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FOREIGN NOTICES
Of Grund^s Work on the Moral, Social and Political Relations of the Jlmericans.
" This is a work of much matter, the result of a long residence in the country, and a careful observation of its moral and social habits. Mr. Grund has applied German intelligence to the investigation of America ; and whether the reader agrees with or differs from him in his arguments and conclusions, it must be admitted that he has applied his mind vigorously to his subject, and stated his ground with perfect fairness." — Literary Gazette.
" The author must at once be allowed an acquaintance approaching familiarity with the matter he handles; his thoughts on politics are lib- eral, just, and comprehensive; he gives the most complete and extended view of American character we have ever met v/ith in a single work ; and his style is clear and flowing." — Spectator.
■' The Avork exhibits such an amount of ability, and is written with ^llch a familiar knowledge of the subject, that it is entitled to a large -hare of consideration." — Atlas.
" It is long since we read so satisfactory a work, upon all accounts, as the present. It is full of authentic information conveyed in a very sensible and agreeable manner. He has succeeded admirably, and no person will arise from the perusal of this work, without feeling that, be- sides gaining much useful knowledge, he has learnt more fairly to es- timate the nature and value of the American character." — Morning Chronicle, January 20th, 1837.
" Our limits bring us to a close ; but we cannot come to that close, without again warmly recommending these volumes to our readers. Mr. Grund, the author, we add, is a German by birth ; a circumstance which enhances the amiable character of mediator, in which he appears on this occasion. Nor can we refrain from adverting, even at this parting moment, to the beautiful and eloquent eulogiums on Britain, with which his volumes are interspersed." — Scoismo.n.
" "We shall be glad to meet with this writer again : his style is good, and his views will always be wxrth attention." — Examiner. I
Foreign Jfotices of Grund^s Work.
"A vindication of America and the Americans is now not wanted; still it is interesting- to hear the results which are derived from the ex_ perience of one who has not only resided in the country many years but who appears ex facie, by the vigorous and philosophical tone of his' observations, to be a competent witness; one who does not see through the chia.r oscuro of any pariicular description of political spectacles, but who can analyze fairly and impartially those political and moral conditions which contribute to the importance of a nation in its foreign relations, and are essential to its own internal and domestic happiness. The author of these volumes is of this class. He gives a very clear and energetic description of the character of the Americans, in all their political and social relations, analyzing, as he proceeds, the causes by which some of the most prominent features of their characters were originally developed and subsequently confirmed. All who have read Basil Hall, Hamilton, or amused themselves with the caricatures of Mrs. Trolloppe, or with the gossip of Mrs. Butler concerning America, should read attentively these volumes by Mr. Grund."
London Monthly Repository.
'•' One of the most ably written books Ave have had in our hands for a long time. The energy of language, strength of reasoning, and origi- nality of remarks, by which it is distinguished, entitles it to be ranked among the first literary productions of its class of the present day."
Scotsman.
"A valuable contribution to our knowledge of America, and an able illustration and defence of free institutions." — Monthly Review.
" One of the best books that has yet been written on America ; it is,we believe, a faithful and certainly highly interesting description of the Americans : we think every person of every party ought to do the Au- thor and his work the justice to read the two volumes." — 3IelropoUtan Conservative Journal.
"A Mr. Grund has executed the task he proposed to himself with singu- lar ability, and a thorough knowledge of his s\xh]Qc\.r— Dublin Evening Post.
" It is written with great intelligence and vivacity, and in a thoroughly liberal spirit." — Examiner, July 26th, 1837.
" It is written with much ability, and in a spirit of fairness to which we can scarcely point out an exception." — Court Journal.
" One exceedingly amusing work." — Sunday Times.
" Though eulogy is the staple commodity of the work, it is the produc- tion of a man of sound sense and good education, who has mixed in so- ciety, who thinks for himself, and who, although tender of America, is not afraid boldly to attack English prejudices." — Courier, Jan. 24.
THE
AMERICANS,
IN THEIR
MORAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL RELATIONS.
BY FRANCIS J. GRUND.
FROM THE LONDON EDITION OF LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN AND LONGMAN.
TWO VOLUMES IN ONE.
BOSTON:
MARSH, CAPEN AND LYON. 1837.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1837, by
Francis J. Grund, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
PRipfTED BY \Ym. a. Hall & Co. — Boston.
' PUllFAL^E
I RESPECTFULLY siibiTiit the following work to the English public, not as the observa- tions of a tourist, but as the result of the ex- perience of one who has resided in America many years.
I have anxiously endeavored to give an im- partial account of the present condition of the United States, and faithfully to deline- ate those characteristic features which dis- tinguish the Americans from the different nations of Europe. Whether I have succeed- ed, the public must decide ; of whom I claim no other indulgence than that to which I may be entitled from the rectitude of my in- tentions, and an honest desire to correct pre- judices— American or English — and not to furnish them with fresh aliment.
10
PREFACE.
The Americans haye been grossly misrep- resented; and this not so much by ascribing to them spurious qualities, as by omitting all mention of those which entitle* therp to hon- or and respect, and representing the foibles of certain classes as weaknesses belonging to the nation.
The object of this publication will be at- tained, if it serve to inspire the English with more just conceptions of American worth, and increase the respect and friendship of Amer- ica for England.
Regent Street^ London^ Dec, 24, 1836.
Erratum.— Page 80, line 16 from top, for " gratify," read mortify.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
American Manners and Society. — Fashionable Coteries. — Dandies. — Aristocracy. — Its Composition and Pe- culiarities. -------13
CHAPTER n.
American Ladies. — Sanctity of Marriages. — Domestic Habits.^— Aversion to Public Amusements. — Churches. — Influence of the Want of a Church Establishment. — Keeping of the Sabbath. - . - - 31
CHAPTER III.
Reception of Foreigners in the United States. — The Eng- lish, Scotch, Irish, Germans, French, Italians, and Spaniards. — American Prejudices. — Their Origin. 53
CHAPTER IV.
American Theatres. — Tragedians. — Comic Actors. — American Wit. — Music. — Painting. — General Reflec- tions on the Arts. ------ 76
CHAPTER V.
American Literature. — Its Relation to the English. — Periodicals. — Daily Press. — City and Country Papers. — Their Influence on the Political Prospects of the Nation. 92
CHAPTER VI.
Progress of Education in the United States. — Common Schools. — American Instructers. — Low Estimation of American Teachers. — Colleges. — Medical and Law- Schools. — Theological Seminaries. — Education of the Clergy. — Public Libraries. - - - - 124
CHAPTER VIL
General Observations on Americans. — Definition of Ame- rican Patriotism. — The Americans as a Moral and Re-
12 CONTENTS.
ligious People. — Different Religious Denominations in America. — Unitarianism. — The Respect of the Ameri- cans for the Law.— Observations on the Lynch-Law. — Its Origin. — Temperance and other Benevolent Socie- ties.— National Charity. - . - - - 148
CHAPTER VIII.
American Industry. — Quickness of Motion. — Agriculture. — The West. — Character of Western Settlers. — Influ- ence of the Western Settlements on the Political Pros- pects of America. — Foreign Settlers. — Germans. — Irish. — Removal of the Indians. — American Servants. — Relationof the Rich to the Poor. - - 202
CHAPTER IX.
Commerce of the United States.— System of Credit.— American Capitalists. — Banks. — Manufactures. — Me- chanic Arts. — Wages and Hours of Labor. — Ingenuity of Americans. — Navigation. — Sailors. — The Fisheries. — Ship-building. ---__. 239
CHAPTER X.
Internal Navigation of the United States. — Railroads. — Canals. — FaciHties of TravelUng. — Their Influence on the Political Condition of the People. — Steam-boats. — Public and Boarding Houses. — Hospitality of Ameri- cans. 301
CHAPTER XI.
The Southern Planters.— Their Relation to the Inhabit- ants of the North. — Slavery. - . . _ 330
CHAPTER XH.
National Defence of the United States. — The Army. — The Navy. — The Militia. - - . . 375
CHAPTER XIII.
Political Prospects of America. — Universal Suflraf^e.
State of Parties. — Relative Position of Nortii and Soutli America. — Of North America, w ith regard to Enghmd and the rest of the World. — Conclusion. - -^ 3S9
v
THE AMERICANS
IN
THEIR SOCIAL, MORAL, AND POLITICAL RELATIONS.
CHAPTER I.
AMERICAN MANNERS AND SOCIETY. FASHIONABLE COTE- RIES. DANDIES. ARISTOCRACY. ITS COMPOSITION AND
PECULIARITIES.
There is scarcely a theme with which English readers are more familiar than that of American manners. From the grotesque sketches of Mrs. Trollope to the lofty and elegant conceptions of Hamilton and Basil Hall, the British public have been entertained with the portentous matter of an American drawing-room. I may, perhaps, disappoint my readers by not following the beaten track, so fertile in amusement and rare sports ; for I shall neither repeat the silly prating of boys and misses, (which one may hear in every country,) nor shall I make those who entertained me the subject of scorn and ridicule. — Neither shall I write an eulogy ; for, the truth being told, there is enough in the moral and social condition of Americans to inter- est the general reader.
By American manners I do not mean those of the fash- ionable coteries, nor the peculiar customs of certain dis- tricts, to which the refinements of society have, as yet, hardly penetrated; but the general terms on which Amer- icans associate with each other, and with strangers. 2
14 COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY.
Society, in America, is composed of a great number of heterogeneous elements, and the conventional standard, therefore, is less fixed than in any part ofEuro'pe. In the large towns it consists of persons from all parts of the world, with a valuable admixture of "Western," " South- ern," and " Eastern people ;" wdiich names denote al- most as many distinct varieties of the human race. Un- der these circumstances, an American drawing-room must often present anomalies, which, at first, will strike an educated Englishman; but which are hardly ever of- fensive, and may always be explained by the moral and political condition of the country.
In the absence of a court, or a powerful aristocracy, elegant accomplishments are seldom cultivated with a view to ornament society ; and are rather the property of a few, whose good fortune it has been to move in the high- er circles of Europe, than a general characteristic of a po- lite education in America. The Americans have, with very few exceptions, no time to cultivate fashionable ele- gance, which they consider a mere ai)])endage to civiliza- tion ; but they are, notwithstanding, a highly sociable people, and, in their own way, both pleasing and instruc- tive.
It has always been the fault of European writers to compare American manners, and especially those of the coteries styled " aristocratic," to the polished ease of the higher classes of Europe. Occasionally they have, in- deed, condescended to speak of merchants and manufac- turers, whom they have ever found equal to those of Liv- erpool and Manchester; but, with a forbearance which does credit to their ingenuity, they have not pushed the inquiry further, lest the superiority of the laboring class- es might have compensated for the inferior accomplish- ments of the fashionable circles, and a certain nameless class in Europe altogether lacked its term of com})arison in the United States. They seem to have been aware of the fact, that America is really w hat Hamilton calls the city of Philadelphia — mediocre jya?- excellence ; her politic- al institutions depriving jier of the splendor of a throne — the focus of polite society in Europe; but, at the same time, saving her from the pernicious influence of an idle and turbulent mob — the destruction of public morality
AMERICAN MANNERS. 15
and virtue. Tlie manners of Americans, therefore, are as far removed from the elegance of courts, as they are from the boorishness of the lower classes in Europe ; and, perhaps, equjilly free from the vices of both. The true manners of a people do not show themselves in the drawing-room — hs hommes du salon seressemhlent partout ; but in the common transactions of public and private life; and it is, therefore, neither good sense nor justice to select a particular class, and in a peculiar situation, for the term of comparison with Europe.
In order to understand the customs and manners of Americans, we must trace them to their origin ; when we shall find that most of what is valuable and substantial in their character is inherited from the English ; but that, at the same time, many of their foibles may be traced to the same source, and especially those for which they are most censured by the English.
I shall not here stop to apologise for my belief that the manners and morals of the English (and there is an inti- mate connection between them,) are essentially superior to those of the people on the Continent. There may be less pliableness in the address and carriage of an English- man ; but there is something in the composition of his character which is sure to command respect; there is that dignity which is incompatible with low cunning or con- ceit, and least capable of stooping to a wilful falsehood. This character, in all its severity, and enforced by the most solemn injunctions of religion, has been transplanted to the shores of the new world, to lay the foundation of what are now called American manners and morals. New England, of all the colonies, has had the greatest in- fluence on the establishment of national customs, as apart of her sturdy population has been always emigrating westward, to renew and perpetuate the principles which gave rise to the settlement of Plymouth. But the people of New England were English, and are so now, in their feelings and sentim.ents : to the English, therefore, must be attributed most of the peculiarities for which they are condemned, as, indeed, most of the virtues for which they are celebrated.
This does not seem to have been taken sufficiently into consideration by any English traveller whose work hiaf
16 ENGLISH WRITERS ON AMERICA.
gone forth to enlighten the public. It is truly surprising how certain pictures of American manners could have contributed so much to the diversion of English readers, when we reflect on the fact that they were drawn from a class of society which has no particular claim to refine- ment in any country, and which, in Europe, presents the same mixture of vice and folly as in America, without, perhaps, some of its redeeming virtues. It remains to be explained why the fair author should have exposed herself to the expense and inconvenience of a long voyage, when she might have found sufficient matter for her book at home. What absurd caricatures of English manners and customs are not daily drawn by French and German sat- irists, without derogating one iota from the dignity of English society, of which most of them have nearly as correct a knowledge, from personal observation, as the author of " Domestic Manners" has of the better circles in the United States. Peculiarities and anomalies will al- ways exist in every country; but their number must nat- urally be greater in one whose boundless territory is di- vided into almost as many different states as there are counties in England. The peculiar features of a coun- try, the physical distinction of its soil and climate, the principal occupation of its inhabitants, &c., imprint each a distinct character on the people, which it is difficult to efface, even by the means of education. What difference does not, in this respect, exist between a North-Briton and an inhabitant of the Isle of Wight ; or between the latter and a native of Yorkshire? And how preposterous would not be the idea of publisliing either of these char- acters as correct specimens of the English ?
Another remarkable trait of English travellers in the United States consists in their proneness to find the same faults with Americans which the people on the continent of Europe are apt to find with themselves. Thus, it has been remarked that Americans are much given to extol- ling the excellence of their own institutions, whether civil or political, and to undervalue those of foreign countries. This is precisely the complaint about the English, by their continental neighbors, the French and the Germans. If we were to investigate the matter, we should find the cause to be perfectly analogous in both countries : a cer-'
AMERICAN PRIDE. 17
tain satisfaction that they are themselves belonging to that glorious community whose achievements, in the field and at home, have " astonished the world."
Some apology may, indeed, be oftered fortius patriotic weakness, when we reflect on the actual superiority of British institutions, and especially on the immense influ- ence they have had on the civilization and happiness of the human race. But all the causes of British pride are equally operating on Americans. They are of the same origin ; all the glory attached to the British name is that of their ancestors ; and they have themselves had an hon- orable share in its acquisition. Their fathers were the bold settlers who first transplanted British laws and Brit- ish genius to a new world, to perpetuate them to the end of time. But they have improved upon them ; they have opened God's temples to all his worshippers; and, perhaps, for the first time on earth, raised the standard of equal liberty and justice. They have rallied round this standard to wage war against the most powerful na- tion in Europe — and they were not conquered. A second time they were arrayed in battle against England, and a second time they proved themselves not inferior to their proud progenitors. Are these no causes for national van- ity ? And is this vanity not the highest encomium which they can possibly bestow on the English 1 Do not the English furnish the standard of American pride — the character to which they will not acknowledge themselves inferior? When did any one hear the Americans draw envious comparisons between themselves and other na- tions, save the English? And what, after all, is this pride or conceit but English, strengthened and improved by the republican institutions of America ? Is it not natural for men to be proud of belonging to a nation in proportion as they have a share in its government ? Is there, in this respect, no difterence between a British peer and a com- moner ! Is it, then, a wonder that the Americans should esteem others in proportion to the franchise they have ac- quired; and that as born legislators they should carry their heads sometimes higher than is consonant Avith the English idea of politeness ?
A second not less striking characteristic of American manners is a degree of seriousness, which, at first, might 3*
18 SERIOUSNESS OF AMERICANS.
almost be taken for want of sociability. An American is, almost from his cradle, brought up to reflect on his condi- tion, and, from the time he is able to act, employed with the means of improving it. If he be rich, and have con- sequently a larger stake in the public weal, then every new law, every change of election (and there are many in the course of a year,) will make him reflect on the fu- ture : if he be poor, every change may offer him an op- portunity to improve his circumstances. He is ever watchful, ever on the alert, not as most Europeans, as a mere spectator, but as one of the actors, engaged in main- taining or reforming the existing state of aff'airs. Some- thing like it may, at times, be felt in England, and per- haps even in France ; but this cannot be compared to the eff*ects of universal suff'rage in America.
The whole mass of the population is constantly agita- ted; an expression of public opinion is constantly de- manded, constantly hoped for, constantly dreaded. There is no man so rich or powerful but can be made to quail under its influence ; nor any one so humble, in whom it may not raise hopes of success and preferment. It is an all-powerful organ of public justice, sparing none, from the president down to the most obscure citizen ; elevat- ing, humbling, or annihilating whatever it meets in its progress, if justly the object of its reproach.
This state of incessant excitement gives to the Ameri- cans an air of busy inquietude, for which they have often been pitied by Europeans ; but which, in fact, constitutes their principal happiness. The Americans have no lime to be unhappy — and this is saying much in favor of their government. The duties of republicans are more ardu- ous than those of men living under any other form of government; but then their performance is pleasing and satisfactory ; because it is connected with consciousness of power. No American would exchange his task for the comparative peace and quiet of Europe; because, in the words of Franklin, "he would be unwilling to pay too dear for the whistle." He finds his solace and quie- tude at home; abroad he is "up and doing." Peace there would be death to him. He would not, for the world, exchange his political activity for the speculative inertness of the Germans; the glorious privilege of having himself
RESTLESSNESS OF AMERICANS. 19
a share in the government of his country, for the ^^ dolce far niente'"' of the Itahans; the busy stir of an election, for the idiot noise of a Vienna prado. Let those, who are so prodigal of their compassion for the melancholy rest- lessness of Americans, but remember the painful stupor which befel the Romans after the overthrow of the repub- lic, when, all at once, released from their active duties of citizens, they found in "tranquillity" the principal pun- ishment of their abandonment of virtue.
In proportion as the liberties of a people are enlarged, and their franchise extended, they must necessarily be- come more active and serious. For an illustration we need only compare the character of the French, since the revolution of July, with that which they possessed under the old Bourbon dynasty, previous to the revolution of 1789. How much gaiety and outward politeness is there not missing; but how much understanding and rational liberty gained 1 What difference is there not between the bufioonery of "merry England," under the reign of Queen Flizabeth, and the sober, demure composition of John Bull since the acquisition of the habeas corjms, and the revolution ? And yet what unbiassed individual, in either country, would wish back " the good old times," or deny that the condition of the people has been materi- ally improved by the change? Well, then, the Ameri- cans are, in common with the English, a more sober, calm, and reflecting people than, perhaps, any other in the world ; and, for this very reason, able to bear a larger proportion of rational liberty.
The influence of this character on the sociable circles of America is undoubtedly felt; but not in the manner generally described by Europeans. Thus, for instance, it does not destroy the spirit of hospitality, for which the Americans were always distinguished, although it has but too often been ill requited; it does not prevent them from receiving their friends in a cordial manner, or enjoying their own domestic fireside: but, being always accustom- ed to thought and reflection, their minds are, perhaps, too fraught with the events of the day and the apprehen- sions of the future, to preserve throughout that fashion- able indifference on all topics, which can neither affect nor cheer any of the company present, and which, for
20 AMERICAN CONVERSATION.
that very reason, is considered essential to good manners in Europe. Tlieir sentiments are often expressed with warmtli bordering on enthusiasm, and require, therefore, a greater degree of attention and sympathy on the part of their audience, than Europeans of rank are willing to bestow on ordinary subjects of conversation. On this account, American society is sometimes fatiguing; and the complaint has often been made by foreigners, that it requires a certain preparation in order to understand or enjoy it. Its demands on a stranger are more numerous than is always agreeable ; and if he be a man of talent or reputation, he is expected to show off and entertain the company. The Americans, on such occasions, are always willing to listen, to learn, and, perhaps, to ques^ lion ; but Europeans are not always ready to teach or to answer, and still less disposed to receive instruction from their entertainers. In this manner, society proves often a task to men of consideration and learning, instead of offering them a convenient resj)ite, as in Europe.
