MONTHLY RECORD. OCTOBER, 1832. POLITICS AND STATISTICS. UNITED STATES. The season for active political exertion has yet hardly commenced. Since the adjournment of Congress, our national politics present but little of novelty. The President has deserted his mansion at the capitol, and taken a tour to Tennessee, to visit his private residence, and we hear nothing from the Executive Departments to excite interest or awaken curiosity. The local elections of some states have been made since the composition of our last record. In Kentucky, there has been a hard-fought battle between the friends and opponents of the national administration, which has resulted in a division of triumph. The friends of the administration succeeded in electing their candidate, Mr. Breathitt, for governor-while their opponents gained the lieutenant-governor, and a majority of the legislature. In Missouri, the opposition were defeated in all their candidates, save their representative to Congress, Gen. Ashley, whom they claim as of their party, inasmuch as he is declared to be in favor of rechartering the United States Bank, and of various schemes of internal improvement. An election has been held in Indiana, but no official accounts of the result have yet appeared to enable us to state it with certainty. An election of state officers in Vermont took place on the first Tuesday in September. Three candidates for governor were in the field. Mr. Palmer, the Anti-masonic candidate, and present governor, has a plurality of the votes, and will probably be re-elected. In Maine, the election was held on the second Monday of September, and resulted in the re-election of Governor Smith, by a reduced majority. Preparations are now in progress in all the states, for the election of Electors of President and Vice-President in the month of November, and, from the activity and zeal of the parties, it is expected that the contest will exhibit as much bitterness and obstinacy as any preceding similar occasion. In South-Carolina and Georgia, the fever of politics has increased to an unpredecented degree of heat. The people are pretty uniformly opposed to the Tariff laws, and all measures of protection to American manufactures. The question which divides them relates almost entirely to the means by which they shall seek a remedy from those laws, which they term unconstitutional and oppressive. A large party, comprising perhaps a majority of the people of South-Carolina, are in favor of Nullification; or, in other words, an act of the legislature, declaring the obnoxious laws unconstitutional, and suspending their operation within that state; the other party are in favor of a convention of the southern states, to remonstrate against these laws, and to form a confederacy that shall devise measures for relief, without endangering the union of the whole. At the head of the Nullification Party, are most of the distinguished men of the state-Mr. Calhoun, (the Vice-President,) Governor Hamilton, the Senators Hayne and Miller, Mr. M'Duffie, and other members of Congress; Colonel Drayton, the member of Congress from Charleston district, appears to be the most distinguished leader of the other party; and indeed, almost the only one that is much known beyond the limits of the state. The Border War has been signalized by several battles or skirmishes with the Indians, in all of which they have been defeated. Black Hawk, their principal chief, has been compelled to take refuge in some of the unknown recesses of the wilderness; and, like all former wars between the Indians and their white neighbors, this will doubtless terminate to the disadvantage of the former. LITERARY NOTICES. A System of Universal Geography, Popular and Scientific, comprising a Physical, Political, and Statistical Account of the World and its various Divisions; embracing numerous Sketches from recent Travels; and Illustrated by Engravings of Manners, Costumes, Curiosities, Cities, Edifices, Remarkable Animals, Fruits, Trees, and Plants. By S. G. Goodrich. Mr. Goodrich is extensively known, as the author of many popular works descriptive of the earth, in which instruction is blended with amusement. Some of these are about to be republished in London. The popularity and circulation of some of the "Parley's" are, we believe, unprecedented in this country. Mr. Goodrich has brought his own proper name into no discredit, by placing it in the title page of this volume. Our cotemporaries in the newspapers have awarded to the work unqualified and unmeasured praise; but it is our duty to praise with discrimination; though, after all, our remarks must be laudatory. A Universal Geography is a comprehensive title, though much matter can be compressed into 900 pages of royal octavo. The author well knows that readers are the best instructed when they are a little pleased,and "Geography made easy" is, with him, but another name for geography made interesting. In the Those relating to England alone occupy more than twenty pages. In reading them, perhaps, an Englishman might not think himself flattered. The French are not drawn with an Englishman's pencil, but, we presume, they are fairly delineated. The Turks are not flattered, and though a people who call Christians dogs, and argue upon religious points with the cymetar, may not be altogether amiable, yet we should think that they are better than they are described to be. If they are intolerant, Christians should, in describing them, try to fall into the opposite error, if they must fall into error. The Turks have probably deteriorated since they encamped in Europe; but many intelligent travelers have found much to approve in them. Besides, little is known of their domestic life. The writer allows them no virtue but honesty, and this he thinks they originally practised from contempt of the Greeks, whose policy was not that which the proverb calls the best. The chief part of the work is devoted to Europe and America, of which the accounts are very full. Many