UArtw^LtsL.4 
 
 SIX MONTHS 
 
 IN 
 
 THE FEDEKAL STATES. 
 
SIX MONTHS 
 
 IN 
 
 THE FEDERAL STATES. 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD DICEY, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "CAVOTJR, A MEMOIR;" "ROME IN I860: 
 ETC. ETC. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 anfc Csmfrribge : 
 M ACHILLAS AND CO. 
 
 1863. 
 
 [TJie Right of Translation is reserved. ] 
 

 ^ 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY R. CLAY, SON, AND TATLOR, 
 BREAD STREET HILL. 
 
DEDICATED 
 
 BY PEEMISSION 
 
 TO 
 
 JOHN STUART MILL. 
 
 o rr *> o 
 
 / ^- t> A*- <C 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN the early part of last year I went out to America 
 as special correspondent of Macmillan s Magazine 
 and the Spectator newspaper, and returned last 
 autumn, after the failure of the Peninsular expedition. 
 Accidental circumstances have delayed the appearance 
 of this work ; but the course of events since I left 
 America has only confirmed the views which I formed 
 during my residence there. The facts and reasons on 
 which these views were formed I have endeavoured 
 to relate in these volumes. Portions of the following 
 pages have appeared already in the above-named period 
 icals. So much, however, has been added to them, 
 and so much revised and re-written, that it is the writer 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 alone who must be considered responsible for any state 
 ments of fact or opinion contained therein. 
 
 Tf anything that I have written should jar upon the 
 feelings of my friends on either side the Atlantic, I can 
 only beg them to believe that I have stated simply 
 what I conceive to be the truth, in the earnest hope 
 that, by so doing, I might render some little service 
 towards creating a more friendly feeling between the 
 two great English-speaking nations of the world. 
 
 OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE CLUB, 
 March, 1863. 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 PAGE 
 1 
 
 OUT AT SEA ............... 
 
 NEW YORK ................... 
 
 THE AMERICAN PRESS ............... 2 
 
 NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON ............. 51 
 
 THE FREE NEGRO ................. 
 
 00 
 
 THE SLAVE-TRADER GORDON .......... 
 
 GO 
 WASHINGTON ............... 
 
 CONGRESS ................... 10 
 
 CONSTITUTION OP THE UNITED STATES .......... H? 
 
 STATE CONSTITUTIONS ............... 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES .......... 
 
 WENDELL PHILLIPS ................ 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE PROCLAMATION AND THE BORDER STATES 190 
 
 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON 217 
 
 MR. RUSSELL AND MR. STANTON 238 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY 251 
 
 ENGLAND AND AMERICA 267 
 
 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS 278 
 
 AMERICAN SOCIETY 299 
 
SIX MONTHS 
 
 THE FEDERAL STATES, 
 
 OUT AT SEA. 
 
 IT was not my purpose on going to America to write 
 a book of travels. I did not intend, in other words, to 
 republish my own diary. Everybody judges of the 
 public by himself, and I own that, to me, the perusal 
 of any other person s diary is singularly uninteresting. 
 In an unknown country, the daily record of the travel 
 ler s adventures may possess a real value. On a journey 
 such as mine it was not probable that a traveller would 
 meet with any greater personal adventures than rough 
 quarters, bad inns, and stormy weather. It would 
 be a matter of little interest to the public, or, indeed, 
 to myself, to record whether on such a night, in 
 such a month, I slept at Philadelphia or at Balti 
 more, and whether I found the Girard House better 
 
 B 
 
2 * "OUT-A T SEA. 
 
 than the Continental, or vice versa. A fellow-pas 
 senger, on board the good ship Africa, kept a 
 careful log of the vessel s progress, and kindly pre 
 sented me with a copy. I always wonder, when I think 
 of it, what conceivable satisfaction he expected to 
 derive hereafter by the knowledge that, on one day 
 during that weary, dreary blank which a sea voyage 
 forms in human life, we were in longitude 42 15 , and 
 the next in longitude 46 38 . There is no disputing 
 about tastes ; but, as far as my experience goes, the 
 taste for statistical information is not a common one. 
 The great majority of mankind (and, I confess, I agree 
 with them) are perfectly content to travel by railroad 
 without knowing, or caring to know, how many revo 
 lutions the wheels make per minute, and how many 
 tons of coal are consumed at a given speed. It is 
 for Gallios on such matters that I write. 
 