The most bitter reproach, however, which has ever been heaped upon American manners, is their unhallow- ed custom of talking about trade and traffic. This, dur- ing a period of more than fourteen years, I confess not to have remarked half as often as Hamilton, and never, except from one man of business to another. I rather think an honorable exception was made in his favor, in order to acquaint him the better with American affairs, on which they knew he was about to write a book ; little suspecting that subjects so intrinsically mean, as mere trade and commerce, must necessarily be beneath the no- tice of an author. The Americans, I admit, show, on all such occasions, a morbid solicitude to forestall the good opinions of their guests; and would, perhaps, succeed better if they were more careless and reserved. Notwith- standing all this, we have his own acknowledgment as to the new ideas he acquiijed in this manner, which is at least a proof that American society was not without the means of improving his stock of information.*
*" Since my arrival," says Mr. Hamilton, "I have received much involuntary instruction in the prices of corn, cotton, and tobacco. My stock of information as to bankruptcies is very respectable ; and if the manufacturers of Glasgow and Paisley knew" only half as well as I do
IMITATION OF EUROPEAN MANNERS. 21
The Americans have also been reproached with an al- most slavish imitation of European manners ; which, amongst the wealthier classes at least, is said to exist in a degree bordering on the ludicrous, This is decidedly the greatest and most merited charge that can be brought against them and that noble spirit of independence for which they are, in other respects, remarkable.
Every nation has an indisputable right to fix its own conventional standard, which must be based on its history and the general habits of the people, resulting from the climate, soil, and the political institutions of the country. No native of Russia would judge a West Indian by the conventional standard of Petersburg ; nor would an Eng- lishman govern his conduct by the rules* of etiquette of Rome or Naples. What, in a mercantile community, might be perfectly just and proper, would, under a mili- tary government, be considered in a very different light ; and the ceremony of a Turkish divan would ill suit the council chamber of the King of England. The Ameri- cans alone seem to have given up the privilege of estab- lishing conventional rules of their own ; and thus, with a singular complaisance, judge the manners of every for- eigner, and sufter their own to be judged, by the standard of another country. The consequence of this want of independence is felt in the arrogance and presumption with which even the meanest and most ignorant of Euro- peans passes sentence on American manners, whenever they disagree with his own ; and in his unrestrained con- tempt for those whom he sees anxiously striving to imi- tate what a European valet or a footman is infinitely more successfiil in accomplishing; whilst their laws, their political institutions, and the industrious habits of the people, are in open contradiction, with the frivolities of mere fashionable life. How often have I not, myself, seen Europeans curl their lips at the apparent plainness of Americans, who were, in every respect, their superiors, save in the cut of the coat and the felicitous adaptation
how thoroughly the new market is glutted with their goods, they as- suredly would send out no more on speculation."
If the learned author had gathered more such "respectable" infor- mation, he would, at least, have made his work more useful to his country.
22 IMITATION OF EUROPEAN MANNERS.
of a coxcomb's bow; and, what is worse, beheld these sentiments approved bj some American exquisite, who had just returned home, fraught with the follies of all countries, but seemingly light of the good sense of his own.
The at.tempt to create ffishionable and aristocratic dis- tinctions, will, in America, never be crowned with success. Tlie reason is apparent. Every species of aristocracy must be based on wealth and power, and contain, within itself, the j)rinci|)le of perpetuity. Without these requi- sites their superiority will never be acknowledged, nor will they have the means of enforcing it. There exists, in the large cities of America, certain coteries, composed principally of wealthy families ; but their wealth is not permanent, an(4 they are perfectly powerless when op- posed to the great mass of the people. JVot more than one fourth of all the men who possess property in the United States have inherited it ; the rest have acquired it by their own industry. Scarcely one fourth, therefore, could have been brought up in the elegancies of fashiona- ble life ; the remainder are recruits and stragglers. But, in the total absence of monopolies, and with the immense resources of the country, the road to fortune is open to all; while those who possess property may lose it, and must, at any rate, ultimately divide it equally amongst their children. The elements of American coteries are, therefore, constantly varying; but every new change brings them nearer to a level with the people.
The abrogation of primogeniture, in America, has done more towards equalizing conditions than the spirit of ex- clusiveness will ever be able to overcome ; aristocratic pretensions may exist; but they will always remain impo- tent, and die with the respective pretenders. The ab- sence of primogeniture acts as a constant moderator in society, humbling the rich and elevating the poor. It obliges the sons of the wealthy to join personal applica- tion to an honest inheritance, and elevates the hopes of the lower classes with the expectance of future prosperity. It is thus the strongest pillar of democracy in the consti- tution of nearly every State of the Union.
No aristocracy can exist or maintain itself without property. The nobility of France had virtually ceased to exist long before the hereditary peerage was abolished;
AMERICAN ARISTOCRACY. 23
while the patronage of the English would alone be suffi- cient to establish a power which would make itself felt, even if the House of Lords were reformed. There are even those * who beheve that in the latter case its power, instead of being confined to its usual channel, would ex- tend itself over every department of state, and absorb, for a time at least, the main interests of the country. The American aristocracy, on the contrary, possess neither hereditary wealth nor privileges, nor the power of direct- ing the lower classes. The prosperity of the country is too general to reduce any portion of the people to the ab- ject condition of ministers to the passions and appetites of the rich. It is even gold which destroys the worship of the golden calf
But how can it be possible for the American aristocra- cy to lay claims to superior distinctions, when the people are constantly reminded, by words and actions, that thei/ are the legislators, that the fee-simple is in them, and that thei/ possess the invaluable privilege of calling to office men of their own choice and principles ? Are not the American people called upon to pass sentence on every individual whose ambition may prompt him to seek dis- tinction and honor at their hands? And what is not done to conciliate the good will and favor of the people 1 Are they not constantly flattered, courted, and caressed by that very aristocracy which, if it truly existed, would spurn equality with the people ? Is the judgment of the people, expressed by the ballot-box, not appealed to as the ultimate decision of every argument and contest ? Aristocracy, if it shall deserve that name, must not only be based on the vain pretensions of certain classes, but on its public acknowledgment by law, and the common consent of others. This, however, is not the work of a generation, and requires an historical connexion with the origin and progress of a country.
Why, then, should the Americans recognise a superior class of society, if that class be neither acknowledged by law nor possessed of power ? How shall they be brought to worship those from whom they are accustomed to receive homage 1 — vvho are either men of their own elec- tion, and consequently of their own making, or the de-
* Heine.
24 REPUBLICAN PLAINNESS.
feated and unhappy victims of their displeasure ? The aristocracy of America may claim genius, and talent, and superiority, and they may be ambitious ; but it is an "ambition of so airy and light a quality that it is but a shadow's shadow " — a sort of fata morgana reflected from beyond the waters, whose baseless fabric can neither ex* cite apprehension, nor arrest the progress of democracy. Coteries there always were, and always will be, in large cities ; but they need not necessarily be connected with power. In America, moreover, they exist, principally, among the ladies; there being, as yet, but few gentlemen to be called " of leisure," or exclusively devoted to socie- ty. The country is yet too young, and offers too large a field for the spirit of enterprise and business, to leave to the fashionable drawing-rooms other devotees than young misses and elegants of from fourteen to twenty years of age. That such companies may, nevertheless, have their attractions, no one can reasonably doubt; but they are not composed of elements capable of changing the manners and customs of tiie country ; and, as long as their compo- sition does not materially alter, must remain deprived of that influence which the higher circles in Europe are wont to exercise over all classes of society.
The manners of republicans must necessarily be more nearly on a level with each other than those of a people living under a monarchical government. There are no nobles to vie with the splendor of the throne ; no com- moners to outdo the nobility. The dignified simplicity of the American President and all high functionaries of state is little calculated to furnish patterns of expensive fash- ions ; and, were all Americans, in this respect, exact im- itators of the amiable plainness of General Jackson, their manners would soon cease to be an object of satire to English tourists. They would then present dignity with- out ornament, candor without loquacity, loftiness of mind unmingled with contempt for others. Europeans would then visit the United States, not to ridicule American manners, but for the purpose of studying them ; and, per- haps, carry home the useful conviction, that though republics are no fit schools for courtiers, they may, nev- ertheless, abound in good sense, agreeable address, and genuine cordiality of manners.
AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE. 25
When I said that the manners of republicans must be more nearly on a level with each other than those of a people living under a different form of government, I was far from conceiving it in the sordid sense in which it has often been applied to Americans. The tendency of Amer- ican democracy is not to debase the wealthy in mind or fortune, but to raise the inferior classes to a moral eleva- tion, where they need no longer be degraded and despis- ed. It is not a drawback on individual distinction or merit, — which, on the contrary, it encourages more than any other government — but it is a great safeguard against the total abjectedness of the lower classes. The seeming equality of conditions in America is not effected by with- holding certain privileges from the educated and wealthy, but by extending them to the middle, and even inferior or- ders of society.
The man of education, or of fortune, is respected in America as in Europe ; but the deference paid to his per- son is untinged with the humiliating consciousness of be- ing incapable ever to attain to the same distinctions. There is nothing in the institutions of America to dero- gate from the dignity of gentlemen ; they simply prevent a certain class from enjoying that title to the prejudice and exclusion of all the rest. They are not unjust to the rich and the learned because they are more just to the poor ; tliey do not prevent good breeding or good man- ners, but, on the contrary, spread them amongst a larger number of people. But there are men who can- not enjoy wealth unless they know that others are poor; who value knowledge only in proportion as it gives them power over their fellow-creatures; who could not relish venison unless they knew a half-starved population was dying for the want of bread. Such men have repeatedly visited the United States, and were, of course, much an- noyed with the vulgar plenty of the land, and the desire of every American to be considered "a gentleman." It was this feature of democracy which they described as begetting low breeding, because it is apt to make Amer- icans wanting in that outward respect, which a certain class of men is always sure to meet with in Europe. But deference for the just claims of others need not necessa- rily be accompanied by marks of humiliating self-denial; 3
26 AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE.
and it is, perhaps, better that the whole distinction should be dropped, than that the inferiority should exist in the degree indicated by the outward forms of civility.
But to judge of the manners of a people, one must have been a resident amonst them, and not a mere tourist. From the writings of Basil Hall and Hamilton, it is evi- dent that neither of these gentlemen became acquainted with any but the fashionable coteries of the great cities; and that the manners of the people, and especially those of the respectable middle classes, escaped altogether their immediate attention. What tii'ey say of them in their re- spective works is not the result of personal observation, but rather the stale reiteration of some evening's conver- sation, colored by the partisan spirit of politics and reli- gion. Mrs. Trollope, on the contrary, was hardly known in fashionable society, and only saw the western part of the country, yet ; notwithstanding all this, her book is clever, and has that superiority over the productions of her masculine com])etitors which a caricature, ever so badly drawn, has over a portrait destitute of resemblance.
The most remarkable characteristic of Americans is the uncommon degree of intelligence which pervades all classes. I do not here speak of the higher branches of learning which, in the language of Europe, constitute scholarship; but of the great mass of useful knowledge calculated to benefit and improve the condition of man- kind. It is this latter knowledge for which the Ameri- cans are distinguished, and for the attainment of which they have, perhaps, made belter provision than any other nation in the world. This is as it should be. No democ- racy can exist for any length of time without the means of education being widely diffused throughout the country ; but it is certainly not to be expected that republicans should tax themselves, in order to gratify, certain elegant tastes which are of no immediate benefit to the public. The study of the higher branches of science, and the cultivation of the fine arts, find their principal reward in the pleasure arising from the pursuit, and require seldom the assistance of the law to be called into active exist- ence. Wherever this is done, the people have to bear the expense of it, without receiving the gratification. The Americans are yet occupied with what is necessary and
RESPECT FOR MEN OF LETTERS. 27
useful, and are, therefore, obliged to leave the higher ac- complishments to the protection of individual munificence. But let any one cast his eye on the sums annually expend- ed for the establishment and support of common schools and colleges, and he will, at once, be convinced of the liberality of Americans in the cause of education ; al- though no allowances are, as yet, made for professorships of heraldry, or the discovery of a north-west passage. I shall not, here, discuss the matter any further, as I intend to recur to it in another place ; but I would ask what in- fluence the higher branches of learning have on the social intercourse of a people, or the manners of society in gen- eral ? What fashionable company in England was ever graced or edified by the conversation of Sir Isaac New- ton 1 What select circle in Germany ever enjoyed and delighted in the philosophical researches of Kant and Leibnitz 1 Men of letters, and more especially, profi- cients in science, are rarely welcome guests at a party ; and, in Germany, they have been uniformly banished to the universities. Neither the arts nor the sciences have, till lately, received particular encouragement from the German courts ; and it was with great justice Schiller could say of Frederic the Great that the German muse was banished from his court ; * and yet, at that very peri- od, the most effectual measures were taken, by men of letters themselves, to ensure the progress and indepen- dence of German literature.
But the remark that men of letters do not hold a dis- tinguished rank in American society is totally false and unfounded. There is, perhaps, no society to which learn-
* Von dem grosslen Deutschen Sohne, Von des grossen Friedrichs Throne
Gieng sie schutzlos ungeehrt. Ruhmlich darfs der Deutsche sagen, Hoher darf das Herz ihm schlagen :
Selbst erschuf er sich den Werth.
Schiller's German Muse.
From the greatest German son, From great Fred'rick's noble throne,
Unprotected went she forth. Proudly may the German speak it ; Loudly may his heart repeat it :
He himself achieved his worth.
28
RESPECT FOR MEN OF LETTERS.
ing furnishes a better introduction ; and 1 am quite cer- tain that some of the gentlemen who have lately visited the United States " for the laudable purpose of informa- tion," owe their friendly reception there more to their high reputation as scliolars, than to any rank they may hold in the army or navy. Scholarship, in America, is, indeed, not so common as it is in Europe ; but the in- dividuals who are able to lay claims to it, are sure of meeting with the acknowledgment due to their merits, and a certain acquaintance with the elements of science is an almost indispensable requisite for admission into good company. The conversation of Americans turns, generally, more on scientific subjects than would be be- lieved by Europeans, and differs, in this respect, widely, from the insipid common-place of the fashionable circles of Europe.* There is hardly a branch of learning which, at some time or other, is not introduced into their collo- quies, and there are few scholars in America who would be denied the privilege of expressing their opinions on a favorite topic, or whose conversation would not be listen- ed to with increased interest and pleasure. To this may be added the proneness of Americans to argue, which, though it may not always correspond to the European idea of good manners, lends, nevertheless, to conversation a zest of which it would otherwise be deprived.
Society, in all countries, gains more from the amount of floating intellect, and the capacity of all its members to join in conversation, than from the amount of knowl- edge treasured up in the minds of individuals. This prin- ciple applies most happily to the social condition of the United States ; for it would be difficult to find a country where information is more generally diffused, or the peo-
* I write this at Munich, a city which has been much and justly ex- tolled on account of its liberal institutions, and whose progress in the sciences and the fine arts has occupied a large space in the " Foreign duarterly." The King of Bavaria is himself a poet and an artist; and possesses the most perfect judgment of every thing relating to the arts. But, notwithstanding this noble example of the king himself, and his liberal and munificent encouragement of learning, there are but two scientific gentlemen— Mr. T ** and Mr. S**— who can boast of being freely admitted into the highest circles : but as the usual topics of conversation do not often allow them to display their acquirements, they are merely pointed out to strangers someAvhat in the same manner as the giraffe or the elephant in the zoological gardens.
AMERICAN DANDIES. 29
pie of all classes more capable of expressing their ideas with clearness and precision. A certain directness of thought and expression may, indeed, be considered a na- tional peculiarity of Americans, and contributes certainly much to their apparent plainness of manners. Mere fash- ionable elegance passes with them for little or nothing ; but in no country are power of reasoning, force of argu- ment, ancl acuteness of observation at a greater premium. Good sense is the ruling element of society, as it is the main-spring of all their public actions ; and the country at large is much a gainer in the result. Mannerism is hardly ever cultivated to the prejudice of the more sub- stantial acquirements, as the conventions of society offer but little or no protection to the ignorance or pretensions of impostors ; and I cannot imagine any circumstances more capable of exhibiting an idiot in trouble than an empty-headed coxcomb in company with rational Ameri- cans. Fashionables and exquisites there are in the large cities of the United States as in Europe ; but they are certainly less the object of envy or admiration, and are almost exclusively in favor with the young misses of the boarding-schools. Their bright career commences and finishes with the lights of the drawing-rooms, and their only chance of distinction is at a waltz or a quadrille. But, once entrapped by some fair enchantress, they quick- ly turn their attention to objects more useful and profit- able. The prospect of supporting a wife and family be- comes then the all-engrossing object of their thoughts and reflections ; and it is by no means un frequent, to see an American, at the age of twenty-one, settle down into a sober husband and father of a family. I have hardly ever known an American fashionable, who was not a minor; but I have never seen one at the bar, or on change.
With all the misfortunes which the abolition of primo- geniture may have entailed on America,* it certainly has done much towards establishing permanent habits of in- dustry ; and as long as these last, buffoons and coxcombs must certainly despair of success.
To sum up the argument. — Whatever advantages, with
* The learned author of " Men and Manners " ascribes the total ab- sence of the higher elegancies of life in America to the abolition of primogeniture.
3*
30 GENERAL REMARKS ON SOCIETY.
regard to elegance and external accomplishments, Euro- peans of rank and fashion may possess over the great majority of Americans, the balance of common sense, general information, and high moral rectitude, may, never- theless, incline in favor of the latter. American society offers, as yet, but few attractions to the man of the world ; but it has wherewith to satisfy the heart and the under- standing of the follower of nature : it does not command the luxuries of the aristocratic coteries of Europe ; but it abounds in comforts and rational enjoyments : its general ton and etiquette may fall short of the expectations of a courtier; but it is inferior to none — and perhaps unri- valled— in simplicity and cordiality of manners.
CHAPTER II.
AMERICAN LADIES. SANCTITY OF MARRIAGES. DOMES- TIC HABITS. ' — AVERSION TO PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS.
CHURCHES. INFLUENCE OF THE WANT OF A CHURCH
ESTABLISHMENT. KEEPING OF THE SABBATH.
Having thus far expressed my opinion of American society in general, I may, perhaps, be permitted to offer a few remarks on the women. I am fully aware of the delicacy of the subject, and the difficulty of the task ; but, having- once undertaken it, I shall ofter the result of my observations, notwithstanding the failures in comparison, and the errors in judgment, of which I may have been guilty.
The forms of American ladies are generally distin- guished by great symmetry and fineness of proportion ; but their frames and constitutions seem to be less vigorous than those of the ladies of almost any country in Europe. Their complexions, which, to the South, incline towards the Spanish, are, to the North, remarkably fair and bloom- ing, and, while young, by far the greater portion of them are decidedly handsome. A marked expression of intel- ligence, and a certain indescribable air of languor — probably the result of the climate — lend to their counte- nances a peculiar charm, to which it would be difficult to find a parallel in Europe. An American lady, in her teens, is, perhaps, the most sylph-like creature on earth. Her limbs are exquisitely wrought, her motions light and graceful, and her whole carriage at once easy and digni- fied. But these beauties, it is painfiil to say, are doomed to an early decay. At the period of twenty-four a certain want of fulness in her proportions is already perceptible ;
32 AMERICAN MOTHERS.
and, once passed the age of thirty, the whole fabric goes seemingly into decay. As the principal cause of this sud- den decline, some allege the climate ; but I ascribe it more willingly to the great assiduity with which American ladies discharge their duties as mothers. No sooner are they married than they begin to lead a life of comparative seclusion ; and once mothers, they are actually buried to the world. At the period of ushering their children into society they appear, indeed, once more as respectable matrons ; but they are then only the silent witnesses of the triumph of their daughters. An American mother is the nurse, tutor, friend and counsellor of her children. Nearly the whole business of education devolves upon her, and the task is, in many instances, beyond her physi- cal ability. Thus it is customary with many ladies in New England not only to hear their children recite J;he lessons assigned to them at school, but actually to (ex- pound them, and to assist them in the solution of arith- metical and algebraic problems. There are married ladies who apply themselves seriously to the study of mathematics and the classics, for no other purpose than forwarding the education of their children ; and I have known young men who have entered college with no other instruction, in any of the preparatory departments, than what they received from their mothers. But this continued application to the most arduous duties, the in- creasing care and anxiety for the progress and welfare of their children, and the consequent unreasonable confine- ment to the house and the nursery, undermine constitu- tions, already by nature sufftciently delicate ; and it is thus, by the sacrifice of health and beauty, that American ladies pay to their offspring the sacred tribute of maternal affection. No human being can ever requite the tender cares of a mother ; but it appears to me that the x\meri- cans have, in this respect, obligations immeasurably greater than those of the inhabitants of any other country. But there is one perfection in ladies — sometimes the first to attract our notice, and the last to vanish when every other beauty has faded and departed — which con- sists in delicate feet and ankles. The idea is taken from Goethe's celebrated novel " Die Wahlverwandtschaften," and would have hardly found its introduction here, were
EDUCATION OF LADIES. 33
L not backed bj the all-powerful authority of the immor- al poet, who, at the same time, was the most accomplished irtist. Well then, this perfection is one, of which Amer- ican ladies can certainly boast, and which they possess even in a higher degree than the French, though they take infinitely less pains to obtrude it on the notice of strangers. I would recommend this to the attention of certain tourists who have much expatiated on the forms and features of American ladies, and profess to be " com- petent judges of female beauty."
