the anniversary of Harvard College, in which he heard a discourse delivered by a Mr Woods, on "the union of science and religion," which he considered a very eloquent performance, though two hours aud twenty minutes long. But he does not praise every thing. An unlucky poet, who had been a senator, and, as he was rich, might be entitled to go this "road to ruin," read his poetry, which had the not improbable effect of clearing the benches. The party then adjourned to the dinner, where they were as happy as possible. The colonel was first called, and placed on the right of the Governor of Massachussets, and the Honourable Marcus Maston, whom he finds a remarkably taciturn man, which in common parlance might imply, a very stupid fellow. But no. The colonel follows it with "I have no doubt, a talented man." This is couleur de rose in perfection. Story, an old judge, talked much, and the colonel says that he was "buoyant, brilliant," and so forth, but when he comes to particulars, the general nature of this brilliancy becomes rather doubtful. "The judge, who was at all in the ring, and master of every subject, would not let religious matters remain undis cussed and something having brought the subject on the tapis, he gave us an animated dissertation upon it." We can have no hesitation whatever in saying, that any man who, at a public dinner in one of our universities, attempted a dissertation of that order, would be set down as very closely approaching to a confirmed twaddler. But the spirit of his remarks was still more indicative of the state of things in this favoured country. "His argument was, that lawyers, and not clergymen, should be the propounders of the Scriptures, and more especially of the laws of Moses; and here the learned judge had it all his own way, no one venturing to contradict him." All this finished with a song, of which we give a fragment, as it is "annually sung on this occasion in full chorus." This entitles it to some distinction, though it is rather differBut the ent from an ode of Pindar. tune has merit, for it is "Auld lang syne." "This day with heartfelt glee we greet, When at the festive board we meet When sparkling wit, and jocund song, Of Auld lang syne. "Let true philosophy, our light, O'er life's dark sea. Our worthy deeds may others see On history's pages shine, When these our days shall number'd be "The strife of sect and party rude, We from our presence bar, Nor on this hour shall aught intrude We'll take our choice, who here are met, The New Englanders are probably too busy "going a-head," as their phrase is, to have much poetry among their pursuits; but they certainly ought to find some one capable of writing a better annual piece of nationality than this. We look for a reform, if it were only for the honour of their mothertongue. But it is the "devouring faculty," the organ of swallowing, which evidently excites the colonel's most genuine wonder, and it really seems wonderful. "Scotia!" he exclaims with all the ardour of an enthusiast, "Scotia ! my own, my native land, thou art famed in prose and verse for thy breakfasts; but even thou must hide thy diminished head before the accumulated glories of the morning repast at Tremont House, where, in addition to the aforesaid porridge, are displayed tea, coffee, omelets, beefsteaks, mutton chops, veal cutlets, kippered salmon, various kinds of fresh fish, ham, eggs, rolls, muffins, toast, &c., ad infinitum.' In short, he "calculates," that by a little management, a man capable of the feat, without being choked on the spot, might easily contrive to continue eating all day, "to blend the whole five meals into one-from the earliest breakfast, at seven, until the latest supper, long after midnight, there is This cerscarcely any cessation." tainly exceeds our former estimate of the native deglutition. Can the gallant colonel be amusing himself and us? As corporal Trim says, "Our army swore terribly in Flanders!" But the dinner, "that most important meal of all," is hurried over, and is the only one treated with such irre verence. All manner of good things are set before you, but no time for reflection or selection is allowedpromptitude of decision is your only chance, or, as he sums up in one sentence, "Gobble, gulp, and go," is the order of the day. He adds, that “to behold the fairest of the fair adopt the bolting system is really awful." Still he retains his imperturbable gallantry. "I have said that all the American ladies are agreeable, and I will maintain it; and well bred too, though certainly I was a little startled this evening at the tea-table, when a black-eyed intelligent-looking lass, from Philadelphia, who was describing Saratoga Springs, informed me, that all the young dandies there were considerable humbugs, she guessed." But she was very young, and very pretty. But he tells us more valuable things. He mentions the effect of the temperance system at Lynn, a shoemaking place, where a few years ago the artisans were ragged drunkards. " They are now a thriving, healthy, and wealthy population." This is good intelligence, and the temperance societies will have reason to boast of the effect of such changes. The habits of drunkenness in America were once frightful, and every man must rejoice at every instance of their losing ground. On a visit to General Dearborne, the conversation turned on steamers; and on the colonel's observing that sooner or later (a rather safe stipulation) steam engines would mount into the air, the general told him of a conversation which he had many years ago with an ingenious old man who "had in embryo the application of steam to propelling carriages along the road ;" and who, moreover, conceived "that the general might live to see flocks of steam birds mounting into the air like pigeons and as regularly leaving towns with passengers and letters as stage coaches do now-a-days." All this talking is mere trifling. Every new invention sets a crowd of rambing speculators at work to imagine what it can be made to accomplish, and give themselves credit for the Of clearness of their penetration. course there is no limit to fancy. When Mongolfier first sent up his balloon, there was not a talker in Europe who did not point out the probability of its reaching the moon "by a little improvement," and, "in the progress of science," finding its way to the fixed stars. Yet there the balloon has stood those fifty years, and seems likely to stand there five hundred. Darwin, fifty years ago, more rationally predicted that steam would drive the rapid barge," but with no more