-tfi*iJ \S53 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE i 1 1 j Date Due PNIQ ^^!§r^B ;NAjfl -t«W«S KO^F flpp 1 1 1— «=ff~0 ir ^' HTT^iJ L-4Hh4Ji| r fiFri CfiVT i-'1974QR -3 S^E^ ^rrf (7 'i MAYI2 77 ^^^ * r X^ts u\LS^ r tf DEfefc i^;;;|^liBf^ r * 'Wf<^ 1 v'j' ♦A<^*» !^«^ |Qggj||M^^ f PRINTED IN U, S, A. [«y NO. 23233 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 7 955 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924088417955 THE HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. The right of Translation is reserved. The right of Tramlation is reserved. THE M (D M 1 8 IT qM^^^^-^ V&I.II. "^^/i^^. 1vizMin^>n-: ARTHTIR HALL, VIRTUB, & C? PA'raRSOSTl'.'R ROW, THE lOMES OF THE NEW WOELD IMPEESSIONS OF AMERICA. FREDRIKA BREMER. TEANSLATED BY MARY HOWITT. ' SING UNTO THE LORD A NEW SONG." — Psalm XCVi. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. 11. LONDON: AETHUE HALL, VIETUE, & CO. 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1863. e r~.-'^ A -TO f zs LONDON : BRADBOBY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. THE HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. LETTER XVIII. Phiiasdelphia, June Urd. At length, my sweet little Agatha, I have a moment's 3alm in which to converse with you ; but it has been lard to find in this friendly city of the Friends. I left Charleston the fifteenth of this month, over- ivhelmed, as in aU other places, with presents, and an in finit y of kindness and attentions. But ah ! how weary and worn out I was during the last days there with the Labour of incessant society. Sea-bathing kept me alive, as weU as a few hours of rest in the kind house of my Mend Mrs. W. H. My last evening at Charleston was spent in company with a lively little astronomer, Mr. Gibbs, brother of the natural historian at Columbia, and in contemplatiug from the piazza the starry heavens. The three great constel- lations, Scorpio, with its fiery-red heart, Antares, Sagit- tarius, and Capricomus, as well as the Southern Crown (insignificant), shone brightly in the southern heavens, and the zodiacal light cast its white splendour up towards the milky way. We directed the telescope upon a nebiHous spot in the latter, and then to that place where — we found ourselves, ah! lost in immensity, like the 2 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. animalculse in the ocean. But I can now look upoi this relative condition without being depressed, without iti producing uneasy thoughts. Oersted's treatise on tk " Entirety of Eeason in the whole Universe," and ft data upon which he founds his argument, have given mi the feeling of home in this universe, and made me a citizen of the world. The whole universe is to me noj merely the world and home of man. The night was veij dark, and the stars, therefore, all the brighter ; yet thej were not as bright as with us, nor yet did they appear bo large. The atmosphere was full of fragrance, and was si calm that the strokes of the oars, and the songs from th negroes' boats on the river, were plainly heard. It wfu not tiU half-past twelve that I went to rest. The following day I took leave of my excellent anl beloved home in South Carolina. My good Mrs. W. H took a sisterly, nay, a motherly, care of me to the last My little hand-basket was filled with beautiful im[ oranges and bananas, by her "fruit-woman," a hand; some mulatto, who always wore a handkerchief tied piC' turesquely on her head, and a sketch of whom I madj in my album. Old Eomeo gave me flowers. At halfi past three in the afternoon I went on board the steani' boat, the "Ospry;" the steam company of Philadelphij and Charleston, the proprietors of this vessel, having sent me a free ticket, so that I went to Philadelphia fi-ee of cost ; it was thus a gift to me of twenty dollars, i could not have been made in a more polite manner. The first four-and-twenty hours on board were ex- tremely hot. Both the air and the sea were still, as if th» wind was dead. And I felt how people might die o heat. A number of Spaniards from Cuba were on board and it was amusing to watch them from their peculiai physiognomy and demeanour, so unlike that of Americans. The vivacity of their action, their strongly accentuated,' melodious language, the peculiarity of feature, seemed to HOMES OF THE NEW WOKLD. S lindicate a more important race 'than that of the Anglo- I Saxon ; and yet it is not so, at least not at the present itime. The Spaniards, particularly in this hemisphere, i stand far behind the Americans in moral and scientific (Cultivation. One portion of these Spaniards was said to ibe escaping from the investigations, which the unsuccessful (expedition of Lopez had occasioned in the island ; others •were going to New York to consult physicians, or to avoid [the summer in the tropics. A young couple of a high ifamUy, and near relations, were going to be married, as rthe Spanish law is said to place impediments in the way !of marriage between near relatives, and that with reason, Sas the children or grandchildren of such frequently become idiotic, or unfortunate beings in some other way. I The young bridegroom was handsome, but looked ill- I tempered, with a good deal of hauteur. The bride and her sister were young and pretty, but too stout. An old I coun-t, who was evidently suffering from asthma, was waited upon with the greatest tenderness by a negro. Little children were amusiag by their lively antics and I talk. The voyage was calm, and, upon the whole, good. Mr. Linton, from the city of the Friends, took charge of I me with chivalric politeness. The sea sent us flocks of flying-fish as entertainment on the voyage. Pelicans, with immense beaks, floated Hke our gulls through the air, on search for prey, whilst a large whale stopped on his journey through the ocean, as if to let us witness various beautiful waterspouts. The sailing up the river Delaware on Tuesday morning was very agreeable to me, although the weather was misty. But the mist Hfted up again and agaia its heavy draperies, and revealed bright green shores of idyllian beauty, with lofty hills, wooden country houses, grazing cattle, and a character of landscape wholly unlike that, which had been lately familiar to me in the South. I was met at Philadelphia by the polite Professor Hart, b2 4 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. who took me to his house. And there have I been ever since, and there am I still, occupied, both soul and body, by social life and company, and by a great deal vphich is interesting, although laborious. The Quakers, the Friends, as they are commonly called, are especially kind to me, take me by the hand, caU me Fredrika, and address me with thou or rather thet, and convey me, in easy carriages, to see all that is remark- able and beautiful, as well in the city as out of it. AnJ what large and excellent institutions there are here for the public good! The heart is enlarged by the con' templation of them, and by the manner in which thej are maintained. One cannot help being struck here, in a high degree, by the contrast between the slave states anJ the free states; between the state whose principle is selfishness, and the state whose principle is human love; between tha state where labour is slavery, and the state where labour is free, and the free are honoured. And here, where one sees white women sweeping before the doors, how well-kept is everything, how ornamental, hon flourishing within the city, as well as in the country ! And these public institutions, these flowers of human love, — ah! the magnolia blossoms of the primeval forests are devoid of fragTance in comparison with them ; they stand as far behind these dwellings, these asylums for the unfortunate and for the old, as the outer court of the Sanctuary did to the holy of holies. I could not help weeping tears of joy when I ^dsited, the other day, the great Philadelphia Lunatic Asylum; so grand, so noble appeared the human heart to me here, the work and the tenderness of which seemed to present itself in everything. The Asylum is situated in large and beautiful grounds, in which are shady alleys, seats and flower-gardens. The whole demesne is surrounded bj a wall, so managed as to be concealed by the rising ground, both from the park and the house, so that the HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 5 poor captives may fancy themselves in perfect freedom. ! There is also a heautiful museum of stuffed birds and other animals, with collections of shells and minerals, where the diseased mind may divert itself and derive instruction ; occupation and amusement being the principal means employed for the improvement of these 'unfortunates. For this reason lectures are delivered two ' or three times a week in a large haU. They frequently meet for general amusement, as for concerts, dances, and so on, and the appliances for various kinds of games, such as billiards, chess, &c., are provided. I heard on all hands music in the house. Music is especially an effective means of cure. Many of the patients played on the piano remarkably well. They showed me an elderly lady, who had been brought hither in a state of perfect fatuity. They gave her a piano, and encouraged her to play some little simple pieces, such as she had played in her youth. By degrees, the memory of many of these early pieces re-awoke, until the whole of her childhood's music revived within her, and with it, as it seemed, the world of her childhood. She played to me, and went with visible delight from one little piece to another, whilst her countenance became as bright, and as innocently gay, as that of a happy child. She will probably never become perfectly well and strong in mind ; but she spends here a happy, harmless hfe in the music of her early years. Many of the ladies, and in particular the younger ones, occupy themselves in making artificial flowers, some of which they gave me, and very well done they were. The men are much employed in field labour and gardening. A niece of the great Washington's was here : a handsome old lady, with features greatly resembling those of the President, and well-bred manners. She was very pale, and was said to be rather weak, than diseased, in mind. The number of beautiful flowers here, particularly of roses, was extraordinary; and even the incurables, if they 6 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. have a moment of sane consciousness, find themselves' surrounded by roses. Whilst my conductor hither, an agreeable and humourous quaker, and one of the directors of the asylum, was listening with much attention and apparent interest to an old lady's communication to him respecting her affairs in Jerusalem, another whispered to me ironically, "A magnificent place this is ; yes, quite a paradise ! Don't you thiak so ? " — and added, with some reserve, and in a lower voice, " It is a hell! dreadful things are done here ! " Alas ! the poor unfortunates cannot always occupy them- selves with music and flowers. Some compulsion must, at times, be made use of; but it is enough that the former means preponderate, and the fact of so many patients being cured, proves it ; and that the latter are made use of as seldom, and in as mild a form as possible. A young, good-lookiug ofiicer said to me, " Ah ! I see that you are come to liberate me, and that we shaU go out together, arm in arm ! " Then added he, " Tell me now, if you had a sister whom you loved better than any- thing else in the world, and you were kept shut up to prevent your gettiug to her, how should you like it ? " I said that, if I were not well, and it was right for me to take care of my health for a time, I would be patient. " Yes, but I am well," said he, " I have been a Httle unwell, a little tete monUe, as they say, but I am altogether right again, and these people are certainly gone mad who cannot see it, who obstinately keep me here." The insane have commonly this resemblance to wise people, that they consider themselves to be wiser than others. My young colonel was evidently tete montee still, and accompanied us with warm expressions in favour of ladies. Gerard College is a large school in which three hundred boys, otherwise unprovided for, are instructed in every kind of handicraft trade. A naturalised Frenchman, a HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 7 iiMr. Gerard, left the whole of his large property for the jstablishment of this school. The building itself, which His not yet completed, is of white marble, and in imitation iiof the Grecian temple of Minerva; it has cost an un- Iheard-of sum of money, and many persons disapprove of Expending so much on mere outward show, by which Jmeans the real benefits of the institution are deferred. ilAs yet there are scarcely one hundred boys in the iischool. The fancy which the Americans have for the temple- tetyle in their buildings is very striking. For my part, I ihave nothing to say against it, even though the use of ithe colonnade and other ornaments is sometimes carried ito an excess, not in accordance with the idea of the building, particularly as regards private houses; never- theless this magnificent style proves that the popular feeling has advanced beyond the stage when the dwelling was merely a shelter for the body, without any further intention. The desire is now that the habitation should be symbolic of the soul within ; and when one sees any grand and magnificent buildiag, like a Grecian temple or Pantheon, or a Gothic castle, one may then be sure that it is not a private dwelling but a public institution, — r either an academy, a school, a senate-house, a church, or an — hotel. Mr. Gerard, in his will, expressly ordered that no religious instruction should be given in his institution to the young ; and that no teacher of religion should have a place, either among the teachers or the directors of his esta- blishment. Yet so decided is' the view which these people take of the necessary relationship of reUgious instruction both with the man and the school, and so strong their attachment to it, that they always find some expedient for evading such prohibitions; and although they have adhered to the testator's wishes, with regard to the exclusion of religious teachers and instruction, yet every morning in 8 HOMES OP THE NEW WOULD. Gerard College, as in all other American schools, a chapt?f. of the New Testament is read aloud, to the assembled youths of the college, before they begin their daily work,|i The statue of Mr. Gerard, in white marble, stands in one of the magnificent galleries of this scholastic temple, It is an excellent work, as the faithful portraiture of a simple townsman in his everyday attire ; yet an extremely prosaic figure, presented without any idealisation, but which pleases by its powerful reality, although it stands, almost like a something which is out of place in that beautiful temple. I must also say a few words about the Philadelphia Penitentiary. In the centre of the large rotunda, into which run all the various passages with their prison- cells, like radii to one common centre, sate, ia an arm- chair, comfortable and precise, in his drab coat with large buttons and broad-brimmed hat, the Quaker, Mr. S., like a great spider watching the flies which had been caught in the net. But no ! this simile does not at aU accord with the thing and the man, — that kind, elderly gentle-, man, with a remarkably sensible and somewhat humourous exterior. A more excellent guide no one can imagine. He accompanied us to the ceUs of the prisoners. The prisoners live here quite solitary, without intercourse with their feUow prisoners ; they work however, and they read. The library is considerable, and contains, besides religious books, works of natural history, travels, and even a good selection of polite literature. It is with no niggard hand that the nobler seed of cultivation is scattered among the children of imprisonment, " those who sit in darkness.'' The spirit of the New World is neither timid nor niggardly, and fears not to do too much where it would do good. It is careful merely, to select the right seed, and gives of such with a liberal heart and a liberal hand. I have often thought that beautiful stories, sketches of human life, biographies, in particular of the guilty who HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 9 nave become reformed, of prisoners who after being liberated have become virtuous members of society, might do more towards the improvement of the prisoner's state of mind and heart, than sermons and religious books, except always the books of the New Testament, and I have therefore wished much to do something of this Tdnd myself. And I now found my belief strengthened %y what " Friend S. " told me of the effect of good 'stories upon the minds of the prisoners. He had lately ■ 'visited one of the male prisoners, a man noted for his hard and impenetrable disposition during the whole time "''that he had been in prison, upwards of twelve months. ""This morning however he appeared much changed, very 'Pmild, and almost tender. '^' " How is this? " asked the quaker; "you are not like "''yourself? What is the meaning of it ? " '^^ " Hem ! — I hardly know myself," said the prisoner, •'"but that there book," — and he pointed to a Uttle book J'with the title of " Little Jane," — " has made me feel quite F? queer ! It is many a year since I shed a tear; but — that athere story ! " — and he turned away annoyed because the ■stupid tears would again come into his eyes at the recol- i 'lection of "that there story." Ki Thus had the history of the beautiful soul of a little ji child softened the stony heart of the sinner, — the man k had committed murder. ij A young prisoner, who had now been in prison for two I! years, and who when he came in could neither read nor ■i write, and had not the slightest religious knowledge ; 5 now wrote an excellent hand, and reading was his great I delight. He was now shortly to leave the prison, and i would go thence a much more intelligent and better , human being than he entered it. His countenance, in I the first instance, had indicated a coarse nature, but it , now had a good expression, and his voice and language showed considerable cultivation. 10 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. Another prisoner had, with some artistic feeling, painted his cell, and planted a bower in the passage where he went once a- day for fresh air. AH the prisoners have this refreshment once a-day in one of the passages which strike out like rays from the prison, and separated from the other passages by a high wall. The sight of Friend S. was evidently a sight of gladness to all the prisoners. It was plain that they saw their friend in the Friend, and his good-tempered, sensible countenance put them in good humour. One young woman, who was soon to leave the prison, declared that she should do so unwillingiy, because she should then no longer see good Mr. S. In the cells of the female prisoners, among whom were two negro women, I saw fresh flowers in glasses. Their female keeper had given them these. They all praised her. I left this prison "more edified than I had often been on leaving a church. Friend S. told me that the number of the prisoners had not increased since the commencement of the prison, but continued very muci about the same, which is a pleasing fact, as the popula- tion of the city has considerably increased during this time, and increases every year. Less pleasing and satis- factory is it, as regards the effect of the system, that the same prisoners not unfrequently retm'n and for the same Idnd of crime. But this is natural enough. It is not easy to amend a fault which has become habitual through many years, nor easy to amend old criminals. Hence the hope of the New World is not to reform so much through prisons as through schools, and still more through the homes; — when all homes become that which they ought to be, and that which many already are, the great reformatory work will be done. Two houses of refuge, asylums for neglected boys, which I have visited, seem to be well-conceived and HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 11 '"Veil-managed institutions. The boys here as well as in "he great establishment at Westboro', in Massachusetts, "mich I visited with the S.s, last autumn, are treated "ccording to the same plan. They are kept in these 1*stablishments but a few months, receive instruction and ^le well disciplined, and then are placed out in good *"amUies in the country, principally in the West, where '"here is plenty of room for all kinds of working people. * The Sailors' Home is an institution set on foot by "mvate individuals, and intended to furnish a good home, •,t a low price, to seamen of all nations, during the =ime that they remain in the city and their vessels in larbour; I visited it in company with Mrs. Hale, the ■^luthor of " Miriam," a lady with a practical, intellectual ' ')row, and frank, and most agreeable manners. She is 'iow occupied in the publication of a work on the position )f women in society, a work not sufficiently liberal in its il.endency, according to my opinion. ^ Of all the public institutions which I visited I was I'east satisfied with the great Philadelphia Poor House, an Pmmense establishment for about three thousand persons, prhich costs the city an immense sum, and yet which iijannot possibly answer its purpose. Everything is isiione too much in a massive, manufacturing way; the •jadividual becomes lost in the mass, and cannot receive ilais proper degree of attention. The lazy mendicant lireceives as much as the unfortunate, the lame and the jDlind, and they cannot have that individual care which they require. At least, so it appeared to me. Neither , did it seem to me that the guardian spirit of the place was |50 generous and so full of tenderness as in the other ^institutions, and I failed to find places of repose under ,the open sky, with trees and green space and flowers for the aged. The little court with a few trees was nothing to speak of. For the rest, the institution was remarkable |for its order and cleanliness, which are distinguishing 12 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. features of all the public institutions of the New WorlA Large, light halls, in the walls of which were formed smdl,| dark rooms, like niches or ceUs, the sleeping-rooms of the aged, and which thus gave to every person his own little apartment, with a door opening into the commfflj hall, in which an iron stove diffused warmth to all, seemel, to me the prevailing arrangement for the poor. Aaditj is certainly a good arrangement, as the old people can thus, when they will, be alone, and also can, when thej' will, enjoy society and books ia a large, light, warm room, furnished with tables, chairs or benches. I have also heard of various other benevolent institu- tions in the city, which I yet hope to visit. And ia every one of these the Quakers take part, either as founders or directors, and in every case the same spirit of human love is observable as animated the first law-giver of Penn- sylvania, the founder of Philadelphia, WilHam Penn ; anl the more I see of the Quakers the better I like them, The men have something sly and humourous about them, a sort of dry humour which is very capital ; they are fond of telling a good story, commonly illustrative of the peace- principle, and which is to prove how well this and worldlj wisdom may go together, and how triumphantly they are doing battle in the world. Christian-love shows itself in them, seasoned with a little innocent, worldly cunning in manner, and a delicate sharpness of temper. The women please me particularly, from that quiet refinement ol demeanour, both inward and outward, which I have already observed ; their expression is sensible ; nobodj ever hears them ask senseless questions ; one meets wii many striking countenances among them, with remarkably lovely eyes, purely cut features, and clear complexions. The interest which the Quaker women take in the affairs of their native land, and especially in those which have » great human purpose, is also a feature which distinguishes them from the ordinary class of ladies. HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 13 \ The Quakers have always been the best friends of the laegro-slave, and the fugitive slaves from the slave states iflnd, at the present time, their most powerful protectors land advocates among the Friends. Many of the Quaker women are distinguished by their gifts as pubhc speakers, ,and have often come forward in public assemblies as forcible advocates of some question of humanity. At the present i]time they take the lead in the anti-slavery party, and a tpelebrated speaker on this subject, Lucretia Mott, was samong one of my late visitors here. She is a handsome lady, of about fifty, with fine features, splendid eyes, and a very clear, quiet, but decided manner — crystal-like, I might say. : June 26th. — Yesterday, midsummer-day, I visited the :old Swedish church here. For the Swedes were the first ^settlers on the river Delaware, and were possessed of land (from Trenton Falls to the sea, and it was from them that jWOliam Penn bought the ground on which Philadelphia ;now stands. It was the great Gustavus Adolphus who, ■together with Oxenstjerna, sketched out a plan for a Swedish colony in the new world, and the king himself (became surety to the royal treasury for the sum of ,400,000 rix-doUars for the carrying it out. Persons of aU. conditions were invited to co-operate in the under- taking. The colony was to exist by free labour. " Slaves," said they, " cost a great deal, work unwillingly, and soon perish from hard usage. The Swedish people are laborious and intelligent, and we shall certainly gain more by a free people with wives and children." The Swedes found a new paradise in the new world, and believed that the proposed colony would become a secure asylum for the wives and daughters of those who had become fugitives by religious persecution, or war; would be a blessing at once for individual man and the whole Protestant world. " It may prove an advantage to the whole of oppressed Christendom," said 14 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. the great monarch, who, in his schemes for the honour of Sweden, always united with them the well-being' of humanity. After the king's death this plan was carried out under the direction of Oxenstjerna. Land was purchased along the southern banks of the Delaware, and peopled by Swedish emigrants. The colony called itself Ne» Sweden, and enjoyed a period of prosperity anj increasing importance, engaged in agriculture and other peaceful employment, during which it erected the fortress of Christiana, as a defence against the Dutch wlo inhabited the northern banks of the river. The numier of Swedes did not exceed seven hundred, and when contests arose with the more powerful colony of New Netherland, and the Sweden Governor Eising attackei the Dutch fortress Casimir, the Dutch avenged them- selves by surprising the Swedish colony with an overwhelming force, and they submitted. The Swedist arms in Europe had by this time ceased to inspire respect on the other side the Atlantic, and spite of their protests the Swedes were brought under the jurisdiction of the Dutch. The connection with the mother-country ceaseJ by degrees. And after the death of the last Swedist clergyman who emigrated hither — CoUin — and who died at a great age, the Swedish congregation and church have been under the care of an American clergyman. Mr. Clay, the present minister, invited me to meet at his house all the descendants of the earliest Swedish settlers whom he knew. It was a company of from fifty to sixty, and I shook hands with many agreeable persons, but who had nothing Swedish about them, excepting their family names, of which I recognised many. But no traditions of their emigration hither remained; language, appear- ance, all had entirely merged into that of the now I prevailing Anglo-Saxon race. The church clock alone I had something truly Swedish about it, something of the HOMES OP THE NEW WOULD. 15 character of the peasant's clock in its physiognomy, and was called Jockwm. The church, a handsome and substantial, though small building of brick, was ancient only in its exterior. The interior was new, and very much ornamented. A large book was placed upon a sort of tall stand in the middle of the church, and upon its page might be read in large letters, which however had been somewhat altered by restoration, " The people who dwelt in darkness have seen a great light." And this inscription, together with the old church at Wilmington, in Delaware, and a few family names, are an that remain of the colony of New Sweden on the eastern shores of the new world. Yet no ! not aU. A peaceful, noble memory of its life continues to exist on the page of history, like a lovely episode of idyllian purity and freshness. The pilgrims of New England stained its soil with blood, by their injustice and cruelty to the Indians. The Swedish pilgrims, in their treatment of the natives, were so just and wise, that during the whole time when this coast was under the Swedish dominion, not one drop of Indian blood was shed by them, and the Indians loved them, and called them " our own people." " The Swedes are a God-fearing people," say the old chronicles of those times. " They are industrious and contented, and much attached to the customs and manners of the mother-country. They live by agriculture and the breeding of cattle ; the women are good housewives, spin and weave, take care of their families, and bring up their children well." "William Penn in his letter to the tradesmen of London, August 6, 1633, wrote thus of them — " The Swedes and the Finns inhabit the tracts by the river Delaware, where the water rises high. They are a simple, strong, and industrious people, but do not appear to make much progress in agriculture and planting. They seem rather to desire to have enough than to have 16 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. abundance or to carry on trade. I cannot but commend i them for their hearty good-will towards the English. They have not degenerated from the old friendship which existed between the two kingdoms. As they are a mor4 strong, and healthy people, they have handsome childreij and every house seems full of them. It is seldom that you find any family without three or four lads, and as many girls too; some have six, seven, or eight sons, And I must do them the justice to say that I have seen few young men more useful or more industrious." I Thus spoke the earliest witness of the old Swedisi colony. They and the old Swedish church stand ther6 still. A new Swedish church is now rising in. the valley of the Mississippi in the West. I must see it. I I visited also yesterday Franklin's grave, and bound i clover and other field-flowers into a garland for it, Franklin belongs to the group of fortunate men who are the heroes of peace, and the quiet benefactors of the human race. He was the third man in that great triumvirate (Fox, Penn, Franklin), and the first man in the battle of the press, for freedom of thought in America, and for American independence. i Franklin, with his quiet demeanour, his simple habits, his free, searching glance directed always upon the simplest and the most common laws as regarded every- thing, who " played with the lightning as with a brother," and without noise or tumult drew the lightning down from the sky " — Franklin, with his practical philosophy of life, which however was broad rather than deep ; his great activity and his excellent temper; seems to me a fine representative of one phase of American character. But I must tell you a little more about the Quakers, who not only founded Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, and gave to the State and the city their peculiar character, but who exercised a deep and lasting influence upon the spiritual life of the people, both of England and New HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 17 "England. In Sweden we know the Quakers merely as a "Strange sect which says thou to. everybody; will not 'take an oath ; and wear their broad-brimmed hats in Ihe presence of every one. "We know them only "from little outward peculiarities. I have here become Acquainted with their inward significance for the whole of ^'lumanity. " It is about two hundred years since George Fox was Dornin England. His father, who was called "Eighteous 'phristopher," was a weaver of Leicestershire, and his 'nother was descended from the stock of the martyrs. As ''i boy Fox was early distinguished by deep religious "eeling, and an inflexible and upright disposition. He was put apprentice to a shoemaker in Nottingham, who -ilso owned some land, and by him was employed to keep -lis sheep. Beading the Bible, prayer and fasting, occupied iiiim while so engaged. His young soul thirsted after *)erfection, and was excited by a vague longing for the i^upreme good, for the stedfast true light. His youth was !ii)assed during one of the most stormy periods, when i-Uhurch and State were alike shaken by hostile parties, ind the different religious sects were divided among them- tielves, and opposed the one to the other. The youth, wh fonged for the immovable truth, for a foundation which tivould sustain him, a clearness which would guide him Jind all men to the truth, to the supreme good, heard ;iround him merely the strife of opinion and war. These glarkened his soul still more. H Driven as it were by inexpressible anguish, he for- . ook his business and his flock, and burying himself in [he solitudes of woods, he yearned after a revelation of jSrod. He went to many priests for consolation, but obtained none. i He went to London to seek for the light ; but there con- jending sects and the great professors encompassed him :)nly with a deeper darkness. He returned to the country, J 8 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. where some advised him to get married ; others, to go into Cromwell's army. But his restless spirit drove him into solitude and out into the fields, where he wandered about for many nights in anguish of mind " too great to h described." Yet, nevertheless, now and then, a ray ol: heavenly joy beamed in his soul, and he seemed to restii peace m Abraham's bosom. He had been brought up in the Church of England But he now saw that a man might be educated in OxfeiJ and in Cambridge, and yet be in no condition to solve tk great problem of existence. He thought also that Gol did not live in temples made of stone, but ia the liraj human heart. From the Church he went over to tlit Dissenters. But neither with them did he find "tie fixed truth," the firm foundation for that moral comvictioii which he sought. He gave up, therefore, all religious sects, and it seeking for the truth among them, and, although shaken by tempests of opinion, he confided his heart to a Power superior to the storm, and found the anchorage of tie spirit. One morning, as Fox sate silently musing by the fire, ani glancing into his own soul, a cloud came over his lniii4 and he thought he heard a voice, which said — " All thingi come by nature ! " And a pantheistic vision darkened and troubled his soul. But as he continued musiiij another voice arose from the depths of his soul, ■wliicl said — " There is a living God! " All at once, it became light in his inmost being; all clouds, all doubts fled; k felt himself irradiated, and raised upward by an infinitt conviction of truth, and an unspeakable joy. And the light and the conviction of truth which W enlightened his soul, which had arisen in him without the help of any man, spake thus : " There is in every man an inner light, which is God's revelation to man; M inner voice which witnesses of the truth, and which is HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 19 'God's voice, in the soul of man, and which guides it to all truth. In order to come at the truth, it is only needful for man to turn attentively towards that inner light — to listen to iih9.t injier voice." ' That inner light/ — 'that inner voice bade him go forth and proclaim that message to the human race. It commanded him to go into the churches, and in the midst of divine service to cry aloud against the priests — " The Scriptures 'are not the rule, but the Spirit, which is above the Sorip- ^'tures ! " It bade him stand against the hired ministers of "religion, as against wolves in sheeps' clothing. '' I shall not tell you of aU the persecution which raged "against this man, who thus opposed himself to old belief 'and custom, of the stones which were flung at him, who '"in the power of the Spirit made the walls of the church to quake, although nothing is more interesting than to follow Sthis divinely possessed man, and to see him after iLL-usage, -imprisonment, danger of death, again stand forth always ■'the same, only stronger and more resolute, and with a Smore fervent zeal; to see the crowd of disciples increasing around him, drunken with that flood of inner light, whUst ithe servants of the State Church feared and trembled, when it was said, " The man in the leathern breeches is ■coxae ! " i And nothing is more interesting than to see these iunleamed disciples of that revelation of the inner light and the inner voice stand forth in the power of that incor- iruptible seed which lives in every human soul, and iideliver the oracles of conscience. Ploughmen and milk- imaids became preachers, and sent forth their voices through the world, calling upon the Pope and the Sultan, jupon Puritans and Cavaliers, Negroes and Hindoos, all to listen to the solemn judgment of the inner voice. That light which had enlightened the noblest of the heathens, which had enlightened Socrates and Seneca as the surest foundation of moral determin9,tion, as the 2 20 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. clearest spring of life in heathenism, this had, by means of the shepherd George Fox, been diffused among the people, and had become their possession ;— even tlie meanest might be participant thereof. For the teacher said — " Sit down, whoever thou art, sit down on thy own hearth, and read the divine word in thy heart. Some seek for the truth in books, others from learned men, But that which they are seeking for is within themselves. For man is an epitome of the whole world ; and for us to understand it, we need only to read ourselves aright." The bursting forth of these opinions at a time when old ascendancies were totteriag to their fall, and old oracles gave only confused answers, will explain the enthusiasm, bordering upon insane fanaticism, with which many of George Fox's adherents promulgated his doctrines. They believed themselves ' designed to be the founders of a world's religion, and went forth to preach the revelation of the inner light " in Rome and Jerusalem, in America and Egypt, in China and Japan." Fox, led and guided by the inner light, still proceeded onward with innovation on the usages of the world. That inner voice, which commanded him to set the spirit above the Scriptures, bade him say thee and thou to aU men, commanded him to swear no oath, and not to approve of any form of government which was not in accordance •witi the dictates of the inner voice. On the contrary, it commanded him to enclose all mankind in an embrace of brotherly love, and to treat even animals with tendeir ness. He voyaged to the New World, and said to the Indian — " Thou art my brother ! " Wherever he went preaching his doctrines, the inner beauty of his soul, and his love for eternal goodness and truth, were felt by all ; and everywhere crowds accom- panied him, and he made innumerable converts to a way which seemed so clear and so easy. For George Fox taught that the human soul was by nature good, and a HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 21 pure child of God. William Penn, a young man of extraordinary powers, handsome person, and high and wealthy family, became one of George Fox's most zealous disciples. He also suffered for his opinions, and strengthened them by becoming one of his most powerful apostles. The weapons of persecution and ridicule had long been directed against the increasing multitude of Quakers ; human reason, too, directed her arguments to oppose them. They were charged with self-deception. " How can you know that you are not mistaking the fancies of a heated brain for the manifestation of the Spirit of God? " said the caviUer. " By the same spirit," replied Penn. " The Spirit witnesseth with our spirit." " The Bible was the guide and rule of the Protestants, Had the Quakers a better guide ? " The Quakers answered that truth was one. God's revealed word cannot be opposed to God's voice in the conscience. But the Spirit is the criterion, and the Spirit dwells in the spirit of man. The letter is not the spirit. " The Bible is not religion, but the history of religion. The Scriptures are a declaration of the fountain, but not the fountain itself." " God's light in our souls bears witness to the truth of God in the Scriptures and in Christianity." The Christian Quaker maintained his relationship to all the children of light in all ages, and received the revelation of the light of Christianity only because it became strengthened by the inner light in his soul. His faith was founded upon the universal testimony of the conscience. This assisted him through aU knotty contro- versy. When they propounded to him the doctrines of predestination, the questions of free will and necessity, the Quaker laid his hand upon his breast.. The inner voice there, testified of free will and responsibility ; and it 22 HOMES OF THE NEW "WOELD. said more than that ; it said, "All men are equal, because the inner light enlightens all. And all government is to be rejected which is' not based upon the laws of universal reason. There is no difference between priest and layman, between man and woman. The inner light enlightens all, and knows no distinction of class or of sex." But I must not go to greater length in these doctrines of the Quakers, or I should extend my letter too far. I must instead, pass over to the establishment of this Quaker State. In proportion as the sect protested more and mote vehemently against Church and State, persecution and hatred increased, and thousands of the Quakers died in prison from cold and ill-usage. Amid these sufferings the oppressed people cast their eyes towards the New World, as a place of refuge. Fox returned from his missionary journey through the Eastern States, from Rhode Island to Carolina, where he had sown the seed of his doctrines in thousands of williiig souls. Several Quaker families in England united to prepare M themselves and their friends an asylum on the other side of the Atlantic ; in that land which had given a home to George Fox. They purchased, therefore, land along the banks of the Delaware, and set out with a large number of adherents to establish there a community whose one laW and rule should be the inner law of the heart, enlightened by the inner light. To this party "William Penn sooH attached himself, and took the lead in the colony aS its natural head and governor. In the fundamental principles of their legislation the Friends adhered to that of the Puritan colony of NeW Hampshire; "their concessions were such as Friend!! could approve of," because, said they, the pmver is vesU'd in the people. But the Qualiers went further than the Pilgrim Fathers HOHES OF THE NEW WOELD. 23 *iii their understanding of and application of this principle. ' The Puritans had made the Scriptures their guide and 'rule. The Friends made the Spirit the interpreter of the f Scriptures. The Puritans had given the congregation a ■ right to select their own ministers. The Friends would not have any priests at all. Every human being, man or '■ woman, was a priest, and had the right to preach to others I if the Spirit moved them, and the inner voice admonished i them to give utterance to any truths. For the inner light was sent to all. The Puritans had given the right of vote to every man in the community, and all questions of law or judg- ment were to be decided by a majority of voices. The Friends, believing in the power of the inner light, and the final unanimity of the inner light in all, allowed in their councils any questions under discussion to be dealt with again and again, until 'all became voluntarily and unanimously a,greed. The Puritans had built their churches without orna- ments or pictures. The Friends built no churches. They assembled in halls or houses, called meeting-rooms, and sate there together in silence, listening to the revelation of the inner voice, and speaking merely when this admonished them to say anything. The Puritans regarded woman as the helper of man, and his companion in the house and on the private path of Hfe. The Friends regarded woman as man's helper also in his life as a citizen, as his helper in the business of his public as well as his private life, and acknowledged the right of woman to speak, as well in the senate, as the •church. The Female Assemblies of Council were of as much weight as those of the men, and the inspiration of woman was listened to with reverence when she stood forth, at the call of the Spirit, in their meeting-houses. 