With regard to education, American ladies resemble the English, which is, probably, the highest encomium which can be bestowed on their good sense and manners. If I judge right, there is, in this respect, less distinction between an English and American lady than between an English and American gentleman. Differences in poli- tics, occupation, &c., must necessarily draw stronger lines of demarcation between men than the more limited sphere of action can possibly create between woman ; but the distinction must become small, indeed, where the ed- ucation of the latter rests upon one and the same basis. The principles of revealed religion and a sound moral philosophy constitute, in America as in England, the foundation of all female instruction ; and it is (with the ex- ception of the fashionable circles) a rare case, in either country, to see the mere agrements de societe preferred to the more substantial acquirements which qualify ladies for their future stations as wives and mothers. Female dignity is ever more the result of character and principle than of mere outward grace and refinement ; and I can- not, in this respect, imagine the women of any country superior to the English or American. In the United States, where there are no classes of society debased in the estimation of the people, and, consequently, none de- graded in their own, this distinction extends even to per- sons in the humblest walks of life, and is there productive of a spe.cies of pride, which Europeans have often mis- taken for presumption ; but which, in fact, arises from a consciousness of moral worth and unexceptionable beTia- vior, which can lay a just claim to our consideration wherever we find it. I have seen nothing among the lower classes of Europe at all to be compared to it ; and
34
EDUCATION OF LADIES.
it has certainly oiven me tlie highest opinion of the general morality of female repuhlicans.
In point of fashionable accomplishment, American ladies are, perhaps, inferior to those of Europe ; but the elements of an English, and even classical, education are in no country more widely diffused. In addition to Latin and Greek, a young miss of respectable parents is expect- ed to become versed in the elements of chemistry, miner- alogy, botany, natural philosophy, algebra, geometry, and astronomy, to which the more gifted add even Hebrew and the higher branches of mathematics. In the pursuit of these studies, they are generally allowed to spend quite as much time, and even more, than the young men at college ; and it cannot, therefore, be surprising if the balance of general information should, in the United States, incline in favor of the women. There are few scientific topics of conversation on which an American lady would not be ready to join ; and there are certainly less of English reading which are not more or less familiar to the wives and daughters of respectable trades- people. Music and drawing are, in America, less cul- tivated than they are in France or Germany ; but there is quite as much parlor-amusements as in England, and certainly no lack of the graceful accomplishment of danc- ing. One deficiency, however, I cannot refrain from mentioning, which consists in the imperfect acquirement of modern languages. This, I think, must be the fault of the instructors, who are in the habit of teaching French or Italian in the same manner as the classics, troubling themselves little about accent or emphasis, and still less about the familiar idioms of the language. The conse- quence is, that many American ladies are well able to read French, Italian, and German, and to understand and appreciate even the literature of these languages; but there are comparatively few who can speak either of them with purity or elegance. Great improvements, however, are daily making in the American system of instruction ; and it is, therefore, to be hoped that this de- fect will soon yield to the efforts of more experienced teachers.
What I have above remarked in reference to scientific acquirements, applies more particularly to the ladies of
SOCIETY OF BOSTON. 35
New England, of whom it is said that they are always infused "with a slight tinge of the blue." Whether this be true or not, I am unable to judge ; but I am quite cer- tain that there are few ladies, in any country, whose company and conversation are more agreeable and en- couraging to men of letters. The society of Boston, especially, is distinguished for its unusual number of clever women, and a certain literary taste is perhaps on this account diffused even amongst the merchants. The influence of this intellectual refinement is strikingly visi- ble in the manners of the Bostonians, and has created an honorable distinction in favor of their city, which, by the common consent of Americans, is called the Athens of the United States.
The ladies of Philadelphia, and the south generally, possess other advantages not less conspicuous and attrac- tive. Theirs is the province of the graces and the fine arts. I can safely affirm that I have heard as good amateur concerts in Charleston and Philadelphia as in any part of France or Germany ; and I am, certainly, not disposed to undervalue, in this respect, the claims of my native country. Drawing and painting are also much more cultivated than they are to the north ; and foreign languages, especially French and Spanish, are spoken with greater fluency. Their manners are more distin- guished for grace and elegance, and their personal attractions are in England known by the appellation of "American beauty." But all these accomplishments do not prevent them from discharging their duties as wives and mothers ; and it is quite an erroneous notion, though sufficiently prevalent in the Northern States, that the ladies of the south are deficient in their domestic arrange- ments, or negligent in the education of their children. The case is indeed quite the reverse. The household of a southern planter is generally quite as well arranged as that of a farmer to the north ; though it is infinitely more complicate, on account of the slaves. In case of sickness, even among the negroes, or any other domestic calamity, the energy and patience of the southern ladies are severe- ly taxed; and, as for the instruction of children, the task devolves almost entirely on them ; iew good schools or seminaries of learning being comparatively at the com-
36 AMERICAN LADIES
mand of the parents, and among these, hardly any for the education of daughters.
It has, sometimes, been remarked that American ladies, though usually fine and agreeable, are not always replete with imagination. It is not long since I heard his Royal Higliness the duke of* * , remark that he had seen many American ladies at his mother's court ; but that, to him, they were like a gallery of statues. The prince made some other very witty remarks on America, the precise meaning of which I was unable to comprehend, and con- cluded by comparing the western world to a woman, (he propably meant a young and a bearing one,) while Europe was to him the strong and lordly man of creation. I took the liberty to reply that young iiwmen were frequently more vigorous and powerful than old men, especially when the limbs of the latter aftbrded already specimens of mor- bid anatomy, which, of course, I could not be supposed to apply to the duke's own dominions. There could be nothing offensive in his sarcasm on American ladies, as it was generally whispered in society that the duke^s indis- cretions had rendered his admiration of ivomen someiohat more than suspicious.
There is, in the great majority of American ladies, that calm subjection of passion and temper, which they deem indispensable to female dignity or grace ; but it does not follow that, on this account, they must be devoid of imagination and feeling. Their eyes arc, perhaps, less expressive of what, in Italy, would be called passion ; but they are beaming with intelligence and kindness ; and the great number of Europeans annually married in the United States, proves at least, that they are capable of kindling love and permanent attachment. But the strongest argument in favor of their sentiments is the almost universal practice of marrying "for love," to which only few of the fashionable coteries in the large cities seem to make an exception. The influence of this moral habit, based, as it is, on the salutary principle of a free choice, manifests itself powerfully in the rapid progress of population, and perhaps also in the substance and composition of the American people.
As regards the morality and virtue of American ladies, it will suffice to say that they are not inferior to the
AMERICAN LADIES. ^
English, who are universally acknowledged to be the best wives and mothers in Europe. The slightest sus- picion against the character of a lady, is, in America, as in England, sufficient to exclude her from society; but, in America, public opinion is equally severe on men, and this is certainly a considerable improvement. Ac- cordingly, there is no country in which scandal, even amongst the most fashionable circles, is so rare as in the United States, or where the term " intrigue " is less known and understood. I shall always renvember the observa- tion of a French geirtleman, who could find nothing to interest him in American society, because " it precluded the very idea of a liaison^ " il/j," exclaimed he, •* c'est le paradis des maris ! "
Thus far, I have spoken of the manners of Americans in general; much, however, remains yet to be said of their peculiar domestic habits.
The houses of the wealthier classes resemble those of the gentry in England, and are wanting in nothing which can materially contribute to comfort. Some of the higher elegancies of life, are, indeed, confined to a few imitators of European fashions ; but there is a sufficiency of all that is essential and needful. No ostentatious attempt is «ver mad« to display either fortune or riches ; but, on the contrary, every thing avoided, which, being contrary to republican plainness, might offend, or unnecessarily attract the attention of the people. Furniture, dress, carriages, &c. are all of the simplest construction ; and tbe oldest and most aristocratic families set, in this re- spect, the example to the more recently promoted fashion- ables. Whatever political reason there may exist for the prevalence of this taste, it is, nevertheless, a good one, and being shared by the great majority of the nation, impresses a peculiar character of simplicity on the do- mestic life of Americans. It is impossible for an Euro- pean to live for any length of time in the United States, without being constantly reminded, in town or in the country, at home or abroad, that he is living in a republic, and that the sovereign power of that republic is solely vested in the majority ; for, whatever is capable of ex- citing envy or jealousy by too glaring a distinction from the inferior classes, is condemned by public opinion, and, 4
38 HABITS OF THE LABORING CLASSES.
on that account, studiously avoided by persons of all ranks of society. But then the great prosperity of the country enables even the laboring classes to enjoy com- forts much beyond the reach of superior orders in Europe ; and prevents the scale from becoming too low.
On entering the house of a respectable mechanic, in any of the large cities of the United States, one cannot but be astonished at the apparent neatness and comfort of the apartments, the large airy parlors, the nice carpets and mahogany furniture, and the tolerable good library, showing the inmates' acquaintance with the standard works of English literature. These are advantages which but few individuals of the same class enjoy, by way of distinction, in Europe; but which, in America, are within the reasonable hopes and expectations of almost all the inferior classes. What powerful stimulus is not this to industry? What premium on sobriety and unexceptionable conduct ? A certain degree of respec- tability is, in all countries, attached to property, and is, perhaps, one of the principal reasons why riclies are cov- eted. A poor man has certainly more temptations, and requires more virtue to withstand them, than one who is in tolerable circumstances. The motives of the rich are hardly ever questioned, while the poor are but too often objects of distrust and suspicion. Pauper uhiquc jacet.
The laboring classes in America are really less remov- ed from the wealthy merchants and professional men thaiT they are in any part of Europe ; and the term " mob," with which the lower classes in England are honored, does not apply to any portion of the American commu- nity. With greater ease and comfort in his domestic arrangements, the laboring American acquires also the necessary leisure and disposition for reading ; his circle of ideas becomes enlarged, and he is rendered more ca- pable of appreciating the advantages of the political institutions of his country. Both thought and reflection may be crushed by excessive labor, and the lofty aspir- ings of the mind enslaved by the cravings of the body. Liberty, without promoting the material interests of man, is a thing altogether beyond the comprehension of the multitude ; and there are many who, had they attained it, would, like the Israelites of old, wish themselves back
DOMESTIC HABITS.
39
to their flesh-pots. I know not whether it is quest of lib- erty or property which causes Europeans to emigrate to America, but I am satisfied that there is an intimate con- nection between the two, and a constant reaction of one upon the other.
An excellent habit of the Americans, which is an in- calculable promoter of domestic happiness, consists in their passing all th^ time which is not required for active business at home or in the circle of their acquaintance. To this custom must be ascribed the unusual number nf happy marriages in the United States, which is the cor- ner-stoneof the high morality of the country. Public houses, in America, are almost wholly frequented by trav- ellers ; and the practice has recently been introduced into many of them not to sell wine or liquor of any descrip- tion, except to boarders.
But there is one deficiency in the general routine of pleasure in the United States, which is particularly op- pressive to the laboring classes, and consists in the almost total absence of public gardens or pleasure-grounds in the large cities. There is nothing more favorable to a community of feeling, and a certain momentary oblivion of all ranks and distinctions, which attaches us more warmly to our kind, than public places of rendezvous, frequented by all classes of society, and enjoyed alike by all. In Europe, nearly every large city is adorned with them ; and in Germany, every hamlet ; but in America, they seem to be opposed to the domestic habits of the people. New York has something in the shape of a pub- lic garden, in the establishment of Niblo's, and the battery. But there is, generally, an admission fee to both ; and neither one nor the other is large enough to contain a considerable portion of the whole population of the city. The battery, especially, can only be frequented in the evening, there being neither trees nor shrubs to afford the least shelter against the sun, though the place itself, from its elevation, commands a most beautiful view of the har- bor. Boston, alone, of all the cities in the United States, has a large public mall ; but even this (the munificent gift of an individual) is but little frequented, though the scenery around it is highly picturesque, and the walks themselves shaded by a most superb double row of chest-
40 EXCLUSIVENESS OF THE HIGHER CLASSES.
nuts. There seems to be no want of disposition, on the part of the Bostonians generally, to profit by these ad- vantages ; but unfortunately the taste of the fashionable society has pronounced a verdict against it, and avoids most carefully being mixed and confounded with the mul- titude.
This morbid sensitiveness, on the part of the higher classes, arises, unquestionably, from the total absence of any exterior distinction between themselves and the low- er orders, which could point them out as objects of par- ticular respect and reverence ; but I must greatly mis- take the general character of Americans if I am not right in the conjecture, that a greater degree of condescension in the learned and wealthy could hardly fail of meeting with a proper acknowledgment on the part of the people ; while, on the contrary, too great a reserve in the former must necessarily deprive them of a portion of that power and influence which they would, otherwise, be sure to possess. If the American people are guilty of any fault, it is certainly not ingratitude. Whoever has observed their conduct at public meetings, in presence of their fa- vorite speakers and representatives, can testify to the un- feigned respect and uncommon propriety of manner with which they are wont to meet those whose stations and acquirements are really superior to their own. Nothing can be more pusillanimous than the fear of being con- founded with the vulgar ; and it is certainly the w;orst ar- gument, in favor of real or assumed superiority, to- dread the contact of those whom we affect to despise. May a more Christian and charitable feeling soon take the place of this mawkish resuscitation of aristocratic pride, which would befit certain orders in Europe infinitely better than the even-born citizens of a republic.
The style of buildings in America is chiefly English, with some slight variation in New York and Philadel- phia; but, to the south, the houses are adapted to the cli- mate, and of an architecture somewhat resembling the Spanish. The parlors are usually on the ground-floor, (in all the new houses they are on the first floor,) and communicate with each other by folding-doors: the story immediately above contains the chambers and the nursery, and the third and fourth floors are occupied by
STYLE OF BUILDINGS. 41
the remainder of the family and the servants. Nearly all the houses of the wealthier citizens contain a number of spare rooms, reserved for the accommodation of guests from the country; and the same kind hospitality is fre- quently tendered to strangers. Most of the modern hous- es are of brick or stone, and generally from three to four stories high ; the Americans showing great fondness for large and spacious dwellings, and the ground in the cities being already too dear to allow them to expatiate much in area. The exterior of the buildings is less marked by style or elegance than the interior is clean and comfort- able ; and the custom prevails, as in England, for each family to occupy a house of its own. , The principal or- nament consists in a sort of portico of various dimen- sions and orders, and a flight of steps leading up to the entrance. In Boston and New York, these steps are commonly of sandstone or granite (a species of sienite ;) but, in Philadelphia, they are of beautiful white marble, which, by daily ablution, is kept as clean as the floor of the parlors, and contributes much to the neat appearance of the streets.
The residence of a planter, in the southern states, is altogether adapted to the climate; the rooms having as many windows as practicable, and a large covered piazza, resting on wooden or stone pillars, extending tlie whole front of the building. This piazza is sometimes carried all round the house, and composed of as many stories as the building itself. Its efl"ect on the eye is far from disa- greeable, and its practical advantage in aff'ording shelter against the sun and the dew of those climates, makes it a pleasant retreat for all the members of the family.
The streets of the large cities are well paved or mac- adamised, and the side-walks, commonly of brick or of flag-stone, elevated, as in England, to protect the people against horses and vehicles. In Boston and Philadelphia, they are kept exceedingly clean ; but in New York, with the exception of Broadway, the principal street, they oft- en contain wherewithal to feed multitudes of those gen- tle creatures "that plow not, nor obey thy call." The continued bustle and stir of business in New York seems to preclude the possibility of sweeping and cleansing them ; and it may, therefore, be considered a happy cir- 4*
42 AMERICAN CITIES.
cumstance, that a set of scavengers should have been found willing to do the needful from sheer inclitiation ; and ready, at any time, to ])ay with their own flesii and blood for whatever advantages they may thus be suffered to enjoy.
It must not be inferred, however, that the part inhabited by the more wealthy inhabitants (which is now the West end of the town, and bids fair to rival, at some future day, the most fashionable parts of London,) are in the same filthy state. There all is neatness and cleanliness. The streets are daily swept and sprinkled with water ; the side- walks are kept clean ; the porticos of the houses are of marble orsienite; in short, that part is superior in style and elegance to anything exhibited in other cities of the United States.
Neither is the vicinity of the dwellings of the lowest classes more disgusting and mean than some of the dirty lanes of London or Southwark, and certainly far superi- or to the wretched hovels of the poor in Dublin. When- ever the Americans speak of the poor, the term is used merely in contradistinction to the rich, but never denotes that abject order of human beings, who, in the larger cap- itals of Europe, offend and disgust the eye with scenes of the most abandoned wretchedness. How lonsf this stale of prosperity is to last, it is difficult at present to foretell, but as long as any portion of the Western territory re- mains to be settled, no period can be assigned to its dura- tion.
At the beginning of this work I proposed to myself not to give descriptions of inanimate objects, further than might be necessary to illustrate the manners of the peo- ple. Whether works of architecture come under this head or not, I am unable to decide ; but I think it not in- consistent with the general plan of this work to offer a few remarks on American churches. The greater num- ber of these, when compared to the wealth of their re- spective congregations, are decidedly mean, both in their exterior and interior appearance ; and there exists, in this respect, an infinitely greater disparity between them and the houses of worship in Europe, than between the dwellings of the rich and the palaces of European princ- es. If republicans are at all permitted to display splen-
AMERICAN CHURCHES. 43
dor and magnificence, without offending the pride of their fellow-citizens, it is certainly in the edifices of public worship, and in the halls of their legislative assemblies. With regard to the latter, the Americans possess, already, a proud monument of national grandeur. The capitol at "Washington, situated on an eminence commanding an unobstructed view of many miles in circumference, is an edifice of the most imposing structure and proportions; and, from its very position, incredibly superior to any of the public palaces in Europe. The interior, too, corres- ponds well with the dignity of the design ; but the most sublime effect is produced by its standing high, free, and alone, as the institutions it guards in its bosom ; over- shadowing hills and valleys, and rivers of the mighty land over which it exerts the benign influence of law and jus- tice.
But, proud as the Americans may be of their halls of congress, they have not, as yet, a single place of worship at all to. be compared to the finer churches in Europe, where they might render thanks to the Omnipotent Being for the unexampled happiness and prosperity with which he has blessed their country. Some not altogether unsuc- cessful attempts have been made in Boston and Balti- more, at what might be called a cathedral ; but neither the size nor the order, nor even the materials, are resem- bling those of the nobler specimens of Gothic architec- ture in Europe.*
Our feelings and emotions are always tinged with the reflections from the objects around us ; and I cannot, therefore, divest myself of the opinion that a superior style of architecture in an edifice of public worship may materially assist the imagination, and enable the mind to turn from mere wordly objects to the contemplation of heaven and the adoration of God. I have known persons who could never pray so fervently as when encompassed by the sombre vaults of a gothic cathedral, and I have, myself, experienced the same feelings on similar occa- sions.
But, in addition to the deficiency in style and ornament
* Trinity Church, in Boston, is a building of pure taste and uniform architecture ; and the cathedral at Baltimore enjoys the reputation oX being the finest church in the country.
44 AMERICAN CLERGYMEN.
there exists, in America, an almost universal practice of building churches, or at least the steeples, of wood, to which are frequently given the most grotesque figures, partaking of all orders of architecture, from the time of Noah to the present day. There is scarce an excuse for this corruption of taste, except the cheapness of the ma- terial, which may recommend the custom in practice. A church ought to be the symbol of immutability and eter- nity, the attributes of the Infinite Being; but nothing can be more averse to either, than its construction of so frail a material as wood. An imitation of stone-work is still more objectionable, as it appears like an attempt at deceit — a sort of architectural counterfeiting, least par- donable in a house of prayer. Such an edifice seems to be unworthy of its noble purpose — a sordid mockery of grandeur, which, without elevating the mind, represents to it only the melancholy picture of human frailties.
