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THE HERALD SUPPLEMENT. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, Proprietor. Office N. W. Corner of Fulton and Nassau sts. } 2 NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JANUARY, 29, 1846. {HERALD CI { Dally, Two Cents Per Copy; Weekly, $3,12} ULATION—FORTY THOUSAND. ar. The Great Crisis of the Nineteenth Century. Mr, Lester’s Works on Great Britain. e attention of the whole country is now joa feverishly towards Great Britain, and every arrival from England is looked for with an anxiety hardly ever before equalled. A great deal has been said in this country byall our journals about the condition an fe destiny of Great Britain; ‘and authors without number, have multiplied books on the subject, but ne writer has in our opinion ever fully grasped this matter but Mr. Lester. The as- toanding news brought us by the late arrivals from England will again turn public attention towards Mr. Lester and his two books—‘“ The Glory and Shame,” and ‘ The Condition and Fate of Eng- Jand”—as the truest and most profound expositions we have ever had of the realcondition and tenden- cy of affairs in the British islands. We furnish our readers with some be arr on this and other kindred topics appropriate to the times. {t is time tor our people to decide whether this re- public is to possess a literature of her own, warm- ed into a vigorous maturity by American sympa- thies, and protected by the power of an American public opinion, or whether the millions of this con- tinent are to submit forever to be controlled in their habits of thought and ot expression by for- eign influences, to our every interest, wholly unfitted to stimulate or develope our ener- rs es. The structure of our national literature, cannot be reared from ineegrted materials, nor fashioned after foreign pattern’. Better if it were necessary to take the rough granite from our ewn mountains, and the huge, strong, unhewn beams from the wes- tern forests, and pile them into a temple in the rudest style of frontier architecture, than to bring our ploughs, our materials, our workmen, our orna- ments, from abroad, and when the edifice is finish- ed, christen it American Literature, because it stands upen our soil, and call upon the people to adore. Our country can never win that respect from others to which she is entitled, till she produce: and is not ashamed to own, a literature which shal bear in deep bold lines, the impress of the distinct- ive features of our national character. It must not be an exotic, but the natural outgrowth and result of new circumstances and relations, amid which, we are building up this empire in the west. We are far from speaking lightly of, or from under- valuing the sadly. of foreign literature. But let it be used to embellish, not to supplant that which is native to the soil. We demand that America, placed bythe hand of God in aposition, such as no other nation ever occupied, herself a new creation, should be permitted to speak her own thoughts in her own language, and work out in the eyes of the world, her destiny in her own manner, and instead of being controlled by foreign opinions, let her be a law unto herself. Mr. Lester has written asan American, who, in ning a ph, did not stop to inquire, with trembling, “What will the English critics think of at?” _In 1841, he turned the attention of the country to himeelf. as an author, by bringing out a work enti- tled “The Glory and Shame of England.” _ , The novelty of the title, and the boldness of the idea it conveyed, awakened an immediate interest in the ,and a desire to become acquainted with its centents. Few American books have been sold with success more marked and flattering, than these volumes at once obtained. The name of the author was in allmouths. The book was the litera- ry lion—the press, religious and secular, hastened to bring gifts of approval. Editors of annuals and magazines begged the fa- vor of an article ; and there went up from the whole land a jubilate that seemed the sure herald of for- tune and of fame. Sucha feeling was abundantly expressed, as used to make the amphitheatre when in the tournament some youthful rider sent a boasting veteran reeling from his saddle. In the ey armor of proof, an opening had been found at last; and through it a shatt had pemetrated— poner blood somewhat too near the Goliath It matters not for our present purpose, whether this feeling was well or ill founded. That it did truly exist, is a fact not yet forgetten any where, and of which the newspapers of the day bear most abundant testimony. i if Mr. Lester’s organ of self-approbation was not largely and suddenly developed, it was not the fault of his countrymen. To crown his triumphs, the U.S. Government thought him worthy of a special reward, as a young champion of American institu- tions, and tendered him the opportunity of a re- sidence abroad, in an official capacity. The facts disclosed in the “Glory and Shame,” were mostly unknown before to the mass of the people, and as they become acquainted with its strange statements, they exclaimed in astonish- ment,, “Is this the Lady of Kingdoms !” “Ts this ho shaketh the nations ? Is this the terrible one of the earth 7” Mr. Lester finding himself sustained by the gene- | lief. ral sentiment of the country, and cheered on by ac- clamation in the work which he had undertaken, was very naturally stim to make a second attempt, inasmuch as the volumes already published embraced only a part of his original plan. _He announced his new work, “The present con- dition and future fate of England,” anticipating for it the same flattering reception which had been s0 freely given to the first. In this hope he was disap- pointed. His last book, though more than equal to “The Glory and Shame,” in the importance of ite subjects, and in its literary ler, was met in the hour of its birth by influences which preve: its immediate success, and checked temporarily the Popularity of the previous volumes. Cis at this point where we think Mr. Lester has just cause of complaint. If the public had applauded ‘his first effort with a true appreciation ot its merit then, beyond dispute, was he entitled to continue: and increasing favor ; when in this second book he. spread out betore the country still richer stores of information upon kindred, but » more important subjects, and when in the execution of his task he showed that his intellect had been quickened and polished by exercise. He left for aly about the time of the publication of “The Condition and Fate,” und had he received from the American Ler a warm and more decided support, it would have been consistent with its former course, wi only justice would have been awarded to him. Itis doubtless true that certain great influences were ween the country just then, opposed to any thing but flattery of England, and for the moment they were not to be controlled; still when the public had 80 lately been proud to declare our author a fa- yorite, it was ungenerous to turn from him in the hour of his need, when he was absent from the owe yt peak, in the f this article, ‘e propose to speak, in the course of this artic! of the icular causes which at that period moved for a time the Amertcan mind. It is found that his works on England contain a mass of facts which have a deep significancy for the American people—facts which it becomes us to ponder with anearnest and solemn spirit. It has also been made certain that there is a chord in the great heart of this nation, whose mighty tones ac- cord with the spirit of these books, and this fact enables us to predict for them hereafter a wide and permanent popularity. 