t*^:-

I

m

"Rioding ma\eth a full man, conference a
readye man, and uniting an exacts man"
— Bacon

Ctcm). W.Cole.

u.iL.uiil;nnii ¦m.i, .^\.Vja|[H||||||j|||| J , *f'\ .

THE

OR,

THE HOME AND FOREIGN TRAVELER;

A (JOMPEEHENSIVB SUEVET OF THB SCENEEY, EESOUECES,
POPULATION", GOVEENMENT, EELIGION, LITEEATUEE,
CIVILIZATION, AETS AND USAGES OF THE
PEINCIPAL COUNTEIES IN THE
WOELB :
WITH NOTICES OF DISTINOl'ISHED MEN, ETC.

BY
EOBEET TUENBULL,
AUTIiOK OP "TIIE GENIUS OF SCOTLAND," "GENIUS OF ITALY," ETC.

PUBLISHED BY H. E. EOBINS AND CO.
HARTFORD AND NEW YORK.
18,-2.

Entered accoVding to Act of Congress, in the year 1851,
By H. E. robins & CO.
in the Clerk's Office ofthe District Court for the Distiict of Connecticut.

Stereotyped bv
RICHARD C. VALENTINE,
45 Gold-at., New York.

PREFACE.

Few persons have opportunities of extensive travel, at least in
foreign lands ; yet all are more or less interested in " The World
WE Live In," and desire to form some acquaintance with its diver
sified scenery and inhabitants. Hence books of travels, when
fresh and vivid, are always perused with interest and delight.
These, however, are not only quite numerous, but often rare and
expensive. Besides, they usually treat only of some particular
country, or tract of country, and enter into minute details, with
which general readers have little or no sympathy.
It has been thought, therefore, that a work within the reach of
all, and containing, in a comprehensive form, some account of
the principal countries of the globe, their natural scenery and
resources, with the character and customs of their inhabitants,
would meet the wants of a large class of readers.
Bjr combining the results of observation and reading, the author,
at the suggestion of the enterprising publishers, has composed,
and, he might Say, in part compiled, the following work. For
much of it, relating to countries which he has not personally vis
ited, must necessarily possess the character of a compilation. He
has spent years, indeed, both in Europe and America ; he has
also traveled somewhat extensively, especially in the older portions
of the world, and has thus written a considerable part of the
work from personal observation. Yet he "wishes it to be dis
tinctly understood, that he has felt it his duty to avail himself
quite freely of the published travels of others, especially of those
which are the most recent and successful.
Important and interesting discoveries, those, for example, of
Catherwood, Layard, Lepsius, and others, have been made in

4 PREFACE.
geography and antiquities. Books of travels, some of great value,
have recently multiplied to an unprecedented extent ; so that
hundreds and even thousands of volumes of this description have
appeared within a few years in Europe and the United States.
Singular and startling changes, also, have occurred, in the civil
and political condition of the nations, casting some into shadow,
and pushing others into greater prominence. The relations of the
different portions of the world are coming into closer union,
and a new and more glorious "future'' is dawning upon the
race. But every country has certain salient points, certain grand
features and leading aims, which determine its peculiar character
and position among the nations. The attempt, therefore, has
been made, in this volume, not only to give a comprehensive sur
vey of the natural and moral condition of the world at large, but
to sketch each particular country, with as much brevity and
truthfulness as the author could command. Of course many
things are necessarily left out ; in some instances the information
commvinicated is, doubtless, slight and superficial ; but an honest
endeavor has been made to give a faithful, though not elaborate
portrait. After all, a few rough sketches will often give the
features of a face, of a landscape, or of a community better than
the most detailed and elaborate description. We do not, indeed,
ourselves claim to have done this; we have simply made the
effort. But outlines and etchings must not be judged by the
same rules as complete and finished pictures.
There is an advantage, however, of no trifling character, in pos
sessing a manual, which may enable us, without confusion, to
take a single and comprehensive survey of tlie nations which com
pose the " World we Live In," and, by means of comparison and
contrast, to form a just estimate of each and all, in their relations
to one another and to the whole. Such a book would hold to
books of travel generally much the sarae relation which a terres
trial globe, of ordinary dimensions, holds to a large collection of
individual maps. Even the traveler and scholar might find it no

PEEFACE. 5
disadvantage to consult such a work. By this means thc natural
and moral condition of the world, and, in particular, its progress
in art, civilization, science, and religion can be more readily esti
mated. Still, the author has not written for critics and amateurs ; he
has little or nothing to communicate to them ; indeed, he cannot
reasonably expect this volume to be honored with their notice.
He has written for the people ; for ingenuous young persons who
wish to improve their minds ; for busy merchants and mechanics ;
and for such professional men as do not possess tlie time or the
means for extensive travel, or multifarious reading in this depart
ment of literature.
The idea of a tour has, as much as possible, been preserved.
The author has endeavored to take his readers along with him, as
bis traveling companions, and assisted them to see, if not with
their own eyes, at least with their own imaginations, the diversi
fied panorama of national scenery, character, costtime, and usage.
Should he succeed in communicating any interesting information,
or suggesting any good thoughts, or exciting any generous or
even pleasant impulses, he will feel himself abundantly rewarded.
Haktfoed, Conn.

CONTENTS.

Chapter. Page.
I. America  9
II. The United States  22
III. New England States  34
IV. New England States, continued  45
V. Middle States  63
VI. Southern States  72
VII. Western States and Territories  84
VIII. Indian Territory .ancLIndians  103
IX. Regions North of the United Stales  118
X. Mexico  122
XI. Central and South America  134
XII. Europe  159
XIII. England  169
XIV. Ireland  189
XV. Scotland  191
XVI. Spain  217
XVII. France  227
XVIII. Germany  240
XIX. Germany, continued  257
XX. Austria  295
XXI. Hungary  302
XXII. Bohemia and Poland  310
XXIII. Russia  318
XXIV. Sweden, Norway, and Denmark  332
XXV. Switzerland  340
XXVI. Italy  348
XXVII. Italy, continued  372

8 CONTENTS.
ClIAFTEE. Pago.
XXVIII. Greece  392
XXIX. Asia  402
XXX. Turkey  411
XXXI. Palestine and Arabia  425
XXXII. Persia  445
XXXIII. India  455
XXXIV. India, continued  465
XXXV. China  474
XXXVI. China, continued, with Notices of Siam and Japan . . 488
XXXVII. Africa  498
XXXVIII. Egypt  :  609
XXXIX. Abyssinia and other African Countries  626
XL. Isknds  ,  533

THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER I.

Landing of Columbus.

Landing pf the Pilgrims.

In the year of our Lord 1492, amid the calm and sunshine of
October i\-eiither, three small vessels, of antique forra, with high
poop and stern, and only one of them decked, were ploughing the
waves of a southern sea. They had been sailing many weary days
and nights due west, in a part of the ocean tlien unknovrn, with
many doubts and fears on the part of the officers and men, though
with high liope and indomitable courage on the part of the com
mander of the expedition. It seemed to them, as they gazed and
1*

10 THE WOELD "WE LIVE IN.
gazed, morning, noon, and night, on the vast and solitary expanse
of waters, that they were leaving forever the abodes of man, and
passing into a shoreless abyss. In the early part of their journey
they had been sadly frightened by the smoking peak of lenerifte,
and a few days after by the fact, never till then observed, that the
magnetic needle in the ship's compass varied from its ordinary
direction, as if the diflferent points of the compass -were begmnmg
to be confounded ! Occasionally, indeed, they were cheered by
the flight of beautiful birds, and masses of sea-weed driven, as
they supposed, from some rocky shore ; and once or twice they
unagined they saw land at a distance. But they had been de
ceived again and again, and their souls died within them "With
doubt and fear. Nay, they had even threatened sedition against
their commander, and secretly vowed to cast him overboard, and
so return to their native land. But their fears had been soothed,
their doubts dissipated, and their spirit of rebelhon checked by
the kindness and decision of that indomitable spirit who, -with a
faith -which seemed more than mortal, resolved to press on to
ward the setting sun, assured that upon those unknown and un
traversed seas they would reach the golden regions of which he
had dreamed for many years. He had commenced the journey
with solemn religious rites, and beUeved that he was to be the
agent, under the providence of God, in the accomphshment of a
glorious destiny.
On the 25th of September, -while Columbus and his ofiicers
were diligently studying their maps in order to make out their
position, a shout was heard from the Pinta — the name of Qne of
the ships — and on looking up they beheld Martin Alonzo Pinzon
mounted on. the stern of the vessel, who shouted, -with a loud
voice — " Land 1 land I Senor, I claim my reward !"'* pointing to
the southwest, in which land seemed to loom upon the vision at a
distance of about twenty-five leagues. Columbus fell iipon his
knees and gave thanks to the Almighty, and Martin Alonzo re
peated the Gloria in Excelsis, in "which he was loudly joined by
the crews of the ships, amounting in all to about a hundred men.
¦Changing their course they sailed all night in the direction indi
cated, straining their eyes to catch the first view of the long-
wished-for land. But, alas ! it was only a false appearance,
caused by clouds resting on the dim edge of the horizon, "which
vanished with the light of early day.
The crews relapsed into their former state of discontent and
¦* A pension of thirty crowns, whicli had been promised, by the sovereigns
of Spain, to the first man who should discover land.

AMERICA. 11

despondency ; but the great multitude of birds flying about the
ships, floating masses of sea-weed, and other signs of land, kept
them from utter despair. Columbus alone remained calm and
self-possessed. His serene and lofty spirit rose above difiiculty
and danger, and, like the Christian with reference to the heavenly
Canaan, descried "the promised land," though yet mvisible to
mortal eye.
On the evemng of the Gth of October, Martin Alonzo Pinzon,
commander of the Pinta, began to lose confidence in the course
they were steering, and proposed that they should stand to the
southward. But Columbus had made up his mind to the issue,
and persisted in steering directly west. Land again seemed to
break upon their vision, but they said nothing of it, for they feared
disappointment — and again it passed away, hke the early cloud
and the morning dew. Guided by the flight of birds — to which
the ancient mariners attached much importance — Columbus chang
ed his course in a southwesterly direction. For three days they
stood in that direction, encouraged by the signs of land. Fhghts
of small, colored birds, some of them such as sing in the fields and
woods, flying about the ship, encouraged them to proceed. Tun
ny-fish, not usually found far from shore, played about in the
smooth, translucent sea. A heron, a duck, and a pelican were
seen, all moving toward the southwest. Green herbage, as if
recently from the land, floated by, and the air " was sweet and
fragrant as April breezes in Seville."
But the crews, who imagined that they had passed between
islands, left behind them perhaps forever, grew mutinous, and in
sisted on abandoning tbe voyage and returning home. Columbus
was firm as a rock, and told them that it was useless to murmur ;
" that the expedition had been sent by the sovereigns to seek the
Indies, and, happen what might, he was resolved to persevere,
until, by the blessing of God, he should accomplish the en
terprise." Fortunately for him, the indications of land became every hour
more and more decisive. Besides a quantity of fresh weeds, they
saw fish of a greenish hue, which keep about rocks, and, abpve
all, a branch of thorn with berries on it, recently separated from
the tree ; then a reed, a small board, and a staflf, artificially carv
ed, which they picked up with inexpressible delight.
Gloom and mutiny again gave way to sanguine expectation,
and throughout the whole day every one was on the "watch, in the
hope of catching the first glimpse of land.
In the evening, when the sailors had sung the Salve Begina, or
evemng hymn, to the Virgin, Columbus made an impressive ad-

12 THE -WORLD WE LIVE IN.
dress to his crew, exhorting them to fidelity and obedience, and
intimatino- that they would probably see land before the mormng
-watch. He ordered a steady look-out from the forecastle, and
promised to him who should make tlie first discovery a doublet of
velvet, in addition to the reward promised by the sovereigns.
The breeze blew fresh, with more sea than usual, and they made
rapid progress, the Pinta keeping the lead from her rapid sailing.
The greatest exciteraent prevailed : not an eye was closed all that
night. As the shadows of evening fell, Columbus stationed hini-
self on the top of the castle, or cabin, on the high poop of his
vessel, the Santa Maria, sweeping the dusky horizon with his pen
etrating gaze. About 10 o'clock he thought he saw a light glim
mering at a distance : fearful that his eager hopes might deceive
him, he called one of the members of the expedition, in whom he
had confidence, and asked him if he saw such a light. The latter
replied in the affirmative. To make the matter still more certain,
he called another person and put a similar inquiry. Before the
latter had ascended the round-house, the light had vanished.
They saw it, however, once or twice afterward, by sudden glearas,
as if it were flashing among trees, or rising and sinking with some
boat among the waves. Though others doubted, Columbus, in his
own mind, knew that they were approaching land. They contin
ued their course till two in the morning, when the Pinta gave the
joyful signal of land. It was first seen by one of the sailors,
though the reward was afterward adjudged to the admiral. The
land was distinctly seen at about two leagues distant, whereupon
they took in sail, and eagerly "wished for day."
What wore the feelings of Columbus at such a time, can be
better imagined than described. His hopes were realized ; hia
faith had become ^^sion. A name to last forever was now se
cured, and a new world was given to the nations.
At length the day dawned, and the prospect of hills and val
leys, clothed with the freshest verdure and bathed in the richest
sunlight, broke upon their vision. The three vessels, crowded
with eager eyes and flying streamers, made for the land. The
crew of the Pinta, whioh, as usual, was in advance, began chant
ing the Te Deum, and all united in thanking Heaven for his good
ness. As they approached they saw the natives running from all
parts of the shore, who imagined that the Spaniards and their
vessels sailed out of the firmament, and stood gazing upon them
in mute astonishment. Columbus gave the signal to^anohor, and
ordered the bosits to be manned and armed. Richly attired in
scarlet, and bearing the royal standard, he advanced in his own
boat, while Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vicente Yanez, his brother,

AMERICA. 13
put off in their boats together. As they approached the shore
they were delighted with the balmy air, the crystal transparency
of the sea, and the rich tropical vegetation with whioh the land
was covered. The moment Columbus stepped on shore he fell
upon his knees, kissed the earth, and gave audible thanks to God,
with tears of joy. The others, penetrated with similar feelings,
followed his example. Columbus, then rising, drew his sword,
unfurled the royal standard, and took possession of the country in
the name of the Castilian sovereigns, giving the island the name
of St. Salvador.
Other islands were visited, and Columbus returned to Europe
to report the wonders of the new-found world. In his letters and
journal he dwells with enthusiasra and delight upon the beauty
and fertility of the land, the purity and freshness of the atraos
phere, the peaceful and hospitable character of the inhabitants.
Evidently his imagination was greatly excited, and as he took with
him specimens of gold, spices, and other productions of those
tropical regions, his arrival at the Spanisli court was hailed with
the hvehest demonstrations of wonder, gratitude, and joy.
" The loveliness of this ncw land," writes the great na-ingator,
"far surpasses that of the Carapana de Cordoba. The trees are
all bright with ever-verdant foliage, and perpetually laden with
fruits. The plants on the ground are tall and full of blossoms.
The breezes are mild, like those of April in Castile ; the nightin
gales sing more sweetly than I can describe. At night, other small
birds sing sweetly ; and I also hear our grasshoppers and frogs.
Once I came into a deeply inclosed harbor, and saw high moun
tains whioh no human eye had seen before, from which the lovely
waters (Lindas aguas) streamed down. The mountain was cov
ered with firs, pines, and other trees of various forms, and adorned
witll beautiful flowers. Ascending the river which poured itself
into the bay, I was astonished at the cool shade, the crystal clear
water, and the number of singing-birds. It seemed to me as if I
never could quit a spot so delightful, — as if a thousand tongues
would fail to describe it — as if the spell-bound pen would refuse
to write."*
Columbus seemed to understand his destiny. After all, he little
knew what he had discovered. All the time he supposed he had
gained the coast of Asia, by a westem route, and formed but a
dim conception of the vast regions of the new continent, lying to
the north and south. His discovery forms an epoch in the history
of the world, the results of which are even now but imperfectly
* Humboldt's Cosmos.

14 THE -WOELD WE LIA'E IN.

realized. It has been well described as the genesis time of modem
history. The age in which it occurred was in every respect a re
markable one. Other great discoveries were made about the same
time, affecting, in an equal degree, the whole current of human
aflairs. The invention of gunpowder, and the adaptation of mov
able types to the purpose of printing, slightly preceded the dis
covery of America ; and the Reformation of the sixteenth century
followed soon after. These great events combining their influences,
formed an era such as the world has never seen since the advent
of Jesus Christ, and the establishment of Christianity.
It is a fact worthy of observation, that the colonization of, this
New World was given to those five nations that were the furthest
advanced in civilization, and the most powerful at that period of
history — to England, to Spain, to Portugal, to France, and to
Holland. What seemed, at first, the poorest, but by far the best
portion, was given to the Anglo-Saxon race, that energetic people,
who, under the Christian form of civilization, ai-e yet to control
the destiny not only of the entire American continent, but of the
world. But the mightiest changes in the history of nations are gener-
¦ally wrought by what appear to us insignificant means. The
Deity has great purposes to fulfill ; and by ways of his own, which
men often despise at first sight, he uniformly brings them to pass.
All the great and influential nations of the eartli have sprung from
small beginnings, like mighty rivers, the sources of which are far
hidden ainong the granite mountains or the primeval forests. Thus
God would give this vast continent to freedom and Christianity,
and he takes his own method to bring it about ; a method of
which Columbus and the nobles of Granada and Castile had never
dreamed. One hundred and twenty-eight years after the landing of Co
lumbus on the shores of the New World, the Mayflower was
plunging through the stormy waves which break upon the rock-
ribbed coast of New England. After a long and boisterous pas
sage of sixty-three days, during which the pilgrims had endured
incredible hardships, with a fortitude and a faith superior to that
of Columbus, they got the first ghmpse of land. Columbus
sought the discovery of new regions which be thought would
prove to be the El Dorado of the world ; but their aim was to
found an empire in the wilderness, for "the glory of God," and
the good of mankind. Men, women, and children had embarked
their all in the perilous enterprise. Some of them had been sick,
and one died on the voyage. It was their intention to make a
Bettlement at the mouth of the Hudson River, the best position ou

AMEEICA. 15

the whole Atlantic coast ; but they were conducted, through the
ignorance and self-will of their capt'ain, to the most barren and
inhospitable part of Massachusetts. It was, however, with no
ordinary emotions that they first espied the rocky outline of their
future home, though that was the stormy coast of Cape Cod, in
whose harbor they were safely moored two days after.
Before landing, they took into solemn consideration the manner
in which their government should be constituted, and formed
themselves into a body politic, to be governed by just and equal
laws. " In the name of God, Amen ; we, whose names are un(ier-
written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign King James,
having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the
Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to
plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by
these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and
of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together, into, a civil
body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and further
ance of the ends aforesaid ; and by virtue hereof, to enact, con
stitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, con
stitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most
convenient for the general good of the colony. Unto which we
promise all due submission and obedience."
This simple but solemn instrument was signed by the whole
body of emigrants, forty-one in number, who with their farailies
amounted in all to one hundred and one, the Christian " deraoc-
racy"that arrived in New England. " This," says Bancroft, with
enthusiasm, " was the birth of popular constitutional liberty. The
middle ages had been familiar with charters and constitutions ; but
they had been merely compacts for immunities, partial enfran
chisements, patents of nobility, concessions of municipal privileges,
or Umitations of the sovereign power in favor of feudal institutions.
In the cabin of the Mayflower humanity recovered its rights, and
instituted governments on the basis of equal laws, for the general
good." John Carver was elected governor, and preparations weit- made
for taking possession of their new-found home. The, water, bow-
ever, was found too shallow for disembarking, and they vere
compelled to wade. Winter was setting in^ and the shore pre
sented one long and desolate outline. Not a human being was to
be seen ; for the Indians in that part of the New World had been
cut off the previous season by a wasting pestilence. The nearest
French settlement was at Port Royal, a great distance, and it was
five hundred miles to the English settlement in Virginia, formed

le THE -WOELD WE LIVE IN.

some years before. Wom out by the long voyage, ill supplied
with provisions, and exposed on a bleak and unsheltered coast to
the freezing weather, many of them contracted diseases, from
which they never recovered.
The -ivinter was advancing, and the place of their settlement
was yet to be selected. The shallop was unshipped, but it was
found to need repairs, and sixteen or seventeen weary days elapsed
before the carpenter finished his work. Some of the party, bolder
than the rest, undertook to explore the country by land. Much
hard.ship was endured, but no discoveries were made. The first
expedition in the shallop likewise failed ; and some of the people
that died that winter took " the original of their death" in this
attempt ; for it " snowed and did blow all the day and night, and
froze withal." The men who landed to make explorations were
" tu-ed," as well they might be,, " -ivith marching up and down the
steep hills and deep valleys, which lay half a foot thick -with
snow." A heap of maize, or Indian corn, was discovered, and, at
some distance, a " burial-place of the Indians," — but they found
"no more corn, nor any thing else but graves."
Another attempt was made in the shallop, under the conduct of
Carver, Bradford, Winslow, Standish, and others, with eight or
ten seamen. At first they found only some deserted wigwams
and Indian graves. At last a flight of arrows from the tribe of
the Nausites startled, but without injuring the adventurers. Giv
ing thanks to God, they betake themselves to the boat, which
they steer along the coast, but without finding a convenient har
bor. The sky begins to darken, and a violent storm of snow and
rain strikes the little craft. The pilot, ignorant of the coast,
comes near steering among the breakers ; but at last, the boat
passes through the surf, and enters a fair sound, and the crew
find shelter under the lee of a small bluft" of land. It is. dark, and
the storm of wind and rain beats furiously. The men are wet,
cold, and exhausted. They are willing, however, to brave danger
from thc savages, and, with difficulty, kindle a fire on shore.
In the morning, they found the place a small island within the
entrance of the harbor. The day was needed for rest and prepa
ration, and the next was the "holy Sabbath," which they kept
with reUgious care.
Time was pressing, and their exigencies were peculiar ; but they
feared God and kept his commandments, a feature in their char
acter which must strike the most casual observer.
Not till Monday, therefore, the eleventh of December (old
style), in the year 1020, did the exploring party land on Plymouth
Rock. The spot seemed favorable for settlement ; and in a few

AMERICA. 17

days the Mayflower, with her precious freight, was safely moored
in its harbor. Their church had long been organized, and their
constitution of govemment, whioh they had a few days before
agreed, by solemn compact, to observe, was put into immediate
operation ; so that the foundations of a new and enduring com
monwealth were laid in the wilds of Northem America. Freedom,
civil and rehgious, sprang up among the rocks.
But, alas ! much grief and care must be endured by the colo
nists. Difficulties of various kinds arose. Food was scarce, and
their homes, if homes they might be called, were hastily con
structed amid ice and snow. The Indians began to discover them
selves, hovering around them at a distance, though instantly
disappearing when pursued.- Some were sick and feeble, and in
the succeeding seasons many died. The benevolent and noble-
hearted Carver, appointed governor, had, at his first landing, lost
a son ; his own health suddenly gave way, and his broken-hearted
wife followed him to the grave. Emigrants subsequently arrived,
unprovided -with food, compelling the whole colony, for six months
in succession, to subsist on half allowance. The consequences
were disastrous. " I have seen men," says Winslow, " stagger by
reason of faintness for want of food." At one time, tradition says,
the colonists were reduced to a single pint of corn, which, distrib-
"uted, gave to each person only five kernels. Their little grave
yard, "smoothed do"wn for fear of the Indians," was gradually
filling up. Yet they toiled on, in faith and hope, men, women,
and children, looking and praying for better days.
Other emigrants, better provided, followed from England.
The labors of husbandry began to be somewhat fruitful. Slowly,
but surely, the colony rose to prosperity and power. " Thus,"
to quote the words of Bradford, their second governor, and their
historian, " out of small beginnings great things have been pro
duced ; and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the Ught
here kindled hath shone to many, yea, in some sort, to our
whole nation."
A few years ago, a large company, composed of the talent and
wealth of the country, met at Plymouth to celebrate the anniversary
of the landing of the pilgrims. Farmers and mechanics, lawyers
and clergymen, poets, orators, and statesmen were there. After
much festi-vity and joy, " a magnificent oration," as the newspapers
had it, and many fine speeches, one of the nuraber, a poet of New
England,* a man of rare wit, humor, and pathos, read a poem
entitled " The Pilgrim's Vision," in which he represents one of
* Dr. 0. W. HohneB,

18 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

the old Puritans, in "the hour of twilight shadows," thinking of
the " bloudy salvages" lurking around his dwelling, and then call
ing one of his children to listen to a wonderful vision which he
had in Leyden, before the sailing of the Mayflower, a part of
which seemed to be "unfolding" before his eyes. The home of
the old Puritan is admirably, and, we presume, truthfully de
scribed. There must have been many just such houses in the
wildemess. " His home was a freezing cabin.
Too bare for a hungry rat ;
Its roof was thatched with ragged grass.
And bald enough at that :
The hole that served for casement
"Was glazed with an ancient hat.
And the ice was gently thawing
From the log whereon he sat.
" Along the dreary landscape
His eyes went to and fro,
The trees all clad in icicles.
The streams that did not flow.
He smote his leathern jerkin.
And murmur'd ' Even so.' "
Then follows "the vision," describing, -with great force and
beauty, the chances and changes of the future history of New-
England. " I saw in the naked forest
Our scatter'd remnant cast,
A screen of shivering branches
Between them and the blast ;
The snow was falling round them,
The dying fell as fast,
I look'd to see them perish,
When, lo ! the vision passed.
" Again mine eyes were opened,
The feeble had waxed strong.
The babes had gro-wn to sturdy men.
The remnant was a throng ;
By shadowed lake and winding stream.
And all the shores along.
The howling demons quaked to hear
The Christian's godly song.
" They slept,— the village fathers —
By river, lake, and shore.
When faradown the steep of tuuo
The vision rose once more :

AMEEICA. 19

I saw along the winter snow,
A spectral column pour,
And high above their broken ranks
A tatter'd flag they bore.
" Then- leader rode before them.
Of bearing calm and high,
The light of heaven's own kindling
Throned in his awful eye ;
These were a nation's champions.
Her dread appeal to try ;
God for the right ! I falter'd.
And lo, the train passed by.
" Once more the strife was ended,
The solemn issue tried ;
Tho Lord of Hosts, his mighty arm
Had helped our Israel's side ;
Gray stone and grassy hillock
Told where her martyrs died,
And peace was in the borders
Of Victory's chosen bride."
Thus gazing, he sees the revolution completed, and the enemies
of the United States driven back, and exclains,
" 0 trembling Faith ! though dark the mom,
A heavenly torch is thine ;
While feebler races melt away.
And paler orbs decline,
Still shall the fiery pillar's ray
Along thy pathway shine.
To light the chosen tribe that sought
This western Palestine.
" I see the living tide roll on,
It crowns with flaming towers
The icy capes of Labrador,
The Spaniard's land of flowers !
It streams beyond the sphnter'd ridge
That parts the northern showers ;
From eastern rock to sunset wave.
The Continent is ours !"
" What was tbe festival," says Sir Henry Bulwer at one of the
annual festivals of the New England Society lately held in the
city of New York, " provided at the arrival of the third colony
which came out to join their Plymouth brethren ? A lobster,
three small fishes, and some spring water. It was only necessary
to make a Rule-of- Three sum— what the lobster and the three
fishes, and the spring water, were to the dinner they had been

20 THE "WOELD WE LIVE IN,

eating, was the condition of New England at the time that the
Pilgrims landed, to the condition of New England at the tune at
which he was speaking ; and in this he had not told the whole
story— the fish were bought, and not caught— along the whole
coast there was not a single line, or a hook, or a net. Hear this,
ye gentlemen of New Bedford, from whose port now issue forth
six hundred sail of ships, manned by 16,000 hardy men, to cap
ture, and monopolize the capture, of the greatest monsters of the
deep. He could pursue the subject, but they all knew better
tiian he did all about it. Yes, gentlemen, you all know that in 1620
the whole of New England contained but three hundred inhabit
ants, which, in a centuiy afterward, had increased to 160,000,
and may at this day be given at nearly 3,000,000. You know
that the capital of New England, in 1720, contained 12,000 in
habitants; in 1820, 43,000; in 1830, 78,000, and in 1850,
156,000. You all know that Boston, in 1789, was proud, very
proud, of two stage-coaches, which employed twelve horses;
that she was prouder still, in 1800, of twenty-five stage-coaches,
which employed one hundred horses; and that in 1847, these
twenty-five coaches had risen into two hundred and fifty coaches
and omnibuses, employing 1600 horses, without taking into ac
count seven railways, which provide daily accommodation for
7000 passengers.
" You all know that the first newspaper published in the colo
nies, was published in 1704, in this same city of Boston, and that
a third newspaper punished in the same town in 1721, under the
title of the New England Courant, could not maintain itself,
although it had very warm advocates, being supported by the
Hell-fire Club ; and you also all know that at this moment there
are in Boston sixteen daily newspapers, with a daily circulation of
223,000, to say nothing of semi-weekly papers, and semi-monthly
papers, and monthly, and quarterly, and annual publications. As
to your schools, it is quite useless for me to say a word about
them. * * * , % * *
" Who, at the period to which this scene recalls us, were the
mighty of the earth ? On the throne of England, then sat a
prmce justly proud — if pride could ever rest upon sound founda
tions — of the triple crown which had recently become his family
inheritance. In France, the scepter was held in the hands of a
still haughtier race, who ruled with supreme authority over the
most gallant and chivalrous people in the world. What has be
come of the illustrious lines of these two royal houses — of that
of the sovereign who gloried in the non-conformity bill ; of that

AMEEICA. 21

of those sovereigns amongst whose deeds are recorded the mas
sacre of St. Bartholomew and the revocation of the edict of
Nantes ? The crown of the Stuarts has melted into air in the
one kingdom, the sceptre of the Bourbons has been shattered to
atoms in the other. But here, on this spot where I am speaking,
still stands, erect and firm, the pilgrims' staff. From the bruised
seed of the poor and persecuted Puritan has arisen one of the
most powerful and prosperous empires in the world. Let that
which is a warning unto others, be a warning unto you. Always
remember that the vaunting Speedwell put into port, when the
modest Mayflower stood out to sea. And do you wish to know
what is the principal cause of the high position you have attained ?
I will tell you ; it is to be sought for in the trials and difficulties
through which you have passed. If you have made your country,
it is no less true that your country has made you. Here is the
distinguishing peculiarity of our two nations. It is true that you
have a republican form of government, and that I would slied the
last drop of my blood to preserve the prerogatives of a beloved
sovereign, within the sanctuary of whose honored privileges I see
best preserved the liberties of myself and fellow-subjects. But
whatever may be the separate polity of our two constitutions,
one thing is certain, they are not the work of chance, theory, or
imitation ; but forraed upon the hard anvil of patient fortitude,
by the oft-repeated and well-terapered stroke of practical experi
ence. Mark the difference elsewhere — the state of experiment,
suspense, or ripening convulsion, which reigned almost throughout
the world. But amid such crude experiments, such fearful un
certainties, such threatening conflicts, might be seen towering the
common genius of Albion, and of Albion's transatlantic children."

22 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER II.
THE UNITED STATES.
Were one of our readers now to make a pilgrimage to Plym
outh, as thousands are wont to do annually, he would find m
"Pilgrim Hall," built in 1824, of un-wrought granite, to commem
orate the landing of the pilgrims, and be a receptacle of interest
ing memorials connected with their history, among other rehcs,
Govemor Carver's old oaken chair, and another which belonged
to the venerable Elder Brewster, large enough to make half a
dozen common chairs of modern times, a huge iron pot, similar
to one in the Athenaeum at Hartford, and the Bible of John
Alden. John Alden was one of the youngest of the band that
came in the Mayflower, being twenty-two years when he Ijnded
Tradition says, on what authority we know not, that he was the
first that leaped upon the rook rendered so memorable by the
event. This ancient Bible was printed in London in 1620, the
year in which the Mayflower sailed. How carefully read on the
long and boisterous passage, and how profoundly studied in the
wildemess, may be well conceived. It was the guide of his life,
and soothed him in his dying hours. He married Priscilla, the
daughter of William MulUns, a fellow-pilgrim, and settled in the
town of Duxbury. He acted as assistant to all the governors of
the colony except Carver, and held that office for thirty-six years.
It is recorded of him, that " he was a meek, sincere, pious, and
faithful follower of the blessed Redeemer, and his end was peace
and triumph."
It is an interesting and striking circumstance that two of the
grandchildren of the man that first landed on Plymouth rock
were hving at the time of the Declaration of Independence, and
it is to mark the astonishing progress of the colony that we intro
duce their names here. These were Samuel Alden and his sister,
Mrs. Alice Paddock, who saw " the waste howling wildemessj"
as some of the pilgriras called it, especially in times of depression
and sorrow, which their grandfather had looked upon, peopled with
three milhons of souls, engaged in a successful contest with the
mother-country! Samuel died m 1781, at the advanced age of
ninety-three. It is a yet more interesting fact, perhaps, that from the same
faraily, in the course of four or five generations, were descended
those who stood before kings, as the embassadors and represent-

THE TTNTTED STATES. 23

atives of a vast cordon of RepubUcan Commonwealths, nay, held
an office in these States which they regarded as higher than that
of mere hereditary monarchs. Could John Alden have dreamed
all this, or heard it from some holy seer as a prediction, it would
have staggered even his strong and abiding faith. Yet from Ruth,
the daughter of the pilgrim, were descended the Adamses ; first
the father, that noble and heroic man who pledged his Ufe and
sacred honor in the cause of his country's independence, and then
the son, that " old man eloquent," who, with all his father's vir
tue and patriotism, possessed an eloquence, if possible, more fervid
and commanding. WilUam C. Bryant, the poet, is also descended
fiom the same stock. "
We state another fact, as an indication of the amazing progress
made by this country, even within the last fifty years, for at that
time nearly the whole of Western New York was a wilderness ;
and as for Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan, they were then the " Far
West," which now Mes beyond the Rooky Mountains, if not oh the
west Pacific coast, amid the mines of California. A gentleman
who had just returned to one of the Eastern States from a joumey
he had made to Niagara, in 1792, -wrote an account of it to a
friend, from which it would appear that his tour was a vastly
more serious affair than a journey to Franoe, Italy, or even Egypt
would be in the present day.
The gentleman above alluded to first went from Boston to Al
bany, then to Schenectady, then eighty miles up the valley of the
Mohawk to Fort Schuyler. He speaks of the country through
which he passed as beautiful and highly cultivated. He next
passed through Whitestown. "If," says he, "you were placed
in Whitestown or Clinton, ten miles west of Fort Schuyler, and
saw the progress of improvement, you would believe it enchanted
ground." After passing Clinton he found no inhabitants on the road till
he reached Oneida, an Indian town, whioh contained five hundred
and fifty inhabitants. He passed the night -with the Indians, and
went the next day to Onondaga, where he lodged with a man
who was engaged in boiUng down the waters of the salt springs,
which were about seven railes north of his house. He made about
fifty bushels of salt per week. Between this place and the Cayu
ga Lake, a distance of thirty-five miles, he found but three houses.
Between Cayuga and the Geneva Lake he found no inhabitant.
" Upon a pretty slope, on the north partof this lake, stands a town
called Geneva. It has a fine effect from the opposite shore, but
disappoints you when you arrive at it. It consists of about twenty
log houses, three or four frame buildings, and as many idle per-

24 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
sons as can Uve in them." Such was Geneva about fifty years
ago. Our traveler went from Geneva to Canandaigua, which con
sisted of about twenty houses, and appeared to be a very thriving
place. In passing from this place to the Genesee River he found
many settlements.
" After I had reached the Genesee River," says the writer, " cu
riosity led me on to Niagara — ninety miles — not one house or
white man the whole way. The only direction which I had was
an Indian path, whioh sometimes was doubtful. The first day I
rode fifty miles through swarms of mosquitoes, gnats, &c., beyond
all description. At eight in the evening, I reached an Indian
town, called Townawanda. It contains many hundreds of the sav
ages, who live in tolerable houses, whioh they make of timber and
cover -with bark. By signs, I made them understand me, and for
a little money, they cut Umbs and bushes sufficient to erect a
booth (it was in the month of August), under whioh I slept very
quietly on the grass. The next day I pursued my journey, nine
miles of which lay through a very deep swamp. With some
difficulty I got through, and about sundown arrived at the fort of
Niagara." The fort was garrisoned by the Sth regiment, — whioh, in 1775,
was under the command of Lord Percy. Our traveler found a
tavem on the British side, and soon slept off his fatigue. What
would be his irapressions were he to repeat his journey now ?
But look at the present position and relations of this great con
federacy of republics, its free institutions consoUdated, and its
influence, commerce, and population expanding on every side. It
occupies tho central and best portion of the North American Con
tinent, one of the most diversified and fruitful regions in the world,
and must, from its physical and moral forces, control the destinies
of the western hemisphere. Its resources are prodigious : of im
mense extent, connecting by a long line of states and territories
the Atlantio and Pacific Oceans, and sweeping from the forests of
Canada on the north to the orange-groves of Florida on the south,
we have roora enough for a population such as the world has
never seen collected in a single country. Nations and communi
ties seek their destiny, as fountains and rivers their level. If you
can check the progress of streams from the mountains or tides
from the ocean, then may this country be prevented from control
Ung, by means of her government and social influence, the two
Americas and their teeming population. Much of e-vil doubtless
will intermingle with this ; for, alas ! even the Christian form of
civilization is yet rudimental and imperfect. Physical force.

THE UNITED STATES. 25

though wonderfully modified by the mfluence of Christianity, is
yet the dominant power in the world. But physical force itself
is coming to rest more and more upon moral and spiritual powers,
so that the most intelligent and virtuous nations, are always the
strongest in the long run. Imperfect as we are, it is our superi
ority of character whioh has given us our position of control in the
westem world. It is a direct consequence of the mental and moral
vigor of this country, that our institutions and laws at the present
moment are extending on the right hand and on the left, and that
our influence is overspreading and overmastering all other influ
ences throughout the northem and southern regions of the Amer
ican Continent.
That the two coasts, the Atlantic and Pacific, -will, at no distant
day, be more intimately connected by means of railroad communi
cation, can scarcely be doubted. " Estimating the breadth of the
continent at 1850 miles (it is sometimes called 2000), and allow
ing 650 for deviation from a straight line in laying the track, we
have a traveling distance of 2500 miles ! If to these we reckon
15 miles an hour as the rate of traveling, which is a very moder
ate calculation, it follows that seven days will be sufficient to ac
compUsh the journey from New York to San Francisco. From
San Francisco to Canton a passage oan be made in about twenty
days, to Siam it may require twenty-five days, and to Burmah
thirty days. Add to these estimates fifteen days as the average
steam-passage between Liverpool and New York, and forty-five
days appear as the necessary traveling time between Liverpool
and Canton : that is but about one-third of the time usually occu
pied by sailing-vessels from Liverpool or New York, when passing
around Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope to Canton. On
tracing the fortieth paraUel of north latitude on a map of the
world, it will be found nearly the central Une between the great
commercial nations of the earth, and to cut our continent near the
points which would be connected by such a railroad as we have
mentioned." This, then, will give to the United States a field for commercial,
literary, and religious euterprise superior to that of any nation in
the world. The resources of California, just acquired, are yet
scarcely reaUzed. Not to speak of her extensive deposits of gold,
millions of whioh have been already collected, she possesses vast
tracts of arable land, large forests of excellent timber for ship
building and other purposes, and navigable rivers every where
running from her interior to the sea. Connected by railroads and
other means of communication with the Eastern States, California
-will become the recipient and highway of the Oriental trade. The
2

26 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

rich commerce of Asia must flow through her center ; and back
again the commerce, literature, and religion of Europe and the
United States must flow to transform and elevate the Oriental
world. The influence of such interchange can scarcely be over
rated ; it will infalUbly bless the inhabitants of Asia -with a highei
form of civilization, and in return enrich this country -with theu
valuable and exhaustless products.
" Where has that commerce ever flowed -without carrying
wealth and dominion with it ? Look at its ancient channels, and
the cities whioh it raised into kingdoms, and the populations
which upon its treasures became resplendent in science, learning,
and the arts. Tyre, Sidon, Balbec, Palmyra, Alexandria, among
its ancient emporiums, attest the power of this commerce to en
rich, to aggrandize, and to enlighten nations. Constantinople, in
the middle ages and in the time of the crusades, was the wonder
of Westem Europe ; and all because she was then a thoroughfare
of Asiatic commerce. Genoa and Venice, mere cities, in later
time became the match of kingdoms and the envy of kings, from
the mere divided streams of this trade, of which they became the
thoroughfare. Lisbon had her great day, and Portugal her pre
eminence during the Uttle while that the discovery of the Cape of
Good Hope put her in communication with the East. Amsterdam,
the city of a little territory rescued from the sea, and the Seven
United Provinces, not equal in extent to one of our lesser States,
became great in arms, in letters, in wealth, and in power, and all
upon the East India trade. And London, what makes her the
commercial mistress of the world ? What makes an island, no
larger than one of our first-olass States, the mistress of possessions
in the four quarters of the globe — a raatch for half of Europe, and
dominant in Asia ? What makes all this, or contributes most to
make it, but this same Asiatic trade ? In no instance has it failed
to carry the nation or the people which possessed it to the highest
pinnacle of wealth and power, and with it the highest attainments
of letters, arts, and sciences."
Who can look, not only at the relations of this vast territory to
therest of the world, but to its peculiar characteristics, passing
as it does through every variety of oUmate, and containing every
species of animal, vegetable, and mineral productions, -with its vast
and beautiful lakes— say, rather, inland seas— its long canals, its
intermmable railroads, its magnetic telegraphs, its mighty forests,
its majestic and long-reaching rivers, without a sensation, not sim
ply of admiration, but of awe ?
Then, again, look at its people. They are mostly of the Saxon
race, and derive their origin from a long line of the best ancestry.

THE UNITED STATES, 21

Hardy, active, enterprising, they are capable of all endurance,
susceptible of all improvement. With the most august and thrill
ing recollections of the olden time, with a heritage of freedom and
faith bought by the blood of their fathers, the descendants mainly
of the New-England pilgruns — but not only of these, but of the
old EngUsh patriots, in whose veins ran unchecked the blood of
freedom, and whose hearts bowed only to God, the great stream
of American population, as it flows to future ages, will be kept
vigorous and free, intermingled, indeed, and augmented, though
never essentially modified, by lesser streams setting in contmuaUy
from the hills and valleys of modem Europe.
Observe the manner in which the population increases ; it is
almost appalling, even to think of it. The fact is well ascertained
that it doubles once in twenty-three years and a half, and that it
has done so regularly during the two hundred years which have
elapsed since its first settlement by the British, under the colonial
and monarchical as well as the republican govemments. This,
therefore, may be regarded as its natural rate of increase, and wiU
probably continue to be such in future, even should aU emigration
from Europe be cut off. Internal divisions, indeed, civil wars, the
dominion of vice, and the disorder and ruin which always follow
the separation of states and the disruption of religious and social
obligations, may greatly check it ; so that the prediction of Burke,
who has been styled " the imrivaled prophet of politics" — though
we ourselves beUeve it morally impossible — may yet be fulfilled,
and " American Tartars, armed with the pike and the saber, may
pour over the Alleghanies and sweep away the wealth and popu
lation, and the existence of a long line of cities, grown indolent,
avaricious, and defenseless by the natural course of popular gov
ernment and profligate prosperity." We may hope, however,
that the pure and all-controlling influence of truth and piety wiU
so subdue the multitudes yet to fiU the great valley of the West,
that this prediction, like others of a similar kind, will fail of its
acooraplishment. The probability is, that the rate of increase, to
which we have referred, will be perpetuated for many generations.
In 1850 the United States contained a population of near 25,000,-
000, 20,000,000 of the Saxon, and about 5,000,000 of African
and other races. Fifty years thence it may be expected to con
tain from 80,000,000 to 100,000,000; and one hundred years
thence, from 350,000,000 to 400,000,000, a number one-third
greater than the entire present population of Europe. Our grand-
chUdren may live to see this country filled with this immense mass
of human beings.
Reflect also upon their national progress. See how they ad-

28 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

vance over hill and valley, through forest and stream, to the
occupancy of the vast and untrodden domains of the West. Hark
how their strokes ring from the primeval forest, while the voice of
psalms, on Sabbath morn, rises from the low-roofed cabin by the
desert stream. "They do not pass through," says Ahson, the
historian of Europe, " like a desolating fire or a raging torrent ;
they settle where they take up their abode, never to retum.
Their war is with the forest and the marsh. Spreading them
selves over an extent of nearly 1200 miles in length, these ad
vanced posts of civilization commence the incessant war with the
hatchet and the plough ; and at the sound of their strbkes re
sounding through the solitudes of their forests, the wUd animals
and the Indians retire to more undisturbed retreats. Along this
frontier tract the average advance of cultivation is about seventeen
miles a year. The ground is imperfectly cleaned by the pioneers,
but still the forest has disappeared ; the green field, the wooden
cottage, the signs of infant improvement have arisen, and behind
them another wave of more wealthy and skillful settlers succeeds,
who complete the work of agricultural improvement."
The advance of population and improvement in future must be
chiefly in the West — in the great valley of the Mississippi, which
hes hundreds of miles between the AUeghanies on the east and
the Rocky Mountains on the west, the great inland seas of Erie,
Ontario, Huron, and Michigan on the -north, and the Gidf of Mex
ico on the south, watered by the magnificent rivers of the Ohio,
the Missouri, the Mississippi, and the Arkansas, and contaming
vegetable and mineral resources sufficient alraost to support the
whole population of America and Europe combined. It is ascer
tained that the population of the West increases at the rate of
300,000 to 500,000 per annum, which, in forty or fifty years, wiU
give it the control of the whole American continent, and, through
that, of the world. But the Rocky Mountains wiU also be left
behind, and millions will be found occupying the vast regions
-which lie on the other side, and extend to the shores of the Pa
cific. San Francisco is destined to be one of the most important
commercial emporiums in the world.
The tide of population pouring in continuaUy from the Old
World is a circumstance of profound interest to us all. Depreca
ted by some as a gigantic evil, God evidently designs it for a
blessing. For ourselves, we rejoice in the immense accessions
from Ireland, Italy, ai.'d Gerraany annuaUy made to this country ;
for if we are true to Freedom and to God, we shall find that they
are brought here to be emancipated and redeemed.
" This great repubhc," says an Enghsh writer who wiU not be

THE UNITED STATES. 29

erupposed guilty of exaggeration in this instance, " is the para
mount state on the American continent, and the third, if not the
second power in the world ; and it is rapidly preparing to contend
for the first place. It is customary to speak of England, France,
Russia, Prussia, and Austria, as ' the five groat powers,' and in
diplomatic science to regard these as the only states which are
competent to take the initiative in political matters. It is time
for us to amend our classification. Nations take rank according
to their powers of mischief — a strange standard for a Christian
people in the nineteenth century, but in the logic of accepted
statesmanship the only true one. Yet even in this, the United
States yield to no power in Europe.
" In naval resources, America is second only to England. It has
a territory larger and infinitely richer than that of Russia, more
compact and defensible than that of France. It is active, wealthy,
and progressive ; has no fiscal difficulties to embarrass it, no pub
lic debt, no governmental taxation.
" In natural resources, fertiUty of soil, salubrity of climate,
mineral wealth, fine harbors, means of inland na-vigation, the
country of the United States is not inferior to any other of equal
extent of territory in the world. Her income exceeds her expend
iture. With her immense possessions to protect ; "with her vast
frontier line on the west, resting on an uncivilized country ; with
her large extent of sea and river coast, and commerce on all the
oceans to cover, she only finds it necessary to keep a permanent
miUtary and naval establishraent of 7500 men each, a total for all
purposes of defense of 15,000, or about one-third the number of
English commissioned officers ! To one educated in the midst of
the mUitary system of Europe, this would seem to indicate paucity
of resources and poverty of defense. Truly, it indicates just the
contrai-y. The Anglo-American repubUc has no use for armies.
In the Old World these costly appendages of power are kept up
for police purposes, for internal coercion, rather than for foreign
defense. Political equals need no standing armies to keep them
in order. Free institutions are the best bulwarks."
What is to be the future influence of a nation thus formed and
forming, it is impossible to compute. Even now its saUs whiten
every sea, its productions are found in every land, its sons traverse
the globe, some as sailors and merchants, some as travelers and
men of science, some as diplomatists and politicians, some as min
isters of the Gospel and missionaries of the Cross. If it be not
elevated by Christianity, -with her twin products, freedom and vir
tue, it will be -vicious, and powerful only for evil ; nay, it wiU fall,
and drs a other nations with it to destruction. But should truth

30 THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.
and righteousness prevaU, and the blessings of ci-vil and religious
freedom be perpetuated, then it wUl become the glory of all lands,
the Jerusalem of the West, the Thermopylse of the world.
In referring to the discovery of America by Columbus, we
stated that that great event was associated with other discoveries
which exerted an immense influence on the destiny of the race.
It is worthy of observation that the recent rapid progress of the
United States, the acquisition of CaUfornia, and the immense ex
tension of our territory to the south and west, have been associated
-with one of the most stupendous discoveries of the age, the elec
tric telegraph, which is itself the result of the great discoveries in
electro-magnetism, and intimately associated with the apphcation
of steam to purposes of transportation by sea and land. On this
account we cannot help contrasting our present progress, through
these surprising instramentaUties which have Unked all parts of
the country in what we hope will prove indissoluble bonds, with
the state of things in the days of Fulton, whose successful exper
iment on the North River gave such an impetus to commerce and
discovery. Fulton's first boat was " a queer-looking craft," and while on
the stocks excited much attention, and not a little ridicule. When
she was launched, and the steam-engine placed in her, that was
regarded with the same feelings as the boat bruit to float it.
Public curiosity was greatly excited. When the New York news
papers announced tint the boat would start from the foot of
Cortlandt-street, at half past six on Friday moming the 4th of
September, and take passengers to Albany, there was " a broad
smile" on every face, when the inquiry was made, if any would be
fool enough to risk himself in her. A Quaker met a young gen
tleman of his acquaintance in the street, who talked of going, and
said to him, -with the utmost gravity— " John, -wilt thee risk thy
Ufe m such a concem ? I teU thee, she is the most fearful wild
fowl Uving, and thy father ought to restrain thee." On Friday
mormng the wharves, piers, house-tops, indeed, every spot which
could be occupied in view of "the strange craft," were crowded
with spectators. There were twelve berths, and the fare was
seven dollars. The whole machinery was uncovered and exposed
to view, and, in comparison with modem improvements, were
awkward enough. The forward part was covered by a deck
which gave shelter to the hands; the after part was fitted up, in
a rough way, for passengers. The entrance into the cabin was
from the stern, m front of the steersman, who worked a tiUer as
in an ordinary sloop. Dense masses of smoke issued from the
chimney, steam escaped from every valve and crevice of the

THE UNITED STATES. 31

poorly constructed engine. Fulton was on hand, eager and de
cided, with his peculiarly sharp, clear voice, heard above the
noise of the engine and the hum of the multitude. He heeded
not the doubt, fear, curiosity, contempt, and sarcasm of those
about him, but made his preparations for departure with -vigor.
It was a crisis in his life, a crisis in the progress of discovery and
civilization. •Every thing being ready, the engine was started on its perilous
movement, and the boat moved slowly but steadily from the
wharf. As she tumed up the river and was fairly under way,
there arose such a huzza from the dense multitude as made the
whole welkin ring. Fulton stood upon the deck, with sweUing
bosom and flashing eye, as he gazed upon the multitude ; he felt
that the crisis was passed, and his name written upon the annals
of fame. But he was silent, and the peculiar expression of his
countenance alone indicated what was passing in his mind.
Coming up Haverstraw Bay, a man was waiting for them in a
skiff. He happened to be a miller, and being taken on board, was
actuaUy persuaded, by a facetious Irishman, that the whole thing
was a floating corn-mill. He wanted to see the mill-stones ; but
the other quickly replied — " That is a secret the master," pointing
to Fulton, " has not told us yet ; but when we come back from
Albany with a load of com, then, if you come on board, you'll
see the meal fly 1"
As they passed West Point the whole garrison was out, and
cheered them as they passed. At Newburg it seemed as if all
Orange county was out ; the, entire hUl-side was animated -with
Ufe. The river was covered with every sort of water-craft ; the
ferry-boat from FishkiU was filled with ladies. Fulton, who was
engaged seeing a passenger landed, did not observe the boat until
she bore up nearly alongside ; turning around, the waving of so
many handkerchiefs, and the smiles of bright and happy faces,
struck him -with surprise ; he raised his hat, with a smile, and ex
claimed — "That is the finest sight we have seen yet."
In his letteV to Barlow (22d August, 1807), Fulton adds:
" My steamboat voyage to Albany has tumed out rather moro
favorably than I had calculated. The distance to Albany is 156
miles ; I ran up in thirty-two hours. I had a light breeze against
me the whole way going and coming, so that no use was made of
my saUs ; and this voyage has been performed wholly by the
power of the steam-engine. I overtook many sloops and schoon
ers beating to the -windward, and passed them as if they had been
at anchor."
And now the North River, and indeed aU the navigable rivera

32 THE WORLD WE LIWE IN.

of the country, are covered -with floating palaces ; and, not content
-with these means of communication, long lines of raUroad are laid,
not only across the country, but even along the banks of some of
our largest rivers. In the valley of the Mississippi alone there are
16,000 miles of steamboat navigation fully occupied. Europe and
America are united by steam ; and far out in the -wilds of Oregon
and CaUfornia the sUence of the primeval forests is disturbed by
its presence.
In the United States the progress of raUway construction is
equally astonishing. A line of 563 mUes in length connects Bos
ton and Buffalo, and presently wUl dip into the margin of Lake
Michigan, 500 mUes further west. In the State of Michigan a
raUway is- in operation across the entire State. Detroit wUl be
connected with Buffalo by the Canadian RaUway and a suspension
bridge below the Falls of Niagara ; Boston with Montreal by the
Northem, Vermont Central, and La Prairie RaUway, and steam
navigation on the St. Lawrence ; and the same oity with New
York by the New Haven and Long Island road. New York,
seeing that she must become impoverished under the enterprise
of Massachusetts, which is draining off her Western trade, is unit
ing her commercial emporium with Albany and Lake Erie. PhU
adelphia is extending a raUway to Pittsburg, 335 miles, 108 of
-which are now constructed ; and it is contemplated to extend con
nections with it to Cincinnati and St. Louis. From Baltimore two
lines of raUway branch out, north and south, one running 506
mUes into Maine, the other 420 miles to Wilraington, North Car
olina. A branch goes west from Baltimore toward the Alleghany
Mountains, at present corapleted 180 raUes, and wUl soon reach
the Ohio. In South CaroUna a railroad is completed to Augusta,
136 mUes, and others are rapidly extending their branches north
and east through the State. Georgia, taking up the work where
South CaroUna terminates it, at Augusta, extends raUways through
her entire temtory, north to the Tennessee line, west to Columbus,
on the Chattahooche, and south in the direction of Pensacola.
By these various lines travelers wUl soon, at an expense of fifty
dollars, in one hundred hours pass with comfort and safety from
New York to New Orleans.
Fifty years ago, there were in the United States Uttle more than
2000 or 3000 clergymen, of all denominations, preaching the Gos
pel ; now there are over 20,000. Newspapers were confined to
the larger cities and the more cultivated regions of the country ;
now they are spread by miUions and myriads to the remotest cor
ners of the north, south, east, and west. The anticipations of the
poet of Hope, with reference to this country, regarded, perhaps,

THE UNITED STATES. 33

by many as mere declamation or poetical extravagance, have been
more than realized : —
" On Erie's banks, where tigers steal along,
And the dread Indian chants a dismal song ;
Where human fiends on midnight errands walk,
Aud bathe in brains the murderous tomahawk ;
There shall the flocks on thymy pastures stray.
And shepherds dance at summer's opening day ;
Each wandering genius of the lonely glen
Shall start to view the glittering haunts of men.
And silent, watch, on woodland bights around.
The village ciu-few as it tolls profound."*
Imperfections enough and evils enough, some of them, it may
be, deep and diVeful, we certainly have in this fair land ; and what
disastrous changes may issue from some of them we cannot tell —
but the good predominates. The hand of God is in our history ;
and we cannot resist the conviction that a lofty career and a glo
rious destiny are before us. Slavery, indeed, is a disturbing influ
ence ; the problem as to its disposal is not yet solved. Our very
Union is threatened with dissolution ; yet what well-informed
person really believes that such threat can be fulfilled ? In our
o-wn deliberate judgment, the dissolution of the Union is a moral
impossibiUty. The Union is the gro-wth of ages ; its roots strike
deep into the soil amid the granite rocks of New England, beneath
the prairifes of the West, and the savannas of the South. Its
gnarled and massive trunk rises high into the encircling heavens,
and its wide-spread branches droop over land and sea. Can
words, then, dissolve it, as if it were gossamer ? Can resolutions,
nay, more, can treason and insurrections, the winds and storms of
political agitation, tear up its roots and scatter its branches, as if
it were a sapling or a gourd ? The leaves may tremble with the
fury of the blast, nay, its strong Umbs may quiver and bend, but
its mighty roots -will only strike deeper into the heart of the earth,
and its lofty trunk rise liigher and stronger in the serene and pu
rified atmosphere. * Campbell's Pleasures of Hope.
2*

34 THE WOELD WE LIWE IN.

CHAPTER III.
NEW ENGLAND STATES.
We propose now to take a rapid excursion among the various
States and Territories of " the Union," in which we shaU find the
same great elements of prosperity and power, though with con
siderable diversity of character and attainments. Much of the
United States, both physically, moraUy, and socially, is in a sort
of unformed or transition state ; and it would be foUy to expect,
in every part, the refinements of advanced civUization. Where
the school-house and the log-hut, the church and the wUdemess,
as in several states and territories, are side by side, we must look
for much that is immature and defective. In all, however, we
shall discover traces of order, energy, and enterprise ; and in some
marks of the highest improvement.

First, then, we plunge amid the green valleys and -wide-sprtad
forests of Maine, a State much ofwhich is yet a wUdemess, ha-ving
an area as large as the rest of all New England, with its long
reach of sea-board, indented with creeks and bays, and havuig
some of the finest harbors in the country, its deep and beautiful
rivers, its thriving towns and viUages, and, above all, its industrious
and enterprising inhabitants. Let any one saU, by steamboat or
other water-craft, up and down the Kennebec and Penobscot
rivers, and he wUl meet as picturesque scenery, and as attractive
towns and villages, nestlmg among the tufted trees, as can any

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 35

where greet the eye. The country, indeed, in many parts, espe
cially toward the north, is comparatively new and wild ; but, in
most places, you behold tokens of energy and improvement.
Maine has great internal resources. Between the Kennebec and
Penobscot is a tract of land not exceeded in fertility by the best
portions of the United States. Vast quantities of pine and other
lumber are floated down its long-reaching rivers. With a sea-
coast of 230 miles, indented with spacious bays, and protected by
numerous islands, it affords great facilities for ship-building and
commerce. In the interior, and to the north of the State, are
many fine ponds and lakes. Indeed, it is computed that one-
tenth of the surface of the State is covered with water. It has
three colleges, several academies, one or two theological institu
tions, and a good system of common-school education. Its people,
who are rapidly increasing, are an energetic, thriving race. They
are of the true Yankee stock, and possess all the requisites for
prosperity and happiness. Ardently attached to liberty, and dis
posed to form their own opinions for themselves on all matters,
civil, social, and religious, they are essentially democratic in
their notions and habits. Like the rest of the New Englanders,
they are somewhat given to roving, and may be found in all parts
of the Union, and in many portions of the world besides ; but they
greatly love their native land, and often return to it, with all the
fondness of a first love, to spend the evening of their days among
its trees and streams, and lay their bones in the sepulchers of then-
fathers. Enter any of the thriving cities or viUages on the banks of the
Kennebec, such as Bath, Gardiner, HalloweU, or Augusta, the
last of which is the capital, and you wiU see at a glance that they
are "going ahead" in commerce, trade, manufactures, education,
and religion. Every place is well suppUed with schools, churches,
and other evidences of moral and social advancement.
Maine, though of recent growth, is not altogether undistin
guished in hterature. We have not space to enumerate all her
gifted sons ; but pass into the city of Portland, and, by a little in
quiry, you will find that it is the birth-place, if not the residence,
of a group of men of genius. Among these is John Neal, bold,
energetic, vigorous, and free, somewhat careless, indeed, " thro-wing
out diamonds and stones at random , " but occasionally rising to great
beauty and pathos ; Longfellow,, regarded by some as the first of
American poets, with his foreign air and exquisite melody, rolUng
off, in harmonious numbers, the " Voices of the Night," or singing
a clear and thrilling chant for liberty and truth ; N. P. WiUis,
with all his dUettanteisms, a true poet, and a man of genius.

36

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

whose lines to his Mother and Scriptural Sketches are among the
most beautiful things in the language ; WiUiam Cutter, a writer
of excellent promise, though not, perhaps, equal to the first-named
three ; Isaac McLellan, a true chUd of song ; GrenviUe and Fred
erick MeUen, both known m the Uterature of their country ; and
Seba Smith, with his lady, Mrs. Seba Smith, some of whose pieces
have much of the fine expression and deUcate flow which the
critics ascribe to the poet Moore.*
Other distinguished men belong to Portland, but we cannot
name them now; nor is it necessary, as those already mentioned
reflect upon her 'sufficient honor. George B. Cheever, whose
"Wanderings of a Pilgrim" are written with great force and
beauty, is a native of Hallowell, .on the Kennebec River.

,A

Vi i.irviUe College, Me.

We pass now into the Green Mountains of Vermont, so called
from the evergreens -with which they are cro-wned. Here we dis
cover much rough but beautiful scenery, particularly in the region
of Lake Champlain, lying partly in Vermont and among the Green
Mountains, which run, in an unbroken range, between the Con
necticut River on the east, and Lake Charaplain on the west, and
.stretching into Massachusetts.
Vermont is celebrated for her " Green Mountain Boys," brave
and undaunted souls, who love their home, much- in the spirit of
William Tell ajid . the natives of S"witzerland. It was settled by
emigrants from Massachusetts, and, as its lands were claimed by

* We find, on examination, that Grenville Mellenwas born in Biddeford,
Maine. We may add that Mrs. Seba Smith, author of " The Sinless Child,"
was born m a small viUage near Portland.

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 37

Arms of Vermont.
some of the neighboring States, it had a difficult part to play in the
Revolutionary struggle. At the commencement of the war. Con
gress dared not admit Vermont into the Union, for fesir of offend
ing the other States. The British endeavored, but in vain, to de
tach it from the American confederacy. The Green Mountain
Boys proved their patriotism by their daring conduct in the hour
of trial; and in 1791, Vermont was admitted into the Union,
whose independence she had aided to secure.
The soil of this State is generally fertUe, even among the mount
ains, but is better adapted to grazing than to grain. It has some
fine towns, the chief of which are Montpelier, Windsor, Burling
ton, Rutland, and Woodstock. The cUmate in winter is severe,
but healthful ; and in summer, bracing and deUghtful. Vermont
is not behind her sister States in the matter of education. Her
colleges, or universities, at BurUngton, Middlebury, and Norwich,
though not large, are thfiving institutions. Araong all her hills,
the humble school-house and the heaven- aspiring church adorn
the landscape. In the Revolutionary struggle, the Green Mount
ain Boys distinguished themselves by their daring bravery.
Vermont can lay claim to some celebrated literary men, among
whom 'are Dr. James Marsh, Hon. George P. Marsh, George
Bush, Thomas C. Upham, and Rufus Choate. The well-known
0. E. Brownson is a native of this State. James Marsh and
Thomas Upham have distinguished themselves in mental and moral
phUosophy ; Bush and Brownson by their speculations in religion,
and startUng changes of opinion ; and Choate by his rich and
vehement style of forensic eloquence.
Both in Vermont and in Maine, manufactures have made some

38 THE WORLD WE LI7K IN.

progress, and are destined to yet further increase. The people,
generaUy, are moral, industrious, and enterprising. The chma,te
and country are favorable to the development of a hardy and vir
tuous race.

Arms of New Hampshire.
But Wew Hampshire, "the Old Granite State," as her citizens
love to call it, attracts us ; not " old" in the proper sense of the
word, for this is only an expression of endearment and veneration,
but young, vigorous, and thri"ving. The glory of New Hamp
shire, next to her free institutions and evangelical faith, is her
" White Mountains," the loftiest and most romantic east of the
Mississippi, -with old Monadnoc towering to the sky, and Mount
Washington, the highest and grandest of the range, overlooking
the surrounding hills and vales. Many fine streams water the
valleys of New Hampshire, among which the Merrimac is pre
eminent, being famed at once in song and story, and, what is of
more immediate practical utility, driving the water-wheels and
spindles of innumerable miUs, giving wealth to many, and em
ployment to more. Whittier, the amiable and gifted Quaker poet,
belongs in part to New Hampshire, and has immortalized the
Merrimac in his exquisite verse : — *
" Stream of my fathers I sweetly still
Thei, sunset rays thy yalley fill;
Pour'd slantwise down tlie long defile,
Wave, wood, and spire beneath them smile.
I see the -winduig Powow fold
The green hUl in its belt of gold ;

* He was born on the banks of the Merrimac, in Haverhill, Mass • but
Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as linked by the Merrimac'bear aVery
similar character. '

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 33

And following do-wn its wavy line.
Its sparkUng waters blend with thine.
There 's not a tree upon thy side,
Nor rock which thy returning tide,
As yet, hath left abrupt and stark
Above thy evening water-mark ;
No calm cove with its rocky hem ;
No isle, whose emerald swells begem
Thy broad, smooth current ; not a sail,
Bow'd to the freshening ocean gale ;
No small boat with its busy oars,
Nor'gray wall sloping to thy shores ;
Nor farm-house, with its maple shade.
Or rigid poplar colonnade.
But hes distinct and full in sight.
Beneath this gush of sunset light 1"
New Hampshu-e claims the honor of giving birth to Joseph C.
Neal, author of " Charcoal Sketches," and, above all, Daniel Web
ster, whose colossal intellect and commanding eloquence have
won the admiration of the ci"vilized world. Like her sister New
Eugland States, New Hampshire has paid much attention to her
common schools, and has a prosperous college in the town of
Dartmouth. PhUUps Academy, at Exeter, is the best endowed
institution of the kind in the United States, and has sent out many
fine scholars. The State is chiefly agricultural in its character,
though not without considerable manufactures along the courses
of her streams. Immense quantities of lumber, from her exten
sive forests, are exported to other parts of the country. Pine
woods are abundant, and frequently grow to the hight of two
hundred feet. The whole State is beautified by a great variety of
thriving forest-trees, especially maples, beeches, birches, and so
forth, mingled with evergreens, which, in the fall, when touched
by evening frosts, present, on the mountain-sides, the most gor
geous appearance. " In this country," says Dr. Dwight, who has
given an animated description of the White Mountains, " it is often
among the most splendid beauties of . nature. All the leaves of
trees which are not evergreens are, by the first severe frost,
changed from their verdure toward the perfection of that color
whioh they are capable ultimately of assuming, through yellow,
orange, and red, to a prettji-, deep brown. As the frost affects
' different trees, and the different leaves of the same tree, in very
different degrees, a vast multitude of tinctures are commonly found
on those of a single tree, and always on those of a grove or fctrest.
These colors also, in all their varieties, are generally full, and, itt
many instances, are among the most exquisite which are found in
the regions of nature. Different sorts of trees are susceptible of

40 THE WOELD WE LI"VE IN.

diflferent degrees of this beauty. Among them, the maple is pre
eminently distinguished by the prodigious variety, the finished
beauty, and the intense luster of its hues, varying through all the
dyes, between a rich green and the most perfect crimson, or, more
definitely, the red of the prismatic image. There is, however, a
sensible difi'erence in the beauty of this appearance of nature, in
different parts of the country, even when the forest-trees are the
same. I have seen no tract where its splendor was so highly
finished, as in the region which surrounds the Uttle town of
Lancaster, for a distance of thirty miles. The colors are more
varied and more intense, and the numerous evergreens furnish,
in then- deep hues, the best groundwork of the picture. I
have remarked that the annual foUage on these mountains had
been already changed by the frost. Of course the darkness
of the evergreens was finely illumined by the brilliant yellow of
the birch, the beech, and the cherry, and the more brUliant orange
and crimson of the maple. The effeot of this universal diffusion
of gay and splendid light was to render the preponderating deep
green more solemn. The mind, encircled by this scenery, irresist
ibly remembered that the Ught was the Ught of decay, autumnal
and melancholy. The dark was the gloom of evening, approxi
mating to night. Over the whole the azure of the sky cast a deep
misty blue, blending toward the summits every other hue, and
predominated over all."
This elaborate description "wiU give some conception of the au
tumnal^ glories peculiar to the whole of New England, but seen in
aU their magnificence among the White Mountams. They are
evanescent, however, as the dreams of youth, and leave the mount
ains bleak and bare, or whitened by the heavy snows of the north
ern winter. Then the merry sleigh-beUs rmg among the vaUeys,
and the hardy sons of the forests chase the deer, or the bear,
among the cold, rugged cUffs. After aU, it is a bleak and some
what forbidding country, and far inferior to Italy, and even to
England in " cultured beauty." StiU, it is "the nursery of giant
men," the home of freedom, the haunt of virtue.
" 0 ! greener hills may catch the sun
Beneath the glorious heaven of France ; ••
And streams rejoicmg as they run
Like life beneath the day-beam's glance.
May wander where the orange bough
With golden fruit is bending low ;
And therejnay bend a brighter sky
O'er green and classic Italy —
And pillar'd fane and ancient grave
Bear record of another tune,

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 41

And over shaft and architrave
The green luxuriant ivy climb ;
And far toward the rising sun
The palm may shake its leaves on high.
Where flowers are opening one by one.
Like stars upon the twilight sky ;
And breezes soft as sighs of love
Above the broad banana stray,
And through the Brahmin's sacred grove
A thousand bright-hued pinions play 1
Yet unto thee. New England, stiU
Thy wandering sons shall stretch their arms.
And thy rude chart of rock and hill
Seem dearer than the land of palms ;
Thy massy oak and mountain pine
More welcome than the banyan's shade.
And every free, blue stream of thine
Seem richer than the golden bed
OiF Oriental waves, which glow
And sparkle -with the wealth below !"
Whittier.
New Hampshire, sometimes called the Switzerland of America,
has ever been true to freedom, and her sweet native minstrels have
" sung it round the world."

Arms of Massachusetts.
But of all the New England States, Massachusetts, perhaps, is
the most distinguished : first, by her memories of the olden time,
Plymouth, Boston, Lexington, and Bunker's Hill ; and secondly,
by her renown in all the walks of literature, and especially in the
perfection of her system of common- school education. Here, in
the days which tried men's souls, was "rocked," in old Faneuil
Hall, the cradle of the Revolution. Here, brave men fought and
feU, on the bights of Charlestown ; and here the wise and the

42 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

good pledged their Uves and sacred honor in the cause of freedom
and independence. Here, too, first settled the pilgrim fathers,
and laid the foundations of enduring prosperity in religion and -vir
tue. Here, they first founded schools and colleges " for the glory
of God," and the " better ordering of the commonwealth."* And
here patient and heroic men have proved the power and perma
nence of self-government, as the highest element of national pros
perity and happiness. Dear old Bay State, with thy poor soil
and rooky shores, whose chief productions and exports are said to
be granite and ioe, thou hast won for thyself, by, industry and re
ligion, a crown of imperishable glory.
" Rough, bleak, and cold," says her poet, Whittier —
" Rough, bleak, and cold, our little state
Is hard of soil, of Umits strait ;
Her yellow sands are sands alone,
Her only mines are ice and stone. '
But on her rocks, and on her sands
And stormy lulls, the school-house stands,
Aud what her rugged soil denies.
The harvest of the mind supplies.
For well she keeps her ancient stock.
The stubborn strength of Pilgrim Eock ;
And still maintains with milder laws
And clearer light, the Good Old Cause !
Nor heeds the skeptic's puny hands
While near her school the church spire stands ;
Nor fears the bUnded bigot's rule
While near the chm-eh spire stands the school !"
In the days of old, indeed, Massachusetts, false to her funda
mental pnnciples, persecuted the Quakers and Baptists. The
Puritans, good as they were, banished the noble and learned Roger
WUhams from their soU ; but all these things have passed away
long ago. They were shadows on the disk of the sun ; and now
over all the hdls and vales of Massachusetts shines the fuU efful
gence of cml and religious freedom. The spirit of the Pilo-rim
State Avas ever one of enlightenment and liberty, and it could not
but work Itself clear of aU the mists and obscurities of error The
church and school have been the piUar of cloud by day, and the
pillar of fire by mght, to lead her forth into the fuU possession of
* Harvard University the largest (except Tale, perhaps) and the best
endowed mstitution in the country, was founded m 1638; eighteen years
after the first landing on Plymouth Rock. -^

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 43

truth and right. What a long procession of great and good men — .
statesmen, divines, and scholars, poets, orators, and teachers — see
we iss-uing from her homes and schools ! Here are the Hancocks
and Adamses, the Franklins and Quincys, the Ameses and Storys,
the Mathers and Channings, the Bancrofts and Prescotts, the
Spragues and Lowells, the Everetts and Danas, the Wares and
AUstons, the Sedgwicks and Hawthornes, the Eramonses and Stu
arts, the Beechers and Paysons, the Whipples and Bowens, the
Pierces ahd Manns, of ancient and of modern times. It is no small
distinction to have given birth to WilUam C. Bryant, WiUiam Bow
ditch, and John Quincy Adams, and, with all his crudities and
absurdities, to that singular and wayward chUd of genius, Ralph
Waldo Emerson. In the estimation of angels, perhaps, it is a
higher distinction still, to have nursed in her bosom the first
American missionaries, and given to the homage and adrairation
of the world such , men as John EUiott, WilUam Brainard, and
Adoniram Judson.
Massachusetts can boast the possession of several distinguished
academies and colleges, and, with one exception, the largest and
best endowed university in the country. Her system of coraraon
schools is nobly conceived and generously supported. Here every
chUd may receive a thorough education, and, if possessed of gifts,
may rise to the highest distinctions of learning. The larger towns
and cities have expended immense sums on thei]* schools, and are
daUy reaping the fruits in the intelUgence, industry, and enterprise
of the people.'* Commerce and manufactures every where pros-
* We append the following statement of the relative proportion, in dif
ferent countries, of pupils to the whole population. Of course it is only an
approximation to the actual state of the case, but will probably be found,
in the main, correct. It is derived from a Scottish journal.
1. State of Maine  1 to 3
2. " New Hampshire  1 — 3
3. " New York,  1 — 3^
4. " Massachusetts,  1 — 4
5. " Vermont,  1 — 4
6. " Ohio,  1 —4
7. " New Jersey,  1 — 5
8. Canton of Zurich,  1 — 5
9. " Argau,  1 — Si
10. Saxony  1 — 5J
11. Bohemia,  1 — 5^
12. Prussia,  1 — 6
13. Canton of Vaud  1 — 6
14. Baden,  1 — 6
15. Wurtemburg  1 — 1
16. Denmark,  1 — 'J

44 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

per. The growth of such manufacturing to-wns as Lowell, Law
rence, and Hadley FaUs, is reaUy astonishing. Situated on the
south bank of the Merrimac, LoweU has sprang into existence
and prosperity, only -within a few years, with a rapidity and energy
more like the work of magio than reaUty. In 1820 Lowell was
scarcely known as a viUage with about 200 souls. Now it is the
second city in New England, and has a population of 30,000. In
twenty years its population increased a hundred-fold ; the value of
its property during the same period was enhanced one hundred
and twenty-fold. Its motive power is supplied by a broad and
4eep canal from the falls of the Merrimac, a little above the city —
a motive power capable of tuming 300,000 spindles. New com
panies are constantly springing up to avail themselves of this pro
digious force. Thousands of males, and especially females, from the
country towns, not only of Massachusetts, but of Maine and New
Hampshire, here find employment ; and as a proof of their thrift
and virtue, the greater portion of their eamiijgs is deposited in
savings banks.* They generally make it the stepping-stone to
something better, and generally return to their old homes, to glad
den the hearts of those they love, or go off with their husbands
to the West to buy farms, and rise in the world. A literary paper
has been conducted for years by the females alone, and, from its
¦vigorous and moral character, proves, conclusively, that there is
both "mind" and "heart" among the spindles. Every facility is
17. Norway,  1 to 7
18. Bavaria,  1  7
19. Holland  1  8
20. Pennsylvania,  1  g
21. Switzerland generaUy,  1  g
22. Austria,  1  10
23. Belgium,  1  jgi
24. England,  1—11
25. Scotland (hi 1834),  ....." l — n
26. Lombardy,  1—12+
27. Ireland,  1  J31
28. France,  1 — 13i
* "In the city of Lowell, a city not thu-ty years old yet, there are two
savings mstitutions, which have five thousand two hundred and sixty-five
depositors The ainount of money deposited, accordmg to the returns fust
published by the Secretary of State, is eight hdndred asd sixtt-eight
THOUSAND, TWO HUNDEED AND SIXTT-TWO DOLLAHS AND F0P,TT-0NE CENTS. YeS,
$868,262 41 Aside from this, there is not a mill in LoweU in which the
operatives at work therein do not own a part of the stock. In the Merri
mac MiUs alone, there are upward of seventy thousand dollars of the
stock owned by operatives. Then they own largely m the LoweU Railroad
and m other railroads, also bank and other stocks."

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 45

afforded them for mental and moral improvement. Several socie-
,ties for Uterary and other purposes have been established among
themselves. Lowell has eight grammar-schools, mostly free, and
thirty public free schools, where the rich and the poor may meet
together and enjoy the benefits of a thorough educational training.
The number of children attending the free schools is about 6000,
and this out of a population of 30,000 ! And now Lawrence and
Hadley Falls have sprung into existence, under the same influences,
and are destined to rival Lowell itself. The Connecticut River has
been dammed, and its mighty stream tumed among the spindles ;
already stores, churches, and schools are springing up on the
banks of the beautifid river, as the immediate result of the enter
prise.

CHAPTER IV.
NEW ENGLAND STATES  CONTINUED.
But Boston, the capital of the State, " the Athens of New Eng
land," demands our attention ; for here are concentrated the best
elements of New England character, intelligence, energy, and re
finement. Ascend the state-house, and look around, on the vast
and beautiful panorama which every where greets the eye. Sur
rounded by a coronet of attractive villages, and reposing on islands
of the sea, or land won from the waves, Boston looks Uke a queen
upon her throne. Beautiful for situation, with a glorious mingling
of land and water, fine buUdings and shady trees, a spacious com
mon, and magnificent environs, few cities are more attractive and
delightful. Blending, too, the olden with the modern times, by
means of Faneuil Hall, the state-house, and Bunker HUl, with
old Harvard in the distance, and the wide-spread bay, gleaming
in the sunUght, and dotted with vessels, the whole city is invested
with the most interesting and stirring associations.
The following "gUmpses of the past," which we take from
an authentic source, will give some idea of ancient manners, and
of the spirit and progress of New England society.
" It is pleasant, if not profitable, occasionally to recur to the
past, and to trace, in the moldy volume of old Time, the influ
ences of far-off events upon the time that is. How eloquent at

46 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

times is ' still Ufe !' The old wooden mansion of Gov. Hancock,
in Beacon-street, is more eloquent and attractive in its venerable
dilapidation, than the ' swelled fronts' of its more fashionable
neighbors. Who that has the imagination of an ordinary mortal
does not, while sauntering, fancy-free, upon our upper mall on
Boston Common, see this old edifice peopled by beings of other
days, and of other ways than those we live in ; and as their figures
darken the portal, or flit by the antiquated windows, feel an im
pulse to doff the modern ' moleskin' (no longer beaver) before the
venerable cocked-hat of a by-gone generation ; to say nothing of
the sUver buckles that braced the 'hinges of the knee,' or sat, in
massive state, upon the summit of the instep ? ' High in the in
step' is with us a current phrase, expressive of pride ; — can it have
any reference to the buckles of our grandsires ? The tout ensemble
of their attire was imposing. The cocked-hat looked defiant, and
the buckle, clasping the circlet of the knee, seemed to indicate the
stubbornness of a joint unused to bend under the men of those
days, save only in the attitude of prayer and thanksgiving to the
God of heaven. Add to this the buckle on the instep, imparting an
aspect of strength to the pedestal, and, from the sumrait to the
base, the full stature of a man stands before you firm as the
marble. Old Major MelvUle was the 'last of the cocked-hats'
of Boston. We remember him well — and 'what Bostonian does
not? " ' But the old three-cornered hat.
And the breeches — and all that —
Were so queer 1'
" There is an ancient-looking cottage in the town of Weymouth,
in this State, which furnishes the following traditionary anecdote.
We are indebted to a friend for the recital of the facts (assured to
be such) upon which our relation is founded. In 1762 the chun-
neys of the old edifice referred to furmshed evidence, which would
have been conclusive to the mind of Dean Swift, of the hospitality
to be found within ; for the witty Dean, in describing the reaction
m a house from short commons to good dinners, takes his cue
from the chimneys, and breaks out,
'" Now chhnneys smoked that never smoked before !'
However appUcable this line might be in this case, we know not;'
but at the tirae referred to, the hospitality of the house was pre
sided over by a scion of that interminable race, the Smiths It
was then the residence of the Rev. Wm. Smith, a gentleman
whose character is bnefly and clearly summed up in his 'peculiar

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 47

aristocratic feehngs.' The reverend gentleman had two daugh
ters — Mary and Abigail. . That they were attractive, either in
their persons or their minds, or both, or from their famUy stand
ing, may be inferred from the fact that they both had suitors.
Mary was betrothed to a young gentleman of wealth and station,
to the great delight of her father. Abigail, in this latter particu
lar, was not so fortunate ; for she, poor maid, had given her heart,
and promised her hand, to the son of an honest but humble farmer
in the town of Quincy, which plebeian extraction ran counter to
the current of the pure blood of the Smiths. However, AbigaU's
suitor was tolerated on this one ground, that he had forsaken the
plough and was then passing through the study of the law. He
was barely allowed ingress and egress to the house, but was de
nied the common rites of hospitality, or the old man's welcome.
Even his poor horse, that ,had borne him on ' love's light wings'
on those delightful errands from his native -village, had to stand
unsheltered in the winter's cold. This was very trying ; but love
'increaseth by impediment,' and, this being the case, all the hos
pitality the young man. wanted Abigail was abundantly able to
supply. Mary's wealthy wooer, toui au contraire, was ever wel
come ; feasted upon the good things of Mr. Smith's table by spe
cial invitation, and hung his hat up as in his father's house. Thus,
while the one sister was commended for her judicious choice by
her father, and was saUing down the smooth current of joyful an
ticipation with her intended lord, the other was snubbed and cen
sured for her plebeian tastes and vulgar indiscretion in falling in
love -with one so much below her station, and saw the object of
her choice treated with 'the proud man's contumely.' When the
time had arrived that Mary was to be married, the Rev. Mr. Smith,
in the plenitude of his joy, called his daughter to him, and gave
her the privilege of choosing a text, frora which he would preach
a sermon on the interesting occasion, the Sabbath following the
nuptials ; but she declined the offer, begging him to make his
own selection. He did so ; and, true to his past poUcy, preached
a sermon from the text, ' Mary hath chosen that good part, which
shall not be taken from her,' in whioh he made some sharp hits at
poor AbigaU. Shortly after, AbigaU's time came to be married to
the young lawyer, whose name was John Adams, and she also had
the privilege of choosibg a te.xt, which she avaUed herself of by
making the following retaliatory selection : — ' And John came
neither eating nor drinking, and ye say he hath a devU !' Whether
the old man preached from this text our informant saith not ; but
it is chromcled that in the year 1764, John Adams, Esq., of
Quincy, was imited ui the bands of wedlock, to Miss AbigaU, sec-

48 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ond daughter of Rev. Wm. Smith, of Weymouth. We also find
it recorded in the ' Lives of the Presidents,' that the farmer's son
of Quincy became the successor of Washington, as President of
the United States ; and that said Abigail, his -wife, was his devoted
partner for fifty-four years.
" A letter from this excellent woman, -written during the war,
is preserved, from which we make the following extract. It
breathes the spirit of the times, and shows how happily yoked
she was -with her energetic and indomitable husband.
' " ' Heaven is our witness,' she says, ' that we do not rejoice in
the effusion of blood, or the carnage of the human species ; but
ha'ving been forced to draw the sword, we are determined never
to sheathe it slaves to Britain. Our cause is the cause of truth
and justice, and ¦will finally prevaU, though the combined force of
earth and hell should rise against it. To this cause I have sacri
ficed much of my own personal happiness, by giving up to the
councUs of America one of my dearest connections, and living
more than three years in a state of widowhood.'
" When we hear of the aristocracy of wealth, we are reminded
that ' riches make to themselves wings and fly away ;' when as
saUed by the clakns of rank, the Unes recur :
" ' The rank is but the guinea-stamp,
The man's the gowd for a' that ;'
and when the pride of Uneage is the theme of panegyric, we faU
back upon the common-sense epitaph of the poet Prior, -written
by himself : " ' Nobles and heralds, by your leave.
Here Ues what once was Matthew Prior ;
The son of Adam and of Eve, —
Can Stuart or Nassau claim higher ?' "
To this we add the foUowing, touching " the good part" ol
Mary. _ The personage who became her husband was none other
than Richard Cranch, father of the present judge, of Washington
City, D. C, a very worthy and estimable man. "At the age of
twenty years he came to America, under the charge of Joseph
Palmer, his uncle, who was president of the Provincial Conoress,
and brigadier-general of the Massachusetts forces during our^Rev-
olution, through the whole of which he was an active participant,
both m body and pocket, having expended freely his fortune in
that cause.
" The statement that • Mary was betrothed to a young gentle
man of wealth and station,' is correct ; but Richard Cranch had
obtamed both of these prerequisites by personal appUcation and

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 4p

indus-ctj. lie was by trade a watchmaker, then postmaster of
Quincy and Braintree, finally, judge of the court of common pleas,
and, by reputation, one of tne best of men ; was of sufficient cora
manding dignity of manners and deportment ; and, besides, of un
assuming piety, always observing morning and evemng prayers in
his family. His -wealth consisted of the mansion in which he
lived, with something of a farm attached.
" The relationship of sisters and brothers-in-law — the Smiths,
Adamses, and Cranohes — was an unalloyed source of satisfaction ;
and we cannot rightly infer that any animosity existed between
the parties, flowing from their relative position in society. What
became of Mary and her 'good part,' I have endeavored to make
plain ; their memory needs no record, but that imprinted upon
the hearts of their descendants, and upon the tombstone beneath
which they rest, after a good long pilgrimage of happiness through
this life. Both daughters of the Rev. Wra. Smith were of supe
rior natural and acquired education, and, what was more, they
were the most actively benevolent of their sex, of their tirae ; into
whatever situation or embarrassment they were thrown, they
were perfectly at home. For the benefit of our readers, and to
show how well adapted the Smiths (both of resembling character)
were for any position, we copy an original letter in our possession
of the wife of the first President Adams ; it speaks for itself.
" ' Haverhill,  .
" ' To William Ckancii, Esq.
" ' Dear Cousin : — We propose to \'isit HaverhUl next week,
and we wish jou to purchase as much hay as you can procure for
the inclosed bill, and put it into Mr. Shaw's barn. As we shaU
have three horses, we think it will be less expensive to us to get
the hay than to send them to a tavern ; and we wish to have it
there ready for us ; if you could engage us four bushels of oats,
we will thank you. I should suppose five hundred -will supply
three horses for five or six days. " ' Yours affectionately,
"'A. Adams.'"
To this private reminiscence, which has a peculiar interest of its
own, as connected with the history of Massachusetts, we give a
more public one. When John Hancock, at the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, remarked with energy, that " there
must be no pulling different ways, and that all must hang to
gether ;" " Yes," responded Franklin, in his peculiar way — " Yes,
we must all hang together, or we shall aU hang separately !"

50 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
In Boston may be seen the house and tomb of the New England
patriot and phUosopher. Let us descend through Beacon-street
mto Union-street, where, at the comer of Union and Hanover,
you wiU see the very spot where the wonderful old printer spent
his early years. It is a homely brick house of three stories, with
smaU windows, arid very smaU panes of glass in them, and the
waUs of a dirty yellow. Upon a gUded baU protruding from the
corner you read, " Josias Franklin, 1698." The side of the house
01} Union-street remains as it was in the days of Franklin, but
that on Hanover has been "shockingly" altered. John Knox's
house in Edinburgh is covered with sign-boards, some of them
announcing gin for sale ; and here, shades of the mighty dead ! is
a bonnet warehouse! In this house, then, "Poor Richard" grew
in stature and wisdom, developing those peculiar traits of honesty,
shrewdness, and inteUigence which have given his name to immor
tality. Here he pondered over "Bunyan's Works," which he
read in separate volumes, " Barton's Historical_ CoUections,"
" small chapman's books, and cheap, forty volumes in aU," " Plu
tarch's Lives," a book of De Foe's, called "An Essay on Proj
ects," and good old Dr. Mather's "Essay to do Good;" and
where, too, " his lamp" (more probably his candle's end) was oft
seen, as he sat up, at the dead of night, devouring the books
which his friend, the bookseUer's apprentice, used to lend him over
night out of the shop, to be retumed next moming.
But we are forgetting "Boston present," with its 150,000 in
habitants, its extensive commerce, and, above all, its literary and
moral eminence. From its settlement by the Puritans, education
in Boston has received the constant attention of the citizens. Its
pubUc schools are of a higher character, and better supported,
than those of any other city or considerable town in the Union.
It is estimated that at least one-fourth of the entire population are
kept at school during the year, at an expense of $200,000. Of
the public free schools, the Latin High School, resting upon the
broad basis of the Primary and the Grammar Schools, is pre
eminently distinguished. There the poorest boy in the city can
be thoroughly fitted for coUege. It is under the direction of a
principal, -vice-principal, and four assistants.
Boston has over a hundred Uterary and charitable societies ; in
this respect, as in many others, strikingly resembling the " North
ern Athens," the metropolis of Scotland. The Boston Athenseum
has a library of from 30,000 to 40,000 volumes, with many ancient
coins, medals, paintings, and so forth. Innumerable newspapers,
literary journals, and reviews issue from Boston. It has about
a himdred churches of all Christian denominations, characterized

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 51

by a remarkable spirit of kindness and tolerance Boston, of
course, has her faults, her vagaries, and absurdities. Reformers,
the most ultra and excessive, swarm here ; but their very fanati
cism, the fanaticism of love, is a proof of the benevolence from
which it springs. The literature of Boston, including history,
philosophy, theology, and criticism, is known throughout the ci-vil-
ized world. The historians Bancroft, Sparks, and Prescott rank
with the greatest masters of historic literature. Her poets, infe
rior only to MUton, Shakspeare, Schiller, and Wordsworth, wUl
bear comparison with any of their class in the Old World. AU-
ston and Greenough are distinguished in the arts ; Bowditch and
Pierce in science ; Story in jurisprudence ; Choate and Webster,
both identified with Boston, in forensic eloquence ; Bowen and
Whipple in periodical literature and criticism.
We have often been struck with the aspect of Boston on the
Sabbath. It is, for its size, perhaps the quietest city in the world
on that holy day, the spirit of decorum and repose reigning through
all her streets, and indicating her high moral and religious char
acter. Then the voices of her Sabbath bells sound as sweetly as
such bells are wont to do in the quiet retreats of rural life.
" Hear the holy Sabbath bells —
Sacred bells !
Oh, what a world of peaceful rest
Their melody foretells !
How sweetly at the dawning
„0f a summer Sabbath morning
Sounds the rhyming
And the chiming of the bells !
How they peal out their delight
At the happy, happy sight
Of the citizens' commotion.
As they wend to their devotion 1
What emotions fill the breast.
At the ringing
And the singmg !
And the solemn organ blending
With the fervent prayer ascending
To the God who made the Sabbath
For the weary pilgrim's rest !
What joy — what pain the bosom swells.
As fondly reminiscence dwells
O'er the happy hours of childhood.
When we heard those Sabbath beUs !"
Before leaving Boston and Massachusetts, we must linger a few
moments in the quiet retreats of Mount Auburn, thc Pere la
Chaise of New England, and one of the most deUghtful monu-

52 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ments of her taste and piety. The beauty, the solemnity, the re
pose of these extensive grounds, so tastefully laid out, and so
richly adorned with forest-trees, evergreens, and flowers, mingled
with elegant and appropriate monuments in honor of the dead, do
great credit to the head and heart of the New England metropo
lis. Here may be seen the appropriate monument of Spurzheim
and that of Dr. Bowditch, whose fine meditative bust has a de
Ughtful effect among the surrounding verdure. Here also are the
tombs of Noah Worcester and the eloquent Dr. Channing. In
these calm solitudes repose many of the distinguished men of
Harvard University. Deeply hidden among the green foliage are
several monuments and inscriptions of exquisite beauty. You
corae upon them occasionally with a- feeling of sudden and de
lightful surprise. One of these has always affected us deeply : it
is that of a beautiful child, represented, by the sculptor's device,
lying upon her couch in that calm, deep sleep " which knows no
waking," and beneath is the following inscription :
" Shed not for me the bitter tear ;
Give not the heart to vain regret ;
'Tis but the casket that Ues here —
The gem that fiUed it sparkles yet !"
On a plain slab are the simple but affecting words, " Mr Mothek
AND MY Sister." A raagnificent granite monument marks the
spot where that merchant prince, Mr. Lowell, founder of the
Lowell Lectures, who died in Egypt, reposes among the sepul
chers of his people. Flowers are scattered all around — tokens of
love, emblems of hope and heaven ; and forest birds, unconscious
of sorrow and decay, are " singing among the branches." Many
of the emblems on the tombs, and passages of Scripture, intimate
the hope of the sleepers that they shall rise again, when " this
corruptible shall have put on incon-uption, and this mortal shall
have put on immortality."
But we bid adieu to Massachusetts, and find ourselves in the
sraall but spirited State of Bhode Island, " billow cradled," and
fast anchored in the deep. " Little Rhody," as her own citizens
sometimes caU her, is the San Marino of the United States, and
possesses at least one grand and lasting distinction, ha-ving been
the early home of true " soul freedom" — the asylura, in the olden
time, and in that age, the only one in the world, of entire liberty
of conscience ; for aU the other States of New England, thougli
free in many respects, and aiming at the establishment of just and
equal laws, misapprehended this fundamental principle, and ban
ished from their borders Roger WUUams, the founder of Rhode

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 53

Arms of Rhode Island.

;«&il

^)i^!^

Island, and the first asserter of entire reUgious freedom. Others
had contended for hberty of conscience and the right of self-gov
ernment, in general terms, but none, till he, had fully and consist
ently separated the Church from the State, and insisted upon the
amplest freedom of thought and liberty of speech. This glory
belongs to Roger WiUiaras and the State of Rhode Island.
It was in January, 1636, "the sternest month of a New Eng
land ¦winter," when Roger WUUams left his wife and chUdren in
Salem, and went forth into the wilderness, the sole depository of
that mighty principle which, under God, is yet to emancipate the
world. " I was sorely tossed," he says, " for fourteen weeks, in a
bitter winter season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean."
He would have perished amid the ice and snow of the forests, had
it not been for the friendly aid of the Indians, whose friendship
WUUams had cultivated in the true spirit of Christian charity.
"These ravens," says he, "fed rae in the wUderness." He raade
his way first to the lodges of the Pokanokets, whose chief, Massa-
soit, who had known Mr. WiUiaras when he Uved in Plymouth, and
had often received presents and other tokens of kindness at his
hands, received him with cordial hospitality, and granted him a
tract of land on the Seekonk River, to which, in the opening of
the spring, he repaired, and where he pitched his tent, and began to
budd and plant, and where also he was joined by some of his
friends from Salera.
But his corn was scarcely green when he was reminded that he
was yet within the prohibited district of the persecuting Puritans.
So, abandoning his new-found home without a murmur, he set saU
in a canoe on the Seekonk River, for the other side of the water.
Five others bore him company. As they glided along the silent
watera of the Seekonk, WilUams was haUed by some Indians from

54 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

the bights on the western bank of the stream, -with the friendly
salutation, " What cheer, netop (friend) ? — what cheer ?" and soon
after landed at the spot now called Slate Bock. After exchang
ing salutations with the Indians, and making inquiries respecting
the country, he again embarked, coasting round the headlands
known as Fox Point and India Point, up the harbor, to the mouth
of Mooshaiisic River, on Narragansett Bay. Landing on the beauti
ful slope of the hill that ascends from the river, he descried the
spring of water around which he commenced the first plantations
of Providence." A little distance north of what is now the center of the city,
the spring is still pointed out which drew the attention of the
hurable voyagers of Seekonk. Here, after so many wanderings,
was the weary exile to find a home, and to lay the foundations of
a city which should be a perpetual memorial of pious- gratitude to
the superintending Providence which protected him and guided
him to the spot. How changed is the scene in the lapse of two
hundred years ! Art and wealth have covered with their beauti
ful mansions the hUl-side that rose in luxuriant verdure before
him, and Learning has erected her halls upon its summit. The
solitary place has become a thickly peopled city, the abode of
wealth and elegance ; and instead of the deep sUence of nature
that then reigned over the scene, there are now heard, over hiU, and
plain, and water, the hum of the spindle, the bustle of trade, and
the cheerful murmur of busy life."
Rhode Island, for many years, prospered under its old colonial
charter, whioh confined the right of suffrage to particular classes
of the community. This was a source of difficulty some years
ago, now happily removed. Thc new constitution is essentially
simUar to those of the other States, and " Uttle Rhody" has before
her a bright career of improvement and prosperity. Her com
merce is quite extensive, and her green fields support a numerous
and thriving population. Somewhat late in organizing her system
of common schools, it is now in successful operation. Providence
is the second commercial city in New England. It boasts the pos
session of one of our ablest and most successful universities, at
the head of which stands Dr. Francis Wayland, one of the most
profound and vigorous writers in the country. Newport was the
residence of the weU-known Calvinist theologian, Dr. Hopkins,
and the birth-place of the amiable and accomplished Channing!
The Hon. Henry Wheaton, a distinguished scholar, and an able
wnter on international law, was a native of Rhode Island. The
Hon. Job Durfee has conferred honor upon his native State by his
original and vigorous poem of What Cheer, which John Foster

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 55
regarded with the highest admiration. It illustrates the early his
tory of the State, and especially its first settlement by Roger Will
iams. The following passage, furnishing a fine contrast with the
present condition of things in and around Providence, we cannot
refrain from quoting :
" The winds of March o'er Narragansett's bay
Move in their strength ; the waves with foam are white ;
O'er Seekonk's tide the waving branches play ;
The woods roar o'er resounding plain and hight.
'Twixt saiUng clouds the sun's inconstant ray
But glances on the scene, then fades from sight ;
The frequent showers dash from the passmg clouds ;
The hills are peeping through their wintry shrouds.
" Dissolving snows each downward channel fill ;
Each swollen brook a foaming torrent brawls ;
Old Seekonk murmurs, and from every liill
Answers aloud the coming waterfalls.
Deep-voiced Pawtucket thunders louder still ;
To dark Mooshausic joy ously he calls.
Who breaks his bondage, and, through forests bro-wn.
Murmurs the hoarse response, and roUs his tribute down.
" But hark ! that sound about the cataracts
And hollow winds, in this wild solitude.
Seems passing strange : who, with the laboring axe,
On Seekonk's eastern marge, invades the wood ?
Stroke follows stroke — some sturdy hind attacks
Yon ancient groves, which from their birth have stood
Unmoved by steel ; and, startled by the sound.
The wild deer snuffs the gale, then, with a bound,
" Vaults o'er the thickets, and down yonder glen
His antlers vanish. On yon shaggy hight
Sits the lone wolf, half peering from his den.
And howls, regardless of the morning light,
Unwonted sounds and a strange denizen
Vex liis repose ; then, cowering with affright,
He shrinks away, for, with a crackling sound,
Yon lofty hemlock bows, and thunders to the ground."
The State of Rhode Island is honorably distinguished for its be
nevolent institutions. Miss Dix, we believe, belongs to Rhode
Island, and the whole State, as well as the other States of the
Union, has felt the influence of her Howard-like benevolence.
Tlie Hon. Nicholas Brown, whose name has been given to the uni
versity at Providence, has left behind him many memorials of his
high and expansive charity. Long may this little State give birth
to such benefactors of their race !

66

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Arms of Connecticut.

The last, though by no means the least. State of New England
we have to visit is Connecticut, sometimes facetiously caUed the
" Wooden Nutmeg State," by others the " Freestone State," from
the immense beds of old red sandstone whioh underlie the Con
necticut River and the adjacent regions, the haunt of genius, and
the home of the genuine Yankee peddler, who goes " whittiing"
and bargaining " round the world." The old Puritans who set
tled this State were a noble and substantial race of men, who
"feared God, and kept his commandments ;" but, from eiToneous
notions, and the habits of the age in whioh they lived, a Uttle too
stern in their sooial discipline. This gave rise to the celebrated
Blue Laws, whioh arranged the dress, and cropped the hair to
Puritan dimensions, and gave occasion to certain punishments for
Ught misdemeanors and follies, at which we laugh now, but which
assisted to preserve the sanctity of virtue, and form a character at
once strong and influential. These Mue Laws, too, have been
greatly misrepresented, and are not nearly so bad as is generally
imagined. The Episcopal High Churchman, Peters, no great
honor, in our judgraent, to the venerable church of his fathers,
mingled some inventions of his own, and certain hearsays of others,
with the authentic laws of the State, and imparted to them, a
deeper blue than they naturally possessed.*
The Connecticut character has been well and wittily described by
Fitz-Greene Halleck, " a poet of theirown," and a man of fine genius:
" And still her gray rocks tower above the sea
That murmurs at their feet, a conquer'd wave ;
'Tis a rough land of earth, and stone, and tree.
Where breathes no castled lord, or cabin'd slave ;
Where minds, and tongues, and hands are bold and free.
And friends wUl find a welcome, foes a grave ;
* Tho very ejdstence of the " Blue Laws" has been denied.

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES.

And where none kneel, save when to Heaven they pray ;
Nor eveu then, unless in their own way.
" Theirs is a pure repubUc, wild, yet strong ;
A 'fierce democracie,' where all are true
To what themselves have voted, right or -wrong.
And to then- laws, denominated blue,
* -x- « «
A vestal state which power could not subdue.
* * * *
" They love their land, because it is their own.
And scorn to give aught other reason why ;
Would shake hands with a king upon his throne,
'And think it kindness to his majesty ;
A stubborn race, fearing and flattering none :
Such are they nurtured — such they live and dio ;
All but a few apostates, who are meddling
With merchandise, pounds, shillings, pence, and peddling.
" Or, wandering through the Southern countries, teaching
The ABO from Webstek's spelUng-book ;
* * * «
Or gainhig by what they call ' hook and crook,'
, And what the moraUsts call over-reaching,
A decent Uvmg. * * *
" But these are but their outcasts. View them near
At home, where all their worth and pride is placed.
And there their hospitable fires burn clear ;
And there the lowlie.st farm-house hearth is graced
With manly hearts ; in piety sincere.
Faithful in love, in honor stern and chaste.
In friendship warm and true, in danger brave.
Beloved in life, and sainted in the grave !"
Connecticut has rather a poor and rugged soil, though very fer
tile and beautiful along the courses of her streams, the Connecti
cut, the Thames, the Housatonio, and the Farmington. A long
range of mountains, or rather hills, runs through the State, like the
backbone of a fish, coming down from the mountains of the north,
and terminating at New Haven, in the high rocky bluffs called East
and West Rocks. The State is essentially manufacturing ; her
rapid streams, " wliich run among the valleys," driving innumer
able mUls, which turn out all sorts of " Yankee notions," such as
tin-ware, wooden-ware, clocks and ooffee-mUls, and the more sub
stantial articles of cotton and woolen fabric.
Her noble river, the Connecticut, is one of the most beautiful in
the country, often reminding one of the Rhine, though without
the old castles and vine-covered hUls of that ancient river; but
every where, on its high sloping banks, you see the fair cottage
3-*

58 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

or more substantial farm-house, the neat school-house and gleam
ing church, " white as the snows of heaven," with its green blinds
and slender spire. No finer cities of their size can be found than
Hartford, New Haven, and Middletown. Her schools and colleges
are of the highest order. " Old Yale," the glory of the pUgrims,
is one of the largest in the United States, weU endowed, and
thoroughly manned with a noble corps of learned and accomplished
teachers. The Wesleyan University at Middletown, though smaUer,
is a very respectable institution. The Connecticut School Fund,
the largest in the country, now exceeds two millions of dollars.
Connecticut can show a long list of celebrated men — celebrated
at once in peace and war. Her Davenports, Winthrops, Sher
mans, Putnams, TrumbuUs, Ledyards, and Seymours are weU
known. Her literary history, too, is one of the most brilliant in
the country. Jonathan Edwards, the greatest metaphysician, and
perhaps preacher of his day, belongs to this State. Timothy
Dwight, poet, orator, and di-vine, is one. of her sons. A host of
other distinguished preachers and theologians, whom we cannot
even name, adorn her annals. Her poets, of whom Connecticut
has been pecuharly proUfio, are among the stars of American
literature. Among these are Trumbull, the author of " McFin-
gal," the Hudibras of his country; Joel Barlow, whose "Hasty
Pudding" is well known ; John Pierjjont, whose " Airs of Palef
tine" and patriotic lyrics have awakened sweet echoes m manj
hearts ; James A. Hillhouse, the amiable and gifted author of
"Hadad;" Fitz-Greene Halleck, whose " Marco Bozzaris" sounds
Uke a trurapet among the mountains ; S. G. Goodrich, the Pete:
Parley of the world, and the author of some fine poems, among
them " Lake Superior," of considerable poetic merit ; Dr. James
G. Percival, one of the most learned though singular men of his
day, and a poet of rare power, rising frequently to strains which
would do honor to Wordsworth and Coleridge ; John Brainard,
the author of " Connecticut," an exquisite piece of descriptive
verse ; Lydia H. Sigourney, the Hemans of America, with many
others, as the newspapers say, " too numerous to mention." Con
necticut is celebrated for her teachers, and perhaps no State has
produced so many admirable text-books for schools and acade
mies. ^ Noah Webster, " the great word man," as the people some
times impressively caU him, has produced the best and most pop
ular dictionary of the English language.
Nor is this State undistinguished in science. Her Olmsteds
and SiUimans are known throughout the scientific world.
Before leaving this State, we will.Unger a little whUe in the city
of Hartford, lymg on a gentie accUvity which rises gradually from

THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 59

the banks of the Connecticut, and possessing much picturesque
beauty. On a bold eminence south of the city stand the hand
some buildings of Trinity CoUege, surrounded by thick masses of
magnificent foliage. Beyond it, toward the south, is the State
Lunatic Asylum, a fine sUvan retreat, and one of the best institu
tions of the kind in the country. On this side, and separated from
the college by Siokenam River, a sluggish stream, which winds in
rural beauty through the intervening valley, rises Lord's HUl,
sometimes called Asylum HUl, with handsome villas and cottages,
and surmounted by the extensive buildings of the Asylum for
Deaf Mutes, a noble and well-supported institution, with its dozen
teachers, and three hundred pupils. Beneath these hUls, in the
direction of the Connecticut River, the city proper spreads itself
north and south, adorned with handsome churches and lofty spires,
among which towers the State House, a plain but handsome
buUding and not far from it, the AthenEeum, an
elegant structure, in the semi- Gothic style, containing a large
pubUc library, as also the library of the Historical Society, the
most of which, however, belongs to the great New England
" BibUst," the venerable Dr. Bobbins, a good collection of paint
ings, from the pencils of TrumbuU, Stewart, West, and others,
and an interesting cabinet of antiquities. Here may be seen por
traits of some of, the old governors and clergymen of Connecticut ;
the sign-post of General Putnam ; the jacket and shirt of Ledyard,
perforated by the sword of his recreant conqueror ; Elder Brew
ster's chest, porridge-pot, and tongs, brought over in the May
flower ; an old EngUsh chair, fit for a giant, brought over in the
same vessel ; a chair, or ottoman, which belonged to General
Washington ; and several other rare and precious rehcs of former
days. The reading-room and library of the " Young Men's In
stitute," so well arranged, furnish unmistakable evidence of the
virtue and intelligence of the place. A little further south, a few
steps beyond' the bridge which spans the Little or Sickenam
River, in a street which runs at right angles from Main-street
toward the Connecticut River, stands the veritable Cliarter Oah,
in which the bold patriots of the olden time hid the colonial char
ter, whioh James the Second endeavored to -wrest from their
grasp. What strange and startling changes has this venerable
denizen of the primeval forest, now all alone in the heart of the
city, beheld since the days of its youth !
" Change steals o'er all ! the bark canoe
No longer cleaves the streamlet blue ;
Nor even the flying wheel retains
Its ancient prowess o'er the plains ;

60 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Tlie horse, with nerves of iron frame.
Whose breath is smoke, whose food is flamy
Surmounts the earth with fearful sweep.
And strangely rules the cleaving deep."
The Charter Oah, by Mrs. Sigourney.
The character and manners of the people of Connecticut, simUar
to those of the New Englanders generaUy, differ, in no essentia]
particulars, from those of the Anglo-Saxons of England, whence
they spring. A little more keen and practical — an enemy would
say, more close and cunning — they possess the same general fea
tures of temper and habits. Intelligent, sociable, enterprising,
they are perhaps more mercurial and locomotive. Never was
such a people for inventing, contriving, changing, "guessing,"
" fixing," and traveling. Upon the whole religious — in some
cases sternly so — they give liberally to all benevolent enterprises,
and take the deepest interest in the progress of freedom and truth
throughout the world. Their amusements are of the soUd and
virtuous character, though " breaking out" considerably on training
and celebration days. Fond pf their homes, warmly attached to
their children and friends, they are happiest in private and social
intercourse. Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July are the great
festivals of New England. Christmas is celebrated by some ; but
the population being composed chiefly of Congregationalists and
Baptists, with a respectable sprinkling of Episcopalians and Metho
dists, all good members of the coraraunity. Thanksgiving is the
real Christm,as holiday of New England. Then the "fatted calf"
-^we mean the fatted turkey — is killed, and the pumpkin pies are
baked. Friends and famiUes, far and near, gather in the old
churches, and in the old homes, to spend the day. Family ties
are renewed, old memories are invigorated, old affections and hopes
are brightened. Songs and stories, quips and cranks, smUes and
tears, vows and greetings, counsels and cautions, feastings and
froUckings, prayers and blessings, fill up the day. Then ten
thousand happy families can sing :
" We are all here.
Father, mother,
Sister, brother,
AU who hold each other dear.
Each chair is tilled— we're all at home I
Bless, then, the meeting and the spot ;
Let once be every care forgot ;
Let gentle peace assert her power.
And kind affection rule the hour :  .
We're aU here — aU here I
Charles Sprague.

TKE NEW ENGLAND STAl'ES.

61

THE MIDDLE STATES. 63

CHAPTER V.
THE MIDDLE STATES.

Arms of New York.

We bid fareweU to New England, with her schools and col
leges, her poets and pumpkins; and hasten to New York, justly
styled the " Empire State."
It is a bright and balmy day in June, as, in our noble steamer,
we plow the waves of Long Island Sound. On one side are the
rocky shores of old Connecticut ; on the other, the vei-dant slopes
of Long Island, which may be termed the^ garden of New York,
for thence, to a great extent, are the markets of the latter sup
pUed with vegetables. We pass rapidly the cultivated banks of
what we may now caU the East River, for the Sound is narrowed
to the dimensions of an ordinary river, adorned on either side with
handsome villas and shady lawns ; and yonder is New York, with
her forest of masts, gathered from all nations, and her innumerable
chimneys, church towers, and spires stretching to the sky, the
second great commercial metropolis in the world, being inferior
only to London in the extent of her business and shipping. The
population of New York is immense, and constantly increasing.
The same may be said of her trade and commerce. Her natural
resources and advantages are unprecedented, having, perhaps, the
finest harbor in the world ; connected on the one hand, by means
of this harbor, with the* vast Atlantic, and consequently with the
entire commerce of the earth ; and on the other, through her in
ternal channels of communication, in the form of raUroads aud

64 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
rivers, with the whole United States. On these accounts, both
the City and State of New York are yet destined to an amazing ex
pansion and increase. Let any one take the raUroad cars, or the
North River, and pass on, amid the magnificence of nature, and
the thriving towns, cities, villages, hamlets, and homes which adorn
the banks of the Hudson, to Albany or Troy ; then let him pro
ceed through the interior of the State hundreds' of raUes, along her
canals or her railroads, touch at Ontario on the north, and Erie on
the west, and finally stand by the shores of Niagara, listening to
the roar of its mighty cataract, and he wUl not hesitate to say that
New York is fairly entitled to the appellation of the "Erapire
State." With scenery as grand and picturesque as any in the
world ; immense and beautiful inland lakes ; long hnes of canal and
railroad communication ; rivers running from north to south, from
east to west, deep and long-reaching, and covered with the com
merce and population of the neighboring countries ; vast mountain
ranges crowned with verdure ; exuberant forests for timber and
shipping ; wide and fair valleys, rich meadows, and uplands, clothed
with grass or grain ; extensive manufactures ; a noble system of free-
school education ; an intelligent and industrious population, con
stantly increasing iii numbers, intelUgence, and wealth ; the Bible
scattered every where in church, school-house, and home ; an ener
getic corps of Christian rriinisters of various denominations, and
churches every where adorning the landscape, the State cannot
faU to be prosperous and happy.
New York is especiaUy rich in agriculture ; but situated as she
is, raanufactures and comraerce must necessarUy occupy much of
her attention. In both these departments of industry, her prog
ress has been rapid and striking. No State or country has ex
celled her in the matter of internal improvements. Indeed, tliere
seems to be no hmit to her resources in this respeot. The Erie
Canal, her former pride, and now the North River and Erie RaU
roads, are stupendous works of art, traversing the State, and com
manding the commerce of the Far West ; for one has only to start
from the foot of Cortlandt-street, and keep on moving, day after
day, continuously, by steamer and rail-car, in order to find him
self now at Buffalo, now at Detroit, anon at Chicago, and finaUy
at ]\lilwaukie, or some other more distant point in the once un
broken -wUderness.
It is a source of infinite satisfaction that New York has taken
such a decided stand in the matter of common-school education.
The people are to be whoUy educated ; and although the best-laid
scheme wiU fail at particular points, and in tlie best-educated
commumties many wiU be found incapable of reading and -writing,

THE MIDDLE STATES. 65

yet it will not fail as a whole, and the great mass of the com
munity will become a reading and well-informed people.
New York is, in its character, essentially New England, with
some slight modifications from foreign emigration, and from the
prevalence here and there, especially among the Manhattaners, of
a Dutch element. In their manners, perhaps, they are more gen
erous and free ; a little more given, ^vo should think, to personal
uidulgence ; in some respects, it may be, more Uberal in their tone
of thinking, and a little more easy and careless in their general
manners. Still, they are, to all intents and purposes, the same
kind of people, profess the same beliefs, enjoy the same forms of
government, speak the same language, read the same books, cher
ish the same hopes. This, it is true, may be said of the great
majority of the inhabitants of the United States. Portions of
them, indeed, are peoples by themselves. The Germans, the Irish,
the Jews, the Danes, the Africans, and some others, have their
national pecuharities ; but it is surprising to see how rapidly all
the varieties of the Norman, Teutonic, and Anglo-Saxon stocks are
blending together, losing their pecuUarities, and forming a single
homogeneous race. /
New York is well supplied with colleges, universities, medical
and theological schools. Her literary men are among the fore
most in the country. At the head pf these stand Washington
Irving, the Addison, or, perhaps, the Goldsmith of America, and
Cooper, next to Walter Scott, perhaps, the most successful novel
ist of modern times. New Jersey, indeed, may claim Cooper, as
he is a native of that State. But the city of New York, from its
great commercial advantages, naturally attracts literary as well
as business men. Here reside Bryant, Dr. Robinson (born
in Southington, Connecticut), I'itz-Grecne Halleck, N. P. WUlis,
and many others, attracted to New York, as one of the great
centers of literary influence. Among the distinguished writers
of native stock, we may mention, without intending to disparage
others, Verplanck, Hoffman, Paulding, Fay, Headley, Mathews,
Hosraer, Street, Mrs. Kirkland, ^ Fanny Forrester, Mrs. Osgood,
Miss Gould, and Mrs. Embury. Of preachers, learned and elo
quent. New York has a noble list. Many, of her sons have gone
" far hence to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ."
Reluctantly we bid adieu to .New York, and crossing the ferry,
find ourselves in the cars, dasliing through the level, peach-clad
plains of New Jersey. OriginaUy settled by Dutch in 1624, New
Jersey yet retains a Dutoh element ; and is an honest, indus
trious, thriving State. Its manufactures, particrUarly of iron, are

66

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
 »

quite extensive. It has two colleges : that of Nassau HaU, or the
CoUege of New Jersey, at Princeton, at which place, also, is a

Arms of New Jersey,
celebrated theological seminary belonging to the Presbyterians;
and Rutger's College, at New Brunswick, both flourishing institu
tions, from which have issued many able and influential men. The
Alexanders, father and sons, have acquired a just celebrity as
scholars and theologians.
New Jersey played an important part during the Revolutionary
war. The battles of Trenton, of Princeton, and of Monmouth, in
all of which her citizens bore a share, have won for her imperish
able renown.
But yonder is Philadelphia, with its green trees and level
squares, the city of that great and good man, WUUam Penn — who,
according to Dean Prideaux, laid it out after the model of ancient
Babylon — next to New York, the largest city in the United States,
and ever memorable as the scene of the Declaration of Independ
ence. The first thing that attracts us, and the most interesting,
though one of the plainest of her public buildings, is the old State
House, now called Independence HaU, at once venerable and beau
tiful, from its situation and early associations. It fronts on Chest
nut-street, with Independence Square in its rear. The wood-work
of the steeple of the main buUding was so much decayed in 1'7'74,
that it was taken down, leaving only a smaU belfry to cover the
beU for the use of the town-clock. The first bell, originaUy im
ported from England, being broken, a new one was cast in PhU
adelphia, under the direction of Isaac Norris, then speaker of the
Colonial Assembly, who caused to be inscribed on it a passage
from Leviticus, xxv., 10, " as if prophetic of its future use," " Pro-
claim liberty throughout this land unto all the inhabitants thereof.'"

THE MIDDLE STATES. 67

That very bell, the moment the Declaration of Independence was
signed by the noble men gathered in one of the rooms beneath,
rang out its joyous tones, proclaiming to the anxious multitudes
who were waiting the result, the consummation of that august
and thrilling act.

Arms of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is a large and highly prosperous State, the great
coal and iron region, from which, mainly, the whole United States
are suppUed with these indispensable articles. It has extensive
manufactures ; in this respect, indeed, it is the first State in the
Union, and possesses large tracts of rich arable land. Its mount
ains are filled with coal, marble, iron, and other minerals. The
population is large, and constantly increasing, fairly entitling it to
the appellation, in the language of political life, of the Keystone
State. Pennsylvania has quite a number of flourishing universities and
colleges, and a fair system of coraraon schools. Except, however,
in the larger cities, education is in a somewhat backward condition.
The country people of this State have not yet awakened to a full
sense of the value of this inestimable blessing. Still, progress has
been made in reference to this interest, and, we doubt not, Pennsyl
vania, "slow, but sure," will, in her educational movements, soon
rival her sister States. The late Stephen Girard left 2,000,000 of
dollars for the establishment of a free orphan school in Philadel
phia. The magnificent edifice of white marble erected for this
institution is an ornament to the city and State.
Being originally settled by Quakers, Pennsylvania has a large
proportion of this quiet and excellent class of men, with their
broad-brimmed hats, drab breeches, thee and thou conversation,
and staid demeanor. A large portion of the State is also settled

68

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

by Germans, who speak their own language, and maintain their
o-wn worship, chiefly Lutheran or Dutch Reformed. The Mora-
¦vians, a simple-hearted, pious people, have settlements at Nazareth
and Bethlehem. The latter occupies an attractive situation, rising
from the banks of the Lehigh, here crossed by a bridge. It has
a large Gothic church, a female seminary, and, in the immediate
-vicinity, a beautiful rural cemetery. The society is distinguished
for their great simpUcity of manners and love of music. IMuch of
their worship consists of music, in which the whole congregation
unite. A solemn requiem is sung from the dome of the church
at the death of any of their number, and the body, after remaining
three days in the " corpse-house," is boi-ne to the grave accom
panied by sweet and plaintive music.
Pennsylvania is not peculiarly distinguished in the literature of
the country. StUl, she has borne her part in this sphere, and has
produced many accoraplished orators, poets, and divines. Benja
min Franklin long resided in PhUadelphia. Here lived and labored
the lamented, WiUis Gaylord Clark. Rufus W. Griswold and Dr.
Bethune have been long identified with Philadelphia. Charles
Brockden Brown was a Pennsylvanian, and Joseph C. Neal, the
author of " Charcoal Sketches," though born in New Hampshire,
made his home in Pennsylvania.

Aims of Delaware.

Arms of Maryland.

But we must hasten on our journey. The littie States of Dela
ware and Maryland, not unknown in the annals of the Union, in
vite us. Here we begin to breathe the balmy air of the South,
and see the first indications of slavery, existing in Maryland, per
haps in its mUdest form, but not unaccompanied by some of those
disadvantages, which none are more ready to deplore than the
,free and generous portion— which we beheve to be the lart^er

THE DISTEIOT OF COLUMBIA. 69

portion — of the Southem people themselves. Baltimore, the prin
cipal city of Maryland, and of this part of the country, is a large,
prosperous commercial emporium, with much ¦vigor and enterprise,
being the third largest city in the Union.
These small States, particularly Maryland, are not undistin
guished in literature. To prove this, we have only to mention
the names of WiUiara Wirt of Bladensburg, and his elegant biog
rapher, J. P. Kennedy, Edgar A. Poe, that rare but wayward son
of genius, Ed. C. Pinckney, a statesman and poet. Dr. Bird, the
author of " Calavar," and Richard H. Wilde, one of the most
accompUshed scholars in the country, author of " The Love, Im
prisonment, and Madness of Torquato Tasso."
We will remain a short time in the District of Columbia, that
anomalous but interesting spot, ¦which contains the seat of govem
ment, and ought to be, though we fear, in all respects, it is not,
the light and glory of the Union. Washington, the capital of the
country, the " city of magnificent distances," has many interesting
features. Its great attraction, however, consists in its connection
with the government. "The pubhc buUdings of Washington,"
says an English writer, " have a magnificence becoming a great
nation." The Capitol is the finest building in the United States.
It is every way suitable that the representatives of the sovereign
people should be accommodated in a buUding which would do
honor to royalty, and be worthy of the most august legislative
body in the world. The Capitol is universally regarded as an
honor to the nation. It is elevated seventy-three feet above tide
water, and affords a commanding view of the city and of the sur
rounding country. The building is of freestone, and covers an
area of more than an acre and a half ; the length of the front is
352 feet, including the wings ; the depth of the wings is 121 feet.
In the projection on the east front there is a splendid portico of
twenty-two lofty Corinthian columns, thirty-eight feet high ; and
in the west front there is a portico of ten Corinthian columns. The
hight of the buUding to the top of the dome is 120 feet. Under
the dome, in the middle of the building, is the rotunda, a circular
room, ninety-five feet in diameter, and of the same hight, adomed
with sculptures in stone panels, in bold relief, containing groups
of figures representing Smith delivered by the interposition of
Pocahontas ; the Landing of the PUgrims on Plymouth Rock ; the
Conflict of Boone with the Indians ; and Penn treating with the
Indians ; and four magnificent paintings by Trumbull, with figures
as large as life, representing the Presentation to Congress of the
Declaration of Independence, in which all the figures, forty-seven
in number, in that august assembly, whioh WilUam Pitt, in the

70

THE, WOELD WE LIVE IN.

British Parliament, pronounced superior in wisdom to any body
of men whom he had ever heard or read of, are correct likenesses ;
the Surrender of Burgoyne to General Gates ; the Surrender of

Capitol at Washington.
Cornwallis at Yorktown ; and Washington Resigning his Commis
sion to Congress at Annapolis. To these have recently been
added the Baptism of Pocahontas, by Chapman, and the Embark
ation of the Pilgrims, by Weir. These paintings (by native artists)
possess great merit as works of art, in addition to their commem
oration of great events in American history. The rotunda has
recently received a splendid additional ornament in Greenough's
statue of Washington, a colossal figure in a sitting posture, twice
as large as Ufe. There are in Washington various other biiild-
ings and objects of interest worthy of notice, but we have no room
for their description. We wiU, however, mention only one more,
the glory of the age, in the line of invention and scientific progress.
Professor S. F. B. Morse's electric telegraph, the source of all the
other telegraphs in the country, and one of the most astonishing
triumphs of genius, industry, and skill.

THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. Tl

On the north bank of the Potomac, two mUes west of the Cap
itol, and on the highest point of the land in the District, stands
the National Observatory.
On a clear day, a correspondent of the Olobe remarks, the
¦view from it embraces a scene of mingled variety and beauty,
which would alone repay a visit. The cities of Washington and
Georgetown appear spread out at your feet, the broad avenues of
the former marked as upon a map. The eye, easily directed to
Columbia CoUege and the CathoUc Seminary, ranges also over the
different churches and public edifices, while far off, upon an emi
nence already green under the first breath of spring, rises the
Capitol, the flag of the Union floating proudly from its summit,
and its numerous windows gleaming in the sun. Nearer, you see
the Long Bridge, which crosses the Potomac, and Arlington
House, nestled among the hills tliat skirt the Virginia shore. The
river, whose waves break beneath you upon the grounds of the
Observatory, makes a bend before it sweeps away to Alexandria,
imparting an additional charm to a scene which, for its still and
SQlemn beauty, is not equaled by that of the Susquehanna Jtt
Ha-vre de Grace, and is even superior to any of the exquisitely
contrasted corabinations of land and water views, sometimes
produced by the abrapt course of the Alleghany, in the south
em counties of New York, as it winds " mountain - curved
along." The Observatory itself is a large two-story building, surmounted
by a revolving dorae, and has wings upon its eastern and western
extremities, with a similar projection at the north, in which are
placed the instruments for astronomical observation. In the dome
is the " Equatorial," the most important instiiiment in the build
ing. It consists of a fourteen-feet telescope with a nine-inch
object-glass, equatorially mounted. It was made in Dresden, and
cost, we thmk, $40,000.
The east wing contains a five-foot transit instrument, with an
object-glass of four and a half inches, and also a "fine mural
circle," with a telescope six feet in length, and an object-glass of
five and a half inches.
In the south room is a "prime vertical" and a refraction in
strument, and in the adjoining wing may be seen a seven-foot
transit, and the justly celebrated magnetic clock:
We are off once more, not exactly on the wings of the wind,
but on those of steam, if the figure may be allowed, and, in due
time, find ourselves in Old Virginia, one of the most enlightened
and patriotic of the old thirteen States that banded together in
the cause of Uberty ; mother of heroes and great men, for here

<72 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

were bom Washington, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Madison, and
other lofty spirits, whose names stand among the first in the an
nals of their country, and of the world. Here, then, properly
commence our brief sketches of the Southern States.

CHAPTER VI.
THE SOUTHERN STATES.

