pay my respects to a Duke of Tuscany, or even to a petty German prince, whose whole territory was not larger than a county in one of the United States, I have had to dress in a court uniform, and to pass by a whole file of soldiers, and then by half a dozen pages, officers, and chamberlains, with gold keys at their pockets, &c. But the President of the United States received me in my ordinary morning dress; and, though he is Commander-inchief of the army and navy, has no need of sentinels at his door, being sufficiently protected by the love of his fellow citizens.

I can safely say, that the manly simplicity of the President impressed me with much more respect, than the absurd mummery of European potentates. Yet surely if pride can be tolerated in any man, it must be in him, who (like President Monroe) has been placed at the head of the government of his native country, by the unanimous suffrage of eight millions of his fellow citizens. How much more has he to be proud of, than the petty distinction of birth or fortune! and what an immeasurable distance between him and a German Princeling! Yet, to judge by their manners and bearing, you would fancy the Prince was the greatest man on earth, and the President merely a private individual; whereas the one is a most unimportant personage, except in his own opinion, and the other is really a great man.

A short time before my arrival at Washington,

there occurred a fine example of Republican simplicity. Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, happened to meet together at the opening of a college at Charlottesville in Virginia. I suppose this is the only instance on record, of three men, two of whom had been, and one of whom actually was, at the head of the government of the self-same country, meeting by chance, and, in the most unceremonious and friendly way, passing the evening together. There were four Presidents alive when I was in the United States, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe.

The environs of Washington abound in picturesque scenery. From the hills, on the Virginia bank of the river, and also from those beyond the eastern branch, the city appears scattered over the plain below, and elevates itself here and there in some grand structure, such as the Capitol, the President's house, or the City Hall; while below rolls the mighty Potowmac, diversified with the numerous boats and vessels that are constantly moving over its surface.

Seven miles off, at the little town of Alexandria, there is another very fine view of the city. By the bye I may mention, that at this place my attention was much attracted by the singular construction of the ferry-boat. As considerable commerce is carried on here, it was important to be able to cross over with the greatest celerity from the Maryland to the Virginian shore. A steam-boat was

found to be too expensive; but, incited by the hopes of gain, an ingenious mechanic has invented what he calls a team-boat, and which (when I was there) plied from side to side every quarter of an hour. This boat is worked by four horses, two on each side, with their heads in contrary directions. Each horse is fastened to an iron bar, that goes across the shed under which two of them stand. Their feet rest upon a large horizontal wheel, the centre of which coincides with that of the boat, whose two sides are tangents to it. It is rather lower than the deck; and as the whole of the middle of the upper part of the boat is thus unoccupied, waggons and carts can be driven in and out without any difficulty. When the boat is to be put in motion, the horses are whipped, and by striving to go on, turn round the wheel which is beneath their feet, and which again turns two large exterior wheels armed with paddles, as in a steam-boat. To conclude my description, there is also a simple contrivance for shifting the machinery, by which the wheels are made to move either way, so that the boat can proceed with either end foremost. It crosses easily in twelve minutes; and, as there is no tax upon horses, the invention has united cheapness with expedition.

CHAPTER IV.

THE GOVERNMENT.

WE Constantly hear it affirmed in Europe, and particularly when the conversation turns upon the subject of the United States, that no Republic has ever yet existed, and that none will ever be able to exist, for any length of time. In order to support this assertion, the ancient Republics of Greece and Rome, and the more modern ones of Italy and Holland, are quoted as examples; and it follows as a natural deduction that monarchy, either limited or absolute, is the only sort of government that can or ought to exist.

Now, in the first place, I beg leave to observe, that if the duration of a government be taken as a proof of its excellence, we should do well to adopt the paternal despotism of the celestial empire of China. But however that may be, I may remind the lovers of antiquity, that the Republic of the United States has already lasted, without any material alteration, for half a century; and as every government may be considered stable, when the mass of the people is in the full enjoyment of liberty, and when all those have perished who recollected a different one, the United States may bid defiance to those friends of "Social Order" who would rejoice in seeing the country swimming in

blood, if it would but tend to establish a tyranny like their own.

In the next place I must observe, that there never yet has been a Republic similar to that of the United States. I talk not of names, but of things. The government of Great Britain is called a Monarchy, and so is that of Morocco; but I presume no one will be so disloyal a subject, as to compare the mild sway of his Britannic Majesty to the cruel tyranny of the Moorish Emperor. Yet I am disposed to maintain, that there is as much resemblance between these two most opposite governments, as between the Republic of the United States and any of those of ancient or modern times. I shall therefore now say a few words about these self-styled Republics; and I hope the reader will pardon the length of the digression when he considers the importance of the subject.

I begin with Athens, that most ungrateful and capricious of States! But shall a turbulent and factious democracy, composed of the most heterogeneous elements, and liable to commit whatever atrocious action might be advised by a corrupt orator, be compared to the steady and regular administration of a Representative government? It is amusing indeed to consider, that these Athenians, the inhabitants of a territory which absolutely vanishes as compared to the United States, apparently considered themselves as the greatest of nations, and were constantly involved in wars, by