Recollections of a Lifetime, by Samuel Griswold Goodrich (New York & Auburn: Miller, Orton & Mulligan, 1856)
II, p. 9: I was then living with him
* I have stated elsewhere that he had promised to make me one of his aids. Accordingly, H. L. Ellsworth--afterward Indian Agent and Commissioner of Patents--and myself were appointed, with the rank of
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major, April 17, 1815. I was not very ambitious of my title, for not long after "Major Goodridge," of Bangor, Maine, acquired an infamous notoriety, in consequence of a trial (December, 1816) in which Daniel Webster made a celebrated plea, unmasking one of the most extraordinary cases of duplicity and hypocrisy on record. This Major Goodridge pretended to have been robbed, and the crime was charged upon two persons by the name of Kenniston. In the defense of these, Mr. Webster proved that the charge was false, and that the accuser had himself fabricated the whole story of the robbery. (See Webster's Works, vol. v. page 441.)
II, p. 13: Jefferson, in 1808
* See note on page 274, vol. i. of this work. Also Hildreth, second series, vol. iii. pp. 79, 117.
II, p. 14: out of the public treasury
* In March, 1812, Madison sent to Congress certain documents, pretending to disclose a secret plot, for the dismemberment of the Union, and the formation of the Eastern States into a political connection with Great Britain. It seems that in the winter of 1809, Sir J. H. Craig, Governor-general of Canada, employed John Henry to undertake a secret mission to the United States for this object. Henry proceeded through Vermont and New Hampshire to Boston. He, however, never found a person to whom he could broach the subject! As he stated, the British government refused the promised compensation, and therefore he turned traitor, and sold his secret to our government. The subject was fully discussed in Parliament, and it appeared that Henry's scheme was not known to or authorized by the British government. The whole substance of the matter was, that our government was duped by a miserable adventurer. The conduct of Madison, in this evident greediness to inculpate the federalists, was a lasting ground of dislike and hostility to him. See Young's Amer. Statesman, p. 248.
II, p. 14: then called seriously to account
† I was living in Boston at the time (October, 1828) when the public first became fully aware of the fact, that, twenty years before, Mr. Adams had planted the seeds of this accusation against the northern fed-
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eralists in the eager soil of Mr. Jefferson's mind, where it had flourished in secret, and whence it had been widely disseminated. There was a general--indeed, an almost universal--feeling of indignation and astonishment. The presidential election was at hand, and Mr. Adams was the candidate of the whig party for a second term. Those very persons, whom he had thus maligned--themselves or their descendants--were now his supporters. The election was permitted to pass, and Massachusetts gave her vote for Mr. Adams; he was, however, defeated, and Jackson became his successor.
And now came the retribution. Mr. Adams was addressed by H. G. Otis, T. H. Perkins, William Prescott, Charles Jackson, and others--men of the highest standing, and representing the old federal party, charged with treason by him--demanding the proofs of the accusation for which he stood responsible. I have not space to give here the discussion which followed. Those who wish can find the case clearly stated in Young's American Statesman, page 442, &c., &c. The result certainly was, that Mr. Adams showed no grounds, even for suspicion, of what he charged; and that, even if there had been some foundation for his opinion, it referred to an earlier date, and to other individuals, and could not, by any show of fact, reason, or logic, be connected with the Hartford Convention. Indeed, no person can now read the controversy referred to, without coming to this obvious conclusion. It will be remembered, in confirmation of this, that John Henry, the British agent, sent for the purpose of seducing the Boston federalists, by the British governor, Craig, never found an individual to whom he dared even to open his business!
At all events, such was the shock of public feelings, caused by the disclosure of Mr. Adams's charge made to Jefferson, that for a long time, when he walked the streets of Boston, which he occasionally visited, he was generally passed without being spoken to, even by his former acquaintances. The resentment at last subsided, but he never recovered the full confidence of the people of Massachusetts: they were content, however, in view of his great merits, to let the matter pass into oblivion. It is only in obedience to the call of history that I write these facts.
* This individual was William Plumer, a Senator from New Hampshire, who stated that in 1803 and 1804, he was himself in favor of
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forming a separate government for New England, but he abandoned these ideas, and used his influence against them, when, as he says, they were revived in 1809 and 1812. He, too, underwent a close examination, and it appeared that he was unable to produce any reliable evidence whatever, that any plot for disunion was formed, or that any individual, connected with the Hartford Convention, countenanced such a scheme. See Young's Amer. Statesman, p. 455, &c.
* It is certainly not necessary for me to write the biography or certify to the character of Noah Webster: these have been carried all over our country by his Spelling-book and his Dictionary, erecting monuments of gratitude in the hearts of the millions whom he has taught to read, and the millions whom he still teaches, in the perfect use of our language. It has been said, and with much truth, that he has held communion with more minds than any other anther of modem times. His learning, his assiduity, his piety, his patriotism, were the groundwork of these successful and beneficent labors. It is the privilege of a great and good man to speak, and when he speaks, to be listened to. The passage here quoted is comprised in his "Collection of Essays," published in 1843: it was written with a sincere and earnest purpose, and it seems no more than due to truth and the justice of logic, to receive it as conclusive proof of the facts it asserts.
Mr. Webster, as is well known, was a native of Hartford, Conn., and was born in Oct. 1758. Among his classmates at Yale College were Joel Barlow, Oliver Wolcott, Uriah Tracy, Zepheniah Swift, and other men of eminence. His life was spent in various literary pursuits. I knew him well, and must mention an incident respecting him, still fresh in my memory. In the summer of 1834,1 was in Paris, and staying at the Hotel Montmorency. One morning, at an early hour, I entered the court of the hotel, and on the opposite side, I saw a tall, slender form, with a black coat, black small-clothes, black silk stockings, moving back and forth, with its hands behind it, and evidently in a state of meditation. It was a curious, quaint, Connecticut looking apparition, strangely in contrast to the prevailing forms and aspects in this gay metropolis. I
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said to myself--"If it were possible, I should say that was Noah Webster!" I went up to him, and found it was indeed he. At the age of sixty-six, he had come to Europe to perfect his Dictionary! It is interesting to know that such tenacity of purpose, such persistency, such courage, were combined with all the refined and amiable qualities which dignify and embellish domestic and private life.
II, p. 25: origin of the Hartford Convention
* This statement, on the part of Mr. Webster, does not exclude the supposition that the idea of a convention of the New England States may have been previously suggested by others. Such a thing was very likely to occur to many minds, inasmuch as New England had been accustomed, from time immemorial, to hold conventions, in periods of trouble and anxiety. His testimony, however, 'shows clearly that the actual, efficient movement which resulted in the Hartford Convention, originated, as he states, with the citizens of Hampshire county. Other testimony shows that some prominent federalists did not at first favor it, and only yielded at last to a feeling of prudence, in following this lead of the people.
The following letter from Harrison Gray Otis to Mrs. Willard, written in reply to a request from her, for information on the subject, will be seen to correspond with Mr. Webster's statement, and also with the proceedings of the Convention, and all other known fticte relating to it, in such a manner as to satisfy every honest mind of its truth.
"The Hartford Convention, far from being the original contrivance of a cabal for any purpose of faction or disunion, was a result growing, by natural consequences, out of existing circumstances. More than a year previous to its institution, a convention was simultaneously called for by the people in their town meetings, in all parts of Massachusetts. Petitions to that effect were accumulated on the tables of the legislative chamber. They were postponed for twelve months by the influence of those who now sustain the odium of the measure. The adoption of it was the consequence, not the source of a popular sentiment; and it was intended by those who voted for it, as a safety-valve, by which the
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steam arising from the fermentation of the times might escape, not as a boiler by which it is generated." (See Willard's History of the United States, p. 851.)
II, p. 30: the democratic papers
* The following is from the American Mercury, the democratic organ at Hartford--Dec. 18, 1815, a year after the Convention. There can be little doubt that, at the outset, many of the democrats really felt that the Convention meditated treason. I have already shown that the leaders of democracy had been made, by the revelations of John Q. Adams, to suspect the northern federalists; and there is no doubt that Madison and his cabinet, for a time, apprehended that the Hartford Convention was to be the fulfillment of Adams's prediction. But the maledictions here poured out by the Mercury--a year after the gathering of the Convention, and when its innocence, to say the least, was universally known and understood--were mere electioneering devices. They are interesting, however, as showing the means by which the obstinate prejudice against the Convention was wrought into the minds of the mass of the democratic party.
"The fifteenth of December is an epoch in the history of America which can never be passed over by Republicans, without mingled emotions of regret and exultation: of regret, that we have among us 'men--freeborn men--men born, nursed, and brought up by our firesides--Americans--American citizens,' who are so depraved, so wicked, as to aim a dagger at the vitals of their already bleeding country, and to attempt to subvert the liberties of the people; of exultation, that the grand designs of these hellish conspirators have been frustrated with infamy, and that the Union has triumphed over their mischievous machinations!
"Impressed with these sentiments, the Republicans of Hartford, on Friday last (being the day of the first meeting of the Convention), displayed the flag of the Union at half-mast during the early part of the day, as expressive of their sorrow for the depravity of those, who, one year since, were plotting in our city, in conjunction with Britain, the destruction of the liberties of the Republic. In the afternoon, the flag was raised to the masthead, as emblematical of the complete discomfiture of their designs, and the triumph of the Constitution. In the rueful countenance of the federalists, it was plain to discover the mortification and chagrin which they experienced. They say, let us bury in oblivion's dark bastile all bitter recollection! But so long as New England is cursed with federal rulers, till she emerges from the darkness
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which has for years enveloped her, till republicanism reigns triumphant throughout New England (which we trust in God is close at hand), it becomes the imperious duty of Republicans to hold up to the contempt of the people, their wicked and nefarious designs. * * *
"We think it a duty we owe to our country, to publish annually the names of those who com posed the 'Hartford Convention,' that they may never be forgotten." Here follows a list of the names.
Not only the Hartford Mercury, but the Boston Patriot, and probably other democratic journals, made a similar pledge to hold up to eternal disgrace this black list of conspirators. All this was, however, a mere electioneering game, and after two or three years, the pledge was forgotten.
II, p. 31: pages of Charles Jared Ingersoll
* "Historical Sketch of the Second War between the United States and Great Britain, by Charles Jared Ingersoll."
† The following are the names of the members of the so-called Hartford Convention: those from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island were appointed from the State legislatures; those from New Hampshire, by county conventions; the delegate from Vermont was chosen by persons in the county of Windham. These were all appointed "for the purpose of devising and recommending such measures for the safety and welfare of these States as may be consistent with our obligations as members of the National Union."
From Massachusetts--George Cabot, Nathan Dane, William Prescott, Harrison Gray Otis, Timothy Bigelow, Joshua Thomas, Samuel Sumner Wilde, Joseph Lyman, Stephen Longfellow, Jr., Daniel Waldo, Hodijah Baylies, George Bliss.
From Connecticut--Chauncey Goodrich, John Treadwell, James Hillhouse, Zephanisih Swift, Nathaniel Smith, Calvin Goddard, Roger M. Sherman.
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From Rhode Island--Daniel Lyman, Samuel Ward, Edward Manton, Benjamin Hazard.
From New Hampshire--Benjamin West, Mills Olcott.
From Vermont--William Hall, Jr.
II, p. 33: finest public hall in the State
* The Hon. R. R. Hinman, the historian of Connecticut during the Revolutionary period, and several years Secretary of State, once told me a good anecdote in relation to this dark, dismal hiding-place of the "nefandous" Convention. One day, a man from the South--I believe a South Carolinian--some one doubtless who had been reading Ingersoll's history, came into the office of the Secretary, and desired to be shown the place where the Hartford Convention sat. Mr. Hinman accordingly
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took him into the room. The stranger looked around with much curiosity, and presently he saw Stuart's likeness of Washington--for in this chamber is one of the most celebrated of the full-length portraits of the Father of his Country.
The stranger started. "And was this picture here, when the Convention held its sittings?" said he.
"Yes, certainly," said the secretary.
"Well," replied the man--observing the high color which Stuart had given to the countenance of Washington, in the picture--"well, I'll be d----d if he's got the blush off yet!"
This is a sharp joke; but yet, it is natural to ask--if Washington's picture should blush for the Hartford Convention--which above all things advocated the preservation of the Union--what should it have done in the presence of that Convention in South Carolina, November, 1832, which resulted in an open, avowed opposition to the Union, and had perhaps laid the foundation for its overthrow, in establishing the doctrine of Secession?
* William Coleman was a native of Massachusetts, and was born in 1766. He studied law, and settled at Greenfield about 1794, where he erected a house, noted for its architectural beauty. Here he also edited a newspaper. Buckingham--vol. ii. p. 319--says that he was remarkable for his vigor in skating, having passed in one evening from near Greenfield to Northampton, a distance of about twenty miles. As I recollect him, he was a large man, of robust appearance, with a vigorous and manly countenance. His nose was bony and prominent, and in connection with a strongly defined brow, gave his face an expression of vigor and sagacity. His eye was gray, his hair light brown, and at the time I speak of, was slightly grizzled. He removed to New York, where lie published some law books, and in 1801 (Nov. 16), founded the Evening Post, which became a leading federal paper, and so continued for many years. Its columns were distinguished for ability, as well in its political discussions as its literary essays and criticisms. In general, he set a good example of dignity of style and gentlemanly decorum, though he was drawn into some violent altercations with Cheetham and Duane. It is sufficient eulogy of Mr. Coleman to say that he enjoyed the con-
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fidence of Hamilton, King, Jay, and other notabilities of that day, and that he made the Evening Post worthy of the editorial successorship of Leggett (1820) and of Bryant (1836).
* George Cabot was a native of Salem, Mass., born in 1752. He was originally a shipmaster, but he rose to various stations of eminence. He became a senator of the United States, and in 1798 was appointed the first Secretary of the Navy, but declined. His personal influence in Boston was unbounded. He died in that city, 1823.
* Harrison Gray Otis, son of Samuel A. Otis, the first Secretary of the Senate of the United States, was born in 1765, and died 1848. He
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was one of the most eminent of the Massachusetts bar, even by the side of Ames, Parsons, Lowell, and Gore. He succeeded Ames in Congress, in 1797. In 1817, he became a senator of the United States. To learning and vigor of intellect, he added great powers of oratory, captivating alike to the simple and the refined. He held various other offices, and in these, discharged his duties with distinguished ability. His residence was at Boston. He retained his mental faculties, his cheerfulness, and his amenity of demeanor, to the last.
