sented, in the common struggle for notoriety and dominion. But surely it does not become those who are devoted to literary pursuits, or political ambition, to be the victims of prejudices, which tarnish the bright honor of that country which is to be the home of their labors, and in whose archives is to be enrolled the record of their fame. Nor should those who resort to institutions of learning, for the lessons of practical life, or to prepare for a professional career, depart from those seats of wisdom, in profound ignorance of this necessary condition of society in our own country, and indeed in every country, that there is hardly an object of solid worth, either in the private possessions, or patriotic associations, or the religious institutions of mankind, for which they are not very much indebted to the generations that have preceded them. But New England is not to be in future, the representative of the national manners; she has already become a small portion of the great Union of states, to which she has given her own free constitutions. Her institutions were planted on bleak and barren hills, by the hand of patient toil. What will be the effect of the rich soil of the Mississippi valley, even if it should be wholly planted by New England emigrants? And again, what is to be the effect of a reflexive influence of the west, occasioned by its political power, and boundless wealth?

There is something, indeed, in the onward progress of our civilization to the great central seat of its habitation, which is more impressive than the heavy tread of arrayed battalions. A great people have commenced their career of conquest and acquisition,

"In life's morning march, when the bo

som is young.

But its aggressions are peaceful, and not those of violence. It is an

invasion of unbroken solitudes, and smiling villages and cities, active with the "hum of busy life," not rapine or ruins, mark its footsteps. This phenomenon, so extraordinary in the world's history, has attracted the attention of all eyes, and they are anxiously turned to see the distant goal towards which it is directing its way.

Who can determine the remote consequences, in a political point of view, which must flow from the energies of a people whose population doubles every twenty-three years? What form of government can control the conduct, or satisfy the wants, or please the tastes of the hundred millions, among whom many now in childhood will live to be numbered? Every will, and voice, and arm, is to be free in the eye of laws enacted and administered by those who are to obey them. Will the spirit of true liberty "rule the free?"

In that wide field, so soon to be filled with thinking immortal intelligences, will there be an arena where the human intellect, in its sway of moral power, shall win some of its noblest triumphs? The rapt inspiration of Berkeley, more than a century ago, announced the consummation of the great historic drama, by "time's noblest offspring," in an empire of the west. Can we at this day more distinctly descry such a terminus, as the result of the toil and conflict of nations in their search after social happiness? Or must we consider such ideas as poetic fancies, and the highest attainments of the social condition to be that which provides for man's physical wants in the greatest profusion?

If the Puritan element in our civilization shall be lost in the overwhelming current of opposing tendencies, we do not say that in a comparison with other nations the American republic may not maintain a conspicuous rank, and that great events may not mark its his

tory. But they will be such as belong to the past civilization of the old world, while we shall have lost that characteristic which so strikingly distinguishes our own civilization from all that have yet existed-a civilization antichivalric, antimonarchical indeed, but which has for its great ends whatever is useful and true-a civilization whose annals record the triumphs of peace, not those of war and conquest; and which honors even Washington more for his wisdom as a statesman, than for his prowess in the field-a civilization to which even Napoleon himself, in the height of his power, paid homage, not less than to the brightest name it has produced, when he said "the fame of Washington would be immortal among all men, and constantly brighten, while his own would vanish away and be forgotten." Did he, with the presentiment by which minds of the highest order read the future, perceive that he was to be the last of the great heroes of the old civilization ?

These considerations lead us back instinctively to study the institutions of our fathers, and especially their conservative elements. Dangerous opinions and prejudices prevail, but we believe they may be counteracted by a timely opposition. The memory of the New England fathers will be cherished forever by such as choose to dwell by their graves, and are trained after their models. The moral and intellectual power of New England will still remain unimpaired, and by these means she can still sustain with a strong arm the institutions she had the honor first to establish. She can also set forth their true nature and history, so as to attract the notice of all beyond her borders who would search for the light, and so as to compel the attention of all who would willingly shun it. To this end measures should be taken to cultivate a strong New England sympathy in

We do

the hearts of all her sons. not wish a spirit of exclusiveness or sectional jealousy should be cherished. There is nothing more liberal than genuine New England patriotism, while it is not inconsistent with the strongest local attachments. This feeling can be promoted especially by the pastors of those churches who are the representatives of the religious faith of our ancestors. It is a mistaken idea to suppose that Puritanism was ever antisocial in its tendencies. The Puritan pastor will deem it his first official duty to instruct his flock in the way to heaven; but he is not a monk or an anchorite. In his private relations he is a citizen, and is entitled to all the sympathies of his fellow citizens. In his public capacity he may not mingle in the petty conflicts of politicians, or contend for the honors or spoils of office. In all that relates to the permanent interests and moral improvement of his people, he has a deep concern, and is invested with a solemn responsibility. He may address the public conscience, and defend the public morals. He may rebuke wickedness in places of power, and denounce every species of oppression. A religion that does not require all this at the hands of its ministers, is not worth the having. Especially is he, by virtue of his office, made the repository of the "traditions" of the New England "church," and these he should on all proper occasions and "festivals" faithfully portray.

The anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims, or the sabbath nearest to it, might be observed as one of those festival occasions. The event which it commemorates, in its relation to the American church and civil polity, is analogous to that which led to the observance of the passover among the Hebrews; and to every true son of New England it would seem that the occasion would recur with equal interest. At Plymouth, the 22d of December

of individuals. On this flood, multitudes who had no claim to the above mentioned qualifications found themselves lifted from their original obscurity, and carried upward and onward, until, to their surprise and delight, they were wafted to the very doors of sumptuous dwellings, on which they found their own names inscribed, and which they were exhorted to enter and enjoy. They did so, and for a while the gratification of the senses in their new situation, was sufficient for their happiness. The imperial carpets were soft to the tread; the damask sofas yielded delightfully to the pressure of the form; the rich and gorgeous hues of silk and velvet furniture were marvelously pleasant to the eye. It was pleasant, too, to fare sumptuously every day, and to ride in gilded carriages, drawn by sleek and well-fed horses. It was pleasant to dress in the richest products of the East; and for less than the rubbing of a lamp, to find a shower of gems and pearls upon the toilet.

This was all very natural; and it was natural that a feeling of pride, and complacency, and self-impor. tance, should grow out of the possession of these things. Had the rise been more gradual, or, instead of being extended to whole classes, had it been confined to here and there an individual, the general face of society would have remained unchanged. The "new" people, finding that a certain degree of cultivation and refinement was necessary to their being well received in society, and to their feeling as comfortable abroad as they did at home, would have hastened to acquire it, and things would have held their natural, relative position. But it was irksome to learn by slow degrees, and painful to submit to a feeling of inferiority. They had obtained that which all respected and wished for; why not dispense with other things, and make this the

only test of superiority? Numbers found themselves in the same predicament; they had pressed forward into the van of society, they kept each other in countenance, and they carried the day. A philosophy literally and strictly material came to pervade society. Things were turned topsy-turvy. The five senses enjoyed a distinction which it was never intended they should have; and the head and the heart, that which was merely mentally and morally good and beautiful, were degraded from their proper place in general estimation, and cast quite into the shade. Wealth and its appliances came to be considered the only rational pursuit, the only means of happiness, and indeed, the only proper test of worth and importance. Society flourished; all was apparently good humor and complacency. The leaders of ton never doubted that what they did was and must be right. Had they not seen how things were done in Birmingham and Manchester? And supposing they varied a little from these standards, were they not rich, and had they not a right to do so?

Thus the gales of prosperity continued to blow, as did the strong east winds, and the latter were almost synonymous with the former, for they drove along the ships that bore the elements, the very foundations of their happiness and importance. But, alas! who can tell what a ship may bring? Among cases of Italian silks, and boxes of French laces, and hampers of Spanish wines, and droves of English traders, all of which were gladly welcomed to our shores, came an article of quite another description, an English traveler; and he was most gladly welcomed of all; for would he not see the glory and the splendor which reigned among us? And would he not publish it in a book, and would not distant nations read, and wonder, and admire ? And should we not become a patttern

for them, the very mirror in which they should all dress themselves? The bookmaker's speculation prov. ed fortunate, and he was succeeded by others; and woman, gentle woman, followed in the train, and opened wide her eyes and ears, and plied her pen, and the press groaned with the products of their teeming brains. But, alas! for the expectations of their feasters and entertainers, who looked for the dulcet notes of praise, the fragrant incense of adulation. Instead of these, came strains of most discordant music. Captain Hall thundered and growled in deep and monotonous tones of grave disapprobation.. Major Hamilton struck in with a tenor in the same key, but with different time and expression; now gay and frolicksome, now satirical and jeering, and, anon, blustering in a tornado of wrath and indignation. Higher, louder, shriller, and in a different key, followed Miss Martineau, in a resolute and overpowering alto. But harsher, more discordant than all the rest, and sound. ing like the mirth of midnight witches in their horrid glee, came the loud, fearless laugh of Mrs. Trollope, causing strange misgivings in many a hitherto complacent and self-satisfied breast, and making some such accompaniment to the trio, as would a Chinese gong to a trombone, a Kent bugle and a flagelet. This concert was thought rare music by the English, and apparently by the performers themselves, who carried it on con amore. Not so the Americans, who, instead of the diamonds, and pearls, and roses, which they had looked for, when these travelers should open their mouths to speak or to sing, saw a strange and disgusting compound of tobacco-spittle, muddled eggs, steel forks, military titles, political quacks, drunken ladies, forward girls, and premature old women; awkwardness, ignorance, and prejudice, with not a single grace or courtesy of

life in the shape of a finger-glass or a clean napkin, to cover and relieve the nauseous and incongruous mixture. Then men began to look strangely in each other's faces, and women's hearts failed them for fear. They gazed around them with bewildered and distrustful eyes. Of what avail were all the glittering and gorgeous things by which they were surrounded, when instead of one Mordecai they beheld half a dozen?

A loud and simultaneous cry of anger, and denial, and defiance, burst forth, but it was affectation, not genuine courage and self-reli ance; these would not have shouted so loud. And when the shouting was over, and men were red in the face and hoarse in the throat, what did they do? Did they go quietly on in their old way; or did they look about them to see if haply there might not be some among themselves who had been overlooked, but who yet were worthy of imita tion in the science of manners? Did they ever think of recurring to first principles, and adapting them to their own condition, strive to improve their manners by the assiduous cultivation and improvement of their minds? No; this would not do. They had been horrified at the idea of eating their soup and drinking their wine in a different manner from the fashionables in Square. The ghosts of egg-shells, whose contents had been scooped into a glass or cup, appeared in long array before their eyes, and spoiled their breakfasts; and who could tell if at every meal they did not sin against some rule of polished society, equally important with that which decrees that an egg must be eaten directly from the shell? So, many packed their trunks and set off bag and baggage for England or France, to learn exactly how things were managed there. Foreign waiters were at a premium, and became the instructors of fam