3 : ‘These are two points of view from which we may Bg the character and tendency of these volames. e are not allowed to consider them as containing a wanton and mischievous attack upon a neighbor- ing nation—such they are not. Nor is it right to believe them written in a mean spirit of revenge for wrongful and provoking attacks upon ourselves.— We are at liberty, however, to that one pur- pose of our author was to strike a blow in defence of our own country and instituticns, so repeated; and wickedly assailed. It was in this light that they ign viewed Soa peoee'd if we e not, by the great mags of our 5 But there is another, aud a far higher object, which we believe the author had in hie eenate eye, and with which in view his should ever be studied. In the grand march of nations towards their distant ngland stands in the front rank. She is, therefore, the great exemplar of modern civilization; and herpresent condition will but help us to form an opinion as to what the result of this, our boasted civilization, will be. This is the author’s controlling ;and he who has not discovered it, and So sees only an attack on Eng- land, has not fathomed the meaning of the writer. Assuming, i then, the existence of this double purpose, two questions present themeelves for our decision:—Ist. Was it needful and just that such an attempt should be made to parry the attacks of England, though, in so doing, the sword was le to enter her own bosom ? In answer to this question, we ask, what has been the actual course of the er land in regard tows the children? We have not one word to say here in d. ment of the power, the wealth, the magnificence, benevolent enterprizes, the phy- mestend om sh paid of England. The si int, e Wish now toa, is, what bas been gre Have her acts been awaken indignation, fence on our part, in order to shield character, and preserve our respect? We declare that we see ow it can cesstully denied that, from the time when we wei golonies, down to the preseat hour, the England hasbeen one of haughty and unyielding oppression, so long as the power remained; and that, since her sceptre has departed, and the chain been riven, and the American stars float in defiance of herlion banner, she has systematically endea- vored to make us a beware, and a mockery in the estimation of the world; that she has poured upon us unmeasured contempt ; he has exhausted her pews for detraction and ridicule ; ihat she has eaped upon us, to her full ability, insult and wrong; and that this has been done, not alone by her infe- rior men, but that her choicest literature is loaded with abuse of America; and that portions of it— neither few nor small—have been contributed by her most powerful minds, for her most influential vehicles of thought. ret ~ We yield to none in admiration of all which is really ‘admirable in the course and character of Great Britain. Far be it from usto pen one line for the purpose of opening the fountains of bitterness ; but we believe at prudence and self-respect alike admonish us to remember what we have received at her hands, because her policy in pes foreign nations is unchangeable as that of ancient Rome. Like her, she bends adroitly to circumstances ; she cannot control herself, meanwhile, without altera- tion; concealing, but never abandoning her purpose. Aglance at the course of England towards Ameri- ca, tor nearly two centuries, will convince any can- did enquirer that the spirit of the government is un- changed, even to the present hour, and that the lion, which sent his roar over the waters at the rebels of Massachusetts bay, has the same heart in his bosom yet. A eRe _ When we were her colonies, contributing by our iain aad enterprise to the greatness and splendor of her throne—when, with strong limbs, and patient and long loyal hearts, we were winning from the wilderness a glorious new kingdom to adorn her diadem, what opportunity did she suffer to pass without denying our rights, trampling upon our weakness, and trenting us not with the fostering tenderness of a mother, but with the imperious se- verity of an offended conqueror. ‘The course of Great Britain in regard to us, is not to be explained by reference to the ordinary principles of national policy. It is not overstepping the bounds of truth to say that England hated America from the hour of her birth. e regarded her, in the beginning, as one possessed ofa devil. This hatred was the child of civil despotism and religious bigotry. When James deelared of the Puritaus that he would “‘hur- them out of his kingdom,” he expressed the same feelings which animated the allied powers ef church and state when those Puritans had multiplied them- selves upon the hills of New Space The English government and the English church have never yet seen evangelical religion stripped of the mummery of form, walking hand in hand with civil liberty without sore gnashing of teeth. faa _ In all our difficulties with Great Britain, the pub- lic attention has been directed more to the occasions than the causes of contention, ‘ Violated charters and stamp acts, and rights of search, have been the occasions of conflict ; but the cause was mightier and deeper than these. Strip the whole subject of diplomatic wrappage, and we find the same parties moved by the same spirit from first tolast. And what are they / The bishop and the throne against the dissenter and a republic, The cavalier spirit against the roundhead. This is the great interior factas between Great Britain and America, the rest are all secondary and accidental. The contest between England and the U. States is just as real gone, on with the same earnestness in times of profoundest peace, as when the cloud of battle darkens the land and sea. ’Tis a portion of the world’s great war, not sTwiya waged with the same weapons. Now we step forth upon the arena and draw the sword, and wheel the cannon, and the bayonets gleam in the serried ranks; and after cettain thousands have been suitably mangled, or blown into eternity, and the hard earnings of a gen- eration have been swallowed up, we agree to put our weapons up and march home. This we call peace ; but the war still goes on, for all that. ’Tis a portion of the world-wide conflict, of des- potiem against free institutions—of a bigoted and rsecuting hierarchy against freedom of thought.