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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..76385e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52685 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52685) diff --git a/old/52685-8.txt b/old/52685-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a205cda..0000000 --- a/old/52685-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13331 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Society in America, Volume 2 (of 2), by Harriet Martineau - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Society in America, Volume 2 (of 2) - -Author: Harriet Martineau - -Release Date: July 31, 2016 [EBook #52685] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOCIETY IN AMERICA, VOLUME 2 *** - - - - -Produced by Julia Miller, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -Ann Street, June, 1837. - -MESSRS. SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, - -HAVE NOW READY THE FOLLOWING - -IMPORTANT NEW WORKS. - - -I. - -_Mrs. Butler's New Work._ - -THE STAR OF SEVILLE, - -A DRAMA IN 5 ACTS, - -BY MRS. PIERCE BUTLER. -(_Late Miss Fanny Kemble._) - - -II. - -_Mr. Willis's Poems._ - -MELANIE, AND OTHER POEMS - -BY N. P. WILLIS, ESQ. - -Illustrated by a beautifully Engraved Portrait. - - -III. - -_Mrs. Jameson's Illustrated Work._ - -CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN: - -MORAL, POETICAL AND HISTORICAL. - -BY MRS. JAMESON. - -Illustrated by a series of her own Vignette Etchings. - - -IV. - -_Lady Blessington's New Work._ - -THE VICTIMS OF SOCIETY. - -BY THE COUNTESS OF BLESSINGTON. - - -V. - -_The Lafayette Papers._ - -MEMOIRS, CORRESPONDENCE AND OTHER -MANUSCRIPTS OF -GENERAL LAFAYETTE, - -_Edited by his Family._ - -This American Edition will include a series of Letters relating to the -Revolutionary War, not inserted in the London and Paris editions. - -(_Nearly Ready._) - - -VI. - -_Mrs. Shelley's New Work._ - -FALKNER--A NOVEL. -BY MRS. SHELLEY. -Authoress of "Frankenstein," "The Last Man," &c. - - -VII. - -Mr. Dunlap's New Work. - -MEMOIRS OF A WATER-DRINKER. -BY WILLIAM DUNLAP, ESQ. -Second Edition, in one vol. - - -VIII. - -_Mr. Grant's New Work._ - -THE GREAT METROPOLIS. -BY THE AUTHOR OF -"_Random Recollections of the Lords and Commons_," &c - -Fourth Edition. - - -IX. - -_Mr. Bulwer's New Drama_: - -THE DUCHESS DE LA VALLIERE -_A Play in Five Acts._ - -Second Edition. - - -RECENT PUBLICATIONS. - - -I. - -_Miss Landon's New Work._ - -With a beautiful Portrait of the Author. - -THE VOW OF THE PEACOCK. - - -II. - -_Miss Stickney's New Work._ - -THE POETRY OF LIFE. - -By the Author of "Pictures of Private Life." - - -III. - -Third Edition. Bound in Embossed Silk. - -THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS - -Revised by the Editor of the "Forget-me-Not." - -(_With the London colored Plates._) - - -IV. - -THE INFIRMITIES OF GENIUS. - -BY DR. MADDEN. - - -V. - -CITATION OF WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE - -TOUCHING DEER STEALING. - -BY WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR, ESQ. - - -VI. - -SONGS OF THE ALHAMBRA. - -BY MISS L. B. SMITH. - - -VII. - -MEMOIRS OF MRS. HEMANS, - -BY H. F. CHORLEY. - -2 vols. beautifully Illustrated. - - -VIII. - -TOPOGRAPHY OF ROME & ITS VICINITY, - -BY SIR WM. GELL. - -With a Beautiful Map to the above. - - -IX. - -ON CIVILIZATION, &c. - -BY THE HON. A. H. MORETON. - - -X. - -ADVENTURES OF A GENTLEMAN - -IN SEARCH OF A HORSE. - -Illustrated by Cruickshank. - - -XI. - -LUCIEN BONAPARTE'S MEMOIRS - -(_Prince of Canino._) - -WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. - - -XII. - -HAZLITT'S LITERARY REMAINS, - -EDITED BY E. L. BULWER, ESQ. - -1 vol. with a Portrait. - - -XIII. - -MADRID, IN 1835, - -BY AN OFFICER. - -With beautiful Plates. - - -XIV. - -THE CONTINENT IN 1835. - -BY PROFESSOR HOPPUS. - - -XV. - -SIR GRENVILLE TEMPLE'S NEW WORK - -(_Travels in Greece and Turkey._) - -2 vols. plates. - - -XVI. - -ADVENTURES IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE - -BY EDWARD LANDOR, ESQ. - -2 vols. plates. - - -XVII. - -NEW WORK ON FLOWERS. - -(_The Floral Telegraph._) - -With the London Colored Plates. - - -XVIII. - -TOUR OF A GERMAN ARTIST IN ENGLAND - -BY M. PASSAVANT. - -2 vols. with Plates. - - -XIX. - -VISIT TO ALEXANDRIA, DAMASCUS AND JERUSALEM, - -BY DR. HOGG. - -2 vols. Plates. - - -XX. - -RECORDS OF TRAVELS - -IN TURKEY, GREECE, &c.: - -BY ADOLPHUS SLADE, ESQ. - - -XXI. - -_Captain Glascock's New Work._ - -THE NAVAL SERVICE. - - -XXII. - -_Mr. Willis's New Work._ - -INKLINGS OF ADVENTURE. - -BY N. P. WILLIS, ESQ. - -Third Edition. - - -XXIII. - -THE CHEVY CHACE. - -Illustrated in a series of beautiful Etchings. - -BY J. FRANKLIN, ESQ. - - -XXIV. - -RETZCH'S FANCIES. - -A series of Etchings, with Notes - -BY MRS. JAMESON. - - -XXV. - -THE MESSIAH--A POEM. - -BY THE REV. J. MONTGOMERY. - - -_In eight handsomely-printed Volumes, with additional -Notes and Illustrations._ - -WITH BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS, BY THE FINDENS. - -FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT, EXPRESSLY FOR THE WORK. - -THE LIFE AND WORKS OF COWPER. - -THE FIRST AND ONLY COMPLETE AND UNIFORM EDITION. - -INCLUDING - -THE WHOLE OF HIS PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. - -REVISED, ARRANGED, AND EDITED, - -BY THE REV. T. S. GRIMSHAWE, - -Author of the "Life of the Rev. Legh Richmond." - -WITH - -AN ESSAY ON THE GENIUS AND POETRY OF COWPER, - -BY THE REV. J. W. CUNNINGHAM. - -Vicar of Harrow. - -"The works of Cowper need no recommendation; they are incorporated into -our living literature, and will be read as long as men shall read for -amusement, or to gather wisdom, of which no poet is a greater teacher. -The peculiar merit of the present edition is, that it is the only one -which can contain the whole of Cowper's _Private Correspondence_. It -being _copyright_ and _exclusively_ appropriated to this -edition."--_Courier._ - -"The handsomest specimen of modern standard works that we -have yet seen."--_Monthly Review._ - -"Of the manner in which this edition has been produced, we can -hardly speak too highly. The type, the embellishments, and the whole -getting up, are excellent. The peculiar facility with which the Editor -has made the poet tell his own story, has stamped upon this edition -an intrinsic value which nothing can surpass."--_Metropolitan._ - - -SPLENDIDLY EMBELLISHED. - -THE BOOK OF GEMS. - -(_The Poets and Artists of Great Britain._) - -WITH UPWARDS OF - -FIFTY BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS - -FROM - -ORIGINAL PICTURES, - -BY FIFTY LIVING PAINTERS. - -This beautiful Work, which is a perfect novelty among the embellished -publications of the day, presents the combined attractions of -Poetry, Painting, and Engraving. It is splendidly illustrated with upwards -of Fifty exquisitely finished Engravings from Original Pictures -by the most distinguished living Painters, and altogether forms one of -the most beautiful library, drawing-room, and present books which -the advanced state of the Arts has hitherto produced. - - -_Critical Notices._ - -"The Book of Gems seems too fair to be looked upon, combining -all those external decorations which made the _Annuals_ so attractive -with something far better than the vapid prose and milk-and-water -poetry of which their staple generally consisted. It is a book more -lovely to the sense than the most gorgeous of the tribe of Souvenirs -and Forget-me-nots; and unlike them, it will be as valuable twenty -years hence as it is now. The very conception of such a book deserves -no little praise, and its execution the very highest. For its -combined attractions to the man of taste and the lover of art, this work -has no rivals in the annals of book making."--_American Monthly Mag._ - -"This is, in all respects, so beautiful a book, that it would be scarcely -possible to suggest an improvement. Its contents are not for a year, -nor for an age, but for all time."--_Examiner._ - -"The plan of this beautiful and splendid work is as admirable as it -is novel."--_Literary Gazette._ - -"This sumptuous book has not less than fifty-three -illustrations."--_Athenĉum._ - -"The Pleasure-book of the year--a treasury of sweets and -beauties."--_Atlas._ - -A few PROOF IMPRESSIONS OF THE SPLENDID ILLUSTRATIONS -to the above work may still be had. - - - - -SOCIETY IN AMERICA - -BY - -HARRIET MARTINEAU, - -AUTHOR OF "ILLUSTRATIONS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY." - -IN TWO VOLUMES. - -VOL. II. - -NEW YORK - -SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, ANN STREET, -AND CONDUIT STREET, LONDON. - -1837. - - - - -CONTENTS. - -VOL. II. - -PART II.--CHAPTER II. - - - _Page_ -TRANSPORTS AND MARKETS 1 - -SECTION I.--Internal Improvements 29 - - -CHAPTER III. - -MANUFACTURES 37 - SECTION I.--The Tariff 46 - II.--Manufacturing Labor 53 - - -CHAPTER IV. - -COMMERCE 64 - SECTION I.--The Currency 76 - II.--Revenue and Expenditure 88 - - -CHAPTER V. - -MORALS OF ECONOMY 92 - SECTION I.--Morals of Slavery 106 - II.--Morals of Manufactures 136 - III.--Morals of Commerce 141 - - -PART III. - -CIVILISATION 149 - -CHAPTER I. - -IDEA OF HONOUR 155 - SECTION I.--Caste 168 - II.--Property 175 - III.--Intercourse 187 - -CHAPTER II. - -WOMAN 226 - SECTION I.--Marriage 236 - II.--Occupation 245 - III.--Health 260 - -CHAPTER III. - -CHILDREN 268 - -CHAPTER IV. - -SUFFERERS 281 - -CHAPTER V. - -UTTERANCE 300 - - -PART IV. - -RELIGION 314 - -CHAPTER I. - -SCIENCE OF RELIGION 329 - -CHAPTER II. - -SPIRIT OF RELIGION 336 - -CHAPTER III. - -ADMINISTRATION OF RELIGION 348 - -CONCLUSION 367 - -APPENDIX 373 - - - - -SOCIETY IN AMERICA. - - - - -PART II. - -CONTINUED. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -TRANSPORT AND MARKETS. - - "Science and Art urge on the useful toil; - New mould a climate, and create the soil. - On yielding Nature urge their new demands, - And ask not gifts, but tribute, at her hands." - - _Barbauld._ - - -Nature has done so much for the United States in this article of their -economy, and has indicated so clearly what remained for human hands to -do, that it is very comprehensible to the traveller why this new country -so far transcends others of the same age in markets and means of -transport. The ports of the United States are, singularly enough, -scattered round the whole of their boundaries. Besides those on the -seaboard, there are many in the interior; on the northern lakes, and on -thousands of miles of deep rivers. No nook in the country is at a -despairing distance from a market; and where the usual incentives to -enterprise exist, the means of transport are sure to be provided, in the -proportion in which they are wanted. - -Even in the south, where, the element of wages being lost, and the will -of the labourer being lost with them, there are no adequate means of -executing even the best-conceived enterprises,[1] more has been done -than could have been expected under the circumstances. The mail roads -are still extremely bad. I found, in travelling through the Carolinas -and Georgia, that the drivers consider themselves entitled to get on by -any means they can devise: that nobody helps and nobody hinders them. It -was constantly happening that the stage came to a stop on the brink of a -wide and a deep puddle, extending all across the road. The driver helped -himself, without scruple, to as many rails of the nearest fence as might -serve to fill up the bottom of the hole, or break our descent into it. -On inquiry, I found it was not probable that either road or fence would -be mended till both had gone to absolute destruction. - -The traffic on these roads is so small, that the stranger feels himself -almost lost in the wilderness. In the course of several days' journey, -we saw, (with the exception of the wagons of a few encampments,) only -one vehicle besides our own. It was a stage returning from Charleston. -Our meeting in the forest was like the meeting of ships at sea. We asked -the passengers from the south for news from Charleston and Europe; and -they questioned us about the state of politics at Washington. The eager -vociferation of drivers and passengers was such as is very unusual, out -of exile. We were desired to give up all thoughts of going by the -eastern road to Charleston. The road might be called impassable; and -there was nothing to eat by the way. So we described a circuit, by -Camden and Columbia. - -An account of an actual day's journey will give the best idea of what -travelling is in such places. We had travelled from Richmond, Virginia, -the day before, (March 2nd, 1835,) and had not had any rest, when, at -midnight, we came to a river which had no bridge. The "scow" had gone -over with another stage, and we stood under the stars for a long time; -hardly less than an hour. The scow was only just large enough to hold -the coach and ourselves; so that it was thought safest for the -passengers to alight, and go on board on foot. In this process, I found -myself over the ankles in mud. A few minutes after we had driven on -again, on the opposite side of the river, we had to get out to change -coaches; after which we proceeded, without accident, though very slowly, -till daylight. Then the stage sank down into a deep rut, and the horses -struggled in vain. We were informed that we were "mired," and must all -get out. I stood for some time to witness what is very pretty for once; -but wearisome when it occurs ten times a day. The driver carries an axe, -as a part of the stage apparatus. He cuts down a young tree, for a -lever, which is introduced under the nave of the sunken wheel; a log -serving for a block. The gentleman passengers all help; shouting to the -horses, which tug and scramble as vigorously as the gentlemen. We ladies -sometimes gave our humble assistance by blowing the driver's horn. -Sometimes a cluster of negroes would assemble from a neighbouring -plantation; and in extreme cases, they would bring a horse, to add to -our team. The rescue from the rut was effected in any time from a -quarter of an hour to two hours. This particular 3rd of March, two hours -were lost by this first mishap. It was very cold, and I walked on alone, -sure of not missing my road in a region where there was no other. When I -had proceeded two miles, I stopped and looked around me. I was on a -rising ground, with no object whatever visible but the wild, black -forest, extending on all sides as far as I could see, and the red road -cut through it, as straight as an arrow, till it was lost behind a -rising ground at either extremity. I know nothing like it, except a -Salvator Rosa I once saw. The stage soon after took me up, and we -proceeded fourteen miles to breakfast. We were faint with hunger; but -there was no refreshment for us. The family breakfast had been long -over, and there was not a scrap of food in the house. We proceeded, till -at one o'clock we reached a private dwelling, where the good woman was -kind enough to provide dinner for us, though the family had dined. She -gave us a comfortable meal, and charged only a quarter dollar each. She -stands in all the party's books as a hospitable dame. - -We had no sooner left her house than we had to get out to pass on foot a -bridge too crazy for us to venture over it in the carriage. Half a mile -before reaching the place where we were to have tea, the thorough-brace -broke, and we had to walk through a snow shower to the inn. We had not -proceeded above a quarter of a mile from this place when the traces -broke. After this, we were allowed to sit still in the carriage till -near seven in the morning, when we were approaching Raleigh, North -Carolina. We then saw a carriage "mired" and deserted by driver and -horses, but tenanted by some travellers who had been waiting there since -eight the evening before. While we were pitying their fate, our vehicle -once more sank into a rut. It was, however, extricated in a short time, -and we reached Raleigh in safety. - -It was worth undergoing a few travelling disasters to witness the skill -and temper of the drivers, and the inexhaustible good-nature of the -passengers. Men of business in any other part of the world would be -visibly annoyed by such delays as I have described; but in America I -never saw any gentleman's temper give way under these accidents. Every -one jumps out in a moment, and sets to work to help the driver; every -one has his joke, and, when it is over, the ladies are sure to have the -whole represented to them in its most amusing light. One driver on this -journey seemed to be a novice, or in some way inferior in confidence to -the rest. A gentleman of our party chose to sit beside him on the box; -and he declared that the driver shut his eyes when we were coming to a -hole; and that when he called piteously on the passengers for help, it -was because we were taking aim at a deep rut. Usually, the confidence -and skill of the drivers were equally remarkable. If they thought the -stage more full than was convenient, they would sometimes try to alarm -the passengers, so as to induce some of them to remain for the next -stage; and it happened two or three times that a fat passenger or two -fell into the trap, and declined proceeding; but it was easy for the -experienced to see that the alarm was feigned. In such cases, after a -splash into water, in the dark, news would be heard from the box that -we were in the middle of a creek, and could not go a step, back or -forward, without being overturned into the water. Though the assertion -was disproved the next minute, it produced its effect. Again, when the -moon was going down early, and the lamps were found to be, of course, -out of order, and the gentlemen insisted on buying candles by the -road-side, and walking on in bad places, each with a tallow light in his -hand, the driver would let drop that, as we had to be overturned before -dawn, it did not much matter whether it was now or later. After this, -the stoutest of the company were naturally left behind at the next -stopping-place, and the driver chuckled at the lightening of his load. - -At the close of a troublesome journey in the south, we drew up, with -some noise, before a hotel, at three in the morning. The driver blew a -blast upon an execrable horn. Nobody seemed stirring. Slaves are the -most slow-moving people in the world, except upon occasion. - -"What sleepy folks they are here!" exclaimed the driver. - -Another blast on the horn, long and screeching. - -"Never saw such people for sleeping. Music has no effect on 'em at all. -I shall have to try fire-arms." - -Another blast. - -"We've waked the watchman, however. That's something done." - -Another blast. - -"Never knew such people. Why, Lazarus was far easier to raise." - -The best testimony that I can bear to the skill with which travelling is -conducted on such roads as these, and also in steam-boats, is the fact -that I travelled upwards of ten thousand miles in the United States, by -land and water, without accident. I was twice nearly overturned; but -never quite. - -It has been seen what the mail routes are like in the south; and I have -mentioned that greater progress has been made in other means of -transport than might have been expected. I referred to the new -rail-roads which are being opened in various directions. I saw few -circumstances in the south with which I was so well pleased. By the free -communication which will thus be opened, much sectional prejudice will -be dispelled: the inferiority of slave to free labour will be the more -speedily brought home to every man's convictions; and new settlers, -abhorring slavery, will come in and mix with the present population; be -the laws regarding labour what they may. - -The only rail-roads completed in the south, when I was there, were the -Charleston and Augusta one, two short ones in the States of Alabama and -Mississippi, and one of five miles from Lake Pontchartrain to New -Orleans. There is likely to be soon a magnificent line from Charleston -to Cincinnati; and the line from Norfolk, Virginia, to New York, is now -almost uninterrupted. - -The quarter of an hour employed in reaching New Orleans from Lake -Pontchartrain was one of the most delightful seasons in all my travels. -My notion of a swamp was corrected for ever. It was the end of April; -and the flowering reeds and tropical shrubs made the whole scene one gay -garden. It was odd to be passing through a gay garden on a rail-road. -Green cypress grew out of the clear water everywhere; and there were -acres of blue and white iris; and a thousand rich, unknown blossoms -waving over the pools. A negro here and there emerged from a flowery -thicket, pushing himself on a raft, or in a canoe, through the reeds. -The sluggish bayou was on one side; and here and there, a group of old -French houses on the other. It was like skimming, as one does in dreams, -over the meadows of Sicily, or the plains of Ceylon. - -That which may be seen on either hand of the Charleston and Augusta -rail-road is scarcely less beautiful; but my journeys on it were by far -the most fatiguing of any I underwent in the country. The motion and the -noise are distracting. Whether this is owing to its being built on -piles, in many places; whether the fault is in the ground or the -construction, I do not know. Almost all the rail-road travelling in -America is very fatiguing and noisy. I was told that this was chiefly -owing to the roads being put to use as soon as finished, instead of the -work being left to settle for some months. How far this is true, I do -not pretend to say. The rail-roads which I saw in progress were laid on -wood instead of stone. The patentee discovered that wood settles after -frost more evenly than stone. The original cost, in the State of New -York, is about two thousand dollars per mile. - -One great inconvenience of the American rail-roads is that, from wood -being used for fuel, there is an incessant shower of large sparks, -destructive to dress and comfort, unless all the windows are shut; which -is impossible in warm weather. Some serious accidents from fire have -happened in this way; and, during my last trip on the Columbia and -Philadelphia rail-road, a lady in the car had a shawl burned to -destruction on her shoulders; and I found that my own gown had thirteen -holes in it; and my veil, with which I saved my eyes, more than could be -counted. - -My first trip on the Charleston rail-road was more amusing than -prosperous. The arrangements were scarcely completed, and the apparatus -was then in a raw state. Our party left Columbia at seven in the evening -of the 9th of March, by stage, hoping to meet the rail-road train at -Branchville, sixty miles from Columbia, at eleven the next morning, and -to reach Charleston, sixty-two more, to dinner. Towards morning, when -the moon had set, the stage bumped against something; and the driver -declared that he must wait for the day-spring, before he could proceed -another step. When the dawn brightened, we found that we had, as we -supposed, missed our passage by the train, for the sake of a stump about -two inches above the ground. We hastened breakfast at Orangeburg; and -when we got to Branchville, found we need have been in no hurry. The -train had not arrived; and, some little accident having happened, we -waited for it till near two o'clock. - -I never saw an economical work of art harmonise so well with the -vastness of a natural scene, as here. From the piazza of the house at -Branchville, the forest fills the whole scene, with the rail-road -stretching through it, in a perfectly straight line, to the vanishing -point. The approaching train cannot be seen so far off as this. When it -appears, a black dot, marked by its wreath of smoke, it is impossible to -avoid watching it, growing and self-moving, till it stops before the -door. I cannot draw; but I could not help trying to make a sketch of -this, the largest and longest perspective I ever saw. We were well -employed for two hours in basking in the sun, noting the -mock-orange-trees before the house, the turkeys strutting, the robins -(twice as large as the English) hopping and flitting; and the house, -apparently just piled up of wood just cut from the forest. Everything -was as new as the rail-road. As it turned out, we should have been -better employed in dining; but we had no other idea than of reaching -Charleston in three or four hours. - -For the first thirty-five miles, which we accomplished by half-past -four, we called it the most interesting rail-road we had ever been on. -The whole sixty-two miles was almost a dead level, the descent being -only two feet. Where pools, creeks, and gullies had to be passed, the -road was elevated on piles, and thence the look down on an expanse of -evergreens was beautiful. This is, probably, the reason why three -gentlemen went, a few days afterwards, to walk, of all places, on the -rail-road. When they were in the middle of one of these elevated -portions, where there is a width of only about three inches on either -side the tracks, they heard a shout, and looking back, saw a train -coming upon them with such speed as to leave no hope that it could be -stopped before it reached them. There was no alternative; all three -leaped down, upwards of twenty feet, into the swamp, and escaped with a -wetting, and with looking exceedingly foolish in their own eyes. - -At half-past four, our boiler sprang a leak, and there was an end of our -prosperity. In two hours, we hungry passengers were consoled with the -news that it was mended. But the same thing happened, again and again; -and always in the middle of a swamp, where we could do nothing but sit -still. The gentlemen tried to amuse themselves with frog-hunting: but it -was a poor resource. Once we stopped before a comfortable-looking house, -where a hot supper was actually on the table; but we were not allowed to -stop, even so long as to get out. The gentlemen made a rush into the -house to see what they could get. One carried off a chicken entire, for -his party; another seized part of a turkey. Our gentlemen were not alert -enough. The old lady's table was cleared too quickly for them, and -quite to her own consternation. All that we, a party of five, had to -support us, was some strips of ham, pieces of dry bread, and three sweet -potatoes, all jumbled together in a handkerchief. Our thoughts wandered -back to this supper-table, an hour after, when we were again sticking in -the middle of a swamp. I had fallen asleep, (for it was now the middle -of a second night of travelling,) and was awakened by such a din as I -had never heard. I could not recollect where I was; I looked out of the -window, and saw, by the light of the moon, white houses on the bank of -the swamp, and the waving shrubs of the forest; but the distracting din -was like nothing earthly. It presently struck me that we were being -treated with a frog-concert. It is worth hearing, for once, anything so -unparalleled as the knocking, ticking, creaking, and rattling, in every -variety of key. The swamp was as thick of noises as the forest is of -leaves: but, five minutes of the concert are enough; while a hundred -years are not enough of the forest. After many times stopping and -proceeding, we arrived at Charleston between four and five in the -morning; and, it being too early to disturb our friends, crept cold and -weary to bed, at the Planters' Hotel. It was well that all this happened -in the month of March. Three months later, such detention in the swamps -by night might have been the death of three-fourths of the passengers. I -have not heard of any mismanagement since the concern has been put -fairly in operation. - -There are many rail-roads in Virginia, and a line to New York, through -Maryland and Delaware. There is in Kentucky a line from Louisville to -Lexington. But it is in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, and -Massachusetts, that they abound. All have succeeded so admirably, that -there is no doubt of the establishment of this means of communication -over nearly the whole of the United States, within a few years, as -by-ways to the great high-ways which Nature has made to run through this -vast country. The evil of a superabundance of land in proportion to -labour will thus be lessened so far, that there will be an economy of -time, and a facility of intercourse, which will improve the intelligence -of the country population. There will, also, be a facility of finding -out where new supplies of labour are most wanted, and of supplying them. -By advantageous employment for small capitals being thus offered within -bounds, it may also be hoped that many will be prevented from straying -into the wilderness. The best friends of the moral as well as economical -interests of the Americans, will afford all possible encouragement to -wise schemes for the promotion of intercourse, especially between the -north and south. - -I believe the best-constructed rail-road in the States is the Boston and -Lowell, Massachusetts: length, twenty-five miles. Its importance, from -the amount of traffic upon it, may be estimated from the fact that some -thousands of dollars were spent, the winter after it was opened, in -clearing away a fall of snow from it. It was again covered, the next -night. - -Another line from Boston is to Providence, Rhode Island, forty-three -miles long. This opens a very speedy communication with New York; the -distance, two hundred and twenty-seven miles, being performed in twenty -hours, by rail-road and steam-boat. - -There is a good line from Boston to Worcester; forty-five miles in -length. Its estimated cost is 883,904 dollars. This road is to be -carried on across the entire State, to the Connecticut; from whence a -line is now in course of construction to the Hudson, to issue opposite -Albany. There are proposals for a tunnel under the Hudson at Albany; -and from Albany, there is already canal and rail-road communication to -Lake Erie. There is now an uninterrupted communication from the Atlantic -to the far end of Lake Michigan. It only remains to extend a line thence -to the Mississippi, and the circle is complete. - -The great Erie canal, intersecting the whole State of New York, is too -celebrated to need much notice here. Its entire length is three hundred -and sixty-three miles. It is forty feet wide at top, twenty-eight at -bottom, and four feet deep. There are eighty-four locks on the main -canal. The total rise and fall is six hundred and ninety-two feet. The -cost was 9,500,000 dollars. Though this canal has been opened only since -1825, it is found already insufficient for the immense commerce carried -on between the European world and the great West, through the eastern -ports. There is a rail-road now running across the entire State, which -is expected to exhibit much more traffic than the canal, without at all -interfering with its business. - -I traversed the valley of the Mohawk twice; the first time by the canal, -the next by stage, which I much preferred, both on account of the views -being better from the high-road, and from the discomfort of the -canal-boats. I had also the opportunity of observing the courses of the -canal and the new rail-road throughout. - -I was amused, the first time, at hearing some gentlemen plan how the bed -of the shoaly Mohawk might be deepened, so as to admit the passage of -steam-boats. It would be nearly as easy to dig a river at once for the -purpose, and pump it full; in other words, to make another canal, twice -as wonderful as the present. The rail-road is a better scheme by far. In -winter the traffic is continued by sleighs on the canal ice: and a -pretty sight it must be. - -The aspect of the valley was really beautiful last June. It must have -made the Mohawk Indians heart-sore to part with it in its former quiet -state; but now there is more beauty, as well as more life. There are -farms, in every stage of advancement, with all the stir of life about -them; and the still, green graveyard belonging to each, showing its -white palings and tombstones on the hill-side, near at hand. Sometimes a -small space in the orchard is railed in for this purpose. In a shallow -reach of the river there was a line of cows wading through, to bury -themselves in the luxuriant pasture of the islands in the midst of the -Mohawk. In a deeper part, the chain ferry-boat slowly conveyed its -passengers across. The soil of the valley is remarkably rich, and the -trees and verdure unusually fine. The hanging oak-woods on the ridge -were beautiful; and the knolls, tilled or untilled; and the little -waterfalls trickling or leaping down, to join the rushing river. Little -knots of houses were clustered about the locks and bridges of the canal; -and here and there a village, with its white church conspicuous, spread -away into the middle of the narrow valley. The green and white canal -boats might be seen stealing along under the opposite ridge, or issuing -from behind a clump of elms or birches, or gliding along a graceful -aqueduct, with the diminished figures of the walking passengers seen -moving along the bank. On the other hand, the rail-road skirted the base -of the ridge, and the shanties of the Irish labourers, roofed with turf, -and the smoke issuing from a barrel at one corner, were so grouped as to -look picturesque, however little comfortable. In some of the narrowest -passes of the valley, the high road, the rail-road, the canal, and the -river, are all brought close together, and look as if they were trying -which could escape first into a larger space. The scene at Little Falls -is magnificent, viewed from the road, in the light of a summers' -morning. The carrying the canal and rail-road through this pass was a -grand idea; and the solidity and beauty of the works are worthy of it. - -The canal was commenced in 1817; and the first boat from the inland -lakes arrived at New York on the 4th of November 1825. The first year's -revenue amounted to 566,221 dollars. In 1836, the tolls amounted to -1,294,649 dollars. - -The incorporated rail-road companies in the State of New York in 1836 -were fifty; their capitals varying from fifteen thousand to ten million -dollars. - -When I first crossed the Alleghanies, in November 1834, I caught a -glimpse of the stupendous Portage rail-road, running between the two -canals which reach the opposite bases of the mountains. The stage in -which I travelled was on one side of a deep ravine, bristling with -pines; while on the other side was the lofty embankment, such a wall as -I had never imagined could be built, on the summit of which ran the -rail-road, its line traceable for some miles, with frequent stations and -trains of baggage-cars. One track of this road had not long been opened; -and the work was a splendid novelty. I had afterwards the pleasure of -travelling on it, from end to end. - -This road is upwards of thirty-six miles in length, and at one point -reaches an elevation of 2,491 feet above the sea. It consists of eleven -levels, and ten inclined planes. About three hundred feet of the road, -at the head and foot of each plane, is made exactly level. The -embankments were made twenty-five feet wide at the top, and the bed of -the road in excavations is twenty-five feet, with wide side ditches. -Much care in drainage was necessary, as the road passes chiefly along -the steep slopes of hills, of clayey soil, and over innumerable small -streams. Sixty-eight culverts of masonry pass under the road, and -eighty-five drains. There are four viaducts of hammer-dressed sandstone, -to carry the line over streams. The most splendid of these is over the -Conemaugh, eight miles from Johnstown. It has a semi-circular arch of -eighty feet span; the top of whose masonry is seventy feet above the -water. There is a tunnel through a spur of the Alleghany, nine hundred -and one feet long, by twenty feet wide, and nineteen high. The -foundations of this road are partly stone and partly wood. Each station -has two steam-engines; one being used at a time, and the other provided -to prevent delay, in case of accident. Four cars, each loaded with 7000 -lbs. can be drawn up, and four such let down at a time; and from six to -ten such trips can be accomplished in an hour. A safety-car is attached -to the train, both in ascending and descending; and though not an -absolute safeguard, it much increases the security. This little machine, -when pressed upon from behind, grounds its point, and materially checks -the velocity of the otherwise flying train. The iron rails, and some -other of the metal portions of the work, were imported from Great -Britain. - -The cost of constructing this rail-road at the contract prices was -1,634,357 dollars; but this does not include office expenses, or -engineering, or accidental extra allowances to contractors. During the -first year of the two tracks being opened, fifty thousand tons of -freight, and twenty thousand passengers, passed over the road. - -Five years before, this line of passage was an untrodden wilderness. The -act authorising the commencement of the work passed the Pennsylvania -legislature on the 21st of March, 1831. On the 12th of the next month, -the tents of the first working party were pitched at the head of the -mountain-branch of the Conemaugh. The party consisted of two engineers, -a surveyor, twelve assistants and axemen, and a cook. A track, one -hundred and twenty feet wide, overgrown with heavy spruce and hemlock -timber, had to be cleared, for a distance of thirty miles. The amount of -labour was increased as the work proceeded; and, at one time, as many as -two thousand men were employed upon the road. On the 26th of November, -1833, the first car traversed the whole length on the single track that -was finished. The canals were then closed for the season; but, during -the next March the road was opened for a public highway. In another year -the enterprise was completed; and in May 1835, the State furnished the -whole motive power. The stupendous work was then in full operation. - -Our party (of four, one a child) traversed the entire State from -Pittsburg to Philadelphia by canal and rail-road, in four days, at an -expense of only forty-two dollars, not including provisions. There was -then great competition between the lines of canal-boats. We went by the -new line, whose boats were extraordinarily clean, and the table really -luxurious. An omnibus, sent from the canal, conveyed us from our hotel -at Pittsburg to the boat, at nine in the evening; and we immediately set -off. Berths were put up for the ladies of the party in the ladies' -dressing-room, and removed during the day. We were called early, and -breakfast dispatched before the heat grew oppressive; but, though it was -now the middle of July, I could not remain in the shade of the cabin: -the scenery, during our whole course, was so beautiful. Umbrella and -fan made the heat endurable on deck, except for the two hours nearest to -noon. The only great inconvenience was the having to remember -perpetually to avoid the low bridges, which we passed, on an average, -every quarter of an hour. When we were all together, this was little of -an annoyance; for one or another was sure to remember to give warning; -but a solitary person, reading or in reverie, is really in danger. We -heard of two cases of young ladies, reading, who had been crushed to -death: and we prohibited books upon deck. Charley thought the commotion -caused on our approach to a bridge the best part of our amusement; and -he was heard to complain sometimes that it was very long since we had -had any bridges, or when one chanced to be so lofty that we might pass -under it without stooping. The best of all in his eyes were the -horizontal ones, which compelled us to lie down flat. - -The valley of the Kiskiminites is like one noble, fruitful park. Here -and there were harvest fields of small grain, and of the tasselled -Indian corn: and a few coal and salt works, some forsaken, some busy, -showed themselves on reaches of the river; but we were usually enclosed -by a circle of wooded hills, reposing in the brightest lights and -shadows. The canal commonly ran along the base of one of these hills; -but it often let us slip into the broad lucid stream of the river -itself. - -After having left the Kiskiminites behind us, we crossed the Conemaugh -by a fine aqueduct, which continued its course through a long dark -tunnel, piercing the heart of the mountain. The reflection of the blue -light behind us on the straight line of water in this cavern made a -beautiful picture. The paths which human hands have piled upon one -another here form a singular combination: the river below, the aqueduct -over it; and higher still, the mountain road, winding steeper and -steeper to the summit. A settler lives on this mountain, the bottom of -whose well was dug out in making the tunnel. In the evening there was -every combination of rock, hill, wood, river, and luxuriant vegetation -that could furnish forth a succession of noble pictures. Charley was as -well amused as the rest of us. He understood the construction and -management of the locks, and was never tired of our rising and falling -in them; and they afforded, besides, an opportunity of stepping ashore -with his father, to get us flowers, and run along the bank to the next -lock. Of these locks there are a hundred and ninety-two between -Pittsburg and Philadelphia, averaging eight feet in depth. - -We were called up before four on the second morning, and had barely time -to dress, step ashore, and take our places in the car, before the train -set off. We understood that the utmost possible advantage is taken of -the daylight, as the trains do not travel after dark; it being made a -point of, that the ropes should be examined before each trip. After -having breakfasted by the way, we reached the summit of the Portage -rail-road between nine and ten. There were fine views all the way; the -mountains opening and receding, and disclosing the distant clearings and -nestling villages. All around us were plots of wild flowers, of many -hues. - -We were carried on chiefly by steam power, partly by horse, partly by -descending weight, and, at the last, down a long reach, of the slightest -possible inclination, by our own weight. The motion was then -tremendously rapid, and it subsided only on our reaching the canal at -the foot of the mountains. - -There was again so much hurry--there being danger of either of two rival -boats getting first possession of the next locks, that we of the last -car had scarcely time to step on board before the team of three horses -began cantering and raising a dust on the towing path, and tugging us -through the water at such a rate as to make the waves lash the canal -bank. Our boat won the race, and we bolted with a victorious force into -the chamber of the first lock. - -We had occasionally to cross broad rivers. To-day we crossed the -Juniatta by a rope ferry, moved by water-power; and afterwards we -crossed the Susquehanna (at the junction of two branches of the -Juniatta, the Susquehanna, and two canals) by means of the towing-path -being carried along the outside of the great covered bridge which spans -the river at Duncan's Island. - -The next morning we had to leave the broad, clear, but shallow -Susquehanna,--the "river of rocks," as its name imports. I had before -travelled almost its whole length along its banks; and, like every one -who has done so, loved its tranquil beauty. - -The last stage of this remarkable journey was from Columbia to -Philadelphia, by rail-road, eighty-one miles, which we were seven hours -in performing, as the stoppages were frequent and long. This work, which -was opened in 1834, includes thirty-one viaducts, seventy-three stone -culverts, five hundred stone drains, and eighteen bridges. Its cost was -about 1,600,000 dollars.--The length of this passage from Philadelphia -to Pittsburg is 394 miles. - -Where, I again ask, would have been these great works, but for the -immigration so seriously complained of by some? - -The number of considerable canals, varying in length from fourteen to -three hundred and sixty-three miles, was, in 1835, twenty-five. Of -rail-roads, from fifteen to a hundred and thirty-two miles long, there -were fourteen. The cost of these canals was 64,573,099 dollars. The cost -of these rail-roads was nearly thirty millions of dollars. - -The Dutch are the best people to apply to for capital when any canal -work is projected. I heard it said that the word "canal" was enough for -them. - -The steam-boats of the United States are renowned, as they deserve to -be. There is no occasion to describe their size and beauty here; but -their number is astonishing. I understand that three hundred were -navigating the great western rivers some time ago: and the number is -probably much increased. - -Among so many, and where the navigation is so dangerous as on the -Mississippi, it is no wonder that the accidents are numerous. I was -rather surprised at the cautions I received throughout the south about -choosing wisely among the Mississippi steam-boats; and at the question -gravely asked, as I was going on board, whether I had a life-preserver -with me. I found that all my acquaintances on board had furnished -themselves with life-preservers; and my surprise ceased when we passed -boat after boat on the river, delayed or deserted on account of some -accident. We were on board the "Henry Clay," a noble boat, of high -reputation; the present being the ninety-seventh trip accomplished -without accident. Our yawl was snagged one day; and we encountered a -squall and hail storm, one night, which blew both the pilots away from -the helm, and made them look "to see the hurricane deck blown clear -off;" but no mischief ensued. - -Notwithstanding the increase of steam-boats in the Mississippi, flat -boats are still much in use. These are large boats, of rude -construction, made just strong enough to hold together, and keep their -cargo of flour, or other articles, dry, from some high point on the -great rivers, to New Orleans. They are furnished with two enormous oars, -fixed on what is, I suppose, called their deck; to be used where the -current is sluggish, or when it is desirable to change the direction of -the boat. The cumbrous machine is propelled by the stream; her -proprietors only occasionally helping her progress, now by pulling at -the branches of overhanging trees, now by turning her into the more -rapid of two currents. She is seen sometimes floating down the very -middle of the river; sometimes gliding under the banks. At noon, a bower -of green leaves is waving on her deck, for shade to her masters; at -night, a pine brand is waved, flaming, to give warning to the -steam-boats not to run her down. The voyage from the upper parts of the -Ohio to New Orleans, is thus performed in from three to five weeks. The -cargo being disposed of at New Orleans, the boat is broken up, and the -materials sold; and her masters work their way home again, as deck -passengers on board a steam-boat, by bringing in wood at all the wooding -places. The "Henry Clay" had a larger company of this kind of passengers -than the captain liked. He declared that the deck was giving way under -their number. It was a pretty sight to see them twice a day,--very early -in the morning, and about sunset,--pour from the boat, when she drew -under the shore, form two lines between the boat and the wood pile, and -bring in their loads. Most of them were tall Kentuckians, who really do -look unlike all other people. I felt a strong inclination for a -flat-boat voyage down the vast and beautiful Mississippi; beautiful with -islands and bluffs, and the eternal forest; but I have lost the -opportunity. If I should ever visit that beloved country again, this -picturesque kind of craft will have disappeared, as the yet more -barbarous raft is now disappearing; and one more characteristic feature -of western scenery will be effaced. - -It seems probable that there will be a more rapid increase of ships and -schooners than of steam-boats on the northern lakes. These lakes are so -subject to gusts and storms that steam-boats cannot be considered safe, -and ought to make no promises of punctuality. The captains declare their -office to be too anxious a one. A squall comes from any quarter, without -notice; and the boat no sooner seems to be proceeding prosperously on -her way, than she has to run in somewhere for safety from a sudden -storm. - -Of all the water-craft I ever saw, I know none so graceful as the sloops -on the Hudson; unless it be the New York pilot-boats. The North-River -sloops are an altogether peculiar race of boats. They are low, and can -carry a great press of sail, from the smoothness of the water on which -they perform their voyages. A sloop of a hundred and fifty tons will -carry a mast of ninety feet high. I could watch these boats on the -Hudson, a whole summer through; moored beside a pebbly strand, in a -recess of the shore; or lying dark in a trail of glittering sunshine; or -turning the whitest of sails to the sun, startling the fish-hawk with -the sudden gleam, so that he quits his prey, and makes for the hanging -woods. I saw their graceful forms disclosed by lightning, while I was -watching, from the piazza of the West Point Hotel, the progress of a -tremendous storm. I saw them as suddenly disclosed at another time; and -still more strikingly. From the terrace of Pine Orchard House, on the -summit of the Catskill Mountain, I watched, one July morning, at four -o'clock, the breaking of the dawn over the entire valley of the Hudson. -The difference between mountain, forest, and meadow, first appeared. -Then the grey river seemed to grow into sight, for the whole length of -its windings. It was twelve miles off, and looked little more than a -thread. The sun came up, like a golden star resting on the mountain-top; -and, on the instant, the river was seen to be peopled with these sloops. -Their white sails came in one instant into view, together with the -churches in the hamlets, and the bright gables of the farm-houses in the -meadows. The whole scene was made alive by one ray. - -There will be no want of markets for produce of all kinds, in the United -States, within any time that can be foreseen. If slavery were to be -abolished to-morrow, and, in consequence, more corn grown and cattle -reared in the slave States, the demand for both from the north-western -States would still go on to increase; so vast and progressive would be -the improvement in the south. The great cities are even yet ill supplied -from the country. Provisions are very dear; and the butcher's meat -throughout the country is far inferior to what it will be when an -increased amount of labour, and means of transport, shall encourage -improvement in the pasturage and care of stock. While, as we have seen, -fowls, butter, and eggs, are still sent from Vermont into Boston, there -is no such thing to be had there as a joint of tender meat. In one house -at Boston, where a very numerous family lives in handsome style, and -where I several times met large dinner parties, I never saw an ounce of -meat, except ham. The table was covered with birds, in great variety, -and well cooked; but all winged creatures. The only tender, juicy meat I -saw in the country, was a sirloin of beef at Charleston, and the whole -provision of a gentleman's table in Kentucky. At one country place, -there was nothing but veal on the table for a month; in a town where I -staid ten days, nothing was to be had but beef: and throughout the south -the traveller meets little else than pork, under all manner of -disguises, and fowls. - -Much is said in England about the cheapness of living in the United -States, without its being understood what need there is of equalising, -(or what appears so to the inhabitants of an old country,) by means of -markets. In places where beef and veal are twopence per pound, and -venison a penny, (English,) tea may be twenty shillings per pound, and -gloves seven shillings a pair. At Charlottesville University, fowls were -provided to the professors' families at a dollar a dozen. In the towns -of Kentucky, meat is fourpence per pound; in the rural parts of -Pennsylvania a penny or twopence; and butter sixpence. At Ebensburg, on -the top of the Alleghanies, we staid twenty-five hours. Two of us were -well taken care of, had attendance, good beds, two dinners each, supper, -breakfast, and a supply of buns to carry away with us; and all for one -dollar; the dollar at that time being four shillings and twopence -English. The next week, I paid six dollars for the making of a gown at -Philadelphia; and all the ladies of a country town, not very far off, -were wearing gloves too bad to be mended, or none at all, because none -had come up by the canal for many weeks. - -At Washington, I wanted some ribbon for my straw bonnet; and, in the -whole place, in the season, I could find only six pieces of ribbon to -choose from. - -Throughout the entire country, (out of the cities,) I was struck with -the discomfort of broken windows which appeared on every side. Large -farm-houses, flourishing in every other respect, had dismal-looking -windows. I was possessed with the idea that the business of a -travelling glazier would be a highly profitable one. Persons who happen -to live near a canal, or other quiet watery road, have baskets of glass -of various sizes sent to them from the towns, and glaze their own -windows. But there is no bringing glass over a corduroy, or mud, or -rough limestone road; and those who have no other highways must "get -along" with such windows as it may please the weather and the children -to leave them. - -The following laconic dialogue shows, not unfairly, even if it be a mere -jest, how acceptable means of transport would be to western settlers. - -"Whose land was this that you bought?" - -"Mogg's." - -"What's the soil?" - -"Bogs." - -"What's the climate?" - -"Fogs." - -"What do you get to eat?" - -"Hogs." - -"What did you build your house of?" - -"Logs." - -"Have you any neighbours?" - -"Frogs." - -There are only two methods (besides rare accidents) by which dwellers in -such places can get their wants supplied. When a few other neighbours -besides frogs, gather round the settler, some one opens a grocery store. -I went shopping near the Falls of Niagara; about a quarter of a mile -from which place, there is a store on the borders of the forest. I saw -there glass and bacon; stay-laces, prints, drugs, rugs, and crockery; -bombazeens and tin cans; books, boots, and moist sugar, &c. &c. - -Pedlars are the other agents of supply. It has been mentioned how bibles -and other books are sold by youths who adopt this method of speedily -raising money. The Yankee pedlars, with their wooden clocks, are -renowned. One of these gentry lately retired with a fortune of a hundred -thousand dollars, made by the sale of wooden clocks alone. These men are -great benefactors to society: for, be their clocks what they may, they -make the country people as well off as the inhabitants of towns, in the -matter of knowing the time; and what more would they have? One would -think there was no sun in the United States, so very imaginative are -most of the population in respect of the hour. Even in New York I found -a wide difference between the upper and lower parts of the city: and -between Canandaigua and Buffalo there was the slight variation of half -an hour. In some parts of the south, we were at the mercy of whatever -clock the last pedlar might have happened to bring, for the appearance -of meals: but it appeared as if the clocks themselves had something of -the Yankee spirit in them; for, while they were usually too fast, I -rarely knew one too slow. - -The perplexity about time took a curious form in one instance, in the -south. The lady of the governor of the State had never had sufficient -energy to learn the clock. With both clock and watch in the house, she -was incessantly sending her slave Venus, (lazy, ignorant, awkward, and -ugly,) into a neighbour's house to ask the hour. Three times in one -morning did Venus loll against the drawing-room door, her chin in her -hands, drawling, - -"What's the time?" - -"Nine, Venus." - -Venus went home, and told her mistress it was one. Dinner was hastened; -but it soon appearing from some symptom that it could not be so late, -Venus appeared again, with her chin reposing as before. - -"What's the time?" - -"Between ten and eleven, Venus." - -Venus carries word that it is eight. And so on. - -The race of pedlars will decrease, year by year. There will be fewer -carts, nicely packed with boxes and baskets. There will be fewer youths -in homespun, with grave faces and somewhat prim deportment, in -well-laden gigs. There will be fewer horsemen, with saddle-bags, and -compact wooden cases. There will be fewer pedestrians, with pouches -strung before and behind, an umbrella in one hand, and an open book in -the other. The same men, or their sons, will gain in fortune, and lose -perhaps somewhat in mind and manners, by being stationary, or the -frequenters of some established market. - -The conveying of vast quantities of cotton and other produce towards the -southern ports is already a matter of pride to the residents, who boast -that they employ the industry of persons a thousand miles off to provide -food for themselves and their dependents. The bustle of the great -northern markets is also very striking to the stranger who sees to what -distance in the interior, the produce of Europe and Asia is to be -conveyed. But, a few years hence, the spread of comfort and luxury will -be as great as that of industry is now. By a vast augmentation of the -means of transport, markets will be opened wherever the soil is -peculiarly rich, the mines remarkably productive, or the locality -especially inviting. - -The object is an all-important one. As it is too late to restrict the -territory on which the American people are dispersed, it is most -serviceable that they should be brought together again, for purposes of -intercourse, mutual education and discipline, and wise co-operation in -the work of self-government, by such means as exist for practically -annihilating time and space. The certain increase of wealth by these -means is a good. The certain increase of people is an incalculably -greater. The certain increase of knowledge and civilisation is the -greatest of all. - - -SECTION I. - -INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. - -One of the most important constitutional questions that has arisen in -the United States is one, regarding Internal Improvements, which has -grown out of a failure of foresight in the makers of the constitution. -No set of men could be expected to foresee every great question which -must arise during the advancement of a young country; and there is no -evidence of its having occurred to any one, in the early days of the -republic, to inquire whether the general government should have power to -institute and carry on public works, all over the States; and under what -limitations. Many inconsistent and contradictory proceedings have taken -place in Congress, since the question was first raised; and it remains -unsettled. - -For some years after the Revolution, the treasury had enough to do to -pay the debts of the war, and defray the expenses attendant upon the -organisation of the new system. As soon as a surplus was found to be in -hand, suggestions were heard about improving the country. In 1796, Mr. -Madison proposed a resolution to cause a survey to be made for a road -from north to south, through all the Atlantic States. No appropriation -was made for the purpose: but no objection was offered on the ground of -the general government not having power to make such appropriation. The -difficulty of access to the great western wilderness was represented to -Congress under Mr. Jefferson's administration, in 1802; and a law was -passed, making appropriations for opening roads in the north-west -territory. This was the first appropriation made by Congress for -purposes of internal improvement. Many similar acts followed; and -road-making and surveying the coast went on expeditiously, and to a -great extent. In 1807, Mr. Gallatin prepared the celebrated Report to -the Senate, which contains a systematic plan for the improvement of the -whole country. In 1812, during Mr. Madison's administration, a survey -was authorised of the main post road from Maine to Georgia. Improvement -under the sanction of Congress went on with increased activity into the -administration of Mr. Monroe, by whom the first check was given. Mr. -Monroe vetoed the bill authorising the collection of tolls for the -repair of the Cumberland road. The reason assigned for the veto was, -that it was one thing to make appropriations for public works, and -another thing to assume jurisdiction and sovereignty over the soil on -which such works were erected; and President Monroe did not believe that -Congress could assume power to levy toll.[2] By his adoption of a -subsequent act, involving the same principles, however, it seemed that -he had changed his opinion, or resolved to yield the question. - -Mr. J. Q. Adams's advocacy of internal improvements removed some -lingering difficulties; and, while he was President, the public works -were carried on with great activity. The southern members of Congress, -however, were generally opposed to the exercise of this power by the -general government: and it has ever since been a strongly-debated -question. - -President Jackson's course on the subject has not been very consistent. -Before his election, he always voted for internal improvements, going so -far as to advocate subscriptions by government to the stock of private -canal companies, and the formation of roads beginning and ending within -the limits of particular States. In his message at the opening of the -first Congress after his accession, he proposed the division of the -surplus revenue among the States, as a substitute for the promotion of -internal improvements by the general government. He attempted a -limitation and distinction too difficult and important to be settled and -acted upon on the judgment and knowledge of one man;--a distinction -between general and local objects. It is manifestly impossible to draw -the line with any precision. The whole Union is benefited by the Erie -canal, though it lies wholly within the limits of the State of New York; -and a thousand positions of circumstances may be imagined by which local -advantages may become general, and general local, so as to confound the -limitation altogether. At any rate, the judgment and knowledge of any -individual, or any cabinet, are obviously unequal to the maintenance of -such a distinction. - -In 1829 and 1830, the President advocated such an amendment of the -constitution as would authorise Congress to apply the surplus revenue to -certain specified objects, involving the general good; and he strongly -objected to the general government exercising a power, considered by -him unconstitutional, merely because there was a quantity of money in -the treasury which must be disposed of. He has since changed his -opinion, and believes that less evil would be incurred by even suddenly -reducing the revenue to the amount of the wants of the government, than -by conferring on the general government immense means of patronage, and -opportunity for corrupt and wasteful expenditure. - -These changes of opinion in President Jackson prove nothing so clearly -as the great difficulty of the subject. It is, however, so pressing and -so important that, notwithstanding its difficulty, it must be settled -before long. - -The opposing arguments seem to me to be these. - -The advocates of a concession to Congress of the power of conducting -internal improvements plead, with regard to the constitutionality of the -power, that it is conferred by the clauses which authorise Congress to -make post-roads: to regulate commerce between the States: to make and -carry on war; (and therefore to have roads by which to transport -troops;) to lay taxes, to pay the debts, and provide for the general -welfare of the United States: and to pass all laws necessary to carry -into effect its constitutional powers. - -The answer is, that to derive from these clauses any countenance of the -practice of spending without limit the public funds, for objects which -any present government may declare to be for the general welfare, is an -obvious straining of the instrument: that, by such methods, the -constitution may be made to authorise the spending of any amount -whatever, for any purpose whatever: that it is the characteristic of the -constitution to specify the powers given to Congress with a nicety which -is wholly inconsistent with such a boundless conveyance of power as is -here presumed: and that, accordingly, the permission to lay taxes, to -pay the debts, and provide for the general welfare of the United States, -is limited as to its objects by the preceding specifications: and that, -finally, the powers allotted to the State governments exclude the -supposition that Congress is authorised to assume such territorial -jurisdiction as it has been allowed to practise within the limits of the -several States. - -This last set of opinions appears to disinterested observers so -obviously reasonable, that the wonder is how so weak a stand on the -provisions of the constitution can have been maintained for any length -of time. The reason is, that the pleas of expediency are so strong as to -counterbalance the weakness of the constitutional argument. But, this -being the case, the truly honest and patriotic mode of proceeding would -be to add to the constitution by the means therein provided; instead of -straining the instrument to accomplish an object which was not present -to the minds of its framers. - -The pleas of the advocates of Internal Improvements are these: that very -extensive public works, designed for the benefit of the whole Union, and -carried through vast portions of its area, must be accomplished: that an -object so essential ought not to be left at the mercy of such an -accident as the cordial agreement of the requisite number of States, to -carry such works forward to their completion; that the surplus funds -accruing from the whole nation cannot be so well employed as in -promoting works by which the whole nation will be benefited: and that, -as the interests of the majority have hitherto upheld Congress in the -use of this power, it may be assumed to be the will of the majority that -Congress should continue to exercise it. - -The answer is, that it is inexpedient to put a vast and increasing -patronage into the hands of the general government: that only a very -superficial knowledge can be looked for in members of Congress as to the -necessity or value of works proposed to be instituted in any parts of -the States but those in which they are respectively interested: that -endless jealousies would arise between the various States,[3] from the -impossibility or undesirableness of equalising the amount of -appropriation made to each: that useless works would be proposed from -the spirit of competition, or individual interest:[4] and that -corruption, co-extensive with the increase of power, would deprave the -functions of the general government. - -There is much truth on both sides here. In the first set of pleas there -is so much force that they have ceased to be, what they were once -supposed, the distinctive doctrines of the federal party. Mr. Webster is -still considered the head of the Internal Improvements party; and Mr. -Calhoun was for some time the leader of its opponents. Jefferson's -latest opinions were strong against the power claimed and exercised by -Congress. Yet large numbers of the democratic party are as strenuous -for internal improvements as Adams and Webster themselves; the interests -of the majority being clearly on that side. - -To an impartial observer it appears that Congress has no constitutional -right to devote the public funds to internal improvements, at its own -unrestricted will and pleasure: that the permitted usurpation of the -power for so long a time indicates that some degree of such power in the -hands of the general government is desirable and necessary: that such -power should be granted through an amendment of the constitution, by the -methods therein provided: that, in the mean time, it is perilous that -the instrument should be strained for the support of any function, -however desirable its exercise may be. - -In case of the proposed addition being made to the constitution, -arrangements will, of course, be entered into for determining the -principles by which general are to be distinguished from local objects, -or whether such distinction can, on any principle, be fixed; for testing -the utility of proposed objects; for checking extravagant expenditure, -jobbing, and corrupt patronage: in short, the powers of Congress will be -specified, here, as in other matters, by express permission and -prohibition. These details, difficult or unmanageable amidst the -questionable exercise of a great power, will, doubtless, be arranged so -as to work with precision, when the will of the majority is brought to -bear directly upon them. - -It is time that this great question should be settled. Congress goes on -making appropriations for a road here, a canal there, a harbour or a -light-house somewhere else. All these may or may not be necessary. -Meantime, those who have law on their side, exclaim against -extravagance, jobbing, and encroachment on popular rights. Those who -have expediency on their side plead necessity, the popular will, and the -increasing surplus revenue. - -If the constitution provides means by which law, expediency, and the -prevention of abuse, can be reconciled to the satisfaction of all, -surely the sooner it is done the better. Thus the matter appears to a -passing stranger. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "The income of the public works of the State" (South Carolina) "is -very small, not exceeding 15,000 dollars per annum, over the cost of -management, although the State has incurred a debt of 2,000,000 in -constructing them. In many parts of the State, canals have been -constructed, which do not yield sufficient to pay their current -expenses; and, with the exception of the State road, and the Columbia -canal, there is hardly a public work in the State, which, put up at -public auction, would find a purchaser." - -1833. _American Annual Register_, p. 285. - -[2] President Jackson is of opinion that no toll should be levied on -ways provided by the public revenue. It should be a complete and final -outlay, and none of the people compelled to pay for works effected by -the people's money. This seems clearly right. - -[3] South Carolina was in favour of Internal Improvements, till it was -found how much larger a share of the benefit would be appropriated by -the active and prosperous northern States than by those which are -depressed by slavery. Since that discovery, South Carolina's sectional -jealousy has been unbounded, and her opposition to the exercise of the -power very fierce. In her periodical publications, as well as through -other channels, she has declared herself neglected, or likely to be -neglected, on account of her being southern. The enterprise of the North -and depression of the South are, as usual, looked upon as favour and -neglect, shown by the general government. - -[4] When I was ascending the Mississippi, I observed a light-house -perched on a bluff, in a ridiculous situation. On asking the meaning of -the phenomenon, I was told that a senator from the State of Mississippi, -wishing to make a flourish about his zeal for the improvement of his -State, had obtained an appropriation from Congress to build this -light-house, which is of no earthly use. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -MANUFACTURES. - - "The crude treasures, perpetually exposed before our eyes, contain - within them other and more valuable principles. All these, - likewise, in their numberless combinations, which ages of labour - and research can never exhaust, may be destined to furnish, in - perpetual succession, new sources of our wealth and of our - happiness." - - BABBAGE. - - -The whole American people suffered, during the revolutionary war, from -the want of the comforts and some of the necessaries of life, now so -called. Their commerce with the world abroad being almost wholly -intercepted, they had nothing wherewith to console themselves but the -stocks which might be left in their warehouses, and the produce of their -soil. It is amazing, at this day, to hear of the wants of the commonest -articles of clothing and domestic use, undergone in those days by some -of the first families in the republic. - -The experience of these troubles suggested to many persons the -expediency of establishing manufactures in the United States: but there -was an almost universal prejudice against this mode of employment. It is -amusing now to read Hamilton's celebrated Report on Manufactures, -presented in 1790, and to see how elaborately the popular objections to -manufactures are answered. The persuasion of the nation was that America -was designed to be an agricultural country; that agriculture was wholly -productive, and manufactures not productive at all; and that agriculture -was the more honourable occupation. The two former prejudices have been -put to flight by happy experience. The last still lingers. It is not -five years since the President's message declared that "the wealth and -strength of a country are its population; and the best part of that -population are the cultivators of the soil." - -Such prepossessions may be left to die out. They arise mainly from a -very good notion, not very clearly defined;--that the more intercourse -men have with Nature, the better for the men. This is true; but Nature -is present in all places where the hands of men work, if the workmen can -but see her. If Nature is supposed present only where there is a blue -sky overhead, and grass and trees around, this shows only the narrowness -of mind of him who thus supposes. Her forces are at work wherever there -is mechanism; and man only directs them to his particular purpose. In -America, it may be said that her beauty is present wherever her forces -are at work; for men have there set up their mechanism in some of the -choicest spots in the land. There is a good and an evil aspect belonging -to all things. If tourists are exasperated at fine scenery being -deformed by the erection of mills, (which in many instances are more of -an ornament than a deformity,) let others be awake to the advantage that -it is to the work-people to have their dwellings and their occupation -fixed in spots where the hills are heaped together, and the waters leap -and whirl among rocks, rather than in dull suburbs where they and their -employments may not annoy the eye of the lover of the picturesque. It -always gave me pleasure to see the artisans at work about such places as -Glen's Falls, the Falls of the Genessee, and on the banks of some of the -whirling streams in the New England valleys. I felt that they caught, or -might catch, as beautiful glimpses of Nature's face as the western -settler. If the internal circumstances were favourable, there was little -in the outward to choose between. If they had the open mind's eye to see -beauty, and the soul to feel wonder, it mattered little whether it was -the forest or the waterfall (even though it were called the -"water-privilege") that they had to look upon; whether it was by the -agency of vegetation or of steam that they had to work. It is deplorable -enough, in this view, to be a poor artisan in the heart of our English -Manchester: but to be a thriving one in the most beautiful outskirts of -Sheffield is, perhaps, as favourable a lot for the lover of nature as to -be a labourer on any soil: and the privileges of the American artisans -are like this. - -As to the old objection to American manufactures, that America was -designed to be an agricultural country,--it seems to me, as I said -before, that America was meant to be everything. Her group of republics -is merged in one, in the eyes of the world; and, for some purposes, in -reality: but this involves no obligation to make them all alike in their -produce and occupations; but rather the contrary. Here, as everywhere -else, let the laws of nature be followed, and the procedure will be -wise. Nature has nothing to do with artificial boundaries and arbitrary -inclosures. There are many soils and many climates included within the -boundary line of the United States; many _countries_; and one rule -cannot be laid down for all. If there be any one or more of these where -the requisites for manufactures are present, and those for agriculture -deficient, there let manufactures arise. If there is poor land, and good -mill-seats; abundant material, animal and mineral, on the spot, and -vegetable easily to be procured; a sufficiency of hands, and talent for -the construction and use of machinery, there should manufactures spring -up. This is eminently the case with New England, and some other parts of -the United States. It was perceived to be so, even in the days when the -growth of cotton in the south was spoken of as a small experiment, not -likely to produce great consequences. - -New England formerly depended chiefly on the carrying trade. When that -resource was diminished, after the war, it is difficult to see how her -people were to be prevented setting up manufactures, or why they needed -any particular exhortation or assistance to do it. They had the -opportunity of obtaining foreign capital; their previous foreign -intercourses having pointed out to them where it had accumulated, and -might therefore be obtained with advantage. They had a vast material, -left from their fisheries, of skins, oil, and the bones of marine -animals; they had bark, hides, wood, flax, hemp, iron, and clay. They -had also the requisite skill; as may be seen by the following list of -domestic manufactures, carried on in private houses only, in 1790. -"Great quantities of coarse cloths, coatings, serges and flannels, -linsey-woolseys, hosiery of wool, cotton, and thread, coarse fustians, -jeans, and muslins, coverlets and counterpanes, tow linens, coarse -shirtings, sheetings, towellings, and table-linen, and various mixtures -of wool and cotton, and of cotton and flax, are made in the household -way; and, in many instances, to an extent not only sufficient for the -supply of the family in which they are made, but for sale, and even in -some cases for exportation. It is computed, in a number of districts, -that two-thirds, three-fourths, and even four-fifths of all the clothing -of the inhabitants, are made by themselves."[5] If all this was done -without the advantage of division of labour, of masses of capital, or of -other machinery than might be set up in a farm-house parlour, it is -clear that this region was fully prepared, five-and-forty years ago, for -the introduction of manufactures on a large scale; and there appears -every reason to believe that they might have been left to their natural -growth. - -The same Report mentions seventeen classes of manufacture going on as -distinct trades, at the same time, in the northern States. - -The only plausible objection to the establishment of manufactures was -the scarcity and dearness of labour, in comparison with that of the old -countries of Europe. But, if the exportation of some articles actually -took place, while the labour which produced them was scattered about in -farm-houses, what might not be expected if the same labour could be -called forth and concentrated, and aided by the introduction of -machinery? A great immigration of artisans might also be looked for, -when once any temptation was held out to the poor of Europe to come over -to a young and thriving country. Moreover, improvements in machinery are -the invariable consequence of a deficiency of manufacturing labour; for -the obvious reason that men's wits are urged to supply the want under -which their interests suffer. Again: manufactures can, to a considerable -degree, be carried on by the labour of women; and there is a great -number of unemployed women in New England, from the circumstance that -the young men of that region wander away in search of a settlement on -the land; and, after being settled, find wives in the south and west. - -Thus much of the case might have been, and was by some, foreseen. What -has been the event? - -In 1825, the amount of manufactures exported from the United States, was -5,729,797 dollars. Of these about one-fourth were cotton-piece goods, in -the sale of which the American merchants were now able to compete with -the English, in some foreign markets. The manufacture of cottons in the -United States afforded a market for one hundred and seventy-five -thousand bales of cotton annually; and the printed cottons manufactured -at home amounted annually to fourteen millions of yards. The importation -of cotton goods into the country in 1825 was in value between twelve and -thirteen millions of dollars; and in 1826, between nine and ten -millions. The woollen manufacture has never flourished like the cotton; -the bad effects of the tariff being more immediately visible in regard -to articles of manufacture whose raw material must be chiefly derived -from abroad. - -In 1828, the legislature of Massachusetts passed resolutions deploring -the increasing depression of the woollen manufacture, and praying for -increased protection from Congress. The exportation of cotton goods that -year amounted to upwards of a million of dollars; and the next year to -nearly a million and a half. The importation of cotton goods was all but -prohibited by the tariff of 1824: and the consequence was an immense -investment of capital in the cotton manufacture, almost on the instant; -and some perilous fluctuations since, too nearly resembling the -agitations of older countries, where the pernicious policy of ages has -accumulated difficulties on the present generation. - -At Lowell, in Massachusetts, there was in 1818, a small satinet mill, -employing about twenty hands; the place itself containing two hundred -inhabitants. In 1825, the Merrimack Manufacturing Company was formed; -it was joined by others; and in 1832, the capital invested was above six -millions of dollars. The whole number of operatives employed was five -thousand; of whom three thousand eight hundred were women and girls. The -quantity of raw cotton used was upwards of twenty thousand bales. The -quantity of pure cotton goods manufactured was twenty-five millions of -yards. The woollen fabric manufactured in these establishments was, at -the same time, one hundred and fifty thousand yards. Sixty-eight -carpet-looms were at work also. The workmen employed in all these -operations received for wages about 1,200,000 dollars per annum. About -two hundred mechanics, of a high order of ability, are constantly -employed. The fuel consumed in a year is five thousand tons of -anthracite coal, besides charcoal and wood. - -The same protective system which caused the sudden growth of such an -establishment as this, tempted numerous capitalists to seek their share -of the supposed benefits of the tariff. The manufacturing interest was -well nigh ruined by the protection it had asked for. The competition and -consequent over-manufacture were tremendous. Failure after failure took -place, till forty-five thousand spindles were standing idle, and -thousands of operatives were thrown into a state of poverty unnatural -enough in such a country as theirs. A cry was raised by many for a -repeal of the tariff: this created a panic among those who, on the -strength of the tariff, had withdrawn their capital from commerce, and -invested it in manufactures. The stock of all the manufacturing -companies was offered in vain, at prices ruinously low. Thus stood -matters in 1829. - -The history of the quarrel between the north and south about the tariff, -and the nature of the Compromise Bill, is already known. The mischief -done will be repaired, as far as reparation is possible, by the -reduction of the import duties, year by year, till 1842. If the demands -of the country and of foreign customers should not rise to the limit of -the over-manufacture which has taken place, time is thus allowed for the -gradual withdrawing of the capital and industry which have been seduced -into this method of employment. Meantime, the manufactures of the -northern States are permanently established, though not in the wisest -way. If they had been left to themselves, they would have been an -unmixed good to the community. As it is, society has suffered the -inevitable consequences of an irrational policy,--a policy indefensible -in a republic. It is well that the experiment wrought out its -consequences so speedily and so plainly that any repetition is -unlikely,--little as the natural laws which regulate commerce are yet -understood. - -In 1831, the total number of looms employed in the cotton manufacture of -the United States was 33,433. Of these, 21,336 were in New England; -3,653 in New York State; 6,301 in Pennsylvania; and the rest in -Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Virginia. - -Next to the cotton and woollen manufactures, the most valuable are -manufactures from flax and hemp; from tobacco and grain; sugar, soap, -and candles, gunpowder, gold and silver coin, iron, copper and brass, -hats, medicinal drugs, and shoes. - -The shoe manufacture is one of the most remarkable in the States, from -the suddenness and extent of its spread. It has been mentioned that the -shoe trade of New York State is more valuable than the total commerce of -Georgia. The extent to which the manufacture is carried on in one -village in Massachusetts, with which I am acquainted, shows the -prosperity of the business. - -In order to shoemaking, there must be tanning. There are many and large -tanneries in Danvers and the outskirts of Salem, for the supply of the -Lynn shoe-manufacture. The largest tannery in the United States is at -Salem. The hides are partly imported. The bark is brought from Maine. -These tanneries were in a state of temporary adversity when I saw them. -Some kinds of skins are two or three years in tanning; and capital is -thus locked up in such amounts as render fluctuation dangerous. It had -lately been discovered that oak bark could be had cheaper, and tanning -consequently carried on to a greater advantage up the Hudson than on the -Massachusetts coast: so that the tanners and curriers of Salem and -Danvers were descending somewhat from their high prosperity. But nothing -could exceed the nourishing aspect of Lynn, the sanctum of St. Crispin. - -In 1831, the value of boots and shoes, (very few boots, and chiefly -ladies' shoes,) made at Lynn was nearly a million of dollars a year. The -total number made was above a million and a half pairs: the number of -people employed, three thousand five hundred; being about seven-eighths -of the population of the place, partially employed; and some hundreds -from other places, wholly employed. Last year, the place was much on the -increase. A green, with a piece of water in the middle, and trees, was -being laid out in the centre of the town. New houses were rising in all -directions, and fresh hands were welcomed from any quarter; for the -orders sent could not be executed. Besides the domestic supply, two -million pairs of ladies' shoes a-year were sent off to the remotest -corners of the States; and, as they have once penetrated there, it seems -difficult to imagine where the demand will stop; for those remote -corners are all being more thickly peopled every day. Their united -demand will be enough to make the fortune of a whole State. - -It seems probable that a few more manufactures may be added to those -which are sure to flourish in the United States: as silk and wine. If -the government firmly refuses to interfere again in the way of -protection, it will be easily and safely discoverable what resources the -country really possesses; and what direction her improving industry may -naturally and profitably take. - - -SECTION I. - -THE TARIFF. - -If I were to go into anything like a detailed account of what I heard -about the tariff, during my travels, no room would be left for more -interesting affairs. The recrimination on the subject is endless. With -all this we have nothing to do, now that it is over. The philosophy and -fact of the transaction, and not the changes of opinion and -inconsistency of conduct of public men, are now of importance. It would -be well now to leave the persons, and look at the thing. - -Almost the only fact in relation to the tariff that I never heard -disputed is that it was, under one aspect, a measure of retaliation. -Rendering evil for evil answers no better in economical than in moral -affairs; even if it take the name of self-defence. Because the British -are foolish and wrong in refusing to admit American corn, the Americans -excluded British cottons and woollens. More was said, and I believe -sincerely, about self-defence than about retaliation: but it is very -remarkable that men so clear-headed, inquiring, and sagacious as the -authors of the American system, should not have seen further into the -condition of their own country, and learned more from the unhappy -experience of Europe, than to imagine that they could neutralise the -effects of the bad policy of England by adopting the same bad policy -themselves. It is strange that they did not see that if British cottons -and woollens found easy entrance into their country, it must have been -in exchange for something, though that something was not corn. It was -strange that they did not see that if the apparent facilities for -manufactures in the northern States were really great enough to justify -manufactures, individual enterprise would be sure to find it out; and -all the more readily for the deficiency in the resources of New England, -which is assigned as the reason for offering her legislative protection. -There was not even the excuse for interference which exists in old -countries; that by intricate complexities of mismanagement, economical -affairs have been perverted from their natural course. Here, in America, -a new branch of industry was to be instituted. The skill was ready; the -material was ready; the capital was procurable, if the object was good; -and ought not to be, if the object was unsound. The interests of the -people might have been trusted in their own hands. They would of -themselves have taken less of British cotton goods, and more of -something else which they could not get at home, if cotton goods could -be made better and cheaper at home than in England; which it is proved -that, for the most part, they can be. It is anticipated that when the -Compromise method expires, the home manufacture of some kinds of fine -cotton goods will diminish; but that the bulk of the manufacture is -beyond the reach of accident. The effect of the tariff has been to -over-stimulate a natural process, and thus to cause over-manufacture, -panic, and ruin to many. It is said, and with truth, that America can -afford to try experiments; that America is the very country that should -learn by experience; and so forth. But it should be remembered that -those who suffer are not always those who should be the learners. In New -England, there is a large class of very poor women,--ladies; some -working; some unable to work. I knew many of these; and was struck with -the great number of them who assigned as the cause of their poverty the -depreciation of factory stock, or the failure in other ways of factory -schemes, in which their parents or other friends had, beguiled by the -promises of the tariff, invested what should have been their -maintenance. - -No more need be said on the policy of the tariff. The truth is now very -extensively acknowledged; and though some of those who are answerable -for the American system continue to assume that manufactures could not -have been instituted without its assistance, I believe it is pretty -generally understood that no more infant manufactures will be burdened -with this cruel kind of protection. - -A far more important question than that of the policy is that of the -principle of a protective system in the United States. - -It is known that the strongest resistance was made to the American -system on the ground of its being unconstitutional. Its advocates -relied, for the necessary sanction, on the clauses which provide that -"Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, and duties, -imposts, and excises;"----and "to regulate commerce with foreign -nations." With regard to the first of these clauses, both parties seem, -more or less, in the right. By the tariff, Congress proposed "to lay and -collect duties and imposts," as the constitution gives it express leave -to do. Yet it is clear to those who view the constitution in the light -of the sun of the revolution, that, such permission was given solely -with a view to the collection of the revenue. No one of the framers of -the constitution could have foreseen that any proposal would be made to -lay duties for the protection of the productive interests of a section -of the Union. Such a use of the clause is forbidden in spirit, though -not in the letter, by the clause which ordains, "but all duties, -imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States." -This clause is, in its spirit, wholly condemnatory of partial -legislation by Congress. - -Remarks somewhat analogous may be made respecting the other clause, -which empowers Congress "to regulate commerce with foreign nations." By -the letter of this clause, Congress may appear to a superficial observer -authorised so to regulate its commerce with Great Britain as to cause an -arbitrary distribution of property and industry within her own -boundaries; but such a double action could never have been in -contemplation of the framers of the instrument. What they had in view -was obviously the guardianship of the national commercial rights, and -the promotion of the national commercial, not sectional manufacturing, -interests. - -Where the letter and the spirit of the constitution are made, by lapse -of time and change of circumstance, to bear out opposite modes of -conduct, there is an appeal which every man must make, for his -individual satisfaction and conviction. He must appeal to the -fundamental republican principles, out of which grew both the spirit and -the letter of the constitution. - -By these the tariff is hopelessly condemned. It is contrary to all sound -republican principle that the general government of a nation, widely -spread over regions, and separated into sections diversified in their -productions, occupations, and interests, should use its power of -legislating for the whole to provide for the particular interests of a -part. The principle of perfect political and social equality is violated -when the general government takes cognisance of local objects so far as -to do a deed which must materially affect the distribution of private -property; so far as to lay a tax on the whole of the nation for the -avowed object of benefiting a part. The government of a republic has no -business with distinctions among its subjects. It is to have no respect -of classes, more than of individuals. Its functions are to be discharged -for the common interest; and it is to entertain no fancies as to what -new institutions or arrangements will be beneficial or the contrary to -the nation. - -All such institutions and arrangements must be made within the several -States, or by an agreement of States; subject, of course, to the -permissions and prohibitions of the constitution. If one State, or -several States, should be pleased to decree bounties on their own -manufactures, let them do so. Whether the measure were wise or unwise, -no one out of the limits of such State or States would have a right to -complain. This could not be said under the tariff. It was a just -complaint which was urged by many States, that the federal -representation was made useless to the minority, from the moment that -the federal government applied itself to favour local and particular -interests. The case is not altered by the possible result being highly -beneficial to the whole country; which is the plea industriously -advanced by the advocates of the tariff. Whatever direction and -application of industry and capital may be ultimately most beneficial, -Congress has, on principle, no more business with it than with the -support of what may prove in the end to be the purest religious -doctrine. - -If America had been as free, from the beginning, in all respects, as a -young country ought to be,--free to run her natural course of -prosperity, subject only to the faithful laws which regulate the economy -of society as beneficially as another set of laws regulates the seasons, -we might never have heard of the American system. The poisonous anomaly -which has caused almost all the diseases that have afflicted the -republic, appears to be the original infection here also. If labour in -the southern States had been free long ago, the deterioration of -southern property would not have caused the southern planters to clamour -for legislative protection. The arbitrary tenure of labour made them -desire an arbitrary distribution of capital. They desired it for the -north, as eagerly as for themselves, expecting the result to be that the -cotton-growers would be protected by heavy import duties on cotton; and -that the prosperity of the north, depending, as they supposed, wholly on -its commerce, would be crippled by the same means; and thus, something -like an equality between north and south be restored. The effect was -different from what had been anticipated. The deterioration of the south -went on; and manufactures first replaced, and then renovated, the -commerce of the north. The next consequence was natural enough. The -south became infuriated against the tariff, not only on the reasonable -ground of its badness of principle, but on the allegation that it was -the cause of all the woes of the south,[6] and all the prosperity, -diversified with woes, of the north. It has always been the method of -slaveholders to lay the blame of their sufferings upon everything but -the real cause. Any one who reads the history of slavery in the book of -events, will find slave-holders of every country complaining bitterly -and incessantly of the want of legislative protection to themselves, or -of its being granted to others. In the present instance, it was a device -of the slave-holders, to renovate their falling fortunes, turned against -themselves. - -The true dignity of America would have been, had circumstances allowed -of it, to have followed out her own republican principles, instead of -adopting the false principles and injurious policy of older and less -favoured nations. If she had left labour and commerce, and capital -free; disdaining interference at home and retaliation abroad; showing -her faith in the natural laws of social economy by calmly committing to -them the external interests of her people, she would by this time have -been the pattern and instructress of the civilised world, in the -philosophy of production and commerce. But she had not the knowledge nor -the requisite faith; nor was it to be reasonably expected that she -should. Her doctrine was, and I fear still is, that she need not study -political economy while she is so prosperous as at present: that -political economy is for those who are under adversity. If in other -cases she allows that prevention is better than cure, avoidance than -reparation, why not in this? It may not yet be too late for her to be in -the van of all the world in economical as in political philosophy. The -old world will still be long in getting above its bad institutions. If -America would free her servile class by the time the provisions of the -Compromise Bill expire, and start afresh in pure economical freedom, she -might yet be the first to show, by her transcendent peace and -prosperity, that democratic principles are the true foundation of -economical, as well as political, welfare. - - -SECTION II. - -MANUFACTURING LABOUR. - -So much is said in Europe of the scarcity of agricultural labour in the -United States, that it is a matter of surprise that manufactures should -have succeeded as they have done. It is even supposed by some that the -tariff was rendered necessary by a deficiency of labour: that by -offering a premium on manufacturing industry, the requisite amount was -sought to be drawn away from other employments, and concentrated upon -this. This is a mistake. There is every reason to suppose that the -requisite amount of labour would have been forthcoming, if affairs had -been left to take their natural course. - -It has been shown that domestic manufactures were carried on to a great -extent, so far back as 1790. From that time to this, they have never -altogether ceased in the farm-houses, as the homespun, still so -frequently to be seen all over the country, and the agricultural -meetings of New England, (where there is usually a display of domestic -manufactures,) will testify. The hands by which these products are -wrought come to the factories, when the demand for labour renders it -worth while; and drop back into the farm-houses when the demand -slackens. - -It is not the custom in America for women (except slaves) to work out of -doors. It has been mentioned that the young men of New England migrate -in large numbers to the west, leaving an over-proportion of female -population, the amount of which I could never learn. Statements were -made to me; but so incredible that I withhold them. Suffice it that -there are many more women than men in from six to nine States of the -Union. There is reason to believe that there was much silent suffering -from poverty before the institution of factories; that they afford a -most welcome resource to some thousands of young women, unwilling to -give themselves to domestic service, and precluded, by the customs of -the country, from rural labour. We have seen how large a proportion of -the labour in the Lowell factories is supplied by women. - -Much of the rest is furnished by immigrants. I saw English, Irish, and -Scotch operatives. I heard but a poor character of the English -operatives; and the Scotch were pronounced "ten times better." The -English are jealous of their 'bargain,' and on the watch lest they -should be asked to do more than they stipulated for: their habits are -not so sober as those of the Scotch, and they are incapable of going -beyond the single operation they profess. Such is the testimony of their -employers. - -The demand for labour is, however, sufficiently imperious in all the -mechanical departments to make it surprising that prison labour is -regarded with such jealousy as I have witnessed. When it is considered -how small a class the convicts of the United States are, and are likely -to remain, how essential labour is to their reformation, how few are the -kinds of manufacture which they can practise, and that it is of some -importance that prison establishments should maintain themselves, it -seems wholly unworthy of the intelligent mechanics of America that they -should be so afraid of convict labour as actually to obtain pledges from -some candidates for office, to propose the abolition of prison -manufactures. I believe that the Sing-Sing and Auburn prisons, in the -State of New York, turn out a greater variety and amount of products -than any others; and they have yet done very little more than maintain -themselves. The Sing-Sing convicts quarry and dress granite: the Auburn -prisoners make clocks, combs, shoes, carpets, and machinery. They are -cabinet and chair-makers, weavers, and tailors. There were 650 prisoners -when I was there; and of these many were inexperienced workmen; and all -were not employed in manufactures. Jealousy of such a set of craftsmen -is absurd, in the present state of the American labour-market. - -I saw specimens of each of these kinds of labour. A few days after I -entered the country, I was taken to an agricultural meeting, held -annually at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. We were too late to see the best -part of it,--the dispensing of prizes for the best agricultural skill, -and for the choicest domestic manufactures. But there were specimens -left which surprised me by the excellence of their quality;--table and -bed-linen, diapers, blankets, and knitted wares. There was an ingenious -model of a bed for invalids, combining many sorts of facilities for -change of posture. There were nearly as many women as men at this -meeting; all were well dressed, and going to and fro in the household -vehicle, the country-wagon, with the invariable bear-skin covering the -seat, and peeping out on all sides. A comfortable display, from the -remains of the dinner, was set out for us by smart mulatto girls, with -snow-berries in their hair. The mechanics' houses in this beautiful -village would be enough, if they could be exhibited in England, to tempt -over half her operatives to the new world. - -The first cotton-mill that I saw was at Paterson, New Jersey. It was set -up at first with nine hundred spindles, which were afterwards increased -to fifteen hundred; then to six thousand. Building was still going on -when I was there. The girls were all well-dressed. Their hair was -arranged according to the latest fashions which had arrived, viâ New -York, and they wore calashes in going to and fro between their dwellings -and the mill. I saw some of the children barefooted, but carrying -umbrellas, under a slight sprinkling of rain. I asked whether those who -could afford umbrellas went barefoot for coolness, or other convenience. -The proprietor told me that there had probably been an economical -calculation in the case. Stockings and shoes would defend only the feet; -while the umbrella would preserve the gloss of the whole of the rest of -the costume. There seems, however, to be a strong predilection for -umbrellas in the United States. A convict, in solitary confinement in -the Philadelphia prison, gave me the history of all his burglaries. The -proximate cause of his capture after the last was an umbrella. He had -broken into a good-looking house, and traversed it in vain in search of -something worth the risk of carrying away. On leaving the house, he -found it rained. He went back, and took a new cotton umbrella. It dawned -as he entered the city, and he was afraid of being seen with the -umbrella; but thought suspicion would be excited if he "heaved it away." -He met an acquaintance who was further from home than himself, and -insisted on his accepting the loan of the umbrella. The acquaintance, of -course, was caught, and told from whom he had had the umbrella; and the -burglar was, in consequence, lodged in jail. What English burglar would -have thought of minding rain? If, however, there ever was a case of -amateur burglary, this was one. - -I visited the corporate factory-establishment at Waltham, within a few -miles of Boston. The Waltham Mills were at work before those of Lowell -were set up. The establishment is for the spinning and weaving of cotton -alone, and the construction of the requisite machinery. Five hundred -persons were employed at the time of my visit. The girls earn two, and -some three, dollars a-week, besides their board. The little children -earn one dollar a-week. Most of the girls live in the houses provided by -the corporation, which accommodate from six to eight each. When sisters -come to the mill, it is a common practice for them to bring their mother -to keep house for them and some of their companions, in a dwelling built -by their own earnings. In this case, they save enough out of their board -to clothe themselves, and have their two or three dollars a-week to -spare. Some have thus cleared off mortgages from their fathers' farms; -others have educated the hope of the family at college; and many are -rapidly accumulating an independence. I saw a whole street of houses -built with the earnings of the girls; some with piazzas, and green -venetian blinds and all neat and sufficiently spacious. - -The factory people built the church, which stands conspicuous on the -green in the midst of the place. The minister's salary (eight hundred -dollars last year) is raised by a tax on the pews. The corporation gave -them a building for a lyceum, which they have furnished with a good -library, and where they have lectures every winter,--the best that money -can procure. The girls have, in many instances, private libraries of -some merit and value. - -The managers of the various factory establishments keep the wages as -nearly equal as possible, and then let the girls freely shift about from -one to another. When a girl comes to the overseer to inform him of her -intention of working at the mill, he welcomes her, and asks how long she -means to stay. It may be six months, or a year, or five years, or for -life. She declares what she considers herself fit for, and sets to work -accordingly. If she finds that she cannot work so as to keep up with the -companion appointed to her, or to please her employer or herself, she -comes to the overseer, and volunteers to pick cotton, or sweep the -rooms, or undertake some other service that she can perform. - -The people work about seventy hours per week, on the average. The time -of work varies with the length of the days, the wages continuing the -same. All look like well-dressed young ladies. The health is good; or -rather, (as this is too much to be said about health any where in the -United States,) it is no worse than it is elsewhere. - -These facts speak for themselves. There is no need to enlarge on the -pleasure of an acquaintance with the operative classes of the United -States. - -The shoe-making at Lynn is carried on almost entirely in private -dwellings, from the circumstance that the people who do it are almost -all farmers or fishermen likewise. A stranger who has not been -enlightened upon the ways of the place would be astonished at the number -of small square erections, like miniature school-houses, standing each -as an appendage to a dwelling-house. These are the "shoe shops," where -the father of the family and his boys work, while the women within are -employed in binding and trimming. Thirty or more of these shoe-shops may -be counted in a walk of half-a-mile. When a Lynn shoe manufacturer -receives an order, he issues the tidings. The leather is cut out by men -on his premises; and then the work is given to those who apply for it; -if possible, in small quantities, for the sake of dispatch. The shoes -are brought home on Friday night, packed off on Saturday, and in a -fortnight or three weeks are on the feet of dwellers in all parts of the -Union. The whole family works upon shoes during the winter; and in the -summer, the father and sons turn out into the fields, or go fishing. I -knew of an instance where a little boy and girl maintained the whole -family, while the earnings of the rest went to build a house. I saw very -few shabby houses. Quakers are numerous in Lynn. The place is -unboundedly prosperous, through the temperance and industry of the -people. The deposits in the Lynn Savings' Bank in 1834, were about -34,000 dollars, the population of the town being then 4,000. Since that -time, both the population and the prosperity have much increased. It -must be remembered, too, that the mechanics of America have more uses -for their money than are open to the operatives of England. They build -houses, buy land, and educate their sons and daughters.[7] - -It is probably true that the pleasures and pains of life are pretty -equally distributed among its various vocations and positions: but it is -difficult to keep clear of the impression which outward circumstances -occasion, that some are eminently desirable. The mechanics of these -northern States appear to me the most favoured class I have ever known. -In England, I believe the highest order of mechanics to be, as a class, -the wisest and best men of the community. They have the fewest base and -narrow interests: they are brought into sufficient contact with the -realities of existence, without being hardened by excess of toil and -care; and the knowledge they have the opportunity of gaining is of the -best kind for the health of the mind. To them, if to any, we may look -for public and private virtue. The mechanics of America have nearly all -the same advantages, and some others. They have better means of living: -their labours are perhaps more honoured; and they are republicans, -enjoying the powers and prospects of perfectly equal citizenship. The -only respect in which their condition falls below that of English -artisans of the highest order is that the knowledge which they have -commonly the means of obtaining is not of equal value. The facilities -are great: schools, lyceums, libraries, are open to them: but the -instruction imparted there is not so good as they deserve. Whenever they -have this, it will be difficult to imagine a mode of life more -favourable to virtue and happiness than theirs. - -There seems to be no doubt among those who know both England and -America, that the mechanics of the New World work harder than those of -the Old. They have much to do besides their daily handicraft business. -They are up and at work early about this; and when it is done, they read -till late, or attend lectures; or perhaps have their houses to build or -repair, or other care to take of their property. They live in a state -and period of society where every man is answerable for his own -fortunes; and where there is therefore stimulus to the exercise of every -power. - -What a state of society it is when a dozen artisans of one -town,--Salem,--are seen rearing each a comfortable one-story (or, as the -Americans would say, two-story) house, in the place with which they have -grown up! when a man who began with laying bricks criticises, and -sometimes corrects, his lawyer's composition; when a poor errand-boy -becomes the proprietor of a flourishing store, before he is thirty; pays -off the capital advanced by his friends at the rate of 2,000 dollars per -month; and bids fair to be one of the most substantial citizens of the -place! - -Such are the outward fortunes of the mechanics of America. Of their -welfare in more important respects, to which these are but a part of the -means, I shall have to speak in another connexion. - -There are troubles between employers and their workmen in the United -States, as elsewhere: but the case of the men is so much more in their -own hands there than where labour superabounds, that strikes are of a -very short duration. The only remedy the employers have, the only -safeguard against encroachments from their men, is their power of -obtaining the services of foreigners, for a short time. The difficulty -of stopping business there is very great; the injury of delay very -heavy: but the wages of labour are so good that there is less cause for -discontent on the part of the workmen than elsewhere. All the strikes I -heard of were on the question of hours, not of wages. - -The employers are, of course, casting about to see how they can help -themselves; and, as all are not wise and experienced, it is natural that -some should talk of laws to prohibit Trades Unions. There is no harm in -their talking of such; for the matter will never get beyond -talk;--unless, indeed, the combinations of operatives should assume any -forms, or comprehend any principles inconsistent with the republican -spirit. The majority will not vote for any law which shall restrain any -number of artisans from agreeing for what price they will sell their -labour; though I heard several learned gentlemen agreeing, at dinner one -day, that there ought to be such laws. On my objecting that the interest -of the parties concerned would, especially in a free and rising country, -settle all questions between labour and capital with more precision, -fairness, and peace, than any law, it was pleaded that intimidation and -outrage were practised by those who combined against those who would not -join them. I found, on inquiry, that there is an ample provision of laws -against intimidation and outrage; but that it is difficult to get them -executed. If so, it would be also difficult to execute laws against -combinations of workmen, supposing them obtained: and the grievance does -not lie in the combination complained of, but somewhere else. The remedy -is, (if there be indeed intimidation and outrage,) not in passing more -laws, to be in like manner defied, while sufficient already exist; but -in enlightening the parties on the subjects of law and social -obligation. - -One day, in going down Broadway, New York, the carriage in which I was, -stopped for some time, in consequence of an immense procession on the -side-walk having attracted the attention of all the drivers within -sight. The marching gentlemen proceeded on their way, with an easy air -of gentility. Banners were interposed at intervals; and, on examining -these, I could scarcely believe my eyes. They told me that this was a -procession of the journeymen mechanics of New York. Surely never were -such dandy mechanics seen; with sleek coats, glossy hats, gay -watch-guards, and doe-skin gloves! - -I rejoice to have seen this sight. I had other opportunities of -witnessing the prosperity of their employers; so that I could be fairly -pleased at theirs. There need be no fear for the interests of either, -while the natural laws of demand and supply must protect each from any -serious encroachment by the other. If they will only respect the law, -their temporary disagreement, and apparent opposition of interests will -end in being mere readjustments of the terms on which they are to pursue -their common welfare. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[5] Hamilton's Report on Manufactures. 1790. - -[6] The following sketch of the aspect of the south-eastern States is a -very faithful one. The error of the writer is in supposing that such a -condition could be brought about by the tariff, rather than by the -necessary operation of the slavery system, by which the children of the -third and fourth generations are always reduced to sigh for the -comparative prosperity of their fathers. - -"These views of the degradation of the southern States receive a -melancholy and impressive confirmation from the general aspect and -condition of the country, viewed in contrast with its former prosperity. -If the ancestors of this generation could rise from the grave, and -revisit the scenes of their former usefulness, they would not hesitate -to pronounce that the hand of oppression had fallen heavily upon the -inheritance of their children. They would be utterly at a loss to -account for the change everywhere exhibited, upon any other supposition. - -"With natural advantages more bountiful than were ever dispensed by a -kind Providence to any other people upon the face of the globe, they -would behold, from the mountains of the sea-coast, one unbroken scene of -cheerless stagnation and premature decay. With one of the most valuable -staples that ever blessed the labours of the husbandman, and swelled the -sails of a prosperous and enriching commerce, they would find that our -estates are, with a steady and fatal proclivity, depreciating in value, -our fields becoming waste, and our cities desolate. With habits of -industry and economy which have no example in our former history, they -would find the heirs of the largest inheritances generally involved in -embarrassments, and many of them irretrievably ruined. Wherever they -might cast their eyes, they would find melancholy evidences that the -withering blasts of an unsparing despotism had passed over the land, -blighting the choicest bounties of Providence, and leaving scarcely a -solitary memorial of our former prosperity. They would look in vain for -the animating scenes of successful industry, for the wealth and comforts -of a thriving population, and for those mansions of hospitality which -were once the seats of elegance, and the abodes of -cheerfulness."--_Southern Review, Nov. 1828._ p. 613. - -[7] The deposits in the Lowell Savings' Bank for 1834, were upwards of -114,000 dollars. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -COMMERCE. - - "He hath an argosy bound to Tripolis, another to the Indies: I - understand moreover upon the Rialto, he hath a third at Mexico, a - fourth for England: and other ventures he hath." - - _Merchant of Venice._ - - -There is no need to say much about the extent of the Commerce of the -United States, since it is already the admiration of Europe, and its -history is before every one in the shape of figures. The returns of -exports and imports annually published are sufficiently eloquent. - - - Dollars. -The Imports, for the year 1825, were in value, 96,340,075 - 1830, 70,876,920 - 1835, 126,521,332 - -The Exports of domestic produce, for 1825 were, 66,944,745 - of foreign produce 32,590,643 - ---------- - Total 99,535,388 - -The Exports of domestic produce for 1830 were, 59,462,029 - of foreign 14,387,479 - ---------- - 73,849,508 - -The Exports of domestic produce for 1835, were, 81,024,162 - of foreign 23,312,811 - ----------- - 104,336,973 - - -It will be seen, from these returns, how great a reduction in the -commerce of the United States was occasioned by the tariff, which -attracted a large amount of capital from commerce, to be invested in -manufactures. The balance has been nearly restored by the prospect of -the expiration of the protective system; and both commerce and -manufactures are again rapidly on the increase. The foreign tonnage of -Massachusetts has increased fifty-three per cent. within the last five -years, though, owing to a new mode of ship-construction, twice the -quantity is stowed in the same nominal tonnage. - -The commerce of the south-west was in high prosperity when I was there. -When I was at Mobile, in April 1835, I was informed that 183,000 bales -of cotton had been brought down into Mobile since the beginning of the -year.[8] A friend of mine, engaged in commerce there, told me of the -enormous interest on money then obtainable. Eight per cent. is the legal -interest; but double is easily to be had. Another, a wealthy gentleman -of New Orleans, speculates largely every season, for the sake of -something to do, and makes a fortune each time, by lending out at high -interest. He declares that he never loses, and never fails to gain -largely; the commerce is so flourishing, and the demand for capital so -intense. This is the region in which to witness the full absurdity of -usury laws. They are evaded, as often as convenient, and serve no other -purpose than to annex a kind of disgrace to a deed which must of -necessity be done,--loaning out money at higher than the legal interest. -The same evasion takes place in Massachusetts, where the legal interest -is six per cent. The interest there, as elsewhere, rises just as high as -the demand for money must naturally bring it. - -I was acquainted with a gentleman who had lost seventy-five thousand -dollars in an unfortunate speculation, and who expected to retrieve the -whole the next season. The price of everything was rising. For my own -share, I had to pay twelve dollars for my passage from Mobile to New -Orleans: and twenty-five per cent. higher for my voyage up the -Mississippi than if I had gone the preceding year. The fare I paid was -fifty dollars. These two fares were the only exceptions to the -remarkable cheapness of travelling in the United States and these would -not be considered high anywhere else. - -The Cumberland river, on which stands Nashville, the capital of -Tennessee, and which empties itself into the Ohio, has scarcely been -heard of in England; yet, of all the tobacco consumed in the world, -one-seventh goes down this river. I ascended it in a very small -steam-boat, one of twelve, six large and six small, then perpetually -navigating it, and carrying cotton, tobacco, and passengers. Of these -boats, one had carried, the preceding year, three hundred and sixty -bales of cotton, of the value of three hundred and sixty thousand -dollars. - -When we look at the northern ports, and observe the variety, as well as -the extent of their commerce, there seems good ground for the -expectation expressed to me by many American merchants, that the English -language will finally become familiar, not only over all the east, but -over all the globe. - -Salem, Massachusetts, is a remarkable place. This "city of peace" will -be better known hereafter for its commerce than for its witch-tragedy. -It has a population of 14,000; and more wealth in proportion to its -population than perhaps any town in the world. Its commerce is -speculative, but vast and successful. It is a frequent circumstance that -a ship goes out without a cargo, for a voyage round the world. In such a -case, the captain puts his elder children to school, takes his wife and -younger children, and starts for some semi-barbarous place, where he -procures some odd kind of cargo, which he exchanges with advantage for -another, somewhere else; and so goes trafficking round the world, -bringing home a freight of the highest value. - -The enterprising merchants of Salem are hoping to appropriate a large -share of the whale fishery; and their ships are penetrating the northern -ice. They are favourite customers in the Russian ports, and are familiar -with the Swedish and Norwegian coasts. They have nearly as much commerce -with Bremen as with Liverpool. They speak of Fayal and the other Azores -as if they were close at hand. The fruits of the Mediterranean countries -are on every table. They have a large acquaintance at Cairo. They know -Napoleon's grave at St. Helena, and have wild tales to tell of -Mosambique and Madagasca, and store of ivory to show from thence. They -speak of the power of the king of Muscat, and are sensible of the riches -of the south-east coast of Arabia. It entered some wise person's head, a -few seasons ago, to export ice to India. The loss, by melting, of the -first cargo, was one fourth. The rest was sold at six cents per lb. When -the value of this new import became known, it was in great request; and -the latter sales have been almost instantaneous, at ten cents per pound: -so that it is now a good speculation to send ice 12,000 miles to -supersede salt-petre in cooling sherbet. The young ladies of America -have rare shells from Ceylon in their cabinets; and their drawing-rooms -are decked with Chinese copies of English prints. I was amused with two: -the scene of Hero swooning in the church, from 'Much Ado about Nothing;' -and Shakspeare between Tragedy and Comedy. The faces of Comedy and of -Beatrice from the hands of Chinese! I should not have found out the -place of their second birth but for a piece of unfortunate -foreshortening in each. I observed to a friend, one day, upon the beauty -of all the new cordage that met my eye, silky and bright. He told me -that it was made of Manilla hemp, of the value of which the British seem -to be unaware; though it has been introduced into England. He mentioned -that he had been the first importer of it. Eight years before, 600 bales -per annum were imported: now, 20,000. The merchants doubt whether -Australia will be able to surmount the disadvantage of a deficiency of -navigable rivers. They have hopes of Van Diemen's Land, think well of -Singapore, and acknowledge great expectations from New Zealand. Any body -will give you anecdotes from Canton, and descriptions of the Society -and Sandwich Islands. They often slip up the western coasts of their two -continents; bring furs from the back regions of their own wide land; -glance up at the Andes on their return; double Cape Horn; touch at the -ports of Brazil and Guiana; look about them in the West Indies, feeling -there almost at home; and land, some fair morning, at Salem, and walk -home as if they had done nothing very remarkable. - -Such is the commerce of Salem, in its most meagre outline. Some -illustration of it may be seen in the famous Salem Museum. In regard to -this institution, a very harmless kind of monopoly exists. No one is -admitted of the museum proprietary body who has not doubled the Capes -Horn and Good Hope. Everybody is freely admitted to visit the -institution; and any one may contribute, either curiosities or the means -of procuring them; but the doubling of the Capes is an unalterable -condition of the honour of being a member. This has the effect of -preserving a salutary interest among the members of the society, and -respect among those who cannot be admitted. The society have laid by -20,000 dollars, after having built a handsome hall for the reception of -their curiosities; but a far more important benefit is that it has now -become discreditable to return from a long voyage without some novel -contribution to the Museum. This sets people inquiring what is already -there, and ensures a perpetual and valuable accretion. I am glad to have -seen there some Oriental curiosities, which might never otherwise have -blessed my sight: especially some wonderful figures, made of an unknown -mixed metal, dug up in Java, being caricatures of the old Dutch soldiers -sent to guard the first colonies. A reasonably grave person might stand -laughing before these for half a day. I had no idea there had been so -much humour in the Java people. - -The stability of the commercial interest in the United States was put to -the test by the great fire at New York. All the circumstances regarding -this fire were remarkable; no one more so than that not a single failure -took place in consequence. - -For many days preceding this fire, the weather had been intensely cold, -the thermometer standing at Boston 17 degrees below zero. On the Sunday -before, (13th of December 1835,) I went to hear the Seamen's friend, -Father Taylor, as he is called, preach at the Sailors' Chapel, in -Boston. His eloquence is of a peculiar kind, especially in his prayers, -which are absolutely importunate with regard to even external objects of -desire. Part of his prayer this day was, "Give us water, water! The -brooks refuse to murmur, and the streams are dead. Break up the -fountains: open the secret springs that thy hand knoweth, and give us -water, water! Let us not perish by a famine of water, or a deluge of -conflagration; for we dread the careless wandering spark." I was never -before aware of the fear of fire entertained during these intense -frosts. It is a reasonable fear. A gentleman, bent upon daily bathing, -was seen one morning disconsolately returning from the river side; he -had employed three men to break the ice, and they could not get at a -drop of water. What hope was there in case of fire? - -The New York fire broke out at eight in the evening of Wednesday, the -16th of December. Every one knows the leading facts, that 52 or 54 acres -were laid waste; many public buildings destroyed, and property to the -amount of 18,000,000 of dollars. - -Several particulars were given to me on the spot, three months -afterwards, by some observers and some sufferers. At a boarding-house -in Broadway, where some friends of mine were residing, there were -several merchants, some with their wives, who dined that day in good -spirits, and, as they afterwards believed, perfectly content with their -worldly condition and prospects. At eight o'clock there was an alarm of -fire. It was thought nothing of; alarms of fire being as frequent as day -and night in New York. After a while, a merchant of the company was sent -for, and some little anxiety was expressed. Two or three persons looked -out of the upper windows, but it was a night of such still, deep frost, -that the reflection in the atmosphere was much less glaring than might -have been expected. Another and then another gentleman was sent for. -News came of the absolute lack of water, and that there was no gunpowder -in the city--none nearer than Brooklyn. The gentlemen all rushed out; -the anxious ladies went from the windows to the fire-side; from the -fire-side to the windows. One gentleman and lady in the house, a young -German couple, just arrived, and knowing scarcely a word of English, -were unaware of all this. None of their chattels, not even the lady's -clothes, had been removed from their store in Pearl Street, where lay -her books, music, wardrobe, and property of every sort. Pretty early in -the morning the poor gentleman was roused from his slumbers, could not -comprehend the cause, went down to Pearl Street, and, amidst the -amazement and desolation, just contrived to save his account-books, and -nothing else. In the morning, the lady was destitute of even a change of -raiment, in a foreign country, of whose language she could not speak one -word. There were kind hearts all around her, however, and she was quite -cheerful when I saw her, a few weeks afterwards. - -The lady of the house was so worn, weary, and cold, by three in the -morning, that she retired to her room; desiring her domestics to call -her if the fire should catch Broad Street; in which case, it would be -time to be packing up plate, and moving furniture. In a little while, -there was a tap at her door. Broad Street was not on fire, however; but -some of the gentlemen had come home, smoked and frost-bitten, and eager -for help and warm water. One gentleman, who had nothing more at stake -than three chests of Scotch linen, (valuable because home-woven,) of -which he saved one, losing a superb Spanish cloak in the process, was -desirous that his wife should see the spectacle of the conflagration. -She walked down to the scene of the fire with him, after midnight. They -took their stand in a square, in the centre of which an immense quantity -of costly goods was heaped up. It was strange and vexatious to see the -havoc that was made among beautiful things;--cachemere shawls strewing -the ground; horses' feet swathed in lace veils; French silks getting -entangled and torn in the wheels of the carts. The lady picked up shawls -and veils; and when her husband asked her where she proposed to put -them, could only throw them down again. After she had left the place, -the houses caught fire, all round the square, fell in, and burned the -costly goods in one grand bonfire. - -There had been occasional quarrels between the merchants and the carmen. -The carmen conceived themselves injured by certain merchants. Whether -they had reason for this belief or not, I cannot pretend to say. They -thought this a time for revenge. Some crossed their arms, as they leaned -against their carts, and refused to stir a step, unless twenty dollars a -load were paid them on the spot. Some few refused to help at all. This -must have been a far more deadly sorrow to the sufferers than the ruin -the fire was working. One carman was very provoking when a French -gentleman had not a moment to lose in saving his stock. The gentleman -said coolly at last, taking out his money, "For what sum will you sell -your horse and cart?" The temptation was irresistible to the carman. He -named 500 dollars for his sorry hack and small vehicle, and was paid on -the instant. The French gentleman saved goods to the amount of 100,000 -dollars. It was a good bargain for both. - -At six in the morning, when the necessary explosions had checked the -fire, the gentlemen of the household I have mentioned, being completely -ruined, for anything they knew to the contrary, came home; and the -ladies went to bed. Some of the least interested consulted what should -be done at dinner-time; whether the company in general could bear the -subject; whether it was best to talk or be silent. It was a languid, -sorrowful meal: the gentlemen looking haggard; their ladies anxious. The -next day, they were able to talk,--to describe, to relate anecdotes, and -speculate on consequences. The third day, all were nearly as cheerful as -if nothing had happened: though some had lost all, and others, they knew -not how much. - -The report of the fire spread as news through the upper part of the -city, the next morning. Some friends of mine had walked home from a -visit, upwards of a mile, at eleven o'clock, and neither heard nor seen -anything of the fire. - -The larger proportion of the New York merchants were thus deprived at a -stroke of their buildings, stocks, in many cases of all books and -papers, and, lastly, of the benefit of insurance. The insurance -companies were plunged in almost a general insolvency. The only relief -proposed, or that could be offered, was an extension of time, without -interest, to the debtors of the government for payment of bonds given to -secure the duties upon goods recently imported: and this small relief -could not be obtained till too late to be of much use. - -Happily, the fire occurred at one of the least busy seasons of the year. -The merchants could concert together for the saving of their credit: and -they did it to some purpose. Their credit sustained the shock of all -this confusion, uncertainty, and dismay. The conduct of the merchants -who had not directly suffered, and of the banks, was admirable. They -threw aside all their usual caution, and dispensed help and -accommodation with the last degree of liberality. The consequence was, -that not one house failed. It seems now as if the commercial credit of -New York could stand any shock short of an earthquake, like that of -Lisbon. - -Some merchants had the unexpected pleasure of finding themselves richer -than they were before. One was travelling in Europe with his lady, when -the news overtook him that the hundred and fifty stores in which he had -property were all burned down. He wrote that he and his lady were -hastening to Havre, on their way home, where they must live in the most -economical and laborious manner, to repair their fortunes. With such -intentions they crossed the Atlantic; and on landing were met by the -intelligence that they had become very wealthy, from their ground lots -having sold for more than ground, stores, and stock, were worth before. - -I saw the fifty-two acres of ruins in the following April. We traversed -what had been streets, and climbed the ruins of the Exchange. The -pedestal of Hamilton's statue was standing, strewed round with fragments -of burnt calicoes, which people were disinterring. There was a litter of -stone pannels, broken columns, and cornices. Bushels of coffee paved -our way. A boy presented me with a half-fused watch-key from the cellar -of what had been a jeweller's store. The blackened ruins of a church -frowned over all. The most singular spectacle was a store, standing -alone and unharmed, amidst the desolation. It belonged to a Jew, was -fire-proof, and contained hay, not a blade of which was singed. This -square-fronted, elongated, ugly building, standing obliquely, and as -clean as if smoke had never touched it, had a most saucy appearance: and -so it might, so many erections, equally called fire-proof, having -disappeared, while it alone remained. - -By the next July, the entire area was covered with new erections; and -long before this, doubtless, all is to the outward eye, as if no fire -had happened. - -But for the testimony afforded by this event, of the substantial credit -in New York, the enormous prices given for land,--the above-mentioned -ground lots, for instance,--might cause a suspicion that there was much -wild speculation. I trust it is not so. The eagerness for land is, -however, extraordinary. A lady sold an estate in the neighbourhood of -New York, for what she and her friends considered a large sum; and a few -weeks after she had concluded the bargain, and soon after the -destruction of eighteen millions of the wealth of the city, she found -she might have obtained three times the amount for which she had sold -her estate. The whole south end of the city is being rapidly turned into -stores; and it is obvious that the mercantile princes of this emporium -have no idea of their conquests being bounded by any circumstance short -of the limits of the globe. - -Is there anything to be learned here, as well as to admire? any -inference to be drawn for the benefit of other nations? - -An English member of parliament wrote to a friend residing in one of the -American ports, inquiring whether this friend could suggest any course -of parliamentary action by which the commerce of England, or of both -countries, could be benefited. The American replied by urging his friend -to work incessantly at a repeal of the corn laws, and in any way which -may keep the United States continually before the eyes of the commercial -rulers of Great Britain. "You talk," said he, "of your commercial -arrangements with Portugal. Well and good! but what is Portugal? She has -two millions of priests and beggars; and at the end of the century she -will have two millions of priests and beggars still. What will the -wealth and productions of the United States be then?" If the United -States have now 18,000,000 of people, and their population is increasing -at an unexampled rate,--a free and an opulent population,--the interest -of Great Britain is plain;--to have a primary regard to the United -States in the arrangement of her commercial policy. - - -SECTION I. - -THE CURRENCY. - -The fundamental difficulty of this great question, now one of the most -prominent in the United States, is indicated by the fact that, while -the practice of banking is essential to a manufacturing and commercial -nation, a perfect system of banking remains to be discovered. - -When it is remembered that the question of the Currency has never yet -been practically mastered in the countries of the Old World; that in -America it has fallen into the hands of a young and inexperienced -people; that it is implicated with constitutional questions, and has to -be reconciled with democratic principles, it will not be expected that a -passing stranger will be able to present a very clear view of its -present aspect, or any decided opinion upon difficulties which perplex -the wisest heads in the country. The mere history of banking in the -United States would fill more than a volume: and the speculations which -arise out of it, a library. - -It is well known that there was an early split into parties on the -subject of the constitutionality of a national bank. Washington -requested the opinions of his cabinet upon it in writing; and Hamilton -gave his in favour of the constitutionality of a national bank: Edmund -Randolph and Jefferson against it. The question has been stirred from -time to time since; while Hamilton's opinions have been acted upon. - -The ground of objection is a very strong one. It lies in the provision -that "all powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, -nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the -people." No power to establish corporations is, in any case, delegated -by the constitution to the United States; nor does it appear to be -countenanced by any fair construction of the permissions under which its -transaction of the general business is carried on. - -The answer to this is, that the supreme law of the country may give a -legal or artificial capacity, (distinct from the natural,) to one or -more persons, in relation to the objects committed to the management of -the government: in other words, that the government has sovereign power -with regard to the objects confided to it; all the limitations of the -constitution having relation to the number of those objects. This was -Hamilton's ground; and this is, I believe, the ground which has been -taken since by those who shared his opinions on the main question. To me -it appears as unsatisfactory as any other mode of begging the question. -If the power of making corporations is to be assumed by the general -government, on the ground of its being implied, the whole country might -be covered with corporations, to which should be entrusted the discharge -of any function exercised by the general government. - -In countries differently governed from the United States, it appears as -if it would be most reasonable either to have the currency made a -national affair, transacted wholly by the government, on determined -principles, or to leave banking entirely free. In neither case, -probably, would the evils be so great as those which have happened under -the mixture of the two systems. But in the United States, the committing -the management of the currency to the general government is now wholly -out of the question. Free banking will be the method, some time or -other; but not yet. There is not yet knowledge enough; nor freedom -enough of production and commerce to render such a policy safe. -Meantime, various doctrines are afloat. Some persons are for no banking -whatsoever: but mere money-lending by individuals. Some are for the -abolition of paper-money, and the establishment of one public bank of -deposit and transfer in each State. Some are for private banking only, -with or without paper money. Some are for State incorporations, with no -central bank. Others are for restoring the United States Bank. - -No objections against banking and paper-money altogether will avail -anything, while commerce is conducted on its present principles. It -answers no practical purpose to object to any useful thing on the ground -of its abuse: and while the commerce of the United States is daily on -the increase, and the only check on its prosperity is the want of -capital, there is no possibility of a return to the use of private -money-lending and rouleaus. - -The use of small notes may well and easily be discontinued. The -experiment has been tried with success in Virginia, Maryland, and -Pennsylvania. The prohibition might, perhaps, be carried as high as to -notes of twenty dollars. There seems no adequate reason for the public -being, further than this, deprived of the convenience of a -representative of cash; a convenience so great that there is much more -probability that the ingenious Americans will devise some method of -practically insuring its convertibility, than that they will surrender -its use. It has often occurred to me that out of the currency troubles -of the United States, might arise such a discovery of the true principle -(which yet lies hidden) of insuring the convertibility, or other -limitation, of a paper currency, as may be a blessing to the whole -commercial world. This is an enterprise worthy of their ingenuity; and -one which seems of probable achievement, when we remember how the -American merchants are pressed for capital, and how all-important to -them is the soundness of their credit. The principle lies somewhere, if -it could but be found: and none are more likely to discover it than -they. - -Private banking is, in the present state of affairs, necessary and -inevitable; so that there is little use in arguments for or against it. -Capital is grievously wanted, in all the commercial cities. There must -be some place of resort for small amounts, and for foreign capital, -whence money may issue to supply the need of commercial men. There must, -in other words, be money stores; and, in the absence of others, private -banks must serve the purpose. The amount of good or harm which, in the -present state of things, they are able to do, depends mainly on the -discretion or indiscretion of their customers; who, in common prudence, -must look well whom they trust. - -As for State incorporations, it cannot be said that they are absolutely -necessary; though the arguments in favour of their expediency are very -strong. More and more money is perpetually required for the transaction -of commercial business; and in a different ratio from that required by -the affairs of farmers and planters; since the latter receive their -returns quickly; while the merchants of the sea-board have theirs -delayed for long periods, and consequently require a much larger amount -of capital. These larger amounts must come mainly from abroad, whence -money can be had at four and five per cent. interest; while at home, -from six to twelve per cent. is paid, even while foreign capital is -flowing in. It is obvious that this foreign capital will enter much more -abundantly through the credit of a State bank than through private -banks. Small amounts of capital, dispersed and comparatively -unproductive, will also be more readily brought together, to be applied -where most needed, in a State bank, than among many small firms. The -States of New York and Pennsylvania have carried on their improvements, -their canals and rail-roads, as well as much of their commerce, by means -of foreign capital; and the surpassing prosperity of those States may be -considered owing, in a great degree, to this practice. The -incorporation of a bank is not always to be considered in the light of a -monopoly; it may be the reverse. It may enable a number of individuals, -by no means the most wealthy in the community, to compete, by an union -of forces, with the most wealthy. Corporations may be multiplied, as -occasion arises, and, by competition, give the public the benefit of the -greatest possible amount of service done at the least cost. - -Such are the leading arguments in favour of State Banks. The objections -to them are in part applicable to faulty methods of incorporation, and -not to the principle itself. The special exemption from liabilities to -which individuals are subject; the imposing of such inhibitions -elsewhere as render the affair a monopoly; the making responsibility a -mere abstraction, are great, but perhaps avoidable evils. So are the -methods by which charters have been obtained and renewed; the method of -"log-rolling" bills through the legislature; and other such -corruption.[9] - -An objection less easily disposed of is, that by the creation of any -great moneyed power, means are afforded of controlling the fortunes of -individuals, and of influencing the press and the political -constituency. If these objections cannot be obviated, they are fatal to -banking corporations. If, however, any means can be devised, either by -causing a sufficient publicity of proceedings, or by granting charters -for a short term, renewable on strict conditions, or by any other plan -for establishing a true responsibility, of uniting the benefits of -incorporated banks with republican principles, it seems as if it would -be a great benefit to all parties in the community. - -The difference of opinion which has made the most noise in the world, is -about a National Bank. - -It appears to have been contemplated, in the first instance, to place -the currency of the United States under the control of the general -government; according to the spirit of the provisions of the -constitution, that Congress should have power "to coin money, regulate -the value thereof, and of foreign coin:" but without affording to -Congress any power to control the fortunes of individuals, as may be -done by certain banking operations. The state of the colonial currency -had been deplorable.[10] The object now was to substitute a uniform and -substantial currency, instead of the false representatives which had -been in use: and to put it out of the power of the States to alter the -terms of contracts by taking advantage of the faults of the currency. -Nobody would take the continental bills; and gold and silver were -deficient. A national bank was the resource; and the old United States -Bank was chartered in 1791; it being ascertained that its issues were -based on real capital, and a strict watch being kept over its -operations. - -This bank was believed to be wanted for another purpose;--to watch over -and control the State Banks. It was not the first institution of the -kind in the United States. The Bank of North America had been chartered -in 1781, under the authority of the Continental Congress: but by soon -accepting a charter from the Legislature of Pennsylvania, it ceased to -be a national, and afforded the precedent of a State Bank. New York and -Massachusetts had soon State Banks also. They were prudently conducted; -and their notes presently banished the coin. The power of Congress over -the currency was gone. All that could be done now was for the National -Bank to control the State Banks, and keep their issues within bounds, as -well as it could. - -Occasional disorders happened from the misconduct of country banks, -prior to 1811. The renewal of the charter of the United States Bank was -then refused. The government was pressed by the evils of war; and the -check of the superintendence of the Bank being withdrawn, the local -banks, out of New England, came to the agreement, (too senseless to be -ever repeated,) to suspend specie payments. All issued what kind and -quantity of paper pleased themselves, till above twice the amount of -money needed was abroad; and the notes were in some States five, in -others ten, in others twenty, below par. The New England people, -meantime, used convertible paper only; and under the law which provides -that all duties, imposts, and excises should be uniform throughout the -States, were thus compelled to pay one tenth more to the revenue -officers than the people of New York, who used the depreciated currency: -and one-fifth more than the Baltimore merchants. - -This state of things could not last. A national bank was again -established, in 1816, for the purpose of controlling the local banks. -Its charter was for twenty years, with a capital of 35,000,000 dollars, -to which the federal government subscribed one fifth. Its notes were -made receivable for any debt due to the United States. - -Its purpose was presently answered. The local banks had, in three years, -resumed cash payments. The management of the United States Bank, during -the rest of its term, has been, upon the whole, prudent and moderate. -That a power has not been abused is not, however, a reason for its -continued exercise, if it be really unconstitutional. President Jackson -thinks, and the majority thinks with him, that it is contrary to the -spirit of the constitution, (as it is certainly unauthorised by its -letter,) that any institution should have the power, unchecked for a -long term of years, of affecting the affairs of individuals, from the -further corners of Maine or Missouri, down to the shores of the Gulf of -Mexico; of influencing elections; of biassing the press; and of acting -strongly either with or against the administration. The majority -considers, that if the United States Bank has great power for good, it -has also great power for harm; and that the general government cannot be -secure of working naturally in its limited functions, while this great -power subsists, to be either its enemy or its ally. - -This seems to be proved by the charges brought against the late Bank by -President Jackson. Whether they are true or false, (and the gravest of -them do not appear to have been substantiated,) they indicate that power -is in the hands of a central institution, which no federal -establishment ought to have, otherwise than by the express permission of -the constitution. - -As for President Jackson's mode of proceeding against the Bank,--it is -an affair of merely temporary interest, unless he should be found to -have exceeded the authority conferred on him by his office. He does seem -to have done so, in one particular, at least. His first declaration -against the renewal of the charter, was honest and manly. His -re-election, after having made this avowal, was a sufficient evidence of -the desire of the majority to extinguish the Bank. It was, no doubt, in -reliance on the will of the majority, thus indicated, that the President -removed the deposits in a peculiarly high-handed manner; and also -exercised the veto, when the two Houses had passed a bill to renew the -charter of the United States Bank. - -With the last of these measures, no one has any right to quarrel. He -exercised a constitutional power, according to his long-declared -convictions. His sudden removal of the deposits is not to be so easily -justified. - -The President has the power of removing his Secretaries from office, and -of appointing others, whose appointment must be sanctioned by the -Senate. The Secretaries of State are enjoined by law to execute such -orders as shall be imposed on them by the President of the United -States:--all the Secretaries but the Secretary of the Treasury. In his -case, no such specification is made; obviously because it would not be -wise to put the whole power of the Treasury into the hands of the -President. President Jackson, however, contrived to obtain this power by -using with adroitness his other power of removal from office. Mr. Duane -was appointed Secretary of the Treasury on the 29th of May, 1833; his -predecessor having been offered a higher office. It is known that the -predecessor had given his opinion in the cabinet against removing the -Treasury deposits from the Bank; and that Mr. Duane was an acknowledged -enemy of the Bank. On the 3rd of June, the President opened to the new -Secretary his scheme of removing the deposits. Mr. Duane was opposed to -the act, as being a violation of the government contract with the Bank. -He refused to sign the necessary order. While he was still in office, on -the 20th of September, the intended removal of the deposits was -announced in the government newspaper. On the 23rd, Mr. Duane was -dismissed from office; and Mr. Taney, who had previously promised to -sign the order, was installed in the office. On the 26th, the official -order for the removal of the deposits was given. No plea of impending -danger to the national funds, if such could have been substantiated, -could justify so high-handed a deed as this. No such plea has been -substantiated; and the act remains open to strong censure. - -Just before the expiration of its charter, the United States Bank -accepted a charter from the Legislature of Pennsylvania. It remains to -be seen what effects will arise from the operation of the most powerful -State Bank which has yet existed. - -The problem now is to keep a sound currency, in the absence of an -institution, believed to be unconstitutional, but hitherto found the -only means of establishing order and safety in this most important -branch of economy. Here is a deficiency, which cannot but be the cause -of much evil and perplexity. It must be supplied, either by increased -knowledge and improved philosophy and practice among the people, or by -an amendment of the Constitution. Meanwhile, it is only time and energy -lost to insist upon the return to a mere metallic currency. Society -cannot be set back to a condition which could dispense with so great an -improvement as paper-money, with all its abuses, undoubtedly is. - -The singular order which last year emanated from the Treasury, -compelling the payments for the public lands to be made in specie, will -not have the effect of making the people in love with a metallic -currency. If this measure is intended to be an obstacle to the purchase -of large quantities of land, or virtually to raise the price,--these are -affairs with which the Treasury has nothing to do. If it is intended -merely to compel cash payments, as far as the administration has power -to do so, it seems a pity that those who undertake to meddle with the -currency should not know better what they are about. The scarcity of -money in the eastern States has been well nigh ruinous, while large -amounts of specie have been accumulated in the west, where they are not -wanted. - -The mischief thus caused has been much increased by the injudicious -method in which the deposits have been distributed among the States, -according to the Deposit Bill of the session of 1836. The details of the -extraordinary state of the money-market in America, last year, are too -well known on both sides of the water, to need to be repeated here. - -One principle stands out conspicuously from the history of the last few -years: that no President or Secretary should be allowed the opportunity -of "taking the responsibility" of meddling with the currency of the -country: in other words, the taxation should be reduced, as soon as in -equity and convenience it can be done, so as to bring down the revenue -to a proportion with the wants of the government. If the general -government is to have anything to do with the currency at all, it should -be by such business being made a separate constitutional function. To -let the Treasury overflow,--and leave its overflowings to be managed at -the discretion of one public servant, removable by one other, is a -policy as absurd as dangerous. The most obvious security lies, not in -multiplying checks upon the officers, but in reducing the overflowings -of the Treasury to the smallest possible amount. This is President -Jackson's last recorded opinion on the subject. It appears worthy to be -kept on record. - - -SECTION II. - -REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. - -There is less to be said on this head than would be possible in any -other country. When it is known that the United States are troubled with -the large surplus revenue accruing from the sale of the public lands, -the whole story is told. The stranger will hear much lamentation in the -Senate about the increase of the public expenses, and will see Hon. -Members looking as solemn as if the nation were sinking into a gulf of -debt: but the fear and complaint are, not of the expenditure of money, -but of the increase of executive patronage. - -The Customs are the chief source of the revenue of the general -government. They are in course of reduction, year by year. The next -great resource is the sale of the public lands. This may be called -inexhaustible; so large is the area yet unoccupied, and so increasing -the influx of settlers. - -This happy country is free from the infliction of an excise system; an -exemption which goes far towards making it the most desirable of all -places of residence for manufacturers who value practical freedom in the -management of their private concerns, and honesty among their -work-people. The brewer and glass-manufacturer see the tax-gatherer's -face no oftener than other men. The Post-Office establishment in America -is for the advantage of the people, and not for purposes of taxation; -and every one is satisfied if it pays its own expenses. A small sum is -yielded by patent fees; and also by the mint. Lighthouse-tolls -constitute another item. But all these united are trifling in comparison -with the revenue yielded from the two great sources, the Customs and the -Public Lands.[11] - -The expenditures of the general government are for salaries, pensions, -(three or four hundred pounds,) territorial governments, the mint, -surveys, and improvements, the census and other public documents, and -the military and naval establishments. - -The largest item in the civil list is the payment to Members of -Congress, who receive eight dollars per day, for the session, and their -travelling expenses. The President's salary is 25,000 dollars. The -Vice-president's 5,000. Each of the Secretaries of State, and the -Postmaster-general's, 6,000. The Attorney-general's, 4,000. - -The seven Judges of the Supreme Court are salaried with the same -moderation as other members of the federal government. The Chief Justice -has 5,000 dollars; the six Associate Judges 4,500 each. - -The Commissioned Officers of the United States army were, in 1835, 674. -Non-commissioned Officers and Privates, 7,547. Total of the United -States army, 8,221. - -In the navy, there were, in 1835, 37 Captains, and 40 -Masters-commandant. The navy consisted of 12 ships of the line; 14 -first-class frigates; 3 second-class; 15 sloops of war; 8 schooners and -other small vessels of war. - -The revenue and expenditure of most of the States are so small as to -make the annual financial statement resemble the account-books of a -private family. The land tax, the proportion of which varies in every -State, is the chief source of revenue. Licenses, fines, and tolls, yield -other sums. In South Carolina, there is a tax on free people of colour! - -The highest salary that I find paid to the government of a State is -4,000 dollars, (New York and Pennsylvania;) the lowest, 400 dollars, -(Rhode Island.) The other expenses, besides those of government, are for -the defence of the State, (in Pennsylvania, about forty pounds!) for -education, (two thousand pounds, in Pennsylvania, the same year,) -prisons, pensions, and state improvements.[12] - -Such is the financial condition of a people of whom few are individually -very wealthy or very poor; who all work; and who govern themselves, -appointing one another to manage their common affairs. They have had -every advantage that nature and circumstances could give them; and -nothing to combat but their own necessary inexperience. As long as the -State expenditure for defence bears the proportion to education of 40l. -to 2,000l., and on to 80,000l., (the amount of the school-tax, now, in -Massachusetts,) all is safe and promising. There is great virtue in -figures, dull as they are to all but the few who love statistics for the -sake of what they indicate. Those which are cited above disclose a -condition and a prospect in the presence of which all fears for the -peace and virtue of the States are shamed. Men who govern themselves and -each other with such moderate means, and for such unimpeachable objects, -are no more likely to lapse into disorder than to submit to despotism. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[8] The value of the cargoes which arrived at Mobile in 1830, was, - - Dollars. -By American vessels 69,700 - British 74,435 - ------- - 144,135 - -In 1834, by American vessels 314,072 - British 74,739 - ------- - 388,811 - -The value of the cargoes which departed from Mobile -in 1830, was, by American vessels 1,517,663 - British 476,702 - --------- - 1,994,365 - -In 1834, by American vessels 4,684,326 - British 1,585,871 - --------- - 6,270,197 - -[9] "Log-rolling" means co-operation for a point which must be carried: -on a new settlement in the wilds, by neighbours devoting a day to fell, -roll, and build logs, to make a house before night: in a legislature, by -a coterie of members urging on a bill in which they are interested, and -getting it passed in defiance of inquiry and delay. - -[10] I have before me a collection of specimens of the colonial, and -early west continental paper currency; such as brought ruin to all who -trusted it. The colonial notes are such as any common printer might -forge. For instance, here is one, on common paper, with a border of -stars, and within it, - - - "Georgia, 1776. - - "These are to certify, That the sum of SIXPENCE sterling, is due - from this Province to the bearer hereof, the same being part of - Twelve Thousand Five Hundred and Seventy-two Pounds Nineteen - Shillings Sterling, voted by Provincial Congress, for taking up and - sinking that Sum already issued. - - 6d." - - -Those of the early days of the war have on the back emblems, varying -with the promissory amount, exhibiting bows, arrows, leaves of the oak, -orange, &c. - -It would be absurd to argue against all use of a paper currency from -such specimens as these. - -[11] See Appendix B. - -[12] See Appendix B. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -MORALS OF ECONOMY. - - "And yet of your strength there is and can be no clear feeling, - save by what you have prospered in, by what you have done. Between - vague, wavering capability, and fixed, indubitable performance, - what a difference! A certain inarticulate self-consciousness dwells - dimly in us; which only our works can render articulate, and - decisively discernible. Our works are the mirror wherein the spirit - first sees its natural lineaments. Hence, too, the folly of that - impossible precept 'know thyself,' till it be translated into this - partially possible one, 'know what thou canst work at.'" - - _Sartor Resartus_, p. 166. _Boston Edition._ - - -The glory of the world passeth away. One kind of worldly glory passes -away, and another comes. Like a series of clouds sailing by the moon, -and growing dim and dimmer as they go down the sky, are the transitory -glories which are only brightened for an age by man's smile: dark -vapours, which carry no light within themselves. How many such have -floated across the expanse of history, and melted away! It was once a -glory to have a power of life and death over a patriarchal family: and -how mean does this now appear, in comparison with the power of life and -death which every man has over his own intellect! It was once a glory -to be feared: how much better is it now esteemed to be loved! It was -once a glory to lay down life to escape from one's personal woes: how -far higher is it now seen to be to accept those woes as a boon, and to -lay down life only for truth;--for God and not for self! The heroes of -mankind were once its kings and warriors: we look again now, and find -its truest heroes its martyrs, its poets, its artisans; men not buried -under pyramids or in cathedrals, but whose sepulchre no man knoweth unto -this day. To them the Lord showed the land of promise, and then buried -them on the confines. There are two aspects under which every individual -man may be regarded: as a solitary being, with inherent powers, and an -omnipotent will; a creator, a king, an inscrutable mystery: and again, -as a being infinitely connected with all other beings, with none but -derived powers, with a heavenly-directed will; a creature, a subject, a -transparent medium through which the workings of principles are to be -eternally revealed. Both these aspects are true, and therefore -reconcilable. The Old World dwelt almost exclusively on the first and -meaner aspect: as men rise to inhabit the new heavens and the new earth, -they will more and more contemplate the other and sublimer. The old -glory of a self-originating power and will is passing away: and it is -becoming more and more plain that a man's highest honour lies in -becoming as clear a medium as possible for the revelations which are to -be made through him: in wiping out every stain, in correcting every flaw -by which the light that is in him may be made dimness or deception. It -was once a glory to defy or evade the laws of man's physical and moral -being; and, in so doing, to encroach upon the rights of others: it is -now beginning to be shown that there is a higher honour in recognising -and obeying the laws of outward and inward life, and in reverencing -instead of appropriating the privileges of other wards of Providence. - -In other words, it was once a glory to be idle, and a shame to work,--at -least with any member or organ but one,--the brain. Yet it is a law of -every man's physical nature that he should work with the limbs: of every -man's moral nature, that he should know: and knowledge is to be had only -by one method; by bringing the ideal and the actual world into contact, -and proving each by the other, with one's own brain and hands for -instruments, and not another's. There is no actual knowledge even of -one's own life, to be had in any other way. Yet this is the way which -men have perversely refused to acknowledge, while every one is more or -less compelled to practise it. Those who have been able to get through -life with the least possible work have been treated as the happiest: -those who have had the largest share imposed upon them have been -passively pitied as the most miserable. If the experience of the two -could have been visibly or tangibly brought into comparison, the false -estimate would have been long ago banished for ever from human -calculations. If princes and nobles, who have not worked either in war -or in council, men sunk in satiety; if women, shut out of the world of -reality, and compelled by usage to endure the corrosion of unoccupied -thought, and the decay of unemployed powers, were able to speak fully -and truly as they sink into their unearned graves, it would be found -that their lives had been one hollow misery, redeemed solely by that -degree of action that had been permitted to them, in order that they -might, in any wise, live. If the half-starved artisan, if the negro -slave, could, when lying down at length to rest, see and exhibit the -full vision of their own lives, they would complain far less of too much -work than of too little freedom, too little knowledge, too many wounds -through their affections to their children, their brethren, their race. -They would complain that their work had been of too exclusive a kind; -too much in the actual, while it had been attempted to close the ideal -from them. Nor are their cases alike. The artisan works too much in one -way, while too little in another. The negro slave suffers too much by -infliction, and yet more by privation; but he rarely or never works too -much, even with the limbs. He knows the evil of toil, the reluctance, -the lassitude; but with it he knows also the evil of idleness; the -vacuity, the hopelessness. He has neither the privilege of the brute, to -exercise himself vigorously upon instinct, for an immediate object, to -be gained and forgotten; nor the privilege of the man, to toil, by moral -necessity, with some pain, for results which yield an evergrowing -pleasure. It is not work which is the curse of the slave: he is rarely -so blessed as to know what it is. - -If, again, the happiest man who has ever lived on earth, (excepting the -Man of Sorrows, whose depth of peace no one will attempt to fathom,) -could, in passing into the busier life to come, (to which the present is -only the nursery mimicking of human affairs,) communicate to us what has -been the true blessedness of his brief passage, it would be found to lie -in what he had been enabled to do: not so much blessed in regard to -others as to himself; not so much because he had made inventions, (even -such a one as printing:) not so much because through him countries will -be better governed, men better educated, and some light from the upper -world let down into the lower; (for great things as these are, they are -sure to be done, if not by him, by another;) but because his actual -doing, his joint head and hand-work have revealed to him the truth which -lies about him; and so far, and by the only appointed method, invested -him with heaven while he was upon earth. Such a one might not be -conscious of this as the chief blessedness of his life, (as men are ever -least conscious of what is highest and best in themselves:) he might put -it in another form, saying that mankind were growing wiser and happier, -or that goodness and mercy had followed him all the days of his life, or -that he had found that all evil is only an aspect of ultimate good: in -some such words of faith or hope he would communicate his inward peace: -but the real meaning of the true workman, if spoken for him by a divine -voice, (as spoken by the divine voice of his life,) is, as has been -said, that his complete toil has enriched him with truth which can be no -otherwise obtained, and which neither the world, nor any one in it, -except himself, could give, nor any power in heaven or earth could take -away. - -Mankind becomes more clear-sighted to this fact about honour and -blessedness, as time unfolds the sequence of his hieroglyphic scroll; -and a transition in the morals and manners of nations is an inevitable -consequence, slow as men are in deciphering the picture-writing of the -old teacher; unapt as men are in connecting picture with picture, so as -to draw thence a truth, and in the truth, a prophecy. We must look to -new or renovated communities to see how much has been really learned. - -The savage chief, who has never heard the saying "he that would be chief -among you, let him be your servant," feels himself covered with glory -when he paces along in his saddle, gorgeous with wampum and feathers, -while his squaw follows in the dust, bending under the weight of his -shelter, his food, and his children. Wise men look upon him with all -pity and no envy. Higher and higher in society, the right of the -strongest is supposed to involve honour: and physical is placed above -moral strength. The work of the limbs, wholly repulsive when separated -from that of the head, is devolved upon the weaker, who cannot resist; -and hence arises the disgrace of work, and the honour of being able to -keep soul and body together, more or less luxuriously, without it. The -barbaric conqueror makes his captives work for him. His descendants, who -have no prisoners of war to make slaves of, carry off captives of a -helpless nation, inferior even to themselves in civilisation. The -servile class rises, by almost imperceptible degrees, as the dawn of -reason brightens towards day. The classes by whom the hand-work of -society is done, arrive at being cared for by those who do the -head-work, or no work at all: then they are legislated for, but still as -a common or inferior class, favoured, out of pure bounty, with laws, as -with soup, which are pronounced "excellent for the poor:" then they -begin to open their minds upon legislation for themselves; and a certain -lip-honour is paid them, which would be rejected as insult if offered to -those who nevertheless think themselves highly meritorious in -vouchsafing it. - -This is the critical period out of which must arise a new organisation -of society. When it comes to this, a new promise blossoms under the feet -of the lovers of truth. There are many of the hand-workers now who are -on the very borders of the domain of head-work: and, as the -encroachments of those who work not at all have, by this time, become -seriously injurious to the rights of others, there are many thinkers and -persons of learning who are driven over the line, and become -hand-workers; for which they, as they usually afterwards declare, can -never be sufficiently thankful. There is no drowning the epithalamium -with which these two classes celebrate the union of thought and -handicraft. Multitudes press in, or are carried in to the marriage -feast, and a new era of society has begun. The temporary glory of ease -and disgrace of labour pass away like mountain mists, and the clear -sublimity of toil grows upon men's sight. - -If, in such an era, a new nation begins its career, what should be -expected from it? - -If the organisation of its society were a matter of will; if it had a -disposable moral force, applicable to controllable circumstances, it is -probable that the new nation would take after all old nations, and not -dare to make, perhaps not dream of making, the explicit avowal, that -that which had ever hitherto been a disgrace, except in the eyes of a -very few prophets, had now come out to be a clear honour. This would be -more, perhaps, than even a company of ten or fifteen millions of men and -women would venture to declare, while such words as Quixotic, -Revolutionary, Utopian, remain on the tongues which wag the most -industriously in the old world. But, it so happens it is never in the -power of a whole nation to meet in convention, and agree what their -moral condition shall be. They may agree upon laws for the furtherance -of what is settled to be honourable, and for the exclusion of some of -the law-bred disgraces of the old world: but it is not in their power to -dispense at will the subtle radiance of moral glory, any more than to -dye their scenery with rainbow hues because they have got hold of a -prism. Moral persuasions grow out of preceding circumstances, as -institutions do; and conviction is not communicable where the evidence -is not of a communicable kind. The advantage of the new nation over the -old will be no more than that its individual members are more open to -conviction, from being more accessible to evidence, less burdened with -antique forms and institutions, and partial privileges, so called. The -result will probably be that some members of the new society will follow -the ancient fashion of considering work a humiliation; while, upon the -whole, labour will be more honoured than it has ever been before. - -America is in the singular position of being nearly equally divided -between a low degree of the ancient barbarism in relation to labour, and -a high degree of the modern enlightenment. Wherever there is a servile -class, work is considered a disgrace, unless it bears some other name, -and is of an exclusive character. In the free States, labour is more -really and heartily honoured than, perhaps, in any other part of the -civilised world. The most extraordinary, and least pleasant circumstance -in the case is that, while the south ridicules and despises the north -for what is its very highest honour, the north feels somewhat uneasy and -sore under the contempt. It is true that it is from necessity that every -man there works; but, whatever be the cause, the fact is a noble one, -worthy of all rejoicing: and it were to be wished that the north could -readily and serenely, at all times, and in disregard of all jibes, admit -the fact, as matter for thankfulness, that there every man works for his -bread with his own head and hands. - -How do the two parties in reality spend their days? - -In the north, the children all go to school, and work there, more or -less. As they grow up, they part off into the greatest variety of -employments. The youths must, without exception, work hard; or they had -better drown themselves. Whether they are to be lawyers, or otherwise -professional; or merchants, manufacturers, farmers, or citizens, they -have everything to do for themselves. A very large proportion of them -have, while learning their future business, to earn the means of -learning. There is much manual labour in the country colleges; much -teaching in the vacations done by students. Many a great man in Congress -was seen in his boyhood leading his father's horses to water; and, in -his youth, guiding the plough in his father's field. There is probably -hardly a man in New England who cannot ride, drive, and tend his own -horse; scarcely a clergyman, lawyer, or physician, who, if deprived of -his profession, could not support himself by manual labour. Nor, on the -other hand, is there any farmer or citizen who is not, more or less, a -student and thinker. Not only are all capable of discharging their -political duty of self-government; but all have somewhat idealised their -life. All have looked abroad, at least so far as to understand the -foreign relations of their own country: most, I believe, have gone -further, and can contemplate the foreign relations of their own being. -Some one great mind, at least, has almost every individual entered into -sympathy with; some divine, or politician, or poet, who has carried the -spirit out beyond the circle of home, State, and country, into the ideal -world. It is even possible to trace, in the conversation of some who -have the least leisure for reading, the influence of some one of the -rich sayings, the diamonds and pearls which have dropped from the lips -of genius, to shine in the hearts of all humanity. Some one such saying -may be perceived to have moulded the thoughts, and shaped the aims, and -become the under-current of the whole life of a thinking and labouring -man. Such sayings being hackneyed signifies nothing, while the -individuals blessed by them do not know it, and hold them in their -inmost hearts, unvexed by hearing them echoed by careless tongues. "Am -I not a man and a brother?" "Happy the man whose wish and care," &c. -"The breaking waves dashed high," &c. (Mrs. Hemans's Landing of the -Pilgrims,) "What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue," -(Burke)--these are some of the words which, sinking deep into the hearts -of busy men, spring up in a harvest of thoughts and acts. - -There are a few young men, esteemed the least happy members of the -community, who inherit wealth. The time will come, when the society is -somewhat older, when it will be understood that wealth need not preclude -work: but at present, there are no individuals so forlorn, in the -northern States, as young men of fortune. Men who have shown energy and -skill in working their way in society are preferred for political -representatives: there is no scientific or literary class, for such -individuals to fall into: all the world is busy around them, and they -are reduced to the predicament, unhappily the most dreaded of all in the -United States, of standing alone. Their method, therefore, is to spend -their money as fast as possible, and begin the world like other men. I -am stating this as matter of fact; not as being reasonable and right. - -As for the women of the northern States, most have the blessing of work, -though not of the extent and variety which will hereafter be seen to be -necessary for the happiness of their lives. All married women, except -the ladies of rich merchants and others, are liable to have their hands -full of household occupation, from the uncertainty of domestic service; -a topic to be referred to hereafter. Women who do not marry have, in -many instances, to work for their support; and, as will be shown in -another connexion, under peculiar disadvantages. Work, on the whole, -may be considered the rule, and vacuity the exception.[13] - -What is life in the slave States, in respect of work? - -There are two classes, the servile and the imperious, between whom there -is a great gulf fixed. The servile class has not even the benefit of -hearty toil. No solemn truths sink down into them, to cheer their -hearts, stimulate their minds, and nerve their hands. Their wretched -lives are passed between an utter debasement of the will, and a conflict -of the will with external force. - -The other class is in circumstances as unfavourable as the least happy -order of persons in the old world. The means of educating children are -so meagre[14] that young people begin life under great disadvantages. -The vicious fundamental principle of morals in a slave country, that -labour is disgraceful, taints the infant mind with a stain which is as -fatal in the world of spirits as the negro tinge is at present in the -world of society. It made my heart ache to hear the little children -unconsciously uttering thoughts with which no true religion, no true -philosophy can coexist. "Do you think _I_ shall work?" "O, you must not -touch the poker here." "You must not do this or that for yourself: the -negroes will be offended, and it won't do for a lady to do so." "Poor -thing! she has to teach: if she had come here, she might have married a -rich man, perhaps." "Mamma has so much a-year now, so we have not to do -our work at home, or any trouble. 'Tis such a comfort!"--When children -at school call everything that pleases them "gentlemanly," and pity all -(but slaves) who have to work, and talk of marrying early for an -establishment, it is all over with them. A more hopeless state of -degradation can hardly be conceived of, however they may ride, and play -the harp, and sing Italian, and teach their slaves what they call -religion. - -"Poor things!" may be said of such, in return. They know little, with -their horror of work, of what awaits them. Theirs is destined to be, if -their wish of an establishment is fulfilled, a life of toil, irksome and -unhonoured. They escape the name; but they are doomed to undergo the -worst of the reality. Their husbands are not to be envied, though they -do ride on white horses, (the slave's highest conception of bliss,) lie -down to repose in hot weather, and spend their hours between the -discharge of hospitality and the superintendence of their estates; and -the highly honourable and laborious charge of public affairs. But the -wives of slave-holders are, as they and their husbands declare, as much -slaves as their negroes. If they will not have everything go to rack and -ruin around them, they must superintend every household operation, from -the cellar to the garrets: for there is nothing that slaves can do well. -While the slaves are perpetually at one's heels, lolling against the -bed-posts before one rises in the morning, standing behind the chairs, -leaning on the sofa, officiously undertaking, and invariably spoiling -everything that one had rather do for one's-self, the smallest possible -amount of real service is performed. The lady of the house carries her -huge bunch of keys, (for every consumable thing must be locked up,) and -has to give out, on incessant requests, whatever is wanted for the -household. She is for ever superintending, and trying to keep things -straight, without the slightest hope of attaining anything like leisure -and comfort. What is there in retinue, in the reputation of ease and -luxury, which can compensate for toils and cares of this nature? How -much happier must be the lot of a village milliner, or of the artisan's -wife who sweeps her own floors, and cooks her husband's dinner, than -that of the planter's lady with twenty slaves to wait upon her; her sons -migrating because work is out of the question, and they have not the -means to buy estates; and her daughters with no better prospect than -marrying, as she has done, to toil as she does! - -Some few of these ladies are among the strongest-minded and most -remarkable women I have ever known. There are great draw-backs, (as will -be seen hereafter,) but their mental vigour is occasionally proportioned -to their responsibility. Women who have to rule over a barbarous -society, (small though it be,) to make and enforce laws, provide for -all the physical wants, and regulate the entire habits of a number of -persons who can in no respect take care of themselves, must be strong -and strongly disciplined, if they in any degree discharge this duty. -Those who shrink from it become perhaps the weakest women I have -anywhere seen: selfishly timid, humblingly dependent, languid in body, -and with minds of no reach at all. These two extremes are found in the -slave States, in the most striking opposition. It is worthy of note, -that I never found there a woman strong enough voluntarily to brave the -woes of life in the presence of slavery; nor any woman weak enough to -extenuate the vices of the system; each knowing, prior to experience, -what those woes and vices are. - -There are a few unhappy persons in the slave States, too few, I believe, -to be called a class, who strongly exemplify the consequences of such a -principle of morals as that work is a disgrace. There are a few, called -by the slaves "mean whites;" signifying whites who work with the hands. -Where there is a coloured servile class, whose colour has become a -disgrace through their servitude, two results are inevitable: that those -who have the colour without the servitude are disgraced among the -whites; and those who have the servitude without the colour are as -deeply disgraced among the coloured. More intensely than white -work-people are looked down upon at Port-au-Prince, are the "mean -whites" despised by the slaves of the Carolinas. They make the most, of -course, of the only opportunity they can ever have of doing what they -see their superiors do,--despising their fellow-creatures. No inducement -would be sufficient to bring honest, independent men into the constant -presence of double-distilled hatred and contempt like this; and the -general character of the "mean whites" may therefore be anticipated. -They are usually men who have no prospect, no chance elsewhere; the -lowest of the low. - -When I say that no inducement would be sufficient, I mean no politic -inducement. There are inducements of the same force as those which drew -martyrs of old into the presence of savage beasts in the amphitheatre, -which guided Howard through the gloom of prisons, and strengthened Guyon -of Marseilles to offer himself a certain victim to the plague,--there -are inducements of such force as this which carry down families to dwell -in the midst of contempt and danger, where everything is lost but,--the -one object which carries them there. "Mean whites" these friends of the -oppressed fugitive may be in the eyes of all around them; but how they -stand in the eye of One whose thoughts are not as our thoughts, may some -day be revealed. To themselves it is enough that their object is gained. -They do not want praise; they are above it: and they have shown that -they can do without sympathy. It is enough to commend them to their own -peace of heart. - - -SECTION I. - -MORALS OF SLAVERY. - -This title is not written down in a spirit of mockery; though there -appears to be a mockery somewhere, when we contrast slavery with the -principles and the rule which are the test of all American -institutions:--the principles that all men are born free and equal; -that rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the governed; -and the rule of reciprocal justice. This discrepancy between principles -and practice needs no more words. But the institution of slavery exists; -and what we have to see is what the morals are of the society which is -subject to it. - -What social virtues are possible in a society of which injustice is the -primary characteristic? in a society which is divided into two classes, -the servile and the imperious? - -The most obvious is Mercy. Nowhere, perhaps, can more touching exercises -of mercy be seen than here. It must be remembered that the greater -number of slave-holders have no other idea than of holding slaves. Their -fathers did it: they themselves have never known the coloured race -treated otherwise than as inferior beings, born to work for and to teaze -the whites; helpless, improvident, open to no higher inducements than -indulgence and praise; capable of nothing but entire dependence. The -good affections of slave-holders like these show themselves in the form -of mercy; which is as beautiful to witness as mercy, made a substitute -for justice, can ever be. I saw endless manifestations of mercy, as well -as of its opposite. The thoughtfulness of masters, mistresses, and their -children about, not only the comforts, but the indulgences of their -slaves, was a frequent subject of admiration with me. Kind masters are -liberal in the expenditure of money, and (what is better) of thought, in -gratifying the whims and fancies of their negroes. They make large -sacrifices occasionally for the social or domestic advantage of their -people; and use great forbearance in the exercise of the power conferred -upon them by law and custom. - -At the time when the cholera was ravaging South Carolina, a wealthy -slave-holder there refused to leave the State, as most of his neighbours -were doing. He would not consent to take any further care of himself -than riding to a distance from his plantation (then overrun by the -disease) to sleep. All day he was among his slaves: nursing them with -his own hands; putting them into the bath, giving them medicine himself, -and cheering their spirits by his presence and his care. He saved them -almost all. No one will suppose this one of the ordinary cases where a -master has his slaves taken care of as property, not as men. Sordid -considerations of that kind must have given way before the terrors of -the plague. A far higher strength than that of self-interest was -necessary to carry this gentleman through such a work as this; and it -was no other than mercy. - -Again:--a young man, full of the southern pride, one of whose aims is to -have as great a display of negroes as possible, married a young lady -who, soon after her marriage, showed an imperious and cruel temper -towards her slaves. Her husband gently remonstrated. She did not mend. -He warned her, that he would not allow beings, for whose comfort he was -responsible, to be oppressed; and that, if she compelled him to it, he -would deprive her of the power she misused. Still she did not mend. He -one day came and told her that he had sold all his domestic slaves, for -their own sakes. He told her that he would always give her money enough -to hire free service, when it was to be had; and that when it was not, -he would cheerfully bear, and help her to bear, the domestic -inconveniences which must arise from their having no servants. He kept -his word. It rarely happens that free service can be hired; and this -proud gentleman assists his wife's labours with his own hands; and -(what is more) endures with all cheerfulness the ignominy of having no -slaves. - -Nothing struck me more than the patience of slave-owners. In this virtue -they probably surpass the whole Christian world;--I mean in their -patience with their slaves; for one cannot much praise their patience -with the abolitionists, or with the tariff; or in some other cases of -political vexation. When I considered how they love to be called "fiery -southerners," I could not but marvel at their mild forbearance under the -hourly provocations to which they are liable in their homes.