

serves as a dining saloon, and, during the time between

used by the gentlemen. There is, besides, at the fore end of the boat, a separate " bar-room," where refreshments may be had, books may be borrowed, and maps, the meals,

is

and guide-books may be bought. In all rooms, except the The last, you find fine carpets and tasteful silk curtains.

deck

is

shaded by a wooden roof, on which

itself

you can

Smoking is permitted walk, under an awning of sail-cloth. with the activity of was struck only on the fore-deck, and I

159

(

,

)

two men, who were here engaged in removing the moist traces of smoking and chewing, as soon as a passenger had

make

taken the liberty to

the fore-deck his spitting-box.

mankind should be so cleanly as to require the services of two men to be constantly employed in removing an object of disgust, which the other half is, Strange, that one half of

nevertheless, dirty enough to throw into their way, and not sufficiently civil to take the

even

very modest and practical

hint thus given them.

A

number of

ladies in

mourning were,

In England and here, mourning dress cess.

A

traveller,

prised

at

seeing

from

far

New

is

on board.

carried to ex-

from the European continent,

so

many

both these countries.

I

people dressed

a village

She was

York.

in

in

is

sur-

black in

met, one day, a lady of

Rockaway,

quaintance, in

as usual,

my

ac-

on the sea-shore, not

mourning; she told

me

the reason of her sombre dress; some distant relation had " But," said I, " I saw you in mourning half a year died. ago: for for

whom was

"We

that?"

— Mary, my dear," turning

we

in

mourning, then?"

effect of this

were then

in

to her sister, " for

You may

mourning

whom were

easily imagine that the

naivete upon the whole circle was the opposite

to the lugubrious.

A proper regard ternal signs,

is,

for our departed friends,

and agrees with our feelings. to

shown by ex-

undoubtedly, becoming for a civilized man,

But

if

mourning

is-

carried

such an extent as in England and the United States,

it

has no more meaning than the going into mourning of a court, ordered

by the high-chamberlain,

princess of a distant dynasty, to

for some prince or which the mourners are not

by the use of the word cousin between it causes a state of things which may with the whole life of an individual. A

farther related than

ruling heads.

Besides,

seriously interfere

female

is

born to be married, marriage requires previous ac-

quaintance, and, as things

now

stand, acquaintance cannot,

generally, take place without social intercourse; mourning,

however, throws a young lady out of society.

I

have known

;

160

(

families in

which young

)

ladies continued to

wear mourn-

ing for some very distant cousins, from their seventeenth

year to their twenty-first: a very serious

much

affair in a

country

where

ladies cease

on the

full tide

of marriageableness than in other parts of the

world.

Some

avoid this inconvenience by going to balls in

earlier to be considered as floating

semi-mourning, which never

There

pleasant impression.

—

which shows too plainly the Germans and French

I

fails to is a

make on me

mockery

mourn, but

are

more

a

very un-

in such a contrast,

I grieve not.

I

think

rational in regard to the

wearing of mourning.

On board of these steamboats, between New York and Albany, and New York and Philadelphia, there is generally a man with a case of types, offering them for sale to passengers, who are desirous of printing their names, with indelible ink, on their wearing apparel.

years ago, the dustry. It

is

first

remember, when

I

saw, a number of

carried on this novel branch of in-

clear that these types cannot be of use to

yet, standing not far

how the

I

man who

from the man with

any one

his box, I observed

principle, so universally spread, of self-love or self-

consideration, united with the leisure of every passenger on a steamboat, and his eagerness to seize upon any thing which will give some occupation to his mind, induced a number of people to buy what at first they universally took into their hands with the expression of, " Well, what nonA farmer would approach, and, as an Amesense is this?"

board

rican takes every thing in his hand, and views sides,

whether

it

one of the names already composed, and placed case, in

it

on

all

belong to him or not, he would take up

which the

letters

in a little tin

were kept together by a screw.

come and explain own name on linen, in books, &c. Great doubt is, mean while, expressed on the visage of him who handles the types. " What's your name, sir? you need not buy it, just tell me your name." The goddess Suada, the protectress of all shopkeepers, assists, and the name of the hesitating farmer Presently, the vender of the types would

the great advantages of being able to print one's

-

161

(

is

I

With

given.

in type

—

the swiftness of the best compositor,

printed

it is

—" There,

add the surnames for nothing,

be; don't

the

)

sir,

however long they may

look fine? You'd better take

it

it."

time our farmer has seen his name

first

over the world

It is,

faction in the assurance that their

The

love of authorship

is

some

satis-

it is

will be as active

town-meeting,

sends his report to the county-paper.

By

degrees, the farmer pulls out his quarter of a dollar,

receives his name, puts

—

all

know

whole process universal;

in kings as in the secretary of the smallest

who

and I

this.

that criminals, sentenced to die, will often find

printed.

perhaps,

in print,

sometliing flattering in

there; is

put

it is

your whole name, and

sir,

it

in his pocket,

and

Another has already begun

retires.

—half ashamed handle other

to

types, to go through the same psychological process, found-

human

ed upon some of the original principles of the and, therefore,

is

sure to produce the same result.

soul,

After

about half a dozen persons had thus been rendered happy

by the contemplation of

their

own names,

I

stepped up

to the seller of types, and, perceiving that his dialect

him

foreign, addressed

than told

English,

his

In French,

Germany he spoke

I tried

worse

still

peddling disciple of Guttenberg

me, that he was a Dutchman; he was actually

Holland.

my

in French.

this

was

it.

I

a

Jew

of

nov/ expressed

surprise at his success; but he assured me, that he had

carried on this lucrative trade in battered types, for several years, every

day going up the

way

to

Alba-

ny, and returning, by another boat, the same day to

New

York.

I freely

lity of these

can't do I

river, half the

acquainted him with

my

disbelief in the uti-

who had bought them. " They with them," he said. "But how is it,"

types to any one

any thing

replied, " that people, notwithstanding, continue to buy,

since

you

years?"

tell

me

that

— Shrugging

fools there are going,

will always be fools

you have been in this line for several he answered, "Why, sir,

his shoulders,

and fools there are coming, and there

enough

" no baker's business

is

to

buy."

—"

If

it is

so," said

I,

founded upon surer principles." 21

—

(

These, as

162

)

have given them, are the ipsissima verba of the

I

and

type-seller,

perhaps, not quite

it is,

in

fair

me, that

I

thus expose the secret of his trade; but considering that, so far

from declining, a great competition exists already in

commerce,

this sure-footed

probably, produce

my

secret will,

its

That the boxes of these phi-

harm.

little

revealing of

losophical tradesmen should be decorated with great as "

blems and mottos, such of Liberty," or

Go

course.

The Free

"Every Man's Own

em-

Press, the Palladium

Press,"

is

a matter of

through the world, and you will find that every

trade, which is founded upon some simple principle of the body or mind, such as appetite, vanity, hatred, or laziness,

All the world over,

sure to flourish.

is

by menageries, sweet

chiefly because, as

to read, in the

much money

Goethe says,

made is

weekly paper, on Sunday morning,

so in

comfort and ease, of some bloody battles against the

all

Turks, afar

It is so nice to see a

off".

grim tiger behind a

safe grate.

" "

is it

Do you

think

The Hudson."

different,

parisons

it

—

as fine as the

I

am

and besides

—the

Rhine?"

—" What,

sir.^"

unable to compare two things totally I

am

ingenuity of

a great enem}'" to odious little

minds.

com-

Dante has never

gained by being compared to Homer, or Vondel to Shak-

What

speare.

within

itself,

the small

is

or

is

great stands

to be

by

itself,

and has

its

compared

when

to the great, it is not difficult to

say which will be the loser by the comparison.

enjoy on a hot day

character

not great, and on the other hand,

it is

When you

a glass of cool sparkling cider of the

best kind, and an officitfus acquaintance of yours, seeing the praise of the liquid in the expression of your face, asks you:

" is

Now, tell me, is gone

not

it

equal to any

Champagne?"

the taste

at once.

The Rhine descends from

the lofty Alps,

where he takes

leave from his twin-brother, the Rhone, and after a course of

nine hundred miles through loses in beauty

length, his

way

many most

on a nearer approach lies

through

flat

romantic countries, to the sea, until at

j)rose (as

some

illustrious

—

163

(

)

dynasties end) and he empties his volumes into the ocean.

The Hudson, coming from an creases in beauty in

uninteresting country, in-

comparatively short course, the

its

toward the Atlantic, until the

nearer

it

of

course equal in grandeur any object of nature.

its

rolls

peaks and its

basaltic walls, its precipices

miles

last sixty

Its

and lofty crags, and

vast sheet of water, as seen from the height of Singsing,

by any thing the Rhine can offer to Hudson is beautiful, nature has done more for it than for the Rhine, which history and art have ennobled beyond any other river in the world. If are perhaps unequalled

Where

the beholder.

the

Flanders be (according to Sterne,) the great prize-fighting stage of it is

Europe

—Saxony

is

then at least the

whose bosom

the Rhine, on

sails

first

cock-pit

the History of the

From the wars of Cesar, and the first Roman colonist planted on its bank, down

European Continent. vine which the

to Bliicher's bold passage of the river at Caub,

on new-

year's night, of 1814, and the pictures sent forth from Diisseldorf *

—what

distruction and

and the

what

activity in

civilization, in science, in war, in

commerce,

battles, conflicts, councils,

elections and coronations,

arts,

governments are we not reminded

How many

Rhine?

perched on

yards between

on

How lovely are

Strasburg,

banks and

its

fastnesses raised

in its

neighborhood, the strong

by human hands, and the

man's perseverance, which ceptible of

the green vine-

how noble the minsters and Worms! The ancient

shaggy rocks, and

its

of Cologne, and cities

what changes of passing along the

legends are told of the bold castles

high peaks!

its

of, in

striking proofs of

effects its results

on a spot, sus-

any cultivation only by dint of the most laborious

exertion, are objects of continual and ever-varying interest • In

many

the fine

parts of

Germany,

prevails, at present, the greatest activity in

extending' through

arts,

all classes

of society.

While

in

Munich

palaces are raised to gain room for fresco paintings, the effect of a high elevation of taste for

common

is

seen

in

many manufactured

comfort or domestic ornament.

articles or trifles, calculated

In Prussia,

it

would seem,

that sculpture has attained a far higher degree in Berlin, than painting',

while the academy art.

— EnrTon.

at

Dusseldorf, lately re-established, excels in the latter

164

(

to the traveller,

him

delight

who no where

at all,

Hudson

— the

in the

world finds more

to

going on foot and passing from village to

in

village, than along

If the

)

and near the banks of the Rhine.

is

grander in those parts where

grand

it is

neighborhood of the Taunus, the Vosges, the

whence you look into the valley Moses must have gazed from his height

heights at Heidelberg, from of the Rhine, as into the

promised land, and many other spots and places, are

much more

important to all,

Frankfort, so near to the Rhine,

interesting.

many with

on account of

regard to history, but interesting to

forming the crossing point of the travel-

its

Here the Russian passes through

lers of all nations.

if

glishman journeying to Italy, the Italian travelling to

And

people,

many watering

then the

making

somewhere

I

is

my

have expressed

else,

and

I

will

" There are rivers, whose course

volume of water

which

collect

time enjoyment their business, from

for a

quarters of the globe.

the Rhine

places,

greater, but

he

EnLon-

goes to Paris, the Parisian proceeding to Vienna, the

don.

is

all

admiration of

copy the passage. is

longer, and

whose

none which unites almost

every thing that can render an earthly object magnificent and charming, in the same degree as the Rhine.

down from

gions into the open sea, so

many

it

flows

comes down from remote an-

neighboring nations.

the history of the so

it

every age with momentous events in

tiquity, associated in

presents

As

the distant ridges of the Alps, through fertile re-

historical

A

recollections of

river

which

Roman

con-

quests and defeats, of the chivalric exploits in the feudal periods, of the wars and negotiations of

modern

times, of

whose bones repose by its side; on whose borders stand the two grandest monuments of the noble architecture of the middle ages; whose banks present

the coronations of emperors,

every variety of wild and picturesque rocks, thick forests, fertile plains; vineyards, sometimes gently sloping, sometimes perched

among

lofty crags,

where industry has won

a

domain among the fortresses of nature; whose banks are orna-

mented with populous

cities,

flourishing towns and villages.

165

(

)

and ruins, with which a thousand legends are con-

castles

nected; with beautiful and romantic roads, and salutary mineral springs; a river,

banks

whose waters

wines; which, in

offer the choicest

hundred miles,

offer choice fish, as its its

course of nine

hundred and thirty miles of unin-

affords six

terrupted navigation, from Basle to the sea, and enables the inhabitants of

ducts of

its

banks

to

exchange the rich and various pro-

whose

shores;

its

cities,

famous

for

commerce,

sci-

ence, and

works of strength, which furnish protection

Germany,

are also famous as the seats of

and of

ecclesiastical councils,

Roman

to

colonies,

many

and are associated with

of the most important events recorded in the history of man-

kind;

— such

a river,

Germans

not surprising that the

is

it

regard with a kind of reverence, and frequently

call

in

poetry Father, or King Rhhie."

The Hudson

has

more of

a

marine character; Tappan-Sea

and Haverstraw-Bay, notwithstanding their inland have really the character of bays; the vessels,

may

sider the

more

contribute to give

view of the

beautiful,

it

last fifteen

when you

sail

many

this appearance.

You

can hardly imagine a

which you may enjoy,

down; but above, the view

who

is

nobler sight on for

Its eastern

gentle cast,

is

is,

sailing up.

earth, than

twelve cents, by taking

passage in the Manhattanville steamboat, and sailing the river.

con-

I

miles of the river, to be

perhaps, more beautiful to the traveller

that

situation,

square-rigged

down

bank, whose scenery partakes of the

studded with neat and comfortable looking

houses, peeping out of the thick and rich foliage; the Avestern

bank, bolder, grander, and more variegated in

covered with equally rich

and then by path.

foliage,

its

a rock, projecting over a picturesque

As you approach

form,

though interrupted

is

now

winding

nearer to the city, you can perceive

vessels lying in the river, already widening like a land-locked

bay; the eastern bank becomes more and more covered with houses, until at last you glide along a forest of masts, and

presently are landed in the midst of noise and bustle.

Hardly

less

imposing

is

the view up Ihe river, on

some

166

(

parts of

There

it.

)

on shore from which most

are points

magnificent vistas open themselves.

my

perb view from the top of one of height of which river toward

I

one summer

I lived

and often enjoyed the su-

in Manhattanville near the river,

cherry trees, of a

have seen specimens here only, up the

Tappan

Opposite was Fort Lea, where

Sea.

that singular and imposing wall of dark trap begins,

hundred

rising perpendicularly several

which

accompa-

feet high,

about twenty miles, the Hudson so closely, that

nies, for

sometimes the broken pieces which have tumbled from the steep heights have hardly found a resting place between

the water and these rocks,

They form by

—justly

and dale, by cultivated

hill

called the Palisadoes.

a fine contrast to the opposite scenery, variegated fields

At

and thick woods.

a distance, a great sheet of water might be seen extending far

up

to the border of the rising shores near Singsing.

have added

and impressive in

vistas,

order to be brought back to I

very useful complement

I

of beautiful or instructive

list

over which

ing spots in the world. a

my

this point to

I

have only

many

have found

to cast a glance

of the most interest-

a list of this

to a journal; to

me

kind

has

it

to

be

become

indispensable. It

has been often observed that Americans eat quickly,

and devour instead of dining. spect to

all

I

subscribe to this with re-

the classes busily engaged in any occupation of

industry, and in the case of nearly boats, &c.

I

all

public houses, steam-

do not wish to detain you with an inquiry into

the probable causes of this rapidity in eating, the connexion of which, with other national satisfactorily traced;

traits, can, in

nor into

its

probable

my

opinion, be

effects,

such as a

universal tendency to indigestion; which, however, stands

undoubtedly in some connexion

also

with the

many sudden

and violent changes of weather which we have

But

I will

mention one

fact

which, singular as

observed so often, that I think I can rely is

well

known how

intimately

ed with each other, and

all

how much

on

it

its

to endure. is,

I

have

truth.

It

our senses are connectthe sense of hearing af-

167

(

)

If a person be desirous of tasting

fects that of taste.

some-

thing very delicate, or to find out some ingredient of a mixture

by

taste,

the air; and,

much

there be

moment."

quiet for a to

he either shuts his eyes or looks vaguely into

if

It

accustom one's self to

rounded by a great

taste

No

noise.

"Be

noise in the room, says,

would require considerable time with

fine discrimination, sur-

chymist, in a situation of this

kind, would trust his taste in a scientific and delicate in-

Hence

quiry.

so absurd to

it is

have Turkish music during

the host gives something exquisite; if he give

dinner,

if

poor or

common

fare, the

more

noise the better.

Soft and

very harmonious music might, perhaps, not interfere with

a

connoisseur's silent meditation upon the delicate bouquet of

prime Latour or Margaux, or the delights of

But

juicy snipe.

a savory

the music ought not to be so good as to

and

draw

the attention from the primary object of a diner choisi; for it is

impossible to have two ideas or the clear consciousness

of two distinctly different sensations at once.

be surprised, then,

if I

tell

you

You

will not

that I always have found

the people on board a steamboat to eat faster, the faster the

machine

goes.

If the boat stop during dinner, the rattling

of knives and forks abates; not only because a few inquire at

what landing-place the boat

tention to the place

is,

(for

people

where the boat happens

who pay no

at-

to be, but con-

tinue to occupy themselves with the dinner, unconsciously relax in their exertions;) but also, and principally, because

the engine slackens

sumes

its

pace.

As

soon as the piston re-

its activity, the clattering of plates

knives recommences in

all its

vigor.

and clanking of

The engine produces

the sensation of quickness and bustle upon the mind, which,

with

this general impression

imparting If,

as I

it

to the

on the sensorium, cannot avoid

nerves of the hands and the lower jaw.

have no doubt, the velocity with which every

thing around us proceeds, influences our whole disposition, I

am

sure the inhabitants of Mercury, which

rate of three

hundred and

fifteen

moves

at the

miles in a second, must

dine so quickly, that a Yankee would be considered, with

168

(

)

them, an old English country gentleman; and perhaps they restore the deposites, before they are

removed

they would not have talked about

half a year,

it

at all events,

:

— while, on

the other hand, a senator, haranguing against the bank of

Uranus, would begin his speech

in the year 1800, and on new-year's day of 1900, would be just saying, " One word

more, Mr. President, and

I

have done."

About twenty -five miles from New York, you pass Tarrytown, where Mr. Irving has bought a house, to spend his I am glad to see that Mr. Irving has become, one might say, a national writer, with the Germans. I believe

summers. his

works are nearly

as

much known

in

Why

and not only by translations.

is

Germany

as here,

that the

it

cans have so few writers like Irving, so few

Ameri-

who show

an

inventive talent and independent character of their own?

There are numerous reasons, which

would take

it

me more

time to enumerate, than you would be willing to grant

me.

Some

of the most important, in

my

opinion, are the

vastness of the country, which gives indeed, to many, a field

of laborious enterprise and occupation; but

duces

also, the

renders the whole book trade very

from what

it is

necessarily in-

it

population to scatter over vast extents, which

in central

difficult

and different

Europe, or England, France, and

Germany. Our " enterprising publishers," have it not in their power, to " encourage" authors so " liberally" as a Paris, or

London Murray can

do.

them, a whole nation having a long

Then

there

start ahead,

is

before

which speaks

the same language, and in which a whole literature has al-

ready gone through ment.

all

ricans, than perhaps to

before

the successive stages of

Originality, therefore,

comes more

its

develop-

AmeNone was ever

difficult to

any other people.

placed in the same situation with regard to this

point.

Besides,

nations

every thing

at the

fight the pope,

stand

still

are

like

same time.

individuals; they cannot do

The Germans

did not at once

fathom the depths of philosophy, bid the sun

and the earth march, send Humboldt

to

South

—

169

(

)

America, compose Don Juan, and produce Faust. strtutian of the

much and

United States

a charter

is

a gradual development

— enough

con-

occupy whole

to

For the present, the two great

generations.

The

which requires objects

which

engage the main activity of the nation, are material and mechanical improvement, (in which

I

and the development of

capital,)

include the obtaining of politics.

young

It is a

country, placed in a very peculiar situation, by the side of

most

th'C

civilized

direct at once

its

and oldest nations, and, therefore, has

attention to a thousand things

more

connected with the Well-being of society, than polite

The United

ture, or the fine arts.

spects, to introduce, sow, plant,

States have, in

to

directly litera-

some

re-

and raise what other nations

gained slowly in the course of centuries.

These are some of the reasons; the facts cannot be denied. Poland rose and sank, and not a chord of that lyre

was touched, which before

all

others should have been ex-

pected to sound, in praise or sympathy, with that struggle

Nor can

for independence.

tion for satire, if

which

no other cause, would

gave

to

call forth; for

Governor Hamilton

Ensign Frost, the holy banner of

rhymer

pers, in a

nullification,

with

—" Take Ensign Frost, &c.," without inducing

the words single

there be, at present, any disposi-

would be supposed party virulence,

it

to dress

up the account,

as given

by the

few verses; and nothing more would have been

quisite to

make

a

pare-

a satire nearly as bitter, as the lashing

it

lays of Hipponax*.

How many not,

songs of praise or of keen reproach, would

with other nations,

carried

all

the elections produce, were they

on with the same universal interest

as here.

Though

but few citizens can take a personal part in French elections,

none passes without bringing forth some smart poetry. it may be very well that it is so. Certainly it is

But, again,

connected with that soberness so important to the whole political fabric •

of America.

Not quite so bad

bitter satires, that

!

Had

the Americans

more

readi-

Hipponax lashed Buphalus and Anthermus, with so

they liung themselves.

22

Editor.

170

(

)

ness to enjoy a biting sarcasm, or plaisanterie, and not to

them

let

also

roll off like vvater

have to

suffer

from

from a duck's wing, they would

has gone often

much

mind the same which a piercing remark

this agility of

the French have suffered, with

whom

who, not

farther than plain truth, and

unfrequently, have believed that a whole philosophical sys-

tem or an institution might be proved trated by a single conceit. I

be

to

false,

and pros-

think the English parliament keep, in this respect, a

wise and agreeable mean between the French and the

There

ricans.

much more fun

American congress, and,

in the to

is

produce this

much

—which necessary — member of parliament is,

state of things,

in fact,

a

is

surer that something smart or witty will be relished,

than a

member

of congress.

humorous kind,

of a

Ame-

in their parliament than

more

or, at least,

For attacks

in parliament, if

more good

are received with

nature,

they ought to be, as the attacks of wit

as

and humor, than in congress, where every thing

is

taken as

mere downright, plodding politics. A few miles above Tarrytown, (where it will not require much persuasion by the inhabitants to make a stranger act

name

as the

lumbus

of the place requires, since the historian of Co-

lives there,) lies the state prison,

sing or

Mount

name.

Instead of Singsing,

Hush', or,

Pleasant,

we might

of the Turks

is

in it

ought

borrow, for this place, the

for their church-yards,

be preferred.*

readers

The inmates may

of New York. penitentiary,

and

call it

the City of

of this

I

dare say, would

dumb

abode, proba-

is at

Singsing one of the state prisons of the state

There are from eight hundred to a thousand convicts in this founded upon the Auburn plan, the chief characteristics of

are, that die prisoner is

tinues to

its

Hushpoetic name

not understand the allusion of the author without

being informed that there

which

Sing-

But, according to the exquisite American taste in

Silence.

Some

call it

to be called

making geographical names, Mumville,

•

which,

direct contradiction to

bound

be an inmate of the

to perpetual sile.nce as long as

penitentiarj',

and that he sleeps

he con-

in a solitary

—

(

do not cherish

bly,

though

must

I

view from the

it

171

)

by the name of Mount Pleasant,

testify to the truth of this

name,

as to the

Close to the prison, on the top of

spot.

The wide waHudson, the high and steep bank of the opposite shore, and the distant view along the river the a hill opens a prospect of great beauty.

ters of the

—

many

objects of nature before you, all testifying to

power and

greatness,

beneath; with

its

straight

narrow window holes,

Here

many uniform and men who have forfeited

walls and

built for

is

a spot

where,

vent would have been

built.

The

their liberty.

her

contrast strangely with the prison

in olden times, a confinest spots,

and very

properly so, were always selected for the erection of convents.

Names

often play cruel

and sometimes

men upon

tricks

upon men and

things,

To meet

a plain,

their names.

very common. I saw lately But there are contrasts more The arch-villain Gates was called striking than these. Titus, as his crowned kinsman in disposition, Louis XL, was the first French monarch who called himself Most Christian Majesty; for the same reason, probably, that the inquisition, unholy if ever any thing was so, was called the Holy Office. cross,

and unamiable Laura

is

a Porcia, ah, such a Porcia!

Thus, the name of the assassin of Henry HI. was Clement,

and Tiberius's name was Gracchus; and there

is

Archbishop

There have been Laud, never many guilty Innocents; but we should find no end to the The dirk by which list of these beliers of their own names. to be sufficiently lauded.

the French knight gave the final coup, was called misericorde, (the coup itself,

coup de grace,) and the drop

in ancient cas-

by which people were "eliminated," as the phrase was in the French revolution, went by the neat little name of oubliette; as if the horrors of the living grave beneath were tles,

cell.

The

eliuion.

Pennsylvania Penitentiary system

In both the prisoner

is

constantly

is

fonnded on perpetual

engaged

in labor.

Editor.

se-

—

—

—

172

(

)

but like a dram of Lethe.

Cannons, formerly used in moundrawn by men, were styled amuseltes very pleasant toys! So is a brook, near the Trasimene lake,

—

tainous countries and

which drank human blood

in

such

and deep draughts, now

full

called Sanguinetto* Blood-kin, to translate tle

it

literally, or Lit-

Blood; while Ferdinand IV., King of Naples,

who

fled

three times from his capital and the main part of his king-

dom,

is

called Invictiis, on the pedestal of his statue,

There

the Studj.

in congress a

is

lately in the papers that a

judge;

now

bench, and

I

Judge Cage, and

in

saw

I

Mr. Lawless had been appointed

suppose Judges Lawless and Cage form the ask any honest

man whether he would

not feel

A Docwas one of this York, from West

inclined to challenge the bench instead of the jury.

Physick or Lieutenant Drummer, name in the Literary Convention in

tor

Point, are correct, but sometimes

as there

New

names are cruelly

true;

for example, the brig which carried Napoleon from Elba

was

called

The Inconstant. Seldom does the name happen when Napoleon presented Marshal Keller-

to hit so well, as

mannt with Johannisberg.

That Mount Auburn, the

ing place of the Bostonians, ter; as

the entombed

solitary

so called,

is

is

rest-

somewhat

bit-

are certainly subject to silence and

confinement, though

the

comparison with

the

Auburn system cannot be carried any farther. The most shocking contrast between name and person, of which I know, is offered in the case of the woman who poisoned more than thirty individuals, and whose name was Gottfried. J

When

our boat approached Newburg, a town on the right

bank of the Hudson,

a farmer,

into conversation, told

me

with

that, the

whom

I

had entered

day before, he went

from Albany down the river. His family lives in Newburg, and he came from the west to see them, after an ab•

i

Near Ossaja (Bone-field.) Editoh. Kelkrmann would be translated Cellar-man, and Johannisberg produces

the best hock. t

Peare

Editor.

in (.iwl.

She was executed

in

Bremen.

Editoh.

— 173

(

sence of five years.

)

Shortly before the boat arrived at the

place of his destination, he

fell

asleep, as is often the case

with members of the industrial classes on board these boats,

owing

to the

cupation.

uniform motion and the want of physical oc-

When

passed the place.

he awoke, he found that the boat had "

shrewd look, " paid say nothing to I

come from

I said

my

passage on to

my folks here.

at this

She took a

with a

York, and

will

But

time of the day."

sirous of going to a place

when

New

Only they

so bad as the fate of the poor old

Manchester.

me

nothing," he said to

shall

wonder where

this is not quite

quaker lady who was de-

midway between London and

seat in the mail-coach, in

London;

she had arrived at the place of her destination, she

began to collect her bag, handkerchief, parasol, shawl " All right!" said the guard, dashing the door to, and on the poor

woman was

She was obliged

carried to Manchester.

to return, but before she could get out of the coach,

she tried this time to be

much

though

quicker, the mail-coach start-

ed again for London, before she could manage to get out. It is said that

she floated for three whole months, in this

state of painful suspense,

between the metropolis and Man-

chester.

On

the wharf, in Albany,

coachmen and porters

we were

received by hackney-

offering their services, as

many

imagine; but there are here not as

as in

you may

New York

and Philadelphia, and, consequently, the bustle of their competition

is

not so great.

In the two latter

cities,

they be-

gan to importune passengers in such a degree, that the captains of the steamboats

saw themselves obliged

them from coming on board. They,

therefore,

to prohibit

now stand

five

or six deep on shore, stretching out their heads, with a pair

some by some interrogatory heads and hands. And if you happen to

of anxiously searching eyes, trying to catch those of passenger, or to attract his attention

motion with their

meet the look of one of these aurigse,

his longing desire

and imploring expression, second to none in the whole world, except, perhaps, to that of a half-desponding lover,

(

it

moves your very

heart.

174

)

That you may not disappoint any

of these eager candidates for the carriage of your effects, is

it

necessary to stand before them with downcast eyes, as

you must do

in an auction,

have carefully

to

where

a look

auctioneer, or a twinkling of the lid thing.

is

a bid,

and you

avoid the greedy eye of the loquacious

may

cost

you some-

175

(

)

LETTER

I

There was this time know whether

no music on board the steamboat.

do not

by

method of

the

attracting passengers

the refined call of a band has been entirely abandoned

or not.

When

I

first

impression

came

New

about in the streets of

made upon me by

to this country,

York,

I recollect

and strolled

very well the

the different bands on board the in the air,

and waving

over the wharf, near which they were lying.

This good

boats, far

X.

whose

colors

were streaming

impression, however, was

much enhanced by the tune which

one of these bands played

— the hunter's chorus of the Frei-

schiitz.

When Weber's popular opera first came out,

in Dresden. rus,

Every

I

lived

ear caught the tune of the hunter's cho-

which must certainly have been previously lying

in

every human breast, and only wanted to be called forth, and clearly

pronounced by some one,

and loved by every hearer; poet,

which pointedly and

in order to be

known,

felt,

as the best passages of a great

pithily

pronounce something, the

truth of which instantly strikes every one, and renders the

sentence, in a

moment,

a

common-place.

It is the

same with

effect of the productions of the two just more general, because they speak languages understood by all who think and feel. The artist is for us

all arts,

only the

mentioned

is

the greatest, and

dom

we

love

him most, when, with the wis-

of a master, and the might of genius, he calls up before

176

(

we

us that which

moment we behold

the

feel, in

)

work,

his

was always in our inmost soul, but which we had neither the power of mind, nor elevation and energy enough to bring

Hence the surprise, the undeep emotion, when we are suddenly

clearly to our consciousness.

speakable joy, the

placed before a shepherd boy of Thorwaldson.

It is the

image of grace we carried always with

could not

give

it

we

di Sisto of Raphael;

entire conception of the heavenly

nurses to

but

we

hence our feelings when

birth;

Madonna

us,

we

see, at last, the

recognise the true,

the greatest destiny; hence our feelings,

fulfil

full,

mother and the babe she

when

the waves of Palestrini's music roll on, and our soul says,

" For that music

may

call into life that

within

us.

When

No

have always longed."

I

new

carry any thing absolutely

all

wand

of which the elements lay dormant

the mathematician

Lambert

having heard Gluck's incomparable Alceste, "

proved by

can

artist

into our soul, but his

asks, after

What shall

be

this?" St. Cecilia herself would not be able to

touch a chord of his heart.

From Dresden

went

I

to the

South of Germany, and the

music of the Freischiitz had preceded me. seilles,

Greece, and a Greek,

back a

went

I

and heard the hunter's chorus again.

who had been

in

to

I

it.

went

Naples, and the band played the same tune on parade.

turned to Germany, and

Mar-

sailed to

France and brought

our civilized music, whistled

taste for

I

to

I re-

found that every shoemaker's

I

boy, fetching bread in the early morning for the journey-

men

of his master, sung

it

in the street,

and already

been stereotyped on the cylinder of hand-organs. to

England, where

I

human neyed

feeling all

must

had

it

welcomed me even

From what this tune

I

here, in the

depths in the well of

be drawn to become so hack-

over the world, even to the disgust of lightly

thinking minds!

my

I

wish

I

could ever produce a work, which

would be hawked about for Shakspeare's Romeo and Juliet was offered

centuries after

pence, as

it

travelled

was greeted with Weber's tune;

crossed the Atlantic, and

western hemisphere.

I

death,

a sixto

me

—

(

177

)

on bad paper and

in the Strand,

in

bad print,

poor editions of Don Quixote, are sold

What makes a truth or as

it is

its

" sickening

great beauty

common

which

place,"

is felt

if

or, as the

over Spain.*

all

not

its

Have you ever

how the two extremes meet

considered,

The one proceeding from

ing, and addressing

— both

in

Mathematics and music are universal; they defy

the bars of nations and are understood through

ing

soon

as

heard?

this case?

alike.

striking

by every one

zones

all

the absolute understand-

the other the pure language of feel-

it,

as universal as the principles

of the understand-

Lichtenstein

ing and the elementary feelings of the soul.

found a native of the Cape of Good Hope, humming the tune of a German song,t and Euclid is as true to-day as he

was thousands of years ago; as ten times ten can make no more or less, a thousand years hence than it makes now, but must make a hundred alike for the Esquimaux and the

And

Chinese.

kindest of

There

is

this

is,

also, the

and the most

all arts,

faithful

no age or condition in the

why

reason

life

music

companion

is

to

the

man.

of the individual, and

no period in the history of a nation, from

its

rudest starting

point to the last stages of refinement, that music

is

not wil-

ling to grieve with the afflicted, and to laugh with the gay,

and

to offer

treasures. its

comfort and joy from the infinite variety of her

None of the

fine arts affords so

much

pleasure in

simplest beginnings, as music, none can satisfy the

heart with so for her,

little

The lowest

materials.

human

are not too

and the highest owe her a thousand delights.

the poor slave,

whom

low

When

neither painting nor sculpture, nor

knowledge ennobles, returns from the toilsome task of the day, and wipes the sweat from his heavy brow, he resorts yet to her for some comfort, before he rests his weary limbs; • In liarly

some of our

auctions,

we have heard

" Well, how much's bid

for the Vicar."

It

was the tunc

of,

Freut

cucli des

Lebcns.

23

rattling' to tlie

At the same time

with which every foreigner begins English. •j-

the Vicar of Wakefield fami-

put up as the Vicar, and the auctioneer's tongue

Editoh,

— Euixoii.

it is

tune of

the Vicar,

(

178

)

and the bondsman, who knows but little pleasure in the conwhich he moves, owes to her the richest

tracted circle in

enjoyment he

when he

has,

plays his rude instrument for

young ones to dance around him, and to forget who they How happy I have seen Bohemian peasants, with their are. It seems, as if man, the more he is robbed of his violins! the

rights, the

more he

calls for pleasure

a nation sinks into bondage, and

mer

all

from music; and when the

monuments of forwhen by the

glory, and liberty, and thought are lost,

fierceness of a tyrant or the cruelty of time, all the records

of what still

it

its is

memory

were and

fathers

did, are destroyed,

she, the daughter of

even then,

Heaven, who preserves the

of happier ages, in plaintive songs to kindle at a

future and better day, the pride of freemen and the love of

country in the hearts of daring insurgents, and to change the

song of grief into the bursting

air

Greece ever have risen from her

of the warrior. sleep,

Would

had her degraded

sons not sung the deeds of their fathers, and the

memory

of

where they were unwatched by If you knew the whole history of this people their masters ? What share had as I do, you would answer with me, no. their early honor, in places

—

the inspiring Marseillaise in the late revolution of France?

How much sailors'

for her? all

does England

It is

owe

to her soldiers'

How many battles has Rule

songs?

and her

Britannia fought

recorded in no history, and yet the

effect of

these songs has been immense.

Hark! the trumpet, even

very horses that have

to carry their bold riders

firing the

into yonder square would they go without that martial leader, which sends its piercing sounds into the weakest heart? ;

Hark! the simple, solemn beat of the drums; they sound from the centre of that column, which irtarches up, in measured time, to the doubtful assault, and bridle the bounding courage of the brave and faithful band. tory

is

—And when the

vie-

won, the thankful peals of the conquerors, rise to the

God of the

Just,

and a grateful country answers by the swell-

ing anthem and the

Most High!

full

Te Deum

in the

wide temples of the

—

179

(

)

The herdsman trusts to her, to while away his time, and makes the cliffs of solitary Alps, raised high above the busy home

world, converse with him; she leads the vine dresser

where by rewarded, pleasure grows from the

hills,

irksome and niggardly

his labor, for others,

and she makes lighter

the trying task on board the rolling vessel.

wanderer,

who

his early youth;

sings a song of his

and with her

She

is

with the

home, or hums a tune of quicker the time of

aid, passes

a soldier in the camp. It is

music with which a mother's untiring love,

restless

babe to sleep; music which

lulls

the

ones to a

calls the little

merry show, and gives to toys the greatest charm; music, to which the youth resorts, to speak of love, in the late hour of others' rest, to her, whose eyes have wounded him; it is music which measures the merry steps of harmless joy, and gives utterance to forgetful mirth, stirred by the sparkling contents of the slender glass;

fashion to hear the brilliant

who

work

it

is

she

who

assembles

of a glowing master; she

beguiles the slow hours of a prisoner, and transports

an exile to his

home and

friends; and,

it is

who

she

brings

the balm of comfort to the widow, pouring, with a feeble voice, her burning grief into a lonely

hymn, and she who

accompanies us to the grave.*

When

the rude Indian gives utterance

drum accompanies

to his joy, his

the quickened steps and louder voice,

which, obedient to the universal law, he pours forth in rhyt-

mic measure; and the tibia sounded to the highest strains of Sophocles, and David played his harp, and cornets and cym bals

sounded before the ark,

to praise the

King of Israel, and

Christians go and bid their feelings, too strong for any Ian

guage, rise to the Creator of our hearts on the sacred wings of Heaven-devoted music

— of her whose power

and yet so mysterious, that man, sure, comfort,

• In

grave;

speak of

and peace, which she can

many European still

to

countries, the

more frequently

is

a

all

is

so great

the plea-

instil into his soul,

dead are accompanied by songs

hymn sung

over the grave.

Editoh.

to the

—

(

has no words to

180

)

name them, but must borrow

all

from

taste,

or touch, or sight.