 Of my voyage, therefore, I shall say but little. It 
 was in the depth of winter, immediately after the settle 
 ment of the Trent affair, that I sailed for the New 
 World. What with the storms at sea and the storms 
 in the political ocean, our complement of passengers was 
 of the scantiest ; and yet, scanty as it was, it formed a 
 strange epitome of the new country we were hurrying to. 
 Most of us were men who had seen something of the 
 world. We had amongst us an ex-colonial governor; 
 the son of an English earl, now a member of the Cana 
 dian parliament ; a quondam man about town, settled in 
 
OUT AT SEA. 3 
 
 the Far West, to whom the prairie and Pall Mall 
 were alike familiar ; a Frenchman, whose home was in 
 New York, but whose heart lay in Paris ; a Swiss 
 officer of distinction ; a Scotch lawyer, who had mar 
 ried in America ; a number of New York and Boston 
 dry-goods men ; and a young Englishman, travelling for 
 pleasure, to visit his relatives in the States. With the 
 exception of myself, perhaps, every one of us had his 
 fortunes more or less connected with both hemispheres. 
 Politics were dangerous subjects of conversation ; 
 and we avoided them as much as possible. We had 
 strong pro-Union New Englanders amongst us, Govern 
 ment agents, Southern secessionists, and an unhappy 
 bagman, who (I believe entirely on the strength of a 
 somewhat forbidding cast of features) was regarded as 
 a spy. The promotion, therefore, of mutual good fellow 
 ship put a check on political discussions ; and even 
 without this, we were not intellectually equal to them. 
 In fact, what struck me most amongst the novelties 
 of a long sea voyage, was the extraordinary lassitude of 
 mind produced by it. It is a mystery to me still how 
 we ate so much, slept so long, and did so little. We 
 tried very hard, at times, to amuse ourselves, and failed 
 lamentably. We told the same stock stories, heard 
 the same stock jokes, and played at the same stock 
 games. Being at sea, we did as sea-travellers do. We 
 were first absurdly stiff, then unreasonably familiar, 
 then personally offensive to each other, and finally 
 
 B2 
 
4 OUT AT SEA. 
 
 quarrelsome. We had hardly any ladies amongst 
 us ; but we talked as much gossip, and spread as much 
 scandal about one another, as if we had been a crew 
 of old maids. In short, we were dull drearily dull. 
 
 Our passage was, I suppose, much as other passages 
 are of the water, watery. We had the regular ex 
 periences. We had a storm, and got blocked amongst 
 the ice, and were enveloped in a fog off the banks of 
 Newfoundland. We were followed by the sea-gulls 
 from the Mersey to the Narrows ; sighted a ship or 
 two; saw, or fancied we saw, an iceberg; and were 
 visited by a sparrow in the middle of the Atlantic. 
 These are the sole outward incidents of our voyage 
 I can call to mind. Of the remarks made by any of us 
 during that period of intellectual trance, there is but 
 one, I think, worth recalling, less for its intrinsic value, 
 than as a word of recollection to my fellow-passengers, 
 in case any of them should come across this book of 
 mine. It was during the height of our one great 
 storm. The waves were rolling, foaming, surging 
 round us, as only Atlantic waves can do; the ship 
 staggered, careened, and reeled, as wave after wave 
 came thundering on her; the wind roared howling 
 round us ; and sea and sky seemed fused together in 
 one watery mist of foam and spray. At last, a monster 
 wave struck us dead upon the larboard side (I hope 
 that is the correct nautical term), broke the stout 
 beams of the deck-cabin as though they had been 
 
OUT AT SEA. 5 
 
 tinder, carried afloat chairs and tables, and flooded the 
 berths below with a sea of water. A small party were 
 playing faro at the time, clinging to the table with one 
 hand, and clutching their cards with the other, when the 
 wave washed both players and tables away to the end 
 of the cabin. One of them, a friend of mine, sprung 
 up with his cards in his hands, and staggering across 
 the cabin, groaned, amidst the howling of the tempest 
 and the shrieks of the female passengers, " I wish 
 Columbus had been crucified ! " That such a saying 
 should have been the brightest I can remember on our 
 voyage, will give the reader a fair impression of the 
 mental imbecility to which sea sickness and dulness 
 had reduced us. 
 
 With this much of mention, I am content to let my 
 outward voyage float out of memory. I do not like to 
 contemplate the possibility of a state of existence in 
 which it will hereafter be a pleasure to remember it. 
 
NEW YOEK. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 IT was on the brightest of bright winter days that I 
 entered New York. Morally, it was about the gloomiest 
 period of the Federal fortunes, the darkest of the night 
 before the break of day so soon to follow. The pilot, 
 who hailed us off Sandy Hook, brought us as the only 
 news a rumour that Burnside s expedition had been 
 half destroyed by a storm at sea ; and our American 
 fellow-passengers received the intelligence gloomily. 
 Still, the charm of seeing land again was enough to 
 make us forget all political troubles ; and, apart from 
 that, the approach through the Narrows into the land 
 locked bay of New York will remain in my mind as one 
 of the loveliest scenes that I have ever looked upon. 
 Out of the cold chill grey dawn, as I stood shivering 
 on deck, watching for the first glimpses of the New 
 World, the sun rose in a mass of fire, as I had last 
 seen it rise some six months before, far away across 
 the gulf of Spezia, The dim haze rolled slowly away, 
 