[15] It is -found that such a degree of this virtue can be obtained only by long -habit. Persons from New England, France, or England, becoming -slave-holders, are found to be the most severe masters and mistresses, -however good their tempers may always have appeared previously. They -cannot, like the native proprietor, sit waiting half an hour for the -second course, or see everything done in the worst possible manner; -their rooms dirty, their property wasted, their plans frustrated, their -infants slighted, themselves deluded by artifices,--they cannot, like -the native proprietor, endure all this unruffled. It seems to me that -every slave-holder's temper is subjected to a discipline which must -either ruin or perfect it. While we know that many tempers are thus -ruined, and must mourn for the unhappy creatures who cannot escape from -their tyranny, it is evident, on the other hand, that many tempers are -to be met with which should shame down and silence for ever the -irritability of some whose daily life is passed under circumstances of -comparative ease. - -This mercy, indulgence, patience, was often pleaded to me in defence of -the system, or in aggravation of the faults of intractable slaves. The -fallacy of this is so gross as not to need exposure anywhere but on the -spot. I was heart-sick of being told of the ingratitude of slaves, and -weary of explaining that indulgence can never atone for injury: that the -extremest pampering, for a life-time, is no equivalent for rights -withheld, no reparation for irreparable injustice. What are the greatest -possible amounts of finery, sweetmeats, dances, gratuities, and kind -words and looks, in exchange for political, social, and domestic -existence? for body and spirit? Is it not true that the life is more -than meat, and the body than raiment? - -This fallacious plea was urged upon me by three different persons, -esteemed enlightened and religious, in relation to one case. The case -was this. A lady of fortune carried into her husband's establishment, -when she married, several slaves, and among them a girl two years -younger than herself, who had been brought up under her, and who was -employed as her own maid. The little slaves are accustomed to play -freely with the children of the family--a practice which was lauded to -me, but which never had any beauty in my eyes, seeing, as I did, the -injury to the white children from unrestricted intercourse with the -degraded race, and looking forward as I did to the time when they must -separate into the servile and imperious. Mrs. ---- had been unusually -indulgent to this girl, having allowed her time and opportunity for -religious and other instruction, and favoured her in every way. One -night, when the girl was undressing her, the lady expressed her fondness -for her, and said, among other things: "When I die you shall be -free;"--a dangerous thing to say to a slave only two years younger than -herself. In a short time the lady was taken ill,--with a strange, -mysterious illness, which no doctor could alleviate. One of her friends, -who suspected foul play, took the sufferer entirely under her own -charge, when she seemed to be dying. She revived; and as soon as she was -well enough to have a will of her own again, would be waited on by no -one but her favourite slave. She grew worse. She alternated thus, for -some time, according as she was under the care of this slave or of her -friend. At last, the friend excluded from her chamber every one but the -physicians: took in the medicines at the room door from the hands of the -slave, and locked them up. They were all analysed by a physician, and -arsenic found in every one of them. The lady partially recovered; but I -was shocked at the traces of suffering in her whole appearance. The -girl's guilt was brought clearly home to her. There never was a case of -more cruel, deliberate intention to murder. If ever slave deserved the -gallows, (which ought to be questionable to the most decided minds,) -this girl did. What was done? The lady was tenderhearted, and could not -bear to have her hanged. This was natural enough; but what did she -therefore do? keep her under her own eye, that she might at least poison -nobody else, and perhaps be touched and reclaimed by the clemency of the -person she would have murdered? No. The lady sold her. - -I was actually called upon to admire the lady's conduct; and was asked -whether the ingratitude of the girl was not inconceivable, and her -hypocrisy too; for she used to lecture her mistress and her mistress's -friends for being so irreligious as to go to parties on Saturday nights, -when they should have been preparing their minds for Sunday. Was not the -hypocrisy of the girl inconceivable? and her ingratitude for her -mistress's favours? No. The girl had no other idea of religion,--could -have no other than that it consists in observances, and, wicked as she -was, her wickedness could not be called ingratitude, for she was more -injured than favoured, after all. All indulgences that could be heaped -upon her were still less than her due, and her mistress remained -infinitely her debtor. - -Little can be said of the purity of manners of the whites of the south; -but there is purity. Some few examples of domestic fidelity may be -found: few enough, by the confession of residents on the spot; but those -individuals who have resisted the contagion of the vice amidst which -they dwell are pure. Every man who resides on his plantation may have -his harem, and has every inducement of custom, and of pecuniary -gain,[16] to tempt him to the common practice. Those who, -notwithstanding, keep their homes undefiled may be considered as of -incorruptible purity. - -Here, alas! ends my catalogue of the virtues which are of possible -exercise by slave-holders towards their labourers. The inherent -injustice of the system extinguishes all others, and nourishes a whole -harvest of false morals towards the rest of society. - -The personal oppression of the negroes is the grossest vice which -strikes a stranger in the country. It can never be otherwise when human -beings are wholly subjected to the will of other human beings, who are -under no other external control than the law which forbids killing and -maiming;--a law which it is difficult to enforce in individual cases. A -fine slave was walking about in Columbia, South Carolina, when I was -there, nearly helpless and useless from the following causes. His master -was fond of him, and the slave enjoyed the rare distinction of never -having been flogged. One day, his master's child, supposed to be under -his care at the time, fell down and hurt itself. The master flew into a -passion, ordered the slave to be instantly flogged, and would not hear a -single word the man had to say. As soon as the flogging was over, the -slave went into the back yard, where there was an axe and a block, and -struck off the upper half of his right hand. He went and held up the -bleeding hand before his master, saying, "You have mortified me, so I -have made myself useless. Now you must maintain me as long as I live." -It came out that the child had been under the charge of another person. - -There are, as is well known throughout the country, houses in the free -States which are open to fugitive slaves, and where they are concealed -till the search for them is over. I know some of the secrets of such -places; and can mention two cases, among many, of runaways, which show -how horrible is the tyranny which the slave system authorises men to -inflict on each other. A negro had found his way to one of these -friendly houses; and had been so skilfully concealed, that repeated -searches by his master, (who had followed for the purpose of recovering -him,) and by constables, had been in vain. After three weeks of this -seclusion, the negro became weary, and entreated of his host to be -permitted to look out of the window. His host strongly advised him to -keep quiet, as it was pretty certain that his master had not given him -up. When the host had left him, however, the negro came out of his -hiding-place, and went to the window. He met the eye of his master, who -was looking up from the street. The poor slave was obliged to return to -his bondage. - -A young negress had escaped in like manner; was in like manner -concealed; and was alarmed by constables, under the direction of her -master, entering the house in pursuit of her, when she had had reason to -believe that the search was over. She flew up stairs to her chamber in -the third story, and drove a heavy article of furniture against the -door. The constables pushed in, notwithstanding, and the girl leaped -from the window into the paved street. Her master looked at her as she -lay, declared she would never be good for anything again, and went back -into the south. The poor creature, her body bruised, and her limbs -fractured, was taken up, and kindly nursed; and she is now maintained in -Boston, in her maimed condition, by the charity of some ladies there. - -The following story has found its way into the northern States (as few -such stories do) from the circumstance that a New Hampshire family are -concerned in it. It has excited due horror wherever it is known; and it -is to be hoped that it will lead to the exposure of more facts of the -same kind, since it is but too certain that they are common. - -A New Hampshire gentleman went down into Louisiana, many years ago, to -take a plantation. He pursued the usual method; borrowing money largely -to begin with, paying high interest, and clearing off his debt, year by -year, as his crops were sold. He followed another custom there; taking a -Quadroon wife: a mistress, in the eye of the law, since there can be no -legal marriage between whites and persons of any degree of colour: but, -in nature and in reason, the woman he took home was his wife. She was a -well-principled, amiable, well-educated woman; and they lived happily -together for twenty years. She had only the slightest possible tinge of -colour. Knowing the law that the children of slaves are to follow the -fortunes of the mother, she warned her husband that she was not free, an -ancestress having been a slave, and the legal act of manumission having -never been performed. The husband promised to look to it: but neglected -it. At the end of twenty years, one died, and the other shortly -followed, leaving daughters; whether two or three, I have not been able -to ascertain with positive certainty; but I have reason to believe -three, of the ages of fifteen, seventeen, and eighteen: beautiful girls, -with no perceptible mulatto tinge. The brother of their father came down -from New Hampshire to settle the affairs; and he supposed, as every one -else did, that the deceased had been wealthy. He was pleased with his -nieces, and promised to carry them back with him into New Hampshire, and -(as they were to all appearance perfectly white) to introduce them into -the society which by education they were fitted for. It appeared, -however, that their father had died insolvent. The deficiency was very -small: but it was necessary to make an inventory of the effects, to -deliver to the creditors. This was done by the brother,--the executor. -Some of the creditors called on him, and complained that he had not -delivered in a faithful inventory. He declared he had. No: the number of -slaves was not accurately set down: he had omitted the daughters. The -executor was overwhelmed with horror, and asked time for thought. He -went round among the creditors, appealing to their mercy: but they -answered that these young ladies were "a first-rate article," too -valuable to be relinquished. He next offered, (though he had himself -six children, and very little money,) all he had for the redemption of -his nieces; alleging that it was more than they would bring in the -market for house or field labour. This was refused with scorn. It was -said that there were other purposes for which the girls would bring more -than for field or house labour. The uncle was in despair, and felt -strongly tempted to wish their death rather than their surrender to such -a fate as was before them. He told them, abruptly, what was their -prospect. He declares that he never before beheld human grief; never -before heard the voice of anguish. They never ate, nor slept, nor -separated from each other, till the day when they were taken into the -New Orleans slave-market. There they were sold, separately, at high -prices, for the vilest of purposes: and where each is gone, no one -knows. They are, for the present, lost. But they will arise to the light -in the day of retribution. - -It is a common boast in the south that there is less vice in their -cities than in those of the north. This can never, as a matter of fact, -have been ascertained; as the proceedings of slave households are, or -may be, a secret: and in the north, what licentiousness there is may be -detected. But such comparisons are bad. Let any one look at the positive -licentiousness of the south, and declare if, in such a state of society, -there can be any security for domestic purity and peace. The Quadroon -connexions in New Orleans are all but universal, as I was assured on the -spot by ladies who cannot be mistaken. The history of such connexions is -a melancholy one: but it ought to be made known while there are any who -boast of the superior morals of New Orleans, on account of the decent -quietness of the streets and theatres. - -The Quadroon girls of New Orleans are brought up by their mothers to be -what they have been; the mistresses of white gentlemen. The boys are -some of them sent to France; some placed on land in the back of the -State; and some are sold in the slave-market. They marry women of a -somewhat darker colour than their own; the women of their own colour -objecting to them, "ils sont si dégoutants!" The girls are highly -educated, externally, and are, probably, as beautiful and accomplished a -set of women as can be found. Every young man early selects one, and -establishes her in one of those pretty and peculiar houses, whole rows -of which may be seen in the Remparts. The connexion now and then lasts -for life: usually for several years. In the latter case, when the time -comes for the gentleman to take a white wife, the dreadful news reaches -his Quadroon partner, either by a letter entitling her to call the house -and furniture her own, or by the newspaper which announces his marriage. -The Quadroon ladies are rarely or never known to form a second -connexion. Many commit suicide: more die brokenhearted. Some men -continue the connexion after marriage. Every Quadroon woman believes -that her partner will prove an exception to the rule of desertion. Every -white lady believes that her husband has been an exception to the rule -of seduction. - -What security for domestic purity and peace there can be where every man -has had two connexions, one of which must be concealed; and two -families, whose existence must not be known to each other; where the -conjugal relation begins in treachery, and must be carried on with a -heavy secret in the husband's breast, no words are needed to explain. If -this is the system which is boasted of as a purer than ordinary state of -morals, what is to be thought of the ordinary state? It can only be -hoped that the boast is an empty one. - -There is no occasion to explain the management of the female slaves on -estates where the object is to rear as many as possible, like stock, for -the southern market: nor to point out the boundless licentiousness -caused by the practice: a practice which wrung from the wife of a -planter, in the bitterness of her heart, the declaration that a -planter's wife was only "the chief slave of the harem." Mr. Madison -avowed that the licentiousness of Virginian plantations stopped just -short of destruction; and that it was understood that the female slaves -were to become mothers at fifteen. - -A gentleman of the highest character, a southern planter, observed, in -conversation with a friend, that little was known, out of bounds, of the -reasons of the new laws by which emancipation was made so difficult as -it is. He said that the very general connexion of white gentlemen with -their female slaves introduced a mulatto race whose numbers would become -dangerous, if the affections of their white parents were permitted to -render them free. The liberty of emancipating them was therefore -abolished, while that of selling them remained. There are persons who -weakly trust to the force of the parental affection for putting an end -to slavery, when the amalgamation of the races shall have gone so far as -to involve a sufficient number! I actually heard this from the lips of a -clergyman in the south. Yet these planters, who sell their own offspring -to fill their purses, who have such offspring for the sake of filling -their purses, dare to raise the cry of "amalgamation" against the -abolitionists of the north, not one of whom has, as far as evidence can -show, conceived the idea of a mixture of the races. It is from the -south, where this mixture is hourly encouraged, that the canting and -groundless reproach has come. I met with no candid southerner who was -not full of shame at the monstrous hypocrisy. - -It is well known that the most savage violences that are now heard of -in the world take place in the southern and western States of America. -Burning alive, cutting the heart out, and sticking it on the point of a -knife, and other such diabolical deeds, the result of the deepest hatred -of which the human heart is capable, are heard of only there. The -frequency of such deeds is a matter of dispute, which time will -settle.[17] The existence of such deeds is a matter of no dispute. -Whether two or twenty such deeds take place in a year, their -perpetration testifies to the existence of such hatred as alone could -prompt them. There is no doubt in my mind as to the immediate causes of -such outrages. They arise out of the licentiousness of manners. The -negro is exasperated by being deprived of his wife,--by being sent out -of the way that his master may take possession of his home. He stabs his -master; or, if he cannot fulfil his desire of vengeance, he is a -dangerous person, an object of vengeance in return, and destined to some -cruel fate. If the negro attempts to retaliate, and defile the master's -home, the faggots are set alight about him. Much that is dreadful ensues -from the negro being subject to toil and the lash: but I am confident -that the licentiousness of the masters is the proximate cause of society -in the south and south-west being in such a state that nothing else is -to be looked for than its being dissolved into its elements, if man does -not soon cease to be called the property of man. This dissolution will -never take place through the insurrection of the negroes; but by the -natural operation of vice. But the process of demoralisation will be -stopped, I have no doubt, before it reaches that point. There is no -reason to apprehend serious insurrection; for the negroes are too -degraded to act in concert, or to stand firm before the terrible face of -the white man. Like all deeply-injured classes of persons, they are -desperate and cruel, on occasion, kindly as their nature is; but as a -class, they have no courage. The voice of a white, even of a lady, if it -were authoritative, would make a whole regiment of rebellious slaves -throw down their arms and flee. Poison is the weapon that suits them -best: then the knife, in moments of exasperation. They will never take -the field, unless led on by free blacks. Desperate as the state of -society is, it will be rectified, probably, without bloodshed. - -It may be said that it is doing an injustice to cite extreme cases of -vice as indications of the state of society. I do not think so, as long -as such cases are so common as to strike the observation of a mere -passing stranger; to say nothing of their incompatibility with a decent -and orderly fulfilment of the social relations. Let us, however, see -what is the very best state of things. Let us take the words and deeds -of some of the most religious, refined, and amiable members of society. -It was this aspect of affairs which grieved me more, if possible, than -the stormier one which I have presented. The coarsening and hardening of -mind and manners among the best; the blunting of the moral sense among -the most conscientious, gave me more pain than the stabbing, poisoning, -and burning. A few examples which will need no comment, will suffice. - -Two ladies, the distinguishing ornaments of a very superior society in -the south, are truly unhappy about slavery, and opened their hearts -freely to me upon the grief which it caused them,--the perfect curse -which they found it. They need no enlightening on this, nor any stimulus -to acquit themselves as well as their unhappy circumstances allow. They -one day pressed me for a declaration of what I should do in their -situation. I replied that I would give up everything, go away with my -slaves, settle them, and stay by them in some free place. I had said, -among other things, that I dare not stay there,--on my own -account,--from moral considerations. "What, not if you had no slaves?" -"No." "Why?" "I could not trust myself to live where I must constantly -witness the exercise of irresponsible power." They made no reply at the -moment: but each found occasion to tell me, some days afterwards, that -she had been struck to the heart by these words: the consideration I -mentioned having never occurred to her before! - -Madame Lalaurie, the person who was mobbed at New Orleans, on account of -her fiendish cruelty to her slaves,--a cruelty so excessive as to compel -the belief that she was mentally deranged, though her derangement could -have taken such a direction nowhere but in a slave country;--this person -was described to me as having been "very pleasant to whites." - -A common question put to me by amiable ladies was, "Do not you find the -slaves generally very happy?" They never seemed to have been asked, or -to have asked themselves, the question with which I replied:--"Would you -be happy with their means?" - -One sultry morning, I was sitting with a friend, who was giving me all -manner of information about her husband's slaves, both in the field and -house; how she fed and clothed them; what indulgences they were allowed; -what their respective capabilities were; and so forth. While we were -talking, one of the house-slaves passed us. I observed that she appeared -superior to all the rest; to which my friend assented. "She is A.'s -wife?" said I. "We call her A.'s wife, but she has never been married -to him. A. and she came to my husband, five years ago, and asked him to -let them marry: but he could not allow it, because he had not made up -his mind whether to sell A.; and he hates parting husband and wife." -"How many children have they?" "Four." "And they are not married yet?" -"No; my husband has never been able to let them marry. He certainly will -not sell her: and he has not determined yet whether he shall sell A." - -Another friend told me the following story. B. was the best slave in her -husband's possession. B. fell in love with C., a pretty girl, on a -neighbouring estate, who was purchased to be B.'s wife. C.'s temper was -jealous and violent; and she was always fancying that B. showed -attention to other girls. Her master warned her to keep her temper, or -she should be sent away. One day, when the master was dining out, B. -came to him, trembling, and related that C. had, in a fit of jealousy, -aimed a blow at his head with an axe, and nearly struck him. The master -went home, and told C. that her temper could no longer be borne with, -and she must go. He offered her the choice of being sold to a trader, -and carried to New Orleans, or of being sent to field labour on a -distant plantation. She preferred being sold to the trader; who broke -his promise of taking her to New Orleans, and disposed of her to a -neighbouring proprietor. C. kept watch over her husband, declaring that -she would be the death of any girl whom B. might take to wife. "And so," -said my informant, "poor B. was obliged to walk about in single -blessedness for some time; till, last summer, happily, C. died."--"Is it -possible," said I, "that you pair and part these people like -brutes?"--The lady looked surprised, and asked what else could be done. - -One day at dinner, when two slaves were standing behind our chairs, the -lady of the house was telling me a ludicrous story, in which a former -slave of hers was one of the personages, serving as a butt on the -question of complexion. She seemed to recollect that slaves were -listening; for she put in, "D. was an excellent boy," (the term for male -slaves of every age.) "We respected him very highly as an excellent boy. -We respected him almost as much as if he had been a white. But, &c.----" - -A southern lady, of fair reputation for refinement and cultivation, told -the following story in the hearing of a company, among whom were some -friends of mine. She spoke with obvious unconsciousness that she was -saying anything remarkable: indeed such unconsciousness was proved by -her telling the story at all. She had possessed a very pretty mulatto -girl, of whom she declared herself fond. A young man came to stay at her -house, and fell in love with the girl. "She came to me," said the lady, -"for protection; which I gave her." The young man went away, but after -some weeks, returned, saying he was so much in love with the girl that -he could not live without her. "I pitied the young man," concluded the -lady; "so I sold the girl to him for 1,500 dollars." - -I repeatedly heard the preaching of a remarkably liberal man, of a free -and kindly spirit, in the south. His last sermon, extempore, was from -the text "Cast all your care upon him, for He careth for you." The -preacher told us, among other things, that God cares for all,--for the -meanest as well as the mightiest. "He cares for that coloured person," -said he, pointing to the gallery where the people of colour sit,--"he -cares for that coloured person as well as for the wisest and best of you -whites." This was the most wanton insult I had ever seen offered to a -human being; and it was with difficulty that I refrained from walking -out of the church. Yet no one present to whom I afterwards spoke of it -seemed able to comprehend the wrong. "Well!" said they: "does not God -care for the coloured people?" - -Of course, in a society where things like these are said and done by its -choicest members, there is a prevalent unconsciousness of the existing -wrong. The daily and hourly plea is of good intentions towards the -slaves; of innocence under the aspersions of foreigners. They are as -sincere in the belief that they are injured as their visitors are -cordial in their detestation of the morals of slavery. Such -unconsciousness of the milder degrees of impurity and injustice as -enables ladies and clergymen of the highest character to speak and act -as I have related, is a sufficient evidence of the prevalent grossness -of morals. One remarkable indication of such blindness was the almost -universal mention of the state of the Irish to me, as a worse case than -American slavery. I never attempted, of course, to vindicate the state -of Ireland: but I was surprised to find no one able, till put in the -way, to see the distinction between political misgovernment and personal -slavery: between exasperating a people by political insult, and -possessing them, like brutes, for pecuniary profit. The unconsciousness -of guilt is the worst of symptoms, where there are means of light to be -had. I shall have to speak hereafter of the state of religion throughout -the country. It is enough here to say that if, with the law of liberty -and the gospel of peace and purity within their hands, the inhabitants -of the south are unconscious of the low state of the morals of society, -such blindness proves nothing so much as how far that which is highest -and purest may be confounded with what is lowest and foulest, when once -the fatal attempt has been entered upon to make them co-exist. From -their co-existence, one further step may be taken; and in the south has -been taken; the making the high and pure a sanction for the low and -foul. Of this, more hereafter. - -The degradation of the women is so obvious a consequence of the evils -disclosed above, that the painful subject need not be enlarged on. By -the degradation of women, I do not mean to imply any doubt of the purity -of their manners. There are reasons, plain enough to the observer, why -their manners should be even peculiarly pure. They are all married -young, from their being out-numbered by the other sex: and there is ever -present an unfortunate servile class of their own sex to serve the -purposes of licentiousness, so as to leave them untempted. Their -degradation arises, not from their own conduct, but from that of all -other parties about them. Where the generality of men carry secrets -which their wives must be the last to know; where the busiest and more -engrossing concerns of life must wear one aspect to the one sex, and -another to the other, there is an end to all wholesome confidence and -sympathy, and woman sinks to be the ornament of her husband's house, the -domestic manager of his establishment, instead of being his -all-sufficient friend. I am speaking not only of what I suppose must -necessarily be; but of what I have actually seen. I have seen, with -heart-sorrow, the kind politeness, the gallantry, so insufficient to the -loving heart, with which the wives of the south are treated by their -husbands. I have seen the horror of a woman's having to work,--to exert -the faculties which her Maker gave her;--the eagerness to ensure her -unearned ease and rest; the deepest insult which can be offered to an -intelligent and conscientious woman. I know the tone of conversation -which is adopted towards women; different in its topics and its style -from that which any man would dream of offering to any other man. I -have heard the boast of the chivalrous consideration in which women are -held throughout their woman's paradise; and seen something of the -anguish of crushed pride, of the conflict of bitter feelings with which -such boasts have been listened to by those whose aspirations teach them -the hollowness of the system. The gentlemen are all the while unaware -that women are not treated in the best possible manner among them: and -they will remain thus blind as long as licentious intercourse with the -lowest of the sex unfits them for appreciating the highest. Whenever -their society shall take rank according to moral rather than physical -considerations; whenever they shall rise to crave sympathy in the real -objects of existence; whenever they shall begin to inquire what human -life is, and wherefore, and to reverence it accordingly, they will -humble themselves in shame for their abuse of the right of the -strongest; for those very arrangements and observances which now -constitute their boast. A lady who, brought up elsewhere to use her own -faculties, and employ them on such objects as she thinks proper, and who -has more knowledge and more wisdom than perhaps any gentleman of her -acquaintance, told me of the disgust with which she submits to the -conversation which is addressed to her, under the idea of being fit for -her; and how she solaces herself at home, after such provocation, with -the silent sympathy of books. A father of promising young daughters, -whom he sees likely to be crushed by the system, told me, in a tone of -voice which I shall never forget, that women there might as well be -turned into the street, for anything they are fit for. There are -reasonable hopes that his children may prove an exception. One gentleman -who declares himself much interested in the whole subject, expresses his -horror of the employment of women in the northern States, for useful -purposes. He told me that the same force of circumstances which, in the -region he inhabits, makes men independent, increases the dependence of -women, and will go on to increase it. Society is there, he declared, -"always advancing towards orientalism." "There are but two ways in which -woman can be exercised to the extent of her powers; by genius and by -calamity, either of which may strengthen her to burst her conventional -restraints. The first is too rare a circumstance to afford any basis for -speculation: and may Heaven avert the last!" O, may Heaven hasten it! -would be the cry of many hearts, if these be indeed the conditions of -woman's fulfilling the purposes of her being. There are, I believe, some -who would scarcely tremble to see their houses in flames, to hear the -coming tornado, to feel the threatening earthquake, if these be indeed -the messengers who must open their prison doors, and give their -heaven-born spirits the range of the universe. God has given to them the -universe, as to others: man has caged them in one corner of it, and -dreads their escape from their cage, while man does that which he would -not have woman hear of. He puts genius out of sight, and deprecates -calamity. He has not, however, calculated all the forces in nature. If -he had, he would hardly venture to hold either negroes or women as -property, or to trust to the absence of genius and calamity. - -One remarkable warning has been vouchsafed to him. A woman of strong -mind, whose strenuous endeavours to soften the woes of slavery to her -own dependents, failed to satisfy her conscience and relieve her human -affections, her shaken the blood-slaked dust from her feet, and gone to -live where every man can call himself his own: and not only to live, but -to work there, and to pledge herself to death, if necessary, for the -overthrow of the system which she abhors in proportion to her -familiarity with it. Whether we are to call her Genius or Calamity, or -by her own honoured name of Angelina Grimke, certain it is that she is -rousing into life and energy many women who were unconscious of genius, -and unvisited by calamity, but who carry honest and strong human hearts. -This lady may ere long be found to have materially checked the "advance -towards orientalism." - -Of course, the children suffer, perhaps the most fatally of all, under -the slave system. What can be expected from little boys who are brought -up to consider physical courage the highest attribute of manhood; pride -of section and of caste its loftiest grace; the slavery of a part of -society essential to the freedom of the rest; justice of less account -than generosity; and humiliation in the eyes of men the most intolerable -of evils? What is to be expected of little girls who boast of having got -a negro flogged for being impertinent to them, and who are surprised at -the "ungentlemanly" conduct of a master who maims his slave? Such -lessons are not always taught expressly. Sometimes the reverse is -expressly taught. But this is what the children in a slave country -necessarily learn from what passes around them; just as the plainest -girls in a school grow up to think personal beauty the most important of -all endowments, in spite of daily assurances that the charms of the mind -are all that are worth regarding. - -The children of slave countries learn more and worse still. It is nearly -impossible to keep them from close intercourse with the slaves; and the -attempt is rarely made. The generality of slaves are as gross as the -total absence of domestic sanctity might be expected to render them. -They do not dream of any reserves with children. The consequences are -inevitable. The woes of mothers from this cause are such that, if this -"peculiar domestic institution" were confided to their charge, I believe -they would accomplish its overthrow with an energy and wisdom that would -look more like inspiration than orientalism. Among the incalculable -forces in nature is the grief of mothers weeping for the corruption of -their children. - -One of the absolutely inevitable results of slavery is a disregard of -human rights; an inability even to comprehend them. Probably the -southern gentry, who declare that the presence of slavery enhances the -love of freedom; that freedom can be duly estimated only where a -particular class can appropriate all social privileges; that, to use the -words of one of them, "they know too much of slavery to be slaves -themselves," are sincere enough in such declarations; and if so, it -follows that they do not know what freedom is. They may have the benefit -of the alternative,--of not knowing what freedom is, and being sincere; -or of knowing what freedom is, and not being sincere. I am disposed to -think that the first is the more common case. - -One reason for my thinking so is, that I usually found in conversation -in the south, that the idea of human rights was--sufficient subsistence -in return for labour. This was assumed as the definition of human rights -on which we were to argue the case of the slave. When I tried the -definition by the golden rule, I found that even that straight, simple -rule had become singularly bent in the hands of those who profess to -acknowledge and apply it. A clergyman preached from the pulpit the -following application of it, which is echoed unhesitatingly by the most -religious of the slave-holders:--"Treat your slaves as you would wish to -be treated if you were a slave yourself." I verily believe that -hundreds, or thousands, do not see that this is not an honest -application of the rule; so blinded are they by custom to the fact that -the negro is a man and a brother. - -Another of my reasons for supposing that the gentry of the south do not -know what freedom is, is that many seem unconscious of the state of -coercion in which they themselves are living; coercion, not only from -the incessant fear of which I have before spoken,--a fear which haunts -their homes, their business, and their recreations; coercion, not only -from their fear, and from their being dependent for their hourly -comforts upon the extinguished or estranged will of those whom they have -injured; but coercion also from their own laws. The laws against the -press are as peremptory as in the most despotic countries of Europe:[18] -as may be seen in the small number and size, and poor quality, of the -newspapers of the south. I never saw, in the rawest villages of the -youngest States, newspapers so empty and poor as those of New Orleans. -It is curious that, while the subject of the abolition of slavery in the -British colonies was necessarily a very interesting one throughout the -southern States, I met with planters who did not know that any -compensation had been paid by the British nation to the West Indian -proprietors. The miserable quality of the southern newspapers, and the -omission from them of the subjects on which the people most require -information, will go far to account for the people's delusions on their -own affairs, as compared with those of the rest of the world, and for -their boasts of freedom, which probably arise from their knowing of none -which is superior. They see how much more free they are than their own -slaves; but are not generally aware what liberty is where all are free. -In 1834, the number of newspapers was, in the State of New York, 267; in -Louisiana, 31; in Massachusetts, 108; in South Carolina, 19; in -Pennsylvania, 220; in Georgia, 29. - -What is to be thought of the freedom of gentlemen subject to the -following law? "Any person or persons who shall attempt to teach any -free person of colour, or slave, to spell, read, or write, shall, upon -conviction thereof by indictment, be fined in a sum not less than two -hundred and fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars."[19] - -What is to be thought of the freedom of gentlemen who cannot emancipate -their own slaves, except by the consent of the legislature; and then -only under very strict conditions, which make the deed almost -impracticable? It has been mentioned that during a temporary suspension -of the laws against emancipation in Virginia, 10,000 slaves were freed -in nine years; and that, as the institution seemed in peril, the masters -were again coerced. It is pleaded that the masters themselves were the -repealers and re-enactors of these laws. True: and thus it appears that -they thought it necessary to deprive each other of a liberty which a -great number seem to have made use of themselves, while they could. No -high degree of liberty, or of the love of it, is to be seen here. The -laws which forbid emancipation are felt to be cruelly galling, -throughout the south. I heard frequent bitter complaints of them. They -are the invariable plea urged by individuals to excuse their continuing -to hold slaves. Such individuals are either sincere in these complaints, -or they are not. If they are not, they must be under some deplorable -coercion which compels so large a multitude to hypocrisy. If they are -sincere, they possess the common republican means of getting tyrannical -laws repealed: and why do they not use them? If these laws are felt to -be oppressive, why is no voice heard denouncing them in the -legislatures? If men complainingly, but voluntarily, submit to laws -which bind the conscience, little can be said of their love of liberty. -If they submit involuntarily, nothing can be said for their possession -of it. - -What, again, is to be thought of the freedom of citizens who are liable -to lose caste because they follow conscience in a case where the -perversity of the laws places interest on the side of conscience, and -public opinion against it? I will explain. In a southern city, I saw a -gentleman who appeared to have all the outward requisites for commanding -respect. He was very wealthy, had been governor of the State, and was an -eminent and peculiar benefactor to the city. I found he did not stand -well. As some pains were taken to impress me with this, I inquired the -cause. His character was declared to be generally good. I soon got at -the particular exception, which I was anxious to do only because I saw -that it was somehow of public concern. While this gentleman was -governor, there was an insurrection of slaves. His own slaves were -accused. He did not believe them guilty, and refused to hang them. This -was imputed to an unwillingness to sacrifice his property. He was thus -in a predicament which no one can be placed in, except where man is held -as property. He must either hang his slaves, believing them innocent, -and keep his character; or he must, by saving their lives, lose his own -character. How the case stood with this gentleman, is fully known only -to his own heart. His conduct claims the most candid construction. But, -this being accorded as his due, what can be thought of the freedom of a -republican thus circumstanced? - -Passing over the perils, physical and moral, in which those are involved -who live in a society where recklessness of life is treated with -leniency, and physical courage stands high in the list of virtues and -graces,--perils which abridge a man's liberty of action and of speech in -a way which would be felt to be intolerable if the restraint were not -adorned by the false name of Honour,--it is only necessary to look at -the treatment of the abolitionists by the south, by both legislatures -and individuals, to see that no practical understanding of liberty -exists there. - -Upon a mere vague report, or bare suspicion, persons travelling through -the south have been arrested, imprisoned, and, in some cases, flogged or -otherwise tortured, on pretence that such persons desired to cause -insurrection among the slaves. More than one innocent person has been -hanged; and the device of terrorism has been so practised as to deprive -the total number of persons who avowedly hold a certain set of opinions, -of their constitutional liberty of traversing the whole country. It was -declared by some liberal-minded gentlemen of South Carolina, after the -publication of Dr. Channing's work on Slavery, that if Dr. Channing were -to enter South Carolina with a body-guard of 20,000 men, he could not -come out alive. I have seen the lithographic prints, transmitted in -letters to abolitionists, representing the individual to whom the letter -was sent hanging on a gallows. I have seen the hand-bills, purporting to -be issued by Committees of Vigilance, offering enormous rewards for the -heads, or for the ears, of prominent abolitionists. - -If it be said that these acts are attributable to the ignorant wrath of -individuals only, it may be asked whence arose the Committees of -Vigilance, which were last year sitting throughout the south and west, -on the watch for any incautious person who might venture near them, with -anti-slavery opinions in his mind? How came it that high official -persons sat on these committees? How is it that some governors of -southern States made formal application to governors of the northern -States to procure the dispersion of anti-slavery societies, the -repression of discussion, and the punishment of the promulgators of -abolition opinions? How is it that the governor of South Carolina last -year recommended the summary execution, without benefit of clergy, of -all persons caught within the limits of the State, holding avowed -anti-slavery opinions; and that every sentiment of the governor's was -endorsed by a select committee of the legislature? - -All this proceeds from an ignorance of the first principles of liberty. -It cannot be from a mere hypocritical disregard of such principles; for -proud men, who boast a peculiar love of liberty and aptitude for it, -would not voluntarily make themselves so ridiculous as they appear by -these outrageous proceedings. Such blustering is so hopeless, and, if -not sincere, so purposeless, that no other supposition is left than that -they have lost sight of the fundamental principles of both their federal -and State constitutions, and do now actually suppose that their own -freedom lies in crushing all opposition to their own will. No pretence -of evidence has been offered of any further offence against them than -the expression of obnoxious opinions. There is no plea that any of their -laws have been violated, except those recently enacted to annihilate -freedom of speech and the press: laws which can in no case be binding -upon persons out of the limits of the States for which these new laws -are made. - -The amended constitution of Virginia, of 1830, provides that the -legislature shall not pass "any law abridging the freedom of speech or -of the press." North and South Carolina and Georgia decree that the -freedom of the press shall be preserved inviolate; the press being the -grand bulwark of liberty. The constitution of Louisiana declares that -"the free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the -invaluable rights of man; and every citizen may freely speak, write, and -print, on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty." -The Declaration of Rights of Mississippi declares that "no law shall -ever be passed to curtail or restrain the liberty of speech, and of the -press." The constitutions of all the slave States contain declarations -and provisions like these. How fearfully have the descendants of those -who framed them degenerated in their comprehension and practice of -liberty, violating both the spirit and the letter of their original Bill -of Rights! They are not yet fully aware of this. In the calmer times -which are to come, they will perceive it, and look back with amazement -upon the period of desperation, when not a voice was heard, even in the -legislatures, to plead for human rights; when, for the sake of one -doomed institution, they forgot what their fathers had done, fettered -their own presses, tied their own hands, robbed their fellow-citizens -of their right of free travelling, and did all they could to deprive -those same fellow-citizens of liberty and life, for the avowal and -promulgation of opinions. - -Meantime, it would be but decent to forbear all boasts of a superior -knowledge and love of freedom. - -Here I gladly break off my dark chapter on the Morals of Slavery. - - -SECTION II. - -MORALS OF MANUFACTURES. - -One remarkable effect of democratic institutions is the excellence of -the work turned out by those who live under them. In a country where the -whole course is open to every one; where, in theory, everything may be -obtained by merit, men have the strongest stimulus to exert their -powers, and try what they can achieve. I found master-workmen, who -employ operatives of various nations, very sensible of this. Elsewhere, -no artisan can possibly rise higher than to a certain point of -dexterity, and amount of wages. In America, an artisan may attain to be -governor of the State; member of Congress; even President. Instead of -this possibility having the effect of turning his head, and making him -unfit for business, (as some suppose, who seem to consider these -opportunities as resembling the chances of a lottery,) it attaches him -to his business and his master, to sober habits, and to intellectual -cultivation. - -The only apparent excess to which it leads is ill-considered -enterprise. This is an evil sometimes to the individual, but not to -society. A man who makes haste to be famous or rich by means of new -inventions, may injure his own fortune or credit, but is usually a -benefactor to society, by furnishing a new idea on which another may -work with more success. Some of the most important improvements in the -manufactures of the United States have been made by men who afterwards -became insolvent. Where there is hasty enterprise, there is usually much -conceit. The very haste seems to show that the man is thinking more of -himself than of the subject on which he is employed. It naturally -happens that the conceited originator breaks down in the middle of his -scheme; and that some more patient, modest thinker takes it up where he -leaves off, and completes the invention. I was shown, at the Paterson -mills, an invention completed by two men on the spot, whose discovery -has been extensively adopted in England. A workman fancied he had -discovered a method by which he could twist rovings, fastened at both -ends, quicker than had ever been done before. As a more thoughtful -person would have foreseen, half the twisting came undone, as soon as -the ends were unfastened. The projector threw his work aside; but a -quiet observer among his brother workmen offered him a partnership and a -new idea, in return for the primary suggestion. The quiet man saw how -quickly the thread might be prepared, if the rovings could be condensed -fast enough for the twisting. He added his discovery to what the first -had really achieved; and the success was complete. - -The factories are found to afford a safe and useful employment for much -energy which would otherwise be wasted and misdirected. I found that in -some places very bad morals had prevailed before the introduction of -manufactures; while now the same society is eminently orderly. The great -evil still is drunkenness: but of this there is less than there used to -be; and other disorders have almost entirely disappeared. A steady -employer has it in his power to do more for the morals of the society -about him than the clergy themselves. The experiment has been tried, -with entire success, of dismissing from the mills any who have been -guilty of open vice. This is submitted to, because it is obviously -reasonable that the sober workmen who remain should be protected from -association with vicious persons who must be offensive or dangerous to -them. If any employer has the firmness to dismiss unquestionable -offenders, however valuable their services may be to him, he may -confidently look for a cessation of such offences, and for a great -purification of the society in which they have occurred. - -The morals of the female factory population may be expected to be good -when it is considered of what class it is composed. Many of the girls -are in the factories because they have too much pride for domestic -service. Girls who are too proud for domestic service as it is in -America, can hardly be low enough for any gross immorality; or to need -watching; or not to be trusted to avoid the contagion of evil example. -To a stranger, their pride seems to take a mistaken direction, and they -appear to deprive themselves of a respectable home and station, and many -benefits, by their dislike of service: but this is altogether their own -affair. They must choose for themselves their way of life. But the -reasons of their choice indicate a state of mind superior to the -grossest dangers of their position. - -I saw a bill fixed up in the Waltham mill which bore a warning that no -young lady who attended dancing-school that winter should be employed: -and that the corporation had given directions to the overseer to dismiss -any one who should be found to dance at the school. I asked the meaning -of this; and the overseer's answer was, "Why, we had some trouble last -winter about the dancing-school. It must, of course, be held in the -evening, as the young folks are in the mill all day. They are very -young, many of them; and they forget the time, and everything but the -amusement, and dance away till two or three in the morning. Then they -are unfit for their work the next day; or, if they get properly through -their work, it is at the expense of their health. So we have forbidden -the dancing-school; but, to make up for it, I have promised them that, -as soon as the great new room at the hotel is finished, we will have a -dance once a-fortnight. We shall meet and break up early; and my wife -and I will dance; and we will all dance together." - -I was sorry to see one bad and very unnecessary arrangement, in all the -manufacturing establishments. In England, the best friends of the poor -are accustomed to think it the crowning hardship of their condition that -solitude is wholly forbidden to them. It is impossible that any human -being should pass his life as well as he might do who is never -alone,--who is not frequently alone. This is a weighty truth which can -never be explained away. The silence, freedom and collectedness of -solitude are absolutely essential to the health of the mind; and no -substitute for this repose (or change of activity) is possible. In the -dwellings of the English poor, parents and children are crowded into one -room, for want of space and of furniture. All wise parents above the -rank of poor, make it a primary consideration so to arrange their -families as that each member may, at some hour, have some place where he -may enter in, and shut his door, and feel himself alone. If possible, -the sleeping places are so ordered. In America, where space is of far -less consequence, where the houses are large, where the factory girls -can build churches, and buy libraries, and educate brothers for learned -professions, these same girls have no private apartments, and sometimes -sleep six or eight in a room, and even three in a bed. This is very bad. -It shows a want of inclination for solitude; an absence of that need of -it which every healthy mind must feel, in a greater or less degree. - -Now are the days when these gregarious habits should be broken through. -New houses are being daily built: more parents are bringing their -children to the factories. If the practice be now adopted, by the -corporations, or by the parents who preside over separate -establishments, of partitioning off the large sleeping apartments into -small ones which shall hold each one occupant, the expense of partitions -and windows and trouble will not be worth a moment's consideration in -comparison with the improvement in intelligence, morals, and manners, -which will be found to result from such an arrangement. If the change be -not soon made, the American factory population, with all its advantages -of education and of pecuniary sufficiency, will be found, as its numbers -increase, to have been irreparably injured by its subjection to a -grievance which is considered the very heaviest to which poverty exposes -artisans in old countries. Man's own silent thoughts are his best -safeguard and highest privilege. Of the full advantage of this -safeguard, of the full enjoyment of this privilege, the innocent and -industrious youth of a new country ought, by no mismanagement, to be -deprived. - - -SECTION III. - -MORALS OF COMMERCE. - -It is said in the United States that Commerce and the Navy are -patronised by the federal party; as agriculture is, and the army would -be, if there was one, by the democratic party. This is true enough. The -greater necessity for co-operation, and therefore for the partial -sacrifice of independence, imposed by commercial pursuits, is more -agreeable to the aristocratic portion of society than to its opposite. -Yet, while commerce has been spreading and improving, federalism has -dwindled away; and most remarkably where commerce is carried on in its -utmost activity: in Massachusetts. The democracy are probably finding -out that more is gained by the concentration of the popular will than is -lost in the way of individual independence, by men being brought -together for objects which require concession and mutual subordination. -However this may be, the spirit of commerce in the United States is, on -the whole, honourable to the people. - -I shall have to speak hereafter of the regard to wealth, as the most -important object in life, which extensively corrupts Americans as it -does all other society. Here, I have to speak only of the spirit in -which one method of procuring wealth is prosecuted. - -The activity of the commercial spirit in America is represented abroad, -and too often at home, as indicative of nothing but sordid love of gain: -a making haste to be rich, a directly selfish desire of aggrandisement. -This view of the case seems to me narrow and injurious. I believe that -many desires, various energies, some nobler and some meaner, find in -commerce a centre for their activity. I have studied with some care the -minds and manners of a variety of merchants, and other persons engaged -in commerce, and have certainly found a regard to money a more -superficial and intermitting influence than various others. - -The spirit of enterprise is very remarkable in the American merchants. -Beginning life, as all Americans do, with the world all open before -them, and only a head and a pair of hands wherewith to gain it, a -passionate desire to overcome difficulties arises in them. Being, (as I -have before declared my opinion,) the most imaginative people in the -world, the whole world rises fair before them, and they, not believing -in impossibilities, long to conquer it. - -Then, there is the meaner love of distinction; meaner than the love of -enterprise, but higher than the desire of gain. The distinction sought -is not always that which attends on superior wealth only; but on -world-wide intercourses, on extensive affairs, on hospitality to a large -variety of foreigners. - -Again; there is the love of Art. Weak, immature, ignorant, perhaps, as -this taste at present is, it exists: and indications of it which merit -all respect, are to be found in many abodes. There are other, though not -perhaps such lofty ways of pursuing art, than by embodying conceptions -in pictures, statues, operas, and buildings. The love of Beauty and of -the ways of Humanity may indicate and gratify itself by other and -simpler methods than those which the high artists of the old world have -sanctified. If any one can witness the meeting of one kind of American -merchant with his supercargo, after a long, distant voyage, hear the -questioning and answering, and witness the delight with which new -curiosities are examined, and new theories of beauty and civilisation -are put forth upon the impulse of the moment, and still doubt the -existence of a love of art, still suppose the desire of gain the moving -spring of that man's mind,--may Heaven preserve the community from being -pronounced upon by such an observer! The critic with the stop-watch is -magnanimous in comparison. - -Again; there is the human eagerness after an object once adopted. In -this case, it may be money, as in other cases it may be Queen Anne's -farthings, the knockers of doors, ancient books, (for their editions and -not their contents,) pet animals, autographs, or any other merely -outward object whose charm lies in the pursuit. Several men of business, -whose activity has made them very wealthy, have told me that, though -they would not openly declare what would look like a boast, and would -not be believed, the truth was that they should not care if they lost -every dollar they had. They knew themselves well enough to perceive that -the pleasure was in the pursuit, and not in the dollars: and I thought I -knew some of them well enough to perceive that it would be rather a -relief to have their money swept away, that they might again be as busy -as ever in a mode which had become pleasant to them by habit and -success. Of course, I am not speaking of such as of a very high and -happy order; as to be for a moment compared with the few whose pursuits -are of an unfailing but perpetually satisfying kind; with those whose -recompense is incessant, but never fulfilled. I am only declaring that -the eager pursuit of wealth does not necessarily indicate a love of -wealth for its own sake. - -What are the facts? What are the manifestations of the character of the -American merchants? After their eager money-getting, how do they spend -it? How much do they prize it? - -Their benevolence is known throughout the world: not only that -benevolence which founds and endows charities, and repairs to sufferers -the mischief of accidents; but that which establishes schools of a -higher order than common, and brings forward in life the most -meritorious of those who are educated there; the benevolence which -watches over the condition of seamen on the ocean, and their safety at -home; the benevolence which busies itself, with much expense of dollars -and trouble, to provide for the improved civilisation of the whole of -society. If the most liberal institutions in the northern States were -examined into, it would be found how active the merchant class has been, -beyond all others, in their establishment. - -Again: their eager money-getting is not for purposes of accumulation. -Some--many, are deplorably ostentatious; but it seemed to me that the -ostentation was an after-thought; though it might lead to renewed -money-getting. Money was first gained. What was to be done with it? One -might as well outshine one's neighbours, especially as this would be a -fresh stimulus to get more still. This is bad; but it is not sordidness. -Instances of accumulation are extremely rare. The miser is with them an -antique, classical kind of personage, pictured forth as having on a high -cap, a long gown, and sitting in a vaulted chamber, amidst money-chests. -It would, I believe, be difficult there to find a pair of eyes that have -looked upon a real living and breathing miser. My account of the doings -of a miser whom I used wondering to watch in the days of my childhood -never failed to excite amazement, very like incredulity, in those I was -conversing with. The best proof that the money-getting of the eminently -successful merchants of America is not for money's sake, lies in the -fact, that in New England, peopled by more than 2,000,000 of -inhabitants, there are not more than 500, probably not more than 400 -individuals, who can be called affluent men; possessing, that is, -100,000 dollars and upwards. A prosperous community, in which a sordid -pursuit of wealth was common, would be in a very different state from -this. - -The bankruptcies in the United States are remarkably frequent and -disgraceful,--disgraceful in their nature, though not sufficiently so in -the eyes of society. A clergyman in a commercial city declares that -almost every head of a family in his congregation has been a bankrupt -since his settlement. In Philadelphia, from six to eight hundred persons -annually take the benefit of the insolvent laws; and numerous -compromises take place which are not heard of further than the parties -concerned in them. On seeing the fine house of a man who was a bankrupt -four years before, and who was then worth 100,000 dollars, I asked -whether such cases were common, and was grieved to find they were. Some -insolvents pay their old debts when they rise again; but the greater -number do not. This laxity of morals is favoured by the circumstances of -the community, which require the industry of all its members, and can -employ the resources of all,--first, of men of character, and then of -speculators. But, few things are more disgraceful to American society -than the carelessness with which speculators are allowed to game with -other people's funds, and, after ruining those who put trust in them, to -lift up their heads in all places, just as if they had, during their -whole lives, rendered unto all their dues. Whatever may be the causes or -the palliations of speculation; whatever may be pleaded about currency -mistakes, and the temptations to young men to make fortunes by the -public lands, one thing is clear; that no man, who, having failed, and -afterwards having the means to pay his debts in full, does not pay them, -can be regarded as an honest man, and ought to be received upon the same -footing with honest men, whatever may be his accomplishments, or his -subsequent fortune. What would be thought of any society which should -cherish an escaped (not reformed) thief, because a large legacy had -enabled him to set up his carriage? Yet how much difference is there in -the two cases? It is very rarely a duty,--more rarely than is generally -supposed, to mark and shun the guilty. It is usually more right to seek -and help him. But, in the case of a spreading vice, which is viewed with -increasing levity, the reprobation of the honest portion of society -ought to be very distinct and emphatic. Those who would not associate -with escaped thieves should avoid prosperous bankrupts who are not -thinking of paying their debts. - -The gravest sin chargeable upon the merchants of the United States is -their conduct on the abolition question. This charge is by no means -general. There are instances of a manly declaration of opinion on the -side of freedom, and also of a spirit of self-sacrifice in the cause, -which can hardly be surpassed for nobleness. There are merchants who -have thrown up their commerce with the south when there was reason to -believe that its gains were wrung from the slave; and there are many who -have freely poured out their money, and risked their reputation, in -defence of the abolition cause, and of liberty of speech and the press. -But the reproach of the persecution of the abolitionists, and of -tampering with the fundamental liberties of the people, rests mainly -with the merchants of the northern States. - -It is worthy of remembrance that the Abolition movement originated from -the sordid act of a merchant. While Garrison was at Baltimore, studying -the Colonisation scheme, a ship belonging to a merchant of Newburyport, -Massachusetts, arrived at Baltimore to take freight for New Orleans. -There was some difficulty about the expected cargo. The captain was -offered a freight of slaves, wrote to the merchant for leave, and -received orders to carry these slaves to New Orleans. Garrison poured -out, in a libel, (so called,) his indignation against this deed, -committed by a man who, as a citizen of Massachusetts, thanks God every -Thanksgiving Day that the soil of his State is untrod by the foot of a -slave. Garrison was fined and imprisoned; and after his release, was -warmly received in New York, where he lectured upon Abolition; from -which time, the cause has gained strength so as to have now become -unconquerable. - -The spirit of this Newburyport merchant has dwelt in too many of the -same vocation. The Faneuil Hall meeting was convened chiefly by -merchants; and they have been conspicuous in all the mobs. They have -kept the clergy dumb: they have overawed the colleges, given their cue -to the newspapers, and shown a spirit of contempt and violence, -equalling even that of the slave-holders, towards those who, in acting -upon their honest convictions, have appeared likely to affect their -sources of profit. At Cincinnati, they were chiefly merchants who met to -destroy the right of discussion; and passed a resolution directly -recommendatory of violence for this purpose. They were merchants who -waited in deputation on the editor of the anti-slavery newspaper there, -to intimidate him from the use of his constitutional liberty, and who -made themselves by these acts answerable for the violences which -followed. This was so clear, that they were actually taunted by their -slave-holding neighbours, on the other side of the river, with their -sordidness in attempting to extinguish the liberties of the republic for -the sake of their own pecuniary gains. - -The day will come when their eyes will be cleansed from the gold-dust -which blinds them. Meanwhile, as long as they continue active against -the most precious rights of the community; as long as they may be fairly -considered more guilty on this tremendous question of Human Wrongs than -even the slave-holders of the south,--more guilty than any class -whatever, except the clergy,--let them not boast of their liberality and -their benevolence. Generosity loses half its grace when it does not -co-exist with justice. Those can ill be esteemed benefactors to the -community in one direction, who are unfaithful to their citizenship in -another. Till such can be roused from their delusion, and can see their -conduct as others see it, the esteem of the world must rest on those of -their class who, to the graces of enterprise, liberality, and taste, add -the higher merit of intrepid, self-sacrificing fidelity to the cause of -Human Rights. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[13] In testimony of the fact that the working people of this region are -thinkers too, I subjoin a note written by the wife of a village -mechanic, who is a fair specimen of her class. - -"SIR,--Nothing but a consciousness of my own incompetency to form a just -opinion on a question of such magnitude, and one too which involves -consequences as remote from my personal observation, as the immediate, -or gradual emancipation of the slaves, has, for some time, prevented my -being an acknowledged abolitionist. With the Divine precepts before me, -which require us to love our neighbour as ourselves, and 'whatsoever we -would that others should do to us,' etc. etc., instructed and admonished -too by the feelings of common humanity, I cannot hesitate to pronounce -the system of slavery an outrageous violation of the requirements of -God, and a lawless and cruel invasion of the rights of our fellow men. -In this view of it, I am not able to understand how it can be persisted -in, without setting at defiance the dictates of reason and conscience, -and what is of more importance, the uncompromising authority of -Scripture, the arguments of wise and talented men to the contrary, -notwithstanding. The most superficial observer cannot fail to discern, -in the universal interest and agitation, which prevail on this subject, -a prelude to some mighty revolution. If this 'war of words' is the -_worst_ that will precede or accompany it, I shall be happily -disappointed. With these feelings, sir, you will readily believe the -assurance, that I have been greatly interested, and instructed, in -reading the mild, comprehensive, intelligent 'lecture,' of your lamented -brother." - -[14] See Appendix C: an admirable sketch by a resident of Charleston, of -the interior of a planter's family. It unconsciously bears out all that -can be said of the educational evils of the existing state of society in -the south. - -[15] I went with a lady in whose house I was staying to dine, one -Sunday, on a neighbouring estate. Her husband happened not to be with -us, as he had to ride in another direction. The carriage was ordered for -eight in the evening. It drew up to the door at six; and the driver, a -slave, said his master had sent him, and begged we would go home -directly. We did so, and found my host very much surprised to see us -home so early. The message was a fiction of the slave's, who wanted to -get his horses put up, that he might enjoy his Sunday evening. His -master and mistress laughed, and took no further notice. - -[16] The law declares that the children of slaves are to follow the -fortunes of the mother. Hence the practice of planters selling and -bequeathing their own children. - -[17] I knew of the death of four men by summary burning alive, within -thirteen months of my residence in the United States. - -[18] No notice is taken of any occurrence, however remarkable, in which -a person of colour, free or enslaved, has any share, for fear of the -Acts which denounce death or imprisonment for life against those who -shall write, print, publish, or distribute anything having a tendency to -excite discontent or insubordination, &c.; or which doom to heavy fines -those who shall use or issue language which may disturb "the security of -masters with their slaves, or diminish that respect which is commanded -to free people of colour for the whites." - -[19] Alabama Digest. In the same section occurs the following: "That no -cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted on any slave within this -territory. And any owner of slaves authorising or permitting the same, -shall, on conviction thereof, before any court having cognizance, be -fined according to the nature of the offence, and at the discretion of -the court, in any sum not exceeding two hundred dollars." - -Two hundred dollars' fine for torturing a slave: and five hundred for -teaching him to read! - - - - -PART III. - -CIVILISATION. - - "This country, which has given to the world the example of physical - liberty, owes to it that of moral emancipation also; for as yet it - is but nominal with us. The inquisition of public opinion - overwhelms, in practice, the freedom asserted by the laws in - theory." - - _Jefferson._ - - -The degree of civilisation of any people corresponds with the exaltation -of the idea which is the most prevalent among that people. The prominent -idea of savages is the necessity of providing for the supply of the -commonest bodily wants. The first steps in civilisation, therefore, are -somewhat refined methods of treating the body. When, by combination of -labour and other exercises of ingenuity, the wants of the body are -supplied with regularity and comparative ease, the love of pleasure, the -love of idleness, succeeds. Then comes the desire of wealth; and next, -the regard to opinion. Further than this no nation has yet attained. -Individuals there have been, probably in every nation under heaven, who -have lived for a higher idea than any of these; and insulated customs -and partial legislation have, among all communities, shown a tendency -towards something loftier than the prevalent morality. The majesty of -higher ideas is besides so irresistible, that an involuntary homage, -purely inefficacious, has been offered to them from of old by the -leaders of society. - - - "Earth is sick, - And Heaven is weary of the hollow words - Which States and Kingdoms utter when they talk - Of truth and justice." - - -Though, as yet, "profession mocks performance," the profession, from age -to age, of the same lofty something not yet attained, may be taken as a -clear prophecy of ultimate performance. It shows a perception, however -dim, a regard, however feeble, from which endeavour and attainment -cannot but follow, in course of time. But the time is not yet. In the -old world, the transition is, in its most enlightened parts, only -beginning to be made, from the few governing the many avowedly for the -good of the few, to governing the many professedly for the good of the -many. The truth and justice under whose dominion every man would -reverence all other men, would renounce himself for the sake of others, -and feel it to be the highest destiny "not to be ministered unto, but to -minister," are still "hollow words." The civilisation of the old world -still corresponds with the low idea, that man lives in and for the -outward, in and for what is around him rather than what is within him. -It is still supposed, that whatever a few individuals say and do, the -generality of men live for wealth, outward ease and dignity, and, at the -highest, lofty reputation. The degree of civilisation corresponds with -this. There is scarcely an institution or a custom which supposes -anything higher. What educational arrangements there are, are new, and -(however praiseworthy as being an actual advance) are so narrow and -meagre as to show how unaccustomed is the effort to consider the man as -nobler than the unit of society. The phrase is still the commonest of -phrases in which parents, guardians, schoolmasters and statesmen embody -their ambition for their wards--that any such ward "may become a useful -and respectable member of society." The greater number of guardians -would be terrified at the idea of their wards becoming anything else; -anything higher than "useful and respectable members of society," while -it is as clear as noon-day that room ought to be left,--that facilities -ought to be afforded for every one becoming whatsoever his Maker has -fitted him to be, so long as it appears that the noblest men by whom the -earth has been graced, have been considered in their own time the very -reverse of "useful and respectable members of society." The most godlike -of the race have been esteemed "pestilent fellows" in their day and -generation. No student of the ways of Providence will repine at this -order of affairs, or expect that any arrangement of society can be made -by which the convictions and sympathies of the less gifted should be -enabled suddenly to overtake those of the more gifted. He will not -desire to change the great and good laws by which the chosen of his race -are "made perfect through sufferings," and by which the light of reason -is ordained to brighten very gradually from dawn into day. He will only -take note of the fact, that it is a low state of civilisation which -presupposes specified and outward aims, and relies with such confidence -on the mechanical means of attaining them as to be shocked, or anything -but gratified, at the pursuit of singular objects by unusual methods. -The observer will rightly judge such to be a low state of civilisation, -whatever lamentations or exultations he may daily hear about the very -high point civilisation has reached, when the schoolmaster is abroad, -when people can travel at the rate of fifty miles an hour, and eminent -cooks are paid 1,200l. a-year. While truth and justice remain "hollow -words," so far as that men cannot live for them, to the detriment of -their fortunes, without being called mischievous and disreputable -members of society, no one can reasonably speak of the high civilisation -of the country to which they belong. - -The old world naturally looks with interest to the new, to see what -point of civilisation it reaches under fresh circumstances. The interest -may be undefined, and partly unconscious; but it is very eager. The -many, who conceive of no other objects of general pursuit than the old -ones of wealth, ease, and honour, look only to see under what forms -these are pursued. The few, who lay the blame of the grovelling at home -upon outward restrictions alone, look to America with extravagant -expectations of a perfect reign of virtue and happiness, because the -Americans live in outward freedom. What is the truth? - -While the republics of North America are new, the ideas of the people -are old. While these republics were colonies, they contained an old -people, living under old institutions, in a new country. Now they are a -mixed people, infant as a nation, with a constant accession of minds -from old countries, living in a new country, under institutions newly -combined out of old elements. It is a case so singular, that the old -world may well have patience for some time, to see what will arise. The -old world must have patience; for the Americans have no national -character yet; nor can have, for a length of years. It matters not that -they think they have: or it matters only so far as it shows to what they -tend. Their veneration of Washington has led them to suppose that he is -the type of their nation. Their patriotic feelings are so far -associated with him that they conclude the nation is growing up in his -likeness. If any American were trusted by his countrymen to delineate -what they call their national character, it would infallibly come out a -perfect likeness of Washington. But there is a mistake here. There were -influences prior to Washington, and there are circumstances which have -survived him, that cause some images to lie deeper down in the hearts of -Americans than Washington himself. His character is a grand and very -prevalent idea among them: but there are others which take the -precedence, from being more general still. Wealth and opinion were -practically worshipped before Washington opened his eyes on the sun -which was to light him to his deeds; and the worship of Opinion is, at -this day, the established religion of the United States. - -If the prevalent idea of society did not arise out of circumstances over -which the mutations of outward events exercise but a small immediate -influence, it is clear that, in this case, the idea should arise out of -the characters of the benefactors who achieved the revolution, and must -be consistent with the solemn words in which they conveyed their united -Declaration. The principles of truth, and the rule of justice, according -to which that Declaration was framed, and that revolutionary struggle -undertaken and conducted, should, but for prior influences, have been -the spirit inspiring the whole civilisation of the American people. -There should then have been the utmost social as well as political -freedom. The pursuit of wealth might then have been subordinated at -pleasure: fear of injury, alike from opinion and from violence, should -have been banished; and as noble facilities afforded for the progression -of the inward, as for the enjoyment of the outward, man. But this was -not given. Instead of it there was ordained a mingling of old and new -influences, from which a somewhat new kind of civilisation has arisen. - -The old-world estimation of wealth has remained among them, though, I -believe and trust, somewhat diminished in strength. Though every man -works for it in America, and not quite every man does so in England, it -seems to me that it is not so absolutely the foreground object in all -views of life, the one subject of care, speculation, inquiry, and -supposition, that it is in England. It is in America clearly subordinate -to another idea, still an idol, but of a higher order than the former. -The worship of Opinion certainly takes precedence of that of wealth. - -In a country where the will of the majority decides all political -affairs, there is a temptation to belong to the majority, except where -strong interests, or probabilities of the speedy supremacy of the -minority, countervail. The minority, in such a case, must be possessed -of a strong will, to be a minority. A strong will is dreaded by the -weaker, who have so little faith as to believe that such a will -endangers the political equality which is the fundamental principle of -their institutions. This dread occasions persecution, or at least -opprobrium: opprobrium becomes a real danger; and, like all dangers, is -much more feared than it deserves, the longer it lasts, and the more it -is dwelt upon. Thus, from a want of faith in the infallible operation of -the principles of truth and the rule of justice, these last become -"hollow words" in the States of the new, as in the kingdoms of the old -world; and the infant nation, which was expected to begin a fresh and -higher social life, is acting out in its civilisation an idea but little -more exalted than those which have operated among nations far less -favoured than herself in regard to political freedom. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -IDEA OF HONOUR. - - "Talent and worth are the only eternal grounds of distinction. To - these the Almighty has affixed his everlasting patent of nobility; - and these it is which make the bright, 'the immortal names,' to - which our children may aspire, as well as others. It will be our - own fault if, in our own land, society as well as government is not - organised upon a new foundation." - - _Miss Sedgwick._ - - -It is true that it is better to live for honour than for wealth: but how -much better, depends upon the idea of honour. Where truth and justice -are more than hollow words, the idea of honour is such as to exclude all -fear, except of wrong-doing. Where the honour is to be derived from -present human opinion, there must be fear, ever present, and perpetually -exciting to or withholding from action. In such a case, as painful a -bondage is incurred as in the pursuit of wealth. If riches take to -themselves wings, and fly away, so does popularity. If rich freights are -in danger afar off from storms, and harvests at home from blights, so is -reputation, from differences of opinion, and varieties of views and -tempers. If all that moralists have written, and wise men have -testified, about the vanity and misery of depending on human applause be -true, there can be no true freedom in communities, any more than for -individuals, who live to opinion. The time will come when the Americans -also will testify to this, as a nation, as many individual members of -their society have done already. The time will come when they will be -astonished to discover how they mar their own privileges by allowing -themselves less liberty of speech and action than is enjoyed by the -inhabitants of countries whose political servitude the Americans justly -compassionate and despise. - -This regard to opinion shows itself under various forms in different -parts of the country, and under dissimilar social arrangements. In the -south, where the labour itself is capital, and labour cannot therefore -be regarded with due respect, there is much vanity of retinue, much -extravagance, from fear of the imputation of poverty which would follow -upon retrenchment; and great recklessness of life, from fear of the -imputation of cowardice which might follow upon forgiveness of injuries. -Fear of imputation is here the panic, under which men relinquish their -freedom of action and speech. In the north, society has been enabled, -chiefly by the religious influence which has descended from the fathers, -to surmount, in some degree, this low kind of fear, so far as it shows -itself in recklessness of life: but not altogether. I was amazed to hear -a gentleman of New England declare, while complaining of the insolence -of the southern members of Congress to the northern, under shelter of -the northern men not being duellists, that, if he went to Congress, he -would give out that he would fight. I do not believe that he would -actually have proved himself so far behind the society to which he -belonged as to have adopted a bad practice which it had -outgrown,--adopted it from that very fear of imputation which he -despised in the south; but the impulse under which he spoke testified to -the danger of a fear of opinion taking any form, however low, when it -exists under any other. - -When I was at Philadelphia, a shocking incident happened in a family -with which I was acquainted. The only son, a fine youth of nineteen, was -insulted by a fellow-student. His father and uncle consulted what must -be done; and actually sent the young man out to fight the person who had -insulted him: the mother being aware of it, and praying that if either -fell, it might be her son. She no doubt felt in her true heart, that it -would be better to die than to murder another from the selfish fear of -imputation. The first aggressor lost a finger; and there, it was said, -the matter ended. But the matter has not ended yet, nor will end; for -the young man has had a lesson of low selfishness, of moral cowardice -impressed upon him by the guardians of his youth, with a force which he -is not likely to surmount: and the society in which he lives has seen -the strongest testimony to false principles borne by two of its most -respected members. - -Not by any means as a fair specimen of society, but as an example of -what kind of honour may be enjoyed where the fear of imputation is at -its height, I give the description, as it was given me by a resident, of -what a man may do in an eminently duelling portion of the southern -country. "A man may kill another, and be no worse. He may be shabby in -his money transactions, but may not steal. He may game, but not keep a -gaming-house." It will not do for the duellists of the south to drop in -conversation, as they do, that good manners can exist only where -vengeance is the penalty of bad. The fear of imputation and the dread of -vengeance are at least as contemptible as bad manners; and -unquestionably lower than the fear of opinion prevalent in the north. - -In the north there can be little vanity of retinue, as retinue is not -to be had: but there is, instead of it, much ostentation of wealth, in -the commercial cities. It is here that the aristocracy form and collect; -and, as has been before said, the aristocratic is universally the -fearing, while the democratic is the hoping, party. The fear of opinion -takes many forms. There is fear of vulgarity, fear of responsibility; -and above all, fear of singularity. There is something more displeasing, -at the first view, in the caution of the Yankees than in the -recklessness of the cavalier race of the south. Till the individual -exceptions come out from the mass; till the domestic frankness and -generosity of the whole people are apparent, there is something little -short of disgusting to the stranger who has been unused to witness such -want of social confidence, in the caution which presents probably the -strongest aspect of selfishness that he has ever seen. - -The Americans of the northern States are, from education and habit, so -accustomed to the caution of which I speak, as to be unaware of its -extent and singularity. They think themselves injured by the remarks -which strangers make upon it, and by the ridicule with which it is -treated by their own countrymen who have travelled abroad. But the -singularity is in themselves. They may travel over the world, and find -no society but their own which will submit to the restraint of perpetual -caution, and reference to the opinions of others. They may travel over -the whole world, and find no country but their own where the very -children beware of getting into scrapes, and talk of the effect of -actions upon people's minds; where the youth of society determine in -silence what opinions they shall bring forward, and what avow only in -the family circle; where women write miserable letters, almost -universally, because it is a settled matter that it is unsafe to commit -oneself on paper; and where elderly people seem to lack almost -universally that faith in principles which inspires a free expression of -them at any time, and under all circumstances. - -"Mrs. B.," said a child of eleven to a friend of mine, "what church do -you go to?"--"To Mr. ----'s." "O, Mrs. B. are you a Unitarian?"--"No." -"Then why do you go to that church?"--"Because I can worship best -there." "O, but Mrs. B., think of the example,--the example, Mrs. B.!" - -When I had been in the country some time, I remarked to one who knew -well the society in which he lived, that I had not seen a good lady's -letter since I landed; though the conversation of some of the writers -was of a very superior kind. The letters were uniformly poor and guarded -in expression, confined to common-places, and overloaded with flattery. -"There are," replied he, "no good letters written in America. The force -of public opinion is so strong, and the danger of publicity so great, -that men do not write what they think, for fear of getting into bad -hands: and this acts again upon the women, and makes their style -artificial." It is not quite true that there are no good letters written -in America: among my own circle of correspondents there, there are -ladies and gentlemen whose letters would stand a comparison with any for -frankness, grace, and epistolary beauty of every kind. But I am not -aware of any medium between this excellence and the boarding-school -insignificance which characterises the rest. - -When the stranger has recovered a little from the first disagreeable -impression of all this caution, he naturally asks what there can be to -render it worth while. To this question, I never could discover a -satisfactory answer. What harm the "force of public opinion," or -"publicity," can do to any individual; what injury "bad hands" can -inflict upon a good man or woman, which can be compared with the evil of -living in perpetual caution, I cannot imagine. If men and women cannot -bear blame, they had better hew out a space for themselves in the -forest, and live there, as the only safe place. If they are afraid of -observation and comment, they should withdraw from society altogether: -for the interest which human beings take in each other is so deep and -universal, that observation and comment are unavoidable wherever there -are eyes to see, and hearts and minds to yearn and speculate. An honest -man will not naturally fear this investigation. If he is not sure of his -opinions on any matter, he will say so, and endeavour to gain light. If -he is sure, he will speak them, and be ready to avow the grounds of -them, as occasion arises. That there should be some who think his -opinions false and dangerous is not pleasant; but it is an evil too -trifling to be mentioned in comparison with the bondage of concealment, -and the torment of fear. This bondage, this torment is worse than the -worst that the "force of public opinion" can inflict, even if such force -should close the prospect of political advancement, of professional -eminence, and of the best of social privileges. There are some members -of society in America who have found persecution, excommunication, and -violence, more endurable than the concealment of their convictions. - -Few persons really doubt this when the plain case is set down before -them. They agree to it in church on Sundays, and in conversation by the -fireside: and the reason why they are so backward as they are to act -upon it in the world, is that habit and education are too strong for -them. They have worn their chains so long that they feel them less than -might be supposed. I doubt whether they can even conceive of a state of -society, of its ease and comfort, where no man fears his neighbour, and -it is no evil to be responsible for one's opinions: where men, knowing -how undiscernible consequences are, and how harmless they must be to the -upright, abide them without fear, and do not perplex themselves with -calculating what is incalculable. Whenever the time shall come for the -Americans to discover all this, to perceive how miserable a restraint -they have imposed upon themselves by this servitude to opinion, they -will see how it is that, while outwardly blessed beyond all parallel, -they have been no happier than the rest of the world. I doubt whether, -among the large "uneasy classes" of the Old World, there is so much -heart-eating care, so much nervous anxiety, as among the dwellers in the -towns of the northern States of America, from this cause alone. If I had -to choose, I would rather endure the involuntary uneasiness of the Old -World sufferers, than the self-imposed anxiety of those of the New: -except that the self-imposed suffering may be shaken off at any moment. -There are instances, few, but striking, of strong-minded persons who -have discovered and are practising the true philosophy of ease; who have -openly taken their stand upon principles, and are prepared for all -consequences, meekly and cheerfully defying all possible inflictions of -opinion. Though it does not enter into their calculations, such may -possibly find that they are enjoying more, and suffering less from -opinion, than those who most daintily court it. - -There would be something amusing in observing the operation of this -habit of caution, if it were not too serious a misfortune. When Dr. -Channing's work on Slavery came out, the following conversation passed -between a lady of Boston and myself. She began it with-- - -"Have you seen Dr. Channing's book?" - -"Yes. Have you?" - -"O no. Do not you think it very ill-timed?" - -"No; I think it well-timed; as it did not come out sooner." - -"But is it not wrong to increase the public excitement at such a time?" - -"That depends upon the nature of the excitement. But this book seems to -have a tranquillising effect: as the exhibition of true principles -generally has." - -"But Dr. Channing is not a practical man. He is only a retired student. -He has no real interest in the matter." - -"No worldly interest; and this, and his seclusion, enable him to see -more clearly than others, in a case where principles enlighten men, and -practice seems only to blind them." - -"Well: I shall certainly read the book, as you like it so much." - -"Pray don't, if that is your reason." - -A reply to Dr. Channing's book soon appeared;--a pamphlet which savoured -only of fear, dollars, and, consequently, insult. A gentleman of Boston, -who had, on some important occasions, shown that he could exercise a -high moral courage, made no mention of this reply for some time after it -appeared. At length, on hearing another person speak of it as it -deserved, he said, "Now people are so openly speaking of that reply, I -have no objection to say what I think of it. I have held my tongue about -it hitherto; but yesterday I heard ---- speak of it as you do; and I no -longer hesitate to declare that I think it an infamous production." - -It may be said that such are remarkable cases. Be it so: they still -testify to the habit of society, by the direction which the caution -takes. Elsewhere, the parties might be quite as much afraid of -something else; but they would not dream of refraining from a good book, -or holding their tongues about the badness of a vicious pamphlet, till -supported by the opinions of others. - -How strong a contrast to all this the domestic life of the Americans -presents will appear when I come to speak of the spirit of intercourse. -It is an individual, though prevalent, selfishness that I have now been -lamenting. - -The traveller should go into the west when he desires to see universal -freedom of manners. The people of the west have a comfortable -self-complacency, equally different from the arrogance of the south, and -the timidity of the north. They seem to unite with this the hospitality -which distinguishes the whole country: so that they are, on the whole, a -very bewitching people. Their self-confidence probably arises from their -being really remarkably energetic, and having testified this by the -conquests over nature which their mere settlement in the west evinces. -They are the freest people I saw in America: and accordingly one enjoys -among them a delightful exemption from the sorrow and indignation which -worldly caution always inspires; and from flattery. If the stranger -finds himself flattered in the west, he may pretty safely conclude that -the person he is talking with comes from New England. "We are apt to -think," said a westerner to me, "that however great and good another -person may be, we are just as great and good." Accordingly, intercourse -goes on without any reference whatever to the merits of the respective -parties. In the sunshine of complacency, their free thoughts ripen into -free deeds, and the world gains largely. There are, naturally, instances -of extreme conceit, here and there: but I do not hesitate to avow that, -prevalent as mock-modesty and moral cowardice are in the present -condition of society, that degree of self-confidence which is commonly -called conceit grows in favour with me perpetually. An over-estimate of -self appears to me a far less hurtful and disagreeable mistake than the -idolatry of opinion. It is a mistake which is sure to be rectified, -sooner or later; and very often, it proves to be no mistake where small -critics feel the most confident that they may safely ridicule it. The -event decides this matter of self-estimate, beyond all question; and -while the event remains undisclosed, it is easy and pleasant to give men -credit for as much as they believe themselves to be capable of:--more -easy and pleasant than to see men restricting their own powers by such -calculation of consequences as implies an equal want of faith in others -and in themselves. If John Milton were now here to avow his hope that he -should produce that which "the world would not willingly let die," what -a shout there would be of "the conceited fellow!" while, the declaration -having been made venerable by the event, it is now cited as an instance -of the noble self-confidence of genius. - -The people of the west have a right to so much self-confidence as arises -from an ascertainment of what they can actually achieve. They come from -afar, with some qualities which have force enough to guide them into a -new region. They subdue this region to their own purposes; and, if they -do often forget that the world elsewhere is progressing; if they do -suppose themselves as relatively great in present society as they were -formerly in the wilderness, it should be remembered, on their behalf, -that they have effectually asserted their manhood in the conquest of -circumstances. - -If we are not yet to see, except in individual instances, the exquisite -union of fearlessness with modesty, of self-confidence with -meekness;--if there must be either the love of being grand in one's own -eyes, or the fear of being little in other people's,--the friends of the -Americans would wish that their error should be that which is allied to -too much, rather than too little freedom. - -As for the anxiety about foreign opinions of America, I found it less -striking than I expected. In the south, there is the keenest sensibility -to the opinion of the world about slavery; and in New England, the -veneration for England is greater than I think any one people ought to -feel for any other. The love of the mother country, the filial pride in -her ancient sages, are natural and honourable: and so, perhaps, is a -somewhat exalted degree of deference for the existing dwellers upon the -soil of that mother country, and on the spot where those sages lived and -thought and spoke. But, as long as no civilised nation is, or can be -ascertained to be, far superior or inferior to any other; as the human -heart and human life are generally alike and equal, on this side -barbarism, the excessive reverence with which England is regarded by the -Americans seems to imply a deficiency of self-respect. This is an -immeasurably higher and more healthy state of feeling than that which -has been exhibited by a small portion of the English towards the -Americans;--the contempt which, again, a sprinkling of Americans have -striven to reciprocate. But the despisers in each nation, though so -noisy as to produce some effect, are so few as to need no more than a -passing allusion. If any English person can really see and know the -Americans on their own ground, and fail to honour them as a nation, and -love them as personal friends, he is no fair sample of the people whose -name he bears; and is probably incapable of unperverted reverence: and -if any American, having really seen and known the English on their own -ground, does not reverence his own home exactly in proportion as he -loves what is best in the English, he is unworthy of his home. - -When I was on my voyage out, the Americans on board amused themselves -with describing to me how incessantly I should be met by the question -how I liked America. When we arrived within a few miles of New York, a -steam-boat met us, bringing the friends of some of the passengers. On -board this steam-boat, the passengers went up to the city. It happened -to be the smallest, dirtiest, and most clumsy steamer belonging to the -port. A splashing rain drove us down into the cabin, where there was -barely standing room for our company. We saw each other's faces by the -dim light of a single shabby lamp. "Now, Miss M." said some of the -American passengers, "how do you like America?" This was the first time -of my being asked the question which I have had to answer almost daily -since. Yet I do not believe that many of my interrogators seriously -cared any more for my answer than those who first put the question in -the dirty cabin; or than my little friend Charley, who soon caught the -joke, and with grave face, asked me, every now and then, "How do you -like this country?" I learned to regard it as a method of beginning -conversation, like our meteorological observations in England; which are -equally amusing to foreigners. My own impression is, that while the -Americans have too exalted a notion of England, and too little -self-respect as a nation, they are far less anxious about foreign -opinions of themselves than the behaviour of American travellers in -England would lead the English to suppose. The anxiety arises on English -ground. At home, the generality of Americans seem to see clearly enough -that it is yet truer with regard to nations than individuals that, -though it is very pleasant to have the favourable opinion of one's -neighbours, yet, if one is good and happy within oneself, the rest does -not much matter. I met with a few who spoke with a disgusting -affectation of candour, (some, as if they expected to please me thereby, -and others under the influence of sectional prejudice,) of what they -called the fairness of the gross slanders with which they have been -insulted through the English press: but I was thankful to meet with more -who did not acknowledge the jurisdiction of observers disqualified by -prejudice, or by something worse, for passing judgment on a nation. The -irritability of their vanity has been much exaggerated, partly to serve -paltry purposes of authorship; and yet more from the ridiculous -exhibitions of some Americans in England, who are no more to be taken as -specimens of the nation to which they belong than a young Englishman -who, when I was at New York, went up the Hudson in a drizzling rain, -pronounced that West Point was not so pretty as Richmond; descended the -river in the dark, and declared on his return that the Americans were -wonderfully proud of scenery that was nothing particular in any way. - -It will be well for the Americans, particularly those of the east and -south, when their idea of honour becomes as exalted as that which -inspired their revolutionary ancestors. Whenever they possess themselves -of the idea of their democracy, as it was possessed by their statesmen -of 1801, they will moderate their homage of human opinion, and enhance -their worship of humanity. Not till then will they live up to their -institutions, and enjoy that internal freedom and peace to which the -external are but a part of the means. In such improvement, they will be -much assisted by the increasing intercourse between Britain and America; -for, however fascinating to Americans may be the luxury, conversational -freedom, and high intellectual cultivation of some portions of English -society, they cannot fail to be disgusted with the aristocratic -insolence which is the vice of the whole. The puerile and barbaric -spirit of contempt is scarcely known in America: the English insolence -of class to class, of individuals towards each other, is not even -conceived of, except in the one highly disgraceful instance of the -treatment of the people of colour. Nothing in American civilisation -struck me so forcibly and so pleasurably as the invariable respect paid -to man, as man. Nothing since my return to England has given me so much -pain as the contrast there. Perhaps no Englishman can become fully -aware, without going to America, of the atmosphere of insolence in which -he dwells; of the taint of contempt which infects all the intercourses -of his world. He cannot imagine how all that he can say that is truest -and best about the treatment of people of colour in America is -neutralised on the spot, by its being understood how the same contempt -is spread over the whole of society here, which is there concentrated -upon the blacks. - - -SECTION I. - -CASTE. - -This word, at least its meaning, is no more likely to become obsolete in -a republic than among the Hindoos themselves. The distinctive -characteristics may vary; but there will be rank, and tenacity of rank, -wherever there is society. As this is natural, inevitable, it is of -course right. The question must be what is to entitle to rank. - -As the feudal qualifications for rank are absolutely non-existent in -America, (except in the slave States, where there are two classes, -without any minor distinctions,) it seems absurd that the feudal remains -of rank in Europe should be imitated in America. Wherever the appearance -of a conventional aristocracy exists in America, it must arise from -wealth, as it cannot from birth. An aristocracy of mere wealth is vulgar -everywhere. In a republic, it is vulgar in the extreme. - -This is the only kind of vulgarity I saw in the United States. I imagine -that the English who have complained the most copiously of the vulgarity -of American manners, have done so from two causes: from using their own -conventional notions as a standard of manners, (which is a vulgarism in -themselves;) and also from their intercourses with the Americans having -been confined to those who consider themselves the aristocracy of the -United States; the wealthy and showy citizens of the Atlantic ports. -Foreign travellers are most hospitably received by this class of -society; introduced to "the first people in Boston,"--"in New -York,"--"in Philadelphia;" and taught to view the country with the eyes -of their hosts. No harm is intended here: it is very natural: but it is -not the way for strangers to obtain an understanding of the country and -the people. The traveller who chooses industriously to see for himself, -not with European or aristocratic merely, but with human eyes, will find -the real aristocracy of the country, not only in ball-rooms and -bank-parlours, but also in fishing-boats, in stores, in college -chambers, and behind the plough. Till he has seen all this, and studied -the natural manners of the natural aristocracy, he is no more justified -in applying the word "vulgar" to more than a class, than an American -would be who should call all the English vulgar, when he had seen only -the London alderman class. - -I had the opportunity of perceiving what errors might arise from this -cause. I was told a great deal about "the first people in Boston:" which -is perhaps as aristocratic, vain, and vulgar a city, as described by its -own "first people," as any in the world. Happily, however, Boston has -merits which these people know not of. I am far from thinking it, as -they do, the most religious, the most enlightened, and the most virtuous -city in the world. There are other cities in the United States which, on -the whole, I think more virtuous and more enlightened: but I certainly -am not aware of so large a number of peculiarly interesting and valuable -persons living in near neighbourhood, anywhere else but in London. But -it happens that these persons belong chiefly to the natural, very few to -the conventional, aristocracy. They have little perceptible influence. -Society does not seem to be much the better for them. They save their -own souls; but, as regards society, the salt appears to have lost its -savour. It is so sprinkled as not to season the body. With men and women -enough on the spot to redeem society from false morals, and empty -religious profession, Boston is the head-quarters of Cant. -Notwithstanding its superior intelligence, its large provision of -benevolent institutions, and its liberal hospitality, there is an -extraordinary and most pernicious union, in more than a few scattered -instances, of profligacy and the worst kind of infidelity, with a strict -religious profession, and an outward demeanour of remarkable propriety. -The profligacy and infidelity might, I fear, be found in all other -cities, on both sides the water; but nowhere, probably, in absolute -co-existence with ostensible piety. This is not the connexion in which -to speak of the religious aspect of the matter; but, as regards the -cant, I believe that it proceeds chiefly from the spirit of caste which -flourishes in a society which on Sundays and holidays professes to have -abjured it. It is true that the people of New England have put away -duelling; but the feelings which used to vent themselves by the practice -of duelling are cherished by the members of the conventional -aristocracy. This is revealed, not only by the presence of cant, but by -the confessions of some who are bold enough not to pretend to be either -republicans or christians. There are some few who openly desire a -monarchy; and a few more who constantly insinuate the advantages of a -monarchy, and the distastefulness of a republic. It is observable that -such always argue on the supposition that if there were a monarchy, they -should be the aristocracy: a point in which I imagine they would find -themselves mistaken, if so impossible an event could happen at all. This -class, or coterie, is a very small one, and not influential; though a -gentleman of the kind once ventured to give utterance to his aspirations -after monarchy in a fourth of July oration; and afterwards to print -them. There is something venerable in his intrepidity, at least. The -reproach of cant does not attach to him. - -The children are such faithful reflectors of this spirit as to leave no -doubt of its existence, even amidst the nicest operations of cant. -Gentlemen may disguise their aristocratic aspirations under sighs for -the depressed state of literature and science; supposing that wealth and -leisure are the constituents of literature; and station the proximate -cause of science; and committing the slight mistake of assuming that the -natural aristocracy of England, her philosophers and poets, have been -identical with, or originated by, her conventional aristocracy. The -ladies may conceal their selfish pride of caste, even from themselves, -under pretensions to superior delicacy and refinement. But the children -use no such disguises. Out they come with what they learn at home. A -school-girl told me what a delightful "set" she belonged to at her -school: how comfortable they all were once, without any sets, till -several grocers' daughters began to come in, as their fathers grew rich; -and it became necessary for the higher girls to consider what they -should do, and to form themselves into sets. She told me how the -daughter of a lottery office-keeper came to the school; and no set would -receive her; how unkindly she was treated, and how difficult it was for -any individual to help her, because she had not spirit or temper enough -to help herself. My informant went on to mention how anxious she and her -set, of about sixty young people, were to visit exclusively among -themselves, how "delightful" it would be to have no grocers' daughters -among them; but that it was found to be impossible. - -Here is an education to be going on in the middle of a republic! Much -solace, however, lies in the last clause of the information above -quoted. The Exclusives do find their aims 'impossible.' They will -neither have a monarchy, nor be able to complete and close their 'sets:' -least of all will any republican functions be discharged by those who -are brought up to have any respect of occupations,--to regard a grocer -as beneath a banker. The chief effect of the aristocratic spirit in a -democracy is to make those who are possessed by it exclusives in a -double sense; in being excluded yet more than in excluding. The republic -suffers no further than by having within it a small class acting upon -anti-republican morals, and becoming thereby its perverse children, -instead of its wise and useful friends and servants. - -In Philadelphia, I was much in society. Some of my hospitable -acquaintances lived in Chesnut Street, some in Arch Street, and many in -other places. When I had been a few weeks in the city, I found to my -surprise that some of the ladies who were my admiration had not only -never seen or heard of other beautiful young ladies whom I admired quite -as much, but never would see or hear of them. I inquired again and again -for a solution of this mystery. One person told me that a stranger could -not see into the usages of their society. This was just what I was -feeling to be true; but it gave me no satisfaction. Another said that -the mutual ignorance was from the fathers of the Arch Street ladies -having made their fortunes, while the Chesnut Street ladies owed theirs -to their grandfathers. Another, who was amused with a new fashion of -curtseying, just introduced, declared it was from the Arch Street ladies -rising twice on their toes before curtseying, while the Chesnut Street -ladies rose thrice. I was sure of only one thing in the matter; that it -was a pity that the parties should lose the pleasure of admiring each -other, for no better reasons than these: and none better were apparent. - -It is not to be supposed that the mere circumstance of living in a -republic will ever eradicate that kind of self-love which takes the form -of family pride. It is a stage in the transit from selfishness to -benevolence; and therefore natural and useful in its proper time and -place. As every child thinks his father the wisest man in the world, the -loving member of a family thinks his relations the greatest, best and -happiest of people, till he gets an intimate knowledge of some others. -This species of exclusiveness exists wherever there are families. An -eminent public man, travelling in a somewhat retired part of his State, -told us how he had been amused with an odd instance of family pride -which had just come under his notice. Some plain farmers, brothers, had -claimed to be his cousins; and he found they were so. They introduced -each other to him; and one brought his son,--a hideous little -Flibbertigibbet, with a shock of carroty hair. His father complacently -stroked his hair, and declared he was exactly like his uncle Richard: -his uncle Richard over again; 'twas wonderful how like his uncle Richard -he was in all respects: the hair was the very same; and his uncle -Richard was dumb till very late, and then stammered: "and this little -fellow," said the father, with a complacent smile,--"this little fellow -is six years old, and he can't speak a word." - -No one will find fault with the pride of connexion in this stage. -Supposing it to remain in its present state, it is harmless from its -extreme smallness. In a city, under the stimulus of society, the same -pride may be either perverted into the spirit of caste, or exalted into -the affection of pure republican brotherhood. The alternative is -significant as to the state of the republic, and all-important to the -individual. - -The extent and influence of the conventional aristocracy in the United -States are significant of the state of the republic so far as that they -afford an accurate measure of the anti-republican spirit which exists. -Such an aristocracy must remain otherwise too insignificant to be -dangerous. It cannot choose its own members, restrict its own numbers, -or keep its gentility from contamination; for it must be perpetuated, -not by hereditary transmission, but by accessions from below. Grocers -grow rich, and mechanics become governors of States; and happily there -is no law, nor reason, nor desire that it should be otherwise. This -little cloud will always overhang the republic, like the perpetual -vapour which hovers above Niagara, thrown up by the force and regularity -of the movement below. Some observers may be sorry that the heaven is -never to be quite clear: but none will dread the little cloud. It would -be about as reasonable to fear that the white vapour should drown the -cataract from whence it issues as that the conventional aristocracy of -America should swamp the republic. - - -SECTION II. - -PROPERTY. - -I found it an admitted truth, throughout the United States, that -enormous private wealth is inconsistent with the spirit of -republicanism. Wealth is power; and large amounts of power ought not to -rest in the hands of individuals. - -Admitted truths are not complained of as hardships. I never met with any -one who quarrelled with public opinion for its enmity to large fortunes: -on the contrary, every one who spoke with me on the subject was of the -same mind with everybody else. Amidst the prevalent desire of gain, -against which divines are preaching, and moralists are writing in vain, -there seems to be no desire to go beyond what public opinion approves. -The desire of riches merges in a regard to opinion. There is more of the -spirit of competition and of ostentation in it, than desire of -accumulation. It has been mentioned that there are not more than four or -five hundred affluent men,--worth 100,000 dollars and upwards,--in all -the six States of New England; in a population of above two millions. - -The popular feeling is so strong against transmitting large estates, and -favouring one child, that nobody attempts to do it. The rare endeavours -made by persons of feudal prepossessions to perpetuate this vicious -custom, have been all happily frustrated. Much ridicule was occasioned -by the manoeuvres of one such testator, who provided for the portions of -a large estate reverting periodically; forgetting that the reversions -were as saleable as anything else; and that, under a democracy, there -can be no settling the private, any more than the public, affairs of -future generations. The present Patroon of Albany, the story of whose -hereditary wealth is universally known, intends to divide his property -among his children,--in number, I believe, thirteen. Under him has -probably expired the practice of favouring one child for the -preservation of a large estate. - -This remote approach to an equalisation of property is, as far as it -goes, an improvement upon the state of affairs in the Old World, where -the accumulation of wealth into masses, the consequent destitution of -large portions of society, and the divisions which thus are established -between class and class, between man and man, constitute a system too -absurd and too barbarous to endure. The remote approach made by the -Americans to an equalisation of wealth is yet more important as -indicating the method by which society is to be eventually redeemed from -its absurdity and barbarism in respect of property. This method is as -yet perceived by only a few: but the many who imitate as far as they can -the modes of the Old World, and cherish to the utmost its feudal -prepossessions, will only for a time be able to resist the convictions -which the working of republican principles will force upon them, that -there is no way of securing perfect social liberty on democratic -principles but by community of property. - -There is, as there ought to be, as great a horror in America as -everywhere else of the despotism that would equalise property -arbitrarily. Such a despotism can never become more than the ghost of a -fancy. The approach to equalisation now required by public opinion is -that required by justice; it is required that no man should encroach on -his neighbours for the sake of enriching himself; that no man should -encroach on his younger children for the sake of enriching the eldest; -that no man should encroach on the present generation for the sake of -enriching a future one. All this is allowed and required. But by the -same rule, and for the sake of the same principle, no one will ever be -allowed to take from the industrious man the riches won by his industry, -and give them to the idle: to take from the strong to give to the weak: -to take from the wise to give to the foolish. Such aggression upon -property can never take place, or be seriously apprehended in a republic -where all, except drunkards and slaves, are proprietors, and where the -Declaration of Independence claims for every one, with life and liberty, -the pursuit of happiness in his own way. There will be no attacks on -property in the United States. - -But it appears to me inevitable that there will be a general agreement, -sooner or later, on a better principle of property than that under which -all are restless; under which the wisdom and peace of the community fall -far below what their other circumstances would lead themselves and their -well-wishers to anticipate. - -Their moralists are dissatisfied. "Our present civilisation," says Dr. -Channing, "is characterised and tainted by a devouring greediness of -wealth; and a cause which asserts right against wealth, must stir up -bitter opposition, especially in cities where this divinity is most -adored." ... "The passion for gain is everywhere sapping pure and -generous feeling, and everywhere raises up bitter foes against any -reform which may threaten to turn aside a stream of wealth. I sometimes -feel as if a great social revolution were necessary to break up our -present mercenary civilisation, in order that Christianity, now repelled -by the almost universal worldliness, may come into new contact with the -soul, and may reconstruct society after its own pure and disinterested -principles."[20] This is a prophecy. Men to whom truth and justice are -not "hollow words" are the prophets of the times to come. - -The scholars of America are dissatisfied. They complain of the -superficial character of scholarship; of the depression, or rather of -the non-existence, of literature. Some hope that matters will be better -hereafter, merely from the nation having grown older. The greater number -ascribe the mischief to men having to work at their employments; and -some few of these believe that America would have a literature if only -she had a hereditary aristocracy; this being supposed the only method of -leaving to individuals the leisure and freedom of spirit necessary for -literary pursuits. It has been pointed out that this is a mistake. -Nature and social economy do not so agree as that genius is usually -given to those who have hereditary wealth. The capability has so much -more frequently shown itself among the busy and poor than among the rich -who have leisure, as to mock the human presumption which would dictate -from whose lips the oracles of Heaven should issue. One needs but to -glance over the array of geniuses, of philosophers, of scientific men, -and even of the far lower order of scholars, to see how few of the best -benefactors of mankind have issued from "classic shades," "learned -leisure," "scientific retreats," &c., and how many more have sent up -their axioms, their song, their prophecy, their hallelujah, from the -very press of the toiling multitude. What tale is commoner than the -poverty of poets; the need that philosophers have usually had of -philosophy; the embarrassments and destitution of inventors; the straits -of scholars? The history of society shows that the highest intellect is -no more to be looked for especially amidst opulent leisure, than the -highest devotion in the cloister. The divine breath of genius bloweth -where it listeth. Men may hold out empty bags for it for ages, and not -catch it; while it fans the temples of some maimed soldier, toiling in -chains as an Algerine slave, or some rustic, treading - - - "In glory and in joy, - Behind his plough, upon the mountain side." - - -It is clearly a mistake that hereditary property, opportunity, leisure, -and such things, will make a literature, or secure scholarship: as great -a, mistake as that of the American newspaper editor who triumphantly -anticipated an age of statuary from there being an arrival at New York -of a statue by Canova, at the same time with a discovery of marble -quarries. It is true that the statue lies in the marble quarry: but it -is also true that it lies sepulchred in the far deeper recesses of some -one unfathomable human intellect: and to bring the one right intellect -to the quarry is the problem which is not given to be solved by mortal -skill,--by devices of hereditary ease and scientific retreats. This kind -of guidance is just that which the supreme Artist does not confide to -created hands. - -It is true, however, that though opportunity and leisure are not -everything; that without union with useful toil, they are nothing,--yet, -with this union they are something,--much. The first attempt to advocate -leisure as the birthright of every human being was made now some -half-century ago.[21] The plea then advanced is a sound one on behalf of -other things besides philosophy, literature and scholarship. Leisure, -some degree of it, is necessary to the health of every man's spirit. Not -only intellectual production, but peace of mind cannot flourish without -it. It may be had under the present system, but it is not. With -community of property, it would be secured to every one. The requisite -amount of work would bear a very small proportion to that of disposable -time. It would then be fairly seen how much literature may owe to -leisure. - -The professional men of America are dissatisfied. The best of them -complain that professions rank lower than in Europe; and the reasons -they assign for this are, that less education is required; and that -every man who desires to get on must make himself a party man, in -theology, science, or law. Professional service is not well paid in the -United States, compared with other countries, and with other occupations -on the spot. Very severe toil is necessary to maintain a respectable -appearance, except to those who have climbed the heights of their -profession; and to them it has been necessary. One of these last, a man -whom the world supposes to be blessed in all conceivable respects, told -me that he had followed a mistaken plan of life; and that if he could -begin again, he would spend his life differently. He had chosen his -occupation rightly enough, and been wholly satisfied with his domestic -lot: but his life had been one of toil and care in the pursuit of what -he now found would have done all it could for him in half the quantity. -If he could set himself back twenty years, he would seek far less -diligently for money and eminence, stipulate for leisure, and cultivate -mirth. Though this gentleman cares for money only that he may have it to -give away; though his generosity of spirit is the most remarkable -feature of his character, he would gladly exchange the means of -gratifying his liberal affections, for more capacity for mirth, more -repose of spirit. The present mercenary and competitive system does not -suit him. - -I know of one professional man who has found this repose of spirit by -retiring from the competitive system, and devoting himself to an object -in which there was, when he entered upon it, but too little competition. -He had, some time ago, earned a competence for himself and his family. A -friend who visited him on his estate made some inquiries about -investments in the region where his host lived. "I am the worst person -you could ask," replied the host: "I know nothing about investments -here. We are very happy with the money we have; and we do not know that -we should be so happy if we had more: so I do not put myself in the way -of hearing about profitable investments." He has most profitably -invested his time and energy in the anti-slavery cause. He has been -perhaps the most eminent defender of the liberty of speech and of the -press in the United States; and is setting an example, not only to his -own children, but to the whole country, of what it is to follow after -life itself, instead of the mere means of living. - -The merchants are dissatisfied. If money, if success, apart from the -object, could give happiness, who would be so happy as the merchants of -America? In comparison with merchants generally, they are happy: but in -comparison with what men are made to be, they are shackled, careworn, -and weary as the slave. I obtained many a glimpse into the condition of -mind of this class; and, far superior as it is to what the state of -large classes is in the Old World, it is yet full of toil and trouble. -In New York, some friends, wishing to impress me with a conviction of -the enviable lives of American ladies, told me how the rich merchants -take handsome houses in the upper part of the city, and furnish them -splendidly for their wives: how these gentlemen rise early, snatch their -breakfasts, hurry off two or three miles to their counting-houses, -bustle about in the heat and dust, noise and traffic of Pearl Street all -the long summer's day, and come home in the evening, almost too wearied -to eat or speak; while their wives, for whose sake they have thus been -toiling after riches, have had the whole day to water their flowers, -read the last English novel, visit their acquaintance, and amuse -themselves at the milliner's; paying, perhaps, 100 dollars for the -newest Paris bonnet. The representation had a different effect from what -was expected. It appeared to me that if the ladies prefer their -husbands' society to that of morning visitors and milliners, they are -quite as much to be pitied as their husbands, that such a way of -consuming life is considered necessary or honourable. If they would -prefer to wear bonnets costing a dollar a-piece, and having some -enjoyment of domestic life, their fate is mournful; if they prefer -hundred dollar bonnets to the enjoyment of domestic life, their lot is -the most mournful of all. In either case, they and their husbands cannot -but be restless and dissatisfied. - -I was at a ball in New York, the splendour of which equalled that of -any entertainment I ever witnessed. A few days after, the lady who gave -the ball asked me whether I did not disapprove of the show and luxury of -their society. I replied, that of whatever was done for mere show, I did -disapprove; but that I liked luxury, and approved of it, as long as the -pleasures of some did not encroach on the rights of others. - -"But," said she, "our husbands have to pay for it all. They work very -hard." - -"I suppose it is their own choice to do so. I should make a different -choice, perhaps; but if they prefer hard work and plenty of money to -indulge their families with, to moderate work and less money, I do not -see how you can expect me to blame them." - -"O, but we all live beyond our incomes." - -"In that case, your pleasures encroach on the rights of others, and I -have no more to say." - -If this be true, how should this class be otherwise than restless and -dissatisfied? - -Are the mechanic and farming classes satisfied? No: not even they: -outwardly blessed as they are beyond any class that society has ever -contained. They, too, are aware that life must be meant to be passed far -otherwise than in providing the outward means of living. They must be -aware that though, by great industry, they can obtain some portion of -time for occupations which are not money-getting, there must be -something wrong in the system which compels men to devote almost the -whole of their waking hours to procure that which, under a different -combination of labour, might be obtained at a saving of three-fourths of -the time. Whether their thoughts have been expressly turned to this -subject or not, almost all the members of society are conscious that -care for their external wants is so engrossing as to absorb almost all -other cares; and that they would most thankfully agree to work in their -vocation for the community for a short portion of every day, on -condition of being spared all future anxiety about their physical -necessities. They who best know the blessings inseparable from toil; who -are aware that the inner life is nourished by the activity of the outer, -yet perceive of what infinite consequence it is to their progress that -this activity should be varied in its objects, and separated as far as -possible from association with physical necessities, and selfish -possession. The poor man is rightly instructed, in the present state of -things, when he is told that it is his first duty to provide for his own -wants. The lesson is at present true, because the only alternative is -encroachment on the rights of others: but it is a very low lesson in -comparison with that which will be taught in the days when mutual and -self-perfection will be the prevalent idea which the civilisation of the -time will express. No thinking man or woman, who reflects on the amount -of time, thought, and energy, which would be set free by the pressure of -competition and money-getting being removed,--time, thought, and energy -now spent in wearing out the body, and in partially stimulating and -partially wasting the mind, can be satisfied under the present system. - -In England, the prevalent dissatisfaction must subsist a long time -before anything effectual can be done to relieve it. The English are -hampered with institutions in which the rights of individual property -are involved in almost hopeless intricacy. Though clear-sighted persons -perceive that property is the great harbourage of crime and misery, the -adversary of knowledge, the corrupter of peace, the extinguisher of -faith and charity; though they perceive that institutions for the -regulation of outward affairs all follow the same course, being first -necessary, then useful, then useless, pernicious, and finally -intolerable,--that property is thus following the same course as -slavery, which was once necessary, and is now intolerable,--as monarchy, -which was once necessary, and is now useless, if not pernicious: though -all this is clearly perceived by many far-seeing persons in England, -they can do nothing but wait till the rest of society sees it too. They -must be and are well content to wait; since no changes are desirable but -those which proceed from the ripened mind and enlightened will of -society. Thus it is in England. In America the process will be more -rapid. The democratic principles of their social arrangements, operating -already to such an equalisation of property as has never before been -witnessed, are favourable to changes which are indeed necessary to the -full carrying out of the principles adopted. When the people become -tired of their universal servitude to worldly anxiety,--when they have -fully meditated and discussed the fact that ninety-nine hundredths of -social offences arise directly out of property; that the largest -proportion of human faults bear a relation to selfish possession; that -the most formidable classes of diseases are caused by over or under -toil, and by anxiety of mind; they will be ready for the inquiry whether -this tremendous incubus be indeed irremovable; and whether any -difficulties attending its removal can be comparable to the evils it -inflicts. In England, the people have not only to rectify the false -principles of barbarous policy, but to surmount the accumulation of -abuses which they have given out: a work, perhaps, of ages. In America, -the people have not much more to do (the will being once ripe) than to -retrace the false steps which their imitation of the old world has led -them to take. Their accumulation of abuses is too small to be a serious -obstacle in the way of the united will of a nation. - -It is objected that the majority of society in America would have a -horror of any great change like that contemplated: and that, though in -bondage to worldly anxiety, they are unconscious of their servitude, or -reconciled to it. Well: as long as this is the case, they have no change -to dread; for all such alteration must proceed from their own will. -There is no power upon earth from which they have any compulsion to -fear. Yet it may be allowed to their friends to speculate upon the -better condition which is believed to await them. When we look at a -caterpillar, we like to anticipate the bright day when it will be a -butterfly. If we could talk about it with the caterpillar, it would -probably be terrified at the idea, and plead the exceeding danger of -being high up in the air. We do not desire or endeavour to force or -hasten the process: yet the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, without any -final objection on its own part. - -The principal fear, expressed or concealed, of those who dislike the -mere mention of the outgrowth of individual property is lest they should -be deprived of their occupations, objects, and interests. But no such -deprivation can take place till they will have arrived at preferring -other interests than money, and at pursuing their favourite occupation -with other views than of obtaining wealth. "O, what shall I ever do -without my currant leaves?" might the caterpillar exclaim. "How shall I -ever get rid of the day, if I must not crawl along the twigs any more?" -By the time it has done with crawling, it finds a pair of wings -unfolding, which make crawling appear despicable in comparison. It is -conscious, also, of a taste for nectar, which is better than -currant-leaves, be they of the juiciest. Men may safely dismiss all -care about the future gratification of their tastes under new -circumstances, as long as it happens to be the change of tastes which -brings about the change of circumstances, the incompatibility between -the two being lessened at every transition. - -As for the details of the future economy indicated, it will be time -enough for them when the idea which now burns like a taper in scattered -minds shall have caught, and spread, and lighted up all into an -illumination sufficient to do the work by. Whenever a healthy hunger -enables the popular mind to assimilate a great principle, there are -always strong and skilful hands enough to do the requisite work. - - -SECTION III. - -INTERCOURSE. - -The manners of the Americans (in America) are the best I ever saw: and -these are seen to the greatest advantage in their homes, and as to the -gentlemen, in travelling. But for the drawback of inferior health, I -know of no such earthly paradise as some of the homes in which I have -had the honour and blessing of spending portions of the two years of my -absence. The hospitality of the country is celebrated; but I speak now -of more than usually meets the eye of a stranger; of the family manners, -which travellers have rarely leisure or opportunity to observe. If I am -asked what is the peculiar charm, I reply with some hesitation: there -are so many. But I believe it is not so much the outward plenty, or the -mutual freedom, or the simplicity of manners, or the incessant play of -humour, which characterise the whole people, as the sweet temper which -is diffused like sunshine over the land. They have been called the most -good-tempered people in the world: and I think they must be so. The -effect of general example is here most remarkable. I met, of course, -with persons of irritable temperament; with hot-tempered, and with -fidgetty people; with some who were disposed to despotism, and others to -contradiction: but it was delightful to see how persons thus afflicted -were enabled to keep themselves in order; were so wrought upon by the -general example of cheerful helpfulness as to be restrained from -clouding their homes by their moods. I have often wondered what the -Americans make of European works of fiction in which ailing tempers are -exhibited. European fiction does not represent such in half the extent -and variety in which they might be truly and profitably exhibited: but I -have often wondered what the Americans make of them, such as they are. -They possess the initiatory truth, in the variety of temperaments which -exists among themselves, as everywhere else; and in the moods of -children: but the expansion of deformed tempers in grown people must -strike them as monstrous caricatures. - -Of course, there must be some general influence which sweetens or -restrains the temper of a whole nation, of the same Saxon race which is -not everywhere so amiable. I imagine that the practice of forbearance -requisite in a republic is answerable for this pleasant peculiarity. In -a republic, no man can in theory overbear his neighbour; nor, as he -values his own rights, can he do it much or long in practice. If the -moral independence of some, of many, sinks under this equal pressure -from all sides, it is no little set-off against such an evil that the -outbreaks of domestic tyranny are thereby restrained; and that the -respect for mutual rights which citizens have perpetually enforced upon -them abroad, comes thence to be observed towards the weak and -unresisting in the privacy of home. - -Some may find it difficult to reconcile this prevalence of good temper -with the amount of duelling in the United States; with the recklessness -of life which is not confined to the semi-barbarous parts of the -country. When it is understood that in New Orleans there were fought, in -1834, more duels than there are days in the year, fifteen on one Sunday -morning; that in 1835, there were 102 duels fought in that city between -the 1st of January and the end of April; and that no notice is taken of -shooting in a quarrel; when the world remembers the duel between Clay -and Randolph; that Hamilton fell in a duel; and several more such -instances, there may be some wonder that a nation where such things -happen, should be remarkably good-tempered. But New Orleans is no rule -for any place but itself. The spirit of caste, and the fear of -imputation, rage in that abode of heathen licentiousness. The duels -there are, almost without exception, between boys for frivolous causes. -All but one of the 102 were so. And even on the spot, there is some -feeling of disgust and shame at the extent of the practice. A Court of -Honour was instituted for the restraint of the practice; of course, -without effectual result. Its function degenerated into choosing weapons -for the combatants, so that it ended by sanctioning, instead of -repressing, duelling. Those who fight the most frequently and fatally -are the French creoles, who use small swords. - -The extreme cases which afford the clearest reading of the folly and -wickedness of the practice,--of the meanness of the fear which lies at -the bottom of it,--are producing their effect. The young men who go -into the west to be the founders of new societies are in some instances -taking their responsibility to heart, and resolving to use well their -great opportunity for substituting a true for a false, a moral for a -physical courage. The dreadful affair at Philadelphia, never to be -forgotten there, when a quiet, inoffensive young man, the only child of -a widowed mother, was forced out into the field, against his strongest -remonstrances, made to stand up, and shot through the heart, could not -but produce its effect. One of the principal agents was degraded in the -American navy, (but has been since reinstated,) and none of the parties -concerned has ever stood as well with society as other men since. -Hamilton's fall, again, has opened men's eyes to the philosophy of -duelling, and is working to that purpose, more and more. At the time, it -was pretty generally agreed that he could not help fighting; now, there -are few who think so. His correspondence with his murderer, previous to -the duel, is remarkable. Having been told, on my entrance into the -country, that Hamilton had been its "greatest man," I was interested in -seeing what a greater than Washington could say in excuse for risking -his life in so paltry a way. I read his correspondence with Colonel Burr -with pain. There is fear in every line of it; a complicated, disgraceful -fear. He was obviously perishing between two fears--of losing his life, -and of not being able to guard his own honour against the attacks of a -ruffian. Between these two fears he fell. I was talking over the -correspondence with a duelling gentleman, "O," said he, "Hamilton went -out like a capuchin." So the "greatest man" did not obtain even that for -which he threw away what he knew was considered the most valuable life -in the country. This is as it should be. When contempt becomes the -wages of slavery to a false idea of honour, it will cease to stand in -the way of the true; and "greatest men" will not end their lives in -littleness. - -Certain extreme cases which occur on the semi-barbarous confines of the -country come occasionally in aid of such lessons as those I have cited. -A passenger on board the "Henry Clay," in which I ascended the -Mississippi, showed in perfection the results of a false idea of honour. -He belonged to one of the first families in Kentucky, had married well, -and settled at Natchez, Mississippi. His wife was slandered by a -resident of Natchez, who, refusing to retreat, was shot dead by the -husband, who fled to Texas. The wife gathered their property together, -followed her husband, was shipwrecked below New Orleans, and lost all. -Her wants were supplied by kind persons at New Orleans, and she was -forwarded by them to her destination, but soon died of cholera. Her -husband went up into Missouri, and settled in a remote part of it to -practise law; but with a suspicion that he was dogged by the relations -of the man he had shot. One day he met a man muffled in a cloak, who -engaged with him, shot him in both sides, and stabbed him with an -Arkansas knife. The victim held off the knife from wounding him mortally -till help came, and his foe fled. The wounded man slowly recovered; but -his right arm was so disabled as to compel him to postpone his schemes -of revenge. He ascertained that his enemy had fled to Texas; followed -him there; at length met him, one fine evening, riding, with his -double-barrelled gun before him. They knew each other instantly: the -double-barrelled gun was raised and pointed; but before it could be -fired, its owner fell from the saddle, shot dead like the brother he had -sought to avenge. The murderer was flying up the river once more when I -saw him, not doubting that he should again be dogged by some relation of -the brothers he had shot. Some of the gentlemen on board believed that -if he surrendered himself at Natchez, he would be let off with little or -no punishment, and allowed to settle again in civilised society; but he -was afraid of the gallows, and intended to join some fur company in the -north-west, if he could; and if he failed in this, to make himself a -chief of a tribe of wandering Indians. - -This story may be useful to those (if such there be) for whom the -catastrophe of Hamilton is not strong enough. The two cases differ in -degree, not in kind. - -That such hubbub as this is occasioned by a false idea of honour, and -not by fault of temper, is made clear by the amiability shown by -Americans, in all cases where their idea of honour is not concerned. In -circumstances of failure and disappointment, delay, difficulty, and -other provocation, they show great self-command. In all cases that I -witnessed, from the New York fire, and baffled legislation, down to the -being "mired" in bad roads, they appeared to be proof against -irritation. Sometimes this went further than I could quite understand. - -While travelling in Virginia, we were anxious one day to push on, and -waste no time. Our "exclusive extra" drew up before a single house, -where we were to breakfast. We told the landlady that we were -excessively hungry, and in some hurry, and that we should be obliged by -her giving us anything she happened to have cooked, without waiting for -the best she could do for us. The woman was the picture of laziness, of -the most formal kind. She kept us waiting till we thought of going on -without eating. When summoned to table, at length, we asked the driver -to sit down with us, to save time. Never did I see a more ludicrous -scene than that breakfast. The lady at the tea-tray, tossing the great -bunch of peacocks' feathers, to keep off the flies, and as solemn as -Rhadamanthus. So was our whole party, for fear of laughter from which we -should not be able to recover. Everything on the table was sour; it -seemed as if studiously so. The conflict between our appetites and the -disgust of the food was ridiculous. We all presently gave up but the -ravenous driver. He tried the bread, the coffee, the butter, and all -were too sour for a second mouthful; so were the eggs, and the ham, and -the steak. No one ate anything, and the charge was as preposterous as -the delay; yet our paymaster made no objection to the way we were -treated. When we were off again, I asked him why he had been so gracious -as to appear satisfied. - -"This is a newly-opened road," he replied; "the people do not know yet -how the world lives. They have probably no idea that there is better -food than they set before us." - -"But do not you think it would be a kindness to inform them?" - -"They did their best for us, and I should be sorry to hurt their -feelings." - -"Then you would have them go through life on bad food, and inflicting it -on other people, lest their feelings should be hurt at their being told -how to provide better. Do you suppose that all the travellers who come -this way will be as tender of the lady's feelings?" - -"Yes, I do. You see the driver took it very quietly." - -When we were yet worse treated, however, just after, when spending a -night at Woodstock, our paymaster did remonstrate, (though very -tenderly,) and his remonstrance was received with great candour by the -master of the house; his wife being the one most to blame. - -With this forbearance is united the most cheerful and generous -helpfulness. If a farmer is burned out, his neighbours collect, and -never leave him till he is placed in a better house than the one he has -lost. His barns, in like case, are filled with contributions from their -crops. Though there is nothing that men prize there so much as time, -there is nothing that they are more ready to give to the service of -others. Their prevalent generosity in the giving of money is known, and -sufficiently estimated, considering how plentiful wealth is in the -country. The expenditure of time, thought, and ingenuity, is a far -better test of the temper from which the helpfulness proceeds. I am -sorry that it is impossible to describe what this temper is in America; -its manifestations being too incessant and minute for description. If -this great virtue could be exhibited as clearly as it is possible to -exhibit their faults, the heart of society would warm towards the -Americans more readily than it has ever been alienated from them by -their own faults, or the ill-offices of strangers. - -It seems to me that the Americans are generally unaware how one bad -habit of their own, springing out of this very temper, goes to aggravate -the evil offices of strangers. It is to me the most prominent of their -bad habits; but one so likely to be cured by their being made aware of -it, that I cannot but wish that some of the English vituperation which -has been expended upon tobacco and its effects had been directed upon -the far more serious fault of flattery. It will be seen at once how the -practice of flattery is almost a necessary result of the combination of -a false idea of honour with kindliness of temper. Its prevalence is so -great as to tempt one to call it a necessary result. There is no -getting out of the way of it. A gentleman, who was a depraved -school-boy, a fiendish husband, father, and slave-owner, whose -reputation for brutality was as extensive as the country, was eulogised -in the newspapers at his death. Every book that comes out is exalted to -the skies. The public orators flatter the people; the people flatter the -orators. Clergymen praise their flocks; and the flocks stand amazed at -the excellence of their clergymen. Sunday-school teachers admire their -pupils; and the scholars magnify their teachers. As to guests, -especially from abroad, hospitality requires that some dark corner -should be provided in every room where they may look when their own -praises are being told to their own faces. Even in families, where, if -anywhere, it must be understood that love cannot be sweetened by praise, -there is a deficiency of that modesty, "simplicity and godly sincerity," -in regard to mutual estimate, which the highest fidelity of affection -inspires. - -Passing over the puerility and vulgarity of the practice,--I think, if -the Americans were convinced of its selfishness,--of its being actually -a breach of benevolence, they would exercise the same command over their -tongues that they do over their tempers, and suppress painful praises, -as they rise to the lips. It was pleaded to me that the admiration is -real, the praise sincere. Be it so: but why are they to be expressed, -more than any other real thoughts whose expression would give pain? Let -the admiration by all means be enjoyed: but what a pity to destroy -sympathy with the person admired, by talking on the very subject at -which sympathy must cease! Is it not clear that if praise be not painful -to the person praised, it must be injurious? If he be modest, it is -torture: if not, it is poison. Or, if there be a third case, and it is -indifferent, such indifference to the praise is very nearly allied to -contempt for the praiser. When once the decencies of friendship are -violated, and the modesty of mutual estimate is gone, the holiness of -friendship is gone too; and there is every danger that selfish, -conscious passion will overbear unconscious, disinterested affection. -Enough. I would only put it to any person whether the friendship he -values most is not that which is least coarsened by praise; and in which -he and his friend are led the least frequently to think of their opinion -of each other. I would put it to the intimates of such a man as Dr. -Channing, for instance, whether their warmest affections do not spring -towards and repose upon him in the delicious certainty, that while he is -sympathising with every pure and true emotion, he will refrain from -disturbing its flow by introducing a consciousness, a self and mutual -reference, from which it is the highest privilege in life to escape. -Praise may help some common-minded persons over the difficulties of a -new and superficial intercourse: at least, so I am told: but intimate -communion and permanent friendship require a purity and repose with -which the interchange of expressed admiration is absolutely -incompatible. - -With regard to the spirit of intercourse, nothing more remains to be -said here, but that the frankness practised in private life, within the -doors of home, is as remarkable as the caution and reserve which prevail -elsewhere. Nothing can be more delightful than the familiarity and -confidence with which I was invariably treated; and to which I saw few -exceptions in the cases of other persons. Everything was discussed in -every house I staid in: religion, philosophy, literature; and, with -quite as much freedom, character, public and private, national and -individual. The language being the same as my own, I was apt to forget -that I was on my travels, till some visitor dropped in whose inquiries -how I liked the country reminded me that I was a foreigner. Even now, -having performed the voyage home, and having all manner of evidence that -I have left the country three thousand miles behind me, I find it -difficult to bring in my personal friends as elements of the society -whose condition I am pondering. They are too like brothers and sisters -to be subjects for analysis: and I perpetually feel the want of them at -hand, to assist me by their controverting or corroborating judgments. -They and I know what their homes are, and how happy we have been in -them: and this is all that in my affection for them I can say of their -domestic life, without putting a force upon their feelings and my own. - -If I am not much mistaken, society in the new world is wakening up, -under the stimulus of the slave-question, to a sense of its want of -practical freedom, owing to its too great regard to opinion. The -examples of those who can and do assert and maintain their liberty in -these times of fiery trial, are venerable and beautiful in the eyes of -the young. Those in the cities who have grown old in the practice of -mistrust are unconscious of the extent of their privations: but the free -yeomanry, and the youth of the towns, have an eye for the right, and a -heart for the true, amid the mists and subtleties in which truth and -liberty have been of late involved. The young men of Boston, especially, -seem to be roused: and it is all-important that they should be. Boston -is looked to throughout the Union, as the superior city she believes -herself to be: and nowhere is the entrance upon life more perilous to -the honesty and consistency of young aspirants after the public service. -Massachusetts is the head-quarters of federalism. Federalism is -receding before democracy, even there; but that State has still a -federal majority. A Massachusetts man has little chance of success in -public life, unless he starts a federalist: and he has no chance of -rising above a certain low point, unless, when he reaches that point, he -makes a transition into democracy. The trial is too great for the moral -independence of most ambitious men: and it fixes the eyes of the world -on the youth of Boston. They are watched, that it may be seen whether -they who now burn with ardour for complete freedom will hereafter -"reverence the dreams of their youth," or sink down into cowardice, -apathy, and intolerance, as they reach the middle of life. - -If they will only try, they will find how great are the ease and peace -attendant on the full exercise of rights, even though it should shut the -career of politics, and possibly of wealth, against them for a time. If -they will look in the faces of the few who dare to live in the midst of -Boston as freely as if they were in the centre of the prairies, they -will see in those countenances a brightness and serenity which a sense -of mere safety could never impart. The pursuit of safety,--safety from -outward detriment,--is of all in this world the most hopeless. The only -attainable safety is that which usually bears another name,--repose in -absolute truth. Where there is a transparency of character which defies -misrepresentation, a faith in men which disarms suspicion, an -intrepidity which overawes malice, and a spirit of love which wins -confidence, there is safety; and in nothing short of all these. If any -of them are deficient, in the same proportion does safety give place to -danger; and no substitution of prudence will be of more than temporary -avail. Prudence is now reigning supreme over the elderly classes of -Boston generally, and too many of the young. Independence is animating -the rest. It remains to be seen which will have succumbed when the -present youth of the city shall have become her legislators, -magistrates, and social representatives. - -As a specimen of the thoughts and feelings of some on the spot, I give -the following. - -"Liberty of thought and opinion is strenuously maintained: in this proud -land it has become almost a wearisome cant: our speeches and journals, -religious and political, are made nauseous by the vapid and -vain-glorious reiteration. But does it, after all, _characterise any -community among us_? Is there any one to which a qualified observer -shall point, and say, _There_ opinion is free? On the contrary, is it -not a fact, a sad and deplorable fact, that in no land on this earth is -the mind more fettered than it is here? that here what we call public -opinion has set up a despotism, such as exists nowhere else? Public -opinion,--a tyrant, sitting in the dark, wrapt up in mystification and -vague terrors of obscurity; deriving power no one knows from whom; like -an Asian monarch, unapproachable, unimpeachable, undethronable, perhaps -illegitimate,--but irresistible in its power to quell thought, to -repress action, to silence conviction,--and bringing the timid -perpetually under an unworthy bondage of mean fear to some impostor -opinion, some noisy judgment, which gets astride on the popular breath -for a day, and controls, through the lips of impudent folly, the speech -and actions of the wise. From this influence and rule, from this bondage -to opinion, no community, as such, is free; though doubtless individuals -are. But your community, brethren, based on the principles which you -profess, is bound to be so."[22] - -So much for the spirit of intercourse. As for the modes in which the -spirit is manifested, their agreeableness, or the contrary, is a matter -of taste. No nation can pretend to judge another's manners; for the -plain reason that there is no standard to judge by: and if an individual -attempts to pronounce upon them, his sentence amounts to nothing more -than a declaration of his own particular taste. If such a declaration -from an individual is of any consequence, I am ready to acknowledge that -the American manners please me, on the whole, better than any that I -have seen. - -The circumstances which strike a stranger unpleasantly are the apparent -coldness and indifference of persons in hotels and shops; the use of -tobacco, and consequent spitting; the tone of voice, especially among -the New England ladies; and at first, but not afterwards, the style of -conversation. The great charm is the exquisite mutual respect and -kindliness. - -Of the tobacco and its consequences, I will say nothing but that the -practice is at too bad a pass to leave hope that anything that could be -said in books would work a cure. If the floors of boarding-houses, and -the decks of steam-boats, and the carpets of the Capitol, do not sicken -the Americans into a reform; if the warnings of physicians are of no -avail, what remains to be said? I dismiss the nauseous subject. - -A great unknown pleasure remains to be experienced by the Americans in -the well-modulated, gentle, healthy, cheerful voices of women. It is -incredible that there should not, in all time to come, be any other -alternative than that which now exists, between a whine and a twang. -When the health of the American women improves, their voices will -improve. In the meantime, they are unconscious how the effect of their -remarkable and almost universal beauty is injured by their mode of -speech. - -The peculiarity is less remarkable in manly conversation. The -conversation of the gentlemen strikes one at first as being dull and -prosy. They converse with much evenness of tone, slowly and at great -length: so as to leave the observer without any surprise that the -Americans think English conversation hasty, sharp, and rough. I found -also a prevalent idea that conversation is studied as an art in England: -and many of my friends were so positive on this point as to make me -doubt the correctness of my own conviction that it is not so. If there -be any such study, I can only say that I have detected no instances of -it; nor did the idea ever enter my mind except in reading of Lady -Angelica Headingham, in 'Patronage.' In the whole course of my life, -perhaps, I never met with so many particular instances of an artificial -mode of conversing as during the two years that I was in America: but I -could see the reason in every case; and that all were exceptions to the -rule of natural though peculiar communication. The conversation of the -great public men was generally more instructive than pleasing, till they -forgot that they were public men, and talked on other things than public -affairs. One could never conceal that he designed to effect a particular -persuasion in your mind: a design against which all the listener's -faculties are sure to rise up in instant rebellion. Another did not -intend you should see that he was speaking from a map of the subject in -his brain; bringing contrasts and comparisons to bear, as it might seem -accidentally, upon your imagination. Two or three or more, willing to -conceal from themselves, I really believe, as well as from the stranger, -that logic is not their forte, dart off after every will-o'-the-wisp of -an analogy; and talk almost wholly in figures. This is bad policy; for -some of the figures were so beautiful and apparently illustrative, as to -fix the attention, instead of passing over the ear, and give one time -to discover that they were not satisfactory. The most remarkable -instances of this were in the south, where I had the pleasure of hearing -more of every thing than of logic. Perhaps the most singular style of -all was one which struck me so much that I wrote down pages of it for -subsequent study:--a slow, impressive style, a succession of clever -figures, a somewhat pompous humour, and a wrapping round of inconvenient -considerations with an impenetrable cloud of the plainest-seeming words. -The gushing talk of Judge Story, the brimmings of a full head and heart, -natural, lively, fresh, issuing from the supposition that you can -understand, and wish to understand everything that is interesting to -him, and from a simple psychological curiosity, is perfectly delightful -after the measured communications of some other public men. - -I may here mention Dr. Channing's conversation. I do so because it has -been the occasion of his being much misunderstood and consequently -misrepresented. I never knew a case where the conversation of an -individual did him so much injustice at first, and such eminent service -in the affections of his hearers at last. Unfortunately, those who -report him generally see him only once or twice; and then they are -pretty sure to leave him with less real knowledge of him than they -probably had three thousand miles off. This circumstance may justify my -speaking here of one whom I revere and regard too much to feel it easy -to say anything of him publicly beyond the mere testimony which it is an -honour to bear to such men. Dr. Channing has an unfortunate habit of -suiting his conversation to the supposed state of mind of the person he -is conversing with, or to that person's supposed knowledge on a subject -on which he wants information. The adaptation, not being natural, cannot -be true, and something is thus given out which is the reflection of -nobody's mind; and the conversation is fruitless or worse. This is -merely a habit of _drawing out_. If the visitor goes away upon this, he -reports the things which are reported of Dr. Channing's opinions; which -are no more like his than they are like Aristotle's. If the visitor -stays long enough, or comes again often enough to catch some of his -thoughts as they issue from his heart, he finds a strange power in them -to move and kindle. His words become deeds when they proceed from -impulse. Not a tone nor a syllable can be ever forgotten. The reason is -that unseen things are to him realities; and material things are but -shadows. After continued and open communication with him, it becomes an -inexplicable wonder that anything but truth, justice, and charity should -be made objects of serious pursuit in the world. - -Mr. Madison's conversation has been already mentioned as being full of -graces. The sprightliness, rapidity, and variety were remarkable in a -man of eighty-four, confined to two rooms, and subject to various -infirmities. He was a highly favourable specimen of the accomplished -gentleman of the revolutionary times. - -There are persons whom it seems to myself strange to name in this -connexion, when there are things in them which I value much more highly -than their eloquence. But as eloquent beyond all others, they must be -mentioned here. I refer to Dr. and Mrs. Follen, late of Boston.--Dr. -Follen is a German: well known in Germany for his patriotism; as -troublesome to its princes as animating to their subjects. He has been -thirteen years in America, and seven years a citizen of Massachusetts. -His mastery of the language has been perfect for some years: but, as he -brought a rich and matured mind to the first employment of it, he uses -it differently from any to whom it is the mother tongue. It is an -instrument of extraordinary power in his hands, as a mere instrument. -But he is a man of learning which I do not pretend to estimate in any -department. The great mass of his knowledge is vivified by a spirit -which seems to have passed through all human experiences, appropriating -whatever is true and pure, and leaving behind all else. With not only a -religious love of liberty, but an unerring perception of the true -principle of liberty in every case as it arises, with an intrepidity -which excites rage where his gentleness is not known, and a gentleness -which disarms those who fear his intrepidity, he is the most valuable -acquisition that the United States, in their present condition, can well -be conceived to have appropriated from the Old World, in the person of -an individual citizen. I certainly think him the most remarkable, and -the greatest man I saw in the country. Dr. Follen has pledged himself to -the anti-slavery cause; and declared himself in other ways in favour of -freedom of thought, action, and speech, so as to make himself -feared,--(or rather his opinions, for no one can fear himself,)--by some -of the society of his State in whom the idea of honour most wants -rectifying: but, as he becomes more known to the true-hearted among his -fellow-citizens, he will be regarded by them all with the pride and -admiration, mixed with tender affection, which he inspires in those who -have the honour and blessing of being his friends. He has married a -Boston lady; a woman of genius, and of those large and kindly affections -which are its natural element. What the intercourses of their home are, -their guests can never forget; nor ever describe. - -The most common mode of conversation in America I should distinguish as -prosy, but withal rich and droll. For some weeks, I found it difficult -to keep awake during the entire reply to any question I happened to ask. -The person questioned seemed to feel himself put upon his conscience to -give a full, true, and particular reply; and so he went back as near to -the Deluge as the subject would admit, and forward to the millennium, -taking care to omit nothing of consequence in the interval. There was, -of course, one here and there, as there is everywhere, to tell me -precisely what I knew before, and omit what I most wanted: but this did -not happen often: and I presently found the information I obtained in -conversation so full, impartial, and accurate, and the shrewdness and -drollery with which it was conveyed so amusing, that I became a great -admirer of the American way of talking before six months were over. -Previous to that time, a gentleman in the same house with me expressed -pleasantly his surprise at my asking so few questions: saying that if he -came to England, he should be asking questions all day long. I told him -that there was no need of my seeking information as long as more was -given me in the course of the day than my head would carry. I did not -tell him that I had not power of attention sufficient for such -information as came in answer to my own desire. I can scarcely believe -now that I ever felt such a difficulty. - -They themselves are, however, aware of their tendency to length, and -also to something of the literal dulness which Charles Lamb complains of -in relation to the Scotch. They have stories of American travellers -which exceed all I ever heard of them anywhere else: such as that an -American gentleman, returned from Europe, was asked how he liked Rome: -to which he replied that Rome was a fine city; but that he must -acknowledge he thought the public buildings were very much out of -repair. Again, it is told against a lady that she made some undeniably -true remarks on a sermon she heard. A preacher, discoursing on the -blindness of men to the future, remarked "how few men, in building a -house, consider that a coffin is to go down the stairs!" The lady -observed with much emphasis, on coming out, that ministers had got into -the strangest way of choosing subjects for the pulpit! It was true that -wide staircases _are_ a great convenience: but she did think Christian -ministers might find better subjects to preach upon than narrow -staircases. And so forth. An eminent Senator told me that he was too -often on the one horn or the other of a dilemma: sometimes a gentleman -getting up in the Senate, and talking as if he would never sit down: and -sometimes a gentleman sitting down in his study, and talking as if he -would never get up. - -Yet there is an epigrammatic turn in the talk of those who have never -heard of "the art of conversation" which is supposed to be studied by -the English. A reverend divine,--no other than Dr. Channing,--was one -day paying toll, when he perceived a notice of gin, rum, tobacco, &c., -on a board which bore a strong resemblance to a grave-stone. "I am glad -to see," said the Dr. to the girl who received the toll, "that you have -been burying those things."--"And if we had," said the girl, "I don't -doubt you would have gone chief mourner." - -Some young men, travelling on horseback among the White Mountains, -became inordinately thirsty, and stopped for milk at a house by the -road-side. They emptied every basin that was offered, and still wanted -more. The woman of the house at length brought an enormous bowl of milk, -and set it down on the table, saying, "One would think, gentlemen, you -had never been weaned." - -Of the same kind was the reply made by a gentleman of Virginia to a -silly question by a lady. "Who made the Natural Bridge?"--"God knows, -madam." - -I was struck with repeated instances of new versions, generally much -improved, of old fables. I think the following an improvement upon Sour -Grapes. Noah warned his neighbours of what was coming, and why he was -building his ark; but nobody minded him. When people on the high grounds -were up to their chins, an old acquaintance of Noah's was very eager to -be taken into the ark: but Noah refused again and again. "Well," said -the man, when he found it was in vain, "go, get along, you and your old -ark! I don't believe we are going to have much of a shower." I tried to -ascertain whether this story was American. I could trace it no further -off than Plymouth, Massachusetts. - -There cannot be a stronger contrast than between the fun and simplicity -of the usual domestic talk of the United States, and the solemn pedantry -of which the extremest examples are to be found there; exciting as much -ridicule at home as they possibly can elsewhere. I was solemnly assured -by a gentleman that I was quite wrong on some point, because I differed -from him. Everybody laughed: when he went on, with the utmost gravity, -to inform us that there had been a time when he believed, like other -people, that he might be mistaken; but that experience had convinced him -that he never was; and he had in consequence cast behind him the fear of -error. I told him I was afraid the place he lived in must be terribly -dull,--having an oracle in it to settle everything. He replied that the -worst of it was, other people were not so convinced of his being always -in the right as he was himself. There was no joke here. He is a literal -and serious-minded man. Another gentleman solemnly remarked upon the -weather of late having been "uncommonly mucilaginous." Another pointed -out to me a gentleman on board a steam-boat as "a blue stocking of the -first class." A lady asked me many questions about my emotions at -Niagara, to which I gave only one answer of which she could make -anything. "Did you not," was her last inquiry, "long to throw yourself -down, and mingle with your mother earth?"--"No."--Another asked me -whether I did not think the sea might inspire vast and singular -ideas.--Another, an instructress of youth, in examining my ear-trumpet, -wanted to know whether its length made any difference in its efficiency. -On my answering, "None at all"--"O certainly not," said she, very -deliberately; "for, sound being a material substance, can only be -overcome by a superior force." The mistakes of unconscious ignorance -should be passed over with a silent smile: but affectation should be -exposed, as a service to a young society. - -I rarely, if ever, met with instances of this pedantry among the -yeomanry or mechanic classes; or among the young. The most numerous and -the worst pedants were middle-aged ladies. One instance struck me as -being unlike anything that could happen in England. A literary and very -meritorious village mantua-maker declared that it was very hard if her -gowns did not fit the ladies of the neighbourhood. She had got the exact -proportions of the Venus de Medici, to make them by: and what more could -she do? Again. A sempstress was anxious that her employer should request -me to write something about Mount Auburn: (the beautiful cemetery near -Boston.) Upon her being questioned as to what kind of composition she -had in her fancy, she said she would have Mount Auburn considered under -three points of view:--as it was on the day of creation,--as it is -now,--as it will be on the day of resurrection. I liked the idea so well -that I got her to write it for me, instead of my doing it for her. - -As for the peculiarities of language of which so much has been made,--I -am a bad judge: but the fact is, I should have passed through the -country almost without observing any, if my attention had not been -previously directed to them. Next to the well-known use of the word -"sick," instead of "ill," (in which they are undoubtedly right,) none -struck me so much as the few following. They use the word "handsome" -much more extensively than we do: saying that Webster made a handsome -speech in the Senate: that a lady talks handsomely, (eloquently:) that a -book sells handsomely. A gentleman asked me on the Catskill Mountain, -whether I thought the sun handsomer there than at New York. When they -speak of a fine woman, they refer to mental or moral, not at all to -physical superiority. The effect was strange, after being told, here and -there, that I was about to see a very fine woman, to meet in such cases -almost the only plain women I saw in the country. Another curious -circumstance is, that this is almost the only connexion in which the -word woman is used. This noble word, spirit-stirring as it passes over -English ears, is in America banished, and "ladies" and "females" -substituted: the one to English taste mawkish and vulgar; the other -indistinctive and gross. So much for difference of taste. The effect is -odd. After leaving the men's wards of the prison at Nashville, -Tennessee, I asked the warden whether he would not let me see the women. -"We have no ladies here, at present, madam. We have never had but two -ladies, who were convicted for stealing a steak; but, as it appeared -that they were deserted by their husbands, and in want, they were -pardoned." A lecturer, discoursing on the characteristics of women, is -said to have expressed himself thus. "Who were last at the cross? -Ladies. Who were first at the sepulchre? Ladies." - -A few other ludicrous expressions took me by surprise occasionally. A -gentleman in the west, who had been discussing monarchy and -republicanism in a somewhat original way, asked me if I would "swap" my -king for his. We were often told that it was "a dreadful fine day;" and -a girl at a hotel pronounced my trumpet to be "terrible handy."[23] In -the back of Virginia these superlative expressions are the most rife. A -man who was extremely ill, in agonizing pain, sent for a friend to come -to him. Before the friend arrived, the pain was relieved, but the -patient felt much reduced by it. "How do you find yourself?" inquired -the friend. "I'm powerful weak; but cruel easy." - -The Kentucky bragging is well known. It is so ingenious as to be very -amusing sometimes: but too absurd in the mouth of a dull person. One -such was not satisfied with pointing out to me how fine the woods were, -but informed me that the intimate texture of the individual leaves was -finer and richer in Kentucky than anywhere else. I much prefer the -off-hand air with which a dashing Kentuckian intimates to you the -richness of the soil; saying "if you plant a nail at night, 'twill come -up a spike next morning." - -However much may be the fault of strangers, in regard to the coldness of -manners which is complained of in those who serve travellers in -America, and however soon it may be dissipated by a genial address on -the part of the stranger, it certainly is very disagreeable at the first -moment. We invariably found ourselves well-treated; and in no instance -that I remember failed to dissipate the chill by showing that we were -ready to help ourselves, and to be sociable. The instant we attacked the -reserve, it gave way. But I do not wonder that strangers who are not -prepared to make the concession, and especially gentlemen travelling -from hotel to hotel, find the constraint extremely irksome. It should -never be forgotten that it is usually a matter of necessity or of -favour, seldom of choice, (except in the towns,) that the wife and -daughters of American citizens render service to travellers. Such a -breaking in upon their domestic quiet, such an exposure to the society -of casual travellers, must be so distasteful to them generally as to -excuse any apparent want of cordiality. Some American travellers, won by -the _empressement_ of European waiters, declare themselves as willing to -pay for civility as for their dinner. I acknowledge a different taste. I -had rather have indifference than civility which bears a reference to -the bill: but I prefer to either the cordiality which brightens up at -your offer to make your own bed, mend your own fire, &c.--the cordiality -which brings your hostess into your parlour, to draw her chair, and be -sociable, not only by asking where you are going, but by telling you all -that interests her in her neighbourhood. A girl at a Meadville hotel, in -Pennsylvania, urged us to change our route, that we might visit some -friends of hers,--"a beautiful bachelor that had lately lost his wife, -and his fine son"--to whom she would give us a letter of introduction. -At Maysville, Kentucky, the landlady sent repeated apologies for not -being able to wait on us herself, her attendance being necessary at the -bedside of her sick child. On our expressing our concern that, in such -circumstances, she should trouble herself about us, her substitute said -we were very unlike the generality of travellers who came. The ladies -were usually offended if the landlady did not wait upon them herself, -and would not open or shut the window with their own hands; but rang to -have the landlady to do it for them. Such persons have probably been -accustomed to be waited on by slaves; or, perhaps, not at all; so that -they like to make the most of the opportunity. Our landlady at -Nashville, Tennessee, treated us extremely well; and on parting kissed -the ladies of the party all round. - -I had an early lesson in the art of distinguishing coldness from -inhospitality. Our party of six was traversing the State of New York. We -left Syracuse at dawn one morning, intending to breakfast at Skaneatles. -By the time we reached Elbridge, however, having been delayed on the -road, we were too hungry to think of going further without food. An -impetuous young Carolinian, who was of the party, got out first, and -returned to say we had better proceed; for the house and the people -looked so cold, we should never be able to achieve a comfortable meal. -Caring less, however, for comfort than for any sort of meal, we -persisted in stopping.--The first room we were shown into was wet, and -had no fire; and we were already shivering with cold. I could discern -that the family were clearing out of the next room. It was offered to -us, and logs were piled upon the fire. Two of the young women, in cotton -gowns and braided and bowed hair, followed their mother into the cooking -apartment, sailing about with quiet movements and solemn faces. Two more -staid in the room; and, after putting up their hair before the glass in -our presence, began to arrange the table, knitting between times. One or -another was almost all the while sitting with us, knitting, and replying -with grave simplicity to our conversation. Presently, one of the best -breakfasts we had in America was ready: a pie-dish full of buttered -toast; hot biscuits and coffee; beef-steak, applesauce, hot potatoes, -cheese, butter, and two large dishes of eggs. We were attentively waited -upon by the four knitting young ladies and their knitting mother, and -kindly dismissed with a charge of only two dollars and a quarter for the -whole party. "Did you ever see such girls?" cried the young Carolinian, -just landed from Europe: "stepping about like four captive princesses!" -We all called out that we would not hear a word against the young -ladies. They had treated us with all kindness; and no one could tell -whether their reserve was any greater than their situation and -circumstances require. - -So much more has naturally been observed by travellers of American -manners in stages and steam-boats than in private-houses, that all has -been said, over and over again, that the subject deserves. I need only -testify that I do not think the Americans eat faster than other people, -on the whole. The celerity at hotel-tables is remarkable; but so it is -in stage-coach travellers in England, who are allowed ten minutes or a -quarter of an hour for dining. In private houses, I was never aware of -being hurried. The cheerful, unintermitting civility of all gentlemen -travellers, throughout the country, is very striking to a stranger. The -degree of consideration shown to women is, in my opinion, greater than -is rational, or good for either party; but the manners of an American -stage-coach might afford a valuable lesson and example to many classes -of Europeans who have a high opinion of their own civilisation. I do -not think it rational or fair that every gentleman, whether old or -young, sick or well, weary or untired, should, as a matter of course, -yield up the best places in the stage to any lady passenger. I do not -think it rational or fair that five gentlemen should ride on the top of -the coach, (where there is no accommodation for holding on, and no -resting-place for the feet,) for some hours of a July day in Virginia, -that a young lady, who was slightly delicate, might have room to lay up -her feet, and change her posture as she pleased. It is obvious that, if -she was not strong enough to travel on common terms in the stage, her -family should have travelled in an extra; or staid behind; or done -anything rather than allow five persons to risk their health, and -sacrifice their comfort, for the sake of one. Whatever may be the good -moral effects of such self-renunciation on the tempers of the gentlemen, -the custom is very injurious to ladies. Their travelling manners are -anything but amiable. While on a journey, women who appear well enough -in their homes, present all the characteristics of spoiled children. -Screaming and trembling at the apprehension of danger are not uncommon: -but there is something far worse in the cool selfishness with which they -accept the best of everything, at any sacrifice to others, and usually, -in the south and west, without a word or look of acknowledgment. They -are as like spoiled children when the gentlemen are not present to be -sacrificed to them;--in the inn parlour, while waiting for meals or the -stage; and in the cabin of a steam-boat. I never saw any manner so -repulsive as that of many American ladies on board steam-boats. They -look as if they supposed you mean to injure them, till you show to the -contrary. The suspicious side-glance, or the full stare; the cold, -immovable observation; the bristling self-defence the moment you come -near; the cool pushing to get the best places,--everything said and done -without the least trace of trust or cheerfulness,--these are the -disagreeable consequences of the ladies being petted and humoured as -they are. The New England ladies, who are compelled by their superior -numbers to depend less upon the care of others, are far happier and -pleasanter companions in a journey than those of the rest of the -country. This shows the evil to be altogether superinduced: and I always -found that if I could keep down my spirit, and show that I meant no -harm, the apathy began to melt, the pretty ladies forgot their -self-defence, and appeared somewhat like what I conclude they are at -home, when managing their affairs, in the midst of familiar -circumstances. If these ladies would but inquire of themselves what it -is that they are afraid of, and whether there is any reason why people -should be less cheerful, less obliging, and less agreeable, when -casually brought into the society of fifty people, whose comfort depends -mainly on their mutual good offices, than among half-a-dozen neighbours -at home, they might remove an unpleasant feature of the national -manners, and add another to the many charms of their country. - -Much might be said of village manners in America: but Miss Sedgwick's -pictures of them in her two best works, "Home," and "The Rich Poor Man, -and the Poor Rich Man," are so true and so beautiful, and so sure of -being well-known where they have not already reached, that no more is -necessary than to mention them as some of the best and sweetest pictures -of manners in existence. To the English reader they are full as -interesting as to Americans, from the purity and fidelity of the -democratic spirit which they breathe throughout. The woman who so -appreciates the blessing of living in such a society as she describes, -deserves the honour of being the first to commend it to the affections -of humanity. - -The manners of the wealthy classes depend, of course, upon the character -of their objects and interests: but they are not, on the whole, so -agreeable as those of their less opulent neighbours. The restless -ostentation of such as live for grandeur and show is vulgar;--as I have -said, the only vulgarity to be seen in the country. Nothing can exceed -the display of it at watering-places. At Rockaway, on Long Island, I saw -in one large room, while the company was waiting for dinner, a number of -groups which would have made a good year's income for a clever -caricaturist. If any lady, with an eye and a pencil adequate to the -occasion, would sketch the phenomena of affectation that might be seen -in one day in the piazza and drawing-room at Rockaway, she might be a -useful censor of manners. But the task would be too full of sorrow and -shame for any one with the true republican spirit. For my own part, I -felt bewildered in such company. It was as if I had been set down on a -kind of debatable land between the wholly imaginary society of the -so-called fashionable novels of late years, and the broad sketches of -citizen-life given by Madame D'Arblay. It was like nothing real. When I -saw the young ladies tricked out in the most expensive finery, flirting -over the backgammon-board, tripping affectedly across the room, -languishing with a seventy-dollar cambric handkerchief, starting up in -ecstasy at the entrance of a baby; the mothers as busy with affectations -of another kind; and the brothers sidling hither and thither, now with -assiduity, and now with nonchalance; and no one imparting the -refreshment of a natural countenance, movement, or tone, I almost -doubted whether I was awake. The village scenes that I had witnessed -rose up in strong contrast;--the mirthful wedding, the wagon-drives, the -offerings of wild-flowers to the stranger; the unintermitting, simple -courtesy of each to all;--and it was scarcely credible that these -contrasting scenes could both be existing in the same republic. - -Such watering-place manners as I saw at Rockaway are considered and -called vulgar on the spot:--of course, for the majority are far superior -to them. They deserve notice no further than as they are absolutely -anti-republican in their whole principle and spirit: and no deviation -from the republican principle in any class should be passed over by the -moralist without notice. The brand of contempt should be fixed upon any -unprincipled or false-principled style of manners, in a community based -upon avowed principles. The contempt thus inflicted upon the mode may -possibly save the persons who would otherwise render themselves liable -to it. The practice of ostentation may be lessened in America, as that -of suicide was in France, by ridicule and contempt. It is desirable for -all parties that this should be the method. The weak and vain had better -be deterred from entering upon the race of vanity, than exposed when it -is too late: and, for those of clearer and stronger minds, it is safer -to despise things than persons: for, however necessary and virtuous the -contempt of abstract vice and folly may be, there is no mind clear and -strong enough to entertain with safety contempt of persons. - -The best sort of rich persons, those whose principles and spirit are -democratic, their desires moderate, their pursuits rational, drop out of -sight of the mind's eye in considering the manners of the rich. Their -wealth becomes only a comparatively unimportant circumstance connected -with them. They support more beneficent objects than others, and perhaps -have houses and libraries that it is a luxury to go to: but these things -are not associated with themselves in the minds of their friends, as -long as they are not so in their own. They fall into the ranks of the -honourable, independent, thorough-bred classes of the country, (its true -glory,) just as if they were not rich. The next best order of rich -people,--those who put their time and money to good uses, but who are -not blessed with the true democratic spirit of faith, have -manners,--infinitely better than the Rockaway style,--but not so good as -those of more faithful republicans. They are above the vanity of show -and the struggle for fashion: but they dread the ascendency of -ignorance, and distrust the classes whom they do not know. They are -readers: their imaginations live in the Old World; and they have -insensibly adopted the old-world prejudice, that "the people" must be -ignorant, passionate, and rapacious. The conversation of such gives -utterance to an assumption, and their bearing betrays an uneasiness, -which are highly unfavourable to good manners. This small class are so -respectable in the main, and for some great objects so useful, that it -is much to be desired that they could be referred back perpetually to -the democratic principles which would relieve their anxiety, and give to -their manners that cheerfulness which should belong to honest -republicans who have everything to hope, and little to fear. - -One of the most remarkable sights in the country is the President's -levee. Nothing is easier than to laugh at it. There is probably no mode -in which a number of human beings can assemble which may not be -laughable from one point of view or another. The President's levee -presents many facilities for ridicule. Men go there in plain cloaks and -leather belts, with all manner of wigs, and offer a large variety of -obeisance to the chief magistrate. Women go in bonnets and shawls, talk -about the company, stand upon chairs to look over people's heads, and -stare at the large rooms. There was a story of two girls, thus dressed, -being lifted up by their escorting gentlemen, and seated on the two ends -of the mantel-piece, like lustres, where they could obtain a view of the -company as they entered. To see such people mixed in with foreign -ambassadors and their suites, to observe the small mutual knowledge of -classes and persons who thus meet on terms of equality, is amusing -enough. But, amidst much that was laughable, I certainly felt that I was -seeing a fine spectacle. If the gentry of Washington desire to do away -with the custom, they must be unaware of the dignity which resides in -it, and which is apparent to the eye of a stranger, through any -inconveniences which it may have. I am sorry that its recurrence is no -longer annual. I am sorry that the practice of distributing refreshments -is relinquished: though this is a matter of less importance and of more -inconvenience. If the custom itself should ever be given up, the bad -taste of such a surrender will be unquestionable. There should be some -time and place where the chief magistrate and the people may meet to -exchange their respects, all other business being out of the question: -and I should like to see the occasion made annual again. - -I saw no bad manners at the President's levee, except on the part of a -silly, swaggering Englishman. All was quiet and orderly; and there was -an air of gaiety which rather surprised me. The great people were amused -at the aspect of the assembly: and the humbler at the novelties that -were going on before their eyes. Our party went at eight o'clock. As we -alighted from the carriage, I saw a number of women, well attended, -going up the steps in the commonest morning walking-dress. In the hall, -were parties of young men, exhibiting their graces in a walk from end to -end: and ladies throwing off their shawls, and displaying the most -splendid dresses. The President, with some members of his cabinet on -either hand, stood in the middle of the first room, ready to bow to all -the ladies, and shake hands with all the gentlemen who presented -themselves. The company then passed on to the fire-place, where stood -the ladies of the President's family, attended by the Vice-president, -and the Secretary of the Treasury. From this point, the visitors -dispersed themselves through the rooms, chatting in groups in the -Blue-room, or joining the immense promenade in the great East room. -After two circuits there, I went back to the reception-room; by far the -most interesting to an observer. I saw one ambassador after another -enter with his suite; the Judges of the Supreme Court; the majority of -the members of both Houses of Congress; and intermingled with these, the -plainest farmers, storekeepers, and mechanics, with their primitive -wives and simple daughters. Some looked merry; some looked busy; but -none bashful. I believe there were three thousand persons present. There -was one deficiency,--one drawback, as I felt at the time. There were no -persons of colour. Whatever individuals or classes may choose to do -about selecting their society according to rules of their own making, -here there should be no distinction. I know the pleas that would be -urged,--the levee being held in a slave district; the presence of -slave-holders from the south; and many others; but such pleas will not -stand before the plain fact that this levee is the appointed means by -which citizens of the United States of all degrees may, once in a time, -meet together, to pay their equal respects to their chief magistrate. -Every man of colour who is a citizen of the United States has a right to -as free an admission as any other man; and it would be a dignity added -to the White House if such were seen there. It is not to its credit that -there is any place in the country where its people are more free to meet -on equal terms. There is such a place. In the Catholic cathedral in New -Orleans, I saw persons of every shade of colour kneeling on the -pavement, without separation or distinction. I would fain have seen also -some one secular house where, by general consent, all kinds of men might -meet as brethren. But not even in republican America is there yet such -an one. - -The Americans possess an advantage in regard to the teaching of manners -which they do not yet appreciate. They have before their eyes, in the -manners of the coloured race, a perpetual caricature of their own -follies; a mirror of conventionalism from which they can never escape. -The negroes are the most imitative set of people living. While they are -in a degraded condition, with little principle, little knowledge, little -independence, they copy the most successfully those things in their -superiors which involve the least principle, knowledge, and -independence; viz. their conventionalisms. They carry their mimicry far -beyond any which is seen among the menials of the rich in Europe. The -black footmen of the United States have tiptoe graces, stiff cravats, -and eye-catching flourishes, like the footmen in London: but the -imitation extends into more important matters. As the slaves of the -south assume their masters' names and military titles, they assume their -methods of conducting the courtesies and gaieties of life. I have in my -possession a note of invitation to a ball, written on pink paper with -gilt edges.