Arms of Viiginia.
Virginia is a large and beautiful State, though somewhat worn
out in parts by slave culture, the growth of tobacco, and so forth.
Ever brave and cliivalrous, Virginia bore an important part in the
Revolutionary struggle. No State in the Union has given birth
to greater or better men. Her Patrick Henry, as a Revolutionary
orator, perhaps the most powerful and thrilling the Union has
ever produced ; her Washington, " first in war, first in peace, and
first in the hearts of his countrymen," in fact, the greatest man of
modern times; her Jefferson, scholar, statesman, and orator, at
once accomplished and profound ; her Madison and her Monroe,
statesraen of the highest order ; her Marshall, as a judge and ex
pounder of law, one of the clearest and ablest in the annals of
jurisprudence, have conferred upon her undying honor.
From the character of the early settlers, and the nature of her
social and domestic institutions, the people of Virginia possess
some peculiar traits of character. The manners of her planters

THE SOUTHEEN STATES. "73

are polished and courteous. Hospitality and generosity are eveiy-
day virtues. The common people, however, and the slave popu
lation, have also their traits, and suffer greatly in comparison.
Education is imperfectly diffused. The higher schools and col
leges arc pretty well patronized, but alas ! the common schools
are common enough. Indeed, they scarcely exist, and much
gross ignorance prevaUs among the poor whites, and, of course,
among the colored population.
The people of Virginia are said to be kind to their slaves. Many
of these can read, write, and cipher, and a few of them have made
some progress in general intelligence. Considering their circum
stances, they succeed in passing their time in tolerable comfort.
Many of them are church members, and greatly enjoy the sing
ing. But the poor creatures have often to be removed from
their homes, a thing which they dread — which their masters some
times dread, but which they cannot help. On Sundays, at meet
ing, on "general training days," Christmas and the Fourth of
July, and at barbecue feasts, they appear " light-hearted and
merry," for this is the nature of the negro ; but they are a poor,
ignorant, hapless race; to whom their possessors owe the deepest
responsibilities, which, we trust, they will yet fully and generously
meet. Virginia has some great natural curiosities, which attract the
admiration of all travelers. Among these are the passage of the
river Potomac through the Blue Ridge, at Harper's Ferry, a part
of the Appalachian chain of mountains, presenting the appearance
of a huge rent three-quarters of a mile wide, through a stupen
dous wall of rocks ; the Rook Bridge over Cedar Creek, a gigantic
rock, eighty feet in width, and covered with soil and trees, thrown
across a chasm 200 feet in depth, nearly perpendicular, through
whioh the stream passes, thus forming a natural arch, " so beauti
ful, so elevated, so light, and springing, as it were, up to heaven,"
as to produce, according to Jefferson, " emotions the most sublime
and deUghtful ;" and especially Weyer s Cave, in Augusta county,
among the mountains, "vast, spacious, and beautiful, abounding
in sparry concretions, and equal, in the singularity and splendor of
its contents, to the celebrated grotto of Antiparos." This natural
cave is composed of various apartments and figures, among which
are the Dragon's Boom, in imitation of a dragon facing a stupen
dous wall, under which is a projecting rock, with many soniferous
spires ; Solomon's Teraple, " one of the sublimest sights in the
world," containing a " wave-like folding of incrustations from the
ceiling to the floor, exactly resembling water tumbUng over a
precipice which had conglaciated in falling, called the Cataract or
4

74 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Falls of Niagara," with other magnificent and infimtely diversified
stalactites and stalagmites, like thrones, pUlars, and divans ; the
Lady's Dressing-room, elegantly festooned ; Washington's Statue,
having the appearance of a large person vaUed in white ; Lady
Washington's Drawing-room ; Washington Hall ; the Pyramids ;
the Dining-room; the Church Steeple; Jefferson's Salt Mount
ain ; Lot's Wife, and we know not what all.
Before leaving Virginia we must pay a visit to Mount Vemon,
tbe home and the burying-plaoe' of the immortal Washington,
" first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country
men." It lies pleasantly on the west bank of the Potomac, fifteen
miles from Washington, and nine from Alexandria. The mansion,
yet standing, is a plain and unpretending wooden edifice, sur
rounded, however, by spacious and beautiful lawns and gardens.
The tomb is a simple excavation in the earth, walled -vvith brick,
and overgrown with evergreens. But the greatness of the rnan
needs nothing more than the presence of his dust to invest the
scene with a sublime and thrilling interest.
" How sleep the brave, who sink to rest
* By all their country's wishes blest ! ¦
When spring, with dewy fingers cold,
Eeturns to deck their hallowed mold,
She there shall dress a sweeter sod
Than fancy's feet have ever trod."
Carlyle, with a strange perversity, has asked. What great idea,
what great man, has America produced ? To which we reply.
Liberty, and Washington. " I stood with him," says one who
knew bim well, " on that same stone platform before the d'Dor of
the hall, elevated by a few steps from the pavement, when the
carriage of the President drew up. It was, as he describes it,
white, or rather of a light cream-color, painted on the panels with
beautiful groups, representing the four seasons. The horses,
accordmg to ray recollection, were -svhite, in unison with the car
riage. (He says they were bays ; perhaps he is more correct.)
As he aUghted, and, ascending the steps, paused upon the plat
form, looking over his shoulder, in an attitude that would have
furnished an admirable subject for the pencU, he was preceded by
two gentiemen, with long white wands, who kept back the crowd
that pressed on every side to get a nearer view. At that moment
I stood so near that I might have touched his clothes — but I
should as soon have thought of touching an electric battery. I
was penetrated with a veneration amounting to the deepest awe.
Nor was this the feeling of a school-boy only ; it pervaded, I be
lieve, every limnan being that approached Washington ; and I

THE SOUTHEEN STATES. 75

have been told that, even in his social ' arid con-vivial hours, this
feeUng in those who were honored to share them never suffered
intermission. I saw him a hundred times afterward, but never
with any other than that same feeling. Tlie Almighty, who raised
up for our hour of need a man so peculiarly prepared for its whole
dread responsibility, seems to have put an impress of sacredness
upon his own instrument. The first sight of the man strack the
heart with an involuntary homage, and prepared every thing
around him to obey. When he ' addressed himself to speak,'
there was an unconscious suspension of the brealh, whUe every
eye was raised in expectation. At the time I speak of, he stood
in- profound silence, and had that statue-like air which mental
greatness alone can bestows;. As he turned to enter the building,
and was ascending the staircase leading to the Congressional Hall,
I glided along unperceived, almost under cover of the skirts of his
dress, and entered instantly after him into the lobby of the House,
which was, of course, in session tp receive him. On either hand,
from the entrance, stood a large cast-iron stove ; and, resolved to
secure the unhoped-for privUege I had so unexpectedly obtained,
I clambered, boy-like, on this stove (fortunately then not much
heated), and from that favorable elevation enjoyed, for the first
time (what I have since so many thousands of times witnessed
-with comparative indifference), an uninterrupted view of the
American Congress in full session, every member in his place.
Shall I be pardoned for saying its aspect was vcry different from
what we now witness ? There was an air of decorum, of compo
sure, of reflection, of gentlemanly and polished dignity, whioh has
fled, or Ungers with here and there a 'relic of the olden time.'
" The House seemed then as composed as the Senate now is,
when an impressive speech is in the act of delivery. On Wash
ington's entrance the most profound aud death-like stillness pre
vailed. House, lobbies, gallery, all were wrapped in the deepest
attention ; and the souls of that entire assemblage seemed pouring
from their eyes on the noble figure which deliberately, and with
an unaffected but surpassing majesty, advanced upon the broad
aisle of the Hall, between ranks of standing Senators and mem
bers, and slowly ascended the steps leading to the Speaker's
chair. I well remember, standing at the head of the Senate, the
tall, square, somewhat gaunt form of Mr. Jefferson, conspicuous
from his scarlet waistcoat, bright-blue coat, with broad, bright
buttons, as well as by his quick and penetrating air, and high-
boned, Scottish cast of features. There, too, stood Gen. Knox,
then Secretary of War, in all the sleek rotundity of his low stature,
with a bold and florid face, open, firm, and manly in its expression.

76 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN,

But I recollect that my boyish eye was caught by the appearance
of De Yrujo, the Spanish embassador. He stood in the rear of
the chair, a little on one side, covered -with a splendid diplomatic
dress, decorated with orders, and carrying under his arm an im
mense chapeau bras, edged with white ostrich feathers. He was
a man totaUy different in his air and manner from all around him,
and the very antipodes especially of the man on whom all eyes
but his seemed fixed as by a spell. I saw many other very strik
ing figures grouped about and behind the Speaker's chair, but I
did not know their names, and had no one to ask ; besides, I
dared not open my lips.
"The President, having seated himself, remained in silence,
serenely contemplating the Legislature before bim, whose mem
bers now resumed their seats, waiting for the speech. No house
of worship, in the most solemn pauses of devotion, was ever more
profoundly still than that large and crowded chamber.
" Washington was dressed precisely as Stuart has painted him in
Lord Landsdown's full-length poi;trait — in a full suit of the richest
velvet, with diamond knee-buckles, and square silver buckles set
upon shoes japanned with the raost scrupulous neatness, black silk
stockings, his shirt ruffled at the breast and -wrist, a light dress-
sword, his hair profusely powdered, fully dressed, so as to project
at the sides, and gathered behind in a silk bag ornamented with a
large rose of black ribbon. He held his cocked hat, which had a
large black cockade on one side of it, in his hand, as he advanced
toward the chair, and, when seated, laid it on the table.
" At length, thrusting his hand within the side of his coat, he
drew forth a roU of manuscript, which he opened, and rising, held
it in his hand, whUe in a rich, deep, full, sonorous voice, he read
his opening address to Congress. His enunciation was deliberate,
justly emphasized, very distinct, and accompanied with an air of
deep solemnity, as being the utterance of a mind profoundly im
pressed with the dignity of the act in which it was occupied,
conscious of the whole responsibility of its position and action,
but not oppressed by it. There was ever about the man some
thing whioh impressed the observer witii a conviction that he was
exactly and fully equal to what he had to do. He was never'
hurried, never negUgent ; but seemed ever prepared for the occa
sion, be it what it might. If I could express his character in one
word, it would be, appropriateness. In his studv, in his parior,
at a levee, before Congress, at the head of an army, he seemed to
be just what the situation required him to be. He possessed, in
a degree never equaled by any human being I ever saw, the
strongest, most ever-present sense of propriety. It never forsook

THE SOUTHEEN STATES.

17

him, and deeply and involuntarUy impressed itself upon every
beholder. " His address was of moderate length ; the topics I have, of
course, forgotten. Indeed, I was not of an age to appreciate
them ; but the air, the manner, the tone, have never left my men
tal -vision, and even now seem to vibrate on my ear.
" A scene like this once beheld, though in earUest youth, is
never lo be forgotten. It must be now fifty years ago, but I
could this moment sit down and sketch' the chamber, the assem
bly, and THE MAN.
" Having closed the reading, he laid down the scroll, and, after a
brief pause, retired as he had entered ; when the manuscript was
handed, for a second reading, to Mr. Beokley, then Clerk of the
House, whose gentlemanly manner, clear and silvery voice, and
sharp articulation, I shall ever associate with the scene. When
shall we again behold such a Congress, and such a President?"
AVe have remained so long in Virginia that we shall be com
pelled to pass -with great rapidity through the remaining Southern
States, which are ahke in many particulars, presenting much, the
same phases of society, and much the same aspects of natural
scenery. As you proceed southward, the population becomes
more sparse, the climate warmer, the vegetation more luxuriant.
The lands on the sea-board are leyel and monotonous ; in the in
terior, a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles from the sea, more
varied and beautiful.

.V\\'^<^."

Arms of North Carolina.

Arms of South Carolina.

'. ¦--','¦•¦
.,;:•-.? ."¦ .

North CaroUna and South Carohna, in their mountain districts,
possess some of the most magnificent and picturesque scenery in
the world. These are wealthy and chivalric States, though occa
sionally deemed somewhat proud and vainglorious in their mode

78

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

of expressing their patriotism. North Carolina is the more mod
est of the two, and, perhaps, equal to her more showy sister in
good sense and solid worth. Charleston is a cultivated place,
and boasts the possession of some distinguished hterary men.
Raleigh is a pleasant capital, and is the residence of many inter
esting and highly polished families.
Georgia is a large and prosperous State, with a genial climate,
luxuriant soil, and thrivina- population. The woods are adorned
with magnificent magnolias, and other flowering trees and shrubs.
Cotton is abundant ; oranges, lemons, and figs, especially in the
southern parts of the State, give a rich and brilliant aspect to the
landscape. Mercer University, and other literary institutions, do
honor to the intelligence and enterprise of the citizens. If they
could only maintain a good system of common schools, their higher
institutions would be vastly more influential and flourishing.

Arms of Georgia. Arms of Florida.
Florida, the land of the " orange and myrtle," has large tracts
of pine-barrens, low-lying, s-wampy lands, full of snakes and alUr
gators ; but with many beautiful savannas covered with a rich
^¦egetation, and some fine highlands, where the magnolia, the
p^ilmetto, and other fair trees of southern cUmes give a peouliai
charm to the scenery. In this State the population is sparse, and
the roads poor. Churches and school-houses are " few and fai
between." Alabama, once the dweUing of the Creek Indians, who have
found a home beyond the Mississippi, is a wealthy cotton-growing
State, with many slaves and extensive plantations. The high
table-lands in the center of the State are quite beautiful ; the low
lands are du]l and monotonous. The atmosphere is warm — in
tensely so in '-.he summer months ; and the soU generally fertile,

THE SOUTHEEN STATES.

79

and well adapted to the growth of cotton, rice, and tobacco. The
people of this State, like those of tiieir sister States of the South
generally, are distinguished for their hospitality. The large land
ed proprietors and planters are a spirited and aristocratic race.
Those of them that are educated are attractive in their manners,
while others, who have not enjoyed this advantage, though less
polished, are equaUy hospitable. They are somewhat fiery in
their temper, and quick in their resentments. Hunting, horse-
racing, visiting, barbecuing, and so forth, here, as throughout the
entire South, are the principal amusements. The negroes have
their own modes of merriment, to which they devote themselves
with the greatest enthusiasm. It is only here and there, however,
at remote distances, tha,t a traveler meets with a church or a
school. Many of the churches have preaching only once a month.
Tuscaloosa is a pleasant town, and has a flourishing university.

J'

.\i.ms ul AlabaiiKi.

Arms of lYlisiissippu

Mississippi, notwithstanding her repudiating propensities, is
growing in wealth and population. Large tracts of the country
are yet uncultivated, and the population is scattered, and in some
places poor and ignorant. Its rich land's and warm cliraate are
favorable to the growth of large cotton crops, the principal article
of commerce. On the banks of the lordly Llississippi, the towns,
cities, and villages are increasing rapidly in resources and pop
ulation. On the other side of tho river, opposite to the State of Missis
sippi, lies the fair and fertUe Louisiana, with her half-French and
half- American population, rich in lands, cotton, tobacco, rice, and
sugar, and especially rich in the trade and commerce of the Mis
sissippi. New Orleans is half French, half Catholic in its char
acter, and is distinguished for its wealth, gayety, and godlessness.

80

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Some, indeed, affirm that it is as moral as New York or PhUadel
phia, though greatiy addicted to gambUng, drinking, dueling, and
other " gentiemanly" sports ! It is a great mart of business with
the whole American continent and Europe, and is destined, there
fore, to a large and rapid increase. Louisiana has made some
laudable efforts in the cause of education, though in this respect
far behind the Middle and Eastem States.

Arms of Louisiana.

Arms of Tennessee.

Tennessee has considerable resources, though much of her terri
tory is yet unimproved. The people are quite enterprising, and
are doing all they can to improve their domain. The cause of
education has not altogether been neglected. Less wealthy than
Georgia or Alabama, they are as patriotic and enterprising. StUl,
the bowie-knife and the pistol are too rife among them.

> f~ «1 — »

Y

/

' ^^n^A '* ' -^

(

Arms of Arkansas.

Arms of Missouri.

Missouri, though -western, belongs to the South in chmate,
usages, and influence. It is only partially cultivated, and haa

THE SOUTHEEN STATES.

81

many indianj. Its resources are yet to be developed. St. Louis,
on the banks of the Mississippi, is destined to be one of the largest
inland cities of the Uuion.
But of all the slave States, old Kentucky, the home of Clay and
other distinguished men, is our favorite. Brave, gallant, and hos
pitable, albeit violent sometimes, and even intolerant, it has many
redeeming features. Her schools and colleges, however, and even
her churches, have not much to boast of ; still these are improv
ing, and we hope the day is not far distant when Kentucky
will vie in knowledge, freedom, and virtue with her Eastern
and Western sisters. But we are getting too far west, and
must dismiss the southern part of the Union with a few gen
eral remarks.

Arms of Kentucky.

Arms of Texas.

Texas, however, in character, institutions, climate, and produc
tions, is so essentially southern, that we must briefljr refer to this
State for the sake of grouping it witli its natural allies. Witli a
climate perhaps the blandest and purest on the North American
continent, a rich soil, exuberant vegetation, extensive forests, and
magnificent prairies, enameled with flowers and covered with
game, Texas might be ono of the wealthiest and most prosperous
States of the Union. Heterogeneous as her population is, her
progress thus far has been marked and decisive. Too ambitious,
however, and withal, grasping, Texas has many defects. Long
years must elapse before this youthful State can acquire the pu
rity and elevation which are thc glory of republics. Still, Chris
tianity is planting her institutions, her schools and churches, on
the banks of its noble rivers and by the sides of its mountains
and meadows, and even now we can see, in the improved charac
ter of tiie population, her bland and peaceful influence. Many

32 THE WOELD WE LIWE IN.
parts of the country are infested by wUd Indians, while others ara
the haunt of the buffalo, the jaguar, and the wolf.
In the South generally, and especially in the extreme South,
the roads are poor, at certain seasons all but irapassable, and the
hotels and other places of pubUc entertainment poor, and infre
quent. The people, however, when under the influence of natural
and kindly impulses, are hospitable and generous to a proverb.
Excitable, and sometimes violent, they too frequently give way to
their passions, so that lynching and dueling are by no means un
common. Many of the rich planters are intelligent and courteous,
well acquainted with men and books, and especiaUy versed in
commerce and politics. Much of the country, with all its wealth,
and many even of the better class of houses, have a raw and un
finished appearance. The poor white people are poor indeed ;
and the negroes, with all their ignorance and degradation, often
take more solid comfort than some of their white neighbors. Of
a sanguine, lively, laughing disposition, they often make the woods
ring with their noisy merriment.
In all the Southern States may be found some educational in
stitutions, academies, coUeges, and theological schools ; but com
mon schools are all but an impossibility there, on account of the
sparseness of the population and the peculiar condition of society.
Except the richer proprietors and professional men, the great
mass of the people, white and black, are very ignorant. StiU it
ought to be mentioned, to their credit, that some of the States,
especially in the southwest, are making vigorous efforts to estab
lish common schools.
^ Owing to their wealth and leisure, the leading men of the South
wUl generally be well informed and influential. From their ranks
have sprung some of our greatest statesmen, warriors, and orators.
The productions of this part of the Union are various and
abundant ; but the chief dependence is cotton. Thus far, this
important staple has been produced here in greater perfection and
abundance than in aU the world besides. General agriculture,
however, is far inferior to that of the Northern States oi- of Eng
land. Manufactures are beginning to be prosecuted with some
success in some of the Southern States ; but in this sphere of in-
dustiy it wiU be impossible for them to compete with Europe or
the North. ^ ^
In certain departments of literature the South is by no means
deficient. Its nch planters, lawyers, and statesmen, perhaps, have
less temptation to book-making than their Northern neio-hbors.
They seem to be most at home in " polite literature" and oratory.
The " Southem Literary Messenger" has been conducted with

THE SOUTHEEN STATES.

83

spirit and ability, and gives a fair sample of the Southem mind. In
science some of their writers have done good service. Drs. Smyth
and Bachman, of Charleston, S. C, and especially Audubon, who
belongs to Louisiana, are among our most distinguished naturalists.
It may be said, in conclusion, with reference to the Southem
people, that, while they have certain advantages of soil, position,
and climate, they have also serious drawbacks and disadvantages,
from which their character, high and attractive in many aspects,
suffers injury and loss. This, however, may be less owing to
choice than to circumstances. Theirs is a peculiar condition of
society. For, if the whites are free, the blacks are enslaved ; if
the whites are enlightened, the blacks are ignorant ; and if some
of both are Christians, many, especially of the latter, are little
better than heathen. Ignorance and besotment in any portion of
a community, even among helots and slaves, react upon the other.
The pestilential malaria, generated in lowlands and marshes, rise
to the highest elevations, and affect the whole rearion in which
they lie with disease and death. We ought, however, to say
here that much generous effort is expended by various bodies of
Christians in the South to give the Gospel to the slaves. Though,
contrary to thc literal provisions of the statute-book, many of them
are taught to read, whUe thousands have the privilege of listening
to the Word of God.
But the various problems which this subject involves it is not
our province, at present, to discuss. The whole subject is one of
diflficulty ; and certainly we will not condemn indiscriminately a
condition of society in which we have never lived, and frora which
have sprung so many noble characters, so many hei-oio virtues.

Cotlon-Field.

84 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER VII.
THE WESTERN STATES AND TERRITORIES.
We enter now a field of observation ail but interminable. The
West — the great West, where is it, and what is it ? Who can
tell ? Something may be said of it, but even after the most vivid
and elaborate description, much must remain untold. People
used to talk of going to the West, when they went to Buffalo, or
Detroit, or Cincinnati; now they go West all the way to the
Rocky Mountains, and beyond that huge backbone of North
America, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. This matter has
been presented in a lively and amusing light by Mr. CatUn, in his
charming book on the American Indians, which we commend to
the attention of our readers, as a noble specimen of American
genius and enterprise. "Notwithstanding all that has been written
and said, there is scarcely any subject on which the Jcnowing
people of the Kast are yet less informed than on the character and
amusements of the West. By this I mean the Far West, that
country whose fascinations spread a charm over the mind almost
dangerous to civilized pursuits. Few people even know the tme
definition of the term West : and where is its location ? Phantom-
Uke, it flies before us as we travel, and on our way is continually
gliding before us as we approach the setting sun.
" In the commencement of my tour, several of my traveling
companions from the city of New York found themselves at a
frightful distance to the West when we arrived at Niagara Falls,
and hastened back to amuse then- friends with tales and scenes of
the West. At Buffalo a steamboat was landmg with 400 passen
gers, and twelve days out. 'Where from?' 'From the West.'
In the rich State of Ohio, hundreds were selUng their farms and
going— to the West. In the beautiful city of Cincinnati people
said to me, ' Our town has passed the days of its most rapid
growth; it is not far enough West.' In St. Louis, 1400 miles
west of New York, my landlady assured me that I would be
pleased -with her boarders, for they were nearly all merchants
from thc 'West.' I then asked, ' Whence come those steamboats
laden -with pork, honey, hides, &c. ?'
'"From the West.'
" ' Whence those ponderous bars of silver which those men have
been for hours shouldering and putting on board that boat ?'

THE WESTEEN STATES AND TEEEITOEDS. 85

" ' They come from Santa Fe— from the West.'
" ' Where goes this steamboat, so richly laden with dry-goods,
steam-engines, &c. ?'
" ' She goes to Jefferson City.'
" ' Jefferson City !— Where is that ?'
"'Far to the West.'
" ' And where goes that boat, laden down to her gunwales, the
YeUow Stone ?'
" ' She goes still further to the West.'—' Then,' said I, ' I'U go
to the West.'
" I went on board the ' Yellow Stone'  * * *
Two thousand miles on her and we are at the mouth of the Yel
low Stone River — at the West. What ! invoices, biUs of lading,
(fee, a wholesale establishment so far to the West ! And those
strange-looking, long-Tiaired gentlemen, who have just arrived,
and are relating the adventures of their long and tedious journey.
'Who are they?'
" ' Oh ! they are some of our merchants just arrived from the
West.' " ' And that keel-boat, that Mackinaw-boat, and that formidable
caravan, all of which are richly laden with goods ?'
" ' These, sir, are outfits starting for the West.'
"Going to the West, ha? 'Then,' said I, 'I'U try it again.
I -will try and see if I can go to the West.' * * * *
" ' What, a fort here too ?'
" ' Oui, Monsieur, — Oui, Monsieur' (as a dauntless and semt-
6ar6a)'ia?i-looking, jolly fellow dashed forth in advance of his
party on his wild horse to meet me).
" ' What distance are you west of Yellow Stone, here, my good
fellow ?'
" ' Comment ?'
" ' What distance ? — (stop) — quel distance ?'
" ' Pardon, Monsieur, je ne sais pas. Monsieur.'
" ' Ne parlez vous I'Anglais ?'
" ' Non, Monsieur. I speaks de French and de Americaine ;
mais je ne parle pas I'Anglais.'
" ' Well, then, my good fellow, I ¦will speak English, and you
may speak Americaine.'
"'Val, sare, je suis bien content, pour I see dat you speaks
putty coot Americaine.'
" ' What may I call your name ?'
" ' Ba'tiste, Monsieur.'
" 'What Indians are those so splendidly dressed, and with such
fine horses, encamped on the plain yonder?'

56 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
" ' Ils sont Corbeaux.'
" ' Crows, ha ?'
" ' Yes, sare. Monsieur.'
" ' We are, then, in the Crow country ?'
" ' Non, Monsieur, not putty exact ; we are in the country of de
curse Pieds Noirs.'
'"Blackfeet, ha?'
" ' Oui.'
" ' What blue mountain is that which we see m the distance
yonder ?'
" ' Ha, quel montaigne ? Cela est la Montaigne du— (pardon).'
" ' Du Rochers, I suppose ?'
" ' Oui, Monsieur ; de Rock Montaigne.'
" ' You live here, I suppose ?'
" ' Non, Monsieur ; I coraes faur from d^ West.'
" ' What, from the West ! Where, under the heavens, is that ?'
•"Wat, diable! de West? Well, you shaU see. Monsieur.
He is putty fair off, suppose. Monsieur Pierre Chouteau can
give you de histoire de ma vie — U bien sait que je prends les cas
tors, very fair in de West.'
" ' You carry goods, I suppose, to trade with the Snake Indians
beyond the mountains, and trap beavers also ?'
" ' Oui, Monsieur.'
" ' Do you see any thing of the " Flat Heads" in your country ?'
" ' Non, Monsieur ; Us demeurent very, very fair to de West.'
" ' WeU, Ba'tiste, I'll lay my course back again for the present,
and at some future period endeavor to go to the West' "
For the present we, too, will fall back a little, and starting at
New Orleans, the great commercial emporium of the South, to
which descend, in a constant stream, the vast resources of the
North and West for thousands of mUes, we will proceed up the
Mississippi, the " Father of Waters," as it is justly termed, one of
the longest and most magnificent rivers in the world, rushing from
its far source, the beautiful Itasca Lake, or Lac la Biche, as the
French call it, situated among hills covered with the primeval pine
forests, and fed by living springs fifteen hundred feet above the
level of the ocean, and rushing a distance of three thousand one
hundred and si.xty mUes, to the Gulf of Mexico. With its im
mense tributaries, the Mississippi touches ten or a dozen States,
embracing a territory alraost equal in extent to that of Europe
west of the Uralian Mountains, of boundless resources, and filling
up, from year to year, with a vigorous and thriving population.
As we ascend, we pass through the States of Louisiana, Missis
sippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio,

THE WESTEEN STATES AND TEEEITOEIES. 87

Indiana, and Illinois. It is true that we branch off into the tribu
taries of the Mississippi, in order to reach some of the latter States ;
but all converge to a single point, and, with their commerce and
trade, swell the tide of business in the direction of this mighty
river. It passes through vast solitudes and interminable forests ;
but its broad bosom is covered with flat-boats, steamers, and all
sorts of water-craft, crowded with passengers and produce. Boats
of forty tons can ascend to the Falls of St. Anthony, a distance of
two thousand miles. Cities have sprung up on its shores, some
of them large and beautiful, where, a few years ago, the howl of
the wolf and the yell of the savage were the only sounds which
disturbed the silence of the unbroken wilderness. The first steam
boat on the Western waters was built at Pittsburg, in 1 8 1 1 . There
are now from four to five hundred, some of them of great burden,
on the Mississippi and its tributaries. But those are nothing to
the great number of other water-craft on this river, of all shapes
and sizes ; and araong others, the Ark, or Kentucky Flat, a huge
frame of square timber, with a roof some fifteen or sixteen feet
wide, and from 600 to 800 long, filled with goods, passengers, and
produce, and sometimes animals ; in fact, a floating village, or
rather store, including pig-pen, hen-roost, and stable. In the
spring, a hundred boats, of all sorts, have been numbered, that
landed in one day at the mouth of the bayou at Madrid. " I
have strolled," says Mr. Flint, " to the point, on a spring evening,
and seen them arriving in fleets. The boisterous gayety of tlie
hands, the congratulations, the moving picture of Ufe on board the
boats, in the numerous aniraals, large and sraall, which they carry
their different loads, the evidence of the increasing agricultiu-e ot
the country above, and, more than all, the immense distances.
whioh they have already come, and .those which they still have to
go, afforded me copious sources of meditation. They have come
from regions thousands of railes apart ; they have floated to a
common point of union. Tlie surfaces of tlie boats cover some
acres. DunffhiU fowls are fluttering over the roofs, as an invari-
able appendage. The chanticleer raises his piercing note ; the
swine utter their cries ; the cattle low ; the horses trample, as in
their stables. There are boats fitted on purpose, and loaded en
tirely with turkeys, that, having little else to do, gobble most
furiously. The hands travel about from boat to boat, make in
quiries and acquaintances, and form alliances to yield mutual as
sistance, on their descent from this to New Orleans." Sorae of
these boats are regular stores, that glide from point to point, to
trade along the river ; others contain workshops, tavei-ns, shows,
stroUing mountebanks, and so forth.

88 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
As you ascend the river, you leave the region of cotton and to
bacco, and corae into that of corn and wine ; for the vine is now
cultivated in Ohio, IlUnois, and other Westem regions. The dif
ferent States vary somewhat in their character, as well as produc
tions. The people of Louisiana derive their peculiarities from
France ; Kentucky from Virginia and North Carolina ; Ohio from
New England and New York. What we ordinarUy call the West,
or the Great Valley of the Mississippi, receives its predominant
character from Kentucky and Ohio — Kentucky exhibiting the
traits of the South, and Ohio those of the East ; and both blend
ing together, and giving rise to a new and interesting variety, hav
ing some of the faults and some of the virtues of both. The
whole, indeed, has been modified by their "life in the wUderness,"
having acquired a vigor, boldness, and recklessness, mingled ¦with
frankness and generosity, from the habits of the first settlers.
Less perfectly educated, and less polished in their manners, than
the people of the East, they are more easy, more natural, and
generous. A dash of the romantic and roving mingles in their
composition. A httle rough, perhaps, like the forests in which
they have roamed, they are full of vigor and manly promise.
The free Western States, as every one knows, advance the most
rapidly in education, agriculture, commerce, and population.

O&o has made prodigious progress. Already she numbers her
population by millions. Her broad acres teem with the produc
tions of agnculture, whUe her schools, churches, and colleges
adorn the fair landscape. Cincinnati, the " Queen of the West,"
has distinguished herself not only in trade and commerce, but in
education and literature. Her noble Astronomical Observatory,

THE WESTEEN STATES AND TEEEITOEIES.

89

founded by the indefatigable exertions of Professor Mitchell, whose
work on astronomy, a fine momiment of his genius, is a credit to
the city which has sustained and fostered such a raan and such
an enterprise.

Arms ol Illinois.

Arms of Ind a a.

Illinois possesses much of the vigor and prosperity of Ohio.
So also does Indiana. But the whole Western valley is full of
energy. Her population, somewhat rough and heterogeneous,
being gathered from nearly all lands under heaven, is acquiring a
homogeneous character. The Sax.on element is yet, and must be,
predominant. Evangelical religion still presides over the foi-ma-
tion of their character and destiny. Still, as in every ncw coun
try, a dash of barbarism is uniformly found, and some bad ten
dencies have been developed. In the extreme Western, and espe
ciaUy Southwestern States, one meets with many things to disturb
and shock his moral sensibilities. Generous, it may be, in some
aspects of their character, the people are often impulsive, passion
ate, and even revengeful. The bowie-knife style of civilization oc
casionally makes its appearance. Law is sometimes set at defi
ance. Mobocracy and Lynching rule the hour. Penetrating still
fm'ther west and south, where the confines of civilization pass into
those of barbarism, a wUd and somewhat savage frontier style of
life discovers itself. Religion and law are Uttle known. Rudeness
and violence characterize a large portion of thc ignorant and scat
tered inhabitants. Here and there, indeed, are found individuals
and families of noble and generous qualities, but many more are
degraded and lawless. Poor, besotted Indians, half-breeds, free
booters, who have fled from the face of society to hide themselves
in the -woods, and persons of a morose or savage turn of mind,
frequent these frontier settlements, or rather solitudes. The fol-

90 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
lowing, from Audubon, wiU give a lively idea of this class of per
sons, and the necessity thence resulting of taking the law into
one's own hands : — .
" On our return from the Upper Mississippi, I found myself
obUged to cross one of the -\vide prairies which, in that portion of
the United States, vary the appearance of the country. The
weather was fine ; all around me was as fresh and blooming as if
it had just issued from the bosom of nature. My knapsack, my
gun, and my dog were all I had for baggage and for company.
But although well moccasined, I moved slowly along, attracted by
the brilUancy of the flowers, and the gambols of the fa-ivns around
their dams, to all appearance as thoughtless of danger as I felt
myself. My march was of long duration. I saw the sun sinking
into the horizon long before I could perceive any appearance of
woodland, and nothmg in the shape of man had I met.that day. The
track which I followed was only an old Indian trace ; and, as dark
ness overshadowed the prairie, I felt some desire to reach at least
a copse, in which I might lie down to rest. The night-hawks were
skimraing over and around me, attracted by the buzzing wings of
the beetles, which form their food ; and tbe distant howUng of
wolves gave me some hope that I should soon arrive at the skirts
of some woodland. I did so, and almost at the same instant a
fire-Ught attracting my eye, I moved toward it, full of confidence
that it proceeded from the carap of sorae wandering Indians. I
was mistaken. I discovered, from its glare, that it was from the
hearth of a small log-cabin, and that a tall figure passed and re
passed between it and me, as if busily engaged in household ar
rangements. I reached the spot, and, presenting myself at the
door, asked the tall figure, which proved to be a woman, if I
might take shelter under her roof for the night. Her voice was
gruff, and her attire thro-ivn negligently about her. She answered
in the aflfirmative. I walked in, took a wooden stool, and quietly
seated myself by the fire. The next object that attracted my no
tice was a finely formed young Indian, resting his head between
his hands, with his elbows on his knees. A long bow rested
against a log waU near him, whUe a quantity of arrows and two
or three raccoon skins lay at his feet. He moved not ; he appar
entiy breathed not. Accustomed to the habits of the Indians, and
knowing that they pay littie attention to the approach of civiUzed
strangers (a circumstance which, in some countries, is regarded as
evidence of the apatiiy of his character), I addressed him in French,
a language not unfrequentiy partially known to the people of the
neighborhood. He raised his head, pointed with his finger to one
of his eyes, and gave me a significant glance with the other. The

THE WKS'l'KllX STATES ANJ) TEPaHTOEIES. 91

fact was, that an hour before this, as he was in the act of dis
charging an arrow at a raccoon, in the top of a tree, the arrow had
struck upon a cord, and sprung back with such violence into his
right eye as to destroy it forever. Feeling hungry, I inquired
what sort of fare I might expect. Such a thing as a bed was not
to be seen, but many large untanned bear and buffalo hides lay piled
in a corner. I drew a fine time-piece from my breast, and told the
woraan that it was late, and that I was fatigued. She had espied
my watch, the richness of which seemed to operate upon her feel
ings with electric quickness. She told me there was plenty of
venison and jerked buffalo meat, and that, on remo-ving the ashes,
I should find a oake. But my watch had struck her fancy, and
her curiosity had to be gratified by an immediate sight of it. I
took the gold chain that secured it from around my own neck, and
presented it to her. She was all ecstasy, spoke of its beauty, asked
me its value, and put the chain around her brawny neck, saying
how happy the possession of such, a watch would make her.
Thoughtless, and, as I fancied myself, in so retired a spot, secure,
I paid little attention to her talk or her movements. I helped my
dog to a good supper of venison. The Indian rose from his seat,
as if in extrerae suffering. He passed and repassed rae several
times, and once pinched me on the side so violently, that the pain
nearly brought forth an exclamation of anger. I looked at him.
His eye met mine ; but his look was so forbidding, that it struck
a chill into the raore nervous part of ray system. He again seated
himself, drew his butcher-knife from its greasy scabbard, exam
ined its edge as I would that of a razor suspected dull, replaced
it, and again taking his tomahawk frora his back, filled the pipe of
it with tobacco, and sent me expressive glances whenever our
hostess chanced to have her back toward us. Never untU this
moment had my senses been awakened to the danger which I now
suspected to be about me. I returned glance for glance to my
companion, and rested well assured that, whatever eneraies I might
have, he was not of their nuraber. I asked the woman for my
watch, wound it up, and under pretense of wishing to see how
the weather might probably be on the morrow, took up my gun,
and walked out of the cabin. I clipped a ball into each barrel,
scraped the edges of my flints, renewed the primings, and, return
ing to the hut, gave a favorable account of ray observations. I
took a few bear-skins, made a pallet of thera, and calling my faith
ful dog to my side, lay down, with ray gun close to my body, and
in a few minutes was, to all appearances, fast asleep. A short
time had elapsed, when some voices were heard, and from the
corner of my eyes I saw two athletic youths making their entrance.

02 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

bearing a dead stag on a pole. They disposed of their burden,
and asking for whisky, helped themselves freely to it. Observing
me and the wounded Indian, they asked wbo I was, and why the
devU that rasfcal (meaning the Indian, who, they knew, understood
not a word of English) was in the house. The mother (for so she
proved to be) bade them speak less loudly, made mention of my
watch, and took them to a corner, where a conversation took place,
the purport ofwhich required little shrewdness in me to guess. I
tapped my dog gently ; he moved his tail, and, with indescribable
pleasure, I saw his fine eyes alternately fixed on me and raised
toward the trio in the corner. I felt that he perceived danger in
my situation. The Indian exchanged a last glance with me.
The lads had eaten and drunk themselves into such condition, that
I already looked upon them as hors du combat ; and the frequent
visits of the whisky bottle to the ugly mouth of their dam I hoped
would soon reduce her to a Uke state. Judge of my astonishment,
reader, when I saw this incarnate fiend take a large carving-knife,
and go to the grindstone to whet its edge. I saw her pour the
water on the turning-machine, and watched her working every
way with thc dangerous instrument, until the sweat covered every
part of my body, in despite of my determination to defend myself
to the last. Her task finished, she walked to her reeling sons, and
said, ' There, that '11 soon settle him ! Boys, kUl him ; and then
for the watch.' I turned, cocked my gun-locks silently, touched
my faithful companion, and lay ready to start up and shoot the
first who might attempt my Ufe. The moment was fast approach
ing, and that night might have been my last in this world, had not
Providence made preparations for my rescue. All was ready.
The infernal hag was advancing slowlj-, probably contemplating
the best_ way of dispatching me, while her sons should be en
gaged with the Indian. I was several tiraes on the eve of ris
ing and shooting her on the spot ; but she was not to be punished
thus. The door was suddenly opened, and there entered two
stout travelers, each with a rifle on his shoulder. I bounced up
on my feet, and making tiiem most heartily welcome, told them
how well it was for me that they should arrive at that moment
The tale was told in a minute. The drunken sons were secured,
and the woraan, in spite of ber defense and vociferations, shared
the same fate. The Indian fairly danced with joy, and gave us to
understand tiiat, as he could not sleep for pain, he would watch
over us. You may suppose we slept much less than we talked.
The two strangers gave rae an account of their once having been
themselves m a somewhat simUar situation. Day came, fair and
rosy, and with it the punishment of our captives. They were now

TIIE WiSTEEN STATES AND TEEEITOEIES.

93

quite sobered. Their feet were unbound, but their arms were se
curely tied. We marched them into the woods off the road, and
having used them as Regulators were wont to use such delin
quents, we set fire to the cabin, gave all the skins and implements
to the young Indian warrior, and proceeded, well pleased, toward
the settlements."

Arms uf Michigan.

Arms of Wisconsin.

Passing to the northeast, though yet in the region of the West,
just above the Mississippi Valley proper, we find the country and
people becoraing raore and more Uke those of the Eastern or Mid
dle States, Michigan is a fine thrifty State, settled chiefly from
New York and New England, and making rapid progress in agri
culture and coraraerce. Lying snugly between the two great
lakes, the Erie and the Michigan, and traversed through her entire
breadth by a substantial railroad, she possesses superior advan
tages for trade and transportation. Some idea may be formed of
the immense travel and business on this road, by a glance at the
depot in Detroit^ — we presume, the largest in the country, being
some 800 feet in length, and of proportional width and hight.
Michigan has made araple provision for a complete system of
common-school education, having reserved a sufficient amount of
the public domain to endow a university, with different subordi
nate branches, as well as primary schools and grammar schools,
for the whole population.
Advancing further west, we find a new world forming in Wis
consin ; and still further, about the head- waters of the Mississippi,
in the beautiful and diversified regions of Minesota, which has
been styled the "New England of the West." "The gallant
State of Wisconsin," says a writer in the National Era, " is laying
a broad basis for the instruction of her youth. The number of

g^ THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
acres in her school sections is 1,408 000, }^ f^^^'^^" ^f)^^l
500,000 acres ceded by Co^^-ess for school pu^^^^^^^^^
very nearly 2,000,000 acres in this State tor a p«r
canital 'Ihese lands wiU yield, on an average $o per acre, wnicn
J g ve J 0 000,000 as the school fund of W~- ; -°re ^7
Tar 1400.000, than that of New York. I ^ t Wsifehment
46,080 aci-es oHhe best lands are set apart for the establishment
of a; university."

As to Minesota, it embraces an area of aoout one hundredand
sixty-six thousand square miles along thc banks of the Mississippi,
and on the bead- waters of rivers which flow mto Hudson's Bay

THE WESTEEN STATES AND TEEEITOEIES.

95

and the Gulf of St. La-wrence, between the 47th and 48th paraUel,
full of beautiful lakes and streams, suitable for navigation and
commerce, and of great variety and fertility of soil ; a land of
promise to thousands of emigrants.

Arms of Iowa.

To the south is the fine Territory, or rather State, of Iowa, with
many Indians, but fiUing up with emigrants from the East, and
destined to be one of the largest and most influential States in the
West

Proceeding in the direction of the setting sun, you come to the
vast regions of the Mandans, and crossing the Rocky Mountains, to
the wide-spread lands, lakes, rivers, mountains, and forests, in-

06 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

eluded in the newly acquired Territory of Oregon, lying north of
CaUfornia, and terminating on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
But we retrace our steps, and, standing once more on the banks
of the Mississippi, let us form some estimate of the extent, popu
lation, and prospects of this wild, but magnificent West. Says a
good authority —
" The ' West', in distinction from the East, properly embraces
all those States and Territories west of the AUeghanies, over tbe
Rocky chain to the Pacific, commencing with the line of the fol
lowing States on the East, viz., Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and
Alabama, and embracing Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas,
and the territory west of the Pacific. We will divide all the
States west of the Alleghanies, for the sake of convenience, into
Northwestern and Southwestern. The former, embracing Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin ; the
latter, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Ala
bama, and Texas.
"The entire National Domain now amounts to 3,252,574 square
mUes. Deducting the territory occupied by the sixteen States,
and one district east of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama,
equaling 427,500 square miles, and there remain 2,825,074
square miles as the domain of the ' West,' or nearly seven-
eighths of the whole, and containing fourteen organized States,
occupying from 800,000 to 1,000,000 of square miles, or more
than twice the territory embraced by the si.\teen Eastern States
and one District. The West is capable of making 70^ States as
large as Ohio; 376|- as Massachusetts; and 2108^ as Rhode
Island. If as many can subsist on its soil as are in England, then
847,500,000 can find support on it ; or as found in Massachusetts,
over 300,000,000.
" A table, calculated by Dr. Patterson, of thc United States
Mint, in Philadelphia, showing the center of representative popu
lation ofthe United States at each census from 1790 to 1840, in
clusive, gives the foUowing results : In 1790 the center of repre-
sentative population was in Baltimore county, Maryland, forty-six
mUcs north and twenty-two east from Washington. In 1 800 it
was in Can-oU county, Maryland, fifty-two miles north and nine
east from Washington. In 1810 it was in Adams county, Penn
sylvania, sixty-four mUes north and thirty west from Washington.
In 1820 it was in Morgan county, Virginia, forty-seven mUes
north and seventy-one west from ^Vashington. In 1830 it was
in Hampshire county, Virginia, forty-three mUes north and one
hundred and eight west from Washington. In 1840 it was in
Marion county, Virginia, thirty-six mUcs north and one himdred

THE WESTEEN STATES AND TEEEITOEIES. 97

and sixty west from Washington. Thus it would appear that the
center of representative population has kept nearly on the same
parallel of latitude for fifty years, the latitude of 1840 being within
ten mUes of that of 1790. It has in the same fifty years moved
westward one hundred and eighty-two miles.
" Thus we perceive that the mass of representative population
is moving westward with accelerated velocity. The following
statement exhibits the fact : —
"From 1790 to 1800, the movement West was 13 miles.
" 1800 to 1810, do. do. 39 "
" 1810 to 1820, do. do. 41 "
" 1820 to 1830, do. do. 37 "
" 1830 to 1840, do. do. 52 "
" The center of representative population is now just about the
Ohio River, and in 1850 will be in Washington or Monroe county.
" Such is a glance at 'The West,' a region coraprising 2,825,000
square railes, now .peopled with a population, exclusive of aborig
ines, of only ten millions, and capable of sustaining 847,500,000
at the rate that England is populated. Such a number wUl be
found upon it before the middle of the next century, according to
the present rate of increase. Its mountains, valleys, lakes, and
rivers are on the grandest scale. Its natural facilities for intemal
communication are great. The Missouri is 3600 miles in length,
or more than twice as long as the Danube. The Ohio is 600
miles longer than the Rhine. Its lakes extend from east to west
over 15^ degrees of longitude, covering an area of 93,000 square
miles, and draining a country of 400,000 square mUes. The Mis
sissippi and its tributaries alone afford a steamboat navigation of
25,000 or 30,000 mUes. Its inland comraerce in 1846 was
$432,000,000, more than twice the foreign coramerce of the
country. The vast chains of raUroads and dikes commenced,
when completed, intersecting it in every direction, -will enhance it.
A more bountiful soil, giving richer remuneration to the cultivator,
cannot be found on eai-th. Of all the great staples, coffee is the
only one which does not grow in its Umits. Already it has begun
to pour into the lap of suffering Europe its surplus bread-stuffs.
Last year it raised 3,000,000 surplus bushels of wheat, 85,000,000
surplus barrels of flour, 17,000,000 surplus bushels of Indian
com, with potatoes and other vegetables, and meats in luxuriant
proportion. For years, Europe wUl in a great degree be depend
ent on its markets for bread. It is said that the wheat raised in
the section north of the Ohio River, bounded east by an imagmary
5

98 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
Une running north from Pittsburg to Lake Erie, and west by the
Mississippi River, is sufficient to supply the demands of the United
States, and that aU raised elsewhere is surplus.
" Nor is it less deficient in those other great resources in which
the wealth of a nation is supposed in part to consist. _ Its mineral
resources are mexhaustible. Ohio alone, without sinking a pit
below the level of her valleys, could supply coal equal to the
amount dug from the mines of England and Wales for twenty-five
hundred years. Iron abounds from Tennessee to Lake Erie, and
forms the very mountains of Missouri and Arkansas. Salt wells
up from secret storehouses in every Northwestern State. Lead
enough to supply the human race is raised from the great metaUic
dikes of Illinois and Wisconsin. Copper and silver beckon capi
talists to the shores of Lake Superior. The discoveries of gold in
New California are of the most extraordinary character.
" If .the importance of the United States is seen from its extent
of territory ; from its richness and variety of soil ; from its healthi
ness, of climate, its mineral resources, and as furnishing a desirable
abode for man, especially is that of the West seen from the same
considerations, and from the fact that it constitutes seven-eighths
of the whole domain ; that it is the granary of the United States ;
that most of the great staples are derived from it ; that it contains
the great lakes, the great rivers, the great mines ; that it pre
sents, from these considerations, the greatest attractions to emigrant
man as a habitation ; that thitherward, in consequence, has been
the greatest flow of population — its last decadal increase to that of
the region east of the Alleghanies, ha\ang been in the ratio of 74
to 16^; that within a very few years the preponderance in popu
lation, and consequently of political power, -wUl be in its favor ;
that, at the close of the present century, there -wUl be contained
¦within its limits at least 80,000,000 !"
Of New Mexico, with its defective half-Indian, half-Mexican,
half- American popiUation, its long ranges of mountains, its exten
sive, and, in many respects, beautiful valley of the Rio del Norte,
running through the center, we can say, at present, comparatively
nothing. But we must add a few words respecting California, ihe richest
recent acquisition of the United States — the El Dorado of the
West — which is attracting the attention of the civihzed, and in part
of the savage, world, such is the potent speU of gold, with which
it abounds. " The indications of its presence," says Senator Benton, "extend
over an area of more than two thousand mUes. They are in New
Mexico — on the waters of the Middle Colorado — on the mountains

THE WESTEEN STATES AND TEEEITOEIES. 99

both beyond and on this side of the Sierra Nevada. Professor
Dana, who was geologist to Captain Wilkes's Exploring Expedition,
and who examined the country between the coast range and the

Anns of Califonila.
Cascade range of mountains, found the gold-bearing rocks, as
geologists call them, on the Urapqua, the Shastl, and the Tlamath
rivers, and at the head of the Sacramento valley. He did not
visit the Sierra Nevada, but said there was gold yet to be dis
covered in the Sacramento valley. It has been discovered, and
no one can tell where it is to end. The Sierra Nevada is six
hundred miles long, ten or twelve thousand feet high, and has a
slope of from forty to seventy mUes ; and all this seems to be an
auriferous region. South of the Sierra Nevada are prolongations
of the sarae chain and of the same character, and known to
possess gold. The Ural Mountains, now yielding so much gold
to Russia, are but twelve hundred miles long and five or six
thousand feet high : the mountain chains in New Mexico and Cali
fornia which produce gold are near twice as long and twice as
high as the Ural Mountains." SUver also abounds in CaUfomia,
and several mines of great richness have recently been opened.
Cinnebar, platinum, lead, iron, copper, and sulphur aU exist,
apparently in large quantities.
But the region itself, independently of its mineral treasures, is
rich in natural resources. It is destined, owing to its locality on
the western shores of the Pacific, and its harbor of San Francisco,
one of the noblest in the world, to command the coramerce of
Asia. Its extent is great. From Cape Mendocino, at the borders
of what used to be the United States, of which California now
forms a part, to "the root" of the peninsula, is seven hundred
mUes, whUe Lower Calffornia stretches its long Une of country to

100 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

a-n almost equal distance. The old region is for the most part a
broken, hilly, and barren tract of land, but relieved occasionally by
rich and beautiful plains. Alta California extends from the coast to
New Mexico. The interior is a huge desert basin, but partially ex
plored, wooded, wUd, and rocky, with a few lakes and streams, and
peopled by savage Indian tribes. The great gold region is divided
from this wilderness by the Sierra, or Sno-wy Range, between
which and the sea lies another line of mountains, forming a
valley of 500 miles in length, watered by the Sacramento and San
Joachim, both rich in gold, and bordered by fertUe valleys and
wooded slopes, now filled with the hum of busy industry. These
two streams form a junction in the center of the valley, and
pour their united current into the harbor of San Francisco. The
aspect of the country is diversified and beautiful. Green valleys
and flowery slopes, deep woods, gleaming lakes, and verdant
hills adorn the interior borders, backed by the dome-like spires of
the Snowy Range, whose deep ra^vines and caverns are peopled by
laborious gold-hunters. The banks of the rivers are becoming
covered with cottages here and there in the more favored localities,
while "amateur del vers" dig among the sands for the yellow
treasure. As a whole, the country is fertile, producing abundance of
grains, fruits, and vegetables, -with excellent timber; whUe fair
meadows and pasture-grounds afford nourishment to the flocks
and herds that once formed the principal wealth of CaUfomia.
The_ first discovery of gold was made by Captain Sutter, in
1847, in his water-mUl course, a thousand feet above the level of
the vaUey, where the Rio de los Americanos pours down from
the Sierra Nevada, to swell the combined streams of the Sacra
mento and San Joachim. This was soon spread abroad, — gold-
dust was discovered in other parts of the country, m the beds and
sand-bars of the rivers, in the moimtains, and m the valleys. It
spread over the United States like Ughtning, and soon reached
England, Spain, France, Germany, the Sandwich Islands, South
America, and even China ; and from aU these quarters thousands
flocked to this new land of " golden" promise. The harbor of
San Francisco was filled -ndth vessels of various colors— cities,
vUlages, hamlets, houses, tents, sprung up as by magio along the
vaUeys and the streams. Soldiers abandoned their p'osts and citi
zens their eraployraents, and hurried to the Sacramento and the
San Joachim. Half-naked Indians; "canny Scotchmen" and
bustUng Englishmen ; sharp-visaged Yankees in straw hats and
loose frocks ; groups of swarthy Spanish Americans ; old Dons in
the gaudy costumes of a dead fashion; gigantic trappers, with

THE WESTEEN STATES AND TEEEITOEIES. 101

their rude prairie garb ; and gentlemen traders from the United
States, with strange groups of Sandwich Islanders and waddling
Chinese, "jostled in tumultuous confusion through the gold region."
California at last, with her free institutions planted on the shores
of the Pacific, was admitted into the American Union. Order,
law, religion, prosperity, immediately ensued. Every where
Christian enterprise follows in the track of commercial enterprise.
Churches spring up in San Francisco, Sacramento, and other
places, and of course schools and colleges will speedily follow.
"Araerican enterprise," says an English joumal, "is clearing the
forest lands, cleansing out raines, planning cities, speculating in
town lots, erecting school-houses, universities, and churches ; while
land is selling at prodigious prices. Dreaming adventurers call
to mind the coffers of King Croesus, and hearing that in CaU
fornia there is ' Gold to fetch, and gold to send.
Gold to borrow, and gold to lend,
Gold to keep, and gold to spend,
And abundance of gold in futuro'
pour in mad torrents to the favored land, while buUding up
visionary castles more extravagant than those of the sanguine
Alnaschar in the Thousand and One Nights."
Much incidental evU doubtless comes of all this, — much suffer.
ing and sorrow, much crime and death. Nevertheless, California
is steadily rising in prosperity, and exerting a wide commercial
and moral influence.
Utah, the new and peculiar home of that strange, fanatical,
half-Jewish, half-Mohammedan, half-Christian sect, the Mormons,
demands a passing notice ; as it may figure, by-and-by, largely in
the history of the Far West. The narae Utah is given to an
extensive tract of country bounded by California, Oregon, and
New Mexico, and what was forraerly -terraed the great Westem
Territory. Considerable portions are wild and wooded, others are
not only diflficult of access, but rocky and sterile, covered with in
crustations of salt, or a giant species of sage, their only vegetation,
of no use except to be consumed as fuel. In the midst of its
snow-covered mountains, through whioh there is no access but by
arid and lonely passes, choked five raonths of the year with snow
drifts, lies a tract of land, five thousand feet above the level of the
sea, caUed The Great Basin, of considerable fertility, and by no
means destitute of mineral treasures, in which the Mormons hoped,
in " sUence and secrecy," to form a new, peculiar, ecclesiastical
empire.

102 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

But it has been discovered and overrun by the great stream of
American emigration to CaUfomia, and made "the Half-way
House" to the Pacific.
" This basin is some 560 miles in diameter, has its o^wn system
of lakes and rivers, and has no known communication whatever
with the sea, unless the existence of the whirlpools in the Salt
Lake, which are reported to be lately discovered, should prove an
internal coramunication with the Pacific, or with some spring or
lake in the lower country. In the northem part of this basin lies
the Great Salt Lake. The waters of this sheet are shallow, so
far as explored, though probably its central parts will be found
very deep. Its waters are intensely salt, more so than the ocean
— three gallons making one gallon of the purest, whitest, and
finest salt. Southeast of this lake, shut in by the mountains, lies
the Mormon Valley that contains their capital city, by some called
the Great Salt Lake City ; by others. Mormon City. This valley
is thirty miles by twenty-two, connected to another valley, whioh
is about fifty miles by eight. These two valleys contain the prin-
. cipal body of the settlers. Explorers think that they are capable
of supporting a population of a milUon.
" Fifty miles south of the city is the Utah Lake and Valley.
Here Ues the city of Provo, on the Provo River. The lake is pure
water, eight mUes by four, and abounds in fish. There is stUl
another valley one hundred miles further south, called San Pete,
where there is another settlement ; and here we find the hiero
glyphic ruins, the remains of glazed pottery, &c., that mdi
cate the former existence of the outlying cities of the Aztec
Empire. " The soU of all these valleys is astonishingly productive, though
requiring, constantiy, artificial irrigation from the mountain streams.
The climate is one of the healthiest, and the air the purest, on the
continent. The neighboring mountains rise to the hight of a
mile and a half above the vaUey, and are covered -with perpetual
snow. " The Citv is laid out in blocks of ten acres each ; eight lots to
the block ; an acre and a quarter to the lot ; the streets eight
rods wide ; each ten-acre block to be surrounded by a stream
brought down from the mountains. No two houses front each
other ; so that, standing in his own door, every man looks into his
neighbor's garden. In the oity are four public squares, to be sur
rounded with shade-trees, and supplied with fountains.
" The peculiar locahty of Utah wiU prove of immense service
as a stopping-place for rest, refreshment, and provisions for the
army of emigrants that wiU, year after year, seek California, or

INDIAN TEEKITOEY AND INDIANS.

103

Oregon, by the Southern Pass ; and when the great raUway is
established, it will prove of incalculable benefit as a great Station-
House on the route."

FM..d0 ViiXilP •- — ¦-¦¦
Commencing a Bettlement.
Vii
CHAPTER VIIL
INDIAN TERRITORY AND INDIANS.
Before lea^ving the United States, we will make a brief visit to
the Indian Territoi-y, west of the Mississippi, where the great
body of the aboriginal tribes are now gathered, and where some
of them, for example, the Creeks, Choctaws, and Cherokees, are
advancing rapidly in agriculture, education, and Christianity.
These tribes have formed constitutions simUar to that of the
United States, and have, within their domains, schools and
churches, with a regular adrainistration of justice. In nearly all
the other States and Territories are some smaU and scattered rem
nants of Indian tribes ; but the larger and more influential tribes,
and, indeed, the great majority of the Indian people, have taken
up their abode beyond "the Father -of Waters." To the south
are the Choctaws, Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees, Senecas, and
Quapaws ; further north we find the Peorias, Delawares, Kansas,
104 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Gros Ventres, Kickapoos, Otoes, Missom-ias, the Pawnees, Oma-
hoes, Pottawattamies, lowas, and Foxes. Still further north, to
ward the head-waters of the Mississippi and Missouri, are the
Sacs and Foxes, beyond whom, toward the west, are the Sioux
and the Mandans ; while further west and north are the Crows
and Blackfeet, ranging aU the way from the Mandan Territory to
the base of the Rocky Mountains. Beyond these mighty barriers
are the Flatheads, and some other tribes, all Jhe way to the shores
of the Pacific. In Texas, New Mexico, and California are numer
ous bands of native tribes, but generally inferior to those on the
eastern side of the mountains, especially those in the Indian Ter
ritory proper, which has certain defined limits, extending from
the western boundary of Arkansas and Missouri to that of the
United States, lying between the Red River, on the north, and the
Nebraska, on the south, or more generally, perhaps, the State of
Texas, being about 600 miles in breadth and 700, more or less, m
length, and containing an area of some 225,000 or 300,000 square
miles. To the west of the Mandan Territory, properly Indian in
its character, lies the Great American Desert, as it is called, which
extends along the foot of the Rocky Mountains, -with a breadth of
about 500 miles, much of the soil being arid and barren, ¦with stinted
trees and shrubs. The eastern part of the Indian country is com
paratively fertUe, and in many places rich and beautiful, -with
magnificent prairies and abundant rivers. The eye roams over
boundless meadows, or flats, through which range the elk and the
buffalo. " From St. Louis to the faUs of the Missouri," says
CatUn, "a distance of 2600 miles, is one continued prairie; with
the exception of a few of the bottoms formed along the banks of
the river and the strearas which are falling into it, whioh are often
covered with the most luxuriant growth of forest timber. The
summit-level of the great prairie, stretching off *o the west and
east from the river, to an almost boundless extent, is from two to
three hundred feet above the level of the river, whioh, by its con
tinual overflovring, has formed deposits -with a horizontal surface,
spreading the deepest and richest alluvion over the surface of its
meadows on either side, through which the river winds its serpen
tine course, alternately runnmg from one bluff to the other, which
present themselves to its shores in all the most picturesque and
beautiful shapes and colors imaginable — some, -with their green
sides, gracefully sloping down in the most lovely groups to the
water's edge ; whUe others, divested of their verdure, present them
selves in iramense masses of clay of different colors, which arrest
the eye of the traveler with the most curious views in the world."
Upon these various forms of nature, the result of rains, frost.

INDIAN TEEEITOEY AND INDIANS. 105

and other agents, travelers dwell with enthusiasm, as presenting
in endless variety aspects of the sublime and picturesque, often
appearing like the ruins of ancient cities, ramparts, terraces,
domes, towers, citadels and castles, cupolas and magnificent por
ticoes, with here and there a solitary column and crumbling ped
estal and spire of clay which stand alone and glistening in the
distance, as the sun's rays are refracted back by the thousand
crystals of gypsum which are imbedded in the clay of which they
are foi-med.
Among these wUd and quiet haunts the mountain sheep and
the fleet-bounding antelope sport and live in herds, secure from
their enemies. Here also the grizzly bear has his chosen place of
abode, where he sullenly sneaks through the gulfs, and chasms,
and ravines, and frowns away the lurking Indian.
But the most charaoteristio feature of the Indian Temtory are
the prairies, vast, silent, and solitary, except when disturbed by
the yelp of the prau-ie-dog, the howl of the wolf, the tramp of the
buffalo, the shout of the savage, or the roar of thunder. Here
the Indian finds his game, and here the white man feels himself
awed and subdued amid interminable, but sublime and attractive
soUtudes. Every where the splendid panorama of a new and pe
culiar world opens to his gaze, " with its thousands of mUes, and
tens of thousands of grassy hills and dales, where naught but
silence reigns, and where the soul of a contemplative mold is
seemingly lifted up to its Creator."
The Indians of North America, as is well kno-wn, are copper-
colored, strong, tall, elastic and wiry, with black eyes, black hair,
and high cheek-bones ; from whom descended, is an unsettled
question, but, generally speaking, having certain features which
ally them with the Tartars of the aborigmal East, the great fount
ain of nations. They are savages, but of the noblest stock, hav
ing traits of character which ally them to the best nations of the
earth ; but rude, wUd, uncultivated, the wandering denizens of
the forest and wUdemess. Once they numbered no less than
16,000,000, but they have been scattered, peeled, destroyed by the
knife, the bayonet, the bottle, the smaU-pox, and other diseases un
known to their fathers. Six mUlions alone have fallen victims to
the smaU-pox. Of the 2,000,000 remaming, about 1,400,000 are
already " the miserable victims and dupes of the white man's cu
pidity, degraded, discouraged, and lost in the bewUdering maze that
is produced by the use of whisky and concomitant vices ;" whUe
the remaining number remain " yet unroused and unenticed from
their wild haunts or their primitive modes by the dread or love of
the white man and his allurements." 5*

106 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

It ought to be stated here, however, that the entire population
within the Indian country proper is beginning to improve. The
Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks are already organ-'
ized States, having settled constitutions, written laws, representa
tive legislatures, and regular com-ts of justice. ^ They are in
creasing in wealth and knowledge, in piety and vutue, and their
example upon the neighboring tribes is beginmng to be deci
sively felt.
As to the general character of the wUd, uncultivated Indians,
much magnUoquent nonsense has been written. They are sav
ages, as we have already said, of a somewhat noble stock, with
the virtues and vices of savages. Some writers have described
thera as dark, dishonest, cruel, relentless, and murderous in the
extreme, with scarce a quality to elevate them above the brutes.
Others have given them an elevated rank in the scale of humanity,
as " honorable, humane, and highly intellectual beings." The
truth probably lies between these extremes. The worst specimens
of the Indians are on the frontiers, the best, perhaps, in their na
tive wilds, far beyond the pale of ci-vihzation ; for, alas ! most of
these " sons of nature" seem incapable of learning any thing from
the white man but his vices. Unless Christianized, they fall into
deeper barbarism than that of their original state. That aU of
them have much of the tiger cunning and lion fierceness of the
savage state, cannot be denied ; but they are generally brave,
magnanimous, and hospitable, at least to those they deem their
friends. They are capable of immense Endurance, and of great
heroism. The Mandans, as described by Catlin, have not only
fine athletic forms, but possess many high qualities. He speaks
of them as uniformly kind, hospitable, and even generous to him
self ; but then he passed among them for a " great medicine-man,"
a sort of " supernatural genius" having special endowments, a
kind of character for whom they cherish a superstitious reverence.
Catlin, however, goes into raptures over their fine forms, free,
magnanimous natures, jovial looks, dignified deportment, merry
talk, and happy lives.
The Indians have some notion of a Great Spirit, who speaks in
the thunder, and controls the winds and waves ; but with this
notion, somewhat vague and local, they associate many ridiculous
superstitions. Their government is simple and patriarchal. Po
lygamy is a common practice. Woraen are the servants of the
men, perform the out-door as weU as m-door labor, so that a man's
wealth among them may be estimated by the number of his wives.
They are fond of their chUdren ; they are warmly attached to their
friends, cruel and relentless to their enemies. Revenge is a uni-

INDIAN TEEEITOEIES AND INDIANS. 107

versal quality among the Indians-. The men are all warriors ;
fighting and hunting are the great business of their Uves. They
are fond, of amusements ; and though dignified and sUent among
strangers, are exceedingly free, gan-ulous, and merry among them
selves. They offer sacrifice, especially presents, to propitiate the
Great Spirit.'* Their "medicine-men," whioh means mystery-
men, are their priests, doctors, and advisers, who, ha^ving power
with the Great Spirit or Spirits, control the elements, bring rain,
good luck, health, and buffalo-meat. As illustrative of their char
acter and superstitions, we give the following from Catlin, some
what condensed :
It was a time of long and severe drought ; and there was little
prospect araong the Mandans of ha-ving any corn, of which they
raise great quantities. The old women were groaning, and the
young ones were sighing over their sad prospects. The medicine
or raystery men, who, besides curing, by means of spells, incanta
tions, wUd dances, and hideous yelUngs, all sorts of sickness, are
also rain-makers, supposed to be capable of controlling the clouds
of heaven, provided the medicine or mystic poiver be strong enough.
They put off the women as long as they could, recommending
patience as a special virtue. But the corn was growing yellow
and withering, and the prospect of their annual festivity, "the
green-corn dance," to which they attach great importance, was
fast fading away. At last, however, the medicine-men were com
pelled to yield to the importunities of the people. They assembled
in the councU-house, with all their mystery apparatus about
them, with an abundance of -wild sage and other aromatic herbs,
with a fire prepared to burn them, that their savoiy odors might
be sent forth to the Great Spirit. The lodge was closed to all
the villagers, except sorae ten or fifteen young raen, who were
¦willing to risk the dreadful alternative of making it rain or suffering
the everlasting disgrace of faUure.
After the use of all sorts of spells and ceremonies in the lodge,
they were called by lot, each in his turn, to spend a day upon the
top of the lodge, to test the potency of his medicine ; the people
gathered in a mass around the lodge, in solemn silence awaiting
the result. While the venerable doctors were burning incense in
the lodge below, chanting dismal songs and prayers for success to
the Great Spirit, " who Uves in the sun, and commands the thun
ders of heaven," Wah-kee (The Shield) was the first who as
cended the wigwam at sunrise. In vain, however, did he stand
¦* Human sacrifices have been offered by some of the wilder tribes, but
they are discontinued.

108 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

all day, telUng his beads, and invoking the clouds of heaven. Not
a cloud was seen in the clear, hot heavens ; and at the setting of
the sun, he descended from the lodge and went home, — "his
medicine was not good," nor can he ever be a medicine-m,an.
Om-pah (The Elk) was the ne.xt who ascended the lodge at sun
rise, his body entirely naked, and covered ¦with yellow clay. On
his left arm he carried a beautiful shield, and a long lance m his
right ; and on his head the skin of a raven, the bird that soars
amid the clouds, and above the Ughtning's glare. He flourished
his shield and brandished his lance in vain ; for at sunset the
ground was dry, the squaws were crying, and their com was with
ering at its roots.
Wah-rah-pah (The Beaver) was the next, but the heavens were
deaf to his voice ; and, next morning, Wak-a-dah-ha-hee (The
White Buffalo's Hair), a small but beautifully proportioned young
man, took the stand. He was dressed in a tunic and leggins of
the skin of the mountain sheep, splendidly garnished -with porcu
pine quills, and fringed with hair taken by has own hand from the
scalps of his enemies. On hiS arm he carried his shield, made of
the buffalo's hide ; its boss was the head of the war- eagle, and its
front was omamented with "red chains of Ughtning." In his
left hand he clinched his sine-wy bow and one single arrow. After a
pompous speech to the assembled raultitude, he promised, by the
lightning of his shield, and the force of his arrow among the
clouds, to bring down the rain, or take his place, in everlasting
disgrace, among old women and dogs. After pouring contempt
upon those who preceded, and especially upon "The Beaver,"
whose emblem lives under the water, and never wants it to rain,
he said, " My friends ! I see you are in great distress, and noth
ing has yet been done ; this shield belonged to my father, the
White Buffalo, and the Ughtning you see on it is red ; it was taken
from a black cloud, and that cloud wiU come over us to-day. I
am the White Buffalo's Hair — and I am the son of my father."
In this manner flourished " The Hair of the White Buffalo,"
alternately appeaUng to bis audience and the heavens, holdmg
converse with the winds and the jfe-6i (spirits) floating about them,
stamping his feet over the Magi involved in mysteries beneath,
and invoking the spirits of darkness to send rain upon the fields.
It happened on this memorable day, about noon, that the steam
boat " Yellow Stone," on her first trip up the Missouri River, and
the first in that region the Indians had ever seen, approached and
landed at the Mandan vUlage. No rain appeared, but a salute of
twenty guns, of twelve pounds caUbre, was fired from the steamer.
The Indians supposed it to be thunder. AU eyes were fixed upon

INDIAN TEEEITOEY AND INDIANS. 109

the " White Buffalo's Hair," who turned this new sound to good
account. The medicine-men were coming out of the lodge to be
stow upon him the envied title of medicine-man, or doctor — wreaths
were prepared to decorate his brow — -with eagles' plumes and cal
umets to do him honor — his friends rejoiced — ^his enemies wore
on their faces a silent gloom and hatred.
During all this excitement " The White Buffalo's Hair" kept
his position, assuming the most commanding and threatening as
pects, brandishing his spear in the direction of the thunder, though
not a cloud was to be seen, untU he, poor fellow, being elevated
above the rest of the, village, espied, to his inexpressible amaze
ment, the steamboat plowing its way up the windings of the
river, puffing steam frora her pipes, and sending forth the thunder
from her guns. The White Buffalo's Hair stood pale and petri
fied, when, -with trembling lips, he turned to the multitude and
said^ " My friends, we wiU get no rain ! there are, you see, no
clouds ; but my medicine is great, I have brought a thunder-boat !
Look and see it ! The thunder you hear is out of her raouth, and
the Ughtning you see is on the waters !"
At this inteUigence the whole -village flew to the tops of their
wigwams, and gazed, -with affright, upon the huge monster wjiich
approached thera. Descending, they stood their ground manfully
for a few moments ; when, by an order of their chiefs, all hands
were ensconced -within the pickets of their ¦village, and all the
warriors armed for desperate defense.
The steamer was soon moored. Three or four chiefs boldly
advanced to the river, with a spear in one hand and a calumet
(pipe) of peace in the other. The Indian agent, an old acquaint
ance of theirs, made his appearance, and all their fears were speed
ily allayed.
But where was the Rain-maker ? Appalled at the " thunder-
boat," or fearing the inevitable scorn and disgrace into which he
must fall, he slunk off and hid hiraself ; but being reassured, he
began to mingle with the crowd, and congratulated them on the
arrival of their friends with the boat, pretending that he had fore
seen the whole. Toward evening a cloud appeared in the sky,
and " The White Buffalo's Hair," more watchful than others, in
stantly took his place on the top of the lodge, stiffened and braced
to the last sinew, with his arrow pointed toward the cloud, now
coraing over the viUage. The multitude were again drawn to
gether, and "The White Buffalo's Hair" vaunted his superhuman
powers, waved his spear and stamped his foot, at the sarae tirae
commanding the cloud to come near, that he might draw down
its contents on the com-fields of the Mandans. In this wise he

110 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

stood, waving his shield over his head, stamping his foot, and
frowning as he drew his bow and threatened the heavens, com
manding it to rain — his bow was bent, and the arrow, drawn to its
head, was sent to the cloud, and he exclaimed, " My friends, it is
done ! Wak-a-dah-ha-hee's arrow has entered that black cloud,
and the Mandans -wiU be wet -with the water of the skies." His
prediction was fulfiUed, and in a few minutes the rain feU in
torrents. The great medicine-man, who had made it rain, of course
awaUed his well-earned honors. AU night it continued to rain, the
thunder broke in terrible peals over the -village, and one flash of
Ughtning pierced through a wigwam and killed a beautiful girl !
Here was food and fresh fuel for their superstitions. The
dreams of the new-made medicine-man were troubled, and he had
dreadful apprehensions for the conaing day ; for he knew that he
was subject to the irrevocable decree of the chiefs and doctors,
who canvass every strange event -with eager and superstitious
scrutiny, and let vengeance fall ¦without mercy upon its immediate
cause. Indeed, it was possible that the life of the poor man
might pay the forfeit of his audacity ; for he himself ascribed the
death of the girl to his crirainal desertion of his post on the ap
pearance ofthe "thunder-boat."
In the raorning, having learned from his friends the opinion of
the wise men, and the nature of the tribunal that was preparing
for him, he sent to the prairie for his three horses, and mounted
the medicine lodge, around which in a few moments the \-Ulagers
gathered. " My friends," said he, " I see you all around me, and
I am before you ; my medicine, you see, is great — it is too great —
I am young, and I was too fast — I knew not when to stop. The
-wigwam of Mah-sish is laid low, and many are the eyes that weep
for Ko-ka (The Antelope). Wak-a-dah-ha-hee gives three horses
to gladden the hearts of those who weep for Ko-ka ; his medicine
was great — his arrow pierced the black cloud, and the lightning
carae, and the thunder-boat also ! Who says the medicme of Wak-
a-dah-ha-hee is not strong ?"
At the close of this sentence a unanimous shout of approbation
went up from the multitude, and " The Hair of the White Buf
falo" descended among them, where he was greeted by shakes of
the hand, and among whom he now Uves and thrives under the fa
miliar and honorable appeUation of the "Big Double Medicine!"
The Indians always succeed in procuring rain, for the simple
reason that they continue their conjurations until it coraes ; and a
great medicine-man who has succeeded in drawing down the bless-
mg, seldom makes a second attempt.

INDIAN TEEEITOEY AND INDIANS. HI
The following amusing account of a medicine-man is given by
Col. McKinney, who met him araong the Choctaws :
" I shook hands with him, and told him I was glad to see him ;
that I had heard of his greatness, and that I was so anxious to
know the secret of rain-making, that I would give him an order
on the agent for a pair of scarlet leggins, a pound of tobacco, a
string of wampum, a pound of powder, two pounds of lead, and
a blanket, if he would tell me all about it. He stood up and
looked around him, and then holding his head first on one side
and then on the other, Ustened ; when, looking well round him
again, he sat down, saying to the interpreter, ' Ask him if he will
give me these things.' ' Most certainly,' I replied, ' upon the con
dition that he will tell me all about his art as a rain-maker.' He
stood up again, and looked and listened, and then seating himself,
began :
" ' Long tirae ago, I was lying in the shade of a tree on the side
of a valley. There had been no rain for a long time ; the tongues
of the horses, and cattle, and dogs, all being out of their mouths,
and they panted for sorae water. I was thirsty ; every body was
dry. The leaves were all parched up, and the sun was hot. I
was sorry ; when, looking up, the Great Spirit snapped his eyes,
and fire flew out of them in streams all over the heavens. He
spoke, and the earth shook. Just as the fire streamed from the
eyes of the Great Spirit, I saw a pine-tree, that stood on the other
side of the valley, torn all to pieces by the fire. The bark and
limbs flew all round, and then aU was still. Then the Great Spirit
spoke to me, and said : " Go to that pine-tree, and dig down to
the root where the earth is stirred up, and you will find wliat spUt
the tree. Take it, wrap it carefully up, and wear it next your
body ; and when the earth shall become dry again, and the horses
and cattle suffer for water, go out on some hill-top, and ask me,
and I will make it rain." I have obeyed the Great Spirit ; and
ever since, when I ask him, he makes it rain.'
" I asked to see this thunderbolt that had shivered the pine-
tree. He rose upon his feet again, and looking well around hira,
sat down ; and drawing frora his bosom a roll which was fastened
round his neck hj a bit of deer-skin, began to unwrap the folds.
These were of every sort of thing — a piece of old blanket, then
one of calico, another of cotton, laying each piece, as he removed
it, carefully on his knee. At last, and after taking off as many
folds as were once employed to incase an Egyptian mummy, he
came to one that was made of deer-skin, which, being unwound,
he took out the thunderbolt, and holding it with great care be
tween his finger and thumb, said, ' This is it !' I took it and

112 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

examined it, with an expression of great interest, teUing him it
certainly was a wonderful revelation and a great sight ; then
handing it back to him, he carefully wrapped it up again with-
the same wrappers, and put it back in his bosom.
" The reader is no doubt curious to know what this taUsmanic
chai-m, this thunderbolt, was. WeU, it was nothing more nor less
than that part of a glass stopper that fills the mouth of a decanter,
the upper or flat part having been broken off !
" I wrote and gave him an order for the presents, when he
shook hands and left me, doubtless much edified as weU as bene
fited by the interview, to carry on his operations as a rain-maker
till it should rain."
As hunting and war are the great employments of the Indians,
most of their amusements have reference to the one or the other.
They are fond of wUd and furious dances, in which they shout and
yell like demons let loose from Pandemonium, throw themselves
into all grotesque and horrible attitudes, and whirl round and
round, accompanied with song and beat of drum. Among
these is the " buffalo dance," in whioh, dressed in buffalo-skins,
with their ghastly-looking heads covering their o-wn, they dance
from day to day untU the buffalo come ; and the bear dance, in
which many of the dancers wear masks made of the skin of the
bear's head. In this, as in the buffalo dance, they imitate the
motions of the animals in whose honor the dance is given, and
jump and yell to their o^wn infinite satisfaction, and the great
amusement of " the gentler sex," to whom the honor of mingling
in such grave and lordly exercise is not conceded. They have
also the beggar's dance, the object of which is to excite commiser
ation for the poor. In ¦ this dance every one sings as loud as he
can shout, uniting his voice with others in an earnest appeal to the
Great Spirit to open the hearts of the bystanders to give to the
poor. They love especially the scalp dance, which is given as a cel
ebration of a' victory ; it is often danced in the night, by the Ught
of torches, and is continued a number of nights in succession. 'The
scalps are held up as tokens of prowess ; the warriors brandish
their weapons, shout, yell, and groan, t-svist their faces and limbs
into the most hideous shapes, jumping, rushing, and roaring to
gether in a circle ; seizing each other by the hah-, stamping, strik
ing, cutting and carving each other to pieces, as if in actual
combat. The gnashing of teetb, the hiss and rush, the whoop
and groan of these dances, at the dead of night, in the solemn
wUderness, under the glaring light of torches, are said to be inex
pressibly horrible and appalling.
Indeed, the dances of the Indians are innumerable. Every

114

Till': WOUI.-!) «'K !.!¦.¦ K IN.

INDIAN TEEEITOEY AND INDIANS. 115

thing among them, whether pertaining to common Ufe, to war, or
to religion, is danced. Their prayers to the Great Spirit are made
by dancing. Scarce an hour elapses, by night or day, when the
drum is not heard. The living and the dead are honored by
dances. The medicine-man, dressed in the most frightful-looking
wolf or bear robes, dances around the bed of the dying.
But we have not space to dwell upon these customs of savage
life. It is a more interesting consideration -that the Indians, with
all their wUdness, are capable of the highest acts of heroism and
magnanimity, a number of- striking instances of which are related
in the " Memoirs of Col. McKinney," and, above all, that they are
susceptible of the highest cultivation. Some have thought that
the Indians could never emerge from their savage state, and that
it was folly to attempt their civilization, and especially their con
version to Christianity. But this notion has been refuted by facts.
One of the noblest and most beautiful of the race, the far-famed
Pocahontas, was a true convert to the Christian faith. She was
baptized in the small, rude church at Jamestown, by the name of
Rebecca. In Capt. Smith's account of her, she is called " the first
Christian convert of that nation, the first Virginian that ever spoke
EngUsh." In another place he says : " In London, divers court
iers and others of my acquaintances liave gone with me to see
her, that generally concluded God had a great hand in her con
version." " Star of Virgima I in her darliest hour
Her joy, her theme of glory and of song ;
Her wild, red rose, that in the Stuart's bower
Shed grace, not took it from the coui'tly throng.
" Her, her I sing not — and yet her I sing.
Freed from earth- worsliip, cleansed from rites obscene —
Who from unnumbered gods to Zion'^ King '
Escaping, waves her pahn of deathless green.
" First con-veet of the West ! The Indian child
A Christian matron stands, from whose sweet tongue
Flows the pure stream of EngHsh undefiled.
Flows the deep anthem and eternal song.
She died afar : no pilgrim finds her tomb —
Unlmown the s])ot, yet holy is the ground ;
The Savior's breath there -left a rich perfume.
And angels keep their guardian watch around.
" As Pocahontas, while these skies remain,
StiU shall our zodiac show the virgin sign ;
But as Rebecca, when yon stars shall wane.
Yon heavens roll by, she, as a stab, shall shine !"
Miss Caulzins. .

116 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

A host of other Indians, some of them chiefs and warriors, have
also been converted, and by the meekness, purity, and dignity of
their lives, the serenity, beauty, and triumph of their deaths, have
proved the " divinity" of their faith. Who has not heard of the
famous Oneida chief, Skenendoah, " whose pathway for sixty years
had been marked -with blood, whose terrible war-whoop rang for
many years through the Mohawk Valley, and who was in all
respects the cruel, the indomitable savage ?" But under the in
fluence of the Gospel the lion was turned into a lamb ; the toma
hawk fell from his grasp, and his long life was one continued
hymn of holy love and joy. He died at the age of a hundred
years. A short time previous to his death, a friend calling to see
him and inquiring after his health, received this answer: "I am
an aged hemlock ; the winds of a hundred winters have whistled
through my branches. I am dead at the top" (referring to his
blindness). " Why I yet Uve, the great Good Spirit only knows.
When I am dead, bury me by the side of my minister and friend"
— (Rev. Mr. Kirkland, under whose ministry he had been awak
ened and converted) — " that I may go up -with him at the great-
resurrection !"
We give only another instance of a simUar kind, that pf Kusick,
chief of the Tuscaroras, who lived in Western New York many
years, a good man and a minister of the Gospel to his own pqople.
As Col. McKinney wiU not be suspected of undue partiahty in '
su,ch a case, we give his account of this interesting Indian chief.
'' He had served under Lafayette, in the army of the Revo
lution. It was usual for him, m company with a few of his lead
ing men, to visit, once in every two or three years, the State of
North Carolina, whence his tribe origmally came, to see after
some claims they had upon that State. In passing through
Washington, the old chief would call at my office, for the purpose
of submitting his papers and of counsehng with me. On one of
these occasions he made a caU before breakfast, at my residence,
accompanied by his companions. A neighbor had stepped in to
see me, on his way to his office, and our conversation turned on
Lady Morgan's France, which had just then been pubUshed, and
was lymg on my table. We spoke of Lafayette. The moment
his name was mentioned, Kusick turned quick upon me his fine
black eyes, and asked, -with great earnestness 
_ "'Is he yet alive— the same Lafayette that was m the Revolu
tionary war ?"
" ' Yes, Kusick,' I answered, 'he is alive, and he is the same
Lafayette who was in that war. That book speaks of him as
being not only alive, but lookmg weU and hearty.'

INDIAN TEEEITOEY AND INDIANS. 117

"He said, with deep emphasis, ' I'm glad to hear it.'
" ' Then you knew Lafayette, Kusick ?'
" ' Oh, yes,' he answered, ' I knew him well ; and many a time
in the battle I threw myself between him and the bullets, for I
loved him.'
" ' Were you in commission ?'
" ' Oh, yes,' he repUed, ' I was a lieutenant ; Gen. Washmgton
gave me a commission.'
" My friend (the late venerable Joseph Nourse, at that time
Register of the Treasury) and myself agreed to examine the rec
ords, and see if the old chief was not entitled to a pension. We
(or rather, he) did so. All was found to be as Kusick reported
it, when he was put on the pension list.
"Some years after, in 182*7, when passing through the Tusca
rora reserve on my way to the -wilderness, I stopped opposite his
log-cabin, and walked up to see the old chief. I found him en
gaged drying fish. After the usual greeting, I asked him if he
continued to receive his pension.
" ' No,' said the old chief — ' no ; Congress passed a law making
it necessary for me to swear I cannot live without it. Now, here
is my little log-cabin, and it's my own ; here's my patch, where I
can raise corn, and beans, and pumpkins ; and there's Lake
Oneida, where I can catch fish. 'With these I can make out to
live -without the pension ; and to say I could not, would be to
lie to the Great Spirit!'
" Here was principle and deep piety, and a lesson for many
whose advantages had far exceeded those of this poor Indian.
In connection with this, I -will add another anecdote in proof of
his veneration for the Deity. He breakfasted with me on the
moming to which I have referred ; and knowing him to be a
teacher of the Christian religion among his people, and an inter
preter for those who occasionally preached to them, I requested
him to ask a blessing. He did so, and in a manner so impressive
as to make me feel that he was deeply imbued with the proper
spirit. He employed in the ceremony his native Tuscarora. I
asked him why, as he spoke very good English, he had asked the
blessing in his native tongue. He said — ' When I speak English,
I am often at a loss for a word. When, therefore, I speak to the
Great Spirit, I do not like to be perplexed, or have my mind dis
tracted to look after a word. When I use my own language, it
is like my breath ; I am composed.' Kusick died an honest man
and a Christian, and, though an Indian, has doubtless entered into
his rest."
We may add, that Kusick was a member of the Baptist denom-

118

THE WOELD WE LI^'E IN.

ination, and highly honored among them, especiaUy by those -who
knew him personaUy. He possessed a mUd and generous spirit,
and died, in a good old age, full of faith and holy joy.

Hunters nnd Grizzly Bear.

CHAPTER. IX,

REGIONS TO THE NORTH OFTHE UNITED STATES.
North of the United States, in the direction of the polar seas,
bounded on the one side by Russian Araerica, and on the other
by the Atlantic Ocean, lie vast tracts of country, of greater or
less value for agricultural or coraraercial purposes, belonging to
the British government. Of these the most important is Canada,
formerly di-vided into Upper and Lower, now Western and East
ern Canada, occupied by a somewhat mixed population, consisting
of colonies from France, England, Ireland, and Scotland, -with
here 'and there some scattered tribes of Indians. Canada Covers
the whole of the country lying north of the great lakes and rivers,
drained by streams falling into the river St. La-wrence, and con-
L;.,ining an area of about 1300 miles long and "700 broad, in aU
about 848,000 square miles. Filled with lakes and streams, and
containing every variety of climate and soil, with a river, lake, and
ocean navigation whioh, under favorable^ circumstances, ' might
command the coramerce of the world, Canada possesses great

EEGIONS NOETH OF THE UNITED STATES. 119

natural resources. The population is about a milUon and a half,
the majority of whom are of French origin, and speak the French
language. But these French Canadians, however polite and -viva
cious, are far behind their neighbors in vigor, inteUigence, and
enterprise. The single fact that only one in ten of the whole
male population can read, reveals a mournful state of ignorance,
prejudice, and degradation. The other portion of the population,
consisting chiefly of English, Scotch, and Irish, are much more
intelUgent and enterprising, and are making great and rapid prog
ress. The French, with slight exceptions, are CathoUcs, entirely
under the domination of their priests, who possess considerable
wealth and influence.
This difference of races, ¦with a partial dependence, in all mat
ters of govemment, upon the mother- country, has greatly hin
dered the prosperity of Canada, and still threatens her future
peace and prosperity. Still, her progress in agriculture, com
merce, and even in religion and education, are highly commend
able. The principal cities are Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto,
the last of which is now the seat of governraent. The cliraate is
severe in winter, though wai-m and genial during the brief and
rapid summer. In general, the people are thrifty, hospitable, and
agreeable in their manners. The French are Uvely and pleasant,
fond of amusements, and greatly addicted to dancing, horse-racing,
and merry-makings of every sort. Sunday is their great /^te-day ;
though every day that can be spared, and every evening, particu
larly in winter, is devoted to amusement. Great crimes are un
common among the French Canadians ; and, perhaps, great vir
tues are equaUy scarce. Multitudes of the females are employed
in out-door labor, and look old and ugly long before they attain
old age. The French population long for independence and self-
government, and sometimes talk of annexation to the United
States, but it is a mistake to suppose that they do so from love of
any thing like legitimate freedora or pm-e republicanism.
Beyond Canada stretch wide and desolate regions, occupied by
Indians, bears, and wolves. The Esquimaux, though Indian in
their character and habits, have some traits of form and personal
appearance resembling Europeans. They are of small stature,
but firm and hardy, live by hunting and fishing, and, notwith
standing the hardships to which they are exposed, and their rough
manner of living, enjoy, it is said, a fair amount of material enjoy
ment. They have but Uttle or no idea of a Supreme Being, and
place their chief deUght in eating and merry-making. They are,
in fact, mere chUdren, with Uttle knowledge and Uttle morality,
" pleased with a rattle and tickled -with a straw." They dress in

120 THE WOELD "WE LIVE IN.
skins, and in winter " burrow" like dogs under the snow. They
are excessive eaters, whenever they have opportunity of indulging
their appetite. No matter what their food is, though mere offal,
they devour it ¦with greediness. Captain Parry states that he has
known them, after a long fast, eat vigorously for hours, and the
quantity consumed was in proportion to the time. He says that
he " speaks within bounds" in stating that " a Uttle girl" got
through " eight pounds of solids" in a day, and he mentions that
a lad consumed in twenty hours the following things, and did not
think the effort extraordinary ! -— Sea-horse flesh, frozen, four
pounds and four ounces ; the same, boiled, four pounds and four
ounces ; head, one pound and twelve ounces ; in addition to which
he swaUowed one pint and a half of rich gra^vy soup, three wine
glasses of raw spirits, one tumbler of strong grog, and one gallon
and one pint of water. The Esquimaux are much dependent upon
their fine race of dogs, which they harness to Uttle sleds, and
make their way, with considerable rapidity, over the frozen snow.
They are fond of dancing and all sorts of trivial amusements.
Captain Parry introduced "leap-frog" among them, -with which
they were excessively delighted. A Uttle present -will throw them
into fits of incontroUable laughter. They are said to be affection
ate to theu- chUdren, but ungrateful, dishonest, and treacherous.
The Mora-vian missionaries have labored for their benefit with much
patience and very -gratifying success. The change in the charac
ter and manners of the converts has been striking.
Similar to the Esquimaux, of the same race, language, and
manners, in fact, are the natives of Greenland. Quite a number
of thera have been converted under the seff-denymg labors of the
Moravians. But the most interesting people in these polar regions of etemal
ice and snow_ are the inhabitants of Iceland, that singular, rocky
island, with its mighty heart of flame, ever-burnmg Hecla, and
perennial springs of boUing water. Iceland, however, belongs to
Europe. Its people are of the best Norwegian stock, and are
singularly intelUgent, pious, and happy, fonming m this respect
tiie most strikmg contrast to the natives of Greenland or Labrador.
Religion and education are universaUy diffused. Their manners
are simple and courteous ; their amusements grave and dignified.
They belong to the Lutheran branch of the Christian faith, and
are warmly attached to the customs of their fathers. The reU
gious sentiment is the predommant one in their character. The
common salutation on meeting is Oriental, borrowed evidently from
the Scriptures— " Peace be with you !" To which the response is,
" The Lord bless you !" On knocking at a door for admission, it

EEGIONS NOETH OF THE UNITED STATES. 121
is customary to say — " The Lord be in this place !" to which the
reply is — "The Lord bless you!" It is the universal custom to
give thanks, with clasped hands, before and after meals. At
meeting and partmg, the Idss of peace is the ordinary salutation.
Before and after crossing a river, the Icelander takes off his hat
and offers a short prayer, and also when he starts in a boat from
the shore. As characteristic of the simphcity and elevation of
their faith, the Rev. Dr. Henderson gives the following example :
" I could not but notice," says he, " the manner in which my
hostess spoke of her children. On my inquiring how many she
had, she replied, ' I have f oiir ; two of Ihem are here with us, and
the other two are with God. It is the best with those that are with
Him, and my chief concem about those that remain is, that they
may reach heaven in safety.' "
The Icelanders have cultivated literature with success. Few
people are more uitelligent and refined. On winter evenings
one of the family is selected to read some instructive or entertain
ing work, while the rest ply their tasks. In fact, the Icelanders
are among the happiest and most virtuous people on the face of
the earth ; a result to be ascribed to nothing but the prevalence
among them of a pure and primitive Christianity. .
Settled as early as the ninth century, Iceland was long an in
dependent republic. In 1264 it passed under the dominion of
the King of Norway, with which country it was subsequently
transferred to the cro'wn of Denmark, under which it now remains.
No person ever suffered capital punishment in Iceland. Persons
amenable to this extreme penalty are sent for execution to Copen
hagen, no Icelander being willing to become executioner in such
a case. The laws are mild, and great crimes are exceedingly
rare. The people form a single family, so to speak, dwelling alone,
in their far island fastness; in a word, "a pecuUar people," holy,
peaceful, and happy. 6

122 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER X.

MEXICO.

It is time again to pass southward ; so leaving the regions of
eternal snow, we traverse, once more, the lands through which
we have already passed, and after a few. weeks of travel, again
strike the " Father of Waters," reach the city of Nbav Orleans,
whence we proceed across the Gulf of Mexico, and find ourselves
wandering araid the rich valleys and lofty mountains of Mexico.
This naturally fertUe and beautiful country lie's along the, shores
of the Pacific on the one side, and the Atlantio on the other,
forraing a tract of land of almost unequaled variety. It belongs
to the tropics, and yet has all the cUmates and productions of
more temperate regions. This arises from the inequaUties of its
surface, and the, influence of its mountain ranges. It is composed,-
indeed, of tliree plateaus or terraces, of unequal hight, and of
different temperatures and productions. The first of these, form
ing a narrow track along the coast of the Atlantio, is intensely
hot, thence called by ths inliabitants tierra calienle, having the
ordinary temperature of equinoctial countries. Bm-ning plains,
sandy and barren, are inte-rmingled with others of exuberant fer
tility, covered with aromatic shrubs and wild flowers, among
which rise to a great hight magnificent tropical trees laden with
blossoms and fruit. This is the . region of deathly malaria and
destructive tliunder ^storms. The season of the bUious fever-^
vomito — the scourge of these coasts, lasts from spring to the au
tumnal equinox, when it is checked by the cold winds whioh de
scend from Hudson's Bay, but whioh in winter often " freshen"
into fearful tempests and desolating hurricanes.
Some twenty leagues beyond this fervid region, the land begins
to ascend, and we find ourselves in a purer atmosphere. The
landscape insensibly changes, passing graduaUy from the torrid to
the temperate zone. Still, it is wann and genial, and although
the " vanilla, the indigo, and the flowering cacao groves," are left
behind, the " sugar-cane and the glossy-leaved banana" stiU ac
company us. Ascending further, about four thousand feet, we
see, " m the unchanging verdure, and the rich foliage of the liquid
amber-tree, that wc have reached the hight where clouds and
mists settie in their passage from the Mexican Gulf." This is the
region of ".perpetual humidity," but it is free from malaria and
pestUence. " The features of the sceuery become grand, and even

oo

f '

} » 1 - ¦", iT.S f

-ilte:-)-':^

••J.-!:^¦C5'^5S':*:^¦.

; , y-'f^k-0^^.

City of Mexico.

MEXICO. 125

terrible. Our road sweeps along the base of mighty mountains,
once gleaming with volcanic fires, and still resplendent in their
mantles of snow, which serve as beacons to the mariner, for many
a league at sea. All around we behold traces of their ancient
combustion, as the road passes along vast tracts of lava, bristling
in the innumerable fantastic forms into whioh the fiery torrent has
been thrown by the obstacles in its career. Perhaps at the same
moment, as we cast our eye down some steep slope, or almost un
fathomable ra-vine, on the margin of the road, we see their depths
glowing with the rich blooms and enameled vegetation of the
tropics." Advancing still further upward, we mount into other cliraates,
-with other styles of cultivation, more nearly resembUng those of
Europe or of the United States. Indian corn, of course, is found
in the warmer levels below, and covers these more temperate re
gions ; but here, also, extensive fields of wheat greet the eye,
mingled with plantations of the aloe, or American agave, applied
to such a variety of uses by the ancient inhabita.nts of Mexico.
Lofty oaks and forests of pine give proof that we have entered
what the Mexicans call the tierra fria, or cold region, the third
and last of the great natural terraces into which the country is
divided. When we have climbed to the hight of between seven
and eight thousand feet, ".we stand upon the summit of the Cor-
dUlera of the Andes, that colossal range, that, after traversing
South America and the Isthmus of Darien, spreads out as it enters
Mexico into that vast sheet of table-land, which maintains an
elevation of more than six thousand feet, for the distance of nearly
two hundred leagues, until it gradually declines into the higher
latitudes of the north."
"Across this mountain rampart a chain of volcanic hiUs," says
Prescott, whose adrairable sketch we are malinly foUo-wing,
" stretches, in a westerly direction, of still more stupendous di
mensions, forraing, indeed, some of the highest land on the globe.
Their peaks, entering the limits of perpetual snow, diffuse a grate
ful coolness over the elevated plateaus below ; for these last,
though termed cold, enjoy a. climate the mean temperature of
which is not lower than that of the central parts of Italy. The
air is exceedingly dry ; the soil, though naturally good, is rarely
clothed with the luxm-iant vegetation of the lower regions. It
frequently, indeed, has a parched and barren aspect, owing partly
to the greater evaporation which takes place on these lofty plains,
through the diminished pressure of the atmosphere ; and partly,
no doubt, to the want of trees to shelter the soil from the fierce
influence of the summer sun. In the time of the Aztecs, the

126 'I'HE VVOELD WE LIVE IN.

table-land was thickly covered with larch, oak, cypress, and other
forest trees, the extraordinary dimensions of some of which, re
maining to the present day, show that the curse of barrenness in
later times is chargeable more on man than on nature."
In the central region, midway between the continent, though
somewhat nearer the Pacific than the Atlantic Ocean, at an eleva
tion of nearly seven thousand five hundred feet, lies the remark
able valley of Mexico, encircled by a colossal rampart of porphy
ritic rocks, and forming a circumference of about sixty-seven
leagues, with a sky of the deepest blue, a serene atmosphere, and
a magnificent landscape.
In this rare valley, with its five ancient lakes, snow-crowned
volcanoes, and fertile plains, stands the city of Mexico, one of the
richest and most beautiful cities in the world, with its crowded
population and innuraerable spires and domes. This was the
Mazitu, so called from one of their gods, or Tenochtitlan of the
Aztecs, richer and far more beautiful even than it is now, standing
in the midst of its five great lakes, now much shrunk in their di
mensions, upon green and flower-enameled islands, hke Venice
amid the waves, with myriads of Indian boats gUding along its
liquid streets, long lines of low houses mingled -with great num
bers of pyramidal temples, lofty trees and flower-gardens floating,
as it were, on the bosom of the waters, and here and there a loftier
temple sacred to the gods of the land.
Though buUt on pUes, the city of Mexico is celebrated for its
magnificence. It is said by Huraboldt " to be undoubtedly one
of the finest cities ever built by Europeans in either hemisphere ;
bemg inferior only to Petersburg, Beriin, London, and PhUadel
phia, as respects the regularity and breadth of the streets, as weU
as the extent of its public places." The architecture is generaUy
fine, and many of the buUdings of noble construction, though usu
aUy of a somewhat plain exterior. Two sorts of hewn stone,
porous amygdaloid and porphyry, are generally used in the better
parts of the oity. The balustrades and gates are of Biscay iron,
omamented with bronze ; and the houses, which are three or four
stories high, have flat terraced roofs, like those of Italy and other
southem countries. The principal plaza, or square, is one of the
finest to be seen in any metropolis. The Cathedral, the Palace,
and the Mineria, are imposing stractures. The interior of the
Cathedral is quite gorgeous. The high altar is loaded with golden
ornaments. It is inclosed by a massive raUmg of mixed metal, so
valuable on account of the gold which it contains, that a silver
smith of Mexico is alleged to have offered the bishop a new silver
raU of equal weight in return for the old metal.

MEXICO. 127

In the interior of the Cathedral, also, are some curious remains
of the olden time, including several idols, and " a stone of sacri
fice," on which lay the human victim when his breast was pierced,
and his quivering heart torn out by the priest ! On the outer
wall is fixed the Kellenda, a circular stone of basaltic pqrphyry,
covered with hieroglyphic figures, by whioh the Aztecs, or native
Mexicans, used to designate the months of the year, and which is
supposed to have formed a sort of perpetual calendar.
But the remains of ancient temples and other buildings are
mostly gone, and few traces remain of the pride and splendor of
the ancient Aztecs, who reared among the surrounding lakes a
city of greater magnificence than that which their conquerors have
built. On a summer evemng, when the people are abroad, and the
canals are covered with light canoes, fiUed with mestizoes hum
ming gay tunes, or striking their guitars, the rosy light of depart
ing day yet lingering upon the mountains, and tinging the snow-
crowned summits of the CordiUeras, which encircle the valley, the
city of Mexico presents a most attractive appearance, and suggests
to the thoughtful traveler the striking contrast between its past
and present condition. As he Ustens to the hum of the cheerful
population, raingled with the sound of evening bells from Chris
tian temples, callmg men, not, as the Aztec drum did, to human
sacrifices, but to saored vespers, he cannot but feel grateful that
the ancient form of Mexican society has passed away forever.
Imperfect as the present religion of Mexico is, certainly it is far
better than the bloody rites of heathenism.
The population of the city of Mexico is about 150,000, of an
exceedingly raixed character, comprising about 68,000 Creoles,
or descendants of Spaniards ; 28,000 mestizoes, or half-breeds be
tween Europeans and Indians, though raany of them are scarcely
distinguishable in color from the fOrmer ; about 35,000 copper-
colored natives; 10,000 mulattoes; and only about 6000 Euro
peans. A few of the citizens, among whom are the nobles and
speculators in mines, are excessively rich, but the mass of the
population are indolent and poor. The lower orders, resembling
the lazaroni of Naples, are filthy, despise labor of every kind, and
may be seen constantly lounging or lying about the churches or
markets, leaning against the walls, or loitering near the theaters
and coffee-houses. Indeed, the leperos of Mexico are worse than
the lazaroni of Naples, being frequently stained with the crimes
of robbery and assassination. The dress and habits of the higher
orders resemble those of Europeans. The large cloak of Spain is
universally worn. The costume of the ladies is uniformly black,

128

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

with the vaU and mantilla ; but on holydays and public occasions
their dress is distinguished for variety and gayety of colors, as weU
as expensiveness of' material. " Indeed, wnen in their carnages,
in the Passeo, they contrast somewhat strangely with the same
persons, when seen at home in complete, dishabUle, without stock
ings, squatting on the flooi^ and either pursuing their favorite
amusement of cigar-smoking (for Mexican ladies are much ad^
dieted to smoking), or eating cakes and capsicum out of the dirty
earthenware of the country. The ladies seldom go o"t durmg
the day; but after sunset, young and old come forth from their
hiding-places, and the Alameda, Passeos, and Portales swarm
with the damas and seiioritas of the city, chatting and smoking
with their gallants. Many gentiemen belongmg to the higher
, classes are inteUigent, and a few even fond of literature; but the
city is so badly suppUed with libraries, and other means ot study,
as to give littie encouragement to such pursuits. There are three
or four newspapers ; but they are miserable productions, contain-
.ing Uttie besides the merest chit-chat, copiously interspersed with
advertisements."

\

K f

,-f^

^'^yr

{ " ^•.;"

Mexican Gentlemen.

With respect to the country in general, we may add, that the
scenery of Mexico is bold and beautiful. Its productions are of

MEXICO. 120

all climates, temperate and torrid. Indeed, there is no sort of
plant or tree which may not be raised in this fertile country. Its
commerce is limited, its agriculture far inferior to that of Europe.
The people are not enterprising, Uke those of New England and
other northern regions. Education makes no progress among
them. The country has immense resources, not only in agricul
ture, but in mines of gold and sUver, but the people are languid,
sensual, and pleasure-loving. Some of them are wealthy, but
most are poor. ,. This is the case especially with the Indian popu
lation. They have Uttle or nothing in reUgion, politics, or even
in the coramon wants of life, to stimulate them. They are con
tent simply to live — to vegetate, and then to die. Good Cath
oUcs, they feel safe and easy for time or for eternity, no matter
how ignorant and sensual, how besotted or vicious. " Mexico,"
says Chevalier, " is a country so rich, that famine scarcely visits
the most indolent. In the tierras' calientas, and even on the pla
teaus, the natives are content to dwell, with their families, in a
cabin of bamboo trellis-work, so shght as scarcely to hid(j them
from the stranger's gaze, and to sleep either on mere mats, or at
best on beds made of leaves and brushwood. Their dress consists
simply of a pair of drawers, or petticoat, and a serape (or dyed
woolen garment), which serves for a cloak by day and a counter
pane by night. Each has his horse, a sorry beast, which feeds at
large in the open country ; and a Avhole famUy of Indians is amply
supplied with food by bananas, chUli, and maize, raised almost
without labor, in a small inclosure round the hut". Labor, indeed,
occupies but a trifling portion of the Indian's time, which is chiefly
spent in drinking pulque, sleep, or singing to his wretched man
dolin hymns in honor of Notre Dame de Guadeloupe, and occa
sionally carrying votive chaplets to deck the altar of his viUage
church. Thus he passes his life in dreamy indifference, and ut
terly careless of the ever-reviving emeutes by which the peace of
Mexico is disturbed. The assassinations and robberies which the
almost impotent government allows to be committed with impu
nity on the public roads, and even in sight of the capital, are to
him only matter for conversation, the theme of a tale or ditty.
And why should he trouble himself about it ? Having nothing
in the world but the dress in whioh he stands, his lance, spurs, and
guitar, he has no fear of tliieves ; nor wUl the poniard of the assas
sin touch hira, if he himself, drunk with pulque or chingarito, do
not use his own." The condition of the half-breeds, and even of
the lower orders of Spanish descendants, is not much superior to
that of the Indian. Thousands of them live precisely as he does,
and thousands more by begging or stealing. Some, indeed, are

130 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

farmers, and live upon their comfortable haciendiis, snd others
rise somewhat in the world, and have a deeper interest in the or
der and peace of the community ; but all, more or less, have
caught the Indian traits, and are more distinguished for their in
dolence and love of pleasure than their enterprise and virtue.
In the larger cities, the prevalent amusements are the theater,
bull-fights, horse-races, dancing, and gambUng.
The entire population numbers from six to seven mUUons, partly
Spanish, but mostly Indian ; not, indeed, pure Ir(dian, but inixed.
Perhaps the predominant element is Spanish and European ; but the
Indian is wonderfully diffused, as may be seen in the bronze color,
long black hair, deficient beard, and oblique eyes of the people.
The pure Indians number at least two-fifths of the entire popu
lation. The Mexicans of European extraction — the Creoles, as
they are called — may be said to govern the country. They are
the nobles, merchants, and miners of Mexico ; and while inferior
to the inhabitants of England and the United States, and even of
Spain, their rhother-country, are certainly far superior to the In
dians. Many of thera are quite intelligent and pohshed, having
enjoyed all the advantages of a Em-opean education.
The govemment is professedly republican, but is insecure and
despotic. The laws are said to be just and mild, but wretchedly
administered. Indeed, Mexico is not unfrequently in a state of
absolute anarchy. Robberies and assassinations are common as
day. " With tranquillity," says the intelligent Chevaher, " every
thing else is also lost. There is no longer any security. It is a
mere chance if the dUigence from Mexico to Vera Cruz proceed
the whole way without being stopped and robbed. It requires
whole regiments to convey the conducta of piasters to Vera Cruz.
Travelers who cannot afford to pay for an escort, go armed from
head to foot, and in little caravans. Here and there rude crosses,
erected by the sides of the roads, and surrounded by heaps of
stones, thrown by passers-by, in token of compassion, point out
the spot where some wayfarer, and almost always a stranger, has
perished by the hand of robbery."
All education, such as it is, is in the hands of the priesthood,
who malie certain of its being kept within safe limits. The re
ligion of the country is universaUy Catholic. Many of the churches
are magnificent, literaUy blazing with gold and jewels. In the
city of Mexico, the services of religion are celebrated with great
pomp ; but the people, and even the priests, are ignorant, sensual,
and superstitious. So say all travelers. The mass and tiie bull
fight have equal charms. Among such a people, of course, with
much latitude of manners, there ^vUl often be great severity of re-

MEXICO. 131
Ugious discipline. The following is a description by Madame de
la B  , lady of the Spanish Minister to Mexico, who wrote two
volumes on Mexico a few years ago, of a singular Jlctgellating
penance, whioh often takes place in their churches : — " To-day we
attended the morning penitence, at six o'clock, in the church of
San Francisco, the hardest part of which was their having to
kneel, for about ten minutes, with their arms extended in the
form of a cross, uttering groans — a most painful position, for any
length of time. But the other night I was present at a much
stranger scene, at the discipline performed by the men ; admission
having been procured for us by certain means, private, hut powerful.
Accordingly, when it was dark, enveloped from head to foot in
large cloaks, and without the slightest idea of what it was, we
went on foot through the streets to St. Augustin. When we ar
rived, a small side-door apparently opened of itself, and we en
tered, passing through long vaulted passages, and up steep wind
ing stairs, till we found ourselves in a small vaUed gallery, looking
down directly upon the church. The scene was curious. About
one hundred and fifty men, enveloped in cloaks and scrapes, their
faces entirely concealed, were assembled in the body of the
church. A monk had just mounted the pulpit, and the church
was dimly Ughted, except where he stood in bold reUef, with his
gray robes and cowl tbrown back, giving a full view of his high,
bald forehead and expressive face. His discourse was a rude, but
very forcible and eloquent, description of the torments prepared
in- hell for impenitent sinners. The effect of the whole was very
solemn.' It appeared like a preparation for the execution of a
multitude of condemned criminals. When the discourse was fin
ished, they all joined in prayer with much fervor and enthusiasm,
beating their breasts, and falling upon their faces. Then the monk
stood up, and, in a very distinct voice, read several passages of
Scripture descriptive of the sufferings of Christ. The organ then
struck up the Miserere, and all of a sudden the church was
plunged in profound darkness ; all but a sculptured representation
of the Crucifixion, which seemed to hang in the air illuminated.
I felt rather frightened, and would have been very glad to leave
the church, but it would have been impossible, in the darkness.
Suddenly, a terrible voice in the dark cried — ' My brothers ! when
Christ was fastened to the pUlar by the Jews, he was scourged !'
At these words, the bright figure disappeared, and the darkness
became total. Suddenly we heard the sound of hundreds of
scourges descending upon the bare flesh. I cannot conceive any
thing more horrible. Before ten minutes had passed, the sound
became splashing, frora the blood that was flowing.

132 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

" I have heard of these penitences (penances) in ItaUan churches,
and also that half of those whj go there do not reaUy scourge
themselves ; but here, where there is such perfect concealment,
there seems no motive for deception. Incredible as it may seem,
this awful penance continued, without intermission, for half an
hour ! If they scourged each other, their energy might be less
astonishing. " We could not leave the church, but it was perfectly sicken
ing ; and had I not been able to take hold of Seiiora  's hand,
and feel something human beside me, I could have fancied myself
transported into a congregation of evil spirits. Now and then,
but very seldom, a suppressed groan was heard, and occasionaUy
the voice of the monk encouraging them by ejaculations, or hy
short passages from Scripture. Sometimes the organ struck up,
and the poor wretches, in a faint voice, tried to join in the Mise
rere. The sound of the scourging is indescribable. At the end of
half an hour, a Uttle bell was rung, and the voice of the monk
was heard calling upon them to desist ; but such was their enthu
siasm, that the horrible lashing continued louder and fiercer than
ever. In vain he entreated them not to kUl themselves, and as
sured thera that Heaven would be satisfied, and that human nature
could not endure beyond a certain point. No answer but the loud
sound of the scourges, which are many of them of iron, with sharp
points that enter the flesh. At length, as if they were perfectiy
exhausted, the sound grew fainter, and, Uttle by little, ceased alto
gether. We then got up in the dark, and, with great difiiculty,
groped our way, in the pitch darkness, through the galleries, and
down the stairs, till we reached the door, and had the pleasme of
seeing the fresh air again. They say that the church fl9or is fre
quently covered -with blood after one of these penances, and that
a man died the other day in consequence of his wounds."*
This method of "satisfying" the Deity is rather heathenish, and
reminds us of the more terrible sacrifices of the ancient Aztecs to
satisfy their bloody god ; but we believe that it is in accordance
with Mexican and Spanish, and even ItaUan, orthodoxy. It re
minds us of the answer made by a tolerably inteUigent Spaniard
to_ the question. What do you understand by penitence ? when,
suiting the action to the word, as if he were scourging himself, hc
said in broken Enghsh, " Whip um ! whip um !" ' Perhaps it may
be a good plan for these wretched Mexicans to whip the demon
of evil out of their skins ; but how such inflictions are pleasing to
the Deity, it would be difficult to say.

* " Mexico as It Is " vol. i.

MEXICO. 133

But the Mexican has his pleasures to put over against his pen
ances. Among tiiese, one of his favorites is the bull-fight, a de
scription, of which we wUl give, from the authority just quoted : —
" Fancy an immense amphitheater, with four great tiers of boxes,
and a range of uncovered seats in front, the whole crowded almost
to suffocation ; the boxes filled with ladies in full dress, and the
seats below by gayly dressed and most enthusiastic spectators ;
two military bands of music, playing beautiful ai,i-s from the
operas ; an extraordinary variety of brilliant costumes, all lighted
up by the eternally blue sky ; ladies and peasants, and officers in
full uniform, and you may conceive that it must have been alto
gether a varied and curious spectacle.* Bernardo's (the chief ma
tador) dress, of blue and sUver, was very superb, and cost him
five hundred dollars. The signal was given, the gates were
thrown open, and a bull sprang into the arena ; not a great, fierce-
looking animal, as they are in Spain, but a small, angry, wUd-
looking beast, with a troubled eye.
" ' Thrice sounds the clarion ; lo, the signal falls.
The deu expands, and expectation mute
Gapes round the silent circle's peopled walls.
Bounds with one lashing spring the mighty brute.
And wildly staring, spurns, with sounding foot,
The sand, nor blindly rushes on his foe ;
Here, there, he points his thundering front, to suit
His first attack, wide waving to and fro
His angry tail, red rolls his eye's dilated glow.'
" A picture equally correct and poetical. That first pose of the
bull is superb ! Pasta, in her Medea, did not surpass it.' Mean
while the matadors and the banderilleros shook their colored
scarfs at him — thc picadors poked at him with their lances. He
nished at the first and tossed up the scarfs which they threw at
him, while they sprung over the arena ; galloped after the others,
sticking the horses so that, along with their riders, they occasion
ally rolled in the dust, both, however, almost instantly recovering
their equiUbrium, in which there is no time to be lost. Then the
matadors would throw fire-works, crackers adomed with streaming
ribbons, which stuck on his horns, and, as he tossed his head, en
veloped him in a blaze of fire. Occasionally the picador would
catch hold of the bull's tail, and passing it under his own right
leg, wheel his horse round, force the' bull to gaUop backward, and
throw him on his face.
" Maddened with pain, streaming with blood, stuck full of darts,
* The occasion was a special one.

134 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

and covered with fire-works, the unfortunate beast went galloping
round and round, plunging blindly at man and horse, and fre
quently trying to leap the barrier, but driven back by the waving
hats and shouting of the crowd. At last, as he stood at bay, the
matador ran up and gave him the mortal blow, considered a pe
culiar proof of skill. The bull stopped, as if he felt that his hour
were come, staggered, made a few plunges at nothing, and feU.
A finishing stroke, and the bull expired.
" The trumpets sounded, the music played. Four horses gal
loped in, tied to a yoke, to which the bull was fastened, and
swiftly dragged out of the arena. In a similar manner eight bulls
were done to death. The scene is altogether fine, the address
amusing ; but the wounding and tormenting of the bull is sicken
ing, and as here the tips of his homs are blunted, one has more
sympathy with him than -vvith his human adversaries. It cannot
be good to accustom a people to such bloody sights.
" Yet let me confess, that though at first I covered my face
and could not look, little by little I grew so much interested in
the scene that I could not take my eyes off it, and I can easily un
derstand the pleasure taken in these barbarous diversions by those
accustomed to them from chUdhood."*

CHAPTER XI.
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.
South of Mexico, between tbe Mexican Gulf and the Caribbean
Sea on the one side, and the Pacific Ocean on the other, stretches a
long and unequally shaped strip of country toward South Ameri
ca, forraing a Sort of natural link, or isthmus, between the two
great divisions of the American Continent, usually styled Central
America. Lying under the tropics, and containing a great variety
of soil, with vast mountain ranges (a contiiyiation of the Cordil
leras) and deep valleys, its productions are rich and diversified.
The heat, of course, is intense, yet cooled in many places by the
fresh mountain breezes, and the streams which descend from the
regions of snow. The lofty mountain-peaks are volcamc, several
* "Mexico ns It Is," Vol. L pp. 120, 121.

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 135

of them now in active operation, roaring and blazing amid the
snows which encircle their summits. It is a region, however, of
tropical storms and earthquakes, and inhabited by a people similar
to those of Mexico, with, perhaps, a greater proportion of Indians.
This also is the locality of those ruins (particularly in Yucatan)
which attest the ingenuity, power, and even splendor of the more
ancient races long passed away. These have been admirably de
scribed by Stephens and others, and are objects of intense and
curious interest to the learned.
The Republic of Guatimala, or Central America, contains the
States of Guatimala, San Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa
Rica, and the Federal District, with a population of about
2,000,000. The people are said to be hospitable, friendly, and
pleasure-loving. Like the Mexicans, they are addicted to cock-
fighting, bull-fighting, gambling, dancing, and so forth. They are
also excessively fond of religious processions, and other striking
ceremonies of the Church, whioh they seem to regard much in the
hght of amusements, and from which at least they pass freely
to the most giddy diversions. Perhaps it may be regarded
as singular that all the monkish estabUshments have been sup
pressed. This indicates the prevalence among them of some liberal
arid reformatory raoveraents. Most of the cities, araong which are
Guatimala, Leon, and San Salvador, have occasionaUy suffered
from earthquakes. In Guatimala, the services of religion are cel
ebrated with great pomp and ceremony half the Sunday, while the
other half is devoted to feasting and frolicking. The morals of
the people suffer in consequence. Education is much neglected.
All classes are fond of showy dresses and exciting pleasures.
The productions of the country are indigo, logwood, and other
dyes, mahogany, cedar, gold, silver, and precious stones. Mer
cury is also found here, as also copper, iron, nickel, zinc, antimony,
and so forth. In the lower grounds, cotton, sugar, tobacco, and
cocoa are freely grown. Various kinds of tropical fruits are raised
in abundance. The wild animals comprise the American tiger
(or jaguar), wolf, tapir, mountain cow, wUd goat, striped boar, &c.
Immense flocks of sheep and herds of cattle are reared in the La-
denos, or table-lands, of Quesaltenango. The horses are inferior
to the mules, which are raostly used. The trade and commerce
of this part of the world is mostly in the hands of foreigners, es
pecially Araericans and English, and carried on chiefly through
Balize, or Honduras, which belongs to the British. A new chan
nel is opened for trade with the United States thro'ugh the acces
sion of New Mexico and California, and the recent arrangements
totiohing a ship canal, connecting, by means of the tLake Nica-

136

THE WOELD 'WE LIVE IN.

ragua, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This lake, the largest in
Central America, lies principally between the eleventh and twelfth
degrees of north latitude, about twelve miles, in a direct line, from
the Pacific, and ninety from the Caribbean Sea. It is of an oval
shape, being some 180 miles long by 40 wide, discharging its sur
plus waters by the river San Juan into the Caribbean Sea, which
is said to be navigable during the rains through its whole extent.
It would seem, therefore, that the two oceans might easUy be
brought together by means of a ship canal, one of the most stu
pendous internal improvements of the age.
Central America, in position, productions, and population, be
longs more to the Soutii than to the North. We pass, therefore,
into the more southern regions of the continent.

'-^a£±if«rfii^.

South Americau Costumes.

The most striking things in the external aspect of South
America, which is somewhat less than North America, though
more compact, and in outhne somewhat resembling Africa, are its
vast mountain ranges, its magnificent rivers, its immense forests

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 137

and plains, or llanos:, ivith their singularly diversified forms of
vegetable and animal life. It liastti-ee dlotlnot systems of mount
ains. The first are the Andes, the " longest ancl lofticot,'-' eoinino-
down from the north and running through the whole extent ol
the continent, branching off here and there on the one side and
the other, forming the natural boundaries of tiie various countries,
and inclosing long and wide-spread valleys, through whioh rush
the streams fed from the hills. They Ue, however, chiefly on the
Pacific side of the country, a distance of 150 miles, rising into
lofty volcanic peaks at immense elevations, covered with eternal
enow, while their sides, in almost all instances beautifuUy wooded,
are covered in regular series with the various productions of tem
perate and tropical chmes. The whole chain of these sky-piercing
mountains is subject to violent volcanic action. From Cotopaxi to
the Southern Ocean are no less than forty volcanoes in constant
operation. Some of these mountains rise to the hight of fifteen,
and even twenty and twenty-five thousand feet. Cotopaxi is
19,000, Chimborazo 21,730, Illimani 24,250, and Sorata, the two
last in Bolivia, 25,400 feet. '
The other mountain ranges are the Parima, consisting of several
chains to the northeast, in the upper part of the continent, run
ning through Venezuela and Guiana ; and the third, the BrazUian,
of considerably less elevation, the highest reaching only a Uttle
more than 6000 feet.
The Andes divide the country, from lat. 9° N. to 52° S., into
three extensive plains, open toward the Atlantio Ocean on the
east, and on the west inclosed by a huge rampart of mountains.
The most northern of these, watered by the Orinoco, whioh runs
in an easterly direction and falls into the Atlantic, consists of llanos,
or level tracts, covered with reedy plants and a few straggling
palms. To the south is the vast wood-covered plain of the Ama
zon, with mighty forests of tropical growth, beyond whioh is the
•far-reaching flat of the pampas, covered with coarse herbage, and
thronged with innumerable herds of cattle. The three principal
rivers of the country are the Orinoco, the Amazon, and the La
Plata, flowing through the broad slope of the Atiantic and erap-
tying into the ocean at different points, so as to traverse the whole
country. They are more like inland seas or lakes than rivers
proper, expending their treasures upon the countries through
which they pass, and bringing but a small tribute to the ocean.
The entire course of the Amazon, which looks more like a system,
or tree of rivers, than a single river, is estimated at 4700 mUes,
and is navigable from the sea to the east foot of the Andes, a
distance of 2000 miles. The Oiinoco has a course of about 1800

138 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

¦a mUes, and the La Plata, which runs south, with. sLshgbt inclmation
to the east, 2500 raUej: 
Within these vast regions the cUmate and productions are infi
nitely diversified. This is owing not simply to difference of lati
tude, but to difference of elevation, and the presence, first, of lofty
mountain ranges, and then of deep valleys, and long-extended
plateaus. Some of the plains are found at an elevation of frora
6000 to 10,000 feet above the level of the sea ! Thus the plain
of Quito, immediately under the equator, where the heat ought to
be intense, has an elevation of above 9600 feet, and its mean tem
perature does not exceed 53° Fahr. These different climates, fre
quently in close proximity, have different vegetable and animal
productions. Hence the traveler journeying down the deep de
scent of one of the magnificent ravines, through forests of birches,
oaks, and pines, finds himself suddenly among Oriental palms. He
sees wolves of northern aspect dwelling in the vicinity of monkeys ;
humming-birds returning periodically from the borders of the fro
zen zone, with the northern bunting and soft-feathered titmice, to
nestle with parrots ; and our commdn European whistling ducks
and teal, s-wimming in lakes which swarm with su-ens and BrazU
ian parrots and boatbUls.* " In the Andes," says Humboldt in
his Cosmos, Vol. I. pp. 11, 12, "of Cundinamarca, of Quito, and
of Peru, furrowed by deep barrancas, it is permitted to man to
contemplate all the families of plants and all the stars of the fir
mament. There, at a single glance, the beholder sees lofty feath
ered palms, huraid forests of bamboos, and all the beautiful family
of the Musacese ; and, above these tropic forms, oaks, medlars,
wild roses, and umbelliferous plants, as in our European homes ;
there, too, both the celestial hemispheres are open to his view,
and when night arrives, he sees displayed together the constella
tion of the Southern Cross, the Magellanic clouds, and the guid
ing-stars of the Bear which circle round the Arctic pole. There
the different climates of the earth, and the vegetable forms of
which they determine the succession, are placed one over another,
stage above stage, and the laws of the decrement of heat are in
delibly written on the rocky walls and the rapid slopes of the
Cordilleras, in characters easUy legible to the inteUigent observer.
* * * * In the burning plains which rise but little
above the level of the sea, reign the families of thc bananas, of
cycadeae, and of palms, of whioh the number of species included in
our floras of the tropical regions has been so wonderfully aug-
* " Richardson's Zoology of North America," in the Sixth Report of the
British Association.