NEW YORK. 7 
 
 and the sky grew clear and blue, like an Italian sky 
 when the Tramontana wind is blowing southwards from 
 across the Alps ; and were it not that the hill-slopes 
 which hemmed in the bay on either side were covered 
 with white sparkling snow, and that my fingers tingled 
 with a chill numbing cold, I might have fancied my 
 self back in Italy. But the brightness of the air and 
 the glitter of the sunshine neutralized the depression 
 which cold always exercises on my appreciative facul 
 ties ; and, even at the risk of frost-bitten toes, I 
 lingered upon deck to gaze at the view. Past Sandy 
 Hook Fort, where the stars and stripes were floating 
 gaily ; through the winding Narrows ; close beneath the 
 wooded banks of Staten Island, where villas of wood, 
 villas of stone, villas with Doric porticoes, villas with 
 Italian campaniles, Swiss cottages, and Grecian mansions 
 seemed to succeed each other in a never-ending pano 
 rama ; we floated onwards, towards the long low black 
 line which marked the city of New York. The waters 
 of the bay were calm and blue, like those of a Southern 
 sea ; and against the banks great masses of snow- 
 covered ice lay huddled closely while loose blocks, 
 sparkling in the sunlight, came floating past us out to 
 sea with the ebbing tide. The fairy pilot-boats, with 
 their snow-white sails, darted across our path ; vessels 
 bearing the flag of every nation under the sun were 
 dropping down with the flood ; English, French, and 
 American men-of-war lay anchored in the bay, where all 
 
8 NEW YORK. 
 
 the navies of the world might ride at pleasure ; and the 
 quaint Yankee river steamboats, which look as though, 
 in an excess of sea sickness, they had thrown their 
 cabins inside out, and turned their engines upside down, 
 glided around us in every direction. So we steamed 
 slowly on till the Empire City a sort of Venice 
 without canals lay before us, half-hidden by the 
 forest of masts, which, palisade-like, girds in its quays, 
 and we were on land at last. 
 
 It seemed hard to realize, save for the sunshine, that 
 I had come into a foreign country. Like the traveller 
 of Horace, I had crossed the sea, and had changed 
 nothing but the sky. Everything around and about me 
 looked so like the Old Country. There were neither 
 soldiers nor gendarmes, not even a policeman, waiting 
 to receive us on landing. The passports with which I, 
 in common with my fellow-passengers, had provided 
 myself, were uncalled for ; and we left the ship on our 
 several errands without a question being asked of any 
 one of us. Indeed, up to the hour when I quitted the 
 States, I had never occasion to show my passport, ex 
 cept once, to a banker in the West, to whom it luckily 
 served as a proof "of my identity. Irish porters seized 
 upon my luggage, as they would have done at the 
 Tower steps in London. Street news-boys pestered me 
 with second editions of English-printed newspapers. 
 An old-fashioned English hackney-coach carried me to 
 my destination, through dull, English-looking streets, 
 
NEW YOKK. 9 
 
 with English names ; and the driver cheated me at the 
 end of my fare, with genuine London exorbitance. 
 
 It is not my purpose to describe New York its sights, 
 and streets, and monuments. The description has been 
 given a score of times before, probably better than I could 
 do it. Those who may wish for a detailed account, I 
 would refer to " Appleton s Hand-book," the very model, 
 in my mind, of all books of travels. Why, I wonder, 
 does not somebody write a hand-book for Europe after 
 the fashion of " Appleton" ? Here, instead of the some 
 dozen volumes which Murray would make on such a 
 subject, you have a guide-book to all North America in 
 one single volume. You have no poetical quotations, 
 it is true no artistic disquisitions, no specimens of fine 
 writing but you have all a traveller wants to know, 
 and, what is more important, you have nothing that a 
 traveller does not want to know. 
 
 However, I must admit, as a necessary qualification to 
 the praise due to "Appleton," that all American cities 
 have one peculiarity, not altogether displeasing to a 
 somewhat blase sight-seer, and that is, that they have 
 few, if any, sights to show. New York is no exception 
 to this general rule. There is a picture-gallery ; there 
 are a few public buildings, which are supposed to possess 
 architectural merits ; and there is the Croton Aqueduct, 
 interesting to engineers. Still, with all deference to 
 my New York friends, I hardly think that a European 
 traveller need go far out of his way to visit any of these 
 
10 NEW YOEK. 
 
 curiosities. I plead guilty to not having seen them, and 
 have as little intention of describing them possibly less 
 than I had of visiting them. 
 