II, p. 40: father of the historian
* William Prescott was a native of Pepperell, Mass., born 1762. His father, Colonel Prescott, commanded at the battle of Bunker Hill. He became one of the most eminent lawyers in the State, and filled various public stations. Mr. Webster said of him at the time of his death, in 1844: "No man in the community, during the last quarter of a century, felt himself too high, either from his position or his talents, to ask counsel of Mr. Prescott."
† Stephen Longfellow, of Portland, Maine, was an eminent lawyer, and ranked among the most distinguished and estimable citizens of New England. He was noted for unsullied purity of life and character, an inflexible devotion to his convictions, great powers of conversation and -winning amenity of manners, always mingling an elevated piety with a kindly charity to all other sects. While Maine was a part of Massachusetts, he exercised great influence in the State: after the separation, he was one of the leading men of this new member of the Union. He died in 1849.
* The other members from Massachusetts were all eminent for their virtues and their talents.
Few names in our history are more honorably remembered than that of Nathan Dane. He was a native of Ipswich, Massachusetts, born in 1754. He was a lawyer of great eminence, and a statesman of distinguished patriotism and wisdom. He was a member of Congress under the Confederation, and was the framer of the famed ordinances of 1787, for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio river; an admirable code of law, by which the principles of free government, to the exclusion of slavery, were extended to an immense region, and its political and moral interests secured on a permanent basis. He published some useful works, and founded a professorship of law in Harvard University. His life is a long record of beneficent works. He died in Feb. 1835.
Timothy Bigelow was a learned, eloquent, and popular lawyer, born in 1767, and died in 1821. For more than twenty years he was a member of the Massachusetts legislature, and for eleven years he was Speaker of its House of Representatives. His residence was at Medford. Mrs. Abbott Lawrence was one of his daughters.
Joseph Lyman, of Northampton, was horn in 1767, and died in 1847. He was the person associated with Noah Webster and others, in the first movement for the Hartford Convention, as previously noticed. He held many important offices, and enjoyed, in an unbounded degree, the confidence of the community. He was an eminently dignified and handsome man, of the old school of manners, and mingling in his countenance and demeanor a certain seriousness, with kindness and condescension. He never failed to attend the polls, and deposited his fifty-ninth ballot the year of his death!
Joshua Thomas, born 1751, and died 1821, held for many years the office of Judge of Probate for the county of Plymouth.
Samuel Sumner Wilde, born 1771 and died 1855, was an eminent lawyer, and several years judge of the Supreme Court--the same in which Parsons, Story, Sedgwick, and Sewall had officiated. He was a man of unbending integrity, and the utmost dignity and purity of life. He was the father-in-law of Caleb Cushing--the present Attorney-general of the United States.
George Bliss, born 1764, died 183O, was a distinguished lawyer of Springfield. He enjoyed in an eminent degree the respect and confidence of all who knew him.
Daniel Waldo was born in 1763 at Boston: he settled at Worcester,
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and devoted himself to mercantile affairs with great success. He acquired in a high degree the confidence of the community around him. He was distinguished for integrity, justice, and punctuality, in all the affairs of life. He died in 1845.
Thomas Handyside Perkins, born in Boston, 1764, and died in 1854. He was an eminent merchant of that city, and having amassed a large fortune, was distinguished for his liberality. Several literary and charitable institutions owe their existence to him. In person, he was a large man, with a grave countenance, but with an expression indicative of his large and generous heart.
Hodijah Baylies was born in 1757. He served during the Revolutionary war, and was at one time aid to General Lincoln, and afterward to Washington. He held various public offices, and was noted as combining, in a high degree, the Christian character with that of the gentleman. He died in 1843.
The four members from Rhode Island were among the most respectable citizens of that State.
Daniel Lyman was a native of Connecticut, born in 1776 and died in 1830. He served through the Revolutionary war, and rose to the rank of major. He afterward settled in Rhode Island, became eminent as a lawyer, and was finally chief-justice of the Supreme Court of that State.
Samuel Ward, son of Gov. Ward, of that State, was born in ---- and died in ----. In the Revolution he was a soldier, and accompanied Arnold in his perilous march against Quebec. After the peace he devoted himself to commerce. As a soldier, patriot, and citizen, his character was without a stain.
Benjamin Hazard was among the ablest lawyers of his day, enjoying the highest esteem for his private worth. He was very swarthy, with long frizzled hair, and I particularly noticed him, among the other members, for the singularity of his appearance. He was often called by the people of his neighborhood "Black Ben." He was born in 1776 and died in 1841. He was elected to the Assembly of Rhode Island sixty-two times!
Edward Manton was a merchant of Johnston, and distinguished for his probity and moral worth. He was born in 1760 and died in 1820.
* Benjamin West was a native of Massachusetts, son of Rev. T. West, and born in 1746. He was graduated at Harvard College, studied law, and settled at Charlestown, N. H., where he died, July 27, 1817.
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For a full and touching biography of him, see Knapp's Biographical Sketches of Eminent Lawyers, Statesmen, &c., p. 245.
* For a sketch of the life of Chauncey Goodrich, see page 526, vol. i. of this work.
† James Hillhouse was one of the most remarkable men of his time, he was born in 1754, entered upon the practice of the law, engaged in he Revolutionary war, became a member of Congress, and was sixteen years a senator. He possessed an iron frame, and his industry and devotion to his duties knew no bounds. He usually slept but four or five hours in twenty-four. His personal appearance was remarkable. He as over six feet high, of a large bony frame: his complexion was swarthy, and his eye black and keen. He was thought to have something
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of the Indian in his physiognomy and his walk, and he humorously favored this idea. He was once challenged by a Southerner, for something uttered in debate, in the Senate. He accepted the challenge, but added, that as the choice of weapons fell to him, he selected tomahawks! He was full of wit, and it is said that one day, as he was standing on the steps of the Capitol with Randolph, a drove of asses chanced to be going by--these animals being then raised in Connecticut for the South. "There are some of your constituents!" said Randolph. "Yes," said Hillhouse; "they are going to be schoolmasters in Virginia!" This story is sometimes told of Uriah Tracey, to whom, perhaps, it really belongs.
Hillhouse always scoffed at the abuse heaped upon the Hartford Convention. Several years after the meeting of this body, he had some business at Boston, which required several advertisements in a newspaper. These he had inserted in the Patriot--a democratic paper, which had been furious against the Convention. When he went to pay the bill, he desired to see the editor. Being introduced to him, he said--"Sir, my name is Hillhouse, and I was a member of the Hartford Convention. You inserted the names of the members for several years, and promised to keep them in eternal remembrance. I am very proud of having been a member of that body, and feel that I owe you a debt of gratitude. So I have selected your paper as the object of my patronage. I owe you sixteen dollars and sixty-seven cents, and there, sir, is the money. I have to remark, however, that for several years you have neglected your promise to keep us before the world." This led to a hearty laugh, and the two gentlemen parted. The history of Connecticut is full of this man's good works. He died in 1832.
* John Treadwell, of Farmington, was born in 1745, and died in 1823. He studied law, and afterward was employed for thirty years in public stations, rising finally to the office of Governor of the State. He was a man of learning, and received the title of LL.D. from Yale College. He was distinguished as a consistent professor of religion, and a firm supporter of its interests. He was the first President of the American For-
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eign Missionary Society, and for thirty years was deacon of the church--thus mingling the humble with the higher offices of life, and discharging the duties of each with the most exemplary fidelity. In person, he was short and bulbous about the waist, with a certain air of importance in his face and carriage. Some little weaknesses can be forgiven in one whose life is so full of honors.
II, p. 46: Chief-justice Swift
* Zephaniah Swift was born in 1759; having been a member of Congress, he accompanied Oliver Ellsworth, ambassador to France in 1798, as his secretary. In 1801 he was appointed judge of the Superior Court, and was chief-justice from 1806 to 1819. He was a large man, of strong manly features; in conversation he spoke rapidly, without grace of manner or expression, but with force and perspicuity. His mind was eminently fitted for juridical duties. He died while on a visit to Ohio in 1823.
† For a sketch of the life and character of Nathaniel Smith, see page 308, vol. i. of this work.
‡ Calvin Goddard was born 1768, and died 1842. He filled various public offices, and was mayor of Norwich for seventeen years. It is difficult to say which predominated, his learning, his wit, or his amenity. I chanced to be with him and Gen. Terry in the stage-coach from New Haven to New York, when, in January, 1815, they were proceeding to Washington, to carry the proceedings of the Convention. Gen. Terry slept nearly all the way, nor could Mr. Goddard's ceaseless wit arouse him. When they got to Washington, the news of peace had just; arrived, and their "occupation was gone." They experienced some gibes, but it is said that Goddard paid back with compound interest. No man was more competent.
II, p. 47: Roger Minot Sherman
* Roger Minot Sherman, nephew of the celebrated Roger Sherman, was a native of Woburn, Mass., and born in 1773. He established himself as a lawyer at Fairfield, Conn., and rose to the first rank of his profession. He was distinguished for acute logical powers, and great elegance of diction--words and sentences seeming to flow from his lips as if he were reading from the Spectator. He was a man of refined personal appearance and manners; tall, and stooping a little in his walk; deliberate in his movements and speech, indicating circumspection, which was one of his characteristics. His countenance was pale and thoughtful, his eye remarkable for a keen, penetrating expression. Though a man of grave general aspect, he was not destitute of humor. He was once-traveling in Western Virginia, and stopping at a small tavern was beset with questions by the landlord, as to where he came from, whither he was going, &c. At last said Mr. Sherman--"Sit down, sir, and I will tell you all about it." The landlord sat down. "Sir," said he, "I am from the Blue Light State of Connecticut!" The landlord stared. "I am deacon in a Calvinistic church." The landlord was evidently shocked. "I was a member of the Hartford Convention!" This was too much for the democratic nerves of the landlord; he speedily departed, and left his lodger to himself. Mr. Sherman filled various offices, and in 1840, became judge of the Superior Court. To a mind at once brilliant and profound, he added the embellishments of literature and science and the graces of Christianity. He died Dec. 30, 1844.
II, p. 48: he thus characterizes
* Hollister's History of Connecticut, vol. ii. p. 303.
II, p. 52: The Rev. Philander Chase
* Philander Chase was a native of Vermont, born 1775, and died 1852. He was a man of imposing personal appearance and manners. He became bishop of Ohio in 1810, and afterward was elected bishop of Illinois.
* Thomas S. Jesup was a native of Virginia, and holding the rank of Major, distinguished himself at Chippewa, Niagara, &c., during the campaign of 1814. While he was at Hartford, in the winter of 1814-15, there was a public ball, in which I was one of the managers. I recollect that he was present, and was dressed in blue undress military coat with epaulettes, white small-clothes, and white silk-stockings, and was quite a favorite with the ladies--a proper homage to the brave.
* Mr. Ingersoll, in his history of the "Late War," professes to report the substance, of Jesup's letters to the President: in one of these he says, among other things, that after an interview which he had with Gov. Tompkins, of New York, on his way to Hartford, he thinks the "Convention will complain, remonstrate, and probably address the people, but that its proceedings will neither result in an attempt to sunder the Union, nor in a determination to resist by force the measures of the general government."
This is sensible. Thus Col. Jesup, even before he reached Hartford, had discovered the actual state of things in New England. I can testify that, living in the very midst of the members of the Convention, I never heard such a thing as disunion advocated, or even suggested, as probable or possible. In confirmation of this, Mr. Ingersoll adds:
"Colonel Jesup soon ascertained that the Connecticut members of ilie Convention were opposed to disunion, to disorder; that every throb of the people's heart was American," &c., &c. Surely no sensible man needed a ghost to tell him that; and yet, strange to say, there are persons who still believe that the Convention, pushed on by the people of New England, were a band of traitors, at least in their hearts!
Mr. Ingersoll states that one member of the Convention--Chauncey Goodrich--listened favorably to Jesup's counterplot, which was, that New England should put her shoulder to the war, capture Halifax and the adjacent territories, and these, with Canada, should be annexed to New England! That the ardent young lieutenant-colonel should have made such a suggestion, is very possible, but those who knew the parties, will smile at the idea that a scheme so utterly preposterous--so hopeless in the actual state of the country, so opposed to public sentiment, so certain to protract and aggravate the war--should have been entertained for a moment by the far-sighted person to whom it was proposed. If such a plot was ever seriously suggested, it was no doubt respectfully listened to as a matter of courtesy, but in no other sense could it have been received.
II, p. 57: in opposition to the democracy
* The sincere seeker for truth should read the history of the parties of this period, in connection with their previous annals. "It is a remarkable fact," says Noah Webster, in his history of political parties in the United States, "that the democratic party, with few or no exceptions, opposed the ratification of the Constitution; and beyond a question, had that opposition succeeded, anarchy or civil war would have been the consequence. The federalists made the form of government, and with immense efforts procured it to be ratified, in opposition to nearly one-half of the citizens of the United States, headed by some of the ablest men in the Union."
II, p. 63: Berlin,* with my parents
* I have already said that my father, having asked a dismission from his parochial charge at Ridgefield, was settled--1811--in Berlin, eleven miles south of Hartford. It is a pleasant village, situated on a slight elevation, rising from a fertile valley, bounded on the south by a range of mountains. The town embraces three parishes, which, thirty years ago, where the principal seat of the tin manufacture, from which the whole country was long supplied by peddlers. The arts of these became proverbial; not confining themselves to the sale of tin-ware, they occasionally peddled other articles. In the Southern States, it is pretended, they palmed off upon the people "wooden nutmegs," "oak-leaf cigars," &c.
Berlin was the birthplace of Isaac Riley--a noted bookseller of New York--forty years ago. He was a man of fine personal address and
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striking intellectual activity, but was marked with great vicissitudes of fortune. One of the Berlin peddlers, by the name of B...., chanced to be at one of Riley's book-auction sales, when he bid off a thousand copies of a cheap edition of Young's Night Thoughts. These he peddled in the South and West as bad books, getting five dollars apiece for them! When remonstrated with for imposition, he insisted that it was a good moral and religious operation!