— le who supposes that we are at peace with Eng- land, because her steamships are not thundering in our ors, is wofully mistaken. The parties are irreconcilable from their very nature. A throne and a republic—a church of England and the religion of America. They can no more be brought to an agreement, into harmony, than Carthage and Rome. We have often presented to us beawtiful and glo- rious visions, in which Englind and America are seen going forth, hand in hand, with loving hearts, fired with the same holy purpose of bearing to re- motest nations, the blessings of religion and liberty. We ourselves are filled with ardent and soul-stir- ring hope, that our own country will yet unite with the people of England, in this heaven-born enter- prise; but that the British government and the Bri- tish church are ever to be found marching by our side, or towards our goal, is beyond all rational be- ief. Thereare thousands in England whose aims and hopes are ours also, and with whose noble aspi Tations we are proud to sympathise ; but they donot constitute the government, nor direct the energies of the empi Se The mission of America is to commend to the nations the institutions of kberty. Will Great Bri- tain unite in that? Did she aid the people of France, when in despair and in wrath, they rose to cast from them the burthen which the oppression of series heaped upon them, crushing body and sou In that wild, awful death grapple, which bloody, cruel, demoniac though it was, was still in its com- mencement—a war on oppression—a battle for hu- man rights—where was England? Ask France, for she will never forget. The mission of America is to carry to all the earth a pure and simple gospel, untrammelled by form, and with no hierarchy to lord it over the heritage of God. Will England join usthere? The recent operations of the church of England, in the East, bearing upen our missionary work, show us what cooperation we are to expect at her hands. England is willing to aid in giving to all the heathen an establishment and a throne— but even then, the establishment must be the British church, and over the throne must wave the red cross of St. George. This is England’s gospel, and her mis:ionaries march just in rear of her cannon. But let us return to her treatment of us. Our haughty mother should have learned from the siege of Louisburgh, that seed had been scattered over the New England hills, more valuable and more prelific than the dragon’s teeth of old. She might have understood the character of her chil- dren, from the extraordinary services of the Mosca inthe French war. She ought to have cherished and manifested some parental love, and some grati- tude for faithful service in these things, and when the blood of the colonists was poured out among the two thousand that fell before the lines of Mont- calm at Ticonderoga, or when they aided so gallant- ly in Driskau’s deteat at Fort William Henry. Had we received from the mother government just and honorable treatment, Putnam, and Stark, and Gates would not have been trained in these campaigns for the destruction of her power. | But our virtues were denied, our faults were colored and magnified, and when it was finally de- clared that our petitions had been spurned from the foot of the throne, that word expressed the real feel- ing of the Government of Britain. hen the war of the revolution commenced, the Americans were treated as if they had no claim to the privileges of honorable warfare, or even the common courtesies ot life ; while an unintentional error on our part, was at once blazoned abroad as evidence of our barbarity. , At the burial of General Frazier, for example, when General Winslow fired upon the funeral pro- ly | cession not knowing its character, Burgoyne says there was ‘‘a mute but expressive mixture of sensi- bility and indignation men every countenance. He forgot to mention that Winslow, with the true gal- lantry of a generous enemy, did not discharge one shotted cannon after he knew the truth, but fired minute in honor of his foe, during the remain- der of the ceremony. _ Fou. es He whose sensibilities and indignation were so aroused by a mistake thus instantly and nobly cor- rected had forgotten his own Indiain proclamation; his hired barbarians procured for the purpose, un- seo yp avowed, of turning them loose upon wo- men children ; he had forgotten Jesee Mc Crea, and the infernal barbarities perpetrated by Baum and Breyman’s troops on the march te Ben- nington. Tngland may not choose to remember ; but what American will ever forget the prison ships of the revolution, where she crushed the life out from so many thousands of the bravest hearts of our country, with a cruelty unmingled with ona manly or generous emotion, expressive only of the mean bitterness of hatred gloating over the agonies of its victim. Who that has drawn his life from the bosom of an American mother, that heard a countryman relate what our sailors and soldiers ot the last war endured i. t eae ce will ys han op hee religion should teach to forgive. Fh men othe eon pay mre wT wi ave sunk so deep into the ri sat bresaten thay cannot be obliterated. The me- mory of these things, or the true cause which would srally the whele nation as one man in that conflict with Britain, which Mr. Alison complacently pre- dicts, and whose victories he has already by antici- pation enjoyed; stepping in imagination trom the ruins of one maritime town to another, with the intensest enjoyment of American er and suf- fering. He looks forward to the bombardment and burning of New York, with the same exulting feel- ings with which he records and applauds the b : rba- rian attack upon Washington, as a “‘ most brilliant exploit.” He makes, however, one very humane suggestion in regard to the next war with America. He thinks that the British army, while it is burning our towns, had better not employ the old watch- word, “Beauty and Booty.” Why? Because it would be as it was, an outrage upon civilization, worthy only of a horde of savages. Oh no! not at all! Mr. Alison’s far-seeing philosophic spirit had discovered that it might excite us to more violent resistance, and give a New Orleans termination to the whole invasion. : Mr. Allison, as we know,wrote for the governing | class in England; and he moulded the temper of his book to accord with the spirit of his government. But setting aside her treatment of us in war, or while we were her colonies, how has she commen- ded to our lips the “mingled cups” of arrogance, bitterness, and contempt in her literary career. Upon what one of our na‘ional peculiarities has she not exhausted the power of ridicule, and that not for the purpose of being merry? That were nothing, but to show to the world how thoroughly ane despises us. How hag she by her praises and patronage encou- raged the whole brood of Trollopes and Fidlers to traduce; our national character, and “feed fat her ancient grudge” by exaggeration and falsehood ? It is vain—it forms no answer to what we here allege, to point to cases where we have experienced better treatment, or to particularize publications and presses that have shown favor to America. We ac- knowledge with joy and gladness, and high hope for the future, that there are in England many noble jnds who dare to think and speak of us in tones ef respect and kindnees. But they are not the Go- vernment. [tis not of such we speak, nor of the English yore We speak of the Government of the action of the nation as a whole, of the spirit of the ruling pewer, and we ask what has been the course and temper of those presses and periodicals which enjoy the especial favor and patronage of those who hold the helm of power. Let Blackwood and the London Quarterly and the government papers answer. Let her most eloquent and lauded historian of this age answer. He has tasked his great ingenuity, given full play to hie brilliant fancy, brought into requisition his sparkling eloquence—brought to bear his inspiring philosophic discussions, and mis-stated important facts in order to present our republic in a distorted form, to under- rate our powers in arms, and give to the world a false