 It is the general aspect alone of the city, the impres 
 sion it left upon my mind, that I wish to convey in these 
 pages. New York is not a show-place, and, architec 
 turally, possesses but little claim to distinction. The 
 plan of the city is, in itself, too simple for variety, 
 and is easy enough to understand. The Island of 
 Manhattan, on which New York is placed, is very 
 like the shape of a sole. ISTow, if you suppose that 
 the skeleton of a sole had a network of cross-bones, 
 parallel as well as perpendicular to the backbone, you 
 will have an exact idea of the plan of New York. The 
 backbone is Broadway ; the parallel cross-bones are the 
 avenues, numbered from east to west ; and the bones at 
 right angles to the spine are the streets, numbered con 
 secutively from the sole s mouth to its tail. This arith 
 metical nomenclature of the streets, which seems so 
 barbarous to us in Europe, is really of great practical 
 convenience. The system is not perfect, because the 
 streets in the old parts of the town have names of their 
 own ; but still it is sufficiently so, to enable anyone 
 to tell, given the name of a street, whereabouts it is 
 situated, and how to get to it. The corner end of the 
 island, corresponding to the sole s mouth, is the com 
 mercial part, the City of New York, of which Wall-street 
 is the Cornhill. Broadway is the great thoroughfare, 
 
NEW YORK. 11 
 
 where all the chief shops and stores are situated ; and 
 Fifth Avenue, with the streets running across it, is the 
 fashionable quarter, the resort of the Upper Ten Thou 
 sand, the Belgravia of the town. Across the middle of 
 the island stretches the Central Park, and beyond that 
 are large, straggling suburbs, whose streets stand high 
 up in the multiplication table, and which threaten, in a 
 few years, if New York should grow at its present rate, 
 to cover the whole island of Manhattan. Across the 
 Hudson and the East River, which join at the city end 
 of the island, lie the great suburbs of Jersey City and 
 Brooklyn Birkenheads, so to speak, to the New World 
 Liverpool. So much for the topography of New York. 
 The general effect of the "Empire City" is to me 
 disappointing. Simple magnitude is never very striking 
 to anyone accustomed to London ; and, except in mag 
 nitude, there is not much to impress you. Broadway 
 is, or rather ought to be, a very fine street; and its 
 single stores are as grand as anything can be in the 
 way of shop-front architecture. But a marble-faced 
 palace, of six stories high, has a cast-iron store, with 
 card-paper-looking pillars, on one side, and a two-storied 
 red-brick house on the other. There is no symmetry or 
 harmony about the street, so that it lacks grandeur, 
 without having irregularity enough to be picturesque. 
 The rows of stunted trees on either side give it, in 
 parts, a French look ; but still, when I had once heard 
 a candid American describe it as a " one-horse boule- 
 
12 NEW YOKK. 
 
 yard, I felt he had produced a description which 
 could not be improved upon. Fifth Avenue is symme 
 trical enough ; but its semi-detached stone mansions, 
 handsome as they are, have not sufficient height to 
 justify its American name of the Street of Palaces ; 
 while its monotony is dreadful. The other streets 
 of the fashionable quarters are inferior editions of the 
 Fifth Avenue, and suggested to me, just as our own 
 districts of Tyburnia and Belgravia always do, two in 
 variable reflections firstly, what an enormous amount 
 of wealth there must be in a country where such vast 
 numbers of people can afford to live in such houses ; 
 and, secondly, how little artistic taste there must be 
 amongst a people who, with such incomes, are content 
 to live in dwellings of such external unattractiveness. 
 The poorer streets, towards the banks of the island, 
 have no architectural pretensions ; and their prototype, 
 the famous Bowery, bears the strongest family resem 
 blance to the Walworth Road or to Mile-end Gate. 
 The churches, with their towers and tall taper steeples, 
 relieve the uniformity of the city ; but, like all our 
 modern style of ecclesiastical architecture, they are not 
 vast enough to be imposing. In fact, if you could 
 transpose New York to England, it would be externally 
 as uninteresting a city as Manchester. But here, in 
 this crisp clear air, there is a sort of French sparkle 
 about the place which enlivens it strangely. 
 
 With the exception of the climate, there is far less 
 
NEW YORK. 13 
 
 of a foreign look about New York than I had expected. 
 
 Statistics tell you that over one-half of the population 
 
 of the city was born in the Old World ; and it is also 
 
 true, that there are only three German cities in the 
 
 world Vienna, Berlin, and, I believe, Hamburgh 
 
 which contain more German inhabitants than New York. 
 
 But, somehow or other, the stout English kine seem 
 
 to have swallowed up so completely the lean foreign 
 
 kine, that there is little trace left outwardly of their 
 
 existence. All the shop-notices, and all the thousands 
 
 of placards, which are stuck upon every wall, with an 
 
 utterly English disregard of artistic proprieties, are 
 
 in English, and addressed to English customers. 
 
 Announcements in the shop-windows that, "Id on 
 
 parle Frcmgais" and " Hier spricht man Deutsch" 
 
 are but few ; while the number of persons you meet 
 
 speaking any language but English is smaller, I should 
 
 say, than in London or in Liverpool. There are quarters 
 
 in the town which Irish, French, and Germans more 
 
 especially frequent ; but Ratcliffe Highway is as much 
 
 Irish, Whitechapel is as much German, and Leicester 
 
 Square is as much French, as any corresponding district 
 
 in New York. The German population evidently retains 
 
 the strongest individuality of any foreign class ; and the 
 
 fancy for bright inharmonious colours, so common here 
 
 amongst the women of the lower classes, coupled with 
 
 the custom of wearing knitted woollen caps, instead 
 
 of bonnets, gives rather a German look to the people 
 
14 NEW YORK. 
 
 in the poorer streets. There is a German newspaper 
 too ; and two or three German theatres, which the 
 Germans have tried unsuccessfully to obtain leave to 
 open on the Sunday. Indeed, the dulness of ISfew York 
 on Sunday is so pre-eminently British, that it is hard 
 to persuade oneself one is not in London or Glasgow. 
 