Yet the Americans are not deficient in liberality to- wards their clergymen, whose pecuniary compensation is certainly generous, when compared with the moderate salaries of the first ofiicers of state, and enables them, generally, to live in houses much more tastefiilly built, and better furnished within, than those in which they de- liver their sermons.
This is again republican, and shows the Americans to be much more attached to substance than to forms. The most essential part of divine service is assuredly perform- ed by the clergyman, whose example and admonitions have a more salutary influence on the general morals of his congregation, than the most gorgeous cathedral, or the most moving cantahilc of Haydn. Yet the latter have their advantages too, which, no doubt, will, at some future day, be duly appreciated in America as in Europe. In the Western States, where new settlements are daily form- ing, it would be absurd to erect buildings, the use of which would be reserved for the third or fourth genera- tion. The principal object, there, must necessarily be immediate usefulness ; and it is certainly better for the people to worship in a wooden church than to have no church at all.
Another cause, operating against the erecting of costly churches in the United States, is the absence of a power-
AMERICAN CLERGYMEN. 45
ful hierarchy. Churches in America are built when they are wanted, or whenever a congregation is sufficiently nu- merous and able to pay a preacher. With them the cler- gyman must be of more importance than the church, in the building of which they voluntarily tax themselves, without having recourse to the pecuniary assistance of others. This will always keep the church poor ; but I doubt whether the practice, while it lasts, does not actu- ally benefit the people. I am convinced there is as good preaching in the United States, and quite as fervent too, as in any country with a church establishment.
Setting aside the injustice (of which Americans at least are fully persuaded) of taxing people of a different be- lief with the support of an establishment in which they have no stake or interest, there is, in an hierarchy, that which makes its members indolent and lazy. A person provided for, cannot, by the rules of common sense,, be supposed to work as hard as one who has to exert himself for a living, or whose services are remunerated in propor- tion to their merit and usefulness. An hierarchy, from its superior organization and discipline, may have its po- litical didw?i\\\.3.ges nnder peculiar forms of government ; but I cannot see any spiritual benefit accruing from it to the people. Every member of a hierarchy is necessarily more interested in the continuance of the establishment, than in the discharge of his duties toward the people. He is paid by the establishment, of which he is either a func- tionary or a pensioner, and is as much concerned in its welfare as a British mariner in the safety and endurance of Greenwich Hospital, or a clerk in the solvency of his employers. In America, every clergyman maybe said to do business on his own account, and under his own firm. He, alone, is responsible for any deficiency m the dis- charge of his office, as he is alone entitled to all the credit due to his exertions. He always acts as principal, and is, therefore, more anxious, and will make greater effi>rts to obtain popularity, than one who serves for wages. The actual stock in any one of those firms is, of course, less than the immense capital of the Church of England ; but the aggregate amount of business transacted by them jointly, may, nevertheless, be greater in the United States. The subordinate member of a hierarchy does not act on
46 AMERICAN CLERGYMEN.
his own responsibility ; he merely discharges the obliga- tions enjoined by his superiors. It is to them he must look for advancement, as a soldier looks for promotion to his commanding officers ; and a fault of discipline is more severely reprimanded than an actual injustice to- wards a different order. Like the soldier, he has frequent- ly an interest different from that of the people ; and, like him, he is ready to turn his weapons against them whenever the establishment itself is in danger. A church establishment resembles always, more or less, a standing army. It is strong, endurable, and disciplined, but a se- vere tax upon the people, and nearly as dangerous an in- strument for their subjugation.
The situation of an American clergyman is usually comfortable ; but there are no church-livings as in Eng- land ; no rich prelates, or other high dignitaries, sufficient- ly wealthy to employ large sums in the building of church- es. Every preacher is paid by his congregation ; and there is, consequently, no accumulation of wealth on the part of the clergymen, nor proportionate poverty on the part of those who employ them. The conditions of the different members of the clergy are, as nearly as possible, on a level with each other and those of the private citi- zens— no distinction being claimed, save that which is based on superior talent and application. Hence the American churches resemble each other as the dwelling- houses. They are built for use, not for ornament; and are neither calculated to attract particular attention, nor to embellish or adorn the cities.
But what they lack in quality is more than compensat- ed by increase of nimibers ; and in this consists the ad- vantage of the system. There is no village in the United States without its church, no denomination of Christians in any city without its liouse of prayer, no congregation in any of the new settlements without the spiritual con- solation of a pastor. Religious instruction is obtained every where, at a comparatively cheap rate, without di- rectly taxing the people ; and the enormous sums which would be required for the maintenance of an established church circulate freely in commerce and manufactures, and contribute to the general prosperity of the country.
Before I leave this subject, I ought, perhaps, to say at
KEEPING OF THE SABBATH. 47
few words on the observation of the sabbath. No univer- sal practice exists, in this respect, in the United States; the Northern and Western States following the example of England, or rather of Scotland, whilst the extreme south are yet adhering to their original French manner of considering Sunday as a day of amusement.* A sabbath in New England is peculiarly impressive and solemn, but at the same time, so cheering, that I do not remember having spent, in Europe, a day half so satisfactorily. It is only by contrast that the real merit of religious insti- tutions may be duly appreciated; and especially those of the Americans.
The sabbath was instituted for the poor. As the gos- pel was preached to them in order to dir.ect their hearts to heaven, as the period of their sufferings and the reward of their toils, so the keeping of the sabbath was to alle- viate their bodily hardships below ; once a weekj at least, the rich are to render thanks to the Almighty for the kind dispensation of His providence ; but, on that day, the poor also are to rejoice in a partial exemption from labor, and even the beasts of the field are to be reclaimed from the yoke of their owners. It is the day on which all na- ture is to sanctify the Lord by the universal happiness of His creatures. I have always looked upon the sabbath as the most democratic feature in the whole Christian re- ligion. On the sabbath all aristocratic distinctions of rank and fortune are to be forgotten. The jrowerful are to be humbled before the Lord, and the meanest of man- kind exalted to a momentary equality with the highest of their fellow beings, by worshipping the Father of all, in the common capacity of His children.
" The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." Mark ii. 27.
As a religious and political institution, it is alike une- qualled in church or state ; and, on this account, the Amer- icans, and especially the people of New England, have, at an early period, directed to it the whole wisdom of their legislation.
* A notion is sufficiently prevalent in England that the Catholics alone indulge in amusements on the sabbath ; but the Protestant parts of Germany, and many of Switzerland, have adopted the same prac- tice.
48
KEEPING OF THE SABBATH.
It has been the established maxim of the "Pilgrim fa- thers'* that the principles and doctrines of revealed reli- gion constitute the broadest and safest basis of every ra- tional system of liberty. No sooner, therefore, had they organised themselves into a political community than they enacted a series of laws for the strict observation of the sabbath ; and althouo;h many of them were not marked by the spirit of liberality of the present age, they were, nevertheless, of incalculable advantage in practice ; and did more for the preservation of the infant colony than any other provision which, at that time, tSiey could have made for that purpose.* The religious principles incul- cated at the solemn meetings of the people on that day, created a unity of faith and sentiment, which gave their deliberations and actions that singleness of purpose, which alone enabled them to triumph over all obstacles which the soil and the climate had placed in the way of their progress.
It cannot be objected that other religious institutions, besides the sabbath, might have been capable of produc- ing the same salutary eiiect ; or that religion might have been taught and practised at all times, without appoint- ing a particular day for that purpose. An observance generally enjoined is more apt to be neglected and forgot ten than one commanded at specified periods. A duty which we are required to perform at a certain time is always more impressive than one to which we are rendered familiar
* Amongst the earliest laws for the observation of the sabbath were these :
" Whoever profaneth the sabbath after admonition, pays, for the first offence, 5s. ; for the second, 10s. ; and to be bound over to the County Court for the third. Governors of youth imder seven years, to suffer for them.
" Drinking and sporting on Saturdays, after sunset, pays 5s,; persons refusing to pay, must suffer corporeal punishment as^the Court deter- mines.
" No work to be done on the sabbath, on penalty of 10s, for the first of- fence, to be doubled for every following one.
" To travel to a meeting, not allowed by law, is a profanation of the sabbath.
" Whoever sells drink to a person, except to a stranger, in time of a lecture, pays 5s.
" Constables may search for offenders on the Lord's day; they forfeit 10s. for any neglect,"
Neal's History of New England^ London, 1720.
KEEPING OF THE SABBATH. 49
by daily usage. No legislator would entrust the safety of a state to the liahit of its representatives to assemble for the purpose of enacting laws ; but would specify the pe~ riod on which they are to discharge their duty without fail. Besides, it is impossible to make laws capable of embracing generalities, or of binding men to certain uni- versal principles of morality and religion. If a law be not enacted for a specific purpose, which it is distinctly to state, with all its bearings on those whom it is to guide, no true obedience to it can be enforced ; and it can only serve to bring the Legislator into contempt. A law, recommending, in general terms, the principles of the Christian religion, would be of little more force than one enjoining all men to be good, or to abstain from evil. We are to know in what religion consists, and by v/hat exter- nal evidence we are to judge of its being practised. No testimony can, in this respect, be more solemn and uni- versal than an act of public worship ; and nothing more satisfactory than a repetition of it at stated periods. For this reason, it has been the practice of all nations to fix upon certain times for the exercise of their religious rites, which were considered as national distinctions, and as so many means of instilling patriotism and virtue. The his- tory of every country is intimately connected with that of its religious progress ; and it is a fact not less remarkable than instructive, that the period of the greatest religious devotion of a people is always coeval with its heroic age. The sabbath of the Jews was long the rallying point of their religion, under the banners of which they accom- plished all their victories, and which, while they kept it unsullied, protected them against every assailing power. With the early Christians, the observation of the Lord's day was scarcely of less moment, and became subsequent- ly one of th-e characterising distinctions of the different sects. Each denomination of Christians celebrated it ac- cording to their peculiar form of worship, and availed it- self of its recurrence as a means of propagating their doc- trines and principles. The observation of the sabbath be- came associated and identified with the religion to which it gave support, and contributed powerfully to the forma- tion of the Christian character.
When the dissenters became the object of the most un- 5
50
KEEPING OF THE SABBATH.
relenting persecution in England, the sabbath became the day of their spiritual comfort. On tliat day they gather- ed strength to bear the sufferings to which they were ex- posed, and fortified themselves against the trials which awaited them in the future. This is the reason why, im- mediately after having effected a settlement in America, for the free exercise of their religious worship, they turn- ed their attention to the strict observation of the sabbath. On the Lord's day the whole of their little community was assembled to implore the blessings of Providence on their infant state, alike struggling against famine and the cru- elty of the Indians. With them, it was, at once, a reli- gious, political, and social institution, creative of a kind of patriarchal feeling for which their descendants are yet remarkable. It is to this feeling I would allude, in speak- ing of a New England sabbath.
Much of the original severity of religious discipline has, indeed, yielded to sentiments of greater liberality and for- bearance ; enough, however, is yet remaining to reflect the customs and habits of the first settlers. The sabbath is no longer a day of mere " humiliation and prayer, " but also of" thanksgiving and rejoicing ;" yet partaking of all the gravity which distinguishes the character of the New Engiander. Whatever change the feelings of the people may have undergone, the external forms of worship are still preserved, and give to the whole a solemn dignity, which cannot but increase their respect for public wor- aJiip.
Sunday is ushered in by a universal stillness on the evening of Saturday. The theatres are closed ; the sound of music and of revel is alike hushed; and the mem- bers of the different families assemble and fill up the pe- riod of cessation from labor with cheerful and friendly conversation. Strangers are not usually admitted to those circles; but those who are, will leave them with feelings of reverence. I was neither born in New England, nor liv- ed there at a very early period of my life ; but I can easily conceive them to beget a strong attachment to home, and to fill the mind with reminiscences which, wherever a New Engiander may wander, will associate the idea of the sabbath with the happiest dreams of his childhood. On Sunday itself, the quiet and stillness of the eve contin-
KEEPING OF THE SABBATH. 51
ue till after the evening lecture, when a certain portion of the people relax from the severity of religious perform- ances, by joining a small party of friends and relatives, similar to that in which other families indulge on the evening of Saturday. These rewmows are far from being marked by noise and merriment. No music or song is heard, save the sacred composition of the German mas- ters, and the ruling character of the whole is happiness and peace.
In the other cities of the United States, the Lord's day is observed as in England. The shops are closed ; the chiming of bells invites to fore and afternoon service ; the people are moving to church to worship God, each ac- cording to the dictates of his own conscience ; in short, every thing indicates the worship of pious Christians : but the pecular spirit of peace of a New England sabbath is wanting, and, I feel sure, is not to be found in any other part of the world. In some parts of the Southern states, I have seen the sabbath kept in a manner still more rigor- ous than in any town of New England; yet I could not catch the inspiration, which, though a stranger, educated under different influences, and in a different religion, I often felt during my long residence in Boston,
CHAPTER III.
RECEPTION OF FOREIGNERS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE
ENGLISH, SCOTCH, IRISH, GERMANS, FRENCH, ITALIANS, AND SPANIARDS. AMERICAN PREJUDICES. THEIR OR- IGIN,
When thousands of emigrants, of all nations, are an- nually embarking for America, with the determined pur- pose of making it their home, the question would natural- ly arise, whether, on their arrival thither, they may all ex- pect the same welcome ; and, if there exist any prejudices with regard to the inhabitants of the different countries of Europe, in whose favor, or to whose detriment they are established. It might also be proper to inquire whether these prejudices are purely of a national character, in which case they would refer to the moral habits of the people ; or, whether they relate more to certain profes- sions more exclusively practised by some of them, and re- pugnant to the feelings of Americans. In either case, the inquiry would be interesting and useful ; as it might not only serve to put foreigners in America on their guard, but explain also a number of peculiarities in the inter- course of Americans with strangers, which, by most trav- ellers, have been traced to a wrong source.
That the Americans have prejudices, I do not pretend to deny ; what nation is entirely free from them ? — though a great number of these must be put to the account of their ancestors; and the remainder is proportionably small, as their intercourse with foreign nations is great, and the means of information extensively diffused throughout their country. A large portion of these con-
AMERICAN PREJUDICES. 53
sist, howev^er, in retaliations on the prejudices of others, and especially on those of the English.
The Americans are proud of having achieved their in- dependence, proud of the moral and political progress of their country since that period, proud of the wealth and power they have acquired, and exceedingly jealous lest other nations, and particularly those whose opinions they value most, should not give them sufficient credit for wis- dom, perseverance, and patriotism. The Americans cannot persuade themselves that the English will ever do them justice, (and it must be confessed that hitherto little jjjstice has been done to them,) and are, therefore, more frequently guilty of solecisms of deportment with regard to them than towards any other nation with whom they come ill contact. A German or a Frenchman might reside for years in the United States without being struck with those traits of Americans, which prove, sometimes, annoying to the English. He might, perhaps, complain of their na- tional prejudices in other respects ; but the complaint would arise from a different source, and would be similar to that which might be caused by a residence in England. I will explain.
There <^^ists, in America, as, perhaps, in every other civilized Ci untry, a strong prejudice in favor of the Eng- lish nation. The Americans love and admire British thoughts and conceptions, which they have chosen for their permanent models ; they entertain a high respect for British customs and laws, on which they have estab- lished their own, and cherish a proud remembrance of the achievements of that glorious people from whom they are themselves descended. They allow, in many instaa- ces, the superiority of the English over themselves ; but they are too well informed to apply the same distinction indiscriminately to individuals.
An American, in his private capacity, will receive any stranger with politeness, and is always willing to dis- tinguish individuals in proportion to their reputation and acquirements. In the words of Mr. Hamilton, " he is quite aware of high breeding, when he sees it ;''^ but he is the last ready to pay homage to any man, merely " be- cause England has produced him." This, however, is pre- cisely what most Englishmen expect; and they are, 5*
54 AMERrCAN PREJUDICES
therefore, often bitterly disappointed. Few English gentlemen of reputation, however, will visit America with- out meeting with a cordial reception, bearing witness of the prejudice which is there established in their favor. The Americans are, on all such occasions, anxious to make the most favorable impressions ; but are, perhaps, inclined to praise and even exaggerate the advantages of their country, from the known propensity of their guests to make the most liberal discount.
Many anomalies of conduct of which they are found guilty towards the English, arise from the conviction that their usual simplicity of manners would be apt to be mis- construed ; and that the English, accustomed to judge all people by their owai conventional standard, will not make allowances for those changes which the difference of the climate, the political institutions of their country, and the early habits of the people may have rendered neces- sary. In such cases, therefore, they endeavor to copy Europeans au pied de la leltre^ and thereby furnish, them- selves, the standard by which they are but too often con- demned. The Americans are not often guilty of a similar error v/ith regard to Europeans from the Conti- nent. To them they show themselves as they are, and are even proud of their national peculiarities. The con- sequence is a greater freedom of manners, and a degree of cordiality which is seldom experienced by Englishmen. Few distinguished Germans or Frenchmen would bestow so much philosophical criticism and analysis on the man- mers of those who receive them with kindness and hospi- tality: they would find in the civil and political institutions of America enough to arrest their attention ; and enjoy at least this advantage over the English, that they might converse with Americans without being taken for spies.
Amongst the number of works which have been pub- lished in England, on the United States of America, it is really surprising to see the quantity of space devoted to the subject of "manners;" and this not to the manners of the people in general, hui (with the exception of Mrs. Trollope) to those of the fashionable coteries. Is this not sufficient to justify the belief of Americans that the English are abusive critics, whose severity increases even with the obligation conferred upon them to win their
WITH REGARD TO THE ENGLISH. 55
good will? The Americans, in return, are guilty of an- other injustice ; they ascribe the abusive character to the British NATION, when, in fact, it is the peculiar gift of individuals^ who, dissatisfied with their own country, are travelling over the Continents of Europe and America in order to annoy themselves at leisure, and occasionally publish a book to defray a part of their expenses. Cen- sure to them is as natural as the sting to the scorpion, and it is even dangerous to approach them by way of ren- dering them a service. On their way they abuse every thing that is not English ; on their return to England, every thing that is English ; and when they think of the future, every thing that loill be English in less than a century. We must look to the political doctrines of these gentlemen for an interpretation of their sentiments as regards society. We shall find that their attachment to every thing claimed by age is perfectly legitimate ; that they are themselves travelling antiquities, belonging to an age that is past ; and that,' consequently, America is much too young to merit their serious attention. Her achievements require no herald, though they may be suf- ficient for a chronicle.
Nothing, indeed, can be more gratuitous than the ex- traordinary pains which the Americans take to please foreigners, who are to give an account of their country. Tourists, especially from England, are literally loaded with civilities ; and, perhaps, the more kindly received by the fashionable coteries of the large cities, as their stay is expected to be short, and their grateful returns as ever- lasting as paper and ink can render them. In this man- ner a number of individuals may hope to be introduced to the English public, whose fame, were it confined to America, could hardly be wrested from oblivion, and whose wise sayings would never be known to the world, were they not quoted as valuable specimens of American sapience.
No sooner is the arrival of some English literati gazett- ed in America than all is bustle and confusion ; and the question is seriously debated in what manner they must be received, and what sacrifices ought to be made in order to win their good opinion. Invitations and visits crowd upon them, and they can actually find no time to
56 RECEPTION OF ENGLISH LITERATI^
observe what is truly interesting. From the time of their landing to the hour of their departure, they are never left alone, and have, therefore, no opportunity of seeing America as it is, but as it is slioion tO' them. The Ameri- cans are then sitting for their portraits ^ and, as is usual on such occasions, contort their features either in an unnatu- ral frown, or disfigure them by an insignificant simper, ill suited to their habits of business and reflection. Under such circumstances an accurate likeness can hardly be expected from the most accomplished artists, much less from the pseudo dilettanti who have lately travelled to those regions.