impression in regard to our great experiment upon government, liberty, and religion. And, then, what matchless insolence has marked her course in regard to American s'avery! Eng- land wheeled upon us her batteries, and levelled her boasted bayonets to compel us to buy her slaves, not asa great measure of national policy, but for mammon’s sake. She planted slavery by force on American soil against our earnest remonstrance, be- cause thereby she could fill her owa coffers. Be it remembered forever, not in excuse of our wrong, but in explanation of our misfortune, that it was by English and not American law, that here an immor- tal creature was made a slave. We have followed, it is true, and fatally, the commands and teachin of our parent; and now when in consequence the whole country struggles like Laocoon in the ser- pent’s embrace, and when the very structure of our government reels with the fierce and almost dispair- ing endeavor to shake the gnonster from ua, she lifts her hands with most holy indignation—she loads the air with execrations, and invokes upon us the devouring wrath of God. She has forced upon us a Nessus shist, and then curses us for the agony which e are all tasked to describe a danseuse, and who puts in his note book all the chit-chat of my lord and lady, as proper food for the American mind ; or he who undertakes to master the workings of the in- stitutions of a great nation, and strivesto understand their influences upon the masses, and their bearing upon civilization itself? = Our political and,religious institutions, every fea- ture of our national character, the whole structure of our social system, our strength and our weak- ness, all have been repeatedly scrutinized by some of the most powerful minds of Europe, and the in- formation thus obtained has been used to guide for- eign nations in their pelicy towards us. That Cath- olic movement which is now directing its mighty energies upon us, is the result of long, earnest, mi- | nute and intelligent study of America. Where has been the corresponding action on our part? We can, in general, hear of every thing in Europe soon- er than the real state and feelings of the people, and the actual working of despotism upon the mass of men. We deem that man engaged in a truly na- tional work ; we consider that he is adding to our resources, our means of defence and safety in any possible conflict, who goes forth to subject European governments to the same rigid scrutiny and freedom of remark with which our own has been visited. Now itis apparent to any one who will trouble himself to think, that the grand leading purpose of the volumes under review, indicates a largeness of comprehension that observes details only to reach the principles in which they are bound, the laws by which they are controlled. Hae It shows an earnest soul, questioning events as they pass, and stiving to decypher the signs of the times in reference to the destiny of man. He asks of the instituuons of Eagland, what is your true signification, what is that fact which you exhibit, what have vou done, and when your task is finish- ed, what will the world gave gained? We take these to be among the mightiest and sternest questions of this or any other age, and we think it speaks well for the intellectual power and taste of any man, that he should attempt to deal with such themes, rather than stand with pencil in hand and open mouth to record the frivolous movements of titled fashion and wealthy folly. It is, we sup- pose conceded by philosophic observers, that chris tendom is now moving onward by the same general impulse in one direction, and that this impulse is only modified, not destroyed by the peculiar circum- stances of individual nations. The tribes and fa- milies of man are sweeping on in solemn proces- sion toward some common destiny. In this stu- pendous march, England occupies the first rank.— On_ her, the influences which make up the sum of civilization are strongest, and she has shot ahead. She is nearest the goal. On her gigantic front, the light from the future throws the strongest glare. She is the exponent of that system, which has hitherto guided modern Europe, and in great de- gree, the world; and from her, if any where, he is to et knowledge of the vast journey’s end and aim.— ‘hat is a solemn task then which he assumes, who goes {to question the great file-leader of the world, asto whether she is gniding the human race, and who strives to interpret the fearful inscription, which the now r of destiny is ering, upon the walls of her strength. In the purport of tl 0 is handwriting all should feel the intensest interest, for it must be stamped upon the fore-fr ‘nt of every native, when it has reached that point in the journey where Eng- land is standing now. England. The sigh of that hall-naked British mother converted into a beast of burthen, is inar- | ticulate—it may be in the ears of man, but it speaks a language which is understuod in heaven. Here then, we reach aresult. Here is one of the ripened fruits of the grand distinguishing feature of English civilization, her system of commerce, and manufac- tures. Not only have Sia iovous seasons of youth and childhood been blotted from the lease of life but infancy, itself, must share in the stern labors of manhood. Modern improvement seizes upon the child at the breast, and numbers the suckling among the operatives of Britain. The slumbers ot the cra- | dle are broken by the rude call of the taskmaster. The established order of nature is reversed, her | holy esalitaae disregarded, and man and God are alike insulted and defied. | ,_ Turn we from the coal mines to the wonder-work- | ing processes of her factories. Forth to all lands are borne their countless tabrics, and in return the gitering tide of wealth flows back into her bosom. ut there, with the roar of the enginery, is mingled the wail of outraged and sutferin; Secianity With the official returns of their products, we have also official accounts of childhood compelled to keep pace, through the long day, with the speed of the un- tiring engine, till the worn body sleeps over its task, to be roused by the blow of the overseer. We hear from Fagish authorities, of a population physically enfeebled, morally depraved, growing up without education, intellectual or religious, living literally “without God and without hope in the worl id,” pre- sent or tocome. There is another feature in the civilization of England, which demands from the people of this nation the severest Cea We re- fer to her national chureh. This subject Mr. Lester has touched with a fearless hand ; and he certainly does the State some service, who gives to this re- publican country the means of forming a just deci- sion upon a system, which forces itself upon our at- tention with such loftiness of mien, and such arro gant pretensions. This church claims to possess that organization which alone is sanctioned by God; that by her scheme, and not otherwise, the gospel is to be given to the world. There is no subject which the people of America are so loudly called upon to give a searching investigation, as the tendency of church organizations—their bearing upon the inte- rests of freedom. . The more*simple the form which the religious be- lief adopts,{the more democratic the government. No power on earth, has ever been found so effectual to bind the human soul in the forms