expectation of its being any thing beyond a figure of speech for centuries to come, than Seneca had when he pronounced that the nature of comets would be familiar to the future philosophers of some land or another, at some time, nobody knew when. At length he leaves Boston, flies by the railroad through a picturesque country, and stops, ninety-five miles off, for a two o'clock dinner; the passage money three dollars, and no demands from "waiters, discontented cads, and insolent porters." We believe that similar arrangements are adopted on the English railroads. The absence of them formed a perpetual and scandalous nuisance in our public coaches; and all to swell the pockets of the race of low and impupudent fellows, who drove or hung about them. We have known instances where the common coachman on a populous road made L.800 a-year. At Springfield the colonel visited the government arms manufactory. The workshops crown a hill; the depot of arms contains 91,000 stand. The average price of each musket is eleven dollars, Each barrel weighs four pounds five ounces; and the whole complete, with fixed bayonet, ten pounds and a half. The bayonet enters on a pivot, and is then turned; and all have brass pans. Their make he regards as excellent: and the powder "first-rate, and beautifully glazed." He asks-and fairly enough 66 Why does not our Ordnance Board take a hint from other countriesabolish contracts, and set up for itself?" We find no mention of any modern improvement on this most important weapon, no percussion locks or attempts to lessen the weight of the musket. The palpable defects of this weapon, are its weight, the length of the barrel, and the width of the windage. The American musket is within half a pound of the weight of the British, and costs twice the money. Yet the British musket allows of divers improvements, and it is scarcely less than criminal to postpone them. On his way towards Trenton, the colonel saw some of the militia parades they were what might be expected from people called together but once a-year, and even then called only for parade. "On their plain coats some wore two large lumps of white worsted to resemble epaulettes; some had caps, but others round hats, with most tremendously long white feathers. This 'playing at soldiers,' as some facetious fellow-passengers styled it, produced us many Yankee yarns. One fellow told us of a militia corps, formed by a Colonel Pluck, where the nien had swords ten feet long, and the trumpet twelve. This troop was formed some years ago at Westpoint, as a satire on the system." At Utica, which he describes as a fine rising city, he saw more of those militia parades, "the men, notwithstanding the blustering of their military mentor, all whiffing cigars, and amusing themselves." But some of the uniform companies made a better figure. At the Museum, he saw two whites born of Negro parents,-they had the woolly hair and flat nose. But he was "more taken with the long boot of the celebrated Bill Johnson,' the ruffian who was so often hunted among the islands of the St Lawrence ia 1838. This relic gives us rather an humbling conception of the taste of Utica, and the next curiosity is even worse-a representation of the guillotining of the unfortunate Louis XVI. This he justly pronounces to be "in bad taste." He, however, ends by predicting, that "the monarchical principle will at no distant day be reestablished and triumphant through this great continent. Every thing, as it appears to me, tends to this, as well as to the termination of the federal government." Whether this result will ever follow, is a question for time; but we are perfectly convinced that if a democracy be the fate, it will be the ruin, of America. In this roving and light-hearted way the colonel runs through the "States," and from the States to Canada, glances at Niagara, which he dashes off in description with the rapidity of a fresco-painter, "looks in" at Greenston, returns, runs back to Boston, and thence runs to his old starting point, St John's. It would be idle to talk of his work as profound; but it is pleasant: he has a peep at every thing, and he sees every thing in the most happy determination to be delighted. He has certainly the very unusual merit of not plaguing his reader with the solemn nonsense which its professors and prosers call "political economy;" nor of exhausting our patience to the dregs with dissertations on American factions. He sees every thing in the broadest sunshine, and every mile of his road is strewed with flowers. All the men are full of intelligence, and all the women unrivalled for beauty. It is true, that his rank, his introductions, and we have no doubt his manners, gave him every opportunity of seeing the American world to the best advantage. A lively and gentlemanlike soldier had every chance of being received with universal kindness. He has at all events made a very pretty book; and if Jonathan is not pleased, he must be a sour fellow indeed. INDEX TO VOL. L. Arion, Old Rule of Drinking, from the Art, Modern Schools of, in France, Belgium, Modern Schools of Art in, Berlin, Three Nights in, Night the Biron and the Bastile, an historical inci- Bonnycastle, Sir Richard, his work Brighton, No. I. Brighton in Sunshine, Canton Expedition and Convention, 677. Colman Family, the Memoirs by Peake, Conservative Song, a, 658. his Capital," and "General Sketch Delta, the Dying Spaniel, 126-the Dying Spaniel, the, a poetical sketch by Elections, a glance at them, 229. England and her European Allies, 449. Exhibitions, Royal Academy and British Fine Arts, Report from the Select Com- Good-bye to the Whigs. A song of re- Hilli-onnee, 674. Hints to Authors. Second Series. No. 582.-Loretto, the Santa Casa, 583. Johnson, Edward, his "Philosophic Nuts" June Gale 1841, the, 72. Krug, Professor, his "Meine Lebens- Lessons from the Past, 275. Marggraff, Von Herman, his work en- Marquinez and La Collegiala, a roman- tic incident of the Peninsular war, 31. Menzel, Wolfgang, his work on "Die Deutsche Litteratur," reviewed, 143. Peel, Sir Robert, his position on next Peel Ministry, prospects of it, 537. Picture of Danaé, a Drama, translated Plato's Republic, 40.-Book the second, Switzerland, Modern Schools of Art in, Ten Thousand a-Year. Part XX., 94. Tittle-Tattle of a Philosopher, 779. Vanities in Verse, 428. Watt, Alexander, his report on the Whig Dissolution, the, 1. Whigs, ten years of them, 83.-Good Weinbarg, von Ludwig, his work on 143. World of London, Part III., 60.-Part Printed by Ballantyne & Hughes, Paul's Work, Edinburgh. |