of the wood-cuts are good, especially the animals; but those representing cities and landscapes, had been better omitted. There is one intended to represent the capitol at Washington, which defies all attempts to trace any resemblance. which is prefixed a brief Historical Account of our English Ancestors, from the Dispersion at Babel, to their Migration to America; and of the Conquest of South-America, by the Spaniards. By Noah Webster, LL. D. In this sense Mr. Goodrich has made it easy in a three-fold manner. He has in the first place chosen pictures as well as words to give an idea of visible ob- History of the United States, to jects, especially in the animal and vegetable creation, or in the monuments raised by human labor and art. second place he has described the animal creation, so fully that this department is a treatise on Natural History in itself. Thirdly, the descriptions of national character, manners, amusements, dress, religion, laws, arts, &c. is, we opine, fifty fold more extensive than in any other Geography. Though all geographies must be compilations, yet these descriptions of Mr. Goodrich's have at least an original form, and, to gather the materials for them, hundreds of volumes must have been searched, especially recent books of travels. strictly geographical part, is principally derived from the voluminous works of Malte Brun and Bell, and it is perspicuous and correct. The The descriptions of national character are so extensive, that any extract that we could admit within our limits would afford but a sorry specimen. This may be a very useful book for schools and for children; but we are not aware that the scarcity of school and children's books on the same subject was such as to call very loudly for another; and we are at a loss to understand why Dr. Webster, so competent as he is, from learning and experience, to benefit his countrymen by the preparation of a more elaborate and dignified treatise, should have annoyed the public with another school-book. We say annoyed, and we mean what we say. The multiplicity of school-books is a nuisance that ought to be removed by state or national authority. When children had no books in school but Webster's spelling-book and the Bible, the art of reading was of very easy attainment, and might be learned in six months or a year. Now, when there are almost as many different books to teach the elements of a common English education, as there are combinations of letters in the alphabet, six years will hardly suffice to make a tolerable reader of a child of even more than ordinary quickness of intellect. Let us be understood. Our objection to Dr. Webster's book is not that it is a bad one, but that it is not wanted. Still, however, an attempt to compress such a mass of history into a small volume, must present an immense number of gaps and chasms, over which the learner must literally jump to an unsatisfactory conclusion. To illustrate our meaning and to show that we do the writer no injustice, we make the following extract, which embraces all that is given on a topic which the author thought of sufficient prominence to be mentioned on his titlepage-" a brief Historical Account of our English Ancestors, from the Dispersion at Babel to their Migration to America." The scripture informs us that Japheth had seven sons; Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Mesheck, and Tiras. Of these, Tiras is supposed to have settled Thrace, now a part of Turkey in Europe. Javan's descendants settled in Greece. The descendants of the other sons peopled some part of Persia, Asia Minor, and the countries about the Euxine and Caspian seas. Elisha, one of Javan's sons, is supposed to be Hellas in Greece; Spain is supposed, with good reason, to be intended by Tarshish; and the Rhodanim were undoubtedly the inhabitants of France on the Rhone; this name being contracted from Rhodan. The northern nations of Europe, called Teutons and Goths, who were ancestors of the Germans and Saxons, were the descendants of Gomer and his son Ashkenaz, and of Tiras. These descendants of Japheth's sons last named, migrated from the east very early, and from them descended the English, and their posterity in the United States. “Brief” enough, in all conscience, but most of it is given as mere hypothesis. The history of our ancestors through a period of four thousand years and upwards, in about twenty lines, is an illustration of the condensing power of the age in which we live, that may justly excite our wonder. View of the Valley of the Mississippi; or the Emigrant's and Traveler's Guide to the West. Containing a general Description of that entire country; and also, Notices of the Soil, Productions, Rivers, and other Channels of Intercourse and Trade; and likewise of the Cities and Towns, Progress of Education, &c. of each State and Territory. This is a very useful book for those who are following the "star of empire" to the westward, and contains much historical and descriptive matter to entertain those who stay at home, content to get their knowledge of the immense A Dictionary of Biography; com prising the most eminent characters of all Ages, Nations, and Professions. By R. A. Davenport. First American Edition, with numerous Additions. There are several works of this kind in the market already, and whether the work before us is better or worse than its predecessors, we are not prepared to say. A long course of reference will be the proper test of their relative merits. They cannot be criticised like other works, for they make no pretensions to literary or scientific excellence. They are gotten up for sale, and that sale must depend on the number and accuracy of the dates and facts they record. This Dictionary of Biography comprises a great deal of matter, and will probably be useful as a book of reference. It contains more than five hundred pages of well and closely printed text. In compliance, we suppose, with the most approved fashion of book-making, the compiler has