[24] When the lady invited came to her mistress for the -ticket which was necessary to authorise her being out after nine at -night, she was dressed in satin with muslin over it, satin shoes, and -white kid gloves:--but, the satin was faded, the muslin torn: the shoes -were tied upon the extremities of her splay feet, and the white gloves -dropping in tatters from her dark fingers. She was a caricature, instead -of a fine lady. A friend of mine walked a mile or two in the dusk behind -two black men and a woman whom they were courting. He told me that -nothing could be more admirable than the coyness of the lady, and the -compliments of the gallant and his friend. It could not be very amusing -to those who reflect that holy and constant love, free preference, and -all that makes marriage a blessing instead of a curse, were here out of -the question: but the resemblance in the mode of courtship to that -adopted by whites, when meditating marriage of a not dissimilar -virtue,--a marriage of barter,--could not be overlooked. - -Even in their ultimate, funereal courtesies, the coloured race imitate -the whites. An epitaph on a negro baby at Savannah begins, "Sweet -blighted lily!"--They have few customs which are absolutely peculiar. -One of these is refusing to eat before whites. When we went long -expeditions, carrying luncheon, or procuring it by the road-side, the -slaves always retired with their share behind trees or large stones, or -other hiding-places. - -The Americans may be considered secure of good manners generally while -intellect is so reverenced among them as it is, above all other claims -to honour. Whatever follies and frivolities the would-be fashionable -classes may perpetrate, they will never be able to degrade the national -manners, or to make themselves the first people in the republic. -Intellect carries all before it in social intercourse, and will continue -to do so. I was struck by the fact that, in country villages, the most -enlightened members of a family may be cultivated as acquaintance, -without the rest. They may be invited to a superior party, and the -others left for an inferior one. As for the cities, Washington, with its -motley population in time of Session, is an exception to all rules; and -I certainly saw some uncommonly foolish people treated with more -attention, of a temporary kind, than some very wise ones. But in other -cities I am not aware of having seen any great influence possessed by -persons who had not sufficient intellectual desert. A Washington belle -related to me the sad story of the death of a young man who fell from a -small boat into the Potomac in the night,--it is supposed in his sleep. -She told where and how his body was found; and what relations he had -left; and finished with "he will be much missed at parties." Washington -is a place where a young man may be thus mourned: but elsewhere there -would have been a better reason given, or none at all. In the capitals -of States, men rank according to their supposed intellect. Many mistakes -are made in the estimate; and (far worse) many pernicious allowances are -made for bad morals, for the sake of the superior intellect: but still -the taste is a higher one, the gradation a more rational one, than is to -be found elsewhere: and, where such a taste and a gradation subsist, the -essentials of good manners can never be wanting. It is refreshing to -witness the village homage paid to the author and the statesman, as to -the highest of human beings. Whatever the author and the statesman may -be, the homage is honourable to those who offer it. It is no less -refreshing in the cities to see how the vainest fops and the most solid -capitalists readily succumb before men and women who are distinguished -for nothing but their minds. The worst of manners,--those which fly off -the furthest from nature, and do the most violence to the -affections--are such as arise from a surpassing regard to things outward -and shadowy: the best are those which manifest a pursuit of things -invisible and real. The Americans are better mannered than others, in as -far as they reverence intellect more than wealth and fashion. It remains -for them to enlarge their notions, and exalt their tests of intellect, -till it shall identify itself with morals. National manners, national -observances of rank graduated on such a principle would be no subject of -controversy, but would command the admiration, and gradually form the -taste, of the world. I cannot but think that a beginning of this change -is visible in the intercourses of those Americans who have rejected the -prevalent false idea of honour, and in the spirit of love borne witness -to unpopular truths. The freedom, gentleness, and earnestness of the -manners of such offer a realisation of grace which no conventional -training can secure. A southern gentleman was on board a steam-boat, -proceeding from New York to Philadelphia. He engaged in conversation -with two unknown gentlemen; and soon plunged into the subject of -slavery. He was a slave-holder, and they were abolitionists. With one of -them, he was peculiarly pleased; and they discussed their subject for a -great length of time. He at last addressed the other abolitionist thus: -"How easy and pleasant it is to argue this matter with such a man as -your friend! If all you abolitionists were like him, how soon we and you -might come to an understanding! But you are generally so coarse and -violent! You are all so like Garrison! Pray give me your friend's name." - -"You have just spoken it. It is Mr. Garrison." - -"Impossible! This gentleman is so mild, so gentlemanly." - -"Ask the captain if it be not Mr. Garrison." - -It was an important point. The captain was asked. This mild, courteous, -simple, sprightly, gentlemanly person was Garrison. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[20] Channing's Letter to Birney. 1837. - -[21] Godwin's Inquirer. - -[22] Sober Thoughts on the State of the Times. Boston, 1835, p. 27. - -[23] This reminds me of a singular instance of confusion of ideas. The -landlady of a hotel declared my trumpet to be the best invention she had -ever seen: better than spectacles. Query, better for what? - -[24] "Mr. Richard Masey requests the pleasure of Mrs. Miken's, and Miss -Arthur's company, on Saturday evening at seven o'clock, in Dr. Smith's -long brick-store." - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -WOMAN. - - "The vale best discovereth the hill. There is little friendship in - the world, and least of all between equals, which was wont to be - magnified. That that is, is between superior and inferior, whose - fortunes may comprehend the one the other." - - _Bacon._ - - -If a test of civilisation be sought, none can be so sure as the -condition of that half of society over which the other half has -power,--from the exercise of the right of the strongest. Tried by this -test, the American civilisation appears to be of a lower order than -might have been expected from some other symptoms of its social state. -The Americans have, in the treatment of women, fallen below, not only -their own democratic principles, but the practice of some parts of the -Old World. - -The unconsciousness of both parties as to the injuries suffered by women -at the hands of those who hold the power is a sufficient proof of the -low degree of civilisation in this important particular at which they -rest. While woman's intellect is confined, her morals crushed, her -health ruined, her weaknesses encouraged, and her strength punished, she -is told that her lot is cast in the paradise of women: and there is no -country in the world where there is so much boasting of the -"chivalrous" treatment she enjoys. That is to say,--she has the best -place in stage-coaches: when there are not chairs enough for everybody, -the gentlemen stand: she hears oratorical flourishes on public occasions -about wives and home, and apostrophes to woman: her husband's hair -stands on end at the idea of her working, and he toils to indulge her -with money: she has liberty to get her brain turned by religious -excitements, that her attention may be diverted from morals, politics, -and philosophy; and, especially, her morals are guarded by the strictest -observance of propriety in her presence. In short, indulgence is given -her as a substitute for justice. Her case differs from that of the -slave, as to the principle, just so far as this; that the indulgence is -large and universal, instead of petty and capricious. In both cases, -justice is denied on no better plea than the right of the strongest. In -both cases, the acquiescence of the many, and the burning discontent of -the few, of the oppressed, testify, the one to the actual degradation of -the class, and the other to its fitness for the enjoyment of human -rights. - -The intellect of woman is confined. I met with immediate proof of this. -Within ten days of my landing, I encountered three outrageous pedants, -among the ladies; and in my progress through the country I met with a -greater variety and extent of female pedantry than the experience of a -lifetime in Europe would afford. I could fill the remainder of my volume -with sketches: but I forbear, through respect even for this very -pedantry. Where intellect has a fair chance, there is no pedantry, among -men or women. It is the result of an intellect which cannot be wholly -passive, but must demonstrate some force, and does so through the medium -of narrow morals. Pedantry indicates the first struggle of intellect -with its restraints; and is therefore a hopeful symptom. - -The intellect of woman is confined by an unjustifiable restriction of -both methods of education,--by express teaching, and by the discipline -of circumstance. The former, though prior in the chronology of each -individual, is a direct consequence of the latter, as regards the whole -of the sex. As women have none of the objects in life for which an -enlarged education is considered requisite, the education is not given. -Female education in America is much what it is in England. There is a -profession of some things being taught which are supposed necessary -because everybody learns them. They serve to fill up time, to occupy -attention harmlessly, to improve conversation, and to make women -something like companions to their husbands, and able to teach their -children somewhat. But what is given is, for the most part, passively -received; and what is obtained is, chiefly, by means of the memory. -There is rarely or never a careful ordering of influences for the -promotion of clear intellectual activity. Such activity, when it exceeds -that which is necessary to make the work of the teacher easy, is feared -and repressed. This is natural enough, as long as women are excluded -from the objects for which men are trained. While there are natural -rights which women may not use, just claims which are not to be listened -to, large objects which may not be approached, even in imagination, -intellectual activity is dangerous: or, as the phrase is, unfit. -Accordingly, marriage is the only object left open to woman. Philosophy -she may pursue only fancifully, and under pain of ridicule: science only -as a pastime, and under a similar penalty. Art is declared to be left -open: but the necessary learning, and, yet more, the indispensable -experience of reality, are denied to her. Literature is also said to be -permitted: but under what penalties and restrictions? I need only refer -to the last three pages of the review of Miss Sedgwick's last novel in -the North American Review, to support all that can be said of the -insolence to which the intellect of women is exposed in America. I am -aware that many blush for that article, and disclaim all sympathy with -it: but the bare fact that any man in the country could write it, that -any editor could sanction it, that such an intolerable scoff should be -allowed to find its way to the light, is a sufficient proof of the -degradation of the sex. Nothing is thus left for women but -marriage.--Yes; Religion, is the reply.--Religion is a temper, not a -pursuit. It is the moral atmosphere in which human beings are to live -and move. Men do not live to breathe: they breathe to live. A German -lady of extraordinary powers and endowments, remarked to me with -amazement on all the knowledge of the American women being based on -theology. She observed that in her own country theology had its turn -with other sciences, as a pursuit: but nowhere, but with the American -women, had she known it make the foundation of all other knowledge. Even -while thus complaining, this lady stated the case too favourably. -American women have not the requisites for the study of theology. The -difference between theology and religion, the science and the temper, is -yet scarcely known among them. It is religion which they pursue as an -occupation; and hence its small results upon the conduct, as well as -upon the intellect. We are driven back upon marriage as the only -appointed object in life: and upon the conviction that the sum and -substance of female education in America, as in England, is training -women to consider marriage as the sole object in life, and to pretend -that they do not think so. - -The morals of women are crushed. If there be any human power and -business and privilege which is absolutely universal, it is the -discovery and adoption of the principle and laws of duty. As every -individual, whether man or woman, has a reason and a conscience, this is -a work which each is thereby authorised to do for him or herself. But it -is not only virtually prohibited to beings who, like the American women, -have scarcely any objects in life proposed to them; but the whole -apparatus of opinion is brought to bear offensively upon individuals -among women who exercise freedom of mind in deciding upon what duty is, -and the methods by which it is to be pursued. There is nothing -extraordinary to the disinterested observer in women being so grieved at -the case of slaves,--slave wives and mothers, as well as spirit-broken -men,--as to wish to do what they could for their relief: there is -nothing but what is natural in their being ashamed of the cowardice of -such white slaves of the north as are deterred by intimidation from -using their rights of speech and of the press, in behalf of the -suffering race, and in their resolving not to do likewise: there is -nothing but what is justifiable in their using their moral freedom, each -for herself, in neglect of the threats of punishment: yet there were no -bounds to the efforts made to crush the actions of women who thus used -their human powers in the abolition question, and the convictions of -those who looked on, and who might possibly be warmed into free action -by the beauty of what they saw. It will be remembered that they were -women who asserted the right of meeting and of discussion, on the day -when Garrison was mobbed in Boston. Bills were posted about the city on -this occasion, denouncing these women as casting off the refinement and -delicacy of their sex: the newspapers, which laud the exertions of -ladies in all other charities for the prosecution of which they are -wont to meet and speak, teemed with the most disgusting reproaches and -insinuations: and the pamphlets which related to the question all -presumed to censure the act of duty which the women had performed in -deciding upon their duty for themselves.--One lady, of high talents and -character, whose books were very popular before she did a deed greater -than that of writing any book, in acting upon an unusual conviction of -duty, and becoming an abolitionist, has been almost excommunicated -since. A family of ladies, whose talents and conscientiousness had -placed them high in the estimation of society as teachers, have lost all -their pupils since they declared their anti-slavery opinions. The -reproach in all the many similar cases that I know is, not that the -ladies hold anti-slavery opinions, but that they act upon them. The -incessant outcry about the retiring modesty of the sex proves the -opinion of the censors to be, that fidelity to conscience is -inconsistent with retiring modesty. If it be so, let the modesty -succumb. It can be only a false modesty which can be thus endangered. No -doubt, there were people in Rome who were scandalised at the unseemly -boldness of christian women who stood in the amphitheatre to be torn in -pieces for their religion. No doubt there were many gentlemen in the -British army who thought it unsuitable to the retiring delicacy of the -sex that the wives and daughters of the revolutionary heroes should be -revolutionary heroines. But the event has a marvellous efficacy in -modifying the ultimate sentence. The bold christian women, the brave -American wives and daughters of half a century ago are honoured, while -the intrepid moralists of the present day, worthy of their grandmothers, -are made the confessors and martyrs of their age. - -I could cite many conversations and incidents to show how the morals of -women are crushed: but I can make room for only one. Let it be the -following. A lady, who is considered unusually clear-headed and -sound-hearted where trying questions are not concerned, one day praised -very highly Dr. Channing's work on Slavery. "But," said she, "do not you -think it a pity that so much is said on slavery just now?" - -"No. I think it necessary and natural." - -"But people who hold Dr. Channing's belief about a future life, cannot -well make out the case of the slaves to be so very bad an one. If the -present life is but a moment in comparison with the eternity to come, -can it matter so very much how it is spent?" - -"How does it strike you about your own children? Would it reconcile you -to their being made slaves, that they could be so only for three-score -years and ten?" - -"O no. But yet it seems as if life would so soon be over." - -"And what do you think of their condition at the end of it? How much -will the purposes of human life have been fulfilled?" - -"The slaves will not be punished, you know, for the state they may be -in; for it will be no fault of their own. Their masters will have the -responsibility; not they." - -"Place the responsibility where you will. Speaking according to your own -belief, do you think it of no consequence whether a human being enters -upon a future life utterly ignorant and sensualised, or in the likeness -of Dr. Channing, as you described him just now?" - -"Of great consequence, certainly. But then it is no business of ours; of -us women, at all events." - -"I thought you considered yourself a Christian." - -"So I do. You will say that Christians should help sufferers, whoever -and wherever they may be. But not women, in all cases, surely." - -"Where, in your Christianity, do you find the distinction made?" - -She could only reply that she thought women should confine themselves to -doing what could be done at home. I asked her what her christian charity -would bid her do, if she saw a great boy beating a little one in the -street. - -"O, I parted two such the other day in the street. It would have been -very wrong to have passed them by." - -"Well: if there are a thousand strong men in the south beating ten -thousand weak slaves, and you can possibly help to stop the beating by a -declaration of your opinion upon it, does not your christian duty oblige -you to make such a declaration, whether you are man or woman? What in -the world has your womanhood to do with it?" - -How fearfully the morals of woman are crushed, appears from the -prevalent persuasion that there are virtues which are peculiarly -masculine, and others which are peculiarly feminine. It is amazing that -a society which makes a most emphatic profession of its Christianity, -should almost universally entertain such a fallacy: and not see that, in -the case they suppose, instead of the character of Christ being the -meeting point of all virtues, there would have been a separate gospel -for women, and a second company of agents for its diffusion. It is not -only that masculine and feminine employments are supposed to be properly -different. No one in the world, I believe, questions this. But it is -actually supposed that what are called the hardy virtues are more -appropriate to men, and the gentler to women. As all virtues nourish -each other, and can no otherwise be nourished, the consequence of the -admitted fallacy is that men are, after all, not nearly so brave as they -ought to be; nor women so gentle. But what is the manly character till -it be gentle? The very word magnanimity cannot be thought of in relation -to it till it becomes mild--Christ-like. Again, what can a woman be, or -do, without bravery? Has she not to struggle with the toils and -difficulties which follow upon the mere possession of a mind? Must she -not face physical and moral pain--physical and moral danger? Is there a -day of her life in which there are not conflicts wherein no one can help -her--perilous work to be done, in which she can have neither sympathy -nor aid? Let her lean upon man as much as he will, how much is it that -he can do for her?--from how much can he protect her? From a few -physical perils, and from a very few social evils. This is all. Over the -moral world he has no control, except on his own account; and it is the -moral life of human beings which is all in all. He can neither secure -any woman from pain and grief, nor rescue her from the strife of -emotions, nor prevent the film of life from cracking under her feet with -every step she treads, nor hide from her the abyss which is beneath, nor -save her from sinking into it at last alone. While it is so, while woman -is human, men should beware how they deprive her of any of the strength -which is all needed for the strife and burden of humanity. Let them -beware how they put her off her watch and defence, by promises which -they cannot fulfil;--promises of a guardianship which can arise only -from within; of support which can be derived only from the freest moral -action,--from the self-reliance which can be generated by no other -means. - -But, it may be asked, how does society get on,--what does it do? for it -acts on the supposition of there being masculine and feminine -virtues,--upon the fallacy just exposed. - -It does so; and the consequences are what might be looked for. Men are -ungentle, tyrannical. They abuse the right of the strongest, however -they may veil the abuse with indulgence. They want the magnanimity to -discern woman's human rights; and they crush her morals rather than -allow them. Women are, as might be anticipated, weak, ignorant and -subservient, in as far as they exchange self-reliance for reliance on -anything out of themselves. Those who will not submit to such a -suspension of their moral functions, (for the work of self-perfection -remains to be done, sooner or later,) have to suffer for their -allegiance to duty. They have all the need of bravery that the few -heroic men who assert the highest rights of women have of gentleness, to -guard them from the encroachment to which power, custom, and education, -incessantly conduce. - -Such brave women and such just men there are in the United States, -scattered among the multitude, whose false apprehension of rights leads -to an enormous failure of duties. There are enough of such to commend -the true understanding and practice to the simplest minds and most -faithful hearts of the community, under whose testimony the right -principle will spread and flourish. If it were not for the external -prosperity of the country, the injured half of its society would -probably obtain justice sooner than in any country of Europe. But the -prosperity of America is a circumstance unfavourable to its women. It -will be long before they are put to the proof as to what they are -capable of thinking and doing: a proof to which hundreds, perhaps -thousands of Englishwomen have been put by adversity, and the result of -which is a remarkable improvement in their social condition, even within -the space of ten years. Persecution for opinion, punishment for all -manifestations of intellectual and moral strength, are still as common -as women who have opinions and who manifest strength: but some things -are easy, and many are possible of achievement, to women of ordinary -powers, which it would have required genius to accomplish but a few -years ago. - - -SECTION I. - -MARRIAGE. - -If there is any country on earth where the course of true love may be -expected to run smooth, it is America. It is a country where all can -marry early, where there need be no anxiety about a worldly provision, -and where the troubles arising from conventional considerations of rank -and connexion ought to be entirely absent. It is difficult for a -stranger to imagine beforehand why all should not love and marry -naturally and freely, to the prevention of vice out of the marriage -state, and of the common causes of unhappiness within it. The -anticipations of the stranger are not, however, fulfilled: and they -never can be while the one sex overbears the other. Marriage is in -America more nearly universal, more safe, more tranquil, more fortunate -than in England: but it is still subject to the troubles which arise -from the inequality of the parties in mind and in occupation. It is more -nearly universal, from the entire prosperity of the country: it is -safer, from the greater freedom of divorce, and consequent -discouragement of swindling, and other vicious marriages: it is more -tranquil and fortunate from the marriage vows being made absolutely -reciprocal; from the arrangements about property being generally far -more favorable to the wife than in England; and from her not being made, -as in England, to all intents and purposes the property of her husband. -The outward requisites to happiness are nearly complete, and the -institution is purified from the grossest of the scandals which degrade -it in the Old World: but it is still the imperfect institution which it -must remain while women continue to be ill-educated, passive, and -subservient: or well-educated, vigorous, and free only upon sufferance. - -The institution presents a different aspect in the various parts of the -country. I have spoken of the early marriages of silly children in the -south and west, where, owing to the disproportion of numbers, every -woman is married before she well knows how serious a matter human life -is. She has an advantage which very few women elsewhere are allowed: she -has her own property to manage. It would be a rare sight elsewhere to -see a woman of twenty-one in her second widowhood, managing her own farm -or plantation; and managing it well, because it had been in her own -hands during her marriage. In Louisiana, and also in Missouri, (and -probably in other States,) a woman not only has half her husband's -property by right at his death, but may always be considered as -possessed of half his gains during his life; having at all times power -to bequeath that amount. The husband interferes much less with his -wife's property in the south, even through her voluntary relinquishment -of it, than is at all usual where the cases of women, having property -during their marriage are rare. In the southern newspapers, -advertisements may at any time be seen, running thus:--"Mrs. A, wife of -Mr. A, will dispose of &c. &c." When Madame Lalaurie was mobbed in New -Orleans, no one meddled with her husband or his possessions; as he was -no more responsible for her management of her human property than -anybody else. On the whole, the practice seems to be that the weakest -and most ignorant women give up their property to their husbands; the -husbands of such women being precisely the men most disposed to accept -it: and that the strongest-minded and most conscientious women keep -their property, and use their rights; the husbands of such women being -precisely those who would refuse to deprive their wives of their social -duties and privileges. - -If this condition of the marriage law should strike any English persons -as a peculiarity, it is well that they should know that it is the -English law which is peculiar, and not that of Louisiana. The English -alone vary from the old Saxon law, that a wife shall possess half, or a -large part, of her husband's earnings or makings. It is so in Spanish, -French, and Italian law; and probably in German, as the others are -derived thence. Massachusetts has copied the faults of the English law, -in this particular; and I never met with any lawyer, or other citizen -with whom I conversed on the subject, who was not ashamed of the -barbarism of the law under which a woman's property goes into her -husband's hands with herself. A liberal-minded lawyer of Boston told me -that his advice to testators always is to leave the largest possible -amount to the widow, subject to the condition of her leaving it to the -children: but that it is with shame that he reflects that any woman -should owe that to his professional advice which the law should have -secured to her as a right. I heard a frequent expression of indignation -that the wife, the friend and helper of many years, should be portioned -off with a legacy, like a salaried domestic, instead of having her -husband's affairs come legally, as they would naturally, into her hands. -In Rhode Island, a widow is entitled to one-third of her husband's -property: and, on the sale of any estate of his during his life, she is -examined, in the absence of the husband, as to her will with regard to -her own proportion of it. There is some of the apparatus of female -independence in the country. It will be most interesting to observe to -what uses it is put, whenever the restraints of education and opinion to -which women are subject, shall be so far relaxed as to leave them -morally free. - -I have mentioned that divorce is more easily obtained in the United -States than in England. In no country, I believe, are the marriage laws -so iniquitous as in England, and the conjugal relation, in consequence, -so impaired. Whatever may be thought of the principles which are to -enter into laws of divorce, whether it be held that pleas for divorce -should be one, (as narrow interpreters of the New Testament would have -it;) or two, (as the law of England has it;) or several, (as the -Continental and United States' laws in many instances allow,) nobody, I -believe, defends the arrangement by which, in England, divorce is -obtainable only by the very rich. The barbarism of granting that as a -privilege to the extremely wealthy, to which money bears no relation -whatever, and in which all married persons whatever have an equal -interest, needs no exposure beyond the mere statement of the fact. It -will be seen at a glance how such an arrangement tends to vitiate -marriage: how it offers impunity to adventurers, and encouragement to -every kind of mercenary marriages: how absolute is its oppression of the -injured party: and how, by vitiating marriage, it originates and -aggravates licentiousness to an incalculable extent. To England alone -belongs the disgrace of such a method of legislation. I believe that, -while there is little to be said for the legislation of any part of the -world on this head, it is nowhere so vicious as in England. - -Of the American States, I believe New York approaches nearest to England -in its laws of divorce. It is less rigid, in as far as that more is -comprehended under the term "cruelty." The husband is supposed to be -liable to cruelty from the wife, as well as the wife from the husband. -There is no practical distinction made between rich and poor by the -process being rendered expensive: and the cause is more easily resumable -after a reconciliation of the parties. In Massachusetts, the term -"cruelty" is made so comprehensive, and the mode of sustaining the plea -is so considerately devised, that divorces are obtainable with peculiar -ease. The natural consequence follows: such a thing is never heard of. A -long-established and very eminent lawyer of Boston told me that he had -known of only one in all his experience. Thus it is wherever the law is -relaxed, and, _cĉteris paribus_, in proportion to its relaxation: for -the obvious reason, that the protection offered by law to the injured -party causes marriages to be entered into with fewer risks, and the -conjugal relation carried on with more equality. Retribution is known to -impend over violations of conjugal duty. When I was in North Carolina, -the wife of a gamester there obtained a divorce without the slightest -difficulty. When she had brought evidence of the danger to herself and -her children,--danger pecuniary and moral,--from her husband's gambling -habits, the bill passed both Houses without a dissenting voice. - -It is clear that the sole business which legislation has with marriage -is with the arrangement of property; to guard the reciprocal rights of -the children of the marriage and the community. There is no further -pretence for the interference of the law, in any way. An advance towards -the recognition of the true principle of legislative interference in -marriage has been made in England, in the new law in which the agreement -of marriage is made a civil contract, leaving the religious obligation -to the conscience and taste of the parties. It will be probably next -perceived that if the civil obligation is fulfilled, if the children of -the marriage are legally and satisfactorily provided for by the parties, -without the assistance of the legislature, the legislature has, in -principle, nothing more to do with the matter. This principle has been -acted upon in the marriage arrangements of Zurich, with the best effects -upon the morals of the conjugal relation. The parties there are married -by a form; and have liberty to divorce themselves without any appeal to -law, on showing that they have legally provided for the children of the -marriage. There was some previous alarm about the effect upon morals of -the removal of such important legal restrictions: but the event -justified the confidence of those who proceeded on the conviction that -the laws of human affection, when not tampered with, are more sacred and -binding than those of any legislature that ever sat in council. There -was some levity at first, chiefly on the part of those who were -suffering under the old system: but the morals of the society soon -became, and have since remained, peculiarly pure. - -It is assumed in America, particularly in New England, that the morals -of society there are peculiarly pure. I am grieved to doubt the fact: -but I do doubt it. Nothing like a comparison between one country and -another in different circumstances can be instituted: nor would any one -desire to enter upon such a comparison. The bottomless vice, the -all-pervading corruption of European society cannot, by possibility, be -yet paralleled in America: but neither is it true that any outward -prosperity, any arrangement of circumstances, can keep a society pure -while there is corruption in its social methods, and among its -principles of individual action. Even in America, where every young man -may, if he chooses, marry at twenty-one, and appropriate all the best -comforts of domestic life,--even here there is vice. Men do not choose -to marry early, because they have learned to think other things of more -importance than the best comforts of domestic life. A gentleman of -Massachusetts, who knows life and the value of most things in it, spoke -to me with deep concern of the alteration in manners which is going on: -of the increase of bachelors, and of mercenary marriages; and of the -fearful consequences. It is too soon for America to be following the old -world in its ways. In the old world, the necessity of thinking of a -maintenance before thinking of a wife has led to requiring a certain -style of living before taking a wife; and then, alas! to taking a wife -for the sake of securing a certain style of living. That this species of -corruption is already spreading in the new world is beyond a doubt;--in -the cities, where the people who live for wealth and for opinion -congregate. - -I was struck with the great number of New England women whom I saw -married to men old enough to be their fathers. One instance which -perplexed me exceedingly, on my entrance into the country, was explained -very little to my satisfaction. The girl had been engaged to a young man -whom she was attached to: her mother broke off the engagement, and -married her to a rich old man. This story was a real shock to me; so -persuaded had I been that in America, at least, one might escape from -the disgusting spectacle of mercenary marriages. But I saw only too -many instances afterwards. The practice was ascribed to the -often-mentioned fact of the young men migrating westwards in large -numbers, leaving those who should be their wives to marry widowers of -double their age. The Auld Robin Gray story is a frequently enacted -tragedy here: and one of the worst symptoms that struck me was, that -there was usually a demand upon my sympathy in such cases. I have no -sympathy for those who, under any pressure of circumstances, sacrifice -their heart's-love for legal prostitution; and no environment of beauty -or sentiment can deprive the fact of its coarseness: and least of all -could I sympathise with women who set the example of marrying for an -establishment in a new country, where, if anywhere, the conjugal -relation should be found in its purity. - -The unavoidable consequence of such a mode of marrying is, that the -sanctity of marriage is impaired, and that vice succeeds. Any one must -see at a glance that if men and women marry those whom they do not love, -they must love those whom they do not marry. There are sad tales in -country villages, here and there, which attest this; and yet more in -towns, in a rank of society where such things are seldom or never heard -of in England. I rather think that married life is immeasurably purer in -America than in England: but that there is not otherwise much -superiority to boast of. I can only say, that I unavoidably knew of more -cases of lapse in highly respectable families in one State than ever -came to my knowledge at home; and that they were got over with a -disgrace far more temporary and superficial than they could have been -visited with in England. I am aware that in Europe the victims are -chosen, with deliberate selfishness, from classes which cannot make -known their perils and their injuries; while in America, happily, no -such class exists. I am aware that this destroys all possibility of a -comparison: but the fact remains, that the morals of American society -are less pure than they assume to be. If the common boast be meant to -apply to the rural population, at least let it not be made, either in -pious gratitude, or patriotic conceit, by the aristocratic city classes, -who, by introducing the practice of mercenary marriages, have rendered -themselves responsible for whatever dreadful consequences may ensue. - -The ultimate and very strong impression on the mind of a stranger, -pondering the morals of society in America, is that human nature is much -the same everywhere, whatever may be its environment of riches or -poverty; and that it is justice to the human nature, and not improvement -in fortunes, which must be looked to as the promise of a better time. -Laws and customs may be creative of vice; and should be therefore -perpetually under process of observation and correction: but laws and -customs cannot be creative of virtue: they may encourage and help to -preserve it; but they cannot originate it. In the present case, the -course to be pursued is to exalt the aims, and strengthen the -self-discipline of the whole of society, by each one being as good as he -can make himself, and relying on his own efforts after self-perfection -rather than on any fortunate arrangements of outward social -circumstances. Women, especially, should be allowed the use and benefit -of whatever native strength their Maker has seen fit to give them. It is -essential to the virtue of society that they should be allowed the -freest moral action, unfettered by ignorance, and unintimidated by -authority: for it is unquestioned and unquestionable that if women were -not weak, men could not be wicked: that if women were bravely pure, -there must be an end to the dastardly tyranny of licentiousness. - - -SECTION II. - -OCCUPATION. - -The greater number of American women have home and its affairs, -wherewith to occupy themselves. Wifely and motherly occupation may be -called the sole business of woman there. If she has not that, she has -nothing. The only alternative, as I have said, is making an occupation -of either religion or dissipation; neither of which is fit to be so -used: the one being a state of mind; the other altogether a negation -when not taken in alternation with business. - -It must happen that where all women have only one serious object, many -of them will be unfit for that object. In the United States, as -elsewhere, there are women no more fit to be wives and mothers than to -be statesmen and generals; no more fit for any responsibility whatever, -than for the maximum of responsibility. There is no need to describe -such: they may be seen everywhere. I allude to them only for the purpose -of mentioning that many of this class shirk some of their labours and -cares, by taking refuge in boarding-houses. It is a circumstance very -unfavourable to the character of some American women, that -boarding-house life has been rendered compulsory by the scarcity of -labour,--the difficulty of obtaining domestic service. The more I saw of -boarding-house life, the worse I thought of it; though I saw none but -the best. Indeed, the degrees of merit in such establishments weigh -little in the consideration of the evil of their existence at all. In -the best it is something to be secure of respectable company, of a good -table, a well-mannered and courteous hostess, and comfort in the private -apartments: but the mischiefs of the system throw all these objects into -the back-ground. - -To begin with young children. There can be no sufficient command of -proper food for them; nor any security that they will eat it naturally -at the table where fifty persons may be sitting, a dozen obsequious -blacks waiting, and an array of tempting dishes within sight. The child -is in imminent danger of being too shy and frightened to eat at all, or -of becoming greedy to eat too much. Next, it is melancholy to see girls -of twelve years old either slinking down beside their parents, and -blushing painfully as often as any one of fifty strangers looks towards -them; or boldly staring at all that is going on, and serving themselves, -like little women of the world. After tea, it is a common practice to -hand the young ladies to the piano, to play and sing to a party, -composed chiefly of gentlemen, and brought together on no principle of -selection except mere respectability. Next comes the mischief to the -young married ladies, the most numerous class of women found in -boarding-houses. The uncertainty about domestic service is so great, and -the economy of boarding-house life so tempting to people who have not -provided themselves with house and furniture, that it is not to be -wondered at that many young married people use the accommodation -provided. But no sensible husband, who could beforehand become -acquainted with the liabilities incurred, would willingly expose his -domestic peace to the fearful risk. I saw enough when I saw the -elegantly dressed ladies repair to the windows of the common -drawing-room, on their husbands' departure to the counting-house, after -breakfast. There the ladies sit for hours, doing nothing but gossiping -with one another, with any gentlemen of the house who may happen to -have no business, and with visitors. It is true that the sober-minded -among the ladies can and do withdraw to their own apartments for the -morning: but they complain that they cannot settle to regular -employments as they could in a house of their own. Either they are not -going to stay long; or they have not room for their books, or they are -broken in upon by their acquaintances in the house. The common testimony -is, that little can be done in boarding-houses: and if the more -sober-minded find it so, the fate of the thoughtless, who have no real -business to do, may be easily anticipated. They find a dear friend or -two among the boarders, to whom they confide their husbands' secrets. A -woman who would do this once would do it twice, or as often as she -changes her boarding-house, and finds a new dear friend in each. I have -been assured that there is no end to the difficulties in which gentlemen -have been involved, both as to their commercial and domestic affairs, by -the indiscretion of their thoughtless young wives, amidst the idleness -and levities of boarding-house life.--As for the gentlemen, they are -much to be pitied. Public meals, a noisy house, confinement to one or -two private rooms, with the absence of all gratifications of their own -peculiar convenience and taste, are but a poor solace to the man of -business, after the toils and cares of the day. When to these are added -the snares to which their wives are exposed, it may be imagined that men -of sense and refinement would rather bear with any domestic -inconvenience from the uncertainty and bad quality of help, than give up -housekeeping. They would content themselves, if need were, with a bread -and cheese dinner, light their own fire, and let their wives dust the -furniture a few times in the year, rather than give up privacy, with -its securities. I rather think that the gentlemen generally think and -feel thus; and that when they break up housekeeping and go to -boarding-houses, it is out of indulgence to the wishes of their wives; -who, if they were as wise as they should be, would wish it seldomer and -less than they do. - -The study of the economy of domestic service was a continual amusement -to me. What I saw would fill a volume. Many families are, and have for -years been, as well off for domestics as any family in England; and I -must say that among the loudest complainers there were many who, from -fault of either judgment or temper, deserved whatever difficulty they -met with. This is remarkably the case with English ladies settled in -America. They carry with them habits of command, and expectations of -obedience; and when these are found utterly to fail, they grow afraid of -their servants. Even when they have learned the theory that domestic -service is a matter of contract, an exchange of service for recompense, -the authority of the employer extending no further than to require the -performance of the service promised,--when the ladies have learned to -assent in words to this, they are still apt to be annoyed at things -which in no way concern them. If one domestic chooses to wait at table -with no cap over her scanty chevelure, and in spectacles,--if another -goes to church on Sunday morning, dressed exactly like her mistress, the -lady is in no way answerable for the bad taste of her domestics. But -English residents often cannot learn to acquiesce in these things; nor -in the servants doing their work in their own way; nor in their dividing -their time as they please between their mistress's work and their own. -The consequence is, that they soon find it impossible to get American -help at all, and they are consigned to the tender mercies of the low -Irish; and every one knows what kind of servants they commonly are. Some -few of them are the best domestics in America: those who know how to -value a respectable home, a steady sufficient income, the honour of -being trusted, and the security of valuable friends for life: but too -many of them are unsettled, reckless, slovenly; some dishonest, and some -intemperate. - -The most fortunate housekeepers I found to be those who acted the most -strenuously on principles of justice and kindness. Such housekeepers are -careful, in the first place, that no part of the mutual duty shall pass -unexplained; no opening be left for future dispute that can be avoided. -The candidate is not only informed precisely what the work is, and shown -the accommodations of the house, but consulted with about cases where -the convenience of the two parties may clash. For instance, the employer -stipulates to be informed some hours before, when her domestic intends -to go out; and that such going out shall never take place when there is -company. In return, she yields all she can to the wishes of her domestic -about recreation, receiving the visits of her family, &c. Where a -complete mutual understanding is arrived at, there is the best chance of -the terms of the contract being faithfully adhered to, and liberally -construed, on both sides: and I have seen instances of the parties -having lived together in friendship and contentment for five, seven, -eleven, and fourteen years.[25] Others, again, I have seen who, without -fault of their own, have changed their servants three times in a -fortnight. Some, too, I have observed who will certainly never be -comfortably settled, unless they can be taught the first principles of -democracy. - -Many ladies, in the country especially, take little girls to train; -having them bound to a certain term of service. In such a case, the girl -is taken at about eleven years old, and bound to remain till she is -eighteen. Her mistress engages to clothe her; to give her -Sunday-schooling, and a certain amount of weekday schooling in the year; -and to present her at the end of the term (except in case of bad -behaviour) with fifty dollars, or a cow, or some equivalent. Under a -good mistress, this is an excellent bargain for the girl; but mistresses -complain that as soon as the girls become really serviceable, by the -time they are fourteen or fifteen, they begin to grow restless, having -usually abundance of kind friends to tell them what good wages they -might get if they were free. - -In several abodes in which I resided for a longer or shorter time, the -routine of the house was as easy and agreeable as any Englishman's; -elsewhere, the accounts of domestic difficulties were both edifying and -amusing. At first, I heard but little of such things; there being a -prevalent idea in America that English ladies concern themselves very -little about household affairs. This injurious misapprehension the -ladies of England owe, with many others, to the fashionable novels which -deluge the country from New York to beyond the Mississippi. Though the -Americans repeat and believe that these books are false pictures of -manners, they cannot be wholly upon their guard against impressions -derived from them. Too many of them involuntarily image to themselves -the ladies of England as like the duchesses and countesses of those low -books: and can scarcely believe that the wives of merchants, -manufacturers, and shopkeepers, and of the greater number of -professional men, buy their own provision, keep household accounts, look -to the making and mending, the baking, making of preserves, &c., and -sometimes cook, with their own hands, any dish of which their husbands -may be fond. When it was found, from my revelations, that English and -American ladies have, after all, much the same sort of things to do, the -real state of household economy was laid open to me. - -All American ladies should know how to clear-starch and iron: how to -keep plate and glass: how to cook dainties: and, if they understand the -making of bread and soup likewise, so much the better. The gentlemen -usually charge themselves with the business of marketing; which is very -fair. A lady, highly accomplished and very literary, told me that she -had lately been left entirely without help, in a country village where -there was little hope of being speedily able to procure any. She and her -daughter made the bread, for six weeks, and entirely kept the house, -which might vie with any nobleman's for true luxury; perfect sufficiency -and neatness. She mentioned one good result from the necessity: that she -should never again put up with bad bread. She could now testify that -bread might always be good, notwithstanding changes of weather, and all -the excuses commonly given. I heard an anecdote from this lady which -struck me. She was in the habit of employing, when she wanted extra -help, a poor woman of colour, to do kitchen-work. The domestics had -always appeared on perfectly good terms with this woman till, one day, -when there was to be an evening party, the upper domestic declined -waiting on the company; giving as a reason that she was offended at -being required to sit down to table with the coloured woman. Her -mistress gently rebuked her pride, saying "If you are above waiting on -my company, my family are not. You will see my daughter carry the -tea-tray, and my niece the cake." The girl repented, and besought to be -allowed to wait; but her assistance was declined; at which she cried -heartily. The next day, she was very humble, and her mistress reasoned -with her, quite successfully. The lady made one concession in silence. -She had the coloured woman come after dinner, instead of before. - -A country lady travelled thirty miles to a town where she thought she -might intercept some Irish, coming down from Canada into the States, and -supply herself with domestics from among them. She engaged to send them -thirty miles to confession, twice a year, if they would live with -her.--Another country lady told me that her family suffered from want of -water, because the man objected to bring it. The maids fetched it; and -even the children, in their little cans. The man was sturdy on the -point, and she could not dismiss him for such a reason, he was such a -valuable servant; though he could not drive, from having only one eye, -and always got drunk when his work was done. The same lady had her house -pretty well kept, by dint of superintending everything herself: but, -when she wanted her rooms papered, she thought she might leave that kind -of work to the artist who undertook it. When it was done, she was -summoned to look at it, and called upon to admire the way in which the -man had "made every crease show." He had spent his ingenuity in -contriving that the pattern should not join in any two strips. - -The mother of a young bride of my acquaintance flattered herself that -she had graced her daughter's new house, during the wedding journey, -with two exemplary domestics. The day previous to the bride's return, -before the women had seen either master or mistress, they gave notice -that they were going away directly, in consequence of the receipt of -some family news which had changed their plans. They were prevailed upon -to stay for a week, when they persisted in going, though no successors -had been obtained, and their young mistress was to receive her company -the next day. What made the matter desperate was that the bride knew -nothing of housekeeping. She made them cook as much provision, to be -eaten cold, as would possibly keep; and when they had closed the door -behind them, sat down and cried for a whole hour. How she got out of her -troubles, I forget: but she was in excellent spirits when she told me -the story. - -Many anecdotes are current about the manners of the young people who -come down from the retired parts of the country to domestic service in -Boston. A simple country girl obeyed her instructions exactly about -putting the dinner upon the table, and then summoning the family. But -they delayed a few minutes, from some cause; and when they entered the -dining-room, found the domestic seated and eating. She had helped -herself from a fowl, thinking that "the folk were so long a-coming, the -things would get cold." A young man from Vermont was hired by a family -who were in extreme want of a footman. He was a most friendly personage, -as willing as he was free and easy; but he knew nothing of life out of a -small farm-house. An evening or two after his arrival, there was a large -party at the house. His mistress strove to impress upon him that all he -had to do at tea-time was to follow, with the sugar and cream, the -waiter who carried the tea; to see that every one had cream and sugar; -and to hold his tongue. He did his part with an earnest face, stepping -industriously from guest to guest. When he had made the circuit, and -reached the door, a doubt struck him whether a group in the furthest -part of the room had had the benefit of his attentions. He raised -himself on his toes with, "I'll ask;" and shouted over the heads of the -company, "I say, how are ye off for sweetenin' in that ere corner?" - -These extreme cases sound ridiculously and uncomfortably enough: but it -must be remembered that they are extreme cases. For my own part, I had -rather suffer any inconvenience from having to work occasionally in -chambers and kitchen, and from having little hospitable designs -frustrated, than witness the subservience in which the menial class is -held in Europe. In England, servants have been so long accustomed to -this subservience; it is so completely the established custom for the -mistress to regulate their manners, their clothes, their intercourse -with their friends, and many other things which they ought to manage for -themselves, that it has become difficult to treat them any better. -Mistresses who abstain from such regulation find that they are spoiling -their servants; and heads of families who would make friends of their -domestics find them little fitted to reciprocate the duty. In America it -is otherwise: and may it ever be so! All but those who care for their -selfish gratification more than for the welfare of those about them will -be glad to have intelligent and disinterested friends in the domestics -whom they may be able to attach, though there may be difficulty at first -in retaining them; and some eccentricities of manner and dress may -remain to be borne with. - -One of the pleasures of travelling through a democratic country is the -seeing no liveries. No such badge of menial service is to be met with -throughout the States, except in the houses of the foreign ambassadors -at Washington. Of how much higher a character American domestic service -is than any which would endure to be distinguished by a badge, the -following instance will show. I spent an evening at the house of the -president of Harvard University. The party was waited on at tea by a -domestic of the president's, who is also Major of the Horse. On cavalry -days, when guests are invited to dine with the regiment, the major, in -his regimentals, takes the head of the table, and has the president on -his right hand. He plays the host as freely as if no other relation -existed between them. The toasts being all transacted, he goes home, -doffs his regimentals, and waits on the president's guests at tea. - -As for the occupations with which American ladies fill up their leisure; -what has been already said will show that there is no great weight or -diversity of occupation. Many are largely engaged in charities, doing -good or harm according to the enlightenment of mind which is carried to -the work. In New England, a vast deal of time is spent in attending -preachings, and other religious meetings: and in paying visits, for -religious purposes, to the poor and sorrowful. The same results follow -from this practice that may be witnessed wherever it is much pursued. In -as far as sympathy is kept up, and acquaintanceship between different -classes in society is occasioned, the practice is good. In as far as it -unsettles the minds of the visitors, encourages a false craving for -religious excitement, tempts to spiritual interference on the one hand, -and cant on the other, and humours or oppresses those who need such -offices least, while it alienates those who want them most, the practice -is bad. I am disposed to think that much good is done, and much harm: -and that, whenever women have a greater charge of indispensable business -on their hands, so as to do good and reciprocate religious sympathy by -laying hold of opportunities, instead of by making occupation, more than -the present good will be done, without any of the harm. - -All American ladies are more or less literary: and some are so to -excellent purpose: to the saving of their minds from vacuity. Readers -are plentiful: thinkers are rare. Minds are of a very passive character: -and it follows that languages are much cultivated. If ever a woman was -pointed out to me as distinguished for information, I might be sure -beforehand that she was a linguist. I met with a great number of ladies -who read Latin; some Greek; some Hebrew; some German. With the exception -of the last, the learning did not seem to be of much use to them, except -as a harmless exercise. I met with more intellectual activity, more -general power, among many ladies who gave little time to books, than -among those who are distinguished as being literary. I did not meet with -a good artist among all the ladies in the States. I never had the -pleasure of seeing a good drawing, except in one instance; or, except in -two, of hearing good music. The entire failure of all attempts to draw -is still a mystery to me. The attempts are incessant; but the results -are below criticism. Natural philosophy is not pursued to any extent by -women. There is some pretension to mental and moral philosophy; but the -less that is said on that head the better. - -This is a sad account of things. It may tempt some to ask 'what then are -the American women?' They are better educated by Providence than by men. -The lot of humanity is theirs: they have labour, probation, joy, and -sorrow. They are good wives; and, under the teaching of nature, good -mothers. They have, within the range of their activity, good sense, good -temper, and good manners. Their beauty is very remarkable; and, I think, -their wit no less. Their charity is overflowing, if it were but more -enlightened: and it may be supposed that they could not exist without -religion. It appears to superabound; but it is not usually of a healthy -character. It may seem harsh to say this: but is it not the fact that -religion emanates from the nature, from the moral state of the -individual? Is it not therefore true that unless the nature be -completely exercised, the moral state harmonised, the religion cannot be -healthy? - -One consequence, mournful and injurious, of the 'chivalrous' taste and -temper of a country with regard to its women is that it is difficult, -where it is not impossible, for women to earn their bread. Where it is a -boast that women do not labour, the encouragement and rewards of labour -are not provided. It is so in America. In some parts, there are now so -many women dependent on their own exertions for a maintenance, that the -evil will give way before the force of circumstances. In the meantime, -the lot of poor women is sad. Before the opening of the factories, there -were but three resources; teaching, needle-work, and keeping -boarding-houses or hotels. Now, there are the mills; and women are -employed in printing-offices; as compositors, as well as folders and -stitchers. - -I dare not trust myself to do more than touch on this topic. There would -be little use in dwelling upon it; for the mischief lies in the system -by which women are depressed, so as to have the greater number of -objects of pursuit placed beyond their reach, more than in any minor -arrangements which might be rectified by an exposure of particular -evils. I would only ask of philanthropists of all countries to inquire -of physicians what is the state of health of sempstresses; and to judge -thence whether it is not inconsistent with common humanity that women -should depend for bread upon such employment. Let them inquire what is -the recompense of this kind of labour, and then wonder if they can that -the pleasures of the licentious are chiefly supplied from that class. -Let them reverence the strength of such as keep their virtue, when the -toil which they know is slowly and surely destroying them will barely -afford them bread, while the wages of sin are luxury and idleness. -During the present interval between the feudal age and the coming time, -when life and its occupations will be freely thrown open to women as to -men, the condition of the female working classes is such that if its -sufferings were but made known, emotions of horror and shame would -tremble through the whole of society. - -For women who shrink from the lot of the needlewoman,--almost equally -dreadful, from the fashionable milliner down to the humble -stocking-darner,--for those who shrink through pride, or fear of -sickness, poverty, or temptation, there is little resource but -pretension to teach. What office is there which involves more -responsibility, which requires more qualifications, and which ought, -therefore, to be more honourable, than that of teaching? What work is -there for which a decided bent, not to say a genius, is more requisite? -Yet are governesses furnished, in America as elsewhere, from among those -who teach because they want bread; and who certainly would not teach for -any other reason. Teaching and training children is, to a few, a very -few, a delightful employment, notwithstanding all its toils and cares. -Except to these few it is irksome; and, when accompanied with poverty -and mortification, intolerable. Let philanthropists inquire into the -proportion of governesses among the inmates of lunatic asylums. The -answer to this question will be found to involve a world of rebuke and -instruction. What can be the condition of the sex when such an -occupation is overcrowded with candidates, qualified and unqualified? -What is to be hoped from the generation of children confided to the -cares of a class, conscientious perhaps beyond most, but reluctant, -harassed, and depressed? - -The most accomplished governesses in the United States may obtain 600 -dollars a-year in the families of southern planters; provided they will -promise to teach everything. In the north they are paid less; and in -neither case, is there a possibility of making provision for sickness -and old age. Ladies who fully deserve the confidence of society may -realise an independence in a few years by school-keeping in the north: -but, on the whole, the scanty reward of female labour in America remains -the reproach to the country which its philanthropists have for some -years proclaimed it to be. I hope they will persevere in their -proclamation, though special methods of charity will not avail to cure -the evil. It lies deep; it lies in the subordination of the sex: and -upon this the exposures and remonstrances of philanthropists may -ultimately succeed in fixing the attention of society; particularly of -women. The progression or emancipation of any class usually, if not -always, takes place through the efforts of individuals of that class: -and so it must be here. All women should inform themselves of the -condition of their sex, and of their own position. It must necessarily -follow that the noblest of them will, sooner or later, put forth a moral -power which shall prostrate cant, and burst asunder the bonds, (silken -to some, but cold iron to others,) of feudal prejudices and usages. In -the meantime, is it to be understood that the principles of the -Declaration of Independence bear no relation to half of the human race? -If so, what is the ground of the limitation? If not so, how is the -restricted and dependent state of women to be reconciled with the -proclamation that "all are endowed by their Creator with certain -inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit -of happiness?" - - -SECTION III. - -HEALTH. - -Some popular American writers have lately laid hold of this subject, to -the great advantage of the society in which they live. Dr. Combe's -"Principles of Physiology" has gone through several editions; and I know -that the demand of society for fresh air and soap and water has -considerably increased in consequence. But much remains to be done. In -private houses, baths are a rarity. In steam-boats, the accommodations -for washing are limited in the extreme; and in all but first-rate -hotels, the philosophy of personal cleanliness is certainly not -understood. The Creoles of Louisiana are the most satisfactory hosts and -hostesses in this respect, except a few particularly thoughtful people -elsewhere. In the house of a Creole, a guest finds a large pan or tub of -fresh cold water, with soap and towels, placed in a corner of his room, -morning and night. In such a climate as that of New Orleans, there is no -safety nor comfort in anything short of a complete ablution, twice a -day. On board steam-boats which have not separate state-rooms, there are -no means of preserving sufficient cleanliness and health. How the ladies -of the cabin can expect to enjoy any degree of vigour and cheerfulness -during a voyage of four or five days, during which they wash merely -their faces and hands, I cannot imagine. It is to be hoped that the -majority will soon demand that there should be a range of -washing-closets in all steam-boats whose voyages are longer than -twenty-four hours. - -The common excuse for the deficient activity and lack of fresh air is -the climate. But this excuse will not avail while there are ladies who -do preserve their health by walking and riding, and thoroughly -ventilating their houses. Any one who knows Stockbridge, and the feats -which are there performed by a troop of rosy, graceful girls, and active -women, will reject all pleas about the difficulty of getting air and -exercise. It is one of the misfortunes of a new country that its cities -have environs which are little tempting for walking. It must be -acknowledged that it requires some resolution to go out to walk in -places no more tempting than Pennsylvania Avenue, at Washington; -Broadway, New York; or the trim streets of Philadelphia; or even the -pretty Common at Boston. But the way to have good country walks provided -is to wish for them. When the whole female society of America shall be -as fond of exercise, as highly-principled with regard to it, as the -Stockbridge ladies, the facilities will be furnished. In the meantime, -there are pretty walks within reach of the whole population, except that -of three or four large cities. Boston is particularly unfortunate in -occupying a promontory, from which it is usually necessary to pass very -long bridges to the mainland: a passage too bleak to be attempted in -windy weather, and too exposed to be endurable in a hot sun, without -necessity. But those who have carriages can easily get transported -beyond this inconvenience; and for those who have not, there is the -Common and the Neck. - -Those who wish for health, and know how to seek it, contrive to walk in -summer very early in the morning; like residents in India. The mornings -of the sultry months are perfectly delicious; and there is no excuse for -neglect of exercise while they last. The autumn weather of the northern -States is the best of the year, when the hues and airs of paradise seem -shed abroad. The greater number of days in the winter admit of exercise. -The winds are too cutting to be encountered; but the days of calm clear -frost might be much better employed in walking than in sleighing. No -eulogiums on the sleigh will ever reconcile me to it. I dislike the -motion, and, after a short time, the jingle of the bells. But the danger -is the prime consideration. Young ladies who dry up their whole frames -in the heat of fires of anthracite coal, never breathing the outward air -but in going to church, and in stepping in and out of the carriage in -going to parties, will once in a time go on a sleighing expedition; -sitting motionless in the open air, with hot bricks to their feet, and -their faces in danger of being frost-bitten. If there be pleasure in -such frolics, it is too dearly bought by the peril. If the troops of -girls who would mourn over the abolition of sleighing would but try how -they like the luxury of daily active exercise in fresh air, they would -find the exchange well worth making, on the score of pleasure alone. - -The ladies plead that they have much exercise within doors, about their -household occupations. Except making beds, rubbing tables, and romping -with children, I know of no household occupations which involve much -exercise. The weariness which some of them occasion, is of a kind which -would be relieved by walking. And all this does not imply fresh air, of -which no one can get enough without going out into it, except in some -country residences. It made me sorrowful to see children shut up during -the winter in houses, heated by anthracite coal up to the temperature of -85°; and to see how pallid and dried the poor little things looked, long -before there was a prospect of their speedy release from their -imprisonment. Some, who were let out on fine days, were pretty sure to -catch cold. Those only seemed heartily to thrive who were kept in rooms -moderately heated, and vigorously exercised in the open air, on all but -windy and other unmanageable days. The burning of anthracite coal -affected me unpleasantly, except where an evaporation of water was going -on in the room. I suspect that some of the maladies of the country may -be more or less owing to its use. - -One proof of the badness of the system of non-exercising, is found in -the fact that the distortion of the spine is even more common among -women in America than in Europe. Physicians who have turned their -attention to this symptom, declare that the difficulty is to find in -boarding-schools a spine that is perfectly straight: and when the period -of growth is completed, a large majority of cases remains where the -weakness is not entirely got over. The posture-making of the United -States is renowned. Of course there is a cause for a propensity so -general. The languor induced by the climate is that assigned. The ladies -not being able to use the same freedom as the gentlemen, get rid of -their languor as they may; but not as they best may. Instead of sitting -still all through the hot weather, and all through the cold weather, -they had better exercise their limbs during some portion of the day, and -lie down during the most sultry hours; and in the winter, avail -themselves of every opportunity for active employment. If they would do -this, it is not to be conceived that the next generation would be -distinguished as the present is for its spare forms and pallid -complexions. - -The apathy on the subject of health was to me no otherwise to be -accounted for than by supposing that the feeling of vigorous health is -almost unknown. Invalids are remarkably uncomplaining and unalarmed; -and their friends talk of their having "a weak breast," and "delicate -lungs," with little more seriousness than the English use in speaking of -a common cold. The numbers of clergymen who had to leave their flocks, -professors their chairs, young men and women their country, in pursuit -of health, made me melancholy sometimes when the friends and neighbours -took it calmly as the commonest of events. As I am pretty confident that -a remedy might be found in more judicious management, this acquiescence -strikes me as being by far too Mahomedan in its character. The extremest -case that I met with was in a lady, who declared, with complacency, that -she could not walk a mile. She owned her belief that the inactivity of -the American women shortened their lives by some years; but thought this -did not matter, as they were not aware of it at the time. - -I should like to see a well-principled reform in diet tried, with a view -to the improvement of the general health. I should like to see hot bread -and cakes banished; a diminution in the quantity of pickles and -preserves, and also in the quantity of meat eaten. I should like to see -the effect of making the diet of children more simple. Almost any change -would be worth trying for so great an object. What is to become of the -next, and again of the succeeding generation, if the average of health -cannot be raised, it is fearful to think of. The only prevalence of -vigorous health that I witnessed in the country, was in the elevated -parts of the Alleghany range; in the State of Michigan; and perhaps I -might add, among the ladies of Charleston, who pass three quarters of -the year in the open air of their piazzas.[26] - -All these means of improving health, though probably necessary, will -not avail without some others. There must be less anxiety of mind among -men, and less vacuity among women. With a brain fully but equably -exercised, and composed nerves, the above-mentioned methods would -probably enable the Americans to defy the changes of their climate: but -not without this justice to the brain and nerves. It is rather -remarkable that this anxiety prevails most in the parts of the country -which make the most conspicuous profession of religion. Religious faith -and hope should naturally promote health and equanimity by teaching the -spirit to repose on immovable principles, and unintermitting laws: by -disburdening the mind of worldly cares, and giving rest to the weary and -heavy-laden. If it does not thus calm and lighten the mind, it fails of -its effect. If it disturbs the mental and bodily frame, its operation is -perverted. It would be well if this were looked to. The more moderate -religionists point to the graves of the young who have fallen victims to -Revivals. Let them look at home to see if no spiritual competition, no -asceticism interferes with the equable workings of the frame, by which -its powers are kept in vigorous and joyous action, without excess. - -There is no doubt of this wear and tear from anxiety being the chief -cause of the excessive use of tobacco in the United States. Its charm to -men, who have not the elasticity of health and good animal spirits to -oppose to toil and trouble, may be imagined. It is to be hoped that the -enjoyment of the natural and perfect stimulant will soon supersede the -use of the artificial and pernicious one. - -The vacuity of mind of many women is, I conclude, the cause of a vice -which it is painful to allude to; but which cannot honestly be passed -over, in the consideration of the morals and the health of American -women. It is no secret on the spot, that the habit of intemperance is -not infrequent among women of station and education in the most -enlightened parts of the country. I witnessed some instances, and heard -of more. It does not seem to me to be regarded with all the dismay which -such a symptom ought to excite. To the stranger, a novelty so horrible, -a spectacle so fearful, suggests wide and deep subjects of -investigation. If women, in a region professing religion more -strenuously than any other, living in the deepest external peace, -surrounded by prosperity, and outwardly honoured more conspicuously than -in any other country, can ever so far cast off self-restraint, shame, -domestic affection, and the deep prejudices of education, as to plunge -into the living hell of intemperance, there must be something fearfully -wrong in their position. An intemperate man has strong temptation to -plead: he began with conviviality, and only arrives at solitary -intemperance as the ultimate degradation. A woman indulges in the vice -in solitude and secrecy, as long as secrecy is possible. She knows that -there is no excuse, no solace, no hope. There is nothing before her but -despair. It is impossible to suppose than that there has otherwise been -despair throughout: the despair which waits upon vacuity. I believe that -the practice has, in some few cases, arisen from physicians prescribing -cordials to growing girls at school, and from the difficulty found in -desisting from the use of agreeable stimulants. In other cases, the vice -is hereditary. In others, no explanation remains, but that which appears -to me quite sufficient,--vacuity of mind. Lest my mention of this very -remarkable fact should lead to the supposition of the practice being -more common than it is, I think it right to state, that I happened to -know of seven or eight cases in the higher classes of society of one -city. The number of cases is a fact of comparatively small importance. -That one exists, is a grief which the whole of society should take to -heart, and ponder with the entire strength of its understanding. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[25] The wages of domestic service vary, of course, according to -circumstances. In the eastern cities, a good footman is paid about -twenty-five dollars per month: a cook, two dollars a-week; and a -housemaid a dollar and a-half. - -[26] I was informed by an eminent physician, that within his -recollection, _goîtres_ were very common at Pittsburg. The patients -recovered, if early sent round to the open country on the other side of -the hill. Since the woods have been felled, and the city thereby well -ventilated, the disease has wholly disappeared. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -CHILDREN. - - "An evidence and reprehension both - Of the mere schoolboy's lean and tardy growth." - - _Cowper._ - - -Nothing less than an entire work would be required for the discussion of -the subject of education in any country. I can only indicate here two or -three peculiarities which strike the stranger in the discipline of -American children; of those whose lot is cast in the northern States; -for it needs no further showing, that those who are reared among slaves -have not the ordinary chances of wisdom and peace. - -The Americans, particularly those of New England, look with a just -complacency on the apparatus of education furnished to their entire -population.[27] There are schools provided for the training of every -individual, from the earliest age; colleges to receive the élite of the -schools; and lyceums, and other such institutions, for the subsequent -instruction of working men. The provision of schools is so adequate, -that any citizen who sees a child at play during school-hours, may ask -"why are you not at school?" and, unless a good reason be given, may -take him to the school-house of the district. Some, who do not penetrate -to the principle of this, exclaim upon the tyranny practised upon the -parents. The principle is, that, in a democracy, where life and society -are equally open to all, and where all have agreed to require of each -other a certain amount of intellectual and moral competency, the means -being provided, it becomes the duty of all to see that the means are -used. Their use is an indispensable condition of the privileges of -citizenship. No control is exercised as to how and where the child shall -be educated. It rests with the parent to send him to a public or private -school, or have him taught at home: but in case of his being found in a -neglected state as to education, it is in the power of any citizen to -bring him to the advantage provided for him by society. - -The instruction furnished is not good enough for the youth of such a -country, with such a responsibility and such a destiny awaiting them as -the working out the first democratic organisation that the world has -witnessed in practice. The information provided is both meagre and -superficial. There is not even any systematic instruction given on -political morals: an enormous deficiency in a republic. But it must be -remembered how young the society is; how far it has already gone beyond -most other countries; and how great is the certainty that the majority, -always ultimately in the right, will gradually exalt the character of -the instruction which it has been already wise enough to provide. It -must be remembered too, how much farther the same kind and degree of -instruction goes in a democracy than elsewhere. The alphabet itself is -of little or no value to a slave, while it is an inestimable treasure -to a conscious young republican. One needs but go from a charity-school -in an English county to a free-school in Massachusetts, to see how -different the bare acquisition of reading and writing is to children -who, if they look forward at all, do it languidly, and into a life of -mechanical labour merely, and to young citizens who are aware that they -have their share of the work of self-government to achieve. Elderly -gentlemen in the country may smile, and foreigners of all ages may scoff -at the self-confidence and complacency of young men who have just -exercised the suffrage for the first time: but the being secure of the -dignity, the certainty of being fully and efficaciously represented, the -probability of sooner or later filling some responsible political -office, are a stimulus which goes far to supply the deficiencies of the -instruction imparted. It is much to be wished that this stimulus were as -strong and as virtuous in one or two colleges whose inmates are on the -very verge of the exercise of their political rights, as in some of even -the primary schools. The aristocratic atmosphere of Harvard University, -for instance, would be much purified by a few breezes of such democratic -inspiration as issue from the school-houses of some of the country -districts. - -Some persons plead that there is less occasion for school instruction in -the principles of politics, than for an improved teaching of some other -things; because children are instructed in politics every day of their -lives by what they hear at home, and wherever they go. But they hear all -too little of principles. What they hear is argumentation about -particular men, and immediate measures. The more sure they are of -learning details elsewhere, the more necessary it is that they should -here be exercised in those principles by which the details are to be -judged and made available as knowledge. They come to school with their -heads crammed with prejudices, and their memories with words, which it -should be part of the work of school to reduce to truth and clearness, -by substituting principles for the one, and annexing ideas to the other. - -A Sunday-school teacher asked a child, "Who killed Abel?" "General -Jackson."--Another inquired of a scholar, "In what state were mankind -left after the fall?"--"In the State of Vermont." - -The early republican consciousness of which I have spoken, and the fact -of the more important place which the children occupy in a society whose -numbers are small in proportion to its resources, are the two -circumstances which occasion that freedom of manners in children of -which so much complaint has been made by observers, and on which so much -remonstrance has been wasted;--I say "wasted," because remonstrance is -of no avail against a necessary fact. Till the United States cease to be -republican, and their vast area is fully peopled, the children there -will continue as free and easy and as important as they are. For my own -part, I delight in the American children; in those who are not overlaid -with religious instruction. There are instances, as there are -everywhere, of spoiled, pert, and selfish children. Parents' hearts are -pierced there, as elsewhere. But the independence and fearlessness of -children were a perpetual charm in my eyes. To go no deeper, it is a -constant amusement to see how the speculations of young minds issue, -when they take their own way of thinking, and naturally say all they -think. Some admirable specimens of active little minds were laid open to -me at a juvenile ball at Baltimore. I could not have got at so much in a -year in England. If I had at home gone in among eighty or a hundred -little people, between the ages of eight and sixteen, I should have -extracted little more than "Yes, ma'am," and "No, ma'am." At Baltimore, -a dozen boys and girls at a time crowded round me, questioning, -discussing, speculating, revealing in a way which enchanted me. In -private houses, the comments slipped in at table by the children were -often the most memorable, and generally the most amusing part of the -conversation. Their aspirations all come out. Some of these are very -striking as indicating the relative value of things in the children's -minds. One affectionate little sister, of less than four years old, -stimulated her brother William, (five,) by telling him that if he would -be very very good, he might in time be called William Webster; and then -he might get on to be as good as Jesus Christ. Three children were -talking over the birth-day of the second, (ten) and how they should like -to keep it. They settled that they should like of all things to have -Miss Sedgwick, and Mr. Bryant, and myself, to spend the day with them. -They did not venture to invite us, and had no intention of our knowing -their wish. - -In conversing with a truly wise parent, one day, I remarked on the -change of relation which takes place when the superior children of -ordinary parents become guides and protectors to those who have kept -their childhood restrained under a rigid rule. We talked over the -difficulties of the transition here, (by far the hardest part of filial -duty,) and speculated on what the case would be after death, supposing -the parties to recognise each other in a new life of progression. My -friend observed that the only thing to be done is to avoid to the utmost -the exercise of authority, and to make children friends from the very -beginning. He and many others have done this with gladdening success. -They do not lay aside their democratic principles in this relation, more -than in others, because they happen to have almost unlimited power in -their own hands. They watch and guard: they remove stumbling-blocks: -they manifest approbation and disapprobation: they express wishes, but, -at the same time, study the wishes of their little people: they leave as -much as possible to natural retribution: they impose no opinions, and -quarrel with none: in short, they exercise the tenderest friendship -without presuming upon it. What is the consequence? I had the pleasure -of hearing this friend say, "There is nothing in the world so easy as -managing children. You may make them anything you please." In my own -mind I added, "with such hearts and minds to bring to the work as the -parents of your children have."--One reason of the pleasure with which I -regarded the freedom of American children was that I took it as a sign -that the most tremendous suffering perhaps of human life is probably -lessened, if not obviated, there:--the misery of concealed doubts and -fears, and heavy solitary troubles,--the misery which makes the early -years of a shy child a fearful purgatory. Yet purgatory is not the word: -for this misery purges no sins, while it originates many. I have a -strong suspicion that the faults of temper so prevalent where parental -authority is strong, and where children are made as insignificant as -they can be made, and the excellence of temper in America, are -attributable to the different management of childhood in the one article -of freedom. There is no doubt that many children are irrecoverably -depressed and unnerved for want of being convinced that anybody cares -for them. They nourish doubts, they harbour fears and suspicions, and -carry within them prejudices and errors, for want of its occurring to -them to ask questions; and though they may outgrow these defects and -errors, they never recover from them. Unexplained and inexplicable -obstacles are thrown in the way of their filial duty,--obstacles which -not even the strongest conscientiousness can overcome with grace: the -vigour of the spirit is prostrated, or perverted into wilfulness: the -calmness of self-respect is forfeited, and so is the repose of a loving -faith in others. In short, the temper is ruined, and the life is -spoiled; and all from the parents not having made friends of their -children from the beginning.--No one will suppose that I mean to -represent this mistake as general anywhere. But I am confident it is -very common at home: and that it cannot, in the nature of things, ever -become common in America. I saw one or two melancholy instances of it: -and a few rare cases where parents attempted unjustifiably to rule the -proceedings of their grown up sons and daughters; not by express -command, but by pleas which, from a parent, are more irresistible than -even commands. But these were remarkable, and remarked upon, as -exceptions. I saw two extreme contrasting cases, in near neighbourhood, -of girls brought up, the one in the spirit of love, the other in that of -fear. Those two girls are the best teachers of moral philosophy that -ever fell in my way. In point of birth, organisation, means of -education, they were about equal. Both were made to be beautiful and -intelligent. The one is pallid, indolent, (with the reputation of -learning,) tasteless, timid, and triste, manifesting nothing but -occasionally an intense selfishness, and a prudery beyond belief. The -education of this girl has been the study of her anxious parents from -the day of her birth: but they have omitted to let her know and feel -that anybody loved her. The other, the darling of a large family, -meeting love from all eyes, and hearing tenderness in every voice, is -beautiful as a Hebe, and so free and joyous that her presence is like -sunshine in a rainy day. She knows that she is beautiful and -accomplished; but she is, as far as eye can see, absolutely devoid of -vanity. She has been apprised, over and over again, that people think -her a genius: she silently contradicts this, and settles with herself -that she can acquire anything, but originate nothing. She studies with -her whole being, as if she were coming out next year in a learned -profession. She dances at balls as if nothing lay beyond the ball-room. -She flits hither and thither, in rain or sunshine, walking, riding, or -driving, on little errands of kindness; and bears the smallest interests -of her friends in mind in the heights of her mirth and the depths of her -studies. At dull evening parties, she can sit under the lamp, (little -knowing how beautiful she looks) quietly amusing herself with prints, -and not wanting notice: and she can speak out what she thinks and feels -to a circle of admirers, as simply and earnestly as she would to her own -mother. I have seen people shake their heads, and fear lest she should -be spoiled; but my own conviction is that this young creature is -unspoilable. She has had all the praise and admiration she can have: no -watchfulness of parents can keep them from her. She does not want praise -and admiration. She has other interests and other desires: and my belief -is, that if she were left alone to-morrow, the last of her family, she -would be as safe, busy, and, in due time, happy, as she is now under -their tender guardianship. She is the most complete example I ever -witnessed of a being growing up in the light and warmth and perfect -freedom of love; and she has left me very little toleration for -authority, in education more than in anything else. - -A question was asked me, oftener than once, which indicates the -difference between family manners in England and America. I was asked -whether it was possible that the Bennet family would act as they are -represented in "Pride and Prejudice:" whether a foolish mother, with -grown up daughters, would be allowed to spoil the two youngest, instead -of the sensible daughters taking the case into their own hands. It is -certainly true that in America the superior minds of the family would -take the lead; while in England, however the domestic affairs might -gradually arrange themselves, no person would be found breathing the -suggestion of superseding the mother's authority. The most remarkable -difference is, that in England the parents value the authority as a -right, however lenient they may be in the use of it. In America, the -parent disapproves of it, as a matter of reason: and, if he acts -rationally, had rather not possess it. Little revelations of the state -of the case were perpetually occurring, which excited my wonder at -first, and my interest throughout. It appeared through the smallest -circumstances; as, for instance, when a lady was describing to me the -wedding-day of her eldest daughter. She mentioned that two or three of -the children were not in the drawing-room at the time of the ceremony. -Why? They were so angry at their brother-in-law for taking away their -sister, that they kept out of the way till he had driven from the door -with his bride. What children in England would have dreamed of absenting -themselves in such a way? - -It is amusing to observe what the ability for self-preservation is among -children in a country where nursemaids are scarce. It frightened me at -first to see mere babies playing on broken wooden bridges, where the -rushing water below might be seen through large holes; and little boys -climbing trees which slanted over a rocky precipice; or getting into a -canoe tossing on a rough river. But I find that accidents to children -are rarely or never heard of. The obvious results of such training are a -dexterity, fearlessness, and presence of mind, and aptitude for bodily -exercises, which are of eminent use in mature life. - -I was sorry to perceive in some of the cities, especially in Boston, an -unconsciousness on the part of many parents of the superior value of the -discipline of circumstance to that of express teaching, in the work of -education. Perhaps no one would be found to deny in words that the best -training is that which exercises the whole being of a child: yet there -is a method of education somewhat in fashion in Boston just now, which -bids fair to kill off its victims in early life; and irreparably -injure,--morally as well as physically,--those whom it may spare. The -good people of Boston are more fond of excitement than of consistency: -or, rather, that part of society is so which professes to constitute the -city. When Spurzheim was there, the brain was everything; and his wise -and benevolent remonstrances about the neglect or abuse of the bodily -powers were received with great candour, and with much apparent -conviction. Short as the interval has been, a considerable number of his -disciples have gone directly over to the opposite philosophy; and in -their spiritualism out-herod Herod. They frame their theory and practice -on the principle that human beings are created perfect spirits in an -infant body. Some go further back than this, and actually teach little -children dogmatically that spirit makes body; and that their own bodies -are the result of the efforts of their spirits to manifest themselves. -Such outrageous absurdities might be left to contempt, but for the -consequences in practice. There is a school in Boston, (a large one, -when I left the city,) conducted on this principle. The master -presupposes his little pupils possessed of all truth, in philosophy and -morals; and that his business is to bring it out into expression; to -help the outward life to conform to the inner light; and, especially, to -learn of these enlightened babes, with all humility. Large exposures -might be made of the mischief this gentleman is doing to his pupils by -relaxing their bodies, pampering their imaginations, over-stimulating -the consciences of some, and hardening those of others; and by his -extraordinary management, offering them every inducement to falsehood -and hypocrisy. His system can be beneficial to none, and must be ruinous -to many. If he should retain any pupils long enough to make a full trial -of his methods with them, those who survive the neglect of bodily -exercises and over-excitement of brain, will be found the first to throw -off moral restraints, on perceiving at length that their moral guide has -been employing their early years in the pursuit of shadows and the -contempt of realities. There is, however, little fear of such a full -trial being made. A few weeks are enough to convince sensible parents of -the destructiveness of such a system; and it will probably issue in -being one of the fancies of the day at Boston; and little heard of -anywhere else. - -The fundamental principle is, however, working mischief in other -directions. It affects, very unfortunately, the welfare of the blind; -and yet more of the deaf and dumb who are taken under the benevolent -protection of society. As long as there are many of the most -distinguished members of the community who hold that the interior being -of these sufferers is in a perfect state, only the means of -manifestation being deficient; that their training is to proceed on the -supposition of their being possessed of a complete set of intellectual -and moral intuitions; and that they therefore only need to be furnished -with types, being already full of the things typified; and even that -they have the advantage over others in the exclusion of false and vulgar -associations,--the pupils will have little chance of benefit beyond the -protection and comfort secured to them in their appropriate -institutions. In the conversation of those who verbally pitied their -case, I could frequently trace an inward persuasion that the deaf and -dumb were better off than those who could hear and speak: and there were -few who discovered, while admiring the supposed allegorical discourse or -compositions of the pupils, that the whole was little more than a set of -images, absolutely empty of the abstract truth which they were supposed -to involve. I had witnessed this tremendous error in the teaching of the -deaf and dumb elsewhere; but I little thought ever to meet with it -beyond the confines of the particular, and almost inscrutable case under -notice. In the school above mentioned, however, error nourishes, blessed -as the pupils are with their five senses and the instrument of speech. - -Putting aside such cases of eccentricity, the children of America have -the advantage of the best possible early discipline; that of activity -and self-dependence. The grand defect is a subsequent one. Education is -not made appropriate to the aims of its subjects. All, whatever may be -their views in life, are educated nearly alike up to nineteen. This is -an absurdity copied from the old world, but unworthy of the good sense -of the new. It will be rectified when the lives of rich men become as -steadily aimed as those of citizens who have their way to make. Young -men of fortune, who may have a taste for science or literature, do not -yield themselves up to these pursuits, because "there is yet no -scientific or literary class for them to fall into." Where is the -necessity to them of such a class to fall into? And, supposing the -necessity, how is there ever to be such a class, unless somebody begins -to supply the elements?--It will be done. No restraint of custom will -long be powerful enough to curb the force of intellectual tendency. The -passion for truth, the craving for knowledge, are ever found, in the -long run, irrepressible by the incubus of conventionalism. A genius will -arise, now here, now there, to startle society out of its rules and -precedents: and when America has had, now a philosopher and now a poet, -who, like Schiller's "true artist," shall "look upwards to his dignity -and his calling, and not downwards to his happiness and his wants," -society will enlarge its discipline, and become a great preparatory -school for the fruition of whatever the hand of man findeth to do, or -his understanding to investigate, or his imagination to reveal. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[27] See Appendix D. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -SUFFERERS. - - "One of the universal sentiments which Christianity has deeply - imbedded in the human heart is that of the _natural equality of - men_.... It has produced the spectacle, which I believe to be - peculiar to christian times, of one class uplifting another, the - happy toiling for the miserable, the free vindicating the rights of - the oppressed. With all the noble examples of disinterested - friendship and patriotism, which ancient history affords, I can - remember no approach to that _wholesale compassion_, that general - action of one order of society on another, that system of - _benevolent agitation_ in behalf of powerless and forgotten - suffering, which characterises the history of modern times." - - _Rationale of Religious Inquiry._ - - -The idea of travelling in America was first suggested to me by a -philanthropist's saying to me, "Whatever else may be true about the -Americans, it is certain that they have got at principles of justice and -mercy in the treatment of the least happy classes of society which we -may be glad to learn from them. I wish you would go and see what they -are." I did so; and the results of my investigation have not been -reserved for this short chapter, but are spread over the whole of my -book. The fundamental democratic principles on which American society is -organised, are those "principles of justice and mercy" by which the -guilty, the ignorant, the needy, and the infirm, are saved and blessed. -The charity of a democratic society is heart-reviving to witness; for -there is a security that no wholesale oppression is bearing down the -million in one direction, while charity is lifting up the hundred in -another. Generally speaking, the misery that is seen is all that exists: -there is no paralysing sense of the hopelessness of setting up -individual benevolence against social injustice. If the community has -not yet arrived at the point at which all communities are destined to -arrive, of perceiving guilt to be infirmity, of obviating punishment, -ignorance, and want, still the Americans are more blessed than others, -in the certainty that they have far less superinduced misery than -societies abroad, and are using wiser methods than others for its -alleviation. In a country where social equality is the great principle -in which all acquiesce, and where, consequently, the golden rule is -suggested by every collision between man and man, neglect of misery is -almost as much out of the question as the oppression from which most -misery springs. - -In the treatment of the guilty, America is beyond the rest of the world, -exactly in proportion to the superiority of her political principles. I -was favoured with the confidence of a great number of the prisoners in -the Philadelphia penitentiary where absolute seclusion is the principle -of punishment. Every one of these prisoners, (none of them being aware -of the existence of any other,) told me that he was under obligations to -those who had the charge of him for treating him "with respect." The -expression struck me much as being universally used by them. Some -explained the contrast between this method of punishment and -imprisonment in the old prisons, copied from those of Europe; where -criminals are herded together, and treated like anything but men and -citizens. Others said that though they had done a wrong thing, and were -rightly sequestered on that ground, they ought not to have any farther -punishment inflicted upon them; and that it was the worst of punishments -not to be treated with the respect due to men. In a community where -criminals feel and speak thus, human rights cannot but be, at length, as -much regarded in the infliction of punishment as in its other -arrangements. - -Much yet remains to be done, to this end. An enormous amount of wrong -must remain in a society where the elaboration of a vast apparatus for -the infliction of human misery, like that required by the system of -solitary imprisonment, is yet a work of mercy. Milder and juster methods -of treating moral infirmity will succeed when men shall have learned to -obviate the largest possible amount of it. In the meantime, I am -persuaded that this is the best method of punishment which has yet been -tried. Much as the prisoners suffer from the dreary solitude, cheered -only by their labour and the occasional visits of official -superintendents, they testified, without exception and without concert, -to their preference of this over all other methods of punishment. The -grounds of preference were, that they could preserve their self-respect, -in the first place; and, in the next, their chance in society on their -release. They leave the prison with the recompense of their extra labour -in their pockets, and without the fear of being waylaid by vicious old -companions, or hunted from employment to employment by those whose -interest it is to deprive them of a chance of establishing a character. -There is no evidence, at present, that solitary imprisonment, _with -labour_, is more injurious to health than any other condition which is -attended with anxiety of mind. The Philadelphia prisoners certainly -appeared to me to be more healthy-looking than those at Auburn, or at -any other prison I visited. - -There is at present a deficiency in the religious ministrations of the -prison. This is a fact which, I believe, has only to be made known to -cease to be true. Among the clergy of all denominations in Philadelphia, -there must be many who would contrive to afford their services in turn, -if they were fully aware how much they are needed. I know of no -direction that can be taken by charity with such certainty of success as -visiting the solitary prisoner. I think it far from desirable that -prisoners should be visited for the express purpose of giving them -religious, and no other, instruction and sympathy. The great object is -to occupy the prisoner's mind with things which interest him most; to -keep up his sympathies, and nourish his human affections; and especially -to promote the activity and cheerfulness of his mind. His situation is -such,--he is so driven back upon the realities of life in his own mind, -that the danger is of his accepting religion as a temporary solace, of -his separating it in idea from active life, and craving for the most -exciting kind of it; so as that when he returns to the world, he will -discard it as something suiting his prison-life, but no longer needed, -no longer appropriate. If, keeping this in view, a very few good men and -women of Philadelphia would go sometimes to spend an hour with a -prisoner, honourably observing the rules, telling no news, but -cheerfully conversing on the prisoner's affairs,--his work, his family, -his prospects on coming out, the books he reads, &c.--if they would -carry him good and entertaining books, and if religious ones, only those -of a moderate and cheerful character, (such being indeed not easy to be -found,)--these friendly visitors could scarcely fail of restoring, more -or less completely, the moral health of the objects of their -benevolence. None who have not tried can imagine the ease with which -sufferers so placed are influenced; in the absence of all that is -pernicious, and in absolute dependence, as they are, on the sympathy of -those who will be kind to them. If watchful observance were united with -common prudence and kindness, I believe that a prisoner of five years -would rarely re-enter society unqualified for the discharge of his -duties there. It must be remembered that the criminals of the United -States are rarely the depraved, brutish creatures that fill the prisons -of the old world. Even in the old world, I have no doubt that every -prison visitor has been conscious, on first conversing privately with a -criminal, of a feeling of surprise at finding him so human: but in -America, convicts are even more like other men. The reason of my -visiting them, as I told them, was to satisfy myself about the causes of -crime in a country where there is almost an absence of that want which -occasions the greater proportion of social offences in England. Sooner -or later, all told me their stories in full: and I found that in every -case some domestic misery had been the poison of their lives. A harsh -step-mother, an unfaithful wife, a jilting mistress, an intemperate son -or father,--these were the miseries at home which sent them out to -drink: drinking brought on murder, or caused vicious wants, which must -be supplied by theft. The stories, infinitely varied in their -circumstances, were all alike in their moral. - -I do not like the principle of the Auburn prison: and I am confident -that very little effectual reformation can take place under it. The -disadvantages of the prisoners being waylaid and dogged on their -discharge are very great; but there are some within the prison quite as -serious. The spy system is abominable, in whatever light it is viewed. -It is the deepest of insults; and if there be a case rather than another -in which insult is to be avoided, it is where a reformation is desired. -The great point to be gained with the criminal is to regenerate -self-respect. A virtuous man may preserve his self-respect under the -eyes of a spy; (though even he is in some danger); but a morally infirm -man can never thus acquire it. Arrangements should be made for his -secure custody and harmless outward conduct, and then he should be left -to himself. And what is the purpose of the spying,--of the loop-holes to -peep through, and the moccasins which are to make the tread of the spies -as stealthy as that of a cat? To detect talking; talking subjecting a -man to the lash. Talking is an innocent act; and, in the case of men -secluded from the world and their families, and all that has hitherto -interested them, an unavoidable act. They ought to talk; and they do, in -spite of spies, governor, and the whip. They learn to murmur -intelligibly behind their teeth, without moving the lips, and to take -advantage of the briefest instants when the superintendent turns his -back. It is surprising to me that any effectual reformation can be -looked for from men who, convicted of grave crimes, have the prohibition -to speak set up before their minds as the chief circumstance and -interest of their lives for five, seven, or ten years. Their interest in -it makes it the chief circumstance. How the disordered being is to be -rectified, how the prostrated conscience is to be reinstated, while an -innocent and necessary act is thus erected into an offence, I leave -those who are most versed in moral proportions to decide. I do not -believe in the possibility of effectual reformation in any but a few -cases, under such a discipline. - -The will of the majority has not yet wrought out the right practice -from good principles, in two cases which regard the treatment of the -guilty: and great evil arises in the interval. It is extremely -difficult, in some parts of the States, and with regard to some -particular offences, to get the laws enforced against offenders. In -those parts of the States where personal conflicts are countenanced by -opinion, offences against the person go too often unpunished; elsewhere, -riot is passed over without notice; and in some few places, the most -heinous crimes of all are nearly certain to be got over without the -conviction of the offender. The impunity of riot arises from the -reliance society has on the moral sense of the whole: a reliance very -honourable in itself, but found of late to be inadequate under the -pressure of such a crisis as that of the anti-slavery question. Nothing -can be more honourable to the people, than the fact that they have been -safe and virtuous under the superintendence of principle, while the laws -have slept so long, that it is now found difficult to put them in force: -but now that the time has come for a conflict of classes and opinions, -the time has also come for the law to be vigilant and inexorable. The -frequent impunity of the most serious crimes arises from the growing -enmity of opinion to the punishment of death. There can be little doubt -that in a short time capital punishments will be abolished throughout -the northern States: and if this is to be done, the sooner it is done -the better: for the present impunity is a tremendous evil. - -In passing the City Hall of one of the northern cities with a friend, I -asked what was the meaning of a great crowd that was about the doors, -and even clustered on the windows of the building. My friend told me, -that a young man was being examined on the charge of being the murderer -in a most aggravated case, which had been related to me the day before. -I observed, that no one seemed to have any doubt of his guilt. She -replied, that there never was a clearer case; but that he would be -acquitted: the examination and trial were a mere form, of which every -one knew the conclusion beforehand. The people did not choose to see any -more hanging; and till the law was so altered as to allow an alternative -of punishment, no conviction for a capital offence would be obtainable. -I asked, on what pretence the young man would be got off, if the -evidence against him was as clear as was represented. She said, some one -would be found to swear an alibi: the young man would be wholly -disgraced, and would probably set out westwards the morning after his -acquittal. I watched the progress of the case. The trial was a long one. -There was no doubt of the suppression of large portions of the evidence -against him. A tradesman swore an alibi: the young man was thereupon -acquitted; and next morning he was on his way to the west. - -On the principle that punishment should be reformatory, the practice of -pardoning criminals has gone to far too great an extent, from the belief -of reformation in each particular case. The consequence is very -injurious. A sentence of life-imprisonment is generally understood to -mean imprisonment for a shorter term than if ten or seven years had been -named. Every one of the prisoners I conversed with was in anxious -expectation of a pardon. In the cases of those who were in for five -years, and who I knew would not be pardoned, I reasoned the matter; and -found that the fact of all their fellow-prisoners having the same -expectation with themselves, made a strong impression. They were, amidst -their dreadful disappointment, easily convinced: but I could not but -mourn that they did not learn the philosophy of the case in society, -rather than in prison. - -Whenever the abolition of the punishment of death takes place, it will -be essential to the safety of virtue and society, that it should be -understood that the practice of pardoning is, except on rare and -specified occasions, to cease; and that punishment is to be certain in -proportion to its justice. - - -The pauperism of the United States is, to the observation of a stranger, -nothing at all. To residents, it is an occasion for the exercise of -their ever-ready charity. It is confined to the ports, emigrants making -their way back into the country, the families of intemperate or disabled -men, and unconnected women, who depend on their own exertions. The -amount altogether is far from commensurate with the charity of the -community; and it is to be hoped that the curse of a legal charity, at -least to the able-bodied, will be avoided in a country where it -certainly cannot become necessary within any assignable time. I was -grieved to see the magnificent pauper asylum near Philadelphia, made to -accommodate luxuriously 1200 persons; and to have its arrangements -pointed out to me, as yielding far more comfort to the inmates than the -labourer can secure at home by any degree of industry and prudence. -There are so many persons in the city, however, who see the badness of -the principle, and regret the erection, that I trust a watch will be -maintained over the establishment, and its corridors kept as empty as -possible. In Boston, the principles of true charity have been better -acted upon. There, many of the clergymen,--among the rest, Father -Taylor, the seaman's friend,--are in possession of wisdom, derived from -the mournful experience of England; and seem likely to save the city -from the misery of a debasing pauperism among any class of its -inhabitants. I know no large city where there is so much mutual -helpfulness, so little neglect and ignorance of the concerns of other -classes, as in Boston: and I cannot but anticipate that from thence the -world may derive the brightest lesson that has yet been offered it, in -the duties of the rich towards the poor. If the agents of the -benevolence of the wealthy will but be scrupulously careful to avoid all -that mental encroachment and moral interference, which have but too -generally ruined the efficacy of charity, and go on to exhibit the -devotion of the philanthropist, without the inquisitiveness and -authoritativeness of the priest, they may deserve the thanks of the -whole of society, as well as the attachment of those whom they befriend. - -In Boston, an excellent plan has been adopted for the prevention of -fraud on the part of paupers, and the mutual enlightenment and guidance -of the agents of charity. A weekly meeting is held of delegates, from -all societies engaged in the relief of the poor. The delegates compare -lists of the persons relieved, so as to ascertain that none are -fraudulently receiving from more than one society: they discuss and -investigate doubtful cases; extend indulgence to those of peculiar -hardship; and, in short, secure all the advantages of co-operation. -Perhaps there are no cities in England but London too large for a -somewhat similar organisation: and its adoption would be an act of great -wisdom. - -In the south, I was rather amused at a boast which was made to me of the -small amount of pauperism. As the plague distances all lesser diseases, -so does slavery obviate pauperism. In a society of two classes, where -the one class are all capitalists, and the other property, there can be -no pauperism but through the vice or accidental disability of members -of the first. But I was beset by many an anxious thought about the fate -of disabled slaves. Masters are, of course, bound to take care of their -slaves for life. There are doubtless many masters who guard the comfort -of their helpless negroes all the more carefully from the sense of the -entire dependence of the poor creatures upon their mercy: but, there are -few human beings fit to be trusted with absolute power: and while there -are many who abuse the authority they have over slaves who are not -helpless, it is fearful to think what may be the fate of those who are -purely burdensome. I observed, here and there, an idiot slave. Those -whom I saw were kindly treated, humoured, and indulged. These were the -only cases of natural infirmity that I witnessed among the negroes; and -the absence of others struck me. At Columbia, South Carolina, I was -taken by a benevolent physician to see the State Lunatic Asylum, which -might be considered his work; so diligent had he been in obtaining -appropriations for the object from the legislature, and afterwards in -organising its plans, with great wisdom and humanity. When we were -looking out from the top of this building, watching the patients in -their airing grounds, I observed that no people of colour were visible -in any part of the establishment. I inquired whether negroes were as -subject to insanity as whites. Probably; but no means were known to have -been taken to ascertain the fact. From the violence of their passions, -there could be no doubt that insanity must exist among them. Were such -insane negroes ever seen?--No one present had ever seen any.--Where were -they then?--It was some time before I could get a clear answer to this: -but my friend the physician said, at length, that he had no doubt they -were kept in out-houses, chained to logs, to prevent their doing harm. -No member of society is charged with the duty of investigating cases of -disease and suffering among slaves who cannot make their own state -known. They are wholly at the mercy of their owners. The physician told -me that it was his intention, now he had accomplished his object of -establishing a lunatic asylum for the whites, to persevere no less -strenuously till he obtained one for the blacks. He will probably not -find this a very difficult object to effect; for the interest of -masters, as well as their humanity, is concerned in having an asylum -provided by the State for their useless or mischievous negroes. - -The Lunatic Asylums of the United States are an honour to the country, -to judge by those which I saw. The insane in Pennsylvania hospital, -Philadelphia, should be removed to some more light and cheerful abode, -and be much more fully supplied with employment, and with stimulus to -engage in it. I was less pleased with their condition than with that of -any other insane patients whom I saw. The institution at Worcester, -Massachusetts, is admirably managed under Dr. Woodward. So was that at -Charlestown, near Boston, by Dr. Lee; a young physician who has since -died, mourned by his grateful patients, and by all who had their welfare -at heart. The establishment at Bloomingdale, near New York, is of -similar excellence. The only great deficiency that I am aware of is one -which belongs to most lunatic asylums, and which it does not rest with -the superintendent to supply;--a want of sufficient employment. Every -exertion is made to provide a variety of amusements, and to encourage -all little undertakings that may be suggested: but regular, important -business is what is wanted. It is to be hoped that in the establishment -of all such institutions, the provision of an ample quantity of land -will be one of the prime considerations. Watchful and ingenious kindness -may do much to alleviate the miseries of the insane; but if cure is -sought, I believe it is agreed by those who know best, that regular -employment, with a reasonable object, is indispensable. - -The Asylum for the Blind at Philadelphia was a young institution at the -time I saw it; but it pleased me more than any I ever visited: more than -the larger one at Boston; whose institution and conduct are, however, -honourable to all concerned in it. The reason of my preference of the -Philadelphia one is that the pupils there were more active and cheerful -than those of Boston. The spirits of the inmates are the one infallible -test of the management of an institution for the blind. The fault of -such in general is that mirth is not sufficiently cultivated, and -religion too exclusively so. It should ever be remembered that religion -comes out of the mind, and not in at the eye or ear; and that the truest -way of cultivating religion is to exercise the faculties, and enlarge -the stock of ideas to the utmost. The method of printing for the blind, -introduced with such admirable ingenuity and success into the American -institutions, I should like to see employed to bring within the reach of -the blind the most amusing works that can be found. I should like to see -it made an object with benevolent persons to go and give the pupils a -hearty laugh occasionally, by reading droll books, and telling amusing -stories. The one thing which the born blind want most is to have their -cheerlessness removed, to be drawn out of their abstractions, and -exercised in play on the greatest possible variety of familiar objects -and events. They should hear no condolence: their friends should keep -their sympathetic sorrow to themselves; and explain, cheerfully and -fully, the allusions to visual objects which must occur in all reading -and conversation. It grieves me to hear the hymns and other compositions -put into the mouths of blind pupils, all full of lamentation and -resignation about not seeing the stars and the face of nature. Such -sorrow is for those who see to feel on their behalf; or for those who -have lost sight: not for those who never saw. Put into their mouths, it -becomes cant. When a roving sea-captain tells his children of the -glories of oriental scenery which they are destined never to behold, -does he teach them to sigh, and struggle to submit patiently to their -destiny of staying at home? Does he not rather make them take pleasure -in mirthfully and eagerly learning what he can teach? The face of nature -is a foreign land to the born blind. Let them be taught all that can -possibly be conveyed to them, and in the most spirited manner that they -can bear. There is a nearer approach to the realisation of this -principle of teaching the blind in the Philadelphia house than I ever -saw elsewhere. It would be enough to cheer a misanthrope to see a little -German boy there, picked up out of the streets, dull, neglected, and -depressed; but within a few months, standing in the centre of the group -of musicians, fiddling and stamping time with all his might, and quite -ready to obey every instigation to laugh. Mr. Friedlander, the tutor, is -much to be congratulated on what he has already done. - -It may be worth suggesting here that while some of the thinkers of -America, like many of the same classes in England, are mourning over the -low state of the Philosophy of Mind in their country, society is -neglecting a most important means of obtaining the knowledge requisite -for the acquisition of such philosophy. Scholars are embracing -alternately the systems of Kant, of Fichte, of Spurzheim, of the Scotch -school; or abusing or eulogising Locke asking who Hartley was, or -weaving a rainbow arch of transcendentalism, which is to comprehend the -whole that lies within human vision, but sadly liable to be puffed away -in dark vapour with the first breeze of reality; scholars are thus -labouring at a system of mental philosophy on any but the experimental -method, while the materials for experiment lie all around and within -them. If they object, as is common, the difficulty of experimenting on -their conscious selves, there is the mental pathology of their blind -schools, and the asylums for the deaf and dumb. I am aware that they put -away the phenomena of insanity as irrelevant; but the same objections do -not pertain to the other two classes. Let the closet speculations be -pursued with all vigour: but if there were joined with these a close and -unwearied study of the phenomena of the minds of persons deficient in a -sense, and especially of those precluded from the full use of language, -the world might fairly look for an advance in the science of Mind equal -to that which medical science owes to pathology. It will not probably -lodge us in any final and total result, any more than medicine and -anatomy promise to ascertain the vital principle: but it will doubtless -yield us some points of certainty, in aid of the fluctuating -speculations amidst which we are now tossed, while few can be found to -agree even upon matters of so-called universal consciousness. I should -like to see a few philosophers interested in ascertaining and recording -the manifestations of some progressive minds, peculiar from infirmity, -for a series of years. If any such in America, worthy to undertake the -task, from having strength enough to put away theory and prejudice, and -record only what is really manifested to them, should be disposed to -take my hint, I hope they will not wait for a philosophical "class to -fall into." - -I was told at Washington, with a smile half satirical and half -complacent, that "the people of New England do good by mania." I watched -accordingly for symptoms of this second or third-rate method of putting -benevolence into practice. The result was, that I was convinced that the -people of New England, and of the whole country, do good in all manner -of ways; some better and some worse, according to their light. I met -with pious ladies who make clothes for the poor, but who took work (her -means of bread) out of the hands of a sempstress, (who had three -children,) because her husband was in prison. They told me it would be -encouraging vice to have anything to do with the families of persons who -had committed offences: and when I asked how reformed offenders were to -put their reformation in practice, I was told that if I would employ -anybody who had been in prison, I deserved the censure of society. The -matter ended in the sempstress (a good young woman) having to go home to -her father's house. I met with others, both men and women, who make it -the business of their lives, or of their leisure from yet more pressing -duties, to seek out the sinners of society, and give them, not threats, -nor scorn, nor lectures, but sympathy and help. So does light vary in -this glimmering age; so eloquently does the conduct of Jesus speak to -some, while to others it seems to preach in an unknown tongue. With -regard to some methods of charity, nothing could exceed the ingenuity, -shrewdness, forethought, and determination with which they were managed: -in others, I was reminded of what I had been told about mania. - -In regarding the Temperance movement, the word perpetually occurred to -me. How the vice of intemperance ever reached the pass it did in a -country where there is no excuse of want on the one hand, or of habits -of conviviality on the other, was sometimes attempted to be explained -to me; but never to my satisfaction. Much may be said upon it, which -cannot find a place here. Certain it is that the vice threatened to -poison society. It was as remarkable as licentiousness of other kinds -ever was in Paris, or at Vienna. Men who doubted the goodness of the -principle of Association in opposition to moral evil, were yet carried -away to countenance it by seeing nothing else that was to be done. Some -few of these foresaw that, as every man must be virtuous in himself and -by himself; as the principle of temperance in a man is incommunicable; -as no two men's temptations are alike; and as, especially in this case, -the temptations of the movers were immeasurably weaker than those of the -mass to be wrought upon, there could be no radical truth, no pervading -sincerity to rely upon. They foresaw what had happened; that there would -be a vast quantity of perjury, of false and hasty promising, of lapse, -and of secret, solitary drinking; that if some waverers were saved, -others would be plunged into hypocrisy in addition to their -intemperance; that schisms must arise out of the ignorance of bigots, -which would cause as much scandal to good morals as intemperance itself; -and that, worst of all, this method was the introduction of new and -fatal perils to freedom of conscience. A few foresaw all this; but a -very few had strength to resist the movement. A sort of reproach was -cast upon those who refused to join, like that which is now visited upon -such as adhere to the principle on which they first joined;--a kind of -insinuation that their temperance is not thorough.--What have the -consequences already been? - -The amount of visible intemperance is actually lessened prodigiously; -perhaps to the full extent anticipated by the originators of the -movement. Spirit-shops have been shut up by hundreds; some few -drunkards have been reformed; and very large numbers of young men, -entering life, are now sober citizens, who seemed in danger of becoming -a curse to society. The question is whether the causes of the preceding -intemperance have been discovered and obviated. If not, there is every -reason to expect that the control of opinion over them will be but -temporary; and that the late sweeping and garnishing will give place to -a state of things at least as bad as before. - -At present, the effect of example is perishing, day by day. The example -of those who have not pledged themselves is the only one morally -regarded; all other persons being known to be bound. Virtue under a vow -has no spiritual force. The more reasonable of those who are pledged -have confined their pledge to the distinct case of not touching -distilled liquors. They have the utmost difficulty in maintaining their -ground, as examples, (their sole object,) under the assaults of bigots -who complain that they are not "getting on;" and who, on their part, -have got on so far as to refuse the communion to persons who will not -abjure as they have done; to banish the sacramental wine; and to forbid -malt liquors, and even coffee, in taverns and private houses. The -superstition,--the attachment to the form without the spirit,--is -fearfully revealed upon occasion. A man was brought dead drunk into a -watch-house; and before the magistrate next morning, persisted that he -could not have been drunk, because he was a member of a Temperance -Society. The subservience of conscience to control is as necessary and -remarkable. For instance, a gentleman, whose wife, in a state of -imminent danger, was ordered brandy, ran and knocked up his minister to -get leave before he would procure any for her. It is true that these -are extreme cases: but the effect of such institutions upon weak minds -must be studied, as it is for weak minds that they are created. - -My own convictions are that Associations, excellent as they are for -mechanical objects, are not fit instruments for the achievement of moral -aims: that there is yet no proof that the principle of self-restraint -has been exalted and strengthened in the United States by the Temperance -movement, while the already too great regard to opinion, and -subservience to spiritual encroachment have been much increased: that, -therefore, great as are the visible benefits of the institution, it may -at length appear that they have been dearly purchased. I have reason to -think that numbers of persons in the United States, especially -enlightened physicians, (who have the best means of knowledge,) are of -the same opinion. This is confirmed by the fact that there is a -spreading dislike of Associations for moral, while there is a growing -attachment to them for mechanical, objects. The majority will show to -those who may be living at the time what is the right. - -Though scarcely necessary, it may be well to indicate the distinction -between Temperance and Abolition societies with regard to this -principle. The bond of Temperance societies is a pledge or vow -respecting the personal conduct of the pledger. The bond of the -Abolitionists is agreement in a principle which is to be proposed and -exhibited by mechanical means,--lecturing, printing, raising money for -benevolent purposes. Nobody is bound in thought, word, or action. There -have been a few Temperance societies which have avoided pledges, and -confined their exertions to spreading knowledge on the pathology of -intemperance, and its effects on the morals of the individual and of -society. Associations confined to these objects are probably not only -harmless, but highly useful. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -UTTERANCE. - - "A country which has no national literature, or a literature too - insignificant to force its way abroad, must always be, to its - neighbours, at least in every important spiritual respect, an - unknown and misestimated country. Its towns may figure on our maps; - its revenues, population, manufactures, political connexions, may - be recorded in statistical books: but the character of the people - has no symbol and no voice; we cannot know them by speech and - discourse, but only by mere sight and outward observation of their - manners and procedure. Now, if both sight and speech, if both - travellers and native literature, are found but ineffectual in this - respect, how incalculably more so the former alone!" - - _Edinburgh Review._--Vol. xlvi. p. 309. - - -There is but one method by which most nations can express the general -mind: by their literature. Popular books are the ideas of the people put -into language by an individual. To a self-governing people there are two -methods open: legislation is the expression of the popular mind, as well -as literature. - -If the national mind of America be judged of by its legislation, it is -of a very high order; so much less violence to the first principles of -morals is exhibited there than in any other social arrangements that -the world has yet seen. If the American nation be judged of by its -literature, it may be pronounced to have no mind at all. - -The two appearances are, however, reconcilable. The mind of a nation -grows, like that of an individual; and its growth follows somewhat the -same course. There may be in each a mind, vigorous and full of promise, -unerring in the recognition of true principles, but apt to err in the -application of them; ardent in admiration of all faithful and beautiful -expression of mind by others; but not yet knowing how to utter itself. -The youthful philosopher or poet is commonly a metaphysician before he -indicates what he is ultimately to become. In the age of vivid -consciousness, before he is twenty, the invisible and intangible world -of reality opens to him with a distinctness and lustre which make him in -after time almost envy himself his youthful years. In this bright -spiritual world, much is as indisputably revealed to him as material -objects to the bodily eye: principles in full prominence; and a long -perspective of certainties melting imperceptibly into probabilities; and -lost at last in the haze of possibility, bright with the meridian sun of -faith. To him - - - "The primal duties shine aloft, like stars: - The charities that soothe and heal and bless - Lie scattered at the feet of man, like flowers." - - -But of all this he can, for some time, express nothing. He burns with -convictions, but can testify them to others only by recognising the -expression which others have obtained the power of affording. If he -makes the attempt, he is either unintelligible or trite. - -This appears to me to be the stage at which the mind of America has -arrived. That the legislation of the country is, on the whole, so -noble, is owing to the happy circumstance (a natural one in the order of -Providence, by which great agents rise up when a great work has to be -done) that accomplished individuals were standing ready to help the -people to an expression of its first convictions. The earliest -convictions of a nation so circumstanced are of their fundamental and -common rights: and the expression must be legislation. This has been -done so well by the Americans that there is every reason to anticipate -that more will follow; since principles are so linked together that it -is scarcely possible to grasp one without touching another. Accordingly, -though there is no contribution yet to the Philosophy of Mind from -America, many thinking men are feeling after its principles amidst the -accumulations of the old world: though no light has been given to -society from the American press on the principles of politics, Americans -may be heard quoting Burke from end to end of the country, infallibly -separating the democratic aspirations of his genius from the -aristocratic perversions of his temper and education: though America has -yet witnessed no creation, either in literature or the arts, and cannot -even distinguish a creation from a combination, imitation, or -delineation, yet the power of admiration which she shows in hailing that -which is far inferior to what she needs,--the vigour with which, after -incessant disappointment, she applies herself to the produce of her -press, to find the imperishable in what is just as transient as all that -has gone before,--is a prophecy that a creator will arise. The faith -that America is to have an artist of some order is universal: and such a -faith is a sufficient guarantee of the event. Every ephemeron of a -tale-writer, a dramatist, novelist, lyrist, and sonnetteer, has been -taken by one or another for the man. But he has not come out of his -silence yet; and it is likely that it may still be long before he does. -Every work of genius is, as has been said, a mystery till it appears. -What its principles and elaboration may be, it is for one man only--its -author--to conceive: but it is plain what it will not be. It will not -be, more or less, a copy of anything now existing. It will not be a mere -delineation of what passes before the bodily eye, unillumined and -unvivified by the light and movement of principles, of which forms are -but the exponents. It will not be an exhibition of the relations which -conventionalisms mutually bear, however fine may be the perception, and -however clever the presentation may be. Further than this American -literature has, as yet, produced nothing. - -There is another reason, besides those which have been mentioned, why it -would be highly unjust and injurious to conclude that there is nothing -more in the nation's heart and brain than has come out before the eye. -The American nation is made up of contributions from almost all other -civilised nations: and, though the primary truths of God, and the -universal characteristics of Man are common to them all, there are -infinite diversities to be blended into unity before a national -character can arise; before a national mind can be seen to actuate the -mass of society. It is probable that the first great work of genius that -appears will be the most powerful instrument for effecting this blending -and reconciling: but the appearance of such a work is doubtless retarded -in proportion to the checks and repression of social sympathy, caused by -the diversity of influences under which society proceeds. The tuning for -the concert has begun; some captious persons are grumbling at the -discord; some inexperienced expectants take a wail here, and a flourish -there, to be music: but the hour has not struck. The leader has not yet -come to his place, to play the chord which shall bring the choral -response that must echo over the world. - -I saw the house which Berkeley built in Rhode Island,--built in the -particular spot where it is, that he might have to pass, in his rides, -over the hill which lies between it and Newport, and feast himself with -the tranquil beauty of the sea, the bay and the downs, as they appear -from the ridge of the eminence. I saw the pile of rocks, with its ledges -and recesses, where he is said to have meditated and composed his -"Minute Philosopher." It was at first melancholy to visit these his -retreats, and think how empty the land still is of the philosophy he -loved. But the more one sees of the people, and the less of their books, -the stronger grows the hope of the stranger. One finds the observation -of many turned inwards. Fragments of spiritual visions occur to one and -another. Though some dogmatise, and others wait for revelation, and none -seem to remember the existence of the experimental method, still there -is a reaching after the Philosophy of Mind. At Harvard University, the -chair of Mental Philosophy has been vacant for above eight years: it -having been the custom formerly to indoctrinate the students with a -certain number of chapters of Locke; and no man being now found hardy -enough to undertake to discharge the duty thus; and the way not being -yet clear to any one who would lay open the whole field of this -philosophy, and let the students gather what they could out of it. Such -impediments do not exist beyond the walls; and many young minds are at -work without guidance, to whom guidance, however acceptable, is not -necessary. If the lectures which are given to young ladies, who are -carefully misinformed from Reid and Stewart,--if the reviews and -panegyrics of Dr. Brown, hazarded without the slightest conception of -the nature and extent of his meaning, are likely to throw the observer -into despair;--if he is amazed to see a coterie disputing upon the -ultimate principles perceived by Pure Reason, while he finds within -himself no evidence of the existence of this Pure Reason, and believes -that if it did universally exist, ultimate principles could admit of no -dispute,--he is yet cheered by finding, not only eagerness in the -pursuit of the philosophical ideas of others, but traces of some -originality of speculation. There is a little book, by a Swedenborgian, -called "The Growth of the Mind," which is, I believe unquestionably, an -original work. From its originality, and the beauty of some of its -images, and yet more of its exhibition of certain relations, it is -highly interesting, though it is not found to command that extensive -assent, which is the only guarantee of the soundness of works on the -Philosophy of Mind. Mankind may demur for ages to the earth being round, -and to its moving through space; but where the primary appeal, as in the -Philosophy of Mind, must be to consciousness, works which do not command -assent to their fundamental positions are failures as philosophy, though -they may have inferior merits and attractions. - -The best productions of American literature are, in my opinion, the -tales and sketches in which the habits and manners of the people of the -country are delineated, with exactness, with impartiality of temper, and -without much regard to the picturesque. Such are the tales of Judge Hall -of Cincinnati. Such are the tales by the author of Swallow Barn; where, -however, there is the addition of a good deal of humour, and a -subtraction of some of the truth. Miss Sedgwick's tales are of the -highest order of the three, from the moral beauty which they breathe. -This moral beauty is of a much finer character than the _bonhommie_ -which is the charm of Irving's pictures of manners. She sympathises -where he good-naturedly observes; she cheerily loves where he gently -quizzes. Miss Sedgwick's novels have this moral beauty too; as has -everything she touches: but they have great and irretrievable faults as -works of art. Tale-writing is her forte: and in this vocation, no one -who has observed her striking progression will venture to say what she -may not achieve. - -Among the host of tales which appear without the names of their authors -are three, which strike me as excellent in their several ways: "Allen -Prescott," containing the history of a New England boy, drawn to the -life, and in a just and amiable spirit: "The New England Housekeeper," -in which the _ménage_ of a rising young lawyer, with its fresh joys and -ludicrous perplexities, is humorously exhibited: and "Memoirs of a New -England Village Choir," a sketch of even higher merit. - -Irving's writings have had their meed. He has lived in the sunshine of -fame for many years, and in the pleasant consciousness that he has been -a benefactor to the present generation, by shedding some gentle, -benignant, and beguiling influences on many intervals of their rough and -busy lives. More than this he has probably not expected; and more than -this he does not seem likely to achieve. If any of his works live, it -will be his Columbus: and the later of his productions will be the first -forgotten. - -Cooper's novels have a very puny vitality. Some descriptions of scenery, -and some insulated adventures, have great merit: but it is not human -life that he presents. His female characters are far from human; and in -his selections of the chances of mortal existence, he usually chooses -the remotest. He has a vigour of perception and conception, which might -have made him, with study and discipline, a great writer. As it is, he -is, I believe, regarded as a much-regretted failure. - -The Americans have a poet. Bryant has not done anything like what he can -and will do: but he has done some things that will live. Those of his -poems which are the best known, or the most quoted, are smooth, sweet, -faithful descriptions of nature, such as his own imagination delights -in. I shall always remember the voice and manner with which he took up a -casual remark of mine, about sights to be seen in the pine-barrens. When -the visitors had all departed, his question "And what of the -pine-barrens?" revealed the spirit of the poet. Of his poems of this -class, "The Evening Wind" is to me the most delicious. But others,--"The -Past," and "Thanatopsis"--indicate another kind, and a higher degree of -power. If he would live for his gifts, if his future years could be -devoted to "clear poetical activity," "looking up," like the true -artist, "to his dignity and his calling," that dignity and that calling -may prove to be as lofty as they no doubt appeared in the reveries of -his boyhood; and he may be listened to as lovingly over the expanse of -future time, as he already is over that of the ocean. - -The Americans have also a historian of promise. Mr. Bancroft's History -of the United States is little more than begun: but the beginning is -characterised by an impartial and benevolent spirit, and by the -indications which it affords of the author's fidelity to democratic -principles; the two primary requisites in a historian of the republic. -The carrying on the work to a completion will be a task of great toil -and anxiety: but it will be a most important benefit to society at -large, if it fulfils its promise. - -The periodical literature of the United States is of a very low order. -I know of no review where anything like impartial, enlightened criticism -is to be found. The North American Review had once some reputation in -England; but it has sunk at home and abroad, less from want of talent -than of principle. If it has any principle whatever at present, it seems -to be to praise every book it mentions, and to fall in as dexterously as -possible with popular prejudice. The American Quarterly, published at -Philadelphia, is uninteresting from the triteness of its morals, and a -general dearth of thought, amidst a good deal of cleverness. The -Southern Review, published at Charleston,--sometime ago discontinued, -but I believe lately renewed,--is the best specimen of periodical -literature that the country has afforded. After the large deductions -rendered necessary by the faults of southern temper, this Review -maintains its place above the rest; a rank which is, I believe, -undisputed. - -I met with one gem in American literature, where I should have least -expected it:--in the Knickerbocker; a New York Monthly Magazine. Last -spring, a set of papers began to appear, called "Letters from -Palmyra,"[28] six numbers of which had been issued when I left the -country. I have been hitherto unable to obtain the rest: but if they -answer to the early portions, there can be no doubt of their being -shortly in everybody's hands, in both countries. These letters remain in -my mind, after repeated readings, as a fragment of lofty and tender -beauty. Zenobia, Longinus, and a long perspective of characters, live -and move in natural majesty; and the beauties of description and -sentiment appear to me as remarkable as the strong conception of -character, and of the age. If this anonymous fragment be not the work of -a true artist,--if the work, when entire, do not prove to be of a far -higher order than anything which has issued from the American -press,--its early admirers will feel yet more surprise than regret. - -It is continually said, on both sides of the water, and with much truth, -that the bad state of the laws of literary property is answerable for -some of the depression of American literature. It is true that the -imperfection of these laws inflicts various discouragements on American -writers, while it is disgracefully injurious to foreign authors. It is -true that American booksellers will not remunerate native authors while -they can purloin the works of British writers: and that the American -public has a strong disposition to listen to the utterance of the -English in preference to the prophets of their own country. It is true -that in America, where every man must work for his living, it is a -discouragement to the pursuit of literature that a living cannot, except -in a few rare cases, be got by it. But all this is no solution of the -fact of the non-existence of literature in America: which fact is indeed -no mystery. The present state of the law, by which the works of English -authors are pirated, undefended against mutilation, and made to drive -native works out of the market, is so conspicuously bad, that there is -every prospect of a speedy alteration: but there is nothing in the abuse -which can silence genius, if genius is wanting to speak. It ought by -this time to be understood that there is no power on earth which can -repress mental force of the highest kinds; which can stifle the -utterance of a thoroughly-moved spirit: certainly no power which is held -by piratical booksellers under defective laws. Such discouragement is -unjust and harsh; but it cannot be fatal. If a native genius, of a far -higher order than any English, had been existing in America for the last -ten years, he would have made himself heard ere this, and won his way -into the general mind and heart through a host of bookselling harpies, -and a chaos of lawlessness: he would have done this, even if it had been -necessary to give his dinner for paper, and sell his bed to pay the -printer;--expedients which it is scarcely conceivable that any author in -that thriving land should be driven to. The absence of protection to -foreign literary property is injurious enough, without its being made -answerable for the deficiency of literary achievement. The causes lie -deeper, and will not have ceased to operate till long after the law -shall have been made just in this particular. - -Some idea of the literary taste of the country may be arrived at through -a mention of what appeared to me to be the comparative popularity of -living or recent British authors. - -I heard no name so often as Mrs. Hannah More's. She is much better known -in the country than Shakspeare. This is, of course, an indication of the -religious taste of the people; and the fact bears only a remote relation -to literature. Scott is idolised; and so is Miss Edgeworth; but I think -no one is so much read as Mr. Bulwer. I question whether it is possible -to pass half a day in general society without hearing him mentioned. He -is not worshipped with the dumb self-surrendering reverence with which -Miss Edgeworth is regarded: but his books are in every house; his -occasional democratic aspirations are in every one's mouth; and the -morality of his books is a constant theme of discussion, from among the -most sensitive of the clergy down to the "thinking, thoughtless -school-boy" and his chum. The next name is, decidedly, Mrs. Jameson's. -She is altogether a favourite; and her "Characteristics of Women" is -the book which has made her so. At a considerable distance follows Mrs. -Hemans. Byron is scarcely heard of. Wordsworth lies at the heart of the -people. His name may not be so often spoken as some others; but I have -little doubt that his influence is as powerful as that of any whom I -have mentioned. It is less diffused, but stronger. His works are not to -be had at every store; but within people's houses they lie under the -pillow, or open on the work-box, or they peep out of the coat-pocket: -they are marked, re-marked, and worn. Coleridge is the delight of a few. -So is Lamb; regarded, however, with a more tender love. I heard Mr. -Hallam's name seldom, but always in a tone of extraordinary respect, and -from those whose respect is most valuable. - -No living writer, however, exercises so enviable a sway, as far as it -goes, as Mr. Carlyle. It is remarkable that an influence like his should -have been gained through scattered articles of review and speculation, -spread over a number of years and a variety of periodicals. The -Americans have his "Life of Schiller;" but it was not that. His articles -in the Edinburgh Review met the wants of several of the best minds in -the society of New England; minds weary of cant, and mechanical morals, -and seeking something truer to rest upon. The discipleship immediately -instituted is honourable to both. Mr. Carlyle's remarkable work, "Sartor -Resartus," issued piecemeal through Fraser's Magazine, has been -republished in America, and is exerting an influence proportioned to the -genuineness of the admiration it has excited. Perhaps this is the first -instance of the Americans having taken to their hearts an English work -which came to them anonymously, unsanctioned by any recommendation, and -even absolutely neglected at home. The book is acting upon them with -wonderful force. It has regenerated the preaching of more than one of -the clergy; and, I have reason to believe, the minds and lives of -several of the laity. It came as a benefactor to meet a pressing want; -how pressing, the benefited testify by the fervour of their gratitude. - -I know of no method by which the Americans could be assisted to utter -what they may have in them so good as one which has been proposed, but -which is not yet, I believe, in course of trial. It has been proposed -that a publication should be established, open to the perfectly full and -free discussion of every side of every question, within a certain -department of inquiry;--Social Morals, for instance. There are -difficulties at present in the way of presenting the whole of any -subject to the public mind; difficulties arising from the unprincipled -partiality of the common run of newspapers, the cautious policy of -reviewers, the fear of opinion entertained by individual writers, and -the impediments thrown in the way of free publication by the state of -the laws relating to literary property. A publication devoted to the -object of presenting, without fear or favour, all that can be said on -any subject, without any restriction, except in the use of personalities -towards opponents, would be the best possible remedy, under the -circumstances, for the inconveniences complained of; the finest stimulus -to the ascertainment of truth; the best education in the art of free and -distinct utterance. A publication like this, under the editorship of -such a man as Dr. Follen, a man full of learning, philosophy, and that -devout love of truth which is a guarantee of impartiality, would be a -high honour to the country, and a good lesson to some older societies, -from which the fear of free discussion has not yet vanished. An editor -worthy of the work would decline the responsibility of suppressing any -views, coming within the range of subjects embraced. He would merely -weed out personalities; cherish the spirit of justice and charity; and -for the sake of these, strengthen the weaker side, where he saw that it -was inadequately defended. It may be said that editors who would thus -discharge their function are rare. They are so: but there is Dr. Follen; -a living reply to the objection. - -I have not the apprehension which some entertain that such a publication -would be feared and rejected by the public. At first, it would excite -some surprise and perplexity; one-sidedness being so generally the -characteristic of periodicals in America, that it would take some time -to convey the idea of a consistent opposite practice. But the American -public has given no evidence of a dislike to be made acquainted with -truth; but quite the contrary. My own conviction is, that before two -years from its commencement, such a work would be in the houses of all -the honest thinkers and most principled doers in the country; and that -eloquent voices would, by its means, make themselves heard from many a -remote dwelling-place; using with delight their means of utterance; and -proving that the dearth of American literature is not owing to vacuity -of thought or deadness of feeling. At any rate, such an experiment would -ascertain whether the want is of means of utterance, or of something to -utter. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[28] "Letters of Lucius M. Piso, from Palmyra, to his friend Marcus -Curtius, at Rome: now first translated and published." They present a -picture of the state of the East in the reign of Aurelian; and are to -end, I suppose, with the fall of Palmyra. - - - - -PART IV. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -RELIGION. - - "Der Grund aller Democratie; die höchste Thatsache der - Popularität." - - _Novalis._ - - - "The Christian Religion is the root of all democracy; the highest - fact in the Rights of Man." - - -Religion is the highest fact in the Rights of Man from its being the -most exclusively private and individual, while it is also a universal, -concern, of any in which man is interested. Religion is, in its widest -sense, "the tendency of human nature to the Infinite;" and its principle -is manifested in the pursuit of perfection in any direction whatever. It -is in this widest sense that some speculative atheists have been -religious men; religious in their efforts after self-perfection; though -unable to personify their conception of the Infinite. In a somewhat -narrower sense, religion is the relation which the highest human -sentiments bear towards an infinitely perfect Being. - -There can be no further narrowing than this. Any account of religion -which restricts it within the boundaries of any system, which connects -it with any mode of belief, which implicates it with hope of reward or -fear of punishment, is low and injurious, and debases religion into -superstition. - -The Christian religion is specified as being the highest fact in the -rights of man from its embodying (with all the rest) the principle of -natural religion--that religion is at once an individual, an universal, -and an equal concern. In it may be found a sanction of all just claims -of political and social equality; for it proclaims, now in music and now -in thunder,--it blazons, now in sunshine and now in lightning,--the fact -of the natural equality of men. In giving forth this as its grand -doctrine, it is indeed "the root of all democracy;" the root of the -maxim (among others) that among the inalienable rights of all men are -life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The democracy of America is -planted down deep into the christian religion; into its principles, -which it has in common with natural religion, and which it vivifies and -illumines, but does not alter. - -How does the existing state of religion accord with the promise of its -birth? In a country which professes to secure to every man the pursuit -of happiness in his own way, what is the state of his liberty in the -most private and individual of all concerns? How carefully are all men -and women left free from interference in following up their own -aspirations after the Infinite, in realising their own ideas of -perfection, in bringing into harmonious action the functions of their -spirits, as infinitely diversified as the expression of their features? - -The absence of such diversity is the first striking fact which presents -itself on the institution of such an inquiry. If there were no -constraint,--no social reward or penalty,--such an approach to -uniformity of profession could not exist as is seen in the United -States. In a society where speculation and profession were left -perfectly free, as included among the inalienable rights of man, there -would be many speculative (though probably extremely few practical) -atheists: there would be an adoption by many of the principles of -natural religion, otherwise than in and through Christianity: and -Christianity would be adopted in modes as various as the minds by which -it would be recognised. Instead of this, we find laws framed against -speculative atheists: opprobrium directed upon such as embrace natural -religion otherwise than through Christianity: and a yet more bitter -oppression exercised by those who view Christianity in one way, over -those who regard it in another. A religious young christian legislator -was pitied, blamed, and traduced in Boston, last year, by clergymen, -lawyers, and professors of a college, for endeavouring to obtain a -repeal of the law under which the testimony of speculative atheists is -rejected in courts of justice: Quakers (calling themselves Friends) -excommunicate each other: Presbyterian clergymen preach hatred to -Catholics: a convent is burnt, and the nuns are banished from the -neighbourhood: and Episcopalian clergymen claim credit for admitting -Unitarians to sit in committees for public objects! As might be expected -under such an infringement of the principle of securing to every man the -pursuit of happiness in his own way, there is no such endless diversity -in the action of minds, and utterance of tongues, as nature and fidelity -to truth peremptorily demand. Truth is deprived of the irrefragable -testimony which would be afforded by whatever agreement might arise -amidst this diversity: religion is insulted and scandalised by nominal -adherence and hypocritical advocacy. There are many ways of professing -Christianity in the United States: but there are few, very few men, -whether speculative or thoughtless, whether studious or ignorant, -whether reverent or indifferent, whether sober or profligate, whether -disinterested or worldly, who do not carefully profess Christianity, in -some form or another. This, as men are made, is unnatural. Society -presents no faithful mirror of the religious perspective of the human -mind. - -It may be asked whether this is not true of the Old World also. It is. -But the society of the Old World has not yet grasped in practice any one -fundamental democratic principle: and the few who govern the many have -not yet perceived that religion is "the root of all democracy:" they are -so far from it that they are still upholding an established form of -religion; in which a particular mode of belief is enforced upon minds by -the imposition of virtual rewards and punishments. The Americans have -long taken higher ground; repudiating establishments, and professing to -leave religion free. They must be judged by their own principles, and -not by the example of societies whose errors they have practically -denounced by their adoption of the Voluntary Principle. - -The almost universal profession in America of the adoption of -Christianity,--this profession by many whose habits of thought, and -others whose habits of living forbid the supposition that it is the -religion of their individual intellects and affections, compels the -inquiry what sort of Christianity it is that is professed, and how it is -come by. There is no evading the conviction that it is to a vast extent -a monstrous superstition that is thus embraced by the tyrant, the -profligate, the worldling, the bigot, the coward, and the slave; a -superstition which offers little molestation to their vices, little -rectification to their errors; a superstition which is but the spurious -offspring of that divine Christianity which "is the root of all -democracy, the highest fact in the Rights of Man." That so many of the -meek, pure, disinterested, free, and brave, make the same profession, -proves only that they penetrate to religion through superstition; or -that they cast away unconsciously the superstition with which their -spirits have no affinity, and accept such truth as all superstition must -include in order to live. - -The only test by which religion and superstition can be ultimately tried -is that with which they co-exist. "By their fruits ye shall know them." - -The Presbyterian body is a very large one; the total number in -communion, according to the minutes of the General Assembly for 1834, -being then 247,964. New England contains a very small, and the south and -west a very large, proportion of the body. Some of the most noble of the -abolitionists of the north are Presbyterians; and from the lips and pens -of Presbyterians in the south, come some of the defences of slavery -which evince the deepest depravity of principle and feeling. This is -only another proof, added to the million, that religion comes out of -morals. In the words of a pure moralist,[29] "Morality is usually said -to depend upon religion; but this is said in that low sense in which -outward conduct is considered as morality. In that higher sense in which -morality denotes sentiment, it is more exactly true to say, that -religion depends on morality, and springs from it. Virtue is not the -conformity of outward actions to a rule; nor is religion the fear of -punishment, or the hope of reward. Virtue is the state of a just, -prudent, benevolent, firm, and temperate mind. Religion is the whole of -those sentiments which such a mind feels towards an infinitely perfect -being." With these views, we may account for the different morality of -the Presbyterians of the south from that of such of the friends of the -slave in the north as are of the same communion. Of the Presbyterian, as -well as other clergy of the south, some are even planters, -superintending the toils of their slaves, and making purchases, or -effecting sales in the slave-markets, during the week, and preaching on -Sundays whatever they can devise that is least contradictory to their -daily practice. I watched closely the preaching in the south,--that of -all denominations,--to see what could be made of Christianity, "the -highest fact in the Rights of Man," in such a region. I found the -stricter religionists preaching reward and punishment in connexion with -modes of belief, and hatred to the Catholics. I found the more -philosophical preaching for or against materialism, and diverging to -phrenology. I found the more quiet and "gentlemanly" preaching harmless -abstractions,--the four seasons, the attributes of the Deity, prosperity -and adversity, &c. I heard one clergyman, who always goes out of the -room when the subject of negro emancipation is mentioned, or when -slavery is found fault with, preach in a southern city against following -a multitude to do evil. I heard one noble religious discourse from the -Rev. Joel Parker, a Presbyterian clergyman, of New Orleans; but except -that one, I never heard any available reference made to the grand truths -of religion, or principles of morals. The great principles which regard -the three relations to God, man, and self,--striving after perfection, -mutual justice and charity, and christian liberty,--were never touched -upon.--Meantime, the clergy were pretending to find express sanctions of -slavery in the Bible; and putting words to this purpose into the mouths -of public men, who do not profess to remember the existence of the -Bible in any other connexion. The clergy were boasting at public -meetings, that there was not a periodical south of the Potomac which did -not advocate slavery; and some were even setting up a magazine, whose -"fundamental principle is, that man ought to be the property of man." -The clergy, who were to be sent as delegates to the General Assembly, -were receiving instructions to leave the room, if the subject of slavery -was mentioned; and to propose the cessation of the practice of praying -for slaves. At the same time, the wife of a clergyman called upon me to -admire the benevolent toils of a friend, who had been "putting up 4000 -weight of pork" for her slave household: and another lady, kindly and -religiously disposed, told me what pains she took on Sunday mornings to -teach her slaves, by word of mouth, as much of Christianity as was good -for them. When I pressed her on the point as to why they were to have -Christianity and not the alphabet, and desired to know under what -authority she dared to keep from them knowledge, which God has shed -abroad for all, as freely as the the air and sunshine, I found that the -idea was wholly new to her: nothing that she had heard in church, or out -of it, from any of the Christians among whom she lived, had awakened the -suspicion that she was robbing her brethren of their birth-right. The -religion of the south strictly accords with the morals of the south. -There is much that is gentle, merciful, and generous: much among the -suffering women that is patient, heroic, and inspiring meek resignation. -Among these victims, there is faith, hope, and charity. But Christianity -is severed from its radical principles of justice and liberty; and it -will have to be cast out as a rotten branch. - -A southern clergyman mentioned to me, obviously with difficulty and -pain, that though he was as happily placed as a minister could be, -treated with friendliness and generosity by his people, and so cherished -as to show that they were satisfied, he had one trouble. During all the -years of his ministry, no token had reached him that he had religiously -impressed their minds, more or less. They met regularly and decorously -on Sundays, and departed quietly, and there was an end. He did not know -that any one discourse had affected them more than any other; and no -opportunity was offered him of witnessing any religious emotion among -them whatever.--Another, an Unitarian clergyman of the south, was known -to lament the appearance of Dr. Channing's work on slavery, "the cause -was going on so well before!" "The cause going on!" exclaimed another -Unitarian clergyman in the north; "what should the ship go on for, when -they have thrown both captain and cargo overboard?" - -What is to be said of the southern fruits of "the root of all -democracy?" Excluding the debased slaves, and the helpless, suffering -victims of the system, there remain the laity, who, as they do not -abolish slavery, must be concluded not to understand the religion with -whose principles it cannot coexist; and the acquiescing clergy, who, if -they do not understand its principles, are unfit to be clergymen: and if -they do, are unfit to be called Christians. - -The Presbyterians of the south have reason to perceive that the -principles of christian liberty are not fully embraced by their brethren -of the north, though acted upon by some with a disinterested heroism in -the direction of abolition. Those who would exclude slave-holders from -the communion-table are usurping an authority which the principles of -their religion forbid. The hatred to the Catholics also approaches too -nearly in its irreligious character to the oppression of the negro. It -is pleaded by some who most mourn the persecution the Catholics are at -present undergoing in the United States, that there is a very prevalent -ignorance on the subject of the Catholic religion; and that dreadful -slanders are being circulated by a very few wicked, which deceive a -great many weak, persons. This is just the case: but there is that in -the true christian religion which should intercept the hatred, whatever -may be the ignorance. There is that in the true christian religion which -should give the lie to those slanders, in the absence of all outward -evidence of their untruth. There is that in true Christianity which -should chasten the imagination, allay faithless apprehensions, and -inspire a trust that, as heart answers to heart, no vast body of men can -ever bind themselves by the name of Jesus, to become all that is most -the reverse of holy, harmless, and undefiled. The question "where is thy -faith?" might reasonably have been put to the Presbyterian clergyman who -preached three long denunciations against the Catholics in Boston, the -Sunday before the burning of the Charlestown convent: and also to -parents, who can put into their children's hands, as religious books, -the foul libels against the Catholics which are circulated throughout -the country. In the west, I happened to find in the chamber of a very -young lady, the only child of an opulent and influential citizen, a book -of this kind, which no epithet but filthy will suit. It lay with her -Bible and Prayer-book; the secular part of her library being disposed -elsewhere. If religion springs from morals, those who put the book into -the hands of this young girl will be answerable, if her religion should -be as little like that which is "first pure, then peaceable," as their -own. - -I was seriously told, by several persons in the south and west, that -the Catholics of America were employed by the Pope, in league with the -Emperor of Austria and the Irish, to explode the Union. The vast and -rapid spread of the Catholic faith in the United States has excited -observation, which grew into this rumour. I believe the truth to be -that, in consequence of the Pope's wish to keep the Catholics of America -a colonial church, and the Catholics of the country thinking themselves -now sufficiently numerous to be an American Catholic church, a great -stimulus has been given to proselytism. This has awakened fear and -persecution; which last has, again, been favourable to the increase of -the sect. While the Presbyterians preach a harsh, ascetic, persecuting -religion, the Catholics dispense a mild and indulgent one; and the -prodigious increase of their numbers is a necessary consequence. It is -found so impossible to supply the demand for priests, that the term of -education has been shortened by two years.--Those observers who have -made themselves familiar with the modes in which institutions, even of -the most definite character, adapt themselves to the wants of the time, -will not be made uneasy by the spread of a religion so flexible in its -forms as the Catholic, among a people so intelligent as the Americans. -The Catholic body is democratic in its politics, and made up from the -more independent kind of occupations. The Catholic religion is modified -by the spirit of the time in America; and its professors are not a set -of men who can be priest-ridden to any fatal extent. If they are let -alone, and treated on genuine republican principles, they may show us -how the true, in any old form of religion, may be separated from the -false, till, the eye being made clear, the whole body will be full of -light. If they cannot do this, their form of religion will decay, or at -least remain harmless; for it is assuredly too late now for a return of -the dark ages. At all events, every American is required by his -democratic principles to let every man alone about his religion. He may -do with the religion what seems to him good; study, controvert, adopt, -reject, speak, write, or preach, whatever he perceives and thinks about -its doctrines and its abuses: but with its professors he has nothing to -do, further than religiously to observe his fraternal relation to them; -suffering no variance of opinion to seduce him into a breach of the -republican and christian brotherhood to which he is pledged. - -What other fruits are there of the superstition which pervades society, -comprehending under the term Christian many who know little of its -doctrine, and exhibit less of its spirit? The state and treatment of -infidelity are some of the worst. - -There is in this respect a dreadful infringement on human rights -throughout the north; though a better spirit is being cherished and -extended by a few who see how contrary to all christian and all -democratic principles it is that a man should be the worse for his -opinions in society. I have seen enough to know how little chance -Christianity has in consequence of this infringement. I know that very -large numbers of people are secretly disinclined to cherish what is -imposed upon them, with perpetual and unvarying modes of observance, -from their childhood up; and how the disgust grows from the opprobrium -with which unbelief is visited. I know that there are minds in New -England, as everywhere else, which must, from their very structure, pass -through a state of scepticism on their way to stability; and that such -are surrounded with snares, such as no man should lay in his brother's -path; with temptations to hypocrisy, to recklessness, to despair; and to -an abdication of their human prerogative of reason, as well as -conscience. I know how women, in whom the very foundations of belief -have been ploughed up by the share of authority, go wearily to church, -Sunday after Sunday, to hear what they do not believe; lie down at night -full of self-reproach for a want of piety which they do not know how to -attain; and rise up in the morning hopelessly, seeing nothing in the day -before them but the misery of carrying their secret concealed from -parents, husband, sisters, friends. I know how young men are driven into -vice, by having only the alternative of conformity or opprobrium: -feeling it impossible to believe what is offered them; feeling it to be -no crime to disbelieve: but, seeing unbelief treated as crime, and -themselves under suspicion of it, losing faith in others and in -themselves, and falling in reality at last. All this, and very much -more, I know to be happening. I was told of one and another, with an air -of mystery, like that with which one is informed of any person being -insane, or intemperate, or insolvent, that so and so was thought to be -an unbeliever. I was always tempted to reply, "And so are you, in a -thousand things, to which this neighbour of yours adds one."--An -elderly, generally intelligent, benevolent gentleman told me that he -wanted to see regulations made by which deists should be excluded from -office, and moral men only admitted. Happily, the community is not -nearly so far gone in tyranny and folly as to entertain such a project -as this: but it must be a very superstitious society where such an idea -could be deliberately expressed by a sane man. - -One circumstance struck me throughout the country. Almost as often as -the conversation between myself and any other person on religious -subjects became intimate and earnest, I was met by the supposition that -I was a convert. It was the same in other instances: wherever there was -a strong interest in the christian religion, conversion to a particular -profession of it was confidently supposed. This fact speaks volumes. - -Happy influences are at work to enlighten and enlarge the mind of -society. One of the most powerful of these is the union of men and women -of all religions in pursuit of objects of common interest; particularly -in the abolition cause. Persons who were once ready to excommunicate -each other are now loving friends in their mutual obedience to the -weightier matters of the law. The churches in Boston, and even the other -public buildings, being guarded by the dragon of bigotry, so that even -faith, hope, and charity are turned back from the doors, a large -building is about to be erected for the use of all, deists not excepted, -who may desire to meet for purposes of free discussion. This is, at -least, an advance. - -A reflecting and eminently religious person was speculating with me one -day, on the influences by which the human mind is the most commonly and -the most powerfully awakened to vivid and permanent religious -sensibility. We brought cases and suppositions of its being now strong -impressions of the beauty and grandeur of nature; now grief, and now -joy, and so on. My friend concluded that it was most frequently the -spectacle of moral beauty in an individual. I have no doubt it is so: -and if it be, what tremendous injury must be done to the highest parts -of man's nature by the unprincipled tyranny of the religious world in -the republic! Men declare by this very tyranny how essential they -consider belief to be. Belief is essential,--not only to safety, but to -existence. Every mind lives by belief, as the body lives by the -atmosphere: but the objects and modes of belief must be various; and it -is from disallowing this that superstition arises. If men must exercise -the mutual vigilance which their human affections prompt, it would be -well for religion and for themselves that they should note how much -their brethren believe, rather than what they disbelieve: the amount -would be found so vast as immeasurably to distance the deficiency. If -this were done, religion would be found to be so safe that the -proportions of sects, and the eccentricities of individuals would be -lost sight of in the presence of universal, living, and breathing faith. -I was told of a child who stood in the middle of a grass-plat, with its -arms by its sides, and listening with a countenance of intense -expectation, "to hear God's tramp on that high blue floor." Who would -care to know what christian sect this child belonged to; or whether to -any?--I was told of a father and mother, savages, who lost their only -child, and were overwhelmed with grief, under which the father soon -sank. From the moment of his death, the solitary survivor recovered her -cheerfulness. Being asked why, she said she had been miserable for her -child, lest he should be forlorn in the world of spirits: he had his -father with him now, and would be happy. Who would inquire for the creed -of this example of disinterested love?--I was told of a young girl, -brought up from the country by a selfish betrayer, refused the marriage -which had been promised, and turned out of doors by him on her being -seized with the cholera. She was picked up from a doorstep, and carried -to the hospital. In the midst of her dying agonies, no inducement could -prevail on her to tell the name of her betrayer; and she died faithful -to him, so that the secret of whose treachery we are abhorring is dead -with her. With such testimony that the very spirit of the gospel was in -this humble creature, none but those who would dare to cast her out for -her fall would feel any anxiety as to how she received the facts of the -gospel. Religion is safe, and would be seen to be so if we would set -ourselves to mark how universal are some few of men's convictions, and -the whole of man's affections. While men feel wonder, and the universe -is wonderful; while men love natural glory, and the heavens and the -earth are resplendent with it; while men revere holiness, and the beauty -of holiness beams at times upon the dimmest sight, religion is safe. For -the last reason, Christianity is also safe. If the beauty of its -holiness were never obscured by the defilements of human passion with -which it is insulted, it is scarcely conceivable that all men would not -be, in some sense or other, Christians. - -Those who are certain that Christianity is safe, (and they are not a -few,) and who, therefore, beware of encroaching on their brother's -liberty of conscience, will be found to be the most principled -republicans, the firmest believers that Christianity is "the root of all -democracy: the highest fact in the Rights of Man." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[29] Sir James Mackintosh. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -SCIENCE OF RELIGION. - - "And therefore the doctrine of the one (Christ) was never afraid of - universities, or endeavoured the banishment of learning like the - other (Mahomet.) And though Galen doth sometimes nibble at Moses, - and, beside the apostate Christian, some heathens have questioned - his philosophical part or treatise of the creation; yet there is - surely no reasonable Pagan that will not admire the rational and - well-grounded precepts of Christ, whose life, as it was conformable - unto his doctrine, so was that unto the highest rules of reason, - and must therefore flourish in the advancement of learning, and the - perfection of parts best able to comprehend it." - - _Sir Thomas Browne._ - - -Religion has suffered from nothing, throughout all Christendom, more -than from its science having been mixed up with its spirit and practice. -The spirit and practice of religion come out of morals; but its science -comes out of history also; with chronology, philology, and other -collateral kinds of knowledge. The spirit and practice of religion are -for all, since all bear the same relation to their Creator and to their -race, and are endowed with reason and with affections. But the high -science of religion is, at present at least, like all other science, for -the few. The time may come when all shall have the comprehension of mind -and range of knowledge which are requisite for investigating spiritual -relations, tracing the religious principle through all its -manifestations in individuals and societies, studying its records in -many languages, and testing the interpretations which have been put -upon them, from age to age. The time may possibly come when all may be -able thus to be scientific in theology: but that time has assuredly not -arrived. It is so far from being at hand, that by far the largest -portion of christian society seems to be ignorant of the distinction -between the science of theology and the practice of religion. The -scientific study and popular administration of religion have not only -been confided to the same persons, but actually mixed up and confounded -in the heads and hands of those persons. Contrary to all principle, and -to all practice in other departments, the student who enters upon this -science is warned beforehand what conclusions he must arrive at. The -results are given to him prior to investigation; and sanctioned by -reward and punishment. The first injury happens to the student, under a -method of pursuing science as barbarous as any by which the progress of -natural knowledge was retarded in ages gone by. The student, become an -administrator, next injures his flock in his turn, by mixing up portions -of his scholastic science with religious sentiment. He teaches -dogmatically that which bears no relation to duty and affection; -requiring assent where, for want of the requisite knowledge, true assent -is impossible; where there can be only passive reception or ignorant -rejection. The consequences are the corruptions of Christianity, which -grieve the spirit of those who see where and how the poison is mixed -with the bread of life. - -The office of theological science is to preserve,--we must now say to -recover,--the primary simplicity of Christianity. It is a high and noble -office to penetrate to and test the opinions of ages, in order to trace -corruptions to their source, and separate them from the pure waters of -truth. It is a high and noble task to master the associations of the -elder time, and look again at the gospel to see it afresh in its native -light. It is a high and noble task to strip away false glosses, not only -of words but of ideas, that the true spirit of the gospel may shine -through the record. But these high and noble labours are but means to a -higher and nobler end. The dignity of theological study arises from its -being subservient to the administration of religion. The last was -Christ's own office; the highest which can be discharged by man: so high -as to indicate that when its dignity is fully understood, it will be -confided to the hands of no class of men. Theologians there will -probably always be; but no man will be a priest in those days to come -when every man will be a worshipper. - -On some accounts it may seem desirable that the theologians of this age -should be the clergy. It was once desirable; for reasons analogous to -those which constituted priests once the judges, then the politicians, -then the literati of society. It has been, and is, the plea that those -who professed to clear Christianity from its corruptions, and to master -its history, were the fittest persons to present it to the popular mind. - -If this were ever the case, the time seems to have passed by. The press -affords the means of placing the clear results of theological inquiry in -the hands of those whom they concern. There seems to be no other -relation between the theologian, as a theologian, and the worshipper, -which should constitute him the organ of their worship. The habits of -mind most favourable to the pursuit of theological study are not those -which qualify for a successful administration of religious influences. -This is proved by fact; by the limited efficacy of preaching, and by the -fatal confusion which has been caused by the clergy having given out -fragments of their studies from the pulpit, with annexations of promise -and threatening. It does not follow that the administrators should be -ignorant; only that their knowledge should be other than scholastic and -technical. The organ of a worshipping assembly should be furnished with -the clear results of theological study; and with such intellectual and -moral science as shall enable him, if his sympathies be warm enough, to -identify himself with the mind and heart of humanity. He must have that -knowledge of men's relations and interests in life which shall enable -him to look into infinity from their point of view; to give voice to -whatever sentiments are common to all; to appeal to whatever affections -and desires are stirring in all. For this purpose, he must be -practically engaged in the great moral questions of the time, carrying -the principles of religion into them with his whole experimental force; -and bringing out of them new light whereby to illustrate these -principles, new grounds on which to reason in behalf of duty, and new -forces with which to animate the convictions of his fellow-worshippers -into practice. - -The fluctuations through which the Methodist body in America, as well as -elsewhere, is arriving at the true principle as to the ministering of -religion, are well known. First, they clearly saw the corruption of -christian doctrine and the deadness of religious service which must -follow from putting closet students into the pulpit: and, holding the -belief of immediate and special inspiration, they abjured human -learning. The mischiefs which have followed upon the ministry of -ignorant and fanatical clergy have converted large numbers to the -advocacy of human learning. It will probably yet be long before they can -put in practice the true method of having one set of men to be -theologians, and another to be preachers or other organs of worship. -The complaint of every denomination in the United States is of a -scarcity of ministers. This is so pressing that, as we have seen in the -case of the Catholics, the term of study is shortened. Now seems the -time, and America the place, for dispensing with the formalities which -restrict religious worship. It would be an incalculable injury to have -theological study brought to an end by every youth who devotes himself -to it being called away to preach, before he can possibly possess many -of the requisites for preaching. It would be far better to throw open -the office of administration to all who feel and can speak religiously, -and so as to be the genuine voice of the thoughts of others. Even if it -were necessary to reconstitute religious societies, making the meetings -for worship smaller, and the exercises varying with the nature of the -case, there could no evil arise so serious as the interruption of -theological study, and the deterioration of public worship. In the wild -west, where the people can no more live without religion than they can -anywhere else, the farmer's neighbours collect around him from within a -circuit of thirty miles, and he reads or speaks, and prays, and they are -refreshed. If this is not done, if it is not frequently done, the -settlers become liable to the insanity of camp-meetings and revivals. If -the national want can be thus naturally supplied in the heart of the -forest or prairie, why not also in the city? The city has the advantage -of a greater number of persons qualified to express the common desires, -and meet the common sympathies of the worshippers. - -There are enlightened and religious persons who think it would be a -great advantage to religion if the present system of dogmatical -theological study in America were broken up. It might be so, if it were -sure to be reconstituted upon better principles, and if it were not done -for the purpose of supplying the pulpit with men who might be even less -fit for their office than they are now. But there is no prospect of such -a breaking up at present; and, I am afraid, as little of any great -improvement in the principles of research. Though there are differences -arising about creeds; though there are schisms within the walls of -churches and of colleges, and trials for heresy before synods and -assemblies, which promise a more or less speedy relaxation of the bonds -of creeds, and the tyranny of church government, there is no near -prospect of theological science being left as free as other kinds. There -is no near prospect of evidence on the most important of all subjects -being consigned to the heaven-made laws of the human mind. There is no -near prospect of inquiry being left to work out its results, without any -prior specification, under penalty, of what they must be. There is no -near prospect of the clergy having such faith in the religion they -profess as to leave it to the administration of Him who sent it, free -from their pernicious and arrogant protection. - -If other science had its results mixed up with hope and fear, its -pursuit watched over by tyranny, and divergence from old opinions -punished by opprobrium, the world, instead of being "an immense -whispering gallery, where the faintest accent of science is heard -throughout every civilised country as soon as uttered," would be a -Babel; where all utterance would be vociferation, and life one -interminable quarrel. It would be an extreme exemplification of the -principle of making convictions the object of moral approbation and -disapprobation. As it is, though natural philosophers sometimes fall -out, yet there is a practical admission of the right of free research, -and of the innocence of arriving, by strict fidelity, at any conclusions -whatever, in natural science. The consequence is that, instead of men -being imprisoned for their discoveries, and made to do penance for the -benefits they confer on the community, science proceeds expeditiously -and joyously, under the hands of intent workers, mutually aiding and -congratulating, while society gratefully accepts the results, and adopts -the knowledge evolved, as it becomes necessarily and regularly -popularised. - -Whenever moral science shall be undertaken, and religious science -emancipated, such will be the harmonious progress of each, and the -christian religion will be anew revealed to men. Meantime, the religious -world is in one aspect like an inquisition; in another, like a Babel. -The religious world: not by any means the intercourse of all religious -persons. Some of the most religious persons are quite out of the -religious world; voluntarily retreating from it that they may retain -their reverence; or driven from it, because they are faithful to -convictions which are prescribed to them only by God, without the -sanction of man. - -Is it thus that religion should be followed and professed in a -democratic republic? Does it carry with it any dispensation from -democratic principles? any authority for despotism in this one -particular? any denial of human equality? any sanction of human -authority over reason and conscience? Is it not rather "the root of all -democracy; the highest fact in the Rights of Man?" America has left it -to the Old World to fortify Christianity by establishments, and has -triumphantly shown that a great nation may be trusted to its religious -instincts to provide for its religious wants. In order to the complete -following out of her principles, she must leave religious speculation -and pursuit of knowledge and peace as open as any other; and beware of -making the ascertainments of science an occasion for the oppression of a -single individual in fortune, name, or natural inheritance of spiritual -liberty. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -SPIRIT OF RELIGION. - - "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of - love, and of a sound mind." - - _Paul the Apostle._ - - - "Hands full of hearty labours: pains that pay - And prize themselves--do much that more they may. - No cruel guard of diligent cares, that keep - Crowned woes awake, as things too wise for sleep: - But reverend discipline, religious fear, - And soft obedience, find sweet biding here. - Silence, and sacred rest, peace and pure joys-- - Kind loves keep house, lie close, and make no noise. - And room enough for monarchs, while none swells - Beyond the limits of contentful cells. - The self-remembering soul sweetly recovers - Her kindred with the stars: not basely hovers - Below--but meditates th' immortal way - Home to the source of light and intellectual day." - - _Crashaw._ - - -Society in America is as much in a transition state about religion as -France and England are about politics. The people are in advance of the -clergy in America, as the English are in advance of such of their -political institutions as are in dispute. Discouraging as the aspect of -religious profession in America is on a superficial survey, a closer -study will satisfy the observer that all will be well; that the most -democratic of nations is religious at heart; and that its superstitions -and offences against the spirit of Christianity are owing to temporary -influences. - -In order to ascertain what the spirit of religion really is in the -country, we must not judge by the periodicals. Religious periodicals are -almost entirely in the hands of the clergy, who are in no country fair -representatives of the religion of the people. These periodicals are, -almost without exception, as far as my knowledge of them goes, extremely -bad. A very few have some literary and scientific merit; and many -advocate with zeal particular methods of charity, and certainly effect a -wide and beneficent co-operation for mutual help which could not be -otherwise so well secured. But arrogance and uncharitableness, cant, -exclusiveness, and an utter absence of sympathy with human interests and -affections, generally render this class of publications as distasteful -as the corresponding organs of religious bodies in the Old World. They -are too little human in their character, from the books of the Sunday -School Union to the most important of the religious reviews, to be by -any possibility a fair expression of the spiritual state of some -millions of persons. The acts of the laity, and especially of those who -are least under the influence of the clergy, must be looked to as the -only true manifestations. - -If religion springs from morals, the religion must be most faulty where -the morals are so. The greatest fault in American morals is an excessive -regard to opinion. This is the reason of the want of liberality of which -unbelievers, and unusual believers, have so much reason to complain. But -the spirit of religion is already bursting through sectarian restraints. -Many powerful voices are raised, within the churches as well as out of -them, and even from a few pulpits, against the mechanical adoption and -practice of religion, and in favour of individuality of thought, and the -consequent spontaneousness of speech and action. Many indubitable -Christians are denouncing cant as strongly as those whom cant has -alienated from Christianity. The dislike of associations for religious -objects is spreading fast; and the eyes of multitudes are being opened -to the fact that there can be little faith at the bottom of that craving -for sympathy which prevents men and women from cheerfully doing their -duty to God and their neighbour unless sanctioned by a crowd. Some of -the clergy have done away with the forms of admission to their churches -which were formerly considered indispensable. There is a visible -reaction in the best part of society in favour of any man who stands -alone on any point of religious concern: and though such an one has the -more regularly drilled churches against him, he is usually cheered by -the grasp of some trusty right hand of fellowship. - -The eagerness in pursuit of speculative truth is shown by the rapid sale -of every kind of heretical work. The clergy complain of the enormous -spread of bold books, from the infidel tract to the latest handling of -the miracle question, as sorrowfully as the most liberal members of -society lament the unlimited circulation of the false morals issued by -certain Religious Tract Societies. Both testify to the interest taken by -the people in religion. The love of truth is also shown by the outbreak -of heresy in all directions. There are schisms among all the more strict -of the religious bodies, and large secessions and new formations among -those which are bound together by slight forms. There are even a few -places to be found where Deists may come among Christians to worship -their common Father, without fear of insult to their feelings, and -mockery of their convictions. - -I know also of one place, at least, and I believe there are now several, -where the people of colour are welcome to worship with the -whites,--actually intermingled with them, instead of being set apart in -a gallery appropriated to them. This is the last possible test of the -conviction of human equality entertained by the white worshippers. It is -such a test of this, their christian conviction, as no persons of any -rank in England are ever called upon to abide. I think it very probable -that the course of action which is common in America will be followed in -this instance. A battle for a principle is usually fought long, and -under discouragement: but the sure fruition is almost instantaneous, -when the principle is but once put into action. The people of colour do -actually, in one or more religious assemblies, sit among the whites, in -token that the principle of human brotherhood is fully admitted. It may -be anticipated that the example will spread from church to church--in -the rural districts of the north first, and then in the towns;[30] so -that the clergy will soon find themselves released from the necessity of -veiling, or qualifying, the most essential truth of the gospel, from the -pastoral consideration for the passions and prejudices of the white -portion of their flocks, which they at present plead in excuse of their -compromise. - -The noble beneficence of the whole community shows that the spirit of -the gospel is in the midst of them, as it respects the condition of the -poor, ignorant, and afflicted. Of the generosity of society there can be -no question; and if it were only accompanied with the strict justice -which the same principles of christian charity require; if there were as -zealous a regard to the rights of intellect and conscience in all as to -the wants and sufferings of the helpless, such a realisation of high -morals would be seen as the world has not yet beheld. I have witnessed -sights which persuade me that the principle of charity will yet be -carried out to its full extent. It gave me pleasure to see the -provisions made for every class of unfortunates. It gave me more to see -young men and women devoting their evening and Sunday leisure to -fostering, in the most benignant manner, the minds of active and -trustful children. But nothing gave me so much delight as what was said -by a young physician to a young clergyman, on their entering a new -building prepared as a place of worship for children, and also as a kind -of school: as a place where religion might have its free course among -young and free minds. "Now," said the young physician, "here we are, -with these children dependent upon us. Never let us defile this place -with the smallest act of spiritual tyranny. Watch me, and I will watch -you, that we may not lay the weight of a hair upon these little minds. -If we impose one single opinion upon them, we bring a curse upon our -work. Here, in this one place, let minds be absolutely free." This is -the true spirit of reverence. He who spoke those words may be -considered, I believe and trust, as the organ of no few, who are aware -that reverence is as requisite to the faithful administration of -charity, as to the acceptable offering of prayer. - -The asceticism which pervades large sections of society in America, -testifies to the existence of a strong interest in religion. Its effects -are most melancholy; but they exhibit only the perversion of that which -is, in itself, a great good.--The asceticism of America is much like -that of every other place. It brings religion down to be ceremonial, -constrained, anxious, and altogether divested of its free, generous, and -joyous character. It fosters timid selfishness in some; and in others a -precise proportion of reckless licentiousness. Its manifestations in -Boston are as remarkable as in the strictest of Scotch towns. Youths in -Boston, who work hard all the week, desire fresh air and exercise, and a -sight of the country, on Sundays. The country must be reached over the -long bridges before-mentioned, and the youths must ride to obtain their -object. They have been brought up to think it a sin to take a ride on -Sundays. Once having yielded, and being under a sense of transgression -for a wholly fictitious offence, they rarely stop there.[31] They next -join parties to smoke, and perhaps to drink, and so on. If they had but -been brought up to know that the Sabbath, like all times and seasons, -was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; that their religion is in -their state of mind, and not in the arrangement of their day, their -Sabbaths would most probably have been spent as innocently as any other -day; and the chances would have been much increased of their desiring -the means of improving their religious knowledge, and cherishing their -devotional affections, by social worship. I was struck by the fact that -at the Jefferson University, at Charlottesville, Virginia, where no -fundamental provision is made for worship, where not the slightest -authority is exercised over the students with regard to religious -observances, there is not only a most regular administration of -religion, but the fullest attendance upon it. Every one knows what a -burden and snare the public prayers are at our English Universities, -where the attendance is compulsory. At Charlottesville, where the matter -is left to the inclination of the students, the attendance is punctual, -quiet, and absolutely universal.[32] - -The ascetic proscription of amusements extends to the clergy throughout -the country; and includes the whole of the religious world in New -England. As to the clergy, the superstition can scarcely endure long, it -is so destitute of all reason. I went to a large party at Philadelphia, -with a clergyman and other friends. Dancing presently began. I was asked -a question, which implied that my clerical friend had gone home. "There -he is," I replied. "O, I concluded that he went away when the dancing -began;" said the lady, in a tone which implied that she thought he ought -to have gone home. It was observed of this gentleman, that he could not -be a religious man, he was seen at so many parties during my visit to -his house. No clergyman ever enters the theatre, or touches a card. It -is even expected that he should go away when cards are introduced, as -from the ball-room. The exclusion from the theatre is of the least -consequence, as large portions of society have reasonable doubts about -the encouragement of an amusement which does seem to be vitiated there, -almost to the last degree. The Americans have little dramatic taste: and -the spirit of puritanism still rises up in such fierce opposition to the -stage, as to forbid the hope that this grand means of intellectual -exercise will ever be made the instrument of moral good to society there -that it might be made: and the proscribed race of dramatic artists is, -in talent and in morals, just what a proscribed and depressed class -might be expected to be. The attempt to raise their condition and their -art has been strenuously made by the manager of the Boston theatre, who -has sternly purified his establishment, excluding from his stage -everything that could well give offence even to Boston prudery. But it -is in vain. The uncongeniality is too great: and those who respect -dramatic entertainments the most highly, will be the most anxious that -the American theatres should be closed. I even know of more families -than one, unconnected with clergy, and not making any strict religious -profession, where Shakspeare is hidden, for prudish reasons. I need not -add, that among such persons there is not the remotest comprehension of -what the drama is. If a reader of Shakspeare occurs, here and there, it -usually turns out that he considers the plays as collections of -passages, descriptive, didactic, &c. &c. Such being the state of things, -it is no matter of surprise and regret that the clergy, among others, -abstain from the theatre. But, as to the dancing,--either dancing is -innocent, or it is not. If not, nobody should dance: if innocent, the -clergy should dance, like others, as they have the same kind of bodies -to be animated, and of minds to be exhilarated. Once admit any -distinction on account of their office, and there is no stopping short, -in reason, of the celibacy of the clergy, and the other gloomy -superstitions by which the free and genial spirit of Christianity has -been grieved. - -This ascetic practice of taking care of one another's morals has gone to -such a length in Boston, as to excite the frequent satire of some of its -wisest citizens. This indicates that it will be broken through. When -there was talk of attempting to set up the Italian opera there, a -gentleman observed that it would never do: people would be afraid of the -very name. "O!" said another, "call it Lectures on Music, with -illustrations, and everybody will come." - -Lectures abound in Boston: and I am glad of it; at least in the interval -before the opening of the public amusements which will certainly be -required, sooner or later. These lectures may not be of any great use in -conveying science and literature: lectures can seldom do more than -actuate to study at home. But in this case, they probably obviate -meetings for religious excitement, which are more hurtful than lectures -are beneficial. The spiritual dissipations indulged in by the religious -world, wherever asceticism prevails, are more injurious to sound morals -than any public amusements, as conducted in modern times, have ever been -proved to be. It is questionable whether even gross licentiousness is -not at least equally encouraged by the excitement of passionate -religious emotions, separate from action: and it is certain that rank -spiritual vices, pride, selfishness, tyranny, and superstition, spring -up luxuriantly in the hotbeds of religious meetings. The odiousness of -spiritual vices is apt to be lost sight of in the horror of sensual -transgressions. If a pure intelligence, however, had to decide between -the two, he would probably point out that the vices which arise from the -frailty of nature are less desperate and less revolting than those which -are mainly factitious, and which arise from a perversion of man's -highest relation. It is difficult to decide which set of vices (if -indeed the line can be drawn between them) spreads the most extensive -misery, and most completely ruins the unhappy subjects of them; but it -is certain that the sympathies of unsophisticated minds turn more -readily to the publicans and sinners, than to the pharisees of society: -and they have high authority for so doing. - -Still, the asceticism shows that a strong religious feeling, a strong -sense of religious duty exists, which has only to be enlarged and -enlightened. A most liberal-minded clergyman, a man as democratic in his -religion, and as genial in his charity, as any layman in the land, -remarked to me one day on the existence of this strong religious -sensibility in the children of the Pilgrims, and asked me what I thought -should be done to cherish and enlarge it, we having been alarming each -other with the fear that it would be exasperated by the prevalent -superstition, and become transmuted, in the next generation, to -something very unlike religious sensibility. We proposed great changes -in domestic and social habits: less formal religious observance in -families, and more genial interest in the intellectual provinces of -religion: more rational promotion of health, by living according to the -laws of nature, which ordain bodily exercise and mental refreshment. We -proposed that new temptations to walking, driving, boating, &c. should -be prepared, and the delights of natural scenery laid open much more -freely than they are: that social amusements of every kind should be -encouraged, and all religious restraints upon speech and action removed: -in short, that spontaneousness should be reverenced and approved above -all things, whatever form it may take. Of course, this can only be done -by those who do approve and reverence spontaneousness: but I am -confident that there are enough of them, in the very heart of the most -ascetic society in America, to make it unreasonable that they should any -longer succumb to the priests and devotees of the community. - -Symptoms of the breaking out of the true genial spirit of liberty were -continually delighting me. A Unitarian clergyman, complaining of the -superstition of the body to which he belonged, while they were -perpetually referring to their comparative freedom, observed, "We are so -bent on standing fast in our liberty, that we don't get on." Another -remarked upon an eulogy bestowed on some one as a man and a Christian: -"as if," said the speaker, "the Christian were the climax! as if it were -not much more to be a man than a Christian!" - -The way in which religion is made an occupation by women, testifies not -only to the vacuity which must exist when such a mistake is fallen into, -but to the vigour with which the religious sentiment would probably be -carried into the great objects and occupations of life, if such were -permitted. I was perpetually struck with this when I saw women braving -hurricane, frost, and snow, to flit from preaching to preaching; and -laying out the whole day among visits for prayer and religious -excitement, among the poor and the sick. I was struck with this when I -saw them labouring at their New Testament, reading superstitiously a -daily portion of that which was already too familiar to the ear to leave -any genuine and lasting impression, thus read. Extraordinary instances -met my knowledge of both clergymen and ladies making the grossest -mistakes about conspicuous facts of the gospel history, while reading it -in daily portions for ever. It is not surprising that such a method of -perusal should obviate all real knowledge of the book: but it is -astonishing that those who feel it to be so should not change their -methods, and begin at length to learn that which they have all their -lives been vainly trusting that they knew. - -The wife of a member of Congress, a conscientious and religious woman, -judges of persons by one rule,--whether they are "pious." I could never -learn how she applied this; nor what she comprehended under her phrase. -She told me that she wished her husband to leave Congress. He was no -longer a young man, and it was time he was thinking of saving his soul. -She could not, after long conversation on this subject, realise the idea -that religion is not an affair of occupation and circumstance, but of -principle and temper; and that, as there is no more important duty than -that of a member of Congress, there is no situation in which a man can -attain a higher religious elevation, if the spirit be in him. - -The morality and religion of the people of the United States have -suffered much by their being, especially in New England, an ostensibly -religious community. There will be less that is ostensible and more that -is genuine, as they grow older. They are finding that it is the -possession of the spirit, and not the profession of the form, which -makes societies as well as individuals religious. All they have to do is -to assert their birth-right of liberty; to be free and natural. They -need have no fear of licence and irreligion. The spirit of their -forefathers is strong in them: and, if it were not, the spirit of -Humanity is in them; the very sanctum of religion. The idea of duty -(perverted or unperverted) is before them in all their lives; and the -love of their neighbour is in all their hearts. As surely then as they -live and love, they will be religious. What they have to look to is that -their religion be free and pure. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[30] When I visited the New York House of Refuge for the reformation of -juvenile delinquents, one of the officers showed me, with complacency, -that children of colour were sitting among the whites, in both the boys' -and girls' schools. On explaining to me afterwards the arrangements of -the chapel, he pointed out the division appropriated to the pupils of -colour. "Do you let them mix in school, and separate them at worship?" I -asked. He replied, with no little sharpness, "_We_ are not -amalgamationists, madam." The absurdity of the sudden wrath, and of the -fact of a distinction being made at worship (of all occasions) which was -not made elsewhere, was so palpable, that the whole of our large party -burst into irresistible laughter. - -[31] The author of "Home" arranged the Sunday, in her book, somewhat -differently from the usual custom; describing the family whose home she -pictured as spending the Sunday afternoon on the water, after a -laborious week, and an attendance on public worship in the morning. -Religious conversation was described as going on throughout the day. So -much offence was taken at the idea of a Sunday sail, that the editor of -the book requested the author to alter the chapter; the first print -being proposed to be cancelled. I am sorry to say that she did alter it. -If she was converted to the popular superstition, (which could scarcely -be conceived,) no more is to be said. If not, it was a matter of -principle which she ought not to have yielded. If books are to be -altered, an author's convictions to be unrepresented, to avoid shocking -religious prejudices, there is a surrender, not only of the author's -noblest prerogative, but of his highest duty. - -[32] Ministers of four denominations undertake the duty in rotation, in -terms of a year each. The invitation, and the discharge of the duty, are -as purely voluntary as the attendance upon the services. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ADMINISTRATION OF RELIGION. - - - "What will they then - But force the spirit of grace itself, and bind - His consort Liberty? what but unbuild - His living temples, built by faith to stand, - Their own faith, not another's?" - - _Milton._ - - - "Truth shall spring out of the earth; - And righteousness shall look down from heaven." - - _85th Psalm._ - - -The inquiry concerning the working of the voluntary system in -America,--the only country where it operates without an establishment by -its side,--takes two directions. It is asked, first, whether religion is -administered sufficiently to the people: and, secondly, what is the -character of the clergy. - -The first question is easily answered. The eagerness for religious -instruction and the means of social worship are so great that funds and -buildings are provided wherever society exists. Though the clergy bear a -larger proportion to men of other occupations, I believe, than is the -case anywhere, except perhaps in the Peninsula, they are too few for the -religious wants of the people. Men are wanting; but churches and funds -are sufficient. According to a general summary of religious -denominations,[33] made in 1835, the number of churches or -congregations was 15,477; the population being, exclusive of the slaves, -between fifteen and sixteen millions; and a not inconsiderable number -being settlers scattered in places too remote for the formation of -regular societies, with settled ministers. To these 15,477 churches -there were only 12,130 ministers. If to these settled clergy, there are -added the licentiates and candidates of the Presbyterian church, the -local preachers of the Methodists, the theological students, and quaker -administrators, it will be acknowledged that the number of religious -teachers bears an unusually large proportion to the population. Yet the -Baptist sect alone proclaims a want of above three thousand ministers to -supply the existing churches. Every exertion is made to meet the -religious wants of the people. The American Education Society has -assisted largely in sending forth young ministers: the Mission and Bible -Societies exhibit large results. In short, society in the United States -offers every conceivable testimony that the religious instincts of the -people may be trusted to supply their religious wants. It is only within -four or five years that this has been fully admitted even in the State -of Massachusetts. Up to 1834, every citizen of that State was obliged to -contribute something to the support of some sect or church. The -inconsistency of this obligation with true democratic principle was then -fully perceived, and religion left wholly to voluntary support. It is -needless to say that the event has fully justified the confidence of -those who have faith enough in Christianity to see that it needs no -protection from the State, but will commend itself to human hearts -better without. - -As to the other particular of the inquiry,--the character of the -clergy,--more is to be said. - -It is clear that there is no room under the voluntary system for some of -the worst characteristics which have disgraced all christian -priesthoods. In America, there can be no grasping after political power; -no gambling in a lottery of church livings; no worldly pomp and state. -These sins are precluded under a voluntary system, in the midst of a -republic. Instead of these things, we find the protestant clergy -generally belonging to the federal party, when they open their lips upon -politics at all. They belong to the apprehensive party; according to all -precedent. It would be called strange if it did not almost universally -happen, that (with the exception of the political churchmen of the Old -World) they who uphold a faith which shall remove mountains, who teach -that men are not to fear "them that kill the body, and afterwards have -no more that they can do," are the most timid class of society; the most -backward in all great conflicts of principles. They have ever rested -invisible in their tents, when any wrestling was going on between morals -and abuses. They have ever, as a body, belonged to the aristocratic and -fearing party. So it is in America, where the fearing party is -depressed; as it has ever been where the aristocratic party is -uppermost. - -The clergy in America are not, as a body, seekers of wealth. It is so -generally out of their reach, that the adoption of the clerical -profession is usually an unequivocal testimony to their -disinterestedness about money. I say "usually," because there are -exceptions. The profession has been one of such high honour that it -rises to an equality with wealth. It is common, not to say usual, that -young clergymen, who are almost invariably from poor families, marry -ladies of fortune. Where there are several sisters in a rich family, it -seems to be regarded as a matter of course that one will marry a -clergyman. Amidst some good which arises out of this practice, there is -the enormous evil, not peculiar to America, that adventurers are tempted -into the profession. Not a few planters in the south began life as poor -clergymen, and obtained by marriage the means of becoming planters. Not -a few pastors in the north grow more sleek than they ever were saintly, -and go through two safe and quiet preachments on Sundays, as the price -of their week-day ease. But, as long as the salaries of ministers are so -moderate as they now are, it cannot be otherwise than that the greater -number of clergy enter upon their profession in full view of a life of -labour, with small pecuniary recompense. There can, I think, be no -question that the vocation is adopted from motives as pure as often -actuate men; and that the dangers to which the clergy succumb arise -afterwards out of their disadvantageous position. - -It is to be wished that some alteration could be made in the mode of -remunerating the clergy. At present, they have usually small salaries -and large presents. Nothing is more natural than that grateful -individuals or flocks should like to testify their respect for their -pastor by adding to his comforts and luxuries: but, if all the -consequences were considered, I think the practice would be forborne, -and the salary increased instead. In the present state of morals, it -happens that instances are rare where one person can give pecuniary -benefit to another without injury to one or both. Sympathy, help, may be -given, with great mutual profit; but rarely money or money's worth.[34] -This arises from the false associations which have been gathered round -wealth, and have implicated it too extensively with mental and moral -independence. Any one may answer for himself the question whether it is -often possible to regard a person to whom he is under pecuniary -obligation with precisely the same freedom, from first to last, which -would otherwise exist. If among people of similar views, objects, and -interests, this is felt as a difficulty, it is aggravated into a great -moral danger when spiritual influences are to be dispensed by the aided -and obliged party. I see no safety in anything short of a strict rule on -the part of an honourable pastor to accept of no gift whatever. This -would require some self-denial on the part of his friends; but they -ought to be aware that giving gifts is the coarsest and lowest method of -testifying respect and affection. Many ways are open to them: first by -taking care that their pastor has such a fixed annual provision made for -him as will secure him from the too heavy pressure of family cares; and -then by yielding him that honest friendship, and plain-spoken sympathy, -(without any religious peculiarity,) which may animate him in his -studies and in his ministrations. - -The American clergy being absolved from the common clerical vices of -ambition and cupidity, it remains to be seen whether they are free also -from that of the idolatry of opinion. They enter upon their office -generally with pious and benevolent views. Do they retain their moral -independence in it?--I cannot answer favourably. - -The vices of any class are never to be imputed with the full force of -disgraces to individuals. The vices of a class must evidently, from -their extent, arise from some overpowering influences, under whose -operation individuals should be respectfully compassionated, while the -morbid influences are condemned. The American clergy are the most -backward and timid class in the society in which they live; self-exiled -from the great moral questions of the time; the least informed with true -knowledge; the least efficient in virtuous action; the least conscious -of that christian and republican freedom which, as the native atmosphere -of piety and holiness, it is their prime duty to cherish and diffuse. -The proximate causes of their degeneracy in this respect are easily -recognised. - -It is not merely that the living of the clergy depends on the opinion of -those whom they serve. To all but the far and clear-sighted it appears -that the usefulness of their function does so. Ordinary men may be -excused for a willingness to seize on the precept about following after -the things that make for peace, without too close an inquiry into the -nature of that peace. Such a tendency may be excused, but not praised, -in ordinary men. It must be blamed in all pastors who believe that they -have grasped purer than ordinary principles of gospel freedom. - -The first great mischief which arises from the disinclination of the -clergy to bring what may be disturbing questions before their people, is -that they themselves inevitably undergo a perversion of views about the -nature of their pastoral office. To take the most striking instance now -presented in the United States. The clergy have not yet begun to stir -upon the Anti-Slavery question. A very few Presbyterian clergymen have -nobly risked everything for it; some being members of Abolition -societies; and some professors in the Oberlin Institute and its -branches, where all prejudice of colour is discountenanced. But the bulk -of the Presbyterian clergy are as fierce as the slave-holders against -the abolitionists. I believe they would not object to have Mr. -Breckinridge considered a sample of their body. The episcopalian clergy -are generally silent on the subject of Human Rights, or give their -influence against the Abolitionists. Not to go over the whole list of -denominations, it is sufficient to mention that the ministers generally -are understood to be opposed to abolition, from the circumstances of -their silence in the pulpit, their conversation in society, and the -conduct of those who are most under their influence. I pass on to the -Unitarians, the religious body with which I am best acquainted, from my -being a Unitarian myself. The Unitarians believe that they are not -liable to many superstitions which cramp the minds and actions of other -religionists. They profess a religion of greater freedom; and declare -that Christianity, as they see it, has an affinity with all that is -free, genial, intrepid, and true in the human mind; and that it is meant -to be carried out into every social arrangement, every speculation of -thought, every act of the life. Clergymen who preach this live in a -crisis when a tremendous conflict of principles is taking place. On one -side is the oppressor, struggling to keep his power for the sake of his -gold; and with him the mercenary, the faithlessly timid, the ambitious, -and the weak. On the other side are the friends of the slave; and with -them those who, without possibility of recompense, are sacrificing their -reputations, their fortunes, their quiet, and risking their lives, for -the principle of freedom. What are the Unitarian clergy doing amidst -this war which admits of neither peace nor truce, but which must end in -the subjugation of the principle of freedom, or of oppression? - -I believe Mr. May had the honour of being the first Unitarian pastor who -sided with the right. Whether he has sacrificed to his intrepidity one -christian grace; whether he has lost one charm of his piety, -gentleness, and charity, amidst the trials of insult which he has had to -undergo, I dare appeal to his worst enemy. Instead of this, his devotion -to a most difficult duty has called forth in him a force of character, a -strength of reason, of which his best friends were before unaware. It -filled me with shame for the weakness of men, in their noblest offices, -to hear the insolent compassion with which some of his priestly brethren -spoke of a man whom they have not light and courage enough to follow -through the thickets and deserts of duty, and upon whom they therefore -bestow their scornful pity from out of their shady bowers of -complacency.--Dr. Follen came next: and there is nothing in his power -that he has not done and sacrificed in identifying himself with the -cause of emancipation. I heard him, in a perilous time, pray in church -for the "miserable, degraded, insulted slave; in chains of iron, and -chains of gold." This is not the place in which to exhibit what his -sacrifices have really been.--Dr. Channing's later services are well -known. I know of two more of the Unitarian clergy who have made an open -and dangerous avowal of the right: and of one or two who have in private -resisted wrong in the cause. But this is all. As a body they must, -though disapproving slavery, be ranked as the enemies of the -abolitionists. Some have pleaded to me that it is a distasteful subject. -Some think it sufficient that they can see faults in individual -abolitionists. Some say that their pulpits are the property of their -people, who are not therefore to have their minds disturbed by what they -hear thence. Some say that the question is no business of theirs. Some -urge that they should be turned out of their pulpits before the next -Sunday, if they touched upon Human Rights. Some think the subject not -spiritual enough. The greater number excuse themselves on the ground of -a doctrine which, I cannot but think, has grown out of the -circumstances; that the duty of the clergy is to decide on how much -truth the people can bear, and to administer it accordingly.--So, while -society is going through the greatest of moral revolutions, casting out -its most vicious anomaly, and bringing its Christianity into its -politics and its social conduct, the clergy, even the Unitarian clergy, -are some pitying and some ridiculing the apostles of the revolution; -preaching spiritualism, learning, speculation; advocating third and -fourth-rate objects of human exertion and amelioration, and leaving it -to the laity to carry out the first and pressing moral reform of the -age. They are blind to their noble mission of enlightening and guiding -the moral sentiment of society in its greatest crisis. They not only -decline aiding the cause in weekdays by deed or pen, or spoken words; -but they agree in private to avoid the subject of Human Rights in the -pulpit till the crisis be past. No one asks them to harrow the feelings -of their hearers by sermons on slavery: but they avoid offering those -christian principles of faith and liberty with which slavery cannot -co-exist. - -Seeing what I have seen, I can come to no other conclusion than that the -most guilty class of the community in regard to the slavery question at -present is, not the slave-holding, nor even the mercantile, but the -clerical: the most guilty, because not only are they not blinded by -life-long custom and prejudice, nor by pecuniary interest, but they -profess to spend their lives in the study of moral relations, and have -pledged themselves to declare the whole counsel of God.--Whenever the -day comes for the right principle to be established, let them not dare -to glory in the glory of their country. Now, in its martyr-age, they -shrink from being confessors. It will not be for them to march in to -the triumph with the "glorious army." Yet, if the clergy of America -follow the example of other rear-guards of society, they will be the -first to glory in the reformation which they have done their utmost to -retard. - -The fearful and disgraceful mistake about the true nature of the -clerical office,--the supposition that it consists in adapting the truth -to the minds of the hearers,--is already producing its effect in -thinning the churches, and impelling the people to find an -administration of religion better suited to their need. The want of -faith in other men and in principles, and the superabundant faith in -themselves, shown in this notion of pastoral duty, (which has been -actually preached, as well as pleaded in private,) are so conspicuous, -as to need no further exposure. The history of priesthoods may be -referred to as an exhibition of its consequences. I was struck at first -with an advocacy of Ordinances among some of the Unitarian clergy, which -I was confident must go beyond their own belief. I was told that a great -point was made of them, (not as observances but as ordinances,) because -the public mind required them. I saw a minister using vehement and -unaccustomed action, (of course wholly inappropriate,) in a pulpit not -his own; and was told that that set of people required plenty of action -to be assured the preacher was in earnest. I was told that when -prejudices and interests have gathered round any point of morals, truth -ceases to be truth, and it becomes a minister's duty to avoid the topic -altogether. The consequences may be anticipated.--"What do you think, -sir, the people will do, as they discover the backwardness of their -clergy?" I heard a minister of one sect say to a minister of -another.--"I think, sir, they will soon require a better clergy," was -the reply. The people are requiring a better clergy. Even in Boston, so -far behind the country as that city is, a notable change has already -taken place. A strong man, full of enlarged sympathies, has not only -discerned the wants of the time, but set himself to do what one man may -to supply them. He invites to worship those who think and feel with him, -as to what their communion with the Father must be, to sustain their -principles and their cheer in this trying time. A multitude flocks round -him; the earnest spirits of the city and the day, whose full hearts and -worn spirits can find little ease and refreshment amidst the abstract -and inappropriate services of ministers who give them truth as they -judge they can receive it. Nothing but the whole truth will satisfy -those who are living and dying for it. The rising up of this new church -in Boston is an eloquent sign of the times.[35] - -An extraordinary revelation of the state of the case between the clergy -and the people was made to me, most unconsciously, by a minister who, by -the way, acknowledges that he avoids, on principle, preaching on the -subjects which interest him most: he thinks he serves his people best, -by carrying into the pulpit subjects of secondary interest to himself. -This gentleman, shocked with the tidings of some social tyranny on the -anti-slavery question, exclaimed, "Such a revelation of the state of -people's minds as this, is enough to make one leave one's pulpit, and -set to work to mend society." What a volume do these few words disclose, -as to the relation of the clergy to the people and the time! - -What the effect would be of the clergy carrying religion into what is -most practically important, and therefore most interesting, is shown as -often as opportunity occurs; which is all too seldom. When Dr. Channing -dropped, in a sermon last winter, that legislatures as well as -individuals were bound to do the will of God, every head in the church -was raised or turned; every eye waited upon him. When another minister -preached on being 'alone,' and showed how the noblest benefactors of the -race, the truest servants of God, must, in striking out into new regions -of thought and action, pass beyond the circle of common human -sympathies, and suffer accordingly, many a stout heart melted into -tears; many a rigid face crimsoned with emotion; and the sermon was -repeated and referred to, far and near, under the name of "the Garrison -sermon;" a name given to it, not by the preacher, but by the consciences -of some and the sympathies of others. Contrast with such an effect as -this the influence of preaching, irrelevant to minds and seasons. If -such sayings are admired or admitted at the moment, they are soon -forgotten, or remembered only in the general. "Don't you think," said a -gentleman to me, "that sermons are sadly useless things for the most -part? admonitions strung like bird's eggs on a string; so that they tell -pretty much the same, backwards or forwards, one way or another." - -It appears to me that the one thing in which the clergy of every kind -are fatally deficient is faith: that faith which would lead them, first, -to appropriate all truth, fearlessly and unconditionally; and then to -give it as freely as they have received it. They are fond of apostolic -authority. What would Paul's ministry have been if he had preached on -everything but idolatry at Ephesus, and licentiousness at Corinth? There -were people whose silver shrines, whose prejudices, whose false moral -principles were in danger. There were people who were as unconscious of -the depth of their sin as the oppressors of the negro at the present -day. How would Paul have then finished his course? If he had stopped -short from the expediency of not dividing a household against itself, in -case such should be the consequence of giving true principles to the -air; if, dreading to break up the false peace of successful lucre and -overbearing profligacy, he had confined himself to speculations like -those with which he won the ear of the Athenians, carefully avoiding all -allusions to Diana at Ephesus, and to temperance and judgment to come at -Corinth, what kind of an apostle would he have been? Very like the -American christian clergy of the nineteenth century. - -The next great mischief that arises from the fear of opinion which makes -the clergy keep aloof from the stirring questions of the time, is that -they are deprived of that influence, (the highest kind of all,) that men -exert by their individual characters and convictions. Their character is -comparatively uninfluential from its being supposed professional; and -their convictions, because they are concluded to be formed from -imperfect materials. A clergyman's opinions on politics, and on other -affairs of active life in which morals are most implicated, are attended -to precisely in proportion as he is secular in his habits and pursuits. -A minister preached, a few years ago, against discount, and high prices -in times of scarcity. The merchants of his flock went away laughing: and -the pastor has never got over it. The merchants speak of him as a very -holy man, and esteem his services highly for keeping their wives, -children, and domestics in strict religious order: but in preaching to -themselves he has been preaching to the winds ever since that day. A -liberal-minded, religious father of a family said to me, "Take care how -you receive the uncorroborated statements of clergymen about that;" (a -matter of social fact;) "they know nothing about it. They are not likely -to know anything about it." "Why?" "Because there is nobody to tell -them. You know the clergy are looked upon by all grown men as a sort of -people between men and women." In a republic, where politics afford the -discipline and means of expression of every man's morals, the clergy -withdraw from, not only all party movements, but all political -interests. Some barely vote: others do not even do this. Their plea is, -as usual, that public opinion will not bear that the clergy should be -upon the same footing as to worldly affairs as others. If this be true, -public opinion should not be allowed to dictate their private duty to -the moral teachers of society. A clergyman should discharge the duties -of a citizen all the more faithfully for the need which the public thus -show themselves to be in of his example. But, if it be true, whence -arises the objection of the public to the clergy discharging the -responsibilities of citizens, but from the popular belief that they are -unfitted for it? If the democracy see that the clergy are almost all -federalists, and the federalist merchants and lawyers consider the -clergy so little fit for common affairs as to call them a set of people -between men and women, it is easy to see whence arises the dislike to -their taking part in politics; if indeed the dislike really exists. The -statement should not, however, be taken on the word of the clergy alone; -for they are very apt to think that the people cannot yet bear many -things in which the flocks have already outstripped their pastors. - -A third great mischief from the isolation of the clergy is that, while -it deprives them of the highest kind of influence which is the -prerogative of manhood, it gives them a lower kind:--an influence as -strong as it is pernicious to others, and dangerous to themselves;--an -influence confined to the weak members of society; women and -superstitious men. By such they are called "faithful guardians." -Guardians of what? A healthy person may guard a sick one: a sane man may -guard a lunatic: a grown person may guard a child: and, for social -purposes, an appointed watch may guard a criminal. But how can any man -guard his equal in spiritual matters, the most absolutely individual of -all? How can any man come between another's soul and the infinite to -which it tends? If it is said that they are guardians of truth, and not -of conscience, they may be asked for their warrant. God has given his -truth for all. Each is to lay hold of what he can receive of it; and he -sins if he devolves upon another the guardianship of what is given him -for himself. As to the fitness of the clergy to be guardians, it is -enough to mention what I know: that there is infidelity within the walls -of their churches of which they do not dream; and profligacy among their -flocks of which they will be the last to hear. Even in matters which are -esteemed their peculiar business, the state of faith and morals, they -are more in the dark than any other persons in society. Some of the most -religious and moral persons in the community are among those who never -enter their churches; while among the company who sit at the feet of the -pastor while he refines upon abstractions, and builds a moral structure -upon imperfect principles, or upon metaphysical impossibilities, there -are some in whom the very capacity of stedfast belief has been cruelly -destroyed; some who hide loose morals under a strict profession of -religion; and some if possible more lost still, who have arrived at -making their religion co-exist with their profligacy. Is there not here -something like the blind leading the blind? - -Over those who consider the clergy "faithful guardians," their -influence, as far as it is professional, is bad; as far as it is that of -friendship or acquaintanceship, it is according to the characters of the -men. I am disposed to think ill of the effects of the practice of -parochial visiting, except in cases of poor and afflicted persons, who -have little other resource of human sympathy. I cannot enlarge upon the -disagreeable subject of the devotion of the ladies to the clergy. I -believe there is no liberal-minded minister who does not see, and too -sensibly feel, the evil of women being driven back upon religion as a -resource against vacuity; and of there being a professional class to -administer it. Some of the most sensible and religious elderly women I -know in America speak, with a strength which evinces strong conviction, -of the mischief to their sex of ministers entering the profession young -and poor, and with a great enthusiasm for parochial visiting. There is -no very wide difference between the auricular confession of the catholic -church, and the spiritual confidence reposed in ministers the most -devoted to visiting their flocks. Enough may be seen in the religious -periodicals of America about the help women give to young ministers by -the needle, by raising subscriptions, and by more toilsome labours than -they should be allowed to undergo in such a cause. If young men cannot -earn with their own hands the means of finishing their education, and -providing themselves with food and clothing, without the help of women, -they may safely conclude that their vocation is to get their bread -first; whether or not it may be to preach afterwards.[36] But this kind -of dependence is wholly unnecessary. There is more provision made for -the clergy than there are clergy to use it. - -A young clergyman came home, one day, and complained to me that some of -his parochial visiting afflicted him much. He had been visiting and -exhorting a mother who had lost her infant; a sorrow which he always -found he could not reach. The mourner had sat still, and heard all he -had to say: but his impression was that he had not met any of her -feelings; that he had done nothing but harm. How should it be otherwise? -What should he know of the grief of a mother for her infant? He was sent -for, as a kind of charmer, to charm away the heart's pain. Such pain is -not sent to be charmed away. It could be made more endurable only by -sympathy, of all outward aids: and sympathy, of necessity, he had none; -but only a timid pain with which to aggravate hers. It was natural that -he should do nothing but harm. - -My final impression is, that religion is best administered in America by -the personal character of the most virtuous members of society, out of -the theological profession: and next, by the acts and preachings of the -members of that profession who are the most secular in their habits of -mind and life. The exclusively clerical are the worst enemies of -Christianity, except the vicious. - -The fault is not in the Voluntary System; for the case is equally bad on -both sides the Atlantic: and an Establishment like the English does -little more than superadd the danger of a careless, ambitious, worldly -clergy,[37] in the richer priests of the church, and an overworked and -ill-recompensed set of working clergy. The evil lies in a superstition -which no establishment can ever obviate; in the superstition, to use the -words of an American clergyman, "of believing that religion is something -else than goodness." From this it arises that an ecclesiastical -profession still exists; not for the study of theological science, -(which is quite reasonable,) but for the dispensing of goodness. From -this it arises that ecclesiastical goodness is practically separated -from active personal and social goodness. From this it arises that the -yeomanry of America, those who are ever in the presence of God's high -priest, Nature, and out of the worldly competitions of a society -sophisticated with superstition, are perpetually in advance of the rest -of the community on the great moral questions of the time, while the -clergy are in the rear. - -What must be done? The machinery of administration must be changed. The -people have been brought up to suppose that they saw Christianity in -their ministers. The first consequence of this mistake was, that -Christianity was extensively misunderstood; as it still is. The trying -moral conflicts of the time are acting as a test. The people are rapidly -discovering that the supposed faithful mirror is a grossly refracting -medium; and the blessed consequence will be, that they will look at the -object for themselves, declining any medium at all. The clerical -profession is too hard and too perilous a one, too little justifiable on -the ground of principle, too much opposed to the spirit of the gospel, -to outlive long the individual research into religion, to which the -faults of the clergy are daily impelling the people. - -To what then must we meantime trust for religion?--To the administration -of God, and the heart of man. Has not God his own ways, unlike our ways, -of teaching when man misteaches? It is worth travelling in the wild -west, away from churches and priests, to see how religion springs up in -the pleasant woods, and is nourished by the winds and the star-light. -The child on the grass is not alone in listening for God's tramp on the -floor of his creation. We are all children, ever so listening. Impulses -of religion arise wherever there is life and society; whenever hope is -rebuked, and fear relieved; wherever there is love to be cherished, and -age and childhood to be guarded. If it be true, as my friend and I -speculated, that religious sensibility is best awakened by the spectacle -of the beauty of holiness, religion is everywhere safe; for this beauty -is as prevalent, more or less perceptibly, as the light of human eyes. -It is safe as long as the gospel history is extant. The beauty of -holiness is there so resplendent, that, to those who look upon it with -their own eyes, it seems inconceivable that, if it were once brought -unveiled before the minds of men, every one would not adopt it into his -reason and his affections from that hour. It has been reorganising and -vivifying society from the day of its advent. It is carrying on this -very work now in the New World. The institutions of America are, as I -have said, planted down deep into Christianity. Its spirit must make an -effectual pilgrimage through a society, of which it may be called a -native; and no mistrust of its influences can for ever intercept that -spirit in its mission of denouncing anomalies, exposing hypocrisy, -rebuking faithlessness, raising and communing with the outcast, and -driving out sordidness from the circuit of this, the most glorious -temple of society that has ever yet been reared. The community will be -christian as sure as democracy is christian. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[33] This summary does not pretend to be complete, but it is the nearest -approximation to fact that can be obtained. According to it the -Episcopalian Methodists are the most numerous sect: then the Catholics, -Calvinistic Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Christians, -Episcopalians, and Quakers. The other denominations follow, down to the -Tunkers and Shakers, which are the smallest. - -[34] - -"It is a mortifying truth, that two men in any rank of society could -hardly be found virtuous enough to give money, and to take it, as a -necessary gift, without injury to the moral entireness of one or both. -But so stands the fact." - -_Edinburgh Review_, xlviii. p. 303. - -[35] See Appendix E, for a part of a discourse by Orestes A. Brownson on -the Wants of the Times. It is given as it fell from his lips, and not as -a specimen of his practice of composition. The reader, however, will -probably be no more disposed to remember anything about style in the -presence of this discourse, than Mr. Brownson's hearers are wont to be. - -[36] See Appendix F. - -[37] It is amusing to see how our aristocratic and ecclesiastical -institutions strike simple republicans. I was asked whether the English -Bishops were not a necessary intermediate aristocracy between the Lords -and the Commons. - - - - -CONCLUSION. - - -My book must come to an end; but I offer no conclusion of my subject. I -do not pretend to have formed any theory about American society or -prospects to which a finishing hand can be put in the last page. -American society itself constitutes but the first pages of a great book -of events, into whose progress we can see but a little way; and that but -dimly. It is too soon yet to theorise; much too soon to speak of -conclusions even as to the present entire state of this great nation. - -Meantime, some prominent facts appear to stand out from their history -and condition, which it may be useful to recognise, while refusing to -pronounce upon their positive or comparative virtue and happiness. - -By a happy coincidence of outward plenty with liberal institutions, -there is in America a smaller amount of crime, poverty, and mutual -injury of every kind, than has ever been known in any society. This is -not only a present blessing, but the best preparation for continued -fidelity to true democratic principles. - -However the Americans may fall short, in practice, of the professed -principles of their association, they have realised many things for -which the rest of the civilised world is still struggling; and which -some portions are only beginning to intend. They are, to all intents and -purposes, self-governed. They have risen above all liability to a -hereditary aristocracy, a connexion between religion and the State, a -vicious or excessive taxation, and the irresponsibility of any class. -Whatever evils may remain or may arise, in either the legislative or -executive departments, the means of remedy are in the hands of the whole -people: and those people are in possession of the glorious certainty -that time and exertion will infallibly secure all wisely desired -objects. - -They have one tremendous anomaly to cast out; a deadly sin against their -own principles to abjure. But they are doing this with an earnestness -which proves that the national heart is sound. The progress of the -Abolition question within three years, throughout the whole of the rural -districts of the north, is a far stronger testimony to the virtue of the -nation than the noisy clamour of a portion of the slave-holders of the -south, and the merchant aristocracy of the north, with the silence of -the clergy, are against it. The nation must not be judged of by that -portion whose worldly interests are involved in the maintenance of the -anomaly; nor yet by the eight hundred flourishing abolition societies of -the north, with all the supporters they have in unassociated -individuals. The nation must be judged of as to Slavery by neither of -these parties; but by the aspect of the conflict between them. If it be -found that the five abolitionists who first met in a little chamber five -years ago, to measure their moral strength against this national -enormity, have become a host beneath whose assaults the vicious -institution is rocking to its foundations, it is time that slavery was -ceasing to be a national reproach. Europe now owes to America the -justice of regarding her as the country of abolitionism, quite as -emphatically as the country of slavery. - -The civilisation and the morals of the Americans fall far below their -own principles. This is enough to say. It is better than contrasting or -comparing them with European morals and civilisation: which contrast or -comparison can answer no purpose, unless on the supposition, which I do -not think a just one, that their morals and civilisation are derived -from their political organisation. A host of other influences are at -work, which must nullify all conclusions drawn from the politics of the -Americans to their morals. Such conclusions will be somewhat less rash -two centuries hence. Meantime, it will be the business of the world, as -well as of America, to watch the course of republicanism and of national -morals; to mark their mutual action, and humbly learn whatever the new -experiment may give out. To the whole world, as well as to the -Americans, it is important to ascertain whether the extraordinary mutual -respect and kindness of the American people generally are attributable -to their republicanism: and again, how far their republicanism is -answerable for their greatest fault,--their deficiency of moral -independence. - -No peculiarity in them is more remarkable than their national -contentment. If this were the result of apathy, it would be despicable: -if it did not coexist with an active principle of progress, it would be -absurd. As it is, I can regard this national attribute with no other -feeling than veneration. Entertaining, as I do, little doubt of the -general safety of the American Union, and none of the moral progress of -its people, it is clear to me that this national contentment will live -down all contempt, and even all wonder; and come at length to be -regarded with the same genial and universal emotion with which men -recognise in an individual the equanimity of rational self-reverence. - - -NOTE. - -Since pp. 47-52, in the first volume, were printed, intelligence has -arrived of the admission of Michigan into the Union: on what terms, I -have not been able to ascertain. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - -A. - -MR. ADAMS'S SPEECH ON TEXAS. - - * * * * * * - -I suppose a more portentous case, certainly within the bounds of -possibility--I would to God I could say not within the bounds of -probability. You have been, if you are not now, at the very point of a -war with Mexico--a war, I am sorry to say, so far as public rumour may -be credited, stimulated by provocations on our part from the very -commencement of this administration down to the recent authority given -to General Gaines to invade the Mexican territory. It is said that one -of the earliest acts of this administration was a proposal, made at a -time when there was already much ill-humour in Mexico against the United -States, that she should cede to the United States a very large portion -of her territory--large enough to constitute nine States equal in extent -to Kentucky. It must be confessed that a device better calculated to -produce jealousy, suspicion, ill-will, and hatred, could not have been -contrived. It is further affirmed that this overture, offensive in -itself, was made precisely at the time when a swarm of colonists from -these United States were covering the Mexican border with land-jobbing, -and with slaves, introduced in defiance of the Mexican laws, by which -slavery had been abolished throughout that Republic. The war now raging -in Texas is a Mexican civil war, and a war for the re-establishment of -slavery where it was abolished.--It is not a servile war, but a war -between slavery and emancipation, and every possible effort has been -made to drive us into the war, on the side of slavery. - -It is, indeed, a circumstance eminently fortunate for us that this -monster, Santa Ana, has been defeated and taken, though I cannot -participate in that exquisite joy with which we have been told that -every one having Anglo-Saxon blood in his veins must have been delighted -on hearing that this ruffian has been shot, in cold blood, when a -prisoner of war, by the Anglo-Saxon leader of the victorious Texan army. -Sir, I hope there is no member of this house, of other than Anglo-Saxon -origin, who will deem it uncourteous that I, being myself in part -Anglo-Saxon, must, of course, hold that for the best blood that ever -circulated in human veins. Oh! yes, sir! far be it from me to depreciate -the glories of the Anglo-Saxon race; although there have been times when -they bowed their necks and submitted to the law of conquest, beneath the -ascendency of the Norman race. But, sir, it has struck me as no -inconsiderable evidence of the spirit which is spurring us into this war -of aggression, of conquest, and of slave-making, that all the fires of -ancient, hereditary national hatred are to be kindled, to familiarise us -with the ferocious spirit of rejoicing at the massacre of prisoners in -cold blood. Sir, is there not yet hatred enough between the races which -compose your Southern population and the population of Mexico, their -next neighbour, but you must go back eight hundred or a thousand years, -and to another hemisphere, for the fountains of bitterness between you -and them? What is the temper of feeling between the component parts of -our own Southern population, between your Anglo-Saxon, Norman, French, -and Moorish Spanish inhabitants of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and -Missouri? between them all and the Indian savage, the original possessor -of the land from which you are scourging him already back to the foot -of the Rocky Mountains? What between them all and the native American -negro, of African origin, whom they are holding in cruel bondage? Are -these elements of harmony, concord, and patriotism between the component -parts of a nation starting upon a crusade of conquest? And what are the -feelings of all this motley compound of your Southern population towards -the compound equally heterogeneous of the Mexican population? Do not -you, an Anglo-Saxon, slave-holding exterminator of Indians, from the -bottom of your soul, hate the Mexican-Spaniard-Indian, emancipator of -slaves and abolisher of slavery? And do you think that your hatred is -not with equal cordiality returned? Go to the city of Mexico, ask any of -your fellow-citizens who have been there for the last three or four -years, whether they scarcely dare show their faces, as Anglo-Americans, -in the streets. Be assured, sir, that, however heartily you detest the -Mexican, his bosom burns with an equally deep-seated detestation of you. - -And this is the nation with which, at the instigation of your Executive -Government, you are now rushing into war--into a war of conquest; -commenced by aggression on your part, and for the re-establishment of -slavery, where it has been abolished, throughout the Mexican Republic. -For your war will be with Mexico--with a Republic of twenty-four States, -and a population of eight or nine millions of souls. It seems to be -considered that this victory over twelve hundred men, with the capture -of their commander, the President of the Mexican Republic, has already -achieved the conquest of the whole Republic. That it may have achieved -the independence of Texas, is not impossible. But Texas is to the -Mexican Republic not more nor so much as the State of Michigan is to -yours. That State of Michigan, the people of which are in vain claiming -of you the performance of that sacred promise you made them, of -admitting her as a State into the Union; that State of Michigan, which -has greater grievances and heavier wrongs to allege against you for a -declaration of her independence, if she were disposed to declare it, -than the people of Texas have for breaking off their union with the -Republic of Mexico. Texas is an extreme boundary portion of the Republic -of Mexico; a wilderness inhabited only by Indians, till after the -Revolution which separated Mexico from Spain; not sufficiently populous -at the organisation of the Mexican Confederacy to form a State by -itself, and therefore united with Coahuila, where the greatest part of -the indigenous part of the population reside. Sir, the history of all -the emancipated Spanish American colonies has been, ever since their -separation from Spain, a history of convulsionary wars; of revolutions, -accomplished by single, and often very insignificant battles; of -chieftains, whose title to power has been the murder of their immediate -predecessors. They have all partaken of the character of the first -conquest of Mexico by Cortez, and of Peru by Pizarro; and this, sir, -makes me shudder at the thought of connecting our destinies indissolubly -with theirs. It may be that a new revolution in Mexico will follow upon -this captivity or death of their president and commanding general; we -have rumours, indeed, that such a revolution had happened even before -his defeat; but I cannot yet see my way clear to the conclusion that -either the independence of Texas, or the capture and military execution -of Santa Ana, will save you from war with Mexico. Santa Ana was but one -of a breed of which Spanish America for the last twenty-five years has -been a teeming mother--soldiers of fortune, who, by the sword or the -musket-ball, have risen to supreme power, and by the sword or the -musket-ball have fallen from it. That breed is not extinct; the very -last intelligence from Peru tells of one who has fallen there as -Yturbide, and Mina, and Guerrero, and Santa Ana have fallen in Mexico. -The same soil which produced them is yet fertile to produce others. They -reproduce themselves, with nothing but a change of the name and of the -man. Your war, sir, is to be a war of races--the Anglo-Saxon American -pitted against the Moorish-Spanish-Mexican American; a war between the -Northern and Southern halves of North America; from Passamaquoddy to -Panama. Are you prepared for such a war? - -And again I ask, what will be your _cause_ in such a war? Aggression, -conquest, and the re-establishment of slavery where it has been -abolished. In that war, sir, the banners of _freedom_ will be the -banners of Mexico; and your banners, I blush to speak the word, will be -the banners of slavery. - -Sir, in considering these United States and the United Mexican States as -mere masses of power coming into collision against each other, I cannot -doubt that Mexico will be the greatest sufferer by the shock. The -conquest of all Mexico would seem to be no improbable result of the -conflict, especially if the war should extend no farther than to the two -mighty combatants. But will it be so confined? Mexico is clearly the -weakest of the two powers; but she is not the least prepared for action. -She has the more recent experience of war. She has the greatest number -of veteran warriors; and although her highest chief has just suffered a -fatal and ignominious defeat, yet that has happened often before to -leaders of armies, too confident of success, and contemptuous of their -enemy. Even now, Mexico is better prepared for a war of invasion upon -you, than you are for a war of invasion upon her. There may be found a -successor to Santa Ana, inflamed with the desire, not only of avenging -his disaster, but what he and his nation will consider your perfidious -hostility. The national spirit may go with him. He may not only turn the -tables upon the Texan conquerors, but drive them for refuge within your -borders, and pursue them into the heart of your own territories. Are you -in a condition to resist him? Is the success of your whole army, and all -your veteran generals, and all your militia-calls, and all your mutinous -volunteers, against a miserable band of five or six hundred invisible -Seminole Indians, in your late campaign, an earnest of the energy and -vigour with which you are ready to carry on that far otherwise -formidable and complicated war?--Complicated did I say? And how -complicated? Your Seminole war is already spreading to the Creeks; and, -in their march of desolation, they sweep along with them your negro -slaves, and put arms into their hands to make common cause with them -against you; and how far will it spread, sir, should a Mexican invader, -with the torch of liberty in his hand, and the standard of freedom -floating over his head, proclaiming emancipation to the slave, and -revenge to the native Indian, as he goes, invade your soil? What will be -the condition of your States of Louisiana, of Mississippi, of Alabama, -of Arkansas, of Missouri, and of Georgia? Where will be your negroes? -Where will be that combined and concentrated mass of Indian tribes, -whom, by an inconceivable policy, you have expelled from their -widely-distant habitations, to embody them within a small compass on the -very borders of Mexico, as if on purpose to give to that country a -nation of natural allies in their hostilities against you? Sir, you have -a Mexican, an Indian, and a negro war upon your hands, and you are -plunging yourself into it blindfold; you are talking about acknowledging -the independence of the Republic of Texas, and you are thirsting to -annex Texas, ay, and Coahuila, and Tamaulipas, and Santa Fe, from the -source to the mouth of the Rio Bravo, to your already over-distended -dominions. Five hundred thousand square miles of the territory of Mexico -would not even now quench your burning thirst for aggrandisement. - -But will your foreign war for this be with Mexico alone? No, sir. As the -weaker party, Mexico, when the contest shall have once begun, will look -abroad, as well as among your negroes and your Indians, for assistance. -Neither Great Britain nor France will suffer you to make such a conquest -from Mexico; no, nor even to annex the independent State of Texas to -your Confederation, without their interposition. You will have an -Anglo-Saxon intertwined with a Mexican war to wage. Great Britain may -have no serious objection to the independence of Texas, and may be -willing enough to take her under her protection, as a barrier both -against Mexico and against you. But, as an aggrandisement to you, she -will not readily suffer it; and, above all, she will not suffer you to -acquire it by conquest, and the re-establishment of slavery. Urged on by -the irresistible, overwhelming torrent of public opinion, Great Britain -has recently, at a cost of one hundred million of dollars, which her -people have joyfully paid, abolished slavery, throughout all her -colonies in the West Indies. After setting such an example, she will -not--it is impossible that she should--stand by and witness a war for -the re-establishment of slavery, where it had been for years abolished, -and situated thus in the immediate neighbourhood of her islands. She -will tell you, that if you must have Texas as a member of your -Confederacy, it must be without the taint or the trammels of slavery; -and if you will wage a war to handcuff and fetter your fellow-man, she -will wage the war against you to break his chains. Sir, what a figure, -in the eyes of mankind, would you make, in deadly conflict with Great -Britain: she fighting the battles of emancipation, and you the battles -of slavery; she the benefactress, and you the oppressor, of human kind! -In such a war, the enthusiasm of emancipation, too, would unite vast -numbers of her people in aid of the national rivalry, and all her -natural jealousy against our aggrandisement. No war was ever so popular -in England as that war would be against slavery, the slave-trade, and -the Anglo-Saxon descendant from her own loins. - -As to the annexation of Texas to your Confederation, for what do you -want it? Are you not large and unwieldy enough already? Do not two -millions of square miles cover surface enough for the insatiate rapacity -of your land-jobbers? I hope there are none of them within the sound of -my voice. Have you not Indians enough to expel from the land of their -fathers' sepulchres, and to exterminate? What, in a prudential and -military point of view, would be the addition of Texas to your domain? -It would be weakness, and not power. Is your southern and south-western -frontier not sufficiently extensive? not sufficiently feeble? not -sufficiently defenceless? Why are you adding regiment after regiment of -dragoons to your standing army? Why are you struggling, by direction and -by indirection, to raise _per saltum_ that army from less than six to -more than twenty thousand men? Your commanding general, now returning -from his excursion to Florida, openly recommends the increase of your -army to that number. Sir, the extension of your sea-coast frontier from -the Sabine to the Rio Bravo, would add to your weakness tenfold; for it -is now only weakness with reference to Mexico. It would then be weakness -with reference to Great Britain, to France, even perhaps to Russia, to -every naval European power, which might make a quarrel with us for the -sake of settling a colony; but, above all, to Great Britain. She, by her -naval power, and by her American colonies, holds the keys of the Gulf of -Mexico. What would be the condition of your frontier from the mouth of -the Mississippi to that of the Rio del Norte, in the event of a war with -Great Britain? Sir, the reasons of Mr. Monroe for accepting the Sabine -as the boundary were three. First, he had no confidence in the strength -of our claim as far as the Rio Bravo; secondly, he thought it would make -our union so heavy, that it would break into fragments by its own -weight; thirdly, he thought it would protrude a long line of sea-coast, -which, in our first war with Great Britain, she might take into her own -possession, and which we should be able neither to defend nor to -recover. At that time there was no question of slavery or of abolition -in the controversy. The country belonged to Spain; it was a wilderness, -and slavery was the established law of the land. There was then no -project for carving out nine slave States, to hold eighteen seats in the -other wing of this capitol, in the triangle between the mouths and the -sources of the Mississippi and Bravo rivers. But what was our claim? Why -it was that La Salle, having discovered the mouth of the Mississippi, -and France having made a settlement at New Orleans, France had a right -to one half the sea-coast from the mouth of the Mississippi to the next -Spanish settlement, which was Vera Cruz. The mouth of the Rio Bravo was -about half way from the Balize to Vera Cruz; and so as grantees, from -France of Louisiana, we claimed to the Rio del Norte, though the Spanish -settlement of Santa Fe was at the head of that river. France, from whom -we had received Louisiana, utterly disclaimed ever having even raised -such a pretension. Still we made the best of the claim that we could, -and finally yielded it for the Floridas, and for the line of the 42d -degree of latitude from the source of the Arkansas river to the South -Sea. Such was our claim; and you may judge how much confidence Mr. -Monroe could have in its validity. The great object and desire of the -country then was to obtain the Floridas. It was General Jackson's -desire; and in that conference with me to which I have heretofore -alluded, and which it is said he does not recollect, he said to me that -so long as the Florida rivers were not in our possession, there could be -no safety for our whole Southern country. - -But, sir, suppose you should annex Texas to these United States; another -year would not pass before you would have to engage in a war for the -conquest of the Island of Cuba. What is now the condition of that -island? Still under the nominal protection of Spain. And what is the -condition of Spain herself? Consuming her own vitals in a civil war for -the succession to the crown. Do you expect, that whatever may be the -issue of that war, she can retain even the nominal possession of Cuba? -After having lost _all_ her continental colonies in North and South -America, Cuba will stand in need of more efficient protection; and above -all, the protection of a naval power. Suppose that naval power should be -Great Britain. There is Cuba at your very door; and if you spread -yourself along a naked coast, from the Sabine to the Rio Bravo, what -will be your relative position towards Great Britain, with not only -Jamaica, but Cuba, and Porto Rico in her hands, and abolition for the -motto to her union cross of St. George and St. Andrew? Mr. Chairman, do -you think I am treading on fantastic grounds? Let me tell you a piece of -history, not far remote. Sir, many years have not passed away since an -internal revolution in Spain subjected that country and her king for a -short time to the momentary government of the Cortes. That revolution -was followed by another, by which, under the auspices of a French army -with the Duke d'Angouleme at their head, Ferdinand the Seventh was -restored to a despotic throne; Cuba had followed the fortunes of the -Cortes when they were crowned with victory; and when the -counter-revolution came, the inhabitants of the island, uncertain what -was to be their destination, were for some time in great perplexity what -to do for themselves. Two considerable parties arose in the island, one -of which was for placing it under the protection of Great Britain, and -another was for annexing it to the confederation of these United States. -By one of these parties I have reason to believe that overtures were -made to the Government of Great Britain. By the other _I know_ that -overtures were made to the government of the United States. And I -further know that secret, though irresponsible assurances were -communicated to the then President of the United States, as coming from -the French Government, that _they_ were secretly informed that the -British Government had determined to take possession of Cuba. Whether -similar overtures were made to France herself, I do not undertake to -say; but that Mr. George Canning, then the British Secretary of State -for Foreign Affairs, was under no inconsiderable alarm, lest, under the -pupilage of the Duke d'Angouleme, Ferdinand the Seventh might commit to -the commander of a French naval squadron the custody of the Moro Castle, -is a circumstance also well known to me. It happened that just about -that time a French squadron of considerable force was fitted out and -received sailing orders for the West Indies, without formal -communication of the fact to the British Government; and that as soon as -it was made known to him, he gave orders to the British Ambassador at -Paris to demand, in the most peremptory tone, what was the destination -of that squadron, and a special and positive disclaimer that it was -intended even to visit the Havana; and this was made the occasion of -mutual explanations, by which Great Britain, France, and the United -States, not by the formal solemnity of a treaty, but by the implied -engagement of mutual assurances of intention, gave pledges of honour to -each other, that neither of them should in the then condition of the -island take it, or the Moro Castle, as its citadel, from the possession -of Spain. This engagement was on all sides faithfully performed; but, -without it, who doubts that from that day to this either of the three -powers might have taken the island and held it in undisputed possession? - -At this time circumstances have changed--popular revolutions both in -France and Great Britain have perhaps curbed the spirit of conquest in -Great Britain, and France may have enough to do to govern her kingdom of -Algiers. But Spain is again convulsed with a civil war for the -succession to her crown; she has irretrievably lost all her colonies on -both continents of America. It is impossible that she should hold much -longer a shadow of dominion over the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico; nor -can those islands, in their present condition, form independent nations, -capable of protecting themselves. They must for ages remain at the mercy -of Great Britain or of these United States, or of both; Great Britain is -even now about to interfere in this war for the Spanish succession. If -by the utter imbecility of the Mexican confederacy this revolt of Texas -should lead immediately to its separation from that Republic, and its -annexation to the United States, I believe it impossible that Great -Britain should look on while this operation is performing with -indifference. She will see that it must shake her own whole colonial -power on this continent, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean -Seas, like an earthquake; she will see, too, that it endangers her own -abolition of slavery in her own colonies. A war for the restoration of -slavery where it has been abolished, if successful in Texas, must extend -over all Mexico; and the example will threaten her with imminent danger -of a war of colours in her own islands. She will take possession of Cuba -and of Porto Rico, by cession from Spain or by the batteries from her -wooden walls; and if you ask her by what authority she has done it, she -will ask you, in return, by what authority you have extended your -sea-coast from the Sabine to the Rio Bravo. She will ask you a question -more perplexing, namely--by what authority you, with freedom, -independence, and democracy upon your lips, are waging a war of -extermination to forge new manacles and fetters, instead of those which -are falling from the hands and feet of man. She will carry emancipation -and abolition with her in every fold of her flag; while your stars, as -they increase in numbers, will be overcast with the murky vapours of -oppression, and the only portion of your banners visible to the eye will -be the blood-stained stripes of the taskmaster. - -Mr. Chairman, are you ready for all these wars? A Mexican war? a war -with Great Britain, if not with France? a general Indian war? a servile -war? and, as an inevitable consequence of them all, a civil war? For it -must ultimately terminate in a war of colours as well as of races. And -do you imagine that while with your eyes open you are wilfully kindling, -and then closing your eyes and blindly rushing into them; do you imagine -that while, in the very nature of things, your own Southern and -Southwestern States must be the Flanders of these complicated wars, the -battle-field upon which the last great conflict must be fought between -slavery and emancipation; do you imagine that your Congress will have no -constitutional authority to interfere with the institution of slavery -_in any way_ in the States of this Confederacy? Sir, they must and will -interfere with it--perhaps to sustain it by war; perhaps to abolish it -by treaties of peace; and they will not only possess the constitutional -power so to interfere, but they will be bound in duty to do it by the -express provisions of the Constitution itself. For the instant that your -slaveholding States become the theatre of war, civil, servile, or -foreign, from that instant the war powers of Congress extend to -interference with the institution of slavery in every way by which it -can be interfered with, from a claim of indemnity for slaves taken or -destroyed, to the cession of the State burdened with slavery to a -foreign power. - - * * * * * * - - -B. - -GENERAL AND STATE FINANCES. - -_Statement of Moneys received into the Treasury from all sources, for -the year 1832._ - - - Dollars. Cts. -From the Customs 22,178,735 30 - Public Lands 2,623,381 03 -From dividends on Stock in the Bank of the United States 490,000 00 -Sales of Stock in Bank of the United States 169,000 00 -Arrears of direct tax 6,791 13 -Arrears of internal revenue 11,630 65 -Fees on Letters Patent 14,160 00 -Cents coined at the Mint 21,845 40 -Fines, penalties, and forfeitures 8,868 04 -Surplus emoluments of officers of the Customs 31,965 46 -Postage on letters 244 95 -Consular receipts 1,884 52 -Interest on debts due by Banks to United States 136 00 -Persons unknown, said to be due to United States 500 00 -Moneys obtained from the Treasury on forged - documents 115 00 -Moneys previously advanced for Biennial Register 37 00 -Securing Light-house on the Brandy-wine Shoal 1,000 00 -Light-house on Mahon's Ditch, Delaware 4,975 00 -Balance of advances in the War Department, - repaid 15,679 24 - ---------- - 119,832 39 -Deduction, &c. 1,889 50 - --------- 117,942 89 - ------------- - 25,579,059 22 - - -_Statement of Expenditures of the United States, for 1832._ - - Dollars. Cts. -Civil, miscellaneous, and foreign intercourse 4,577,141 45 -Military establishment 7,982,877 03 -Naval establishment 3,956,370 29 - -------------- - 16,516,388 77 - -Such were the expenses of the federal government of the United States, -exclusive of the Debt, of which nearly 35,000,000 dollars were that year -paid. - -For the State of Connecticut, the same year, the receipts were,-- - - Ds. Cts. -From interest on United States 3 per cents 1,382 00 -Tax on non-resident owners of Bank stock 2,817 00 -Avails of State prison 5,000 00 -Dividends on Bank stock, owned by the State 25,670 00 -Fines and miscellaneous receipts 7,448 00 -State tax 37,984 00 - ----------- - 80,301 00 - -Disbursements were-- - -For ordinary expenses of government 60,852 00 -For public buildings and institutions 10,774 00 - ----------- - 71,626 00 - -Population in 1830,--297,665. - - * * * * * - -I will give also the receipts and expenditure of one of the largest and -busiest of the States, with a population (in 1830) of 1,348,233. - - -PENNSYLVANIA. 1832 AND 1833. - -_Receipts._ - - Ds. Cts. -Lands and Land-office fees 48,379 64 -Auction commissions and duties 94,738 08 -Dividends on various stock 171,765 20 -Tax on bank dividends 45,404 91 -Tax on offices 14,399 51 -Tax on writs, &c. 24,771 00 -Fees, Secretary of State's office 728 33 -Tavern licenses 52,267 16 -Duties on dealers in foreign merchandise 61,480 86 -State maps 131 30 -Collateral inheritances 160,626 26 -Pamphlet laws 96 26 -Militia and exempt fines 1,693 00 -Tin and clock pedlars' licences 2,461 93 -Hawkers' and pedlars' licences 3,025 45 -Increase of county rates and levies 185,177 32 -Tax on personal property 43,685 37 -Escheats 1,746 99 -Canal tolls 151,419 69 -Loans, and premiums on loans 2,875,638 72 -Premiums on Bank charters 102,297 90 -Old debts and miscellaneous 5,119 74 - -------------- - 4,047,054 62 - -_Expenditures._ - - Ds. Cts. - -Internal improvements 2,588,879 13 -Expenses of government 212,940 95 -Militia expenses 20,776 99 -Pensions and gratuities 29,303 21 -Education 7,954 48 -House of Refuge 5,000 00 -Interest on loans 94,317 47 -Pennsylvania claimants 351 00 -State maps 187 30 -Internal improvement fund 755,444 01 -Penitentiary at Philadelphia 44,312 50 -Penitentiary near Pittsburg 23,047 75 -Conveying convicts 1,350 22 -Conveying fugitives 581 50 -Miscellaneous 12,187 97 -Defence of the State 160 00 - -------------- - 3,796,794 48 - - -NORTH CAROLINA. - -Receipts, for 1832, 3 188,819 97 -Disbursements 138,867 46 - -Population in 1830,--737,987. - - -C. - -RECOLLECTIONS OF A SOUTHERN MATRON. - -CHAP. VI. - - "_Mrs. Page._--Sir Hugh, my husband says my son profits nothing in - the world at his book. I pray you ask him some questions in his - accidence." - - "_Evans._--Come hither, William, hold up your head, come." - - -After the departure of our Connecticut teacher, Mr. Bates, papa resolved -to carry on our education himself. We were to rise by daylight, that he -might pursue his accustomed ride over the fields after breakfast. New -writing-books were taken out and ruled, fresh quills laid by their side, -our task carefully committed to memory, and we sat with a mixture of -docility and curiosity, to know how he would manage as a teacher. The -first three days our lessons being on trodden ground, and ourselves -under the impulse of novelty, we were very amiable, he very paternal; on -the fourth, John was turned out of the room, Richard was pronounced a -mule, and I went sobbing to mamma as if my heart would break, while papa -said he might be compelled to ditch rice fields, but he never would -undertake to teach children again. - -A slight constraint was thrown over the family for a day or two, but it -soon wore off, and he returned to his good-nature. For three weeks we -were as wild as fawns, until mamma's attention was attracted by my -sun-burnt complexion, and my brothers' torn clothes. - -"This will never answer," said she to papa. "Look at Cornelia's face! -It is as brown as a chinquapin. Richard has ruined his new suit, and -John has cut his leg with the carpenter's tools. I have half a mind to -keep school for them myself." - -Papa gave a slight whistle, which seemed rather to stimulate than check -her resolution. - -"Cornelia," said she, "go directly to your brothers, and prepare your -books for to-morrow. _I_ will teach you." - -The picture about to be presented is not overwrought. I am confident of -the sympathy of many a mother, whose finger has been kept on a word in -the dictionary so long a time, that her pupils, forgetting her vocation, -have lounged through the first interruptions and finished with a frolic. - -One would suppose that the retirement of a plantation was the most -appropriate spot for a mother and her children to give and receive -instruction. Not so, for instead of a limited household, her dependants -are increased to a number which would constitute a village. She is -obliged to listen to cases of grievance, is a nurse to the sick, -distributes the half-yearly clothing; indeed, the mere giving out of -thread and needles is something of a charge on so large a scale. A -planter's lady may seem indolent, because there are so many under her -who perform trivial services, but the very circumstance of keeping so -many menials in order is an arduous one, and the _keys_ of her -establishment are a care of which a northern housekeeper knows nothing, -and include a very extensive class of duties. Many fair and even -aristocratic girls, if we may use this phrase in our republican country, -who grace a ball-room, or loll in a liveried carriage, may be seen with -these steel talismans, presiding over store-houses, and measuring with -the accuracy and conscientiousness of a shopman, the daily allowance of -the family; or cutting homespun suits, for days together, for the young -and old slaves under their charge; while matrons, who would ring a bell -for their pocket-handkerchief to be brought to them, will act the part -of a surgeon or physician, with a promptitude and skill, which would -excite astonishment in a stranger. Very frequently, slaves, like -children, will only take medicine from their superiors, and in this case -the planter's wife or daughter is admirably fitted to aid them. - -There are few establishments where all care and responsibility devolves -on the master, and even then the superintendence of a large domestic -circle, and the rites of hospitality, demand so large a portion of the -mistress's time, as leaves her but little opportunity for systematic -teaching in her family. In this case she is wise to seek an efficient -tutor, still appropriating those opportunities which perpetually arise -under the same roof, to improve their moral and religious culture, and -cultivate those sympathies which exalt these precious beings from -children to friends. - -The young, conscientious, ardent mother must be taught this by -experience. She has a jealousy at first of any instruction that shall -come between their dawning minds and her own, and is only taught by the -constantly thwarted recitation, that in this country, at least, good -housekeeping and good teaching cannot be combined. - -But to return to my narrative. The morning after mamma's order, we -assembled at ten o'clock. There was a little trepidation in her manner, -but we loved her too well to annoy her by noticing it. Her education had -been confined to mere rudiments, and her good sense led her only to -conduct our reading, writing, and spelling. - -We stood in a line. - -"Spell _irrigate_," said she. Just then the coachman entered, and -bowing, said, "Maussa send me for de key for get four quart o'corn for -him bay horse." - -The key was given. - -"Spell _imitate_," said mamma. - -"We did not spell _irrigate_," we all exclaimed. - -"Oh, no," said she, "_irrigate_." - -By the time the two words were well through, Chloe, the most refined of -our coloured circle, appeared. - -"Will mistress please to _medjure_ out some calomel for Syphax, who is -feverish and onrestless?"[38] - -During mamma's visit to the doctor's shop, as the medicine-closet was -called, we turned the inkstand over on her mahogany table, and wiped it -up with our pocket-handkerchiefs. It required some time to cleanse and -arrange ourselves; and just as we were seated and had advanced a little -way on our orthographical journey, maum Phillis entered with her usual -drawl, "Little maussa want for nurse, marm." - -While this operation was going on, we gathered round mamma to play -bo-peep with the baby, until even she forgot our lessons. At length the -little pet was dismissed with the white drops still resting on his red -lips, and our line was formed again. - -Mamma's next interruption, after successfully issuing a few words, was -to settle a quarrel between La Fayette and Venus, two little blackies, -who were going through their daily drill, in learning to rub the -furniture, which with brushing flies at meals constitutes the first -instruction for house servants. These important and classical personages -rubbed about a stroke to the minute on each side of the cellaret, -rolling up their eyes and making grimaces at each other. At this crisis -they had laid claim to the same rubbing-cloth; mamma stopped the dispute -by ordering my seamstress Flora, who was sewing for me, to apply the -weight of her thimble, that long-known weapon of offence, as well as -implement of industry, to their organ of firmness. - -"Spell _accentuate_" said mamma, whose finger had slipped from the -column. - -"No, no, that is not the place," we exclaimed, rectifying the mistake. - -"Spell _irritate_" said she, with admirable coolness, and John fairly -succeeded just as the overseer's son, a sallow little boy with yellow -hair, and blue homespun dress, came in with his hat on, and kicking up -one foot for manners, said, "Fayther says as how he wants master -Richard's horse to help tote some tetters[39] to t'other field." - -This pretty piece of alliteration was complied with, after some -remonstrance from brother Dick, and we finished our column. At this -crisis, before we were fairly seated at writing, mamma was summoned to -the hall to one of the field hands, who had received an injury in the -ancle from a hoe. Papa and the overseer being at a distance, she was -obliged to superintend the wound. We all followed her, La Fayette and -Venus bringing up the rear. She inspected the sufferer's great foot, -covered with blood and perspiration, superintended a bath, prepared a -healing application, and bound it on with her own delicate hands, first -quietly tying a black apron over her white dress. Here was no shrinking, -no hiding of the eyes, and while extracting some extraneous substance -from the wound, her manner was as resolute as it was gentle and -consoling. This episode gave Richard an opportunity to unload his -pockets of groundnuts, and treat us therewith. We were again seated at -our writing-books, and were going on swimmingly with "_Avoid evil -company_," when a little crow-minder, hoarse from his late occupation, -came in with a basket of eggs, and said, - -"Mammy Phillis send Missis some egg for buy, ma'am; she ain't so bery -well, and ax for some 'baccer." - -It took a little time to pay for the eggs and send to the store-room for -the Virginia-weed, of which opportunity we availed ourselves to draw -figures on our slates: mamma reproved us, and we were resuming our -duties, when the cook's son approached and said, - -"Missis, Daddy Ajax say he been broke de axe, and ax me for ax you for -len him de new axe." - -This made us shout out with laughter, and the business was scarcely -settled, when the dinner-horn sounded. That evening a carriage full of -friends arrived from the city to pass a week with us, and thus ended -mamma's experiment in teaching. - -Our summers were usually passed at Springland, a pine-settlement, where -about twenty families resorted at that season of the year. We were -fortunate to find a French lady already engaged in teaching, from whom I -took lessons on the piano-forte and guitar. The summer passed swiftly -away. Papa was delighted with my facility in French, in which my -brothers were also engaged, and we were happy to retain Madame d'Anville -in our own family, on our return to Roseland. - -In the middle of November a stranger was announced to papa, and a young -man of very prepossessing appearance entered with a letter. It proved to -be from our teacher, Mr. Bates. The contents were as follows:-- - -"_Respected Sir._--I now sit down to write to you, to inform you that I -am well, as also are Sir and Mar'm, my sister Nancy, and all the rest of -our folks except aunt Patty, who is but poorly, having attacks of the -rheumatiz, and shortness of breath. I should add, that Mrs. Prudence -Bates, (who after the regular publishment on the church-doors for three -Sundays, was united to me in the holy bands of wedlock, by our minister -Mr. Ezekiel Duncan,) is in a good state of health, at this present, -though her uncle, by her father's side, has been sick of jaundice, a -complaint that has been off and on with him for a considerable spell. - -"The bearer of this epistle is Parson Duncan's son, by name Mr. Charles -Duncan, a very likely young man, but poorly in health, and Dr. Hincks -says, going down to Charleston may set him up. I have the candour to -say, that I think him, on some accounts, a more proper teacher than your -humble servant, having served his time at a regular college edication. - - * * * * * * - -"I have writ a much longer letter than I thought on, but somehow it -makes me chirpy to think of Roseland, though the young folks were -obstreperous. - -"Give my love nevertheless to them, and Miss Wilton, and all the little -ones, as also I would not forget Daddy Jacque, whom I consider, -notwithstanding his colour, as a very respectable person. I cannot say -as much for Jim, who was an eternal thorn in my side, by reason of his -quickness at mischief, and his slowness at waiting upon me; and I take -this opportunity of testifying, that I believe if he had been in New -England, he would have had his deserts before this; but you Southern -folks do put up with an unaccountable sight from niggers, and I hope -Jim will not be allowed his full tether, if so be Mr. Charles should -take my situation in your family. I often tell our folks how I used to -catch up a thing and do it rather than wait for half-a-dozen on 'em to -take their own time. If I lived to the age of Methusalem, I never could -git that composed, quiet kind of way you Southern folks have of waiting -on the niggers. I only wish they could see aunt Patty move when the -rheumatiz is off--if she isn't spry, I don't know. - -"Excuse all errors, -"Yours to serve, -"JOSEPH BATES." - - -I detected a gentle, half-comical smile on Mr. Duncan's mouth as he -raised his splendid eyes to papa, while delivering Mr. Bates' letter; -but he soon walked to the window, and asked me some questions about the -Cherokee-rose hedge, and other objects in view, which were novelties to -him. I felt instantly that he was a gentleman, by the atmosphere of -refinement which was thrown over him, and I saw that papa sympathised -with me, as with graceful courtesy he welcomed him to -Roseland.--_Southern Rose-bud._ - - -D. - -The following is such information as I have been able to obtain -respecting the public Educational provision in the United States, from -the year 1830 to 1835. - - -_The Free States in 1830._ - -MAINE.--"By a law of the State, every town, however large or small, is -required to raise annually, for the support of schools, a sum equal at -least to _forty cents._ for each person in the town, and to distribute -this sum among the several schools or districts, in proportion to the -number of scholars in each. The expenditure of the sum is left -principally to the direction of the town, and its committee or agents, -appointed for that purpose. In the year 1825, the legislature required a -report from each town in the State, respecting the situation of the -schools."--_United States Almanack._ - -At that time, the number of school districts in ten counties was, 2,499. - - -The number of children between 4 and 21 was 137,931 -The number who usually attend schools 101,325 - - Dollars. -Amount required by law to be expended annually 119,334 -Amount raised from taxes 132,263 -Amount from the income of permanent funds 5,614 -Total annual expenditure 137,878 - - -The number of incorporated academies in the State was 31; 4 of which -were for girls: the amount of funds varying from 2,000 to 22,000 dollars -a-year. - -NEW HAMPSHIRE.--"From the year 1808 to 1818, there were raised in New -Hampshire 70,000 dollars annually by law, for the support of common -schools. This amount was raised by a separate tax, levied throughout the -State, in the ratio of taxation for the State Tax. Since 1818, the -yearly amount of the sum raised has been 90,000 dollars. This is the -amount required by law, but a few towns raise more than they are -required. The legislature assumes no control over the immediate -appropriation, but leaves this to each town." - -The State had also, in 1830, an annual income of 9,000 dollars, and a -literary fund of 64,000 dollars, raised by a tax of a half per cent. on -the capital of the banks; both to be, from that time, annually divided -among the towns, in the ratio of taxation. - -Some of the towns had separate school funds. - - -The white population of New Hampshire at this time was 268,721 -The coloured population 607 - - -VERMONT.--An act was passed in 1827 to provide for the support of -common schools. About 100,000 dollars was raised in 1830. A fund was -also accumulating, which was to be applied whenever its income would -support a common free-school in every district of the State, for two -months in the year. - -There were about 20 incorporated academies in the State, where young men -were fitted for college. The number of students was supposed to average -40 at each. - -MASSACHUSETTS.--"By the returns from 131 towns, presented to the -legislature, it appears that the amount annually paid in these towns for -public schools, is 177,206 dollars. - - -"The number of scholars receiving instruction 70,599 -The number of pupils attending private schools in those towns 12,393 - -At an expense of 170,342 dollars. - - -"The number of persons in those towns, between the ages of 14 and 21, -unable to read and write, is 58. - -"In the town of Hancock, in Berkshire county, there are only 3 persons -between 14 and 21 who cannot read and write; and they are -_mutes_."--_American Annual Register._ - -RHODE ISLAND.--"In January, 1828, the legislature appropriated 10,000 -dollars annually for the support of public schools, to be divided among -the several towns, in proportion to the population, with authority for -each town to raise, by annual tax, double the amount received from the -Treasury, as its proportion of the 10,000 dollars. - -"There has been as yet no report of the number of school establishments -under the act, but it is thought that they may safely be put down at 60, -as all the towns have availed themselves of its provisions. The whole -number of schools in the State now probably exceeds 650."--_American -Almanack._ - - -The white population in 1830 93,621 -The coloured 3,578 - - -CONNECTICUT.--The revenue derived from the school fund amounted to -80,243 dollars. The State is divided into 208 school societies, which -contained in the aggregate 84,899 children, between the ages of 4 and -16. - - -The white population in 1830 289,603 -The coloured 8,072 - - -NEW YORK. - - -The number of school districts was 8,609 -Number of children between 5 and 15 449,113 -Number of children taught in the schools 468,205 - - -This estimate does not include the scholars instructed in the two great -cities, New York and Albany. - - - Dollars. -Amount paid to the districts 232,343 -Of this, there came out of the Treasury 100,000 -Raised by tax upon the towns 119,209 -From a local fund 13,133 -Voluntary tax by the towns 19,209 - - -PENNSYLVANIA.--This State was in the rear. Not above 9,000 children were -educated at the public charge, of about 16,000 dollars. - - -The white population in 1830 1,309,900 -The coloured 38,333 - - -NEW JERSEY.--A fund of 222,000 dollars being realised, a system of -Common School education was about to be put in action; an appropriation -of 20,000 dollars per annum being ordered to be distributed among the -towns for that purpose. - -OHIO.--In Cincinnati, the first anniversary of free-schools was kept in -1830. Three thousand pupils belonged to the free-schools of Cincinnati. -The amount of the school-tax was about 10,000 dollars. - -INDIANA.--A committee of the legislature was appointed to consider and -report upon the expediency of adopting the Common School system. - - -The white population in 1830 339,399 -The coloured 3,632 - - -ILLINOIS contained less than 160,000 persons in 1830, and had no public -schools. - - -_The Slave States in 1830._ - -MARYLAND.--Provision was made for the establishment of Primary Schools -throughout the State. One was opened in Baltimore in 1829. - -There were 8 or 10 academies, which received annually from 400 to 600 -dollars from the Treasury of the State. - - -Grants to the University of Maryland 5,000 dollars. -Grants to Colleges, Academies, and Schools 13,000 - - -DELAWARE.--A law ordaining the establishment of a Common School system -was passed in 1829, and the counties were being divided into districts -in 1830. - -NORTH CAROLINA had a literary fund of 70,000 dollars; but nothing had -yet been done towards applying it. - -VIRGINIA.--No free-schools. - -SOUTH CAROLINA.--"It appeared by a Report of a Committee on Schools, -that the number of public schools established in the State was 513, -wherein 5,361 scholars were educated at the annual expense of 35,310 -dollars." - -"The benefit derived from this appropriation," says the governor, "is -partial, founded on no principle, and arbitrarily dispensed by the -Commissioners. If the fund could be so managed as to educate thoroughly -a given number of young men, and to require them afterwards to teach for -a limited time, as an equivalent, the effects would soon be seen and -felt."--_American Annual Register._ - - -The white population in 1830 257,863 -The coloured 323,322 - - -GEORGIA.--The appropriations for county academies amounted to 14,302 -dollars: and the poor school fund, 742 dollars. - - -The white population in 1830 296,806 -The coloured 220,017 - - -ALABAMA.--No schools. - -MISSISSIPPI.--No schools. - -MISSOURI.--No schools. - -LOUISIANA.--Instead of schools, a law making imprisonment the punishment -of teaching a slave to read. - -TENNESSEE.--A fund is set to accumulate for the purpose of hereafter -encouraging schools, colleges, and academies. - -KENTUCKY.--The Common School system was established by law, and -provisions made for the division of the counties into districts, and the -levying of the poll and property taxes for the purpose. - -"The Louisville Advertiser announces the establishment by that city of a -school at the public expense, stated to be the first south of the Ohio. -It is opened to the children of all the citizens. The number of pupils -entered is 300."--_American Annual Register._ - - -_The Free States in 1833 to 1835._ - -MAINE, 1835. - - -Annual expenditure for free-schools 156,000 dollars. -Aggregate number of pupils 106,000 -Academies, 12; Colleges, 2. - - -NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1835.--Amount expended on primary schools, 101,000 -dollars. - -MASSACHUSETTS, 1834.--Returns not received from 44 towns out of 261. - - -Boys, between 4 and 16 years, attending school 67,499 -Girls, of the same age 63,728 -Number of persons, between 16 and 21, unable to read - and write 158 -Number of male teachers 1,967 -Number of female teachers 2,388 -Amount of school-money raised by tax 310,178 dollars. -Amount of school-money raised by contribution 15,141 -Average number of scholars attending academies and - private schools 24,749 -Estimated amount paid for tuition in academies - and private schools 276,575 dollars. - - -RHODE ISLAND, 1835. - - -Revenue from school tax 10,000 dollars. -Permanent school fund 50,000 -Amount raised by the towns besides 11,490 -Public Schools in the State (in 1832) 324 -Children educated in them 17,114 -Private schools 220 -Scholars in them 8,007 -Estimated expense of private schools 81,375 dollars. - - -CONNECTICUT.--The capital of the School Fund on the 1st of April, 1833, -amounted to 1,929,738 dollars: and the dividend, in 1834, was at the -rate of one dollar to each child in the State, between the ages of 4 and -16. Number of such children, under the returns,--83,912. - -NEW YORK, 1835. - - -School-houses 9,580 -Public school money 316,153 dollars. -Paid besides to teachers 398,137 - - -Number of children receiving instruction in the Common Schools, 534,002, -being 50 to 51 of the whole population. - -PENNSYLVANIA.--There had been difficulties about putting the act in -operation; and no returns had been made in 1835. - -OHIO.--"Our system of Common Schools has not advanced with the rapidity -that was anticipated. It was at first unpopular with the people in some -parts of the State; but it has gradually become more and more in favour -with them. Its utility is now acknowledged."--_Governor's Message_, Dec. -6, 1834. - -Nothing more done in the Slave States. - - * * * * * - -SUNDAY SCHOOLS. - -The Reports of the Sunday School Union up to May, 1835, show that there -are, or have been, connected with it, (besides a large number of -unassociated schools,) upwards of 16,000 schools, 115,000 teachers, and -799,000 pupils. The officers and managers are all laymen. - - -COLLEGES. - -Colleges in the United States 79 -The number of students varying from 15 to 523. - - -THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. - -Theological Seminaries in the United States 31 -Number of students varying from 1 to 152. - - -MEDICAL SCHOOLS. - -Medical Schools in the United States 23 -Number of students varying from 18 to 392. - - -LAW SCHOOLS. - -Law Schools in the United States 9 -Number of students varying from 6 to 36. - - -E. - -DISCOURSE ON THE WANTS OF THE TIMES. - - * * * * * - -The age, and especially the country, in which we live, are peculiar. -They, therefore, require a peculiar kind of instruction, and, I may say, -a peculiar mode of dispensing christian truth. They are unlike any which -have preceded us. They are new, and consequently demand what I have -called a new Dispensation of Christianity, a dispensation in perfect -harmony with the new order of things which has sprung into existence. -Yet of this fact we seem not to have been generally aware. The character -of our religious institutions, the style of our preaching, the means we -rely upon for the production of the christian virtues, are such as were -adopted in a distant age, and fitted to wants which no longer exist, or -which exist only in a greatly modified shape. - -It is to this fact that I attribute that _other_ fact, of which I have -heretofore spoken, that our churches are far from being filled, and that -a large and an increasing portion of our community take very little -interest in religious institutions, and manifest a most perfect -indifference to religious instruction. These persons do not stay away -from our churches because they have no wish to be religious, no desire -to meet and commune in the solemn Temple with their fellow men, and with -the Great and Good Spirit which reigns everywhere around and within -them. It is not because they do not value this communion, that they do -not come into our churches, but because they do not find it in our -churches. They cannot find, under the costume of our institutions, and -our instructions, the Father-God, to love and adore, with whom to hold -sweet and invigorating communings; they are unable to find that sympathy -of man with man which they crave--to obtain that response to the warm -affections of the heart, which would make them love to assemble together -and bow together before one common altar. - - * * * * * * - -But were this difficulty obviated, were seats easily obtained by all, -and so obtained as to imply on the part of no one an assumption of -superiority, or a confession of inferiority, the preaching which is most -common is far from being satisfactory, and the wants of the times would -by no means be met. I say the preaching which is most common is far from -being satisfactory; but not because it is not true. I accuse no preacher -of not preaching the truth. The truth is, I believe, preached in all -churches, of all denominations, to a certain extent at least; but not -the right kind of truth, or not truth under the aspects demanded by the -wants of the age and country. All truth is valuable, but all truths are -not equally valuable; and all aspects of the same truths are not at all -times, in all places, equally attractive. The fault I find with -preaching in general is, that it is not on the right kind of topics to -interest the masses in this age and country. The topics usually -discussed may once have been of the highest importance; they may now be -very interesting to the scholar, or to the student in his closet, or -with his fellow-students; but they are, to a great extent, matters of -perfect indifference to the many. The many care nothing about the -meaning of a Greek particle, or the settling of a various reading; -nothing about the meaning of dogmas long since deprived of life, about -the manners and customs of a people of whom they may have heard, but in -whose destiny they feel no peculiar interest; they are not fed by -descriptions of a Jewish marriage-feast, a reiteration of Jewish -threatenings, nor with beautiful essays, and rounded periods, on some -petty duty, or some insignificant point in theology. They want strong -language, stirring discourses on great principles, which go deep into -the universal mind, and strike a chord which vibrates through the -universal heart. They want to be directed to the deep things of God and -humanity, and enlightened and warmed on matters with which they every -day come in contact, and which will be to them matters of kindling -thought and strong feeling through eternity. - -That our religious institutions, or our modes of dispensing christian -truth, are not in harmony with the wants of the times, is evinced by the -increase of infidelity, and the success infidels have in their exertions -to collect societies and organise opposition to Christianity. There is -sustained in this city a society of infidels: free inquirers, I believe -they call themselves. Why has this society been collected? Not, I will -venture to say, because their leader is an infidel. People do not go to -hear him because he advocates atheistical or pantheistical doctrines; -not because he denies Christianity, rejects the bible, and indulges in -various witticisms at the expense of members of the clerical profession; -but because he opposes the aristocracy of our churches, and vindicates -the rights of the mind. He succeeds, not because he is an infidel, but -because he has hitherto shown himself a democrat. - -Men are never infidels for the sake of infidelity. Infidelity--I use not -the term reproachfully--has no charms of its own. There is no charm in -looking around on our fellow men as mere plants that spring up in the -morning, wither and die ere it is night. It is not pleasant to look up -into the heavens, brilliant with their sapphire gems, and see no spirit -shining there--over the rich and flowering earth, and see no spirit -blooming there--abroad upon a world of mute, dead matter, and feel -ourselves--alone. It is not pleasant to look upon the heavens as -dispeopled of the Gods, and the earth of men, to feel ourselves in the -centre of a universal blank, with no soul to love, no spirit with which -to commune. I know well what is that sense of loneliness which comes -over the unbeliever, the desolateness of soul under which he is -oppressed: but I will not attempt to describe it. - -I say, then, it is not infidelity that gives the leader of the infidel -party success. It is his defence of free inquiry and of democracy. In -vindicating his own right to disbelieve Christianity, he has vindicated -the rights of the mind, proved that all have a right to inquire fully -into all subjects, and to abide by the honest convictions of their own -understandings. In doing this he has met the wants of a large portion of -the community, and met them as no church has ever yet been able to meet -them. I say not that he himself is a free inquirer, but he proclaims -free inquiry as one of the rights of man; and in doing this, he has -proclaimed what thousands feel, though they may not generally dare own -it. The want to inquire, to ascertain what is truth, what and wherefore -we believe, is becoming more and more urgent; we may disown, unchurch, -anathematise it, but suppress it we cannot. It is too late to stay the -progress of free inquiry. The dams and dykes we construct to keep back -its swelling tide are but mere resting-places, from which it may break -forth in renovated power, and with redoubled fury. It is sweeping on; -and, I say, let it sweep on, let it sweep on; the truth has nothing to -fear. - -Next to the want to inquire, to philosophise, the age is distinguished -by its tendency to democracy, and its craving for social reform. Be -pleased or displeased as we may, the age is unquestionably tending to -democracy; the democratic spirit is triumphing. The millions awake. The -masses appear, and every day is more and more disclosed - - - "The might that slumbers in a peasant's arm." - - -The voice of the awakened millions rising into new and undreamed-of -importance, crying out for popular institutions, comes to us on every -breeze, and mingles in every sound. All over the christian world a -contest is going on, not as in former times between monarchs and nobles, -but between the people and their masters, between the many and the few, -the privileged and the unprivileged--and victory, though here and there -seeming at first view doubtful, everywhere inclines to the party of the -many. Old distinctions are losing their value; titles are becoming less -and less able to confer dignity; simple tastes, simple habits, simple -manners are becoming fashionable; the simple dignity of man is more and -more coveted, and with the discerning it has already become more -honourable to call one simply a MAN than a gentleman. - -Now it is to this democratic spirit that the leader of the infidel party -appeals, and in which he finds a powerful element of his success. -Correspondents of his paper attempt even to identify atheism and -democracy. I myself once firmly believed that there could be no social -progress, that man could not rise to his true dignity without the -destruction of religion; I really believed that religious institutions, -tastes, and beliefs were the greatest, almost the sole, barrier to human -improvement: and what I once honestly believed, is now as honestly -believed by thousands, who would identify the progress of humanity with -the progress of infidelity. - -It is, I own, a new state of things, for infidelity to profess to be a -democrat. Hobbes, one of the fathers, if not the father, of modern -infidelity, had no sympathy with the masses; Hume and Gibbon dreamed of -very little social progress, and manifested no desire to elevate the -low, and loosen the chains of the bound. Before Thomas Paine, no infidel -writer in our language, to my knowledge, was a democrat, or thought of -giving infidelity a democratic tendency. Since his times, the infidel -has been fond of calling himself a democrat, and he has pretty generally -claimed to be the friend of the masses, and the advocate of progress. He -now labours to prove the church aristocratic, to prove that it has no -regard for the melioration of man's earthly mode of being. Unhappily, in -proportion as he succeeds, the church furnishes him with new instruments -of success. In proportion as he seems to identify his infidelity and the -democratic spirit, the church disowns that spirit, and declares it -wholly opposed to the faith. When, some years since, the thought passed -through my head, that there were things in society which needed mending, -and I dreamed of being a social reformer I found my bitterest opponents, -clergyman as I was among the clergy, and those who were most zealous for -the faith. That I erred in the inference I drew from this fact, as -unbelievers now err in theirs, I am willing to own; but the fact itself -_has_ the appearance of proving that religion and religion's advocates -are unfriendly to social progress. - -These are the principal reasons why infidelity succeeds. Its advocates -meet two great wants, that of free inquiry, and that of social -progress--two wants which are at the present time, and in this country, -quite urgent--and meet them better than they are met by any of our -churches. We need not, then, ascribe their success to any peculiar -depravity of the heart, nor to an peculiar obtuseness of the -understanding. They are right in their vindication of the rights of the -mind, and in advocating social progress. They are wrong only in -supposing that free inquiry and the progress of society are elements of -infidelity, when they are only, in fact, its accidents. They constitute, -in reality, two important elements of religion; as such I own them, -accept them, and assure the religious everywhere that they too must -accept them, or see religion for a time wholly obscured, and infidelity -triumphant. - -Infidels are wrong in pretending that infidelity can effect the progress -of mankind. Infidelity has no element of progress. The purest morality -it enjoins is selfishness. It does not pretend to offer man any higher -motives of action than that of self-interest. But self-interest can make -no man a reformer. No great reforms are ever effected without sacrifice. -In labouring for the benefit of others, we are often obliged to forget -ourselves, to expose ourselves, without fear and without regret, to the -loss of property, ease, reputation, and sometimes of life itself. He who -consults only his own interest will never consent to be so exposed. Or -admitting that we could convince men, that to labour for a universal -regeneration of mankind is for the greatest ultimate good of each one, -the experience of every day proves that no one will do it, when a small, -immediate good intervenes which it is necessary to abandon. A small, -immediate, present good always outbalances the vastly greater, but -distant good. The only principle of reform on which we can rely is -love. We must love the human race in order to be able to devote -ourselves to their greatest good, to be able to do and to dare -everything for their progress. But we cannot love what does not appear -to us _loveable_. We cannot love mankind unless we see something in them -which is worthy to be loved. But infidelity strips man of every quality -which we can love. In the view of the infidel, man is nothing more than -an animal, born to propagate his species and die. It is religion that -discloses man's true dignity, reveals the soul, unveils the immortality -within us, and presents in every man the incarnate God, before whom he -may stand in awe, whom he may love and adore. Infidelity cannot, then, -effect what its friends assert that it can. It cannot make us love -mankind: and not being able to make us love them, it is not able to make -us labour for their amelioration. - -But I say this, without meaning to reproach infidels. I do and must -condemn infidelity; but I have taught myself to recognise in the infidel -a man, an equal, a brother, one for whom Jesus died, and for whom I, -too, if need were, should be willing to die. I have no right to reproach -the infidel, no right to censure him for his speculative opinions. If -those opinions are wrong, as I most assuredly believe they are, it is my -duty to count them his misfortune, not his crime, and to do all in my -power to aid him to correct them. We wrong our brother, when we refuse -him the same tolerance for his opinions which we would have him extend -to ours. We wrong Christianity, whenever we censure, ridicule, or treat -with the least possible disrespect any man for his honest opinions, be -they what they may. We have often done violence to the gospel in our -treatment of those who have, in our opinion, misinterpreted or disowned -it. We have not always treated their opinions, as we ask them to treat -ours. We have not always been scrupulous to yield to others the rights -we claim for ourselves. We have been unjust, and our injustice has -brought, as it always must, reproach upon the opinions we avow, and the -cause we profess. There was, there is, no need of being unjust, nor -uncharitable to unbelievers. We believe we have the truth. Let us not so -wrong the truth we advocate as to fear it can suffer by any encounter -with falsehood. Let us adopt one rule for judging all men, infidels and -all; not that of their speculative opinions, but their real moral -characters. - -I prefer to meet the infidel on his own ground; I freely accept whatever -I find him advocating which I believe true, and just as freely oppose -whatever he supports which I believe to be false and mischievous. I -think him right in his vindication of free inquiry and social progress. -I accept them both, not as elements of infidelity, but as elements of -Christianity. Should it now be asked, as it has been, what I mean by the -new dispensation of Christianity, the new form of religion, of which I -have often spoken in this place and elsewhere, I answer, I mean -religious institutions, and modes of dispensing religious truth and -influences, which recognise the rights of the mind, and propose social -progress as one of the great ends to be obtained. In that New Church of -which I have sometimes dreamed, and I hope more than dreamed, I would -have the unlimited freedom of the mind unequivocally acknowledged. No -interdict should be placed upon thought. To reason should be a -christian, not an infidel, act. Every man should be encouraged to -inquire, and to inquire not a little merely, within certain prescribed -limits; but freely, fearlessly, fully, to scan heaven, air, ocean, -earth, and to master God, nature, and humanity, if he can. He who -inquires for truth honestly, faithfully, perseveringly, to the utmost -extent of his power, does all that can be asked of him; he does God's -will, and should be allowed to abide by his own conclusions, without -fear of reproach from God or man. - -In asserting this I am but recalling the community to Christianity. -Jesus reproved the Jews for not of themselves judging what is right, -thus plainly recognising in them, and if in them in us, both the right -and the power to judge for themselves. "If I do not the works of my -Father," says Jesus, "believe me not;" obviously implying both man's -right and ability to determine what are, and what are not, "works of the -Father:" that is, in other words, what is or what is not truth. An -apostle commands us to "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has -made us free," "to prove all things," and to "hold fast that which is -good." In fact, the very spirit of the gospel is that of freedom; it is -called a "law of liberty," and its great end is to free the soul from -all restraint, but that of its obligation to do right. They wrong it who -would restrain thought, and hand-cuff inquiry; they doubt or deny its -truth and power who fear to expose it to the severest scrutiny, the most -searching investigation; and, were I in an accusing mood, I would bring -the charge of infidelity against every one who will not or dare not -inquire, who will not or dare not encourage inquiry in others. - -I have said that social progress must enter into the church I would have -established, as one of the ends to be gained. Social progress holds a -great place in the sentiments of this age. Infidels seize upon it; find -in it one of the most powerful elements of their success. I too would -seize upon it, give it a religious direction, and find in it an element -of the triumph of Christianity. I have a right to it. As a Christian, I -am bound to rescue social progress, or if you please, the democratic -spirit, from the possession of the infidel. He has no right to it; he -has usurped it through the negligence of the church. It is a christian -spirit. Jesus was the man, the teacher of the masses. They were -fishermen, deemed the lowest of his countrymen, who were his apostles; -they were the "common people," who heard him gladly; they were the -Pharisee and Sadducee, the chief priest and scribe, the rich and the -distinguished, in one word the aristocracy of that age, who conspired -against him, and caused him to be crucified between two thieves. He -himself professed to be anointed of God, _because_ he was anointed to -preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim liberty to them that are -bound, and to let the captive go free. To John he expressly assigns the -kindling fact, that the poor had the gospel preached unto them, as the -most striking proof of his claims to the Messiahship. - -And what was this gospel which was preached to the poor? Was it a gospel -suited to the views of the Autocrat of the Russias, such as despots ever -love? Did it command the poor, in the name of God, to submit to an order -of things of which they are the victims, to be contented to pine in -neglect, and die of wretchedness? No, no: Jesus preached no such -tyrant-pleasing and tyrant-sustaining gospel. The gospel which he -preached, was the gospel of human brotherhood. He preached the gospel, -the holy evangile, good news to the poor, when he proclaimed them -members of the common family of man, when he taught that we are all -brethren, having one and the same Father in heaven; he preached the -gospel to the poor, when he declared to the boastingly religious of his -age, that even publicans and harlots would go into the kingdom of heaven -sooner than they; when he declared that the poor widow, who out of her -necessities, cast her two mites into the treasury of the Lord, cast in -more than all the rich; and whoever preaches the universal fraternity of -the human race, preaches the gospel to the poor, though he speak only to -the rich. - -There is power in this great doctrine of the universal brotherhood of -mankind. It gives the reformer a mighty advantage. It enables him to -speak words of an import, and in a tone, which may almost wake the dead. -Hold thy hand, oppressor, it permits him to say, thou wrongest a -brother! Withhold thy scorn, thou bitter satirist of the human race, -thou vilifiest thy brother! In passing by that child in the street -yesterday, and leaving it to grow up in ignorance and vice, -notwithstanding God had given thee wealth to train it to knowledge and -virtue, thou didst neglect thy brother's child. Oh, did we but feel this -truth, that we are all brothers and sisters, children of the same -parent, we should feel that every wrong done to a human being, was -violence done to our own flesh! - -I say again, that Jesus was emphatically the teacher of the masses; the -prophet of the working men if you will; of all those who "labour and are -heavy laden." Were I to repeat his words in this city or elsewhere, with -the intimation that I believed they meant something; were I to say, as -he said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, -than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven," and to say it in a -tone that indicated I believed he attached any meaning to what he said, -you would call me a "radical," an "agrarian," a "trades unionist," a -"leveller," a "disorganiser," or some other name equally barbarous and -horrific. It were more than a man's reputation for sanity, or -respectability as a _Christian_, is worth, to be as bold even in these -days in defence of the "common people" as Jesus was. - -I say still again, that Jesus was emphatically the teacher of the -masses, the prophet of the people. Not that he addressed himself to any -one description of persons to the exclusion of another, not that he -sought to benefit one portion of the human race at another's expense; -for if any one thing more than another distinguished him, it was, that -he rose above all the factitious distinctions of society, and spoke to -universal man, to the universal mind, and to the universal heart. I call -him the prophet of the people, because he recognised the rights of -humanity; brought out, and suffered and died to establish principles, -which in their legitimate effect, cannot fail to bring up the low and -bowed down, and give to the many, who, in all ages, and in all -countries, have been the tools of the few, their due rank and social -importance. His spirit, in its political aspect, is what I have called -the democratic spirit; in its most general aspect, it is the spirit of -progress, in the individual and in the race, towards perfection, towards -union with God. It is that spirit which for eighteen hundred years has -been at work in society, like the leaven hidden in three measures of -meal; before which slavery, in nearly all Christendom, has disappeared; -which has destroyed the warrior aristocracy, nearly subdued the -aristocracy of birth, which is now struggling with the aristocracy of -wealth, and which promises, ere long, to bring up and establish the true -aristocracy--the aristocracy of merit. - -If it be now asked, as it has been asked, to what denomination I belong, -I reply, that I belong to that denomination, whose starting point is -free inquiry, which acknowledges in good faith, and without any mental -reservation, the rights of the mind, and which proposes the melioration -of man's earthly mode of being, as one of the great ends of its labours. -I know not that such a denomination exists. I know, in fact, of no -denomination, which, _as a denomination_, fully meets the wants of the -times. Yet let me not be misinterpreted. I am not here to accuse, or to -make war upon, any existing denomination; I contend with no church; I -have no controversy with my Calvinistic brother, none with my Arminian, -Unitarian, or Trinitarian brother. Every church has its idea, its truth; -and more truth, much more, I believe, than any one church will admit of -in those from which it differs. For myself, I delight to find truth in -all churches, and I own it wherever I find it; but still I must say, I -find no church which owns, as its central truth, the great central truth -of Christianity--a truth which may now be brought out of the darkness in -which it has remained, and which it is now more than ever necessary to -reinstate in its rights. - -Let me say, then, that though I am here for an object, which is not, to -my knowledge, the special object of any existing church, I am not here -to make war upon any church, nor to injure any one in the least possible -degree. I would that they all had as much fellowship for one another, as -I have for them all! I interfere with none of them. I am here for a -special object, but one so high, one so broad, they may all cooperate in -gaining it. My creed is a simple one. Its first article is, free, -unlimited inquiry, perfect liberty to enjoy and express one's own honest -convictions, and perfect respect for the free and honest inquirer, -whatever be the results to which he arrives. The second article is -social progress. I would have it a special object of the society I would -collect, to labour to perfect all social institutions, and raise every -man to a social position, which will give him free scope for the full -and harmonious development of all his faculties. I say, _perfect_, not -destroy, all social institutions. I do not feel that God has given me a -work of destruction. I would improve, preserve, whatever is good, and -remedy whatever is defective, and thus reconcile the CONSERVATOR and the -RADICAL. My third article is, that man should labour for his soul in -preference to his body. Man has a soul; he is not mere body. He has more -than animal wants. He has a soul, which is in relation with the absolute -and the Infinite--a soul, which is for ever rushing off into the -unknown, and rising through a universe of darkness up to the "first Good -and the first Fair." This soul is immortal. To perfect it is our highest -aim. I would encourage inquiry; I would perfect society, not as ultimate -ends, but as means to the growth and maturity of man's higher -nature--his soul. - -These are my views, and views which, I believe, meet the wants of the -times. They make war upon no sect of Christians. They are adopted in the -spirit of love to humanity, and they can be acted upon only in the -spirit of peace. They threaten no hostility, except to sin: with that, -indeed, they call us to war. We must fight against all unrighteousness, -against spiritual wickedness in high places, and in low places; but the -weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual. We must go forth -to the battle in faith and love, go forth to vindicate the rights of the -mind, to perfect society, to make it the abode of all the virtues, and -all the graces, to clothe man in his native dignity, and enable him to -look forth in the image of his Maker upon a world of beauty. - -This is my object. I am not here to preach to working men, nor to those -who are not working men, in the interests of aristocracy, nor of -democracy. I am here for humanity; to plead for universal man; to unfurl -the banner of the cross on a new and more commanding position, and call -the human race around it. I am here to speak to all who feel themselves -human beings; to all whose hearts swell at the name of man; to all who -long to lessen the sum of human misery, and increase that of human -happiness; to all who have any perception of the Beautiful and Good, and -a craving for the Infinite, the Eternal, and Indestructible, on whom to -repose the wearied soul and find rest--to all such is my appeal: to them -I commit the object I have stated, and before which I stand in awe, and -entreat them by all that is good in their natures, holy in religion, or -desirable in the joy of a regenerated world, to unite and march to its -acquisition, prepared to dare with the hero, to suffer with the saint, -or to die with the martyr. - - -F. - - * * * * * * - -"Independently of the disinterestedness, simplicity, and humility of -woman's character, in all matters relating to religion, they naturally -reverence and cling to those who show them respect and deference. The -clergy, from understanding this point in their nature, possess great and -deserved influence over them; and they have only to interest their -feelings, to insure success to any clerical or charitable purpose. Look -at a woman's zeal in foreign or domestic missions, not only devoting her -time at home, but leaving her friends and her comforts, to assist in -establishing them in a distant land. And is it ever pretended that a -woman has not _more_ than equalled a man in these duties? And will she -not toil for days, scarcely raising her eyes from the work, to assist in -purchasing an organ, a new altar-cloth, or in cleaning and painting a -church? - -So great is the tax, now, on a woman's time, for these and for other -religious purposes, such as the "educating young men for the ministry," -that the amount is frightful and scandalous. If the funds of a -religious congregation be low, which can only happen where the men are -poor in spirit, and wanting in religious fervour, a woman is allowed to -exert herself beyond her means; for well we know that she cannot endure -a want of neatness and order, in a house where God is to be worshipped. -To be sure, it may be said, that no one compels her to this unequal -share of labour; but we know how the thing operates. - -She ought, and she does, and nobly does her share, in educating poor -children, both during the week and on Sunday. She searches out the widow -and the fatherless, the orphan, the sick and the poor, the aged and the -unhappy. All this, although it amount to a great deal, and certainly -much more than men can ever do, it is her duty to do, and she performs -the duty cheerfully. As she considers it incumbent on her thus to exert -herself, and as it gives her pleasure, there can be no objection on our -part, to let her do all the good in this way that she can; but do not -let us exact too much of a willing mind and tender conscience. Confiding -in her spiritual directors, she may be brought to do more than is proper -for her to do. This "educating of young men, this preparing them for a -theological seminary," is _not_ part of a woman's duty, and it is not -only contemptible, but base, to allow such a discipline of their minds, -as to make them imagine it to be their duty. - -Look at the young men who are to be educated? What right have they, with -so many sources open to them, what right have they to allow women to tax -themselves for their maintenance? Poor credulous woman! she can be made -to think anything a duty. How have we seen her neglecting her health, -her comfort, her family, the poor, and, above all, neglecting the -improvement of her own mind, that she might earn a few dollars towards -educating a young man, who is far more able to do it himself, and who, -nine times in ten, laughs in his sleeve at her. What right, we again -ask, have these young men to the labours of a woman? Are they not as -capable of working as she is? What should hinder them from pursuing some -handicraft, some employment, during their term of study? - -If a woman were to be educated gratis, in this way, would any set of -young men associate and work for her maintenance? No, that they would -not; she would not only have to labour for herself, but her labour would -be unaided even by sympathy. Now, very few women are aware, that they -are, _in a manner_, manoeuvred into thus spending their precious time; -we mean for the education of young men that have a desire to enter the -theological seminary. Many of them are not conscious of being swayed by -other motives; indeed, some have no other motive, than that of pure -christian love, when they thus assist in raising funds for educating -young men. They feel a disposition to follow on, in any scheme proposed -to them; and when the thing is rightly managed, the project has the -appearance of originating with themselves. Men understand the mode of -doing this. - -The spirit of piety and charity is very strong in the bosom of a woman; -she feels the deepest reverence and devotion towards her spiritual -pastor, and is naturally, therefore, disposed to do good, in the way he -thinks best. If it were not for this reverence and submission, if they -were left unbiassed by hint, persuasion, or by some unaccountable spell -which they cannot break through, their charities would find another and -a more suitable channel. Their good sense would show them the -impropriety of giving up so much of their time, for a purpose that -belongs exclusively to the care of men: they would soon see the truth, -as it appears to others, that the scheme must be a bad one, which -enables young men to live in idleness, during the time that they are -getting through with their classical studies:--such a "getting through," -too, as it generally is. - -We do not set forth the following plan, as the very best that can be -offered, but it is practicable, and would be creditable. It is that -every theological seminary should have sufficient ground attached to it, -that each student might have employment in raising vegetables and fruit. -There should likewise be a workshop connected with it, wherein he might -pursue some trade; so that if he did not find it his vocation to preach, -when his religious education was finished, he might not be utterly -destitute, as too many are. In fact, it ought to be so much the part of -a clergyman's education, to be acquainted with certain branches of -horticulture, that he should not receive a call to a country or village -church, if he were ignorant of it. - -So far from degrading, it would be doing these young men a kindness. In -the first place, they would hold fast that spirit of independence which -is so necessary to a man's prosperity, and to his usefulness as a -clergyman. He would be of the greatest consequence to his parishioners, -for horticulture is an art but little known to them; and even if they go -to a great distance as missionaries, of what great service would his -horticultural knowledge be to the poor people, whose souls he hopes to -save! We all know how immediately civilisation follows the cultivation -of the soil; and we may rest assured, that the sacred object which the -young missionary has in view, will meet with fewer obstacles, if his -lessons are connected with attention to the bodily wants of his charge. - -It is really disgusting to those who live in the neighbourhood of -religious institutions, to see the frivolous manner in which young men -pass their time, when not in actual study. We do not say that they are -dissipated, or vicious, in the common sense of the word, but that they -lounge about, trifle, and gossip, retailing idle chit-chat and -fooleries. - -At the very time when they are thus happily amusing themselves, the -women who assist in giving them a classical education allow themselves -scarcely any respite from their labours. We have known some of them to -sew,--it is all they can do,--from sunrise till nine o'clock at night; -and all for this very purpose. - -It is quite time to put a stop to this, and let indigent young men -educate themselves. Why do they not form societies to create funds for -the purpose,--not as is usually done whenever they have attempted a -thing of this kind, by carrying about a paper to collect money, but _by -extra labour of their own, as women do_? Let those who live in cities -write for lawyers or clerks in chancery, or make out accounts for poor -shopkeeping women, who will never cheat them out of a cent, nor refuse -them a just compensation. If it be said that they cannot write well -enough for any of these purposes, then they must go to the free-school -again. There are a hundred modes by which they could earn at least -twenty-five cents a day,--which is the average of what a woman makes -when she is employed in sewing for this purpose. Those who live in the -country,--where, in fact, all students, rich or poor, ought to be, on -account of health,--should raise fruit, vegetables, we mean assist in -this, work at some trade, write for newspapers, teach the children of -the families at extra hours; in short, a lad of independent spirit could -devise ways and means enough to pay for his board and clothing while he -is learning Latin and Greek. This plan of proceeding would raise a young -man twice as much in the opinion of the public, and a thousand times as -much in his own. - -But this is not a time to dwell on such a subject; it was too important, -however, to remain untouched. We intend to discuss it amply at some -future period. Our object, at present, is to assist women. They who are -always so willing to assist others, to their own detriment, should now, -in turn,--for their wants loudly call for it,--be assisted and -encouraged to strike out a new path, by which they could assist -themselves. - -The first step for us to take in order to effect our intentions, is to -prove to them that they should attend to their own wants exclusively; -work for their own sons, if those sons can bear to see it; but to let -young men, unconnected with them, and who are destined for the ministry, -educate themselves, as the poor young men of other professions do. - -When do we ever hear that a lawyer or a doctor owed their education to -the industry or the alms of women? - -We have said all this before, and in nearly the same words; and we shall -say it again and again. There must be a change for the better in the -affairs of poor women; they are degraded by their poverty; and their -degradation is the cause of nearly all the crime that is -committed."--_Aladdin's Lamp. New York, 1833._ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[38] Uneasy. - -[39] Potatoes. - - -THE END. - - -LONDON: - -PRINTED BY IBOTSON AND PALMER, SAVOY STREET. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Society in America, Volume 2 (of 2), by -Harriet Martineau - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOCIETY IN AMERICA, VOLUME 2 *** - -***** This file should be named 52685-8.txt or 52685-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/6/8/52685/ - -Produced by Julia Miller, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/52685-8.zip b/old/52685-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3ddf313..0000000 --- a/old/52685-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52685-h.zip b/old/52685-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5fd2f98..0000000 --- a/old/52685-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52685-h/52685-h.htm b/old/52685-h/52685-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index a7e35c9..0000000 --- a/old/52685-h/52685-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14155 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Society In America Vol. II., by Harriet Martineau. - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - - p { margin-top: .75em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .75em; - } - - p.bold {text-align: center; font-weight: bold;} - p.bold2 {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: 150%;} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; - } - h1 span, h2 span { display: block; text-align: center; } - #id1 { font-size: smaller } - - - hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; - } - - hr.smler { - width: 15%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 42.5%; - margin-right: 42.5%; - clear: both; - } - - body{margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - } - - table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; border-collapse: collapse; border: none; text-align: right;} - - .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - text-indent: 0px; - } /* page numbers */ - - .center {text-align: center;} - .smaller {font-size: smaller;} - .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - .box {max-width: 30em; margin: 1.5em auto;} - .space-above {margin-top: 3em;} - .right {text-align: right;} - .left {text-align: left;} - .s3 {display: inline; margin-left: 3em;} - - .poem {display: inline-block; text-align: left;} - .poem br {display: none;} - .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} - .poem div {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - .poem div.i6 {margin-left: 6em;} - .poem div.i12 {margin-left: 12em;} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Society in America, Volume 2 (of 2), by Harriet Martineau - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Society in America, Volume 2 (of 2) - -Author: Harriet Martineau - -Release Date: July 31, 2016 [EBook #52685] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOCIETY IN AMERICA, VOLUME 2 *** - - - - -Produced by Julia Miller, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="center"><a name="cover.jpg" id="cover.jpg"></a><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="box"> -<p class="right">Ann Street, June, 1837.</p> - -<p class="bold">MESSRS. SAUNDERS AND OTLEY,</p> - -<p class="bold">HAVE NOW READY THE FOLLOWING</p> - -<h2>IMPORTANT NEW WORKS.</h2> - -<p class="bold">I.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Mrs. Butler's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">THE STAR OF SEVILLE,</p> - -<p class="center">A DRAMA IN 5 ACTS,</p> - -<p class="center">BY MRS. PIERCE BUTLER.<br /> -(<i>Late Miss Fanny Kemble.</i>)</p> - -<p class="bold">II.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Mr. Willis's Poems.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">MELANIE, AND OTHER POEMS</p> - -<p class="center">BY N. P. WILLIS, ESQ.</p> - -<p class="center">Illustrated by a beautifully Engraved Portrait.</p> - -<p class="bold">III.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Mrs. Jameson's Illustrated Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN:</p> - -<p class="center">MORAL, POETICAL AND HISTORICAL.</p> - -<p class="center">BY MRS. JAMESON.</p> - -<p class="center">Illustrated by a series of her own Vignette Etchings.</p> - -<p class="bold">IV.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Lady Blessington's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">THE VICTIMS OF SOCIETY.</p> - -<p class="center">BY THE COUNTESS OF BLESSINGTON.</p> - -<p class="bold">V.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>The Lafayette Papers.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">MEMOIRS, CORRESPONDENCE AND OTHER<br />MANUSCRIPTS OF<br />GENERAL LAFAYETTE,</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Edited by his Family.</i></p> - -<p class="center">This American Edition will include a series of Letters relating to the -Revolutionary War, not inserted in the London and Paris editions.</p> - -<p class="center">(<i>Nearly Ready.</i>)</p> - -<p class="bold">VI.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Mrs. Shelley's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">FALKNER—A NOVEL.</p> - -<p class="center">BY MRS. SHELLEY.</p> - -<p class="center">Authoress of "Frankenstein," "The Last Man," &c.</p> - -<p class="bold">VII.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Mr. Dunlap's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">MEMOIRS OF A WATER-DRINKER.</p> - -<p class="center">BY WILLIAM DUNLAP, ESQ.</p> - -<p class="center">Second Edition, in one vol.</p> - -<p class="bold">VIII.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Mr. Grant's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">THE GREAT METROPOLIS.</p> - -<p class="center">BY THE AUTHOR OF</p> - -<p class="center">"<i>Random Recollections of the Lords and Commons</i>," &c</p> - -<p class="center">Fourth Edition.</p> - -<p class="bold">IX.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Mr. Bulwer's New Drama</i>:</p> - -<p class="bold">THE DUCHESS DE LA VALLIERE</p> - -<p class="center"><i>A Play in Five Acts.</i></p> - -<p class="center">Second Edition.</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">RECENT PUBLICATIONS.</p> - -<p class="bold">I.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Miss Landon's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="center">With a beautiful Portrait of the Author.</p> - -<p class="bold">THE VOW OF THE PEACOCK.</p> - -<p class="bold">II.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Miss Stickney's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">THE POETRY OF LIFE.</p> - -<p class="center">By the Author of "Pictures of Private Life."</p> - -<p class="bold">III.</p> - -<p class="center">Third Edition. Bound in Embossed Silk.</p> - -<p class="bold">THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS</p> - -<p class="center">Revised by the Editor of the "Forget-me-Not."</p> - -<p class="center">(<i>With the London colored Plates.</i>)</p> - -<p class="bold">IV.</p> - -<p class="bold">THE INFIRMITIES OF GENIUS.</p> - -<p class="center">BY DR. MADDEN.</p> - -<p class="bold">V.</p> - -<p class="bold">CITATION OF WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE</p> - -<p class="center">TOUCHING DEER STEALING.</p> - -<p class="center">BY WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR, ESQ.</p> - -<p class="bold">VI.</p> - -<p class="bold">SONGS OF THE ALHAMBRA.</p> - -<p class="center">BY MISS L. B. SMITH.</p> - -<p class="bold">VII.</p> - -<p class="bold">MEMOIRS OF MRS. HEMANS,</p> - -<p class="center">BY H. F. CHORLEY.</p> - -<p class="center">2 vols. beautifully Illustrated.</p> - -<p class="bold">VIII.</p> - -<p class="bold">TOPOGRAPHY OF ROME & ITS VICINITY,</p> - -<p class="center">BY SIR WM. GELL.</p> - -<p class="center">With a Beautiful Map to the above.</p> - -<p class="bold">IX.</p> - -<p class="bold">ON CIVILIZATION, &c.</p> - -<p class="center">BY THE HON. A. H. MORETON.</p> - -<p class="bold">X.</p> - -<p class="bold">ADVENTURES OF A GENTLEMAN</p> - -<p class="center">IN SEARCH OF A HORSE.</p> - -<p class="center">Illustrated by Cruickshank.</p> - -<p class="bold">XI.</p> - -<p class="bold">LUCIEN BONAPARTE'S MEMOIRS</p> - -<p class="center">(<i>Prince of Canino.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center">WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.</p> - -<p class="bold">XII.</p> - -<p class="bold">HAZLITT'S LITERARY REMAINS,</p> - -<p class="center">EDITED BY E. L. BULWER, ESQ.</p> - -<p class="center">1 vol. with a Portrait.</p> - -<p class="bold">XIII.</p> - -<p class="bold">MADRID, IN 1835,</p> - -<p class="center">BY AN OFFICER.</p> - -<p class="center">With beautiful Plates.</p> - -<p class="bold">XIV.</p> - -<p class="bold">THE CONTINENT IN 1835.</p> - -<p class="center">BY PROFESSOR HOPPUS.</p> - -<p class="bold">XV.</p> - -<p class="bold">SIR GRENVILLE TEMPLE'S NEW WORK</p> - -<p class="center">(<i>Travels in Greece and Turkey.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center">2 vols. plates.</p> - -<p class="bold">XVI.</p> - -<p class="bold">ADVENTURES IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE</p> - -<p class="center">BY EDWARD LANDOR, ESQ.</p> - -<p class="center">2 vols. plates.</p> - -<p class="bold">XVII.</p> - -<p class="bold">NEW WORK ON FLOWERS.</p> - -<p class="center">(<i>The Floral Telegraph.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center">With the London Colored Plates.</p> - -<p class="bold">XVIII.</p> - -<p class="bold">TOUR OF A GERMAN ARTIST IN ENGLAND</p> - -<p class="center">BY M. PASSAVANT.</p> - -<p class="center">2 vols. with Plates.</p> - -<p class="bold">XIX.</p> - -<p class="bold">VISIT TO ALEXANDRIA, DAMASCUS AND JERUSALEM,</p> - -<p class="center">BY DR. HOGG.</p> - -<p class="center">2 vols. Plates.</p> - -<p class="bold">XX.</p> - -<p class="bold">RECORDS OF TRAVELS</p> - -<p class="center">IN TURKEY, GREECE, &c.:</p> - -<p class="center">BY ADOLPHUS SLADE, ESQ.</p> - -<p class="bold">XXI.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Captain Glascock's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">THE NAVAL SERVICE.</p> - -<p class="bold">XXII.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Mr. Willis's New Work.</i></p> - -<p class="bold">INKLINGS OF ADVENTURE.</p> - -<p class="center">BY N. P. WILLIS, ESQ.</p> - -<p class="center">Third Edition.</p> - -<p class="bold">XXIII.</p> - -<p class="bold">THE CHEVY CHACE.</p> - -<p class="center">Illustrated in a series of beautiful Etchings.</p> - -<p class="center">BY J. FRANKLIN, ESQ.</p> - -<p class="bold">XXIV.</p> - -<p class="bold">RETZCH'S FANCIES.</p> - -<p class="center">A series of Etchings, with Notes</p> - -<p class="center">BY MRS. JAMESON.</p> - -<p class="bold">XXV.</p> - -<p class="bold">THE MESSIAH—A POEM.</p> - -<p class="center">BY THE REV. J. MONTGOMERY.</p> -</div> - -<div class="box"> -<p class="center space-above"><i>In eight handsomely-printed Volumes, with additional<br /> -Notes and Illustrations.</i></p> - -<p class="center">WITH BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS, BY THE FINDENS.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">From Drawings taken on the spot, expressly for the Work.</span></p> - -<p class="center">THE</p> - -<p class="bold">LIFE AND WORKS OF COWPER.</p> - -<p class="center">THE FIRST AND ONLY COMPLETE AND UNIFORM EDITION.</p> - -<p class="center">INCLUDING</p> - -<p class="center">THE WHOLE OF HIS PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE.</p> - -<p class="center">REVISED, ARRANGED, AND EDITED,</p> - -<p class="center">BY THE REV. T. S. GRIMSHAWE,</p> - -<p class="center">Author of the "Life of the Rev. Legh Richmond."</p> - -<p class="center">WITH</p> - -<p class="center">AN ESSAY ON THE GENIUS AND POETRY OF COWPER,</p> - -<p class="center">BY THE REV. J. W. CUNNINGHAM.</p> - -<p class="center">Vicar of Harrow.</p> - -<blockquote><p>"The works of Cowper need no recommendation; they are incorporated -into our living literature, and will be read as long as men -shall read for amusement, or to gather wisdom, of which no poet is a -greater teacher. The peculiar merit of the present edition is, that it -is the only one which can contain the whole of Cowper's <i>Private Correspondence</i>. -It being <i>copyright</i> and <i>exclusively</i> appropriated to this -edition."—<i>Courier.</i></p> - -<p>"The handsomest specimen of modern standard works that we -have yet seen."—<i>Monthly Review.</i></p> - -<p>"Of the manner in which this edition has been produced, we can -hardly speak too highly. The type, the embellishments, and the whole -getting up, are excellent. The peculiar facility with which the Editor -has made the poet tell his own story, has stamped upon this edition -an intrinsic value which nothing can surpass."—<i>Metropolitan.</i></p></blockquote></div> - -<div class="box"> -<p class="center space-above">SPLENDIDLY EMBELLISHED.</p> - -<p class="bold">THE BOOK OF GEMS.</p> - -<p class="center">(<i>The Poets and Artists of Great Britain.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center">WITH UPWARDS OF</p> - -<p class="center">FIFTY BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS</p> - -<p class="center">FROM</p> - -<p class="center">ORIGINAL PICTURES,</p> - -<p class="center">BY FIFTY LIVING PAINTERS.</p> - -<blockquote><p>This beautiful Work, which is a perfect novelty among the embellished -publications of the day, presents the combined attractions of -Poetry, Painting, and Engraving. It is splendidly illustrated with upwards -of Fifty exquisitely finished Engravings from Original Pictures -by the most distinguished living Painters, and altogether forms one of -the most beautiful library, drawing-room, and present books which -the advanced state of the Arts has hitherto produced.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Critical Notices.</i></p> - -<p>"The Book of Gems seems too fair to be looked upon, combining -all those external decorations which made the <i>Annuals</i> so attractive -with something far better than the vapid prose and milk-and-water -poetry of which their staple generally consisted. It is a book more -lovely to the sense than the most gorgeous of the tribe of Souvenirs -and Forget-me-nots; and unlike them, it will be as valuable twenty -years hence as it is now. The very conception of such a book deserves -no little praise, and its execution the very highest. For its -combined attractions to the man of taste and the lover of art, this work -has no rivals in the annals of book making."—<i>American Monthly Mag.</i></p> - -<p>"This is, in all respects, so beautiful a book, that it would be scarcely -possible to suggest an improvement. Its contents are not for a year, -nor for an age, but for all time."—<i>Examiner.</i></p> - -<p>"The plan of this beautiful and splendid work is as admirable as it -is novel."—<i>Literary Gazette.</i></p> - -<p>"This sumptuous book has not less than fifty-three illustrations."—<i>Athenæum.</i></p> - -<p>"The Pleasure-book of the year—a treasury of sweets and beauties."—<i>Atlas.</i></p> - -<p class="center">A few <span class="smcap">Proof Impressions of the Splendid Illustrations</span> -to the above work may still be had.</p></blockquote></div> - -<hr /> - -<h1>SOCIETY IN AMERICA</h1> - -<p class="bold space-above">BY</p> - -<p class="bold2">HARRIET MARTINEAU,</p> - -<p class="bold">AUTHOR OF "ILLUSTRATIONS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY."</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">IN TWO VOLUMES.</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">VOL. II.</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">NEW YORK<br />SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, ANN STREET,<br /> -AND CONDUIT STREET, LONDON.<br />1837.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<p class="center">VOL. II.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<table summary="CONTENTS"> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">PART II.—CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"> </td> - <td><span class="smaller"><i>Page</i></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Transports and Markets</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—Internal Improvements</td> - <td><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Manufactures</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—The Tariff</td> - <td><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>II.</td> - <td class="left">—Manufacturing Labor</td> - <td><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER IV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Commerce</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—The Currency</td> - <td><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>II.</td> - <td class="left">—Revenue and Expenditure</td> - <td><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER V.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Morals of Economy</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—Morals of Slavery</td> - <td><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>II.</td> - <td class="left">—Morals of Manufactures</td> - <td><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>III.</td> - <td class="left">—Morals of Commerce</td> - <td><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">——————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">PART III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Civilisation</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span>CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Idea Of Honour</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—Caste</td> - <td><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>II.</td> - <td class="left">—Property</td> - <td><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>III.</td> - <td class="left">—Intercourse</td> - <td><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Woman</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_226">226</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"> <span class="smcap">Section</span></td> - <td>I.</td> - <td class="left">—Marriage</td> - <td><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>II.</td> - <td class="left">—Occupation</td> - <td><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>III.</td> - <td class="left">—Health</td> - <td><a href="#Page_260">260</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Children</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER IV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Sufferers</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER V.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Utterance</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">——————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">PART IV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Religion</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Science of Religion</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_329">329</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Spirit of Religion</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_336">336</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4" class="center">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Administration of Religion</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_348">348</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Conclusion</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_367">367</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="left"><span class="smcap">Appendix</span></td> - <td><a href="#Page_373">373</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> -<p class="bold2">SOCIETY IN AMERICA</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h2><span>PART II.</span> <span class="smaller">CONTINUED.</span></h2> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER II.</span> <span class="smaller">TRANSPORT AND MARKETS.</span></h2> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"Science and Art urge on the useful toil;</div> -<div>New mould a climate, and create the soil.</div> -<div>On yielding Nature urge their new demands,</div> -<div>And ask not gifts, but tribute, at her hands."</div> -<div class="right"><i>Barbauld.</i></div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Nature has done so much for the United States in this article of their -economy, and has indicated so clearly what remained for human hands to -do, that it is very comprehensible to the traveller why this new country -so far transcends others of the same age in markets and means of -transport. The ports of the United States are, singularly enough, -scattered round the whole of their boundaries. Besides<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> those on the -seaboard, there are many in the interior; on the northern lakes, and on -thousands of miles of deep rivers. No nook in the country is at a -despairing distance from a market; and where the usual incentives to -enterprise exist, the means of transport are sure to be provided, in the -proportion in which they are wanted.</p> - -<p>Even in the south, where, the element of wages being lost, and the will -of the labourer being lost with them, there are no adequate means of -executing even the best-conceived enterprises,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> more has been done -than could have been expected under the circumstances. The mail roads -are still extremely bad. I found, in travelling through the Carolinas -and Georgia, that the drivers consider themselves entitled to get on by -any means they can devise: that nobody helps and nobody hinders them. It -was constantly happening that the stage came to a stop on the brink of a -wide and a deep puddle, extending all across the road. The driver helped -himself, without scruple, to as many rails of the nearest fence as might -serve to fill up the bottom of the hole, or break our descent into it. -On inquiry, I found it was not probable that either road or fence would -be mended till both had gone to absolute destruction.</p> - -<p>The traffic on these roads is so small, that the stranger feels himself -almost lost in the wilderness. In the course of several days' journey, -we saw, (with the exception of the wagons of a few encampments,)<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> only -one vehicle besides our own. It was a stage returning from Charleston. -Our meeting in the forest was like the meeting of ships at sea. We asked -the passengers from the south for news from Charleston and Europe; and -they questioned us about the state of politics at Washington. The eager -vociferation of drivers and passengers was such as is very unusual, out -of exile. We were desired to give up all thoughts of going by the -eastern road to Charleston. The road might be called impassable; and -there was nothing to eat by the way. So we described a circuit, by -Camden and Columbia.</p> - -<p>An account of an actual day's journey will give the best idea of what -travelling is in such places. We had travelled from Richmond, Virginia, -the day before, (March 2nd, 1835,) and had not had any rest, when, at -midnight, we came to a river which had no bridge. The "scow" had gone -over with another stage, and we stood under the stars for a long time; -hardly less than an hour. The scow was only just large enough to hold -the coach and ourselves; so that it was thought safest for the -passengers to alight, and go on board on foot. In this process, I found -myself over the ankles in mud. A few minutes after we had driven on -again, on the opposite side of the river, we had to get out to change -coaches; after which we proceeded, without accident, though very slowly, -till daylight. Then the stage sank down into a deep rut, and the horses -struggled in vain. We were informed that we were "mired," and must all -get out. I stood for some time to witness what is very pretty for once; -but wearisome when it occurs ten times a day. The driver carries an axe, -as a part of the stage apparatus. He cuts down a young tree, for a -lever, which is introduced under the nave of the sunken wheel; a log -serving for a block. The gentleman <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>passengers all help; shouting to the -horses, which tug and scramble as vigorously as the gentlemen. We ladies -sometimes gave our humble assistance by blowing the driver's horn. -Sometimes a cluster of negroes would assemble from a neighbouring -plantation; and in extreme cases, they would bring a horse, to add to -our team. The rescue from the rut was effected in any time from a -quarter of an hour to two hours. This particular 3rd of March, two hours -were lost by this first mishap. It was very cold, and I walked on alone, -sure of not missing my road in a region where there was no other. When I -had proceeded two miles, I stopped and looked around me. I was on a -rising ground, with no object whatever visible but the wild, black -forest, extending on all sides as far as I could see, and the red road -cut through it, as straight as an arrow, till it was lost behind a -rising ground at either extremity. I know nothing like it, except a -Salvator Rosa I once saw. The stage soon after took me up, and we -proceeded fourteen miles to breakfast. We were faint with hunger; but -there was no refreshment for us. The family breakfast had been long -over, and there was not a scrap of food in the house. We proceeded, till -at one o'clock we reached a private dwelling, where the good woman was -kind enough to provide dinner for us, though the family had dined. She -gave us a comfortable meal, and charged only a quarter dollar each. She -stands in all the party's books as a hospitable dame.</p> - -<p>We had no sooner left her house than we had to get out to pass on foot a -bridge too crazy for us to venture over it in the carriage. Half a mile -before reaching the place where we were to have tea, the thorough-brace -broke, and we had to walk through a snow shower to the inn. We had not -proceeded above a quarter of a mile from this place when the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> traces -broke. After this, we were allowed to sit still in the carriage till -near seven in the morning, when we were approaching Raleigh, North -Carolina. We then saw a carriage "mired" and deserted by driver and -horses, but tenanted by some travellers who had been waiting there since -eight the evening before. While we were pitying their fate, our vehicle -once more sank into a rut. It was, however, extricated in a short time, -and we reached Raleigh in safety.</p> - -<p>It was worth undergoing a few travelling disasters to witness the skill -and temper of the drivers, and the inexhaustible good-nature of the -passengers. Men of business in any other part of the world would be -visibly annoyed by such delays as I have described; but in America I -never saw any gentleman's temper give way under these accidents. Every -one jumps out in a moment, and sets to work to help the driver; every -one has his joke, and, when it is over, the ladies are sure to have the -whole represented to them in its most amusing light. One driver on this -journey seemed to be a novice, or in some way inferior in confidence to -the rest. A gentleman of our party chose to sit beside him on the box; -and he declared that the driver shut his eyes when we were coming to a -hole; and that when he called piteously on the passengers for help, it -was because we were taking aim at a deep rut. Usually, the confidence -and skill of the drivers were equally remarkable. If they thought the -stage more full than was convenient, they would sometimes try to alarm -the passengers, so as to induce some of them to remain for the next -stage; and it happened two or three times that a fat passenger or two -fell into the trap, and declined proceeding; but it was easy for the -experienced to see that the alarm was feigned. In such cases, after a -splash into water, in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> dark, news would be heard from the box that -we were in the middle of a creek, and could not go a step, back or -forward, without being overturned into the water. Though the assertion -was disproved the next minute, it produced its effect. Again, when the -moon was going down early, and the lamps were found to be, of course, -out of order, and the gentlemen insisted on buying candles by the -road-side, and walking on in bad places, each with a tallow light in his -hand, the driver would let drop that, as we had to be overturned before -dawn, it did not much matter whether it was now or later. After this, -the stoutest of the company were naturally left behind at the next -stopping-place, and the driver chuckled at the lightening of his load.</p> - -<p>At the close of a troublesome journey in the south, we drew up, with -some noise, before a hotel, at three in the morning. The driver blew a -blast upon an execrable horn. Nobody seemed stirring. Slaves are the -most slow-moving people in the world, except upon occasion.</p> - -<p>"What sleepy folks they are here!" exclaimed the driver.</p> - -<p>Another blast on the horn, long and screeching.</p> - -<p>"Never saw such people for sleeping. Music has no effect on 'em at all. -I shall have to try fire-arms."</p> - -<p>Another blast.</p> - -<p>"We've waked the watchman, however. That's something done."</p> - -<p>Another blast.</p> - -<p>"Never knew such people. Why, Lazarus was far easier to raise."</p> - -<p>The best testimony that I can bear to the skill with which travelling is -conducted on such roads as these, and also in steam-boats, is the fact -that I travelled upwards of ten thousand miles in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> United States, by -land and water, without accident. I was twice nearly overturned; but -never quite.</p> - -<p>It has been seen what the mail routes are like in the south; and I have -mentioned that greater progress has been made in other means of -transport than might have been expected. I referred to the new -rail-roads which are being opened in various directions. I saw few -circumstances in the south with which I was so well pleased. By the free -communication which will thus be opened, much sectional prejudice will -be dispelled: the inferiority of slave to free labour will be the more -speedily brought home to every man's convictions; and new settlers, -abhorring slavery, will come in and mix with the present population; be -the laws regarding labour what they may.