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 139

mcuted Iu ojxr dcijo by the laBors or Doiamc oraveiers. 10 tliese
succeed, on the slopes of the Cordilleras, in mountain valleys, and
in humid and shaded clefts of the rocks, tree ferns, raising their
thick cyUndrical stems, and expanding their deUcate foliage, whose
lace-like indentations are seen against the deep azure of the sky.
There, too, flourishes the cinchona, whose fever-healing bark is
deemed the more salutary the more often the trees are bathed and
refreshed by the Ught mists which form the upper surface of the
lowest stratum of the clouds. Immediately above the tegions of
forests the ground is covered with white bands of flowei-ing social
plants, small Aralias,- Thibaudias, and myrtle-leaved Andromedas.
The Alp rose of the Andes, the magnificent Belfaria, forms a pur
ple girdle round the spiry peaks. On reaching the cold and
stormy regions of , the Paramos, shrubs and herbaceous plants,
bearing large and richly colored blossoms, gradually disappear,
and are succeeded by a uniform mantle of monoootyledonous
plants. This is the grassy zone, where vast savannas (on whioh
graze lamas, and cattle descended from those of the Old World)
clothe the bigh table-lands and the wide slopes of the CordUleras,
whence they reflect afar a yellow hue. Trachytic rooks, which
pierce the turf, and rise high into those strata of the atmosphere
which are supposed to contain a smaller quantity of carbonic acid,
support only plants of inferior organization, Uchens, lecideas, and
the many-colored dust of the leprairia, forming small round patches
on the surface of the stone. Scattered islets of fresh-fallen snow
arrest the last feeble traces of vegetation, and are succeeded by
the region of perpetual snow, of which the lower limit is distinctly
marked, and undergoes extremely little change. The elastic sub
terranean forces strive, for the most part in vain, to break through
the snow-clad domes which crown the ridges of the Cordilleras ;
but even where these forces have actually opened a permanent
chiinnel of communication with the outer air, either through crev
ices or circular craters, they rarely send forth currents of lava,
more often erupting ignited scorias, jets of carbonic acid gas and
sulphuretted hydrogen, and hot steam."
This is the region of earthquakes, often terrible and devastating,
shaking the whole continent, and causing the huge mountains to
tremble to their foundations, drying up rivers, and casting to the
ground temple and tower, viUage and city. It is the region also
of deadly malaria and violent tornadoes ; and, we may add, of
social changes and revolutions.
The population is similar to that of Mexico and Central America,
being derived from much the same stock, with some slight excep
tions, and educated in much the same manner. This especially

140 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

nOiaS TTTOC Tji"— ^^TC-Tiroi-c-xnjrtllumi Glcilco ami ItopTablicG, -vrlirrc the
Spanish and Indian elements give the predominant features of the
inhabitants. Of the same faith, with the same traditions and
usages, and subjected generaUy to much the same influences, they
occupy about the same level of character, moral, social, and polit
ical. The RepubUcs of South America are scarcely worthy of
the name. They are maintained only by force, and thus far have
bred nothing better than tyrants and usurpers. The bayonet
rather tljan the ballot-box is the great ruling power in them aU.
Nor can we hope for any thing better' so long as the people are
governed by a superstitious priesthood, and kept back from free
inquiry and universal education. The native Indians are no better,
if, indeed, as good, as their forefathers, and, under the present
political and religious regimen, seem incapable of rising higher in
the scale of civilization. Doubtless there are exceptions, but this
is true of the great mass of the aboriginal inhabitants. Many of
them, especially toward the south, are wild and savage.
But it is time we set off on an exploring expedition to some
of the States and communities into which South America is
divided. Crossing the rooky boundaries of Central America, we descend
into the beautiful and diversified regions of New Granada, which
consists chiefly of elevated plateaus bounded by lofty mountains,
and Ues on the head-waters of the Orinoco, -with a population of
something less than 2,000,000, and containing: rich mines and
washings of silver and gold, as well as mines of emeralds and other
precious stones. The government is republican, and Bogota is
the capital, the cathedral of which contains an image of the Virgin,
adorned with 1358 diaraonds, 1295 emeralds, and other precious
stones. From this, stretching all along the valley of the Orinoco to the
Atlantic Ocean, we come to Venezuela, also a Republic, such as
it is, with a sparse population, not much troubled with enlighten
ment, and addicted to political changes. The banks of the Ori
noco are covered with immense forests, resounding with the cries
of the jaguar, the puma, and innumerable multitudes of monkeys.
The huge boa hangs from the trees ; and the waters of the stream
teem with alligators, porpoises, and manatees. The people live
upon the plains, in the higher regions. The majority of the inhab
itants are Indians. Caracas, the capital, was seriously injured
by an earthquake in 1812.
South of New Granada, under the shadow of the Andes, with
the snow-crowned peaks of Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, and trav
ersed by the head-waters of the Amazon, is the Republic of

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 141

Ecuador, or the Equator, with a population, climate, and produc
tions somewhat simUar to those of New Granada. The cUmate is
an eternal spring. Vegetation never ceases. The meadows and
trees are covered with perpetual verdure. The plow and the
sickle are in use together — buds, blossoms, and fniit are found on
the same tree. One flower succeeds another. The colors of
autumn, spring, and summer are blended together, while in the
distance the lofty peaks of the Andes are clothed with sparkling
snow. This, however,' is true only of the valley and table-land of
the interior ; the other parts of the country, especiaUy that lying
along the coast, are filled with poisonous serpents, musketoes,
ants, caymans, and deadly malaria. Quito, too, often trembles
-with earthquakes, and the whole land seems "founded" upon a
fire-flood, into which at any time it may be precipitated. The
population is about 650,000 souls.
Quito, the capital, is a gay, luxurious place, with a population
of 70,000, changeable and giddy. Earthquakes and revolutions
are equally common. Masses and processions, carnivals and bull
fights, go hand in hand.
But we pass to Peru, North and Stiuth, the fair and fertile
regions of the ancient sun-worshipers, with their mUd civUization
and singular manners, traversed by lofty mountain peaks, with
terraced beauties, rich in mines of, gold and mercury, and in all
the productions both, of temperate and tropic zones, having a
population, chiefly Creoles, of 1,700,000. The ancient capital
was Cuzco, surrounded by mountains'; the present is Liraa, having
a population of 80,000, mostly Creoles, though with many foreign
ers, English, Spanish, and American. It is a beautiful city,
charmingly situated, with a serene atmosphere and magnificent
views. It lies in a delightful valley, the Rimac, from 500 to 600
feet above the level of the sea, not far from the Pacific, and con
tains considerable wealth. The buildings are low and substantial,
on account of the earthquakes, to which it is much exposed, but
not without grace and ornament. They are usually terraced, and
have flat roofs. The cathedral is a building of considerable mag
nificence. The beauty of the landscape, the sweetness and serenity
of the atmosphere, and the graceful appearance of the women, are
much praised. " Would you see more of Lima ?" says one writing
to a friend in H  . " WeU, then, step out on to my balcony,
and stand with me whUe we look upward into the cloudless blue
heavens, whose transparency seems penetrable, almost to the re
vealing of the ' golden gates.' See those huge birds, lazily floating
on their outstretched wings, anon wheeling in ciroles, then up and
down, then right, then left; always slowly and gracefully, as though

142 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

moving in harmony with the music of the spheres. Alas ! that
they should be only turkey-buzzards ! So let's leave them, and
look straight across the street to the opposite balcony, and there
you have a specimen of the Limanian style of beauty, in the per
son of a young sef>.orita ; an heiress, too, for her father counts his
mUUons. She has the beautiful hair peculiar to her com trywomen,
which she wears in braids reaching half way to her feet. In other
respects, her costume is the same as ours ; and oh ! whUe you
look on her beauty, and welcome it ' as God's handwriting,'
drink in also,, as a charmed draught, a cup of blessing, new life,
and health, and hope, from this glorious sunshine, this lovely sky,
and these cool ocean-zephyrs, whioh, like all our Lord's mercies,
are new every morning, and, repeated every evening ; for though
we are near the middle of summer, and under an almost vertical
sun, the heat is, even at noonday, never oppressive. Our nights
are cooled by winds from the far-off ice-mountains ; and so far, a
blanket on the bed is quite necessary to one's comfort."
This is the pleasing side of the picture ; for what ¦with earth
quakes, bull-fights, assassinations, and revolutions, Lima is not the
most desirable place on earth. Tlie changes there, political and
moral, are often as sudden and startling as the tornado or the
earthquake. Gayety and devotion, revelry and murder, succeed
each other with fantastic rapidity. The following piquant account
of one of these revolutions, and of a reUgious festival, we have
just taken from one of our newspapers : "Lima, March l7th, 1850.
•¦ * -* ^ -* ^^Q aj.g Jn (;^g midst of a revolution ! This, although
Sunday, is the day of election, and the parties of the rival candi
dates for the Presidency are in a terrible ferment ; and as merely
depositing a vote quietly, as in our country, does not satisfy these
turbulent spirits, they parade the streets, shouting ' Viva Echi-
nique !' ' Viva Vicanco /' (the names of the rivals) and, when
ever the two parties raeet, are ready for a fight, armed with
stones, knives, clubs, &o. A mob of tiiis sort have just attacked,
and neariy demolished, a bakery in tlie block opposite the theater,
tiie military not arriving until the destroyers were sated with their
work of ruin. UnUke our mobs, they fear the mUitary, and on its
approach ta.ke to flight. A guard of soldiers has been left to pro
tect the premises, and the mayor, with his troop of horse and foot,
has gone to anotiier street where tiie like scenes are enacting.
Several have been already killed, and it appears to me that the
officer in command, instead of parleying with the vagabonds, ought
to sweep them down, as Bonaparte did the mobs of Paris. Speedy

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 143

and deadly measures in such cases, I am comdnoed, are not only
the most effectual, but the most merciful.
* * * It is now half past 1 P. M., and the excitement is
increasing. The Plasa is filled -with troojis, and the candidate who
can command the strongest force will probably install himself in
the palace as President. This is the usual method of procedure
in Lima. Exciting times, these ! How unlike our peaceful Sab
bath at home ! The great gates, opening into the porte-cochere,
of the houses are to-day fast shut ; people look from their bal
conies with pale and anxious faces, fearing a renewal of the bloody
scenes so often enacted in the streets of this beautiful city.
* * * It is now evening, and the streets are quiet, the
rioters having been dispersed by the strong military force who are
now patrolling in every quarter. The law is, that no election shall
proceed while a mUitary force are in the city — they must be at
least two leagues distant ; and when the voting comraenced this
mOrning, the troops were in Callao, thus affording a fine oppor
tunity for the vagabonds of both parties, and the lawless of no
party, to do each other to death, without fear of hinderance by the
authorities, for they recognize no civil power. In the rencounters
of this morning, twenty-eight were kUled, and about forty wounded,
including among the latter a general, who was shot in the arm
with a pistol. The killed and wounded are generally the lowest
ordei-s of the people, ruffians in the fullest sense of the word. The
strongest party, tf-iat of Echinique, say they shall go on with the
election, in defiance of the law respecting the presence of the
mUitary ; and as the voting will continue through the week, we
shall probably see something worth recording. I am not sure but
that a high-handed, absolute monarchy would be better for such
republicans. The Emperor of Russia, with his strong power,
would have speedily settled this day's business, to my satisfaction
at least, had he been autocrat here.
* * * Monday Evening, \Stli. — I have just come in from
a walk to the Plaza. The miUtary have possession of the streets,
and, on the slightest indication of a gathering of the populace, ride
through them, dispersing them instanter. Despite their efforts,
however, the people gather and hold together long enough to
shout their 'vivas,' and fire off rockets, which we hear in every
quarter, from time to time. The palace occupies one side of the
Plaza, and, in coraraon with all private residences, is occupied by
stores on the first floor. These stores, and all others sun-ound-
ing the Plasa, and in the streets leading to it, are now fast closed
and barricaded. People, with anxious faces, stand talking in
groups, and one would suppose the city was in a state of siege, or

144 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

that some terrible calamity was hovering over it. No one dares
to speak his mind aloud, lest he should be assassinated by some
partisan of the opposing candidate.
-X * ¦* Sunday, Mth. — I have been waiting, day after day,
thinking I should have something stirring to tell you ' a la revolu
tion;' but, since the outbreak on the first day of the election, aU
has been quiet, the populace being kept in check by the presence
of the soldiery. To-day, whUe I write, the bells are ringing mer
rily, and rockets exploding by the hundreds, in proclaiming the
election of Echinique, the candidate favored by the government,
who, however, does not assume the duties of the office till one
year from this time. The present President deserves much com
mendation for the energetic measures by whioh peace has been
preserved — measures in opposition to the constitution, but of which
he, like an illustrious predecessor in the Republican chair of State,
says, ' I take the responsibility.' The wheels of government will
now, I suppose, again roll on with their usual steadiness, which
steadiness, by-the-way, is a fine practical illustration of what has
been called the ' stability of change !'
* * * March 29th. — It is now the closing week of Lent,
called ' Semana Santa' (Holy Week), dm-ing which many gorgeous,
and perhaps impressive, spectacles are produced by the chm-ch
powers, of wjiioh silver plate, gold lace, silks, satins, and embroi
dered work, with cloth of gold and waving plumes, form an im
portant and conspicuous part. The first spectacle which we went
to see was a procession, and, after forcing our way through a
crowd made up of all classes, we took our station on one of the
abutments of the bridge, over which the procession was to pass.
Hundreds continued to press on and over the bridge to the church,
where it was to stop, and it was not until dusk that the procession
opened upon us. First came boys and men bearing Ughted can
dles three feet high ; then three negroes in white robes, the center
one bearing the holy banner, which is, in shape, like a barrel
wrapped in cloth of gold, a deep gold fringe surrounding the bot
tom, and the top surmounted by a cross, while the other two car
ried candles wreathed with flowers. Following these was a pro
miscuous crowd of men, women, and children, with palm branches;
then women with vessels of burning incense; then a platform
about six feet square, borne on men's shoulders, covered with em
broidered satin, and hung around the edges with lace, gay ribbons,
and flowers, the offerings of the pious ; while forming a railing
around this platform were huge burning candles. In" the center
of it, a huge bunch of palms overshadowed an imitation (not very
Ufe-like) of, an ass, upon whioh was seated an image of the

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 145

Savior, covered with a glittering dress, with a gUt crown on his
head, whUe, leaning from the palm-tree, in a very hazardous po
sition, and an.\:iously peering through its branches, stood. Zaccheus,
dressed in a scarlet coat, trimmed with gold lace. As this passed
by, all uncovered their heads, repeated their prayers in a low
voice, and crossed themselves. Next came about twenty priests
in white robes, bearing palms, and chanting plaintively ; then
another canopy, surrounded with lighted candles, under which
was the Virgin Mary and another saint ; then followed a company
of soldiers and a band of music, with the entire populace of Lima
in their rear. In about an hour's time the bridge was clear, and
we made our way home.
" Our next sortie for sight-seeing was on the evening of ' Good
Friday.' In the first church we entered, seated on the platform
in front of the altar, were figures, of the size of Ufe, representing
our Lord washing the feet of the disciples, among whom Judas
sat on the end of the bench, dressed in red (his hair and face in
clining to the same color), with the money-bag under his arm.
Then there were the ' publicans and sinners' looking on, dressed
in costumes ornamented with gold lace. In the next church was
a ' dead Christ' on a bier, with the face and feet uncovered, around
which pressed the multitude, each in turn kissing these exposed por
tions of the body. The bier was covered with a gorgeous white satin
gold-embroidered pall, strewed with white flowers, whose fra
grance, together with the incense burning in various parts of the
house, was almost overpowering. At the head of the bier sat a
priest, with a t-able before him, on which were laid the contribu
tions of the charitable. Passing on, we paused before the ' grand
altar,' on the steps of which vvas arranged all the plate of the
church, of great value, interspersed with pots of magnificent
flowers in full bloom, and myriads of tall candles, occupying every
possible spot among the pillars and images which reach from the
altar to the high ceiling. In front of the steps was a representa
tion of the ' Last Supper.' Tlie whole immense nave of the
church -vvas densely packed with kneeling ladies, all dressed in
black, with black mantillas over their heads, from whose parted
folds shone out, like stars from parting clouds, the brightly flashing
eyes of many a youthful senorita. The sefiors always stand, or
sit on some lew benches ail-anged along the borders of this female
parterre. " We went to two other churches, in all of which there were
similar ceremonies ; and to the cathedral, in which there was a
grand illumination.
"April 1st. — 'Easter Sunday' came yesterday, but I did not
1

140 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

go out. The day began as our Fourth of July does, by the ring
ing of beUs and firing of rockets, and these continued throughout
the day. The streets swarmed with people in gay attire, all
wearing flowers. A 'bull-fight' took place as usual, and the
theater was crowded ; and thus you have the ' Holy Week' at
Lima." To this we add the following description, by Mr. Colton, of a
bull-fight in Lima, whioh, it appears, took place, like the election
and revolution, on the Sabbath. As they say in Scotland, " the
better day, the better deed."
" On the Sabbath which succeeded Holy Week I went to the
cathedral to attend worship, and found it closed ; continued on to
the church of San Pedro, and found that closed ; turned off to
the cliurch of San Augustin, and found that also closed. Observ
ing the streets full of people, who were moving toward the broad
bridge which crosses the Rimac, I concluded that there must be
some great religious festival in that quarter, and followed on.
" The crowds continued to move over the Rimac, but instead of
entering any church, wound off, in solid column, through the rows
of trees which shade its left bank. I at last inquired of an intelli
gent-looking man who was walking at my elbow, to what sacred
spot they were bound. When, with a look of half-wonder at my
ignorance, he replied, ' To the corrida de toros !' — the buU-figlit !
I turned on my heel and threaded my way back, with some diffi
culty, through tiie crowds who were pressing onward to the sav
age spectacle. Among them were groups of chUdren from the
schools — boys in gay frocks, and girls in white, with wreaths of
flowers around tiieir sunny locks, headed by their teachers. Monks
with their beads, motiiers with their daughters ; infancy at the
breast, and old age with one foot in the grave ; all chattering and
laughing, and jostiing and shouting, and pressing on to the bull
ring, on the Sabbath !
" Upon inquiry, I found that these bull-fights fonneriy took
place on Monday, but that the Archbishop of Lima, to enable the
laboring classes to attend them, had changed the day to the Sab
bath. They are a horrible spectacle at best, utterly revolting to
every sentiment of refinement and humanity ; and the social and
moral evils which they inflict would be sufficientiy revolting were
they confined to secular occasions, but they become doubly per
nicious when they involve such an outrage upon the sanctity of
the Sabbath, under the sanction, too, of the highest ecclesiastical
functionary in the State.
" BuU-fights, as conducted here,involve very Uttle peril and suf-

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 14"?

fering except to the poor beast. His antagonists are pretty safe,
or he would drive them out of the arena. It is an exhibition of
craft and cowardice on one side, and courage and despair on the
other. Of the two, the bull sustains much the nobler part, and
would have much the larger share of my sympathy and respect.
If men raust fight for the amusement of their fellows, let them
fight one another. If the deatii of one don't furnish sufficient ex
citement, then let the other be shot or hung, as the taste of the
spectators shall suggest. But let them not catch a poor beast,
torture him with fagots and fire, skulk themselves, and pick him
to death with their long weapons, and then insult the inteUigence
of the community by calling the dastardly act an exhibition of
chivalry and valor.
" It is no wonder the ladies in Lima are deficient in delicacy
and moral refinement, accustomed as they are, from their child
hood, to such savage spectacles. It is but justice, however, to
say, th.at there are some mothers here who will not pennit their
daughters to attend them ; nor will they allow them, for this or
any otber purpose, to disguise theraselves in the saya y manto.
There was one righteous man in Sodom, and there is more than
one good mother even in Lima."
The Indians of Peru are few and feeble. Discouraged and de
pressed, they find it difficult to maintain their national existence.
Indeed, they may be said to have no national existence. Norai-
naUy " Catholics," without rauch knowledge of Christianity, they
look back with regret to the days of their ancient splendor, and
venerate the raeraory of their Incas. The descendants of those
ancient princes are now alraost entirely extinct. One or two, it
is said, yet linger amid the mountains of Peru. The following
letters addressed to the late President of the United States, and
communicated by him to the Araerican Etlinologioal Society, with
respect to " the last of the Incas," will be read with interest. The
first is from Samuel G. Arnold, Esq., of Providence, a gentleman
who, in the course of an extensive exploratory tour through South
America, had paid a visit to Cuzco, the ancient capital of the
Incas of Peru. " Peovidesce, May 7, 1849
"To ihe President ofthe United States:
" Sir : — In the course of an extensive tour through the interior
of South America, during tlie past year, I visited Cuzco. That
city, renowned as tlie capital of the Inca Empire, and the Umit of
the conquests of Pizarro. is among the most interesting -places I
have seen in any part of the world. The extreme difficulty of

148 THE WOELD WE LH^E IN.

reaching it, o-wing to its distance from the coast, and the lofty
chains of Andes intervening, appears to be the chief reason that
this celebrated city is so littie known to our countrymen. It
abounds in stupendous monuments of art, attesting a civiUzation
quite equal, if not superior, to that of the Aztecs. But amid thesd
remains of ancient days there exists a living relic of the past, some
short notice of whom may throw light on the inclosed letter. The
venerable Doctor Don Justo Sahaurauria, a canon of the Cathe
dral of Cuzco, and now more than ninety years of age, claims to
be a lineal descendant in the seventh degree from Haana-Caipac,
the last reigning Inca, and father of the ill-fated Atahualpa, burnt
alive by the conquerors in the plaza of Caxamorca. The evidence
of his claim appears to me to be conclusive ; so that in this man
we see the last of the royal race of Incas, as no others of unmixed
blood are known to exist. He is a man of leaming, and quite dis
tinguished in thc history of his country, having personally received
the thanks of Bolivar, at the close of the War of Independence,
for his services in the cause of liberty. A clerical friend took me
to the old man's house. We found him reading Tasso in his gar
den, a secluded spot just under the walls of the great Temple of
the Sun, where his ancestors, as high-priests of the sun and hered
itary lords of Pem, once officiated at the altar in the grand and
imposing worship of 'The ChUdren of the Sun.' He received us
very affably, and showed me many matters of interest about his
house. He conversed more intelligently than is usual -with Peru
vians of the interior, concerning ' El grande Republica del Norte,'
as they call the United States, and appeared much interested in
the slight sketch of our political system which he requested me to
give bim. He had many questions to ask — who was President,
and who would be the next President ? He is a fine-looking man,
with a physiognomy quite different from that of the Quioha In
dians (the race peopling this part of Peru), having a high fore
head, large regular features, and an intelligent eye. A paralytic
stroke about two years ago deprived hira of the power of writing,
except early in the morning, when he can sign his name. His
son acts as his amanuensis. He always affixes the word Inca to
his name. The seal of the inclosed letter boars the arms granted
by Charles V. to his family in 1544 — the original letters patent
are carefuUy preserved in his library. I left''Cuzco in June last.
Some time afterward I received a letter from him, in which he
asked a continuance of the correspondence, which I provided for
through the U. S. Consul at Lima, although scarcely expecting to
hear from the aged Inca again. On parting from him be had de
sired me to present his compliments, &c., to thc President of the

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 149

United States on my return home. This he repeated, -with the
usual additions of Spanish courtesy, in the letter I received from
him at Lima. After my return to the United States I received a
package of letters from the venerable Dr. S., dated Cuzco, August
16th, in which he desires me to deUver the inclosed letter : 'Y
signifiea d esse grand hombre mis rendim.ientos.' I should be
pleased to receive an acknowledgment of the receipt of this, as I
shall write to Cuzco in a few days, and wish to assure the old
gentleraan that his letter has reached its destination.
" Trusting that the subject of this letter will be found of sufficient
interest to atone for its length, I remain your excellency's most
obedient servant, " Samuel G. Arnold.
" Gen. Z. Taylor, President cf United States."
[translation.]
" To the most Excellent President of the United States of North
America : From the Capiial of the Sovereign Incas of Cuzco,
the I6th of August, 1848:
" The possessor of my prqfoundest Respect and Veneration :
" A Peru-vian prince, the seventh in descent from the Emperor
Huaynaccapac, the most immediate branch of the sovereign Incas,
places himself under the protection and auspices of your excel
lency, entreating that you wUl have the goodness to receive his
homage. " When the Spaniards entered the Peruvian Empire, giving the
name of conquest to a sanguinary devastation, they found in the
principal temple of Cuzco various prophecies, and among them
one that foretold the destruction of the empire, together with its
rites and ceremonies ; and that this was to take place in the reign
of the twelfth emperor.
" When the Emperor Huaynaccapac was told by his vassals in
Tumpis that there had appeared on the coast certain canoes like
houses, the crews of which were composed of bearded men very
different from themselves, he said that a tradition existed among
the members of the royal family to the effect that there should
come from beyond the sea an unknown people who would destroy
the empire, its religion, rites, and ceremonies. This, he said fur
thermore, was to take place during the reign of the twelfth em
peror ; and, as he was the twelfth in succession, the prediction
was, doubtless, about to be fulfilled, even as it is said hi the proph
ecy, ' Inter aUa vaticinia, quK de amissione Regni loquuntur.'
" Moreover, the prediction inspired the Children of the Sun
with the hope that the day would arrive in which they should be

150 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

reinstated in their ancient splendor, by the aid of a people from a
country caUed England ; and, in order that your excellency may
be fully possessed of the whole prophecy, I here transcribe it as
follows :
" ' Et Deum ego tester, mihi a D. Antonio de Berreo affirmatum,
quemadmodum etiam ab alijis cognovi, quod in preecipuo ipsomm
Tempio inter alia vaticinia, quae de amissione Regni loquuntur, hoc
enira sit, quo dicitur fore, ut Inc^e, sive Imperatores et Reges
Peruviae, ab aliquo Populo, qui ex Regione quadam, quo [quae]
Inglaterra vocetur, in Regnum suum rursus introducantur.'*
" As the prophecy does not expressly say whether they are to
be Anglo-Europeans or Anglo-Americans, it appears to me that
the Children of the Sun ought to follow their own inclinations. I,
like others, am well convinced, and constantly hear of the great
kindness with which all who are inclined to the grand Republic of
North America have been welcomed by it. On these accounts,
and because of the preference whioh I personaUy entertain, I place
myself under the shelter of the RepubUc, and under that of your
excellency, who will not disdain to receive an unfortunate prince
like myself.
" Praying the Almighty to preserve the health of your excel
lency during all the years that America may require it, and es
pecially the humble priest who kisses the hands of your ex
cellency, " I am, most excellent sir,
" De. Justo Sahauraukia, Inca."
We must not stay longer in Peru, but pass over into Bolivia,
with its lofty mountain peaks — the loftiest, we believe, on the con
tinent of America, and, except two or three in the Himalayah
Mountains, the loftiest in the world — its extensive and beautiful
lake Titicaca, high up among the ranges of the Andes, several
thousand feet above the level of the sea, and its rich mines of gold
and silver. Among the latter is the famous Potosi, or La Rica,
The Rich, as the natives call it. It was discovered in 1 545 by a
Peruvian named Hualpu, who, ascending the mountain with liis
flocks, grasped a bush, whose roots gave way, revealing the pres
ence of a rich mass of silver ore. For some time this shepherd
•* " I call God to witness that I was informed by Don Antonio de Berreo,
even as I had learnt from others, that among the prophecies preserved in
the principal Temple, which speak of the loss of the Kingdom, tliere is one
which says that the Inoas, or emperors and kiugs of Peru, shall be restored
to their Kingdom by a people who shall come from a certain country called
Inqiatebka (England) "

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA.

151

concealed the discovery from all his acquaintances, and resorted
to the place only at intervals to supply his wants. But the ob
vious change in his fortune attracted the suspicions of the Indians,
who, with difficulty, wrung from him his secret. In consequence
of a quarrel with Hualpu, these Indians revealed it to his master.
It was then forraally registered and opened, since which time it
has been worked with success. Its yield has been immense. The
vein was found runninDf throuo;h the entire mountain, the whole of
which nearly has been excavated. MilUons upon mUUons have
been derived from this source.,
The inhabitants of Bolivia, estiraated at something more than a
mUIion, resemble those of the neighboring States, to which we
have already referred. They are said to be quite hospitable. Tlie
government is Republican, the religion Cathohc. More than one-
half of the inhabitants are said to be Indians, some of whom are
wild and warlike in their habits.
Stretching from Peru to Patagonia, between the mountains and
the Pacific Ocean, is the long and narrow, but rich and fertUe

Throwing the Lasso.
ChUi, with its evergreen foliage, medicinal gums, resplendent
flowers, and precious ores. The population consists principaUy of
Spaniards, mestizoes, and Indians, with some English, American,
French, Irish, and negroes. There are some independent Indian
communities, as the Aracaunians, possessed of considerable en
ergy of cliaracter. Earthquakes are common in ChUi. Beggars,
also, are somewhat numerous, and, it is said, actuaUy often ride
on horseback to solicit alms. But horses and other cattle are very
numerous here, and are caught wUd among the mountains, by
means of the lasso, which the people practice with great dexterity.

152 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

This, however, is not confined to ChiU, but is common through
South America. The lasso is a long line or thong -with a noose,
whioh a Cliilian at full speed, on horseback, oan throw over the
homs, head, or legs of a wild animal, as a horse or bull, at full
speed. Its use is practiced by the children in the case of dogs,
cats, &c., from their earliest years.
The lasso is sometimes used in war with considerable effect.
There is a well-autlienticated story of a party of eight or ten men,
who had never seen a piece of artillery till one was fired at them
in the town of Buenos Ayres. They galloped fearlessly up to it,
placed their lassoes over the cannon, and, by their united strength,
fairly overturned it.
The government of Chili is Republican, but, as usual in South
America, where education and reUgion are so poor, is in an un
settled state.
South of Bolivia, between Chili and the river La Plata, south of
the Atlantic, lies the Argentine Republic, as it is sometimes called,
more properly, Buenos Ayres, or provinces of La Plata, with its
vast unwooded plains or pampas, 1200 mUes in length and some
500 in breadth, on whioh roam innumerable herds of wild oxen,
horses, ostriches, thousands and thousands of which are annually
taken by means of the lasso. In thc upper part of the country,
with woods and mountains, are many mines of gold and sUver, as
also several of gems, jasper, and emeralds.
Buenos Ayres [good airs, from the salubrity of the climate), the
capital, stands on the southwest side of the La Plata, the houses
built of brick or chalk, with flat roofs, and innumerable gardens.
The population of the city is 80,000, one-fourth of whom only are
whites, the rest being mixed breeds, Indians and negroes.
The population of the whole State, which is Republican, falls
short of a miUion, with many Indians, some of them independent.
Slavery and gambling are prevalent.
In the upper part of the continent, to the southwest, are smaU
colonies of Dutch, French, and English, in the two former of
which slavery prevails, and in the latter are many blacks. But
these need not detain us. They are important chiefly for their
comraerce. _ Nor will Patagonia, on the extreme south, with its huoe In
dians, rude manners, and Jesuit institutions, detain us from more
interesting regions.
Uruguay is a small State, lying between Buenos Ayres and
Brazil. Paraguay, a littie above, enjoys, or perhaps suffers, a
singular dictatorship, under Doctor Francia, and has a tolerably
thriving population of 20,000 whites, and 250,000 blacks. Inter

CENTEAL ANH SOUTH AMEEICA.

153

dieted from commerce with foreigners, and shut in, by a rigid sys
tem of police, within its own boundaries, the nation is said to be
contented and happy. All are taught to read and write, so 'tis
said ; and though the tyrannic Doctor rules them with a rod of
iron, he rules them well.

view of Eio Janeiro.

The last State which demands our attention is BrazU, the largest
and most important of South America, occupying nearly one -third
of the whole continent ; extending, on the one side, from Venezuela
on the north, to Uruguay on the south ; and on the other, from
Peru to the Atlantic Ocean, with an area of 3,000,000 square
mUes, a population of 5,000,000, and commanding nearly the
whole of the river Amazon, the largest river in the world, with
its 200 tributaries, and vast mouth, or rather mouths, of 175 mUes
in extent. The tide ascends perceptibly 600 mUes from the sea,
and the river is navigable for ships several tiraes that distance.
Brazil was settled from Portugal, though the descendants of the
7*

154 TE"S WOELD-WE Ln''E IN.

Portuguese, who govem the country, are greatly exceeded in
number by Indians and mixed breeds. The government, now in
dependent of the mother-country, is imperial, with a tendency, it
is said, to repubUcanism. The character of the people is Portu
guese, with a mixture of Indian. In some parts of the country
are colonies of Irish, Swiss, and Germans. Some English may be
found at Rio Janeiro, the capital, a city of 150,000 inhabitants,
which stands on the west side of a bay close to the sea, and is a
place of much opulence and splendor. Slavery is universal. A
portion of the inhabitants are nobles, among whom are some dis
tinguished and wealthy agriculturists, ennobled b)' Don Pedro.
BrazU, though only partially cultivated, is a country of ample
resources, almost all the productions of tropical countries being
found there, as also those of raore temperate regions. It abounds
in the precious metals and other minerals ; and not only so, but m
precious stones and diamonds. The diamond mines are wrought by
collecting the ferruginous earth, in which the diamonds are found,
mixed with flints, and washing it. The former operation is gener
ally perfoi-med during the hot season, at a time when the beds and
torrents of the rivers are dry, and the diamond sand can be easily
collected. When the wet season arrives, the operation of washing
commences. It is performed in the open air, and frequently under
sheds, where the action of the sun is least likely to injure the
health of the negroes. At the bottom of the shed glides a smaU
stream, which occupies one of its sides. Seats, raised, and with
out backs, are arranged along the shed in such a manner, that the
subaltern officers are enabled to watch the negroes at work. One
of these superintends eight negroes. Each negro works in a com
partment of the shed, separated from the others. The material
to be examined is placed in troughs close to the stream, and the
negroes are introduced entirely naked, excepting in time of ex
treme cold, when they are allowed a .kind of waistcoat, but with
out either lining or pockets. They are supplied with a sort of
hand-spike, by means of which they separate the earth from the
flint ; and then taking the largest stones in their hands, they pro
ceed to search for the diamonds. Notwithstanding all the precau
tions taken, robberies of diamonds by the negroes frequently occur.
When a nejrro discovers a diamond, having first shown it to the
attendant officer, he deposits it in a large wooden vessel suspended
in the center of the slied. If any negro is fortunate enough to
discover a diamond weighing seventeen carats, he is bought by
the government, and receives his liberty. The discovery of a stone
of less weight also confers liberty, but with some restrictions.
Various premiums are distributed, according to the value of a

CENTEAL AND SOUTII AMEEICA. I55

stone, even to a pinch of tobacco. But diamonds are frequently
stolen, and sold to smugglers at a low price. The negroes, how
ever, somewhat cunning, sometimes contrive to impose upon the
contrabandists, by crystals, to which they give the appearance of
rough diamonds. Some 20,000 negroes are employed in this
business. BrazU abounds in forests, and in all kinds of beautiful and use
ful trees. Cotton is also cultivated. The forests and rivers are
filled with wild animals, serpents, tigers, raonkeys, crocodiles, and
cayraans. The domestic aniraals, such as the horse and ox, are
very numerous ; and though much of the country is uninhabited,
being occupied by vast forests and untrodden marshes, their agri
cultural productions are quite considerable. Great masses of hides,
tallow, horns, and beef are exported to other countries. They also
export coffee, sugar, and cotton.
In education, literature, the fine arts, and especially religion,
whicli is Catholic, the BrazUians rise no higher than their neigh
bors of South America generally. Perhaps they are inferior to
some of them. The first printing-press in the country was intro
duced in 1808 ! Gross ignorance prevails among the common
people. Many of tlie rich nabobs, or sugar-planters, know little
¦ more than their negroes. A few are educated, and all, it is said,
are somewhat remarkable for their porapous vanity. The Indians
are partly civUized, and partly savage. Their condition, in most
instances, is depressed. Distinctions of color scarcely exist. All
intermarry. The mulattoes are among the most energetic people
of the country. Fitted to the cliraate, they gain in wealth and
influence. The progress of Brazil, in wealth and population, has
been slow ; but of late years, the infusion of new elements, by
means of foreigners, and the change in its political institutions, has
given it a powerful impulse in the right direction. It will, how
ever, take a long time to rise superior to the combined- influence
of ignorance, slavery, and superstition. As an instance of their
superstition, Dr. Walsh informs us that, at Rio, they claim to have
tho descendant of the cook which crowed when Peter denied his
Master. Dr. W. was favored with a sight of him, and describes
him as an ungainly bird of great size, and with a sort of a croak
in his crowing that was quite monitory.
The negroes, it, is said, are treated, in some cases, with indis-
crimin.ate kindness ; in others, with fearful severity. Every day,
says Walsh, negroes are sacrificed ; not so much as delinquents
punished for offenses, as victims offered up to the revenge or
malice of their masters. They are often whipped to death.
Sometimes they commit suicide, to avoid what they deem a more

156 T'HE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

terrible doom. " They have a method of burying their tongue in
their throat, in such a way as to produce suffocation. A friend
of mine was passing through the Cariooa, when a slave was tied
up and flogged. After a few lashes, he hung his head apparentiy
lifeless, and when taken down, he was actuaUy dead, and his
tongue found wedged in the oesophagus, so as completely to close
the trachea."'*
A stranger, on entering Rio Janeiro for the first time, is struck
with the extremes of condition in the population. Two-thirds are
slaves, and so debased, in form and manners, are many of them,
that they appear more Uke baboons than men. The nobles and
merchants are rolUng in wealth and splendor, while multitudes of
the slaves are all but naked and starving. StUl, many of them
rise in comfort, and even in wealth, and many of them secure
their freedom. Occasionally, a tawny-faced African may be seen,
officiating as priest, and instructing his white brethren in' the
truths of religion. A slave, after ten years' bondage, is entitled to
his freedom, as also when he is the father of ten children ! Thirty-
three holidays are aUowed them, on which they may have their
wages ; and any one can free himself, by paying the price of his
first cost.
The slave-trade, domestic and foreign, is carried on briskly in
Brazil. Thousands are brought from Africa annually, and sold in
the markets. The slaves are kept naked in stalls, to be sold. The
voice of the owner, or a crack of the whip, brings them out for ex
hibition and sale. The following description of the slave market,
&c., with whioh we close our notices of Brazil, is from the pen of
Dr. Walsh, considered excellent authority with reference to Bra
zilian usages :
_ "Round the rooms are benches, on whioh tiie elder generaUy
sit, and the raiddle is occupied by the younger, particularly fe
males, who squat on the ground, stowed close together, with tiieir
hands and chins resting on their knees. Their onlv covering is a
small girdle of cross-barred cotton, tied round the waist. Tie
first time I passed through this street, I stood at the bars of the
window, looking through, when a cigano (gipsy-dealer) came and
pressed me to enter. I was particularly attracted by a group of
children, one of whom, a young girl, had somethmg very pensive
and engaging; in her countenance. The cigano observing me look
mg at her, whipped her up with a long rod, and bade her, with a
rough voice, come forward. It was quite affecting to see the
poor, timid, shnnking child standing before me, in a state the most
¦» Walsh.

CENTEAL AND SOUTH AMEEICA. 157
helpless and forlom that ever a being like myself, with a reason
able raind and an immortal soul, could be reduced to. Some of
these girls have reraarkably sweet and engaging countenances.
Notwithstanding their dusky hue, they look so modest, gentle,
and sensible, Uiat you could not for a moment hesitate to acknowl
edge that they are endued with a like feeling and a common
nature with your own daughters. The men were generally less in
teresting objects than the women. Some were soot-black, having
a certain ferocity of aspect, that indicated strong and fierce pas
sions, like men who are darkly brooding over some deep-felt
wrongs, and meditating revenge. When any one was ordered, he
came forward with a sullen indifference, threw his arms over his
boad, stamped with his feet, shouted, to show the soundness of
bis lungs, ran up and down the room, and was treated exactly like
a horse put through his paces at a repository ; and when done, he
was whipped to his stall.
Many were lying stretched on the bare boards ; and araong
the rest, mothers with young children at their breast, of which
they seemed passionately fond. They were all doomed to remain
on the spot, like sheep in a pen, till they were sold. Tbey have
no apartment to retire to ; no bed to repose on ; no covering to
protect them. They sit naked aU day, and Ue naked all night, on
the bare boards or benches.
Among the objects that attracted my attention in this place,
were some young boys, who seemed to have formed a society to
gether. I observed several times, in passing by, that the sarae
little group was coUected near a barred window. They seeraed
very fond of each other, and their kindly feeUngs were never in
terrupted by peevishness. Indeed, the temperament of a negro
child is generaUy so sound, that he is not affected by those little
morbid sensations which are the frequent cause of crossness and
ill-temper in our children. I do not remember that I ever saw a
young black fretful or out of humor. I sometimes brought cakes
and fruit in my pocket, and handed them in to the group. It was
quite delightful to observe the disintei-ested and generous manner
in which they distributed them. Tliere was no scrambling with
one another — no selfish reservation to themselves. The chUd to
whom I happened to give them took them so gently, looked so
thankfully, and distributed them so generously, that I eould not
help thinking that God had compensated their dusky hue by a
more than usual portion of amiable qualities.
Notlung is more absurd than to say that the Africans are happy,
or reconciled to slavery. They seem to have as keen a sense of
bondage, and to repine as bitterly at their lot, as any white man

168 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

in the same state in Africa; indeed, if we may judge from the
effects, StiU more. The harbor is constantiy covered with the
bodies of blacks, on whom no marks of violence are found, and
who are known to have thrown themselves in, to escape from an
insupportable life. I have seen them, myself, left by the tide on
the strand, and some lying weltering just under our windows.
We were eye witnesses to a very striking and melancholy fact of
this kind. One evening, some policemen were conducting a woman
to the calabouQa,^ along the road leading from Catete. Just when
they came opposite our door, where there was an open descent to
the strand, the woman suddenly rushed down the rocks, and cast
herself into the sea. The place Jo which she fell was too shaUow to
drown her ; so, after lying on her face a moment, she again raised
herself, and, rushing forward into deeper water, she sunk and dis
appeared. The poHcemen raade no attempt to save her, but Mr.
Abercrombie ordered some of the blacks of our house to follow
her. They immediately did so, brought her up apparently dead,
and earned her into our hall. The negroes, supposing her to be
dead, threw her down on the bare stones, just as they would be
treated themselves, and she lay there just Uke any other worthless
and despised object; but on examining the poor' creature, we had
reason to suppose it still possible to restore suspended animation.
bhe was seized with convulsions, succeeded by a violent shudder
ing, when she fell into a slumber, from which she awoke in a sen
sible state. She had been employed in washing, which she will
ingly performed ; but her master treated her with the greatest
cruelty and inhumanity, and in proof, she showed her arms and
side, which were greatly swelled and inflamed, from the effect of
blows received a few days before. She could endure it no longer,
and tied to the wood. Her master immediatelv gave sixteen mil-
reis to the capitao do mato, whose office it "is to take fuo-itive
Slaves, blie was pursued and overtaken, and was on her way
back wlien she conceived such a horror at again retuming to en
counter the brutahty she had before experienced, that she detei-
mmeU not to be brought home alive. She appeared very grateful
or thc kindness with whicli she was treated, so different from any
tiling she had expenenced in Brazil before, and proposed to do
any work with alacrity to whioh she was put; butwhen we spoke
of her retuming to her master, she expressed a degree of horror
n S W ";'\ "'""v" ^^'""^ 'Counted to distraction, and seemed
to thmk that she was httle indebted to those who saved her life,
if she was again to be given up to that suffering, than which loss
ol life was more tolerable.

EUEOPE.

159

CHAPTER. XII.

It is natural to pass from the United States to Europe, for, in
many respects, Araerica, and especially the United States, repro
duce the peculiarities of Europe. Thence aU the inhabitants of
this countiy, except the Indians and the Africans, are derived.
There are many striking differences between them, it is true, aris
ing from government and local influence ;. after aU, these differ
ences are not essenti-al. The great lineaments of character are the
same. The language, the literature, the hafeits of thought, the
aspirations and aims, all are the same. And yet an American is
always struck with the strange and peculiar aspect of things in
what he calls " the Old World." This impression, however,
passes away, and he soon finds himself at home amid the usages
of the mother-country. An intelUgent citizen of the United States
is soon domesticated in England or Scotland. He finds there, for
the time being, a second and a congenial home.

160 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

StiU, in comparison with America, Europe is old and mature.
Old associations, antique buildings, the hoary monuments of by
gone days, the haunts of genius consecrated for ages, ancient
battle-fields, castles and baronial halls, beautiful ruins among the
hills and vales, venerable grave-yards, ivy-clad churches, and
haunted cairns, all are there, with their strange fascination. On
that soil, soaked by the blood of martyrs, trod the mighty men of
the olden time. There freedom fought and fell, or rose to su
preraacy and triumph. There our holy reUgion was planted,
amid agony and strife, and, acquiring a dominion wider than that
of the Csesars, blessed the world with its gentle reign. There
fought the Bruces and the TeUs for Uberty and their native land.
There preached Luther and Fenelon, Zuingle and Chalmers, John
Howe and Jeremy Taylor. There Newton and La Place read the
starry heavens, and there sang, in numbers that wUI never die,
Dante, Shakspeare, and Milton.
We are in Europe, then, my readers, and I their humble cicerone
in our journey round the world. Before us spread the green
meadows of England, the vine-clad hills of France, the orange-
fields of Spain, the green forests of Germany, the level steppes of
Russia, the glacier peaks of Switzerland, and the olive-groves of
Italy, mingled and beautified by the works of industry and art.
Every thing, externally at least, appears mature and finished.*
Roads, bridges, buildings, the fields, covered with the waving
produce of agriculture, the fences, the cottages of the peasantry,
the dwellings especially of the gentry, the residences of the nobil
ity, the gardens, the lawns, the places of out-door amusement, the
squares and public promenades, all have an aspect of finish and
elegance. In the larger cities, indeed, and even in the country
hamlets, much poverty and crirae, and consequent wretchedness,
may be found ; but the general appearance of Europe, particularly
in Great Britain, is that of wealth and civUization. Beggara
enough, meager and tattered, swarm every where, in this respect
differing essentiaUy from the United States, where beggars, and
especially tattered ones, are exceedingly rare ; and yet every re
gion almost, both in England and on the Continent, presents indi
cations of elegance and plenty. These, indeed, may be in the
actual possession of " the few," while " tiie many" are struggling
with difficulties ; but the countries themseh-es, as a whole, are
attractive and beautiful.
The first thing whioh strikes us in Europe, which bas an area of
somethmg less than four milUons of square miles, is the density of
* Except, perhaps, in Russia.

EUEOPE. 161

the population, the whole amounting to nearly two hundred and
seventy miUions, whioh makes a population of about seventy to a
square mUe, the most intelligent, the most vigorous, the most en
terprising population in the world. The population of the United
States, however, being of the same origin and races, are included
in this category. " Nearly all the Europeans," says Ungewitter,
in his Europe, " belong to the Caucasian race. Only a few tribes
in Russia are Mongolians. With respeot to their origin, the Eu
ropeans form three great divisions : the Germanes, Slavonians,
and Romanians. The Germanes are to be considered as descend
ants of Gomer (Gen. x. 2), or of the Kimres, who at first lived in
the countries near the mouths of the Dnieper and Dniester, whence
they afterward moved to the north and northwest, and peopled
the Scandinavian peninsula, the present kingdom of Denmark,
Germany, &c. The old Goths were Ukewise Germanes. Thus, ,
to the great family or tribe of the Germanes belong the Germans
proper, most of the Swiss, aud part of the English, ihe Dutch,
the Flemings (in Belgium), the Danes, Icelanders, Norwegians,
and Swedes. T'he Slavonians (or, rather. Slaves, but in another
sense than those who are in bondage), in ancient times called
Sarmates, are probably descendants of Magog and Madai (Gen,
X. 2), or of the Scythians and Medes. In the beginning, they
lived in the country between the Don, Volga, and the Caucasus
Mountains, and, in the course of time, spread over the present
Russia and Poland, and westward to the river Elbe. To the great
family or tribe of the Slavonians belong the Russians, Poles, Ser
vians, Bosnians, Bulgarians, Croats, Slavonians proper, Bohe
mians, &o. The Romanians are descendants partly of the ancient
Iberians, Gauls, &c., partly of the ancient Romans and Greeks,
and partly of the Germanes ; and the Italians, French, Spaniards,
Portuguese, and part of the Swiss, belong to this great faraily or
tribe. Besides these three great divisions, there are still found
descendants of the ancient Celts, or Gaels, in Ireland and Wales,
and the Highlands of Scotland, and Basques, or descendants of
Iberians, in Biscay, and in the neighborhood of Bayonne in France.
The Turks belong to the Tartar tribe ; the Magyars in Hungary
are probably descendants of the ancient Scythians, and lived,
untU the close of the ninth century of the Christian era, in the
vicinity of the Ural River ; and the Greeks are descendants partly
of the ancient Greeks, but chiefly of Slavonian tribes. The descent
of the Jews is universally known.
With the exception of about seven millions Mohammedans,
three raUlions Jews, and a few pagans among the Samoides and
Kalmucs, all the Europeans are Christians. Of these, nearly

162 THE WOELD 'WE LIVE IN.

133,000,000 are Roman Catholics (occupying the Pyrennean pen
insula and Italy, and prevailing in France, Ireland, Belgium, Po
land, Austria, and Bavaria), more than 59,000,000 are attached
to the Greek Church (chiefly in Russia, and moreover prevaUing
in Turkey, Greece, and the Ionian Islands), and about 58,000,000
are Protestants, almost exclusively occupying the Scandina-vian
peninsula and Denmark, and prevailing in Great Britain, Prussia,
Holland, Finland, in the Baltic provinces of Russia, and in most of
the German States."
In all the European States, the mechanic arts, the fine arts,
music, sculpture, architecture, and painting, as also literature and
science, agriculture and commerce, are carried to the highest point
of perfection. Husbandry has reached the highest improvement
in England, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, and Lom
bardy (the north of Italy). In manufactures and commerce Great
Britain exceeds all other empires ; though in some branches of
manufactures Franoe, Belgium, and, Germany are superior to it.
The European States next after Great Britain, in commercial and
political importance, are France, Russia, Germany, Austria, Hol
land, &c. France has weakened herself by poUtical changes and
revolutions ; Great Britain, Russia, perhaps also Prussia, are
steadily advancing in strength and resources. Italy, Spain, and
Portugal are feeble — that is, feeble in comparison with the States
just mentioned, as also in comparison with their former prosperity.
The south is chiefly Catholic ; the north, with the exception of
Russia, Protestant.
Of all the European famUies, the German, including not only
the inhabitants of Germany, but of England, Scotland, &o., or, as
we sometimes terra thera, the Teutonic and Saxon races, are the
most powerful, and, at present, possess the greatest influence.
" Their own country," says McCulloch, "has never been conquered,
whUe the Germans have been the most extensive and permanent
of all conquerors, as is shown by their conquests of France, Eng
land, Italy, and Spain, and by the still more extensive conquests
they are now achieving across the Atlantio and in Australia. The
German family has probably exhibited greater enterprise, perse
verance, and, even invention, than any other famUy, as evinced by
its discoveries in arts and sciences, its miUtary .enterprises, and its
poUtical institutions. For the last two thousand years, and proba
bly even before it was known to the rest of the world, it has gone
on steadUy advancing in civUization, and in the accumulation of
knowledge. The portraits of Luther, MUton, and Newton are favor
able representations of this family, and those of Gustavus Adolphus
and Charies XII. exhibit its ruder and more vulo-ar form."

"t>"

EUEOPE. 163

It is worthy of remark here that free institutions, civil and re
ligious, prevaU among the Gerraan and Anglo-Saxon branch of
the European faraUy. Learning, industry, science, art, religion
flourish among them, and, through their agency, are spreading in
far and foreign lands. The form of civilization whioh they embrace
is gaining ascendency throughout the world. • Asia, Africa, Aus
tralia, are beginning powerfully to feel its influence. Indeed, the
fate of mankind seems to be very much in their control.
At this point we venture to introduce some statements touching
the balance of power, and the relations of the different European
States. " Among the questions whioh occupy the attention of political
men, none is perhaps more important than that which relates to
the maintenance of the European balance of power. This balance
consists in preserving the equality between the different powers of
Europe, so that one of them can never dictate laws to the rest.
It is easy to understand how this principle has gradually possessed
the minds of the nations and controlled the counsels of kings.
For, the equality of the great States renders all seoure. Without
it, all would be subordinated to the will of one man, or of one
nation, and the independence of the others would be lost. But if
the duty of maintaining the political balance in Europe is essential,
it must be confessed that it leads also to much injustice, and
exposes the secondary States to be agitated or oppressed by the
stronger. Let us examine, first, by the light of history, the origin of the
idea of a European balance of power ; and then see what are the
results at the present moraent.
In the Dark Ages, when the feudal system prevailed froni one
end of the continent to the other, the tJ-iought of forraing a gen
eral balance of power was almost entirely unknown. The nations
had then Uttle communication with one another. They did not
know what passed beyond their respective frontiers, or but vaguely.
Germany was ignorant of the internal condition of France, and
Franoe of that of Germany. Further, in one and the sarae coun
try, one province was often ill-infoi-med of what took place in an
other. No newspapers ; no regular means of information. Thou
sands of petty feudal lords made war or peace at their pleasure.
The European Republic, as it has been sometimes called, did not
then exist.
The first event which began to brinff too-ether the nations of
Europe was that of the Crusades. The rulers of the different
kingdoms became acquainted with each other. The nations min
gled with one another in vast armies, marching to the Holy Land,

164 THE WOELD WE LIWE IX.

and learned to appreciate one another's ability. In this respect a
real service was done to our Old World. Opinions became more
Uberal ; relations were formed between the various parts of Chris
tendom, and the fanatical desire of rescuing a grave at Jerusalem
from infidels, gave the impulse to that vast European union which
was established in subsequent ages.
The bishops of Rome conceived the plan of being the leadere of
this new confederation of nations. They pretended to decide aU
great affairs which occurred in Europe, and kings found them
selves at the foot of him who wore the triple crown. These efforts
of popery to exercise universal empire contributed, after the Cru
sades, to bring together the nations of Europe. But the e-vU was
as great as the good, and perhaps greater ; for the Roman pon
tiffs, instead of employing their high authority to render strict
justice to all, foUowed oftenest the suggestions of pride and ava
rice, and filled all the palaces with unworthy intrigues. StiU, the
idea of unity in the Christian world gained ground, and already
we see, in the fifteenth century, nations opening frequent commu
nications with one another.
The Reformation appeared at first to inflict a terrible blow upon
this unity. It separated Europe into two hostile camps. Princes
and their subjects formed alliances, not influenced by political
considerations, but by their religious belief. For some time aU
was disorder. Romanists and Protestants, constantly in arms,
struggled desperately for the ascendency, and sundered all the
ties of the European confederation. It seemed, then, as if Chris
tendom would be divided into two great irreconcilable parts ; and
the popes did not faU, from selfish motives, to foster these bloody
discords. But, after some years, the Reformation contributed to unfold
the idea of the European balance of power. Kings understood
that the State has to do with politics rather than with religion.
They were tired of shedding the blood of their soldiers for doc
trinal disputes, and began to consult the sooial interests of their
States. Thus, at the end of the sixteenth oentury, the King of
France, Henry IV., in concert with his Ulustrious minister. Sully,
conceived the high thought of a European congress, which should
serve to protect the rights of nations, and to estabUsh universal
peace. He had contrived his plan with much wisdom, and pre
pared to put it in execution, when he feU under the dagger of an
assassin, a disciple of Jesuits.
In_ the seventeenth century, a prince of the Romish Church,
Cardinal de Richelieu, feared not to join a Protestant king, Gus
tavus Adolphus, to fight the CathoUo house of Austria. It be-

EUEOPE. 165

came evident, from this time, that political questions exerted more
influence than doctrinal disputes. What was the aim of Cardinal
de Richeheu ? He desired to weaken the Emperor of Germany,
because the vast States of this prince endangered the European
balance. Another cardinal, Mazarin, presided, in 1648, at the
peace of Westphalia, in which the ci-vil rights of Protestants were
duly regarded. He did not concern himself to know if Rome
would be satisfied or not, provided the power of Franoe was not
endangered by that of the German emperors.
Since the peace of Westphalia, the principle of the balance in
Europe has constantly ruled in the councils of sovereigns ; and a
history of the last two centuries might be written by taking this
principle for the guide, All the important events, the wars, alli
ances, coalitions, friendly relations or cabinet quarrels, are explained
by the need of protecting this balance, or of restoring it when lost.
Look, for example, at what happened under the reign of Louis
XIV. This prince had added several provinces to his States ; he
acquired gradually a preponderance dangerous to other nations.
What then did they do ? They met under the direction of King
WUliam IIL, and forced the proud Louis XIV. to yield a part of
his conquests.
The eighteenth century brought upon the pohtical stage two
new States of the first order : Prussia and Russia. The first of
these two powers had before been blended with the secondary
States of Germany, and exerted no influence upon the general
destinies of Europe. The military and diplomatic genius of Fred
erick II. first gave to Prussia the high rank which she now holds.
Russia was barbarous before the eighteenth century, and seemed
to belong less to Europe than to Asia. But she grew wonderfully
under the Czar Peter and his successors. The cabinet of St.
Petersburg undertook to interfere in all the affairs of the conti
nent, and now nothing important can be definitively settled with
out its leave.
Here, then, are five great States in Europe : England, France,
Austria, Russia, and Prussia. Formerly, Spain and the Ottoraan
Empire figured in the number ; but they are dwindled to the rank
of secondary States, and others have taken their place. Strange
-vicissitudes in the fate of nations ! Nations are like individuals :
they have their times of growth and of decay.
The European balance has been several times in danger for fifty
years. Napoleon, especially, completely deranged it. There was
a time when he was absolute raaster of all the States except Eng
land and Russia. His empire extended from the Tagus to the
Baltic. Italy, Spain, Holland, and part of Germany were sub-

166 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

jected to his iron scepter. Austria dared not stu-. Prussia was
crushed. The smaU northern States trembled at his voice. Then
the oppressed nations made gigantic efforts to restore the old bal
ance. There was a unanimous cry: "Independence! National
independence ! Better to die than to remain in bondage !" And
Napoleon, in spite of his genius, succumbed.
At the Congress of Vienna, in 1814, the diplomatists had but
one idea, one aim : that of restoring the balance of Europe. The
intention was wise and good, but the result was unhappy. Then
appeared in all its nakedness the oppression whioh the large States
exercised over the small. The sovereigns of England, Russia,
Prussia, and Austria (I do not name Franoe, for she was van
quished and humUiated) partitioned arbitrarily among themselves
the nations, as if they were cattle. Ancient national ties were sac
rificed to political calculations. Unhappy Poland was adjudged
to the northern powers, and must stifle her complaints before the
bayonets of Cossacks. Belgium was united to Holland, though
these two countries had nothmg common in their religion, habits,
nor even in theh- language. Italy was given up to the despotic
power of Austria. Thus, the great States disposed tyrannically of
the smaller, and, under pretense of constituting a better balance,
changed at their will the map of Europe.
Here is the abuse of a principle good in itself. By what right
do the strong crush the weak ? Why should Poland, Belgium,
Italy, Saxony, and other small States be mutilated, enslaved,
stripped of their national character? Evidently, the principal
members of the Congress of Vienija coramitted the same fault for
which they so bitterly reproached Napoleon. They made no ac
count of historical traditions ; they did not respect ancient laws
and principles of justice. The superiority of brute force was theh
only guide, and the result is, that the treaties of 1815 have never
taken deep root in the public mind. They have been violated at
different times, even by those who dictated them, and the nations
have protested, in the name of right, against the violence of which
they were victims.
In 1830, after the revolution of July, the French govemment
proclaimed a new principle : that of non-intervention. This signi
fied that the great States were not authorized to interfere by force
of arms in the internal afll^iirs of the smaU States, that every na
tion was at liberty to change its political constitution as it saw fit,
and that the independence of all was inviolate. This principle of
non-intervention was observed in regard to Belgiura, which was
allowed to separate herself frora Holland, -without being invaded
by the Prussian armies. The French nation was then determined

EUEOPE. 167

to hinder the encroachments of the northem sovereigns, and to
go to war rather than let the liberty of Belgians or Spaniards be
stifled. But this new principle was not long regarded. When troubles
arose in Italy, Austria sent troops into the Pontifical States, de
claring that she was ready to make war upon France, if her right
of intervention was disputed. The cabinet of Louis Philippe re
coiled from the prospect of a general war, and -was content to
interfere in turn in the affairs of Italy, by seizing upon the oity of
Ancona. Since that time the principle of non-intervention has
been habitually violated. The great States have only consulted
their own convenience, their own interests ; and, every tirae they
have thought it for their advantage to oppress secondary powers,
they have not scrupled to do it.
In an abstract point of view, the question presents serious diffi
culties. Indeed, can the principle of non-intervention be laid
down in an absolute manner ? Is it just and good in all cases?
Imagine that there are in a country of Europe two parties who
butcher one another for whole years, without the one succeeding
to conquer the other. Shall the ci-vilized world witness, as an in
different spectator, this butchery ? And is it not their duty to
interfere and stop such a cruel effusion of blood ? Suppose still
that a sect of fierce Fourierists should become the ruling party in
one of the States of our continent, tbat they should resort to pU
lage and murder to seize upon others' property, and arouse the
indignant passions of the neighboring nations ; shall they be for
bidden to interfere ? And shall the government wait, in inaction,
till the flames have reached their own dwellings ?
This is impossible. The principle of non-intervention is not ab
solute. There are circumstances in which a nation has a right,
further, when it is its_duty, to meddle directly in the intemal
affairs of its neighbor. But what are the cases of exception?
This seems incapable of being solved at present. If the cabinets
of the large States are the sole judges of the circumstances in
whioh they ought to interfere, it is clear that all is referred to the
force of the bayonet, and that feeble countries have no proteotion
against the power of the strong.
We hope that the progress of pubUo morals and of civilization
will enable us one day to reaUze the noble thought of Peace So
cieties, whioh calls for a sup-erne tribunal to be instituted to decide
international disputes. This tribunal should be composed of rep
resentatives of all the States. Matters should there be maturely
discussed ; and when the majority shall pronounce sentence, who
shall dare to oppose it ? We have already had diplomatic con-

168

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

gresses in Europe. But the great powers were then alone repre
sented, and they decided -without appeal upon the interests of
nations whioh had not been caUed to express their opinion. This
was not -just, and unhappily, the time would seem still distant
when each nation shall have a vote in a universal congress."
We add a single observation here, that it must be e-vident to
every attentive reader, that the principle and form of the preva
lent religion exert a prodigious, and, indeed, controUing influence,
upon national character and destiny. Where this is weak, imper
fect, superstitious, or fanatical, the nation is subject to change,
revolution, and final decay. On, the other hand, where it is free,
energetic, and pure, the nation becomes strong and prosperous,
penngnent and happy. The hand of God is visible in all the his
tory of man.

ENGLAND.

169

CHAPTER XIII.

ENGLAND.

Tintem Abbey.

Oue readers -will please to imagine themselves passing, on stage
coach or rail-car, or, what is better, in a comfortable carriage,
with a couple of handsome horses, and a sleek, well-fed, good-
natured postUlion, through the busy towns, sweet hamlets, and
sunny glades of " merry England," as it was called in the days of
yore, in many respects the finest and most beautiful country in
the world. Other lands may be superior to it in the boldness and
richness of their scenery, the beauty of their skies, and the balmy
purity of their atmosphere ; but, as a whole, none are so highly
cultivated, or present such a channing variety of hill and dale,
garden and meadow, forest and upland, adorned with all the re
sources of genius and wealth, and the thickly scattered monuments
8

170 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

of science and religion. The cUmate is rather cold and variable,
but moist and mellow, particularly in summer and autumn, when
the verdure of the trees and lawns is so peculiarly and intensely
green, and the vast profusion of fruits and flowers attests the fer
tiUty of the soU and the good taste of the people. We remember
weU the first time we visited England. It was in the latter part
of May, or, perhaps, the first, or second week in June, we forget
whioh, when sunshine and shadow, green leaves and blossoms,
mingle their glories from one end of the land to the other. We
were perched high upon the maU-coaoh, which dashed along over
the smooth and level roads, -ndnding througl^ meadow and wood
land, busy mart and rural retreat, at the rate of ten mUes an hour.
The country, f^r as the eye could reach, seemed to be one mag
nificent orchard. The day was " beautiful exceedingly," neither
too warm nor too cold, but "just right;" the occupants of the
maU-coach full of cheer, quite sociable and chatty, inspired, doubt
less, by the fine weather, the beautiful scenery, and the exhUa-
rating motion of the coach. The drivers were good-looking, care-
defying fellows, with rosy cheeks and bigh cravats ; and the
" guard," the veriest John Bull, dignified, yet merry, with a little
eye incased in fat, and a short neck reposing upon a mass of
shawl. Away we went, to the merry sound of the guard's bugle ;
for, fat as he was, he had "great power of wind," and woke the
echoes occasionally as we passed along ; now gliding through some
fair landscape ; then ascending the uplands, rich in their garniture
of trees and grass ; anon gaining some lofty summit, from which
a wide prospect could be seen, of woods and streams gleaming in
the sunlight, substantial cities, and rural -vUlages ; then again
diving into the valley, with its thick umbrage and cool retreats, its
garden slopes, and handsome villas ; emerging into a wide plain,
checkered with blossom-covered hedges, and clustering apple and
plum trees, and adorned with large and comfortable farm-houses ;
meeting here and there a cluster of cottages among the trees, cov
ered with roses and honeysuckles, and occasionally descrying some
castle, or castellated mansion, on the accUvities beyond ; now roU-
mg along a shady avenue of lofty trees, whence the ruins of some
ancient abbey, or the country-seat of some baronet, marquis, or
duke could be seen, with its spacious edifice, and superb lawn,
smooth as velvet, its patriarchal trees, and timid deer gazing
through the thickets, or startied from their repose by the sound
of our vehicle. We traveled that day and the next some two
hundred miles, caught a glirapse of " the sUver Avon" and the
majestic Severn, " the blue hills" of Malvern, the vale of Evesham,
and the rich 'plams of Gloucester, and assuredly, in aU our travels

ENGLAND. 171

over the world, we never saw a richer or fairer country. Some
thing, indeed, might be due to our youthful imagination, and the
novelty of the scenery through whioh we passed ; but we have
often traveled in England since, and always with fresh deUght.
Not long ago we passed, after a long absence from the country,
by steam-car from Liverpool to Birmingham, and from Birming
ham to London, and the country upon which we gazed, whUe the
light lasted, seemed, if possible, more beautiful than ever. To be
sure, it was summer again, or rather, we ought to say, autumn,
when England is clad in her richest costume of verdure and trees,
and the mellow sunshine sleeps lovingly upon her wooded land
scape. Perhaps the distinguishing peculiarity in the aspect of England
is the exuberance of its vegetation, and the luxuriant appearance
of the lower and more extensive regions. The central and richer
parts of the country are somewhat level, and, in this respect, in
ferior in picturesqueness to Scotland or Switzerland. But even
these are made beautiful by the moist and genial climate, and the
hand of art and industry. Centuries of time and raillions of money
have been spent in making England what it is. In no country is
so much done by taste and science to render it at once fertUe and
attractive. Every spot seems cultivated. Trees and flowers
every where abound ; nothing can exceed the beauty of its rich
and waving harvests.
Nor are the cities of England -without their attractions. Their
great size and splendor cannot fail to excite the admiration of all
who visit them. Vast centers of commerce and trade, they liter
ally throb with life and industry. "Theyare the chosen seats
of opulence, art, science, and civUization." We may add, as in all
similar cases, " of luxury, poverty, and crime.'" "All the gratifi
cations that wealth can comraand, or the caprices of taste and
fashion require, may there be had in the utmost profusion, at the
same time that art and industry are carried in them to the high
est perfection to which they have attained, and are aided by every
invention and discovery, however remote the country, or distant
the era of their invention."
So much for the external aspect of England ; as to the people,
they are, generally speakmg, of a good, substantial presence, full
of energy, intelligence, and enterprise, rather proud and distant,
but possessing much generous enthusiasm and kindly feeUng, be
ing good fathers and mothers, excellent neighbors, and loyal
citizens. Of course there are great diversities among them ; both in
the higher and the lower orders of society, grievous errors and vices
may be found, but the great body of the people are honest and

172 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

virtuous. The social Ufe of England is among the most genial
and delightful in the world. Ten thousand happy homes gladden
her hiUs and valleys. Religion is a predominant element in their
character. The Bible, neglected and despised by many in Eng
land as elsewhere, is yet " the book of the people," the great
charter of their rights and immunities, as well as the nurse of theh
piety and virtue. John Bull, indeed, is purse-proud, and es
pecially title-proud. He despises others, often speaking of them
as "bores" or "fools," a fault into which even the gifted and
generous Carlyle has permitted himself to fall. He is somewhat
exacting and even overbearing in his demands, and though pos
sessed of a keen sense of personal honor, is not over-scrupulous as
to the rights of others, and will trample them in the dust should
they come in his way, or interfere with his plans ; but he is a
noble fellow after all, full of heart, full of all high and generous
impulses. He loves good eating, and pays great homage to a
huge lordly carcass, even if not largely endowed with brain.
He is fond of wine and beer, and is guilty sometimes of a sort of
boastful profanity ; but he means, as a whole, to be temperate
and virtuous, and certainly far excels his Continental neighbors
in all qualities of head and heart. In his own opinion, he is su
perior to three or four Italians, and at least half a dozen French
men ! As a critic, John is amazingly lenient to himself, severe upon
others, and especially upon Americans. He can scarcely speak
of repubUcan institutions -with patience, and denounces the en
tire American people as so many " milUons of bores."
In commerce, agriculture, science, and literature, England has at
tained the highest distinction. Including Scotland and Ireland,
her empire, in some sense, encircles the world. The roll of her
moming drum is heard in the wilds of Canada and AustraUa, on
the plains of Huidostan, and in the isles of the ocean. Her ships
whiten every sea. Her merchants and bankers are princes of the
earth. True, her national debt is immense, and her numerous
taxes grievous to be borne, especially by the poorer classes ; the
former amounting to the huge sum of eight hundred miUions of
pounds steriing, or about four thousand milUons of dollars, to meet
the interest on which and the expenses of the govemment, there
is raised by Great Britain a yearly revenue of two hundred and
fifty milUons of dollars. Yet the wealth of the country is con
stantly uioreasing.
The resources of England are aU but boundless, derived not
only from her vast possessions in foreign countries, but from con
tmual improvements and discoveries in science and the arts of in
dustry. Her large standing army, her extensive navy, and her

ENGLAND.

173

national church, so richly pensioned, are a heavy drawback upon
her resources ; and yet England is strong, -vigorous, and thri-ving.
Many persons, poorly informed, talk of her as on the verge of bank
ruptcy and dissolution. No mistake can be more absurd. True,
the wealth of England is badly distributed, her institutions are
enormously expensive, and her poorer classes often suffer terribly

Parish Church of Stratford-on-ATon.
from the pressure of taxes, excessive competition, grasping avarice,
and defective legislation ; but England, as a whole, is one of the
richest countries in the world, and her resources are equal to aU
her wants.
Rich especially in the gifts of soul, the Uterature of England,
the heritage of all who speak the English tongue, is at once

174

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

vigorous and beautiful. Into this glorious treasure, the mynad-
minded Shakspeare, the majestic Milton, the inventive Bacon, the
aerial Shelley, tiie eloquent Coleridge, and the sublime Words
worth have poured their contributions. To this also John Bunyan
and John Looke, John Newton and Jeremy Taylor, John Foster
and Thomas de Quincey, John WUson and Thomas Chalmers
have added their golden stores. A long race of poets orators
artists, divines, and statesmen, have adomed the annals of English
literature; and though not, perhaps, equal to the-Miltons and

Birth-place of Shafespeai-e.

Shakspeares of an elder day, the Uterary men of modern England
seem not unworthy of their sires. _
Among the highest distinctions of England is her spirit of Ke-
liri-ion, often outward and formal, no doubt, but oftener, we trust,
inward and vital. The whole land is beautified and hallowed by
the services of Christian worship, by the spirit of holy love and
devotion. In that beautiful island, ages upon ages, grea,t and
good men have worshiped, whether in the open fields or in the
temples of God. The prayers of martyrs and confessors, and the

ENGLAND. 175

songs of loving and devout hearts, have ascended from all her
hUls and vales. " 0 my mother isle !" exclaims the enthusiastic
Coleridge, " How shouldst thou prove aught else but dear and holy
To me, who from thy lakes and mountain rills.
Thy clouds, thy quiet dales, thy rocks and seas,
Have drank in all my intellectual life.
All sweet sensations, all ennobling thoughts,
All adoration of the God in nature,
All lovely and all honorable things.
Whatever makes this mortal spirit feel
The joys and greatness of its future being !
There Uves not form nor feeling in my soul
Unborrowed from my country. 0 divine
And beauteous island ! thou hast been my soul
And most magnificent temple, in the which
I walk with awe, and sing my stately songs,
Loving the God who made me."
The character of England, its people, and even its external as
pect, are much modified by its aristocracy, perhaps the best in the
world, and as good as an aristocracy can well be, under the in
fluence of wealth, rank, and luxury, but absorbing much of the
national resources, and fostering a spirit of pride and ambition
through all orders of society ; for in no part of the world is there
such an idolatry of wealth and station as in England. And yet
the existence of such an aristocracy has its advantage as well as
its disadvantages. Much of the refinement and dignity of the
country are thence derived, much of its grandeur and power. To
understand England, then, one must know something of her aris
tocracy, and their modes of life. That they are proud and lux
urious, and often act as an incubus upon the nation, cannot be
doubted. But much also of true virtue and real nobility is found
in this class. Among the most beautiful and happy homes of
England are thousands belonging to the " nobility". They foster
Uterature and the arts, and often set an example of modesty, humUi
ty, and'dignity worthy of the highest praise. A glimpse into their
interior life, particularly at their country-seats, and the immense
influence which they must thenoe exert, is given in the following
extract, condensed, in part, from Howitt and N. P. Willis, as quoted
in his " Rural Life," by the former. The scene, as described by
Willis, is laid in Scotland, but it will serve also for England, for
the aristocracies of the two countries are essentially alike.
" Much has been said of the evU effect of the aristocratic habit
of spending so much time in the metropolis ; of the vast sums
there spent in ostentatious revelry, in eqvupage and estabUshments ;

176 THE WOELD WE LIVE LN.

in the dissipations of theaters, operas, routs, and gaming-houses ;
and, unquestionably, there is much truth in it. On the o^her hand,
it cannot be denied that this annual assembling together has some
advantages. A great degree of knowledge and refinement results
from it, amid all the attendant foUy and extravagance. They
acquire information, compare plans for the improvement of the
country, and gain freedom and polish of manners. If they spend
large sums in splendid houses and establishments in town, such
houses and such estabUshments become equaUy necessai-y to them
in the country ; and it is by this means that, instead of old and
dreary castles and chateaux, we have such beautiful mansions, so
filled with rich paintings and elegant furniture, dispersed all over
England. From these places, as centers existing here and there,
similar tastes are spread through the less wealthy classes, and the
elegances of life flow into the parsonages, cottages, and abodes of
persons of less income and less intercourse with society. Multi
tudes, indeed, spend their money very fooUshly, and acquire habits
of \'ice, but others come down to their estates, after a season of
hun-y and excitement, with a fresh feeling for the beauty and re
pose of their country abodes. The possessors of great houses
and estates invite a party to spend the recess, or especially the
shooting season -with them. Thus the world of fashion is broken
up and scattered from the metropolis into a multitude of lesser
circles, and into every corner of the empire. I can conceive
nothing whioh bears on its surface the aspect of the perfection of
human society so much as this assembling of a choice party of
those who have nothing to do but to enjoy life, in the house
of some hospitable wealthy man, in some one of the terrestrial
paradises in this kingdom ; in some fine Elizabethan mansion,
some splendid baronial castle, as Warwick, Alnwick, or Raby;
or in some rich old abbey, amid woods and parks, or seated on
one of our wild coasts ; or amid the mountains of Wales or Scot
land, with all their beautiful scenery, rocks, hanging cliffs, dashing
water-falls, rapid rivers, and fairy wildernesses around them.
" Prince Piickler ]\Iuskau speaks -with enthusiasm of the country
houses and park scenery of England. His book, indeed, is fuU of
pictures of such country Ufe and scenery. The beautiful danies
whioh he sometimes found in noblemen's parks delighted him ex
tremely. Thus he speaks of the one at Wobum Abbey : ' The
dairy is a prominent and beautiful object. It is a sort of Chinese
temple, decorated with a profusion of white marble and colored
glasses ; in the center is a fountain, and round the walls hundreds
of large dishes and bowls, of Chinese and Japan porcelain, of eveiy
form and color, filled -with new milk and cream. The consoles

ENGLATJD. Ill

upon which these vessels stand are perfect models fof Chinese
furniture.- The windows are of ground glass, with Chinese paint
ings, which shows fantastically enough by the dim light.'
" But the testimony of Mr. Willis as an American, and there
fore accustomed to a life and sentiment more alUed to our own, is
still stronger. His account of his -visit to Castle Gordon is a per
fect example of all such scenes.
" The iramense iron gate surmounted by the Gordon arms ;
the handsome and spacious lodges on either side ; the oanonicallv
fat porter, in white stockings and gray livery, lifting his hat as he
swung open the massive portal, all bespoke the entrance to a
noble residence. The road within was edged with velvet sward,
and rolled to the smoothness of a terrace-walk ; the winding ave
nue lengthened away with trees of every variety of foliage ; light
carriages passed by me driven by gentlemen or ladies ; beautiful
blood horses, and keepers with hounds and terriers, gentlemen on
foot, idling along the walk, and servants in different liveries hurry
ing to and fro, betokened a scene of busy gayety before me. I had
hardly noted these various circumstances, before a sudden curve
in the road brought the castle into view, a vast stone pile, witii
castellated wings ; and in another moment I was at the door,
where a dozen loungmg and po^^vdered menials were waiting on a
party of ladies and gentlemen to their several carriages. It was
the moment of the afternoon drive.
" The last phaeton dashed away, and my chaise advanced to
tbe door. A handsome boy, in a kind of page's dress, iraraedi
ately came to the window, addressed me by name, and informed
me that his grace was out shooting, but would return to dinner,
that my room was ready, and that he was ordered to wait on me.
I followed him through a hall lined with statues, deers' horns,
and armor, and was ushered into a large chamber looking out on
a park, extending, with its lawns and woods, to the edge of the
horizon. " ' Who is at the castle ?' I asked, as the boy busied himself in
unstrapping my portmanteau. ' 0, a great many, sir,' and he be
gan counting on his fingers a -long list of lords and ladies. 'And
how many sit down to dinner?' 'Above ninety, sir, besides the
duke and duchess.' And off he tripped, tuming back to inform
me that the dinner-hour was seven preciselj'-.
" It was a mild, bright afternoon, quite warm for the end of an
English September, and with„a fire in the room, and a soft sun
shine pouring in at the windows. I passed the tirae till the sun
set looking' out on the park. HiU and valley lay between ray eye
and the horizon ; sheep fed in picturesque ' flocks, and small

178 THE WOELD WE LI-VTS IN.

fallow-deer grazed near them ; the trees were planted, and the
distant forest planted by the hand of taste ; and broad and beau
tiful as was the expanse taken in by the eye, it was evidently one
princely possession. A mUe frora the castle wall the shaven
sward extended in a carpet of velvet softness, as bright as emerald
studded by clumps of shrubbery ; and across it bounded occasion
ally a hare, and the pheasants fed undisturbed near the thickets ;
or a lady, with flowing riding-dress and flaunting feather, dashed
into sight upon her fleet blood-palfrey, and was lost the next mo
ment in the woods ; or a boy put his pony to his mettle up the
ascent ; or a game-keeper idled into sight ¦with his gun in the
hollow of his arm, and his hounds at his heels. And all this
Uttle world of enjoyment, and luxury, and beauty lay in the hand
of one man, and was created by his wealth in these northern wUds
of Scotland, a day's journey, almost, from the possession of another
human being. I never reaUzed so forcibly the splendid results
of wealth and primogeniture.
" I was sitting by the fire, when a tall white-haired gentleman
presented himself, of noble physiognomy, but singularly cordial
address, with a broad red ribbon across his breast, and welcomed
me most heartily to the castle. The gong sounded at the ne.xt
moment, and in our way down, he named over his other guests,
and prepared me, in a measure, for the introduction which foUowed.
The drawing-room was crowded like a soiree. The duchess, a tall,
and very handsome woman, with a smUe of the most winning
sweetness, received me at the door, and I was presented succes
sively to every person present. Dinner was announced immedi
ately, and we passed through files of servants to the dining-room.
It was a large and very lofty ball, supported at the ends by
marble columns, within which was stationed a band of music, play
ing delightfully. Tbe waUs were lined -mth full-length family
portraits, from old knights in armor to the modern dukes in kilt
of the Gordon plaid ; and on the sideboard stood services of gold
plate, 'the most gorgeously massive and the most beautiful in
workmanship I have ever seen. There were, among the vases,
several large coursing-cups, won by the duke's hounds, of exquisite
shape and ornament.
" I have been struck every where, in England, with the beauty
of the higher classes, and as I looked around me upon the aristo
cratic company at the table, I thought I had never seen ' Heaven's
image double-stamped as man, and noble,' so unequivocaUy clear.
* * •* The band ceased playing when the ladies left the
table ; the gentlemen closed up, conversation assumed a merrier
cast, coffee and liqueurs were brought in when the wines began

ENGLAND. 179

to be circulated more slowly, and at eleven there was a general
move to the drawing-room. Cards, tea, music, filled up the time
till twelve, and then the ladies took their departure. I got to
bed somewhere about two o'clock ; and thus ended an evening
which I had anticipated as stiff and embarrassing, but which is
marked in my tablets as one of the most social and kindly I have
had the good fortune to record on my travels.
" I arose late in the morning, and found the large party already
assembled about the breakfast-table — ladies and gentlemen, both
dressed with remarkable plainness, quite at their ease, reading the
newspaper, or chatting and laughing with one another.
" Breakfast in England is a confidential and unceremonious meal,
and servants are generally dispensed with. Nothing could be
more easy, unceremonious, and aflrable than the tone of the meal.
One after another rose and fell into groups in the windows, or
walked up and down the long room, and, with one or two othars,
I joined the duke at the head of the table, who gave us some in
teresting particulars of the salmon fisheries of the Spey. The
privilege of fishing the river within his lands is bought of him at
the pretty sum of eight thousand pounds (forty thousand dollars)
a year. "The ladies went off, unaccompanied, to their walks in the
park and other avocations ; those bound for the covers joined the
game-keepers, wbo were waiting, with their dogs in the leash, at
the stables ; and some paired oft" to the billiard-room. * * *
" The routine of Gordon Castle was what each one chose to
make it. Between breakfast and lunch, the ladies were generally
invisible, and the gentlemen rode or shot, or played billiards, or
kept their rooms. At two o'clock a dish of hot game and a pro
fusion of cold meats were set on the small tables in the dining-
room, and every body came in for a kind of lounging half-meal,
which occupied perhaps an hour. Thence all adjourned to the
drawing-room, under the Avindows of which were drawn up car
riages of all descriptions, with grooms, outriders, footmen, and
saddle-horses for gentlemen and ladies. Parties were then made
up for driving or riding, and, from a pony-chaise to a phaeton-and-
four, there was no class of vehicle which was not at your disposal.
In ten minutes the carriages usually were all filled, and away they
flew, some to the banks of the Spey or the seaside, some to the
drives in the park, and with the deUghtful consciousness that,
speed where you would, the horizon scarce limited the possession
of your host, and you were every where at home. The ornamental
gates flying open at your approach, miles distant from the castle ;
the herds of red-deer trooping away from the sound of wheels in

180 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

the silent park ; the stately pheasants feeding tamely in the im
mense preserves ; the hares scarcely troubUng themselves to get
out of the length of the whip ; the stalking game-keepers lifting
their hat in the dark recesses of the forest, — there was something
in this perpetually reminding you of privUeges, which, as a nov
elty, was far from disagreeable. I could not at the time bring
myself to feel, what perhaps would be more poetical and repub
lican, that a ride in the wild and unfenced forests of my own
country would have been more to my taste.
" The second aftei-noon a.fter my anival, I took a seat in the
carriage with Lord A., and we followed the duchess, who drove
herself in a pony-chaise, to visit a school on the estate. Attached
to a small Gothic chapel, a five minutes' drive from the castle,
stood a building in the same style, appropriated to the instmction
of the children of the duke's tenantry. There were a hundred and
tlurty httle creatures, from two years to five or six, and, like aU
infant-schools hi these days of improved education, it was an in
teresting and affecting sight. '* * ¦"
" The number at the table of Gordon Castle was seldom less
than thirty ; but the company was continually varied by depart
ures and arrivals.. No sensation was made by either the one or
the other. A traveUng-carriage dashed up to the door, was dis
burdened of its load, and drove round to the stables, and the ques
tion was seldom asked, ' Who is arrived ?' You are sure to see at
dinner — and an addition of half a dozen to the party made no per
ceptible difference in any thing. Leave-takings were managed in
the same quiet way. x\dieus were made to the duke and duchess,
and to, no one else, except he happened to encounter the parting
guest upon the staircase, or were more than a common acquaintance.
In short, in every way the g^ne (burden) of Ufe seemed weeded out,
and if unhappiness or ennui found its way into the castie, it w'as in
troduced in the sufferer's own bosom. For one, I gave myself up
to enjoyment with an abandon I could not resist. With kindness
and courtesy in every look, the luxuries and comforts of a regal
<5Stablisliment at my freest disposal— soUtude when I pleased, com
pany when I pleased — the whole visible horizon fenced in for the
enjoyment of a household, of whioh I was a temporary portion,
and no enemy except time and the gout, I felt as if I had been
spirited into some castie of felicity, and had not come by the royal
mail-coach at all."
This, says Mr. Howitt, is one of the most perfect and graphic
descriptions of English aristocratical life in the country which was
ever written. It is, indeed, on the highest and broadest scale, and
is not to be equaled by every country gentieman ; but m kind

ENGLAND. IS*!

and degree, the same character and spirit extend to all such
life. Society in England, the government, the church, the army and
the navy, every tiling, in fact, is adapted to the state of things
whioh this description implies. The aristocracy, with the bishops
of the chm-ch, form the House of Lords, the highest legislative
body in the country, corresponding somewhat to the United States
Senate, whUe the House of Commons, the real, working legisla-
'ture, corresponds to the American Congress.* The nobles own
large portions of the country, and exert a controlling influence in
Church and State. Their property is -entailed, consequently can
never be alienated, but descends from father to son, through a
thousand generations. While the poorer portions of the corarau
nity are condensed into heaving, and frequently suffering, masses,
these noble lords are prosecuting their amusements on their wide
domains, where the poor man dare not shoot a rabbit or snare a
hare. Thousands upOn thousands of the working classes live upon
a shilUng 'a day laboriously earned. Whole families subsist upon
eighteen pence a day, and soraetimes less. The poor weavers not
unfrequently suffer for the want of food, and raany an honest man
has been compelled to beg his bread from door to door.
This, however, is not the condition, universally, of the " great
masses," as they are called. Multitudes of the farmers live Uke
* The constitution of England is mixed ; and, upon the whole, favorable
to freedom. The aristocratic and kingly elements doubtless exert muoli in
fluence, but these are checked and modified by the popular will. The great
body of the people, who compose the electors, in the end, control the action
of governmeut through their representatives. The monarch is the apex or
head of the whole, and is supposed to exert an all-controlling power ; but
this is a popular mistake, as McCulloch 'has shoAvn. " The whole executive
and administrative functions of government, as well foreign as domestic, are
performed in the name of the king. He has the sole power of making war
and peace ; and, as incident to that power, the command and disposal of the
army, navy, and other forces of the kingdom. He is conservator of the
public peace, in which character all civil prosecutions are carried on in his
name. He is the head of the judicial system, &c. -* * •* Substantially,
and iu fact, however, the power of the crown is comparatively limited. It
is a constitutional principle that ' the king can do no wrong ;' but though he
be not. Ills ministers are, held responsible for all illegal or unconstitutional
acts committed in his name. It is further indispensable that liis ministers
should be able to command a majority in the House of Commons. "* *
He appoints ministers, but they must be confirmed by the representatives
- of the people." To which may be added, that while it is the prerogative
of tb<i limg t" decl.nr" peace ind wir \*. belongs to ih" " Commons" +~ vote
the supphes ; so tnat in variousi wavs. I hey have a vet( > uoon ( he acts of
his luajesty, xi tn-; peopi;) oi Enyiand, therefore, are poorly govemed,
they have none to blame but themselves. .

182

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

gentlemen, many of whom rent farms of 500 or 1000 acres, and
keep their hounds and horses. In the rural districts, the peasantry,
though frequently rather poor and ignorant, take much solid com
fort. They dearly love their humble homes and pleasant gardens.
Neighborly and kind, full of chat and cheer, generally enjoying

EngUah Milkmaid.

exceUent health, feanng God ?.nd keeping his commandments,
they spend their hves m peace and joy, and finally sleep in the
quiet church-yard among the graves of their fathers.
The Enghsh are eminently a social people. They love kindly

184

T'HE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ENGLAND. 185

gatherings and festivals, old customs and old amusements. They
keep Christma§ and other holidays with infinite relish. WhUe
the rich and aristocratic amuse themselves with their appropriate
sports, the common people have their gatherings and gambols,
rough and riotous sometimes, though generally within the bounds
of decency and good temper.
It is in their homes, however, and among their children, that
the people are seen to most advantage — in their famUy meetings,
or in the house of God. Some, indeed, are neglectful of religion,
but the great body of the people go to chm-ch somewhere, and
multitudes possess a quiet and cheerful piety.
Education in England is oonfined too much to the higher orders.
Noble and leamed universities, high schools, grammar schools, and
boarding schools, free academies for particular classes, and excel
lent foundations for the instruction of orphan children and others,
abound. But universal provision is not yet made for the free edu
cation of the people, and hence great multitudes can neither read
nor write. And yet the peasantry of England are among the best
of their class. Thousands of theni have sentiments and aspirations
as noble and generous as those of Hampden and Sydney. Their
dear homes nestle on hill-side and valley, among clustering roses
and honeysuckles, whUe within gleams the good old Bible with the
Ught of holy love and joy.
In the larger cities the population is ipore diversified. Wealth
and luxury abound side by side with poverty and disease. In
London alone, that huge center of good and bad, are something
V.ss than seventy or eighty thousand prostitutes, and a yet greater
number of thieves ! But such contrasts are seen, to some extent,
in all large cities. Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham swarm
with -vicious characters. Yet you can walk unharmed any where,
every where, such is the perfection of the police. And whUe vice
abounds in these overgro-wn citie^, both among the high and the
low, the rich and the poor, there also virtue and religion, science,
'art, industry, order, and felicity abound. London, for example,
is a great center not only of science and Uterature for all who
speak the English tongue, but of benevolence for the world. If
" hells" are there, in which fortune, character, every thing, in a
word, that men hold dear, is lost every night, there also innuraer
able churches and schools, hospitals and homes, exert their benign
influence. WhUe England is an agricultural, it is also a commercial and
manufacturing country. Enter ber ten thousand factories — with
mUlions and myriads of machines, for spinning, knitting, weaving,
washmg, dyeing, grindmg, and poUshing ; travel along her coasts.

186 THE VVOELD WE LIVE IN.

studded with harbors and light-houses ; pass among her extensive
wharves, with forests of masts, or into some of her gigantic store
houses, and astonishment will seize you at her immense wealth arid
resources. The capital of Great Britain invested in commerce is
estunated at £1,500,000,000, or more than $6,000,000,000. The
six articles of cotton, woolen goods, hardware, earthenware, silks,
and leather alone give employment to about two miilUons of per
sons, and amount in value annually to about five hundred millions
of doUars.* Her mines of coal, lead, copper, &c., are of more
value than all the gold of Mexico and Peru.
But the power of England- in foreign lands, and particularly in
India, is, if possible, still more .striking, controlling, as it does.

The Eddystone Light-House.
a large portion of Asia, and something more than a hundred and
twenty miUions of people. The East India Company alone, for
years, has governed a large portion of the Asiatic continent.
" The stockholders of this company have never much exceeded
two thousand ; and the capital stock, on which dividends have
been paid, at the largest, has been put at £6,000,000. It has.
been subject, in England, to the unwise management whioh must
always attend a company whose stockholders and directors are
constantly changing, and whose agents and field of operations are
distant by half the circumference of the globe frora tbe center
where measures originate ; and besides this, it has had to encounter
the hostUity of the whole commercial class of England, formerly
shut out, by its monopoly, from the Indian trade,°while in India

¦^ The whole population of England, including Wales, is about seventeen
millions.

ENGLAND.

187

it has contended for existence on a hundred bloody battle-fields,
with Dutch and French, and the native monarchies of the East.
But, notwithstanding all obstacles, it has expelled the Dutch ; it
has annihilated the power of the French in India ; has subdued
ono native kingdom after another ; its factories have grown into
States, and these States into a vast and consoUdated empire ; it
has ,maintained a standing army larger than that of any European
powcr except Russia, and varying, at different times, from 150,000
to 280,000 men ; it has conducted sieges not less dreadful than
those which drenched the cities of Spain in blood, in the Penin
sular war; it has stormed imperial cities and fortresses almost
beyond number. So incessant have been its wars, that for a
hundred years scarcely a day has passed in which the wild beasts
of the jungles, or the alarmed inhabitants of the hills, havo not
fled before the thunder of the British cannon. Its bayonets have

>^X,y|/..^

St. Paul's Church, London.
broken the great power of the wUd Mahratta cavalry, of the well-
disciplined squadrons of Mysore, and of the fanatic courage of the
Sikhs ; it has subdued great and warUke kingdoms, and not only
subdued them, but has disposed of their sovereigns, appropriated
their revenues, subverted institutions old as India herself, recon
structed its laws and jurisprudence, and over vast regions changed
the very tenures by which the soU is held. Its history is full of
vast schemes — to-day of conquest, to-morrow of sooial regener
ation and improvement — of skUlful diplomacy, of heroic achieve
ment, of desperate valor, making good all deficiencies of numbers
and resources, and of names, world-renowned in statesmanship,
and war, and Uterature, and reUgion. This company in England
has been composed of merchants and others, who have Uved

188 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

quietly as good subjects and citizens, unknown and unheard of ;
yet they have appointed, and, at their pleasure, recaUed governors-
general who have exercised in India a despotic authority over the
fortunes of more than one hundred millions of people, which the
monarch of England dare not exercise in his island domain. Be
fore its charter expired in 1833, it had subdued nearly the whole
peninsula, from Cape Comorin to the impassable snows of the
Himalayah Mountains. And since then, the career of conquest
has not paused. The cannon of England have burst open the
mysterious gates of China ; she is trying new experiments in civ
ihzation among the savages of Borneo ; she has added the Punjaub
to her empire, and a thousand miles west of the Indus, reversing
the course of Alexander's conquests, penetrating among the -wUd
and warlike tribes of Afghanistan, where she met the fiercest re
sistance, her unwearied battalions have reached the confines of
Persia, and the echoes of her advancing drums have startled the
sentinels who at night kept watch at the outpost of Russian
power."

IR1CL.\ND.

189

CHAPTER XIV.

lEEL A ND.

Kilkenny
Ceossing the Channel, we land upon the shores of Ireland, thai.
" gem of the ocean," as her native poets call it, with her pigs and
potatoes, her beautiful scenery, and peculiar population. A finer
country externally, a richer and more fertUe, the smi does not
shine upon. And yet how poor, how miserably poor the people !
Ireland, however, is not destitute of genius and virtue. Her
Currans and Burkes, ber SheUs and O'Connells, attest her mental
power. But Ireland is poorly governed. Her people are igno
rant and superstitious, improvident and restless. Beggars, the
most tattered and torn, the most importunate and whining, except,
perhaps, those of Naples and Rome, beset you at every corner.

190 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Restless politicians, intriguing demagogues, and power-loving
priests keep the people in a perpetual ferment. Indeed, the Irish
have many faults ; but they are brave, patient, laborious, kind-
hearted, witty, and generous, and doubtless would make a great and
a good people, if only educated and enlightened. The educated
Irish are a most interesting and polished class. Some of them are ex
ceedingly eloquent, both in public speech and private conversation.
We cannot, however, dwell long upon this country. The fol
lowing is the best and briefest account of its condition we have
ever seen. It deserves an attentive perusal.
" Ireland is 306 mUes long, and 200 broad.' It contains 42,510
square miles, or 20,808,271 acres ; of wbich 13,887,711 acres are
cultivated; 6,295,735 acres waste ; and 930,825 acres are under
water. Off the coast are 196 islands.
Placed between Europe and America, Ireland is most favorably
situated for trade, fishing, and commerce ; is blessed -with a most
fertUe soil and temperate climate ; has the finest fisTieries ; pos
sesses the largest, deepest, and safest harbors, and the greatest
number of navigable rivers and lakes, of any country of the same
size in the world. According to geologists, Ireland has the largest
co.al-fields in the British Empire ; one extends throughout Clare,
Kerry, Limerick, and Cork; and another, which is 16 mUes long
and 16 miles broad, lies in Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, and Cavan ;
other coal-fields and mines of less extent are interspersed through
the island. The richest iron mines are situated at Arigna, in the
county of Leitrim. The finest copper mines are worked in Wick
low, Waterford, and Kerry. Many mines of iron, copper, lead,
silver, and some veins of gold present themselves. Ireland con
tains inexhaustible supplies of peat fuel. Marbles of every shade
of color are found in Kilkenny, Galway, and Donegal ; and slates
of the best quaUty are quarried in Kerry and Liraerick.
The population of Ireland, in 1841, amounted to 8,175,124.
Ireland contains, besides several large cities, about 140 to'wns,
with a population exceeding 9000 inhabitants, with a large num
ber of smaUer towns. The emigration from Ireland to Araerica is
immense ; in 20 years (from 1825 to 1845), above 1,256,000 Irish
emigrated, mostly for the United States. The exports of Ireland,
in 1837, amounted to §8.5,000,000; and are now estimated at
$100,000,000 ; which (excepting §20,000,000 worth of Unen and
some copper and lead ores) chiefly consists of provisions. Ire
land consumes annuaUy above $60,000,000 wortii of British man
ufactures. Thus, whUe Ireland is exporting men by thousands, and
food by miUions, one-third of her own soU is lying waste ; her

SCOTLAND. 191

mines, coUieries, and quarries are unworked ; her immense water
power is flowing idly ; her ports are empty ; all articles of man
ufacture are imported ; the trade of the world is daily passing her
shores ; 6,000,000 of her people are existing on potatoes, and
2,500,000 are declared paupers. What an anomaly !"

CHAPTER XY.

SCOTLAND.

" Here's a health, bonny Scotland, to thee !" Bleak and wild
as thou art, a smUe of welcome plays upon thy rugged but comely
features, to gfeet the wanderer from afar.
" Land of the forest and the rock.
Of dark-blue lake and mighty river
Of mountains reared aloft, to mock
The storm's career, the hghtning's shock —
My own green land forever."
Scotland, once an independent kingdom, nobly defended by the
stalwart arms of her sons, is now an appendage, or rather a cor
porate part, of Great Britain. It is a small country, but possessed
of very considerable resources. Its surface, for the most part, is
rough and mountainous, with beautiful patches of rich arable land
along the courses of its streams, and extensive meadows, caUed
carses, as the carse of Falkirk, and the carse of Gowrie. It is of
unequal breadth, being much indented with bays and creeks, and
stretches some two hundred and eighty miles in length. Cluster
ing around its western and northern coasts are the Hebrides, the
Shetland and the Orkney Islands — wild and rooky regions, with
rude and primitive inhabitants. In Scotland, a considerable por
tion of the land, especially to the north, is uncultivated, consisting
of heathy hUls, mountains, and moors, covered -with heather and
furze. Other portions' of the country are fair and fertUe, though
in many cases made such by the hand of art. Like Switzerland,
it is a comparatively poor country, but enriched by the generative
powers of mind. Her wealth consists mainly in the clear heads,
honest hearts, and brawny arms of her sons. The cUmate is cold
and variable, though mUder in winter than that of New England,
and in summer cooler, and upon the whole more agreeable, except
during che prevalence of dense fogs and long-continued rains.

192 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

The population, chiefly of the Saxon, though partly of the
Celtic race, is over two miUions and a half, and is gradually in-
creasmg ; though the people, like those of Switzerland and Ne-w
England, with whom they have many affinities, are greatly given
to migration, and may be found in every part of the world. Its
commerce and manufactures are, for its size, very extensive. Agri
culture and the mechanic arts have been carried to great perfection:!
The people are inventive and constructive, and some of the most
beautiful and powerful machinery the world has ever seen has been
made in Scotland.
WhUe the people are characteristically cautious and slow,
" looking before they leap," to quote one of their favorite proverbs,
they leap long and successfully. Nor are they destitute of a pro
found and generous enthusiasm. Ambitious almost to a fault, they
aspire to the highest distinctions in art, literature, and science. Few
nations have accomplished more, in all these departments. Their
literature is the admiration of the civiUzed world. They have,
indeed, no Shakspeare, Milton, or Bacon, those first three in their
pecuUar spheres of thought, but they have a Scott, a Bums, and
a Wilson. Time would fail to enumerate one tithe of the gifted
sons of Scotland, whose words have awakened heart-echoes, not
only at home, but far beyond the Atlantio, and even the Pacific
waves. John Knox and Thomas Chalmers, -with a long line of pul
pit orators, are hers. Ramsey, Byron, Campbell, Cunningham,
James Hogg, the "Ettrick Shepherd," William MotherweU, and
many others " known to fame," adorn her poetic annals. Robert
son, Hume, and Alison, among the historians ; Reid, Mcintosh,
Stewart, Brown, Hamilton, in phUosophy ; McKenzie, Brougham,
Jeffrey, and, though last, not least, Thomas Carlyle, in general
hterature ; with Playfair, Ferguson, and Brewster," James Watt,
and Robert Nichol, in the sphere of science — all these, and many
more, have made their native land illustrious by their chai-acter
and genius.
Scotland has a fair share of architectural splendors. Some of
her palaces and castles are among the most imposing and beauti
ful in Great Britain. Glasgow is a finely buUt city, with some
magnificent edifices, whUe Edinburgh is among the most attractive
cities in the world.
Her highest distinction, however, consists in the character of
her people, whose spirit of love and fealty to their native land, of
reverence for God, and passion for the right, are universally ac
knowledged. ^ Obstinate and wrong-headed at times, characteristi
cally dogmatic, and perhaps a littie intolerant, their very faults
lean to virtue's side, and go to the support of goodness. Their

SCOTLAND. 193

punctiliousness and pride, their dogged adherence to what they
conceive to be right, and their vehement raode of defending it,
al-e' the rough and thorny bark which defends the precious tree.
They are pre-eminently a religious pi^opile, with few exceptions,
Protestant to the back-bone, occasionaUy rough and impetuous in
the expression of their opinions, but genial and kindly at heart,
iionest, too, and earnest as their own heathy hills and mountain
streams. A profound enthusiasm, a passionate, though not cant
ing or boisterous devotion, a fine sense of the grand and beautiful,
mingled with a keen consisientiousnessj an ardent love of freedom,
and a sincere trust in God, form the great elements of their re
Ugious life. Their theology is chiefly Calvinistic, apparently
philosophical and dogmatic, but rather less so than popular
and practical.* Of cathedrals, old and dim, of masses, chants,
and processions, the pomp and circumstance of a magnificent
ritual, they have Uttle or none. But of old and glorious memories,
solemn temples 'among the woods and hills, hallowed grave-yards,
blessed sacraments, and national enthusiasm, they have abundance.
Their religion is a part of the soU. It is indigenous to the coun
try. It grew up among the mountains, was nursed by " wizard
streams," and "led forth" with the voice of psalms, among "the
green pastures of the wilderness." Somewhat forbidding at first,
like the rough aspect of the country, it appears equally pictur
esque and beautiful, when really kno-wn and loved. It is the re
ligion not of form, but of substance, of deep inward emotiOn, not
of outward pretension and show. Neither is it a sickly senti
mentalism which lives on poetic musings, and matures only in
cloistered shades and moonUght groves ; but it is a healthy, ro
bust principle, which goes forth to do and to suffer the will of
Heaven. Its head and heart ar^ sound, and its works praise it in
the gate. Beautiful as the visions of fancy, it is yet strong as the
everlasting hills among which it was reared. In a word, it is the
reliffion of faith and love, the reli"-ion of the old Puritans, of the
martyrs and confessors of primitive times. Welling out forever
from the unstained fountains of the Word of God, it has marked
its course over the fiiir face of Scotland, with the greenest verdure,
the sweetest flowers.
Scotland ' is naturaUy divided into Highlands and Lowlands.
The forraer includes, besides the various groups of islands on the
nortii and northwest coast, the counties of Argyle, Inverness,
Nairn, Ross, Croraarty, Sutherland, and Caithness, with portions
* Much of this and what follows is condensed from the author's " Genius
of Scotland," to which he would invite the attention of his readers for u
more extended account of the scenery, hterature, and rehgion of Scotland.
9

194 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

of Dumbarton, Stirling, Perth, Forfar, " Aberdeen awa'," Banff
and Elgin, or tbe more northerly regions of the country, protected
and beautified by the mighty range of the Grampians, com
mencing at the southern extremity of Loch Etive, and terminating
at the mouth of the Dee on the eastern coast. The Highlands,
again, are divided into two unequal portions by the beautiful chain
of lochs, or lakes, running through the Glenmore-Nan-Albin, of
Great Glen of Caledonia, forming some of the wildest and richest
scenery in the world. To the north are the giant mountains of
Macdui, Cairngorm, Ben- Aven and Ben-More, whUe nearer the
Lowlands, rise the lofty Ben-Lomond, and the hoary Ben-Awe.
Under their shadows gleam the storied lochs, the wUd tarns and
trosachs, whose picturesque and romantic beauties have been im
mortalized by' the pens of Burns, Scott, and WUson.
To the south and east of the Grampian range, and running
parallel to thera, you discover a chain of lower and more verdant
hills, bearing the well-known and poetical names of the Sidlaw,
Campsie, and Ochil hills. These are divided by the fertUe valleys
of the Tay and Forth. Between them and the Grampians Ues the
low and charming valley of Strathmore. The " silver Tay," one
of the finest rivers in Scotland, rises in Breadalbane, expands into
Lake Dochart, flows in an easterly direction through the vale of
Glendochart, expands again into the long and beautiful Loch Tay,
whioh runs like a belt of sUver among the hills, whence issuing,
it receives various accessions from other streams, passes on in a
southerly direction to Dunkeld, famous for its ancient abbey and
lovely scenery, skirts the ancient and delightful city of Perth, be
low which it is joined by its great tributary the Earn, which flows,
in serpentine windings, through the rich vale of Strath-Earn,
touches the populous and thriving town of Dundee, and gradually
widens into the Firth of Tay, whosa. clear waters mirror the white
skiff or magnificent steamer, and imperceptibly mingle with the
waves of the Northern Sea. Further north, the rapid Spey,
springing from tiie " braes of Badenooh" near Lochaber, passes tu
multuously through a rough and mountainous country, lingering oc
casionally, as if to rest itself in some deep glen, crosses the ancient
province of Moray, famous for its floods, passess Kinrara, "whence,
for a few raUes, it is attended by a, series of landscapes, alike vari
ous, singular, and magnificent," after which it moves, with a mo
notonous aspect and a steady pace, to the sea. Portions of the
country through whioh this river passes are exceedingly sterUe 'and
wild. Covered with the birch, the alder, and the pine, varied by
rugged_ rooks and desolate moors, it ¦'admirably corresponds to
our notions of Caledonia, in her ancient and primitive integrity.

SGOTLAm). 195

In the more remote and northem regions of the Highlands, aiid
in most of the Scottish isles, the Gaelic, or Erse, a primitive and
energetic tongue, soraewhat akin to the Welsh or Irish, is spoken
by a majority of the inhabitants. In other parts of Scotland, the
English, with a Scottish idiom, is the prevalent speech. The
literature of the Gaelic is exceedingly Umited, confined chiefly to
old ballads, songs, and traditionary .gtories. The poems of Ossian
are doubtless the production of Macpherson, their professed trans
lator, while they probably contain a few translated fragments, and
sorae traditionary facts and conceptions afloat araong the High
landers, ingeniously interwoven with the main fabric of the work.
The Highlanders are a simple-hearted, primitive race, mostly
poor, and imperfectly educated. Those of them that are wealthy
and well educated are said to be remarkably acute, courteous,
and agreeable. They are clannish and patriotic.
The Lowlands of Scotland comprehend the south and south
eastern portions of the country, and though not the grandest and
most romantic, are by far the best cultivated, and in some re
spects the most beautiful. Including the level ground on the
eastern coast to the south of the Moray Firth, they stretch along
the coast through portions of Perthshire, and the old kingdom of
Fife, toward the regions bounded on either side by the river and
the Firth of Forth, and thence to Kircudbright and the Enghsh
border, including the principal cities, the raost fertUe tracts of
arable land, the rivers Forth, Clyde, and Tweed, and the range of
the Cheviot hills, which extend from the north of England toward
the northwest, join the Leather hills in the region of Ettrick and
Yarrow, with their "silver streams," pass through the southern
part of Ayrshire, and terminate at Loch Ryan, in the Irish Channel.
The Clyde is the most important commercial river in Scotland.
Taking its origin among the mountains ol the south, iiot far from
the early horae of its beautiful and raore classic sisters, the Tweed
and the Annan, it runs in raany capricious windings, in a north
westerly direction, leaps in foaraing cascades first at Bonnington,
and then at Cora Linn, rushes on through the fine country of
Lanarkshire, tUl, joined by many tributary streams, it passes
through the large and flourishing city of Glasgow, bearing upon
its bosom the vast commerce and population of the neighboring
regions, flows around the walls of old Dumbarton Castle, with its
time-worn battlements and glorious memories, in sight, too, of the
loft}' Ben Lomond, and the beautiful lake which it protects, touches
the ancient oity of Greenock, expands into the> Firth of Clyde, and
gradually loses itself amid the picturesque islands which adorn the
western coast of Scotland.

196 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Were it possible, by placing ourselves upon some lofty elevation,
to take in at one glance the whole of this varied landscape of lake,
river, and mountain, of tara, trosach, and moor, with verdant vales
and woody slopes between, we should confess that it was one of
as rare beauty and wUd magnificence as ever greeted the vision of
man. And were our minds steeped in ancient and poetic lore, we
should be prepared to appreciate the faithfulness and splendor of
Burns's allegorical description of the " Genius of Scotland :"
" Green, slender, leaf-clad holly boughs.
Were twistpd gracefu' round her brows ;
I took her for some Scottish Muse,
By that same token.
And come to stop those reckless vows
Would soon be broken.
A hair-brained sentimental trace
Was strongly marked in her face :
,A wildly-witty rustic grace
Shone full upon her.
Her eye e'en turned on empty space.
Beamed keen with honor. ^
Her mantle large, of greenish hue.
My gazing wonder chiefly drew,
Deep lights and shadows mingUng, threw
A luster grand ;
And seemed, to my astonished view,
A well-known land 1
Here rivers in the sea were lost ;
There mountains in the skies were tost ;
Here tumbling billows marked the coast.
With sm'ging foam;
There distant shone -Art's lofty boast.
The lordly dome.
By stately tower or palace fair.
Or ruins pendent in the air.
Bold stems of heroes here and there
I could discern ;
Some seemed to muse, some seemed to dare
With feature stern."
Now, imagine the whole of this counti-y studded at no remote
intervals with churches and schools, well supported, and weU at
tended by young and old. Think of her ancient and able univer
sities, Edmburgh, Glasgow, St. Andrew's, and Aberdeen, including
in the last Marischal CoUege and King's College, with an average
attendance of from 2500 to 3000 students, with their learned and

SCOTLAND. 197

amiable professors, extensive libraries, and fine collections in nat
ural history : think of her innumerable high-schools, private
schools, pubhc and private libraries, literary institutes and ancient
hospitals, some for the body and some for the mind, and connect
the whole with her heroic history, ber poetical enthusiasm, her
religious faith, her fealty to God and man, and you will have some
faint conception of the beauty and glory of Scotland.
But the impression would be deepened, could you behold the
land, beautified and ennobled by her Sabbath calm, as once in
seven days she rests and worships before the Lord. Could you
but hear the voice of ber church-going bells, and go to the house
of God in company with her thoughtful but cheerful population ;
could you sit in some " auld warld" kirk, and hear some gray-
haired holy man dispense, with deep and _ tender tones, the word
of everlasting life ; could you hear a whole congregation of 'devout
worshipers make the hills ring again -with their simple melody ;
above all, could you place yourself in some deep shady glen, by
the " sweet burnie" as it '' wimples" among'the waving willows or
the yellow broom, or sit down on the green " brae-side," enameled
with i'gowans," on some sacramental occasion, when tb-iusands
are gathered to hear the preaching of the Gospel, and with simple
ritual to commemorate the dying love of the Redeemer ! — could
you see the devout and happy looks of the aged, and the sweet
but reverent aspect of chUdren and youth, as the tones of some
earnest preacher thrilled them with emotions of holy gratitude m
view of the " loving-kindness of the Lord," you would instinctively
feel that Scotland, free, Protestant Scotland, was a happy land,
and would be prepared to exclaim with the sweet singer of Israel :
" Blessed arc the people that know the joyful sound : they shall
walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance."
Or you might leave this scene, and study the Scottish character
with some shepherd-boy on the hUls, as he reads God's word
upon the green-sward, and meditates on things divine whUe
tending his flocks, far from the house of God, on the Sabbath-
day. WhUe in Scotland we have " Tam O'Shanter" and " Souter
Johnny," and other " rattUng, roaring" characters ; while the
" skirl" of the bagpipes keeps tune to the -wild dance of the High
land peasant, and many a tavern reeks with the fumes of whisky-
pmich ; while here and there, as in other lands, folly and vice
reveal themselves in "highways and by-ways," we have also the
universal presence of good and -virtuous influences, of good and
virtuous men. Innocent hilarity is mingled -with good sense and
piety.

198

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

^,

"-,';':-i¥ j-j .y

\'

Highland Scene.
The scenes of "The Cotter's Saturday Night," one of the
sweetest poems in any language, are exact transcripts from real
life, as Bums hiraself intimates. His father was " a godly man,"
and was wont, morning and evening, to " turn o'er, wi' patriarchal
grace, the big ha' Bible," and worship God, with his family.
" The cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face,
They round the ingle form a circle wide ;
The sire turns o'er wi' patriarchal grace
The big ha' Bible, ance his father's pride :
His bonnet reverently is laid aside,
His lyart haffets-"- wearing thin and bare :
Those strains that once did sweet in Zion ghde.
He wales a portion with judicious care ;
And ' Let us worship God 1' he says, with solemn air.
They chant their artless notes in simple guise,
They tune their liearts, by far their noblest aim;
* Withered cheeks.
SCOTLAND. 199

Perhaps Dundee's wild warbling measures rise,
Or plaintive Martyrs worthy of the narae.
Or noble Elgin beets'* the heavenward flame.
The sweetest far of Scotia's holy lays.
Compared with these Italian trills are tame ;
The tickled ears no heartfelt raptures raise,
Nae unison.hae they with our Creator's praise.
* ' ¦» ¦»¦ «
Then kneeling dpwn to Heaven's eternal King,
The saint, the father, and the husband prays,
Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing,
That thus they all shall meet in future days :
There ever bask in uncreated rays.
No more to sigh or shed the bitter tear,
Together hymning their Creator's praise.
In such society, yet stiU more dear ;
While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere.
Compared with this how poor religion's pride,
In all the pomp of method and of art,
When men display to congregations wide.
Devotion's every grace, except the heart !
The Power incensed the pageant will desert,
Tlie pomjious strain, the sacerdotal stole ;
But haply, in some cottage far apart,
May hear well pleased the language of the soul.
And in His book of hfe the inmates poor enroll."
These are the elements of a people's greatness. These are the
perennial sources of their ti-uth and loyalty, their freedom and
virtue. These guard the domestic graces, these bind the com
monwealth in holy and enduring bands. Better than splendid
mausoleums and gorgeous temples ; better than costly altars and
a pompous ritual ; better than organ-blasts and rolling incense ;
better, by far, than mass and breviary, confessional and priestly
absolution ! For, while the most imposing forms of religion are
often heartless and dead, these sacred rites of a Christianity pure
and practical ever possess a vital power — a power to quicken
and save. " From scenes hke these auld Scotia's grandeur springs.
That makes her loved at home, revered abroad ;
Princes and lords are but the breath of kings,
' An honest man's the noblest work of God.'

0 Scotia I my dear, my native soil !
For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent,
• Guides, or fans.

200

THE WOELD 'WE LI'VE IN.

Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toil
Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content 1
And, oh, may Heaven their simple Uves prevent
From luxury's contagion, weak and vUe 1
Then, howe'er crowns and coronets be rent,
A, virtuous populace may rise the while,
And stand a wall of fire around their much-loved isle."
As we feel a' peculiar interest in Scotiand, an interest shared,
we believe, by many of our readers, we shaU be forgiven if we
linger upon it a littie longer. Our readers, then, -will be good
enough to accompany us on a brief tour to its two principal cities,
Edinburgh and Glasgow.

S .. -^

Edinburgh Castle.
Before us Ues " Auld Reekie," as its ancienit citizens used fondly
and famiUarly to oaU it, the far-famed and beautiful " Athens of
the North." We wiU enter the city on the west side, as if we
were coming from Glasgow, pass through Prinoe's-street, with its
elegant buUdings and fine promenades, skirting that inclosure of
walks and shrubbery just under the frownmg battlements of the

SCOTLAND. 201

Castle, and adomed with the superb statue of Sir Walter Scott,
rising rapidly to its completion ; then tum the corner at right
angles, cross the North Bridge, - enter High-street, and thence
plunge down the hill into the old Canongate ; and witiiout waitino-
to look at " the Heart of Midlothian," or even the beautiful rains
of Holyrood House, at the foot of the hill, let us turn to the right
and climb the rocky sides of "Arthur's Seat," with its summit of
verdure overlooking the city and the neighboring country. For
there, the whole panorama of the city wUl spread itself before us,
surrounded v?ith magnificent scenery, stretching far and wide from
the Pentland HiUs on the one side to the Firth of Forth on the
other, from StirUng Castle on the west to the Gennan Ocean on
the east. Here we are, then, on the very highest point of the
mountain, with the warm sunshine around us, tempered by the
fresh " westlin wind," at once so sweet and bland. Ay, ay !
this is beautiful ! What a landscape I How varied, and yet how
harmonious ! Not only beautiful exceedingly, but grand and
striking. Beneath us is the fine old city — new and old at the
same time — lying nearly square, with its lofty buildings and ele
gant monuments, handsome parks and green shrubberies. To
the left is the older part of the city, rising gradually from the
palace of Holyrood at our feet and crowned by the Castle, which
IS buUt upon a granite rock, whose rough sides, terminating ab
ruptly to tli,e north and west, hang over Prinoe's-street and the
lower part of the city.
" There watching high the leasit alarms,
Thy rough rude fortress gleams afar ;
Like some bold veteran gray in arms.
And pierced with many a seamy scar :
Thy ponderous wall and massy bar.
Grim rising o'er the rugged rock.
Have oft -withstood assaihng war.
And oft repelled the invader's shock." — Burns.
Before us, and stretching away toward the Forth and the city
of Leith, is " the new town," surmounted on this side by the Calton.
Hill, on which stand the monuments of Dugald Stewart and Ad
miral Nelson, the unfinished Parthenon, and the monuraent of
Robert Burns — beautiful and imposing objects, reminding us of
the Acropolis of Athens, and affording fine relief to the long ranges
of smooth and pohshed buildings beyond. Behind us are the
Pentland HUls, with their verdant slopes and historic recollections.
To the right lie the city and bay of Leith, "the Pirseus" of Edin
burgh, the long winding shore in the direction of Portobello, and
" the dark blue deep" of the ocean, studded with white sails,
9'*

202 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

glistening in the summer radiance. To the north, at a distance of
a few mUes, you see the majestic Firth of Forth, and beyond, "in
cultured beauty," the " Kingdom of Fife," with the distant range
of the Ochil and Campsie HiUs. From this point also you can
see, at a distance of some three mUes, the gray ruins of Craig-
raiUar Gastie, famous in the annals of Scotland as the residence of
Queen Mary, and the scene of those secret machinations which
ended in the tragedy of Holyrood ; Inch Keith, with its lofty light
house; the Isle of May, once consecrated to St. Adrian, and on
whioh stands another "star of hope" to the mariner; and old
Inchcolm, famous for its ancient convent founded by St. Colomba,
one of the patron saints of Scotland. How gloriously Ught and
shade, land and ocean, park and woodland, old casties and hoary
ruins, frowning rooks and smUing meadows, mingle and blend in
this rare and magmficent landscape !
"Traced like a map the landscape lies.
In cultur'd beauty stretching wide ;
There Pentland's green acclivities.
There ocean, with its azuve tide ;
There Authur's Seat, aud gleaming through
Thy southern wing, Duu Edin blue !
While iu the orient, Lammer's daughters,
A distant giant range are seen.
North Berwick Law, with cone of green,
And Bass amid ,the waters.'' — Delta.-*
Here you oan easily understand the reason why Edinburgh haa
been thought to resemble the city of Athens. Mr. Stuart, author
of the "Antiquities of Athens," was the first to call attention to
this fact, and his opinion has often been confirmed since. Dr.
Clarke remarks that the neighborhood of Athens is just the High
lands of Scotland, enriched with the splendid remains of art.
Another acute observer states that the distant view of Athens from
the jEgean Sea is extremely like that of Edinburgh from the Firth
of Forth, "though," he adds, "certainly the latter is considerably
superior.'' "The resemblance," says J. G. Kohl, the celebrated
German traveler, " is indeed very striking. Athens, like Edin
burgh, was a city of hills and valleys, and its Ilissus was probably
not much larger than the Water of Leith. Athens, like Edin
burgh, was an inland town, and had its harbor, Piroeus, on the
sea-coast. The raountains near Edinburgh very much resemble
those near Athens. I have little doubt, however, that Athens is
more honored by being compared to Edinburgh, than Edinburgh
 -—¦ ¦¦  ¦  1  —
* Supposed to be Dr. Moir.