Well

is

she called a daughter of Heaven: whoe'er has

heard, in Michel Angelo's most noble chapel,* the sacred strains,

which

Palestrini has revealed to us, like the greeting

from another world, has

Ay!

felt

the breath of heavenly calm.

not only doth music love man; even the brute to

which the word of reason has been denied, gives utterance to its feeling of life,

and health, and of enjoyment, in notes

which make the wood resound of thanks pious

men do

tell us,

to

Heaven; and

of the pure melodies in which the

blessed sing the praise of God. * Cappella Sistina,in the Vatican, in is

performed.

Editor,

which the service of the passion week

181

(

)

LETTER XL

From Albany

to Schenectady,

and the least exciting of

all

you

travelling,

by

travel it

seems

cidedly locomotion by steam on a rail-road.

to

The

rail-road;

me,

is

de-

traveller,

whose train of ideas is always influenced by the manner in which he proceeds, thinks in a steam car of nothing else but the place of his destination, for the very reason that he

moving

Pent up

so quickly.

in a

on an even plain which seldom and which, when that your attention

people

who have

you of nothing ney's end

is

offers

any objects of

curiosity,

by with such rapidity, together with a number of

pass

never fixed;

all

the same object in view, and think like

else,

but when they shall arrive at their jour-

—thus

situated,

divert you, except

dow

you

does,

it

is

narrow space, rolling along

you

now and

find nothing to entertain or

then a spark flying into the win-

of the car and burning a hole in a lady's veil, or other-

wise exciting the interest of the travellers by a gentle smell of burning. There is no common conversation, no rondolaugh, nothing but a dead calm, interrupted from time to

time, only

by some passenger pulling out

his

watch and

ut-

tering a sound of impatience, that a mile in four minutes

is

the rate of travelling on " this line." Strange, that the most rapid travelling should be the most

wearisome, but so every where. of

man

is

it is;

les

extremes se iouchent, always and

The animal which comes

nearest to the shape

the ugliest; gods and beggars go half naked, and

182

(

)

kings and servants are called by their baptismal names; and

Madame

de Stael delighted in playing soubrettes, while

sombre Shelley amused himself by paper I

letting little ships of

on the water.

float

Madame de Stael, and, in a former letter, Recamier; and now I will tell you an anecdote

have mentioned

Madame

de

which ought not to be lost. A gentleman (who sailed with Captain Kotzebue round the world) told me, that, when he

— — he took, one day, a

lived in Copet, in the house of the former

could but rule or adore

two

with these

company

a storm,

which

at times

a very dangerous occurrence on that superb water.

whole party had at tea,

Had we

fine

newspaper

The

narrow escape, and when, in the evening

a

they talked over their

served, "

a

woman who

and some gentlemen, on the lake of

They were overtaken by

Geneva. is

ladies

a

sail in

Madame

perils,

been drowned,

all

de Stael ob-

would have afforded both the most beautiful woman of

article;

it

the age, and the most gifted would have perished together."

Rolling on in

ways by which from one place and money in

my

swift car, I thought of

to another.

his pocket,

Rousseau, that there

all

the different

man contrives to move man has health in his limbs

earth-bound

little

is

If a

and time

but one

way

to spare, I agree

of travelling

—

with

that

on

foot, " provided always nevertheless " the country be inte-

It is impossible to learn half as

resting.

way; and, fellow

as

Seume

when you

says,

are on foot than to throw

in our country, since

many

live for

tle

much

easier to give a it

in any other penny to a poor

out of the coach

make much difference many hundred miles, or

This, to be sure, would not

window.

alms.

it is

years in a place without ever being asked for

I recollect

beggar

you may travel

girl, in

very well, when Boston, for the

She belonged

sidence.

to

I

was addressed by a

lit-

time after a long re-

first

emigrants

who had

lately ar-

rived.

There

is

when you

a zest in

all

travel on foot.

march into the day

enjoyments, even the meanest,

To

rise

before daybreak and

in a thick lonely forest; to lie

down,

af-

—

183

(

)

under the rich foliage of a beach-tree, on

ter a long walk,

the top of a mountain, from which you see into a valley va-

by nature and

riegated

and go

after the journey,

opera of a large city I can

To

compare sit

with a

to a library or gallery, or into the

—are enjoyments

and contrasts, which

no others.

to

down

civilization; to take a refreshing bath

in Switzerland, at ten o'clock in the

fine piece of cheese

a march, begun

and a

morning,

tumbler of wine,

full

after

given you a smart ap-

just after sunrise, has

is a luxury of which but few who sit down to a dinner West End clubhouse know the keenness and pleasure. Next seems to come the travelling by way of swimming. Though I consider myself a pretty fair swimmer, I cannot say, that I should relish much the aquatic expeditions of the correos que nadan* Poor amphibious post-boys, how you must feel when you descend the Guancabamba and Amazon,

petite,

at a

floating

with your bombax

your head!

stick,

and the mail tied round

Naturalists mention, as something very re-

markable, of the animal homo, that he alone in all climes.

seems

It

that he can vegetate in

couriers,

banker

or

to

me much more

all

situations,

is

able to live

surprising, indeed,

from these paddling

the sooty chimney-sweeper, to the

in Paris or

from the beggar

refined

one of the richest countesses in England;

at the

door of a palace to

its

inmate, or the

starving copyist of music or galley-slave to the dispenser of

sinecures or a governor-general of the East Indies, It is

mail

is

well that they have not in those countries, where the carried along

phlets and papers

by swimmers, franked bushels of pamwe have here. There are cu-

to send, as

rious post-establishments in this world

man who

spent her

and from Posen

She was

life

in

to Berlin, about a

called the

!

I

knew an

walking from Berlin

Living Gazette,

old

to

wo-

Posen,

hundred and forty miles.

Have you ever heard

of the celebrated post-office of the whalers at Essex Bay, on

one of the Gallapagos Islands in the Pacific? There

*

Couriere

who swim.

Editoh.

is

a cave,

—

184

(

)

well secured against the weather, in which whalers deposite letters

sometimes

the deep passes by.

and found

some-

for the information of other whalers,

times to be taken home,

when

a returning fellow-hunter

had heard of

I

by whaling

it

on

captains,

afterwards, mentioned in Lieutenant Pauld-

it,

ing's Journal of a Cruise of the United States Schooner Dol-

phin among the Islands of the Pacific,* book,

full

of interesting items.

—

fact

shows

trust

among

This insolated

a letter there safely deposited.

common bond and

strikingly the existence of a

unassuming

a little

Lieutenant Paulding found

civilized nations; so does a letter deposited in a post-office

of the farthest west of Missouri, which safely arrives in a

most eastern part of Germany,

village in the

New York and Havre"

the two words " Via

In the middle ages, there was a

Pomerania existing,

yet

its

direction.

carried letters from

country in the university lived in Rome the " courier " was yet

to the students of that

of Paris, and

And

man who

only has

if it

on

when

I

who regularly carried letters from Rome to Spain. we are told the world goes back; or is it main-

tained that improvements of this kind belong to the indus-

which

try of nations only,

rapidly, while, morally,

there

is

tions;

is

we

allowed on

hands

all

degenerate?

I

to

improve

would deny

this;

morality in an intercourse of this kind between na-

it

requires a universal acknowledgment of certain

broad principles of honor and morality.

—

It will

yet hap-

pen, within the next hundred years, that letters are directed

from London

York and

to

New

Canton, (perhaps, to Peking,) via

the city

which

will rise at the

mouth of the Co-

lumbia River.

And now call it, I,

contrast the general post-office, as

you may well

of the Gallapagos Islands with that in London.

for the first time, past through the old

London

When

post-office,

an unpretending narrow building, and found, written on a " Mails due from Hamburg, Malta, Jamaica, Ca-

little table,

nada," with a long

list

•

of other places and islands

New York,

1831.

Eijitor.

all

over

1S5

(

the world, I

was

)

by

forcibly reminded^

this small board, of

knew of nothing with many confessionals in the

Great Britain's vast dominion, and

which

to

compare

nave of Rome's

except the

it,

over each of which the name of a

St. Peter,

particular language

is

written, inviting the faithful of

tions to confess in their

own

all

na-

Over one stands Lin-

tongue.

gua Germanica, over another Lingua

Gallica, Anglica, His-

panica, Hungarica, Lusitana, Neograeca, &c.

But, to return to

my swimming

travellers.

The

peasants

of a certain part of Bavaria sometimes journey in a manner not

much

different

from the Indian

take large logs of wood, dispose little

or other of their

baggage, place themselves in a riding position on the

hind end, and

down they

their feet dangling

all

go,

much

in the beaver fashion,

the time in the water.

Travelling on horseback

Man's thoughts

able.

They

Amazon.

in the

somehow

is,

in

some countries, very

agree-

are freer on the back of an animsilv

whose four legs are his own, as Mephistopheles correctly suggests. But the care of a horse, his liability to indispositions, the regular rests which he requires, and the slow-

way

ness of this

of travelling, are serious drawbacks to

ploying a horse's back for our speed our journey by taking,

seat.

We

em-

cannot, besides,

now and then, a " lift" in the we go on foot; and it is

stage-coaches, as

we may

very convenient

to cross rapidly an uninteresting country,

do when

good mule with a caravan of muleteers is

like skipping over an insipid passage of an otherwise

book.

To

ride on a

always interesting; for the muleteer has a thousand amusing

and instructive things and anecdotes

to tell

you provided ;^

nature has given you the skill of easily assimilating with

people of this

A

class.

peculiar gift of the kind

ever, required, at least in

is

who

takes care of the mule, rides with

faithful animal;

To

travel

in

words are then found

went up Vesuvius

I

when

the

you on the same

easily.

sedan must be abominable.

a

how-

any uncommon degree, when you

pass over the mountains from France to Spain; girl

not,

When

I

could not even endure the idea of see-

24

—

186

(

)

move

ing

men

laboring hard in the heat of the sun only to

my

flesh

and skeleton; and preferred paying something to

the

men who

offered themselves, and going

ever, in India

is

it

up

How-

alone.

often impossible to travel in any other

way, and people soon accustom themselves to see the trotting bipeds under the litter on which they recline. To tra-

Mr. Moore has

vel poste-haste, either on an ostrich, as

seen,

or on a dolphin with Arion, or on a cannon ball, as Miinch-

hausen

tried,

jumping from one twenty-four pounder, shot

into the fortress,

upon another, shot out of

the air in Zambullo's style, the diable hoiteux sliding from the

—

or,

by holding

which

is

— or navigating

it

mantle of

fast to the

the equal of any of these,

snowy mountain

tops on a small sledge in

the Swiss fashion, I do not believe will generally be consi-

A

dered the ne plus ultra of comfort.

makes you

camel in the desert

^ea-sick, during the first days, and I have never

Nor

been rocked in a howdah on an elephant's back.

been

my

an ass

I

lot to try the

Esquimaux dog or the

have travelled, and

its

when

obliged to resort, in the army,

The

fall.

when tages

carries

it

On

paradisiaI

was once

had hurt myself by a

I

when

you and you carry the canoe, and

the packages and provisions are taken over the por-

by the

number is

is

toilsome journeying in our farthest west,

by turns the canoe

to

broken step

short,

comfort compared to a ride on a cow, to which

cal

has

reindeer.

and

trotting

voyageurs

in the

way

that cats carry a

of kittens from one place to another

fro,

—by running

and thus transporting the goods by instalments

a style of travelling

But now, we have

which cannot abound

all

in pleasure.

sorts of travelling in

wagons,

and coaches; from the rickety one horse omnibus

carts,

in the

south of France, to the proud and flying mail-coach in England

— from

the

wagon of

the

the vettorino from Florence to like, ancient post

New Rome

baggage-wagon,

Turkey: and then there

is all

England emigrant,

—and

to

from the

the light Tartar

the travelling

to

snail-

in

by water, from

the raft on the Rhine, or the American rivers, to the refined

packet of

New York

and Philadelphia—from the boat on

—

(

187

)

where you are devoured by insects, to our boat on where you must look out not to arrive in

the Nile,

the grand canal,

Buffalo without a head

Mayence and west.

—from the slow market-boat between

Frankfort, to the darting steamboat in our

—But, there would never be an end, were we

to enu-

ways of crawling and creeping, which it after all remains, of bustling man. Only of one more way of compound locomotion will I tell you. It is said that Frederic William I., King of Prussia, who merate

all

the

liked a joke, though

it

might be a rude one, overheard a if he were the king

peasant saying to his companion, that

he would not move otherwise than

"You

in a sedan.

shall

try it," said the king, stepping forward; and soon after

wished-for conveyance was

the

stepped out

in,

—and

The

brought.

peasant

but the king had ordered the bottom to be taken

now

wind

the carriers began to run, and

about,

forward and backward, over stones and through mire, until the shins of the poor fellow within

At

length they halted

—and when

were deplorably

sore.

the king asked the pea-

how he was pleased with the royal conveyance, he "Uncommonly, sire, uncommonly; only, to say

sant

swered,

truth, if

it

were not

life

for the honor,

it

Don't you think there are

walking."

very much like

would be almost

many

an-

the like

things in this

this sedan? and, alas! kings

themselves

are but too often obliged to go through honorable but shin-

How

breaking procedures of this kind.

often do they not

look with envy upon a simple, healthful pedestrian,

whole power of self-locomotion from their

gilt

still

—whose

remains inviolate,

and ornamented, but narrow and uncomfort-

able incasement, in which,

remain men like

all

however splendid

their fellow creatures

it

may be, they

—with

the

same

pains and desires, and not an inch higher from the ground

than those, who, in their turn, admire and envy them.

thought

I

but

I

am

Porte, for train

this

would be " positively the

last

" anecdote,

bold enough to take the Russian ultimatums to the

my example. Were there my ideas took by the

which

not four of them? last

The

anecdote, calls up

—

(

another, which

cating

is

it

you,

to

)

of too generic and representative a cha-

You

to be omitted.

racter,

18S

when

I tell

which allows no doubt of

will thank

you, that

I

me

have

communi-

for

from a source,

it

truth; besides, the

its

whole

is

but natural.

The Empress toys to her

Josephine, had sent some exquisite Parisian

little

and favorite grandson, Louis, the son of

King of Holland. When they were unpacked, and Queen of Holland, who was a most tender mother, was the

the an-

ticipating the pleasure of her child, the prince disappointed

her entirely, by the

little

interest

he seemed to take in

He would

beautiful toys and contrivances around him.

them, but

at

alvv^ays

return to the

all

the

look

window from which he

looked out, with a longing desire, into the

street.

" Louis,

you not charmed with these beautiful play-things?" " Yes, but" " What is your desire? look here with what tender care, the Empress has chosen these handsome playare

—

you pleasure?"

things to give

" " But what,

but

—" Oh,

my child;

they are very

fine,

can you wish for any thing

—

grandmamma.^" " Yes, cer" But they do not seem to amuse you much!" tainly I do." " They do; but, mamma, if I only could walk for a short time else? don't

in the

A

you

—

mud

feel grateful to

there, with that child in the square!"

friend of

mine instructed Princess

,

in

German,

and for a long time, he could not bestow a more acceptable

reward upon

by

his royal pupil, than

telling

her of the rus-

some peasants on the continent; tic on the same principle that every tale for peasant girls must begin with, " There was a beautiful princess." Every great monarch has been glad to throw off, at times, and primitive

life

of

the lacing of royalty and to appear like an equal of others.

Harun Alreshid, Charlemagne, Henry Great, Napoleon, for a

moment.

a tedious

all

To

have enjoyed

say the truth, I should think,

way, di campare*

• Italian, for "getting' along."

ples

IV., Frederic the

this pleasure,

to be

We

by a man, who looked reduced

though but it

must be

born for a throne, without

were one evening addressed

in his circumstances indeed,

in

Na-

but had

189

(

)

uncommon capacity; to be above the law, to owe nothing to one's own exertions, and to be from birth at the ne plus ultra This, undoubtedly,

of

life.

so

many monarchs have

active; the

is

They want

meanest of their subjects can say, "This

done;" they alone

find

why

one of the great reasons

loved conquest.

be

to

have

I

every thing done to their hands.

Lucian was not wrong when he pitied the gods

for their

Olympic ennui. Kings are always something of a Dalai Lama; honored and revered outlaws; sacrifices to society, whose welfare often requires one visible being above the

—

law, just to

fill

a place, that no continual quarrel for

disturb the peace.

I

a citizen, a whole

am

man;

ing under the law.

it

shall

thankful for being under the law, for

man was created we presume,

Or, must

very reason which elevates monarchs above the

to be a be-

that for the

common

in-

and cares, and pangs of ambition, they seek a higher

terests,

sphere of activity, and strive to do good for

own

its

sake?

That, from their peculiar situation they have an immense

men, and can

start before other

old, a speech

deliver,

"with peculiar grace,"

as

when

three years

Croly says in his

Life of George IV., the prince did, when receiving the society of Ancient Britons, on St. David's day?

History records,

no such necessary consequence, and every book of memoirs shows us, that kings have all the same petty troubles, as yet,

jealousies, pains,

and and

all

and

we

griefs, that

have; toothache, gout,

the other elements of vexation of our mortal bodies;

as strong a disrelish of a minister's popularity, as the

minister has of his It has often

first

secretary.

appeared to me, that since the succession by

primogeniture has been firmly established in Europe, which

was the only way of securing those advantages which are peculiar to monarchies, there

is

no situation

less enviable,

than that of a brother to a king or crown-prince. nevertheless the clerical distinctions of dress.

ment

at

being asked for alms by a person in

the answer, "./Ih/ che vuol signore, talk? thus

wc must'try

cosi si

to get along.)

We

—EniTon.

all

expressed our amaze-

this dress,

campa,'^

With

— (Ah

when we

sir,

received

what use

is it

to

190

(

)

the privations of the monarch, and they are numberless in-

deed, they have not his power, and must see the same honor,

due

to their birth, paid to greatness risen

are but few princes

who

create their

the

to promote, in a similar

progress of

discovery?

by

not

many

way, knowledge, or

— Simply,

There

merit.

sphere, as the noble

Why? — have

Prince Henry the Navigator.

power

own

because

the

art,

or

they are

princes by birth.

Yet there

whom

are

two

sides to every subject, and a prince to

much good

has been given a noble soul, can do

certain ways, for the

very reason that he

vated, and yet not the actual ruler.

Only

so fixedly ele-

is it

in

requires a truly

noble soul, to pass uninjured, through the ordeal of high elevation from earliest infancy.

Esquirol, in his Lectures, states that the proportion of de-

ranged monarchs to other people under an alienation of mind, is

as sixty to

of legitimacy!

one

—

—

a bitter

comment upon

since Esquirol ascribes to the

breeding, this proportion, so enormous, even

the principle

want of if

cross-

we make

all

possible allowance for the fact, that not a single deranged ruler escapes public notice, while the lists of lunatic subjects will always be defective.

If Esquirol be correct in assigning

this cause for so startling a fact,

we would

have another rea-

son against the philosophy of the principle, for the officially

first

time

pronounced by the Congress of Vienna, that a

le-

gitimate heir to a throne can be only an individual descend-

ing from two parents legitimately descending from sovereign families.

Strange,

some countries

are peculiarly jealous of

the birthright of their citizens, and will not allow a foreigner to hold as

much

as an inferior office; and, according to the

principle of legitimacy, as

whom

all

now

observed, the monarch, in

must always be some dynasties never can become na-

nationality ought to concentrate,

half a foreigner; and

by blood, e. g. the Hanoverian race on the English throne, which was, and ever has remained German in blood and bone. The same is the case with the Holstein race, on

turalized

the throne of Russia, and, in other cases,

it

leads to the re-

191

(

suit that a foreigner rules

)

over a nation peculiarly proud of

which we have an instance in the present government of Spain. The same was the case with the moits

nationality; of

Mary of Medici, Catherine of many other sovereigns. Monarchies will yet many nations a long time, owing to their state of po-

ther of Louis XIV., with Russia, and last for

litical as

well as social development, or to their relations

with other

states;

hut even Chateaubriand said, in the cham-

"I do not believe and " monarchy is no longer a

ber of peers, on the 19th of April, 1831, in the divine right of kings," religion;

it

is

Nay, even the Duke of

a political form."

Fitz-James waived the idea of divine right, and appealed to

Our time has seen

the people.

down and

so

many

thrones tumbling

in the state of being raised, has seen so

crowns handed round and of which the "

refusal

safe authority for a

crown,

"

at

is

many

no peculiar attraction,

like dishes of

most was asked, that the only

reason and the interest of the

people; but as to prolonging the belief that there

is

some-

thing peculiar in an anointed race, an actual difference be-

tween the blood of a ruling family and other blood, people

who have gone through

— why,

our time and seen dozens of

kings stripped of their purple, and appearing like any other

who have many peeps behind

by memoirs and docu-

mortal beings, and

had,

ments, so

the curtain, cannot, even

force such a theory upon

they wished

it,

naked

would stand

loyal

facts

mind of

fight

with

it,

their belief.

even

in the

if

Plain

most

a devout continental tory; he might as well

force himself to believe three times three are ten; facts are facts,

and must remain such

The more

to the world's end.

times have advanced, the more has royalty been enabled to

power upon moral grounds. The kings of Prussia are never crowned, and if we compare a monarch of northern Europe with an Asiatic ruler, surrounded by the traprest its

pings and pompous show of eastern despotism, and consider

how much

less of the

forms and formalities of royalty

our times, found to be necessary for giving authority, than but a century ago,

we

shall

it

is,

stability

come

in

and

to the con-

(

elusion, that the time

may

192

)

not be too far

when

it

will not

be considered any longer dangerous, that dynasties should continue their race without exposing themselves to the frightful

consequences pointed out by Esquirol.

However,

I

must confess

ought to be brought

to

you, that some farther proof

to support the assertion of that distin-

guished man, that the " breeding in and in," as

it is

termed, of

the European dynasties, is the only cause of the enormous fre-

quency of derangement which dwells under crowns. In former ages, not a few consorts of monarchs have, with the most maternal feeling for their people, taken care of a proper ad-

mixture of renovating blood

Beaux Rantzaus

in their race.

are not so exceedingly rare in European history; and, though I

know

it is

asserted, and, I believe, pretty well tested, that

Jews, Quakers, and Catholics,

in

England, produce more

sane people than others, owing, as

it

in-

seems, to their mar-

rying generally among themselves, yet

do not remember

I

having read that in those villages in Europe, the inhabitants of which marry hardly ever a girl out of their place, and often have but one family name, insanity often than in other villages.

An

is

met with more

inquiry of this kind would

be interesting and very easy. There are many peasants who would have the best claim to high nobility, if belonging to an " old family " constitutes one of the chief ingredients of noblesse.

That cross-breeding improves the race

doubt, on the principle that the farmer, both in

America, exchanges grain with his neighbor, terioration. I

As

far as

my observation

goes, I

I

have

little

Europe and to avoid de-

must

say, that

have generally found bright children in the families of pa-

rents of

two

different nations,

though

I

can be accounted for in a different way.

allow that this result This, at

first sight,

would appear to be in favor of the ruling dynasties, but we must recollect, that they have thoroughly mixed so many years since, that they form, by this time, one general race, and, again, it has been found by many travellers, that, in large capitals, the situation of which invites people of many different nations to settle within them, those classes in which

• "*

193

(

nations

all

mix

breed, which

)

for a long time, receive

is far

an addition in a

from being desirable for a good popu-

lation.

Whatever

is

born, constructed, or contrived in this nether

world, carries with

germ of

the

it

The

dissolution.

very-

or start becomes the cause of

which gives its Monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, can give great

principle

it life

decline.

elan to a nation; but the principle of legitimacy carries within

germ of change, equally with the principle of Nothing shall last for ever, except the

the

it

universal suffrage.

plans of the great Ruler.

How fect the

does, on the other hand, our system of politics af-

mind?

Arc

the frequent excitements,

trate into the smallest arteries of our

not productive of

much

evil in this

whole

which penesystem,

social

very particular?

Aris-

even in his time, observed the great prevalence of

totle,

sanity

among

politicians,

in-

and Esquirol says, that a history

of the French revolution might be written from the variety of cases, to be found in a French insane hospital, so

much

has each convulsive change of politics and government fected the hopes, desires, ambition, or happiness of a

af-

num-

ber of persons, strengthened as this effect was, by a very universal absence of that confidence

which firmly

relies

on

Do many individuals, to an alienmany act in a way which would

the guiding care of a kind and wise supreme Ruler.

then our politics not lead, with

mind?

ation of

make

Certainly

the observer suppose that but the final disappointment

in the result of an election

one step farther I

—

is

wanting

have paid some attention

inquiry, and from

United

States, I

pointment say, from

is

in order to lead

them

to the loss of reason?

am

my

visits

to this subject, so

worthy of

to the insane hospitals in the

inclined to believe that political disap-

very rarely the

final

cause of loss of reason.

my visits to these hospitals;

the view of the causes of insanity,

now

I

to

me that

often adopted

among

for

it

seemed

English physicians, and which ascribes the origin of aliena-

25

—

(

194

tion to physical causes alone,

among American

also

very frequently to be found

That

physicians.

I

cannot subscribe

opinion, appears from the remarks I have already

this

to

is

)

The

made.

proofs to the contrary

and conclusive,

seem

to

me numerous by

patient investigation, unbiassed

if

conceived ideas, or a fondness for a system, or some views, be given to the matter.

you a medical

to give

However,

I

am

pre-

general

not going

treatise.

How much the frequent recurrence of political excitement may gradually dispose many individuals in this country, finally to

fall

victims to a disturbance of the mental faculties,! have

had, of course, no opportunity to observe. I

But, as

I stated,

believe that the frequent changes in politics are not preg-

nant with the same disastrous consequences here as they

have been ral

And

ference.

it

seems

first,

me, may be given

to

which, otherwise, the disappoint-

ment they necessarily must bring on the mind of many individuals. out, a party vanquished,

—

to

one party, would have

To-day a man is thrown to-morrow he goes to work again, Secondly, however

and hopes for success the next time. great the excitement

know very

in jeopardy;

for this dif-

the very frequency of elections neutra-

lizes the injurious effect,

people

Seve-

in other countries, for instance, in France.

good reasons,

may

appear, on paper or in words, the

well that their lives and property are not

that whatever party

may come

in or

go out,

the broad principles of the whole system will be acted upon, the general laws will be observed.

Should

it

ever come

with us to that point, that the monstrous idea should prethere only

where the majority can

—while, on the

contrary, the degree of

vail, that liberty exists

do what they please

existing liberty can justly be measured only

by the degree

of undoubted protection which the minority enjoys, and the

degree in which the sovereign, be he one or many, or presented by the majority,

is

restricted,

by fundamental

re-

laws,

from acting on sudden impulses and impassioned caprices, to

which

should

it

a

body of men

is

as subject as a single

man

ever come with us to this absolutism, for absolu-

195

(

tism

)

there where the representative of sovereignty can

is

act capriciously

and uncontrolled; then, indeed, our insane

would become

hospitals

fickleness

now are.

as,

as

much

the direful records of man's

according to Esquirol, the French hospitals

Thirdly, there

is

in this country

no dishonor what-

ever connected either with being turned out of

being vanquished at an election.

One party must be

feated.

be so the next time.

may

party, tions

An

be defeated, he

office

or

no shame to be de-

It is

victorious, and the other tries to

American, is

as the

member

of a

Persecu-

never conquered.

do not take place; the successful party does not annihi-

late its

opponents

— each party continues

And,

papers, &c.

as in those periods in

sons are discharged from public places,

knowledged

to

that politics alone

is

have

its

meetings,

which many per-

it is

most openly

the reason,

ac-

blemish

all

which may be attached to the loss of an office in public service, in countries where no such changes occur, must vanish; while, again, the country offers so

many

opportunities

of gaining

one's livelihood, that, also, in this respect, a loss

of office

not so ruinous as in France, where a

is

thinks his honor as soon as

he

is

is

man

thrown out of public employment.

quency of changes, likewise, prevents the higher

The

offices

becoming the objects of so ardent an ambition fect seriously the

often

gone, and his career for ever destroyed, fre-

from

as to af-

mental faculties of the disappointed candi-

date.

As

I

have touched upon

may mention

this subject, I

an interesting case of alienation, with which

I

met

here

in the

New York. The individual man apparently of the lower classes, labored under the very common delusion of being a monarch. He called himself Henry I., I think, emperor of the United

Manhattanville hospital, near to

whom

States.

I refer, a

He was

an ardent newspaper reader, and the inte-

rest of the case lay in the readiness with

mind

which

assimilated whatever he read to his

royalty, and the rapidity with

which what he read appeared

which to

it

his disturbed

presumed

state of

invented causes of

him the consequences,

pre-

19G

(

cisely in the

same way

and some pain

)

our mind, when

as

us, often invents, in

aflfects

wo

are asleep,

dreaming, va-

rious causes of which, according to the dream, this pain

the final effect, though, in reality,

The patient

dream.

showed me

my

read in

how he

that and

is

the cause of the whole

presence the news relating

governor of his

to the election of the

ly

it is

state,

and immediate-

appointed him, turning,

with great ingenuity, the various data of the election into items of his story, with a zeal and earnestness, as cares of

government had rested on

showed me some dals coined

if all

the

So he

his shoulders.

were me-

cents, which, according to him,

on occasion of some victories which he had

me

number of emblematic allusions, the images of which his diseased mind undoubtedly perceived in that moment. Tn speaking of derangement, I remember a circumstance,

gained, pointing out to

which

a

will not be without interest to you,

The

levant in this place.

me

the insane, introduced

to a

it

be irre-

gentleman under his care,

symptoms whatever of

Avho betrayed no

though

physician of an establishment for

yet his focultics were deranged.

a disturbed

He held a book in

mind,

his hand,

which, he informed me, he was perusing with great interest.

He praised it in It was Dr. Spurzheim's work on insanity. some respects, in others he criticized it, and when I declared, on one occasion,

my dissent

from his opinion, he assured

knew what he maintained from

that he

and never have

I

too painful to me, and

ceived the cause of quiet

my

I

The

Dr. Rush's

my

One

work on

who

it off,

but he per-

and tried very calmly

desire,

Philadelphia told

deranged man,

me

experience,

conversation became

wished to break

apprehensions.

in

own

heard any one speak more rationally on

insanity than this deranged man.

sicians

his

to

of the most eminent phy-

me

that he

owns

a

copy of

insanity, with notes throughout

by

a

formerly was in the hospital of Phila-

delphia.

The

appalling frequency of alienation of mind, in

parts of our country,

is

chiefly

owing

some

to other causes, at

(

197

least final causes, than politics.

)

It is religious

excitement, I

believe, together with a diseased anxiety to be equal to the

wealthiest, the

craving for wealth and consequent disap-

pointment, which ruins the intellect of many.

more anon.

But of

that

198

(

)

LETTER

At

Schenectady you

may

XII.

take passage in a canal boat; and

I would advise every traveller, who has not yet seen the Grand

Canal, to do

The valley of the Mohawk, along which the Rome, is, in many parts, very beautiful, much greater advantage from the canal boat than so.

canal goes as far as

and seen

to

from a stage-coach; and

it is

of this union

is

well worth the while to become

work

acquainted with this great

—

a

clamp by which the west

tightly fastened to the east and north; one of

the great siphons which equalizes prices and wages in this vast country, and thus contributes not a of our political existence.

monument which

little to

the stability

It is, indeed, as yet,

the greatest

world

this part of the

conquering superiority over matter.

be outstripped by sylvania

ward

is

the boldness of

which

Yet, perhaps,

man's it

will

the noble communication which Penn-

leading over mountains and through valleys west-

to the Ohio,

York

affords, of

canal

and which,

its

projector.

was the

first

if finished, will

On

prove for ever

the other hand, the

New

—

a fact

of these extensive works;

will remain a great testimony in the history of civi-

lization, in favor qf the state

which gave

it

birth.

It

shows

Gothe's good sense, that the progress of this canal interest-

ed him so much. a copy of the

I will

Laws

send you, by the next opportunity,

of the State of

New York

in Relation

199

(

Erie and Champlain Canals, &c., Albany, 1825, where

to the

you

)

will find, in detail, an official history of these great

The study

works.

of this undertaking has been a source

of deep interest to me, and I doubt not I shall add Darby's

give you a

View

much more

it

will be so to you.

of the United States,

which

will

accurate view of the geological cha-

racter of these parts of the country, than an account of

mine

could afford you; and as the natural features of the United States do not change quite as rapidly as the statistics, the

book

will be

statistics,

tempted

still

an

valuable

author,

to say

I

when you

by Authority

in,

New

1830,

now

'An

the general and public

3d day of

act establishing a board of road

commissioners for layihg out is

to put the

in force, excepting an act passed the

January, 1829, entitled

which

all

fit

page of their collec-

title

" This edition comprehends

statutes

to the

Hampshire Laws, pub-

who thought

following sagacious notice on the tion.

As

it.

nothing about them, and follow the ex-

ample of the editors of the lished

receive

should almost think, would feel

and repairing highways,'

omitted under the expectatio7i

tJiat it will he re-

pealed at the ensuing session of the Legislature. " For our statistics and every feature imprinted upon the country by civilization are continually

undergoing so rapid changes, that

what was true a year ago, may be antiquated to-day. These immense canals send branches into many directions, by which they are connected with navigable rivers, lakes and roads, nor is this system by any means completed.

Branch canals and

rail-roads are continually adding; nay,

were no Thus the building of a railUtica, will soon begin, the company

rail-roads are building along the canal, as if there

American road from Albany end

to

activity. to

being already incorporated.

Could but a

little

of this quick-

ness in practical perception, and boldness in embarking in

the most daring enterprises, be engrafted upon German steadiness and thoroughness,

deed.

But

it

it

would produce

must be remembered, how

fine fruits in-

different an aspect

200

(

)

Germany would present, were she not chopped into pieces, as freely work its way into all direc-

all

and could enterprise,

tions as in this extensive and

When the

canal

was

first

untrammelled country.

opened, farmers, whose property

lay close to this great blood-vessel of the state, had their

own

barges to carry their produce to advantageous markets; but the navigation of

all

who

kinds, for goods and passengers,

required good accommodations, became within a short time so brisk, that private navigation, if I can use this expression as contradistinguished to

company

navigation, soon ceased.

There are yet many proprietors of

make

single barges, but they

a business of canal navigation; no farmers, as I under-

stand, have

any longer boats

for their

own

use.

that the state derives a very great revenue It is interesting to see

might almost

say,

how

—You know

from

this source.

this easy intercourse

makes,

one place out of many habitations,

we

at dis-

tances from one another, which would otherwise be consi-

dered great. as, in

the

It is likewise

common

worthy of

attention, that,

course of things, the vender

is

where-

usually sta-

tionary and the buyer goes to him; here, on the other hand, as in the

primary stages of society, the

to place

— a way of

details; it

is, if

trafficking

you choose

Even knowledge

is

to call

brought in

it so,

this

On

to the smallest

an aquatic peddling.

way

of the inhabitants of detached houses, lating libraries.

moves from place

seller

which extends

within the reach

by

floating circu-

the Mississippi, this system of hawking

has been extended, in some branches,

still

farther.

are on that river several floating companies of actors. sail in their flat boats, fitted

to plantation, perform,

who

for theatres,

The Chapman

family were the

conceived the clever idea of leading Thalia to the

door of every spectator, instead of calling him ple,

They

from plantation

and break up when their receipts do

not warrant a longer stay. first

up

There

and of teaching Melpomene

to lead an

to

her tem-

amphibious

life.

Here, then, the scarcity of population produces a similar fect to lation.

what

results in

some

parts of China,

ef-

from over-popu-

201

(

When

)

came down from Utica to Schenectady, on my believe that not two hours passed without our meeting one or several barges laden with Germans excellent I

way home,

I

—

stock for

Michigan, whither most proceeded, "

in passing.

American mix their ;

As many

them

of

as

as

they told

you can spare,"

me

said an

me: " they are all useful men provided they will steadiness finds ample reward on those fertile plains to

Amen,

in the west."

said

and thought of Pope Nicholas

I,

v., who, in 1451, charged the ambassador of the Teutonic Or-

der

to

import for him a number of Germans, to be employed

in the papal chuncelleria,

on account of their trustiness and

industrious habits.

How

easily do these emigrants

from their native country, to emigrate or

if

to sever themselves

their willingnesss

contentment in foreign regions, with the ideas

When

of an ancient colonist or exile! left their

seem

we compare a

number

of Greeks

beloved country to colonise a spot, distant for the di-

minutive dimensions of antiquity, they took with them a

lamp lighted by the sacred

fire

They took

of their temple.

would

their gods with them, and yet

for

many

generations

consider Greece their true home, toward which the most anxious wishes of their heart steadily pointed.

was banished from the narrow he

felt

When

a

man

territory of his native city,

himself deprived of the customs of his people, of his

legal rights, of his

An Athenian

gods

in Sparta,

—he was henceforth but half a man. was

a stranger indeed.

In the middle ages, the Christian religion was spread over all

Europe, and with greater uniformity even than

at present;

yet the intercourse not only between nations, but also be-

tween petty dividual,

states

most necessary cult for

and

cities,

was of

a kind to deprive an in-

thrown among strangers, of many of the rights for his well being.

It

was exceedingly

him to find a new home. Nor were, at that time,

intercourse and the

common

habits of

diffi-

social

men founded upon

so

universal and broad principles, as to allow the foreigner to feel

himself at ease.

The

Florentine wept in Ferrara or

Venice, for his home, hxa pairia, 26

we cannot say

hiscountrt/.

202

(

It is far difierent

his birth,

An

now.

)

emigrant leaves the place of

travels many hundred miles through a foreign

country, crosses the wide ocean, travels a thousand miles into the interior of another hemisphere,

He

is

among

strangers,

true, yet

it is

and builds his

hut.

he finds there the same

same manners, the same principles of morality, If the language which surrounds him in his the same God. dress, the

new

country, be not his native tongue, the sentiments, views,

and customs of the people, whose neighbor he has become, are mainly those with which he has grown up, and the friendlessness of a foreign tongue,

which must have weighed most

mind of an exile in antiquity, loses much There is a Catholicism in modern morality, of its asperity. knowledge and civilization, which makes an individual belonging to the European family, feel easier at home, wher-

heavily upon the

may be

ever he

This

within the pale of European civilization.

ease, I willingly allow, is greater

families of nations, into

A German

still

among

which the European race

will generally find himself sooner at

the great

is

divided.

home among

A

English or Americans, than a Frenchman or Italian. Pole, perhaps, less so than either; yet to whatever nation

he may belong, nations, he will than a

man

if

he be but of one of the most civilized

feel

more

at

home with any

of Epirus did in Argolis.

of the others,

And

an Egyptian

could hardly have lived in Messenia. I

have often tried

class, to

feel

to ascer'tain

which most of those belong who go to America, after they have resided for some time in

home-sick

this country.