of civil despo- tism, as the influenee of a complex and imposing church pel geaee Jast in proportion as a nation is released from ecclesiastical authority does it adopt democratic principles in its social and political structures. ‘This is not the result of caprice, but the sure operation of the free spirit of religion, ele- vating human nature to its true dignity and station. When James said to the Puritans, “no bishop, no king”—whether wittingly or not, he uttered a profound philosophic truth. Deprived of the support of @ prelatical church, the English throne would tumble in a day. Change the form of religious opinion in England, and the structure of her gov- ernment would be instantly annihilated. The crown and the mitre, the religious and political aristocracy, would vanish together. No bishop, no king! Let the democraey of the United States remember, that the truth of this pro- position involves necessarily, the truth of its con- verse ; that when there is a bishop, by authority, ‘There are, evidently two great forces, whose {ola power 18 felt Tee all christian society, which have all burst beyond the limits of civilization, and are te pete § to energize in the great deeps of the heathen world. bee One of these is far mightier than the other. The one is the gospel, awakening man every where to the consciousness of his value and rights, as a we can neither endure nor heal. _ Pe eae Let English oraters when they rise, as if divinely commissioned to denounce us for this sin, remem- ber the time when good Queen Anne, in a most christian and queenly speculation, secured for Eng- lishmen by treaty the exclusive Pipe filling this new world with slaves, taking for her private profit one-quarter of the stock of the company thus formed, giving one half to her subjecte, and allowing asa spécial favor, His Most Catholic Majesty of Spain to subscribe for the remaining quarter. England bound the dead carcass of slavery to liberty’s youthful form, not forgetting to exact pay for the service, and now points her out to the world as an object of. scorn and hatred, because her robes are spotted with the fostering pollution, and turns up her nose at the foul odor which she anufis in the American air. : But there is one other act of Great Britain towards our country, of which it remains for us to speak, and against which before*heaven and earth, we wish to enter our solemn and indignant protest. It is an insult which changes all previous ones by comparison, into courtesy and compliment, an out- rage which darkens rary, former wrong. We al- lude to a scheme planned by the same charming phi- losophy which would abandon the watchword, “beauty and booty,” merely because itmigh: rouse us to sterner resistance ; a plan executed as oppor- tunity came, or offers now, with cool defiance of every human right and every command of God. A design to empty upon our shores tbe filth, the degra- detion, the crime, which accumulates in her poor- houses and her prisons; to sweep with her police the streets of her cities, and send hither the des- peradoes which the drag net gathers; a design to make us a universal Botany Bay, the cloaca maxima of earth, a Tophet into which to cast the filth and off-scourings of the world. Had England altempted to poison our wells, our fountains, and streams, and to drug our daily bread, we should deem it not so injurious or detestable, as thus to endeavor to inoculate this whole nation with the deadly virus of European iniquity, to corrupt the moral health of twenty millions. Great Britain and those engaged with her in this act, have certainly won for themselves a reputation second only to the fame of that first great sower, who brought his seed from the granaries of the pit, and filled the world with tares. Mr. Alison says, there is in America no security for life or property, and adds, in sub- stance, nething but monarchy can save her. Upon this text we wish to make one brief com- ment. England gathers up a score of felonsthat in- fest her cities or crowd her prisons, and ships them for America. She watches theirlanding, their dispersion among our people,and forthwith there are alarms of robbery and theft, of rape and murder ; and then she begs the attention of the world, while she declares that republican ' governments afford no security for property or life, and the only hope for the United States, is ina throne, an ari and anestablishment. Let us not be understood to fa- vor by these remarks, the policy or the doctrines of those who are technically called native Americans— we have no sympathy with the views of such men— we only charge the British government with an or- ganized system of shipping off to the United States, every villain she can catch at home. This is no exaggerated picture of the course of the mother country. All this and more had been endur- ed in silence, so far as our literature was conce! |, for there had been, so far, a submission to the of England, a reverence for her opinions, a har of her rebuke or sarcasm, which compelled many of our authors to feel, that fame and success, even at home, depended upon a reputa- tion abroad. Our country needed independence of thought and feeling—needed defence from the at- tacks of England. Self-respect and reputation 1 the world demanded it, and when the author of “The Glory and Shame” came forward, the firstto try upon her the power of a counter spell, we claim that it was rightly done, and that the attempt ought to have been welcomed, as it was, as the effort of a bold and independent man, to shield his country from insult. i > Thatmoral costage is certainly worthy of respect and support, which could nerve a young man to stand forth as the firat to commend to England the cup which she had given to our own lips so often, and teach her, that it was more important to watch the symptoms of her own malady, than to chuckle over the diseases of others. We believe, therefore, that Mr. Lester's books have materially aided in curing the country of that sensitiveness which once existed in regard to th opinions of Englishmen. We believe they have hi an appreciable influence in checking foreign abuse, and in giving atone of independence to our litera- ture. America possesses the elements for the formation of a literature, as distinctively national as that of Greece, or Rome, or England. She may gather freely of the mental wealth of nations, but let her use it only to develope the noble native germ. By that germ Mr. Lester has taken his stand, and hurled back the libe! of those who speak slight ingly of its worth and promise. _ jut there is a higher object which our author held in his mind in these works, to overlook which would be to misunderstand them entirely, And here let us put at the outset this enquiry :— What traveler deserves most respect and considera- sd fre his country ges Nlnpaew the noblest ims, the greatest ‘p, manline: vigor of in- tellect \—who is best ouscaining the character of an American citizen? he who gazes with such soul-blind- ing admiration at the glittering surface ot toreign s0- a that he can see ne beneath it ; who re- cords the frivolous incidents ofthe day,in very pretty phrases; who is most happy to flater his little wings in the sunbeams of empty fashion ; whose powers being who is bound to submit to injustice and op- pression only ’till he gathers strength. to right the wrong and shake the oppressor