 The physiognomy of the population is not English ; 
 but it is very difficult to state why, or in what respect, 
 it is not so. The difference I take to be chiefly, that 
 instead of the twenty varieties of form and feature you 
 observe in an English crowd, one English type of 
 face, and one only, the sallow, sharp-featured, straight- 
 haired one, is reproduced indefinitely. An American 
 friend of mine, who, I must add, is a firm follower of 
 Mr. Buckle, has a theory, that the Red Indian is the 
 type of face created by Nature for America ; and that 
 there is an irresistible tendency in each succeeding gene 
 ration of Americans to approximate more and more to 
 the natural Red Indian type. I give no opinion as to 
 the value of the theory ; but it is certainly a curious 
 fact, how, in spite of the constant infusion of fresh 
 foreign blood, one uniform type of face appears to 
 be spreading itself through the American people. The 
 coloured population in JSTew York is not numerous 
 enough in the streets, to give a foreign air to the 
 crowd, as it forms little over one per cent, of the 
 whole. At the hotels, and in wealthy private houses, 
 the servants are frequently black, but in the streets 
 
NEW YOEK. 15 
 
 there are few negroes visible. Here, as elsewhere, 
 they form a race apart, never walking in company with 
 white persons, except as servants. 
 
 There is a popular delusion in England, that New 
 York is a sort of gingerbread-and-gilt city ; and that, 
 contrasted with an English town, there is a want of 
 solidity about the whole place, materially as well as 
 morally. On the contrary, I was never in a town where 
 externally, at any rate, show was so much sacrificed to 
 solid comfort. The ferries, the cars, the street railroads, 
 and the houses, are all so arranged as to give one 
 substantial comfort, without external decoration. It is, 
 indeed, indoors that the charm of New York is found. 
 There is not much of luxury, in the French sense of the 
 word no lavish display of mirrors, and clocks, and 
 pictures but there is more comfort, more English 
 luxury, about the private dwelling-houses than I ever 
 saw in the same class of houses at home. The rooms 
 are so light and lofty ; the passages are so well warmed ; 
 the doors slide backwards in their grooves, so easily and 
 yet so tightly ; the chairs are so luxurious ; the beds 
 are so elastic, and the linen so clean, and, let me add, 
 the living so excellent, that I would never wish for 
 better quarters, or for a more hospitable welcome, 
 than I have found in many private houses of New 
 York. All the domestic arrangements (to use a 
 fine word for gas, hot water, and other comforts) 
 are wonderfully perfect. Everything, even more than 
 
16 NEW YORK. 
 
 in England, seems adapted for a home life. From 
 the severity of the winters, there can be no outdoor 
 amusements during a great portion of the year ; but, 
 under any circumstances, there appears to be not much 
 of public life. There are no cafts ; and the nearest 
 approach to any places of public resort, the hotel 
 bar-rooms, are not places where you can sit down, or 
 find any amusement, as an hobituJ, except that of 
 drinking. 
 
 Undoubtedly, out of doors, you see evidences of a 
 public equality, or rather absence of inequality, among 
 all classes, which cannot fail to strike an inhabitant of 
 the Old World. In the streets, the man in the hat and 
 broadcloth coat and the man in corduroys and fustian 
 jacket never get out of each other s way or expect the 
 other to make way for him. In the cars and omnibuses 
 ladies and washerwomen, gentlemen and labourers, sit 
 hustled together without the slightest mutual sense of 
 incongruity. In the shops and from the servants it is 
 your own fault if you are not treated with perfect 
 civility but with civility as to an equal, not as to a 
 superior. In the bar-rooms there is no distinction of 
 customers ; and as long as you pay your way, and 
 behave quietly, you are welcome whatever your dress 
 may be. No doubt the cause of this general equality 
 is the absence of the classes brutalized by poverty 
 whom you see in all our great cities. There is a great 
 deal of poverty in New York, and the Five Points 
 