At the present day, New Britain, one of the parishes of Berlin, is noted for extensive brass and iron foundries, and various other manufactures.
* James Kent was born in Putnam county, N. Y., 1763. He rose to eminence in the profession of the law, and was appointed by John Jay, then governor, judge of the supreme court. He was afterward chief-justice, and, in 1814, chancellor. He died in New York, which had been his residence, in 1847--an ornament to human nature, to the bar, the bench, and the Christian profession.
† Thomas Addis Emmet, a native of Cork, in Ireland, was born in 1764. He was one of the Committee of the Society of United Irishmen,
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and was involved in the unfortunate rebellion of 1798. Mr. Emmet was imprisoned, but was finally set free, and came to the United States. His great learning, his extraordinary talents, his powerful eloquence, soon gave him a place among the first lawyers of the country. He died in 1827.
* John B. Romeyn was settled first at Rhinebeck, then at Schenectady, and finally at New York. He was born in 1769, and died 1825.
* John M. Mason, D. D.--son of Dr. John Mason of the Scotch Church--was born in 1770, and died in 1829. He was alike distinguished for his wit, his intellectual powers, and his eloquence. He was the author of several religious works of great ability. I have heard the following anecdote of him: A certain parishioner of his, after the establishment of a Unitarian church in New York, joined it. One day, when the Doctor chanced to meet him, the former said--
" Mr. S...., it is some time since I have seen you at Murray-street."
"I have not been there lately, it is true," was the reply--"and I will tell you the reason. I think you make religion too difficult; I prefer rather to travel on a turnpike, than on a rough and thorny road."
"Yes," said the Doctor; "but you must look out, and see that you don't have a Hell of a toll to pay!"
II, p. 75: a visit to Saratoga
* I remember a striking incident which occurred at the hotel in Saratoga where we lodged. One Sunday morning, as the company sat down to breakfast at a long table, a small, dark, and rather insignificant looking minister said grace. As soon as he began, and his voice attracted notice, most of the persons gave respectful attention to his words; but three gay young men took pains to signify their superiority to such a vulgar custom by clashing the knives and forks, calling upon the waiters, and proceeding to their work. After breakfast, a notice was given to the lodgers that a sermon would be preached in the dining-hall at 10 o'clock. At this hour the lodgers generally gathered there, and among them the three young men--these, however, with a decided Gallic air and manner. Indeed, it was pretty evident that they had come to quiz the little parson. The latter soon entered, with a peculiarly noiseless, unostentatious step and demeanor. He sat down and meditated for a few minutes, and then rose to pray. The first tones of his voice were faint, but they grew in strength; and as we took our seats, all began to look with strange interest upon the countenance of that little, dark, unpretending preacher. He read a familiar hymn, but it seemed new and striking; he read a familiar chapter in the Bible, but it had a depth and meaning not realized before. He took his test, and preached such a sermon as seldom falls from the lips of man. Every heart was thrilled, and even the three young men who came to scoff, remained to pray. Never have I seen such alternations of feelings as passed over their countenances--first of ridicule, then of astonishment, then of shame, and at last, of consternation and contrition. "And who is this strange man--so insignificant in appearance, so seemingly inspired in fact?" said the people. It was Edward Payson, afterwards D. D., of Portland, one of the most pious, devoted, and eloquent ministers of his day. He was born at Rindge, in New Hampshire, in 1783, and died in 1827.
* John Cotton Smith was born in 1765, became member of Congress in 1800, where he remained six years. Being a federalist, he was nearly the whole time in the minority, yet such were his character and address, that he presided more frequently, and with more success, over the House, when in Committee of the Whole, than any other member. "To the lofty bearing of a Roman senator," says the historian, "he added a gentleness so conciliating and persuasive, that the spirit of discord fled abashed from his presence."
He was my mother's cousin, and I saw him several times at our house. He was tall, slender, and graceful in form and manner. His hair, a little powdered, was turned back with a queue, and a slight friz over the ears. His dress was of the olden time--with breeches, black silk stockings, and shoe-buckles. His address was an extraordinary mixture of dignity and gentle persuasive courtesy. He was made judge of the Superior Court in 1809, and soon after lieutenant-governor; in 1812, he became acting-governor, upon the death of the lamented Griswold. In 1813, he was elected governor, and led the State through the war, and until 1817, when he was defeated by the election of Wolcott.
Governor Smith was the last of those stately, courtly Christian gentlemen of the "Old School," who presided over Connecticut: with him passed away the dignity of white-top boots, queues, powder, and pomatum. His successor, Oliver Wolcott, though a federalist in the days of Washington, was never courtly in his manners. He was simple, direct, almost abrupt in his address, with a crisp brevity and pithiness of speech. His personal appearance and manner, contrasting with those of his predecessors, represented well enough the change of politics which his accession to the gubernatorial chair indicated.
Governor Smith was the first president of the Connecticut Bible Society, President of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, President of the American Bible Society, and received from Yale College the degree of LL.D. He lived at Sharon with patriarchal liberality and dignity, to the age of eighty, where he died, beloved and honored by all who knew him.
II, p. 90: lead the people through the emergency
* Oliver Wolcott was the third governor of Connecticut in a direct line from father to son. Roger, his grandfather, was a native of Windsor, born in 1679 and died in 1767. lie was a clever author, a conspicuous Christian, and governor of his native State from 1751 to 1754. His son, Oliver W., was born about 1727. He was a member of Congress in 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was made. Barlow, in his Columbiad, thus speaks of him:
"Bold Wolcott urged the all-important cause-- With steady hand the solemn scene he draws; Undaunted firmness with his wisdom join'd-- Nor kings, nor worlds, could warp his steadfast mind."
He was elected governor in 1796, but died the next year.
His son Oliver was born 1759, and became Secretary of the Treasury, under Washington, upon the retirement of Hamilton, in 1795. He was continued in this office till the close of Adams's administration. After twelve years of public service, he retired, with but six hundred dollars in his pocket! He devoted himself to commerce in New York from 1801 to 1815. His correspondence, in two volumes octavo, has been
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published by his grandson Gibbs, and is a valuable and interesting work. When he ceased to be governor, he returned to New York, where he died, in 1833. He was an able statesman, possessed of considerable literary attainments, and in conversation was full of sagacity, wit, and keen observations upon the world.
His sister, Maryanne, wife of Chauncey Goodrich--born 1765--was one of the most accomplished women of her time. A portrait of her--though doing no justice to her beauty--is given in Dr. Griswold's "Republican Court." It is among the household anecdotes of the family, that during the Revolution, a leaden statue of George III. was taken from New York to Litchfield, and there cast into bullets, and that these were formed into cartridges by this lady and others in the neighborhood, for the army. I never saw her, as she died in 1805, before I went to Hartford.
Of Frederick Wolcott, my brother-in-law, I find the following obituary notice in the Philadelphia United States Gazette, July 11, 1837:
"Died on the 28th of June, at his residence in Litchfield, Conn., in the 70th year of his age, the Hon. Frederick Wolcott, one of the most distinguished citizens of that State; a patriot of the old school, a gentleman of great moral and intellectual worth, a sincere, humble, consistent Christian. It has been well said of Judge Wolcott, that he was one of 'nature's noblemen.' They who knew him personally, will appreciate the correctness and significance of the remark. His noble form, dignified yet affable and endearing manners, intelligence and purity of character, magnanimity of soul and useful life, were in grand and harmonious keeping, uniting to make him distinguished among men--greatly respected, beloved, and honored.
"Judge Wolcott was descended from one of the most eminent families in New England, being the son of Oliver Wolcott, former governor of Connecticut and one of the immortal signers of the Declaration of Independence, and grandson of Roger Wolcott, a still former governor of that State, who, together with the late Gov. Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury under Washington's administration, and brother of the deceased, were lineal descendants of Henry Wolcott, an English gentleman of Tolland, in Somersetshire, who came to this country in 1628, and soon after undertook the first settlement in Connecticut, at Windsor. After graduating at Yale College, at an early age, with the highest honors of his class, Mr. Wolcott directed his studies to the law, and was soon called to various offices of important civil trust, the chief of which be held through every fluctuation of party, during a long life. His
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integrity inflexible, his perception ready, his judgment sound, his deportment always courteous, exemplary, and pleasing, he discharged all the public duties to which he was called with distinguished reputation. After his profession of faith in Christ, his life, morally correct and seemingly without defect before, was pre-eminently that of an enlightened and devoted follower of the Lord Jesus.
"In all the various relations which he sustained, his character as a great and good man shone with peculiar luster. In the church, he was not simply a member, but a pillar. No one could command more respect, no one possessed more influence. In the great schemes of benevolence which distinguish the present age, he ever lent a helping hand, and over several beneficent institutions was called to preside. A decided, though unostentatious Christian, he was ready to do every good work, and by his counsels and efforts, the weight of his character, and the beautiful consistency of his piety, did much to promote the cause which he espoused, and to recommend the religion he professed. It may be truly said of him, that 'he walked with God.'
"In private and social life, his character had charms of still greater endearment and loveliness. Here he loved most to move, and here his more intimate friends will love to contemplate him. Modest and unassuming, frank and generous, cordial and cheerful, he was eminently formed for friendship, and none knew him but to love and honor him. His mansion was always the abode of hospitality, his heart was always open, delighting in those varied duties which pertain to the friend, the neighbor, the relative, the father, and head of his family. In these several relations, his example was noble, beautiful, lovely indeed!
"The closing scene corresponded with the tenor of his long and useful life. It was calm, dignified, of steadfast faith, meekness, patience, and Christian hope. He died in the full possession of his mental faculties, leaving behind him a truly enviable reputation, and coming to his grave, as a shook of corn fully ripe, in its season.'"
* Uriah Tracy was born in 1754 and died in 1807. He was many years n leading member of Congress, and distinguished for his eloquence, learning, and wit. I have heard of him the following anecdote: Toward the latter part of Adams's administration, the latter nominated to office a connection of his family, by the name of Johnson, formerly a federalist, but recently turned democrat. This was offensive to the federalists, and Tracy, then of the Senate, being regarded as a skillful diplomat, was appointed to go and remonstrate with, the President. He
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accordingly went, and having put his Excellency in excellent humor, by some of his best stories, at last said--
"By the way, we have been thinking over this nomination of Johnson, and find there is a good deal of objection to him. The democrats will oppose him, because you nominated him; and some of the federalists will oppose him, because he is a democrat. We fear that if he goes to a vote, he will fail of a confirmation. As it would be unfortunate, just now, to have the administration defeated, your friends have requested me to suggest to your Excellency whether it would not be best to withdraw his name and substitute another?"
The President thrust his hands into his breeches pockets, and strode fiercely across the room: then coming up to Tracy, he said--" No, sir, no--that ---- Boston Junto will never be satisfied till they drive me and my family back to Braintree to dig potatoes. No, sir--I'll not withdraw it!"
* Judge Reeve was born in 1744, and died in 1823. His law school was founded in 1784: in 1794, he associated Judge Gould with him. In 1820, Judge Reeve left it, and Mr. Huntington became connected with it. More than eight hundred persons have here had their legal education: among these there have been fifteen United States senators--five have been cabinet members; ten governors of States; two judges of the Supreme Court; and forty judges of State courts. Judge Gould died in 1838, aged 67: Judge Huntington died in 1847, aged 59.
† Dr. Beecher was born at New Haven, in 1775, was educated at Yale
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College, settled at Hampton, Long Island, 1798; in 1810, at Litchiield; in 1826, in the Hanover-street church, Boston; in 1832, became President of the Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, which office he resigned in 1842, returning to Boston, where he still resides. He has published several volumes on theological subjects. He has devoted his long life, with prodigious activity and vigor, to the promotion of religion, learning, and the larger humanities of life. As a preacher he was very effective, possessing surpassing powers of statement, illustration, and argument.
His spirit and genius seem to have been imparted to his large family, of whom Edward Beecher, Miss Catherine Beecher, Mrs. Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, and others--all celebrated for their works--are members.
At the time I was in Litchfield I heard the following anecdote of Dr. B. He was one evening going home, having in his hand a volume of Ree's Encyclopædia, which he had taken at the bookstore. In his way, he met a skunk, and threw the book at him, upon which the animal retorted, and with such effect that the doctor reached home in a very shocking plight. Some time after he was assailed, rather abusively, by a controversialist, and a friend advised the doctor to reply. "No," said he--"I once discharged a quarto at a skunk, and I got the worst of it. I do not wish to try it again!"
II, p. 95: a poem by Rev. J. Pierpont
* I can not deny myself the pleasure of making a few extracts from this admirable performance, vividly portraying my own observations and recollections. Having described the boundaries of New England, the poet adds:
Here dwells a people--by their leave I speak--
Peculiar, homogeneous, and unique--
With eyes wide open, and a ready ear,
Whate'er is going on to see and hear;
Nay, they do say, the genuine Yankee keeps
One eye half open, when he soundest sleeps.
* * * * *
He loves his labor, as he loves his life;
He loves his neighbor, and he loves his wife:
And why not love her? Was she not the pearl
Above all price, while yet sbe was a girl?
And, has she not increased in value since.
Till, in her love, he's richer than a prince?
Not love a Yankee wife! what, under Heaven,
Shall he love, then, and hope to be forgiven?
So fair, so faithful, so intent to please,
A "help" so "meet" in health or in disease!
* * * * *
And then, such housewives as these Yankees make;
What can't they do? Bread, pudding, pastry, cake,
Biscuit, and buns, can they mould, roll, and bake.
All they o'ersee; their babes, their singing-birds,
Parlor and kitchen, company and curds,
Daughters and dairy, linens, find the lunch
For out-door laborers--instead of punch--
The balls of butter, kept so sweet and cool--
All the boys' heads, before they go to school,
Their books, their clothes, their lesson, and the ball,
That she has wound and covered for them--all,
All is o'erseen--o'erseen!--nay, it is done,
By these same Yankee wives;--If you have run
Thus far without one, toward your setting sun,
Lose no more time, my friend--go home and speak for one!