SCOTLAND. 203
to Athens _; for it is probable that the scenery and position of the
Northern are more grand an'd striking in their beauty than those
of the Southern Athens."
Let us now descend into the oity. We wUl not linger lono- in
old Holyrood Palace, interesting as it is, nor dweU upon "the
stains" of Rizzio's blood in Queen Mary's room, as these have
been described a thousand times, and are famiUar to every one.
Neither will we spend time in gazing upon the spot where once
stood that quaint old jail, oaUed " the Heart of Midlothian," made
classic by the pen of Scott, in the beautiful story of Jeanie Deans.
Neither wUl we visit the old "ParUament House" and the "Ad
vocates' Library ;" but wo wUl pass right up through High-street,
amid those colossal buUdings, rising, on either side, to the hight of
six, seven, and even eight and ten stories, swarming with inhabit
ants ; and dive into one or two of those close, dark wynds, where
reside, in countless multitudes, the poorest and most vicious of the
people. Here, it must be confessed, are sorae strange sights and
appalling noises. Yet it is not quite so bad as some have repre
sented it. All large cities have their poor and vicious inhabitants,
and although those of the Scottish metropohs are tolerably dirty
and vastly degraded, they bear no comparison to the lazaroni of
Naples and the beggars of Rome. Some of the streets and wynds
are narrow enough and vile enough, but they contain, after all,
many worthy people, who own a Bible, and read it, too ; and were
you only to become thoroughly acquainted -vvith thera, you would
be surprised to find how rauch of honesty and kindly affection
still dwell in their hearts. In ancient times the houses in these
very " closes" or " wynds" were inhabited by the nobility and
gentry. Hence Gray's Qlose, Morrison's Close, Stewart's Close,
&c. They built their houses in these narrow streets in order
to be raore secure from the attacks of their eneraies, and to be
the better able to defend the principal thoroughfares into which
they opened. In Blythe's Close may be seen the remains of the
palace of the queen-regent, Mary of Guise. In another stand
the old houses of the Earls of Gosford and Moray. One of the
largest old palaces is now inhabited by beggars and rats.
It would be a great improvement if these miserable dwellings
could be removed, and replaced by better streets and houses ; a
still greater one, if the people could only be induced to abandon
the use of whisky, for then they would abandon their hovels as
a matter of course. Their besetting sin is the love of strong drink,
though this has been gradually diminishing for the last few years
throughout Scotland. It is to be hoped that the pious and moral
portion of the community wUl, unite in a strong effort to reclaim

204 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

this degraded class of their fellow-townsmen, and that the time
will speedily come when the only reproach which rests upon their
fair fame shall be wholly obliterated.
But let us leave this regioh, the only unpleasant one in the
whole of this fair, city, and ascend to the old Castle, where we
shall see the Regalia of Scotland, preserved in a Uttle room at the
top of the Castle. These regalia consist of the crown of Robert
Bruce, the hero of Bannockburn, the scepter of James the Fifth, a
sword presented by Pope JuUus the Second to James the Sixth,
and other articles of inferior note. It is somewhat singular that
the regalia should have lain concealed from 1745 to the year
1818. At the time of the Union in 1707 between England and
Scotland, they were walled up by some Scottish patriots, in order
to prevent their being removed to London.
What recollections of the stormy but glorious history of Scot
land cluster around the mind, whUe gazing at that antique-looking
crown wbich adomed the bead of the Bruces and the ill-fated
Mary ! The freedom and prosperity now enjoyed by the nation
had a gloomy and tempestuous birth. Their very religion, placid
and beautiful now, was cradled amid the war of elements and the
shock of battle. But, thanks tp God, it is all the purer and
stronger for its rough and tempestuous youth.
Draw near to the edge of that battlement, and look down over
the frowning rock. Would it be possible, think you, to storm the
Castle from that side ? One would suppose it beyond the power
of man. It has been done, however, and the circumstance Ulus
trates the spirit of hardihood and enterprise which has ever dis
tinguished the people of Scotland. In the year 1313, -when the
Castle was in the possession of the English, Randolph, earl of
Moray, was one day surveying the gigantic rook, when he vras
accosted by one of his men-at-arms witb the question, " Do you
think it impracticable, my lord ?" Randolph turned his eyes upon
the speaker, a man a littie past the prime of life, but of a firm,
weU-knit figure, and bearing in his keen eye and open forehead
marks of intrepidity whioh had already gained him distinction in
the Scottish ai-my. " Do you mean the rook, Francis ?" said the
earl : " perhaps not, if we could borrow the wings of our gallant
hawks." " There are wings," replied Francis, with a thoughtful smUe,
" as strong, as buoyant, and as daring. My father was keeper of
yonder fortress."
" What of that ? You speak, in riddles."
" I was then young, reckless, high-hearted : I was screwed up m
that convent- like castle ; my sweetheart was in the plain below"—

SCOTLAND. 205

"Well, what then?"
" 'Sdeath, my lord, can you not imagine that I speak of the
wings of love ? Every night I descended that steep at the witch
ing hour, and every morning before the dawn I crept back to my
barracks. I constructed a light twelve-foot ladder, by means of
which I was able to pass- the places that are perpendicular ; and
so well, at length, did I become acquainted with the route, that
in the darkest and stormiest night, I found my way as easUy as
when the moonlight enabled me to see my love in the distance
waiting for me at the cottage door."
" You are a daring, desperate, noble fellow, Francis ! However,
your motive is now gone ; your mistress" —
" She is dead ; say no more ; but another has taken her place."
" Ay, ay, it's the soldier's way. , Women wUl die, or even
grow old ; and what are we to do ? Come, who is your mistress
now ?"
"Mr Country! What I have done for love, I can do again
for honor ; and what I oan accomplish, you, noble Randolph, and
many of our comrades, can do far better. Give me thirty picked
men, and a twelve-foot ladder, and the fortress is our own !"
" The Earl of Moray, whatever his real thoughts of the enter
prise might have been, was not the man to refuse such a- chal
lenge. A ladder was provided, and thirty men chosen from the
troops ; and in the middle of a dark night, the party, commanded
by Randolph himself, and guided by WiUiam Francis, set forth on
their desperate enterprise.
By catching at crag after crag, and digging their fingers into
the interstices of the rooks, they succeeded in mounting a consid
erable way ; but the weather was now so thick, they could re
ceive but Uttle assistance from their eyes ; and thus they continued
to climb, almost in utter darkness, like men struggling up a preci
pice in the nightmare. They at length reached a shelving table
of the cliff, above which the ascent, for ten or twelve feet, was
perpendicular ; and having fixed their ladder, the whole party lay
down to recover breath.
From this place they could hear the tread and voices of the
' check watches,' or patrol, above ; and, surrounded by the perils
of such a moment, it is not wonderful that some illusions may have
mingled with their thoughts. They even imagined that they- were
seen from the battlements, although, being themselves unable to
see the warders, this was highly improbable. It became evident,
notwithstanding, from the words they caught here and there in the
pauses of the night- wind, that the conversation of the EngUsh sol
diers above related to a surprise of the Castle ; and at length

206 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

these appalling words broke like thunder on their ears : ' Stand !
I see you well I' A fragment of the rook was hurled down at the
same instant ; and, as rushing from crag to crag, it bounded over
their heads, Randolph and his brave followers, in this wUd, help
less, and extraordinary situation, felt the damp of mortal tenor
gathering upon theh- brow, as 'they clung, with a death-grip to
the precipice.
The startied echoes of the rock were at length sUent, and so
were the voices above. The adventurers paused, listening breath
less ; no sound was heard but the sighing of the wind, and the
measured tread of the sentinel who had resumed his walk. The
men thought they were in a dream, aud no wonder; for the inci
dent just mentioned, which is related by Barbour, was one of the
most singular coincidences that ever occurred. The shout of the
sentinel and the missile he had thrown, were merely a boyish
freak ; and while listening to the echoes of the rook, he had not
the smallest idea that the sounds which gave pleasure to him car
ried terror and almost despair into the hearts of the enemy.
The adventurers, half-uncertain whether they were not the
victims of some iUusion, determined that it was as safe to go on
as to turn back ; and pursuing their laborious and dangerous path,
they at length reached the bottom of the wall. This last barrier
they scaled by means of their ladder ; and leaping down among
the astonished check-watches, they cried their war-cry, and in the
midst of answering shouts of ' Treason ! treason !' notwithstanding
tbe desperate resistance of the garrison, captured the Castle of
Edinburgh." Sit down here on the edge of this parapet. That huge cannon
there is called Mons Meg, from being cast at Mons, in Flanders,
and reminds us, somewhat significantly, of the terrible use to
which all the arrangements of the castle' are applied.* How sin
gular, that men have to be governed and controlled like buU-dogs,
that castles and dungeons, halters, and cannon, are necessary to
keep them from stealing each other's property, or cutting each
other's throats 1 Surely mankind have Uls enorigh to bear without
turning upon each other like tigers.
"Many and sharp the numerous ills.
Inwoven with our frame !
More pointed still we mako ourselves,
Eegret, remorse, and shame ;
¦* At present it ia used as a ban-acks for soldiers and a magazine of

SCOTLAND. 207

And man, whose heaven-erected face
The smiles of love adorn,
Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn." BnnKS.
But all is quiet now. The tendency of the times is to peace ; and
Edinburgh Castle, Mons Meg, and the whole array of cannon
bristling over the precipice, are but objects of natural curiosity or
of poetical interest.
Do you see yonder turreted building, with high-pointed gables
and castellated waUs, in the Elizabethan style, just beyond the
Grass Market? That is George Heriot's Hospital, one of the
proudest monuments of the city, and one of the most beautiful
symbols of its peaceful prosperity. It was, founded by the rich
and benevolent George Heriot, jeweler to King James the Sixth,
"Jingling Geordie," as he is quaintly termed in the " Fortunes of
Nigel." It is of vast extent, as you perceive, and presents a good
specimen of the mixed style of architecture prevalent in the days
of Queen Mary. The object of this noble institution is the main
tenance and education of poor and fatherless boys, or of boys in
indigent circumstances, "freemen's sons of the town of Edin
burgh." Of these, one hundred and eighty receive ample board
and education within its walls. By this means they are thoroughly
prepared for the active business of life, each receiving at his dis
missal a Bible, and otber useful books, with two suits of clothes
chosen by himself. Those going out as apprentices are allowed
$50 per annum for five years, and $25 at the termination of their
apprenticeship. Boys of superior scholarship are permitted to
stay longer in the institution, and are fitted for college. For this
purpose they receive $150 per annum, for four years. Connected
with this institution are seven free-schools, in tbe diff'erent parishes
of the city, for the support of whioh its surplus funds are applied.
In these upward of two thousand children receive a good com
mon-school education. The girls, in addition to the ordinary
branches, are taught knitting and sewing.
In addition to tbese provisions^for the education of the poor,
there are also ten " bursaries," or university scholarships, open to
the competition of young men, not connected with the institution.
The successful candidates receive $100 per annum for four years.
No wonder that Sir Walter Scott felt authorized to put into the
mouth of the princely founder of these charities the striking sen
timent : " I think mine own -estate and memory, as I shall order
it, has a fair chance of outliving those of greater men."
Edinburgh abounds in charitable hospitals, and particiUarly in

208 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

free educational institutions, in the support of , whioh the citizens
evince a laudable enthusiasiln.
Below us, on one side of High-street, you see the fine old Gothic
Cathedral of St. Giles. It was founded in the twelfth or thirteenth
century, and named after St. Giles, abbot and confessor, and tu
telar saint of Edinburgh in the olden time. The Scottish poet,
Gavin Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, was some time provost of St.
Giles. He- translated VirgU into EngUsh, the first version of a
classic ever made in Britain, and was the author of " The Palace
of Honor," from which some have absurdly supposed that John
Bunyan borrowed the idea of the " Pilgrim's Progress." This
edifice is interesting, chiefly as connecting the past with the pres
ent condition of Scotland, and indicating the mighty transitions
through which it has passed. In the fifteenth century, incense
ascended from forty different altars within its walls ; now it con
tains three Protestant places of worship. Once it enshrined the
relics of St. Giles ; now its cemetery contains the body of John
Knox! On the 13th of October, 1643, "the solemn League and
Covenant" was sworn to and subscribed within its walls, by the
Committee of the Estates of Parliament, the Commission of the
Church, and the English Commission. The saored vessels and
relics which it contained, including the arm-bone of the patron
saint, were seized by the magistrates of the city, and the proceeds
of their sale applied to the repairing of the building. Puritanism
has thus often showed itself a rough and tempestuous reformer ;
nevertheless, it possesses wonderful vitality, and has conferred
upon Scotland the blessings of civU and religious liberty. Its
outer form is often hard and defective, and its movements irregu-,
lar and convulsive, but its inner spirit is ever generous and free.
Its_ rudeness and excess none wUl approve ; its life, energy, and
activity all -wUl admire. It came forth, like a thunder-cloud, from
the mountains. Its quick lightning-flashes went crashing amid
the old images of superstition. The atmosphere of spiritual pol
lution was agitated and purified. Upon the parched ground fell
gentie and refreshing showers. The sun of freedom began to
smile upon hill and valley, and the whole land rejoiced under its
placid influence.
We -wiU now re-enter High-street, and thence turn at right
angles into South Bridge-street, and proceed to the University
It is a large and imposing structure, but fails to produce its proper
impression, from the circumstance of being wedged in among such
a mass of other buildings. We enter by a magnificent portico on
the right, supported by Doric columns twenty-six feet in higlit,
each formed -of a single block of stone, and find ourselves in a

SCOTLAND. 209

spacious quadrangular court, sun'ounded by the various college
edifices. The buildings are of freestone, beautifully polished,
and of recent erection, the old buildings, which were unsightly
and incommodious, having been taken down to make way for this
elegant and spacious structure. The University itself was founded
by King James the Sixth, in the year 1582, and has enjoyed un-
intenupted prosperity to the present time. The average number*
of students is from ten to twelve hundred. Thc Rev. Dr. Lee,
one of the most amiable and leamed men, is at present principal
of the University, and the various chairs are filled by gentlemen
of distinguished talent. The students are not resident within the
coUege, but choose their boarding-houses at pleasure in any part
of the city. They are not distinguished, as at Glasgow and Ox
ford, by any peculiar badge, are of all ages, and enjoy the liberty
of selecting the classes which they attend. Those, however, who
take degrees are required to attend a particular course, but this is
not done by more than one-half, or at most two-thirds of the stu
dents. The government of the University is not particularly
strict. The examinations are liraited and iraperfect ; and hence it
is very possible for a young man to slip through the University
without contracting any great tincture of scholarship. It is mainly
the talent of the professors, and the high literai-y enthusiasm they
inspire, which sustain thc institution. There arc thirty-four foun
dations for bursaries or scholarships, the benefit of which is ex
tended to eighty students. The aggregate amount is about fifty'
dollars a year for each. The annu-al session lasts from October to
May, with an occasional holiday, and a week or two's vacation at
Christmas. The rest of the year, which includes most of the
summer and auturan, is vacation, which gives the professors an
opportunity for rest and preparation, and the students facilities
either for private study, or for teaching and other employments.
This order prevails in all the other Scottish universities, and is
attended with many advantages. But a truce to general remarks.
We have not time to visit the Museum, which is quite extensive
and admirably arranged, nor the Library, whioh is distinguished
by its ample dimensions and beautiful decorations. Neither can
we dwell upon the celebrated men who have encircled this insti
tution with a halo of literary and scientific glory. But we wUl
step into that door in front of us, ascend the stairs, and enter the
lecture-room of Professor Wilson, the far-famed " Christopher
North," poet and novelist, orator, critic, and philosopher. The
young gentlemen have assembled, but the Professor has not yet
come in. Good-looking, but noisy fellows, these ! Some of tbem,
you perceive, are very young, others are considerably advanced

210 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

in years. Most of them are well dressed', some poorly so. A
few look studious and care-worn, but the majority hearty and
joyous. How their clear, loud laugh rings through the haU I
They are from all ranks of society, some being the sons of noble
men, others of farmers and mechanics. Most of tbem, probably,
have wherewithal to pay their college expenses, but not a few,
you may rely on it, are sorely pinched. The Scots are an ambi
tious, study-loving race, and quite a number of these young men
are struggling up from the depths of poverty, and, if they do not
die in the effort, wUl be heard of one of tliese days, in the pulpit
or at the bar.
But there comes the Professor, bowing graciously to the stu
dents, while he receives from them a hearty " i-uff," as the Scots
call their energetic stamping. What a magnificent-looking man !
Over six feet high, broad and brawny, but of elegant proportions,
with a clear, frank, joyous-looking face, a few wrinkles only around
the eye, in other respects hale and smooth, his fine locks sprinkled
with gray, flowing down to his shoulders, and his large lustrous
eye beaming with a softened fire. His subject is " the Passions."
He coraraences with freedom and ease, but without any particular
energy, makes his distinctions well, but without much precision or
force ; for, to tell the honest truth, phUosophical analysis is not
his particular forte. StiU it is good, so far as it goes, and prob
ably appears inferior chiefly by contrast. But he begins to de
scribe. The blood mantles to his forehead, thro-wn back with a
majestic energy, and his fine eye glows, nay, absolutely bums.
And now his impassioned intellect careers as on the wings of the
wind, leaping, bounding, dashing, whirling over hUl and dale, rises
into the clear empyrean, and bathes itself in the bearas of the sun.
His audience is intent, hushed, absorbed, rapt ! He begins, how
ever, to descend, and 0, how beautifully ! like a falcon from "the
lift," or an eagle from the storm-cloud. And now he skims along
the surface with bird-like wing, glancing in the sunlight, swiftly
and gracefully. How varied and delicate his language, how pro
fuse his images, his aUusions how affecting, and his voice ringing
like a bell among the mountains ! At such seasons his style, man
ner, and tone are unequaled. Chaste and exhilarating as the dew
of the morning in thc vale of Strathmore, yet rich and rare as a
golden sunset on the brow of Benlomond. But hsten : he returns
to his philosophical distinctions — fair, very fair, to be sure, but
nothing special, rather clurasy, perhaps, except in regard to his
language. True, undoubtedly, but not profound, not deeply
philosophical, and to some not particiUarly interesting. His
auditors have time to breathe. You hear an occasional cough,

SCOTLAND. 211

or blowing of the nose. A few of the students arc diligently
tiking miles, but thc rest are listless. Tliis will last only a mo
raent, and no\v that he is approaching the close of his lecture, he
will give us something worth hearing. There, again he is out
upon the open sea. How finely the sails are set, and with what
a majestic swt^cp thc noble vessel rounds the proraontory, and
anchors itself in the bay !
Taking the steam-cars from Edinburgh, wo arrive at Glasgow,
a distance of fiirty-four miles, in a couple of hours. As Edinburgh
is thc representative of Scottish literature and refinenicnt, Glas
gow is the rcprcscntalive of its commerce and manufactures. It
is au iminoiise oity, and contains a prodigious nuraber of inhabit
ants. At the period of thc Unioii it had a population of only
12,000, since whioh time it has doubled this number twelve or
thirteen times, and now contains nearly 300,000 inhabitants. It
owes this unprecedented increase to its trade, domestic and for
eign, whioh is almost unpuruUcled in its extent. There is probably
not a single inland town in ti reat Britain, with the exception of
London, whioh can show such a shipping list.
Glasgow has ever been distinguished for its mechanical ingenu
ity, its industry, and enterprise, lis situation, doubtless, is highly
favorable, but without an intelligent, ingenious, and active popu-
l.ltion, it could never \\:\xv rciclu-d such a liigbt of prosperity.
But it, is not our intiailion to visit this commercial city as tour
ists. There arc enough such to dcsci-ibe her agieeablc situation
and handsome public ediliccs. her long and elegant streets, her
beautiful " green," and magnificent river. At present wc shall
not fatigue ourselves with visiting the Royal Exchange, the Royal
Bank, the Tontine, and tho iVsst'iiibly Rooms. Neither shall we
trouble our readers to go with us thr(Uigh Quccn-sti-ect, St. Vin
cent-street, Greenhill Place, or Woodsido Crescent.
It might be worth while, howcvi>r, to look into some of those
imraenso factories, from which rise innumerable huge chimneys,
some of which overtop the stoi'plcs and towers of the churches,
and reach far up into the heavens.* Thousands and thousands
of spindles and powi'r-looms, with thousands and thousands of
human hands and luvuls, are moving there from morn to night,
aiul from night to morn. What raasses of complicated and beau
tiful inacliinci-y ! what prodigious steara-ongines, great hearts of
power in the centers of little worlds. giN'ing life, energy, and mo
tion to the whole ! Here, is a single warehouse, as it is called, for
the sale of manufactured ffoods, containino- no less than two hund-

* One of tliose chimneys ia said to be over 400 feet high.

212 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

red clerks. What piles of silks and shawls, cottons and caUcoes !
The productions of Glasgow reach every part of the world. You
wUl find them in India, China, and the United States, in the -wilds
of Africa and thc jungles of Burmah, amid the snows of Labrador
and the savannas of Georgia.
But let us go down to the Broomielaw, and take a look at the
river Clyde. That mUe of masts, and those immense steamers
plying up and down the river, connect Glasgow with every part
of the British Empire and the world.
What grand agency has accoraplished all this ? Steam ! —
steara, under tbe guidance and control of genius and enterprise.
The extended prosperity of Glasgow coramenced with the inven
tions of Watt, the greatest mechanical genius of the age, and the
first man that constructed a steam-engine of much practical use.
Steam has raised all those huge factories which w-e have been
admiring, and keeps their innumerable wheels and pistons, spin
dles and power-looms, in motion. Steam it is which brings untold
masses of coal and iron from the bowels of the earth, and converts
them into machinery and motive-power. Yonder it comes, roUing
and dashing, in a long train of cars and carriages fiUed with the
produce and population of the land. Here it gives life and energy
to a cotton-mill with a thousand looms ; there it casts off, from
day to day, the myriads of printed sheets which spread intelU
gence through the country. AU around us it moves the cranks
and pulleys, ropes and wires, wheels and tools, whioh work such
wonders in beating and grinding, cutting and carving, polishing
and d}-eing. Steam has added thousands, nay, mUlions to the
annual income of Glasgow. It has augmented the resources of
Great Britain to such an extent that it saves seventy miUions of
doUars annually in the matter of motive-power alone ! No pen
can describe the additions which it has made in other parts of the
world to their manufactures and commerce. It has brought aU
nations into more intimate relations, and is yet destined, in many
respects, to revolutionize the world.
Let us go, then, to George's Square, near the center of the city,
and look at Chantrey's monument of the man who has done so
much to bring about such a change. The Square contains also a
fine monument of Sir Walter Soott, in the form of a fluted Doric
column, about eighty feet high, surmounted by a colossal statue
of " the great Magician of the North." He is represented stand
ing in an easy attitude, with a shepherd's plaid thrown hall
around his body. The likeness is said to be remarkably good.
It has_ that expression of shrewdness, honesty, and good-nature
for which he was distinguished, but none of that ideal elevation

SCOTLAND. 213

which graces the countenances of Schiller, Goethe, and Shak
speare. Immediately in front of this monument is a beautiful
pedestrian statue in bronze, by Flaxman, of Sir John Moore, the
subject of Wolfe's exquisite lyric : —
" Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note.
As his corpse to the ramparts we hurried ;
Not a soldier discharged liis farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried."
Sir John Moore was a citizen of Glasgow, and his townsmen
have erected this statue as expressive of their veneration for his
memory. To the right of this monument, in the southwest angle
of the Square, you see in bronze, and of colossal magnitude, the
noble figure of James Watt. He is represented in a sitting pos
ture, on a circular pedestal of Aberdeen granite. It is considered
one of the happiest productions of the distinguished Chantrey.
The fine meditative features of the great inventor are strikingly
developed. Watt was born in Greenock, on the 19th of January,
1736, but conducted his experiments chiefiy in Glasgow. He
came thither in 1757, first as a mathematical instrument-maker
to the college, and subsequently as an engineer. In early life he
gave indications of his peculiar genius by various Uttle mechanical
contrivances. At the age of six years, he was occasionally found
stretched on the floor, delineating with chalk the lines of a geo
metrical problem. At other times he greatly obliged his young
companions by making and repairing their toys ; and before he
had reached his seventeenth year, he had amused them with the
wonders of an electrical machine of his own construction. He
had also instructed himself by making experiments on the steam
of a tea-kettle. He subsequently stored his mind with the won
ders of physics, chemistry, and medicine.
In the University of Glasgow, Watt was employed to fit up the
instruments of the Macfarlane Observatory, which gave him an
opportunity of becoming acquainted with Adam Smith, Joseph
Black, and Robert Simson, names immortal in the scientific annals
of Scotland. Here also he formed an intimacy with John Robin
son, then a student at college, and subsequently the celebrated
Dr. Robinson, who first called the attention of Watt to the subject
of steam-engines, and threw out the idea of applying them to
steam-carriages and other purposes.
The steam-engine had existed before this time, but it was ex
tremely imperfect,' and, moreover, of no great practical use.
Hence Mr. Watt was not, properly speaking, the inventor, but the
improver of the steam-engine. StUl his improvement was equal

214 THE WOELD WE L1\'J'; IN.

to an invention of the highest order. It made the instrument
available for the highest practical purposes. "He found the
crazy machines of Savory and Newcomen labormg and creaking
at our mine-heads, and occupying the same rank as prime movers
with the wind-mill and the water-wheel ; and by a succession of
inventions and discoveries, deduced from the most profound
chemical knowledge, and applied by the most exquisite mechan
ical skill, he brought the steam-engine to such a degree of per
fection as to stamp it the most precious gift which man ever be
queathed to his race."*
Watt had " a sore fight of existence," at least in the early part
of his career, and he came near being deprived of the emolument
whioh was his just due as a benefactor of his race. But he event
ually triumphed over all opposition, retired from business, and
continued to reside during the rest of his life on his estate at
Heathfield Soho. He was exceedingly happy in his domestic re
lations, though called, in 1804, to suffer a painful bereavement in
the loss of his youngest son Gregory, who had given high promise
of literary and scientific eminence. In 1808 he was elected a
corresponding member of the Institute of France; andin 1814,
he was nominated by the Academy of Sciences as one of its eight
foreig-n correspondents. In 181.9 his health suffered a rapid de
cline, and he hiraself felt that this was his last illness. " Resigned
hiraself, he endeavored to raake others resigned. He pointed out
to his son the topics of consolation which should occupy his mind ;
and, expressing his sincere gratitude to Providence for the length
of days he had enjoyed, for his exemption from most of the infirm
ities of age, and for the serenity and cheerfulness whioh marked
the close of his life, he expired at Heathfield on the 25th of Au
gust, 1819." He was interred in the parish church of Hands-
worth ; and over his tomb his son erected an elegant Gothic
chapel, containing a beautiful marble bust by Chantrey. Another
bust by the same artist has been placed in one of the haUs of
Glasgow College. A colossal statue of Carrara marble, procured
at great expense by pubhc subscription, graces the recesses of
Westrainster Abbey.
The most useful memorial of Watt, however, exists in Greeno.ck,
in tiie form of a large and handsome buUding for a public library,
erected by bis son, in which the citizens have caused to be placed
a handsome raarble statue, with an inscription from the pen of
Lord Jeffrey. Lord Brougham concluded an eloquent speech
on the merits of Mr Watt in the foUowing striking terms : — " If
* Edinburgh Eeview.

SCOTLAND. 216

in old tiraes the temples of false gods were appropriately filled
with the images of men who had carried devastation over the face
of the earth, surely our temples cannot be more worthily adorned
than with the Ukenesses of those whose triumphs have been splen
did, indeed, but unattended by sorrow to any — who have achieved
victories, not for one country only, but to enlarge the power and
increase the happiness of the whole human race."
Passing up High-street, we come to an arched gateway, and
find ourselves in a quadrangular court, with antique-looking buUd
ings on each side. Beyond this we come to another quadrangle,
also suiTounded by buildings of perhaps more recent date. Pass
ing straight on, we reach a handsome edifice of polished freestone,
directly in front of us, and standing alone, which is nothing less
than the Hunterian Museum. These, then, are the buildings of
Glasgow University. Beyond us is the college-green, ornamented
with trees, and divided into two parts by a sluggish stream which
passes through the center. A number of the students, having
laid aside their scarlet gowns, arc playing at football, a -violent, but
delightful and invigoratina- exercise.
The University of Glasgow was founded in 1450, in the time of
James the Second. Bishop Turnbull was then in possession of
the see, and his successors were appointed chancellors. The his
tory of the institution has been various ; but, generally speaking,
it has enjoyed a high degree of prosperity. Of late years the
number of students has declined, from what cause we know not.
The number, in all the departments, does not exceed a thousand,
whereas, in 1824, when the writer was a student in Glasgow,
there were from fourteen to fifteen hundred. Well does he re
member the enthusiasm with which they welcomed their popular
candidate for rector, Henry Brougham, Esq., M. P., as he was
then termed, and the eager interest with whioh they listened to
his inaugural discourse. Sir Jaraes Mcintosh, a fine, hearty-look
ing man, with bland; expressive eyes, and two of the sons of Robert
Burns, tall, good-looking young men, but with no particular re
semblance to their illustrious father, were present, with others, to
grace the occasion. Brougham was in the maturity of his strength,
and the heyday of his farae. TaU, rauscular, and wiry, with
searching visage, dark ooraplexion, keen piercing eyes, ample fore
head, and long outstretched finger, he stood up the very personi
fication of strength and eloquence. But Brougham has been fre
quently described, and we therefore pass him by. The next rector
that was chosen was Thomas Campbell, the poet, once a member
of the coUege, and one of its most distinguished ornaments. A

216 THE WOELD WE LI'VE IN.
large portion, if not the whole of the " Pleasures of Hope," was
written while he was a student at college.
Many distinguished men have been professors in this institution.
Among these. Dr. Reid and Dr. Hutcheson; Dr. Simpson and Dr.
Moore, Adam Smith, and Professor Sandford, stand pre-eminent.
Well does the writer remember the accomplished, but unfortunate
Sandford, and the profound enthusiasm for the Greek classics
which he inspired in his students. He was a son of the venerable
Bishop Sandford, a distinguished graduate of Oxford, and a man
of the highest attainments in Greek and English literature. Of
small stature, he yet possessed an elegant and commanding form.
His pale face, finely chiseled mouth, dark eyes, and marble fore
head are before me now. I hear his clear, musical voice, rolling
out, ore rotundo, the resounding periods of Homer, or the ener
getic Unes of Eschylus. No man ever recited Greek with such
enthusiasm and energy. It was a perfect treat to hear him read
the odes of Anacreon or the choral hymns of Eschylus ; to say
nothing of his elegant translations, or his fine critical remarks.
He was created a baronet by the govei-nment, and bade fair to be
one of the most distinguished and influential literary men in the
country. But he was seduced into party poUtics, was sent as the
representative of Glasgow to Parliament, and failed — faUed utterly
and forever ; for his want of success in the House of Commons
preyed upon his spirits, and caused his death.
Araong the distinguished men now occupying places in this uni
versity we find Mr. Lushington, of Trinity College, Cambridge,
professor of Greek, and Dr. Nichol, author of the popular Lec
tures on the Wonders of the Heavens, professor of practical as
tronomy. Mr. Mylne, professor of moral philosophy, and Mr.
Buchanan, professor of logic, are acute and learned men.
Leaving the college, we ascend High-street, and after reaching
the top of the hill, a little to the right, we see before us the
"High Kirk," or rather the old cathedral of Glasgow, one of the
finest reraains of antiquity, surrounded by a vast church-yard, con
taining many rich and ancient monumental tombs, and the mold-
ering bones of many by-gone generations. It has a superb crypt,
"equaled by none in the kingdom" — once used as a place of
worship, but now as a place for burying the dead. The author
of Waverley has invested it with additional interest by making it
the scene of a striking incident in Rob Roy. The whole edifice
has a most commanding appearance.
At the northeast end of the cathedral the spot is yet to be
seen where bigotry and superstition lighted the fires of reUgious
persecution. There, m the year 1538, Jerome Russel, a member

SPAIN. 217
of the convent of Franciscan friars, in Glasgow, a man of consid
erable talents, and John Kennedy, a young man from Ayr, of high
family, only about eighteen years of age, were burned for having
embraced the doctrines of the infant Reformation. They sustained
the terrible ordeal through which they passed to glory with a
becoming dignity and fortitude. " This is your hour and power
of darkness," said Russel: "now you sit as judges, and we are
wrongfuUy condemned, but tbe day cometh which will clear our
innocency, and you shall see your own blindness to your everlast
ing confusion — go on, and fulfill the measure of your iniquity."
Is it surprising that the reaction of reform whioh foUowed such
proceedings should occasionaUy have gone to unjustifiable lengths,
and that the people should have torn down " the rookeries" which
sheltered those birds of prey, as the spiritual tyrants of that day
might well be termed ? Never were a nobler or more heroic set
of men than the martyrs and confessors of that trying time !
Knox, MelvUle, and Wishart might be stern, but they were men
of godlike temper and heroic zeal, of whom the world was not
worthy.

CHAPTER XVL

As roads are poor in Spain, a sure sign of a backward state of
civUization, we shall be compelled, like the natives, to make our
journey through the country on mules ; and as robberies are fre
quent, even in the neighborhood of Madrid, we must take with us
not only some hardy muleteers, but, if possible, an armed escort,
or we may stand a fair chance of being shot among the mountains,
or, at least, of being stripped of our possessions. Should an escort
be too expensive, we must do, as many others, go armed ourselves,
or run such risk as may befall us. Spain is, in most parts, a beau
tiful and fertile country, though not uniformly so ; many tracts of
land being arid and poor. It consists mainly of mountains and
valleys, and especially high table-lands, where, even in the hot
southern regions, the air is comparatively cool and delicious.
Some parts of the country, Valencia and Mercia, for example, en
joy a perpetual spring. The sugar-cane, and other tropical pro
ductions, are found in Andalusia and Granada. In the extreme
10

218 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

south, the heats of sumraer would be intolerable, unless subdued
by the cool sea-breeze, which begins to blow at nine in the mom
ing, and continues till five in the evening. The interior of the
country is so much elevated, as to be coraparatively cool. The
two Castiles form a raised plain, nearly two thousand feet in
hight. The provinces along the coast of the Mediterranean have
been termed the paradise of the kingdom. The sky is " azure and
gold ;" the inhabitants of Se-ville affii-m that a day was never
known when the sun did not shine upon their city. The olive,
the orange, and especially the vine, whioh grows luxuriantly in aU
the warmer regions, adorn the landscape.
Spain has mines of copper, sUver, quioksUver, lead, and gold,
which jdeld handsome' returns. Her principal productions are
salt, wines, silk, olives, mules, and sheep, immense flocks of which
feed on the high plains of the interior. But commerce, agricul
ture, and generally the arts of industry, are in a low condition.
The Spaniards, proud and brave, are indolent and unenterprising.
The finances of the country are in a wretched state, and the gov
ernment is badly administered. The land is overrun with priests,
beggars, and friars, the last being only a species of legalized or
spiritual beggars. The ecclesiastics of all classes, including monks
and nuns, nuraber about 200,000 ! No less than 32,000 are con
fined in cloisters. The clergy are described by nearly all travel
ers as the most powerful body in Spain, and are said to be " rich,
ignorant, and dissolute." They control education, and give tone
and character to the great mass of the people. They retain a
strong hold especially upon the poorer classes, to many of whom
they distribute from the monasteries daily food and alms. But
they take vastly more than they give ; and the entire array of
monks and friars, blue, black, and gray, lead a life of indolence
and luxury. " I'll give thee, good fellow, a twelvemonth or twain
To search Europe through, from Byzantium to Spain;
But ne'er shall you find, should you search till you tire.
So happy a man as the barefooted friar. '
He's expected at noon, and no wight, ere he comes,
May profane the great chair, or the porridge of plums ;
For the best of the cheer, and the seat at the fire.
Is the undenied right of the barefooted friar."
Every person in Spain, however poor, pays something to the
Church, and what with bulls, indulgences, marriages, absolutions,
and christenings, a vast amount pf money goes into the capacious
pockets of the Cathohc clergy.

SPAIN.

219

*''«''?^>^

*^

SPAIN. 221
While Spain abounds with cathedrals, churches, and monaster
ies, some of them absolutely blazing with gems and gold, it has
not over one thousand schools for the education of a population of
twelve millions ! A raeraber of the Cortes in 1839 asserted that
all Spain numbered not more than nine hundred schools in aU, at
which rate not less than 13,333 Spaniards must resort to a single
school ! Nominally there are still eight universities, once richly
endowed, and numerously attended, but during the changes and
revolutions of the country they have been stripped of their en
dowments, and reduced in their character. The army numbers
not less than a hundred thousand, though the navy is nothing,
and the public debt is increasing every year. Freedom and in
dustry, religion (pure and undefiled) and enterprise, go hand in
hand, but Spain is nearly destitute of all these, and thence, to use
a homely but expressive phrase, is completely " run down at the
heel." It is a poor, proud country, without life, energy, or prog
ress. It is well known that Spain has long been the favorite seat of
the Roman Catholic faith. Out of Italy, -with the single excep
tion, perhaps, of Ireland, no country has been more devoted to the
interests of the papal church. Thei Inquisition was maintained
here for ages, in all thc plenitude of its power, and rigor of ad
ministration. It was introduced, or rather it attained its highest
vigor, in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. According to Llo
rente, no fewer than 13,000 individuals, accused of heresy, were
pubUcly burned by the different tribunals of CastUe and Aragon ;
and 191,413, accused of the same offense, suffered other punish
ments in the brief space between the establishment of the modern
Inquisition in 1481 and 1518, only two years after the death of
Ferdinand ; since which tirae the number of victims have been
vastly greater. By rack, sword, and fagot, it extinguished the
Protestant Reformation ; and not only so, but checked the progress
of pliUosophy and learning. , Indeed, it was the deadly foe of
every thing like free inquiry, and many a great, many a good man
perished, on the simple ground of constructive heresy. The a,utos
dafi of Spain have excited the horror of the civilized world.
" Then, in Eeligion's sacred name,
A holocaust of souls was reared ;
Eed hke a furnace glowed the flame,
Black like the night the heavens appeared ;
The furies triumphed, and the kingly crown
Shone o'er a bigot's glare, a tyrant's frown.
First on the heap in fury cast.
Perished the Book divinely fair —

222 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Perished the lore of ages past :
Life's light went out with science there.
'Whelmed in the fiery blast, the blast of hell.
Souls, Bibles, librariesf, together fell.
Behold the pageants' vast array,
Pavilions, banners, floating free ;
Cowls, miters, engev for their prey.
Princess, and prelate, and grandee : —
The ancient cities all their. throngs emit,
And high on thrones presiding monarchs sit.
They come with music, trump and drum,
¦With solemn pomp, and thundering zeal ;
With fiigot, stake, and torch they come —
With stranglmg cord, and fl.ishing steel,
To see how far o'er weakness, fear, and pain.
Faith's mighty power her votaries can sustain."
The intolerance and bigotry of Spain are somewhat abated.
The Inquisition has been destroyed, though the spirit of the Inqui
sition yet lingers there, and some progress has been raade toward
the attainment of religious freedom. Still, Spain must be yet
pronounced one of the most superstitious, priest-ridden, and in
tolerant countries in Europe.
Many of the cities and public buildings of Spain are quite splen
did. Madrid, the capital, stands in the center of the kingdom, in
the midst of a high barren plain, surrounded by mountains. It
has soraething over two hundred thousand inhabitants, and pre
sents a fine appearance. , Its squares, churches, palaces, bridges,
are elegant and imposing. The houses are generally of brick,
buUt around inner courts, with frequent fountains and gardens.
Twenty-two mUes to tbe northwest of the city is the Escurial,
half-palace and half-monastery, perhaps the raost sumptuous and
magnificent in the Avorld. " It is situated," says Abbot, "among
the wild, somber scenery of the old Castilian mountains, about
twenty-two miles frora Madrid. This enormous palace, sfeven
hundred and forty feet in length, by five hundred and eighty feet
in breadth, was reared by PhUip II. , in the middle of the sixteenth
century, at an expense of about fifty raiUions of dollars. Philip,
austere, gloomy, fanatical, selected this wild and gloomy fastness
as the site of his palace, and reared the regal mansion in the form
of a gridiron, in commemoration of the instruraent of martyrdom
of St. La-wrence. ^ The embellishments of more modern kings, and
the luxuriant foliage of trees and shrubbery, have now invested
even this uncouth order of architecture with a kind of venerable
beauty. Four towers at thc angles represent the legs of the
gridiron.

SPAIN. 223
The Spanish description of this structure forms a large quarto
volume. It is stated that there are eleven thousand doors. This
may be an exaggeration, and yet the enormous edifice, with its
cupola, its domes, its towers, its chapel, Ubrary, painting gallery,
and college, mausoleum, cloisters, regal saloons, apartments for
domestics and artisans, its parks, gardens, walks, and fountains,
constitute almost a city by itself. A statue of St. Lawrence is
over the grand entrance, with a gUt gridiron in his hand.
Spacious reservoirs, constructed upon the neighboring mount
ains, collect the water conveyed by aqueducts, to supply ninety-
two fountains. A very beautiful road, about a mile in length,
fringed with lofty elras and hndens, is the avenue to this magnifi
cent palace ; and a subterranean corridor of equal length, arched
with stone, connects the edifice with the neighboring village.
Underneath the buUding is the subterranean chamber called
the Pantheon, the burying-plaoe of the royal famUy. It is a very
magnificent apartment, circular in its form, thirty-six feet in diame
ter, its walls incrusted with the raost beautiful and highly polished
marble. Here repose the moldering remains of the Spanish
monarchs, whose bodies lie in marble tombs, one above the other.
A long arched stairwa)', lined with polished marble, beautifully
veined, conducts to the mausoleum, far below the surface of the
earth. A ma-gnificent chandelier, suspended from the ceiling,
Ughted upon extraordinary occasions, sheds brUlianoe upon this
grand yet gloomy mansion of the dead. The labor of many years
was devoted to tbe construction of this sepulcher.
For nearly three hundred years the domes and towers of this
.monument of Spanish grandeur and superstition have withstood
the storms which have swept the summer and wrecked the win
ter's sky. Many generations of kings, with their accumulated
throng of courtiers, have, like ocean tides, ebbed and flowed
through these halls. But now the Escurial is but the memorial
of the past, neglected and forgotten. Two hundred monks, like
the spirits of the dead ages, creep noiselessly through its cloisters,
and the pensive melody of their matins and vespers floats mourn
fully through their deserted halls. Here have been witnessed
scenes of revelry and scenes of fanaticism — the spirit of sincere
thought, misguided piety, and the spirit of reckless and heaven-
defying crime, such as few earthly abodes have ever exhibited.
The fountains stUl throw up their beautiful jets, but the haughty
cavaliere, and the high-born maidens and dames who once thronged
them, have disappeared, and'the pensive friar, in sackcloth and
hempen girdle, sits in solitude upon the moss-grown stone. The
1 laze of illuminations once gleamed from those windows and zor-

224 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ridors, and night was tumed to day as songs and dances resounded
through ball, and bower, and grove. Now midnight comes -with
midnight sUence, and solitude and gloom ; and naught is to be
seen but here and there the glimmer of some faint taper from the
cell where some penitent monk keeps his painful vigUs. The jew
elry and the flaunting robes of fashion, and the merry peals whioh
have ushered in the bridal party, have passed away, and now the
convent bell but calls the world-renouncing, joyless hearts to the
hour of prayer, or tolls the knell, as, in the shades of night, the
remains of sorae departed brother are borne, with twinkling torches
and funeral chants, to their burial. And yet how many are there,
weary of the world, with crushed hearts and dead hopes, who
would gladly find, in these dim cloisters, a refuge from the storms
of Ufe ! Here soon, beneath this marble canopy, the body of the
helpless Isabella wUl molder to the dust. May God grant that
when the trumpet of the archangel shall awake her from the long
sleep of the grave, she may arise to sit on a more exalted throne,
and to wear a brighter crown than mortal mind hath ever con
ceived." The principal manufacturing city of Spain is Barcelona, on the
shores of the Mediterranean ; but perhaps the most beautiful and
attractive of all its cities, -with the exception of Granada, is the
capital of Andalusia, "the fair Se-ville," charmingly situated on
the Guadalquivir, in thc midst of a plain covered with olive and
orange groves, hamlets, villages, and convents. Its principal
charm, in addition to the deep verdure of the trees, and the
balmy purity of the atmosphere, consists in the Moorish aspect of
the place, with its narrow streets, airy mansions, cool fountains,
innumerable windows, and grotesque, but beautiful ornaments.
Like Madrid, Se\'Ule is a gay, giddy place. Balls, masques, and
revels abound. Morals are at a low ebb. "In SevUle," says Inglis,
"it is almost a derision to a married woman to have no cortejo
fgallant), and a jest against a Senorita not to have her amante
(lover). Indeed, the gallantries of tiie latter are not unfrequentiy
carried as far as the intrigues of the former."
" Tlie feast, the song, the revel here abounds ;
Strange modes of merriment the hours consume,
Nor bleed these patriots with their country's wounds.
Nor here w.ir's clarion, but love's rebeck sounds ;
Here Folly still his votaries enthralls.
And young-eyed lewdness walks her midnight rounds:
Gilt with the silent crimes of capitals.
Still to the last dark Vice ohngs to the tottering walls.'
Granada, the favorite city of the Moors, situated at the junc-

SPAIN. 225
tion of the rivers Darro and Xenil, with its crenated walls, ter
raced gardens, stone bridges, domes, minarets, shining steeples,
gushing fountains, and especially its ancient and magnificent Al
hambra, has excited the high admiration of every traveler. It
once contained half a million of Mohammedans, and is still a large
and populous city. The Alhambra (the Red), though an irregu
lar structure, is one of the most gorgeous in the world. Its vast
colonnades, spacious courts and arcades, its splendid halls,
golden saloons, alcoves, fountains, and mosaic pavements, are the
wonder of every visitor. It seems more the work of giants and
fairies than of human beings. No wonder the Moors loved it, as
their chosen capital, or that they mourn its loss to the present
day. They esteem it a terrestrial paradise, and every Friday,
even now, offer prayers for its recovery.

Spanish Costume in the Sixteenth Centmy.

As to the people of Spain, there are fom- distinct races : first,
the Spaniards proper, who form the bulk of the population ; sec
ondly, the Basques (about 500,000), descended from the ancient
Cantabrians, and occupying the Navarre and Basque pro-vinces ;
thirdly, the Morescos, descendants of the Moors, about 60,000 of
whom stUl reside in Granada and the Alpuj arras ; and lastly, the
10*

226 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Gitanos, or gipsys, probably, Uke the rest of their brethren who
wander over Europe, descendants of some Asiatic, perhaps Hindoo
race, though in Spain not stroUing from place to place as in Eng
land, but generally pursuing some fixed occupation in towns.
The Spaniards are of middle size, of ordinary stature, rather thin,
¦with olive complexions, dark hair, and black eyes. The women
are generally of middle or low stature^ gracefully formed, with
expressive looks, aquiline noses, full, dark, piercing eyes, and
complexions varying from the ruddy glow of Northem Europe to
the deep olive of the Moors.
Stately, formal, and polite, indolent also, and, for the most part,
deliberate, the Spaniards, when aroused, are passionate and revenge
ful. The peasantry are especially indolent. " I have heard a
peasant," says Col. Napier, " refuse to run an errand, because he
had that moming earned enough already to serve him for the day."
Proud, arrogant, and vain, are terms which foreigners apply to the
whole nation indiscriminately. Yet they have fine elements of
character, after all, as their history and literature abundantly
prove. Their language is sonorous and beautiful, and their literary
works, especially in the department of poetry, romance, and par
ticularly the drama, rich and various. Cervantes and Calderon
have a world-wide reputation. Imaginative and aspiring, they
suffer from the want of high stimulus. Science has never pros
pered in Spain. In the departments of political economy, juris
prudence, and mechanical invention, they are more than a hundred
years behind the times. The aristocracy of the country make
high pretensions. A Hidalgo, the son of somebody, though poor
and ignorant, regards himself a person of high consequence.
Grandees and beggars are about equally numerous.
Gambling, cock-fighting, and bull-baiting may be called the
national amusements, though dancing may be said to be the uni
versal favorite. The bolero and the fandango are the common
dances, the bolero being a more graceful and decorous mode of
dancing the fandango, which is a wild and even licentious exercise.
Such is the passion for the bolero, that, it has been affirmed, if it
should be struck up in courts and churches, the vei-y judges and
clergy could not refrain from joining in the general tarantula ex-
cUeraent. The bull-fights, which are derived from the Romans,
are often dedicated to the Apostles St. John and St. James, or
the Virgin, the favorite deity, or rather goddess, of the Spanish
worship. Discouraged by government, this savage amusement is
constantly indulged in. Monday, in Madrid, during the season of
bull-fights, is a kind of hoUday ; every body looks forward to the
enjovment of the afternoon, and aU the conversation is about los

EEANCE. 227

toros. The intense interest which they feel in the spectacle is
visible throughout the whole, and often loudly expressed; an
astounding shout always accompanies a critical moment ; whether
it be a bull or a man that is in danger, their joy is excessive ; but
their greatest sympathy is given to the feats of the bull. If the
picador receives the bull gallantly, and forces him to retreat ; or
if the matador courageously faces and wounds the bull, they ap
plaud those acts of science and valor ; but if the bull overthrow
the horse and his rider, or if the matador miss his aim, and the
bull seems ready to gore him, their deUght knows no bounds.
Blood, wounds, gore, the panting and eadiausted animals, often
treading on their o-wn entrails, offer a strange attraction to these
semi-barbarous multitudes, composed not of the dregs of society,
but of the polished circles of Madrid. Even deUcate females gloat
their eyes upon the savage spectacle.

CHAPTER XVII.
FBANCB .
Crossing the Pyrenees, in whose deep valleys, and on the sides
of whose lofty mountains, clothed with verdure and trees, are fre
quent scenes of beauty and grandeur, and whose inhabitants,
chiefly shepherds, are a poor but industrious race, we reach the
south of " sunny France," and find that in this part of the country,
at least, the appellation is appropriate. The atmosphere is de
licious, and all around us are vineyards and olive-groves, with
their deep verdure and cheerful aspect. Portions of the country
are not particularly fertile, especially toward the coast of the
Mediterranean ; though others are peculiarly rich and beautiful.
Ascending the Rhone to Avignon, and thence to Lyons, we begin
to have some conception of the great extent and productiveness of
the French vine lands. Indeed, wine may be regarded as the
staple article of French commerce. Every where, on hill-side and
in valley, -vineyards greet the eye, laden ¦with their purple fruitage.
Groves of mulberry are also abundant, as also fruit-trees of every
desc'ription, particularly the rich and productive olive. At Lyons,
filled -with factories of various kinds, the click of the loom may be
heard in almost every house, whUe the stores are filled -with every
variety of manufactured articles, especially in the line of jewelry.

228 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

As we pass along, and come to the center of the country, we see
many tokens of thrift and industry, though the peasantry seem
poor, and their -viUages (for they are generally gathered mto -vil
lages, while the country around, though cultivated, appears almost
without inhabitants) are far from ha-ving the quiet and picturesque
aspect of the rural viUages of England. The land is divided and
subdivided into small farms, but the fine old homesteads and com
fortable farm-houses of England, or of the United States, are en
tirely wanting. The chateaux, too, as a general thing, are mar-
velously plain, and often desolate-looking buUdings. As a whole,
the country is not distinguished for beautiful scenery; though
patches here and there, with their orchards and clustering -vines,
have an attractive and cheerful look. The roads in France, and
the accommodations for travelers, are good, and the people whom
one meets upon the thoroughfares poUte and obUging — especiaUy
if they expect money from you.
But we are approaching Paris, the environs of which are cer
tainly attractive ; and now the fair and far-famed city, the center
and focus of life, gayety, politics, and revolutions to the whole
country, admits us within its massive walls. As we glide along
the banks of the Seine, a dull stream, but finely adorned ¦with
trees, superb buildings, and shady walks ; pass through the Champs
Elys6es, the gardens and palace of the Tuilleries, with their rich
adornments, the Place Vendome, where rises the imposing bronze
monument of Napoleon ; get a glimpse, at a distance, of the old
cathedral of Notre Dame ; gaze with wonder on the " pUlared
glory" of the Madeleine, and Unger a few moments on the Boule
vards, lined with gay crowds and carriages, we begin to gain some
idea of the magnificence of the French capital.
What scenes of grandeur and folly, of gay triumph and bloody
horror, have been enacted here ! What chances and changes,
what intrigues and revolutions, have foi-med the strange drama of
her history ! And even now what singular contrasts are visible in
Paris, and what terrible portents of future, and, it may be, appaU
ing revolutions ! Gay as a festival, as if to-morrow would be as
this day and much more abundant, and yet beneath her feet the
smoldering fires of a sooial volcano. Smiling, dancing, singmg,
shouting, carousing, and yet but a few days ago baptized in blood.
and to-morrow, perhap.s, to be plunged in anarchy and crime !
" Beautiful Paris 1 morning star of nations !
The Lucifer of cities ! Lifting high
The beacon-blaze of young Democracy !
Medina and Gomorrah both in one.
Luxurious, godless, gi-oveliug, soaring Paris ;

EEANCE.

t ¦>

!.~ srtT

229

)v-7'...

J

^-•'\i'/'#

FEANCE. 231

Laden with intellect, and yet not wise ;
Metropolis of satire and lampoon,
Of wit, of elegance, of mirth, of song.
And fearful tragedies done, day by day.
Which put our hair ou eud, in the opeu streets ;
The busy hive of awful memories ;
The potent arbiter of popular will ;
The great electric center, whence the shocks
Of pulsing freedom vibrate through the world.
Beautiful Paris !"
Undoubtedly France is a great nation. It has a population of
about thirty-five milUons ; as a whole, active, energetic, and intel
ligent, though crushed and decimated every now and then by rev
olutions, yet surprisingly elastic and vivacious, capable, as we
doubt not, of all high enterprise and generous attainment. Situ
ated in the center of Europe, with a sufficiently fertile country,
fine rivers, and an extensive sea-coast, studded ¦\\'ith good harbors
and large commercial cities, a language plastic and elegant, spo
ken by myriads of the human family, and a literature rich and
various, extensive manufaotm-es and a prosperous commerce, France
may lay claim to high honor, as one of the leading powers of Eu
rope. And yet France is in danger of becoming " a by- word and
a proverb" in the ci-vilized world. Despotic, and yet republican,
crushing under the hoof of miUtary power freedom of thought
and freedom of the press, she shouts peeans for liberty, and yet
takes the most effectual means of extino-uisbincr it forever. Reel-
ing to and fro like a drunken man, now assisting at the services
of religion, and then plunging into the mad orgies of folly and
crime, Franoe seems destined to perpetual and wasting change.
Reforra with her is nothing, revolution every thing. The bayonet
settles every question. Brute force deterraines the destiny of the
State. The Socialists even, who cry out liberty, fraternity, and
equality, long to irabi-ue their hands in their brothers' blood ! One
of these days they wUl surely see their folly.
Franoe has superstition enough, but little or no faith. She has
bishops and archbishops, legates and cardinals ; she has nuns^ and
monks, Franciscans and Jesuits, Dominicans and Trappists ; she
has amulets and charms, relics and crosses, processions and masses,
indulgences and penances, but no lofty and vital faith, and, con
sequently, no permanent peace, no abiding love, order, and har
mony.'* Gay, giddy, fickle, and licentious, "lovers of pleasure
¦* We speak here of the nation generally. To all such statements there
are, of course, exceptions. The dominant religion in France is Catholic, un
der the authority of fourteen archbishops and sixty-six bishops. There are

232 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

more than lovers of God," her people know not what they want,
and thence restiess as demons, haunted by fear and passion, they
madly plunge into aU sorts of schemes and revolutions. France,
though externally Catholic, is infidel at heart, and thus -without
God, must be without high virtue and patriotism. There are ex
ceptions, doubtiess, among her citizens. Many are sighing for a
purer faith. Some, both among Catholics and Protestants, are
praying for a better order of things. Nay, some, -with high and
patriotic aspirations, are working night and day for its realization.
But alas ! the great mass of the nation, we fear, are godless and
prayerless, and long for a liberty whioh is indulgence, a freedom
which is -vice.
Of course pure repubUcanism cannot live in such a state of
things. The name, mdeed, may remam, but the thing itself is
gone. Louis XIV., in the palmy days of the empure, caUed him
self The State ! And what was Napoleon, m the end, but the
State ? And what was the Directory — what Danton, Mirabeau,
or Robespierre, when they had the power ? And what does the
present Napoleon long to be, but the State ? Yes, they have a
Republic, but it may prove a despotism nevertheless, and excite
the contempt of the suiTounding nations. But we scarcely expect
even the name to remain, so long as France continues infidel and
heartless. We hope, indeed, for a better day. France, we ti-ust,
will get tired of her skepticism, as she wUl suffer for her -vice ;
and the time may come when a rational and orderly freedom,
based upon piety and virtue, will dawn upon her weary millions.
France has a standing army of between 400,000 and 500,000,
and a public debt of more than five thousand mUUon francs!
She owns many fine universities^ with learned professors, and a
fair system of common-school education, but it does not work
well, and, indeed, as has been shrewdly remarked, may be styled
"much ado about nothing." Myriads of her people can neither
read nor write. Her literature is rich and various, but sadly
tainted by skepticism and licentiousness. The favorite authors
are Montaigne, Voltaire, and Rousseau. Eugene Sue, Balzac, and
George Sand (Madame Dudevant), licentious, not simply in detaU,
but in principle, are exceedingly popular with the people. But to
France belong the eloquent Bossuet, the devout Fenelon, and the
profound Pascal. Few countries are richer in historical works.
Michaud, Barante, Thierry, Thiers, Mignet, Guizot, Sismondi,
about four millions of Protestants (nonunaUy such), about one miUiou of
whom are Lutherans ; the others, mostly, are Reformists. These are sup
ported by the State.

FEANCE. 233

Chateaubriand, Michelet, Quinet, and others have labored, -vrith
success, in this interesting field. In poetry and the drama, and
in polite literature generally, Franoe is inferior only to Great Brit
ain. Corneille, Racine, Moliere, Voltaire, Dumas, Beranger, La-
martine, and raany others, have covered her with unfading laurels.
In science Franoe is peculiarly distinguished. Des Cartes, Pascal,
La Place, Cuvier, and Leverrier rank with the Boyles, the Newtons,
and Hersohels of other lands. In speculative philosophy, too,
particularly in the history of metaphysical science, Franoe has
taken a high rank. Her Des Carteses, Arnaulds, Pascals, Dege-
randos, Jouffroys, Damirons, Ballanches, and Cousins have inter
woven their names with the entire history of speculative science.
And yet, somehow, Franoe, practically, has gained but Uttle
by all her efforts in science and speculation. The crudest and
wildest theories are propounded to her people. Schools the ab-
surdest and most impracticable are forraed ; 'and France, thus far,
seems to be without any just systera of mental or moral philoso
phy, and above all, without any just system of religion and mor
als. Rousseau and Voltaire are the demi-gods of the popular
thought and the popular literature ; whence the universal preva
lence of skepticism, levity, and licentiousness.
The French are, perhaps, the vainest and the politest people on
the face of the earth. Lively and graceful in all their raoveraents
and conversation, they abound in gallantry and wit. Brave, raore
over, and sometimes generous, they exhibit occasionally noble
traits. But their boundless vanity, levity, and love of pleasure
produce disastrous consequences. Their pleasures seem perpetu
ally bordering upon vice ; their gayety and merriment are ever
gliding into folly and crime. In this respect we find a striking
similarity in their history. With some modifications, perhaps im
provements, they are much the same people that they were in the
days of Louis XIV. On this point, we make the following ex
tracts from " Bulwer's France," a work which sheds a vivid light
upon the virtues and the vices of the French people. " The letter
of a SicUian gentleman gives the following description of Paris in
the time of Louis XIV. : ' It'is no exacrgeration,' says he, ' to re
mark that Paris is one vast hotel. You see every where cafes,
estaminets, taverns, and the frequenters of taverns. The kitchens
smoke at all times ; and at all times eating is going on. The lux
ury of Paris is something extraordinary and enormous — its wealth
would enrich three cities. On all sides you are surrounded by
rich and splendid shops, where every thing is sold that you don't
want, as well as every thing that you require. All would wish
to Uve splendidly, and the poorest gentleman, jealous of his neigh-

234 THE WOELD 'WE LIVE IN.

bor, would live as well as he does. Ribbons, looking-glasses, are
things without which the French could not Uve. Fashion is the
veritable demon of the nation ; one sex is as vain and desirous of
pleasure as the other ; and if the women never stir without a
miiTor, the men may be seen arranging and combing their wigs
pubUcly in the streets. There is not a people so imperious and
audacious as these Parisians ; they are proud of then- very fickle
ness, and say that they are the only persons in the world who can
break their promises with honor. In vain you look for modesty,
wisdom, persons who have nothing to do (a SicUian is speaking),
or men who have grown old. But if you do not find wisdom,
modesty, or old age, you find obsequiousness, gallantry, and po
Uteness.' Go into -a shop, and you are cajoled into buying a thou
sand things you never dreamt of, before you obtain the article
you want. The manner of the higher classes is something charm
ing — there are masters who teach civUity, and a pretty girl the
other day offered to sell me compliments. The women dote upon
little dogs. They command their husbands, and obey nobody.
They dress with. grace. We see them at aU hours, and they dote
on conversation. As to love — they love, and listen to their lovers
without much difficulty — but they never love long, and they never
love enough. I have not seen a jealous husband, or a man who
thinks himself unhappy or dishonored because his wife is un
faithful. " ' During the ' Careme,' tbe people go in tbe moming to a ser
mon, in the evening to a comedy, with equal zeal and devotion.
The abbes are in great number, and the usual resom-ce of ladies
in affliction. The young men are perpetually in the racket-court ;
the old men pass their time at cards, at dice, and in talking over
the news of the day. The Tuileries are the resort of the idle, and
those who wish, ¦without taking any trouble about it, to be amused.
It is there that you laugh, joke, make love, talk of what is doing
in the oity, of what is doing in the army ; decide, criticise, dispute,
deceive. Chocolate, tea, and coffee are very much in vogue, but
coffee is preferred to either tea or chocolate ; it is thought a reme
dy for low spirits. A lady learnt, the other day, tbat her husband
had been killed in battie: 'Ah, unhappy that I am!' said she;
' quick, bring me a cup of coffee !" The inhabitants of Paris are
lodged upon the sides of the bridges, and even upon the tops and
tiles of the houses. Although it does not rain often, you can't
help walking in the mud, for all the filth of the town is thrown
out into the streets, which it is impossible for the raagistrates,
however strict, to keep clean. The ladies never go out but on
mules ; the gentlemen walk in large high boots. The hackney-

FEANCE. 235

coaches are old, battered, and covered with mud ; the horses which
draw them have no flesh on their bones. The coachmen are bru
tal ; they have a voice so hoarse and so terrible, that no sooner is
the rattUng machine in raoveraent, than you imagine all the furies
at work in giving to Paris the sounds of the infernal regions.'
" Such was Paris above a century ago ; let, any one reflect upon
the iraraense changes that have taken place since that time. Let
any one reflect that we have had since then, Law, Voltaire, Rous
seau, the orgies and bankruptcy of the Regent, the reign of Louis
XV., the decapitation of Louis XVL, the wars and terrors of the
Republic, the tyranny of the Empire, the long struggle of the
Restoration ; let any reflect that since then have been born the
doctrines o.f equality and liberty, which will probably change the
destinies of the world ; let any one, I say, reflect upon all this,
and tell me, as he reads the passage I have cited, whether the
resemblance is not striking between the past and the present ?
whether, in looking at Paris under Louis Philippe (we m,ight add,
under Louis Napoleon), he cannot trace all the main features of
its picture taken during the time of Louis XIV. ?
" Paris is certainly altered ; the ladies no longer ride on mules,
nor do gentleraen arrange their head-dress in the public streets.
The shop-keepers have lost their extraordinary civility, the ' no
blesse' have lost the exqvusite polish of tbeir ancient manners ;
there are no longer masters to teach you civUity, nor young ladies
who will sell you compliments. The Parisians, under a serious
govemment, are not so frivolous as of yore ; the vanity then con
fined to the toilet and the drawing-room, has taken a prouder
flight, and prances on the ' Champs de Mars,' or harangues in
the Chambre des Deputes. The passions are the same, but a
new machine works them into a different shape, and produces an
other manufacture from the same materials. We see the change
that other laws and other ideas produce, and the popular spirit
which has elevated the character of the people has civilized the
hackney-coaches, widened the streets, and saved two hundred per
annum of his majesty's subjects. We see what new ideas and
new, laws have changed, but we see also how much new ideas and
laws have left unaltered. The wish to outvie, the desire to please,
the fondness for decoration, the easy transition from one passion
and one pursuit to another, the amour propre, the fickleness of the
Parisian, are still as visible as they -were under the ' Grand Mo-
narque,' while, alas I the morals of society (if I may venture to say
so) even yet remind you of the saying of Montesquieu, ' that the
Frenchman never speaks of his wife, for fear of speaking before
those who know more about her than he does !'

236 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

" I have said that the Parisian is almost as fickle as he
was— * * * *
" Du reste, Paris might still pass for a vast hotel. There are
eight hundred ' cafes' and one thousand ' restaurants,' and here
you are served on silver, amid gUding, and painting, and glass,
while the ' garqon' who says, ' Que voulez-vous, Monsieur ?' pre
sents a ' carte' with upward of tyfo hundred articles ; and, lo !
there are still ' cafes' and ' estamenets,' tavems, and the frequent
ers of taverns, and it is at night, as you see these places briUiant
with hght, filled with guests, surrounded with loungers, that you
catch the character of Paris, such as it is, such as it was a cen
tury ago. * * In this city there are one hundred and
ninety-two places of public amusement — of amusement for the
people, without counting the innumerable ' ginguettes' at the-bar-
riers, where the populace usually hold their Sunday revels. To
those who are fond of facts, the maimers of Paris may be thus
described : —
" There are twenty thousand persons every night at the thea
ters ; five public libraries are constantly full, and one hundred
cabinets de lecture (reading-rooms). You will find about an
equal number of celebrated dancing-masters and of celebrated
teachers of mathematics, and the municipality pays one-third more
for its files than it does for its religion.
"A passion for enjoyment, a contempt for Ufe without pleasure,
a want of reUgion and morality, fill the gambling-house, the Mor
gue, and the ' Enfans Trouves' (places for foundlings).'*
¦* -s * * ¦*
"Paris has in the year (on an average of twenty years) but one
hundred and twenty-six days tolerably fine.
" But what may not be said of these one hundred afld twenty-
six days ? They contain the history of France. The sun shmes —
and behold that important personage who has so frequently de
cided the destiny of Paris ! See him in his black and besmeared
' blouse,' his paper cap, and his green apron ; there he is on the
quais, on the Boulevards, on the Palais Royal — wherever Paris is
more essentiaUy Paris, there he is, laughing, running, shouting,
idling, eating. There he is, at the f6te, at the funeral, at the

¦* Mr. Bulwer says, iu another place (p. 52, Paris Ed.) — "The hosjjitals of
the ' Enfans Trouves,' which, under their present regulations, are nothing
less than a human sacrifice to sensual indulgence, remove the only check
that, in a country without religion, can exist to illicit intercourse. There
is, then, far more libertinage in France than in any other civilized country
in Europe."

FEANCE. 237

bridal, at the burial, above all, at the revolution. Mark as he
cries — ' Vive la France ! Vive la liberty !' and he rushes on the
bayonet, he jumps upon the cannon, he laughs at death, he fears
nothing but a shower of rain, and was ever found invincible until
Marshal Lobau appeared against him with a water-engine. (He
is not extinguished yet — the last revolution was his work.) Such
is 'the garoin' of Paris, who, in common with the gods, enjoys
the privilege of perpetual youth. Young at the ' League,' young
at the 'Fronde,' young at 1789, young in 1830 (young at 1848),
always young, and always first when there is a frolic or adventure,
for the character of the Parisian is the character of youth, gay,
careless, brave, at all ages ; he is more than ever gay, and care
less, and brave when he is young. Such is the ' gamin' of Paris ;
and in spite of his foUies and his fickleness, there is something in
the rags darkened by gunpowder, in the garment torn by the
sword and pierced by the ball, that a foreigner respects. But
who is that young man fantastically attired, a buffoon at the car
nival, a jockey at the race-course — the beloved of prostitutes and
parasites, gorged with the gluttony of pleasure, besmeared -with
the dirt of brothels and debauch ? •* * *
" But let us turn from these windows where you see the light
and music, and champagne, and tumult, to yon dim and learned
square, overshadowed by the Sorbonne. There, opposite the
miserable building, there is a small, but clean and neat ' restau
rant.' Enter between three and four o'clock, and take your seat
at one of the small tables, the greater nuraber of which are already
occupied. To your right there is a pale young man ; his long hair,
falling loosely over his face, gives an additional wildness to the
eye, whioh has caught a mysterious light from the raidnight vigU ;
his clothes are clean and threadbare, his coat too short at the
wrists, his trowsers too short at the legs ; his cravat, of a rusty
black, and vaguely confining two immense shirt-collars, leaves his
thin and angular neck almost entirely exposed. To your left is
the native of the South, pale and swarthy ; his long black locks,
parted from his ^forehead, descend upon his shoulders, his lip is
fringed with a slight 'moustache,' and the semblance of a beard
gives to his meditative countenance an antique and apostolic cast.
Ranged round the room, with their meager portions of meat and
bread, their pale decanter of water before them, sit the students,
whom a youth of poverty and privation is preparing for a life of
energy or science. With them is the future : but where is the
past ? Come with me, reader — it is our last pilgrimage — come
with me to that spot (Pere la Chaise) where, unhaUowed as the
flame that gleams above corruption, an unnatural gayety lives

238 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

among the dead ; come 'with me to those tombs fantastically ar
ranged, where a frivolous affection miserably displays itself in
hanging an artificial garland, bought at the gate for two ' sous,'
upon the tomb of the lover who was adored ! There lie Abelard
and Heloise, the monk and his mistress ; bow many thoughts,
customs, doctrines, chances, changes, revolutions, in that sepul
cher ! * '* There is Massena, general of the Empire —
Foy, statesman of the Restoration ; for yonder cemetery, opened
only twenty years ago, already contains two djmasties. But pass
through the crowd of pyramids, obelisks, mounds, columns, that
surround you on either side ; turn from the tombs that are yet
fresh, and look down from yonder elevation on the monuments
that mingle ages ! What a mass of history is there ! Behold the
ruins of that palace, built for the modern King of Rome ! behold
the statue of St. Louis, the statue of Bonaparte ! Look for the
site of the temple of Jupiter, for the house of Ninon de I'Enclos,
for the apartment of Danton, the palace of Richelieu !
" Let your iraagination darken that river (the Seine) by the
overshadowing gloom of the wood, saored to the weird mysteries
of Druidical superstition ; lead through the narrow streets of yon
der isle the gay procession of Bacchus and of Ceres ; people the
city that I see with the flitting and intermingling figures of cowled
monks and steel-armed warriors ; paint the tumults of the League,
the massacre of St. Bartholomew ; paint Charles with the fatal
arquebuse in his hand, at yonder window, and the Seine red and
tumid with Protestant blood ; behold the parliament, stiff and
somber, marching on foot to the Palais Cardinal in dehverance of
Brpussel, and the town distracted with the fStes, and the duels,
and the ambition, and the quarrels of the gay and noble cavaUers
of that courtly and gallant time ! And now see the staUs of the
Rue Quinoampoix, miserable exhibition of the degraded chivalry
of France ; and, lo ! Mirabeau in the tribune, Lafayette on his
white horse in the Champ de Mars ; Napoleon returning from
Egypt, and walking to the Institute ; the Grande Armee, dra-wn
up on the Place du Carrousel; the Cossacks, encamped on the
Champs-Elysees ; the Garde Royale flying from the Louvre, and
the Garde Nationale reviewing on the Boulevards !"
(We continue the strange drama, as it were comedy and tra
gedy mingled together.) 'For what see we once more? Louis
PhUippe, "the citizen Iving," driven from bis palace by a hand
ful of rioters, the throne burnt in the street, and the rabble shout
ing "Vive la Liberte / Vive la R^publiquef" France revolu
tionized — Lamartine, Ledru ' Rollin, controlling the popular wiU;
the Provisional Govemment formed — the Provisional Government

FEANCE.

239

contemned ! Brother fighting with brother, patriot with patriot,
in the streets of Paris ! Cavaignac appointed Dictator — Cavaignac
rejected ! The Repubhc proclaimed, and Louis Napoleon, nephew
of " Napoleon le Grand," charlatan and hero, elected President !
And, lo! strangest sight of all, the "RepubUque" devouring it
self, and preparing the way for — we know not what !
Still it must be confessed that France, while losing much, has
gained something by her revolutions, and that is, experience.
Refoi-m, we trust, will follow. With her high endo-wments and
ample facUities, she ought to advance in the career of social and
moral improveraent. The people, it is said, are tired of negations.
They are beginning to be disgusted with their atheism ; many
long for order, purity, and repose. Whether, therefore, the Re
pubhc be continued or not, we trust a true and rational freedom
wUl be the gainer in the end.

>*/

Place Vendome, Paria

240

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER XVIII.

(-' li 11 M * >: V .

Ehrenbreitateia.

Before cnti-'ims Germany proper, we will take a rapid ghmpse
of Holland and Bcfiiam. We can pass, by diUgence or other
wise, from Paris to Cologne, on the Rhine, and thence descend
to the low but highly cultivated country which the industrious
Dutch have reclaimed from the sea. The whole region is fiat
and low, the greater portion of it lying beneath the level of the
sea. Ascending one of the steeples of Amsterdam, or Rotter
dam, famous old cities, rich in industry and commercial wealth,
the eye ranges over a sea or lake like plain, intersected by dikes
and canals, deep-green meadows with browsing cattle, cities,
towns, villages, and detached houses, many of them " bosomed

GEEMANT. 241

low mid tufted trees." Innumerable boats and vessels are gliding
along the canals, or lying among the wharves of the busy cities,
giving to the scene a peculiar animation, whioh greatly reUeves
what would otherwise be a wenrisome monotony. One of the
most striking things in Holland is the enormous dikes erected
along the coast, built chiefly of clay, with other materials to keep
them together, about thirty feet high, and seventy feet wide at the
bottom,' and employmg more men annuaUy than all the corn of
Holland can maintain.
The houses and other buUdings in the principal cities, and in
deed throughout the country, are built upon piles, many of them
of wood, gayly painted with divers colors. Amsterdam, the capi
tal, is one of the principal cities of Europe, and has no less than
280 bridges, and a population of 200,000 souls. Rotterdam,
with its lofty houses and projecting stories, most of them built of
very small bricks, has a population of 66,000, and is justly proud
of the beautiful bronze statue erected to the memory of their
learned townsman, the celebrated Erasmus. Leyden, upon the
Rhine, is the seat of a famous university, v/liose scholars are
among the first in the world.
Holland is essentially a maritime country, and at one time ruled
the commerce of the seas. Its commerce is yet quite extensive,
though diminished by competition with the English and others.
The people, proverbially solid and slow, are distinguished for in
dustry, talent, and enterprise. Their houses and furniture are neat
and clean. Every article of domestic use, the bricks upon the
floor, ,and the tiles around the stove, shine with burnished beauty.
The whole country is well supplied with schools and churches.
The religion is Protestant, and though originally Calvinistic, has
been much modified by the teachings of the celebrated Arminius.
'Somewhat formal and intolerant, it yet contains the great elements
of truth and duty. Skating and dancing are the popular amuse
ments. Smoking and beer-drinking are nearly universal. The
Hollanders, however, are staid and sober, fond of liOme and do
mestic quiet. Their dress is quaint and " massive," though the
higher classes follow French fashions.
Proverbially cold and dull as we deem the inhabitants of
Holland, they are not without refinement and enthusiasm. Their
literature is ample, and, to some extent, elegant. Some of their
poets have exhibited high genius and refinement. The Dutch
tongue, jaw-breaking as it seems, has been molded into forms of
ideal beauty and harmony. The " Summer Morning Song" of
ToUens has a fine lyric glow. It commences in the following
strain : 11

242 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

" Up, sleeper 1 dreamer, up ! for now^.
There's gold upon the mountain's brow —
There's light on forests, lakes, and meadows —
The dew-drops shine on floweret beUs —
The village clock of morning tells.
Up, men ! out, cattle ! for the dells
And dingles teem with shadows."
" The Nightingale," by Loots, would do honor to CampbeU or
Moore. " Soul of Hving music ! teach me,
Teach me, floating thus along !
Love-sick warbler ! come and reach me.
With the secrets of thy song !
How thy beak, so sweetly trembling.
On one note long lingering tries —
Or, a thousand tones assembhng,
Pours the rush of harmonies !''
Holland is celebrated for the cultivation of flowers, especially
of tuUps, whioh are an article of commerce. A singular " tulip
mania raged throughout this country in the middle of the seven
teenth oentury, turning the brain of almost every man, woman, and
child among the otherwise sober-minded and plodding Dutch. AU
industry gave way to speculation in tulips. The mania increased
rapidly ; prices went up higher every day ; vast fortunes were
invested, and Holland became a huge tuUp-garden. One author
wrote a folio volume of a thousand pages on the subject! A sin
gle bulb, of the species called viceroy, was sold for a sUver drink-
ing-cup, a suit of clothes, a complete bed, a thousand pounds of
cheese, two tons of butter, four tuns of beer, two hogsheads of
wine, twelve fat sheep, eight fat swine, four fat oxen, four lasts of
rye, and two lasts of wheat, all'valued at 2500 florins. Tulip'
marts were established in all the cities. Tulip stock was quoted
on the exchange Uke bank stock, and tulip-jobbers every where
speculated in the rise and fall. 'Every body,' says Mackay,
'imagined that the passion for tulips would last forever, and that
the wealthy frora every part of the world would send to Holland,
and pay whatever prices were asked for them. Nobles, citizens,
farmers, mechanics, seamen, footmen, maid-servants, even chim
ney-sweeps and old clothes women, dabbled in tulips. People of
all grades converted their property into cash, and invested it in
flowers. Houses and lands were offered for sale at ruinously low
prices, or assigned in payment of bargains made at the tulip mart.
Foreigners became smitten with the same frenzy, and money
poured into Holland from all directions. The prices of the neces-

GEEMANT. 243

saries of life rose again by degrees ; houses and lands, horses and
carriages, and luxuries of every sort, rose in value -with them, and
for some months Holland seemed the very ante-chamber of Plutus.'
The mania, however, came to an end. The foUy ceased. Prices
fell. Confidence fled. Defaults of payment grew common. The
bulbs remained, but without value. The ory of distress was heard
every where. A few had become rich, the many impoverished.
Original obscurity settled down upon the temporarily fortunate,-
and beggary, with its train of demoralization, covered the land.
Such was the tulip mania, and its consequences."
To the south of Holland, on the Scheldt and the Maese, lies the
kingdom of Belgium, whioh, though CathoUc, is becoming more
and more liberal under its enlightened statesmen and sensible
monarch. The Catholic clergy, indeed, have -violently opposed
all reform, and endeavored to keep the people in ignorance and
subjection, but the Uberal party have obtained the -victory. Bel
gium is famous for its manufactures, especially of linen and woolen.
Brussels, Antwerp, and Bruges, contain some fine old buildings,
and many rich paintings, from the pencUs of Rubens and Vandyke,
of whom their countrymen are justly proud. The amusements
are similar to those of Holland, modified by an infusion of the
French spirit. The great Flemish kermes, or fairs, anciently sub
servient to commerce, still exist as festivals, at which there is a
striking display of grotesque humor, such as we see depicted in
the old Flemish paintings.
But we will ascend the Rhine, a commonplace river enough
for some distance, though full of life and animation, from its ex
tensive commerce, but becoming more and more attractive as you
penetrate into the heart of the country. Indeed, the Rhine, " the
glorious Rhine," as they fondly call it, is the great favorite of the
G.ermans. It reminds one of the Connecticut, passing "in glory
and in joy" amid its green hills and vales, with here and there
high rooks, mountains, and forests. All that the Connecticut
wants to raake it an exact counterpart of the Rhine is a deeper
channel, and on its rocky banks, or green acclivities, at short in
tervals, an abbey, a castle, or a castled wall, covered with the
hoary memories of the IMiddle Ages. Owing to this, and things
of a similar character, the Rhine possesses a peculiar charm. Its
vine-covered banks and castled crags evesy where are invested
-with the glories of poetry and romance.
" A blending of all beauties : streams and dells.
Fruit, foliage, crag, wood, corn-field, mountain, vine.
And chiefless castles, breathing stern farewells
From gray but leafy walls, where Euin greenly dwells.

244 THE WOELD WE LIVE I.Y.

The negligently grand, the fruitful bloom
Of coming ripeness, the white city's sheen.
The rolling stream, the precipice's gloom.
The forest's growth, and Gothic walls between.
The wild rocks, shaped as they had turrets been,
" In mockery of man's art ; and these withal
A r^oe of faces happy as the scene
Whose fertile bounties here extend to all,
StUl springing o'er thy banks, though empu-es near *hem fall."
We leave Cologne behind us, with its time-worn cathedral, and
pass by the craggy Drachenfels, or Dragon Rock, whose precipi
ces shoot up from the river, crowned with an antique ruin, so
finely described by Byron :
"The castled crag of Drachenfels
Frowns o'er the wide and winding Ehine,
Whose breast of waters broadly swells
Between the banks which bear the vine.
And hiUs all rich with blossom'd trees.
And fields which promise corn and wine,
And scattered cities crowning tliese,
Whose far white walls along them shine.
Have strew'd a scene, which I should see
With double joy wert thou with me.
And peasant girls, with deep-blue eyes.
And hands which offer early flowers,
Walk smiling o'er tliis paradise ;
Above the frequent feudal towers,
Throngh green leaves lift their walls of gray.
And many a rock which steeply towers
And noble arch in proud decay.
Look o'er tliis vale of vintage bowers.
But one thing want these .banks of Ehine —
Thy gentle hand to clasp in mine.
The river nobly foams and flows,
The charm of this enchanted ground,
And all its thousand turns disclose
Some fresher beauty varying round :
The haughtiest breast its wish might bound
Through life to dwell delighted here ;
Nor could on earth a spot be found
To nature and to i:jie so dear.
Could thy dear eyes, in following mine.
Still sweeten more these banks of Rhine."
Not far from this is the ancient oity of Bonn, with its well-
known university, where the venerable WiUiam Schlegel, one of
the greatest scholars of Germany, and the translator of Shak
speare into the German tongue, enjoys a green old age.

GEEMANT. 245

GUding along, with the sheen of a soft autumnal day shining
down upon us, and covering rock, tower, vineyard, and cottage
with radiant glory, we reach Coblentz, near the junction of the
Moselle and the Rhine, surrounded by a landscape of rare and
varied beauty, and guarded by the lofty Ehrenbreitstein,
" With her shattered wall
Black with the miner's blast, upon her hight
Yet shows of what she was, when shell and ball
f Eebounding idly on her' strength did light
A tower of victory, frora whence the flight
Of baffled foes was watch'd along the plain."
From Coblentz, the steamer conveys us and her load of lively
passengers, mostly Gerraans, and a sprinkling of Swiss, French,
and English, some fifty mUes or more, to Mayence, noticing many
points of interest on our way, and especially the spot where Blii-
cher crossed the Rhine with his army, on New year's night, 1814.
It was from the bights above that the view of the Rhine first
burst upon the Prussians, and drew forth one simultaneous and
exulting ory of triumph. " To the Germans of every age," says
one, "this great river has been the object of an affection and
reverence scarcely inferior to that with whioh an Egyptian con
templates the NUe, or the Indian the Ganges. When these brave
bands, having achieved the rescue of their native soU, came in
sight of this its ancient landscape, the burden of a hundred songs,
they knelt and shouted 'the Rhine! the Rhine!' as with the
heart and voice of one man. They that wcre behind rushed on,
hearing the cry, in expectation of another battle."
Mayence is an old fortified city, lying on the left bank of the
Rhine, nearly opposite the junction of the Maine, famous for its
ancient cathedral of the tenth century, the first archbishop of
which, it is said, was Boniface, an Englishman, who, with eleven
other monks of his countrymen, left his native land to preach the
Gospel to the barbarous nations of Germany, converting in his
mission more than a hundred thousand heathen, and becoming
the apostle of Germany ; but this city is famous especially as the
cradle bf the art of printing. In one of the squares may be seen
the superb bronze statue, by Thorswalden, of Guttemberg, or more
properly, John Gensfleisch (QoosejlesK), the discoverer or inventor
of movable types.
We -will not at present ascend the Rhine further. We should
like to visit Manheim, and, across the country to the right, the
beautiful Heidelberg, on the banks of the Neckar, from which,
commg back to the Rhine again, we might visit Strasburg and

246 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Basle, and thence penetrate into tbe mountains of Switzerland.
But this we may do by-and-by. In the mean whUe we wiU cross
the river from Mayence (or Mentz, as it was ancientiy spelt),
by a bridge of boats, and thence, by a short raUroad, gain the
free city of Frankfort, famous for its fairs and diets, and peculiariy
renowned as the birth-place of the poet Goethe. The house
where he was born still stands, and in one of the city halls, I
think near the banks of the Maine, he may be seen in marble, a
majestic old man, in a sitting posture. Here, also, they .show
Luther's shoes, hard and solid, " in which," they say, " the im
mortal Reformer walked to the Diet of Worms, bidding calm' defi-
apoe to all the kings, priests, and de-vils of Christendom. In
Frankfort, also, we may visit the "Ariadne" of the gentie and en
thusiastic Dannecker, one of the best sculptors in Germany, whose
Christ, combining in a remarkable degree the human and the di
vine, is world-renowned. The model, we believe, is in one of the
churches of Stuttgard, on the Neckar, but the statue itself is in
St. Petersbui^. Dannecker was a ti-ue German, simple and
etherial, with a soul all aglow with devotion. He beUeved him
self inspired by a divine afflatus to form his statue of the Christ.
When he presented a rude clay model to a chUd, though it had
none of the usual accompaniments, the glory, or the crown of
thorns, the ohUd instantly exclaimed, " The Redeemer !" The
inscription on the pedestal gives the idea which the artist -wished
to embody in this remarkable statue : , Through me to the Father.
But we take the Schnellpost (tbe fast mail-coach, though rather
slow than fast) to Leipsic, passing part of the way through the
Thuringian forest ; and not failing to visit Eisenach and Erfurt,
connected as they are with the memory of Luther, and some of
the most thriUing passages in German historyj Near the -viUage
of Eisenach is a lofty conical hUl, green to the top, and, overlook-
mg the verdant ranges of the Thuringian forest. This is the castle
of Wartburg, in which Luther found refuge so long, and where
he translated a part of the Holy Scriptures. In the castle are
shown his room, his table, chair, and inkstand, and other interest
ing memorials of the glorious Reformer.
To understand Gerraan history and German character, one must
understand Luther. The evidences of his genius and moral power
meet you every where in her annals and literature. Indeed,
Luther, to a great exteint, is the genius of the Teutonic people,
the real tutelar saint of the German Vaterland. His translation
of the Bible, one of the best that was ever made, gave tone and
character to the German tongue, and modified the whole character
of the German people. In this same Eisenach, a few years ago.

GEEMANT.

247

¦was celebrated the anniversary of Luther's birth. Thousands
flocked from all parts of Germany, and some even from Switzer
land, students, clergymen, and civilians. They marched through
the streets of Eisenach, singing lofty hymns in honor of the great
Reformer ; they ascended the castle of Wartburg, joyfuUy inspect
ing the meraorials of his sojourn there, pronounced eulogies on his
memory, and exhorted one another to maintain the honor of their
fatherland.

House where Luther was bora.

At Erfurt may be seen, in the church of the Augustines, the
altar at which Luther said mass when a Gerraan priest, and in
the neighboring convent the cell where he wrote and prayed, and
found peace in believing ; and the long corridor through which
he used to walk, meditating on things divine, after he had found
an unexpected copy of the Scriptures. A brave, energetic man
was Luther, fuU of faith and divine energy, occasionally violent
and impulsive, and, like other great men, not without errors and
faUings, but honest, earnest, hearty, jo-vial even at times, and mas-

248

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ter of a homely but soul-thriUing eloquence. At Wittemberg they
^ow his singing-book (Gesang-Buch), for he was fond of music,
and not only made it, but sung it with all his heart ; and besides
this, his capacious beer-cup, in which he drowned his honest thirst,
and pledged his friends, Jonas, Cruciger, and Melancthon, the
Elector of Saxony, and others whom he dearly loved. A true
German, that- is, as the word originally denotes, a heroic, or fight
ing man, with his great burly figure, bright eye and generous'
heart, which never quailed in the cause of truth and duty.

5^a? =• ' :?fe.i.

The House where Luther died.
As we pass along, Weimar, capital of the grand duchy of Saxe
Weimar, detains us,- at least for a few hours, for here lived Goethe,
Schiller, and Herder, and hither came all the wits and great men
of Germany, to salute these famous poets and scholars. Here
also are the graves of Goethe and SohUler, and, we believe, of
Wieland, poets of the highest order, who have stamped their genius
upon their native land. Goethe was cold, indeed, perhaps skep
tical and selfish, yet a wonderful man, an artist and a thinker of
commanding, power and exquisite- polish. Our favorite, however,

GEEMANT. 249

is SchiUer, the noble-hearted, the generous, the heroic "poet-
man." But time presses, and we are wandering through the streets of"
Leipsic, a large, busy city, surrounded by a magnificent prome
nade, adorned with trees, fountains, and statuary, and famous for
its printing-presses, books, and fairs. Never was such a book-
making, book-reading people as the Germans. Tbeir fecundity
in this line is enormous. But books are types of civilization, and
in this respect the Germans may be regarded as the most enlight
ened people in the world. Inferior'to the Araericans in enterprise,
and to the English in practical affairs, they are superior to them
both in learning. England, indeed, h'as gone before Germany in
science, and in certain departments of literature ; for Germany has
no Newton, no Shakspeare or MUton ; but in solid learning, in the
knowledge of languages, in profound and elaborate philosophical,
historical, and philological research, Germany has no superior.
It is true, the German thinkers, Kant, Schelling, Fichte, and He
gel, have fallen into the grossest extravagances. Their very sub-
tilty runs into wUd and dangerous speculations ; as if, somehow,
the German mind was constitutionaUy misty and transcendental,
as if " it were too much even for itself !" After all, the Germans
are wonderful thinkers, wonderful writers, and wonderful readers,
as their books, on Leipsio book-shelves, or at Leipsic fairs, " thick
as the leaves in Vallombrosa," abundantly testify. Their grand
difiiculty, however, lies in the want of practical good sense. The
notions and theories of some of their greatest and best men are
visionary and absurd, and alas ! have nearly blotted out the very
idea of God, of Christ, and of heaven from the hearts of thousands.
Hence it has becorae a sort of proverb, that " the English have
the erapire of the sea, the French of the earth, and the Germans
of the air !" ' Upon this point one of their own number has testi
fied as follows :
" Many of the learned men in Germany are, indeed, distin
guished for their attainments in literature and science, but in gen
eral only in philology, history, pathology, and other branbhes of
medical idence, jurisprudence, mineralogy, and metallurgy ; while
in nearly all other scientific branches, the learned men of other
European countries rival, and, in some points, far excel them.
This deficiency is chiefly owing to the unlucky tendency to bibli-
olatry (book-idolatry) whioh much prevails among the German
scholars. They are more or less filled with the wrong idea, that
all and every knowledge may be acquired from books. There are,
indeed, many sciences which must be learned chiefly from printed
books ; but, in addition to study, the open book of practical life is
11*

250 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

indispensable to the attainment of a sound judgment. About
eighty years ago it became fashionable to babble after the manner
of atheistical philosophers of the Voltaire school, and since that
time not only rationaUsm sprung up in the province of theology,
but also other theories and hypotheses of the most nonsensical
kind were brought forward in Germany. Thus, for instance, one
scholar, named Ballenstadt, pretended that the human, race had
sprung from a primitive slime or mud, that had been quickened
by electric flashes and thunder- claps ; another, of the name of
Wagner, has, by a profound study in his closet, discovered that
our globe is an animal, whose sweat presents itself in the evapo
ration of the waters, whUst its circulation of the blood makes itself
known by the tide ! Even in recent times, several German ra
tionalists harbor the opinion, that man is properly nothing else
but a monkey fully developed, and has descended either from the
orang-outang in Borneo, or from the Boggo (Pan Africanus) in
Guinea ! * * * How far the construction of phUosophical
systems in Germany has gone may be iufen-ed from the fact,
that M. Michelet, professor of phUosophy in the University of
BerUn, boldly maintains in his works and lectures the following
proposition : — ' what we call God, is nothing else but human cul
ture in its highest potency !' "
It is said that the sublime just borders on the ridiculous ; in
the same waj', one might conclude, from the aberrations of the
Gerraan philosophy, that the profound Ues on the very brink of
the absurd.
But we raust not leave Leipsic without visiting SchiUer's cot
tage, for he long lived in the immediate vicinity, just beyond the
city walls, in a charming retreat, of which we borrow the follow
ing description :
" Those who have resided for any time in Leipsic, wUl know
how pleasant a walk it is to turn off from the public promenade,
and, passing over the bridge at the head of Frankfurter Strasse,
to go through the Rosentbals, to the Uttle viUage of Gohlis. Thc
Rosenthals is an extensive park, partly natural and partly artificial,
covering the southwestern suburbs of the city. It consists sunply
of well-grown thrifty trees and level green-swards, with here and
there openings in the wood to reveal a pleasant landscape, and
now and then a rustic seat, to invite a raoraent's quiet repose.
Thus, almost by a step, you are out of the bustling and dusty city,
and breathing the pure and healthful atmosphere of nature. 'From
the extent of the woods, the crowd which may enter it with you
is soon scattered thinly over its face, and your thoughts need
suffer no disturbance if, now and then, you should meet a company

GEEMANT. 251

of light-hearted students, pass by a bevy of whispering school
girls, or overtake a feeble white-haired valetudinarian, or even en
counter the brown-cheeked forest-keeper himself, who, with his
green frock and short carabine, strides with a swift and free pace
through his leafy domain. Here the birds, unterrified by the shot
of the hunter, hold their continual revelry ; and here, for the first
tirne, I heard the nightingale sing. Its tone is full and sound,
and as clear as the undulating echo of a silver bell. It has con
siderable variety, but its chief chord is a sort of protracted melan
choly peep, which, heard in the haze of the t-wilight when the bird
commences to sing, hightens and falls in with that tender and
meditative vein, usually induced upon us at this peaceful hour.
After having traversed this pleasant wood, you reach a little
bridge, by whose side stands an old mUl through whose wheels
the water rushes swiftly. A step beyond this is the village of
Gohlis, and in a narrow lane of this village, a little removed from
the road, stands a dwelling which goes by the name of ' Schiller's
cottage.' It is so modest, so humble, that it hardly seems to
dare to look over the tall stone fence and lordly gate whioh mod
ern respect and enthusiasm have erected before it. Its narrow
face of rude morta» is covered with a creeping vine, and over two
little -windows whioh peep out from under the sharply slanting
TOof, catching the rays of the evening sun, are written the words
' SchUler's studs.' The gate itself bears this inscription :
'Here dwelt
Schiller,
and -wrote his " Songs of Joy,"
in the year
1785.'
How simple and touching a moral is here ! In poverty, in dis
tress, in want of friends and bread, as yet unreno-wned, as yet un-
patronized by dukes, and solicited by kings, an exile, a stranger,
'here dwelt SohUler, and wrote his Songs of Joy.' Blessed be
the spirit of poetry, which can thus change sorrow into rejoicing.
Next to the glorious Hope, whose deep consolation ' passeth all
understanding,' this spirit of ideal beauty and happiness, this in
ward power of investing the outward life and its changing circum
stances -with hues of light and joy, this is the best gift of God to
man. O, let us not despise the poet. His mission is holy. He
teaches us to see fresh beauty in the works and ways of God, to
wear the fetters of care more lightly about us, and to find roses
in the rockiest path that duty and affliction ever trod."
Leipsic has a celebrated university, the oldest in Germany, after

252 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

that of Prague, with some sixty professors, and from 1200 to 1400
students ; but we have not time to examine it.
From Leipsio we journey, through a weU-cultivated country, to
Dresden, the capital of Saxony, well known for the beauty of its
situation, the elegance of its buUdings, and the richness of its pic
ture-galleries, all open to the inspection of the public. Dresden
was named by Herder " the German Florence," and it well de-
.scrves the title. It is the residence of many men of learning and
talent, among whom are the poets Tieck and Tiedge, the physiolo
gist Cai-us, the artist Retzch, who has illustrated Goethe's Faust,
Vogel, and other artists. The King of Saxony is a CathoUc, but
the people are Protestants, and, upon the whole, enjoy much sub
stantial happiness. In the public gardens and rural retreats in
and around the city, thousands of the people, on a summer even
ing, may be" seen, some sitting, others standing, others strolling,
others again dancing, and others amusing themselves in varidlis
ways under the branches of the green trees. ,
Leaving Saxony, famous for its beautiful sheep, elegant manu
factures, and general inteUigence, we pursue our way, through
the heart of Germany, in the direction of Berlin, the capital of
Prussia. Upon the whole, Germany may be described as a charming
country, though somewhat level and monotonous in the central
and noithern parts. The south is the most pictm-esque and beau
tiful, especially along the banks of the Rhine, the Neckar, and the
MoseUe. Saxon Switzerland is spoken of as pecuUarly delightful,
from the bold and picturesque variety of the scenery. Forests,
though gradually diminishing in extent by the demand for wood,
here and there darken, whUe they beautify, the landscape. The
Hartz Mountains are famous in song and story. But the country
generaUy is not as attractive as England ; much of it is rather arid
and level. Agriculture is in afair condition. But one misses the
pretty cottages aiid farm-houses of England or of the United
States. _ The peasantry, and even the landlords, hve huddled to
gether, in viUages or cities. Tbe fields are divided off by trees or
other fences into regular, squares, or at least with a great appear
ance of uniformity. The roads, however, are pleasantly Uned
with fruit and forest trees, and many of the vUlages have a quiet
beauty. The most pecuUar and attractive feature in the external aspect
of Germany is the presence, here and there, in town and country,
of mediceval and other ancient architecture. The hoary past is
blended with the youthful present. Old casties cover the slopes
of vine-clad hUls. Venerable abbeys and magnificent cathedrals.

GEUMAKY.

high-roofed houses and castellated walls, mingle wjtii green trees
and smUing meadows. Many of the cities' have a peculiarly an
tique and romantic air. Their high walls, Gothic cbm-ohes, rook-
haunted belfries, carved fountains, and decorated town-haUs, are
"redolent" of ancient memories. Thus, Strasburg, though be
longing to France, yet a German city, boasts her lofty and i.'x-

%?, J, • ¦-,

quisitely graceful cathedral, with its wonderful clock, visited by
thousands every day of the year, particularly at 12 A. M., when
the brazen cock on the top crows tiiree times, loud and clear, in
memory of St. Peter's denial of his I'Jaster. Enter Heidelberg,
and while you are struck with the extreme beauty of its situation,
lying as it does in the fair valley of the Neckar, and guarded by

254 TIIE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

wood-crowned hills on whioh the sunshine sleeps lovingly, you
are attracted chiefly by the old Ducal Castle, whose frowning 'bat
tlements overlook the city from their leafy retreat on the side^ of
the mountain. Erfurt and Eisenach, Eisleben and Wittemberg,
Worms and Wurtzburg, all contain monuments, not only of the
Middle Ages, but of the times of the Reformation. Every where,
graves, monuments, and churches remind us of the stormy times
of "long, long ago." The city of Nuremberg is, for this reason,
one of the most interesting in Germany. Its whole aspect be
longs to the Middle Ages. Nothing can be conceived more quaint,
curious, and poetical. It brings back the days of the ancient
burghers, of the guUds and corporations, the Meistersingers and
Minnesingers of a bygone era. Hence the beauty and force of
Longfellow's admirable description :
" In the vaUey of the Pegnitz, where, across broad meadow-lands.
Else the blue Franconian mountains, Nuremberg the ancient stands.
Quaint old town of toil and traffic, quaint old town of art and song.
Memories haunt thy pointed gables like the rooks that ro-und thee throng ;
Memories of the Middle Ages, when the emperors, rough and bold.
Had their dwelling in thy Castle, time-defying, centuries old.
And thy gi-ave and thrifty .burghers boasted in their uncouth rhyme
That their great imperial city stretched its hand through every dime.
In the court-yard of the Castle, bound with many an iron band.
Stands the mighty linden planted by Queen Lunigunde's hand.
On the square the oriel window, where, in old heroic days,
Sat the poet Melchior, singing Kaiser Maximilian's praise.
Every where I see around me rise the wondrous works of art.
Fountains wrought with richest sculpture, standing in the common mart ;
Aud above cathedral doorways saints and bishops, carved in stone.
By a former age commissioned as apostles df our own.
* * -x- *
Here, where art was still religion, with a simple, reverent heart.
Lived and labored Albrecht Diirer, the evangelist of art.
Here, in silence and in sorrow, toiled he still with busy hand ;
Like an emigrant he wandered, seeking for the better land.
' Emigrant' is the inscription ou the tombstone where he hes:
Dead he is not, but departed, for the artist never dies.
-» -» * *
Through these streets so broad and stately, these obscure and dismal lanes
Walked of old the Master-singers, chanting rude poetic rhymes.
¦* * *. * *
Here Hans Sachs, the cobbler-poet, laureate of the gentle craft,
Wisest of the twelve wise masters, in huge folios sung and laughed ;
But his house is now an ale-house, with a nicely sanded floor,
And a garland in the window, and his face above the door.
Painted by some humble artist, as in Adam Puschmann's song.
As the old man, gray and dovelike, with his great beard white and long."

GEEMANT. 255

Wittemberg is full of the reminiscences of Luther, Melancthon,
and their friends the Elector of Saxony, and Lucas Cranach the
painter; but Nuremberg every where calls to mind Albrecht
Diirer and Hans Sachs, the greatest of the Master-singers.
Though the son of a taUor, and by trade a cobbler, Hans Sachs
created an era in German poetry, so that even Goethe acknowl
edges his obligations to the poet craftsman. Adam Puschmann,
his friend and contemporary, in a song upon his death, describes
hira as seen in a vision on Christmas eve. " In the midst of the
garden stood a fair summer-house, wherein there was a hall paved
with marble, with beautiful escutcheons, and figures bold and
daring ; and round about the hall were windows, through which
were seen the fruits of the garden without, and in tbe middle a
round table, covered with green silk, whereat sat an old man, gray
and white, and like a dove, and he had a great beard, and read
in«a great book, with golden clasps."
But we are fora;ettina; ourselves, for we are wandering, not in
Southern, but in Northern Germany ; and yonder, in a wide plain,
stands Berlin, the capital of Prussia, a large and handsome city,
differing in no essential particulars from other large Continental
cities, and forming a great center for learnihg, p,olitics, and pleas
ure. It has a population of about 300,000, a considerable portion
of whom are military ; a large and well-endowed university, with
many learned professors, among whom are ScheUing, Neander
(just deceased), Hengstenberg, and others, with sorae eighteen
hundred students ; six royal gyranasiums or high schools, with
innumerable inferior academies and common schools ; a mUitary
serainary with 350 pupUs ; an orphan asylum with 1200 children,
700 of whom are boarded out of doors ; forty bridges over the
Spree, thirty-five churches, innumerable "gin' palaces," and a
registered company (of several ihousand) licensed prostitutes !
Pass around among the streets and squares, visit the pubhc
buildings, and particularly the royal palace, the museum, the
opera-house, the royal library, the theaters, the royal academy,
the gates and gardens, and you wUl be struck with the fact that
the oity is under the domination of military government. Every
where, almost, soldiers are stationed with gun and bayonet, to
preserve order and keep the peace. Yet the government cannot
be called a despotism, and the King of Prussia, though guilty of
great indiscretions, cannot be styled a tyrant. The taxes in Prus
sia, and in Germany generally, are low — lower even than in the
United States. The people are well educated, ample pro-\isioD
being made for the instruction of the whole community, and all
the citizens being compelled to send their chUdren to the common

256

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

schools. The royal family lives upon its private patnmony, de
scended through a long line of ancestors, and does not cost the
nation a single penny. His majesty of Prussia, is considered, by
those who know him, to be a kind, prudent, well-informed man,

-:il|.'a"-;''-5~^N. ¦' '-.ft'^C-. i' ?

and, in his way, sincerely desiring the welfai-e of his people.
Why, then, the prevailing discontent and restiessness of the na
tion, especiaUy of thc common people ? Why the recent revolu-

GEEMANT. 257

tion, crushed by the hoof of military power ? Why the banishment
of some, the imprisonment of others, and the execution of othersj
And why, finally, this imiversal display of cannon and soldiei-y ?
Simply this — that the govemment is narrow, timid, and jealous,
and the people poor and crowded. They imagine, somehow, that
a republic would cure all the ills that flesh is heir to, and fill at
once their stomachs and their pockets. The population of Ger
many has wonderfully increased within the last twenty-five years.
Competition in agriculture and trade has also increased ; money
is scarce, and consequently thousands of the common people are
all but star-ving. Kings and rulers there, as elsewhere, are not
over-wise, and perhaps think more of their own comfort and se
curity than of the welfare of the people. Hence exactions and
executions on the one side, discontent and revolutions on the
other. But the cause of freedom has gained by the late revolutions,
though the occasion of much public mischief and many mournful
tragedies. A pretty liberal constitution has been conceded by
the Prussian government, under which, if generously administered,
the people may enjoy a high degree of rational freedom. Berlin,
the scene of strife and blood, is now one 'of apparent peace and
gayety ; and if the citizens can only have enough to do and
enough to eat, we presume they wUl be pretty quiet for years to

CHAPTER XIX.

GERMANY CONTINUED.

We have arrived at a point where we can say something of the
general condition and characteristics of the German people. They
number, in all, some forty-two milUons, most of these being Ger
mans proper, and about six or seven mUlions Slavonians, though
these generally speak the German tongue. Belonging to different
empires, duchies, and so forth, the principal of which are Prussia,
Austria, Saxony, Bavaria, and Wirtem.berg, and professing dif
ferent reUgions — those in the South being mostiy Catholics, those
in the North Protestants — they differ somewhat from each other,
yet have many traits in common. The following, from the

258 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

poet Tieck, though somewhat enthusiastic, and giving only the
favorable aspects of the German character, marks some of the
differences referred to, and is withal a pleasant piece of writing :
" I would defend against vulgar jeers and jibes the noble race
of Austrians, who, in their fruitful land and enchanting hUls, pre
serve unchanged their antique joyousness of heart ; I would praise
the warlike and pious Bavarians ; paint the friendly, sensible, in
ventive Suabians, in the garden of their beautiful country; the
animated, gay Franconians, in the romantic, varied scenery of
their province, of which Bamberg was formerly the German
Rome ; the inteUigent dwellers along the banks of the lordly
Rhine ; the brave, honest Hessians ; the handsome Thuringians,
whose forest-clad mountains still wear the character and aspect of
knightly times ; the low Germans, who resemble the true-hearted
HoUander and the energetic Englishman : at every remarkable
spot of the land of our fathers would I recall ancient histories.
And thus did I think to wander amid all the hUls and vaUeys of
our noble country, once so flourishing and so great, watered by
the Rhine and the Danube, and the stream of old traditions;
guarded by lofty mountains, frowning castles, and by the brave
German heart ; garlanded with green meadows, the abode of love,
and confidence, and single-mindedness."
The Nortii of Germany differs much from the Soutii — the
former is more serious, more thoughtful, and, we think, more
virtuous ; the other more gay, vivacious, and pleasure-loving.
The dwellers on " the lordly Rhine," the inhabitants of the free
cities, such as Frankfort-on-the-Maine and Haraburg-on-the-Elbe,
the citizens of Berlin, Bonn, Gottingen, Halle, Heidelberg, Leip
sic, seats of great universities or centers of business, are the most
energetic and enterprising. The peasantry generally are quiet
and laborious, home-loving and peace-loving. Less intelligent
than the dweUers in cities, they know little and care less for the
great world around them.
The leamed men of Germany, the great leaders of thought, as
well as the most active politicians, are to be found in the North.
Prussia stands highest in education, and in all the means and ap
pliances both of common-school and university instruction. Berlin
abounds with men of learning and genius, though Vienna is by no
means destitute of these. Most of the distinguished universities
are in the North. Books, printing-presses, and newspapers are
found there in the greatest abundance. There also trade and
commerce chiefly flourish. Poetry and the arts are cultivated
every where — perhaps flourish most in the South, or rather in
the middle region, though this might be disputed. The leading

GEEMANT.

GEEMANT. 261

political powers are Austria and Prussia, the one representing the
Catholic, the other the Protestant interest. Prussia is compact,
enlightened, and enterprising. Austria, composed of different
states and peoples, held together only by the strong hand of
railitary powcr, though larger m territory and population, is infe
rior in power and resources. What may be the effect of her
recent connection with Russia, time only will reveal.
We have already spoken of the Germans as an honest, earnest,
brave, and, generaUy speaking, enlightened people. They excel
in the arts, in music, sculpture, and painting. Their literature is
rich and various. Their commerce also is considerable, though
decidedly inferior to that of England and the United States.
They are distmguished for meohanioal ingenuity, and their manu
factures are extensive and various. Sociable and affectionate,
they love pleasant gatherings, festivals, and merry-makings of
evei-y kind. They live as much as possible in the open air, and
enjoy theu- pipe, beer, and friendly chat of an evening. Specula
tive rather than practical, they fall into all sorts of extravagant
notions and errors. Religious in their way, many of them pro
foundly so, they cherish, too generaUy, a spirit of skepticism. The
theories of their philosophers, have descended among thc common
people, and the result is the prevalence of atheistic and " radical"
notions. It seems to us, however, that they only need the right
kind of moral and religious instruction to become an erainently
pious, virtuous, and happy people — they are so genial, so earnest
and cheerful. Truth is dear to them, often dearer than comfort
and life. One thing, however, we observed with a painful interest
when traveling in Germany, and that was the exceedingly slender
attendance at church, whether Catholic or Protestant. A mere
sprinkling of people would be seen at divine ser-vice in the morning,
while hundreds were setting off for the fields and places of amuse
ment ; and in the afternoon towns and villages would almost
empty themselves, and go forth, often to the sound of merry
music, to amuse themselves in the country. Such a custom in
England or the United States would indicate a total indifference
to religious obUgations, and would be foUowed by the most disas
trous results. Doubtless this is the case in Germany also, yet,
perhaps, owing to the difference of opinion and association of ideas,
not to the extent which one might suppose.
Germany abounds in sports, feasts, and festivals. The foUow
mg, from Mr. Howitt, who spent several years in the country, wiU
give some idea of these :
" The working classes of Germany have not only their out-of-
door life of labor, but of pleasure too. In town and country they

262 THE AVOELD WE LIVE m.

have their dances, balls, and concerts, which will come under the
head of their social life ; but in the country they have places of
resort, often in common with the more educated classes, but where
they alone dance in the open air, and their Kirchweghs or wakes
are eagerly attended ; and in the summer, are falling out pretty
frequently within the circuit of a few mUes, whither they resort in
crowds. " The Wolfsbriinnen, about a mUe out of Heidelberg, is a place
of great popular resort, and may be taken as' a specimen of such
places, which are to be found all over Germany. It is a little
woody glen, running up into the hills from the vaUeys of the
Neckar. The valley of the Neckar is surrounded with fine woody
hills, the lower slopes of which are occupied in the national man
ner, with vineyards and corn-slopes, while along the banks of the
river Ue cottages and vUlages, with their gardens and orchards
about them. A higher road from Heidelberg leads you along the
mountain-side, a road said formerly to have been a favorite walk
of Schiller's. It takes you past many cottages nestled in their
orchards, in little sequestered hollows and green slopes, while
above you are bights covered with woods, full of rooks, heath,
and bilberry plants.
" The Wolfsbrunnen is a brunnen or spring, which is poured
out into a fountain, and also with little streams from the hills,
supplying a pond, clear- as crystal, and various reservoh-s for fisK,
where perhaps one of the most plentiful stocks of fine trout is to
be seen in the world. Here tradition says that Jetta, a sorceress,
was wont to live, and was torn to pieces by a wolf. You may
imagine it, in old times, a dark and shaggy hollow enough for
such inhabitants, and such a tragedy, but now it is all that is de
lightful. There is an inn built by the fountain. It is of wood,
with outside gaUeries, so that spectators, on days of particular
festivity, can stand in great numbers in tiiem and witness what is
going on below, as well as get a very sweet view across the vaUey
of the Neckar. Trees overhang the house and fountain. The
pond below is overhung with alders. Fine acacias, chestnuts, and
other trees, render the whole scene bowery and sUvan ; and under
them, and under sheds, stand tables and seats for parties, as in
and about all such places, and all the country inns of Germany,
and pretty much as in similar places and tea-gardens about Lon
don. Around rise lofty hills and solitary woods. On most days
in summer, but especially on Sundays and holidays, people flock
hither both from the town and the country. Groups are found
sitting at the tables, under the trees and sheds, with .wine, beer,
and pipes, curds, coffee, and other refreshments. Some are stroU-

GERMANY.

-2Gn

GEEMANT. 266

ing about the private walks in the woodlands ; some are lying on
the dry turf of the hill slopes ; and others are looking in admiration
at the fish and the fountain, the pools, or the Uttle brook beyond.
" And surely to a fisher's eye never did a more transporting
sight present itself. In the fountain itself you will sometimes see
more trout, and such trouts ! than you have seen in your life be
sides. In the depots, in the pool and brook, you see again hun
dreds of noble and beautiful fish floating about in the water,
which is so clear that you see the whole pool, in a good light, at
a glance, though some parts of it are deep. The first day that I
walked there with my two elder boys, they were almost beside
themselves with delight. The men were weighing out fish for
some distant market. The fountain was filled with trout of six
or eight pounds each, such as we had never seen in our lives, for
there they are fed to this size. They were shoveled up in a hand-
net from the fountain, as a man would shovel stones, weighed in
a net hung on a post by the piazza, and were then conveyed in
tubs "to a cellar near, to be kept fresh for sending off. For half
an hour or more, they kept weighing out these beautiful trout,
which flounced about in the net in a manner which a fisherman
would no doubt think very attractive, though to themselves not
very agreeable. I saw them reckon up one lot in chalk on the
4)ost to more than a . hundred weight, and the whole must have
been several hundred weight.
" On Tuesday, the 12th of July, was one of their wakes or kirch
weghs, at the village adjoining, and it was of course a great day
at the Brunnen. As we dressed in the morning, we saw crowds
of people going out that way ; young people in their best, and
musicians with their books and instruments. In the evening we
walked thither, and a gay scene it was. All along the way par
ties were going and coming. They were of all classes, but chiefly
of those from the tradesmen and tlieir famUies down to the work
ing classes. All were well dressed ; the young shopmen and
mechanics, of course, imitating the students in dress and manner
as much as possible ; the young women very well dressed, but
all without caps or bonnets, as is the universal custom of those
of the ordinary class. They have generally very well-shaped
heads of dark gloss}' hair, which is dressed in a very nice and
graceful manner, and nothing can be more pleasing than their
appearance, as they thus walk out into the country, having on
nothing more than they wear in the house, except a shawl. Many
of them are pretty, and all, from their simple and out-of-door
habits, have a clear hue, and tone of health and glad-heartedness
about them, which is a beauty itself.
12

266 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

" As we approached the Brunnen, we saw a dense crowd there.
The sheds and tables were all occupied. There were groups of
fierce-looking, whiskered, and smoking students ; other groups of
families, \vith their choppin or glass-measure of wine, and bread
and butter, or cheese, and sundry cakes, enjoying themselves in
quiet as they looked on the gayety around them. The upper out
side gaUeries of the house were.tiUed with gay spectators. Don-
kies were standing ready saddled for such as chose to hire them
for tbe young woraen returning to tbe town, and music announced
that dancing was going on near. This, we found, was in a large
shed close to the inn. Several of tbe trout reservoirs were planked
over to prevent people walking into them, and a throng of gazers
surrounded the dancing scene. There was a sort of orchestra at
one end, at whioh twenty couples were waltzing. It would have
looked strange in England to see shop-boys and girls, nay, shoe
makers' and tailors' apprentices,, joiners, smi'.hs, boots, or anybody,
waltzing with tbeir smart-dressed girls in the shed at a country
wake. It would want but this to put waltzing out of fashion with
all the other classes of our countrymen. But Germany is the
country of waltzing ; the waltz is the universal and- almost only
dance of the people, and they could just as well Uve -without to
bacco as it. From the highest saloon in Vienna or Berlin, to the
lowest shed in the vUlage, or to the -village green, round spin the
Germans, and are as happy as if they were in Paradise ; nay,
what would Paradise be to them without a long pipe, a taU glass
of beer, a smart girl, and a brisk waltz ? The dancing, indeed,
here, would not have disgraced a splendid saloon. The dancers
were, for the most part, people under the middle size, and had
nothing remarkable in their appearance ; but some of the girls
were very pretty, and this exercise gave an attractive glow to
their naturally fresh cheeks. Here and there was a student in
the circle, dancing with some pretty girl of Heidelberg ; and we
could not avoid being reminded of Goethe, as he describes himself
in his life, mixing in such scenes at Frankfort, with the fair girl
destined afterward to figure as Margaret in Faust. Indeed, what
writer of Gerraany has so corapletely transferred to his works the
popular Ufe of his country as Goethe has ? His descriptions,
botii of the counti-y and its people, come before one continuaUy
with a delightful surprise.
" Tbe dancing here was not carried to that pitch of mad velocity
which you see in the popular cassinos of Vienna, especially at
Sperls in the Leopoldstadt, or the Goldene Birne in the Lond-
strasse, where the same couples will often dance in an enormous
saloon every tour from seven o'clock in the evening to two or

GEEMANT. 267

three in the moming, at the most amazing rate ; in fact, whirling
away like the figures in the hall of Eblis. Different parties here
went in, danced moderately for a whUe, and then went out to the
tables near, to rest and refresh. Among these dancers there
were occasionally some who could not be seen without a smile.
One little fellow especiaUy, in a grayish coat, and with a mass of
hair which completely hid his face, who waltzed in a way that
would have made even Job in the raidst of his potsherds laugh.
He stuck out his left elbow, and held out bis partner's right hand
in the oddest manner, while he spun about like a penny-piece
turned on a table, more than a man dancing witb a young woman.
' " We -were told that the gayety would be kept up tiU two or
three o'clock in the moming ; and, in fact, we had evidence of it
in numbers returning as late as that past our house in full chorus ;
but great numbers were retiring at the early hour of eight o'clock ;
and it was a beautiful sight to see them in their gay colors stream
ing along the road, which ran between the walnut and other fruit-
trees, and between the standing corn, now brightening for the
sickle. The students who had been dancing were now saunter
ing back in groups, and a number of handsome girls had also
mounted the asses, and came galloping them past us, all laughter
and fun. The whole scene was one that might have given a good
lesson to the sarae class in our country on similar occasions. There
was no drunkenness, no quarreling ; but the Germans, famous in
all ages for drinking, were gay with wine and youth, and yet
steering off home in full, though cheerful decorum, to an early
bed. " These kirchweghs, or, as they are in many places comipted
to, kervieS, or kermes, arrest your attention in every part of the
country. As you approach a village, you see a tall pole, like our
May- pole, erected in the center of the village, hung with garlands,
and hear a hum of music, and the bustle of waltzing feet. The
general features of a village during this merry-making I can give,
from what we soon afterward witnessed on the other side of the
Neckar, at the dorf of Ziegelhausen. A boat went up the river,
with a band of musicians gayly playing, and all hung with banners
and garlands. Wagon-loads of people, all singing together, were
seen advancing on the opposite bank. The ferry-boats were aU
congregated opposite to the village, with garlands hung on poles
at their prows, busy carrying over people. When we got across,
we found the whole place alive. Parties were sitting in the
orchards under the trees, drinking wine with their friends, and, of
course, smoking. All the pubhc bouses had banners and gar
lands hanging out from their wmdows ; their rooms, or temporary

268 THE WOELD WE LIVE DT.

booths, erected for the occasion, were decorated with festoons and
garlands, and were filled with parties wliirling away in their ever
lasting waltz. The street was fiUed with streams of promenaders,
with here and there stalls of toys, gingerbread, &c., as in England
at a wake — but how different in themselves !
" Though the same sort of attractions were pro-vided for the
chUdren and feast-goers, yet every article was so totally foreign
and qu^er. There were trumpets, and wooden horses, and rat
tles, and swords, and such Uke, but they would have made the
children of England stare at their oddity. Some stalls were cov
ered -with drinking-glasses, stained of various bright colors, and
with mottoes on them in gUt letters, as, Zum Andenken Freund-
schaft — a token of friendship ; cups, and such things. The toys
were very odd and very cheap ; hussars on horseback, birds, dolls,
&c. ; not Dutch, as ours are, but German, and of a most primitive
German air too. You had a gay toy for nine kreutzers, or three.-
pence, which would have cost a shilling in England. But the
gingerbread stalls would have amused our young folks the most
The gingerbread was all made up into heart-shapes, except a few
pieces in the fpi-m of little pairs of shoes. These hearts of differ
ent sizes were painted of different colors, and ornamented with a
sort of garland-work of some material, to imitate flowers, leaves,
^and gold. On every heart was printed a verse in German, more
remarkable for the variety of the sentiments than for elegance or
grammatical correctness. Most of these verses, of course, are ex
pressive of love and friendship, and may be presented to young
damsels very significantly.
" Every public house, at its kirchwegh, has its cheese-cakes,
where people go to eat them to their wine ; and in-.doors and out,
people are eating, drinking, dancing, playing, and all is music and
merriment. Every private house, too, bas its feast, its visitors, its
merriment. The poorest then make a cake, if they 'do not make
one through the year besides, and the people from the oity walk
out and fill the houses of their acquaintance, eat and drmk with
them, and then walk back to supper. Monday and Tuesday are
feast days, but the great hoUday is the Sunday. On Tuesday
they bury the wegh ; that is, all the garlands which had been
hung up, with much shouting, and drinking, and singing, and
tben close the feast.
" But we must come to the great and prominent out-of-door life
of Germany. It is not in riding, fishing, hunting, or in such pub
lic games as racing, cricketing, rowing, &c. ; but in the enjoy
ment of walking, of public gardens, of coffee and wine-drinking in
such places, and, above all, in open-air concerts. The enjoyment

GEEMANT. 269

of music and sooial pleasures in the open air, is the grand summer
enjoyment of Germany. It is the universal passion from one end
of the country to the other. It is the same in every village, in
every town, iii_ every capital. Public walks, public music, caf6s
and cassinos, coffee and wine-drinking, and smoking and knitting
under trees, call out the whole population, high and low, great
and small, old and young ; and there does not seem a care from
Berlin to Strasburg, from Cologne to Pesth. Nay, much as the
French live out of doors, the Germans far excel them in this spe
cies of life. AU their musical art is called forth, and their great
est raasters are employed, to give a charm to this mode of social
existence. Every means is adopted to give facUity to the enjoy
ment of this taste. The heart of the Germans, too, is bound to
the heart of nature with a deeper and holier feeling than that of
the French. It is true that they have not that full, and perfect,
and permanent country life that we have. The habits and insti
tutions of their country do not allow it ; but they have not the
less love of nature than we have, nor do they enjoy it less in their
way than we do. Nay, in some respects they enjoy it far more,
for they have taken measures to bring the beauty of nature to
their very doors, to introduce it into the suburbs and the very
heart of their towns, and to unite it to all the charms of art and of
social life. '
" There is one advantage that their towns universaUy possess
over ours ; and tbat is, in the abundance of public walks, and pub
hc gardens and promenades, where every citizen can wander, or
can sit and rejoice with his family and his friends. All round
their towns, in general, you find these ample public walks and
promenades planted with trees and furnished with seats. The old
walls and ramparts, which foi-merly gave security to the inhabit
ants, are now- converted into sources of their highest pleasures,
being thus planted and seated, and made scenes of the gayest re
sort, and whence the finest views are obtained over the surround
ing country. The suburbs and neighborhood of all large cities,
again, are full of public gardens ; with alleys and extensive wood
land walks, where the people all sumraer flock out, and find re
freshments at coffee-houses, and bands of music, presided over by
the first masters in Germany. The cities being seldom very large,
the people thus enjoy a sort of half city, half rural life, but refined
and beautified with sooial and artistical influences, of which ours
is too much stripped. The people have in the outskirts of their
cities, their vineyards and their summer-houses in them, where
they can go with their famUies and friends. But they have,
again, their great pubUc gardens and woodlands all round their

270 THE WOELD WE LiVK IN.
large towns, to ten or a dozen miles' distance. They have simUar
places of more rustic resort, often on the most beautiful mountain
hights, and in mountain valleys, to which they pour out on all
Sundays arid leisure days, in carriages and by railroads, by thou
sands. Here they have wine, and curds, and often dinners.
Here they even come with their famUies, taking whole troops of
chUdren with them ; and there you find them in old orchards,
amid castle ruins, under the trees, and, in short, through all the
surrounding hills and valleys. They dine in great family groups
— tbe men sitting often in their shirt-sleeves ; the children rolling
in the grass ; and the landlords hurrying about, dealing out plates
and viands to hungry people, in a broil of what seems hopeless
hurry. They afterward smoke tbeir pipes, drink their coffee,
and go home at an early hour as happy as- this earth can make
them. " In every country town and vUlage it is the same. You can
go into few, or none of the former, where you wUl not find public
walks and gardens ; and will not hear of charming places, some
four, six, or ten miles distant, where all the world goes in the
sumraer, in parties, to walk about, to drink coffee, or pic-nic in
the woods, and so on. There is not a country inn in a pleasant
place, but it has its orchard and its garden fitted up with seats
and tables for this simple, rural festivity. There is not a ruin of
a castle, or old jiiger-house, where you do not find walks and
seats, and every provision for popular enjoyraent. Every where
the Gerraans have seized on all those picturesque points and
scenes of rural beauty which afford raeans of can-ying out and
cultivating this mingled love of nature and of sooial pleasure.
You corae upon seats in wild spots, where you would otherwise
neyer have drearaed of many besides yourself coraing, and there
you are sure to find that before you lies a beautiful view.
" AU royal gardens, too, are open, and the people walk in them,
and stream around the palaces, passing, in many instances, through
their very courts and gateways, just as if they were their own.
Nay, the royal and ducal owners walk about among the people
with as little ceremony as any of the rest. The Emperor of Aus
tria, or the King of Prussia, does the very same. You may meet
them any where ; and littie more ceremony is used toward them
than is used toward any other individual, simply that of lifting
your hat in passing, which is done to aU your acquaintance, and
is returned as a mark of ordinary salutation. You will see princes
sitting in pubhc places with their friends, with a cup of coffee, as
unassumingly and as littie stared a,t' as any respectable citizen.
You may sometimes see a grand-diike come into a country inn.

GEEMANT. 271

call for his glass of ale, drink it, pay for it, and go away as un
ceremoniously as yourself.
" The same open and general enjoyment of scenery extends to
all other estates and gardens. The country houses of the nobiUty
and gentry are sunounded on all sides with public and private
walks. They have seldom any fences about any thing but their
private gardens. The people go and walk every where, and never
dream of trespassing, nor are ever told of such a thing. This 'is
one of the great charms of this country. All woods, with the
rare exception of a deer park, are thus entirely open and un
fenced. You wander where you will, with the most perfect feel
ing of giving no offense. Here are no warning-boards, no threats
of steel-traps or spring-guns. A wisp of 'Straw stuck on a pole,
the usual sign in Germany of warning, in vintage-time gives you
notice that a private walk, which all the rest of the year is open,
is then closed ; or a wisp hung on the bough of a tree in the
forest, tells you that the common people are not to cut boughs
there, or that young trees are planted, and you are not to tread
them down. Every where else, you go where you please, through
woods, vaUeys, meadows, gardens, or fields ; and while property
is sacred to the possessor, nature is, as it should be, unrestrictedly
yours, and every man's.
" In this blessed freedom, and with this simple and thorough
life of nature and society, there is no country in the world where
social and summer life are more enjoyed than in Germany. You
are perpetuaUy invited to join a party to a wood-stroll, to go to
some lovely village in the hills or the forest, or to some old farm
house, where you get milk and ooftee, and take bread with you,
perhaps ; where you find a Tam-boden, or shed, where the young
people can have a dance ; where the old sit, and look on, and
smoke, and talk, and knit. Or to some old mill, where you have
the sarae accommodations ; or to some inn, on an eminence over
looking a splendid country, as that- of the Rhine or Danube, and
where, on the terrace, the whole company -will play at those sim
ple games so much liked in Germany, as the black man, the blind
cow, and others ; where all, high and low, old and young, run
and laugh, and are as merry as so many boys and girls.
" But it is in the capitals that this social out-of-door life is car
ried to the greatest extent, as well as to the highest pitch of per
fection. The most celebrated bands, band-masters, and musical
composers of Germany, are in daUy requisition to give the highest
impetus and enchantment to the popular enjoyment. Extensive
gardens stretch on all hands, where cassinos rear their heads.

272 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

crescents and colonnades extend themselves, groves and bowery
walks with numberless seats offer their friendly shade, fountains
splash and sparkle with a graceful and soothing witchcraft, orches
tras, in the shape of open pillared temples, stand aloft for the ac
commodation of musical bands, and throngs of the gayest people
of the place make all lively, varied, and unceasingly attractive.
At Mlinich, the English Garden, Tivoli, &c. ; at Dresden, the
Grosse Garten, the Linkiso!ie Bad ; at Berlin, the Thier Garten,
the Winter Garten, and all the neighboring resorts of Charlotteh-
burg, of San Souci, of the Pfauen Insel, &c. ; at Prague, the
Baumgarten, the Feen and Farber Insel ; at Vienna, the Volks-
Garten, in the very heart of the Vorstadt, and in front of the im
perial palace itself; the Prater, the Augarten, (fee, with aU the
beautiful resorts of Schcinbrunn, Hitzing, the mountain paradises
of Baden, the Briihl, &o., &c.- — where Strauss and Banner, and
other leaders, are perpetually performing with their bands during
the summer evenings to eager thousands — bear testimony to the
universality of this joyous and sooial out-of-door existence.
" There are no people on the face of the earth that all summer
long enjoy themselves like the Germans in their gay capitals ; but
autumn approaches, and the great climacteric of the year is
reached. The whole nation is astir. Not a man or woman can
rest long. Every one must fly in quest of change, and pleasure,
and health. The whole population is like one huge luve of bee's
at the point of swarming — there is one vast motion, buzz, and hum.
Every soul must have his Herbst-reise, his autumn tour. He
must -visit the watering-places, and drink, and bathe. He must
traverse the Rhine, tbe Elbe, or the Danube. He must climb the
mountains of Switzerland, or the Tyrol. Steamers are every where
loaded to sinking ; inns are full to suffocation ; and landlords stand
shaking their beads, gabbling German, French, English, Italian,
and Russian, and bowing away disconsolate travelers and dusty
carriages from their doors. Railway trains are enormous in
length ; and a smoking and a talking are going on in them, that
are astounding to the stranger. Baden, Baden-Baden, Wisbaden,
aU the Badens ; Schlangen-Bad, Carisbad, WUdbad, Alexisbad,
aU the Bads; Ems, Isohl, Bad-Gastein — every watering-place is
fuU. Meeting in the early morning, and drinking of the sulphur
ous or effervescing water in the Kursaal, or holding a five-o'clock
gossip in the warm general baths, men and women together;
plunging into hot or cold baths in private, making drives to the
neighboring casties and scenery ; sitting for two hours at tables
d'hote; purchasing of nosegays and paying musicians; the
parade, the splendid conversation-house, the baU, the reunion,

GEEMANT. 273

the gambling in an evening — and thus it goes at the watering-
places. " But every spot of the country which is attractive ; every
mountain district, every gay town, every fine stream, is alive -with
the ever-raoving throng of pleasure-tourists. The bights and cas
tles of the Rhine and IDanube ; the vales and defiles of the Saxon
Switzerland ; the roraantic regions of tbe Saltzburg, the Noric
and the Swabian Alps, the Franconian and Thuringian forests, in
short, every spot of gayety or beauty receives the temporary hosts
of these wanderers.
" Tlje Germans travel comparatively little abroad. Some go
to Rome, some to Paris, a very few to England ; but through
their own Fatherland they circulate like the life-blood in the living
system, and as their enormous stretches of railway are completed,
will do so more and more. And in truth, I can say from experi
ence, that a raore delightful mode of spending an autumn is to be
found in no country.
" The Germans retain more of the picturesque and poetical in
their festivals, both public and domestic, than we do. They are
particularly fond of garlands on all such occasions. Their festive
or triuraphal arches -are beautiful. Their dining-rooms are hung
with festoons, and adorned with wreaths of flowers and green
boughs, with great poetical feeling and elegance. The birth-days
of their princes, or anniversaries of great days in their own lives,
are celebrated often in picturesque situations. Sometimes within
the court of a fine old ruin of a castle on one of their mountain
bights, such as those above the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe, or
the Neckar ; and the walls and approaches are richly decorated
with garlands and wreaths. Traces of such a festival we found in
the court of Auerbach Castle, on the Borgstrasse, where the an
niversary of the birth-day of the Grand Duke of Hesse Darmstadt
had been kept. The rural rostrum of moss and stones yet re
mained, from which thc army-chaplain had delivered an oration.
The wreaths of oak-leaves on the v/alls, each of which inclosed
the name and date of a battle in which the duke had been en
gaged — some of which, by-the-by, must have been fought against
the Fatherland, under the banners of Napoleon — still hung there
too. " On private birth-days, such garlands are as much in use. Birth
days are kept more ceremoniously than with us. Your friends
come in to congratulate you ; and at dinner your health is drunk
with a great touching of glasses. On the wall ha,ngs a lyre,
formed of wood or other material, covered with moss, and adorned
with leaves and flowers. This is kept from year to year, many of
12*

274 THE WOELD WE llYE LN.

the flowers being everlastings. On the table, round its central
ornament of sugar-work, a temple generally, with a figure or de
vice bearing an appropriate sentiment, burn as many little wax-
lights as the years at which the person has amved. You see this
love of the poetical carried into all occasions of social pleasure.
In England, we read of wreaths and garlands, but seldom see
them. In Germany, the bridal and the funeral garlands are stiU
no fictions. The bride wears, and goes to church in the Braut-
kranz, or bridal garland, even the poorest ; and the funeral car is
richly adorned with wreaths of leaves and flowers. On then
graves are, again, hung wreaths, as in the old times of England ;
and there grow roses and camations, and other flowers and shrubs,
making the region of decay lovely. There is also, at balls and
dancing parties, a great presentation of little bouquets ; and at the
tables d'hote, boys or girls come round and offer you bouquets ;
and wiU, if required, bring them to your house through the whole
year. " But on no occasion does the sentiment and domestic character
of the Germans show itself so strongly in this respect, as at Christ
mas. This is expressly a family festival. In England it used to
be so in the olden times, but now it is more a festival of friends.
We have in many places still our waits and carol-parties. Parties
meet at great bouses in the country ; friends exchange visits ; din
ner and dancing parties are made ; andthere is great jollity, eat
ing of mince-pies and roast-beef, drinking of wine, and still, in
some old bouses and rural districts, the burning of the yule-block.
But in most of -these pleasures the more adult personages are
chiefly considered. The chUdren are, in a great measure, excluded
from them. The parents and elder brothers and sisters are going
out to dine, or to evening parties, or are busy receiving their fiiends
to such at home. The chUdren get mince-pies, but make littie or
no part of the festivities. This is quite the reverse of the German
custora. There, Christmas-eve is the great family festival, to
which all, old and young alike, look for-ward with intense deUght.
It is strictly a domestic and home festival. It is not so much a
tirae of being visited and visiting as a time in whioh every family
draws round its stove, and celebrates a festival of famUy affection.
Here the chUdren are not so much secondaries as principals. Their
happiness is considered most of all ; and in their happiness the
gladness of aU centers and grows. Accordingly, there is no time
in the whole year toward whioh aU, but especially the young and
the children, look forward with such eager anticipation. It is a
feast of the heart, and is emphatically caUed, Der Gluckliehe
Abend, the Happy Evening.

GEEMANT. 275

' " So corapletely are the pleasures of this evening woven into the
German mind from childhood up, that poets in their most beauti
ful verses Ulustrate the delights of their mature years by reference
to them, as Claudius in some admirable lines entitled Tdglich su
Singen. ' I thank thee, God, and rejoice myself, like the child over its Christmas-
eve gifts, that I live, live ! and that I possess thee, beautiful human counte
nance ! That I can behold the sun, the mountains, the sea, the foliage, and
the grass, and at evening can walk beneath the host of stars, and the dear
moon ; .and that I am then in heart as full of joy and admiration as when
we children came and saw what the holy Christ-child had sent us. Amen.'
" The very poorest and the very youngest partake as largely in
the joy of this evening as any. Servants and all participate in it.
For several months, therefore, there are great preparations making
among the ladies for it. Each member of the family then makes
a present to all the other members ; parents to children and ser
vants, chUdren to their parents, servants to their master and mis
tress, and often to the chUdren, chUdren to them and one another.
All those elegant and useful little things which ladies employ
themselves in making — in needle-work, in drawing and painting,
as ornamented purses, slippers, bracelets, watch-pockets, gloves,
dressing up of dolls, articles of warm and ornamental wear, as
gay -colored worsted little coats,' called Kassa veikas, and cloaks of
knotted work, are busily preparing. Bead-work presents itself in
a variety of articles, as necklaces, purses, card-cases, cigar-cases,
watch-pockets in the form of ladies' sUppers, and innumerable
other articles of fancy-work.
" As all these have to be kept from the knowledge of the party
for whom they are intended, till they are laid out on Christraas-
eve itself, it is evident that a good deal of raanagement is required.
During the two or three months before Christmas, therefore,
ladies are full of secrets, which, spite of the proverb, are faith
fully kept. They work when they are alone, or when that person
of the family for whora the thing then in hand is intended is not
present. They sometimes sit up after the rest are retired, or get
up an hour earlier, or take out their work and go and sit with a
friend at another house now and then. But, spite of all these
contrivances and precautions, there are dangers of continual sur
prises ; and when you enter rather unexpectedly into a room, you
see a great bustle and a hiding away of things under sofa-cushions,
at tbe bottom of work-bags and baskets. These little soheraes
and alarras occasion, as may be supposed, a good deal of merri
ment among those who are in the particular secrets ; and all round
have secrets that one or another is not in.