Italians

and French never give up the hope

of regaining their native shore.

and

whether emigrants of the

Irish assimilate

much

Germans, English, Scotch,

easier with the natives of this

its whole national system. The natural German to acquire a foreign language may conmuch to his greater ease in assimilating. The ad-

country and join in talent of a

tribute

vantage which the emigrants of the three other countries have, in point of language, over

mentioned.

The French

all

the rest, need not be

form, in the larger

cities,

where

203

(

there

number of them,

a sufficient

is

themselves; and

country when

known

have

I

)

years old, from

fifteen

much who came to

a circle

a lady St.

Domingo,

for this

at the

time of the insurrection of the negroes in that island, and whose husband was a zealous admirer of American institutions;

who, nevertheless, had not learned to speak, when I became acquainted with

to read, English,

a year ago.

did not

In Berlin,

know German

I

knew

less

still

her, but

who

of a French silk weaver

he had resided more than twenand must have been obliged by his

after

ty-five years in that city,

station in society, to live in continual contact

with the na-

tives.

may, however, mention here a

I

foreigner much, is,

that the Irish,

when he

—

first

in spite of

facility in assimilating

fact,

which surprises a

arrives in this country;

what

I

with the Americans,

— clan more

gether than the emigrants of any other nation. fact,

which

have said above of their

They,

to-

in

openly retain their name, and often, in the very mo-

ment

that they

make

use of the highest privileges of

zenship which any country can bestow, they do

it

citi-

under

There is no election in any of the some previous calls upon the " true-born On the election day itsons of Ireland," to vote so or so. self banners are seen floating from the windows of taverns,* the banner of Irishmen.

large cities without

•

By

the by, there

is

among- other laws of the canton Lausanne,

in Swit-

management of elections, one which prohibits the opening of winehouses or shops where liquors of any kind are sold, or the sale of liquoi"s in any other way. If this be done in wine countries, what zerland, relating to the safe

ought we

to

do

in

a grog-countiy ?

Reports of temperance societies have

already designated election days as peculiarly mischievous with regard to in-

temperance. If our whole tizens,

it is

as to ensure the

lot-box

political

system finally rests upon the votes of the ci-

certainly within the pale of state legislation to take such measures

weakest and most decrepit old man a free passage

—that sacred covenant of om-

liberty; the safety

our national existence, precisely the same importance assurance of the legitimate birth of the monarch. safe,

as, in

Make

and we have the worst, the very worst times of

to the bal-

of which has, as to monarchies, the

the ballot-box un-

Rome

at once.

On

whatever principle a government may be founded, that principle must be sustainfd in

its

purity, or convulsions arc the necessary consequence,

more

—

304

(

some of which, you may be

)

certain, are

ornamented with

They go farown candi-

mottos having reference to the Irish alone.

sometimes; they will bring forward their

ther,

All this

date, if they feel strong enough.

speak guard-

to

is,

who

edly, at least, impolite towards the natives,

receive

the foreigner with a degree of national hospitality unequalled

by any other terprise lic, is

nation.

which

is

Every

career on the wide field of en-

to the natural citizens of this repub-

open

After the brief pe-

equally open to the naturalized.

any

riod of five years' residence,

may

alien

take the

zen's oath, and this done, he enjoys every privilege of a free-born

American

can. boast,

an vuistinted citizenship,

become

with the single exception that he cannot of the United States.

The

return for such a boon,

it

citi-

which

a president

be expected, in

least that could

should be supposed, would be the

frankest and most heartfelt union, in every thing, with the nation, which so hospitably makes

new

sons and the

no difierence between

But the

comers.

its

own

Irish are desirous of be-

coming Americans and yet remaining Irish; and this serving of two masters will not do. Whatever the inmost feelings of an emigrant toward his native country

may

and with

be,

every generous heart will be, as a citizen of America, he should be American and American only, or let him remain alien.

As

the latter, he

the land as

is

or less violent, according to

compose the

state

tlie

much by

protected as

is

a citizen; there is

the law of

no necessity whatever for

previous dissolution of the elements which

—and our principle

is

He who

the ballot-box.

disturbs

with us free and calm voting, whether secretly or openly, commits the

gi-eat-

high treason which a citizen of the United States can commit, a

much

est

greater one, in our opinion, than Arnold committed.

tached to

this species

to

home and

our politics depend upon the

throw obstacles

in

at-

of high-treason, and no more important truth can be im-

pressed upon our children, at all

Infamy ought to be

Avill

the legitimate

in school,

than

of the people,

this, that if

it is

way of expressing

we make

barbarity and crime, this will

—an incon-

gruity from which necessarily and directly the worst species of all despotism

must if

result.

It

would be ciime

an individual,

in

government ever should attempt

nation the arms which

it

places in

it

tliree times

accursed crime,

—much worse than turning

tlieir

hands to defend

it.

against the

Etiitoh.

205

(

his

becoming

)

It is, therefore,

naturalized.

with great con-

must observe that disturbances at caused by those who do not unfrequently elections are not enjoy their citizenship by birthright, sometimes by those cern, that a good citizen

who do not enjoy it at all. What are the reasons that believe they are threefold.

come

of other countries think,

I

the Irish in this country clan

the emigrants of any other nation?

more together than

more

First,

to the

United

have observed in a previous

States, and,

letter,

Secondly, the Irish

wronged

in their country;

driven from

it;

as I

they have a pre-

dilection for large cities, so that they remain in greater

bers together.

feel that

num-

they have been

they have, in a degree, been

the feelings with which they look back to

are, therefore, of a

otherwise be; or,

more

it

intense character than they

would

be not the case, they feel

among

if this

themselves the strong

I

Irish than people

of bearing one

tie

common wrong.

Thirdly, they are encouraged to this clanship by party men; their Irish feelings are flattered and excited, in order to

them; they are called upon as votes,

which become,

in

win

Irish, in order to gain their

some quarters of large

cities, or, in-

deed, in some whole counties, at times, very important,

when, otherwise, the parties might be nearly balanced. Let me throw in, here, the remark, though it be not quite in

its

place, that the

common

language of the English,

Scotch, Irish, and Americans, causes the

last,

unconsciously

to themselves, to consider emigrants of the three first nations

when

settled

countries. is

among them,

There are many

hardly known

Irish in congress, of

that they are strangers

been told a story, which

man

nearer akin than those of other

I feel

in the

middle

and

was pretty generally understood,

states:

it

I

have

A

Ger-

birth.

inclined to believe.

offered himself for a professorship of

it

by

whom

one of the colleges

he w^as unsuccessful in his application;

be preferred; but a short time

after,

that a native

would

an Irish gentleman ob-

tained the chair, certainly not on account of his superiority.

This,however,is not always the course of things; for instance,

(

206

)

Cambridge, Massachusetts, there are two Germans who

in

But

hold prominent professorships. list

if

you glance over the

many

of officers of the United States, you will find very

Irish; nor does

any

appointment of one

difficulty arise at the

of that people, while the contrary would, probably, be the

were a German, or Frenchmen by birth, to offer himself which easily might be filled by some one else. This, I think, is not quite fair; the Irish emigrants do by case

for a place,

no means deserve more confidence, than those of other countries; and though the existence of a

may

naturally lead the

Americans not

common

language,

to feel so strongly

the difference between themselves and the Irish, they ought to be careful not to az'e

called

may

upon

act

upon

to guide their

this feeling,

judgment

whenever they

any matter which

in

arise in relation to this subject.

Those Swiss who usually emigrate

to this

from the lower part of Switzerland, and subject to that home-sickness, which, in

its

the character of a true disease.

am

If I

country come

are, therefore, less

patients,

assumes

right, there are

three chief causes of this peculiar affection of the nervous

system, which begins with an oppression of the heart, and

produces a pain of a compound character: of

affliction, half

it

has in

it

consists half

of a physical and very distinct pain,

common

which

with every oppression of the heart,

if it

continue for any length of time, and from whatever cause it

may

originate.

beginning, but

it

I

do not know whether

be none more favorable for is

this pain

my

be always the

personal observation.

and restlessness, which

night with images,

still

body throughout of

many

this

was so in a case, than which there could

its

fill

more disturbing

It

the mind, day and it,

necessary elasticity.

and deprive the Thus, as in so

more mind has no longer

other cases, the effect of one stage becomes the

powerful cause of the next, until the

any mastery over the disease, and rapid decline is the necesThere is no doubt, in my mind, but that sary consequence. in many cases, the patient has it in his power to stifle the disease in its incipient stages; as there are a number of other

207

(

afflictions,

Any

)

which might be thus arrested by

man, who

will testify to the truth of

the soldier

is

army

has served in an

what

a decided will.

by

visited

When

I say.

depressed, his body becomes

the mind of more disposed to

a variety of diseases; hence, there are always so

on

many

sick

then that a decided will, not to be sick,

It is

retreats.

disasters,

often can parry off the beginning and, consequently, the

whole

disease.

— But

to

proceed to the enumeration of

my

causes.

Home-sickness mass of new

When

may

be occasioned by an overwhelming

ideas, impressions,

the Swiss,

who

new

and

relations in

has lived his whole

life.

in the soli-

life

tude and simplicity of his high Alps, descends into more

populous countries, where

a brisk intercourse

various members of society exists, he tally new a world, that he cannot feel

at ease.

I

told that the inhabitants of Hiddensoe, near live

between the

finds himself in so to-

have been

Rugen, who

on their barren island in the simplest possible way, half

under ground, and feeding hardly upon any thing but are home-sick,

when kept long from

They are accustomed

to the simplicity and

island and the surrounding sea,

world. tier

So will often the

feel

soldier,

monotony of their

uneasy

in the bustling

from some distant fron-

province of Austria, hasten home, though he

risen in the in

and

Vienna.

society

strives the Indian to regain his silent

woods,

to a rank,

which opens

or the half-bred hunter, to quit Quebec. this sickness,

may have

him any

army So

fish,

the spot of their birth.

may

to

Incipient stages of

be observed in the uncomfortable feeling

which disturbs the mind of an individual who has been accustomed to a quiet life, and is suddenly thrown into the bustle

But in no case has the peculiar character shown itself more decidedly than in Caspar Hauser. He was so overwhelmed by all the impressions of the world, when he was first taken from his dungeon, that he felt

of a noisy world. of this disease

exceedingly unhappy, complained of constant head-ache, and

longed to return to "his hole."* * See our note, appended

to

In this instance, there

page 141.

Kditoh.

208

(

beautiful features of nature, no endeared

were no bold or family

circle, or

)

memento

of his childhood, to reclaim the

was the variety of new impressions, which wanderer; weighed him down and haunted him back. it

Another cause of home-sickness, is the striking peculiarity may have surrounded an individual

of the objects which

from early childhood, and the images of which have become with the movements of his mind, that he can-

so associated

happy

not feel

any length of time,

for

It is not necessary, that

them.

have been the source of happiness

by

they be beautiful, or should to

him;

it is,

in

many

cases,

they are strikingly peculiar and different from

sufficient that

any thing

not surrounded

if

else

with which he meets.

cause operates in union with the

Such

more powerful.

Often, indeed, this

and becomes thus the

first,

the case with the Swiss, and with

is

the unsettled inhabitant of the desert,

whenever removed from the dreary

knew a German emigrant

who

feels

unhappy

plain of his birth.

who had

in this country,

I

settled in

where the fertility of the soil prevented tree, to which he had been accustomed Now, few persons will think a common

a part of our Union,

the growth of the

fir

in his native land. fir

tree

very beautiful

of the odor of so either; yet

had found

a

its

in appearance,

nor fragrant on account

exuding gum, nor did the emigrant think

me

he assured

sandy

spot,

that he had not rested until

he

where he could plant some of the

trees so sweet to him, and whither he occasionally resorts, in order to it.

"smell home," as he very appropriately termed

Impressions which

edly for

many

we

receive through the senses repeat-

years, or in the

moment when something Some words

extraordinary happens to us, are indelible.

which

me most deeply, and roused my whole indigme while yet a boy, in the moment that uttered his peculiar noise, and, to this day, I am

affected

nation, were a turkey

said to

unable to hear a turkey without an unpleasant sensation,

which often makes conscious of

itself felt

its distant,

but

Avay, there are, certainly,

long before

still

my mind

active cause.

few persons,

if

any,

becomes

In a s'imilar

who do

not

209

(

)

consider the scent of box disagreeable.

nerves decidedly so, were

not the

It

greatly overbalanced

my

on

into a garden

by hot summer day

a

walks

linetl

with box, and

my

in

to

with old-fashioned

mind will suddenly float on remembers the Roman garwhere I have spent so many

1813, in a corps belonging to the Prussian

whom

commander

the

leave the service, since

it

so

offered permission to

happened that

this

very corps

had to act against the Danes, and the commanding

would not expose him

to the pain

countrymen. But the

officer, it

conscience than the Dane, the thing one

my

it

purling fountain,

its

happy hours. There was, army, a Dane

to

Lead me

association of ideas.

the waves of delight, before

den with

would be

unpleasant sensation

way

who

appeared, had a said

own

more tender

he did not care about

The

or the other.

officer

of fighting against his

offer

was repeated

various periods, but always bluntly declined.

At

at

length

the regiment in which he served surprised the Danes in their

camp, so that the

hurry, and to leave hind.

When

latter

much of

were obliged

to retreat in great

their baggage and utensils be-

the Prussians took possession of the spot, the

enemy were yet burning, and the little kettles hanging over them. Most of these contained a national fires

of the

dish of the Danes, called grit, and, as

much

all

national dishes are

by their respective nations, so the grit is highly esteemed by these Scandinavians, though other people, probably, would call the pleasure in this peculiar dish " an relished

acquired taste."

been able

What

to effect in

about by the

grit.

"

no patriotism,

our Dane, was

By

the grit suddenly stood before his tive, the

most striking

would seem, had

now suddenly brought

," he exclaimed, "these noble

fellows have grit in their pots."

parents, for aught I

it

The steaming mind

pot with

as the representa-

to his senses, of his youth, his sisters,

know, of his love;

"the moist impediments unto stantly to the colonel, to

in his

eyes appeared

his speech," and he went

make

leave the armv.

27

in-

use of the repeated offer to

210

(

To

the last cause, which

I

)

have mentioned

producing

as

home-sickness, vve must likewise refer the peculiar predilec-

some people have for their profession, though it offer not half the comfort, which others derive from their occupations. The enthusiasm with which an individual speaks of his trade does not depend upon his success or the enjoyment he tion

finds in

The

it.

richest

merchant

is

generally the most disin-

clined to let his children follow the

feels

more

most toilsome

leads the

scantily rewarded than

cause

it is

totally different

from any thing

German wagoner should To walk

and dreary one.

and

life,

any other laborer, speaks

He

with a kind of enthusiasm of his pursuit.

a

But the

pursuit.

himself somewhat better than the rest of mankind.*

The German miner, who is

same

with pleasure of his profession, and in his pride

sailor talks

loves

else.

The

be-

it,

of

life

certainly be considered a stupid slo-wly, step

by

step,

by the

side

of a team, day after day; continually to travel over the same route, say

from the Rhine

the Rhine, on which he

every

have

attractions.

which,

to

a train

else,

In one of

We

visited

sailors.

pedestrian journeys

fair.

I

I

entered into a conversa-

who,

in informing

once a man-of-war and found several colored

"Do

to

seems strongly to partake

my

tion with the oldest of the wagoners,

•

and

of heavily laden wagons, proceeding to

Leipsig, shortly before the

the

face,

Yet, he speaks with delight of his

every one

of the lobster-like.

met with

Leipsig and from Leipsig to

and descent of the road, cannot be believed

rise

many

trade,

to

knows every inn-keeper's

me

men among we

the white and colored sailors agree well together?"

asked; ''and does not the difference of color interfere with that uniform and

quick working, on which the safety of the vessel so

"They

was the answer of the

much depends?"

"we

let

the

colored dine in separate messes, but the white sailors would not have

tlie

perfectly agree,"

slightest objection against

officer;

being in the same mess with their colored fellows."

The fact is, that a sailor considers his profession so distinct from any other human pursuit, that even color, so powerful a cause of distinction among all

the rest of mankind, does not outweigh, with him, the distinction which

his pride induces

him

to

make between

sailor

and non-sailor.— Editor.

211

(

of his course of

life,

told

me

)

of the several diseases to which

he was subject, and mentioned that he had remained

some time

for

As

consequence of sickness.

in

are generally wealthy,

I

my

evinced

at

these

home men

astonishment that he

again exposed himself to the inclemency of the weather, as his

of health seemed to warrant no such exposure.

state

" Ah," said the old man, jogging along on his legs,

'•

a

wagoner cannot remain

crooked

home; we love our pro-

at

fession."

The

third kind of home-sickness proceeds from a source

directly opposite to those I have indicated.

It besets the

heart of a refined and carefully cultivated mind, of a soul

endowed with generous existence

is

feelings

—of a man, whose

closely connected with

mental

the science, art, and

choicest social intercourse of his country. I

have spoken above of the Catholicism of civilization, and,

more ready ap-

in certain respects, this expression finds no

man who

plication than with a ciety,

is

familiar with the best so-

Let

and has a truly cultivated mind.

New York

Russian or Swede land in

a well-educated

and proceed forth-

know

the

The same

ge-

with to an assembled company, and, provided he language, he will

feel, in a

degree, at home.

the same forms of

neral sentiments and views prevail,

But

intercourse are observed.

this holds

only as

social

far as it

goes.

A

man who has enjoyed who has entered

his country,

the intellectual intercourse of into the

and productions of the flower of

may

well imagine, I do not

its

mean

most

delicate feelings

society,

by which, you

fashionable society,

who

has, perhaps, himself taken an active part in its political life

or

its literature;

tirely barren,

a

communing with

who tions it

in

man who

feels that his

mind

is

not en-

and experiences that internal necessity of others,

and of being understood

—

a

man

does not only love his country, because early associa-

have endeared

mind and

divorced from

it

to

him, but

soul, such a it.

He may

who

man cannot

has been wedded to forget

it

frankly join in with

— cannot be hi.ense of the former, because a

at

good

The most important The name of a place

to flow easily, neither to be too long,

the contrary exist.

that

every ludicrous, or uncalled for

to guide us, that simplicity is

quisite for beauty

ought

some general

are

any other;

rules applicable in this case, as in

if

we

and rhythmical flow,

these cases, every thing.

Secondly,

if

name may he derived from »ome historical event, so much the better. It is well to surround ourselves, as much

the

as possible,

with that which reminds us of memorable events

Gothe

or persons; history,

is

says,

the enthusiasm

"The it

advise to be cautious as to using places.

is

which we have from

But

I

would always

nouns proper of persons for

not in good taste to call a place

It is

Brown, or the the latter

best

excites."

like,

not so

yet Hudson,

much

idea of personality.

I

own,

is

associated in our

minds with the

Thirdly, geological features

ford good materials for names, yet good taste

other cases, decide.

in all to

me

flat;

while,

small

it

Thompson,

good enough; for

may

must here,

af-

as

Thus, Mount Carbon, sounds

smacks too mucli of lectures on chemistry,

perhaps.

number of

boring coal-pits

Colliers'

Home

does very well

houses,, where the colliers of live.

for

a

some neigh-

I'he form of mountains, rivers, &c.,

often aflbrds us tbc rlcmenfs

of fuic names, such as fork,

ridge, niounl, confluence, (like Coblcnl/.,) r.ipids,

fall,

rock,

242

(

Fourthly, the vegetable world, a prevailing

bridge, &c.

may

plant, tree, or herb,

for nomenclature,

which

not bad;

is

may

it

Mount

give us a whole name,

Holly, Laurel Hill, Cedar, or

Fifthly, the comparison to other places,

the addition of Little, or to

very convenient element

afford a

sometimes e. g.

Pine Grove, &c. ought

)

New.

But

have

this, as I

Sixthly, any English

be used very carefully.

names

of small places, villages, &c., some of which are very

and have never yet been used

fine,

They

in this country.

by

said,

are

preferable to Italian, French, &c. names, simply, because

own

they belong to our sociation

language, and do 7iot carry any as-

of ideas with

me much

sounds to

Seventhly, invention by arbitrary

Lodis and Waterloos. composition. to bestow, let

Newham,

Leominster, or

them.

better, for a small place, than all the

what name

If the person be utterly at a loss

him put the consonants of the

alphabet, writ-

ten on separate pieces of paper, into one hat, and the vowels

him draw

into another, and let

other; sometimes,

if

alternately from one or the

he choose, he

may draw

twice from the

consonants, until he has a word with two or three sylla-

Though words,

bles.

thus formed, will often be strange to

our ears, they will at other times be exceedingly sonorous,

and as

very easy

it is

to

make

necessary only to select the

way very much rule, that man ought

this

power, and

;

for

a great

finest.

it is

confess, I do not like

chance wherever

ville,

number

it

is

in his

and reflection guide him.

In order to form names after the above rules,

well to collect a

it is

better to follow the general

to discard

to let reason

I

number of them,

of elements of names.

borough, (not as often used, by the by, as

be) city, (as in Delaware City,) town,

mount,

would be

it

We it

creek,

have

ought

&c

to

But

It seems to me that if we many thousands of old geographicomposed, we might use many of these com-

these are by no

means enough.

consider of what elements cal

names

are

ponent parts to

great advantage, provided they be con-

genial to our language; on lables of

which account, words and

Teutonic origin would generally be

best.

syl-

The

(

may

following

243

)

many

serve as samples, though there are

more: V?e, derived either

from the Celtic aa, or the Latin aqua^ to water, and occurs often in the

proximity

signifies a

South of France,

German for

»fldely

as the final syllable.

moun-

noble, often used for high, noble

tains.

Alt,

German

for old.

Dutch names, and

Jirde, last syllable of several as

much

the

as

German Erde,

earth:

for

signifies

example,

Oudenarde, Old-Earth. Jlrlj Jiar,

and Adhr, German for eagle, as Jlrlberg,

Eagle-Mountain.

Bach, German Bait and Belt, for

for rivulet.

Celtic for a great assemblage of water:

example, the Baltic and the Belt.

Berg, German

for

in the

mountain, (and,

English lan-

guage, an ice-berg.)

Borg, Danish and Swedish

for castle,

and might be taken

as borough.

Burg, German Brig, Celtic

for the same.

for bridge.

—Bothwellbrig

in

Old Morta-

lity.

Brunn, German (where

Den, Gothic

for well:

hock

fine

is

for

raised,)

example, Markebrunn,

Well on the Frontier.

for town.

Dorf, German for village.

Dun,

Celtic for

Ec, Ey, Jiye, trees, &c.,

hill.

Celtic.

and

Mostly found with names of

signifies

Ey, Scandinavian

plants,

an assemblage of them.

for island, as in

Anglesey,

Isle of the

Angles. Feld,

German

Greenfields,

Greenfeld.)

for it

field.

(If

there

might be convenient

happen to

to

be two

change one into

244

(

German

Fels,

)

for rock.

Fiord, Danish and Swedisli for dctroit, an arm of the sea.

Furt, German

for ford.

GaVy German and Persian

for a fortified place.

Haff, German for port.

Hof, German for yard,

Hohn, Scandinavian

a farm.

for islet.

m^ny Saxou names, meaning field. Kerke, Flemish corruption of the German Kirche, Scot-

Juge,

last syllable of

tish kirk, church.

Mark, German

for frontier, thus

Marksuhl,

i.

e.

Suhl on

the frontier.

Mor,

Celtic for sea.

Mund, German Nant,

for

mouth

of a river.

Celtic for rivulet.

Ness, Scandinavian syllable at the end of a word, sig-

nifying a promontory, as Inverness.

Nieder,

German

for low.

Norr, Gothic for north.

Ny, Danish Ober,

for

German

new. for upper.

Oe, Danish syllable of termination, signifying island. Ort,

German

Oude, Dutch

Pen, Celtic Schcen,

for place, as Fredericsort.

for old.

for

summit.

German

for beautiful, as Schoeneiche, Beautiful

Oak, and Schcenbrunn. Seng, Danish for near.

German for rock. German for valley, dale. fVald, German for forest. There are many short and well-sounding elements Stein,

Thai,

ographical names in the Asiatic languages, but droll again, Avere

ho

fui-

river,

7^^'

we

to

it

of ge-

would be

make compounds with the Chinese pao for fortress, men for passage,

for north,

245

(

)

or lar, the Russian for shore or bank, or hiina, the Sanscrit for cold.

If

we add

such

above elements those

to the

we

names, but which

(from casirum,) dale,

as, Chester,

same with the German heim, abode,) head, vicus,) &c.,

which,

if

as, in

stone, wick,

hill,

we

find in

English

hardly ever use in our compounds, frith, hall, Jiam, (the

Durham, meaning home,

and wich, (from the Latin

we shall have a number of geographical

elements,

used according to the above rules, might serve for

the composition of

many

fair

names.

For instance,

if

the

name Thompson must be retained, Thompsonort seems better than merely Thompson. It is not meant to say, that the given elements of foreign languages are better than the cor-

may

responding English ones, but one or the other

be more

convenient in certain compositions, or the English syllable or

word may have been used

has at

all

already, and every

body who

directed his attention to the subject, will agree with

me, that the enormous repetition of geographical names this country is a serious evil

er every day. offices

which threatens

to

have made some inquiry

I

and the general

post-office in

become

in various post-

Washington, and have

found, what can easily be imagined, that the large

of places of the same

name

open a gazetteer

number

occasions, both to the offices and

the public, countless inconveniences. to

in

great-

in order to

In

fact,

you have but

convince yourself of what

I

say.

then, a

If,

ty, &c., let the

name

is to

be given to a place, township, coun-

and no appropriate Indian name be

still

in existence,

name-giver inquire w^hether there be any prominent

object within

it,

or whether any important event has hap-

pened there, and then try whether, with the above elements,

name may be compounded; for it is to be adopted an some natural connexion should subbetween name and place. If the place has ever borne

a fair

a rule, that, generally, sist

an Indian name, retain this before

omit

a svllable or

two;

if it

all

be too

others;

if it

difficult for

be too long,

white

men

to

246

{

pronounce, change and shape retain the

name

it

)

according to our organs, but Indian names have the

as far as possible.

we

advantage of natural growth and antiquity;

feel as if

they

belong to the place, and are not pasted on as something

ar-

which may be changed again with equal caprice. Besides, the Indian names of our country are generally well bitrary,

sounding.

we come

If

to the

South American Iztaccihuatls,

Huitzompans, Cajotepeques, and Axajacatls, deed; yet, even there,

if a

different, in-

it is

general assumes an elevated tone

in his proclamation, or an orator be desirous of addressing

his hearers in a dignified style, they resort to the Indian

names, and

by the

call

native

the inhabitants of the different

names of those

countries. This

in a great measure, to the love of ral to

titles

power

in ancient

pompousness, so natu-

They

names.

The French

is,

be-

are like the

of works, with the contents of which

acquainted.

states

may be owing,

Spaniards and their descendants, but there

sides, a great

short

Mexican

we

are well

revolution abolished carefully the

names of the different provinces which had constituted the kingdom, and introduced the more statistic names of the old

At no subsequent

departments.

period of the republic or

the empire were they revived or even alluded

poleon returned from the Russian snow-fields.

he was conscious of being obliged heard of exertions,

when he

felt

to

call

for

to, until

new and

un-

that he was in want of the

undivided energy of the whole nation, he, for the called

Na-

Then, when

first

time,

upon the inhabitants of Burgundy, Brittany, Pro-

vence, Languedoc, &c., to rush to the banners for the defence of the sacred

pendence.

knowing

With

a

soil

of their country and national inde-

man

like Napoleon, in his situation and

the French nation so well,

fact to trifling

motives

or,

we

cannot ascribe this

perhaps, to chance.

Another way of making names would be to collect the most general processes by which corruptions, or, to use a milder term, transformations have been brought about; to reduce the whole to some rules, and apply them in given cases.

But the

difiicully here

would

be, that first the

name

247

(

or word, to be transformed,

is

)

wanting, and, secondly, that

these transformations would, in most cases, not be easy, often

Besides, the whole would be too scientific a

impossible.

the people, who bestow the names. Madame Roland (that high-minded woman, but misplaced in her age, as we find not a few such characters in history; who should have lived in Rome when Coriolanus threatened

way, and

it,

or

it is

when Hannibal was

carrying terror over Italy) begins

her memoirs, relating to the French revolution, by an anecdote of her grandmother, who,

when one day

the curtain

support of her bed broke down, exclaimed, in astonishment, *'

This has lasted

break now!" sertation on

a few

I

fifty-five years,

names has

moments

Names very

how

does

happen

it

to

agree with the old lady, and as this dislasted so long, I intend

it

shall last

longer.

often

amuse me, by giving me an opportunity

of tracing their probable connexion with events of history.

There are Baron de Schmidts (Smith) in Germany. Great and powerful convulsions of affaii*s were required to raise

name

this

— originally given

to individuals

pations which were considered

men

—

to a

fit

The

rank in the peerage.

engaged in occu-

only for slaves and bondsexistence of this

title

represents, in the smallest possible compass, the ascendency

which the popular principle has been continually gaining over the aristocratic throughout the whole European race.

Again, take a name like

Tarifi'ville.

sary to produce such a name!

What was not necesmix historica.* In

It is a

order to induce people to give to a place so tion, their ardor for a

tariff"

flat

an appella-

must have run high, indeed;

represents the existing state of

American

politics at

it

the

time, the zeal of the northern states to vie with older countries in the career of

manufacturing industry, and brings

mind the struggle against this course of policy. But the name tariff' would not have been given in this country to

to

•

Thus

is

the text, but when the editor received the proof sheet, he found

that the printer

Editob.

had made of

it,

nux

vomica.

Did he do

it

on purpose

i"

—

—

248

(

which

the subject

—

)

designates, had not

it

England adopted

it

which we owe, with so many other branches of modern civilization, one of the most important the modern system of commerce. And she again took the word tariff from the Orient, which, in many respects, had from Italy

Italy to

obtained, at the time

it

afforded the name, great superiority

Through Italy was then running the great stream of commerce; and mighty revolutions caused it at once to flow in a totally different direction, and made over the Occident.

And

Spain great, and gave to Portugal the age of heroism.

and swimmer, the noble poet, and

Camoens, the

soldier, bard,

the beggar,

brought before your mind, or the

is

reminds you of the ancient

castle Tarifa,

Italian

which no

that ever passed the Straits of Gibraltar, will forget

monument man,

of the Spanish Manlius,

called el

Bueno* by

tarifi'

sailor

—

his grateful king, for having, like

a hero, refused to surrender the castle to the Moors,

had captured his

that

Don Alonso Perez Guz-

first-born son

and threatened

to

Guzman,

before his eyes, should he not surrender.

who

behead him as an-

down from the battlement his own sword, with Moors severed the head of the son, in the pre-

swer, threw

which the

And

sence of his father.

all

the deeds of Spanish chivalry,

and the songs which celebrate them

in Castilian tongue,

—thus you may dream

may

on, and on,

rise

up before you and

you

are obliged to halt in a dreary inn of a barren place such

as little Tariffville.

Or take the name

and most glorious country, called for coal; or Africa, originally a ra,

sounding so pleasantly

of Brazil, a vast, rich,

after brasa,

Portuguese

mere province; or Madei-

to the connoisseur in

madera, Portuguese

wines, from

if

her noble

for ivood, or, properly

speaking, matter, stuff.

These

are instances of

names which rose

to signify

higher

things than they originally designated; there are other words "

This

is

the

name which congress might have bestowed on Washington, fit to bestow upon him any peculiar appellation whatever.

had they thought

Washington the Good; ing

it.

Editor.

it is

a

meet

designation.

But

historj- is

now bestow-

249

(

which have met with proper word for

)

The Spanish

a similar fate.

face,

rostro, the

hesitates to use, is de-

which no poet

rived from the Latin rostrum, which, probably, was intro-

duced into Spain

in

connexion with the meaning of

by

face,

the Roman soldier, who, vulgarly, would use the word beak for face, as people, of the same class, with us, would use

snout, by says,

way

Macbeth he

tions, that

But there

of contempt. is

Or,

who

the most tragic of

calls

in fact, the

it,

are, in original languages,

thinks that

all

when he

dramatic composi-

most goatish of plays?

words of domestic

ori-

gin which, nevertheless, have been elevated to the rank of a

much more

exalted signification than their original one.

Yet their number is infinitely smaller than that of the woi*ds, which continually sink in their meaning. Words and phrasesy in themselves the purest possible, become, in the course of

time,

common, vulgar, and even indecent, or, must I say word indecent itself having- sunk already

decorous, the

in-

too

low? I'll

give you yet another instance of a far-travelling name^

The Baroness de

Rredesel

tells,

in

her memoirs, that she

commanding the Hessian and Brunsus, with a daughter, when in this part of

presented her husband,

wick troops against the world.

She was

called

Countess of Bernstorff.

America, and

is

now America,

She would not have received

this

name, had not the chain-rewarded Columbus, an honor to

mankind and

a

shame

to moiiarchs,

been wronged out of the

glory due to him- and to him alone. the Italian

name Amerigo,

Then consider, that Emmerigo, is one

the same with

of the

many names

Italy,

brought thither by the conquering Germans, such as

not unfrequent in the northern part of

Arrigo, Carlo, Ludovico (Luigi,) Matelda, &c.

Amerigo

and Emmerigo are derived from the German Emmerich; so

you see that our western hemisphere bears a German name, which made the tour du monde before it came back to its original land in the person of Countess Bernstorff,

ver, the

name

is

certainly

most melodious and

Howe-

beautiful,

and

—

(

250

)

I feel truly grateful that the Spaniards have not

name

part of the world after the family

named our

of the Florentine

Suppose our great continent

merchant-navigator.

to

have

been called Vespuccia!

The wrong done to the noble-minded Genoese, was felt, when Congress called the small piece of national ground, where we meet to prove that we are a nation, and love to have one banner, waving alike over the representatives from all

parts,

— the District of Columbia;

and when the

Ame-

rican poet mentions his country, inspired with her noble destinies,

he

calls

one

for poetry, as the

one

"by which

The

we have two

her Columbia, so that here,

common

names, one for politics and the

concerns of

mortals

call

quaint names used in

parts of the United States, but

not give you a

will

I

know where

to stop.

Old Testament, and,

list

name through

one skilled

in the

as

I

commented

which

though

it

is

I

should not

have already remarked, often with

life,

which

women have sometimes

calls

customary also

in

cannot be denied, that

to

up in the mind of every

Old Testament associations of

pleasant kind; or of giving the family child,

of them;

The custom of adopting names from the

inconceivable negligence, so that carry a

and

them." all

especially in the Eastern states, have often been

upon, and

life,

Greek gods had an Olympic name, and

name

as a

a

most un-

surname

England, and a usage

to a

I like,

often gives rise to very

it

queer compounds, as in the instance of a boy, whose baptismal

name was

Dolittle, after an uncle of this

of following mere wliim or fancy,

names very frequent.

The following

Barnstable Journal, of February to find.

There

9,

name; or

that

renders these strange I

ctit

1832, which

are, certainly, quaint

short space, and not put together for

out I

of the

happened

names enough in a very any other purpose than

the advertertising of marriages.

" In

West

Barnstable.

Mr. Harris, Capt. ThoTemperance Cobb, of W.

Barnstable, by the Rev.

mas Cobb, of Hyannis,

to JNIiss

251

(

)

" In South Dennis, Capt. Julius Baker, to Miss Diadema D.

Capt Shubael Nickerson

Killey.

Miss Phoebe Downes.

to

" In North Dennis, Capt. Aaron Crowell to Miss Fear Hall.

Mr. Jeremiah Hall to Miss Thankful Howes." There was a lady in Berlin, so full of enthusiasm

for the

glory of regenerated Prussia, that she called her son

Land-

sturm

of Eighteen-hundred-and-Thirteen, (Militia of the

Third Banner of 1813;) another called her daughter Bluyou remember perhaps the Prussian cabinet-

cherine, and

order, which forbade clergymen to baptize children

other than customary names

—a law which,

hearty dislike of quaint and ugly appellations,

very queer.

by any

in spite, of I

my

thought

If parents are not the best people to be trusted

with naming their children,

think

still less

ought they to

be trusted with cutting their hair or

nails, or

judging of the

best time of

weaning them.

I

This

is

certainly a striking ex-

ample of the peculiar intermeddling principle, the

cultiva-

was considered, on the European the greatest problem of domestic politics, but

tion of which, at one time,

continent, as

which

is

now

gradually giving

way

more expanded views

to

of legislation.

In few things, perhaps, appears the difference of the Eng-

more decided light than names and descent. As soon an Englishman becomes known in any way, his descent

lish

and American character

in a

in their respective regard for as is

many

traced out through as

generations as possible.

"

He

descends from a family highly respectable for several generations, in such

and such a county,"

is

an expression

we

meet with in English publications. If some distant relationship to some distant nobleman exist, it is sure to be often

ferreted out,

before

it

were

all

the pages of history to be ransacked

can be arrived

at,

and did

it

exist, after all, but in

the collateral line, as of some daughter to some

nephew of

some sister of some earl. Who can read tlie preface to the memoirs of Lord Collingwood without a smile? However, a preface of this kind

is

easily forgotton,

when

the excel-

— 252

(

may

lent subject of the biography

leon, "

my

Let

)

so justly say, with

Napo-

When Wash-

nobility date Irom myself."

ington had risen to be admired, even by his enemies, the

Garter King-at-Arms, Sir Isaac Head, requested the great

man

we

for his genealogy, as

Such

the course of things:

is

Memoirs.

are told in Roscoe's

people pay high for

little

having made out their pedigree in London or Vienna;

dis-

tinguished men, like Washington or Napoleon, are begged to give

care

or to accept

it,

from obsequious inquirers, and

it

little for it

That

wish to prove a respectable origin comes from

this

by no one: but some-

a praiseworthy source, can be denied

times

it

On

degenerates into the ludicrous.

the other hand,

the ease with which Americans change their names

more

That

astonishing.

change of name

a

is

is

still

readily granted

name be improper, or, as I saw in the petition of a lady to the New York legislature, if a change be necessary, if

the

" for obvious reasons," (the name,

one of the

However

ugliest

great

respect

tiie

must be owned, was

it

had ever heard.)

I

we

is

do not see any reason which obliges us

name

to carry

not right to countries,

But the

make

where

a change of

be,

I

through

life

a

whole

call

act,

so difficult as in

which names are changed

levity with

nothing more than

names

something

It is certainly

many

approaches nearly to an impossibility.

it

of the United States

wishes to

it

to our children.

just.

may

unfit for society, or expressing or indicating

ridiculous, and transmit

a

no more than

bear to our parents

is

again an abuse.