* * * * *
The Yankee boy, before he's sent to school,
Well knows the mysteries of that magic tool,
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The pocket-knife. To that his wistful eye Turns, while he hears his mother's lullaby; His hoarded cents he gladly gives to get it, Then leaves no stone unturned, till he can whet it: And, in the education of the lad, No little part that implement hath had. His pocket-knife to the young whittler brings A growing knowledge of material things. Projectiles, music, and the sculptor's art, His chestnut whistle, and his shingle dart, His elder pop-gun with its hickory rod, Its sharp explosion and rebounding wad, His corn-stalk fiddle, and the deeper tone That murmurs from his pumpkin-leaf trombone, Conspire to teach the boy. To these succeed His bow, his arrow of a feathered reed, His windmill, raised the passing breeze to win, His water-wheel that turns upon a pin; Or, if his father lives upon the shore, You'll see his ship, "beam-ends" upon the floor, Full-rigged, with raking masts, and timbers stanch, And waiting, near the wash tub, for a launch. Thus by his genius and his jack-knife driven, Ere long he'll solve you any problem given; Make any gimcrack, musical or mute, A plow, a coach, an organ, or a flute-- Make you a locomotive or a clock, Cut a canal, or build a floating-dock, Or lead forth Beauty from a marble block; Make any thing, in short, for sea or shore, From a child's rattle to a seventy-four;-- Make it, said I?--Ay, when he undertakes it, He'll make the thing, and the machine that makes it. And, when the thing is made--whether it be To move on earth, in air, or on the sea, Whether on water o'er the waves to glide, Or upon land to roll, revolve, or slide, Whether to whirl, or jar, to strike, or ring, Whether it be a piston or a spring, Wheel, pulley, tube sonorous, wood or brass--
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The thing designed shall surely come to pass;
For, when his hand's upon it, you may know,
That there's go in it, and he'll make it go!
* * * * *
'Tis not my purpose to appropriate
All that is clever to our native State:
The children of her sister States, our cousins,
Present their claims:--allow them--though by dozens;
* * * * *
But when we've weighed them, in a balance true,
And given our cousins all that is their due,
Will not themselves acknowledge that the weight
Inclines in favor of "the Nutmeg State?"
* * * * *
What if her faith, to which she clings as true,
Appears, to some eyes, slightly tinged with blue?
With blue as blue, aside from any ism,
We find no fault; the spectrum of a prism,
The rainbow, and the flowers-de-luce, that look
At their own beauty in the glassy brook,
Show us a blue, that never fails to please;
So does yon lake, when rippled by a breeze:
In morning-glories blue looks very well,
And in the little flower they call "blue-bell."
No better color is there for the sky,
Or, as I think, for a blonde beauty's eye.
It's very pretty for a lady's bonnet,
Or for the ribbon that she puts upon it;
But in her faith, as also in her face,
Some will insist that blue is out of place;
As all agree it would be in the rose
She wears, and, peradventure, in--her hose.
Still, for her shrewdness, must the "Nutmeg State"
As Number One among her sisters rate;
And which, of all her counties, will compare,
For size, or strength, for water, soil, or air,
With our good Mother County--which has sown
Her children, broadcast, o'er a wider zone,
Around the globe? And has she not, by far,
Outdone the rest in giving to the bar,
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And to the bench--for half of all her years--
The brightest names of half the hemispheres?
Our Mother County! never shalt thou boast
Of mighty cities, or a sea-washed coast!
Not thine the marts where Commerce spreads her wings,
And to her wharves the wealth of India brings;
No field of thine has e'er been given to fame,
Or stamp'd by History, with a hero's name;
For, on no field of thine was e'er displayed
A hostile host, or drawn a battle-blade.
The better honors thine, that wait on Peace.
Thy names are chosen, not from martial Greece,
Whose bloody laurels by the sword were won,
Platea, Salamis, and Marathon--
But from the pastoral people, strong and free,
Whose hills looked down upon the Midland sea--
The Holy Land. Thy Carmel lifts his head
Over thy Bethlehem--thy "house of bread;"
Not Egypt's land of Goshen equaled thine,
For wealth of pasture, or "well-favored kine,"
While many a streamlet through thy Canaan flows,
And in thy Sharon blushes many a rose.
But, Mother Litchfield, thou hast stronger claims
To be called holy, than thy holy names
Can give thee. Reckon as thy jewels, then,
Thy saintly women, and thy holy men.
Scarce have thine early birds from sleep awoke,
And up thy hillsides curls the cottage smoke,
When rises with it, on the morning air,
The voice of household worship and of prayer;
And when the night-bird sinks upon her nest,
To warm her fledglings with her downy breast,
In reverent posture many a father stands,
And, o'er his children, lifting holy hands,
Gives them to God, the Guardian of their sleep;
While round their beds their nightly vigils keep,
Those Angel ministers of heavenly grace,
Who "always do behold their Father's face."
II, p. 99: Stephen Rowe Bradley
* General Bradley was a native of Cheshire, Connecticut, where he was born, Oct. 20, 1754. He graduated at Yale College in 1775, and as before stated, was aid to Gen. Wooster, at the time he fell, in a skirmish with the British, near Danbury, in 1777. He removed to Vermont about the year 1780, and devoting himself to the bar, acquired an extensive practice. Having popular manners, and a keen insight into society, he became a prominent political leader, and exercised a large influence in laying the foundations of the State of Vermont, then the Texas of this country--Ethan Allen, Ira Allen, Seth Warner, and Thomas Chittenden--all from Connecticut--being the Austins and Houstons of its early history. At the period to which I refer it was rising from the chaos of the Revolutionary war, and the still more disorganizing contests with colonial claimants for sovereignty over her territories. In 1791, that State having come into the Union, Gen. Bradley was chosen one of its first senators. With an interval of six years--from 1795 to 1801--he continued in the Senate till 1813, a period of sixteen years. He was a member of the democratic party, and called, "by virtue of powers vested in him," the caucus which nominated Madison, and resulted in his election to the presidency. He was distinguished for political sagacity, a ready wit, boundless stores of anecdote, a large acquaintance with mankind, and an extensive range of historical knowledge. His conversation was exceedingly attractive, being always illustrated by pertinent anecdotes and apt historical references. His devel-
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opments of the interior machinery of parties, during the times of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison; his portraitures of the political lenders of these interesting eras in our history--sill freely communicated at a period when he had retired from the active arena of politics, and now looked back upon them with the feelings of a philosopher--were in the highest degree interesting and instructive. He received the degree of LL.D., and having removed to Walpole, in New-Hampshire, a few years before, died Dec. 16, 1830, aged 76. His son, W. C. Bradley--still living, at the age of 74--has also been a distinguished lawyer and member of Congress.
* Scott experienced the fate of most eminent writers who have acquired a certain mannerism, recognized by the community at large--that is, he was laughed at by burlesques of his works. George Colman, the Younger, though not very young, travestied the Lady of the Lake under the title of the Lady of the Wreck--the latter of about the same dimensions as the former. It is an Irish story, full of droll extravagance and laughable imitations of the original, at which they are aimed.
In 1812, appeared the "Rejected Addresses" of James and Horace Smith, and in these the principal poets of the day were imitated, and their peculiarities parodied. They may, in fact, be considered as masterly criticisms of the several authors, in which their weak points are strongly suggested to the reader. The laughable imitations of the "Lake Poets"--Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge--probably had as much effect in curing them of their affectations, as the scoffing ridicule of the Edinburgh Review. Even Byron, who actually gained the prize offered by the manager of Drury Lane Theater, on the occasion of its opening in the new building, received a staggering blow from the imitation of Childe Harold, which was so close in manner as to seem as if extracted from that poem, while the spirit of the composition is strongly and effectively ridiculed. The following are two characteristic stanzas;
"Sated with home, with wife and children tired,
The restless soul is driven abroad to roam--
Sated abroad, all seen, yet naught admired--
The restless soul is driven to ramble home.
Sated with both, beneath new Drury's dome,
The fiend Ennui a while consents to pine--
There growls and curses like a deadly Gnome,
Scorning to view fantastic Columbine,
Viewing with scorn the nonsense of the Nine!
* * * * *
"For what is Hamlet, but a hare in March?
And what, is Brutus, but a croaking owl?
And what is Rolla? Cupid steep'd in starch,
Orlando's helmet in Augustine's cowl!
Shakspeare--how true thine adage, 'fair is foul'--
To him whose soul is with fruition fraught.
The song of Braham is an Irish howl--
Thinking it but an idle waste of thought,
And naught is every thing and every thing is naught!"
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It is a point of the highest interest in my recollections, that during the period in which Scott and Byron were rising into notice, and afterward, in the full tide of success, were thrilling the whole reading world with their masterly productions, that the Edinburgh Review, under the leadership of Jeffrey, was at its zenith. His criticisms were undoubtedly the most brilliant and profound that had appeared at that period; nor has any thing superior to them been written since: About the same time Wordsworth and his friends, Southey and Coleridge, attempted to make the world believe that bathos is pathos, weakness strength, and silliness sublimity. On this experiment they wasted a large amount of genius. While the Edinburgh Review found a noble scope for its highest efforts in illustrating the beauties of the Waverley novels, and setting forth as well the faults as the sublimities of Byron, it also gave full exercise to its incomparable ridicule and raillery, in noticing the harlequinisms of the Lake triumvirate. At this period, a new number of "the Edinburgh" created as much sensation as a new instalment of Macauly's history, at the present day.
II, p. 108: referred them to Scott
* It is a fact worthy of being noted, that while the evidence that Scott was the author of the Waverley Novels was clear and conclusive, various writers asserted the contrary. Some contended that they were written by Sir Walter's brother, Thomas, in Canada; some, that they were the productions of a certain--or rather an uncertain-- Dr. Greenfield, &c. The subject was discussed with great vehemence, and something like partisan bitterness. It was proved to demonstration, over and over again, hy some of these wiseacres, from internal, external, moral, religious, and political evidence, that Sir Walter Scott could not be the author. The foundation of all this was that envy, inherent in some minds, which is offended by success. Persons of this class invented, and at hist believed, the absurdities which they propagated. The fact is instructive, for it tenches us the danger of following the lead of littleness and malignity. Candor is a safer guide than envy or malice.
* Dr. Wainwright was born at Liverpool, in 1792, of parents who were citizens of the United States, but who at that date were on a visit to England. He came to this country at the age of 11, was educated at Cambridge, and was instituted rector of Christ Church at Hartford, in 1815. He came to New York about 1820, and after filling various important stations, was in 1852 elected provisional bishop of the diocese of New York. He was an accomplished scholar and gentleman, and an earnest and successful laborer in the various fields to which his life was devoted.
Mr. Toucey studied law at Newtown, and came to Hartford about 1812, and has since resided there. He is an eminent lawyer, and has filled the offices of governor and senator of the United States. The latter place he still holds.
William L. Stone, born at Esopus, New York, 1792, was first a printer, and afterward became distinguished as an editor--first in conducting a political paper at Albany, and then at Hudson. When Theodore Dwight, who had founded the Connecticut Mirror, left for Albany, in 1816, Mr. Stone succeeded him. In 1821, he succeeded to the editorship of the Commercial Advertiser, at New York, which place he filled till his death, in 1844. He published various works, among which were the Life of Brant, Memoir of Red Jacket, Letters on Masonry and Antimasonry, &c. He wrote with great rapidity and fluency, and had a remarkable talent in collecting materials and making compilations. In personal character he was exceedingly amiable, giving his warm sympathy to all things charitable and religious.
Jonathan Law was the postmaster of Hartford; he was a good scholar,
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a man of refined feelings, with a sensitive, shrinking delicacy of manners in the intercourse of life.
Mr. Huntington has been judge of the county court, and has filled other responsible offices. He is now clerk of the Court of Claims, at Washington, though he resides at Hartford.--Such were some of the members of our little club.
* The designer of the establishment was Elkanah Tisdale, a fat, facetious gentleman--a miniature painter by profession, but a man of some literary taste, and admirable humor, in anecdote. He illustrated, with great-cleverness, the handsome edition of the Echo, published by Isaac Riley--brother-in-law of Dwight and Alsop, two of the principal authors--though it professes to be from the Porcupine Press, and by Pasquin Petronius.
II, p. 112: most popular and profitable school-books in the country
* Among these was A History of the United States of America, by Rev. C. A. Goodrich: this was the first of the popular school histories of the United States, now in circulation--and, in fact, the first of my brother's numerous publications. Previous to this time, the history of the United States whs not one of our school studies. Other works of a similar kind, after this example, soon followed, but this work has continued to be one of the most popular. Several hundred thousand copies of it have been sold.
Another was an educational treatise on Natural Philosophy, by J. L. Comstock, which is now a popular and standard work in the schools, and has been republished in England. Dr. Comstock also wrote, upon plans which I indicated, an educational work on Chemistry, another on
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Mineralogy, &c,, which I published. Thus this excellent and useful author began that series of treatises, designed to popularize science, which has placed his name among the eminent benefactors of education in this country. I am happy to say, that he is still living at Hartford, in the enjoyment of the respect and friendship which his amiable character and useful life naturally inspire--and, I may add, in the enjoyment also of that independence which is but a just compensation of well-directed industry and talent.
Mr. Woodbridge was born in 1795, graduated at Yale in 1811, and, having studied theology, became one of the teachers of the deaf and dumb, at Hartford. He was a man of the greatest amenity of manner and purity of life; he showed also a complete devotion to what he deemed his duty, viewed through a religious light. He gave his attention, to education, and may be considered as one of the pioneers in the great improvements lately made in the art of instruction. He traveled in Europe, visiting the most celebrated educational establishments, and holding intercourse with the most enlightened friends of educational progress and improvement. The result of his researches and reflections he gave to the public in numerous valuable and profound treatises. He was a little too much of a perfectionist to be immediately practical, and hence his books--two geographical treatises--were somewhat beyond the ago in which he lived; but still they exercised a powerful influence in suggesting valuable ideas to others. His first geography I took to England in 1823, and got it published there, for his benefit. It still continues to be published in London. Mr. Woodbridge was a man of feeble health, yet struggled manfully till 1845, when he expired, at Boston--loved and admired by all who knew him.
* Dr. Lemuel Hopkins was born at Waterbury, 1750: he practiced physic at Litchfield, and afterward at Hartford, where he died in 1801. He left a strong impression upon the public mind, as well by the eccentricity of his personal appearance and habits, as by his learning and genius. He was often described to me as long and lank, walking with spreading arms and straddling legs. His nose was long, lean, and flexible; his eyes protruding, and his whole expression a strange mixture of solemnity and drollery, he was of a social disposition, and often in talking at a neighbor's house, would forget his business engagements. He was intimate with Theodore Dwight, and his daughter has told me that she recollects his coming to their house, and being very much fatigued, he laid himself down on the floor, and put a log of wood under his head for a pillow. Here he began to dictate poetry, which her father wrote down, being very likely one of those poems which has placed his name among the most vigorous of our satirists.