from him. The gospel by the resistless energy of its principles of liberty, and by insisting upon the ty and worth of the individual man, has opened a new world to the millions of christendom, and now the thunder of their marchas they go des pos- sess it, makes the solid globe to quake. is 1m- pulse is universal ; the same in kind every where, the notin degree. By it, the nations are all im- pelled in one general direction towards a land of promise, not yet distinctly seen, but hoped for with yearning hearts. This, we believe, is the grand movement of earth, which will ultimately sweep all things into its own mighty stream. _ Secondly, the force of human institutions, and inventions, governments, science, arts, the commer- cial and manufacturing systemsot the world. These things are not the causes of the progress of society. Some of them are the effects of the general move- ment; some are the instruments with which the great spirit of reform is working, and some are bar- riers against which the broad stream is dashing its 8. England, borne ahead in spite of truggling to check, control, and annihi- ightier movement of the human soul, by the secondary force of her institutions, and she points the world to those institutions, as contai the ele- ments of a perfect social state. She inv: ert millions to halt, and adopt her m,and,restin that as the ultimate attainment of the race. It becomes the world then, but more especially us, to ascertain whether by the power of government or any force at her command, fo has checked, or can ultimately arrest the vast procession of two hundred and fifty millions of men already on their glad way, while the seven hundred and fifty millions from pagan lands are just beginning to wheel into their rear. We are also bound to ask England: what exactly is the state to which your place of righting man’s wrongs has brought you already ? f ‘ If your political state exhibits a paradise regained, then shall the shout of a thousand millions Finging round the world hail you as the great deliverer, anc teacher of man, and you shall be crowned asa politi- | prophet and king of nations. ip ye uhees in answer to our inquiry Great Britain invites us to examine, what dq we behold? A structure of government and a social state which are, indeed, a “marvel and a show.” There is wealth that sur- pasees the exaggeration of fable ; there is power such as the Cesare never ssed, and a magnificence that was never equalled by the “ gorgeous east.”— There’s an intellectual power and cultivation to which the world offers no parallel, there are trea- sures of learning such as no other nation has gather- ed ; there 18a commerce to which every country and people under heaven are tributary, there are laws which serve as models for the codes of the world. There, too, is the last and greatest under earth, the English workshops, where in the narrow compass of her small island, she is yearly performing what the hands of the whole human race could not exe- eute. There are the huge engines with the stre1 ef a hundred leviathans, obedient to the will the touch of a child, which never weary in their course, nor “ faint in their watshes,” working as if by en- chantment approaching to the very borders of the miraculous. ‘ i _ There’s a home dominion where the whole island is as a garden, and possessions wherever the sun- beams fall—wherever the waters flow, the tread of her legions is on all lands, the clang of her armor rings round the globe. jut let ua look beneath the surface, and behind the scenes. There goes a magnificent steamer, laden with the rich products of her busy looms, which she bet inst the breath of the winds, and the rush of the ti "Tis the last wonderful triumph of civilization. It were well, pe , to look at the means by which her fire-lungs are eup- lied with breath. You have only to go down a few undred feet into the bowels of the earth, through that narrow opening, which is the portal to the ave of the living. Shudder not, as you enter, ere is much human flesh and blood very far below you. Descend and look arouad, by the dim can- dle’s light—try to pierce the gloom of those narrow leries, and you shall behold very strange things. yonder Lae of wet coals lies a naked infant, three years old, begrimmed with coal-dust an mud, asleep, not from the fatigue of play, but of la- bor, pale and hi rd from very exhaustion. That infant, on its little shoulders and tottering limbs, must bear a part of the burtben of the British Go- vernment. A portion of that young life has been drawn out to-day, to add to the stability and magni- ficence of England, To sustain her strength she must presssome life drops from that infant’s heart. Had he been the son of a savage, he would have been roaming at will, in the pure air of heaven, sleeping on a mother’s bosom, or making the forest arches ring with hishappy shout. But having the unspeakable honor of a birth in Great England, he is there and thus di coals till nature is ex- hausted, to watt the great steamer on its way. But where are those who should have been in the upper air companions of his play? Look yonder! there comes one of them, naked, crawling on all fours, along that passage two feet wide, on the rocks, with his harness on, dragging his load of coals through mud and water, halt afoot in depth Where is that infat father? Yonder, in that coal vein, working naked. Those young girls bringin; coals from naked miners, ai ters, a at female naked to the waist, pair of coarse pantaloons over the rest of her torm— that woman is the infant’s mother. The faint, low breathing ot that exhausted child, thas over- wrought to Fs its parents bread, rings louder in the ear of God, than the shouts of all the ls that gather by night on the hills of . Fea: there will also be a king. England calls loudly upon us to abandon our sim- ple religious forms, and our voluntary system as no- thing worth, and adopt her imposing “establish- ment” as the only efficient engine for the diffusion of evangelical truth; and when we examine, we discover that it was devised for the support of the prelate, and not for the instruction of the pene to adorn with kingly splendor the palace of a bishop, while famine sits by the hearth-stones of the poor. We behold a national church with her splendor and retension second to none—we gaze at her old ma- Jestic cathedrals with delight and wonder—we are astonished at the imperial state of her great officers— and then we remember how the comforts, the life’of the poor man have been wrepched away to maintain in luxury and idleness, a fox-hunting, horse-racing priesthood. The people are not on'y sitting hike Lai is at the door of the church dives, but Laza- rus is robbed of his very rags in payment of tithes. ‘When we remember the millions yearly expend- ed on this man made engine, for the spread of the gospel, we cannot forget the religious examination of some of the pupils of the church, in the coal dis- tricts of Scotland and Wales, where some of the students in the mee national endowed seminary, at the of eighteen, had not yet arrived at any knowledge of Adam, or of Jesus Christ. When we read descriptions of the Sunday din- ners given by the clergy, we are reminded ofa scene, not far distant from the groaning tables, where Englishmen injthe workhouse were quarrel- ling like dogs over putrid bones, brought to be crushed for manure; or we