</p> - -<p>The only rail-roads completed in the south, when I was there, were the -Charleston and Augusta one, two short ones in the States of Alabama and -Mississippi, and one of five miles from Lake Pontchartrain to New -Orleans. There is likely to be soon a magnificent line from Charleston -to Cincinnati; and the line from Norfolk, Virginia, to New York, is now -almost uninterrupted.</p> - -<p>The quarter of an hour employed in reaching New Orleans from Lake -Pontchartrain was one of the most delightful seasons in all my travels. -My notion of a swamp was corrected for ever. It was the end of April; -and the flowering reeds and tropical shrubs made the whole scene one gay -garden. It was odd to be passing through a gay garden on a rail-road. -Green cypress grew out of the clear water everywhere; and there were -acres of blue and white iris; and a thousand rich, unknown blossoms -waving over the pools. A negro here and there emerged from a flowery -thicket, pushing himself on a raft, or in a canoe, through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> the reeds. -The sluggish bayou was on one side; and here and there, a group of old -French houses on the other. It was like skimming, as one does in dreams, -over the meadows of Sicily, or the plains of Ceylon.</p> - -<p>That which may be seen on either hand of the Charleston and Augusta -rail-road is scarcely less beautiful; but my journeys on it were by far -the most fatiguing of any I underwent in the country. The motion and the -noise are distracting. Whether this is owing to its being built on -piles, in many places; whether the fault is in the ground or the -construction, I do not know. Almost all the rail-road travelling in -America is very fatiguing and noisy. I was told that this was chiefly -owing to the roads being put to use as soon as finished, instead of the -work being left to settle for some months. How far this is true, I do -not pretend to say. The rail-roads which I saw in progress were laid on -wood instead of stone. The patentee discovered that wood settles after -frost more evenly than stone. The original cost, in the State of New -York, is about two thousand dollars per mile.</p> - -<p>One great inconvenience of the American rail-roads is that, from wood -being used for fuel, there is an incessant shower of large sparks, -destructive to dress and comfort, unless all the windows are shut; which -is impossible in warm weather. Some serious accidents from fire have -happened in this way; and, during my last trip on the Columbia and -Philadelphia rail-road, a lady in the car had a shawl burned to -destruction on her shoulders; and I found that my own gown had thirteen -holes in it; and my veil, with which I saved my eyes, more than could be -counted.</p> - -<p>My first trip on the Charleston rail-road was more amusing than -prosperous. The arrangements were scarcely completed, and the apparatus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> -was then in a raw state. Our party left Columbia at seven in the evening -of the 9th of March, by stage, hoping to meet the rail-road train at -Branchville, sixty miles from Columbia, at eleven the next morning, and -to reach Charleston, sixty-two more, to dinner. Towards morning, when -the moon had set, the stage bumped against something; and the driver -declared that he must wait for the day-spring, before he could proceed -another step. When the dawn brightened, we found that we had, as we -supposed, missed our passage by the train, for the sake of a stump about -two inches above the ground. We hastened breakfast at Orangeburg; and -when we got to Branchville, found we need have been in no hurry. The -train had not arrived; and, some little accident having happened, we -waited for it till near two o'clock.</p> - -<p>I never saw an economical work of art harmonise so well with the -vastness of a natural scene, as here. From the piazza of the house at -Branchville, the forest fills the whole scene, with the rail-road -stretching through it, in a perfectly straight line, to the vanishing -point. The approaching train cannot be seen so far off as this. When it -appears, a black dot, marked by its wreath of smoke, it is impossible to -avoid watching it, growing and self-moving, till it stops before the -door. I cannot draw; but I could not help trying to make a sketch of -this, the largest and longest perspective I ever saw. We were well -employed for two hours in basking in the sun, noting the -mock-orange-trees before the house, the turkeys strutting, the robins -(twice as large as the English) hopping and flitting; and the house, -apparently just piled up of wood just cut from the forest. Everything -was as new as the rail-road. As it turned out, we should have been -better employed in dining; but we had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> no other idea than of reaching -Charleston in three or four hours.</p> - -<p>For the first thirty-five miles, which we accomplished by half-past -four, we called it the most interesting rail-road we had ever been on. -The whole sixty-two miles was almost a dead level, the descent being -only two feet. Where pools, creeks, and gullies had to be passed, the -road was elevated on piles, and thence the look down on an expanse of -evergreens was beautiful. This is, probably, the reason why three -gentlemen went, a few days afterwards, to walk, of all places, on the -rail-road. When they were in the middle of one of these elevated -portions, where there is a width of only about three inches on either -side the tracks, they heard a shout, and looking back, saw a train -coming upon them with such speed as to leave no hope that it could be -stopped before it reached them. There was no alternative; all three -leaped down, upwards of twenty feet, into the swamp, and escaped with a -wetting, and with looking exceedingly foolish in their own eyes.</p> - -<p>At half-past four, our boiler sprang a leak, and there was an end of our -prosperity. In two hours, we hungry passengers were consoled with the -news that it was mended. But the same thing happened, again and again; -and always in the middle of a swamp, where we could do nothing but sit -still. The gentlemen tried to amuse themselves with frog-hunting: but it -was a poor resource. Once we stopped before a comfortable-looking house, -where a hot supper was actually on the table; but we were not allowed to -stop, even so long as to get out. The gentlemen made a rush into the -house to see what they could get. One carried off a chicken entire, for -his party; another seized part of a turkey. Our gentlemen were not alert -enough.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> The old lady's table was cleared too quickly for them, and -quite to her own consternation. All that we, a party of five, had to -support us, was some strips of ham, pieces of dry bread, and three sweet -potatoes, all jumbled together in a handkerchief. Our thoughts wandered -back to this supper-table, an hour after, when we were again sticking in -the middle of a swamp. I had fallen asleep, (for it was now the middle -of a second night of travelling,) and was awakened by such a din as I -had never heard. I could not recollect where I was; I looked out of the -window, and saw, by the light of the moon, white houses on the bank of -the swamp, and the waving shrubs of the forest; but the distracting din -was like nothing earthly. It presently struck me that we were being -treated with a frog-concert. It is worth hearing, for once, anything so -unparalleled as the knocking, ticking, creaking, and rattling, in every -variety of key. The swamp was as thick of noises as the forest is of -leaves: but, five minutes of the concert are enough; while a hundred -years are not enough of the forest. After many times stopping and -proceeding, we arrived at Charleston between four and five in the -morning; and, it being too early to disturb our friends, crept cold and -weary to bed, at the Planters' Hotel. It was well that all this happened -in the month of March. Three months later, such detention in the swamps -by night might have been the death of three-fourths of the passengers. I -have not heard of any mismanagement since the concern has been put -fairly in operation.</p> - -<p>There are many rail-roads in Virginia, and a line to New York, through -Maryland and Delaware. There is in Kentucky a line from Louisville to -Lexington. But it is in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, and -Massachusetts, that they abound. All have succeeded so admirably,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> that -there is no doubt of the establishment of this means of communication -over nearly the whole of the United States, within a few years, as -by-ways to the great high-ways which Nature has made to run through this -vast country. The evil of a superabundance of land in proportion to -labour will thus be lessened so far, that there will be an economy of -time, and a facility of intercourse, which will improve the intelligence -of the country population. There will, also, be a facility of finding -out where new supplies of labour are most wanted, and of supplying them. -By advantageous employment for small capitals being thus offered within -bounds, it may also be hoped that many will be prevented from straying -into the wilderness. The best friends of the moral as well as economical -interests of the Americans, will afford all possible encouragement to -wise schemes for the promotion of intercourse, especially between the -north and south.</p> - -<p>I believe the best-constructed rail-road in the States is the Boston and -Lowell, Massachusetts: length, twenty-five miles. Its importance, from -the amount of traffic upon it, may be estimated from the fact that some -thousands of dollars were spent, the winter after it was opened, in -clearing away a fall of snow from it. It was again covered, the next -night.</p> - -<p>Another line from Boston is to Providence, Rhode Island, forty-three -miles long. This opens a very speedy communication with New York; the -distance, two hundred and twenty-seven miles, being performed in twenty -hours, by rail-road and steam-boat.</p> - -<p>There is a good line from Boston to Worcester; forty-five miles in -length. Its estimated cost is 883,904 dollars. This road is to be -carried on across the entire State, to the Connecticut; from whence a -line is now in course of construction to the Hudson, to issue opposite -Albany. There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> are proposals for a tunnel under the Hudson at Albany; -and from Albany, there is already canal and rail-road communication to -Lake Erie. There is now an uninterrupted communication from the Atlantic -to the far end of Lake Michigan. It only remains to extend a line thence -to the Mississippi, and the circle is complete.</p> - -<p>The great Erie canal, intersecting the whole State of New York, is too -celebrated to need much notice here. Its entire length is three hundred -and sixty-three miles. It is forty feet wide at top, twenty-eight at -bottom, and four feet deep. There are eighty-four locks on the main -canal. The total rise and fall is six hundred and ninety-two feet. The -cost was 9,500,000 dollars. Though this canal has been opened only since -1825, it is found already insufficient for the immense commerce carried -on between the European world and the great West, through the eastern -ports. There is a rail-road now running across the entire State, which -is expected to exhibit much more traffic than the canal, without at all -interfering with its business.</p> - -<p>I traversed the valley of the Mohawk twice; the first time by the canal, -the next by stage, which I much preferred, both on account of the views -being better from the high-road, and from the discomfort of the -canal-boats. I had also the opportunity of observing the courses of the -canal and the new rail-road throughout.</p> - -<p>I was amused, the first time, at hearing some gentlemen plan how the bed -of the shoaly Mohawk might be deepened, so as to admit the passage of -steam-boats. It would be nearly as easy to dig a river at once for the -purpose, and pump it full; in other words, to make another canal, twice -as wonderful as the present. The rail-road is a better scheme by far. In -winter the traffic is continued<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> by sleighs on the canal ice: and a -pretty sight it must be.</p> - -<p>The aspect of the valley was really beautiful last June. It must have -made the Mohawk Indians heart-sore to part with it in its former quiet -state; but now there is more beauty, as well as more life. There are -farms, in every stage of advancement, with all the stir of life about -them; and the still, green graveyard belonging to each, showing its -white palings and tombstones on the hill-side, near at hand. Sometimes a -small space in the orchard is railed in for this purpose. In a shallow -reach of the river there was a line of cows wading through, to bury -themselves in the luxuriant pasture of the islands in the midst of the -Mohawk. In a deeper part, the chain ferry-boat slowly conveyed its -passengers across. The soil of the valley is remarkably rich, and the -trees and verdure unusually fine. The hanging oak-woods on the ridge -were beautiful; and the knolls, tilled or untilled; and the little -waterfalls trickling or leaping down, to join the rushing river. Little -knots of houses were clustered about the locks and bridges of the canal; -and here and there a village, with its white church conspicuous, spread -away into the middle of the narrow valley. The green and white canal -boats might be seen stealing along under the opposite ridge, or issuing -from behind a clump of elms or birches, or gliding along a graceful -aqueduct, with the diminished figures of the walking passengers seen -moving along the bank. On the other hand, the rail-road skirted the base -of the ridge, and the shanties of the Irish labourers, roofed with turf, -and the smoke issuing from a barrel at one corner, were so grouped as to -look picturesque, however little comfortable. In some of the narrowest -passes of the valley, the high road, the rail-road, the canal, and the -river,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> are all brought close together, and look as if they were trying -which could escape first into a larger space. The scene at Little Falls -is magnificent, viewed from the road, in the light of a summers' -morning. The carrying the canal and rail-road through this pass was a -grand idea; and the solidity and beauty of the works are worthy of it.</p> - -<p>The canal was commenced in 1817; and the first boat from the inland -lakes arrived at New York on the 4th of November 1825. The first year's -revenue amounted to 566,221 dollars. In 1836, the tolls amounted to -1,294,649 dollars.</p> - -<p>The incorporated rail-road companies in the State of New York in 1836 -were fifty; their capitals varying from fifteen thousand to ten million -dollars.</p> - -<p>When I first crossed the Alleghanies, in November 1834, I caught a -glimpse of the stupendous Portage rail-road, running between the two -canals which reach the opposite bases of the mountains. The stage in -which I travelled was on one side of a deep ravine, bristling with -pines; while on the other side was the lofty embankment, such a wall as -I had never imagined could be built, on the summit of which ran the -rail-road, its line traceable for some miles, with frequent stations and -trains of baggage-cars. One track of this road had not long been opened; -and the work was a splendid novelty. I had afterwards the pleasure of -travelling on it, from end to end.</p> - -<p>This road is upwards of thirty-six miles in length, and at one point -reaches an elevation of 2,491 feet above the sea. It consists of eleven -levels, and ten inclined planes. About three hundred feet of the road, -at the head and foot of each plane, is made exactly level. The -embankments were made twenty-five feet wide at the top, and the bed of -the road in excavations is twenty-five feet, with wide<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> side ditches. -Much care in drainage was necessary, as the road passes chiefly along -the steep slopes of hills, of clayey soil, and over innumerable small -streams. Sixty-eight culverts of masonry pass under the road, and -eighty-five drains. There are four viaducts of hammer-dressed sandstone, -to carry the line over streams. The most splendid of these is over the -Conemaugh, eight miles from Johnstown. It has a semi-circular arch of -eighty feet span; the top of whose masonry is seventy feet above the -water. There is a tunnel through a spur of the Alleghany, nine hundred -and one feet long, by twenty feet wide, and nineteen high. The -foundations of this road are partly stone and partly wood. Each station -has two steam-engines; one being used at a time, and the other provided -to prevent delay, in case of accident. Four cars, each loaded with 7000 -lbs. can be drawn up, and four such let down at a time; and from six to -ten such trips can be accomplished in an hour. A safety-car is attached -to the train, both in ascending and descending; and though not an -absolute safeguard, it much increases the security. This little machine, -when pressed upon from behind, grounds its point, and materially checks -the velocity of the otherwise flying train. The iron rails, and some -other of the metal portions of the work, were imported from Great -Britain.</p> - -<p>The cost of constructing this rail-road at the contract prices was -1,634,357 dollars; but this does not include office expenses, or -engineering, or accidental extra allowances to contractors. During the -first year of the two tracks being opened, fifty thousand tons of -freight, and twenty thousand passengers, passed over the road.</p> - -<p>Five years before, this line of passage was an untrodden wilderness. The -act authorising the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> commencement of the work passed the Pennsylvania -legislature on the 21st of March, 1831. On the 12th of the next month, -the tents of the first working party were pitched at the head of the -mountain-branch of the Conemaugh. The party consisted of two engineers, -a surveyor, twelve assistants and axemen, and a cook. A track, one -hundred and twenty feet wide, overgrown with heavy spruce and hemlock -timber, had to be cleared, for a distance of thirty miles. The amount of -labour was increased as the work proceeded; and, at one time, as many as -two thousand men were employed upon the road. On the 26th of November, -1833, the first car traversed the whole length on the single track that -was finished. The canals were then closed for the season; but, during -the next March the road was opened for a public highway. In another year -the enterprise was completed; and in May 1835, the State furnished the -whole motive power. The stupendous work was then in full operation.</p> - -<p>Our party (of four, one a child) traversed the entire State from -Pittsburg to Philadelphia by canal and rail-road, in four days, at an -expense of only forty-two dollars, not including provisions. There was -then great competition between the lines of canal-boats. We went by the -new line, whose boats were extraordinarily clean, and the table really -luxurious. An omnibus, sent from the canal, conveyed us from our hotel -at Pittsburg to the boat, at nine in the evening; and we immediately set -off. Berths were put up for the ladies of the party in the ladies' -dressing-room, and removed during the day. We were called early, and -breakfast dispatched before the heat grew oppressive; but, though it was -now the middle of July, I could not remain in the shade of the cabin: -the scenery, during our whole course,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> was so beautiful. Umbrella and -fan made the heat endurable on deck, except for the two hours nearest to -noon. The only great inconvenience was the having to remember -perpetually to avoid the low bridges, which we passed, on an average, -every quarter of an hour. When we were all together, this was little of -an annoyance; for one or another was sure to remember to give warning; -but a solitary person, reading or in reverie, is really in danger. We -heard of two cases of young ladies, reading, who had been crushed to -death: and we prohibited books upon deck. Charley thought the commotion -caused on our approach to a bridge the best part of our amusement; and -he was heard to complain sometimes that it was very long since we had -had any bridges, or when one chanced to be so lofty that we might pass -under it without stooping. The best of all in his eyes were the -horizontal ones, which compelled us to lie down flat.</p> - -<p>The valley of the Kiskiminites is like one noble, fruitful park. Here -and there were harvest fields of small grain, and of the tasselled -Indian corn: and a few coal and salt works, some forsaken, some busy, -showed themselves on reaches of the river; but we were usually enclosed -by a circle of wooded hills, reposing in the brightest lights and -shadows. The canal commonly ran along the base of one of these hills; -but it often let us slip into the broad lucid stream of the river -itself.</p> - -<p>After having left the Kiskiminites behind us, we crossed the Conemaugh -by a fine aqueduct, which continued its course through a long dark -tunnel, piercing the heart of the mountain. The reflection of the blue -light behind us on the straight line of water in this cavern made a -beautiful picture. The paths which human hands have piled upon one -another here form a singular combination: the river below, the aqueduct -over it;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> and higher still, the mountain road, winding steeper and -steeper to the summit. A settler lives on this mountain, the bottom of -whose well was dug out in making the tunnel. In the evening there was -every combination of rock, hill, wood, river, and luxuriant vegetation -that could furnish forth a succession of noble pictures. Charley was as -well amused as the rest of us. He understood the construction and -management of the locks, and was never tired of our rising and falling -in them; and they afforded, besides, an opportunity of stepping ashore -with his father, to get us flowers, and run along the bank to the next -lock. Of these locks there are a hundred and ninety-two between -Pittsburg and Philadelphia, averaging eight feet in depth.</p> - -<p>We were called up before four on the second morning, and had barely time -to dress, step ashore, and take our places in the car, before the train -set off. We understood that the utmost possible advantage is taken of -the daylight, as the trains do not travel after dark; it being made a -point of, that the ropes should be examined before each trip. After -having breakfasted by the way, we reached the summit of the Portage -rail-road between nine and ten. There were fine views all the way; the -mountains opening and receding, and disclosing the distant clearings and -nestling villages. All around us were plots of wild flowers, of many -hues.</p> - -<p>We were carried on chiefly by steam power, partly by horse, partly by -descending weight, and, at the last, down a long reach, of the slightest -possible inclination, by our own weight. The motion was then -tremendously rapid, and it subsided only on our reaching the canal at -the foot of the mountains.</p> - -<p>There was again so much hurry—there being danger of either of two rival -boats getting first <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>possession of the next locks, that we of the last -car had scarcely time to step on board before the team of three horses -began cantering and raising a dust on the towing path, and tugging us -through the water at such a rate as to make the waves lash the canal -bank. Our boat won the race, and we bolted with a victorious force into -the chamber of the first lock.</p> - -<p>We had occasionally to cross broad rivers. To-day we crossed the -Juniatta by a rope ferry, moved by water-power; and afterwards we -crossed the Susquehanna (at the junction of two branches of the -Juniatta, the Susquehanna, and two canals) by means of the towing-path -being carried along the outside of the great covered bridge which spans -the river at Duncan's Island.</p> - -<p>The next morning we had to leave the broad, clear, but shallow -Susquehanna,—the "river of rocks," as its name imports. I had before -travelled almost its whole length along its banks; and, like every one -who has done so, loved its tranquil beauty.</p> - -<p>The last stage of this remarkable journey was from Columbia to -Philadelphia, by rail-road, eighty-one miles, which we were seven hours -in performing, as the stoppages were frequent and long. This work, which -was opened in 1834, includes thirty-one viaducts, seventy-three stone -culverts, five hundred stone drains, and eighteen bridges. Its cost was -about 1,600,000 dollars.—The length of this passage from Philadelphia -to Pittsburg is 394 miles.</p> - -<p>Where, I again ask, would have been these great works, but for the -immigration so seriously complained of by some?</p> - -<p>The number of considerable canals, varying in length from fourteen to -three hundred and sixty-three miles, was, in 1835, twenty-five. Of -rail-roads, from fifteen to a hundred and thirty-two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> miles long, there -were fourteen. The cost of these canals was 64,573,099 dollars. The cost -of these rail-roads was nearly thirty millions of dollars.</p> - -<p>The Dutch are the best people to apply to for capital when any canal -work is projected. I heard it said that the word "canal" was enough for -them.</p> - -<p>The steam-boats of the United States are renowned, as they deserve to -be. There is no occasion to describe their size and beauty here; but -their number is astonishing. I understand that three hundred were -navigating the great western rivers some time ago: and the number is -probably much increased.</p> - -<p>Among so many, and where the navigation is so dangerous as on the -Mississippi, it is no wonder that the accidents are numerous. I was -rather surprised at the cautions I received throughout the south about -choosing wisely among the Mississippi steam-boats; and at the question -gravely asked, as I was going on board, whether I had a life-preserver -with me. I found that all my acquaintances on board had furnished -themselves with life-preservers; and my surprise ceased when we passed -boat after boat on the river, delayed or deserted on account of some -accident. We were on board the "Henry Clay," a noble boat, of high -reputation; the present being the ninety-seventh trip accomplished -without accident. Our yawl was snagged one day; and we encountered a -squall and hail storm, one night, which blew both the pilots away from -the helm, and made them look "to see the hurricane deck blown clear -off;" but no mischief ensued.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the increase of steam-boats in the Mississippi, flat -boats are still much in use. These are large boats, of rude -construction, made just strong<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> enough to hold together, and keep their -cargo of flour, or other articles, dry, from some high point on the -great rivers, to New Orleans. They are furnished with two enormous oars, -fixed on what is, I suppose, called their deck; to be used where the -current is sluggish, or when it is desirable to change the direction of -the boat. The cumbrous machine is propelled by the stream; her -proprietors only occasionally helping her progress, now by pulling at -the branches of overhanging trees, now by turning her into the more -rapid of two currents. She is seen sometimes floating down the very -middle of the river; sometimes gliding under the banks. At noon, a bower -of green leaves is waving on her deck, for shade to her masters; at -night, a pine brand is waved, flaming, to give warning to the -steam-boats not to run her down. The voyage from the upper parts of the -Ohio to New Orleans, is thus performed in from three to five weeks. The -cargo being disposed of at New Orleans, the boat is broken up, and the -materials sold; and her masters work their way home again, as deck -passengers on board a steam-boat, by bringing in wood at all the wooding -places. The "Henry Clay" had a larger company of this kind of passengers -than the captain liked. He declared that the deck was giving way under -their number. It was a pretty sight to see them twice a day,—very early -in the morning, and about sunset,—pour from the boat, when she drew -under the shore, form two lines between the boat and the wood pile, and -bring in their loads. Most of them were tall Kentuckians, who really do -look unlike all other people. I felt a strong inclination for a -flat-boat voyage down the vast and beautiful Mississippi; beautiful with -islands and bluffs, and the eternal forest; but I have lost the -opportunity. If I should ever visit that beloved country again,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> this -picturesque kind of craft will have disappeared, as the yet more -barbarous raft is now disappearing; and one more characteristic feature -of western scenery will be effaced.</p> - -<p>It seems probable that there will be a more rapid increase of ships and -schooners than of steam-boats on the northern lakes. These lakes are so -subject to gusts and storms that steam-boats cannot be considered safe, -and ought to make no promises of punctuality. The captains declare their -office to be too anxious a one. A squall comes from any quarter, without -notice; and the boat no sooner seems to be proceeding prosperously on -her way, than she has to run in somewhere for safety from a sudden -storm.</p> - -<p>Of all the water-craft I ever saw, I know none so graceful as the sloops -on the Hudson; unless it be the New York pilot-boats. The North-River -sloops are an altogether peculiar race of boats. They are low, and can -carry a great press of sail, from the smoothness of the water on which -they perform their voyages. A sloop of a hundred and fifty tons will -carry a mast of ninety feet high. I could watch these boats on the -Hudson, a whole summer through; moored beside a pebbly strand, in a -recess of the shore; or lying dark in a trail of glittering sunshine; or -turning the whitest of sails to the sun, startling the fish-hawk with -the sudden gleam, so that he quits his prey, and makes for the hanging -woods. I saw their graceful forms disclosed by lightning, while I was -watching, from the piazza of the West Point Hotel, the progress of a -tremendous storm. I saw them as suddenly disclosed at another time; and -still more strikingly. From the terrace of Pine Orchard House, on the -summit of the Catskill Mountain, I watched, one July morning, at four -o'clock, the breaking of the dawn over the entire valley of the Hudson. -The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> difference between mountain, forest, and meadow, first appeared. -Then the grey river seemed to grow into sight, for the whole length of -its windings. It was twelve miles off, and looked little more than a -thread. The sun came up, like a golden star resting on the mountain-top; -and, on the instant, the river was seen to be peopled with these sloops. -Their white sails came in one instant into view, together with the -churches in the hamlets, and the bright gables of the farm-houses in the -meadows. The whole scene was made alive by one ray.</p> - -<p>There will be no want of markets for produce of all kinds, in the United -States, within any time that can be foreseen. If slavery were to be -abolished to-morrow, and, in consequence, more corn grown and cattle -reared in the slave States, the demand for both from the north-western -States would still go on to increase; so vast and progressive would be -the improvement in the south. The great cities are even yet ill supplied -from the country. Provisions are very dear; and the butcher's meat -throughout the country is far inferior to what it will be when an -increased amount of labour, and means of transport, shall encourage -improvement in the pasturage and care of stock. While, as we have seen, -fowls, butter, and eggs, are still sent from Vermont into Boston, there -is no such thing to be had there as a joint of tender meat. In one house -at Boston, where a very numerous family lives in handsome style, and -where I several times met large dinner parties, I never saw an ounce of -meat, except ham. The table was covered with birds, in great variety, -and well cooked; but all winged creatures. The only tender, juicy meat I -saw in the country, was a sirloin of beef at Charleston, and the whole -provision of a gentleman's table in Kentucky. At one country place, -there was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> nothing but veal on the table for a month; in a town where I -staid ten days, nothing was to be had but beef: and throughout the south -the traveller meets little else than pork, under all manner of -disguises, and fowls.</p> - -<p>Much is said in England about the cheapness of living in the United -States, without its being understood what need there is of equalising, -(or what appears so to the inhabitants of an old country,) by means of -markets. In places where beef and veal are twopence per pound, and -venison a penny, (English,) tea may be twenty shillings per pound, and -gloves seven shillings a pair. At Charlottesville University, fowls were -provided to the professors' families at a dollar a dozen. In the towns -of Kentucky, meat is fourpence per pound; in the rural parts of -Pennsylvania a penny or twopence; and butter sixpence. At Ebensburg, on -the top of the Alleghanies, we staid twenty-five hours. Two of us were -well taken care of, had attendance, good beds, two dinners each, supper, -breakfast, and a supply of buns to carry away with us; and all for one -dollar; the dollar at that time being four shillings and twopence -English. The next week, I paid six dollars for the making of a gown at -Philadelphia; and all the ladies of a country town, not very far off, -were wearing gloves too bad to be mended, or none at all, because none -had come up by the canal for many weeks.</p> - -<p>At Washington, I wanted some ribbon for my straw bonnet; and, in the -whole place, in the season, I could find only six pieces of ribbon to -choose from.</p> - -<p>Throughout the entire country, (out of the cities,) I was struck with -the discomfort of broken windows which appeared on every side. Large -farm-houses, flourishing in every other respect, had dismal-looking -windows. I was possessed with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> the idea that the business of a -travelling glazier would be a highly profitable one. Persons who happen -to live near a canal, or other quiet watery road, have baskets of glass -of various sizes sent to them from the towns, and glaze their own -windows. But there is no bringing glass over a corduroy, or mud, or -rough limestone road; and those who have no other highways must "get -along" with such windows as it may please the weather and the children -to leave them.</p> - -<p>The following laconic dialogue shows, not unfairly, even if it be a mere -jest, how acceptable means of transport would be to western settlers.</p> - -<p>"Whose land was this that you bought?"</p> - -<p>"Mogg's."</p> - -<p>"What's the soil?"</p> - -<p>"Bogs."</p> - -<p>"What's the climate?"</p> - -<p>"Fogs."</p> - -<p>"What do you get to eat?"</p> - -<p>"Hogs."</p> - -<p>"What did you build your house of?"</p> - -<p>"Logs."</p> - -<p>"Have you any neighbours?"</p> - -<p>"Frogs."</p> - -<p>There are only two methods (besides rare accidents) by which dwellers in -such places can get their wants supplied. When a few other neighbours -besides frogs, gather round the settler, some one opens a grocery store. -I went shopping near the Falls of Niagara; about a quarter of a mile -from which place, there is a store on the borders of the forest. I saw -there glass and bacon; stay-laces, prints, drugs, rugs, and crockery; -bombazeens and tin cans; books, boots, and moist sugar, &c. &c.</p> - -<p>Pedlars are the other agents of supply. It has been mentioned how bibles -and other books are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> sold by youths who adopt this method of speedily -raising money. The Yankee pedlars, with their wooden clocks, are -renowned. One of these gentry lately retired with a fortune of a hundred -thousand dollars, made by the sale of wooden clocks alone. These men are -great benefactors to society: for, be their clocks what they may, they -make the country people as well off as the inhabitants of towns, in the -matter of knowing the time; and what more would they have? One would -think there was no sun in the United States, so very imaginative are -most of the population in respect of the hour. Even in New York I found -a wide difference between the upper and lower parts of the city: and -between Canandaigua and Buffalo there was the slight variation of half -an hour. In some parts of the south, we were at the mercy of whatever -clock the last pedlar might have happened to bring, for the appearance -of meals: but it appeared as if the clocks themselves had something of -the Yankee spirit in them; for, while they were usually too fast, I -rarely knew one too slow.</p> - -<p>The perplexity about time took a curious form in one instance, in the -south. The lady of the governor of the State had never had sufficient -energy to learn the clock. With both clock and watch in the house, she -was incessantly sending her slave Venus, (lazy, ignorant, awkward, and -ugly,) into a neighbour's house to ask the hour. Three times in one -morning did Venus loll against the drawing-room door, her chin in her -hands, drawling,</p> - -<p>"What's the time?"</p> - -<p>"Nine, Venus."</p> - -<p>Venus went home, and told her mistress it was one. Dinner was hastened; -but it soon appearing from some symptom that it could not be so late, -Venus appeared again, with her chin reposing as before.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p><p>"What's the time?"</p> - -<p>"Between ten and eleven, Venus."</p> - -<p>Venus carries word that it is eight. And so on.</p> - -<p>The race of pedlars will decrease, year by year. There will be fewer -carts, nicely packed with boxes and baskets. There will be fewer youths -in homespun, with grave faces and somewhat prim deportment, in -well-laden gigs. There will be fewer horsemen, with saddle-bags, and -compact wooden cases. There will be fewer pedestrians, with pouches -strung before and behind, an umbrella in one hand, and an open book in -the other. The same men, or their sons, will gain in fortune, and lose -perhaps somewhat in mind and manners, by being stationary, or the -frequenters of some established market.</p> - -<p>The conveying of vast quantities of cotton and other produce towards the -southern ports is already a matter of pride to the residents, who boast -that they employ the industry of persons a thousand miles off to provide -food for themselves and their dependents. The bustle of the great -northern markets is also very striking to the stranger who sees to what -distance in the interior, the produce of Europe and Asia is to be -conveyed. But, a few years hence, the spread of comfort and luxury will -be as great as that of industry is now. By a vast augmentation of the -means of transport, markets will be opened wherever the soil is -peculiarly rich, the mines remarkably productive, or the locality -especially inviting.</p> - -<p>The object is an all-important one. As it is too late to restrict the -territory on which the American people are dispersed, it is most -serviceable that they should be brought together again, for purposes of -intercourse, mutual education and discipline, and wise co-operation in -the work of self-government, by such means as exist for practically<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> -annihilating time and space. The certain increase of wealth by these -means is a good. The certain increase of people is an incalculably -greater. The certain increase of knowledge and civilisation is the -greatest of all.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.</span></h3> - -<p>One of the most important constitutional questions that has arisen in -the United States is one, regarding Internal Improvements, which has -grown out of a failure of foresight in the makers of the constitution. -No set of men could be expected to foresee every great question which -must arise during the advancement of a young country; and there is no -evidence of its having occurred to any one, in the early days of the -republic, to inquire whether the general government should have power to -institute and carry on public works, all over the States; and under what -limitations. Many inconsistent and contradictory proceedings have taken -place in Congress, since the question was first raised; and it remains -unsettled.</p> - -<p>For some years after the Revolution, the treasury had enough to do to -pay the debts of the war, and defray the expenses attendant upon the -organisation of the new system. As soon as a surplus was found to be in -hand, suggestions were heard about improving the country. In 1796, Mr. -Madison proposed a resolution to cause a survey to be made for a road -from north to south, through all the Atlantic States. No appropriation -was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> made for the purpose: but no objection was offered on the ground of -the general government not having power to make such appropriation. The -difficulty of access to the great western wilderness was represented to -Congress under Mr. Jefferson's administration, in 1802; and a law was -passed, making appropriations for opening roads in the north-west -territory. This was the first appropriation made by Congress for -purposes of internal improvement. Many similar acts followed; and -road-making and surveying the coast went on expeditiously, and to a -great extent. In 1807, Mr. Gallatin prepared the celebrated Report to -the Senate, which contains a systematic plan for the improvement of the -whole country. In 1812, during Mr. Madison's administration, a survey -was authorised of the main post road from Maine to Georgia. Improvement -under the sanction of Congress went on with increased activity into the -administration of Mr. Monroe, by whom the first check was given. Mr. -Monroe vetoed the bill authorising the collection of tolls for the -repair of the Cumberland road. The reason assigned for the veto was, -that it was one thing to make appropriations for public works, and -another thing to assume jurisdiction and sovereignty over the soil on -which such works were erected; and President Monroe did not believe that -Congress could assume power to levy toll.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> By his adoption of a -subsequent act, involving the same principles, however, it seemed that -he had changed his opinion, or resolved to yield the question.</p> - -<p>Mr. J. Q. Adams's advocacy of internal <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>improvements removed some -lingering difficulties; and, while he was President, the public works -were carried on with great activity. The southern members of Congress, -however, were generally opposed to the exercise of this power by the -general government: and it has ever since been a strongly-debated -question.</p> - -<p>President Jackson's course on the subject has not been very consistent. -Before his election, he always voted for internal improvements, going so -far as to advocate subscriptions by government to the stock of private -canal companies, and the formation of roads beginning and ending within -the limits of particular States. In his message at the opening of the -first Congress after his accession, he proposed the division of the -surplus revenue among the States, as a substitute for the promotion of -internal improvements by the general government. He attempted a -limitation and distinction too difficult and important to be settled and -acted upon on the judgment and knowledge of one man;—a distinction -between general and local objects. It is manifestly impossible to draw -the line with any precision. The whole Union is benefited by the Erie -canal, though it lies wholly within the limits of the State of New York; -and a thousand positions of circumstances may be imagined by which local -advantages may become general, and general local, so as to confound the -limitation altogether. At any rate, the judgment and knowledge of any -individual, or any cabinet, are obviously unequal to the maintenance of -such a distinction.</p> - -<p>In 1829 and 1830, the President advocated such an amendment of the -constitution as would authorise Congress to apply the surplus revenue to -certain specified objects, involving the general good; and he strongly -objected to the general government exercising a power, considered by -him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> unconstitutional, merely because there was a quantity of money in -the treasury which must be disposed of. He has since changed his -opinion, and believes that less evil would be incurred by even suddenly -reducing the revenue to the amount of the wants of the government, than -by conferring on the general government immense means of patronage, and -opportunity for corrupt and wasteful expenditure.</p> - -<p>These changes of opinion in President Jackson prove nothing so clearly -as the great difficulty of the subject. It is, however, so pressing and -so important that, notwithstanding its difficulty, it must be settled -before long.</p> - -<p>The opposing arguments seem to me to be these.</p> - -<p>The advocates of a concession to Congress of the power of conducting -internal improvements plead, with regard to the constitutionality of the -power, that it is conferred by the clauses which authorise Congress to -make post-roads: to regulate commerce between the States: to make and -carry on war; (and therefore to have roads by which to transport -troops;) to lay taxes, to pay the debts, and provide for the general -welfare of the United States: and to pass all laws necessary to carry -into effect its constitutional powers.</p> - -<p>The answer is, that to derive from these clauses any countenance of the -practice of spending without limit the public funds, for objects which -any present government may declare to be for the general welfare, is an -obvious straining of the instrument: that, by such methods, the -constitution may be made to authorise the spending of any amount -whatever, for any purpose whatever: that it is the characteristic of the -constitution to specify the powers given to Congress with a nicety which -is wholly inconsistent with such a boundless <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>conveyance of power as is -here presumed: and that, accordingly, the permission to lay taxes, to -pay the debts, and provide for the general welfare of the United States, -is limited as to its objects by the preceding specifications: and that, -finally, the powers allotted to the State governments exclude the -supposition that Congress is authorised to assume such territorial -jurisdiction as it has been allowed to practise within the limits of the -several States.</p> - -<p>This last set of opinions appears to disinterested observers so -obviously reasonable, that the wonder is how so weak a stand on the -provisions of the constitution can have been maintained for any length -of time. The reason is, that the pleas of expediency are so strong as to -counterbalance the weakness of the constitutional argument. But, this -being the case, the truly honest and patriotic mode of proceeding would -be to add to the constitution by the means therein provided; instead of -straining the instrument to accomplish an object which was not present -to the minds of its framers.</p> - -<p>The pleas of the advocates of Internal Improvements are these: that very -extensive public works, designed for the benefit of the whole Union, and -carried through vast portions of its area, must be accomplished: that an -object so essential ought not to be left at the mercy of such an -accident as the cordial agreement of the requisite number of States, to -carry such works forward to their completion; that the surplus funds -accruing from the whole nation cannot be so well employed as in -promoting works by which the whole nation will be benefited: and that, -as the interests of the majority have hitherto upheld Congress in the -use of this power, it may be assumed to be the will of the majority that -Congress should continue to exercise it.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p><p>The answer is, that it is inexpedient to put a vast and increasing -patronage into the hands of the general government: that only a very -superficial knowledge can be looked for in members of Congress as to the -necessity or value of works proposed to be instituted in any parts of -the States but those in which they are respectively interested: that -endless jealousies would arise between the various States,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> from the -impossibility or undesirableness of equalising the amount of -appropriation made to each: that useless works would be proposed from -the spirit of competition, or individual interest:<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> and that -corruption, co-extensive with the increase of power, would deprave the -functions of the general government.</p> - -<p>There is much truth on both sides here. In the first set of pleas there -is so much force that they have ceased to be, what they were once -supposed, the distinctive doctrines of the federal party. Mr. Webster is -still considered the head of the Internal Improvements party; and Mr. -Calhoun was for some time the leader of its opponents. Jefferson's -latest opinions were strong against the power claimed and exercised by -Congress. Yet large numbers of the democratic party are as strenuous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> -for internal improvements as Adams and Webster themselves; the interests -of the majority being clearly on that side.</p> - -<p>To an impartial observer it appears that Congress has no constitutional -right to devote the public funds to internal improvements, at its own -unrestricted will and pleasure: that the permitted usurpation of the -power for so long a time indicates that some degree of such power in the -hands of the general government is desirable and necessary: that such -power should be granted through an amendment of the constitution, by the -methods therein provided: that, in the mean time, it is perilous that -the instrument should be strained for the support of any function, -however desirable its exercise may be.</p> - -<p>In case of the proposed addition being made to the constitution, -arrangements will, of course, be entered into for determining the -principles by which general are to be distinguished from local objects, -or whether such distinction can, on any principle, be fixed; for testing -the utility of proposed objects; for checking extravagant expenditure, -jobbing, and corrupt patronage: in short, the powers of Congress will be -specified, here, as in other matters, by express permission and -prohibition. These details, difficult or unmanageable amidst the -questionable exercise of a great power, will, doubtless, be arranged so -as to work with precision, when the will of the majority is brought to -bear directly upon them.</p> - -<p>It is time that this great question should be settled. Congress goes on -making appropriations for a road here, a canal there, a harbour or a -light-house somewhere else. All these may or may not be necessary. -Meantime, those who have law on their side, exclaim against -extravagance, jobbing, and encroachment on popular rights. Those who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> -have expediency on their side plead necessity, the popular will, and the -increasing surplus revenue.</p> - -<p>If the constitution provides means by which law, expediency, and the -prevention of abuse, can be reconciled to the satisfaction of all, -surely the sooner it is done the better. Thus the matter appears to a -passing stranger.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> "The income of the public works of the State" (South -Carolina) "is very small, not exceeding 15,000 dollars per annum, over -the cost of management, although the State has incurred a debt of -2,000,000 in constructing them. In many parts of the State, canals have -been constructed, which do not yield sufficient to pay their current -expenses; and, with the exception of the State road, and the Columbia -canal, there is hardly a public work in the State, which, put up at -public auction, would find a purchaser." -</p><p> -1833. <i>American Annual Register</i>, p. 285.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> President Jackson is of opinion that no toll should be -levied on ways provided by the public revenue. It should be a complete -and final outlay, and none of the people compelled to pay for works -effected by the people's money. This seems clearly right.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> South Carolina was in favour of Internal Improvements, till -it was found how much larger a share of the benefit would be -appropriated by the active and prosperous northern States than by those -which are depressed by slavery. Since that discovery, South Carolina's -sectional jealousy has been unbounded, and her opposition to the -exercise of the power very fierce. In her periodical publications, as -well as through other channels, she has declared herself neglected, or -likely to be neglected, on account of her being southern. The enterprise -of the North and depression of the South are, as usual, looked upon as -favour and neglect, shown by the general government.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> When I was ascending the Mississippi, I observed a -light-house perched on a bluff, in a ridiculous situation. On asking the -meaning of the phenomenon, I was told that a senator from the State of -Mississippi, wishing to make a flourish about his zeal for the -improvement of his State, had obtained an appropriation from Congress to -build this light-house, which is of no earthly use.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER III.</span> <span class="smaller">MANUFACTURES.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"The crude treasures, perpetually exposed before our eyes, contain -within them other and more valuable principles. All these, -likewise, in their numberless combinations, which ages of labour -and research can never exhaust, may be destined to furnish, in -perpetual succession, new sources of our wealth and of our -happiness."</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Babbage.</span></p></blockquote> - -<p>The whole American people suffered, during the revolutionary war, from -the want of the comforts and some of the necessaries of life, now so -called. Their commerce with the world abroad being almost wholly -intercepted, they had nothing wherewith to console themselves but the -stocks which might be left in their warehouses, and the produce of their -soil. It is amazing, at this day, to hear of the wants of the commonest -articles of clothing and domestic use, undergone in those days by some -of the first families in the republic.</p> - -<p>The experience of these troubles suggested to many persons the -expediency of establishing manufactures in the United States: but there -was an almost universal prejudice against this mode of employment. It is -amusing now to read Hamilton's celebrated Report on Manufactures, -presented in 1790, and to see how elaborately the popular<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> objections to -manufactures are answered. The persuasion of the nation was that America -was designed to be an agricultural country; that agriculture was wholly -productive, and manufactures not productive at all; and that agriculture -was the more honourable occupation. The two former prejudices have been -put to flight by happy experience. The last still lingers. It is not -five years since the President's message declared that "the wealth and -strength of a country are its population; and the best part of that -population are the cultivators of the soil."</p> - -<p>Such prepossessions may be left to die out. They arise mainly from a -very good notion, not very clearly defined;—that the more intercourse -men have with Nature, the better for the men. This is true; but Nature -is present in all places where the hands of men work, if the workmen can -but see her. If Nature is supposed present only where there is a blue -sky overhead, and grass and trees around, this shows only the narrowness -of mind of him who thus supposes. Her forces are at work wherever there -is mechanism; and man only directs them to his particular purpose. In -America, it may be said that her beauty is present wherever her forces -are at work; for men have there set up their mechanism in some of the -choicest spots in the land. There is a good and an evil aspect belonging -to all things. If tourists are exasperated at fine scenery being -deformed by the erection of mills, (which in many instances are more of -an ornament than a deformity,) let others be awake to the advantage that -it is to the work-people to have their dwellings and their occupation -fixed in spots where the hills are heaped together, and the waters leap -and whirl among rocks, rather than in dull suburbs where they and their -employments may not annoy the eye of the lover of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> picturesque. It -always gave me pleasure to see the artisans at work about such places as -Glen's Falls, the Falls of the Genessee, and on the banks of some of the -whirling streams in the New England valleys. I felt that they caught, or -might catch, as beautiful glimpses of Nature's face as the western -settler. If the internal circumstances were favourable, there was little -in the outward to choose between. If they had the open mind's eye to see -beauty, and the soul to feel wonder, it mattered little whether it was -the forest or the waterfall (even though it were called the -"water-privilege") that they had to look upon; whether it was by the -agency of vegetation or of steam that they had to work. It is deplorable -enough, in this view, to be a poor artisan in the heart of our English -Manchester: but to be a thriving one in the most beautiful outskirts of -Sheffield is, perhaps, as favourable a lot for the lover of nature as to -be a labourer on any soil: and the privileges of the American artisans -are like this.</p> - -<p>As to the old objection to American manufactures, that America was -designed to be an agricultural country,—it seems to me, as I said -before, that America was meant to be everything. Her group of republics -is merged in one, in the eyes of the world; and, for some purposes, in -reality: but this involves no obligation to make them all alike in their -produce and occupations; but rather the contrary. Here, as everywhere -else, let the laws of nature be followed, and the procedure will be -wise. Nature has nothing to do with artificial boundaries and arbitrary -inclosures. There are many soils and many climates included within the -boundary line of the United States; many <i>countries</i>; and one rule -cannot be laid down for all. If there be any one or more of these where -the requisites for manufactures are present, and those<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> for agriculture -deficient, there let manufactures arise. If there is poor land, and good -mill-seats; abundant material, animal and mineral, on the spot, and -vegetable easily to be procured; a sufficiency of hands, and talent for -the construction and use of machinery, there should manufactures spring -up. This is eminently the case with New England, and some other parts of -the United States. It was perceived to be so, even in the days when the -growth of cotton in the south was spoken of as a small experiment, not -likely to produce great consequences.</p> - -<p>New England formerly depended chiefly on the carrying trade. When that -resource was diminished, after the war, it is difficult to see how her -people were to be prevented setting up manufactures, or why they needed -any particular exhortation or assistance to do it. They had the -opportunity of obtaining foreign capital; their previous foreign -intercourses having pointed out to them where it had accumulated, and -might therefore be obtained with advantage. They had a vast material, -left from their fisheries, of skins, oil, and the bones of marine -animals; they had bark, hides, wood, flax, hemp, iron, and clay. They -had also the requisite skill; as may be seen by the following list of -domestic manufactures, carried on in private houses only, in 1790. -"Great quantities of coarse cloths, coatings, serges and flannels, -linsey-woolseys, hosiery of wool, cotton, and thread, coarse fustians, -jeans, and muslins, coverlets and counterpanes, tow linens, coarse -shirtings, sheetings, towellings, and table-linen, and various mixtures -of wool and cotton, and of cotton and flax, are made in the household -way; and, in many instances, to an extent not only sufficient for the -supply of the family in which they are made, but for sale, and even in -some cases for exportation. It is computed, in a number of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>districts, -that two-thirds, three-fourths, and even four-fifths of all the clothing -of the inhabitants, are made by themselves."<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> If all this was done -without the advantage of division of labour, of masses of capital, or of -other machinery than might be set up in a farm-house parlour, it is -clear that this region was fully prepared, five-and-forty years ago, for -the introduction of manufactures on a large scale; and there appears -every reason to believe that they might have been left to their natural -growth.</p> - -<p>The same Report mentions seventeen classes of manufacture going on as -distinct trades, at the same time, in the northern States.</p> - -<p>The only plausible objection to the establishment of manufactures was -the scarcity and dearness of labour, in comparison with that of the old -countries of Europe. But, if the exportation of some articles actually -took place, while the labour which produced them was scattered about in -farm-houses, what might not be expected if the same labour could be -called forth and concentrated, and aided by the introduction of -machinery? A great immigration of artisans might also be looked for, -when once any temptation was held out to the poor of Europe to come over -to a young and thriving country. Moreover, improvements in machinery are -the invariable consequence of a deficiency of manufacturing labour; for -the obvious reason that men's wits are urged to supply the want under -which their interests suffer. Again: manufactures can, to a considerable -degree, be carried on by the labour of women; and there is a great -number of unemployed women in New England, from the circumstance that -the young men of that region wander away in search of a settlement on -the land; and, after being settled, find wives in the south and west.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p><p>Thus much of the case might have been, and was by some, foreseen. What -has been the event?</p> - -<p>In 1825, the amount of manufactures exported from the United States, was -5,729,797 dollars. Of these about one-fourth were cotton-piece goods, in -the sale of which the American merchants were now able to compete with -the English, in some foreign markets. The manufacture of cottons in the -United States afforded a market for one hundred and seventy-five -thousand bales of cotton annually; and the printed cottons manufactured -at home amounted annually to fourteen millions of yards. The importation -of cotton goods into the country in 1825 was in value between twelve and -thirteen millions of dollars; and in 1826, between nine and ten -millions. The woollen manufacture has never flourished like the cotton; -the bad effects of the tariff being more immediately visible in regard -to articles of manufacture whose raw material must be chiefly derived -from abroad.</p> - -<p>In 1828, the legislature of Massachusetts passed resolutions deploring -the increasing depression of the woollen manufacture, and praying for -increased protection from Congress. The exportation of cotton goods that -year amounted to upwards of a million of dollars; and the next year to -nearly a million and a half. The importation of cotton goods was all but -prohibited by the tariff of 1824: and the consequence was an immense -investment of capital in the cotton manufacture, almost on the instant; -and some perilous fluctuations since, too nearly resembling the -agitations of older countries, where the pernicious policy of ages has -accumulated difficulties on the present generation.</p> - -<p>At Lowell, in Massachusetts, there was in 1818, a small satinet mill, -employing about twenty hands; the place itself containing two hundred -inhabitants. In 1825, the Merrimack Manufacturing Company<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> was formed; -it was joined by others; and in 1832, the capital invested was above six -millions of dollars. The whole number of operatives employed was five -thousand; of whom three thousand eight hundred were women and girls. The -quantity of raw cotton used was upwards of twenty thousand bales. The -quantity of pure cotton goods manufactured was twenty-five millions of -yards. The woollen fabric manufactured in these establishments was, at -the same time, one hundred and fifty thousand yards. Sixty-eight -carpet-looms were at work also. The workmen employed in all these -operations received for wages about 1,200,000 dollars per annum. About -two hundred mechanics, of a high order of ability, are constantly -employed. The fuel consumed in a year is five thousand tons of -anthracite coal, besides charcoal and wood.</p> - -<p>The same protective system which caused the sudden growth of such an -establishment as this, tempted numerous capitalists to seek their share -of the supposed benefits of the tariff. The manufacturing interest was -well nigh ruined by the protection it had asked for. The competition and -consequent over-manufacture were tremendous. Failure after failure took -place, till forty-five thousand spindles were standing idle, and -thousands of operatives were thrown into a state of poverty unnatural -enough in such a country as theirs. A cry was raised by many for a -repeal of the tariff: this created a panic among those who, on the -strength of the tariff, had withdrawn their capital from commerce, and -invested it in manufactures. The stock of all the manufacturing -companies was offered in vain, at prices ruinously low. Thus stood -matters in 1829.</p> - -<p>The history of the quarrel between the north and south about the tariff, -and the nature of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>Compromise Bill, is already known. The mischief -done will be repaired, as far as reparation is possible, by the -reduction of the import duties, year by year, till 1842. If the demands -of the country and of foreign customers should not rise to the limit of -the over-manufacture which has taken place, time is thus allowed for the -gradual withdrawing of the capital and industry which have been seduced -into this method of employment. Meantime, the manufactures of the -northern States are permanently established, though not in the wisest -way. If they had been left to themselves, they would have been an -unmixed good to the community. As it is, society has suffered the -inevitable consequences of an irrational policy,—a policy indefensible -in a republic. It is well that the experiment wrought out its -consequences so speedily and so plainly that any repetition is -unlikely,—little as the natural laws which regulate commerce are yet -understood.</p> - -<p>In 1831, the total number of looms employed in the cotton manufacture of -the United States was 33,433. Of these, 21,336 were in New England; -3,653 in New York State; 6,301 in Pennsylvania; and the rest in -Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Virginia.</p> - -<p>Next to the cotton and woollen manufactures, the most valuable are -manufactures from flax and hemp; from tobacco and grain; sugar, soap, -and candles, gunpowder, gold and silver coin, iron, copper and brass, -hats, medicinal drugs, and shoes.</p> - -<p>The shoe manufacture is one of the most remarkable in the States, from -the suddenness and extent of its spread. It has been mentioned that the -shoe trade of New York State is more valuable than the total commerce of -Georgia. The extent to which the manufacture is carried on in one -village in Massachusetts, with which I am acquainted, shows the -prosperity of the business.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p><p>In order to shoemaking, there must be tanning. There are many and large -tanneries in Danvers and the outskirts of Salem, for the supply of the -Lynn shoe-manufacture. The largest tannery in the United States is at -Salem. The hides are partly imported. The bark is brought from Maine. -These tanneries were in a state of temporary adversity when I saw them. -Some kinds of skins are two or three years in tanning; and capital is -thus locked up in such amounts as render fluctuation dangerous. It had -lately been discovered that oak bark could be had cheaper, and tanning -consequently carried on to a greater advantage up the Hudson than on the -Massachusetts coast: so that the tanners and curriers of Salem and -Danvers were descending somewhat from their high prosperity. But nothing -could exceed the nourishing aspect of Lynn, the sanctum of St. Crispin.</p> - -<p>In 1831, the value of boots and shoes, (very few boots, and chiefly -ladies' shoes,) made at Lynn was nearly a million of dollars a year. The -total number made was above a million and a half pairs: the number of -people employed, three thousand five hundred; being about seven-eighths -of the population of the place, partially employed; and some hundreds -from other places, wholly employed. Last year, the place was much on the -increase. A green, with a piece of water in the middle, and trees, was -being laid out in the centre of the town. New houses were rising in all -directions, and fresh hands were welcomed from any quarter; for the -orders sent could not be executed. Besides the domestic supply, two -million pairs of ladies' shoes a-year were sent off to the remotest -corners of the States; and, as they have once penetrated there, it seems -difficult to imagine where the demand will stop; for those remote -corners are all being more thickly peopled every day. Their united -demand will be enough to make the fortune of a whole State.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p><p>It seems probable that a few more manufactures may be added to those -which are sure to flourish in the United States: as silk and wine. If -the government firmly refuses to interfere again in the way of -protection, it will be easily and safely discoverable what resources the -country really possesses; and what direction her improving industry may -naturally and profitably take.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">THE TARIFF.</span></h3> - -<p>If I were to go into anything like a detailed account of what I heard -about the tariff, during my travels, no room would be left for more -interesting affairs. The recrimination on the subject is endless. With -all this we have nothing to do, now that it is over. The philosophy and -fact of the transaction, and not the changes of opinion and -inconsistency of conduct of public men, are now of importance. It would -be well now to leave the persons, and look at the thing.</p> - -<p>Almost the only fact in relation to the tariff that I never heard -disputed is that it was, under one aspect, a measure of retaliation. -Rendering evil for evil answers no better in economical than in moral -affairs; even if it take the name of self-defence. Because the British -are foolish and wrong in refusing to admit American corn, the Americans -excluded British cottons and woollens. More was said, and I believe -sincerely, about self-defence than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> about retaliation: but it is very -remarkable that men so clear-headed, inquiring, and sagacious as the -authors of the American system, should not have seen further into the -condition of their own country, and learned more from the unhappy -experience of Europe, than to imagine that they could neutralise the -effects of the bad policy of England by adopting the same bad policy -themselves. It is strange that they did not see that if British cottons -and woollens found easy entrance into their country, it must have been -in exchange for something, though that something was not corn. It was -strange that they did not see that if the apparent facilities for -manufactures in the northern States were really great enough to justify -manufactures, individual enterprise would be sure to find it out; and -all the more readily for the deficiency in the resources of New England, -which is assigned as the reason for offering her legislative protection. -There was not even the excuse for interference which exists in old -countries; that by intricate complexities of mismanagement, economical -affairs have been perverted from their natural course. Here, in America, -a new branch of industry was to be instituted. The skill was ready; the -material was ready; the capital was procurable, if the object was good; -and ought not to be, if the object was unsound. The interests of the -people might have been trusted in their own hands. They would of -themselves have taken less of British cotton goods, and more of -something else which they could not get at home, if cotton goods could -be made better and cheaper at home than in England; which it is proved -that, for the most part, they can be. It is anticipated that when the -Compromise method expires, the home manufacture of some kinds of fine -cotton goods will diminish; but that the bulk of the manufacture is -beyond the reach of accident. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> effect of the tariff has been to -over-stimulate a natural process, and thus to cause over-manufacture, -panic, and ruin to many. It is said, and with truth, that America can -afford to try experiments; that America is the very country that should -learn by experience; and so forth. But it should be remembered that -those who suffer are not always those who should be the learners. In New -England, there is a large class of very poor women,—ladies; some -working; some unable to work. I knew many of these; and was struck with -the great number of them who assigned as the cause of their poverty the -depreciation of factory stock, or the failure in other ways of factory -schemes, in which their parents or other friends had, beguiled by the -promises of the tariff, invested what should have been their -maintenance.</p> - -<p>No more need be said on the policy of the tariff. The truth is now very -extensively acknowledged; and though some of those who are answerable -for the American system continue to assume that manufactures could not -have been instituted without its assistance, I believe it is pretty -generally understood that no more infant manufactures will be burdened -with this cruel kind of protection.</p> - -<p>A far more important question than that of the policy is that of the -principle of a protective system in the United States.</p> - -<p>It is known that the strongest resistance was made to the American -system on the ground of its being unconstitutional. Its advocates -relied, for the necessary sanction, on the clauses which provide that -"Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, and duties, -imposts, and excises;"——and "to regulate commerce with foreign -nations." With regard to the first of these clauses, both parties seem, -more or less, in the right. By the tariff, Congress proposed "to lay and -collect duties and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> imposts," as the constitution gives it express leave -to do. Yet it is clear to those who view the constitution in the light -of the sun of the revolution, that, such permission was given solely -with a view to the collection of the revenue. No one of the framers of -the constitution could have foreseen that any proposal would be made to -lay duties for the protection of the productive interests of a section -of the Union. Such a use of the clause is forbidden in spirit, though -not in the letter, by the clause which ordains, "but all duties, -imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States." -This clause is, in its spirit, wholly condemnatory of partial -legislation by Congress.</p> - -<p>Remarks somewhat analogous may be made respecting the other clause, -which empowers Congress "to regulate commerce with foreign nations." By -the letter of this clause, Congress may appear to a superficial observer -authorised so to regulate its commerce with Great Britain as to cause an -arbitrary distribution of property and industry within her own -boundaries; but such a double action could never have been in -contemplation of the framers of the instrument. What they had in view -was obviously the guardianship of the national commercial rights, and -the promotion of the national commercial, not sectional manufacturing, -interests.</p> - -<p>Where the letter and the spirit of the constitution are made, by lapse -of time and change of circumstance, to bear out opposite modes of -conduct, there is an appeal which every man must make, for his -individual satisfaction and conviction. He must appeal to the -fundamental republican principles, out of which grew both the spirit and -the letter of the constitution.</p> - -<p>By these the tariff is hopelessly condemned. It is contrary to all sound -republican principle that the general government of a nation, widely -spread<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> over regions, and separated into sections diversified in their -productions, occupations, and interests, should use its power of -legislating for the whole to provide for the particular interests of a -part. The principle of perfect political and social equality is violated -when the general government takes cognisance of local objects so far as -to do a deed which must materially affect the distribution of private -property; so far as to lay a tax on the whole of the nation for the -avowed object of benefiting a part. The government of a republic has no -business with distinctions among its subjects. It is to have no respect -of classes, more than of individuals. Its functions are to be discharged -for the common interest; and it is to entertain no fancies as to what -new institutions or arrangements will be beneficial or the contrary to -the nation.</p> - -<p>All such institutions and arrangements must be made within the several -States, or by an agreement of States; subject, of course, to the -permissions and prohibitions of the constitution. If one State, or -several States, should be pleased to decree bounties on their own -manufactures, let them do so. Whether the measure were wise or unwise, -no one out of the limits of such State or States would have a right to -complain. This could not be said under the tariff. It was a just -complaint which was urged by many States, that the federal -representation was made useless to the minority, from the moment that -the federal government applied itself to favour local and particular -interests. The case is not altered by the possible result being highly -beneficial to the whole country; which is the plea industriously -advanced by the advocates of the tariff. Whatever direction and -application of industry and capital may be ultimately most beneficial, -Congress has, on principle, no more business with it than with the -support of what may prove in the end to be the purest religious -doctrine.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p><p>If America had been as free, from the beginning, in all respects, as a -young country ought to be,—free to run her natural course of -prosperity, subject only to the faithful laws which regulate the economy -of society as beneficially as another set of laws regulates the seasons, -we might never have heard of the American system. The poisonous anomaly -which has caused almost all the diseases that have afflicted the -republic, appears to be the original infection here also. If labour in -the southern States had been free long ago, the deterioration of -southern property would not have caused the southern planters to clamour -for legislative protection. The arbitrary tenure of labour made them -desire an arbitrary distribution of capital. They desired it for the -north, as eagerly as for themselves, expecting the result to be that the -cotton-growers would be protected by heavy import duties on cotton; and -that the prosperity of the north, depending, as they supposed, wholly on -its commerce, would be crippled by the same means; and thus, something -like an equality between north and south be restored. The effect was -different from what had been anticipated. The deterioration of the south -went on; and manufactures first replaced, and then renovated, the -commerce of the north. The next consequence was natural enough. The -south became infuriated against the tariff, not only on the reasonable -ground of its badness of principle, but on the allegation that it was -the cause of all the woes of the south,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> and all the prosperity, -diversified with woes, of the north. It has always been the method of -slaveholders to lay the blame of their sufferings upon everything but -the real cause. Any one who reads the history of slavery in the book of -events, will find slave-holders of every country complaining bitterly -and incessantly of the want of legislative protection to themselves, or -of its being granted to others. In the present instance, it was a device -of the slave-holders, to renovate their falling fortunes, turned against -themselves.</p> - -<p>The true dignity of America would have been, had circumstances allowed -of it, to have followed out her own republican principles, instead of -adopting the false principles and injurious policy of older and less -favoured nations. If she had left<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> labour and commerce, and capital -free; disdaining interference at home and retaliation abroad; showing -her faith in the natural laws of social economy by calmly committing to -them the external interests of her people, she would by this time have -been the pattern and instructress of the civilised world, in the -philosophy of production and commerce. But she had not the knowledge nor -the requisite faith; nor was it to be reasonably expected that she -should. Her doctrine was, and I fear still is, that she need not study -political economy while she is so prosperous as at present: that -political economy is for those who are under adversity. If in other -cases she allows that prevention is better than cure, avoidance than -reparation, why not in this? It may not yet be too late for her to be in -the van of all the world in economical as in political philosophy. The -old world will still be long in getting above its bad institutions. If -America would free her servile class by the time the provisions of the -Compromise Bill expire, and start afresh in pure economical freedom, she -might yet be the first to show, by her transcendent peace and -prosperity, that democratic principles are the true foundation of -economical, as well as political, welfare.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION II.</span><br /><span class="smaller">MANUFACTURING LABOUR.</span></h3> - -<p>So much is said in Europe of the scarcity of agricultural labour in the -United States, that it is a matter of surprise that manufactures should -have succeeded as they have done. It is even supposed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> by some that the -tariff was rendered necessary by a deficiency of labour: that by -offering a premium on manufacturing industry, the requisite amount was -sought to be drawn away from other employments, and concentrated upon -this. This is a mistake. There is every reason to suppose that the -requisite amount of labour would have been forthcoming, if affairs had -been left to take their natural course.</p> - -<p>It has been shown that domestic manufactures were carried on to a great -extent, so far back as 1790. From that time to this, they have never -altogether ceased in the farm-houses, as the homespun, still so -frequently to be seen all over the country, and the agricultural -meetings of New England, (where there is usually a display of domestic -manufactures,) will testify. The hands by which these products are -wrought come to the factories, when the demand for labour renders it -worth while; and drop back into the farm-houses when the demand -slackens.</p> - -<p>It is not the custom in America for women (except slaves) to work out of -doors. It has been mentioned that the young men of New England migrate -in large numbers to the west, leaving an over-proportion of female -population, the amount of which I could never learn. Statements were -made to me; but so incredible that I withhold them. Suffice it that -there are many more women than men in from six to nine States of the -Union. There is reason to believe that there was much silent suffering -from poverty before the institution of factories; that they afford a -most welcome resource to some thousands of young women, unwilling to -give themselves to domestic service, and precluded, by the customs of -the country, from rural labour. We have seen how large a proportion of -the labour in the Lowell factories is supplied by women.</p> - -<p>Much of the rest is furnished by immigrants. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> saw English, Irish, and -Scotch operatives. I heard but a poor character of the English -operatives; and the Scotch were pronounced "ten times better." The -English are jealous of their 'bargain,' and on the watch lest they -should be asked to do more than they stipulated for: their habits are -not so sober as those of the Scotch, and they are incapable of going -beyond the single operation they profess. Such is the testimony of their -employers.</p> - -<p>The demand for labour is, however, sufficiently imperious in all the -mechanical departments to make it surprising that prison labour is -regarded with such jealousy as I have witnessed. When it is considered -how small a class the convicts of the United States are, and are likely -to remain, how essential labour is to their reformation, how few are the -kinds of manufacture which they can practise, and that it is of some -importance that prison establishments should maintain themselves, it -seems wholly unworthy of the intelligent mechanics of America that they -should be so afraid of convict labour as actually to obtain pledges from -some candidates for office, to propose the abolition of prison -manufactures. I believe that the Sing-Sing and Auburn prisons, in the -State of New York, turn out a greater variety and amount of products -than any others; and they have yet done very little more than maintain -themselves. The Sing-Sing convicts quarry and dress granite: the Auburn -prisoners make clocks, combs, shoes, carpets, and machinery. They are -cabinet and chair-makers, weavers, and tailors. There were 650 prisoners -when I was there; and of these many were inexperienced workmen; and all -were not employed in manufactures. Jealousy of such a set of craftsmen -is absurd, in the present state of the American labour-market.</p> - -<p>I saw specimens of each of these kinds of labour. A few days after I -entered the country, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> was taken to an agricultural meeting, held -annually at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. We were too late to see the best -part of it,—the dispensing of prizes for the best agricultural skill, -and for the choicest domestic manufactures. But there were specimens -left which surprised me by the excellence of their quality;—table and -bed-linen, diapers, blankets, and knitted wares. There was an ingenious -model of a bed for invalids, combining many sorts of facilities for -change of posture. There were nearly as many women as men at this -meeting; all were well dressed, and going to and fro in the household -vehicle, the country-wagon, with the invariable bear-skin covering the -seat, and peeping out on all sides. A comfortable display, from the -remains of the dinner, was set out for us by smart mulatto girls, with -snow-berries in their hair. The mechanics' houses in this beautiful -village would be enough, if they could be exhibited in England, to tempt -over half her operatives to the new world.</p> - -<p>The first cotton-mill that I saw was at Paterson, New Jersey. It was set -up at first with nine hundred spindles, which were afterwards increased -to fifteen hundred; then to six thousand. Building was still going on -when I was there. The girls were all well-dressed. Their hair was -arranged according to the latest fashions which had arrived, viâ New -York, and they wore calashes in going to and fro between their dwellings -and the mill. I saw some of the children barefooted, but carrying -umbrellas, under a slight sprinkling of rain. I asked whether those who -could afford umbrellas went barefoot for coolness, or other convenience. -The proprietor told me that there had probably been an economical -calculation in the case. Stockings and shoes would defend only the feet; -while the umbrella would preserve the gloss of the whole of the rest of -the costume.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> There seems, however, to be a strong predilection for -umbrellas in the United States. A convict, in solitary confinement in -the Philadelphia prison, gave me the history of all his burglaries. The -proximate cause of his capture after the last was an umbrella. He had -broken into a good-looking house, and traversed it in vain in search of -something worth the risk of carrying away. On leaving the house, he -found it rained. He went back, and took a new cotton umbrella. It dawned -as he entered the city, and he was afraid of being seen with the -umbrella; but thought suspicion would be excited if he "heaved it away." -He met an acquaintance who was further from home than himself, and -insisted on his accepting the loan of the umbrella. The acquaintance, of -course, was caught, and told from whom he had had the umbrella; and the -burglar was, in consequence, lodged in jail. What English burglar would -have thought of minding rain? If, however, there ever was a case of -amateur burglary, this was one.</p> - -<p>I visited the corporate factory-establishment at Waltham, within a few -miles of Boston. The Waltham Mills were at work before those of Lowell -were set up. The establishment is for the spinning and weaving of cotton -alone, and the construction of the requisite machinery. Five hundred -persons were employed at the time of my visit. The girls earn two, and -some three, dollars a-week, besides their board. The little children -earn one dollar a-week. Most of the girls live in the houses provided by -the corporation, which accommodate from six to eight each. When sisters -come to the mill, it is a common practice for them to bring their mother -to keep house for them and some of their companions, in a dwelling built -by their own earnings. In this case, they save enough out of their board -to clothe themselves, and have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> their two or three dollars a-week to -spare. Some have thus cleared off mortgages from their fathers' farms; -others have educated the hope of the family at college; and many are -rapidly accumulating an independence. I saw a whole street of houses -built with the earnings of the girls; some with piazzas, and green -venetian blinds and all neat and sufficiently spacious.</p> - -<p>The factory people built the church, which stands conspicuous on the -green in the midst of the place. The minister's salary (eight hundred -dollars last year) is raised by a tax on the pews. The corporation gave -them a building for a lyceum, which they have furnished with a good -library, and where they have lectures every winter,—the best that money -can procure. The girls have, in many instances, private libraries of -some merit and value.</p> - -<p>The managers of the various factory establishments keep the wages as -nearly equal as possible, and then let the girls freely shift about from -one to another. When a girl comes to the overseer to inform him of her -intention of working at the mill, he welcomes her, and asks how long she -means to stay. It may be six months, or a year, or five years, or for -life. She declares what she considers herself fit for, and sets to work -accordingly. If she finds that she cannot work so as to keep up with the -companion appointed to her, or to please her employer or herself, she -comes to the overseer, and volunteers to pick cotton, or sweep the -rooms, or undertake some other service that she can perform.</p> - -<p>The people work about seventy hours per week, on the average. The time -of work varies with the length of the days, the wages continuing the -same. All look like well-dressed young ladies. The health is good; or -rather, (as this is too much to be said about health any where in the -United States,) it is no worse than it is elsewhere.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p><p>These facts speak for themselves. There is no need to enlarge on the -pleasure of an acquaintance with the operative classes of the United -States.</p> - -<p>The shoe-making at Lynn is carried on almost entirely in private -dwellings, from the circumstance that the people who do it are almost -all farmers or fishermen likewise. A stranger who has not been -enlightened upon the ways of the place would be astonished at the number -of small square erections, like miniature school-houses, standing each -as an appendage to a dwelling-house. These are the "shoe shops," where -the father of the family and his boys work, while the women within are -employed in binding and trimming. Thirty or more of these shoe-shops may -be counted in a walk of half-a-mile. When a Lynn shoe manufacturer -receives an order, he issues the tidings. The leather is cut out by men -on his premises; and then the work is given to those who apply for it; -if possible, in small quantities, for the sake of dispatch. The shoes -are brought home on Friday night, packed off on Saturday, and in a -fortnight or three weeks are on the feet of dwellers in all parts of the -Union. The whole family works upon shoes during the winter; and in the -summer, the father and sons turn out into the fields, or go fishing. I -knew of an instance where a little boy and girl maintained the whole -family, while the earnings of the rest went to build a house. I saw very -few shabby houses. Quakers are numerous in Lynn. The place is -unboundedly prosperous, through the temperance and industry of the -people. The deposits in the Lynn Savings' Bank in 1834, were about -34,000 dollars, the population of the town being then 4,000. Since that -time, both the population and the prosperity have much increased. It -must be remembered, too, that the mechanics of America<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> have more uses -for their money than are open to the operatives of England. They build -houses, buy land, and educate their sons and daughters.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p>It is probably true that the pleasures and pains of life are pretty -equally distributed among its various vocations and positions: but it is -difficult to keep clear of the impression which outward circumstances -occasion, that some are eminently desirable. The mechanics of these -northern States appear to me the most favoured class I have ever known. -In England, I believe the highest order of mechanics to be, as a class, -the wisest and best men of the community. They have the fewest base and -narrow interests: they are brought into sufficient contact with the -realities of existence, without being hardened by excess of toil and -care; and the knowledge they have the opportunity of gaining is of the -best kind for the health of the mind. To them, if to any, we may look -for public and private virtue. The mechanics of America have nearly all -the same advantages, and some others. They have better means of living: -their labours are perhaps more honoured; and they are republicans, -enjoying the powers and prospects of perfectly equal citizenship. The -only respect in which their condition falls below that of English -artisans of the highest order is that the knowledge which they have -commonly the means of obtaining is not of equal value. The facilities -are great: schools, lyceums, libraries, are open to them: but the -instruction imparted there is not so good as they deserve. Whenever they -have this, it will be difficult to imagine a mode of life more -favourable to virtue and happiness than theirs.</p> - -<p>There seems to be no doubt among those who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> know both England and -America, that the mechanics of the New World work harder than those of -the Old. They have much to do besides their daily handicraft business. -They are up and at work early about this; and when it is done, they read -till late, or attend lectures; or perhaps have their houses to build or -repair, or other care to take of their property. They live in a state -and period of society where every man is answerable for his own -fortunes; and where there is therefore stimulus to the exercise of every -power.</p> - -<p>What a state of society it is when a dozen artisans of one -town,—Salem,—are seen rearing each a comfortable one-story (or, as the -Americans would say, two-story) house, in the place with which they have -grown up! when a man who began with laying bricks criticises, and -sometimes corrects, his lawyer's composition; when a poor errand-boy -becomes the proprietor of a flourishing store, before he is thirty; pays -off the capital advanced by his friends at the rate of 2,000 dollars per -month; and bids fair to be one of the most substantial citizens of the -place!</p> - -<p>Such are the outward fortunes of the mechanics of America. Of their -welfare in more important respects, to which these are but a part of the -means, I shall have to speak in another connexion.</p> - -<p>There are troubles between employers and their workmen in the United -States, as elsewhere: but the case of the men is so much more in their -own hands there than where labour superabounds, that strikes are of a -very short duration. The only remedy the employers have, the only -safeguard against encroachments from their men, is their power of -obtaining the services of foreigners, for a short time. The difficulty -of stopping business there is very great; the injury of delay very -heavy: but the wages of labour are so good that there is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> less cause for -discontent on the part of the workmen than elsewhere. All the strikes I -heard of were on the question of hours, not of wages.</p> - -<p>The employers are, of course, casting about to see how they can help -themselves; and, as all are not wise and experienced, it is natural that -some should talk of laws to prohibit Trades Unions. There is no harm in -their talking of such; for the matter will never get beyond -talk;—unless, indeed, the combinations of operatives should assume any -forms, or comprehend any principles inconsistent with the republican -spirit. The majority will not vote for any law which shall restrain any -number of artisans from agreeing for what price they will sell their -labour; though I heard several learned gentlemen agreeing, at dinner one -day, that there ought to be such laws. On my objecting that the interest -of the parties concerned would, especially in a free and rising country, -settle all questions between labour and capital with more precision, -fairness, and peace, than any law, it was pleaded that intimidation and -outrage were practised by those who combined against those who would not -join them. I found, on inquiry, that there is an ample provision of laws -against intimidation and outrage; but that it is difficult to get them -executed. If so, it would be also difficult to execute laws against -combinations of workmen, supposing them obtained: and the grievance does -not lie in the combination complained of, but somewhere else. The remedy -is, (if there be indeed intimidation and outrage,) not in passing more -laws, to be in like manner defied, while sufficient already exist; but -in enlightening the parties on the subjects of law and social -obligation.</p> - -<p>One day, in going down Broadway, New York, the carriage in which I was, -stopped for some time, in consequence of an immense procession on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> -side-walk having attracted the attention of all the drivers within -sight. The marching gentlemen proceeded on their way, with an easy air -of gentility. Banners were interposed at intervals; and, on examining -these, I could scarcely believe my eyes. They told me that this was a -procession of the journeymen mechanics of New York. Surely never were -such dandy mechanics seen; with sleek coats, glossy hats, gay -watch-guards, and doe-skin gloves!</p> - -<p>I rejoice to have seen this sight. I had other opportunities of -witnessing the prosperity of their employers; so that I could be fairly -pleased at theirs. There need be no fear for the interests of either, -while the natural laws of demand and supply must protect each from any -serious encroachment by the other. If they will only respect the law, -their temporary disagreement, and apparent opposition of interests will -end in being mere readjustments of the terms on which they are to pursue -their common welfare.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Hamilton's Report on Manufactures. 1790.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> The following sketch of the aspect of the south-eastern -States is a very faithful one. The error of the writer is in supposing -that such a condition could be brought about by the tariff, rather than -by the necessary operation of the slavery system, by which the children -of the third and fourth generations are always reduced to sigh for the -comparative prosperity of their fathers. -</p><p> -"These views of the degradation of the southern States receive a -melancholy and impressive confirmation from the general aspect and -condition of the country, viewed in contrast with its former prosperity. -If the ancestors of this generation could rise from the grave, and -revisit the scenes of their former usefulness, they would not hesitate -to pronounce that the hand of oppression had fallen heavily upon the -inheritance of their children. They would be utterly at a loss to -account for the change everywhere exhibited, upon any other supposition. -</p><p> -"With natural advantages more bountiful than were ever dispensed by a -kind Providence to any other people upon the face of the globe, they -would behold, from the mountains of the sea-coast, one unbroken scene of -cheerless stagnation and premature decay. With one of the most valuable -staples that ever blessed the labours of the husbandman, and swelled the -sails of a prosperous and enriching commerce, they would find that our -estates are, with a steady and fatal proclivity, depreciating in value, -our fields becoming waste, and our cities desolate. With habits of -industry and economy which have no example in our former history, they -would find the heirs of the largest inheritances generally involved in -embarrassments, and many of them irretrievably ruined. Wherever they -might cast their eyes, they would find melancholy evidences that the -withering blasts of an unsparing despotism had passed over the land, -blighting the choicest bounties of Providence, and leaving scarcely a -solitary memorial of our former prosperity. They would look in vain for -the animating scenes of successful industry, for the wealth and comforts -of a thriving population, and for those mansions of hospitality which -were once the seats of elegance, and the abodes of -cheerfulness."—<i>Southern Review, Nov. 1828.</i> p. 613.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The deposits in the Lowell Savings' Bank for 1834, were -upwards of 114,000 dollars.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER IV.</span> <span class="smaller">COMMERCE.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"He hath an argosy bound to Tripolis, another to the Indies: I -understand moreover upon the Rialto, he hath a third at Mexico, a -fourth for England: and other ventures he hath."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Merchant of Venice.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>There is no need to say much about the extent of the Commerce of the -United States, since it is already the admiration of Europe, and its -history is before every one in the shape of figures. The returns of -exports and imports annually published are sufficiently eloquent.</p> - -<table summary="extent of the Commerce"> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"></td> - <td>Dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The Imports,</td> - <td>for the year 1825,</td> - <td>were in value,</td> - <td> 96,340,075</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"></td> - <td>1830,</td> - <td> were in value,</td> - <td> 70,876,920</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"></td> - <td>1835,</td> - <td> were in value,</td> - <td> 126,521,332</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The Exports</td> - <td> of domestic produce,</td> - <td> for 1825 were,</td> - <td>66,944,745</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"></td> - <td>of foreign produce</td> - <td>for 1825 were,</td> - <td>32,590,643</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"></td> - <td>—————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"></td> - <td>Total</td> - <td>99,535,388</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The Exports</td> - <td> of domestic produce,</td> - <td> for 1830 were,</td> - <td>59,462,029</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"></td> - <td>of foreign produce</td> - <td>for 1830 were,</td> - <td>14,387,479</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"></td> - <td>—————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"></td> - <td>73,849,508</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="4"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The Exports</td> - <td> of domestic produce</td> - <td> for 1835, were,</td> - <td>81,024,162</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left"></td> - <td>of foreign produce</td> - <td>for 1835, were,</td> - <td>23,312,811</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"></td> - <td>—————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"></td> - <td>104,336,973</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>It will be seen, from these returns, how great a reduction in the -commerce of the United States was occasioned by the tariff, which -attracted a large amount of capital from commerce, to be invested in -manufactures. The balance has been nearly restored by the prospect of -the expiration of the protective system; and both commerce and -manufactures are again rapidly on the increase. The foreign tonnage of -Massachusetts has increased fifty-three per cent. within the last five -years, though, owing to a new mode of ship-construction, twice the -quantity is stowed in the same nominal tonnage.</p> - -<p>The commerce of the south-west was in high prosperity when I was there. -When I was at Mobile, in April 1835, I was informed that 183,000 bales -of cotton had been brought down into Mobile since the beginning of the -year.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> A<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> friend of mine, engaged in commerce there, told me of the -enormous interest on money then obtainable. Eight per cent. is the legal -interest; but double is easily to be had. Another, a wealthy gentleman -of New Orleans, speculates largely every season, for the sake of -something to do, and makes a fortune each time, by lending out at high -interest. He declares that he never loses, and never fails to gain -largely; the commerce is so flourishing, and the demand for capital so -intense. This is the region in which to witness the full absurdity of -usury laws. They are evaded, as often as convenient, and serve no other -purpose than to annex a kind of disgrace to a deed which must of -necessity be done,—loaning out money at higher than the legal interest. -The same evasion takes place in Massachusetts, where the legal interest -is six per cent. The interest there, as elsewhere, rises just as high as -the demand for money must naturally bring it.</p> - -<p>I was acquainted with a gentleman who had lost seventy-five thousand -dollars in an unfortunate speculation, and who expected to retrieve the -whole the next season. The price of everything was rising. For my own -share, I had to pay twelve dollars for my passage from Mobile to New -Orleans: and twenty-five per cent. higher for my voyage up the -Mississippi than if I had gone the preceding year. The fare I paid was -fifty dollars. These two fares were the only exceptions to the -remarkable cheapness of travelling in the United States and these would -not be considered high anywhere else.</p> - -<p>The Cumberland river, on which stands Nashville, the capital of -Tennessee, and which empties itself into the Ohio, has scarcely been -heard of in England; yet, of all the tobacco consumed in the world, -one-seventh goes down this river. I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>ascended it in a very small -steam-boat, one of twelve, six large and six small, then perpetually -navigating it, and carrying cotton, tobacco, and passengers. Of these -boats, one had carried, the preceding year, three hundred and sixty -bales of cotton, of the value of three hundred and sixty thousand -dollars.</p> - -<p>When we look at the northern ports, and observe the variety, as well as -the extent of their commerce, there seems good ground for the -expectation expressed to me by many American merchants, that the English -language will finally become familiar, not only over all the east, but -over all the globe.</p> - -<p>Salem, Massachusetts, is a remarkable place. This "city of peace" will -be better known hereafter for its commerce than for its witch-tragedy. -It has a population of 14,000; and more wealth in proportion to its -population than perhaps any town in the world. Its commerce is -speculative, but vast and successful. It is a frequent circumstance that -a ship goes out without a cargo, for a voyage round the world. In such a -case, the captain puts his elder children to school, takes his wife and -younger children, and starts for some semi-barbarous place, where he -procures some odd kind of cargo, which he exchanges with advantage for -another, somewhere else; and so goes trafficking round the world, -bringing home a freight of the highest value.</p> - -<p>The enterprising merchants of Salem are hoping to appropriate a large -share of the whale fishery; and their ships are penetrating the northern -ice. They are favourite customers in the Russian ports, and are familiar -with the Swedish and Norwegian coasts. They have nearly as much commerce -with Bremen as with Liverpool. They speak of Fayal and the other Azores -as if they were close at hand. The fruits of the Mediterranean countries -are on every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> table. They have a large acquaintance at Cairo. They know -Napoleon's grave at St. Helena, and have wild tales to tell of -Mosambique and Madagasca, and store of ivory to show from thence. They -speak of the power of the king of Muscat, and are sensible of the riches -of the south-east coast of Arabia. It entered some wise person's head, a -few seasons ago, to export ice to India. The loss, by melting, of the -first cargo, was one fourth. The rest was sold at six cents per lb. When -the value of this new import became known, it was in great request; and -the latter sales have been almost instantaneous, at ten cents per pound: -so that it is now a good speculation to send ice 12,000 miles to -supersede salt-petre in cooling sherbet. The young ladies of America -have rare shells from Ceylon in their cabinets; and their drawing-rooms -are decked with Chinese copies of English prints. I was amused with two: -the scene of Hero swooning in the church, from 'Much Ado about Nothing;' -and Shakspeare between Tragedy and Comedy. The faces of Comedy and of -Beatrice from the hands of Chinese! I should not have found out the -place of their second birth but for a piece of unfortunate -foreshortening in each. I observed to a friend, one day, upon the beauty -of all the new cordage that met my eye, silky and bright. He told me -that it was made of Manilla hemp, of the value of which the British seem -to be unaware; though it has been introduced into England. He mentioned -that he had been the first importer of it. Eight years before, 600 bales -per annum were imported: now, 20,000. The merchants doubt whether -Australia will be able to surmount the disadvantage of a deficiency of -navigable rivers. They have hopes of Van Diemen's Land, think well of -Singapore, and acknowledge great expectations from New Zealand. Any body -will give you anecdotes from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> Canton, and descriptions of the Society -and Sandwich Islands. They often slip up the western coasts of their two -continents; bring furs from the back regions of their own wide land; -glance up at the Andes on their return; double Cape Horn; touch at the -ports of Brazil and Guiana; look about them in the West Indies, feeling -there almost at home; and land, some fair morning, at Salem, and walk -home as if they had done nothing very remarkable.</p> - -<p>Such is the commerce of Salem, in its most meagre outline. Some -illustration of it may be seen in the famous Salem Museum. In regard to -this institution, a very harmless kind of monopoly exists. No one is -admitted of the museum proprietary body who has not doubled the Capes -Horn and Good Hope. Everybody is freely admitted to visit the -institution; and any one may contribute, either curiosities or the means -of procuring them; but the doubling of the Capes is an unalterable -condition of the honour of being a member. This has the effect of -preserving a salutary interest among the members of the society, and -respect among those who cannot be admitted. The society have laid by -20,000 dollars, after having built a handsome hall for the reception of -their curiosities; but a far more important benefit is that it has now -become discreditable to return from a long voyage without some novel -contribution to the Museum. This sets people inquiring what is already -there, and ensures a perpetual and valuable accretion. I am glad to have -seen there some Oriental curiosities, which might never otherwise have -blessed my sight: especially some wonderful figures, made of an unknown -mixed metal, dug up in Java, being caricatures of the old Dutch soldiers -sent to guard the first colonies. A reasonably grave person might stand -laughing before these for half a day. I had no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> idea there had been so -much humour in the Java people.</p> - -<p>The stability of the commercial interest in the United States was put to -the test by the great fire at New York. All the circumstances regarding -this fire were remarkable; no one more so than that not a single failure -took place in consequence.</p> - -<p>For many days preceding this fire, the weather had been intensely cold, -the thermometer standing at Boston 17 degrees below zero. On the Sunday -before, (13th of December 1835,) I went to hear the Seamen's friend, -Father Taylor, as he is called, preach at the Sailors' Chapel, in -Boston. His eloquence is of a peculiar kind, especially in his prayers, -which are absolutely importunate with regard to even external objects of -desire. Part of his prayer this day was, "Give us water, water! The -brooks refuse to murmur, and the streams are dead. Break up the -fountains: open the secret springs that thy hand knoweth, and give us -water, water! Let us not perish by a famine of water, or a deluge of -conflagration; for we dread the careless wandering spark." I was never -before aware of the fear of fire entertained during these intense -frosts. It is a reasonable fear. A gentleman, bent upon daily bathing, -was seen one morning disconsolately returning from the river side; he -had employed three men to break the ice, and they could not get at a -drop of water. What hope was there in case of fire?</p> - -<p>The New York fire broke out at eight in the evening of Wednesday, the -16th of December. Every one knows the leading facts, that 52 or 54 acres -were laid waste; many public buildings destroyed, and property to the -amount of 18,000,000 of dollars.</p> - -<p>Several particulars were given to me on the spot, three months -afterwards, by some observers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> and some sufferers. At a boarding-house -in Broadway, where some friends of mine were residing, there were -several merchants, some with their wives, who dined that day in good -spirits, and, as they afterwards believed, perfectly content with their -worldly condition and prospects. At eight o'clock there was an alarm of -fire. It was thought nothing of; alarms of fire being as frequent as day -and night in New York. After a while, a merchant of the company was sent -for, and some little anxiety was expressed. Two or three persons looked -out of the upper windows, but it was a night of such still, deep frost, -that the reflection in the atmosphere was much less glaring than might -have been expected. Another and then another gentleman was sent for. -News came of the absolute lack of water, and that there was no gunpowder -in the city—none nearer than Brooklyn. The gentlemen all rushed out; -the anxious ladies went from the windows to the fire-side; from the -fire-side to the windows. One gentleman and lady in the house, a young -German couple, just arrived, and knowing scarcely a word of English, -were unaware of all this. None of their chattels, not even the lady's -clothes, had been removed from their store in Pearl Street, where lay -her books, music, wardrobe, and property of every sort. Pretty early in -the morning the poor gentleman was roused from his slumbers, could not -comprehend the cause, went down to Pearl Street, and, amidst the -amazement and desolation, just contrived to save his account-books, and -nothing else. In the morning, the lady was destitute of even a change of -raiment, in a foreign country, of whose language she could not speak one -word. There were kind hearts all around her, however, and she was quite -cheerful when I saw her, a few weeks afterwards.</p> - -<p>The lady of the house was so worn, weary, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> cold, by three in the -morning, that she retired to her room; desiring her domestics to call -her if the fire should catch Broad Street; in which case, it would be -time to be packing up plate, and moving furniture. In a little while, -there was a tap at her door. Broad Street was not on fire, however; but -some of the gentlemen had come home, smoked and frost-bitten, and eager -for help and warm water. One gentleman, who had nothing more at stake -than three chests of Scotch linen, (valuable because home-woven,) of -which he saved one, losing a superb Spanish cloak in the process, was -desirous that his wife should see the spectacle of the conflagration. -She walked down to the scene of the fire with him, after midnight. They -took their stand in a square, in the centre of which an immense quantity -of costly goods was heaped up. It was strange and vexatious to see the -havoc that was made among beautiful things;—cachemere shawls strewing -the ground; horses' feet swathed in lace veils; French silks getting -entangled and torn in the wheels of the carts. The lady picked up shawls -and veils; and when her husband asked her where she proposed to put -them, could only throw them down again. After she had left the place, -the houses caught fire, all round the square, fell in, and burned the -costly goods in one grand bonfire.</p> - -<p>There had been occasional quarrels between the merchants and the carmen. -The carmen conceived themselves injured by certain merchants. Whether -they had reason for this belief or not, I cannot pretend to say. They -thought this a time for revenge. Some crossed their arms, as they leaned -against their carts, and refused to stir a step, unless twenty dollars a -load were paid them on the spot. Some few refused to help at all. This -must have been a far more deadly sorrow to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>sufferers than the ruin -the fire was working. One carman was very provoking when a French -gentleman had not a moment to lose in saving his stock. The gentleman -said coolly at last, taking out his money, "For what sum will you sell -your horse and cart?" The temptation was irresistible to the carman. He -named 500 dollars for his sorry hack and small vehicle, and was paid on -the instant. The French gentleman saved goods to the amount of 100,000 -dollars. It was a good bargain for both.</p> - -<p>At six in the morning, when the necessary explosions had checked the -fire, the gentlemen of the household I have mentioned, being completely -ruined, for anything they knew to the contrary, came home; and the -ladies went to bed. Some of the least interested consulted what should -be done at dinner-time; whether the company in general could bear the -subject; whether it was best to talk or be silent. It was a languid, -sorrowful meal: the gentlemen looking haggard; their ladies anxious. The -next day, they were able to talk,—to describe, to relate anecdotes, and -speculate on consequences. The third day, all were nearly as cheerful as -if nothing had happened: though some had lost all, and others, they knew -not how much.</p> - -<p>The report of the fire spread as news through the upper part of the -city, the next morning. Some friends of mine had walked home from a -visit, upwards of a mile, at eleven o'clock, and neither heard nor seen -anything of the fire.</p> - -<p>The larger proportion of the New York merchants were thus deprived at a -stroke of their buildings, stocks, in many cases of all books and -papers, and, lastly, of the benefit of insurance. The insurance -companies were plunged in almost a general insolvency. The only relief -proposed, or that could be offered, was an extension of time,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> without -interest, to the debtors of the government for payment of bonds given to -secure the duties upon goods recently imported: and this small relief -could not be obtained till too late to be of much use.</p> - -<p>Happily, the fire occurred at one of the least busy seasons of the year. -The merchants could concert together for the saving of their credit: and -they did it to some purpose. Their credit sustained the shock of all -this confusion, uncertainty, and dismay. The conduct of the merchants -who had not directly suffered, and of the banks, was admirable. They -threw aside all their usual caution, and dispensed help and -accommodation with the last degree of liberality. The consequence was, -that not one house failed. It seems now as if the commercial credit of -New York could stand any shock short of an earthquake, like that of -Lisbon.</p> - -<p>Some merchants had the unexpected pleasure of finding themselves richer -than they were before. One was travelling in Europe with his lady, when -the news overtook him that the hundred and fifty stores in which he had -property were all burned down. He wrote that he and his lady were -hastening to Havre, on their way home, where they must live in the most -economical and laborious manner, to repair their fortunes. With such -intentions they crossed the Atlantic; and on landing were met by the -intelligence that they had become very wealthy, from their ground lots -having sold for more than ground, stores, and stock, were worth before.</p> - -<p>I saw the fifty-two acres of ruins in the following April. We traversed -what had been streets, and climbed the ruins of the Exchange. The -pedestal of Hamilton's statue was standing, strewed round with fragments -of burnt calicoes, which people were disinterring. There was a litter of -stone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> pannels, broken columns, and cornices. Bushels of coffee paved -our way. A boy presented me with a half-fused watch-key from the cellar -of what had been a jeweller's store. The blackened ruins of a church -frowned over all. The most singular spectacle was a store, standing -alone and unharmed, amidst the desolation. It belonged to a Jew, was -fire-proof, and contained hay, not a blade of which was singed. This -square-fronted, elongated, ugly building, standing obliquely, and as -clean as if smoke had never touched it, had a most saucy appearance: and -so it might, so many erections, equally called fire-proof, having -disappeared, while it alone remained.</p> - -<p>By the next July, the entire area was covered with new erections; and -long before this, doubtless, all is to the outward eye, as if no fire -had happened.</p> - -<p>But for the testimony afforded by this event, of the substantial credit -in New York, the enormous prices given for land,—the above-mentioned -ground lots, for instance,—might cause a suspicion that there was much -wild speculation. I trust it is not so. The eagerness for land is, -however, extraordinary. A lady sold an estate in the neighbourhood of -New York, for what she and her friends considered a large sum; and a few -weeks after she had concluded the bargain, and soon after the -destruction of eighteen millions of the wealth of the city, she found -she might have obtained three times the amount for which she had sold -her estate. The whole south end of the city is being rapidly turned into -stores; and it is obvious that the mercantile princes of this emporium -have no idea of their conquests being bounded by any circumstance short -of the limits of the globe.</p> - -<p>Is there anything to be learned here, as well as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> to admire? any -inference to be drawn for the benefit of other nations?</p> - -<p>An English member of parliament wrote to a friend residing in one of the -American ports, inquiring whether this friend could suggest any course -of parliamentary action by which the commerce of England, or of both -countries, could be benefited. The American replied by urging his friend -to work incessantly at a repeal of the corn laws, and in any way which -may keep the United States continually before the eyes of the commercial -rulers of Great Britain. "You talk," said he, "of your commercial -arrangements with Portugal. Well and good! but what is Portugal? She has -two millions of priests and beggars; and at the end of the century she -will have two millions of priests and beggars still. What will the -wealth and productions of the United States be then?" If the United -States have now 18,000,000 of people, and their population is increasing -at an unexampled rate,—a free and an opulent population,—the interest -of Great Britain is plain;—to have a primary regard to the United -States in the arrangement of her commercial policy.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">THE CURRENCY.</span></h3> - -<p>The fundamental difficulty of this great question, now one of the most -prominent in the United States, is indicated by the fact that, while -the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> practice of banking is essential to a manufacturing and commercial -nation, a perfect system of banking remains to be discovered.</p> - -<p>When it is remembered that the question of the Currency has never yet -been practically mastered in the countries of the Old World; that in -America it has fallen into the hands of a young and inexperienced -people; that it is implicated with constitutional questions, and has to -be reconciled with democratic principles, it will not be expected that a -passing stranger will be able to present a very clear view of its -present aspect, or any decided opinion upon difficulties which perplex -the wisest heads in the country. The mere history of banking in the -United States would fill more than a volume: and the speculations which -arise out of it, a library.</p> - -<p>It is well known that there was an early split into parties on the -subject of the constitutionality of a national bank. Washington -requested the opinions of his cabinet upon it in writing; and Hamilton -gave his in favour of the constitutionality of a national bank: Edmund -Randolph and Jefferson against it. The question has been stirred from -time to time since; while Hamilton's opinions have been acted upon.</p> - -<p>The ground of objection is a very strong one. It lies in the provision -that "all powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, -nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the -people." No power to establish corporations is, in any case, delegated -by the constitution to the United States; nor does it appear to be -countenanced by any fair construction of the permissions under which its -transaction of the general business is carried on.</p> - -<p>The answer to this is, that the supreme law of the country may give a -legal or artificial capacity,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> (distinct from the natural,) to one or -more persons, in relation to the objects committed to the management of -the government: in other words, that the government has sovereign power -with regard to the objects confided to it; all the limitations of the -constitution having relation to the number of those objects. This was -Hamilton's ground; and this is, I believe, the ground which has been -taken since by those who shared his opinions on the main question. To me -it appears as unsatisfactory as any other mode of begging the question. -If the power of making corporations is to be assumed by the general -government, on the ground of its being implied, the whole country might -be covered with corporations, to which should be entrusted the discharge -of any function exercised by the general government.</p> - -<p>In countries differently governed from the United States, it appears as -if it would be most reasonable either to have the currency made a -national affair, transacted wholly by the government, on determined -principles, or to leave banking entirely free. In neither case, -probably, would the evils be so great as those which have happened under -the mixture of the two systems. But in the United States, the committing -the management of the currency to the general government is now wholly -out of the question. Free banking will be the method, some time or -other; but not yet. There is not yet knowledge enough; nor freedom -enough of production and commerce to render such a policy safe. -Meantime, various doctrines are afloat. Some persons are for no banking -whatsoever: but mere money-lending by individuals. Some are for the -abolition of paper-money, and the establishment of one public bank of -deposit and transfer in each State. Some are for private banking only, -with or without paper money. Some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> are for State incorporations, with no -central bank. Others are for restoring the United States Bank.</p> - -<p>No objections against banking and paper-money altogether will avail -anything, while commerce is conducted on its present principles. It -answers no practical purpose to object to any useful thing on the ground -of its abuse: and while the commerce of the United States is daily on -the increase, and the only check on its prosperity is the want of -capital, there is no possibility of a return to the use of private -money-lending and rouleaus.</p> - -<p>The use of small notes may well and easily be discontinued. The -experiment has been tried with success in Virginia, Maryland, and -Pennsylvania. The prohibition might, perhaps, be carried as high as to -notes of twenty dollars. There seems no adequate reason for the public -being, further than this, deprived of the convenience of a -representative of cash; a convenience so great that there is much more -probability that the ingenious Americans will devise some method of -practically insuring its convertibility, than that they will surrender -its use. It has often occurred to me that out of the currency troubles -of the United States, might arise such a discovery of the true principle -(which yet lies hidden) of insuring the convertibility, or other -limitation, of a paper currency, as may be a blessing to the whole -commercial world. This is an enterprise worthy of their ingenuity; and -one which seems of probable achievement, when we remember how the -American merchants are pressed for capital, and how all-important to -them is the soundness of their credit. The principle lies somewhere, if -it could but be found: and none are more likely to discover it than -they.</p> - -<p>Private banking is, in the present state of affairs, necessary and -inevitable; so that there is little use in arguments for or against it. -Capital is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>grievously wanted, in all the commercial cities. There must -be some place of resort for small amounts, and for foreign capital, -whence money may issue to supply the need of commercial men. There must, -in other words, be money stores; and, in the absence of others, private -banks must serve the purpose. The amount of good or harm which, in the -present state of things, they are able to do, depends mainly on the -discretion or indiscretion of their customers; who, in common prudence, -must look well whom they trust.</p> - -<p>As for State incorporations, it cannot be said that they are absolutely -necessary; though the arguments in favour of their expediency are very -strong. More and more money is perpetually required for the transaction -of commercial business; and in a different ratio from that required by -the affairs of farmers and planters; since the latter receive their -returns quickly; while the merchants of the sea-board have theirs -delayed for long periods, and consequently require a much larger amount -of capital. These larger amounts must come mainly from abroad, whence -money can be had at four and five per cent. interest; while at home, -from six to twelve per cent. is paid, even while foreign capital is -flowing in. It is obvious that this foreign capital will enter much more -abundantly through the credit of a State bank than through private -banks. Small amounts of capital, dispersed and comparatively -unproductive, will also be more readily brought together, to be applied -where most needed, in a State bank, than among many small firms. The -States of New York and Pennsylvania have carried on their improvements, -their canals and rail-roads, as well as much of their commerce, by means -of foreign capital; and the surpassing prosperity of those States may be -considered owing, in a great degree, to this practice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> The -incorporation of a bank is not always to be considered in the light of a -monopoly; it may be the reverse. It may enable a number of individuals, -by no means the most wealthy in the community, to compete, by an union -of forces, with the most wealthy. Corporations may be multiplied, as -occasion arises, and, by competition, give the public the benefit of the -greatest possible amount of service done at the least cost.</p> - -<p>Such are the leading arguments in favour of State Banks. The objections -to them are in part applicable to faulty methods of incorporation, and -not to the principle itself. The special exemption from liabilities to -which individuals are subject; the imposing of such inhibitions -elsewhere as render the affair a monopoly; the making responsibility a -mere abstraction, are great, but perhaps avoidable evils. So are the -methods by which charters have been obtained and renewed; the method of -"log-rolling" bills through the legislature; and other such -corruption.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>An objection less easily disposed of is, that by the creation of any -great moneyed power, means are afforded of controlling the fortunes of -individuals, and of influencing the press and the political -constituency. If these objections cannot be obviated, they are fatal to -banking corporations. If, however, any means can be devised, either by -causing a sufficient publicity of proceedings, or by granting charters -for a short term, renewable on strict conditions, or by any other plan -for establishing a true responsibility, of uniting the benefits of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> -incorporated banks with republican principles, it seems as if it would -be a great benefit to all parties in the community.</p> - -<p>The difference of opinion which has made the most noise in the world, is -about a National Bank.</p> - -<p>It appears to have been contemplated, in the first instance, to place -the currency of the United States under the control of the general -government; according to the spirit of the provisions of the -constitution, that Congress should have power "to coin money, regulate -the value thereof, and of foreign coin:" but without affording to -Congress any power to control the fortunes of individuals, as may be -done by certain banking operations. The state of the colonial currency -had been deplorable.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> The object now was to substitute a uniform and -substantial currency, instead of the false representatives which had -been in use: and to put it out of the power of the States to alter the -terms of contracts by taking advantage of the faults of the currency. -Nobody would take the continental bills; and gold and silver were -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>deficient. A national bank was the resource; and the old United States -Bank was chartered in 1791; it being ascertained that its issues were -based on real capital, and a strict watch being kept over its -operations.</p> - -<p>This bank was believed to be wanted for another purpose;—to watch over -and control the State Banks. It was not the first institution of the -kind in the United States. The Bank of North America had been chartered -in 1781, under the authority of the Continental Congress: but by soon -accepting a charter from the Legislature of Pennsylvania, it ceased to -be a national, and afforded the precedent of a State Bank. New York and -Massachusetts had soon State Banks also. They were prudently conducted; -and their notes presently banished the coin. The power of Congress over -the currency was gone. All that could be done now was for the National -Bank to control the State Banks, and keep their issues within bounds, as -well as it could.</p> - -<p>Occasional disorders happened from the misconduct of country banks, -prior to 1811. The renewal of the charter of the United States Bank was -then refused. The government was pressed by the evils of war; and the -check of the superintendence of the Bank being withdrawn, the local -banks, out of New England, came to the agreement, (too senseless to be -ever repeated,) to suspend specie payments. All issued what kind and -quantity of paper pleased themselves, till above twice the amount of -money needed was abroad; and the notes were in some States five, in -others ten, in others twenty, below par. The New England people, -meantime, used convertible paper only; and under the law which provides -that all duties, imposts, and excises should be uniform throughout the -States, were thus compelled to pay one tenth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> more to the revenue -officers than the people of New York, who used the depreciated currency: -and one-fifth more than the Baltimore merchants.</p> - -<p>This state of things could not last. A national bank was again -established, in 1816, for the purpose of controlling the local banks. -Its charter was for twenty years, with a capital of 35,000,000 dollars, -to which the federal government subscribed one fifth. Its notes were -made receivable for any debt due to the United States.</p> - -<p>Its purpose was presently answered. The local banks had, in three years, -resumed cash payments. The management of the United States Bank, during -the rest of its term, has been, upon the whole, prudent and moderate. -That a power has not been abused is not, however, a reason for its -continued exercise, if it be really unconstitutional. President Jackson -thinks, and the majority thinks with him, that it is contrary to the -spirit of the constitution, (as it is certainly unauthorised by its -letter,) that any institution should have the power, unchecked for a -long term of years, of affecting the affairs of individuals, from the -further corners of Maine or Missouri, down to the shores of the Gulf of -Mexico; of influencing elections; of biassing the press; and of acting -strongly either with or against the administration. The majority -considers, that if the United States Bank has great power for good, it -has also great power for harm; and that the general government cannot be -secure of working naturally in its limited functions, while this great -power subsists, to be either its enemy or its ally.</p> - -<p>This seems to be proved by the charges brought against the late Bank by -President Jackson. Whether they are true or false, (and the gravest of -them do not appear to have been substantiated,) they indicate that power -is in the hands of a central <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>institution, which no federal -establishment ought to have, otherwise than by the express permission of -the constitution.</p> - -<p>As for President Jackson's mode of proceeding against the Bank,—it is -an affair of merely temporary interest, unless he should be found to -have exceeded the authority conferred on him by his office. He does seem -to have done so, in one particular, at least. His first declaration -against the renewal of the charter, was honest and manly. His -re-election, after having made this avowal, was a sufficient evidence of -the desire of the majority to extinguish the Bank. It was, no doubt, in -reliance on the will of the majority, thus indicated, that the President -removed the deposits in a peculiarly high-handed manner; and also -exercised the veto, when the two Houses had passed a bill to renew the -charter of the United States Bank.</p> - -<p>With the last of these measures, no one has any right to quarrel. He -exercised a constitutional power, according to his long-declared -convictions. His sudden removal of the deposits is not to be so easily -justified.</p> - -<p>The President has the power of removing his Secretaries from office, and -of appointing others, whose appointment must be sanctioned by the -Senate. The Secretaries of State are enjoined by law to execute such -orders as shall be imposed on them by the President of the United -States:—all the Secretaries but the Secretary of the Treasury. In his -case, no such specification is made; obviously because it would not be -wise to put the whole power of the Treasury into the hands of the -President. President Jackson, however, contrived to obtain this power by -using with adroitness his other power of removal from office. Mr. Duane -was appointed Secretary of the Treasury on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> 29th of May, 1833; his -predecessor having been offered a higher office. It is known that the -predecessor had given his opinion in the cabinet against removing the -Treasury deposits from the Bank; and that Mr. Duane was an acknowledged -enemy of the Bank. On the 3rd of June, the President opened to the new -Secretary his scheme of removing the deposits. Mr. Duane was opposed to -the act, as being a violation of the government contract with the Bank. -He refused to sign the necessary order. While he was still in office, on -the 20th of September, the intended removal of the deposits was -announced in the government newspaper. On the 23rd, Mr. Duane was -dismissed from office; and Mr. Taney, who had previously promised to -sign the order, was installed in the office. On the 26th, the official -order for the removal of the deposits was given. No plea of impending -danger to the national funds, if such could have been substantiated, -could justify so high-handed a deed as this. No such plea has been -substantiated; and the act remains open to strong censure.</p> - -<p>Just before the expiration of its charter, the United States Bank -accepted a charter from the Legislature of Pennsylvania. It remains to -be seen what effects will arise from the operation of the most powerful -State Bank which has yet existed.</p> - -<p>The problem now is to keep a sound currency, in the absence of an -institution, believed to be unconstitutional, but hitherto found the -only means of establishing order and safety in this most important -branch of economy. Here is a deficiency, which cannot but be the cause -of much evil and perplexity. It must be supplied, either by increased -knowledge and improved philosophy and practice among the people, or by -an amendment of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> Constitution. Meanwhile, it is only time and energy -lost to insist upon the return to a mere metallic currency. Society -cannot be set back to a condition which could dispense with so great an -improvement as paper-money, with all its abuses, undoubtedly is.</p> - -<p>The singular order which last year emanated from the Treasury, -compelling the payments for the public lands to be made in specie, will -not have the effect of making the people in love with a metallic -currency. If this measure is intended to be an obstacle to the purchase -of large quantities of land, or virtually to raise the price,—these are -affairs with which the Treasury has nothing to do. If it is intended -merely to compel cash payments, as far as the administration has power -to do so, it seems a pity that those who undertake to meddle with the -currency should not know better what they are about. The scarcity of -money in the eastern States has been well nigh ruinous, while large -amounts of specie have been accumulated in the west, where they are not -wanted.</p> - -<p>The mischief thus caused has been much increased by the injudicious -method in which the deposits have been distributed among the States, -according to the Deposit Bill of the session of 1836. The details of the -extraordinary state of the money-market in America, last year, are too -well known on both sides of the water, to need to be repeated here.</p> - -<p>One principle stands out conspicuously from the history of the last few -years: that no President or Secretary should be allowed the opportunity -of "taking the responsibility" of meddling with the currency of the -country: in other words, the taxation should be reduced, as soon as in -equity and convenience it can be done, so as to bring down the revenue -to a proportion with the wants of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>government. If the general -government is to have anything to do with the currency at all, it should -be by such business being made a separate constitutional function. To -let the Treasury overflow,—and leave its overflowings to be managed at -the discretion of one public servant, removable by one other, is a -policy as absurd as dangerous. The most obvious security lies, not in -multiplying checks upon the officers, but in reducing the overflowings -of the Treasury to the smallest possible amount. This is President -Jackson's last recorded opinion on the subject. It appears worthy to be -kept on record.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION II.</span><br /><span class="smaller">REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.</span></h3> - -<p>There is less to be said on this head than would be possible in any -other country. When it is known that the United States are troubled with -the large surplus revenue accruing from the sale of the public lands, -the whole story is told. The stranger will hear much lamentation in the -Senate about the increase of the public expenses, and will see Hon. -Members looking as solemn as if the nation were sinking into a gulf of -debt: but the fear and complaint are, not of the expenditure of money, -but of the increase of executive patronage.</p> - -<p>The Customs are the chief source of the revenue of the general -government. They are in course of reduction, year by year. The next -great resource is the sale of the public lands. This may be called -inexhaustible; so large is the area yet unoccupied, and so increasing -the influx of settlers.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p><p>This happy country is free from the infliction of an excise system; an -exemption which goes far towards making it the most desirable of all -places of residence for manufacturers who value practical freedom in the -management of their private concerns, and honesty among their -work-people. The brewer and glass-manufacturer see the tax-gatherer's -face no oftener than other men. The Post-Office establishment in America -is for the advantage of the people, and not for purposes of taxation; -and every one is satisfied if it pays its own expenses. A small sum is -yielded by patent fees; and also by the mint. Lighthouse-tolls -constitute another item. But all these united are trifling in comparison -with the revenue yielded from the two great sources, the Customs and the -Public Lands.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>The expenditures of the general government are for salaries, pensions, -(three or four hundred pounds,) territorial governments, the mint, -surveys, and improvements, the census and other public documents, and -the military and naval establishments.</p> - -<p>The largest item in the civil list is the payment to Members of -Congress, who receive eight dollars per day, for the session, and their -travelling expenses. The President's salary is 25,000 dollars. The -Vice-president's 5,000. Each of the Secretaries of State, and the -Postmaster-general's, 6,000. The Attorney-general's, 4,000.</p> - -<p>The seven Judges of the Supreme Court are salaried with the same -moderation as other members of the federal government. The Chief Justice -has 5,000 dollars; the six Associate Judges 4,500 each.</p> - -<p>The Commissioned Officers of the United States army were, in 1835, 674. -Non-commissioned <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>Officers and Privates, 7,547. Total of the United -States army, 8,221.</p> - -<p>In the navy, there were, in 1835, 37 Captains, and 40 -Masters-commandant. The navy consisted of 12 ships of the line; 14 -first-class frigates; 3 second-class; 15 sloops of war; 8 schooners and -other small vessels of war.</p> - -<p>The revenue and expenditure of most of the States are so small as to -make the annual financial statement resemble the account-books of a -private family. The land tax, the proportion of which varies in every -State, is the chief source of revenue. Licenses, fines, and tolls, yield -other sums. In South Carolina, there is a tax on free people of colour!</p> - -<p>The highest salary that I find paid to the government of a State is -4,000 dollars, (New York and Pennsylvania;) the lowest, 400 dollars, -(Rhode Island.) The other expenses, besides those of government, are for -the defence of the State, (in Pennsylvania, about forty pounds!) for -education, (two thousand pounds, in Pennsylvania, the same year,) -prisons, pensions, and state improvements.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> - -<p>Such is the financial condition of a people of whom few are individually -very wealthy or very poor; who all work; and who govern themselves, -appointing one another to manage their common affairs. They have had -every advantage that nature and circumstances could give them; and -nothing to combat but their own necessary inexperience. As long as the -State expenditure for defence bears the proportion to education of -40<i>l.</i> to 2,000<i>l.</i>, and on to 80,000<i>l.</i>, (the amount of the -school-tax, now, in Massachusetts,) all is safe and promising. There is -great virtue in figures, dull as they are to all but the few who love -statistics for the sake of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> what they indicate. Those which are cited -above disclose a condition and a prospect in the presence of which all -fears for the peace and virtue of the States are shamed. Men who govern -themselves and each other with such moderate means, and for such -unimpeachable objects, are no more likely to lapse into disorder than to -submit to despotism.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> The value of the cargoes which arrived at Mobile in 1830, -was,</p> - -<table summary="value of the cargoes which arrived at Mobile"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>Dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">By American vessels</td> - <td>69,700</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">By British</td> - <td>74,435</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>144,135</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">In 1834, by American vessels</td> - <td>314,072</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">In 1834, by British</td> - <td>74,739</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>388,811</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The value of the cargoes which departed from Mobile</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">in 1830, was, by American vessels</td> - <td>1,517,663</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">in 1830, was, by British</td> - <td>476,702</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>1,994,365</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">In 1834, by American vessels</td> - <td>4,684,326</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">In 1834, by British</td> - <td>1,585,871</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>6,270,197</td> - </tr> -</table> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> "Log-rolling" means co-operation for a point which must be -carried: on a new settlement in the wilds, by neighbours devoting a day -to fell, roll, and build logs, to make a house before night: in a -legislature, by a coterie of members urging on a bill in which they are -interested, and getting it passed in defiance of inquiry and delay.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> I have before me a collection of specimens of the -colonial, and early west continental paper currency; such as brought -ruin to all who trusted it. The colonial notes are such as any common -printer might forge. For instance, here is one, on common paper, with a -border of stars, and within it,</p> - -<blockquote><p>"Georgia, 1776.</p> - -<p>"These are to certify, That the sum of <span class="smaller">SIXPENCE</span> sterling, is due from -this Province to the bearer hereof, the same being part of Twelve -Thousand Five Hundred and Seventy-two Pounds Nineteen Shillings -Sterling, voted by Provincial Congress, for taking up and sinking that -Sum already issued.</p> - -<p class="right">6<i>d.</i>"</p></blockquote> - -<p>Those of the early days of the war have on the back emblems, varying -with the promissory amount, exhibiting bows, arrows, leaves of the oak, -orange, &c.</p> - -<p>It would be absurd to argue against all use of a paper currency from -such specimens as these.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> See <a href="#Page_385">Appendix B.</a></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> See <a href="#Page_385">Appendix B.</a></p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER V.</span> <span class="smaller">MORALS OF ECONOMY.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"And yet of your strength there is and can be no clear feeling, -save by what you have prospered in, by what you have done. Between -vague, wavering capability, and fixed, indubitable performance, -what a difference! A certain inarticulate self-consciousness dwells -dimly in us; which only our works can render articulate, and -decisively discernible. Our works are the mirror wherein the spirit -first sees its natural lineaments. Hence, too, the folly of that -impossible precept 'know thyself,' till it be translated into this -partially possible one, 'know what thou canst work at.'"</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Sartor Resartus</i>, p. 166. <i>Boston Edition.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The glory of the world passeth away. One kind of worldly glory passes -away, and another comes. Like a series of clouds sailing by the moon, -and growing dim and dimmer as they go down the sky, are the transitory -glories which are only brightened for an age by man's smile: dark -vapours, which carry no light within themselves. How many such have -floated across the expanse of history, and melted away! It was once a -glory to have a power of life and death over a patriarchal family: and -how mean does this now appear, in comparison with the power of life and -death which every man has over his own<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> intellect! It was once a glory -to be feared: how much better is it now esteemed to be loved! It was -once a glory to lay down life to escape from one's personal woes: how -far higher is it now seen to be to accept those woes as a boon, and to -lay down life only for truth;—for God and not for self! The heroes of -mankind were once its kings and warriors: we look again now, and find -its truest heroes its martyrs, its poets, its artisans; men not buried -under pyramids or in cathedrals, but whose sepulchre no man knoweth unto -this day. To them the Lord showed the land of promise, and then buried -them on the confines. There are two aspects under which every individual -man may be regarded: as a solitary being, with inherent powers, and an -omnipotent will; a creator, a king, an inscrutable mystery: and again, -as a being infinitely connected with all other beings, with none but -derived powers, with a heavenly-directed will; a creature, a subject, a -transparent medium through which the workings of principles are to be -eternally revealed. Both these aspects are true, and therefore -reconcilable. The Old World dwelt almost exclusively on the first and -meaner aspect: as men rise to inhabit the new heavens and the new earth, -they will more and more contemplate the other and sublimer. The old -glory of a self-originating power and will is passing away: and it is -becoming more and more plain that a man's highest honour lies in -becoming as clear a medium as possible for the revelations which are to -be made through him: in wiping out every stain, in correcting every flaw -by which the light that is in him may be made dimness or deception. It -was once a glory to defy or evade the laws of man's physical and moral -being; and, in so doing, to encroach upon the rights of others: it is -now beginning to be shown that there is a higher honour in recognising -and obeying the laws of outward and inward life,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> and in reverencing -instead of appropriating the privileges of other wards of Providence.</p> - -<p>In other words, it was once a glory to be idle, and a shame to work,—at -least with any member or organ but one,—the brain. Yet it is a law of -every man's physical nature that he should work with the limbs: of every -man's moral nature, that he should know: and knowledge is to be had only -by one method; by bringing the ideal and the actual world into contact, -and proving each by the other, with one's own brain and hands for -instruments, and not another's. There is no actual knowledge even of -one's own life, to be had in any other way. Yet this is the way which -men have perversely refused to acknowledge, while every one is more or -less compelled to practise it. Those who have been able to get through -life with the least possible work have been treated as the happiest: -those who have had the largest share imposed upon them have been -passively pitied as the most miserable. If the experience of the two -could have been visibly or tangibly brought into comparison, the false -estimate would have been long ago banished for ever from human -calculations. If princes and nobles, who have not worked either in war -or in council, men sunk in satiety; if women, shut out of the world of -reality, and compelled by usage to endure the corrosion of unoccupied -thought, and the decay of unemployed powers, were able to speak fully -and truly as they sink into their unearned graves, it would be found -that their lives had been one hollow misery, redeemed solely by that -degree of action that had been permitted to them, in order that they -might, in any wise, live. If the half-starved artisan, if the negro -slave, could, when lying down at length to rest, see and exhibit the -full vision of their own lives, they would complain far less of too much -work than of too little freedom, too little knowledge, too<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> many wounds -through their affections to their children, their brethren, their race. -They would complain that their work had been of too exclusive a kind; -too much in the actual, while it had been attempted to close the ideal -from them. Nor are their cases alike. The artisan works too much in one -way, while too little in another. The negro slave suffers too much by -infliction, and yet more by privation; but he rarely or never works too -much, even with the limbs. He knows the evil of toil, the reluctance, -the lassitude; but with it he knows also the evil of idleness; the -vacuity, the hopelessness. He has neither the privilege of the brute, to -exercise himself vigorously upon instinct, for an immediate object, to -be gained and forgotten; nor the privilege of the man, to toil, by moral -necessity, with some pain, for results which yield an evergrowing -pleasure. It is not work which is the curse of the slave: he is rarely -so blessed as to know what it is.</p> - -<p>If, again, the happiest man who has ever lived on earth, (excepting the -Man of Sorrows, whose depth of peace no one will attempt to fathom,) -could, in passing into the busier life to come, (to which the present is -only the nursery mimicking of human affairs,) communicate to us what has -been the true blessedness of his brief passage, it would be found to lie -in what he had been enabled to do: not so much blessed in regard to -others as to himself; not so much because he had made inventions, (even -such a one as printing:) not so much because through him countries will -be better governed, men better educated, and some light from the upper -world let down into the lower; (for great things as these are, they are -sure to be done, if not by him, by another;) but because his actual -doing, his joint head and hand-work have revealed to him the truth which -lies about him; and so far, and by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> the only appointed method, invested -him with heaven while he was upon earth. Such a one might not be -conscious of this as the chief blessedness of his life, (as men are ever -least conscious of what is highest and best in themselves:) he might put -it in another form, saying that mankind were growing wiser and happier, -or that goodness and mercy had followed him all the days of his life, or -that he had found that all evil is only an aspect of ultimate good: in -some such words of faith or hope he would communicate his inward peace: -but the real meaning of the true workman, if spoken for him by a divine -voice, (as spoken by the divine voice of his life,) is, as has been -said, that his complete toil has enriched him with truth which can be no -otherwise obtained, and which neither the world, nor any one in it, -except himself, could give, nor any power in heaven or earth could take -away.</p> - -<p>Mankind becomes more clear-sighted to this fact about honour and -blessedness, as time unfolds the sequence of his hieroglyphic scroll; -and a transition in the morals and manners of nations is an inevitable -consequence, slow as men are in deciphering the picture-writing of the -old teacher; unapt as men are in connecting picture with picture, so as -to draw thence a truth, and in the truth, a prophecy. We must look to -new or renovated communities to see how much has been really learned.</p> - -<p>The savage chief, who has never heard the saying "he that would be chief -among you, let him be your servant," feels himself covered with glory -when he paces along in his saddle, gorgeous with wampum and feathers, -while his squaw follows in the dust, bending under the weight of his -shelter, his food, and his children. Wise men look upon him with all -pity and no envy. Higher<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> and higher in society, the right of the -strongest is supposed to involve honour: and physical is placed above -moral strength. The work of the limbs, wholly repulsive when separated -from that of the head, is devolved upon the weaker, who cannot resist; -and hence arises the disgrace of work, and the honour of being able to -keep soul and body together, more or less luxuriously, without it. The -barbaric conqueror makes his captives work for him. His descendants, who -have no prisoners of war to make slaves of, carry off captives of a -helpless nation, inferior even to themselves in civilisation. The -servile class rises, by almost imperceptible degrees, as the dawn of -reason brightens towards day. The classes by whom the hand-work of -society is done, arrive at being cared for by those who do the -head-work, or no work at all: then they are legislated for, but still as -a common or inferior class, favoured, out of pure bounty, with laws, as -with soup, which are pronounced "excellent for the poor:" then they -begin to open their minds upon legislation for themselves; and a certain -lip-honour is paid them, which would be rejected as insult if offered to -those who nevertheless think themselves highly meritorious in -vouchsafing it.</p> - -<p>This is the critical period out of which must arise a new organisation -of society. When it comes to this, a new promise blossoms under the feet -of the lovers of truth. There are many of the hand-workers now who are -on the very borders of the domain of head-work: and, as the -encroachments of those who work not at all have, by this time, become -seriously injurious to the rights of others, there are many thinkers and -persons of learning who are driven over the line, and become -hand-workers; for which they, as they usually afterwards declare, can -never be sufficiently thankful.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> There is no drowning the epithalamium -with which these two classes celebrate the union of thought and -handicraft. Multitudes press in, or are carried in to the marriage -feast, and a new era of society has begun. The temporary glory of ease -and disgrace of labour pass away like mountain mists, and the clear -sublimity of toil grows upon men's sight.</p> - -<p>If, in such an era, a new nation begins its career, what should be -expected from it?</p> - -<p>If the organisation of its society were a matter of will; if it had a -disposable moral force, applicable to controllable circumstances, it is -probable that the new nation would take after all old nations, and not -dare to make, perhaps not dream of making, the explicit avowal, that -that which had ever hitherto been a disgrace, except in the eyes of a -very few prophets, had now come out to be a clear honour. This would be -more, perhaps, than even a company of ten or fifteen millions of men and -women would venture to declare, while such words as Quixotic, -Revolutionary, Utopian, remain on the tongues which wag the most -industriously in the old world. But, it so happens it is never in the -power of a whole nation to meet in convention, and agree what their -moral condition shall be. They may agree upon laws for the furtherance -of what is settled to be honourable, and for the exclusion of some of -the law-bred disgraces of the old world: but it is not in their power to -dispense at will the subtle radiance of moral glory, any more than to -dye their scenery with rainbow hues because they have got hold of a -prism. Moral persuasions grow out of preceding circumstances, as -institutions do; and conviction is not communicable where the evidence -is not of a communicable kind. The advantage of the new nation over the -old will be no more than that its individual members are more open to -conviction, from being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> more accessible to evidence, less burdened with -antique forms and institutions, and partial privileges, so called. The -result will probably be that some members of the new society will follow -the ancient fashion of considering work a humiliation; while, upon the -whole, labour will be more honoured than it has ever been before.</p> - -<p>America is in the singular position of being nearly equally divided -between a low degree of the ancient barbarism in relation to labour, and -a high degree of the modern enlightenment. Wherever there is a servile -class, work is considered a disgrace, unless it bears some other name, -and is of an exclusive character. In the free States, labour is more -really and heartily honoured than, perhaps, in any other part of the -civilised world. The most extraordinary, and least pleasant circumstance -in the case is that, while the south ridicules and despises the north -for what is its very highest honour, the north feels somewhat uneasy and -sore under the contempt. It is true that it is from necessity that every -man there works; but, whatever be the cause, the fact is a noble one, -worthy of all rejoicing: and it were to be wished that the north could -readily and serenely, at all times, and in disregard of all jibes, admit -the fact, as matter for thankfulness, that there every man works for his -bread with his own head and hands.</p> - -<p>How do the two parties in reality spend their days?</p> - -<p>In the north, the children all go to school, and work there, more or -less. As they grow up, they part off into the greatest variety of -employments. The youths must, without exception, work hard; or they had -better drown themselves. Whether they are to be lawyers, or otherwise -professional; or merchants, manufacturers, farmers, or citizens, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> -have everything to do for themselves. A very large proportion of them -have, while learning their future business, to earn the means of -learning. There is much manual labour in the country colleges; much -teaching in the vacations done by students. Many a great man in Congress -was seen in his boyhood leading his father's horses to water; and, in -his youth, guiding the plough in his father's field. There is probably -hardly a man in New England who cannot ride, drive, and tend his own -horse; scarcely a clergyman, lawyer, or physician, who, if deprived of -his profession, could not support himself by manual labour. Nor, on the -other hand, is there any farmer or citizen who is not, more or less, a -student and thinker. Not only are all capable of discharging their -political duty of self-government; but all have somewhat idealised their -life. All have looked abroad, at least so far as to understand the -foreign relations of their own country: most, I believe, have gone -further, and can contemplate the foreign relations of their own being. -Some one great mind, at least, has almost every individual entered into -sympathy with; some divine, or politician, or poet, who has carried the -spirit out beyond the circle of home, State, and country, into the ideal -world. It is even possible to trace, in the conversation of some who -have the least leisure for reading, the influence of some one of the -rich sayings, the diamonds and pearls which have dropped from the lips -of genius, to shine in the hearts of all humanity. Some one such saying -may be perceived to have moulded the thoughts, and shaped the aims, and -become the under-current of the whole life of a thinking and labouring -man. Such sayings being hackneyed signifies nothing, while the -individuals blessed by them do not know it, and hold them in their -inmost hearts,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> unvexed by hearing them echoed by careless tongues. "Am -I not a man and a brother?" "Happy the man whose wish and care," &c. -"The breaking waves dashed high," &c. (Mrs. Hemans's Landing of the -Pilgrims,) "What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue," -(Burke)—these are some of the words which, sinking deep into the hearts -of busy men, spring up in a harvest of thoughts and acts.</p> - -<p>There are a few young men, esteemed the least happy members of the -community, who inherit wealth. The time will come, when the society is -somewhat older, when it will be understood that wealth need not preclude -work: but at present, there are no individuals so forlorn, in the -northern States, as young men of fortune. Men who have shown energy and -skill in working their way in society are preferred for political -representatives: there is no scientific or literary class, for such -individuals to fall into: all the world is busy around them, and they -are reduced to the predicament, unhappily the most dreaded of all in the -United States, of standing alone. Their method, therefore, is to spend -their money as fast as possible, and begin the world like other men. I -am stating this as matter of fact; not as being reasonable and right.</p> - -<p>As for the women of the northern States, most have the blessing of work, -though not of the extent and variety which will hereafter be seen to be -necessary for the happiness of their lives. All married women, except -the ladies of rich merchants and others, are liable to have their hands -full of household occupation, from the uncertainty of domestic service; -a topic to be referred to hereafter. Women who do not marry have, in -many instances, to work for their support; and, as will be shown in -another connexion, under peculiar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> disadvantages. Work, on the whole, -may be considered the rule, and vacuity the exception.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> - -<p>What is life in the slave States, in respect of work?</p> - -<p>There are two classes, the servile and the imperious, between whom there -is a great gulf fixed. The servile class has not even the benefit of -hearty toil. No solemn truths sink down into them, to cheer their -hearts, stimulate their minds, and nerve their hands. Their wretched -lives are passed between an utter debasement of the will, and a conflict -of the will with external force.</p> - -<p>The other class is in circumstances as unfavourable as the least happy -order of persons in the old world. The means of educating children are -so meagre<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> that young people begin life under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> great disadvantages. -The vicious fundamental principle of morals in a slave country, that -labour is disgraceful, taints the infant mind with a stain which is as -fatal in the world of spirits as the negro tinge is at present in the -world of society. It made my heart ache to hear the little children -unconsciously uttering thoughts with which no true religion, no true -philosophy can coexist. "Do you think <i>I</i> shall work?" "O, you must not -touch the poker here." "You must not do this or that for yourself: the -negroes will be offended, and it won't do for a lady to do so." "Poor -thing! she has to teach: if she had come here, she might have married a -rich man, perhaps." "Mamma has so much a-year now, so we have not to do -our work at home, or any trouble. 'Tis such a comfort!"—When children -at school call everything that pleases them "gentlemanly," and pity all -(but slaves) who have to work, and talk of marrying early for an -establishment, it is all over with them. A more hopeless state of -degradation can hardly be conceived of, however they may ride, and play -the harp, and sing Italian, and teach their slaves what they call -religion.</p> - -<p>"Poor things!" may be said of such, in return. They know little, with -their horror of work, of what awaits them. Theirs is destined to be, if -their wish of an establishment is fulfilled, a life of toil, irksome and -unhonoured. They escape the name; but they are doomed to undergo the -worst of the reality. Their husbands are not to be envied, though they -do ride on white horses, (the slave's highest conception of bliss,) lie -down to repose in hot weather, and spend their hours between the -discharge of hospitality and the superintendence of their estates; and -the highly honourable and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> laborious charge of public affairs. But the -wives of slave-holders are, as they and their husbands declare, as much -slaves as their negroes. If they will not have everything go to rack and -ruin around them, they must superintend every household operation, from -the cellar to the garrets: for there is nothing that slaves can do well. -While the slaves are perpetually at one's heels, lolling against the -bed-posts before one rises in the morning, standing behind the chairs, -leaning on the sofa, officiously undertaking, and invariably spoiling -everything that one had rather do for one's-self, the smallest possible -amount of real service is performed. The lady of the house carries her -huge bunch of keys, (for every consumable thing must be locked up,) and -has to give out, on incessant requests, whatever is wanted for the -household. She is for ever superintending, and trying to keep things -straight, without the slightest hope of attaining anything like leisure -and comfort. What is there in retinue, in the reputation of ease and -luxury, which can compensate for toils and cares of this nature? How -much happier must be the lot of a village milliner, or of the artisan's -wife who sweeps her own floors, and cooks her husband's dinner, than -that of the planter's lady with twenty slaves to wait upon her; her sons -migrating because work is out of the question, and they have not the -means to buy estates; and her daughters with no better prospect than -marrying, as she has done, to toil as she does!</p> - -<p>Some few of these ladies are among the strongest-minded and most -remarkable women I have ever known. There are great draw-backs, (as will -be seen hereafter,) but their mental vigour is occasionally proportioned -to their responsibility. Women who have to rule over a barbarous -society, (small though it be,) to make and enforce laws, provide<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> for -all the physical wants, and regulate the entire habits of a number of -persons who can in no respect take care of themselves, must be strong -and strongly disciplined, if they in any degree discharge this duty. -Those who shrink from it become perhaps the weakest women I have -anywhere seen: selfishly timid, humblingly dependent, languid in body, -and with minds of no reach at all. These two extremes are found in the -slave States, in the most striking opposition. It is worthy of note, -that I never found there a woman strong enough voluntarily to brave the -woes of life in the presence of slavery; nor any woman weak enough to -extenuate the vices of the system; each knowing, prior to experience, -what those woes and vices are.</p> - -<p>There are a few unhappy persons in the slave States, too few, I believe, -to be called a class, who strongly exemplify the consequences of such a -principle of morals as that work is a disgrace. There are a few, called -by the slaves "mean whites;" signifying whites who work with the hands. -Where there is a coloured servile class, whose colour has become a -disgrace through their servitude, two results are inevitable: that those -who have the colour without the servitude are disgraced among the -whites; and those who have the servitude without the colour are as -deeply disgraced among the coloured. More intensely than white -work-people are looked down upon at Port-au-Prince, are the "mean -whites" despised by the slaves of the Carolinas. They make the most, of -course, of the only opportunity they can ever have of doing what they -see their superiors do,—despising their fellow-creatures. No inducement -would be sufficient to bring honest, independent men into the constant -presence of double-distilled hatred and contempt like this; and the -general character of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> the "mean whites" may therefore be anticipated. -They are usually men who have no prospect, no chance elsewhere; the -lowest of the low.</p> - -<p>When I say that no inducement would be sufficient, I mean no politic -inducement. There are inducements of the same force as those which drew -martyrs of old into the presence of savage beasts in the amphitheatre, -which guided Howard through the gloom of prisons, and strengthened Guyon -of Marseilles to offer himself a certain victim to the plague,—there -are inducements of such force as this which carry down families to dwell -in the midst of contempt and danger, where everything is lost but,—the -one object which carries them there. "Mean whites" these friends of the -oppressed fugitive may be in the eyes of all around them; but how they -stand in the eye of One whose thoughts are not as our thoughts, may some -day be revealed. To themselves it is enough that their object is gained. -They do not want praise; they are above it: and they have shown that -they can do without sympathy. It is enough to commend them to their own -peace of heart.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">MORALS OF SLAVERY.</span></h3> - -<p>This title is not written down in a spirit of mockery; though there -appears to be a mockery somewhere, when we contrast slavery with the -principles and the rule which are the test of all American -institutions:—the principles that all men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> are born free and equal; -that rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the governed; -and the rule of reciprocal justice. This discrepancy between principles -and practice needs no more words. But the institution of slavery exists; -and what we have to see is what the morals are of the society which is -subject to it.</p> - -<p>What social virtues are possible in a society of which injustice is the -primary characteristic? in a society which is divided into two classes, -the servile and the imperious?</p> - -<p>The most obvious is Mercy. Nowhere, perhaps, can more touching exercises -of mercy be seen than here. It must be remembered that the greater -number of slave-holders have no other idea than of holding slaves. Their -fathers did it: they themselves have never known the coloured race -treated otherwise than as inferior beings, born to work for and to teaze -the whites; helpless, improvident, open to no higher inducements than -indulgence and praise; capable of nothing but entire dependence. The -good affections of slave-holders like these show themselves in the form -of mercy; which is as beautiful to witness as mercy, made a substitute -for justice, can ever be. I saw endless manifestations of mercy, as well -as of its opposite. The thoughtfulness of masters, mistresses, and their -children about, not only the comforts, but the indulgences of their -slaves, was a frequent subject of admiration with me. Kind masters are -liberal in the expenditure of money, and (what is better) of thought, in -gratifying the whims and fancies of their negroes. They make large -sacrifices occasionally for the social or domestic advantage of their -people; and use great forbearance in the exercise of the power conferred -upon them by law and custom.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p><p>At the time when the cholera was ravaging South Carolina, a wealthy -slave-holder there refused to leave the State, as most of his neighbours -were doing. He would not consent to take any further care of himself -than riding to a distance from his plantation (then overrun by the -disease) to sleep. All day he was among his slaves: nursing them with -his own hands; putting them into the bath, giving them medicine himself, -and cheering their spirits by his presence and his care. He saved them -almost all. No one will suppose this one of the ordinary cases where a -master has his slaves taken care of as property, not as men. Sordid -considerations of that kind must have given way before the terrors of -the plague. A far higher strength than that of self-interest was -necessary to carry this gentleman through such a work as this; and it -was no other than mercy.</p> - -<p>Again:—a young man, full of the southern pride, one of whose aims is to -have as great a display of negroes as possible, married a young lady -who, soon after her marriage, showed an imperious and cruel temper -towards her slaves. Her husband gently remonstrated. She did not mend. -He warned her, that he would not allow beings, for whose comfort he was -responsible, to be oppressed; and that, if she compelled him to it, he -would deprive her of the power she misused. Still she did not mend. He -one day came and told her that he had sold all his domestic slaves, for -their own sakes. He told her that he would always give her money enough -to hire free service, when it was to be had; and that when it was not, -he would cheerfully bear, and help her to bear, the domestic -inconveniences which must arise from their having no servants. He kept -his word. It rarely happens that free service can be hired; and this -proud gentleman<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> assists his wife's labours with his own hands; and -(what is more) endures with all cheerfulness the ignominy of having no -slaves.</p> - -<p>Nothing struck me more than the patience of slave-owners. In this virtue -they probably surpass the whole Christian world;—I mean in their -patience with their slaves; for one cannot much praise their patience -with the abolitionists, or with the tariff; or in some other cases of -political vexation. When I considered how they love to be called "fiery -southerners," I could not but marvel at their mild forbearance under the -hourly provocations to which they are liable in their homes.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> It is -found that such a degree of this virtue can be obtained only by long -habit. Persons from New England, France, or England, becoming -slave-holders, are found to be the most severe masters and mistresses, -however good their tempers may always have appeared previously. They -cannot, like the native proprietor, sit waiting half an hour for the -second course, or see everything done in the worst possible manner; -their rooms dirty, their property wasted, their plans frustrated, their -infants slighted, themselves deluded by artifices,—they cannot, like -the native proprietor, endure all this unruffled. It seems to me that -every slave-holder's temper is subjected to a discipline which must -either ruin or perfect it. While we know that many tempers are thus -ruined, and must mourn for the unhappy creatures who cannot escape from -their tyranny, it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> is evident, on the other hand, that many tempers are -to be met with which should shame down and silence for ever the -irritability of some whose daily life is passed under circumstances of -comparative ease.</p> - -<p>This mercy, indulgence, patience, was often pleaded to me in defence of -the system, or in aggravation of the faults of intractable slaves. The -fallacy of this is so gross as not to need exposure anywhere but on the -spot. I was heart-sick of being told of the ingratitude of slaves, and -weary of explaining that indulgence can never atone for injury: that the -extremest pampering, for a life-time, is no equivalent for rights -withheld, no reparation for irreparable injustice. What are the greatest -possible amounts of finery, sweetmeats, dances, gratuities, and kind -words and looks, in exchange for political, social, and domestic -existence? for body and spirit? Is it not true that the life is more -than meat, and the body than raiment?</p> - -<p>This fallacious plea was urged upon me by three different persons, -esteemed enlightened and religious, in relation to one case. The case -was this. A lady of fortune carried into her husband's establishment, -when she married, several slaves, and among them a girl two years -younger than herself, who had been brought up under her, and who was -employed as her own maid. The little slaves are accustomed to play -freely with the children of the family—a practice which was lauded to -me, but which never had any beauty in my eyes, seeing, as I did, the -injury to the white children from unrestricted intercourse with the -degraded race, and looking forward as I did to the time when they must -separate into the servile and imperious. Mrs. —— had been unusually -indulgent to this girl, having allowed her time and opportunity for -religious and other instruction, and favoured her in every way. One<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> -night, when the girl was undressing her, the lady expressed her fondness -for her, and said, among other things: "When I die you shall be -free;"—a dangerous thing to say to a slave only two years younger than -herself. In a short time the lady was taken ill,—with a strange, -mysterious illness, which no doctor could alleviate. One of her friends, -who suspected foul play, took the sufferer entirely under her own -charge, when she seemed to be dying. She revived; and as soon as she was -well enough to have a will of her own again, would be waited on by no -one but her favourite slave. She grew worse. She alternated thus, for -some time, according as she was under the care of this slave or of her -friend. At last, the friend excluded from her chamber every one but the -physicians: took in the medicines at the room door from the hands of the -slave, and locked them up. They were all analysed by a physician, and -arsenic found in every one of them. The lady partially recovered; but I -was shocked at the traces of suffering in her whole appearance. The -girl's guilt was brought clearly home to her. There never was a case of -more cruel, deliberate intention to murder. If ever slave deserved the -gallows, (which ought to be questionable to the most decided minds,) -this girl did. What was done? The lady was tenderhearted, and could not -bear to have her hanged. This was natural enough; but what did she -therefore do? keep her under her own eye, that she might at least poison -nobody else, and perhaps be touched and reclaimed by the clemency of the -person she would have murdered? No. The lady sold her.</p> - -<p>I was actually called upon to admire the lady's conduct; and was asked -whether the ingratitude of the girl was not inconceivable, and her -hypocrisy too; for she used to lecture her mistress and her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> mistress's -friends for being so irreligious as to go to parties on Saturday nights, -when they should have been preparing their minds for Sunday. Was not the -hypocrisy of the girl inconceivable? and her ingratitude for her -mistress's favours? No. The girl had no other idea of religion,—could -have no other than that it consists in observances, and, wicked as she -was, her wickedness could not be called ingratitude, for she was more -injured than favoured, after all. All indulgences that could be heaped -upon her were still less than her due, and her mistress remained -infinitely her debtor.</p> - -<p>Little can be said of the purity of manners of the whites of the south; -but there is purity. Some few examples of domestic fidelity may be -found: few enough, by the confession of residents on the spot; but those -individuals who have resisted the contagion of the vice amidst which -they dwell are pure. Every man who resides on his plantation may have -his harem, and has every inducement of custom, and of pecuniary -gain,<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> to tempt him to the common practice. Those who, -notwithstanding, keep their homes undefiled may be considered as of -incorruptible purity.</p> - -<p>Here, alas! ends my catalogue of the virtues which are of possible -exercise by slave-holders towards their labourers. The inherent -injustice of the system extinguishes all others, and nourishes a whole -harvest of false morals towards the rest of society.</p> - -<p>The personal oppression of the negroes is the grossest vice which -strikes a stranger in the country. It can never be otherwise when human -beings are wholly subjected to the will of other human beings, who are -under no other external control<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> than the law which forbids killing and -maiming;—a law which it is difficult to enforce in individual cases. A -fine slave was walking about in Columbia, South Carolina, when I was -there, nearly helpless and useless from the following causes. His master -was fond of him, and the slave enjoyed the rare distinction of never -having been flogged. One day, his master's child, supposed to be under -his care at the time, fell down and hurt itself. The master flew into a -passion, ordered the slave to be instantly flogged, and would not hear a -single word the man had to say. As soon as the flogging was over, the -slave went into the back yard, where there was an axe and a block, and -struck off the upper half of his right hand. He went and held up the -bleeding hand before his master, saying, "You have mortified me, so I -have made myself useless. Now you must maintain me as long as I live." -It came out that the child had been under the charge of another person.</p> - -<p>There are, as is well known throughout the country, houses in the free -States which are open to fugitive slaves, and where they are concealed -till the search for them is over. I know some of the secrets of such -places; and can mention two cases, among many, of runaways, which show -how horrible is the tyranny which the slave system authorises men to -inflict on each other. A negro had found his way to one of these -friendly houses; and had been so skilfully concealed, that repeated -searches by his master, (who had followed for the purpose of recovering -him,) and by constables, had been in vain. After three weeks of this -seclusion, the negro became weary, and entreated of his host to be -permitted to look out of the window. His host strongly advised him to -keep quiet, as it was pretty certain that his master had not given him -up. When the host had left him, however, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> negro came out of his -hiding-place, and went to the window. He met the eye of his master, who -was looking up from the street. The poor slave was obliged to return to -his bondage.</p> - -<p>A young negress had escaped in like manner; was in like manner -concealed; and was alarmed by constables, under the direction of her -master, entering the house in pursuit of her, when she had had reason to -believe that the search was over. She flew up stairs to her chamber in -the third story, and drove a heavy article of furniture against the -door. The constables pushed in, notwithstanding, and the girl leaped -from the window into the paved street. Her master looked at her as she -lay, declared she would never be good for anything again, and went back -into the south. The poor creature, her body bruised, and her limbs -fractured, was taken up, and kindly nursed; and she is now maintained in -Boston, in her maimed condition, by the charity of some ladies there.