II, p. 115: the poet, and the satirist
* John Trumbull--the poet--belonged to one of those remarkable families Jn Connecticut which, through several generations, have possessed talents that carried them to the highest stations in society. Jonathan Trumbull, of Lebanon, born in 1710, was elected governor in 1769, and continued to be annually elected till 1783, when he resigned, having been thirty years, without interruption, in public employment. His services, rendered to the country during the war, were regarded as almost nest those of Washington. It is said that the name given to our country of "Brother Jonathan," came from him, in an allusion to his cooperation with Washington in the Revolution. He died in 1785. His son Jonathan, born at Lebanon, 1740, was Washington's secretary and aid, member of Congress in 1789, speaker of the House in 1791, in 1794 senator, and in 1798, governor of the State. He died in 1809. Joseph Trumbull, nephew of the preceding, and still living, has filled various offices, and been senator of the United States and governor of the State. Benjamin Trumbull, the distinguished historian--born in 1735 and died in 1820--was nephew of the first Gov. Trumbull. Jonathan Trumbull, son of the second governor of that name, and aid to Washington, was an eminent painter and elegant gentleman, and died in 1843, aged 87. A collection of his paintings, valuable as historical and biographical mementoes, belongs to Yale College.
John Trumbull, the poet, son of the Rev. John T. of Watertown, a connection of this family, was born 1750. At seven he was admitted at college, but did not enter upon his studies there till thirteen. I have heard him say that when he went to enter at Yale, he rode on horseback behind his father, and wore his mother's cloak and hood. He studied law, mingling the composition of poetry with legal pursuits. Having been in the law office of John Adams, at Boston, he settled as a lawyer at Hartford in 1781, and became distinguished in his profession. He wrote several poems, the most noted of which was McFingal, an imitation of Hudibras, and in some passages not inferior to the best portions of that famous production. Trumbull was, no doubt, the most conspicuous literary character of his day, in this country. I published a revised edition of his works in 1820, as elsewhere stated. His society was much sought, and he was the nucleus of a band of brilliant geniuses, including Dwight, Hopkins, Alsop, Humphries, &c.
The latter I often saw at Hartford, usually on visits to Trumbull. He
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was then old, and living in his native town of Derby, where he had established a woolen manufactory. He had been one of the handsomest men of his time, and was now large, portly, powdered, with a blue coat and bright buttons, a yellow waistcoat, drab breeches, and white-top boots. His complexion was florid, showing a little more appreciation of Sherry than was orthodox in Connecticut--a taste he brought with his wife and her fortune from Lisbon, or Madrid, in both which places he had been ambassador. He was in truth a splendid mixture of the old Continental soldier, and the powdered and pomatumed diplomat. Though past sixty, he still affected poetry, and on one occasion--perhaps about 1810--came in his coach-and-four, to get Trumbull to aid him in finishing his Fable of the Monkey, who, imitating his master in shaving, cut his own throat. He had nearly completed it, but wished a pointed, epigrammatic termination. Trumbull took it and read to the end, as it was written, and then added, without stopping--
"Drew razor swift as he could pull it, And cut, from ear to ear, his gullet!"
This completed the fable, and it so stands to this day. This anecdote was told me by Trumbull himself, and I gave it to Kettell, who inserted it in the notice of the poet, in his "Specimens of American Poetry." Humphries died in 1818; Trumbull in 1841, having been a judge of the Superior Court from 1801 till 1819, when he was disqualified by age, under a law of the State.
* Nathan Strong, D. D., was born at Coventry, 1748, and graduated at Yale: during the Revolution, he was a chaplain in the army. After he was settled as a minister, he became a partner in the firm of Strong Smith, and engaged in the manufacture of gin. As was fit and proper, one of his deacons, good old Mr. Corning, was a grocer, and sold New England rum. As this article was frequently wanted after the store was shut, he kept a barrel on tap at his house, so that the people need
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not suffer for the want of this staff of life! The firm of Strong & Smith failed, and the minister shut himself up in his house to avoid the sheriff, but as no writ could be served on Sundays, he then went forth and preached to his congregation. All this took place toward the close of the last century. There was nothing in it disgraceful, then. Let those who deny that society has made progress in its standard of propriety, compare this with the universal tone of public sentiment now.
Of the numerous anecdotes of Dr. Strong, I give you one or two specimens. The first of these is connected with the Missionary Society of Connecticut, of which he was a principal founder. The Rev. Mr. Bacon--father of the present celebrated Dr. Leonard Bacon, of New Haven--had been employed as a missionary to that part of Ohio called the Western Reserve. Some deeply interesting letters, detailing his operations, had been received, and on the Sabbath, after the service, Dr. Strong invited Theodore Dwight into the pulpit, to read them. This he performed, and the letters made a deep, impression upon the audience. One old man, by the name of Z... P...., who was not only hard of hearing, but hard of head and heart, actually wept. As Mr. Dwight was about to descend, the doctor whispered to him--"You have done in thirty minutes what I have not been able to accomplish in thirty years: you have made old Z... P.... cry!"
Dr. S. had issued a prospectus for his sermons, when one day he met Trumbull the poet. "When are your sermons to be out ?" said the latter. "I cannot exactly tell," said the doctor. "I am waiting to find a text to suit a man who never comes to church, except when he has a child to be baptized"--a palpable allusion to Trumbull's neglect of the sanctuary about those days.
Dr. Mason, of New York, once called on Dr. Strong, and as he was about to depart, he stumbled, and almost fell, in consequence of a defect in one of the door-steps. "Why don't you mend your ways?" said he, somewhat peevishly. "I was waiting for a Mason," was the ready reply.
One of Dr. S.'s deacons came to him with a difficulty. "Pray, doctor," said he, "tell me how it happens: all my hens hatch on Sunday." "The reason is," said the doctor, "that you set them on Sunday!"
* When I went to reside at Hartford, Mr. Dwight was living next door to my uncle, and was on intimate terms with him. He was a tall, handsome man, with an exceedingly black, flashing eye, and a lip that curled easily in laughter or satire. He had an infinite fund of anecdote, great learning, an abundant acquaintance with literature, and lively powers of description. He wrote with facility, and dashed off verses almost by improvisation.
In early life, he had written sentimental poetry, specimens of which may be found in "American Poems," published at Litchfield, in 1793. The lines, "Alfred to Philena," are his--Philena being Mrs. Morton. They sound strongly Delia Cruscan--at this day--for the productions of Theodore Dwight. As an editor, he was chiefly devoted to politics, pursuing democracy with the unsparing vigilance of a falcon in chase of its prey. Some of his pasquinades became very popular, and greatly irritated the opposite party. His lines in ridicule of a Jeffersonian festival at New Haven, March, 1803--beginning as follows, and consisting of some dozen similar stanzas--were said and sung all over the country.
Ye tribes of Faction, join--
Your daughters and your wives;
Moll Cary's come to dine,
And dance with Deacon Ives.
Ye ragged throng
Of democrats,
As thick as rats.
Come join the song.
Old Deacon Bishop stands,
With well-befrizzled wig,
File-leader of the band,
To open with a jig--
With parrot-toe
The poor old man
Tries all he can.
To make it go, &c.
When the Non-intercourse act--the last of the so-called "Restrictive Measures," and which by way of ridicule had been nick-named the
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"Terrapin System," was repealed--Dwight wrote the following. It pretends to be a lyrical lament sung by the democrats at Washington, with whom this system had been a great favorite.
DIRGICAL HYMN.
Mourn! sons of democratic woe!
In sadness bow the head;
Bend every back with sorrow low--
Poor TERRAPIN is dead.
And see his dying bed, around
His weeping friends appear:
Low droops his grandsire to the ground;
His father drops a tear.
Old Clopton begs the twentieth god,
The victim's life to spare:
Calhoun and Johnson kiss the rod,
And Troup and Johnson swear.
Good old Long Tom stands sniveling by,
His dying eyes to close;
While Jemmy heaves a bitter sigh,
And wipes his mournful nose.
Let sharks exult with savage joy,
The wallowing porpoise spout:
No more his fangs their peace annoy,
Nor dread their ribs his snout.
Mud-turtles, paddle at your ease
In every pond and pool;
Ye tadpoles, settle on your lees,
And in the slime-bed cool.
Ye British weavers, shout and sing;
Ye tinkers, join the chorus;
Cobblers and tailors, make a ring,
And dance a jig before us!
Tell old King George the glorious tale:
Amid his dire offences,
Perhaps 'twill light his visage pale,
And bring him to his senses.
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The time will shortly come, when we
Like Terrapin must wander;
And our poor eyes will nothing see
But death's cold Gerrymander!
The "Gerrymander" here alluded to, originated in a division of Massachusetts, by the democrats, in the time of Governor Gerry, into Congressional Districts, so as to give that party the ascendency. It was a violent disregard of geographical and political propriety, and the federalists retaliated by having a huge monster--with tail and claws, resembling, in outline, the state of Massachusetts, as thus distorted--engraved and circulated, with an exceedingly piquant natural history of the animal. It took such effect that for a long time it gave a new word to the American political vocabulary. It is said by Buckingham, that Gilbert Stuart, the artist, suggested this clever caricature.
The following will serve as a specimen of Mr. Dwight's New-Year's Carrier's verses, which appeared annually, and acquired great popularity. This extract is from the Connecticut Mirror, January 6, 1818.
* * * * *
Survey our desolated shores,
Our grass-grown wharves and empty stores--
Our arts and industry depress'd,
The wealthy cramp'd, the poor distress'd:
Our cities wrapp'd in deepest gloom.
Our commerce buried in the tomb.
No hum of business meets the ear,
No songs of Joy the bosom cheer;
The sailor hears the whistling blasts
Murmur through sullen groves of masts--
The billows dash, the useless sail
Flap mournful to the rising gale--
Then turns and views the dismal shed
Where his young offspring cry for bread,
And as the nightly breezes blow,
Curses the authors of his woe!
Naught but exterminating war
Could all this nation's blessings mar--
Naught but an arm of Vandal power
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The harvest of its hopes devour.
Where is that virtuous patriot band,
The pride, the bulwark of our land,
Form'd to uphold the nation's sway--
Pinckney, and Strong, and King, and Jay--
Whose counsels might our country shield,
And guide our armies in the field?
By party zeal and passions base,
Exiled from power, and driven from place!
Who fill the void? What names succeed?
Read the bright list--exult and read!
Alston and Johnson, Fisk, Desha,
Porter and Piper, Pond and Rhea,
Grundy, and Hufty, and Lefevre,
Sammons and Stow, and Shaw, and Seaver,
Newton, McCoy, McKim, McKee,
Smilie, and Troup, and Widgery!--
And shall our nation's courage sink,
E'en on perdition's awful brink,
When such a constellated train
Her highest interests sustain?
I have already alluded to the "Hartford wits," of whom Mr. Dwight was one. Their reputation was chiefly founded upon a series of articles which, appeared in various papers, and were collected and published in 1807, under the title of the Echo--including other pieces. They consisted of satires, mostly in the form of parodies and burlesques--with occasional passages of a more serious character. They attracted great attention at the time, and had a wholesome effect in curing the public of a taste for ridiculous bombast, which then prevailed. The principal writers were Mr. Dwight, his brother-in-law Richard Alsop, of Middletown, and Dr. Hopkins, of Hartford. Mr. Theodore Dwight, now of New York, the son of the author I am noticing, has shown me a volume in which the lines contributed by each of these persons are marked, in the handwriting of his father. This suggests the manner in which the whole was written--one composing a few stanzas, then another taking the pen, and then another. The characteristics of each of these several writers are clearly indicated, in compositions having a general aspect of homogeneity.
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I am indebted to Mr. Dwight for the following, which is copied from a memorandum in his father's handwriting, in relation to the Echo:
"In the year 1829 a work was published in Boston, called 'Specimens of American Poetry,' &c., by S. Kettell. In a biographical sketch of Richard Alsop, a minute and circumstantial account is given by Mr. Kettell, and which has been frequently referred to as a correct narrative of that publication. It seems no more than an act of justice to individuals, that a true history of it should be published.
"The first number of the Echo appeared in the American Mercury, at Hartford, in August, 1791. It was written at Middletown, by Richard Alsop and Theodore Dwight, The authors, at the time of writing it, had no expectation of its being published; their sole object was to amuse themselves, and a few of their personal friends. The general account of its origin is given in the preface of the volume in which the numbers were afterward collected, and published in New York. A few lines in the coarse of it were written by three of their literary friends, viz.: Dr. M. F. Coggeswell, Elihu H. Smith, and Lemuel Hopkins. Dr. Hopkins wrote more than these two others; a considerable part of ten numbers were by him. With these exceptions, the entire work was the production of Messrs. Alsop and Dwight. Judge Trumbull never wrote a line of it. Mr. Kettell's account is incorrect in almost every essential particular.
"The 'Political Green-House' was written by Alsop, Hopkins, and Dwight, in unequal proportions."
I think it may be remarked that, in these compositions, Dwight shows the most brilliant fancy and playful wit, Alsop the broadest humor, and Hopkins the most original and crushing satire. French Jacobinism, with all its brood of infidelity, radicalism, and licentiousness, is the especial object of attack throughout, and is justly and unsparingly ridiculed.
Though Mr. Dwight is perhaps chiefly known as the author of satirical verses, and as a somewhat severe though able political writer, he was in private life one of the most pure, disinterested, and amiable of men. He had an almost womanly sensibility to human suffering; he was true to friendship, and inflexibly devoted to what he deemed the cause of truth, honor, and patriotism. He furnishes an instance of what has often happened before, in which the literary man seems a vindictive satirist, while the social man--friend, neighbor, father, husband--is full of the milk
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of human kindness. He had great abilities, and only missed a permanent reputation by setting too light a value upon his performances, and thus not bringing them up to a higher standard of criticism. He wrote too much and too rapidly for lasting fame.