276 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

" All this time, too, there is much considering going on in differ
ent heads as to what presents that are to be purchased, shall be
purchased. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, are pick
ing up by reflection, and by what occurs in conversation, ideas of
what would be, most acceptable or beneficial to the different mem
bers of their domestic circle. And then coraes a looking-out for
it. At the autumn fairs a great number of things are bought
with an express reference to Christmas, and till then are stowed
away in secret. But for about a month before Christmas the
shops are all filled with things for presents. Not merely the toy
shops and shops of fancy wares, but every man who by a possi
bUity can tum his shop into a bazar for Weighnachtsgeschenke, or
Christmas presents, does. A man that all the rest of the year is
a sieve-maker and seller of turnery ware, suddenly, we observed,
had his shop filled with every conceivable article of wood that
can form presents. It was as if a magical spell had been exerted,
and all bis tubs and barrels, and sieves and spigots, were converted
into dolls, wooden boxes full of toys, chess-boards, and boards of
other games. His tables were covered -with boxes full of Uttle
toy household things, sets of tea things, sets of kitchen utensils,
little dinner-services, whips and hobby-horses, carts, wagons, dolls
without end, churches and other buildings in sections for children
to put together, and innumerable things of the like kind. The
pipe shops are now, especially, crowded with these articles, as
tbey, in a smoking country like Germany, are, of course, favorite
presents. Every bit of their windows is filled, till they seem Ut
eraUy built up with them, offering vast variety of meerschaum
and porcelain pipe-heads ; the latter with paintings of countless
female faces, scenes from recent history and favorite authors, and
of favorite spots in the Fatherland.
" For about a fortnight before Christmas the stores and markets
are fiUed -with preparations. Baskets and staUs fuU of dressed
dolls, from the price of a penny to a florin or more ; various gro
tesque animals of wool, or fur, or wood, intended for lambs, dogs,
horses, and various other creatures, to which it would be difficult
to attach name or imaginable resemblance. These are made by
the peasants or lower class of townspeople, and are sold for the
chUdren of such. The children of the comraon schools and infant
schools have all a present given thera, be it only a penny doU, or
a little handkerchief of a few pence value. Numbers of Christ
mas-trees show themselves for sale. These are principally tops
of fir-trees, or boughs straight enough to resemble tops. Much
damage is said to be done in the woods at this season by the cut
ting of these tops; the wood- watchers are particularly on the

GEEMANT. 277

alert, and a heavy fine is inflicted on any offenders that are taken
in the act. These trees are from six inches high up to ten or
twelve feet or more, according to the size of the house, or the
finances of the purchaser. They are generally set in a thick board
or block of wood, weighted with lead, and on this board is made
a garden, paled in with ornamental paling, having at the back
generally a house of wood or cardboard. The garden is filled
with moss and green sprigs of the fir, and in it stand shepherds,
sheep, a dog, a stork, and one or more stags with gilded homs.
" This is intended to represent the annunciation of the birth of
Christ to the shepherds ; and, accordingly, an angel is seen, sus
pended by a wire from tbe stem of the tree, as in the act of hov
ering in the air and proclaiming tbe glad tidings. The shep
herds and animals- are made of clay, most grotesque creatures,
painted in barbarous style ; tbe storks adorned with feathers, for
tails, stuck into the clay ; and all are propped on little pegs of
wood. " The whole is, no doubt, derived from the legends of the Cath
olic Church, and displays pretty much the same degree of art and
general appearance as it did ages before the Reformation.
" As Christmas-eve approaches, and especiaUy for tbe few days
before it, the shops and markets are crowded with purchasers.
Christmas-trees are seen moving off in various directions, with
their gardens appended, or others without gardens, the famUies
which have purchased these having retained tbeir garden of former
years on its block of wood. The day of Christmas-eve itself, the
floors of ¦ the shops are literally piled with the baskets of country
people, which they have set down while they make their little
purchases for their chUdren.
" The important eve itself arrives. Throughout Germany, in
every house, from the palace to the cottage, where there are chU
dren, there stands a Christmas-tree. In the houses of the rich
and the well-to-do, there has been rauch preparation. According
to ancient custom, about a fortnight before Christmas, Pelznichel,
or Knecht Rupert, has made his visit to the chUdren. This person
represents no other than St. Nicholas, as we learn from an old
poem. ST. NIKLAS.
' Vatee. Es wird aus den zeitungen vemommen
Dass der heilige Niklas werde kommen,' <fec.
Which in simple prose may be rendered thus :
Father. — The newspapers say that the holy St. Nicholas wiU soon be
here from Moscow, where he is held in great esteem, and is honored as a

278 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

saint. He is already on the way to visit the tender school-children. To
Bee what the little boys and girls have this year learned in praying, -writ
ing, singing, and reading ; and to see whether they have been pretty good
He has put into his sack beautiful dolls of sugar-work, with which to honor
those children who have been good.
Child. — Holy St. Nicholas, I pray thee very much to turn into my house
too. Bring books, and clothes, and shoes, and many another nice thing. So
will I learn well, and be good, as I should be. Amen.
St. Nicholas.— God greet you, dear Uttle children. Ton must be obedi
ent to your father and mother, and then shall I give you some beautiful
Christmas gifts. But if you are not so, I shall bring the stick and the rod.
Amen. " Pelznichel is a man flisguised in a fur cap, and otherwise made
a-wful to chUdren by his singular habiliments, being armed -with a
rod, having a capacious bag or pouch hanging before him, and a
large chain thrown round him, whose end being dropped on the
ground as he walks, makes to their imaginations a mysterious
noise. Sometimes he has a number of Uttle bells hung about him,
and thenoe is called by Richter, in his Fixlein, ' Knecht Ruprecht,
with bis jingUng bells.' His name of Knecht Ruprecht is most
likely derived from the idea that he is the servant of the Christ-
chUd, who sends bim to prepare for his own arrival on Christmas-
eve. He is, in fact, some servant or dependent of the family, who
engage him to undertake this oflSce, and furnish him with requi
site information. The children above eight or nine years old are
let into the secret,' which they faithfuUy keep. The younger chil
dren, as the time draws on, are often reminded that Christmas is
coming, and that Pelznichel will be here, and, according asthey
are good or bad, wUl correct or reward them. If they have been
bad chUdren, he wUl use his rod ; if good, he wUl bring them
nuts, and apples, and cakes, from the good Christ-child. AU this
they receive as gospel, and with the greatest awe, and it has a
strong effect upon them. They have a notion that Pelznichel, or
the Christ-child, has his eyes upon them when they are not aware.
That Pelznichel is going round the house at night and listening,
and if they are naughty is sure to hear them ; or that the Christ-
chUd,, with an ubiquitous knowledge, sees aU, and tells Pelznichel
aU about them. They look forward, therefore, with great awe
and some anxiety to the appearance of Pelznichel. At length,
sorae days before St. Nicholas's day, the father or mother says,
'WeU, chUdren, now be very good, for Pelznichel is coming.
He has sent word that he wiU be here on such an evening at six
o'clock.' " On that evenmg aU is expectation, and scarcely is tea away
when there: comes a ring at the door. AU exclaim, • That must

GEEMANT. 279

be Pelznichel !' The faces of the children are filled with awful
expectation. All stand silent. Presently is heard a distant and
mysterious ringing of beUs ; a jingling of chains on the stone
stairs. It becomes more distinct — it approaches ; there is a
heavy accompanying tread. There is a bustle in the passage, as
if some matter of great moment was occurring. Voices are heard
speaking, and, among them, one deep and strange one. That is
Pelznichel. The heavy tread, the ringing bells, the clanking
chains, the bustle, and the voices are at tbe door ; every eye is
fixed on it. All are rooted in silent awe. The door opens, and
in stalks the strange figure of Pelznichel — the Mumbo Jumbo of
Germany, while behind him are the assembled servants of the
household, full of curiosity, to witness what he will saj^ and do.
He announces that, he is sent by the good Christ-chUd to reward
good chUdren, and correct the bad. Every little heart beats with
hope or fear. He addresses thera by turns, beginning with the
eldest. He asks them bow they have pursued their studies ; per
haps calls for their books ; pronounces an opinion on their progress,
and by what he says gives them intimations that he is aware of
their general conduct, and of particular acts, good or evil, which
fills them with surprise. If they have quarreled on their way to
school ; if they have been ungenerous or revengeful, they are sure
to be told of it. He turns to each child in rotation, and adapts
his rewards to the age and character of each. The very Uttle
ones often propitiate him by addressing him in a little rhyme the
moment his eyes are turned upon them, and which the nurse has
taught them for the purpose.
' Christ-kindschen komm ;
Mach mich fromm ;
Das ich zu dir in Himmel komm."
Which is, literally, ' Christ-child, come ; make me good, that I
may come to thee in heaven.' The aspect of a little child stand
ing in awe and in faith before Pelznichel, and in the soft, innocent
tones of its voice making this simple petition in the truth of its
heart, as I have seen it, is one of the most beautiful and affecting
things in the world.
" Pelznichel talks sternly, and with menacing agitations of his
rod, to those who have been stubborn, lazy, or disobedient, and
commends those who have been otherwise. He hands the rod to
the father, and commands him to use it when necessary, or he
vows to come and use it himself. He seldom, however, proceeds
on this occasion to any actual chastisement, as it is intended rather
as a means of reformation, by instUling a salutary fear ; and he

280 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

adds that, on Christmas-eve, Christ-kindschen wUl come, and ac
cording as they behave, in the mean time, will reward them for
good or Ul. If for good, they will find many nice things on and
under the Christmas-tree ; if on the contrary, he wUl himself,
probably, be ordered to fetch them, and carry them into the
woods' in the mountains, and there to shut them up in a cave
in the rooks, in the cold and darkness, where snakes hiss, owls
hoot, toads and salamanders crawl, and fire runs about the ground.
He generally ends by dealing out, from his bag, nuts, apples, and
Uttle cakes, to each of tbem, and throwing others on the floor ;
whUe they are busy in scrarabling for them he disappears.
" In the country Pelznichel goes about on a donkey, and actually
often chastises the chUdren of the peasantry. His visit in to^wn
or country has mostly a decisive effect. The parents remind the
chUdren of what he has said. They congratulate them on the
commendations they have received ; they remark on the faults he
has related of them, and the fact that they are seen and observed
often wben they little think of it. They encourage them to begin
seriously to correct and improve themselves, and to seoure from
Christ-kindschen a certain token of approbation of their conduct.
The ensuing fortnight is a season of self-watchfulness and pro
bation. "The day arrives. The drawing-room, or, in Germany, the
saloon, is closed. Only tbe person who is intrasted with each
one's secret is admitted to it, and has the key. All the young
people of the family, in fact, have been previously busy in pre
paring the tree, gilding walnuts and apples, and hanging them
upon it ; hanging on it also sundry little cakes, and figures of
sugar-work of various colors. This has been the source of great
delight to them. The tree has been set in its place, and then the
room consigned to the one confidential person, who has laid out,
in tasteful array, the presents intended for every person, each in
a group by themselves.
" As soon as it is dark, and tea is over, the doors of the room
are thrown open at the ringing of a beU, and a scene of splendor
and beauty is revealed which produces one general exclamation of
deUght, and strikes, with a charming surprise, a person who has
never witnessed such a one before. The whole room is filled with
light. Opposite to you soars aloft the Christmas-tree in its fairy
land beauty ; and around extend tables covered with, and hung
in front with drapery, often displaying great taste and elegance in
its disposal and ornaments ; and on these tables Ue the various
presents which have so long been secretly making and procuring.
It would be difficult to describe either the wonder and admhation

GEEMANT. 281

of the chUdren, as they gaze on the whole brilliant scene ; on the
lovely tree, gUttering with' golden and sUver fruit, seeming at the
same time rich with innumerable flowers of various shapes and
colors, and irradiated with lights. The mutual surprise and pleas
ure of the different members of the family, as they are shown
what presents are there laid for them, and hear from whora each
comes ; the course of explanations that goes on; tbe.sudden rec
ognitions of the cause whioh has prompted such and such pres
ents from such and such persons ; the pleasant amazement ; the
thanks ; the laughter ; the tears of affection that come into the
eyes of the different members of the happy famUy, are more readUy
imagined than described.
" But not only the poor in their cottages have their Christmas-
tree ; in schools and other institutions it is set up. A prettier or
more affecting sight we have seldora seen than the celebration of
Christraas-day in the infant school at Heidelberg. Here, at three
o'clock in the afternoon, were the parents and chUdren, the pat
rons and friends of the school, assembled. Upward of eighty
littie boys and girls, all under six years of age, were seated on
low forms in the middle of the school, opposite to the master's
desk, in front of which, on a raised platform, stood four tall
Christmas-trees, or, as they called thera, sugar-trees, decorated
with the usual appendages of cakes, apples, &o., and at their feet
stood a row of tapers ready to be kindled.
" Besides these, were various colored engravings ; an excellent
one of Christ Blessing the Little ChUdren ; a kind of erection of
straw-work, containing stages, on one of whioh was a dancing bear,
on another a tournament, with knights riding, with candles burning
all over it. These figures revolved by means of a perpendicular
spindle, having attached to its top a sort of fan, Uke the ventilator
of a window, which was raoved by the warra air ascending from
the candles. There were many funny little three-legged pots, of
true German fashion, set on the platform among the lights, a
gift to the children from sorae one, to amuse them in their school
play-hours. " To the right sat the spectators, many ladies and gentlemen of
the place ; to the left the parents of the children. The master Ut
up the tapers on the trees, and the row of them at their feet, and
a murmur of delight rose from the little troop of chUdren. The
blinds had all been drawn down, to exclude as much of the ex
terior light as possible, and the scene was very bright. The mas
ter read from his desk an address prepared for the occasion ; and
after the little scholars had sung a Christmas hymn or two very
prettily, they were dismissed, one by one, with their pinafores full

282 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

of toys, good warm articles of clothing, and a quantity of cakes
and apples, the former of which had been sent as a Christmas gift
to them by a worthy baker. It was pleasant to see the delighted
faces of all present ; the eager looks of the parents as their chil
dren came forward to receive their presents ; and how the mothers,
as they advanced toward the door, snatched them up, and carried
them off, gifts and all together.
" Even inmates of the asylums, as if they were at home among
their children, are treated to a Christmas-tree, and the biiUiance
of Christmas-eve. It is. the great sacred festival of Germany,
and is much more regarded than Sunday. On Sunday, great
numbers of shops in most towns are open, things are brought
home from different makers as on another day, and ladies sit
knitting in company as usual. On Christmas-day nearly all shops
are closed, and even ladies refrain from knitting ; and all is solemn
and decorous. Two days are made holidays, and the tree is not
pulled down tiU New- Year's day, when the children rifle its treas
ures, and different members of the famUy frequently keep some
particular article from it as a remembrance. The solemnity of
Christmas is also further marked, not only by the increased servi
ces in the churches from Advent to Christmas, but also by balls
and other public amusements being laid aside during that period.
" Such are the Christmas customs of Germany. It must be
confessed that there is something verj' amiable, poetical, and beau
tiful in them ; but the EngUsh and Araerican mind will not, at the
same time, bc able to avoid feeUng a repugnance to the making so
free with the person of Christ, and still more to the delusions that
are thus practiced, and falsehoods practically taught to the chU
dren.' That this is the Christ-child ; that he brings all these gifts
frora heaven ; that Pelznichel is sent by him, and so on — the mo
ment a child grows old enough to see through this, he must begin
to think that his parents care Uttle for the truth, and be in danger
of adopting an idea that he need not much regard it himself In
fact, at a certain age, the parents are obliged to let the chUdren
into the secret, and to take them, as it were, into a partnerehip of
imposing on their younger brothers and sisters. This is very bad ;
and when the next step to this, in domestic education, is to stuff
the young raind with a whole host of Miirchen, household legends
of a similar kind, we raust fear that truth cannot be very sacred
among them. And is it ? Our experience is, that it is far from
being so much so as it should be. Whoever has looked tiirough
their literature, must have felt surprised at the freedom with
which the heroes of the stories by the most celebrated masters,
Goethe, for instance, tell any kind of fib to help them out of

GEEMANY. 283
scrapes, Whoever has seen much of private life in Germany,
will, we fear, have experienced a similar surprise. Spite of the
national boasts of the Deutsche Treue und Deutsche Wahrheit,
German faithfulness and truth, this is a fact which merits the
most serious attention of a people so proud of their improvements
in education ; and it seems wonderful that it has not struck them,
that all the essential and beautiful of this Christmas praptice wUl
remain independent of these fictions. The tree may still be set
up ; the children may still look forward to finding under it pres
ents for the good, and it will be just as delightful to their young
hearts that these are the testimonies of parental and household
affection, as if they suppose them brought by a Christ-kindschen.
If they prize the wonder which such deceptions bring, it is still
worth while asking whether that momentary wonder may not be
purchased too dear ; that is, by the lasting injury to truthfulness.
All that wonder, too, may be iraparted by relating to the children
at these times, what were the legends and the fancies of their an
cestors, for the imagination is perhaps more deUghted with what
is presented to it as an ideal of the past, than as an actuality of
the present."
Before leaving Germany, we should like to speak of " the stu
dent life" there, so peculiar and striking, and to which Mr. Howitt
has devoted an entire volurae. But we have not the room, and
can only say that, while studious in the raain, and often making
the highest attainments in learning, the members of the different
universities are a " hard set of feUows," given to drinking, carous
ing, dueling, and the most outrageous merry-making. Recently,
indeed, dueling has been discouraged by the cii-il governments as
well as by the university authorities, but it yet prevails to a con
siderable extent. Students have occasionally, though very rarely
of late years, lost, their lives in these "jousts of honor;" more
generally, however, thej' get off with a slit nose, a gashed cheek,
or a mangled ear. Soars are not unfrequently seen upon the faces
of students, as they parade the streets. Their beer-drinking duels
or contests, in whicli they endeavor to outdrink each other, are
more common, and followed with less disastrous consequences.
Singing, dancing, drinking, smoking, and simUar practices, are
almost universal among them. Indeed, they may be described,
with sorae honorable exceptions, as a wUd, "harum-scarum" set
of fellows, yet often generous, freedora -loving, and self-sacrificing ;
and it is really surprising how many of them turn out good schol
ars and usefiU citizens.
We cannot, however, omit some account of the wander
ing journeymen, or craftsmen. And here we must have re-

284 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

course to Mr. Hewitt's admirable description, as the best we
know: " Not less singular nor less conspicuous than the student-life of
Germany, is tbat of the handwerksbursobe, or wandering handi
craftsmen. One of the first things on your arrival in the country
whioh strikes your eye, is the number of young men on the roads
with knapsacks on their backs, and stout sticks in their hands.
They have a wayfaring, but not a mendicant or vagabond look,
though, to your surprise, they will often, on the approach of your
carriage, off with their caps and run along beside it, to ask for
sometiiing. Their looks — frequently those of mere boys, often
handsome lads, too, well dressed, tbough in a pecuhar pedestrian
style — and their good and well-stored knapsacks, do not fail to fill
you with curiosity, especially when, without the slightest aspect
of shame or of impudence, they solicit you for money, and you
learn, on inquiring, that tbese are the Gesellen, handwerksbursche,
or wandering journeymen of Germany ; that this rambUng all over
the country of such numbers of these young men, in every part
and every direction, is not so much a matter of choice as of neces
sity ; that, for three or more years after the expiration of their
apprenticeship, they must thus pursue their travels, and on their
retum must give evidence of having become perfect in their call
ing, by making their meisterstuck, or masterpiece, before they can
obtain permission to enter on business for themselves.
There is no doubt but that if, instead of all these young men
wandering aU over the country for the appointed term of three
years, during which period much time is lost in the wandering
itself, they were sent direct to the few cities where their own craft
is most successfully pursued, or were taught enough of the Eng
lish and French languages for common purposes, and were sent at
once to London or Paris, they would, in as many months as they
now spend years, learn three tiriies as much. 'They would thus
come at one leap to the fountam-beads of that knowledge which
they seek, and there speedily make themselves masters of the
latest discoveries and improvements. We should then no longer
see, as we do with wonder when we first come to Germany, the
strange old-fashioned looks, door-handles — actually levers — queer
knives and forks, comical pots and kitchen utensUs, odd old-world
carriages, lumbering eU-wagons, so caUed, and many other things
whioh throw us back some hundreds of years in the history of
mechanical improvement. Their artists, indeed, do not pursue
this method ; they sedulously seek to acquaint themselves with the
master-works of Greece and Italy, and tho effeot is in accordance.
But in aU else the Germans, if left alone, wiU go on to eternity

GEEMANT. 285

in tbe same track. They are like steam-engines set upon a line.
They are full of power, and will march on exerting it forever in
one course, unless some mighty influence from without breaks
irresistibly in upon them and throws them off the rail ; as Bona
parte broke in, and as steam-power is now again breaking in,
destined to produce far more wonderful changes among them
than did the fiery Corsican.
But there are advantages derived from this wandering system
of tbe handicrafts, which may be said to be far more than a justi
fication of it. If much time is lost to their artistical advancement,
and if they seldom reach that degree of excellence which an ex
clusive direction of their attention to the capitals of Europe would
bring, on the other hand, they see more of their own country than
the same class in any part of the world does. They wander, at
public cost, through the various states of their common country.
They see the varieties of men and raanners, of cities and costumes.
The beauties of nature are brought under the eye of all that have
a feeUng for them. They tread the spots celebrated in their his
tory, and calculated to inspire a patriotic sentiraent. They are
raade aware of the greatness and extent of the Fatherland. Gal
leries, works of art, noble specimens ,of architecture, celebrated
ruins, and peculiar institutions are open to their observation ; and
many of tbem, as we shall see, do not neglect to avaU themselves
of these privUeges, and lay up for their future lives a store of the
most delightful recollections and subjects of conversation. It is,
in fact, in this point of view, rather than as a means of perfecting
themselves in their individual arts, that the excellence of the sys
tem, in my opinion, lies ; though at the sarae time it is not to be
denied that it is attended with many dangers and abuses, as it
must be, while it lets loose such a swarm of raw and rude youths
as must of necessity exist in this class, who, ivithout gathering
much good for themselves, are very capable of corrupting those
that they circulate among.
The handicraft guilds are divided into nuie or ten different kinds
— i. e., they consist of so many different kinds of handicrafts, or
are differentl}' constituted. For instance, there are city and vil
lage handicrafts. The oity ones consist of those who follow the
arts which contribute more particularly to the elegances and lux
uries of life ; and the vUlage ones of such as are there rather tol
erated because such must be had, than regarded with admiration
as masters in their calling. Araong these are classed the ordinary
run of linen-weavers, wheel-wrights, cobblers, tailors, joiners,
sraiths, tilers, brick-layers, and potters. Then there are liraited
and unlunited handicrafts. The liraited are those where, through

286 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

a privUege granted by the lord of the country, only a certain
number of masters in each handicraft are allowed -within its
bounds, and no one can be there constituted a master by the
magistrates, without the consent of the masters of the guild. In
the unlimited, where the masters of the guild refuse to admit a
young man who has gone through bis years of probation, a ma
gistrate, on his proving this, and showing his masterpiece, that he
is entitled to it, can compel his admission. There are, again,
close and exclusive guilds, which consist of the artisans of fine
and delicate crafts. Such are to be found particularly in NUm-
berg, as those of tbe awl-smiths, black-lead pencU-raakers, turners,
coppersraiths, bell-founders, gold and silver wire-drawers, &c.
These neither send out their youths to study any where else, nor
receive the gesellen from any other places, except where the same
close guilds exist ; and toward the band-workers of their trade
who belong not to these close guilds, obseiwe none of the usages
of the handicraft unions.
They make, again, among themselves, distinctions into fine and
coarse trades, as among the workers in wood are classed with the
latter, carpenters, joiners, coopers, and cart-wrights ; among the
workers in iron, smiths ; while fine ones in wood are turners,
cabinet-makers, and carvers ; in metals, spur, file, and look smiths.
They have further distinctions between the different branches of a
handicraft, be it in works in stone, iron, gold, silver, silk, wool, or
what else. So, under the head of workers in leather, are the
tanners, the fellmongers, the curriers, saddlers, the shoemakers,
and the glovers. There are also hired handicrafts, and retailing
handicrafts. The first are such as have no right to sell their own
work, and must, therefore, serve a master. The second class have
the privUege, if they please, to work on their own account, and to
stand as dealers in the yearly fairs. There are, again, simple and
conjoipt guilds, i. e., guUds consisting purely of those of one trade,
and guilds in which two or more trades are united. But theh
most essential distinction, so far as it regards the comfort of the
gesellen while on their wandersohaft, is into geschenkte and unge-
schenkte — those who give a stipulated aUowance to these young
men, in case they do not find work in any town. It is a prevaU
ing notion that every guild, without exception, by a fixed law,
appoints a regular sum to be given to every gesell, which is con
tributed by every master in the trade, in each town where he
seeks work and does not find it ; but this is not the case. Some
only do this ; otiiers, again, do it not ; and there is a third class,
which, though it does not prescribe a fixed sum, ordains that
something shaU be given, which is done out of the common chest,

GEEMANT. 287

Where but little is given, it is tbe custom of those gesellen who
are in work to contribute to assist those who are not ; and where
nothing is given, the gesell on his travels depends upon bis own
resources, and the contributions of his brother workmen who are
in employ.
It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that many of these young
men who have to travel, and yet depend in a great degree on then:
resources, should be compelled sometimes to beg ; or that this
being the case with a part of them, should furnish a plea to any
or all of the rest to do the sarae.
Every handicraft has its Herberge, or inn, and here the guild
has its chest. Here the traveling gesell resorts, and not only
finds his home till he can obtain work, or must proceed on his
joumey, but here he is sought for by masters who want hands.
On his arrival he immediately announces himself to the Jungmeis-
ter, or handworks-messenger, who gives him any information that
he possesses as to those that need hands. He must then go
round to the masters, and where they do not happen to be in, the
Altgesell, or oldest journeyman in each shop, who acts as fore
man, gives bim an answer.
In the herberge the sick are oared for, and there the guUd has
its meetings. Every guUd has its guildmaster, with a handworks-
deputy, or assessor, appointed by the magistracy, and other as
sistant masters; It has its Ladenmeister, or treasurer, and its
messenger, or Jungmeister, the latest admitted to the guild, who
gives notices of these meetings, and is in attendance to execute
the commands of the elders. In these meetings the chest is
opened whioh contains the laws and statutes of the guild, its rec
ords, accounts, letters, &c. ; and from this circumstance comes the
expression among the handworkers, of whatever is done at these
meetings, being done at open chest.
These herberges are very curious. From the ceiling depends
the insignia of the trade to which it belongs. From that of the
shoemakers hangs a wooden boot ; from that of the smith, a horse
shoe ; from that of the coopers, a small barrel ; and so on, adomed
with various colored ribbons. In a village herberge, where the
various handicrafts use but one house, the insignia of the different
trades are suspended over the different tables where the members
of the different handicrafts sit.
The apprenticeships vai-y in duration from three to six years ;
the shorter periods being generally compensated for by a propor
tionate premium. The general term of the wandersohaft is three
years ; but there are handicrafts in which four, and even six years
wandering are required. When a youth has served out his ap-

288 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

prenticeship, it is necessary, before he can proceed on his wander
sohaft, that bis master should declare him free at open chest, that
is, before tbe assembled guild. Formerly, these guilds, or zijnfts,
were very strict in their requirings before an apprentice could be
entered on the rank of gesell. His freedom and respectability
must be proved by the certificate of his birth ; and to maintain
the honor of the guUd, so far was this carried, that Ulegitimate
children, and even the legitimate children of shepherds, bailiffs,
watchmen, beadles, and of those parents who had been in a house
of correction, were excluded. These absurd proscriptions have
been justly done away witb.
The youth, being made free from his master, demands from the
guUd a copy of his birth and apprenticeship certificates, which Ue
in the chest. These must be signed and sealed by the masters of
the ziinft ; and besides this, if he shall have worked there as a
gesell some time between tbe expiration of his apprenticeship and
his setting out, must be added a printed form of testimony to that
effeot. All these testimonies are generally copied, not upon sep
arate papers, but into a book called the Wander-book, which it
behooves bim most carefuUy to preserve, as no handworker with
out these documents wUl be employed by any master.
If the articles of the ziinft do not expressly require a wander
sohaft to be made, it reraains at the option of the youths them
selves whether they will make it or not ; but such guUds are very
few in nuraber. There are sorae where the gesells do not wander,
but must work as such for a fixed period, and can remain for that
time with the master with whom they were apprenticed. The
articles of the guUd declare expressly whether the gesell shaU
travel within bis own State or beyond it. It is generally required
to go beyond it. Some trades, but these are few, decree that the
gesell during the period of bis wandersohaft shall not return home
at all. The sons of masters in some trades had the privUege
either of exemption from wandering, or the period was curtaUed
in duration for them ; but this is stated by Mittermeyer to be now
contrary to law.
So then the gesell is freed by his guUd ; but before he can set
out he mi\st obtain one thing more, and that is his passport from
the police. In earUer times, the handworkers and artists traveled
without a pass or written document, and were furnished with a
secret formula, by whioh they were recognized, called the Hand
worker's Greeting ; but the abuses to which this led, especially in
unsettled times, by enabling bad characters tiius to ovenun the
country, induced the emperor, in 1731, to issue an order for the
whole of Germany, that no person whatever should be aUowed to

GEEMANT. 289

travel without a regular passport. The passports of this class,
therefore, are very strictly demanded, in order that the police may
be able to keep a sharp oversight on them during their whole
term of wandering, and so that at any time they may by this
means be able to tell where any individual of thera is. By this
means, too, every youth may be traced by his friends, and the ex
act circumstances in which he is can be ascertained at any given
time. ,
Furnished with this wander-book and this passport, and joining
himself, if possible, with one or two others, wbo are setting out
on their joumeys of probation too, he mounts his knapsack, and
takes leave of his friends. With many warnings and good wishes,
and much good advice from father and mother, and from those
old friends who, in their day, have gone the same wandersohaft,
and with his heart full of tender regrets at leaving the spot of
birth and youth, and of wonder and expectation of what he is to
see ; of the great cities, and strange people, and curious customs ;
of the mountains and rivers of which he has heard so much from
other gesellen, or from his father and friends, he sets forth.
There is a beautiful account in the life of Hans Sachs, tbe cele
brated shoemaker-poet of Nilrnberg, of his thus setting forth.
It is thus that we see these youths strolling on in groups, or
one by one, from town to town, in every part of Germany. A
leathern knapsack on their backs, under the cover of which is gen
erally rolled a cape, to throw over their shoulders in rain ; a bat,
often covered with oilskin ; in summer a linen blouse, bound round
the waist with a belt ; in the hand a stout stick, and in the mouth,
or peeping out of a pocket, a pipe. The dignity of carrying a
stick and a pipe in pubUc, or in company, is one to which the
youth only arrives on issuing out of his apprenticeship, and taking
the rank of a gesell. He has generally a wickerwork-guarded
flask hanging by bis side from a cord, for brandy or wine in cold
weather, and for wine or water in suraraer. At each end of his
knapsack peep the soles of a pair of boots ; and he has often,
moreover, attached to his knapsack, a pair of small wheels, by
whioh, when his back is weary of it, he oan trail it after hipa with
his stick. You see one, now and then, with a long narrow sack,
which, well stuffed, hangs over one shoulder and do-wn his side,
like a great horse-collar, but this is rare ; the knapsack is the gen
eral wear.
The traveling gesell is adiised by the experienced to carry no
more articles with him than are absolutely necessary, and this is
the most approved stock. Besides the clothes on his back, a Sun
day suit, two shirts, two pair of stockings, a few handkerchiefs
13

290 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

and nightcaps, a pair of scissors, needles and thread, of which he
will often have need, and must leam tbe use of. If these are weU
packed, he wUl, says his adviser, have room also for a few books,
especially a Bible and a handwork-traveler's pocket-book. There
are pocket-books prepared expressly for his use, and excellent
ones they are. They contain rules for preserving his health ; an
alphabetical list of those cities where each trade is pre-eminently
¦pursued, and where he can best obtain his object ; instructions as
to what is demanded of him by the police and magistracy ; an ex
position of the constitution of the guilds or innungs ; the principles
of his native language, that he may gradually improve himself in
it ; advice in case of illness ; tables of the values of the various
moneys and of the weights in different States ; calculations of ex
penses ; admirable tables of routes and distances in every direction,
not only through his own country, but to the capitals of neighbor
ing kingdoms ; Usts of the steamers, packet-boats, and railwaj-s, and
every thing that relates to eil-wagons and other conveyances, with
their charges ; all that respects sending and receiving of letters,
money, and other packets ; trade regulations ; a glossary of foreign
words that he will be most Ukely to fall in with ; accounts of the
principal buildings, galleries of art, and remarkable objects in those
coimtries and cities through which he may go ; prognostics of
weather ; and finally, miscellaneous notices for entertainment and
instruction in solitary hours.
When he arrives at a town or vUlage, he knows where to find
his proper herberge. Here he finds, most probably, others of his
trade, and learns from them or the landlord who are the masters
in the town. He shows his wander-book to tiie landlord, and that
becomes security for what he may have during his stay. He has
then to present his passport at the police-oflioe, and go round to
the masters to seek work. If he find it, his passport must lie at
the police-office till he again has to move, and it is amazing in the
large cities the crowd of these gesellen that you every day see
there, bringing their passports, or fetchmg them a-\vay again, pre
paratory to their departure. At Vienna an officer used generally
to be keeping them back from the door, and only letting in a por
tion of the thronging mass from time to time, as they could be
attended to.
In many States they are not allowed to cross the boundaries,
although furnished with all these requisite documents, unless they
are each in possession of at least two crowns. When driven to
extremity, however, a number of those who travel together wiU
contrive, by standing near each other, to make two crown pieces
serve for them all, by dexterously handing them from one to

GEEMANT. 291

another, and thus in succession showing the same pieces to the
oflficers. If they do not find any master in the place wanting a hand,
they announce this to the ziinft-master, who gives them a certifi
cate to that effect ; and after receiving the Zehrpfennig, or sum
that is allowed by the guild, they are required, -without delay of
more than one day, to proceed on their journey. A gesell can
receive no pecuniary assistance, who either will not take work in
the place where it is to be had ; who has within three months
been there and received work or a contribution ; who has not the
proper certificates, or who has been employed in the place on this
visit. If they receive work, they raust deliver up their wander-book,
to be kept in the ziinft-chest till their departure. When master
or man wishes to separate, either of them must give eight days'
notioe. If the man works by the piece, he must complete his
piece of work before quitting ; if by the week, he can neither leave
before the Saturday evening, nor be dismissed by his employer
before, without some extraordinary cause ; otherwise, if the mas
ter be in fault, he will be fined ; if the man, his unpaid wages will
be forfeited. If the master dismiss the man, the man may obtain
work again in the place iraraediately, if another master have a va
cancy ; if he leave the master, be cannot go to another in the
place until he has quitted it for at least fourteen days.
If a gesell loiter more than a day in a place, after he has done
working, or after he has been round to aU the masters, and has
obtained no work, or if he have been found begging, be is treated
as any other vagabond ; and if his conduct have been bad, and he
have left in debt, he is put on what is caUed the black table, is
reported to the police, his disgrace is sent on his journey before
him, and no master can employ him without incurring a fine.
Such are the regulations under whioh this great body of young
men, in the eye of the law, and urged on by necessity and strict
limitations, wanders from state to state, and city to oity, for three
or more years. When w^e consider what a swarm of rude and in
experienced youths, many of them, in fact, mere lads, is thus sent
abroad into new scenes, and amid new temptations, we cannot
think that there is one rule or restriction too many. Spite of all,
many a wUd scene of fighting Knoten, as these handworkers are
in contempt called, with the bauers or peasants, is seen. Many a
wild drinking and daticing at wakes and merry-makings. Many a
trick is played and carouse is made by the cunning and disorderly.
A troop of the lazy and lewd wUl wander on from place to place,
not being over- anxious to get work, or if they get it, soon giving

292 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

notice and going off again. In the summer-time, you see them
singing and capering on the highways, or in autumn making very
merry under one of those fruit-trees which grow by the waysides
from town to town, and whose leaves, battered to the ground,
give evidence of their vigorous assaults on the ripe temptations.
On the other hand, to the aspiring and deserving these years
open up a new world of knowledge and of Ufe ; to those who
have a feehng for nature and for art — and there are many among
this class — a world of deUght. Imagine a youth who has passed
his apprentice years in some stupid little town, and under some
severe master ; amid circumstances and tempers which make a
house worse than a prison, and of which the bittemess is only too
sure to fall on the innocent apprentice — imagine with what deUght
he must look forward to the hour which shall set him free, and
spread before him a new existence, and new realms and years of
novelty, variety, more freedom, and, as be fondly hopes, more
good. With what a sense of elastic life must he spring from the
doorstead of his cares and oppressions, and stretch the -wings of
his spirit over that wide and hope-tinted space before him ! It
was this peculiar life which gave Goethe the idea of his WUhelm
Meister in bis 'Lebrjahre' and bis ' Wanderjahre ;' and has
furnished to many other German writers topics and ideas that
serve eminently to vary their works. And to those, even in these
humble classes, who have souls whioh have faculties and feelings
beyond the mere circle of what the Germans call their bread-sci
ences — and to none has the beneficent Creator entirely denied
such, any more than he has denied to the dry heath, the com
mon wayside, and the untrodden desert, beauty and the flow
ers which ' blush unseen' there — what a period of enchantment
and of rapidly expanding knowledge does this wandersohaft be
come ! In the mountains and woods through whioh their routes
lead them, by the noble rivers whioh flow through their country,
they breathe, as they go from one station to another in the sum
mer, a soul of poetry, and revel in the richest feelings of existence.
Wbat moments of deep entrancement, what dreams of fancy and
of beauty, do some of these hurable wanderers enjoy, as you see
tbem witb their knapsacks flung on the flowery turf, and their
elbows propped or their beads cushioned upon them, as they
lie stretched on the green skirts of one of their beautiful
woods, and by the swift waters of a meadow stream ! To many a
young wanderer, who, but for this ancient custom, would never
have issued from his native town, as to Hans Sachs, such mo
ments no doubt there are, worth a whole life of ordinary existence.
Visions of the future come before him in the warmest colors of

GEEMANT. .293

anticipated happiness ; and sweetest recollections of woods and
green meadows, and harvest scenes full of happy people, and
mountain glens, and sunshine and bright waters, and feelings in
musical sympathy with them all, cling to him thence to his latest
days, making his native land as hallowed to him as bis own hearth
and existence.
If any one think this too poetical to be true, we can only advise
him to enter the dweUings of such men as shoemakers, saddlers,
or other such handicraft tradesmen, and talk with them and their
famUies, and he will soon convince himself to the contrary. He
will find something at once so manly and so friendly, such a do
mestic feeling and such a feeling of nature, as will most agreeably
surprise him. We have no doubt whatever that it is this nature-
lo^ving and poetical feeling which so universally distinguishes the
Germans, even to the commonest class ; which has been by mieans
of these wanderings wonderfully developed in the man, and thence
introduced into and diffused through every member of their fami
hes. It is this whioh sends them forth on all Sundays and holi
days in such crowds into the country to solitary wirthshouses in
the woods, into the villages and the hills, to smoke tbeir pipes
and drink their ooftee in orchards and garden-arbors, all Germany
over. It is this which makes them read Goethe, SohUler, Hauff,
and such other of their writers as abound in and cherish this spirit.
It would have surprised many an Englishman, who has been ac
customed to regard a poor saddler but as a man wbo reads only
his newspaper, and bis wife and daughter nothing, to have heard
such a family, into whose house we only went to get a strap
mended which broke in passing, speaking of the delight with
which tbey read such authors ; to have seen the glow of enthusi
astic pleasure which kindled in the father's eyes as you mentioned
places'" in distant states where he had been in his wander-years ;
and to hear them describe tbe heavenly pleasure it was to them
on summer mornings to arise before tbe sun and ascend the neigh-
boring mountains to a tower on their summit, and there to see the
sun rise — the wide world below, the clear heavens above ; and
then to take breakfast there with some of their friends. ' Oh !'
said the wife, ' it was ganz himralich, himmUoh ! — quite heavenly,
heavenly ! and it was impossible not to feel a spirit of worship.'
The institutions aad education which bring such a spirit and such
feelings into the heart of the burgher families, are not only a do
mestic, but a national blessing ; and that such spirit and feelings
abound in this class in Germany, you will at once discover when
you -will take the trouble to converse freely and kindly with its
members.

294 THE WOELD WE LH'E IN.

But to retum : — It is a genuine pleasure to see the young men in
such scenes as we have spoken of ; for there is no fine scenery
where you do not meet them, evidently wandering as full of ad
miration and sUent delight as the proudest traveler in his easy
carriage. There is not an old castle or a battle-scene, famous for
its fine location or its associations, where you do not encounter
thera ; and it is not easy to express the syrapathy we felt for two
such young men, very interesting and modest in their appearance,
whom we crossed more than once on our route from Leipsic to
Frankfort. At Eisenach they had ascended the Wartburg, cele
brated as the temporary abode of Luther, when carried off by his
friend, the Elector of Saxony, on his return from Worms, in order
to secure him from his enemies : as the earUer abode of the Earls
of Thuringia, and scene of a celebrated contest of the Minnesing
ers ; and of late as the meeting-place of the Burschenschaft. The
castle of the Wartburg is reached only by an ascent of about half
an hour. We met these two youths ascending, after ha-ving trav
eled from a distant town, as we were descending. Seeing
them again the next day, on the road, we asked them how they
had been pleased witb the castle, and the armory there. They
repUed that they had not been able to see it, because the door
keeper demanded three grosoben, about fourpence, and they had
only two between thera.
It is the same in cities. They -visit galleries of art, pubhc works,
museums, public gardens, and out-of-door concerts, wherever their
small means or the pubhc UberaUty will admit them ; and if^ they
observe the advice given them by the editors of their pocket-books,
and keep a daily journal of what they see, however concise, they
must lay up a great mass of information for their future use and
reflection. By this national institution an advantage is bestowed
on them, which the artisans of other countries do not enjoy, and
calculated to enlarge their minds in no ordinary degree. It also
affords the skiUful and deserving many opportunities of advancing
themselves with masters, whose favor they -win, and of formmg
aUiances with their famUies, wbich insure their future prosperity.
On the other hand, the weariness and the disappointments
which sensitive and unenterprising natures must encounter cannot
be trifling. Long marches in heat and cold, with scanty means,
when they meet with but littie employ, or belong to penurious
guUds, are sharp trials of patience. 'They have often to put up
with the most wretched lodgings and fare, m obscure dorfs ; and
if they faU iU there, far from their native home and friends, what
a melancholy situation ! If our hearts ache as we walk through
the hospitals of large cities, which monks and nuns maintain from

AUSTEIA. 295

public contributions, and act in as nurses and comforters — where
all is clean and as cheerful as such places can be — how much
more would they, if we could behold the wretched lair, in some
wretched hamlet, where the gesell, who has fallen Ul by the way,
perhaps five hundred mUes from his friends, must lie, filled -with
sad longings toward his home and his famUy ties, till perhaps
death release him ! Well may Hauff assert that many a poor
wandering handworker canies a heart more heavy tban his pack.
But we apprehend now, setting aside the feather-beds and the
-wretched quarters in many common herberges, that the greatest
perils lie in the pleasant wirthshouse, so enticing to the evening
pedestrian, and the bright eyes wliich glance from beneath many
a quaint head-dress, in dorfs, and fields, and cities on the way.
Many a handsome youth have we seen gayly marching on, -with
knapsack on back and stick in hand, that would have figured
finely as the hero of a romance, and no doubt was the hero of
many, during the checkered period of his wandersohaft.
Long, however, may the jocund handworker traverse the hills
and highivays of his native land, giving picturesque variety to its
scenes, and gaining knowledge and experience for his future quiet
and industrious burgher life."

CHAPTER XX.
AUSTRIA .
Though forming a part of the German nation, or rather group
of nations, Austria has large possessions in other countries.
She controls the destinies of several foreign, and at one time inde
pendent, nations, and her grand poUoy is to blend them in a per
manent union, subjected to a single, uniform govemment. Hun
gary, Galicia, Bohemia, part of Poland, the Tyrol, as well as the
Lombardo-Venetian kingdom in Italy, comprising the nortbem
and by far the richest portion of the ItaUan peninsula, all are
compeUed to yield to the domination, of Austria. Thus her pos
sessions are quite extensive, and her population numerous, though
diversified. They amount to about 37,000,000. Let us visit
Vienna, then, the capital of this large but un-wieldy empu-e — a
capital imposing and beautiful, swarming with inhabitants, but as

296 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

gay, giddy, and Ucentious as any in Europe, essentiaUy German
in its general features and population, but mingling other racea,
costumes, and customs, held together and governed by the strong
hand of military force.
Vienna is full of theaters, churches, opera-houses, coffee-houses,
and "kneipes," a species of gay restaurants, or drinking-places
for the common people, thronged from moming to night. " What
they want (in Vienna) is to live every minute, to enjoy every
minute — and that they do. From the theater they go to the
supper — next morning to mass — then to work, every man his
own way — then out of one play into another. Wiser they wiU
never be, and never were." The Prater, or public promenade,
beyond tbe city, is tbe great pleasure-ground of the Viennese, and
here their gay character is strikingly revealed. The following de
scription, by Zelter, whose words we have just quoted, from his
correspondenoe with Goethe, is the best we have seen. " Mon
day, July 26th. — Yesterday I saw the Prater in its Sunday glory.
Four rows of the finest chestnut-trees form three avenues, which
begin from the Leopold Stadt, and lead along the side of the
Danube a league and a half. The middle one, for carriages, is
forty-five feet wide ; the two sides, for walkers, are twenty-four
feet. You see several hundred equipages, some of them extremely
splendid, and fiacres all in motion in the center ; and at the sides,
groups, couples, or solitary walkers, in such pretty confusion, that
it is a pleasure to see so many handsome, well-dressed men and
women, with the greatest variety of character and countenance,
flitting by you like colored shadows. At the sides are coffee
houses and seats, under the shade of the most beautiful clumps of
trees, all exquisitely neat and clean. You sit down. Out of the
thicket behind you comes the sound of music. You are now at
the opera — now at a ball — now on tbe parade. Coffee comes,
and cakes with it. A chUd presents flowers ; a pretty girl offers
crystal water ; an old woman tooth-picks : all these are feed with
copper kreutzers (pennies), whioh you are glad to get rid of in
so pleasant a way, for they are as heavy as a bad conscience, and
weigh your pockets down to your heels.
" But these avenues by no means constitute the whole Prater.
A second and a third of the same kind extend, like a fan, from
the Leopold Stadt to the Danube (it is properly an arm of the
Danube). Here is the other pole of the planet ; — here is the real
genuine people. The spaces between the trees grow wider as they
approach the river, and are filled with places of refreshment,
where beer, wine, eatables, and, except coffee, drinkables of all
ijorts, ice, &c., may be had. (The three coffee-houses, par excel-

AHSTELA.

297

13*

AUSTEIA. 299

lence, in tbe grand avenue, have the exclusive privilege of selling
coffee.) These places of refreshment are in such nuraber, and so
near together, that you cannot distinguish the custoraers of one
host from those of another, and you run a risk of eating what
your neighbor has paid for.
"This, then, is the true Vienna. Here, in the midst of all this
serving, and sitting, and pouring, and smoking, and carousing, and
fiddling, the universal stream and movement flow gayly and com
fortably on. People go or stay, come, speak to one another — it
is unbroken quiet and ceaseless motion at the sarne time. No in-
closures, no impediments ; for though the bouses are the property
of the inhabitants, the ground is the emperor's, and nobody may
inclose it. The impression made by this moving scene — turault 1
cannot call it — is an easy, gentle forgetfulness. I could not rec
ollect what I had thought or observed, and though I -write aU
this, I can hardly affirm so it is — so it was."
Leaving Vienna, let us sail down the broad bosom of the
Danube, passing through vast forests, wide meadows, and mount
ain ranges, some of them clad in savage grandeur, and entering
the regions of Hungary, make the acquaintance of the Slavonic
races, most of whom are restive under the crushing hand qf Aus
trian domination, and who, in the recent revolutions, would have
thrown it off, but for the intervention of Russia. Here, on broad
fields, waving with grain, or covered witb cattle and horses, sur
rounded by mountains, and in the regions beyond, much of it cul
tivated, but much of it also wild and wooded, watered by the
Danube and its various tributaries, live most of the Slavonic
races of the Austrian Empire, under the naraes of Magyars,
Croats, &c. Eastward, are the Latin races, as they are terraed
(most of them speaking the Latin language), and comprising the
Wallaohians of Hungary, Transylvania, and the military frontiers.
Buda, the capital of Hungary, stands upon the right bank of
the Danube, opposite the city of Pesth, famous in the late revo
lutions, forming, indeed, but one city, connected by a bridge of
boats. The buUdings are large and liandsome ; and the popula
tion of both cities amounts to nearly a hundred thousand, the
larger portion being resident in Pesth.
But we defer, for the present, what we have to say respecting
Hungary. In the mean whUe, we miist form some idea of the
relations sustained by Austria to its dependent possessions, in
order to understand the true position and probable fate of Hun
gary. The emperors of Austria are descendants of the celebrated
house of Hapsburg, who, in former times, displayed the greatest
energy of character. Recently, however, they have sadly degen-

300 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

erated. In the reign of Francis I., a mild, good-natured man, but
without elevation of thought or manly energy, Metternich placed
himself in a position to take the reins of government into his own
hands. Francis I. was succeeded by the late emperor, Ferdinand
I., whose name is scarcely kno-wn beyond the bounds of Austria,
a man of narrow, trivial, superstitious temper, feeble in body, and
equally feeble in mind, in fact, a mere automaton in the hands of
Metternich. For the greater portion of the last half centiiry, the
true King of Austria has been the Prince de Metternich, or, as
some of the Germans facetiously, but not inappositely, call him.
Prince de Mitter-Nacht — that is. Prince Midnight — a man of giant
energy and consummate political genius, but narrow, despotic,
and selfish.
The principal care of Metternich has been to give to the people
of the Austrian dominions much physical prosperity, and to main
tain the existing order. " In this country," says a traveler, "the
arms are put to labor, the stomach is well filled, the highways are
well guarded, the fields well cultivated ; all would do if the peo
ple would not sometimes take a notion to think !" No liberty of
the press ; no independence whatever ; the government keeps the
nation under guardianship, and treats men like children who know
not how to take care of theraselves. A learned German one day
reproached M. de Metternich with not looking out for the future.
"After me let the deluge come .'" said the diplomatist. The deluge
did come, and swept away Prince Metternich and the old Austrian
despotism. But he found a quiet retreat in England, and lo ! by
the help of the fierce Russians, every thing has been restored.
The revolution of Vienna is subdued, and the house of Hapsburg
once more occupies the imperial throne. The deluge, it seems,
like other deluges, was only temporary, and produced less change
than one could have imagined. Prince de Metternich is back
again in Vienna, only another has ostensibly taken his place. His
role is pretty much finished, and it would not be well for him to
appear at the head of affairs, but his advice, we presume, is
deemed as valuable as ever. One of these days he wUl die, but
bis spirit, we fear, wUl not die for many years in Germany.
Ferdinand I., too, has resigned, and Francis Joseph, his son, a
young man of sorae capacity, has ascended the throne. A new
and modified constitution bas been proclaimed, but the principles
and usages of the old regime are not essentially changed. Order
and subjection reign in Vienna, and as far as may be, in the con
quered provinces. Hungary, tom and bleeding, is still. Lom
bardy, sick at heart, and exhausted with wounds, is prostrate in
the dust. Robert Blum is dead-. Count Batthyany, one of the

AUSTEIA. 301

noblest of the Protestant noblemen of Hungary, is in his grave.
Kossuth is in exUe, and his followers are either in chains, or rec
reant to the cause of freedom, or scattered over the face of the
earth. Austria has her will — for the present, at least ; and her
aira, therefore, will be to consolidate her empire at home and
abroad. She claims that she has a right to Hungary by gift, and
to Lombardy by conquest, and she will maintain ber right, if she
can. Neither individuals nor nations, ordinarily, are willing to
abandon their possessions, however obtained. It is " human na
ture" (not transformed by Christian influences) to "keep what it
has, and to get what it can." By flattering the Croats, and promis
ing them immunities, Austria has used them against their natural
allies, the Hungarians ; and now it would seem that Austria is
nearer than ever the great object of all ber policy, which has been
to divide and to conquer, and it is possible that the brave Magyars,
the savage Croats, the rude, but simple-hearted Tcheques, the
Poles of GaUcia, and the natives of Transylvania, Illyria, Dalma
tia, and Wallachia, may be forced to blend in one common govem
ment.

302

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTEE XXI.

HUN GARY.

Hungarian and Bohemian Costume.
Hungary is comprised in the great oval plain or basin watered
by the Danube, the Theiss, the Raab, the Leitha, and other trib
utaries of the Danube, surrounded on all sides except the south
by lofty mountains, whence the rivers have their sources, and
from which they rush to the plain, where the land is so level that
their current is scarcely -visible. If we include all that are usually
styled Hungarians, composed of various Sla-vic tribes, Slovaks
and Magyars, Croats, Germans, and Gipsies, who find their pa-

HUNGAET. 303

tional home here, the population will amount to eleven or twelve
mUlions. If, however, we confine it to the Magyar races and their
dependents, it -will be much less. The country is fertUe, rich in
cattle, and, among the mountains, in various metals, common and
precious. The population is properly divided into the nobles and
peasantry, the former enUghtened and brave, the latter ignorant
and i-ude, and, until recently, under the domination of the former.
The Magyars occupy the heart of the country, and nuraber
4,450,000, more than one-half of whom profess the Protestant.
faith, the others being mostly Catholics. The superiority of the
Magyars over their neighbors of other races is one of character ;
for though many of them are well educated, the peasantry, as well
as the middle classes, are behuid the Germans. The hussar
jacket, Ught pantaloons and boots, with a huge-brimmed hat, form
the costume of the lower' orders. The Hungarian costume, as
worn in full dress by the higher classes, is quite imposing, and
has been adopted by hussar regiments in various countries. The
attila, or frock, and the mente, or long surooat, trimmed with fur,
are often substituted for the dollman, or short hussar jacket.
The kalpack, or fur cap, with the costly heron's feather, forms
the national head-gear ; and on official occasions, the saber is an
indispensable addition to a gentleman's attire. The nobles are
very numerous, and possess the landed property and influence of
the country. Formerly they were free from taxation, and had
the right of judging in their own affairs, but both of these high
immimities tbey voluntarily resigned in 1836. Formerly, too,
they much oppressed the peasantry ; but recently they have made
common cause with them, and had they secured their independ
ence, would have conferred upon them still greater privileges.
The Magyars are supposed to be of Asiatic origin. At what
time they came into Hungary is not kno-ivn. Anciently, they
went by the general name of Pannonians. About the tenth cen
tury they estabUshed themselves on the great plains of the Danube,
and its lower tributaries, formerly known as Dacia and Pannonia.
Other races inhabited the country, Slavonian, Wallaohian, &o.,
but the conquering Magyars have always been regarded as the
ascec.dent race, much as the Normans were in England for some
eight or nine centm-ies. Indeed, the Magyars are simply the war
rior caste of a former age, and as such, enjoyed certain immunities,
and performed certain duties, such as the defense and vindication of
the country in the time of war. These nobles formed a National
Diet, governed by its own constitution and laws, to which they
were elected by the Magyar race, boi h nobles and peasants.
Indeed, Him)rary was for centuries a miUtary Republic, having

304 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

for its executive head a President, or rather a limited Monarch,
elected by tbe nobles. Though powerful and brave, the Hunga
rians were severely pressed by the Turks, at that time dominant
and victorious, and were finally completely routed by them in
1526, on the field of Mohacz, where their last king, Louis IL, was
slain, and the royal line extinguished. Ferdinand of Austria
claimed to be heir to the throne vacated by the death of his
brother-in-law. Though this claim was not recognized, it was
.felt that a nation sunk in the depths of calamity could not pro
voke another war, hence Ferdinand was elected King of Hungary,
but sworn to protect her ancient rights and liberties, and to gov
ern in conformity to ber laws. In all respects Hungary was to
remain a distinct and independent nation, simply acknowledging
allegiance to the house of Hapsburg. The crown was grasped ;
the conditions were evaded or violated.
In 1687, at the close of the long and triumphant war which
broke forever the Turkish power, Leopold II. proceeded to con
summate the grand design of his house, to incorporate Hungary
wifh the Austrian dominions, in which the will of the sovereign
should be absolute and unquestioned. This was accomplished by
treachery, torture, and bloodshed. The poor Hungarians were
compelled to submit. Leopold was not only ruler of Austria, as
well as Hungary, but emperor of Germany also, and his troops
garrisoned every commanding 'post in the country. The Diet re
fused to acknowledge the hereditary title of the emperor ; but
what could they do ? They were compelled to yield, but on con
ditions — conditions whioh were never observed. Each Austrian
monarch in succession swore to observe the constitution, but
never hesitated to violate it when his interests were at stake.
Usurpations on the one side, -with occasional concessions, almost
uniformly withdrawn, and endeavors on the other to maintain
their hereditary rights, form the subsequent history of the Hun
garian nation in its connection with Austria. Joseph IL, after
usurping the entire control of the government, and refusing even
to call the Diet togetiier, yielded to the ferment which such con
duct raised in Hungary, and once more took a solemn oath to ob
serve the Hungarian constitution, and maintain the ancient inde
pendence of the country. This was in 1790, or just after the
breaking out of the first French revolution. Many changes oc
curred, and the faithless house of Hapsburg deliberately violated
all its engagements to Hungary.
Gradually a patriotic and reform party, led by Count Batthyany,
Kossuth, and other noble spirits, was formed in Hungary, and
grew in influence and power. They demanded constitutional gov-

HUNGAET. 305

emment, the freedom of the press, a responsible ministry at Buda,
an annual diet at Pesth, equality, civU and reUgious, representa
tion on the principle of equality, trial by jury, a national bank, a
national guard, and so forth. Under the pressure of circum
stances, these were yielded by tbe Austrian monarch, trembUng
for his throne. The patriot Batthyany was instracted to form a
Hungarian ministi-y, and did so. The noble Kossuth and his com
patriots became the legitimate rulers of the nation.
But despotism recovered its energies, and instantly retracted its
concessions, and as instantly made war upon Hungary. But how
was this accomplished ? Hungary was tranquil and happy, and
had no thought of a revolt or of a civU war. There was no re
source but to stir up "a war of races." The savage and jealous
Croats, duped by their Ban, Jellachich, in the interest of Austria,
and governed by the selfish hope of acquiring special privileges by
the subjugation of Hungary, were led against their neighbors.
The Hungarians, of course, resisted, and outlawed Jellachich, who
had been secretly made governor of a part of their territory with
out their consent. The Austrian court was appealed to in this
emergency, but temporized as usual, fulminating proclamations
against Jellachich, but, of course, did nothing. Jellachich ad
vanced with his Croats into the heart of Hungary, plundering,
ravaging, and murdering. At length the Hungarian Diet resolved
to repel the outlawed marauder, and levied an army for this pur
pose. But the Austrians threw off the mask, and sent to the as
sistance, not tbe resistance, of Jellachich ; and the emperor actu
ally addressed him a letter of thanks for his fidelity and attach
ment !
As a final resort, a grand deputation of one hundred and sixty
Hungarians, headed by the President of the Diet, made their way
to Vienna to know what all this could mean, and to see if war
could not, somehow, be averted. They were treated with con
tempt. The deputation returned; and announced to the people
that there was no hope but in God and themselves !
The rest is well known. Jellachich was driven back, and the
independence of Hungary would have been secured, but for the
intervention of the Russian Bear. Blood flowed in torrents, and
Hungary fell. The atrocities of the war were enormous. Riot
and murder covered the land with desolation and woe. To de
scribe these would require volumes, and would only barrow the
feeUngs. Take the foUowing from the translation of a work by an
Austrian officer, lately published in England, entitled " Scenes of
the Civil War in Hungary," and from one, leam all.
The writer takes up his quarters in a castle.

306 THE WOELD WE LI'VE IN.

" At the tramp of the horses, and the clank of swords, the
porch- door opened, and an old man, a kind of steward, followed
by servants with gTeat lantems, came toward us, asking who- we
were, and what was our errand. I rephed that I was an oflicer
of the Emperor and King, belonging to the army of the Ban ; and
requested, in the first place, to be conducted to the master of the
mansion. The man obeyed, though with some reluctance, and
led me into a spacious hall, which, by the dim light of a lamp,
appeared to be a sort of ancestral haU. Large pictures were hung
upon the walls, and between them swords, muskets, old armor,
and arms of all kinds.
" Here the castellan bade me wait, while be went to announce
me ; and I availed myself of this moment to take off my cloak, to
set my hair to rights a little, to fasten my dolman close about me,
to tie my sash properly ; in short, to make myself as smart as I
could. The old man presently came back, conducted me along a
con-idor, and then opened the folding doors of an apartment,
whence issued the brilliant light of tapers.
'' Somewhat dazzled, I entered the apartment, which was most
elegantly fitted up, where a tall, handsome lady reoeived me with
a polite but proud obeisance. I was just going to introduce my
self, and to apologize for my unbidden visit, when she extended
her hand to me with loud exclamations of joy, ' Ah, Baron AV. !'¦
" I now recognized her. It was the Countess St  , the
Milan beauty, the wife of my old corarade, St  , who once
saved my life in Bologna, and who, after his marriage with the
fair Marchesa B  , had obtained leave to resign, and retired
to his lordship in Hungary ; and I now found myself, without
having suspected it, in his mansion.
" Being called by bis wife, he made his appearance immediately,
and cordial was our embrace. He was still, as he ever had been,
Magyar, both body and soul ; and told me frankly that he should
long since have gone to Kossuth, bad he not been restrained by
the odious idea of being obliged to fight against his former com
rades ; but he assured me that he would yet do so.
" I advised that we should not talk of poUtical matters, but
rather think of old times ; and bis wife approved the suggestion.
By-and-by came his sister, the young Countess Helene, the most
beautiful Hungarian female I had ever seen ; and that is saying
a great deal.
" St  gave me his word and honor that we were perfectly
safe from any surprise by the enemy, and my men were abun
dantly supplied with wine and meat ; and, whUc they made them
selves comfortable outside, I found myself in Paradise, between

HUNGAET. 307

two beautiful and amiable females, opposite to a friend whom- 1
had not seen for a long time, and before a glass of exquisite tokay.
All weariness vanished ; and we joked and laughed half the night,
forgetting the war, and Kossuth, and national hatred.
" Two days I rested in St  's mansion, as a Uttle respite
was highly desirable for both men and horses. The eyes of the
Countess Helene began to be dangerous for me ; but upon the
earth the soldier has no abiding quarters. On the third morning,
¦with a tear in my eye, I pressed St  to my breast, kissed
the cheek of his wife and his sister ; the latter plucked a rose-bud
for me as a keepsake, my trumpeter sounded ' to horse,' and away
we dashed."
When next they meet it is under different circumstances :
" He had, as we often have said, a serious engagement with the
Magyars, in which there were, on both sides, at least ten or twelve
thousand men in the fire. On this occasion tbe enemy again had
a numerous and excellent light cavalry, and had the sltill to em
ploy it on ground favorable for himself, so that our infantry was
repeatedly exposed to the raost violent attacks, and had the great
est difficulty to ward them off.
" Two squadrons, in particular, of very well organized and
equipped Honveds, distinguished themselves by their furious
charges on Croatian infantry battalions, and could not, at last,
be compelled to retreat but by several discharges of grape, which
made dreadful havoc in their ranks.
" The leader of this corps, a man of tall, elegant figure, in the rich
dress of a magnate, mounted on a superb, spirited, gray stallion,
which he managed with great dexterity, was indefatigable in al
ways rallying his men, and leading them back against our infantry.
He galloped to and fro with as much unconcern as if the balls
whizzing around him were but snow-balls, continually flourishing
his glistening blade.
" The figure of the rider seemed to be well known to me ; but
I could not distinguish his features, as we were drawn up in rear
of our column of infantry, at the distance of some hundred paces
from him.
" Twice he bad escaped unhurt the fire of our infantry ; when,
as I have already mentioned, some guns, which had meanwhile
come up, began to fire with grape. He seemed not to heed the
first discharge, for I saw him, still brisk and animated as ever,
galloping about at the bead of his men. The second must have
been directed better ; for, when the smoke cleared off, I could
perceive the horse and rider on the ground.
" At the same moment we received the signal for charging.

308 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

The ranks of our infantry suddenly opened to let us pass through,
and we advanced at full gallop upon the enemy's horse. These,
at first, retired precipitately, to get beyond the range of our can
non, then rallied, and drove us back ; we did the same by them ;
and so we went on, tiU at length, as it is usual in Hungary, the
whole dissolved into single combats, in which man is engaged,
hand to hand, with man.
" It was nearly dark, when, with my troop, some of whom were
killed, others severely wounded, I reached the main body. Scarcely
had we unsaddled, and, tired to death, I was about to stretch my
self by the watch-fire, fed with the ruins of houses which had
been pulled down, when an infantry soldier, appointed to hospital
duty, came to infoi-m me that an officer of the insurgents, danger
ously wounded and taken prisoner, having heard my name, wished
to speak to me.
" In spite of weariness, I immediately followed my guide to the
hurdle-shed, which was fitted up for a hospital. Dismal was the
appearance of this dark, low place, scantily lighted by the hand-
lanterns of the surgeons and attendants, who, with their blood-
stripped sleeves tucked up high, and with aprons equaUy bloody,
were busily engaged. The wounded lay close to one another upon
dirty straw, which, in places, was quite wet and slippery from the
blood upon it. Loud and gentle sighs, moans, groans, gnashing
of teeth, mingled at times with curses in the Bohemian, PoUsh,
Hungarian, German, and Croatian languages. I was obliged to
rally my courage, lest I should be scared back.
" In the furthest corner of the long buUding, on a bed of straw,
lay the wounded prisoner who wished to speak to me. How was
I shocked when the light of the attendant's lantem feU upon his
face, and I recognized Count St  !
" On our march through Croatia to Vienna I had passed two
days at his mansion ; had seen him in the society of two charming
women — his wife and his sister — in the fuU enjoyment of happi
ness; and now, in what a state was I doomed to find him!
St  , a Magyar to the inmost fiber of his heart, had, indeed,
then told me that be should take up arms for Kossuth ; but thus
to meet him again I was not at all prepared.
" Kneeling by the side of my pale friend, whose noble counte
nance bore the evident impress of speedy death, I grasped his cold
hand, and a.sked in what way I could be serviceable to him.
' Thank you for coming,' he replied, in a voice scarcely audible,
and this effort manifestiy caused him great pain : ' I heard that
you were here, and I sent for you. I am dying ; my chest is
shattered. When I am dead, take the pocket-book out of my

HUNGAET. 309

uniform and send it to my wife, who lives at K  ; it contains
my -will and other papers,'
" Here he made a long pause, duriug which I strove to cheer
him. " ' Don't talk thus — 'tis of no use—we part as friends — I have
fought for my country — you are faithful to your colors.'
" I pressed his hand in sUence.
" ' "Where is your sister Helene ?' I at length asked.
" ' With the army,' he answered — ' she is fighting for Hun
gary.' " It was now a considerable time before St  could utter
a word. He moaned, gently ; and a regimental surgeon, who
came to us, significantly made the sign of the cross with his
finger. " At length, after a full hour, he suddenly raised himself and
said, ' So— now 'tis all over — salute Marie, the name of wife —
Mijrie !' and with that he stretched himself out, his eye-strings
broke, and his spirit fled."
The tragedy concludes -with the fate of the lovely sister of his
host, who, like many a Polish victim of the fair sex, had braved
danger in her country's cause :
" Satisfied on this point, I set out, with my two attendants, on
my return to the watch-fire, the tall flame of which flared up
cheeringly before us ; when, the moon shining tolerably bright,
we perceived a human figure lying at tbe foot of a tree.
" We went nearer ; it was a woman, dressed as a man, in the
costume of a Hungarian magnate ; the long hair which fell over
her shoulders betrayed her sex. My serassans turned her round,
and by the pale moonbeams I recognized Helene, the lovely sister
of my friend, St  . Inexpressible anguish thrilled me that
moment, and I was well-nigh throwing myself upon the corpse.
" Forcibly mustering- my spirits, I ordered my men to carry the
body to the fire. There we examined it more closely, and, with
extrerae anxiety, I sought to ascertain whether there was any hope
left of reviving her. Vain hope ! it was several hours since her
spirit had departed ; the ball of one of our rifieraen had gone
through her heart. . From the small red wound the blood was
stUl oozing in single drops, which I carefully caught in my hand
kerchief, to be preserved as a relic.
" My only consolation was that the deceased could not have
suffered long ; that she must have expired the very moraent she
was struck. Those pure, noble, still wondrously beautiful fea
tures — on her brow dwelt peace and composure, and the lips
almost smUed. There she lay as if in tranquU slumber ; and yet

310 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

those eyes were never more to open — those Ups never more to
utter noble sentiments or words of kindness.
" My hussars were visibly affected, and thought it a pity that
one so young and so beautiful should die so early. Many of them,
who had been with me on our first march through Hungary, for
two days together at St  's mansion, instantly recognized
Helene, and doubly lamented her death, because she had shown
such kindness to them.
" We thawed, by a fire, the ground not far from a maple-tree,
and were employed nearly the whole night in digging a large,
deep grave with our hand-bills and swords. By the time the first
rays of dawn appeared we had finished ; a hussar, who could do
carpenter's work, having meanwhile made a simple cross out of
the stems of two wliite maples.
" The corpse, in full uniform ; the kolpack, with plume of glis
tening heron's feathers, on the head, the hght Turkish saber by
her side, was then carefully -n-rapped in a clean, large blanket,
which we had with us, and so deposited in the grave, which we
filled up with earth. Then, regardless of caution, I had a fuU
salute fired with pistols over the grave. I have preserved a small
gold ring and a lock of her hair for a memorial. When our mel
ancholy business was finished, we moved off after the enemy, who
retreated rather hastUy.
" The tempestuous feeUng that fiUed my heart I am not able to
describe. Helene had, as I subsequently leamed, served as aid-
de-camp to her maternal uncle, who commanded a considerable
Magyar corps, and was shot, when acting in that capacity, by our
soldiers, in tbe above-mentioned action."

CHAPTER XXII.

BOHEMIA AND POLAND.

_ Reascending the Danube, as far as yienna, we strike off at
right angles, and after journeying a hundred and sixty mUes,
through a fine agricultural country, find ourselves in the ancient
city of Prague, the capital of Bohemia, magnificently sitjiiated on
both sides of the Moldau, having forty-eight churches, several of
them antique and beautiful, sixteen monasteries, nineteen syna
gogues — for there are seven or eight thousand Jews resident here.

BOHEAIIA AND POLAND. 311

in addition to a population of about a hundred thousand souls-
several elegant palaces, among which are the imperial castle and
palace of Wallenstein, a large university, and other public edifices
of striking and imposing forms, and in every part, particularly to
ward the river, which is spanned by a superb bridge of sixteen
arches, strongly fortified. Its university is one of the oldest and
most celebrated in Germany, having a Ubrary of a hundred thou
sand volumes, a corps of learned professors, and many students.
John Huss, Jerome, usually styled Jerome of Prague, and Jaco-
bellus, leamed and eloquent divines and reformers of Bohemia,
were professors in this university, and served to kindle a flame in
their native land which will never bc extinguished. Huss and
T . '
Jerome were both bumed at Constance, having been condemned
as heretics by a furious papal council, but the spirit of their genius
and character lived after them, and has modified the whole aspect
of Bohemian history.'* Prague is the center of an extensive com
merce and of a wide-spread Uterary and moral influence, and, as
in former times, is still destined to play an important part in the
affairs of Germany. It has sufi'ered much from war, change, and
revolution, and, we fear, will yet be called to endurance and trial.
The country of. Bohemia is one of the finest in thc world. It
resembles an immense concavity or basin, considerably elevated
above the level of the sea, surrounded on all sides by lofty mount
ains, rich with various metals, and presenting diversified aspects
of grandeur and beauty. The Elbe receives all the waters of this
fair valley, and breaking through the Erzegcbirge, passes into Sax
ony, whence it pursues its v/'aj, through the heart of Northern
Gerraany, to Hamburg and the sea. The land is fertile, free from
marshes and all kinds of noxious influences, and the air is pure
and bland. Italy itself has not a serener sky. Spring, summer,
and winter pass into each other with a delightfiil variety of tem
perature. The mountain ranges are covered with pines and other
trees. In the interior are extensive forests, the haunt of wild an
imals, and the scene of many a strange romance. It forras the
most northern and northwestern portion of the Austrian Empire,
and has a population of 4,000,000, ingenious, hardy, cheerful, and
enterprising. The ancient literature of Bohemia is rich and various,
and recently it has been, revived. The raajority of the inhabitants
are of Slavic origin, like the Magyars and others, but interraingled

¦* In the museum at Frankfort is an admirable painting, we think by Lea
sing, of Jolra Huss before the Diet at Constance. The figures an.l attitudea
are vcry striking. An engraving of this fine painting, we believe, has been
publislied.

312 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

with Germans. They are famous for their manufactures, partic
ularly in glass, and, above all, for their noble dispositions and
great musical talents. A large proportion of the inhabitants are
Protestants, but the Catholics, favored by govemment, are also
numerous and influential. The latter are said to be peculiarly
superstitious. In no place is the reverence for relics and images
carried further than in Prague. The bridge over the Moldau is
Uned with an avenue of statues, before which numbers of people
may be seen kneeling, and even prostrating themselves, in the
most humble postures.
The history of Bohemia, from time immemorial, has been one of
outrage and wrong, of persecution and oppression. Of Sla-vic
origin, and cherishing the memory of then- ancient independence,
they sigh for freedom and equal rights. But Austria has kept
her foot on the neck of Bohemia, as on that of Hungary. Her
method here bas been the same as elsewhere — to excite the differ
ent races, German and Slavonic, against each other, and by that
means to keep both in quiet subjection. The Protestants, espe
cially from the tirae of John Huss, have been called to special
suffering and trial. Crushed, and all but extinguished under the
tyranny of Austrians and Jesuits, it is wonderful that they have
survived at all, and especially that they should possess so much
vitality and strength. In the beginning of the seventeenth cen
tury, before the thirty years' war, whioh was a war of religion,
there were in Boheraia 732 great and small towns, 34,700 ¦villages
or hamlets, and 3,000,000 of souls. After this war there re
mained but 130 towns, 6000 viUages, and 780,000 inhabitants!
It may be imagined what massacre and buming, what torture and
bloodshed, what imprisonment and exUe must have preceded such
a state of things ! In the year 1630 the whole country presented
one scene of ruin, horror, and blood.
What was the crirae of the Bohemians which brought upon
them such fearful punishment? Adhering to their faith, and,
when persecuted, defending it with their Ufe — nothing more !
For this, soldiers and priests devoured the land, and Protestant
ism was banished to the forests and mountains ! The nobles and
people that remained embraced the religion of the conquerors.
For 250 years this state of things continued. At last a depu
tation of Protestants, emerging from their concealment, found a
favorable audience at the court of Joseph II. , who granted them
leave once more to celebrate their worship, and, though suffering
heavy disabilities from the conduct of the dominant priests, they
began to prosper.
But once more Bohemia has suffered from change and revolu-

BOHEMIA AND POLAND. 313

tion ; her hopes of freedom and prosperity have been crashed.
The Austrian eagle, with her talons deep in the heart of the na
tion, exults over her prey. Protestantism, of course, bears the
brunt of this new and painful reverse.
The present position and prospects of Bohemia wUl be under
stood from the foUowing narrative :
" There are in this country two wholly distinct races, the
Tcheches, and the Germans. The Tcheches belong to the numer
ous family of Slaves, or Slavonians. They were originaUy set
tled on the shores of the Black Sea, and came into Boheraia about
the middle of the sixteenth century. They were converted to
Christianity by the missionaries Methodius and Cyril. Their
creeds, their religious observances, were derived from the Greek
Church, not the Latin Church, and this explains why, some ages
later, they adopted so easily the opinions of John Huss.
The Tcheches speak a dialect of the Slavonian language.
Those who have studied this idiom affirm that it is full of force,
precision, grace, and originality. The Bohemians have long stud
ied literature, the sciences and arts, with the greatest success.
They have particularly a taste for mathematics and music. The
restorer of modern astronomy, Copernicus, was a Bohemian. At
the time of the thirty years' war they reckoned a host of good
writers, and had expensive libraries. But Austrians, ItaUans,
Spanish monks, who invaded the country, burnt the books of Bo
hemians as heretics. They searched houses, and seized without
ceremony all works of national Uterature. Some of these fanatical
inquisitors boasted of having cast into the fire more than 60,000
volumes. From that moment scientific and Uterary studies dis
appeared, and the celebrated University of Prague was but the
shadow of what it had been.
Still, with their surprising elasticity of character, the Tcheches
did not sink under so great calamities. They sought in their in
dustry a means of restoring prosperity to their country. , They
worked rich mines of iron, lead, sulphur, and coal. Their manu
factures, of glass are celebrated in all Europe. They established
cotton and woolen manufactures. At present the Tcheches com
pose a population of 2,560,000 individuals, and their writers have
begun again to cultivate ancient literature. They have poets, his
torians, and antiquarians who enjoy a just renown.
By the side of the Tcheches is the Teutonic, or German race,
consisting in Bohemia of about 1,000,000 souls. The Germans,
as you see, are a minority. Having come later than the Tcheches,
they do not constitute the basis of the Bohemian population.
But, protected by the emperors, under the influence of the priests,
14

314 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN,

enjoying the highest offices, and favored in every way by the
court of Vienna, they have long ruled over tbe nation. AU pub
Uc acts must be registered in the German langua'ge. The army,
the government officers, the courts of justice, all were obUged to
employ the idiom of the conqueror, like the Anglo-Saxons under
the first successors of William the Conqueror. The poor Tcheches
could not preserve their language except in the family circle.
Such was the condition of the two races in Bohemia when the
revolution of Paris occurred. The oppressed nations leaped for
joy, and despots trembled on their old thrones. On the llth of
March a popular assembly was convened at Prague. The haU
for meeting was filled to overflowing. Earnest- addresses were
delivered, and the audience adopted unanimously the draft of a
petition containing the following points: 1. EquaUty of the two
races in schools, in courts of justice, and before the govemment;
2. Obligation of every magistrate to speak the two languages;
3. Union of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia under the direction of
one common diet, assembled sometimes at Prague, sometimes at
Brunn ; 4. An elective national representation ,; 5. Pubhcity of
judicial proceedings, liberty of the press, arming of the people,
security for personal liberty ; 6. Equality of all reUgious confes
sions ; 7. Abolition of feudal rights, privileges of nobles, &c.
This was a complete list of reforms. In the first moments of en
thusiasm, the petition was covered with thousands of signatures,
Germans and Tcheches seemed to have forgotten their long rival
ries, and put their names on the same page. Students, municipal
councilors, magistrates, and even many nobles partook of the gen
erous irapulse. The petition was carried to Vienna by delegates
chosen by all classes of the nation.
A popular revolution had just occurred in Vienna, the 14th of
March. Prince de Metternich had fled ; the Emperor Ferdinand
had no more authority ; the new ministers of state professed the
most liberal opinions. They received with much complaisance the
delegation from Bohemia, and promised, with some slight reserves,
to grant all that the petitioners asked.
A splendid feast was given to the delegates on their retum to
Prague, the 27th of March. The houses were omamented with
the national flag of white and red. The students and the, civic
guard formed a long file, from the gates of tbe city to the hotel of
the commune. Twelve girls, in white satin robes, walked in the
midst of the train ; chUdren, with red and white scarfs, bore fiow
ers and flags. The carriages of the delegates were crowned with
laurels ; after them came the ecclesiastics of aU communions, and
the academic senate. The bells were rung ; fireworks were dis-

BOHEMIA AND POLAND. 315

played ; the ladies waved their handkerchiefs : all breathed the
joy of triumph 
Vain delusion of people, who believe that sovereigns wiU yield
voluntarily any portion of their power ! In spite of De Metter-
nich's fall, and the change of cabinet, tbe court of Vienna acted
with its usual duplicity. Not daring to resist openly the people's
enthusiasm, it resorted to artifices to gain time. What difficulty
was there in making promises ? Have kings and their ministers
ever lacked reasons to violate the most solemn engageraents ?
The plan of the court of Vienna, as afterward appeared, was
this : To awaken and irabitter animosities between the Tcheches
and the Germans ; to employ the Tcheches to resist the efforts of
the parliament at Frankfort for union, then to set the Germans
at variance with the Tcheches ; in a word, to follow strictly the
Machiavellian policy, which is, to divide and conquer.
An occasion soon offered to carry out this detestable policy.
All the German nations had been called upon to choose delegates,
who should meet at Frankfort, and try to establish a common
constitution, and a uniform organization for the whole empire.
The Austrian cabinet, who could not oppose openly the plan of
union, sent an invitation to the inhabitants of Bohemia, calling on
them to exercise their electoral rights. But at the same time they
commissioned secret agents to stir up the hereditary jealousies of
the Tcheches. These perfidious emissaries wont from town to
town, from village to village, saying : ' What ! you, the boasted
descendants of Wenceslas and of Ziska ; you,- raerabers of the
great Slavonian race, will you consent to be governed by the
babbling professors and the sUly pedants of Frankfort? Have
you not been long enough subjected to strangers? Beware ! the
Germans are not your friends. They will impose upon you new
taxes, and afterward they will laugh at your credulity ! Let the
Bohemian lion, then, erect his shaggy main, and let the citizens of
Frankfort tremble in their frail defenses !'
These arts of deception had the desired effect. At Prague, no
elector dared appear to vote for deputies to the parliaments of
Frankfort. The districts peopled mostly by Germans went to
the polls, but the number of deputies at the Central Diet was not
more than twelve for all Bohemia.
The Austrian ministers had then realized already a part of their
plan. The Germans, both in the interior of Bohemia and abroad,
were greatly exasperated. They bitterly accused the Tcheches
of violating the national union, and of impairing the strength of
the Germanic empire, to gratify a sUly pride. What had become
of the new union and harmony ? Where was the procession of

316 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

boys and girls of the two races, who, hand in hand, had graced
the feast of Prague? It was all an empty, ridiculous show!
Hatred, envy, and discord had again appeared !
But it was not enough for the cabinet of Vienna to rekindle
division between the two races — ^they must now strike a great
blow at the Tcheches. Accordingly, the various tribes of Slavo
nians in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, GalUcia, Transylvania, &c., had
resolved to hold a preparatory meeting at Prague, early in June.
They wished to constitute the Slavonian union, in opposition to
the German union. This plan did not suit the Austrian court— •
for fourteen miUions of Slavonians would have a preponderating
influence in political affairs. Artifice and perfidy were again em
ployed by Metternich's disciples.
On the 2d of June, nearly three hundred deputies attended at
soleran mass in Sprague. There were Slavonians of the north
and of the south, Croatians, Servians, Dalmatians, with haughty
and savage countenances, the long mustache, and the face bronz
ed by the sun. They wore the ancient national costume, cloaks
of white or red velvet, and the people chanted the songs of the
Hussite war.
From the 2d to the 10th of June the congress held its sessions.
The deputies passed three important acts. First, they addressed
to the nations of Europe a manifesto, in which they insisted reso
lutely on the rights and independence of the Slavonian nation;
next they prepared a petition to the Emperor of Austria, asking
for all tbe liberties of modern times ; lastly, they resolved to form
a. federal compact between all the famUies of their race. This was
a gigantic pian. The Slavonians would form a vast confederation,
from the shores of tbe Adriatic to the frontiers of Russia, and la
bor thus for the emancipation of the Poles.
What did the court of Vienna do in this extremity? They
stirred up the common people by means of secret agents. The
Tcheches of Prague, laborers, merchants, and students, took arms
on the 12th of June, against the Germans. The latter sought
means of defense. Gen. Windisch- Gratz, lieutenant of the Em
peror of Austria, assembled his army and planted cannon in the
streets of the city. Tbe Bohemians constructed barricades, after
the example of the Parisians. The contest was severe and bloody;
it raged for five days with incredible fury. IMaiiy of the deputies
of the Tcheches took part in the corabat. Gen. Windisch- Gratz
sent borabs against the houses of Prague, and bumt whole sec
tions of the city. On the 18tli of June the civU war -was ended.
The Slavonian congress had dispersed, the national committee
was dissolved : the Tcheches were again subdued.

BOHEMIA AND POLAND. 317

Thus the Austrian cabinet secured a double advantage. After
having opposed the plan of a Germanic union by means of the
Tcheches, they had conquered these last by the swords of Ger
mans! At present a judicial inquest is opened, and there will
be numerous victims. Unhappy nations, who have to straggle
against the cunning and intrigues of courts !"
Close to Bohemia Ues Moravia, with a numerous and industrious
population. Though once independent, like Hungary and Bohe
mia, Moravia belongs to Austria. In this country originated the
pious and simple-hearted "Moravian Brethren," famous for their
self-denying missions in Africa, Labrador, and Greenland. Hernn-
hut, founded by Count Zinzendorf, is a scene of quiet industry,
order, cheerfulness, and devotion. Their forms of worship some
what resemble those of the Episcopal Church. They are fond of
music, and use it in all their services. Their grave-yard is a place
of much rural beauty. The dead are conveyed thither, and laid
in their quiet resting-place, to the sound of sacred song.
From Bohemia and Moravia we pass to unhappy Poland—
Poland no longer, except in name ! This ancient kingdom, con
taining some five millions of inhabitants, and occupying a fine
tract of country, rich in corn and other agricultural products, has
been utterly absorbed by the three great Powers, as they are
called, Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Warsaw, an irregularly
built and large coraraercial city on the banks of the Vistula, is the
capital, grotesque in its appearance, frora the commingling of the
most elegant with tbe most miserable buildings, and grotesque
also frpm its population, consisting of native Poles, Germans,
Jews, Slavonians, Greeks, Frenchmen, and ItaUans, monks, nuns,
nobles, beggars, and merchants, all dressed in their pecuUar cos
tumes. The aspect of society resembles a perpetual masquerade :
long-bearded Jews, monks in the garb of every order, vailed and
shrouded nuns ; bevies of young Polish ladies, in silk mantles of
the brightest colors, promenading the broad squares ; the dignified
ancient Polish noble, with mustaches, caftan, girdle, saber, and
red or yellow boots ; the new generation, equipped to the highest
pitch of Parisian dandyism ; with Turks, Greeks, Russians, Ital
ians, Germans, and Frenchmen, in an ever-changing throng !
The Poles belong to the great Slavic race, having an Asiatic
cast of countenance, derived, probably, frora their Tartar origin.
They are well formed and tall, with good features, and often fair
complexion. The population of the country is much mixed.
Generally they profess the Catholic faith, and, except among the
higher classes, are ignorant and fanatical. The nobles are brave
and hospitable, impatient of constraint, and ardent, for freedom.

318 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Fond of. show, gayety, and amusement, they are not without the
t vices of vanity and licentiousness.
Every one has heard of the misfortunes of Poland. Partitioned
among her enemies three several times, Cracow, one of her most
ancient cities, and once the residence of the Polish kings, was left
the center of a little republic, free and independent. Situated in
a wide plain on the banks of the Vistula, with a serene atmos
phere, a fertile soil, glorious views of distant mountain ranges
extending from the Black Sea to the river Danube, superb old
buildings and venerable monuments, those, for example, of So
bieski, of Kosciusko, of Poniotowski, of Derabrowski, the most
illustrious heroes of Poland ; and in the center of the oity the
castle built by Casimir the Great, and under whose arches had
passed no less than six powerful dynasties, Cracow was the pride
of its citizens, and the pride even of Poland far and near. But
Cracow, insignificant as a republic, was too much for the jealous
eyes of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, and that, too, must be anni
hUated ! So that a fourth, and a last time, Poland has been par
titioned and swallowed by these greedy wolves !

CHAPTER XXIII.
RUSSIA.
As we are among the Slavic or Slavonian race, caUed such, not
because they were ever slaves, though some of them even now
are in a condition of serfdom, but siraply to distinguish them from
the Gerraan and other races, we wiU pass into Russia, the princi
pal home of the Northern Slavi, and one of the most powerful
ernpires in the world. The progress of Russia, witiiin a compar
atively short period, in all the elements of political power, has
been surprising. Her strengtii and resources are becoming abso
lutely colossal. By no means restricted to Europe, Russia has
extensiye possessions in Northern Asia. Should she conquer the
Circassians, who vigorously resist her, she may extend her con
quests to Persia, and even to Hindostan. Her entire possessions
occupy an area of over eight milUons of square mUes, and her
population, consisting of Russians, Poles, Germans, Greeks, Turks,

EUSSIA.

319

^.:Mm

EUSSIA. 321

Tartars, Jews, &c., amount to not less than sixty-seven millions !
In Europe alone, Russia has an area of over two millions of square
miles, and sixty-two millions of inhabitants. Of these, about forty-
eight mUUons belong to the Slavic race.
The external aspect of Russia is distinguished by immense level
plains, called steppes, prodigious forests, and large rivers. Much
of it is unoccupied and barren, but much of it also is fertUe and
cultivated. All the products of agriculture are abundant here.
Gold, silver, platinum, and other metals are found in the Ural
Mountains. The external as well as internal commerce of the
country is very considerable. Long canals and railroads, the for
mer chiefly, connect the White, Black, Caspian, and j3altic Seas.
Internal commerce is also greatly faciUtated by the snow in win
ter, over which sleighs, heavUy laden with produce and mer
chandise, travel with rapidity. Great fairs are held in different
places, to whioh crowds of merchants and others are attracted
from all parts. In the south the cUmate is mUd and pleasant, in
the north cold, in winter intensely so, the wind sweeping -vio
lently over the vast level plains, and freezing every thing which
it touches. Still, it is not unhealthy in these northem regions,
and what with furs and fires, the people contrive to make them
selves comfortable.
St. Petersburg, one of the largest and most magnificent cities
in the world, is the capital, built at the mouth of the Neva, or
Newa, which is here I'iOO feet wide, with a population of nearly
600,000 inhabitants.^* The streets are from 70 to 150 feet wide,
intersected by spacious canals, embanked by massive parapets of
stone, and spanned by innumerable handsome bridges. The quays
are extensive and superb. Palaces and public buUdings, mostly
in a style of great magnificence, line the banks of the Neva, and,
indeed, adorn the principal streets of the oity. In the square
opposite the Isaac Bridge stands the colossal equestrian statue of
Peter the Great. The huge block of granite which forms its
pedestal is upvi^ard of 1500 tons weight. Its appearance is grand
and striking, having an air of dignity and triumph. Some of the
churches are beautiful and imposing. The Kazaii Church is of
great dimensions, and built of white marble. That of St. Isaac
is still more raagnificent. Petersburg is the seat of a large and
well-endowed university. The imperial library has 300,000 vol
uraes. The city is also supplied with Uterary and scientific insti
tutions, botanical gardens, and cabinets of natural history. In
winter, it presents a most aniraated appearance, for every where
* Moscow is sometimes spoken of as the old, or first, capital
14*

322

THE WOELD "WE LIVE IN.

on the Neva, and the canals which traverse its whole extent, com
pletely frozen over, innumerable skaters flit from point to point, in
rapid and exhilarating motions. Sledges, of all shapes and dimen
sions, whirl through the streets, and the frosty atmosphere rings
with the crack of the whip and the shout of postillions. Ice
mountains also are fonned, consisting of inclined planes, high and
steep, coated with ice, down which the people descend in cars, oi
on skates, with great velocity ; an amusement ofwhich all are es
cessively fond.

statue of Peter the Great,

As a general thing, Russia is thinly inhabited, so that traveUng
is not the most agreeable. The roads are rough, except in winter,
when covered with snow ; the inns, if such they may be caUed,
few and far between.; the drowsy station-houses, where post-
horses are supplied, are without accommodations ; and the bound
less plains monotonous and wearisome. The traveler must carry
with him his bed, provisions, and cooking utensils. The horses

EUSSIA. 323
are harnessed to clumsy vehicles, in the shape of landaus, four
or five abreast, with a single horse as leader, and perhaps another
in the shafts. But they dash along over the frozen ground at a
considerable rate, and the travelers may sleep as much as they
can, amid mountains of fur. The sledges are of various forms and
qualities. Some are plain enough ; others are gaudily ornamented.
Among these are the kibitki, a rude carriage, without springs, ex
cept to the seats, and shaped Uke a boat ; and the droski, a squat
affair, with a hollow center, in which the passenger is scarcely two
feet from the ground. In some of these carriages he sits astride,
as on a narrow saddle, going so rapidly, sometimes, that the novice
is compelled to hold on to the driver's sash. In severe winters,
passengers, and even drivers, not unfrequently perish from the
cold. What changes the introduction of raUroads in Russia wUl
produce we know not, but they must be considerable. Tbe jour
ney from St. Petersburg to Moscow must become a very different
thing from what it has been. In 1789, no less than 14,000 per
sons were frozen to death on the road between these two capitals.
In Russia, it is no uncommon thing to see a person who has lost
an ear or a nose, or other member of his body, by exposure to
cold. Limbs are sometimes sacrificed where life escapes. Such,
however, is the obtuseness of feeUng which intense cold produces,
tbat passengers in the streets of St. Petersburg rely on one
another for the friendly warning, that their noses are about to pre
cede them to the tomb !
The population of Russia is highly diversified, and held together
only by the iron bands of the government. The Slavonic race, as
we have seen, including the Russians, the Poles, and the Cossacks,
form the majority. The Cossacks occupy the southern provinces
on the Don and the Black Sea. They are rough and warhke.
The Finnic race includes the Finns, or natives of Finland, Estho
nians, Laplanders, and other tribes scattered over the country,
frora the Tornea to the Li^ral Mountains, generally poor, rude, and
simple-hearted. The Tartars, or Turkish race, are scattered over
the extensive plains which stretch between the Dniester and the
Caucasus, comprising the inhabitants of the former kingdoms of
Kazan and Astrachan, and various tribes chiefly under their own
government, generally nomadic in their habits, without agriculture
and fire-arras, and of course rude and heathenish. To the Mongol
race belong the Calmucks, in the southeastern governments, indo
lent and savage. The Samoiedes compose numerous small, rude
tribes wandering through the vast wUderness of the northeast
ern coast. In addition to these, Russia contains a considerable
number of German colonists, Swedes, in Finland, who hate the

324 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Russians, Jews, Armenians, Gipsies, and other peoples. In the
whole empire, there are not less than eighty tribes, differing in re
ligion, language, manners, and usages ; ranging from the lowest
point of barbarism, to the highest degree of European refinement.
The great majority, however, even of the Russians proper, are in
a semi-barbarous, or, which is the same thing, in a semi-civilized
condition, degraded in character and manners, and held to bond
age by their hereditary lords.
The Russians are divided into three classes — the nobility, citizens,
and peasantry. The nobles are distinguished as hereditary, and
personal ; the latter being constituted such for life, and consisting
of the higher classes of the clergy and citizens, as also the civil
and military officers not nobles by birth. The nobles and com
moners are exempted frora the poll-tax, though Uable to other
taxes, and cannot be corapeUed to enter the army, though many
of them enter it voluntarily. By citizens are meant all the free
inhabitants of cities and towns engaged in commerce, manufac
tures, and other business, and amounting to near five miUions.
The peasantry comprise freeholders and serfs ; the former num
bering about 700,000 only, the latter forming the great bulk of
the population. Of the serfs, nearly eighteen millions are caUed
peasants of the crown, and may be considered 'personally free, for
that is the design of the eraperor respecting them ; whUe twenty-
one millions are absolute bondmen, chiefly on the estates of the
nobility, though some of them are mechanics and tradesmen, and
even merchants, who may accumulate property ; but both they and
their property belong to their boyars, or lords. It is said to be
the intention of the Emperor Nicholas, if possible, to emancipate
the whole ; but there are many obstacles in the way, and long
years must elapse before its accomplishment. They are permitted
to work two days in the week on their own account, and thus may
acquire sufficient property to purchase their freedom. Hundreds
of them are annually levied as recruits, and the moment they enter
the army are free both for themselves and their descendants. The
common people, all of them, are hable to conscription. At the
bidding of the autocrat, thousands upon thousands oan be com
pelled to enter the army, and march, at a moment's warnmg, to
any part of the empire, or the world.
The army is the largest in Europe, numbering at present not
less than one mUlion of men in the war department. Some of
these are stationed, of course, at distant points in this vast country,
but Nicholas can bring into the field, at any time, not less than
800,000 men ! The garrisons in the interior are provided for by
the Army of Reserve, or General Reserve, the most of whom are

EUSSIA. 321;

trained in the military colonies, and nuraber about 400,000. The
Russian navy is considerable, tbough not equal to that of England,
the first maritirae power in the world.
As to the character and habits of the people, the nobles, gener
ally, are well educated, particularly those employed about the
court, or in civil and mUitary service ; yet many of them are said
to be boorish and ignorant. The Russians have good capacities,
particularly for the acquisition of languages, in which they excel,
many of them speaking half a dozen foreign tongues. Their man
ners and dress are similar to those of the higher European classes
generaUy. In winter, they wear pelisses and boots of fur. It
may be inferred, from their position and circumstances, that the
nobles are proud and overbearing, though excessively obsequious
to the autocrat, whom all obey ; but tbeir very position of slave
owners must render them fierce and intolerant to all beneath them.
They are fond of pomp and show, in many cases rather barbaric
than graceful. The middle classes emulate the manners of their
superiors. Many of the clergy are ignorant and dissolute. It has
been stated, on good authority, that some of them cannot read,
and that others often perform religious rites under the influence
of strong drink. But as their persons are sacred, tbe people see
httle or no incongruity in such oases.
The peasantry are rude and ignorant, full of superstition, and
given to low and carnal habits. Their coraraon dress is a hat, or
cap, with a high crown, a coarse robe reaching to the knee, and
girded with a sash, in which the wearer carries his purse, and
sometimes his knife, or hatchet, a woolen cloth wrapped round
the leg instead of stocldngs, and on the feet sandals of pliant bark.
Their rude houses are made of logs, laid the one upon the other,
having but one room for doraestic purposes, and, summer and
winter, kept intensely warm by means of a red-hot stove. The
villages look dirty and dismal. The rich Uve sumptuously, but
the poorer classes eat and drink what they can procure. Their
general food is black rye bread, potatoes, salted fish, garlic, mush
rooms, and cucumbers. The common drink is quass, a sort of
vinegar, made by mixing flour and water, and letting it stand till
it ferments, when the Uquor is drawn off for use. Mead is a com
mon drink. Whisky and brandy arc eagerly consumed. The
drinking capacities of the people are immense. The Cossacks
have good wines and brandy ; and the Calmucks have koumiss, a
spirit, like weak brandy, distilled from mare's milk.
The prevalent faith of Russia is that of the Greek Church.
Jews, Lutherans, CathoUcs, and others, are permitted, though not
without disabiUties, to practice their own religious rites. Nicholas

326 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

is doing all he can to bring these, and all other " heretics," into
the unity of the faith, and has even descended to use persecution
for this end. The Greek faith differs from the Roman, in denymg
the supremacy of the Pope, in allowing to the laity the reading of
the Scriptures, in permitting the marriage of priests at least once,
and in the practice of trine immersion ; but, in most other respects,
it resembles the Roman. It will not, indeed, admit of statues in the
churches as objects of reverence, but it allows pictures of the
saints and Virgin. It resembles the Catholic Church in having
the same ideas of ecclesiastical authority, the saving efficacy of the
Sacraments, and in the use of splendid rites and shows. It has its
patriarchs and patriarchal synod, instead of pope and cardinals, as
also archbishops, bishops, and inferior clergy. It has convents
and monasteries. Preaching and catechising are Uttle regarded,
while fasts and festivals are sedulously observed. The festivals
are numerous, and kept with great pomp and rejoicing. Every
house has a painting of a saint, or of the Virgin, before which the
inmates offer prayers, and perform many superstitious ceremonies.
The dead are buried with a paper in the hand, duly signed by the
bishop and other dignitaries, as a passport to heaven !
The' government is an absolute monarchy. The emperor is
"Autocrat of all the Russias." His authority is claimed from
God, and is universal in Church and State. He is the supreme
king and the supreme pontiff of the nation. All power, secular
and sacred, emanates from him. His word is final. Imprison
ment — the knout — exUe to Siberia — degradation — death — depend
upon his nod. He appoints dignitaries and officers, and all are
finally amenable to him. This, however, makes the government
exceedingly complicated, and the consequence is great corruption
and wrong. In Russia justice is difficult of attainment. It is
more uncertain than fortune. A common saying in Russia is :
" God is high, and the emperor is far away." Torture is abol
ished, and the common punishment is fine, the knout, and banish
ment to Siberia. But the knout can torture the quivering flesh,
and cut the life out of the body, as effectually as the rack or the
guillotine.'* One word from the emperor — and, without the de-
* "August 10th, 1781, I saw two criminals, a man and a woman, suffer
the punishment of the knout. They were conducted from the prison by
about fifteen hussars and ten soldiers. When they arrived at the place ot
punishment, the hussars formed themselves into a ring round the whipping
post, the drum beat a minute or two, and then some prayers were re
peated — the populace taking off their hats. The woman was taken iirst,
and, after being roughly stripped to the waist, her hands and feet -were
bound with cords to a post made for the purpose, a man standing before the

EUSSIA. 327
lays of courts and witnesses, the victim of despotic vengeance ia
seized instantly, in the dead of night it may be, or at table with
post to keep the cords tight. A sei-vant attended the executioner, and both
were stout men. Tlie servant first marked his ground, and struck the wo
man five times on the back. Every stroke seemed to penetrate deep into
the flesh. But his master, tliinking him too gentle, pushed him aside, took
his place, and gave aU the remaining strokes himself, which were evidently
more severe. The woman received twenty-five, and the man sixty. I
pressed through the hussars, and counted the nuraber as they were chalked
on a board. Both seemed but just alive, especially the man, who had yet
strength enough to receive a small donation with some signs of gratitude.
They were conducted back to prison in a little wagon. I saw the wo7nan
in a very weak condition some days after, but could not find tlie man any
more /" — Howard's Journal.
This latter circumstance confirmed Howard's previous suspicion that the
knout was in reality tlie Eussian gaUowa, and that, under cover of a mere
whipping, death was soraetimes, if not frequently, inflicted ; while Western
Europe was abused with idle boasts of tlie superior clemency of Eussian
laws. It was, however, useless to think of making any inquiries on the
subject among the courtiers of Catherine, or even among the ministers of
justice ; so, in order to get further information, he took his own characteria
tic course. Having ascertained the address of the executioner, he got into
a coach and drove off to his house. The poor fellow was alarmed at seeing
a person having the appearance of a noble and an official enter hia humble
dwelling ; domiciliary visits from the authorities of St. Petersburg rarely
boding good to the host. Howard had calculated upon the man being
surprised and tlirown off liis guard, and now endeavored to increase his
confusion by his air, tone, and bearing. The fellow probably remembered
seeing him within tlie lines ou the occasion just described, and, of course,
supposed him to be a person in authority. Howard expected this. As
suming, therefore, an official tone, he desired the man to answer the ques
tions put to him simply, and without equivocation ; adding, that if his re
plies were found conformable to truth, he had nothing to fear. The execu
tioner meekly declared his readiness to answer any questions that should
be put to him.
" Can you inflict the knou^ in auch « manner as to occasion death in a
very short time ?"
" Yes, I can," was the prompt reply.
" In how short" a time !" continued Howard.
" In a day or two."
" Have you ever so inflicted it ?"
" I have."
" Have you lately V added our countryman, going to the point he was
very anxious to be aatisfied of.
" Yes, the last man who was punished by my handa -with the knout died
ofthe punishment."
Even so I no wonder that the philanthropist had not been able to find
him. " In what manner do you thus render it mortal ?"
" By one or two strokes on the sides, which carry off large pieces of the
flesh." " Do you receive orders thus to inflict the pumshment ?"

328 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

his wife and children, or in the place of public concourse, amid
the festivities of a holiday or a ball, in tihe very depth of -mu
ter, and hurried off' to the inhospitable Siberia, where he is
compeUed to change his name, to hunt in the arctic forests, or
dig in the dreary mines, with every species of criminal. Nothing
is heard of him — nothing can be sent to him. He becomes dead
among the living. ,
As the emperor is supreme in the nation, so each proprietor is
supreme on his own estate. AU act the despot. The serfs are
subject to the cudgel of the owner, and this " symbol of sacred
authority is seldom at rest." The use of it is universal. Itis
related, that a gentleman who asked his slave why he always per- .
sisted in folding a letter with the title inward, received for an
swer: "Please, sir, because you never beat me."
The knout is the most common punishment. To be " knouted
without mercy," is to have the flesh cut piecemeal off the bones
by every stroke of the hard, dried hide. Under this process the
-victim soon becomes exhausted, when an instrument, with iron
teeth like a comb, is struck into the forehead, and the marks
rubbed with gunpowder, as a perpetual brand of shame. Then
a pair of pincers, like curling-irons, are fixed upon the nostrils,
cutting or tearing each way. This quickens the man to con
sciousness, in the last stage of exhaustion. The wretched victim
may then be put into a cart and conveyed to Siberia !
Russia is intensely proud and ambitious, and, in the opinion of
many, means, if possible, directly or indirectly, to subjugate the
Eastern nations. Her savage hordes, of great physical energy and
thorough training, make good soldiers. Nicholas, though pos
sessing some noble traits, is said to be haunted by a boundless
appetite for territorial acquisition. He is supposed to have his
eye steadUy fixed upon Turkey, and, the moment he can do so
with impunity, he will take possession of the DardaneUes, and of
Constantinople, the natural center and capital of th.e worid. Aus
tria is under his foot as servant and slave. Prussia is ready to
obey his behest. Turkey itself is pledged to assist him in war.
When the secret treaty became known, by which this point was
gained, the governments of France and England hastened to send
their notes protesting against it, and affirming that they would act
as if the agreement had never been made, Nicholas proudly replied,
that he would act as if the notes had never been written !

" I do."
Tliis was the substance of the extraordinary catechism ; and thus were
Howard's doubts resolved.

EUSSIA. 329

" Let Russia," says a well-informed writer, " obtain possession
of the Dardanelles, and she is henceforth not merely invincible,
but invulnerable. No power can approach her. The Black Sea
becomes the harbor of her erapire, into which no foe can possibly
penetrate ; its shores becorae her navy-yard, inaccessible to foreign
fleet or army. And this vast Northern power will then press its
resistless way down upon the sunny plains of Southem India, till
her trading factories supply those vast territories, and till English
goods, and finaUy Englishmen, are crowded out of Asia. The
deep solicitude felt by Great Britain upon tbe subject may be in
ferred from the following extract from the Foreign Quarterly Re
view, the organ of the sentiments of the Court of St. James : —
' The possession of the Dardanelles would give to Russia the means
of creating and organizing an almost unlimited marine. It would
enable her to prepare in the Black Sea an armament of any extent,
without its being possible for any power in Europe to interrupt
her proceedings, or even to watch or discover her designs. Our
naval officers of the highest authority have declared that an effect
ive blockade of the DardaneUes cannot be maintained throughout
the year. Even supposing that we could maintain permanently
in those seas a fleet capable of encountering that of Russia, it is
ob-vious that in the event of a war, it would be in the power of
Russia to throw the whole weight of her disposable forces on any
point in the Meditei-ranean, without any probability of our being
able to prevent it ; and that the power of thus issuing forth with
an overwhelming force, at any moment, Avould enable her to com
mand the Mediterranean Sea for a limited tirae whenever it might
please her so to do. Her whole southern empire would be de
fended by a single impregnable fortress. The road to India would
then be open to her, with all Asia at her back. The finest mate
rials in the world, for an array destined to serve in the East, -would
be at ber disposal. Our power to overawe ber in Europe would
be gone, and by even a demonstration against India, she could
augment our national expenditure by many millions annuaUy, and
render the government of that country difficult beyond all cal
culation.' "
But Russia is surrounded by powerful governments, who jeal
ously watch ber progress. The resources of England and France
corabined would present an insuperable obstacle to her seizure of
the Turkish Empire. Even Austria, in such a case, might revolt,
and Prussia lend her power in opposition to her dreaded ally.
Sweden would instantly attempt to recover her lost possessions
annexed to the Russian government, and might bring to the assist
ance of the allied powers a hundred thousand of the best-disci-

330 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

plined troops in the world. Poland, and other forced dependen
cies of Russia, would revolt. The impatient Cossacks, the Moldo-
Wallachians, the Finns, and the inhabitants of the Baltic provinces,
whether German barons or Lettonian boors, would fly to arms to
recover their ancient rights and humble their oppressor. Austria,
if united with Russia, would be dismembered, whUe the Hunga
rians, Bohemians, and Moravians would rush to the battle-ground
of nations. Moreover, the power of the Czars, however augmented,
is but the power of brute force, and of the terrors it inspires. A
single reverse would react upon Russia itself, and, by the force of
insurrection and revolution, shake it to its inmost center.*

¦* As a proof of this, conspiracies are not infrequent. The foUowing, trans
lated for tlie New York Tribune, appeared a few years ago :
" It appears that the plan of the conspiracy was formed by a very young
man, Nicholas Kaschkine, wlio has the title of honorary councilor on the list
of conderaned. Betrayed by one of the numerous informers that are kept
in large numbers by the Eussian police, whenever it suspects any hostile
intentions, Kaschkine was arrested, then taken to the cabinet of the Czar,
who received him with an unexpected kindness and affability.
" ' You are young, M. Kaschkine, and you have another excuse still bet
ter,' said the magnanimous emperor. ' Under color of politics, you have
wislied, as 1 conjecture, to satisfy the desire of vengeance, excited by what
you consider the unjust condemnation of your father. The power which
retains him in Siberia cannot be legitimate in the eye of a good son, and 1
comprehend the imprudent anger which has placed you in my hands. But
I shall not abuse .the terrible power which I have over you, and if your re
pentance shall suggest to you confessions which may justify an absolute
pardon — if you will disclose the details of the conspiracy, the names of your
accomplices, every thing may be forgotten — ^your future prospects shall
not be compromised, your liberty shall be restored to you, and so forth.'
" ' Sir,' interrupted M. Kaschkine, 'do not go any further, and, above all,
correct your mistake. No desire of vengeance has inspired me with the
thouglit of bi-ingiug your dominion to an end. In our faraily, the condem
nation of my father is regarded as a title of honor. For myself, I do not
feel that I can add any thing to the glory with which it has crowned our
name, unless I should be able to do something for the annihilation of your
race and of your degrading authority.'
"There were witnesses to the conversation, who cried out in real or af
fected horror. The emperor alone preserved his sang-froid. ' This young
man is mad,' he said. 'It is not a prison, but a hospital that he requires.'
" It is, in fact, a mad-house to whicli Kaschkine lias been sent. But of
these madmen, tliank God, the race is not lost in Eussia. It lias long been
perpetuated, and we even find it as far back aa 1825, at the date of the
conspiracy to which Mouranieff has given his name.
" It is known that, in defiance of the imperial statutes which had abol
ished the punishment of death, it was pronounced againat several of the
conspirators, aud, by a refinement of cruelty, an infamous punishment was
chosen forthem, and ono contrary to the national usages. Those whowere
put to death were hung.

EUSSIA. 331
After all, Russia has reason enough to keep the peace ; and
we rejoice to know that many persons, well informed in European
affairs, believe that Nicholas, instead of conquest, regards it as
higher glory to elevate the character of his people. For this pur
pose he has endeavored to improve the adrainistration of justice,
and to promote leaming and education. The literature of Bussia,
though wanting in originality and power, is making commendable
progress. Education also, though far behind that of other Euro
pean States, is advancing. Considerable exertions are made by
the government to introduce schools, and instruct the lower classes.
Several thousand schools have been established among the peas
antry of the crown. Many scientific schools have been instituted.
Tbe colleges and universities rival similar institutions in other
parts of Europe. Every governmental or provincial capital con
tains a gymnasium ; in those of Irkutsk and Kiachta the Japanese
and Chinese languages are taught.
Upon the whole, it must be allowed that the Russians are ad
vancing slowly in knowledge, civUization, and refinement. May
they have wisdom to take care of themselves, and let their neigh
bors alone !
" Two of them, one a German, the other a Eussian — the one a philosopher
and skeptic, the other a believer, and tinctured with the mysticism of which
the Emperor Alexander gave some specimens, more or less in earnest — ar
riving together at the place of punishment, were hoisted togetlier at the
fatal post. The executioner, wlio was new to his task, had made bad prep
arations. The two ropes broke almost at tlie same moment.
" ' D — d country !' cried out the German, Pestil, ' they don't even know
how to liang !' ' Thank God !' gravely responded the mystic Eylieg, ' I
ehall die twice for our holy cause.' "

332

THB WOELD WE LI'VE IN.

CHAPTER XXIY.

SWEDEK, NORWAY, AND DENMARK.

' I • '_? ' i

^rf/2s:!f '^^^^;

«iSr, ^-"ta V

h- 'f «¦ **;^fflfesS£,.;-v-"''> >,

^ -

Koyal Palare at Stockholm.
We comprise these countries under one head, because they oc
cupy the ancient Scandinavia, and because their inhabitants are
derived from the same stock, and have many traits in common.
On this account they aU claim an interest in the celebrated men
of each, in Thorswalden, in Berzelius, and in Oehlenschlager ;
and while they have their little jealousies, their "bickerings and
battlings," feel that they belong to the same family, and have
much the same interests and aims. - When they meet in foreign
lands, they clasp each other's hands, and, with kindling glance,
exclaim — " We are Scandinavians ! We are brothers !" A pleas
ing little instance of this is related by Hans Christian Andersen,
in his "Poet's Bazaar." Wben be was at Rome, in 1833, aU the
Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes in that city united, as one family,

SWEDEN, NOEWAY, AND DENMAEK.

333

to keep their Christmas-eve. " We were," says he, " about fifty
Scandinavians, including seven ladies, who wore wreaths of Uving
roses around their brows : we men had wreaths of ivy. The three
nations had subscribed for presents  The best prize was a
silver cup, with the inscription, 'Christmas-eve in Rome, 1833.'
And who won it? I was the lucky one."

Jenny Lind.
Sweden and Norway, united under the same govemment, which
is a limited monarchy, soraewhat like that of England, have a
population of nearly five mUlions. The country is chiefly agricul
tural, with extensive forests, and some valuable mines of copper,
iron, and silver. From Norway and the neighboring countries,
came the Northmen, or Normans, who conquered a portion of
France, and swayed, for many years, the scepter over England.
They are a brave, honest, enterprising race. The same may be
said of the Swedes. They are of middle size, with light hair and
ruddy complexions. The woraen have a pleasing appearance,
generally with light auburn hair and blue eyes. The celebrated
songstress, Jenny Lind, is a fair specimen of ber countrywomen.

334 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

The Swedish ladies are quiet and pleasant in their manners ;
when excited, quite animated and cheerful. The State is com
posed of four orders, nobles, clergy, peasants, and burghers, or
citizens of towns, all of whom are represented in the national legis
lative assemblies.
The higher classes dress much in the style of the English;
though the Swedes have a national costume, ordained by law
some sixty years ago : the ladies, however, as in other countries,
do pretty rauch as they please with reference to dress. The coats
of the men are close, fastened round the waist with a sash ; the
cloak is black, but lined with gay colors. No gentleman is con
sidered in full dress without a sword, and a feather in his hat.
Their language is a Germane- Gothic dialect, strong and expres
sive ; to a foreigner rough and guttural, but, to a native, eupho
nious enough. The Swedish tongue is considered, by those ac
quainted with it, quite smooth and poetical. Their literature is
rich in songs and lyrics, as also in the department of the drama.
The houses of the common people, for the most part, are mere
log huts, but more neat and comfortable than those in Russia.
The beds are placed, like berths, the one above the other. Their
bread is baked twice a year, and is hung around the room, in smaU
loaves on strings, like apples in New England. The people are
generaUy fond of tobacco, and of brandy when they can get it.
The peasantry are not as virtuous as one might expect. Theh
statistics show that crimes are frequent among them, particularly
those connected with licentiousness. Still, many of them cherish
much manly simplicity, kindness, and generosity of character.
Education is universally diffused. The people are fond of reading,
and especially of music, for which they possess a natural talent.
They are universally distinguished for their hospitality. Patriotic
and free, they love their native land, and will endure any thing
for its welfare. The mountains of Dalecarlia have ever been the
abode of freedom and virtue.
The literature of Sweden is not without high merit. Linnseus
and Berzelius in science, Stagnelius and Tegner in poetry, are an
honor to their country. The latter stands first among the modern
poets of Sweden, " a man of a grand and gorgeous imagination,
and poetic genius of a high order." He is the author of " The
ChUdren of the Lord's Supper," so finely translated by Longfel
low, who says : " The modern Skald has written his name in
immortal mnes ; not on the bark of trees alone, in tbe ' unspeak
able rural solitudes' of pastoral song, but on the mountains of his
native land and the cUffs that overhang the sea, and on the tomhs
of ancient heroes whose histories are epic poems." Almost aU

SWEDEN, NOEWAY, AND DENMAEK. 335

works of merit in foreign European tongues are translated into
Swedish, though a majority of these are scientific works. The
universities of Upsala and Lund, especially the former, are highly
distinguished for leaming.
Tbe finances of Sweden are in a good condition. The country,
indeed, is not rich, neither is it poor. The people are contented
with Uttle, and probably prefer that little at home to abundance
in foreign lands. They are fond of rural sports and out-door rec
reations generally. The Sabbath, after church, is a holiday, and
dancing, singing, and all sorts of merry-making, are not considered
inconsistent with the character of the day. This, however, as in
France and Germany, is one cause of the low condition, not only
of religion, but of tbe morals of tbe Swedish people. The first
days of May and of Midsummer are celebrated as festivals. The
young men and women dance around a festooned pole from morn
ing till evening. All ranks dance with great agility and delight.
Cards are said to be a general amusement, though the Swedes are
not charged with being addicted to gambling as such. To Ulus
trate the national fondness for cards, it is said that a nobleman,
when bis dinner hour had arrived without his dinner, went into
the kitchen to learn the reason of the delay, when he found all the
domestics engaged in a game of cards. He pleasantly admitted
the characteristic excuse, tbat the game had arrived at its critical
point, and could not therefore be put off, even for dinner. He
hiraself took the cook's hand and played it, while that domestic
performed his duty !
The religion of Sweden is Lutheran, but somewhat cold and
formal, having much degenerated from the days of its early vigor
and enthusiasm. Religious intolerance has more than once dis
played itself, even recently, and it would seem that Sweden is
quite behind the age with reference to the vital question of reli
gious freedom. Still it would be wrong to infer from this that
there is no simplicity and depth in the religion of this interesting
country. Doubtless it is still the source of all that is highest and
best in their character and institutions.
Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, stands upon seven small
rocky islands, beside two peninsulas, and is an attractive city,
thouffh, Uke much of St. Petersburg and Amsterdam, it is built
upon piles. It has many picturesque views, formed by number
less granitic rooks rising boldly from the surface ofthe water,
partly bare and craggy, partly dotted with houses, or adorned
with gardens and trees. On the central island are some striking
buildings, and, among others, the royal palace, near jvbich is a
fine bronze statue of the Swedish monarch Gustavus the Third,

336 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

on a pedestal of polished porphyritic rock. The city has some
thing less than 100,000 inhabitants, and is noted for its magnifi
cent buildings, its numberless literary and scientific institutions,
its free schools, its extensive commerce, and its deep, capacious
harbor, in which a thousand sail might lie safely.
The Norwegians resemble the Swedes, in most particulars.
They are a hardy, robust, simple-hearted, courageous race.
Skating, as in all the Scandinavian countries, is a universal
amusement, and even means of travel. Many of their school
masters are itinerant, staying in one place two or three weeks at
a time. They have some pecuUar customs : a violin, for example,
is played at the head of thc coflSn in funerals, and questions of
various kinds are put to the corpse, the best of which is that of
asking pardon for offenses or injuries against the deceased during
life. The country is governed by a viceroy, and, with reference
to finances, legislation, and the administration of justice, is really
independent. The press is free, and a spirit of republicanism
prevaUs among the people.
Denmark is a lively little country, -\vith a population of less
than two raUlions, but inteUigent in a high degree, active and
enterprising, full of hfe, energy, and enthusiasm. The capital,
Copenhagen, is one of the finest in Europe, strongly fortified, with
a numerous population, and many literary, scientific, and benevo
lent institutions. The royal castle and palace of Christiansborg
is a magnificeijt edifice, with a rich gallery of paintings, and a
library of 400,000 volumes. It has a highly distinguished univer
sity, and is the seat of an active and extensive coraraerce. The
Church of Our Lady is adorned with some fine pieces of statuary,
by Thorswalden, the pride and glory of Denmark in the depart
ment of the arts. The round tower of Trinity is used as an ob
servatory, and can be ascended by a winding path, in carriages.
_" There is no lack," says an English traveler, "of in-door gayety
in Copenhagen ; but the general aspect of the oity, to a foreigner
accustomed to the stunning bustle of English towns, is decidedly
duU. Partly, this arises from the very little show the shops make,
the comparatively smaU business traffic in the streets, and also
from the leisurely habits of the people themselves. The fact is,
the Danes have not yet learned to Uve in a hurry ; but although
they are 'slow,' they are steady and sure; although they are a
century behind England in many of the leading improvements of
the age, they are more than a century ahead of England in gen
erally diffused plenty and comfort; and although they do not
gallop thr^ough life as though for a wager, they know how to en
joy it ra,tionally." Among the peculiarities of Stockholm is that

i3"WEDEN, NOEWAY, AND DENMAEK. 337

of tl|e watchmen, who, muffled in great-coats and fur caps, go
the rounds, chanting a pious or prudential verse at the close of
each hour, with cadence deep and guttural, a pecuUar but not un
pleasing tone. The following are specimens :

EIGHT o'clock.
" When darkness blinds the earth
And the day declines.
That time theu us reminds
Of death's dark grave ;
Shine on us, Jesus sweet.
At every step
To tho grave-place.
And grant a blissful death I
Ni.NE o'clock.
Now the night strides down.
And the niglit rolls forth —
Forgive, for Je.-u's wounds,
Our sins, 0 mildest God I
Preserve the royal houses.
And all men
In this iand
From violence of foes.
TEN- o'clock.
If you the time will know,
Husbiind,* girl, and boy,
Tlien it's aliout the time
That one prepares for bed.
Conunenil yourselves to God ;
Be prudent and cautious.
Take care of lights and (ire ;
Our clock it has struck ten.
ELEVEN o'clock.
God our Father us preserve,
The great with the small ;
His holy angel host
A fence around us place !
He liimself the town will watch:
Our liouse and home
God has in care,
Our entire life and soul
twelve o'clock.
Twas at the midnight hour
Our Saviour he was born.

* Wife is understood.
15

338 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

The wide world to console,
Which else would ruined be.
Our clock it has struck twelve :
With tongue and mouth.
From the heart's depths,
Ckimmend yourselves to God's care.
ONE o'clock.
Help U5, 0 Jesus dear !
Our cross here in this world
Patiently to bear —
There is no Savior more."*
Our clock it has struck one :
Extend to us thy hand,
0 consoUng One !
Then the burden becomes light."
And so on, in a similar style of touching solemnity and pathos,
through the sUent night. The foUowing is the last, at 5 o'clock,
A. M.:
" 0 Jesu, Morning Star !
Our King unto thy care
Wc so willingly commend —
Be thou his Sun and Sliield !
Our clock it has struck flve :
Come, thou mild Sun,
From mercy's pale,
Light up our house and home !"
The appearance and manners, as well as opinions, religious and
political, of the Danes are simUar to those of their Swedish neigh
bors. Their country is level and agricultural, though they follow
successfully trade and manufactures. In general, the Danes are
an enlightened people. Their simplicity, single-heartedness, and
enthusiasm are seen in all their productions. Hans Christian An
dersen, in sketching and story-telling, Frederika Bremer, in the
domestic novel, and Oehlenschlager, their first and favorite poet, in
the drama, are known throughout the literary world. The latter
has been styled, with what propriety we are not competent to
judge, " the Shakspeare of the North." He died* but a short
time since, and received at his funeral the highest honors his
country could confer. The king, the nobles, the professors and
students of the university, and the people generally, followed his
remains to the grave, and wept over his tomb. A song, prepared
by Hans Christian Andersen, was sung when the throng passed
-* No other Savior.

SWEDEN, NOEWAY, AND DENMAEK. 330

the birth-place of the poet. Minute-guns were fired ; a large
military band played the dead march. The cofiin was borne on
the shoulders of the royal saUors, preceded by emblematic ban
ners, and followed by a dense mass of gentlemen of all ranks, six
deep. The cofiin was borne without pall or any other covering,
and on its Ud were the silver wreaths, lyre, and harp ; but so
many evergreen wreaths and " everlasting" flowers had been de
posited by loving hands, that it seemed one mass of foliage. An
oration was pronounced at the grave by pastor Grundtvig, a gifted
and eloquent preacher, and the body lowered into the tomb amid
the stifled sobs and tears of the multitude : a burial worthy of a
pure and gifted poet.
Of Lapland and the Laplanders we have scarcely room to speak.
Primitive and simple, and living upon the plainest fare, they de
pend almost exclusively, both for food and dress, as well as many
other conveniences, upon their reindeer, which go wherever they
go, and in winter convey them rapidly, in their sledges, over the
frozeri ground. The most interesting fact in reference to them is,
that, through the efforts of the self-denying Moravian missiona
ries, they have almost all been converted to Christianity, and are
generally attached to its duties and observances. Great crimes
are unknown aniong thera. Simple-hearted and harmless, they
find it a comfort and a joy to obey the divine precepts in their
most literal import. Their country is mostly cold and barren.
In Swedish Lapland, however, there are some valuable mines.
Portions of the scenery are wUd and sublime, especiaUy when
lighted by the bright Arctic moon, or the brilliant coruscations of
the aurora borealis. The Laplanders are short of stature, being
generaUy under five feet high, homely, but good-natured. They
move, with their herds of reindeer, from place to place, seldom
residing in towns. In the brief summer they occupy tents ; in
winter rude huts, formed of stones and earth, and covered with
turf. Tbey have a few churches and schools, and, upon the
whole, are making progress in knowledge and Christian civ
ilization. For an account of Iceland and the Icelanders, who properly
belong to Europe, see page 120.

340

THE WOELD 'WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER xxv,

SWITZERLAND.

liEAviNG Denmark, we pass once more into Gerraany, and as
cend the " exulting and abounding Rhine," as Byron appropn-
ately styles it, and rest not till we find ourselves in the old town
of Basle, capital of tbe canton Basle, in Switzerland, famous as
the burial-place of tbe learned Erasmus, and of ^colampadius,
Protestant pastor or bishop of the place in the days of the Refor
mation, more recently distinguished as the residence of De Wctte,
one of the raost leamed of the German critical divines, and for a
nuraber of years of the gifted and eloquent Vinet. But we cannot
stop here ; so, taking the dUigence, we pass through the soft
meadows and verdant acclivities of the canton Basle, where we

SWITZEELAND. 341

begin, on hill-side and in valley, to see the peculiar houses of the
Swiss peasantry. The country has an appearance of agricultural
thrift and abundance. On all the green and wooded hills cattle
are browsing, while the high-roofed cottages nestle pleasantly
among the trees. FinaUy, crossing the Jura Mountains, we, de
scend into the beautiful valley of Lake Leman and the Rhone,
protected on all sides by lofty Alpine summits, and adomed with
towns and villages, and the most charming wood and water sce
nery. We visit Geneva, which Ues charmingly on either bank of
the Rhone, whose deep clear waters, reflecting heaven's azure, cut
the city into two unequal parts at their outlet from the lake,
which spreads, just beyond the city walls, into one of the grand
est and most beautiful expanses in the world, in sight of the Ber
nese Alps, the Jura Mountains, Mount Saleve, with its verdant
slopes, and in the distance Mont Blanc lifting its calm, clear,
snow-clad summit into the radiant heavens; the _ city of John
Calvin, of John J. Rousseau, of Madame de Stael, of "Voltaire
also, for he lived in the immediate neighborhood ; the present res
idence, too, of Merle D'Aubigne, and the scene of raany startling
chang-es and revolutions.-''' Leaving Geneva, we take a .stearaer,
plying constantly on the lake, for Lausanne, capital of the canton
Vaud, thc oity of Beza and Vinet, and long the residence of Gib-
-* The following, from Bulwer, is worth reading :
" It was a wai'm, clear, and sunny day on which I commenced the voyage
of the lake. Looking behind, I gazed ou the roofs .and spires of Geneva,
and forgot the jireseut in the past. Wli'it to rae was its little eoramunity
of watchmakers, and its Uttle colony of English ? I saw Charles of Savoy
at its gates ; I heard the voice of liirthelier invoking liberty, and summon
ing to arms. The .stru^-'j;le ]3ast — the scaffold rose — anil the patriot became
the martyr ! His blood was not spilt in vain. Eeligion became the resur
rection of freedom. The town is silent ; it is under excommunication.
Suddenly a murmur is heard ; it rises — it gathers ; the people are awake
— they sweep the streets — the images are broken! Farel is preaching to
thu council! Yet a little while, an 1 the stern soul of Calvin is at work
within tho.^e walls. Tlie loftiest of the reformers, and the one whose influ
ence has beeu the Aviirld-wiJe and lasting, is the earliest .also of the great
tribe of the persecuted the City of the Lake receives within her arms. Tlie
benefits he repaid— behold thera arouud! Wherever property is secure,
wherever thought ia free, wherever the ancient spirit lias been cauglit, you
trace the work of the Eefm-mation, and the indexible, inquisitive, uncon
querable soul of Calvin ! He foresaw not, it is true, nor designed the
effects he has produced. The same sternness of purpose, the same rigidity
of conscience that led him to reform, urged him to persecute. The exile
of Balsec and the martyrdom of Servetus rest darkly upon his narae.
But the blessings we owe to the first inquirers compensate their errors.
Had Calvin not lived, there would not have been one, but a thousand
Servetuses !"