24 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. The Puritans had simplified the marriage ceremonyj- The Friends rejected marriage by a priest, and it became a civil rite. If a man and woman declared themselves willing to live together as a married pair, that sufficed to constitute the marriage. The inner voice was enough to sanctify the union and to make it firm; the innei' voice alone could point out the way and keep the heart pure. Thus pure, thus sublime were the principles which guided this little people who went over to the New World to make that " holy experiment," as William Penn terms it; to found a community, whoUy and entirely, based upon that which is most inward and most spiritual in human life. Thus began the colony which, under the guidance of William Penn, extended itself into the most flourishing condition and received the name of Pennsylvania. Penn desired in it to found a free colony for all mankind. The fame of that holy experiment resounded afar, The sons of the forest, the chiefs of the Indian tribeSj came to meet the Quaker King. Penn met them beneath the open sky, in the depths of the forest, now leafless by the frosts of autumn, and proclaimed to them the same message of the nobility of man, and of the unity and truth of the inner light, which Fox had announced to Cromwell, and Mary Fisher to the Grand Sultan. The Enghsh- men and the Indians must regard the same moral law, and every quarrel between them be adjusted by a peace- ful tribunal composed of an equal number of men of each race. " We meet," said Penn, " upon the broad pathway of good faith and good will ; no one shall seek to taie advantage of the other ; but aU shall be done with can- dour and with love." " We are all one flesh and blood." The Indians were affected by these noble words. " ^e HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 25 will live," said they, "in love with William Penn and his children as long as sun and moon shall endure." And the sun, and the forest, and the river witnessed the treaty of peace and friendship which was made on the shores of the Delaware ; the first treaty, says an historian, which was not ratified by an oath, and the only one which never was broken. The Quakers said, " "We have done a better work than if we, like the proud Spaniards, had gained the mines of Potosi. We have taught to the darkened souls around us their rights as men." Upon a stretch of land between the rivers Schuylkill and Delaware, purchased from the Swedes and blessed with pure springs of water and a healthful atmosphere, Penn laid the fotmdation of the city of Philadelphia, an asylum for the persecuted, a habitation for freedom, a home for all man- kind. " Here," said the Friends, " we will worship God according to His pure law and light ; here will we lead an innocent hfe upon an elysian, virgin soil." That Philadelphia was later to become the birth-place of American independence, and of that declaration which proclaimed it to all the world, and united aU. the individual States of the Union in the great name of humanity, — of this the Friends thought not. My dear heart, I have written out the above for you, partly from books, partly from myself, from my own observation and thoughts. For I have been greatly fascinated by this episode in the history of man, and I see traces of its life still quite fresh around me. Looking now at the principles of Quakerism in and for themselves, I see clearly that they are the same doctrines for which Socrates died and Luther lived, and for which the great Gustavus Adolphus fought and conquered, and died the death of the hero — the right of freedom of thought, of faith in the light and voice of God in the soul of man ; this principle, arising in George Fox from the very heart 26 HOMES OP THE NEW WOELD, of the people, and thence becoming the vital principle of people, Church and State, constitutes the peculiarity of Quakerism, thoroughly permeating social life. New it is not ; neither is it sufficient in the one-sided view in which Quakers comprehend it. What, if that inner light illumines a dark desire in the human soul? if the inward voice finds itself opposed by a debased or evil impulse of the heart ? The Quakers have forgottenj or have not regarded the old saying, that " there is a drop of black blood in every man's heart." And in order to make this pure, neither light nor admonishing voicS avails anything, but only another drop of blood of divine power and purity. The Quakers may, in the mysteries of Quaker life, find proofs enough of the existence of this black drop, even among the children of the inner light; perhaps no bloody proofs, no burning spot, but dark histories of gloomy, silent, bitter quarrels among "the Friends ;" secret oppression, secret, long misery, iiTscon- cilable misunderstandings, and aU those dark fiends which, when I see them embittering family or social life, remind me of the old northern hell with its dark poisonous rivers, cruel witchcraft, rainy clouds, venomous serpents, and so on. But Quakerism, in its first arisings, saw nothing of this, and perhaps possessed nothing of it. Enthusiasm for a beautiful idea changes the soul to a spring morning, with a clear heaven, and the pui'est air, full of the song of birds, amid flowery meadows. Later in the day the clouds arise. Quakerism in its earliest morning-freslmess was itself a pure unfathomed river, derived from pure fountains, and which baptised the world anew with the purifying waters of truth, and faith in the voice and power of truth. That was and that is its good work in mankind. And its awakening cry has penetrated with purifying power into millions of souls. Waldo Emerson, in his belief, in the power of this inner light and truth, is a Quaker. HOMES OS' TfiE nW WOftLD. §? It was a mistake in the Quakers to believe that man has sufficient of this innet light in himself, nay of his own strength, to attain to perfection, and it stUl remains a mistake to this day. For this reason they make too little use of prayer, too little of the Lord's Supper, too little of all those means which the All-good Father has afforded to His children, in order to bring them into connection with Him, and Him with them, that He might impart to them His Hfe and His strength, and which therefore are so properly called means of grace. Therefore is it also, that they are deficient in that reliance and freedom with which a child of God moves through the whole circle of his creation, regarding nothing as unclean, and nothing as hurtful, which is enjoyed with a fipure mind. They look with suspicious glances upon all kfree beauty and art, and are afraid of joy ; nay, they J mistrust even the beauty of nature, and are deficient in ..'that universal sense which belongs to the Scandinavians i- — though it sometimes a little oversteps itself with them fl' — and which made your somewhat eccentric acquaintance, !iL., say, " one should eat in, God ; one should play and !sing in God; nay, one should dance in God." > But peace be with Quakerism ! It has accomplished jits mission, and borne the torch of light before mankind (for a season, during its passage " out of darkness, and through the shadows to the light." It has had its time. I There is an end of the earlier power of the sect. But its influence still exists, and is in force in the New World, [especially as the principle of stern uprightness and public benevolence, and it wUl yet, by this, open new paths for the people of the New World. The doctrine of the inner light died not, but seeks a union with another higher light. It has, especially in its declared equality of man and woman, a rich seed which must germinate through a wider sphere. How little danger there is in this avowed equality, and how little outward change is produced by it 28 HOMES OF THE NEW WOIILD/ in society, the Quaker community has loractically shown, Men and women have there the same privileges and exercise them alike. But in all this they have remained true to their nature ; she turns rather into the home, he more outward to the community. The women hare remained equally feminine, but have become more marked in character. The different characteristics of the two have, in that which was the best, remained unchanged, but have been improved, elevated where they were worst, That " holy experiment " proves itself to have been in this respect wholly successful, and ought to have led to a yet more grand experiment. The present younger generation of Quakers unites itself more to the world by poetry and music, and begins to light up the old grey and drab attire by a still more cheerful hue. The change is prepared in the miad. The world has become purified through the purity of the Quakers, and its innocent joy and beauty now begin to find their way to them. A young girl, of Quaker family, of my acquaintance here, wore pale pink ribbon, and had her bonnet made in a prettier form than that in use among the Quakers, and when reproached by her mother for seeking to please man rather than God, she replied— " Oh, my mother ! He made the flowers and the rainbow !" The exclusiveness of Quakerism is at an end. And yet it is so peculiar and so beautiful in its simple, gentle, outward forms, that I am afraid for it, and would not lose it for a great deal. I am fond of its " thee and tlwa;" its silent meetings ; its dress, in particular the woman's dress, with its chaste, dew-like purity and delicacy. And under this attire there dwells still many a noble soul, in the brightness of that inner hght, illumined by the sun of Christian revelation, deriving thence, for themselves and others, oracles which the distracted eye and ear of the world cannot perceive. And poets such as Whittiee, HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 29 and speakers such as Luceetia Mott, show that the Spirit with its rich gifts still rests upon the assembly of Friends. The Quakers of the United States are at this time split into two parties, and have separated, with not exactly the most friendly feelings, into two bodies. The so-called " Hicksite Quakers " have separated themselves from the Orthodox class. These latter are allied as formerly rather to the Puritan creed ; the former to the Unitarian. July 27th. — I yesterday was present at a meeting of the Orthodox Quakers. About two hundred persons were assembled in a large, light hall without the slightest ornament, the men on one side, the women on the other, and with these a number of children. The people sat on benches quite silent, and looking straight before them, all except myself, who looked a little about me, but very quietly. It was a very hot day, and the silence and the immovability of the assembly was oppressive to me. And I kept thinking the whole time, " will not the Spirit move some of the assembly ? " But no ! the Spirit moved not one. An old gentleman coughed, and I sneezed, and the leaves of the trees moved softly outside the window. Tliis was the only movement I perceived. There sat the women, with their drab bonnets all of one colour and form, Uke up-turned, flat-bottomed boats, and appearing less agreeable to me than common. Never- theless, I saw in many countenances and eyes an expression which evidently testified of the depth of the Spirit, although in this depth I failed to find — ^Ught. And the children, the poor little children, who were obliged to sit still and keep awake, without occupation and without any object for their childish attention — what could they think of? thought I, who cannot think deeply on a subject unless when I am walking. Thus sat we, in heat and silence, certainly for an hour, until two of the elders 30 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. who sat in the gallery rose up and extended to eacl( other their hands, which was the signal for the genai breaking-up, and I was glad to get out into the open air. On Sunday I shall visit the meeting of the Unitarian Quakers, and see whether the Spirit is more alive among them. Here it was deep, perhaps, but it did not come out of the depth into the day. As discipline, these sfleat meetings may, in any case, be excellent. Of the undis- ciplined, who talk at random, without purpose or effect, one has enough in the world. Sunday. — Yes, of a truth, the Spirit was alive there, and moved first a man and then a woman, and I heard th? Spirit speak from the heart of Quakerism' itself The preacher, whose name I have forgotten, an elderly gentle: man with an animated, yet serious countenance, admonislieii his hearers to keep the will and the mind in a state of integrity and purity. From this pure light, he said, light went forth through the whole life, directing all its actions, The discourse was good, animated, clear, true. But I thought of the words, " Man must be regenerated by water and the Spirit." Here was the water, but — — nothing more. It was the human purification. The spiiit of heaven, love, the inspiration of life, had nothing to do with it. After this preacher sat down, and all had been silent again for a time, there arose from her seat a short, handsome lady, with fine features and beautiful, clear eyes, It was Lucretia Mott. With a low, but very sweet voice, and an eloquence of expression which made me not lose a single word, she spoke for certainly an hour, without interruption, without repetition, and in a manner which made one wish her to continue, so lucid and powerful was her dehneation of the principles of nonconformity (the Quaker principles), so logical and excellent was the appli- cation of these to the practical questions of life, now so much contested, and which the speaker represented as being peace, slavery, and the rights of woman. I listened HOMES OF THB NEW WORLD. SI with the greatest pleasure to this excellent discourse, which was permeated by the inner life of the speaker, as by a strong, though somewhat imprisoned fire. There was talent, power, clearness, light. Yet for all that, the warmth of inspiration was wanting. I am in the mean- time glad to have heard a female speaker, perfect in her way. The room was quite full, and she was listened to with evident admiration. I have heard speak of two young ladies who, in this assembly, utter sometimes inspired words. But I did not hear them. This meeting closed as the former had done, by two of the elders rising and shajking hands with each other. Monday. — I have to-day, my little heart, read for the first time in its entirety the American Declaration of Independence, about which the world has heard so much, and I with them. I read it in the very same hall where it was subscribed ; and you must also hear it, that is to say, its first principles, because they contain the rights and privileges of the new humanity in the New World. It says : — "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of earth the separate and equal station . to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that aZZ mew are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator wtih inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the jpwrsuit of happiness ; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that wherever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, 32 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. it is the right of the people to alter it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles; and organising its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." After this are enumerated all the grievances which the American colonies had to complain of against the English government, and which had led to their taking the reins of government into their own hands. The colonies which at that time united themselves into one States-alUance were thirteen in number. Jefferson, assisted, as I have heard, by Thomas Paiae, drew up the memorial, and the hand of the worshipper of nature may be seen, but even in the work of the worshipper of nature, the guidance of a higher Providence is evident, It was on the fourth of July, 1776, that the Declaration of Independence received the votes, and passed the American Congress. It was the dawn of a new epoch which then arose; an epoch of great thoughts and struggles which then was proclaimed to the world. It was whilst war was raging with England, and whilst the result of that war was uncertain, that this declaration was drawn up and signed; and on the day before a battle it was read to the whole republican army by the desire of its great commander. General Washington. Everything in the hall, where it was subscribed by the leadiug men, is preserved as it was then, to this day. The green table still stands, around which the members of the government sat, and upon which the Declaration of Independence was signed. I was told an amusing expression of Franklin's on this occasion. When the document was to be signed, some of those present appeared dubious and ready to draw back, One voice said, " Now, gentlemen, let us all hang to- gether ! " "Yes," said Franklin, in his quiet way, "or else we shall all have to hang separately ! " They laughed, and signed. HOMES OF THE NEW ■WORLD, 33 This splendid declaration of the inalienable freedom and rights of humanity is now, however, opposed to many things in this country ; -how long will it be so ? I must now tell you a little about some of my friend.s and acquaintance here. First, my entertainers, in whose good home I live as a member of the family. Professor Hart and his wife are quiet, god-fearing people, very kind, and of an excellent class for me to be with. They two, and their sweet, little ten years old son, Morgan, constitute the whole family. Hart is an interesting and estimable man ; it would certainly be difficult to find any one of a more gentle and mild disposition and manner, combined with greater energy and more capacity for work. To this is added a fine humour, and a mild, but singularly penetrative glance. He is unusually systematic in all that he undertakes, and is distinguished as the teacher and superintendant of a high school in Philadelphia for five hundred boys. He is also the editor of an extensively- read literary magazine, " Sartain's Union Magazine ; " he is able to accomplish so much by an exact distribution of his time, and by doing everything at the moment when it should be done ; hence he does so much, seems never to be in a hurry, or to have much to do. My most agreeable acquaintance are the family of the Danish Charge d'affaires here. The daughters are inexpressibly charming, lively, and full of intellect. It is very delightful to me to converse with them in my native tongue, to talk about Denmark and good friends there. The death of Ohlenschlager was astonishing news to me. He was so strong and well a year ago when I saw him at his country house, and he was more amiable than usual, and drank to the success of my journey to the New World, which was just then decided upon. One of the young ladies read that piece, which he desired to be read aloud to him as a preparation for death, a monologue of Socrates in his hour of death, written by Ohlenschlager VOL. n, i> 34 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. himself. That was in the true stoic spirit. But how extraordiaary at such an hour to have his own verses read to him ! Far better was the feehng of our Bishop Wallin, when at his deathbed they began to sing one of his own beautiful hymns, he interrupted them and said "No, . no ! not that now ! " and took pleasure only in hearing read the Gospel of St. John. But I was going to tell of my acquaintance. Among my good friends here I reckon also a Quaker couple — but of the somewhat worldly class of Quakers-- Mr. and Mrs. E. T., agreeable and wealthy people, who have shown me much kindness, and who have driven me about to places both in and out of the city. Mrs. T.'s paternalhome, a strict Quaker-home^ interests me especially from a young girl there who wrote to me some time since a charming little letter. I knew that she was very delicate from a spinal complaint, which had confined her to her bed for some years. When I was taken into her chamber I saw laid upon a bed in white garments arranged artistically in broad full folds, a being never had I seen anything so like an angel ! That beautiful, pure coun- tenance, was lighted by a pair of large eyes which beamed with really supernatural brightness. She made no move- ment to raise her head when I bent over her to speak, but laid her arms quietly around my neck. That fascinating countenance bore not a trace of the disease and nervous weakness of which she is the prey, and whicli she bears like a patient lamb ; neither do they enfeeble her spiritual life. Grod has given wings to her spirit, and the physically-bound young girl has sent forth from her sick bed instructive teachings to the world from her observations of the wonderful mechanism of life in nature. Her Uttle book for youth, " Life in the Insect World," is to me a welcome gift, because it shows me a young girl who has made nice investigation into one of the natm'sl sciences, which I have often endeavoured to excite young HOMES OF THE NEW ■WORLD. 35 ladies to do, but as far as I know without success, that is to say, biographical observations with regard to animals and plants. The turn for minute detail, acute perception of the lesser world, which is peculiar to woman, together with a poetic feeling which allies it to the spiritual — the unirersal, and which can discern in all things symbols of purpose rich in thought ; these are aU natural endowments which seem singularly to befit woman for that portion of science, and should in their pursuit and their application tend to make the searching soul richer in its daily life. Mary Townsend has treated her subject iathis biographic and poetic manner, and given in her work the history of the insect metamorphoses. The little book is ornamented with copper plates, in which various kinds of insects are shown in various stages of their existence, especially in that in which they burst from their pupa state, and unfold their wings in space. It is not wonderful that the beautiful human spirit sternly imprisoned in its earthly pupa, should feel especially enamoured of this movement of transformation. Mary Townsend, and a young sister of hers, also richly gifted, and delicate also in health — yet not in the same way as Mary — are now occupied in preparing a rhymed chronicle of the History of England for children's easy committal to memory. And thus that meagre Quaker- home encloses a rich poetical life, and in that a being which is almost an angel already, and which waits only for its transformation to become fully so. The parents are an old, classical Quaker couple. The old man's principal object and delight seems to be to take care of his daughters. I have dined with Lucretia Mott, in company with all her children and grand- children, a handsome, flourishing multitude. She interests, rather than attaches me. Her husband, Mr. Mott, is a strong old gentlemaji, who seems to maintain his place, though he is obscured somewhat by D 2 36 HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. the publicity of his wife's glory. It is said that he i§ pleased by it, and it does him honour. At a pubUc lecture, lately delivered by a distinguished litterateur, Mr. Dana, on Shakspere, he instanced Desdemona as the ideal of woman in all ages, beyond which none higher could be found. When, however, the lecture was ended, Lucretia Mott rose, and said : — " Friend Dana, I consider that thou art wrong in thy representation of what woman ought to be, and I will endeavour to prove it.'' She, therefore, proposed to the assembly, to meet her on a certain day, in that same room. The assembly did not fail to be present, and Lucretia M. dehvered an excellent lecture, permeated by that love of truth and integrity which is the very foundation of Quakerism, Lucretia is a splendid woman and speaker, and would be stUl more splendid if she listened a httle more attentively to other people's observations and thoughts, especially on the slave question. But that she does not. Among others who have invited me to their houses, is the wife of the British Consul. I called on her to thani her, and found her a warm-hearted, lively lady, particularly zealous on the subject of the development of her sexto a more independent life, both as regards body and soul, She had established a drawing-school for her young gkls, where they could learn drawing, the maldng of designs, wood- en graving, &c., and she showed me various beautiful works of these young people. She had also endeavoured to establish other good institutions for women, but was annoyed by the want of sympathy which she met with, especially among women themselves. She said, " They do not stand by their sex ! " She thought that as the world now went on, the best service one could do to any new-born female child was to — drown it. I laughed at this extraordinary proof of love, but could not agree with this warm-hearted lady, that HOMES 01' THE NEW WOELD- 3? js to say, unless the world should not become more just and enlightened on these subjects than it now is. But in America it seems to me that there is no reason to doubt about this, and no reason at all to drown little girls. I have here received visits merely in the evenings, but have then seen a great many people, among whom, many that interested, me. I received yesterday a present from some agreeable young girls of a gigantic cactus, just in bloom, one of that species which merely flowers once in thirty years. No one can imagine a more glorious creation of sunshine : — the sun has wished to reflect him- self in this flower. I have received, my little Agatha, your letter of May : it is charming that you have at length vernal weather at Stockholm, and that mamma and you are well. When you spoke of how we should meet at Marstrand, I was not a little tempted to pack up my things and set off; but it would have been folly in me, my little heart, to have left my work only half-finished, after having dared so much, and even suffered so much, to advance it thus far. I feel that my life and experience here are of great importance to me, and believe that I can so evidently see the hand of a guiding Providence in this my journey, that I should both grieve and be angry with myself, if, without absolute necessity, I were to interrupt or cut it short. I greatly desire to remain on this side the ocean through the next winter. In June I could then return home, and then could I go with my little heart — and we could climb together the Maypole at Marstrand ! Spite of the great heat which now prevails here, I feel myself becoming more acclimated, and more capable than hitherto of reflecting upon and profiting by my experience in this country. You ask me about the position of women with regard to schools. Yes, my child, I have much to say to ydu on that subject — and have already told you a little. Their 38 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. position in that respect is indubitably one of the most beautiful aspects of the New World. They are acknowledged, still more and more unreservedly, to be the best instructors of childhood and youth, and they are employed for this purpose in public schools for boys, even of thu'teen or fourteen, or even more. I have spoken with young ladies who were teachers of youths of seventeen or eighteen, and they told me that they never experienced anything from them but attention and esteem. True is it that these young girls were remarkably noble, and had great self-possession of manner. Female teachers are not nearly so well remunerated as male ; but every one acknowledges the injustice of this, as the health of women suffers more from that laborious employment than that of men, and prevents their being able to continue it so long. It is hoped, however, that this unequal division may be remedied, as new paths of industry are opened to women. And this is beginning more and more to be the case. A remarkable young woman in this city, Elizabeth BlackweU, has opened as a physician, a career to her sex ; she has done this so resolutely, amid opposition and infinite difficulty and prejudice (which exist even in this country), and so triumphantly by her talent, that a medical college is now about to be estabhshed here, solely for women, in which they may study and graduate as physicians. This has pleased me greatly. How useful will these female physicians be in the treat- ment of their own sex and of children ; yes, there are divers diseases for the treatment of which they seem to be peculiarly calculated. The education of women for the industrial employments is, I think, greatly neglected even here ; and they ought, much more than they do, to learn book-keeping. In France, women have in this respect greatly the advantage of those in this country ; and here, where two-thirds of the people follow trade, it would be of great importance HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 39 if the women could keep books. Still their principal office is in the home, as the instructors of youth. I saw lately a young girl of about twenty give a lesson in elocution to a class of young men, some of whom were above twenty. Her talent was remarkable in this branch of art, and the youths obeyed her directions like good children. They had voluntarily formed this class that they might be taught by her. I shall now shortly leave this friendly City of the Friends, to go to Washington, where Congress is now sitting, and where a furious war is going forward about California and slavery. You know already from descrip- tion that Philadelphia is remarkable for its regularity and order. It has in this respect the character of the Quakers, and is a quiet city La comparison with New York, has no palaces or remarkable buildings, but is everywhere well built, has beautiful broad streets planted with trees, and behind these, broad causeways and many magnificent private houses, with marble steps and door- ways, and particularly so in the fashionable streets. In each of the great quarters there is a large, green market, planted with trees like a park, where it is delightful to walk or sit. Behind this exterior of order, cleanliness, and regu- larity, there is, I understand, a considerable proportion of irregularity; and quarrels and affrays not unfrequently take place between the less civilised portion of the popu- lation, in particular between the lower class of workpeople and the free negroes, who are mostly fugitive slaves, and often very disorderly. A portion of the male youth in the Quaker city, seem like certain fermenting drinks in bottles which make the cork fly out of the bottle when it becomes too small for them ; I tell that which has been told to me ; and the thing seems natural enough. If my spirit had been .bottled up in the strict Quaker formula, I should have 40 HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. become either a St. Theresa, or have gone mad, or— 1 dare not say what. In company with the amiable B. family I visited the beautiful Philadelphia churchyard, Laurel Hill, on the banks of the Schuylkill, which last people say is a name descended from the times of the Scandinavians here, from the Danish Skjulto Kilder, Hidden Fountains. I also visited in company with the T's. some of the beautiful environs of the town, and amongst these the rocky and picturesque banks of the Schuylkill. The land is fertile on all sides, one sees fields of Indian corn (maize) and wheat, and beautiful meadows ; everything testifies of care and industry. Chesnut and walnut trees, the ash, the oak of many kinds, the elm, the maple, and the lime, are very general. One sees commonly the beautiful little Virginian pine, a pyramidal, dark Httle tree with pine-tree leaves, besides a great variety of shrubs ; plantations of fruit-trees, mostly peach-trees ornament the fields. The country round Philadelphia is a pleasing alternation of hiU and dale, and iyllian landscape ; the trees are large and branching. No tree, however, equals the magnolia and the live-oak of the South. I have also seen the tuHp-tree here. Pennsylvania is called the Keystone State, I suppose from its central position among the first States of the Union. Pennsylvania takes the second place among the States of the Union as regards population and wealth. It has immense beds of coal in its soil, and great natural beauty in the interior of the country; Susquehanna Eiver, and the Valley of the Wyoming are celebrated for their romantic beauty. PhUadelphda is second to New York in size and population, the popula- tion of Philadelphia being about 300,000. The disorders in the city may, in great measure, arise from the vastly increasing population upon which no educational influences have yet operated. Latterly, however, the Quaker State, has aroused itself to a sense of this neglect, and, following HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. il the example of the Pilgrim State, has organised a system of schools, similar to those of Massachusetts, and now flatters itself with having excelled them ; but if with justice I cannot say. And now adieu to Philadelphia ! Bergfalk has re- turned to Sweden. He was to sail from Boston on the 26th of June. He has been extremely ill in Phila- delphia of inflammation of the lungs, but was cured by homoeopathic treatment. During his illness and con- valescence he has experienced something of tlie abundant kindness of this people, who did aU they could for the sufferer, and knew no bounds to their good will. — Of this I am glad, Bergfalk has lived in America as a good Swede, labouring and investigating the state of the laws and questions connected therewith ; never losing sight of the important inquiry, what can be good and advantageous to Sweden? He has inquired into everything. He longed very much for his home. It grieved me greatly not to be able to see him before he set off, and that strangers, and not his countrywoman, sat by his sick bed : but his letter teUs me that in these strangers he found affectionate brothers and sisters. WiaHiNaToir, Jvly \st. I felt a Kttle thrill of joy when in the evening of yesterday I beheld from the top of the Capitol of the United States, the glorious panorama of the country around, through which wound the Potomac Eiver, the whole lighted up by the golden light of evening : — it was a magnificent sight. The situation of this Senate House, its environs, and the views from it are certainly the most beautiful which can be met with. And the Representatives, who here make speeches for the country and the people, cannot avoid being inspired by the view which is presented to their gaze ; they must feel joy and pride that this is their country, and that it is in their power to work for its well-being. 42 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. I spent the evening in company with the American Consul in Canada, a pleasant young man, Mr. Andrews, and with Miss Lynch. This agreeable young poetess is now in "Washington, endeavouring to obtain from Congress a pension for her mother, the widow of a naval officer. The following day I visited with her and Dr. Hebbe, a Swede who has resided several years in America, the Senate House, and the House of Representatives. The day was beautiful; the United States banner with its thirty-three stars, a star for each state, waved from the top of the Capitol, as is customary whUe Congress is sitting. It looked quite festal. The Senators sat in a large rotunda, well lighted by lofty windows, occupyiag one-half of the room, and produced altogether a good and honest effect. The greater number of these gen- tlemen were of noble form, with a somewhat peculiar physiognomy and bearing, which on the whole was calm and dignified — but which nevertheless does not prevent occurrence of scenes which are considerably disturbing and unworthy of Senatorial dignity. During the present session even, on one occasion, a strange and rather comic scene occurred between the senator from Missouri, Mr. Benton, and the senator from Mississippi, Mr. Foote, in which the former, a strong-built man, with an expression and beak-like countenance resembling a bird of prey, presented himself before the latter with a look and gesture that made the other, a little man of nervous excitability, draw forth a pistol, which he placed against Benton's breast. With this, the senator of Alabama said, quite coolly, " Give me that instrument, " and forth- with disarmed Foote, when behold the pistol was — un- loaded ! The hawk and the dove were now both of them in their places in the Senate, and the quarrel between them seemed to be at an end ; but I should not depend .upon the hawk. The two great statesmen. Clay and "Webster, were both HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 43 in the Senate, but neither of them spoke. I Tiave already described to you the appearance of Clay ; Daniel Webster bears a remarkable likeness to our deceased Archbishop Wallin, especially in the large deep-set eyes, and the strong, magnificent, arched forehead ; but he is a handsomer man, and looks more massive. — His head is really magnificent. Webster represents Massachusetts, and Clay, Kentucky, in the Senate. As regards the great questions of contention between the North and the South in this country, Webster appears to be the representative of the moderate party in the North, and Clay of the moderate party in the South. The Senate is divided in the house into two portions. Each senator has a little desk before him, upon which paper and books are placed. The Vice-President, who is speaker, and who sits upon a somewhat elevated platform in front of both parties, with the American eagle displayed above him, is a handsome, powerful figure, with an open, manly countenance. In the gallery appropriated to the pubUc, and which runs round the house above the heads of the senators, the front seat, according to American poUteness, is left for ladies, and one hears remarkably well from this gallery. The House of Eepresentatives produces a less striking efi'ect. The space is much larger and not so well lighted as that of the senators ; the throng of people is much greater also, and they talk and behave in a much less dignified manner. The whole produced a chaotic impres- sion on my mind ; nor could I hear one single word from the gallery. The sound does not ascend clearly, and the worthy members talked with the rapidity of a torrent. I shook hands with many, both of the senators and the representatives. They were all particularly polite and merry. In the afternoon, the senator from New Hampshire took Miss Lynch and myself to White House, the residence of the President, General Taylor, just out of 44 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. the city, and where, in the park, every Saturday after- noon, there is military music, and the people walk about at pleasure. The President was out among the crowd. I was introduced to him, and we shook hands. He is kind and agreeable, both in appearance and manner, and was simply, almost negligently, dressed. He is not considered to possess any great talent as a statesman, but is universally esteemed for the spotless purity of Ms character and for his ability and humanity as a general. It was the Mexican war which made him President, His demeanour struck me as civil rather than military ; Vice- President FiUmore, with whom also I became acquainted this evening, looks more of a president than Taylor. The presidential residence is a handsome palace-liie house, yet of too simple a style to be called a palace, near the Potomac Eiver. The situation and views are beautiful. The band played the " The Star-spangled Banner," and other national airs. From three to four hundred persons, ladies, gentlemen, and children, strolled about on the grass and amid the trees ; the evening was beautiful, the scene gay and delightful, and one of a true republican character : I enjoyed it, wandering arm in arm, now with one, now with another member of Con- gress, and shaking hands right and left. When people knew that I was fond of little children, many mothers and fathers brought their little ones to shake hands with me ; this pleased me. The President was dehghted with the children who leapt about so joyously and so free from care, or seated themselves on the green sward. He seems to be between fifty and sixty, and is said to be tired of, and distressed by the state of things and the contentions in the Union at this moment. Later. — I have just returned from the Capitol where I have passed the forenoon, but where we walked about arm in arm with the Senators and talked with them much more than we listened to the speeches in the Senate; HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 45 but I will do that before long. The entrance of California into the Union, with or without slavery, is the great contested question of the day, and which splits the North and the South into two hostile parties. No one knows as yet how the contest will end, and it is reported that the President said lately, that all was dark. Henry Clay, who is endeavouring to bring about a compromise, and who has long laboured for this purpose, has latterly set the whole Senate against him, it is said, by his despotic and overbearing behaviour, and he is now quite worn out by the opposition he meets with from his colleagues. He complained bitterly of this to-day, when Anne Lynch and I called upon him before Congress. — I had seen him the day before at "White House. He now inquired from me about King Oscar, his character, his standing with the people, &c. So many trivial and insignificant questions are asked me, that it was now really refreshing to reply to inquiries which were earnest and had some purpose in them, and which were made with an earnest intention. And it was very pleasant to me to be able to tell Mr. Clay that we had in King Oscar a good and noble-minded monarch whom we loved. By what the American statesman knew respecting him and our Swedish political affairs, I could see the glance of genius which requires but little knowledge to enable it to perceive and comprehend much. Whilst we were in the midst of this subject, the servant introduced an extraordinary little man with an extraordinary stick in his hand, which looked like a something between a knob-stick and an enchanter's wand — some sort of a curiosity out of the Great West ! thought I. — N. B. we sate before the open door. " Is this Henry Clay ? " said the little man, planting him- self with his great knob-stick just before the great statesman. " Yes, sir ; that is my name," said Clay impatiently ; " sit down. What do you wish with me ? " 48 HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. The little man seated himself without any hesitation in an arm-chair, and I rose, saying that I feared to take up Mr. Clay's time. " Oh, no, no ! " said he, politely ; " it is so refreshing to see ladies ! But these fellows — I hate them ! " and made a gesture towards the little man which would have sent him out of the room or have knocked him down if he could rightly have felt it. But he sate there fast-rooted to the ground with his knoh-stick in his hand, determined not to move, and I felt it necessary to leave the weary statesman to the witchcraft. Clay, who is extremely popular, allows every one who comes, to see him, and is thus overwhelmed by people who take up his time and make demands upon his services. He is at the present moment more irritable and impatient than he has ever been known before. The opposition he meets with may very well be the cause of it. What a life ! And yet this it is for which men strive ! I visited the library of the Capitol to-day with the senator of Georgia, Judge Berrion, a witty and acute- minded man; a man who holds extreme pro-slavery views, but belonging to the class of Patriarchs I beheve. The library is a large, handsome hall, with a glorious view ; it is a pubhc place of meeting during the sitting of Congress, where people may rest themselves from the affairs of state, talk with their acquaintances, &c. Here may be seen, every day, sitting in the recess of a window, at a table covered with books and papers, a lady, of about middle age, an elegant figure, refined countenance, and agreeable expression. She seems to be always occupied, and to be in connection with several of the influential members of Congress, and there she sits watching the progress of her own affairs. What does she desire — what does she wish ? She wishes to have ten millions of dollars, from the lands in the West — as an annual fund, to be appropriated HOMES OF THE IfEW WORLD. 47 for Lunatic Asylums and Poor Houses in all the States of the Union. It is Mrs. Dorothea Dix, who during the last ten or twelve years has travelled through most of the States, visited mad-houses and other asylums for the unfortunate, and done a great deal for their improvement, and in particular as regards the better treatment of the insane, through her influence, and the excellent memorials which she has drawn up and presented to the governors of the various States. Many asylums have been established where they formerly did not exist, and where the unfor- tunate were left to private care or in the most miserable neglect. The activity and influence of this lady is one of the most beautiful traits of female citizenship in the New World: but I shall tell you about her another time, perhaps, when we meet. July 2nd. — Again home from the Capitol where I have heard Clay and Webster, as weU as several of the most distinguished senators. Clay speaks in an animated manner and with strong feeling. I was not very much struck with his voice, of which I had heard so much praise. It seems to me that he often speaks too rapidly, so that the words are lost in the shrill sound of the voice. Webster speaks with great calmness both in tone and demeanour, but there is an intensity of power in his manner. He has also this peculiarity as a speaker, and in this he also resembles Wallin, that he drops his voice and speaks all the lower, the deeper is the impres- sion which he seeks to make. This is the very opposite of the general manner of American speakers, but it produces great effect. Other speakers interested me also ; but I could hardly have any quietness to listen for intro- ductions to, and conversation with, members of Congress. They were extremely polite, but I shall in future apply my ears to business, and leave to Anne Lynch that light conversation in which she is a mistress and I a bungler. 48 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. From the Capitol we drove to the house of the President, whose reception-day it was. We arrived late so that we were alone with the old gentleman, who was very kind and affable, and related to us various things about the Southern Indians, calculated to dissipate the somewhat too romantic idea of them entertained by Anne Lynch and myself. I fancied that I could see behind his polite affability, a cloud of secret anxiety which he wished to suppress. His daughter, married to Colonel Blix, appeared in her white dress, unspeakably agreeable and lovely, with a quiet and refined manner. I spent yesterday morning with Professor Henry, one of the most celebrated chemists in this country, and found in him a great admirer of Berzelius and Oersted, as well as an uncommonly amiable man. Vice-President Fillmore came in the evening ; he is a very gentlemanly person and shines greatly in conversation. July 8rd. — I spent last evening with Daniel Webster' at Mr. and Mrs. L.'s, the parents of Mrs. Schroder, a handsome old couple, together with various other persons. Webster does not look well, he has a sallow complexion, keeps himself much apart from others, is silent, and has a heavy and absent look. His charming and amiable wife placed herself beside me, wishing that I might have the pleasure of hearing him speak. He has extraordinary eyes, when they open and fix their gaze upon you, you seem to look into a catacomb full of ancient wisdom : but not much of this comes out into every-day conversation and social life, and that depth lies deep enough in that mag- nificently-formed head. The man himself seems to be perfectly simple and without regard to the world's fashions — a very decided character ; one which looks hke what it is. He seems to me, however, to be one of those whose powers show themselves most beautifuUy on great and momentous occasions. Anne Lynch said to-day that some one at the Talk HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 49 d'Hote remarked, speaking of Daniel Webster, "That nobody was as wise as Webster looked." To which Judge Berrion immediately replied, "Not even Webster him- self!" on which all laughed and applauded. Anne Lynch and I sit at one corner of the Table d'Hote, with Henry Clay between us, and on either hand various Southerners, so that I am through my little friend, Anne, brought into the midst of the Pro-Skvery party. Yet Henry Clay cannot be reckoned as belonging to that party. I am living at present at the National Hotel, but shall soon remove to a private family, from which I received an invitation some time siace. It is a horrible life of visiting here, and intolerably hot. But one has an oppor- tunity of seeing and hearing various interesting people. The senator of California, a man of giant stature, a magnificent specimen of the inhabitants of the Great West, has given me a breast-pin of Californian gold, the head of which is a nugget of gold in its native state, and in which, with a little help of the imagination, one can see an eagle about to raise its wings and fly from its eyrie. And now, my little heart, I must close this long letter. I shall still remain fourteen days in Washington, after which I shall betake myself to the sea-side for a couple of weeks, and thus endeavour, by sea-bathing, to invigo- rate myself before I proceed farther. Instead of going hence westward, which would be dangerous and fatiguing in the great heats of summer, I now intend to go northward, to Maine and New Hampshire, perhaps also visit Canada, which young Mr. A. strongly advises, and then advance westward, by the great inland lakes to Chicago, and so on to the Scandinavian settlement, still farther in the west; for I must ultimately visit them. Some riotous scenes have lately occurred in the Peasant Colony, and Erik 50 HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. Janssen, the prophet, has been killed by a Swede named Eooth. He might have maintained the respect of Ms people, but had a sad reputation around the colony. Anne Lynch and I intend to spend to-morrow, the 4tli of July, at Mount Vernon, the former country-seat of Washington, and the place of his burial, and there quietly to celebrate the great day of the United States, the day on which the Declaration of Independence was made, and which is kept in all the States and cities with speechifying, drinking of toasts, and firing of guns. In a week I shall leave the hotel, which is too hot and too populous for me, and where it is almost impossible to escape from company and company-life. My httle friend Miss Lynch lives in it as in the breath of her life, and without the slightest coquetry always attracts around her, by liveliness and good-humoured wit, a crowd of people, mostly gentlemen. To these she often says many a little caustic truth, but so gaily that it seems to please them more than flattery. She has an especial facihty for puns and sallies of wit, which always produce a lively effect, and infuse fresh air into the occasionally heavy or thunderous intellectual atmosphere. As for instance, on one occasion, when Clay, having excited himself against those who believed that, under his proposal of compro- mise, he concealed selfish views and designs for the presidentship, he added the protestation, " It is not in the power of mankind to offer any reward which would be a temptation to me ! " On this Anne Lynch asked if he asserted the same as regarded " the power of woman- kind ? " Clay smiled, and said that he would think about it ; and his ill-humour was gone. Farewell, my child ! I salute you and mamma. I shall tell you in my next more about Congress and the gentlemen of Congress here. HOMES OF THE NE\7 WOULD. 