* Mr. Wadsworth was one of the few rich men who know how to make a good distribution of their wealth. His charities during his lifetime were numerous, and bestowed with kindness and judgment. He founded at Hartford the Wadsworth Atheneum, which is an interesting and useful institution, including many antiquities, works of art, and a valuable historical library.
Among the interesting objects connected with the city of Hartford, is his country-seat on Talcott's mountain--embracing a lake, a tower, and other attractions. The situation is beautiful, and the whole is tastefully arranged. To the west of it lies the valley of Farmington river, exhibiting a varied landscape of winding streams, swelling hills, and cultivated fields, all seen through the enchanting azure of distance. To the east is the Connecticut, rolling proudly through its borders, crowned with the richest cultivation, and dotted with towns and villages, presenting some thirty spires in a single view.
The scene presented to the eye from the top of this tower--which rises seventy feet above its platform, situated upon a high point of rock--is indeed unrivaled. The immediate objects beneath--the tasteful villa, the quiet lake, and, rising up from its shores--
"Rocks, mounds, and knolls, confusedly hurled, The fragments of an earlier world"--
suggesting a resemblance to the wild borders of Loch Katrine, consti-
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tute a rare assemblage of beautiful and striking groups. It is sad to reflect that "lands and manors pass away," yet it is consoling to know that others live to enjoy them. Mr. Wadsworth is gone--but it gives me pleasure to state that my old friend, D. W., a thriving manufacturer of axes, is his successor.
* Berlin consists of three parishes--Worthington, where my father resided, New Britain, and Kensington. The latter was Percival's birthplace.
II, p. 141: interpretation I put upon his career
* The notice of Dr. Percival in Kettell's Specimens of American Poets, was written at my request by Rev. Royal Robbins, of Kensington pariah, Berlin, in which the poet lived. It is a beautiful and just appreciation of his character at that time. I know of no person so competent as he to give the world a biography of Percival. He is familiar with the details of his whole career, and especially with the earlier portions of his life, and is, moreover, master of all the qualifications requisite to give interest and value to such a work.
II, p. 142: loving and beloved
* Sweet Spirit passed! 'Tis not for thee
Our bittter tears unmeasured flow--
Thy path to Heaven is traced, but we,
With grieving heart, must writhe below!
We mourn thy lost yet loving tone,
That made endearing names more dear,
And touched with music all its own
The warm fond hearts that clustered near.
We mourn thy form--thy spirit bright,
Which shone so late mid bridal flowers--
And yet could pour angelic light
Across the last tempestuous hours!
We mourn for thee--so sudden-flown,
When least we thought from thee to sever--
As if some star we deemed our own,
At brightest hour had set forever!
Unpitying Fate! thy dark designs
Can spare the weary, wasted, bent,
Yet crush the fairest thing that shines
Where peace and joy have pitched their tent!
Could not the youthful mother claim
Exemption from thy stern decree?
Could not the child that lisped her name,
Extort one pitying tear from thee?
Ah, human woes are not thy care!
The lightning, in its plunge of wrath,
Turns not, with heedful thought, to spare
The buzzing insect in its path!
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Forgive us, Heaven! if thus we mourn
The lost on earth--the blest above--
So rudely from our bosom torn,
With all its clinging ties of love!
One bright, blest spot of sunshine played
Upon the landscape's varied breast--
Yet there the clouds have cast their shade
And there the deepest shadows rest!
II, p. 143: my friend Brainard
* John Gardiner Caulkins Brainard was the youngest son of Jeremiah G. Brainard, of New London, judge of the supreme court, whom I have already mentioned in the history of my military adventures in 1813. His two elder brothers, William F., a lawyer, and Dyer, a physician, were both men of wit and learning; the first died some years since, the latter is still living. John, of whom I now write, was born in 1795, educated at Yale, prepared for the law, and settled at Middletown 1819. He died at New London, in 1828. The portrait of him in Messrs. Duyckincks' "Cyclopedia of American Literature," is from an engraving in the Token for 1830, and that is taken from a miniature I had painted of him, by our mutual friend, Tisdale. It was from recollection, but gives a pretty good idea of the sad yet humorous, boyish yet manly, countenance of the original.
* The Albion was a packet ship plying
between New York and Liverpool. She sailed from the former port April 1,
1822, and went ashore on the 22d of the same month. She had twenty-four
seamen and twenty-eight passengers: seven of the former and two of the
latter, only, were saved.
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Among the persons lost was Alexander W. Fisher, Professor of Mathematics in Yale College. He was a young man--twenty-eight years old--of fine genius, and great expectations were entertained as to his future achievements. A person who escaped from the wreck, whom I chanced to meet, told me that the last he saw of Mr. Fisher, he was in his berth with a pocket-compass in his hand, watching the course of the vessel. A moment after she struck, and he saw him no more.
The ship went to pieces on the rocks, in face of high perpendicular cliffs. The people of the neighborhood rendered all possible assistance, but their efforts were but partially successful. The struggles of the sufferers, clinging to ropes, yards, and points of the rocks, in the very sight of persons on shore, were fearful, and the details given of these scenes, rendered the event one of the most agonizing on record.
II, p. 164: Mrs. More was now seventy-nine years of age
* Hannah More was born at Stapleton, in 1744. She and her sisters established a boarding-school in this village, but afterward it was removed to Bristol, and became very successful. Hannah More early became a writer, and at the age of seventeen, she published a pastoral drama, entitled "Search after Happiness." Being intimate with Gar-
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rick, she wrote several plays, which were performed. Afterward she regretted these works, her new religious views leading her to condemn the stage. She amassed a handsome fortune, and purchasing Barley-wood, she fitted it up as I have described it. Soon after I was there, in consequence of the frauds of her servants, her means were so diminished, that she was obliged to leave it. She removed to Clifton, near Bristol, and died September, 1833.
* J. G. Lockhart was a native of Scotland, and born in 1794. In 1826, he became editor of the Quarterly Review, and removed to London. In 1853, he resigned this situation in consequence of ill health. His biography of his father-in-law--Sir Walter Scott--is well known and highly appreciated. The latter part of his life, Lockhart was afflicted with deafness, which withdrew him much from society. He died in 1854: his wife had died in London, 1887. His son, John Hugh Lockhart, to whom Scott dedicated his History of Scotland, under the title of Hugh Littlejohn, died early. Lockhart had a daughter, who also has a daughter, and these two are now the only living descendants of Sir Walter.
II, p. 176: richest intellect in the world
* Scott was born in 1771--so at this time, 1824, he was fifty-three years old, at the highest point of his fame, and in the full vigor of his genius. In 1826 he was involved in the failure of the Ballantynes--printers and publishers--to an extent of $700,000. He made prodigious efforts to liquidate this immense debt, and had laid the foundation for its payment, when his overwrought brain gave way, and he died of paralysis, September 21, 1832. He married Miss Carpenter in 1797, and had four children: Walter, Sophia, who married Lockhart, Ann, and Charles. All are now dead. Abbotsford remains in the family.
* Mr. Jeffrey was born in Edinburgh in 1778. He was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one; having little practice for a time, he sedulously pursued the study of belles-lettres, history, ethics, criticism, &c. In 1802, at the age of twenty-nine, he founded the Edinburgh Review, of which he continued as principal editor till 1829--placing it above every other work of the kind which had ever appeared. In 1816 he was acknowledged to be at the head of the Scottish bar as an advocate. Having held other high stations, he was appointed, in 1830, Lord-Advocate of Scotland, and became a member of Parliament. In 1834 he was raised to the bench as one of the judges of the Court of Sessions. He died at Edinburgh in 1850. He married in 1813, at New York, Miss Wilkes, grand-niece of the celebrated John Wilkes of England. In 1815 he became the occupant of the villa of Craigcrook, near Edinburgh, anciently a monastery, but improved and beautified. Here he was residing at the time I saw him.
* Blackwood's Magazine was founded in April, 1817, the office of publication being the proprietor's bookstore, 17 Prince-street. The founder, William Blackwood, died some years since, and the Magazine is
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continued by his sons. In general, its tone has not been friendly to America, and while I was there an article in the May number, 1824, upon our country, then just issued, excited some attention, and I was frequently interrogated respecting it. It was entitled the "Five Presidents of the United States," and though it was written as by an Englishman, perhaps in order to secure its insertion, Blackwood told me it was from the pen of a distinguished American, then in London. It was a somewhat slashing review of the administrations of the presidents, from Washington to Monroe, the latter being then in office. It embraced sketches of Adams, Clay, Crawford, and Jackson--the prominent candidates for the presidency. The following is part of the notice of Adams.
Supposing a European ambassador to visit Washington, and is introduced into the President's house, "He sees a little man writing at a table, nearly bald, with a face quite formal and destitute of expression; his eyes running with water--his slippers down at the heel--his fingers stained with ink--in summer wearing a striped sea-sucker coat, and white trowsers, and dirty waistcoat, spotted with ink--his whole dress altogether not worth a couple of pounds; or in a colder season, habited in a plain blue coat, much the worse for wear, and other garments in proportion--not so respectable as we may find in the old-clothes bag of almost any Jew in the street. This person, whom the ambassador mistakes for a clerk in a department, and only wonders, in looking at him, that the President should permit a man to appear before him in such dress, proves to be the President of the United States himself!"
The article was written with vigor and discrimination, and excited a good deal of attention. Though free, and by no means dainty in its criticisms, it was, on the whole, just, and produced a favorable impression in our behalf. The author, whoever he was, evidently possessed eminent qualifications for magazine writing.
II, p. 191: St. Giles's Church
* In 1844 a fine church, called Victoria Hall, was erected for the meetings of the General Assembly. It is of rich Mediæval Gothic architecture, with a spire two hundred and forty-six feet in height.
* He died at London, Dec. 15, 1831; his mother followed him, May 17, 1837.
* Jacob Perking was a native of Newburyport, Mass., bora in 1776. He was apprenticed to n goldsmith, and soon was noted for his ingenuity. Before the establishment of a national mint, he was employed, and with success, in making dies for copper coin. At the age of twenty-four, he invented the machine for cutting nails, which had a great effect over the whole world. He next invented a stamp for preventing counterfeit bills, and then a cheek-plats, which was long adopted by law in Massachusetts. He now discovered a mode of softening steel, by decarbonization, which led to the use of softened steel for engraving. The results of this discovery have been extensive--the bank-note engraving, now brought to such perfection, being one of the most prominent. Steel
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engraving for fine pictures, was another, and this led to the Souvenirs--making books the most desirable articles for presents--instead of rings, necklaces, shawls--thus producing not only a new generation of publications, but a revolution in the taste of society. This discovery Mr. Perkins carried to England, and here he remained till his death in 1849. His other inventions are very numerous; among these are the chain-pump, the bathometer, to measure the depth of water, the pleometer, to measure tho velocity of ships, together with a multitude of improvements in various devices, from house-stoves to steam-engines.
After I left London, he so far improved his steam-gun, that he sent balls through eleven planks of deal, an inch thick! A report of his experiments in 1825, before a committee, of which the Duke of Wellington was the head, describes the power exerted, as absolutely terrific.
Mr. Perkins's establishment was in Fleet-street, 69, when I was in London. One of the superintendents of this was Mr. Charles Toppan, now bo well known in connection with the eminent firm of Toppan, Carpenter & Co. To his intelligence and kindness I was indebted for much of the pleasure and profit of my first visit to London. Here also was Asa Spencer--originally a watchmaker of New London, and the inventor of the geometric lathe, for copying medals, as well as other ingenious and useful devices. He was a man of true genius--full of goodness, modesty, and eccentricity.
The house of Mr. Perkins, at this period, was a familiar gathering place of Americans in London--his charming daughters giving a sort of American life and grace to all around them. His son, Angier M. Perkins, a gentleman of great talent, worth, and kmdlinese, continues his father's establishment in London.
* It is a curious item in ecclesiastical history, that the Duke of York was Bishop of Osnaburgh, a district in the kingdom of Hanover.
II, p. 234: Sir Francis Burdett
* The history of this individual is curious. He was born in 1770--and though the youngest son of a youngest son, by a series of calamitous deaths, he succeeded to the title and estates of his affluent and ancient family. His wealth was increased by his marrying, in 1708, the daughter of Coutts, the banker. In 1802, after a hot contest, he was returned to Parliament for Middlesex, but the House found the election void, and imprisoned the sheriffs. In 1807, while he was disabled by a duel, he was chosen for Westminster, and continued to represent that borough for nearly thirty years. He was of a turbulent disposition, and having quarreled with the House of Commons, resisted the speaker's warrant for his arrest, thus creating an excitement in which several lives were lost. When the sergeant-at-arms went to his house to arrest him, he found him affectedly teaching a young child the Magna Charta! He was for some time imprisoned in the Tower. The general impression is that, while professing democracy, he was a thorough aristocrat, at least in feeling. This opinion was confirmed in 1835, when he totally changed his politics, and vehemently supported the tory side. He died in 1844.
* The chief whom I have here noticed was Tamehamaha II. His name is now generally spelled Kamehamaha, and his other title is written Liho-Liho. They sailed in the British ship L'Aigle, October, 1823, and arrived at Portsmouth, May, 1824. Of the twenty-five thousand dollars shipped in their chests, only ten thousand were found--twelve thousand having been robbed, and three thousand taken for pretended expenses. Kamamalu, the principal queen, and the two or three inferior wives of his majesty, exhibited themselves at first in loose trousers and velveteen bed-gowns--but ere long their waists, for the first time, were subjected to corsets, and their forms to Parisian fashions. They wore native turbans, which became the rage in high circles. The king was dressed in the English style, with certain embellishments denoting his rank. They generally behaved with propriety, though one of the party seeing a mullet, resembling a species common in the Sandwich Islands, seized it and hurried home, where their majesties devoured it raw, probably finding it the sweetest morsel they had tasted since they left home. In June, 1824, the whole party were attacked by the measles, Manui, the steward, first, and the king next. On the evening of the 8th the queen died, having taken an affectionate leave of her husband. His heart seemed to be broken, and on the 14th he breathed his
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last. The bodies of the royal pair were taken to their native islands, and there interred with great pomp. The remainder of the party returned to their home, one of them, however, Kapihe, 4yiag on the way, at Valparaiso.
II, p. 252: North American Review
* The North American was founded in 1815, by William Tudor, who had previously been one of the principal supporters of the Monthly Anthology. Mr. Everett, however, may be said to have given permanency to the publication by his masterly administration of the editorial department.