 NEW YOEK. 17 
 
 quarter the Seven Dials of the city is, especially on 
 a bitter winter s day, as miserable a haunt of vice and 
 misery as it was ever my lot to witness in Europe. 
 Still, compared with the size of New York, this quarter 
 is a very small one ; and poverty there, bad as it is, is 
 not helpless poverty. The fleeting population of the 
 Five Points is composed of the lowest and most shift 
 less of the recent foreign emigrants ; and in the course 
 of a few years they, or at any rate their children, move 
 to other quarters, and become prosperous and respect 
 able. From these causes, and from the almost universal 
 diffusion of education, there is no class exactly analo 
 gous to our English idea of the mob. The fact that 
 well-nigh everybody you meet is comfortably dressed 
 seems to disprove the existence of those dangerous 
 classes which always attract the notice of a foreigner 
 in England. There are few beggars about the town, and 
 of those few, all are children. For an Anglo-Saxon 
 population, there is very little drunkenness visible in the 
 streets ; and with regard to other forms of public vice it 
 is not for an Englishman to speak severely. The Broad 
 way saloons, with their so-called " pretty waiter-girls," 
 and the Lager Bier haunts in the low quarters of the 
 town, whose windows are crowded with wretched half- 
 dressed, or undressed women, formed, indeed, about 
 the most shameless exhibition of public vice I have 
 ever come across, even in England or Holland ; and 
 I am glad to say that, since I left New York, the 
 
 C 
 
18 NEW YORK. 
 
 State Government, under a republican as opposed to 
 a democratic legislature, has taken means to suppress 
 these social nuisances. But in the streets at night, 
 there are few of the scenes which habitually disgrace 
 our own metropolis. 
 
 The great quiet and order of the city are in them 
 selves remarkable. There is an air of unsecured se 
 curity about New York I never saw equalled out of 
 England. There are no soldiers about, as in a conti 
 nental capital ; and the policemen nearly as fine a 
 body of men, by the way, as our London police appear 
 to devote their energies to preserving Broadway from 
 being utterly jammed up by carts, and to escorting 
 ladies across that most treacherous of thoroughfares. 
 The people seem instinctively to keep themselves in 
 order. How a row would be suppressed if there was 
 one, I cannot say ; I only know that, during my stay in 
 New York, I never saw anything approaching to a dis 
 turbance in any public place or thoroughfare. 
 
 But, in truth, everything there is so different from 
 what one would expect it to be in theory. Under a 
 democratic republic like that of New York State, 
 where, practically, the suffrage is universal, one would 
 expect that in all social matters the convenience and 
 interests of the individual would be sacrificed to those 
 of the public. The very contrary is the fact. The 
 principle of vested rights the power of every individual 
 to consult his own inclinations in defiance of his neigh- 
 
NEW YORK. 19 
 
 hour s convenience is carried there to a perfect ab 
 surdity. Anybody may build his house after his own 
 fancy, in total disregard of the architectural style of the 
 houses by which it is surrounded. Anybody may stop 
 his cart or carriage where he likes ; and I have seen 
 Wall Street in its busiest hours blocked up by a stop 
 page caused by some brewer s dray, which chose to 
 stand still at the side of the narrow street. Anybody 
 has a right to get into the cars or omnibuses so long as 
 he can squeeze his way in ; and thus the cars in them 
 selves the most comfortable street conveyances I have 
 ever travelled in are rendered at times almost insuf 
 ferable by the fact that the broad space between the 
 seats is crammed with extra passengers, standing on, or 
 in dangerous proximity to, the toes of the seated travel 
 lers. Cheap comfortable cabs are the one great luxury 
 in which New York is deficient, and a cab company 
 would probably be the most profitable of speculations ; 
 but the old hackney-coach proprietors, who possess the 
 most rickety of two-horse, tumble-down vehicles, and 
 who charge any price they like, from a dollar upwards, 
 for any distance, have always, by their vested in 
 terests, contrived to thwart the introduction of cabs. 
 The illustration, however, of this state of public feeling 
 which most strikes a stranger is the state of the public 
 streets in winter-time. It has been my fortune, or mis 
 fortune, in the course of many years of travel, to ride over 
 a good number of bad roads of every kind of badness ; 
 
 C 2 
 
20 NEW YORK. 
 
 but no road I have literally, as well as metaphorically, 
 stumbled across, is to compare with Broadway during 
 last winter s snows. When it froze hard at night, the 
 street next day was a succession of Montagues 
 Russes, up and down which the carriages slid wildly. 
 Over the pavement lay a coating of some three or 
 four feet of snow, indented with holes and furrows 
 and ridges of most alarming magnitude. Whenever 
 there was a temporary thaw, this mass of ice and snow 
 became a pond of slush a very slough of despond. 
 Without exaggeration, crossing the main-streets was a 
 work of danger. Falls of foot-passengers were things 
 of constant occurrence, while the straggles of the 
 floundering horses to drag the carriages out of the ruts 
 and crevasses were really painful to witness. I believe 
 the state of the streets was somewhat worse that year 
 than usual ; but every year there is more or less of the 
 same sort of thing. The one cause of all this obstruc 
 tion is, that the contractor who has undertaken to keep 
 the streets clean has failed to fulfil the spirit, if not the 
 letter, of his contract. Everybody grumbles just as 
 we do in London when a gas company stops up the 
 Strand for the sake of tinkering its pipes but nobody 
 proposes to interfere and insist on the nuisance being 
 summarily removed. The vested rights of the individual 
 contractor override the rights of the public. 
 