think of Irishmen wrangling in the surf over decaying potatoes, float- ing froma wreck, or of the agricultural districts, where thousands are living just on thejline that di- vides life from absolute starvation. _ . We would not speak of these or similar things, for the purpose of reproaching England. But when she claims to have discovered, in her institutions, a panacea for the diseases of society, we have a nght to search; when such things are revealed, to say that these are the results of your plan for righting hu- man wrongs, this is what you, thus far, have done for the race. Laboring, with what might and cun- ning was in you, you have come to this. Then do we declare our firm belief that your scheme is the false and not the true one. We do not accord to you the right of being the flag ship of the nations ; we no longer trust, or follow you, as the light-bearer ofthe world. Rather will we cling with undying affection to the institutions of our American fathers; rather will we follow the guidance of treedom’s western star ; rather will we commit the redemp- tion of the world to the hundred millions who will soon, on American soil, rally beneath freedom’s banner. A y Now, when an American goes forth to question England thus, and search her national policy and condition, and instead of trusting entirely to his own judgment, takes the opinions of her greatest men, and facts officially ered, and state der the highest authority of the realm, and finds that they corroborate the deductions of his own mind from facts under his own eyes, we claim that , is executing a noble mission, and shows a mind deeply and intelligently interested in the great move- ments of the age and the destiny of man. With re; to the idea of the English govern- ment, that it has checked, or can retard the general movement of the nations by the power of her institu- tions, we would answer, that perhaps some might believe if the se f the aristocracy, the church, > o just and loveable animal ; the lion, meanwhile »“‘eg- gravating his voice” jand roaring “like a sucking love.” These were the unfavorable circumstances in which the second work appeared. The public mind was in an unnatural state. But it has passed away, and the now increasing sale proves that Mr. Lester and his books are regarded with feelings more in accordance with their real merit. z ‘These volumes belong not to the light literature of the day. They are not exhausted by one rapid pe- They have a permanent value, derived from rusal. the facts they contain, illustrating the condition ot the foremost nation of the earth. ‘The statistical in- formation has been gathered from a wide field, and selected from the highest authorities of the kingdom. The startling statements embodied in these works have been assumed ag true, and reasoned from as admitted truth by the best writersand speakers of England. , . We hesitate not to say that they contain a masso{ information undeniably authentic, im regard to the British empire, which no other American work con- tains. There is no power on earth whose exact po- litical and religious condition we are so much con- cerned to know, as that of England, and we areac- quainted with no American books so well calculated to disseminate this knowledg ong the mase of our people as those whose merits we are discussing. We have said nothing of their literary merits, be- cause the drapery is the least important feature of books like these. When acritic can find no impor- tant thought in a book, he will naturally turn his attention to the style; and when even the style has no merit, and yet the book must needs be noticed, he can praise the beanty of the t phy, and the elegance of the bedi We think that those who have read these books have thought little of the lan- age atthe time. Theirminds were occupied with the subject, not with the words; and yet it would not be easy to name the same number of pages which are enriched with more sparkling gems even of style, when philosophic views and stirring thoughts are conveyed in more brilliant language. Sriwnry. Axpany, Jan. 20, 1846. The Grand Fancy Dress Ball. The beau monde of Albany, had been looking forward to the day that was to close with one of the largest fancy balls that has ever been givenin our city. The evening was beautiful, and our hearts were light when we arrived at the Yates mansion, a noble building, well calculated for a féte of this kind. As we entered the spacious hall, we were at once struck with the blaze of light, and the graceful ar- rangement of the furniture. Captain McD, (an aid to Gen. Wool, and an accomplished and refined officer of the army,) was master of ceremonies pre tem, and intro- duced each guest by his Charles I., and his lovely q of honor, which royal offic becoming their station. Tt was cult for us to realise we were not actually in the presence of royalty, ‘and not being presented at court. Having paired off in couples, we entered the ind were saluted by strains of the richest ball ay atyle of dress, and every costume, from t periods of history ¢own to the present day, ly and becomingly represented—in fact, it each ha id itume particularly pted to his or her style; and the few exceptions were completely disguised that their most intimate friends not recognise them. The court having entered, the dancing commenced; and here the distant and fanciful contrasts of the dancers, infusing the spirit of true wit through the crowd, caused the spacious ball to resound with peals of laughter. T! d taking the head of the room, the themselves around them; and here w that graced the court cotilion.— There was Sir “Robert Walpole,” with his powdered wig and his coat of brown velvet—with ease and dignity led off the graceful “ Sultana,” sparkling with jewels, and radiant in beauty, reminding us forcibly of Moore's Nourmahal. Near her was the irie Bird, with a coro- net of blue and red feathers, her dark hair glowing in its natural beauty—beneath it, brought into full view, the perfectly Grecian profile. Her partner, a “Maltese” boatman, ‘put ia his oar” as he led her throt while her beautiful sister, one of the mi as she listened to the courtly and well t icture of bi gue we must notice a h the dance, of honor, a full rie ye se ao the character as Scott repre- sents him in Palestine; his brilliant armour wos eoftened and subdued by the influence of “ Night ;” his partner, whose silver veil hung raceful folds, (not over the face of nature,) but above the fair and queenly brow of Misa tiful Polish girl near us, with a scarlet coat and e trimming. A courtly looking soldier was directing her attention to one of the deep bay windows, but she gracefully turned from him to Join in the Polka with another, who was a stranger to us. In regal pomp and splendor, proud Henry the VIII. trod the noble hall, contented to it dignified queen, Catharine of Arragon. ‘Thi a light fleecy cloud, floated g dance, while many sighed that worshipping gaze, to brighten oth qually with them. ingering not near selves, “ hovering o’er the many, any.” Zuleika, with her short f blue and silver, her snowy entwined with ls, drew many a pei lim” to her side, and to some that evening she was “the favorite flower.” There was little Red Riding Hood shrinking timidly away from us, and had a perfect face in that close hood of hers, while her sister, as La Polka, with her graceful dress, won the