342 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

bouj magnificently situated on the left bank of the lake, amid
embowering trees and clustering nnes. We come in sight of
numberless charming localities, and an infinite variety of wood,
water, and mountain landscape, reminding us of the days of old,
with the ever-varying beauty and freshness of nature. Byron lived
a long time on the banks of this delightful lake, and has cele
brated its serenity and beauty in some of his finest lines.
" Clear, placid Leman ! thy contrasted lake.
With the wild world I dwelt in, is a thing
Which warns me, with ita atillness, to forsake
Earth'a troubled waters for a pm-er spring !
Thia quiet sail is as a noiseless wing
To waft me from destruction. Once I loved
Torn ocean's roar ; but thy soft murmuring
Sounds sweet, as if a sister's voice reproved,
Tliat I with stern delights should e'er have been so moved."
All around the lake are spots of classic or romantio interest —
Vevay, Villeneuve, MeiUerie, the Castle of Chillon ; afar off the
gleaming of glacier peaks, and, bending over it, a deep blue sky,
whose serene hights are mirrored in the bosom of the Umpid
waters. Leaving Lausanne, with its gray towers, green foliage, and
charming society, we pass toward the upper end of the lake, near
ViUeneuve, where the Rhone, whioh takes its rise amid Alpme
solitudes far away, enters the lake, forming some of the most en
chanting scenery in the world ; we take the road which runs many
miles along the banks of the river, and, before many hours, find
ourselves entering the very heart of the Swiss mouutains, and
wandering at wUl amid snowy peaks, piercing the heavens, vast
ice-fields thrown up into sea-like ridges, as if ten thousand mount
ain waves had been instantiy congealed, where nothing is heard
but the thundering of the glaciers, crashing downwards with hol
low reverberations; or passing thenoe over immense masses of
splintered rooks, far down into peaceful valleys, amid fresh verdure
and flowers ; or sauntering by the brink of dark blue lakes, among
the bills, mirroring, in their still bosoms, the rock-ribbed mount
ains ; watching, with dilated spirit, some roaring cataract leaping
from the precipice into the boiling abyss, or some rare cascade,
with its iris hues, radiant as Eden, pouring in scattered glories
from its rocky bed, and bounding like a thing of life amid the
umbrage of the dark green woods ; or standing by the spot con
secrated in song and story, where WiUiam Tell pierced the apple
on his boy's head, or where he shot bis arrow deep into the heart
of the tyrant Gessler ; or where Arnold of Winkelried grasped

SWITZEELAND. 343

into his bosom " a sheaf of spears," making way, by his fallen body,
for his countrymen to freedom and victory ; or listening, at even
ing's close, to tbe bells of St. Bernard, or the rush of ten thou
sand streams, uttering their hjmn of praise amid the sUence of
the hills ; or gazing, in the starry night, far up amid pinnacles
of ice, glowing with the light of heaven ; or worshiping, at sun
rise, amid the kindling glories of the Jungfrau or the Shrechkhom,
bathed in the rosy light of ascending day ; or standing, in the
stiUness of a summer's afternoon, listen to the echo of the shep
herd's hom, far resounding through the hills and vales ; or mingle
with the storm, which shrieks through the mountain passes,
whirls among the rocks, and makes fierce music amid the pinnacles
of eternal ice ; or, it may be, gazing with rapt wonder at closing
day, when the atmosphere is hazy, on the burning beauty which
bathes the Entire summits and sides of tbe mountams, " far kenned
at morn and even," like the glorious light
" Of flowers, that with one scarlet gleam
Cover a hundred leagues, and seem
To set the hills on fire."
We linger especially by the " tower and chapel" of William Tell —
by Morgarten and Sempach, the scenes where Swiss liberty waa
born and nurtured, in tears, agony, and blood — where the men of
Uri, Unterwald, and Schwytz, tbe latter leading the way, did
battie for their nativQ land, and won for it freedom and eternal
renown. "Thither in time of adverse shocks.
Of fainting hopes and backward wills.
Did mighty Tell repair of old —
A hero cast in Nature's mould,
Deliverer of the steadfast rocks.
And of the ancient hills.
He too, of battle martyrs chief!
Who, to recall his daunted peers,
For victory shaped an open space.
By gathering, with a wide embrace,
Into his single heart, a sheaf
Of fatal Austrian spears."
The battle of Morgarten took place in 1315, at which WUliam
Tell and Walter Furst are supposed to have been present, tbat of
Sempach in 1386, when Arnold of Winkelried, with a wonderful
self-sacrifice, wbich has no paraUel in modem bistory, gave him
self for his country. " It was the season of harvest, when the
sun darted his beams with great ardor. After a short prostration
in prayer the Swiss arose ; their numbers were four hundred men

344 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

from Luzerne, nine hundred from Walstetten, and about a hun
dred from Glaris and other places. Uniting now their forces,
they precipitated themselves with great impetuosity upon the im
pregnable Austrian phalanx ; but not a man yielded to the shock.
The Swiss fell one after another ; numbers lay bleeding on the
ground ; their whole force began to waver, when suddenly a voice
Mke thunder exclaimed : ' I will open a passage to freedom ; faith
ful and beloved confederates, protect only my wife and chUdren !'
These words of Arnold Struthan of Winkelried, a knight of Un
terwalden, were no sooner uttered, than he seized with both arms
as -many of tlie enemies' spears as he loas able, buried them in his
body and sank to the ground, while the confederates rushed through
the breach over his corpse."*
" On, on they rushed, with their triumph flushed,
Nor wavered, nor turned them back;
But hand to hand with the men-at-arms
They were dealing blow for blow.
And knights and nobles were stricken do-wn
By the heavy club of the Alpine clown —
The despised and insulted foe.
On the ruthless foes of their name and race
Dire vengeance they took tbat day ;
For insult and wrong, endured for long,
And which blood could not wipe away ;
Fur ravaged fields, and for houseless nights,
In the depths of the winter's cold ;
For plundered home, and for murder'd child —
The savage feats of a warfare wild —
And for deeds that may not be told.
And far and wide fi-om the Sempacli's side,
The marvelous rumor flew.
That the Austrian host had been routed and turned,
And scattered the country through.
To the anxious watchers in sad Luzerne,
At sunset the tidings came ;
And the streeta were astir with the old and young;
And the gates were opened, anil the beUs were rung ;
And with grateful hosannas, both loud and long.
They remembered the God in their even song
Who raises the weak and confounds the strong —
Praise, praise to his holy name !
And to tranquil Stantz, as the deep'ning shade
Drew the stars forth one by one,
The news waa brought of tho victory bought
¦* Zschokke.

SWITZEELAND. 34.1

With the life of her bravest aon.
There was weeping that night in the peaceful home
Of Arnold of Winkelried :
But the hour of mourning e'en there waa brief
When she heard of his glorious deed.
The color rushed to her pallid face,
Aud it brightened and beamed with unwonted grace.
As she kissed her boys, with a mother's pride.
And told them with tears how then- father died."
Switzerland consists of twenty-two cantons, forming a confedera
tion like that of the United States, for mutual aid and support,
and for purposes of general governraent and legislation, but each
canton is independent within its own jurisdiction. Part M'e Cath
olic, and part are Protestant. The latter arc the wealthiest and
most powerful. Most of the people speak German, with a patois,
about a third, perhaps, French, and a few, in the neighborhood of
Italy, ItaUan. They are brave, ingenious, and enterprising. Their
soldiers, however, can be bought for any government, and Swiss
regiments may be found in Rome, Naples, and elsewhere. The
whole country is carefully cultivated, and portions of it, especially
in the vaUeys, are very fertile. The manufacture of watches,
jewelry, rausic instruments, &c., is carried on to a great extent.
Trade is universally free. The Uterature of Switzerland, particu
larly of the cantons Vaud, Gene^'rt, Basle, and Berne, is highly
respectable. It partakes, however, more or less of French and
German influences. Indeed, it greatly blonds with these, and is
often confounded with them. But Beza, R.ousseau, De Maistre,
Neckar, Madarae De Stael, Vinet, Constant, Bonnet, D'Aubigne,
all belong to Switzerland. Saussure, Sismondi, and Agassiz are
from the neighborhood of Geneva.
The government, in raost instances, is democratic and popular,
but occasionally, in its praoticnl working, ai-istociatio and conserva
tive. The democratic element, however, is dominant. It has
even, as in Gtmeva and in the canton Vaud,, proceeded to ex
tremities. Radicalism in these States, mingled with infideUty and
socialism, has persecuted the ministers of Christ, and broken up
Churches, whose only fault is their adherence to what they deera
truth and duty. Switzerland, alas ! is sadly injured by the blight
of atheism. French materiiUism and German pantheism have
rushed into it from every side.
The Swiss are a simple-hearted, generous, and, upon the whole,
reUgious race. They love their raountain horaes, and are ever
prepared to defend them with their lives. They are fond of
music, and can be affected to tears, especially in foreign lands, by
some of their native airs, particularly the Rans des Vaclics. " This
15*

346 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN,

Rans des Vaches," says Jean Paul Richter, " at once awakened his
blooming childhood, and she arose out of the morning dew, and
out of her bower of rosebuds and slumbering flowers, and stepped
before him in heavenly beauty, and sniUed innocently and with
her thousand hopes upon him, and said, ' Look at me, how beau
tiful I am ! we used to play together. I formerly gave thee many
things — great riches, gay raeadows, and bright gold, and a fair,
long paradise behind the mountains ; but now thou hast notiiing
of all this left — and how pale thou art ! 0 play with me again !'
Before which of us has not chUdhood been a thousand tiraes called
up by music ? And to which of us has she not spoken and asked
— 'Are the roses which I gave thee not yet blov/n?' Alas!
blown indeed they are — but, they were pale white roses."
The Swiss are sociable and affectionate, and love rural gather
ings and amusements. But hunting, after all, is the national pas
time among the mountains. They pursue the chamois far up
among tbe rocks. This hardens tbe frame, and matures the char
acter for higher deeds. They are full of energy and patriotism.
After wandering into other countries, as musicians, peddlers, or
soldiers, they do not forget their mountain homes, and generally
retum to them, if within their power.
The character of the Swiss, however, is much modified by for
eign influences. Republican and free, their country is the home
of refugees and political aliens from all the countries around them.
Almost interlocked, both by locality and language, with Germany
on the one side, Italy, and especially France, on the other, they
naturally adopt German, Italian, and French manners and usages.
Geneva, the cantons Basle and Vaud, Neufchatel, and even Zu
rich, are much modified in this way. It is chiefly in the more
rural and mountain districts that the true simplicity and energy
of the Swiss character displays itself. Then again, part of them
are Protestants and part Catholics, which frequentiy occasions
difficulty and strife, and exerts great influence upon character and
habits. The Jesuits, though banished, manage the Catholic can
tons, and, as tbeir custom is, keep the people ignorant and super
stitious. On the other hand, the Protestant cantons, though
prosperous, are open to endless speculations, and much fatal
skepticism. StUl it is in these that industry, knowledge, refine
ment, and enterprise are found to flourish. No better or pleas
anter cities can any where be found in Europe than Geneva,
Lausanne, Zurich, Luzerne, and Berne.
We are on the Simplon road, that wonderful work of Napoleon,
who conquered the Alps, as he conquered the nations. How
wonderfully it winds along the mountain precipices, away down.

SWITZEELAND. .347

and then far up among the rocks, now gliding over a sunny slope,
or along the edge of a snow-crowned summit, then plunging amid
dark ravines and forest-trees, till finally, Italy, la belle Itaiie, ra
diant with sunUght, bursts upon the view. Adieu, then, to Swit
zerland, with her lakes and mountains, and a welcome to Italy,
the home of beauty and of song.

34S

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER XXVI.

m

The principal feature of the Italian landscape is beauty. Lying
between the blue waves of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic,
backed by thc " sovereign Alps," with tbeir dark forests and
glacier peaks, traversed through her whole length by the lofty
but beautiful Apennines, with here and there the bare and black
ened summit of an extinct volcano, and crowned, at the bay of
Naples, with the smoking cone of j\Iount "Vesuvius, Italy has feat-

-* The account of Italy is condensed from the Author's " Genius of Italy."

ITALY. 349
ures of grandeur and majesty ; but her predominant aspect is that
of serene beauty. With a sky of the softest blue, an atmosphere
the clearest and blandest in the world, a fertile soil, and a rich
garniture of verdure and trees ; -gladdened moreover by limpid
streams brawling among the hUls, or sleeping, in pellucid pools
and crystal lakes, in the depths of valleys ; covered with vines
and olive-trees, myrtles and aloes, among which the white vUla,
the trellised cottage, tbe old church, and the hoary ruin of by-gone
days are gleaming ; with here and there some aiicient palace, or
old tower crowning the sumraits, or, it' may be, some splendid city
lying on the waters, like Naples and Venice, or standing on the
plain amid surrounding hills, like Florence and Rome, or seen
from afar upon a mountain ledge, like Genoa, Gaeta and Amalfi —
the whole land presents an aspect of rich and ever- varying beauty.
This feature of Italian scenery is often referred to by her poets,
with a sort of passionate admiration. It is also frequently speci
fied as the great temptation of her invaders, and one of the causes
of her degradation and suffering. Thus Pietro Bembo, in one of
his sonnets, exclaims :
" Fair land, once loved of Heaven o'er all beside.
Which blue waves gird, and lofty mountains screen,
Thou clime of fertile fields and sky serene,
Whose gay expanse the Apennines divide!
What boots it now that Rome's old warhke pride
Left thee of humbled earth aud sea the queen ?
Nations that served thee then now fierce convene
To tear thy locks and strew them o'er the tide."
Byron, too, catching the spirit, and indeed using tbe language
of the Italian poets, breaks out in those beautiful and burning
lines : " Italia ! Oh, Italia, thou who hast
The fatal gift of beauty which became
A funeral dower of present woes and past,
On thy sweet brow is sorrow ploughed by shame.
And annals graved in characters of flame.
Oh God I that thou wert in thy nakedness
Less lovely or more powerful, and couldst claim
Thy right, and awe the robbers back, who press
To shed thy blood and drink the tears of thy distresa !"
This, however, is but a free and happy translation oi one of
Filioaja's odes, commencing thus :
" Italia, oh, Italia ! hapless thou
Who didst the fatal gift of beauty gain,
A dowry fraught with never-ending pain,
A seal of sorrow stamped upon thy brow."

350 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Alessandro Manzoni, one of the most original and striking
writers of modem Italy, makes a simUar reference to his native
land, in one of the choruses of his " Conte Carmagnola."
" 0 thou devoted land that canst not rear
In peace thine off'spring ! thou the lost and won.
The fair and fatal soil, that dost appear
Too narrow still for each contending son !
Eeceive the stranger in his fierce career,
Parting the spoils ! thy chastening has begun !
And wresting from thy kings the guardian sword.
Foes whom thou ne'er hadst wronged sit proudly at thy board."
But not only is beauty tbe predominant feature in the physical
aspect of Italy, it is the chief element in its language and litera
ture.' The language is melody itself, and wonderfully harmonizes
with the soft beauty and mellow splendor of the landscape. The
very common people speak it with a grace whioh is iiTesistible.
It seems to warble from the lips of children like the song of early
birds. It is ever gliding into poetry and song. Hence the won
derful facility of the Italian Improvisatori. It is indeed capable
of the utmost compression and force. The ItaUan translation of
Tacitus occupies less space than tbe original.* Nothing can ex
ceed the rugged energy of some parts of Dante's Divina Comme
dia, or the trenchant force of Alfieri's tragedies. Nevertheless,
the language is naturaUy soft and melodious, imaging, in its clear
flow, all forms of beauty, and sparkling with the sunny radiance
of its native skies. This, however, as some good judges have
aflfirmed, has tended, particularly in the case of inferior writers, to
corrupt Italian literature ; so that poverty of thought is often dis
guised " under a melodious redundancy of diction." Hence, too,
some of their graver compositions, and especially their specimens
of eloquence, are defective in simpUcity and force. Some allow
ance, however, must be made for the influence of a sunny clime,
and an ardent temperament. What seems flashy and magnilo
quent in northern Europe or America, may be perfectly natural in
southern Italy. The soft and luxuriant beauty of their diction,
soon palUng upon our ear, may possess for them an irresistible
and unwearied charm. A sense of harraony, a passionate love of
the beautiful, a refined taste and a cultivated ear, seem almost
universally diffused among the people. Some of the finest strains
of Petrarch, Tasso, and Ariosto, are familiar to raultitudes among
'the lower orders. Tbe gondoliers of Venice were accustomed
¦* Hallam speaks somewhat disparagingly of this translatioa Others
however, equally capable of judging, accord it high praise.

ITALY. 351
formerly to accompany their movements on the water, and reply
to each other in the verses of Tasso, tlirough the long summer
night. The fine tones of the Tuscan peasants have often been
admired. Who has not heard of
"The Tuscan's siren tongue,
Tliat music in itself, whose words are song ?"
The boys of Naples, even the lowest lazaroni, are constantly
chanting the melodies which are sung in the operas. You hear
them during the hours of the night ringing changes on their favor
ite, though somewhat monotonous and melancholy airs. The
peasantry in the south of Italy go to market murmuring gay tunes.
Ragged and poor, they will Usten for hours in the public squares,
or in the shadow of some old temple, to the wild poetry of the
Improvisatori, with no other refreshment than a glass of cold
water. The same sense of beauty is seen in the variety and elegance of
their costumes, whose picturesque arrangement often appears as
if borrowed from the models of ancient statuary ; in their love of
natural scenery and out-door recreations ; in the flowers and other
ornaments with which on ffite-days they adorn their churches and
pubhc buUdings ; and in the graceful manner in which the peas
antry cause tbe grape-vines to hang, in long festoons, about their
cottages, and among the trees of their gardens and orchards. In
the larger cities you see much squalid misery ; but in tbe country
every thing is picturesque and beautiful. On hill-side and in val
ley, pretty cottages are nestling amid tufted trees, luxuriant vines,
and flowers.
Imaginative and impassioned, the Italian writers, especially the
poets — and almost all of thera are raore or less poets — give them
selves up to the full play of their fancy, and revel in the wildest
imagininsfs, tbe most delicate and brilliant illusions. Even in the
horrid scenes of the Inferno, glearas of beauty are ever breaking
upon the vision ; and in the description of lieaven, Dante loses
himself in unutterable splendors. Beatrice, with ber cerulean
eyes and golden hair, is the symbol of " increate" and everlasting
beauty. Light, music, and motion, are the three siraple elements
in Dante's description of the celestial world, but how wondrously
and gorgeously blended in the overpowering glory of its mystic
circles. Boccaccio, Ariosto, Pulci, Berni, and Metastasio, are
"drunk with beauty." It was as much the beauty of tiic moon
and stars, as their wondrous revolutions, that captivated the heart
of Gahleo. Machiavelli, cold and subtle as be may be deemed,
was a poet, and never enjoyed himself better than among his birds

352 THE WOELD WE LIVE IX.

and vines. Beauty was the polar star of Petrarch, who strangely
mingles the raptures of devotion and of love. It was the dream
of Tasso, and gleams, with a supernal glory, through the long and
majestic march of the Gerusalemme. Much indeed of the Italian
poetry is liable to stern reprehension, on account of its low moral
tone, its frivolity and licentiousness ; but its pervading element is
beauty, radiant and immortal.
The same element is visible in all the productions of their paint
ers and sculptors. The serene beauty of Raphael's Madonnas is
absolutely wonderful. Michael Angelo's Moses, and his two
statues of Night and Morning, are remarkable for severity and
grandeur of expression, but, after all, it is the divine beauty which
beams from the whole, -which gives them their peculiar charm.
Walk through the long corridors of the Vatican, or the magnifi
cent rooms of the Pitti palace, araid a wildemess of sculptures
and paintings from the hands of the great masters of ancient and
of modem Italy, and the very air seems redolent of beauty. It
awes the spirit like a presence and a mystery. In those sUent
forms it lives forever, imbreathed by the power of genins — a
charm and a glory acknowledged alike by the philosopher and
the savage. For, " A thuig of beauty is a joy forever !"
Nothing, it would seem, could be more repulsive than the head
of Medusa, environed with snakes ; and yet, in the hands of Leo
nardo da Vinci, it is made attractive, by means of a strange, and,
if the term be allowed, a hideous beauty. Shelley has caught the
true idea, in one of his most striking, though unfinished poems :
" It lieth gazing on the midnight sky.
Upon the cloudy mountain peak supine ;
, Below, far lands are seen tremblingly ;
Its horror and its beauty are divine.
Upon its lips and eyelids seera to lie
Loveliness like a shadow, from whieh shrine.
Fiery and lurid, struggling underneath.
The agonies of anguish and of death."
Of course we need not say that the music of Italy coiTesponds
to the beauty of her landscape, consisting as it does in el; borate,
but intense and ravishing harmony. Who has not beard of Rosini,
with his Exquisite creations ; and wbo bas not been moved, at the
recoUection even, of tbe " Stabat Mater" of Pergolesi, styled the
Raffaele of music ; or the " Miserere" of Jomelli, with its strangely
sweet and melancholy tones ?
We know not but we might be justified in saying that beauty is

ITALY. 363
the predominant feature in the religion of Italy ; not, however,
" the beauty of holiness ;" would that it were ! but external beauty,
the beauty of form and semblance ; the symbol, it is true, of a
higher and divine beauty, but often separated from it by a great
gulf, lUce the body of the dead from the spirit whioh has taken its
flight. So we find it enshrined in their temples and altars. These,
indeed, are often adorned, or rather we ought to say, bedizened,
with tinsel and gewgaws, and, what is worse, with tawdry images,
mere idols of wood and stone. A rude, barbaric splendor, worthy
only of the dark ages, often takes the place of a tme and simple
beauty. Nay more, both in form and an-angement, their churches,
and especially their altars, are more allied to the genius of hea
thenism than of Christianity. After all, the most of their eccle
siastical edifices possess a wonderful charm, from tiieir fine pro
portions and antique air. The cathedral, in MUan, has been styled
an epic in stone. "It appears," says one, "Uke a petrified orien
tal dream." St. Peter's, at Rome, is the very perfection of beauty
and grandeur. The majestic dome, and the serene festal air of
the interior, strike the most casual observer. Santa Maria Novella,
and the ancient church of Santa Croce, in Florence, are distin
guished by a simple and venerable beauty. But some of the old
churches in the country, amid umbrageous trees and clustering
vines, are yet more beautiful even than these, blending as they do
with the glories of nature, and often hiding a deeper and more
heartfelt worship.
But ^\^^ are off in the direction of Milan, and soon find ourselves
traversing tbe rich plains of Lombardy, so long under the dominion
of Austria, and the scene of so raany struggles. On every side
are innumerable farms and villages, occupied by a poor but indus
trious peasantry. The lands are divided and subdivided to an
astonishing extent, and as the peasantry who work thera are not
the proprietors, and have large taxes to pay to governraent, while
one-half the produce of their little farms goes to their owners,
few or none of them acquire property. They merely live and
transmit frora father to son their scanty heritage of labor. Let it
not, however, be supposed that they are an unhappy race. Doubt
less they long for something better, and most of thera, with the
true Italian spirit, yearn for freedora and national independence,
but they toil on with patience and cheerfulness. Their religion
would seem to be of a darker and severer character than that of
southern Italy. Every where you see hideous ci-ucifixes, with
skeleton Christs. The churches have a somber look, and their in
terior is often quite gloomy. The scenery is agreeable but monot
onous, and the villages through which we are passing have a poor

354 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

and squalid look. The proprietors and gentry Uve in the large
cities, while the country is left to the peasantry, priests, and
monks. The Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, as it is called, has been for
years one of the most valuable possessions of Austria, and -wiU
never be wUUngly abandoned by that powerful and grasping em
pire. It extends from the Alpine hights, including Carintiiia,
Tyrol, and the Grisons, to the banks of the Po ; and thus embraces
the whole expanse of nortbem Italy, except the portions which
belong to Sardinia, and one or two of the smaller duchies on the
northwest, from the shores of the Adriatic on the one side, to
ward those of the Mediterranean on the other. It is the best
watered, and, in agriculture, the richest portion of Italy. This, in
connection with various alliances, has enabled Austria to control
the whole Italian pemnsula.
It is true, the resources of the country have been well devel
oped, and even elementary instruction provided for every com
mune ; but the general policy has been despotic and cruel. The
inhabitants intensely hate their oppressors and long for indepen
dence. And no wonder, for, under Austrian rule, every Italian is
excluded from office, the press is muzzled, and enormous sums are
levied from the inhabitants in the shape of taxes. A free word,
or a free act, has entailed instant imprisonment and death. The
paternal govemment is well supplied withdungeons and bayonets,
and to maintain its rule will not hesitate to deluge the whole land
in blood.
But yonder is Milan, "wbich stands," says Von Raumiir, "in
a sea of green trees, as Venice in a sea of green waters." It con
tains something more than a hundred and fifty thousand inhabit
ants, and boasts the possession of an extensive commerce, splendid
pubUc edifices, and an active, enterprising population. In form it
is nearly circular, lying in a vast plain, and surrounded by a sUght
bastioned wall and broad ramparts adorned with trees. We pass
under its lofty arches, guarded by Austrian bayonets, and take
possession of apartments near the Duomo, the largest and most
beautiful cathedral of Northern Italy, and only inferior in size and
splendor to St. Peter's in Rome.
Sauntering around the city, we visit the old church of St. Am
brose, where repose tbe bones of that devout and simple-hearted
bishop, an object, of adoration to the faithful; and in whose crypts
are to be seen some singular relics, among wbich an immense bra
zen serpent is conspicuous, claimed to be nothing less than " the
serpent in the -wilderness !" This -will do very well to put along
side of "the top of the well of Samaria," "the lance that pierced

ITALY. 355
our Savior's side," and " the vaU of Veronica," exhibited in Rome
itself ! The defaced painting of Leonardo da Vinci also attracts
our attention, but it is interesting only as a memorial of what it
once was, and of the transcendent genius who painted it ; for it is
much injured by time, and has lost nearly all its distinctive traits.
The Ambrosian library and the public museum, in which are some
fine paintings of the old masters, are not neglected ; but of these
we say nothing. For, to tell the honest truth, Milan is interesting
to us chiefly on account of its great men, its ancient meraories, its
generous aspirations, and noble struggles for freedom. Here
Beccaria, Monti, and Foscolo wrote and sang. Here especiaUy,
Silvio Pellico, Manzoni, Maroncelli and others were associated, not
only in friendship, but in the sacred cause of Uberty and progress ;
and from this place some of them were driven forth to exUe and
imprisonment. But we raust indulge ourselves with one sight — the view from
the summit of the cathedral. Ascending by long winding stairs,
we find ourselves far above the dust and din of the hot and busy
city, amid a forest of pinnacles with sculptured saints and angels,
glittering like frostwork in the light of the setting sun —
" An aerial host
Of figures, human and divine,
White as the snows of Apennine
Indurated bv froot."
It is as if a mountain of marble had become -vital, and flowered
into that " starry zone." But an object of vaster grandeur and
more thrUUng beauty instantly attracts our attention. Yonder,
at tbe distance of a hundred miles or more, but clearly marked
against the sky, are the lofty ranges of the Alps, bathed in mel
low light. How gloriously they lift tbeir calm summits into the
heavens, as if they formed a pathway to the throne of God, on
which the angels, as in Jacob's dream, might be seen " ascending
and descending." The colors change and deepen, now taking a
soft, rosy tint, now a rich crimson, and then a brUliant purple.
The plains beneath are putting on the "sober livery" of evening,
the base of the mountains is itself covered with shadows ; but tbe
Ught, as if loth to depart, lingers upon their summits, and grows
more and more intense among the white glacier peaks. Vast and
shadowy, these everlasting mountains seem invested -with an awful
but deUghtful serenity, rerainding us of the " peace of God wbich
passeth all understandmg" — the profound and etemal repose of
the spirits of just men made perfect. Gazing on them at this
hushed hour,

366 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

" We receive into our soul
A something that informs us 'tia an hour
'Whence we may date henceforward and forever."
We should be glad to "visit Sardinia, with her beautiful capital,
Turin, but must leave it for the more central and southem cities
of Italy.
We are in Venice. * -* * Early in the moming, just as the
sun is rising from the blue waves of the Adriatic, we ascend the
lofty tower of St. Mark, that ancient. Oriental-looking cathedral,
whose Byzantine magnificence reminds us of the early glory of the
RepubUc, and the blind old Doge Dandolo, who brought back
from his Eastem crusade the treasures of Constantinople to adorn
the capital. The Ught begins to cast a deep flush upon the bosom
of the deep, and tinge, with purple glories, the distant summits of
the Euganean hills. A slight haze, flecked with sunshine, hovers
over the city far beneath us. Half in shadow, half in light, gleam
the long ranges of streets, old palaces, towers, and churches,
threaded by innumerable canals, in which the dark gondolas,
loaded -with provisions, fruits, and flowers from the country, are
seen gUding to and fro, and making their way to the center of the
city. Yonder is the magnificent arch of the Rialto, the palace of
the Doge, the Giant's Stairs, and beneath, the Bridge of Sighs,
over which criminals passed on their way to imprisonraent and
death ; and the dark, deep dungeons below, where the lonely pris
oner, in the hush of the morning, or the sUence of the night, could
hear the plashing of the water, and the stroke "of the oar above
bis head. Bridges innumerable span the canals, and every where
you see marks of the former wealth and splendor of Venice. But
the Ught deepens, and the whole city glows, like an Oriental
dream, in the soft radiance of the flickering sun.
" Underneath day'a azure eyea,
Ocean'a nursling, Venice, lies — .
A peopled labyrinth of walls,
Amphitrite's destuied halls.
Which her hoary sire now paves
With his blue aud beaming waves.
Lo, the sun up-springa behind.
Broad, red, radiant, half-reclined
On the level quivering line
Of the waters crystalline ;
And before that chasm of light.
As within a furnace bright,
Column, tower, and dome, aud spire
Shine hke obelisks of fire."*
* SheUey.

358

THE WcliLD WE LIVE IN.

ITALY. 369
But this is the poetical aspect of Venice. Descend into the
streets or canals, and pass around from point to point, and every
where you will see tokens of decay. Many of the old palaces are
deserted, or faUing into ruins ; and although much of grandeur
and beauty yet remain, it is faded and dim. The city contains a
large population, and has considerable commerce, but nothing in
comparison to what it once enjoyed, when it was the " Queen of
the seas," and " Mistress of a hundred isles." Indeed, it is but
the shadow of its former seK.
Venice boasts a remote antiquity. In the days of AttUa, when
the Huns and Lombards overran the north of Italy, the poor in
habitants took refuge in the reedy islands of the Adriatic, par
ticularly in the Riva Alto, or Rialto, where they built their rude
huts, and ramparts to protect them from their enemies. SUently
and imperceptibly rose the city from the sea, occupied by a nu
merous and enterprising population. A small democratic repub
hc, the first in modem Europe, was estabUshed, under magistrates
called tribunes. In the year 697, the islands elected their first
Doge, or Dux, that is, leader or chief, in the person of Paolucci
Anafesto. The tribunes, or the nobility, had the judiciary, the
people the legislative, and the Doge the executive power. Gradu
ally Venice increased her coramerce, and extended her dominion.
The sea was covered -with her ships, and the land with her citizens,
artisans, and merchants.
Venice added to her power and glory, by assisting Alexander
Third in humbling the fierce Barbarossa ; in return for which ser
vice, and as a lasting memorial of his esteem, that able but am
bitious pontiff bestowed upon her a ring, with which to espouse
the sea, and symboUze the empire which he bestowed upon her
over the waters of the globe. This was the origm of the well-
known nuptials of Venice with the Adriatic, celebrated each year
with great pomp and cereraony, in the Bucentaur.
This was the period of her greatest commercial and military
glory ; the manners of the people were softened, and the arts
began to flourish.
At the close of the thirteenth century the East India trade
passed from Constantinople to Alexandria ; Genoa, the rival of
Venice, possessed herself of the comraerce of the Byzantine Era
pire ; and the overreaching nobles of the Venetian Republic de
clared themselves hereditary. Then commenced the subversion
of her free institutions ; and although Venice continued to increase
in wealth and greatness until the fifteenth century, and gained
great advantages over Genoa and the neighboring countries, the
seeds of decUne were sown in her constitution. From that time

360 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

she gradually descended from her high and palmy state. The
Portuguese discovered a passage by sea to the East Indies ; the
Turks, who had become masters of Constantinople, swept every
thing before them, and took possession of most of her Oriental con
quests ; whUe long and harassing wars -with the neighboring re
publics exhausted her resources and reduced her wealth. The
government of the State was invested in a CouncU of Ten, and
three Inquisitors were chosen, with unlimited powers to cite, im
prison, and punish all suspected persons. For this purpose they
made ample use of ' spies and informers, racks and dungeons.
Thousands of citizens disappeared, no one could tell when or how ;
and a spirit of fear and suspicion took possession of the public
mind. Yet was Venice ever a gay and giddy scene. The citizens
gave themselves up to the pursuit of pleasure. Intrigue and de
bauchery went hand in hand -with tyranny and fear.
" The sea, that emblem of uncertainty,
Changed not so fast for many and many an age
As this smaU apot. To-day 'twas full of masks ;
And lo ! the madness of the carnival.
The monk, the nun, the holy legate masked !
To-morrow carae the scaffold and the wheel ;
And he died there by torch-light, bound and gagged.
Whose name and crime they knew not."
And yet, strange to teU, this lasted for many long years ; and
the strength, energy, and consistency of the Venetian government
were a wonder and mystery to all the States of Europe, Machia-
velU is in raptures -with it ; and, even now, it inspires, in many
minds, a feeUng of reverence and awe. Doubtless- many of the
State councilors and inquisitors were men not only of profound
sagacity, but of lofty patriotism. Occasionally they displayed aU
the resources of genius and virtue. But, generally, they were a
proud and ambitious race, who used their tremendous power for
purposes of oppression and revenge.
•Tbe jurisdiction of the Ten was prompt and energetic ; their
police, the most perfect in the world! Neither innocence nor
crirae, neither power nor cunning could escape them, when bent
upon the execution of their plans. A Frenchman of high rank
vvas robbed in Venice, and had complained that the police were
vigUant only as spies upon strangers. On leaving the city, his
gondola was suddenly stopped. Inqmring the reason, the gondo-
Uers pointed to a boat with a red flag that had just made them a
signal. It arrived, and he was called on board :
" You are the Prince de Craon ? Were you not robbed on
Friday evening ?"
" I was."

ITALY. 361
"Of what?"
"Of five hundred ducats."
" And where were they ?"
" In a green purse."
"Do you suspect anybody?"
" I do ; a servant."
" Would you know him again ?"
" Certainly."
The questioner with his foot tumed aside an old cloak that lay
there, and the prince beheld his purse in the hand of a corpse !
"Take it, and remember, that none set their feet again in a
country where they have presumed to doubt the -wisdom of the
government." But the old Venetian RepubUc, State CouncU, and Inquisition,
have passed away forever. The govemment yielded to Napoleon
-without a blow, and after his downfall, Austria set her foot upon
the proud and beautiful city. But the memory of the past bums
m the heart of the people. They will never submit to despotism,
and must be free once more ; but, alas ! when ?
Pass into St. Mark's Place of an e-^'ening, and all seems life and
pleasure. Gay and various costumes, Uluminated coffee-houses,
parties of pleasure, joyous conversation, and sprightly music,
make the scene like one of fairy-land. Can such a people long
for independence ? Can they fight for freedom ?— ^have they
strength to grasp it, and, above all, to keep it, in the face of glit
tering bayonets, of exile and death ? They have tried, but faded.
One of the most delightful days that ever broke upon the world,
finds us among the verdant Apennines, on our way to Florence.
The eastern sky is "all roseate," whUe the rest of the heavens is
beginning to tremble with the flashing radiance. The sumraits of
the mountains, crowned here and there with the ruins of an old
castle, a church, or a convent, are burning in the golden light of
opening day, whUe the vales beneath are reposing' in a soft but
rapidly vanishing twiUght. Now we are rattling along the base
of the steep mountain, with a stream on one side, and a pretty
vUlage on the other ; anon, we are climbing some wooded accU^vity
or rough ascent, from which a ¦wide expanse of hills and vales,
trees and streams, exhUarates the eye. At one time we pass a
small chapel, with a dark-looking shrine, where kneel a few devo
tees before the sacred reUcs of some ancient saint, or an image of
the Virgin mother, the beautiful goddess of the papal worship ;
at another, we descry some pretty cottages nestling among the
trees and sheltering vines of the mountain's side ; and just beyond
them the remains of an old feudal castle, in which some fierce
16

362 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Bolognese or Florentine noble cooped himself in the dark and
stormy times of the twelfth century.
Look abroad over the face of Nature ; see how attractive it is,
how grand and spirit-stirring amid these sublime but beautiful
Apennines. Softer and greener than the ^mountains of Switzer
land, and falling far below them in hight and majesty, they yet
possess a grandeur of their own, softening at every step into the
most delicate and entrancing beauty. The scattered cottages,
poor enough in themselves, but rich in their garniture of trees
and -vines ; groups of peasantry here and there, poor as their
mountain homes, but with picturesque dresses, and in some in
stances fine forms ; orchards and gardens scattered on the hUl-sides
and in the plains ; in one or two places, broken arches stretching
from the mountain to the bottom of the valley — -in others, some
monastery or convent, perched on the very summit of the rocky
ridge ; frequent flowers and clumps of trees hanging over fount
ains, or dipping their green branches in pellucid pools asleep in
the valleys ; goats clambering the rough precipice, or balancing
themselves upon the toppling edge of a deep ravine ; .the shout or
song of shepherds echoing far and near amid the stillness of the
mountains ; glad voices of chUdren at play in the vUlages beneath ;
and over all, the radiant sky buming like a chrysolite, and bathing
the landscape with its ethereal hues ; — all combine to attract our
attention, and thrill our hearts -with bright and blessed thoughts.
Oh, how delightful to turn away from the care and sorrow of
earth, the turmoU of politics, and the contests of ambition, to the
quiet retreats of Nature, where God and man may meet and com
mune, without distraction and annoyance !
But here, perhaps, it may be well enough to describe our fel
low-travelers ; for their earnest talking has -withdra-wn us from our
reveries. Right opposite sits a tall, military-looking gentleman,
with a keen eye and handsome moustache. As we leam from
conversation, he is a native of Tuscany, and connected with the
army, and although rather taUer than the Tuscans generally, is a
fair representative of his countrymen. His quick, dark eye, pol
ished manners, and vivacious temper, well correspond to the idea
which we have formed of their appearance and character. On
one side is a well-made, grave, yet cheerful-looking priest from
Germany, on his way to the Holy City. He is evidentiy intelli
gent ; but, as we readUy ascertam, bigotedly attached to the
Papal Church, with whose doctrines he seems familiar. Sitting
beside him is a friar, sandaled and bareheaded, with a shaven
crown, and a demure, but rosy, good-natured look. He cons his
breviary with remarkable ease and perseverance, but without the

ITALY. 363
sUghtest appearance of devotion ; and now and then ventures a
remark, indicating more sense than one would think he possessed.
He belongs to the order of Franciscans, many of whom are fat
and lazy ; a few lean and ascetic ; and others, and perhaps the
greater number, proud and assuming. The Franciscans are, rather
more than the other orders, devoted to preaching, but few of
them possess much learnmg or oratorical power. A few are
eamest and impassioned speakers, and produce some effect upon
their excitable hearers during the season of Lent, the great preach
ing time of the Catholic Church. On this side sits a Lombard
merchant from Milan, the finest looking of them all, with a capa
cious forehead, auburn hair, and blue eyes, an expression of firm
ness and serenity about the mouth, a good clear voice, and a com
mon-sense style of talking. Next to him is a Uttle, fiery fellow,
in black clothes, and a three-cornered hat, a Jesuit, perhaps, from
the Neapolitan States, full of zeal for the holy Catholic, apostohcal
Church. AU these are fair types of their respective countrymen,
who have marked pecuUarities which distinguish them from one
another. This is especiaUy the case with the Milanese merchant,
who reminds us of tbe fine race who occupy the fertUe vales of
the Adigie and the Po. Descended from the old Ostrogoths and
Lombards, they possess considerable energy and worth of char
acter. Not quite so impetuous as some of their southern neigh
bors, particularly the Romans and Neapolitans, the latter of whom-
have some infusion of Grecian and Moorish blood, the nations of
northern Italy have more firmness and consistency of character,
and are capable of great effort and endurance. They are tbe best
soldiers in Italy. The Piedmontese on one side and the Venetians
on the other, differ somewhat from these ; the former being keen,
worldly, and penetrating, and the latter ingenious and pleasure-
loving. The Tuscans are versatUe and poUshed, the Romans
thoughtful and aspiring, and the Neapolitans impetuous and fickle.
But we are getting prosy ; and the diligenza, with its six horses,
and huge-booted, black-moustached postUlions, whooping, groan
ing, and spurring, is rattling down bill, and our friend the friar is
reading his breviary so earnestly, that we fall back upon our
cushioned seat, and let the fresh air of the cool valley which is re
ceiving us blow upon our forehead, and the serene, festal aspect
of the landscape steal into our heart.
But our friends are getting loquacious, and the subject of their
conversation, suggested by the reraark of the German canon, on
the present condition dt' Italy, turns upon the Church. All are
rigid Catholics, except the Lombard merchant, who, though ob
viously attached to the Church of his fathers, distinguishes be-

364 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

tween its superstitions, and the great spirit of faith and love by
which it ought to be animated. But tbe friar and canon, and
especially the Jesuit, defend every thing, and express the greatest
horror of liberality, as leading to error and ruin. They confina
salvation to the pale of the holy Catholic and apostoUc Chmch,
as they call it, and denounce Protestants as heretics and apostates.
" But surely," we say, " you do not defend the superstitions of
the Church — the pretended miracles, the holy coats, mystic amu
lets and heathen ceremonies, whioh every candid man in the nine
teenth century must acknowledge as errors and deformities."
"Sir," is the quick and somewhat offended reply, "the Church
has no superstitions, no pretended nniracles, no heathen ceremonies."
"Well now, tell us candidly," _we rejoin, "do you really be
lieve that actual miracles are performed at the present day in the
Papal Church? Do priests generally believe them ? Do popes,
cardinals, and bisbops maintain their credibility ?"
" Most assuredly they do," is the decisive answer.
To confirm this statement, the canon, aided by the Jesuit and
friar, goes into a lengthened statement, too prosy and too absurd
to be repeated, as to the occurrence of recent miracles in Italy, in
one of which the Holy Virgin opened ber eyes upon a young
devotee who craved her aid ; another, in which she appeared, in
glory, to some chUdren on the mountains ; a third, in which she
revealed herself to an infidel Jew, who was thereby converted ;
and a fourth, in which she delivered a young man from the grasp
of robbers" and murderers ; bow also certain holy women, in an
ecstasy, received the stigmata of Christ — sacred wounds inflicted
by an in-visible hand, and resembling those on our Saviour's cru
cified body.
Here we imagine that we discover a smile of derision on the
lips of the Tuscan oflicer, CathoUc as he is, and the MUan mer
chant absolutely laughs outright, to the great discomfiture of our
priestly companions.
To try them upon another point, we ask one question more ;
" Do you really beUeve that the CathoUc Church is the only
true, universal CWch, and that aU who die in her communion
will certainly go to heaven ?"
" Undoubtedly," they all respond at once ; and the Jesuit is
proceeding to give his reasons, when we cut the discussion short,
by exclaiming, in a playful voice —
" WeU, weU ! your view is undoubtedly consistent enough ; but
for our part, we rejoice in the subUme and cheering thought, that
the trae Church consists of aU those, in any land, and in any sect
or Church, who beUeve in Jesus Christ, incarnate love and purity,

ITALY.

365

iijiii

ITALY. 367
breathe his spirit, and obey his laws. At all events, we are dis
posed to think and act for ourselves in the matter of reUgion, and
wUUngly take our risk with the myriads of good and holy men, in
all Protestant communions, who have blessed the world with their
love and zeal."
To this our friend from Lombardy nods an emphatic assent ;
while the canon, the friar, and the Jesuit enter their protest
against it as heretical and dangerous, adding, tbat there is only
one God, one Saviour, one Church, and that said Church can be
none other than the holy Catholic Church — a sentiment to which
we inwardly assent, but not in the narrow and local sense of
priestly assumption and bigotry.
But polemics we dislike ; moreover, we have something better
in prospect, for we are drawing near the capital of Tuscany. The
increasing beauty of the country, the richness of the fields and
gardens, the vines hanging in long and luxuriant festoons from the
tall trees by the wayside, tbe smoothness of tbe roads, and the
increase of travel, indicate our approach to a great city. Now
we have attained the suramit of the mountain ridge wbich encir
cles the magnificent natm-al amphitheater in which stands tbe city
of Florence, like Jerusalem of old amid her coronet of mountains ;
and all at once it flashes upon our sight — palace, dome, and
tower blushing like a bride in the warm light of a Tuscan sky.
Yonder, towering above the rest of the city, is the cupola of the
cathedral, the work of Brunelleschi, and the raodel upon wbich
Michael Angelo foi-raed the cupola of St. Peter's ; the beautiful
CampiniUe, by Giotto, worthy, as Charles the Fifth declared, to
be encased in gold ; and nearer, the Pitti palace, the gardens of
the Boboli, and the Arno, " classic stream," on whose banks once
wandered the youthful MUton, on bis visit to Italy, "framing
0 vidian verse," and those other illustrious men, sculptors, paint
ers, and poets, who have shed over Florence and its en-virons the
glory of poetical inspiration.
Without crossing the Amo, and entering what may be called
the heart of the city, we find a home for the present under the
shadow of the Pitti palace, and not far from the BoboU gardens,
in whose spacious and cool retreats we shall love to linger, in the
hot summer day, or in the still and beautiful twUight, soothed by
the noise of falling fountains, the music of evening beUs, or the
deep hum of the busy city.
Florence, the city of flowers, as the name imports, has ever
been a favorite with poets and travelers. And certainly, though
not so magnificent as Rome, or so striking as Naples, it has a
quiet beauty of its own, which mstantly wins our regard.

368 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

" Of all the cities of the earth
None ia so fair as Florence" —
is the enthusiastic expression of the gentle and classic Rogers,
"the poet of Italy." " Florence, beneath the sun.
Of cities fairest one.
Blushes within her bower,''
is the yet more harmonious and striking language of Shelley,
Byron, too, was an enthusiastic admirer of Florence, and has em
balmed its glory in the verses of " Childe Harold." Ugo Foscolo
has celebrated its graves, in his poem of "The Sepulchres."
Macaulay speaks of " the fair, the happy, the glorious Florence,"
as it was in the days of Lorenzo de Medici ; of " the halls which
rung with the mirth of Pulci, the cell where twinkled the mid
night lamp of PoUtian, the statues where the young eye of Michael
Angelo glowed with a kindred inspiration, and the gardens in
which the young Lorenzo meditated some sparkUng song for the
May-day dance of the Etrurian virgins."
It is ob-vious that much of the attraction -with which Florence
is invested, is owing to association of ideas ; to the golden memo
ries of that old heroic time when Dante and Petrarch sang, and a
new era of power and splendor dawned upon Italy.
" Along the banka where smiling Arno sweeps,
Waa modern luxury of commerce borne.
And buried learuing rose, redeemed to a new morn." — Byron.
But in addition to its rich memories and hallowed associations,
Florence has much in its situation, its pure air, its venerable as
pect, its massive but elegant buildings, its verdant gardens, and
its peaceful river spanned with handsome bridges, to inspire ad
miration. Its environs are among the finest in the world. Lying
on the banks of the Arno, and stretching graduaUy to the tops
of the mountains which gird it on every side, with green meadows,
clustering vines, and clumps of trees ; dotted, in every part, with
vUlas, cottages, convents, and towers ; invested with the warm,
rich coloring of an Italian sun ; the whole scene is one of rare and
inspiring beauty. It contains the treasures of ancient and of
modem art, the Venus de Medici, " Eve of the land which yet is
Paradise," the Wrestler, the Niobe, the works of Angelo, CeUini,
Raffaele, Titian, Canova, and a host of others ; the tombs of the
Medici ; the wonderful statues of Night and Day ; the old Lau
rentian Ubrary, containing some rare and curious manuscripts, and

ITALY. 369
among other things, a finger of Galileo, preserved in a glass case,
and pointing to the stars ; the old church of Santa Maria Novella,
adorned with the radiant Madonna of Cimabu6 ; the bronze gates
of the Baptistery, fit, according to Michael Angelo, to be the gates
of Paradise ; and above all, Santa Croce, the Westminster of
Florence, where repose
" Angelo's, Alfieri's bones, and his.
The starry Galileo with his woes ;
Where Machiavelli's earth returned to whence it rose !"
No wonder, then, if to imaginative minds the " Athens of Etru
ria" should possess so many charms ; and that the poets should
unite in shedding over it ideal splendors.
" Search within.
Without ; all is enchantment. 'Tis the past
Contending with the present ; and in turn
Each has the mastery." — Rogers.
But we do not intend to weary our readers with a minute de
scription of Florence, attractive as the subject is ; for this has
been frequently done by others. Neither will we tire their pa
tience with a long catalogue or attempted description of her art
istic treasures. We will not say a word even of thc Tribune, the
Chapel de Depositi, the squares adorned with equestrian statues,
nor of the vast museums of the Pitti palace. All this, and much
more, we pass over as familiar to all. For, in good truth, these
subjects have been written to perfect inanity by all sorts of tour
ists and sketchers who have seen but little else in their rapid
flight through the country. It is the genius of Florence (which
in many respects is the genius of Italy) which attracts our atten
tion. Her old heroic history, her spirit of wisdom and refinement,
her dreams of glory, her long struggle for freedom, her love of
the beautiful, and above aU, the magnificent flowering of her poet
ical and artistic genius, possess ' an interest and a charm of the
highest and most ennobUng kind.
The history of Florence reminds us often of the history of
Athens ; and yet it possesses a deeper interest, from the preva
lence of a new class of influences, and a new form of civiUzation.
In the Tuscan Republic, not only the spirit of Grecian refineraent,
but also of Gothic strength and Christian virtue, came into con
tact with a thousand opposing obstacles, which resulted from the
universal prevalence of ignorance, superstition, and licentiousness.
Thus the forms of society and the elements of progress were more
striking and energetic, and in their action and results more stu-
16*'

370 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

pendens and far-reaching. For although Florence herself, as a
repubUc, has passed away, and much of the grandeur and power
of Christianity has been vitiated and overborne by those heathen
and papal admhxtures every where cherished in Italy ; yet the
form of civiUzation wrought out in that land has diffused itself
through the European world, and is yet destined to the highest
triumphs even in Italy. We can discern in it a vitality which -wiU
yet cast off the wrappages of superstition, and emerge as from a
tomb, glowing with immortal youth and vigor. So long as Chris
tianity, in its great principles, whether contained in books or insti
tutions, remains in a country, however covered up with the rub
bish of superstition and vice, there is hope for that country.
Lying in that crude mass, Uke the chrysalis in the dust, is an
organic life, which, quickened by the sun of liberty, shall yet burst
its cerements, and go forth, in celestial beauty, to bless the world.
But Florence has seen many dark and stormy changes. She is
not now what she was in the days of old, although even then far
from realizing tbe idea of a free or a truly Christian repubhc. She
was bom in the middle ages, in tempest and blood ; grew up,
like a young giant, amid rapine and war, and held her liberties
only by the stern hand of violence and crime. Yet her internal
vigor was wonderful, and for a long series of years she maintain'ed
her integrity, and developed her resources -with a genius and force
such as the world has seldom seen. After all, her freedom was
short-lived. It was based not upon virtue, but upon force ; upon
expediency, " not upon" principle. Gothic feudalism contended
with Christian democracy, papal supremacy with repubUcan rule.
Hence the constant struggle between the people and the nobles,
between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, the power of the Emperor
and the power of the Pope. Hence also the final supremacy of
the Medici, and the loss of Florentine liberty.
The early part of the fifteenth century, the age of Lorenzo de
Medici, justiy styled the Pericles of Florence, was distinguished
for wealth and splendor. Florence was the resort of leamed men
from all parts of Italy and the world ; her merchants were princes
and corresponded with kings. Poets, orators, and artists pro
duced, in their highest perfection, the bright creations of their
genius and art. The people yet enjoyed a high degree of. free
dom ; the Medici professed to rule according to the spirit of the
Republic, and clairaed to be the guardians of the rights and lib
erties of the citizens. Guicciardini, styled the Tuscan Thucydides,
describes the state of Italy at that tirae, in the foUowing enthusi
astic style : " Restored to supreme peace and tranquillity, culti
vated no less in her most mountainous and sterile places than in

ITALY. 371
her plains and more fertUe regions, and subject to no other em
pire than her own, not only was she most abundant in inhabitants
and wealth, but in the highest degree Ulustrious by the magnifi
cence of many princes, by the splendor of many most noble and
beautiful cities, and by the seat and majesty of reUgion : she flour
ished with men pre-eminent in the administration of pubhc affairs,
and with geniuses skilled in all the sciences, and in every elegant
and useful art."
But an enfeebled faith and a boimdless luxury begot venality
and lust. The most shameless profligacy prevaUed among the
clergy, especially of the higher orders, the most outrageous self
ishness and ambition among the nobles. The common people
were -violent and disorderly ; the different repubUcs coveted each
other's possessions, and thirsted for each other's blood. The
spirit of freedom took its flight, and Florence sunk in the gulf of
despotism and crime. Deceived and betrayed by her professed
friends, especially by Leo the Tenth, and subsequently by Clement
the Seventh, she fell under the dominion of a foreign power ; and
a long night of oppression and sorrow ensued. This, indeed, was
the state of things over, the whole of the ItaUan peninsula. It
was the consummation of papal ambition and imperial lust, in
those beautiful cities, once the home of the free and the hope of
the world.
In tbe modern partition of Italy, Florence, -with Tuscany, fell
into the hands of a member of the House of Hapsburg, under
whose reign, not over liberal or wise, the country has somewhat
prospered. Yet it is poor and heavily taxed. Until recently,
lotteries and all sorts of gambUng, aided by superstitious usages,
have been supported as a source of revenue by the State. But
the Grand Duke of Tuscany has had sagacity enough to advance
with the spirit of the age. For an Austrian, his course bas been
fair. To secure himself, he has conceded a liberal constitution.
Ostensibly the press is free, and religious toleration is promised to
aU. But whether the provisions of this constitution will be car
ried out, remains to be seen. The recent revolution has proved a
most unfortunate affair. The constitution, for the present, at least,
is a dead letter. Proscription and intolerance are the order of the
day. Austrian influence is dominant. Freedom has taken her
flight from Florence.

372 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER XXVII.

ITALY  CONTINUED.
Wk have left Tuscany, and entered the States of tlie Church,
and are at once impressed with the poverty-stricken aspect of
the country. How unlike New England or old England, with its
beauty and thrift — how inferior even to the vine-fields of Etruria,
and the plains of Lombardy ! Whatever benefits Rome has con
ferred upon other parts of the world, it has been a grievous bur
den to central Italy. The splendor of Rome has impoverished
the people.
Before- us stretches tbe desolate Campagna, once " the garden
of the Lord," now the dreariest and sickliest region in Christen
dom. Encircling the " holy city," as devout Catholics love to
call it, itself suffering from internal exhaustion and decay, the
Campagna furnishes a sad emblem of the withered and fmitless
condition of the Papal Church. We pass through it as we should
pass through a church-yard, with a sort of mournful awe ; fpr,
after all, it is hallowed ground. Here, with their colossal armies,
once trod the masters of the world ; and yonder, gleaming in the
light of a bright and balmy noon, that strange old city, with its
mighty memories and magnificent ruins.
As we approach it, tower, column, and temple, triumphal arch
and hoary ruin rise, distinct and beautiful, before our fixed and
half-dreamy gaze. BewUdered with the new and stirring thoughts
tbat rush upon our mind, we scarcely notice the dreary condition
of the outskirts of the city, or the lazy, squalid-looking beggars
that begin to beleaguer our carriage, with their whining " Carita,
Signor! Carita, Signor!"
WeU, well, it must be so ! The shadow of Rome, next to Je
rusalem the most interesting city in the world, is upon our spirits,
and we yield to the impression. " Lone mother of dead empires !"
" the Niobe of nations !" "there she slands.
Childless and crownless in her voiceless woe."
Yet glorious even in her decay, enshrining aU fair forms, aU au
gust inaages, all thrilling associations, quickened moreover into
something like new life by the spirit of change and revolution
now pervading the nations.
Passing the Porto del Popolo, on the site of the old Flaminian

ITALY.

373

TTALY. 375
gate, and thenoe into the Piazza del Popolo, we soon find ourselves
in the heart of Rome, still dreaming of the past, and feeling tbat
we are in a city rather of the dead than of the U-ving —
" the city that so long
Eeigned absolute, the mistress of the world,
The mighty vision that the prophet saw
And trembled."
It seems strange to be moving, in broad daylight, under the
shadow of the CapitoUne Hill, to skirt the old Roraan Forum, the
Tarpeian Rock, and the Mamertine Prison, to gaze upon the Par
thenon, and catch "a glimpse of the " yellow Tiber," the Castle
of St. Angelo, and the Dorae of St. Peter's.
" Ah, little thought I, when in school I aat,
A schoolboy on his bench, in early dawn,
Glowing with Eoman story, I should live
To tread the Appian —
— or climb the Palatine,
Long while the seat of Eome !"
But it is chiefly as the seat of the early triuraphs of Christian
ity, the scene of apostoUc toils and holy martyrdoms, that we feel
so peculiar an interest in ^siting Rome. Here, in the early days
of the Church, thousands were converted from heathenism to the
reUgion of the cross, and shed their blood in its defense. Here a
terrible struggle went on for ages between paganism and Chris
tianity, when at last Christianity conquered and placed itself upon
the throne of the Cffisars. But alas ! it was speedily vitiated by
false admixtures, and worldly policy. Encircled with pomp and
splendor, and forgetting the purity and simplicity of its early days,
it grew into a monstrous forra of despotisra and corruption. True,
it was infinitely better than paganisra ; it yet possessed some re
deeming features, some sacred eleraents of purity and power,
and, in a barbarous age, exerted over society some controUing
and civilizing influence. Notwithstanding its degeneracy, what
might, what majesty did it not exhibit ! Overshadowing the earth,
and placing its foot on the neck of kings, it formed an object of
admiration to the world, " a mystery" enshrined amid the sym
bols of religion and sensual display, inspiring dread and wonder
in all beholders. It yet possesses elements of power, and were it
only divested of its ultra-montanism, its spirit of bigotry and
superstition, its papal hierarchy, and armies of monks, it might
yet bless the world. It is not so much Catholicism as Popery —
not so much the great body of Catholic worshipers as the spirit of
Jesuitism, superstition, and idolatry, wbich constitutes the Anti-

376 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Christ of Rome. It is difficult, however, if not impossible, to bum
the husks and thorns, without at the same time destroying the
precious flower whioh they are intended to guard. The Church
of Rome, as an external institution, is tottering to its fall. Its
foundations are sapped, and less than a centui-y will see it in the
dust. Yet is it even now a vast and mysterious power, fitted to
excite the deepest emotions, and well worthy of the profoundest
study ; like some huge edifice in the desert, covered with the
weeds of ages, and gradually yielding to the might of all-destroy
ing time.
Could Rome, indeed, blend with the spirit of the age — could
she take into her bosom the life and energy of science ahd free
inquiry — could she exorcise her wretched superstitions, her low
fetichism and fanatical spirit — could she place her children under
the guidance of the Word and Spirit of God, instead of traditions
and hearsays ; above all, could she imbibe the free spirit of an
enlarged and devout Protestantism, she raight yet be regenerated,
and become the center of a new and glorious form of civihzation.
The problem, however, is all but impossible of solution.
The city of Rome contains a population of a hundred and fifty,
or, perhaps, in suramer time, when strangers abound there, a
hundred and seventy thousand ; a goodly portion of whom are
priests, monks, nuns, and beggars, who are of all ordere, condi
tions, and colors, black, blue, white, and gray, and may be seen at
any time of the day, or in any part of the city — some lounging
in their scarlet carriages, and others gliding, sandaled and bare
headed, along the streets and avenues.
The city may be described as consisting of two parts, the new
and the old cities, interlocking, however, at particular points ;
still, most of the ruins of the old city lie on one side of the new,
and form a distinct portion of the whole. They cover the seven
hiUs, a part of wbich only is occupied by the modern city, which
extends toward the north and west, to a considerable distance
beyond the Tiber, and covers other liUls which have received new
names. The Tiber, a slow and turbid stream, but possessing a beauty
of its own, is spanned by several picturesque bridges, two or
three of which belonged to the ancient city, reminding us of the
days of Horace, who sang its praises to the music of the lyre.
The principal is that of St. Angelo, adorned with marble statues,
and terminating in the Castie of St. Angelo, once the Mausoleum
of Adrian, but now the principal fortress of the city. On the top
stands the statue of an angel, sword in hand, and the sides are
bristling with cannon. Within are prisons and dungeons, some

TTALY. 377
of them formed for ingenious torture. It was in that old castle
that Benvenuto Cellini, the famous Florentine goldsmith and
sculptor, was confined, by the orders of an ungrateful Pope, and
from which he made one of the most miraculous escapes, though
nearly killing himself in the attempt. It was there that Bene
detto Fojano suffered a horrid and lingering death by starvation,
for the crime of being a too eloquent and popular preacher, and
that Ludovico Paschali, a Protestant from Piedmont, was strangled
and burned for proclaiming the Gospel in Calabria.*
The Castle of St. Angelo has an underground communication
to St. Peter's, which has been occasionally used by the Popes in
times of danger and emergency. For years it remained closed,
but it was reopened some time since by Gregory Sixteenth.
Taken as a whole, Rome must be pronounced one of the most
magnificent cities in the world. It stands upon a noble site, pos
sesses a great number of superb edifices and majestic views, is
adorned with spacious squares and fountains, and contains innu
merable specimens of the most perfect painting and statuary, both
of ancient and of modern tiraes. Every where you meet objects
which interest and please the mind. In one place is an iramense
ind beautiful fountain, throwing up jets of virgin water, with a
pleasant, gushing sound. In another is a coluran or an obelisk.
Drought from Greece or Egypt, or, it raay be, dug from the ruins
of the ancient city. Here is the PiUar of Trajan, adorned with an
image of fhe apostle Peter, an incongruity, to be sure, but not an
unpleasant one. Yonder is that of Antoninus Pius, surmounted
by the statue of the apostie Paul. Beyond is the hoary ruin of a
heathen temple, transformed into a Christian chursh. For, be it
known, every thing here is lustrated and purified by the Popes,
and changed from a pagan to a Christian use.
Ascend the stairs of the Capitol, and at the top you meet the
colossal statues of Castor and Pollux, standing by their noble
steeds ; near them are the trophies of Marcus, and the two col
umns which served to measure the Roman empire, and in the
square behind, the celebrated statue of Marcus Aurelius, which
Michael Angelo was wont to admire as the very masterpiece of
art, saying that the horse did not seem to stand, but to move.
-* Many other Pretesfants suifered martyrdom at Eome. The celebrated
Florentine nobleraan and Protestant, Carnessecchi, was beheaded and
burned at Eome, 1567. Bartolomeo Bartoccio, sou of a wealtliy citizen of
Castello, was condemned to be burnt alive in the same city. With' a firm
step, he went to the place of execution, and whilst the flames enveloped
his body he waa heard exclaiming, " Vittoria 1 Vittoria .'" — Victory ! Vic
tory !

378 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

In the square fronting the palace of the Pope, on Monte Ca-
vello, is another superb fountain, guarded by two colossal statues
of Alexander the Great and his horses ; the one by Phidias, as is
supposed, and the other by Praxiteles, so perfect that the noble
animals, for an instant, seem to be alive. Before the church of
St. John Lateran is an elegant and lofty obeUsk, brought from the
Temple of the Sun in Thebes, with its mystic hieroglyphics. An
other of a siraUar description stands in the area fronting St.
Peter's, between two magnificent fountains, whose waters are seen
faUing and plashing, with a musical sound, in the soft silence
which reigns around. Other obelisks, columns, and statues, of an
inferior description, are scattered over the city, in the squares and
by the fountains.
The ruins of the old city, so vast and hoary, intermingling m
part with the buUdings of the modern one, impart to the whole a
character of peculiar solemnity and grandeur, while the neighbor
ing Campagna, so sUent and deserted, and the dark volcanic
mountains, which skirt the horizon, greatly highten the effect.
But it must be confessed that Rorae suffers by a minute in
spection. Many of the buUdings, even of the modern city, are
mean and going to decay. Most of tbe streets are narrow and
filthy beyond endurance. Beggars every where abound. You
meet them at the corners of every street, and even by the altar of
St. Peter's, and in the center of the Coliseum. Nuisances of
every description invade churclies and palaces, and produce an
abominable stench throughout the city. The mass of the people
are excessively poor. Vice, and especially licentiousness, is prev
alent, the foundUng hospitals being generally well filled with iUe
gitimate chUdren ; and, besides, there is such a swarming of
priests, such a profusion of paltry images of the Virgin and saints,
such evident marks of superstition, ignorance, and vice, that it re
quires an effort to think worthUy of the etemal city. The most
deUghtful part of it is that which covers the site of ancient Rome,
the Forum, lying among the seven hills, and the venerable ruins
around, intermingled with gardens and trees.
Next to the ruins and memories of the ancient city, Rome de
rives its principal interest, as a subject of study, from its sacred or
ecclesiastical character. It is the seat of the Papal court, the
center and focus of Catholic Christendom. Here, then, if any
where, the Roman Church must be seen in its perfection. The
government and police, as well as religion and morals, are under
tbe control of ecclesiastics ; so that the city is pervaded from its
heart to its extremities with the spirit and energy of CathoUcism.
Indeed, it may be said that the whole is a Church, a temple of

ITALY. 379
reUgion, a sacred shrine in which is deposited the very soul of thc
papacy. Of this Church all the citizens are members ; every one
must go to confession ; every one, some time or other, must par
take of the sacrament, or sacrifice of the mass ; every one must
do horaage to the Pope and the priesthood, raust die in the faith,
and be buried in holy ground. Unless excomraunicated by the
solemn ban of the Church, each citizen of Rome is a chUd of the
papacy, and a member of the " Holy Catholic, Apostolic Church."
Many indeed are not particularly strict, at least on ordinary occa
sions, in the observation of the innumerable rites and cereraonies
enjoined by their superiors. Others again are infidels and scoffers,
but privately, for fear of consequences. Others hate the priests,
and especially the monks, with a perfect hatred, and make no
great secret of it either. Many would rejoice to see tbe whole
system of ecclesiastical despotism aboUshed forever. The great
mass of the people, and especially the more wealthy and intelU
gent classes, seldom if ever go to church, except on high festival
occasions, and even then take only a partial or a political interest
in the services.
We might, on a Sunday, go through all the churches in Rome,
and not find more than four or five thousand worshipers, from
among the populace, though these churches are very numerous,
and some of them capable of containing from ten to twenty thou
sand persons. The raajority in all would be found to be feraales
and poor people.* We have said that all raust confess ; but how
or where tbey do so, it is impossible to say ; for only the poorer
classes confess at church. The Sabbath is very much of a holi
day, in the secular sense of the term, and the greater portion of
the day is spent in visiting, rambUng, and other recreations. We
are bound, however, to regard the raajority of the inhabitants as
devout Catholics, for they are so held by their ecclesiastical supe
riors, and form a part of the saored oity. Duly baptized and con
firmed, they live and die in the faith of their fathers. If it is
inquired whether they are truly religious, that is another question,
which even Pope Pius the Ninth, or Father Ventura, might hesi
tate to answer. They fast and pray during Lent, go to church
and crucify the flesh. But they are delighted when they get
through it. Tbey precede it with the carnival, and follow it with
dancing and revelry !
Pass around among the convents and churches, amounting in
all to four or five hundred, perhaps more ; you find in nearly all
the greatest magnificence. Here are innumerable altars and sa-
* It is estimated that there are nearly 300 churches in Eome.

380 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ered shrines, blazing with gems and gold, consecrated to all the
saints in the calendar, to the Virgin Mother, to the twelve Apos
tles, and to the Holy Trinity ; and before which men of all nations
and languages may bend, addressing their prayers indiscriminately
to saint or angel, to the blessed Virgin, or to God himself. Here
also are innuraerable priests and confessors, an infinite variety of
the most rare and precious relics — bones, arms, legs and skulls,
fingers and naUs, amulets and charms, rosaries and medals, conse
crated by popes of blessed memory, or other holy men, living and
dead. Here also are coUected, in the Vatican and in the churches,
the most perfect specimens of painting and statuary, intended
more or less for the ornament and service of religion ; images of
all forms and ages, apostolic and modern ; images of men and
angels, of saints and martyrs, of Christ and God, in wood and
stone, in oil-painting and fresco, some august and beautiful, others
grotesque and striking, and all venerable and attractive to a de
vout Catholic. Here is the Basilica of St. Peter's, the most mag-
tiifioent church in the world, the work of ^Michael Angelo, with
its glorious cupola, four hundred and fifty feet from the ground,
and the whole interior so vast, so beautiful, so harmonious, that it
has been likened to "a ceaseless, changeless melody;" here, in
this august temple, which is the wonder of every traveler, is "the
veritable tomb of St. Peter," forming a small subterranean chapel
in the center of the cathedral, with a hundred lamps burning
around it, night and day, and surmounted by the bronze canopy
of Bernini, richly adorned and supported by four ornate pillars, a
hundred and twenty feet in hight; the tombs of popes and
princes, with all forms of pagan and Christian beauty, some of
them almost nude, guarding the precious dust of kings and priests ;
on all sides altars, ornamented with gorgeous paintings and sculp
ture, gold, silver, and precious stones ; and above all, the bronze
statue of Jupiter Capitolinus — the apostle Peter, we mean, for the
old statue of the heathen god, found in the Capitol, has been lus
trated by the popes, and placed here, with a glory around his
bead, for the adoration of the faithful ; his sacred toes worn and
polished by the rubbings and hissings of innumerable pilgrims.
Whatever this statue may be on the score of religion, it is cer
tainly an incongruity on the score of taste. It is only about as
large as life, while every thing around it is colossal ; the infant
cherubs by the vases which contain the holy water, near the prin
cipal entrance, are of giant size, while the pen in the hand of St.
Mark, above the frieze of the cupola, is six feet in length. Never
theless it is the genius of the place, the great object of love and
reverence to the devout Catholic. This church is dedicated not

ITALY. 381
to the glory of the Supreme Being, but to the glory of Peter,
" in honorem principis apostolorum."*
St. Peter's may be regarded as a symbol of the Ronian Catho
lic faith, vast, venerable, and imposing, but enshrining many
heathen forms and superstitions. Relics of the past mingle witii
embellishments of the present ; pagan images with Christian rites.
"The general expression of the place," says Madame de Stael,
" perfectly typifies a mixture of obscure dogmas and sumptuous
ceremonies ; a mine of sad ideas, but such as may be soothingly
applied ; severe doctrines capable of raild interpretation ; Christian
theology and pagan images ; in fact, the most admirable union of
all the majestic splendors which man can give to his worship of
the Divinity." Is not this only a gentle and poetical mode of ex
pressing the fact that the reUgion of Rome, which in another place
she says, " weds the ancient and the modern faiths in the raind,"
is half pagan and idolatrous in its character and worship ? The
'f majestic splendors" may dazzle a human eye; but alas! they
grow pale before the eye of Him from whose face the heavens and
the earth flee away.
" Eicher by far is the heart's adoration.
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor 1"
In Rome also is the Basilica, or church of St. John Lateran, so
caUed because it is dedicated to St. John, and built upon the site
occupied by the Roman Senator Plautius Lateranus ; the mother
church of Christendom, because it was given especially to the
Bishop of Rome, and founded by the Emperor Constantine. It is
in the special diocese of the Pope, is the church in which he most
frequently worships, and, in some respects, takes precedence over
St, Peter's. It bas often been restored and remodeled, is famous
also for the five general councils held in it, and is the scene of the
coronations of the Popes. Its interior is extravagantly rich,
though very beautiful, in its decorations. Over the principal en
trance, you read, in large glaring capitals — " Omnium Urbis et
Orbis Ecclesiarum Mater et Caput ;" 3fother and Head of all
Churches in the City and in the World ! This church, of course,
is rich in wondrous relics. Among these are shown the stone
mouth of the well of Samaria, two pillars from Pilate's house, the
table on which our Lord partook of the last supper, and a pillar
of the temple split by the earthquake at the crucifixion ! ! In his
own chapel the Pope keeps the wood of the true cross, the lance
which pierced our Saviour's side, and the marvelous vail of Veron-
* Inscription on the front of St. Peter's.

382 THE WOELD WE LI'VE IN.

ica, celebrated nearly as much as the Holy Coat of Treves ; for it
bears, say the CathoUcs, the impress of our Sa^viour's face, trans
ferred to it when applied to wipe away the sweat which gathered
on his brow, as he went to crucifixion ! These are shown by his
Holiness — yes, by his Hohness — whether he be Gregory Six
teenth, or the enlightened Pius Ninth, on great occasions, such as
Holy Week, to the assembled multitudes, who regard them -with
the same feeling that induced the enthusiastic devotees at Treves,
when they saw The Sacred Tunic, to exclaim. Holy Coat, pray
for us !
Here also, belonging to the church of St. John Lateran, in a
separate building, is the Santa Scala, or holy stair, consisting .of
twenty-eight marble steps, brought, as the authorities affirm, from
Pilate's palace in Jerusalem, and the identical steps up which our
Savior walked ta Pilate's judgment-hall. The guide who shows
it will inform you, with a grave face, that, in places, they are blued
or stained by the sweat of bis sacred feet. Penitents only are
permitted to ascend these steps, and on their knees. They have
actually been wom by the attrition of numberless pilgrims, so that
the Pope has caused them to be covered -with wood.
Luther, it will be remembered, when in Rome, -wishing to obtain
an indulgence, promised by the Pope to any who should ascend on
their knees this celebrated staircase, was slowly clirabing the steps,
which they told him had been miraculously transported from Jeru
salem to Rome. But wliUe he was going through this merito
rious ser-vice, he thought he heard a voice, like thunder, speak from
the depths of his heart — " The just shall live by faith." "These
words," says Merle D'Aubigne, " which already on two occasions
had struck upon his ear as the voice of an angel of God, resounded
instantaneously and powerfully withm him. He started up in ter
ror on the steps up which he had been crawling ; he was horrified
at hiraself ; and, struck with shame for the degradation to which
superstition had debased him, he fled from the scene of his folly.
This powerful text had a mysterious influence on the life of Luther.
It was a creative word for the Reformer and for the Reformation.
It was by means of that word that God said : ' Let there be Ught,
and there was light.' "
There is a less sacred ascent, by which strangers may gam the
top of the stairs. Here we find a saored shrine, and a dark-look
ing image of Christ, fronting the entrance from below. Looking
into the dimly lighted Sancla Sanctorum, as it is called, we read :
" Non est in Toto Sanctior Orbe Locus ;" There is not in the
world a holier place. So sacred is it, that females are not permit
ted to enter 1 In this place are gathered (so say the guides) a

ITALY. 383
number of most precious relics — a bottle of the Virgin Mother's
mUk — an exact Ukeness of Jesus, painted by the Evangelist Luke,
and a feather from the wing of the angel Gabriel. Luke, by the
way, seems to have been the great painter of the early church.
Rome possesses other pictures ascribed to him : at Bologna, a cel
ebrated portrait of the Virgin Mary, surrounded by filagree work,
is exhibited as the production of his pencU ! One has to -visit Italy,
and especially Rome, to satisfy himself that the friar's wondrous
catalogue, poured into the ear of the dreaming Boccaccio, was not,
after all, such an extravagant fiction !
¦' A ray, imprunis, of the star that shone
To the wise men, a vial full of sounds.
The musical chimes of the great beUs that himg
In Solomon's temple, and though last not least,
A feather from the angel Gabriel's wing,
Dropt in the Virgin's chamber."
In the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, or St. Mary the Greater,
the grand object of papal adoration is the cradle of the infant Jesus,
which is made the occasion of a solemn religious service on Christ
mas-eve. But the most popular idol in Rome is the Santissimo
Bambino — the most Holy Baby ; a miraculous wooden image in
the little church which goes by the name of Ara CoeU. Some say
that it fell from heaven, like the image of Jupiter, or the sacred
stone of Mecca. But others, better informed, affirm that it was
carved by a Franciscan monk in Jerusalem, frora wood cut on the
Mount of Olives, as a representation of the infant Savior ! Having
no paint to color the image, and St. Luke not being at hand, he
had recourse to prayer, in which he spent the whole night, and in
the morning found that the little image had miraculously become
the color of flesh ! This image is exhibited, for adoration, in a
presijiio (ease or closet) prepared for it in the convent of the Ara
Coeli, from the feast of the Nativity to that .of the Epiphany. It
is regarded as a sovereign preservative against all dangers of chUd
birth ; and, indeed, is peculiarly useful in all cases of disease. It
has been stated, on good authority, that the Bambino receives
more and better fees than all the raedical men of Rome. A stage
coach, as fine as that of a cardinal's, is kept for its transportation
from patient to patient. It is ordinarily accompanied, in its -visits,
by some priests in full canonicals. Thus attended, the Bambino is
conveyed through the streets at a slow and stately rate, a rapid
motion being regarded as inconsistent with the dignity of the im
age. When it passes, every head is uncovered and every knee
bent. Other images may pass, and some heads are bared ; the
Pope himself may pass and receive only a salutation ; nay, the con-

384 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

secrated Host, the very body and blood of Christ, may go by, and
some may kneel, whUe others take off their hats ; but if the Bam
bino passes, every one is uncovered or prostrate on the ground,
whatever be the state of the streets.
But the crowning glory of the Bambino occurs on the festival
of the Epiphany, when it is brought to the Capitol, or some such
place, and, after a crash of cannon and martial music, it is raised by
the hands of some distinguished priest, and the vast multitude fall
prostrate in adoration before it, as if it were filled with all the full
ness of the Godhead !
In this sacred city of Rome resides the Pope, the apex of the
Catholic cone, the head of thc Church, the vicar of God, the true
successor of St. Peter, who carries the sword of a kingdom on
earth, and,the keys of a kingdom in heaven ; the representative of
the Son of God, and the fountain of all gracious influences to his
mUitant flock — the embodiment, therefore, of all humiUty and meek
ness, of all holiness and peace ! You may see him, on some grand
holiday, riding in a magnificent coach, which cost some twelve or
fifteen thousand dollars, drawn by six superb .black horses, at
tended by some four or half a dozen lackeys with appropriate
costumes. He himself is dressed in gorgeous robes of sUk, with
a crown or tiara of gold upon his head, and in his hand, or that
of a high oflicer who precedes him, a staff or crosier of gems and
Or you may see him about Christmas, or Corpus Domini, as
they call it, borne into St. Peter's Church on the shoulders of
men, seated in his chair of state, with his eyes closed, and making
continually, as he passes along, the sign of the cross with the two
forefingers of his right hand. Two pole-bearers, with splendid
fans of ostrich feathers fixed upon the tops of their poles, precede
bim with a solemn and reverent air. Behind him are the cardi
nals, in red stockings, and long, flowing robes of scarlet sUk cov
ered with surplices of the richest lace ; bishops in purple robes,
and their attendants in all the colors of the rainbow ; nobles and
guards, soldiers and priests, with swords and spears, true crosses,
images of saints, and other emblems ; a motley group of monks,
gray, white, and black ; and, among other strange dences, eight
huge tents, supported by men, emblematical of the eight basilicas,
or most eminent churches of Rome !
At last the Pope is seated in state under the grand altar, and
after various services the Host is elevated — bells toll, cannons roar,
and the vast multitude are prostrate on the floor. If j^ou have
time and patience to remain two or three hours, you will see aU
sorts of changes, maneuvers, and genuflexions, the forty cardinals

ITALY. 385
swimming around with their huge trains, proceeding with the
utmost gravity, in single file, to kiss thc Pope's hand, and some
forty or fifty bishops and other clergy following them to kiss the
cross upon his slipper, and raany others, not admitted to this
high honor, kneeling at a respectful distance, waiting for his bene
diction. During this time your head will alraost reel with the
crossings and counter-crossings, the kncelings and bendings, the
covering and uncovering of heads, the Ufting and opening of
robes, the puUing off or putting on of vestments, the readings
from different books, all in Latin, the long and monotonous chant-
insfs, the erabracino-s of cardinals, the runnings to and fro of tho
assistants, altar boys and others, and the wavings of censers with
burning incense, now to God, now to the Pope, now to the sacred
books and vestments, now to St. Peter, and now to the Holy
Virgin and the twelve apostles. " What strange idea of the Dcity,"
says Mathews, describing a similar service in the private chapel
of the Pope, on Monte Cavallo, "must have first suggested this
homage of postures and prostrations ! If a Chinese had been
present, he might well have conf luded that the Pope was the god
of this strange worship ; aud, indeed, I doubt whether the thoughts
of many on this occasion were elevated nearer to heaven than tho
Popedom." Connected with the Papal Church there are in Rome forty car
dinals, more or less, quite a nuniber of prelates, archbishops and
bishops, many of them nobh'mcn by birth, and all of thera noble
men by station. The cardinals live in palaces, and ride about in
superb coaches, with well-dressed attendants. Some of them are
learned men — some of them, we hope, are pious, according to
their views. That the most of them are courtiers and politicians,
arabitious and intriguing, may bc doubted any where else, but cer
tainly not in Rome. But let that pass ; such as they are, they
form a conclave for the government of the Papal Church, and give
law to Christendom.
In addition to these, there are in Rome from fifteen to sixteei)
hundred secular clergy or priests ; monks, frora two to three
thousand ; nuns, from fourteen to fifteen hundred ; in all, from five
to six thousand ecclesiastics, besides innumerable clerical nsitors,
professors, students, &c., in a population of Uttle more than a
hundred and fifty thousand.
Looking at the ecclesiastical machinery alone, and admitting its
high pretensions to divine authority, one would conclude that
Rome raust be the holiest place on earth. Well then, is it such?
Let its swarming beggars, its poverty-stricken populace, its un
educated chUdren, jts secret infidelity, its boundless superstition,
17

386

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

its covert treason, its gloomy discontent, its deep licentiousness,
answer the question.
Instead of traveUng to Naples by land, let us go down to the
coast, and so reach it by sea. Gliding along the shores of the

Mediterranean, after a pleasant saU from Civita Vecchia, at last
we catch a glimpse of Vesuvius, covered with a dense mass of
clouds. Making a fine curve, we pass the rocky promontories of

ITALY. 38T
Torrento and Miseno, and enter the bay of Naples, which opens
like a vast amphitheater, bounded by the city, and the long ranges
of volcanic mountains, which all but encircle it with their black
ened summits. Unfortunately it begins to rain, and tbe whole
surrounding region is enveloped in misty vapor ; a grievous dis
appointment to those who, for days, have been eagerly anticipating
one of the most beautiful sights in the world. But we keep our
station on the deck of the steamer, and wait patiently till it clears
away a Uttle, and then strain our eyes to discover the various
points of interest in this celebrated locality. The clouds, however,
stUl hover over the city, and hang, like a hoary crown, upon the
head of Mount Vesuvius. A few moments and our highest wishes
are gratified ; gratified all the more for being disappointed at first.
The clouds suddenly break away, and tbe sun shines out in full-
orbed splendor. The city, with its palaces and castles, its long
ranges of stuccoed houses and magnificent churches, lying upon
the acclivity, and crowning the summits of the hill ; the -jpide
sweeping bay, with its barges, boats, and steamers, sparkling in
the sunlight ; Mount Vesuvius, towering to the sky, and still cov
ered with its canopy of clouds ; the long ranges of mountain
hights sweeping to the right ; — all are flooded with golden radiance,
and appear, to our delighted vision, like scenes of fairy-land.
" Beautiful ! surpassingly beautiful !" exclaims one of our travel
ing companions, to which we give a ready and enthusiastic re
sponse. The city of Naples lies upon the margin of the bay, in
the form of a semicircle, and gradually spreads itself upon the
acclivity behind, crowned by the Castle of St. Elmo, which over
looks the whole. The houses and streets rise, the one above the
other, interspersed with gardens and trees. Many of the build
ings are large and elegant. Tbe palace on one of the hights,
and the Nuovo Castello, with various other buildings in a castel
lated form, are exceedingly striking and picturesque, as seen from
the bay, and give to the whole city a most imposing and graceful
aspect. The houses are lofty, -with innumerable balustrades and other
prominences, crowned with hanging gardens filled with flow
ers. Sorae of them are immense piles ; old palaces, perhaps,
with great gateways and quadrangular courts. This is the
form of most of the hotels and of the larger dwelUng-houses,
not only here, but throughout Italy, and to some extent in
Erance. They are huge lumbering affairs, containing a large
open court in the center, entered by an arched gateway from
the street. At each of these a porter is stationed, and not
unfrequently a soldier with a musket on his shoulder. The

388 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

chambers are large and airy, with iron bedsteads, smooth oaken
or tile floors, in some cases of mosaic, scoured clean and bright,
and with many little conveniences peculiar to the counti-y.
Naples contains a population of not less than three hundred
and sixty thousand inhabitants, a circumstance which accounts for
the immense crowds in the streets, and the perfect Babel of noises
which every where greet the ear. It is surrounded by places and
objects of great interest, such as the grotto of Posilipo, Virgil's
tomb, Paestum, with its ruins of Grecian architecture, Baias, and
the scenes described in the sixth book of VirgU's ^noid, Vesuvius,
the disentombed cities of lierculuieum and Pompeii, the islands
of Ischia and Procida, the Campagna Felice, and raany beautiful
villages which unite, by their classic associations, the hoary past
with the 3routhfiil present. Besides, the whole neighboring coun
try abounds in the richest and raost varied bjlvan scenery, while
the climate and sky are among the loveliest in the world, vindi
cating, to some extent, the extravagant expression of the Neapoli
tans — Visit Naples, and die !
Naplcs existed in the times of the Greeks, by whom it was
called Proserpina, on account of the beauty of the situation, and
subsequently Neapolis, as a completely new city was built upon
the site of the old. Subsequently possessed by tho Ronians, it
continued to increase in wealth and population. Passing succes
sively under Provencal, Spanish, and Austrian dominion, it has
seen many changes, undergone many revolutions. It boasts the
possession of the finest bay, and one of the largest collections of
classical antiquities in the world, a site of unrivaled beauty, and
a population of great quickness and versatility, though not of high
character and sterling worth. The government, which embraces
that of the two Sicilies, containing a population of about eight
mUlions, is despotic and badly administered, and the whole land,
city and country, swarms with priests, monks, and beggars. There
is no country in the world perhaps, except Spain, more completely
priest-ridden, and none in which is found such a superabundance
of idle £ind^ worthless inhabitants. Yet the people generally, who
have Grecian and Moori-sh blood in their veins, are remarkably
vivacious and cheerful, live upon a trifle, and probably enjoy a
fair amount of " material" happiness. It is a land of volcanoes
and earthquakes, a fervid and generous clime, in which huraan
nature is apt to become quick and passionate, improvident and
wUd. Hence tbe changes in their condition have often been as
fierce and startling as the eruptions of Etna or Vesuvius. At
times yielding quietiy and passively to the most gaUing despotism,
and tiien startiing the world with sudden and bloody revolutions;

ITALY. 389
now shouting for freedom, and anon making the welkin ring with
vivas for kingly thrall. Immersed in sensuality, yet possessed of
a noble nature, there is no extravagance of good or bad which
they may not perpetrate. The language of Goldsmith is as ap
pUcable now as it was fifty years ago :
"For small the bliss that sense alone bestows,
And sensual bliss is all the nation knows.
In florid beauty groves and fields appear,
Man seems thc only growth that dwindles here ;
Contrasted faults through all his manners reign ;
1'hough poor, luxurious, though submissive, vain ;
Though gr.ave, yet trifling ; zealous, yet untrue ;
And e'en iu penance planning sins anew."
It is on this ground that we are to explain the sudden and ter
rible reaction which followed the late revolution, reminding us of
the days of Masienello and tbe Sicilian Vespers. Naples, at last,
appeared on the point of attaining freedom. The feeble but crafty
Bourbon, now occupying the throne, seemed fairly subdued ; a
constitution, with elements of liberty, though sadly deficient in
some of its provisions, was proclaimed, and the whole land re
joiced in ber opening prospects. But instantly the heavens are
co\-ered with blackness, the earth shakes, the lightning flashes,
and the moral Vesuvius of Naples bursts, in flaming fires, upon
the terrified vision. A difficulty occurs between the new Con-
Eulta or Parliaraent and his Majesty, respecting the form of the
oath to be taken, in support of the constitution and the king.
The latter insists upon his rights, and the former demurs. The
troops are called out ; barricades are erected. The king seeras to
yield, but fills the squares and castles with Swiss mercenaries, and
excites the populace to revolt against the constitution. A musket
is fired by accident frora the ranks of the National Guard, who,
thinking tbey are betrayed, immediately commence firing. The
Swiss retaliate with a murderous fire, and the artUlery pour grape
into the barricades. For a moment tbe lazaroni appear disposed
to side with the National Guard ; but, induced by the hope of
pillage, take part with the troops, break open for them shops and
houses, and excite them, with cries of " Long hve the king;" to
the most brutal excesses. Plunging into palaces and private
dwellings, these barbarians commit the most fearful atrocities ;
children are dashed from the windows, women are violated,
fatiiers, mothers, infants, old men and maidens are cmelly butch
ered in each other's arras ; others are led naked to the slaughter,
amid the jeers and insults of the mob and the soldiery, and com
pelled to cry vivas for the king with their dying breath. The

390 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Royal Guard assassinate two sons of the Marquis Vassatore, in
the palace of their father, who immediately goes stark mad, and
his palace is enveloped in flames. Two palaces, one the beauti
ful palace of Gravina, are burned. Nearly all the National
Guards are cut to pieces, and the survivors are immediately taken
and shot,' by order of the king. Multitudes, known to entertain
Uberal opinions, are taken from their houses and executed without
a trial. After the struggle, all who are taken with arms in their
hands arc instantly shot, and many others are carried, bound
hand and foot, on board a ship made a temporary prison, and
others are thrown into the dungeons and jails of the city. The
tri-color every where is torn down, the white Bourbonic flag
placed in its stead, and Naples subjected to strict martial law.
Thus the old regime retums ; the people submit, and the Jesu
its rejoice.
Naples literaUy swarms with priests. It is said that it contains
at least five thousand ecclesiastics of every kind ; others put them
at ten thousand, including the nuns and novitiates. Indeed,
priests and soldiers seem to be the controUing powers of the
place. The lawyers number four thousand, and are a wealthy
and highly influential class, having peculiar privUeges, and in con
sequence of the extreme length of lawsuits, holding in their hands
a large portion of the real estate. The nobles are opulent, and
fond of display ; and the king is as complete a despot as ever sat
upon the throne. But it is the priests and friars especially which
attract the attention of a traveler, for you cannot take a walk of
half an hour in any of the principal streets of the city, without
meeting forty or fifty of them in their peculiar costume. Multi
tudes of friars, in tlieir brown gowns and black cowls, with gir
dled waists and sandaled feet, may be seen gliding along the
streets, particularly in the morning, and collecting from the shops
and stalls their daily revenue of charity, in the shape of eatables,
money, and other things. Some of the priests are good-lookmg
men. The higher ecclesiastics, especially, have quite a respecta
ble appearance. A very few look ascetic. Some are evidently
good-natured, easy, jolly souls, who belong rather to the race of
King Cole, than of Saint Anthony ; whUe the great mass of the
lower clergy are gross-looking, lazy, good-for-nothing feUows,
who are as much lazaroni and beggars as any of the lowest of
the rabble.
But there are some good institutions in Naples, and the clergy,
and particularly the nuns, are not without tbeir use. Several hos
pitals for the poor and sick are connected with the monasteries,
aild something is done for the education of orphan children. A

ITALY. 391
common-school system, of course, there is none ; and not one-half
of all the people can read or write. The ignorance of the mass is
immense ; and we cannot, therefore, expect them to be very reli
gious or virtuous. It is a woridOr, perhaps, they are not worse.
One thing, at least, is in their favor — they are not intemperate.
The perfection of the climate, and the vivacious character of the
people, supply the place of intoxicating drinks, or they have no
money to procure them. Generally speaking, they are good-na
tured, and by no means so suspicious and revengeful as they have
been represented. They love music and shows, and live much in
the open air. The great body of them have not, and cannot have
any just conception of what Christianity is.
" Pietro, what do you worship when you go to church ?"
" San Gennaro and the Holy Virgin, signor !"
"And of all things in the world what do you love the best?"
"To dance tbe Tarantula, and eat maccaroni."
" Well, but you love the service of religion, don't you ?"
" 0 yes, signor ; but we poor fellows don't know much about
it; the priests, you know, manage all that."
This is about the amount of the religion of the common people.
The educated classes are mostly indifferent or skeptical. But
skepticism is a little inconvenient at times, and so it is often kept
in the background. Tbe Neapolitans of the caf6s — those at least
who have seen the world, and pretend to any enlargement of
mind — will sometimes talk freely with strangers of the corruptions
of their government and religion, but much of all this is mere
smoke, and comes to nothing. The reaction from the late revo
lution, and the universal presence of spies and informers, now seal
aU lips.

392 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

GREECE.
A comparatively small and rocky country, yet central and
beautiful, Greece, in former days, commanded the admiration of
the civilized world. Her warriors and statesmen, her painters,
sculptors, poets, orators, and philosophers have left the impress
of their genius upon all the nations of Christendom. As we glide
over the Gulf of Lepanto, cast anchor in the Piraeus, gaze upon
tbe sun-gUt bights of the Acropolis, wander amid the ruins of the
Areopagus, the Parthenon, and the temple of Theseus, we feel as
if we were transported far back among the lofty spirits of by-gone
days, the Homers, the Platos, and the Pindars of a classic age.
But except her ruins, Greece has few traces of her ancient
glory. Here indeed you find the same clear, blue sky, the same
brilliant atraosphere, -the same rooky hights, whence a broad land
scape of hUl aud vale, undulating shore, and radiant sea greets the
eye ; there, as of old, is Mount Hymettus, with its sunshine and
bees, the winding Ilissus, the oUve-grove of Academus,
" "ffliere the Attic bu-d
Trills her thick warbled note the summer long ;"
the same famous battle-fields, I\Iarathon and Thermopylse, around
which cluster the dreams of poetry, and the soft memories of
other days ; and doubtless this is much, very much to a thought
ful mind, but Greece, the old, classic, heroic Greece, is gone, and
we fear gone forever.
" Yet are thy skiea aa blue, thy craga as wild ;
Sweet are thy groves, and verdant are thy fields.
Thine olive ripe as when Minerva smiled.
And still his honied wealth Hymettus yields :
There the blithe bee his fragrant fortress builds.
The free-born wanderer of thy mountain air ;
Apollo still thy long, long summer gilds.
Still in hia beam Mendelis marbles glare;
Art, Glory, Freedom fail, but Nature still ia fair.
Where'er we tread, 'tis haunted, holy ground ;
No earth of thine is lost in vulgar mold.
But one vast realm of wonder spreads .around.
And all the Muses' tales seem truly told.
Till the sense aches -with gazing to behold

GEEECE.

sgs

1Y«

GEEECE. 395

The scenea our earlieat dreama have dwelt upon ;
Each hill and dale, each deepening glen and wold
Defies the power which crush'd thy temples gone :
&.ge shakes Athena's tower, but spares gray Marathon."
The modern Greeks indeed, though mingled with Slavonic
races, are lineally descended from the ancient, and possess their
external Uneaments, and a few traits of their character. They are
ingenious, elastic, and graceful. They possess, too, bravery and
subtlety ; echoes of the high virtues of their ancestors. But they
are false, fickle, and indolent, obviously a degenerate race, witbout
lofty -virtue and generous enterprise. The language they speak
is a corruption of the classic Greek, and although they read the
productions of their fathers, they make little or no attempt to
imitate them. Indeed, an old, peculiar, heroic age once lost, can
never be restored. Imitation, even of the ancients, is a confession
of weakness ; and a nation, to be any thing, must develop its o-wn
peculiar resources.
The Greeks generally are good-looking, having fine profiles,
bright eyes, and a graceful carriage. Their dress is becoming and
picturesque, consisting of gay colors, broidered with sUk or goy.
A red hat, or cap, with a long blue tassel, falls over the shoulders.
They wear a sash and a morocco girdle, in which are carried a
knife, powder-flask, pistols, richly ornamented ; gaiters covering
the leg to the knee, giving elasticity to the step ; scarlet slippers,
ending in a sharp point, complete their costume. The dress
among tbe poorer classes is not always as elaborate as this, but
consists chiefly of a colored cap, red or blue vest, and wide trow
sers. The large cities of Greece, or what were once large cities, arc
Uttle better than good-sized villages. They have few substantial
or elegant buUdings. Athens itself does not contain twenty really
elegant mansions. King Otho's palace is clumsUy built. The
only things beautiful here are the sunny landscapes, the ruins of
the ancient city, the Parthenon, tbe Propylea, the temple of
Theseus, the remains of the Areopagus, &c. Corinth is a pleas
ant place, though vastly inferior to the splendid city of ancient
times. The common people, and even those of the middle classes, live
in poorly buUt houses, often -without windows and separate apart
ments. Tbe furniture consists of wooden benches, a rickety ta
ble, some broken knives and forks, a large earthen vessel, <fec.
The Greek peasant does not know what a bed is ; be sleeps on
the ground, wrapped in a cloak which he wears during the day.
Their toUet demands no great care. They make clean the outside

306 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

of the cup and the platter, and let the rest take care of itself.
The children are suspended in leathern bands attached to the
walls. Their houses are ill-arranged, and have no chimneys. Soap
is a thing almost unknown in domestic Ufe. Filth and fleas
abound, nay, superabound.
Some of the old aristocratic famiUes affect a degree of splendor
and show, and some ofthem, by visiting France, Germany, and
England, acquire considerable knowledge and refinement. Sev
eral of the teachers in the gymnasia and the university are leamed
and accomplished men. As a whole, the people are improving
somewhat. IntelUgence and enterprise are making progress
among them.
The territory of Greece proper is much curtaUed. Part of it
is yet under the dominion of the Turk. Part of it, the Ionian
Islands, is virtuaUy under the dominion of England. Its bounda
ries, its civil and its political state, all were an-anged by the great
European powers. King Otho, a well-meaning and weU-educated
Bavarian prince, was given them as king. At first he was very
unpopular, because he brought his German friends and retainers
with him, upon whom he bestowed all the honors and ofiices of
state. This caused a revolution — a peaceful one, it is true — in
consequence of which all these foreigners were remo\'ed. Otho
subraitted with a pretty good grace, and he now succeeds better.
The queen, who is inteUigent and amiable, is quite popular.
Greece is divided into three political parties, the English, the
French, the Russian. The second of these, the French, or, as it
ought now to be called, the native, aims at the elevation of the
country, and is said to be the raost influential. The Russian is
favored by the priests of the Greek faith, who regard the Empe
ror Nicholas as the father and defender of their church, and by
the more ignorant among the common people. The intelligent
and patriotic Greeks favor the idea of national elevation and m-
dependence, which would be lost under Russian domination.
Tbe morals of tiie country, as all travelers confess, are low.
Robberies are quite frequent. Lying is confessed, even by the
natives, to be a national peculiarity. Their religion, so far as they
profess it, is formal and superstitious ; bigoted, too, and intolerant,
especiaUy among the priests and the lower orders. The more
educated classes are inclined to be tolerant. Convents, some of
them rich, abound. The monks are lazy, and given to good eating
and drinking, which they seem to regard as the summum bonum
of human life. This, and the routine of puerile ceremonies, fiU
up their days. The monastery of Megaspelion has vast revenues,
and in its cellars no less than from 40,000 to 50,000 bottles of

GEEECE.

397

<ii

'¦^.M

,,amu

lllfipi

GEEECE. 399
wine ! A recent traveler asked one of the fathers what they did
with so much wine ; but he only shrugged his shoulders and
laughed. Every year, at the approach of Easter, confession is
practiced, but in a peculiar way. The priest goes into families ;
he listens to what each individual thinks proper to confess to him ;
then he fixes the price of this according to a tariff; — such a sum
for lying ; so much for robbery, and so forth. The following,
from an intelligent traveler, is a description of a marriage cere
mony :
" It was performed in an Athenian parlor. The relatives and
friends stood around the bride and bridegroom. A flask of wine,
a loaf of bread, a piece of cloth, and two gilt-paper crowns were
placed upon a table. The persons officiating were two papas, a
deacon, and a singing chUd. The priests put on their robes and
opened the books. While they read, sometimes the liturgy, some
times the gospels or epistles, they Ut or snuffed the torches.
Each carried a Ughted candle. The two papas read one after the
other, and at certain intervals made the sign of the cross, which
was repeated by the attendants ; the deacon and singing child
uttering a sort of shout. The whole ceremony was performed
very rapidly, and with no apparent solemnity. The bride and
bridegroom stood motionless. Then a priest took the marriage
rings, put them on the gospels to consecrate them, and held them
up repeatedly before the face of the bride and bridegroom, making
many signs of the cross. Then he put the rings upon their fingers.
Next he took the gilt-paper cro-wns, placed them also on the gos
pels, put them on the head of the bride and bridegroom ; reciting
all the whUe the liturgy in a monotonous voice. The priest
poured out wine in a glass, dipped in it two pieces of bread, gave
them to the newly married pair, and spread over them a piece of
cloth. The bridegroom, the bride, the godfather (for there is a
godfather in marriages as well as in baptisms), the father and the
mother of the bride made four turns round the table. Lastly, the
priest held the Bible for the man-ied pair to kiss.
" These compUcated ceremonies once had probably a symbolical
meaning. Now tbey are mere idle forms. Bursts of laughter
sonietimes interrupt the marriage celebration, which has no longer
any seriousness or solemnit}'."
With all their faults, the Greeks have some noble traits. They
despise meanness, cherish a spirit of dignity and independence,
and long for the regeneration of their country. Some of their
public men, John Coletti, for example, have exhibited the purest
patriotism. The young men who are preparing in the university
for active life are said to give high promise of exceUence. It is a

400 THE WOELD WE LI'VE IN.

curious fact that public executioners cannot be found among the
Greeks. The govemment undertook to bring such functionaries
from abroad ; but they were secretly murdered as soon as they
arrived. At last, some years ago, two inhabitants of Corfu, hav
ing been condemned to capital punishraent, were offered pardon
if they would consent to be public executioners. They consented,
but, when set at liberty, they fled. Having been seized again by
the poUce, they said, "Let us go! do 3'ou wish to have execu
tioners among the Greeks ?" But they were led back to Patras
in spite of their entreaties. It is these unhappy persons who,
after having killed human beings from ferocity, kill them now
from duty.
One of the noblest distinctions of modern Greece is her generous
effort to establish a systera of public instruction, adequate to the
wants of the people. This has been accomplished. Every where
coramon schools and g3nTinasia have been founded, crowned by a
superior and well-endowed university in the city of Athens. Somo
of tiie schools established by missionaries in the city of Athens
have already accompUshed rauch good. Dr. King and the Rev.
Mr. Hill, both from the United States, have nobly devoted their
energies in this direction. Mr. De Vere, in his- "Picturesque
Sketches," speaks highly of the school established by Mr. HiU.
It has 700 pupUs, taken from every class of so.ciety. " The poorer
classes were gratuitously instructed in reading, writing, and arith
metic, and the girls in needlework Ukcvrise. The progress which
the children made was \-ery remarkable ; but what particularly
pleased me was that air of bright alertness, and good-humored
energy, which belonged to them, and which made every task ap
pear a pleasure. The greatest punishment which can be inflicted
on an Athenian child is exclusion from school, thougli but for a
day. About seventy of the childi-en belonged to the higher
classes, and wcie instructed in rausic, drawing-, the modern lan
guages, the ancient Grcclv, and geography. Most of tiiem wcre,
at the moment, reading Herodotus and Homer. I have never
seen children approaching them in beauty, and was much struck
by their Oriental cast of countenance, their dark complexions,
their flashing eyes, and that expression, at once apprehensive and
meditative, which is so much more remarkable in children than in
those of a mature age.
"The singularity of tbe spectacle was increased by the mingled
character of enjoyment and decorum that belonged to it. The
dresses of the children, many of which were of thc national cos
tume, looked as spotiess as their pale radiant faces and as care
fully arranged as their hah-, which was almost always dark, and

GEEECE. .401

glistening in its heavy masses. Their gestures weie eager at once
and graceful, and their demeanor was full of reverence. Never
have I seen such brows, and such nobly shaped heads. These
are, perhaps, the highest characteristics of Greek beauty; but
they are especially observable in children, and give them a certain
rapt and inspired air. As I walked among them, I could hardly
help asking, ' Which is to be tbe future Pindar ? That girl, does
she come from Tanagra : does she not boast that Thermodon is
clearer than lUssus ; and is not hqr name Corinna?' "
This is enthusiastic, but pleasant, and comes upon us like a
gleam of sunshine from a distant sky. Greece may yet rise in
purity and power. Her position, between the Asiatic and Euro
pean continents, renders such a destiny of inconceivable conse
quence to the whole civUized world. Her extinction or degradation
would be an immense calamity. Wbat she wants is a free Bible,
a free church, and a free press.

402

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER XXIX.

ASIA.

>.z-^.><^''^

-^ -P^''- /^ -V>* « -

Region of mystery, of " havoc, and splendor ;" fountain of na
tions, whence all of us have sprung ; source of religion, of phUos
ophy, and the arts, — ^Asia lies before us, vast and shadowy, and,
to some extent, repulsive ; for Asia, with all her grandeur, is old,
decrepit, and superstitious. The vigor of her early prime is lost.
Her purity, freshness, and love are withered. A large proportion
of her people are yet in a barbarous or semi-barbarous state.
Others have fallen from tbeir original civilization, and only one or
two can claim any advancement in knowledge and refinement.
Most of them are fixed, like mummies, in imraovable forms. Sev
eral are feeble and effeminate, debased by indolence and licentious
ness ; and the only ones that are really possessed of any thing

ASIA. 40a
like strength and capacity are the wUder tribes of the deserts and
mountains. And yet how interesting and wonderful is Asia,
" elder born of God," mother of empires, languages, and religions,
land of heroes and martyrs, of prophets and aposties ! Here
smiled thc first Eden, where Jehovah walked in the cool of the
day. Here Menu dreamed and Moses uttered oracles of wisdom.
Here angels visited the earth on errands of mercy ; and here, es
pecially, walked, in majesty and rheekness, the Son of God, the
Savior of the world.
The resources and population of Asia are immense ; but, except
from the inroads of Europeans, Asia is stationary. Religion, sci
ence, the arts, and usages of society, all are at a stand, or faUing
into decay. Europe, indeed, is repaying, to some extent, what
she originally received from Asia. Her missions and schools, her
Bibles and books are beginning to be felt ; but whether Asia can
ever be resuiscitated, except by the infusion of a new and foreign
life, has been seriously questioned. Great changes, doubtiess, are
going on in Hindostan and in China. Brahminisra is old and ready
to perish. Buddhisra is declining rapidly. The Crescent every
where pales before the Cross, Indeed, Mohamraedanisra is old
and lifiUess. It inspires no enthusiasm, awakens no energy, kindles
no zeal. Judaism is all but extinct In a word, aU the old forms
of religion and civUization have lost tbeir power. Europe, vnth
its religions and forms of civUization, every where is gaining ground,
and changing the aspects of society. In Hindostan alone are eighty
thousand nominal Christians, as also many thousands, bom in the
Brahrainic faith, wbo have renounced all its pecuUarities but the
name. After all, the people of Asia make little or no progress
theraselves. If tbey cliange,'in their views and institutions, it is
under European influence. England, Russia, France, slowlj' ad
vance eastward, by their language, their literature, tbeir religion,
their physical powers, their science, their arts, especiaUy the arts
of industry, their governraent and military force ; and the native
tribes give way. But can Europe, or will Europe occupy Asia?
The problem is a great one, and cannot be solved here. We
simply suggest a few considerations to indicate the position of Asia,
and its relations to the rest of the world.
All the forms of society may be seen in Asia, from the savage
state of the nomadic or wandering hordes to the most effeminate
luxury. Freedom, founded on law and the moral and intellectual
cultivation of man, alone is wanting. This results frora the ab
sence of a pure faith. Priests and conquerors, in whom the selfish
and merely human elements predominate, have long decided the
political character Of the East. Asia, stationary as she is in opin-

404 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ions, forms, and usages, has undergone innumerable physical rev
olutions. It has been subject, at different times, to the Assyrians,
the Medes, Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, Syrians, Parthians, Ara
bians, Mongols, Tartars, Seljooks, Turks, Affghans, &c. Now it
is controUed mainly by Russia and England. Its commerce is
chiefly in the hands of Europeans. Slavery exists extensively
in this continent. The mind, especially, is enslaved. It knows
little or nothing of the freedom and vigor of the West. Woman
is regarded as the servant and even tbe slave of man. Nowhere
among the nations and tribes of this region, does she hold the
station designed for ber by nature and Christianity. The prevail
ing ¦ govemments are despotic ; hence their rigid etiquette, their
fatalism, and indolence, combined with superstition, cruelty, and
lust. Some of the wUder tribes, indeed, have an imperfect repub
Ucanism, combined with patriarchal forms of government. The
astronomy and astrology, poetry, theology, morals, laws, and the
rude empirical medicine of the Asiatics are mostly confined to the
priests, and united with deeply rooted superstition, which leads
even to infanticide, to self-sacrifice in the flames, and other forms
of murder. Common education is unknown in Asia. The people,
with few exceptions, are ignorant and debased. " The civU, po
litical, and reUgious condition of the Asiatics proves, that where
the free development of the higher powers of man is subject to
the restraints of castes, and to the tyranny of priests and despots,
and where the adherence to established forms has become a matter
of faith, law, and habit, tbe character of society must degenerate,
and the energies of man becorae palsied. Hence the Asiatic, not
withstanding the richness of his imagination, never attained the
conception of ideal beauty, like the free Greek ; and, for the same
reason, the European, whose mental improvement and social ac
tivity have been unimpeded, has shaken off the control which the
East forraerly exercised over tbe West, and bas obtained dorainion
over the coasts and territories of his old lord and master. Greecs
led the way, and after having transformed the obscure symbols of
the East to shapes of ideal beauty, shook off the spiritual fetters
of priests and oracles, and, at tbe same tirae, the teraporal yoke
which the Persian, Darius, had prepared for Athens and Sparta.
After a struggle of fifty years the triumphs of Cimon (in 449 B. C.)
first enabled Europe to prescribe laws to the East. Grecian
civiUzation then spread over tbe whole of Western Asia to India,
and even the military despotism which succeeded bas not been
able to extinguish that Ught entirely. In later times the Romans
and Parthians fought for the possession of the Euphrates, and the
Persians, under the Sassanides, attempted to tear the dominion of

ASIA. 405
the world from the hand of Rome. Since that period Asia has
four tiraes taken up arms against Europe. The nations of upper
Asia, driven from the frontiers of China to thc Irtish, crowded
upon the West. Huns, Avar], Bulgarians, and Magyars succes
sively issued from the Caucasian gates, and from the wilderness
of the Ural, to subdue Europe ; besides those latter hordes which
were mingled and confounded with each other in Southern Russia
and on the Danube. But tbe rude power of Attila, and of the
grandsons of Arpat, was broken in conflict with tbe Germans.
Next tbe Arabians attacked Constantinople, Italy, and France ;
but their fanatical impetuosity was checked by Charles Martel in
732, and the chivalrous valor of the Gothic Christians rescued the
peninsula within the Pyrenees. The West then armed itself
against the East to recover the holy sepulcher from the Sultan
of the Seljooks, and Christian Europe became better acquainted
with Asia ; but the sword alone cannot conquer a continent.
Upper Asia sent again, under the Mongol, Temudschin {Gen
ghis Khan), ber raounted hordes over the world. Again the
Germans stayed the destroying flood near Liegnitz. Finally, the
Tartars and Ottoman Turks invaded Europe. In 1453 they took
the Bosphorus and Greece from the feeble hands of the Eastem
Romans. In succeeding times Europe has been defended against
Asia, on this side, by Germany." But Asia no longer advances
and attacks. Europe alone is aggressive and prosperous. Russia
has possession of Northern Asia, while England controls Central
and Eastern Asia. All Hindostan yields to her control, and even
China and Burmah are compelled to acknowledge her supremacy.
The population of Asia is variously estimated, from 300,000,000
to 400,000,000, and even 600,000,000. They are of diverse races
and colors, speaking a great variety of languages, and practicing a
great variety of customs. Thej' are usually divided into four
races — the Caucasian, with fine forms and beautiful coraplexions,
whence most of the Europeans have sprung ; the MongoUan, or
Tartar race, including the Turks, Calmucks, Mongolians, and
others ; the Malay race, inhabiting Southern Asia and the islands ;
and tbe Ethiopian, or black race. If, however, they were to be
. classified with reference to color, they might be divided into
white, yellow, and black, the two former including the great body
of the people. The white races occupy the regions of Western
Asia ; the yellow, shading into a deep olive, the rest of the Asiatic
continent. In the white race, occasionally gliding into brown,
would be included all the Caucasian tribes, the nations of Asiatic
Turkey, Arabia, Kurdistan, Persia, Affghanistan, as also the
Buchariaiis, Armenians, Georgians, Turcomans, Usbecks, Kirghis,

406 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

some of the Hindoos, most of the inhabitants of Nepaul and of
Ceylon, tbe Maldives, and some of tbe tribes of Asiatic Bussia.
The yellow race would comprehend the principal tribes of Asiatic
Russia, the Calmucks, Mongolians, Chinese, Siamese, Burmese,
Assamese, Japanese. The Malays, whose complexion is a deep
brown or olive, are a raixed race, with an Arabian tinge and cast
of countenance. The blacks belong to Malacca, Ceylon, Ando-
man, and Nicobar, scattered among other races. Of all these,
the Mongolian race is the most numerous, and occupy some of the
oldest and richest portions of Asia.
The Asiatics again raight be divided according to their religions,
the principal of which are the Mohammedan, including nearly aU
the nations of Western Asia, and penetrating still further into the
interior of the country, including the Malaj's and others, recog
nizing one God, and rejecting idolatry, but feeble, sensual, and
narrow ; the religion of Lama, which is a literal man-worship, the
Lama or God of this superstition being a man, adored, not as the
representative of tbe Deity, but as the Deity himself, and prevaU
ing over all the central and eastern portions of Northern Asia;
the religion of Brahma, a monstrous superstition, founded upoti
pantheism, and consisting of gorgeous and cruel rites, with a cer
tain air of vastness and grandeur, having its head-quarters at
Benares, and confined chiefly to the Hindoos ; and Buddhism, which
is a system of practical atheism, knowing nothing of the doctrine
of the Supreme God and the immortality of the soul, and wor
shiping Budh, or Guadanm, an ancient sage, who, by a series of
changes, at last arrived at Nighan, absorption or annihilation, for
whicli all Buddhists long as the highest good. Buddhism prevails
over the greater part of Asia beyond the Ganges, including China,
Burmah, Siam, &c. This -last is the religion of the greatest num
ber of the inhabitants, and exerts the widest influence in India.
In addition to these, other forms of religious belief prevaU, to a
limited extent in Asia. The Jews cling to tiie Mosaic ritual;
some of the Persians, including the Parsees of India, are fire or
sun -worshipers, after the doctrliic of Zoroaster ; and raany of tiie
Russian Asiatics, including some of thc Chinese, Mongols, and
othei-s, are addicted to Shamanism, the lowest form of idolatrous
worship, conducted by the Shamans or priests, who are also con
jurors, physicians, &c., and adore "lords manj', and gods many,"
m the forms of matter, with rude superstitions and abominable
rites. The Arraenians in Turkey, and the Nestorians io Persia,
are ancient Christian sects sadly degenerated.
_ Asia- itself, which is four times larger than Europe, is generally
divided into, 1st, Southem Asia, comprehending Natolia, Arme-

ASIA. 407
nia, Kurdistan, Syria, Arabia, Persia, Hindostan, Farther India,
Siam, Malacca, Annam, Tonquin, Cochin China, LaoSj Cambodia,
China, Japan ; 2d, Middle or "Upper Asia, containing Caucasus,
Tartary, Bucharia, Mongolia, Tungousia ; 3d, Northem or Russian
Asia, from 44° north latitude, containing Kasan, Astrachan, Oren
burg, Kuban, Kabarda, Georgia, Iraereta, Siberia, witb the Alpine
regions of Dauria and Kamtschatka. The center of this conti
nent, probably the oldest ridge of land on the earth, is called Up
per Asia. Here tho Bogdo, tbe majestic summit of the Altai
mountains (literally high mountains), forms the central point of
all the mountains of Asia. Uppcr Asia is distinguished for its
remarkable and extensive plain, the most elevated on the surface
of the earth ; the desert of Kobi, or Shamo, on the northern front
iers of China, dry and waste, visited alternately by scorching
winds and chilling storms, even in suraraer, and affording, besides
its deserts, only rivers and lakes, such as the Caspian, the lakes
Aral and Bakal, and several lying araong the mountains. From
the northern and southern decUvities of this region, less barren
and bare, tbe first iribes of men set out in all directions, following
the course of the rivers, north, east, and west. The sources of
all the large rivers of Asia, which must be sought for in the
mountains of Upper Asia, are littie known. Vast ranges of
country stretch in all directions, which still wait to be explored.
Huge raountain raraparts, some of them, as in the Himmaleh
range, rising to the height of from 25,000 to 27,000 feet, covered
with verdure and trees far up their lofty sides, and on their sum-
rnits with etei-nal snow, inclose reraote and secluded vallej's, into
which the foot of thc European traveler has rarelj', if ever, pene
trated. From tbe southern "Alpine girdle" descend the sacred
rivers of the Hindoos, the Braraapootra, the Ganges, and the In
dus ; in the east, the rive'rs Irawaddj', Meinam, Lukian, and
Mecon, or Cambodia ; and in the west, the Euphrates and the
Tigris, taking their course to the south, and. falUng into the great
gulfs of the Indian Ocean.
" Nature has spread over Asia all the treasures of the earth,.
most abundantly in India ; her bounties are distributed by imper
ceptible gradations through all its three zones. In the torrid
zone, whose genial warmth converts the juices .of plants to spices,
balsam, sugar, and coffee, with which Asia has enriched the West
Indies ; tbe palms (sago, cocoa, date, and umbreUa palms) reach
a hight of 200 feet, and the white elephant attains a size surpass
ing that of all other quadrupeds. From hence the silk-worm was
brought to Europe. This region conceals in its bosom the most
boi.utiful diamonds, the finest gold, the best tin, &c., wbUst the

408 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

waves flow over the finest pearls and corals. The temperate zone
has given to Europe tbe melon, tbe vine, the orange, and many
of its moot agreeable garden fruits, as well as the most productive
farinaceous grasses, and the most charming flowers, and unites in
its productions symmetry with richness, particularly in the west
ern regions. Here the oldest traditions place Paradise ; here lie
the enchanting Cashmere, and the garden of Damascus ; here
blossoms tbe rose of Jericho, near the cedars of Lebanon. The
eastern countries, in the same latitudes, possess the tea shrub and
the genuine rhubarb. The camel, the Angora goat, tbe Thibetan
sheep, the pheasant, and tbe horse, are natives of this zone. In
the north blossoms the Alpine flora of Dauria, and from the icy
soU grows the dwarf-like Siberian cedar, till at 70°, vegetation
mostly ceases. Here lives the smallest of quadrupeds — the shrew
mouse of the Yenisey. Sables, ermines, foxes, otters, &c., afford
tbe finest fur. The mineral kingdom furnishes rich ores, rare
precious stones, and remarkable fossU remains, as those of tho
mammoth, in high northern regions."
Properly speaking, however, Asia as a whole has no temperate
zone interposed between the hot and cold regions, giving a race
of men between the savage hordes of the north and the effemi
nate nations of the south, who might hold in check the one and
assist to elevate the other. Asia, indeed, has been peopled from
the north, but the difference between the natives of the cold and
those of the hot climates is great and striking. Hence the south,
weak and luxurious, has constantly been conquered by the hardy
and savage north. Thus we find the Tartars, Affghans, Mongols,
and Mantcbous every where conquerors. They have successively
subdued China, Persia, and India. A Tartar race now sits upon
the throne of China. Such were the ancient Scythians, and such
the modern Tartars, hardy and enterprising, but savage and crael,
who twenty times have conquered Asia and Eastern Europe.
Such were Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, whose empires em
braced half of the ancient continent. Their power, however, in
the north, is aU but exhausted. The Calmucks have yielded to
Russia, the Affghans to England. The Tartar princes of China
have become weak as other men. AU Asia is open to the occu
pancy of European power, civilization, and religion. A hew era
faintiy dawns in the center of Oriental civUization. What the re
sult will be, time only wUl show.
But we will look at some of the princip.al countries in detail,
commencing with Turkey, and proceeding southward to Palestine
and Arabia, thence to Persia, Hindostan, and China. We shaU
be obliged to confine our attention to the leading nations, dwelUng
chiefly upon their grand characteristics and usages.

410

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

TUEKEY. 411

CHAPTER xxx.

TURKEY .

The large, but ill-assorted, and rapidly decaying empire of
Turkey, once so strong and flourishing, lies partly in Europe, and
partly in Asia. The Turks, properly speaking, are Asiatic in
their character and manners, so that we shall be justified in con
sidering the whole as belonging to the Asiatic world. It covers
a large and interesting portion of the globe, particularly in what
was anciently called Asia Minor, once the seat of arts, arms, and
dominion, but now illustrious chiefly for its magnificent and mourn
ful rums. The population amounts to somewhere about 15 or 17
millions, though some put it as bigh as 20 millions, considerably
diversified in race and character, though consisting mainly of
Turks, who are of Scythian origin, much modified, however, by
intermarriages with other nations. The wealthier inhabitants have
been accustomed to supply their harems with beautiful women
from Circassia, Georgia, and the adjacent countries, a circumstance
wbich has greatly softened the harsh features of the native Os-
manlees. But before describing the Turks particularlj', let us visit Con
stantinople, the capital of the country, and one of the most strUr
ing cities in tbe world. We will proceed thither through tho
Hellespont, or DardaneUes (so called from thc forts which guard
its entrance), about thirty-three miles long, and from a mile to a
mile and a half in breadth, one of the most important straits in
the world, as it conducts through the Sea of Marmora and the
Bosphorus, to the Black Sea, and thence to the entire Oriental
world. The Sea of Marmora is a large body of water, 180 miles
in length, and CO miles in breadth, frora the northern shore of
which we enter the Bosphorus, a beautiful strait, reserabling, it is
said, the Hudson river at West Point, about a third of a mile
wide, and fifteen mUes long, but highly cultivated, and covered
with palaces through its entire length. Before us, on a bend of
tbe strait, and crowning the summits of several hills, rises the fair
city, with its mosques and minarets flashing in the clear light of
an Oriental sky, and so disposed as to produce a superb panoramic
effect. Indeed, the Bosphorus, with its dark blue waves, runs
up apparently to the very heart of the city, and incloses it on tha

412 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

north, by means of a branch called the Golden Hom, which forms
one of the finest harbors in the world. Dark green masses of
cypress rise from every part of the shore, and from the grave
yards beyond the city walls, near the tombs of the dead, for
every tomb must have a cypress, relieving agreeably the fairy-Uke
briUiancy of the scene. The water is covered witb caiques, which
with the gorgeous appearance of tbe Oriental architecture on either
shore, the extensive gardens, and the transparent depth of the
cloudless atmosphere, gives to the whole an air of pecuUar grace
and splendor. We feel for the moment as if we were approach
ing a world of enchantment, though instantly roused from our
dream by a sudden plunge of a corpse, sewed in a bag, thrown
suddenly from one of the caiques just passing us. Perhaps the
poor wretch died of the plague, or by the hand of imperial vio
lence ; for such a mode of dispatching an oificia], or a favorite, is
by no means unfrequent in Stamboul. Mysterious Bosphorus I
what magnificence and crime, what glory and shame, hast thou
borne upon thy bosom, or bidden in thy depths I " Venice," says
the author of Eothen, " strains out from the steadfast land, and in
old times would send forth the chief of the state, to woo and wed
the reluctant sea ; but the stormy bride of the Doge is the bow
ing slave of the Sultan — she comes to his feet with the treasures
of the world — she bears him frora palace to palace — by some un-
faiUng witchcraft she entices the breezes to follow her,* and fan
the pale cheek of her lord — she lifts his armed na-vies to the very'
gates of bis garden — she watches the walls of his serail — she sti
fles the intrigues of his ministers — she quiets the scandals of his
courts — .she extinguishes his rivals, and hushes his naughty wives
all one by one — so vast are the wonders of the deep." Yes,
wonders and horrors ; for it is no joke to the myriads who have
found a grave in tbese mysterious depths.
The charm of Constantinople from the sea, is dissipated by a^
more intimate acquaintance. It has splendor enough, but com
bined with meanness and filth ; and, ten to one, you wUl find the
plague prevailing in its very center. The palaces and tombs of
the Sultan are magnificent, but the interior of the former is sedu
lously guarded. The seraglio of the Sultan, where he keeps his
beautiful wives, is a vast inclosure, close on the deep waves of
the Bosphorus. Here, in luxurious ease, the deUcate descendant
of Ulustrious sires spends bis hours of leisure, which are nearly aU
the hours he bas. Some of the mosques, or sacred edifices, are
splendid buildings. They have little, however, in their interior to
¦* A breeze is constantly blowing in this direction.