Often

that a person is called

BA

himself

C.

I

in it

some

parts

amounts

ABC,

to

and now

will send you, as a proof,

granted by the legislature of JNIassachusetts, in

1830, to change the names of persons.

Remember, the

le-

gislature sits annually and, probably, grants usually as large a

number of changes;* •

\Y'e give the list

tion, at full length,

of

at least, 1

tliese

because

have not heard that the ac-

names, though apparently a tedious enumera-

it is,

in fact, a subject

worthy the attention of

(

companying

is

253

)

an unusually large number.

Jiut,

on the other

must not be forgotten that there are more individuals of the same name in America than I have found with any European nation. Names which signify occupations or hand,

it

our legislators, and

will

be

interesting' to

many

readers, as characteristic of

American moveability:

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. AN ACT TO CHANGE THE NAMES OF THE PERSONS THEREIN MENTIONED.

Be it enacted by the Senate and Ilouxe of Representatives in general Court assemhkd, andbijthe authority of the same. That Webber Kicker, of Boston, take the name of George Webber Ricker^ that Orlando White, of Bosmay take the name of Henry Kirke Wiiite; that Samson Wilder Thurston, of Boston, may take the name of Wilder Stoddard Thurston; that Petro Papathakes, of Boston, may take the name of Peter Patterson; that William McManagle, of Boston, may take the name of William Pinkerton McKay; that John McManagle, of Boston, may take the name of John McKay; that P^lizabeth McManagle, wife of the said John McManagle, may take the name of Elizabeth McKay; and that Mary Ann McManagle, daughter of the said John McManagle, may take the name of Mary Ann McKay; and that his son John Pinkerton McManagle, may take the name of John Pinkerton McKay; that Rebecca Waitt, of Clielsea, may take the name of Ann Rebecca Waitt; that Thomas James Prince, of Boston, may tidce the name of James Prince; that Lucius Augustus Hoar, of Boston, may take the name of Lucius Augustus Horr; that WiUiam Smith, of Boston, may take the name of William Otis Smith; that Blowers Danforth, of Boston, may take the name of Bowers Danforth; that Thomas Goddard, son of James Goddard, of Boston, may take the name of Thomas Austin Goddard; that Nathaniel Thayer, minor, son of Susan F. Thayer, of l?oston, may take the name of Nathaniel Frederick Thayer; that Andrew Haskell, of Boston, may take the name of Andrew W. Haskell; that William Eckley, minor, son of David Eckley, of Boston, may take the name of William Havard Eliot Eckley; that Robert Lapish, of Boston, may take the name of Robert Hardison Dalton; that James Lloyd Borland, son of John Borland, of Boston, may take the name of James Lloyd; that William Richardson, of Boston, may take the name of William Horatio Richardson; of

may

ton,

—

That Elizabeth Wendell, of Salem, may take name of Maiy Elizabeth Wendell; that Samuel Becket Kehew, of Salem, may take the name of Samuel K. Appleton; that Elianan Winchester Knight,

all

of the county of Suffolk.

the

may

name of Winchester Knight; that Josiah Cooper, name of Henry Franklin Benton; that Caroline Chase, of Newbur}'port, may take the name of Caroline Boardman Chase; that Harriet Chase, of Newbuiyport, may take the name of Harriet Augusta

of Salisbury,

of Newbur}'port,

take the

may

take the

254

(

qualities,

such as Young, Brown, Black, White, (why does

no nation use Blue lors are used ter,

)

as a family

by one or the

name? All other decided

co-

Mercer, Carpenter, Car-

other,)

Smith are common every where; but names of a

differ-

Chase; that Peter Augustine Kimball, of Ipswich, may take the name of Augustine Phillips Kimball; that William Micklefield, junior, minor, son of Mary

Magruth, of Salem, may take the name of Thomas Morris; that Daniel Put-

nam, junior, and William Putnam, second, sons of Daniel Putnam, esquire, ofDanvers, may severally take the names of Daniel Franklin Putnam and William Richardson Putnam; that Timothy than Plumer, of Newburyport,

Dow

Plumer, minor, son of Na-

may take the name

of Charles Henry Plumer;

that Helen Ehzabeth Cook, and that Joseph Augustus

minor, children of John Cook, junior, of Newbuiyport,

Edwin Long Cook, may take the respec-

names of Helen Mar Cook and Joseph Augustus Cook;

tive sina,

that

Pedro Bla-

of Beverly, may take the name of Edward Harrington; that Margaret

Welman

may

McMillan, of Salem,

may

take the

name of Margaret Ann Maskalli

Young, minor, daughter of Levi Young, of Ips-

that Cynthia Clarinda Dennis

name of Cynthia Clarinda Young; that Nathaniel Rogers may take the name of Fitz Henry Lane; that Daniel Jackson Doggett, of Ipswich, may take the name of Daniel Jackson Akerman; that Lucy Lord Doggett, wife of the said Daniel Jackson Doggett, may take the name of Lucy Lord Akerman; that Joseph L. Doggett, may take the name of Joseph Lord Akerman; that Sarah L. Doggett, may take the name of Sarah Lord Akemian; that Lucy M. Doggett, may take the name of Lucy Maria Akerman; that Susan L. Doggett, may take the name of Susan Lord Akennan that Walter P Doggett, may take the name of Walter Phillips wich,

take the

Lane, of Gloucester,

;

Akerman; the niel

ble

.

last five

above-named persons are minor children of the said Da-

Jackson Dogget; that Daniel Wardwell, the

Putnam Wardwell, wife of the said Daniel,

minor, daughter of the said Daniel Wardwell,

third,

of Andover, Mehita-

Putnam Wardwell, may each respectively take the that Susan

surname of Davenport, instead of Wardwell; that Mori'is Hern, of Rowley, may take the name of Morris Hersey; that Joseph Worm.wood, of Lynn, that Susan Wormwood, Wormwood, daughter of

wife of the said Joseph, and that Eliza

may each of Wormwood; all of

the said Joseph,

surname of Everett instead

—

Ellen

respectively take the

the county of Essex.

may take name of Charles Augustus Carter; that Stillman Hoar, of Sterling, may take the name of Stillman Haven: that Hannah Ward Hoar, wife of the said Stilhuan Hoai", may take the name of Hannah Ward Haven; that Oscar Dextor and Ward Knowlton, minor sons of said Stillman Hoar, may That Charles

Carter, minor, son of Jacob Carter, of Leominster,

the

severally take the

surname of Haven; that Jonathan Fairbanks, of Leo-

may take the name of Henry Fairbanks; tliat Samuel Granger, of New Bi-aintree, may take the name of Edwin Granger; that Thomas Lawminster,

255

(

ent signification, and

many

)

of which are derived from bap-

tismal names, such as Jackson,

Andrews, Williams, Jones,

You have only

Hamilton, Patterson, are very frequent.

to

look at a directory of any of our large places, to convince

may take the name of Thomas Edmunds; may take the name of John B. Marshall; that Nathaniel Bradford, of Fitchburg-, may take tlie name of Gustavus Lyman; that Ann Mai-ia Keyes, of Ashburnham, may take the name of Almira Keyes; that Thomas Woodbury Gaffield, of Grafton, may take the name of George Woodbury Hale; that Oliver Goodridge of Lunenburg-, may take tlie name of Oliver Newton Goodrich; that Abiel Murdock, junior, of Leominster, may take the name of Thomas A. Murdock; that William Meriam, junior, of Ashburnham, may take the name of WiUiam Sanborn Meriam; that Nabby Willis, of Charlton, may take the name of Abigail Ellis WiJlis; that Mary L. B. Wiswall, of Westminster, may take the name of Mary Ly. man; that Sarali Crouch, of Bolton, may take tlie name of Sarah Alvira Nelson; that Jefferson Beers, of Spencer, may take the name of Edward Beman; that Samuel Bullcn, of Charlton, may take the naine of Samuel Boyden; and that Adams S. Bullen, of said Charlton, may take the name of Adams Boyden; all of the county of Worcester. That Moses C. Danforth, of Lowell, and that Pamelia Danforth, wife of the said Moses C. Danforth, may serence, second, of Leominster, that

John Babcock, of

Fitchburg-,

—

surname of Monroe instead of Danforth; that Jolm Henry

verally take the

may

Blasker, of Lowell,

take the

Nichols, junior, of Reading,

may

name of John Henry Blake; that Jame name of James Churchill Nichols;

take the

Brigam Barns, of Reading, may take

that Vashti

Barns; that Haslet McManaglc, of Marlborough, jet

McKay;

that

tlte name of Mary Jane may take the name of Has-

Nancy McManagle, wife of the

daughter, and that

WiUiam PinkerVon,

his son,

said Haslet, that

may

surname of McKay instead of McManagle; that Ephraim minor son of Oliver P.

llston,

Littlefield,

deceased,

Ann,

his

respectively take the

may

Littlefield,

take the

of Hol-

name of

Ephi-aim Oliver Prescott Littlefield; that Benjamin Thompson, of Charles-

town,

may take

the

name of Benjamin Lowell Thompson; that Samuel MatTownsend, may take the name of William Matticks

ticks Ellenkittle, of

Rogers; that James Kidder, minor child of James Kidder, junior, of Water-

may

name of James Hosmer Kidder; that Jason Chamberlain may take the name of Jason Smith; that Anna Damon, of Reading, may take the name of Anna Pratt; all of tlie county of Middle-

town,

take the

Smith, of HoUiston,

—

sex.

That

Isaac

name of Isaac

Mahtoa Wansongthi Adams, of Brooklyn, may take the

Mahti-a

Wansongthi Adams;

that Franklin Oakes, of Cohasset,

minor son of Levi Oakes, may take the name of Benjamin Franklin Oakes; that Martin Speai";

—

take the

all

Speiu-,

of Dcdham, may take the name of

of the county of Norfolk.

name of Anna Doane Mayo;

that

Hemy

Forrister

That Anna Mayo, of Eastham, may Lucy Knowles, of Eastham,may take

—

256

(

)

This paucity of names,

yourself of the truth of this remark.

which

England, likewise, though not in so great a

exists in

degree

as,

course,

much

with ourselves, (except in Wales,) creates, of confusion,

which people are sometimes

desi-

rous of escaping by a change of name. It

happens, besides, very frequently, in the United States,

that property

certain person on condition of his

is left to a

changing his name for that of the

testator; thus exhibiting

again a strong desire of perpetuating a certain name.

The growing up distinction of

of family names, as well as the peculiar

Roman

names, into prxnomina, nomina, and

cognomina, have served

marks

as to

grounds for various broad re-

as

the history of civilization.

trouble you with

my

I

will not here

notions on this subject, but merely re-

you a fact of great interest, with which you might not become acquainted otherwise. Mr. Schoolcraft, in his

late to

Narrative of an Expedition to Itasca Lake, the Actual

Source of the Mississippi, page 146,

in the

"The most

name of Lucy

in 1832,

(New York,

Harding' Knowles; that Thankful Hallet Bray, of Yar-

mouth, may take the name of Susan Augusta Bray; Barnstable.

1834,) says,

striking trait in their (the Indians)

—

all

of the county of

—That Ignatius Loring, of Great Barrington, may take the name

of Almon Ignatius Loring; that Grosvenor Curtis, of Egremont, may take the name of Harvey Grosvenor Curtis;

That John Foster, Foster;

junior, of Scituate,

—of the county of Plymouth.

—both

may

of Hoyt instead of Hoar;

Hunt, of Northfield, Watriss Hunt.

—

in the

all

county of Berkshire.

name of John Hatherly

That Calvin Hoar, of Northampton

that Phoebe Hoar, wife of the said Calvin

Johnson, children of the said Calvin,

in the

take the

—that William Patrick, and Samuel

may each respectively take the surname

of the county of Hampshire.

county of Franklin,

may

take the

That Elisha

name of Elisha

That Martha Leavett Mayhevv, an adopted daughter of Lea-

vett Thaxter, of Edgartown, in

tlie

county of Dukes,

Martha Leavett Tiiaxter; that Nancy

S. Covell,

of

may

New

name of may take

take the

Bedford,

the name of Nancy S. Blackmere; that Abigail Gifford, daughter of John Gifford, of Westport,

way, of

New

may take the name of Abby Giftbrd; that Isaac Hathamay take the name of Isaac Franklin Hathaway; all

Bedford,

in the county of Bristol;

by allowed by

this act

to take

—and the several persons herein mentioned are here-

and hereafter be known by the respective names which

they severally are authorized to assume.

Approved by the Governor, March

13, 1832.

257

(

moral history,

is

)

the institution of the

iontem

—

a sign

ma-

nuel,

by which the

more

exactly, perhaps, than has been supposed, with the ar-

affiliation

of families

is

And

morial bearings of the feudal ages.

traced, agreeing

this institution is

kept up with a feeling of importance, which

An

to account for. specific

name with

mily name,

—

Indian, as

is

it

is difficult

well known, will

tell his

great reluctance, but his generic or fa-

in other

words

his tontem,

—he

will declare

without hesitation, and with an evident feeling of pride."

The philosophy

of this

is

like that of the prohibition of

mentioning the name of his Chinese majesty. peror, and that

is all.

All individuality

neral idea of sovereignty

the French,

And now at length

*

The

names.

le

—the

merged

is

He

is

em-

in the ge-

same principle as that of

roi est mart, vive le rot.

my

the tester of

breaks down, and

author speaks, in this

T

letter,

letter,

In as far as this relates to

having lasted so long,

wish you

a

good night.*

of American fickleness respecting'

names of

places,

it

is

not peculiar to the

inhabitants of the United States, but results from certain relations inherent

newly and rapidly peopled as many parts of North America. name of York, in Upper Canada, was chang'ed back into its Indian name of Toronto. Editob.

in cour\tries so

But

lately the

ancient

33

(

258

)

LETTER Utica

is

XIV.

quainted with the astonishing rapidity of chiefly, to

and

You

a fine and friendly looking city.

its

in a point

its

are ac-

growth, owing,

peculiarly favorable situation on the canal,

where many channels of a large productive In the year 1794, the place contained

country concentrate.

nineteen families; at present,

counts above 10,000 inha-

it

city, by which the name of an individual might, with perpropriety, be bestowed upon a place. Instead of calling

the way, affords one of the few in-

This

bitants.

stances in fect

a town, which owes

importance chiefly

its

peculiar character as to beauty and

to its inland situation, after an ancient seaport,

renowned

would not

for the suicide of noble Cato,

Clinton have been a more appropriate appellation,

whose monument

Utica as well as

places

on the canal

seems

to

may

geographical appellation; and

all

if,

may

in

him

other thriving

be considered?

me, would have had

called after places, places

many

after

This name,

it

the requisites of a good

former ages,

well be called

men were now after

men, provided there be a strong reason for it, and the name have not too strongly assumed the character of a personal designation. to call a

Utica

I

town Smith is

cannot help considering

it

in

bad

taste

or Taylor.

remarkable in the history of civilization, for

when she was made

a city in 1832, an express prohibition

against licensing shops for retailing ardent spirits was in-

serted in her charter,

—

a restriction

made, probably,

for the

259

(

first

)

time, in the history of the world, though temperance

middle ages.

societies existed as early as in the

every other place

street of Utica, like that of

The main

in the Union,

considerable in size, exhibits a large

if at all

collection of those vast shops or stores of in the great

numbers

whole country, seem and

in

to

all

kinds, which?

which they are scattered over the

me quite peculiar to the United

States,

immense consumption of their inhabiIn England, especially in London, retail shops of

to indicate the

tants.

extraordinary size, with twenty and thirty people in them, to

may

wait on the customers,

be found; but they are not so

The

frequent in the smaller places. stores, as the

Americans

gists, grocers,

and for the

call

spacious shops, or

them, of ironmongers, drug-

sale of earthen ware, &c.,

have

al-

ways astonished me. They prove, on a larger scale, what you see continually on a smaller one in your own house, in the streets, &c., that the American consumes more than any other human being, in respect to victuals, dress, and domestic concerns.

There

much

not so

is

patching, pasting,

puttying, in the United States, as in other countries, especially

on the European continent; and when,

in

judges of a court in Kentucky had to decide case, of

what "a decent new

suit of clothes," to

1833, the

in a specific

be furnished

to apprentices on the expiration of their term of service to consist, the dollars.

bench decided that

Broad-cloth

own; yet

this

is

here

sum, large

it

much

ought

else, if

we

is

much higher

in this

speak of the industrial

be worth

may

of comfort," which

If

Servants live in-

we

could obtain as

accurate statements respecting consumption of

any large place

we would

in the

made out some

it

we

all

kinds in

possess of Paris,

statistical results.

calculations of the kind

portations, but I think tistics

United States Jls

be astonished at the

I

serve you as in-

country than any where

classes.

finitely better here than in Europe.

is

fifty

dearer than in Europe,

for the case,

dicating, in a degree, the " standard

altogether

to

from the

lists

I

have

of im-

will be better to reserve these sta-

for another opportunity; for they will serve as the

260

(

some

basis of

)

farther reflections, too extensive, and of too

numerical a character, for these familiar

some

to give

is

work on

scientific

My

letters.

desire

the United States; and,

there, tables and calculations of this kind will be

more

place.

best things,"

—"Very bad men, very bad, throw away me, when

said once a Chinese servant to

on

this country, in

must be

contrast

comparison with

spoke with him

I

Poor fellow! the

his.

made

be sure, with his dishes

great, to

of every part of animals; and entrails boiled

in their

I,

too,

with maize, which

thought of the sheep

was forced

I

to eat in

make me swallow

Corinth, and which hunger was able to but not to relish.

The The

To

was

object of the greatest interest to me, in Utica,

weigh-lock

—an American invention freight on the canal

toll for

if I

am

proportionate to weight.

is

commonly Eng-

arrive at the weight of a cargo, gauges are

used: this

is

the process of weighing, for instance, in

land; another tic scale is

means

A

used here.

is

fits

conveniently in

pairs of iron rods on a strong iron

manner

that

hangs by three rests

and

beam

this large iron

fastened perpendicularly in a horizontal plain,

forming the arm from which the weights, depends.

The whole

in this latter scale balances

scale; and,

it,

beam, which

To

plays on three nice points of steel. is

steelyard on a gigan-

constructed; the scale, formed in a

the bottom of a vessel

another

a

not mistaken.

is

scale, destined for the

so balanced, that one

one hundred pounds

with such a degree of nicety

chinery made,

that quarter

is

pound

in the large

the whole ma-

pounds are used

as

weights,

which, of course, counterbalance twenty-five pounds in the large scale.

This hangs

down

cating with the canal, with

Whenever j^boat

a lock.

opened, and the vessel iron rods of the scale,

lock

is

closed, and

which

it

to

is

is

be weighed the lock

now under

its

bottom. is

a short time the

Weights

are

now

is

basin between the

by another lock the water

in the scale.

communi-

can be disconnected by

into the

floats

from the basin, so that within hangs dry

into a small basin,

which

The

discharged

whole boat

placed in the weigh-

261

(

)

ing scale; the original burden of the boat, the testimony of

which every boatman

with him,

carries

the gross weight, and the

toll

is

deducted from

weight of the boat and cargo on which

I

saw the operation

much

performed, was sixty two tons or 136,000 pounds;

When

heavier cargoes, however, are weighed.

was balanced,

I

was

the whole

move by my

able, literally, to

When

136,000 pounds up and down.

finger,

The

paid accordingly.

is

little

the lock has

admitted again a sufficient quantity of water, and the boat

once more

is

The

floats out.

lasted

set afloat, the first

lock

opened, and the boat

is

operation of weighing, which I witnessed,

from the time the boat entered the lock

to its sailing

out again, nine minutes; but three or four minutes must be

deducted, as the weigh-master had to fetch a lantern,

He

having grown dark.

assured

on board the boat understand the

that

when

details of the

it

the people

whole opera-

and no unnecessary delay takes place, he can weigh

tion,

any boat

name as

me

in less than four minutes.

I

could not learn the

of the author of this invention, the more interesting

it is

the bold application of a simple principle

known

to

every one. In the cathedral of Pisa, the work of Buschetto, the worthy tion

Greek

architect, I

found the following inscrip-

on the monument erected in

his honor:

Qtiod vix mille bovum possent jugajuncta movere,

Ed quod vix potuit per mare

ferre rates,

Busketi nisu, quod erat mirabile visu,

Dena puellarum

The engineer who

turba levabat onus.*

invented the weigh-locks, deserves to

be celebrated in a similar manner, though,

it is

to be

hoped,

in a better style.

About fourteen miles north of Utica, Before you reach them, you have

Falls.

heights, which form the basin or • "

A burden,

are the Trenton to pass

kettle, as the

over the

German

which hardly could be moved by a tliousand yokes of oxen,

and which the vessel could hardly carry over the

sea, has

through the exertion of Buschetto, by ten

been

lifted, a

marvel to see

it!

Philadelphia

a weigh-lock of the same kind, and, probably, they are

to

is

to-

be found on other canals

in the Union.

Editor.

girls."

Near

now

—

262

(

pographer

calls

you have

a fine

it,

which Utica

in

situated.

From them

Utica

before you,

The Trenton

West Canada Creek,

the

is

view of the whole.

as in a nest, well-bedded.

by

)

a river

lies

Falls are formed

—though

called with us

which empties into the Mohawk, but which, like the Missouri, has been wronged out of its name, and is, properly speaking, the upper part of the Mohawk, as the Misa creek,

souri

is

the upper part of the Mississippi.

instrumentality the

now

I

send you a de-

by John Sherman, "through whose

cription of Trenton Falls,

celebrated Trenton Falls were pre-

You

pared for examination, and brought into public notice."

must endeavor

to pick out for yourself the interesting facts

from the chaff of poetico-religious prating,

Many

lized nation.

when

Americans excel

natural scenery, descend into

description,

"screwed" admiration at

which the

of nature.

the beauties of nature,

is silent,

speaks a language very easily to be distinguished

from that utters

is

in that style of

call a

True, deep-felt delight it

civi-

and therefore unfelt "enthusemusy;" but the

Germans would or

which, as yet,

books, indeed, in whatever language,

the subject matter

this verbose

to

more given than any other

the Americans are certainly

it

which

cant,

carries

with

it

the proof that he

who

thinks of himself and his words far more than of

the subject which, as he pretends, Causes his transport.

rude or blunt man,

who

magnificence, or charms, I

must choose,

I

timental prattler. artificial

would

feels is

nothing

at

no agreeable companion; but,

a thousand times prefer

It was,

A

beholding nature's

him

if

to a sen-

undoubtedly, disgust, caused by

raptures or swollen, yet hollow phrases, which in-

duced Gothe, when one day he visited some of the finest points around Jena, in company of some ladies, and they were soaring high on " the winged words," to turn round to a gentle-

man and

drily to say,

"Let us

eat

some of the

sausage, while

the ladies are so busily admiring."

The Trenton

Falls are

most romantic.

felt,

acquaintance,

I

and, therefore,

went

now

to see

them

Kendid not say much, and whose

with a young clergyman of Boston, but tucky, who

I

value as a real acquisition.

settled in

It

had rained

263

(

for several

days previous to our

much

consequently, very paths, or

)

ought

I

visit,

and the Canada was,

swollen, so that the narrow foot

hewn

to say foot-steps,

in the rocks,

were

covered by the hurrying waves of the river, which tumbled like melted amber, graced

we had

and

to walk,

with early snow from rock

sometimes with no

many

the

spot,

we

re-

could quietly enjoy

beauties and variegated charms of this delightful

which looked

What

to rock,

danger, for

But we were well

several hours bare foot in the water.

paid; no visiters disturbed us, and

little

as if

made

for the reveries

of Petrarch.

nooks, and corners, and steep walls, cascades on cas-

cades; what whirling and tumblingof the water, rushing with

such rapidity, that you are unable to follow with your eyes a branch to

thrown

appeared to I

am

The sound

!

of the falling waters seemed

A

me

G on the first line in the bass.

to be

I

believe

not mistaken, as I ascertained repeatedly the sound

my own

voice, and verified

man who

tionis, all

in

me, by two tones higher than that of the Niagara, which

it,

as soon as I

suffers seriously

which seems

civilized nations,

to

by

found a piano.

mania comparacommon disease among

with the

be a very

might compare the general character of

the Trenton Falls to that of Saxon Switzerland, though there is

no tumbling waterfall in that country equal to the cascades

The person who

of the Canada at Trenton.

first called

the

mountain scenery of Upper Misnia, Saxon Switzerland, must himself have been grievously

afflicted

with this mania, which,

in spite of its universality, has not been

enumerated by any Rush, Pinel, Esquirol, Horn, or Heinrothj and certainly he has not done any service either to the scenery or the traveller.

People seem

paring

it

Bolivar, though you

South.

It is

they elevate a pony by comHenry; but Bolivar remains

to think that

to an an Eclipse or

may

call

him the Washington of the

always forgotten that nothing recoils with such

malignant force, as misplaced, or hypocritical, or servile comparison: no one laughs at the frog, until puffed up and

com-

paring himself with the bull.* • calls

We perfectly agree with the it, is

so

common, because

it

author. is

The mania

comparationis, as

the abuse of a genei'al principle.

htj

Wc

—

264

(

There

)

near the largest of the cascades which constitute

is,

the Trenton Falls, a horizontal plateau of rock, on which

abundant spray

is

from the ground.

It

visited

on June 22d, the sun

formed a rain-bow horizontally over foot

When we

continually falling.

this spot, at half past eleven o'clock,

this plateau,

about a

surrounded us in a semicircle, of

a very short diameter, and, of course,

moved with our move-

ments, presenting altogether a very striking appearance. If

you go from Utica

to

Lockport, by land, you have the

advantage of passing through a number of truly lovely places,

which seem quietly

to flourish there

in the west,

under

the benign influence of the sun of liberty, shedding his

enlivening rays upon a blessed and

make

places in the world can

fertile

country.

a finer impression, than

No

Onon-

daga, Skaneateles, Auburn, (where you will not omit to visit

the State-Prison, though standing in bold contrast with the

smiling country around,) Geneva, and, before

all,

sweet Ca-

nandaigua; from here you must go to Rochester, a wonder of the west, and then proceed either by the Ridge Road, or

by

canal to Lockport.

The Ridge Road or topographic, or, to

make

a

is

very interesting

in

geological

a

should say, in a hodological view,

I

new word;

because nature has acted here, for

once, as ingenieur des ponts

et chaussees,

and made a con-

venient and even road of gravel from Rochester to Lewiston, a distance of eighty-seven miles; while, generally, she

wisely leaves the making of communications to man's acIts

tivity.

general width

is

from four

the rivers Genessee and Niagara

hundred and twenty height it is

may

is

we

from six

live

to ten miles.

kind of critique,

There

upon comparison; the processes of

language subsists by comparison.

which

all

But

is

Near

from one

feet.

This

a regular and

thinking-,

of acquiring

—are founded upon comparison;

it is

time,

we must

limited minds are but too prone to do.

Editor.

is

above Lake Ontario, from which

knowledg-e, of obtaining even simple ideas

principle,

to eight rods.

elevation

one hundred and thirty

also its elevation

distant

say,

to

its

not abuse this

It is

the cheapest

265

(

)

gradual descent from the road to the lake, and no

way

of ac-

counting for this ridge seems to exist without supposing that

some former period, one There is of Lake Erie, one hundred

Lake Ontario was,

the surface of

hundred and thirty

at

feet higher than at present.

a similar ridge on the south side

and twenty miles long.

was while travelling on this Ridge Road, that I asked a farmer, who was one of my fellow passengers in the stagecoach where he originally came from; for he had told me, in It

the course of conversation, that he was not a native of the state of

New York, where he had now a farm. " Why, sir," man, " my wife is from Mansfield in ConnectiTwo young friends of mine, of Boston, burst out

said the old

cut."

and

in a loud laugh;

undoubtedly from

New

He was

affirmative.

had already invited

He

asked, ''And you, too, are

I directly

He

England?"

answered in the

a fine, good-humored old man,

me

to

stay a

who

day or two with him.

had been above twenty-five years

in this state,

yet he

New

England round-about-way of answering, which has so often provoked me. This anecdote, I think, is still more characteristic than that which Abbe Corea used to relate. He was travelling in New Eng-

had not got rid of the

land, and observed, at a distance, a fine blue flower.

boy," said he

name

to a lad

working

of that blue flower?"

"that yellow flower

is

could induce ral

my

Why," answered

the boy,

Here there was at be concealed, as the boy did not know but, in

my

case,

nothing else

otherwise frank companion to give his spi-

answer, except the deep-rooted custom of the

New

"My

the field, "what's the

called cowslip."

some ignorance to the name of the blue flower;

least

"

in

England people, never

to say or

admit

at

common once and

frankly "yes," "no," "this" or "that," but always to prefix an " I believe," or to suffix an " I think," or some such

words.

who

What would

wished, and not without some good reason, to excom-

municate the whole as,

Fichte have said, in such a case; he

"as

it

class of indetermijiative phrases,

were," "so

to

such

speak," "one might say," "in a

266

(

)

degree," "if I may say so/' the many "perhaps," "might," " may be,"&c. So much is certain, that the less sound and firm a writer, the

more he

resorts to these qualifying ex-

On the other hand, the adopted style is much more timid than that of others.

pressions.

languages

of some

In the

same degree as the Americans and English are more apt to adopt names and expressions of practical life in their writings than the Germans; they are more timid in using com-

you may use a hundred images which you cannot introduce into English

parisons and metaphors; and in

German

common

prose,

writing without craving permission by a " so to

speak," or putting over the glowing word an extinguisher, such as, " If I may use the expression." I

remember, soon

had arrived in Boston,

after I

man, whether he had the key of "

nasium was, with him.

key was

it

asked a

where the gym-

believe," he answered, and the

I

a big thing, large

known whether he had

a garden,

I

enough

for a Briareus to

have

or not in his pocket, and

suffi-

ciently long to fight a duel with, as the students of Upsala

are said to fight them.

myself

what the

first

was long before

I

could accustom

unmanly phraseology.

to this

There are

It

in the

idiom of

New

England,

grammarian of the Yankee,

round-aboutives, such

as, I suspect,

a

will

number

have

of,

to call

imagine, suppose, believe,

judge, fancy, think, guess, reckon, calculate, conclude, rather think,

am

of opinion,

should imagine, &c.

,

am

all

inclined to think, should think,

used where there

convey the idea of uncertainty. different expressions are requisite.

of a similar character, which

you ask

to appreciate.

If

he answers, "

Hem,

I

a

it is

is

no intention

to

If this be the case, quite

There

are

not easy, at

whole phrases first,

properly

thorough Yankee any thing, and

don't

nounced with a rising voice,

know," the word know proyou don't know whether he

means " yes," or " no," or neither. If he answ^ers, " I don't know," it means no; if he says, " I don't know that I shall," he means to express doubt; but if he answers, " I don't know The English, on the other hand. but I shall," he means yes.

2G7

(

continually throw in their

man

be a case where a

Thus,

I

)

—" you

know," though it may know any thing.

cannot possibly

was once conversing with an English gentleman, a

made know," be-

friend of mine, when, in the course of conversation, he

me

guess something.

answered rapidly, "

I

I

which he referred, You can't know, whether you know it,

lieving to have discovered the subject to

when

he replied, "

In the southern parts of Germany, the com-

you know."

mon

people use the

(you

ivisseii's,

ner as conversational

suffix,

know

or inlerjix,

if

it,)

in like

you want

it

manmore

accurately expressed.

In Rochester are some of the largest flour-mills in exIt is really interesting to see,

istence.

in

all

There

ject.

how

is

more flower made,

in a

much

neater way,

by

expense and trouble, in one hour, in one of these mills

less

than within whole days, in several others. I

here again, as

other cases, true art and knowledge si|nplify the sub-

became acquainted with two

They were

study these mills of the west.

them, and

I

suppose you

know

Guide has been republished

Some

millers, sent

in

years ago,

from Prussia,

to

delighted with

that Evans's Mill-wright's

England and

translated in

Germany too, and is altogether the standard authority, among the gentry, who still keep to hair powder. Thanks to him, who gave the decent, simple, fine name of Rochester to this place, whoever he may be, or have France, probably in

been.

Perjury, was a crime so

that a

man was

if

with the old Franks,

lauded, for never having perjured himself, as

he had been somewhat of a

individuals,

common

who,

in this part

saint; so I think,

ought those

of the country, have the moral

courage to bestow a simple and proper name upon a place,

be held up for public veneration.

At Lockport,

(another decent name,) you will do well to

take passage in a canal boat, after having examined the

which the locks form Mountain Ridge, five rise,

and

here. in

offers

an

stairs,

are at the foot of the

number, of twelve

feet each, to

The whole is of fine workinteresting sight, when boats, full

five others to descend.

manship, and

They

(

2GS

)

of people, goods, and live stock, are rising sixty feet, and others close by, descending the same height. are convenient steps, with iron railings.

Between them,

Above Lockport,

within the village, the cut begins, by which

or, in fact, partly

the Grand Canal has been lead a distance of three miles,

an average depth of twenty

at

feet,

through the rock of the

Lockport, contains, at present, four thou-

Mountain Ridge. sand inhabitants.

The

native of

New

England

found here, as

is

the Union, chiefly, however, besides his

country, in

all

western

you are reminded

England

states.

It is

in the course of

You

activity.

own

all

over

part of the

how

often

your journey, of

New

remarkable

see a large "academy building"

on the road, and ask your fellow travellers. Who keeps Where does he come from?" From it? Mr. Such-a-one.

New England. You you

ask,

You

which

ask,

who

is

hear of a good country school-master:

his native state?

A New

England

state.

was the engineer of this rail-road, or that

A New England man. Who keeps this tavern so well Rochester? A New England man. Where did this rich

canal? in

farmer come from, at

who

immense wealth?

inherited nothing and has arrived

He came

from Connecticut.

Many

of the most eminent lawyers and merchants, in different cities

of the Union, came originally from

New England.

If

you ask, who pursues the whale on the distant main, far up " on the New Shetland to the north, and who goes " sealing Islands?

It is

New England men. Who keeps up that brisk

coasting trade? the modest but most important part of ma-

commerce. New England captains command the vessels. Who are the owners of this manufactory, which consumes so large amount of domestic produce? New England men. rine

a list of the members of congress, and of new western states, according to their birth places, you will find among them, a disproportionate number of New England men. And these are the worth-

If

you make out

o-overnors

of the

—

less people of certain travellers!

toms of

their

If

they have ^vays and cus-

owm, which are not pleasing

to a visiter, if those

2G9

(

among them who have

)

not travelled are sometimes infatu-

ated as to their country and climate, they are, at worst, but like

do, it

A people

Besides, I reason from results.

most people.

who do what

they do; who,

at their elections,

behave as they

Take

must be considered a valuable part of our Union.

away, and you slacken the bow-string. In going to the west of

New

York, you have

pass

to

through the Genesee country, the delight of wheat-growing farmers, and

when

which reminded me of Gothe's exclamation,

passing through Naples' happy fields and endless gar-

dens: Yes here

it is

worth the while

Far from agreeing,

wish

to cultivate the ground.

with those writers

as a politician,

who

to see the right of representation attached to landed

property only

—

a system,

which,

one time, when the

at

great mass of intelligence found a pretty fair standard in

landed property, was sound, but which the noble struggle fought by the cities of the middle ages for

ought

to

all

mankind,

be considered as having dismantled for ever; and

equally far from agreeing as a political economist with that school,

which considers the

source of national wealth

cultivation of the soil as the only

—

I,

nevertheless, consider, both

in an historical and political view, the condition of the culti-

vator of the soil as invariably one of the most interesting subjects

is

which any nation can

In America there

is

no bondsman, that

is a

offer to

no peasant;

I

our observation.

do not mean that there

matter of course; but the American

farmer forms no class by himself.

He

a citizen to

is

all in-

tents and purposes, not only as to political rights, but as to his

whole standing and

No

social connexion.

views of his

own, no dress distinguish him, from the inhabitant of the

He

towns.

homme,* no

no conipode, no rusticus, no Jaque Bon-

is

villain, or boor.

rich or poor; that

seems •

to

me

is all

He

is

a farmer,

the difference.

and

may

be

This circumstance

of great importance in our whole national orga-

Conipode means

dust-footer, a nick

name

ancient Greek cities to the peasants; Jaque

g-iven

by

tiie

Bonhomme was

inhabitants of

the nickname

given by the French nobility to the pcasantiy, keeping quiet to be fleeced.

— Editor.

270

(

nization,

which

and would alone account

foreigners often

The

for

seem unable

numerous phenomena,

to explain.

condition of the cultivator of the soil will always

by which

afford one of the standards ral

)

amount of

to estimate the gene-

by a nation;

liberty enjoyed

form an important item of the

will always

at

scale,

any

rate, it

and nearly

every peasant war, if at all of a general character, has been in consequence of advancing civilization, whatever the appearance of

may have

it

ly the peasant, beast,

— may

revolting

been

—treated

moment; however

We may

often act.

cruelties,

at the

like a beast

which

ferocious-

and breaking loose like a

turn with horror from the

often, perhaps,

generally have

stained these wars, yet not on one side alone; the masters

have shown

as

much

cruelty as the insurgents, yet, as I

said, these insurrections

have been nearly always

in con-

sequence of the spreading of some general, broad ideas;

whatever

may have been

breaking, whether

it

the immediate cause for the out-

be of a religious,

character, only excepting

political or physical

mere accidental

causes, such as

the cholera, and the consequent suspicion of the Hungarian

Often enough,

peasants.

ended by a

total

it

is

true,

their struggles

have

submission of the cultivator; hardly ever

has he risen from the lowest and most degraded

state,

with-

more degraded the struggler had previously been; until in modern times, concessions have sometimes been made by the intelligence of the rulers Such was the abolition of all service attached to the alone. But whether Prussia would have been led soil in Prussia. out a struggle, the fiercer, the

to this peaceable

change

having taken place

at that time,

tained after fearful contests only, rise in the scale of social

farmer,

is

a

without similar changes

in other countries,

and

is

where they were ob-

another question.

political

much more melancholy

The

existence, of the

subject than the gra-

dual rise of the mechanics and industrious commoner, but of equal importance; and I repeat it, whatever cruelties of the peasant

we meet

with in studying

this subject,

our opi-

nion of their masters will not be exalted, neither in Eng-

271

(

land, France,

)

The

Germany, or Hungary.

Stellinger, the

ancient Saxon peasants, the peasants in Switzerland, in Nor-

mandy,

in

Jutland and Schonen, the Stedinger, these noble

Frisians, the Pastourcaux in the south of France, the Jac-

querie, the peasants under

Wat

Tyler, Ball and Straw, the

Curuczians or the Hungarian peasants under George Dosa all

prove the truth of what

after

I say.