But the task of an English tourist is rendered doubly difficult by the inordinate adulation with which his vanity is pampered. He must imagine himself really a great man, when he sees the elite of a nation willing to pay him homage, in order to be entitled to a portion of his favor. He is made the arbiter of their political and religious dis- sensions, and is expected either to become the apostle of their fame, or the rigid censor of their public and private morals. Both, the Americans and the tourist, are put in a false position ; and if the former are disappointed in seeino^ themselves caricatured, the mortification of the latter must be equally great, when, on his returp to England, he finds himself divested of his imaginary pow- er, and his ofus magnum levelled to an equality with the ephemeral f)roductions of the day. The incurable wounds which he thought to inflict on the Americans are scarcely felt, except by a few of those who see their hospitality so ill requited ; and the great bulk of the nation is quietly progressing onward, in their happy simplicity hardly suspecting that any one has been aiming a blow at them.
That some of the writers on American society thought it in their power to injure the United States past all recovery, is sufficiently evident from the dedication of the learned author of " Men and Manners," to William Wolryche Whitmore, Esq., M. P.
" But," says our author, "when I found the institutions and experience of the United States deliberately quoted in the reformed parliament, as affording safe precedent for British legislation, and learning that the drivellers who uttered such nonsense, instead of encountering
ENGLISH WRITERS ON AMERICA. 57
merited derision, were listened to wilh patience and ap- probation, by men as ignorant as themselves, I certainly did feel that another work on America was yet wanted, and at once determined to undertake a task which inferior considerations would probably have induced me to decline.^''
Would one not be led to infer, from this dedicatory epis- tle, that he thought it as easy to make the quietus of a nation as to despatch a novel ? The event, however, must have convinced him of his error; as it may, perhaps, persuade the Americans that justice would sooner be done to them if they were to show themselves more indifferent on trial, and less anxious to win the good opinion of their judges.
But the prejudices in favor or against Englishmen which exist amongst the fashionable coteries of the United States are not the same as those which belong to the la- boring classes ; and the civilities with which an English gentleman is loaded, on his first arrival in America, un- dergo a material change, from the time he intends to become a resident, or to enter into competition with the natives. He will then find, that in proportion as the elite recede from him, the middle classes are ready to receive him. He will find no difficulty in procuring patrons and friends, and no prejudices to debar his success, provided it be based on individual exertion, and not upon national preference.
The Americans are always ready to associate with Englishmen on terms of equality ; they are willing to consider English as part of their own family ; but they will not pardon overweening conceit, and are most un- compromising on questions of a national complexion. The Americans, of all people in the world, are the readiest to take and resent an insult ; but they are more particularly sensitive with regard to the offences of the English. If any such be given by a person of notoriety, it will be prudent for him to avoid the popular revenge. His best friends will not be able to protect him from in- jury, and the wisest plan for him to adopt will be to make a speedy reparation. I write this particularly for the benefit of certain actors who may visit the United States for the purpose of paying their debts. Let them not abuse the popular favor which their talents are sure to receive ; let them be guarded in their language, not only
58 ANTIPATHY TO ENGLISH CUSTOMS.
on the stage, but also in their private intercourse with Americans ; let them not consider the condition of any man so low as to be unable to injure them; in one word, let them keep out of the debt of the people ; for the peo- ple will make themselves paid.
Nor is it always popular violence which, in such cases, is most to be dreaded. Whenever a national insult is given, the Americans of all classes unite to punish the offender. His career in the United States is blasted for- ever, and he is, at once, banished from society, to which neither fortune nor cleverness will be able to procure him a second introduction. But if the Americans are thus severe in their punishment, they are equally generous in their reward of forbearance. Their favor is easily won, and still more easily preserved. They claim of the English but that which the English claim of every other nation in the world — a compliance with their rules and customs, and a total abstinence from censure ; for which, in return, they are willing to make every honest conces- sion, and even those public acknowledgments which it would be impossible to extort from them by derision and scorn.
The customs and peculiarities of the English are not generally liked in the United States ; and a settlement of several hundreds of them in one place would excite con- siderably more jealousy than one of so many thousand Germans. The reason is this. The Germans have their peculiar habits, which, however, they are careful not to obtrude upon others. They persevere in them, not be- cause they think them superior to those of other nations, but merely because they are accustomed to them, and do not like to quit the early companions of their childhood. This is perfectly well understood in America, and, there- fore, no fears entertained of their ever attempting to make proselytes. The French, too, have their peculiarities ; but their notion of good breeding forbids their exhibiting them wherever they might give private or public offence. Not so with the English. They glory in the most trifling difference between themselves and other nations ; because they are accustomed to consider that difference in their favor. They obtrude it, therefore, constantly, on the uotice of others, or, at least, take no pains to soften it&
ANTIPATHY TO ENGLISH CUSTOMS. 59
appearance. They heed not the feelings of others, or are so much in the habit of considering every other people inferior to themselves, that they care not, if, by chance, they give offence. In Europe they pay for this arrogance with money ; in America wiih the loss of personal con- sideration.
It is true, there are ample apologies for the conduct of the English. They are really, in most respects, superior to other nations, and especially to their neighbors on the Continent. They enjoy, in the first place, a greater de- gree of political freedom than any other people, save the Americans, in the world. They have produced the ablest statesmen, the wisest legislators, and (with few ex- ceptions) the bravest and most skilful commanders of armies and navies. Their philosophers have been the glory of the human mind, and have wrested more truths from nature than all other sages combined together. They can boast of the most manly and classical literature of the moderns, and may, perhaps, add that there is not a valuable thought which the human mind is capable of conceiving which is not already, and most happily, ex- pressed in the English languages. They have surpassed all other nations in the mechanic arts, and have become equally superior in every thing relating to manufactures. They have increased the facilities of commerce by the es- tablishment of powerful colonies, and have (with probably but one exception) distinguished themselves for the hu- manity and justice with which they have governed them. They have carried the blessings of civilization and religion wherever they went, and established, in every clime, the glory of the British name.
But in their intercourse with Americans, they ought to remember that the latter are of the same origin ; that they have not only the means, but also the disposition to imitate them in all that is great, and enough prudence and experience to avoid falling into the same errors. They ought to reflect, that if the Americans have as yet a comparatively small catalogue of great men, these men were, nevertheless, distinguished by the most exalted vir- tues, and that, on the other hand, there is no black list of names to detract from their national honor. They ought to consider that America is the country, which, eventual-
60 RECEPTION OF THE SCOTCH.
ly must rival even England, and that the Americans, con- scious of their physical and political advantages, are, perhaps, a little prone to anticipate the future.
They have already entered upon a fair competition with the English in almost every branch of human indus- try; and, by the universal consent of all nations, become their peers in navigation and commerce. A people, pro- gressing with such rapid strides, is not apt to bear taunts with good nature, or allow others to constitute themselves masters of ceremonies. Their progress has been one of uninterrupted prosperity, and as long as this lasts, they will consider their policy and their customs, if not superi- or, at least equal, to those of any other nation. As re- publicans, they love their country with an enthusiastic ardor, which can only be understood and appreciated by those who have, themselves, a share in the government of their country. It is, therefore, neither wise nor expedi- ent to treat their peculiarities with contempt, or to wound their national pride by a too rigid adherence to a set of manners, which, from peculiar associations, have become irritating and offensive to the people. I do not mean to say that an Englishman in America must necessarily be a radical ; but if he means to become a citizen, (especial- ly in the Western States,) toryism will be less pardoned in him than in a native of America. He will create ene- mies without making himself friends ; while those who are his friends will not show their friendship in public. If he should undertake any thing, the success of which depends on the favor of the public, he will hardly be able to succeed ; and even in his social relations he will find himself deserted and alone.
What I have said of the English will equally apply to the Scotch, though in such matters the latter seldom need admonition — their manners and customs being already similar to those of the New Englanders. They usually succeed in whatever they undertake, and hardly ever fail to make America their home. Most of them, on their arrival in the United States, are poor but industrious ; and having been emigrants before, have had sufficient instruc- tion, in the school of adversity, to bear success or ill-for- tune with equanimity and patience. They do not easily olTend the prejudices of the people among whom they
RECEPTION OF THE BRITISH GENERALLY. 61
hope to prosper, and, in general, understand their own interests too well to require advice from others. To the acquisitiveness of the New Englanders they join the great art of saving, which is the cause of their accumulating wealth with even greater facility than native Americans ; and it insures to them its quiet possession. Their senti- ments are generally in accordance with those of the majority of the people, and they are, therefore, doubly certain of meeting with that sympathy and hospitality which the Americans are always ready to extend to the natives of Britain.
To sum up the argument, English and Scotch are re- ceived in America as relatives. Their younger brethren are willing to share with them the paternal estate. They love them, befriend them, assist them; in short, do ev- erything for them which one brother can for another; but they burst into indignation at the very mention of primogeniture, or the least attempt to claim, by right, what they are willing to concede from kindness.
The Irish are, by the great majority of Americans, considered as an oppressed and injured people, which is sufficient to entitle them to the sympathies of freemen. It is true, the greater number of Irish who arrive in the United States are poor, and some of them tainted by the vices of poverty, which, in some of the states, have creat- ed a prejudice against them. But, considered collectively, they constitute a highly useful part of the American com- munity, and contribute, by their honest industry, to in- crease the wealth of the country. They perform the hardest labors at the lowest wages given in the United States, and are satisfied and happy to provide for them- selves and their children the bare necessaries of life. But it is even their being contented with little, and their less heeding the future, which render their actions and motives less acceptable to the Americans. The Ameri- cans (as I shall prove hereafter) are living altogether for their children. They are ready to make any sacrifice for the advancement of future generations, and love their country not as it is ; but as it will be made by their enter- prise and industry. The Irish, on the contrary, are by habit, inclination, and the vivacity of their temperaments.
62 RECEPTION OP THE IRISH.
inclined to enjoy the present. Their previous lives con- tain but the sordid catalogues of privations and distresses, and, on their emerging from the most cruel misery which ever extorted groans from a nation, they are apt — as all human creatures would be — to draw the first free breath with joy and exultation. Like Lazarus, they were ac- customed to feed upon the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table ; and now that they are invited to sit down, and partake themselves of the banquet, those rigid cen- sors stand by and scoff at their greedy appetites, A man whose morning meal consisted of capon can certainly await dinner with better grace, than he who went hungry to bed and awoke to breakfast on sorrow. Cheer to him is manna distilled from heaven, to support him on bis, way through the desert ; and he is eager to snatch at a gift of which he knows not when it will again be within his grasp. Excess is the companion of poverty, and its con- sequences perpetuate its direful existence. Misery they drown in stupefying potions ; for oblivion alone is the happiness of the damned.
These are the vices of some of those wretches who are annually thrown upon the hospitality of the Americans. And shall America, the land of political and religious freedom, cast them from her * and let them perish, while a bounteous Providence has put in her possession the most fertile regions on earth, capable of supporting thou- sands and millions of human beings 1 And shall the sup- plications and prayers of these emigrants ascend up to heaven without invoking a blessing on the children of liberty ? Are their habits and their vices not to be cor- rected by improving their wretched condition 1 All human experience speaks loudly in the affirmative. Set before them the prospect of steady employment, the hope of not only earning a subsistence, but something more ; give their children an opportunity of education ; and you will breathe into them a new vivifying principle. Occupation will prevent the commission of crimes ; the influence of religion and good example will abolish the vice of in- temperance, and the facilities of instruction will make
* In some of the States provisions have lately been made against the importation of foreign (Irish) paupers.
PREJUDICES AGAINST THE IRISH. 63
respectable citizens of their children. This is not decla- mation. I speak of facts which I know, and to which I shall have occasion to allude hereafter.
The Irish in Boston are a remarkably orderly people. They are not usually given to intemperance ; but on the contrary, willing to aid in its suppression. If the annals of prisons and houses of correction furnish a larger num- ber of Irish than American names, it must be remember- ed that, in all countries, the greatest number of culprits is furnished by the poorer and the least educated classes, and that as strangers, unacquainted with the peculiar police regulations of the towns, they are more apt to trespass against the laws, and make themselves liable to punishment, than those who have been brought up under its influence, and with whom obedience to it has become a habit.
Abstract numbers are no criterion of public morals. Hundreds of crimes against God and against man are not amenable to the law, while others, arising sometimes from innocent motives, are visited by its severest penal- ties. During the space of nearly ten years I have lived in Boston, but very few capital crimes were committed, and certainly not more than three or four considerable robberies and forgeries ; but not one of them, so far as my remembrance goes, has been perpetrated or abetted by an Irishman. Their offences consisted, principally, in disorderly conduct, and in infringing on the police regulations of the city. Theft they were rarely charged with ; and I am fully persuaded that were it not for the still too pernicious influence of ardent spirits, not one half of these acts would have been committed, and no stain left on the honest reputation of even the lowest of the Irish laborers. But, when we reflect upon the num- ber of crimes committed by the poor, we ought not to forget their exposed situation ; and when we praise the moral rectitude of the rich, we ought to consider the high premium which is paid to their virtue. It does not be- long to man to condemn a whole nation as vicious, or to pray,—
" Lord, we thank Thee that we are not as these men are;" for they too will pray, and "the prayer of the
64 ADVICE TO THE IRISH.
poor shall be heard," as it is more likely to come from the heart.
Who never ate his bread with tears, Who ne'er, through nights of bitter sorrow,
Sat weeping on his wretched bed , He knows ye not, ye heavenly powers ! *
But it is not so much the vices of the Irish, as their politi- cal principles, which prove sometimes offensive to Amer- icans. Some disturbances which of late arose in New York, at the election of the Governor, and in which the Irish unfortunately participated, furnished a certain party with a convenient pretext to ascribe their want of success to the destructive influence of the Irish. In consequence of this, a series of resolutions were adopted to prevent their occurrence in future. The subsequent election, how- ever, proved the insufficiency of the groundthey had tak- en ; for, not only did it pass without the public peace be- ing, for one moment, disturbed, but the majority for the geverninent \ra§ nearly doubled. But I shall not expa- tiate on this subject now, and will only remark that the Irish are naturally supposed to be in favor of democracy, having been, for centuries, the victims of the opposite doctrine.
But, whatever be the character of some of the Irish emigrants, on their landing in. the United States, they all improve with their circumstances, and their children are found amongst the most peaceful and respectable citizens. There are Irish names in the History of America of which she must ever be proud, and which will act as me- diators between the angry feelings of a party, and the hospitable inclinations of a whole nation.
Let the Irish, on their arrival in the United States, be, above all things, careful not to disturb the peace of the citizens, by revels of any kind ; let them remember that the Americans are proud of their voluntary submission to the law, and that they cannot respect those who habitual-
* Wer nie sein Brot mit Thrfinen ass, Wer nie durch kiimmervolle Nachte
Auf seinem Bette weinend sass Der kennt Euch nicht, Ihr himmlischen Machte !
Gothe's William Meister.
ADVICE TO THE IRISH. 65
ly infringe on them, or are given to excess of any kind. Let them abstain from all participation in political quar- rels, before they are able to form a correct opinion or to obtain sufficient information on the subject. Let them re- frain from violence of any kind, even if they should be provoked ; and let them not fight or break the peace with each other. If they should happen to be wronged, let them appeal to the law ; and the Americans will assured- ly procure them justice; for the Americans love peace, and liberty, and justice, more^ than any people in the world.
If there exist prejudices against the Irish, they are principally founded on their readiness to avenge their own wrongs. Let them remember that there is no occasion for it in the United States ; for America never assumed more jurisdiction over them than over her own citizens ; but, on the contrary, received them with generous hospi- tality, and entitled them to all the privileges of her own children. They must be aware that they remain guests till the period prescribed by the law shall have entitled them to the honor of citizens, and that they are, conse- quently, bound not to abuse the hospitality of their enter- tainers by disregarding their rules of society, or meddling with their family dissensions.
If a dispute should arise amongst the Americans them- selves, let them remain neutral, until, as naturaUzed citi- zens, they shall have become members of the same fam- ily ; and even then let them imitate the forbearance and moderation of Americans. In this manner they will win golden opinions from all parties, and establish a reputa- tion which will recross the Atlantic, and combat preju- dices, which, in Europe itself, are detrimental to the pro- gress and final emancipation of their country. They have already made a noble beginning in Boston. Let it be imitated throughout the United States— nay, let it be imitated in Ireland itself; and their worst enemies will be obliged to render them '^justice,'''
Few words need be said about the French in the United States. Not only is emigration from France exceedingly limited, but those who do emigrate are so seldom inclined to interfere with the policy of the country that, as a po- litical party, (with the exception of the French Creoles
66 CHARACTER OF FRENCH SETTLERS.
ill Louisiana,) they are hardly forcing themselves on the notice of Americans. The French do not take an active part in politics, at least nothing to compare with the En- glish or the Germans, and, where they cannot conform to the customs of the country, follow their own with so much modesty and so little intrusion on the established rules of society, that their conduct is approved and commended in every part of the country.
In Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, and New Or- leans, French society is not only numerous, but of the highest respectability; and as much may be said of the French society of New York. But in all these places, except New Orleans, they have exchanged the fashions of France for the more substantial customs of America; or, at least, blended them with the English, and thereby produced a mixture which I cannot but think an improve- ment on social intercourse in general.
As to the French poor, who resort to America as a means of improving their condition, they are known to be remarkably peaceful and industrious. They possess the art of being contented with less than almost any oth- er people, and their whole lives offer, sometimes, instances of the utmost frugality and continued self-denial. This applies also to the French emigrants who have seen better days in Europe. It has been my good fortune to become acquainted with some of these gentlemen, who, during the empire, had held distinguished ranks in Buonaparte's army. They were all distinguished by a peculiar meek- ness of demeanor, and a total absence of that acidity of temper which is but too frequently engendered by sudden reverses of fortune. When addressed on the subject of their exile, they would answer with the utmost patience^ and accompany their explanations with some of those smiles of which it was difficult to determine whether they were produced by the irony of their fate or the unsuspect- ing simplicity of the inquirer. They evinced an entire resignation to their lot, which enabled them to enjoy life in a new form, and under different auspices, though the affections of their hearts were still fastened to the beauti- ful land of their nativity.
Yet, with all these amiable qualities of the French, the English are generally preferred to them in almost every
PREJUDICES AGAINST THE FRENCH. 67
employment, except the teaching of their native language and other fashionable accomplishments in which they are known to excel. A Frenchman, on his arrival in the United States, must depend more on the patronage of his own countrymen, or such Americans as have visited, or resided in France, than on a popular feeling in his favor. The Americans have inherited the prejudice from their ancestors that gravity of deportment is inseparable from solidity of character ; and they cannot, therefore, per- suade themselves that the French, with their fondness for public amusements, can combine those essential domestic virtues with the continuance of which they associate the welfare of their country, and the stability of their politi- cal institutions. Neither are the Americans converts to the philosophy of Rousseau and Voltaire ; but are, unfor- tunately, in the habit of beholding in every Frenchman a true disciple of these masters.
French reasoning and French doctrines are not in vogue in the United States ; neither is the political expe- rience of France in very high repute with American Statesmen. If the French revolution has advanced the cause of liberty in Europe, it has had a chilling influence on the ardor of its votaries in America. It has made a portion of the Americans doubt their own sentiments, and filled even the mind of Washington with anxious ap- prehensions of the future. The murdered victims of the French revolution were nigh acting on the Americans as Caesar's wounds on the Romans, and their spirits are, to this moment, haunting the Senate Chamber of the Capi- tol. Were it not for the awful warning of the Modern History of France, democracy in America would have met with less opposition, and would have been established quietly, without the assistance of a party.
The French, then, are looked upon with suspicion, though, in a national point of view, they are much admir- ed and caressed. The Americans are too honest and just, not to bow to their genius; but they are slow of im- itation while having the example of the British. They prefer English routine to French philosophy, and are more willing to follow a precedent than to establish a new doctrine. I do not think that the French will ever make proselytes in America ; though the agreeableness of their
68 CHARACTER OF GERMAN SETTLERS*
manners, and the peculiar charm of their conversation> will always insure them the most favorable reception at the drawing-rooms.
The Germans and Dutch are old settlers in the United States, and have, in a measure, acquired a legitimate right to the soil. The Dutch, as is well known, settled New York and a considerable portion of New Jersey, before the colony was conquered by the English, and be- came the property of the Duke of York. The Germans, also, were amongst the earliest settlers of Pennsylvania, and amongst the most pious and virtuous quakers who had been converted by the preaching of William Penn.* They introduced the manufacture of paper, linen and woollen cloth, f and were, from the earliest period of the colony, amongst those who contributed most to its wealth and prosperity. Germantown was entirely founded by Germans, previous to the establishment of Philadelphia, and descendants of those settlers, or new emigrants from Germany, are now conducting the principal manufactur- ing establishments in that city.