51 LETTEE XIX. Washinotoit, Jvly 10«7i. I LAST wrote to you, my sweet Agatha, from the National Hotel, a kind of hot oven full of senators and representatives, of travelling gentlemen and ladies, where one was baked soul and body by heat and this high- pressure life; and where I lingered so long merely to remain in company with Miss Lynch, but where we, with our different natures, got on very differently; she in the vortex of social life, of which she is the ornament, I seeking for solitude — the hardest thing to find in such an hotel-world, but of which I nevertheless enjoyed a few moments, partly in my own room, partly walking in the gaUery of the court, where I listened to the plashing of the water as it fell into the fountain-basin in the middle of the court, and reposing my soul upon a few words or tones which always return in my moments of solitude, always the same, always sufficient to fill soul and sense, so that, like the water of the fountain, they leap up in clear streams, saluting heaven, fructifying earth ! I cannot tell, but you can understand that which I expe- rience at such moments, and that which then lives in my soul : but such moments were not many in the National Hotel, where I lived in daily association with from three to four hundred persons. To-day I write from a tranquil home where the acanthus and sycamore whisper outside my window, and the lady of the house and I spring around each other as we take a cold bath three or four times a-day. But a truce now to myself, for great, and nationally important events have occurred since I last wrote, events which have caused a strong vibration through the whole social and political system of every State of the Union, e2 52 HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. and have produced an overturning in many things ; and it is of these events that I must first speak. For some few days (5th and 6th of July) it has been mentioned here and there in "Washington, that the President (General Taylor) was indisposed. He was perfectly weU on the 4th (it was on the 3rd when I last saw him), but having eaten something which had disagreed with him — oyster-patty, I should imagine — he had an attack of illness ; on the 7th he was said again to be better, and would soon be quite restored. As I sate, however, yesterday (the 9th) in the Senate- house listening patiently, or more correctly, impatiently, to a long and tedious pro-slavery speech by the senator of South Carolina, Judge Butler, an estimable man and a good friend of mine (always excepting as regards this question), I perceived a thrill, as if from a noiseless electric shock, had passed through the assembly; a number of fresh persons entered by the principal doors, and at once Daniel Webster was seen to stand beside the speaking senator, indicating with a deprecatory gesture that he must interrupt him on account of some important business. The orator bowed and was silent ; a stillness as of death reigned in the house, and all eyes were fixed upon Webster, who himself stood sUent for a few seconds, as if to prepare the assembly for tidings of serious import. He then spoke, slowly, and with that deep and impressive voice which is peculiar to him. " I have a sorrowful message to deliver to the Senate. A great' misfortune threatens the nation. The President of the United States, General Taylor, is dying, and probably may not survive the day." Again was that silent electrical shock perceptible. I saw many persons turn pale, and I felt myself grow pale also from the unexpected announcement, and from seeing the effect which it had produced. One senator bowed his head upon his hands, as if he heard the thunder of HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 63 j^udgment. This movement of astonishment was however transient. Mind soon regained its usual tension: the Senate adjourned immediately, and to a man they all poured forth into the city to tell this news or to hear any- thing fresh. At the present moment of party-strife, and during the contention which is now going forward in Congress, and upon the adjustment of which it is said that the personal character of General Taylor exercised an important influence, the news of his condition has made an immense impression. At half-past ten in the evening the President died, after having taken a beautiful and affecting leave of his family. " Weep not, my dear wife," he is related to have said to her who loved him with infinite affection, " I have endeavoured to do my duty ; and I trust in the mercy of God ! " The day following (the 10th of July), the new Presi- dent, Vice-President FiUmore, entered upon his office, according to the law of the country, which decrees that in ease of the decease of the President, the Vice-President shaU hold his office during the time which yet remains of the full term of government, when a new President shaU be elected. The term of presidentship is for four years ; and Taylor, I believe, had occupied the seat of President about two years ; two therefore remain for Fillmore. It is believed that this hasty elevation is not welcome to him. It is said, that when he was told of Taylor's death, he bowed his head and said, " This is my first mis- fortune ! " and it is said also, that when, conducted by two of the members of Congress, the one from Massachusetts, the other from Louisiana, he entered the House of Repre- sentatives in order to take the oath, his appearance did not belie this impression. He was very pale, and looked unhappy. That fine manly figure, which hitherto had borne itself so nobly, now, supported or rather dragged iu 54 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. by two unequal figures, who held each one an arm, did not look either well or at his ease. After this trial, the members of the Senate, two and two, or one and one, entered the House of Representatives. Nothing can be simpler than the form by which the new President was inducted into his office. Placing his hand upon the Bible he promised to defend the constitution of the United States, called upon God to witness his promise, kissed the book and — that was all. The President and senators went out as they had entered. Most of the senators went out in pairs, some arm-in-arm ; Clay went alone, indifferent, weary, very much alone seemed to me both his expression and bearing ; Corvin, the senator from Ohio, of whom I shall presently have more to say, a stout little man, resolute and good- tempered, he also walked alone. The sitting of Congress is now prorogued for tlu'ee days, until after the interment of President Taylor. But the contending parties, who now prepare themselves for a new turn in affairs, have not prorogued their operations. They labour incessantly, and have no other feeling or thought than their own interests. Yesterday, as I returned from the Capitol, I heard one young man say to another, " if he dies, then our party will triumph, and, by God, I know that he will die." And now, while these mighty affairs both rest and are agitated, I will tell you a little about my own concerns. I spent the 4th of July — that great day in the United States — at Mount Vernon, the estate of Washington, with Miss Lynch, Mr. Andrews, and Mr. Corvin, the senator from Ohio. Mr. Corvin is one of this country's " self-made men : " his father was a poor farmer ; and the son enjoyed merely a common school education, but has, through his own means, educated, and trained himself till he is one of the most celebrated popular orators; and, what is still more, a universally esteemed politician, against whom HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. S5 iiobody has anything to say, excepting that sometimes he is too good. He was a charming and inestimable companion for us ; and his conversation, in particular his vivacious and life- like descriptions — though sometimes a little caricatured — of his brethren in the Senate, and his imitations of their manner and their tone ; his happy humour, which like a living fountain, for ever swelling forth from fresh springs, converted the tedious drive along a wretched road in a shaking carriage, and in the oppressive heat of the day, iuto a journey of pleasure. We were received at Mount Vernon by a handsome young couple, the nephew of the great President and his wife. They invited us to cool and rest ourselves, and entertained us with milk and fruit, which were delicious. Henry Clay had given us a letter of introduction to them. The situation of the house, on the banks of the Potomac, is unspeakably beautiful ; the park, laid out in the English style, appeared to me extensive, but, like the buildings, to be somewhat out of order. A beautiful mausoleum, containing the bodies of Washington and his wife, stands in the park; and through the grated iron door of the mausoleum the cof&ns may be seen. I threw in between the iron bars my green branch. Washington has always appeared to me in life and character to have a resemblance to Gustavus Wasa; although his life was less romantic, and his character more phlegmatic, less impulsive, than the Swedish Ube' rator. — ^Wasa is a more dramatic, Wasliiagton a more epic figure ; Wasa more of the hero, Washington more of the statesman ; Wasa king, Washington president. Large, powerful, kingly souls were they, both worthy to be the governors of free people. Washington, perhaps, stands higher than Wasa, in his pure unselfishness, as the supreme head of the people. In self-government he was dmost without an equal ; and it is said that only on one 56 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. single occasion in a momentary outbreak, did he allow the volcanic workings of his soul to be observed. The American ideal of a man, " a well-balanced mind," must have its type in the great President. Noble he was, and, when he had done an injustice, would candidly acknowledge it. That which I most admire in his character and life, is his perseverance. He was not without pride in his manner and temper towards others. He had a glance which could strike the insolent dumb ; • and I have heard it said, that his very presence, even if he were silent, always could be felt like a dominant power : but this is the case with all strong characters. The mother of Washington was a quiet, noble lady, whose " well-balanced mind " seemed to exceed that of her son, and who thought too highly of duty and father- land to be proud of his achievements, however tenderly she loved him. " I hope that George will fulfil his duty to his country ! " said she, modestly, on one occasion, when his merits were exalted in her presence. The understanding between Washington and his mother seems to have been perfect. Of the understanding between him and his wife I have merely heard this anecdote ; — A guest at Mount Vernon happened to sleep in a room adjoining that occupied by the President and his lady. Late in the evening, when people had retired to their various chambers, he heard the lady delivering a very animated lecture to her lord and master upon something which he had done, that she thought should have been done differently ; to all this he listened in the profoundest silence, and when she too was silent, he opened his hps and spoke, " Now, good sleep to you, my dear." Portraits and descriptions of her show her to have been a pretty, agreeable, kind, little woman, from whom it reaUy could not have been so disagreeable to have a curtain-lecture. HOMES OF THE NEW WOKLD. 57 Washington was the native of a slave state, Virginia, and was himself a slaveholder until just before his death, ivHen he gave his slaves their freedom. It is really remarkable to see in his will, which I have lately read, tiow-nothing appeared to have weighed so much upon his lieart as solicitude for the well-being of his slaves. Several pages are occupied by directions for the treat- nent of those who were to receive their freedom, as well IS of those who were old, or infirm, and who therefore vere to be well cared for untU their death. This precision sith regard to the kiad treatment of the old slaves after lis death, places the republican hero of the New World nuch higher than those of old Eome ! The pure lumanity of Washington in this respect shines forth with ,he purest splendour ; and it is this pure humanity, still nore than his talent as a governor, — still more than his [lowing patriotism, which makes Washington the great aan of the New World — I will not say the greatest, lecause I am stUl looking for him. It is also this which alls forth that fervent and unanimous homage which is lefitting to him from the people of the New World, and rhich he obtains also from the people of Europe, and rhich to this day calls forth encomiums on his memory rom the States of America and the Czar of Eussia. Vashington endeavoured in everything, and above every- bing, to be just and true, therefore he stood so firmly, nd therefore he stood so purely, during a stormy and nsettled period, a Memnon's statue in the midst of the ■hirling sands of the desert, unmoved by them, influenced nly by the light, and ever giving forth the same pure armonious tone. Mount Vernon was the home of Washington's youth; ither he brought his bride, here he lived happily through le whole of his life, whenever he had an interval of rest om the charge of public affairs. Mount Vernon was his .vourite residence. Here in old age, he died in peace. 58 HOMES OP THE NEW WOELD. after a well completed and honourable career, able to say, " I am not afraid to die ! " We were alone at Washington's grave on this day, wliich we spent amid quiet conversation in the park, walking about or sitting on the grass under the shadowy trees ; and Mr. Corvin, who during the drive thither had shot right and left, like a master, the arrows of satire and jest, now showed during a serious conversation that profoundly religious mind, that desire to rest in spiritual and eternal truth, which distinguishes the man of the New World, whether he be descended from Cavalier or Puritan ; and which is shown in his outward Hfe, however much he may be occupied by the business and the battle of the day. Corvin is a determined anti-slavery man, and will not hear of any compromise with slavery, and is therefore opposed to Clay and his scheme of adjustment. From his description of Clay and his manner of treating persons of different talents and different political views, although the descrip- tion was somewhat caricatured, I yet obtained a definite idea of Clay's abihty as a political leader during a war of opinions. We returned towards evening, and part of the journey which we made on the Potomac was beautiful; the banks of the river are not here of a great character, but they are nevertheless romantic, and present extensive views over a richly-wooded country, broken into hiUs and valleys. At Alexandria, a small town on our way, we took a little supper with a kind lady, who seemed to con- sider her Alexandria as remarkable as we should have considered the old classical city of the same name. I have visited every day the Senate and the Assembly of Representatives, though generally the former, because I hear well there, and because as a parliametary assembly it seems, in every case, to stand above the other. In the House of Representatives no speaker may occupy more than an hour of time. As soon as the. HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 69 )ur is at an end, and a little bell rings, another speaker IS a right to interrupt him, even should it be in the ry midst of his most profound argument, or in the ghest flight of his genius, and demand general atten- m for his speech, which may occupy another hour, ter which he again must give place to some one else, nd as the speakers in a general way speak with great ease, id have a deal to say, they are anxious to make good use their power, and that I suppose is the reason for the sadlong speed with which the speech is hurled forth, ie an avalanche, into the house, at least, it has been so ery time I have been there. A certain kind of hurry- :urry seems to prevail in this house, which contrasts rongly with the decorum of the Senate. There, each nator may speak as long as he wiU, nay even, through .6 whole of the session if he chose, without any one iviag a right to interrupt him, except to make an iservation or with his consent. During this talking however, whether in the Senate or the House of the Representatives, I am often enough minded of Mr. Poinsett's words, when I praised the merican talent for talking, " It is a great misfortune !" at is it better as regards this misfortune in other countries assemblies where people make speeches ? And if I do jh now and then as I listen to a speech, yet I am terested by many on account of their straightforwardness, L account of the subjects upon which they touch, or on count of the speakers themselves. I like both to see id to hear parliamentary assemblies. Human nature ems to me great, when it stands forth and does battle r some high purpose or principle, and if it be possessed power or of genius, it wins great victories ; and I love see human nature great and important, to see it from ! private little world, its isolated point, labour for — the lole" World. And even without genius, human nature re presents, as a moral power, an interesting sight'. 60 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. merely by its " yes " or " no." Such an assembly is in its operation a grand dramatic scene, and there sometimes occur in it scenes and episodes of much more vital effect, than many a one which we witness on the stage. Some such, at which I have been present here, I will mention to you. But first a word about the scene itself, that is to say, the Senate, because it has an especial interest for me, inasmuch as all the senators represent States, and the characteristic and poetic features of these present themselves to my imagination, in picturesque groups, in the men who represent them. Each State in the Union sends two senators to Congress. These stand up in the Senate and are addressed not as Mr. this or tliat, but as the Senator of Kentucky, or Massachusetts, or Mississippi, or Louisiana, and so on; and I then immediately see before me an image of Kentucky, or Massachusetts, or Mississippi, or Louisiana, according to what I know of the life and temperament of the States, as well in spirit as in natural scenery, even though the human representative may not answer to it; and the whole fashion and form of this hemisphere stands before me like a great drama, in which Massachusetts and Louisiana, Carolina and Pennsylvania, Ohio and Alabama, and many others, are acting powers with definite individuality. Individuality is again suppHed by the surname, which chance, or the humour of the people, have given to some of the States, and according to which it would be easy to christen all. Thus I behold here the Emperor- State (New York), the Granite State (New Hampshire); the Key-stone State (Pennsylvania); the Wolverines (Michigan) ; and many other tUt and combat with the Giant State (Kentucky) ; with the Palmetto State (Carolina); the French State (Louisiana), and so on. And the warfare that goes on about the Gold State called also the Pacific State (California), calls forth all those marked features and circumstances which distinguish and HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 61 parate the Northern and the Southern States, and which t them in opposition one to the other. I will now tell you what the great apple of contention oks like, which has been here fought for during the last ven months. Behold ! — THE COMPROMISE BILL. he admission of California as a State into the Union, the arrangement of Territorial Administration for Utah (the Mormon State) and New Mexico, as well the project for determining the western and north-western boundary of Texas. And now a word in explanation : in order that a State ,n have a right to be admitted as such into the Union is necessary for it to have a population of, at least, i,000 souls. Until then every separate portion of the nited States' land is called territory and is governed, iring the period of its development and minority, more imediately by the Federal Administration which appoiJ^ governor and other officials, and furnishes troops to de- ad the inhabitants against the Indians or other enemies aatever they may be, of whom the population of the srritory may complain. Every State in the Union has right to form its own laws, on condition that they do it encroach upon the enactments of the other Federal ates, as well as that the form of government be repub- lan. The Territory again has not the privileges of e State, and people are not yet agreed as to how far ! privileges of self-government ought to extend. Well iw ; California, the population of which became suddenly gmented to above 150,000 souls, principally by emigra- )n from the free North-Eastern States, desires to be mitted into the Union as a Free State. New Mexico, lich in consequence of the Mexican law, is free from ivery, and Utah which calls its young population. 62 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. " Latter-Day Saints," desire also, as Territory, resolutely to oppose the introduction of slavery. But as these three States, — that which has attained its majority as well as those which yet remain in their minority — are situated below a geographical line, called the Missouri line, which accordingly to ancient agreement is to constitute the line of separation between the Free States and the Slave States, so that all the States north of this line shall have a right to be free from slaves, and all States lying to the south of it have a right to slaves and slave-labour ; and as three new States would disturb the balance of political power between the North and the South and give the preponderance to the North and the Free States, therefore do all the men of the South — yet not all !— cry " No ! No ! " to this ; and the ultras amongst them add, " rather wUl we break with the North and form ourselves into a separate Union— the Southern States' Union ! We wUl declare war against the North ! " The Southerners insist upon it that both Cahfornia and New Mexico shall be open to receive their slave-institu- tions, and beyond this they insist that Congress shall pass a law forbidding the Free States to give harbourage and protection to fugitive slaves, and that it shall give to them, the Southerners, the right to demand and obtain the aid of the legislative power in the Free States, for the recovery, of their human property. To this the men of the North shout "No! No!" with all their might. And the ultras of their party, add, " Eather, bloody war ! We wiU never consent to Slavery ! Away with Slavery ! We will remain a free people ! Congress shall pass a law to forbid slavery in every new State." Many of the Southerners admit in the meantime the right of California to enter the Union as a free State, but deny to the Territories any right to legislate HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. 63 r themselves on the question of Slavery. The South- ners in general maintain that they do not contend r the cause of slavery, but for States' -right and the .use of the Constitution. Many are right in this sertion, but with many others, it is easy to see that .e interests of slavery colour their opposition. Other questions of contention belong to the same .tegory, as for instance, whether Columbia, the district which Washington stands, shall continue to hold slaves ■ not. There is at the present time, within sight of le Capitol, a gloomy, grey building, half-buried in trees, 1 if ashamed of itself, that is a Slave-pen, where slaves ■e brought up or kept for sale. Washington is situated I the Slave State of Maryland. One portion of the Dutherners are anxious to maintain, even here, their jloved domestic institutions, as the phrase is. Another Dint of contention is the question about the boundaries jtween Texas and Mexico, and about a strip of land jtween the Slave- State and the yet free territory, or hich shall have, and which shall give up, this piece ; and reedom and Slavery get to fighting anew on this ground Dout this piece of land. Such is the aspect which this great apple of discord •esents, an actual gordian knot which seems to demand le sword of an Alexander to sever. Henry Clay's scheme of compromise says, California lall be introduced into the Union as a free state, icording to her wishes ; because her population of nearly )0,000 have a right to determine their measures. New [exico shall wait for the determination of the law, until le is possessed of a population large enough to constitute state. She shall, in the meantime, continue to be a rritory without slaves. And the same with regard to tah. On the contrary, the Slave States shall possess the right ) demand the restoration of their fugitive slaves, and, if 64 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. it be necessary, to regain them by the aid of law, as th constitution has decreed. Columbia shall be a free district, from which slaver shall be banished. These, I believe, are the principal points of Clay' scheme to bring about peace between the North an South. Both North and South, however, demand greate concession, each on his own side, and exclaim " No ! No ! to the Compromise Bill. This bill, which has many clauses introduced unde the same head, all of which Clay wishes to have carrie( at the same time, has thence obtained the name of " ihi Omnibus Bill," and is contested under this appellation Many Senators, who go with Clay on certain points, havi separated from him on others ; and it seems as if thi Omnibus Bill, as such, had nearly the whole Senate agains it, although some special questions seem Kkely to be decide( according to Clay's views, among which is the principal on( of California's admission into the Union as a free state but even they who are agreed on important points ma] fall out with each other about trifles ; and the other daj I heard Mississippi sharply taken to task by Mississipp for his " dis-union tendency," on which the other hal of Mississippi cried " Shame on dis-unionists ! " But now for a little about the dramatis personce, or sue! of them as appear to me most remarkable. Henry Clay has his seat against the wall, to the righl of the entrance, is always there, attentive, lively, following the discussion, throwing in now and then a word, and noi unfrequently taking himself the lead in it. His cheeli and eye have a feverish glow, his voice and words art always energetic, urged on by the impulsiveness of thf soul, and compel attention ; his arguments are to the purpose, striking, and seeming to me to bear the stamp o: strong conviction, ought to produce conviction in others and when his strong resounding voice thunders th( HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 65 tattle-cry " California " (the last syllable of which he sounds in a peculiar manner) through the Senate, amid the fight for the freedom of California, then they feel that the old warrior leads them forth to victory. Although born in a slave state, Kentucky, and its repre- sentative, and though a slave-holder himself. Clay's sym- pathies are evidently wholly and entirely in favour of the system of freedom ; and at the opening of this session he frankly declared that he never would allow the intro- duction of slavery into any new state. And herein I recognise the great statesman and the free son of the New World. On a former occasion also, he proposed a plan by which to free his native land from slavery, and which does not seem to be an. impracticable one. It is this : that all children bOrn of slaves, after a certain year, I believe that it was this present year of 1850, should be declared free, and should be brought up in a humane manner in schools, and should be taught mechanical arts and handicraft trades. This project so noble in its intention, so practical, and which in so rational a manner opens the way for a twofold emancipation, has never- theless been rejected. The ultras, on both sides, in the Anti-Slavery and Pro-Slavery camps will not hear of it. I believe that the concession which Clay, whilst he is combating for the freedom of California and the neutrality of Mexico, makes to the Southern States, in yielding to their demands with regard to the restoration of their fugitive slaves, is a measure rendered imperative by the necessity of the moment. Since I have been in the Slave States, and seen and heard the bitterness which exists there, in particular in South Carolina, against the conduct and interference of the Northerners in the question of slavery, — since I have often heard the wish expressed for separation from the North, which ferments there, and which even makes itself seen in the Senate, I consider this concession to be necessary for the 66 HOMES OF THE NEW "WOELD. prevention of civil war at the present moment; whils the feelings of the South are afresh irritated by th probable accession to the North, of California, and eve of New Mexico, and Utah into its group of States. Th concession has its legal ground, inasmuch as conformabl with the constitution of the United States, the States ar bound to respect each others' laws, and according to th laws of the Slave States, the slaves constitute a portion o the slave-holder's lawful property. I perfectly understand the bitterness which the sup porters of Anti- Slavery principles must feel at the thought that their free soil may not be an asylum for the unfor tunate slave, and that the slave-catcher may there have i free career, and demand tlje assistance of the officials o: the free states. I know that I myself would rather suffei death than give up an unfortunate slave who had taker refuge with me ; but is there, at this moment, an alter- native between this concession and civil war ? Clay seems to consider that there is not, and Daniel Webster seems to coincide with him, though he has not, as yet, expressed himself openly on Clay's Compromise Bill. I believe that Clay makes this concession reluctantly, and that he would not have proposed it, if he had regarded it as anything more than temporary, if his own large heart and his statesman's eye had not convinced him that the time is not far distant when the noble hearts' impulse oi the South will impel them voluntarily to a nobler, humaner legislation as regards the slave -question; and that urged on necessarily by the liberal movement of humanity, as well in Europe, as in America, the New World will rid itself of this its greatest lie. And this I also believe, thanks to the noble minds with which I became acquainted in the South, — tlianks to the free South, which grows and extends itself in the bosom of the Slave States ; and who can feel the movement of the spirit over the whole of this vast world's formation HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 67 without feeling that the spirit of God floats over the deep, and will divide light from darkness hy his almighty — " Be thou light ! " The crimson of dawn is already on the hills, and tinging the tops of the forest-trees. He who will see it, may ! I do not dread the darkness conquering here. Near Clay, and hefore him in the row of seats, you see the representative of the Granite State, Mr. Hale, from New Hampshire, with a head not unlike that of Napoleon, and a body and bearing like a great fat boy ; a healthy strong Highland character, immovable in his principles as the granite mountains, and with a mind as fresh as the wind which blows around them. A strong anti- slavery supporter, and iuflexible towards any concession on this question, he frequently puts the whole house into the best of tempers by his humour and his witty and sarcastic sallies. I like the man very much. Near to him I see the senator from Texas (the first president of that republican Texas), General Houston, who required a month to travel from his State to Washington. People listen willingly to the magnificent old general, for the sake of the picturesque and fresh descriptions which he introduces in his speeches. His expression is good- tempered and manly, with a touch of military chivalry. He has the peculiarity of cutting little bits of wood with his penknife during all the discussions in the Senate. I also see the senator from Pennsylvania, a man of Quaker-like simplicity, and with a pure and handsome countenance, among the Anti-Slavery leaders. The two senators from Ohio, Corviu and Chase, are here ; the former you are already acquainted with. I see him in the Senate, sitting silent and tranquil; he has already delivered his sentiments on the important subject, and now merely makes occasionally a short observation on some speech of a Southerner. Chase has a remarkably noble and handsome exterior; I have seldom seen a s2 68 HOMES OF THE NEW "WORLD. more noble or prouder figure. Such a man in private life must be a dominant spirit, and awaken love or bate. In public he expresses himself firmly, but in few words, for the principle of freedom. The senator from New York, Mr. Seward, is a little man, not at all handsome, and with that nasal twang which not unfrequently belongs to the sons of Boston. Seward is from that city. Yet, nevertheless, that voice has uttered, during the present session, some of the greatest and noblest thoughts. He is a stout Anti- Slavery man, and is against any compromise. " I will labour," said he, lately, at the close of a speech, "for the support of the Union, not by concessions to slavery, but by the advancement of those laws and institutions which make her a benefactor to the whole human race." Good and great ! If I now advance from the point where I began, and on the side of the principal entrance, I find, not far from Clay, a Southerner and a champion of slavery, the senator from Georgia, Judge Berrion, a man of talent and wit, and also a kind and god-fearing man, a man of refinement and high breeding, whom it grieved me to see advocating the dark side of the South, on the plea that he must maintain its rights. He stands now in opposition to Clay on the question of California's right to freedom, and the personal hostility between them has gone so far, that Clay gave up his place at our table d'hote. (Clay has resumed his seat, and Berrion sits at the table.) In the middle of this camp sits the colossus Daniel Webster, in his arm-chair, with his sallow cheek and brow, and seems to be oppressed with thought, or with the heat, perhaps with both. I call him a colossus, not because I see in him an overpowering intellectual greatness, but on account of his magnificent head and massive appearance, although he is not a large figure. HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 69 and because his influence is felt as something colossal. He has been extremely handsome, possessed of a natural, kingly, dignity, and is described as having, by his mere presence, exercised an almost magical power over human masses. He is now above sixty, and is stiU a handsome, powerful man, although years and thought seem to weigh upon him. Clay, though more than seventy, is in appearance a youth in comparison with Webster. Clay is always ready to fire off; Webster seems to dehberate carefully as to the charging of his piece before he applies the match. The senators of Illinois, General Shield and Judge Douglas, are both small men, but men of talent and even of genius. In the deep, beautiful eyes of Douglas, glows a dark fire which it is said burns with ambitious desires for the of&ce of President; but the same desires influence Clay, Webster, Seward, and many others. He speaks but little, at least in company, but his presence is felt. He looks like an ardent, clever, and determined, little man. General Shield, fair, blue-eyed, and with an honest glance, is of a more frank character. He dis- tinguished himself, and was severely wounded, in the war with Mexico. I love to talk with him and to hear him talk. He is an active-minded and warm American, and seems to me to understand the peculiar aspect and vocation of his country. Let us now cast a glance into the other camp. The hawk from Missouri, Colonel Benton, sits there in the midst of his own people, as well as the lion from Kentucky in the other camp, and just opposite to him. He is one of the oldest senators in Congress, and highly esteemed for his learning, his firmness, and his courage. He has fought a duel, and in cold blood slowly taken aim, and in cold blood shot his man, and he looks as if he could shoot his man in cold blood still. This duel, or more correctly speaking, his behaviour in it, has cast a shadow upon 70 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. liis character in the eyes of many. He belongs to the population of " the Borderers," in America, to that class which springs up on the outskirts of the wilderness, and among a half-savage people, he has evidently accustomed himself to club-law ; has accustomed himself to go with pistol and bowie-knife (a kind of crooked knife universal as a weapon in the Slave States, and called after its inventor), and which is carried, as our gentlemen carry a penknife and pencil, in the breast pocket. And Colonel Benton is a suitable representative of a Slave State, where the wild Missouri pours its turbid waters along its perilous course, forming the western boundaries of the savage mountain-land of the Indian tribes, and extending eastward to the gigantic Mississippi, where heathenism still contends for dominion with Christian law, — of that yet only half- civilised Missouri may a cold- blooded duellist like Colonel Benton very well be regarded as a worthy representative, where he can, by his resolute wiU and his determined behaviour, make himself both esteemed and feared as a political character. In exterior he is a strong-buUt, powerful, broad-shouldered, broad- chested man; the forehead is lofty, and the somewhat grey hair rises thin and slightly curled above it ; below gleam out a pair of lively, but cold, grey eyes, and between them shoots forth an aquihne nose ; the lower part of the countenance is strong, and shows a strong will and strong animal propensities. The figure and expression are powerful, but somewhat heavy, and are deficient in nobility. He has advocated in the Senate the freedom of California, but has opposed Mr. Clay's " Omnibus Bill." In society I have found him candid, extremely polite, and kind ; nevertheless there was a something within me which felt a repulsion to that cool, blood-stained hand. If it were not for this, I should like to see more of the man. His unreserved acknowledgment in the Senate that, although the repre- HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 71 sentative of a Slave State, a native of a Slave State, and himself a slave-holder, he yet regarded slavery as an evil, and should regard it as a crime to aid in the extension of the curse to territory which had hitherto heen free ; this manly, candid declaration, from a man in his position, deserves all esteem, and his vivid description of nature and the circumstances of life in the Western lands, shows hoth knowledge and talent. Near to the senator from Missouri, and most striking in the camp of the Southerners, stands forth Soule, the senator of Louisiana, and forming a strong contrast to the former. The hawk of Missouri is a proper repre- sentative of the State, with the wild river and the richly metallic mountains, the boundary of the Indians. The land where the orange glows, where the sugar-cane flourishes, and where French civilisation and French manners have been naturalised ever since they fled thither from France at the period of its extremest refinement ; that flowery, beautiful Louisiana could not have sent to Congress a more worthy representative than the French Consul Soul6. Possessed of that beauty peculiar to the South, with its delicate features, eyes and hair of that rich dark colour which distinguish the Spaniards, and also the handsomest portion of the French population, Soule has that grace of manner and expres- sion which is found among the men of these nations, and which is not met with among the Anglo-Saxons and Northmen, however good and handsome they may be. Soule has come forward ia the Senate on the CaHfornian question, to advocate " the rights of the South," but always as a man of genius and tact ; and on the occasion of a resolution which was opposed to the interests of Louisiana as a Slave State ; he also declared himself for the preservation of the Union. His great speech produced a great effect, and I have heard it praised by many. I have read it, and find nothing in it to admire as of a 72 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. superior character. The rights of the South are the highest object for which he contends, and his highest impulse is a chivalric sense of honour as regards — Ms own honour. " The South must not yield because the South is the weaker combatant. If the South shall be conquered, no blush of shame must tinge her cheek." Soule is a French knight, but not of the highest order, not a Bayard nor a Turenne. Mr. Dickinson, a cold-blooded senator from Alabama, a man of an acute and stern aspect, highly esteemed for integrity of character in the camp of the Southerners, sits near the inflammable Mississippi, that is to say, the younger of the senators from that State, a young man of handsome person and inflammable temperament, who talks violently for "Southern rights." The other, and elder senator of Mississippi, Mr. Foote, is a httle, thin, and also fiery man, whom I believe to be a reaUy warm patriot. He stands for the Union, and his most bril- liant moments are when he hurls himself into a violent dithyrambic against all and each who threaten it. The explosions of his indignant feelings almost lift him up from the earth, as the whole of his slender but sinewy frame responds in vehement agitation to the apostrophes of the spirit. These are sometimes so keen • and full of rebuke that I wonder at the coolness with which the Senate, and certain senators in particular, hsten to them : but it seems to me as if they listened with that sort of feeling with which a connoisseur regards the clever work of an artist. For the rest, Mr. Foote is always on the alert, quick to interrupt, to malte observations, and sometimes calls forth by his mercurial temperament a universal smile, but of a good-natured kind, as at the bottom is Mr. Foote himself Near the combustible Mississippi I see a young man, also handsome, and with features bearing a remarkable resemblance to those of the Indian. That is the senator HOMES OF THE NEW ■WORLD. 