II, p. 253: conducted by Nathan Hale
* The Boston Daily Advertiser was founded in March, 1814, and Mr. Hale began his editorial career with it. It may be taken as the model of the highest class of newspapers in the United States--able, calm, sincere, wise, and gentlemanly. It would be difficult to name a single journal in any country which, in a union of these qualities, takes rank above it. In the United States there are some which emulate it, but few, if any, which surpass it.:
II, p. 254: their career as publishers
* James Harper, the eldest of the four brothers now associated in the concern, served his time as apprentice to the trade of printing to Abm. Paul, of New York; he and his brother John commenced as printers in Dover-street, 1817; in 1818, having removed to Fulton-street, they printed and published Locke's Essays, which was their first enterprise as publishers. For a long time their publications were almost exclusively foreign books: at the present time, three-fourths are American works. Their magazine publishes about one hundred and seventy thousand numbers a month, and surpasses any other publication of the kind in its circulation. The publishing establishment of the Messrs. Harper, the legitimate result of industry, discretion, energy, and probity, is justly the pride of New York, and one of the reflected glories of our literature, probably surpassing every other establishment of the kind in the world in its extent and the perfectness of its organization.
† The present eminent publishing house of Appleton & Co., consisting of Mr. W. Appleton and his four brothers, was founded by their father, Daniel Appleton, who came from New England to New York about the year 1826. He died in 1849, aged fifty-eight.
* Among my lesser publications were Beauties of the Souvenirs, History of the Kings and Queens of France, Beauties of the Waverley Nov-
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els, Blair's Outlines of Ancient History, Blair's Outlines of Chronology, Blair's History of England, C. A. Goodrich's Outlines of Modern Geography, the American Journal of Education, issued monthly, Poems by Mrs. Sigourney, Records of the Spanish Inquisition, translated from the original documents by S. Kettell, Comstock's Mineralogy, Child's Botany, Sad Tales and Glad Tales by G. Mellen, Mary's Journey, Memoirs of a New England Village Choir, Specimens of American Poetry, 3 vols., edited by S. Kettell, Universal History, illustrated, copied, with additions, from Straus, the Garland of Flora, Balbi's Geography, edited by T. G. Bradford, Historical Cyclopædia, edited by F. A. Durivage, and doubtless some others, which I have forgotten. These were mostly original works. After 1835, I ceased to be a publisher, except for my own works; since 1845, these have been entirely published by others.
II, p. 256: American history, scenery, and manners
* I give a few extracts from a criticism of this work upon its first appearance: these will serve to show the estimate put upon some of the productions of popular authors at that time, by a noted critic; they will also show a state of things strikingly in contrast with the habits of the present day--for the reviewer found time and patience to notice, seriatim, every article in the book, some thirty in number. This was the day of great things in criticism, and small things in the production of materials for criticism.
"It would be a reproach to our country, if the proprietor of a work of this nature, got up under circumstances so favorable to the growth of our native literature--even if the Legendary were no better than the mob of books that one may see every day of the year pouring forth out of the shops of people who pay more for puffs than for copyrights--a reproach to our country, I vow, if he were to suffer by the enterprise. If we are to have a literature of our own, we must pay for it; and they who are the first to pay for it, deserve to be the- first to be repaid for it --with usury. * * *
"The first of the tales, by the author of 'Hobomok,' is called the 'Church of the Wilderness.' Here we have the serene, bold, and beautiful style of writing which had to be found fault with in the review of
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'Hobomok'--no, not of 'Hobomok,' of some other story by the author, the title of which I forget. What I said then, I say now.
"The second affair is a piece by a young man of this town--Wm. Cutter--whom I never suspected before of poetry. It is called the 'Valley of Silence,' and of a truth will bear to be treated as poetry. * * * But I do not believe that in a poem of forty lines, it would be fair play for any author to repeat the same idea more than eighty times, or that hushing and rushing are altogether where they should be in the forty lines now before me. For example, we have a bird that 'hushed his breath,' and we have the hush of the slumbering air, and we have echoes 'hushed in their caves,' and a 'hush that is grand, not awful,' and a 'hushed worship,' and 'hushed voices,' and all those by-baby-bunting epithets in one single poem! * * *
"'Unwritten Poetry,' by N. P. W., the editor of the Legendary. There are touches of exquisite beauty in this paper, and not a little of what, to speak reverently of a brother poet, I should call heavenly nonsense. * * *
"'Descriptive Sonnets,' by Mr. H. Pickering. I hate sonnets; I never saw a good one, and never shall.
'"The Clouds:' Grenville Mellen. Would this were better--would it were worthier of my young friend. Some of the ideas are beautiful, and some powerful; but the abrupt termination of almost every stanza, the truncated air of the finest passages--a line being a period by itself--who that knows poetry, or knows what poetry should be, can forgive?
"'The Pampas of Buenos Ayres,' by I. M'Lellan, jr. Here we have a poet; I do not mean to say that here we have poetry, or, properly speaking, much poetry--for some there certainly is in every paragraph; but simply that the author has within him a sure, and I believe a deep well of poetry. If he has, however, he will never know its depth, nor what riches may lie there, till the waters have been troubled--by an angel--if you like, for angels are mighty troublesome now, as well as of yore, to the fountains of life and health.
"'The Haunted Grave:' E. P. Blount. Never heard of this before. Who is he! He shows talent--strong, decided, peculiar talent.
"'Extract from a Journal,' &c. Mellen--hey? A mere scratch or
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two of a free pen. The author, if it is he, will make a better figure in prose yet than he ever made in poetry. I do not speak of this paper, but of others that I know to be his.
"'Grave of an Unknown Genius:' Joseph H. Nichols. Good poetry here, though not much. The best is--
'And worthy of their harps was he,
Worthy to wake with them, the grand
War-anthem, or the music free
Of love, with burning lip and hand.'
"'Mere Accident:' N. P. Willis. Rather too Tom Moorish. However, let that pass. For, do ye know, ye blue-eyed, fair-haired girls, and ye of the dark, lamping eyes and a shadowy crown--do ye not know that the old proverb about kissing and telling is not worth a fig? I'll give you a better one: 'They that kiss never tell--and they that tell never kiss.'
"'The Nun,' by Emma C. Manly. High and pure and sensible poetry. But who is Emma C. Manly? Is it not another name for N. P. W.?
"'Romance in Real Life:' author of Redwood. This very sensible and happy writer, if she had more courage, and were willing to tell the very truth and nothing but the truth of our country manners, would be more thought of a hundred years hence than she is now.
"'Ascutney:' Mrs. A. M. Wells. Upon my word, it is very encouraging to see what a few of our Yankee women are about in the world of literature. They only want fair play to shoot ahead of their teachers, the hatted ones of our earth.
"'Telling the Dream:' Willis. Heigho! "Do dreams always prove true, Ianthe?' I say, brother Willis, you deserve to be whipped backward through your alphabet for the false quantity in that last line--the very pith and marrow of the whole poem. Up with your fingers, and count them; out with your hand for the ferule, or shut your eyes and open your mouth, like a good boy, and see what the ladies will send you. And then--'Do dreams always prove true, Ianthe?' * * *
"'The Bruce's Heart,' by the author of 'Moral Pieces.' Very good poetry, and very like what a ballad of our time should be--a ballad of
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the war, I mean. But--I have always a but in reserve, you know--why deal so with the Moors? * * *
"'Columbus,' by J. W. Miller. This man must be capable of writing magnificent poetry. The proof:
'Stands he upon the narrow deck
Of yon lone caravel,
Whose tall shape as with princely beck
Bound to the heaving swell;
And when the conqueror o'er her side
Crossed meekly, rose with living pride."
From the Yankee, June 23, 1828.
* We are doubtless indebted to the Germans for originating the race of Annuals, but Ackerman's Forget-me-not was the first attempt at producing them with all the luxurious embellishments of art, and which became, in fact, their distinctive characteristic. At first the literary department was held inferior to the mechanical, but at last, Scott, Rogers, Campbell, Mrs. Hemans, Moore, &c., in England, and Bryant, Irving, Halleck, in America, became contributors to these works; nay, Bryant, Sands, and Verplanck produced in New York an annual entitled the Talisman, and which was continued for three years.
* Besides these Annuals, there were, in England and the United States, the following:
Gift, Keepsake, Souvenir, Literary Souvenir, Boudoir, Floral Offering, Friendship's Offering, Iris, Laurel, Wreath, Jewel, Cabinet, Drawing-room Annual, Pictorial Annual, Continental Annual, Picturesque Annual, Fancy Annual, Court Album, Anniversary, Pearls of the East, Pearls of the West, The Favorite, The Rhododendron, The Waif, The Gleaner, The Rose, and many others. Among the works which may be considered as successors of the Annuals, being all splendidly illustrated, there were Tableaux of Prose and Poetry, Baronial Halls of England, Authors of England, Artist's Sketch Book, Book of Art, Book of the Passions, Calendar of Nature, Continental Sketches, Etched Thoughts, Finden's Tableaux, Wanderings of Pen and Pencil, Tales of the Brave and the Fair, Poetry of the Year, British Ballads, Book of Art, Book of the Passions, Genius of British Poetry, Lays of Ancient Rome, and a multitude of others.
The effect of the circulation of such works as these, in creating and extending a taste for the arts, and in their most exquisite forms, can only be appreciated by those who have examined and reflected upon the subject. Even in the United States alone, four thousand volumes of one of these works, at the price of twelve dollars each, have been sold in a single season! Not five hundred would have been sold in the space of time, twenty years ago.
* The prizes were one hundred dollars for the best piece in prose, and the same for the best in verse. The judges--Charles Sprague, F. W. P. Greenwood, and J. Pierpont--hesitated between two pieces for the latter: The Soldier's Widow, by Willis, and Connecticut River, by Mrs. Sigourney. They finally recommended that the prize be divided between them, which was accepted by the authors.
† John Cheney, who may be regarded as the first of American engravers in sweetness of expression and delicacy of execution, was a native of
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Manchester, eight miles east of Hartford, Conn. When I first met him, he was working at Hartford with Mr. Willard, a map engraver. I encouraged him to come to Boston, and for several years, during which time he visited London and Paris, he was wholly employed for the Token. His brother Seth, not less celebrated for his admirable portraits in crayon, was also induced to come to Boston by me, making my house at Jamaica Plain, his stopping place at the beginning. Both these admirable artists are wholly self-taught. They have six brothers, the youngest of whom made some valuable improvement in machinery which led to the establishment of a silk manufactory at their native place, which some of the rest have joined, and it has made all rich who are concerned in it.
II, p. 265: Willis worth criticising
* In 1831, there appeared in Boston a little book, of some fifty or sixty pages, entitled, "Truth: A New Year's Gift for Scribblers." It was written by Joseph Snelling, who had been, I believe, an under officer in the United States army, and stationed in the Northwest, perhaps at Prairie du Chien. He came to Boston, and acquired some notoriety as a nervous and daring writer--his chief desire seeming to be, notoriety. The work was little more than a string of abuse, without regard to justice; yet it was executed with point and vigor, and as it attacked everybody who had written verses, it caused a good deal of wincing. The following is the exordium:
"Moths, millers, gnats, and butterflies, I sing; Far-darting Phœbus, lend my strain a sting,; Much-courted virgins, long-enduring Nina, Screw tight the catgut of this lyre of mine: If D-na, D-wes, and P-rp-nt ask your aid, If W-ll-s takes to rhyming as as a trade, If L-nt and F-nn to Pindus' tap aspire, I too may blameless beg one spark of fire; Not such as warmed the brains of Pope and Swift-- With less assistance I can make a shift: To G-ifford's bow and shafts I lay no claim-- He shot at hawks, but I at insects aim: Yet grant, since I must war on little things, Just flame enough to singe their puny wings;
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A feather besom, too, to bring them down,
And pins to stick them in my beaver's crown."
* * * * *
Here are specimens from the body of the work:
"The wax still sticking to his fingers' ends,
The upstart Wh-tt-r, for example, lends
The world important aid to understand
What's said, and sung, and printed in the land."
* * * * *
"'Tis plain the county Cumberland, in Maine,
Contains no hospital for folks insane:
Though never there, the fact I nothing doubt,
Since N-al and M-ll-n ran at large about.
When the moon waxes, plaintive M-ll-n howls;
But Johnny, like a bull-dog, snaps and growls:
Or strikes his brother poetasters mute
With harsh vibrations on his three-stringed lute."
* * * * *
"Dear Halleck, Nature's favorite and mine,
Curst be the hand that plucks a hair of thine:
Accept the tribute of a muse inclined
To bow to nothing, save the power of mind.
Bard of Bozzaris, shall thy native shore
List to thy harp and mellow voice no more?
Shall we, with skill like thine so nigh at hand,
Import our music from a foreign land?
While Mirror M-rr-s chants in whimpering note,
And croaking D-na strains his screech-owl throat;
While crazy N-al to meter stakes his chains,
And fools are found to listen to his strains;
While childish Hatty P. the public diddles,
And L-nt and R-ckw-ll scrape his second fiddles;
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While Brooks, and Bands, and Smith, and either Clark,
In chase of Phœbus, howl, and yelp, and bark--
Wilt thou be silent? Wake, O Halleck, wake!
Thine and thy country's honor are at stake!
Wake, and redeem the pledge--thy vantage keep;
'Tis pity, one like thee so long should sleep!"
* * * * *
"One bard therein I almost fear to name,
Much doubting whether to applaud or blame.
In P-re-v-l's productions, wheat and chaff
Are mixed, like sailor's tipple, half and half;
But, duly bolted through the critic's mill,
I find the better part is wholesome still"
The following is a part of the amiable notice bestowed upon Willis:
"Muse, shall we not a few brief lines afford To give poor Natty P. his meet reward? What has he done to be despised by all Within whose hands his harmless scribblings fell? Why, as in bandbox-trim he walks the streets, Turns up the nose of every man he meets, As if it scented carrion? Why, of late, Do all the critics claw his shallow pate? True, he's a fool;--if that's a hanging thing, Let Pr-nt-ce, Wh-tt-r, M-ll-n also swing."