 On only one occasion did I see a mob in New York, 
 and that was on the outbreak of a fire. It was towards 
 
NEW YOEK. 21 
 
 mid-day, and, to my surprise, every clock near Wall 
 Street, down which I was passing at the time, began 
 striking seven solemnly and slowly, like our passing bell 
 in a country parish. I inquired the meaning from a 
 passer-by, and learnt that it was the signal that a fire 
 had broken out in the Seventh Ward. I turned in the 
 direction pointed out, and soon a fire engine rattled 
 past me, dragged by a string of boys and men through, 
 rather than over, the uneven, broken snow-drifts. Then 
 in a few minutes another followed, and another; and 
 by the time I had reached the scene of the fire, not 
 a quarter of a mile away, half a dozen engines were at 
 work, though I had heard the first signal of the fire 
 given but a few minutes before. A store of Kerozene 
 oil had caught fire, and the volumes of flame which 
 shot out of the roof and windows seemed to threaten 
 the whole street with destruction. But the engines 
 were too hard at work to give the fire a chance ; the 
 river lay fortunately near at hand ; and there was a 
 perfect crowd of volunteers ready to work the pumps 
 with might and main. There was nobody to keep the 
 dense throng of spectators who crammed the neighbour 
 ing streets in order, but of themselves they obeyed the 
 instructions of the firemen, and made way readily when 
 ever space was required for the engines or the pipes to 
 pass. The firemen worked with a will, and seemed 
 utterly regardless of danger. Some were dragging the 
 water-pipes right under the walls of the burning house, 
 
22 NEW YOEK. 
 
 which looked every minute as if they were about to 
 fall ; others were standing on the parapet of the flaming 
 roof, hanging over the street in a way that made one 
 dizzy to look at, and shouting out orders to the men 
 below ; others, again, were perched on ladders fixed 
 against the house on fire, and cutting down the shutters 
 with axes in order to let out the flames. It was a 
 service of real danger, and one poor fellow lost his life 
 by falling off an engine ; but one and all these firemen 
 were unpaid volunteers, who expected no reward for 
 their services. The engines are supplied by the State, 
 but the whole expense and labour of the service are 
 borne by the men themselves. There is a great esprit 
 de corps amongst the different companies, and admis 
 sion into them is sought for eagerly. At every engine- 
 house a certain number of the men always remain on 
 duty, turn and turn about ; and the moment the signal- 
 bell is heard over the city, the members of the company 
 leave their homes and their business, whatever it may 
 be, to perform their duty as firemen. I have seen great 
 fires in many European countries, but I never saw a fire 
 extinguished so promptly or so courageously as by these 
 volunteer firemen. Indeed, the existence in New York 
 of such an organization as that of the fire-brigades is 
 enough in itself to make one somewhat sceptical as to 
 the truth of our common impression about its demo 
 cratic lawlessness. 
 
 I had left England at the time when the fortunes of 
 
NEW YORK. 23 
 
 the Federal cause seemed the lowest, and when New 
 York was popularly believed to be on the brink of ruin 
 and revolution. It was, I own, a surprise to me to find 
 how little trace there was of either. An incurious 
 stranger, not given to enter into conversation, or to read 
 the newspaper, might almost, I fancy, have lived there 
 for weeks at that time without discovering that the 
 country was involved in a civil war. There were forts 
 being thrown up rapidly along the banks which com 
 mand the Narrows ; but of late years we have learnt in 
 England not to associate the construction of expensive 
 fortifications with any idea of immediate war. The 
 number of uniforms about the streets was small not so 
 large as it used to be in London before the volunteer 
 movement was heard of. A score or so of tents 
 were pitched upon the snow in the City Park, and at 
 the Battery, but rather for show than use. In the 
 Broadway and the Bowery there were a few recruiting 
 offices, in front of which hung huge placards tempting 
 fine young men, by the offer of a hundred dollars 
 bounty (to be paid not down, but after the war), and 
 the promise of immediate active service, to join the 
 Van Buren light infantry or the New York mounted 
 cavalry. It was rare to hear a military band ; and in 
 the shop windows I noticed at that time but few 
 pictures of the war, or portraits of the war s heroes. I 
 saw regiments passing through the town on their way 
 to the South, and yet only a few idlers were gathered to 
 
24 NEW YOKE. 
 
 see them pass. In fact, the show-time of the war had 
 passed away, and it was become a matter of sober 
 business. 
 
 So, too, I was present at New York when the news 
 came of Roanoke Island, and Bowling Green, and Fort 
 Donaldson of the first of that long uninterrupted series 
 of victories which checked the progress of the insurrec 
 tion. Our English reception of the tidings of the 
 great battles which gave the death-blow to the Indian 
 mutiny was not more reserved or calm. There were no 
 proclamations, no addresses to the people, no grandilo 
 quent bulletins as there would have been under like 
 circumstances in a Continental country. A small crowd 
 collected round the newspaper offices a few extra 
 flags hung out of shop windows a notice that Bar- 
 num s Museum would be illuminated in honour of the 
 Union victories, by the patriotic proprietor and a 
 salute of cannon from the battery ; such were about 
 the only outward symptoms of public rejoicing. There 
 was no want of interest or feeling about the war. In 
 society it was the one topic of thought and conversa 
 tion. If you heard two people talking in the street, 
 or in the cars, or at the church doors as you came out 
 of service, you would be sure to find they were talking 
 of the war. The longer I lived in the country, the 
 more I learnt how deep the feeling of the North was ; 
 but it was like all English feeling, and came slowly to 
 the surface. 
 