73 from Virginia — his name has escaped my memory — and he is said to be a descendant of Pocahontas, the Indian heroine of Virginia. For my part, this is the most remarkable thing about him. But now, my child, you must have had enough for to-day of politics and political gentlemen. I shall write more when I have seen more. Two deputies from the Mormonites may also be seen in the Senate, (yet not within the Senate, but in the outer court) who present to Congress the request from the Mormon people — now rapidly increased to the number of 12,000 souls — to be admitted into the Union, and the pro- tection of its troops against the Indians. This remarkable sect, has, since it was expelled from its first settlement on the Mississippi by the people of Illinois, wandered far out into the West beyond the Indian wilderness, Nebraska ; and have founded a flourishing community, in a fertile vaUey bordering on a vast inland lake, called the great Salt Lake, in Upper California. I have not yet heard anything very creditable about the government or the customs of the people. Their bible, however, the Mormon Bible, I have been able to borrow here. It contains first the whole Christian Bible, after that an addition of some later pretended prophets, of whom Meroni and Mormon are the last. In the prophe- cies of these men is given a closer and more definite prophecy of Christ, nay indeed, almost the whole of his history, and many of his words, but nothing new in religious doctrine, as far as I can discover. The peculiarity of the sect seems to be based upon the assertion, that their prophet Joe Smith is descended directly from these later Christian prophets, and has obtained, by miraculous communication, portions of their books as weU also as of their spiritual gifts and powqr to communicate these gifts to others, by which means they are all brought into a closer .communication with Christ than any other Christians. "li HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. How a man, who evidently in many cases was a deceiver] could obtaiQ so great an influence over thousands of people in the present Christian state of society, and was able to form them into a vast organised body, accordiag to his law, seems scarcely comprehensible, unless it be by supposing that this man was really possessed of some extraordinary powers, partly of a prophetic kind, (and we hear of many such, similar to the oldest prophetic skill, even in the present day, as, for instance, the second-sight of the Scotch Highlanders,) and partly of worldly prudence. He was shot during the war with Illinois, and he is said to have distinctly foretold the time, and the manner of his death — but the Mormon people continue to be led by men who adhere to his laws, and who pretend to be guided by his spirit. The habits and organisation of the community is said to be according to the Christian moral code, and extremely severe. I must now tell you something about my new home. It is at the house of Mr. Johnson, the Professor of Geology. He is now from home on a scientific journey, but is shortly expected back. His wife, her sister, and two adopted children, a handsome girl of fifteen, and a boy of thirteen, compose the whole family. Mrs. Johnson zealously denounces slavery, and as zealously advocates hydropathy. She sees the root of all evil in the former, and a cure for all evil iu the latter ; hers is a thoroughly good, sincere, open-hearted, excellent character, with a great deal of fresh originality. Her sister, who is several years younger, is a Quakeress, and has one ol those pure, lovely countenances, so general among the women of this sect, with a quiet, iatelligent manner She always wears white, and every morning the breakfasi table is ornamented with fresh roses, which she gathers in her morning walk in the Park of the Capitol; on( or two roses are laid for each person, just as we use( to have them at Arsta. Miss D. is the ideal of i HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 75 poetical Quakeress, and now and then she introduces a hne or two of beautiful poetry into her conversation, but always appropriately, and agreeably. I feel refreshment and repose from her very presence. Mrs. J. makes me experience the same with her cold baths, the fresh originality of her character, and those disputes which, to my great amusement, I almost always hear between her and Dr. Hebbe — and above all by the delicious peace and freedom which she affords me in her excellent home. Washihgtoh, Jvly lith. It is Sunday, and I have remaiaed at home from church to rest and converse with you. It is very hot, but the sycamore-tree outside my window casts a shadow, and all is kept cool by the green Venetian shutters. And now you are indeed with mSimma at Arsta, my little Agatha, and are liviag out in the summer air and among the flowers. May everything else at home afford you summer benefit also, and enable you to enjoy your rural life ! Here everything is again in perfect warfare. President Taylor reposes in his quiet grave, sincerely lamented by his nearest friends, and by his comrades on the field of battle. His funeral was performed with some pomp, but much less than that of Colhoun in Charleston, and attracted much fewer spectators. Political parties seemed to prepare themselves for renewed combat over his grave, and those impulses which his death seemed to have called forth in Congress towards the consideration of subjects higher than selfish and worldly interests, appear now buried with him. Mr. King, the senator from Alabama, is now the Speaker in place of Mr. Fillmore, and occupies the post with somewhat more acerbity of manner and considerably less grace. Newspaper articles are now showered down on Fillmore, who has all at once become the greatest man of the United States, scrutinising 76 HOMES OF THE NEW ■WORLD. him, his life, his conduct, his talents, character, &c., on all sides. A statesman in this country stands Uke a helmsman on his ship, exposed alike to all winds and weather, so that he soon becomes so weather-proof as not to trouble himself, let it blow as it may. This character of helmsman is one, however, which suits every public man, statesman, official, or author. Let the wind blow how it may, there is but one thing to attend to, one thing to ask about, namely, whether he steer according to the compass, which, in this case, is the conscience or con- scientious conviction. The biography of Fillmore shows that he also is one of the New World's " self-made men : " that his father was a poor farmer, and that the boy enjoyed only a common school education; that as a boy he learnt the tailoring trade, then was a schoolmaster, and after that a writer with a lawyer, who having observed the promising endowments of the youth, took him into his employment. His talents are not considered of the highest order ; but he is praised for his character and good sense. A deal has been said about the fact of his only daughter having been at the time of his elevation, and being still, a teacher in a ladies' school. Yet not as a common teacher, but occupying for one year the situation of teacher in a school, where all the pupils must hold this office for one year before they are considered as perfectly taught. I have, my little Agatha, nothing to say about myself excepting what is good. I live in a world full of interest, and almost every day furnishes acquaintance and conver- sation, which call forth more thought than I shall be able to work out for many a day, and all of which is exciting in this great heat. But let me be as weary and as much exhausted as I may, yet with the first word of real, vital interest, my heart beats afresh, my nerves are braced, and I feel myself again as strong and as full of life as ever. And I have nowhere had conversations so full oi HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. VT tmiversal interest as since I have been here ; hut this must be taken into consideration, that a great deal of the wisdom of the United States is now concentrated here, in and around Congress. For they who desire to carry out any generally beneficial reforms or plans come hither to present their petitions to Congress, to talk with the members, or to watch the progress of their afi"airs. Among these gentlemen is a Mr. Tomsens, who is working for post-of&ce reform, reduction of the rate of postage throughout the whole Union, similar to the reform in England in this respect ; and there is reason to believe that the thing will be carried. Mr. T., besides this, interests me by the interest he takes in the higher development of woman, and his correct views as regards its influence on the whole race. If the choice should be given me of affording education to the men or to the women of a nation, I should begin with the women, said he. But this view is tolerably general among the thinking men of the New World. T. is struck, as I have been, by the marked character of the Quaker women, and considers that it has its origin in their being early accustomed to self-government, and from their early participation in the busiuess of civil life. Professor Henry is one of the most amiable scientific men whom I ever met with, and his conversation affords me great pleasure. We one day taUted about the supreme and universal laws ; Henry remarked that the closer we advanced toward these the simpler they appeared, and added, "In order to comprehend them in their highest truth, an angel's mind and an angel's glance are requisite." For the rest, Henry is like Oersted, a worshipper of the laws of nature, yet without wishing to receive the natural phenomena as having reference to a spiritual world of nature, far richer than that portion which is alone con- sidered real. And on this point I stand at issue with Henry as I did with Oersted : but, no matter what men are, what 78 HOMES OF THE NEW ¥05,10. they do is the important thing, not what they are not, or what they cannot do. One and all have to turn their own talent to good account : — We all know that ; but we so often forget it, — while we blame and criticise. Mr. Carey, the political economist, talked with me yesterday for certainly more than an hour about the true States' formation. According to him, the true and per- manent States' erection must not resemble the pillar, but the pyramid. The pillar corresponds with the European monarchical form of government. But it cannot support any large additional weight without falling to pieces under it. Some years ago, when Carey saw Louis Philippe ia France, concentrating the power and dominion upon himself and his dynasty, he remarked, " That can never last long ! That will go to pieces ! " And so it did in very short time. The true form of government, that which will defy time and tempests, must have a broad basis, and from this build upwards ; such is the form of the pyramid ; such is the form of the United States government — from which, raised on the basis of public education and equal civU rights, the national weal ascends firmly and immovably on its foundation, like the Andes and the Alps of the earth. This comparison is good, and the argument is just. Less striking appears to me his theory of national economy, which would make the pro- ductions of the earth equal to its population, and render death, at least as far as his great agents, war and pestilence, go, unnecessary there, — unnecessary especially as the means of making breathing-room for the survivors. I rejoice in all theories, and all efforts which tend in this direction, because they always admit light and breathing-room and hope upon earth. But, nevertheless, it seems to me clear that an island which will very well support ten persons, never can support equally well ten hundred. Yes, but say they, an island, a little circumscribed HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 79 space, with circumscribed resources and means, and the whole earth ! but what indeed is the whole earth more than a small, a very small island floating in the ocean of the universe ? Has it anything more than circumscribed resources ? Can it, even if the whole of its surface were ploughed up, be anything else than a nursery, where the trees would soon choke one another if they were not thinned out ; a colony for pilgrims who must emigrate to new worlds ? Ah ! next to being nourished by this our earth I know no more joyful privilege than the hope of being able to leave it, to be able to emigrate from it to a larger, freer, better world. But if national economy and science did no more than render death a peaceful member of society, who came merely to the aged, and came like their best Mend, sleep, that would be glorious ! Horace Mann, the great promoter of education, is a man of strong, immeasurable hope. I was depressed in mind when I talked with him, but he inspired me with a feeling of new courage. On his forehead (one of those vernal foreheads which are arched upwards with aspiring ideas) one sees the man who, merely through the influence of his brain, has erected large airy halls of learning throughout the Northern States, and who has elevated the whole social system. His views are sum- marily these — We inherit capacity of mind, and good and bad qualities from our parents ; one generation inherits from another. The sins and the virtues of the parent, accord- ing to the words of the Scriptures, are visited, punished, or rewarded in the person of his children, and children's children. By diffusing the influence of good education through the whole people, will the whole people be elevated, and the next generation similarly treated, and having inherited a higher nature, will be elevated stiU more, and so on infinitely. 80 HOMES OF THE NEW WOKLD. Horace Mann talks on this subjec't with a faith which might remove mountains. He is, like Carey, a heroic nature, and is not sparing of those who oppose him, and not much lilied by those who desire to live in an inactive state of mind. I, who merely opposed him to hear more of his views, have merely learned from them that which I was glad to learn. Both these men are in the prime of life, are slender in person, youthful and lively in manner, with that beam of genius, which lighting up the countenance is its highest beauty. I meet with many persons here whose peculiar talent or sound reason is illumined by this ray from above, which, wherever we find it, produces such an enhvening effect. And here, where every political question bears publicly or privately a close relation to the highest interests of humanity, to the highest well-being and object of humanity, and which may be dealt with accordingly ; here where the social circles are at this moment and in this city, merely a drawing-room to Congress, every conversation seems naturally to turn upon questions of the most vital importance, and to receive vitality therefrom. Never since the time, when yet quite young, I met with Montesquieu's " Essai sur V esprit des Lois," and in profound solitude at Arsta lived in this book, or rather in the thoughts which it awoke on the rela- tionship between mankind and Government, have I until now, so much lived in, and occupied myself with, such thoughts. July 16th. — But if a stranger came to Washington at this time, and gazed out from the Capitol over that glorious country, and let his thoughts extend themselves farther yet over the territory of the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean ; if he here took his stand during the sitting of Congress, and saw the star- •HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 81 ipangled banner of the United States floating from the Capitol, and thought— " How great, how glorious must it be for the men within ;o glance forth, and think that over this grand, this iffluent land, over this hemisphere of the world a life of liberty extends ! " Would he not be startled and amazed when he heard the answer from within the Capitol — "No, of slavery!" Would he not be startled and believe that he heard incorrectly; would he not believe anything rather than 3uch a monstrous assertion, such a frightful lie in a land, the fundamental law of which says, " We regard this truth as self-evident, that all mankind are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the endeavow after happiness," &c. And yet, if a stranger were now to come to Washington and listen to the voices of the Capitol, he would hear Dothing but the abnegation of liberty. I acknowledge that I felt extreme indignation to hear day after day in the Senate Pro- Slavery speeches from the men of the South, without hearing a single word in reply from the side of the Anti-Slavery party. I asked iu astonishment what was the cause of this ? And for reply was told that the Anti- Slavery party had already fired off all their guns and that now the other side must have their turn to talk, after which they would proceed to voting, when the protest against slavery would be availing without talking. From some speeches which I heard in the beginning, and from the printed speeches of George Seward and other members of Congress which I have read, I see that their declarations are correct, and I can only deplore that I arrived here during this period of the discussion. It is however an important step forward in political life 82 HOMES OF THE NEW WOKLD. that the discussion of the question of slavery is perfeetlj open ; a few years since it was forbidden on pain of deatl in Congress. Courageous men, friends of humanity and public feeling,, have broken down this barrier; and ths combat about freedom and slavery has at this time more forcibly concentrated itself upon the inner bearing of the question, during which the instincts of humanity and noble thoughts have been called forth, even as in a land- scape alps shoot upward, upon whose lofty brows the ascending sun casts his earhest beams. Among these noble thoughts is this, that God's law is higher than the laws of the State,, and that, empowered by this, the community has a right to oppose the latter if they are contradictory to the former. This is in fact merely an apphcation of the first principle of the American Declaration of Independence to the question now under contention. But the Idealists of the North gave it utterance at this time, with a force and beauty which makes it clear to me that sooner or later it will become the standard of freedom in the strife. The opposite party in return say that they do not under- stand this talk about a law which is higher than the Constitution and fidelity to it. And this is even said by Daniel Webster, the Representative of the Pilgrim State; his watchwords are " The Constitution and the Union," These are his gods, and there is no God superior to them in his eyes. July l&th. — Yesterday I heard a very remarkable speech from Webster in the Senate, which impressed me greatly in his favour. I have hitherto lived much with the enemies and political opponents of Webster, and have heard him attacked and keenly criticised in many ways. I am now convinced that he may be perfectly honest in his convictions, and I wiE beheve that he is so. He spoke for Clay's Compromise Bill, gave in his full adherence to it, declaring that he considered it, at the HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 83 present moment,, as furnishing Ijhe necessary terms of reconciliation between the contending States, and that he considered this reconciliation necessary to the stability and the future welfare of the Union., He said, " I have faith in a wise mediatrix, in a healing vitality in the nation as well as in private individuals, and that whatever may be the faults and short-comings with which we are now chargeable, yet that we shall aU the sooner rid ourselves of these, if we only hold together in a, high-minded spirit of forbearance instead of rending asunder our band in blind over-haste." "As to Utah," said Webster, "let her sit upon her salt plain, on the shores of her salt lake, for yet a few years if it is necessary," which, called forth a general smile. He then summed up in strong, short sentences, each sentence a picture, the record of what each different State, the Pilgrim as well as the Palmetto State, had been to each other during their war of Independence ; what they had suffered, how they had striven together for the general good, and ended by admonishing them to turn their regards from private interests to the common weal, to maintain the Constitution which their fathers had founded, and to practise more than ordinary virtue ! " As far as myself am concerned," said he, " I wUl stand by the Union and all who stand by it. I propose to stand firmly by the Constitution,, and need no other platform. I will do justice to the whole nation ; I will recognise only ow country; let the consequences to myself be whatever they may, I trouble not myself about that. No man can suffer too much, or fall too soon, if he suffer and if he fall in defence of his country's freedom and Constitution ! " "Webster had begun his speech calmly, heavily and without apparent life. Towards the end of the speech his cheek had acquired the glow of youth, his figure became more erect, he seemed slender and full of vivacity; q2 84 HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. and as he spoke the last concluding words he stood in full manly, almost ApoUo-like beauty, in the midst of that fascinated, listening assembly, stood, stiU calm, without any apparent design, but as if reposing himself happy and free in the quiet grandeur of the song which he had sung. Ah ! that he had but sung one still more beautiful — a yet nobler song, all then had been perfect — a victory for the light as for himself ! But while he spoke for the freedom of California, he spoke also for the recapturing of the fugitive slave, even upon that formerly free soil, and no spot of American soil may ever again be said to be the home of freedom. The unhappy cu'cum- stances of the time, political necessity compelled him to this step ; he could not do otherwise — so I believe ; and I believe also in his confession of faith, " I beheve in a healing vitality in the people," &c. ; and beheve that it will show itself prophetically true. I will however now teU you the impression produced by this speech. I never witnessed anything which more took hold upon the attention, or had a more electrifying effect. Amid the profound silence with which he was listened to, nay, as if the whole assembly held its breath, burst forth again and again thunders of applause ; again and again was the speaker, the senator from Alabama, obliged to remind, and finally very severely to remind, the audience in the galleries that it was forbidden thus to give expression to their applause. With every new lightning-flash of Webster's eloquence burst forth anew the thunder of applause, wliich was only silenced by the desire to listen yet again to the speaker. From this fairly enchanted audience I turned my glance to one countenance which beamed with a joy so warm, so pure, that I could not do otherwise than sympathise in the liveliest manner, for this conntenance was that of Webster's wife. I have heard it said that when she first heard her husband speak in public she fainted; HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 85 yet she looks like a strong, and by no means a nervous woman. No one can, even In the effect which it produces, form too high an idea of "Webster's power as a speaker ; of the classical beauty and strength of his language, or the power and deep intensity of voice with which he utters that to which he desires to give strong effect. If this is not an unusually great natural power — for it has the appearance of being altogether simple and natural, then it is very great art. Our Archbishop Wallin is the only speaker whom I have heard, who, in this respect resembles Webster, and who was possessed of an equal power over his hearers. In general, the speakers in this country scream too much ; they are too violent, and shout and roar out their words as if they would be very powerful. Henry Clay is free from this fault, but he is evidently more impulsive and has less control over himself than Webster. Although the Compromise Bill has now both these great statesmen on its side, yet it is the general opinion that it will not be carried, at least in its present omnibus character — nay, that it is lost already. Henry Clay, who has battled for it these seven months, fights for it still, almost like a dying gladiator, and it reaUy quite distresses me to see him, excited and violent, almost Hke a youth, with trembling, death-Uke hands, so thin and pallid are the fingers — push back the white locks from the lofty brow over which they are continually thrown by the violent movements of his head, whilst he is speaking or replying to attacks made upon him in the Senate. Webster is more beautiful and calmer in his whole demeanour. Nevertheless I see in Clay the patriotic hero who will conduct his native land and his countrymen onward along the path of freedom, while Webster, with all his beauty and his power as an orator, is to me merely like a great national watchman who keeps watch that the Constitution 86 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. does not take fire in any of her old corners. Webster is a mediator ; a man of the Union. He is a pacificator but not a regenerator. July 20th. — I am never able to write to you when I wish. My time is so much occupied. The great question yet remains imdecided in Congress, and Statesmen fight for it to the death. Since I have seen the personal contests here, nothing appears to me more natural than the enthusiasm of the Americans for their statesmen, because heroic virtue and heroic courage is required in this intellectual combat, and that of a much higher quality than is called forth in bloody war. Yet neither is this war bloodless, although blood may not be seen to flow; the best blood of the human heart wells up and is consumed here amid the keen conflict of words. I was yesterday witness of a single combat between the lion of Kentucky and the hawk of Missouri which made my blood boil with indignation. Colonel Benton had, the day before, made a violent attack on Clay's Com- promise BUI, during which he said " The bill is caught in the iact— flagranti delicto — I have caught it by the neck, and here hold it up to shame and opprobrium before the public gaze," (and with this Mr. Benton held the Bill rolled up aloft in his hand) " caught it just as it was about to perpetrate its crime, just as it was about to " — &c., &c. Of a truth for three whole hours did Benton labour with a real lust of murder to crush and annihilate this "monster," as he called Clay's Bill, — to attack even Clay himself with all kinds of weapons, endeavouring to hold him up also to public disapprobation and public derision in a manner which betrayed hatred and low malice. This attack occupied nearly the whole of tlie day. Yesterday Clay rose to reply, and called upon the Senate to disapprove of expressions such as those that I have given ; but by this he only irritated the wild beast of Missouri to a still more personal attack, and I felt HOMES OF THE NEW "WORLD. 87 an abhorrence of that evidently cold-blooded delight with which he, when he had discovered a weak place in Clay's position, seemed to gripe him in his claws and regularly dig into his flesh and blood. Pardon me, my child, for using so coarse an expression, but I only paint, and that in water-colours, the character of the transaction. Among other things, I remember the following. Benton mentioned some points in the bill regarding which, he said, he had noticed Clay to be sensitive. " I see," said he, " that the senator of KentucTsy is particu- larly impatient about that passage. I shall therefore at once dissect it, I shall at once apply the knife to its quivering nerves ! '"' and with this he turned up his coat- sleeves — perhaps unconsciously — as if preparing himself for an operation which he should perform with gusto. I saw before me the cold-blooded duellist, perhaps turning up thus his sleeves, that he might have his wrists at liberty, slowly to take aim and finally to shoot his adversary. How I abhorred that man and his ignoble mode of combat ! A strong noble anger is a refreshing sight to witness ; but this beast of prey's lust of torture — shame ! That the lion of Kentucky felt the claws and the beak of the haWk I could see by the glow on his cheek, and by his hasty, feverish movements when he rose once or twice in self-defence. Yet all the more did I admire his not allowing himself to go into any personality, nor j'et to retort in any other way than by remaining silent during a great part of his adversary's tedious operation, and by his continuing to be a gentleman vis-a-vis a beast of prey, who gave Mmself up to the coarse instincts of his nature. But I could not help being surprised that, during the long time that this quarrel lasted, no high- minded sentiment was excited in the Senate against this mode of bearing arms. I longed that it might. The Scandinavian pagans combated in a more chivalric 88 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. manner. I was also astonished in the evening, when in company, not to find that my feeling with regard to Senator B.'s conduct was general. " I am much mistaken, Miss ," said Senator H, to a young lady, a literary lioness now in Washington, " if you were not cordially delighted hy Benton's treat- ment of Clay." "Yes," replied she, "I enjoyed it heart and soul; it was a regular treat to me ! " What taste ! Clay has not, however, always shown in the Senate the same moderation and superiority in political quarrels, and not very long since, in a contest with Benton, he indulged in a coarseness something like his own; but that was merely for a moment. That violence which with Clay is paroxysm, is natural to Benton ; the former is excited, the latter falls into it from an almost incredible arrogance. Clay is surprised into it ; Benton has it always at hand. To-day, when, later than usual, I entered the Senate, Clay was speaking ; he was not expected to speak to-day, but something which had occurred during the discus- sion had excited him, and I now saw him in one of those moments, when his impassioned ardour carried along with it, or controlled, the surrounding multitude. He stood with his hands closed, and his upturned countenance directed to heaven, and with a voice, the pathos and melody of which I now for the first time properly estimated, declared the purity of his inten- tions, and that he desired nothing but the well- being of his country. " What is there to tempt me ? " asked he. " At my age a man stands nearer to heaven than earth, and is too near leaving the latter for him to be seeking reward there. The approval of my conscience is the only thing which can sustain me through the conflict." HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. 89 Every one listened in silence. I felt a deep sympathy with the solitary champion, who stood here so alone among enemies, addressing a prejudiced audience, and without a Mend. But the isolated state is the highest grandeur on earth, if a man knows that the Supreme Judge is his friend, or at least his one confidant. On Monday, Clay is ei^pected to make his last great, perhaps his dying speech, on the Californian question, after which it will probably be soon decided, and Clay, in any case, wiU leave Congress and go to the sea-side. I shall yet remain here a few days on purpose to hear him. I shall now tell you of some other persons and occurrences here which have interested me. Among the former is a scientific man, Mr. Schoolcraft, who has discovered the springs of the Mississipi, far up in the Northern province, Minnesota. He has been very much among the North American Indian tribes, and has a deal to tell about them which is very interesting. He is now busy occupied in bringing out a work on them, and the country around the Upper Mississippi. He walks on crutches, in consequence of lameness, but the soul moves itself unimpeded. He is an interesting and very good- natured man. He, and two other persons here, have excited in me the greatest inclination to visit the Upper Mississippi, the character of which is described to me as being very magni- ficent ; to go among the Indians and see something of their wild life, and to make a journey down the Valley of the Mississippi, in its whole extent, from the North to New Orleans in the South. I must see this great future home of a population vaster, it is said, than that which the whole of Europe now contains. Since I have seen the Southern parts of North America I have obtained an idea of the life of the West, and see the truth of Waldo Emerson's words, " The poet of America has not yet appeared." And if I cannot see the poet yet, I must see 90 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. his muse, the goddess of song which shall inspire him ; have at least a glimpse into the grandeur of her kingdom, and of the powers which she commands in nature ; be able to form an idea of the life and development of those future generations which she will bring forth. I saw in Mr. Schoolcraft's Collection of Indian Curio- sities, among other things, ■ small flutes, which the enamoured Indians make use of when they would declare their passion to the object of their affections. They paint and adorn themselves in their best manner, and go out in the quiet evening or night, and blow upon the flute in the neighbourhood of the tent or wigwam of their beloved. If the fair one be propitious to the lover, she shows herself outside the tent, and sometimes comes forth to him, and allows herself to be carried &wa,j. Tliis flute is a very imperfect instrument, and the Indians, who are possessed of but very small musical powers, produce from it only a low note, almost without melody, resembhng the whistling or twittering of a bird. Mr. S. has had the kindness to give me some paintings of Indian life and manners ; one of them represents such a noctural wooing. It is not far removed from the life of the animal ; one seems to see a fine bird whistling to his little mate. I have had a view of the moon from the Observatory, through a very good telescope ; have seen its sleeping " Mare Vaporum," its mountains and valleys, and the chasm in one of its mountains, better than I had hitherto done. It is a pity that this beautiful Observatory has so unhealthy a site on the banks of the Potomac, so that no astronomer can live here without endangering Ms health. I went one day with a handsome, young, new-married pair, and Miss Dix, to the " Little Falls " on thS Potomac, in a wild and picturesque district. There dwells here, in great solitude, a kind of savage, with seven fingers on each hand, and seven toes on each foot. He is a giant in HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 91 his bodily proportions, and lives here on fish ; he is said to be inoffensive when he is left at peace, but dangerous if excited. I can believe it. He looked to me like one of those Starkodder-natures, half human and half en- chanter, -which the old Scandinavian aiges produced at &.e wild falls of Trollhatta, and whitfk the wildernesseB of America seem to produce still. Another curiosity, but of smaller dimensions, I saw also, not however in the wilderness, but in the Capitol. I was in the House of Eepresen:tatives. There were not many people in the galery, and I went forward towards the railing, so that I ixdght hear more distinctly what was said in the haU below. Here stood beside me a little lady, meanly attired, and about middle age, but so short that she scarcely reached my shoulder. Several persons came up into the gallery to speak to me, and by this means my name was mentioned. When they were gone, my little lady turned to me, wishing also to shake hands with me and bid me welcome, which she did in quite a friendly manner, but added in a tone of vexation, " I am very much disappointed in you ! " " Indeed ! " said I ; " and why ? " " WeU," said she, eyeing me with a grave and displeased glance, " I expected that you would have been a tall lady." " Oh ! " said I, smiling, " did you wish then to find me tall?" " No, not precisely !— But I am very much disappointed in you ! " And with that she laid her hand upon her breast, and turning herself to me, she continued with great empliasis, " In me you see a descendant of the old Pilgrims ; a lineal descendant of the great and celebrated Miles Standish ! " The little descendant evidently expected that I should fall down from sheer astonishment, but I merely said, " Oh ! " If I had had spirit enough I should have added, 92 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. " I am very much disappointed in you ! for the great grand-daughter of the great Miles Standish ought at least to have been six feet high ! " But like a little descendant of the great Vildngs, I did not think that it became me to do battle with a great grand-daughter of the Pilgrims about our respective heights, and therefore I merely indicated my satisfaction both by glance and lips, which she could explain as she pleased. She explained it probably to her advantage, because she went on to communicate to me in a weighty manner the business which now had brought her to Congress. The little lady was grave and important, Puritanic to the last crumb ; but not, I should imagine, very like the old Puritan her ancestor. I must now give you a little domestic news. Professor Johnson is come back. When his wife read his letter, which announced his speedy return, she jumped for joy, and I jumped too in sympathy, and from the pleasure which I felt in again seeing one of those happy marriage connections which it is my delight to witness, and so many of which I have already seen in the New World. The expected husband came the next day, a strong, kind- hearted, excellent, and good-tempered man, who adds considerably bj"- his presence to the richness and well- being of home, even as far as I am concerned, inasmuch as he reads aloud to me in the afternoons and any evenings when I am disengaged, or when the weather — which has now been wet for a couple of days — presents my going out. In this way he has read to me Governor Seward's excellent Bio'graphy of the late President Adams, which has struck me particularly from the heroic character of the noble statesman in his struggle against slavery. A great statesman in this country must be, at the same time a sage and a hero, if he is to be adequate to his post. I spend most of my forenoons at the Capitol and HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 93 generally in the Senate. In the afternoons some of my friends among the senators frequently drive me out to various places in the neighbourhood ; and ia the evenings I receive visitors. During such a drive to-day with Governor Seward, he related to me the circumstance in his life which aroused his inextinguishable abhorrence of slavery, and his unwavering opposition to it. Yesterday afternoon I drove with the senators from Illinois, and Miss Lynch, to an old battle-field, now a churchyard, on the banks of the Potomac. When I stood with General Shield, and beheld from this spot the extensive view of the river-banks, scattered with hamlets and churches, and villas and cottages, amid their garden- grounds, he exclaimed as he pointed it out, " See ! This is America ! " And so it is. The true life of the New World is not to be seen in great cities, with great palaces and dirty alleys, but in the abundance of its small com- munities, of its beautiful private dwellings, with their encircling fields and groves, in the bosom of grand scenery, by the sides of vigorous rivers, with mountains and forests, and all appliances for a vigorous and affluent life. One of the peculiar appliances for this vigour and affluence of life are the magnificent rivers, the many streams of water with which North America abounds, and which promote the circulation of Hfe, both physically and spiritually, and which bring into connection all points of the Union one with another. The circulation of life and population is already very great in the United States, and it becomes greater every day by means of new steam-boat communication and new rail-roads. The North travels to the South, and the South to the North, to and fro, like shuttles in the weaver's loom, partly for business, partly on account of the climate. The Northerners love, during the winter months, to warm themselves in summer air, and to gather flowers in Carolina and Florida (as well as in Cuba, which indeed lies out of the political, but not out 94 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. of the natural Union) ; and the Southerners escape their always-enervating summer,, during the months of May, June, July, August, and September, and seek to invigorate themselves on the cool lakes of Massachusetts and New York, or among the White Mountains of the Granite State. The North and the South could not dispense with one another ; could not break up the Union without the Hfe's- blood of the body-politic becoming stagnant and the life itself being endangered. And the great statesmen here know that, and endeavour ia the present contest, by means of a compromise, to keep the circulation unim- peded. The ultras of the Anti- Slavery party maintain that it will go on of itself nevertheless, that for twenty years has this cry of danger to the Union been heard, and that in reality there is no danger at all. But I have many acquaintance of more than ordinary interest among the men of Washington ; but I wiU tell you about them when we meet. I have not become acquainted with any ladies who interest me, excepting those of this family, with the exception of Miss Dix. A yoimg and really gifted poetess. Miss C, is too much of an Amazon for my taste, and with too little that is noble as such. She has both heart and genius, but of an unpruned kind. If I saw more of her, we might perhaps approxi- mate more. As it is, our approximation is somewhat like that of a pair of rebounding billiard-balls. The sketches of the members of Congress and of the transactions in the Capitol, which she has published during the present sitting of Congress in one of the papers of the city, are brUliant, bold, and often striking ; but they are some- times likewise deficient in that which — I find deficient in herself. They have excited here the attention which they merit. Another gifted authoress also, who has begun to excite attention by her novels, is too much wrapped up in herself. Mrs. W., and Mrs. P., I like ; but then I have so little time to see those whom I do liie. I see every day HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 95 in the gallery of the Senate maay elegant toilettes, and very lovely faces, which seem to show themselves there — only to be. seen. Again and again, as. I gEtze on those l-ovely faces, I am obliged to say silently,, regarding their expression, " How unmeaning ! " And involuntarily, but invariably, I am impressed more and more with the conviction,, that the women of America do not in general equal that good report which some European travellers have given of tkem, I would that it were otherwise. And the beajjtiful examples, whicK I have seen of womanly dignity and grace do not contradict my opinion. But it is not the fault of the women. It is the fault of their education, which, even when it is best, merely gives scholastic tf aiaaiing ; but no higher training for the world and social life. I cannot help it. The men of America appear to me in general to surpass, the women in real development and good breeding. And it is not to be wondered at. The American man, if he have received only a defective school education, enters early into that, great school of public and civil life, which in such manifold ways calls forth every faculty, every power, and whatever capacity for business nature has endowed him with. Thus he becomes early familiar with the various spheres of life, and even if he should not fathom any of them, still there are no cardinal points; in them which are foreign to him, so far as they have reference^ to the human weal, and the well-being of social life. Besides, he acquires, through his practical life, local and peculiar knowledge, so. that when one converses with a man in this country, on© is always sure of learning something ; and should he have received from Mother Nature a seed of a higher humanity, then shoot up, as if of themselves, those beautiful examples of mankind and man, which adorn the earth with an almost perfected humanity, some of which I have become acquainted with under the denomination of " self-made men." 96 HOMES OP THE NEW WOKLD. July 21st. — I have been to-day to a Methodist Churcli of free negroes. The preacher, also a negro, and whom I had seen in a shop in the city, had a countenance which bore a remarkable resemblance to an ape ; he had, how- ever, that talent of improvisation, and of strikingly applying theoretical truths to the occurrences of daily- life, which I have often admired among the negroes. This man possesses, in a high degree, the power of elec- trifying his audience ; and as it is the custom in the Methodist Churches to give utterance to the feehngs and thoughts, it caused an extraordinary scene on this occasion — so vehement were the cries and expressions of emotion. The theme of the preacher was a common one — conversion and amendment, or death and damnation. But when he spoke of different failings and sins, his descriptions were as graphic as Ms gestures. When he spoke about the sins of the tongue, he dragged this " unruly member" out of his mouth, and shook it between his fingers very energetically. On his admonishing his audience to bid farewell to the devil, and turn away from hiin (after he had vehemently proclaimed the damnation which the Evil One would drag them into), his expres- sions took such a strong and powerful hold of his hearers, that the whole assembly was like a tempestuous sea. One heard only the cry, "Yes, yes!" "Farewell! for ever!" "Yes, Amen!" "Never mind!" "Go along!" "Oh, God!" "Farewell!" " Amen, amen !" &c. And, besides these, convulsive groans, cries, and howls, the assembly was ready for any extravagance, whatever it might have been, if the preacher had willed it. The swell of excite- ment, however, soon abated, when the sermon was ended. After that, a noble instance of social feeling occurred. The preacher announced that a slave, a member of the congregation, was about to be sold " down South," and thus to be far separated from his wife and child, if HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD, S7 sufficient money could not be raised in Washington to fumisli the sum which the master of the slave demanded for him. And the negro congregation offered to make a voluntary collection for purchasing the freedom of the slave-brother. A pewter plate was set upon a stool in the church, and one silver piece after another rang joyfully upon it. The whole congregation was remarkable for its respect- able and even wealthy appearance. AU were well-dressed, and had the expression of thinkiug, earnest people. I missed among the women the picturesque head-gear of the South, which had here been replaced by the unbe- coming, ordinary female bonnet: but those black eyes and countenances, how full they are of ardent feeling and life ! And there is always life in the congregations of this people ; and though the expression of it may sometimes approach the comic, stUl, one never gets sleepy there, as one often does in the very proper congregations and churches of the whites. From this negro assembly, which honourably testifies of America's behaviour to Africa, I must conduct you to a dwelling which testifies also, but in an opposite way. I went thither one morning with Dr. Hebbe and my good hostess, before we went to the Capitol, because the " Slave-pen " of Washington is situated near to the Capitol of Washington, and may be seen from it, although that grey house, the prison-house of the innocent, hides itself behind leafy trees. We encountered no one within the inclosure, where little negro-children were sitting or leaping about on the green sward. At the little grated door, however, we were met by the slave -keeper, a good- tempered, talkative, but evidently a coarse man, who seemed pleased to show us his power and authority. Mrs. J. wished to have a negro-boy as a servant, and inquired if she could have such an one from this place ; " No ! children were not allowed to go out from here. TOl. II. ^ ^8 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. They were kept here for a short time to fatten, and after that were sent to the slave-market, down South, to be sold ; no slave was allowed to be sold here for the present. There were now some very splendid articles for sale, which were to be sent down South. Among these there was a young girl who had been brought up in all respects 'like a lady;' she could embroider and play on the piano, and dress like a lady, and read, and write, and dance, and all this she had learned in the family which had brought her up, and who had treated her in her childhood as if she had been their own. But however her mind had grown too high for her ; she had become proud, and now to humble her they had brought her here to be sold." All this the talkative slave-keeper told us. I inquired something about the temper and the state of mind of those who were confined here. " Oh ! " said the man smiling, " they would be unruly enough if they were not afraid of a flogging." My honest, open-hearted hostess could not contain her indignation at this treatment of people who were not guilty of any crime. The man laughed and maintained that the negro-people, both men and women,must be ruled by the whip, and took leave of us as much satisfied with himself and his world as we were the contrary. In "Washington, near the United States' Senate House — this slave-pen ! Could one not be tempted to enter and read aloud there the American Declaration of Indepen- dence ! Yet there are sufficient there to read it aloud. The freedom and honour of America will not die or become paralysed in American hands.* Have I told you about a baptism by immersion, which I have witnessed in one of the churches here ? I believe not. In the South, on the banks of the Eed Eiver, in * This slave-pen has, I believe, been removed since Miss Bremer's visit. — Trans. HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 99 MaQon, and in Savannah, I had seen processions of people returning from baptisms in the river, but I had missed seeing the ceremony itself. I saw it here however in the Baptist Church ; after the sermon the pulpit was removed, and we saw in the choir, before which the pulpit had stood, six young girls, each in a light grey wooUen blouse, bound round the waist with a scarf, standing all in a row at the lower end of the choir. A young minister, drest in black, descended into an opening in the floor, within which was a font. Here he addressed the assembly and the young girls who were about to be baptised, on the signification of baptism ; relating his own feelings when he, for the first time, was bowed into the purifying element, with the full sense of the intention and power of the rite. He invited therefore the young sisters to come to the baptism of regeneration. They now advanced forward, one at a time, led by the hand by an elderly male relative, to the edge of the font ; here the minister received the hand of the young girl and conducted her down the steps. He stood facing her in the font for a moment, holding her hands ; probably he then received a promise from her, but I could not hear it ; after which, with her head resting on the hand of the minister, she was hastily dipped backwards under the water. It was the work of a moment, and as soon as she was raised again a song of praise burst forth, the first words of which rang in my ears, as "Eejoice, rejoice!" When the baptised reascended the steps she was received by one of her relatives, who wrapped around her a large shawl or cloak, and led her hastily out of the choir. Thus did five young girls, and one young man, pass through the ceremony of baptism ; but there yet remained one of the girls, the youngest, the loveliest, who stood immovable in a corner during the long baptism of the others, like a church-angel, and might have been taken for a statue had not the lovely rose-tint on her cheek testified that H 2 100 HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. the figure was living. But I was astonished at that delicate gui's ability to stand in expectation so long and so immovably. And now the young minister ascended from the font, and all seemed to be over. Was it possible that they had forgotten that lovely young girl, or was she really, after all, not a living creature but a statue, a church- angel ? An old man came forward and addressed the congregation. He was the young girl's father; he had been her teacher, had initiated her into the hfe and doctrines of religion, and prepared her for baptism. He wished to have permission himself to administer the sacrament of baptism to his beloved child. He descended into the font. The statue now moved from the church waU ; the young girl came forward alone with a light step, and full of trust, as a child to its beloved father, and gave herself up into his hands. It was beautiful and really affecting to see the aged and the young standing here before the eye of heaven, the father dedicating the daughter, the daughter giving herself up to her father's guidance and, through it, to a holy life ; and it would have been yet more beautiful if it had taken place with the blue heavens above, and green trees around them instead of a white-arched roof and walls. "Rejoice! rejoice!" again sang the choir in a glad song of j)raise, over the young girl now consecrated by bap- tism ; and father and daughter reascended from the font. The greater portion of the assembly, among which were a great niTmber of children, beheld the whole affair as a spectacle, and made a dreadful noise when they went out of the church, notwithstanding- the admonitions of the ministers to silence. And even by the rivers and in the silence of the woods, the rite of baptism would be disturbed by curious and self-elected spectators. I shall now go out and refresh myself by a quiet ramble into the country with my Quaker friend, the HOMES OF THE NEW WOKLD. 