It

has been long, and

much, and, oftentimes, apparently unsuccessful strug-

gling, that the farmer has elevated

large country, to that station,

himself throughout a

which he now occupies.

In-

stances do indeed exist, that in former times, the free pea-

were

sants of a small country

as jealous of their

rights,

ready to defend them, and proud enough of their condition, as the Ditmarsians, that intrepid

doomed

nevertheless was

and most noble band, which

Yet

to perish.

in

most cases the

farmer has either risen from actual slavery or servitude, to independence; or he had been reduced from a state of a free proprietor, to that of fettered and stinted ownership,

way

long continued attacks of the stronger, by fraud, and

had

to

emerge

The American farmer thinks, and

again.

knows how

owns the land he

generally

what he gains

tivates in fee simple;

is his.

to converse

He is

on his

never received from one a stupid answer. try, yet has

by

of force or

affairs.

He

cul-

intelligent, I

have

loves his coun-

no especial attachment to the peculiar spot of

his birth, which,

I believe nowhere exists in any where the farmer cannot move. If he noble country, where he can buy for a

however,

great degree, except sees before

him

a

dollar

and a quarter an acre of ground, yielding abundant

crops

and affording him the greatest pleasure a farmer

knows, that of seeing a fme soil willingly answer to his labors, it would be strange indeed were he to remain on a jealous earth, which seems to grudge the husbandman his wellearned reward.

A

proof of this

may

be found in the emi-

by thousands and thousands of European peasants. On the whole, the American fanners are a hardy and well-

gration

disposed race.

Homer's wise

—

272

(

)

does not only continue to be true, but

is

and Jove gives half of the virtue with

liberty.

That you should not seek bandry among the farmers

also true reversed,

who have

cost

obtained,

more than would be gained from the

spots thus

him

commit the common

to

have

sometimes induces

fault of farmers, of

husbanding

you may Mark Brandenburg, many places the farmer

land, and thereby scattering his nnieans,

Bad

easily imagine. I

to

evident; and that, moreover, the facility with

is

a farmer can here obtain land,

much

plough

them out

which too

to

dig

between the stumps, because the labor

would

and minute hus-

for refined

in the west,

still

but

would obtain

as the soil is in the

doubt that

little

fair crops,

in

could he be induced to abandon

part of his land and cultivate the rest with greater care.

The of

thirty years' war,

some whole

villages,

of the remainder.

On

which exterminated the inhabitants threw too much land into the hands the other hand,

it

is

necessary to

travel but a short distance toward the west, in order to be

how

convinced

erroneous the frequent assertion

Americans are more

a commercial nation than

they are on the contrary, thus

else; tural,

tliat

Every American

far essentially agricul-

is fitted

Romans and the who never were famous farmers.

If I say,

you should not seek

bandry here,

same

state of

time, and

low,

if

I

for the farmer

In this the Ameri-

loves farming.

cans resemble the ancient

Greeks,

that the

any thing

not only the vastly greater part of them are

farmers, but also that their disposition life.

is,

for refined

English, not the

and minute hus-

speak of the west alone. In some parts of the

New York, which

where the

compared

have been settled for a long

price of the land

is

not so exceedingly

to the price of labour, farms are

* Half of the virtue of the day of slavery begins.

man

is

found which

taken away by fui--sighted Jove, as soon as

Editoh.

273

(

are

managed with minute

)

branches

care, in all the different

of husbandry; so that the farmer docs not only compete

with the cultivator of the chief article

—wheat,

in other countries, as to his

soil

but even butter

is

cxjiorted in con-

siderable quantity from the farms along the Hudson or

near

Some

it.

of the best butter, called

Goshen

butter,

is

exported to Malta and other places of the Mediterranean,

where the best kind brings

much

as

more Thus I

as a half-penny

per pound than the best English or Irish butter.

have been

by

told

a

who had

gdntlcman

long resided in va-

So wc go; American butter sent

rious ports of that sea.

to

the shores of antiquity! In the west of are

owned

New York, probably,

in fee simple,

though

a third) are subject to mortgage.

many

nine farms out of ten (perhaps, as

much

as

A lease is seldom for more

than ten years, and for a rent in kind, or money, or wheat

The

alone.

proportion of produce given as rent

few exceptions, of

New York)

(I

is,

with

speak, here, always of the western part

one-third of the grain and one-half of the hay.

This proportion

is

delivered to the lessee, ready for market,

On

on or near the premises. about ^2,50 per acre, for

all

fine

wheat land

it

amounts

the farm not in timber.

to

Many

recent leases are at about $2 per acre, for the cleared land.

One-third or fourth of a farm

One hundred persons

acres

who occupy

take jobs and

hundred

is

cultivators;

less,

work on

Many

acres.

is

generally reserved in timber.

the magnitude of fair farms.

carry on, besides,

larger farms;

where

else,

Throughout the United in

five

American

provements, and not, as

is

here, of

States, as

land, as I said before.

compared with Europe,

dear and land cheap, and

difference

few farms exceed

governed by the relation be-

tween price of labor and price of

is

Those

trade, or

consider the largest farmers the best

and the character of the cultivation

course, as every

labor

some

cultivation

it

is

this

which causes

and agricultural im-

is

not unfrequently supposed, a

want of industry or capacity

for business in the agricultural

35

(

It is

population.

the western

274

)

very obvious, that a farmer upon one of

prairies,

who

gives ^1,25 per acre for his land,

seventy-five cents per diem to his laborers, and gets for his

corn from ten to twenty cents per bushel, must adopt a

dif-

who many pounds per acre, a few pence per day to his laborers, and who gets for his products from ten Reverse to twenty times as much as the western farmer. mode

ferent

of agriculture from the European cultivator,

pays for his land

American

the case, and let the English farmer pursue the

mode

of cultivation, and vice versa,

and one would be ruined

Each must adapt himself

about as soon as the other.

given circumstances, and only thus can prosper. nine in ten of farm laborers in the west of

New

to the

At

least

York, pur-

chase or lease farms by the time they are twenty-five years

A

of age.

majority of them go to the west, after having

accumulated from 200 to 500 dollars, and purchase govern-

ment lands. There are very few of the class of cottagers. Those who are so, I have been told, are generally found improvident, incompetent to take care of their earnings, in-

There

temperate, or the victims of unusual misfortunes.

the state of

New York

patented by

The plough used throughout

few of them.

are, as I said,

is

mould board plough, answer better than any

the cast iron

Wood, and found

to

which have been tried of a different construction. I send you the drawing of it, the sacred weapon of the conquests of civilization:

seems

to

me

it

differs essentially

from yours,

is

simple, and

very judiciously formed.

member

of so-

ciety, superior to the farmers of other countries with

which

The American farmer I

am

acquainted;

I

mean

appears to me, as a

the actual cultivators of the

soil,

and of large countries, the population of which is nearly equal in number to the inhabitants of the United States; for there are spots in

superior in ral, for

some

Europe where the farmer is American farmer

respects to the

instance Aitenburg.

quaintance with the Englivsh

I

have not

common

certainly in gene-

sufficient personal ac-

cultivator, but accord-

275

(

ing to what

I

know

circumstances, I

)

of him, and to conclude from various

should believe him not to be superior.

I

So

consider the American mechanic, intelligent, industrious,

and well-disposed

They,

in general.

like the rest of

man-

kind, labor sometimes under delusions and seek to redress

such as a diminution of demand of their

evils,

means which, by ploded; but

I

The degree in

my

hold

by

remark

to be true, in general.

of physical comfort and mental development,

which the two

large classes of a nation live

gaged in husbandry and the vital

articles,

experience ought to have ex-

this time,

common

—those

mechanics,

is

an interest to society, and a clear knowledge of

en-

of so it

so

indispensable for the formation of a correct idea of a nation, that

it

has appeared to

me

necessary to reduce those vague

expressions, as, " the farmer of such a country

being;" "a greater stock of ideas

is

to be

" the mechanic of such a country

is

more

others of the kind, to distinct nations,

You do

their character.

which declares

one prophet and one truth"

by numerical

am

different in

guilty of the

that there

human

calculations; but,

and

at all de-

—the tabulary form, and

the most delicate relations of the

tangible

we be

if

not believe that I

sin of statistical temerity,

superior

intelligent,"

comparing two countries, decidedly

sirous of

if

is a

found among them;"

is

" but

acts as

society

were

on the other hand,

also both

my

conviction, that in no case in which

an extensive subject

lies

before us,

you know

we

can hope for any de-

gree of accuracy in our knowledge, without analyzing the

matter and abandoning wholesale thoughts and phrases, and the great value data,

I

put upon the collection of any

on whatever subject

it

be (and, were

of a correct statement of the

number of

we

statistical

in possession

carious teeth in a

how many pints of tears have been poured how often people have given their most decided opinion on subjects they do not know, or how many books have been read, and how few thoughts been gained, large place, or

forth in a year, or

&c.,

—

all

these would furnish valuable data to a

Guerry or

276

(

Quetelet: and altogether,

domestic

statistics,

I

think, could

we

but arrive at

they would prove more important than

those relating to national I

)

affairs.)

have, therefore, endeavored to analyze the physical and

mental

life

of these classes into

its

component

parts,

and

more definite knowledge. I will not give you here the tables which I have drawn up for this purpose, because a statistical work would be a fitter place for them, and you shall have them sooner or later. I will but give you an idea of them, so that you may decide whether thus tried to arrive at a

I

am

likely to have arrived at the truth in judging of the

American farmer and mechanic.

The

division

first

Physical Comfort; some of the

is

most important items under

this

head

are,

what

constitutes

the great bulk of nourishment, (potato, rye, wheat, or rice &c.

;)

and

is it

the same food with that of the better classes

or of a totally different substance?

meat, what

is

how

often do people eat

their chief beverage (beer, wine, grog, &c.

;)

what does it consist? what is it worth? &c.;) Domestic Comfort; what houses do they live in, crowded or not? cleanliness; in what station is the woman? &c.

clothing, (of

If I

speak of dear or cheap &c.,

unit,

and with reference

to a

I

always use these terms

common

with reference to the value of a

day's labor, as

comparison of

this value of

a day's labor, to the daily expenses of an individual, con-

sidered in a

common

Further questions

good looking, of anatomical view.

comfortable situation. are,

what

whether the people are generally race,

and whether peculiar

Then comes

whether quite rude, whether improved, whether the of science are continually applying to

whether

utensils are

in

an

the State of Agriculture,

home-made or bought;

results

or stationary;

it,

cattle,

&c.

Are

there societies for its furtherance, or not, &c. Character.

Cowardly or courageous; open and manly,

independent, gay or morose, fond of drinking, hunting, love of country: seafaring men, mountaineers; whether provident

or not, &c.

277

(

)

Participation in government, justice, &c.;

Civil State.

criminal laws; corvees, military laws; castes, or equality.

Education, reading, writing, &c., of

Intellectual State.

males and females;

whose expense the schools are kept;

at

poetry, whether acquainted with national poetry or not, ro-

mances, &c.; music; knowledge in general; reflective; inventive;

whether they form a progressing society or

striving for

a stationary,

improvement; are the history and the laws of

known;

the country generally

amusement; love of dance;

is

division

of labor; public

much

police of govern-

there

ment; colors of dress, and whether national; influence of clergy, and their condition and learning;

knowledge of va-

lue of time; state of medicine; popular belief in supernatural

powers, &c.

This

may

serve to give you a very general idea of

plan and tables.

More

The

contains

last division

more

mean,

offer

you

my

here.

especially those ideas, for

to inquire, in order to ascer-

clearly the intellectual state of a given tribe; I

attachment to the

Bushman,

soil

a

and wrong (how

spirit,)

dif-

Turk, an American) of

and society; (wandering, hunting,

community, lively

munity, public iard,

more

for instance, the ideas of right

ferent are these in a

tled

do not attempt to

we have

the amount of which tain

I

interest in the welfare of the

set-

com-

value of time (Indian, Turk, Span-

Englishman;) family attachment and care for the

young; combination of forces and division of labor (Patagonian, numerous companies in England and here;) fine arts, taste, &c.;

After this

religion, &c.

test, I

have given

my

above opinion of the

American farmer, though he is, with regard to some items enumerated above, very deficient, and far inferior to the But in order to ascertain Italian husbandman for instance. how near I have come to the truth, more is necessary than the mere observation of outward signs.

What

are out-

ward signs! deceptive indeed, if not well and cautiously Suppose a foreigner goes to the continent of Eu-

weighed.

rope; the

first tiling

which

strikes

him may be an odd

title.

278

(

)

conscientiously pronounced each time that the

person

is

mentioned,

who

perhaps wears a

name of

the

riband in

little

his button-hole, such as in the country of the traveller chil-

dren only, and that but very young ones, would dare to wear.

Would he

be warranted in setting

tions?

down

which pays attention

childish race,

He may

read in the

to

the whole people as a

such unmanly decora-

paper of some govern-

official

ment, that a certain counsellor in a distant provincial place, received a snuff-box with diamonds from his monarch, that

he placed

it

on a table

and invited

in his house,

quaintance to come and view

The

it.

all his

ac-

may, with

traveller

perfect propriety, compare the account of this affair with a similar one, in the

Peking Gazette,

in

which the public are

informed, that Governor Lee of Canton has received the

peacock feather; that

it

in the great audience

was placed

of the gubernatorial palace, and there received the

room

honor due to

and -favor.

this sign of imperial grace

But would our foreigner be justified in going farther in the comparison of the two governments, nations and countries? That man who wears the little riband in his button-hole or

who may

lays out the snuff-box for the admiration of his friends,

be a

man

of independent character, zealously working

often, indeed,) despising these

who

very

—perhaps

(it

happens

signs, while the

monarch

for the true benefit of his country,

bestows them, knows, too, that by no means always the

most worthy obtain them.

Yet he uses them

as a

means,

following the advice of Horace, with a slight modification:

Misce stuUitiam pecunise brevem.; and

—such things

often

are connected with a thousand extraneous matters, from

which

it is

Every form

impossible to disentangle them in the moment. of government has

edly with some there

is

its

sham, though, undoubt-

a far greater quantity of

it

than with

others.

During

my tour through this part of the

again what had always struck try, ples.

wherever

I

have travelled

Here there

are no

me in

Union,

I

remarked

as peculiar to this counit

—the

absence of crip-

hunch-backed sextons

as in Italy,

259

(

)

no deformed hostlers, no lame in the

Are such

street.

persons merely removed from the observation of the traveller, or are, in general, families better able to

these

unhappy

much exposed

to the

way

for the rare sight of

persons in the United States.

On

fact.

Deformity

Any

paratively rare occurrence.

show the

We

view of any but their friends?

cannot account in this

will

provide for

beings, so that their misfortunes arc not so

is

deformed

actually of

com-

inquiry into the subject

the continent of

Europe deformed

persons are not of very rare occurrence, even in the better classes; here

Whether

they are nearly unknown.

comparative ease of child-birth in this

the

country can be considered as one of the causes of the fact

do not know; but, in

in question, I

certainly does not form the chief one; the

In the

causes are, perhaps, the true ones.

Americans have,

in

my

opinion,

it

two following first

place, the

a considerable degree, adopted

the

English treatment and management of infants, in which, as in every thing else appertaining to physical education, the English so vastly excel the nations of the European continent

The

free play,

which

is

allowed to every limb of

an English baby, together with the whole treatment, contributes certainly not a little to the formation of those fine

we meet with in England. A hundred unhappy ways of incasement, and of fettering the tender limbs of the young creatures, together with the most injurious systems

figures

of nourishment, are yet

common on

especially with the lower classes. infant of a that

its

German

man

verse, as if in

is

Whoever

has seen the

or Italian peasant, and does not declare

remaining alive

proves that

the continent of Europe,

in spite

made of

him the

of

all

parental care and love,

the toughest material in the uni-

durability of glass had been united

to the pliability of Indian rubber, can be no lover of truth.

Secondly, American parents seldom leave their young children entirely without capable attendants, or under the care of children but a

little

older than the infants themselves.

(

280

) »

You a

rarely see here a child of

little

two years dragged about by

perhaps ten, and both in danger of de-

sister of

formity, the one by being exposed to

rying a burden

much

too heavy for

falls,

the other by car-

.its

yet undeveloped

limbs.

might be thought that

It

are quite as

much exposed

at a later age,

American children induce

to accidents, calculated to

deformity, as with us; for a more independent, and,

more daring

add,

does not

exist.

race, than that of

Climbing, riding, driving,

are arts

which they

Perhaps

this

make them

American boys,

and boldness.

better fitted to take care of themselves, and to

much

that deformity

argument;

for this

may

boys daily run the risk

American boys very much; there

and boldness about them, which please are,

when very young,

appears to

me

of.

are a frankness greatly.

They

not unfrequently fine looking, and

that, in this respect, the

Americans are

are fine looking, because the good looks of

Americans

consist

much more

it

like

men, therefore, do not

strike

Jews and

in the delineations of the

bones, than in any thing else; their

A set of

would

Their children are beautiful, and again, their old

the Jews.

men

me

I

obvious reason,

for the

be brought on by a single mishap, such

as these independent I like

may

think

at this age, contributes to

escape unhurt, where others would be injured. Yet

not give

I

sailing, shooting,

cultivate with great zeal

very independence

I

me

young and middle aged

as generally

good looking.

less attractive faces

than those you meet with in

some of the northern houses

of representatives, can hardly

be imagined.

So hollow, care-worn, and looking almost

sour as their cider actually

Speaking of babies,

bandaged from chin

I

Gensano, near Rome, a bler,

seen

who worked

—under

was reminded of

to toe,

as

is.

a little thing well

which, during

woman

in the noblest

heaven's canopy.

my

residence in

used to bring to an old cob-

workshop

I

ever yet have

The baby was provided

with two bands, fastened like leading strings, and near the

281

(

)

proud cobbler, who " mended bad soles " right opposite

my

window, was an iron hook; on this the woman would hang her baby by the leading strings, with a, " Come sla, amico mioV^ " Benone, graziuy cava mia grazia,''^ said the light-hearted disciple of St. Crispin,

who

away, while the

thing was hanging from the hook,

little

dangling about and crying, its

hammer and

continued to

its

sing

shoulders bent forward, and

arms hanging perpendiculaly down,

as if

it

had been the

intention of the mother to teach the child the position of a

higher and more conspicuous hanging.

screamed for a while, as

if

near

its

After the child had

end, the mother would

return from her errand or labor, and ask, " Well,

how

neighbor,

signora cava,

has the

una

hamhina been?"

—"C/h'

my

dear

agnella^

would the cobbler reply,

colombina,''^

having, perhaps, actually not heard the child bawling, as

lungs had been

its

made

if

of the remains of a pair of black-

smith's bellows.

When

I

visited the Riesengebirge,*

log-house of one of the graziers,

who

I

once entered the

live in the highest

parts of this chain of mountains, and feed their cattle on the

short but fine grass growing on

When

and the Swiss JilpsA

I

what the Tyrolese entered,

in the room, but in one corner I

saw

parently, without a rocking agent. walls?

I

call

Kds

observed nobody

I

a cradle,

moving, ap-

Was I within

enchanted

approached the cradle, and a healthy looking baby

was enjoying

in

it

a

sound sleep,

its

round

little

head moving

and rolling on the pillow from one side to the other.

Far-

showed me that far from all the machine stirring world, a second Arkwright dwelt here on the mountain ther inquiry

top; for the father of the baby had used, with great ingenuity,

the rushing stream,

which every grazier

in this part

leads through his dairy-room to keep his cream and butter •

The

-}•

Kas

chain of mountaina in Silesia. in Tyrol,

and Alps

high mountains on which that hair,

Editor.

in Switzerland, signify those small

fine grass

grows, which

and affords excellent pasture for dairy

36

cattle.

is

patches in the

almost as thin as

Editok.

^

(

fresh, as the

kee, with

all

282

)

moving agent of the cradle. I defy any Yanhis ingenious " improvement " of " water pri-

vileges," to beat our countryman here. this looked like

coming pretty near

dren are to be baptized by steam.

Truly,

to the time

I

thought

when

chil-

(

283

)

LETTER

XV.

Buffalo, the western point of termination of the Grand is an interesting place, both for its situation on Lake Erie, and its rapid growth, which it bids fair to continue for Canal,*

It is astonishing to see

a long time.

wide

streets (a little

too wide, indeed, like those of Washington) of

handsome

and high houses of the best appearance, where but a few years ago an inconsiderable village was

all

that

was

to be

seen.

What is at

is

my

to be done,

once to be

laid out?

dear friend,

Wherever

built according to a regular plan,

if

I

the plan of a place

have seen towns

they seemed to be

failures,

contrivances which look very well on paper, or sound well if

you hear them described, but

From

are very different in reality.

the concentric circles of Carlsruhe to the

plan of Washington,

all

compound

these places have a thousand incon-

veniences in practice, and as to the rectangular plan, on

which Philadelphia, Mannheim, and many places here and

Europe are

in

—

laid out

taste, in

matters of this kind,

is

no

subject of discussion, but I dislike the eternal sameness of this plan, if the place be of

any considerable magnitude, particu-

larly if to the rectangular prose be joined the abstract •

Of this,

as

of all other canals and

rail-roads, a brief,

numbers

but instructive de-

" A brief Uescription of the Canals and Rail-roads ofthe United States, 8s.c. By H. S. Tanner. Philadelphia, 1834." This small work is a useful addition to Mr. Tanner's large map of tlic United States, scription

is

contained in

in four sheets.

Euitoh.

—

(

284

in the appellation of the streets.

systematizing

is,

in part,

)

Man is a systematizing being,

thinking

Hence

itself.

for seeing principles carried througli; but

his fondness

very often princi-

ples only sound well, because they appear simple, while ap-

Such

plied, they offer little for approbation. after

which the Philadelphia

culiarly

is to

streets are called.

good sense of locality, and never

lost

me the rule I

have a pe-

my way in a fo-

reign place, with the only exception of Philadelphia,

where

"What

street

to this is

day

I

am

continually ol)ligcd

this; seventh, eighth,

me, escape

my

to ask,

ninth?" while directions given to

mind much

easier than those in other places,

owing to the character of generality attached to all these numbered streets; and, as to the numbers combined with the letters of the alphabet, as in Washington, they require a man born for a mathematician, to remember these viatic forA man may just as well remember mulas.

Cotang as

:

and a Half Before

I

«,

B

and Sixth

exercises.

I

saw

found an

it I

very strikingly exemplified the

built of stone,

cious,

:

corner of

entered the city of Buflalo, close to

which power which custom

man

—Cot.

W.

streets.

instance

a

=

(180°— «)

Mrs. So and So's, on the N.

immense

a farmer's

house

and having the appearance of being owned by

of substantial wealth, yet, though of brick and spait

was

built

on the Westphalian plan, the

cattle

and

horses standing with their heads turned into the barn, at the

end of which are the hearth and sitting-room of the family. Here the farmer bad the examples of much more convenient farm houses around him, he had

them, yet he followed a

\^hln

all

the

means of imitating

which originated

in

times

when

neither cleanliness, health, safety, nor even interest

made

a

was

subject of unjjrejudiced reasoning, and improve-

ments were but rarely made. Thus the migrating nations in the beginning of the middle ages, carried a thousand cus-

toms with them

into countries for

which they were

culated.

In the

liotel

the foMowinsi; card was given to

me:

not cal-

(

285

)

—

—

286

(

New York

lady in

thinks no more of going to Havre or Li-

verpool than a lady in

London

feeling, together

This

)

of going to Paris.

with the vast unsettled continent

before them, induced people to push on and settle at great

was

distances, especially as the life of the early colonists to develop a daring spirit of enterprise,

such as

dually has settled

down

into a fixed trait of

General Moreau, when residing in

racter.

which

gra-

American chathis country,

so said a French gentleman, an acquaintance of mine,

—

be-

lieved that no soldier would be equal to an American,

if

well and thoroughly disciplined; (to be sure, the present

would require some "rubbings,") because, said he, American doubts of nothing." It was true what Moreau observed, that an American doubts of nothing; sometimes owing to enterprising boldness, sometimes to want of militia

"An

knowledge or to self-confidence, always, in a measure, to the fact, that want of success in an enterprise is not followed in the United States by obloquy or ridicule, even though the undertaking

may have been

calculated to mislead,

is,

injudicious.

This, though often

on the whole, an excellent thing;

man to have miscalculated his strength in one attempt, he may take better care the next time.* This spirit of enterprise and adventure pushed new set-

and, even supposing a

tlers far into all directions; a

we now

consequence of which

the same language, and living under the same laws ther reason

why

paratively small

distances appear shorter to us.

number

of mountain

cause of the same singular

which

to

judge distances,

fact.

—

As we

chains

land,

—ano-

The comis

a third

require objects

by

thus, for instance, objects, seen

over a wide expanse of water, appear nearer to

when

that

is,

dwell in a vast country, inhabited by people of

us,

than

the view lies across an equally extensive tract of

—

so a distance

by

land, if

we have

to

pass through

many

different languages and governments, and over moun-

tains,

appears to us greater than

jects existed. *

" Or he may

In the Atlantic

if

no such intervening ob-

states,

people are, besides, so

not," as one of Mr. Mathew's characters says.

Editor.

287

(

)

familiar with voyages to Canton, the Pacific,

&c., that I have seen in

member

Europe more

Buenos Ayres,

bustle in a family, a

of which was going to a university, perhaps

sixty miles

off,

than

I

some

have here when the son or brother

was embarking for China or the Manillas. The steamwhich greatly facilitate travelling, the population

boats,

—

being scattered over so vast a country, disposition of the

American

by the above given

—and the

reasons, contribute, in turn, their full

The next

part to the production of the same effect.

Americans

migratory

in general, originally caused

nation

whose possessions in all quarters of the globe would make them consider distances as still less than the Americans, were their own country not itself so very confined. Every mile after the

has there

its full

Not distances

in this respect are the English,

value.

alone are measured here by a standard dif-

ferent from that of other countries; time, too, receives a different value, but

An

in Europe.

it is measured by a smaller standard than American wants to perform within a year

what others do within a much longer period. Ten years in America are like a century in Spain. The United States really change in

some

respects

more within ten years, than England moves,,

a country like Spain has within a hundred. in

all

practical affairs, quicker than the continent: the

United

move quicker still, in some respects, than England. There are many reasons for this more rapid movement which I will not oblige you to read; let me only observe, that it

States

influences

all

relations of

ments, a female servant in

life.

hundred and sixty-two days no doubt,

According

London in the

same

that, if similar accounts could

Germany, we would

to recent state-

remains, on average, four

find that they

situation.

I

have

be obtained from

remain much longer

there in the same place, and the corresponding period in

New York

would average much

less.

Sometimes

indivi-

duals long for a stationary country, where things remain in their place for

some time, and where one does not feel all wing of a windmill. This desire

the time as if tied to the

288

(

)

very natural whether they would be pleased by a change

is

:

for a long time

the rest

or not,

—the choice

is

is

quite a different question.

not with the nations.

present, two classes of nations, which, in

all

There your

For are, at

inquiries,

you must strictly distinguish from each other; namely, moving nations and stationary nations. The former would be utterly ruined, were they petus.

own im-

to counteract their

speak here chiefly of industry, and diffusion and

I

This movement has become

application of knowledge.

with them one of the "historical tasks" which they have

They must have

to perform.

ing boat

may

steamboats, though a

sail-

grace the landscape a thousand times more:

they must have rail-roads, though travelling on them be a dull thing.

And

—"You

know,"

Professor

as

in Berlin used to say,

when,

in the overflow of his ideas,

he could not wait

finish

his sentence, but hurried

to

to

other subjects, which were crowding his fertile and abun-

dant mind.

Now,

his overflowing of ideas corresponds, in

my

case, to the scantiness of

lity

of his mind, perhaps, to

happened

I

paper and time, and the

my paucity.

to find, here in Buffalo, an

which the writer of a pretty able Americans to imitate England, as tion of her slaves, and declares that

ing

if

now

only

once mother country

I

to it

calls

upon the

the late emancipa-

would be

astonish-

to follow the brilliant

example of

—

was easy

a language

which

it

had previously seen even amalgamation hinted

calmly and fearlessly look this vast subject

my

You may

at a

and

easily imagine, that

it

cannot

intention to enter here fully into a question of so it

would require

a trea-

a thorough inquiry, rather than a few considerations

thrown out with

at,

few prominent points of

grave and momentous a character; tise,

to fore-

Let us

necessary measure.

as a

their

In some English papers,

would soon become common.

once openly demanded

be

English paper in

article

the United States, were not to free their slaves, as

they have

see,

ferti-

in a letter;

yet having occupied myself

this subject, of absorbing

much

importance throughout

his-

2S9

(

tory and in our

own

)

times, I think,

a few considerations, which

may

I

you

will aid

in

place before yoa

forming a more

correct opinion upon the matter.

In the abstract,

hold slavery to be,

I

— philosophically, —morally a

an absurdity, (man cannot become property.)

bane both to the slave and his owner;

—

violation of the spirit of the times

we

historically, a direct

with

live in, and,

regard to public economy, a great malady, to any society at all

advanced

Murat, son

in industry.

I

neither allow with Achilla

King of Naples,

to the late

that slavery is for

the present condition of our southern states, a highly desirable state of things, and conducive to the greatest advantage

of society (he does not speak of pecuniary advantages,) nor

do

I at all

Report on

agree with Duden, a a

Journey

to the

German

Western

author,

who,

in his

North

States of the

—

American Union, in 1824 to 1827, inclusive a work which contains some very valuable information, whenever the author abstains from political and historical disquisitions

— sup-

poses himself to have very nicely demonstrated, that a society has a full right to declare on

admit other people, and

make them

how

it

what conditions

will treat

them

incapable of participating in government,

original society think

fit

to dictate in

will

it

in future, to

the

if

what relation of depend-

ence they are to be placed, who, in short, sees no objection on the ground of justice to slavery, and altogether forgets, that the idea of right between men, cannot, by any possibility, be established, except ligations.

He

on the idea of mutual duties and ob-

has recourse, in order to

make

out his case, to

the relation of a father of a family to his children, as nearly

every one does,

who

founded on force, a getting that hardly

wishes to make out of a state

two things

different than family

and

state of things

founded on reason, always in

the world can be

state; the

one based on

for-

more

instinct,

love and forbearance, the other on justice, law, and right; the one to

the end of the preservation

which we have partly

in

common

of the species;

with the animals, the

Thrice unhappy comparisoir,

other in no degree whatever.

37

290

(

)

from ages when every thing

entailed on us

in politics

was

poorly defined: which has served the legitimatist and slavedealer, the absolutist and the ambitious priest, as a cloak for

sordid plans! I

must observe, however,

American who

tive

ciple;

what

they say, are

we

matter stands, slavery exists;

as in fact the

do with

to

that I hardly ever found a na-

attempted to palliate slavery in prin-

In one single instance, only,

it.

have met with an attempt

to represent slavery as

I

something

quite the thing, on the ground of the relation between ser-

vant and master, being comparable to that between child and father, the

"noble Romans," and the Old Testament, being

likewise adduced as evidence, that slavery

This mauvaise plaisanterie, to

was contained Testament as

a

Roman

Heaven

we are to take the Old relations, we had better create and

liberty,

code of legal

not so bad.

one of our reviews.

in an article of

preserve us from

is

by the mildest term,

call it

if

ourselves Jews surrounded by heathens at once, and adopt their laws

all

did not even

and

Moreover, the author

social relations.

know what was

signified

with the Jews, by

sla-

very, which was an institution, very different from what he

In order

supposes.

to

become acquainted with the

spirit of

the slaveholders themselves, in our Union, you ought to read the interesting debates on this subject in the late Virginia

make some changes in They have been collected

convention, which had assembled to the constitution of that into one volume,

interesting

state.

which appears

to

works with regard

me

to be

one of the most

to the history of

man, and

practical morality. I will

me

grant even more than you might perhaps, suppose

willing to do, after

my

will

have among them

Aristotle, I

know

general remarks at the begin-

Whether

ning of these reflections.

the African race ever

a Shakspeare, a Charlemagne, or

not; nor

is it

necessary to

know

this, in

order to settle the question as to their political capacity for participating in all civil rights and duties.

respectable colored persons with us, and

I

There are many believe none will

291

(

conscientiously deny that,

on quite

as

)

when

fiiirly

educated, they stand

high a level of mental development as the lowest

who

of the whites,

are nevertheless admitted to a full par-

ticipation in all political privileges; nor that the question

under consideration would ever have been African race not

from ourselves

differ

testing the comparative capability of the

two

The mental

colored and white servants.

started, did the

One way of

in color.

classes, is to try

as well as physical

difference between the white and black races, have

which

subject to

came

I

have directed

to this country;

and

I will

my

communicate

observations, not as supporting any of

facts, interesting in

where

State prisons,

to

you a few

my statements — I

claim entering here fully into the subject

detached

formed a

attention ever since I

—but

dis-

merely as

themselves.

a large

number of colored and white

people are kept under the close observance of intelligent

men, and have duties,

and

to

obey the same laws,

upon the same

live

diet,

to

perform the same

seemed

to

me

to afford

a peculiarly favorable opportunity of ascertaining certain

There

are, of

about eight

facts relating to

this

hundred convicts

in the penitentiary at Singsing, about

hundred individuals of from

whom

I

obtained

subject.

color.

my

The

two

physician of the prison

information, had not found that

there was any striking difference between the diseases of the blacks and the whites, nor did they assume any different

have been assured of the same

character in their course.

I

by experienced physicians

in large cities.

However, as the more than

colored people resort to quacks, perhaps even

the whites of the poorer classes, and have sometimes physicians of their

own

color, closer

examination would be

still

required to state any thing definite on this point. It is for

early.

ever to be regretted that Doctor Spurzheim died so

This able anatomist and observer of the configuration

of the head, told

which he had

was

me

that

laid out to

one of the chief subjects of inquiry himself

in

coming

to investigate the physical difference

to this country,

between the two

races and to settle something definite on this point.

He

in-

292

(

)

tended to proceed to our southern

many

I trust that is

states,

and

make

to

as

observations as possible on living and dead subjects.

some

where

a field

able anatomist will take

a fair

name

is

up the

It

subject.

yet to be won, and the con-

sequences of a thorough inquiry into the minutest details of this subject

As

might be of incalculable

effect.

moral difference between the prisoners of the two

to

colors in the above mentioned penitentiary,

a curious

it is

behave themselves

fact that in general the colored j^eople

more orderly, follow the laws more wiland work more steadily. The superintendent of

better; they are lingly,

that state-prison, a gentleman of

much

bestowed unwearied attention

to

intelligence,

my

troublesome inquiries both in person and by not attempt to explain the as such I give

and it,

it

it.

fact;

and

who

often repeated and

he merely stated

letter, it

did

as such,

Whatever reasons may be given for At one time, when I was

deserves our attention.

walking with him through the building and we had entered one of the cells, after having given me some information on certain points of said, "

1

am

so?" said

its

architecture, he looked round and

sure this cell belongs to a colored man." "

Why

" Because every thing looks neater, better ar-

I.

On inquiry, we found that his surmise was corwas greatly surprised, and lie then told me, that a colored prisoner will generally keep his cell in more snug order than a white man. Equally interesting is the fact,

ranged." rect.

that

I

more colored people ask

for admission to the

Sunday-

school of the prison, and for instruction in reading, than

white people; speaking merely of the proportion of individuals of both colors, who have no knowledge of reading. I

not

allow

this,

all

whether we

existing

—what

but the question

shall

be done with

in hand, according to the

by cutting

measure of

no other means

it,

—slavery

Fanaticism, which body of the question

it?

like Procrustes, stretches or chops the

ideas, or has

not an abstract one;

is

shall introduce slavery or not, but

its

to untie a

own

preconceived

Gordian knot, than

cuts this matter also short.

Emancipate,

is

293

(

)

And

their short prescription of remedies for the disease. if

you

ask,

mation,

But

what

will

by which they think to

the drug

is

who knows

a statesman,

which has two

case, a question

religious, or a

perfect the cure.

that countless evils are in-

by solving from

variably produced

and a

become of the emancipated? Amalga-

view of the

a partial

aspects,

e.

a political

g.

commercial and a political,

—by making

ourselves voluntarily blind to the other view, will not decide so hastily.

Suppose, for argument's sake, that

would be induced

to

all

the slave owners

emancipate their slaves to-day; or that

the non-slave-holding states were willing to pay annually a large

sum by way

of compensation to the slave-holders, and

that gradual emancipation could be thus effected.

We

would be the consequence? crease of free

might be

What would

should have a large in-

colored population, which,

any

politically as free as

be gained?

class

if

we

it

A

choose,

of our citizens.

Political equality is of

value compared to social equality. graded, or, let us not call

What

race,

very

little

socially de-

degraded, one excluded from

general society, and consequently from the broad course

of civilization,

is

in a state of real suffering,

sarily generate in its

History affords us

bosom

many

all

and will neces-

kinds of vices and crimes.

instances to this effect.

It is

of no

use whatever to be, in the eye of the law, equal to others, if

you are

socially disabled, except

you hope

all

to at-

by means of the former. The free colored race, the existence of which the argument supposes is large in number, would then remain an oppressed tain social disfranchisement

and degraded cipated.

race, as long as

Hence would

of freedom for the

mean social intercourse as well latter would indeed be soon the con-

sequence of the former.

and equally elevated tivated,

order to obtain a real state

emancipated slave, the necessity of

amalgamation; by which as intermarriage: the

they were not socially eman-

arise, in

I

Two

different races, equally free,

in the social scale,

hence equally cul-

and yet distinctly separated, cannot be imagined.

294

(

Whoever does

it,

)

has other views of mankind, and learnt

Whether

other lessons from history than myself.

be

this

founded upon prejudice or not, is not here the question; the prejudice is at any rate so founded in human nature that it

would not depend upon us to change its effects. Here then we have already arrived at the barrier, which will

make

for ever inexpedient to follow the course in

it

question, of restoring the natural rights

among

us,

wronged race of slaves to their their number is large. That

where

a Montesquieu, and other writers of his age, ridiculed the

idea of

making

a difference of color the

ground of a sub-

human

stantial difference in caste, treating the color of a

race as

they would

that of an inanimate object, of

which

it

may form an unessential quality, was but natural, since enormous wrongs and cruelties were at that time heaped upon the African race, and palliated on the score of difference in color. light to this

one

But the matter presents

who now

family.

lives

itself in a different

surrounded by the children of

easy to say, at the distance of

It is

many

thousand miles, what is color! but if you were to act daily and hourly up to this assertion, you would find cause to

change your opinion, or to judge milder of those with

whom

the difference of color forms an insuperable barrier.