The Germans fought with the Americans in the early wars against the Indians, | and assisted them in their struggle for independence. They raised amongst them- selves several regiments of militia, and shared the fatigues of Washington's army in the long war of the revolution. § The question with regard to them, therefore, is no longer whether they shall be tolerated, or what hopes they may have of success 1 — they are citizens, who have already succeeded. They, are, moreover, possessed of political power; for, having, at an early period of their settlement, adopted the plan of remaining together, they have brought whole districts under their influence ; and there are now villages in the states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and even in the new state of Illinois, where no other lan- guage is spoken but their own.
Their power is derived from the possession of the soil, and the remarkable union which prevails in their senti- ments. It is, indeed, a gratifying spectacle to see those Germans, who from the time of Tacitus to the present
• Proud's History of Pennsylvania.
t Ibid. t Ibid.
§ Botta. Storia della giierra delV independenza.
CHARACTER OF GERMAN SETTLERS. 09
day, could not unite on any uniform government of their own, rally cheerfully round the banner of the American republic, and uphold it as their guide and their law. I know that they love that republic with all the fervor with which their brethren in Europe are attached to their ideal Germany, which, as yet, exists only in song.* Neither do the Americans themselves doubt the sincerity of their attachment to their adopted country, though some may differ from them as to the manner in which it ought to be manifested. I shall give, hereafter, my views on the po- litical character of the Germans, and their influence on the government of the United States, from which it will appear, that, much as it may be deprecated by one party, it is gratefully hailed by the other.
Neither is the power of the Germans stationary, but, on the contrary, increasing constantly in numbers and possessions. Thousands of Germans are annually emi- grating to the United States; and thousands of them pur- chase real estates, or acquire them by persevering indus- try. They do not disperse and become mixed with the Americans, l?ut increase the settlements which are already established by their countrymen, or settle in their imme- diate neighborhood. They are, therefore, in the very outset less dependent on the Americans than on their own brethren, from whom they derive the principal means of support. Their own countrymen undertake their instruc- tion in the rules and regulations of the country, and, be- ing for the most part, sturdy democrats, teach them to re- frain from all measures not in strict accordance with that doctrine.
Their sentiments are easily explained. The Germans, even in Europe, are more fit for a republican government than any other nation on the continent. Their habits, inclinations, morals, and, above all, their superior educa-
* The English know the patriotic song of Arndt^
" Where is the German fatherland 1 Wherever the German tongue is spoken^ And sings songs to God in heaven, &c.
Wasist des Deutschen Vaterland 1. So weit die Deutsche Zunge klingt, Und Gott im Himmel Lieder singt/' &c.
70 CHARACTER OF GERMAN SETTLERS.
tion, render them fit for a democratic republic. For near- ly twenty-five years their efforts were directed towards a gradual improvement of their social and political institu- tions ; and amongst the most ardent partisans for improve- ment were three-fourths of the talent, enterprise and learning of all Germany. Were the Germans united un- der one government, the largest standing army could not have withstood their movement, for it has communicated itself to all classes, and, in part, even to the army itself. There is no opposition to it, except from the ignorant and vulgar ; because even those whose interest it is to prevent the spreading of liberal doctrines are convinced of their moral and philosophical justice, and differ from the rest only as to the manner in which they are to be applied in practice.
Even the rulers of Germany are tacitly admitting their truth, and relent in the persecution of those who have sin- ned against sacred majesty. Many German princes have, at least, given a semblance of a constitution to their sub- jects. They have surrendered the riglit of arbitrary tax- ation, and would, perhaps, have done more, if Austria and Prussia had allowed it. But, whatever the form of government in Germany may be, the abstract rights of the governed, and the sacred obligations of the rulers, were always implicitly admitted. I do not remember having read an imperial decree of Austria, in which the emperor did not undertake to justify his motives to his people, in order to convince them that he is taxing them for their own good.
There is, in truth, this peculiarity in the character of Germans, that they can neither act against, nor ever act, except from conviction. They are most intrepid when convinced of the rectitude of their intentions ; but they are totally incapable of motion before the principle itself is established. Their strength is derived from their con- sciences, and not from the degree of exaltation of which their passions are capable. Hence, reform in Germany has not begun with an appeal to national glory or cupid- ity ; but with the establishment of truths in the minds of the people. It has altogether been of an intellectual na- ture ; but, in that sense, it has, perhaps, progressed fur- ther than in any other country. Its action has, indeed^
PREJUDICES AGAINST THE GERMANS. 71
been too much confined to education and literature ; but by these means it will not less find its way to all classes ; and what shall once have become the unanimous will of the nation, will be with difficulty withheld by their rulers. But the Germans will, for a long time yet, abstain from positive violence, in which they have as little faith as their Saxon kindred the English. They will not pull down one edifice before they have erected another ; but, like the British, prefer a " coat with many patches" to one which does not fit.
With these characteristics of the Germans we shall find no difficulty in comprehending the position they have taken in the United States. The democratic principles of the American government agreed perfectly with their notions of right, justice and humanity ; and they have, therefore, embraced them with the same holy faith with which their ancestors clung to the principles of the refor- mation. They are morally convinced of their excellence ; and instead of ratiocinating and subtilizing about them, believe in them as they do in their Bible, and transmit their faith to their children. Every new comer is initi- ated into their creed, and soon becomes a convert to it ; for if he should not, they would shun him as given to idol- atry. In this manner the doctrine spreads with the ex- tent of the territory they occupy; but they never over- step their boundary, or obtrude their faith on the Ameri- cans. So far from preaching their doctrines to the in- habitants of other states, they are satisfied with enjoying liberty at home; and, instead of acting as a moving prin- ciple in the political councils of the nation, their influence is only felt by the masses which they oppose to, or employ in favor of, a particular measure.
Yet, with all their quietude and forbearance, they have not been able to escape from sarcasm and ridicule, and the terms "high" and "low Dutch" are applied to them in all the various significations of which they are capable. The feelings of an educated German are not very nicely touched by certain figurative expressions from the lips of ladies ; such as " a regular Dutch figure," (meaning the reverse of Mdlle. Taglioni ;) "a Dutch face," (some- what quadrangular and full of listless simplicity ;) " a Dutch head," (not one of Raflfaello da Urbino's; but
72 PREJUDICES AGAINST THE GERMANS.
square at the top with large bumps behind the ears, indic- ative of gentle resistance ;) "a Dutch mouth," (capable of holding a common-sized orange without injuring the skin;) " a jOi(^c/i foot," (the highest American concep- tion of magnitude and expansion;) "Dutch manners," (any thing but good breeding,) &c. These epithets are sometimes inadvertently used in the presence of Germans from Europe, when the mistake will be instantly repaired by assuring them that they do not apply to them, but to their awkward countrymen in Pennsylvania. The Ger- mans, however, are far from taking these sallies in dudg- eon, but, on the contrar3% concede to the fair satirists the most unrivalled superiority in wit, beauty and accomplish- ments.
With regard to the American prejudices for, or against Germans, I can only say that some are highly favorable ; but others decidedly against my countrymen. I shall be- gin with those in their favor. These exist principally in the Northern States, and especially in New England. To a more limited extent they are also to be found to the south, and more particularly in South Carolina. The New Englanders and the southern planters are acquaint- ed with German literature, and transfer a portion of their regard for that imaginary world of beauty, harmony and grandeur, the creation of German genius, to every well- educated individual from that country. But while they look upon Germany as a fairy land, in which one cannot wake, sleep or move, without being charmed or tormented by some spirit, they are apt to consider its inhabitants as dreamers, and its philosophers as so many weavers of moonshine. A very similar opinion is sufficiently preva- lent in England, even among the lierati, though the con- ceptions of the German mind are there more highly prized and better understood than in any other country.
The cause is apparent. Few German authors, especial- ly on metaphysics, have, as yet, been ably translated into English ; and if the public are to rely on the judgment of critics, they will always be told that those workslcon- tain " moonshine," rather than " that their light is inca- pable of illumining the dark ; " though it may be suffi- cient to *' make darkness visible." The Americans, enter- taining on most subjects of taste and learning the same
PREJUDICES AGAINST THE GERMANS.
73
feelings as the English, or, taking the English for their standard, do not consider German thought and reasoning as very safe guides to '^practical truths,^'' and bestow, therefore, but a limited confidence to professional men of that school. They are willing to give the Germans credit for general scholarship and great grasp of mind ; but they will not easily trust them in a particular branch, ex- cept, perhaps, in the elementary departments of educa- tion, which they think sufficiently removed from the "practical business of life " to be safely confided to their care. German theology, medicine, and jurisprudence are at a considerable discount ; but philosophy is an absolute drug. If a poor emigrant from Germany, on his arrival in the United States, should possess no other marketable commodity, he may prepare to die at the alms-house ; for private charity might at last become weary of supporting him. If he be not " hanged," he will at least be buried *' at the State's expense," though during his life-time he may enjoy the sympathy of scholars and friends. The Americans will treat him with kindness, and show the greatest consideration for his mind and character. There will be those who will offer him pecuniary assistance ;but by far the majority will be ready to confine him to a mad- house. The most prudent course for him to pursue will be to hire himself out on a farm, to make himself, in some way or other, " useful to the community." In no other country could he be so forcibly convinced of the truth of Mephistopheles' comparison, —
I tell thee, friend, a man who speculates,
Is like a beast upon a barren heath, ;
Forever led in circles by the devil ;
While all around full fresh the meadows bloom.*
With regard to the mechanical arts, the Germans are hardly better. If they are not employed by one of their own countrymen, their chance of success is but small, and by no means equal to the English. Not only will
* Ich sages dir ; ein Kerl, der speculirt, 1st wie ein Thier, auf diirrer Heide Von einem bosen Geist im Kreis herum geftthrt, Und rings, umher liegt schone grOne Weide.
Go THE 's Faust. 7
74 ADVICE TO THE GERMANS.
they find their language an impediment, but most of their work either done better than what they are accustomed to do in Germany, (because the American master mechanics give and obtain higher prices for Labor,) or forestalled by the British who excel in it, and are, therefore, certain of having the preference overall other competitors. Agricul- ture is the proper resort of Germans emigrating to the Uni- ted States ; and there are few instances in which they have not been successful. But any honest trade will succeed amongst their own countrymen, who will sooner patron- ize them than Americans tliemselves.
My advice to the German emigrants, therefore, is, not to remain an instant longer in any of the large sea-port towns than is absolutely necessary to make provisions for their journey westward; for, every moment they tarry in the cities is a loss of time and money, and, consequently, an impediment to their ultimate success.
As cultivators of the soil, they have the finest prospect before them ; for no other country offers the same re- sources, or will so riclily reward their industry. As far- mers, the German emigrants have a decided advantage over all other settlers ; for they find friends, relatives, and a home in three or four of the largest and most fertile states of the Union. There the German language is no obstacle to their progress ; because thousands around them speak no other. They will find German papers, German churches, and German schools. Their officers of justice will be Germans ; their physicians, and — if they sliould be so unfortunate as to need them — their lawyers. It will appear to them as if a portion of the land of their fathers had, by some magic, been transplant- ed to the New World. They will find the same dwell- ings, the same corn-fields, the same orchards, and, of late, the same vines. Every object which may strike their eyes will revive some dream of their childhood, and in- crease their aff'ection for the country of their adoption. The peace, quietude, and happiness of Germany will be unfolded to their delighted senses; only the fore and back ground will be indistinct — they will discover neither princes nor beggars.
It remains for me yet to say something of the reception of Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese. Practically there
SPANIARDS AND PORTUGUESE. 75
can be no prejudices against gentlemen from any coun- try ; but theoretically there exists, in the United States, as in England and all the North of Europe, a peculiar dislike to Southerners in general, which must always be more or less injurious to individuals. The Texian war is not apt to soften these prejudices with regard to the Spaniards ; nor has the late history of Italy very materi- ally increased the respect which the English entertain for the Italians. There is something in the manners, hab- its and inclinations of these nations which appears to be repugnant to the feelings of the North, and there is some- thing even in their love of liberty, which will fill an Amer- ican with horror.
The number of Spaniards and Portuguese in the Uni- ted States is comparatively small, and is not likely to in- crease ; as they are generally as little satisfied with the country as the people with them, and seldom resort to America, except when every other enterprise has failed. Yet there are some highly respectable Spanish families in all the sea-port towns, and a considerable number of them in the State of Louisiana. They, there, imitate the manners of the Americans; and, acquiring property by honest industry, become sincerely attached to the cus- toms and institutions of the country.
CHAPTER IV.
AMERICAN THEATRES. TRAGEDIANS. COMIC ACTORS.
AMERICAN WIT. MUSIC. PAINTING. GENERAL RE- FLECTIONS ON THE ARTS.
The Americans, as a nation, cannot be said to be very fond of theatrical performances ; though nearly all the large cities of the Union are provided with one, or sever- al good play-houses. In the fitting up of these there is often displayed considerable elegance ; and in New York and Philadelphia they may be said to be decorated with taste. Boston has two theatres ; New York three, and an Italian Opera ; Philadelphia three ; Baltimore one ; Washington one ; Cincinnati one ; and the city of New Orleans, besides the English house, a very good French Vaudeville and Opera Comique. The company of the latter quit New Orleans in the summer, and per- form in all the large towns of the North ; which, therefore, in addition to the English plays, may be said to possess, (for a season, at least,) a French Comedy.
All these establishments seem to prove that the Ameri- cans take an interest in theatres ; but when we inquire into the financial operations of the managers, we must either conclude that the taste of the people is not suffi- ciently understood and gratified, or that the Americans have not, as yet, contracted that particular habit of amuse- ment. Of all the theatres in the United States there is but one (in 'New York) which is known to have carried on a profitable business ; and most of the enterprises of individuals have entirely failed.
For my own part, I do not think the fault lies so much with the managers, as with the public itself The Amer- icans are not fond of any kind of public amusement; and are best pleased with an abundance of business. Their
SUCCESS OF ENGLISH ACTORS. 77
pleasure consists in being constantly occupied ; and their evenings are either spent at home, or with a few of their friends, in a manner as private as possible. The continued public excitement, occasioned by their political proceed- ings, the extent and magnitude of national enterprise, and the constant activity which pervades all classes of society, render rest and quietude much more desirable than an additional stimulus, were it but to pleasure. The Ameri- cans are too young a people ; they are yet themselves too active performers in the historical drama of their coun- try, to take delight in contemplating the world as it is re- flected from the stage. There is not yet any thing "foul in the state " to create a taste for tragedy.
Theatrical performances, moreover, are opposed to the religious doctrines of the majority of Americans, and they always interfere with their domestic arrangements and habits. Few ladies, therefore, are ever seen at the thea- tres ; and the frequenting of them, even by gentlemen, is not considered a recommendation to their character. In several places where theatres had been established, they have again been abolished by the religious influence of the clergy ; and there are Christian churches in America who will not allow any of their members to be seen at a play-house.
Under these circumstances, the only harvest of an American theatre (with a few honorable exceptions at home) is the arrival of some stars from England, who have so much found their account in the journey, that of late whole constellations have travelled out of their or- bits to afford brother Jonathan an opportunity of improv- ing his taste. Some of these have even published their bright career in the New World, and have not a little con- tributed, on and off the boards, to the general diversion of the public.
But this apparent success of English actors in Ameri- ica must not be ascribed to a taste for dramatical perform- ances. It is, then, curiosity, and not a particular interest in the play, which acts as a stimulant on the Americans ; they rather go to see what pleases the English, than in order to be pleased themselves. But their curiosity be- ing ojice satisfied, they soon relax into their domestic habits, and abandon the drama to the actors. The exhi^ 7#
78 THE AUTOMATON CHESS-PLAYER.
bition of a sagacieus elephant, or a learned dog, would have afforded them a similar attraction ; and of all the pub- lie exhibitions of any kind, none succeeded so completely, or drew, for so long a period, full and fashionable audien- ces, as that of the automaton chess-player and the "confla- gration of Moscow." But, then, Mr. Maelzel, who exhib- ited these wonders, was a very agreeable man, who, with a good-natured German smile always reserved the first benches for the children, and regularly pampered them with sugar-plums. There was, besides, mechanical inge- nuity in the performance ; and a problem to solve, which is always interesting to Americans.* Of all the English actors and actresses who have visited America at differ- ent periods, none have so completely succeeded as Miss Keinble ; but even her talents and accomplishments had a fearful rival in the powerful attractions of the automa- ton Turk.
It appears, then, that the Americans, in some instances at least, are willing to pay for the privilege of being specfa- to7's, but that few of them only are ever desirous of becom- ing actors ; that they are sometimes willing to be amused, but not disposed to divert others. — This might be expect- ed from a young enterprising people, whose talents and labors are turned to a better account in agriculture or commerce ; and whose early habits and education are re- pugnant to the comparatively inactive lives of performers. Yet the Americans have produced some very good trage- dians, and have amply supplied the comic department, for which they seem to have a prevalent taste.
But Jonathan's wit is essentially different from the English, and is, with very few exceptions, deficient in humor. I never saw an American attempt the broad humor of John Bull without his appearing outre, and un- natural ; but I have hardly ever know n him to fail in
* The automaton chess-player was but a short time in the United States, when an American rival appeared, in every respect equal to that which was exhibited by Mr. Maelzel. The niechanisra was the same, and it was exhibited in the same maimer, by opening: but one door of the box at a time. But Mr. Maelzel had the triumph of beating him, or rather of making: him decline his challenge ; the person concealed in the American automaton being a weaker player than Mr. Schlum- berger (employed by Mr. Maelzel) whose skill in the game had for ma- ny years been tested by the players of the Caf6 deRegence.
AMERICAN WIT. 79
satire and sarcasm. Neither did T ever hear those shouts of laughter, in America, which an English comic actor is wont to draw forth from his audience at home.
The Americans do not laugh at honest bluntness, or good-natured simplicity, and are, of all people in the world, the least capable of appreciating la bagatelle. If Jonathan is to laugh he must have a point given him, or, in other words, he must laugh to some purpose. One re- semblance, however, there is between him and his brother, which consists in both being very fond of laughing at the expense of their neighbors. English, French, Dutch and Germans are in turn made to suffer the stings of American wit, and the respective descendants of these nations in the United States furnish a fund of anecdote for that pur- pose. Accordingly the Germans of Pennsylvania, the Dutch of New York, the Creoles of New Orleans, &:c., have each, their caricaturists, and are successively rep- resented on the American stage. The western people, especially, are the objects of peculiar merriment, and among them the Kentuckians, on account of their natural boldness and simplicity, are the most prominent. The latter are, perhaps, the only people in the United States, who, with great natural wit combine also a fund of humor and good nature. They are the Irish of America, at whose expense every body laughs, and who, in return, make spoTt of every body. The best anecdotes are told of them, and the keenest repartees are ascribed to their shrewdness. Tiiey are represented as reckless of enter- prise, intrepid in danger, chivalrous of conduct, and as jolly in company as any son of the Emerald Isle. But they have this advantage over the Irish, which is manifest in their whole carriage — that their merits are acknowledg- ed, and their peculiarities (the offsprings of many manly virtues) readily excused by the more charitable feelings of their countrymen.
But the most salient point of American wit consists in their political caricatures, which have all the poignancy of the French, with the weight and substance of the English. I remember many of them which were exceedingly inge- nious, and as readily seized by the people, as those of France are by the Parisians. I shall only mention one of these, illustrative of Jonathan's capacity to take off
80 AMERICAN COMIC ACTORS.
characters. Before the late amicable adjustment of the difficulties with France, a caricature was published in America, representing General Jackson shaking his cane at the King of the French, while in the left hand he was holding a bag of money, bearing the inscription " 25,000,000 francs ; " with the words to his mouth,
*' 'Tis well that you paid me, or by the Eternal " to
which the king was represented bowing and waving his hands with the words " Not another word of apologi/, my dear General, I beg you." It would, perhaps, be difficult to make a better comment on the conduct of either of these distinguished individuals than is contained in that print.
Yet with all this wit the Americans do not laugh as much as either the English or the French, and indulge in sarcasm only for their private gratification, or to gratify an enemy. Owing to this peculiarity of character, few English actors, in the comical department, have ever satisfied an Ameri- can piibVic, for ani/ length of time, and their own country- men, however popular, must equally despair of success.
I know no object more deserving of pity, than a comic actor on an American stage. He is always expected to say something witty ; and yet, he is to give no oflTence to any part of his audience. His doings and sayings are to be pointed ; yet, in whatever direction he turns, he is sure to give ofience, and to have his transgressions visit- ed on his head. He is to be a politician, and yet offend no party ; he is to ridicule the whims and follies of wo- men, but not offend any of the ladies present ; he is obliged to please the taste of the rich, who are best capa- ble of rewarding his merits ; but he must take care lest, by offending the poor, he may be hissed off the stage, and when too late be made to repent of his folly.