admiration of many: A beautiul syiph personated the Daughter of the Regiment, and when the band were playing the ex- q march from tl oper eet oh flag was sete abo and we one and all envied the courteous an: retined gentleman who had so recently claimed her as his bride. There was a pirate there on nome few of the fair ones in particul knights, sword in hand, to protect them. ' His dress was periect, but his dark eye beaming with love and gentle- ness, told us costume would have been more in character. The ‘Indian girl” seemed sigh- ing for her forest home, and as she stoo! aloof from the throng, was absorbed in her own melancholy thoughts, takingsno notice of the numerous salutations of those friends who were keen enough to recognise her in her perfect tg ly debutante, of this win- ter, personated “ Fen was far too agreeable to sustain her character, nor could have made her if she had wished, for Greeks, corporals, and sol- to keep her in the mazy cir- ening. ‘e saw three yes have a witching power, sessed it, for among the fairest they were fair. lovely bride ‘of our young and amiable vend wes there, and tye Casta sa $l mo costi our a, was perfect wut ; and @ proud td rai tend T. ¥. 3B. ine pls Lid St. Louis. We welcemed our citizen’s dress, his purely democratic feelin, ing him even to assume the dress of royalty ; his brother as the Jack of Clubs, took more knaves than fools to re- cognize him, so completely did his dress disguise him.— truck with the rich and elegant dress of « rquise, one of the most unique and beautiful in the rooms, and worn gracefully by its fairowner. Two Romeos wandered up and down, admiing the scene, mn watching thi rs; but I saw them and the throne itself, were not rocking even new to the world-wide stream. We will believe, when by persue , or threats, or thrust of bayonet, or crash hot, she can stifle the agonised cry for bread, the frantic demand tor reform. We will be- lieve when peace and justice are awarded to Ire- land—when agitated thousands no longer gather by night on Aurington hills, when the island no longer areal the tread of her chartists, and when, far lown, in the lowest deeps of the population, there are no fires, kindled or kindling, which will not burn beneath the sarface forever ; when even Sir Robert Peel, the most powerful British minister since Pitt, is not compelled to ado; and when the Duke of down before the avalanche rus! ary men. _ England has no power to arrest the world. God's immortal millions will, inthe fierce race, trample under foot, as in France, ese structure of govern- ment and every form of social life, unless they are seasonably satisfied in their just demands. _When we behold the masses of christendom ra- ging for liberty, and striking with the strength, but vague aim of a blind giant, we are taught that the political safety of the world depends upon the bold- hess, the firmness, the enthusiasm with which America comes forward in this great crisis. This is a lesson which our author has helped to teach te American people, and for it he has merit- ed their sympathy and approval. In the commencement of this article we_mention- ed some unfavorable influences by which Mr. Les- ter’s second work was met, in the hour of its birth, and which checked, temporarily, the popularity of the whole. At the time of the publication of The Glory and Shame,” our relations with Great Britain were of a nature which threatened a speedy rup- ture ; the times wore an aspect like the present.— The remembrance of the wrongaand insults we had received at the hands of England, was brought freshly to mind by the exciting discussions which were going on all over the country, and_ what A= rica had been compelled to teel, and feels yet, sne was then warmly expressing. The government and the public press did not hesitate to strengthen the ex- citement as a preparation for a public collision. The public, even the government, was prepared to re- ceive “ The Glory and Shame” with favor, because the facts gathered and disclosed, told with rolghiy | te against England. Hut soon alter, the Ash utton treaty was concluded, and then fhe great ef- fort was to allay the fever which had been created and to laud the government of Great Britain. The press was obedient to the call, and oil was poured over the billows of popular feeling, and all were dis- posed to to pat the lion, and consider him a most the peer of the chartiats, Wellington is not borne of millions of hun- id neither of them had found their ir girla were floating about as La both the personification of grace, and sustain- characters they had chosen. We saw a well known face near us, envelo in dark rich curls, his graceful figure wrapped in a Turkish costume. We do not know the character ho had chosen, we only know a true and noble heart beat beneath his . The “Fair Star” of the evening, both in cheracter and in reality, was any thing but a fixed star, for she shed her rays in every quarter, shining in her own true light. Sometimes, during the evening, wo met a pretty and graceful Bayadere, with rings on her fingers, bells on her toes, and wherever the music was there was she; while a handsome young officer in a mili- tary undress of the 3d regiment, took especial jains to hover near her. A dark-haired “ Si struck her unique Sylphide, ing well ‘the livin thfrom her own strange beauty huracter ; her wreaths of leaves, tastefully arranged, ire white of her dress. Near. we saw a fine and handsome-looking Highlander, pretty he Sy peey who, peel our r city e most merry: 5 -telling gypsey wo w. Miss Katrina Ven Tassel hed fo her ony = ure notions, or the rules on propriety down toe} pte old aunt, whose miniature she wore, and actual 4 waltzed with a handsome sailor ; but her train was twitched by an unseen hand during the dance, and, on her perturbation she placed herself under the pro- tection of ‘Col. Fisher” and old Annetje Hans, a pertect picture of the Dutch maiden who is exciting more hopes. in the hearts of the present generation, than did in her own. We noticed one gentlemen in the rich costume of Charles I], and one well-known humorous friend in a boatman’s dress. As we wandered through the brilliant throng, wo were suddenly transplanted into what we imogined a chamber of East ; for in a brilliant circle sat the five Suitanas of th ing, with four grand Turks. It was as imposing a ux as] ever saw; the of dresses, and the dazzling beauty of the ladies, as as the perfect costume of the rr ag gave us |! bless © gave a purer look to the her, well & good picture of life in tho East. said I, as I saw an old man with dered wig road skirted coat, as Sir Roger de Coverly. The ex- clamation had barely escaped me, when { raised my eyes, and saw a Father Confessor, ready and willing to aisoive me from all the sin 1 had committed that even. ing A better disguise [ never saw than S.W. One of the finest lookin, nm in the room was Senator Y., with nt black and silver. His beautiful observed of all ob- tie : “A Sultana, never A we must not forget the little Highland lassie they brought with then: Weware struck several times during the evening with an “ Ita- lian Nobloman,” in asuperb dress of green velv: silver, which was reg bf and glittering dress. not only added to the brillianc of the scene by the taste dis- played in their dresses,imitated from those in the time of .ouis XV, but attracted all eyes towards while