Coloris something whichstrikes that sense which carries the

most vivid impressions millions to disregard it is

so striking an

marked

difference

eradicated.

I

to the

it; it

mind; you cannot expect the

presents too glaring an appearance;

outward

sign, that the idea of a well

between the two races cannot be well

can very well imagine that in some cases a

fact I

man might lose his sensibility to know a mulatto-man who is clerk

and

went

white

I

this difference; in

with a bookseller,

often there and transacted business with him,

without thinking of his color. Generally, however, you cannot expect to find this indifference; especially, as another sense is

affected

by near intercourse with the colored

population.

Objections of this kind seem very light and perhaps frivolous, to

one

who

only becomes acquainted with the

fact

by

295

(

)

hearsay; but few things affect us more powerfully than dis-

Why

gust.

does the Prussian code allow, under certain

circumstances, divorce on the ground of "unconquerable

The

disgust?"

most sacred

dissolution of the

mitted with you, on the ground that

other, if one

happy with each

that people should be

per-

tie is

utterly impossible

it is

only by

way

A

of the senses.

peculiar odor

emanating, more especially in a

when

bodies of negroes, even

cl

it

be

continually

is

imate, from the

which renders them white people. There are indi-

personally unpleasant to

cleanly,

viduals of the white race from is

warm

con-

is

tinually an object of repulsion to the other, though

emitted, unpleasant enough,

whom

it is

a strong

true,

gustingly repulsive; but that of a negro

musky odor

and sometimes is

different

dis-

It re-

sembles that exuding from the snake and beetle.

Soon

after I

peculiar odor

would

arrived in this country, I found that this

was considered one of the chief causes which

for ever prevent a social equalization

was anxious

races,

and

had a

real existence.

I

I

two

of the

myself whether

to ascertain for

it

have very sensitive olfactory nerves,

having received them from nature well organized, and having exercised them by studying botany, on

have been

able,

on

my

my

travels, &c.

or a villase at the distance of several miles, if the at all

favorable; and yet

difference

could not at

I

often perceived

when many

were assembled

in the

was

first

wind was

discover any

between the odor of the negroes and that

Boston; the

soldiers, after a

same room.

summer was very

in the house.

Since

I

cool,

I

was

I

time in

at that

and no colored servant

have gone farther south

who

some very few who deny

have

long march,

I

this; so I

knew an

must

There

testify to the correctness of the current statement.

are

I

pedestrian journeys, to scent a lake

old lady

actually loved the music of quarreling or plaintively

squalling cats.

convinced; yet rest of

It I

was no

affectation

with her, of that

should not be willing to charge

mankind with

I feel

all

affectation or disregard to truth,

cause they declare that

this

kind of music does not

the be-

affect.

—

296

(

them with pleasurable

more

)

Some

sensations.

nations seem to be

by the scent of the African race than others and none more so than the English: Spaniards care less for it. Bolivar had some colored aides, if I am rightly informed; and in Brazil you may see black priests administer the communion to white people. Yet even there is no affected

social mixture,

no true

social disfranchisement of the colored.

In judging of this subject,

ought never to be forgotten

it

that the stability of social intercourse does not depend

upon

the agreement of a few broad general ideas, but chiefly

on an agreement upon the minor opinions, &c.

I

do not pretend

man

that a white

them.

ful to

our

faces,

I

can imagine that people, unaccustomed to

I

when they

perceive in them,

will shudder at all the ugliness it is

ac-

mix with

it

his colors to

and you

face,

Yet be

contains.

this as

views of beauty must essentially

clear that our

and races who cannot,

differ;

to

Analyze a bloated

arrive at the true tints.

become

first

those shades of yellow, blue,

all

and green, which the painter has

may,

can very well imagine

appearing among them must seem fright-

quainted with our race,

it

white race

to say that the

handsomer than the colored;

is

of taste, views,

affairs

in general, please each other,

will never cement.

This strong barrier will for ever prevent a free tercourse between the two shall a

me, a

white

man wish

races.

one must lead

to

country has ever had any

the other.

ever

I for

one love

my

still.

many misdeeds and crimes

plans,

and however much

may have is,

led

it

with

for,

its

its

to superior

I

to

am

race; that race which, it

may have

tory to enter on her records, however often suffered avarice to guide

—

the love of

If

meaning attached

love of race has a weightier meaning

man, and

did not,

and intermarriage are one and

free social intercourse

the same:

mixture of them?

for a

social in-

it

But, suppose

it

it,

a

the

white

—how-

forced his-

may have

actions and blast the noblest

superior skill and knowledge

and shameful incongruities,

nevertheless, the favored one from

which the Europeans

297

(

have descended; who, with

theii'

above

children, in other parts of

immense

the world, have risen to an ity

)

intellectual superior-

other tribes and nations.

all

one do ex-

for

I

ecrate the idea of seeing this noble race degenerate into a

yellow mongrel breed, such as exists

and the

in Brazil

Portuguese islands along the coast of Africa.

for

I

one

pray that heaven's best blessings, the extension of knowledge and civilization,

may

be showered

down on our

bre-

thren of a darker skin, but desire with equal anxiety that the white race be continued in

becomes master wherever self

many good

other races,

—

it

its

purity,

—

which

that race,

appears, because

it

unites in

it-

among

properties which are but scattered

intelligence, sociability, activity, desire of pri-

vate property and elevation of mind.

Let us suppose, however,

for a

moment,

—and

we must

be prepared for the most extravagant expectations

we

—

that

could suddenly divest ourselves of the unpleasant sen-

sations hinted at, could disregard all considerations of pro-

perty, politics, &c., and let the two

of blacks

millions

be absorbed by the eleven millions of whites, and that the

whole mixture should, within

six or seven generations, re-

turn to a tolerable white, this color being originally so

—through what

preponderant;;

not have passed, is it

how low would

our nation have sunk!

really believed that those tender relations

could exist between black and white?

Now,

if

changed.

It is

a par,

the relation

between husband and wife be changed, the whole is

Or

between hus-

band and wife which, within the house, put them on

civilization

much we

should

state of barbarity

state of

only befitting the fanatic to

spin out the subject any farther; to say that laws

would be

required to prevent a relapse of color, to enforce bur white

females to ally themselves to blacks, &c.

That

fanatics

should be found senseless enough to preach amalgamation as the only

means

very presents

to

overcome the great

to us

difficulty

or other, every state and government have; yet, in

which

sla-

—our chronic disease which, of one kind

our case an incurable one

—

is

I

hope, not

what wc might expect accord-

298

(

Whenever

ing to history.

men

agitated,

)

great and important questions are

will always be found

who

are incapable of

placing themselves but on a single point of view, and who neglect or forget

every thing else but their one favorite idea; they fall into what must be

look but to one single spot, and thus called a mania.

regard to

I

know

paying too much

that the habit of

the possible bearings of an important projected

all

measure, has not unfrequently

stifled

the noblest zeal and

thwarted the hopes of the best friends of mankind; but I also know, that well-meaning maniacs have done incalculable mischief in politics and religion, in the arts and the sciences. I

believe that every disinterested and clear-minded obser-

ver will allow that slavery

against the spirit of the times,

is

and will become more so every day; and history affords thousands and thousands of examples, tliat whatever is against the spirit of

tlie

the part of true

times must sooner or later

wisdom

If I judge aright, the

fall;

and that

it is

to prepare in time for the change.

most judicious mode of emancipation

would be gradually to create a peasantry of colored people, which should have in itself the means of melioration and final discharge of the relations of peasantry, because, without the latter condition, this

come

as

much

peasantry would, in course of time, be-

an element alien to our system and contrary

to the general course of ideas, as slavery

now

As, on

is.

the other hand, the two races will not, and ought not to

amalgamate,

it

would be always inconvenient to have a disnumber of colored people at one time

proportionately large

among

us; elimination of the greater part of

therefore, always to be considered as the

measure just mentioned

some

—

distant part of our

dily in

view

own

as the result to

effective

continent, should be kept stea-

be finally eifected.

measure of

would be ready

to

all

make

If the sou-

among themselves

this kind, there is

but that the other states, at least tern ones,

of the

colonization, either in Africa or in

thern states, or some of them, could agree

on some

them ought,

final object

no doubt

the northern and easta great sacrifice of the

299

(

money in order to assist But, for many reasons, political, public

)

the operation of the plan.

be possibly carried into

and moral, the mea-

legal,

sure must proceed from the south;

it

could not, otherwise,

effect.

away

Let, at the same time, our southern brethren do

with a certain system of harshness in one part of their conNo duct, which justly surprises every friend of mankind. plea of expediency, of advantage, or of fear, can justify a

law which directs a colored person,

who

cannot give a ready

explanation of his condition as to freedom, to be arrested,

and,

nothing can be proved against him, to make him pay

if

he cannot pay them, to be

the expenses of his arrest, and,

if

sold in order to defray them.

It is

ny.

It is

double and triple tyran-

even worse than the Brazilian law, which does

not provide for a prisoner before

and proper counsel

trial,

nor allow him a

he has the means

until

yer, so that, at Rio, people

may always

for

trial

paying a law-

be found chained to

the outer wall of the prison, pedindo justiga, (begging justice,) as

the begging of alms, in order to defray the expenses

of support in the prison and to pay a counsellor,

Physical force

is

nowhere

is

called.

so powerful as moral force; and

endowed with certain rights, leads, by good behavior emancipation, would afford, it

the condition of a peasantry

and with a way before and industry,

seems its

to

it,

which

to final entire

me, tenfold more security than slavery, which,

character and essence,

is

in

a state of force, pregnant with

countless dangers, and particularly so in a republic like ours,

which the executive has not many means of physical the force at its disposal, and in which the severity of laws in

more

—

readily enacted, as the law-makers are the interested

whom

and the slaves stands no inde-

—must

supplant the means of safety

persons, and between

pendent government

which, in monarchical establishment.

states, is afforded

by a large military

Another very important point would be

gained by the above measure, namely, the gradual accus-

toming of the once slaves

to industry, directed

by

their

own

judgment, without which the sudden emancipation of a large

300

(

number

at once, is

)

one of the greatest evils which can

fords an instance of the to rid

growing desire

befall

Maryland

either the emancipated or the emancipator.

af-

in our southern states

themselves of their slave population.

More

ardently than myself no one can wish that the mea-

sures of the British parliament

may meet

with

full success,

How

and, finally, lead to beneficial results.

so

whose superior oppose any

development would be unable

intellectual

effectual

numerous

few whites,

a free colored population will behave toward a

power

to the superior

to

number of the

Africans, will always, until the event determines

form

it,

a subject of intense attention to the citizens of our republic.

If the English glory in this measure,

but they ought not to forget, that

it

owners who emancipated, but people

but natural,

it is

was not

their

own

slave-

at a great distance,

and, in like manner, our northern and eastern states wish to see slavery abolished, and

whatever

is

in their

would be willing

power, by

English remember, that

many

way

of

to contribute

money; and

their slaves long before the English thought of

the people of this country,

made repeated

efforts to

let

the

of our states had emancipated it;

when dependent upon

that

Britain,

prevent the importation of slaves,

but in vain (to which Jefferson, also, alludes in a passage of his original draught of the declaration of independence, but

which was erased,) and that our republic was the vernment which abolished slave-trade, as early as while a Roscoe was yet hooted

at in

first

go-

in 1794,

1808, in Liverpool,

for having voted against this abominable

traffic.

And who

does not remember the foul arguments, which were at that period brought forward to prevent

its al3olition.

Persons

at

a distance often judge of the question of emancipation, quite

wrongly, because they think congress might, like a

ment

of the kind

is

parlia-

it

would be done; but nothing

in fact the case.

Congress can do nothing

in a capital,

decree

originally in the matter;

it

and

it is

altogether a subject which be-

longs to the forum of the state-legislatures

—those true foun-

301

(

)

of our liberty, without which

dations

it

would not have

been possible even to preserve her appearance.

moment

I do not hesitate for a

to say, that

by

the

far

greatest majority of our southern people would be glad,

could they abolish slavery, but

it

more

requires

to effect

such a measure with wisdom, than a newspaper

which ver,

calls us,

"slave-holding repuhjicans."

article,

May we

ne-

The

experience a sudden emancipation in the south.

whites would either become the slaves of the blacks, or at least the

suppressed

or they would have to emigrate,

class,

and the south would be

lost to

our Union, and for a long

time even to mankind. In the same paper, the assertion was made, that the want of wisdom, in our national organization, was proved

by the

dissolution of the Union, evidently approaching with hasty strides,

political all, I

and chiefly brought on

at the

system was ever put to the

grant that the

Union

is

very time that this

Suppose

test.

I

grant

hurrying toward dissolution,

that the separation once having taken place, wars, and wars

of the worst kind, will soon follow

—

a dissolution of the

elements of society, similar to that in some periods of the feudal ages, yet without chivalry, and that severe contests

must be gone through state of things

—even

in order to arrive if I

grant you

once more

all this, I

at a stable

nevertheless,

maintain, that the Union, and our constitution, were a wise contrivance, and

it

seems

to

me, the only one which was

capable of producing so rapid a progress, in so spects, of this

young

whole should tumble to

have established I

nation, and

to pieces, it

re-

it.

am the warmest advocate for

forms of government which

them the guarantee of changes undermine the whole society,

carry within

stability:

to its

morality and the pursuit of knowledge. the firm adherence to right and law, cannot

Many states in

many

to-morrow the was yet worth the while that if

continual

very views of

The

civic spirit,

grow and expand.

the middle ages, and France, afford numerous

instances; but the duration alone

is

no

test of the

goodness of

(

a government; otherwise

China, as the

Romans

302

we

)

ought to send ambassadors to

such, does not last half as long as

worn

A

sent theirs to Greece.

when

trod

it is

shoe, as

down and

as a slipper.

There are some

tests

which no government can possibly

stand, because every government, even the strongest,

must

have, like Achilles and Siegfried, one vulnerable point, where it

may

be wounded to the quick.

with regard with the

to durability, that

Wisdom must choose,

form which bids

fair to

expose

least frequency, this vulnerable point, according to

Thus the English number of the finest points,

the given materials and circumstances. constitution,

which combines

my opinion, never

has, in

a

yet been truly tested.

course of the constitution since

it

I

speak of

has become a true and

professed contract between the people and the monarch.

weak by

is

point of a constitutional monarchy inheritance

endowed with

The

that one person

is,

great privileges,

which ne-

vertheless shall be used in the spirit of the constitution and for the benefit of the people only.

A variety of contrivances

are resorted to in order to effect this result, contrivances which

in

my

thing

opinion do as I

know

of.

much honor

to the

human mind

as

any

But, nevertheless, they constitute the vul-

nerable point of this form of government.

The English

would be put to a severe test, if a Frederic or a Napoleon should be born upon the throne of the Brunswick In such case, if the crown were not to absorb family.

constitution

the constitutional privileges of the people, stifle

it

would

at least

their truly constitutional use and application, or the

people would rise and absorb the privileges of the crown.

Men

like those I

have mentioned cannot but be independent

and unshackled, or must be conquered and subdued. You ask, what are our vulnerable points? I think they are two in number, but, in order to let you judge whether I am right or not, it would be necessary to give you a tableau of our whole political organization, and an abstract of our history in the bargain.

303

(

)

LETTER

XVI.

I write to you, my dear friend, in no happy mood, have seen man, once more, in a situation not calculated

To-day for I

to exalt our opinion of

of the methodists

—

a camp-meeting.

The followers

citement of feeling.

you this.

him

in a great degree,

is,

They do

The religion

founded on the ex-

of methodism will grant

not admit, indeed, that the peculiar trait

it from all other protestant dewhat they would term an excitement of feeling; they would call it an agitation produced by the power of God, or the powerful effect of the divine spirit, or would characterize it by an expression of this kin(J.

of their sect, distinguishing

nominations,

But, however

is

we may

and name, we That which appears of excitement, and which they believe differ as to the cause

agree, I believe, as to the subject itself

to us as a high state

to be the effect and true sign of intense piety, forms that trait of their religion

Camp-meetings,

if

planations, given

I

which

is

peculiar to them, as a sect.

have properly understood the ex-

me by

methodists themselves, are held,

for the purpose of promoting

this

powerful

effect,

with the

followers of this creed, and thereby of strengthening religion in their souls, as also, in order to excite in persons

not yet converted, that state of overwhelming contrition,

which according

to

methodism, must generally precede con-

version and regeneration. then,

is

I to say, that

which

The

object of camp-meetings,

powerfully to excite religious feelings, and sorry

to

am

they are the scenes of unrefrained excitement,

every one, but the methodists themselves, appear

but as a wild outbursting of vague, though passionate and

304

(

)

my

powerful feelings; of great danger, in a most

gloomy

sight,

opinion, to true

A camp-meeting

moral and religious development.

is

to

me

and gives you the clew to a number

of phenomena in history, which otherwise would be nearly inconceivable by a sober mind.

A

conveniently situated spot, shaded

and near

if

possible

by

trees

selected as the place of the meeting,

to water, is

which generally takes place

in

A

autumn.

temporary

plat-

form, with a shed and a kind of desk for the ministers to

preach from

It is generally, or

to the multitude, is erected.

always, in the middle of one line of an oblong, which

formed by the

tents, pitched for the

exercises

people, as well as for their religious

" classes."

It is

not

my

is

accommodation of the

intention to give

you

in

their

a description

of the whole proceedings, or of

all

the scenes which are

acted under the eye of the visiter;

it

has been done by seve-

on the customs and manners of

ral writers

this

country with

considerable fidelity.

Nothing

is

easier than to write an attractive account on

subjects of this very kind, since the

are forced

upon the mind of the

most striking contrasts even were he not

spectator,

generally apt to seize at once upon the characteristic traits

of subjects offered to his observation; but you must expect

nothing of the kind in the following; though fess, that

my

no religious service, however

views of

a

due reverence

to

it

I

openly con-

might

differ

from

the deity, not even the

Jewish confusion during some of the religious celebrations peculiar to that people, has inspired

respect which

we

me

naturally feel for any

with

mode

adopted by our fellow creatures, than the scenes in the camp-meetings. is

The

less of that

of adoration I

witnessed

service of the Shaking Quakers

strikingly ludicrous; but camp-meetings are startling in

the highest degree,

filling

you

at

once with contempt of

men, and compassion for their unwary, deluded, and tormented victims. I intend merely to give you a few observations, which, indeed, will not inform you

certain designing

of any thing nevv, but will be additional facts of psycholo-

305

(

gical interest

— contributions

rations; alas!

pared to the

to the account of

a long scroll in the

slip

lips,

this effect is

facts,

acts of

wisdom.

this letter, nevertheless, force a smile

grief I write these lines,

omitted several

man's aber-

hand of History, com-

on which she notices his

Should the perusal of

upon your

)

not

its

object.

not with pleasure; and

because they had too

with

It is

much

I

have

of the

merely ridiculous about them.

Let me first give you a few general observations, the which has been impressed upon my mind with ad-

truth of

ditional strength

by

my

seeing camp-meetings.

First: All protestant enthusiasts or fanatics resort to the

Old Testament and the book of revelation in preference the

New

lief

and kind of worship,

to

Testament, for proofs and testimony of their befor

imagery

in

preaching and their

forms of conception and expression, often even of the prin-

They believe themGod "who swears in his wrath " seems to be more congenial to them than a God who "is love," the bountiful father of his children. Roman catholic fanatics, though their zeal may carry them to monstrosities of belief and action, nevertheless move more within ciples of their peculiar ethical views.

selves to be the people of Israel.

A

the general outlines of the tenets of their church, or, at least,

within what

is

believed to be true by great catholic masses.

Secondly: Christian fanatics universally occupy themselves more,

nay nearly exclusively, with the fear of

and the

of the damned, not with the hope of a reunion

state

hell

with God; with the anxiety to escape eternal punishment, not the zeal to

win the love of God, and

to love

him with the

in-

creasing pleasure which a pure soul finds in loving the only perfect being.

would

If the comparison be not offensive to you, I

say, they are like bad soldiers driven into battle

by

cannons placed behind them, not led by the love of country,

and a genuine feeling of honor. Third: All religious enthusiasts preach dogmatics and polemics, not practical virtue or the longsuffering of a purified soul; or if

they do preach the 39

latter, it is

not in order

306

(

)

to instil into the souls of the hearers that gentle charity

elevated kindness, which

and

religion, all virtue

all

and

one of the choicest flowers of cultivation of the mind, but

all

them against the gibes and sneers or

rather to strengthen

All the sermons

attacks of the world.

meeting which gave

is

I

heard

and

rise to this letter,

in the

camp-

in another I visit-

ed some years ago, were exclusively dogmatic or polemic,

and one preacher actually mentioned every Christian sect

from the catholics the true methodist I

from the

expect in after

to

is

with unkind and unchaall

which

bliss

life.

have often enough heard similar strains of preaching in

Roman was

to the quakers,

remarks, excluding them

ritable

catholic countries.

a soldier,

Once

a landlord of mine,

took great pains in his way, to save

and assured me, when

when

my

I

soul,

asked him whether he really believed,

I

good and virtuous protestant could not possibly enter

that a

into heaven, that perliaps

but undoubtedly only pressed

my

hope that

I

he might by

to wait

way

upon the

of exception,

catholics.

I

ex-

should be made his servant and that

he would prove an indulgent master. On the other hand^ the minister who preached the above mentioned sermon, said that if

any but methodists would be admitted

to the

purest bliss, he was sure his grandmother would be one of

them; she was a most pious baptist. The ignorant will always mingle their personal affairs with whatever subject they

may

be treating

of.

So much for uncharitableness, the

vulgarest banner that can be unfurled for enlistment in any cause.

Fourth: Also, the less informed a preacher

dogmatic and polemic he invariably

is

is,

the

more

in his sermons.

Fifth: All Christian fanatics give to the

word

love,

though

used in a religious sense, a certain amorous meaning, applied in a spiritual sense.

through

all

You can

trace this index of entliusiasm

ages of the Christian church; from the times of

some most glowing early hymns,

to

those of the latest

methodist songs. Sixth: All enthusiasts dislike exceedingly to reason, as

307

(

')

and always will end by saying, All you say is perfectly right according to the world's reasoning and from is

natural,

your point of view; but the true

dawned upon

light has not

we know we are right, bewe know it, and if ever the light you will say with us, "We know it, it is

you; you cannot understand us; cause

God

within us;

is

appears within you, certain."

Seventh: Love of notoriety, be limited circle,

most

is

even but in

it

a

very

action, with

one of the main springs of

fanatics.

Eighth: Fanatics are never

satisfied

with a calm and placid

adoration of the deity, but evidently seek for excitement,

and obvious proofs of

so

it;

preachers appear dissatisfied

much so, that frequently the when they are unable to bring

their hearers to the desired pitch, and they

judge of the

excellence of a sermon or prayer by the degree of ex-

citement

it

has produced; though every observer

well, that nothing, in fact,

is

easier than to

move

knows

a congre-

gation to tears, or to produce any similar signs of emotion.

The account

of a few touching scenes, eloquently described,

is sufficient;

but conviction, which takes root in the mind,

and which

work on

lasts,

a

more

difficult

task.

I

pastoral theology the advice given to

ters, carefully to ter,

is

found in a

young minis-

avoid excitement, ^because, said the wri-

(an experienced and pious minister and professor of

theology,) nothing

is

more enticing

if

once begun, and no-

thing creates so craving an appetite for more excitement,

and disposes the hearer

less for true conviction,

calm state of mind, without which

and that

no fulfilment of our

most sacred duties is possible. Ninth: Nothing is more frequent,

than

that

fanatic

preachers entertain their hearers with accounts of their

former

state of infidelity,

and

in a boasting

vered over by words of self-accusation.

own

manner badly Sometimes

co-

this

is

done in order to show that they too, in their time, were smart people, sometimes to show their great humility by thus exposing their sins and errors, and

it is

always, partly.

308

(

owing

to the

)

circumstance that ignorant as well as fanatic

people delight in treating of themselves, to which

This remark holds not only

already alluded.

Finally, fanatics of religions,

all

times, in

all

I

have

in religion.

countries, and of all

have considered religious hysterics as a sign of the

peculiar favor of the deity toward the afflicted individual;

and have dwelt upon them effect

which the

who have Jews and

as a striking

proof of the strong

spirit of the deity exercises

received

its

upon those

Heathens, Mahometans,

influence.

Christians, in antiquity, in the middle ages, and in

our own times, have done and are doing the The camp-meeting of which I speak was

same. held in West-

Chester, not far from the borough of the same name, about

three and twenty miles from Philadelphia.

when we approached

friend of mine;

I

went with

a

the " camp," w^- heard

a loud shouting, peculiar to the methodists,

when

of religious excitement, intermingled with

in a state

tunes equally

Perhaps you are not aware of

peculiar to their worship.

the fact that the methodists adopt any popular tune,

ever gay, and for whatever wordly text originally composed, or be

still

it

may

how-

have been

universally used, and either

substitute other words, or adapt those belonging to the tune to their religious

which, as

may

phraseology by changing a few expressions,

be easily conceived, produces songs some-

times appearing to the adherents of other sects in a dress

very different from what they consider an appropriate religious style, and one sometimes even positively improper and indecorous.

Amorous and

songs &c. are not

sailors'

rejected, but merely altered in certain parts, which might

not give rise to the purest associations with the uninitiated. I

send you, as a proof of what

Songster, in

New

York, 1830.

which the existence of

I

say, a

There

are

copy of the Zion

some of

their tunes,

a lyric glow, the rapid expression

of intense feeling, or the vivacity of an enraptured soul, can-

not be denied, however they

hymns which

may

alone are considered

differ

from the tunes of

by other

sects to be

fit-

led to this species of poetry. But they are sung in a manner

309

(

)

most modest demands of music, that they never produced any becoming effect upon me. So gay are some of their tunes, that I have several times so little consistent with the

believed myself to be approaching a scene of merriment, until I

happened

few days ago

met

I

to hear a hallelujah or hosanna. But a was under the same impression, when I

You must know, much inhymns, wherever they may be. I

a stage-coach full of methodists.

that when assembled in any number, they are

ch :ied to sing their

Washington

travelled last winter from

with two ladies of their the other began to

of the rest, or

all

hum

and

sect,

Baltimore with

to

from a meeting of theirs

six travelling ministers, returning

at various periods

of them shortly joined.

tion of worldly songs

one or

one of their tunes, in which several In the adapta-

and tunes^ the methodists are not un-

like the early Christians, with this exception, that the lat-

know, employed only odes to the pagan gods, poems of a higher cast, substituting a Christian meaning; in like manner as the statues of the dethroned gods, or of consuls and senators, were not unfrequently ter, as far as I

—

or other

used to represent the evangelists or other

The

saints.

op-

posite to the methodistical substitution of a religious sense

worldly songs,

to

is

the adaptation, in the middle ages, of

psalms or religious poems, to gay wine songs frequently

sung

in this

for instance,

My

way,

companion,

physician,

in the

convents and by students.

who

whom

mentioned above,

I

is

a

German

passed with credit through the whole Prus-

sian medical " state-examination" at Berlin, sufficient to

Such,

was the origin of the famous Gaudeamus igitur.

convince you,

who

which will be

are acquainted with the or-

ganization of the medical school of Prussia, that he

is

thorough bred physician.*

will

•

The

I

mention

various examinations, established

this,

because

it

by the Prussian g-overnment,

a

to

assure itself of the fitness of candidates either for offices under government, or the license of practising, are in

all

branches

—in medicine, theology, law,

education, pharmacy, mining, the department of forests, the ai-my, the administration, Sec, so infinitely

more

rigid, than similar examinations in

any

310

(

be found

to

)

be a fact of some importance in the sequel of

this letter.

We

went

the evening,

the "

first to

when

camp"

about eight o'clock in

at

the meeting had already lasted five long

other countries, that It may not be unhiteresthig- to some of our readers, to give them a hasty sketch of the " state-examhiation " mentioned in the above

No

text.

student of medicine

is

admitted to the university, any more than

the student of any other branch, without having proved by examination, that

he has received a thorough

which

The

classical education.

devote to his univei-slty studies,

is

and

are chiefly spent in the medical, surgical,

the one half year the student

is

time he

obliged to

is

a period of four years, the two latter of obstetric clinica.

but a " hearer" in the different

cllnica, In

In

the

next he practises himself under the direction and constant examination and instruction of the directing professor.

Hospitals are likewise regularly visit-

That the reader may obtain an idea of the great variety of

ed.

lectures

thorough treatment of every single branch, we would refer him to the

and

article

University In the Encyclopaedia Americana, in wlilch the catalogue of lec-

one half year

tures, delivered in It is

been given.

in the university of Berlin has

the catalogue for the winter term from 1829

— 1830,

In

which we find

ninety different courses of lectures enumerated, some of which are of course

on the same subject, but by

different professors.

finished his university studies

he

which he

orally

is

examined

and publicly

dissertation,

himself, with

bestowed ovAqv to

in all branches,

to dispute in Latin

is

compelled to write a Latin

on certain theses, selected by

of doctor

is

licentiapradicandi'it

is

Among

down

other tests of fitness, he

is

is

doctor,

he

prac-

and after having thorough-

locked up in a room without books, where he has to of treatment, with

all

the reasons for his in all the different

shapes

may

After this he draws by

assume.

lot,

out of an urn containing

of paper on which the different important surgical operations are writ-

slips

and the one which

falls to his

chance he must forthwith explain, with

the history of the various ways of performing

form

it

himself on a subject.

He

it,

after

which he must per-

then receives a number of acute and

chronic cases, which he must attend for the space of three months. stetrics

he

is

not admitted to the examination,

if

is

orally

examined

in all

In ob-

he has not previously de-

livered iiimself at least twelve cases in the obstetric clinicum.

he

Is

led to the bedside of a

and the various ways of treating the disease

it,

ten,

is

his diagnosis, the plan

adopting it

case,

In

necessary for every Prussian to

Here, after having proved that he

examined.

examined the

write

to enter the

merely an honorary degree of the university,

patient in the Charity, the chief hospital in Berlin, ly

the student has

an acknowledgment of sufficient theoretical attjunments.

as

ohX.sS.n\.\\e

repair to BerUn. tically

When

allowed to take the degree of doctor, for

any person, professor or student, who chooses

The degree

arena.

is

After

this

branches of medicine, and the related sciences,

311

(

The

days and nights. ofifering

field

)

was not crowded with booths,

refreshments or entertainments of any kind, as I

have seen on particular days, near places of pilgrimage in catholic countries, causing scenes of

great dissipation,

on account of which the governments of France and Ger-

many,

that of Austria perhaps alone excepted,

have entirely

Nor do I really believe that these campmeetings occasion as much mischief of a certain kind among

abolished them.

the methodists themselves, as

the pilgrimages just

men-

tioned; for instance, the annual one to Einsiedel in the can-

ton of Schwytz, creates

among

those

who

posed, a priori; for there

is

But

attend them.

this evil is certainly not entirely obviated, as

may

be sup-

nothing on earth more danger-

ous in this respect than a concourse of

many people

of both

sexes, in a state of high religious excitement, for the very

reason that they are excited and brought nearer together

under the delusive forms of brotherly and religious purity.

that

find,

all

If

you throw a glance

and

you

will

meetings of religiously excited people end

with mischief of

this kind.

peculiar to Christian sects;

of the meeting of

Burckhard gives

whom

it is

Nor

is

by any means

on Mount Ararat for instance, and you are well ac-

a frightful picture,

thus assembled.

this

the same with Mahometans,

among

quainted with the licentious disorder

when

sisterly love

at history,

When

the Hindoos,

in the course of the

evening

one of the ministers made from the pulpit the necessary arrangements for the watches, &c., he did not omit to recom-

mend

to the sentinels, not to allow

walk about

We

together.

These

tents, destined for class meetings, are di-

vided lengthwise by a bench about such as botany, chemistry, &c. satisfaction of tlie examiners,

dom

and ladies" to

entered one of the tents where a "class" was as-

sembled.

are not

"men

a foot high,

If he passes through

he obtains the

more than about one hundred

these ordeals to the

license of practising-.

individuals a year in the

(containing thirteen millions of inhabitants,)

Editor.

all

and called

who obtain

There

whole king-

this Ucense.

312

(

On one

the mourners' bench. other the

which

is

women; they

lie

or

side are the

men, on the

disorder on the straw,

sit in

strewn on the ground, and was by

broken into small the people

)

moved much

time

this

particles, causing in those places

where

about, dense dust, extremely offen-

This dust, together with the hot atmo-

sive to the lungs.

by the breath of so many people crowded into a narrow space, and the smoke of lamps, rendered the interior of the tents very obnoxious to a spectator coming

sphere, poisoned

from the fresh and pure

air

without, and not in such a state

of excitement as to be insensible to

its

injurious effects

upon

the human organs. Along both sides of the mourners' bench kneel " the sinners in a repenting state" who wish to join

by

the faithful; or, overpowered haustion, they

lie

their feelings or

by ex-

on the ground, or in the arms of others,

quiet, half faint, exclaiming, groaning or weeping, while,

from time

minister or any other "brother"

to time, the

speaks into their ears of impending everlasting damnation,

men

or the bright hope of salvation; and I saw, repeatedly,

taking the hands of

women between

their hands,

and patting

and striking them, exhorting them, mean while, in

God,

mere

or, if

those in the interior and to re-

spectators, to join

In these cases, as well as at several times

pent.

to trust

they stood at the entrance of the tent as

when

the

ministers or other "brethren" addressed the uninitiated, a

language was used, the familiarity of which struck our ears " Now come," they would say, " why as very strange.

won't you try?

—

upon you try it, you

—come my dear brother

don't you see

will see

how

the mourners' bench

is

how powerful

sweet

open

it is

actually indecorous scene

doubt would be considered

were

so

we

God

calls

his spirit is? just

—won't you?

for you,

come

be too late;" and other expressions of

One

or sister;

in, it

Come in, may soon

this kind.

saw, which

I

have no

by mostmethodists themselves,

their attention directed to

entry of a tent as spectator, and a

A

man woman, a

it.

a cousin of his, because slie called

stood near the friend, perhaps

him James, was very

313

(

)

anxious that he should join their service. She tried her best, though, of course, she did not use any kind of argument; but during the whole time she stroked his hand or fingers,

taking one after the other between

ed

he

at length in

with

did'

We

me."

way which

persuading the

h'er

man

hands.

She succeed-

to enter the tent,

which

words, "I don't care, but you' won't catch

th-e

saw another man ushered really

reminded one of

into the tent, in a a

kind of

similar

by persons of which the methoHe half dists would not like to remind the spectator. walked, and was half pushed in by one of the ministers handed over to the minister of the respective tent, and pushed down to the mourners' bench, where he lay for seizing on men, adopted

time, his face resting on the bench, but he soion turned

some it

upward, with convulsive distortions of his eyes and the

muscles of his

As many

face.

appear undignified, so

is

of the methodists' songs

their language in speaking of re-

ligious subjects not unfrequently offensively quaint

directly after a

and

One person we heard

miliar to unaccustomed ears.

most passionate prayer, "I think

it is

fa-

say,

now

time to close the concern." In the tent which

we visited

there were several per-

first

sons in a state of blessing, as the methodists

say presently more about it. ral times, " Five or six sins fear,

call it;

I sh-all

One woman exclaimed, I

seve-

have committed, which, I

never can be forgiven;" weeping, at the same time^

bit-

Others prayed aloud, or called amen, whenever a

terly.

passage in the prayer of the loudest seemed to strike them as particularly true;

were

quiet, but,

some

from time

slept in the corner, others, again, to time,

they would ejaculate ex-

pressions of sorrow or delight; and the laugh, not the smile,

but the loud laugh with which these people greet the assurances of the bliss and happiness of the saved, or the glory in

which Christ

will appear to his faithful followers, or

their familiar exclamations, such as,

and the

"God bless my soul," many of their ex-

like, arc as strange to others as

40

314

(

)

pressions of grief and religious fear.

theme of

invariable

The

constant and

their exhortations was, as long as

we

were witnesses of these proceedings, " It is yet time to repent, come then and do so; death may suddenly cut you off,

when your

you:" and

doom

eternal

seems

it

to be a

be

will

pronounced upon

decidedly settled opinion with

the methodists, that, whenever and however you to die, the state in

which you are

at the

may happen

time of death

is

by which to pronounce his irrevocable sentence for eternity. Not one single

the sole testimony for the great judge

time,

(I state

my words,)

this

have

while

I

am

fully

aware of the import of

I

heard a rational advice calculated to lead

to the fulfilment of

our duties, to a true elevation of the soul,

or to teach forbearance to others; and I can assure you, that the constant repetition of the eternal damnation,"

words " everlasting flames and

would alone be sickening

to the hearer,

leaving their meaning entirely out of consideration. I

found here, again, what

I

have often had occasion

to ob-

which appea^^in a great degree to feeling, has its peculiar kind of delivery and enunciation. The methodists, generally, add ane at the end of serve, that each sect, and especially those

words, after which they make a short pause, and thus say,

Godde, cominge, salvationne, which peculiarity in

fact ap-

pearsto bea result oftheirexcitement,whichcannotas readily find

words

quire. is,

as their

It is

minds, wrought up

somewhat

have, &c., so

to passion,

would

re-

similar to the dwelling on words, like

common

in the British parliament,

and made

use of, in order to gain time for the arrangement of the next sentence. is

The methodist pronunciation of "Oh, Lord!" Maine to Mississippi, in

quite peculiar to them, from

America and England; while the unpleasant, nasal pronunciation is very common with them but not exclusively their own. A nasal and tremulous twang belongs generally to all

protestant sects,

people of Israel.

who

consider themselves the persecuted

It originates in

feeling of over-humility,

tones of a

lachrymous

my

opinion, from a sickly

which expresses

character.

The

fact

itself in

these

cannot be denied,

315

(

and

as

it is

so general, there

)

must be

a general cause for

it.

Trust no sect or man, with a nasal long-drawn twang. After having listened to their singing, exhorting, praying

and violent preaching, we entered one of the

tents,

which

distinguished itself by a greater noise, and wilder devotional exercise, at nearly

was

two o'clock

pestilential; the dust

ticles of dried earth

in the

The

air

from pulverized straw and par-

very thick; the general appearence of

the whole was similar to that of a tal,

morning.

room

in an insane hospi-

but even more frightful; the same motions of the limbs,

Some were

expressions of faces, and fearful noise.

rubbing their hands, apparently

in great

seen

agony, others clap-

ping them together, others stretching them out toward heaven, and distorting their eyes, some stamping with the

some rubbing their knees, some moving the upper body forward and backward, others screaming, and weeping, surrounded by a number of friends, who prevented the small current of air, which yet existed, from reaching them, and sung and spoke into their ears; some feet,

part of the

leaping up and down, with staring eyes, their hair dishevelled, others, lying on the ground, distended as if in a

swoon, some

sitting in a state of perfect exhaustion

anity, with pale cheeks and vacant eyes,

of

many

tears.