For this reason there are but few characters well rep- resented on the American stage, among which that of " a tar," is always sure to give satisfaction. The Irish, of late, has also become very popular. But since Power's representation of that character, few Americans can hope to succeed in it. Punning, therefore, is the usual resort of a comic actor in trouble. But this is a kind of wit, which, in time, is sure to produce surfeit, and requires such a variety of objects for its exercise, that it is with
THE ITALIAN OPERA. 81
difficulty replenished when it is once spent upon one. The efforts, too, which a punster is contantly obliged to make to conceal the ebbs and flows of his wit, are dis- agreeable, and deprive it of the best part of its effect. Besides, it is impossible to be always ne.w and success- ful ; and the disappointment produced by a bad pun, or one with which we are already familiar, is more than suf- ficient to overbalance the pleasure which we receive from one that is pointed and original. We can see a good character represented an hundred times, and still be pleased by the performance ; but it would be difficult to listen to a repetition of puns without feelings of perfect disgust.
In music the Americans seem to succeed better than in tragedy or comedy ; and the establishment of an Italian Opera in New York, on a scale which would do credit to any capital in Europe, shows, at least, the willingness of a certain portion of the people to contribute largely to the cultivation of that taste. The Italian Opera-house in the city of New York, was built in a very costly style ; singers were procured from Italy at a great expense, and the orchestra filled with skilful performers from France and Germany. The company left nothing undone which could gratify the public ; but unfortunately the prices of boxes and the pit were very high, (just double of what they were in the other theatres,) and the entertainments not sufficiently varied to please the American palate. The undertaking, therefore, proved a failure, and involved its projectors in considerable loss. The principal cause of this ill success must have been the language, to which the by far greater part of the audience were total stran- gers ; and which, to brother Jonathan, is, after all, not half as sonorous as the King's English.
But of whatever depravity of taste the lower classes of Americans and EngHsh may be judged guilty, (for I be- lieve John Bull is, in this respect, not a whit better than his brother,) I maintain that their relish of what they are able to understand is far from being discreditable to their good sense, and is at least as valuable as the spurious re- finement of those distinguished admirers of the opera, who frequent it only because it is a fashionable entertain- ment. Music, it is true, does not address itself directly to
82 TASTE FOR MUSIC.
the understanding; but affects it indirectly through the feelings ; yet I do not see how the understanding can be made judge of it at all, M^ithout the medium of language. I am aware there are those who believe that the under- standing has not4iing to do with it, and that harmony and melody are productive of a sort of agreeable sensation in the ear, similar to that which a cat may feel when its ears are scratched.
But there are others who opine — and probably with more justice — that music has the power of indicating the particular tone of our feelings, and of causing them to sympathise with those of the composer. They main- tain that an opera is but a musical drama, in which melody and harmony take the place of declamation, and that its excellency, therefore, must be judged by the perfect agreement between the music and the text. On this ac- count they are apt to admire the compositions of Mozart and Beethoven, and prefer them by far to the brilliant works of Rossini and Bellini. They claim of an overture that it shall be a proper introduction to an opera, by pre- paring the feelings of the audience for the dramatic action which is to follow, and to which it ought to be the index. For this reason they extol the overtures to " Don Juan '* and "Fidelio," and criticise those of the " Gazza ladra " and " Tancredi " as being little adapted to their respective subjects. They can see no miracle in Mozart's compos- ing the overture to " Don Juan " within an hour of the time of its first performance ; because it was merely the index to a work, which, as the author, he must have known by heart. Neither do they wonder at the musi- cians' performing it prima vista; because, having re- hearsed the opera, they must have been familiar with the theme. Our modern composers and performers, they pretend, would be reduced to a greater stress were they ever placed in similar circumstances.
These doctrines, it must be allowed, contain a tolerable apology for the simple taste of Americans in not patron- ising the Italian opera. If the perfection of an opera consists in the mutual agreement between the text and the music, the good people of JVew York lost, at least, one half of the entertainment by not- understanding the lan- guage, and were obliged to pay for the remaining half
TASTE FOR MUSIC, 83
double of what they were accustomed to pay for a whole night's amusement at another theatre. The ratio was as one to four when compared to the other plays, and was, consequently, too unreasonable to satisfy such nice calcu- lators as the Americans.
A beautiful song, of which we understand neither the words nor the meaning, can, after all, produce little more satisfaction than original iambics to a person unacquaint- ed with Greek. He might be pleased with the measures and the harmony; but he could not appreciate their adap- tation to the subject of the poem. Whatever opinions men of fashion may entertain on this subject, I shall always believe that there is no more charity in condemn- ing a man's taste for music, because he does not join in the common-place admiration of Italian operas, than in denying his taste for literature, because he is not delighted with the original text of an author of whom he does not understand the language.
But it must not be inferred that, because the Americans have not patronised the Italian opera, they are utterly insensible to music. They are, on the contrary, passion- ately fond of it ; but gratify their taste in a manner much more substantial and profitable. They like to become musicians themselves, and prefer paying for tuition to a master, to encouraging the art in others.
Most of the Italian and German performers, who, at first, gave concerts in the United States, were finally in- duced to become teachers, and, in the latter capacity, have not only been able to maintain themselves, but have laid up something for the future. The success of the in- structers can only be ascribed to the readiness of the pupils to improve ; which, in turn, bespeaks a prevalent taste for the accomplishment.
Neither are the Americans behindhand in supporting operas performed in English ; and the names of the best German, Italian and French composers have, in this manner, become as familiar to American ears as they are to any dilettanti o{ Europe. "Der Freischiitz," "The Barber of Seville," " The White Lady," " Fra Diavolo," and " Gustavus," have all had their run on the American stage; and it may even be observed that MadameMalibran
84 HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY.
was first brought into notice by the encouraging plaudits of an American audience.*
The general predilection, however, is in favor of sa- cred music ; and there exist, in most of the large cities of the United States, societies for its cultivation and en- couragement. Among these the *' Handel and Haydn Society " of Boston, and the " Musical Fund Society" of Philadelphia, are most deserving of notice, as they are both extremely well organised, and directed by able and scientific leaders. The latter, especially, ranks amongst its members not only a great number of German and French amateurs, but also a very respectable body of pro- fessors, whose talents are called into active exercise by frequent conceits and oratorios, and by the liberal prizes which the society annually offers for the best compositions in the various departments of the art.
One fact, however, is most remarkable in the " Handel and Haydn Society" of Boston, which consists in most of its members being mechanics, cultivating music for no other purpose than because they are really fondof it, and wish to introduce it into their churches. Vocal music, therefore, is their principal object, and the choruses the best part of their oratorios. The taste is certainly lauda- ble, and the more so as it is peculiar to a class of men which are unjustly supposed to be incapable of refine- ment.
It is quite a curious spectacle to see the sacred compo- sitions of the old German masters revived and studied by a company of unassuming workmen in the New World, while, in Germany, it would be difficult to procure a fash- ionable audience for either, as long as Lanner and Strauss set the whole population on waltzing. The much admir- ed sensibility of the Germans seems, by some sad perver- sion, to have betaken itself to their heels, where it is now productive of such vehement revolutions as are scarcely equalled by the wheels of a locomotive. Even the classic- al operas of Mozart are gradually withdrawing from the German stage, to go begging in England ; and I am cer- tainly not exaggerating the case when I state it as my
* I am aware that Madame Malibran first sung in England ; but she was then not so much applauded as subsequently in America.
AMATEUR PERFORMERS. 85
candid opinion that the best compositions of Mozart and Beethoven are becoming more familiar to English and American ears, than to the greater portion of their own countrymen.
I have already alluded to the parlor amusement in the United States, which consists principally in vocal and in- strumental music. The performers, on such occasions, are usually ladies ; the gentlemen's accomplishments in the arts being commonly confined to the flute. I do not remember having heard a single amateur performer on the violin during my whole residence in the United States. The ladies who are able to devote a much longer time to their education, are, in this repect, vastly superior to the gentlemen, and perform often exceedingly well on the pi- ano, the guitar, and the harpsichord. Those of Philadel- phia and Baltimore are most accomplished in the art, as they are not only more assiduous in its cultivation, but enjoy the advantage of the best German instructers. Their being, in part, descended from Germans, may also contribute to their predilection in favor of " concord of sweet sounds," which taste is any thing but diminished by a southern latitude.
On the whole, I should judge the musical talents of Americans superior to those of the English, especially in the middle and southern States, where they have been constantly improving by emigrants from the continent of Europe. The English will hear the best music as long as they are willing to j>a?/ for it; but the Americans will soon be able to make it themselves. The English will al- ways remain great consumers of musical talent, but the Americans will produce it.
No transition seems to be more natural than that from music to painting ; and it will be proper, therefore, to of- fer a few remarks also on that subject. As far as I am able to ascertain, there is, in America, no deficiency of talent either for drawing or painting ; but there is little or nothing done for their encouragement. The education of an American artist, with the only exception of a few, not very competent drawing-masters, is altogether left to him- self, and to the chance he may have of visiting Europe and studying the old masters. There exists, as yet, no public gallery in any of the large cities of the United 8
86 AMERICAN PAINTERS.
States, to which a young painter could have free access, or where his taste might be formed. There is not even a school for painting, or any other public institution of a more elevated nature, to foster or develop talents of this kind ; and yet the Americans have produced some very eminent painters, amongst whom it will suffice to mention the names of Stuart and West. The former was one of the best portrait painters of the age, and the latter is too well known in England to need further comment. Mr. Alston, of Cambridge, New England, has, by dint of ge- nius, become an historical painter of vast poetic concep- tions; and Mr. Harding has, from a soldier and a chair- painter, with no other assistance than that of his own en- ergetic mind, become one of the most successful portrait painters of America. He went to England to learn and improve his native talents, but met with such encourage- ment that he was not only able to pursue his main design, but also to lay the foundation to his subsequent indepen- dence.
Where talent forces its way through such obstacles, and triumphs at last over all difficulties in the way of its pro- gress, it must be genuine, and warrant the conclusion that, with a little more encouragement on the part of the peo- ple, and some appropriate institutions for the education of artists, the Americans might be made to compete with Europe also in this department. It has been observed, frequently, by French and German M^riters, that the Unit- ed States of America, could, with difficulty, be made the successful sphere of an historical painter. This maybe true for at least the next fifty years, but then, I would ask in what part of Europe his talents would now meet with adequate acknowledgment ? Where are the histor- ical painters in Europe, who, in this age of political and mechanical improvement, could be sure of not dying the death of starvation ?
With the exception of the court of Bavaria, there is no royal favor extended to these victims of a more sanc- tified taste — though their works and their fame might live to eternity. The encouragement, which, by persons of rank and distinction, is given to this branch of the art, is almost wholly confined to purchasing a few works of the old masters for a gallery. This is a kind of gratification
MODERN PAINTERS. 87
in which a patron of the arts will always more readily in- dulge, than in encouraging a growing talent. A fine gal- lery is constantly admired, and reflects on the good taste of the owner ; but the money laid out on an artist is not always sure of bearing interest or of pampering the pat- ron's vanity.
Neither are the performances of the present schools more than a feeble reflection of the glory of former days. Neither the feelings, nor the imagination, nor the taste of our modern artists resemble those of the old masters, in- spired by a holy faith and fraught with religious devotion. They are no longer personations of the Divinity itself; but, at best, but tolerable copies of prosaic originals, or of the world as it appears to our senses, unadorned by what Goethe would call "the glorification of the Italian painters." The mysticism of catholic worship, as it ex- isted in the middle ages, and the spiritualism of those ages gave to the genius of the artist a noble direction, and imprinted on his works a peculiar dignity of charac- ter, for which they will ever be distinguished.
This applies equally to the specimens of architecture which remain of that period. They all bear the iiistor- ical characteristics of their age, and represent to us, — if I am permitted the expression, — ideas rather than objects to delight our senses: the conception is in all of them su- perior to the form by which it is expressed, and the peculi- arities of the artist's mind lost in the grandeur of his sub- ject. In this, I believe, consists the true superiority of the ancient over the modern schools ; but it is a superior- ity which belongs to their age more than to the individu- als who flourished in it, and cannot, therefore, be re-pro- duced by the most strenuous efforts of our contempora- ries.
Our present artists move in a narrower sphere. Their province does not extend beyond the borders of humanity ; and their conceptions, therefore, must be of a lower cast. They may picture to us man in his most perfect form ; but beyond this, their imagination will not easily soar, and in beholding their works we are irresistibly chained to the earth. They may still have the power of gratify- ing the senses, but they lack the nobility of conception and the divine spirit which presides over the works of the old masters.
so PORTRAIT PAINTERS.
Neither are our modern worshippers of the art any longer imbued with the same spirit which characterised the people of the middle ages. Ours is the age of de- monstrative philosophy, the most totally opposed to the gentle sympathies of a believing mind. Our understand- ings have become accustomed to seize abstract forms and ideas, established by a process of reasoning, rather than to be led to a generous belief by the beauty and harmony of nature. In proportion as we have trusted our under- standing, our feelings have lost the power of guiding us, and our imagination has become dull and obscure.
Hence, instead of representing angels, genii, and saints to our turbid imaginations, our modern artists entertain us with subjects more on a level with ourselves ; and what can be more so than the portrait of a friend, or of our own perfections. Portrait painting has become the chief branch of the art to which all others are not only acces- sory and subordinate, but without which no other can now please or succeed.
The artist, therefore, has no longer the choice of his subject ; but exhausts his talent, as he may be employed and directed ; and, instead of following his own imagina- tion and genius, is obliged to conform to the peculiar taste of his patrons. The art, it is true, has become more popular, but, with the greater number of its votaries, its former sanctity is lost. It gives more universal pleasure, but is less capable of affecting individuals; and instead of entertaining them with subjects above them, is obliged to descend to their level.
This is the reason why portrait painting has become so universally popular. We hardly become tired to look at ourselves in a glass, which, moreover, reflects our image without flattery, and exhibits to us daily the visible marks of time and decay; how much more, then, must we be pleased with a portrait, which is not subject to decrepi- tude, and represents us always under the most favorable combination of light and attitude ? The foible is par- donable, and flatters our vanity. What, after all, can be more satisfactory to a man of taste than to leave to the world some traces of his ephemeral existence ? — to be im- mortalized by a favorite of the muses, and hung up in a gallery amongst a whole heaven of gods and goddesses?
PORTRAIT PAINTERS. 89
—to carry the sweet consolation to the grave that his pic- ture; after generations shall have past, may yet be more valuable than the original 1 If he wear an uniform, a mitre, or some other decoration to distinguish himself from the rest of mankind, nothing but a toitch of the brush will be required to transmit his merits, iii the brightest colors, to an admiring posterity ; and if his name be not inscribed on marble, he may at least cherish a hope that some of his friends will have it engraved on steel, " from an original picture of Sir Thomas Lawrence."
Our feelings have grown too egotistical even to under- stand the works of the old masters ; much less to imitate them. Amongst the hundreds who annually visit Rome and Florence for the laudable purpose of improving their tastes, there is scarcely one whose mind is tuned in unison with their spirit, to comprehend the vastness of their de- signs, or to perceive the divine attributes of truth and eternity which are every where imprinted on their poetic personages. But without sympathising with the masters of the old school, we shall in vain attempt to catch the inspiration of their works. Let us analyze them as we may, let us descend to the minutest details ; the soul will not be found in any particular part of the body, but will forever escape our anatomical investigation. It is of too sublime a nature to cling to so rude an instrument as the knife of a modern dissector. The old painters are doom- ed to the fate of the classics, an acquaintance with which is indispensable to erudition ; but whose works are no longer understood without a commentary. They may still be the object of universal admiration, but inspire no longer those electric feelings which prompted the ancients to deeds of heroic valor.
If this is the fate of the masters exalted in the opinions of mankind, what can be the prospects of a beginner 1 Which way is a young artist to turn, to keep his heart and his mind uninfluenced by the growing egotism of the world ? Where are the awful mysteries of religion, and the enchantments of a spiritual world to fecundate his imagination, and to preserve it pure in an age of unbelief and material philosophy ? Cause and effect of real great- ness in the arts are alike vanishing from the present gen- 8#
90 CAUSES OF THE DECLINE OF PAINTING.
eration ; and the lofty pupil of the divine masters degene- rates into a sordid copyist of his patron's pimples.
The great advantage, then, which Europe possesses over America, with regard to the fine arts, are the nu- merous collections of paintings and statuary treasured up in her churches and galleries. These will probably re- main forever unequalled, not only by Americans, but also by European artists of all times. They are now more the objects of pride and vanity in their owners than of re- al veneration for the genius of their author.
Ours is an age of science, and not of the arts. The eternal truths "of nature and of nature's God," which it is the province of the fine arts to reveal m forms, are no longer the objects of pious mysticism, but of philosophical discussion and mathematical demonstration. The pres- ent age cannot be affected by what they are unable to understand, and not convinced, except by a process of reasoning. Hence the progress of the exact sciences and their accessories, — and the visible decline of poetry and the arts. The aggregate of human knowledge is increas- ed, and the condition of man improved beyond all com- parison; but the more delicate feelings of our hearts have become blunted, and the sacred awe of the spiritual world changed into a self-sufficient complacency at the subjugation of inanimate nature.
In proportion as the understanding and the judgment are cultivated, the imagination must suffer or be checked in its progress, and, with it, the arts to which it gives life. The more accurately a thing is defined, the less room is left to the imagination to enlarge upon it ; and the mind once accustomed to the rigor of mathematical demonstra- tion, is not apt to lose itself in the boundless regions of fancy. Judgment, too, partakes always of the nature of criticism. It is an analytical process of the mind, which consists rather in dissecting and destroying, than in unit- ing different objects to an harmonious whole. In every work of art, on the contrary, the unity of all the parts — the totality of the impression — is the principal object to which all others must be subordinate. The genius of the artist is creative, and his conceptions are at once a com- plete and perfect whole ; the province of science is the universe, and the means of exploring it a finite intelli-
ARTS AND SCIENCES CONTRASTED. 91
gence. The man of science, therefore, can only combine what exists; but in no instance is he able to add, create, or improve on a single object in nature. Step by step is nature to be conquered ; each new idea must give birth to another, and it is only by their painful combination that the truth is finally revealed. But the characteristic of science is certainty, and its reward consciousness of pow- er. Its applications are universal, and contribute every- where to the amelioration of conditions. The arts may flourish in a despotic country ; but the light of science cannot be diffused amongst a people without raising them above the condition of slaves. The arts may be employ- ed for mean and sordid purposes, but science always en- nobles human nature, and is, of all pursuits, the most cal- culated to secure permanent happiness. Monarchs may patronise the arts — republics must encourage the sci- ences.
In proportion as the sciences advanced, the arts deteri- orated ; but it was not until the decline of the latter, that America rose into an independent existence. The period in the history of Europe, advantageous to the cultivation of the arts, was passed : the very settlement of the Unit- ed States was owing to protestantism in religion and pol- itics. There were no monuments of Rome and Greece to awaken a taste for the arts ; and the wild dramas of the Indian wars called for energies and talents different from those which play in the lap of the Muses.
Hardly had America escaped from destruction at home, and oppression from abroad, before the French revolution began to convulse the whole world with its doctrines and victories. America was again forced into a war, and it is scarcely twenty years since she has enjoyed unmolest- ed tranquillity. But what period is this for a nation in its history of the fine arts'? And what has been the pro- g7'ess of the arts during that period in Europe ! Let the question be presented in this light, and its inevitable an- swer must be, that, compared to former times, they have, in Europe, deteriorated, while in America they have cer- tainly progressed, notwithstanding the almost total want of encouragement of artists in the United States.
CHAPTER V.
AMERICAN LITERATURE. ITS RELATION TO THE ENGLISH.
PERIODICALS. DAILY PRESS. CITY AND COUNTRY PA- PERS. THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE POLITICAL PROSPECTS
OF THE NATION.