101 agreeable Miss D. Next week I shall leave Washington and return to Philadelphia to go with Professor Hart and his family to Cape May. Then after I have refreshed and invigorated myself by sea-bathing for a couple of weeks, I shall go to New York, to consult with my friends the Springs about my further journeying, whether it shall be first to the North or to the West. The young Lowells wiU go with me to Niagara, and if I could induce the Springs to accompany us, that would be charming. They are such agreeable people to be with, and they enjoy everything which is good and beautiful so delightfully. From Niagara I shall travel alone perhaps westward to the Mississippi — and for how long I know not. The Giants plan, but the Gods decide. I had here last evening a great gathering of "my friends," acquaintance, and non-acquaintance, and received flowers and distributed flowers. The Americans have a great deal of fresh cordiality and youthful ardour about them ; there is no denying that. I heard both glad and sorrowful tidings last evening — namely : that Denmark has obtained peace on the con- dition which she desired, and that — Sir Eobert Peel is killed by a fall from his horse. The death of this great statesman is universally deplored here, but en passant, for people here have not time just now to occupy them- selves with other people's misfortunes. Their own affairs engage their time and their intellects, and — the heat is overpowering. The members of Congress are tired out with Congress ; the speakers are tired out with hearing each other talk. " Neither the eloquence of Demosthenes nor of Cicero, would be able to give us any pleasure ! " said a wearied senator to me to-day. Yet, nevertheless, people listened willingly to the lively and witty sallies of Mr. Hale the representative of the Granite State. He, to-day, personified all the States, and spoke in character for all 102 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. their representatives, during a general attack on the Compromise Bill, in a manner which caused universal merriment. Everybody longs in the meantime that Congress should come to a close, and that everybody may be able to set off, the one to his home, another to the seaside, every one to get away, away, away, away — from speeches and contention in the Capitol, and all the hot, high-pressure life of Washington ! The last great speech of this session is expected to-morrow. Monday, July 22nd. — Clay has made his great speech, and the question stands as it stood before, and the world goes on as it did before, but it is said that Congress will soon be at an end. Clay spoke from three to four hours, but his speech, which was in fact a summing up of the whole state and development of the question during the session, as well as a statement of Clay's own part in the affair, did not seem to make any great impression upon the Senate. A sentimental address to the Members of Congress, bidding them to reflect upon what they, on their return home, should have to tell their wives and children about the position of their country, did not succeed at all, and called forth laughter, so likewise his warning to them to put aside all little-mindedness, all selfish impulses, &c., and for the sake of the welfare of the whole land to vote for the Compromise Bill ; and this last deserved to fail, inas- much as it represented that all opposition to the bill was alone the effect of base motives, which is not the case. I cannot, nevertheless, but admire the athletic soul of this man, and his power as a speaker. After having spoken for more than three hours with fervour and power, sometimes with emotion, disentangUng clearly and logically the progress and state of this con- tested question, which had occupied Congress for seven months, he stood vigorous still, and ready for a little HOMES OF THE NEW •WORLD.' 103 fencing matcli, altliough with very keen weapons — ^those of sarcasm and joke^with Senator Hale, of New Hamp- shire, who, as usual, set the whole house in a roar of laughter. Clay showed himself, however, a master in this aft of fencing as well as Hale, but somewhat more bitter. Some of his attacks were go vehemently applauded from the galleries, that the Vice-President, after repeated reminders of sUence, angrily said that he should be obliged to clear the galleries if the audience would not attend to his words. Clay will now leave Washington. The rejection of his Compromise question will cost him dearly. Opposition against him and his bUl is strong at this moment ; and he stands with his bill just as obstinately against opposition. I set off in the morning with Miss Dix to Baltimore, where I remain a couple of days on my way to Philadelphia. I leave Washington ; and this phasis of the life of the New World wUl close itself for ever to me. What have I seen ? Anything nobler, anything more beautiful than ia the national assemblies of the Old World ? No ! Have I seen anything new ? No ! Not at least among the gentleman senators. The new has our Lord given in the world which he created, and upon the new soil of which contests arise, and in the prospects which are opened by the questions between Freedom and Slavery, into regions and amid scenes hitherto unknown, and which are, even now, frequently but indistinctly seen through mists. That which is refreshing and new is ia the various characters of the States represented, especially in those of the vast and half-unknown landof the West, over whose wildernesses and paradises many different races of mankind wander, seeking for or establishing homes; in the prospects unfolded by the immense Texas, out of which five States might now be formed, where Eio Grande and Eio Colorado, and innumerable rivers flow through fertile prairies ; by New Mexico, with its stony deserts, " el Slano Estuccado," 104 HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. where water is not to be found for twenty, thirty or forty miles, but in whose " Valle de los Angelos," the heat of the tropics ripens tropical fruits; finally, by California, with its gold-bearing rivers, its Eocky Moun- tains full of gold, its many extraordinary natural produc- tions, its Sierra Nevada with eternal snows, its great Salt-Lake, on the borders of which the Latter-day Saints, the Mormons, have established themselves in an extensive vaUey, the fertility of which, and the dehcious climate of which, are said to rival those of Caucasus and Peru — and where equally, within these regions, exist aU the natural requisites for the development of a perfected humanity. California, the greatest of all the States of the New World, a new world yet to be discovered, fuU of beautiful sights and pictures of horror ; where the people from the East and the West pour in, seeking for the -Gold of Ophir ! California, which for its eastern boundary has the wild steppe-land of Nebraska, the hunting-ground of the wUd Indian tribes, and on the other side the Pacific Ocean — that great Pacific Ocean, whose waves are said to strike with such regular pulsation against the shore, and with such mighty power, that its thundering sound is heard to a great distance, and the air and the leaves of the trees tremble far inland. Behold, — all this and still more such — as the prospects opened by Panama and the regions of Central America, where the people of the United States are now digging canals and laying down railroads to unite the oceans, — all this is a new and invigorating spectacle, and it is presented in the Congress of the United States. In the discussions, on the contrary, I see nothing new. I see in them the same bitterness and injustice between political parties as in the kingdoms of Europe ; the same distrust of each other's honesty of purpose; the same passions, great arid small ; and in debate the same deter- mination to carry their point, to have their rights, cost what it will ; the same misunderstanding and personahty, HOMES OF THE NEW ■WOULD. lOS the same continual deviation from the thing itself to the person ; the same irritability and impatience about the beloved I, which cause incessant provocations, outbreaks of temper, explanations and fresh explanations, and an infinite number of little quarrels in the infinitely prolonged progress of the great quarrel ; and which make the great men, the representatives of great States, frequently like childishly brawling children. And if it happen in addition, that the State's representative is very touchy on the sub» ject of the honour of his State, and is ready to boil up on the slightest allusion which seems to touch its credit, and especially as the States are not just now on the best terms with each other, it will easily be seen that occasion of quarrel will exist in double measure. So much for the dark side of the Assembly. But neither is there light wanted on the other side, and it is I believe, equally strong with that which the old world can show. There is no lack of great-minded protests against darkness and selfishness ; no lack either of greats minded appeals to the highest objects of the Union, or to the highest weal of humanity. The eagle sits upon the rock of the sea, and lifts his pinions, glancing now and then towards the sun, but he has not yet taken his flight towards it. Henry Clay resembles this eagle. Daniel Webster is the eagle which wheels round in the clouds, resting upon his pinions, but flying merely in circles around an imaginary sun — the Constitution. Neither of them possess that greatness which I admire in the greatest statesman of the Old World — Moses. The greatest statesman of the New world has not yet come. But what might not this representation be if it answered its condition and its purpose; if the representative of each individual State, permeated by the peculiar indivi- duality of his State, its natural scenery and popular life, and by the bond of its connexion with the highest object of the Union, stood forth to speak thus for it in the 106 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. Congress ! Of a truth then would the Congress of thei United States become a magnificent drama, a spectacle worthy of Gods and men ! July 25th. — A cordial good-morning to you, my sweet Agatha, from a wonderfully lovely country-seat, with a view commanding the outlet of the river Patapscos into Chesapeak Bay near Baltimore. I am here with Miss Dix, a guest at General S.'s, on my way to Phila' delphia. My host is a lively, cordial, clever, loqua- cious officer, whose wife is a beautiful quiet woman, the happy mother of ten young children ; they are evidently a happy married pair, with a good and happy home. I feel such immediately on entering the house. Having taken the kindest leave of my hearty, good and kind entertainers at "Washington, and of my beloved Quakeress friend, I set off with Miss Dix, and an agree- able friend of the Downings, Mr. William E. : but it was a difficult and fatiguing day's journey, in the great heat and from many delays, in consequence of the road being broken up by the floods. I was enabled, however, to see some beautiful views of the Susquehanna river. Late in the evening I sate in the most beautiful moon- light alone with Miss Dix, on the balcony of General S.'s Villa, looking out upon the gleaming river, the broad Chesapeak Bay, and listening to the story of her simple but extraordinary life's destiny. Among all the varying scenes of my life in this country, this was not one of the least interesting. I asked Miss Dix to tell me what it was which had directed her into the path which she now pursues, as the public protector and advocate of the unfortunate. I will tell you more of her narrative by word of mouth; now merely the words with which she replied to my question regarding the circumstances which had decided her career. " It was," said she, " no remarkable occurrence, nor change in my inner or outer life, it was merely an act HOMES' OF THE NEW •WORLD. 107 of simple obedience to the voice of God. I had returned from England, whither I went on account of my health, which had obliged me to give up the school which I had kept for several years, and I now lived in a boarding- house, without any determined occupation, employing myself in the study of various branches of natural history, to which I had always been attached, but yet some way depressed by the inactivity of my life. I longed for some nobler purpose for which to labour, something which would fill the vacuum which I felt in my soul. " One day when returning from church I saw two gentlemen talking together, and heard one of them say, ' I wish that somebody would see to the gaol, for the state of things there is dreadful!' In a moment it flashed upon me, ' there was a something for me to do ! ' And I did it. I found many unfortunate lunatics confined in the prison, together with criminals, and treated in the same manner, besides a deal of mismanagement, and many faults in the institution which I need not now mention. I wrote an account of this, and drew up a plan for its amendment, which I transmitted to the States' government. This drew attention to the subject, and a measure was passed by Government for the improvement of the prison, and the erection of an asylum for the reception of lunatics, where they could receive such attention as they required. That was the beginning. Thus I saw the path marked out for me and it, and that which I have done in it have, as it were, been done of themselves." Washington lay behind me, with its political quarrels, its bitter strife of State against State, man with man, its intricate relationships and unsatisfactory prospects, its excited, chaotic state. And here was a small human life, which by an act of simple obedience, had gone forth from its privacy, from its darkness, extending itself into a great active principle, fraught with blessing for neglected beings throughout every State of the Union, like that little 108 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD, river before us, which, supplied by unseen springs, had poured forth itself into that glorious creek, and in that united itself with the world's ocean ! The contrast was striking ; the resemblance between that human life, and the scene before me was striking also ; and the peace and beauty of the night, and that pure moonlight, were like the blessing of Heaven upon them both. Miss Dix has during her twelve years' labour, as the good angel of the prisoner and the lunatic, travelled through most of the States of the Union ; — has forced her way into regions and places which had hitherto been hidden from a gleam of light, and has conveyed the message of light and hope to those who sate in darkness ; she has, through her excellent memorials to the States' Govern- ments, and her influence with private individuals, been the means of the erection of thirteen hospitals for the insane, and of an improved mode of treatment for these unfortunates, as well as of prisoners generally, particularly in the prisons of the Southern States. She is one of the most beautiful proofs of that which a woman, without any other aid than her own free-will and character, without any other power than that of her purpose, and its uprightness, and her ability to bring these forward, can effect in society. I admire her — admire in particular her courage and her perseverance. In other respects we hardly sympa- thise ; but I love the place she occupies in humanity — love her figure sitting in the recess of the window in the Capitol, where amid the fiery feuds, she silently spins her web for the asylums of the unfortunate, a quiet centre for the threads of Christian love, which she draws across and across the ceaseless contests, undisturbed by them, — a divine spinner is she for the house of God. Should I not kiss her hand ? I did ; and do it again in spirit, with thanks for that which she is, and that which she does. I will tell you when we meet some extraordioary HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 109 anecdotes, which she related to me from her life — so rich in adventure ; they are of the most romantic kind in the history of real life, I shall now tell you a little about Baltimore. Baltimore is the capital of the State of Maryland. Maryland is the earliest residence of Catholicism in the United States, Lord Calvert Baltimore, who went over from the Pro- testant to the Catholic faith, and who resigned his post in the English Government in consequence, was the founder of the colony in Maryland, which was intended, in the first place, to afford an asylum for persecuted and suffering Catholics ; and not alone for them, but for people of every sect, who merely acknowledged themselves as Christians^ — and there are mentioned as among the earliest planters here, also Swedes and Finns. The noble and large-minded Lord Baltimore wished to erect the Catholic Church on the soil of the New World upon a broader basis than it occupied in the Old World. The city of Baltimore became the seat of the arch' bishop, and the Convent of the Visitation was established there, as the mother institution of any of a similar kind which might extend themselves on the soil of the New World. Maryland had tobacco-plantations and slaves, and lived, it is said, in a patriarchal manner. It lives yet by tobacco and slaves ; — less patriarchally, however, as various transactions and narratives from the chronicles of the Slave- State prove; and Baltimore is still the home of Catholicism, the seat of the Catholic Archbishop, and the Convent of the order of the Visitation. Some of Lord Baltimore's liberal spirit seems also to continue here. I visited the Convent during my ■ stay in Wash- ington, and Uked very much what I saw, in particular the appearance and manners of the Abbess, and the young Sisters. They take the vows for their whole life, but have laid aside much of the old Catholic ceremonial, and have no peculiar habit. They principally occupy themselves in 110 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. education, as well as in the guardianship of poor orphans. Many of the best Protestant families in the United States send their children hither to be educated, because they are better instructed, and at a less expense than in most other educational institutions. Catholicism iu the United States seems to have left behind it all that which made it feared and hated on the other side of the ocean, and to have taken with it merely that which was best ; and here it is justly commended for its zeal in good works. The Catholic congregations here are also distinguished by their excellent institutions for children, and for the sick. That great boarding-school for young girls is the principal source of revenue for the Convent. The pubhc exami- nation there will shortly take place. I heard also, in a large concert-hall, some of the young girls play both on the harp and the piano, besides singing in chorus, which they did very well, and with fine effect. I have visited both the prison and the lunatic asylum of Baltimore, but found nothing greatly to admire. Maryland is a small state, and a Slave-State. Baltimore is a large city, but is less beautiful, and has fewer trees and gardens than most of the American cities which I have hitherto seen. Baltimore is renowned for its cheerful society and beautiful women ; " The Belle of Baltimore " is a gay negro song, wliich is sung both by the blacks and the whites, both servants and masters. But that which makes Baltimore remarkable^ to my feelings, is something quite different. It is the story of a scene in a public-house, and about a little girl. WUl you hear the former for the sake of the latter ? You must, for they cannot be separated. A few years ago, there lived in Baltimore a family of the name of Hawkins. They had been in better circum- stances, but were reduced through the drunkenness of the father. There was a public -house in one of the lanes in Baltimore, where every day five or six drunken HOMES OP THB NEW WOKLD. Ill companions used to assemble to guzzle all day long. Hawkins was one of this set ; and although he cursed it, and cursed himself for his weakness in going there, yet it clung to him like a curse, and every day he went there, and only came thence when he was no longer able to stand; and late in the evening, or in the night, stag- gered home, often falling on the steps, where he must have remained lying and have perished of cold and wretchedness had it not been for his daughter, little Hannah. She sate up till she heard him coming home, and then went out to meet him and helped him up the steps ; and when he fell down and she was not able to raise him, she carried down pillows and a bed-cover and made him a bed where he lay, doing all in her power to make him comfortable, and then lay down beside him. The wife, who in her despair had grown weary of striving with him., endeavoured by her own labour to maintain herself and the other younger children. Little Hannah, however, only ten years old, did not grow weary, but stm watched over her father and devoted to him her childish affection. When he in the morning awoke out of his drunkenness, he used immediately to send the little girl out to get him some brandy, and she did as she was bid when her prayers could not prevail with him to abstain. She succeeded only in awakening in him a yet stronger sense of his misery and the need there was for biTTi to forget it. He cursed himself for being so unworthy a father to such a child, and he compelled the child to give him the drink which would drown his misery. And when he by means of the fresh, fiery Hquor, was revived and invigorated so that he could stand and walk, he again went to the ale-house. Such was his life for a long time ; a lengthened chain of misery and self-accusation, interrupted merely by fresh debauch. The family had sunk iato the depth of poverty, and each succeeding day only added to their 112 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. distress. One morning, when Hawkins, ill both in body and mind, after the carouse of the foregoing day, awoke in Iiis bed, he desired Hannah, as usual, to go out and get him some brandy. But the girl would not go. She besought him earnestly ; " Dear father," she said, " not to-day — not to-day, dear father ! " and she wept bitterly, The father in extreme anger bade her leave the room. He got up, and with staggering steps crawled down to the usual place. Here, in the meantime, an extraordinary scene had occurred, one which is difficult to explaia excepting by a mysterious and higher interTention. The drunken companions were already there with their filled glasses in their hands, when one of them said, " It is very foolish of us though, to sit here and ruin ourselves merely for the good of ! " meaning the master of the public-house. The others agreed. Some one of them said, " Suppose that from this day forth we were not to drink another drop ! " One word led to another. The men hastily made an agreement and drew up a paper, in which they bound themselves, by oath, to a total abstinence from aU intoxi- cating liquors. When Hawkins therefore entered the public-house, he was met by his companions with the temperance pledge in their hands, and by the cry from aU, " Sign it ! sign it ! " Astonished, overpowered, almost beside himself, he added his name to that of the others. Without having asked for a drop of brandy he now hastened home, as if from a new sort of carouse. He found his wife and Ms daughter together. He threw himself upon a chair, and could only ejaculate, " It is done ! " His paleness and his bewildered aspect terrified them ; they asked him what he had done. " I have signed the pledge ! " exclaimed he at length. HOMES OP THE NEW 'WORLD. 113 Hannah and his wife threw themselves upon his neck. They all wept — ^tears of a new delight. It was from this point, from tliis scene in the public- house that the movement commenced which has since spread itself with lightning speed through the United States, carrying hundreds of thousands of human beings along with it, until it has grown into a mighty wall, a bulwark against drunkenness, which had for some years begun to spread itself over the land like a swelling tide, bearing along with it to destruction persons of all classes. These formerly drunken companions of the public- house in Baltimore became Temperance lecturers, and, under the name of " the Washingtonians," went forth, many with them, to hold meetings in cities and in the country in which they addressed large multitudes, , their own life's experience giving colour and vitality to their pictures of the curse of drunkenness and the bliss of an amended and pure life. They came to Boston, and Hawkins with them. People wished him to speak, but Nature had not formed him for an orator, and he was scarcely able to stand up before an assembly. He did it, however, at the request of many persons. Marcus Spring was present on this occasion, and he gave me the account. Hawkins, when he stood up, began with these words, " I have been a drunkard ! " and then stopped short, as if overcome by the memory of that time and the solemnity of the present moment. The numerous assembly clapped and encouraged him, and inspired him with new courage. He began again, but merely to relate the history of his former misery, and of little Hannah's conduct towards him. The simplicity of the narrative, its intrinsic beauty, the sincere emotion of the man as he related it, made a deep impression. After this, one and another rose, and spoke the inner- voii, n. I 114 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. most truth out of their heart's or their life's experience. One voice out of many exclaimed, " Is there then hope even for me ? " " Yes ! yes ! " cried another ; " come, brother, come and sign ! "We wiU stand by you ! " Thousands of people this evening signed the pledge. The good M. said that he himself became so excited and was so affected by the scene, that he too rose up to express to the meeting the pleasure which it had afforded him ; but scarcely had he said two words when he lost himself, forgot what he meant to say, and sat down again with the firm resolve never again to stand up as an orator. The history of this conversion is in reality very extraordinary, because the operating cause proceeded not from that little heroine alone. I beheve she stood in secret relationship with a good angel, and that it had found its way to the public-house that very morning, and whispered in the men's ears that they should outwit the landlord. A cunning little female-angel it was, I am pretty certain ! Hawkins still continues to travel about the country as a Temperance lecturer. He has, as such, accumulated a little property, and acquired a position ; and little Hannah is at the present time with him in the West, no longer little Hannah, but a nice young girl of sixteen. The history of Hannah Hawkins is my " Belle of Baltimore." Among other guests last evening at General Stuart's was a Miss , I have forgotten her name — an elderly and very agreeable lady she was, and a splendid human being, with a warm heart and a fresh spirit. She was the daughter of a wealthy slave-holding family, and on coming of age emancipated her slaves; and, as she was rich, gave to every one of them — somewhat above twenty in number— a small gratuity wherewith to begin an independent career. She told me that one of these slaves, a negro who had always distinguished himself by his good conduct, had as a free man acquired considerable property by trade, so HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 115 that he was able to live in comfort and independence. But his son, who was a spendthrift, so much reduced his father that, in his old age, he was obliged to maintain himself by hard labour — I believe as a " cart-driver " — that is, one who carries materials to the roads and for building. At length the old man fell sick, and knew that his end was near. He sent, therefore, a message to his former owner. Miss , begging that she would come to him, otherwise he could not die in peace. She went to his house, and found the old man in a mean room, lying in bed, and very weak. " Missis ! " said he, " you have always been good to me, and I have thought I must tell you that which lies on my roind, and beg you to help me, iFyou can ! " Miss — : — told the old man to speak freely. He continued. " You know, missis, how I lost my property. I have now for several years maintaiaed myself by my labour, always paying my way. Latterly, however, I have not been able to avoid getting into debt, and I shall not die easy if I do not know certainly that these debts will be paid. Missis ! I beg of you to pay my debts ! " " And how large are your debts ? " asked Miss " Fifteen dollars ! " " Make your mind easy, dear Jacob," said Miss ; " I can and I will pay them." " God bless you for it, missis ! " "Now, answer me, Jacob," said she, "one question which I will put to you, and tell me, on your conscience, have you, as a free man, felt yourself happier than when you were a slave in my father's house ? " "Missis," said the old man, solemnly, raising himself up in his bed, "your parents, my master and. missis, were always good to me, and in their house I never knew what want was. As a free man, and especially in my latter years, I have suffered very much ; I have suffered I 2 :i6 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. hunger and cold ; I have had to work in rain, and snow, and storm ; but yet, missis, I have borne that suffering unrepiningly, because I was free, and would willingly suffer it again, merely to have my freedom and the right to control my own actions, for that has been my greatest treasure." In the combat of freedom against slavery this testimony is of no small value. Nevertheless, it would not be difficult to produce testimony on the opposite side, of fugitive slaves who, in the Northern States, have been asked by old friends from the South what they thought aboijt freedom, and they have answered, that they " were sick of it ; that they wished massa would take them back again ! " So I have been told, and I feel certain of the truth of it. That dispositions naturally lazy, and not accustomed to independence, should prefer " the fleshpots of Egypt " and the bondage of Egypt to freedom, with hard labour and scanty food, is quite intelligible; and that the servants of good masters in the South should, when they find themselves free among people who care nothing about them, or are not kindly disposed, and that in a severe climate, far from their former warm homes, warm hearts, and warm parlours, is very natural also. For my part, it only seems extraordinary that so few instances occur of fugitive slaves returning to their former connexions, and begging "massa" and "missis" to take them back again. But by no means is it allowable to judge on either side of this question between freedom and slavery by isolated facts and anecdotes; judgment must be based upon principle, must be based upon that truth which is immutable and of universal application. When Bernsdorf, the great statesman of Denmark, emancipated the peasant serfs on his estate, these assembled to a man and besought of him, with tears, that HOMES OP THE NEW ■WORLD. 117 he would not give them up, but still continue to be their paternal lord and master ; that he would annul the decla- ration which made them free. " You do not understaod what I have done for you," replied Bernsdorf; "but you will understand it at some future time, and your children will understand it and thank me." And he maintained that which he had done. And he did more, inasmuch as he established schools and other institutions for the improvement of his dependents, and prepared them, by these means, properly to avail them- selves of their freedom. Philadelphia, Satwrday Morning. Once more, my little Agatha, am \ in the " Friends ," city, after a beautiful day's sail on Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware, disturbed only by strange ladies who asked and asked again the usual senseless questions. Ah, if they only knew how they tormented me, how much I required silence and rest, they would leave me at peace. I am so worn out by the life of excitement, and by the heat in Washington. I must endeavour to regain my strength by the sea. The gentlemen were much better ; I met with some sensible kind people amongst thenj. Professor Hart came on board to meet me at Phila- delphia, and took me to his house, where I now am, as a member of the family. In compaijiy with Lucretia Mott I visited several families of free negroes in this city, among the rest the negro minister of an Episcopal Church here ; he was a tall, good-tempered, and most respectable man, a daguerreotypist, and spoke Frepch and some other lan- guages very well. These free negroes strike me in the same way as the slaves ; they are gppd-natured and full of feeling, with a deal of imitative power and grea,t originality, but their excellent qualities are of quite a 118 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. different kind to those of the whites, and no schools or institutions of learning will ever bring them to the same point; nor do I know why they should be so brought. The merits of the whites are accompanied by the faults of the whites. Among the few coloured people, as they like to be called, whom I saw here, I was most interested by a young mulatto woman, Sarah Douglas, a charming girl, with a remarkably intelUgent countenance. She was the teacher in a school of about sixty children, negroes and mulattoes, and she praised them for their facility in learning, but said that they forgot equally fast, and that it was dif&cult to bring them beyond a certain point. She herself was one of the most beautiful examples of true cultivation among the coloured people. I have also again paid a visit to dear Mary Townsend, that beautiful child of the Inner Light, with those supernaturally beaming eyes. I now knew for the first time that these beaming eyes could scarcely bear the light of day, that she was not able to read nor to write a page without extreme suffering, and that her work on " Insect Life" was dictated with bandaged eyes. Thus lay she immovable and blind, as she prepared the winged life of the children of nature, " thankful," writes she in her preface, "if my little book may be a means of preventing the cruelty to insects which children are so prone to." " It has enabled me at times to forget," says she further, " that I was confined within the four walls of my chamber. It has taken me out into the fields and into the roads, and renewed my admiration of the wonderful works of the Creator." Thus lies she, as it were, fettered and blind till the day when the deliverer Death shall release the angel's wings. Fettered and blind, and yet nevertheless how keen eyed and winged in comparison with many ! The effect of that inner light ! She is called in the family HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 119 "the Innermost!" and I will convey her image across the sea to my " Innermost." That inner light ! That life of the inner light ! I thank the city of the Friends for a new revelation of this. The next time I write to you will be from the sea-side in New Jersey. On Thursday we go to Cape May. But before that I shall make an excursion iato the country, to the house of a lady, a friend of Mr. Downing, an American Madame de Sevigne. LETTEE XX. Cape Mat, New Jekset, Aug. 2. I SPENT last Saturday and Sunday at a beautiful coimtry- seat near Philadelphia, among beautiful, rare flowers, principally Mexican, with their splendid fiery colouring, and flocks of humming-birds, which fluttered amongst them, dipping their delicate, long bills into the flower-cups. A real feast it was, of lovely natural objects out of doors ; and within doors, everythiag ornamented, rich, beautiful, aristocratic, but too exclusive, at least for my taste, and with too little in it of really " high life." I write to you to-day from the sea-side, with the great free ocean heaving up towards the sands opposite my window, and just before me, in the midst of the waves, a scene of the most democratic-republican character. But I must, however, tell you something about my visit to the beautiful vUla, because I was there present at the marriage-feast of the maize, and saw the wedding- dress, and I must tell you something about it. The maize is of the class dioecia. The male flower developes itself in a spiked head which is placed aloft on the top of the strong green plant, somewhat like the sea- reed with us, only much thicker in stem and in leaf, This 120 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. head of male-flowers waves merrily in the wind, quite like a bon vivant, and scatters abroad his pollen like a cloud. Lower down, and enclosed in the stem, is placed the ear of maize-corn, enveloped ia pale-green sheaths, which at the season of the blossoming open themselves a little at the top, ia order to give room for a tuft of briUiant silky thread, varying in all the colours of the rainbow, but principally of violet and gold. It does not come very far out, and withdraws itself again after the ear, by means of it, has saluted the air and the light, like some of those small white plumes upon the pistils of the rye and wheat with us. These grand silky tufts were just now out, and I broke off one of these heads, and care- fully unwrapped the one green garment after another. Seven green coverings did I thus remove, each inner one becoming of a stUl softer tint and still finer texture than the preceding, the nearer they approached the ear. Most cautiously did I remove the last pale green covering, and a spirally enwrapped veil of brilliant, white, silky thread streamed softly down from the rich, pearly ear; most lovely, most iaexpressibly rich and pure ! Each corn-pearl had its sUken-thread, all were turned to one side, and wound round the ear, and united themselves at the top, where they pressed towards the light, and received colouring from its rays. A spirit of worship arose in my soul at the sight of that hidden but now revealed glory, and I could not but recall the words of the Saviour ; " Solomon in aU Ms glory was not arrayed as one of these ! " It was infinitely beautiful, and I wished that you could have seen it with me. I must mention among the flowers the tiger-lily, on account of its unusual splendour. In the evening I saw a moth fluttering over the flowers, which was so like a humming-bird in its manner of flying and sipping from the flowers, with a short beak-like proboscis, as it fluttered HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 121 on the wing, that I was for a moment uncertain whether it belonged to the class of birds or of butterflies till I came near, and saw the four legs. I cannot learn its name. Some maintain that it is called " Lady's-bird." In a general way, gentlemen and ladies in this country know but very little about natural objects, except simply as regards use and pleasure. This ignorance, especially in the South, and in the midst of this affluent animal and vegetable world, seems to me really lamentable. Human beings ought, indeed, to enjoy Nature in another way than oxen and butterflies ; they should, as the lords of creation, reverence themselves and their Creator, by contemplating His works with intelligent minds, learning their meaning, and, as priests and priestesses of Nature, explainiag her \risdom and interpreting her song of praise. It would be a worthy occupation for people of " high life ; " and " high life " in the New World becomes an empty idea, if it does not teach itself to sing a new " high song," higher than Solomon's, higher than Odin's and Wala's, but in the same spirit. I went from Philadelphia with Professor Hart and his wife, on a beautiful July day, to Cape May ; and beautiful was our journey upon the mirror-like Delaware, with its green, idyllian, beautiful shores. During the day I read Mr. Clay's " Annals" of the Swedish Colony upon these shores, and experienced heartfelt delight in glancing from the historical idyU to those scenes, where it had existed in peace and in piety. The temerity and the war- like dispositions of two of the leaders, Printz and Rising, were the cause of disturbances which ultimately led to the overthrow of the colony ; but the people themselves were peaceful and contented. The names which they gave to different places. New Gotheborg, Elfsborg, &c., prove the affection which they bore to the mother country. And how enchanted they were with the New World, is shown by the name of Paradise Point, which they bestowed upon a 122 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. point where they landed on the shore of the Delaware ; and by many anecdotes preserved by their Swedish annalist, Campanius. Here in the Vineland of the old Sagas did the Swedes find again the wild vine, and many glorious fruits which they mention. Here, amid these beautiful, sunbright hills and fields, they lived happily, even though under a foreign sway ; " for," says the chronicle, " the new government was mild and just towards them ; but it caused them to forget their mother country." The memory of that first colony upon these shores is, however, like the fresh verdure which covers them. I contemplated them with affection. Peace and freedom had been planted here by the people of Sweden. In the evening we reached Cape May and the sea. And now for the republic among the billows ; not at all " high life," excepting as regards certain feelings. It is now about ten o'clock in the morning; a very parti- coloured scene presents itself on the shore at an early hour; many hundreds, in fact more than a thousand people, men, women, and children, in red, blue, and yeUow dresses ; dresses of all colours and shapes — but the blouse-shape being the basis of every costume, however varied, — pantaloons and yellow straw hats with broad brims and adorned with bright red ribbon, go out into the sea in crowds, and leap up and down in the heaving waves, or let them dash over their heads, amid great laughter and merriment. Carriages and horses drive out into the waves, gentlemen ride into them, dogs swim about ; white and black people, horses and carriages, and dogs — all are there, one Amongst another, and just before them great fishes, porpoises lift up their heads, and sometimes take a huge leap, very likely because they are so amused at seeing human beings leaping about in their own element. It is, as I have said, a republic among the billows, more equal and more fraternised than any upon dry land; because the sea, the great, mighty sea, treats all alike, HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 123 roars around all and over all with such a superiority of power, that it is not worth any one's while to set them- selves up in opposition to it, or to be as anything beside it ; the sea dashes over them all, dashes them all about, enlivens them aU, caresses them all, purifies them all, unites them all. Among the citizens in the bUlows you must particularly notice one couple, a citizen in grand flame-coloured attire, and a citizeness in a brown, cabbage-butterfly-striped wooUen gown. The citizeness distinguishes herself by her propensity to withdraw from the crowd to some soKtary place, by her wish to be independent, and her inability to keep her footing against the waves ; and these waves hurl her pitilessly enough upon a sandbank, where she is left alone to her own powers and a trident (a three-grained fork), with which shfe endeavours to keep herself firm on the ground, but in vain ; while the citizen goes back to take out his wife. This couple are Professor Hart and the undersigned. Presently you might see me rise up out of the water, tired of struggling with the waves and being dashed on the bank — ^now sitting upon it like a sea-mew, surrounded by white-crested, tumultuous billows — ^now contemplating the ocean and infinite space, and now that parti-coloured company among the waves by the shore, — very unlike that in the Capitol of Washington ! Here human beings do not appear great, nor remarkable in any way, and more like ungraceful, clumsy beasts than the lords and ladies of creation, because the garments in which they are attired are not designed to set off beauty. I was at first almost frightened at the undertaking and the company, and at the unlovely, apparent rudeness of this kind of republic ; but I longed for the strength of the sea, and thought, " We are all as nothing before our Lord, all of us sinners, poor wretches all of us ! " And I went out among the rest. And though I am not yet as much at home among the waves as 1 see many others are, yet I 124 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. am already enchanted with this wild hath, and hope to derive much good from it. It gives me a peculiar im- pression of a something at once grand and delightful ; the waves come on like a giant, strong, but at the same time kind, gentle and mighty, almost like a god, at least, like the power of a god, full of health-giving hfe, so that when I feel them sweeping over me, I involuntarily seem to think that it would not be hard to die amid them. But be not afraid, my child ; you may depend upon it that I wiU. take care of myself ; and here there are others who would also take care of me, for even here I have kind friends, although, in order to be at peace, I do not by any means court their civilities, but keep at a distance from them. This is not quite in accordance with my disposition, and it really is painful to me to turn this unfriendly side to those who make advances towards me in kindness, but I must endeavour to gain a little strength for the coming campaign, — I must have silence and repose, — I must rest a little. With Professor Hart and his wife I get on excellently,; they are quiet, kind, earnest people ; they let me do as I like. I have a nice little room near theirs, with a fine view over the ocean, which here, without islands or rocks, rolls up unimpeded upon the low sandy shore ; I hear its roar day and night from my open window, for I have, for several months, slept with my window open and the Venetian shutters closed, as people do here generally. I rest and enjoy myself, as I have not hitherto done in this country. The restless mind however labom'S stiU, writes romances and dramas, the scenes of which are all laid in Sweden, although the scenes here have given life to them ; but I live for Sweden in all that I do and all that I imagine. Now are you also, my Agatha, by the sea, and bathing in the salt waves. Oh ! may the quiet bathing at Marstrand revive and invigorate you as much as I feel HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. l25 these wild ocean-bathings invigorate me ! These would not however suit you ; they are too powerful. August 10th. — How beautiful it is to be here; how pleasant to pause from going out to see things, from the excitement of hearing, and learning, and from social life and conversation ! How good it is to bfe alone, to be silent and quiet ! And the sea ! the sea ! that grand, glorious sea, how Soothing and refreshing it is to con- template it, to listen to it, to bathe in it ! I sit every inorning, after my breakfast of coffee, Carolina rice, and an egg, by the sea-side, under a leafy alcove, with a book in my hand, and gaze out over the sea, and into the vast expanse of sky ; see the porpoises in flocks following the line of the coast, and hear the great waves breaking and roaring at my feet. The porpoises amuse me par- ticularly ; they go for the most part in couples, and pop their heads up out of the sea as if to say " good morniag," making a curve of their bodies, so that the upper part is visible above the surface of the water ; after this curved movement, made slowly and with a Certain method in it, they plunge their heads down again and vanish in the waves, but are soon seen up again doing the same as before. They are large fishes, I should imagine about two ells long, and seem in form not to be unlike our largest salmon, and they have a something very grave in their movements, as they thus . offer us their salutations from the deep ; sometimes however they give great leaps. Do you know why I sit with a book in my hand while I am looking out on all this ? It is that people may think I am reading, and thus be prevented from inter- rupting me; exceptiug for this, I should have no peace. And I am become nervous to that degree by the incessant talk of strangers, and the repetition of ever-recurring questions, that my heart begins to beat if any one only sits down on the same bench with me, lest they should begin to talk tO' me; therefore, whenever this occurs 126 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. I fix my eyes immediately on my book. In the morning^ however my leafy drawing-room is tolerably free from people, and interesting porpoises are sometimes the only li-ving creatures that I see. I have had some rich hours here nevertheless, by the actual reading of a book lately published, the fourth part of Orsted's " Aanden i Naturen," in which he stUl further develops, as I besought of him to do in Copenhagen, those germs of thought which lie hidden in his glorious little work, " Ofver fornuftlagarnas enhet uti hela universuvi." Never shall I forget the delight which thrilled through me the morning on which I first read this little work, which Orsted had given to me, and when the consciousness that it was equally applicable to the whole higher human intelligence, flashed through my soul like lightning ! It was early in the morning, but I could not resist going to Orsted and telling him my dehght and my presage. That morning, and the conver- sations which thence ensued between the amiable old man and myself during the winter which I spent in Copenhagen, and the rich hours which they afforded me, I lived over again here whilst I have been reading this new work of Orsted's, and during the glorious prospects which have opened to me even beyond the horizon, which has been indicated by this noble, scientific man. But Orsted has done his work in a large manner ; and whilst he has determined that which is known certainly, and that which, in all probability, may be taken for granted, he has left the field open for still further research and deduction, by the guidance of those laws and analogies which he has pointed out. How I rejoice in the thoughts of being able, on my return to Denmark, to see again this estimable old, but youthful-minded, man. But I must now tell you about my life at Cape May. I pass my mornings in company with the sea and the porpoises. When the tide comes in — as for instance this HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 127 Baornmg at half-past ten — and tlie waves advance farther and farther on the sands, I attire myself in bathing costume, and thus go out into the sea, but before the great crowd assembles there, and let myself be washed over by the waves, most frequently having hold of Professor Hart's hand, sometimes in company with a lively Quaker lady, a niece of Lucretia Mott ; some- times also alone, for I have now become quite expert in wrestling with the waves, and in keeping my balance in them. One remains in the water about a quarter of an hour, and it feels so pleasant that one is quite sorry to come out. After this bathing, I go to my chamber, write a little whilst my hair dries, drink a glass of good ice-cold milk, with a piece of excellent wheaten bread, and then lie down on my bed for an hour, where, hushed by the great cradle-song of the sea, I fall asleep directly as lightly and pleasantly as, I imagine, little children slumber to their mother's lullaby. When I wake, I dress myself quickly for dinner. The dinner hour is two, and a noisy scene it is ! There sit, in a large light hall, at two tables, about three hundred persons, whilst a thundering band is playing, waited upon by a regiment of somewhat above forty negroes, who march in and manoeuvre to the sound of a bell, and make as much noise as they possibly can make with dishes and plates and such-Kke things, and that is not a little. They come marching in two and two, each one carrying a dish or bowl in his hands. Ring ! says a little bell held aloft by the steward, and the dish-bearers halt. Ring ! says the little bell again, and they turn themselves to the table, each one standing immoveably in his place. Ring ! And they scrape their feet forward on the floor with a shrill sound, which would make me ready to jump up, if the whole of their serving were not a succession of scraping and shrill sounds and clamour, so that it would be im- possible to escape from their noisy sphere. The dinners 128 HOMES OF THE NEW 'WOKLD. are, for the most part, very good, and the dishes less highly seasoned than I have been accustomed to find them at American tables, and especially at the hotels. Although I here always find a deficiency of vegetables, yet I am fond of one wliich is called squash, and which is the flesh of a species of very common gourd here, boiled and served up much in the style of our cabbage, and which is eaten with meat. It is white, somewhat insipid, but soft and agreeable, rather like spinach ; it is here universally eaten; so also are tomatoes, a very savoury and delicately acid fruit, which is eaten as salad. Of the second course I dare not venture to eat anything but sago pudding or custard, a kind of egg-cream in cups, and am glad that tliese are always to be had here. One standing dish at American tables at this season is the so-called " sweet corn." It is the entire corn ear of a peculiar kind of maize, which ripens early. It is boiled in water and served whole ; it is eaten with butter, and tastes like French petit pais — they scrape off the grains with a knife, or cut them out from the stem. Some people take the whole stem and gnaw them out with their teeth : two gentlemen do so who sit opposite Professor Hart and myself at table, and whom we call " the sharks," because of their remarkable ability in gobbling up large and often double portions of everything which comes to table, and it really troubles me to see how their wide mouths, furnished with able teeth, ravenously grind up the beautiful white pearly maize ear«, which I saw so lately ia their wedding attire, and which are now massacred, and disappear down the ravenous throats of the sharks. When I see that, I am convinced that if eating is not a regularly consecrated act, and is it not so in the intention of the grace before meat ? — then it is a low and animal transaction, unworthy of man and unworthy of nature. After dinner I again sit with my book in my hand, and contemplate the sea, and enjoy the life-giving sea-breeze. HOMES OF THK NEW WORLD. 