One

before

all,

and

which bore

was lying on

in-

traces

his knees, ap-

parently in a state of great agony, and uttering the expressions of a desponding soul, addressed to a wrathful God.

An

Esquirol would have found here more interesting sub-

jects, than a theologian.

We approached

two of the

girls,

extended on the ground

in a "state of blessing," in order to find out their precise

condition, determined to retire immediately, should

considered as intruders. But

I

are invariably pleased with attention being

proceedings.

We touched

we

be

had not miscalculated; fanatics

shown

to their

the pulses of the girls and found

them rather slow, but not more

so than can be easily ex-

plained from previous great exhaustion, and the quiet breathing, lying as they had been, for a long time

on the ground.

316

(

)

One had her hands cramped together and her eyes open;

the

other, the hands extended: the skin of both had a perfectly

We attracted,

natural heat.

and from some

girls

of course, immediate attention,

near us, a sneer of religious conceit at

the benighted profanity, which endeavored to become ac-

quainted with this state of blessedness, by the

thod of worldly science.

Two

amusing, and had a real girlish giggling of the

first

females and said, "

do not seem

from your

whom her

td

at

My dear

I

it.

young woman, you

and that

be charitable toward those

is to

This was attacking her on

ground, and she was not unconscious of

showed

dest silence

Another

girl, a

us, as well as

it

addressed one

have yet learned one very important lesson

religion,

you consider ignorant."

own

common me-

observed, found

girls, I

that she confessed

bright and friendly

many men, and

little

it;

a

mo-

herself guilty.

person, came up to

a long conversation ensued, of

I will give you the substance as accurately as I can remember, and which strikingly illustrates one of the most amiable traits of American character, namely, the allowing

which

—

every one

to

even here,

have and

state fully his

in this scene of violent excitement.

unreserved freedom, without at tion;

say. in

own opinion,

all

I

spoke with

provoking their indigna-

on the contrary, they listened calmly

what

to

They, on the other hand, no doubt saw

good earnest, and made no joke of

them greatly wrong and were

—displayed

it,

I

had

to

that

we were

we

thought

that

displeased with the whole exhi-

bition of religious passion, but that

we

took the whole matter

One surly fellow, indeed, left the little crowd around us, and said when passing me, though not directed to me, " What do you talk to them fellows, and if God should show them signs all day long, they would not believe." An elderly man caine up to me, one of the very few more to heart.

aged persons present, and asked me, what

we

thought of the

meaning those extended on the ground. I said, that we thought that many of them were actually endeavoring to deceive the others: an assertion in which we were justigirls,

fied;

because one of

,lhe

females

who

lay with o}>en and

317

(

winked when we passed oUr hand

staring eyes, had

some

at

who had her eyes when we opened the eye-

her face, and the other,

distance from closed, rolled

)

them

instantly up,

—an evident proof,

that the light had its full effect upon them; nor were her pupils either unnaturally dilated or lids,

In-

contracted, but appeared in their natural extension.

deed, any physician will

an individual can state of real

lie for

you whether it be possible, that two or thr^e hours together in a

tell

exhaustion and unconsciousness, deprived of

power of volition, without laboring under a

the

all

serious affec-

tion of the nervous system and experiencing the evil conse-

quences of such

a

for several

fit

weeks.

Yet these

indi-

viduals appear a few hours after, in a comparatively sound

That these simulations cannot but

state of health.

finally

bring on disturbances of the various functions of the body, is

evident.*

"And," continued

I,

"

were not improper

if it

sprinkle their faces with cold water, you

would

see

to

how

quickly they would leave their present state."

my

you might throw over them, they would not awake the Lord had intended." '^

"

Oh,

We

dear,

cannot

your idea of

make

the proof,"

this peculiar state, in

a a

whole bucket of water

moment

I said.

sooner than

" But, what

is

which you believe these

individuals to be?"

"

It is a state

of happiness; the Lord

makes them happy,

and shows his power," was his answer. " Do you mean to say, that the soul leaves the body, and is

united for a time to

"Oh

no,

that

God?"

would be entrancement; they are only

blessed."

« So you call it blessing? Why do you give it this name?" " Because they feel blessed, when they are in this state: •

A case is on record,

in

which a man had the power vokinUirily to supAt length he died during-

press the pulsation of the heart for some minutes.

one of

his exhibitions.

checked

in time, pass

—Editor.

Hysteric attacks,

if freely

over into real spasmodic

fits

indulged

and nenous

in,

and not

affections.

318

(

they say,

when awakening, And,

ever do otherwise.

Lord."

I

my

expressed

)

that they feel happier than they

it

is

show the power

to'

"who

I,

can

to

that light in the heavens," pointing

fix

moon, "I think should not be doubted by

at a glorious

any one,

"He,"

power of God:

of a girl a peculiar proof of the

fit

said

of the

great astonishment, at calling the

have the power of depriving any living being of

consciousness" No answer was given, and the old asked me, " How would you call this state?"

"

We

would term

it

a kind of hysteric

fits,

half voluntary

and conscious, half brought on by the exhausting and noxious

air

—

man

fatigue,

which might be, probably, in every by severe reprimand, or threats. How they are chiefly women, and young wo-

fits,

single case prevented

does it happen that men, who fall into this condition?" "I cannot say, but men do also, and sometimes very strong

ones."

" They may, nevertheless, have weak nerves, or deceive you, and, which fits

not unlikely, deceive themselves; for

is

are often half true, half not, and very often tliey

with a

real

In

tarily."

bright

kind of

little

fit,

the girl

fact,

woman,

end

though they were brought on volun-

whom

I

designated above as a

told us the next

morning,

when

the

conversation had turned upon the same subject, and in order to

prove that there was no simulation in these

knew

woman who

a

cases, that she

once continued three days in this state

of blessedness, with short interruptions, and that her friends

became

so alarmed, that a physician

was

called,

who

restored

To

her to health after six weeks of serious sufiering. this in

was

many

Alarming

just a case in point. cases, the

" But," said

I,

"

consequences of these

how

does

it

diseases

must

us be,

fits.

make them happy?

I

cannot

understand this." " You are right, you cannot, but the Lord is within us." " And," added my companion, " you will find that all the girls

come

who

to their

are often gifted

with these blessings, will

end by diseases of the heart or

epileptic fits."

319

(

No

"

fear of that; there are

)

some who have had very often

these blessings, and are yet healthy."

" There

may

be exceptions, but depend upon

A

little girl, pale,

with a nervous look and peculiar

" This girl,"

stood near.

" Yes," said the smart asked she, smilingly, "

I said,

pointing at her, "

stare,

subject

" she has them often, and,"

girl,

am

I

subject?"

" Assuredly not," I said. " You are right," she answered. " But," said one of the crowd, " not the cause of these blessings,

never hurt themselves

is

not?"

to these blessings, is she

fell

either

it,

must be the consequence."

these diseases or insanity

they

if

if

the Lord's Spirit

how does it happen

fall?

who

have seen a man

I

is

that they

with his head right against the corner of an iron stove,

and it did not hurt him in the least." " Well," said my companion, " that they always

know very

is

only a proof that

well what they are about, and, be-

sides, it is bare superstition to believe

what you

You

do.

have serious objections against the baptists, as I have seen from one of the sermons of your ministers, and yet the baptists

say that

a proof of the Lord's spirit being

it is

them, that no person baptized by them, even were winter, in an open river, catches as

" Oh, the baptists; that

is

much

it

in

with

dead

as a cold."

very different," was the an-

swer, yet an American will always relish something smart,

and as such, the reply

to their observation respecting

the

safety from injury of the person in " a state of blessing," ap-

Americans have, likewise, a

peared to them.

considered superstitious;

so

against us on this score.

I,

thinking of what

I

for

my

ridicules, in the passage of

who

part, could

not help

found in a translation of a Chinese work

on medicine, by Abel Remusat. lous people

fear of being

they urged nothing farther

which

I

The Chinese naturalist am reminded, the credu-

believe that the cherry-bird

is

transformed

into a mole, and that rice, strewed into a river, at a proper

season, changes into fishes.

" These," he says, " are ludi-

(

320

)

There

crous tales, calculated for children only.

is

but one

transformation well authenticated; namely, that of the rat told in

good books, and

have myself

into the quail; that

is

often observed

because transformations have their regular

But

course.

it,

all

I

as to the absurdity of cherry-birds

changing

into moles, and rice into fish, no person in his sound senses

can believe

Our

in the course of

it,

meetings are held clare

too foolish."

it; it is

discussion extended yet to other subjects, and I said,

them

that,

they having granted

in order to get

me

essentially unchristian; that Christ

cited the people, nor did he

that

up excitement,

recommend

I

camp-

must de-

no where ex-

nor establish camp-meetings. " Did he not preach in the open air?" asked " Yes, because he had no other place, nor do I now one. it,

—

speak against preaching in the open velling in religious excitement ter day."

another.

—"

"

And

It

but against this re-

air,

and day

night after night

af-

did not David leap before the ark?" said

means, in the original, dancing, and that was

considered then as not indecorous, but

it

does not

mean

leap-

movements, as you do here. [You remember that the shakers use the same argument for their jump" Besides," said I, " are you reing about during service.] ing, with frantic

ally not

aware of the great indecency of

stretched on the ground in the sight of

men

and

women

girls

lying here,

numerous people,

stepping over them; nor of the injurious

consequences with which the inhaling of this shocking dust, so near the ground, for hours together, must be pregnant?"

No

answer was given, but the elderly man advised some

girls to carry

tent;

one of them into their sleeping or boarding

and when she was

lifted up, I

observed

how

she

stif-

fened her body and suddenly cramped her hands together.

was one of deOnly remember how often the love of

I have the strongest suspicion that this case

cided deception.

kinds of deceits:

notoriety induces females to practise

all

sometimes they

sometimes they read

fall

into religious

with their fingers, sometimes they

fits,

fall

third day, at the precise minute, &c.

into convulsions every

321

(

We parted

good

friends,

the next morning.

I

present, because they

bring in what is

I

had

and continued our conversation

was glad none of

their ministers

would have allowed

The

to say.

really immense, owing

assumed passion,

real or

)

me

little

volubility of their tongues

to their constantly speaking in

their speaking so often,

to

having, of course, accustomed their minds train of ideas

velling preachers from what latter are

ments

deluded, and

a

to

and

certain

wards and phrases. look very differently upon the tra-

and their tongue

I freely confess that I

were

chance to

to certain

I do.

upon

pay with

But the

for their delusion.

whether they are deluded or

The

their people.

grief and

mental tor-

travelling, preachers,

up

not, set

yet are so grossly ignorant of the most

as preachers,

and

common know-

ledge requisite for a right understanding of certain passages of the Bible, they preach with such unanswerable

boldness from

some passages

totally

misunderstood by

them, because they have not the requisite knowledge of biblical

— they

antiquity,

work

so intentionally

upon the

deluded minds of their hearers, in order to bring them to a desired state of excitement, they are so uncharitable in their exhortations,

and

in all their conceptions so crude, that

they produce a feeling of abhorrence.

When we went away, after our first conversation, a gentleman addressed me, saying, " Believe me, you made several doubtful

in their minds: tliese people are utterly igno-

norant in matters of religion, and give themselves up to this

kind af sectarianism, because they

indeed persons

I

was surprised

who were

know no

to hear several times

better;" and

from these

so positive in their assurances of

damna-

"I cannot answer you, because I have not read the Bible so much as you have." Consider now the deplorable effect which a camp-meeting

tion, &c.:

must produce upon health, domestic happiness, industry and Here are girls and young men who, the national wealth.

Sunday

before, had been probably three times to church; on

Monday

the camp-meeting began.

41

They remained

in this

—

^

322

(

state of excitement, fatigue

)

and exhausting

way

of living

whole week; on Sunday, the minister announced there

for a

would be again three times service, and that the Lord's supper would be administered. For what can these people be fit after this long indulgence in fanaticism?

Certainly not for

and, therefore, most important

common,

any kind of the duties, upon which our whole happiness so much depends. How entirely must they become unfitted by these gross excitements for what must be the end of all religion, the true refinement of the soul, the elevation of charity, the peace of mind, and the development of our best powers!

Could those

who

are their leaders, but be induced to

read Brigham on the Influence of mental Excitement upon

Health.*

They might

learn there,

among

a

number

of

other useful facts, that insanity in the state of Connecticut

is

twice as frequent as in Europe, and there

reason to

suppose that

as frequent in

insanity than

less life

many

are

much more

it

is

no

should not be nearly or equally

Yet we ought

other states.

Europe, because

all

to

have

our relations

in

Religious excitement and too

simple.

early instruction, (not education,) whether they originate

from a mistaken notion of parental duty, or from vicious two scourges of our

parental vanity, are at present like

country.

They

will probably

wear

out, like other excite-

ments, but not before having destroyed thousands of victims.

Strange, that religion, which has been given to

man

calm and comfort him, to give him peace and happiness,

to

made a tool of, to ruin our health and destroy in the surest way our wellbeing. The Greek impairs his constitution

is

*

Remarks on the Influence of Mental

Cultivation and Mental Excitement

upon Health; by A. Brigham, M. D. 2d. ed. Boston, 1833: a small work, which we would take this opportunity of recommending- most earnestly to Dr. Brigham enumerates, among others, all American mothers and ministers.

—

the

many religious

papers, periodicals, occasional publications, &c., read in a

single place, as Hartford.

Almanac

for 1835,

The

reader

page 279 and

seq.,

may

in addition refer to the

where he

will find a list

American

of the

exti-a-

ordmary number of religious papers published here, not a small part of most of which is occupied with mere controvei-sy. Editor.

323

(

by

)

a rigid fasting of forty days, allowing himself nothing but

bread and olives; the

Jew

many

abstains for

hours from any

nourishment, solid or liquid; the methodist undermines his

whole system by mental and physical means.

—Juggernaut

travels with his crushing wheels over the world,

Behold how powerful he

fatuated cry, I

am

not against fasting on general grounds.

trary, I believe

mode

sary in our dedicated

of social

life,

is

the con-

some time should be

that

We

those of the palate of course included.

go on without

to allow ourselves to

On

and abstaining from enjoyments,

reflection

to

in-

very salutary, and especially neces-

to be

it

and the

is!

much

are but too apt

reflection,

and

it

therefore very useful to fix a certain time for directing

our ideas more especially to serious subjects, because without such a fixed period, they will be forgotten by most. But as soon as this fasting itself is considered as a

good work,

made use of only to change abuse. Never omit, my friend,

becomes an

or

from time

to time,

the dishes, to

go

you

Nor omit

in bitter agony.

are afflicted, or

your healthy days,

through the long rooms of an hospital.

Otherwise, you forget that there are

men

in

it

you

to

many of your fellowsee man happy, when

will forget that happiness is yet

on

Shun not the sight of misery; turn not from the view of happiness. But I am preaching! Add to this the many thousand other excitements which earth.

—

man

is

getting up every day, as so

adored, in politics

—

people might adopt as their as a sign

— but my am

idols to be

on a house on the Pei-ho: Idols and Budhas of

Descriptions newly

I

many new

which many papers and motto, what Mr. GutzlafF found

in regard to

letter

made and repaired

would never end

surprised that in

among whom

are

many

—

all

in regard to rank, in

in this style.

the vast

number of methodists,

respectable people, not one has as

yet dared to raise his voice against camp-meetings, and yet there must be

many sober-minded members

of this sect,

who

heartily disapprove of them.

When we

left

the "

camp,"

after three o'clock,

we saw

the

324

(

moon and

bright

)

What

a starlight sky.

a contrast

between

the calm majesty of the heavens and the scenes of man's fanaticism,

which we had just

the actors in

How much wiser would

left.

them have behaved, had they made

a

few con-

templations on that great subject.

At

nine o'clock on Saturday morning, a procession was

formed,

We

when each member shook hands with

each minister.

had then a sight of every individual, and

struck at the dire expression of those

who came

frightful

Some

up.

movements even

many

are enacting

—

was horror-

in this procession,

some looked

and looked shockingly worn

literally the

this fanaticism,

out.

what you

most revolting physical and men-

mischief, to the advancement of ignorance and the de-

tal

priving your fellow-beings of the choicest blessings

of

among

continued their distortions and

down, many Beware, beware ye who promote girls cried,

I

countenances

spirit,

—peace

and an enlightened mind.

There are many reasons, physical, moral and political, by which we must explain the great religious excitement now prevailing in the United States, and extending to more than the methodist sect; but my letter would assume too much the character of an essay, were I even briefly to touch upon these causes, and, perhaps,

it

has had too

much

of that ap-

must be permitted to

pearance already.

But one cause

mention, since

not so easily detected as the others, and

yet

is,

in

my

it is

opinion, very powerful in

The American is

I

is

its effect.

an independent being; his government

founded upon an appeal to the reason of every indivi-

dual, and as there

is

nothing in

human

life

—no

principle

of action, no disposition or custom which forms an isolated part of his being, but must necessarily send its ramifications in

every direction through his whole character, so also this independence, although productive of much good

spirit of

in

many

American sometimes to act where he cannot have sufficient

respects, induces the

for himself, in circumstances

knowledge or experience in few cases

And

this is perhaps

in those in

which medical

to guide him.

mor« apparent than

325

(

knowledge

is

)

by the people with

are considered

a

A

prises every foreigner.

calomel or laudanum, as

mother

if

which

sur-

give to her child

will

they were the m.ost innocent

remedies that could be employed. first

kind of awe, are admi-

families with a boldness

American

nistered in

he

Every American

required to act with safety.

quack, and remedies, which on the European continent

is a

American is sick, or, which in

If an

quacks for a long time for himself,

most cases

much

not

is

an apothecary to

better, allows

Generally, therefore, serious and already ne-

quack him.

come under the eye of the physician, and to perhaps, is partly owing the bold character of

glected cases this cause,

American medical

practice in general.

tries, I believe, are

the great mass of the people so ready to

In no other coun-

use quack medicines, as in England and the United States.

In France, there seems to

nowhere

so little as in

me

to be less of this abuse; but

Germany.

I

speak

now

of

common

quack medicines, panaceas, catholicons, &c., not of quackeries

en gros, such

Hahnemann's homeopathics.

as

Calomel and laudanum, the two trunnions of the gun

from which American country medicine shoots shot, (often supported

and seconded by

its

grape-

the lancet,) are also

used unsparingly in families without special advice of the physician.

merity the

I

have been

startled at finding

latter, especially, is

children, both in the cities and, in a in the country.

To

that laudanum

called simply drops.

is

such an extent

I

know

te-

greater degree,

still

is this

tle restless and disturbs those around

mediately given.

with what

administered by parents to

abuse carried,

If a child is a it,

laudanum

a farmer's family in

is

lit-

im-

which every

some " drops " before going to bed. many children killed by laudanum, paragoric

child receives regularly

That there are

and other preparations, need not say

how

I

have not the slightest doubt.

injurious this practice

be to the whole nervous system, which

it

I

must eventually reduces to a state

of morbid irritability, calculated to lead to those religious

excesses in the consideration of which

we have been

en-

326

(

)

gaged, and which in turn promote to a greater degree the

excitement of the nervous temperament, while on the other

hand

this

unwarrantable use of opium creates, at a later

period, that

many

immense craving

for strong liquors,

which with

ends in habitual drunkenness, but with an incalcula-

bly greater number in habitual drinking, not characterized excesses, but manifesting

by any

quences by

unknown

melancholy conse-

its

whose true cause remains perhaps Temperance societies the sufferer himself

fatal diseases,

to

to turn their attention to this calamitous malpractice

ought

for a future abuse of

and systematic preparation of children strong liquors.

Though, probably, not so

fatal in

regard to physical conse-

quences, as the exposure and fatigue in camp-meetings must be, but equally objectionable in itself,

which

witnessed in the cathedral of

I

was the excitement Januarius, in Na-

St.

In a small tabernacle on the grand

ples.

altar of this

church

are preserved the head of the patron saint of the city, and

The latter is in a solid state, when placed before the head, when it miraculously The ceremony of this miracle is repeated three liquefies. two

vials containing his blood.

except

times a year.

It is

considered as a sign of peculiar grace,

foreboding great blessings to the liquid

immediately when

city, if the

blood becomes

placed before the other relic; on

the other hand, the anxiety and terror shown, especially

by the women, when

the blood refuses for a long time to

The

liquefy, are surprising. priest

is

vials stand

on the

altar,

and a

near to try from time to time, by moving them,

whether the adored substance has become liquid or not; while a large number of believers kneel before

it,

praying

and imploring the saint to grant the miracle, growing and more urgent liquefaction

is

in their supplication

protracted.

When

I

every moment that the

was

in that paradisiacal

country, the blood of the saint had remained solid

beyond half; I

its

usual time

—

if I

went with a friend

The alarming news had

more

remember of mine to

right, a

much

day and a

see the ceremony.

already spread over the city, and a

327

(

)

Two women

large concourse of people had assembled.

tracted our particular

They

attention.

at-

knelt with their

arms stretched out toward heaven, betraying by their wide and staring eyes a most intense anxiety, the fervor of ma-

They

niacs.

which had

uttered imploring words,

the character of imprecations than prayers.*

In

far

more

fact,

they

boldly reproached the saint for his refusal of the neces-

And

sary miracle. the vial, and

every time the

showed

officiating priest lifted

solid state, the excitement and feverish

higher.

At length

were yet vehemence rose

that the sacred contents

it

became

and the rush

liquid,

in a still

to the altar

was so sudden and universal, that in a moment we found ourselves before it, where the vial was presented to us to be kissed, after which the priest touched our foreheads with the The whole scene had a very strong tincture sacred vessel. of that clamor and religious passion, of which

having accompanied some

There was,

we

read as

sacred rites of the ancients.

also, a considerable

number of negroes

at the

camp-meeting of Westchester: a separate place had been assigned to them, nor had they any tent. They seemed to me to behave very quietly here;

it is

not so in the meeting-houses

There, their boisterous violence

of the colored people.

ago

I

went

into

is

Some years

greater in proportion to their greater ignorance.

one of the principal methodist meeting-

houses of colored people in Philadelphia, and I never shall forget the impression

made upon me by

the unbounded ex-

The

citement and passion of the congregation.

preacher,

"a

mulatto, spoke incoherently on a variety of subjects, thi-ow-

ing *

in, at

Many

number of passages of the

the same time, a

of our readers will hardly understand this passage; yet

Bible,

it is

true,

that the great vivacity and excitability, peculiar to the inhabitants of southern Italy,

often cany them on this occasion so utterly beyond

that a language

is

used toward

St. Januarius,

a foreigner as threatening, but which actually

and reproaches. That the women is

a matter of course.

far

is in

Berzelius never touched them.

exceed the men

them

is all

Editor.

own

wits,

that

is

to

composed of

tlu-eats

in this religious

clamor

part

—Of what the contents of these

tiated person can say; to look at

tlieir

which does not only appear

vials consist,

granted, and a

no unini-

Davy

or

(

much

328

in the style of all fanatics.

)

His gesticulations were

violent in the highest degree; a large in the pulpit,

mug

with water stood

from which he took frequent draughts.

was not long before

his ideas concentrated

It

upon the constant

—the torments of the damned, which he depicted not without the eloquence and poetry of high —" Imagine," member some of theme

passion.

his

he

said, " that

bottom of the

you sea,

I re-

fanciful descriptions.

will be for ten thousand years

on the

and mountains of rocks weighing upon

your breast." The people uttered a deep groan. " Imagine that no being on earth or in heaven, or in listens to

your agony." The people groaned

excitement.

all

creation,

in still greater

" Imagine ten thousand years more, alone,

without a single friend, without a soul, not even the consolation of a fellow sufferer."

came louder and

The groans and

shrieks be-

louder, and the preacher at length

wrought

himself to such a pitch of excitement, after he had called with a loud voice, " Hear ye the trumpets, hear ye?" that

he himself could

find

no longer either words or images; and,

bending forward over the pulpit, he waved several times with both his arms in different directions, and uttered a loud, tremulous groan.

This was the sign for a general convul-

sion of the meeting: screaming, shrieking, moaning, calling to absent persons, weeping, praying, stamping, groaning

were

heard or seen in every part of the church; while, in contrast

with this scene,

I

signs of violence, over

observed an old negro without any

whose dark cheeks

rolled the big

tears of contrition.

After some time the agitation subsided; the preacher was

heard again praying,

first in

tones comparatively calm and

moderate; but, as his excitement increased, his utterance partook more and more of the former violence, and his

prayer ended by his grasping the pulpit with both hands

and actually stretching both air, from

the

his legs far out

mere overflowing of passion

—

a

behind in the

phrensy incapa-

ble of being any longer expressed in definite words, and seek-

ing vent in these vehement movements of the body.

That

329

(

•

)

the hearers followed in their agitation their preacher at a

proportionate distance, was natural.

—

There was no emotion,

was the bewildering opiutn of passion, instead of the pure wine of religion, which strengthens the weary wanderer on his long and toilsome path; it was a religious running amuck. was

it

intoxication

all

The same

it

stages of excitement were run through, when, to-

ward the conclusion of the ing-house where

I

service, the servant of the board-

lodged, and

who

acted

it

seems

as clerk,

"Wasn't it fine?" said hej when I left the meeting-house, and he saw me. I should not have given you these descriptions, had I in the least to fear that you will peruse them by way of amuseuttered his fervent prayer.

ment: they

are, in

them

I give

and much

my opinion,

of a character but too grave.

as contributions to the study of the

as 1

man's aberration, madness and crime, to discountenance the

by

human

abhor the amusing ourselves by the I

am

soul,

recital

of

equally disposed

smothering of a true knowledge of man

Let the ti-uth be unveiled, and let him knowing man, boldly look reality into the Unwarped knowledge of bare reality must accom-

ill-timed delicacy.

who

is

face.

zealous of

pany and

direct our reiTections on

man and

we

society, lest

should never be enabled to choose appropriate means for realizing the best and wisest plans.

These preachers resemble, street preachers

whom

I

great agitation, they pace

in their violence, the

have often seen in

upand down,

monks

a crucifix in

or

when, in

Italy,

one hand,

and a handkerchief in the other, to remove their profuse perspiration;

fering

now

them the

nating, too, the

now

loudly calling upon the faithful,

crucifix to kiss,

now

of-

threatening and fulmi-

supplicating and imploring.

And

with them,

torments of the infernal regions formed a frequent

theme of

their addresses, to

with their well

known o

with them, this theme I

now

is

which the hearers responded

Gesii, o Gesii, misericordia, though,

often varied with that of indulgences.

have heard many, many startling sermons, and speeches

on religion, and the offering of indulgences "cheap, 42

re-

—

330

(

you consider,"

ally cheap, if

and the long

month

lists

)

monk

once a

as

at the church-doors, or the

said to

me,

by year and

of indulgences regulated

roba'santa, as the Italians

often call the various articles offered for the edification of

the faithful in Loretto or

Rome,

or almost any place in Italy,

formed certainly not the least surprising addition. I find in my journal, on November 25, 1822, an account of a street sermon in

Rome, which

will translate as accu-

I

rately as I can, though things of this kind sound in Italian I both more striking and, in some respects, less positive. remember the whole perfectly well, and that I wrote it down

had returned home. The passage is this: " After having seen the church of St. Gregory, beautifully situated on Mons Coelius, I went again to the Co-

as soon as I

liseum (the mighty fabric, which tyranny seems to have the quarry for raised to reconcile posterity to its existence

—

the palace-castles of the Orsini and other

and found here again the old

man

Roman

families*)

in soiled garment, preach-

Sometimes he sung the credo, &c., the peasants and children sung after him; then he preached in the most familiar style; suddenly he addresses one: 'Who 'Might he let has created the heaven?' Answer: 'God.' ing to the peasants.

—

the heavens tinued, '

'

down?' and, answering himself, he con-

fall

certainly.'

'

Could he break down the earth?'

Most undoubtedly !' and

now he spoke

of earthquakes, sud-

den deaths and the oath " accidente." subject to another, and spoke of the tento." he feast days,

stamped with his and that of

in

Andrews

St.

The Coliseum is so mighty a Rome were obtained from it.

*

foot;)

He

('

at-

they used to keep

all

first

too.'

Christians,

'

fabric, that the stones

The

flew from one

Now,'

said he,

form any buildings

Teatro Marcello, which Augustus

caused to be built and dedicated to Marcellus, the son of his sister Octavia, was changed in the middle ages, into a fortified palace of tlie Orsini family,

who had

obtained permission from the pope to take the stones necessary

for their building

from the Coliseum.

enough remains of moonshine, such as

up

like rocks,

is

this edifice,

is

common

in

to

And

show

Rome,

yet after

its

falling

one of the most impressive

all

these spoliations,

gigantic dimensions.

upon these

sights.

A clear

vast mins, piled

Editoh.

.

*

if

you appear

331

(

at the gate

)

of heaven, and knock at the door

(he knocked himself against the wall) St. Peter will ask, '

Who's

there?'

regard to me?' Yes,

am

I

'

'

Yes,

feasts?'

'

Andrew,

likewise?'

'

sir.' '

sir.'

Have you paid proper Have you properly kept my

a sinner.'

And

'

my

those of

'And why Go along,

'No!'

the festival was abolished.'

dear brother St.

go along,

'

nothing to do with you; yes, yes go along

'And where

—

'

the

shall

we

go?'

Thus,' continued he,

many

His sermon lasted yet a

began

to

somewhat higher

city.

On

Where you

'

I

I

have

say, begone.'

like, I don't care?'

eternal complaint

is

raised against

and here you see the consequences.' "

festivals,

ing, people

'

'Because

not?'

with

style, but again

man

The

old

the

19th of January, 1823,

is

who spoke in uncommon viva-

paid by a pious society.

preaching in the coliseo.

heard another

I

man

In the course of his address he

"Who

asked his hearers,

While he was preach-

for a long time.

assemble to hear a monk,

is

"

the prince of the church?

John," one of the people answered. " St. John what stupidity St. Peter, my dearest {principe della chiesa.")

St.

you

so stupid! St.

of you calls himself John?" seventeen.

— — !

!

friend; are

John!

St.

Peter, ass!

Who

"I, sir," said a lad of about

"Well, now look here:

St.

John came

penitence before Christ, that people should

to

preach

make good

Christians of themselves, in every thing and also in their

customs.

Now,

thou wearest Turkish pantaloons, and the

Turks are not Christians. Go therefore to your father and ask him to have your pantaloons made tighter," The lad had somewhat wide pantaloons made of some blue stuff'. A few minutes after an old man, and one of about forty years, both of this congregation, quarreled with each other, as to

which had taken

off his

cap

first

since the preacher had scolded his

at a

passing clergyman,

congregation for not showing due regard to this priest, who " was nevertheless

spending his I

life in

praying for them."

have now spoken

will give

you

a

little

of so

much

startling

sermon which appears

to

preachmg, that

me

I

one of the sub-

(

An

it.

against the

French

On

soldiers.

in

refer,

I

is

no ranting or cant

1813, and had been made, by the

an

officer.

Previous to his taking

a student of theology,

arms he had been

mander of

there

acquaintance of mine marched as a volunteer

time to which

nister.

)

At any rate

limest I ever heard. in

332

and

is

now

a mi-

the morning of the battle at Leipzig, the com-

upon him

his battalion called

The

to preach to the

drums was formed; the rethe view from which extend-

usual scaffold of

giment was placed on a

hill,

ed over a large part of the corded —the giant easy to imagine

field of the largest battle

battle, as it often has

how

the preacher

felt

ever re-

been termed.

when he

It is

stood on his

elevation, and looked on his brethren in arms, and on the ex-

tensive plain which in torrents.

enemy ven)

He

was soon

to drink the blood of the brave

began, " Brethren, warriors

of our country

—there

God

is

—pray" —he could say no

more.

gation in arms prayed in silence,

—there

is

the

(pointing toward hea-

when

The whole

congre-

the distant thunder

of artillery called them to their martial duty, and gave the signal that the

murderous contest was beginning, which raged

three days, and decided the fate of Europe.

333

(

)

LETTER " JJ/ que no

Tia visfo

XVII.

d Sevilh,

No ha visto maravilla,El que no ha visto d Granada, No ha visto nada."

The

que d Niagara vi6,

Pero

el

Todo

h bueno se hallo.*

last is, at all events, as true as the first

and second

positions; but have no fear, I will try to be sober.

Nature

is

a book; this

monplace.

The

is

so true that

it

has become a com-

readers of this book of nature are various

as the readers of other works.

Some few ponder

on the great contents of

sacred volume, faithfully

this

silently

humble

striving to perceive the spirit of its author, as an

reader

is

anxious to

written by a master.

wed

to his

mind

the contents of a book

And, as a volume of deep contents forms

the bridge on which the minds of the author and his earnest

reader meet, so will the contemplative student of nature's

pages perceive the breath of

life

of

its

great author,

when

• The four first lines are proverbially used by the people of Granada; they mean, " He who has not seen Seville has not seen any wonder; he who has

not seen Granada has seen nothing."

Dios

lo

quiso bien en

g'ives his

Granada

le

bread to eat in Granada. )

the author, mean, "But he

of admiration."

Editor.

did de

A

similar expression

comer" (him,

The two

last lines,

who has seen Niagara,

is,

"A

whom God

quien

loves,

he

probably added by

has seen every thing worthy

334

(

)

He

he peruses them in solitary meditation.

will forget the

and the words and phrases before him, and be carried away by the thought which lives within them. Other readletters

ers approach this

book

as they take

up any other work,

They read it, but cannot rid themselves, in doing so, of their own self; they do not enter on its contents freely, and as a scholar who has to learn, but as a reviewer who thinks himself above the book.

with a mind whetted by egotism.

Others read with the eye of vanity,

to

be able to quote

it,

to

appear in society as well read and learned; to grace and orna-

ment

their

own

pages.

Others look

hastily skims over the pages of a

at it as a thoughtless girl

new novel, forgetting

to-day

what they read yesterday, merely to drive away time, which for others rushes

by

so inexorably swift; or, to catch a few

passages for the motley scrap-book of their shallow mind. Others,

— plodding

tourists,

when they

— dwell upon every syllable and

remember the words only which they have seen, as a reader, fatigued by long study, when morning begins to throw her glances on the book which letter; but

he opened

stop they

in the evening, passes

a page, and yet cannot

with his eye repeatedly over

any longer comprehend

its

meaning.

There are other readers of nature, who peruse her with noisy devotion; who would make people believe that they feel

much because they exclaim, admire, and talk much; others who read with garrulous sentimentality; and still others who proof reader goes over the most

spell nature's poetry, as the

exalted passages to the compositor, with heavy, loud mo-

notony, every syllable and

comma

well pronounced:

As-if-to-sweep-down-all-things-in-its-track (comma)

Charm-ing-the-eye-with-dread (comma-dash) a-match-less-ca-ta-ract (full-stop.)

To

which of the above mentioned classes I belong you I only know to which I would wish to belong,

must judge. and that ality,

I

cannot be counted

some apparently

— are

among

those

who

—some

in re-

affected in the presence of the

noble aspect of Niagara, more deeply with the sensation of the

power of God, than they ever were

in their lives be

335

(

The

fore.

)

following pages and the verses

ever poor they

may

send you,* how-

I

be in themselves, will show you that

I

cannot be called a thoughtless gazer on the mighty cataracts; I cannot see how they can impress us more much with the idea of God's power as many The firmament, the sea, from a mounother phenomena. tain near the shore, the lofty Alps, when they appear for the

but

I

own,

or even so

first

time to the lonely wanderer with the rosy evening glow

on their hoary summits, like Raphael's Jove with his gray locks, yet cheeks

glowing with immortal vigor, have

expansive power upon It is painful to see

my

mind than the

how many

great

how

more

people seem to require

grand and powerful physical phenomena roused, and

a

falls.

order to be

in

they seem thus to adhere to matter, not

elevating themselves to a contemplation of the principle of life.

One walk

in the spring in the

open

fields,

when

the

blades shoot forth from the ground, and variegated flowers

new garments,

all

taking nou-

rishment from the same ground and the same

air,

but changing

bud, and trees put on their

it

by unseen and unknown processes with subtle delicacy, most different pro-

into opposite colors, into juices of the

reminds

perties, into millions of different forms,

of the central hearth of

life,

of the

nature with unaccountable laws,

all

life

You

into matter.

tounded

at

power which pervades

—the breath which blew

will often find that people

some contrivance

me more

in nature

seem

which, when you

quire closely into the grounds of their astonishment, to

is

asin-

found

be in fact nothing else than a surprise that nature should

have been

as inventive

and wise

as

man

himself; for

I

speak

here of cases, when, in nature, the application of a principle

which man has independently found out and applied, covered.

The

fructification of sage is certainly a

is dis-

very

inte-

resting subject of observation and reflection; but the circum-

stance that the stamina

work

pollen, the back of the insect, •

Probably a German

Germany.

Editor.

poem on

like levers,

and powder, with

which searches

Niagara, wliich

we

for the

honey

have seen, published in

336

(

exuded seems

bottom of the flower, so that the insect must

in the

carry this to

powder

me,

)

to the female

we once admit

if

blossoms of the same species, a difference in these subjects,

not to be calculated to excite our admiration of the power of nature's God, in as great a degree, as the colors of these

very flowers, which are formed by processes unapproached.

In short, the

life in

nature

yet entirely

as

subject

is a

much

greater than the contrivances, but the pulley of the wrist

seems

to

many

people more admirable than the living pulse

close by.

There seems, moreover, to

among men,

in

conception, to

my

draw

exist a general

opinion founded upon an erroneous

a sharp line of distinction

works of nature and those of man, and at the

expense of the

one time, so the most

latter.

far, that it

common

disposition

between the

admire the former

to

This feeling was carried,

was even

at

a usual pretence to find

more admirable than the Yet what is man? Is he excluded

object in nature

most perfect work of art. from nature? does he stand without her? or

is

he, like all

the rest of creation, wrapt up in the all-enshrouding spirit

of the Creator? Can he sever himself for a

moment from

the matter which surrounds him, and to which he

by

a thousand ties, and can he

abandon

for a

all

bound

is

moment

the

laws which form the principles of his body and his soul? Is

mind not

his

tain? are

we

a

work

moun-

of God, as well as a plant, or a

not taught to consider

it

God's greatest crea-

Are not the laws, according to which the mind of man works and conceives, his laws, and is not a statue of Apollo conceived and made after the images of perfection which he moulded and set up in the noblest souls, as much a work

tion?

of his creation as the towering Alps? Does his almighty

me.

When

power I

less than the

"wing

stand before the noble fabric

of Cologne, I perceive God's spirit in in

the heaven-kissing

my

hills.