scattered about two hundred miniature wood cuts over the pages, purporting to be likenesses of the individuals in connexion with whose names they stand. We have no objection to this manner of pleasing children, whether grown or small; but we do object to swelling the contents, and consequently, the price of a work, by introducing pictures which are not, and cannot be likenesses. The Dictionary othof Biography presents_us, among ers, with the faces of Esop, Eschylus, and Hannibal. We should be glad to know from what masters they were copied. Judging of this work solely by reference to its own merits, we do not think that much judgement has been shown in the selection or arrangement of its materials. The title page promises us some account of "the most eminent characters of all ages, nations, and professions;" and an advertisement informs us that about three hundred names have been added to the original English stock. Now, the fact is, that some hundreds of the persons immortalized, though they might have belonged to very worthy persons, are not worth remembering. Their owners cannot take place among the most eminent men of all nations. Look at the two following instances of the truth of our assumption : ABBT, THOMAS, a German writer, born in 1738, was a native of Ulm, and, at the age of only thirteen, published a dissertation of considerable merít, entitled Historia Vitæ Magistræ. Abandoning theology, he directed his studies to philosophy and mathematics, and was successively professor of the former at the University of Frankfort, and of the latter at that of Renteln, in Westphalia. He died at the early age of twenty-eight, universally lamented. Among his numerous works, all bearing the stamp of genius, his Treatise on Merit is conspicuous; it gained him the friendship of the reigning prince of of Schaumburg Lippe, who made him one of his counsellors, buried him in his own chapel, and wrote his epitaph. AMORY, THOMAS, DR. a dissenting divine, born at Taunton, in 1700, was an active and valuable minister. He died in 1774. He wrote two volumes of sermons, and the Lives of Grove, Benson, and Chandler. Of what importance is it to any one, that Abbt and Amory ever existed? Their works are forgotten, and their names would be no loss. Half the contents of the book are of equal interest. O vain attempt to give a deathless lot To names forgotten, born to be forgot! We should not quarrel with this rubbish, however, but that it excludes matter of real interest. Francisco Pizarro is despatched in about a dozen lines. Roger Williams occupies a yet smaller space, and our immortal Washington is despatched in little more than half a page. The hero is represented, moreover, by a cut, which was probably at first intended for an owl. We feel indignant at the sight of such a shabby caricature. We also find the most important acts of individuals omitted in many instances. For example, we are told that Granville Sharp resigned a place in the ordnance office, because he disapproved the American war; but we are not told that he founded the colony of Sierra Leone, for which he is chiefly memorable. In short, the book is made to sell. It may be worth the price, but it is inferior to Lempriere's and some other works of a similar character. The History of Plymouth; by James Thacher, M. D. A. A. S. The History of Plymouth, in the hands of so sensible a man, and so faithful a student, as Dr. Thacher, could not fail of being an interesting work. The subject is one of great interest to all the descendants of the Pilgrims, and not merely to the inhabitants of a particular town or county, as is the case with most local histories; for the History of Plymouth is, for a time, the History of New-England. Judging of the work by a rather hasty perusal we should think it of great merit. A good deal of research is shown in narrating the early struggles and disasters of the settlers, and much is related which is no doubt new to most of his readers. Interesting extracts are made from the Colony records, illustrating the character of the Pilgrims, and showing the extent to which they carried the civil power. Many traditional anecdotes are preserved, which might otherwise have passed away and been forgotten. The style is uniformly good, simple, concise and unpretending. Much credit is due to the writer, for having made a book of such moderate size, out of such ample materials. Had he pursued the plan of many writers of Histories of Villages, and filled his book with personal anecdotes, he might have made one, with ease, of five times the size. Dreams and Reveries of a Quiet Man; consisting of the Little Genius, and other Essays. By one of the Editors of the New-York Mirror. These are agreeable essays upon the various subjects that attract the notice of a man in cities, who is bound by his hard fate to turn them into words, and the words into columns in a newspaper. Of course, they are nearly as various as the various scenes of life, and many of them are amusing. They are written in an easy manner, and though the public has seen them before in the New-York Mirror, they are acceptable ín a more convenient form. They are from the pen of one of the editors of the Mirror. We annex one of these articles-not the best, perhaps, that might be selected, as a specimen of the agreeable and easy style of the writer. tionate and social. Perhaps my admiration may have drawn my attention to what may not be deemed of importance to all my readers, although I know there must be some willing to leave, for a moment, the loftier events of the world, to muse upon this humble picture, just as a traveler among stupendous bridges, artificial roads, and gaudy palaces, will sometimes pause by a cottage in a secluded path-way, with nothing to recommend it but the simple beauty of peace and nature. One of the sweetest rewards of social endearments springs from the fact that the same participation of those we love which enhances our joys also alleviates our sorrows. In the