TUEKEY. 413

attract attention. The worship, apparently devout, is monoto
nous, and gone through with a lazy formality.
The Turks seem to be a race of worshipers, for prayer is one
of their most frequent and favorite exercises. Morning and even
ing, at the call of the Muezzin, they prostrate themselves before
Allah, the one God, of whora Mohammed claimed to be prophet,
and there is certainly something affecting in the act ; but it is
formal and cold — a mere ceremony, without reflection or emotion.
The Koran promises to the faithful Mussulman a paradise of sen
sual delights ; and every Turk therefore feels bound, as much as
possible, to realize his heaven on earth. This is the principal ele
ment of his religion — this the vital ingredient in his character.
Hence the true Turk, though possessed of much native energy and
even violence of disposition, is a dreamy, indolent, fanatical sensual
ist. He believes in an absolute fataUty, and so be lives for nothing,
cares for nothing, but personal indulgence. The bouses of bis
neighbors may burn to tbe ground — his acquaintances may be
assassinated, or plunged into the Bosphorus — what cares he, if he
has only bis tchibouk, or his concubine I Clinging to ancient cus
toras and dress, averse to effort and change, believing in fate, and
anticipating a heaven of sensual delights, he is wUling to Uve and
to die a slave. Yet he is proud as Lucifer — proud of his ancestry,
of his country, and his name ; holding in sovereign ¦ contempt all
other people and nations on tbe face of the earth.
True, a change is going on sUently in Turkey. Tbe late Sultan
commenced a reform among the people, with a view to the intro
duction of European customs, arts, and sciences ; but the great
mass of the people dislike it, and it may be questioned whether it
will have any other effect than that of hastening the decay of the
nation. The present Sultan seems inclined to prosecute tbe plans
of his father, but his success is problematical. In appearance, he
is delicate and gentle — almost effeminate ; and, indeed, how can
he be otherwise, secluded as he is, and spending most of his time
in a harem ? Still, in one or two instances, he has shown some
energy. The following is related by Aubrey de Vere, Esq., and
iUustrates several traits in tbe Turkish character : — " At the be
ginning of a new reign, the Ulema (the priesthood ?) was resolved,
if possible, to prevent the new Sultan from carrying on those
reforms which had ever been so distasteful to the Turks, grating
at once against their religious associations and pride of race, and
which recent events had certainly proved not to be productive of
those good results anticipated by Sultan Mahraoud. To attam
this object, the muftis adopted the expedient of working on the
religious fears of the youthful prince. One day as he was praymg,

414 TIIE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

according to his custom, at his father's tomb, he heard a voice
from beneath reiterating, in a stifled tone, the words, ' / burn.'
The next time that he prayed there, the same words assailed his
ears. ' I burn' was repeated again and again, and no word be
side. He applied to the chief of the Imams to know what this
prodigy might mean, and was informed, in reply, that his father,
though a great man, had also been, unfortunately, a great re
former, and that, as such, it was too much to be feared that he
had a terrible penance to undergo in the other world. The Sultan
sent his brother-in-law to pray at the same place, and, afterward,
several others of bis household ; and on each occasion the same
portentous words were heard.
"One day he announced bis intention of going in state to his
father's tomb, and was attended thither by a splendid retinue,
including the chief doctors of tbe Mohammedan law. Again,
during the devotions, wcre heard the words, ' / bum,' and all
except the Sultan trembled. Rising from his prayer-carpet, he
called in his guards, and commanded thera to dig up the pave
ment, and remove the tomb. It was in vain that the muftis inter
posed, objecting to so great a profanation, and uttering dreadful
warnings as to its consequences. The Sultan persisted. The
foundations of the tomb wcre laid bare, and in a cavity skillfully
left araong them was found— not a burning Sultan, but a dcrvisi
The young Sultan regarded him for a time fixedly and in silence,
and then said, without any further remark, or tbe slightest expres
sion of anger, ' You burn ! then we must cool you in the Bos
phorus.' In a few minutes raore, the dervis was in a bag, and tho
bag, iraraediately after, was in the Bosphorus ; while the Sultan
rode back to his palace accpmpanied by bis household and his
ministers, who ceased not all the way to ejaculate, ' Mushallah !
Allah is great ; there is no god but God, and Mohammed is his
prophet.' "
In Turkey, woman, much caressed perhaps, is, after all, the
slave of man. Shut out from society, shc is confined with her sis
ter wives and servants, and is permitted to see no one but her liege
lord. When suffered to roam abroad, wbich is as rare as possible,
she must keep herself vailed, and enter into no converse with
the otber sex. Her education is trivial, and her manners those of
a spoUed child. Tbe women of Turkey, however, are represented
as amiable and submissiv<', and it is perhaps well for them that
they are ; but as to matronly dignity, good sense, and cultivation,
they can lay no chiim to them. The Circassian women have fine
expressive faces, and, under a different system of training, might
develop high qualities of intellect and heart; but their intelligence

TUEKEY. 415

resides only in their looks, for beyond their own narrow circle they
know nothing.
In Turkey, marriages are contracted in very early life, and are
mere mercenary aft'airs. The result of such a custom must be
very unfavorable to morals. Two children are betrothed, at a very
tender age — sometimes»at three or four — and when the engage
ment is completed at mature years, which often occurs pretty
early in life, the bride is carried off in procession to the husband's
house. Divorces, as might bc expected, are very frequent. The
following amusing account of a wedding is given by an English
resident 'in Turkey :
" When wc lived among the Turks, a dapper little fellow, a son
of our broker, called one morning upon us with a message, which
he delivered in substantial Hebrew :
" ' My lord and father makes his submissive obedience to your
lordship (whom God protect !), and desires to know if he shall
have the honor to kiss your hand at the wedding to-day?'
" ' What wedding, Muohaca ?'
"'Mine, sir.'
" ' Yours I Why, you little villain, how old are you ?'
" He raised his hand thrice, being superstitious about repeating
numbers. " ' Fifteen 1 And bow old is your wife that is to be ?'
" He counted eleven with his fingers.
" ' Why, Chica, what can you possibly do with a wife ? Is she
pretty ?' '
" ' Don't know, cxccUcnza. I never saw her.'
" Here's a vile country for you. Boys and girls, who should be
in school learning their lessons, getting married without having
seen each other — without love, sentiment, vows, protestations, et
cetera !
" ' Did you make her any presents ?'
" ' 0 yes, sir. The presents went last night. We had a camel
load, your lordship ; a band of music, a trunk full of fine silk
dresses, embroidered slippers, gold ear-rings, two silver waiters,
plenty of oil and sweet cakes, and a dish of kuskisue.'
" ShaU we go to this Oriental wedding, thought we. Yes, we
will go, if it is only to see the bride and groom. It was noon.
We ordered the mules to be attached to the chaise, and rode to
the comfortable mansion of Signor Solomon Benbanon. The long
salle was thronged with men wearing blue turbans and heavy
black beards. The littie bridegroom, with a pair of wide cotton
trowsers and embroidered jacket, and a crimson velvet skull-cap,
was seated on an ottoman, gazing attentively around, as if he was

416 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

not a party to the important ceremony about to take place. After
prayers, a canopy was produced, under which the little fellow was
placed ; a curtain in front of an alcove was withdrawn, and a bevy
of fat women entered, followed by the Uttle bride, who had a white
lace vaU thrown over her head, no stockings on, with heavy anklets
or cinctures of gold, and her tiny feet gncased in red morocco
slippers, embroidered with gold. The bride stood opposite the
groom. He eyed her closely, and she peeped at hira through her
vail. He tried to look grave, but ever and anon would twitter and
laugh. When they gave hira the ring to put on ber finger, he put
it on his own, rubbed it, looked pleased, as if unwiUing to give it
to her. After the ceremony, they were both seated on an otto
man, and- received the congratulations of all present. Pauvre
Cito ! they looked like children ready for any sport — blindman's
buff, or hunt the slipper — any thing, in short, but being married.
" Such are the Oriental customs. Tbe married parties did not
have the least agency in the matter. They were strangers to each
other; and, after the wedding, the girl went back to her father's
house, and the boy played marbles, for we saw him next day seU
ing otto of roses and preserved figs, and sporting with a gang of
little loafers not larger than himself. When he was big enough to
be able to maintain his wife, we presume he claimed her."
In Constantinople and other Turkish cities are markets for
female slaves — a more revolting systera of slave-trading than any
we know. Young and beautiful Greeks, Circassians, and others,
are brought thither, and sold to the highest bidder. A handsome
Abyssinian or Georgian wiU bring frora 300 to 400 dollars !
The Turks are grave and quiet, and have coraparatively few
arausements, at least of an exciting or cheerful character. The
baths are the great luxury ; they are frequented as operas and
theaters are in Europe. Hours are spent in the bathing-houses.
The ladies go to them with their slaves, and indulge in long and
trivial gossip.
The bazaars of Constantinople are a popular resort. There aU
the luxuries of the earth seem congregated to tempt the buyer.
The merchant sits squat among his goods, asks about double price
for every thing he has to sell, makes his exchanges with the utmost
composure, and without raoving his hmbs from their place.
The houses are built with an inner court, and are flat upon the
top. The palaces of the rich merchants, pashas, and princes are
adorned with sumptuous splendor, having rich baths and gardens
attached. It is rare that a stranger is admitted to the harem, so
tbat few travelers are competent to describe them. Mr. De Vere,
however, was fortunate enough to enjoy this privilege, to a Umited

TUEKEY. 417

extent, of which the foUowing is a pleasant record. A casual
acquaintance of his, a sort of conjurer and ventriloquist, of great-
boldness and ingenuity, much admired in Constantinople, had been
applied to, by a wealthy Turk, to assist in the recovery of a ring
lost by his favorite wife. He proposed that Mr. De Vere should
accompany him as his assistant, resolved, if possible, to make his
way into tbe harem. " We reached at last a gate, which promised
little ; but, ere long, we found ourselves in one of those ' high
walled gardens, green and old,' wliich are among the glories of tbe
East. Passing between rows of orange and lemon trees, we
reached the house, where we were received by a goodly number
of slaves, and conducted, accompanied by our dragoman, through
a long suite of apartments. In the last of tbem stood a taU,
handsome, and rather youthful man, in splendid attire, who wel
comed us with a grave courtesy. We took our seats, and were
presented, in due form, with long pipes, and with coffee, to me far
more acceptable. After a sufficient interval of tirae had passed
for the most meditative and abstracted of men to remember his
purpose, our host, reminded of what he had apparently forgotten,
by my companion's conjuring robes, an electric'al machine, and
other instruments of incantation, which the slaves carried from our
carriage, civiUy inquired when we intended to commence opera
tions. ' What operations ?' demanded my companion, with much
apparent unconcern. ' The discovery of the ring.' ' Whenever
his highness pleased, and it suited the female part of his household
to raake their appearance,' was the answer.
" At this startling proposition, even the Oriental sedateness of
our statelj' host gave way, and hc allowed his astonishment and
displeasure to become visible. ' Who e\er heard,' he demanded,
' of the wives of a true believer being shown to a stranger, and
that stranger an infidel and a Frank ?' As much astonished, in
our turn, we demanded, ' when a magician had ever been heard of,
who could discover a stolen treasure, without being confronted
with the person who bad lost, or the person who had appropriated
it." After a contest of two hours, our magicians gained the victory,
but only through the interposition of a sort of semi-ecclesiastical per
sonage in the faraily, who declared that being prophets, and not
men, an exception might be made in their favor, without violation of
the Mussulman law ; not, indeed, to the extent of allowing them
to profane the inner sanctuary of the harem with their presence,
but so far as to admit them into an apartment adjoining it, where
the women would be summoned to attend them.
Accordinglj', they passed through a long suite of rooms, and at
18'*

418 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

last found themselves in a lofty chamber, fanned by a breeze from
the Bosphorus, over which its lattices were suspended, skirted by
a low divan, covered with carpets and cushions, and enriched by
splendid hangings, through which the light feebly gUmmered.
Among a confused heap of crimson pUlows and orange drapery,
at the remote end of the apartment, reclined the mother of the
reluctant host. She appeared very aged, and lay there as still as
if she Ijad belonged to the vegetable, not the human world.
Usually, she was obscured by the smoke of her long pipe ; but
when its wreaths grew thin, or floated off, her dark eyes were
fixed upon them with an expression half indifferent, and half averse.
" Presently a murraur of light feet was heard in an adjoining
chamber ; on it moved along the floor of the gallery, and in trooped
tbe company of wives and female slaves. 'They laughed soft and
musically as they entered, but seemed frightened also ; and at once
raising their shawls, and drawing down their vails, they glided
simultaneously into a semicircle, and stood there with hands folded
on their breasts. I sat opposite to them, drinking coffee, and
smoking, or pretending to smoke, a pipe eight feet long. At one
side stood the moUab, and some male merabers of the household ;
at the other stood the handsorae husband, apparently but little
contented with the course matters had taken ; and my friend, the
magician, moved about among the implements of his art, clad in a
black gown, spangled with flame-colored devices, strange enough
to strike a bold heart with awe. Beyond the semicircle stood
two chUdren, a boy and a girl, holding in their hands twisted rods
of barley sugar about a yard long each, which they sucked assidu
ously during the whole time of our visit. There they stood, mute
and still as statues, with dark eyes fixed now on us, and now on
the extremity of their sugar wands."
After going through certain maneuvers and incantations, with
which the women were delighted, the magician was asked if he
had discovered the guilty party. With the utmost coolness, he
replied, " Certainly not ; how could he, while his highness' wives
continued vailed ?" This new demand created new confusion, and
a new debate. The women appeared to favor the conjurer, and,
after a consultation with the moUah and the mother, the husband
gave his reluctant consent. In a moment the vails had dropped,
and the beauty of many an Eastem nation stood before them
revealed. Four were wives, and six were slaves. The foi-mer were traly
beautiful, though in different styles of beauty ; of the latter, two
only. AU were taU, slender, and dark-eyed, uniting a mystical
with a luxurious expression. Their bearing toward each other

TUEKEY. 419

was that of sisters. In their movements, a striking sympathy was
visible, the more remarkable from their rapid transitions from the
extreme of alarm to chUdlike wonder, and again to boundless
mirth. The favorite was a Circassian, of a dignified, but pliant and
graceful carriage, ber dark eyes soft and radiant, and her com
plexion of great purity and deUcacy, " being tinged with a color
unlike that of flower or of fruit, of bud or of berry, but whioh re
minded one of the vivid and delicate tints which sometimes streak
the interior of a shell. Though tall, she seemed light as an em
bodied cloud, and her expression, though pensive, would Ught up,
when merry, with a sort of rapture."
They threw off all reserve, being exceedingly delighted with
the magician's feats. At every attempt to question them, their
looks would seera to say, " You came here to give us pleasure, not
to cross-question us." At last he tried a more formidable de-vice
— that of an electrical machine ; looking at which two or three
times, the mollah asked him whether that, too, was supernatural.
" By no means," replied the quick-witted Frenchman, "it is a mere
scientific toy ;" turning to his companion and saying, in a low
voice, " He bas seen it before — probably he has traveled." The
ladies were arranged hand in hand, in a circle, and were informed
that, if a discovery were not made, each person should receive, at
tbe same moment, a blow from an invisible hand ; that the second
time, the adraonition would be severer still ; and that the third
time, if his warning was still despised, the culprit would drop
down dead. This announcement was received with much gravity,
but no confession followed. The shock was given, and the lovely
circle was speedily dislinked with shrieks and laughter. It was
repeated, with the same result ; when the magician made them a
long speech, telling therri that he had already discovered the secret,
and so forth. Still no confession was raade. The raagician was non
plused, and for a moraent seeraed downcast. " It will not do,"
said he, "the ring cannot be recovered, and is probably lost. We
cannot fulfill our engagement ; and, indeed, I wish that we were
well out of all this."
The raaster of the household stood apart, looking like a thun
der-cloud. The Easterns do not understand a jest, especially in a
harem, and are apt to pass instantly from the profoundest repose
to the raost violent passion. They speak little, " but deliver their
souls by action." Our conjurers, therefore, had the fear of the
Bosphorus before their eyes, and their situation was by no means
enviable. " Do as you see me do," said the one to the other,
when, giving the third shock, he advanced to their grim host with

420 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

A radiant countenance, and congratulated him vehemently. " You
are a happy man," he said ; "your household has not a flaw in it.
Fortunate it was that you sent for tbe wise man. I have discov
ered the matter." " What have you discovered ?" "The fate of
the ring. It has never been stolen ; your household is trustworthy
and virtuous. I know where the ring is, but I should deceive
you if I bade you hope ever to see it again. This is a great mys
tery, and the happy consuraraation surpasses even my hopes.
Adieu ! The matter has turned out just as you see. "Vou were
born under a lucky star. Happy is the man whose household is
trustworthy, and who, when his faith is tried, finds a faithful
counselor. I forbid you, henceforth and forever, to distrust any
one of your wives."
"It would be impossible,'' says our authority, "to describe the
countenance of our Mussulman friend during this harangue. He
stood like a tree half in sunshine, half in shade ; gratification strug
gling with displeasure in his countenance, and wonder eclipsing
both." But it was prudent to leave before tbe balance was ad
justed, and so they passed to the door. In a moment, the in
stinct of courtesy prevailed, and their host made a sign to one of
his retinue. Slaves preceded them with torches, and half the
household accompanied tbem as a guard of honor. Again they
traversed the large and straggling house, passed through the gar
den, and entered the carriage, which awaited them beyond the
walls. The government of Turkey is an absolute monarchy, or rather,
perhaps, theocracy ; for the Sultan is a sort of representative and
vicegerent of the Deity. " It is an absolute despotism," says
Chateaubriand, "tempered with regicide !" The finances, officers
of the court, and government, are all subject to the ii-responsiblo
will of the monarch. If his servants offend bim, he commands
them to be strangled, and thrown into the Bosphorus. The repre
sentatives of tho Sultan, the judges, governors, commandere, and
so forth, imitate his absolute sway, and do not hesitate to execute
their selfish will, whenever they can do so with impunity. They
are fond of pomp and show, high-sounding tities, and the slavish
deference of the multitude. Some of thera have traveled, and
possess considerable information. Their manners are occasionaUy
quite dignified and agreeable. Of late years, they treat the
" infidel dogs" of Christendom, as they used to call them, -with
more respect. European dresses have been introduced into thc
army, and among the government oflacials ; but the people gener
ally prefer the picturesque costume of their fathere. Most ot
them, too, are grossly ignorant and fanatical, rejecting all books

TUEKEY. 421
but the Koran, and cherishing an orthodox horror of printing.
Trade, comraerce, agriculture— all are in a backward condition.
The vigor, enthusiasm, and prosperity of the nation are gone, we
fear, foreVer. The tottering empire of Turkey is preserved only
by the poUtical jealousy of the European potentates. Their ex
treme anxiety to preserve " the integrity of tbe Ottoman empire"
— to quote their favorite phrase — proceeds from no love to the
Turks, but from regard to their own selfish interests.
The Armenians, of whom there are from four to five millions
scattered throughout the empire, are nominal Christians, with many
superstitions, little religious knowledge, or elevation of character.
But a great change for the better has been effected among them,
by the efforts of American missionaries, and the circulation of the
Scriptures and otber religious books. This, combining with the
efforts of the Sultan, Abdul Mejdid, and his more enlightened
ministers, to resuscitate the empire, by tbe introduction of Euro
pean tactics, arts, and sciences, may prepare the way for a reUgious
and moral revolution, and, we hope, transfoi-mation in Turkey.
For if the European faith, in its simplicity and power, could only
be introduced, in connection with other means of civilization, Tur
key might yet be won to the cause of truth, of freedora, and jus
tice. So long, however, as a sensual and effete system of religious
belief, like that of Mohammed, which allows polygamy and en
courages sensualism, is retained, with all its peculiarities, in- this
worn-out kingdom, it will remain stationary among the nations, or,
rather, pass more and more rapidly into barbarism and decay.
Some of the moral precepts of the Koran are good, and, when
rigidly practiced, in ancient times, by the nation, assisted to pre
serve its integrity. The idea, too, of one God is sublime and ele
vating ; but Islaraism, with its spirit of forraalisra and sensuality,
contains the eleraents of its own destruction, and is now producing
its legitiraate fruits in the acknowledged imbecUity of the entire
Turkish empire.
Turkey boasts the possession of a regular Mohammedan hier
archy, consisting of Imaras, and other priests of different grades.
The dervises are the monks of Islamism. The most noted of
these are tbe Dancing, and the Shouting or Howling Dervises.
The former dance and the others howl with the devoutest energy.
The Turkish language is of Tartar origin, and though sonotous,
is rough and harsh. Its literature is borrowed chiefly from the
Arabian, in wbich the Koran was written. Indeed, the two lan
guages, as well as Uteratures, have become remarkably blend';d.
The golden age of Arabic, and consequently of Turkish learning,
is passed.' StiU, the Turks are not without elaborate treatises on

422 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

theology, medicine, physics, mathematics, astrology, and so forth.
Arabic literature, especially of the middle ages, is rich and various ;
tbough much of it is fanciful and obsolete. Recently newspapers
have been introduced into Turkey ; and a few European works
have been translated, but they are few and far between. Science
and philosophy, in their true sense, may be said scarcely to exist
either in Turkey or Arabia. The people are hundreds of years
behind Europe.
But we must leave Constantinople, and after visiting Smyrna,
"infidel Smyrna," as it is called by the Turks, the great commer
cial city of the Greeks, with its motley crowds, and passing hur
riedly through Pergamos, Philadelphia, and other places men
tioned in the Scriptures, in connection with the seven churches of
Asia, respecting which the divine predictions have been literally
fulfiUed, we wUl prosecute our journey eastward, and entering
Syria, penetrate the mountains of Lebanon, with their lofty cedars,
occupied partly by the warlike Druses, a -wild race, half pagan and
half Mohararaedan, and the Maronites, a sect of Oriental Chris
tians, addicted to war and other unchristian usages. After this
we will cross the country by way of the wUderness east of the
Jordan, which rises in the mountains of Lebanon, and make our
way to the far-famed and beautiful Damascus, the capital of Syria,
and the dwelling-place of many wealthy Jews, as well as Moham
medans, Greeks, and others.
Below us is the plain of El Ghota, stretching northward and
southward as far as the eye can reach, and bounded on one side
by an undulating range of hills, and on the other by the snow-
crested ridge of the Anti-Libanus. The plain is but one vast ex
panse of aridity, save where the BaiTada shoots through it its
flashing waters. In its midst waves a grove twenty miles in
circuit, and luxuriant with every tree an Eastern sun can warm
into life, from the lowly pomegranate, with its vermilion petals, to
the stately palm, -with its proudly nodding plumes. The city lies
" like a pearl set in emerald," its domes and minarets glistening un
der the noontide sun. Hastening on, we soon pass the city gates,
and slowly make our way through streets and bazars, until we
finally enter the " street called Straight," of ApostoUc memory.
Damascus has a population of about 125,000, of which about'
12,000 are Syrian Christians, 3000 Jews, and the remainder Mo
hammedans. The city lost, a few years since, quite a fraction of
its population bythe cholera: no less than 21,000 were swept
off in twenty-five days. Here, for the first time, we see genuine
Eastern Ufe, uncontaminated by contact with Europeans. The
bazars are richer, the people are moi-e picturesquely attired and

TUEKEY. 423

luxuriously lodged, and every thing is more redolent of Oriental
genius than m any other place we have visited. The inhabitants
excel in beauty, and especially in cleamess and purity of complex
ion. No city is so well suppUed with water as Damascus. The
Barrada, as it enters the city walls, is artificially divided into six
channels, which are made to enrich every house with fountains,
and to send life and beauty through all the surrounding vegeta-
"tion. The streets are narrow but uniformly paved, and have ele
vated walks on both sides for foot passengers. No vehicle of any
kind is ever seen, and but few camels or other beasts Of burden.
The houses are of stone, plastered with a grayish cement ; thev
are two or three stories in bight, flat-roofed, and their exterior
presents only a bare dead wall, relieved here and there by a low
unseemly door, and, perhaps, a latticed window. But let us
glance at the interior. Coming from the street through an arched
passage we find ourselves in an open court, sorae sixty feet square,
flagged with raarble set in mosaic. In the center is an elevated
reservoir, eight feet by twelve, constantly fed with living water,
and shaded by vines, and orange, lemon, and pomegranate trees.
The high stone walls which inclose the court are striped with paint
in bright tri-colors ; they are indented by spacious matted and
divanned alcoves, and pierced with many doors and windows,
opening into tbe various halls and chambers of tbe house. The
principal rooms are planned much like the ancient Greek saloon.
The door from the court admits you into a square space some
fifteen feet in breadth, paved with marble and inlaid with mother-
of-pearl, and having in its center a large perennial marble-inclosed
fountain. On three sides'of this square, and elevated about two
feet above it, are estrades, each nearly as large as the lower area.
They are divided from it by arches of beautiful form and work
manship, and are fumished with elegant seats and divans. The
windows are either of stained glass, or are festooned with rich
curtains. The walls are pro\'ided with shelved niches for vases of
water, sherbet, and flowers ; and are painted, to a certain hig-ht,
in imitation of parti-colored marble, and further up with arabesque
tables of flowers, fruits, and emblematic devices. The ceiling,
which is at least forty feet above the floor, is paneled and ricbl)-
pictured in the Eastem style. Every thing is on the most exten
sive scale, an Oriental mansion usually occupjdng three or four
times as much ground as a European. The rent of such a house
is only about 1800 piasters, or eighty dollars a year.
There are many Jewish famUies here. The foUowing is a de
scription of the house of one of the richest of these famiUes :
Passmg from the street through a long vaulted archway, we

424 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

enter the court, which, as usual, is paved with marble, and orna
mented with fountains and fruit-trees. Here we are received by
the family. First, the master of the house, a gentleman about
thirty years of age, with keen eyes, light complexion, black beard
and mustaches, and attired with a white turban, and a light sUk
robe, secured by a sash. Next, a young Rebecca of eighteen,
with rich brunette complexion, full fair forehead, eyebrows shaven
into a perfect circle and colored with kohol, dark, lustrous eyes,
and a small yet finely rounded figure. A gay velvet cap, bor
dered with a broad fillet of rose-diamonds, covers her head, and
her soft brown hair hangs behind in long braided plaits, each of
which is decorated at the extremity bj' a gold sequin. A green,
loose-sleeved silk vest, with its front just open enough to show the
silk tunic beneath, reaches down to her waist, which is girded by
a beautiful sash. Full trowsers of colored silk, tightlj' gathered
at the ankles, white stockings, and yellow slippers complete her
costume. Lastly, the wife of our host, a beautiful lady of some
twenty-four years, and an elderly matron, bis mother ; both are
attired in much the same style as the damsel, but with greater
simplicity. We duly make our salaams, and are forthwith ushered
into a spacious and elegant saloon. A white linen cushion, lying
directly on the floor, borders it on all sides ; on this, according
tp Eastern usage, we all take, at proper distances, our reclining
positions. Such attitudes! But enough said!' Coffee, sweet
meats, and Turkish pipes are brought, and, through our Arab in
terpreter, we carry on a Uvely conversation. In due time we take
our leave, with all the ceremony Oriental etiquette requires.
The Turks consider Damascus as a peculiarly holy city, and re
gard Frank intruders with aversion ; but this feeling is diminishing.
There is very Uttle trath or honesty among tbe people of Damas
cus generally, but more among the Turks than either the Jews or
Greeks. In few cities is morality at a lower ebb. Licentiousness
abounds every where ; but tbe Jewish women surpass as much in
cormption as in beauty. Among all classes, marriages take place
at_ a very early age, and females are frequently grandmothers at
thirty. "Vet the population is rather diminishing than increasing.
Most iUegitimate children are destroyed, and of the others not
one out of four survives the mistreatment and neglect of infancy.
Few parents have more than one or two children, husbands pre
ferring to spend their means in enjoying themselves, than in sup
porting families.
The people pass most of their time smoking in bUssful repose
b the public gardens, at the coffee-houses, which are built over
runmng streams, and shaded and perfumed by the most beautiful

PALESTINE AND AEABIA. 425

fruit-trees. "If, accordmg to the Mohammedan idea, ethereal
skies, aromatic airs, luxuriant foliage, delicious fruits, sparkUng
waters, melodious birds, and beautiful women, make a paradise,
Damascus is an earthly elysium."
We should be glad to visit other places of renown in Syria,
especiaUy those venerable for their ruins. But Palestine and
Arabia attract us more powerfully. So leaving Damascus, we
pass westward toward the sea of Tiberias, or lake of Genesareth,
lying peacefully, like the lake of Geneva, araid a coronet of
mountains, over whose sumraits once trod " the Son of the High
est," accompanied by his chosen disciples. The Jordan issues
from the southern extremity of the lake, and pursues a nearly
du-ect course through the valley of the Jordan, till it loses its
waters in tbe dreary depths of the Dead Sea. Passing southward,
we travel to "the Holy City," through a beautiful but mountain
ous country, clothed in the luxuriant verdure of "the Judean
Bummer."

CHAPTER XXXI.

PALESTINE AND ARABIA.

The garish sun is dropping behind the liiUs of Ephraim, when
ascending from the village of Bethany, once the residence of Laz
arus and his sisters, Martha and Mary, we gain the sumrait of the
Mount of Olives, and, lo ! Jerusalem, " beautiful for situation, the
joy of the whole land," lies before us, bathed in the mellow light
of departing day, though the valleys and lower parts of the city
are already covered with the shadows of twilight. Yonder tower
the magnificent domes of the Mosque of Omar on the hights of
Mount Moriah, where formerly stood that glorious temple, to
which tumed, in the hour of Jewish devotion, so many hearts and
eyes. To the left, separated from it by the valley of Tyropoeou,
is Mount Zion, -formerly the most splendid part of the city, con
taining the palace of its greatest monarch, but now narrowed by
the wall, and containing, as its most remarkable object, the plain
building of the Armenian convent. On the northwest is the hiU
of Akra, the handsomest part of the town. On its crest stands
the Latin convent, and on its steep declivity, to the southeast, the
Greek convent, adjoining the church of the Holy Sepulcher. As

426

THE WOELD WE LI'VE IN.

a whole, the city has a singular and rather gloomy look, although
Ughted in its higher portions, and on its domes, minarets, and
spires, at this hour of sunset, with the faint radiance of departing
day. AU is still ; for the city, unlike those which are fiUed with
the tumult of life, sends up no cheerful hum into the busy air.
Yet a holy grandeur and solemnity brood over the place, a strange,
unworldly fascination, from the august and thriUing recollections
with which it is associated. We descend into the valley of Je-

'"-^^"^f^-^^' .

54tii  -"  —.,

-1^4^::?

Jeniaalcm.
boshapliat, through which passes the brook Kedron, and where
stand the tombs of the prophets, the tomb of Absalom, of Mary,
and raany others, and find ourselves under the shadow of the old
oUve-trees in the Garden of Gethsemane, old beyond the memory
of man, and if not the identical trees under which our Savior
prayed in agony, occupying the same sacred spot. But the olive-
tree is exceedingly tenacious of Ufe, and wUl last, it is aflBrmed,
hundreds of years ; but no matter, the locality is the same, for
PALESTINE AND AEABIA. 427

there is the brook Kedron, and yonder the Mount of Olives, and
above us the same calm, deep sky which heard our Redeemer's
prayer. Ent(3.riiig the city, we wander from point to point, visit
the spots assigned by tradition to the principal events in our Sa
vior's closing history. Calvary, and the Holy Sepulcher. These
anciently were beyond the city, now they are in the heart of it ;
but while this occasions doubt, we do not forget that the city has
changed its location somewhat, ha^ving actuaUy gathered around
these points of interest. But the exact localities, perhaps, are of
little consequence. Soraewhere on these rocky eminences Jesus
Christ, the Savior of men, was crucified and buried. The place
is hallowed, and though defiled by absurd superstitions, wUl ever
more awaken the reverence and affection of all Christian pUgriras.
Visitors to Jerusalem will naturally feel themselves attracted
toward the site of the ancient tempio ; few, however, have ever
been permitted to examine the premises, now occupied by the
two principal Mohammedan mosques, Omar and Aksa. The fol
lowing letter from Mr. Catherwood, addressed to Mr. Bartlett,
gives all the information respecting this interesting subject which
could be desired.
" Dear Sir — You have asked for some account of my visit to
the Mosque of Omar at Jerusalem, and the ground surrounding it,
occupied formerly by the Teraple of Solomon. You also request
my opinion on several points connected with its topography. I
was at Jerusalem in 1833, in company with my friends, Messrs.
Bonomi and Arundale ; and having so often looked upon the in
teresting buildings which now occupy this celebrated spot, I felt
irresistibly urged to make an atterapt to explore thera. I had
heard, that for merely entering the outer court, without venturing
within the mosque, several unfortunate Franks had been put to
death ; and you may therefore conceive the attempt was somewhat
rash. However, there were many circurastances in ray favor. It
was the period of the rule of Mehemet AU in Syria ; and the
Governor of Jerusalem, with whom I was on good terms, was a
latitudin-arian as to Mohammedanism. I had brought with me a
strong firman, expressly naming me as an engineer in the service
of his highness. I had adopted the usual dress of an Egyptian
oflicer, and was accompanied by a servant possessed of great
courage and assurance. This man had strongly urged me to the
experiment ; and at last, notwithstanding the remonstrances of my
friends, I entered the area one morning with an indifferent air, and
proceeded to survey, but not too curiously, the many objects of
interest it presents. As I was about to enter mto the mosque,

428 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

however, I caught sight of one of the guardian dervises, who aro
in the habit of conducting pUgrims around it. This man made
toiyard me, in the hope of a better donation than usual. As I was
not prepared to go throngh the requisite ceremonial with this de
vout guide, I thought it prudent to retreat, as if accidentaUy, from
his alarming neighborhood, and quietly left the area, without having
attracted the least notice. The success of my first attempt induced
me to make a second visit the following day. I deterrained to take
with me my camera lucida, and make a drawing — a proceeding
certain to attract the attention of the most indifferent, and expose
me to dangerous consequences. The cool assurance of mjJ^ servant
at once befriended and led me on. We entered, and, arranging
the camera, I quickly sat down to my work, not without some
nervousness, as I perceived the Mussulmen, from time to time,
mark me with doubtful looks. However, most of thera passed on,
decei\-ed by my dress, and the quiet indifference with which I re
garded tbem. At length some, more fanatic than the rest, began
to think all could not be right. They gathered at a distance in
groups, suspiciously eyeing me, and comparing notes with one
another. A storm was evidently gathering. They approached,
broke into sudden clamor, and, surrounding us, uttered loud
curses. Their numbers increased most alarmingly, and, with theu-
numbers, their menacing language and gestures. Escape was
hopeless. I was corapletely surrounded by a mob of two hundred
people, who seemed screwing up their courage for a sudden rush
¦upon me. I need not tell you wbat would have been my fate.
Nothing could be better than the conduct of Suleyman, my ser
vant, at this crisis. Affecting vast indignation at the intermption,
he threatened to inform the governor, out-hectored the most clara
orous, and, raising his whip, actually commenced a summary
attack upon them, and knocked off the cap of one of the holy der
vises. This brought matters to a crisis, and I beheve few minutes
would have passed ere we had been tom in pieces, when an inci
dent occurred that converted our danger and discomfiture into
positive triumph. This was the sudden appearance of the governor
on the steps of the platform, accompanied by his usual train.
Catching sight of him, the foremost — those who had been disgraced
by the blows of Suleyman — rushed tumultuously up to him, de
manding the punishment of the infidel who was profaning the holy
precincts, and horsewhipping the true believers. At this thc
governor drew near ; and as we had often smoked togetiier, and
were well acquainted, he saluted me politely ; and supposing it to
be beyond the reach of possibility that I could venture to do what
I was about without warrant from the Pasha, he at once appUed

PALESTINE AND AEABIA. 429

himself to cool the rage of the mob. ' You see, my friends,' he
said, ' that our holy mosque is in a dilapidated state ; and no
doubt our lord and master, Mehemet AU, has sent this effendi to
survey it, in order to its complete repair. If we are unable to do
these things for ourselves, it is right to employ those who can ;
and such being the will of our lord, the Pasha, I require you to
disperse, and not incur my displeasure by any further interruption ;'
and tuming to me, he said, in tbe bearing of thera all, tbat if any
one bad the hardihood to disturb me in future, he would deal in a
summary manner with him. I did not, of course, think it neces
sary to undeceive the worthy governor, and, gravely thanking
him, proceeded with my drawing. AU went on quietly after this.
" During six weeks, I continued to investigate every part of the
mosque and its precincts, introducing my astonished companions
as necessary assistants in the work of survey ; but when I beard
ofthe near approach of Ibrahim Pasha, I thought it was time to
take 'leave of Jerusalem. The day after my departure he entered,
and, as it happened, several English travelers of distinction entered
at the same time. Anxious to see the mosque, they asked per
mission of Ibrahim, whose answer was characteristic of the man,
to the purport that they were welcorae to go if they liked, but
he would not insure their safe return, and that he would not ven
ture to outrage the feelings of the Mussulmen by sending an escort
with tbem. Here he was met with the story of ray recent visit.
He said it was impossible. The dervises were sumraoned, the
govemor was sumraoned, and an eclaircissement took place which
must have been a scene of no small amuseraent.
" It was more than simple curiosity that urged this rash attempt,
and its fortunate issue enabled me, with my associates, to raake a
complete and scientific survey of thc mosque, vaults, gateways,
nnd other objects comprised within the extent of the area. These,
I hope, at some future period, will be published. In the mean
time, I gladly present you with a few brief notes for your intended
publication. " The principal entrance to the area is through the deserted
bazar, on its west side. There are also three other entrances on
the same side, and two from the north. In going from the gate
way to the mosque, a distance of one hundred and fifty feet, several
praying-places of the Mobararaedans are passed, with one or two
elegant fountains, surmounted by beautiful cupolas, overshadowed
with cypress and palm trees. 'Ihe great platform is, in general,
about fifteen or sixteen feet above the area, and is reached by
three flights of stairs on tbe westem side, above which are elegant
pointed archways, probably of the same age as the mosque. Of

430 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

these are also on the north side two, on the south side two, and
on the east side one. At various intervals between these are
apartments, under and attached to the platform, appropriated to
the poorest class of the Mohammedan pilgrims, who are lodged
and fed gratuitously from the funds of the mosque. One portion
of these is devoted to black pilgrims from Africa. The extensive
platform is four hundred and fifty feet from east to west, and five
hundred and fifty feet from north to south, paved in part with
marble. On it are several elegant praying-places — one especiaUy,
said to have been used by Fatima, the daughter of the prophet ;
and on the south side, attached to the external parapet, is a sump
tuous and highly wrought pulpit, of the richest materials. On
the east side, witliin a few feet of the mosque, is a buUding resem
bUng a fountain, composed of columns and arches, with a praying-
place pointing toward Mecca, and which, according to their tradi
tion, was the judgment-seat of King David.
" The great Mosque of Omar, which stands on the platfoi-m, is
octagonal in form, each side measuring sixty-seven feet. The
lower division of the wall is composed of various colored marbles,
arranged in elegant and intricate patterns. The remaining portion
is pierced with fifty-six pointed windows, filled with the most
beautiful stained glass imaginable ; perhaps of greater briUiancy
than the finest specimens in our own cathedrals. The piers sepa
rating the windows are externally decorated with glazed tiles of
bright colors and various patterns, which is also the case with the
circular wall supporting the dome. The double dome, of pecu
liarly elegant form, is covered with lead, surmounted by a tall gUt
crescent. Four doors give entrance to the mosque,, opposite to
the cardinal points. Of these, tbe southern is the principal, hav
ing a porch supported by marble columns. A narrow corridor,
about thirteen feet wide, runs around the entire building inside,
having eight piers and sixteen Corinthian marble columns, which,
I suppose, have belonged to some ancient Roraan buUdings. The
second corridor, which also runs around the building, is about
thirty feet in breadth. The interior diaraeter of it is ninety-eight
feet. The dorae is sixty-six feet in diameter, supported by four
massive stone piers, and twelve ancient Corinthian marble columns,
also supposed to have formed part of the Jewish or Pagan temple
forraerly existing on the site.
" These are connected by arches, from which springs the circu
lar waU supporting the dome ; the interior of the WaU, and the
dome itself, are ornamented in gUt, in the arabesque style, such
as prevails in the Alhambra. This dome, which is of very an
cient date, is composed of wood-work ; portions of it are elabo-

PALESTINE AND AEABIA. 431

rately carved, although concealed from sight. Under this dome
is a remarkable limestone rock ; it occupies, with its irregular
form, the greater part of the area beneath, and is suiTOunded by
a gilt iron raUing, to keep it from the touch of the nuraerous pU
grims. It appears to be the natural surface of the rook of Mount
Moriah ; in a few places there are marks of chiseling. Over this
hangs a time-worn crimson silk canopy. At the southeast comer of
this rock there is an excavated chamber, called by the Moham
medans the Noble Cave, to which there is a descent by a flight of
stone steps. This chamber is irregular in form, and its superficial
area is about six hundred feet, the average hight seven feet ; it
derives a pecuUar sanctity from having been, successively (accord
ing to Mohammedan tradition), the praying-place of Abraham,
David, Solomon, and Jesus ; its surface is quite plain, and in it are
a few small altai-s. In the center of the rocky pavement is a cir
cular slab of marble, which, being struck, returns a hollow sound,
clearly showing that there is a well or excavation beneath ; this is
called by the Mohammedans Bir Arruah, the Well of Souls,
— of the wicked, we must suppose, this being the entrance to
the Mohammedan hell. I was gravely informed that this well
was opened untU about forty years since, and up to that
period was frequented by those who were desirous of holding
converse with the souls of the departed confined below ; but that
a certain widow, who -vvas more than ordinarUy curious and com
municative, carried such intelligence from the living to the dead,
and from the dead to the living, as to disturb the peace of many
families in the city, and cause such commotion below, that the
noise getting too outrageous, the well had to be closed to prevent
further mischief-making. The corridors of the mosque are airy,
light, and elegant, and the sun, streaming through the richly
stained glass windows, casts a thousand varied dyes upon the
richly decorated walls and marble pavement. In striking con
trast to this is the somber and impressive appearance of the dome ;
the eye in vain strives to pierce its gloom, to unravel its maze of
rich arabesque ornaments, and read its lengthened inscriptions,
dra-yvn from the Koran. In perfect keeping are the groups of
pilgrims and devout Mussulmen from all parts of the Mohararae
dan world, from India to Morocco. Their picturesque variety of
dress and feature, their deeply devout deportment, as, headed by
dervises in green robes and high conical caps, they silently pros
trate themselves in prayer, thankful to have attained the tei-m of
their weary pUgrimage, are very striking. One in particular,
with whom I conversed, a native of British India, had walked
from Calcutta, across Persia and Arabia, employing in the jour-

432 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ney three long years ; be had been about two months in the Holy
City, and was on the point of retracing his steps, satisfied with
his title of Hadji, and of being on the road to Paradise. Through
out the mosque are many objects of traditional reverence pertain
ing to Mohararaed AU, the Kaliph Omar, Fatima, and other Mo
hammedan saints, too tedious to enumerate. Suffice it to say,
that, after the ' Caaba' at Mecca, the ' Sakhara' (in Jerusalem) is
the most venerated place of Mohammedan devotion. Proceeding
southward from the platform of tbe Mosque of Omar, across a
paved footway, shaded by venerable cypresses, at the distance of
three hundred and fifty feet, we reached the porch of the Mosque
El Aksa, which occupies the remaining space of two hundred and
eighty feet, extending to the southern wall of the great inclosure.
It consists of a nave and six side aisles, of a mixed architecture,
the entire breadth being one hundred and eighty feet. The col
umns and piers are very irregular in size, material, and architectu
ral character, some being evidently Roman, and others Saracenic,
At tbe southern extreraity is a beautiful dome, under which stands
the gallery for the singers, and an elaborately carved pulpit. At
tached to the southwest angle of the building is the Mosque of
our Lord, Abu Bekr. This raosque is upward of two hundred
feet in length, and fiftj'-five in breadth. Down the center is a
row of eight piers, from which arches cross to tbe sides. At right
angles with this is the Mosque of the Mogrebbins, two hundred
feet in length, of no particular character. At the opposite end of
the edifice, on the edge of the wall, is tbe small Mosque of Omar,
eighty-five feet in length. Attached to this mosque is one still
smaller, called that of the Forty Prophets. The mass of buld-
ings projecting at the back, beyond the wall of the great inclo
sure, are merely offices connected with tbe mosque.
" The interior of this extensive building, like tbe Mosque of Oraar,
abounds in traditionary objects. Its distinguishing peculiarity is
a large inclosure for the devotion of Mohammedan women, who
are not, on any account, permitted to enter the principal raosque.
Like the Mosque of Omar, this also has its well. The entrance
to the ancient gateway, existing under the mosque, is beneath the
archway immediately to the left of the main entrance, by a flight
of stone steps. This gateway is apparently of the same age and
style as the Golden Gateway ; it is two hundred and eighty feet
in length, and by means of steps and an inclined plane, the road
way through it ascends from the soutiiern entrance to the level of
the area. ,
" Beneath the dome, at the southeast angle of the Temple wall,
conspicuous from all points, is a small subterranean mosque, or

PALESTINE AND AEABIA. 433

place of prayer, forming the entrance to the extensive vaults
which support the level platform of the mosque above. It may
be presumed that the whole of the eastern side of the platfoi-m is
so supported, but the only part accessible is immediately beneath
the southeast angle. Here are fifteen rows of square pillars,
from which spring arches supporting the platform. The spaces
between the arches are of irregular dimensions. The roots of the
olive-trees above have struck through the arches, and in some in
stances taken root again below. The ground rises rapidly from
the southeast toward the north and west, so that the hight of
the southern arches is thirty-five feet, whUe the northern ones are
but ten.
" The whole substracture appears to me of Roraan origin, and
in connection with the Golden Gate, and the one beneath the El
Aksa, together -with the ancient bridge, to have formed a connected
plan of foundations and approaches to the great Temple of
Herod. " At the southern end of the chapel are four columns, support
ing a small dome, under which is a stone sarcophagus in the Ro
man style of workmanship, called by the Mohammedans, 'the
Tomb of our Lord Issa,' or Jesus. This is an object of great
veneration to Mohammedans.
" I pass on to consider the questions you submit : they may be
stated as foUows :
" 1st. Is the ground occupied by the Mohammedan places of
worship, with their inclosures and courts, generally identical with
that of the ancient teraple, its courts, and porticoes ?
" 2d. Is the masonry of large stones in the wall, and the
springing stones of au arch in the western wall, at the southwest
angle, of higher antiquity than the time of Herod ?
" In regard to the first question, I believe all who have written
on the subject are of the same opinion, viz., that the two Moham
medan mosques occupy the site of the Temple of Solomon and its
courts. It is the only level space of ground, and' in all respects
corresponds with the scriptural accounts within the citj', and those
of more recent date.
" The extent occupied by the old temple and its courts and
porticoes, it appears to me, ought rather to be gathered from cer
tain peculiarities in the ground itself at present existing, than
from the account of Josephus, who states that the area of the
temple was square, which does not at all agree with the present
boundaries. " The lower courses of the masonry of ancient walls exist on
the east, south, and west sides of tb< rreat uiclosure for nearly

434 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

its whole length and breadth, and on the north side is distinguished
by a wall on the brink of a deep trench, and at the northwest
inner angle by the rock being cut perpendicularly to an extent of
twenty feet in some parts.
"The length of the east wall is 1520 feet, of the south wall,
940 feet, of the west waU, 1617 feet, and of the north, 1020
feet, and the wall stands at right angles only at one point, the
southwest corner. Consequently, speaking mathematically,, the
area of the temple could never have been square : this is suppos
ing always that the old east, south, and southwest walls occupied
the direction of the present ones.
" The site occupied by the temple was originaUy called Mount
Moriah, and declined steeply from the northwest to the southeast ;
and in order to render it applicable for the buUding of a magnifi
cent temple, it was necessary to cut away a considerable portion
of tbe rock at the northwest, and to raise the ground at the south
east angle. Both of these works still exist, and in perfect preserva
tion. " I consider it likely that the present area corresponds very
nearly with the ancient one ; that the fortress and tower of An-
tonia stood entirely without the present inclosure ; that the Mosque
of Omar occupies the position of the Holy of Holies of Solomon's
Temple, and that the Hagara Sakhara was the foundation rock on
which it stood.
" Such is a brief sketch of the most important objects within
the inclosure of the ' Haram,' a spot now impossible to enter, and
which my peculiar good fortune enabled me to explore. I pre
sent it in the hope that it may add to the interest of your work.
" I remain, dear sir, yours truly,
" F. Catherwood."
While in Jemsalem, our attention is caUed to tbe condition of
the Jews, the ancient possessors of the soil, and still the most
natural and appropriate inhabitants of Palestine. As this country,
however, is poor, the Jews, who are found in the great centers of
business, are not attracted hither in any great numbers. Those
resident here are generally poor, and without enterprise. Many
of them are aged, and a few, members of the different synagogues,
or theological schools, are somewhat learned, especially in Rab
binical lore. It is stated, on good authority, that while the Mo
hammedans are diminishing in numbers, the Jews are mcreasing,
in Palestine. Many come to the country when advanced in life,
in order to lay their bones beside the tombs of patriarchs and pro
phets. Jerusalem and its environs, especially, are to them holy

PALESTHSTE AND AEABIA. 435

ground. But the Jews of other countries are more numerous and
wealthy. They number, in all, something over six miUions : in
Poland, one miUion ; in the Russian empire, two mUlions ; in Ger
many, seven hundred and fifty thousand ; in the Low Countries,
ninety thousand; in France, seventy-five thousand; in Eno-land,
sixty thousand ; in Italy, two hundred thousand ; in North and
South America, from one to two hundred thousand ; in the Mo
hammedan States of Europe, Asia, and Africa, three mUlions ; in
Persia, China, and Hindostan one million.
In the Mohammedan countries, tbe condition of the Jews has,
of late, been much improved. The civU disabilities under which
they labored for centuries have been removed, by the Uberality of
the present Sultan. Indeed, the Jews are rising, in wealth, intel
Ugence, and influence, in nearly all parts of the world. Many of
them are well educated and highly intelligent. They speak spv-
eral languages, and evince talent and energy. To a certain extent,
they are the bankers of Europe. They have their share of influ
ence in poUtics and literature. Neander, the great church his
torian, was a Jew. Many other distinguished professors in the
German universities are Jews. Marshal Soult was a Jew ; so was
Massena (originally Manasseh). Count Amira of Prussia belongs
to the same nation. Some of the great musical composers and
singers are Hebrews, or descendants of Hebrews, mingled, perhaps,
with German or Slavonian blood. Among these, Rossini, Meyer
beer, and Mendelsohn, are well known. Pasta and Grisi are
among " the sweet singers" of the modern Israel. The Herschels,
we presume, are of Jewish descent ; and the D 'Israelis, father and
son, distinguished in literature and politics, boast their Hebrew
origin. But before us roll the waters of the Jordan, which we will cross
at the place where the pilgriras, some of thera from distant lands,
are accustoraed to bathe, in raeraory of our Savior's baptism. Of
this interesting locality, the following animated description is given
by Lewis Koeppen, a German traveler :
" Though the heat was overpowering, we quickened our course,
and in an hour and a half reached the ruinous monastery of St.
John, situated on the upper banks of the Jordan, due east of
Jericho. This large and wealthy convent was built before the
sixth century, in commemoration of the place where, according to
tradition, our Savior was baptized by St. John. Thousands of
pilgriras, through the course of the Middle Ages, repaired to the
hallowed spot, and bathed in the Jordan. The convent was then
inhabited by Greek Kalogeri. It withstood aU the storms and
vicissitudes of the crusading wars, but was bm-ned and demolished

436 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

by the Mamelukes in the fifteenth century, and now only a few
reUcs of the outer walls are standing on the high brink overiooking
the lower valley of the river. We here descended some thirty or
forty feet to the outer bank, covered with straggling poplars, wU-
lows, tamarisks, and the fragrant rishrash, or vitex agnus castus,
more and more condensing as we approached the river, and at
last forraing a thick and almost impenetrable wood on its margin,
where we dismounted. This lower border of the river, according to
the observations of Professor Russegger, lies 1269 Paris feet below
the level of the Mediterranean ; and here the Latin pUgrims cele
brate their mass and bathe on the Tuesday of the Holy Week,
whUe the Greeks and Armenians move further down toward the
Dead Sea.
" The Jordan has here a breadth of from eighty to one hundred
feet. Its depth was said to be twelve feet, and the nearest ford
Ues four mUes north above Jericho. The current was sUent but
rapid, and fiUed the immediate banks to the very brim. In order
to facilitate and secure the access to the river, the nearest trees
had been felled, and the trunks laid across, fonning a causeway
wbich proved dangerous to pass on horseback, but was commodious
for the pilgrims, who might thus fearlessly approach to the edge
of the stream.
" I felt singularly pleased on finding myself so suddenly reposing
in the shade of a tine thick-set forest of high-grown, magnificent
trees, of the most refreshing verdure, whose boughs projected far
over the river, or bathed in its waters, while I formerly had sup
posed, according to the relations of Chateaubriand, and other trav
elers, that the banks of the Jordan were either sandy and bare,
or beset only with reeds and copse. Still the days of Josephus
are no more, when beautiful groves of palm-trees ' covered the
banks of the holy river, and were the more luxuriant and frugif-
erous the nearer they grew to the water.' All the palm-groves
are now vanished ; they have suffered the same fate with the cities
of the plain, having been thrown down and destroyed during the
wars, or neglected during thc long abandonment of this unhappy
region to the roving and lawless tribes of the desert. In the whole
wide plain, only one single palm-tree rears its melancholy crown
over the miserable huts of the modem Jericho.
" The grove consists of poplars, tamarisks, and many fine south
ern trees, which were unknown to me. Creepers, swinging from
one tree to another, formed a dense hedo-e along the river-side,
above which, at the distance of five miles, rose the violet mount
ains of El Bolka. This wood-scenery, skirting the borders of the
Jordan all along the Ghor, was a remarkable feature, particularly

PALESTINE AND AEABIA. 437

interesting to our American friends, as it reminded them of the
still more extensive and impenetrable forests on the banks of their
native rivers. The picturesque nerium oleander, by tbe Arabs
called dejie, with its rosy flowers embellishing all the valleys and
water-courses of the Lebanon, we sought for in vain, though
other travelers have seen it higher up the river, toward the Lake
of Tiberias. The heavy showers of the preceding days had occa
sioned a transient overflowing of the river, which was still visible
by the deep loamy mud covering the dike and the lower parts of
the adjoining wood. Through this .we waded cautiously to the
edge of the stream, and filled our leather buckets in the river. It
had a yeUow, clayish color, and did not seem very inviting ; but
the water was cool and exceedingly refreshing after the sufferings
of the day. Our company now dispersed in the wood, and sev
eral pilgriras went deeper into the thicket, to bathe in the river.
" When Joshua, at the time of harvest, led the army of the
Hebrews across the Jordan, the river was full to its banks, such
as we found it now. Whether the passsage of the Israelites took
place four or five mUes higher up at the ford, as some authors
have supposed, or at this spot, " right against Jericho," as the
Scriptures say, does not diminish the deep interest which the
wanderer needs must take near the spot celebrated by an event of
so great importance in reraote antiquity. The Christian tradition
has transferred the baptism of our Savior to this place, though
John the Evangelist says that " it was done at Bethabara, beyond
Jordan, where John was baptizing." From the earliest times of
Christianity, therefore, it bas been visited by the pUgrims, and
in the seventh century a church was built, and the twelve stones
erected, fom- raUes frora the river, toward Jericho, on the ruins of
the ancient Gilgal, where the Israelites, after their passage, pitched
their carap in the land of Canaan."
We have not tirae to stay long by the Dead Sea, which we have
reached, interesting as it is, both in itself, and in its associations.
How lone and desolate it appears, yet how grand and imposing,
surrounded by huge and time-scarred rocks, and possessing a
glooray sublimity, from its solitude and depth ! Here and there,
on its bosom, float large masses of bitumen. Its waters are salt
and brackish, and of great buoyancy. On the shores are found,
in particular places, masses of salt; and in one spot among the
rocks, a hio-h pyramidal column of this material, white and daz
zling, which some call the pillar of Lot's wife. The region around is
scathed and scarred, and one can easify conceive that it must have
been the scene of tremendous geological convulsions. Where now
is the Vale of Siddim, if not submerged beneath these deep, dark

438 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

waves?'* Where are the cities of the plain? and where theur
guilty and deluded inhabitants ? The wandering Bedoum may be
seen occasionally prowUng among the rocks ; but even he dreads
the place, as one of calamity and fear.

ARABIA .
But we must pass on. The " waste, howling wilderness" ia
before us, dry and scorching, the scene of silence and desolation
that can be felt.
We are traveling through the Wady Mousa, which runs south
ward, as if it had anciently been the channel of the Jordan, barren
and dreary ; the hot sun pouring upon us by day, and the calm,
briUiant night of the Orient wrapping us in its gorgeous beauty by
night. The camel, appropriately styled " the ship of the desert,"
with attendant Arabs, are our guides through regions which,
though barren, seem to be their natural home. Both seem made
expressly for the desert ; the descendant of Ishmael, as well as his
patient, ever-faithful camel, being the proper tenants of these sandy
climes. The camels are the special gift of .God to Arabia. The
poor creatures are capable of great endurance, and find sustenance
on the rough and scanty herbage growing here and there amid
the rooks and sands.
After visiting Petra, the singular and once beautiful capital of
Idumea, or Edom, hewn in lofty walls, pillars, and parapets from
the solid rock, but now, in strict conformity with the predictions of
the prophet, a lonely ruin, we turn westward, and after crossing
the Red Sea, pass into the heart of that unchanging desert, which
lies between Egypt and the Red Sea, in which -wandered of old
* This is decisively Confirmed by the testimony of Captain Lynch, of the
United States Exploring Expedition to the Eiver Jordan and the Dead Sea.
" The inference from the Bible, that this enth-e chasm was a plain sunk and
' overwhelmed by the wrath of God, seems to be sustained by the extraordi
nary character of our soundings. The bottom of the sea consists of two
submerged plains, an elevated and a depressed one ; the last averaging
thirteen, the former about thirteen hundred, feet below the surface. Tlirough
the northern, and largest, and deepest one, in a line corresponding with the
bed of the Jordan, is a ravine, which again seems to correspond with the
Wady el-Jeib, or ravine witliin a ravine, at the south end of the sea. * *
-* ¦* AU our observations have impressed us forcibly with the conviction,
that the mountains are older than the sea." — " Expedition," pp. 378-380.

PALESTINE AND AEABIA.

439

Anibiau Scene.

. PALESTINE AND AEABIA. 441

.the children of Israel. After passing under the frowning sum-
,mits of Sinai, which rise, in desolate grandeur, in the depths of
the wilderness, we turn once more to the north, and after travel
ing slowly for several days, find ourselves in the holiest of all the
cities of the Mohammedans, the " sun-bright Mecca," with its in
numerable pilgrims, of almost every nation, character, and cos
tume, its ancient, though by no means beautiful or imposing Kaaba,
or sacred shrine, inclosing a black stone, the great object of Mo
hammedan devotion. The Kaaba, or Holy House, which occu
pies the center of a more recently constructed temple, lays claim
to an antiquity superior to that even of Islamism itself. It is
probably spoken of by Diodorus Siculus, as held in superior sanc
tity by all Arabians. In the second century Maximus Tyrius
attributes to the Arabs the worship of a stone ; and this, if not
identical with, is yet analogous to the " black stone" of Mecca, the
worship of which, as Gibbon reraarks, is deeply tainted with its
idolatrous origin. The Kaaba, which was all but rebuUt in 1627,
after having suffered severe injury frora fire, is an oblong, massive
structure, eighteen paces in length, fourteen in breadth, and
from thirty-five to forty feet in bight, its door being encased with
sUver, and adorned with gold ornaments. At the northeast cor
ner, near the door, is the celebrated " Black Stone," obligingly
brought by the angel Gabriel as his contribution to the buUding,
forming part of a sharp angle of the structure, four or five feet
from the ground. It is oval-shaped, seven inches in diameter, of
a dark-brown color, somewhat resembling lava, and Surrounded
by a border of cement and sUver, to prevent its being worn away
by the kisses and touches of innumerable pilgrims. It is supposed
by scientific men to be one of those meteoric stones, coraposed
chiefly of nickel and earthy matter, whioh have fallen in various
parts of the world. Around the building runs a broad marble
pavement. The four sides of the Kaaba are covered with a cur
tain of embroidered black sUk stuffs, called the Kesona, annuaUy
brought from Cairo, at the time of the great pilgrimage, and re
newed with some preposterous and not very decorous ceremonies.
The Holy Fountain of Zem-zem, clairaed by the Arabians to be
the same as that found by Hagar in tbe wilderness, which sup
plies the city with water for drinking and ablution, its use for
other purposes being forbidden, is inclosed in a substantial stone
building, witii marble basins for ablution, and a room appropriated
for pilgrims, v/ho come hither in crowds to drink its mystic, soul-
saving waters.
Leaming, science, and religion, they say, once. flourished in this
sacred city, but it is now more peculiarly distinguished than any
19-*

442 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

other Arabian town for ignorance, intemperance, and irreligion.
While the people are well versed in the precepts of the Koran,
a,nd ape the manners of the early Mohammedans, they indulge m
levity and vice. In this respect " the holy city" is most unholy;
and nothing more strikingly demonstrates the decline of Moham
medan greatness. The Arabians, though preserving wonderfully
their ancient manners, and evincing some noble traits, like our
American Indians, are, generally speaking, a degraded people.
Their ancient glory has passed away. Once the most learned as
well as victorious nation in the world, commanding the commerce
of the East, and renowned for their accompUshments and virtues,
they have fallen into ignorance and imbecility. The Arabs of the
towns, however, differ essentiaUy from the Arabs of the wilder
ness. The latter are said to be tbe only true descendants of Ish
mael, and, in all ages, have preserved their native independence.
They occupy the desert, in whose boundless wastes they love to
roam, " their hand against every man, and every man's hand
against them." They preserve the patriarchal form of govem
ment of chiefs, simUar to that which prevailed in the days of
Abraham and Ishmael. Their wealth consists in their horses and
camels ; we may add, perhaps, their wives, for the latter are rather
slaves than companions,- every where being " hewers of wood and
drawers of water" to their hege lords.
The genuine Bedouin Arab has a stately port, especially on
horseback, though excessively lank and grim, -with sallow com
plexion, dark eyes, and long hair. The older chiefs, with their
white hair and flowing beards, are quite venerable in their appear
ance, and command the universal respect of their followers. They
live in tents, despising the ease and indolence of cities. Generous
and courtly in their manners, tbey are yet cruel and even malig
nant in their resentments. A single word of implied or expressed
conterapt, from friend or foe, is often followed by a deadly blow.
Family feuds are kept up with steady vengeance. According to
the Koran (Chap. II. p. 20), whoever sheds blood owes blood to
the famUy of the slain. A commutation, however, may be made.
If this be not accepted, retaliation is then allowed to the injmed
famUy. But as this usually exceeds the offense, new cause of
hatred and revenge is given, till a single murder, perhaps, " puts
blood," in Arabian phrase, between families forever. A slighting
expression or sarcasm, however, is sufficient to put blood between
two famUies, and give rise to a long series of revengeful acts.
Niebuhr relates that a noble Arab being asked scofRngly if he
were the father of the handsome wife of a person named, con
strued the question into a sneer upon his daughter's virtue.

PALESTINE AND AEABIA. 443

Being unarmed at the moment, the offender escaped; and the
father spent years in vainly pursuing him, during which, however,
he kUled both the parents and many relations of the scoffer, bis
slaves, bis cattle, and reduced him to the verge of beggary. The
offence was at last commuted by an enormous fine.
Robbery is regarded by the Arab as a legitimate and honorable
business, as marauding and " cattle lifting" (steaUng) used to be by
the Highlanders of Scotland. Tbe territory he regards as his own,
and every thing on it, or which comes on it, as his lawful prey.
His robberies are seldom attended with violence, except in the
case of forcible resistance. It is " tribute," simply, he is after,
and if that is paid all is well. If the right is recognized, and a
bargain duly made, the permission which he then gives to pass
through his territory is never violated ; strict faith being one of
the best, as deadly revenge is one of the worst traits in his char
acter. HospitaUty is one of the chief virtues of the Arabians. This
once given, the welfare of his guest becomes his own. He will
divide with him his last piece of bread, his last bowl of mUk ; nay,
he wUl expose himself to danger and death for the protection of
his guest or friend.
Respect to parents, reverence for the aged, kindness to the
poor, are common -virtues among the Arabs ; but hatred of ene
mies, the love of plunder, and of " bucksheesh" (gift-money), es
pecially among the Bedouins, excessive superstition, and contempt
for women, are equaUy comraon.
The Arabian is grave in his demeanor, but lively in his imagi
nation. His language is animated and picturesque. He is fond
of poetry and song. One of the chief amusements is listening to
the recitations or songs of wandering bards, usually in praise of
some popular hero, accompanied with the Nebaba, a sort of guitar.
Love odes, resembling those of the ancient Provenqals or Trouba
dours, are in every mouth. Dancing is reckoned disgraceful to a
man, but a woman piques herself on her skill in this " light" art,
and trips it off, on the "fantastic toe," with araazing agility. The
people generally are fond of public meetings, weddings, and other
occasions of a similar character. Man-iages and circumcisions
(Mohammedan christenings, if the term may be allowed) are occa
sions of festivity. In the desert the latter ceremony is so arranged
that all who have families may perform it at the same time, so
that it becomes a season of general rejoicing.
The inhabitants of the towns and more agricultural districts of
Arabia differ considerably from the Bedouins. Some of them are
wealthy, and even inteUigent. The mass of the people are less

444 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

-virtuous tban tne. occupants of the desert. The cultivated spots
of Arabia, which is generally rocky, the green oases of the desert,
with their wells and palm-trees, and the productive regions of the
south, are very fertile and beautiful, 'the whole population is
supposed to amount to about twelve milUons ; but the nomadic
habits of most of the people raake it difficult to estimate their real
number. Without reckoning the Bedouin tribes, the number of
which can hardly be ascertained, the settled parts of Arabia are
divided into a great many independent governments. The Sultan
of Turkey and the Pasha of Egypt exert a controlUng influence
in the country. , The holy cities are nominally under the protec
tion of the Porte, but the Hedjaz and the desert of Sinai belong
to Egypt. Mosques and school-houses are coramon in all the
settled parts of the country, but no promion is made for the edu
cation of females.
Owing to its position, the commerce of Arabia is very consid
erable. It is one, however, chiefly of transit. The pilgrimages
are made subservient to purposes of trade. With the exception
of coffee, and a few other articles of inferior consequence, Arabia
has little to export. Great quantities of commodities, however,
from foreign countries are brought to Djedda, Mecca, Muscat, the
great centers of Arabian trade, partly by caravans, but chiefly by
ships, and there sold to the pilgrims and merchants, and by them
distributed, by sea or land, as the case may be. The slave-trade
is carried on with considerable energy, particularly in Yemen and
Muscat. Greek and Syrian female slaves are found for sale in
the bazars. Emancipation, however, is quite common, and great
numbers, especially of Abyssinian slaves, are incorporated in the
famUies of the Arabs. Free or emancipated Africans, or their
descendants, are also comraon in Arabia, though they have lost
nearly all their distinctive features, particularly the woolly hair
and thick lips, the dark color and the peculiar form of the head
indicating their origin. Slaves are considered part of the family,
and may be appointed to posts of honor and trust. They are
educated with the other chUdren, from whom they are distin
guished only by a littie different treatment, and the performance
of some menial ofiSces.

PEESIA.

445

CHAPTER XXXIL

PERSIA.

Uuins ol Nniowli.
Passing ovcr to Suez, at the upper extremity of the Red Sea,
we will join the caravan, on the overland route to India, taking
Pereia on our way. But before entering this ancient country, we
will spend a short time at Mosul, on the banks of the Tigris, to
look at the explorations of Mr. Layard, on the site of Nineveh,

446 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

the once extensive and gorgeous capital of the Assyrian Empire.
In the book of Jonah, Nineveh is spoken of as " an exceeding great
city of three days' journey," to which the ruins exposed by Mr.
Layard precisely correspond. It is despribed as having been
eighteen miles long, and twelve broad, and sixty miles in circum
ference. Twenty miles is a day's journey in the East, so tbat the
exact measurement is given by'Jonah. According to Diodorus
Siculus the walls of Nineveh were one hundred feet high, and so
thick that three chariots might be driven abreast on them. On
the wall rose fifteen hundred towers, each two hundred feet in
hight. These walls were built of sun-dried brick, or of a rampart
of clay encased with stone. They were built in eight years, by
140,000 men. The population of the city in the time of the
prophet Jonah is supposed to have been about 600,000. The
kingdom of which it was the capital, occupying the center of the
Eastern world, was rich and powerful. But it was idolatrous and
¦vicious ; and Nineveh, the seat of power and splendor, fell under
the curse of the Almighty. Hence, according to the prophet, it
was to be utterly destroyed, " a desolation, and dry like the wU
derness." " And flocks shall Ue down in the midst of her, all the
beasts of the nations, both the cormorant and the bittern, shall
lodge in the upper lintels of it ; their voice shall sing in the win
dows ; desolation shall be in tbe thresholds ; for he shall uncover
the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly,
that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me : how is
she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in !" AU
this has been literally fulfilled. Nineveh was destroyed in the
year 606 before Christ^ess than one hundred and fifty years
after Rome was founded. Twenty-five centuries has she been
desolate — a mere heap of rubbish — almost forgotten except by
the reader of the prophecies. Mounds of earth and rubbish cov
ered her magnificent palaces and temples. Wild beasts roamed
above ber sunken haUs, and birds sang in trees which grew above
her fretted windows and carved lintels. The camel of the Oriental
traveler rested above the spot where her proud kings once sat
upon thrones of ivory and gold, the glory and renown of which lay
biu-ied under the dust of ages. M. Botta, and especially Mr.
Layard, assisted in his researches by tbe British government, have
at last exposed to the light of day the stupendous relics of this
gorgeous city ; and every thing thus far discovered confirms the
prophetic statements. Part of the city was to be consumed by
fire, according to the prophecy of Nabum : " The fire shall devour
thy bars— then shaU the fire devour thee." The explorations at
Khorasabad accordingly have turned up various objects, glazed

PEESIA. 447
and charred by the action of fire. Ancient writers inform us, that
when the proud and luxurious Sardanapalus, the last king of As
syria, found that there was no hope of victory over the besieging
armies which pressed upon his capital, that, gathering all his
wealth, his wife, and concubines, into a vast pile of timber, cover
ing four acres, he lay down hiraself in the place prepared for him,
and was consumed by fire, leaving nothing but the crumbUng re
mains, exposed, in the nineteenth century, to the examination of
the curious.
Among the objects discovered are slabs and monuments cov
ered with cuneiform characters ; figures in basso -rehevo, some of
which are engaged in battie, others carrying -victuals for a banquet ;
a king standing over a prostrate warrior ; gigantic marble statues
of winged creatures ; beings representing the gods of the seasons,
bearing in their hands appropriate emblems ; a figure, having a
human body, with wings, and the head of an eagle or other raven
ous bird ; a huge Uon, splendidly sculptured, with wings and a
human head ; a king and his attendants, with bracelets, armlets,
and weapons, on which are sculptured the heads of bulls and
rams ; figures carrying presents or offerings on trays, such as
armlets, bracelets, ear-rings, and so forth ; a figure accompanied
by two monkeys held with ropes, representing the captives of a
distant conquered nation bringing presents to their conquerors ; a
human-headed, winged bull of yellow limestone ; sixteen small
copper lions, of different sizes, diminishing in regular series, from
a foot in length to about an inch ; with various other figures, rep
resenting castles, towers, battles, warriors, prisoners, lion hunts,
as also symbols of power, wisdom, and eternity. More recent, ex
plorations have brought to light other wonders, such as the ar
chives of the Assyrian Empire, sculptured on marble tablets, with
many rare and curious objects, throwing light upon the character
and history of the Assyrians. .
These immense winged, human-headed and lion-headed animals
were connected with the temples, and represented symbolically
the attributes of the divinities adored by the Assyrians. " I used
to contemplate for hours," says Mr. Layard, "these mysterious
emblems, and muse over their intent and history. What more
noble forras could have ushered the people into the teraple of
their gods ? What more sublime images could have been bor
rowed from nature, by raen who sought, unaided by the light of
revealed religion, to embody their conception of the wisdom,
power, and ubiquity of a Supreme Being ? They could find no
better type of intellect and knowledge than the head of man ; of
strength, than the body of the lion ; of rapidity of motion, than

448 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.-

the wings of the bird. These winged, human-headed lions, wera
not idle creations, the offspring of mere fancy ; their meaning was
written upon them\ They had awed and instructed races which
flourished three thousand years ago. Through- the portals which
they guarded, kings, priests, and warriors had borne sacrifices to
their altars, long before the wisdom of the East had penetrated to
Greece, and had fumished its mythology with symbols long re
cognized by the Assyrian votaries. They may have been buried,
and their existence may have been unknown, before the founda
tion of the eternal city. For twenty-five centuries they had been
hidden from the eyes of man, and they now stood forth once
more in their ancient majesty. But how changed was the scene
around thera ! The luxury and civilization of a mighty nation had
given place \o the wretchedness and ignorance of a few half-bar
barous tribes. The wealth of temples and the riches of great
cities had been succeeded by ruins and shapeless heaps of earth.
Above the spacious hall in whioh they stood, the plough had
passed, and the corn now waved." — Layard' s Nineveh, Vol. i.
pp. 69, 70.
Doubtless these mystic and imposing figures represented the
abstract qualities of might and wisdom, but whether they pointed
to one Supreme Divinity, or to many divinities, is a matter of con
jecture. If the former, their true import was lost as early as the
days of the Hebrew prophets, who represent the Assyrians as
the most inveterate idolaters. Various monuments on the Assy
rian sculpture, even now, prove that they adored the sun, moon,
and stars. If they had any just conception of a Supreme Divin
ity, he was probably regarded only as the first among many, the
Jupiter of the Assyrian mythology. The sun was the principal
object of worship, originally as the symbol of the Supreme Jeho
vah, but subsequently "in and for itself," as the Baal, Bel, or
Belus, whence the Greek term Apollo, or the sun-god. The mag
nificent bull-god, less appropriate and beautiful than the sun, or
the Apollo of later times, was probably the symbol of divine
power; but the symbol itself, doubtless, took the place in the
worship of the people, as the calf did in Israelitish idolatry, of
the true and eternal Divinity. " These be thy gods," said Aaron
— " thy Elohim," or God — " these be thy God [symbols of thy
God), 0 Israel." In all the tombs and temples of Nineveh are
sculptured representations and inscriptions of these divinities —
the chambers of idolatrous imagery, seen by Ezekiel in his pro
phetic visions.
But we are wandering from our purpose, and we must ha.sten
in our journey to the "far orient." The long mountain ranges of

PEESIA.

44»

Persia, or rather Iran, as the natives uniformly call it, with ita
vast arid plains, and, in some of its districts, rose-covered fields,
receive us — a country in parts barren and repulsive, in others fer
tile and fair. Like Turkey, Persia is distinguished for the re
mains of ancient splendor, the ruins of large and beautiful cities,
like tbat of PersepoUs, for some tirae the capital of Persia, and
the residence of her ancient monarchs. Though possessing somo

Persian Costume.
fine reo-ions, Persia is far from being the fertile and beautiful
country which it is generally supposed to be. For, except in the
wooded parts, which bear but a sraall proportion to the rest of the
country, its appearance is dreary in the extreme, and lacks alraost
evei-y thing which gives beauty to* an English or American land-

450 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Boape. " It has no green or grassy slopes, no parks nor inclosures,
no hedges nor woods, no magnificent seats, or comfortable-looking
cottages, and, excepting in spring, even the portions cultivated
round the vUlages can hardly be distinguished from the brown,
arid expanse that every where raeets and fatigues the eye of the
traveler. And if the reader will further figure to himself towns
and viUages, consisting mostly of mud houses, partly in a state of
decay, and many of them wholly deserted ; roads, if we may so
call wretched paths, wholly impracticable for carriages, and un
safe even for horsemen ; property insecure, and tyranny and
rapine every where lords of the ascendant ; he will be able to form
a pretty accurate notion of the state of this celebrated country."
— Fraser's Persia.
Persia bas some trade with India, Turkey, Russia, England, &c., in
6ug:ii-, cashmere shawls, silk, iron, lead, copper, precious stones, (fee.
The government is an mimitigated, but ever-changing despot
ism. The throne is about as insecure as every thing else in the
country. The inhabitants, amounting to ten or twelve miUions,
cbiefly Persians, arc of many races, Turks, Arabians, Turcomans,
Moguls, Uzbecks, &c. The governors of the different districts,
and the chiefs of petty tribes, are rapacious and cunning, though
frequently courteous and polished in their manners. They affect
state and cereraony, love fine clothes, and indulge in considerable
parade and display. In general the Persians are an active, hand
sorae race, of Uvely imagination, and quick apprehension. They
are not destitute of bravery, though their success in arras has de
pended, as araong the Turks and Arabians, upon the character
and resources of their leaders. The population is either nomadic
or settled, with characteristics peculiar to each. The wandering
tribes are wUd and rapacious, the settled inhabitants active, versa
tUe, selfish, and cunning. The towns-people, the Sheherees, as
they are called, are a mingled race of all those who have ever
conquered or had intercourse with Persia, grafted on the original
stock, Turks, Tartars, Georgians, and Armenians. One remarka
ble class of court dependents are the royal Gholaums, or body-
guards) the confidential and devoted guardians of the monarch's
person, whence the name Gholaum, or slave. Usually they are
either Georgian captives, or the sons of respectable families. They
are eraployed in secret and confidential services, and are rauch
dreaded by the people, being sei-vile, sensual, and domineering.
The nobles of the court are great intriguers, being forced to dis
semble their feelings, and accomplish their objects by treachery.
The ministers of state are selected from the Meezars, or men of bus'i-
ness, and though less arrogant than the former, are equaUy venal.

PEESIA. 451
The Persians are Mohammedans of the sect called Schiites, or
Sheahs, or of those who look upon AU, the son-in-law of Moham
med, as his legitimate successor. They believe in a different
apostolical succession from that of the 'turks, and consequently
both look upon each other as schismatics and errorists. The
priesthood consists of various orders. They are very numerous
and cormpt. Soofeism, another word for sophism, or phUosophy,
a speculative and modified form of reUgion, founded upon the an
cient pantheism of India, prevails to some extent. It is either
entirely speculative, and thence skeptical, or mystical, and thence
fanatical. The former is only a sort of refined Deism, without
energy or Ufe, speaking of the Koran with respect, as a book of
good morals ; the other is a rehgious quietism, or enthusiastic
aspiration after the mysteries of divine love, but without laymg
any stress upon rules or dogmas.
The religion of ancient Persia, modified by Zoroaster, or Zer-
dusht, which acknowledges in the universe two antagonistical
principles, Ught and darkness, tbe good and the bad, and wor
ships fire, beat, and light, still lingers to some extent in this
country. Fire-worshipers are yet found here and there, but Soofe
ism, a sort of rationaUstic mysticism, is Ukely to destroy all tbe
otber forms of belief, and prepare the way, we hope, for some
higher and better system of religion.
In former times the Persians paid much attention to education
and literature. They had many schools and colleges, and some
of their literary men becarae quite distinguished. Even now sorae
attention is paid to literary pursuits. 'Ibe schools, however, are
poor, and the literature of the country raeager and superficial.
In the sciences they are infinitely behind the Europeans. In
poetry, and the lighter forms of literature, they have made some
progress. Imaginative and passionate, they abound in lyrics of
very considerable beauty. In this department, indeed, they excel
all the nations of the East, and possess some poets whose fame
has extended beyond the boundaries of their native land. The
names of Ferdousi and Saadi are not unknown even in Europe.
In the mystical and lyrical strain, Hafez is particularly distin
guished. His mortal reraains rest near the city of Shiraz, whose
praises he bas celebrated, not far from the tomb of Saadi, the
moral and didactic poet of Persia, and near his favorite stream,
the Roknabad. The tomb is in a small inclosure, whither the
people of the place resort to sit under the shade of tbe old
cypresses, recite the odes of their favorite bard, and draw omens
from the pages of his works.
A people fond of Uterature in its gentler aspects, cannot be

452 THE WOELD "WB LIVE IN.

altogether degraded. They must possess some elevation and re
finement of character. Tlus is the case with the Persians, who,
under more favorable auspices, might become one of the most
interesting people in the world. At present, however, they have
only some virtues, with many vices ; some knowledge and refine
ment, with much ignorance and superstition. They are active,
and even enterprising, and yet fond of luxury and ease. " The
same person who with the calcan in his mouth would appear to
pass the day in a state of stupor, when roused into action, and
mounted on his horse, will ride for nights and days without inter
mission. They are immoderately fond of tobacco and strong
drink. The females are luxurious and languishing. They disfig
ure their natural charms by painting their faces, and sometimes
also by tattooing their skins of various colors, while constant
smoking spoils their teeth and mouths. They are secluded from
observation, and in public are so dressed as to show nothing but
their sparkling eyes. The Persian is restricted to four wives, but
concubinage is permitted to any extent. But few, except the
more wealthy, can indulge the expense which a multiplication of
wives or concubines involves. Marriages are celebrated with great
splendor, and often at ruinous expense. Children are taught to
obey their superiors, and revere the aged, one of the most beau
tiful traits of Oriental character. They ' rise up at the hoary
bead, and honor the face of the old man.' "
Before leaving Persia, we must not forget the Nestorians, occu
pying the mountains of Kurdistan, partly under the dominion of
the Turkish, and partly under that of the Persian government.
They call themselves Syrian, or Chaldean Christians, because
they use the ancient Syrian in their religious service. They also .
possess the New Testament in this language, translated, they
maintain, from the original, as early as the second century. On
this ground they claim to be the most ancient of the sects, dating
back their conversion to Christianity to apostolic times, and to
the labors of the Apostle Thomas. Church historians, however,
tell us that this ancient sect was formed in the fifth century, by
the union of the adherents of Nestorius, who had been excommu
nicated on account of refusing to caU the Virgin Mary the Mother
of God, and to give up the doctrine of two natures m Christ,
though this very doctrine was subsequcntiv received into the
creed of " the Orthodox Catholic Church." "in the fifth century
the Nestorians established their ecclesiastical constitution under
the protection of the kings of Persia. The other Christians in
Persia jomed them in 499, and they gained many adherents m
Eastern Asia, where the Christians of St. Thomas also joined

PEESIA. 453

them. In thc eleventh centui-y they gained an important acces
sion in the conversion of the Tartar tribes, whose Christian ruler
is known in history under the name of Prester John, who re
mained attached to Christianity and the Nestorian faith after hav
ing been reduced by Ghengis Khan under the dominion of the
Moguls. UntU the wars of Timour, in the fourteenth century,
there existed also in Central and Northeastem Asia, Nestorian
communities. The Nestorians are supposed to have carried Christianity as far
as China, and in early times manifested much religious and mis
sionary zeal. In the western part of China, three thousand miles
from Nestoria, a piUar has been discovered, some 1200 years old,
covered with Syriac inscriptions, commemorating the triumphs of
Christianity in China, through the labors of tbe Nestorian mission
aries who had -visited that country. This noble missionary spirit
continued to burn in the heart of this interesting people for centu
ries, until the triumph of Mohammedanism, by presenting the
alternative of the Koran or death, graduaUy reduced the millions
of Nestorians to the feeble remnant which now exists, consisting
of some 300,000 to 400,000 souls. They have church edifices a
thousand years old, and are governed by hereditary patriarchs,
with bishops and priests ; and though greatly fallen from their
primitive purity, and indulging in many superstitious notions, they
maintain the great truths of Christianity, and are a noble, simple-
hearted race.
Under the labors of American missionaries, a vast and delight
ful change has taken place among the Nestorian churches. A
pure gospel has been revived, and many of their priests, recon
verted, are preaching, with much eloquence and success, the sim
ple truths of Christianity. They are fine-looking men, with a
Jewish cast of countenance, black hair, and dark eyes. The
preachers are said to have an Oriental, figurative style of preaching,
which is quite effective among their countrymen. Their influence
in Asia must eventually be productive of great good, in the con
version and reformation of the people.
Some imagine these Nestorians to be descendants of the lost
tribes of Israel ; but of this, the evidence is by no means satisfac
tory, though their blood, as in the case of raany Orientals, may be
mingled with that of the Jewish race. They have suffered se
verely from the domination of petty chiefs, and, a few years ago,
were almost decimated by a bloody massacre. Their prospects,
however, are now more bright and cheering.
But we must leave these interesting scenes, and journey east
ward. We shall be compelled to leave Beloochistan on the one

454 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN,

side, and Affghanistan on the other, and pass immediately into the
country of the Hindoos, where the lineaments of character, national
usages, and forms of religion, are all of tbe most fixed and striking
character. The Affghans, indeed, lately subdued, under the power
of the British government in India, which really controls all this
part of the world, are quite an interesting race of people ; wild
and savage, but possessing great energy of character ; violent and
revengeful, as such people usually are, but, like the North Ameri
can Indians, brave, hospitable, and even generous, within certain
limits. AU persons, even a man's bitterest enemy, is safe under
the protection of an Affghan's roof ; but this protection extends
not beyond the lands of the vUlage, or, at most, of the tribe ; and
it is not uncommon for the stranger, who has benefited by it, and
experienced tbe kindest treMment, to be robbed and plundered,
when once beyond its influence. " There is no point in the Aff-
ghan character," says Mr. Elphinstone, who has written adrairably
on the kingdom of Cabul, and some of thc neighboring countries,
" of whioh it is more difficult to get a clear idea, than the mixture
of sympathy and indifference, of generosity and rapacity,. which is
observable in tbeir conduct to strangers. So much more do they
attend to granting favors than to respecting rights, that the same
Affglian who would plunder a traveler of his cloak, if he had one,
would give him a cloak if he had none." In this, and several
other particulars, tbey resemble tbe Arabs. They consist of an
aggregation of tribes, some decidedly nomadic, and others more
settled and civiUzed, with considerable diversity of customs, dress,
and appearance. Generally, they are Mohammedans, of the Soo-
nee persuasion, full of superstition, believing in alchemy, astrology,
magic, and so forth. Tbey are intermixed, however, with Par-
sees, Hindoos, and Christians, whom they call " people of the
book," as deriving their tenets from a written source, whichthey
themselves respect, as Mohammedans, instead of being pagans, as
the Hindoos. Soofeism, or free-thinking, is prevailing araong the
higher classes. Notwithstanding their superstition, tolerance is a
national virtue, and tbe country presents an interesting field fo)
missionary labor.

INDIA. 455

CHAPTER XXXIII.
INDIA .
The central and most important of the three peninsulas of the
Asiatic continent, is India, a region of great extent and untold re
sources, alraost touching the equator on the south, and on the
north rising into snowy peaks, which pierce the heavens, at an
altitude ranging from 15,000 to 27,000 feet, and passing through
a cUmate -varying from tropical heat to Arctic cold ; now present
ing vast wastes of barren sand, then fertUe regions of exuberant
beauty, with large tracts of jungle and forest, haunts of the hyena,
the tiger, and tbe elephant. The Himalayas, or " Seats of Snow,"
the grandest mountain range in the world, on the north, and the
Ghauts, smaller, but equally beautiful, further south, are tbe
sources of its principal streams, the most noted of which is the
sacred Ganges. The name of Punjaub, or " Land of Streams,"
which the natives apply to a small portion of Northern Hindostan,
may be regarded as descriptive of one-half of the peninsula. The
valley of the Ganges is " the most extensive and luxuriant on the
face of the globe," being 400,000 square miles in extent ; the
greater part of it susceptible of cultivation, and abounding in the
diversified productions of Oriental climes. In the more southem
regions, the heat is intolerable. In the north, and especially araong
the mountains, the cUmate is cool and in-vigorating. Excepting
sorae high table-lands, and the mountain ranges, Southem India is
level, consisting of immense areas of arid sand and dense jungle,
with occasional rocks rising from the plain to the bight of a hun
dred or two hundred feet, " like icebergs in the northern seas."
Upon these rocky summits, pagan temples are occasionally erected.
Of seasons, there are only two in India — the one hot and dry,
the other rainy, produced by the periodical winds called monsoons.
The rain faUs in torrents for a few weeks, often producing the most
violent inundations. Spring, autumn, winter, it has none. Sum
mer pervades the year, the vegetation springing up and blossom
ing every month. The heat is so intense, that nature appears
as if it had lost breath ; birds sometimes drop dead in tbe
streets of Calcutta ; travelers pass the day in tents, journeying
onl}' by moonlight or starlight. In such a country, vegetation is
rank and powerful ; all things, and human beings araong the rest,
arrive quickly at maturity. Disease and death, especially among
foreigners, is rapid and frequent. Insects, annoying, destmctive,
and poisonous, evei-y where abound, lurking under the mats, and

456 TIIE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

often creeping into the beds. Ants (the white species), innumer
able and powerful, though comparatively small, eat up every thing
upon which they lay their teeth — clothes, food, books, paper, and
furniture. Nothing but stone, iron, or mortar will arrest then-
progress. Moving, like an army, just beneath the surface, they
carry every thing before thera. Cobra-capellos lurk araong the
trees and bushes. Fireflies illuraine the night. They glitter
araong the boughs of the banyan-tree, or dance around the spread
ing tamarind, produoing-.,a peculiar but pleasing effect.
In India, the rhinoceros and the elephant are numerous, the latter
being yerj large, and, when duly tamed, quite serviceable. Some
times, thougli not of late years as rauch as formerly, they are
used in hunting the tiger and other wUd animals ; but the sport is
dangerous. Though a mild and timid animal naturally, the ele
phant, when aroused, exhibits tremendous energy. He receives
the tiger on his tusks, tosses him into the air, and tramples him
under foot. The cheeta, or Indian panther, is often used in hunting
antelopes, and so forth, much as greyhounds are used in Europe in
hunting hares.
Buff'aloes and cows are common in this country. The Indian
bull, or Brahrainee bull, is a sacred animal, mild and gentle, but
troublesome, being a genuine loafer, lounging about the markets
and bazars, and eating up whatever suits his fancy. To kiU such
an animal is an unpardonable offence. The most agile and daring
of all the wild animals of India is the Bengal tiger — large, elastic,
beautiful, and fierce, bounding upon its prey, with tremendous
energy, a distance, it is said, of a hundred feet and more. Snakes
and monkeys every where abound. Indeed, India may be said to
be the natural home of the monkey tribe. Among other things,
advantageous to the propagation of these creatures, is the fact,
tbat they arc sacred animals. Gorgeous temples have been erected
to their honor, one of which, in the island of Ceylon, when plun
dered by the Portuguese, contained an ape's tooth, encased in
pure gold ! In Ahmenabad, are three hospitals for monkeys !
Much of the scenery of India, of course, is repulsive, but large
portions are of gorgeous beauty. The majestic teak, the graceful
bamboo, and other varieties of palms ; the gorgeous banyan, or In
dian fig-tree ; the beautiful babul-tree, whose flowers emit a de
lightful fragrance, with innumerable flowering shrubs and other
plants of tropical splendor, give an air of richness and magnificence
to the landscape. Green grass, of com-se, is burned up by the
intense heat. A European soon becomes tired of the monoto
nous brUUancy of the scene. The heat of the sun is oppressive and
exhausting, and one longs for the coolness and freshness of north-

INDIA. 457
em climes, where the beauty of the landscape, less gorgeous and
striking, is more natural and agreeable. Among the Ghauts of
India, however, and in some of the high table-lands in their
vicinity, the scenery is more Uke that of Europe, and thither
foreigners often repair to invigorate their languid frames, amid the
coolness and verdure of the mountains. In one of these mountain
ranges there is an immense waterfall, having a depth'of 1150 feet
. — four times deeper than Niagara. In the warmer and more level
regions, artificial tanks, filled with water, are universal. The fan
and .the bath are in constant and daily use. The houses are con
structed of Ught materials ; if possible, on elevated spots, or where
they can catch the sea-breeze, with open windows and verandas,
which woo the wandering zephyr.
The population of India is estimated at 150,000,000, divided
mto numerous tribes, speaking different languages, and using dif
ferent customs. Of these, the native Hindoos number about
138,000,000, who, though differing araong themselves in appear
ance, manners, and even language, profess the same religion. The
Mohammedans, descended from those who, in former times, invaded
the country from the west, number about 10,000,000. Tbey are
said to be cold, bigoted, and repulsive. Their mosques, with
beautiful and aspiring minarets, are to be seen throughout the
leading cities and towns of the country. Superior to the Hindoos
in energy, they thrive by craft and industry. A third class of
Indian population is composed of the mixed descendants of Euro
peans and natives, sometimes called Indo Britains, or Eurasians,
said to be indolent and fond of show, but improving in character and
condition. They are scattered over the country, to the nuraber of
400,000 or 600,000. The foreign residents amount to sorae 50,000.
India is under the doraination of Great Britain, as already stated.
Its conquest is one of the most stupendous events of the age. The
British never employed^a larger force than 37,000 European troops,
while the native Hindoo ranks have sometimes numbered over
250,000, paid by the former. With this they have subdued mil
Uons, and secured a temtoi-y equal in extent to the whole of
Europe, exclusive of Russia. " Who, then," asks a Swedish
writer, in surprise, '" is the conqueror, who the i-uler, of this ira
mense empire, over which the sun extends so gloriously his glitter
ing rays, tbat has risen on the continent of Asia as if by enchant
ment, and now emulates in greatness that of Alexander, Nadir
Shah, or Tamerlane ? Why, on a littie island in another part of
the world, in a narrow street, where the rays of the sun are seldom
able to penetrate the thick smoke, a company of peaceable mer
chants meet — these are the conquerors of India — these the des-
20

458 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

potic rulers of this splendid empire." Doubtless, much wrong haa
been done, in the progress of this vast conquest. Intrigue and
oppression have been too often resorted to ; and blood, innocent
blood, perhaps, has flowed in torrents. But the country was ripe
for revolution. The old despots of India had grown sensual and
luxurious, oppressive and cruel. The whole land groaned, and,
indeed, yet groans, under the slavery of caste. Woman was de
graded, and religion was one huge, overshadowing despotism of
the soul. The rajahs, or petty chiefs, and great men of the coun
try, were tyrants as well as slaves ; and tbe common people, those
especiaUy of the lowest class, were degraded by vice. A loath
some licentiousness in religion and in social life pervaded all ranks
of society. It is well that such an organization, hoary with age
and iniquity, should be dashed to pieces ; well, that a new and
more powerful element of civilization should be introduced, to re
suscitate and reforra society. The Hindoos themselves admit that
they are now better governed than they ever were before. Life
and property are safe. Caste is giving way. Infanticide and
widow-burning are abolished. Above all, Christianity is intro
duced, and thousands of the Hindoos have been converted. Brah-
minism, with its vast and horrid superstitions, is on the wane.
Many who have not yet embraced Christianity have abandoned
their idolatry, and are inquiring for the truth. Churches have
¦been formed ; and in Calcutta, not less than 1200 young men, in
a single seminary (Dr. Duff's), are receiving a European and
Christian education.
India is governed by a commission ; and though the rajahs of
some of the provinces seem to be independent, and affect the air
of free sovereigns, they are all under the control of British power.
There are in India quite a number of wild and savage tribes, at
once degraded and superstitious, among whom human sacrifices
are yet practised.
The Bengal Hurkaru mentions a government act to suppress
human sacrifices in the hill tracts of Orissa, and tiien gives a
shocking account of the raanner in which the victims are pro
cured and slaughtered. Surely "tiie dark places of the earth
are full of the habitations of cruelty."
The wild hiU-tribes appear to exhibit the remnants of three abo
riginal races— the Koles, the Kliunds, and the Saurabs. The
Koles prevail chiefly in the northern parts, the Khunds in the
middle region, and the Saurabs in the south.
Now, it is among the Khunds, the largest and most numerous
of these races, that tbe horrid practice of human sacrifices was
found so widely and systematically to prevaU. It is to propitiate

INDIA. 459
the earth-god — the greatest of the Khund deities — that the san
guinary rite is performed. It is considered necessary that " every
farm should share the blood of a human victim at the time when
each of the principal crops is laid down, while a harvest oblation
is deemed scarcely less necessary than a spring sacrifice ; and it is
considered in the last degree desirable that several offerings, ac
cording to the promise of the year, should intervene betwixt them."
Besides these regular periodical offerings, there are others con
stantiy demanded by special events and circumstances. The
prevalence of unusual sickness, the visitation of an epidemic, the
ravages of wild beasts, droughts, famines, or, in a word, an ex
traordinary calamity of any kind, whether affecting individuals or
the community at large — all, all are believed to call for public ex
piation or atonement with human blood, to avert the supposed
wrath of that dread deity, the earth-god.
From the fluctuating variety of circumstances that may lead to
the performance of these bloody sacrifices, it is plainly impossible
to form a precise estimate of their annual average. In one small
vaUey, two mUes long, and less than three-quarters of a mUe in
breadth, Captain McPherson reports that he " discovered seven
victims, whose immolation was temporarily prevented by the vicin
ity of tbe British troops, but it was to take place immediately after
their departure." One thing, therefore, is very certain, and that
is, that the number annually sacrificed must amount to many hun
dreds, and probably even to thousands ; opening up a spectacle of
barbarism, in the very heart of the Indo-British dominions, which
no humane spirit can contemplate without a thrill of horror.
The unhappy victims are known, in the Khund language, under
the designation of " Merias." They do not, as Captain McPherson
ascertained, consist of native Khunds, but are provided by a class
of Hindoo procurers, called Panwas, who purchase them, without
difficulty, upon false pretences, or kidnap them from the poorer
classes of Hindoos in the low country, either to the order of the
Abbayas, or Khund priests, or upon speculation. When conveyed
to the mountains, their price is determined by the demand, varying
at from fifty to a hundred lives — i. e., of sheep, cows, fowls, pigs,
&c. A few are always, if possible, kept in reserve in each district,
to meet sudden demands for atonement. Victims of either sex are
equally acceptable to the earth-god — chUdren, whose age pre
cludes a knowledge of their situation, being, for convenience sake,
preferred. From the moment the victim is bought, he is regarded
as a consecrated being, and treated with all imaginable respect, till
the fated hour for immolation arrives.
The ceremonies observed on the occasion of a sacrifice are com-

460 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

plicated, and extend over three days, accorapanied with drinking,
feasting, music, dancing, and obscene riot. We can only refer to
the termination of the tragic scene. In the neighborhood of each
village or hamlet there is a clump of deep and shadowy forest-
trees, kept sacred from the axe, and studiously avoided by the
Khund, as haunted ground : this is the chosen place for the sacri
fice — this is the Meria grove. The particular spot of the grove
being selected, the victim is, on the third day, conducted to it.
As he " must not suffer bonds, nor, on the other hand, exhibit any
show of resistance, the bones of his arms, and, if necessary, those of
his legs, are now broken in several places. The priest, assisted by
others, then takes the branch of a green tree, which is cleft at a
distance of several feet down the center. They insert the Meria
within the rift, fitting it, in some districts, to his chest, in others
to his throat. Cords are next twisted round the open extremity
of the stake, which the priest, aided by his assistants, strives with
his whole force to close. All preparations being now concluded,
about noon the priest gives the signal, by slightly wounding the
victira with his axe. Instantly the promiscuous crowd, that ere-
while had issued forth with stunning shouts and pealing music,
rush with maddening fury upon the sacrifice. Wildly exclaiming,
' We bought you Avith a price, and no sin rests on us !' they tear
his flesh in pieces from the bones ! And thus the horrid rite is
consummated ! Each man then bears away his bloody shreds to his
fields, and from thence returns straight home. For three days
after the sacrifice, the inhabitants of the vUlagewhich afforded it
remain dumb, communicating with each other only by signs, and
remaining unvisited by strangers. At the end of this period, a
buffalo is slaughtered at the place of sacrifice, when all tongues
are loosened."
Dr. Sutton, of the Orissa mission, stated, when in this country,
that over 600 young persons, mostly kidnapped children, had been
rescued from the Khunds by the British government.
Every one has heard of the Thugs, a race of reUgious murder
ers in India. They are called Thugs, or Deceivers, and Phansi-
gars, or Stranglers. They are bound together by the ties of su
perstition. Tbe profession is hereditary, and it is supposed that
not less tban ten thousand of the order are trained to murder from
their childhood. They go in gangs of ten to forty, and even two
hundred, each gang a dift'erent route, and meet at a general place
of rendezvous to divide their plunder. A soUtary traveler is sure
to be strangled, but their highest game is a wealthy caravan of
forty or fifty individuals. Here is the way in which they accom
plish their purposes :

INDIA. 461
Upon approaching a town, or serai, two or three, known as the
toothaes, or " inveiglers," are sent in advance, to ascertain if any
travelers are there ; to learn, if possible, the amount of money or
merchandise they carry with them, their hours of starting in the
morning, or any other particulars that may be of use. If they
can, they enter into conversation with them, pretend to be travel
ing to the same place, and propose, for mutual security, to travel
with thera. This inteUigence is duly communicated to the reraain
der of the gang. The place usually chosen for the raurder is sorae
lonely part of the road in the vicinity of a jungle, and the time,
just before dusk. At given signals, understood only by them
selves, the scouts o the party station themselves in the front, in
the rear, and on each side, to guard against surprise. A stran
gler and assistant strangler, called Bburtote and Sharashea, place
themselves, the one on the right, and the other on the left of the vic
tim, witbout exciting bis suspicion. At another signal the noose
is twisted, drawn tightly by a strong hand at each extremity, and
the traveler, in a few seconds, hurried into eternity. Ten, twelve,
twenty, and, in some instances, sixty peihsons, have been thus dis
patched at the same moment. Should any victim, by a rare
chance, escape their hands, he falls into those of the scouts, who
are stationed within hearing, who run upon him, and soon over
power him.
There is a kind of river Thugs, called Pungoos. They go up
and down the rivers in all sorts of disguises, and keep their "in
veiglers" out on the watch in all directions. The captain of the
boat is a Thug, who, at the proper time, strikes oft' into the mid
dle of the stream, gives three raps on deck as the signal for raur
der, when the noose is thrown, and the strangled victim is plunged
into the water through a hole alwaj's kept open for the purpose.
There are regular steps of proraotion in the fraternitj' of Thugs.
Tbe initiate is first a scout, then a sexton, then a holder of hands,
and lastly a strangler, the hight of the disciple's ambition. The
Gooroo, or preceptor, first practises his pupil upon a soUtary trav
eler, presenting him the holy knot, or tied handkerchief, as he
stands over tbe sleeping victim, by the side of a holder of hands.
The traveler awakes only to be strangled by the experimenting
preceptor, for the benefit of the initiate. The following is the
legend upon which the Thugs found the origin of their bloody
fraternity :
They believe that, in the earliest ages of the world, a gigantic
demon infested the earth, and devoured mankind as soon as they
were created. He was of so tall a stature, that, when he strode
through the most unfathomable depths of the great sea, the waves.

462 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

even in tempest, could not reach above his middle. His insatiable
appetite for human flesh almost unpeopled the world, until Bha-
wanee, Kalee, or Davee, the goddess of the Thugs, determined to
save mankind by the destruction of the monster. Nerving herself
for the enpounter, she armed herself with an immense sword, and,
meeting with the demon, she ran him through the body. His
blood flowed in torrents as he fell dead at her feet ; but from every
drop there sprang up another monster, as rapacious and as ter
rible as the first. Again the goddess upraised her massive sword,
and hewed down the hellish brood by hundreds ; but the more
she slew, the more numerous they became. Every drop of their
blood generated a demon ; and, although the goddess endeavored
to lap up the blood ere it sprang into life, they increased upon her
so rapidly, that the labor of kilUng became too great for endurance.
The perspiration rolled down her arms in large drops, and she was
compelled to think of some other mode of exterminating them.
In this emergency, she created two men out of the perspiration of
her body, to whom she confided the holy task of delivering the
earth from the monsters. To each of the raen she gave a hand
kerchief, and showed them how to kUl without shedding blood.
From her they learned to tie the fatal noose ; and they became,
under her tuition, such expert stranglers, that, in a very short
space of time, the race of deraons became extinct.
The Megpunnas are a peculiar branch of the Thugs. They
murder travelers, not for their money, but for their chUdren, whom
they sell into slavery. They go about taking their wives and
chUdren with them as " inveiglers," who are sent in advance for
this purpose. The children of those murdered are, if beautiful,
sold at Delhi for the most loathsome ends, and, if iU-favored, for
servants. The government has been at work since 1826 to extirpate these
monsters, but it has not yet succeeded. During the first ten
years, 1562 were accused, of whom 328 were hanged, 999 trans
ported, and the rest imprisoned for life or terms of years. It is
calculated that, even now, notwithstanding these effort's of govern
ment, at least ten thousand Thugs are yet engaged in murders,
and that thirty thousand persons annuaUy become their victims.
In addition to the classes of persons already naraed, one meets
in India with Arabs, " the horse-jockeys of the country, shrewd,
daring, and unscrupulous ;" Parsees, or fire-worshipers, descend
ants of the original inhabitants of Persia; Chinese adventur
ers, iniporters, merchants, and peddlers ; and, at the southern
extremity of the country, Jews, who for centuries have main
tained the unity of God, and the peculiar customs of their

INDIA. 463

race, amid thc universal prevalence of idolatry. These last are
divided into ancient, or black, and modern, or white, Jews. There
ure also some Syrian Christians in this part of India, converts,
probably, of the ancient Nestorians.
Several hundred missionaries, of various denominations, are
laboring, with marked success, in India. Thousands have been
converted to the Christian faith, which is destined to a rapid and
universal triumph in this interesting country.
The Hindoos, to whom we propose principally to direct our at
tention, are of different races, mostly Caucasian or Mongolian, and
thence differing somewhat in personal appearance, though possess
ing some leading traits in common. Their complexion is of differ
ent shades, from a jet black to a light brown ; their forras slender
and elastic — upon tbe whole, especially in the females, graceful, as
well as agile ; the face oval, with a forehead of ordinary hight, but
not lofty or commanding ; the eyes soft, lustrous, and languid,
eyebrows well foimed, nose and mouth of tiie Caucasian cast, and
the hair long, black, and wiry, though not inclined to curl. The
expression is soft and agreeable, with a dash of selfishness and
craft, indicating the universal and deep-rooted hypocrisy which
prevaUs araong them. They are inferior, in strength and appear
ance, to the European race, having longer and projecting ears, a
greater softness of fiber, and less frankness of demeanor. But
their fiery cUmate and long degradation account for their inferiority.
The women of tbe higher classes are said to be somewhat beau
tiful, with graceful forms, hair long and fine, e5'es dark and ex
pressive, and skins soft and polished. The women of the lower
classes are degraded in form and character, by rough usage and
menial service.
Corpulency is not unfrequent, produced by the free use of ghee
and other oily articles of food, rotundity being considered a beauty
by the natives.
Idany of the coramon people, particiUarly the Coolies and palan
quin bearers, are remarkable for. their agility and power of endur
ance. They are only inferior to horses, in the rapidity with which
tbey pass ovcr the ground. What they want in strength, tliey
make up by nurabers and perseverance. GeneraUy, however, the
Hindoos arc an easy, pliant, drearay race, who love rest and rev-
ery. Their forras are slender — their energies languid. Thoy
yield readily to superior force and authority ; hence their easy
subjection by a foreign power. Life, in any forra, is sacred to
the Hindoos, so that they live exclusively upon vegetables, fruits,
&c. Their faces are all marked, more or less, in lines and circles, with

464 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

a paste raade of sandal-wood and cow's raanure, to indicate that
they are disciples of Brahminism. The direction of the lines dis
tinguishes them as Vishnuvites or Sivites, the two great sects into
whioh the popular faith is divided. This is sacredly renewed
every morning, as its absence would subject thera to the contempt
and persecution of their counti-ymen. Converts to Christianity, of
course, abandon the practice, so that Christians are instantly known
by the absence of the sacred raark. Females put it on their fore
head, while the fakeers and other pagan devotees " besmear their
whole visible person with the whitened dust."
The dress of the Hindoos, suitable to the, cUmate, is not inele
gant. I.'lie raen are dressed in a loose piece of white cloth, wound,
without any kind of buttons or bandages, close about the waist,
and falUng below the knee, -with a second of finer material thrown
across the shoulders. The hair is shaved close, with a tuft at the
rear of the head, the removal of which is regarded as a pecuUarly
shameful act. The common people leave the head bare, but the
higher classes wear a turban. Sandals turning up at the toes, and
open at the heel, are worn to protect the feet. The toes are kept
exposed, on account of their utUity, the Hindoo using them about
as rauch as his fingers, and, indeed, caUing them feet fingers. With
these he assists his hand fingers in cutting, carving, holding,
wrenching, and so forth ! Gentleraen wear ornaments of finger-
rings, ear-drops, a band about the arms, and, after marriage, a
smaU band around the toe.
The ladies of Hindostan wear a more showy and graceful dress
than the men, consisting of various pieces, the principal of which
falls in elegant folds around the body. It is simple and becoming,
often of rich materials, and set off with jewels. " Upon each
wrist are bracelets of sUver, conch-shell, or glass, called bangles,
numbering from five to twenty. Pendents of gold, of less valu
able material, are suspended from the ear to the . shoulder, and
hooks through the nose reach to the chin. Bands of sUver, of
rauch weight, encircle the arms and ankles. On two or more of
the toes is a sUver ring, one of which emits a tinkling sound when
the wearer is walking. Around the neck are hung strings of large
beads, of coral or glass, with collars set with small gems and pre
cious stones. Married ladies wear about the neck the tarM, which
is either a band of gold richly chased, or a silk network entwined
witii silver cord. This is put on at the bridal ceremony, and is
not reraoved till the husband's death. The long black hair, neatly
combed, and raade glossy with oil, is rolled up in a tasteful raan
ner, and placed a Uttie in the rear of the left ear. The face is
daily covered with a solution of saffron in water, which produces

INDIA.

465

the effect of concealing the lady's age. The eyelashes are ex
tended by means of a Uttie paint, and the teeth reddened by a
masticatory common in the country. An India lady's jewels are
called " hep joys," and large sums are annually expended by hus-
. bands and fathers in their purchase.*
ChUdren have but the sUghtest clothing till their fifth or si^th
year, though often decorated with jewels. Thosetemptthe cupidity
of robbers, who sometimes mutilate the bodies of sleeping females
and chUdren to gain possession of these valuable trinkets. But
an Indian female would rather be destitute of virtue than of oraa- '¦
ments.

CHAPTER XXXIV.
INDIA, CONTINUED.
In this chapter, we will continue our account of the Hindoos,,,
and add some notices of India beyond the. Ganges.
The Hindoos are by no means a barbarous people. In anciejit ,
times especially, they made considerable progress in the artsj aad, \
in some departments of science, mingled, indeed, with much ex-;
travagance and superstition. Many of their sages were familiar
with arithmetic, geometry, and even algebra. T'hey indulged in
subtle and elaborate speculations on the nature of thin.o-s, though
constantly losing theraselves in the abyss of pantheism. Their
religion, indeed, is founded upon this idea. They recognize the
unity and identity of the universe ; but not distinguishing God
from his works, they deify the whole. Hence, to them the uni
verse, external as well as intemal, is God, and worthy, therefore,
of supreme worship. Their primal and universal deity is Brahm,
who is simply being or essence, without inteUigence, will, love,
consciousness, or purpose. The term is in the neuter gender, in
dicating the negative raode of his existence, and to be distinguished
from Brahma, the first god of the Hindoo triad. He is thus, Uke
the god of Hegel and the German pantheists, a boundless abstrac
tion, an infinite negative — that is, an infinite nothing!
* Ward.20*

466

THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Missiondrj Preat-liing to the Natives.

From Brahm come the incarnations of Brahma, Vishnu, and
Siva, the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer of all.
The generation, Ilistory, productions, and exploits of these dei
ties, are represented by the most extravagant, and even Ucentious
symbols, allegories, and fables. Brahma is the creator, and is
usually represented as a man with four faces, riding on a swan,
and holding- in one of his four hands a portion of the Vedas, or
sacred books ; one is raised, as if for protection, and another de
cUned, as bestowing a gift. He is reputed originally to have had
five heads, one of which has been lost ; in what waj', his biogra
phers differ in opinion. At any rate, it was a cause of degra
dation. He bas but one temple in the land, and is little wor
shiped. Vishnu is figured as a blue raan, riding on a skate, holding in
his hands a war-club, conch-shells, a weapon called chakra, and a

INDIA. 467
water-lUy. He is the pervader and preserver, and has had sev
eral incarnations, as for example, those of a fish, a tortoise, a boar,
a man-monster, a dwarf, a giant, a white horse, &c., in which ca
pacities he performed wonderful exploits, sorae of which are gro
tesque enough, and by no raeans virtuous. Siva is the destroyer,
and appeal's as a silver-colored man, with five heads, and eight
hands, in six of which are severally a skull and other objects. In
his forehead is a third eye, with " perpendicular corners," ear-rings
of snakes, and a collar of skulls. Siva drowns and remodels the
earth, being reproducer as Avell as destroyer. One form in which
Siva is worshiped is as the lingum, a licentious figure, exposed to
public view the country over ! Siva, in this besotted land, is a great
favorite, having many worshipers. One of his consorts is the
sanguinary Kalee, greatly feared, and worshiped with obscene
and bloody rites. Kalee is the very demon of vengeance, and is
represented with horrid aspect, standing with one foot upon the
chest of her husband, whom she has thrown down in a fit of
ancjer, her blood-covered tonfjue banwinar out of her niouth,
adorned with skulls, and the hands of her enemies suspended
from her girdle. The blood of a tiger delights her for ten years,
of a human being for one thousand years. She loves to see her
votaries hack and hew their persons ; their blood is a pleasant
offering. She is the especial friend of thieves and murderers, who
invoke her aid in deeds of violence. The swinging festival, in
which a devotee is swung round upon a pole, from ivhicb he hangs
suspended by the skin of his back, is intended to propitiate her
favor. Of course she is pleased with infanticide, " passing through
the fire," and death under the cars of Juggernaut. No deity in
India is more sedulously and more generally worshiped than this
Moloch of the Hindoo faith.
As Brahmnism is founded upon pantheism, all things become
objects of worship. The Hindoo Triad has given origin to innu
merable gods. They are numbered by milUons and millions ; in
deed, they raay be said to be infinite. Men and raonkeys, the
priests and tiie temples, the sun, moon, and ^tars, the earth, the
rivers, the sea, the winds, the seasons, the rainbow, all are gods.
The banyan-tree, the margosa, and other trees and herbs are
favorite deities. The Shalagrama, a black schistous stone, is wor
shiped as a god. The Hindoos say that one of the Avives of their
god Vishnu was metamorphosed into a plant, and that Vishnu to
show his affection for her, himself took tiie form of tiie black
stone, in order to keep by her side. From that time they have
worshiped the Shalagrama.
Few usages of the Hindoo worship are better known than the

463 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

worship of Juggernaut, the hideous idol under whose feet the
Hindo devotee formerly cast himself, and was crushed to death.
This, as well as the Suttee, or buming of widows on the funeral
pUe of their husbands, has been suppressed by the government ;
but the festival itself is still kept up.
The literature of the Hindoos corresponds to a great extent, to
their religious system and usages. Their sacred books are very
numerous, and not only so, but excessively voluminous, giving, as
Sir WUliam Jones suggests, the idea of immensity. The princi
pal are the Veds, Puranas, and Institutes of Menu. The first, ac
cording to the Hindoos, issued directly from the mouth of Brah
ma, at the time of creation, in an entire state, and spread all over
the world by his ten sons, the rishis or prophets. They are four —
Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Athurwana, containing accounts of astron
omy, astrology, natural philosophy, divination, history of creation,
religious and moral duties, hymns to the Suprerae Being, to the
sun, stars, elements ; rites, fasts, purifications, penances, pilgrim
ages, sacrifices, prayers, incantations. They were probably writ
ten at different times, but collected and arranged by the famous
penitent Vyasa, in the fourteenth century B. C. They are written
in an ancient form of Sanscrit, which is understood only by the
raore learned of the Brahmins. They are forbidden to any caste
but the Brahmins, who, however, may read them, with certain
precautions to the Kshatriyas, the second caste.
Then there are Upa- Veds, or secondary Veds, derived from the
four original Veds. They treat of tbe theory and practice of medi
cine, music, archery, architecture, and sixty-four mechanical ai-ts.
The Vedangas, or bodies of learning, treating of grammar, astron
omy, mathematics, signification of difBcult words in the Veds,
ceremonies, &c. The Puranas, eighteen in nuraber, were written, .
it is supposed, between the eighth and sixteenth centuries, A. D.,
in Sanscrit, but few are translated into the vernacular languages,
and those that are, are in the high poetic dialect. They treat of
cosmogony, chronology, geography, astronoray, history and ex
ploits of the gods,,goddesses, heroes, &c., nature of the soul, and
raethod of obtaining salvation. They are the chief source whence
the Hindoos derive their notions of religion.
The Institutes of Menu, a work of high authority, contain a
code of laws founded on tbe Veds, and are supposed to • have
been written in the ninth century B. C. There are also the Aga-
mas, Tantras, and Muntras, highly raetaphysical works. Thew
are also the Ramayana and Maliabharat, the two great c]assica\
^pics of India, believed to be of divine origin. The forraer re
counts the exploits of Vishnu, incarnate in the person of Rama,

INDIA. 469
who invaded Ceylon with his army of monkeys ; the latter those
of Vishnu in the form of Krishna. The four Veds form eleven
folio volumes. Ramayana contains 100,000 stanzas, of four lines
each, Mahabharat four times that number, and the Puranas two
mUlions of lines.
The following is a brief abstract of their system of geography
and astronoray. There are three worlds — heaven above, earth be
low, and ether between. The number of worlds, however, is
commonlyput at fourteen — seven inferior, or below our world, and
seven superior, including our own as the first. This is described
to be circular or flat, like the flower of the water-lily, in which
the petals project beyond each other. The habitable part con
sists of seven circular islands, or continents, each surrounded by a
different ocean. The seven seas are those of salt ivater, sugar
cane juice, wine, ghee, curds, milk, and fresh water. Beyond this
last ocean is an uninhabited country of pure gold, more extensive
than all the islands, with their oceans, and surrounded by a wall
of very bigh mountains. The central island, which we inhabit,
called Jambu-divipa, is several hundred thousand mUes in diame
ter, and the surrounding sea is of the sarae breadth. The second
is double tbe diaraeter of the first, and so the sea. Each of the
others is double the diaraeter of the preceding. The diaraeter of
the earth is several hundred thousand miUions of mUes, more than
the distance between tbe earth and the sun. In the center of
Jamba-dwip is Mount Meru (Himalaya), in the form of an in
verted pyramid, the highest of mountains, several hundred thou
sand miles high. " Its hight is 84,000 yojanas,* and its depth
16,000 below the surface of the earth. Its diameter at the sum
mit is 32,000 yojanas, and at its base 16,000." Its summit is
surmounted by three cones, and on the highest of these are three
golden peaks, on wbich reside the Hindoo Triad. At the base
are four lofty hills, on each of which grows a mango-tree, several
thousand raUes high, and bearing fruit ftiany hundred cubits large.
The second superior world lies between us and the sun, which is
said to be only a few hundred thousand miles. The third is the
space between the sun and the polar star. In this are the stars
and planets. The moon is placed beyond the sun as far as the
^un is from tbe earth. Next come the stars Mercury, Venus,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Ursa-Major, and the Pole-star, which is

* A yojana is 8 iniles. Diameter of Meru then is 128,000 mile.') at the
base. Hight 672,000— three times the distance of the moon from the
<arth.

470 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

27,000,000 mUes from the earth. The remaining four worlds
beyond the Pole-star rise one above the other. In the seventh,
or highest, is the residence of Brahma.
Besides the seven planets known from the remotest antiqm"ty,
there are two invisible dragons, Raku and Kethu, which by seiz
ing and devouring the sun and raoon, produce eclipses.
The most ancient division of the ecliptic was into 28, afterward
27 parts, similar to the lunar mansions of the Arabs, each 13°
20', to each of which was assigned its proper deity. Afterward
the zodiac and ecUptic were divided into signs and degrees the
sarae as ours.
The year of the Hindoos is 365 days, 15 of their hours, 31
minutes, 14 seconds. Day, reckoned from sunrise to sunrise, con
tains 60 hours, and divided into 8 parts of 1\ hours each. Brah
mins are acquainted with the sun-dial, and iise it for drawing
meridians, fixing the sites of pagodas, and learning the latitude of
towns by a comparison of the length of the shadow -with the
hight of the instrument on the day of the equinox.
Eclipses are calculated with tolerable accuracy, according to
tables and rules fornied at a very remote period, and which evi
dently required a kno-wledge of geometi-y and arithmetic.
The following is a view of their Chronology. There are four
yugs or ages : the first was the age of innocence or truth, and
embraces 1,728,000 years; the second, 1,296,000; the third,
864,000 ; and the last, 432,000. These are the golden, sUver,
brazen, and iron ages. We live in the last, or Kaii-y-ag, age of
misery. A great age, Maha-yug, is equal to these four — ¦
4,320,000 of mortals. A solar year is equivalent to a day and
night of the gods : 360 such days and nights, or 360 solar years,
constitute a "year of the gods;" 12,000 years of the gods form
"an age of the gods," or "divine age," or "great age," which is
equal to 4,320,000 of men. Seventy-one Maha-yugs constitute a
period called Manwantara, during which one Menu, with his pos
terity of sons and grandsons, ruled the earth. There are fourteen
Menus, and fourteen Manwantaras. These fourteen Manwantaras
are equal to 1000 Maha-yugs, or one Kalpa, or 4,320,000,000
solar years. This is the day of Brahma.
The Hindoos have many works not only on Astronomy, Natural
Philosophy, Geography, and Law, but on Grammar, Poetry, Music,
Medicine, Arithmetic, &c., chiefly in the Sanscrit. Their arithmeti
cal operations are nuraerous, ingenious, and difficult. Units are
divided into a great number of fractions ; the raost coraraon of which
are into 100 parts, and those differ according to the things num
bered. Thus there are fractions for money, weight, measures, <fec.

INDIA. 471
These sciences were cultivated by the Brahmins ages ago. But
the learning of the modern Hindoos is very limited. The astron
omy of the ancients has degenerated into astrology, and is con
fined almost exclusively to thc calculation of eclipses, while some
of the sciences formerly cultivated are now forgotten.
Though the knowledge of the Sanscrit, and of the sciences con
tained in it, has been' raostiy confined to the Brahmins, there have
been men of learning from the lower castes. Most of the learned
men of the Tamil and Teloogoo people have been of the Soodra
caste. The history of the Hindoos is lost in the mists of antiquity.
Their own annals, and especially their chronology, as may be
seen at a glance, are false and fabulous. The Sanscrit, one of the
most perfect languages in existence, has long ceased to be spoken,
though retained in their sacred literature. It is probably the pa
rent of their" various tongues, not less thau eighteen of which are
in use in thc different parts of the peninsula. Sir WilUam Jones
speaks of the Sanscrit as " of wonderful structure, more perfect
than Greek, more copious than Latin, and more exquisitely per
fect than either," in which opinion Oriental scholars generally
agree. This fact indicates the high cultivation of ancient India,
the mother of nations, of languages, of philosophy, and religion.
The present races which people Hindostan, must be vastly de
generated. The Hindoos are divided into four castes, or classes, who have
no coramunication with each other, and remain fixed in immovable
forras, a classification based, upon their religion, and intertwined
with it as warp and woof.
The first are the Brahmins, the priests and teachers of the
people, who claim to have sprung from the head of Brahma ; the
next are the Kshatiras, including all engaged in civil and mUitary
affairs, who sprang from the arm of Brahma ; the third are tbe
Veeshas, who sprang from the thighs, and v/hose business is to
provide the necessaries of life, as farmers, merchants, &c., whilst
the fourth, and last, are the Soodras, the offspring of Brahma's
feet, including those engaged in servile pursuits.
In addition to these, there are the Pariahs, or Pariars, the out
casts of Hindostan, with whom even the Soodras disdain to have
the reraotest intercourse. They are the refuse of society, and
doomed to destruction.
These castes will neitiier eat, drink, nor sleep together. They
regard the touch of one belonging to an inferior caste as contami
nation. They will not sit on the same place, or use the same
thmo-. " I once saw a high caste Hmdoo," says one, " dash an

472 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

earthen jar of mUk upon the ground, and break it to atoms, merely
because the shadow of a Pariah had fallen upon it as he passed."
If they were dying they would lend each other no assistance.
They would not give one dying of hunger or thirst a crust of
bread or a cup of water !
Woman in India is degraded into the condition of a slave. The
birth of a daughter is regarded as a calamity. The supreme duty of
woman, according to the Shastres, is absolute obedience — first to
her father, then to ber husband, and in old age, to her sons!
She bas no choice as to her marriage. She is not to mention her
husband's name ; not to eat with him at table ; not to be seen
walking with him ; not to be inquired after by guests ; and never
to be taught even the rudiraents of knowledge. Handsorae women
do not know the letters of the alphabet. "A woman," say their
sacred books, " is not allowed to go out of the house without the
consent of her husband ; nor to laugh witbout a vail over- her
face ; nor to stand at the door ; nor to look out at the window.
She is like a heifer on the plain, that still longs for fresh grass.
Envy, deceit, infidelity, violence, and viciousness are all hers.
She was made for servitude to her husband. She has no fitness
for bis equal companionship."
The Brahrains are excessively proud, and deraand from their
followers divine worship. Some of them are acute and leamed in
their way, but the majority spend their tirae in dreamy indolence.
The Hindoos believe in the transmigration of souls, which the
Brahmins sedulously teach. It is related that a Hindoo, of a re
flecting mind,, lay upon bis death-bed. As he saw himself about
to plunge into the dread abyss, he cried out, " Wbat wUl become
of me ?" " Oh," said a Brahmin, " you will inhabit another body."
"And where," said he, " shaU I go then?" "Into another,"
was the reply. "And where then?" "Into another, and an
other, and thus on through millions of years." Darting along this
immense period, as if it were only an instant, he cried, "And
where shall I go then ?" But there was no reply ; and the poor
heathen died with the inquiry upon his lips.
A spirit of skepticism and of inquiry begins to pervade the Hin
doo raind. Some have abandoned the chief peculiarities of the
Brahrainic faith, and others have become Christians. " Ah ! this
is what I want," cried one of them, throwing away his Shastres,
as he listened to the Gospel. God speed the day when the
power of caste shall be broken forever, and a pure faith cheer the
heart and guide the steps of raan and woraan, " walking together,"
as equals and companions, in the paths of holiness and peace.
But we must bid adieu to Hindostan, and crossing the Bay of

INDIA. 473
Bengal, enter the mouth of the Irrawaddy and ascend through
the long and fertile valley in which lie Burmah, the scene of the
labors of Judson, Boardman, and other heroic men and women,
and the country of the Karens, a priraitive people, who are turn
ing by hundreds to the Christian faith, and thence among the hiU
tribes, from which we wUl cross to the valley of the Brahmapootra,
in which lies Assam, one of the most beautiful regions in this part of
the world, encircled, particularly on the north, by hills, and occu
pied by an interesting race of Hindoos, many of whom have been
converted to Christianity. Most of these countries is, either in
w-hole or in part,' under the control of the British government.
The Burmans, however, are yet, to some extent, independent.
They are followers of Buddh, or Gaudama, and are exceedingly
proud and bigoted. Their governraent is a despotism, and their
reUgion a system of infidelity, which denies a supreme and eternal
God, and leads to nigban, or annihilation, as the last hope of the
weary soul.
All have heard of the labors and heroic sacrifices of Mr. Judson,
in the golden Ava, and other parts of the Burman Erapire. Long
years he labored successfully in this interesting field, translated
the whole Bible into the Burman tongue, and had nearly com
pleted a dictionary of the langu-age, when he closed his labors at
sea, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health, and was
buried in the depths of the ocean. His noble and heroic wife,
the first Mrs. Judson, sleeps on the banks of the Salwen, under
the shadow of the hopia-tree.

474 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTEE XXY.

Except Russia, China is the most extensive empire in the world ;
in population, however, far outnumbering Russia and even Hin
dostan. It stretches from the eighteenth to the fifty-second parallel
of latitude, and from the one hundred and forty.third to the seven
tieth meridian of longitude ; its boundaries are those of nature only,
having- on the north a frontier of 3000 miles, on the Pacific one of
2000, and stretching to the north and west beyond Persia to a
limit as yet unknown. The entire coast-line of China is 3350 mUes,
and the circuit of its domains 12, ,550. It comprises about one-
third of the continent of Asia, and nearly one-tenth of the habit
able part of the globe.
The name China is to be traced probably to Tsin, or Chin, the
chieftain of a family which gained complete sway previous to the
period of the Christian era. The country and its inhabitants are
known to the Malays, Hindoos, and other Asiatic nations only by
the name of Tin, Chin, Sin, Sinoe, — whence we find it in Isa. xUx.
12, spoken of as " the land of Sinim," that being the plural of Sin.
The Chinese themselves do not designate their country by any of
the names given to it by foreigners, but call it the " Middle King
dom," " the Middle Flowery Kingdom," " the Black Haired Race,"
"Tang-jin," or "Men of Tang," "Han-jin," or "Sons of Han,''
and so forth. They suppose themselves to occupy about thc cen
ter of the world, and to be among the most cultivated and polished
of all nations. China is divided into three parts, the eighteen
provinces, or China proper, Manchuria, and the colonial posses
sions. The Chinese are to be found in great numbers beyond
their own domains, in Siam, Assam, and even in Persia. By the
most recent authorities their whole nuraber is estimated at three
hundred millions.* The larger proportion of, the country is culti
vated, being every where covered with a dense and industrious
population. It is diversified by mountains, lakes, ri-v-ers, and
canals. Araong its great works are the Chinese Wall and the
Grand Canal. The wall is estimated at 1250 miles in length.

* Some, Iiowever, have maintained that aU the statistics upon this sub
ject are uncertain, and suggest one-half this number as the probable popu
lation of China. Gutzlaff aud Williams put it at three huudred and seventy
millions.

CHINA.