Willis replied contemptuously, but effectively, in some half-dozen verses inserted in the Statesman, and addressed to Smelling Joseph. The lines stuck to poor Snelling for the remainder of his life, and I suspect, in fact, contributed to his downfall. As he had attacked everybody, everybody joined in the chuckle. He soon fell into habits of dissipation, which led from one degradation to another, till his miserable career was ended.
II, p. 269: our living authors
* Mr. N. P. Willis was the son of Nathaniel Willis, of Boston, originally a printer, but for a long time an editor, and much respected for his industry, his good sense, his devotion to whatever he deemed his duty, and his useful services rendered to morals, religion, Christianity, and philanthropy. His wife was a woman of uncommon mental endowments; her conversation was elegant, full of taste, reading, and refinement. The beautiful tributes which N. P. Willis has rendered to her memory, are no more than was due from a gifted son to a gifted mother.
* John Pickering, son of Timothy Pickering, Washington's Secretary of State, was a distinguished jurist and philologist, and a refined and amiable gentleman. A good notice of him is given in Messrs. Duyckinck's excellent Cyclopedia of American Literature, vol. i. page 625. To this, by the way, I have often been indebted for assistance in the preparation of this work.
II, p. 272: the Stationers' Company
* The Stationers' Company, organized in the autumn of 1836, was a joint-stock company, in which some of the leading lawyers and literary men of Boston engaged, with a view of publishing original American works of a high character, and in such a way as to render due compensation and encouragement to authors. One of the works which then sought a publisher, without success, was Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella--it being at that day supposed to be absurd for Americans to presume to write general histories. This was in fact one of the first works issued by this concern. In 1833 the country was suffering under a state of general commercial panic and paralysis, and this company was precipitated into the gulf of bankruptcy, with thousands of others. Though
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I was a hesitating and reluctant subscriber to the stock, and in fact was the last to join the association, I still shared largely--I may say fatally--in its misfortunes. It entailed upon me the loss of the little property 1 had accumulated, and embarrassments which have haunted me to the present day.
II, p. 276: cases I have witnessed
* I could give some curious instances of this. A schoolmaster came to me once with a marvelously clever grammar: it was sure to overturn all others. He had figured out his views in a neat hand, like copperplate, he estimated that there were always a million of children at school who would need his grammar; providing for books worn out, and a supply for new-comers, half a million would be wanted every year. At one cent a copy for the author--which he insisted was exceedingly moderate---this would produce to him five thousand dollars a year, but if I would publish the work he would condescend to take half that sum annually, during the extent of the copyright--twenty-eight years! I declined, and he seriously believed me a heartless blockhead. He obtained a publisher at last, but the work never reached a second edition. Every publisher is laden with similar experiences.
I once employed a young man to block out some little books to be published under the nominal authorship of Solomon Bell; these I remodeled, and one or two volumes were issued. Some over-astute critic announced them as veritable Peter Parleys, and they had a sudden sale. The young man who had assisted me, and who was under the most solemn obligations to keep the matter secret, thought he had an opportunity to make his fortune; so he publicly claimed the authorship, and accused me of duplicity! The result was, that the books fell dead from that hour; the series was stopped, and his unprinted manuscripts, for which I had paid him, became utterly worthless. A portion I burnt, and a portion still remain amidst the rubbish of other days.
In other instances, I was attacked in the
papers, editorially and personally, by individuals who were living upon the
employment I gave them. I was in daily intercourse with persons of this
character, who, while flattering me to my face, I knew to be hawking at me
in print. These I regarded and treated as trifles at the time; they are
less than trifles now. One thing may be remarked, that, in general, such
difficulties come from poor and unsuccessful writers. They have been taught
that publishers and booksellers are vampires, and naturally feed upon the
vitals of genius; assuming--honestly, no doubt--that they are of this latter
class, they feel no great scruple in taking vengeance upon those whom they
regard as their natural enemies.
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My editorial experience also furnished me with some amusing anecdotes. An editor of a periodical once sent me an article for the Token, entitled La Longue-vue; the pith of the story consisted in a romantic youth's falling in love with a young lady, two miles off, through a telescope! I ventured to reject it, and the Token for that year was duly damned in the columns of the offended author.
And yet, while noticing these trifles, I am bound to say distinctly, that, on the whole, I have had generous and encouraging treatment from the press, and most kindly intercourse with authors.
* The Complimentary Fruit Festival of the New York Book Publish-
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ers' Association to Authors and Booksellers, took place at the Crystal Palace, September 27, 1855, and was one of the most gratifying and suggestive occasions I ever witnessed. The opening address of the president, Mr. W. Appleton, the introductory statistical sketch, by Mr. G. P. Putnam, the genial toasts, the excellent letters of Charles Sumner, Edward Everett, and R. C. Winthrop; the admirable speech of W. C. Bryant, the eloquent addresses of Messrs. Milburn, Allen, Chapin, Osgood, Beecher, together with the witty and instructive poem by J. T. Fields--all together marked it as an era of prodigious interest in our literary annals.
II, p. 278: the means of living
* I am here speaking particularly of the state of things in America at the present day. No man has more cause to know and feel the disappointments, the wear and tear of health, the headaches, the heartaches, which attend authorship as a profession and a means of support, than myself. No one has more cause to feel and remember the illusiveness of literary ambition, perhaps I may say of even humble literary success. In most cases, these are only obtained at the expense of shattered nerves and broken constitutions, leaving small means of enjoying what has
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been thus dearly won. Still it is quite true that if a man has talent, and is wise and moderate, and if he feels and practises Agur's prayer, he may live by authorship; if he aspires to easy independence, let him rather drudge in almost any other employment. As an amusement to a man of fortune, who is also a man of genius, authorship is a glorious pastime; to men of other and more active and profitable professions, it is often an inspiring episode; but to one who has no resources but his brains, it is too often the coining of his heart's blood to feed his family. One thing should never be forgotten by those who are tempted to follow a literary career, that not one author in a hundred attains success in life by this profession alone.
* Sir Benjamin C. Brodie was at this time one of the most eminent surgeons in London. His reputation has since even been enhanced; his various publications--Clinical Lectures in Surgery, Pathological and Surgical Observations on Diseases of the Joints, Lectures on Diseases of the Urinary Organs, and Surgical Works--all of which have been published in this country--have given him a world-wide fame. It was not a little remarkable to me, to find a man of his eminence thus positively and authoritatively reversing the recommendations of French practitioners, of hardly inferior fame. Of one thing I am convinced, that for us Anglo-Saxons an Anglo-Saxon practitioner is much better than a Gallic one. I shall have a few words more to say on this subject.
† Dr. John Abercrombie held the highest rank in his profession at this period. He was still more distinguished as a writer, his Inquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers being published in 1830, and his Philosophy of the Moral Feelings in 1833. He was a man of refined personal appearance, and moat gentle manners. He died in 1844, aged 63.
II, p. 283: bow them out as gently as I can
* I make this statement chiefly because I think it may be useful to persons, who, like myself, have abused their constitutions by sedentary habits and excessive mental labor, and who consequently are afflicted with nervous attacks, putting on the semblance of organic diseases of the heart. Not long since, I met with an old friend, a physician, who had abandoned his profession for authorship: with a dejected countenance he told me he was sinking under a disease of the heart! I inquired his symptoms, which corresponded with my own. I related to him my experience. A few days after I met him, and saw in his cheerful face that I had cured him. I give this prescription gratis to all my literary friends: let them beware of overtasking the brain; but if they do make this mistake, let them not lay the consequent irregularities of the vital organs to the heart. In nine cases out of ten they belong to the head--to the nervous system--which centers in the brain. Get that right by bodily exercise, by cheerful intercourse with friends, by a conscience void of offense, by generous living, by early rising and early going to bed, and by considering that the body will always take vengeance upon the mind, if the latter is permitted to abuse the former.
II, p. 284: the catalogue which I herewith inclose
* For a list of my various works, see p. 537 of this volume.
† Mr. Samuel Kettell was a native of Newburyport, Mass., and born A. D. 1800. He was for the most part self-educated, and without being a critical scholar, was a man of large acquirements, the master, I believe, of more than a dozen languages. In 1832 he visited Europe, and wrote some clever essays in the British magazines. In 1848 he assumed the editorship of the Boston Courier, and so continued till his death in 1855, though his active labors were suspended for some months before by his protracted illness.
II, p. 286: against Darton & Co.
* See pages 296-306.
* See preface to Universal Geography, published in 1832.
† This letter led to a lengthened controversy, the result of which is stated in the Appendix to this volume, page 543.
* As my claim to the authorship of the Parley Tales has been disputed in London, by interested publishers, I may as well copy the contract made with Mr. Tegg, which is now before me. It is, I believe, universally admitted that the works published by him, were the first that introduced the name of Peter Parley to the public there, and as the contract explicitly refers them to me, it seems there should be no further doubt on the subject.
"Memorandum of Agreement, between Thomas Tegg, publisher, of London, and S. G. Goodrich, of Boston, United States of America:
"The said S. G. Goodrich having written and compiled several works, as Peter Parley's Tales of Animals, Peter Parley's Tales of America, of Europe, of Asia, of Africa, of the Sea, of the Islands in the Pacific Ocean, of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, &c., &c.
"Now said Goodrich is to revise said works, and carefully prepare them for publication, and said Tegg is to get copyrights for and publish the same, with cuts, maps, &c., as may be required, and said Tegg is to supply the market, and push the sales, and take all due measures to promote the success of said works.
"And in consideration of the premises, said Tegg agrees to pay said Goodrich, ten pounds sterling on every thousand copies printed of Parley's Tales of Animals, after the first edition (which consists of four thousand copies, and is nearly printed); and for each of the other works he agrees to pay said Goodrich five pounds on the delivery of the revised copy for the same, and five pounds for every thousand copies printed
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after the first edition, and also a premium or bonus of five pounds on each work (in addition to the above stipulations), when four thousand copies are sold or disposed of, of the same.
"And when said Goodrich is out of the country, said Tegg is to furnish certificates of sales, &c., as may be required by said Goodrich or his agent. Said Tegg, it is understood, is not bound to publish any of these works which he deems unsuited to the country; but said Goodrich is at liberty to dispose of, to any other publisher, any work which Tegg, on application, declines publishing.
"Thomas Tegg,
"S. G. Goodrich."
"London, June, 30, 1832."
* For a list of some of these works see p. 551; see also, p. 553.
II, p. 306: in the Custom-house
* These sixteen hundred copies, being enjoined, and remaining in the Custom-house beyond the time allowed by law, were consequently sold at auction in June, 1856, and were thus thrown into the New York market. The following are extracts from this work:
"The Americans equal Mr. Jesse for story-telling. They are not particularly nice as to data. Some of their stories are so preposterously absurd, as to puzzle us exceedingly." * * * *
"Peter Parley loves our good Queen, and delights to follow her in her various progresses," &c. * * * *
"It was delightful for old Peter to behold the Queen and the Prince, and not less so to see the young Prince of Wales emulating the British Tar, and looking like an embryo Nelson, and his heart beat with ardor at the cheers of the sailors and the roaring; of the guns." * * * *
"He (old Peter) loves the sea-breeze, and he would sing with his poor old voice, like a shattered clarionet, 'Rule, Britannia,' and thank God that he has lived to see the day when England exhibits to the world that she is still able to 'rule the waves.'" * * * *
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p. 307
I have great respect for the Queen of England , for I consider her virtuous example, in her high station, as beneficial, not to her own boundless realms alone, but to the whole world; I have no objection to Englishmen singing "Rule Britannia"--but it is not pleasant to find these things in a book, issued in the name of Peter Parley, the preface of which is signed Peter Parley, and which is all written so as to make the world believe it is the work of an American.
* Nursery Rhymes of England, &c., Collected and Edited by James Orchard Hallowell.
II, p. 320: others of that class
* For what I have said upon these subjects, I refer the reader to vol. i. page 166. In a recent edition of Jack the Giant-killer, I find his exploits summed up as follows, on the last page: "At his wedding he went over all the tricks he had played upon the giants; he showed the company how one had tumbled into a pit and had his head cut off; how he had throttled two others with a rope; how another, the double-headed Welch monster, had ripped himself open to let the hasty-pudding out; and how he had brought another on his knees by a chop with his sword of sharpness, and spitted another like a fat fowl," &c. On the cover of this very book, which, by the way, is one of a series in the same vein, called Household Stories for Little Folks, I find the argument in behalf of this class of books for children, thus set forth:
"The extravagance of the stories, the attractive manner of telling them, the picturesque scenery described, the marvelous deeds related, the reward of virtue and punishment of vice, upon principles strictly in accordance with ethical laws, as applied to the formation of character, render them peculiarly adapted to induce children to acquire a love for reading, and to aid them to cultivate the affections, sympathies, fancy, and imagination."
If it had been said that these tales were calculated to familiarize the mind with, things shocking and monstrous; to cultivate a taste for tales of bloodshed and violence; to teach the young to use coarse language, and cherish vulgar ideas; to erase from the young heart tender and gentle feelings, and substitute for them fierce and bloody thoughts and sentiments; to turn the youthful mind from the contemplation of the real loveliness of nature, and to fill it with the horrors of a debased and debauched fancy; to turn the youthful mind from the gentle pleasures
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p. 321
of home, of love and friendship at the fireside, at the school, in the playground, and to stretch it upon the rack of horrible dreams of giants, grinding the bones of children between their teeth, and satisfying their horrible thirst upon the blood of innocent men and women and infants; in short, had it been said that these books were calculated to make criminals of a large part of the children who read them, I think the truth would have been much more fairly stated than in the preceding notice.
II, p. 323: walk with a crutch
* The little book entitled "Parley's Method of Telling about Geography to Children," had a picture, drawn by Tisdale, representing Parley
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p. 324
sitting in a chair, with his lame foot bound up, and a crutch at his side, while he is saying to the boys around--"Take care, don't touch my gouty toe; if you do, I won't tell you any more stories!" Of this work two millions were sold, and of course Parley and his crutch were pretty generally associated together, in the minds of children.
II, p. 336: some bank-president
* Let no one say that I speak irreverently of bank-presidents. One of my best friends during many years of trial was Franklin Haven, president of the Merchants' Bank at Boston--who found it in his heart, while administering his office with signal ability and success, to collect a library, cultivate letters, learn languages, and cherish a respect for literary men. It must be one among other sources of gratification, arising from his liberal tastes, that he long enjoyed the confidence and friendship of Daniel Webster.