129 Some bathing again takes place towards talf-past five, when the tide again rises, and occasionally I also take a second bath, but in a general way I find that once a day is sufficient, because the wrestling with the waves makes bathing fatiguing. I mostly about that time take a walk, and sometimes call on people who have visited me, either in this great hotel where we are, or in some of the small cottages scattered about. When it gets dark, and it gets dark early here, I walk backwards and forwards in the upper piazza, which runs round our hotel — the Columbia House — and contemplate the glorious spectacle produced by the lightning, and the unusual eruptions of light with which the heavens have favoured us every evening since I have been here, without thunder being audible. The one half of the vault of heaven during these wonderful lightning-exhibitions will be perfectly clear and starHght ; over the other half rests a dense cloud, and from its extremities, and from various parts of it, flash forth eruptions of light such as I never saw before ; fountains of fire seem to spring forth at various points, at others they flash and sparkle as from the burning of some highly inflammable substance ; gulfs open full of brilliant and coloured flames, which leap hither and thither ; and from the edges of the cloud where it appears thin and grey, spears and wedge-like flashes are sent forth inces- santly, while towards the horizon, where the cloud seems to melt into the sea, it is illumined by far-extended and mild gleams of lightning. In short it is an exhibition of celestial fire-works, which are always new, astonishing, and, to me, enchanting. We have had two magnificent thunder-storms, when the lightnings flashed and crossed each other over the ocean, so that it was a really grand spectacle. The weather just now is perfectly calm, and the days and nights are uninterruptedly delicious and beautiful. We have frequently music and earthly fire- works on the beach opposite our hotel, so that we do not 130 HOMES OF THE NEW 'WORLD. experience any want of cheerful amusement. To the same category belong the cavalcades of gentlemen and ladies on the beach, driving about in light, little carriages, the crowds of pedestrians wandering along the shore, seeking and finding Cape May diamonds, small, clear crystals, which, when cut, present a remarkably clear and beautiful water. Later in the evening, when the moon rises, Professor Hart and myself may often be seen among the pedestrians ; for I hke to hear him develope his thoughts on the subject of education ; I like to hear his method of awakening, and from year to year anew awakening and keeping ahve the attention of the boys, and calling forth their peculiar faculties into full self-consciousness and activity. His theory and his practice in this respect seem to me excellent ; and the progress of his school, and the ability and the cleverness of the boys in their various ways when they leave the school, testify to the correctness of the principle and the excellence of the method. The roar of the sea is generally lower in the evening than in the day, the slumbrous light of the moon seems to lull the restless billows, and their song is one of repose. Sometimes I go to a little distance inland, and listen to the whispering of the maize in the evening breeze — a quiet, soothing sound ! Thus approach night and sleep to the great cradle-song of the sea. Thus pass the days with little variation, and I only wish that I could prolong each twofold. It is said that the number of bathers here is from two to three thousand persons. " Miss , may I have the pleasure of taking a bath with you, or of bathing you ? " is an invitation which one often hears at this place from a gentleman to a lady, just as at a ball the invitation is to a quadrille or a waltz, and I have never heard the invitation refused, neither do I see anything particularly unbecoming in these bathing-dances, although they look neither beautiful nor charming, in particular that tour in the dance in which the gentleman HOMES OF THE NEW 'WORLD. 131 ■teaches the lady to float, which, howevet, is not a thing to be despised in case of shipwreck. Very various are the scenes which on all sides present themselves in the bathing-republic. Here a young, hand- some couple, in elegant bathing attire, go dancing out into the wild waves holding each other by the hand, and full of the joy and the courage of life, ready to meet anything, the great world's sea and all its billows ! There again is an elderly couple in grey garments holding each other steadily by the two hands, and popping up and down in the waves, just as people dip candles, with solemn aspects and merely observant to keep their footing, and doing all for the benefit of health. Here is a young, smiling mother, bearing before her her little, beautiful boy, a naked Cupid, not yet a year old, who laughs and claps his little hands for joy as the wild waves dash over him. Just by is a fat grandmother with a life-preserver round her body, and half sitting on the sands in evident fear of being drowned for all that, and when the waves come rolling onward catching hold of some of her leaping and laughing great children and grandchildren who dance around her. Here a graceful young girl who now, for the first time, bathes in the sea, flies before the waves into the arms of father or mother, in whose embrace it may dash over her ; there is a groupe of wild young women holding each other by the hand, dancing around and screaming aloud every time a wave dashes over their heads, and there in front of them is a yet wilder swarm of young men, who dive and plunge about like fishes, much to the amazement of the porpoises (as I presume) who, here and there, pop their huge heads out of the billows, but which again disappear as a coujjle of large dogs rush forward through the water towards them in the hope of a good prize. Sometimes when one expects a wave to come dashing over one, it brings with it a great force of ladies and gentlemen, whom it has borne along with it, and one has then to take care 132 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. of one's life. Three life-boats are continually rowing about outside this scene during the bathing season in order to be at hand in case of accident. Nevertheless, scarcely a year passes without some misfortune occurring during the bathing season, principally from the want of circumspection in the bathers themselves who venture out too far when they are not expert swimmers. The impulse of the waves in the ebb is stronger than in the flowing tide, and it literally sucks them out into the great deep ; and I cannot in such case but think upon the legend of our mythology, about " the false Ran " which hungers for human life, and drags his prey down into his bosom. There is no other danger on this coast ; porpoises are not dangerous, and of sharks there are none excepting at the dinner-table. A shipwreck has lately occurred not far from Cape May, which has crushed the hope of many a heart, and has made a deep impression upon thousands of minds ui the North-Eastern States. One stormy night during July, a brig was stranded upon a rock on the coast of New Jersey. This brig conveyed to her native land the Marchioness Ossoli (Margaret Fuller), the object of so much conversation and so much blame, of so much admiration, of so much attention in the New England States, and with her came her husband, the Marchese Ossoli, and their little boy. They all perished, after having seen death approach for four hours ; whilst the waves dashed to pieces the vessel which had borne them hither. As I recollect I mentioned to you Margaret Fuller's letter to the Spring's from Gibraltar, in which she spoke of her presentiment of evil, of the captain's death, &c. After the death of the captain, the first-mate took the command of the vessel. He seems to have been an expert seaman, and so certainly calculated on bringing his ship safe into port, that the evening before the disaster occurred HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 133 he assured the passengers that on the morrow they should be in New York. All, therefore, went to rest, and were woke in the early dawn by the vessel being aground. The helmsman had mistaken one beacon in these roads for another. They were not far from land, and the waves were running towards the land, so that several of the passengers had themselves lashed to planks, and thus came to shore although half dead. This mode of saving her life was offered to Margaret Fuller, but she refused it ; she would not be saved without her husband and her child. Before her embarkation from Italy, she wrote to one of her friends in America, " I have a presentiment that some great change in my fate is at hand. I feel the approach of a crisis. Ossoli was warned by a fortune-teller in his youth to beware of the sea, and this is his first great voyage ; but if a misfortune should happen, I shall perish with my husband and my child." And now the moment which had been foreshadowed to her was come, and she would perish with her beloved ones ! A sailor took the little boy, and bound him to a plank together with a little Italian girl, and threw himself into the sea with them, in the hope of saving them. They told Margaret Fuller that they had safely neared the shore. They told her that Ossoli also was saved. And then it was that she consented also to be lashed to a plank. She never reached the shore. A wave had washed Ossoli from the deck into the deep ; the corpse of neither has ever been found ; but the little boy was found upon a reef of sand still lashed with the little Italian girl to the plank, but both were dead. "A quick death and a short death-struggle!" had always been Margaret Fuller's prayer. It had been fulfilled, and she was, and she is, with her beloved ones. But her mother and her sisters who came to meet her at New York, — their sorrow almost approaches to 134 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. despair; they had. anticipated this meeting with so much anxiety and much joy; they wished to make her so happy ! And that little boy, — everything was ready for him, his little bed, his chair, his table ! Kebecca S., who saw Margaret FuUer's mother, writes to me that she looks like one who will never smile again; she seems crushed. Among those who perished in the wreck was also the brother of Charles Sumner, that yovmg man who went to Petersburg and presented an acorn to tlie Emperor Nicholas. I do not find in such works of Margaret FuUer's as I have read, any remarkable genius, nothing of which betrays that extraordinary power which distinguished her in conversation. Her talent as an author seems to me no way striking; nevertheless a large-minded, noble spirit shows itself in her writings and this caused her often to deplore, and filled her with indignation against that which she knew was not noble in her countrymen and her native land. She is rather the critic than the enthusiast. I have inscribed on my memory, from her volume called, " A Summer on the Lakes," these words — ■ " He who courageously determines to accomplish a noble undertaking, whatever opposition he may expe- rience, cannot fail in the end of winning thereby some- thing valuable." That rich life with all its sufferings, yearnings, presentiments and hopes, is now at an end, has passed from the earth. " But she won what earth of best could give her, Love, the mother's name, and — last, a grave I " — Teqher. From Margaret Fuller's letters I could believe that the highest object of her life was gained in her happiness as a mother ; all her soul seemed to have centered in that. She had been described to me as not sufficiently feminine ; she seems to me almost too much so ; too HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 135 much concentered in that one phasis of her being. Well for her, in the meantime, who went hence with her heart's fulness of love, and went with those whom she loved most. August 12th. — AH continues to be delicious and good ! The sea, the heavens and their grand show, the warlike games of Valhalla which take place every evening, in which heroes and heroic maidens hurl their flaming spears ; the embraces of the sea during the day ; the song of the sea at night; freedom, peace in the open air — ah ! how glorious is all this ! Professor Hart enjoys the bathing and the life here as much as I do, and little Morgan flits about like a sea- gull, now on the shore and now in the water, bare-legged and brown, and as happy as a free lad can possibly be on the sea-shore. But poor Mrs. Hart derives benefit neither from bathing nor yet from the sea air, and becomes every day paler and paler, and can hardly eat anything but a little boiled rice ; I believe that she lives principally, and is sustained by her husband's and her son's enjoyment of life, and will not leave this place for their sakes. I have derived pleasure from my acquaintance with an amiable family, or rather two brother-families from Philadelphia, who live in a cottage near here, for the benefit of sea-bathing. Mr. F., the elder, is the minister of an Unitarian congregation in Philadelphia, one of the noblest, purest human beings whom God ever created, true, fervent, and full of love, but so absorbed by his Anti-slavery feelings that his life and his mind suffer in consequence, and I believe that he would, with the greatest pleasure, suffer death if, by that means, slavery could be abolished. And his lovely daughter would gladly suffer with him, a Valkyria in soul and bearing, a glorious young girl who is her father's happiness as he is hers. This grief for slavery would have made an end of the noble minister's life had not his daughter enlivened him every 136 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD, day -with new joy and fascination. She is blonde and blue, like the Scandinavian " maiden " of our songs ; and con- siderably resembles a Swede. The wife of the second brother is a brunette, delicate, beautiful, witty, charming as a Frenchwoman, a great contrast to the fair " Skoldmo," but most delightful. She is the happy mother of three clever lads. The Valkyria has three brothers. The two families live together in beautiful family love. That which I see in this country of most beautiful and best is family- life and nature, as well as the public institutions which are the work of Christian love. Among the novelties here, at the present moment, are some Indians who have pitched their tent in the neighbour- hood of the hotels on the shore, and there weave baskets and fans according to Indian taste, with other small wares which they sell to anybody who will buy them. The men are half-blood Indians, but the women true squaws, with black, wild elf-locks, and strong features. They are ugly, but the children are pretty, with splendid eyes and as wild as little wild beasts. There is a " hop " every week in one of the hotels, that is, a kind of ball, which I suppose, differs only from other balls by people hopping about with less ceremony. I have not had the heart to leave the companionship of the sea and the moonlight to go to a ball and see human beings hopping about ; neither have we here been without scenes of a less lively character. We have had a great battle in one hotel between the black servants and the white gentlemen, which has caused some bloody heads. The greatest share of blame falls upon a gentleman who owns slaves. He will be obliged to leave. There have been two attempts at murder in another hotel, but which were prevented in time. The blame of these is laid upon a negro, but still more upon the landlady's treatment of her domestics in this hotel. N.B. — All the waiters here are negroes or mulattoes. HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 137 A sail which I have had to-day in a pleasure-yacht, belonging to an agreeable young man, a Mr. B., who invited me and some other of the company on board his vessel, has given me the greatest desire to return home in a sailing vessel, if I could only spare the time for it. Sailing vessels are so infinitely more beautiful and more poetical than steam vessels. On board the latter one never hears the song of the wind or the billows, because of the noise caused by the machinery, and one can enjoy no sea-air which is free from the fumes of the chimney or the kitchen. Steam-boats are excellent in the rivers, but on the sea — the sailing-ship for ever ! I have lately had a visit from some most charming young Quakeresses. No one can imagine anything more lovely than these young girls in their light, delicate, modest attire. I must introduce to you a contrast to these. I was sitting one morning beneath my leafy alcove, on the sea-shore, with my book in my hand, but my eyes on the sea and the porpoises, when a fat lady, with a countenance like one of our j oiliest Stockholm huckster- women, came and seated herself on the same bench at a little distance from me. I had a presentiment of evil, and I fixed my eyes on Wordsworth's Excursion. My neighbour crept towards me, and at length she said, — " Do you know where Miss Bremer lives ? " " I believe," said I, " that she lives in Columbia House ! " " Hum ! — should be glad to see her ! " A silence. I am silent and look in my book. My neighbour begins again, " I sent her the other day a packet, — some verses, with the signature, ' The American Harp,' and a volume, — and I have not heard a word from her." " Ah," said I, now pushed very closely, " you are. 138 HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. perhaps ' The American Harp,' and it is you that I have to thank for the present ! " For here be it known, I had wished not to meet the authoress of a book written in the style of " The Sorrowful Certainties," because the authoress had mentioned in her epistle, that it had been much praised in the Cape May newspapers, and I could not say anything of it but possessed ! The good intention of the verses, however, deserved my thanks, and I now gave them quite properly. " But," asked the Harp, " have you read the book ? " " No, not yet ; I have merely looked into it." " Indeed ! but read it through ; because it is a book which the more it is read the better it is liked ; and I have written it all, both prose and verse ; it is altogether mine. I have written a deal of verse ; and think of bringing out a collection of my poetical works ; but it is very expensive to bring out such ! " I said that I supposed it must be so. " Yes," said she, " but I write verses very easily, in particular where there is water ; and I like to write about water. I am so very fond of water. Is there much water in Sweden ? " " Yes, a great deal," replied I, " both of sea, and rivers, and lakes." " I should lilie to write there, I should be able to write there very well ! " said she. " I should like to write in Sweden ! " I said that the voyage thither was dreadfully difficult and long — it was a thing hardly thought of ! " Ah, but I should not trouble myself about that," she said; "I am so fond of the water! — and could write a deal in Sweden See there ! now my parasol has fallen! and the handle is broken ; yes, that is what I expected. Yesterday I broke my spectacles with the gold frame, and now I must use my silver ones ! I am always brealdng something ! — however I have not yet broken my neck ! " HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 139 " Then everything is not lost yet ! " said I, laughing ; and as I saw Professor Hart coming up the steps to my airy saloon, I hastened to make him acquainted with the ' American Harp,' and leaving her to him I vacated the field. Such harps are to be met with in all countries, but in none do they sound forth with such ndiveU as here. A young poet from the city of the Friends, with a beautiful, dramatic talent, and a head like Byron, and a family of refinement and amiability belong to my agreeable acquaintance here, of whom I would see more, but who all come and go like the waves of the ocean. August IQth. — There is now an end to my good time! To-day I set off to New York. To-morrow, my friends, the Harts, return to Philadelphia. My companion to New York is a lawyer, an elderly gentleman, very estimable and good-hearted, I believe, but who has the fault of having too good a memory for verses, and a fancy for repeating, long and often, very prosaic pieces from the German, French, and English authors, which are less amusing to prosaic listeners. At dinner I exchanged my place, and the sharks who now saw empty seats opposite them, looked about for me with a hungry mien; it seemed to me, as if they felt the want of a living foreground to their feast. I regret leaving Cape May which is to me so quiet and invigorating; but I must not linger any longer, I have so much yet to see and to learn in this country. I shall now go and take my last bathe in the sea, and think the while, that you also are bathing in the health-giving waves of the ocean. The waves of the Atlantic Sea and the North Sea flow into the same great bath ; and in it thou bathest with me and I with thee ! " Miss Agatha, may I have the pleasure of taking a bathe with you ? " And thus I embrace you heartily, all through the sea ! HO HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. LETTER XXI. TO THE CONFEKENCE-COUNCILLOK H. C. OESTED, COPENHAGEN. Sea Side, New Jekset, August lOtl. How often, my valued friend, have I thought of you in this hemisphere, so distant from your country and your home ; how often have I wished it was in my power to tell j^ou soQiething ahout this great, steadily- progressing portion of the world, upon which your eye also rests with the interest of an inquirer. Of all my friends in Copenhagen you were the only one who understood that longing which impelled me to the New World ; and when I put the question to you, " Does it appear to you extraordinary and irrational that I desire to see America?" you replied, " No ! It is a great and remarkable forma- tion of that creative mind which cannot hut be in the highest degree interesting to study more nearly ! " Oh, yes ; and so it is, and far more so than I had any idea of, and it is far richer than I can yet understand ; and I have been more willing to wait before I wrote to you untn this New World with all its various phenomena and their living unity had become more uitelhgible to myself. And for this purpose I might have waited yet much longer, because there is much here which I have not yet seen, which I have not yet well considered, and so to say, have not yet digested ! But I cannot, any longer, defer writing to you. The necessity to thank you compels me to write. I must — I will thank you for that great, unexpected pleasure which your spirit has afforded me here upon this foreign coast, many thousand miles distant from you. For here, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, here where constellations ascend which we do not behold in our horizon, here, have I read the last-published portion of your work, HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 141 Aanden i Naturen; and that treatise which you gave me in Copenhagen, " Ofver Vdsens enheten af Fornuftet i hela Verlds Altet," that little work, which made me so infinitely happy, through the new, joyful light which it caused to arise before me, which brought the whole starry firmament nearer to my heart, and made each star burn with a light kindred to the hght of my own spirit ; that glorious, little, but large work, which accompanied me across the great sea from the Old World to the New, as one of my dearest treasures, I recognised in this your book, but amplified and rendered more perfect, as I had pre-conceived it capable of being. And I have been unspeakably delighted to recognise here as mature fruit the blossom of our conversation in Copenhagen ; to see here my own earnest pre-vision of the subject, rendered yet more clearly and forcibly by your lucid and logical mind. For what can be clearer, what more rational or more certain, than that when all the stars are governed by the same laws of revolution, when aU. of them are subject to the same light and the same shadow, and when we, in consequence of this, are able to study them, to discover their courses, &c., to calculate the place of the star and afterwards to find the star {le Verrier), then it is evident that the resemblance between the reason of man and the reason in the universe must , go still farther, must embrace all spheres and in a similar manner. If we are necessarily to understand the terms, lines, circles, para- bolas, &c., as applied to all those worlds, which we discern in space, as we understand their application to our earth, if their mathematical and physical laws are the same as those which are in force upon this earth, -then is it clear that the sense of beauty cannot be essentially dissimilar, and that the moral reason must be fundamentally the same, must recognise the same principles, the same radical idea. You have clearly 142 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. proved these ; you have shown that if these distant spheres ohey laws similar to those laws which operate upon our terrestrial globe, then it is probable, nay, almost certain, that reflecting beings, endowed with reason and with minds similar to our own, exist in these remote worlds, as their highest product, as the flowers of their life and laws, yes, that it is improbable that the great Creator there should have left his work more incomplete than upon this earth. The same light, the same shadow ! and I add, the same joy, the same tears, the same yearnings, the same hope, the same wants, the same faith, the same God, Creator, Mediator, Perfecter, yes, although under different circumstances and in different degrees of development, still individually the same for all, because the same normal process of life must avail for all. I do not know whether you go with me so far ; but in one thing I beUeve that you wUl agree with me, because the thought is suggested by your work — namely — that there is not, in the whole universe, any place, not even the most remote star, which is altogether alien to this world, this earth upon which we live, and that reason which exists in us. From the wintry stillness of Urania to the glowing fervent Ufe of Mercury, from the Nebula which slowly developes itself beneath the eye of the Creator in accordance with laws and powers similar to those of our earth, to the star which having attained the highest material perfectibihty, producing harmonious communities of beautiful human beings and animal life, aU conditions, all changes and scenes, aU degrees of development and dissimilar associations of being in nature and spirit which the human life and human imagination can conceive and far, far more still— for where is the human imagina- tion that can extend to the peopling of the starry firmament, to the conception of all its forms ? all this is nevertheless, in reality, human, — is the world of man ; HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 143 is owr world. Everywhere the same laws, the same governing reason; therefore — everywhere in reality, the same soul, the same heart. Oh my friend ! This human heart which loves so much, and which suffers so much ; this spirit which anti- cipates and yearns after so much, which can attain to so little, perfect so little ; this poor, combating, little, large, enigmatic being — Man, is not then after all so mean, so isolated in mind, in existence ! That truth which he here acknowledges is truth in all worlds ia the whole universe ; that existence, — that inquiry, — that life which he has here begun may be developed in infinity, and attain its object ; and released from earth we may find new light, yes the Eternal light, with adoration, indeed, but without being astonished by it— without being confounded by it ; because he was at home in the region of light when here, and was acquainted with its nature long since. The same light, the same shadows ! Beloved stars, kindred worlds ! ia the same light, in the same father's house, how near, how dear you become to me. For though darkness and discord may prevail in you, as upon the earth, yet I know that the Master lives, who will separate ' the darkness from the light, and dissolve the discord into perfect harmony. I saw one day, my dear friend, at your house, a quantity of sand-grains strewn upon a glass-plate arrange them- selves under the influence of a musical note into the most exquisite, starlike, and symmetrically harmonious figure. A human hand made the stroke which produced the note. But when the stroke is made by the hand of the Almighty will not the note then produced bring into exquisitely harmonious form those sand-grains which are human beings, communities, nations ? It will arrange the world in beauty and harmony, and there shall be no discord, and no lamentation any more; thus / say the most reasonable anticipations of all people, as you your- Ui HOMES OF THE NEW "WOULD. self have told us with scientific certainty in your " Parity of Eeason throughout the "Universe ;" and thus has He himself told us in his revelation, as Eternal goodness. And hence it is that I see, during life's changing phenomena, amid everything dark and chaotic, amid all stars, and in all stars, amid all tears— as well as in my own— every- where the harmonious figure, the eternal star, the child of harmony, the future world of God, the kingdom of man; and hence it is that I weep and am joyful nevertheless. You see, my estimable friend, what a pure, divine joy your book has awoke within me. It has been your desire, your pleasure, to impart such joy ; and I cannot describe to you how my soul was enriched those mornings when I sate by the sea- shore with your book in my hand, and before me boundless space, as infinite as the views which it presented to my glance ; or in the evenings when in thought with you I visited those brilliant worlds above and around me, and, according to the doctrine of the metamorphosis of things, I let my fancy freely sport with the powers of matter and of mind, whilst a magnificent spectacle of electric fire was displayed in the firmament above. Festal hours and moments ! Your book which was sent to me by the Danish Charg6 d' Affaires in Philadelphia, Mr. Bille, was all the more welcome to me, as I had lately parted with that little work on the "Parity of Reason," &c., which you gave me in Copenhagen ; I had left it with Professor Henry of Washington, an amiable and distinguished scientific man, who, on hearing of its subject and nature from me wished to translate it. I have often heard your name mentioned with honour in the New World, together with those of Linnaeus and Berzelius. Professor Henry was the first who made your scientific works known in this country. And it would delight you to know the rapidity and the skill with HOMES OP THE NEW WOELD. 145 which every discovery in natural philosophy is here converted and applied to the pubhc advantage. Your discovery of electro-magnetic power, which led to the invention of the electric telegraph, cannot be made more use of anywhere than in this country. Everywhere along the Hnes of railroad, from city to city and from state to state, is carried the electric telegraph. Distant cities, persons living in New York and New Orleans converse with each other by means of the electric wire, transact affairs of business — even affairs of marriage, I have heard — and every day are attempted new developments, new applications of those powers, the relationship between which were made known by you. The Americans seem to be particularly attracted by motive powers — by any method of expediting movement and accelerating communication. Anything which can give hfe and action goes most rapidly " a-head," as the phrase is, that is to say, finds most favour with them. In the Patent Office, at Washington, where models are preserved of every machine made in the United States, which has been patented, and which amount, if I am not mistaken, to twelve or fifteen thousand — I remarked that the greater number of them were for the acceleration of speed, and for the saving of time and labour. There were also some for the perpetual move- ment which now stand still. Even children seem to feel this passion for moving-machines. I saw on one occasion, a school of boys, during the time they were allowed to rest and to amuse themselves by drawing on their slates. I walked between the benches that I might see the work of the bright-eyed children and the inspira- tion of the moment. I saw on most of the slates smoking steam-engines, or steam-boats all in movement. But this interest in locomotive machinery has a profound connection with the movement of life itself in this country. Innumerable rivers and streams flow through this country in all directions, and give a greater facility US HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. io the circulation of life than in most other countries. Locomotives are here like pulses which impel the blood through the veins and arteries of the body to every part of the system. Nothing is so invariably a characteristic of life here as its incessant change from place to place. People, goods, thoughts and things, are in a perpetual state of movement and interchange between State and State, between the North and the South, between the East and the West; nothing stands still; nothing stag-nates, unless exceptionally. The impulse and the necessity to obtain possession of all the natural resources to this country are, besides this, in fuU activity ; and there is, m consequence, a great deal done, both by government and by individuals, to promote the extension of practical science. Geology and the physical sciences flourish ; the different States send out scientific men to examine new districts within the States, and institutions are established for the advancement of useful knowledge, especially in natural history and mechanics. One such is the Franklin Institution at Philadelphia, another the Smith Institution at Washington, the ornamental gothic building for which is now erected on the banks of the Potomac. This institution, endowed by a wealthy gentleman of the name of Smith, is intended to form a central national institution, where aU the scientific labourers of the United States may have a point of union. Professor Henry, who is the Secretary of the institution, was glad to have an opportunity of sending you the first printed transactions of this very important institute, and I shall have the pleasure of being the bearer of them to you. Yes, how delightful it will be to me, on my return home, to see you and good Mrs. Orsted and Matilda, and to tell you by word of mouth what I have seen and experienced here. I can now only passingly touch upon that great theme, the life of the United States. I am HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 147 like a gleaner, wandeping here and there over thfe fields, gathering up ears and flowers to bind into sheaves and garlands, but in order to do that, I must have more than a handful ; and, as yet, I have not more. The commencement of my wanderings iu this hemis- phere was iu the north-eastern States of the Union. I found there earnestness and labour, restless onward-striving, power both manual and spiritual; large educational estab- lishments, manufactories, asylums for the suffering and institutions for the restoration of fallen humanity, were all admirable there, and above all, the upward-progressive movement of society. I saw before the winter set in the glorious Hudson, with its magnificent scenery, its shores covered with wood, which at that season presented the most wonderful splendour and variety of colour ; I saw the rivers of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and hills and valleys which often reminded me of Sweden, for the scenery of Sweden and that of these two States resemble each other greatly, inasmuch as they have the strong- characteristics of winter, snow and ice, and the dramatic, scenes which these afi^ord both of suffering and pleasure. After that I saw in the south the Palmetto States, Caro- lina and Georgia, and here I was enchanted by a luxuriance iu the outward life of Nature, to which I had hitherto been a stranger ! Would that I were able to describe to you those red rivers, the shores of which are covered with woods as yet untouched by human hand, and where no, human habitation is to be found ; woods which seem to swim upon the water, and where a hundred different kinds of trees were engarlanded by hundreds of different beauti- ful flowering creepers — a chaotic vegetable life, but full of beauty, and the most wonderful groupings, in which one discerns all those various architectural forms which we admire in temples and churches built by human hands. The primeval forest here presents them in fantastic sport, inspired by its morning dream. Th^ morning dream of L 2 148 HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. Nature ! Is not Nature human, or at least full of the human element in the bad and the good, the beautiful and hideous ? She must have human dreams. The primeval forest exhibits on a colossal scale porticoes and vaulted temples, pyramids, grottoes, sphinxes and dragons, flower-crowned columns, temples of joy, triumphal arches, and profound, quiet tombs. The pri- meval feast presents a dream of the world of man ; and with what a richness of detail, what a depth of poetry ! I dreamed myself back as I beheld this sight to the thii-d day of creation, when, in obedience to the creative " Let there be!" the earth opened her maternal bosom, and brought forth the vegetable world in its morning pomp, still prophetically warm from the dream of night. You, my friend, who have so much of the poet in your soul, will not be offended that I, in this case, see rather through the eye of the biblical GenesiSj than through that of science. The former beholds in one moment that which the latter beholds in a succession of periods ; yet they both behold the same reality. It was an especial delight to me to recognise among the common productions of these woods many which I had seen as rare species when I walked with you through the botanic garden at CojDenhagen ; of these I remember particularly the tulip-tree, and the fan-palm or palmetto, which is one of the most common indigenous trees of the Southern States. If life in the Northern States is a grand epic, a poem full of great teaching, then is that of the Southern States a romance of infinitely-picturesque beauty — yes, even though slavery and sandy deserts exist there. As belonging to the romantic life of these States must be mentioned the negroes, with their enigmatical character, their songs and religious festivals; the cities full of orange-groves, and their many lands of beautiful flowering trees ; their piazzas, covered with honeysuckle and roses, HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 149 whicli no winter destroys, amid which flutter sun-bright humming-birds, and which screen from the heat of the sun beautiful but pale women ; their fire-flies shining forth like points of light in the night ; their pine-woods, where blossoming azaleas stand like angels of light among the dark trees, in which sing thrushes, and the " hundred-tongued birds;" and for the rest, those peculiar vegetable growths which are the natural produc- tions of these States, — cotton (particularly in the beautiful islands along the coasts), rice, and so on, the cultiva- tion of these, as well as the mixed population. But I must stop. It is presumption to attempt a description of the life and peculiar characteristics of the States, when I know that every single State in the Union is like a perfect realm, with almost all the various circumstances and resources of a European kingdom in fertile fields, metallic mountains, navigable rivers, forests, and besides these many natural gifts and beauties which as yet are unknown, and not turned to account. Yes, it excites at the same time both joy and despair, to know that there is on aU hands so much that is new, and so much which is yet unknown, and so much which I never shall know. Fortunately, however, for this country, it possesses, in its very subdivision and form of government, a great and effective means of becoming acquainted with itself. Each separate State is like an independent individual existence, and feels itself excited to emulate its sister-states (with which it sometimes wrangles and quarrels, as sisters will sometimes do in their younger years), and to become a full-grown human being on its own account. And for this purpose all its powers are called into action, and all its peculiar ways and means are examined into. Hence it is that in this land of liberty there is no limitation to experimental attempts. Everything, even the very maddest of all, may be attempted, and proved whether there is anything available in it or not. Everything, even 150 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. the most absurd, is sure of having some adherents, and an opportunity afforded for trial; and I have heard Americans say jestingly, that if anybody came forth with the assertion that it was better to walk upon the head than the feet, he would be quite sure of pupils who would, in most good earnest, make the attempt whether it were possible to walk on the head. Other men would perhaps laugh at them, still would allow them to make the trial, quite certain that if by experiment it was found that walking on the head were not jDracticable, they would soon get on their legs again, and in the meantime they would have gained something by experience. And certain it is that several attempts, which in the beginning have appeared as absurd as that of making use of the head instead of the feet, and which were treated accordingly, have after a time succeeded, and been crowned with the most fortunate results. One such attempt may be men- tioned as that of exporting ice to the tropical countries. The first person who tried this experiment, and who now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was regarded for several years by certain people as a fool. Now, however, the exportation of ice to hot countries forms one of the principal sources of revenue to North America. Great numbers of ships transport blocks of ice from the moun- tains of Massachusetts and New Hampshire to the cities of the Southern States, to the West Indian Islands, to Mexico, &c. Yes, North America, by means of the speculative disposition of her people, by means of her pohtical subdivision, her institutions which afford free play to individual peculiarity and will, in evil as well as in good; America is the land of experiment, and its commencement, in the field of experimental humanity, reveals a boundless prospect as to what it may yet bring forth. One of its sons drew the lightnmg from the clouds ; another created wings out of steam for all the people of the earth, so that HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 151 they might fly round the world ; a third has, oh the happy man ! discovered the means of mitigatiag life's bitter enemy, bodily sufi"ering, and of extending the wings of the angel of sleep over the unfortunate one in the hour of his agony ! And aU this has been done in the early morning of the country's life, for in computing the age of a world's cultivation which has a thousand years for its future, two centuries' existence is merely as the morning hour ; the day lies before it as its future. What will not this people accomplish during the day ? Of a verity greater things than these ! That wiU. I venture to predict from its eye ; for that eye is vigilant and bright ; it is early accustomed keenly to observe the object which is, without asking about that which was, and without being checked by the warning cry of antiquity ; it has a watchful eye, undaunted courage, and unwearied perseverance. And if this observant eye, when the working days are over, and the sabbath recurs, were directed more exclusively upon spiritual things, would it not even then make discoveries and introduce science and certainty into regions where now humanity is merely at home, by means of hope and faith. I believe so, because the purpose of this people's gaze as well as of their social arrangements, is, above everything else, to compass those ends which are of importance to the whole of humanity; I believe it, because the Germanic element, the character of which is profoundly intellectual and transcendental, is, in this country, mingled with the Anglo-Norman, and from the union of these two races a third national character may be expected, which shall combine the highest speculative thought with the clearest practical iatuition. But I will not any longer occupy your time, and perhaps your patience, with my endeavour to show the harmonious figure in the star of the American Union. Eegard this then as an ear of corn, plucked from a rich harvest field. When I have^ completed my wanderings, when I have 152 HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. returned to you, I shall bring more with me. By that time I shall have visited the most Northern States of the Union, the land of the White Mountains and the Indians, and that great West, " that great wonderful West," as the people of the West call it ; where, in the vast valley of the Mississippi, there is said to be room for more than two hundred and fifty millions of people to live com- fortably ; where rich American corn grows in unex- ampled luxuriance, and where one first begins fully to comprehend the j)henomenon of the United States' pro- gress, or as it is called " growth." As regards this growth, this progress, and in what it properly consists, I hope at some future time to converse with you. When I may see you again — whether this autumn, or not until next spring — I do not know. If my mother and sister consent I shall remain over the winter. The great Idndness and hospitality with which I am received, makes it easy for me to visit very distant States and places. This is a blessing for which I cannot be sufficiently grateful. This hospitality, however, which would make my life a perpetual festival, is too much for the powers of my mind and body. The nation has a warm, youthful heart, and that one must confess with pleasm'e and gratitude, even if one is one's self too old or too stupid properly to receive what they wish to give. The very reception, both outwardly and spiritually, which they give you is a part of this youthfuhiess of life. America is a hospitable land for strangers, not alone as they may come outwardly in ilesh and blood, but as regards thoughts and ideas. And this is shown by the veneration which is felt for many of the scientific names of Europe. And I expect to see much seed of future development germinating here, in consequence of the increasing and more inward approximation of the American and Scandi- navian mind. You are here generally known, and are becoming more and more so every day. When H HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 153 Marfensen's theological ■writings are known here he wiU produce an epoch in the religious knowledge of the New World; for the state of this presses onward to that harmonious figure in which every separate particle forms a portion of the great universal harmony. And of this kind is Martensen's Philosophical Theology. I am at this moment greatly distressed by the intelligence of the war, which has again broken out between Denmark and Holstein, And we hoped for peace ! But that brave little people cannot lose the victory, There must be, I predict it, a good ending to the war ; and Denmark will arise therefrom stronger and greater than before ! May it be so ; and when I again see you and my Danish friends, may we drink a skal to Denmark's honourable peace ! I inclose in your letter a few lines to Andersen. His " Fairy Tales " are universally read and loved in this country, both by great and small, as they are with us. Let me be retained in your remembrance, and regard as your Sincerely devoted, and grateful friend FfiEDEIKA BREMER. LETTEE XXII. Rose Coitage, BKOOKLYif, August iOili. Delightful as it was, my dear little Agatha, to receive your letter of the 12th of July, warm as it made my heart to read of your tender regard for me, yet I was deeply grieved to find you so weak and suffering; and I feel almost a reproach of conscience that I am not "with you, that I am not helping you by aU means in my power, at all events as regards the sick people in the country. 