When

it

it

indeed reflect

of a bee?"

as

Not

to

—the

cathedral

much

as I see it

Palestrina's heavenly

when

a glo-

rious sun rises out of the sea, and changes the lilies

which

peals swell

upon

ear, I feel its presence, as

337

(

a silvery

moon had strewn on

)

the main, for the roses and ru-

bies of the

morn. That there is a sublimity in the great works of nature which more powerfully affects most minds than the sublimity of works of art, I admit; but this does not prove that there less of this character in a perfect statue or painting

is

in a

mountain scenery or

more

cultivated

mind

a cataract; but

than

requires perhaps a

it

to be as susceptible of the sublimity

of the former as of that of the latter; for the grandeur of art of a

is

more

The impression

spiritual cast

the sublime includes,

of awe, which

phenomena of nature;: but as to the other the sublime, I would not make any difference in or great

You have

read nearly

I shall not detain

all

you by

have

said,

his.

general.

a fresh attempt at description.

If I

now and

I

in relation to this

then repeat what others

you may apply what Gothe

every one give

qualities of

the late accounts of Niagara, and

merely intend to give you some items magnificent spectacle.

works

inore powerful in stupendous

is

impressions; there

Let

said of Italy:

room enough

is

for

all.

It is

my

custom, Avhenever any thing great or powerful

brought within the sphere of

is

my

moral character, an action, a great

phenomenon ty,

—

first to

in nature,

allow

mind, and then

component ble,

by

it

and undivided

its full

to endeavoi- to analyze

parts, in order to

that

we

view of

it

effect

—

to

of a

it

of

art,

I

have been

we

upon

a

its

if possi-

affected.

It is

can obtain a calm,

intellectual or physical

can deprive danger of

my

discover

become acquainted,

this latter operation alone, that

true and unbiassed

work

era, a

a beauty, or an object of sublimi-

with the process by which

mena;

observation, be

its

pheno-

fearful aspects, or

bring moral sublimity within the grasp of our emulation. I

have performed this analysis with regard

After

I

to the Falls.

had gazed, and given myself passively up to

my

sensations, I endeavored to trace out, as far as an individual can, the elements of

my

impressions.

43

In writing to you

I

—

—

338

(

shall

)

perhaps follow somewhat the opposite course; and be

obliged to begin with the

order to do

me

this, let

little

and

But in some of

rise to the grand.

hastily sketch, once more,

the most characteristic outlines of the picture of the great cataract.

The

vast inland seas west of the Niagara, send from out

the mighty basins their waters toward the Falls, and their never-ceasing

volumes tend

all

which forms

to this point,

the greatest beauty of that chain of lakes whose vast sheets vie with the sea, extending nearly fifteen hundred miles in length, and constituting the ornament and a great blessing

The

of our North.

which

distant St. Louis,

ning moves in a doubtful* course, as

if

in its begin-

undecided whether

to contribute its contents to the giant river of our west,

travel with

it,

three thousand miles,

Mexico, or empty

itself into the basin

down of

and

to the gulf of

Lake

Superior,

is the most remote source of this chain of waters. The last named lake, with a sheet of thirty thousand square miles. Lake Michigan, with a surface of fifteen thousand, Lake Huron with one of eighteen thousand, and all three of

amazing depth, feet

so that their

below the ocean

tides,

bottom

is

nearly three hundred

while their surface

to seven hundred feet above the level of the

sea,

is

from six

— and Lake

Erie, with a sheet of eight thousand square miles,

—

all

these

reservoirs send their waters to Niagara.

Niagara

Strait, a

channel of thirty-seven miles, connect-

ing Lakes Erie and Ontario,

is

about a mile in width at

commencement, but narrows and again widens even

much

as five

before

it

miles.

and six miles, and bends

two hundred and the stream

The

its

twenty

depth has been ascertained to be

forty feet; in others

it

is

probably

much

Shortly before arriving at the Falls, the course of

greater.

•

in various directions

arrives at the Falls, after a course of about

In some places

its

to as

is

a little north of west; rolling over the Falls

course of the St. Louis

west, as if

it

were

is,

in the beginning', directed

to join the Mississippi,

Editor.

it

toward the

339

(

makes an abrupt

Not

')

angle, and runs toward north north-east.

variable than the breadth and direction of the

less

Near Black Rock,

the rapidity of the current.

strait, is

the velocity

is

probably not

less

than from six to eight miles

an hour; the stream then glides quietly along,

more than from two to four miles, like ing of a people, mocking patience, before a not

At

at the rate of

the silent broodgreat revolution.

the Rapids, above the Falls, the current assumes an im-

mense velocity; and the water below the Falls, rushes on, in some places with mad fury, in all, with great rapidity as far as

The

Lewiston and Queenston.

the strait

The banks

of the strait are low as far as the Falls; from

water flows

this point the

as high as three

in a

deep ravine with rocky walls

hundred and seventy

lower near Lake Ontario.

bed which produces the these

descent of the water in

three hundred and thirty-four feet.

is

It is this Falls.

feet,

which gradually

sudden change of the

Immediately below them

stupendous walls, sometimes perpendicular, some-

times with beetling rocks, and defying with very few exceptions the best crags-man, are about three hundred feet

The

high.

the ferries,

You have

six rods.

vine:

and

between the two landing-places of nearly a mile below the Falls, is about seventydistance

its

then the depth and width of this ra-

rugged sides are adorned and crested with shrubs

trees.

They run

nearly parallel; at the beginning or

upper end of the ravine, they join in a curve. Over this curve of the ravine rolls the Niagara in three distinct Falls, divided

from each other by two islands enthroned

One

on the edge of the ravine. largest of a group of three,

is

of them. Goat Island, the

quite at the end of the south-

eastern side of the ravine, leaving on

its

western side or

end only the closing curve, over which the largest of the cataracts, the Crescent Fall, flows into the deep abyss below.

On

the northern side of Goat Island, and between

small Prospect Island,

the latter island, again,

Niagara

is

is is

the Central Fall.

To

the Schlosser Fall.

so peculiar, that

it

requires

it

and the

the north of

The bend

of

some exertion of your

340

(

mind

)

to arrive at a clear perception

of the four cardinal

You

points in relation to the cataract.

ought, however, to

represent clearly to yourself the precise situation of the

you to do Manuel for the Use of Niagara," by Mr. Ingraham, which

Falls and their bends; and the better to enable this, I

send you hereby a

of Visiters to the Falls

he has published merely

The

latter will be,

little

book,

"A

as the forerunner of a larger

work.

probably, the most complete publication

ever sent forth on this great work of nature. The little book I send you contains, along with a

suffi-

number of exclamations and quotations, a great many facts; which will have the more value in your eyes, when I cient

assure

you that the author has spared no pains and

in reading

and observing,

to arrive as

fatigue,

near the truth of the

various subjects as possible.

Goat Island contains about sixty acres, and, for a variety Prospect Island is very is a most charming spot.

of reasons,

small: I have written

it

down on

the tablet of

as Isola Freziosa; and a precious isle

it

my memory

It lies

is.

on the

brink of the lofty battlement between the two Falls on the

United States for the

side, like a jutting

watch-tower, placed there

purpose of affording the

There

Schlosser Fall.

is

prospect of the

finest

one particular

spot,

— where you

upon the roots of a juniper, overhanging the fearful from which you can see far under you, and there precipice,

tread

—

have a view of the waters precipitating themselves in one great mass after having tumbled over the many cliffs be-

tween Goat Island and the main. It is one of the finest siThey might have called this island, tuations for the sight. the Islet, par excellence; Prospect Island sounds a

little

of

the show-case.

Let

me now

rapidly sketch out the upper line or edge

of the end of this ravine,

which forms the

American

called, the

most northern of the three,

Fall, as

it

is

Falls.

Schlos-

sometimes very loosely

ser, or the

is

about

fifty-six

rods in width, and one hundred and sixty-seven in perpendicular descent.

Prospect Island

is

about ten yards in

(

341

)

The edge

width, and the Central Fall also about ten yards. of the ravine, which of Goat Island,

is

is

formed by the north-western limit

eighty rods, and the Crescent or Horse-

shoe Fall, extending from Goat Island to the Canada shore, " is about a quarter of a mile in a direct line, or about half a mile following the curve;"'* which, though Crescent Fall is a fit

name, and a thousand times better than Horse-shoe

Fall, resembles

more

a parabolic line, the longer leg of

which

lies

toward the Canada shore, and the apex of which gives

way

to a

sudden angle receding

to the south-east.

gle and the comparatively straight line close to

This an-

on the

it

west, are the causes of the production of one of the sublimest spectacles in the world, as sequel.

The whole Crescent

is

of the ravine, which causes a to roll over

it

you

will see

much

greater

body of water

than over either of the two other

perpendicular descent of the Crescent Fall

and

from the

lower than the eastern bank

is

falls.

The

one hundred

lower than the

fifty-four feet, therefore, thirteen feet

Schlosser Fall.

From

the shore of Goat Island, a bridge, called Terrapin

Bridge, of three hundred feet in length,

is built,

leading to a

point north of the receding angle of the Crescent just mentioned, and projecting over the falls about eight or ten feet. It

ends in a point, and this point, (from which you can see

perpendicularly

down

into the gulf, while

under your

feet

the waters rush and hurry on, and swell and roll over,)

one of the jewel-spots, as I think I fine

views

I

as I call

them

have mentioned already,

have seen, together

—

in I

my journal, have placed

a precious

list to

all

me.

tower of the Acrocorinth, the highest point of the ter of Vesuvius, the eastern side of the

is

where, the

The cra-

convent of the Ca-

maldoli, near Naples, the Konigstuhl, near Heidelberg, a certain

spot on the Palatino, in

Rome,

a spot

above the

Hudson, near Wiehawk, Terrapin Bridge, several spots in Switzerland and Tyrol, and a certain point near Mar*

Sec

Ingi'aliam's

Manuel,

p.

46 et seq.

Editor.

342

(

)

when you approach from Avignon, rank among The view from the point of bridge, though of uncommon interest, is not, however,

seilles,

the solitaires of these jewels. this

a good

view of the

Falls, as a

whole; this can only be ob-

tained from below, or at a distance.

Close to this bridge has been erected a turret, which, I think,

is

perfectly in keeping with

the gigantic objects

all

and stupendous phenomena around you, provided you can bring yourself to take

Much, and not without

fair.

ret,

yet from

it

But

for a pepper-box.

it

you have

a

reason,

is

I will

be

said against this tur-

view of the incision or receding

angle of the Crescent, such as you could not possibly have

any where I

even with regard to

else; and,

its

own

appearance,

must say that when on one afternoon I the rainbow resting with one end on Goat Island edge,

saw from Table-

Rock

and the other on the opposite shore, like a glorious triumphal arch over the mighty cataract, this turret, seen at a distance, contributed not a

little to

beautify the great picture.

was a slight indication that man was there, also; somewhat like a little garden which we sometimes suddenly meet with, perched among the steepest rocks in a lonely It

Alpine country.

The depth

of the mass of water, where

it

rolls

over the

Mr. Dwight estimates the quantity which hourly is sent into the abyss, at 102,093,750 tons; Mr. Darby at 1,672,704,000 cubic feet, and Mr. Picken at 113, 510,000 gallons, or 18,524,000 cubic feet per minute. These

precipice,

is

prodigious.

made according to the depth and veloleaving Lake Erie, near Black Rock. precipitating itself with such immense swift-

estimates have been city of Niagara at

The

water,

its

ness over the edge of the ravine,

(it

descends about

fifty-

eight feet in the half mile immediately above the Falls,) does not, as

you may well imagine, drop down perpendicularly,

but in a parabolic

line.

It is believed that the

waters of the

Crescent Fall touch the surface of the stream below about fifty feet fall

from the point, which they would reach, were the

perpendicular.

The whole

height, including the descent

343

(

of the rapids above,

)

given as two hundred and sixteen

is

feet.

Owing

to this projecting of the waters, the traveller is ena-

way behind

bled to get some

taracts the Crescent

the latter

we owe

the sheets of two of these ca-

and Central

er to cut a path in the rock, about

the sight here

is

The

Falls.

passage behind

Mr. Ingraham, who induced the own-

to

not so

midway

in the bank.

If

of terror as behind the sheet

full

of the Crescent, you have, at

least,

a better opportunity of

studying the grace of these leaping waters,

when

the

moving

your eyes, with such a steadiness and continuance, that I, who never was giddy in crystal arch descends before

my

life, felt

down;

a powerful effect,

my

lowed, with

was

it

when

I

looked up and

eye, the rushing arch in

a sensation as if I

ter; and, indeed, I

its

fol-

whole course

were powerfully drawn

would not advise any one, who

af-

is liable

to giddiness to try this particular experiment. It

was,

I

own with

jealous feelings

Mr. Ingraham has succeeded from below.

He

in getting

had long foreseen that

cable to penetrate behind this

dual

who had

fall,

I

lately read, that

behind this sheet it

would be

practi-

though only an indivi-

resided so long on the spot, and familiarized

himself as m^uch with every appearance of the Falls, as he

had could have conceived the

idea,

veringly in the attempt to realize

it.

and persisted so perse-

The rushing streams

through which you must wade, the dangerous and

slip-

pery rock, over which you must climb, the tremendous noise, the streams of water

your

in

face,

which the crossing winds dash

and which almost prevent you from seeing

your companion, while your face is whipped by together render it a most hazardous expedition. the

first

who

attempted

it,

insisted

and

if

upon

its

possibility,

it

He was

and the

he was not actually the

ceeded in the attempt,

blasts, al-

was owing merely

first

to a

first

who

who

suc-

temporaiy

absence from Niagara.

When

I

had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Ingraham

344

(

at Niagara,

we went

)

together in a boat to the foot of the Cen-

and be made an attempt then

tral Fall,

to penetrate

behind the

sheet while our boat was in great danger of being dashed to pieces against the rocks, the current here driving violently

toward the shore, owing falls

to the

immense mass of water which

from the centre of Crescent Fall into the depth, and

is

then forced violently up in the middle of the stream, by the

At

pressure of succeeding volumes of water.

was not

Almost'

all

travellers go behind the sheet of the Crescent

The works which you have

western end.

Fall, at its

have already informed you, a guide

that time he

successful.

is

necessary to lead you through the violent

Most people path ends

dred and

is

will always require one.

You

of water.

The

Termination Rock, and

called

fifty feet

read

time you enter,

that, for the first

blasts.

spot where the

is

above a hun-

from the commencement of the volume

cannot arrive there otherwise than perfectly

drenched, and the entire novelty of the scene, incomparable

with any thing you have ever perceived

in

your

life

before,

and the difficulty of breathing, as you inhale a quantity of water, would induce most people to give up the idea of penetrating to the end, had not long experience

proper precaution, there dies

who

When

visit Niagara, I

is

no

shown

real danger.

that,

Even most

la-

go behind this sheet.

had arrived

at the

extremity of the path, and

—the

deafening roar, the gusts of

looked over into the gulf

water, the sight of the rebellious streams driving in rections, and of the

with

all di-

watery volleys shot up from below, the

rolling sea above, water

on

all sides,

and the

air

nauseous-

ly impregnated with heavy moisture; the eyes deprived of half their vision,

by the ter

by the water which

is

driven into them

violent blasts; and the piercing whistling of the

lat-

round the edges and sharp points of the rocks; the un-

certainty of the color of the waters, white, gray, green, continually changing, and the greenish

dim

light reaching

you

through the furious waters above; the enraged froth beneath, boiling in madness, that

it

must break against the rock*

345

(

)

when all that which I slowly enumerate, moment upon me, my first thought or feeling

peaks and points, burst in one

Oh Dante, why couldst thou not see it!" Most commentators on this great poet, (who wore the best wreath on Mount Parnassus, until the inspiring maids was, "

placed a

still

his inventive

the

human

poetry.

I,

on the brows of Albion's son,) say that

richer,

mind, has exhausted

soul can conceive, and too,

was of

the terrors of which

all

which are

fit

subjects for

this opinion, until I stood

on Termi-

nation Rock. There is not once, in Dante's whole poem, even an allusion to watery torment and horror, and yet how would

he have seized upon the I

sight,

and wrought

have read Dante again and again, and

ations;

which

I belicA'e I

in

it

into poetry!

many

various situ-

have not remained a stranger to the

lives in his great

work, and

trust lyee/

it,

in his

spirit

and yet

work

convinced that he could not have seen this without showing that he had seen

it;

I

am

of nature,

poem.

It can-

not be said that Dante could not have used the horrors of the water, since the belief then prevalent chose to consider

the chief agent of infernal sufferings.

fire as

in the general outlines adhering, as belief, is

why

independent in

all

he should not have

Dante, though

was necessary,

his details,

and there

is

to general

no reason

one bolgia with the terrors of

filled

the waters, particularly as they seera to most people terrific

There

than those of fire.

is

a

clammy

more

disgust, a scent

of mouldering, a sight of slime and slippery weed, a want of

warmth and animal the waters, which

life, is

in caverns filled

not inherent in

we

with the terrors of

fire,

an element with

much more familiarized by the concerns of our daily life. Whether Dante has ever seen the Evelino tumbling from the Caduta del Marmore, I know the effects of which

not; but even at all

if

he had,

are

it

would not have afforded elements

comparable to those which would most powerfully

have impressed themselves upon his mind Evelino

is

not terrific; nowhere does

Every eye-witness of both the

it

at Niagara.

The

appear frightful.

cataracts, I fear not, will agree

with me.

44

346

(

The is

as I

when

color of Niagara,

)

not changed by heavy rains,

a

peculiarly beautiful green, differing

it

seems

to

me

to

is

have more of an emerald hue

in it;

dye of the Neckar, yet the much more beautiful. I have already spoken

can only compare

Niagara

from sea-green,

it

to the

of the salient angle in the line of the Crescent Fall, and the comparatively straight line to the west of

send

I

it.

a croquis of the currents and eddies above and be-

you low the

Falls;

I

have taken and verified

wooden house above Table Rock, from

it

from the

little

the turret, from the

spot where the road along the Canada shore bends

down

the ferry house, and according to the observations

I

opportunity of making, ately

below the

Falls.

when I

make

so that

was impossible

it

in the river

Mr. Ingraham; but

on a very reduced

it

swam

immedi-

had the pleasure of making a copy

of this chart of currents for to

I

to

had an

scale,

for

rents and counter currents

me

I

was obliged

from the original croquis^

to enter all the

below the

Falls.

Yet

many it

cur-

contains

a delineation of the chief currents of the irritated

river

below.

From by the

the accompanying croquis you will perceive, that,

different

tity rolls

sweeps of the water, a much greater quan-

over the straight line of which

and which occupies

The most

less

I

have just spoken,

than a third of the Crescent Fall.

beautiful part of the finest of the cataracts

to this circumstance.

is

owing

This immense thick mass of water

re-

mains unbroken down to the middle of the Falls, and the color being of a fine emerald hue, it produces one dense and deep sheet or mass of uncommonly beautiful

one side

is

color.

On

the

the pointed angle which gives the very picture of

irresistible ingulfing,

and on each side a large white foamy

sheet, like large borders to the green central piece.

This

emerald part has such a compound character of compactness, united with a transparent crystal elegance, it rolls over the crest so majestically, and has, with

all its

ance of steadiness, owing to

its

yet the swelling lines on

its

velocity, such an appear-

thickness and density, and

surface, as

it

rolls

over and de-

(,347

)

scends, form such a graceful contrast with the turmoil and

uproar close at hand, that there

which

can possibly compare

I

nothing

is

in the

world to

have never seen any

I

it:

thing similar, even on a smaller scale

— never before,

ma-

Some of the best views window of Biddle Staircase, by

jesty and grace thus blended.

of this part are from the

which you descend from Goat Island low,

—from the middle of the —and from Table Rock,

ferry,

the

to

when you

river

river be-

cross in the

rock which, in the form of

a

a plate, projects and forms a precipice close to the north-

eastern end of the Crescent.

It

three feet from the depth, and

you look down,

—lying, of course,

every experienced traveller does precipice,

you can

and you

may

in

flat

much

To your

such cases,

right

that

when

on the ground,

—

see not only perpendicularly

even under the rock. Fall,

hundred and sixty-

a

is

projects so

it

to

as

enjoy a

down, but

you have the Crescent

see the upper part of the emerald sheet to

more advantage from here than from any other

spot; while

the rest of the great cataract has, from this point, the character

None of the three falls tumble; they leap: and from Table Rock you may see the long leap which the waters make, down to where the horror sf an eternal mist covers the still more horrific depth. The terror of Niagara from here is like the fury of a lion, who leaps with grace of the

upon I

terrific.

his prey.

remember well

felt

I

all

when

of the crater of Vesuvius, and, since

over again

my journal, in which I my expedition

awfulness which

it

inspired

is

produced by Niagara seen from noise, the tone of

which

letter,* interrupted

the falling of • It

was the in

return, have read

have entered a somewhat

detailed account of

tioned

was on the brink

I

my

I

to that volcano; but the

not to be compared to that this point.

The unceasing

have named to you

only by

still

in a

previous

deeper tones occasioned by

some more compact masses, and very

first

G

below the

first

line in the bass.

similar

This tone was men-

a previous Letter on occasion of the Trenton Falls, but by some in-

advertence

it is

called there

which the reader

will

G oUt instead

of

hdow

be kind enough to coiTCct.

the

first line

Editor.

— an erraUnn

—

7.- ' '-**large masses of

by

to the sound' produced

:

snow breaking

from the high Alps, and rolling upon. the loose snow in the the thick a tone which resembles distant thunder, valley

—

—

mist below, throu-gh which you see, toward the river, the ever-boiling and madly dancing foam, and the volumes of

dense spray rising above a hundred

and through them

feet,

again aquatic meteors ascending to a hundred and twenty feet

and then bursting; the ingulfing character which the falls have from here, give them something far more awful in their effects

Yet, as

upon the

though nature

that,

feelings than the crater of Vesuvius.

may seem

moment

for a

yet every atom carries

move

of

out

move

its

character,

—

floats

in re-

fixed lines,

eternal law along with

its

its

to

from

bellious lawlessness, and to have broken

cannot

show him

placed here to comfort man, and to

if

over

and

it,

this

all

roar and riot of the elements a consoling rainbow formed

of the very water which but a struction in

its

heedless hurry,

moment

—

to

before carried de-

remind you that there

is

order in nature where you perceive but wild disorder,and that fearful struggle or loathsome dissolution returns to the

beauty which graces the universe,

moveth upon the

The

bow

lunar

is

equally beautiful;

sun lends his splendor. grief;

and

" the spirit of

^that

God

face of the waters."

tinged with a slight hue of

as it rested

truly like "

—

It

its

I

saw

it

one night,

brighter mate, to

looked like

a

whom

the

rain-bow, pale from

over the foaming waters of Niagara

Love watching madness with

This madness of the waters

is

unalterable mien.'*

found, however, only in the

gulf below; where the boiling, and gushing, and leaping

element, as

if

fury had changed

firm rocks and conquers

In

all

them

its

nature wrestles with the

in the

long struggle.

other places, the character of Niagara Falls,

different.

I

passage of descriptive poetry, than that roar of waters, &c.," I

Niagara.

He

ent grouping,

However,

is

very

more beautiful of Byron: "The

recollect the Evelino well, and a

know

not; yet

it

does not describe

u ould have employed different colors, a differ-

and another style

great as

Byron

is

to

paint this

in description, should I

cataract.

wish for

(.349

)

*

one of the Falls, ahd' could I

would

say,, let

The words

I

ambng

choose

Shakspeare sketch

it

of his descriptions, as of

all

the masters,

with his firm hand.

all

his other passages,

are " spaced" with thought.

There

is,

strange as

it*

may sound

to

you, a character

Those gigan-

of majestic steadiness in the Niagara Falls. tic

masses preserve their compact form, throughout one

half of their entire

fall,,

and as they

roll

over the precipice,

and descend to midway, almost unchanged, present such an

unbroken

front, that the

pearance as still,

whole picture has about

commanded

the waters had been

an ap-

it

to

stand

and had' been suddenly stopped in their course.

It is

if

the contrast which this distinguishing feature of the cataract

forms with the bounding leap, and the actual and

velocity of the waters, together with the trasts

which

phenomenoh

this

and blinding spray,

v,

many

known

other con-

presents, the deafening noise

ith the bright

rainbow, and the spark-

ling surface of parts of the waters, the solemn roar and the piercing, single tones, the cheerful vegetation on the banks,

and the thriving helpless weed whipped against the rock it is the thousand contrasts which you meet here, that lend

charm to this stupendous and lovely phenomenon, and which cause every one to take leave of it, as of a friend you have learned to love, in spite of the esssential

so inexpressible a

sternness and grandeur of his character.

The emerald,

of which I spoke above,

is

not seen with

the Schlosser, nor Central Falls; they leap in a sheet of foam

from their immense height. About two-thirds of the surface of the water, enclosed

by the Crescent

Fall, are

covered with

impenetrable spray and mist, out of which the peculiar meteors or jets I mentioned are seen to shoot up.

Hall calls them cones, or comets.

I

Captain

saw them rather

in the

shape of a hay-stack, the top of which was formed by a compact body of water, from which a thick spray descending,

gave the outline of the sides.* * This spray diverges,

in descending,

through the centre of the glohular top,

from the perpendicular in

line passing

an angle of forty-five degrees,

350

(

Where

)

the mist becomes thinner, you perceive the leap-

ing and foaming surface; a

lower

little

down

the river, the

becomes comparatively calm, yet is covered with one thick coat of foam, which extends a considerable distance down the river farther on the Canada side than on surface

the opposite,

— — forming

field of waters.

what might be termed the snow-

was

It

to this snow-field that I

and

to approach as near as possible,

if

endeavored

practicable to get

into it, when I made the excursion mentioned above with Mr. Ingraham. I was desirous of determining the buoyancy of this foamy water by immersing my body in it; but the

boatmen could not take us fore

went

enough up

close

to'it.

I

there-

some rods below the margin of the swim down to the Canada ferry met with two difficulties which interrupted my

into the water

snow-field, intending to

house, but

I

progress.

The waves

some, without any breakers,

—

of the river, short, high and trouble-

real

swell,

—

like the

waves between

had, besides, the peculiarity that they did not

foamy crest ivith the current, and, thereswimmer, as the waves of the sea always throw over the crest with the wind, but against the swimmer, owing to the extreme velocity of the current. The motion was at the same time violent; and it became as diffithrow over

their

—

fore, y^om the

cult to

keep

my

grade motions.

—

breath as to struggle against these retro-

The

eddies in different directions were

besides very numerous, and irresistible

sometimes

I

would

find

myself on

boiled up from below, while at the surface directions,

which made

it difficult

by human force: which the water

a spot at

for

me

it

to

glided off in

work

all

my body.

know whether it was alone the difficulty of swimming that gave me the feeling, or whether the water, not

I

do not

having discharged certain

it is

that

it

all

the

seemed

air,

to

was sensibly

me

so.

I

less

have often

buoyant;

swam

in

the sea and the surf, even near rocks and breakers, and

having besides once proved by an uninterrupted swimming of three hours and a quarter, that sometimes tinct mist.

I

can stand great fatigue

in very distinct outlines; at others, they are dissolved in indis-

— EpiTon.

351

(

way, you will believe slight. Yet

in that

were not

culties

)

me when if I

say that the

I

diffi-

go another time to visit

the magnificent spectacle of the Cataract,

I shall

try to get

end of the Crescent, the foam extends much lower down.

in nearer toward the north-western

where, as

I said,

Here you have enough asked a compositor

why

my own personage. I once had an unusual quantity of the he of

" Sir," said he, "

capital letter I in his case.

But what can

posing a book of travels."

I

am com-

a traveller do?

he

cannot speak in the third person as a Cesar or Napoleon. I

have often watched the different forms which the single composing this great phenomenon, adopt in falling. I

parts

succeeded nowhere better in doing this than at the south-

western part of the Crescent, where of the Cataract as nearly as

I

I could,

approached the foot without having

my

by the heavy spray. I was looking up nearly perpendicularly, and saw the water rolling over sight

obstructed

and descending a considerable distance

in a green, trans-

parent arch, the outside of which was rippled by the tion of the

water

fell,

air.

while the water

assumed the form

—the

These ripples increased to

which

itself all

as the

began to divide.

liquid strives, if left to itself

globular, and looked like large crystal balls, of a

lighter

dye than when

it

fric-

body of Soon it

was united

one mass.

in

much These

subdivided into smaller ones, and became of course lighter in color with each subdivision, while the fric-

balls again

.

tion of the air caused particles of the surface to fly off as little satellites

The

of spray.

balls

now

divided so

much You may works, when drops

that they appeared like drops of melted glass.

have seen the exact appearance, of melted glass are allowed to

Prince Rupert's drops.

I

in glass fall

into water, to produce

was reminded

at the

time of these

heavy drops, which deviate from the globular form by having a larger (lower) and a somewhat tapering (upper) end. The tapering end of the water-drop becomes thinner and the color, from a state of transparency, changes to a white, owing to the intermixture of air, and a foam appears on the outside of the drops, which now assume the form of

352

(

descending comets, with a of water for

of foam, and compact

tail

This soon

head.

its

)

splits,

body

forms rapidly a

number of other smaller comets, which gradually split again they become mere spray. A part of this changes into

until

Like a

mist, and rises out of the valley of roar and struggle.

heavy cloud

sometimes seen hovering over the scene

it is

of contest, and, in

weather,

fair

clouds

little

now and

then

detach themselves from the larger mass, and rise to unite

themselves with some high cloud of the sky, as below, and to

tale of the fearful contest

sail

if to tell

away with

the

it

to

calmer regions.

much upon

the state of the

weather, the wind, and the time of the day.

A very heavy

The

rise of the

mist depends

Rock

spray often rises out of the deep basin, draws over Table

and drenches the

My

trees.

observations respecting the

forms of the water in descending, apply, of course, only to In the centre those heavy masses are pre-

the outer parts. cipitated,

which reach the water below entire and

rumbling thunder which Fall,

I

Behind the Central

mentioned.

on Mr. Ingraham's path,

I

create the

observed the same changes

of forms, which, in fact, are very easily accounted

Here, I

at the foot of the south-eastern

for.

end of the Crescent,

heard again, and very clearly and distinctly, the third

sound peculiar to the

Falls.

the thunders between,

I

go very

The deep

the water, you hear

near to

piercing sound very

roaring tone, with

have mentioned before; but

much like

now and

when hurrying

this peculiar noise of the cataract

any where, yet

I

I

directed to the subject.

It is

attention, otherwise the

sound

adopt

it:

in

among

have I

sure that I do not deceive myself; for

have repeatedly noticed them, and found

plain

I

mentioned

my

observation

confirmed by several other persons whose attention

powering general

shrill

along the Strand.

have not found

am

you

the horn or trumpet of one of

our stage-coachmen, or of the guards of the mail, as

heard them in London,

if

then a

noise.

It

I

had

necessary to listen with some is

swallowed up by the over-

seems

to

me

not difficult to ex-

the endless forms which the water must

this constant

and violent motion,

it

can be easily

(

353

)

imagined, that sometimes a mass of water happens to include a quantity of compressed

air,

which,

if

opportunity

offers,

escapes through a small opening, producing this disagreeable shriek, well comparable to the trumpets of evil spirits

sounding from the abyss of torment.

A and

from the brink of the eastern bank,

staircase leads

path from the top of the western bank to the

a steep

ferry-houses below.

I

have suggested

that, to

save the

trouble of descending and ascending, an apparatus should

be constructed for hoisting visiters up and comfortable basket on iron chains.

why

should

it

It is

down

in a large

done

in mines,

not be practicable here? and a fine view would

be afforded by this means during the whole time of descent.

when engaged in building high steeples, often when otherwise the superintending of

Architects,

resort to this means,

the

work might

easily

throw them

into a consumption.

I

have seen the scene-painter of the Theatre Royal in Berlin flitting

up and down

Another to the

in a seat of this kind.

staircase, leading

water below,

I

from the brink of Goat Island

have mentioned already.

name from Mr. Nicholas Biddle, expense

it

It

has

its

of Philadelphia, at whose

was erected; and though the expenses cannot

have been small, terest such as

it is

few

an excellent investment, bringing in-

No

capitals do.

traveller can leave this

sacred spot of nature without feeling grateful to since, in fact,

some of the

Mr. Biddle,

best views and spots of observa-

tion have thus been rendered accessible to the traveller.

The

path behind the Central Fall, the walk to the foot of the south-eastern end of the Crescent, the best views of the Cataract

from below, the true views of

been presented to us, because case that

we

it is

a waterfall,

only by

way

have thus

of this stair-

can reach the respective point, except by means

of boats, which are troublesome and expensive.

Some

of the best views of the Cataract are

from Table Rock and Terrapin bridge, the point where the path winds

Canada bank;

—from above,

at a distance,

down from

—from below, from the 45

—

ferry,

from

the brink of the

where the

stair-

,

354

(

)

case on the United States side reaches the rocks below,

the

window

of the Biddle Staircase, and at

prospect presents itself on a certain

at a distance, a noble

spot, about

two miles from the Falls on the road to Lewisthrough the forest gives you a view of the

A vista

ton.

Cataract, and as

distance for

greatness, physical or moral, requires

all

impression, so also does the Cataract ap-

its full

pear to you on this spot in I

from

Quite

its foot.

went with

still

a party to the

more solemn grandeur. whirlpool, where the waters

abruptly turn from a north-westerly course, to a north-

and so swift

easterly,

is

the current that the water, sweep-

ing round the corner of the ravine, actually does not find

on a

time to put

itself

the peculiar

phenomenon of

a high water ridge,

level, so that

which

a river having in its

crest of the

it

to

can be seen very distinctly

—here

so high that large timbers

and the waves of the which are very high, appear quite small.

in the river

rapids,

bank

middle

must consider from seven

I

eight feet high at least; for

from the

you have before you

look like

sticks,

little

There are yet many interesting subjects connected with Niagara

—the Rapids, the Whirlpool, many

nomena which ought

to

be detailed, had

or even a complete sketch. as a hasty croquis, of

only.

The work

of

Take

which

I

I

Mr. Ingraham

But however correct

his

and phe-

the whole I have given

have

filled

were

work may

I to

describe

be, certain

it is

many

that no description can give a satisfactory idea of traits of the great Cataract.

you

up certain parts

will be so complete, that

I should unnecessarily tax your time,

more.

vistas

promised a picture

Sound, movement, color, form

cannot be conveyed upon paper, so as to burst upon you like

Niagara

itself.

There have been fought some

battles,

even near Niagara,

but they are not of sufficient importance to add an historical interest to the scene.

nature, and if

It is essentially a

you view

it

as such in

phenomenon of

connexion with the

whole chain of lakes and waters of the west, it will stand before you as one of the noblest works of nature which man '

can behold.

355

(

)

From the moment when you first see Niagara, to the hour when you leave it, one of the great characteristics with which Alps,

it

it

spurns his

it; it

man,

strikes the soul of

is

that like the sea or the

He cannot change

does and will exist without him. skill

and power, nor does

it

heed thunder or

The changes it undergoes are worked upon own unconquerable force.

season or time.

by

itself

its

Niagara besides uniting the characteristic of grave solemnity with that of continued and rapid motion, stands belike a giant thing, alone but perfect in its con-

you

fore

The

struction.

by

sea afiects us

boundlessness, and

its

its

thousand historical and geographical associations; by its horror and destruction at some times, and its graceful movements and refreshing coolness at others, and by the depth of

womb

its

us by

its

with the elements of

filled

power,

its

horror,

its

Niagara

life;

grace, and

its

affects

gigantic beauty

united.

all

Where ing

itself

there is so

much motion,

so vast a subject present-

under such a variety of aspects, you cannot exnew views and

haust the interest of the subject, and of the

phenomena which are continually arising to your notice, and the longer you tarry the dearer Niagara becomes to you.

As Niagara narrow spot

is

essentially a beauty of nature, and on a

in the

new

world,

it is

in

my mind

the counter

view which

I

enjoyed from the tower of

Acrocorinth, which, indeed,

is

one of the

picture to the

natural scenery; yet

you

there, as nature at Niagara.

first traveller

castle of the

Wheler

since Sir

•

I

have been,

I think, the

Acrocorinth and given a public account of it*

my journal The jealousy

as long as they

on earth for

George Wheler, who has entered the

visited the castle at about 1680,

February of 1821. in

it is

finest

history which mainly bursts upon

Have you

and

I

was there

read the description

on Greece? Perhaps not; here of the Turks allowed no foreig'ner to

had the sway over Greece.

The

it

was in the power of Venice,

Editoh.

in

gave

it is:

visit

the Acrocorinth

author visited that countr}'

soon after the expulsion of the Turks: Sir Wheler travelled

when

I

in

the Morca

— 356

(

"Thie view from I

trouble.

this

tower richly rewarded

have spoken several times in

of beautiful prospects, but

when

q

)

the country

why

should

so rich in them!

is

not do

I

—

me

this small

my

for

volume

here again,

it

It is true,

what

Stra-

bo says, that in the north you have a view of the high and white Helicon and Parnassus, with their long and beautifully delineated chains, upon which rests the softening azure

In the west extends the

haze or ether of a southern climate.

Bay

of Corinth as far as Crissa, along

it

the ridge of Cithae-

ron, and the Alcyonian Sea with the Olmiaean Promontory.

In the east the Saronic Gulf washes the islands of Salamis

and ^gina, toward the north-east, the shores of Attica.

There were before us Pentelicus, Hymettus, and Laurion, The day was serene; to the Cape of Sunium.

even down

we

could discern the Acropolis.

In the south

into the territory of the Argives, in the west

and Sicyonia.

where

In one view around

me

I

I

far

beheld the spots

flourished.

" Beautiful as the extraordinary view was

light

looked

saw Achaia

the best art, science and valor of favored Greece had

^welt and chosen

I

spot, justly sacred to Helius, the

and beauty,

it

was not

graphical perception.

from

god of the sun

this

—of

less instructive for a clear geo-

The many peaks and mountains, with

distinguishing forms, afford you convenient points for so vast

a panorama, and after a short time you are enabled to im-

mind a very distinct image. What a field we viewed! Sicyonia, Achaia, Locrls, Phocis, Boeotia, Megara, Attica, Salamis, ^gina, Argolis and Corinth, and beneath us press upon your

the Isthmus with Lechaeum and Cenchrese, and the spot

where the ivy and pine rewarded the Isthmian victor." History was concentrated here as art is in the Tribuna

me

Florence.

Greece lay around

Niagara

like a powerful ode, a

is

herself has seized the

like

in

one great epic, while

rhapsody

mighty harp and plays

in

which nature

a rapturous tune.