</p> - -<p>The following story has found its way into the northern States (as few -such stories do) from the circumstance that a New Hampshire family are -concerned in it. It has excited due horror wherever it is known; and it -is to be hoped that it will lead to the exposure of more facts of the -same kind, since it is but too certain that they are common.</p> - -<p>A New Hampshire gentleman went down into Louisiana, many years ago, to -take a plantation. He pursued the usual method; borrowing money largely -to begin with, paying high interest, and clearing off his debt, year by -year, as his crops were sold. He followed another custom there; taking a -Quadroon wife: a mistress, in the eye of the law, since there can be no -legal marriage between whites and persons of any degree of colour: but, -in nature and in reason, the woman he took<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> home was his wife. She was a -well-principled, amiable, well-educated woman; and they lived happily -together for twenty years. She had only the slightest possible tinge of -colour. Knowing the law that the children of slaves are to follow the -fortunes of the mother, she warned her husband that she was not free, an -ancestress having been a slave, and the legal act of manumission having -never been performed. The husband promised to look to it: but neglected -it. At the end of twenty years, one died, and the other shortly -followed, leaving daughters; whether two or three, I have not been able -to ascertain with positive certainty; but I have reason to believe -three, of the ages of fifteen, seventeen, and eighteen: beautiful girls, -with no perceptible mulatto tinge. The brother of their father came down -from New Hampshire to settle the affairs; and he supposed, as every one -else did, that the deceased had been wealthy. He was pleased with his -nieces, and promised to carry them back with him into New Hampshire, and -(as they were to all appearance perfectly white) to introduce them into -the society which by education they were fitted for. It appeared, -however, that their father had died insolvent. The deficiency was very -small: but it was necessary to make an inventory of the effects, to -deliver to the creditors. This was done by the brother,—the executor. -Some of the creditors called on him, and complained that he had not -delivered in a faithful inventory. He declared he had. No: the number of -slaves was not accurately set down: he had omitted the daughters. The -executor was overwhelmed with horror, and asked time for thought. He -went round among the creditors, appealing to their mercy: but they -answered that these young ladies were "a first-rate article," too -valuable to be relinquished. He next offered,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> (though he had himself -six children, and very little money,) all he had for the redemption of -his nieces; alleging that it was more than they would bring in the -market for house or field labour. This was refused with scorn. It was -said that there were other purposes for which the girls would bring more -than for field or house labour. The uncle was in despair, and felt -strongly tempted to wish their death rather than their surrender to such -a fate as was before them. He told them, abruptly, what was their -prospect. He declares that he never before beheld human grief; never -before heard the voice of anguish. They never ate, nor slept, nor -separated from each other, till the day when they were taken into the -New Orleans slave-market. There they were sold, separately, at high -prices, for the vilest of purposes: and where each is gone, no one -knows. They are, for the present, lost. But they will arise to the light -in the day of retribution.</p> - -<p>It is a common boast in the south that there is less vice in their -cities than in those of the north. This can never, as a matter of fact, -have been ascertained; as the proceedings of slave households are, or -may be, a secret: and in the north, what licentiousness there is may be -detected. But such comparisons are bad. Let any one look at the positive -licentiousness of the south, and declare if, in such a state of society, -there can be any security for domestic purity and peace. The Quadroon -connexions in New Orleans are all but universal, as I was assured on the -spot by ladies who cannot be mistaken. The history of such connexions is -a melancholy one: but it ought to be made known while there are any who -boast of the superior morals of New Orleans, on account of the decent -quietness of the streets and theatres.</p> - -<p>The Quadroon girls of New Orleans are brought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> up by their mothers to be -what they have been; the mistresses of white gentlemen. The boys are -some of them sent to France; some placed on land in the back of the -State; and some are sold in the slave-market. They marry women of a -somewhat darker colour than their own; the women of their own colour -objecting to them, "ils sont si dégoutants!" The girls are highly -educated, externally, and are, probably, as beautiful and accomplished a -set of women as can be found. Every young man early selects one, and -establishes her in one of those pretty and peculiar houses, whole rows -of which may be seen in the Remparts. The connexion now and then lasts -for life: usually for several years. In the latter case, when the time -comes for the gentleman to take a white wife, the dreadful news reaches -his Quadroon partner, either by a letter entitling her to call the house -and furniture her own, or by the newspaper which announces his marriage. -The Quadroon ladies are rarely or never known to form a second -connexion. Many commit suicide: more die brokenhearted. Some men -continue the connexion after marriage. Every Quadroon woman believes -that her partner will prove an exception to the rule of desertion. Every -white lady believes that her husband has been an exception to the rule -of seduction.</p> - -<p>What security for domestic purity and peace there can be where every man -has had two connexions, one of which must be concealed; and two -families, whose existence must not be known to each other; where the -conjugal relation begins in treachery, and must be carried on with a -heavy secret in the husband's breast, no words are needed to explain. If -this is the system which is boasted of as a purer than ordinary state of -morals, what is to be thought of the ordinary state? It can only be -hoped that the boast is an empty one.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p><p>There is no occasion to explain the management of the female slaves on -estates where the object is to rear as many as possible, like stock, for -the southern market: nor to point out the boundless licentiousness -caused by the practice: a practice which wrung from the wife of a -planter, in the bitterness of her heart, the declaration that a -planter's wife was only "the chief slave of the harem." Mr. Madison -avowed that the licentiousness of Virginian plantations stopped just -short of destruction; and that it was understood that the female slaves -were to become mothers at fifteen.</p> - -<p>A gentleman of the highest character, a southern planter, observed, in -conversation with a friend, that little was known, out of bounds, of the -reasons of the new laws by which emancipation was made so difficult as -it is. He said that the very general connexion of white gentlemen with -their female slaves introduced a mulatto race whose numbers would become -dangerous, if the affections of their white parents were permitted to -render them free. The liberty of emancipating them was therefore -abolished, while that of selling them remained. There are persons who -weakly trust to the force of the parental affection for putting an end -to slavery, when the amalgamation of the races shall have gone so far as -to involve a sufficient number! I actually heard this from the lips of a -clergyman in the south. Yet these planters, who sell their own offspring -to fill their purses, who have such offspring for the sake of filling -their purses, dare to raise the cry of "amalgamation" against the -abolitionists of the north, not one of whom has, as far as evidence can -show, conceived the idea of a mixture of the races. It is from the -south, where this mixture is hourly encouraged, that the canting and -groundless reproach has come. I met with no candid southerner who was -not full of shame at the monstrous hypocrisy.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p><p>It is well known that the most savage violences that are now heard of -in the world take place in the southern and western States of America. -Burning alive, cutting the heart out, and sticking it on the point of a -knife, and other such diabolical deeds, the result of the deepest hatred -of which the human heart is capable, are heard of only there. The -frequency of such deeds is a matter of dispute, which time will -settle.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> The existence of such deeds is a matter of no dispute. -Whether two or twenty such deeds take place in a year, their -perpetration testifies to the existence of such hatred as alone could -prompt them. There is no doubt in my mind as to the immediate causes of -such outrages. They arise out of the licentiousness of manners. The -negro is exasperated by being deprived of his wife,—by being sent out -of the way that his master may take possession of his home. He stabs his -master; or, if he cannot fulfil his desire of vengeance, he is a -dangerous person, an object of vengeance in return, and destined to some -cruel fate. If the negro attempts to retaliate, and defile the master's -home, the faggots are set alight about him. Much that is dreadful ensues -from the negro being subject to toil and the lash: but I am confident -that the licentiousness of the masters is the proximate cause of society -in the south and south-west being in such a state that nothing else is -to be looked for than its being dissolved into its elements, if man does -not soon cease to be called the property of man. This dissolution will -never take place through the insurrection of the negroes; but by the -natural operation of vice. But the process of demoralisation will be -stopped, I have no doubt, before it reaches that point.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> There is no -reason to apprehend serious insurrection; for the negroes are too -degraded to act in concert, or to stand firm before the terrible face of -the white man. Like all deeply-injured classes of persons, they are -desperate and cruel, on occasion, kindly as their nature is; but as a -class, they have no courage. The voice of a white, even of a lady, if it -were authoritative, would make a whole regiment of rebellious slaves -throw down their arms and flee. Poison is the weapon that suits them -best: then the knife, in moments of exasperation. They will never take -the field, unless led on by free blacks. Desperate as the state of -society is, it will be rectified, probably, without bloodshed.</p> - -<p>It may be said that it is doing an injustice to cite extreme cases of -vice as indications of the state of society. I do not think so, as long -as such cases are so common as to strike the observation of a mere -passing stranger; to say nothing of their incompatibility with a decent -and orderly fulfilment of the social relations. Let us, however, see -what is the very best state of things. Let us take the words and deeds -of some of the most religious, refined, and amiable members of society. -It was this aspect of affairs which grieved me more, if possible, than -the stormier one which I have presented. The coarsening and hardening of -mind and manners among the best; the blunting of the moral sense among -the most conscientious, gave me more pain than the stabbing, poisoning, -and burning. A few examples which will need no comment, will suffice.</p> - -<p>Two ladies, the distinguishing ornaments of a very superior society in -the south, are truly unhappy about slavery, and opened their hearts -freely to me upon the grief which it caused them,—the perfect curse -which they found it. They need no enlightening on this, nor any stimulus -to acquit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> themselves as well as their unhappy circumstances allow. They -one day pressed me for a declaration of what I should do in their -situation. I replied that I would give up everything, go away with my -slaves, settle them, and stay by them in some free place. I had said, -among other things, that I dare not stay there,—on my own -account,—from moral considerations. "What, not if you had no slaves?" -"No." "Why?" "I could not trust myself to live where I must constantly -witness the exercise of irresponsible power." They made no reply at the -moment: but each found occasion to tell me, some days afterwards, that -she had been struck to the heart by these words: the consideration I -mentioned having never occurred to her before!</p> - -<p>Madame Lalaurie, the person who was mobbed at New Orleans, on account of -her fiendish cruelty to her slaves,—a cruelty so excessive as to compel -the belief that she was mentally deranged, though her derangement could -have taken such a direction nowhere but in a slave country;—this person -was described to me as having been "very pleasant to whites."</p> - -<p>A common question put to me by amiable ladies was, "Do not you find the -slaves generally very happy?" They never seemed to have been asked, or -to have asked themselves, the question with which I replied:—"Would you -be happy with their means?"</p> - -<p>One sultry morning, I was sitting with a friend, who was giving me all -manner of information about her husband's slaves, both in the field and -house; how she fed and clothed them; what indulgences they were allowed; -what their respective capabilities were; and so forth. While we were -talking, one of the house-slaves passed us. I observed that she appeared -superior to all the rest; to which my friend assented. "She is A.'s -wife?" said I. "We<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> call her A.'s wife, but she has never been married -to him. A. and she came to my husband, five years ago, and asked him to -let them marry: but he could not allow it, because he had not made up -his mind whether to sell A.; and he hates parting husband and wife." -"How many children have they?" "Four." "And they are not married yet?" -"No; my husband has never been able to let them marry. He certainly will -not sell her: and he has not determined yet whether he shall sell A."</p> - -<p>Another friend told me the following story. B. was the best slave in her -husband's possession. B. fell in love with C., a pretty girl, on a -neighbouring estate, who was purchased to be B.'s wife. C.'s temper was -jealous and violent; and she was always fancying that B. showed -attention to other girls. Her master warned her to keep her temper, or -she should be sent away. One day, when the master was dining out, B. -came to him, trembling, and related that C. had, in a fit of jealousy, -aimed a blow at his head with an axe, and nearly struck him. The master -went home, and told C. that her temper could no longer be borne with, -and she must go. He offered her the choice of being sold to a trader, -and carried to New Orleans, or of being sent to field labour on a -distant plantation. She preferred being sold to the trader; who broke -his promise of taking her to New Orleans, and disposed of her to a -neighbouring proprietor. C. kept watch over her husband, declaring that -she would be the death of any girl whom B. might take to wife. "And so," -said my informant, "poor B. was obliged to walk about in single -blessedness for some time; till, last summer, happily, C. died."—"Is it -possible," said I, "that you pair and part these people like -brutes?"—The lady looked surprised, and asked what else could be done.</p> - -<p>One day at dinner, when two slaves were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>standing behind our chairs, the -lady of the house was telling me a ludicrous story, in which a former -slave of hers was one of the personages, serving as a butt on the -question of complexion. She seemed to recollect that slaves were -listening; for she put in, "D. was an excellent boy," (the term for male -slaves of every age.) "We respected him very highly as an excellent boy. -We respected him almost as much as if he had been a white. But, &c.——"</p> - -<p>A southern lady, of fair reputation for refinement and cultivation, told -the following story in the hearing of a company, among whom were some -friends of mine. She spoke with obvious unconsciousness that she was -saying anything remarkable: indeed such unconsciousness was proved by -her telling the story at all. She had possessed a very pretty mulatto -girl, of whom she declared herself fond. A young man came to stay at her -house, and fell in love with the girl. "She came to me," said the lady, -"for protection; which I gave her." The young man went away, but after -some weeks, returned, saying he was so much in love with the girl that -he could not live without her. "I pitied the young man," concluded the -lady; "so I sold the girl to him for 1,500 dollars."</p> - -<p>I repeatedly heard the preaching of a remarkably liberal man, of a free -and kindly spirit, in the south. His last sermon, extempore, was from -the text "Cast all your care upon him, for He careth for you." The -preacher told us, among other things, that God cares for all,—for the -meanest as well as the mightiest. "He cares for that coloured person," -said he, pointing to the gallery where the people of colour sit,—"he -cares for that coloured person as well as for the wisest and best of you -whites." This was the most wanton insult I had ever seen offered to a -human being; and it was with difficulty that I refrained from walking -out of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> church. Yet no one present to whom I afterwards spoke of it -seemed able to comprehend the wrong. "Well!" said they: "does not God -care for the coloured people?"</p> - -<p>Of course, in a society where things like these are said and done by its -choicest members, there is a prevalent unconsciousness of the existing -wrong. The daily and hourly plea is of good intentions towards the -slaves; of innocence under the aspersions of foreigners. They are as -sincere in the belief that they are injured as their visitors are -cordial in their detestation of the morals of slavery. Such -unconsciousness of the milder degrees of impurity and injustice as -enables ladies and clergymen of the highest character to speak and act -as I have related, is a sufficient evidence of the prevalent grossness -of morals. One remarkable indication of such blindness was the almost -universal mention of the state of the Irish to me, as a worse case than -American slavery. I never attempted, of course, to vindicate the state -of Ireland: but I was surprised to find no one able, till put in the -way, to see the distinction between political misgovernment and personal -slavery: between exasperating a people by political insult, and -possessing them, like brutes, for pecuniary profit. The unconsciousness -of guilt is the worst of symptoms, where there are means of light to be -had. I shall have to speak hereafter of the state of religion throughout -the country. It is enough here to say that if, with the law of liberty -and the gospel of peace and purity within their hands, the inhabitants -of the south are unconscious of the low state of the morals of society, -such blindness proves nothing so much as how far that which is highest -and purest may be confounded with what is lowest and foulest, when once -the fatal attempt has been entered upon to make them co-exist. From -their co-existence, one further step may be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> taken; and in the south has -been taken; the making the high and pure a sanction for the low and -foul. Of this, more hereafter.</p> - -<p>The degradation of the women is so obvious a consequence of the evils -disclosed above, that the painful subject need not be enlarged on. By -the degradation of women, I do not mean to imply any doubt of the purity -of their manners. There are reasons, plain enough to the observer, why -their manners should be even peculiarly pure. They are all married -young, from their being out-numbered by the other sex: and there is ever -present an unfortunate servile class of their own sex to serve the -purposes of licentiousness, so as to leave them untempted. Their -degradation arises, not from their own conduct, but from that of all -other parties about them. Where the generality of men carry secrets -which their wives must be the last to know; where the busiest and more -engrossing concerns of life must wear one aspect to the one sex, and -another to the other, there is an end to all wholesome confidence and -sympathy, and woman sinks to be the ornament of her husband's house, the -domestic manager of his establishment, instead of being his -all-sufficient friend. I am speaking not only of what I suppose must -necessarily be; but of what I have actually seen. I have seen, with -heart-sorrow, the kind politeness, the gallantry, so insufficient to the -loving heart, with which the wives of the south are treated by their -husbands. I have seen the horror of a woman's having to work,—to exert -the faculties which her Maker gave her;—the eagerness to ensure her -unearned ease and rest; the deepest insult which can be offered to an -intelligent and conscientious woman. I know the tone of conversation -which is adopted towards women; different in its topics and its style -from that which any man would dream of offering to any other man. I -have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> heard the boast of the chivalrous consideration in which women are -held throughout their woman's paradise; and seen something of the -anguish of crushed pride, of the conflict of bitter feelings with which -such boasts have been listened to by those whose aspirations teach them -the hollowness of the system. The gentlemen are all the while unaware -that women are not treated in the best possible manner among them: and -they will remain thus blind as long as licentious intercourse with the -lowest of the sex unfits them for appreciating the highest. Whenever -their society shall take rank according to moral rather than physical -considerations; whenever they shall rise to crave sympathy in the real -objects of existence; whenever they shall begin to inquire what human -life is, and wherefore, and to reverence it accordingly, they will -humble themselves in shame for their abuse of the right of the -strongest; for those very arrangements and observances which now -constitute their boast. A lady who, brought up elsewhere to use her own -faculties, and employ them on such objects as she thinks proper, and who -has more knowledge and more wisdom than perhaps any gentleman of her -acquaintance, told me of the disgust with which she submits to the -conversation which is addressed to her, under the idea of being fit for -her; and how she solaces herself at home, after such provocation, with -the silent sympathy of books. A father of promising young daughters, -whom he sees likely to be crushed by the system, told me, in a tone of -voice which I shall never forget, that women there might as well be -turned into the street, for anything they are fit for. There are -reasonable hopes that his children may prove an exception. One gentleman -who declares himself much interested in the whole subject, expresses his -horror of the employment of women in the northern States, for useful -purposes. He told<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> me that the same force of circumstances which, in the -region he inhabits, makes men independent, increases the dependence of -women, and will go on to increase it. Society is there, he declared, -"always advancing towards orientalism." "There are but two ways in which -woman can be exercised to the extent of her powers; by genius and by -calamity, either of which may strengthen her to burst her conventional -restraints. The first is too rare a circumstance to afford any basis for -speculation: and may Heaven avert the last!" O, may Heaven hasten it! -would be the cry of many hearts, if these be indeed the conditions of -woman's fulfilling the purposes of her being. There are, I believe, some -who would scarcely tremble to see their houses in flames, to hear the -coming tornado, to feel the threatening earthquake, if these be indeed -the messengers who must open their prison doors, and give their -heaven-born spirits the range of the universe. God has given to them the -universe, as to others: man has caged them in one corner of it, and -dreads their escape from their cage, while man does that which he would -not have woman hear of. He puts genius out of sight, and deprecates -calamity. He has not, however, calculated all the forces in nature. If -he had, he would hardly venture to hold either negroes or women as -property, or to trust to the absence of genius and calamity.</p> - -<p>One remarkable warning has been vouchsafed to him. A woman of strong -mind, whose strenuous endeavours to soften the woes of slavery to her -own dependents, failed to satisfy her conscience and relieve her human -affections, her shaken the blood-slaked dust from her feet, and gone to -live where every man can call himself his own: and not only to live, but -to work there, and to pledge herself to death, if necessary, for the -overthrow of the system which she abhors in proportion to her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> -familiarity with it. Whether we are to call her Genius or Calamity, or -by her own honoured name of Angelina Grimke, certain it is that she is -rousing into life and energy many women who were unconscious of genius, -and unvisited by calamity, but who carry honest and strong human hearts. -This lady may ere long be found to have materially checked the "advance -towards orientalism."</p> - -<p>Of course, the children suffer, perhaps the most fatally of all, under -the slave system. What can be expected from little boys who are brought -up to consider physical courage the highest attribute of manhood; pride -of section and of caste its loftiest grace; the slavery of a part of -society essential to the freedom of the rest; justice of less account -than generosity; and humiliation in the eyes of men the most intolerable -of evils? What is to be expected of little girls who boast of having got -a negro flogged for being impertinent to them, and who are surprised at -the "ungentlemanly" conduct of a master who maims his slave? Such -lessons are not always taught expressly. Sometimes the reverse is -expressly taught. But this is what the children in a slave country -necessarily learn from what passes around them; just as the plainest -girls in a school grow up to think personal beauty the most important of -all endowments, in spite of daily assurances that the charms of the mind -are all that are worth regarding.</p> - -<p>The children of slave countries learn more and worse still. It is nearly -impossible to keep them from close intercourse with the slaves; and the -attempt is rarely made. The generality of slaves are as gross as the -total absence of domestic sanctity might be expected to render them. -They do not dream of any reserves with children. The consequences are -inevitable. The woes of mothers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> from this cause are such that, if this -"peculiar domestic institution" were confided to their charge, I believe -they would accomplish its overthrow with an energy and wisdom that would -look more like inspiration than orientalism. Among the incalculable -forces in nature is the grief of mothers weeping for the corruption of -their children.</p> - -<p>One of the absolutely inevitable results of slavery is a disregard of -human rights; an inability even to comprehend them. Probably the -southern gentry, who declare that the presence of slavery enhances the -love of freedom; that freedom can be duly estimated only where a -particular class can appropriate all social privileges; that, to use the -words of one of them, "they know too much of slavery to be slaves -themselves," are sincere enough in such declarations; and if so, it -follows that they do not know what freedom is. They may have the benefit -of the alternative,—of not knowing what freedom is, and being sincere; -or of knowing what freedom is, and not being sincere. I am disposed to -think that the first is the more common case.</p> - -<p>One reason for my thinking so is, that I usually found in conversation -in the south, that the idea of human rights was—sufficient subsistence -in return for labour. This was assumed as the definition of human rights -on which we were to argue the case of the slave. When I tried the -definition by the golden rule, I found that even that straight, simple -rule had become singularly bent in the hands of those who profess to -acknowledge and apply it. A clergyman preached from the pulpit the -following application of it, which is echoed unhesitatingly by the most -religious of the slave-holders:—"Treat your slaves as you would wish to -be treated if you were a slave yourself." I verily believe that -hundreds, or thousands, do not see that this is not an honest -application of the rule;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> so blinded are they by custom to the fact that -the negro is a man and a brother.</p> - -<p>Another of my reasons for supposing that the gentry of the south do not -know what freedom is, is that many seem unconscious of the state of -coercion in which they themselves are living; coercion, not only from -the incessant fear of which I have before spoken,—a fear which haunts -their homes, their business, and their recreations; coercion, not only -from their fear, and from their being dependent for their hourly -comforts upon the extinguished or estranged will of those whom they have -injured; but coercion also from their own laws. The laws against the -press are as peremptory as in the most despotic countries of Europe:<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> -as may be seen in the small number and size, and poor quality, of the -newspapers of the south. I never saw, in the rawest villages of the -youngest States, newspapers so empty and poor as those of New Orleans. -It is curious that, while the subject of the abolition of slavery in the -British colonies was necessarily a very interesting one throughout the -southern States, I met with planters who did not know that any -compensation had been paid by the British nation to the West Indian -proprietors. The miserable quality of the southern newspapers, and the -omission from them of the subjects on which the people most require -information, will go far to account for the people's delusions on their -own affairs, as compared with those of the rest of the world, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> for -their boasts of freedom, which probably arise from their knowing of none -which is superior. They see how much more free they are than their own -slaves; but are not generally aware what liberty is where all are free. -In 1834, the number of newspapers was, in the State of New York, 267; in -Louisiana, 31; in Massachusetts, 108; in South Carolina, 19; in -Pennsylvania, 220; in Georgia, 29.</p> - -<p>What is to be thought of the freedom of gentlemen subject to the -following law? "Any person or persons who shall attempt to teach any -free person of colour, or slave, to spell, read, or write, shall, upon -conviction thereof by indictment, be fined in a sum not less than two -hundred and fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars."<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> - -<p>What is to be thought of the freedom of gentlemen who cannot emancipate -their own slaves, except by the consent of the legislature; and then -only under very strict conditions, which make the deed almost -impracticable? It has been mentioned that during a temporary suspension -of the laws against emancipation in Virginia, 10,000 slaves were freed -in nine years; and that, as the institution seemed in peril, the masters -were again coerced. It is pleaded that the masters themselves were the -repealers and re-enactors of these laws. True: and thus it appears that -they thought it necessary to deprive each other of a liberty which a -great number seem to have made use of themselves, while they could.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> No -high degree of liberty, or of the love of it, is to be seen here. The -laws which forbid emancipation are felt to be cruelly galling, -throughout the south. I heard frequent bitter complaints of them. They -are the invariable plea urged by individuals to excuse their continuing -to hold slaves. Such individuals are either sincere in these complaints, -or they are not. If they are not, they must be under some deplorable -coercion which compels so large a multitude to hypocrisy. If they are -sincere, they possess the common republican means of getting tyrannical -laws repealed: and why do they not use them? If these laws are felt to -be oppressive, why is no voice heard denouncing them in the -legislatures? If men complainingly, but voluntarily, submit to laws -which bind the conscience, little can be said of their love of liberty. -If they submit involuntarily, nothing can be said for their possession -of it.</p> - -<p>What, again, is to be thought of the freedom of citizens who are liable -to lose caste because they follow conscience in a case where the -perversity of the laws places interest on the side of conscience, and -public opinion against it? I will explain. In a southern city, I saw a -gentleman who appeared to have all the outward requisites for commanding -respect. He was very wealthy, had been governor of the State, and was an -eminent and peculiar benefactor to the city. I found he did not stand -well. As some pains were taken to impress me with this, I inquired the -cause. His character was declared to be generally good. I soon got at -the particular exception, which I was anxious to do only because I saw -that it was somehow of public concern. While this gentleman was -governor, there was an insurrection of slaves. His own slaves were -accused. He did not believe them guilty, and refused to hang them. This -was imputed to an <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>unwillingness to sacrifice his property. He was thus -in a predicament which no one can be placed in, except where man is held -as property. He must either hang his slaves, believing them innocent, -and keep his character; or he must, by saving their lives, lose his own -character. How the case stood with this gentleman, is fully known only -to his own heart. His conduct claims the most candid construction. But, -this being accorded as his due, what can be thought of the freedom of a -republican thus circumstanced?</p> - -<p>Passing over the perils, physical and moral, in which those are involved -who live in a society where recklessness of life is treated with -leniency, and physical courage stands high in the list of virtues and -graces,—perils which abridge a man's liberty of action and of speech in -a way which would be felt to be intolerable if the restraint were not -adorned by the false name of Honour,—it is only necessary to look at -the treatment of the abolitionists by the south, by both legislatures -and individuals, to see that no practical understanding of liberty -exists there.</p> - -<p>Upon a mere vague report, or bare suspicion, persons travelling through -the south have been arrested, imprisoned, and, in some cases, flogged or -otherwise tortured, on pretence that such persons desired to cause -insurrection among the slaves. More than one innocent person has been -hanged; and the device of terrorism has been so practised as to deprive -the total number of persons who avowedly hold a certain set of opinions, -of their constitutional liberty of traversing the whole country. It was -declared by some liberal-minded gentlemen of South Carolina, after the -publication of Dr. Channing's work on Slavery, that if Dr. Channing were -to enter South Carolina with a body-guard of 20,000 men, he could not -come out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> alive. I have seen the lithographic prints, transmitted in -letters to abolitionists, representing the individual to whom the letter -was sent hanging on a gallows. I have seen the hand-bills, purporting to -be issued by Committees of Vigilance, offering enormous rewards for the -heads, or for the ears, of prominent abolitionists.</p> - -<p>If it be said that these acts are attributable to the ignorant wrath of -individuals only, it may be asked whence arose the Committees of -Vigilance, which were last year sitting throughout the south and west, -on the watch for any incautious person who might venture near them, with -anti-slavery opinions in his mind? How came it that high official -persons sat on these committees? How is it that some governors of -southern States made formal application to governors of the northern -States to procure the dispersion of anti-slavery societies, the -repression of discussion, and the punishment of the promulgators of -abolition opinions? How is it that the governor of South Carolina last -year recommended the summary execution, without benefit of clergy, of -all persons caught within the limits of the State, holding avowed -anti-slavery opinions; and that every sentiment of the governor's was -endorsed by a select committee of the legislature?</p> - -<p>All this proceeds from an ignorance of the first principles of liberty. -It cannot be from a mere hypocritical disregard of such principles; for -proud men, who boast a peculiar love of liberty and aptitude for it, -would not voluntarily make themselves so ridiculous as they appear by -these outrageous proceedings. Such blustering is so hopeless, and, if -not sincere, so purposeless, that no other supposition is left than that -they have lost sight of the fundamental principles of both their federal -and State constitutions, and do now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> actually suppose that their own -freedom lies in crushing all opposition to their own will. No pretence -of evidence has been offered of any further offence against them than -the expression of obnoxious opinions. There is no plea that any of their -laws have been violated, except those recently enacted to annihilate -freedom of speech and the press: laws which can in no case be binding -upon persons out of the limits of the States for which these new laws -are made.</p> - -<p>The amended constitution of Virginia, of 1830, provides that the -legislature shall not pass "any law abridging the freedom of speech or -of the press." North and South Carolina and Georgia decree that the -freedom of the press shall be preserved inviolate; the press being the -grand bulwark of liberty. The constitution of Louisiana declares that -"the free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the -invaluable rights of man; and every citizen may freely speak, write, and -print, on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty." -The Declaration of Rights of Mississippi declares that "no law shall -ever be passed to curtail or restrain the liberty of speech, and of the -press." The constitutions of all the slave States contain declarations -and provisions like these. How fearfully have the descendants of those -who framed them degenerated in their comprehension and practice of -liberty, violating both the spirit and the letter of their original Bill -of Rights! They are not yet fully aware of this. In the calmer times -which are to come, they will perceive it, and look back with amazement -upon the period of desperation, when not a voice was heard, even in the -legislatures, to plead for human rights; when, for the sake of one -doomed institution, they forgot what their fathers had done, fettered -their own presses, tied their own<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> hands, robbed their fellow-citizens -of their right of free travelling, and did all they could to deprive -those same fellow-citizens of liberty and life, for the avowal and -promulgation of opinions.</p> - -<p>Meantime, it would be but decent to forbear all boasts of a superior -knowledge and love of freedom.</p> - -<p>Here I gladly break off my dark chapter on the Morals of Slavery.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION II.</span><br /><span class="smaller">MORALS OF MANUFACTURES.</span></h3> - -<p>One remarkable effect of democratic institutions is the excellence of -the work turned out by those who live under them. In a country where the -whole course is open to every one; where, in theory, everything may be -obtained by merit, men have the strongest stimulus to exert their -powers, and try what they can achieve. I found master-workmen, who -employ operatives of various nations, very sensible of this. Elsewhere, -no artisan can possibly rise higher than to a certain point of -dexterity, and amount of wages. In America, an artisan may attain to be -governor of the State; member of Congress; even President. Instead of -this possibility having the effect of turning his head, and making him -unfit for business, (as some suppose, who seem to consider these -opportunities as resembling the chances of a lottery,) it attaches him -to his business and his master, to sober habits, and to intellectual -cultivation.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p><p>The only apparent excess to which it leads is ill-considered -enterprise. This is an evil sometimes to the individual, but not to -society. A man who makes haste to be famous or rich by means of new -inventions, may injure his own fortune or credit, but is usually a -benefactor to society, by furnishing a new idea on which another may -work with more success. Some of the most important improvements in the -manufactures of the United States have been made by men who afterwards -became insolvent. Where there is hasty enterprise, there is usually much -conceit. The very haste seems to show that the man is thinking more of -himself than of the subject on which he is employed. It naturally -happens that the conceited originator breaks down in the middle of his -scheme; and that some more patient, modest thinker takes it up where he -leaves off, and completes the invention. I was shown, at the Paterson -mills, an invention completed by two men on the spot, whose discovery -has been extensively adopted in England. A workman fancied he had -discovered a method by which he could twist rovings, fastened at both -ends, quicker than had ever been done before. As a more thoughtful -person would have foreseen, half the twisting came undone, as soon as -the ends were unfastened. The projector threw his work aside; but a -quiet observer among his brother workmen offered him a partnership and a -new idea, in return for the primary suggestion. The quiet man saw how -quickly the thread might be prepared, if the rovings could be condensed -fast enough for the twisting. He added his discovery to what the first -had really achieved; and the success was complete.</p> - -<p>The factories are found to afford a safe and useful employment for much -energy which would otherwise be wasted and misdirected. I found that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> in -some places very bad morals had prevailed before the introduction of -manufactures; while now the same society is eminently orderly. The great -evil still is drunkenness: but of this there is less than there used to -be; and other disorders have almost entirely disappeared. A steady -employer has it in his power to do more for the morals of the society -about him than the clergy themselves. The experiment has been tried, -with entire success, of dismissing from the mills any who have been -guilty of open vice. This is submitted to, because it is obviously -reasonable that the sober workmen who remain should be protected from -association with vicious persons who must be offensive or dangerous to -them. If any employer has the firmness to dismiss unquestionable -offenders, however valuable their services may be to him, he may -confidently look for a cessation of such offences, and for a great -purification of the society in which they have occurred.</p> - -<p>The morals of the female factory population may be expected to be good -when it is considered of what class it is composed. Many of the girls -are in the factories because they have too much pride for domestic -service. Girls who are too proud for domestic service as it is in -America, can hardly be low enough for any gross immorality; or to need -watching; or not to be trusted to avoid the contagion of evil example. -To a stranger, their pride seems to take a mistaken direction, and they -appear to deprive themselves of a respectable home and station, and many -benefits, by their dislike of service: but this is altogether their own -affair. They must choose for themselves their way of life. But the -reasons of their choice indicate a state of mind superior to the -grossest dangers of their position.</p> - -<p>I saw a bill fixed up in the Waltham mill which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> bore a warning that no -young lady who attended dancing-school that winter should be employed: -and that the corporation had given directions to the overseer to dismiss -any one who should be found to dance at the school. I asked the meaning -of this; and the overseer's answer was, "Why, we had some trouble last -winter about the dancing-school. It must, of course, be held in the -evening, as the young folks are in the mill all day. They are very -young, many of them; and they forget the time, and everything but the -amusement, and dance away till two or three in the morning. Then they -are unfit for their work the next day; or, if they get properly through -their work, it is at the expense of their health. So we have forbidden -the dancing-school; but, to make up for it, I have promised them that, -as soon as the great new room at the hotel is finished, we will have a -dance once a-fortnight. We shall meet and break up early; and my wife -and I will dance; and we will all dance together."</p> - -<p>I was sorry to see one bad and very unnecessary arrangement, in all the -manufacturing establishments. In England, the best friends of the poor -are accustomed to think it the crowning hardship of their condition that -solitude is wholly forbidden to them. It is impossible that any human -being should pass his life as well as he might do who is never -alone,—who is not frequently alone. This is a weighty truth which can -never be explained away. The silence, freedom and collectedness of -solitude are absolutely essential to the health of the mind; and no -substitute for this repose (or change of activity) is possible. In the -dwellings of the English poor, parents and children are crowded into one -room, for want of space and of furniture. All wise parents above the -rank of poor, make it a primary consideration so to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>arrange their -families as that each member may, at some hour, have some place where he -may enter in, and shut his door, and feel himself alone. If possible, -the sleeping places are so ordered. In America, where space is of far -less consequence, where the houses are large, where the factory girls -can build churches, and buy libraries, and educate brothers for learned -professions, these same girls have no private apartments, and sometimes -sleep six or eight in a room, and even three in a bed. This is very bad. -It shows a want of inclination for solitude; an absence of that need of -it which every healthy mind must feel, in a greater or less degree.</p> - -<p>Now are the days when these gregarious habits should be broken through. -New houses are being daily built: more parents are bringing their -children to the factories. If the practice be now adopted, by the -corporations, or by the parents who preside over separate -establishments, of partitioning off the large sleeping apartments into -small ones which shall hold each one occupant, the expense of partitions -and windows and trouble will not be worth a moment's consideration in -comparison with the improvement in intelligence, morals, and manners, -which will be found to result from such an arrangement. If the change be -not soon made, the American factory population, with all its advantages -of education and of pecuniary sufficiency, will be found, as its numbers -increase, to have been irreparably injured by its subjection to a -grievance which is considered the very heaviest to which poverty exposes -artisans in old countries. Man's own silent thoughts are his best -safeguard and highest privilege. Of the full advantage of this -safeguard, of the full enjoyment of this privilege, the innocent and -industrious youth of a new country ought, by no mismanagement, to be -deprived.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION III.</span><br /><span class="smaller">MORALS OF COMMERCE.</span></h3> - -<p>It is said in the United States that Commerce and the Navy are -patronised by the federal party; as agriculture is, and the army would -be, if there was one, by the democratic party. This is true enough. The -greater necessity for co-operation, and therefore for the partial -sacrifice of independence, imposed by commercial pursuits, is more -agreeable to the aristocratic portion of society than to its opposite. -Yet, while commerce has been spreading and improving, federalism has -dwindled away; and most remarkably where commerce is carried on in its -utmost activity: in Massachusetts. The democracy are probably finding -out that more is gained by the concentration of the popular will than is -lost in the way of individual independence, by men being brought -together for objects which require concession and mutual subordination. -However this may be, the spirit of commerce in the United States is, on -the whole, honourable to the people.</p> - -<p>I shall have to speak hereafter of the regard to wealth, as the most -important object in life, which extensively corrupts Americans as it -does all other society. Here, I have to speak only of the spirit in -which one method of procuring wealth is prosecuted.</p> - -<p>The activity of the commercial spirit in America is represented abroad, -and too often at home, as indicative of nothing but sordid love of gain: -a making haste to be rich, a directly selfish desire of aggrandisement. -This view of the case seems to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> me narrow and injurious. I believe that -many desires, various energies, some nobler and some meaner, find in -commerce a centre for their activity. I have studied with some care the -minds and manners of a variety of merchants, and other persons engaged -in commerce, and have certainly found a regard to money a more -superficial and intermitting influence than various others.</p> - -<p>The spirit of enterprise is very remarkable in the American merchants. -Beginning life, as all Americans do, with the world all open before -them, and only a head and a pair of hands wherewith to gain it, a -passionate desire to overcome difficulties arises in them. Being, (as I -have before declared my opinion,) the most imaginative people in the -world, the whole world rises fair before them, and they, not believing -in impossibilities, long to conquer it.</p> - -<p>Then, there is the meaner love of distinction; meaner than the love of -enterprise, but higher than the desire of gain. The distinction sought -is not always that which attends on superior wealth only; but on -world-wide intercourses, on extensive affairs, on hospitality to a large -variety of foreigners.</p> - -<p>Again; there is the love of Art. Weak, immature, ignorant, perhaps, as -this taste at present is, it exists: and indications of it which merit -all respect, are to be found in many abodes. There are other, though not -perhaps such lofty ways of pursuing art, than by embodying conceptions -in pictures, statues, operas, and buildings. The love of Beauty and of -the ways of Humanity may indicate and gratify itself by other and -simpler methods than those which the high artists of the old world have -sanctified. If any one can witness the meeting of one kind of American -merchant with his supercargo, after a long, distant voyage, hear the -questioning and answering, and witness the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> delight with which new -curiosities are examined, and new theories of beauty and civilisation -are put forth upon the impulse of the moment, and still doubt the -existence of a love of art, still suppose the desire of gain the moving -spring of that man's mind,—may Heaven preserve the community from being -pronounced upon by such an observer! The critic with the stop-watch is -magnanimous in comparison.</p> - -<p>Again; there is the human eagerness after an object once adopted. In -this case, it may be money, as in other cases it may be Queen Anne's -farthings, the knockers of doors, ancient books, (for their editions and -not their contents,) pet animals, autographs, or any other merely -outward object whose charm lies in the pursuit. Several men of business, -whose activity has made them very wealthy, have told me that, though -they would not openly declare what would look like a boast, and would -not be believed, the truth was that they should not care if they lost -every dollar they had. They knew themselves well enough to perceive that -the pleasure was in the pursuit, and not in the dollars: and I thought I -knew some of them well enough to perceive that it would be rather a -relief to have their money swept away, that they might again be as busy -as ever in a mode which had become pleasant to them by habit and -success. Of course, I am not speaking of such as of a very high and -happy order; as to be for a moment compared with the few whose pursuits -are of an unfailing but perpetually satisfying kind; with those whose -recompense is incessant, but never fulfilled. I am only declaring that -the eager pursuit of wealth does not necessarily indicate a love of -wealth for its own sake.</p> - -<p>What are the facts? What are the manifestations of the character of the -American merchants?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> After their eager money-getting, how do they spend -it? How much do they prize it?</p> - -<p>Their benevolence is known throughout the world: not only that -benevolence which founds and endows charities, and repairs to sufferers -the mischief of accidents; but that which establishes schools of a -higher order than common, and brings forward in life the most -meritorious of those who are educated there; the benevolence which -watches over the condition of seamen on the ocean, and their safety at -home; the benevolence which busies itself, with much expense of dollars -and trouble, to provide for the improved civilisation of the whole of -society. If the most liberal institutions in the northern States were -examined into, it would be found how active the merchant class has been, -beyond all others, in their establishment.</p> - -<p>Again: their eager money-getting is not for purposes of accumulation. -Some—many, are deplorably ostentatious; but it seemed to me that the -ostentation was an after-thought; though it might lead to renewed -money-getting. Money was first gained. What was to be done with it? One -might as well outshine one's neighbours, especially as this would be a -fresh stimulus to get more still. This is bad; but it is not sordidness. -Instances of accumulation are extremely rare. The miser is with them an -antique, classical kind of personage, pictured forth as having on a high -cap, a long gown, and sitting in a vaulted chamber, amidst money-chests. -It would, I believe, be difficult there to find a pair of eyes that have -looked upon a real living and breathing miser. My account of the doings -of a miser whom I used wondering to watch in the days of my childhood -never failed to excite amazement, very like incredulity, in those I was -conversing with. The best proof that the money-getting of the eminently -successful merchants of America is not for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> money's sake, lies in the -fact, that in New England, peopled by more than 2,000,000 of -inhabitants, there are not more than 500, probably not more than 400 -individuals, who can be called affluent men; possessing, that is, -100,000 dollars and upwards. A prosperous community, in which a sordid -pursuit of wealth was common, would be in a very different state from -this.</p> - -<p>The bankruptcies in the United States are remarkably frequent and -disgraceful,—disgraceful in their nature, though not sufficiently so in -the eyes of society. A clergyman in a commercial city declares that -almost every head of a family in his congregation has been a bankrupt -since his settlement. In Philadelphia, from six to eight hundred persons -annually take the benefit of the insolvent laws; and numerous -compromises take place which are not heard of further than the parties -concerned in them. On seeing the fine house of a man who was a bankrupt -four years before, and who was then worth 100,000 dollars, I asked -whether such cases were common, and was grieved to find they were. Some -insolvents pay their old debts when they rise again; but the greater -number do not. This laxity of morals is favoured by the circumstances of -the community, which require the industry of all its members, and can -employ the resources of all,—first, of men of character, and then of -speculators. But, few things are more disgraceful to American society -than the carelessness with which speculators are allowed to game with -other people's funds, and, after ruining those who put trust in them, to -lift up their heads in all places, just as if they had, during their -whole lives, rendered unto all their dues. Whatever may be the causes or -the palliations of speculation; whatever may be pleaded about currency -mistakes, and the temptations to young men to make fortunes by the -public lands,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> one thing is clear; that no man, who, having failed, and -afterwards having the means to pay his debts in full, does not pay them, -can be regarded as an honest man, and ought to be received upon the same -footing with honest men, whatever may be his accomplishments, or his -subsequent fortune. What would be thought of any society which should -cherish an escaped (not reformed) thief, because a large legacy had -enabled him to set up his carriage? Yet how much difference is there in -the two cases? It is very rarely a duty,—more rarely than is generally -supposed, to mark and shun the guilty. It is usually more right to seek -and help him. But, in the case of a spreading vice, which is viewed with -increasing levity, the reprobation of the honest portion of society -ought to be very distinct and emphatic. Those who would not associate -with escaped thieves should avoid prosperous bankrupts who are not -thinking of paying their debts.</p> - -<p>The gravest sin chargeable upon the merchants of the United States is -their conduct on the abolition question. This charge is by no means -general. There are instances of a manly declaration of opinion on the -side of freedom, and also of a spirit of self-sacrifice in the cause, -which can hardly be surpassed for nobleness. There are merchants who -have thrown up their commerce with the south when there was reason to -believe that its gains were wrung from the slave; and there are many who -have freely poured out their money, and risked their reputation, in -defence of the abolition cause, and of liberty of speech and the press. -But the reproach of the persecution of the abolitionists, and of -tampering with the fundamental liberties of the people, rests mainly -with the merchants of the northern States.</p> - -<p>It is worthy of remembrance that the Abolition<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> movement originated from -the sordid act of a merchant. While Garrison was at Baltimore, studying -the Colonisation scheme, a ship belonging to a merchant of Newburyport, -Massachusetts, arrived at Baltimore to take freight for New Orleans. -There was some difficulty about the expected cargo. The captain was -offered a freight of slaves, wrote to the merchant for leave, and -received orders to carry these slaves to New Orleans. Garrison poured -out, in a libel, (so called,) his indignation against this deed, -committed by a man who, as a citizen of Massachusetts, thanks God every -Thanksgiving Day that the soil of his State is untrod by the foot of a -slave. Garrison was fined and imprisoned; and after his release, was -warmly received in New York, where he lectured upon Abolition; from -which time, the cause has gained strength so as to have now become -unconquerable.</p> - -<p>The spirit of this Newburyport merchant has dwelt in too many of the -same vocation. The Faneuil Hall meeting was convened chiefly by -merchants; and they have been conspicuous in all the mobs. They have -kept the clergy dumb: they have overawed the colleges, given their cue -to the newspapers, and shown a spirit of contempt and violence, -equalling even that of the slave-holders, towards those who, in acting -upon their honest convictions, have appeared likely to affect their -sources of profit. At Cincinnati, they were chiefly merchants who met to -destroy the right of discussion; and passed a resolution directly -recommendatory of violence for this purpose. They were merchants who -waited in deputation on the editor of the anti-slavery newspaper there, -to intimidate him from the use of his constitutional liberty, and who -made themselves by these acts answerable for the violences which -followed. This was so clear, that they were actually taunted by their -slave-holding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> neighbours, on the other side of the river, with their -sordidness in attempting to extinguish the liberties of the republic for -the sake of their own pecuniary gains.</p> - -<p>The day will come when their eyes will be cleansed from the gold-dust -which blinds them. Meanwhile, as long as they continue active against -the most precious rights of the community; as long as they may be fairly -considered more guilty on this tremendous question of Human Wrongs than -even the slave-holders of the south,—more guilty than any class -whatever, except the clergy,—let them not boast of their liberality and -their benevolence. Generosity loses half its grace when it does not -co-exist with justice. Those can ill be esteemed benefactors to the -community in one direction, who are unfaithful to their citizenship in -another. Till such can be roused from their delusion, and can see their -conduct as others see it, the esteem of the world must rest on those of -their class who, to the graces of enterprise, liberality, and taste, add -the higher merit of intrepid, self-sacrificing fidelity to the cause of -Human Rights.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> In testimony of the fact that the working people of this -region are thinkers too, I subjoin a note written by the wife of a -village mechanic, who is a fair specimen of her class. -</p><p> -"<span class="smcap">Sir,</span>—Nothing but a consciousness of my own incompetency to form a just -opinion on a question of such magnitude, and one too which involves -consequences as remote from my personal observation, as the immediate, -or gradual emancipation of the slaves, has, for some time, prevented my -being an acknowledged abolitionist. With the Divine precepts before me, -which require us to love our neighbour as ourselves, and 'whatsoever we -would that others should do to us,' etc. etc., instructed and admonished -too by the feelings of common humanity, I cannot hesitate to pronounce -the system of slavery an outrageous violation of the requirements of -God, and a lawless and cruel invasion of the rights of our fellow men. -In this view of it, I am not able to understand how it can be persisted -in, without setting at defiance the dictates of reason and conscience, -and what is of more importance, the uncompromising authority of -Scripture, the arguments of wise and talented men to the contrary, -notwithstanding. The most superficial observer cannot fail to discern, -in the universal interest and agitation, which prevail on this subject, -a prelude to some mighty revolution. If this 'war of words' is the -<i>worst</i> that will precede or accompany it, I shall be happily -disappointed. With these feelings, sir, you will readily believe the -assurance, that I have been greatly interested, and instructed, in -reading the mild, comprehensive, intelligent 'lecture,' of your lamented -brother."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> See <a href="#Page_388">Appendix C:</a> an admirable sketch by a resident of -Charleston, of the interior of a planter's family. It unconsciously -bears out all that can be said of the educational evils of the existing -state of society in the south.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> I went with a lady in whose house I was staying to dine, -one Sunday, on a neighbouring estate. Her husband happened not to be -with us, as he had to ride in another direction. The carriage was -ordered for eight in the evening. It drew up to the door at six; and the -driver, a slave, said his master had sent him, and begged we would go -home directly. We did so, and found my host very much surprised to see -us home so early. The message was a fiction of the slave's, who wanted -to get his horses put up, that he might enjoy his Sunday evening. His -master and mistress laughed, and took no further notice.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> The law declares that the children of slaves are to follow -the fortunes of the mother. Hence the practice of planters selling and -bequeathing their own children.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> I knew of the death of four men by summary burning alive, -within thirteen months of my residence in the United States.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> No notice is taken of any occurrence, however remarkable, -in which a person of colour, free or enslaved, has any share, for fear -of the Acts which denounce death or imprisonment for life against those -who shall write, print, publish, or distribute anything having a -tendency to excite discontent or insubordination, &c.; or which doom to -heavy fines those who shall use or issue language which may disturb "the -security of masters with their slaves, or diminish that respect which is -commanded to free people of colour for the whites."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Alabama Digest. In the same section occurs the following: -"That no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted on any slave -within this territory. And any owner of slaves authorising or permitting -the same, shall, on conviction thereof, before any court having -cognizance, be fined according to the nature of the offence, and at the -discretion of the court, in any sum not exceeding two hundred dollars." -</p><p> -Two hundred dollars' fine for torturing a slave: and five hundred for -teaching him to read!</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>PART III.</span> <span class="smaller">CIVILISATION.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"This country, which has given to the world the example of physical -liberty, owes to it that of moral emancipation also; for as yet it -is but nominal with us. The inquisition of public opinion -overwhelms, in practice, the freedom asserted by the laws in theory."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Jefferson.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The degree of civilisation of any people corresponds with the exaltation -of the idea which is the most prevalent among that people. The prominent -idea of savages is the necessity of providing for the supply of the -commonest bodily wants. The first steps in civilisation, therefore, are -somewhat refined methods of treating the body. When, by combination of -labour and other exercises of ingenuity, the wants of the body are -supplied with regularity and comparative ease, the love of pleasure, the -love of idleness, succeeds. Then comes the desire of wealth; and next, -the regard to opinion. Further than this no nation has yet attained. -Individuals there have been, probably in every nation under heaven, who -have lived for a higher idea than any of these; and insulated customs -and partial legislation have, among all communities,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> shown a tendency -towards something loftier than the prevalent morality. The majesty of -higher ideas is besides so irresistible, that an involuntary homage, -purely inefficacious, has been offered to them from of old by the -leaders of society.</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i12">"Earth is sick,</div> -<div>And Heaven is weary of the hollow words</div> -<div>Which States and Kingdoms utter when they talk</div> -<div>Of truth and justice."</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Though, as yet, "profession mocks performance," the profession, from age -to age, of the same lofty something not yet attained, may be taken as a -clear prophecy of ultimate performance. It shows a perception, however -dim, a regard, however feeble, from which endeavour and attainment -cannot but follow, in course of time. But the time is not yet. In the -old world, the transition is, in its most enlightened parts, only -beginning to be made, from the few governing the many avowedly for the -good of the few, to governing the many professedly for the good of the -many. The truth and justice under whose dominion every man would -reverence all other men, would renounce himself for the sake of others, -and feel it to be the highest destiny "not to be ministered unto, but to -minister," are still "hollow words." The civilisation of the old world -still corresponds with the low idea, that man lives in and for the -outward, in and for what is around him rather than what is within him. -It is still supposed, that whatever a few individuals say and do, the -generality of men live for wealth, outward ease and dignity, and, at the -highest, lofty reputation. The degree of civilisation corresponds with -this. There is scarcely an institution or a custom which supposes -anything higher. What educational arrangements there are, are new, and -(however praiseworthy as being an actual advance) are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> so narrow and -meagre as to show how unaccustomed is the effort to consider the man as -nobler than the unit of society. The phrase is still the commonest of -phrases in which parents, guardians, schoolmasters and statesmen embody -their ambition for their wards—that any such ward "may become a useful -and respectable member of society." The greater number of guardians -would be terrified at the idea of their wards becoming anything else; -anything higher than "useful and respectable members of society," while -it is as clear as noon-day that room ought to be left,—that facilities -ought to be afforded for every one becoming whatsoever his Maker has -fitted him to be, so long as it appears that the noblest men by whom the -earth has been graced, have been considered in their own time the very -reverse of "useful and respectable members of society." The most godlike -of the race have been esteemed "pestilent fellows" in their day and -generation. No student of the ways of Providence will repine at this -order of affairs, or expect that any arrangement of society can be made -by which the convictions and sympathies of the less gifted should be -enabled suddenly to overtake those of the more gifted. He will not -desire to change the great and good laws by which the chosen of his race -are "made perfect through sufferings," and by which the light of reason -is ordained to brighten very gradually from dawn into day. He will only -take note of the fact, that it is a low state of civilisation which -presupposes specified and outward aims, and relies with such confidence -on the mechanical means of attaining them as to be shocked, or anything -but gratified, at the pursuit of singular objects by unusual methods. -The observer will rightly judge such to be a low state of civilisation, -whatever lamentations or exultations he may daily hear about the very -high point <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>civilisation has reached, when the schoolmaster is abroad, -when people can travel at the rate of fifty miles an hour, and eminent -cooks are paid 1,200<i>l.</i> a-year. While truth and justice remain "hollow -words," so far as that men cannot live for them, to the detriment of -their fortunes, without being called mischievous and disreputable -members of society, no one can reasonably speak of the high civilisation -of the country to which they belong.</p> - -<p>The old world naturally looks with interest to the new, to see what -point of civilisation it reaches under fresh circumstances. The interest -may be undefined, and partly unconscious; but it is very eager. The -many, who conceive of no other objects of general pursuit than the old -ones of wealth, ease, and honour, look only to see under what forms -these are pursued. The few, who lay the blame of the grovelling at home -upon outward restrictions alone, look to America with extravagant -expectations of a perfect reign of virtue and happiness, because the -Americans live in outward freedom. What is the truth?</p> - -<p>While the republics of North America are new, the ideas of the people -are old. While these republics were colonies, they contained an old -people, living under old institutions, in a new country. Now they are a -mixed people, infant as a nation, with a constant accession of minds -from old countries, living in a new country, under institutions newly -combined out of old elements. It is a case so singular, that the old -world may well have patience for some time, to see what will arise. The -old world must have patience; for the Americans have no national -character yet; nor can have, for a length of years. It matters not that -they think they have: or it matters only so far as it shows to what they -tend. Their veneration of Washington has led them to suppose that he is -the type of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> nation. Their patriotic feelings are so far -associated with him that they conclude the nation is growing up in his -likeness. If any American were trusted by his countrymen to delineate -what they call their national character, it would infallibly come out a -perfect likeness of Washington. But there is a mistake here. There were -influences prior to Washington, and there are circumstances which have -survived him, that cause some images to lie deeper down in the hearts of -Americans than Washington himself. His character is a grand and very -prevalent idea among them: but there are others which take the -precedence, from being more general still. Wealth and opinion were -practically worshipped before Washington opened his eyes on the sun -which was to light him to his deeds; and the worship of Opinion is, at -this day, the established religion of the United States.</p> - -<p>If the prevalent idea of society did not arise out of circumstances over -which the mutations of outward events exercise but a small immediate -influence, it is clear that, in this case, the idea should arise out of -the characters of the benefactors who achieved the revolution, and must -be consistent with the solemn words in which they conveyed their united -Declaration. The principles of truth, and the rule of justice, according -to which that Declaration was framed, and that revolutionary struggle -undertaken and conducted, should, but for prior influences, have been -the spirit inspiring the whole civilisation of the American people. -There should then have been the utmost social as well as political -freedom. The pursuit of wealth might then have been subordinated at -pleasure: fear of injury, alike from opinion and from violence, should -have been banished; and as noble facilities afforded for the progression -of the inward, as for the enjoyment of the outward, man. But this was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> -not given. Instead of it there was ordained a mingling of old and new -influences, from which a somewhat new kind of civilisation has arisen.</p> - -<p>The old-world estimation of wealth has remained among them, though, I -believe and trust, somewhat diminished in strength. Though every man -works for it in America, and not quite every man does so in England, it -seems to me that it is not so absolutely the foreground object in all -views of life, the one subject of care, speculation, inquiry, and -supposition, that it is in England. It is in America clearly subordinate -to another idea, still an idol, but of a higher order than the former. -The worship of Opinion certainly takes precedence of that of wealth.</p> - -<p>In a country where the will of the majority decides all political -affairs, there is a temptation to belong to the majority, except where -strong interests, or probabilities of the speedy supremacy of the -minority, countervail. The minority, in such a case, must be possessed -of a strong will, to be a minority. A strong will is dreaded by the -weaker, who have so little faith as to believe that such a will -endangers the political equality which is the fundamental principle of -their institutions. This dread occasions persecution, or at least -opprobrium: opprobrium becomes a real danger; and, like all dangers, is -much more feared than it deserves, the longer it lasts, and the more it -is dwelt upon. Thus, from a want of faith in the infallible operation of -the principles of truth and the rule of justice, these last become -"hollow words" in the States of the new, as in the kingdoms of the old -world; and the infant nation, which was expected to begin a fresh and -higher social life, is acting out in its civilisation an idea but little -more exalted than those which have operated among nations far less -favoured than herself in regard to political freedom.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER I.</span> <span class="smaller">IDEA OF HONOUR.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"Talent and worth are the only eternal grounds of distinction. To -these the Almighty has affixed his everlasting patent of nobility; -and these it is which make the bright, 'the immortal names,' to -which our children may aspire, as well as others. It will be our -own fault if, in our own land, society as well as government is not -organised upon a new foundation."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Miss Sedgwick.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>It is true that it is better to live for honour than for wealth: but how -much better, depends upon the idea of honour. Where truth and justice -are more than hollow words, the idea of honour is such as to exclude all -fear, except of wrong-doing. Where the honour is to be derived from -present human opinion, there must be fear, ever present, and perpetually -exciting to or withholding from action. In such a case, as painful a -bondage is incurred as in the pursuit of wealth. If riches take to -themselves wings, and fly away, so does popularity. If rich freights are -in danger afar off from storms, and harvests at home from blights, so is -reputation, from differences of opinion, and varieties of views and -tempers. If all that moralists have written, and wise men have -testified, about the vanity and misery of depending on human applause be -true, there can be no true freedom in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> communities, any more than for -individuals, who live to opinion. The time will come when the Americans -also will testify to this, as a nation, as many individual members of -their society have done already. The time will come when they will be -astonished to discover how they mar their own privileges by allowing -themselves less liberty of speech and action than is enjoyed by the -inhabitants of countries whose political servitude the Americans justly -compassionate and despise.</p> - -<p>This regard to opinion shows itself under various forms in different -parts of the country, and under dissimilar social arrangements. In the -south, where the labour itself is capital, and labour cannot therefore -be regarded with due respect, there is much vanity of retinue, much -extravagance, from fear of the imputation of poverty which would follow -upon retrenchment; and great recklessness of life, from fear of the -imputation of cowardice which might follow upon forgiveness of injuries. -Fear of imputation is here the panic, under which men relinquish their -freedom of action and speech. In the north, society has been enabled, -chiefly by the religious influence which has descended from the fathers, -to surmount, in some degree, this low kind of fear, so far as it shows -itself in recklessness of life: but not altogether. I was amazed to hear -a gentleman of New England declare, while complaining of the insolence -of the southern members of Congress to the northern, under shelter of -the northern men not being duellists, that, if he went to Congress, he -would give out that he would fight. I do not believe that he would -actually have proved himself so far behind the society to which he -belonged as to have adopted a bad practice which it had -outgrown,—adopted it from that very fear of imputation which he -despised in the south; but the impulse under which he spoke testified to -the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> danger of a fear of opinion taking any form, however low, when it -exists under any other.</p> - -<p>When I was at Philadelphia, a shocking incident happened in a family -with which I was acquainted. The only son, a fine youth of nineteen, was -insulted by a fellow-student. His father and uncle consulted what must -be done; and actually sent the young man out to fight the person who had -insulted him: the mother being aware of it, and praying that if either -fell, it might be her son. She no doubt felt in her true heart, that it -would be better to die than to murder another from the selfish fear of -imputation. The first aggressor lost a finger; and there, it was said, -the matter ended. But the matter has not ended yet, nor will end; for -the young man has had a lesson of low selfishness, of moral cowardice -impressed upon him by the guardians of his youth, with a force which he -is not likely to surmount: and the society in which he lives has seen -the strongest testimony to false principles borne by two of its most -respected members.</p> - -<p>Not by any means as a fair specimen of society, but as an example of -what kind of honour may be enjoyed where the fear of imputation is at -its height, I give the description, as it was given me by a resident, of -what a man may do in an eminently duelling portion of the southern -country. "A man may kill another, and be no worse. He may be shabby in -his money transactions, but may not steal. He may game, but not keep a -gaming-house." It will not do for the duellists of the south to drop in -conversation, as they do, that good manners can exist only where -vengeance is the penalty of bad. The fear of imputation and the dread of -vengeance are at least as contemptible as bad manners; and -unquestionably lower than the fear of opinion prevalent in the north.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p><p>In the north there can be little vanity of retinue, as retinue is not -to be had: but there is, instead of it, much ostentation of wealth, in -the commercial cities. It is here that the aristocracy form and collect; -and, as has been before said, the aristocratic is universally the -fearing, while the democratic is the hoping, party. The fear of opinion -takes many forms. There is fear of vulgarity, fear of responsibility; -and above all, fear of singularity. There is something more displeasing, -at the first view, in the caution of the Yankees than in the -recklessness of the cavalier race of the south. Till the individual -exceptions come out from the mass; till the domestic frankness and -generosity of the whole people are apparent, there is something little -short of disgusting to the stranger who has been unused to witness such -want of social confidence, in the caution which presents probably the -strongest aspect of selfishness that he has ever seen.</p> - -<p>The Americans of the northern States are, from education and habit, so -accustomed to the caution of which I speak, as to be unaware of its -extent and singularity. They think themselves injured by the remarks -which strangers make upon it, and by the ridicule with which it is -treated by their own countrymen who have travelled abroad. But the -singularity is in themselves. They may travel over the world, and find -no society but their own which will submit to the restraint of perpetual -caution, and reference to the opinions of others. They may travel over -the whole world, and find no country but their own where the very -children beware of getting into scrapes, and talk of the effect of -actions upon people's minds; where the youth of society determine in -silence what opinions they shall bring forward, and what avow only in -the family circle; where women write miserable letters, almost -universally, because it is a settled matter that it is unsafe to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> commit -oneself on paper; and where elderly people seem to lack almost -universally that faith in principles which inspires a free expression of -them at any time, and under all circumstances.</p> - -<p>"Mrs. B.," said a child of eleven to a friend of mine, "what church do -you go to?"—"To Mr. ——'s." "O, Mrs. B. are you a Unitarian?"—"No." -"Then why do you go to that church?"—"Because I can worship best -there." "O, but Mrs. B., think of the example,—the example, Mrs. B.!"</p> - -<p>When I had been in the country some time, I remarked to one who knew -well the society in which he lived, that I had not seen a good lady's -letter since I landed; though the conversation of some of the writers -was of a very superior kind. The letters were uniformly poor and guarded -in expression, confined to common-places, and overloaded with flattery. -"There are," replied he, "no good letters written in America. The force -of public opinion is so strong, and the danger of publicity so great, -that men do not write what they think, for fear of getting into bad -hands: and this acts again upon the women, and makes their style -artificial." It is not quite true that there are no good letters written -in America: among my own circle of correspondents there, there are -ladies and gentlemen whose letters would stand a comparison with any for -frankness, grace, and epistolary beauty of every kind. But I am not -aware of any medium between this excellence and the boarding-school -insignificance which characterises the rest.</p> - -<p>When the stranger has recovered a little from the first disagreeable -impression of all this caution, he naturally asks what there can be to -render it worth while. To this question, I never could discover a -satisfactory answer. What harm the "force of public opinion," or -"publicity," can do to any <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>individual; what injury "bad hands" can -inflict upon a good man or woman, which can be compared with the evil of -living in perpetual caution, I cannot imagine. If men and women cannot -bear blame, they had better hew out a space for themselves in the -forest, and live there, as the only safe place. If they are afraid of -observation and comment, they should withdraw from society altogether: -for the interest which human beings take in each other is so deep and -universal, that observation and comment are unavoidable wherever there -are eyes to see, and hearts and minds to yearn and speculate. An honest -man will not naturally fear this investigation. If he is not sure of his -opinions on any matter, he will say so, and endeavour to gain light. If -he is sure, he will speak them, and be ready to avow the grounds of -them, as occasion arises. That there should be some who think his -opinions false and dangerous is not pleasant; but it is an evil too -trifling to be mentioned in comparison with the bondage of concealment, -and the torment of fear. This bondage, this torment is worse than the -worst that the "force of public opinion" can inflict, even if such force -should close the prospect of political advancement, of professional -eminence, and of the best of social privileges. There are some members -of society in America who have found persecution, excommunication, and -violence, more endurable than the concealment of their convictions.</p> - -<p>Few persons really doubt this when the plain case is set down before -them. They agree to it in church on Sundays, and in conversation by the -fireside: and the reason why they are so backward as they are to act -upon it in the world, is that habit and education are too strong for -them. They have worn their chains so long that they feel them less than -might be supposed. I doubt whether they can even conceive of a state of -society, of its ease and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> comfort, where no man fears his neighbour, and -it is no evil to be responsible for one's opinions: where men, knowing -how undiscernible consequences are, and how harmless they must be to the -upright, abide them without fear, and do not perplex themselves with -calculating what is incalculable. Whenever the time shall come for the -Americans to discover all this, to perceive how miserable a restraint -they have imposed upon themselves by this servitude to opinion, they -will see how it is that, while outwardly blessed beyond all parallel, -they have been no happier than the rest of the world. I doubt whether, -among the large "uneasy classes" of the Old World, there is so much -heart-eating care, so much nervous anxiety, as among the dwellers in the -towns of the northern States of America, from this cause alone. If I had -to choose, I would rather endure the involuntary uneasiness of the Old -World sufferers, than the self-imposed anxiety of those of the New: -except that the self-imposed suffering may be shaken off at any moment. -There are instances, few, but striking, of strong-minded persons who -have discovered and are practising the true philosophy of ease; who have -openly taken their stand upon principles, and are prepared for all -consequences, meekly and cheerfully defying all possible inflictions of -opinion. Though it does not enter into their calculations, such may -possibly find that they are enjoying more, and suffering less from -opinion, than those who most daintily court it.</p> - -<p>There would be something amusing in observing the operation of this -habit of caution, if it were not too serious a misfortune. When Dr. -Channing's work on Slavery came out, the following conversation passed -between a lady of Boston and myself. She began it with—</p> - -<p>"Have you seen Dr. Channing's book?"</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p><p>"Yes. Have you?"</p> - -<p>"O no. Do not you think it very ill-timed?"</p> - -<p>"No; I think it well-timed; as it did not come out sooner."</p> - -<p>"But is it not wrong to increase the public excitement at such a time?"</p> - -<p>"That depends upon the nature of the excitement. But this book seems to -have a tranquillising effect: as the exhibition of true principles -generally has."</p> - -<p>"But Dr. Channing is not a practical man. He is only a retired student. -He has no real interest in the matter."</p> - -<p>"No worldly interest; and this, and his seclusion, enable him to see -more clearly than others, in a case where principles enlighten men, and -practice seems only to blind them."</p> - -<p>"Well: I shall certainly read the book, as you like it so much."</p> - -<p>"Pray don't, if that is your reason."</p> - -<p>A reply to Dr. Channing's book soon appeared;—a pamphlet which savoured -only of fear, dollars, and, consequently, insult. A gentleman of Boston, -who had, on some important occasions, shown that he could exercise a -high moral courage, made no mention of this reply for some time after it -appeared. At length, on hearing another person speak of it as it -deserved, he said, "Now people are so openly speaking of that reply, I -have no objection to say what I think of it. I have held my tongue about -it hitherto; but yesterday I heard —— speak of it as you do; and I no -longer hesitate to declare that I think it an infamous production."</p> - -<p>It may be said that such are remarkable cases. Be it so: they still -testify to the habit of society, by the direction which the caution -takes. Elsewhere, the parties might be quite as much afraid of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> -something else; but they would not dream of refraining from a good book, -or holding their tongues about the badness of a vicious pamphlet, till -supported by the opinions of others.</p> - -<p>How strong a contrast to all this the domestic life of the Americans -presents will appear when I come to speak of the spirit of intercourse. -It is an individual, though prevalent, selfishness that I have now been -lamenting.</p> - -<p>The traveller should go into the west when he desires to see universal -freedom of manners. The people of the west have a comfortable -self-complacency, equally different from the arrogance of the south, and -the timidity of the north. They seem to unite with this the hospitality -which distinguishes the whole country: so that they are, on the whole, a -very bewitching people. Their self-confidence probably arises from their -being really remarkably energetic, and having testified this by the -conquests over nature which their mere settlement in the west evinces. -They are the freest people I saw in America: and accordingly one enjoys -among them a delightful exemption from the sorrow and indignation which -worldly caution always inspires; and from flattery. If the stranger -finds himself flattered in the west, he may pretty safely conclude that -the person he is talking with comes from New England. "We are apt to -think," said a westerner to me, "that however great and good another -person may be, we are just as great and good." Accordingly, intercourse -goes on without any reference whatever to the merits of the respective -parties. In the sunshine of complacency, their free thoughts ripen into -free deeds, and the world gains largely. There are, naturally, instances -of extreme conceit, here and there: but I do not hesitate to avow that, -prevalent as mock-modesty and moral cowardice are in the present -condition of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> society, that degree of self-confidence which is commonly -called conceit grows in favour with me perpetually. An over-estimate of -self appears to me a far less hurtful and disagreeable mistake than the -idolatry of opinion. It is a mistake which is sure to be rectified, -sooner or later; and very often, it proves to be no mistake where small -critics feel the most confident that they may safely ridicule it. The -event decides this matter of self-estimate, beyond all question; and -while the event remains undisclosed, it is easy and pleasant to give men -credit for as much as they believe themselves to be capable of:—more -easy and pleasant than to see men restricting their own powers by such -calculation of consequences as implies an equal want of faith in others -and in themselves. If John Milton were now here to avow his hope that he -should produce that which "the world would not willingly let die," what -a shout there would be of "the conceited fellow!" while, the declaration -having been made venerable by the event, it is now cited as an instance -of the noble self-confidence of genius.</p> - -<p>The people of the west have a right to so much self-confidence as arises -from an ascertainment of what they can actually achieve. They come from -afar, with some qualities which have force enough to guide them into a -new region. They subdue this region to their own purposes; and, if they -do often forget that the world elsewhere is progressing; if they do -suppose themselves as relatively great in present society as they were -formerly in the wilderness, it should be remembered, on their behalf, -that they have effectually asserted their manhood in the conquest of -circumstances.</p> - -<p>If we are not yet to see, except in individual instances, the exquisite -union of fearlessness with modesty, of self-confidence with -meekness;—if there must be either the love of being grand in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> one's own -eyes, or the fear of being little in other people's,—the friends of the -Americans would wish that their error should be that which is allied to -too much, rather than too little freedom.</p> - -<p>As for the anxiety about foreign opinions of America, I found it less -striking than I expected. In the south, there is the keenest sensibility -to the opinion of the world about slavery; and in New England, the -veneration for England is greater than I think any one people ought to -feel for any other. The love of the mother country, the filial pride in -her ancient sages, are natural and honourable: and so, perhaps, is a -somewhat exalted degree of deference for the existing dwellers upon the -soil of that mother country, and on the spot where those sages lived and -thought and spoke. But, as long as no civilised nation is, or can be -ascertained to be, far superior or inferior to any other; as the human -heart and human life are generally alike and equal, on this side -barbarism, the excessive reverence with which England is regarded by the -Americans seems to imply a deficiency of self-respect. This is an -immeasurably higher and more healthy state of feeling than that which -has been exhibited by a small portion of the English towards the -Americans;—the contempt which, again, a sprinkling of Americans have -striven to reciprocate. But the despisers in each nation, though so -noisy as to produce some effect, are so few as to need no more than a -passing allusion. If any English person can really see and know the -Americans on their own ground, and fail to honour them as a nation, and -love them as personal friends, he is no fair sample of the people whose -name he bears; and is probably incapable of unperverted reverence: and -if any American, having really seen and known the English on their own -ground, does not reverence his own home exactly in proportion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> as he -loves what is best in the English, he is unworthy of his home.</p> - -<p>When I was on my voyage out, the Americans on board amused themselves -with describing to me how incessantly I should be met by the question -how I liked America. When we arrived within a few miles of New York, a -steam-boat met us, bringing the friends of some of the passengers. On -board this steam-boat, the passengers went up to the city. It happened -to be the smallest, dirtiest, and most clumsy steamer belonging to the -port. A splashing rain drove us down into the cabin, where there was -barely standing room for our company. We saw each other's faces by the -dim light of a single shabby lamp. "Now, Miss M." said some of the -American passengers, "how do you like America?" This was the first time -of my being asked the question which I have had to answer almost daily -since. Yet I do not believe that many of my interrogators seriously -cared any more for my answer than those who first put the question in -the dirty cabin; or than my little friend Charley, who soon caught the -joke, and with grave face, asked me, every now and then, "How do you -like this country?" I learned to regard it as a method of beginning -conversation, like our meteorological observations in England; which are -equally amusing to foreigners. My own impression is, that while the -Americans have too exalted a notion of England, and too little -self-respect as a nation, they are far less anxious about foreign -opinions of themselves than the behaviour of American travellers in -England would lead the English to suppose. The anxiety arises on English -ground. At home, the generality of Americans seem to see clearly enough -that it is yet truer with regard to nations than individuals that, -though it is very pleasant to have the favourable opinion of one's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> -neighbours, yet, if one is good and happy within oneself, the rest does -not much matter. I met with a few who spoke with a disgusting -affectation of candour, (some, as if they expected to please me thereby, -and others under the influence of sectional prejudice,) of what they -called the fairness of the gross slanders with which they have been -insulted through the English press: but I was thankful to meet with more -who did not acknowledge the jurisdiction of observers disqualified by -prejudice, or by something worse, for passing judgment on a nation. The -irritability of their vanity has been much exaggerated, partly to serve -paltry purposes of authorship; and yet more from the ridiculous -exhibitions of some Americans in England, who are no more to be taken as -specimens of the nation to which they belong than a young Englishman -who, when I was at New York, went up the Hudson in a drizzling rain, -pronounced that West Point was not so pretty as Richmond; descended the -river in the dark, and declared on his return that the Americans were -wonderfully proud of scenery that was nothing particular in any way.</p> - -<p>It will be well for the Americans, particularly those of the east and -south, when their idea of honour becomes as exalted as that which -inspired their revolutionary ancestors. Whenever they possess themselves -of the idea of their democracy, as it was possessed by their statesmen -of 1801, they will moderate their homage of human opinion, and enhance -their worship of humanity. Not till then will they live up to their -institutions, and enjoy that internal freedom and peace to which the -external are but a part of the means. In such improvement, they will be -much assisted by the increasing intercourse between Britain and America; -for, however fascinating to Americans may be the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> luxury, conversational -freedom, and high intellectual cultivation of some portions of English -society, they cannot fail to be disgusted with the aristocratic -insolence which is the vice of the whole. The puerile and barbaric -spirit of contempt is scarcely known in America: the English insolence -of class to class, of individuals towards each other, is not even -conceived of, except in the one highly disgraceful instance of the -treatment of the people of colour. Nothing in American civilisation -struck me so forcibly and so pleasurably as the invariable respect paid -to man, as man. Nothing since my return to England has given me so much -pain as the contrast there. Perhaps no Englishman can become fully -aware, without going to America, of the atmosphere of insolence in which -he dwells; of the taint of contempt which infects all the intercourses -of his world. He cannot imagine how all that he can say that is truest -and best about the treatment of people of colour in America is -neutralised on the spot, by its being understood how the same contempt -is spread over the whole of society here, which is there concentrated -upon the blacks.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">CASTE.</span></h3> - -<p>This word, at least its meaning, is no more likely to become obsolete in -a republic than among the Hindoos themselves. The distinctive -characteristics may vary; but there will be rank, and tenacity of rank, -wherever there is society. As this is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>natural, inevitable, it is of -course right. The question must be what is to entitle to rank.</p> - -<p>As the feudal qualifications for rank are absolutely non-existent in -America, (except in the slave States, where there are two classes, -without any minor distinctions,) it seems absurd that the feudal remains -of rank in Europe should be imitated in America. Wherever the appearance -of a conventional aristocracy exists in America, it must arise from -wealth, as it cannot from birth. An aristocracy of mere wealth is vulgar -everywhere. In a republic, it is vulgar in the extreme.</p> - -<p>This is the only kind of vulgarity I saw in the United States. I imagine -that the English who have complained the most copiously of the vulgarity -of American manners, have done so from two causes: from using their own -conventional notions as a standard of manners, (which is a vulgarism in -themselves;) and also from their intercourses with the Americans having -been confined to those who consider themselves the aristocracy of the -United States; the wealthy and showy citizens of the Atlantic ports. -Foreign travellers are most hospitably received by this class of -society; introduced to "the first people in Boston,"—"in New -York,"—"in Philadelphia;" and taught to view the country with the eyes -of their hosts. No harm is intended here: it is very natural: but it is -not the way for strangers to obtain an understanding of the country and -the people. The traveller who chooses industriously to see for himself, -not with European or aristocratic merely, but with human eyes, will find -the real aristocracy of the country, not only in ball-rooms and -bank-parlours, but also in fishing-boats, in stores, in college -chambers, and behind the plough. Till he has seen all this, and studied -the natural manners of the natural aristocracy, he is no more justified -in applying the word<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> "vulgar" to more than a class, than an American -would be who should call all the English vulgar, when he had seen only -the London alderman class.</p> - -<p>I had the opportunity of perceiving what errors might arise from this -cause. I was told a great deal about "the first people in Boston:" which -is perhaps as aristocratic, vain, and vulgar a city, as described by its -own "first people," as any in the world. Happily, however, Boston has -merits which these people know not of. I am far from thinking it, as -they do, the most religious, the most enlightened, and the most virtuous -city in the world. There are other cities in the United States which, on -the whole, I think more virtuous and more enlightened: but I certainly -am not aware of so large a number of peculiarly interesting and valuable -persons living in near neighbourhood, anywhere else but in London. But -it happens that these persons belong chiefly to the natural, very few to -the conventional, aristocracy. They have little perceptible influence. -Society does not seem to be much the better for them. They save their -own souls; but, as regards society, the salt appears to have lost its -savour. It is so sprinkled as not to season the body. With men and women -enough on the spot to redeem society from false morals, and empty -religious profession, Boston is the head-quarters of Cant. -Notwithstanding its superior intelligence, its large provision of -benevolent institutions, and its liberal hospitality, there is an -extraordinary and most pernicious union, in more than a few scattered -instances, of profligacy and the worst kind of infidelity, with a strict -religious profession, and an outward demeanour of remarkable propriety. -The profligacy and infidelity might, I fear, be found in all other -cities, on both sides the water; but nowhere, probably, in absolute -co-existence with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> ostensible piety. This is not the connexion in which -to speak of the religious aspect of the matter; but, as regards the -cant, I believe that it proceeds chiefly from the spirit of caste which -flourishes in a society which on Sundays and holidays professes to have -abjured it. It is true that the people of New England have put away -duelling; but the feelings which used to vent themselves by the practice -of duelling are cherished by the members of the conventional -aristocracy. This is revealed, not only by the presence of cant, but by -the confessions of some who are bold enough not to pretend to be either -republicans or christians. There are some few who openly desire a -monarchy; and a few more who constantly insinuate the advantages of a -monarchy, and the distastefulness of a republic. It is observable that -such always argue on the supposition that if there were a monarchy, they -should be the aristocracy: a point in which I imagine they would find -themselves mistaken, if so impossible an event could happen at all. This -class, or coterie, is a very small one, and not influential; though a -gentleman of the kind once ventured to give utterance to his aspirations -after monarchy in a fourth of July oration; and afterwards to print -them. There is something venerable in his intrepidity, at least. The -reproach of cant does not attach to him.</p> - -<p>The children are such faithful reflectors of this spirit as to leave no -doubt of its existence, even amidst the nicest operations of cant. -Gentlemen may disguise their aristocratic aspirations under sighs for -the depressed state of literature and science; supposing that wealth and -leisure are the constituents of literature; and station the proximate -cause of science; and committing the slight mistake of assuming that the -natural aristocracy of England, her philosophers and poets, have been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> -identical with, or originated by, her conventional aristocracy. The -ladies may conceal their selfish pride of caste, even from themselves, -under pretensions to superior delicacy and refinement. But the children -use no such disguises. Out they come with what they learn at home. A -school-girl told me what a delightful "set" she belonged to at her -school: how comfortable they all were once, without any sets, till -several grocers' daughters began to come in, as their fathers grew rich; -and it became necessary for the higher girls to consider what they -should do, and to form themselves into sets. She told me how the -daughter of a lottery office-keeper came to the school; and no set would -receive her; how unkindly she was treated, and how difficult it was for -any individual to help her, because she had not spirit or temper enough -to help herself. My informant went on to mention how anxious she and her -set, of about sixty young people, were to visit exclusively among -themselves, how "delightful" it would be to have no grocers' daughters -among them; but that it was found to be impossible.</p> - -<p>Here is an education to be going on in the middle of a republic! Much -solace, however, lies in the last clause of the information above -quoted. The Exclusives do find their aims 'impossible.' They will -neither have a monarchy, nor be able to complete and close their 'sets:' -least of all will any republican functions be discharged by those who -are brought up to have any respect of occupations,—to regard a grocer -as beneath a banker. The chief effect of the aristocratic spirit in a -democracy is to make those who are possessed by it exclusives in a -double sense; in being excluded yet more than in excluding. The republic -suffers no further than by having within it a small class acting upon -anti-republican morals, and becoming thereby its <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>perverse children, -instead of its wise and useful friends and servants.</p> - -<p>In Philadelphia, I was much in society. Some of my hospitable -acquaintances lived in Chesnut Street, some in Arch Street, and many in -other places. When I had been a few weeks in the city, I found to my -surprise that some of the ladies who were my admiration had not only -never seen or heard of other beautiful young ladies whom I admired quite -as much, but never would see or hear of them. I inquired again and again -for a solution of this mystery. One person told me that a stranger could -not see into the usages of their society. This was just what I was -feeling to be true; but it gave me no satisfaction. Another said that -the mutual ignorance was from the fathers of the Arch Street ladies -having made their fortunes, while the Chesnut Street ladies owed theirs -to their grandfathers. Another, who was amused with a new fashion of -curtseying, just introduced, declared it was from the Arch Street ladies -rising twice on their toes before curtseying, while the Chesnut Street -ladies rose thrice. I was sure of only one thing in the matter; that it -was a pity that the parties should lose the pleasure of admiring each -other, for no better reasons than these: and none better were apparent.</p> - -<p>It is not to be supposed that the mere circumstance of living in a -republic will ever eradicate that kind of self-love which takes the form -of family pride. It is a stage in the transit from selfishness to -benevolence; and therefore natural and useful in its proper time and -place. As every child thinks his father the wisest man in the world, the -loving member of a family thinks his relations the greatest, best and -happiest of people, till he gets an intimate knowledge of some others. -This species of exclusiveness exists wherever there are families. An -eminent public man, travelling in a somewhat retired part<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> of his State, -told us how he had been amused with an odd instance of family pride -which had just come under his notice. Some plain farmers, brothers, had -claimed to be his cousins; and he found they were so. They introduced -each other to him; and one brought his son,—a hideous little -Flibbertigibbet, with a shock of carroty hair. His father complacently -stroked his hair, and declared he was exactly like his uncle Richard: -his uncle Richard over again; 'twas wonderful how like his uncle Richard -he was in all respects: the hair was the very same; and his uncle -Richard was dumb till very late, and then stammered: "and this little -fellow," said the father, with a complacent smile,—"this little fellow -is six years old, and he can't speak a word."</p> - -<p>No one will find fault with the pride of connexion in this stage. -Supposing it to remain in its present state, it is harmless from its -extreme smallness. In a city, under the stimulus of society, the same -pride may be either perverted into the spirit of caste, or exalted into -the affection of pure republican brotherhood. The alternative is -significant as to the state of the republic, and all-important to the -individual.</p> - -<p>The extent and influence of the conventional aristocracy in the United -States are significant of the state of the republic so far as that they -afford an accurate measure of the anti-republican spirit which exists. -Such an aristocracy must remain otherwise too insignificant to be -dangerous. It cannot choose its own members, restrict its own numbers, -or keep its gentility from contamination; for it must be perpetuated, -not by hereditary transmission, but by accessions from below. Grocers -grow rich, and mechanics become governors of States; and happily there -is no law, nor reason, nor desire that it should be otherwise. This -little cloud will always <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>overhang the republic, like the perpetual -vapour which hovers above Niagara, thrown up by the force and regularity -of the movement below. Some observers may be sorry that the heaven is -never to be quite clear: but none will dread the little cloud. It would -be about as reasonable to fear that the white vapour should drown the -cataract from whence it issues as that the conventional aristocracy of -America should swamp the republic.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION II.</span><br /><span class="smaller">PROPERTY.</span></h3> - -<p>I found it an admitted truth, throughout the United States, that -enormous private wealth is inconsistent with the spirit of -republicanism. Wealth is power; and large amounts of power ought not to -rest in the hands of individuals.</p> - -<p>Admitted truths are not complained of as hardships. I never met with any -one who quarrelled with public opinion for its enmity to large fortunes: -on the contrary, every one who spoke with me on the subject was of the -same mind with everybody else. Amidst the prevalent desire of gain, -against which divines are preaching, and moralists are writing in vain, -there seems to be no desire to go beyond what public opinion approves. -The desire of riches merges in a regard to opinion. There is more of the -spirit of competition and of ostentation in it, than desire of -accumulation. It has been mentioned that there are not more than four or -five<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> hundred affluent men,—worth 100,000 dollars and upwards,—in all -the six States of New England; in a population of above two millions.</p> - -<p>The popular feeling is so strong against transmitting large estates, and -favouring one child, that nobody attempts to do it. The rare endeavours -made by persons of feudal prepossessions to perpetuate this vicious -custom, have been all happily frustrated. Much ridicule was occasioned -by the manœuvres of one such testator, who provided for the portions -of a large estate reverting periodically; forgetting that the reversions -were as saleable as anything else; and that, under a democracy, there -can be no settling the private, any more than the public, affairs of -future generations. The present Patroon of Albany, the story of whose -hereditary wealth is universally known, intends to divide his property -among his children,—in number, I believe, thirteen. Under him has -probably expired the practice of favouring one child for the -preservation of a large estate.</p> - -<p>This remote approach to an equalisation of property is, as far as it -goes, an improvement upon the state of affairs in the Old World, where -the accumulation of wealth into masses, the consequent destitution of -large portions of society, and the divisions which thus are established -between class and class, between man and man, constitute a system too -absurd and too barbarous to endure. The remote approach made by the -Americans to an equalisation of wealth is yet more important as -indicating the method by which society is to be eventually redeemed from -its absurdity and barbarism in respect of property. This method is as -yet perceived by only a few: but the many who imitate as far as they can -the modes of the Old World, and cherish to the utmost its feudal -prepossessions, will only for a time be able to resist the convictions -which the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> working of republican principles will force upon them, that -there is no way of securing perfect social liberty on democratic -principles but by community of property.</p> - -<p>There is, as there ought to be, as great a horror in America as -everywhere else of the despotism that would equalise property -arbitrarily. Such a despotism can never become more than the ghost of a -fancy. The approach to equalisation now required by public opinion is -that required by justice; it is required that no man should encroach on -his neighbours for the sake of enriching himself; that no man should -encroach on his younger children for the sake of enriching the eldest; -that no man should encroach on the present generation for the sake of -enriching a future one. All this is allowed and required. But by the -same rule, and for the sake of the same principle, no one will ever be -allowed to take from the industrious man the riches won by his industry, -and give them to the idle: to take from the strong to give to the weak: -to take from the wise to give to the foolish. Such aggression upon -property can never take place, or be seriously apprehended in a republic -where all, except drunkards and slaves, are proprietors, and where the -Declaration of Independence claims for every one, with life and liberty, -the pursuit of happiness in his own way. There will be no attacks on -property in the United States.</p> - -<p>But it appears to me inevitable that there will be a general agreement, -sooner or later, on a better principle of property than that under which -all are restless; under which the wisdom and peace of the community fall -far below what their other circumstances would lead themselves and their -well-wishers to anticipate.</p> - -<p>Their moralists are dissatisfied. "Our present civilisation," says Dr. -Channing, "is characterised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> and tainted by a devouring greediness of -wealth; and a cause which asserts right against wealth, must stir up -bitter opposition, especially in cities where this divinity is most -adored." ... "The passion for gain is everywhere sapping pure and -generous feeling, and everywhere raises up bitter foes against any -reform which may threaten to turn aside a stream of wealth. I sometimes -feel as if a great social revolution were necessary to break up our -present mercenary civilisation, in order that Christianity, now repelled -by the almost universal worldliness, may come into new contact with the -soul, and may reconstruct society after its own pure and disinterested -principles."<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> This is a prophecy. Men to whom truth and justice are -not "hollow words" are the prophets of the times to come.</p> - -<p>The scholars of America are dissatisfied. They complain of the -superficial character of scholarship; of the depression, or rather of -the non-existence, of literature. Some hope that matters will be better -hereafter, merely from the nation having grown older. The greater number -ascribe the mischief to men having to work at their employments; and -some few of these believe that America would have a literature if only -she had a hereditary aristocracy; this being supposed the only method of -leaving to individuals the leisure and freedom of spirit necessary for -literary pursuits. It has been pointed out that this is a mistake. -Nature and social economy do not so agree as that genius is usually -given to those who have hereditary wealth. The capability has so much -more frequently shown itself among the busy and poor than among the rich -who have leisure, as to mock the human presumption which would dictate -from whose lips the oracles of Heaven should issue. One needs but to -glance over the array of geniuses, of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> philosophers, of scientific men, -and even of the far lower order of scholars, to see how few of the best -benefactors of mankind have issued from "classic shades," "learned -leisure," "scientific retreats," &c., and how many more have sent up -their axioms, their song, their prophecy, their hallelujah, from the -very press of the toiling multitude. What tale is commoner than the -poverty of poets; the need that philosophers have usually had of -philosophy; the embarrassments and destitution of inventors; the straits -of scholars? The history of society shows that the highest intellect is -no more to be looked for especially amidst opulent leisure, than the -highest devotion in the cloister. The divine breath of genius bloweth -where it listeth. Men may hold out empty bags for it for ages, and not -catch it; while it fans the temples of some maimed soldier, toiling in -chains as an Algerine slave, or some rustic, treading</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">"In glory and in joy,</div> -<div>Behind his plough, upon the mountain side."</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>It is clearly a mistake that hereditary property, opportunity, leisure, -and such things, will make a literature, or secure scholarship: as great -a, mistake as that of the American newspaper editor who triumphantly -anticipated an age of statuary from there being an arrival at New York -of a statue by Canova, at the same time with a discovery of marble -quarries. It is true that the statue lies in the marble quarry: but it -is also true that it lies sepulchred in the far deeper recesses of some -one unfathomable human intellect: and to bring the one right intellect -to the quarry is the problem which is not given to be solved by mortal -skill,—by devices of hereditary ease and scientific retreats. This kind -of guidance is just that which the supreme Artist does not confide to -created hands.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p><p>It is true, however, that though opportunity and leisure are not -everything; that without union with useful toil, they are nothing,—yet, -with this union they are something,—much. The first attempt to advocate -leisure as the birthright of every human being was made now some -half-century ago.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> The plea then advanced is a sound one on behalf of -other things besides philosophy, literature and scholarship. Leisure, -some degree of it, is necessary to the health of every man's spirit. Not -only intellectual production, but peace of mind cannot flourish without -it. It may be had under the present system, but it is not. With -community of property, it would be secured to every one. The requisite -amount of work would bear a very small proportion to that of disposable -time. It would then be fairly seen how much literature may owe to -leisure.</p> - -<p>The professional men of America are dissatisfied. The best of them -complain that professions rank lower than in Europe; and the reasons -they assign for this are, that less education is required; and that -every man who desires to get on must make himself a party man, in -theology, science, or law. Professional service is not well paid in the -United States, compared with other countries, and with other occupations -on the spot. Very severe toil is necessary to maintain a respectable -appearance, except to those who have climbed the heights of their -profession; and to them it has been necessary. One of these last, a man -whom the world supposes to be blessed in all conceivable respects, told -me that he had followed a mistaken plan of life; and that if he could -begin again, he would spend his life differently. He had chosen his -occupation rightly enough, and been wholly satisfied with his domestic -lot: but his life had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> one of toil and care in the pursuit of what -he now found would have done all it could for him in half the quantity. -If he could set himself back twenty years, he would seek far less -diligently for money and eminence, stipulate for leisure, and cultivate -mirth. Though this gentleman cares for money only that he may have it to -give away; though his generosity of spirit is the most remarkable -feature of his character, he would gladly exchange the means of -gratifying his liberal affections, for more capacity for mirth, more -repose of spirit. The present mercenary and competitive system does not -suit him.</p> - -<p>I know of one professional man who has found this repose of spirit by -retiring from the competitive system, and devoting himself to an object -in which there was, when he entered upon it, but too little competition. -He had, some time ago, earned a competence for himself and his family. A -friend who visited him on his estate made some inquiries about -investments in the region where his host lived. "I am the worst person -you could ask," replied the host: "I know nothing about investments -here. We are very happy with the money we have; and we do not know that -we should be so happy if we had more: so I do not put myself in the way -of hearing about profitable investments." He has most profitably -invested his time and energy in the anti-slavery cause. He has been -perhaps the most eminent defender of the liberty of speech and of the -press in the United States; and is setting an example, not only to his -own children, but to the whole country, of what it is to follow after -life itself, instead of the mere means of living.</p> - -<p>The merchants are dissatisfied. If money, if success, apart from the -object, could give happiness, who would be so happy as the merchants of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> -America? In comparison with merchants generally, they are happy: but in -comparison with what men are made to be, they are shackled, careworn, -and weary as the slave. I obtained many a glimpse into the condition of -mind of this class; and, far superior as it is to what the state of -large classes is in the Old World, it is yet full of toil and trouble. -In New York, some friends, wishing to impress me with a conviction of -the enviable lives of American ladies, told me how the rich merchants -take handsome houses in the upper part of the city, and furnish them -splendidly for their wives: how these gentlemen rise early, snatch their -breakfasts, hurry off two or three miles to their counting-houses, -bustle about in the heat and dust, noise and traffic of Pearl Street all -the long summer's day, and come home in the evening, almost too wearied -to eat or speak; while their wives, for whose sake they have thus been -toiling after riches, have had the whole day to water their flowers, -read the last English novel, visit their acquaintance, and amuse -themselves at the milliner's; paying, perhaps, 100 dollars for the -newest Paris bonnet. The representation had a different effect from what -was expected. It appeared to me that if the ladies prefer their -husbands' society to that of morning visitors and milliners, they are -quite as much to be pitied as their husbands, that such a way of -consuming life is considered necessary or honourable. If they would -prefer to wear bonnets costing a dollar a-piece, and having some -enjoyment of domestic life, their fate is mournful; if they prefer -hundred dollar bonnets to the enjoyment of domestic life, their lot is -the most mournful of all. In either case, they and their husbands cannot -but be restless and dissatisfied.</p> - -<p>I was at a ball in New York, the splendour of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> which equalled that of -any entertainment I ever witnessed. A few days after, the lady who gave -the ball asked me whether I did not disapprove of the show and luxury of -their society. I replied, that of whatever was done for mere show, I did -disapprove; but that I liked luxury, and approved of it, as long as the -pleasures of some did not encroach on the rights of others.</p> - -<p>"But," said she, "our husbands have to pay for it all. They work very -hard."</p> - -<p>"I suppose it is their own choice to do so. I should make a different -choice, perhaps; but if they prefer hard work and plenty of money to -indulge their families with, to moderate work and less money, I do not -see how you can expect me to blame them."</p> - -<p>"O, but we all live beyond our incomes."</p> - -<p>"In that case, your pleasures encroach on the rights of others, and I -have no more to say."</p> - -<p>If this be true, how should this class be otherwise than restless and -dissatisfied?</p> - -<p>Are the mechanic and farming classes satisfied? No: not even they: -outwardly blessed as they are beyond any class that society has ever -contained. They, too, are aware that life must be meant to be passed far -otherwise than in providing the outward means of living. They must be -aware that though, by great industry, they can obtain some portion of -time for occupations which are not money-getting, there must be -something wrong in the system which compels men to devote almost the -whole of their waking hours to procure that which, under a different -combination of labour, might be obtained at a saving of three-fourths of -the time. Whether their thoughts have been expressly turned to this -subject or not, almost all the members of society are conscious that -care for their external wants is so engrossing as to absorb almost all -other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> cares; and that they would most thankfully agree to work in their -vocation for the community for a short portion of every day, on -condition of being spared all future anxiety about their physical -necessities. They who best know the blessings inseparable from toil; who -are aware that the inner life is nourished by the activity of the outer, -yet perceive of what infinite consequence it is to their progress that -this activity should be varied in its objects, and separated as far as -possible from association with physical necessities, and selfish -possession. The poor man is rightly instructed, in the present state of -things, when he is told that it is his first duty to provide for his own -wants. The lesson is at present true, because the only alternative is -encroachment on the rights of others: but it is a very low lesson in -comparison with that which will be taught in the days when mutual and -self-perfection will be the prevalent idea which the civilisation of the -time will express. No thinking man or woman, who reflects on the amount -of time, thought, and energy, which would be set free by the pressure of -competition and money-getting being removed,—time, thought, and energy -now spent in wearing out the body, and in partially stimulating and -partially wasting the mind, can be satisfied under the present system.</p> - -<p>In England, the prevalent dissatisfaction must subsist a long time -before anything effectual can be done to relieve it. The English are -hampered with institutions in which the rights of individual property -are involved in almost hopeless intricacy. Though clear-sighted persons -perceive that property is the great harbourage of crime and misery, the -adversary of knowledge, the corrupter of peace, the extinguisher of -faith and charity; though they perceive that institutions for the -regulation of outward affairs all follow the same course, being first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> -necessary, then useful, then useless, pernicious, and finally -intolerable,—that property is thus following the same course as -slavery, which was once necessary, and is now intolerable,—as monarchy, -which was once necessary, and is now useless, if not pernicious: though -all this is clearly perceived by many far-seeing persons in England, -they can do nothing but wait till the rest of society sees it too. They -must be and are well content to wait; since no changes are desirable but -those which proceed from the ripened mind and enlightened will of -society. Thus it is in England. In America the process will be more -rapid. The democratic principles of their social arrangements, operating -already to such an equalisation of property as has never before been -witnessed, are favourable to changes which are indeed necessary to the -full carrying out of the principles adopted. When the people become -tired of their universal servitude to worldly anxiety,—when they have -fully meditated and discussed the fact that ninety-nine hundredths of -social offences arise directly out of property; that the largest -proportion of human faults bear a relation to selfish possession; that -the most formidable classes of diseases are caused by over or under -toil, and by anxiety of mind; they will be ready for the inquiry whether -this tremendous incubus be indeed irremovable; and whether any -difficulties attending its removal can be comparable to the evils it -inflicts. In England, the people have not only to rectify the false -principles of barbarous policy, but to surmount the accumulation of -abuses which they have given out: a work, perhaps, of ages. In America, -the people have not much more to do (the will being once ripe) than to -retrace the false steps which their imitation of the old world has led -them to take. Their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>accumulation of abuses is too small to be a serious -obstacle in the way of the united will of a nation.</p> - -<p>It is objected that the majority of society in America would have a -horror of any great change like that contemplated: and that, though in -bondage to worldly anxiety, they are unconscious of their servitude, or -reconciled to it. Well: as long as this is the case, they have no change -to dread; for all such alteration must proceed from their own will. -There is no power upon earth from which they have any compulsion to -fear. Yet it may be allowed to their friends to speculate upon the -better condition which is believed to await them. When we look at a -caterpillar, we like to anticipate the bright day when it will be a -butterfly. If we could talk about it with the caterpillar, it would -probably be terrified at the idea, and plead the exceeding danger of -being high up in the air. We do not desire or endeavour to force or -hasten the process: yet the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, without any -final objection on its own part.</p> - -<p>The principal fear, expressed or concealed, of those who dislike the -mere mention of the outgrowth of individual property is lest they should -be deprived of their occupations, objects, and interests. But no such -deprivation can take place till they will have arrived at preferring -other interests than money, and at pursuing their favourite occupation -with other views than of obtaining wealth. "O, what shall I ever do -without my currant leaves?" might the caterpillar exclaim. "How shall I -ever get rid of the day, if I must not crawl along the twigs any more?" -By the time it has done with crawling, it finds a pair of wings -unfolding, which make crawling appear despicable in comparison. It is -conscious, also, of a taste for nectar, which is better than -currant-leaves, be they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> of the juiciest. Men may safely dismiss all -care about the future gratification of their tastes under new -circumstances, as long as it happens to be the change of tastes which -brings about the change of circumstances, the incompatibility between -the two being lessened at every transition.</p> - -<p>As for the details of the future economy indicated, it will be time -enough for them when the idea which now burns like a taper in scattered -minds shall have caught, and spread, and lighted up all into an -illumination sufficient to do the work by. Whenever a healthy hunger -enables the popular mind to assimilate a great principle, there are -always strong and skilful hands enough to do the requisite work.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION III.</span><br /><span class="smaller">INTERCOURSE.</span></h3> - -<p>The manners of the Americans (in America) are the best I ever saw: and -these are seen to the greatest advantage in their homes, and as to the -gentlemen, in travelling. But for the drawback of inferior health, I -know of no such earthly paradise as some of the homes in which I have -had the honour and blessing of spending portions of the two years of my -absence. The hospitality of the country is celebrated; but I speak now -of more than usually meets the eye of a stranger; of the family manners, -which travellers have rarely leisure or opportunity to observe. If I am -asked what is the peculiar charm, I reply with some hesitation: there -are so many. But I believe it is not so much the outward plenty, or the -mutual freedom, or the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>simplicity of manners, or the incessant play of -humour, which characterise the whole people, as the sweet temper which -is diffused like sunshine over the land. They have been called the most -good-tempered people in the world: and I think they must be so. The -effect of general example is here most remarkable. I met, of course, -with persons of irritable temperament; with hot-tempered, and with -fidgetty people; with some who were disposed to despotism, and others to -contradiction: but it was delightful to see how persons thus afflicted -were enabled to keep themselves in order; were so wrought upon by the -general example of cheerful helpfulness as to be restrained from -clouding their homes by their moods. I have often wondered what the -Americans make of European works of fiction in which ailing tempers are -exhibited. European fiction does not represent such in half the extent -and variety in which they might be truly and profitably exhibited: but I -have often wondered what the Americans make of them, such as they are. -They possess the initiatory truth, in the variety of temperaments which -exists among themselves, as everywhere else; and in the moods of -children: but the expansion of deformed tempers in grown people must -strike them as monstrous caricatures.</p> - -<p>Of course, there must be some general influence which sweetens or -restrains the temper of a whole nation, of the same Saxon race which is -not everywhere so amiable. I imagine that the practice of forbearance -requisite in a republic is answerable for this pleasant peculiarity. In -a republic, no man can in theory overbear his neighbour; nor, as he -values his own rights, can he do it much or long in practice. If the -moral independence of some, of many, sinks under this equal pressure -from all sides, it is no little set-off against such an evil that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> the -outbreaks of domestic tyranny are thereby restrained; and that the -respect for mutual rights which citizens have perpetually enforced upon -them abroad, comes thence to be observed towards the weak and -unresisting in the privacy of home.</p> - -<p>Some may find it difficult to reconcile this prevalence of good temper -with the amount of duelling in the United States; with the recklessness -of life which is not confined to the semi-barbarous parts of the -country. When it is understood that in New Orleans there were fought, in -1834, more duels than there are days in the year, fifteen on one Sunday -morning; that in 1835, there were 102 duels fought in that city between -the 1st of January and the end of April; and that no notice is taken of -shooting in a quarrel; when the world remembers the duel between Clay -and Randolph; that Hamilton fell in a duel; and several more such -instances, there may be some wonder that a nation where such things -happen, should be remarkably good-tempered. But New Orleans is no rule -for any place but itself. The spirit of caste, and the fear of -imputation, rage in that abode of heathen licentiousness. The duels -there are, almost without exception, between boys for frivolous causes. -All but one of the 102 were so. And even on the spot, there is some -feeling of disgust and shame at the extent of the practice. A Court of -Honour was instituted for the restraint of the practice; of course, -without effectual result. Its function degenerated into choosing weapons -for the combatants, so that it ended by sanctioning, instead of -repressing, duelling. Those who fight the most frequently and fatally -are the French creoles, who use small swords.</p> - -<p>The extreme cases which afford the clearest reading of the folly and -wickedness of the practice,—of the meanness of the fear which lies at -the bottom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> of it,—are producing their effect. The young men who go -into the west to be the founders of new societies are in some instances -taking their responsibility to heart, and resolving to use well their -great opportunity for substituting a true for a false, a moral for a -physical courage. The dreadful affair at Philadelphia, never to be -forgotten there, when a quiet, inoffensive young man, the only child of -a widowed mother, was forced out into the field, against his strongest -remonstrances, made to stand up, and shot through the heart, could not -but produce its effect. One of the principal agents was degraded in the -American navy, (but has been since reinstated,) and none of the parties -concerned has ever stood as well with society as other men since. -Hamilton's fall, again, has opened men's eyes to the philosophy of -duelling, and is working to that purpose, more and more. At the time, it -was pretty generally agreed that he could not help fighting; now, there -are few who think so. His correspondence with his murderer, previous to -the duel, is remarkable. Having been told, on my entrance into the -country, that Hamilton had been its "greatest man," I was interested in -seeing what a greater than Washington could say in excuse for risking -his life in so paltry a way. I read his correspondence with Colonel Burr -with pain. There is fear in every line of it; a complicated, disgraceful -fear. He was obviously perishing between two fears—of losing his life, -and of not being able to guard his own honour against the attacks of a -ruffian. Between these two fears he fell. I was talking over the -correspondence with a duelling gentleman, "O," said he, "Hamilton went -out like a capuchin." So the "greatest man" did not obtain even that for -which he threw away what he knew was considered the most valuable life -in the country. This is as it should be. When <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>contempt becomes the -wages of slavery to a false idea of honour, it will cease to stand in -the way of the true; and "greatest men" will not end their lives in -littleness.</p> - -<p>Certain extreme cases which occur on the semi-barbarous confines of the -country come occasionally in aid of such lessons as those I have cited. -A passenger on board the "Henry Clay," in which I ascended the -Mississippi, showed in perfection the results of a false idea of honour. -He belonged to one of the first families in Kentucky, had married well, -and settled at Natchez, Mississippi. His wife was slandered by a -resident of Natchez, who, refusing to retreat, was shot dead by the -husband, who fled to Texas. The wife gathered their property together, -followed her husband, was shipwrecked below New Orleans, and lost all. -Her wants were supplied by kind persons at New Orleans, and she was -forwarded by them to her destination, but soon died of cholera. Her -husband went up into Missouri, and settled in a remote part of it to -practise law; but with a suspicion that he was dogged by the relations -of the man he had shot. One day he met a man muffled in a cloak, who -engaged with him, shot him in both sides, and stabbed him with an -Arkansas knife. The victim held off the knife from wounding him mortally -till help came, and his foe fled. The wounded man slowly recovered; but -his right arm was so disabled as to compel him to postpone his schemes -of revenge. He ascertained that his enemy had fled to Texas; followed -him there; at length met him, one fine evening, riding, with his -double-barrelled gun before him. They knew each other instantly: the -double-barrelled gun was raised and pointed; but before it could be -fired, its owner fell from the saddle, shot dead like the brother he had -sought to avenge. The murderer was flying up the river<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> once more when I -saw him, not doubting that he should again be dogged by some relation of -the brothers he had shot. Some of the gentlemen on board believed that -if he surrendered himself at Natchez, he would be let off with little or -no punishment, and allowed to settle again in civilised society; but he -was afraid of the gallows, and intended to join some fur company in the -north-west, if he could; and if he failed in this, to make himself a -chief of a tribe of wandering Indians.</p> - -<p>This story may be useful to those (if such there be) for whom the -catastrophe of Hamilton is not strong enough. The two cases differ in -degree, not in kind.</p> - -<p>That such hubbub as this is occasioned by a false idea of honour, and -not by fault of temper, is made clear by the amiability shown by -Americans, in all cases where their idea of honour is not concerned. In -circumstances of failure and disappointment, delay, difficulty, and -other provocation, they show great self-command. In all cases that I -witnessed, from the New York fire, and baffled legislation, down to the -being "mired" in bad roads, they appeared to be proof against -irritation. Sometimes this went further than I could quite understand.</p> - -<p>While travelling in Virginia, we were anxious one day to push on, and -waste no time. Our "exclusive extra" drew up before a single house, -where we were to breakfast. We told the landlady that we were -excessively hungry, and in some hurry, and that we should be obliged by -her giving us anything she happened to have cooked, without waiting for -the best she could do for us. The woman was the picture of laziness, of -the most formal kind. She kept us waiting till we thought of going on -without eating. When summoned to table, at length, we asked the driver -to sit down with us, to save time. Never did I see a more ludicrous -scene<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> than that breakfast. The lady at the tea-tray, tossing the great -bunch of peacocks' feathers, to keep off the flies, and as solemn as -Rhadamanthus. So was our whole party, for fear of laughter from which we -should not be able to recover. Everything on the table was sour; it -seemed as if studiously so. The conflict between our appetites and the -disgust of the food was ridiculous. We all presently gave up but the -ravenous driver. He tried the bread, the coffee, the butter, and all -were too sour for a second mouthful; so were the eggs, and the ham, and -the steak. No one ate anything, and the charge was as preposterous as -the delay; yet our paymaster made no objection to the way we were -treated. When we were off again, I asked him why he had been so gracious -as to appear satisfied.</p> - -<p>"This is a newly-opened road," he replied; "the people do not know yet -how the world lives. They have probably no idea that there is better -food than they set before us."</p> - -<p>"But do not you think it would be a kindness to inform them?"</p> - -<p>"They did their best for us, and I should be sorry to hurt their -feelings."</p> - -<p>"Then you would have them go through life on bad food, and inflicting it -on other people, lest their feelings should be hurt at their being told -how to provide better. Do you suppose that all the travellers who come -this way will be as tender of the lady's feelings?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I do. You see the driver took it very quietly."</p> - -<p>When we were yet worse treated, however, just after, when spending a -night at Woodstock, our paymaster did remonstrate, (though very -tenderly,) and his remonstrance was received with great candour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> by the -master of the house; his wife being the one most to blame.</p> - -<p>With this forbearance is united the most cheerful and generous -helpfulness. If a farmer is burned out, his neighbours collect, and -never leave him till he is placed in a better house than the one he has -lost. His barns, in like case, are filled with contributions from their -crops. Though there is nothing that men prize there so much as time, -there is nothing that they are more ready to give to the service of -others. Their prevalent generosity in the giving of money is known, and -sufficiently estimated, considering how plentiful wealth is in the -country. The expenditure of time, thought, and ingenuity, is a far -better test of the temper from which the helpfulness proceeds. I am -sorry that it is impossible to describe what this temper is in America; -its manifestations being too incessant and minute for description. If -this great virtue could be exhibited as clearly as it is possible to -exhibit their faults, the heart of society would warm towards the -Americans more readily than it has ever been alienated from them by -their own faults, or the ill-offices of strangers.</p> - -<p>It seems to me that the Americans are generally unaware how one bad -habit of their own, springing out of this very temper, goes to aggravate -the evil offices of strangers. It is to me the most prominent of their -bad habits; but one so likely to be cured by their being made aware of -it, that I cannot but wish that some of the English vituperation which -has been expended upon tobacco and its effects had been directed upon -the far more serious fault of flattery. It will be seen at once how the -practice of flattery is almost a necessary result of the combination of -a false idea of honour with kindliness of temper. Its prevalence is so -great as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> to tempt one to call it a necessary result. There is no -getting out of the way of it. A gentleman, who was a depraved -school-boy, a fiendish husband, father, and slave-owner, whose -reputation for brutality was as extensive as the country, was eulogised -in the newspapers at his death. Every book that comes out is exalted to -the skies. The public orators flatter the people; the people flatter the -orators. Clergymen praise their flocks; and the flocks stand amazed at -the excellence of their clergymen. Sunday-school teachers admire their -pupils; and the scholars magnify their teachers. As to guests, -especially from abroad, hospitality requires that some dark corner -should be provided in every room where they may look when their own -praises are being told to their own faces. Even in families, where, if -anywhere, it must be understood that love cannot be sweetened by praise, -there is a deficiency of that modesty, "simplicity and godly sincerity," -in regard to mutual estimate, which the highest fidelity of affection -inspires.</p> - -<p>Passing over the puerility and vulgarity of the practice,—I think, if -the Americans were convinced of its selfishness,—of its being actually -a breach of benevolence, they would exercise the same command over their -tongues that they do over their tempers, and suppress painful praises, -as they rise to the lips. It was pleaded to me that the admiration is -real, the praise sincere. Be it so: but why are they to be expressed, -more than any other real thoughts whose expression would give pain? Let -the admiration by all means be enjoyed: but what a pity to destroy -sympathy with the person admired, by talking on the very subject at -which sympathy must cease! Is it not clear that if praise be not painful -to the person praised, it must be injurious? If he be modest, it is -torture: if not, it is poison. Or, if there be a third<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> case, and it is -indifferent, such indifference to the praise is very nearly allied to -contempt for the praiser. When once the decencies of friendship are -violated, and the modesty of mutual estimate is gone, the holiness of -friendship is gone too; and there is every danger that selfish, -conscious passion will overbear unconscious, disinterested affection. -Enough. I would only put it to any person whether the friendship he -values most is not that which is least coarsened by praise; and in which -he and his friend are led the least frequently to think of their opinion -of each other. I would put it to the intimates of such a man as Dr. -Channing, for instance, whether their warmest affections do not spring -towards and repose upon him in the delicious certainty, that while he is -sympathising with every pure and true emotion, he will refrain from -disturbing its flow by introducing a consciousness, a self and mutual -reference, from which it is the highest privilege in life to escape. -Praise may help some common-minded persons over the difficulties of a -new and superficial intercourse: at least, so I am told: but intimate -communion and permanent friendship require a purity and repose with -which the interchange of expressed admiration is absolutely -incompatible.</p> - -<p>With regard to the spirit of intercourse, nothing more remains to be -said here, but that the frankness practised in private life, within the -doors of home, is as remarkable as the caution and reserve which prevail -elsewhere. Nothing can be more delightful than the familiarity and -confidence with which I was invariably treated; and to which I saw few -exceptions in the cases of other persons. Everything was discussed in -every house I staid in: religion, philosophy, literature; and, with -quite as much freedom, character, public and private, national and -individual. The language being the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> same as my own, I was apt to forget -that I was on my travels, till some visitor dropped in whose inquiries -how I liked the country reminded me that I was a foreigner. Even now, -having performed the voyage home, and having all manner of evidence that -I have left the country three thousand miles behind me, I find it -difficult to bring in my personal friends as elements of the society -whose condition I am pondering. They are too like brothers and sisters -to be subjects for analysis: and I perpetually feel the want of them at -hand, to assist me by their controverting or corroborating judgments. -They and I know what their homes are, and how happy we have been in -them: and this is all that in my affection for them I can say of their -domestic life, without putting a force upon their feelings and my own.</p> - -<p>If I am not much mistaken, society in the new world is wakening up, -under the stimulus of the slave-question, to a sense of its want of -practical freedom, owing to its too great regard to opinion. The -examples of those who can and do assert and maintain their liberty in -these times of fiery trial, are venerable and beautiful in the eyes of -the young. Those in the cities who have grown old in the practice of -mistrust are unconscious of the extent of their privations: but the free -yeomanry, and the youth of the towns, have an eye for the right, and a -heart for the true, amid the mists and subtleties in which truth and -liberty have been of late involved. The young men of Boston, especially, -seem to be roused: and it is all-important that they should be. Boston -is looked to throughout the Union, as the superior city she believes -herself to be: and nowhere is the entrance upon life more perilous to -the honesty and consistency of young aspirants after the public service. -Massachusetts is the head-quarters of federalism. Federalism is -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>receding before democracy, even there; but that State has still a -federal majority. A Massachusetts man has little chance of success in -public life, unless he starts a federalist: and he has no chance of -rising above a certain low point, unless, when he reaches that point, he -makes a transition into democracy. The trial is too great for the moral -independence of most ambitious men: and it fixes the eyes of the world -on the youth of Boston. They are watched, that it may be seen whether -they who now burn with ardour for complete freedom will hereafter -"reverence the dreams of their youth," or sink down into cowardice, -apathy, and intolerance, as they reach the middle of life.</p> - -<p>If they will only try, they will find how great are the ease and peace -attendant on the full exercise of rights, even though it should shut the -career of politics, and possibly of wealth, against them for a time. If -they will look in the faces of the few who dare to live in the midst of -Boston as freely as if they were in the centre of the prairies, they -will see in those countenances a brightness and serenity which a sense -of mere safety could never impart. The pursuit of safety,—safety from -outward detriment,—is of all in this world the most hopeless. The only -attainable safety is that which usually bears another name,—repose in -absolute truth. Where there is a transparency of character which defies -misrepresentation, a faith in men which disarms suspicion, an -intrepidity which overawes malice, and a spirit of love which wins -confidence, there is safety; and in nothing short of all these. If any -of them are deficient, in the same proportion does safety give place to -danger; and no substitution of prudence will be of more than temporary -avail. Prudence is now reigning supreme over the elderly classes of -Boston generally, and too many of the young. Independence is animating<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> -the rest. It remains to be seen which will have succumbed when the -present youth of the city shall have become her legislators, -magistrates, and social representatives.</p> - -<p>As a specimen of the thoughts and feelings of some on the spot, I give -the following.</p> - -<p>"Liberty of thought and opinion is strenuously maintained: in this proud -land it has become almost a wearisome cant: our speeches and journals, -religious and political, are made nauseous by the vapid and -vain-glorious reiteration. But does it, after all, <i>characterise any -community among us</i>? Is there any one to which a qualified observer -shall point, and say, <i>There</i> opinion is free? On the contrary, is it -not a fact, a sad and deplorable fact, that in no land on this earth is -the mind more fettered than it is here? that here what we call public -opinion has set up a despotism, such as exists nowhere else? Public -opinion,—a tyrant, sitting in the dark, wrapt up in mystification and -vague terrors of obscurity; deriving power no one knows from whom; like -an Asian monarch, unapproachable, unimpeachable, undethronable, perhaps -illegitimate,—but irresistible in its power to quell thought, to -repress action, to silence conviction,—and bringing the timid -perpetually under an unworthy bondage of mean fear to some impostor -opinion, some noisy judgment, which gets astride on the popular breath -for a day, and controls, through the lips of impudent folly, the speech -and actions of the wise. From this influence and rule, from this bondage -to opinion, no community, as such, is free; though doubtless individuals -are. But your community, brethren, based on the principles which you -profess, is bound to be so."<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - -<p>So much for the spirit of intercourse. As for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> modes in which the -spirit is manifested, their agreeableness, or the contrary, is a matter -of taste. No nation can pretend to judge another's manners; for the -plain reason that there is no standard to judge by: and if an individual -attempts to pronounce upon them, his sentence amounts to nothing more -than a declaration of his own particular taste. If such a declaration -from an individual is of any consequence, I am ready to acknowledge that -the American manners please me, on the whole, better than any that I -have seen.</p> - -<p>The circumstances which strike a stranger unpleasantly are the apparent -coldness and indifference of persons in hotels and shops; the use of -tobacco, and consequent spitting; the tone of voice, especially among -the New England ladies; and at first, but not afterwards, the style of -conversation. The great charm is the exquisite mutual respect and -kindliness.</p> - -<p>Of the tobacco and its consequences, I will say nothing but that the -practice is at too bad a pass to leave hope that anything that could be -said in books would work a cure. If the floors of boarding-houses, and -the decks of steam-boats, and the carpets of the Capitol, do not sicken -the Americans into a reform; if the warnings of physicians are of no -avail, what remains to be said? I dismiss the nauseous subject.</p> - -<p>A great unknown pleasure remains to be experienced by the Americans in -the well-modulated, gentle, healthy, cheerful voices of women. It is -incredible that there should not, in all time to come, be any other -alternative than that which now exists, between a whine and a twang. -When the health of the American women improves, their voices will -improve. In the meantime, they are unconscious how the effect of their -remarkable and almost universal beauty is injured by their mode of -speech.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p><p>The peculiarity is less remarkable in manly conversation. The -conversation of the gentlemen strikes one at first as being dull and -prosy. They converse with much evenness of tone, slowly and at great -length: so as to leave the observer without any surprise that the -Americans think English conversation hasty, sharp, and rough. I found -also a prevalent idea that conversation is studied as an art in England: -and many of my friends were so positive on this point as to make me -doubt the correctness of my own conviction that it is not so. If there -be any such study, I can only say that I have detected no instances of -it; nor did the idea ever enter my mind except in reading of Lady -Angelica Headingham, in 'Patronage.' In the whole course of my life, -perhaps, I never met with so many particular instances of an artificial -mode of conversing as during the two years that I was in America: but I -could see the reason in every case; and that all were exceptions to the -rule of natural though peculiar communication. The conversation of the -great public men was generally more instructive than pleasing, till they -forgot that they were public men, and talked on other things than public -affairs. One could never conceal that he designed to effect a particular -persuasion in your mind: a design against which all the listener's -faculties are sure to rise up in instant rebellion. Another did not -intend you should see that he was speaking from a map of the subject in -his brain; bringing contrasts and comparisons to bear, as it might seem -accidentally, upon your imagination. Two or three or more, willing to -conceal from themselves, I really believe, as well as from the stranger, -that logic is not their forte, dart off after every will-o'-the-wisp of -an analogy; and talk almost wholly in figures. This is bad policy; for -some of the figures were so beautiful and apparently illustrative, as to -fix the attention,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> instead of passing over the ear, and give one time -to discover that they were not satisfactory. The most remarkable -instances of this were in the south, where I had the pleasure of hearing -more of every thing than of logic. Perhaps the most singular style of -all was one which struck me so much that I wrote down pages of it for -subsequent study:—a slow, impressive style, a succession of clever -figures, a somewhat pompous humour, and a wrapping round of inconvenient -considerations with an impenetrable cloud of the plainest-seeming words. -The gushing talk of Judge Story, the brimmings of a full head and heart, -natural, lively, fresh, issuing from the supposition that you can -understand, and wish to understand everything that is interesting to -him, and from a simple psychological curiosity, is perfectly delightful -after the measured communications of some other public men.</p> - -<p>I may here mention Dr. Channing's conversation. I do so because it has -been the occasion of his being much misunderstood and consequently -misrepresented. I never knew a case where the conversation of an -individual did him so much injustice at first, and such eminent service -in the affections of his hearers at last. Unfortunately, those who -report him generally see him only once or twice; and then they are -pretty sure to leave him with less real knowledge of him than they -probably had three thousand miles off. This circumstance may justify my -speaking here of one whom I revere and regard too much to feel it easy -to say anything of him publicly beyond the mere testimony which it is an -honour to bear to such men. Dr. Channing has an unfortunate habit of -suiting his conversation to the supposed state of mind of the person he -is conversing with, or to that person's supposed knowledge on a subject -on which he wants information. The adaptation, not being natural, cannot -be true, and something is thus given<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> out which is the reflection of -nobody's mind; and the conversation is fruitless or worse. This is -merely a habit of <i>drawing out</i>. If the visitor goes away upon this, he -reports the things which are reported of Dr. Channing's opinions; which -are no more like his than they are like Aristotle's. If the visitor -stays long enough, or comes again often enough to catch some of his -thoughts as they issue from his heart, he finds a strange power in them -to move and kindle. His words become deeds when they proceed from -impulse. Not a tone nor a syllable can be ever forgotten. The reason is -that unseen things are to him realities; and material things are but -shadows. After continued and open communication with him, it becomes an -inexplicable wonder that anything but truth, justice, and charity should -be made objects of serious pursuit in the world.</p> - -<p>Mr. Madison's conversation has been already mentioned as being full of -graces. The sprightliness, rapidity, and variety were remarkable in a -man of eighty-four, confined to two rooms, and subject to various -infirmities. He was a highly favourable specimen of the accomplished -gentleman of the revolutionary times.</p> - -<p>There are persons whom it seems to myself strange to name in this -connexion, when there are things in them which I value much more highly -than their eloquence. But as eloquent beyond all others, they must be -mentioned here. I refer to Dr. and Mrs. Follen, late of Boston.—Dr. -Follen is a German: well known in Germany for his patriotism; as -troublesome to its princes as animating to their subjects. He has been -thirteen years in America, and seven years a citizen of Massachusetts. -His mastery of the language has been perfect for some years: but, as he -brought a rich and matured mind to the first employment of it, he uses<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> -it differently from any to whom it is the mother tongue. It is an -instrument of extraordinary power in his hands, as a mere instrument. -But he is a man of learning which I do not pretend to estimate in any -department. The great mass of his knowledge is vivified by a spirit -which seems to have passed through all human experiences, appropriating -whatever is true and pure, and leaving behind all else. With not only a -religious love of liberty, but an unerring perception of the true -principle of liberty in every case as it arises, with an intrepidity -which excites rage where his gentleness is not known, and a gentleness -which disarms those who fear his intrepidity, he is the most valuable -acquisition that the United States, in their present condition, can well -be conceived to have appropriated from the Old World, in the person of -an individual citizen. I certainly think him the most remarkable, and -the greatest man I saw in the country. Dr. Follen has pledged himself to -the anti-slavery cause; and declared himself in other ways in favour of -freedom of thought, action, and speech, so as to make himself -feared,—(or rather his opinions, for no one can fear himself,)—by some -of the society of his State in whom the idea of honour most wants -rectifying: but, as he becomes more known to the true-hearted among his -fellow-citizens, he will be regarded by them all with the pride and -admiration, mixed with tender affection, which he inspires in those who -have the honour and blessing of being his friends. He has married a -Boston lady; a woman of genius, and of those large and kindly affections -which are its natural element. What the intercourses of their home are, -their guests can never forget; nor ever describe.</p> - -<p>The most common mode of conversation in America I should distinguish as -prosy, but withal rich and droll. For some weeks, I found it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>difficult -to keep awake during the entire reply to any question I happened to ask. -The person questioned seemed to feel himself put upon his conscience to -give a full, true, and particular reply; and so he went back as near to -the Deluge as the subject would admit, and forward to the millennium, -taking care to omit nothing of consequence in the interval. There was, -of course, one here and there, as there is everywhere, to tell me -precisely what I knew before, and omit what I most wanted: but this did -not happen often: and I presently found the information I obtained in -conversation so full, impartial, and accurate, and the shrewdness and -drollery with which it was conveyed so amusing, that I became a great -admirer of the American way of talking before six months were over. -Previous to that time, a gentleman in the same house with me expressed -pleasantly his surprise at my asking so few questions: saying that if he -came to England, he should be asking questions all day long. I told him -that there was no need of my seeking information as long as more was -given me in the course of the day than my head would carry. I did not -tell him that I had not power of attention sufficient for such -information as came in answer to my own desire. I can scarcely believe -now that I ever felt such a difficulty.</p> - -<p>They themselves are, however, aware of their tendency to length, and -also to something of the literal dulness which Charles Lamb complains of -in relation to the Scotch. They have stories of American travellers -which exceed all I ever heard of them anywhere else: such as that an -American gentleman, returned from Europe, was asked how he liked Rome: -to which he replied that Rome was a fine city; but that he must -acknowledge he thought the public buildings were very much out of -repair. Again, it is told against a lady that she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> made some undeniably -true remarks on a sermon she heard. A preacher, discoursing on the -blindness of men to the future, remarked "how few men, in building a -house, consider that a coffin is to go down the stairs!" The lady -observed with much emphasis, on coming out, that ministers had got into -the strangest way of choosing subjects for the pulpit! It was true that -wide staircases <i>are</i> a great convenience: but she did think Christian -ministers might find better subjects to preach upon than narrow -staircases. And so forth. An eminent Senator told me that he was too -often on the one horn or the other of a dilemma: sometimes a gentleman -getting up in the Senate, and talking as if he would never sit down: and -sometimes a gentleman sitting down in his study, and talking as if he -would never get up.</p> - -<p>Yet there is an epigrammatic turn in the talk of those who have never -heard of "the art of conversation" which is supposed to be studied by -the English. A reverend divine,—no other than Dr. Channing,—was one -day paying toll, when he perceived a notice of gin, rum, tobacco, &c., -on a board which bore a strong resemblance to a grave-stone. "I am glad -to see," said the Dr. to the girl who received the toll, "that you have -been burying those things."—"And if we had," said the girl, "I don't -doubt you would have gone chief mourner."</p> - -<p>Some young men, travelling on horseback among the White Mountains, -became inordinately thirsty, and stopped for milk at a house by the -road-side. They emptied every basin that was offered, and still wanted -more. The woman of the house at length brought an enormous bowl of milk, -and set it down on the table, saying, "One would think, gentlemen, you -had never been weaned."</p> - -<p>Of the same kind was the reply made by a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>gentleman of Virginia to a -silly question by a lady. "Who made the Natural Bridge?"—"God knows, -madam."</p> - -<p>I was struck with repeated instances of new versions, generally much -improved, of old fables. I think the following an improvement upon Sour -Grapes. Noah warned his neighbours of what was coming, and why he was -building his ark; but nobody minded him. When people on the high grounds -were up to their chins, an old acquaintance of Noah's was very eager to -be taken into the ark: but Noah refused again and again. "Well," said -the man, when he found it was in vain, "go, get along, you and your old -ark! I don't believe we are going to have much of a shower." I tried to -ascertain whether this story was American. I could trace it no further -off than Plymouth, Massachusetts.</p> - -<p>There cannot be a stronger contrast than between the fun and simplicity -of the usual domestic talk of the United States, and the solemn pedantry -of which the extremest examples are to be found there; exciting as much -ridicule at home as they possibly can elsewhere. I was solemnly assured -by a gentleman that I was quite wrong on some point, because I differed -from him. Everybody laughed: when he went on, with the utmost gravity, -to inform us that there had been a time when he believed, like other -people, that he might be mistaken; but that experience had convinced him -that he never was; and he had in consequence cast behind him the fear of -error. I told him I was afraid the place he lived in must be terribly -dull,—having an oracle in it to settle everything. He replied that the -worst of it was, other people were not so convinced of his being always -in the right as he was himself. There was no joke here. He is a literal -and serious-minded man. Another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> gentleman solemnly remarked upon the -weather of late having been "uncommonly mucilaginous." Another pointed -out to me a gentleman on board a steam-boat as "a blue stocking of the -first class." A lady asked me many questions about my emotions at -Niagara, to which I gave only one answer of which she could make -anything. "Did you not," was her last inquiry, "long to throw yourself -down, and mingle with your mother earth?"—"No."—Another asked me -whether I did not think the sea might inspire vast and singular -ideas.—Another, an instructress of youth, in examining my ear-trumpet, -wanted to know whether its length made any difference in its efficiency. -On my answering, "None at all"—"O certainly not," said she, very -deliberately; "for, sound being a material substance, can only be -overcome by a superior force." The mistakes of unconscious ignorance -should be passed over with a silent smile: but affectation should be -exposed, as a service to a young society.</p> - -<p>I rarely, if ever, met with instances of this pedantry among the -yeomanry or mechanic classes; or among the young. The most numerous and -the worst pedants were middle-aged ladies. One instance struck me as -being unlike anything that could happen in England. A literary and very -meritorious village mantua-maker declared that it was very hard if her -gowns did not fit the ladies of the neighbourhood. She had got the exact -proportions of the Venus de Medici, to make them by: and what more could -she do? Again. A sempstress was anxious that her employer should request -me to write something about Mount Auburn: (the beautiful cemetery near -Boston.) Upon her being questioned as to what kind of composition she -had in her fancy, she said she would have Mount Auburn considered under -three points of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> view:—as it was on the day of creation,—as it is -now,—as it will be on the day of resurrection. I liked the idea so well -that I got her to write it for me, instead of my doing it for her.</p> - -<p>As for the peculiarities of language of which so much has been made,—I -am a bad judge: but the fact is, I should have passed through the -country almost without observing any, if my attention had not been -previously directed to them. Next to the well-known use of the word -"sick," instead of "ill," (in which they are undoubtedly right,) none -struck me so much as the few following. They use the word "handsome" -much more extensively than we do: saying that Webster made a handsome -speech in the Senate: that a lady talks handsomely, (eloquently:) that a -book sells handsomely. A gentleman asked me on the Catskill Mountain, -whether I thought the sun handsomer there than at New York. When they -speak of a fine woman, they refer to mental or moral, not at all to -physical superiority. The effect was strange, after being told, here and -there, that I was about to see a very fine woman, to meet in such cases -almost the only plain women I saw in the country. Another curious -circumstance is, that this is almost the only connexion in which the -word woman is used. This noble word, spirit-stirring as it passes over -English ears, is in America banished, and "ladies" and "females" -substituted: the one to English taste mawkish and vulgar; the other -indistinctive and gross. So much for difference of taste. The effect is -odd. After leaving the men's wards of the prison at Nashville, -Tennessee, I asked the warden whether he would not let me see the women. -"We have no ladies here, at present, madam. We have never had but two -ladies, who were convicted for stealing a steak; but, as it appeared -that they were deserted by their husbands,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> and in want, they were -pardoned." A lecturer, discoursing on the characteristics of women, is -said to have expressed himself thus. "Who were last at the cross? -Ladies. Who were first at the sepulchre? Ladies."</p> - -<p>A few other ludicrous expressions took me by surprise occasionally. A -gentleman in the west, who had been discussing monarchy and -republicanism in a somewhat original way, asked me if I would "swap" my -king for his. We were often told that it was "a dreadful fine day;" and -a girl at a hotel pronounced my trumpet to be "terrible handy."<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> In -the back of Virginia these superlative expressions are the most rife. A -man who was extremely ill, in agonizing pain, sent for a friend to come -to him. Before the friend arrived, the pain was relieved, but the -patient felt much reduced by it. "How do you find yourself?" inquired -the friend. "I'm powerful weak; but cruel easy."</p> - -<p>The Kentucky bragging is well known. It is so ingenious as to be very -amusing sometimes: but too absurd in the mouth of a dull person. One -such was not satisfied with pointing out to me how fine the woods were, -but informed me that the intimate texture of the individual leaves was -finer and richer in Kentucky than anywhere else. I much prefer the -off-hand air with which a dashing Kentuckian intimates to you the -richness of the soil; saying "if you plant a nail at night, 'twill come -up a spike next morning."</p> - -<p>However much may be the fault of strangers, in regard to the coldness of -manners which is complained of in those who serve travellers in -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>America, and however soon it may be dissipated by a genial address on -the part of the stranger, it certainly is very disagreeable at the first -moment. We invariably found ourselves well-treated; and in no instance -that I remember failed to dissipate the chill by showing that we were -ready to help ourselves, and to be sociable. The instant we attacked the -reserve, it gave way. But I do not wonder that strangers who are not -prepared to make the concession, and especially gentlemen travelling -from hotel to hotel, find the constraint extremely irksome. It should -never be forgotten that it is usually a matter of necessity or of -favour, seldom of choice, (except in the towns,) that the wife and -daughters of American citizens render service to travellers. Such a -breaking in upon their domestic quiet, such an exposure to the society -of casual travellers, must be so distasteful to them generally as to -excuse any apparent want of cordiality. Some American travellers, won by -the <i>empressement</i> of European waiters, declare themselves as willing to -pay for civility as for their dinner. I acknowledge a different taste. I -had rather have indifference than civility which bears a reference to -the bill: but I prefer to either the cordiality which brightens up at -your offer to make your own bed, mend your own fire, &c.—the cordiality -which brings your hostess into your parlour, to draw her chair, and be -sociable, not only by asking where you are going, but by telling you all -that interests her in her neighbourhood. A girl at a Meadville hotel, in -Pennsylvania, urged us to change our route, that we might visit some -friends of hers,—"a beautiful bachelor that had lately lost his wife, -and his fine son"—to whom she would give us a letter of introduction. -At Maysville, Kentucky, the landlady sent repeated apologies for not -being able to wait on us herself, her attendance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> being necessary at the -bedside of her sick child. On our expressing our concern that, in such -circumstances, she should trouble herself about us, her substitute said -we were very unlike the generality of travellers who came. The ladies -were usually offended if the landlady did not wait upon them herself, -and would not open or shut the window with their own hands; but rang to -have the landlady to do it for them. Such persons have probably been -accustomed to be waited on by slaves; or, perhaps, not at all; so that -they like to make the most of the opportunity. Our landlady at -Nashville, Tennessee, treated us extremely well; and on parting kissed -the ladies of the party all round.</p> - -<p>I had an early lesson in the art of distinguishing coldness from -inhospitality. Our party of six was traversing the State of New York. We -left Syracuse at dawn one morning, intending to breakfast at Skaneatles. -By the time we reached Elbridge, however, having been delayed on the -road, we were too hungry to think of going further without food. An -impetuous young Carolinian, who was of the party, got out first, and -returned to say we had better proceed; for the house and the people -looked so cold, we should never be able to achieve a comfortable meal. -Caring less, however, for comfort than for any sort of meal, we -persisted in stopping.—The first room we were shown into was wet, and -had no fire; and we were already shivering with cold. I could discern -that the family were clearing out of the next room. It was offered to -us, and logs were piled upon the fire. Two of the young women, in cotton -gowns and braided and bowed hair, followed their mother into the cooking -apartment, sailing about with quiet movements and solemn faces. Two more -staid in the room; and, after putting up their hair before the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> glass in -our presence, began to arrange the table, knitting between times. One or -another was almost all the while sitting with us, knitting, and replying -with grave simplicity to our conversation. Presently, one of the best -breakfasts we had in America was ready: a pie-dish full of buttered -toast; hot biscuits and coffee; beef-steak, applesauce, hot potatoes, -cheese, butter, and two large dishes of eggs. We were attentively waited -upon by the four knitting young ladies and their knitting mother, and -kindly dismissed with a charge of only two dollars and a quarter for the -whole party. "Did you ever see such girls?" cried the young Carolinian, -just landed from Europe: "stepping about like four captive princesses!" -We all called out that we would not hear a word against the young -ladies. They had treated us with all kindness; and no one could tell -whether their reserve was any greater than their situation and -circumstances require.</p> - -<p>So much more has naturally been observed by travellers of American -manners in stages and steam-boats than in private-houses, that all has -been said, over and over again, that the subject deserves. I need only -testify that I do not think the Americans eat faster than other people, -on the whole. The celerity at hotel-tables is remarkable; but so it is -in stage-coach travellers in England, who are allowed ten minutes or a -quarter of an hour for dining. In private houses, I was never aware of -being hurried. The cheerful, unintermitting civility of all gentlemen -travellers, throughout the country, is very striking to a stranger. The -degree of consideration shown to women is, in my opinion, greater than -is rational, or good for either party; but the manners of an American -stage-coach might afford a valuable lesson and example to many classes -of Europeans who have a high <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>opinion of their own civilisation. I do -not think it rational or fair that every gentleman, whether old or -young, sick or well, weary or untired, should, as a matter of course, -yield up the best places in the stage to any lady passenger. I do not -think it rational or fair that five gentlemen should ride on the top of -the coach, (where there is no accommodation for holding on, and no -resting-place for the feet,) for some hours of a July day in Virginia, -that a young lady, who was slightly delicate, might have room to lay up -her feet, and change her posture as she pleased. It is obvious that, if -she was not strong enough to travel on common terms in the stage, her -family should have travelled in an extra; or staid behind; or done -anything rather than allow five persons to risk their health, and -sacrifice their comfort, for the sake of one. Whatever may be the good -moral effects of such self-renunciation on the tempers of the gentlemen, -the custom is very injurious to ladies. Their travelling manners are -anything but amiable. While on a journey, women who appear well enough -in their homes, present all the characteristics of spoiled children. -Screaming and trembling at the apprehension of danger are not uncommon: -but there is something far worse in the cool selfishness with which they -accept the best of everything, at any sacrifice to others, and usually, -in the south and west, without a word or look of acknowledgment. They -are as like spoiled children when the gentlemen are not present to be -sacrificed to them;—in the inn parlour, while waiting for meals or the -stage; and in the cabin of a steam-boat. I never saw any manner so -repulsive as that of many American ladies on board steam-boats. They -look as if they supposed you mean to injure them, till you show to the -contrary. The suspicious side-glance, or the full stare; the cold, -immovable <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>observation; the bristling self-defence the moment you come -near; the cool pushing to get the best places,—everything said and done -without the least trace of trust or cheerfulness,—these are the -disagreeable consequences of the ladies being petted and humoured as -they are. The New England ladies, who are compelled by their superior -numbers to depend less upon the care of others, are far happier and -pleasanter companions in a journey than those of the rest of the -country. This shows the evil to be altogether superinduced: and I always -found that if I could keep down my spirit, and show that I meant no -harm, the apathy began to melt, the pretty ladies forgot their -self-defence, and appeared somewhat like what I conclude they are at -home, when managing their affairs, in the midst of familiar -circumstances. If these ladies would but inquire of themselves what it -is that they are afraid of, and whether there is any reason why people -should be less cheerful, less obliging, and less agreeable, when -casually brought into the society of fifty people, whose comfort depends -mainly on their mutual good offices, than among half-a-dozen neighbours -at home, they might remove an unpleasant feature of the national -manners, and add another to the many charms of their country.</p> - -<p>Much might be said of village manners in America: but Miss Sedgwick's -pictures of them in her two best works, "Home," and "The Rich Poor Man, -and the Poor Rich Man," are so true and so beautiful, and so sure of -being well-known where they have not already reached, that no more is -necessary than to mention them as some of the best and sweetest pictures -of manners in existence. To the English reader they are full as -interesting as to Americans, from the purity and fidelity of the -democratic spirit which they breathe <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>throughout. The woman who so -appreciates the blessing of living in such a society as she describes, -deserves the honour of being the first to commend it to the affections -of humanity.</p> - -<p>The manners of the wealthy classes depend, of course, upon the character -of their objects and interests: but they are not, on the whole, so -agreeable as those of their less opulent neighbours. The restless -ostentation of such as live for grandeur and show is vulgar;—as I have -said, the only vulgarity to be seen in the country. Nothing can exceed -the display of it at watering-places. At Rockaway, on Long Island, I saw -in one large room, while the company was waiting for dinner, a number of -groups which would have made a good year's income for a clever -caricaturist. If any lady, with an eye and a pencil adequate to the -occasion, would sketch the phenomena of affectation that might be seen -in one day in the piazza and drawing-room at Rockaway, she might be a -useful censor of manners. But the task would be too full of sorrow and -shame for any one with the true republican spirit. For my own part, I -felt bewildered in such company. It was as if I had been set down on a -kind of debatable land between the wholly imaginary society of the -so-called fashionable novels of late years, and the broad sketches of -citizen-life given by Madame D'Arblay. It was like nothing real. When I -saw the young ladies tricked out in the most expensive finery, flirting -over the backgammon-board, tripping affectedly across the room, -languishing with a seventy-dollar cambric handkerchief, starting up in -ecstasy at the entrance of a baby; the mothers as busy with affectations -of another kind; and the brothers sidling hither and thither, now with -assiduity, and now with nonchalance; and no one imparting the -refreshment of a natural countenance,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> movement, or tone, I almost -doubted whether I was awake. The village scenes that I had witnessed -rose up in strong contrast;—the mirthful wedding, the wagon-drives, the -offerings of wild-flowers to the stranger; the unintermitting, simple -courtesy of each to all;—and it was scarcely credible that these -contrasting scenes could both be existing in the same republic.</p> - -<p>Such watering-place manners as I saw at Rockaway are considered and -called vulgar on the spot:—of course, for the majority are far superior -to them. They deserve notice no further than as they are absolutely -anti-republican in their whole principle and spirit: and no deviation -from the republican principle in any class should be passed over by the -moralist without notice. The brand of contempt should be fixed upon any -unprincipled or false-principled style of manners, in a community based -upon avowed principles. The contempt thus inflicted upon the mode may -possibly save the persons who would otherwise render themselves liable -to it. The practice of ostentation may be lessened in America, as that -of suicide was in France, by ridicule and contempt. It is desirable for -all parties that this should be the method. The weak and vain had better -be deterred from entering upon the race of vanity, than exposed when it -is too late: and, for those of clearer and stronger minds, it is safer -to despise things than persons: for, however necessary and virtuous the -contempt of abstract vice and folly may be, there is no mind clear and -strong enough to entertain with safety contempt of persons.