154 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD.' because that must be almost too much for you. Your own indisposition must prevent your bearing that of others calmly. ■ I endeavour to console myself with the reflection that you are now at Marstand, away from the sorrows and anxieties of the day, and that you are gaining new strength by bathing, which is always so beneficial to you. Ah ! if that sea-bathing could but be to you what those seventeen, or eighteen days at Cape May have been to me ! I have now only remaining of my former indisposition a slight tendency to palpitation of the heart, and some degree of sleeplessness ; but my little homoeopathic globules never fail to relieve me in these respects'. As regards my remaining here for some months yet, that has become almost an indispensable thing. I should be unable to go so far, or to see that which I must see before winter sets in. My journey to the West lies before me yet unaccomplished. This could not be done properly in less than ten or twelve weeks, and that would take' me far into November, and to return home from North America without having seen the great West and its growing life, would be to me hke seeing the opera of " Gustavus Wasa " played without the part of the hero. In the month of December I might return home, but I acknowledge that I am a little timid at the thoughts of that long sea-voyage at that season of the year (although I would not say anything about it), yet even then I should leave unseen a great deal which would be of infinite advantage to me to have seen, and to have become acquainted with, and which I may never again have an opportunity of being within reach of In about four or five months, on the other side of December, I should hope to have accomplished aU which I think I ought to do here, and then, my darling, I could return and be with you at Marstrand, in Stockholm, at Arsta, or wherever you might be, and then we could talk, and think, and read, and write, and, please God, enjoy life together with our good,- HOMES OF THE NEW WOKLD. l55 beloved mother ; and do the best we could with what was wrong if we could not make it aU right. And as for me, do not be uneasy ; my little travelling fairy goes with me on the journey, and with the help of God, helps me on all occasions ; and since that good sea-bathing I feel again that I have courage to encounter the Giants of the West, and I thiak that the very sight of them will cause my strength to become as that of a giant, if I were but easy about you ! August 2Srd. — ^Your letter from Marstrand ! Ah, thank God for it ! It made me really happy ; for your former letter had made me deeply anxious. Ah, how glad I am that you feel yourself improving again, and that you are again able to enjoy life ; I bless that sea-bathing, and thank God, and hope that all will be well with you for the future. Next year we must all four labour for the estabUshing of your health, I, you, sea-bathing, and homoeopathy. And what a pleasure, and how amusing it was, to hear you speak so charmingly and cheerfully of one thing and another: about the entrance of the crown-princess into Stockholm; yes, how delightful it was that she was so beautifully received, and that she is so good, and looks so agreeable ! I wanted to hear something about her ; I should have liked to have been among the people who scattered flowers over her, and have joined my shout of " Welcome ! " to theirs. And Jenny Lind is actually on her way to America ! A terrific welcome awaits her ; she will be lucky if she escapes with life ! The fame of her beneficence, and her 'fine disposition, still more than that of her powers as a singer, have opened all hearts and all arms to her, and an angel from Heaven is not as perfect as peofile imagine Jenny Lind to be, and would not be half so welcome. The Americans are born enthusiasts, and I would be the last to reproach them with it. No human being, and no i^ation either, can ever become anything great, if they are 156 HOMES OF THE NEW WOKLD. not possessed of that overflowing power which finds its vent in enthusiasm. That critical disposition belongs to old people, or to little people. The letter from home, which I waited for here before I decided farther upon my journeyings, made me so unspeakably happy that I could not help hastening down to Eebecca, that I might talk to her about its beloved contents, and we embraced each other in the joy that it afforded, and because we could still remain together for awhUe. I shall now accompany the S.'s to Cony Island, an island in the neighbourhood of New York, where there is a bathing establishment, and of which I shall again avail myself. After that they will accompany me a short distance on my way to the West, up the Hudson, to the community of the Shakers at New Lebanon, where the young Lowells wiU meet me, and with them I shall go to Niagara. The S.'s are not able to go so far, although they would have Uked it much. I shall not see my friends, the Downings, this time, for which I am sorry ; but the last week of my stay in this country shall be reserved for them. In Rose Cottage, in that good and almost perfect home, everything is good, peaceful, affectionate, as is its wont. Ripe fruits surround Rose Cottage — peaches, apricots, plums, grapes. All Brooklyn, and even New York, is at this moment like a fruiterer's shop, fuU of peaches and apricots: and such peaches! — the fruit of Hesperia. Every little lad and lass in the Union can eat their full of them. Eddy is happy with a whole swarm of little rabbits, and baby stands with its golden locks in the garden, and rejoices when the butterflies come and seat themselves on their thrones, that is to say, on the flowers. The sweet little fellow is, however, still delicate, and the parents go to the sea-side principally for his sake. I have found Marcus and Rebecca, and many of my HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. 157 friends, greatly distressed by the new law respecting fugitive slaves, which has annihilated all security for these imforttinates in the United States. Already are slave- catchers from the South in active operation, and thou- sands of slaves have now left their homes in these Northern States, and have fled to Canada or across the sea to England. Just lately an escaped slave was seized in Boston, and carried back into slavery. The people were in a great ferment, but they made no open oppo- sition. The law commanded it, and they obeyed. But the bells of the city tolled as for a funeral. How I sympathised with my friends in this their country's great sorrow — that now there should not be a single spot of earth within the Union, which can be said to be an asylum for freedom ! They are exasperated, not against the South, but against that portion of the people of the North who, for the interests of mammon, or the cotton interest, as the phrase is, have given up this noblest right. The South has fought for an ancient half-won right ; the North has no such excuse. I understand and I know their willingness to sacrifice much, and to suffer much, in order to alter these unfortunate circumstances, the result of slavery. But I cannot, in all cases, participate in their views of the question. I am more hopeful than they. I have more faith in the victory of the nobler South and the nobler North. In the great combat between God and mammon this slave-law is indeed a lost battle ; but all is not lost with it. I believe with Clay and Webster, that it is one step backward which has been demanded by the necessity of the moment, but only preparatory to a greater advance on the path of freedom. But of all this I have spoken with you in Washington. Shortly after Clay left Congress for the sea-side, nearly aU the measures were carried which he had proposed in his Compromise BiU (the Omnibus BUI) — the omnibus, so to speak, was unhorsed, and left empty, and the votes 15S HOMES OF THE NEW "WORLD. were taken on each separate measure, independently of the rest, and were carried with only some small altera- tions. That great statesman had probably hit upon the only possible means of reconciliation between the North and the South. Some of the Southern States are, how- ever, stiU dissatisfied; and South Carolina, as well as Mississippi, demands a secession from the Union, and Carolina, it is said, is seriously preparing for war ! But this is foolish, and can only be injurious to the Palmetto State, who will find no coadjutors, and one among the many signifies nothing, and can accomplish nothing. Among the many subjects which here interest the pubUc mind at the present moment is the ultimate con- fession of the murderer. Professor Webster, and his execution. But where throughout the United States has not his criminal history been the subject of conversation ? In Charleston and Savannah, as well as in Boston and New York the public has universally given the closest attention to the trial — old gentlemen, young girls, all, in short, were either for or against Professor Webster, and a most charming young girl of fifteen, in Savannah, had taken it into her head that a Mr. Littlefield, Webster's principal accuser, was the murderer of Parkman, and not Webster ; and she argued for her view of the subject both earnestly and spiritedly. In the meantime, Webster, after innu- merable lies and prevarications, confessed liimself to be the murderer, — confessed, it is said, in the belief that he should receive mercy, as he maintained that the murder was done in self-defence. Many circumstances, however, seemed to contradict this, and Webster throughout the whole affair had shown himself to be such an uncon- scionable prevaricator, that this part of his confession obtained no credence, and he was condemned to execution by the judge of Massachusetts. The Unitarian minister, Mr. Peebody, prepared him for death, which he met with resignation. His wife and children who, to the very last, HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 159 believed him innocent, have behaved most admirably. They work for their maintenance, and have declined the pecuniary assistance which the widow of the murdered man had most nobly offered to them. One of the daughters is married, and resides in Madeira, another is engaged to be married, and it is said that the whole family will leave America for Madeira. I rejoice that they are able to leave the country. Spite of this murder having been clearly proved, and of the low tone of morality in Webster, yet is the feehng in these Northern States so strongly opposed to capital punishment, that it has expressed itself even in this case by various protests. One family, residing in a house just opposite the prison, within the inner court of which the criminal suffered, removed during that time from their house, and left a placard on the door, with these words — • " Opposed to Capital Punishment." CoNi IsiAND, August 26«ft. Again by the sea ! Again I inhale the fresh breezes of the great sea in company with my excellent friends. Marcus is well, and enjoys life here. Baby improves every day. The place is solitary, and has a wild charm. The moon shines magnificently over the sea, which roars loudly, agitated by the wind. I walk on the shore in the evening with Marcus, and indoors, Rebecca tells me in the clear moonlight occurrences in the history of the inner light, which prove the wonderful life and guiding of that inner light, where the soul truly waits for it with quiet introverted attention. Small fires in rows and circles shine out on the sands by the sea, or among the trees on the shore. There are brushwood fires in which the " clams," a kind of large mussel, are roasted for suppers on the sands. They are .delicate in flavour, and to my taste superior to oysters. 160 HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. The weather is cool, and bathing refreshing. We all enjoy ourselves, are all happy. Before I left Brooldyn, we heard, one Sunday, a sermon from young Mr. Beecher. He had lately expressed his feeHngs very strongly on the subject of the Fugitive Slave Law in an evangelical newspaper, of which he is a co- editor. Several of his congregation had taken great offence at this, and Beecher now delivered from the pulpit his confession of faith as regarded the duty of a minister with reference to his congregation and his conscience. It was in few, but powerful words, as follows : — " If the law of God and my own conscience bid me to do one thing, and you, the people of the congregation, say that I must not obey it, but you if I would remain quiet among you — in that case, then, I must go ! And I will go, if I cannot remain quiet among you, with a good conscience." The chapel was full to overflowing ; the congregation as profoundly serious as the minister. It was reality, and no make-believe, vnth them all. But there is no danger that Beecher will have to go. He is too much esteemed, and beloved, for them not to concede to him, when they know that he is in reality right, at least in intention, if not always in manner. August 27th. — I now, my beloved child, am preparing to set off to the great West, which stands before me in a kind of mythological nebulosity, half mist, half splendour, and about which I know nothing rightly, excepting that it is great, great, great ! How ? Why ? In what way ? Whether it is peopled by gods or giants, giants of frost and hobgoblins, or by all those old mythological gentry together — I have yet to discover. That Thor and Loke yet wrestle vigorously in that fairy-tale-like Utgard, is however, what I quite anticipate, and that the goblius are at home there also, that I linow, because of certain " spiiitual rappings or knockings," as they are called, of which I have heard and read some very queer things, HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 161 since I have been in this country. These are a standing subject in the newspapers at this time, and are treated partly in jest and partly in earnest. But I shall certainly find Iduna with the apple of the Hesperides, in that Eden of the setting sun. Do not the Alleghany Mountains and Niagara stand as giant watchers at its entrance, to open the portals of that new garden of Paradise, the latest home of the human race ? Those glorious cherubim forbid not the entrance, they invite it, because they are great and beautiful. The people of Europe pour in through the cities of the eastern coast. Those are the portals of the outer court ; but the West is the garden where the rivers carry along with them gold, and where stands the tree of life and of death. There the tongue of the serpent and the voice of God are again heard by a new humanity. That great, enigmatical land of the West, with its giant rivers and giant falls and giant lakes ; with its valley of the Mississippi and its Rocky Mountains, and its land of gold and the Pacific Ocean ; with its buffaloes and its golden humming-birds ; the land which nourishes States as the children of men, and where cities grow great in a human life ; where the watchword of existence — is growth, progress ! This enigmatic, promised land, this land of the future I shall now behold ! I long for it as for the oracle which shall give a response to many of my spirit's questions. My little basket is filled with bananas and peaches, my traveUing-fairy is with me, and the last letter of my beloved. God bless my precious sister, her sea-bathing and her friends, and for her sake also, her sister and her friend, FKEDEIKA. P.S. How fervently with my whole heart do I thank my beloved mamma for that permission, so kindly given, for me to remain over the winter in America. Those 162 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. kind, dear words will accompany me on my pilgrimage like my mother's blessing. And be not uneasy for me, my sweet mamma. Human beings continue to be infinitely kind to my mother's daughter. And I meet with good friends and good homes everywhere. Excepting in my own country I could not find better homes, nor experience kinder care, than here. I cannot describe how thankful I am for this journey, and the effect which it has on me. May I only be able some time to develope its garnered treasure in my Swedish home, and with my beloved ones ! LETTEE XXIII. Albany on the Hudson, Sept 2nd, Here, my little heart, amid a regular deluge of rain, which prevents me from seeing anything of the Capital of the Emperor State and its Senate House, I continue- my conversation with you, that is to say, in writing, for the silent communion went on all the same. In my last letter from Brooklyn, I told you, I think, how that my friends, the S.'s, would go with me as far as the Shaker Community at New Lebanon. And on an imspeakably fine day I again ascended that beautiful Hudson, again saw its wild romantic highlands, its rich populated shores ; saw the turrets of the Downings' house glancing forth from amid its wooded grounds, cast towards it a look of love, and — enjoyed the life with nature and Marcus, Rebecca and Eddy, as we progressed in that magnificent, comfortable steamboat. Towards evening we reached the little city of Hudson, where we landed, and then took the stage, which in about two hours' time brought us to the Springs of New Lebanon, a celebrated watering-place, half an English mile from the Shaker village, and Marcus and I walked in the beautiful evening HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 163 to look at it. We saw some pale yellow, two-storied wooden houses, built in good proportion, and with tiled roofs, standing on green slopes, surrounded at some distance by yet higher hills, all covered with wood. It was a very lovely and romantically Idyllian scene. The views from the houses were extensive, and the glass panes in the windows were large. Life at New Lebanon did not look to me so gloomy or so contracted as I had imagined. We saw some of the Shaker brothers out in the fields making hay, and others again reaping, as I supposed. Yesterday, Sunday, we were present at divine service in the Shaker church together with many other strangers. The church is a large hall which would easily accommodate from two to three thousand persons ; it has very large windows, but not the slightest ornament ; it is very lofty and Hght. I was, on entering it, astonished by the sight of a number of corpse-like female figures, attired almost like shrouded-corpses, sitting on benches placed along the waU, rigid and immovable as mummies ; they were the Shaker women. The sight of them was really sad, and would have been much more so had not there been a certain refreshment in the very novelty of the scene. Where all ladies are dressed according to the same mode, any who may vary from it become interesting from that very cause. The Shaker sisters were however all dressed alike, in white or grey striped petticoats, high-heeled shoes, white handkerchiefs so pinned over the bosom as to conceal its natural form, and indeed the style of the attire seemed intended to make the whole body look like a tree-stem, without any curved outlines. They wore on their heads a little cap like that of the Quaker women, the plain border of which sat close to the face. I observed that these caps were very much blued, which still more increased the death-like hue of the countenance. The costume, at least the head-gear, was not unlike that of the M 2 164 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. peasant women and girls of our Stockholm district. From the other side of the hall marched in the Shaker brothers, all in knee-breeches, stockings and high-heeled shoes, in waistcoats and shirt-sleeves, and with uncovered heads, their hair cut straight across their foreheads, and hanging down behind; the whole costume very like that of the Swedish peasant in his everyday dress. The congregation, consisting of about one hundred persons of each sex, sat upon benches which they carried forward, the men for themselves, the women for them- selves, but opposite to each other. Two Shaker sisters came kindly and silently forward, carrying one bench after another to the spectators, who occupied the whole of one long side of the hall, and considerably exceeded in number the Shakers themselves. All at once the Shakers rose up quickly, the benches were put out of the way ; brother and sister stood for a moment opposite each other, after which an elderly man came forward and spoke for awhile, but I could not hear what he said. After that the congregation began to sing and dance, tripping forward and backward each one by himself, but in symmetrical lines and figures, to a measure, the principle of which seemed to me to be — Amid all variations of the air constantly recurred the figure m, almost always marked by very energetic stamping of the heels, and during the whole the hands were moved in time, somewhat as a child is lulled to sleep. AU at once the dancing and singing ceased. The congregation stood immovable for a moment, and then another preacher stepped forth, after which singing and dancing began afresh. Thus it went on for an hour in an uninspired and mechanical way, as it seemed to me. And these pale HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 165 women, all attired alike, tripping, and see-sawing up and down, and swinging about with downcast eyes, and without any sign of joy or natural life, appeared to me in a high degree unnatural. They had gentle but unmeaning countenances ; I did not see one among them which was beautiful. The men looked better and more natural, both body and soul, and danced with more life, although the effect was often ludicrous. Again all was still in the assembly, and all resumed their seats on the benches. And now a Shaker brother of about forty stood up ; he was a man with a narrow forehead, and deep-set, dark, glimmering eyes, whose whole exterior indicated the dominance of one idea, fanatically held. He placed himself before the spectators, and addressed them some- what in this style — " You behold -us here assembled in a room which we have built by our own labour, in which we may worship God according to the law of our own conscience. If you are come here to see us, and you desire to feel esteem for our community and our mode of worship, and to behave in accordance with it, then you are welcome ; if not, then you are not welcome here. But I hope the former. And let us now talk one with another, and let us see what it is which lies between you and us, what it is which separates us. Let us understand one another." He then proceeded to describe the Shaker community in opposition to the worldly community; the former as renouncing the world and living only for heaven, the latter as living merely for selfish enjoyment and earthly advantage. We had, every one of us, a very severely condemnatory sermon from Brother Evans (for such was the name of the Shaker brother), on account of our sins and our frailties, interrupted merely by such admonitions as, " Come, let us consider the matter together ! Answer me ! " and so on. It wpuld have been extremely easy to have answered the good brother and to have 166 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. retorted a great many of his accusations, and in particular his Shaker-self-commendation, and I wondered that no voice was raised to do so from the so-much censured audience. But they took it all in good part and were silent. After this chiding sermon the dancing recom- menced with new vigour; a circle was formed which constituted the quire, and around it moved in a dancing ring, which seemed continually to extend itself (and evidently did so with method and art), the whole Shaker congregation, two and two, and finally three and three in a Une, amid an incessant measured stamping and striking with the feet, and waving with the hands, and singing to a liveUer tune than hitherto : — ■ Oh, how I love this living way, Where peSice doth spread its cheering ray, And like the brilliant orb of day The truth of heaven is shining ; Where souls in union daily meet, Their vows and offerings to repeat, Pure love makes their communion sweet, 'Tis like the dew of Hermon. The dancing and the movements became more and more animated the longer they continued, although it never exceeded a jog-trot measure, and I saw sweat-drops stand on many a countenance. The eyes of the women, however, still continued cast down, and their expression inanimate. The men appeared more livety, and their dancing, especially the action of the hands, which in their increasing zeal, resembled that of a harp-player, seemed easy and becoming, or at all events, not un- becoming their costume, and iiot at all unnatural. It was not difficult to understand that this circular dance might be intended as a symbolic representation of the path of life, and I have since been told that it represented the progress of the soul on its journey through hfe. The quire in the middle of tjie hall sang during the whole time, making a fanning movement with their hands. HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 167 I, for my part, do not see why dancing might not constitute divine worship as well as singing and other modes of action, and why it might not be a natural expression for certaia phases of the religious hie. When Kiug David danced for joy before the ark, and played upon his harp as he sang songs of praise unto the Lord, he followed a true inspiration, nor have I anything against this dancing of the Shaker congregation, excepting that this is precisely the inspiration -which it lacks. It is now merely a work of tradition, of custom, and calculation. A few years since it was different, and then, as I have heard from Miss Sedgewick, extraordinary phenomena were exhibited, as for instance, people spinning round like the Fakirs of the East, till they fell down from sheer fatigue, or in convulsive extacies. Such exhibitions are of rare occurrence now, or care is taken that they do not occur in public. The element of practical economy which, as well as religious enthusiasm, distiaguishes the Shaker sect, seems latterly to have taken the lead. This religious service concluded as silently as it had begun. The brothers and sisters carried away their benches in the same way that they had brought them forward, and then left the hall, each by their own entrance. I was determined, however, to know more of this sect and of its intention. I sought out therefore two leaders of the congregation, told them my wishes, and requested to see them again and to converse with them. They kindly consented, and invited me at once to dine with them and to remain over the next day. I could not do that, as I expected my young friends the Lowells ; but in the afternoon, after I and the S.'s had dined at Lebanon Wells, we returned alone to the Shaker village. A deep silence now prevailed there. All the congregation were away, and those cheerful yellow houses lay solitary upon their green, sunlit hills. We were received by two of the sisters, who conducted 168 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. US into a room where two elderly men and two elderly- women, as well as a few young girls, were present. The cheeks of the latter bloomed like roses beneath blue- white Unen caps, and 1 now saw that the Shaker com- munity did not send its handsomest members into the dance. These elderly men and women were elders, as they are here called, and superintendents of the family ia which we found ourselves. The community of New Lebanon is divided into two families, the " North Family " and the " South Family." Each family has its separate house, overseers, and household manage- ment. I propounded my questions to the elders, but it was soon clear to me that they could hardly answer them. One of the men was a wealthy man who had left his wife and his family to unite himself to the Shakers, to whom he had given a part of his property. Afterwards one of his daughters followed his example, and she was one of the pretty young girls now present. He was an elderly, strong-built man, with a good exterior and a countenance which indicated feeling to be stronger than intellect. The other elder had a noble, ascetic, and patriarchal appearance. Neither of them had much to say. The women seemed gentle but of circum- scribed minds. They had sought for, and had found a haven amid the storms of life. More they did not desire. But now Brother Evans entered, with the narrow, high forehead, the dark, fanatically gleaming eyes, and with him the conversation became animated. I was astonished to find in that fanatical preacher a very intelligent, and, upon the whole, a man of a liberal, although not of a profound mind, who understood the foundation and the vital intention of the sect, and could render a reason for all. The conversation with him became really interesting to me, and we both grew very earnest. HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 159 Of the questions and replies that passed between us I shall merely give the following : — Question. — What is the meaning of your dancing ? Is it symbolical or is it for discipHne ? Answer. — Both one and the other. "We dance because we cannot help it; because we cannot otherwise give expression to the feelings of our hearts. Our dance is so arranged that it may represent to us our duty and om: faith, and thus become to us a vitalising sermon both to soul and body. Question. — ^You say you represent something quite new in the world; nevertheless, I must observe, that sects which separated themselves from the world, forsaking all its pleasiu-es, in order to lead a holy life, may be found in all ages. How do you distinguish your community from those orders of monks and nuns which were formed immediately after the introduction of Christianity, and which are yet to be met with in many countries ? Answer. — There is the greatest difference in the world. These orders will that the human being shall attain perfection by the separation of man and woman, whom God created for a spiritual oneness. We, on the contrary, maintain that it is only through this spiritual union between man and woman, that the perfected human being can be produced. Question. — The fundamental idea of your community is then that of spiritual marriage ? Answer. — We do not call it marriage. We merely say that men and women cannot become good and perfected human beings, excepting by means of reciprocal spiritual union and daily intercourse, conformably with the intention of God, whereby they aid each other in the attainment of a perfect life. Question. — But if all the world were to be of your way of thinking ; and all the world, that is to say, our world, were to become a community such as yours, 170 HOMES OP THE NEW WOELD. without marriage and without children, there would soon be an end of the world — it would then die out. Elder Evans bethought himself for a little while and then said, that if the world came to an end in a good way, if it made a good and a holy end, then it might just as well happen soon as late, for that we, every one of us, looked towards our transformation, and hoped that it might be for the better. On this I too bethought me for awhile, and then found nothing to reply, excepting that it seemed to me that the brother was not so far wrong. I had indeed, and still have, my suspicion that we human beings have a greater work to perform on this earth, than we should have time for if we all of us devoted ourselves to the life and death of the Shaker community ; but I would not now agitate the ocean, in which neither Brother Evans nor I could very well swim, but would content myself with endeavouring to acquire a better knowledge of the orga- nisation of the life and institution of the Shaker sect. Its object is, the spiritual development of the human being by means of a spiritual, holy, social life ; the main springs of this are Christian and kindly intercourse in spirit and action, of men and women, in prayer and in labour, for and with each other. The subjection of worldly pleasures, and a physically ascetic life being the means which are to remove all impediments from the former. " Are you really very fond of one another here ? " I inquired from one of the young girls. " Oh yes, indeed, that we are ! " replied she, and her beautiful, large, dark blue eyes beamed with a confirmation of her words. The feeling which seemed to exist between these young girls and those elderly men, as I observed on two occa- sions, seemed to me to be especially beautiful and affectionate, such as that between good daughters and their fathers. HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. 171 In the midst of our conversation young Lowell came bounding up the stairs and into the room where I sate with the Shaker company, and his handsome, fresh, and animated countenance, beaming with life and cordi- ality, shone like a May sun in upon that pale, although kind assembly. He and Maria were just arrived, and we had a cordial meeting in the midst of the Shaker sisters, who smiled gently and watched us, not without sympathy. They now invited us all to come and take supper with them, but the Lowells were going to the Lebanon Wells, because Maria required rest. The S.'s and I, therefore, went down with our Shaker friends into a hall, where a table was spread for us, with tea, milk, bread and butter, cakes, and preserves, and of all a great abundance. We were waited upon by the sisters ; two of the brothers sate down to table with us, but without partaking of anything. Rebecca S. said to one of the sisters who waited upon us, as she bent down to offer her something, "You look so good that I must kiss you ! " Many sisters came in to see us. I observed some middle-aged women with remarkably good and noble countenances. A calm and mild gravity distinguished them all. They made me feel as during a mild but dull September day in Sweden. The air is then pure, the fields still green, it is agreeable, and it is calm, but a certain air of melancholy rests upon the landscape ; it is wanting in sun, flowers, and the song of the birds ; nothing grows, all stands still, and if by chance a bird utters a little twittering song, it is soon at an end. That mild, calm, September atmosphere suits me very well nevertheless, and the Shaker sisters seemed to see with satisfaction the evident interest which we felt for them and their society. They were heartily kind and agreeable, much njore so than I could have believed as I saw them during the occurrences of the forenoon. When we took leave of them I said, " I salute you all 1V2 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. with a spiritual kiss, because, I presume, that you will not allow any other." " Oh, we are not so particular as that," said a young girl, who smiling and bending forward her pretty head, kissed me, and with that came forward the rest, and we had a hearty kissing all round, Eebecca and I and the Shaker sisters, and as they laughed at this, I said to them : " I fancied that you could not laugh." And that made them aU laugh again, and one of the elder women said, " Oh, I would not, for a great deal, be without my good laugh ! " They were regularly charming and delightful^ a thousand times more so than some worldly and thoughtless ladies at the hotel at Lebanon Wells, who set themselves very high above " the poor Shakers." Their society left a very good impression upon me ; and I have heard from persons who have had intercourse with the Shakers for many years, a great deal of good respecting them, in particular of their mutual life of Christian love, as well as of their kindness to the poor ; their tender care of such children as are entrusted to them, sometimes those of poor people who do not belong to their society, sometimes of the families of members, but who live without acknowledging more than the spiritual connection with the society. The care which is taken also of the old and the sick of the community is said to be excellent. I heard the same from my little lady-doctor in Boston, Miss H., who is the physician of two or three Shaker establishments. She also told me of many an unhappy human life in the world which has found a peaceful asylum among the Shakers, of miserably married people, of lonely women, of men who have been severely tried by affliction, who have here found a haven from the tempests of the day, who have found friends, protection, the comforts of life, and the peace of hfe which they never could have found in the world. These HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 173 societies are conventual associations in a milder form, and upon the whole, as it appears to me, the most rational institutions, and the best adapted for their purpose of any of this class, in everything, excepting the dancing, which might be made considerably more rational, and much more accordant with its object. The Elder Eichard Bushrell gave me, at parting, a book containing the history of the origin and organisation of the Millennium Church, or United Society of BeHevers called Shakers. I see by it that the sect originated in France, where, during a religious revival in Dauphine, about the close of the fifteenth century, a number of men and women were attacked by religious extacies, both of soul and body, which they regarded as the operations of the Holy Spirit, they being accompanied by visions and powerful inward admonitions to a holy, God-dedicated, ascetic life. Disquieted and persecuted in France, some of them fled to England. Anne Lee, the daughter of a smith, who seems, from her earliest years, to have had visions and inspirations like those which are related in the history of the Swedish saint, St. Brigitta, became known to these pious French exiles ; though she could neither read nor write, yet she soon distinguished herseKby her Biblical and other sacred knowledge. After long spiritual sufferings which had emaciated her body, she fell into a state of religious extacy, by which both soul and body re- gained new life, and during which she became the centre, the teacher and leader, of that little flock of scattered believers who had faith in the higher inspiration of this extatic condition. Strong faith and natural genius enabled this woman, devoid of all ordinary education, to reduce to a system that which had hitherto been merely isolated phenomena, and mere conjecture. Through her, and under her influence, the doctrines took a definite form, as thus. That as the' world fell by the first Eve, so would it reinstate itself by the second Eve. Christ's second iU HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD.. appearance should be through the influence of the Holy Spirit in tliis second Eve, iw the woman, who would lead to life in God that race, which she had formerly led to its fall from him. Perfect chastity is the principal condition of this state, together with the devotion of the whole life to God during labour for the brethren. The Shakers saw in Anne Lee, this second Eve, this new revelation of God upon earth. They called her Mother Anne Lee, and guided themselves by her inspirations. They danced to the service of God as she ordained, and when their extatic excitement became vehement — as is always the case in the youthful life of religious excitement — they were attacked by the mob, and Mother Lee and many of her adherents were thrown into prison ; but in vain. Again they met together to sing and to utter praise, and the song became the dance, and the songs of praise lifted them in jumps and bounds from the earth. Disquieted and threatened in England, the Shakers, like all the other persecuted enthusiasts of Europe, cast their eyes across the sea to the New World. Mother Anne Lee became inspired to found there the association of New Lebanon. Accordingly, in the year 1774, Anne Lee, with a small company of her adherents, commenced their voyage ; and as they were swayed by the motion of the sea, they sang and danced in their extatic worship of God. The captain of the vessel, who could not understand such an extraordinary mode of worship, threatened them that, if they would not desist, he would have them thrown overboard. A storm arose ; a plank was torn loose from the ship's side, and the water poured in. The captain, now desperate against the Shaker company, and regarding their ungodly jDroceedings as the cause of this misfortune, was just about to execute his threat when Mother Anne Lee exclaimed, " Be of good courage, captain, for not a hair of your head shall suffer : I see two angels by the mast of your vessel ! " HOMES OF THE NEW 'WORLD. 175 " And at that very moment," continues the narrative, " came a wave and struck the plank again into the ship's side, so that the water flowed in no longer, andthe people at the pimips could make head against it." The storm also soon abated, and the captain from this time left the Shakers at peace. They continued to sing and dance. Singing praises and dancing upon the wild waves of the sea, they arrived at the New World. Mother Anne Lee and her disciples purchased land not far from the banks of the Hudson, cultivated the wilderness, built a house, and founded there in September of the year 1776 their first evangelical community, under the name of New Lebanon. Mother Anne Lee's wedded husband, poor man, whom she had married before the time of her religious awakening, and who, in the begin- ning, also belonged to her believers, became unfaithful, separated himself from her, and fell into drunkenness and other vices. The Shaker estabhshment at New Lebanon, however, flourished and prospered under the guidance of Mother Anne Lee, and gave birth to new Shaker communities in other States, which Anne Lee visited, in order to diffuse there her doctriaes. She died in extreme old age, universally esteemed and beloved. Such of her expressions and teachings as are preserved in the book, show a God-fearing and gentle disposition — not without some little arrogance in the belief that she was another Christ; — as well as of a very prudent, managing, and practical turn of mind. In the meantime she referred all rules of labour and frugality to God, as the giver of all good. "It is," said she, "through the blessing of God that every article of food is given, and therefore we must not be careless even of the smallest things." Of her exterior it is said, " Mother Anne Lee was somewhat below the middle height of woman ; she was tolerably stout, but upright and well formed, both in 176 HOMES OF THE NEW 'WORLD. person and in features. Her complexion was fair and clear ; her eyes blue and penetrating ; the expression of her countenance mild and fuU of soul, but at the same time solemn and grave. Many persons in the world called her beautiful, and in the eyes of her faithful children she seemed to be possessed of a high degree of beauty and celestial amiability, such as they had never before seen in any mortal being. And when she was under the influence of the Holy Spirit, her countenance beamed with the glory of God, and her form and her actions seemed divinely beautiful and angehc. The power and influence of her spirit at such times surpassed all description ; no one then could contradict her, or oppose the power through which she spoke." At the present time there are in the United States eighteen Shaker communities, scattered over several States, from New Hampshire to Ohio and Indiana. The sect is said however not to exceed four thousand members in number. The society of New Lebanon consists of from seven to eight hundred persons. Each community has its separate two or three famihes, and among these its Church family or " Ministry," of elected, spiritually-gifted men and women, who conduct the spiritual affairs of the society ; the temporal affairs are under the government of deacons and elders elected for that purpose. All the various communities stand in a certain subordinate relationship to that of New Lebanon, which is called the mother-community. All property is in common ; no one in the community possesses anything for himself. AU division of property is objected to. Any person who, on entering the community, brings in with him property may, after a time, draw it out again if he wishes to leave the community. But if it is given to the community after calm reflection and with full consciousness of the act, it cannot again be resumed. Most of the Shaker associations are in good circumstances, HOMES OP THE NEW WOULD. 