" The termination of the Revolutionary War," says the learned author of " Men and Manners," " left the United States with a population graduatina; in civilization from slaves to planters. The scale went low enough, but un- fortunately, not very high. The great mass of the white population, especially in the Northern States, were by no means deficient in such education, as was suited to their circumstances. In a country in which abject poverty was happily a stranger, there existed few obstacles to the gen- eral diffusion of elementary instruction. But between the amount of acquirement of the richer and poorer classes little disparity existed. Where the necessity of labor was imposed on all, it was not probable that any demand should exist for learning, not immediately connected with the business of life. To the groiver of indigo and tobac- co, to the feller of timber, or the retailer of cutlery and drij goods, the refinements of literature iverc necessarily unhnoion. In her whole population America did not number a single scholar in the higher acceptation of the term, and had every book in her whole territory been contributed to form a national library, it would not have afforded the materials from which a scholar could be framed." * * #
"In short, the state of American society is such as to afford no leisure for any thing so unmarketable as abstract
AMERICAN SCIENCE AND LITERATURE. 93
knowledge. For the pursuit of such studies, it is neces- sary that the proficient 'should fit audience find, though few.^ He must be able to calculate on sympathy, at least, if not encouragement; and assuredly he would find neither in the United States."
* * *
"I am aware, it will be urged that the state of things I have described is merely transient, and that when popu- lation shall have become more dense, and increased com- petition shall have rendered commerce and agriculture less lucrative, the pursuits of science and literature will engross their due proportion of the national talent. I hope it may be so ; but, yet it cannot be disguised that hitherto there has been no visible approximation towards such a condition of society. In the present generation of Americans 1 can detect no symptoms of improving taste, or increasing elevation of intellect. On the contrary, the fact has been irresistibly forced on my conviction that they are altogether inferior to those, whose place, in the course of nature, they are soon destined to occupy. Compared with their fathers, I have no hesitation in pronouncing the younger portion of the higher classes to be less libe- ral, less enlightened, less observant of the proprieties of life, and certainly far less pleasing in manners and de- portment."
Thus ends his discussion on American literature and education, in which not a single author or work is named, to corroborate his statements, and which it would be im- possible to recognize as bearing on literature at all, if the reader were not good-naturedly informed of it by the run- ning title of the book. Every assertion it contains is purely gratuitous,* and but the echo of his own feelings
* Except, perhaps, his observation on the manners of the yonng men of the ''higher classes." But in America the offspring of the higher classes are usually not only inferior to their progenitors, but, in the greater number of instances, also to the children ol the inferior orders. The most active and enterprising merchants of Boston and New York are not sons of rich men. Neither were the names of the most distin- guished American statesmen known in the fashionable circles, before their fame had connected them with the history of their country. Ge- nius is seldom hereditary ; and in a country where every man advances by his own talents and energies, we need be as little astonished to see the son of a rich man inferior to his father, as to behold the offspring of poor parents rise to consideration and dignity.
94
EARLY STAGE OF SCIENCE
and prejudices. Surely the learned author furnishes a powerful illustration of the quantity of philosophy a man may gather from travelling, and how the inmost thoughts and springs of action of a nation may be discovered from the top of a stage coach. There is nothing so easy as for a man who has, either from disposition or habit, taken a strong dislike to republican institutions, to declaim, in general terms, on their pernicious influence on science and literature ; but if he attempt to state facts with which he is only acquainted from hearsay, he will assuredly be- tray the particular tone of his sentiments, or be guilty of misrepresentations.
America, at the close of the revolutionary war, did number amongst its population, not only scholars, but men of the purest and loftiest genius. — Franklin and Thomas Jefferson would have immortalized themselves by their writings and reasonings, even if neither of them had ever risen above the political horizon of his country. The theory of electricity of the former would, alone, have sufficed to mark him as one of the most logical intellects which ever graced science, and would have transmitted his fame to the latest posterity. America could boast of orators like James Otis and Patrick Henry,* and exhibit- ed the virtues of her legislators in the framing of her con- stitution. John Edwards, William Douglas, and William Bartram had distinguished themselves by their writings ; and the latter, a quaker of Pennsylvania, was pronounced by Linnaeus to be "the greatest natural botanist in the world." Thomas Godfray, of Philadelphia, was the inven- tor of the invaluable instrument to navigators which, afterwards, by a misnomer, was called " Hadley's Quad- rant ; " David Rittenhouse invented a new method of fluxions ; and Timothy Cutler, Elisha Williams, and Tim- othy Clap, of Yale College, were celebrated for their knowledge of classical literature.f In 1761 the transit of Venus was observed from the coast of Newfoundland (the most westerly part of the world from which the conclu- sion could be seen,) by Professor Winthrop, of Harvard
* " Henry, the forest-born Demosthenes,
Whose thunder shook the Philip of the seas."
Byron. t Grahame's Histoiy of the United States.
AND LITERATURE IN AMERICA. 95
College ; who acquitted himself of the task in the most able manner ; and had his expenses defrayed by the gen- eral court of Massachusetts.* This undoubtedly proves that " to the grower of indigo and tobacco, to the feller of timber, and the retailer of cutlery and dry goods, the refinements of literature were necessarily unknown."
Mr. Hamilton attributes the infant state of literature in the United States to the state of society, and especially to their republican form of government. Let us see how far his conclusions are borne out by history ? Let us in- quire how much England has done for the mental emanci- pation of her colonies ; and whether the arts and sciences have received a check or an impulse, by the declaration of independence 1
We find Britain, in the earliest stage of her American colonies, desirous of governing them not only by superior physical power, but also by a preponderance of intellect. Commerce and literature were alike monopolised by Eng- land, whose interest it was to keep America dependent on British manufacture and science. This state of servi- tude, the most degrading which ever existed in any coun- try, was enforced by the most rigorous laws ; and the privilege of printing and publishing books was, by the very charter, refused to some of the colonies.
The encouragement which American gentlemen of sci- ence and literature had to expect from England, was most happily illustrated by the conduct of William Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham, who refused to commune personally with Dr. Franklin, but sent him word, through one of his under secretaries, " that he thought him a re- spectable man." t Franklin was then at the zenith of his scientific and political renown ; and if he received such flattering testimonies of his " respectability" from men, favorable to the cause of America, what could he and his •colleagues hope for from the jealousy of their political opponents.
The only literary institution aided by royalty, in Ame- rica, during the space of two centuries, was the college of "William and Mary," in Virginia, to which a donation
* Grahame's History of the United States. Ibid.
96 EARLY STAGE OF SCIENCE
was made by the King and Queen, more for political and religious purposes, however, than for the actual promotion of learning. When Dean Berkeley (afterwards Bisliop of Cloyne) went to America to establish a seminary of learn- ing, the House of Commons voted the sum of 20,000/. for that purpose ; but this sum was never paid — and after- wards voted in aid of the colony of Georgia, a kind of military establishment, for the protection of the frontiers of South Carolina. Gibson, bishop of London, after re- peatedly pressing the subject on Walpole, obtained finally the following unceremonious answer : " If you put this question to me as a Minister, I must and can assure you that the money shall undoubtedly be paid, as soon as the public convenience ivill alloiv ; but if you ask me as a friend whether Dean Berkeley should continue in America, expecting the payment of the 20,000/., I advise him, by all means, to return to Europe, and to give up his present expectations."
The attorney-general expressed himself in still plainer terms ; for, when the agent of the colonies applied to him for his sanction to have a patent sealed confirming the grant of the 20,000/. under the religious plea, that it was for the benefit of the souls of the colonists, he merely replied, laconically, "Never mind their souls" — "let them plant tobacco."
Governor Johnston, of North Carolina, (the first royal governor after the surrender of the proprietary Charter,) levied, it is true, taxes for the purpose of founding schools ; but unfo; mately employed the money so raised for other purposes. No sooner, however, was the declaration of independence acknowledged by Great Britain, than the Assembly of North Carolina, " aware of the bonds which connect hioioledge with liberty^ and ignorance with despot- ism^''^ founded a seminary of learning in that province. Yale, and Princeton colleges were established by the munificence of the people, without the assistance of the British government, or of royal bounty. Harvard Col- lege was established by the Puritan fathers only ten years after their settlement in America ; but never enjoyed the academical privileges of similar institutions in England ; though many laws were enacted, for that purpose, by the provincial legislature of Massachusetts, which were all
AND LITERATURE IN AMERICA. 97
disallowed by the British parliament, bent upon protract- ing the period of America's mental and national pupillar- ity. The editors and authors of periodicals were thrown into prison, and until 1730 a strict censorship established in New England, the most literary of all the colonies.
" No encouragement," says Grahame, "seems ever to have been given by the English government to the culti- vation of science and literature in the American prov- inces, except in the solitary instance of a donation of William and Mary in aid of the college which took its name from them in Virginia. The policy adopted by the parent state in this respect is very directly indicated by one of the royal governors in the beginning of the eighteenth century.
* As to the college erected in Virginia,' says the officer, * and other designs of the like nature, which have been proposed for the encouragement of learning, it is only to be observed in general, that although great advantages may accrue to the mother state both from the labors and luxuries of its plantations, yet they will probably be mis- taken loho imagine that the advancement of literature, and the improvement of arts and sciences in our American colonies, can be of any service to the British state?
♦' We have already seen the instructions," continues Grahame, " that were given to the royal governors by the English court, both prior and subsequent to the revo- lution of 1688, to restrain the exercise of printing within their jurisdiction. Many laws were enacted in New England after that event, for enlarging the literary privi- leges and honors of Harvard university, which were all disallowed by the British government."
With what justice, therefore, does our modern tourist, after expounding on venison and Madeira — for the learned author of " Men and Manners " treats very fully on these subjects — obtrude his remarks on American literature and science at that period? — and this to prove that liberal governments are necessarily opposed to their progress 1
Again, Mr. Hamilton assures his readers that in the present generation of Americans *' he can discover no symptoms of improving taste, or increasing elevation of in tellect." On the contrary, the fact has been irresistibly 9
98
AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS.
forced on his conviction " that they are altogether inferior to those whose place, in the course of nature, they are soon destined to occupy." By what facts does he estab- lish this gratuitous assertion ? Have the Americans, since the revolutionary war, produced no men of science known in Europe 1 no writer of note whose works have been republished in England and on the Continent 1 One single fact will answer these questions better than all speculations on the subject.
The "American Booksellers' Advertiser" notices the following different publications, during the year 1835, ex- clusive of pamphlets, periodicals, and new editions. (The first column contains the number of original American publications; the second, the number of republications of foreign works ; and the third, the sum total of both.)
|
Sabjects, |
American, |
Foreign. |
Total. |
|
Biographies . . . History - - - - Travels by Sea and Land Statistics and Commerce - Theology Religioiis and Domestic Duties - Miscellaneous - - . Almanacks . _ _ Ethics and Politics Law _ - - _ Medicine and Surgery Arts and Sciences Novels and Tales Poetry - - • . Education Juvenile - - - . |
19 4 12 9 20 15 24 10 5 9 6 15 31 7 60 22 |
11 8 11 2 22 15 10 .3 3 5 8 33 12 15 17 175 |
30 12 23 11 42 30 34 10 8 12 11 23 64 19 75 39 |
|
268 |
443 |
Making in all 443 works, or 547 vols. Allowing each edition to consist only of 1000 copies, the number of vol- umes printed amounted last year (1835) to 547,000 ; ex- clusive of pamphlets, periodicals, and new editions.
We remark here the great increase of original publica- tions, instead of the diminution which struck the learned author of "Men and Manners."
ESTIMATION OF LITERATURE. 99
In 1833, there were published, in the United States, one third more foreign than original works ; but, in 1835 the ratio had already increased in favor of the former. A German writer* observes that this is a strong proof that the United States are about to form their own literature, especially as regards the solid and useful branches of ed- ucation. These publications show better than all reason- ing that in America an author may at least " fit audi- ence find," and that he may calculate on the sympathy and encouragement of the public ; else the enterprising spirit of the Americans would not be engaged in publish- ing and republishing books.
But Mr. Hamilton says, in another part of his work, that literature in the United States is a disgrace^ and that he heard the term "literary gentleman," applied, in Washington, in the most taunting manner, to one of the representatives. This was a gross misunderstanding on his part. All parties in the United States — those in and those out of power — are proud of the literary achieve- ments of their champions; but they are alike averse to mere rhetorical flourishes. The term "literary " is some- times applied ironically to a politician, in contradistinc- tion to practical good sense, which, indeed, was the case when Mr. Hamilton heard it pronounced on the floor of Congress; but then the distinction is not so absurd as he imagines, there being more than one " literary gentle- man " to whom it will happily apply.
Once more I would ask whether the writings of Hill- house, of Bryant, Percival, Paulding, and, above all, of Washington Irving and Fennimore Cooper are so little known in England and Europe generally, as to entitle the learned author of " Men and Manners " to the con- clusion that America will never enjoy a state of society favorable to literature ?
What was the literary and scientific condition of Amer- ica at the time of her emancipation ? — and what is it now ? Have no improvements been made in the system of edu- cation ? Is there any branch of literature in which the Americans do not, at least, enter into competition with Europe, from the most abstruse science of mathematical
* In the journal entitled " Das Ausland."
100
POETRY.
analysis down to the "woful ballad " and the "flower- garden of epigrams and sonnets?"
It may, perhaps, be observed, that in all these branch- es the Americans are as yet the imitators of Europe. Granted. But what are fifty years in the history of a nation's literature, or in the scientific development of a people yet combating against nature and the savages ? Only a small portion of the inhabitant? of the United States are as yet permanently settled ; the rest are no- mades, or lead the lives of conquerors. Yet these wan- dering tribes know the value of literature and science, and, wherever they go, establish schools and seminaries of learning. All other nations have conquered by the sword, and their traces were marked by ruin and desolation : America, alone, vanquishes her foes by civilization, and marks her course by moral and religious improvements. There is poetry in her national development, and the settlements of her early colonists. Poetry is s^ much diflfused throughout nature, and so intimately connected with man, that there is hardly an object, or an historical fact, incapable of inspiring its sentiments. There is po- etry in light, color, sound, form, and even in numbers. The creation and redemption of man is the most sublime and Godlike poetry recorded in the Bible. Newton, by his optics, has become the philosopher and poet of light ; Mozart and Chladni sang, the one from inspiration, the other by philosophical combination, the praises of music ; and the Greeks have given us the most perfect models of the poetry of forms. The gigantic antediluvian drama, with its volcanos, and earthquakes, and floods, involving all creation in a general wreck, has found its poet in Cu- vier; but the sublimity of his conceptions consists in num- bers.* The spiritualism of the middle ages, and the holy inspiration of the followers of Christ, are the subject of Walter Scott's poetry ; and the military enthusiasm of imperial France, and its tragical end, have begot the plaintive strains of Lamartine. The colonization of New England, by the pilgrim fathers, their manly assertion of liberty, and the sacrifice of all that is dear to mankind, for the very theory of freedom, is one of the most poetic- al, and noble spectacles which the world ever witnessed.
* Heine.
AMERICAN AUTHORS. 101
The struggle of a young and uncorrupt race against the gigantic forests and rivers of a pristine world; the expir- ing groans of her children, and the noble enthusiasn* of the Americans for their proud republic, form the theme of the poetry of Cooper. Whatever may be said of his im- itation of Walter Scott, he is original in his scenes and conceptions, and will forever remain a rival competitor of the great master. His works have been translated in- to all European languages, and, despite of the illiberal criticism of his own countrymen, will be read and admir- ed as long as there shall be a heart capable of enthusiasm for liberty. Whatever the Americans may now think of Cooper, he is, and will, probably, for a long time remain, the most manly and national representative of their lite- rature.
Washington Irving's style is superior to Cooper's in el- egance and finish ; but his pictures are diminutive, and he succeeds best in sketches. His acquaintance with, and I may perhaps say, predilection in favor of European characters, rather pleases the Americans, who are flatter- ed to see him ranked amongst the most classical English writers of the age. James K. Paulding is likewise one of the most fertile novelists of America. " The Dutch- man's Fireside," "John Bull in America," "Westward, Ho," &c. are well known even in England, and are hon- orable productions of a descriptive mind. He has also written several plays, and a parody on Walter Scott's *'Lay of the Minstrel," entitled "Lay of the Scotch Fiddler."
Among the lyric poets of the Americans, James G. Percival holds decidedly the first rank, though Bryant and Dana have, perhaps, more tasle and elegance. He is a calm, contemplative genius, joining a powerful imagina- tion to a masculine style, and a patriotic ardor which we •only recognize again in the works of Fennimore Cooper. His poems, entitled " Clio," were republished in England, and he was the coadjutor of Webster in the publica- tion of his dictionary. Bryant is editor of " The New York Evening Post," and Richard H. Dana, was, for a time, editor of the " North American Review." The best prose work of the latter is "The Idle Man," and amongst his poems the Buccaneer is justly entitled to the 9*
102 AMERIAAN AUTHORS.
high reputation it enjoys in America. Some of the poems of Bryant have been lately translated into German, and were pronounced, by competent critics, to be equal to the best productions of British Bards.
John Howard Paine and Hillhouse are the Coriphei of American dramatic literature. The best works of the latter are "The Last Judgment," " Percy's Mask," and "Hadad." The plays of Paine appeared first in Eng- land, and, I believe, met with a favorable reception. The author has since returned to America, where some of them have been revived on the stage, and performed to fashionable audiences.
Dr. Bird, of Philadelphia, the author of several popu- lar novels, is also worthy of considerable distinction as a dramatic writer. His Indian tragedy of Oroloosa was highly successful, though it was rather too full of stage trick and clap-trap. His Gladiator is a much superior performance. Though it has many faults, it possesses much redeeming merit; and the personation of Mr. For- est not only insures its permanent popularity in the Unit- ed States, but obtained for it a most favorable reception before a London audience. The Bride of Genoa, by Epes Sargent, was produced in Boston, at the Tremont Theatre, in the spring of 1837, the popular and clever native actress. Miss Clifton, sustaining the principal male character. The play is founded upon incidents in the ca- reer of Antonio Montaldo, a plebeian, who made himself Doge of Genoa, in the year 1393, when he was only 22 years old. In the " History of the Revolutions of Ge- noa," he is described " as daring and ambitious, with a genius equal to the most extensive views, yet of a forgiv- ing temper." Great license is taken with history in the conduct of the play, but the character of Montaldo is faith- fully and well represented. The success of this drama, on its production in Boston, was very decided, and the house, on the third night, crowded to overflowing with the most brilliant audience of the season. Its represen- tation in the other principal cities of the Union will prob- ably precede its publication, there being, unfortunately, no law in the United States securing to dramatic writers a compensation for the production of their published works on the stage. Another play, by the «ame author, a tragedy of the most powerful dramatic inte> st, entitled
AMERICAN AUTHORS. 103
Velasco, is in preparation, and has, by competent judges, been pronounced vastly superior to the first ; if so, its complete success cannot for one moment be doubtful.
Besides these authors there is yet a number with whose names the British public are familiar. Miss Sigourney, Miss Sedgwick, (author of Hope Leslie,) Mrs. Child, (par- ticularly known as a moral and political writer,) and Charles Brockden Brown (author of Edgar Huntly, Car- win and Wieland,) need no commendation from my pen. Nathaniel P. Willis, the youngest of the American min- strels, has earned glory and the minstrel's reward in England, and Mr. Theodore S. Fay is well known as the author of " Norman Leslie." Mrs. Child has just pub- lished a new novel, " Philothea," replete with imagina- tion and classical learning, and imbued with that spirit of morality which distinguishes all her productions.
In the deparlment of science and education a number of original writers have distinguished themselves, not only by composing text-books, but also by publishing works in the higher departments of knowledge. The philosophical works of Cousin have been translated and published in Boston ; and Dr. Nathaniel Bo wd itch has furnished the best translation of La Place's " Mecanique Celeste," with notes and figures (these were wanting in the original) occupying nearly one half of the work.*
* It is, perhaps, not unworthy of notice that Mr. Hamilton, in his learned criticism on American scholars, should have so far travelled out of his orbit, as to condemn them, because they thought themselves mathematicians without reading La Place, and philosophers without understanding Cousin. This idea the learned author introduces amongst a number of not less ingenions remarks on American college- education, compared to that of England. Now, whatever the advan- tages of an English collegiate education may be. La Place's Mecanique Celeste forms no text book either in a British or French university, and is not even among the works prescribed for the pupils of the 6cole polytechdque. As regards the philosophy of Cousin, which, in fact, is based upon his intimate acquaintance with German metaphysics, I am inclined to believe that many a British scholar would have to renounce his claims to philosophy, if the works of that writer were to be made the criterion of his knowledge. Cousin is far from being generally understood by his own countrymen; and we may, therefore, infer that he is not quite so intelligible to every Englishman as to the author of " Men and Manners." At any rate, the Americans possess a transla-