atmosphere of an affectionate home, therefore, the keen arrows of the world are blunted, while the flowers which would, peradventure, elsewhere fade away neglected, here bloom with more vivid beauty, none of their fragrance wasted, or their delicate colors overlooked. As for me, when I withdraw from the merry circle or turn from the gay and crowded streets, I seem to shut myself up in a kind of tomb. There are no connecting links between me and the world. No light steps break the perpetual stillness. No familiar voice sends its welcome joy through my veins, banishing weariness and gloom; and the pleasant thoughts which flash on me from my book are like gems found in the desert by a lonely pilgrim. This is a subject which, however commonplace, is nevertheless materially connected with the comfort of mankind. You may, in a measure, estimate a man's happiness by his degree of contentment in his family; and I fear the gentle beings mentioned above are an unusual instance of peace and harmony. You may find in many an apparent resemblance, but good breeding and pride often smooth over the surface, while indifference or jealousy, or hatred, lurk like monsters beneath. Real domestic bliss requires such a combination of favorable circumstances as to render its existence almost impossible. That several persons should be amiable, intelligent, good-humored, and of an affectionate disposition, is not wonderful, but that all the members of the household should be so, cannot very frequently be the case. A single individual often spoils the peace of a whole family. How frequently I have seen a charming circle gathered around the winter fire, the native liveliness of the pretty children breaking out innocently, and their conversation and actions such as in youth are natural and graceful, and all this sunshiny scene in a moment overclouded by the entrance of a scolding mother or an austere and tyrannical father; or intruded upon by the dark countenance and bitter discontent of some of those who are never happy themselves unless they are making every one around them miserable. Such a being in my eye is a criminal. The world is so thronged with dangers and disturbances, and so full of anguish and melancholy, that when I behold any group escaping, for a time, from the general wretchedness, and surrendering their souls to merriment and contentment, I pause to contemplate it as something rare and beautiful; and I look upon him who ruthlessly destroys that of which mortals have so little, as an enemy to his fellow-creatures. What should such a person think if, doomed to travel over a parched desert, some enemy should ruin the spring of cool water just as he was kneeling to drink. To many, life is this desert, and few are their fountains of happiness; and how cruel it is to sully those precious streams with unnecessary austerity or ill nature. When old age preaches to youth, let it reflect whether it does not itself sometimes fall into error. I have seen a lovely child suffer punishment simply because it did not act as if it VOL. III. 44 were forty, and parents displaying the most pernicious example to their offspring by cross glances, cutting sarcasms, and open reproaches. I once knew a mistaken father, who, on a certain day of the week, would not permit his children to utter a single word. It was a painful sight to behold their eyes, from which nature strove to shoot out the lustre of sprightliness and unshadowed innocence, casting down their pretty orbs with a forced seriousness more proper to broken health, withered hopes, and troubled age; and ever and anon, by a furtive look, con-' tradicting the artificial gravity of their innocent sweet mouths, where smiles were as natural as fragrance to flowers. It reminded me of some free wild bird forced from the forest, and compelled to sit all day in a narrow close cage; yet even he is not demanded to hold his little wings motionless, cast down his bright eyes, and hush the warblings that gush up in his throat. Do not fathers know, if their own hearts do not persuade them, that it is their best policy to possess themselves of the affections of their children? However pure and full of love may be their young hearts, they cannot be sensible to the distinction between happiness and misery; and what a reflection for a dying father, that he leaves behind him beings who, when he is in the grave, will only for the first time begin to enjoy the free blessing of existence ! Studies in Poetry and Prose; consisting of selections, principally from American writers, and designed for the Highest Class in Schools. By A. B. Cleaveland, M. D. A duodecimo volume of 480 pages, compactly printed, and containing about two hundred extracts, as set forth in the title of this work, must of course embrace many good articles, and it would be strange if there were not some of an indifferent character as to merit. The compiler has, very judiciously, omitted to state in his preface, as the manner of many is, that the work was much needed, and was intended to supply a deficiency which all other compilers of school-books had unaccountably overlooked. For this he certainly deserves some credit, and perhaps with that he ought to be satisfied, from the mere novelty of its character. The Missionary Gazetteer; com prising a Geographical and Statistical Account of the various Stations of the American and Foreign Protestant Missionary Societies of all Denominations, with their Progress in Evangelization and Civilization. Illustrated by Engravings. By B. B. Edwards. On the subject of Missions most sects agree; all agree that the Gospel should be spread, though there is a difference of opinion as to the best manner of making converts. Many think that civilization should precede conversion. Still, as each party may desire to know what the other has done and is still doing, the Gazetteer may be recommended as giving the information fully, with many interesting matters descriptive of the superstitions in various lands, which |