177 and that at New Lebanon is said to be wealthy, and to be still more and more extending its possessions. It is maintained by agriculture and the rearing of cattle. Eyerything which is made by the Shakers is substantial, but has something odd and devoid of taste in form and colour. The Shakers live well and work leisurely, because they have neither pleasures nor superfluity, and they work equally, and they work aU. The sect increases slowly; you hear no scandalous stories told of these communities. Yet will it now and then happen that a young couple there, a brother and sister, will elope in order to unite themselves as man and wife, beyond the pale of the society. Nobody pursues them; they are merely considered as lost. On one occasion, I have heard that a new-born child was laid at the door of a Shaker house. It caused a great excitement when it was found there the next morning, and aU the Shakers, men and women, young and old, went forth to see that wonderful little thing, a baby ! " The baby " became the object of curiosity and interest to the whole Shaker community ; and " the baby's " well-being, its growth and progress, the subject of general conversation and general attention. " The baby " was for a long time the chief personage in the Shaker community. And now you must indeed have had enough of the Shakers. I wish, however, to see more of them and of their commonwealth, and hope yet to have an oppor- tunity of doing so. Mother Anne Lee, how many of Eve's daughters, and sons too, are there who might very weU go to school — if not exactly into the dancing- school — with thee ! I passed the evening at Lebanon Wells with my friends the S.'s and L.'s, and bathed also in its crystalline, sulphur-impregnated bath. Finally, I contended with the S.'s, because, we had the old story over again, I wished VOL. IL M 178 HOMES OP THE NEW WOULD. to pay my share of the expenses both of the journey and our stay at the hotel, to which they would not consent. They have a thousand amiable ways and expressions by which to silence me and to compel me to let them defray travelling expenses. They are of a thoroughly kind and liberal nature, and the sense of their pleasure in giving caused me in the end to be silent, but with tears ia my eyes ; and they carried their point without my being able to thank them. But I know that they understand my feelings. I cannot describe to you how amiable they are, how careful they are of me, and how kindly anxious ! And all is done in such a simple and natural manner, as though they were my brother and sister. I am sincerely attached to them, and am happy in having become acquainted with such people. They returned to New York, and I continued my journey with the Lowells, part of the way by the Hudson, and the rest by railway ; but it rained terrifically, and in our transit from one mode of conveyance to the other we, as well as our carpet-bags, got wet through. Drenched, and amid pouring rain which rushed iu torrents through the streets of Albany, we arrived at our hotel, where they refused to receive us. The agricultural fair was to be held in two days in the city, and every room was engaged by people coming to the fair. On our promising, however, merely to remain there for one night, they gave us accommodation ; and how charming it was to be able to dry ourselves before good fixes, and to have warm and refreshing tea ! I am now in the centre of the most powerful State of North America, with its population equal to that of the whole of Sweden, and much richer ; but Sweden has a wealth which the Emperor State can never obtain, let it be as rich as it may ; and yet it is not nearly so powerful as it might and certainly will become. HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 179 New York State has no old memories, no origin of an interest equal to that of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. It was trade which first populated this country. Its earliest founders proceeded thence from Holland; and the country, was called by them New Netherlands, and the peninsula upon which New York ; stands was then Called Manhatten^ a grand Indian name, by which I could wish that New York might be rebap- tised. It was at the expense of the Dutch Company that Hudson went to America and discovered the glorious driver which bears his name, and the country around it he described as " Het shoonste land det men met voeten .betreden kon." Even to this day the State is full of, the .Dutch, who live in a clan-like manner, and will not avail themselves of schools or other great institutions which have been established by the present law-giving and dominant people. The State of New York does not appear to have contributed to the spiritual treasury of •great ideas in the New "World. Nevertheless, the idea of a federal republic seems to have been carried over to New York from the general States of Holland. And now, good-bye, my sweet sister ! I am tired and ■sleepy. NiASAEA, Sept. Ith. I now write to you with the rivers from this grand, renowned New World's wonderful waterfall, roaring and murmuring around me. And it is grand, and worthy to -be renowned and wonderfully beautiful, and yet, at the same time, so simple and comprehensible in its grandeur, that one at once receives the impression both into soul and sense, and retains its indelibly. It astonished me less than I expected, but it has become more to me. It has grown with me, and — but I shall talk to you about it another time. It is now evening, and dark without. And now, by lamplight, with the music of the rivers' roar beneath my k2 180 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. window, nay, almost beneath my feet, for we have our rooms in the hotel, " Cataract House," above the rapids, which with the speed of lightning shoot foaming past on their way to the great fall, — now then will I have a Uttle chat with you and give you an account of the events of the last few days. I wrote last to you from Albany. The rain kept us prisoners the whole afternoon and evening. The morning rose grey and cloudy. I looked like a turkey-hen, up to the sky in fear of rain ; but when I saw the grey clouds breaking, the blue peeping through them, I knew that all was right, and the day became glorious, and the journey was glorious through the beautiful fertile Mohawk valley, along the river of that name, a lively, roaring little river, with bright red-tinged waters, which went speeding along through verdant and rich meadows. The clouds had taken to themselves wings, and flown far aloft into that blue vault, and there vanished like the small wings of the cherubim, leaving the firmament brilliant in its deep blue. The fields were brilliant with sunflowers, partly wild and partly planted around the small farm-houses. I never saw such an abundance of them, nor of such a size. Many of them had heads of flower, and were as taU as young trees. At one place I saw a little house quite surrounded by taU sunflowers as by a wood ; they were higher than the house : but that, certainly, was not very tail for a house. On all hands the land appeared well laid out and cultivated. The sun shone bril- liantly over that beautiful rich landscape, and the land- scape shone brilliantly back again after the rain ; every- thing looked fresh and rejoicing. And we flew along that excellent railroad, reposing in excellent arm-chairs, flew towards the West, that rich land of promise, the evening land of the sun ! Thus sped we along through many infant cities, such as Syracuse, Eome, Oswego, Auburn, Vienna, Amsterdam, Schenectady, Oneida, Seneca HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 181 Falls, Genoa, and so on; all pretty, all increasing, all abounding in lovely houses and gardens, with many churches, built in a decorative style, and town-houses lord- ing it over the cities, both in situation and character, — all testifying to good order and prosperity, and each one very much like another, spite of the dissimilar character which is suggested by their appellations. I, for my part, like this appropriation of aU the celebrated names of the Old World by the New, because I perceive in it an uncon- scious prophecy to the people of that higher metamor- phosis which is to be produced by this country and this people, through which the life of the Old World shall again come forth anew, but with a higher or more spiritual significance. In these names from all lands and all peoples, I^hear the prediction of that great popular assembly of all the nations of the earth, which is to take place in this country. We sped on, and past many lakes with their romantic shores, Cayuga, Seneca, Canandaigun, Oneida, and many others. The scenery was not of a grand character, but was infinitely pleasing and fertile. The orchards, which surrounded the well-built country houses and farms, were brilliant with their splendid apples and peaches. I had heard it said that the journey through the western valley of New York was interesting by the spectacle which it presented of luxuriant and flourishing vegetable life. And it is so. It is a rural festival from one end to the other. My young friends, James and Maria, enjoyed it as much as I did. And as the day declined, the sun descended to the western horizon towards which we were directing our course, and the lower it sunk the more glowing became its colour, the more warm and the deeper at the same time, and we sped on directly towards the sun. I gazed towards it as one of the daughters of Peru might have done ; I gazed towards it like the sunflowers on our way, and felt myself inwardly to stand ia kinship to it. 182 HOMES OF THE NEW "WORLD. In the evening we arrived at Utica, where we were to remain one night. And whilst Maria rested, and James made arrangements for our next day's journey to Trenton Falls, I went out on an exploratory journey into the little city with the old republican name. " I wiU go and look" after Cato," thought I to myself; "perhaps he waits here once more." And that he does, although in the metamorphosis; that is to say, I saw upon the corners of two houses a printed placard, upon which I read — " The tailoresses of the city of Utica call a meeting at ; next Wednesday, to consider what means can be taken to remove the oppressions under which we labour, and also how we can best obtain our rights." Stern old advocate of the rights of the people, who wouldst not live where thou sawst them destroyed by the hands of Caesar ! old magnanimous Cato, who didst die, for republican freedom — thou art the victor after aU ! That which thou desiredst, that for which thou foughtest, is here, in this new republic, a living reality two thousand years afterwards. I see and read it here ; even the lowest of the people may stand up for their rights, may make their speeches in the state's forum, equally with the most powerful, and obtain justice. Old Republican, thou hast conquered ! and thy spirit lives here mightier than in that ancient Rome. " The tailoresses of the city of Utica " prove this in the city which bears the name of thy birthplace. Pity only that they had not drawn up their advertisement better ! But that is of less consequence, as its purport is clear. Thus I returned home, glad to have met the spirit of Cato, and to have seen in Utica many pretty and tastefully- built houses surrounded by plantations. The streets in the lesser cities of America are a succession of small detached villas, with their grass plots, elegant iron palisading, and fine trees in front of the houses. It is HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 183 only in those portions of the towns in which shops are to be found that the houses are built close together, and rather with an eye to the advantage of business than for beauty. StiU a handsome appearance and good pro- portion are never lost sight of, and everywhere prevail order and neatness. "Do you live happily and contentedly here in this city ? " inquired I from a young shopman, who looked particularly agreeable. " Oh, yes, indeed ! " replied he, frankly and cordially, " we have good friends, good neighbours, and everythrug good ! We could not wish it better ! " An unusual state of happiness and contentment ! The next day we went with a carriage and horses — a mode of travelling which is beginning to be uncommon here — to Trenton, in order to see the waterfall, which is cousin to Niagara in reputation. It is a wild and violent fall, hurling itself through an immense chasm of rock, directly down a height of certainly a quarter of an English mile. The water, which has the colour of clear sherry, leaps from between the lofty dark walls of rock, like a Berserk, . from ledge to ledge in the wildest tumult, gleaming in the sun, tumbling into abysses, leaping up over masses of rock and trunks of trees, rending down and over- whelming everything in its career, flinging forth cascades of spray right and left into the wood, which stands as if dumb and trembling while the mighty giant-hero passes by. It is magnificent ; but too violent, too headlong. One is deafened by the thundering roar, and almost blinded by the impetuosity with which the masses of water are hurled forward. One becomes wearied by it, as one does by anything extravagant, let it be as grand as it may ; one cannot hear one's own thoughts, much less those of others, even if they are shouted into one's ear. One is out-talked, out-done, out-maddened by the giant's Berserker-madness. Alone in its clear and glowing. 184 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. colour could I see the divine fire, and when standing on a rocky terrace by the side of the fall, I took off my bonnet, and let the spray rain over me, as it was flung down from the water like a mist ; I then felt that the Mighty One could be even gentle and refreshing. The scenery at Trenton is wild and picturesquely beautiful, but circumscribed. It is of a Berserker character. We spent the whole day at Trenton, in company with the giant and the scenery around. The inn was a good and comfortable one, as are nearly all the inns in this country, and was situated in a romantic stretch of dale scenery. We ate well and we slept well, and the next day we returned to Utica and thence pursued our way stiU farther West. The sun was still with us, and the country rich and fertile as before. During our rapid journey, however, something took fire in the train in consequence of the friction of wood and iron, and we were obliged to wait that it might be extinguished. We took it all very coolly, enjoyed ourselves sitting in our luxurious arm-chairs, with the sense of sometliing like adventure, and watched how expertly and with how much calmness they set about to avert the danger. The train had stopped just beside a large and beautiful orchard, which was separated from the rail-road by a rather low wooden fence. I had just called Maria Lowell's attention to the really paradisaic beauty and perfection of some young apple-trees, the fruit of which was brilliant with the most vivid red and golden yeUow-colour, when, to my astonishment — and I must confess to my grief also — I saw a number of young men, passengers of the train, from twenty to thirty years of age, well-dressed and well-looking in all respects, leap over the fence into the orchard, and in the most merciless manner, fall upon and despoil those beautiful fruit-trees. Precisely those young, beautiful trees which I had remarked, became the prey of this robber-greed, were dragged down, their HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 185 branches broken, plucked off amid the laughter and talk of the company, and then came many others from the train and leapt over the fence and into the orchard. But now a voice was heard in the distance, and that voice must have sounded to those apple-covetous sons of Adam, something like the voice of the Lord when it was heard in the Garden of Eden by the first Adam, after that first eating of the forbidden fruit, although not perhaps quite so awfuUy. Certain however it is that they took to their heels, and threw over the fence, on to the road, aU the apples they could snatch from the tree, and sprang laughing, and still throwing apples before them over the fence and into the carriages, leaving the owner of the orchard to contemplate his despoiled and injured trees. I confess that this apple-scene and the spirit in which it was done very much astonished me. " Is it possible," said I to James Lowell, " that gentle- men can act in this manner ? " He shook his head silently ; " And yet," said I, " these young men looked like gentlemen. Many of them were handsome besides being well-dressed." I had many times heard of garden-robberies of fruit and flowers by young fellows, in the neighbourhood of great cities, especially around Philadelphia, and I had even asked my friends how this might be prevented. They confessed that it was so, but excused it by saying, that fruit was so plentiful and so cheap in this country, that nobody considered the taking of it as anything very important. And yet these young men, on this occasion, had ran away at the sound of the proprietor's voice, like any ordinary fruit-thieves. The only difference between the fruit-thieves of Europe and those of the New World seemed to be that the latter were not ashamed. Stealing fruit and destroying trees, as well as fleeing away from the owner of the orchard, all were equally signs of a low state of feeling. 186 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. About noon we arrived at Eochester, one of those great arteries through which the trade and traffic of the West flows into the Eastern States, and from these into the West. The city is situated between Lake Ontario and the Eiver Genesee, the many falls of which turn its celebrated flour-mills. By means of the great lakes Eochester has communication with all the States which are situated round them as well as with Canada, and by means of the Genesee and Hudson, the Erie canal and innumerable railroads, it is connected with the Eastern States. Eochester is one of the children of the Great West in respect to growth. It was founded in 1812, by Nathaniel Eochester, and some other emigrants from Maryland, and in the year 1820, it contained 1500 inhabitants ; now, in the year 1850, it contains 40,000. That may weU be called progress. Its staple trade is the grinding of flour : its mills are said to grind daUy five thousand barrels of flour, which is said to be of a magnificent quality. We were received at Eochester by some friends of the Lowells, kind and agreeable people, who drove us iu their carriage to see the lions of the place. First, we went to the factories which are situated upon the high banks of the Genesee river. The water which turns these wheels of labour is brought from the higher part of the river, and again flows into it from the miUs after it has perfectly accomplished its labour. It rushes merrily along, in foaming cascades over the flat rocks, lilie wild schoolboys who, now that school is over, bound forth fuU of the joy of life into the open air; but if they had not done their work they could not have played. The opposite banks, equally lofty with that upon which the mills stood, were laid out in pleasure grounds, by some Germans, as we were told ; there were swings, a shooting ground, and other means of amusement, and as a festival for eye and mind, a landscape of prairie -like extent and' HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 187 character. On the verdant, open meadows, which were undivided by fences, grazed peaceful flocks and herds. The descending sun shone brilliantly over that cheerful scene. How good was the thought, or how fortunate was the accident, which introduced pleasure in the midst of labour, and furnished for both this glorious open space. Maria Lowell and I walked by the river side for an hour alone, she as much affected as I was by the peculiar beauty and significant life of the place, and I listening with delight to her intelligent remarks on the honour of labour, and the happiness which is attendant upon it. Farther down we came to yet wilder falls, too wild and too beautiful to turn miUs. They were neither very large nor powerful, but of great picturesque beauty, and leafy trees and shrubs grow around them. Thus we proceeded tUl we came to a flour mill, which I saw from top to bottom, and shook hands with the men of the mill, and became very dusty with flour. The streets of Rochester were animated with buyers and sellers ; with those who were driving, and those who . were walking, and amid the crowd of the European race Indians might be seen in their white blankets, and with their uncovered long, black, shaggy hair, passiog in and out of the shops. The following day I made acquaintance • with the so-called " Rochester knockings," or that species of witchcraft which has so long revealed itself here and there in the West, the goblin of the West, as I call it, and which has now for some time been heard in Rochester, or wherever the young women of the name of Fish may chance to be. It is given out that these knockings are the operation of spirits who attend these sisters, and who are in communication with them. A number of persons in the city had visited the sisters, heard the knockings, seen tables walk off by themseives over the floor, and many other wonderful things performed by these spirits.' 188 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. Some believed in them, but the greater number did not, considering the young women to be cunning impostors who themselves produced these noises and strange occurrences. As these sisters, the Misses Fish, received payment for letting the public see and hear them, it appears all the more probable that this may be the case. Never- theless they had themselves solicited investigation, had consented to be bound hand and foot in the presence of a committee, consisting of some of the most respectable people of the city ; and during the whole time the noises and knockings were heard around them, and the committee published in the newspaper a declaration, signed by their names, stating that nothing had been discovered which gave reason to suspect these young women of imposture. Since then they have been left at peace ; but the better class of townspeople seem to regard it as a proof of bad taste and want of judgment to visit these ghostly ladies. I have, from my earhest youth, heard so much about spectral affairs, and have myself heard such things as I cannot explam by the ordinary, well-known powers of nature, — and I had so frequently, during my travels in America, heard and read in the newspapers of " The Western Knockings and Eappings," that I was very curious to hear them with my own ears. The young Lowells partook of my curiosity, and our friends in Eochester conducted us therefore to the place where, for the present, they were to be heard. The first glance however of the two sisters convinced me that whatever spirits they might be in communication with, they were not of a spiritu- ally respectable class. Very different must be the appearance of such persons as have communion with the higher spiritual beings. For the rest, I came to the conclusion, from what occurred during this visit, and which in certain respects was extraordinary enough, HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. 189 that the spirits did not understand Swedish, for they ought not in any case to have permitted themselves to be defied and threatened in Swedish as they were by me ; that these wonderful knockings and tricks were either effected by these young sisters themselves, and they looked to me quite capable of it, however incom- prehensible it might seem that they could manage to perform some of the tricks, or that they were the work of spirits of a similar disposition to these sisters, and in rapport with them. I may call these spirits, the little Barnums of the spiritual world who, like the great Barnum of America, amuse themselves with leading by the nose any persons who will be so led, and who receive their pranks in serious earnest. I do not doubt but that the spiritual world has its " humbugs," even^as our world has, and it does not seem to me extraordinary that they endeavour to make fools of us. I am however surprised that iatelligent people can be wiUing to seek for intercourse with their beloved departed through the medium of these knocking spirits, as is often the case. The sorrow of my heart and doubt of my mind might do a great deal ; but it seems to me that rather would I never hear upon earth any tidings of my beloved dead, than hear them through these miserable knockings. The intercourse of spirits, angelic communion, is of a higher and holier kind. From this scene, which produced a disquieting uncom- fortable impression (the young Lowells were extremely angry with it), we drove to caU on Frederick Douglas, a fugitive slave from Maryland, who has become celebrated by his natural genius, his talent as a public speaker, and the eloquence with which he pleads the cause of his black brethren. He is the editor of a paper called the " North Star," * which is published at Rochester : hfe was now here, * Now called " Frederick Douglas's Paper." 190 HOMES OF THE NEW WOULD. but confined to the house by bronchitis, which prevented his calling on me. I had great interest ia him, principally from his auto- biography, which I had read, and which bears evidence of a strong and profoundly sensitive spirit, as well as of truth. And this is not always the case with some other autobiographies of fugitive slaves, which are a mixture of truth and fiction, and greatly overdrawn. There is one part of this narrative which deeply affected me by its beauty, and I will translate it for you. It will give you some idea of the man and his condition as a slave, during the severest period of his slave-life. He was then a youth of seventeen. " I was somewhat intractable when I came first to Mr. Covey. But a few months of this discipline quite subdued me. Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me in. I was broken both body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity of mind was crushed ; my intelligence was dulled ; the desire to read died within me ; the cheerful -sparkle of my eye was gone ; the dark night of slavery lay heavy upon me, and — ^behold a human being changed into a mere chattel ! " Sunday was my only free time. I spent it in a sort of animal stupidity, between sleeping and waking, under a large tree. Sometimes I rose up ; a flash of energetic life — the life of freedom, passed through my soul, accompanied by a gleam of hope, which lit it up for a moment, and then again vanished. And again I sank down, sorrowing over my condition. Sometimes I was tempted to put an end to my life and to Covey's at the same time, but I was withheld by a feeling both of hope and fear. " Our house stood merely a few steps from Chesapeak Bay, upon whose broad bosom always shone white sails from all the countries of the habitable world. These beautiful vessels, in their shining white garments, so HOMES OP THE NEW WOELD. 191 enchanting to the eye of the freeman, seemed to me like -shrouded spectres, who came to terrify and torment me with the thought of my wretched state. " Often in the profound silence of a summer Sunday have I stood alone upon the lofty shores of this mag- nificent bay, and with a heavy heart and tearful eyes followed the innumerable crowd of sail floating out •towards the great ocean. The sight of these affected me powerfully. My thoughts sought for expression, and there in the ear of the one Almighty Auditor did my soul pour forth her lament, though in a rude and untaught manner, as if addressing the sailing ships: ' You are released from your bonds, and are free. I am enchained by my fetters, and am a slave ! You speed on joyfully before the wind. I am driven on painfully by the bloody whip. You are the swift-winged angels of freedom, ■who fly around the world. I am fettered by an iron chain. Oh, that I were but free ! Oh, that I were but standing on one of your stately decks, beneath the shadow of your protecting wings. Ah ! between you and me rolls the pitiless sea ! Go ! go ! Oh, that I also could go ! If I could only swim. If I could but fly ! Oh, why was I born a man to become a chattel ! That glad ship is gone ; it is losing itself in the dim distance. I am left in the burning hell of endless slavery, .Oh God, save me ! God release me ! Let me become free ! Is there a God ? Why am I a slave ? I will fly. I will not endure it ! Free or in bondage — I will attempt it — I have only life to lose. I may as well die running as standing. Only f.Tiink — one hundred miles directly north, and I am free. Attempt it ? Yes ! so help me God ! I will do it. It cannot be intended that I should die a slave. I will trust myself to the sea. This very creek shall bear me to liberty ! A better day is in the future ! ' " And he became free, although several years later. Thank God, he succeeded in saving himself, in becoming 192 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. free ! His autobiography is one of the most interesting books which any one can read. Douglas has entirely main- tained himself for some years as a literary man, always working for his great object — the emancipation of the slaves and the improvement of the free coloured people. I found him to be a Hght Mulatto of about thirty, with an unusually handsome exterior, such as I imagine should belong to an Arab chief. Those beau- tiful eyes were full of a dark fire. He suffered much from that affection of the throat, and could .speak only with difficulty. Some bitter words were vehemently expressed agaiast the custom prevalent under the system of slavery, of robbing the labourer of the wages which he earns. The case is this ; slaves are hired out by their owners to work for certain wages, perhaps for a doUar a day, or seven or nine dollars a week, and this wage they must, at the end of the week or the month, which- ever it may be, take to their masters. Many slave- holders maintaia themselves by money thus acquired by their slaves. On the other side, the master generally provides clothes for the slaves, and is bound to take care of them in sickness and old age. Many slaves, however, earn so much by their labour that they could very well do more than maintain themselves, if they might but have that which they earn. The wife of Douglas is very dark, stout and plaia, but with a good expression ; his little daughter, Eosetta, takes after her mother. The governess is a white lady, who lives in the family. I cannot but admire that force of character which enables her to bear those trials which, in such circumstances, she must have to bear from the prejudiced white people ; and they are legion even in the free states. But possibly has that former slave, now the apostle-militant of freedom, that greatness of character which makes such a sacrifice easy to an ardent soul. I saw too little of him, and under circumstances too HOMES OF THE NEW WOKLD, J93 unpropitious for me to obtain a clear impression. And if, in his case, bitterness of spirit were more conspicuous than magnanimity, who can wonder ? I must now say a few words about some knockings in Rochester, which entertained me more than the so-called Spiritual ; — these I heard in the Telegraph Office of the city. I wished to know whether the former American minister in Stockholm, Mr. Lay, who now lived in Batavia, a little city in Western New York, was at home, in which case I wished to pay a visit to him and his wife on my way back to Niagara. Mr. Lay, who is still in a very suffering state after an apoplectic attack, had imme- diately on my arrival in America written to me very kindly, and sent a confidential person to take me to his house ; but as I was then with the Downings, I was not able to avail myself of his kindness^ Now, however, I was come into the neighbourhood of the Lays, and should be glad to see these amiable people, my former friends in Sweden, if it were merely to thank them. I wished therefore to send a message and make inquiries at Batavia, about sixty miles distant from Eochester. I was taken to the Telegraph Office, a handsome, well- lighted room in a large covered arcade, in which were ornamental shops like those arched bazaar-arcades in Paris and London. I gave my message to one of the gentleman officials. He immediately caused some mystical knockings to take place, by means of which my message was sent to Batavia. In a few seconds it knocked again. This was the answer from Batavia, which said, " There is no person here of that name." I requested it to knock back again, " Yes, there certainly is. Mr, George W. Lay was two years ago American envoy io Sweden, and now lives in Batavia." In a few seconds more it was knocked back from Batavia, " Wait a little ; we will inquire." I waited now about five minutes, when again it knocked from Batavia, and said, " Quite right, TOL. II. 194 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. Mr. George Lay lives here ; but is at the present time with his wife in New York. Miss Bremer will be gladly welcomed by such of the family as are now at home." As my friends saw how much I was entertained by this telegraphic conversation, a gentleman seated himself at a small harpsichord and played for a few seconds silently upon its keys. He told me that he now sent to a city a hundred miles off, the intelligence, " Miss Bremer is in the ofSce." The next moment I saw, upon a sort of music-desk, a strip of paper unroll itself, upon which an invisible hand had impressed these words in printed letters, " The operator at Buffalo sends his compliments to Miss Bremer, and hopes she is pleased with the experiment." Miss Bremer replied through the harp- sichord keys that she was greatly pleased. But I was now obliged to hasten to Ontario, where we were next evening to take the steam-boat. Those amiable friends who had made our visit in EochesteP so agreeable, accompanied us to the shore, after having presented us with a great number of flowers and the most beautiful fruits, really Hesperian in beauty and excellence. Rochester, with its varied scenes of miUs and knockings of life and lies, its good people and beautiful fruit, left upon us an impression of vigorous life. In a calm, dark night, with stars glimmering between the clouds above us, we sped along Lake Ontario in a splendid steam-boat, and in the dawn ascended the Eiver Niagara, a httle, but romantically lovely daughter of the great fall ; and just as the sun rose we stepped on land and into a carriage to proceed thither. It was a glorious morning, somewhat cool, but bright and cheerful. Two hours later we were at the place ; heard the mighty thundering voice of the monster long before we saw it, and as there were now but few visitors at this advanced season, we had the best room we could desire in " Cataract House," and then hastened out to see the object. HOMES OP THE NEW WOELD. 195 It makes a grand and joyful impression, but has nothing in it which astonishes or strikes the beholder. As you go toward the great fall, which is on the Canada side, you see a broad mass of water which falls perpen- dicularly from a plane in a horse-shoe or crescent form. One might say that the water comes from an open embrace. The water calm and clear, and of the most beautiful smaragdus-green colour, arches itself over the precipice that breaks it, and it is then that the fury and wild power of the fall first break forth, but even here rather majestically than furiously. Trenton is a young hero, drunken with youthful life and old sherry, which, in blind audacity, rushes forth on its career, violent and terrible. Niagara is a goddess, calm and majestic even in the exercise of her highest power. She is mighty, but not violent. She is calm, and leaves the spectators so. She has grand, quiet thoughts, and calls forth such in those who are able to understand her. She does not strike with astonishment, but she commands and fascinates by her clear, sublime beauty. One sits by her knee and still can hear one's own thoughts and the words of others, yes, even the falling water^ drops from the green trees which her waters have besprinkled. She is too great to vrish to silence, to wish to rule, excepting by her spirtual power. She is ah, she is what human beings are not, and which, if they were, would make them god- like. But those many thousand people who come hither every year — ^it is said that the place is visited by 60,000 persons annually — must they not grow a little greater and better by seeing this greatness, and reflecting themselves in it ? — I rejoice that so many people see Niagara in the year. From the unknown fountains of the St. Lawrence, and from the four great inland lakes, Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie, which together are said to hold a fourth 2 196 HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. part of all the fresli--water on the earth — flow the waters of the Niagara fall. The river on its way from Lake Erie encounters, near the fall, an island called Iris, or Goat Island, which divides it into two branches; by the one is formed the Canada fall, by the other, which hurries broad and thundering past our windows, is formed the American fall. Between them are somewhat above twenty feet of flat rock, overgrown with brush-wood. The fall on the Canada side is the richest and the most beautiful. Its breadth is 1500 feet, its height 154 feet. The fall on the New York side is 600 feet wide and 167 feet high. The Canada fall, with its beautiful half-circle, lies just in the middle of the stream. A lofty pyramid of spray-mist ascends from the foaming abyss at its feet, and rises toward heaven high above the level of the fall, like the spirit of Niagara, whose cloudy brow moves itself hither and thither in the vrind. The stream from the Canada fall soon joins that of the American side. United they form below what is called "the whirlpool." The stream there makes a bend and the agitated water is swung round. After that it flows on more calmly as the Niagara river or sound, twenty-five miles, pours itself through Lake Ontario into the magnificent St. Lawrence — the river of a thousand islands — and by it into the Atlantic Ocean. TroUhatten in Sweden has neither the mass of waters of Niagara nor its majesty, but it has more history, more romantic life. Niagara is a grand scene, a sublime action. TroUhatten is a series of scenes and actions. Niagara is a hymn. TroUhatten is a Vala- song. That which most surprised me in Niagara, because I had not expected it, and that which charmed me every day was, besides the smaragdus- green colour of the water, the play of the rainbows over and around the fall, according as the sunbeams fell, or as the wind bore the water-spirit's movable pyramid. This formed a succession HOMES OF THE NEW WOELD. 197 .of brillianf scenes, continually varying and enchantingly beautiful. There is a something about it which charms and depresses me at the same time, because there is a something in it which I wish to understand better. I feel that Niagara has more to say to me than it has yet said, or more than I have yet comprehended ; and nothing can perfectly delight me until it has told me its innermost thought. Even when young, dancing gave me no pleasure, until I understood the meaning of dancing; before then it had been to me an irrational hopping about. We have been here for three days, and shall remain yet two or three days longer. In the mornings I see the fall from the American shore, that is to say from the New York side, when the sun, in its ascent, throws hundreds of beautiful bridges over the cloud of spray; in the afternoon and evening it ought to be contemplated from the Canadian shore when the sun descends on the British side. In the forenoon I bathe in the stream, in the so-called " Mammoth " stream-bath, where the river rushes with such impetuosity into the bath-house, that one can with difficulty stand against it. It is very refreshing. In the afternoon, directly after dinner, I sit with my young friends in the piazza outside our room, and see the stream rushing by, and listen to its music. I often stand for a long time upon some one of the little bridges over the stream, merely to inhale the fragrance of the water ; for the water here has the most delightful freshness, that I can compare to nothing with which I am acquainted. But it feels like the spirit of a delicious, immortal youth. Yes, here it seems to me as if one might become young again in body and in soul. My young friends however do not enjoy the life here as fully as I do. James is not very lively, and Maria, who expects shortly to become a mother, dreams at night that she sees little Mabel playing with her departed 198 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. sisters Blanche and Eose; and a telegraphic message regarding her health which was expected yesterday, but which did not arrive, has added to the uneasiness of the affectionate parents on account of their only child, and drawn away their regards from the great Niagara. September. — My friends are in better heart. Yesterday came the telegraphic intelligence, " Mabel is well." And after that a long letter from the amiable old father, Dr. Lowell, full of anecdotes of home, and the warm affectionate home-life. Yes, that is more than Niagara. But Niagara is now my best beloved. Last evening, James and I — Maria had a cold, and could not venture out in the night air — went across to the Canadian side, and walked backwards and forwards as the sun descended. At everjr new bend or movement of that misty water-spirit it jpresented new forms of light. Still were the rainbows arched, like the airy bridge of Bifrost in the old Scandinavian mythology, the one over the other ; still glowed the light like Idsses of fire, brilliant with prismatic colours, upon the green waters in the abyss ; it was an unceasing festival of light, per- petually changing and astonishingly beautiful. What life, what variations between earth and heaven ! And as the sun sank, those splendid bridges arched themselves higher and higher aloft in the ascending mist. The pyramidal light red cloud floated in the pale blue heaven above the green Niagara, and around it ; on the lofty shores stood the forest in its brilliant autumnal pomp, such as is only seen in the forests of America, and aU was silent and stiU excepting the thunder of the water- fall, to the voice of which aU things seemed to be listening. Septemher 9th. — In the morning of time, before man was yet created, Nature was alone with her Creator. The warmth of His love, the light of His eye awoke her to the consciousness of life ; her heart throbbed with HOMES OP THE NEW WORLD. 199 love for Him of whose life of love she had partaken, and she longed to present Him with an offering, to pour out her feeling, her life, for Him who gave it. She was young and warm with the fulness of primeval life ; but she felt nevertheless her weakness in comparison with His power. What could she give to Him from whom she received everything ? Her heart swelled with love and pain, with infinite longing, with the fulness of infinite life, swelled and swelled till it overflowed in — Niagara. And the spirit of thanksgiving arose as the smoke of an eternal sacrifice from the depth of the water towards heaven. The Lord of heaven saw it, and His spirit embraced the spirit of Nature with rainbows of light, with kisses of brilliant fire in an eternal betrothal. Thus was it in the morning of the earth's life. Thus we behold it to this day. Still we behold to-day the spirit of nature ascend from Niagara towards heaven with the offering of its life, as an unspoken yearning and song of praise; and still to-day it is embraced by the light and the flames of heaven, as by divine love. Niagara is the betrothal of earth's, life With the heavenly life. That has Niagara told me to-day. And now can I leave Niagara. She haa Told me her word of primeval being. September IQth. In the Morning. — To day we shall proceed on our journey. I am satisfied that it should be so, for I have a little headache, and the unceasing thunder of the faU, the continual restless rushing of the torrent past my window is fatiguing to the nerves. Be- sides, one gets accustomed to everything, even to the great ; and when by the side of this great fall we begin to hear and to be occupied merely with our own little thoughts about everyday things, then we may go away. . I have not told you about the different scenes of life 200 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. at Niagara, of the steamboat, the " Maid of the Mist," which advances up to the very fall till it is wetted with its spray, and then only turns back ; nor of my botanical rambles around Iris island ; nor of the Indians, whom one yet meets roaming about here ; nor of the great iron bridge which, strong and light at the same time, has been thrown across the stream a little below the fall ; nor of many other remarkable things here ; — but all these are petty in comparison with that great water-fall, and that has been to me the essential thing. The Indians who live around Niagara belong to the Seneca tribe. As this is the season when the men are all out on their hunting- grounds, I saw merely some squaws, who offered their work for sale. This consists of embroidery done by hand, of flowers and animals, drawn and finished in a childish manner, but yet well done with dyed fibre of porcupiae quills, small mats, baskets, mocassins, and children's rattles, made of a fragrant kind of grass. There are many shops around here full of their work, which is sold at a high price. Two years ago Marcus and Rebecca S. were present at a great solemnity which took place among an Indian tribe here — the election of a new chief. They assembled in the depths of the forest. The finest incident, however, on this remarkable occasion was, that the young chief knelt down before his old mother, who laid her hands, with a benediction, upon his head. Woman, who is treated in a general way so horribly by the Indians, obtains, nevertheless, respect from them when she is the mother of a distinguished warrior; sometimes also, as among all savage people, from her mystical witch-like attributes, when she is possessed of a powerful character. This, however, can only very seldom be the case, con- sidering the heavy yoke, which, from her very childhood, is laid upon her both spiritually and physically. I long to see and hear more of these, the New "World's HOMES OF THE NEW WOIILO. fiOl aborigines, and hope to have opportunity of doing so during my journey in the West. It has now become clear and certain to my mind, though I do not know myself rightly how or when, that I shall proceed up the Mississippi as far as St. Anthony's Fall, that is to say, as far as the river is navigable, into Minnesota, a young territory, not yet a state, which, for the most part, is a wilderness, and the home of the wild Indian tribes, and afterwards down the Mississippi to New Orleans. Why I should go to New Orleans I do not know; but one thing I laiow — I must go there. Something within me tells me so, something which I must call the inward light, the inward voice, and which guides me here like a mysterious but absolute power. I do not hesitate a moment in following its guidance, for it speaks so decidedly and clearly, that I feel glad to obey. I know that to me it is a Star of Bethlehem. From this place I go to Chicago, and thence to the Swedish and Norwegian settlements in the States of Illinois and Wisconsin. Among the memories of Niagara are some of a most sorrowful character. One of these occurred this last summer, when a young man and his sweetheart, and her sister, a little girl, visited the fall. As they stood beside it the young man took the little girl in his arms, and threatened playfully to throw her into it. The child gave a sudden start of terror, which threw her out of his arms and into that foaming abyss. He sprang in after her. Both vanished, and were only again seen as corpses. " Oniaagarah," or " Ochniagarah," was the original name of Niagara, and it is still called so by the Indians. The word signifies " the thunder of the waters." It has been shortened by the Europeans into Niagara. I have now taken my farewell look of the great scene and sight. The green colour of the water, its inexpres- sibly delightful, living odour, charms me as much as 202 HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD. ever. I shall always, in recalling it, think of the fountains of eternal youth. I am satisfied to leave it, but would wish to come once more to see the fall in its winter magnificence, when it crowns itself with flowers and fruits and a thousand fantastic adornments of ice ; when the full moon shines and spans it with the lunar-bow. We shall see ! But I am nevertheless infinitely thankful to have seen Niagara. Its quiet grandeur and power, its colour, its spray, the rainbow's sport in that white cloudy figure — all this is and wiU remain a clear, living image in my soul. And that eternal fulness of nature's heart here — ah ! that the human heart might resemble it, per- petually filled anew, perpetually flowing, never weary, never scanty, never dried up ! My young friends, James and Maria, — it grieved me to part from them ; my amiable, lovely, charming Maria, looked at me with mournful glances, and • but now we must be off! My young friends accompany me to Buffalo. A kiss, my beloved, from Niagara ; the next letter from Chicago. LETTEE XXIV. Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 15