475

CHINA. 477
"topping the precipices and scaling the crags." In some places
it is a mere bank of earth ; in others a mass of substantial masonry.
The eastern part, which is the more substantial, is twenty-five
feet thick at the bottom and fifteen at the top, faced with ma
sonry, and from fifteen to thirty feet high. , Brick towers occur at
intervals along the course of it, about forty feet in hight, forty
feet square at the base and thirty at the top.
The Grand Canal forms an almost complete water communica
tion between Peking and Canton, carrying the advantages of ac
cess by water to nearly all the large towns lying between them.
Some conception of the vastness of the work may be formed from
the fact, that in A. D. 1375, Sing Li, one of the emperors, em
ployed upon one portion of it 300,000 men for seven months. It
coincides with some of the rivers along its course, and adopts
their channels for considerable distances. The canal is 650 miles
in length, nearly twice the length of the Erie Canal in New York.
The locks are formed of thick planks sliding in grooves cut in
stone buttresses.
China, though chiefly an agricultural country, has extensive
manufactures and commerce, and, while covered with a numerous
population in all the rural districts, has a great number of large
cities. Some of these contain from five hundred thousand to a
miUion of inhabitants. Of these perhaps Canton is the best
known. By visiting this city we shall get an idea of the crowded
population and the external aspects of Chinese city life. This
city, as also Amoy, Foo-Choo-Foo, Sbangh-ai, afid Ningpo, are
accessible to foreigners, being the five open ports ceded to the
use of foreign commerce.
The appearance of the river going up to Canton is picturesque
and striking. On the bights rise a number of garrisoned forts.
The soldiers in their military attire present theraselves as we pass.
Near these forts beautiful banyan-trees are generally grown, a
practice said to arise from the superstition of the soldiers, who
believe that beneath their shelter they becorae rausket-proof.
Other hights are surraounted by towering pagodas, places of
Buddhist worship. On the acclivities and summits cultivation is
every where visible. Houses of the peasantry peep out at inter
vals, and water-wheels, used in irrigation, add to the picturesque
appearance of the scene. . ,
Lining the banks are numerous boats, floating or stationary,
used for the rearing of ducks and fowls, in which their owners,
with their wives, families, and connections, spend their lives.
These boats are from thirty to forty feet in length, surmounted
with a roof made of bamboo, and thatched with paddy (rice)

478 THE V\-(illLD WE LIVE IN.

straw, under which the rowers sit upon stools, eight inches in
hight. The ducks are guided on the water by whip and voice.
At night they come tumbUng in at the crack of the owner's whip,
which they greatly dread. The wife takes her part in the busi
ness of the boat, generally standing at the stern, moving a very
long oar, which works on an iron pivot, and both steers and pro
pels the boat, with a singular raotion of her head and wrists. In
one comer is always seen their household Joss, or god, with joss-
sticks constantly burning before him. Joss is a jolly-looking god,
with a '• pot belly," round cheeks, and grinning raouth, generally
of small dimensions, and stained black. Night and moming they
" chin-chin" Joss, honoring him by beating gongs, and bm-ning
paper offerings. The wife, as she guides the boat, may frequently
be seen with an infant tied to her back, while other chUdren of
various ages are playing about the boat. The younger have
gourds attached to their backs, as life-buoys, lest they should faU
overboard. But they often let the little fellows take their chance,
even when they fall overboard, as they have the notion that a
person rescued from drowning will inevitably injure his preserver.
Some of the boats have vegetable gardens suspended from their
sides. In the center of the boat is a small tank, in which they
keep and fatten their fish. At night they sleep under their
thatched roof upon mats, with such pillows of rattan, wood, or
other material they find most convenient.
Ascending the river the scenery is beautifully diversified. The
atraosphere is loaded with the fragrance of orange groves and
bananas. Mandarin, or police boats, with ten or twenty oars on
each side, increase in nuraber, the rowers dressed in gayly painted
baraboo caps of a conical form. Frora the raasts fioat long sUken
streamers or flags, with the names of the owners blazoned in
golden letters. Little boats with fruit, and here and there a huge
Chinese junk, with its gayly painted stern and weighty mat-sails,
diversify the scene. On the prow is painted an enormous eye, —
that it may see where it is going ! Yonder are moored various
fishing boats, furnished with aquatic birds trained to catch fish by
diving. Round the neck of these birds rings are fastened, to keep
thera from swaUowing the fish. Junks of great variety, and some
of much splendor, meet us as we advance, with cabins upon cab
ins, producing a singular effect. As we approach Canton the
river is so crowded witii water-craft, of all shapes and sizes, cross
ing and recrossing each other, that we alraost despair of forcing a
passage. On each side boats are moored, in which families have
their permanent abode, some with their fronts handsomely carved
and gayly pamted. On their decks or flat roofs you see the m-

CHINA. 479
mates sitting and smoking amid painted flower-pots tastefully
arranged. Among the most gayly decorated of these are the
boats called " flower boats" — smks of prostitution and iniquity ;
for, alas ! the Chinese, with aU their order and thrift, like the
heathen nations generaUy, are greatiy addicted to vicious practices.
Boats innumerable, and devoted to all sorts of purposes, some be
longing to mandarins, others to artisans, others to traders, some
filled with flowers, others with fruits, and others with tea or food,
are wedged together in one solid mass, apparently impenetrable,
as far as the eye can reach, whUe the air is filled with the deafen
ing sound of gongs and wind instruments, raingled with the yelling,
screaming, shouting, chattering, and clamor of hundreds of thou
sands of busy tongues, presenting a scene to the European or
Araerican traveler the most novel and astounding.
At last we are in Canton, a perfect wilderness of long narrow
streets, with here and there a huge pagoda, a temple, or other
public edifice. Many of these streets are crowded with shops and
stores, open in front, and filled with innumerable articles of traffic,
among which you sometimes see singular specimens of live stock,
puppy dogs yelping in bamboo cages, kittens mewing, rats squeak
ing, fowls chucking, and pigs grunting ; and not only so, but fish
swimming, with earth-worms and slugs variously disposed in tubs
and other vessels. Yonder is a barber with his iron tweezers, and
near him another is plaiting the tail (queue), cleaning the ears,
shaving the head and face of a customer, which operation he fin
ishes by a good thumping of his back, and cracking of his joints.
Hard by are venders of cooked food, with enormous red umbrellas,
dealers in sweetmeats, and all sorts of nick-nacks. StaUs for
books, and others for drugs, and a thousand things besides, line the
streets. Fortune-tellers, dice-players, and jugglers ply their skUl ;
the air is filled with a perfect Babel of sounds.
Other streets are filled with stores of different descriptions,
some of them being quite splendid. The stores in New and Old
China street are filled with one mass of gaudily painted carved
work. The houses generally are small and low, the upper part
always latticed and painted green. The interiors of the stores are
neatly fitted up, and the goods are tastefully set out. Tbe inter
mixture of various-colored paper, pendent inscriptions, and varie
gated lanterns have a grotesque effeot. Beggars stand at the
' doors of all the stores, knocking two pieces of bamboo till they
receive alms.
Different streets are appropriated to different trades. In one
street, for example, are gathered all the taUors, in another aU the
carpenters, in another aU the shoemakers, and so on.

480 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

" The most showy and attractive of all the shops," says a lively
writer, in the DubUn Review, "are those of the lantern venders.
There hang all varieties, from the large silken lanterns, three and
four feet high, decorated with fringe of gold and sUver, and painted
with variegated colors, which are used in the residences of the
mandarins, and cost about one hundred and fifty dollars, to the
common small horn and paper lanterns used by coolies, which
cost no more than one-sixteenth of a dollar. The mode of making
the hora lanterns is very ingenious. The horns of bullocks and
goats are cut into remarkably thin slices, which, by means of heat
and pressure, are joined together, and formed into various shapes
— round, square, hexagon, octagon, and some even resembUng an
hour-glass. These are variously painted, and covered with a
species of net- work. To the top is attached a folding triangle,
which forms, when closed, a handle for convenience -of carriage,
and when expanded a stand, frora whose summit hangs the lan
tern : these vary in price and size. It is usual for servants to
carry before their masters large lanterns, either of hom or of
highly varnished paper, with his name and title painted on them
in large characters. At the Feast of Lanterns, which takes place
at the early part of the Chinese year, these lantern-shops have a
very gay and diversified appearance, and their proprietors reap a
rich harvest, as it is customary at this feast for parents to make
presents of lanterns to their children, and for inferiors to act simi
larly to their superiors, which are expensive in proportion to the
means of the donor. Some of these are made to represent birds,
beasts, and fish, and others have movable figures on their sides.
In fact this feast is somewhat simUar to the fete of the New Year
in France, lantems being given instead of bon-bons. At night all
these lanterns are lighted up and hung on the exterior of their
houses, and the illumination thus created is far superior to any
ever witnessed in Europe. The streets are crowded, and each
person takes as much pride in the expensive and showy appear
ance of lanterns hung outside his house, as the members of clubs,
&c., in London do in the briUiancy of their illuminations on birth-
nights. They exhibit a surprising degree of ingenuity in the me
chanical construction of some of their lanterns, which are formed
with raoving figures, intended to represent the actions of life.
But of all I have seen, one which was presented to me was the
most perfect and beautiful. This was of a hexagon form, about
two feet and a half high and five feet in circumference. On its
respective sides were raoving figures, representing a Chinaman
fishing with a rod, which moved up and down, with a fish hang
ing at the end of the Une ; John Bull dancing, and in the act of

CHINA.

481

- '^BL ,3 -f 1'5L'

'V'l

tf

f I'

,.' ^Sf^^* '*^'i'^ " i^At
*' Ti .«?- ' ±-,5» « MMl

21

CHINA. 483
pouring out a bottle of porter into a goblet, all the limbs being in
motion ; a tiger in the act of jumping upon a man, who evinced,
from the niotion of bis limbs, and his head tuming toward the
beast, great terror ; a sanpan (a kind of boat) filled with fruit and
vegetables, sculled by a boatwoman, with that pecuUar motion of
her arms and feet used in sculling ; a Chinaman in the act of rais
ing food to his mouth with chop-sticks ; and lastly, a sportsraan
taking aim at a bird, which was perpetually fluttering in the air ;
while Tartar horsemen, in then- tiger-skin uniforms, and lances or
spears couched, chased each otber around the lantem. The cos
tumes, figures, and appurtenances were accurately portrayed ac
cording to Ufe and nature ; the figures continued in motion as the
lamps burned. The lamps were coraposed of several small saucers
filled with oil, to feed small wicks lying at their sides. The revo
lution of the horsemen was effected by a sort of smoke-jack, to
which they were attached by long human hairs ; an inner frame
work revolved by the same raeans, and moved the pegs to which
the various figures of the lantern were fastened. The framework
of this lantern was composed of bamboo, which was covered with
silk, and the bottom was decorated with an embroidered silken
fringe. I considered it as a perfect masterpiece of mechanical
skill in its way."
In some of the streets of Canton may be seen stores filled -with
the richest and most beautifully ornamented porcelain, others with
lackered work, sUver-ware, and so forth. One whole street is
devoted to birds, of which the Chinese are very fond, often paying
a hundred dollars for some peculiar favorite.
Canton is surrounded by walls, from twenty-five to forty feet
high. There are several gates in the walls, shut at night and
constantly guarded by soldiers. Besides two large pagodas, there
are one hundred and twenty-four teraples, pavilions, halls and
other religious edifices in the city. The people are not devout,
but excessively superstitious. They will soraetiraes chide their
gods, nay, cuff their ears, vvhen angry with them for supposed
neglect or injury. But every where images abound. Throughout
the city are seen little gilded shrines and huge demoniac images.
Priests, with sleepy eyes, saunter in the sun or lounge about the
temples. The Honam Joss House, so called, a Buddhist teraple,
has attached to it one hundred and seventy-five priests, only a
portion of whom can read. The temple of " Glorious Filial Duty"
has two hundred priests, who are supported by a glebe of 3500
acres of land. Jhe number of priests in Canton is said to exceed
two thousand, nine-tenths of whom are Buddhists. The temples,
sometimes striking in their exterior, after all are cheerless abodes.

484 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

The areas in front are filled with throngs of idlers, beggars,
and small traders, who are occasionally driven off to make way
for some fantastic theatrical performance by the priests. The hall
of the temple, occupied by a gloomy idol, is lighted only in
front, adorned by an altar, drura, and bells. The inner cells
are inhabited by men about as stupid as their idols, miserable
beings, who, having abandoned society, here spend an idle and
wretched life.
In Canton is the celebrated Kung-Yuen, or Hall of Literary
Examination, containing several thousand cells, for the examina
tion of students who assemble at the examination held in it. The
city contains four prisons, for hither are brought all capital offences
in the province for trial. The foreign factories or warehouses, on
the western side of Canton, arc the most showy buildings in the
city. The term hong in Chinese signifies a series or succession,
and is applied to the merchants, because their warehouses contain
a succession of apartments. Most of the trades and manufactures
of Canton have reference to foreign commerce. Fifty thousand
persons are supposed to be engaged in wea-\ing cloth, including
the embroiderers ; besides which are 7000 barbers, and 4000 shoe
makers, " licensed to shave the crowns and shoe the soles of their
fellow-citizens." Ningpo, another large and flourishing city, is important on ac
count of its foreign relations. It is situated at the junction of
three streams, a few miles from the ocean. Here and in Canton,
Shanghai, and, we beUeve, ]\lacao, have been established several
Protestant raissions from England and the LTnited States. Ningpo
lies in a magnificent plnin, forming an amphitheater, stretching
one side some twelve to eighteen miles to the base of the mount
ains, and on the other to the verge of the ocean. On the land
side you see canals and water-courses, fields and farm-houses, pleas
ant cottages, family residences, hamlets, and villages, with tombs,
monasteries, and teraples. Toward tiie ocean the country is plain
as it descends to tiie shore, but the river is alive with boats, and
its banks are studded with ice-houses. PubUc buUdings and
temples, some dedicated to one god and some to another, adorn
the interior of the cit-y. Lagoons furnish aquatic amusements.
The most striking building in the city is " The Heaven-Conferred
Pagoda," or Tower of Ningpo, a vast and somber edifice, supposed
to be over a thousand years old. The most elegantly furnished
building in thc. city is a temple dedicated to the popular goddess,
Ma Txiijni (Queen of Heaven). The lanterns and scrolls hanging
from the ceiling, and other ornaments, inscriptions, and figures on
the walls, external and internal, give it a peculiar and attractive

CHINA. 485
appearance. The population is supposed to reach from a quarter
to half a mUUon.
Nanking, one of the largest of the Chinese cities, is celebrated
abroad for its lofty and elegant Porcelain Tower, callcd by the
Chinese the " Recompensing Favor Monastery," coraposed of the
richest materials, well proportioned, and brilliantly gUded. The
summit is reached by a spiral staircase, two hundred and sixty
feet high. The whole consists of nine equal stories, decreasing
gradually to tbe top. The outer surface is covered with porce
lain slabs, green, red, yellow, white, and other colors. At every
story is a projecting roof, covered with green tiles, and a bell
projecting from each corner. The saloons are raore gaudy than
elegant, and fuU of riches, in which are placed many gUded im
ages. It was nineteen years in buUding, and is more than four
hundred years old. Nanking is also celebrated for its raanufac
ture of satin, crape, &c., and is rauch renowned for the scholar
ship of its literary men.
Shanghai, the seat of several foreign raissions, is a large place,
of considerable coramerce and trade, but poorly buUt, with nar
row, dirty streets.
All the great cities of China are pretty much alike ; but Peking,
the capital, which has a population variously estimated from one
to two mUlions, has some very broad streets, running between op
posite gates in the divisions of the city to which they respectively
belong. The other streets, however, are narrow and close, like
those of Canton. At the four points where the great streets in
tersect each other, are singular-looking erections, resembling tri
umphal arches, buUt of stone or wood, with a large central gate
way, and a smaller one on each side, roofed and richly gilded.
These are monuments of the great men that have deserved we.U
of their country.
In the northern part of the city are the palaces of the erape
rors, with their iraposing tities, though far inferior to European
palaces in magnificence. Within the royal precincts is a temple
to wbich the emperor coraes to revere the manes of his ancestors,
and obtain from them blessings. These constitute one of three
inclosures in this part of the city. A second inclomre is called
"the Auo-ust City" — about six miles in circumference. This
comprises several idol-temples, a depository of railitary stores, ex
tensive public granaries, and a military seminary. It has also an
artificial mountain, in the centre of an extensive park. A third
inclosure is called "the Imperial City," and contains the offices
of .the six tribunals of the empire. The Russian Mission, the
temple of Yung ho Kung, or of " eternal peace," the largest and

486 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

most sacred edifice in the city, having in it an institution for the
instruction of lamas (god -priests), for the service of Thibet.
Here also is the National College, in which is concentrated all the
learning and literature of China. All the literati of the empire,
all the colleges and principal schools, are subordinate to this
establishment, which nominates examiners of tbe eompositions re
quired of candidates for civil offices. Manchoo, Chinese, and
Russian literature meets here with equal attention, and all religions
are sanctioned within its precincts.
A majority of the inhabitants are dependent, raore or less, on
the court. Peking is the great emporium of printing, and the
principal seat of the book-trade.
But let us pass into the country. Evei-y spot, you perceive, is
cultivated. The hiUs are terraced, and covered with various pro
ductions to their summits. The houses, generally made of bam
boo, are light and airy, to catch the breeze, for the climate is in
tensely hot. Fruit-trees of every tropical variety abound. The
productions are various. Rice, sugar, silk, tea, fruits — every thing
in a word, which a fine country and an ingenious people can culti
vate. Rice is the staff of life, and tea the great article of com
merce. The finest qualities, from their high price, and deraand
among the richer classes, are not exported. The finest is worth
its weight in silver. The orange plantations are beautiful, fiUing
the air with fragrance. The bamboo-tree, the leading tree of the
country, is applied to numberless uses. Cotton grows freely in
many parts of the country. The tea-plant grows wild in China,
to the hight of two or three feet, and bears a white fragrant
flower ; when cultivated it attains the hight of four or five feet.
It is planted in rows, and weeded with the greatest care. The
greater the care bestowed upon the plant, the finer is the quality
of the tea. There are many varieties, much depending upon thc
nature of the soil. They have more than one hundred descrip
tions of the tea-plant. It is a mistake tbat the green tea is made
by drying upon copper, as copper is never used for drying it.
But black teas are often made green by coloring matter, which is
very easily discovered by chewing a few leaves, or breathing upon
a handful, when the green hue wUl soon disappear. This poor
green tea is known as " Canton green." The green teas are a
dift'erent species frora the black altogether. The finest sorts of
tea which are drunk by the mandarins and emperor, are cultivated
with as rauch care as we bestow upon exotics. The younger the
leaves are when gathered, the finer is the quality of the tea. The
coarser kinds of tea, which are used by the poor, are the old
leaves, which have been gathered without any preparation.

CHINA. 487
The Chinese are essentiaUy an agricultural people. They have
wisely established laws for the protection and encouragement of
agriculture. The emperor himself does not think it unworthy of
his dignity, once every year, at the agricultural festival, to descend
from his throne clad as a husbandman, to set tbe laudable exam
ple to his subjects of tUling the earth ; his family and courtiers,
dressed in the same style, attending him on the occasion. The
appointed day having been previously announced by authority
throughout the empire, the emperor goes forth and ploughs a par
ticular field, and every farmer throughout the empire simultane
ously tums up the earth. The produce of the field ploughed by
the emperor is preserved with great care, being regarded as far
superior to any other. Neglected lands are forfeited, so that in
China, not a spot of uncultivated land, except what is absolutely
barren, can be seen. The ground is fertUe and productive, but
locusts often pass in devouring bands, and cat up the whole.
What was a garden before them, is left behind them a wUdemess.
China is not without the precious metals. Iron, copper, silver,
and even gold, are found in some of her mountains.* The climate
is insufferably hot in the dry season; in winter quite cold. The
rainy season is a perfect deluge. Their modes of irrigation are
ingenious. The paddy corn is thrashed out sometimes by bam
boo fiaUs, and soraetimes by the tread of oxen. Rice is appUed
to innumerable uses. They not only eat it and distUl it, but make
it into ornaments. The straw thatches their houses, and out of it
they construct coarse mats and paper. The husks are carefuUy
collected, and being mixed with a greasy substance, are formed
into cakes to feed the pigs. The rice itself is pounded into a
paste, out of which, hardened in the fire, they make bottles and
vases. In a word, every spot of ground, and every production
of the earth in China is turned to some use. They extract a fine
oil from the kernels of apricots, and a beautiful black dye from
acom cups. The finest scarlet coloring matter is extracted from
the cactus. Paper is made from the rind of a species of syca
more-tree. Indeed, paper and printing existed in China before
they were known in Europe. Paints and dyes superior to any
thing known in the western world, are used by their artists, who,
though destitute of ideality and invention in the higher depart
ments of art, have great ingenuity, and remarkable power of imi
tation.

* The Chinese make little use of their iron mines, as they do not under
stand the manufacture of iron.

488 THE WOELD WE LI-VE IN.

CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHINA, continued  WITH NOTICES OF SIAM AND JAPAN.
The Chinese are the most enUghtened, and we may add, com
pared with others, the most virtuous of all the pagan nations.
Their religion, though idolatrous, is free from human sacrifices
and obscene symbols. Of general geography, chronology, astron
omy, and history, they know comparatively nothing.* Yet they
have innumerable books, and extensive libraries. Indeed, they
may be styled a literary people, making literary attainments tho
stepping-stone and indispensable prerequisite to civil office. The
government is a despotism ; but all oflfices are open to the enter
prising. The laws are tolerably well administered. Punishments,
though generally severe and degrading, may be commuted by
fines, &c. Instances have been knovvn in which individuals were
hired to suffer dcath in the stead of others. Bribes and evasions
are common enough, and riots and revolutions are not unknown,
but a high degree of order and quiet prevails through the land.
Ihe origin of the people is lost in the twUight of the past. Their
own chronology is false and preposterous ; their early history a
fable and a di-eam. They are of the Mongol race. Their appear
ance is pecuUar. In stature they are short, though there are ex
ceptions to this rule, rather " round," and in old ago inclining to
obesity ; their faces oval, with prominent cheek-bones, black, an
gular eyes, resembling those of the pig, complexion yellow, or
yeUowish brown, hair black and wiry, a tuft of which only is left
upon the head, the rest of the head, with the face, being kept, in
the case of males, perfectiy smooth. The hair is plaited into a
taU, which hangs down the back nearly to the heels. When short,
they piece it out with black silk braid, ingeniously plaited into the
hair. The expression of the face, upon the whole, is intelligent,
though by no means handsome. The women are below the raid-
die size, not well formed, their complexions a Uttie more delicate,
but the same as that of tho men, though without any intelligence
of expression. Their dress, among the lower orders, varies littie
from that of the men. Evefy where they are regarded as slaves.
* We ought to state here that " Murray's Ericyclopedia of Geography"
has just been translated and pubUshed t)y one of tlieir groat men. They
begin to learn a little of the world around thom.

CHI N'A. 489
CTntaught, in a nation attaching gi-cat vahie to leaming, their
minds are vacant and dull. The Chinese writers uniformly speak
of women with contempt. The clothing of the lower class
of men consists of very wide, loose trowsers, and a jacket made
of highly glazed calico, of native raanufacture. The higher classes
are more suraptuously attired, wearing long silken robes, reaching
to their feet (those of the raandarins being more or less embroid
ered, according to their rank), silk trowsers, and black satin boots,
with felt soles, three inches thick, and pointed, turned-up toes.
In winter they wear half a dozen garments, of various sorts, all
wadded ; robe, spencers, and velvet tippets, thickly wadded with
cotton, and lined with fur, with a velvet stock round their necks,
about two inches high. In summer the mandarins wear a conical
cap of exceedingly fine white straw, with a splendid tassel, and
surmounted with a button denoting their rank ; in winter, a black
satin cap, with a tumed-up brim. The Chinese change their
summer dress simultaneously, at the order of the emperor. The
fan and umbrella are in constant use amono- the Chinese. Notbinsr
IS done avithout a fan. Your tailor takes your orders, fanning
himself all the time ; your servants at dinner will hand you a
plate with one hand, and fan themselves with the other.
The women of all classes are fond of trinkets, wearing as many
ai-mlets, bracelets, &c., as they can aft'ord ; yet gold is never used
by thera for this purpose. The dress of the upper classes is
nearly as handsome as that of the mandarins : evei-y part of the
dress, however, must be of a different color. The great object of
tbe ladies is to put on as many colors, and as much embroidery
as possible. The shoes have heels about an inch high, and the
uppers are embroidered with silver and gold tinsel, ttc. Instead
of stockings, red and black cloth is bound round the foot. and leg.
Like the riien, they wear under their jackets a silken ghdle, to
which is invariably attached an embroidered bag, which contains
their pipe and tobacco ! They uniformly carry ;t handsorae fan.
The beau ideal of female beauty, among the Chinese, consists
in feet deformed and "compressed into a mass three inches in
leno-fli," bandaged up from infancy in bindings, never unwound
till womanhood (one may imagine their odor) ; -a fleshless figure ;
a dintry, yellow complexion, plastered with white cosmetic ; high
ohoek-bones; remarkably smaU piggish eyes, with penciled eye
brows, meeting over the nose ; low brow, with oblong ears ; coarse
black hair, anointed with pork fat, until it stands on end, then
drawn up from the face to the top of the head, where it is dressed
in a hio-h top-knot, in which are stuck, perpendicularly, silver pms,
and occasionaUy flowers. 21*

490 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Marriage is a matter of traffic or agreement among tbe parents.
Children are taught to revere their parents, and it is affirmed that
the Chinese enjoy considerable domestic comfort. The poor are
omnivorous, devouring every thing edible ; but the rich are dainty
in their food, and indulge themselves in all sorts of nice and luxu
rious eating.
The modern emperors of China are of the Manchoo, sometimes,
though perhaps erroneously, called the Tartar, dynasty. Their
reign is firm and despotic. The governraent is conducted by a
system of universal espionage. Every oflicer is a spy upon
another. The array is numerous, but readily yields to the supe
rior force of European soldiers. The great men of the empire are
distinguished for their pride and love of show. They hold the
comraon people in the greatest contempt.
There are in China three chief systems of reUgion — those of
Confucius, Laolse, and Buddh, or Buddha. The forraer is for the
more learned, being, in fiict, rather a moral code than a religious
creed. The second differs from this but littie, and there is no
difficulty in holding the views of both. The Buddhist religion is
for the least educated classes. There is no state religion in the
empire. The emperor is a Buddhist, or follower of Fo ; but he is
also a foUower of Confucius. Chuia is tolerant of all religions.
The early Catholic priests were extremely well received ; their
leaming and science were highly esteemed ; their teachings were
allowed ; members even of the royal faraily were converted to
their doctrines ; and there was a good prospect that the empire
would be converted to Christianity. But the priests divided into
two parties — the early Jesuits forbidding, and the others aUowing,
the Chinese to pay worship to their ancestors. Thc Pope issued
his bull, and decided the controversy. The disturbance came to
the knowledge of the eraperor, who, indignant at this presump
tion, banished all the priests, and prohibited the people from em
bracing Christianity, on pain of death.
His wrath did not subside until the negotiation with tiie French
and Araericans, the latter of whom, by the seventeenth articl^ of
the treaty, are allowed to establish hospitals, cemeteries, and
churches, in any of the five free ports. The manner in which this
permission was granted was highly gratifying. Kwang, the
present lieutenant-governor of the Kwang provinces, was present
at one of the many conferences which were had upon the subject
of the treaty. The American interpreters, Drs. Parker and Bridg
man, were also present with the Araerican functionaries. When
they came to this item of the treaty, Kwang turned to Dr. Parker,
whom he well knew, and who enjoys, in an extraordinary degree,

CHINA. . 491
the regard and respect of the Chinese, both officers and people,
and said, with a courteous smile, " Certainly, churches and hospi
tals, if you please."
The Buddhist is tho religion of the lowest and uneducated classes,
who demand visible and tangible objects of worship. Their tem
ples, like the CathoUc churches in Macao, have decorations, pic
tures, &c. They worship the virgin mother, make prayers for the
dead, have nuns and monks, and petition for every thiiig, from
deliverance of their friends from purgatory, to a handsome wife or
a rich husband. Beside every shop is an idol of the god of wealth ;
and every house has a god of longevity, to whioh devout and daily
prayers are offered. Most of them are utterly ignorant of the
existence even of a future state.
The religion of Confucius, if, indeed, it deserve the name of re
ligion, is, after all, a system of dry and lifeless rationalism. Prop
erly speaking, it has no reUgious doctrines, no supreme and eter
nal God, no heaven, no immortality. Confucius said Uttle or
nothing upon tbese subjects. A few ethical and prudential maxims
would comprise his entire moral code. He left the whole domain
of " the invisible and the eternal" in the profoundest darkness. It
would seem, indeed, that the Chinese, while superstitious enough,
have no conception of a spiritual religion. Literally, tbey raay be
said to be without Cod, and without hope of immortality.
Confucius, not God, is the object of worship to all the followers
of this illustrious sage. There are in China about 2000 temples
dedicated to bis honor. At one period of Chinese bistory, the
image of Confucius was placed in his teraple, and worshiped ; but
this reserabled Buddhism too much to please tbe learned, and, for
several centuries, they have contained his tablet only. To this the
faithful direct their devotions. That part of the tablet on which
Chinese characters are gilded is about a yard long ; the rest in
proportion. The characters signify — " Divine throne or seat
OF THE MOST HOLY TEACHER CoNFucius." Twlco a year, in spiig
and auturan, a Uttle before dawn, all the mandarins, dressed in the
most gorgeous style, assemble at the temple of Confucius, to pay
him divine honors, by prayers, prostrations, and sacrifices of oxen
or bogs before the tablet. At the same tirae, candles are kept
burning, and odoriferous incense rises from the vessel in the cen
ter of the altar.
Buddhism, as already stated, is the most prevalent forra of wor
ship among the great mass of the people, and a raore puerile and
degrading system of faith can scarcely be imagined. Lamaism,
the loA^st form of man-worship, flourishes in some parts of the
empire. Indeed, the Chinese have many forms and objects of

492 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

adoration. Decided remains of Sabianism, or the worship of the
heavenly bodies, are found among them : the worship of the
moon, for example, is general in China, and dates from remote
times. The worship of ancestors is practiced by all the Chinese, learned
or unlearned. But one of the most popular deities is Miss Ling,
the "queen of heaven." The foUowing account of this Chinese
goddess is from the pen of Dr. Macgowan :
" Between six and seven hundred years ago, the Chinese say,
there was on the Fakien coast a family named Ling, consisting of
the parents, two sons, and two daughters. Mr. Ling, who was a
fisherman, was once overtaken by a violent storm. He pulled hard
for the shore, aided by his sons, but the wind and waves over
powered their little bark, and it was swamped.
" At this very moraent, Mrs. Ling observed the youngest daugh
ter asleep at her spinning-wheel, and unhappUy called out to her
so sharply, that she instantly awoke. She then told her mother
that she had seen her father and brothers in the midst of the sea,
struggling for existence, and in her vision had caught a brother in
each arm, and her fatiier in her teeth ; but, as she was roused
from ber sleep, her mouth opened, and the head of the family
dropped out, and was lost.
" All this was confirraed by the brothers, who retumed soon
after, and reported that an arm had upheld each of them untU
they got to a place of safety, while their father was drowned.
" From that period, until her death. Miss Ling enjoyed a high
reputation in all those parts, as a deUverer in storms at sea, and in
pestilence on shore. This girl began her operations at the age of
fourteen, and died single at thirty. The particulars of her death
are not given, but it is stated that a temple was immediately
erected to her raeraory by the people of her native place.
" After her death, she beard the cries of all who were in dis-
troes at sea, and soon became so popular with sailors, that no boat
would put from shore without her image. Among the numerous
cases narrated of her miraculous aid to mariners in distress, is the
following :
" An imperial ambassador, who was on his way to Corea, met
with boisterous weather at first, and afterward encountered a ty
phoon. His whole fleet, wbich consisted of eight vessels, was
wrecked, except the one in which he sailed. He attributed his
deliverance to the efficacy of his prayers to the goddess.
" On his retum, he reported his adventures to the emperor,
whereupon that ' son of heaven' confen-ed a flattering titisi on the
rising deity, and caused a temple to be erected for her worship.

CHINA. 493
As Her reputation increased, new honors and more iraposing names
were gi^-en her by the emperor, until about one hundred and
twenty-five years ago, the emperor. Young Ching, conferred the
title of ' Queen of Heaven,' which she has since been permitted
to enjo)'. The narae was borrowed from the Roman Catholics,
who style the Virgin ilary the queen of heaven.
" In tiie history of Ningpo, there are several superstitious stories
about the ' queen of heaven,' and one of them is connected with
the origin of a splendid temple erected for her worship. The
founder of this est-.iblishment was a sea-captain, to whom the
goddess appeared in a storra. She was seen on the mainmast,
and, when the skipper made vows of costly sacrifices to her lady
ship, she saved the junk. The present temple is said to have cost
one hundred thousand doUars. There is another in this city not
less expensive. Indeed, the coasts, rivers, and lakes of China are
dotted with costly buildings erected in honor of the fisherman's
daughter. " Before s-T-iling, it is common for saUors to treat her to a play,
when shc is taken to a choice seat, and invited to witness the exhi
bition got up expressly to please her, and to secure for them a
prosperous voyage."
Though the higher classes affect to despise tho superstitions of
the vulgar, the greatest scholars and statesmen, as well as sailors,
unite in the worship.
We have already said that the Chinese may be termed a, literary
people. Certainly, they have many books, among which are lexi
cons, annals, histories, raoral sayings, stories, novels, poetry, bal
lads, &c. Their larger Ubraries contain thousands of volumes.
They have schools and colleges, which are well attended, as a cer
tain amount of learning is necessary to civil office. The more
learned a man is, the more likely .Js he to rise to civil honors.
Yet the Chinese, with all their ingenuity and industry, pos
sess Uttle raental vigor, and appear to great disadvantage when
brought into collision with Europeans. A handful of English
troops, with some slight science, and a few cannon, bring an em
pire of three hundred millions to terras in a few weeks ! It is
said that the Chinese army Amounts to four or five raUlions, but
they found it irapossible to muster forty thousand men to defend
their empire against " tbe barbarians." No energy, no decision,
no science or tactics, worthy of the narae. They acted raore like
children than raen. Among other means of repelling the English,
they set up an iron pipe on tiie deck of their vessels, kindling a
fire inside the tube, in hopes that the smoke which ascended from
the pipe might frighten the mvaders ! They mistook the large

494 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

drum of one of the Irish regiments (18th Foot), for an unkno-wn
and dangerous implement of war, and kept firing at it during the
greater part of the action ! Of course, they killed nobody, and
exposed themselves all the time to the enemy's fire.
The Chinese are averse to all change. The nature of their insti
tutions and government is such as to aggravate this tendency. AU
things are subjected to fixed forms. Freedom and progress are
unknown ; a state of things in which the higher powers of the
soul stagnate, and all but die out. Prudence and industry may
be cultivated, in common with beavers and bees, whose mechanical
skill, order, and perseverance are iraraense ; but beyond this there
is little or no advance. Selfishness becomes the dominant impulse.
A state of things in which an absolute and all-pervading despotism
is necessary to maintain the peace and order of society. If great
crimes do not appear upon the surface of society, they wUl be
found in its secret recesses. Licentiousness, falsehood, cunning,
meanness, and treachery will be found all but universal. That
this is the condition of things in China is the uniform testimony of
travelers. Life, death, time, eternity, in their higher aspects,
they do not understand.
Polygamy, in the form of concubinage, prevaUs in China. One,
however, is acknowledged as wife ; the others are considered as
inferior wives. Marriage is arranged by the parents, and is a
matter of contract and sale. Marriage ceremonies are occasions of
great festivity and merriment. Indeed, the Chinese arc exceed
ingly fond of all sorts of feasting and meVry-making. To us most
of their amusements would appear childish and grotesque. Gam
bling is universal. Hucksters at the roadside are provided with a
cup and saucer, and the clicking of their dice is heard at every
corner. A boy with "two cash," prefers to risk their loss on the
throw of a die, to simply buying a cake or a piece of sugar-candy,
without trying the chance of getting it for nothing. Gaming
houses are found every where, their keepers paying a bribe to the
local officers, who can hardly be supposed to deal very severely
with a practice in which they have been educated from childhood.
Women, in the privacy of their apartments, while away their time
at cards and dominoes. Porters plfi'y by the wayside while wait
ing for employment, and the moment the retinue of an officer are
reUeved frora duty, or have seen their officers enter a house,
they pull out their cards or dice and squat down to a game.
Betting on " cricket or quail fights" is a favorite amusement.
Cheating, in matters of trade, is regarded at once as profitable and
amusing. They have a thousand methods of increasing the weight
of saleable articles, as, for example, giving salt to a pig, in order

CHINA. 495

that it may drink an immense quantity of water, before it is killed,
stuffing fowls with sand, and so forth. "A Chinese requires but
little motive to falsify, and he is constantly sharpening his wits to
cozen his customer, wheedle him by promises, and cheat him in
goods or work."
The Chinese have a multitude of festivals, both secular and
sacred. The beginning of the new year is an occasion of universal
rejoicing, feasting, frolicking, and making presents to one another.
Jugglers, mountebanks, strolling play-actors, and sirailar charac
ters are all agog, making merry for a few coppers. Friends visit
at each others' houses, wish each other a happy new year ; parents
receive the prostrations of their chUdren, and teachers of their
pupils. One good arrangement certainly connected with this fes
tival is, that no debt is allowed to pass over into the new year,
without some settlement or arrangement satisfactory to the parties,
if it be possible. Those whose liabilities exceed their means are
generally compelled to wind up their affairs, and give their prop
erty into the hands of their creditors. De Guignes mentions one
expedient to oblige a man to pay his debts at this season, which
is to carry off the door of his shop or house ; for, according to the
universal belief, his premises and person will be exposed to the
anger and entrance of all the hungry and malignant demons
prowling around the streets, and happiness wUl never again enter
his abode ; to avoid whioh most persons find it to their advantage
to settle their debts.
Theatrical amusements, some of them puerile enough, are very
popular in China. Jugglery is, if possible, still raore coramon
and attractive. In this departraent, the Chinese display wonder
ful dexterity and skill. Indeed, we are not sure but China is the
fountain whence have sprung most of the juggling tricks which
are popular in Europe. They seem to be more natural to the
Chinese than to almost any other people. Ingenuity, finesse,
mechanical skill, imitativeness, cunning, and trick, appear to be
innate parts of their constitution.
In concluding our sketches of China and the Chinese, we may
say, that while they have many vices they have also some virtues.
They are orderly, industrious, and polite ; upon the whole, good-
natured, respectful to superiors, and especially to parents. Some
of their great men have exhibited noble qualities. Confucius and
Mencius, especially, though not free from imperfections, and es
pecially destitute of lofty spiritual views, left behind them many
excellent moral and prudential maxims, which though by no means
universally observed, exert upon the Chinese a favorable and con
servative influence. What they want is a deeper, purer, more

496 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

powerful faith, with the facUities and motives which this would
supply to a freer and higher development. The labors of Mor
rison, Marshraan, Bridgman, Goddard, Dean, Parker, Gutzlaff,
and others, in translating the Scriptures into the Chinese tongue,
and preaching to the natives, have not been without salutary
effect. The missions established in the free ports, which are grad
ually extending their influence into the interior, give promise of
great usefulness. Some of the native preachers, one of whom we
have seen and conversed with, are intelligent and earnest, and
will, doubtless, gain access to the hearts of their countrymen.
That will be a glorious day, when, according to the prediction of
the prophets, " the land of Sinim" shall receive thc gospel.
Our limits will scarcely permit us to say any thing of Siam, a
country with rauch the same forms of belief and national usages
as China, though inferior to the Celestial Empire, both in virtue
and inteUigence. The people generally are Buddhists in faith,
and subjected to a wretched despotism. An interesting Protest
ant mission has been established in Bangkok, the capital, where
there are many Chinese traders.
Japan, called Niphon by the natives, though compriised in sev
eral islands, raay be considered in connection with India beyond
the Ganges. It has a population of forty or fifty raillions, as is
generaUy supposed, although the inforraation upon this point is
quite uncertain. The people seem to be a mixture of' Mongolian
and Malayan races, generaUy well made, of yellow complexions,
with small bright eyes, short flattish noses, broad heads, and thick
black hair, which, however, is worn only in a long tuft upon the
crown, the sides of the head being- constantiy shaved. Their in
ternal trade and comraerce are considerable, but the country is
corapletely shut up to for(.'igners. Once the Jesuit missionaries
gained many converts in Japan, but intriguing for power, as in
China, they were violently expelled, since which time Japan has
been inaccessible to Europeans. The governraent is an absolute
despotism, the emperor being- regarded as a divinity. The sover
eign line is never broken, an heir to the throne being suppliqfl,
as the priests and rulers claira, from Heaven, tiiough taken secretly
from one of the families of the nobility. Buddhism prevails in
Japan, but the old and prevalent form of religion is called Sin-
siu (faith in god^), or, according to others, Kamino-mitsi, or the
way to the Kami, or gods. They recognize indistinctly a supreme
Deity, but too great and too distant to be worshiped, save tiirough
the Mikado, or Son of Heaven, or inferior spirits called Kami, of
which 492 were born spirits, and 2640 are canonized mortals.
For the worship of these oratories are erected in every house, and

JAPAN. 497
m public, many splendid temples, with large gates and triumphal
arches. The Japanese are semi-civUized, and make some pretensions to
knowledge and refinement. They are industrious and active,
and their females are allowed more freedom than ladies in China.
Polygamy is not practiced, but concubinage is common. Licen
tiousness is said to be universal. Their judicial code is severe and
even vindictive. Their prisons for confinement and torture are
dismal and revolting. The emperor receives divine honors : his
person is carefully secluded from all contact -with the outward
world. He never leaves his palace. The fresh air or sunshine
is not permitted to touch him. He never eats twice off the same
dish. It is invariably broken, to prevent its falUng into unhallowed
hands. His hair, naUs, and beard are not cleaned or cut by day
Ught, these operations being always performed when he is asleep.
The population is divided into eight castes, carefully preserved —
the princes, nobles, priests, soldiers, civil officers, merchants, arti
sans, and laborers, agricultual or otherwise. In some respects
they resemble the Chinese, but in others essentially differ from
them, both in character, appearance, and usages. Agriculture
and the mechanic arts are carried to considerable perfection. Print
ing was introduced in the thirteenth century, and is conducted, ^as
in China, by means of wooden blocks. The people, particularly
the ladies, are fond of music. PUgrimages and processions are
common. The great temples, sacred to the various genii, are
much thronged. Every thing in reUgion, morals, ceremonies, and
usages is fixed and permanent. Pride, superstition, and fear make
the whole immovable.

498

THE WORLD WE LIVE IN.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

AFRICA .

The fourth great di-vision of the globe, Africa, touches Asia,
and, so to speak, mingles, with it, on the one hand, and were it
not for the narrow strait of Gibraltar, would touch Europe on the
other ; yet Africa, to a great extent, is a world by itself, with
new forms of life and vegetation. Arabia and Turkey, however,
have colonized nearly the whole of Northern Africa, and irapressed
their character upon the population. England is modifying the
extreme southem point of the continent, whUe France has settled
a single though not flourishing colony, in Algiers ; but, -with these
exceptions, Africa has its peculiar population and peculiar charac
teristics. Of vast extent, it is only partially explored, large tracts
of country, chiefly in the Ulterior, bemg yet unknown. Its area

AEEICA. 499
probably exceeds 12,000,000 square mUes ; by far the greater
part lies within the torrid zone, and is occupied by aboriginal m-
habitants, of the negro races, in a state of barbarism. It is im
possible exactiy to estimate the number of the whole population.
According to Balbi it contains 60,000,000 ; MaUe-Bmn makes it
70,000,000, tiie Weimar Almanac 101,000,000 ; but these are
only guesses.
Africa is distinguished from the other continents by the uniform
outline of its coasts, having few or no peninsulas, and thus forms
a more compact and uniforni mass of land. In its high table
lands, low plains, and immense deserts, it somewhat resembles
Northern Asia.
Central Africa, from near the equator to about the sixth degree
north latitude, and from the tenth to the thirtieth degree of longi
tude east of Greenwich, is "one great mountain region of extraor-
dmary humidity," the high mountam tops of which collect all the
floating mists of the equatorial regions, producing a severe drought
for a thousand miles in every direction, above and below, and yet
forming a natural reservoir whence flow all the rivers which water
the continent. On the southem boundary of this interior region
Ue the Mountains of the Moon, one of the highest peaks of which
is Mount Kenia, under the equator, raore than fifteen thousand
feet high, and rising into the liraits of perpetual snow. On the
north side of this raountain rises the river Dana, emptying into
the Indian Ocean, and, it is supposed by some, from the declivity
still further north, the Abiad or White Nile.
This high region is bounded on the west by the Cameroon
Mountains, of somewat inferior bight, and running near the Gulf
of Guinea. On the north are the Mandara Mountains, on the
slopes of which lie the nuraerous kingdoms of Soudan. They are
precipitous, their highest peaks shooting up into pinnacles like
some of the Alpine rocks.
From this region of mountains issues the river Tchaddy, one of
the principal strearas of the Niger ; the Shary, which empties
into Lake Tchad, that great interior sea of Africa ; and, perhaps,
the White Nile. This region, however, is almost entirely unex
plored, though raissionaries are beginning to penetrate its vast and
hidden recesses. An interesting and iraportant discovery has been
recently raade, an account of which has- been pubUshed from the
pen of the Rev. David Livingston, stationed at Kolobeng, in South
em Africa, frora which place he traveled, in company with two en
terprising EngUsh travelers, Messrs. Murray and OsweU, a distance
of 300 railes, where he struck the river Zonga, in lat. 21° 30',
long. 26° 45', wluch runs in an easterly direction. He then fol-

500 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

lowed up the river in a winding northwesterly com-se, when he
came to the lake Ngami, so long an object to travelers. Into this
lake large rivers flow from the north. The whole region of coun
try through which Mr. L. passed is alike interestmg from its in
habitants, animals, and vegetable productions.
" Previous to lea-ving this beautiful river (the Zonga)," says Mr.
L., " I feel anxious to fumish you -with the impressions produced
on my mind by it and its inhabitants, the Bakoba or Bayeiye.
They are a totally distinct race from the Bechuanas. They call
themselves Bayeiye, or men, while the term Bakoba (the name
has somewhat the meaning of " slaves") is applied to them by
the Bechuanas. Their complexion is darker tban that of the
Bechuanas ; and of 300 words I collected of their language only
twenty- one bear any reserablance to Sitchuana. They paddle
along the rivers and lake in canoes hollowed out of the trunks of
single trees ; take fish in nets raade of a weed whioh abounds on
the banks ; and kill hippopotarai with harpoons attached to ropes.
We greatly adraire the frank, manly bearing of these inland saUors.
Many of them spoke Sitchuana fluently, and, while the wagon
went along the bank, I greatly enjoyed following the windings of
the river in one of their primitive craft, and visiting their Uttle
villages among the reed. The banks are beautifid beyond any
we had ever seen, except perhaps some parts of the Clyde. They
are covered, in general, with gigantic trees, some of them bearing
fruit, and quite new. Two, of the Boabob variety, measured sev
enty to seventy-six feet in circumference. The higher we ascended
the river the broader it became, untU we often saw more than
100 yards of clear deep water between the broad belt of reed
which grows in shallower parts. The water was clear as crystal,
and as we approached the point of junction with other large rivers,
reported to exist in the north, it was quite soft and cold. Tlie fact
that the Zonga is connected -with large rivers coming from the
north awakens emotions in my mind, which make the discovery of
the lake dwindle out of sight. It opens the prospect of a high
way, capable of being quickly traversed by boats to a large sec
tion of weU-peopled territory. The hopes which that prospect
inspires for the benighted inhabitants might, if uttered, caU forth
the charge of enthusiasm.
" One remarkable feature in this river is its periodical rise and
fall. ^ It has risen nearly three feet in hight since our arrival, and
this is the dry season. That the rise is not caused by rains is evi
dent from the water being so pure. Its purity and softness in
creased as we ascended toward its junction with the Tamunakle,
from whioh, although connected with the lake, it derives the pres-

AEEICA. 501

ent increased supply. The sharpness of the air caused an amazing
keenness of appetite, at an elevation of littie more than 2000 feet
above the level of the sea (water boUed at 207.^- deg. therraome
ter), and the reports of the Bayeiye, that the waters came from a
mountainous region, suggested the conclusion that the increase of
the water at the beginning and middle of the diy season must be
derived from melting snow. '
" All the rivers reported, to the north of this, have Bayeiye
upon them, and there are other tribes on their banks. To one of
these, after visiting the Batavana, and taking a peep at the broad
part of the lake, we directed our course. But the Batavana chief
managed to obstruct us, by keeping aU the Bayeiye near the
ford, on the opposite bank of the Zonga. African chiefs invaria
bly dislike to see strangers passing them to tribes beyond. ¦ Sebi-
toane, the chief who in former years saved the Ufe of Sechele,
our chief, lives about ten days northeast of the Batavana. The
latter sent a present as a token of gratitude. This would have
been a good introduction ; the knowledge of the language, how
ever, is the best we can have. I endeavored to construct a raft,
at a part which was only fifty or sixty yards wide, but the wood,
though sun-dried, was so heavy it sunk immediately ; another
kind would not bear my weight, although a considerable portion
of my person was under water. I could have swam across, and
fain would have done it ; but, landing without clothes, and then
demanding of the Bakoba the loan of a boat, would scarcely be
the thing for a messenger of peace, even though no alUgator met
me in the passage.
" The Bayeiye, or Bakoba, listened to the statements raade from
the Divine Word with great attention, and, if I am not mistaken,
seemed to understand the Message of Mercy delivered, better
than any people to whom I have preached for the first time.
They h,ave invariably a great many charms in the villages ; stated
-the narae of God in their language, without the least hesitation,
to be ' Oreeja ;' mentioned the name of the first man and woman,
and some traditionary statements respecting the flood. I shall
not, however, take these for certain, till I have more knowledge
of their language. They are found dwelling among the reed
all round the lake, and on the banks of all the rivers to the
north. " With the periodical flow of the rivers great shoals of fish de
scend. The people could give no reason for the rise of the water,
further than that a chief, who Uves in a part of the country to
the north, called Mazzekiva, kills a man annually, and throws his
body into the stream, after which the water beguis to flow. When

502 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

wUl they know Him who was slain, that whosoever -wiU, might
drink of the water of Ufe freely !
" The principal disease reported to prevaU at certain seasons,
appears, from the account of the symptoms the natives give, to
be pneumonia, and not fever. When the -wind rises to an ordinary
breeze, such immense clouds of dust arise from numerous dried-
out lakes, called salt-pans, that the whole atmosphere becomes
quite yellow, and one cannot distinguish objects more than two
mUes off. It causes irritation in the eyes, and, as wind prevaUs
almost constantly at certain seasons, this impalpable powder may
act as it does among the grinders in Sheffield. We observed
cough among them, a complaint alraost unkno-wn at Kolobeng.
Musquitoes swarra in summer, and the Banyan and Palmyra give
in some parts an Indian cast to the scenery. Who -will go in to
possess this goodly land in the narae of Him whose right it is to
reign ?"
New tribes and regions have also been found in Westem Africa.
One of these, the Vy nation, " living far in the interior," says Mr.
Koelle, at Sierra Leone, "is found to possess a -written language,
a thing unheard of araong the aboriginal tribes of Africa. Libe
ria, the free Christian colony, now an independent nation, from
the United States, is destined to exert a favorable influence on
Western Africa. May we not, therefore, cherish the hope that as
religion advances among the natives, commerce and civUization
will speedily follow, and that this strange, mysterious, gloomy
continent wUl be filled with light and joy ?"
" Soon will its radiance redden Niger's stream ;
Soon shall the hum of trade arise, like roar
Of rushing waters, in Timbuctoo's streets.
Soon shall its dawn awake on Atlas' brow.
And blush in beauty o'er the Congo coast.
Freedom, in all its brightness, soon will paint
Afric's dark skies with rays of fairest hue ;
Learning, again, on Nile's slow current sail ;
And fair religion, with her heaven-turned face,
Bring peace and Jove to Niger's sun-scorch'd banks."
^ "What a wonderful continent," says a writer in one of the for
eign Reviews, "is this rounded, smooth-shored Africa, known
from the earliest dawn of tirae, yet so unknown ; the granary of
nations, yet sterUe and fruitless as the sea ; swarming with life,
yet dazzling the eyes with its vast tract of glittering sand ! North
America, first seen but the other day, has been probed from end
to end ; its gallant and respective Pliilips, Tecumsehs, and Monte-
zumas, have been bridled and broken by the white man; but

AEEICA. 503

Africa has seen no Cortez, or even a De Soto or La SaUe, ' -wiing
favor from fate.' Some solitary Mungo Park, or faithful Lander,
or persevering Burckhardt, alone has tried to read the secret of
the mother of civUization, the gray-haired Africa.
" If -we seek a land of romance and mystery, what quarter of the
globe compares with that whioh holds the pyramids ; the giant
Theban temples, one roof of which clusters a modern vUlage;
the solemn hewn mountain cliff of a Sphinx ; the ruins of Car
thage ; the NUe, with its hidden sources ; the Niger, with its un
kno-wn outlet ; the heaven-bearing Atlas ; the dimly seen Mount
ains of the Moon.
"There, reader, the slave rose romanticaUy to be the ruler of
miUions ; there Moses, floating in his cradle, is saved by a king's
daughter, and like the hero of some earlier chivalry, breaks the
bonds of his people, and founds a new and mighty nation. There
was the home of Dido, of Hannibal, the scene of Scipio's triumphs
and Jugurtha's crimes ; there lived TertuUian, Athanasius, and
Augustine ; the romance of the Moors dwelt there ; the last
breath of Louis of France was drawn there.
" A.frica is the home of the leviathan, the behemoth, the vmicom,
the giraffe, the slight antelope, the earth-shaking elephant, the
unaccountable lion, the all-conquering buffalo. . It is the home,
too, of the mysterious negro races, yet lying dormant in the germ,
destined, perhaps, to rule this earth, when our proud Anglo-Saxon
blood is as corrupt as that of the descendants of Homer and
Pericles. " The past, present, and future of Africa, are aUke wrapped in
mystery. Who can teU us of the chUdhood of dark-browed
Egypt, square shouldered and energetic ? Carthage, the England
of the old world's rulers, bas not even a romancing Livy, still
less an unwearied Niebuhr, to explain her rise, and untangle the
mysteries of her constitution. Of all the vast interior, what do
we know more than the Punic merchants, who, like us, dealt
there, taking slaves, ivory, and gold ?
" And what can we hope hereafter to see in those immense, un
known lands ? God has enabled the European to drive the North
American, step by step, toward extinction, and has given a great
continent the full developraent and trial of whatever permanent
power the Caucasian race possesses ; but Africa he has preserved
• — for what ? For future contest ? For an imported foreign civU
ization, to be entered through Liberias and Cape Colonies ?
France and Britain are watching each other now along those bum
ing sands, as they once watched by the icy rocks of Canada and
Acadia : is it to end in the same subjection of the aboriginal own-

504 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

ers to one or both of these ? Or does the dark race, in aU its
varieties, possess a capacity for understanding, and living out the
deep meaning of the world's ruler, Christianity, as the offspring
of the foUowers of Odin never did, and never can, understand
and act it.?
" If the old Egyptian Sesostris had paused to contemplate the
iUiterate wanderers of Greece, to whom Cadmus was just striving
to make known the letters of Phoenicia, would not Plato and Aris
totie have seemed as impossible to him as the existence in Africa
of a higher Christianity than has yet been seep, seems to us ?
Would not the present position of the Teutonic race have appeared
equaUy incredible to the founder of the Parthenon, the loungers
in the gardens of the Academy ?"
Africa contains as great a variety of races as any other grand
division of the globe, nay, perhaps a greater variety, highly con
trasted in their appearance, structure, habits, and institutions.*
The negroes themselves are of different races, and of various
forms and colors ; some being dark as Erebus, and others shading
into an olive, a bro-wn, and a yellow. Sorae are short and squat,
others tall and well formed. Their languages also are essentiaUy
different, a curious and interesting fact, most of them being rude
and harsh, but some of them also elegant and harmonious. Some
striking discoveries have been made upon this subject, by the
missionaries among the tribes on the Gaboon river.
Fetichism, or the worship of natural objects, animate or inani
mate, such as plants, birds, beasts, serpents, stones, rivers, mount
ains, &o., from the Portuguese Fetisso, something sacred or en
chanted, and that again from the Latin fanum, or fatum, is the
prevalent religion of the African nations. The term Fetichism,
however, is ordinarily applied to the more degraded forms of na
ture-worship, and thence appropriatel)' designates the supersti
tions of the African races. They appear generally to admit a
good and evil principle ; they have also their lucky and unlucky
days. They are afraid of evU spirits, against which their priests
cjaim the power of protecting their votaries. Several of these
nations seem to have a national and supreme Fetiche. The peo
ple of Ouidah, or Widah, for example, worship the serpent, an
order of priests and priestesses being set apart to the service of
this reptUe. The Bissagos worship the cock ; and the tribes of
the Bight of Benin, who look upon their own shadow as a sort of
divinity, have a lizard for their chief Fetiche. Other tribes wor-
-* We use the word race in a general sense, as equivalent to family or
variety.

AEEICA. 505

ship hyenas, leopards, alligators, and other animals, and it is said,
in some instances, sacrifice to them human beings. The Agows,
who reside near the sources of the NUe, in Abyssinia, offer sacri
fices to the genius of that river. Some of the tribes of Nubia
are said to be worshipers of the moon, whUe others pay homage
to the sun. The Gallas hold as sacred certain trees and stones,
the moon, and some of the stars. The negroes frequently form
idols of clay, stone, or other materials, with a human countenance.
Except in Abyssinia, which has an imperfect and superstitious
form of Christianity, and the colonies founded in modern times by
the Portuguese, the English, Americans, and others, the religion
of Mohammed prevaUs in all the countries of Africa not devoted
to Fetichism and idolatry. It is very widely diffused, extending
over tbe whole of Barbary, Egypt, Nubia, &c., and being pro
fessed also by some of the more advanced negro tribes. With
the exception of Egypt and Abyssinia, we may add, perhaps, pf
Monrovia and the Cape Colony, all the science and literature of
Africa are of Arabic origin. The Arabs have schools estab
lished at Cairo, Merou, and Darfour, in the region of the Nile, in
Morocco, Tunis, Algiers, Fez, Barbary, (kc. There are also schools
among the Mandingoes, Foulahs, Jolofs, and other Mohammedan
nations of Central Nigritia and Soudan. But Mohamraedanisra,
though vastly superior to Fetichism, exists in Africa in its raost
degraded forra, and leaves the people in a serai-barbarous state.
But we will occupy the reraaining part of this chapter in saying
something of the various races in Africa, of whom seven varieties
are usually named. These are the Egyptian, Numidian, Abys
sinian, Nubian, Kaffer, Hottentot, and Negro. The Egyptian race
is represented by the Copts of Egypt, who have long hair, a yel
lowish, dusky complexion, neither Grecian nor Arabian, a puffed
visage, protuberant eyes, flat nose, and thick lips, reserabling
somewhat the mixed or mulatto race formed of the European
and the negro. These are the living representatives of the an
cient Egyptians, though probably intermixed with other races,
and somewhat degenerated. It is not necessary to add that this
is one of the oldest and most -vigorous races, the people that built
the pyraraids, invented hieroglyphics, and maintained one of the
strongest erapires of ancient tiraes.
The Numidians inhabit the most northern portion of Africa,
lyino- chiefly between the Mediterranean and the Great Sahara, or
desert. They are known by the various names of Moors, Berbers,
Tuanghis, and Tibbans, with an admixture of Arab blood, and are
probably the descendants of the original inhabitants of the
country, before its occupancy by the Phoenicians, Romans, Van-
22

506 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

dais, and Arabs. They represent, therefore, the ancient Numid
ians, Mauritanians, and Lybians. In this race the hair is long
and black, eyes dark and piercing, the complexion a light bro-wn,
and the features generally rather European, but the nose not
prominent, and never aquiline, as is frequently the case with the
Arabian. This race is inferior in mental power, and has never
made any progress in the arts and sciences.
The Abyssinian race has some striking peculiarities. Their
color is nearly black, but the hair is long and lank, like that of an
Arabian or Hindoo, features regular, nose aquUine, and stature
rather tall, Uke a European. This race has made some progress
in civUization, in literature, and the arts. They cultivate the soil,
and work in iron, brass, and copper. They possess, also, a rude
and superstitious form of Christianity, and occupy the region usu
ally designated in ancient times as Ethiopia.
The Nubians comprehend nearly all the people of Africa from
the confines of Egypt on the south, the Red Sea and the Indian
Ocean on the east, to about 8° of north latitude, and about the
25th of east longitude, westward. In this race will be included
the people called Barabra or Nuba, those of Sennaar, the SumuU,
Bishari, Gallas, and others. They have finely formed persons, of
the middle size, a long oval countenance, Uvely dark eyes, a
curved nose, rounding toward the lip, rather thick Ups, though
not protruding excessively, a retreating forehead, scanty beard,
strongly frizzled, but never woolly hair, like that of the negro.
Some of the nations of this race have made considerable progress
in the arts of life. The language of the Gallas is said to be copi
ous and expressive.
The Kaffirs and Hottentots are found in Southern Africa, and
have characteristics which distinguish them from the ordinary
negro races.
The Kaffir is of a deep-bro-vra color, -with hair short, curUng,
and woolly, but not that of the negro, nose tolerably elevated, Ups
thick, the body muscular and athletic, and the facial angle uniformly
larger than in the negro. They have domesticated the ox and
horse, the sheep and the goat, and have made some progress in
the useful arts. They are superior in energy of character to many
of their neighbors, and suffer unwillingly the degradation to which
some of them are subjected by the Dutch Boors at Cape Colony.
It is a singular and distinctive trait, that they practice the rite
of ch-curacision, from what source derived they cannot tell.
The original counti-y of the Hottentots may be described as that
now occupied by the British colony of the Cape of Good Hope,
where arts, agriculture, reUgion, and civUization are making com

AEEICA. 507

mendable progress, under European influence and the labors of
various missionaries. In this race the color of the skin is a yel
lowish brown, "like that of a faded leaf." The cheek-bones are
high and spread out sideways, from which the face is suddenly
contracted below to a very narrow and pointed chin. The nose
is flat and broad toward the end ; eyes of a deep chestnut color, long,
narrow, and far separated from each other. The hair grows, not
uniformly, but in small tufts, at certain distances from each other,
upon the scalp. When cropped it has a brush-like appearance,
though curled and twisted ; when suffered to grow long it hangs
on the neck in hard-twisted tassels, like fringe. The beard of the-
Hottentot is scanty, and his stature only about four feet six inches,
as the average for men, and four feet as that for women. They
have some other pecuUarities of structure not necessary to be men
tioned here ; but, altogether, they may be pronounced an ugly race,
-with a language which sounds like the cluck of a turkey. They Uve
in the rudest manner. When discovered they had no fixed dwell
ings, and knew nothing of tUlage or the arts. Their superiority to
the lower animals around them was evinced in the fact that they
had domesticated the ox and the sheep, clothed themselves in the
skins of ¦wild animals, and could communicate with each other by
spoken language. But many of them have been converted by
the labors of the Moravians and other missionaries, and prove that
they have aU the faculties and feelings whioh distinguish the hu
man character.
There are other races, or varieties of races, some of which have
been discovered only within a few years, while others probably
yet remain undiscovered in the remote and inaccessible regions of
the eontinent. The , Bechuanas and others, among whom the cel
ebrated missionary, Moffat, has so successfully labored, have at
tracted much attention as a ¦vigorous and promising stock.
With the exception of those enumerated, and the various for
eigners who occupy the colonies, Europeans, Araericans, and
Asiatics, in Egypt, Algiers, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cape Colony,
&c., the negro races occupy the entire remaining part of the Afri
can continent, commencing at the southem boundary of the Great
Desert, and embracing both the western and eastern coasts, -with
the island of Madagascar. Their pecuUarities are so well known
that we will not describe them. It may be reraarked, however,
that these peculiarities, in some instances, are much modified —
the color, as already stated, being sometimes a deep jet, then a
brown, and sometimes even a mixed yellow. GeneraUy, the hair
is short and woolly, though sometimes long and curUng. The
hair of the Ashantees, for instance, sometimes reaches to the

508 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

shoulders, and is rather curling than woolly. The negroes are
vivacious, and, under favorable circumstances, acquire knowledge
with faciUty. They are susceptible of deep and vivid rehgious
emotions, though superstitious to excess in their native wilds.
It may be remarked here, that while there are great varieties
in the races of the African continent, these varieties form a scale,
as it were, between two extremes, between which they oscillate,
passing and repassing constantly into one another. Their true
origin is probably inscrutable, yet no one can deny that circum
stances exert upon them an immense influence. Climate, position,
usages, government — indeed, every thing pertaining to their con
dition, must modify, not simply their character, but their appear
ance. This is true even of the proper negro races. " The tribes,"
says Pritchard, "in whose prevalent conformation the negro type
is discernible in an exaggerated degree, are uniformly in the lowest
stage of human society ; they are either ferocious savages, or stupid,
sensual, and indolent. Such are the Papals, BuUoms, and other
rude hordes on the coast of Western Guinea, and in many tribes
near the Slave Coast, and in the Bight of Benin ; countries where
the slave trade has been carried on to the greatest extent, and has
exercised its usual baleful influence. On the other hand, wher
ever we think of a negro State the inhabitants of which have
attained any degree of improvement in their social condition, we
constantly find that their physical characters deviate considerably
from the strongly marked or exaggerated type of the negro. The
Ashantee, the Sulema, the Dahomans are exempUfioations of this
remark. The negroes of Guber and Hausa, where a considerable
degree of civilization has long existed, are, perhaps, the finest race
of genuine negroes in the whole continent, unless the Jolofs are
to be excepted. The Jolofs have been a comparatively civiUzed
people from the era of their first discovei-y by the Portuguese."*
* " Eesearches into the History of Man," a work of profound interest and
great value, on the unity of the races.

EGYPT.

509

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Arabs in Costume.
Of all the countries of Africa, Egypt, the ancient, the myste
rious, the foredoomed, possesses, on raany accounts, the greatest
interest. Once the raost learned, the most raagnificent in the
world, it has been known for ages as " the basest of the king
doms." Her gorgeous ruins Une the banks of the Nile, and reheve
the monotony of the desert. Her ancient Pharaohs, nobles, priests,
and warriors are no more ; new races occupy the scenes of ancient
splendor, and the descendants of the original Egyptians, if they
exist at all, exist only as slaves. Desolation is plainly written on
the shores of the Nile. The new Mohammedan Egypt, it is true,
struggles 10 rise, but struggles feebly. Despotism attempts new
changes and transformations, but despotism never yet renovated a

510 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

State. It only disturbs and disarranges; and if apparently
successful for a season, at length only hastens the downfall of
nations. Let us ascend the Nile — the wonderful, the changeless, the
bountiful NUe, amid tombs, temples, and pyramids, vast, solitary,
stupendous ; and passing Alexandria and Cairo, with their motley
population, numerous mosques, rainarets, and narrow streets, gUde
by the half-buried cities of Memphis, once the capital of Egypt
and the center of Egyptian wealth, commerce, and art — the an
cient Arsinoe, now Medinet el Fayoum — Siout, with its sepulchral
grottoes, Thebes, Esne, Luxor, Syene, and their colossal temples —
till we come to the Cataracts, beyond which stretches the Ethiopia
of the ancients. The land is fertUe, the atmosphere hot and bril
Uant, and the landscape, though monotonous, yet frequently beau
tiful from the luxuriant vegetation, the green foUage of innumerable
dates and palms, the presence of magnificent ruins, and the distant
grandeur of mountain ranges.
Egypt is a long, narrow valley, inclosed .on either side by
mountains, and were it not for the Nile would be a soUtary desert ;
but this gives it life, beauty, fraitfulness. The Nile, the NUe
alone, is the true glory of Egypt ; and we need not wonder, there
fore, that in all ages it has been an object of homage and affec
tion to the natives. Rain rarely falls in Egypt, and only in light
showers ; thunder is equally infrequent. During eight months of
the year the heat is overpowering ; the other months are compar
atively temperate. The Khamseens, or hot loinds of the desert,
which occasionally blow from the south, drink up the moisture of
the body, bUnd the eyes with drifts of sand, and sometimes over
whelm the traveler in the wUdemess. The Nile, which probably
takes its rise in the far-off mountains of interior Africa, rolls its
mighty tide, from north to south, a distance of some 2400 raUes,
and by its annual overflow diffuses fertUity and joy through the
thirsty land. It begins to rise when the sun is vertical in Ethio
pia, at the tirae of the annual rains in that country, which fall
from the latter end of May to September, and sometimes October.
At the hight of its flood, lower Egypt, which is a rich aUuvial
plain, looks almost like an inland sea, with little islands, on which
stand the villages and cities, these being usuaUy built on eminences
and the higher grounds, the tops of forest and fruit trees, all the
lower levels being covered with water. The occasion is celebrated
by the inhabitants as a jubilee. The banks or mounds which
confine the river are cut by the Pasha, attended by his grandees ;
the water is then let into the grand canal, which runs through
Cairo, whence it is let into cuts for supplying the fields and gar-

EGYPT. 511
deas. The irrigation is accomplished by machinery. When the
waters retire, vegetation springs up like a thing of life. The labors
of the husbandman are next to nothing. The harvest comes as a
matter of course, or rather, we ought to say, as the boon of Prov
idence. Wheat, barley, rice cover the fields. Oranges and lem
ons perfume the air; dates, grapes, figs, apricots delight the
¦vision ; and date-trees, which are used for a great variety of pun-
poses, bloom in every part of the exuberant landscape.
It wUl thus be seen that Egypt possesses considerable agricul
tural wealth. Its commerce is fair ; cotton is exported in consid
erable quantities. Caravans are sent to Abyssmia, Darfur, Sennaar,
Barbary, and Syria. There is considerable trade with the ports
of the Red Sea. Alexandria is the principal mart of European
commerce. Egypt has a population of about two millions and a half, of
great variety, consisting of Turks, Arabs, Fellahs, Copts, Jews,
Nubians, &c., governed by a rigorous despotism, severely taxed,
and without much effective means of education and social improve
ment. The principal form of religion is Mohammedanism, in its
most harsh and fanatical form. Schools are rare, and a single
college, we believe, bas been established by the government. The
Pasha favors the introduction of European science and usages,
which circumstance creates, for the present, an internal social
struggle betvreen new and old forms, ideas, and sentiments, the
issues of which may be considered doubtful. By this means,
however, Egypt is now more fully open to Christianity, wluch
may yet reap glorious triumphs on the banks of the Nile. The
country now possesses cotton and sugar manufactories, manufac
tories of arms, a polytechnic school, scientific institutions, and
other estabUshments whioh will assist in developing its resources.
A number of Egyptian youths, belonging to the more distinguished
famiUes, are sent to France, to Germany, and to England, in order
to become famUiar with European science and civilization, and to
bring back into their country the fruits of their studies. But
Egypt is yet subjugated by Mussulman barbarism. The Turks,
a race of conquerors, are impetuous, arrogant, despotic, and con
stantly oppress the native population. No laws are strictly ob
served in Egypt. Justice is an empty sound. Physical force,
money, bribery, control all things. Of com-se individual liberty,
the source of all civilization, is unknown m such a countiy. If
soldiers or laborers on pubUc works are needed by the government,
a village or to%vn is surrounded at daybreak, a mihtary force
enters, and aU the males are taken off from the age of seven or
eight years to forty. The children cry, the women weep and

512 THB WOELD WE LIVE IN.

wring their hands. No matter ; resistance is vain. The unhappy
-victims are driven off : if they complain, they are beaten ; if they
revolt, their beads are cut off ; if they grow sick or die, as many
do, they are left on the road.
We will here describe briefly the various classes of the popula-
tion, as this wUl give as lively an idea of the state of the country
as any thing else.
We have spoken of the Turks, the lords of Egypt, and we need
say nothing more of them.
The Copts (from the Greek gupt, a vulture, whence Egypt) are
supposed to be descendants of the ancient native Egyptians. 'They
have a symmetrical form, thin lips, a long face, sometimes resem
bUng more the Jew than the Egyptian. They bear the name of
Christians, and have many ancient books and manuscripts in the
Coptic tongue ; but their Christianity is of the lowest and most
superstitious sort. The Christian Church in Egypt was once
flourishing, but was soon coiTupted. The invasions of the Mus
sulmans have greatly increased the ignorance and barbarism of
the Copts.
There are convents among the Copts ; but, three or four ex
cepted, they do not resemble the monasteries of Romanism ; for
they are inhabited by married women. We copy a curious scene
on this subject. " We arrived," says Mrs. de Gasparin, " before
the convent of St. Anthony. My husband had a copy of the Bible
under his arm, and I was indignant at the monastic life. We en
tered a gate, and found ourselves in a court-yard surrounded with
buUdings : chUdren ran to meet us ; young women advanced, -with
their food in their hands : among them two Coptic priests : they
shook hands very pleasantly. We were quite surprised.
" 'And where are the monks ?'
" ' There are no monks here ; we are priests, and we Uve in com
munity, each in his house.'
" ' But is this not then a convent ?'
" ' Yes, yes, — it is a convent !'
" The Superior explained to us the riddle. All the convents
of Egypt, except those of lakes Natrons, &c., are transformed
into simple villages. Four or five married priests live there : some
Coptic farailies are settled around thera. One of the priests ex
ercises a sort of watch over the community. Each one cultivates
his grounds, says his prayers in the church, educates his chUdren,
loves his wife, and lives quietly. If there must be convents, these
are to my mind. I could not help expressing frankly to the
priests, the satisfaction I felt to find them married. . . . The Copts
showed us their church ; it is a circular room, surmounted with a

EGYPT. 513
cupola, and is shaped like a mosque ; on one side is an open
sanctuary, with some pictures."
The Copts are Uttle respected, and have no influence with the
govemment. Degraded in the eyes of the Turks, their sole am
bition is to obtain a bare toleration, and to practice unmolested
the rehgion of their fathers. They are not the persons to regen
erate Egypt.
The Copts reside chiefly in Upper Egypt, and do not exceed
160,000 souls. They are industrious and quiet. Some of theu-
females are quite graceful in appearance and manners.
The Fellahs, or Arab cultivators, the descendants of the an
cient conquerors of Egypt, form more than four-fifths of the en
tire population. They are well forraed and active, though lean
and meager — generally wretchedly poor, though perhaps not un
happy. They take httle thought for the morrow, happy to be
able to eat their bread, baked under the ashes, and call upon the
name of Allah.
The Fellah has a low forehead, prorainent eyes, thick eyebrows,
high cheek-bones, a thin beard, tall forra, a mUd but vacant air.
The houses of the Fellahs are wretched, having no windows nor
roofs ; the light, the air, and smoke enter and escape by the door.
In these huts is no furniture but an iron pot, a leathern bottle,
some earthen mugs, a mat : the Fellahs do not feel the need of
any thing else. The men are scarcely clothed ; the women are
covered with a simple cotton cloth ; but under a burning cliraate,
where the rain never falls, nothing more is necessary. They do
not drink wine, nor eat pork, because Mohammed has forbidden it ;
of other provisions they have plenty.
Individual property is sadly insecure in Egypt : it would be
even too much to say that it exists. The pashas are always con
sidered as owners of the soil. They distribute, they give whole
vUlages to sheiks, or inferior chiefs. The sheik inspects the labor
of his men, governs tbem as he pleases, and exacts money, a good
deal of money, of whioh he sends a very small part to the pasha.
It has been calculated that the public treasury does not receive
the fifth part of taxes extorted from the people. If any Fellahs
caimot pay the tax imposed upon them, all the village is obligated
to make up the sum demanded. With such taxation, how could
agriculture flourish and wealth increase ?
The Fellahs, however, labor on, suffer all sorts of oppression,
occasionally lose their eyes, cut off their fingers, and otherwise
maim themselves, to be kept from conscription, and make the
most of their miserable life.
Slaves ure found in Egypt, brought from Nubia, Abyssmia,
22*

514 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

and Sennaar, most of them being of the black race, though not
all negroes. The slaves are said to be well treated in the East,
but tMs is doubtful. They have no legal security whatever, and
are often beaten, maltreated, maimed, and even killed. The slave-
markets are as horrible as those of BrazU. The poor creatures,
frequently females, crouch in the market, with shame and terror,
and are struck off to the highest bidder, no matter whether they
are young or old, black or white, robust or deUcate.
The women of Egypt, as in Turkey, are kept secluded and un
educated. Their dress is peculiar, leaving nothing visible but the
dark, deep-set eyes.
" The Jews of Egypt, as every where, are a pecuUar race. In
personal appearance they are by no means prepossessing. Their
features, it is true, are often finely formed ; but they are a do-wn-
looking, gloomy tribe, as might be expected from the treatment
they have so long experienced. Many of them are fairer than
the rest of the population, which may be accounted for by their
Syrian origin. It has been remarked that they are frequently
bloated in appearance, and are Uable to sore eyes ; and some
attribute the circumstance to the immoderate use of sesame oU.
Whether this be the case or not, certain it is that this pecuUarity
in their cookery gives their persons a very unpleasant odor, so
that you may know a Jew in the dark. I ought to add, that
almost all the Eastern Jews I have seen ara very different in the
type of their features from those of Europe ; and that I do not
reraember to have noticed the real Hebrew nose more than once,
namely, on the face of a young money-changer in Alexandria,
whose father rejoiced in a regular pug. The women, on the
other hand, in as far as I have been able to ascertain, preserve a
very characteristic cast of countenance. They are often hand
some and well made. Their mode of life and character resemble
that of the Levantines, between whom and them, however, there
exists an insuperable antipathy."
It is the custom for the Jews in Egypt to celebrate very strictly
the Feast of Tabernacles. During eight days they forsake their
rooms, and sleep in little cabins made of palm-leaves, on the ter
races of their houses. Those who have no convenient place for
so doing are invited by their friends, so that on this occasion the
roofs of the Jewish quarters are covered with a regular encamp
ment. The streets previously are absolutely filled -with camels
laden with palm-branches, which fetch a handsome price, for
there is an eager demand for them. The Levantines say that
on the first day of this festival the Jews go to their priest, and
ask ff it wiU be a good year. He oracularly and gutturally

EGYPT. 615

answers, " Ch — ." If the year be good, he says, " Did I not
tell you ch — ?" meaning (cheir) good. But if it be a bad year,
he says, " Did I not tell you ch — ?" meaning (chara) bSd.
. We add a few words respecting the domestic relations of the
people, and upon this subject wUl draw chiefly from the accounts
of Madame Gasparin, who enjoyed rare opportunities of becom
ing acquainted with their more interior life. The Mussulman
must have al least one wife, or a slave ; celibacy is considered
disgraceful, but personal inclination is not consulted. The affi
anced cannot see one another before being married. Women,
called Katbi, go through the harems, take account of the young
marriageable girls, and make their report : if the girl is still a
child, the father decides for her ; if she is of the age of reason,
she accepts or refuses without constraint. She chooses then a
representative, and the marriage is religiously celebrated between
this proxy and the wife. Eight days after, the bride is led with
great pomp to the house of her husband, who, during this time,
is in the raosque. He returns slowly to her ; for eagerness, in
these circurastances, would be in bad taste. Then, for the first
time, the married pair see each other. The husband comes to
the wife, and takes off the cashraere vail, with which she is cov
ered. She makes resistance. On taking away this vail, he pro
nounces these words : In the name of the God of compassion and
mercy. She replies by a blessing. When he has seen his -wife,
the husband goes back to his friends. If she displeases him, he
waits a week to send her away. Two-thirds of the do-wry be
stowed by the husband are given to the woman, to buy her some
furniture. Divorce is extremely easy, and produces great evUs. It is
enough for the husband to say to the wife. Thou art divorced.
The husband can send off and take back his wife three times.
After the third divorce it is difficult. Divorce is so deeply rooted
in the Mussulraan habits that it is not rare to see men marry, in
the space of ten years, twenty or thirty woraen. Many woraen
have, in their turn, twelve to twenty husbands in the course of
their life.
The hareras contain prisoners still more unhappy than the
women, naraely the slaves ; young girls of ten to twenty years,
whose only office is to serve their raistresses, to answer to all their
calls, to bear with their Ul-huraor, to dance and sing for their
amusement. Mrs. de Gasparin saw four of these dancing-women ;
she was startled at their sadness and dejection. "I have met
with women in affliction ; I have seen the expression of despair ;
I have seen that of hunger ; but I never before saw any thing so

516 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

heart-rending.' Others who suffer, have days of happiness ; here
are no joys to look back upon, none to expect. These female
slaves have no mother, no famUy ; and they are not twenty years
old ! And their days are sad, and their heart heavy in the soli
tude of their harem ! Oh ! how I wished to be able to open the
prison- doors to these young girls, creatures of God, whom the
Lord has made to worship and serve him, to love, and to be
loved, and from whom infatuated men snatch their portion in
heaven and upon earth !"
The relations even of father and children are vitiated in this
poisonous atmosphere. A son does not eat with his father ; he
rarely sees him ; he feels no confidence in him. Badly educated, as
soon as he is of age he is his own master. The indifference of chil
dren toward their parents ends almost always in utter ingratitude.
Thus the whole family perishes, because it is coi-rupted in its source.
But we raust leave these interesting topics, and hasten to take
a glance of the antiquities of Egypt ; for, after all, it is these which
give to the country its principal charm.
"It is not only the hieroglyphics of Egypt,'' says a celebrated
Frenchman : " this country offers subjects of observation and medi
tation which no traveler can entirely neglect, whoever he may be, if
he have eyes to see, a memory to remember, and a sprinkling of im
agination wherewith to dream. Who can be indifferent to tableaux
of unaccountable nature on the banks of the Nile ? — to the spectacle
of this river-land, that no other land resembles ? Who wUl not be
moved in the presence of this people, which of old accomplished
such mighty deeds, and now are reduced to a misery so extreme ?
Who can visit Alexandria, Cairo, the Pyramids, Heliopolis, Thebes,
-without being moved by reminiscences the most imposing and di
verse ? The Bible, Homer, Philosophy, Science, Greece, Rome,
Christianity, Islamism, the Crusades, the French Revolution,
almost every thing great in the world's history seems to converge
into the pathway of him who traverses this memorable country.
Abraham, Sesostris, Moses, Helen, AgesUaus, Alexander, Pompey,
Caesar, Cleopatra, Aristarchus, Plotinus, Origen, Athanasius, Sa
ladin, St. Louis, Napoleon — what names ! what contrasts ! A
country made to occupy eternally the world, Egypt appears at
the very origin of the traditions of Judea and Greece : Moses
issues from her, Plato, Pythagoras, Lycurgus, Solon, Herodotus,
Strabo, and Tacitus enter into her bosom to be initiated into her
sciences, religion, and laws. She attracts the thoughts, to the
tomb of Alexander, the piety of St. Louis, and the fortui^es of
Bonaparte ; and at this moment the object of the exaggerated at
tention of London and Paris is Ibrahim Pasha."

EGYPT. 517
The information so long buried under the hieroglyphics of Egypt
is now partially revealed. Those hieroglyphics, in the year 1846,
were translated, and it was in the power of any inteUigent man,
-with the aid of the dictionary and grammar of ChampoUion and
the works of De Sacy and Rochette, to read these characters in
words and sentences, and understand them, — a language res
cued from araid the crurabling ruins of temples and monuments,
from a papyrus torn and defaced, and coeval -with the times of
Abraham and Moses. Egypt, the land of darkness, is no longer
dark. That interesting people, who, notwithstanding their present
degeneracy and depression, have sent the signs and impressions of
then- wisdom and greatness across 5000 centuries and the Westem
Ocean, we now know, as tbey once were, by their hieroglyphics
and raonuraents. We see their labors and manuscripts explamed
and illuminated by pictures made so intelligible, that there can be
no rational possibiUty of doubt as to their signification. We can
read the names of their kings and dynasties, as also of their gods,
and to whom, and by what king, such temples were erected. All
of importance in regard to the famiUes of the kings is revealed ;
the orders of the priesthood are made known.
Eminent hierologists are coming out with the whole Pharaonic
family, in which will be found the names of the Chief Baker, of
the Grand Admiral, and of the Master of the RoUs, in the time of
Joseph. Among the representations now presented to our eyes,
and dating back 3000 years before Christ, we discover the scenes
and occupations of ordinary life araong the Egyptians ; we see
the funeral ceremonies ; we have their songs of mirth, the anthem
with which they offered praises to the gods, and the dirge which
saddened the company that consigned the body to the grave.
We behold the mechanic employed in his work, the warrior, the
smith, tbe physician, the painter, even the veterinary surgeon and
barber, and the youth changing his raiment and shaving in prep
aration for company. We see some engaged in raising a colossus,
others making brick like the Hebrew slaves. And among these
monuments, and in painting, all the various utensUs and ornaments
exist, even the inkstand, jewelry, sraelUng-bottles, and dolls for
the play of infancy, are found araong them. Every variety, al
most, of fruit, is found in the tombs of Egypt : pomegranates, nuts,
beans, peas, barley, have been found in these tombs, retaining
their vegetable life, emblematic of the resurrection of those by
whom they were once planted. Even the roasted duck or the
beef exists, and attests to us, the Occidentals, across the oceans
of tirae and space, that the ancients of Egypt shared in com
mon with us the appetites and wants of man. We find in many-

518 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

the images of those who slumber in their final mansions, produced
with scientific art ; and on the sides of the tombs or sarcophagus,
represented in hieroglyphics, the travels of the soul, not only the
life present, but the wanderings and perUs of that which is to
come. Thus primeval Egypt stands revealed to us in her hiero
glyphics, her pictures with explanations beneath, her sculpture,
and her various wonderful and illustrative memorials. If, in any
case, we do not clearly understand the hieroglyphics, we can
know the event to which they refer — the Deity to whom prayers
were addressed — the king who reigned — and thus ascertain what
the hieroglyphics do not say, if not what they precisely express.
New light has recently been thrown upon the chronology of
Egypt, derived from three new elements, the " Papyrus of Turin,"
known as the historic canon found in 1824 by ChampoUion,
among other Egyptian records in the museum of that city ; the
sculpture on the "Ancestral Hall of Carnac," and the "Tablet of
Abydos." Monsieur Prisse has, with great difficulty and peril,
secured the " Ancestral Hall of Carnac" (a small chapel by the
side of the Temple of Carnac, nine feet long and twelve high, and
covered on all sides with hieroglyphics of the ancient Egyptian
kings), and it now enriches one of the museums of Paris.
Tbe Papyrus of Turin has been deciphered by the labors of
Lepsius, aided by Mr. Birch and the Chevalier Bunsen, and is
now published, containing a list of the Egyptian kings from the
mystic age to the Ramessides of the nineteenth dynasty, about
1400 or 1500 years before Christ. The length of each reign and
dynasty are given. It is shown by the learned Baruchi, that
from Menes there must have reigned over Egypt to the time of
Carabyses 450 kings — 119 before the Exodus of the Hebrews.
And this deduction from the Canon or Papyrus of Turin is con
firmed by the Ancestral Hall of Carnac, and by the Tablet of
Abydos and other memorials. Lepsius has found 400 Cartouches,
emblems or signs for kings. On the Tablet of Abydos there is a
freat hiatus of several centuries about the time of the Shepherd
angs, but this is well-nigh supplied from the Hall of Carnac, and
other records.
ChevaUer Bunsen has divided Egyptian history into three great
periods, the old, the middle, and the new. The first embraces about
a thousand years, as he supposes, beginning with Menes, and in
cluding the twelve dynasties of Manetho. During this age the Pyr
amids and Labyrinths were built. The second includes the time of
the Hykshos or Shepherd Kings, and the events mentioned in the
Scriptural History. The third extends from Aames, the founder
¦of the eighteenth Theban dynasty, to Cambyses. The chronology

EGYPT. 619
of Egypt, however, is not yet fully investigated ; different dates
and nurabers are given by different archseologists, though aU agree
in assigning a remote antiquity to the early dynasties. From
twenty-five hundred to three thousand years before Christ have
been spoken of for the comraenceraent of the first ; but of this we
have no certainty. The common Scripture chronology usuaUy
assigns only 4004 years before Christ as the date of the creation
of the present order of things ; but other Scripture chronologies
give from 5000 to 6000 years before Christ as its proper date.
And, indeed, the chronology of the world is not properly a matter
of inspiration at all, as is generally supposed, but rather of human
investigation and inference. The antiquities of Egypt, in many
ways, strikingly confirm the truth of the Scripture history, and in
no instance contradict it.
As the subject of Egyptian antiquities is very extensive, we
wUl confine ourselves only to the Pyramids, the Tombs, and the
Mummies.'^ Although explorations of the pyramids were raade from 1788
to 1825, it was subsequent to the latter period, that, under the in
stmctions of the new school of ChampoUion and his co.idjutors, the
most important discoveries were made. To Ccil. Howard Vyse,
especially, is the world indebted for the most exact and coraplete
measurements and descriptions. The great pyramid of Ghizeh
was built over a small rocky erainence, varying in hight from
twenty-two to seventy feet, and situated on the lower platform of
the Lybian chain, which a few miles distant vanishes in the great
desert. It is constructed of large blocks of limestone from the
Lybian mountains, lined with granite brought from the upper
cataracts of the NUe, a distance of 640 railes, and covered with
white limestone from an Arabian mountain in the vicinity, which
being smoothed with the utmost skUl and care, was intended to
presei-ve the monument forever from invasion, and gave it an al
most snow-white appearance. This casing, to the depth of about
thirty feet, has been removed for bmlding purposes, thus reducing
to that extent the size and hight of the pyramid, and exposing to
view the vast blocks of which the great mass of the structure is
formed. This pyramid is at its base 740 feet square, and 450
feet 9 inches in hight (having been originaUy 480 feet), and con
tains 89,028,000 cubic feet of masonry and 6,848,000 tons weight
of Umestone, from which, however, is to be deducted the granite
blocks used in lining the interior. This pyramid covers thirteen
acres, and a practical builder has said that were the materials
* Our account is derived chiefly from Gliddon.

520 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

converted into brick, they would be sufficient to buUd the city of
PhUadelphia, leaving at the same time in the granite blocks enough
to construct all the churches and other public buUdings. The
blocks of limestone vary from two to five feet square. The casing
stones, of white limestone (of which a few at the foundation were
discovered by Col. Vyse), were eight feet three inches long, four
feet three inches in hight, and four feet eleven inches in breadth.
The ordinary Egyptian cubit was twenty-four inches and the
royal cubit twenty-eight inches, by which measurement (supposed
to be that of David and Solomon) the great pyramid is 280 cubits
high, and the proportion of its base to its hight as eight to five.
The pyramids were begun at the center of the base, and smoothed
down from the top. The granite lining of the pyramids as well
as the covering was finished with the greatest possible skill and
beauty, so closely fitted together that hardly the width of a sheet
of paper could pass between them, and so cemented that the stone
might be as readily broken in another place as at that of the junc
tion. Some of these blocks were thirty-five feet long and five to
eight thick. One chamber has a pointed roof with nine blocks of
granite eighteen feet long. The great pyramid alone would fur
nish materials for more than a thousand monuments like that of
Bunker HiU.
It is well known that the interior of the pyramids is occupied
with various chambers. These chambers are in different positions
in the pyramids, sometimes below the foundations. Two air-pas
sages, one from the north and the other from the south side, com
municate with the central chamber. These are but a few inches
ill diameter, and were accidentally discovered. They were aU
sepulchral, and the names of many, if not all, the buUders have
been ascertained. Nine still exist at Ghizeh, and Ool. Vyse has
discovered the sites of foundations of thirty more in the same
vicinity. The second in size is ascertained to be the most ancient,
and tbe great pyramid next in time.
The Memphite pyramids were constructed in that ante-historical
period between the deluge and the era of Abraham and Moses,
a period of high civilization and of general peace. The coun
try was, near the time of Abraham, invaded by the Hykshos or
Shepherd Kings, from some region of the East, who ransacked
the tombs and pyramids, and forced the Egyptians to the north,
who built Thebes as their chief city. This occurred, it is ascer
tained, between the thirteenth and eighteenth dynasties, — an un
certain period, probably a thousand years, ui which occurred the
great events connected with the abode of the Israelites in Egypt.
This is the debatable ground in chronology. Joseph was prime

EGYPT. 621
minister to one of these invading kings, and when the Egyptians
drove out these foreigners there rose up another Pharaoh, who
knew not Joseph. We have clear and authentic history from the
commencement of the eighteenth dynasty, say 1722 years before
Christ. Then was erected the famous sphinx — ^not at the time of
the pyranoids, but long after — probably designed to commemorate
the restoration of the long-subverted power of the most ancient
Egyptians. The last of the Memphite pyramids was constructed
300 years before Abraham, 700 before Moses. After this resto
ration, Thebes towered above Memphis, though Memphis was still
regarded as a second capital, and the kings were crowned there.
But the fact of the opening and ransacking of the pyramids in
duced a total change in the mode of sepulture, and hence the ex-
cavatioijs and tombs in the Valley of the Kings; so beautiful, still
so perfect, and adorned with so many important fragments of
hieroglyphical history. When a king ascended the throne he
commenced the preparation of his tomb, which, in extent, corre
sponded to the length of his reign, and from this ascertained fact
in regard to the royal sepulchers of Thebes, is drawn the con
clusion that the size of the Memphite pyramids was in correspond
ence -with the same custom or law. The Greek historians rep
resent thirtj' years as the time occupied in the construction of the
great pyramid, and 100,000 men employed upon it at least several
months in the year. There are in the vicinity of the pyramids
countless thousands of private tombs, rising twenty feet above
the ground and descending thirty feet below — ransacked, many
of them, by the invading kings, and some of them now containing
mummies of the Greek and Roman period. Lepsius and the Prus
sians have examined many which have for ages been filled with
sand, and found the walls adorned with hieroglyphics, giving the
genealogies of the original tenants, and many historical facts of
the highest value. Vast numbers of dra-wings and antique speci
mens have been brought to Prussia from these tombs. One of
these was found to be that of the architect of the great pyramid.
The pyramids, then, were constructed exclusively as the sepul-
chei-s of kings, and before the introduction of the Shepherd Kings.
Nearly all are mausoleums, each of one king, whose size marks
the proportionate length of his reign. They were buUt by the
Missaimites — chUdren of Ham, and of the Caucasian or white
race. These pyramids are all built with exact reference to the points
of the compass ; the entrance to all is on the north side. The
angle of the great pyramid is 61° 50', its inclined hight 611 feet,
and its perpendicular bight 450 feet 9 inches. It was origmaUy

522 THE WOELD WE LI'VE IN.

perfectly smooth, but the exterior, to the depth of almost thirty
feet, has been removed, leaving the interior massive constraction
fully exposed to view.
As to the mummies, the word is derived from the Arabs, who
call the embalmed bodies of the Egyptians moomia. This term
came to us in the time of the Crusades, and for a long time mum
mies were used in medicine. (See the works of Sir Thomas Brown.)
The word carae, it is supposed, originally from moom, in Arabic,
signifying bitumen, which was largely used in embalming. It
has been observed that our word coffin probably came from the
Semitic Keffen, a winding-sheet in which the Mohammedans inclose
their dead, not using a coffin Uke ours.
The oldest sarcophagus known is in the British museum, and
supposed to be of 3000 years duration. In the earliest age
they probably buried in the sand ; but ammals, and even the
swelling rivers, would disinter the bodies ; and they would natu
rally seek, as tools were brought into use, for more secure tombs
and sepulchers for their dead.
The western side of the NUe, with its rooky hills, afforded them
the convenience and security they desired. There was also an
other reason for the choice of this region. . The west, as being the
point of the setting sun, was viewed by the early nations as the
place of the dead. It was sacred among the Jews, as the Ereh
of Genesis i. 10, whence the Erebus of the Greeks and the Mon-
gret of the Arabians, who derive their name from the same root,
because a people west of the Chaldeans. Hence also the name
of the Berber tribes west of Egypt, the Barbara ofthe hiero
glyphics — hence Barbary and our word barbarian. Tbe Ereb was
the land of shades, -where the sun went down ; called by the
Egyptians Ement, who therefore gave the name of Amenthi to
the future unknown state of the dead. The Orientals generally
buried, and still bury, their dead in the direction of east and
west. To this region of the -west, this land of fancy, where departed
spirits raight be supposed to wander, wrapt in such an indistinct
and soleran shade, the ancient Egyptian tumed and sought mansions
of repose and security for the dead, where " the light of day dieth,"
and the sun (the original object of worship in all heathen mythol
ogy) hid his face and left the world in night. Thus they hewed
out the sepulchers of their princes and people in the hUls on the
westem banks of the Nile, to which, doubtless, the dead were con
veyed frora the cities, and even from remote regions of the country.
As to the sepulchral architecture of Egypt, it can be shown that
the architecture of any nation may be traced far back, and that it

EGYPT. 623
partakes of the style of its ancient progenitors. The pagoda of the
Chinese refers to the tented abodes of their nomadic ancestry, and
the dwellings of the modern Turks to their Tartar encampments
in Asia. We, as Anglo-Saxons, delight in the Gothic, emblematic
of the branching and dark-frowning forests of Germany, while the
Spaniards still adhere to the style of the Saracens whom they
expelled from their country. The Arab,* inhabiting a country of
the palm-tree and craggy rocks, still delights to shape his pillars
like the palm-tree, and to preserve the sharp points of rocks and
stalactites found in the caverns of his mountains.
It is observed that Egyptian architecture preserves a resem
blance to various vertical stalks of plants bound together at regu
lar intervals, and terminating in a capital representing the leaves
of the lotus and papyrus, and often intermixed also with branches
of the palm-tree. Not like the Grecian is the architrave found
resting upon the flowers of the capital; but upon a square abacus,
as tbough the column consisted of a central square beam, around
which the flowers had been bound or wreathed in omament. The
plants around Grecian columns were of Grecian. origin. The pil
lars of Jachin and Boaz, made by Hiram for Solomon, were adomed
with Ulies and pomegranates of Palestine. And in Egypt we find
architecture decorated with the lotus, papyrus, and palm plants,
indigenous, if not peculiar, to the valley of the Nile.
In Chinese history alone do we find sorae records of priraeval
ci-viUzation, and even of a period when the custom of burying the
dead was unknown. The duty of worshiping parents was en
joined by edict, and, as a consequence, that of entombing or bury
ing their remains with respect. It may be conjectured that simUar
was the progress of humanity in Egypt, and that the offensive
state of the dead very early suggested the propriety of hiding
them from sight, and that they were, enemies and friends, interred
even before the Nomadic race pitched their tents on the banks of
the Nile. It must be supposed that the population had increased
to 2 or 3,P00,000 before the Dike of Menes, or the pyramid was
constructed ; the first a work for reclaiming the land, and the last
of a magnitude not to be undertaken without a surplus popula
tion. During this period the valley of the Nile became extended,
and in the outer part sandy by abrasions of silex and other mate
rials, brought by the winds from the hills, the Etesian being par
ticularly powerful, and . by repeated inundations of the river, the
bed of tbe NUe, like that of our own Mississippi, became elevated.
Some large pUlars of sand stiU remain to attest the mighty
changes during past time on the globe. Burial in the sand, then,
would naturaUy suggest itself as the earUest mode, and the pres-

524 THE WOELD WE LTVE IN.

ervation of bodies by the heat and dryness of the atmosphere, and
the salts of niter, comraon salt and alum, which abound in tbe sands
of Egypt, suggested an artificial raode for the preservation of
bodies, which at a later period, and for greater security, were con
signed to sepulchers in the rock.
Indeed, it has been ascertained by modern science, that a solu
tion of the very salts found in the sands of Egypt, are the very
best of all elements for the preservation of bodies. When, there
fore, they excavated the rooks and formed tombs, the Egyptians
brought natron from their lakes, -wrapped the body saturated with
their salts in cloths, and dried them in ovens, and in some seventy
days they were in a state to be transferred to their beds of final
repose. We trace this art to circumstances connected -with
the valley of the NUe. Egypt is the same now, in A. D.
1847, in its main features, as in B. C. 4000. Animal bodies
are seen cast out on the sands, or hung in the atmosphere,
preserved without corruption. All this matter of mummifica
tion was under the control of the Egyptian priesthood. Each
teraple had its arrangeraents for embalming, and the priests
monopolized the whole profits, frora those of the physician who
dispatched the patient, to that of the undertaker who mummied
hhn, and the sexton who buried him.
The dead were conveyed to the tombs not only from the
cities, but from great distances in the countiy. This embalm
ing is mentioned in Scripture, in reference to the bodies of Jacob
and Joseph.
As most of the tombs were west of the NUe, so Thebes and
Memphis contained probably one-half the mummies of Egypt.
The art as perfected and connected with the tombs, was coeval
with the first pyramid, long prior to Moses, or the sixteenth or
eighteenth century before Christ. In the long lapse of 3500
years, during which the art of mumraificatioii prevailed in
Egypt, for it is brought do-wn to A. D. 650, and is men
tioned particularly by St. Augustine (who states that the Egyp
tians believe in a resurrection, and therefore reverence and em
balm the bodies of the dead), it may be interestmg to form an
estimate of the number of mummies which must have been con
signed to the sepulchers. Reducing the period to 3000 years,
and supposing the average population of Egypt, during that time,
to have been 5,000,000, and the duration of a generation 33
years, the lowest possible estimate would be 450,000,000, and
we may safely, I think, put it down at 500,000,000, — a number
of bodies which, if we estimate the length of the mummy at five
and a half feet, and in depth and width at a foot and a half.

EGYPT. 525

would form a compact mass half a mile in measurement on
each square side, and if . the bodies were laid lengthwise in
succession, they would extend more than twelve times around
the globe.
And if the construction of tombs was to be regarded as a test
of civUization, no nation had claims to compare with the Egyp
tians. One of the tombs built 600 years before Christ, has a
gaUery of 862 feet, and covers an area, under ground, of one
acre and a quarter. The use of sulphuric acid and soap had both
been cited as tests of civilization among a people, but that of
mummification was certainly superior to either of these, and this
art was anciently much extended from Egypt.
The cost of mummification varied according to the three orders
or classes, and is estimated by the Greeks at $1200 for a body
of the first class, $300 for the second, and $20 for the third. The
great body probably belonged to the second class, though, consid
ering the large number of children, the cost must have fallen be
low that average. Yet estimatijig the cost at $20 for each body,
the annual expense of mummification must have been some
$3,330,000, all of which must have passed into the hands of the
priests. Tbey also derived a large revenue from the sepulchers,
and from the linen cloth in which the dead were wrapped. The
expense of this fine linen in which the dead were enveloped was
enormous. The mummy was swathed, with the nicest skill, in
strips of this cloth varying in width from a few inches to a foot.
Some mummies were found wrapped in 46 rolls, and with 350
square yards of cloth. Estimating the daUy mortality among the
Egyptian population at 274, and the cloth used for each at but
three square yards, the annual consumption of Unen for the dead
would be 2,700,000 yards, which must cost, at the lowest possible
calculation, $660,000. Of this manufacture of linen cloth the
priesthood held a monopoly. They owned the land on which the
flax was raised. The vast inclosures around their temples were
the manufactories, and the woraen who wrought were in their
employ. Nor need we wonder that this gigantic hierarchy labored
to sustain a creed which induced the other classes to regard the
embalming of the dead body as the essential means of securing
eternal repose for the soul in the celestial regions. The tombs
were owned by the priesthood, and subject to a rent, and, what
was a singular custora, a debtor was obliged to give the mummies
of his ancestors in pledge for the payment of his debts ; and if he
died insolvent, his heirs, or next blood relations, became responsible.
It should be observed that the earUest mummies were preserved
without bitumen, and -wrapped m woollen. Dr. Morton, of PhUa-

626 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

delphia, in examining certam crania presented to hun by Mr.
Gliddon, from the ancient Egyptian tombs, some years ago, noticed
the absence of bitumen ; and it has since been ascertained from
an inscription translated by Mr. Birch, that bitumen was among
the articles offered to one of the monarchs in tribute by foreign
ers, from which it was clearly not originaUy known in Egypt.
The funeral ritual for the dead has been preserved in the hiero
glyphics taken from a book translated from a copy ^t Turin, by
Lepsius. It is termed the Book of the " Manifestations of Light."
Extracts from this burial service, which contains several parts, and
many prayers to Thoth, as the Divme Wisdom, are found on the
coffins. The foUowing passage is from the discourse of the priest
at the burial : " 0 ye sent forth ministers to build tbe house of
Osiris, send forth the soul of this Osirian that he may be with
you in the habitation of this Oshis, that he may see as ye see."
The discourse of tbe Osirian deceased is as follows : " 0 Sun,
Divine Lord, dart forth thy light and heat upon the face of_ the
Osirian who glorifies thee this day with bis sacrifices (his burial) ;
let him joumey with thee to the upper regions."

CHAPTER XXXIX.
ABYSSINIA, AND OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES.
Ascending beyond the first cataract of the NUe, through an
opening wUd and rocky, the river dashing with fierce fury among
the splintered crags, we pass into the region of the torrid zone,
und enter Nubia. The banks of the river here and there are Imed
with the ruins of temples ; further on, the scenery assumes an
almost Alpine character, e.xpecially td tbe east ; on the other side
sweeps the etemal desert, whose golden sands form theraselves
into all sorts of fantastic waves, while a strip of ground on either
side the river is fringed with the castor-oU plant and the prickly
raimosa, upon whioh the patient camel browses with delight.
Long plantations of date and doum palms tower above, the fruit
of which forms the principal wealth and sustenance of the Nubi
ans, among whom bread is unknown. Passing further on, we
reach Korosko, whence the river turns short to the west as far as
Derr, the capital of Nubia. A few travelers pass the second cata-

ABYSSINIA, Knt'C.

527

ABYSSINIA, ETC. 529

raet of the Nile, covering a space of six or seven mUes in length,
infinitely more intricate than the first one, from the innumerable
rocky islets thickly sprinkled throughout its whole extent, and
after visiting the great Rock Temple of Ibsamboul, once sacred to
Ammon Re, or Osiris, the Jupiter of the ancient Egyptians, are
contented to retrace their steps toward the regions of civilization.
We, however, will continue our journey, and after just glancing
at Derr, the mud capital of Nubia (for it is a coUection of mere
mud hovels), will pass on into Abyssinia. The whole of this
country, including Nubia and Abyssinia, was the ancient Ethiopia,
where Queen Candace exercised dominion, in the days of the
Csesars.-* It bade defiance to the power of the Roman arms,
finally received the Gospel, which it has preserved (in Abyssinian)
to the present day, though in a form at once imperfect and super
stitious. The Nubians, however, are generally Mohammedans — a
dark, half-savage race of people, well formed, and tolerably hand
some in their appearance, with Uttie or nothing of the negro in
them. WhUe the women of Egypt cover every thing but their
eyes, those of Nubia uncover their faces, and wear cotton drawers,
or girdles of leathern fringes. Their hair is separated into mnu-
merable meshes, each of which is twisted around a thin piece of
tightly curled wood-shaving, and never undone or combed ! It
looks exactly like an enormous wig, the long spirals of which,
steeped in castor-oil, which, with the dust constantly renewed,
give them quite a massive appearance. The men are all armed
with long spears, hand-clubs made of wood, beautifully poUshed,
and hard as iron ; long straight swords, of a peculiar form, widen
ing toward tbe point, slung over their back ; small knives,
buckled round their left arm, and large round bucklers, with a
boss in the middle, covered either with crocodile skin, or hippo
potamus hide.
The Nile, it is well known, is divided far southward into two
rivers, of which it is formed, the one called the Blue river, which
flows from the southeast ; the other, the White river, from the
color of its water, which flows from the southwest. Taking the east
ern branch, or Blue NUe, we soon find ourselves among the mount
ains of Abyssinia — a name signifying originally mixture or confu
sion, and given them of old by foreigners, to signify the apparent
mixture of Arabian and African races. It consists chiefly of high
* We may add of Solomon, king of Israel, for the name Candace, like
those of Pharaoh and Cfesar, seems to have been common to all the queens
of Ethiopia. The exact location and limits of ancient Ethiopia are matters
of some uncertainty. 23

530 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.
level tracts of land, or plateaux, divided by mountain ridges, with
deep, luxuriant valleys. The lowlands are, intensely hot, the
higher regions cooler, and more agreeable. The country in most
parts is picturesque and beautiful, and abounds in vegetable and
mineral productions. Its extent and population are not ascer
tained. The population, however, must be quite considerable,
varying, perhaps, from 4,000,000 to 5,000,000. They comprise
a variety of races, though in general features they resemble each
other, and are all really distinct from both Africans and Arabians,
with whom they were first confounded. They rather resemble
the Hindoos, though taller and more -vigorous. They belong to
what has been called the Ethiopic (originaUy signifying dark) va
riety of the human race. All shades of ooraplexion, however,
are found araong them. The black predominates, but the color
varies from this, assuraing " brighter and lighter tints, according
to location, tUl it reaches a transparent copper hue." '
Abyssinia is covered with cities and vUlages, chiefly on elevated
spots, and single houses clinging to the mountain sides. The
houses are mostly composed of mud, straw, and rushes, timber
being scarce, and the people not having yet leamed the art of
building with stone. Caves are also sometimes used for human
habitations. The clothing of the poorer classes consists merely
of skins, or pieces of cotton. A kind of drawers, and a strip of
white cloth wrapped about the shoulders, generally forms their
whole attire. The nobles and principal citizens, however, affect
more elaborateness and splendor of costume. They usually wear
a sort of under-dress of white cloth from the Indies, adorned
with dyed silk embroideries, over which they throw a loose mantle
of cotton. They are fond of jewelry, decorating their necks,
arras, and ankles with silver ornaraents. The dress of the females,
which reaches to the chin, is becoming. They anoint their hair
with a species of odoriferous pomatum, and sprinkle it with pow
der of cloves.
In Abyssinia, though partially civUized, woraan is little better
than a slave. Other species of slavery prevaU among thera. With
some virtues, they have many vices, tiiough instances both of purity
and elevation are found among them. Parents and chUdren are
fondly attached. The children are sedulously taught to respect
and obey their parents and seniors. They are certainly superior
to most of the African nations, and evince rauch skUl in various
kinds of manufactures. They have also authors, and even paint
ers. The ancient Abyssinian or Gheez language, in which their
Scriptures, sacred books, &c., are written, is not now spoken.
The Amharic, or modern Abyssinian, is the principal speech.

ABYSSINIA, ETC. 531

The Abyssinians are nominal Christians, symbolizing partly
with the Coptic, and in some raeasure with the Greek Church.
The priests are ignorant, and the people superstitious. Polygamy
is not uncommon. The secular clergy are allowed to marry once.
Many Jews, grossly ignorant, having nearly lost the use of the
Hebrew, are settled in the mountain regions, and are generally
regarded as sorcerers. The land is infested with wild beasts, par
ticularly hyenas, who are regarded by the people with supersti
tious dread, as Jewish sorcerers. The religion of the Abyssinians
is mixed with Jewish practices ; circumcision is practiced, and the
Jewish and Christian Sabbaths are observed. Saints, angels, and
especiaUy the Virgin Mary, are objects of worship. The Abys
sinian Bible contains "the Book of Enoch." At tiieir feasts, beef
is eaten., in a raw state, swimming in blood. The soldiers, on a
march, cut slices from the thighs of the cattle, covering the place
over with skin, and then drive thera on.
The Gallas, a dark-brown race, ferocious and brave, have made
sad inroads upon Abyssinia, settling down in the places from which
tbey have expelled the, inhabitants. Sorae of them have adopted
Abyssinian manners, others are wandering shepherds and war
riors. It is feared that they may entirely overrun the country,
and displace the natives.
Once united in a single government, Abyssinia is now di-vided
into three or four, governed by chiefs or Ras. The govemment,
of course, is despotic, and often cruel.
An interestmg and somewhat successful Christian mission, from
which much may be hoped, has been established in Abyssinia.
Gobat, now Bishop of Jerusalem, educated at the missionary
school at Basel, in Switzerland, was the pioneer in this good
work. But we' must pass on, and leaving the interior of Africa, stretch
along the western shores, with smaU and remote colonies of Euro
peans, for trading and other purposes, consisting chiefly of French,
Portuguese, and English, but by no means in a flourishing state,
though the EngUsh, by pushing commerce into the interior, may
eventuaUy make it quite profitable. The Scotch have an interest
ing Christian mission at Old Calabar. The English have missions
at Sierra Lewie and Fernando Po. But we cannot pass the
American colony of free Africans from the United States, at Li
beria., now an independent government, and rising in resources
and influence. Here schools, churches, and other means of civUi
zation are estabUshed, and a good influence thence exerted upon
the natives, the Bassas, Queaks, Candoes, and other African
tribes. *

532 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

But perhaps the most interesting and promising colony in Africa
is that originally formed by the Dutch, Dutch Boors, as they are
called, which simply signifies Dutch farmers, but now occupied in
part by English traders, merchants, missionaries, &c. Cape Town,
near the Cape of Good Hope, was founded in 1652, and is built
with regularity, and some degree of elegance. Here are print
ing-presses, government offices, schools, and churches. The
population amounts to about 25,000. Missions have been es
tablished among the Caffres, Hottentots, Buschmen, Bechuanas,
and others, with considerable success. The labors of Dr. PhUip
in Cape Town, and of that indomitable Scotchman, the Rev. Mr.
Moffat, far inland, have exerted a most beneficial influence upon
the natives. Mr. Cumraing, the Nimrod of Africa, in his
" Hunter Life" has borne the most unequivocal testiraony to the
high character and successful labors of Mr. Moffat. Many of the
poor natives have become Christians ; bloody chiefs have been sub
dued. Africaner, for example, the fierce freebooter and warrior,
who had slain thousands by his own hand, and was the terror of
the colonists far and near, became a gentle, happy Christian, and
diffused around him a benign and civilizing influence. Bloody
wars have been prevented — tribes hostile to each other have been
harmonized— the arts of industry have been introduced — the
Scriptures have been translated, and churches formed in the deep
est recesses of savage life. The wUderness and the soUtary place
are made glad, the desert rejoices and blossoms as the rose.
" Again the day -star gilds the gloom,
Again the flowers of Eden bloom."

ISIANDS.

CHAPTER XL.

ISLANDS.

533

<'V'

South Sea Islanders.
The ocean, with its innumerable islands, is a world by itself,
which half a dozen volumes would not exhaust. To raake our
work complete, however, we must designate and briefly describe
some of those interesting groups of islands, destined at no distant
day to play an important part in the affairs of mankind. Oceanica,
or Oceania, lies mostly in tiie torrid zone : bounded on the north by
the Indian Ocean, the Straits of Malacca, the Chinese Sea, and
the parallel' of 35° north; on the east by the Pacific, separating
it from America ; on the south by the Pacific, and on the west by
the Indian Ocean : containing nearly 5,000,000 square miles, and a
population estimated at from 15,000,000 to 20,000,000. It is
divided into three groups : Malaysia, or the Eastern Archipelago,
occupied chiefly by Malays and negroes, and to some extent by

634 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

Europeans, rich in the products of tropical climes, including
the northwestern islands, from New Guinea to the Straits of Ma
lacca ; Australia, containing Ne.w Holland, a continent in itself,
and the neighboring islands ; and Polynesia, which comprises the
numberless beautiful and fruitful islands scattered over the Pacific
ocean. Australia, or New Holland, is yet imperfectly kno-wn. Its ex
tent and resources are great, being 1500 miles in breadth from
north to south, and 2600 raUes in length from east to west,
and having an area of about 3,000,000 square mUes, with
lofty mountains, deep vaUeys, vast forests, beautiful lakes, and
some convenient harbors. Its coast indeed is rock-bound and in
accessible, except at particular points. Its productions are diversi
fied and singular ; its cUmate peculiar, but warm, and tolerably
salubrious. Indeed, this region, in many respects, presents striking
contrasts to any with which we are famUiar in Europe or Ameri
ca. "It is New HoUand," says one of its residents, "where it is
suraraer when it is winter in Europe, and vice versa ; where the
baroraeter rises before bad weather, and falls before good ; where
the north is the hot wind and the south the cold ; where the
humblest house is fitted up with cedar ; where the fields are
fenced with mahogany, and myrtle-trees are bumed for fuel ;
where the swans are Islack, and the eagles are white ; where the
mole (Anatinus platypus) lays eggs, and has a duck's bUl ; where
there is a bird with a broom in its mouth instead of a tongue;
where there is a fish one-half belonging to the genus Raia, and
the other to that of Squalus ; where the i,pears are made of
wood, with the stalk at the broader end, and where the cherry
grows with the stone on the outside !"
Australia, or that part of it called New South Wales, has been
used by England, to whom it belongs, though originally discoverd
and colonized by the Dutch, as a place of banishment for con
victs, who form a pecuUar, and by no means desirable part of the
population ; but of late years it has been fiUing up with a better
class of colonists. Schools, churches, and governraent offices
have been established, and a spirit of energy and enterprise dif
fused among the people.
With the exception of a few Malays upon the northwestern
coast, and some Polynesians (New Zealanders, perhaps) on the
northeast, the original inhabitants of AustraUa are a black race,
called Melanasians (Black Islanders), to distinguish them from
the negroes of Africa. They aro araong the ugliest and most
barbarous of the human race, going naked, and hving in dens
and caves.

ISLANDS. 635

The European population, who are rapidly increasing m re
sources and character, and threatening even to make themselves
independent of the mother country, by setting up a republican
government, thus far only skirt the regions along the coast. Syd
ney, the capital, on Port Jackson, has one of the safest and most
spacious harbors in the world. Though irregularly built, it has
many substantial and even elegant buildings, and contains a popu
lation of some 20,000. It carries on an active commerce, not
only with the Cape Colony, but with England, China, India, and
New Zealand.
Polynesia consists of innumerable islands, chiefly formed of
coral reefs, which have arisen, and which are yet continuing to
arise from the depths of the ocean. The South Pacific is all
ahve, so to speak, with coral-builders, those insignificant-looking,
but wonderful insects, which are tiirowmg up from their ocean-
homes long ranges of coral-reefs, some of them extending over a
thousand mUes in length, and separated from each other only by
short distances, easily na-vigated by the boats of the islanders.
" He that in venturous barks hath been
A wanderer on the sea,
Can tell of many a brilliant scene
They know not on the lea.
» -:{¦ «- *
Of coral rocks, from waves below
In steep ascent that tower,
And traught with perils daily grow, •
Form'd by an insect's power."
The process of formation, in many cases, is supposed to be this.
These coral insects go to work at the bottom of the sea, form
around themselves a calcareous accretion (chiefly carbonate of
Ume — how generated is yet a mysteiy), multiply their kind, one
rising or spreading, so to speak, above another, and gradually
form a living, moving mass, which rises and sweUs, till finally
emerging, by its own energies, or uplifted by volcanic action, above
the summit of the waves, the reef extends far and near over the
cerulean deep. The interior is hollow, and the edges guarded by
ramparts of coral. Washed by-the waves, these break down, and
raingling with materials floating on the surface of the ocean,
gradually form a light rich soil. Seeds are deposited by birds,
or are floated landward by the waves ; cocoanuts, especially, are
thrown into the interior basin of the island, which take root, and
soon spread themselves in beauty and luxuriance over the entire
surface. People from other islands, or from the great continents,
are wafted thither in their light canoes, and the hum of a busy

536 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

population is heard among the groves of palm. The islands,
however, are greatly modified by volcanic action beneath the sur
face, which throws them into various shapes, and mingles them
with earth, rocks, &c., and not only so, but raises them hundreds
of feet above the level of the sea.
The Sandwich Islands, which now possess for us so much in
terest, lying as they do on the great Uquid highway between Cal
ifornia and China, have aU been formed in this way.
"The island of Molokai," says one writing frora that part of
the world, " is worth a traveler's visiting, despite the risk of cross
ing that boisterous channel, for the curious and beautiful corals
he may get there, and the near view he may have of the living
coral beds in all their submarine luxuriancy. You may go out
upon the reef in a canoe, and sail over the gay gardens, and in
only a foot or two of water may gather some of the most exqui
site specimens of marine animalcuUc vegetation ever seen. The
kinds, too, are uncoramonly unique and various. In one mass,
and disengaged at a single reach and effort of the arm, there -will
sometimes be five or six different species of this wonderful forma
tion cemented together.
" The colors are diverse, and soraetimes exquisite. Now and
then you can point out a piece to a native, and he will bring it up
all blushing with purple or blue, which you would give any thing
to preserve in a cabinet with that delicate Tyrian tint. Soraetiraes
it is like colored confectionary crystalized, with all the hues of the
rainbow. But the tints of sunset clouds are not raore fading and
evanescent than the rosy blush of those beautiful sea-flowers, when
once plucked frora their aqueous bed.
" It is only the coralline forms, or the different ways in which
those ingenious little architects make their coral groves to grow,
that can be preserved. And then those httle radiations and
branches are so brittle, and the microscopic finish of the crystal-
ine structure is soraetiraes so nice, that in washing off the extra
neous raatters, and packing them up for friends at home, you are
alraost sure to break and mar the most perfect specimens.
" It is very curious to observe how a famUy of corals -will grow
together and intermarry, till you can trace the pedigree from sire
to son, through a coral ancestry for many generations. There is
one species which the natives call ana, of which one of the boys >
here has got a rare specimen to send to one of bis brothers in
America. The ana grows somewhat like the head of a mush-
roora, on a flower-stalk put forth from the parent stock. If you
call it a flower, its petals are innumerable white scales, growing
erect, and separate each from its bed like the seeds of a sunflower.

ISLANDS. 637

These are of all sizes, from that of a button to the cro-wn of a
hat. The specimen referred to is a family tree, the trunk bearing
its infant and youthful sprigs, of appropriate sizes, through ado
lescence to maturity, when some of the adult anas are having lit
tle miniature grandsons of the third generation.
"The theory which avers that corals do not grow vigorously in
less water than two or three fathoms is quite disproved by the
growth at Molokai. We have seen and collected some fine Uving
specimens, where the water was not more than two feet deep, and
where the reef must be sometimes laid bare in low water. In a
speciraen obtained here by Mr. Andrews, only a few days ago,
there was found snugly inclosed in one of the cups formed by the
Uttle branches locking in with each other like locked hands, an
interloping crab. There he was nicely caught and incased by the
growing coral, as between the palms of two locked hands, pre
cisely as toads are sometimes found in rocks or the solid heart of
trees. How long the fellow had been imprisoned there by the
busy httle biulders upon those immense reefs we could not tell,
but it must have been in sorae Rip Van Winkle sleep, if such
things ever happen in the life of crabs.
" Coral is most abundant on the leeward of the islands, and the
larger reefs are only found there. It is said to be ascertained by
observation, that a uniform temperature of at least seventy-six
degrees is most favorable to their growth. The great thickness of
the reefs is supposed to be caused by the gradual and long-con
tinued subsidence of the original shelf of coral, while the surface
is maintained at the same level as at first by the unceasing ad
ditions made by the polypes. According to this theory, the
islands of Polynesia once formed a vast equatorial continent, which,
through volcanic agency as its probable cause, has subsided, and
left the present islands as gravestones to commemorate its for
mer existence.
" Be this as it raay, besides the overflow from volcanic eruptions,
a re-elevatory process must have been going on for ageg in the
islands of Hawaii, in order to account for the existence of well-
defined coral, on this island for instance, five hundred feet above
the present level of the sea. Tbe same has been found, also, ac
cording to Mr. Andrews, on Maui ; and natives say that on one
of the mountains of Kauai, four thousand feet above the sea, there
is coral and coral sand, and in it a spring of water. On the road
frora Lahaina to Wailuku, there is lava three or four hundred feet
above the sea, covered with a deposit of lirae fiora one-eighth to
half an inch in thickness, as if made by successive coats of white
wash, precisely as 1 have frequently seen here stones at the sea-
23*

638 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

side coated with carbonate of lime, which is, undoubtedly, a pre
cipitate from the sea-water.
" In ravines, and on the sides of precipices, where the strata of
successive volcanic eruptions are broken off, there is frequently to
be found a perpendicular vein of carbonate of lime, that seems to
have run into fissures, or to have been deposited there when in a
state of solution, from what source it is not easy to tell. That it
is lime cannot be doubted, for I have frequently seen it effervesce
at pouring on sulphuric acid. There is, also, on this island, one
thousand feet above the sea, a locality of a mineral very like to
white flint, and which one might suppose to be crystallized coral,
though it will not effervesce with the strongest acids.
"While on the subject of corals, it is in place to mention an in
ference I have lately seen, which Williams makes in his Missionary
Enterprises, in regard to the formation of corals, from the fact of
there being carbonate of lime always in solution -with salt water.
His remarks are, that ' as corals are carbonate of lime, and as they
are found to exist only in warm climates, where, by the process of
evaporation, there is abundance of materials supplied for these in
sects to build with, instead of secreting the substance, or producing
it in any other way, they are merely the wonderful architects
which nature employs to mold and fashion the material into the
various and beautiful forms which the God of nature designed it
should assurae. In the museum at Liverpool, among the speci
mens of coral, there is a branching piece of coral which is a cal
careous crystal, formed in the evaporating-house of the salt-works
of the King of Prussia.'
" So, in regard to sea-shells, instead of saying that the animals
secrete the calcareous coverings which they inhabit, he thinks that
they erait or secrete a gluten to which the calcareous particles
adhere, and thus form the shell. Let there be a chemical precip
itation of the minute calcareous particles floating in sea-water by
any means, and there might be formed a reef, agreeably to the
experiraent in which the passing of a stream of electric fluid
through water having calcareous and siUcious particles in solution,
produces stones. ' The Ughtning (he thinks) of tropical regions,
and the electric fluid engendered by submarine and other volca
noes which abound m the South Seas, may thus produce an effect
adequate to_ the formation of those wonderful and invaluable struc
tures.' This is a much more rational theory to account for the
existence of the immense coral reefs and coral islands ofthe Pacific,
than that alluded to above, which supposes them wholly the work
of saxigenous polypes or lithophytes. The so called saxigenous
(or rock-making) polype buUds upon the reefs, and cements his

ISLANDS. 539

singular tree-imitating structures to them ; but this agency, we
cannot but think, is altogether inadequate to the formation of im
mense islands. The more solid and compact texture of the coral
rock, often stratified, would also lead one to ascribe to it a differ
ent origin from the corals, whose exact and beautiful cellular
structure evinces an animal agency as plainlj' as the honey-comb
of a bee-hive. It is, therefore, quite unnecessary to suppose the
calcareous coral rocks either ' secreted by insects,' or ' the exuvise
of the insects,' or ' the dead bodies of the insects themselves ;' but
they are simply carbonate of lime precipitated from the sea- water
which holds its particles in solution, raixed and ceraented together
with broken shells and pieces of corals ; and coral, properly so
called (that which is to be seen in museums and cabinets), is
what is built upon this rock, as a foundation, by the coral insect."
Those of the Sandwich Islands which are inhabited are eight in
number, the whole group having an area of 6000 square miles,
with a population put down from 150,000 to 180,000, though,
from various causes, some of which are not understood, they are
gradually diminishing in numbers. Some of the islands contain
lofty peaks, with active volcanoes, rising somewhat more than
15,000 feet in hight.
The natives resemble the Malays a little, but are superior to
them in form and general appearance. Their complexion is olive,
inclining to yellow, the facial angle resembling the European, the
eye black and full, and the gait dignified and graceful. Originally
sunk in the deepest idolatry and vice, they have becorae, througli
the labors of the missionaries, a civiUzed and Christian people.
They have schools, churches, printing-presses, and other indica
tions, as well as means, of civilization. With a charming cUmate
and great fertility of soil, the commerce of the islands is quite
considerable. Many foreigners, especially Americans, are taking
up their residence in them ; they are also visited by Chinese and
others. Lying upon the great maritirae highway which unites
the three principal divisions of the globe, and provided with ex
cellent harbors, these islands are acquiring an increased importance
and value. This has been the case especially since the occupancy
of California by the United States.
Honolulu, the residence of the king, on the fertUe island of Oahu,
is beautifuUy situated, and has a fine harbor. It is defended by a
fort and cannon, and has some good buildings. The king's palace
is of stone, and richly furnished in the European style. Most of
the natives are exemplary Christians.
These attractive regions are, doubtless, destined to perform an
important part in the commerce and civilization of the world.

540 THE WOELD WE LIVE IN.

But we must not forget another interesting and important clus
ter of islands, the Antilles, lying at the entrance of the Gulf of
Mexico, mostly between the tropics, with rich and varied scenery,
a genial cUmate, and a fertile soil. The most interesting of these
are Cuba, belonging to Spain, Jamaica, belonging to Great Britain,
and Hayti, which is independent. Jamaica, though beautiful and
fertile, has long suffered from oppression and bad management.
The negro population, however, have been emancipated by the
disinterested action of the mother country, and although some re
action has, occurred, is rising in vigor, intelligence, and virtue.
Christianity is spreading its benign influence over the island. Some
unfavorable and counteracting agencies are at work ; but these,
we trust, wUl be overborne by the progress of commerce, civiUza
tion, and religion.
Hayti, or St. Domingo, is a large and fruitful island, where the
earth brings forth its fruits alraost spontaneously, or with very
slight labor on the part of the husbandman. Its repubUcan form
of government, never well administered, bas recently been changed
into a monarchy. The coraraerce of the island is valuable, and,
all things considered, the condition of the people fair. They are
ignorant, indeed, and superstitious, and greatly need the civiUzing
and elevating influence of a pure faith. Catholics by profession,
they mingle with their belief many strange notions borrowed from
Africa, and seem incapable of rising to any grand and corapre
hensive ideas of God, of freedom, and of virtue.
In a word (for this is the final lesson of our entire work), this
nation, like all others, in order to have peace, freedora, and pros
perity, must have a, free Bible, a free Church, and a free Press.

03086 2388

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of

GEORGE WATSON COLE