</p> - -<p>The best sort of rich persons, those whose principles and spirit are -democratic, their desires moderate, their pursuits rational, drop out of -sight of the mind's eye in considering the manners of the rich. Their -wealth becomes only a comparatively<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> unimportant circumstance connected -with them. They support more beneficent objects than others, and perhaps -have houses and libraries that it is a luxury to go to: but these things -are not associated with themselves in the minds of their friends, as -long as they are not so in their own. They fall into the ranks of the -honourable, independent, thorough-bred classes of the country, (its true -glory,) just as if they were not rich. The next best order of rich -people,—those who put their time and money to good uses, but who are -not blessed with the true democratic spirit of faith, have -manners,—infinitely better than the Rockaway style,—but not so good as -those of more faithful republicans. They are above the vanity of show -and the struggle for fashion: but they dread the ascendency of -ignorance, and distrust the classes whom they do not know. They are -readers: their imaginations live in the Old World; and they have -insensibly adopted the old-world prejudice, that "the people" must be -ignorant, passionate, and rapacious. The conversation of such gives -utterance to an assumption, and their bearing betrays an uneasiness, -which are highly unfavourable to good manners. This small class are so -respectable in the main, and for some great objects so useful, that it -is much to be desired that they could be referred back perpetually to -the democratic principles which would relieve their anxiety, and give to -their manners that cheerfulness which should belong to honest -republicans who have everything to hope, and little to fear.</p> - -<p>One of the most remarkable sights in the country is the President's -levee. Nothing is easier than to laugh at it. There is probably no mode -in which a number of human beings can assemble which may not be -laughable from one point of view or another. The President's levee -presents many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> facilities for ridicule. Men go there in plain cloaks and -leather belts, with all manner of wigs, and offer a large variety of -obeisance to the chief magistrate. Women go in bonnets and shawls, talk -about the company, stand upon chairs to look over people's heads, and -stare at the large rooms. There was a story of two girls, thus dressed, -being lifted up by their escorting gentlemen, and seated on the two ends -of the mantel-piece, like lustres, where they could obtain a view of the -company as they entered. To see such people mixed in with foreign -ambassadors and their suites, to observe the small mutual knowledge of -classes and persons who thus meet on terms of equality, is amusing -enough. But, amidst much that was laughable, I certainly felt that I was -seeing a fine spectacle. If the gentry of Washington desire to do away -with the custom, they must be unaware of the dignity which resides in -it, and which is apparent to the eye of a stranger, through any -inconveniences which it may have. I am sorry that its recurrence is no -longer annual. I am sorry that the practice of distributing refreshments -is relinquished: though this is a matter of less importance and of more -inconvenience. If the custom itself should ever be given up, the bad -taste of such a surrender will be unquestionable. There should be some -time and place where the chief magistrate and the people may meet to -exchange their respects, all other business being out of the question: -and I should like to see the occasion made annual again.</p> - -<p>I saw no bad manners at the President's levee, except on the part of a -silly, swaggering Englishman. All was quiet and orderly; and there was -an air of gaiety which rather surprised me. The great people were amused -at the aspect of the assembly: and the humbler at the novelties that -were going on before their eyes. Our party went at eight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> o'clock. As we -alighted from the carriage, I saw a number of women, well attended, -going up the steps in the commonest morning walking-dress. In the hall, -were parties of young men, exhibiting their graces in a walk from end to -end: and ladies throwing off their shawls, and displaying the most -splendid dresses. The President, with some members of his cabinet on -either hand, stood in the middle of the first room, ready to bow to all -the ladies, and shake hands with all the gentlemen who presented -themselves. The company then passed on to the fire-place, where stood -the ladies of the President's family, attended by the Vice-president, -and the Secretary of the Treasury. From this point, the visitors -dispersed themselves through the rooms, chatting in groups in the -Blue-room, or joining the immense promenade in the great East room. -After two circuits there, I went back to the reception-room; by far the -most interesting to an observer. I saw one ambassador after another -enter with his suite; the Judges of the Supreme Court; the majority of -the members of both Houses of Congress; and intermingled with these, the -plainest farmers, storekeepers, and mechanics, with their primitive -wives and simple daughters. Some looked merry; some looked busy; but -none bashful. I believe there were three thousand persons present. There -was one deficiency,—one drawback, as I felt at the time. There were no -persons of colour. Whatever individuals or classes may choose to do -about selecting their society according to rules of their own making, -here there should be no distinction. I know the pleas that would be -urged,—the levee being held in a slave district; the presence of -slave-holders from the south; and many others; but such pleas will not -stand before the plain fact that this levee is the appointed means by -which citizens of the United States of all degrees may, once in a time, -meet <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>together, to pay their equal respects to their chief magistrate. -Every man of colour who is a citizen of the United States has a right to -as free an admission as any other man; and it would be a dignity added -to the White House if such were seen there. It is not to its credit that -there is any place in the country where its people are more free to meet -on equal terms. There is such a place. In the Catholic cathedral in New -Orleans, I saw persons of every shade of colour kneeling on the -pavement, without separation or distinction. I would fain have seen also -some one secular house where, by general consent, all kinds of men might -meet as brethren. But not even in republican America is there yet such -an one.</p> - -<p>The Americans possess an advantage in regard to the teaching of manners -which they do not yet appreciate. They have before their eyes, in the -manners of the coloured race, a perpetual caricature of their own -follies; a mirror of conventionalism from which they can never escape. -The negroes are the most imitative set of people living. While they are -in a degraded condition, with little principle, little knowledge, little -independence, they copy the most successfully those things in their -superiors which involve the least principle, knowledge, and -independence; viz. their conventionalisms. They carry their mimicry far -beyond any which is seen among the menials of the rich in Europe. The -black footmen of the United States have tiptoe graces, stiff cravats, -and eye-catching flourishes, like the footmen in London: but the -imitation extends into more important matters. As the slaves of the -south assume their masters' names and military titles, they assume their -methods of conducting the courtesies and gaieties of life. I have in my -possession a note of invitation to a ball, written on pink<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> paper with -gilt edges.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> When the lady invited came to her mistress for the -ticket which was necessary to authorise her being out after nine at -night, she was dressed in satin with muslin over it, satin shoes, and -white kid gloves:—but, the satin was faded, the muslin torn: the shoes -were tied upon the extremities of her splay feet, and the white gloves -dropping in tatters from her dark fingers. She was a caricature, instead -of a fine lady. A friend of mine walked a mile or two in the dusk behind -two black men and a woman whom they were courting. He told me that -nothing could be more admirable than the coyness of the lady, and the -compliments of the gallant and his friend. It could not be very amusing -to those who reflect that holy and constant love, free preference, and -all that makes marriage a blessing instead of a curse, were here out of -the question: but the resemblance in the mode of courtship to that -adopted by whites, when meditating marriage of a not dissimilar -virtue,—a marriage of barter,—could not be overlooked.</p> - -<p>Even in their ultimate, funereal courtesies, the coloured race imitate -the whites. An epitaph on a negro baby at Savannah begins, "Sweet -blighted lily!"—They have few customs which are absolutely peculiar. -One of these is refusing to eat before whites. When we went long -expeditions, carrying luncheon, or procuring it by the road-side, the -slaves always retired with their share behind trees or large stones, or -other hiding-places.</p> - -<p>The Americans may be considered secure of good manners generally while -intellect is so reverenced among them as it is, above all other claims -to honour. Whatever follies and frivolities the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>would-be fashionable -classes may perpetrate, they will never be able to degrade the national -manners, or to make themselves the first people in the republic. -Intellect carries all before it in social intercourse, and will continue -to do so. I was struck by the fact that, in country villages, the most -enlightened members of a family may be cultivated as acquaintance, -without the rest. They may be invited to a superior party, and the -others left for an inferior one. As for the cities, Washington, with its -motley population in time of Session, is an exception to all rules; and -I certainly saw some uncommonly foolish people treated with more -attention, of a temporary kind, than some very wise ones. But in other -cities I am not aware of having seen any great influence possessed by -persons who had not sufficient intellectual desert. A Washington belle -related to me the sad story of the death of a young man who fell from a -small boat into the Potomac in the night,—it is supposed in his sleep. -She told where and how his body was found; and what relations he had -left; and finished with "he will be much missed at parties." Washington -is a place where a young man may be thus mourned: but elsewhere there -would have been a better reason given, or none at all. In the capitals -of States, men rank according to their supposed intellect. Many mistakes -are made in the estimate; and (far worse) many pernicious allowances are -made for bad morals, for the sake of the superior intellect: but still -the taste is a higher one, the gradation a more rational one, than is to -be found elsewhere: and, where such a taste and a gradation subsist, the -essentials of good manners can never be wanting. It is refreshing to -witness the village homage paid to the author and the statesman, as to -the highest of human beings. Whatever the author and the statesman may -be, the homage is honourable to those who offer it. It is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> no less -refreshing in the cities to see how the vainest fops and the most solid -capitalists readily succumb before men and women who are distinguished -for nothing but their minds. The worst of manners,—those which fly off -the furthest from nature, and do the most violence to the -affections—are such as arise from a surpassing regard to things outward -and shadowy: the best are those which manifest a pursuit of things -invisible and real. The Americans are better mannered than others, in as -far as they reverence intellect more than wealth and fashion. It remains -for them to enlarge their notions, and exalt their tests of intellect, -till it shall identify itself with morals. National manners, national -observances of rank graduated on such a principle would be no subject of -controversy, but would command the admiration, and gradually form the -taste, of the world. I cannot but think that a beginning of this change -is visible in the intercourses of those Americans who have rejected the -prevalent false idea of honour, and in the spirit of love borne witness -to unpopular truths. The freedom, gentleness, and earnestness of the -manners of such offer a realisation of grace which no conventional -training can secure. A southern gentleman was on board a steam-boat, -proceeding from New York to Philadelphia. He engaged in conversation -with two unknown gentlemen; and soon plunged into the subject of -slavery. He was a slave-holder, and they were abolitionists. With one of -them, he was peculiarly pleased; and they discussed their subject for a -great length of time. He at last addressed the other abolitionist thus: -"How easy and pleasant it is to argue this matter with such a man as -your friend! If all you abolitionists were like him, how soon we and you -might come to an understanding! But you are generally so coarse and -violent! You are all so like Garrison! Pray give me your friend's name."</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p><p>"You have just spoken it. It is Mr. Garrison."</p> - -<p>"Impossible! This gentleman is so mild, so gentlemanly."</p> - -<p>"Ask the captain if it be not Mr. Garrison."</p> - -<p>It was an important point. The captain was asked. This mild, courteous, -simple, sprightly, gentlemanly person was Garrison.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Channing's Letter to Birney. 1837.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Godwin's Inquirer.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Sober Thoughts on the State of the Times. Boston, 1835, p. -27.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> This reminds me of a singular instance of confusion of -ideas. The landlady of a hotel declared my trumpet to be the best -invention she had ever seen: better than spectacles. Query, better for -what?</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> "Mr. Richard Masey requests the pleasure of Mrs. Miken's, -and Miss Arthur's company, on Saturday evening at seven o'clock, in Dr. -Smith's long brick-store."</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER II.</span> <span class="smaller">WOMAN.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"The vale best discovereth the hill. There is little friendship in -the world, and least of all between equals, which was wont to be -magnified. That that is, is between superior and inferior, whose -fortunes may comprehend the one the other."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Bacon.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>If a test of civilisation be sought, none can be so sure as the -condition of that half of society over which the other half has -power,—from the exercise of the right of the strongest. Tried by this -test, the American civilisation appears to be of a lower order than -might have been expected from some other symptoms of its social state. -The Americans have, in the treatment of women, fallen below, not only -their own democratic principles, but the practice of some parts of the -Old World.</p> - -<p>The unconsciousness of both parties as to the injuries suffered by women -at the hands of those who hold the power is a sufficient proof of the -low degree of civilisation in this important particular at which they -rest. While woman's intellect is confined, her morals crushed, her -health ruined, her weaknesses encouraged, and her strength punished, she -is told that her lot is cast in the paradise of women: and there is no -country in the world where there is so much boasting of the -"chivalrous"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> treatment she enjoys. That is to say,—she has the best -place in stage-coaches: when there are not chairs enough for everybody, -the gentlemen stand: she hears oratorical flourishes on public occasions -about wives and home, and apostrophes to woman: her husband's hair -stands on end at the idea of her working, and he toils to indulge her -with money: she has liberty to get her brain turned by religious -excitements, that her attention may be diverted from morals, politics, -and philosophy; and, especially, her morals are guarded by the strictest -observance of propriety in her presence. In short, indulgence is given -her as a substitute for justice. Her case differs from that of the -slave, as to the principle, just so far as this; that the indulgence is -large and universal, instead of petty and capricious. In both cases, -justice is denied on no better plea than the right of the strongest. In -both cases, the acquiescence of the many, and the burning discontent of -the few, of the oppressed, testify, the one to the actual degradation of -the class, and the other to its fitness for the enjoyment of human -rights.</p> - -<p>The intellect of woman is confined. I met with immediate proof of this. -Within ten days of my landing, I encountered three outrageous pedants, -among the ladies; and in my progress through the country I met with a -greater variety and extent of female pedantry than the experience of a -lifetime in Europe would afford. I could fill the remainder of my volume -with sketches: but I forbear, through respect even for this very -pedantry. Where intellect has a fair chance, there is no pedantry, among -men or women. It is the result of an intellect which cannot be wholly -passive, but must demonstrate some force, and does so through the medium -of narrow morals. Pedantry indicates the first struggle of intellect -with its restraints; and is therefore a hopeful symptom.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p><p>The intellect of woman is confined by an unjustifiable restriction of -both methods of education,—by express teaching, and by the discipline -of circumstance. The former, though prior in the chronology of each -individual, is a direct consequence of the latter, as regards the whole -of the sex. As women have none of the objects in life for which an -enlarged education is considered requisite, the education is not given. -Female education in America is much what it is in England. There is a -profession of some things being taught which are supposed necessary -because everybody learns them. They serve to fill up time, to occupy -attention harmlessly, to improve conversation, and to make women -something like companions to their husbands, and able to teach their -children somewhat. But what is given is, for the most part, passively -received; and what is obtained is, chiefly, by means of the memory. -There is rarely or never a careful ordering of influences for the -promotion of clear intellectual activity. Such activity, when it exceeds -that which is necessary to make the work of the teacher easy, is feared -and repressed. This is natural enough, as long as women are excluded -from the objects for which men are trained. While there are natural -rights which women may not use, just claims which are not to be listened -to, large objects which may not be approached, even in imagination, -intellectual activity is dangerous: or, as the phrase is, unfit. -Accordingly, marriage is the only object left open to woman. Philosophy -she may pursue only fancifully, and under pain of ridicule: science only -as a pastime, and under a similar penalty. Art is declared to be left -open: but the necessary learning, and, yet more, the indispensable -experience of reality, are denied to her. Literature is also said to be -permitted: but under what penalties and restrictions? I need<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> only refer -to the last three pages of the review of Miss Sedgwick's last novel in -the North American Review, to support all that can be said of the -insolence to which the intellect of women is exposed in America. I am -aware that many blush for that article, and disclaim all sympathy with -it: but the bare fact that any man in the country could write it, that -any editor could sanction it, that such an intolerable scoff should be -allowed to find its way to the light, is a sufficient proof of the -degradation of the sex. Nothing is thus left for women but -marriage.—Yes; Religion, is the reply.—Religion is a temper, not a -pursuit. It is the moral atmosphere in which human beings are to live -and move. Men do not live to breathe: they breathe to live. A German -lady of extraordinary powers and endowments, remarked to me with -amazement on all the knowledge of the American women being based on -theology. She observed that in her own country theology had its turn -with other sciences, as a pursuit: but nowhere, but with the American -women, had she known it make the foundation of all other knowledge. Even -while thus complaining, this lady stated the case too favourably. -American women have not the requisites for the study of theology. The -difference between theology and religion, the science and the temper, is -yet scarcely known among them. It is religion which they pursue as an -occupation; and hence its small results upon the conduct, as well as -upon the intellect. We are driven back upon marriage as the only -appointed object in life: and upon the conviction that the sum and -substance of female education in America, as in England, is training -women to consider marriage as the sole object in life, and to pretend -that they do not think so.</p> - -<p>The morals of women are crushed. If there be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> any human power and -business and privilege which is absolutely universal, it is the -discovery and adoption of the principle and laws of duty. As every -individual, whether man or woman, has a reason and a conscience, this is -a work which each is thereby authorised to do for him or herself. But it -is not only virtually prohibited to beings who, like the American women, -have scarcely any objects in life proposed to them; but the whole -apparatus of opinion is brought to bear offensively upon individuals -among women who exercise freedom of mind in deciding upon what duty is, -and the methods by which it is to be pursued. There is nothing -extraordinary to the disinterested observer in women being so grieved at -the case of slaves,—slave wives and mothers, as well as spirit-broken -men,—as to wish to do what they could for their relief: there is -nothing but what is natural in their being ashamed of the cowardice of -such white slaves of the north as are deterred by intimidation from -using their rights of speech and of the press, in behalf of the -suffering race, and in their resolving not to do likewise: there is -nothing but what is justifiable in their using their moral freedom, each -for herself, in neglect of the threats of punishment: yet there were no -bounds to the efforts made to crush the actions of women who thus used -their human powers in the abolition question, and the convictions of -those who looked on, and who might possibly be warmed into free action -by the beauty of what they saw. It will be remembered that they were -women who asserted the right of meeting and of discussion, on the day -when Garrison was mobbed in Boston. Bills were posted about the city on -this occasion, denouncing these women as casting off the refinement and -delicacy of their sex: the newspapers, which laud the exertions of -ladies in all other charities for the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>prosecution of which they are -wont to meet and speak, teemed with the most disgusting reproaches and -insinuations: and the pamphlets which related to the question all -presumed to censure the act of duty which the women had performed in -deciding upon their duty for themselves.—One lady, of high talents and -character, whose books were very popular before she did a deed greater -than that of writing any book, in acting upon an unusual conviction of -duty, and becoming an abolitionist, has been almost excommunicated -since. A family of ladies, whose talents and conscientiousness had -placed them high in the estimation of society as teachers, have lost all -their pupils since they declared their anti-slavery opinions. The -reproach in all the many similar cases that I know is, not that the -ladies hold anti-slavery opinions, but that they act upon them. The -incessant outcry about the retiring modesty of the sex proves the -opinion of the censors to be, that fidelity to conscience is -inconsistent with retiring modesty. If it be so, let the modesty -succumb. It can be only a false modesty which can be thus endangered. No -doubt, there were people in Rome who were scandalised at the unseemly -boldness of christian women who stood in the amphitheatre to be torn in -pieces for their religion. No doubt there were many gentlemen in the -British army who thought it unsuitable to the retiring delicacy of the -sex that the wives and daughters of the revolutionary heroes should be -revolutionary heroines. But the event has a marvellous efficacy in -modifying the ultimate sentence. The bold christian women, the brave -American wives and daughters of half a century ago are honoured, while -the intrepid moralists of the present day, worthy of their grandmothers, -are made the confessors and martyrs of their age.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p><p>I could cite many conversations and incidents to show how the morals of -women are crushed: but I can make room for only one. Let it be the -following. A lady, who is considered unusually clear-headed and -sound-hearted where trying questions are not concerned, one day praised -very highly Dr. Channing's work on Slavery. "But," said she, "do not you -think it a pity that so much is said on slavery just now?"</p> - -<p>"No. I think it necessary and natural."</p> - -<p>"But people who hold Dr. Channing's belief about a future life, cannot -well make out the case of the slaves to be so very bad an one. If the -present life is but a moment in comparison with the eternity to come, -can it matter so very much how it is spent?"</p> - -<p>"How does it strike you about your own children? Would it reconcile you -to their being made slaves, that they could be so only for three-score -years and ten?"</p> - -<p>"O no. But yet it seems as if life would so soon be over."</p> - -<p>"And what do you think of their condition at the end of it? How much -will the purposes of human life have been fulfilled?"</p> - -<p>"The slaves will not be punished, you know, for the state they may be -in; for it will be no fault of their own. Their masters will have the -responsibility; not they."</p> - -<p>"Place the responsibility where you will. Speaking according to your own -belief, do you think it of no consequence whether a human being enters -upon a future life utterly ignorant and sensualised, or in the likeness -of Dr. Channing, as you described him just now?"</p> - -<p>"Of great consequence, certainly. But then it is no business of ours; of -us women, at all events."</p> - -<p>"I thought you considered yourself a Christian."</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p><p>"So I do. You will say that Christians should help sufferers, whoever -and wherever they may be. But not women, in all cases, surely."</p> - -<p>"Where, in your Christianity, do you find the distinction made?"</p> - -<p>She could only reply that she thought women should confine themselves to -doing what could be done at home. I asked her what her christian charity -would bid her do, if she saw a great boy beating a little one in the -street.</p> - -<p>"O, I parted two such the other day in the street. It would have been -very wrong to have passed them by."</p> - -<p>"Well: if there are a thousand strong men in the south beating ten -thousand weak slaves, and you can possibly help to stop the beating by a -declaration of your opinion upon it, does not your christian duty oblige -you to make such a declaration, whether you are man or woman? What in -the world has your womanhood to do with it?"</p> - -<p>How fearfully the morals of woman are crushed, appears from the -prevalent persuasion that there are virtues which are peculiarly -masculine, and others which are peculiarly feminine. It is amazing that -a society which makes a most emphatic profession of its Christianity, -should almost universally entertain such a fallacy: and not see that, in -the case they suppose, instead of the character of Christ being the -meeting point of all virtues, there would have been a separate gospel -for women, and a second company of agents for its diffusion. It is not -only that masculine and feminine employments are supposed to be properly -different. No one in the world, I believe, questions this. But it is -actually supposed that what are called the hardy virtues are more -appropriate to men, and the gentler to women. As all virtues nourish -each other, and can no otherwise be nourished, the consequence of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> the -admitted fallacy is that men are, after all, not nearly so brave as they -ought to be; nor women so gentle. But what is the manly character till -it be gentle? The very word magnanimity cannot be thought of in relation -to it till it becomes mild—Christ-like. Again, what can a woman be, or -do, without bravery? Has she not to struggle with the toils and -difficulties which follow upon the mere possession of a mind? Must she -not face physical and moral pain—physical and moral danger? Is there a -day of her life in which there are not conflicts wherein no one can help -her—perilous work to be done, in which she can have neither sympathy -nor aid? Let her lean upon man as much as he will, how much is it that -he can do for her?—from how much can he protect her? From a few -physical perils, and from a very few social evils. This is all. Over the -moral world he has no control, except on his own account; and it is the -moral life of human beings which is all in all. He can neither secure -any woman from pain and grief, nor rescue her from the strife of -emotions, nor prevent the film of life from cracking under her feet with -every step she treads, nor hide from her the abyss which is beneath, nor -save her from sinking into it at last alone. While it is so, while woman -is human, men should beware how they deprive her of any of the strength -which is all needed for the strife and burden of humanity. Let them -beware how they put her off her watch and defence, by promises which -they cannot fulfil;—promises of a guardianship which can arise only -from within; of support which can be derived only from the freest moral -action,—from the self-reliance which can be generated by no other -means.</p> - -<p>But, it may be asked, how does society get on,—what does it do? for it -acts on the supposition of there being masculine and feminine -virtues,—upon the fallacy just exposed.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p><p>It does so; and the consequences are what might be looked for. Men are -ungentle, tyrannical. They abuse the right of the strongest, however -they may veil the abuse with indulgence. They want the magnanimity to -discern woman's human rights; and they crush her morals rather than -allow them. Women are, as might be anticipated, weak, ignorant and -subservient, in as far as they exchange self-reliance for reliance on -anything out of themselves. Those who will not submit to such a -suspension of their moral functions, (for the work of self-perfection -remains to be done, sooner or later,) have to suffer for their -allegiance to duty. They have all the need of bravery that the few -heroic men who assert the highest rights of women have of gentleness, to -guard them from the encroachment to which power, custom, and education, -incessantly conduce.</p> - -<p>Such brave women and such just men there are in the United States, -scattered among the multitude, whose false apprehension of rights leads -to an enormous failure of duties. There are enough of such to commend -the true understanding and practice to the simplest minds and most -faithful hearts of the community, under whose testimony the right -principle will spread and flourish. If it were not for the external -prosperity of the country, the injured half of its society would -probably obtain justice sooner than in any country of Europe. But the -prosperity of America is a circumstance unfavourable to its women. It -will be long before they are put to the proof as to what they are -capable of thinking and doing: a proof to which hundreds, perhaps -thousands of Englishwomen have been put by adversity, and the result of -which is a remarkable improvement in their social condition, even within -the space of ten years. Persecution for opinion, punishment for all -manifestations of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>intellectual and moral strength, are still as common -as women who have opinions and who manifest strength: but some things -are easy, and many are possible of achievement, to women of ordinary -powers, which it would have required genius to accomplish but a few -years ago.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION I.</span><br /><span class="smaller">MARRIAGE.</span></h3> - -<p>If there is any country on earth where the course of true love may be -expected to run smooth, it is America. It is a country where all can -marry early, where there need be no anxiety about a worldly provision, -and where the troubles arising from conventional considerations of rank -and connexion ought to be entirely absent. It is difficult for a -stranger to imagine beforehand why all should not love and marry -naturally and freely, to the prevention of vice out of the marriage -state, and of the common causes of unhappiness within it. The -anticipations of the stranger are not, however, fulfilled: and they -never can be while the one sex overbears the other. Marriage is in -America more nearly universal, more safe, more tranquil, more fortunate -than in England: but it is still subject to the troubles which arise -from the inequality of the parties in mind and in occupation. It is more -nearly universal, from the entire prosperity of the country: it is -safer, from the greater freedom of divorce, and consequent -discouragement of swindling, and other vicious marriages: it is more -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>tranquil and fortunate from the marriage vows being made absolutely -reciprocal; from the arrangements about property being generally far -more favorable to the wife than in England; and from her not being made, -as in England, to all intents and purposes the property of her husband. -The outward requisites to happiness are nearly complete, and the -institution is purified from the grossest of the scandals which degrade -it in the Old World: but it is still the imperfect institution which it -must remain while women continue to be ill-educated, passive, and -subservient: or well-educated, vigorous, and free only upon sufferance.</p> - -<p>The institution presents a different aspect in the various parts of the -country. I have spoken of the early marriages of silly children in the -south and west, where, owing to the disproportion of numbers, every -woman is married before she well knows how serious a matter human life -is. She has an advantage which very few women elsewhere are allowed: she -has her own property to manage. It would be a rare sight elsewhere to -see a woman of twenty-one in her second widowhood, managing her own farm -or plantation; and managing it well, because it had been in her own -hands during her marriage. In Louisiana, and also in Missouri, (and -probably in other States,) a woman not only has half her husband's -property by right at his death, but may always be considered as -possessed of half his gains during his life; having at all times power -to bequeath that amount. The husband interferes much less with his -wife's property in the south, even through her voluntary relinquishment -of it, than is at all usual where the cases of women, having property -during their marriage are rare. In the southern newspapers, -advertisements may at any time be seen, running thus:—"Mrs. A, wife of -Mr. A, will dispose of &c. &c." When Madame<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> Lalaurie was mobbed in New -Orleans, no one meddled with her husband or his possessions; as he was -no more responsible for her management of her human property than -anybody else. On the whole, the practice seems to be that the weakest -and most ignorant women give up their property to their husbands; the -husbands of such women being precisely the men most disposed to accept -it: and that the strongest-minded and most conscientious women keep -their property, and use their rights; the husbands of such women being -precisely those who would refuse to deprive their wives of their social -duties and privileges.</p> - -<p>If this condition of the marriage law should strike any English persons -as a peculiarity, it is well that they should know that it is the -English law which is peculiar, and not that of Louisiana. The English -alone vary from the old Saxon law, that a wife shall possess half, or a -large part, of her husband's earnings or makings. It is so in Spanish, -French, and Italian law; and probably in German, as the others are -derived thence. Massachusetts has copied the faults of the English law, -in this particular; and I never met with any lawyer, or other citizen -with whom I conversed on the subject, who was not ashamed of the -barbarism of the law under which a woman's property goes into her -husband's hands with herself. A liberal-minded lawyer of Boston told me -that his advice to testators always is to leave the largest possible -amount to the widow, subject to the condition of her leaving it to the -children: but that it is with shame that he reflects that any woman -should owe that to his professional advice which the law should have -secured to her as a right. I heard a frequent expression of indignation -that the wife, the friend and helper of many years, should be portioned -off with a legacy, like a salaried domestic, instead of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> having her -husband's affairs come legally, as they would naturally, into her hands. -In Rhode Island, a widow is entitled to one-third of her husband's -property: and, on the sale of any estate of his during his life, she is -examined, in the absence of the husband, as to her will with regard to -her own proportion of it. There is some of the apparatus of female -independence in the country. It will be most interesting to observe to -what uses it is put, whenever the restraints of education and opinion to -which women are subject, shall be so far relaxed as to leave them -morally free.</p> - -<p>I have mentioned that divorce is more easily obtained in the United -States than in England. In no country, I believe, are the marriage laws -so iniquitous as in England, and the conjugal relation, in consequence, -so impaired. Whatever may be thought of the principles which are to -enter into laws of divorce, whether it be held that pleas for divorce -should be one, (as narrow interpreters of the New Testament would have -it;) or two, (as the law of England has it;) or several, (as the -Continental and United States' laws in many instances allow,) nobody, I -believe, defends the arrangement by which, in England, divorce is -obtainable only by the very rich. The barbarism of granting that as a -privilege to the extremely wealthy, to which money bears no relation -whatever, and in which all married persons whatever have an equal -interest, needs no exposure beyond the mere statement of the fact. It -will be seen at a glance how such an arrangement tends to vitiate -marriage: how it offers impunity to adventurers, and encouragement to -every kind of mercenary marriages: how absolute is its oppression of the -injured party: and how, by vitiating marriage, it originates and -aggravates licentiousness to an incalculable extent. To England alone -belongs the disgrace of such a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>method of legislation. I believe that, -while there is little to be said for the legislation of any part of the -world on this head, it is nowhere so vicious as in England.</p> - -<p>Of the American States, I believe New York approaches nearest to England -in its laws of divorce. It is less rigid, in as far as that more is -comprehended under the term "cruelty." The husband is supposed to be -liable to cruelty from the wife, as well as the wife from the husband. -There is no practical distinction made between rich and poor by the -process being rendered expensive: and the cause is more easily resumable -after a reconciliation of the parties. In Massachusetts, the term -"cruelty" is made so comprehensive, and the mode of sustaining the plea -is so considerately devised, that divorces are obtainable with peculiar -ease. The natural consequence follows: such a thing is never heard of. A -long-established and very eminent lawyer of Boston told me that he had -known of only one in all his experience. Thus it is wherever the law is -relaxed, and, <i>cæteris paribus</i>, in proportion to its relaxation: for -the obvious reason, that the protection offered by law to the injured -party causes marriages to be entered into with fewer risks, and the -conjugal relation carried on with more equality. Retribution is known to -impend over violations of conjugal duty. When I was in North Carolina, -the wife of a gamester there obtained a divorce without the slightest -difficulty. When she had brought evidence of the danger to herself and -her children,—danger pecuniary and moral,—from her husband's gambling -habits, the bill passed both Houses without a dissenting voice.</p> - -<p>It is clear that the sole business which legislation has with marriage -is with the arrangement of property; to guard the reciprocal rights of -the children of the marriage and the community. There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> is no further -pretence for the interference of the law, in any way. An advance towards -the recognition of the true principle of legislative interference in -marriage has been made in England, in the new law in which the agreement -of marriage is made a civil contract, leaving the religious obligation -to the conscience and taste of the parties. It will be probably next -perceived that if the civil obligation is fulfilled, if the children of -the marriage are legally and satisfactorily provided for by the parties, -without the assistance of the legislature, the legislature has, in -principle, nothing more to do with the matter. This principle has been -acted upon in the marriage arrangements of Zurich, with the best effects -upon the morals of the conjugal relation. The parties there are married -by a form; and have liberty to divorce themselves without any appeal to -law, on showing that they have legally provided for the children of the -marriage. There was some previous alarm about the effect upon morals of -the removal of such important legal restrictions: but the event -justified the confidence of those who proceeded on the conviction that -the laws of human affection, when not tampered with, are more sacred and -binding than those of any legislature that ever sat in council. There -was some levity at first, chiefly on the part of those who were -suffering under the old system: but the morals of the society soon -became, and have since remained, peculiarly pure.</p> - -<p>It is assumed in America, particularly in New England, that the morals -of society there are peculiarly pure. I am grieved to doubt the fact: -but I do doubt it. Nothing like a comparison between one country and -another in different circumstances can be instituted: nor would any one -desire to enter upon such a comparison. The bottomless vice, the -all-pervading corruption of European <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>society cannot, by possibility, be -yet paralleled in America: but neither is it true that any outward -prosperity, any arrangement of circumstances, can keep a society pure -while there is corruption in its social methods, and among its -principles of individual action. Even in America, where every young man -may, if he chooses, marry at twenty-one, and appropriate all the best -comforts of domestic life,—even here there is vice. Men do not choose -to marry early, because they have learned to think other things of more -importance than the best comforts of domestic life. A gentleman of -Massachusetts, who knows life and the value of most things in it, spoke -to me with deep concern of the alteration in manners which is going on: -of the increase of bachelors, and of mercenary marriages; and of the -fearful consequences. It is too soon for America to be following the old -world in its ways. In the old world, the necessity of thinking of a -maintenance before thinking of a wife has led to requiring a certain -style of living before taking a wife; and then, alas! to taking a wife -for the sake of securing a certain style of living. That this species of -corruption is already spreading in the new world is beyond a doubt;—in -the cities, where the people who live for wealth and for opinion -congregate.</p> - -<p>I was struck with the great number of New England women whom I saw -married to men old enough to be their fathers. One instance which -perplexed me exceedingly, on my entrance into the country, was explained -very little to my satisfaction. The girl had been engaged to a young man -whom she was attached to: her mother broke off the engagement, and -married her to a rich old man. This story was a real shock to me; so -persuaded had I been that in America, at least, one might escape from -the disgusting spectacle of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>mercenary marriages. But I saw only too -many instances afterwards. The practice was ascribed to the -often-mentioned fact of the young men migrating westwards in large -numbers, leaving those who should be their wives to marry widowers of -double their age. The Auld Robin Gray story is a frequently enacted -tragedy here: and one of the worst symptoms that struck me was, that -there was usually a demand upon my sympathy in such cases. I have no -sympathy for those who, under any pressure of circumstances, sacrifice -their heart's-love for legal prostitution; and no environment of beauty -or sentiment can deprive the fact of its coarseness: and least of all -could I sympathise with women who set the example of marrying for an -establishment in a new country, where, if anywhere, the conjugal -relation should be found in its purity.</p> - -<p>The unavoidable consequence of such a mode of marrying is, that the -sanctity of marriage is impaired, and that vice succeeds. Any one must -see at a glance that if men and women marry those whom they do not love, -they must love those whom they do not marry. There are sad tales in -country villages, here and there, which attest this; and yet more in -towns, in a rank of society where such things are seldom or never heard -of in England. I rather think that married life is immeasurably purer in -America than in England: but that there is not otherwise much -superiority to boast of. I can only say, that I unavoidably knew of more -cases of lapse in highly respectable families in one State than ever -came to my knowledge at home; and that they were got over with a -disgrace far more temporary and superficial than they could have been -visited with in England. I am aware that in Europe the victims are -chosen, with deliberate selfishness, from classes which cannot make -known their perils and their injuries; while in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> America, happily, no -such class exists. I am aware that this destroys all possibility of a -comparison: but the fact remains, that the morals of American society -are less pure than they assume to be. If the common boast be meant to -apply to the rural population, at least let it not be made, either in -pious gratitude, or patriotic conceit, by the aristocratic city classes, -who, by introducing the practice of mercenary marriages, have rendered -themselves responsible for whatever dreadful consequences may ensue.</p> - -<p>The ultimate and very strong impression on the mind of a stranger, -pondering the morals of society in America, is that human nature is much -the same everywhere, whatever may be its environment of riches or -poverty; and that it is justice to the human nature, and not improvement -in fortunes, which must be looked to as the promise of a better time. -Laws and customs may be creative of vice; and should be therefore -perpetually under process of observation and correction: but laws and -customs cannot be creative of virtue: they may encourage and help to -preserve it; but they cannot originate it. In the present case, the -course to be pursued is to exalt the aims, and strengthen the -self-discipline of the whole of society, by each one being as good as he -can make himself, and relying on his own efforts after self-perfection -rather than on any fortunate arrangements of outward social -circumstances. Women, especially, should be allowed the use and benefit -of whatever native strength their Maker has seen fit to give them. It is -essential to the virtue of society that they should be allowed the -freest moral action, unfettered by ignorance, and unintimidated by -authority: for it is unquestioned and unquestionable that if women were -not weak, men could not be wicked: that if women were bravely pure, -there must be an end to the dastardly tyranny of licentiousness.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION II.</span><br /><span class="smaller">OCCUPATION.</span></h3> - -<p>The greater number of American women have home and its affairs, -wherewith to occupy themselves. Wifely and motherly occupation may be -called the sole business of woman there. If she has not that, she has -nothing. The only alternative, as I have said, is making an occupation -of either religion or dissipation; neither of which is fit to be so -used: the one being a state of mind; the other altogether a negation -when not taken in alternation with business.</p> - -<p>It must happen that where all women have only one serious object, many -of them will be unfit for that object. In the United States, as -elsewhere, there are women no more fit to be wives and mothers than to -be statesmen and generals; no more fit for any responsibility whatever, -than for the maximum of responsibility. There is no need to describe -such: they may be seen everywhere. I allude to them only for the purpose -of mentioning that many of this class shirk some of their labours and -cares, by taking refuge in boarding-houses. It is a circumstance very -unfavourable to the character of some American women, that -boarding-house life has been rendered compulsory by the scarcity of -labour,—the difficulty of obtaining domestic service. The more I saw of -boarding-house life, the worse I thought of it; though I saw none but -the best. Indeed, the degrees of merit in such establishments weigh -little in the consideration of the evil of their existence at all. In -the best it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> something to be secure of respectable company, of a good -table, a well-mannered and courteous hostess, and comfort in the private -apartments: but the mischiefs of the system throw all these objects into -the back-ground.</p> - -<p>To begin with young children. There can be no sufficient command of -proper food for them; nor any security that they will eat it naturally -at the table where fifty persons may be sitting, a dozen obsequious -blacks waiting, and an array of tempting dishes within sight. The child -is in imminent danger of being too shy and frightened to eat at all, or -of becoming greedy to eat too much. Next, it is melancholy to see girls -of twelve years old either slinking down beside their parents, and -blushing painfully as often as any one of fifty strangers looks towards -them; or boldly staring at all that is going on, and serving themselves, -like little women of the world. After tea, it is a common practice to -hand the young ladies to the piano, to play and sing to a party, -composed chiefly of gentlemen, and brought together on no principle of -selection except mere respectability. Next comes the mischief to the -young married ladies, the most numerous class of women found in -boarding-houses. The uncertainty about domestic service is so great, and -the economy of boarding-house life so tempting to people who have not -provided themselves with house and furniture, that it is not to be -wondered at that many young married people use the accommodation -provided. But no sensible husband, who could beforehand become -acquainted with the liabilities incurred, would willingly expose his -domestic peace to the fearful risk. I saw enough when I saw the -elegantly dressed ladies repair to the windows of the common -drawing-room, on their husbands' departure to the counting-house, after -breakfast. There the ladies sit for hours, doing nothing but gossiping -with one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> another, with any gentlemen of the house who may happen to -have no business, and with visitors. It is true that the sober-minded -among the ladies can and do withdraw to their own apartments for the -morning: but they complain that they cannot settle to regular -employments as they could in a house of their own. Either they are not -going to stay long; or they have not room for their books, or they are -broken in upon by their acquaintances in the house. The common testimony -is, that little can be done in boarding-houses: and if the more -sober-minded find it so, the fate of the thoughtless, who have no real -business to do, may be easily anticipated. They find a dear friend or -two among the boarders, to whom they confide their husbands' secrets. A -woman who would do this once would do it twice, or as often as she -changes her boarding-house, and finds a new dear friend in each. I have -been assured that there is no end to the difficulties in which gentlemen -have been involved, both as to their commercial and domestic affairs, by -the indiscretion of their thoughtless young wives, amidst the idleness -and levities of boarding-house life.—As for the gentlemen, they are -much to be pitied. Public meals, a noisy house, confinement to one or -two private rooms, with the absence of all gratifications of their own -peculiar convenience and taste, are but a poor solace to the man of -business, after the toils and cares of the day. When to these are added -the snares to which their wives are exposed, it may be imagined that men -of sense and refinement would rather bear with any domestic -inconvenience from the uncertainty and bad quality of help, than give up -housekeeping. They would content themselves, if need were, with a bread -and cheese dinner, light their own fire, and let their wives dust the -furniture a few times in the year, rather than give up <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>privacy, with -its securities. I rather think that the gentlemen generally think and -feel thus; and that when they break up housekeeping and go to -boarding-houses, it is out of indulgence to the wishes of their wives; -who, if they were as wise as they should be, would wish it seldomer and -less than they do.</p> - -<p>The study of the economy of domestic service was a continual amusement -to me. What I saw would fill a volume. Many families are, and have for -years been, as well off for domestics as any family in England; and I -must say that among the loudest complainers there were many who, from -fault of either judgment or temper, deserved whatever difficulty they -met with. This is remarkably the case with English ladies settled in -America. They carry with them habits of command, and expectations of -obedience; and when these are found utterly to fail, they grow afraid of -their servants. Even when they have learned the theory that domestic -service is a matter of contract, an exchange of service for recompense, -the authority of the employer extending no further than to require the -performance of the service promised,—when the ladies have learned to -assent in words to this, they are still apt to be annoyed at things -which in no way concern them. If one domestic chooses to wait at table -with no cap over her scanty chevelure, and in spectacles,—if another -goes to church on Sunday morning, dressed exactly like her mistress, the -lady is in no way answerable for the bad taste of her domestics. But -English residents often cannot learn to acquiesce in these things; nor -in the servants doing their work in their own way; nor in their dividing -their time as they please between their mistress's work and their own. -The consequence is, that they soon find it impossible to get American -help at all,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> and they are consigned to the tender mercies of the low -Irish; and every one knows what kind of servants they commonly are. Some -few of them are the best domestics in America: those who know how to -value a respectable home, a steady sufficient income, the honour of -being trusted, and the security of valuable friends for life: but too -many of them are unsettled, reckless, slovenly; some dishonest, and some -intemperate.</p> - -<p>The most fortunate housekeepers I found to be those who acted the most -strenuously on principles of justice and kindness. Such housekeepers are -careful, in the first place, that no part of the mutual duty shall pass -unexplained; no opening be left for future dispute that can be avoided. -The candidate is not only informed precisely what the work is, and shown -the accommodations of the house, but consulted with about cases where -the convenience of the two parties may clash. For instance, the employer -stipulates to be informed some hours before, when her domestic intends -to go out; and that such going out shall never take place when there is -company. In return, she yields all she can to the wishes of her domestic -about recreation, receiving the visits of her family, &c. Where a -complete mutual understanding is arrived at, there is the best chance of -the terms of the contract being faithfully adhered to, and liberally -construed, on both sides: and I have seen instances of the parties -having lived together in friendship and contentment for five, seven, -eleven, and fourteen years.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> Others, again, I have seen who, without -fault of their own, have changed their servants three times in a -fortnight. Some, too, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> have observed who will certainly never be -comfortably settled, unless they can be taught the first principles of -democracy.</p> - -<p>Many ladies, in the country especially, take little girls to train; -having them bound to a certain term of service. In such a case, the girl -is taken at about eleven years old, and bound to remain till she is -eighteen. Her mistress engages to clothe her; to give her -Sunday-schooling, and a certain amount of weekday schooling in the year; -and to present her at the end of the term (except in case of bad -behaviour) with fifty dollars, or a cow, or some equivalent. Under a -good mistress, this is an excellent bargain for the girl; but mistresses -complain that as soon as the girls become really serviceable, by the -time they are fourteen or fifteen, they begin to grow restless, having -usually abundance of kind friends to tell them what good wages they -might get if they were free.</p> - -<p>In several abodes in which I resided for a longer or shorter time, the -routine of the house was as easy and agreeable as any Englishman's; -elsewhere, the accounts of domestic difficulties were both edifying and -amusing. At first, I heard but little of such things; there being a -prevalent idea in America that English ladies concern themselves very -little about household affairs. This injurious misapprehension the -ladies of England owe, with many others, to the fashionable novels which -deluge the country from New York to beyond the Mississippi. Though the -Americans repeat and believe that these books are false pictures of -manners, they cannot be wholly upon their guard against impressions -derived from them. Too many of them involuntarily image to themselves -the ladies of England as like the duchesses and countesses of those low -books: and can scarcely believe that the wives of merchants, -manufacturers, and shopkeepers, and of the greater number<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> of -professional men, buy their own provision, keep household accounts, look -to the making and mending, the baking, making of preserves, &c., and -sometimes cook, with their own hands, any dish of which their husbands -may be fond. When it was found, from my revelations, that English and -American ladies have, after all, much the same sort of things to do, the -real state of household economy was laid open to me.</p> - -<p>All American ladies should know how to clear-starch and iron: how to -keep plate and glass: how to cook dainties: and, if they understand the -making of bread and soup likewise, so much the better. The gentlemen -usually charge themselves with the business of marketing; which is very -fair. A lady, highly accomplished and very literary, told me that she -had lately been left entirely without help, in a country village where -there was little hope of being speedily able to procure any. She and her -daughter made the bread, for six weeks, and entirely kept the house, -which might vie with any nobleman's for true luxury; perfect sufficiency -and neatness. She mentioned one good result from the necessity: that she -should never again put up with bad bread. She could now testify that -bread might always be good, notwithstanding changes of weather, and all -the excuses commonly given. I heard an anecdote from this lady which -struck me. She was in the habit of employing, when she wanted extra -help, a poor woman of colour, to do kitchen-work. The domestics had -always appeared on perfectly good terms with this woman till, one day, -when there was to be an evening party, the upper domestic declined -waiting on the company; giving as a reason that she was offended at -being required to sit down to table with the coloured woman. Her -mistress gently rebuked her pride, saying "If<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> you are above waiting on -my company, my family are not. You will see my daughter carry the -tea-tray, and my niece the cake." The girl repented, and besought to be -allowed to wait; but her assistance was declined; at which she cried -heartily. The next day, she was very humble, and her mistress reasoned -with her, quite successfully. The lady made one concession in silence. -She had the coloured woman come after dinner, instead of before.</p> - -<p>A country lady travelled thirty miles to a town where she thought she -might intercept some Irish, coming down from Canada into the States, and -supply herself with domestics from among them. She engaged to send them -thirty miles to confession, twice a year, if they would live with -her.—Another country lady told me that her family suffered from want of -water, because the man objected to bring it. The maids fetched it; and -even the children, in their little cans. The man was sturdy on the -point, and she could not dismiss him for such a reason, he was such a -valuable servant; though he could not drive, from having only one eye, -and always got drunk when his work was done. The same lady had her house -pretty well kept, by dint of superintending everything herself: but, -when she wanted her rooms papered, she thought she might leave that kind -of work to the artist who undertook it. When it was done, she was -summoned to look at it, and called upon to admire the way in which the -man had "made every crease show." He had spent his ingenuity in -contriving that the pattern should not join in any two strips.</p> - -<p>The mother of a young bride of my acquaintance flattered herself that -she had graced her daughter's new house, during the wedding journey, -with two exemplary domestics. The day previous to the bride's return, -before the women had seen either<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> master or mistress, they gave notice -that they were going away directly, in consequence of the receipt of -some family news which had changed their plans. They were prevailed upon -to stay for a week, when they persisted in going, though no successors -had been obtained, and their young mistress was to receive her company -the next day. What made the matter desperate was that the bride knew -nothing of housekeeping. She made them cook as much provision, to be -eaten cold, as would possibly keep; and when they had closed the door -behind them, sat down and cried for a whole hour. How she got out of her -troubles, I forget: but she was in excellent spirits when she told me -the story.</p> - -<p>Many anecdotes are current about the manners of the young people who -come down from the retired parts of the country to domestic service in -Boston. A simple country girl obeyed her instructions exactly about -putting the dinner upon the table, and then summoning the family. But -they delayed a few minutes, from some cause; and when they entered the -dining-room, found the domestic seated and eating. She had helped -herself from a fowl, thinking that "the folk were so long a-coming, the -things would get cold." A young man from Vermont was hired by a family -who were in extreme want of a footman. He was a most friendly personage, -as willing as he was free and easy; but he knew nothing of life out of a -small farm-house. An evening or two after his arrival, there was a large -party at the house. His mistress strove to impress upon him that all he -had to do at tea-time was to follow, with the sugar and cream, the -waiter who carried the tea; to see that every one had cream and sugar; -and to hold his tongue. He did his part with an earnest face, stepping -industriously from guest to guest. When he had made the circuit, and -reached the door, a doubt struck him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> whether a group in the furthest -part of the room had had the benefit of his attentions. He raised -himself on his toes with, "I'll ask;" and shouted over the heads of the -company, "I say, how are ye off for sweetenin' in that ere corner?"</p> - -<p>These extreme cases sound ridiculously and uncomfortably enough: but it -must be remembered that they are extreme cases. For my own part, I had -rather suffer any inconvenience from having to work occasionally in -chambers and kitchen, and from having little hospitable designs -frustrated, than witness the subservience in which the menial class is -held in Europe. In England, servants have been so long accustomed to -this subservience; it is so completely the established custom for the -mistress to regulate their manners, their clothes, their intercourse -with their friends, and many other things which they ought to manage for -themselves, that it has become difficult to treat them any better. -Mistresses who abstain from such regulation find that they are spoiling -their servants; and heads of families who would make friends of their -domestics find them little fitted to reciprocate the duty. In America it -is otherwise: and may it ever be so! All but those who care for their -selfish gratification more than for the welfare of those about them will -be glad to have intelligent and disinterested friends in the domestics -whom they may be able to attach, though there may be difficulty at first -in retaining them; and some eccentricities of manner and dress may -remain to be borne with.</p> - -<p>One of the pleasures of travelling through a democratic country is the -seeing no liveries. No such badge of menial service is to be met with -throughout the States, except in the houses of the foreign ambassadors -at Washington. Of how much higher a character American domestic service -is than any which would endure to be distinguished by a badge,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> the -following instance will show. I spent an evening at the house of the -president of Harvard University. The party was waited on at tea by a -domestic of the president's, who is also Major of the Horse. On cavalry -days, when guests are invited to dine with the regiment, the major, in -his regimentals, takes the head of the table, and has the president on -his right hand. He plays the host as freely as if no other relation -existed between them. The toasts being all transacted, he goes home, -doffs his regimentals, and waits on the president's guests at tea.</p> - -<p>As for the occupations with which American ladies fill up their leisure; -what has been already said will show that there is no great weight or -diversity of occupation. Many are largely engaged in charities, doing -good or harm according to the enlightenment of mind which is carried to -the work. In New England, a vast deal of time is spent in attending -preachings, and other religious meetings: and in paying visits, for -religious purposes, to the poor and sorrowful. The same results follow -from this practice that may be witnessed wherever it is much pursued. In -as far as sympathy is kept up, and acquaintanceship between different -classes in society is occasioned, the practice is good. In as far as it -unsettles the minds of the visitors, encourages a false craving for -religious excitement, tempts to spiritual interference on the one hand, -and cant on the other, and humours or oppresses those who need such -offices least, while it alienates those who want them most, the practice -is bad. I am disposed to think that much good is done, and much harm: -and that, whenever women have a greater charge of indispensable business -on their hands, so as to do good and reciprocate religious sympathy by -laying hold of opportunities, instead of by making occupation, more than -the present good will be done, without any of the harm.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p><p>All American ladies are more or less literary: and some are so to -excellent purpose: to the saving of their minds from vacuity. Readers -are plentiful: thinkers are rare. Minds are of a very passive character: -and it follows that languages are much cultivated. If ever a woman was -pointed out to me as distinguished for information, I might be sure -beforehand that she was a linguist. I met with a great number of ladies -who read Latin; some Greek; some Hebrew; some German. With the exception -of the last, the learning did not seem to be of much use to them, except -as a harmless exercise. I met with more intellectual activity, more -general power, among many ladies who gave little time to books, than -among those who are distinguished as being literary. I did not meet with -a good artist among all the ladies in the States. I never had the -pleasure of seeing a good drawing, except in one instance; or, except in -two, of hearing good music. The entire failure of all attempts to draw -is still a mystery to me. The attempts are incessant; but the results -are below criticism. Natural philosophy is not pursued to any extent by -women. There is some pretension to mental and moral philosophy; but the -less that is said on that head the better.</p> - -<p>This is a sad account of things. It may tempt some to ask 'what then are -the American women?' They are better educated by Providence than by men. -The lot of humanity is theirs: they have labour, probation, joy, and -sorrow. They are good wives; and, under the teaching of nature, good -mothers. They have, within the range of their activity, good sense, good -temper, and good manners. Their beauty is very remarkable; and, I think, -their wit no less. Their charity is overflowing, if it were but more -enlightened: and it may be supposed that they could not exist without -religion. It appears to superabound;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> but it is not usually of a healthy -character. It may seem harsh to say this: but is it not the fact that -religion emanates from the nature, from the moral state of the -individual? Is it not therefore true that unless the nature be -completely exercised, the moral state harmonised, the religion cannot be -healthy?</p> - -<p>One consequence, mournful and injurious, of the 'chivalrous' taste and -temper of a country with regard to its women is that it is difficult, -where it is not impossible, for women to earn their bread. Where it is a -boast that women do not labour, the encouragement and rewards of labour -are not provided. It is so in America. In some parts, there are now so -many women dependent on their own exertions for a maintenance, that the -evil will give way before the force of circumstances. In the meantime, -the lot of poor women is sad. Before the opening of the factories, there -were but three resources; teaching, needle-work, and keeping -boarding-houses or hotels. Now, there are the mills; and women are -employed in printing-offices; as compositors, as well as folders and -stitchers.</p> - -<p>I dare not trust myself to do more than touch on this topic. There would -be little use in dwelling upon it; for the mischief lies in the system -by which women are depressed, so as to have the greater number of -objects of pursuit placed beyond their reach, more than in any minor -arrangements which might be rectified by an exposure of particular -evils. I would only ask of philanthropists of all countries to inquire -of physicians what is the state of health of sempstresses; and to judge -thence whether it is not inconsistent with common humanity that women -should depend for bread upon such employment. Let them inquire what is -the recompense of this kind of labour, and then wonder if they can that -the pleasures of the licentious are chiefly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>supplied from that class. -Let them reverence the strength of such as keep their virtue, when the -toil which they know is slowly and surely destroying them will barely -afford them bread, while the wages of sin are luxury and idleness. -During the present interval between the feudal age and the coming time, -when life and its occupations will be freely thrown open to women as to -men, the condition of the female working classes is such that if its -sufferings were but made known, emotions of horror and shame would -tremble through the whole of society.</p> - -<p>For women who shrink from the lot of the needlewoman,—almost equally -dreadful, from the fashionable milliner down to the humble -stocking-darner,—for those who shrink through pride, or fear of -sickness, poverty, or temptation, there is little resource but -pretension to teach. What office is there which involves more -responsibility, which requires more qualifications, and which ought, -therefore, to be more honourable, than that of teaching? What work is -there for which a decided bent, not to say a genius, is more requisite? -Yet are governesses furnished, in America as elsewhere, from among those -who teach because they want bread; and who certainly would not teach for -any other reason. Teaching and training children is, to a few, a very -few, a delightful employment, notwithstanding all its toils and cares. -Except to these few it is irksome; and, when accompanied with poverty -and mortification, intolerable. Let philanthropists inquire into the -proportion of governesses among the inmates of lunatic asylums. The -answer to this question will be found to involve a world of rebuke and -instruction. What can be the condition of the sex when such an -occupation is overcrowded with candidates, qualified and unqualified? -What is to be hoped from the generation of children confided<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> to the -cares of a class, conscientious perhaps beyond most, but reluctant, -harassed, and depressed?</p> - -<p>The most accomplished governesses in the United States may obtain 600 -dollars a-year in the families of southern planters; provided they will -promise to teach everything. In the north they are paid less; and in -neither case, is there a possibility of making provision for sickness -and old age. Ladies who fully deserve the confidence of society may -realise an independence in a few years by school-keeping in the north: -but, on the whole, the scanty reward of female labour in America remains -the reproach to the country which its philanthropists have for some -years proclaimed it to be. I hope they will persevere in their -proclamation, though special methods of charity will not avail to cure -the evil. It lies deep; it lies in the subordination of the sex: and -upon this the exposures and remonstrances of philanthropists may -ultimately succeed in fixing the attention of society; particularly of -women. The progression or emancipation of any class usually, if not -always, takes place through the efforts of individuals of that class: -and so it must be here. All women should inform themselves of the -condition of their sex, and of their own position. It must necessarily -follow that the noblest of them will, sooner or later, put forth a moral -power which shall prostrate cant, and burst asunder the bonds, (silken -to some, but cold iron to others,) of feudal prejudices and usages. In -the meantime, is it to be understood that the principles of the -Declaration of Independence bear no relation to half of the human race? -If so, what is the ground of the limitation? If not so, how is the -restricted and dependent state of women to be reconciled with the -proclamation that "all are endowed by their Creator with certain -inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit -of happiness?"</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3><span>SECTION III.</span><br /><span class="smaller">HEALTH.</span></h3> - -<p>Some popular American writers have lately laid hold of this subject, to -the great advantage of the society in which they live. Dr. Combe's -"Principles of Physiology" has gone through several editions; and I know -that the demand of society for fresh air and soap and water has -considerably increased in consequence. But much remains to be done. In -private houses, baths are a rarity. In steam-boats, the accommodations -for washing are limited in the extreme; and in all but first-rate -hotels, the philosophy of personal cleanliness is certainly not -understood. The Creoles of Louisiana are the most satisfactory hosts and -hostesses in this respect, except a few particularly thoughtful people -elsewhere. In the house of a Creole, a guest finds a large pan or tub of -fresh cold water, with soap and towels, placed in a corner of his room, -morning and night. In such a climate as that of New Orleans, there is no -safety nor comfort in anything short of a complete ablution, twice a -day. On board steam-boats which have not separate state-rooms, there are -no means of preserving sufficient cleanliness and health. How the ladies -of the cabin can expect to enjoy any degree of vigour and cheerfulness -during a voyage of four or five days, during which they wash merely -their faces and hands, I cannot imagine. It is to be hoped that the -majority will soon demand that there should be a range of -washing-closets in all steam-boats whose voyages are longer than -twenty-four hours.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p><p>The common excuse for the deficient activity and lack of fresh air is -the climate. But this excuse will not avail while there are ladies who -do preserve their health by walking and riding, and thoroughly -ventilating their houses. Any one who knows Stockbridge, and the feats -which are there performed by a troop of rosy, graceful girls, and active -women, will reject all pleas about the difficulty of getting air and -exercise. It is one of the misfortunes of a new country that its cities -have environs which are little tempting for walking. It must be -acknowledged that it requires some resolution to go out to walk in -places no more tempting than Pennsylvania Avenue, at Washington; -Broadway, New York; or the trim streets of Philadelphia; or even the -pretty Common at Boston. But the way to have good country walks provided -is to wish for them. When the whole female society of America shall be -as fond of exercise, as highly-principled with regard to it, as the -Stockbridge ladies, the facilities will be furnished. In the meantime, -there are pretty walks within reach of the whole population, except that -of three or four large cities. Boston is particularly unfortunate in -occupying a promontory, from which it is usually necessary to pass very -long bridges to the mainland: a passage too bleak to be attempted in -windy weather, and too exposed to be endurable in a hot sun, without -necessity. But those who have carriages can easily get transported -beyond this inconvenience; and for those who have not, there is the -Common and the Neck.</p> - -<p>Those who wish for health, and know how to seek it, contrive to walk in -summer very early in the morning; like residents in India. The mornings -of the sultry months are perfectly delicious; and there is no excuse for -neglect of exercise while they last. The autumn weather of the northern<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> -States is the best of the year, when the hues and airs of paradise seem -shed abroad. The greater number of days in the winter admit of exercise. -The winds are too cutting to be encountered; but the days of calm clear -frost might be much better employed in walking than in sleighing. No -eulogiums on the sleigh will ever reconcile me to it. I dislike the -motion, and, after a short time, the jingle of the bells. But the danger -is the prime consideration. Young ladies who dry up their whole frames -in the heat of fires of anthracite coal, never breathing the outward air -but in going to church, and in stepping in and out of the carriage in -going to parties, will once in a time go on a sleighing expedition; -sitting motionless in the open air, with hot bricks to their feet, and -their faces in danger of being frost-bitten. If there be pleasure in -such frolics, it is too dearly bought by the peril. If the troops of -girls who would mourn over the abolition of sleighing would but try how -they like the luxury of daily active exercise in fresh air, they would -find the exchange well worth making, on the score of pleasure alone.</p> - -<p>The ladies plead that they have much exercise within doors, about their -household occupations. Except making beds, rubbing tables, and romping -with children, I know of no household occupations which involve much -exercise. The weariness which some of them occasion, is of a kind which -would be relieved by walking. And all this does not imply fresh air, of -which no one can get enough without going out into it, except in some -country residences. It made me sorrowful to see children shut up during -the winter in houses, heated by anthracite coal up to the temperature of -85°; and to see how pallid and dried the poor little things looked, long -before there was a prospect of their speedy release from their -imprisonment. Some, who were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> let out on fine days, were pretty sure to -catch cold. Those only seemed heartily to thrive who were kept in rooms -moderately heated, and vigorously exercised in the open air, on all but -windy and other unmanageable days. The burning of anthracite coal -affected me unpleasantly, except where an evaporation of water was going -on in the room. I suspect that some of the maladies of the country may -be more or less owing to its use.</p> - -<p>One proof of the badness of the system of non-exercising, is found in -the fact that the distortion of the spine is even more common among -women in America than in Europe. Physicians who have turned their -attention to this symptom, declare that the difficulty is to find in -boarding-schools a spine that is perfectly straight: and when the period -of growth is completed, a large majority of cases remains where the -weakness is not entirely got over. The posture-making of the United -States is renowned. Of course there is a cause for a propensity so -general. The languor induced by the climate is that assigned. The ladies -not being able to use the same freedom as the gentlemen, get rid of -their languor as they may; but not as they best may. Instead of sitting -still all through the hot weather, and all through the cold weather, -they had better exercise their limbs during some portion of the day, and -lie down during the most sultry hours; and in the winter, avail -themselves of every opportunity for active employment. If they would do -this, it is not to be conceived that the next generation would be -distinguished as the present is for its spare forms and pallid -complexions.</p> - -<p>The apathy on the subject of health was to me no otherwise to be -accounted for than by supposing that the feeling of vigorous health is -almost unknown. Invalids are remarkably uncomplaining<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> and unalarmed; -and their friends talk of their having "a weak breast," and "delicate -lungs," with little more seriousness than the English use in speaking of -a common cold. The numbers of clergymen who had to leave their flocks, -professors their chairs, young men and women their country, in pursuit -of health, made me melancholy sometimes when the friends and neighbours -took it calmly as the commonest of events. As I am pretty confident that -a remedy might be found in more judicious management, this acquiescence -strikes me as being by far too Mahomedan in its character. The extremest -case that I met with was in a lady, who declared, with complacency, that -she could not walk a mile. She owned her belief that the inactivity of -the American women shortened their lives by some years; but thought this -did not matter, as they were not aware of it at the time.</p> - -<p>I should like to see a well-principled reform in diet tried, with a view -to the improvement of the general health. I should like to see hot bread -and cakes banished; a diminution in the quantity of pickles and -preserves, and also in the quantity of meat eaten. I should like to see -the effect of making the diet of children more simple. Almost any change -would be worth trying for so great an object. What is to become of the -next, and again of the succeeding generation, if the average of health -cannot be raised, it is fearful to think of. The only prevalence of -vigorous health that I witnessed in the country, was in the elevated -parts of the Alleghany range; in the State of Michigan; and perhaps I -might add, among the ladies of Charleston, who pass three quarters of -the year in the open air of their piazzas.<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p><p>All these means of improving health, though probably necessary, will -not avail without some others. There must be less anxiety of mind among -men, and less vacuity among women. With a brain fully but equably -exercised, and composed nerves, the above-mentioned methods would -probably enable the Americans to defy the changes of their climate: but -not without this justice to the brain and nerves. It is rather -remarkable that this anxiety prevails most in the parts of the country -which make the most conspicuous profession of religion. Religious faith -and hope should naturally promote health and equanimity by teaching the -spirit to repose on immovable principles, and unintermitting laws: by -disburdening the mind of worldly cares, and giving rest to the weary and -heavy-laden. If it does not thus calm and lighten the mind, it fails of -its effect. If it disturbs the mental and bodily frame, its operation is -perverted. It would be well if this were looked to. The more moderate -religionists point to the graves of the young who have fallen victims to -Revivals. Let them look at home to see if no spiritual competition, no -asceticism interferes with the equable workings of the frame, by which -its powers are kept in vigorous and joyous action, without excess.</p> - -<p>There is no doubt of this wear and tear from anxiety being the chief -cause of the excessive use of tobacco in the United States. Its charm to -men, who have not the elasticity of health and good animal spirits to -oppose to toil and trouble, may be imagined. It is to be hoped that the -enjoyment of the natural and perfect stimulant will soon supersede the -use of the artificial and pernicious one.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p><p>The vacuity of mind of many women is, I conclude, the cause of a vice -which it is painful to allude to; but which cannot honestly be passed -over, in the consideration of the morals and the health of American -women. It is no secret on the spot, that the habit of intemperance is -not infrequent among women of station and education in the most -enlightened parts of the country. I witnessed some instances, and heard -of more. It does not seem to me to be regarded with all the dismay which -such a symptom ought to excite. To the stranger, a novelty so horrible, -a spectacle so fearful, suggests wide and deep subjects of -investigation. If women, in a region professing religion more -strenuously than any other, living in the deepest external peace, -surrounded by prosperity, and outwardly honoured more conspicuously than -in any other country, can ever so far cast off self-restraint, shame, -domestic affection, and the deep prejudices of education, as to plunge -into the living hell of intemperance, there must be something fearfully -wrong in their position. An intemperate man has strong temptation to -plead: he began with conviviality, and only arrives at solitary -intemperance as the ultimate degradation. A woman indulges in the vice -in solitude and secrecy, as long as secrecy is possible. She knows that -there is no excuse, no solace, no hope. There is nothing before her but -despair. It is impossible to suppose than that there has otherwise been -despair throughout: the despair which waits upon vacuity. I believe that -the practice has, in some few cases, arisen from physicians prescribing -cordials to growing girls at school, and from the difficulty found in -desisting from the use of agreeable stimulants. In other cases, the vice -is hereditary. In others, no explanation remains, but that which appears -to me quite sufficient,—vacuity of mind. Lest my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>mention of this very -remarkable fact should lead to the supposition of the practice being -more common than it is, I think it right to state, that I happened to -know of seven or eight cases in the higher classes of society of one -city. The number of cases is a fact of comparatively small importance. -That one exists, is a grief which the whole of society should take to -heart, and ponder with the entire strength of its understanding.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> The wages of domestic service vary, of course, according -to circumstances. In the eastern cities, a good footman is paid about -twenty-five dollars per month: a cook, two dollars a-week; and a -housemaid a dollar and a-half.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> I was informed by an eminent physician, that within his -recollection, <i>goîtres</i> were very common at Pittsburg. The patients -recovered, if early sent round to the open country on the other side of -the hill. Since the woods have been felled, and the city thereby well -ventilated, the disease has wholly disappeared.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER III.</span> <span class="smaller">CHILDREN.</span></h2> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"An evidence and reprehension both</div> -<div>Of the mere schoolboy's lean and tardy growth."</div> -<div class="right"><i>Cowper.</i></div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Nothing less than an entire work would be required for the discussion of -the subject of education in any country. I can only indicate here two or -three peculiarities which strike the stranger in the discipline of -American children; of those whose lot is cast in the northern States; -for it needs no further showing, that those who are reared among slaves -have not the ordinary chances of wisdom and peace.</p> - -<p>The Americans, particularly those of New England, look with a just -complacency on the apparatus of education furnished to their entire -population.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> There are schools provided for the training of every -individual, from the earliest age; colleges to receive the élite of the -schools; and lyceums, and other such institutions, for the subsequent -instruction of working men. The provision of schools is so adequate, -that any citizen who sees<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> a child at play during school-hours, may ask -"why are you not at school?" and, unless a good reason be given, may -take him to the school-house of the district. Some, who do not penetrate -to the principle of this, exclaim upon the tyranny practised upon the -parents. The principle is, that, in a democracy, where life and society -are equally open to all, and where all have agreed to require of each -other a certain amount of intellectual and moral competency, the means -being provided, it becomes the duty of all to see that the means are -used. Their use is an indispensable condition of the privileges of -citizenship. No control is exercised as to how and where the child shall -be educated. It rests with the parent to send him to a public or private -school, or have him taught at home: but in case of his being found in a -neglected state as to education, it is in the power of any citizen to -bring him to the advantage provided for him by society.</p> - -<p>The instruction furnished is not good enough for the youth of such a -country, with such a responsibility and such a destiny awaiting them as -the working out the first democratic organisation that the world has -witnessed in practice. The information provided is both meagre and -superficial. There is not even any systematic instruction given on -political morals: an enormous deficiency in a republic. But it must be -remembered how young the society is; how far it has already gone beyond -most other countries; and how great is the certainty that the majority, -always ultimately in the right, will gradually exalt the character of -the instruction which it has been already wise enough to provide. It -must be remembered too, how much farther the same kind and degree of -instruction goes in a democracy than elsewhere. The alphabet itself is -of little or no value to a slave, while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> it is an inestimable treasure -to a conscious young republican. One needs but go from a charity-school -in an English county to a free-school in Massachusetts, to see how -different the bare acquisition of reading and writing is to children -who, if they look forward at all, do it languidly, and into a life of -mechanical labour merely, and to young citizens who are aware that they -have their share of the work of self-government to achieve. Elderly -gentlemen in the country may smile, and foreigners of all ages may scoff -at the self-confidence and complacency of young men who have just -exercised the suffrage for the first time: but the being secure of the -dignity, the certainty of being fully and efficaciously represented, the -probability of sooner or later filling some responsible political -office, are a stimulus which goes far to supply the deficiencies of the -instruction imparted. It is much to be wished that this stimulus were as -strong and as virtuous in one or two colleges whose inmates are on the -very verge of the exercise of their political rights, as in some of even -the primary schools. The aristocratic atmosphere of Harvard University, -for instance, would be much purified by a few breezes of such democratic -inspiration as issue from the school-houses of some of the country -districts.</p> - -<p>Some persons plead that there is less occasion for school instruction in -the principles of politics, than for an improved teaching of some other -things; because children are instructed in politics every day of their -lives by what they hear at home, and wherever they go. But they hear all -too little of principles. What they hear is argumentation about -particular men, and immediate measures. The more sure they are of -learning details elsewhere, the more necessary it is that they should -here be exercised in those principles by which the details<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> are to be -judged and made available as knowledge. They come to school with their -heads crammed with prejudices, and their memories with words, which it -should be part of the work of school to reduce to truth and clearness, -by substituting principles for the one, and annexing ideas to the other.</p> - -<p>A Sunday-school teacher asked a child, "Who killed Abel?" "General -Jackson."—Another inquired of a scholar, "In what state were mankind -left after the fall?"—"In the State of Vermont."</p> - -<p>The early republican consciousness of which I have spoken, and the fact -of the more important place which the children occupy in a society whose -numbers are small in proportion to its resources, are the two -circumstances which occasion that freedom of manners in children of -which so much complaint has been made by observers, and on which so much -remonstrance has been wasted;—I say "wasted," because remonstrance is -of no avail against a necessary fact. Till the United States cease to be -republican, and their vast area is fully peopled, the children there -will continue as free and easy and as important as they are. For my own -part, I delight in the American children; in those who are not overlaid -with religious instruction. There are instances, as there are -everywhere, of spoiled, pert, and selfish children. Parents' hearts are -pierced there, as elsewhere. But the independence and fearlessness of -children were a perpetual charm in my eyes. To go no deeper, it is a -constant amusement to see how the speculations of young minds issue, -when they take their own way of thinking, and naturally say all they -think. Some admirable specimens of active little minds were laid open to -me at a juvenile ball at Baltimore. I could not have got at so much in a -year in England. If I had at home gone in among<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> eighty or a hundred -little people, between the ages of eight and sixteen, I should have -extracted little more than "Yes, ma'am," and "No, ma'am." At Baltimore, -a dozen boys and girls at a time crowded round me, questioning, -discussing, speculating, revealing in a way which enchanted me. In -private houses, the comments slipped in at table by the children were -often the most memorable, and generally the most amusing part of the -conversation. Their aspirations all come out. Some of these are very -striking as indicating the relative value of things in the children's -minds. One affectionate little sister, of less than four years old, -stimulated her brother William, (five,) by telling him that if he would -be very very good, he might in time be called William Webster; and then -he might get on to be as good as Jesus Christ. Three children were -talking over the birth-day of the second, (ten) and how they should like -to keep it. They settled that they should like of all things to have -Miss Sedgwick, and Mr. Bryant, and myself, to spend the day with them. -They did not venture to invite us, and had no intention of our knowing -their wish.</p> - -<p>In conversing with a truly wise parent, one day, I remarked on the -change of relation which takes place when the superior children of -ordinary parents become guides and protectors to those who have kept -their childhood restrained under a rigid rule. We talked over the -difficulties of the transition here, (by far the hardest part of filial -duty,) and speculated on what the case would be after death, supposing -the parties to recognise each other in a new life of progression. My -friend observed that the only thing to be done is to avoid to the utmost -the exercise of authority, and to make children friends from the very -beginning. He and many others have done this with gladdening <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>success. -They do not lay aside their democratic principles in this relation, more -than in others, because they happen to have almost unlimited power in -their own hands. They watch and guard: they remove stumbling-blocks: -they manifest approbation and disapprobation: they express wishes, but, -at the same time, study the wishes of their little people: they leave as -much as possible to natural retribution: they impose no opinions, and -quarrel with none: in short, they exercise the tenderest friendship -without presuming upon it. What is the consequence? I had the pleasure -of hearing this friend say, "There is nothing in the world so easy as -managing children. You may make them anything you please." In my own -mind I added, "with such hearts and minds to bring to the work as the -parents of your children have."—One reason of the pleasure with which I -regarded the freedom of American children was that I took it as a sign -that the most tremendous suffering perhaps of human life is probably -lessened, if not obviated, there:—the misery of concealed doubts and -fears, and heavy solitary troubles,—the misery which makes the early -years of a shy child a fearful purgatory. Yet purgatory is not the word: -for this misery purges no sins, while it originates many. I have a -strong suspicion that the faults of temper so prevalent where parental -authority is strong, and where children are made as insignificant as -they can be made, and the excellence of temper in America, are -attributable to the different management of childhood in the one article -of freedom. There is no doubt that many children are irrecoverably -depressed and unnerved for want of being convinced that anybody cares -for them. They nourish doubts, they harbour fears and suspicions, and -carry within them prejudices and errors, for want of its occurring to -them to ask<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> questions; and though they may outgrow these defects and -errors, they never recover from them. Unexplained and inexplicable -obstacles are thrown in the way of their filial duty,—obstacles which -not even the strongest conscientiousness can overcome with grace: the -vigour of the spirit is prostrated, or perverted into wilfulness: the -calmness of self-respect is forfeited, and so is the repose of a loving -faith in others. In short, the temper is ruined, and the life is -spoiled; and all from the parents not having made friends of their -children from the beginning.—No one will suppose that I mean to -represent this mistake as general anywhere. But I am confident it is -very common at home: and that it cannot, in the nature of things, ever -become common in America. I saw one or two melancholy instances of it: -and a few rare cases where parents attempted unjustifiably to rule the -proceedings of their grown up sons and daughters; not by express -command, but by pleas which, from a parent, are more irresistible than -even commands. But these were remarkable, and remarked upon, as -exceptions. I saw two extreme contrasting cases, in near neighbourhood, -of girls brought up, the one in the spirit of love, the other in that of -fear. Those two girls are the best teachers of moral philosophy that -ever fell in my way. In point of birth, organisation, means of -education, they were about equal. Both were made to be beautiful and -intelligent. The one is pallid, indolent, (with the reputation of -learning,) tasteless, timid, and triste, manifesting nothing but -occasionally an intense selfishness, and a prudery beyond belief. The -education of this girl has been the study of her anxious parents from -the day of her birth: but they have omitted to let her know and feel -that anybody loved her. The other, the darling of a large family, -meeting love from all eyes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> and hearing tenderness in every voice, is -beautiful as a Hebe, and so free and joyous that her presence is like -sunshine in a rainy day. She knows that she is beautiful and -accomplished; but she is, as far as eye can see, absolutely devoid of -vanity. She has been apprised, over and over again, that people think -her a genius: she silently contradicts this, and settles with herself -that she can acquire anything, but originate nothing. She studies with -her whole being, as if she were coming out next year in a learned -profession. She dances at balls as if nothing lay beyond the ball-room. -She flits hither and thither, in rain or sunshine, walking, riding, or -driving, on little errands of kindness; and bears the smallest interests -of her friends in mind in the heights of her mirth and the depths of her -studies. At dull evening parties, she can sit under the lamp, (little -knowing how beautiful she looks) quietly amusing herself with prints, -and not wanting notice: and she can speak out what she thinks and feels -to a circle of admirers, as simply and earnestly as she would to her own -mother. I have seen people shake their heads, and fear lest she should -be spoiled; but my own conviction is that this young creature is -unspoilable. She has had all the praise and admiration she can have: no -watchfulness of parents can keep them from her. She does not want praise -and admiration. She has other interests and other desires: and my belief -is, that if she were left alone to-morrow, the last of her family, she -would be as safe, busy, and, in due time, happy, as she is now under -their tender guardianship. She is the most complete example I ever -witnessed of a being growing up in the light and warmth and perfect -freedom of love; and she has left me very little toleration for -authority, in education more than in anything else.</p> - -<p>A question was asked me, oftener than once,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> which indicates the -difference between family manners in England and America. I was asked -whether it was possible that the Bennet family would act as they are -represented in "Pride and Prejudice:" whether a foolish mother, with -grown up daughters, would be allowed to spoil the two youngest, instead -of the sensible daughters taking the case into their own hands. It is -certainly true that in America the superior minds of the family would -take the lead; while in England, however the domestic affairs might -gradually arrange themselves, no person would be found breathing the -suggestion of superseding the mother's authority. The most remarkable -difference is, that in England the parents value the authority as a -right, however lenient they may be in the use of it. In America, the -parent disapproves of it, as a matter of reason: and, if he acts -rationally, had rather not possess it. Little revelations of the state -of the case were perpetually occurring, which excited my wonder at -first, and my interest throughout. It appeared through the smallest -circumstances; as, for instance, when a lady was describing to me the -wedding-day of her eldest daughter. She mentioned that two or three of -the children were not in the drawing-room at the time of the ceremony. -Why? They were so angry at their brother-in-law for taking away their -sister, that they kept out of the way till he had driven from the door -with his bride. What children in England would have dreamed of absenting -themselves in such a way?</p> - -<p>It is amusing to observe what the ability for self-preservation is among -children in a country where nursemaids are scarce. It frightened me at -first to see mere babies playing on broken wooden bridges, where the -rushing water below might be seen through large holes; and little boys -climbing trees which slanted over a rocky precipice; or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> getting into a -canoe tossing on a rough river. But I find that accidents to children -are rarely or never heard of. The obvious results of such training are a -dexterity, fearlessness, and presence of mind, and aptitude for bodily -exercises, which are of eminent use in mature life.</p> - -<p>I was sorry to perceive in some of the cities, especially in Boston, an -unconsciousness on the part of many parents of the superior value of the -discipline of circumstance to that of express teaching, in the work of -education. Perhaps no one would be found to deny in words that the best -training is that which exercises the whole being of a child: yet there -is a method of education somewhat in fashion in Boston just now, which -bids fair to kill off its victims in early life; and irreparably -injure,—morally as well as physically,—those whom it may spare. The -good people of Boston are more fond of excitement than of consistency: -or, rather, that part of society is so which professes to constitute the -city. When Spurzheim was there, the brain was everything; and his wise -and benevolent remonstrances about the neglect or abuse of the bodily -powers were received with great candour, and with much apparent -conviction. Short as the interval has been, a considerable number of his -disciples have gone directly over to the opposite philosophy; and in -their spiritualism out-herod Herod. They frame their theory and practice -on the principle that human beings are created perfect spirits in an -infant body. Some go further back than this, and actually teach little -children dogmatically that spirit makes body; and that their own bodies -are the result of the efforts of their spirits to manifest themselves. -Such outrageous absurdities might be left to contempt, but for the -consequences in practice. There is a school in Boston, (a large one,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> -when I left the city,) conducted on this principle. The master -presupposes his little pupils possessed of all truth, in philosophy and -morals; and that his business is to bring it out into expression; to -help the outward life to conform to the inner light; and, especially, to -learn of these enlightened babes, with all humility. Large exposures -might be made of the mischief this gentleman is doing to his pupils by -relaxing their bodies, pampering their imaginations, over-stimulating -the consciences of some, and hardening those of others; and by his -extraordinary management, offering them every inducement to falsehood -and hypocrisy. His system can be beneficial to none, and must be ruinous -to many. If he should retain any pupils long enough to make a full trial -of his methods with them, those who survive the neglect of bodily -exercises and over-excitement of brain, will be found the first to throw -off moral restraints, on perceiving at length that their moral guide has -been employing their early years in the pursuit of shadows and the -contempt of realities. There is, however, little fear of such a full -trial being made. A few weeks are enough to convince sensible parents of -the destructiveness of such a system; and it will probably issue in -being one of the fancies of the day at Boston; and little heard of -anywhere else.</p> - -<p>The fundamental principle is, however, working mischief in other -directions. It affects, very unfortunately, the welfare of the blind; -and yet more of the deaf and dumb who are taken under the benevolent -protection of society. As long as there are many of the most -distinguished members of the community who hold that the interior being -of these sufferers is in a perfect state, only the means of -manifestation being deficient; that their training is to proceed on the -supposition of their being possessed of a complete set of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>intellectual -and moral intuitions; and that they therefore only need to be furnished -with types, being already full of the things typified; and even that -they have the advantage over others in the exclusion of false and vulgar -associations,—the pupils will have little chance of benefit beyond the -protection and comfort secured to them in their appropriate -institutions. In the conversation of those who verbally pitied their -case, I could frequently trace an inward persuasion that the deaf and -dumb were better off than those who could hear and speak: and there were -few who discovered, while admiring the supposed allegorical discourse or -compositions of the pupils, that the whole was little more than a set of -images, absolutely empty of the abstract truth which they were supposed -to involve. I had witnessed this tremendous error in the teaching of the -deaf and dumb elsewhere; but I little thought ever to meet with it -beyond the confines of the particular, and almost inscrutable case under -notice. In the school above mentioned, however, error nourishes, blessed -as the pupils are with their five senses and the instrument of speech.</p> - -<p>Putting aside such cases of eccentricity, the children of America have -the advantage of the best possible early discipline; that of activity -and self-dependence. The grand defect is a subsequent one. Education is -not made appropriate to the aims of its subjects. All, whatever may be -their views in life, are educated nearly alike up to nineteen. This is -an absurdity copied from the old world, but unworthy of the good sense -of the new. It will be rectified when the lives of rich men become as -steadily aimed as those of citizens who have their way to make. Young -men of fortune, who may have a taste for science or literature, do not -yield themselves up to these pursuits, because<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> "there is yet no -scientific or literary class for them to fall into." Where is the -necessity to them of such a class to fall into? And, supposing the -necessity, how is there ever to be such a class, unless somebody begins -to supply the elements?—It will be done. No restraint of custom will -long be powerful enough to curb the force of intellectual tendency. The -passion for truth, the craving for knowledge, are ever found, in the -long run, irrepressible by the incubus of conventionalism. A genius will -arise, now here, now there, to startle society out of its rules and -precedents: and when America has had, now a philosopher and now a poet, -who, like Schiller's "true artist," shall "look upwards to his dignity -and his calling, and not downwards to his happiness and his wants," -society will enlarge its discipline, and become a great preparatory -school for the fruition of whatever the hand of man findeth to do, or -his understanding to investigate, or his imagination to reveal.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> See <a href="#Page_394">Appendix D.</a></p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER IV.</span> <span class="smaller">SUFFERERS.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"One of the universal sentiments which Christianity has deeply -imbedded in the human heart is that of the <i>natural equality of -men</i>.... It has produced the spectacle, which I believe to be -peculiar to christian times, of one class uplifting another, the -happy toiling for the miserable, the free vindicating the rights of -the oppressed. With all the noble examples of disinterested -friendship and patriotism, which ancient history affords, I can -remember no approach to that <i>wholesale compassion</i>, that general -action of one order of society on another, that system of -<i>benevolent agitation</i> in behalf of powerless and forgotten -suffering, which characterises the history of modern times."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Rationale of Religious Inquiry.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The idea of travelling in America was first suggested to me by a -philanthropist's saying to me, "Whatever else may be true about the -Americans, it is certain that they have got at principles of justice and -mercy in the treatment of the least happy classes of society which we -may be glad to learn from them. I wish you would go and see what they -are." I did so; and the results of my investigation have not been -reserved for this short chapter, but are spread over the whole of my -book. The fundamental democratic principles on which American society is -organised, are those <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>"principles of justice and mercy" by which the -guilty, the ignorant, the needy, and the infirm, are saved and blessed. -The charity of a democratic society is heart-reviving to witness; for -there is a security that no wholesale oppression is bearing down the -million in one direction, while charity is lifting up the hundred in -another. Generally speaking, the misery that is seen is all that exists: -there is no paralysing sense of the hopelessness of setting up -individual benevolence against social injustice. If the community has -not yet arrived at the point at which all communities are destined to -arrive, of perceiving guilt to be infirmity, of obviating punishment, -ignorance, and want, still the Americans are more blessed than others, -in the certainty that they have far less superinduced misery than -societies abroad, and are using wiser methods than others for its -alleviation. In a country where social equality is the great principle -in which all acquiesce, and where, consequently, the golden rule is -suggested by every collision between man and man, neglect of misery is -almost as much out of the question as the oppression from which most -misery springs.</p> - -<p>In the treatment of the guilty, America is beyond the rest of the world, -exactly in proportion to the superiority of her political principles. I -was favoured with the confidence of a great number of the prisoners in -the Philadelphia penitentiary where absolute seclusion is the principle -of punishment. Every one of these prisoners, (none of them being aware -of the existence of any other,) told me that he was under obligations to -those who had the charge of him for treating him "with respect." The -expression struck me much as being universally used by them. Some -explained the contrast between this method of punishment and -imprisonment in the old prisons,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> copied from those of Europe; where -criminals are herded together, and treated like anything but men and -citizens. Others said that though they had done a wrong thing, and were -rightly sequestered on that ground, they ought not to have any farther -punishment inflicted upon them; and that it was the worst of punishments -not to be treated with the respect due to men. In a community where -criminals feel and speak thus, human rights cannot but be, at length, as -much regarded in the infliction of punishment as in its other -arrangements.</p> - -<p>Much yet remains to be done, to this end. An enormous amount of wrong -must remain in a society where the elaboration of a vast apparatus for -the infliction of human misery, like that required by the system of -solitary imprisonment, is yet a work of mercy. Milder and juster methods -of treating moral infirmity will succeed when men shall have learned to -obviate the largest possible amount of it. In the meantime, I am -persuaded that this is the best method of punishment which has yet been -tried. Much as the prisoners suffer from the dreary solitude, cheered -only by their labour and the occasional visits of official -superintendents, they testified, without exception and without concert, -to their preference of this over all other methods of punishment. The -grounds of preference were, that they could preserve their self-respect, -in the first place; and, in the next, their chance in society on their -release. They leave the prison with the recompense of their extra labour -in their pockets, and without the fear of being waylaid by vicious old -companions, or hunted from employment to employment by those whose -interest it is to deprive them of a chance of establishing a character. -There is no evidence, at present, that solitary imprisonment, <i>with -labour</i>, is more injurious to health than any other condition which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> is -attended with anxiety of mind. The Philadelphia prisoners certainly -appeared to me to be more healthy-looking than those at Auburn, or at -any other prison I visited.</p> - -<p>There is at present a deficiency in the religious ministrations of the -prison. This is a fact which, I believe, has only to be made known to -cease to be true. Among the clergy of all denominations in Philadelphia, -there must be many who would contrive to afford their services in turn, -if they were fully aware how much they are needed. I know of no -direction that can be taken by charity with such certainty of success as -visiting the solitary prisoner. I think it far from desirable that -prisoners should be visited for the express purpose of giving them -religious, and no other, instruction and sympathy. The great object is -to occupy the prisoner's mind with things which interest him most; to -keep up his sympathies, and nourish his human affections; and especially -to promote the activity and cheerfulness of his mind. His situation is -such,—he is so driven back upon the realities of life in his own mind, -that the danger is of his accepting religion as a temporary solace, of -his separating it in idea from active life, and craving for the most -exciting kind of it; so as that when he returns to the world, he will -discard it as something suiting his prison-life, but no longer needed, -no longer appropriate. If, keeping this in view, a very few good men and -women of Philadelphia would go sometimes to spend an hour with a -prisoner, honourably observing the rules, telling no news, but -cheerfully conversing on the prisoner's affairs,—his work, his family, -his prospects on coming out, the books he reads, &c.—if they would -carry him good and entertaining books, and if religious ones, only those -of a moderate and cheerful character, (such being indeed not easy to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> -found,)—these friendly visitors could scarcely fail of restoring, more -or less completely, the moral health of the objects of their -benevolence. None who have not tried can imagine the ease with which -sufferers so placed are influenced; in the absence of all that is -pernicious, and in absolute dependence, as they are, on the sympathy of -those who will be kind to them. If watchful observance were united with -common prudence and kindness, I believe that a prisoner of five years -would rarely re-enter society unqualified for the discharge of his -duties there. It must be remembered that the criminals of the United -States are rarely the depraved, brutish creatures that fill the prisons -of the old world. Even in the old world, I have no doubt that every -prison visitor has been conscious, on first conversing privately with a -criminal, of a feeling of surprise at finding him so human: but in -America, convicts are even more like other men. The reason of my -visiting them, as I told them, was to satisfy myself about the causes of -crime in a country where there is almost an absence of that want which -occasions the greater proportion of social offences in England. Sooner -or later, all told me their stories in full: and I found that in every -case some domestic misery had been the poison of their lives. A harsh -step-mother, an unfaithful wife, a jilting mistress, an intemperate son -or father,—these were the miseries at home which sent them out to -drink: drinking brought on murder, or caused vicious wants, which must -be supplied by theft. The stories, infinitely varied in their -circumstances, were all alike in their moral.</p> - -<p>I do not like the principle of the Auburn prison: and I am confident -that very little effectual reformation can take place under it. The -disadvantages of the prisoners being waylaid and dogged on their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> -discharge are very great; but there are some within the prison quite as -serious. The spy system is abominable, in whatever light it is viewed. -It is the deepest of insults; and if there be a case rather than another -in which insult is to be avoided, it is where a reformation is desired. -The great point to be gained with the criminal is to regenerate -self-respect. A virtuous man may preserve his self-respect under the -eyes of a spy; (though even he is in some danger); but a morally infirm -man can never thus acquire it. Arrangements should be made for his -secure custody and harmless outward conduct, and then he should be left -to himself. And what is the purpose of the spying,—of the loop-holes to -peep through, and the moccasins which are to make the tread of the spies -as stealthy as that of a cat? To detect talking; talking subjecting a -man to the lash. Talking is an innocent act; and, in the case of men -secluded from the world and their families, and all that has hitherto -interested them, an unavoidable act. They ought to talk; and they do, in -spite of spies, governor, and the whip. They learn to murmur -intelligibly behind their teeth, without moving the lips, and to take -advantage of the briefest instants when the superintendent turns his -back. It is surprising to me that any effectual reformation can be -looked for from men who, convicted of grave crimes, have the prohibition -to speak set up before their minds as the chief circumstance and -interest of their lives for five, seven, or ten years. Their interest in -it makes it the chief circumstance. How the disordered being is to be -rectified, how the prostrated conscience is to be reinstated, while an -innocent and necessary act is thus erected into an offence, I leave -those who are most versed in moral proportions to decide. I do not -believe in the possibility of effectual reformation in any but a few -cases, under such a discipline.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p><p>The will of the majority has not yet wrought out the right practice -from good principles, in two cases which regard the treatment of the -guilty: and great evil arises in the interval. It is extremely -difficult, in some parts of the States, and with regard to some -particular offences, to get the laws enforced against offenders. In -those parts of the States where personal conflicts are countenanced by -opinion, offences against the person go too often unpunished; elsewhere, -riot is passed over without notice; and in some few places, the most -heinous crimes of all are nearly certain to be got over without the -conviction of the offender. The impunity of riot arises from the -reliance society has on the moral sense of the whole: a reliance very -honourable in itself, but found of late to be inadequate under the -pressure of such a crisis as that of the anti-slavery question. Nothing -can be more honourable to the people, than the fact that they have been -safe and virtuous under the superintendence of principle, while the laws -have slept so long, that it is now found difficult to put them in force: -but now that the time has come for a conflict of classes and opinions, -the time has also come for the law to be vigilant and inexorable. The -frequent impunity of the most serious crimes arises from the growing -enmity of opinion to the punishment of death. There can be little doubt -that in a short time capital punishments will be abolished throughout -the northern States: and if this is to be done, the sooner it is done -the better: for the present impunity is a tremendous evil.</p> - -<p>In passing the City Hall of one of the northern cities with a friend, I -asked what was the meaning of a great crowd that was about the doors, -and even clustered on the windows of the building. My friend told me, -that a young man was being examined on the charge of being the murderer -in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> a most aggravated case, which had been related to me the day before. -I observed, that no one seemed to have any doubt of his guilt. She -replied, that there never was a clearer case; but that he would be -acquitted: the examination and trial were a mere form, of which every -one knew the conclusion beforehand. The people did not choose to see any -more hanging; and till the law was so altered as to allow an alternative -of punishment, no conviction for a capital offence would be obtainable. -I asked, on what pretence the young man would be got off, if the -evidence against him was as clear as was represented. She said, some one -would be found to swear an alibi: the young man would be wholly -disgraced, and would probably set out westwards the morning after his -acquittal. I watched the progress of the case. The trial was a long one. -There was no doubt of the suppression of large portions of the evidence -against him. A tradesman swore an alibi: the young man was thereupon -acquitted; and next morning he was on his way to the west.</p> - -<p>On the principle that punishment should be reformatory, the practice of -pardoning criminals has gone to far too great an extent, from the belief -of reformation in each particular case. The consequence is very -injurious. A sentence of life-imprisonment is generally understood to -mean imprisonment for a shorter term than if ten or seven years had been -named. Every one of the prisoners I conversed with was in anxious -expectation of a pardon. In the cases of those who were in for five -years, and who I knew would not be pardoned, I reasoned the matter; and -found that the fact of all their fellow-prisoners having the same -expectation with themselves, made a strong impression. They were, amidst -their dreadful disappointment,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> easily convinced: but I could not but -mourn that they did not learn the philosophy of the case in society, -rather than in prison.</p> - -<p>Whenever the abolition of the punishment of death takes place, it will -be essential to the safety of virtue and society, that it should be -understood that the practice of pardoning is, except on rare and -specified occasions, to cease; and that punishment is to be certain in -proportion to its justice.</p> - -<p class="space-above">The pauperism of the United States is, to the observation of a stranger, -nothing at all. To residents, it is an occasion for the exercise of -their ever-ready charity. It is confined to the ports, emigrants making -their way back into the country, the families of intemperate or disabled -men, and unconnected women, who depend on their own exertions. The -amount altogether is far from commensurate with the charity of the -community; and it is to be hoped that the curse of a legal charity, at -least to the able-bodied, will be avoided in a country where it -certainly cannot become necessary within any assignable time. I was -grieved to see the magnificent pauper asylum near Philadelphia, made to -accommodate luxuriously 1200 persons; and to have its arrangements -pointed out to me, as yielding far more comfort to the inmates than the -labourer can secure at home by any degree of industry and prudence. -There are so many persons in the city, however, who see the badness of -the principle, and regret the erection, that I trust a watch will be -maintained over the establishment, and its corridors kept as empty as -possible. In Boston, the principles of true charity have been better -acted upon. There, many of the clergymen,—among the rest, Father -Taylor, the seaman's friend,—are in possession of wisdom, derived from -the mournful experience of England;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> and seem likely to save the city -from the misery of a debasing pauperism among any class of its -inhabitants. I know no large city where there is so much mutual -helpfulness, so little neglect and ignorance of the concerns of other -classes, as in Boston: and I cannot but anticipate that from thence the -world may derive the brightest lesson that has yet been offered it, in -the duties of the rich towards the poor. If the agents of the -benevolence of the wealthy will but be scrupulously careful to avoid all -that mental encroachment and moral interference, which have but too -generally ruined the efficacy of charity, and go on to exhibit the -devotion of the philanthropist, without the inquisitiveness and -authoritativeness of the priest, they may deserve the thanks of the -whole of society, as well as the attachment of those whom they befriend.</p> - -<p>In Boston, an excellent plan has been adopted for the prevention of -fraud on the part of paupers, and the mutual enlightenment and guidance -of the agents of charity. A weekly meeting is held of delegates, from -all societies engaged in the relief of the poor. The delegates compare -lists of the persons relieved, so as to ascertain that none are -fraudulently receiving from more than one society: they discuss and -investigate doubtful cases; extend indulgence to those of peculiar -hardship; and, in short, secure all the advantages of co-operation. -Perhaps there are no cities in England but London too large for a -somewhat similar organisation: and its adoption would be an act of great -wisdom.</p> - -<p>In the south, I was rather amused at a boast which was made to me of the -small amount of pauperism. As the plague distances all lesser diseases, -so does slavery obviate pauperism. In a society of two classes, where -the one class are all capitalists, and the other property, there can be -no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> pauperism but through the vice or accidental disability of members -of the first. But I was beset by many an anxious thought about the fate -of disabled slaves. Masters are, of course, bound to take care of their -slaves for life. There are doubtless many masters who guard the comfort -of their helpless negroes all the more carefully from the sense of the -entire dependence of the poor creatures upon their mercy: but, there are -few human beings fit to be trusted with absolute power: and while there -are many who abuse the authority they have over slaves who are not -helpless, it is fearful to think what may be the fate of those who are -purely burdensome. I observed, here and there, an idiot slave. Those -whom I saw were kindly treated, humoured, and indulged. These were the -only cases of natural infirmity that I witnessed among the negroes; and -the absence of others struck me. At Columbia, South Carolina, I was -taken by a benevolent physician to see the State Lunatic Asylum, which -might be considered his work; so diligent had he been in obtaining -appropriations for the object from the legislature, and afterwards in -organising its plans, with great wisdom and humanity. When we were -looking out from the top of this building, watching the patients in -their airing grounds, I observed that no people of colour were visible -in any part of the establishment. I inquired whether negroes were as -subject to insanity as whites. Probably; but no means were known to have -been taken to ascertain the fact. From the violence of their passions, -there could be no doubt that insanity must exist among them. Were such -insane negroes ever seen?—No one present had ever seen any.—Where were -they then?—It was some time before I could get a clear answer to this: -but my friend the physician said, at length, that he had no doubt they -were kept in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> out-houses, chained to logs, to prevent their doing harm. -No member of society is charged with the duty of investigating cases of -disease and suffering among slaves who cannot make their own state -known. They are wholly at the mercy of their owners. The physician told -me that it was his intention, now he had accomplished his object of -establishing a lunatic asylum for the whites, to persevere no less -strenuously till he obtained one for the blacks. He will probably not -find this a very difficult object to effect; for the interest of -masters, as well as their humanity, is concerned in having an asylum -provided by the State for their useless or mischievous negroes.</p> - -<p>The Lunatic Asylums of the United States are an honour to the country, -to judge by those which I saw. The insane in Pennsylvania hospital, -Philadelphia, should be removed to some more light and cheerful abode, -and be much more fully supplied with employment, and with stimulus to -engage in it. I was less pleased with their condition than with that of -any other insane patients whom I saw. The institution at Worcester, -Massachusetts, is admirably managed under Dr. Woodward. So was that at -Charlestown, near Boston, by Dr. Lee; a young physician who has since -died, mourned by his grateful patients, and by all who had their welfare -at heart. The establishment at Bloomingdale, near New York, is of -similar excellence. The only great deficiency that I am aware of is one -which belongs to most lunatic asylums, and which it does not rest with -the superintendent to supply;—a want of sufficient employment. Every -exertion is made to provide a variety of amusements, and to encourage -all little undertakings that may be suggested: but regular, important -business is what is wanted. It is to be hoped that in the establishment -of all such institutions, the provision of an ample quantity of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> land -will be one of the prime considerations. Watchful and ingenious kindness -may do much to alleviate the miseries of the insane; but if cure is -sought, I believe it is agreed by those who know best, that regular -employment, with a reasonable object, is indispensable.</p> - -<p>The Asylum for the Blind at Philadelphia was a young institution at the -time I saw it; but it pleased me more than any I ever visited: more than -the larger one at Boston; whose institution and conduct are, however, -honourable to all concerned in it. The reason of my preference of the -Philadelphia one is that the pupils there were more active and cheerful -than those of Boston. The spirits of the inmates are the one infallible -test of the management of an institution for the blind. The fault of -such in general is that mirth is not sufficiently cultivated, and -religion too exclusively so. It should ever be remembered that religion -comes out of the mind, and not in at the eye or ear; and that the truest -way of cultivating religion is to exercise the faculties, and enlarge -the stock of ideas to the utmost. The method of printing for the blind, -introduced with such admirable ingenuity and success into the American -institutions, I should like to see employed to bring within the reach of -the blind the most amusing works that can be found. I should like to see -it made an object with benevolent persons to go and give the pupils a -hearty laugh occasionally, by reading droll books, and telling amusing -stories. The one thing which the born blind want most is to have their -cheerlessness removed, to be drawn out of their abstractions, and -exercised in play on the greatest possible variety of familiar objects -and events. They should hear no condolence: their friends should keep -their sympathetic sorrow to themselves; and explain, cheerfully and -fully, the allusions to visual objects which must occur in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> all reading -and conversation. It grieves me to hear the hymns and other compositions -put into the mouths of blind pupils, all full of lamentation and -resignation about not seeing the stars and the face of nature. Such -sorrow is for those who see to feel on their behalf; or for those who -have lost sight: not for those who never saw. Put into their mouths, it -becomes cant. When a roving sea-captain tells his children of the -glories of oriental scenery which they are destined never to behold, -does he teach them to sigh, and struggle to submit patiently to their -destiny of staying at home? Does he not rather make them take pleasure -in mirthfully and eagerly learning what he can teach? The face of nature -is a foreign land to the born blind. Let them be taught all that can -possibly be conveyed to them, and in the most spirited manner that they -can bear. There is a nearer approach to the realisation of this -principle of teaching the blind in the Philadelphia house than I ever -saw elsewhere. It would be enough to cheer a misanthrope to see a little -German boy there, picked up out of the streets, dull, neglected, and -depressed; but within a few months, standing in the centre of the group -of musicians, fiddling and stamping time with all his might, and quite -ready to obey every instigation to laugh. Mr. Friedlander, the tutor, is -much to be congratulated on what he has already done.</p> - -<p>It may be worth suggesting here that while some of the thinkers of -America, like many of the same classes in England, are mourning over the -low state of the Philosophy of Mind in their country, society is -neglecting a most important means of obtaining the knowledge requisite -for the acquisition of such philosophy. Scholars are embracing -alternately the systems of Kant, of Fichte, of Spurzheim, of the Scotch -school; or abusing or eulogising Locke asking who Hartley was, or -weaving a rainbow arch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> of transcendentalism, which is to comprehend the -whole that lies within human vision, but sadly liable to be puffed away -in dark vapour with the first breeze of reality; scholars are thus -labouring at a system of mental philosophy on any but the experimental -method, while the materials for experiment lie all around and within -them. If they object, as is common, the difficulty of experimenting on -their conscious selves, there is the mental pathology of their blind -schools, and the asylums for the deaf and dumb. I am aware that they put -away the phenomena of insanity as irrelevant; but the same objections do -not pertain to the other two classes. Let the closet speculations be -pursued with all vigour: but if there were joined with these a close and -unwearied study of the phenomena of the minds of persons deficient in a -sense, and especially of those precluded from the full use of language, -the world might fairly look for an advance in the science of Mind equal -to that which medical science owes to pathology. It will not probably -lodge us in any final and total result, any more than medicine and -anatomy promise to ascertain the vital principle: but it will doubtless -yield us some points of certainty, in aid of the fluctuating -speculations amidst which we are now tossed, while few can be found to -agree even upon matters of so-called universal consciousness. I should -like to see a few philosophers interested in ascertaining and recording -the manifestations of some progressive minds, peculiar from infirmity, -for a series of years. If any such in America, worthy to undertake the -task, from having strength enough to put away theory and prejudice, and -record only what is really manifested to them, should be disposed to -take my hint, I hope they will not wait for a philosophical "class to -fall into."</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span></p><p>I was told at Washington, with a smile half satirical and half -complacent, that "the people of New England do good by mania." I watched -accordingly for symptoms of this second or third-rate method of putting -benevolence into practice. The result was, that I was convinced that the -people of New England, and of the whole country, do good in all manner -of ways; some better and some worse, according to their light. I met -with pious ladies who make clothes for the poor, but who took work (her -means of bread) out of the hands of a sempstress, (who had three -children,) because her husband was in prison. They told me it would be -encouraging vice to have anything to do with the families of persons who -had committed offences: and when I asked how reformed offenders were to -put their reformation in practice, I was told that if I would employ -anybody who had been in prison, I deserved the censure of society. The -matter ended in the sempstress (a good young woman) having to go home to -her father's house. I met with others, both men and women, who make it -the business of their lives, or of their leisure from yet more pressing -duties, to seek out the sinners of society, and give them, not threats, -nor scorn, nor lectures, but sympathy and help. So does light vary in -this glimmering age; so eloquently does the conduct of Jesus speak to -some, while to others it seems to preach in an unknown tongue. With -regard to some methods of charity, nothing could exceed the ingenuity, -shrewdness, forethought, and determination with which they were managed: -in others, I was reminded of what I had been told about mania.</p> - -<p>In regarding the Temperance movement, the word perpetually occurred to -me. How the vice of intemperance ever reached the pass it did in a -country where there is no excuse of want on the one hand, or of habits -of conviviality on the other, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> sometimes attempted to be explained -to me; but never to my satisfaction. Much may be said upon it, which -cannot find a place here. Certain it is that the vice threatened to -poison society. It was as remarkable as licentiousness of other kinds -ever was in Paris, or at Vienna. Men who doubted the goodness of the -principle of Association in opposition to moral evil, were yet carried -away to countenance it by seeing nothing else that was to be done. Some -few of these foresaw that, as every man must be virtuous in himself and -by himself; as the principle of temperance in a man is incommunicable; -as no two men's temptations are alike; and as, especially in this case, -the temptations of the movers were immeasurably weaker than those of the -mass to be wrought upon, there could be no radical truth, no pervading -sincerity to rely upon. They foresaw what had happened; that there would -be a vast quantity of perjury, of false and hasty promising, of lapse, -and of secret, solitary drinking; that if some waverers were saved, -others would be plunged into hypocrisy in addition to their -intemperance; that schisms must arise out of the ignorance of bigots, -which would cause as much scandal to good morals as intemperance itself; -and that, worst of all, this method was the introduction of new and -fatal perils to freedom of conscience. A few foresaw all this; but a -very few had strength to resist the movement. A sort of reproach was -cast upon those who refused to join, like that which is now visited upon -such as adhere to the principle on which they first joined;—a kind of -insinuation that their temperance is not thorough.—What have the -consequences already been?</p> - -<p>The amount of visible intemperance is actually lessened prodigiously; -perhaps to the full extent anticipated by the originators of the -movement.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> Spirit-shops have been shut up by hundreds; some few -drunkards have been reformed; and very large numbers of young men, -entering life, are now sober citizens, who seemed in danger of becoming -a curse to society. The question is whether the causes of the preceding -intemperance have been discovered and obviated. If not, there is every -reason to expect that the control of opinion over them will be but -temporary; and that the late sweeping and garnishing will give place to -a state of things at least as bad as before.</p> - -<p>At present, the effect of example is perishing, day by day. The example -of those who have not pledged themselves is the only one morally -regarded; all other persons being known to be bound. Virtue under a vow -has no spiritual force. The more reasonable of those who are pledged -have confined their pledge to the distinct case of not touching -distilled liquors. They have the utmost difficulty in maintaining their -ground, as examples, (their sole object,) under the assaults of bigots -who complain that they are not "getting on;" and who, on their part, -have got on so far as to refuse the communion to persons who will not -abjure as they have done; to banish the sacramental wine; and to forbid -malt liquors, and even coffee, in taverns and private houses. The -superstition,—the attachment to the form without the spirit,—is -fearfully revealed upon occasion. A man was brought dead drunk into a -watch-house; and before the magistrate next morning, persisted that he -could not have been drunk, because he was a member of a Temperance -Society. The subservience of conscience to control is as necessary and -remarkable. For instance, a gentleman, whose wife, in a state of -imminent danger, was ordered brandy, ran and knocked up his minister to -get leave before he would procure any for her. It is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> true that these -are extreme cases: but the effect of such institutions upon weak minds -must be studied, as it is for weak minds that they are created.</p> - -<p>My own convictions are that Associations, excellent as they are for -mechanical objects, are not fit instruments for the achievement of moral -aims: that there is yet no proof that the principle of self-restraint -has been exalted and strengthened in the United States by the Temperance -movement, while the already too great regard to opinion, and -subservience to spiritual encroachment have been much increased: that, -therefore, great as are the visible benefits of the institution, it may -at length appear that they have been dearly purchased. I have reason to -think that numbers of persons in the United States, especially -enlightened physicians, (who have the best means of knowledge,) are of -the same opinion. This is confirmed by the fact that there is a -spreading dislike of Associations for moral, while there is a growing -attachment to them for mechanical, objects. The majority will show to -those who may be living at the time what is the right.</p> - -<p>Though scarcely necessary, it may be well to indicate the distinction -between Temperance and Abolition societies with regard to this -principle. The bond of Temperance societies is a pledge or vow -respecting the personal conduct of the pledger. The bond of the -Abolitionists is agreement in a principle which is to be proposed and -exhibited by mechanical means,—lecturing, printing, raising money for -benevolent purposes. Nobody is bound in thought, word, or action. There -have been a few Temperance societies which have avoided pledges, and -confined their exertions to spreading knowledge on the pathology of -intemperance, and its effects on the morals of the individual and of -society. Associations confined to these objects are probably not only -harmless, but highly useful.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER V.</span> <span class="smaller">UTTERANCE.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"A country which has no national literature, or a literature too -insignificant to force its way abroad, must always be, to its -neighbours, at least in every important spiritual respect, an -unknown and misestimated country. Its towns may figure on our maps; -its revenues, population, manufactures, political connexions, may -be recorded in statistical books: but the character of the people -has no symbol and no voice; we cannot know them by speech and -discourse, but only by mere sight and outward observation of their -manners and procedure. Now, if both sight and speech, if both -travellers and native literature, are found but ineffectual in this -respect, how incalculably more so the former alone!"</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Edinburgh Review.</i>—Vol. xlvi. p. 309.</p></blockquote> - -<p>There is but one method by which most nations can express the general -mind: by their literature. Popular books are the ideas of the people put -into language by an individual. To a self-governing people there are two -methods open: legislation is the expression of the popular mind, as well -as literature.</p> - -<p>If the national mind of America be judged of by its legislation, it is -of a very high order; so much less violence to the first principles of -morals is exhibited there than in any other social <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>arrangements that -the world has yet seen. If the American nation be judged of by its -literature, it may be pronounced to have no mind at all.</p> - -<p>The two appearances are, however, reconcilable. The mind of a nation -grows, like that of an individual; and its growth follows somewhat the -same course. There may be in each a mind, vigorous and full of promise, -unerring in the recognition of true principles, but apt to err in the -application of them; ardent in admiration of all faithful and beautiful -expression of mind by others; but not yet knowing how to utter itself. -The youthful philosopher or poet is commonly a metaphysician before he -indicates what he is ultimately to become. In the age of vivid -consciousness, before he is twenty, the invisible and intangible world -of reality opens to him with a distinctness and lustre which make him in -after time almost envy himself his youthful years. In this bright -spiritual world, much is as indisputably revealed to him as material -objects to the bodily eye: principles in full prominence; and a long -perspective of certainties melting imperceptibly into probabilities; and -lost at last in the haze of possibility, bright with the meridian sun of -faith. To him</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"The primal duties shine aloft, like stars:</div> -<div>The charities that soothe and heal and bless</div> -<div>Lie scattered at the feet of man, like flowers."</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>But of all this he can, for some time, express nothing. He burns with -convictions, but can testify them to others only by recognising the -expression which others have obtained the power of affording. If he -makes the attempt, he is either unintelligible or trite.</p> - -<p>This appears to me to be the stage at which the mind of America has -arrived. That the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>legislation of the country is, on the whole, so -noble, is owing to the happy circumstance (a natural one in the order of -Providence, by which great agents rise up when a great work has to be -done) that accomplished individuals were standing ready to help the -people to an expression of its first convictions. The earliest -convictions of a nation so circumstanced are of their fundamental and -common rights: and the expression must be legislation. This has been -done so well by the Americans that there is every reason to anticipate -that more will follow; since principles are so linked together that it -is scarcely possible to grasp one without touching another. Accordingly, -though there is no contribution yet to the Philosophy of Mind from -America, many thinking men are feeling after its principles amidst the -accumulations of the old world: though no light has been given to -society from the American press on the principles of politics, Americans -may be heard quoting Burke from end to end of the country, infallibly -separating the democratic aspirations of his genius from the -aristocratic perversions of his temper and education: though America has -yet witnessed no creation, either in literature or the arts, and cannot -even distinguish a creation from a combination, imitation, or -delineation, yet the power of admiration which she shows in hailing that -which is far inferior to what she needs,—the vigour with which, after -incessant disappointment, she applies herself to the produce of her -press, to find the imperishable in what is just as transient as all that -has gone before,—is a prophecy that a creator will arise. The faith -that America is to have an artist of some order is universal: and such a -faith is a sufficient guarantee of the event. Every ephemeron of a -tale-writer, a dramatist, novelist, lyrist, and sonnetteer, has been -taken by one or another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> for the man. But he has not come out of his -silence yet; and it is likely that it may still be long before he does. -Every work of genius is, as has been said, a mystery till it appears. -What its principles and elaboration may be, it is for one man only—its -author—to conceive: but it is plain what it will not be. It will not -be, more or less, a copy of anything now existing. It will not be a mere -delineation of what passes before the bodily eye, unillumined and -unvivified by the light and movement of principles, of which forms are -but the exponents. It will not be an exhibition of the relations which -conventionalisms mutually bear, however fine may be the perception, and -however clever the presentation may be. Further than this American -literature has, as yet, produced nothing.</p> - -<p>There is another reason, besides those which have been mentioned, why it -would be highly unjust and injurious to conclude that there is nothing -more in the nation's heart and brain than has come out before the eye. -The American nation is made up of contributions from almost all other -civilised nations: and, though the primary truths of God, and the -universal characteristics of Man are common to them all, there are -infinite diversities to be blended into unity before a national -character can arise; before a national mind can be seen to actuate the -mass of society. It is probable that the first great work of genius that -appears will be the most powerful instrument for effecting this blending -and reconciling: but the appearance of such a work is doubtless retarded -in proportion to the checks and repression of social sympathy, caused by -the diversity of influences under which society proceeds. The tuning for -the concert has begun; some captious persons are grumbling at the -discord; some inexperienced expectants take a wail here, and a flourish -there, to be music:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> but the hour has not struck. The leader has not yet -come to his place, to play the chord which shall bring the choral -response that must echo over the world.</p> - -<p>I saw the house which Berkeley built in Rhode Island,—built in the -particular spot where it is, that he might have to pass, in his rides, -over the hill which lies between it and Newport, and feast himself with -the tranquil beauty of the sea, the bay and the downs, as they appear -from the ridge of the eminence. I saw the pile of rocks, with its ledges -and recesses, where he is said to have meditated and composed his -"Minute Philosopher." It was at first melancholy to visit these his -retreats, and think how empty the land still is of the philosophy he -loved. But the more one sees of the people, and the less of their books, -the stronger grows the hope of the stranger. One finds the observation -of many turned inwards. Fragments of spiritual visions occur to one and -another. Though some dogmatise, and others wait for revelation, and none -seem to remember the existence of the experimental method, still there -is a reaching after the Philosophy of Mind. At Harvard University, the -chair of Mental Philosophy has been vacant for above eight years: it -having been the custom formerly to indoctrinate the students with a -certain number of chapters of Locke; and no man being now found hardy -enough to undertake to discharge the duty thus; and the way not being -yet clear to any one who would lay open the whole field of this -philosophy, and let the students gather what they could out of it. Such -impediments do not exist beyond the walls; and many young minds are at -work without guidance, to whom guidance, however acceptable, is not -necessary. If the lectures which are given to young ladies, who are -carefully misinformed from Reid and Stewart,—if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> the reviews and -panegyrics of Dr. Brown, hazarded without the slightest conception of -the nature and extent of his meaning, are likely to throw the observer -into despair;—if he is amazed to see a coterie disputing upon the -ultimate principles perceived by Pure Reason, while he finds within -himself no evidence of the existence of this Pure Reason, and believes -that if it did universally exist, ultimate principles could admit of no -dispute,—he is yet cheered by finding, not only eagerness in the -pursuit of the philosophical ideas of others, but traces of some -originality of speculation. There is a little book, by a Swedenborgian, -called "The Growth of the Mind," which is, I believe unquestionably, an -original work. From its originality, and the beauty of some of its -images, and yet more of its exhibition of certain relations, it is -highly interesting, though it is not found to command that extensive -assent, which is the only guarantee of the soundness of works on the -Philosophy of Mind. Mankind may demur for ages to the earth being round, -and to its moving through space; but where the primary appeal, as in the -Philosophy of Mind, must be to consciousness, works which do not command -assent to their fundamental positions are failures as philosophy, though -they may have inferior merits and attractions.</p> - -<p>The best productions of American literature are, in my opinion, the -tales and sketches in which the habits and manners of the people of the -country are delineated, with exactness, with impartiality of temper, and -without much regard to the picturesque. Such are the tales of Judge Hall -of Cincinnati. Such are the tales by the author of Swallow Barn; where, -however, there is the addition of a good deal of humour, and a -subtraction of some of the truth. Miss Sedgwick's tales are of the -highest order of the three, from the moral beauty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> which they breathe. -This moral beauty is of a much finer character than the <i>bonhommie</i> -which is the charm of Irving's pictures of manners. She sympathises -where he good-naturedly observes; she cheerily loves where he gently -quizzes. Miss Sedgwick's novels have this moral beauty too; as has -everything she touches: but they have great and irretrievable faults as -works of art. Tale-writing is her forte: and in this vocation, no one -who has observed her striking progression will venture to say what she -may not achieve.</p> - -<p>Among the host of tales which appear without the names of their authors -are three, which strike me as excellent in their several ways: "Allen -Prescott," containing the history of a New England boy, drawn to the -life, and in a just and amiable spirit: "The New England Housekeeper," -in which the <i>ménage</i> of a rising young lawyer, with its fresh joys and -ludicrous perplexities, is humorously exhibited: and "Memoirs of a New -England Village Choir," a sketch of even higher merit.</p> - -<p>Irving's writings have had their meed. He has lived in the sunshine of -fame for many years, and in the pleasant consciousness that he has been -a benefactor to the present generation, by shedding some gentle, -benignant, and beguiling influences on many intervals of their rough and -busy lives. More than this he has probably not expected; and more than -this he does not seem likely to achieve. If any of his works live, it -will be his Columbus: and the later of his productions will be the first -forgotten.</p> - -<p>Cooper's novels have a very puny vitality. Some descriptions of scenery, -and some insulated adventures, have great merit: but it is not human -life that he presents. His female characters are far from human; and in -his selections of the chances of mortal existence, he usually chooses -the remotest.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> He has a vigour of perception and conception, which might -have made him, with study and discipline, a great writer. As it is, he -is, I believe, regarded as a much-regretted failure.</p> - -<p>The Americans have a poet. Bryant has not done anything like what he can -and will do: but he has done some things that will live. Those of his -poems which are the best known, or the most quoted, are smooth, sweet, -faithful descriptions of nature, such as his own imagination delights -in. I shall always remember the voice and manner with which he took up a -casual remark of mine, about sights to be seen in the pine-barrens. When -the visitors had all departed, his question "And what of the -pine-barrens?" revealed the spirit of the poet. Of his poems of this -class, "The Evening Wind" is to me the most delicious. But others,—"The -Past," and "Thanatopsis"—indicate another kind, and a higher degree of -power. If he would live for his gifts, if his future years could be -devoted to "clear poetical activity," "looking up," like the true -artist, "to his dignity and his calling," that dignity and that calling -may prove to be as lofty as they no doubt appeared in the reveries of -his boyhood; and he may be listened to as lovingly over the expanse of -future time, as he already is over that of the ocean.</p> - -<p>The Americans have also a historian of promise. Mr. Bancroft's History -of the United States is little more than begun: but the beginning is -characterised by an impartial and benevolent spirit, and by the -indications which it affords of the author's fidelity to democratic -principles; the two primary requisites in a historian of the republic. -The carrying on the work to a completion will be a task of great toil -and anxiety: but it will be a most important benefit to society at -large, if it fulfils its promise.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span></p><p>The periodical literature of the United States is of a very low order. -I know of no review where anything like impartial, enlightened criticism -is to be found. The North American Review had once some reputation in -England; but it has sunk at home and abroad, less from want of talent -than of principle. If it has any principle whatever at present, it seems -to be to praise every book it mentions, and to fall in as dexterously as -possible with popular prejudice. The American Quarterly, published at -Philadelphia, is uninteresting from the triteness of its morals, and a -general dearth of thought, amidst a good deal of cleverness. The -Southern Review, published at Charleston,—sometime ago discontinued, -but I believe lately renewed,—is the best specimen of periodical -literature that the country has afforded. After the large deductions -rendered necessary by the faults of southern temper, this Review -maintains its place above the rest; a rank which is, I believe, -undisputed.</p> - -<p>I met with one gem in American literature, where I should have least -expected it:—in the Knickerbocker; a New York Monthly Magazine. Last -spring, a set of papers began to appear, called "Letters from -Palmyra,"<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> six numbers of which had been issued when I left the -country. I have been hitherto unable to obtain the rest: but if they -answer to the early portions, there can be no doubt of their being -shortly in everybody's hands, in both countries. These letters remain in -my mind, after repeated readings, as a fragment of lofty and tender -beauty. Zenobia, Longinus, and a long perspective of characters, live -and move in natural majesty; and the beauties of description and -sentiment <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>appear to me as remarkable as the strong conception of -character, and of the age. If this anonymous fragment be not the work of -a true artist,—if the work, when entire, do not prove to be of a far -higher order than anything which has issued from the American -press,—its early admirers will feel yet more surprise than regret.</p> - -<p>It is continually said, on both sides of the water, and with much truth, -that the bad state of the laws of literary property is answerable for -some of the depression of American literature. It is true that the -imperfection of these laws inflicts various discouragements on American -writers, while it is disgracefully injurious to foreign authors. It is -true that American booksellers will not remunerate native authors while -they can purloin the works of British writers: and that the American -public has a strong disposition to listen to the utterance of the -English in preference to the prophets of their own country. It is true -that in America, where every man must work for his living, it is a -discouragement to the pursuit of literature that a living cannot, except -in a few rare cases, be got by it. But all this is no solution of the -fact of the non-existence of literature in America: which fact is indeed -no mystery. The present state of the law, by which the works of English -authors are pirated, undefended against mutilation, and made to drive -native works out of the market, is so conspicuously bad, that there is -every prospect of a speedy alteration: but there is nothing in the abuse -which can silence genius, if genius is wanting to speak. It ought by -this time to be understood that there is no power on earth which can -repress mental force of the highest kinds; which can stifle the -utterance of a thoroughly-moved spirit: certainly no power which is held -by piratical booksellers under defective laws. Such discouragement is -unjust and harsh; but it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> cannot be fatal. If a native genius, of a far -higher order than any English, had been existing in America for the last -ten years, he would have made himself heard ere this, and won his way -into the general mind and heart through a host of bookselling harpies, -and a chaos of lawlessness: he would have done this, even if it had been -necessary to give his dinner for paper, and sell his bed to pay the -printer;—expedients which it is scarcely conceivable that any author in -that thriving land should be driven to. The absence of protection to -foreign literary property is injurious enough, without its being made -answerable for the deficiency of literary achievement. The causes lie -deeper, and will not have ceased to operate till long after the law -shall have been made just in this particular.</p> - -<p>Some idea of the literary taste of the country may be arrived at through -a mention of what appeared to me to be the comparative popularity of -living or recent British authors.</p> - -<p>I heard no name so often as Mrs. Hannah More's. She is much better known -in the country than Shakspeare. This is, of course, an indication of the -religious taste of the people; and the fact bears only a remote relation -to literature. Scott is idolised; and so is Miss Edgeworth; but I think -no one is so much read as Mr. Bulwer. I question whether it is possible -to pass half a day in general society without hearing him mentioned. He -is not worshipped with the dumb self-surrendering reverence with which -Miss Edgeworth is regarded: but his books are in every house; his -occasional democratic aspirations are in every one's mouth; and the -morality of his books is a constant theme of discussion, from among the -most sensitive of the clergy down to the "thinking, thoughtless -school-boy" and his chum. The next name is, decidedly, Mrs. Jameson's. -She is altogether a favourite; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> her "Characteristics of Women" is -the book which has made her so. At a considerable distance follows Mrs. -Hemans. Byron is scarcely heard of. Wordsworth lies at the heart of the -people. His name may not be so often spoken as some others; but I have -little doubt that his influence is as powerful as that of any whom I -have mentioned. It is less diffused, but stronger. His works are not to -be had at every store; but within people's houses they lie under the -pillow, or open on the work-box, or they peep out of the coat-pocket: -they are marked, re-marked, and worn. Coleridge is the delight of a few. -So is Lamb; regarded, however, with a more tender love. I heard Mr. -Hallam's name seldom, but always in a tone of extraordinary respect, and -from those whose respect is most valuable.</p> - -<p>No living writer, however, exercises so enviable a sway, as far as it -goes, as Mr. Carlyle. It is remarkable that an influence like his should -have been gained through scattered articles of review and speculation, -spread over a number of years and a variety of periodicals. The -Americans have his "Life of Schiller;" but it was not that. His articles -in the Edinburgh Review met the wants of several of the best minds in -the society of New England; minds weary of cant, and mechanical morals, -and seeking something truer to rest upon. The discipleship immediately -instituted is honourable to both. Mr. Carlyle's remarkable work, "Sartor -Resartus," issued piecemeal through Fraser's Magazine, has been -republished in America, and is exerting an influence proportioned to the -genuineness of the admiration it has excited. Perhaps this is the first -instance of the Americans having taken to their hearts an English work -which came to them anonymously, unsanctioned by any recommendation, and -even absolutely neglected at home. The book is acting upon them with -wonderful force. It has <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>regenerated the preaching of more than one of -the clergy; and, I have reason to believe, the minds and lives of -several of the laity. It came as a benefactor to meet a pressing want; -how pressing, the benefited testify by the fervour of their gratitude.</p> - -<p>I know of no method by which the Americans could be assisted to utter -what they may have in them so good as one which has been proposed, but -which is not yet, I believe, in course of trial. It has been proposed -that a publication should be established, open to the perfectly full and -free discussion of every side of every question, within a certain -department of inquiry;—Social Morals, for instance. There are -difficulties at present in the way of presenting the whole of any -subject to the public mind; difficulties arising from the unprincipled -partiality of the common run of newspapers, the cautious policy of -reviewers, the fear of opinion entertained by individual writers, and -the impediments thrown in the way of free publication by the state of -the laws relating to literary property. A publication devoted to the -object of presenting, without fear or favour, all that can be said on -any subject, without any restriction, except in the use of personalities -towards opponents, would be the best possible remedy, under the -circumstances, for the inconveniences complained of; the finest stimulus -to the ascertainment of truth; the best education in the art of free and -distinct utterance. A publication like this, under the editorship of -such a man as Dr. Follen, a man full of learning, philosophy, and that -devout love of truth which is a guarantee of impartiality, would be a -high honour to the country, and a good lesson to some older societies, -from which the fear of free discussion has not yet vanished. An editor -worthy of the work would decline the responsibility of suppressing any -views, coming within the range of subjects <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>embraced. He would merely -weed out personalities; cherish the spirit of justice and charity; and -for the sake of these, strengthen the weaker side, where he saw that it -was inadequately defended. It may be said that editors who would thus -discharge their function are rare. They are so: but there is Dr. Follen; -a living reply to the objection.</p> - -<p>I have not the apprehension which some entertain that such a publication -would be feared and rejected by the public. At first, it would excite -some surprise and perplexity; one-sidedness being so generally the -characteristic of periodicals in America, that it would take some time -to convey the idea of a consistent opposite practice. But the American -public has given no evidence of a dislike to be made acquainted with -truth; but quite the contrary. My own conviction is, that before two -years from its commencement, such a work would be in the houses of all -the honest thinkers and most principled doers in the country; and that -eloquent voices would, by its means, make themselves heard from many a -remote dwelling-place; using with delight their means of utterance; and -proving that the dearth of American literature is not owing to vacuity -of thought or deadness of feeling. At any rate, such an experiment would -ascertain whether the want is of means of utterance, or of something to -utter.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> "Letters of Lucius M. Piso, from Palmyra, to his friend -Marcus Curtius, at Rome: now first translated and published." They -present a picture of the state of the East in the reign of Aurelian; and -are to end, I suppose, with the fall of Palmyra.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span></p> - -<h2>PART IV.</h2> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER I.</span> <span class="smaller">RELIGION.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"Der Grund aller Democratie; die höchste Thatsache der -Popularität."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Novalis.</i></p> - -<p>"The Christian Religion is the root of all democracy; the highest -fact in the Rights of Man."</p></blockquote> - -<p>Religion is the highest fact in the Rights of Man from its being the -most exclusively private and individual, while it is also a universal, -concern, of any in which man is interested. Religion is, in its widest -sense, "the tendency of human nature to the Infinite;" and its principle -is manifested in the pursuit of perfection in any direction whatever. It -is in this widest sense that some speculative atheists have been -religious men; religious in their efforts after self-perfection; though -unable to personify their conception of the Infinite. In a somewhat -narrower sense, religion is the relation which the highest human -sentiments bear towards an infinitely perfect Being.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span></p><p>There can be no further narrowing than this. Any account of religion -which restricts it within the boundaries of any system, which connects -it with any mode of belief, which implicates it with hope of reward or -fear of punishment, is low and injurious, and debases religion into -superstition.</p> - -<p>The Christian religion is specified as being the highest fact in the -rights of man from its embodying (with all the rest) the principle of -natural religion—that religion is at once an individual, an universal, -and an equal concern. In it may be found a sanction of all just claims -of political and social equality; for it proclaims, now in music and now -in thunder,—it blazons, now in sunshine and now in lightning,—the fact -of the natural equality of men. In giving forth this as its grand -doctrine, it is indeed "the root of all democracy;" the root of the -maxim (among others) that among the inalienable rights of all men are -life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The democracy of America is -planted down deep into the christian religion; into its principles, -which it has in common with natural religion, and which it vivifies and -illumines, but does not alter.</p> - -<p>How does the existing state of religion accord with the promise of its -birth? In a country which professes to secure to every man the pursuit -of happiness in his own way, what is the state of his liberty in the -most private and individual of all concerns? How carefully are all men -and women left free from interference in following up their own -aspirations after the Infinite, in realising their own ideas of -perfection, in bringing into harmonious action the functions of their -spirits, as infinitely diversified as the expression of their features?</p> - -<p>The absence of such diversity is the first striking fact which presents -itself on the institution of such an inquiry. If there were no -constraint,—no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> social reward or penalty,—such an approach to -uniformity of profession could not exist as is seen in the United -States. In a society where speculation and profession were left -perfectly free, as included among the inalienable rights of man, there -would be many speculative (though probably extremely few practical) -atheists: there would be an adoption by many of the principles of -natural religion, otherwise than in and through Christianity: and -Christianity would be adopted in modes as various as the minds by which -it would be recognised. Instead of this, we find laws framed against -speculative atheists: opprobrium directed upon such as embrace natural -religion otherwise than through Christianity: and a yet more bitter -oppression exercised by those who view Christianity in one way, over -those who regard it in another. A religious young christian legislator -was pitied, blamed, and traduced in Boston, last year, by clergymen, -lawyers, and professors of a college, for endeavouring to obtain a -repeal of the law under which the testimony of speculative atheists is -rejected in courts of justice: Quakers (calling themselves Friends) -excommunicate each other: Presbyterian clergymen preach hatred to -Catholics: a convent is burnt, and the nuns are banished from the -neighbourhood: and Episcopalian clergymen claim credit for admitting -Unitarians to sit in committees for public objects! As might be expected -under such an infringement of the principle of securing to every man the -pursuit of happiness in his own way, there is no such endless diversity -in the action of minds, and utterance of tongues, as nature and fidelity -to truth peremptorily demand. Truth is deprived of the irrefragable -testimony which would be afforded by whatever agreement might arise -amidst this diversity: religion is insulted and scandalised by nominal -adherence and hypocritical advocacy. There are many ways of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> professing -Christianity in the United States: but there are few, very few men, -whether speculative or thoughtless, whether studious or ignorant, -whether reverent or indifferent, whether sober or profligate, whether -disinterested or worldly, who do not carefully profess Christianity, in -some form or another. This, as men are made, is unnatural. Society -presents no faithful mirror of the religious perspective of the human -mind.</p> - -<p>It may be asked whether this is not true of the Old World also. It is. -But the society of the Old World has not yet grasped in practice any one -fundamental democratic principle: and the few who govern the many have -not yet perceived that religion is "the root of all democracy:" they are -so far from it that they are still upholding an established form of -religion; in which a particular mode of belief is enforced upon minds by -the imposition of virtual rewards and punishments. The Americans have -long taken higher ground; repudiating establishments, and professing to -leave religion free. They must be judged by their own principles, and -not by the example of societies whose errors they have practically -denounced by their adoption of the Voluntary Principle.</p> - -<p>The almost universal profession in America of the adoption of -Christianity,—this profession by many whose habits of thought, and -others whose habits of living forbid the supposition that it is the -religion of their individual intellects and affections, compels the -inquiry what sort of Christianity it is that is professed, and how it is -come by. There is no evading the conviction that it is to a vast extent -a monstrous superstition that is thus embraced by the tyrant, the -profligate, the worldling, the bigot, the coward, and the slave; a -superstition which offers little molestation to their vices, little -rectification to their errors; a superstition which is but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> the spurious -offspring of that divine Christianity which "is the root of all -democracy, the highest fact in the Rights of Man." That so many of the -meek, pure, disinterested, free, and brave, make the same profession, -proves only that they penetrate to religion through superstition; or -that they cast away unconsciously the superstition with which their -spirits have no affinity, and accept such truth as all superstition must -include in order to live.</p> - -<p>The only test by which religion and superstition can be ultimately tried -is that with which they co-exist. "By their fruits ye shall know them."</p> - -<p>The Presbyterian body is a very large one; the total number in -communion, according to the minutes of the General Assembly for 1834, -being then 247,964. New England contains a very small, and the south and -west a very large, proportion of the body. Some of the most noble of the -abolitionists of the north are Presbyterians; and from the lips and pens -of Presbyterians in the south, come some of the defences of slavery -which evince the deepest depravity of principle and feeling. This is -only another proof, added to the million, that religion comes out of -morals. In the words of a pure moralist,<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> "Morality is usually said -to depend upon religion; but this is said in that low sense in which -outward conduct is considered as morality. In that higher sense in which -morality denotes sentiment, it is more exactly true to say, that -religion depends on morality, and springs from it. Virtue is not the -conformity of outward actions to a rule; nor is religion the fear of -punishment, or the hope of reward. Virtue is the state of a just, -prudent, benevolent, firm, and temperate mind. Religion is the whole of -those sentiments which such a mind feels towards an <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>infinitely perfect -being." With these views, we may account for the different morality of -the Presbyterians of the south from that of such of the friends of the -slave in the north as are of the same communion. Of the Presbyterian, as -well as other clergy of the south, some are even planters, -superintending the toils of their slaves, and making purchases, or -effecting sales in the slave-markets, during the week, and preaching on -Sundays whatever they can devise that is least contradictory to their -daily practice. I watched closely the preaching in the south,—that of -all denominations,—to see what could be made of Christianity, "the -highest fact in the Rights of Man," in such a region. I found the -stricter religionists preaching reward and punishment in connexion with -modes of belief, and hatred to the Catholics. I found the more -philosophical preaching for or against materialism, and diverging to -phrenology. I found the more quiet and "gentlemanly" preaching harmless -abstractions,—the four seasons, the attributes of the Deity, prosperity -and adversity, &c. I heard one clergyman, who always goes out of the -room when the subject of negro emancipation is mentioned, or when -slavery is found fault with, preach in a southern city against following -a multitude to do evil. I heard one noble religious discourse from the -Rev. Joel Parker, a Presbyterian clergyman, of New Orleans; but except -that one, I never heard any available reference made to the grand truths -of religion, or principles of morals. The great principles which regard -the three relations to God, man, and self,—striving after perfection, -mutual justice and charity, and christian liberty,—were never touched -upon.—Meantime, the clergy were pretending to find express sanctions of -slavery in the Bible; and putting words to this purpose into the mouths -of public men, who do not profess to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>remember the existence of the -Bible in any other connexion. The clergy were boasting at public -meetings, that there was not a periodical south of the Potomac which did -not advocate slavery; and some were even setting up a magazine, whose -"fundamental principle is, that man ought to be the property of man." -The clergy, who were to be sent as delegates to the General Assembly, -were receiving instructions to leave the room, if the subject of slavery -was mentioned; and to propose the cessation of the practice of praying -for slaves. At the same time, the wife of a clergyman called upon me to -admire the benevolent toils of a friend, who had been "putting up 4000 -weight of pork" for her slave household: and another lady, kindly and -religiously disposed, told me what pains she took on Sunday mornings to -teach her slaves, by word of mouth, as much of Christianity as was good -for them. When I pressed her on the point as to why they were to have -Christianity and not the alphabet, and desired to know under what -authority she dared to keep from them knowledge, which God has shed -abroad for all, as freely as the the air and sunshine, I found that the -idea was wholly new to her: nothing that she had heard in church, or out -of it, from any of the Christians among whom she lived, had awakened the -suspicion that she was robbing her brethren of their birth-right. The -religion of the south strictly accords with the morals of the south. -There is much that is gentle, merciful, and generous: much among the -suffering women that is patient, heroic, and inspiring meek resignation. -Among these victims, there is faith, hope, and charity. But Christianity -is severed from its radical principles of justice and liberty; and it -will have to be cast out as a rotten branch.</p> - -<p>A southern clergyman mentioned to me, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>obviously with difficulty and -pain, that though he was as happily placed as a minister could be, -treated with friendliness and generosity by his people, and so cherished -as to show that they were satisfied, he had one trouble. During all the -years of his ministry, no token had reached him that he had religiously -impressed their minds, more or less. They met regularly and decorously -on Sundays, and departed quietly, and there was an end. He did not know -that any one discourse had affected them more than any other; and no -opportunity was offered him of witnessing any religious emotion among -them whatever.—Another, an Unitarian clergyman of the south, was known -to lament the appearance of Dr. Channing's work on slavery, "the cause -was going on so well before!" "The cause going on!" exclaimed another -Unitarian clergyman in the north; "what should the ship go on for, when -they have thrown both captain and cargo overboard?"</p> - -<p>What is to be said of the southern fruits of "the root of all -democracy?" Excluding the debased slaves, and the helpless, suffering -victims of the system, there remain the laity, who, as they do not -abolish slavery, must be concluded not to understand the religion with -whose principles it cannot coexist; and the acquiescing clergy, who, if -they do not understand its principles, are unfit to be clergymen: and if -they do, are unfit to be called Christians.</p> - -<p>The Presbyterians of the south have reason to perceive that the -principles of christian liberty are not fully embraced by their brethren -of the north, though acted upon by some with a disinterested heroism in -the direction of abolition. Those who would exclude slave-holders from -the communion-table are usurping an authority which the principles of -their religion forbid. The hatred to the Catholics also approaches too -nearly in its <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>irreligious character to the oppression of the negro. It -is pleaded by some who most mourn the persecution the Catholics are at -present undergoing in the United States, that there is a very prevalent -ignorance on the subject of the Catholic religion; and that dreadful -slanders are being circulated by a very few wicked, which deceive a -great many weak, persons. This is just the case: but there is that in -the true christian religion which should intercept the hatred, whatever -may be the ignorance. There is that in the true christian religion which -should give the lie to those slanders, in the absence of all outward -evidence of their untruth. There is that in true Christianity which -should chasten the imagination, allay faithless apprehensions, and -inspire a trust that, as heart answers to heart, no vast body of men can -ever bind themselves by the name of Jesus, to become all that is most -the reverse of holy, harmless, and undefiled. The question "where is thy -faith?" might reasonably have been put to the Presbyterian clergyman who -preached three long denunciations against the Catholics in Boston, the -Sunday before the burning of the Charlestown convent: and also to -parents, who can put into their children's hands, as religious books, -the foul libels against the Catholics which are circulated throughout -the country. In the west, I happened to find in the chamber of a very -young lady, the only child of an opulent and influential citizen, a book -of this kind, which no epithet but filthy will suit. It lay with her -Bible and Prayer-book; the secular part of her library being disposed -elsewhere. If religion springs from morals, those who put the book into -the hands of this young girl will be answerable, if her religion should -be as little like that which is "first pure, then peaceable," as their -own.</p> - -<p>I was seriously told, by several persons in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> south and west, that -the Catholics of America were employed by the Pope, in league with the -Emperor of Austria and the Irish, to explode the Union. The vast and -rapid spread of the Catholic faith in the United States has excited -observation, which grew into this rumour. I believe the truth to be -that, in consequence of the Pope's wish to keep the Catholics of America -a colonial church, and the Catholics of the country thinking themselves -now sufficiently numerous to be an American Catholic church, a great -stimulus has been given to proselytism. This has awakened fear and -persecution; which last has, again, been favourable to the increase of -the sect. While the Presbyterians preach a harsh, ascetic, persecuting -religion, the Catholics dispense a mild and indulgent one; and the -prodigious increase of their numbers is a necessary consequence. It is -found so impossible to supply the demand for priests, that the term of -education has been shortened by two years.—Those observers who have -made themselves familiar with the modes in which institutions, even of -the most definite character, adapt themselves to the wants of the time, -will not be made uneasy by the spread of a religion so flexible in its -forms as the Catholic, among a people so intelligent as the Americans. -The Catholic body is democratic in its politics, and made up from the -more independent kind of occupations. The Catholic religion is modified -by the spirit of the time in America; and its professors are not a set -of men who can be priest-ridden to any fatal extent. If they are let -alone, and treated on genuine republican principles, they may show us -how the true, in any old form of religion, may be separated from the -false, till, the eye being made clear, the whole body will be full of -light. If they cannot do this, their form of religion will decay, or at -least remain harmless; for it is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span>assuredly too late now for a return of -the dark ages. At all events, every American is required by his -democratic principles to let every man alone about his religion. He may -do with the religion what seems to him good; study, controvert, adopt, -reject, speak, write, or preach, whatever he perceives and thinks about -its doctrines and its abuses: but with its professors he has nothing to -do, further than religiously to observe his fraternal relation to them; -suffering no variance of opinion to seduce him into a breach of the -republican and christian brotherhood to which he is pledged.</p> - -<p>What other fruits are there of the superstition which pervades society, -comprehending under the term Christian many who know little of its -doctrine, and exhibit less of its spirit? The state and treatment of -infidelity are some of the worst.</p> - -<p>There is in this respect a dreadful infringement on human rights -throughout the north; though a better spirit is being cherished and -extended by a few who see how contrary to all christian and all -democratic principles it is that a man should be the worse for his -opinions in society. I have seen enough to know how little chance -Christianity has in consequence of this infringement. I know that very -large numbers of people are secretly disinclined to cherish what is -imposed upon them, with perpetual and unvarying modes of observance, -from their childhood up; and how the disgust grows from the opprobrium -with which unbelief is visited. I know that there are minds in New -England, as everywhere else, which must, from their very structure, pass -through a state of scepticism on their way to stability; and that such -are surrounded with snares, such as no man should lay in his brother's -path; with temptations to hypocrisy, to recklessness, to despair; and to -an abdication of their human prerogative of reason, as well as -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span>conscience. I know how women, in whom the very foundations of belief -have been ploughed up by the share of authority, go wearily to church, -Sunday after Sunday, to hear what they do not believe; lie down at night -full of self-reproach for a want of piety which they do not know how to -attain; and rise up in the morning hopelessly, seeing nothing in the day -before them but the misery of carrying their secret concealed from -parents, husband, sisters, friends. I know how young men are driven into -vice, by having only the alternative of conformity or opprobrium: -feeling it impossible to believe what is offered them; feeling it to be -no crime to disbelieve: but, seeing unbelief treated as crime, and -themselves under suspicion of it, losing faith in others and in -themselves, and falling in reality at last. All this, and very much -more, I know to be happening. I was told of one and another, with an air -of mystery, like that with which one is informed of any person being -insane, or intemperate, or insolvent, that so and so was thought to be -an unbeliever. I was always tempted to reply, "And so are you, in a -thousand things, to which this neighbour of yours adds one."—An -elderly, generally intelligent, benevolent gentleman told me that he -wanted to see regulations made by which deists should be excluded from -office, and moral men only admitted. Happily, the community is not -nearly so far gone in tyranny and folly as to entertain such a project -as this: but it must be a very superstitious society where such an idea -could be deliberately expressed by a sane man.</p> - -<p>One circumstance struck me throughout the country. Almost as often as -the conversation between myself and any other person on religious -subjects became intimate and earnest, I was met by the supposition that -I was a convert. It was the same in other instances: wherever there was -a strong<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> interest in the christian religion, conversion to a particular -profession of it was confidently supposed. This fact speaks volumes.</p> - -<p>Happy influences are at work to enlighten and enlarge the mind of -society. One of the most powerful of these is the union of men and women -of all religions in pursuit of objects of common interest; particularly -in the abolition cause. Persons who were once ready to excommunicate -each other are now loving friends in their mutual obedience to the -weightier matters of the law. The churches in Boston, and even the other -public buildings, being guarded by the dragon of bigotry, so that even -faith, hope, and charity are turned back from the doors, a large -building is about to be erected for the use of all, deists not excepted, -who may desire to meet for purposes of free discussion. This is, at -least, an advance.</p> - -<p>A reflecting and eminently religious person was speculating with me one -day, on the influences by which the human mind is the most commonly and -the most powerfully awakened to vivid and permanent religious -sensibility. We brought cases and suppositions of its being now strong -impressions of the beauty and grandeur of nature; now grief, and now -joy, and so on. My friend concluded that it was most frequently the -spectacle of moral beauty in an individual. I have no doubt it is so: -and if it be, what tremendous injury must be done to the highest parts -of man's nature by the unprincipled tyranny of the religious world in -the republic! Men declare by this very tyranny how essential they -consider belief to be. Belief is essential,—not only to safety, but to -existence. Every mind lives by belief, as the body lives by the -atmosphere: but the objects and modes of belief must be various; and it -is from disallowing this that superstition arises. If men must exercise -the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>mutual vigilance which their human affections prompt, it would be -well for religion and for themselves that they should note how much -their brethren believe, rather than what they disbelieve: the amount -would be found so vast as immeasurably to distance the deficiency. If -this were done, religion would be found to be so safe that the -proportions of sects, and the eccentricities of individuals would be -lost sight of in the presence of universal, living, and breathing faith. -I was told of a child who stood in the middle of a grass-plat, with its -arms by its sides, and listening with a countenance of intense -expectation, "to hear God's tramp on that high blue floor." Who would -care to know what christian sect this child belonged to; or whether to -any?—I was told of a father and mother, savages, who lost their only -child, and were overwhelmed with grief, under which the father soon -sank. From the moment of his death, the solitary survivor recovered her -cheerfulness. Being asked why, she said she had been miserable for her -child, lest he should be forlorn in the world of spirits: he had his -father with him now, and would be happy. Who would inquire for the creed -of this example of disinterested love?—I was told of a young girl, -brought up from the country by a selfish betrayer, refused the marriage -which had been promised, and turned out of doors by him on her being -seized with the cholera. She was picked up from a doorstep, and carried -to the hospital. In the midst of her dying agonies, no inducement could -prevail on her to tell the name of her betrayer; and she died faithful -to him, so that the secret of whose treachery we are abhorring is dead -with her. With such testimony that the very spirit of the gospel was in -this humble creature, none but those who would dare to cast her out for -her fall would feel any anxiety as to how she received the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> facts of the -gospel. Religion is safe, and would be seen to be so if we would set -ourselves to mark how universal are some few of men's convictions, and -the whole of man's affections. While men feel wonder, and the universe -is wonderful; while men love natural glory, and the heavens and the -earth are resplendent with it; while men revere holiness, and the beauty -of holiness beams at times upon the dimmest sight, religion is safe. For -the last reason, Christianity is also safe. If the beauty of its -holiness were never obscured by the defilements of human passion with -which it is insulted, it is scarcely conceivable that all men would not -be, in some sense or other, Christians.</p> - -<p>Those who are certain that Christianity is safe, (and they are not a -few,) and who, therefore, beware of encroaching on their brother's -liberty of conscience, will be found to be the most principled -republicans, the firmest believers that Christianity is "the root of all -democracy: the highest fact in the Rights of Man."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Sir James Mackintosh.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER I.</span> <span class="smaller">SCIENCE OF RELIGION.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"And therefore the doctrine of the one (Christ) was never afraid of -universities, or endeavoured the banishment of learning like the -other (Mahomet.) And though Galen doth sometimes nibble at Moses, -and, beside the apostate Christian, some heathens have questioned -his philosophical part or treatise of the creation; yet there is -surely no reasonable Pagan that will not admire the rational and -well-grounded precepts of Christ, whose life, as it was conformable -unto his doctrine, so was that unto the highest rules of reason, -and must therefore flourish in the advancement of learning, and the -perfection of parts best able to comprehend it."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Sir Thomas Browne.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Religion has suffered from nothing, throughout all Christendom, more -than from its science having been mixed up with its spirit and practice. -The spirit and practice of religion come out of morals; but its science -comes out of history also; with chronology, philology, and other -collateral kinds of knowledge. The spirit and practice of religion are -for all, since all bear the same relation to their Creator and to their -race, and are endowed with reason and with affections. But the high -science of religion is, at present at least, like all other science, for -the few. The time may come when all shall have the comprehension of mind -and range of knowledge which are requisite for investigating spiritual -relations, tracing the religious principle through all its -manifestations in individuals and societies, studying its records in -many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> languages, and testing the interpretations which have been put -upon them, from age to age. The time may possibly come when all may be -able thus to be scientific in theology: but that time has assuredly not -arrived. It is so far from being at hand, that by far the largest -portion of christian society seems to be ignorant of the distinction -between the science of theology and the practice of religion. The -scientific study and popular administration of religion have not only -been confided to the same persons, but actually mixed up and confounded -in the heads and hands of those persons. Contrary to all principle, and -to all practice in other departments, the student who enters upon this -science is warned beforehand what conclusions he must arrive at. The -results are given to him prior to investigation; and sanctioned by -reward and punishment. The first injury happens to the student, under a -method of pursuing science as barbarous as any by which the progress of -natural knowledge was retarded in ages gone by. The student, become an -administrator, next injures his flock in his turn, by mixing up portions -of his scholastic science with religious sentiment. He teaches -dogmatically that which bears no relation to duty and affection; -requiring assent where, for want of the requisite knowledge, true assent -is impossible; where there can be only passive reception or ignorant -rejection. The consequences are the corruptions of Christianity, which -grieve the spirit of those who see where and how the poison is mixed -with the bread of life.</p> - -<p>The office of theological science is to preserve,—we must now say to -recover,—the primary simplicity of Christianity. It is a high and noble -office to penetrate to and test the opinions of ages, in order to trace -corruptions to their source, and separate them from the pure waters of -truth. It is a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> high and noble task to master the associations of the -elder time, and look again at the gospel to see it afresh in its native -light. It is a high and noble task to strip away false glosses, not only -of words but of ideas, that the true spirit of the gospel may shine -through the record. But these high and noble labours are but means to a -higher and nobler end. The dignity of theological study arises from its -being subservient to the administration of religion. The last was -Christ's own office; the highest which can be discharged by man: so high -as to indicate that when its dignity is fully understood, it will be -confided to the hands of no class of men. Theologians there will -probably always be; but no man will be a priest in those days to come -when every man will be a worshipper.</p> - -<p>On some accounts it may seem desirable that the theologians of this age -should be the clergy. It was once desirable; for reasons analogous to -those which constituted priests once the judges, then the politicians, -then the literati of society. It has been, and is, the plea that those -who professed to clear Christianity from its corruptions, and to master -its history, were the fittest persons to present it to the popular mind.</p> - -<p>If this were ever the case, the time seems to have passed by. The press -affords the means of placing the clear results of theological inquiry in -the hands of those whom they concern. There seems to be no other -relation between the theologian, as a theologian, and the worshipper, -which should constitute him the organ of their worship. The habits of -mind most favourable to the pursuit of theological study are not those -which qualify for a successful administration of religious influences. -This is proved by fact; by the limited efficacy of preaching, and by the -fatal confusion which has been caused by the clergy having given<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> out -fragments of their studies from the pulpit, with annexations of promise -and threatening. It does not follow that the administrators should be -ignorant; only that their knowledge should be other than scholastic and -technical. The organ of a worshipping assembly should be furnished with -the clear results of theological study; and with such intellectual and -moral science as shall enable him, if his sympathies be warm enough, to -identify himself with the mind and heart of humanity. He must have that -knowledge of men's relations and interests in life which shall enable -him to look into infinity from their point of view; to give voice to -whatever sentiments are common to all; to appeal to whatever affections -and desires are stirring in all. For this purpose, he must be -practically engaged in the great moral questions of the time, carrying -the principles of religion into them with his whole experimental force; -and bringing out of them new light whereby to illustrate these -principles, new grounds on which to reason in behalf of duty, and new -forces with which to animate the convictions of his fellow-worshippers -into practice.</p> - -<p>The fluctuations through which the Methodist body in America, as well as -elsewhere, is arriving at the true principle as to the ministering of -religion, are well known. First, they clearly saw the corruption of -christian doctrine and the deadness of religious service which must -follow from putting closet students into the pulpit: and, holding the -belief of immediate and special inspiration, they abjured human -learning. The mischiefs which have followed upon the ministry of -ignorant and fanatical clergy have converted large numbers to the -advocacy of human learning. It will probably yet be long before they can -put in practice the true method of having one set of men to be -theologians, and another to be preachers or other organs of worship.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> -The complaint of every denomination in the United States is of a -scarcity of ministers. This is so pressing that, as we have seen in the -case of the Catholics, the term of study is shortened. Now seems the -time, and America the place, for dispensing with the formalities which -restrict religious worship. It would be an incalculable injury to have -theological study brought to an end by every youth who devotes himself -to it being called away to preach, before he can possibly possess many -of the requisites for preaching. It would be far better to throw open -the office of administration to all who feel and can speak religiously, -and so as to be the genuine voice of the thoughts of others. Even if it -were necessary to reconstitute religious societies, making the meetings -for worship smaller, and the exercises varying with the nature of the -case, there could no evil arise so serious as the interruption of -theological study, and the deterioration of public worship. In the wild -west, where the people can no more live without religion than they can -anywhere else, the farmer's neighbours collect around him from within a -circuit of thirty miles, and he reads or speaks, and prays, and they are -refreshed. If this is not done, if it is not frequently done, the -settlers become liable to the insanity of camp-meetings and revivals. If -the national want can be thus naturally supplied in the heart of the -forest or prairie, why not also in the city? The city has the advantage -of a greater number of persons qualified to express the common desires, -and meet the common sympathies of the worshippers.</p> - -<p>There are enlightened and religious persons who think it would be a -great advantage to religion if the present system of dogmatical -theological study in America were broken up. It might be so, if it were -sure to be reconstituted upon better principles, and if it were not done -for the purpose of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> supplying the pulpit with men who might be even less -fit for their office than they are now. But there is no prospect of such -a breaking up at present; and, I am afraid, as little of any great -improvement in the principles of research. Though there are differences -arising about creeds; though there are schisms within the walls of -churches and of colleges, and trials for heresy before synods and -assemblies, which promise a more or less speedy relaxation of the bonds -of creeds, and the tyranny of church government, there is no near -prospect of theological science being left as free as other kinds. There -is no near prospect of evidence on the most important of all subjects -being consigned to the heaven-made laws of the human mind. There is no -near prospect of inquiry being left to work out its results, without any -prior specification, under penalty, of what they must be. There is no -near prospect of the clergy having such faith in the religion they -profess as to leave it to the administration of Him who sent it, free -from their pernicious and arrogant protection.</p> - -<p>If other science had its results mixed up with hope and fear, its -pursuit watched over by tyranny, and divergence from old opinions -punished by opprobrium, the world, instead of being "an immense -whispering gallery, where the faintest accent of science is heard -throughout every civilised country as soon as uttered," would be a -Babel; where all utterance would be vociferation, and life one -interminable quarrel. It would be an extreme exemplification of the -principle of making convictions the object of moral approbation and -disapprobation. As it is, though natural philosophers sometimes fall -out, yet there is a practical admission of the right of free research, -and of the innocence of arriving, by strict fidelity, at any conclusions -whatever, in natural science. The consequence is that, instead of men -being imprisoned for their discoveries, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> made to do penance for the -benefits they confer on the community, science proceeds expeditiously -and joyously, under the hands of intent workers, mutually aiding and -congratulating, while society gratefully accepts the results, and adopts -the knowledge evolved, as it becomes necessarily and regularly -popularised.</p> - -<p>Whenever moral science shall be undertaken, and religious science -emancipated, such will be the harmonious progress of each, and the -christian religion will be anew revealed to men. Meantime, the religious -world is in one aspect like an inquisition; in another, like a Babel. -The religious world: not by any means the intercourse of all religious -persons. Some of the most religious persons are quite out of the -religious world; voluntarily retreating from it that they may retain -their reverence; or driven from it, because they are faithful to -convictions which are prescribed to them only by God, without the -sanction of man.</p> - -<p>Is it thus that religion should be followed and professed in a -democratic republic? Does it carry with it any dispensation from -democratic principles? any authority for despotism in this one -particular? any denial of human equality? any sanction of human -authority over reason and conscience? Is it not rather "the root of all -democracy; the highest fact in the Rights of Man?" America has left it -to the Old World to fortify Christianity by establishments, and has -triumphantly shown that a great nation may be trusted to its religious -instincts to provide for its religious wants. In order to the complete -following out of her principles, she must leave religious speculation -and pursuit of knowledge and peace as open as any other; and beware of -making the ascertainments of science an occasion for the oppression of a -single individual in fortune, name, or natural inheritance of spiritual liberty.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER II.</span> <span class="smaller">SPIRIT OF RELIGION.</span></h2> - -<blockquote><p>"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of -love, and of a sound mind."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Paul the Apostle.</i></p></blockquote> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"Hands full of hearty labours: pains that pay</div> -<div>And prize themselves—do much that more they may.</div> -<div>No cruel guard of diligent cares, that keep</div> -<div>Crowned woes awake, as things too wise for sleep:</div> -<div>But reverend discipline, religious fear,</div> -<div>And soft obedience, find sweet biding here.</div> -<div>Silence, and sacred rest, peace and pure joys—</div> -<div>Kind loves keep house, lie close, and make no noise.</div> -<div>And room enough for monarchs, while none swells</div> -<div>Beyond the limits of contentful cells.</div> -<div>The self-remembering soul sweetly recovers</div> -<div>Her kindred with the stars: not basely hovers</div> -<div>Below—but meditates th' immortal way</div> -<div>Home to the source of light and intellectual day."</div> -<div class="right"><i>Crashaw.</i></div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Society in America is as much in a transition state about religion as -France and England are about politics. The people are in advance of the -clergy in America, as the English are in advance of such of their -political institutions as are in dispute. Discouraging as the aspect of -religious profession in America is on a superficial survey, a closer -study will satisfy the observer that all will be well; that the most -democratic of nations is religious at heart; and that its superstitions -and offences against the spirit of Christianity are owing to temporary -influences.</p> - -<p>In order to ascertain what the spirit of religion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> really is in the -country, we must not judge by the periodicals. Religious periodicals are -almost entirely in the hands of the clergy, who are in no country fair -representatives of the religion of the people. These periodicals are, -almost without exception, as far as my knowledge of them goes, extremely -bad. A very few have some literary and scientific merit; and many -advocate with zeal particular methods of charity, and certainly effect a -wide and beneficent co-operation for mutual help which could not be -otherwise so well secured. But arrogance and uncharitableness, cant, -exclusiveness, and an utter absence of sympathy with human interests and -affections, generally render this class of publications as distasteful -as the corresponding organs of religious bodies in the Old World. They -are too little human in their character, from the books of the Sunday -School Union to the most important of the religious reviews, to be by -any possibility a fair expression of the spiritual state of some -millions of persons. The acts of the laity, and especially of those who -are least under the influence of the clergy, must be looked to as the -only true manifestations.</p> - -<p>If religion springs from morals, the religion must be most faulty where -the morals are so. The greatest fault in American morals is an excessive -regard to opinion. This is the reason of the want of liberality of which -unbelievers, and unusual believers, have so much reason to complain. But -the spirit of religion is already bursting through sectarian restraints. -Many powerful voices are raised, within the churches as well as out of -them, and even from a few pulpits, against the mechanical adoption and -practice of religion, and in favour of individuality of thought, and the -consequent spontaneousness of speech and action. Many indubitable -Christians are denouncing cant as strongly as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> those whom cant has -alienated from Christianity. The dislike of associations for religious -objects is spreading fast; and the eyes of multitudes are being opened -to the fact that there can be little faith at the bottom of that craving -for sympathy which prevents men and women from cheerfully doing their -duty to God and their neighbour unless sanctioned by a crowd. Some of -the clergy have done away with the forms of admission to their churches -which were formerly considered indispensable. There is a visible -reaction in the best part of society in favour of any man who stands -alone on any point of religious concern: and though such an one has the -more regularly drilled churches against him, he is usually cheered by -the grasp of some trusty right hand of fellowship.</p> - -<p>The eagerness in pursuit of speculative truth is shown by the rapid sale -of every kind of heretical work. The clergy complain of the enormous -spread of bold books, from the infidel tract to the latest handling of -the miracle question, as sorrowfully as the most liberal members of -society lament the unlimited circulation of the false morals issued by -certain Religious Tract Societies. Both testify to the interest taken by -the people in religion. The love of truth is also shown by the outbreak -of heresy in all directions. There are schisms among all the more strict -of the religious bodies, and large secessions and new formations among -those which are bound together by slight forms. There are even a few -places to be found where Deists may come among Christians to worship -their common Father, without fear of insult to their feelings, and -mockery of their convictions.</p> - -<p>I know also of one place, at least, and I believe there are now several, -where the people of colour are welcome to worship with the -whites,—actually intermingled with them, instead of being set apart<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span> in -a gallery appropriated to them. This is the last possible test of the -conviction of human equality entertained by the white worshippers. It is -such a test of this, their christian conviction, as no persons of any -rank in England are ever called upon to abide. I think it very probable -that the course of action which is common in America will be followed in -this instance. A battle for a principle is usually fought long, and -under discouragement: but the sure fruition is almost instantaneous, -when the principle is but once put into action. The people of colour do -actually, in one or more religious assemblies, sit among the whites, in -token that the principle of human brotherhood is fully admitted. It may -be anticipated that the example will spread from church to church—in -the rural districts of the north first, and then in the towns;<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> so -that the clergy will soon find themselves released from the necessity of -veiling, or qualifying, the most essential truth of the gospel, from the -pastoral consideration for the passions and prejudices of the white -portion of their flocks, which they at present plead in excuse of their -compromise.</p> - -<p>The noble beneficence of the whole community shows that the spirit of -the gospel is in the midst of them, as it respects the condition of the -poor, ignorant, and afflicted. Of the generosity of society there can be -no question; and if it were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span> only accompanied with the strict justice -which the same principles of christian charity require; if there were as -zealous a regard to the rights of intellect and conscience in all as to -the wants and sufferings of the helpless, such a realisation of high -morals would be seen as the world has not yet beheld. I have witnessed -sights which persuade me that the principle of charity will yet be -carried out to its full extent. It gave me pleasure to see the -provisions made for every class of unfortunates. It gave me more to see -young men and women devoting their evening and Sunday leisure to -fostering, in the most benignant manner, the minds of active and -trustful children. But nothing gave me so much delight as what was said -by a young physician to a young clergyman, on their entering a new -building prepared as a place of worship for children, and also as a kind -of school: as a place where religion might have its free course among -young and free minds. "Now," said the young physician, "here we are, -with these children dependent upon us. Never let us defile this place -with the smallest act of spiritual tyranny. Watch me, and I will watch -you, that we may not lay the weight of a hair upon these little minds. -If we impose one single opinion upon them, we bring a curse upon our -work. Here, in this one place, let minds be absolutely free." This is -the true spirit of reverence. He who spoke those words may be -considered, I believe and trust, as the organ of no few, who are aware -that reverence is as requisite to the faithful administration of -charity, as to the acceptable offering of prayer.</p> - -<p>The asceticism which pervades large sections of society in America, -testifies to the existence of a strong interest in religion. Its effects -are most melancholy; but they exhibit only the perversion of that which -is, in itself, a great good.—The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>asceticism of America is much like -that of every other place. It brings religion down to be ceremonial, -constrained, anxious, and altogether divested of its free, generous, and -joyous character. It fosters timid selfishness in some; and in others a -precise proportion of reckless licentiousness. Its manifestations in -Boston are as remarkable as in the strictest of Scotch towns. Youths in -Boston, who work hard all the week, desire fresh air and exercise, and a -sight of the country, on Sundays. The country must be reached over the -long bridges before-mentioned, and the youths must ride to obtain their -object. They have been brought up to think it a sin to take a ride on -Sundays. Once having yielded, and being under a sense of transgression -for a wholly fictitious offence, they rarely stop there.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> They next -join parties to smoke, and perhaps to drink, and so on. If they had but -been brought up to know that the Sabbath, like all times and seasons, -was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; that their religion is in -their state of mind, and not in the arrangement of their day, their -Sabbaths would most probably have been spent as innocently as any other -day; and the chances would have been much increased of their desiring -the means of improving their religious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> knowledge, and cherishing their -devotional affections, by social worship. I was struck by the fact that -at the Jefferson University, at Charlottesville, Virginia, where no -fundamental provision is made for worship, where not the slightest -authority is exercised over the students with regard to religious -observances, there is not only a most regular administration of -religion, but the fullest attendance upon it. Every one knows what a -burden and snare the public prayers are at our English Universities, -where the attendance is compulsory. At Charlottesville, where the matter -is left to the inclination of the students, the attendance is punctual, -quiet, and absolutely universal.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p> - -<p>The ascetic proscription of amusements extends to the clergy throughout -the country; and includes the whole of the religious world in New -England. As to the clergy, the superstition can scarcely endure long, it -is so destitute of all reason. I went to a large party at Philadelphia, -with a clergyman and other friends. Dancing presently began. I was asked -a question, which implied that my clerical friend had gone home. "There -he is," I replied. "O, I concluded that he went away when the dancing -began;" said the lady, in a tone which implied that she thought he ought -to have gone home. It was observed of this gentleman, that he could not -be a religious man, he was seen at so many parties during my visit to -his house. No clergyman ever enters the theatre, or touches a card. It -is even expected that he should go away when cards are introduced, as -from the ball-room. The exclusion from the theatre is of the least -consequence, as large portions of society have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>reasonable doubts about -the encouragement of an amusement which does seem to be vitiated there, -almost to the last degree. The Americans have little dramatic taste: and -the spirit of puritanism still rises up in such fierce opposition to the -stage, as to forbid the hope that this grand means of intellectual -exercise will ever be made the instrument of moral good to society there -that it might be made: and the proscribed race of dramatic artists is, -in talent and in morals, just what a proscribed and depressed class -might be expected to be. The attempt to raise their condition and their -art has been strenuously made by the manager of the Boston theatre, who -has sternly purified his establishment, excluding from his stage -everything that could well give offence even to Boston prudery. But it -is in vain. The uncongeniality is too great: and those who respect -dramatic entertainments the most highly, will be the most anxious that -the American theatres should be closed. I even know of more families -than one, unconnected with clergy, and not making any strict religious -profession, where Shakspeare is hidden, for prudish reasons. I need not -add, that among such persons there is not the remotest comprehension of -what the drama is. If a reader of Shakspeare occurs, here and there, it -usually turns out that he considers the plays as collections of -passages, descriptive, didactic, &c. &c. Such being the state of things, -it is no matter of surprise and regret that the clergy, among others, -abstain from the theatre. But, as to the dancing,—either dancing is -innocent, or it is not. If not, nobody should dance: if innocent, the -clergy should dance, like others, as they have the same kind of bodies -to be animated, and of minds to be exhilarated. Once admit any -distinction on account of their office, and there is no stopping short, -in reason, of the celibacy of the clergy, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> other gloomy -superstitions by which the free and genial spirit of Christianity has -been grieved.</p> - -<p>This ascetic practice of taking care of one another's morals has gone to -such a length in Boston, as to excite the frequent satire of some of its -wisest citizens. This indicates that it will be broken through. When -there was talk of attempting to set up the Italian opera there, a -gentleman observed that it would never do: people would be afraid of the -very name. "O!" said another, "call it Lectures on Music, with -illustrations, and everybody will come."</p> - -<p>Lectures abound in Boston: and I am glad of it; at least in the interval -before the opening of the public amusements which will certainly be -required, sooner or later. These lectures may not be of any great use in -conveying science and literature: lectures can seldom do more than -actuate to study at home. But in this case, they probably obviate -meetings for religious excitement, which are more hurtful than lectures -are beneficial. The spiritual dissipations indulged in by the religious -world, wherever asceticism prevails, are more injurious to sound morals -than any public amusements, as conducted in modern times, have ever been -proved to be. It is questionable whether even gross licentiousness is -not at least equally encouraged by the excitement of passionate -religious emotions, separate from action: and it is certain that rank -spiritual vices, pride, selfishness, tyranny, and superstition, spring -up luxuriantly in the hotbeds of religious meetings. The odiousness of -spiritual vices is apt to be lost sight of in the horror of sensual -transgressions. If a pure intelligence, however, had to decide between -the two, he would probably point out that the vices which arise from the -frailty of nature are less desperate and less revolting than those which -are mainly factitious, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> which arise from a perversion of man's -highest relation. It is difficult to decide which set of vices (if -indeed the line can be drawn between them) spreads the most extensive -misery, and most completely ruins the unhappy subjects of them; but it -is certain that the sympathies of unsophisticated minds turn more -readily to the publicans and sinners, than to the pharisees of society: -and they have high authority for so doing.</p> - -<p>Still, the asceticism shows that a strong religious feeling, a strong -sense of religious duty exists, which has only to be enlarged and -enlightened. A most liberal-minded clergyman, a man as democratic in his -religion, and as genial in his charity, as any layman in the land, -remarked to me one day on the existence of this strong religious -sensibility in the children of the Pilgrims, and asked me what I thought -should be done to cherish and enlarge it, we having been alarming each -other with the fear that it would be exasperated by the prevalent -superstition, and become transmuted, in the next generation, to -something very unlike religious sensibility. We proposed great changes -in domestic and social habits: less formal religious observance in -families, and more genial interest in the intellectual provinces of -religion: more rational promotion of health, by living according to the -laws of nature, which ordain bodily exercise and mental refreshment. We -proposed that new temptations to walking, driving, boating, &c. should -be prepared, and the delights of natural scenery laid open much more -freely than they are: that social amusements of every kind should be -encouraged, and all religious restraints upon speech and action removed: -in short, that spontaneousness should be reverenced and approved above -all things, whatever form it may take. Of course, this can only be done -by those who do approve and reverence spontaneousness: but I am<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> -confident that there are enough of them, in the very heart of the most -ascetic society in America, to make it unreasonable that they should any -longer succumb to the priests and devotees of the community.</p> - -<p>Symptoms of the breaking out of the true genial spirit of liberty were -continually delighting me. A Unitarian clergyman, complaining of the -superstition of the body to which he belonged, while they were -perpetually referring to their comparative freedom, observed, "We are so -bent on standing fast in our liberty, that we don't get on." Another -remarked upon an eulogy bestowed on some one as a man and a Christian: -"as if," said the speaker, "the Christian were the climax! as if it were -not much more to be a man than a Christian!"</p> - -<p>The way in which religion is made an occupation by women, testifies not -only to the vacuity which must exist when such a mistake is fallen into, -but to the vigour with which the religious sentiment would probably be -carried into the great objects and occupations of life, if such were -permitted. I was perpetually struck with this when I saw women braving -hurricane, frost, and snow, to flit from preaching to preaching; and -laying out the whole day among visits for prayer and religious -excitement, among the poor and the sick. I was struck with this when I -saw them labouring at their New Testament, reading superstitiously a -daily portion of that which was already too familiar to the ear to leave -any genuine and lasting impression, thus read. Extraordinary instances -met my knowledge of both clergymen and ladies making the grossest -mistakes about conspicuous facts of the gospel history, while reading it -in daily portions for ever. It is not surprising that such a method of -perusal should obviate all real knowledge of the book: but it is -astonishing that those who feel it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> to be so should not change their -methods, and begin at length to learn that which they have all their -lives been vainly trusting that they knew.</p> - -<p>The wife of a member of Congress, a conscientious and religious woman, -judges of persons by one rule,—whether they are "pious." I could never -learn how she applied this; nor what she comprehended under her phrase. -She told me that she wished her husband to leave Congress. He was no -longer a young man, and it was time he was thinking of saving his soul. -She could not, after long conversation on this subject, realise the idea -that religion is not an affair of occupation and circumstance, but of -principle and temper; and that, as there is no more important duty than -that of a member of Congress, there is no situation in which a man can -attain a higher religious elevation, if the spirit be in him.</p> - -<p>The morality and religion of the people of the United States have -suffered much by their being, especially in New England, an ostensibly -religious community. There will be less that is ostensible and more that -is genuine, as they grow older. They are finding that it is the -possession of the spirit, and not the profession of the form, which -makes societies as well as individuals religious. All they have to do is -to assert their birth-right of liberty; to be free and natural. They -need have no fear of licence and irreligion. The spirit of their -forefathers is strong in them: and, if it were not, the spirit of -Humanity is in them; the very sanctum of religion. The idea of duty -(perverted or unperverted) is before them in all their lives; and the -love of their neighbour is in all their hearts. As surely then as they -live and love, they will be religious. What they have to look to is that -their religion be free and pure.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> When I visited the New York House of Refuge for the -reformation of juvenile delinquents, one of the officers showed me, with -complacency, that children of colour were sitting among the whites, in -both the boys' and girls' schools. On explaining to me afterwards the -arrangements of the chapel, he pointed out the division appropriated to -the pupils of colour. "Do you let them mix in school, and separate them -at worship?" I asked. He replied, with no little sharpness, "<i>We</i> are -not amalgamationists, madam." The absurdity of the sudden wrath, and of -the fact of a distinction being made at worship (of all occasions) which -was not made elsewhere, was so palpable, that the whole of our large -party burst into irresistible laughter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> The author of "Home" arranged the Sunday, in her book, -somewhat differently from the usual custom; describing the family whose -home she pictured as spending the Sunday afternoon on the water, after a -laborious week, and an attendance on public worship in the morning. -Religious conversation was described as going on throughout the day. So -much offence was taken at the idea of a Sunday sail, that the editor of -the book requested the author to alter the chapter; the first print -being proposed to be cancelled. I am sorry to say that she did alter it. -If she was converted to the popular superstition, (which could scarcely -be conceived,) no more is to be said. If not, it was a matter of -principle which she ought not to have yielded. If books are to be -altered, an author's convictions to be unrepresented, to avoid shocking -religious prejudices, there is a surrender, not only of the author's -noblest prerogative, but of his highest duty.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Ministers of four denominations undertake the duty in -rotation, in terms of a year each. The invitation, and the discharge of -the duty, are as purely voluntary as the attendance upon the services.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER III.</span> <span class="smaller">ADMINISTRATION OF RELIGION.</span></h2> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">"What will they then</div> -<div>But force the spirit of grace itself, and bind</div> -<div>His consort Liberty? what but unbuild</div> -<div>His living temples, built by faith to stand,</div> -<div>Their own faith, not another's?"</div> -<div class="right"><i>Milton.</i></div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"Truth shall spring out of the earth;</div> -<div>And righteousness shall look down from heaven."</div> -<div class="right"><i>85th Psalm.</i></div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>The inquiry concerning the working of the voluntary system in -America,—the only country where it operates without an establishment by -its side,—takes two directions. It is asked, first, whether religion is -administered sufficiently to the people: and, secondly, what is the -character of the clergy.</p> - -<p>The first question is easily answered. The eagerness for religious -instruction and the means of social worship are so great that funds and -buildings are provided wherever society exists. Though the clergy bear a -larger proportion to men of other occupations, I believe, than is the -case anywhere, except perhaps in the Peninsula, they are too few for the -religious wants of the people. Men are wanting; but churches and funds -are sufficient. According to a general summary of religious -denominations,<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> made in 1835, the number of churches<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> or -congregations was 15,477; the population being, exclusive of the slaves, -between fifteen and sixteen millions; and a not inconsiderable number -being settlers scattered in places too remote for the formation of -regular societies, with settled ministers. To these 15,477 churches -there were only 12,130 ministers. If to these settled clergy, there are -added the licentiates and candidates of the Presbyterian church, the -local preachers of the Methodists, the theological students, and quaker -administrators, it will be acknowledged that the number of religious -teachers bears an unusually large proportion to the population. Yet the -Baptist sect alone proclaims a want of above three thousand ministers to -supply the existing churches. Every exertion is made to meet the -religious wants of the people. The American Education Society has -assisted largely in sending forth young ministers: the Mission and Bible -Societies exhibit large results. In short, society in the United States -offers every conceivable testimony that the religious instincts of the -people may be trusted to supply their religious wants. It is only within -four or five years that this has been fully admitted even in the State -of Massachusetts. Up to 1834, every citizen of that State was obliged to -contribute something to the support of some sect or church. The -inconsistency of this obligation with true democratic principle was then -fully perceived, and religion left wholly to voluntary support. It is -needless to say that the event has fully justified the confidence of -those who have faith enough in Christianity to see that it needs no -protection from the State, but will commend itself to human hearts -better without.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span></p><p>As to the other particular of the inquiry,—the character of the -clergy,—more is to be said.</p> - -<p>It is clear that there is no room under the voluntary system for some of -the worst characteristics which have disgraced all christian -priesthoods. In America, there can be no grasping after political power; -no gambling in a lottery of church livings; no worldly pomp and state. -These sins are precluded under a voluntary system, in the midst of a -republic. Instead of these things, we find the protestant clergy -generally belonging to the federal party, when they open their lips upon -politics at all. They belong to the apprehensive party; according to all -precedent. It would be called strange if it did not almost universally -happen, that (with the exception of the political churchmen of the Old -World) they who uphold a faith which shall remove mountains, who teach -that men are not to fear "them that kill the body, and afterwards have -no more that they can do," are the most timid class of society; the most -backward in all great conflicts of principles. They have ever rested -invisible in their tents, when any wrestling was going on between morals -and abuses. They have ever, as a body, belonged to the aristocratic and -fearing party. So it is in America, where the fearing party is -depressed; as it has ever been where the aristocratic party is -uppermost.</p> - -<p>The clergy in America are not, as a body, seekers of wealth. It is so -generally out of their reach, that the adoption of the clerical -profession is usually an unequivocal testimony to their -disinterestedness about money. I say "usually," because there are -exceptions. The profession has been one of such high honour that it -rises to an equality with wealth. It is common, not to say usual, that -young clergymen, who are almost invariably from poor families, marry -ladies of fortune. Where there are several<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> sisters in a rich family, it -seems to be regarded as a matter of course that one will marry a -clergyman. Amidst some good which arises out of this practice, there is -the enormous evil, not peculiar to America, that adventurers are tempted -into the profession. Not a few planters in the south began life as poor -clergymen, and obtained by marriage the means of becoming planters. Not -a few pastors in the north grow more sleek than they ever were saintly, -and go through two safe and quiet preachments on Sundays, as the price -of their week-day ease. But, as long as the salaries of ministers are so -moderate as they now are, it cannot be otherwise than that the greater -number of clergy enter upon their profession in full view of a life of -labour, with small pecuniary recompense. There can, I think, be no -question that the vocation is adopted from motives as pure as often -actuate men; and that the dangers to which the clergy succumb arise -afterwards out of their disadvantageous position.</p> - -<p>It is to be wished that some alteration could be made in the mode of -remunerating the clergy. At present, they have usually small salaries -and large presents. Nothing is more natural than that grateful -individuals or flocks should like to testify their respect for their -pastor by adding to his comforts and luxuries: but, if all the -consequences were considered, I think the practice would be forborne, -and the salary increased instead. In the present state of morals, it -happens that instances are rare where one person can give pecuniary -benefit to another without injury to one or both. Sympathy, help, may be -given, with great mutual profit; but rarely money or money's worth.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> -This arises from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> the false associations which have been gathered round -wealth, and have implicated it too extensively with mental and moral -independence. Any one may answer for himself the question whether it is -often possible to regard a person to whom he is under pecuniary -obligation with precisely the same freedom, from first to last, which -would otherwise exist. If among people of similar views, objects, and -interests, this is felt as a difficulty, it is aggravated into a great -moral danger when spiritual influences are to be dispensed by the aided -and obliged party. I see no safety in anything short of a strict rule on -the part of an honourable pastor to accept of no gift whatever. This -would require some self-denial on the part of his friends; but they -ought to be aware that giving gifts is the coarsest and lowest method of -testifying respect and affection. Many ways are open to them: first by -taking care that their pastor has such a fixed annual provision made for -him as will secure him from the too heavy pressure of family cares; and -then by yielding him that honest friendship, and plain-spoken sympathy, -(without any religious peculiarity,) which may animate him in his -studies and in his ministrations.</p> - -<p>The American clergy being absolved from the common clerical vices of -ambition and cupidity, it remains to be seen whether they are free also -from that of the idolatry of opinion. They enter upon their office -generally with pious and benevolent views. Do they retain their moral -independence in it?—I cannot answer favourably.</p> - -<p>The vices of any class are never to be imputed with the full force of -disgraces to individuals. The vices of a class must evidently, from -their extent, arise from some overpowering influences, under whose -operation individuals should be respectfully compassionated, while the -morbid influences are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span> condemned. The American clergy are the most -backward and timid class in the society in which they live; self-exiled -from the great moral questions of the time; the least informed with true -knowledge; the least efficient in virtuous action; the least conscious -of that christian and republican freedom which, as the native atmosphere -of piety and holiness, it is their prime duty to cherish and diffuse. -The proximate causes of their degeneracy in this respect are easily -recognised.</p> - -<p>It is not merely that the living of the clergy depends on the opinion of -those whom they serve. To all but the far and clear-sighted it appears -that the usefulness of their function does so. Ordinary men may be -excused for a willingness to seize on the precept about following after -the things that make for peace, without too close an inquiry into the -nature of that peace. Such a tendency may be excused, but not praised, -in ordinary men. It must be blamed in all pastors who believe that they -have grasped purer than ordinary principles of gospel freedom.</p> - -<p>The first great mischief which arises from the disinclination of the -clergy to bring what may be disturbing questions before their people, is -that they themselves inevitably undergo a perversion of views about the -nature of their pastoral office. To take the most striking instance now -presented in the United States. The clergy have not yet begun to stir -upon the Anti-Slavery question. A very few Presbyterian clergymen have -nobly risked everything for it; some being members of Abolition -societies; and some professors in the Oberlin Institute and its -branches, where all prejudice of colour is discountenanced. But the bulk -of the Presbyterian clergy are as fierce as the slave-holders against -the abolitionists. I believe they would not object to have Mr. -Breckinridge considered a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span> sample of their body. The episcopalian clergy -are generally silent on the subject of Human Rights, or give their -influence against the Abolitionists. Not to go over the whole list of -denominations, it is sufficient to mention that the ministers generally -are understood to be opposed to abolition, from the circumstances of -their silence in the pulpit, their conversation in society, and the -conduct of those who are most under their influence. I pass on to the -Unitarians, the religious body with which I am best acquainted, from my -being a Unitarian myself. The Unitarians believe that they are not -liable to many superstitions which cramp the minds and actions of other -religionists. They profess a religion of greater freedom; and declare -that Christianity, as they see it, has an affinity with all that is -free, genial, intrepid, and true in the human mind; and that it is meant -to be carried out into every social arrangement, every speculation of -thought, every act of the life. Clergymen who preach this live in a -crisis when a tremendous conflict of principles is taking place. On one -side is the oppressor, struggling to keep his power for the sake of his -gold; and with him the mercenary, the faithlessly timid, the ambitious, -and the weak. On the other side are the friends of the slave; and with -them those who, without possibility of recompense, are sacrificing their -reputations, their fortunes, their quiet, and risking their lives, for -the principle of freedom. What are the Unitarian clergy doing amidst -this war which admits of neither peace nor truce, but which must end in -the subjugation of the principle of freedom, or of oppression?</p> - -<p>I believe Mr. May had the honour of being the first Unitarian pastor who -sided with the right. Whether he has sacrificed to his intrepidity one -christian grace; whether he has lost one charm of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> piety, -gentleness, and charity, amidst the trials of insult which he has had to -undergo, I dare appeal to his worst enemy. Instead of this, his devotion -to a most difficult duty has called forth in him a force of character, a -strength of reason, of which his best friends were before unaware. It -filled me with shame for the weakness of men, in their noblest offices, -to hear the insolent compassion with which some of his priestly brethren -spoke of a man whom they have not light and courage enough to follow -through the thickets and deserts of duty, and upon whom they therefore -bestow their scornful pity from out of their shady bowers of -complacency.—Dr. Follen came next: and there is nothing in his power -that he has not done and sacrificed in identifying himself with the -cause of emancipation. I heard him, in a perilous time, pray in church -for the "miserable, degraded, insulted slave; in chains of iron, and -chains of gold." This is not the place in which to exhibit what his -sacrifices have really been.—Dr. Channing's later services are well -known. I know of two more of the Unitarian clergy who have made an open -and dangerous avowal of the right: and of one or two who have in private -resisted wrong in the cause. But this is all. As a body they must, -though disapproving slavery, be ranked as the enemies of the -abolitionists. Some have pleaded to me that it is a distasteful subject. -Some think it sufficient that they can see faults in individual -abolitionists. Some say that their pulpits are the property of their -people, who are not therefore to have their minds disturbed by what they -hear thence. Some say that the question is no business of theirs. Some -urge that they should be turned out of their pulpits before the next -Sunday, if they touched upon Human Rights. Some think the subject not -spiritual enough. The greater number excuse themselves on the ground<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span> of -a doctrine which, I cannot but think, has grown out of the -circumstances; that the duty of the clergy is to decide on how much -truth the people can bear, and to administer it accordingly.—So, while -society is going through the greatest of moral revolutions, casting out -its most vicious anomaly, and bringing its Christianity into its -politics and its social conduct, the clergy, even the Unitarian clergy, -are some pitying and some ridiculing the apostles of the revolution; -preaching spiritualism, learning, speculation; advocating third and -fourth-rate objects of human exertion and amelioration, and leaving it -to the laity to carry out the first and pressing moral reform of the -age. They are blind to their noble mission of enlightening and guiding -the moral sentiment of society in its greatest crisis. They not only -decline aiding the cause in weekdays by deed or pen, or spoken words; -but they agree in private to avoid the subject of Human Rights in the -pulpit till the crisis be past. No one asks them to harrow the feelings -of their hearers by sermons on slavery: but they avoid offering those -christian principles of faith and liberty with which slavery cannot -co-exist.</p> - -<p>Seeing what I have seen, I can come to no other conclusion than that the -most guilty class of the community in regard to the slavery question at -present is, not the slave-holding, nor even the mercantile, but the -clerical: the most guilty, because not only are they not blinded by -life-long custom and prejudice, nor by pecuniary interest, but they -profess to spend their lives in the study of moral relations, and have -pledged themselves to declare the whole counsel of God.—Whenever the -day comes for the right principle to be established, let them not dare -to glory in the glory of their country. Now, in its martyr-age, they -shrink from being confessors. It will not be for them to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> march in to -the triumph with the "glorious army." Yet, if the clergy of America -follow the example of other rear-guards of society, they will be the -first to glory in the reformation which they have done their utmost to -retard.</p> - -<p>The fearful and disgraceful mistake about the true nature of the -clerical office,—the supposition that it consists in adapting the truth -to the minds of the hearers,—is already producing its effect in -thinning the churches, and impelling the people to find an -administration of religion better suited to their need. The want of -faith in other men and in principles, and the superabundant faith in -themselves, shown in this notion of pastoral duty, (which has been -actually preached, as well as pleaded in private,) are so conspicuous, -as to need no further exposure. The history of priesthoods may be -referred to as an exhibition of its consequences. I was struck at first -with an advocacy of Ordinances among some of the Unitarian clergy, which -I was confident must go beyond their own belief. I was told that a great -point was made of them, (not as observances but as ordinances,) because -the public mind required them. I saw a minister using vehement and -unaccustomed action, (of course wholly inappropriate,) in a pulpit not -his own; and was told that that set of people required plenty of action -to be assured the preacher was in earnest. I was told that when -prejudices and interests have gathered round any point of morals, truth -ceases to be truth, and it becomes a minister's duty to avoid the topic -altogether. The consequences may be anticipated.—"What do you think, -sir, the people will do, as they discover the backwardness of their -clergy?" I heard a minister of one sect say to a minister of -another.—"I think, sir, they will soon require a better clergy," was -the reply. The people are requiring a better clergy. Even in Boston, so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> -far behind the country as that city is, a notable change has already -taken place. A strong man, full of enlarged sympathies, has not only -discerned the wants of the time, but set himself to do what one man may -to supply them. He invites to worship those who think and feel with him, -as to what their communion with the Father must be, to sustain their -principles and their cheer in this trying time. A multitude flocks round -him; the earnest spirits of the city and the day, whose full hearts and -worn spirits can find little ease and refreshment amidst the abstract -and inappropriate services of ministers who give them truth as they -judge they can receive it. Nothing but the whole truth will satisfy -those who are living and dying for it. The rising up of this new church -in Boston is an eloquent sign of the times.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p> - -<p>An extraordinary revelation of the state of the case between the clergy -and the people was made to me, most unconsciously, by a minister who, by -the way, acknowledges that he avoids, on principle, preaching on the -subjects which interest him most: he thinks he serves his people best, -by carrying into the pulpit subjects of secondary interest to himself. -This gentleman, shocked with the tidings of some social tyranny on the -anti-slavery question, exclaimed, "Such a revelation of the state of -people's minds as this, is enough to make one leave one's pulpit, and -set to work to mend society." What a volume do these few words disclose, -as to the relation of the clergy to the people and the time!</p> - -<p>What the effect would be of the clergy carrying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span> religion into what is -most practically important, and therefore most interesting, is shown as -often as opportunity occurs; which is all too seldom. When Dr. Channing -dropped, in a sermon last winter, that legislatures as well as -individuals were bound to do the will of God, every head in the church -was raised or turned; every eye waited upon him. When another minister -preached on being 'alone,' and showed how the noblest benefactors of the -race, the truest servants of God, must, in striking out into new regions -of thought and action, pass beyond the circle of common human -sympathies, and suffer accordingly, many a stout heart melted into -tears; many a rigid face crimsoned with emotion; and the sermon was -repeated and referred to, far and near, under the name of "the Garrison -sermon;" a name given to it, not by the preacher, but by the consciences -of some and the sympathies of others. Contrast with such an effect as -this the influence of preaching, irrelevant to minds and seasons. If -such sayings are admired or admitted at the moment, they are soon -forgotten, or remembered only in the general. "Don't you think," said a -gentleman to me, "that sermons are sadly useless things for the most -part? admonitions strung like bird's eggs on a string; so that they tell -pretty much the same, backwards or forwards, one way or another."</p> - -<p>It appears to me that the one thing in which the clergy of every kind -are fatally deficient is faith: that faith which would lead them, first, -to appropriate all truth, fearlessly and unconditionally; and then to -give it as freely as they have received it. They are fond of apostolic -authority. What would Paul's ministry have been if he had preached on -everything but idolatry at Ephesus, and licentiousness at Corinth? There -were people whose silver shrines, whose prejudices, whose false moral -principles were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span> in danger. There were people who were as unconscious of -the depth of their sin as the oppressors of the negro at the present -day. How would Paul have then finished his course? If he had stopped -short from the expediency of not dividing a household against itself, in -case such should be the consequence of giving true principles to the -air; if, dreading to break up the false peace of successful lucre and -overbearing profligacy, he had confined himself to speculations like -those with which he won the ear of the Athenians, carefully avoiding all -allusions to Diana at Ephesus, and to temperance and judgment to come at -Corinth, what kind of an apostle would he have been? Very like the -American christian clergy of the nineteenth century.</p> - -<p>The next great mischief that arises from the fear of opinion which makes -the clergy keep aloof from the stirring questions of the time, is that -they are deprived of that influence, (the highest kind of all,) that men -exert by their individual characters and convictions. Their character is -comparatively uninfluential from its being supposed professional; and -their convictions, because they are concluded to be formed from -imperfect materials. A clergyman's opinions on politics, and on other -affairs of active life in which morals are most implicated, are attended -to precisely in proportion as he is secular in his habits and pursuits. -A minister preached, a few years ago, against discount, and high prices -in times of scarcity. The merchants of his flock went away laughing: and -the pastor has never got over it. The merchants speak of him as a very -holy man, and esteem his services highly for keeping their wives, -children, and domestics in strict religious order: but in preaching to -themselves he has been preaching to the winds ever since that day. A -liberal-minded, religious father of a family said to me, "Take care<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span> how -you receive the uncorroborated statements of clergymen about that;" (a -matter of social fact;) "they know nothing about it. They are not likely -to know anything about it." "Why?" "Because there is nobody to tell -them. You know the clergy are looked upon by all grown men as a sort of -people between men and women." In a republic, where politics afford the -discipline and means of expression of every man's morals, the clergy -withdraw from, not only all party movements, but all political -interests. Some barely vote: others do not even do this. Their plea is, -as usual, that public opinion will not bear that the clergy should be -upon the same footing as to worldly affairs as others. If this be true, -public opinion should not be allowed to dictate their private duty to -the moral teachers of society. A clergyman should discharge the duties -of a citizen all the more faithfully for the need which the public thus -show themselves to be in of his example. But, if it be true, whence -arises the objection of the public to the clergy discharging the -responsibilities of citizens, but from the popular belief that they are -unfitted for it? If the democracy see that the clergy are almost all -federalists, and the federalist merchants and lawyers consider the -clergy so little fit for common affairs as to call them a set of people -between men and women, it is easy to see whence arises the dislike to -their taking part in politics; if indeed the dislike really exists. The -statement should not, however, be taken on the word of the clergy alone; -for they are very apt to think that the people cannot yet bear many -things in which the flocks have already outstripped their pastors.</p> - -<p>A third great mischief from the isolation of the clergy is that, while -it deprives them of the highest kind of influence which is the -prerogative of manhood, it gives them a lower kind:—an influence as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span> -strong as it is pernicious to others, and dangerous to themselves;—an -influence confined to the weak members of society; women and -superstitious men. By such they are called "faithful guardians." -Guardians of what? A healthy person may guard a sick one: a sane man may -guard a lunatic: a grown person may guard a child: and, for social -purposes, an appointed watch may guard a criminal. But how can any man -guard his equal in spiritual matters, the most absolutely individual of -all? How can any man come between another's soul and the infinite to -which it tends? If it is said that they are guardians of truth, and not -of conscience, they may be asked for their warrant. God has given his -truth for all. Each is to lay hold of what he can receive of it; and he -sins if he devolves upon another the guardianship of what is given him -for himself. As to the fitness of the clergy to be guardians, it is -enough to mention what I know: that there is infidelity within the walls -of their churches of which they do not dream; and profligacy among their -flocks of which they will be the last to hear. Even in matters which are -esteemed their peculiar business, the state of faith and morals, they -are more in the dark than any other persons in society. Some of the most -religious and moral persons in the community are among those who never -enter their churches; while among the company who sit at the feet of the -pastor while he refines upon abstractions, and builds a moral structure -upon imperfect principles, or upon metaphysical impossibilities, there -are some in whom the very capacity of stedfast belief has been cruelly -destroyed; some who hide loose morals under a strict profession of -religion; and some if possible more lost still, who have arrived at -making their religion co-exist with their profligacy. Is there not here -something like the blind leading the blind?</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span></p><p>Over those who consider the clergy "faithful guardians," their -influence, as far as it is professional, is bad; as far as it is that of -friendship or acquaintanceship, it is according to the characters of the -men. I am disposed to think ill of the effects of the practice of -parochial visiting, except in cases of poor and afflicted persons, who -have little other resource of human sympathy. I cannot enlarge upon the -disagreeable subject of the devotion of the ladies to the clergy. I -believe there is no liberal-minded minister who does not see, and too -sensibly feel, the evil of women being driven back upon religion as a -resource against vacuity; and of there being a professional class to -administer it. Some of the most sensible and religious elderly women I -know in America speak, with a strength which evinces strong conviction, -of the mischief to their sex of ministers entering the profession young -and poor, and with a great enthusiasm for parochial visiting. There is -no very wide difference between the auricular confession of the catholic -church, and the spiritual confidence reposed in ministers the most -devoted to visiting their flocks. Enough may be seen in the religious -periodicals of America about the help women give to young ministers by -the needle, by raising subscriptions, and by more toilsome labours than -they should be allowed to undergo in such a cause. If young men cannot -earn with their own hands the means of finishing their education, and -providing themselves with food and clothing, without the help of women, -they may safely conclude that their vocation is to get their bread -first; whether or not it may be to preach afterwards.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> But this kind -of dependence is wholly unnecessary. There is more provision made for -the clergy than there are clergy to use it.</p> - -<p>A young clergyman came home, one day, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span> complained to me that some of -his parochial visiting afflicted him much. He had been visiting and -exhorting a mother who had lost her infant; a sorrow which he always -found he could not reach. The mourner had sat still, and heard all he -had to say: but his impression was that he had not met any of her -feelings; that he had done nothing but harm. How should it be otherwise? -What should he know of the grief of a mother for her infant? He was sent -for, as a kind of charmer, to charm away the heart's pain. Such pain is -not sent to be charmed away. It could be made more endurable only by -sympathy, of all outward aids: and sympathy, of necessity, he had none; -but only a timid pain with which to aggravate hers. It was natural that -he should do nothing but harm.</p> - -<p>My final impression is, that religion is best administered in America by -the personal character of the most virtuous members of society, out of -the theological profession: and next, by the acts and preachings of the -members of that profession who are the most secular in their habits of -mind and life. The exclusively clerical are the worst enemies of -Christianity, except the vicious.</p> - -<p>The fault is not in the Voluntary System; for the case is equally bad on -both sides the Atlantic: and an Establishment like the English does -little more than superadd the danger of a careless, ambitious, worldly -clergy,<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> in the richer priests of the church, and an overworked and -ill-recompensed set of working clergy. The evil lies in a superstition -which no establishment can ever obviate; in the superstition, to use the -words of an American clergyman, "of believing that religion is something -else than <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span>goodness." From this it arises that an ecclesiastical -profession still exists; not for the study of theological science, -(which is quite reasonable,) but for the dispensing of goodness. From -this it arises that ecclesiastical goodness is practically separated -from active personal and social goodness. From this it arises that the -yeomanry of America, those who are ever in the presence of God's high -priest, Nature, and out of the worldly competitions of a society -sophisticated with superstition, are perpetually in advance of the rest -of the community on the great moral questions of the time, while the -clergy are in the rear.</p> - -<p>What must be done? The machinery of administration must be changed. The -people have been brought up to suppose that they saw Christianity in -their ministers. The first consequence of this mistake was, that -Christianity was extensively misunderstood; as it still is. The trying -moral conflicts of the time are acting as a test. The people are rapidly -discovering that the supposed faithful mirror is a grossly refracting -medium; and the blessed consequence will be, that they will look at the -object for themselves, declining any medium at all. The clerical -profession is too hard and too perilous a one, too little justifiable on -the ground of principle, too much opposed to the spirit of the gospel, -to outlive long the individual research into religion, to which the -faults of the clergy are daily impelling the people.</p> - -<p>To what then must we meantime trust for religion?—To the administration -of God, and the heart of man. Has not God his own ways, unlike our ways, -of teaching when man misteaches? It is worth travelling in the wild -west, away from churches and priests, to see how religion springs up in -the pleasant woods, and is nourished by the winds and the star-light. -The child on the grass is not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span> alone in listening for God's tramp on the -floor of his creation. We are all children, ever so listening. Impulses -of religion arise wherever there is life and society; whenever hope is -rebuked, and fear relieved; wherever there is love to be cherished, and -age and childhood to be guarded. If it be true, as my friend and I -speculated, that religious sensibility is best awakened by the spectacle -of the beauty of holiness, religion is everywhere safe; for this beauty -is as prevalent, more or less perceptibly, as the light of human eyes. -It is safe as long as the gospel history is extant. The beauty of -holiness is there so resplendent, that, to those who look upon it with -their own eyes, it seems inconceivable that, if it were once brought -unveiled before the minds of men, every one would not adopt it into his -reason and his affections from that hour. It has been reorganising and -vivifying society from the day of its advent. It is carrying on this -very work now in the New World. The institutions of America are, as I -have said, planted down deep into Christianity. Its spirit must make an -effectual pilgrimage through a society, of which it may be called a -native; and no mistrust of its influences can for ever intercept that -spirit in its mission of denouncing anomalies, exposing hypocrisy, -rebuking faithlessness, raising and communing with the outcast, and -driving out sordidness from the circuit of this, the most glorious -temple of society that has ever yet been reared. The community will be -christian as sure as democracy is christian.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> This summary does not pretend to be complete, but it is -the nearest approximation to fact that can be obtained. According to it -the Episcopalian Methodists are the most numerous sect: then the -Catholics, Calvinistic Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, -Christians, Episcopalians, and Quakers. The other denominations follow, -down to the Tunkers and Shakers, which are the smallest.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> -</p><p> -"It is a mortifying truth, that two men in any rank of society could -hardly be found virtuous enough to give money, and to take it, as a -necessary gift, without injury to the moral entireness of one or both. -But so stands the fact."</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Edinburgh Review</i>, xlviii. p. 303.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> See <a href="#Page_402">Appendix E</a>, for a part of a discourse by Orestes A. -Brownson on the Wants of the Times. It is given as it fell from his -lips, and not as a specimen of his practice of composition. The reader, -however, will probably be no more disposed to remember anything about -style in the presence of this discourse, than Mr. Brownson's hearers are -wont to be.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> See <a href="#Page_415">Appendix F</a>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> It is amusing to see how our aristocratic and -ecclesiastical institutions strike simple republicans. I was asked -whether the English Bishops were not a necessary intermediate -aristocracy between the Lords and the Commons.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONCLUSION.</h2> - -<p>My book must come to an end; but I offer no conclusion of my subject. I -do not pretend to have formed any theory about American society or -prospects to which a finishing hand can be put in the last page. -American society itself constitutes but the first pages of a great book -of events, into whose progress we can see but a little way; and that but -dimly. It is too soon yet to theorise; much too soon to speak of -conclusions even as to the present entire state of this great nation.</p> - -<p>Meantime, some prominent facts appear to stand out from their history -and condition, which it may be useful to recognise, while refusing to -pronounce upon their positive or comparative virtue and happiness.</p> - -<p>By a happy coincidence of outward plenty with liberal institutions, -there is in America a smaller amount of crime, poverty, and mutual -injury of every kind, than has ever been known in any society. This is -not only a present blessing, but the best preparation for continued -fidelity to true democratic principles.</p> - -<p>However the Americans may fall short, in practice, of the professed -principles of their association, they have realised many things for -which the rest of the civilised world is still struggling; and which -some portions are only beginning to intend. They are, to all intents and -purposes, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>self-governed. They have risen above all liability to a -hereditary aristocracy, a connexion between religion and the State, a -vicious or excessive taxation, and the irresponsibility of any class. -Whatever evils may remain or may arise, in either the legislative or -executive departments, the means of remedy are in the hands of the whole -people: and those people are in possession of the glorious certainty -that time and exertion will infallibly secure all wisely desired -objects.</p> - -<p>They have one tremendous anomaly to cast out; a deadly sin against their -own principles to abjure. But they are doing this with an earnestness -which proves that the national heart is sound. The progress of the -Abolition question within three years, throughout the whole of the rural -districts of the north, is a far stronger testimony to the virtue of the -nation than the noisy clamour of a portion of the slave-holders of the -south, and the merchant aristocracy of the north, with the silence of -the clergy, are against it. The nation must not be judged of by that -portion whose worldly interests are involved in the maintenance of the -anomaly; nor yet by the eight hundred flourishing abolition societies of -the north, with all the supporters they have in unassociated -individuals. The nation must be judged of as to Slavery by neither of -these parties; but by the aspect of the conflict between them. If it be -found that the five abolitionists who first met in a little chamber five -years ago, to measure their moral strength against this national -enormity, have become a host beneath whose assaults the vicious -institution is rocking to its foundations, it is time that slavery was -ceasing to be a national reproach. Europe now owes to America the -justice of regarding her as the country of abolitionism, quite as -emphatically as the country of slavery.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span></p><p>The civilisation and the morals of the Americans fall far below their -own principles. This is enough to say. It is better than contrasting or -comparing them with European morals and civilisation: which contrast or -comparison can answer no purpose, unless on the supposition, which I do -not think a just one, that their morals and civilisation are derived -from their political organisation. A host of other influences are at -work, which must nullify all conclusions drawn from the politics of the -Americans to their morals. Such conclusions will be somewhat less rash -two centuries hence. Meantime, it will be the business of the world, as -well as of America, to watch the course of republicanism and of national -morals; to mark their mutual action, and humbly learn whatever the new -experiment may give out. To the whole world, as well as to the -Americans, it is important to ascertain whether the extraordinary mutual -respect and kindness of the American people generally are attributable -to their republicanism: and again, how far their republicanism is -answerable for their greatest fault,—their deficiency of moral -independence.</p> - -<p>No peculiarity in them is more remarkable than their national -contentment. If this were the result of apathy, it would be despicable: -if it did not coexist with an active principle of progress, it would be -absurd. As it is, I can regard this national attribute with no other -feeling than veneration. Entertaining, as I do, little doubt of the -general safety of the American Union, and none of the moral progress of -its people, it is clear to me that this national contentment will live -down all contempt, and even all wonder; and come at length to be -regarded with the same genial and universal emotion with which men -recognise in an individual the equanimity of rational self-reverence.</p> - - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span></p> - -<h3>NOTE.</h3> - -<p>Since pp. 47-52, in the first volume, were printed, intelligence has -arrived of the admission of Michigan into the Union: on what terms, I -have not been able to ascertain.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2"><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span></p> - -<h2>APPENDIX.</h2> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h3>A.</h3> - -<p class="bold">MR. ADAMS'S SPEECH ON TEXAS.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * *</p> - -<p>I suppose a more portentous case, certainly within the bounds of -possibility—I would to God I could say not within the bounds of -probability. You have been, if you are not now, at the very point of a -war with Mexico—a war, I am sorry to say, so far as public rumour may -be credited, stimulated by provocations on our part from the very -commencement of this administration down to the recent authority given -to General Gaines to invade the Mexican territory. It is said that one -of the earliest acts of this administration was a proposal, made at a -time when there was already much ill-humour in Mexico against the United -States, that she should cede to the United States a very large portion -of her territory—large enough to constitute nine States equal in extent -to Kentucky. It must be confessed that a device better calculated to -produce jealousy, suspicion, ill-will, and hatred, could not have been -contrived. It is further affirmed that this overture, offensive in -itself, was made precisely at the time when a swarm of colonists from -these United States were covering the Mexican border with land-jobbing, -and with slaves, introduced in defiance of the Mexican<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span> laws, by which -slavery had been abolished throughout that Republic. The war now raging -in Texas is a Mexican civil war, and a war for the re-establishment of -slavery where it was abolished.—It is not a servile war, but a war -between slavery and emancipation, and every possible effort has been -made to drive us into the war, on the side of slavery.</p> - -<p>It is, indeed, a circumstance eminently fortunate for us that this -monster, Santa Ana, has been defeated and taken, though I cannot -participate in that exquisite joy with which we have been told that -every one having Anglo-Saxon blood in his veins must have been delighted -on hearing that this ruffian has been shot, in cold blood, when a -prisoner of war, by the Anglo-Saxon leader of the victorious Texan army. -Sir, I hope there is no member of this house, of other than Anglo-Saxon -origin, who will deem it uncourteous that I, being myself in part -Anglo-Saxon, must, of course, hold that for the best blood that ever -circulated in human veins. Oh! yes, sir! far be it from me to depreciate -the glories of the Anglo-Saxon race; although there have been times when -they bowed their necks and submitted to the law of conquest, beneath the -ascendency of the Norman race. But, sir, it has struck me as no -inconsiderable evidence of the spirit which is spurring us into this war -of aggression, of conquest, and of slave-making, that all the fires of -ancient, hereditary national hatred are to be kindled, to familiarise us -with the ferocious spirit of rejoicing at the massacre of prisoners in -cold blood. Sir, is there not yet hatred enough between the races which -compose your Southern population and the population of Mexico, their -next neighbour, but you must go back eight hundred or a thousand years, -and to another hemisphere, for the fountains of bitterness between you -and them? What is the temper of feeling between the component parts of -our own Southern population, between your Anglo-Saxon, Norman, French, -and Moorish Spanish inhabitants of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and -Missouri? between them all and the Indian savage, the original possessor -of the land from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span> which you are scourging him already back to the foot -of the Rocky Mountains? What between them all and the native American -negro, of African origin, whom they are holding in cruel bondage? Are -these elements of harmony, concord, and patriotism between the component -parts of a nation starting upon a crusade of conquest? And what are the -feelings of all this motley compound of your Southern population towards -the compound equally heterogeneous of the Mexican population? Do not -you, an Anglo-Saxon, slave-holding exterminator of Indians, from the -bottom of your soul, hate the Mexican-Spaniard-Indian, emancipator of -slaves and abolisher of slavery? And do you think that your hatred is -not with equal cordiality returned? Go to the city of Mexico, ask any of -your fellow-citizens who have been there for the last three or four -years, whether they scarcely dare show their faces, as Anglo-Americans, -in the streets. Be assured, sir, that, however heartily you detest the -Mexican, his bosom burns with an equally deep-seated detestation of you.</p> - -<p>And this is the nation with which, at the instigation of your Executive -Government, you are now rushing into war—into a war of conquest; -commenced by aggression on your part, and for the re-establishment of -slavery, where it has been abolished, throughout the Mexican Republic. -For your war will be with Mexico—with a Republic of twenty-four States, -and a population of eight or nine millions of souls. It seems to be -considered that this victory over twelve hundred men, with the capture -of their commander, the President of the Mexican Republic, has already -achieved the conquest of the whole Republic. That it may have achieved -the independence of Texas, is not impossible. But Texas is to the -Mexican Republic not more nor so much as the State of Michigan is to -yours. That State of Michigan, the people of which are in vain claiming -of you the performance of that sacred promise you made them, of -admitting her as a State into the Union; that State of Michigan, which -has greater grievances and heavier wrongs to allege against<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span> you for a -declaration of her independence, if she were disposed to declare it, -than the people of Texas have for breaking off their union with the -Republic of Mexico. Texas is an extreme boundary portion of the Republic -of Mexico; a wilderness inhabited only by Indians, till after the -Revolution which separated Mexico from Spain; not sufficiently populous -at the organisation of the Mexican Confederacy to form a State by -itself, and therefore united with Coahuila, where the greatest part of -the indigenous part of the population reside. Sir, the history of all -the emancipated Spanish American colonies has been, ever since their -separation from Spain, a history of convulsionary wars; of revolutions, -accomplished by single, and often very insignificant battles; of -chieftains, whose title to power has been the murder of their immediate -predecessors. They have all partaken of the character of the first -conquest of Mexico by Cortez, and of Peru by Pizarro; and this, sir, -makes me shudder at the thought of connecting our destinies indissolubly -with theirs. It may be that a new revolution in Mexico will follow upon -this captivity or death of their president and commanding general; we -have rumours, indeed, that such a revolution had happened even before -his defeat; but I cannot yet see my way clear to the conclusion that -either the independence of Texas, or the capture and military execution -of Santa Ana, will save you from war with Mexico. Santa Ana was but one -of a breed of which Spanish America for the last twenty-five years has -been a teeming mother—soldiers of fortune, who, by the sword or the -musket-ball, have risen to supreme power, and by the sword or the -musket-ball have fallen from it. That breed is not extinct; the very -last intelligence from Peru tells of one who has fallen there as -Yturbide, and Mina, and Guerrero, and Santa Ana have fallen in Mexico. -The same soil which produced them is yet fertile to produce others. They -reproduce themselves, with nothing but a change of the name and of the -man. Your war, sir, is to be a war of races—the Anglo-Saxon American -pitted against the Moorish-Spanish-Mexican American; a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span> war between the -Northern and Southern halves of North America; from Passamaquoddy to -Panama. Are you prepared for such a war?</p> - -<p>And again I ask, what will be your <i>cause</i> in such a war? Aggression, -conquest, and the re-establishment of slavery where it has been -abolished. In that war, sir, the banners of <i>freedom</i> will be the -banners of Mexico; and your banners, I blush to speak the word, will be -the banners of slavery.</p> - -<p>Sir, in considering these United States and the United Mexican States as -mere masses of power coming into collision against each other, I cannot -doubt that Mexico will be the greatest sufferer by the shock. The -conquest of all Mexico would seem to be no improbable result of the -conflict, especially if the war should extend no farther than to the two -mighty combatants. But will it be so confined? Mexico is clearly the -weakest of the two powers; but she is not the least prepared for action. -She has the more recent experience of war. She has the greatest number -of veteran warriors; and although her highest chief has just suffered a -fatal and ignominious defeat, yet that has happened often before to -leaders of armies, too confident of success, and contemptuous of their -enemy. Even now, Mexico is better prepared for a war of invasion upon -you, than you are for a war of invasion upon her. There may be found a -successor to Santa Ana, inflamed with the desire, not only of avenging -his disaster, but what he and his nation will consider your perfidious -hostility. The national spirit may go with him. He may not only turn the -tables upon the Texan conquerors, but drive them for refuge within your -borders, and pursue them into the heart of your own territories. Are you -in a condition to resist him? Is the success of your whole army, and all -your veteran generals, and all your militia-calls, and all your mutinous -volunteers, against a miserable band of five or six hundred invisible -Seminole Indians, in your late campaign, an earnest of the energy and -vigour with which you are ready to carry on that far otherwise -formidable and complicated war?—Complicated did I say? And<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span> how -complicated? Your Seminole war is already spreading to the Creeks; and, -in their march of desolation, they sweep along with them your negro -slaves, and put arms into their hands to make common cause with them -against you; and how far will it spread, sir, should a Mexican invader, -with the torch of liberty in his hand, and the standard of freedom -floating over his head, proclaiming emancipation to the slave, and -revenge to the native Indian, as he goes, invade your soil? What will be -the condition of your States of Louisiana, of Mississippi, of Alabama, -of Arkansas, of Missouri, and of Georgia? Where will be your negroes? -Where will be that combined and concentrated mass of Indian tribes, -whom, by an inconceivable policy, you have expelled from their -widely-distant habitations, to embody them within a small compass on the -very borders of Mexico, as if on purpose to give to that country a -nation of natural allies in their hostilities against you? Sir, you have -a Mexican, an Indian, and a negro war upon your hands, and you are -plunging yourself into it blindfold; you are talking about acknowledging -the independence of the Republic of Texas, and you are thirsting to -annex Texas, ay, and Coahuila, and Tamaulipas, and Santa Fe, from the -source to the mouth of the Rio Bravo, to your already over-distended -dominions. Five hundred thousand square miles of the territory of Mexico -would not even now quench your burning thirst for aggrandisement.</p> - -<p>But will your foreign war for this be with Mexico alone? No, sir. As the -weaker party, Mexico, when the contest shall have once begun, will look -abroad, as well as among your negroes and your Indians, for assistance. -Neither Great Britain nor France will suffer you to make such a conquest -from Mexico; no, nor even to annex the independent State of Texas to -your Confederation, without their interposition. You will have an -Anglo-Saxon intertwined with a Mexican war to wage. Great Britain may -have no serious objection to the independence of Texas, and may be -willing enough to take her under her protection, as a barrier<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span> both -against Mexico and against you. But, as an aggrandisement to you, she -will not readily suffer it; and, above all, she will not suffer you to -acquire it by conquest, and the re-establishment of slavery. Urged on by -the irresistible, overwhelming torrent of public opinion, Great Britain -has recently, at a cost of one hundred million of dollars, which her -people have joyfully paid, abolished slavery, throughout all her -colonies in the West Indies. After setting such an example, she will -not—it is impossible that she should—stand by and witness a war for -the re-establishment of slavery, where it had been for years abolished, -and situated thus in the immediate neighbourhood of her islands. She -will tell you, that if you must have Texas as a member of your -Confederacy, it must be without the taint or the trammels of slavery; -and if you will wage a war to handcuff and fetter your fellow-man, she -will wage the war against you to break his chains. Sir, what a figure, -in the eyes of mankind, would you make, in deadly conflict with Great -Britain: she fighting the battles of emancipation, and you the battles -of slavery; she the benefactress, and you the oppressor, of human kind! -In such a war, the enthusiasm of emancipation, too, would unite vast -numbers of her people in aid of the national rivalry, and all her -natural jealousy against our aggrandisement. No war was ever so popular -in England as that war would be against slavery, the slave-trade, and -the Anglo-Saxon descendant from her own loins.</p> - -<p>As to the annexation of Texas to your Confederation, for what do you -want it? Are you not large and unwieldy enough already? Do not two -millions of square miles cover surface enough for the insatiate rapacity -of your land-jobbers? I hope there are none of them within the sound of -my voice. Have you not Indians enough to expel from the land of their -fathers' sepulchres, and to exterminate? What, in a prudential and -military point of view, would be the addition of Texas to your domain? -It would be weakness, and not power. Is your southern and south-western -frontier not sufficiently extensive? not sufficiently feeble?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span> not -sufficiently defenceless? Why are you adding regiment after regiment of -dragoons to your standing army? Why are you struggling, by direction and -by indirection, to raise <i>per saltum</i> that army from less than six to -more than twenty thousand men? Your commanding general, now returning -from his excursion to Florida, openly recommends the increase of your -army to that number. Sir, the extension of your sea-coast frontier from -the Sabine to the Rio Bravo, would add to your weakness tenfold; for it -is now only weakness with reference to Mexico. It would then be weakness -with reference to Great Britain, to France, even perhaps to Russia, to -every naval European power, which might make a quarrel with us for the -sake of settling a colony; but, above all, to Great Britain. She, by her -naval power, and by her American colonies, holds the keys of the Gulf of -Mexico. What would be the condition of your frontier from the mouth of -the Mississippi to that of the Rio del Norte, in the event of a war with -Great Britain? Sir, the reasons of Mr. Monroe for accepting the Sabine -as the boundary were three. First, he had no confidence in the strength -of our claim as far as the Rio Bravo; secondly, he thought it would make -our union so heavy, that it would break into fragments by its own -weight; thirdly, he thought it would protrude a long line of sea-coast, -which, in our first war with Great Britain, she might take into her own -possession, and which we should be able neither to defend nor to -recover. At that time there was no question of slavery or of abolition -in the controversy. The country belonged to Spain; it was a wilderness, -and slavery was the established law of the land. There was then no -project for carving out nine slave States, to hold eighteen seats in the -other wing of this capitol, in the triangle between the mouths and the -sources of the Mississippi and Bravo rivers. But what was our claim? Why -it was that La Salle, having discovered the mouth of the Mississippi, -and France having made a settlement at New Orleans, France had a right -to one half the sea-coast from the mouth of the Mississippi to the next -Spanish settlement, which was Vera<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span> Cruz. The mouth of the Rio Bravo was -about half way from the Balize to Vera Cruz; and so as grantees, from -France of Louisiana, we claimed to the Rio del Norte, though the Spanish -settlement of Santa Fe was at the head of that river. France, from whom -we had received Louisiana, utterly disclaimed ever having even raised -such a pretension. Still we made the best of the claim that we could, -and finally yielded it for the Floridas, and for the line of the 42d -degree of latitude from the source of the Arkansas river to the South -Sea. Such was our claim; and you may judge how much confidence Mr. -Monroe could have in its validity. The great object and desire of the -country then was to obtain the Floridas. It was General Jackson's -desire; and in that conference with me to which I have heretofore -alluded, and which it is said he does not recollect, he said to me that -so long as the Florida rivers were not in our possession, there could be -no safety for our whole Southern country.</p> - -<p>But, sir, suppose you should annex Texas to these United States; another -year would not pass before you would have to engage in a war for the -conquest of the Island of Cuba. What is now the condition of that -island? Still under the nominal protection of Spain. And what is the -condition of Spain herself? Consuming her own vitals in a civil war for -the succession to the crown. Do you expect, that whatever may be the -issue of that war, she can retain even the nominal possession of Cuba? -After having lost <i>all</i> her continental colonies in North and South -America, Cuba will stand in need of more efficient protection; and above -all, the protection of a naval power. Suppose that naval power should be -Great Britain. There is Cuba at your very door; and if you spread -yourself along a naked coast, from the Sabine to the Rio Bravo, what -will be your relative position towards Great Britain, with not only -Jamaica, but Cuba, and Porto Rico in her hands, and abolition for the -motto to her union cross of St. George and St. Andrew? Mr. Chairman, do -you think I am treading on fantastic grounds? Let me tell you a piece of -history, not far remote. Sir, many years have not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span> passed away since an -internal revolution in Spain subjected that country and her king for a -short time to the momentary government of the Cortes. That revolution -was followed by another, by which, under the auspices of a French army -with the Duke d'Angouleme at their head, Ferdinand the Seventh was -restored to a despotic throne; Cuba had followed the fortunes of the -Cortes when they were crowned with victory; and when the -counter-revolution came, the inhabitants of the island, uncertain what -was to be their destination, were for some time in great perplexity what -to do for themselves. Two considerable parties arose in the island, one -of which was for placing it under the protection of Great Britain, and -another was for annexing it to the confederation of these United States. -By one of these parties I have reason to believe that overtures were -made to the Government of Great Britain. By the other <i>I know</i> that -overtures were made to the government of the United States. And I -further know that secret, though irresponsible assurances were -communicated to the then President of the United States, as coming from -the French Government, that <i>they</i> were secretly informed that the -British Government had determined to take possession of Cuba. Whether -similar overtures were made to France herself, I do not undertake to -say; but that Mr. George Canning, then the British Secretary of State -for Foreign Affairs, was under no inconsiderable alarm, lest, under the -pupilage of the Duke d'Angouleme, Ferdinand the Seventh might commit to -the commander of a French naval squadron the custody of the Moro Castle, -is a circumstance also well known to me. It happened that just about -that time a French squadron of considerable force was fitted out and -received sailing orders for the West Indies, without formal -communication of the fact to the British Government; and that as soon as -it was made known to him, he gave orders to the British Ambassador at -Paris to demand, in the most peremptory tone, what was the destination -of that squadron, and a special and positive disclaimer that it was -intended even to visit the Havana; and this was made the occasion of -mutual <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span>explanations, by which Great Britain, France, and the United -States, not by the formal solemnity of a treaty, but by the implied -engagement of mutual assurances of intention, gave pledges of honour to -each other, that neither of them should in the then condition of the -island take it, or the Moro Castle, as its citadel, from the possession -of Spain. This engagement was on all sides faithfully performed; but, -without it, who doubts that from that day to this either of the three -powers might have taken the island and held it in undisputed possession?</p> - -<p>At this time circumstances have changed—popular revolutions both in -France and Great Britain have perhaps curbed the spirit of conquest in -Great Britain, and France may have enough to do to govern her kingdom of -Algiers. But Spain is again convulsed with a civil war for the -succession to her crown; she has irretrievably lost all her colonies on -both continents of America. It is impossible that she should hold much -longer a shadow of dominion over the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico; nor -can those islands, in their present condition, form independent nations, -capable of protecting themselves. They must for ages remain at the mercy -of Great Britain or of these United States, or of both; Great Britain is -even now about to interfere in this war for the Spanish succession. If -by the utter imbecility of the Mexican confederacy this revolt of Texas -should lead immediately to its separation from that Republic, and its -annexation to the United States, I believe it impossible that Great -Britain should look on while this operation is performing with -indifference. She will see that it must shake her own whole colonial -power on this continent, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean -Seas, like an earthquake; she will see, too, that it endangers her own -abolition of slavery in her own colonies. A war for the restoration of -slavery where it has been abolished, if successful in Texas, must extend -over all Mexico; and the example will threaten her with imminent danger -of a war of colours in her own islands. She will take possession of Cuba -and of Porto Rico, by cession from Spain or by the batteries from her -wooden walls; and if you ask her by what authority she has done it, she -will ask you, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span>return, by what authority you have extended your -sea-coast from the Sabine to the Rio Bravo. She will ask you a question -more perplexing, namely—by what authority you, with freedom, -independence, and democracy upon your lips, are waging a war of -extermination to forge new manacles and fetters, instead of those which -are falling from the hands and feet of man. She will carry emancipation -and abolition with her in every fold of her flag; while your stars, as -they increase in numbers, will be overcast with the murky vapours of -oppression, and the only portion of your banners visible to the eye will -be the blood-stained stripes of the taskmaster.</p> - -<p>Mr. Chairman, are you ready for all these wars? A Mexican war? a war -with Great Britain, if not with France? a general Indian war? a servile -war? and, as an inevitable consequence of them all, a civil war? For it -must ultimately terminate in a war of colours as well as of races. And -do you imagine that while with your eyes open you are wilfully kindling, -and then closing your eyes and blindly rushing into them; do you imagine -that while, in the very nature of things, your own Southern and -Southwestern States must be the Flanders of these complicated wars, the -battle-field upon which the last great conflict must be fought between -slavery and emancipation; do you imagine that your Congress will have no -constitutional authority to interfere with the institution of slavery -<i>in any way</i> in the States of this Confederacy? Sir, they must and will -interfere with it—perhaps to sustain it by war; perhaps to abolish it -by treaties of peace; and they will not only possess the constitutional -power so to interfere, but they will be bound in duty to do it by the -express provisions of the Constitution itself. For the instant that your -slaveholding States become the theatre of war, civil, servile, or -foreign, from that instant the war powers of Congress extend to -interference with the institution of slavery in every way by which it -can be interfered with, from a claim of indemnity for slaves taken or -destroyed, to the cession of the State burdened with slavery to a -foreign power.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * *</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span></p> - -<h3>B.</h3> - -<p class="bold">GENERAL AND STATE FINANCES.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Statement of Moneys received into the Treasury from all sources, for -the year 1832.</i></p> - -<table summary="Statement of Moneys received"> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"></td> - <td>Dollars. Cts.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">From the Customs</td> - <td>22,178,735 30</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left"><span class="s3"> </span>Public Lands</td> - <td>2,623,381 03</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">From dividends on Stock in the Bank of the United States</td> - <td>490,000 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Sales of Stock in Bank of the United States</td> - <td>169,000 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Arrears of direct tax</td> - <td>6,791 13</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Arrears of internal revenue</td> - <td>11,630 65</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Fees on Letters Patent</td> - <td>14,160 00</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Cents coined at the Mint</td> - <td>21,845 40</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Fines, penalties, and forfeitures</td> - <td>8,868 04</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Surplus emoluments of officers of the Customs</td> - <td>31,965 46</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Postage on letters</td> - <td>244 95</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Consular receipts</td> - <td>1,884 52</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Interest on debts due by Banks to United States</td> - <td>136 00</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Persons unknown, said to be due to United States</td> - <td>500 00</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Moneys obtained from the Treasury on forged documents</td> - <td>115 00</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Moneys previously advanced for Biennial Register</td> - <td>37 00</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Securing Light-house on the Brandy-wine Shoal</td> - <td>1,000 00</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Light-house on Mahon's Ditch, Delaware</td> - <td>4,975 00</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Balance of advances in the War Department, repaid</td> - <td>15,679 24</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>—————</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>119,832 39</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Deduction, &c.</td> - <td>1,889 50</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>—————</td> - <td>117,942 89</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"></td> - <td>——————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"></td> - <td>25,579,059 22</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Statement of Expenditures of the United States, for 1832.</i></p> - -<table summary="Statement of Expenditures"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>Dollars. Cts.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Civil, miscellaneous, and foreign intercourse</td> - <td>4,577,141 45</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Military establishment</td> - <td>7,982,877 03</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Naval establishment</td> - <td>3,956,370 29</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>——————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>16,516,388 77</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Such were the expenses of the federal government of the United States, -exclusive of the Debt, of which nearly 35,000,000 dollars were that year -paid.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p>For the State of Connecticut, the same year, the receipts were,—</p> - -<table summary="For the State of Connecticut"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>Dollars. Cts.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">From interest on United States 3 per cents</td> - <td>1,382 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Tax on non-resident owners of Bank stock</td> - <td>2,817 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Avails of State prison</td> - <td>5,000 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Dividends on Bank stock, owned by the State</td> - <td>25,670 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Fines and miscellaneous receipts</td> - <td>7,448 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">State tax</td> - <td>37,984 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>—————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>80,301 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left"> Disbursements were—</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">For ordinary expenses of government</td> - <td>60,852 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">For public buildings and institutions</td> - <td>10,774 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>—————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>71,626 00</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Population in 1830,—297,665.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p>I will give also the receipts and expenditure of one of the largest and -busiest of the States, with a population (in 1830) of 1,348,233.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center">PENNSYLVANIA. 1832 AND 1833.</p> - -<table summary="Receipts."> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center"><i>Receipts.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>Ds. Cts.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Lands and Land-office fees</td> - <td>48,379 64</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Auction commissions and duties</td> - <td>94,738 08</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Dividends on various stock</td> - <td>171,765 20</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Tax on bank dividends</td> - <td>45,404 91</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Tax on offices</td> - <td>14,399 51</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Tax on writs, &c.</td> - <td>24,771 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Fees, Secretary of State's office</td> - <td>728 33</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Tavern licenses</td> - <td>52,267 16</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Duties on dealers in foreign merchandise</td> - <td>61,480 86</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">State maps</td> - <td>131 30</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Collateral inheritances</td> - <td>160,626 26</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Pamphlet laws</td> - <td>96 26</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Militia and exempt fines</td> - <td>1,693 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Tin and clock pedlars' licences</td> - <td>2,461 93</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Hawkers' and pedlars' licences</td> - <td>3,025 45</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Increase of county rates and levies</td> - <td>185,177 32</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Tax on personal property</td> - <td>43,685 37</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Escheats</td> - <td>1,746 99</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Canal tolls</td> - <td>151,419 69</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Loans, and premiums on loans</td> - <td>2,875,638 72</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Premiums on Bank charters</td> - <td>102,297 90</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Old debts and miscellaneous</td> - <td>5,119 74</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>——————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>4,047,054 62</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<table summary="Expenditures."> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center"><i>Expenditures.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>Ds. Cts.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Internal improvements</td> - <td>2,588,879 13</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Expenses of government</td> - <td>212,940 95</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Militia expenses</td> - <td>20,776 99</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Pensions and gratuities</td> - <td>29,303 21</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Education</td> - <td>7,954 48</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">House of Refuge</td> - <td>5,000 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Interest on loans</td> - <td>94,317 47</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Pennsylvania claimants</td> - <td>351 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">State maps</td> - <td>187 30</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Internal improvement fund</td> - <td>755,444 01</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Penitentiary at Philadelphia</td> - <td>44,312 50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Penitentiary near Pittsburg</td> - <td>23,047 75</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Conveying convicts</td> - <td>1,350 22</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Conveying fugitives</td> - <td>581 50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Miscellaneous</td> - <td>12,187 97</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Defence of the State</td> - <td>160 00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>——————</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>3,796,794 48</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center">NORTH CAROLINA.</p> - -<table summary="Expenditures."> - <tr> - <td class="left">Receipts, for 1832, 3</td> - <td>188,819 97</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Disbursements</td> - <td>138,867 46</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Population in 1830,—737,987.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>C.</h3> - -<p class="center">RECOLLECTIONS OF A SOUTHERN MATRON.</p> - -<p class="center">CHAP. VI.</p> - -<blockquote><p>"<i>Mrs. Page.</i>—Sir Hugh, my husband says my son profits nothing in -the world at his book. I pray you ask him some questions in his -accidence."</p> - -<p>"<i>Evans.</i>—Come hither, William, hold up your head, come."</p></blockquote> - -<p>After the departure of our Connecticut teacher, Mr. Bates, papa resolved -to carry on our education himself. We were to rise by daylight, that he -might pursue his accustomed ride over the fields after breakfast. New -writing-books were taken out and ruled, fresh quills laid by their side, -our task carefully committed to memory, and we sat with a mixture of -docility and curiosity, to know how he would manage as a teacher. The -first three days our lessons being on trodden ground, and ourselves -under the impulse of novelty, we were very amiable, he very paternal; on -the fourth, John was turned out of the room, Richard was pronounced a -mule, and I went sobbing to mamma as if my heart would break, while papa -said he might be compelled to ditch rice fields, but he never would -undertake to teach children again.</p> - -<p>A slight constraint was thrown over the family for a day or two, but it -soon wore off, and he returned to his good-nature. For three weeks we -were as wild as fawns, until mamma's attention was attracted by my -sun-burnt complexion, and my brothers' torn clothes.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span></p><p>"This will never answer," said she to papa. "Look at Cornelia's face! -It is as brown as a chinquapin. Richard has ruined his new suit, and -John has cut his leg with the carpenter's tools. I have half a mind to -keep school for them myself."</p> - -<p>Papa gave a slight whistle, which seemed rather to stimulate than check -her resolution.</p> - -<p>"Cornelia," said she, "go directly to your brothers, and prepare your -books for to-morrow. <i>I</i> will teach you."</p> - -<p>The picture about to be presented is not overwrought. I am confident of -the sympathy of many a mother, whose finger has been kept on a word in -the dictionary so long a time, that her pupils, forgetting her vocation, -have lounged through the first interruptions and finished with a frolic.</p> - -<p>One would suppose that the retirement of a plantation was the most -appropriate spot for a mother and her children to give and receive -instruction. Not so, for instead of a limited household, her dependants -are increased to a number which would constitute a village. She is -obliged to listen to cases of grievance, is a nurse to the sick, -distributes the half-yearly clothing; indeed, the mere giving out of -thread and needles is something of a charge on so large a scale. A -planter's lady may seem indolent, because there are so many under her -who perform trivial services, but the very circumstance of keeping so -many menials in order is an arduous one, and the <i>keys</i> of her -establishment are a care of which a northern housekeeper knows nothing, -and include a very extensive class of duties. Many fair and even -aristocratic girls, if we may use this phrase in our republican country, -who grace a ball-room, or loll in a liveried carriage, may be seen with -these steel talismans, presiding over store-houses, and measuring with -the accuracy and conscientiousness of a shopman, the daily allowance of -the family; or cutting homespun suits, for days together, for the young -and old slaves under their charge; while matrons, who would ring a bell -for their pocket-handkerchief to be brought to them, will act the part -of a surgeon or physician, with a promptitude and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span> skill, which would -excite astonishment in a stranger. Very frequently, slaves, like -children, will only take medicine from their superiors, and in this case -the planter's wife or daughter is admirably fitted to aid them.</p> - -<p>There are few establishments where all care and responsibility devolves -on the master, and even then the superintendence of a large domestic -circle, and the rites of hospitality, demand so large a portion of the -mistress's time, as leaves her but little opportunity for systematic -teaching in her family. In this case she is wise to seek an efficient -tutor, still appropriating those opportunities which perpetually arise -under the same roof, to improve their moral and religious culture, and -cultivate those sympathies which exalt these precious beings from -children to friends.</p> - -<p>The young, conscientious, ardent mother must be taught this by -experience. She has a jealousy at first of any instruction that shall -come between their dawning minds and her own, and is only taught by the -constantly thwarted recitation, that in this country, at least, good -housekeeping and good teaching cannot be combined.</p> - -<p>But to return to my narrative. The morning after mamma's order, we -assembled at ten o'clock. There was a little trepidation in her manner, -but we loved her too well to annoy her by noticing it. Her education had -been confined to mere rudiments, and her good sense led her only to -conduct our reading, writing, and spelling.</p> - -<p>We stood in a line.</p> - -<p>"Spell <i>irrigate</i>," said she. Just then the coachman entered, and -bowing, said, "Maussa send me for de key for get four quart o'corn for -him bay horse."</p> - -<p>The key was given.</p> - -<p>"Spell <i>imitate</i>," said mamma.</p> - -<p>"We did not spell <i>irrigate</i>," we all exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"Oh, no," said she, "<i>irrigate</i>."</p> - -<p>By the time the two words were well through, Chloe, the most refined of -our coloured circle, appeared.</p> - -<p>"Will mistress please to <i>medjure</i> out some calomel for Syphax, who is -feverish and onrestless?"<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span></p><p>During mamma's visit to the doctor's shop, as the medicine-closet was -called, we turned the inkstand over on her mahogany table, and wiped it -up with our pocket-handkerchiefs. It required some time to cleanse and -arrange ourselves; and just as we were seated and had advanced a little -way on our orthographical journey, maum Phillis entered with her usual -drawl, "Little maussa want for nurse, marm."</p> - -<p>While this operation was going on, we gathered round mamma to play -bo-peep with the baby, until even she forgot our lessons. At length the -little pet was dismissed with the white drops still resting on his red -lips, and our line was formed again.</p> - -<p>Mamma's next interruption, after successfully issuing a few words, was -to settle a quarrel between La Fayette and Venus, two little blackies, -who were going through their daily drill, in learning to rub the -furniture, which with brushing flies at meals constitutes the first -instruction for house servants. These important and classical personages -rubbed about a stroke to the minute on each side of the cellaret, -rolling up their eyes and making grimaces at each other. At this crisis -they had laid claim to the same rubbing-cloth; mamma stopped the dispute -by ordering my seamstress Flora, who was sewing for me, to apply the -weight of her thimble, that long-known weapon of offence, as well as -implement of industry, to their organ of firmness.</p> - -<p>"Spell <i>accentuate</i>" said mamma, whose finger had slipped from the -column.</p> - -<p>"No, no, that is not the place," we exclaimed, rectifying the mistake.</p> - -<p>"Spell <i>irritate</i>" said she, with admirable coolness, and John fairly -succeeded just as the overseer's son, a sallow little boy with yellow -hair, and blue homespun dress, came in with his hat on, and kicking up -one foot for manners, said, "Fayther says as how he wants master -Richard's horse to help tote some tetters<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> to t'other field."</p> - -<p>This pretty piece of alliteration was complied with, after some -remonstrance from brother Dick, and we finished<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span> our column. At this -crisis, before we were fairly seated at writing, mamma was summoned to -the hall to one of the field hands, who had received an injury in the -ancle from a hoe. Papa and the overseer being at a distance, she was -obliged to superintend the wound. We all followed her, La Fayette and -Venus bringing up the rear. She inspected the sufferer's great foot, -covered with blood and perspiration, superintended a bath, prepared a -healing application, and bound it on with her own delicate hands, first -quietly tying a black apron over her white dress. Here was no shrinking, -no hiding of the eyes, and while extracting some extraneous substance -from the wound, her manner was as resolute as it was gentle and -consoling. This episode gave Richard an opportunity to unload his -pockets of groundnuts, and treat us therewith. We were again seated at -our writing-books, and were going on swimmingly with "<i>Avoid evil -company</i>," when a little crow-minder, hoarse from his late occupation, -came in with a basket of eggs, and said,</p> - -<p>"Mammy Phillis send Missis some egg for buy, ma'am; she ain't so bery -well, and ax for some 'baccer."</p> - -<p>It took a little time to pay for the eggs and send to the store-room for -the Virginia-weed, of which opportunity we availed ourselves to draw -figures on our slates: mamma reproved us, and we were resuming our -duties, when the cook's son approached and said,</p> - -<p>"Missis, Daddy Ajax say he been broke de axe, and ax me for ax you for -len him de new axe."</p> - -<p>This made us shout out with laughter, and the business was scarcely -settled, when the dinner-horn sounded. That evening a carriage full of -friends arrived from the city to pass a week with us, and thus ended -mamma's experiment in teaching.</p> - -<p>Our summers were usually passed at Springland, a pine-settlement, where -about twenty families resorted at that season of the year. We were -fortunate to find a French lady already engaged in teaching, from whom I -took lessons on the piano-forte and guitar. The summer passed swiftly -away. Papa was delighted with my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span> facility in French, in which my -brothers were also engaged, and we were happy to retain Madame d'Anville -in our own family, on our return to Roseland.</p> - -<p>In the middle of November a stranger was announced to papa, and a young -man of very prepossessing appearance entered with a letter. It proved to -be from our teacher, Mr. Bates. The contents were as follows:—</p> - -<p>"<i>Respected Sir.</i>—I now sit down to write to you, to inform you that I -am well, as also are Sir and Mar'm, my sister Nancy, and all the rest of -our folks except aunt Patty, who is but poorly, having attacks of the -rheumatiz, and shortness of breath. I should add, that Mrs. Prudence -Bates, (who after the regular publishment on the church-doors for three -Sundays, was united to me in the holy bands of wedlock, by our minister -Mr. Ezekiel Duncan,) is in a good state of health, at this present, -though her uncle, by her father's side, has been sick of jaundice, a -complaint that has been off and on with him for a considerable spell.</p> - -<p>"The bearer of this epistle is Parson Duncan's son, by name Mr. Charles -Duncan, a very likely young man, but poorly in health, and Dr. Hincks -says, going down to Charleston may set him up. I have the candour to -say, that I think him, on some accounts, a more proper teacher than your -humble servant, having served his time at a regular college edication.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * *</p> - -<p>"I have writ a much longer letter than I thought on, but somehow it -makes me chirpy to think of Roseland, though the young folks were -obstreperous.</p> - -<p>"Give my love nevertheless to them, and Miss Wilton, and all the little -ones, as also I would not forget Daddy Jacque, whom I consider, -notwithstanding his colour, as a very respectable person. I cannot say -as much for Jim, who was an eternal thorn in my side, by reason of his -quickness at mischief, and his slowness at waiting upon me; and I take -this opportunity of testifying, that I believe if he had been in New -England, he would have had his deserts before this; but you Southern -folks do put up with an unaccountable sight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span> from niggers, and I hope -Jim will not be allowed his full tether, if so be Mr. Charles should -take my situation in your family. I often tell our folks how I used to -catch up a thing and do it rather than wait for half-a-dozen on 'em to -take their own time. If I lived to the age of Methusalem, I never could -git that composed, quiet kind of way you Southern folks have of waiting -on the niggers. I only wish they could see aunt Patty move when the -rheumatiz is off—if she isn't spry, I don't know.</p> - -<p class="right">"Excuse all errors,<span class="s3"> </span><span class="s3"> </span><br /> -"Yours to serve,<span class="s3"> </span><br /> -"<span class="smcap">Joseph Bates.</span>"</p> - -<p>I detected a gentle, half-comical smile on Mr. Duncan's mouth as he -raised his splendid eyes to papa, while delivering Mr. Bates' letter; -but he soon walked to the window, and asked me some questions about the -Cherokee-rose hedge, and other objects in view, which were novelties to -him. I felt instantly that he was a gentleman, by the atmosphere of -refinement which was thrown over him, and I saw that papa sympathised -with me, as with graceful courtesy he welcomed him to -Roseland.—<i>Southern Rose-bud.</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>D.</h3> - -<p>The following is such information as I have been able to obtain -respecting the public Educational provision in the United States, from -the year 1830 to 1835.</p> - -<p class="center space-above"><i>The Free States in 1830.</i></p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Maine.</span>—"By a law of the State, every town, however large or small, is -required to raise annually, for the support of schools, a sum equal at -least to <i>forty cents.</i> for each person in the town, and to distribute -this sum among the several schools or districts, in proportion to the -number of scholars in each. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span>expenditure of the sum is left -principally to the direction of the town, and its committee or agents, -appointed for that purpose. In the year 1825, the legislature required a -report from each town in the State, respecting the situation of the -schools."—<i>United States Almanack.</i></p> - -<p>At that time, the number of school districts in ten counties was, 2,499.</p> - -<table summary="number of children"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The number of children between 4 and 21 was</td> - <td>137,931</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The number who usually attend schools</td> - <td>101,325</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p> </p> - -<table summary="annual expenditure"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>Dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Amount required by law to be expended annually</td> - <td>119,334</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Amount raised from taxes</td> - <td>132,263</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Amount from the income of permanent funds</td> - <td>5,614</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Total annual expenditure</td> - <td>137,878</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The number of incorporated academies in the State was 31; 4 of which -were for girls: the amount of funds varying from 2,000 to 22,000 dollars -a-year.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">New Hampshire.</span>—"From the year 1808 to 1818, there were raised in New -Hampshire 70,000 dollars annually by law, for the support of common -schools. This amount was raised by a separate tax, levied throughout the -State, in the ratio of taxation for the State Tax. Since 1818, the -yearly amount of the sum raised has been 90,000 dollars. This is the -amount required by law, but a few towns raise more than they are -required. The legislature assumes no control over the immediate -appropriation, but leaves this to each town."</p> - -<p>The State had also, in 1830, an annual income of 9,000 dollars, and a -literary fund of 64,000 dollars, raised by a tax of a half per cent. on -the capital of the banks; both to be, from that time, annually divided -among the towns, in the ratio of taxation.</p> - -<p>Some of the towns had separate school funds.</p> - -<table summary="separate schools"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The white population of New Hampshire at this time was </td> - <td>268,721</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The coloured population</td> - <td>607</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Vermont.</span>—An act was passed in 1827 to provide<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</a></span> for the support of -common schools. About 100,000 dollars was raised in 1830. A fund was -also accumulating, which was to be applied whenever its income would -support a common free-school in every district of the State, for two -months in the year.</p> - -<p>There were about 20 incorporated academies in the State, where young men -were fitted for college. The number of students was supposed to average -40 at each.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Massachusetts.</span>—"By the returns from 131 towns, presented to the -legislature, it appears that the amount annually paid in these towns for -public schools, is 177,206 dollars.</p> - -<table summary="Massachusetts"> - <tr> - <td class="left">"The number of scholars receiving instruction</td> - <td>70,599</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The number of pupils attending private schools in those towns </td> - <td>12,393</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">At an expense of <span class="s3"> </span> 170,342 dollars.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>"The number of persons in those towns, between the ages of 14 and 21, -unable to read and write, is 58.</p> - -<p>"In the town of Hancock, in Berkshire county, there are only 3 persons -between 14 and 21 who cannot read and write; and they are -<i>mutes</i>."—<i>American Annual Register.</i></p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Rhode Island.</span>—"In January, 1828, the legislature appropriated 10,000 -dollars annually for the support of public schools, to be divided among -the several towns, in proportion to the population, with authority for -each town to raise, by annual tax, double the amount received from the -Treasury, as its proportion of the 10,000 dollars.</p> - -<p>"There has been as yet no report of the number of school establishments -under the act, but it is thought that they may safely be put down at 60, -as all the towns have availed themselves of its provisions. The whole -number of schools in the State now probably exceeds 650."—<i>American -Almanack.</i></p> - -<table summary="Rhode Island"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The white population in 1830 </td> - <td>93,621</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The coloured</td> - <td>3,578</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Connecticut.</span>—The revenue derived from the school fund amounted to -80,243 dollars. The State is divided into 208 school societies, which -contained in the aggregate 84,899 children, between the ages of 4 and -16.</p> - -<table summary="Connecticut"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The white population in 1830 </td> - <td>289,603</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The coloured</td> - <td>8,072</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">New York.</span></p> - -<table summary="New York"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The number of school districts was</td> - <td>8,609</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Number of children between 5 and 15</td> - <td>449,113</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Number of children taught in the schools </td> - <td>468,205</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>This estimate does not include the scholars instructed in the two great -cities, New York and Albany.</p> - -<table summary="New York Amount paid"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td>Dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Amount paid to the districts</td> - <td>232,343</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Of this, there came out of the Treasury </td> - <td>100,000</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Raised by tax upon the towns</td> - <td>119,209</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">From a local fund</td> - <td>13,133</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Voluntary tax by the towns</td> - <td>19,209</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Pennsylvania.</span>—This State was in the rear. Not above 9,000 children were -educated at the public charge, of about 16,000 dollars.</p> - -<table summary="Pennsylvania"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The white population in 1830 </td> - <td>1,309,900</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The coloured</td> - <td>38,333</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">New Jersey.</span>—A fund of 222,000 dollars being realised, a system of -Common School education was about to be put in action; an appropriation -of 20,000 dollars per annum being ordered to be distributed among the -towns for that purpose.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Ohio.</span>—In Cincinnati, the first anniversary of free-schools was kept in -1830. Three thousand pupils belonged to the free-schools of Cincinnati. -The amount of the school-tax was about 10,000 dollars.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Indiana.</span>—A committee of the legislature was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</a></span>appointed to consider and -report upon the expediency of adopting the Common School system.</p> - -<table summary="Indiana"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The white population in 1830 </td> - <td>339,399</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The coloured</td> - <td>3,632</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Illinois</span> contained less than 160,000 persons in 1830, and had no public -schools.</p> - -<p class="center space-above"><i>The Slave States in 1830.</i></p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Maryland.</span>—Provision was made for the establishment of Primary Schools -throughout the State. One was opened in Baltimore in 1829.</p> - -<p>There were 8 or 10 academies, which received annually from 400 to 600 -dollars from the Treasury of the State.</p> - -<table summary="Maryland"> - <tr> - <td class="left">Grants to the University of Maryland</td> - <td>5,000</td> - <td> dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Grants to Colleges, Academies, and Schools </td> - <td>13,000</td> - <td></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Delaware.</span>—A law ordaining the establishment of a Common School system -was passed in 1829, and the counties were being divided into districts -in 1830.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">North Carolina</span> had a literary fund of 70,000 dollars; but nothing had -yet been done towards applying it.</p> - - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Virginia.</span>—No free-schools.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">South Carolina.</span>—"It appeared by a Report of a Committee on Schools, -that the number of public schools established in the State was 513, -wherein 5,361 scholars were educated at the annual expense of 35,310 -dollars."</p> - -<p>"The benefit derived from this appropriation," says the governor, "is -partial, founded on no principle, and arbitrarily dispensed by the -Commissioners. If the fund could be so managed as to educate thoroughly -a given number of young men, and to require them afterwards to teach for -a limited time, as an <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</a></span>equivalent, the effects would soon be seen and -felt."—<i>American Annual Register.</i></p> - -<table summary="Virginia"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The white population in 1830 </td> - <td>257,863</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The coloured</td> - <td>323,322</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Georgia.</span>—The appropriations for county academies amounted to 14,302 -dollars: and the poor school fund, 742 dollars.</p> - -<table summary="Georgia"> - <tr> - <td class="left">The white population in 1830 </td> - <td>296,806</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">The coloured</td> - <td>220,017</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Alabama.</span>—No schools.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Mississippi.</span>—No schools.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Missouri.</span>—No schools.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Louisiana.</span>—Instead of schools, a law making imprisonment the punishment -of teaching a slave to read.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Tennessee.</span>—A fund is set to accumulate for the purpose of hereafter -encouraging schools, colleges, and academies.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Kentucky.</span>—The Common School system was established by law, and -provisions made for the division of the counties into districts, and the -levying of the poll and property taxes for the purpose.</p> - -<p>"The Louisville Advertiser announces the establishment by that city of a -school at the public expense, stated to be the first south of the Ohio. -It is opened to the children of all the citizens. The number of pupils -entered is 300."—<i>American Annual Register.</i></p> - -<p class="center space-above"><i>The Free States in 1833 to 1835.</i></p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Maine</span>, 1835.</p> - -<table summary="Maine"> - <tr> - <td class="left">Annual expenditure for free-schools </td> - <td>156,000</td> - <td> dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Aggregate number of pupils</td> - <td>106,000</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="center">Academies, 12; Colleges, 2.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">New Hampshire</span>, 1835.—Amount expended on primary schools, 101,000 -dollars.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Massachusetts</span>, 1834.—Returns not received from 44 towns out of 261.</p> - -<table summary="Massachusetts"> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Boys, between 4 and 16 years, attending school</td> - <td>67,499</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Girls, of the same age</td> - <td>63,728</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Number of persons, between 16 and 21, unable to read and write</td> - <td>158</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Number of male teachers</td> - <td>1,967</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Number of female teachers</td> - <td>2,388</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Amount of school-money raised by tax</td> - <td>310,178</td> - <td> dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Amount of school-money raised by contribution</td> - <td>15,141</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Average number of scholars attending academies and private schools</td> - <td>24,749</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Estimated amount paid for tuition in academies and private schools </td> - <td>276,575</td> - <td> dollars.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Rhode Island</span>, 1835.</p> - -<table summary="Rhode Island"> - <tr> - <td class="left">Revenue from school tax</td> - <td>10,000</td> - <td> dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Permanent school fund</td> - <td>50,000</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Amount raised by the towns besides</td> - <td>11,490</td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Public Schools in the State (in 1832)</td> - <td>324</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Children educated in them</td> - <td>17,114</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Private schools</td> - <td>220</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="left">Scholars in them</td> - <td>8,007</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Estimated expense of private schools </td> - <td>81,375</td> - <td>dollars.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Connecticut.</span>—The capital of the School Fund on the 1st of April, 1833, -amounted to 1,929,738 dollars: and the dividend, in 1834, was at the -rate of one dollar to each child in the State, between the ages of 4 and -16. Number of such children, under the returns,—83,912.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">New York</span>, 1835.</p> - -<table summary="Rhode Island"> - <tr> - <td class="left">School-houses</td> - <td colspan="2" class="center">9,580</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Public school money</td> - <td>316,153</td> - <td> dollars.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Paid besides to teachers </td> - <td>398,137</td> - <td></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Number of children receiving instruction in the Common Schools, 534,002, -being 50 to 51 of the whole population.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Pennsylvania.</span>—There had been difficulties about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</a></span> putting the act in -operation; and no returns had been made in 1835.</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class="smcap">Ohio.</span>—"Our system of Common Schools has not advanced with the rapidity -that was anticipated. It was at first unpopular with the people in some -parts of the State; but it has gradually become more and more in favour -with them. Its utility is now acknowledged."—<i>Governor's Message</i>, Dec. -6, 1834.</p> - -<p class="space-above">Nothing more done in the Slave States.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p class="center">SUNDAY SCHOOLS.</p> - -<p>The Reports of the Sunday School Union up to May, 1835, show that there -are, or have been, connected with it, (besides a large number of -unassociated schools,) upwards of 16,000 schools, 115,000 teachers, and -799,000 pupils. The officers and managers are all laymen.</p> - -<p class="center">COLLEGES.</p> - -<table summary="COLLEGES"> - <tr> - <td class="left">Colleges in the United States</td> - <td>79</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">The number of students varying from 15 to 523.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="center">THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES.</p> - -<table summary="THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES"> - <tr> - <td class="left">Theological Seminaries in the United States </td> - <td>31</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">Number of students varying from 1 to 152.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="center">MEDICAL SCHOOLS.</p> - -<table summary="MEDICAL SCHOOLS"> - <tr> - <td class="left">Medical Schools in the United States</td> - <td>23</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">Number of students varying from 18 to 392.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="center">LAW SCHOOLS.</p> - -<table summary="LAW SCHOOLS"> - <tr> - <td class="left">Law Schools in the United States</td> - <td>9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">Number of students varying from 6 to 36.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</a></span></p> - -<h3>E.</h3> - -<p class="center">DISCOURSE ON THE WANTS OF THE TIMES.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * *</p> - -<p>The age, and especially the country, in which we live, are peculiar. -They, therefore, require a peculiar kind of instruction, and, I may say, -a peculiar mode of dispensing christian truth. They are unlike any which -have preceded us. They are new, and consequently demand what I have -called a new Dispensation of Christianity, a dispensation in perfect -harmony with the new order of things which has sprung into existence. -Yet of this fact we seem not to have been generally aware. The character -of our religious institutions, the style of our preaching, the means we -rely upon for the production of the christian virtues, are such as were -adopted in a distant age, and fitted to wants which no longer exist, or -which exist only in a greatly modified shape.</p> - -<p>It is to this fact that I attribute that <i>other</i> fact, of which I have -heretofore spoken, that our churches are far from being filled, and that -a large and an increasing portion of our community take very little -interest in religious institutions, and manifest a most perfect -indifference to religious instruction. These persons do not stay away -from our churches because they have no wish to be religious, no desire -to meet and commune in the solemn Temple with their fellow men, and with -the Great and Good Spirit which reigns everywhere around and within -them. It is not because they do not value this communion, that they do -not come into our churches, but because they do not find it in our -churches. They cannot find, under the costume of our institutions, and -our instructions, the Father-God, to love and adore, with whom to hold -sweet and invigorating communings; they are unable to find that sympathy -of man with man which they crave—to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</a></span>obtain that response to the warm -affections of the heart, which would make them love to assemble together -and bow together before one common altar.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * *</p> - -<p>But were this difficulty obviated, were seats easily obtained by all, -and so obtained as to imply on the part of no one an assumption of -superiority, or a confession of inferiority, the preaching which is most -common is far from being satisfactory, and the wants of the times would -by no means be met. I say the preaching which is most common is far from -being satisfactory; but not because it is not true. I accuse no preacher -of not preaching the truth. The truth is, I believe, preached in all -churches, of all denominations, to a certain extent at least; but not -the right kind of truth, or not truth under the aspects demanded by the -wants of the age and country. All truth is valuable, but all truths are -not equally valuable; and all aspects of the same truths are not at all -times, in all places, equally attractive. The fault I find with -preaching in general is, that it is not on the right kind of topics to -interest the masses in this age and country. The topics usually -discussed may once have been of the highest importance; they may now be -very interesting to the scholar, or to the student in his closet, or -with his fellow-students; but they are, to a great extent, matters of -perfect indifference to the many. The many care nothing about the -meaning of a Greek particle, or the settling of a various reading; -nothing about the meaning of dogmas long since deprived of life, about -the manners and customs of a people of whom they may have heard, but in -whose destiny they feel no peculiar interest; they are not fed by -descriptions of a Jewish marriage-feast, a reiteration of Jewish -threatenings, nor with beautiful essays, and rounded periods, on some -petty duty, or some insignificant point in theology. They want strong -language, stirring discourses on great principles, which go deep into -the universal mind, and strike a chord which vibrates through the -universal heart. They want to be directed to the deep things of God and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</a></span> -humanity, and enlightened and warmed on matters with which they every -day come in contact, and which will be to them matters of kindling -thought and strong feeling through eternity.</p> - -<p>That our religious institutions, or our modes of dispensing christian -truth, are not in harmony with the wants of the times, is evinced by the -increase of infidelity, and the success infidels have in their exertions -to collect societies and organise opposition to Christianity. There is -sustained in this city a society of infidels: free inquirers, I believe -they call themselves. Why has this society been collected? Not, I will -venture to say, because their leader is an infidel. People do not go to -hear him because he advocates atheistical or pantheistical doctrines; -not because he denies Christianity, rejects the bible, and indulges in -various witticisms at the expense of members of the clerical profession; -but because he opposes the aristocracy of our churches, and vindicates -the rights of the mind. He succeeds, not because he is an infidel, but -because he has hitherto shown himself a democrat.</p> - -<p>Men are never infidels for the sake of infidelity. Infidelity—I use not -the term reproachfully—has no charms of its own. There is no charm in -looking around on our fellow men as mere plants that spring up in the -morning, wither and die ere it is night. It is not pleasant to look up -into the heavens, brilliant with their sapphire gems, and see no spirit -shining there—over the rich and flowering earth, and see no spirit -blooming there—abroad upon a world of mute, dead matter, and feel -ourselves—alone. It is not pleasant to look upon the heavens as -dispeopled of the Gods, and the earth of men, to feel ourselves in the -centre of a universal blank, with no soul to love, no spirit with which -to commune. I know well what is that sense of loneliness which comes -over the unbeliever, the desolateness of soul under which he is -oppressed: but I will not attempt to describe it.</p> - -<p>I say, then, it is not infidelity that gives the leader of the infidel -party success. It is his defence of free inquiry and of democracy. In -vindicating his own<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</a></span> right to disbelieve Christianity, he has vindicated -the rights of the mind, proved that all have a right to inquire fully -into all subjects, and to abide by the honest convictions of their own -understandings. In doing this he has met the wants of a large portion of -the community, and met them as no church has ever yet been able to meet -them. I say not that he himself is a free inquirer, but he proclaims -free inquiry as one of the rights of man; and in doing this, he has -proclaimed what thousands feel, though they may not generally dare own -it. The want to inquire, to ascertain what is truth, what and wherefore -we believe, is becoming more and more urgent; we may disown, unchurch, -anathematise it, but suppress it we cannot. It is too late to stay the -progress of free inquiry. The dams and dykes we construct to keep back -its swelling tide are but mere resting-places, from which it may break -forth in renovated power, and with redoubled fury. It is sweeping on; -and, I say, let it sweep on, let it sweep on; the truth has nothing to -fear.</p> - -<p>Next to the want to inquire, to philosophise, the age is distinguished -by its tendency to democracy, and its craving for social reform. Be -pleased or displeased as we may, the age is unquestionably tending to -democracy; the democratic spirit is triumphing. The millions awake. The -masses appear, and every day is more and more disclosed</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"The might that slumbers in a peasant's arm."</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>The voice of the awakened millions rising into new and undreamed-of -importance, crying out for popular institutions, comes to us on every -breeze, and mingles in every sound. All over the christian world a -contest is going on, not as in former times between monarchs and nobles, -but between the people and their masters, between the many and the few, -the privileged and the unprivileged—and victory, though here and there -seeming at first view doubtful, everywhere inclines to the party of the -many. Old distinctions are losing their value; titles are becoming less -and less able to confer dignity; simple tastes, simple habits, simple -manners<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</a></span> are becoming fashionable; the simple dignity of man is more and -more coveted, and with the discerning it has already become more -honourable to call one simply a <span class="smaller">MAN</span> than a gentleman.</p> - -<p>Now it is to this democratic spirit that the leader of the infidel party -appeals, and in which he finds a powerful element of his success. -Correspondents of his paper attempt even to identify atheism and -democracy. I myself once firmly believed that there could be no social -progress, that man could not rise to his true dignity without the -destruction of religion; I really believed that religious institutions, -tastes, and beliefs were the greatest, almost the sole, barrier to human -improvement: and what I once honestly believed, is now as honestly -believed by thousands, who would identify the progress of humanity with -the progress of infidelity.</p> - -<p>It is, I own, a new state of things, for infidelity to profess to be a -democrat. Hobbes, one of the fathers, if not the father, of modern -infidelity, had no sympathy with the masses; Hume and Gibbon dreamed of -very little social progress, and manifested no desire to elevate the -low, and loosen the chains of the bound. Before Thomas Paine, no infidel -writer in our language, to my knowledge, was a democrat, or thought of -giving infidelity a democratic tendency. Since his times, the infidel -has been fond of calling himself a democrat, and he has pretty generally -claimed to be the friend of the masses, and the advocate of progress. He -now labours to prove the church aristocratic, to prove that it has no -regard for the melioration of man's earthly mode of being. Unhappily, in -proportion as he succeeds, the church furnishes him with new instruments -of success. In proportion as he seems to identify his infidelity and the -democratic spirit, the church disowns that spirit, and declares it -wholly opposed to the faith. When, some years since, the thought passed -through my head, that there were things in society which needed mending, -and I dreamed of being a social reformer I found my bitterest opponents, -clergyman as I was among the clergy, and those who were most zealous for -the faith. That I erred in the inference I drew<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</a></span> from this fact, as -unbelievers now err in theirs, I am willing to own; but the fact itself -<i>has</i> the appearance of proving that religion and religion's advocates -are unfriendly to social progress.</p> - -<p>These are the principal reasons why infidelity succeeds. Its advocates -meet two great wants, that of free inquiry, and that of social -progress—two wants which are at the present time, and in this country, -quite urgent—and meet them better than they are met by any of our -churches. We need not, then, ascribe their success to any peculiar -depravity of the heart, nor to an peculiar obtuseness of the -understanding. They are right in their vindication of the rights of the -mind, and in advocating social progress. They are wrong only in -supposing that free inquiry and the progress of society are elements of -infidelity, when they are only, in fact, its accidents. They constitute, -in reality, two important elements of religion; as such I own them, -accept them, and assure the religious everywhere that they too must -accept them, or see religion for a time wholly obscured, and infidelity -triumphant.</p> - -<p>Infidels are wrong in pretending that infidelity can effect the progress -of mankind. Infidelity has no element of progress. The purest morality -it enjoins is selfishness. It does not pretend to offer man any higher -motives of action than that of self-interest. But self-interest can make -no man a reformer. No great reforms are ever effected without sacrifice. -In labouring for the benefit of others, we are often obliged to forget -ourselves, to expose ourselves, without fear and without regret, to the -loss of property, ease, reputation, and sometimes of life itself. He who -consults only his own interest will never consent to be so exposed. Or -admitting that we could convince men, that to labour for a universal -regeneration of mankind is for the greatest ultimate good of each one, -the experience of every day proves that no one will do it, when a small, -immediate good intervenes which it is necessary to abandon. A small, -immediate, present good always outbalances the vastly greater, but -distant good. The only principle of reform on which we can<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[Pg 408]</a></span> rely is -love. We must love the human race in order to be able to devote -ourselves to their greatest good, to be able to do and to dare -everything for their progress. But we cannot love what does not appear -to us <i>loveable</i>. We cannot love mankind unless we see something in them -which is worthy to be loved. But infidelity strips man of every quality -which we can love. In the view of the infidel, man is nothing more than -an animal, born to propagate his species and die. It is religion that -discloses man's true dignity, reveals the soul, unveils the immortality -within us, and presents in every man the incarnate God, before whom he -may stand in awe, whom he may love and adore. Infidelity cannot, then, -effect what its friends assert that it can. It cannot make us love -mankind: and not being able to make us love them, it is not able to make -us labour for their amelioration.</p> - -<p>But I say this, without meaning to reproach infidels. I do and must -condemn infidelity; but I have taught myself to recognise in the infidel -a man, an equal, a brother, one for whom Jesus died, and for whom I, -too, if need were, should be willing to die. I have no right to reproach -the infidel, no right to censure him for his speculative opinions. If -those opinions are wrong, as I most assuredly believe they are, it is my -duty to count them his misfortune, not his crime, and to do all in my -power to aid him to correct them. We wrong our brother, when we refuse -him the same tolerance for his opinions which we would have him extend -to ours. We wrong Christianity, whenever we censure, ridicule, or treat -with the least possible disrespect any man for his honest opinions, be -they what they may. We have often done violence to the gospel in our -treatment of those who have, in our opinion, misinterpreted or disowned -it. We have not always treated their opinions, as we ask them to treat -ours. We have not always been scrupulous to yield to others the rights -we claim for ourselves. We have been unjust, and our injustice has -brought, as it always must, reproach upon the opinions we avow, and the -cause we profess. There was, there is, no need of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[Pg 409]</a></span> being unjust, nor -uncharitable to unbelievers. We believe we have the truth. Let us not so -wrong the truth we advocate as to fear it can suffer by any encounter -with falsehood. Let us adopt one rule for judging all men, infidels and -all; not that of their speculative opinions, but their real moral -characters.</p> - -<p>I prefer to meet the infidel on his own ground; I freely accept whatever -I find him advocating which I believe true, and just as freely oppose -whatever he supports which I believe to be false and mischievous. I -think him right in his vindication of free inquiry and social progress. -I accept them both, not as elements of infidelity, but as elements of -Christianity. Should it now be asked, as it has been, what I mean by the -new dispensation of Christianity, the new form of religion, of which I -have often spoken in this place and elsewhere, I answer, I mean -religious institutions, and modes of dispensing religious truth and -influences, which recognise the rights of the mind, and propose social -progress as one of the great ends to be obtained. In that New Church of -which I have sometimes dreamed, and I hope more than dreamed, I would -have the unlimited freedom of the mind unequivocally acknowledged. No -interdict should be placed upon thought. To reason should be a -christian, not an infidel, act. Every man should be encouraged to -inquire, and to inquire not a little merely, within certain prescribed -limits; but freely, fearlessly, fully, to scan heaven, air, ocean, -earth, and to master God, nature, and humanity, if he can. He who -inquires for truth honestly, faithfully, perseveringly, to the utmost -extent of his power, does all that can be asked of him; he does God's -will, and should be allowed to abide by his own conclusions, without -fear of reproach from God or man.</p> - -<p>In asserting this I am but recalling the community to Christianity. -Jesus reproved the Jews for not of themselves judging what is right, -thus plainly recognising in them, and if in them in us, both the right -and the power to judge for themselves. "If I do not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[Pg 410]</a></span> the works of my -Father," says Jesus, "believe me not;" obviously implying both man's -right and ability to determine what are, and what are not, "works of the -Father:" that is, in other words, what is or what is not truth. An -apostle commands us to "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has -made us free," "to prove all things," and to "hold fast that which is -good." In fact, the very spirit of the gospel is that of freedom; it is -called a "law of liberty," and its great end is to free the soul from -all restraint, but that of its obligation to do right. They wrong it who -would restrain thought, and hand-cuff inquiry; they doubt or deny its -truth and power who fear to expose it to the severest scrutiny, the most -searching investigation; and, were I in an accusing mood, I would bring -the charge of infidelity against every one who will not or dare not -inquire, who will not or dare not encourage inquiry in others.</p> - -<p>I have said that social progress must enter into the church I would have -established, as one of the ends to be gained. Social progress holds a -great place in the sentiments of this age. Infidels seize upon it; find -in it one of the most powerful elements of their success. I too would -seize upon it, give it a religious direction, and find in it an element -of the triumph of Christianity. I have a right to it. As a Christian, I -am bound to rescue social progress, or if you please, the democratic -spirit, from the possession of the infidel. He has no right to it; he -has usurped it through the negligence of the church. It is a christian -spirit. Jesus was the man, the teacher of the masses. They were -fishermen, deemed the lowest of his countrymen, who were his apostles; -they were the "common people," who heard him gladly; they were the -Pharisee and Sadducee, the chief priest and scribe, the rich and the -distinguished, in one word the aristocracy of that age, who conspired -against him, and caused him to be crucified between two thieves. He -himself professed to be anointed of God, <i>because</i> he was anointed to -preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim liberty to them that are -bound, and to let the captive go free.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[Pg 411]</a></span> To John he expressly assigns the -kindling fact, that the poor had the gospel preached unto them, as the -most striking proof of his claims to the Messiahship.</p> - -<p>And what was this gospel which was preached to the poor? Was it a gospel -suited to the views of the Autocrat of the Russias, such as despots ever -love? Did it command the poor, in the name of God, to submit to an order -of things of which they are the victims, to be contented to pine in -neglect, and die of wretchedness? No, no: Jesus preached no such -tyrant-pleasing and tyrant-sustaining gospel. The gospel which he -preached, was the gospel of human brotherhood. He preached the gospel, -the holy evangile, good news to the poor, when he proclaimed them -members of the common family of man, when he taught that we are all -brethren, having one and the same Father in heaven; he preached the -gospel to the poor, when he declared to the boastingly religious of his -age, that even publicans and harlots would go into the kingdom of heaven -sooner than they; when he declared that the poor widow, who out of her -necessities, cast her two mites into the treasury of the Lord, cast in -more than all the rich; and whoever preaches the universal fraternity of -the human race, preaches the gospel to the poor, though he speak only to -the rich.</p> - -<p>There is power in this great doctrine of the universal brotherhood of -mankind. It gives the reformer a mighty advantage. It enables him to -speak words of an import, and in a tone, which may almost wake the dead. -Hold thy hand, oppressor, it permits him to say, thou wrongest a -brother! Withhold thy scorn, thou bitter satirist of the human race, -thou vilifiest thy brother! In passing by that child in the street -yesterday, and leaving it to grow up in ignorance and vice, -notwithstanding God had given thee wealth to train it to knowledge and -virtue, thou didst neglect thy brother's child. Oh, did we but feel this -truth, that we are all brothers and sisters, children of the same -parent, we should feel that every wrong done to a human being, was -violence done to our own flesh!</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[Pg 412]</a></span></p><p>I say again, that Jesus was emphatically the teacher of the masses; the -prophet of the working men if you will; of all those who "labour and are -heavy laden." Were I to repeat his words in this city or elsewhere, with -the intimation that I believed they meant something; were I to say, as -he said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, -than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven," and to say it in a -tone that indicated I believed he attached any meaning to what he said, -you would call me a "radical," an "agrarian," a "trades unionist," a -"leveller," a "disorganiser," or some other name equally barbarous and -horrific. It were more than a man's reputation for sanity, or -respectability as a <i>Christian</i>, is worth, to be as bold even in these -days in defence of the "common people" as Jesus was.</p> - -<p>I say still again, that Jesus was emphatically the teacher of the -masses, the prophet of the people. Not that he addressed himself to any -one description of persons to the exclusion of another, not that he -sought to benefit one portion of the human race at another's expense; -for if any one thing more than another distinguished him, it was, that -he rose above all the factitious distinctions of society, and spoke to -universal man, to the universal mind, and to the universal heart. I call -him the prophet of the people, because he recognised the rights of -humanity; brought out, and suffered and died to establish principles, -which in their legitimate effect, cannot fail to bring up the low and -bowed down, and give to the many, who, in all ages, and in all -countries, have been the tools of the few, their due rank and social -importance. His spirit, in its political aspect, is what I have called -the democratic spirit; in its most general aspect, it is the spirit of -progress, in the individual and in the race, towards perfection, towards -union with God. It is that spirit which for eighteen hundred years has -been at work in society, like the leaven hidden in three measures of -meal; before which slavery, in nearly all Christendom, has disappeared; -which has destroyed the warrior aristocracy, nearly subdued the -aristocracy of birth, which is now <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[Pg 413]</a></span>struggling with the aristocracy of -wealth, and which promises, ere long, to bring up and establish the true -aristocracy—the aristocracy of merit.</p> - -<p>If it be now asked, as it has been asked, to what denomination I belong, -I reply, that I belong to that denomination, whose starting point is -free inquiry, which acknowledges in good faith, and without any mental -reservation, the rights of the mind, and which proposes the melioration -of man's earthly mode of being, as one of the great ends of its labours. -I know not that such a denomination exists. I know, in fact, of no -denomination, which, <i>as a denomination</i>, fully meets the wants of the -times. Yet let me not be misinterpreted. I am not here to accuse, or to -make war upon, any existing denomination; I contend with no church; I -have no controversy with my Calvinistic brother, none with my Arminian, -Unitarian, or Trinitarian brother. Every church has its idea, its truth; -and more truth, much more, I believe, than any one church will admit of -in those from which it differs. For myself, I delight to find truth in -all churches, and I own it wherever I find it; but still I must say, I -find no church which owns, as its central truth, the great central truth -of Christianity—a truth which may now be brought out of the darkness in -which it has remained, and which it is now more than ever necessary to -reinstate in its rights.</p> - -<p>Let me say, then, that though I am here for an object, which is not, to -my knowledge, the special object of any existing church, I am not here -to make war upon any church, nor to injure any one in the least possible -degree. I would that they all had as much fellowship for one another, as -I have for them all! I interfere with none of them. I am here for a -special object, but one so high, one so broad, they may all cooperate in -gaining it. My creed is a simple one. Its first article is, free, -unlimited inquiry, perfect liberty to enjoy and express one's own honest -convictions, and perfect respect for the free and honest inquirer, -whatever be the results to which he arrives. The second article is -social progress. I would have it a special object of the society I would -collect, to labour to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[Pg 414]</a></span>perfect all social institutions, and raise every -man to a social position, which will give him free scope for the full -and harmonious development of all his faculties. I say, <i>perfect</i>, not -destroy, all social institutions. I do not feel that God has given me a -work of destruction. I would improve, preserve, whatever is good, and -remedy whatever is defective, and thus reconcile the <span class="smcap">Conservator</span> and the -<span class="smcap">Radical</span>. My third article is, that man should labour for his soul in -preference to his body. Man has a soul; he is not mere body. He has more -than animal wants. He has a soul, which is in relation with the absolute -and the Infinite—a soul, which is for ever rushing off into the -unknown, and rising through a universe of darkness up to the "first Good -and the first Fair." This soul is immortal. To perfect it is our highest -aim. I would encourage inquiry; I would perfect society, not as ultimate -ends, but as means to the growth and maturity of man's higher -nature—his soul.</p> - -<p>These are my views, and views which, I believe, meet the wants of the -times. They make war upon no sect of Christians. They are adopted in the -spirit of love to humanity, and they can be acted upon only in the -spirit of peace. They threaten no hostility, except to sin: with that, -indeed, they call us to war. We must fight against all unrighteousness, -against spiritual wickedness in high places, and in low places; but the -weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual. We must go forth -to the battle in faith and love, go forth to vindicate the rights of the -mind, to perfect society, to make it the abode of all the virtues, and -all the graces, to clothe man in his native dignity, and enable him to -look forth in the image of his Maker upon a world of beauty.</p> - -<p>This is my object. I am not here to preach to working men, nor to those -who are not working men, in the interests of aristocracy, nor of -democracy. I am here for humanity; to plead for universal man; to unfurl -the banner of the cross on a new and more commanding position, and call -the human race around it. I am here to speak to all who feel themselves -human<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[Pg 415]</a></span> beings; to all whose hearts swell at the name of man; to all who -long to lessen the sum of human misery, and increase that of human -happiness; to all who have any perception of the Beautiful and Good, and -a craving for the Infinite, the Eternal, and Indestructible, on whom to -repose the wearied soul and find rest—to all such is my appeal: to them -I commit the object I have stated, and before which I stand in awe, and -entreat them by all that is good in their natures, holy in religion, or -desirable in the joy of a regenerated world, to unite and march to its -acquisition, prepared to dare with the hero, to suffer with the saint, -or to die with the martyr.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>F.</h3> - -<p class="center">* * * * * *</p> - -<p>"Independently of the disinterestedness, simplicity, and humility of -woman's character, in all matters relating to religion, they naturally -reverence and cling to those who show them respect and deference. The -clergy, from understanding this point in their nature, possess great and -deserved influence over them; and they have only to interest their -feelings, to insure success to any clerical or charitable purpose. Look -at a woman's zeal in foreign or domestic missions, not only devoting her -time at home, but leaving her friends and her comforts, to assist in -establishing them in a distant land. And is it ever pretended that a -woman has not <i>more</i> than equalled a man in these duties? And will she -not toil for days, scarcely raising her eyes from the work, to assist in -purchasing an organ, a new altar-cloth, or in cleaning and painting a -church?</p> - -<p>So great is the tax, now, on a woman's time, for these and for other -religious purposes, such as the "educating young men for the ministry," -that the amount is frightful and scandalous. If the funds of a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[Pg 416]</a></span> -religious congregation be low, which can only happen where the men are -poor in spirit, and wanting in religious fervour, a woman is allowed to -exert herself beyond her means; for well we know that she cannot endure -a want of neatness and order, in a house where God is to be worshipped. -To be sure, it may be said, that no one compels her to this unequal -share of labour; but we know how the thing operates.</p> - -<p>She ought, and she does, and nobly does her share, in educating poor -children, both during the week and on Sunday. She searches out the widow -and the fatherless, the orphan, the sick and the poor, the aged and the -unhappy. All this, although it amount to a great deal, and certainly -much more than men can ever do, it is her duty to do, and she performs -the duty cheerfully. As she considers it incumbent on her thus to exert -herself, and as it gives her pleasure, there can be no objection on our -part, to let her do all the good in this way that she can; but do not -let us exact too much of a willing mind and tender conscience. Confiding -in her spiritual directors, she may be brought to do more than is proper -for her to do. This "educating of young men, this preparing them for a -theological seminary," is <i>not</i> part of a woman's duty, and it is not -only contemptible, but base, to allow such a discipline of their minds, -as to make them imagine it to be their duty.</p> - -<p>Look at the young men who are to be educated? What right have they, with -so many sources open to them, what right have they to allow women to tax -themselves for their maintenance? Poor credulous woman! she can be made -to think anything a duty. How have we seen her neglecting her health, -her comfort, her family, the poor, and, above all, neglecting the -improvement of her own mind, that she might earn a few dollars towards -educating a young man, who is far more able to do it himself, and who, -nine times in ten, laughs in his sleeve at her. What right, we again -ask, have these young men to the labours of a woman? Are they not as -capable of working as she is? What should hinder them from pursuing some -handicraft, some employment, during their term of study?</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[Pg 417]</a></span></p><p>If a woman were to be educated gratis, in this way, would any set of -young men associate and work for her maintenance? No, that they would -not; she would not only have to labour for herself, but her labour would -be unaided even by sympathy. Now, very few women are aware, that they -are, <i>in a manner</i>, manœuvred into thus spending their precious time; -we mean for the education of young men that have a desire to enter the -theological seminary. Many of them are not conscious of being swayed by -other motives; indeed, some have no other motive, than that of pure -christian love, when they thus assist in raising funds for educating -young men. They feel a disposition to follow on, in any scheme proposed -to them; and when the thing is rightly managed, the project has the -appearance of originating with themselves. Men understand the mode of -doing this.</p> - -<p>The spirit of piety and charity is very strong in the bosom of a woman; -she feels the deepest reverence and devotion towards her spiritual -pastor, and is naturally, therefore, disposed to do good, in the way he -thinks best. If it were not for this reverence and submission, if they -were left unbiassed by hint, persuasion, or by some unaccountable spell -which they cannot break through, their charities would find another and -a more suitable channel. Their good sense would show them the -impropriety of giving up so much of their time, for a purpose that -belongs exclusively to the care of men: they would soon see the truth, -as it appears to others, that the scheme must be a bad one, which -enables young men to live in idleness, during the time that they are -getting through with their classical studies:—such a "getting through," -too, as it generally is.</p> - -<p>We do not set forth the following plan, as the very best that can be -offered, but it is practicable, and would be creditable. It is that -every theological seminary should have sufficient ground attached to it, -that each student might have employment in raising vegetables and fruit. -There should likewise be a workshop connected with it, wherein he might -pursue some trade; so that if he did not find it his vocation to preach, -when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[Pg 418]</a></span> his religious education was finished, he might not be utterly -destitute, as too many are. In fact, it ought to be so much the part of -a clergyman's education, to be acquainted with certain branches of -horticulture, that he should not receive a call to a country or village -church, if he were ignorant of it.</p> - -<p>So far from degrading, it would be doing these young men a kindness. In -the first place, they would hold fast that spirit of independence which -is so necessary to a man's prosperity, and to his usefulness as a -clergyman. He would be of the greatest consequence to his parishioners, -for horticulture is an art but little known to them; and even if they go -to a great distance as missionaries, of what great service would his -horticultural knowledge be to the poor people, whose souls he hopes to -save! We all know how immediately civilisation follows the cultivation -of the soil; and we may rest assured, that the sacred object which the -young missionary has in view, will meet with fewer obstacles, if his -lessons are connected with attention to the bodily wants of his charge.</p> - -<p>It is really disgusting to those who live in the neighbourhood of -religious institutions, to see the frivolous manner in which young men -pass their time, when not in actual study. We do not say that they are -dissipated, or vicious, in the common sense of the word, but that they -lounge about, trifle, and gossip, retailing idle chit-chat and -fooleries.</p> - -<p>At the very time when they are thus happily amusing themselves, the -women who assist in giving them a classical education allow themselves -scarcely any respite from their labours. We have known some of them to -sew,—it is all they can do,—from sunrise till nine o'clock at night; -and all for this very purpose.</p> - -<p>It is quite time to put a stop to this, and let indigent young men -educate themselves. Why do they not form societies to create funds for -the purpose,—not as is usually done whenever they have attempted a -thing of this kind, by carrying about a paper to collect money, but <i>by -extra labour of their own, as women do</i>? Let those who live in cities -write for lawyers or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[Pg 419]</a></span> clerks in chancery, or make out accounts for poor -shopkeeping women, who will never cheat them out of a cent, nor refuse -them a just compensation. If it be said that they cannot write well -enough for any of these purposes, then they must go to the free-school -again. There are a hundred modes by which they could earn at least -twenty-five cents a day,—which is the average of what a woman makes -when she is employed in sewing for this purpose. Those who live in the -country,—where, in fact, all students, rich or poor, ought to be, on -account of health,—should raise fruit, vegetables, we mean assist in -this, work at some trade, write for newspapers, teach the children of -the families at extra hours; in short, a lad of independent spirit could -devise ways and means enough to pay for his board and clothing while he -is learning Latin and Greek. This plan of proceeding would raise a young -man twice as much in the opinion of the public, and a thousand times as -much in his own.</p> - -<p>But this is not a time to dwell on such a subject; it was too important, -however, to remain untouched. We intend to discuss it amply at some -future period. Our object, at present, is to assist women. They who are -always so willing to assist others, to their own detriment, should now, -in turn,—for their wants loudly call for it,—be assisted and -encouraged to strike out a new path, by which they could assist -themselves.</p> - -<p>The first step for us to take in order to effect our intentions, is to -prove to them that they should attend to their own wants exclusively; -work for their own sons, if those sons can bear to see it; but to let -young men, unconnected with them, and who are destined for the ministry, -educate themselves, as the poor young men of other professions do.</p> - -<p>When do we ever hear that a lawyer or a doctor owed their education to -the industry or the alms of women?</p> - -<p>We have said all this before, and in nearly the same words; and we shall -say it again and again. There must be a change for the better in the -affairs of poor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</a></span> women; they are degraded by their poverty; and their -degradation is the cause of nearly all the crime that is -committed."—<i>Aladdin's Lamp. New York, 1833.</i></p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Uneasy.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Potatoes.</p></div></div> - -<p class="center space-above">THE END.</p> - -<p class="center space-above">LONDON:</p> - -<p class="center">PRINTED BY IBOTSON AND PALMER, SAVOY STREET.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Society in America, Volume 2 (of 2), by -Harriet Martineau - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOCIETY IN AMERICA, VOLUME 2 *** - -***** This file should be named 52685-h.htm or 52685-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/6/8/52685/ - -Produced by Julia Miller, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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