NEW YORK. 25 
 
 There was as little took of public distress as of popular 
 excitement. The port and quays were crowded with 
 shipping. Broadway was daily rendered almost im 
 passable by the never-ending string of carts and omni 
 buses and carriages, which rolled up and down it for 
 hours. Splendidly-equipped sable-covered sleighs were 
 to be seen at every turning ; and, on a fine day, the 
 pavements were thronged with ladies, the expensiveness 
 of whose dresses, if questionable as a matter of taste, 
 was unquestionable as a matter of fact. New stores and 
 streets were still building, and notices of " houses to let," 
 or of sales by auction, were very few. Though the banks 
 had suspended specie payments, yet, by one of those mys 
 teries of the currency I never hope to see explained, their 
 notes passed at full value, and were exchanged readily 
 for coin at least, in all such small transactions as come 
 under a traveller s notice. There was, I have no doubt, 
 much mercantile distress ; and the shopkeepers, who 
 depended on the sale of luxuries to the wealthy classes, 
 were doing a poor trade. But work was plentiful, and 
 the distress, as yet, had not gone down deep. There 
 were few balls or large parties, and the opera was not 
 regularly open, partly because public feeling was averse 
 to much gaiety ; partly, and still more, because the 
 wealthy classes had retrenched all superfluous expendi 
 ture with a really wonderful unanimity. Residents 
 often expressed their regret to me that I should see 
 their city under so dull an aspect. But I know that, 
 
26 NEW YOEK. 
 
 on a bright winter day, when the whole population 
 seemed to be driving out in sleighs to the great 
 skating carnivals at the Central Park, I have seldom 
 seen a brighter or a gayer-looking city than that of 
 New York. 
 
THE AMERICAN PEESS. 27 
 
 THE AMERICAN PRESS. 
 
 IT is from the press of America, or rather from the 
 press of one portion of America, that English opinion on 
 American affairs is principally derived. It is the source, 
 too, from which even English travellers in America draw 
 their observations, largely if not chiefly. I am far from 
 saying that opinions thus formed are necessarily erro 
 neous. In many respects, the press is a fairer exponent 
 of American feelings than the tone of society. However 
 excellent a stranger s letters of introduction may be, 
 they inevitably throw him among one class, and that 
 the wealthy and educated class ; and the newspapers 
 are addressed to the great public, of whom he inevitably 
 sees little more than a single section. After all, too, 
 private acquaintanceships, however valuable, only give 
 you individual, and often interested opinions. Now, 
 wherever there is a free and unsubventioned press, you 
 may be sure of one thing, that, on the whole, and in the 
 long run, the newspapers do express the opinions and 
 prejudices of their readers. No trade goes on for long 
 
28 THE AMERICAN PEESS. 
 
 manufacturing goods which don t suit the public taste ; 
 and the press is a trade like any other. I have always 
 felt it to be a singularly weak line of argument when I 
 have heard either Americans or Englishmen trying to 
 explain away any offensive remark in the newspaper 
 organs of their respective countries by the common 
 remark, " It is only the press says so ; " it is only the 
 utterance of the Times, or the New York Herald. 
 It is all very true, but the question still remains Why 
 is it that the readers of the Times, or the Herald, 
 like such remarks to be made ? You have proved that 
 the elephant stands upon the tortoise, but what does 
 the tortoise stand upon? Take it all in all, then, I 
 admit freely that the American press, if you judge 
 it correctly, is a tolerably fair probably, the fairest- 
 exponent of American opinion. 
 
 That if, however, is a very great one. Supposing 
 a foreigner were to read the Times, and half a dozen 
 other English newspapers, daily for years, his knowledge 
 of English life and politics would still be extremely in 
 complete and erroneous, unless he had actually lived 
 enough in England to have acquired what may be 
 called the key to the English press. Anyone who, like 
 myself, has lived at times long out of England, must, 
 I think, have been often struck how very soon the tone, 
 as it were, of English papers becomes strange to you. 
 Thus, for example, I was absent from England during 
 the whole of the volunteer era ; and, though I spent 
 
THE AMERICAN PRESS. 29 
 
 more time than I like to think of in reading through 
 daily every English newspaper I could come across, I 
 was never clearly able to ascertain how much or how 
 little of earnestness and reality there was about the 
 whole invasion panic and its developments. My object 
 in making these remarks is to point out how very liable 
 Americans are to make mistakes in judging of England 
 from our press, and how much more liable, for special rea 
 sons, we are to make like mistakes in taking the Ameri 
 can press as the standard of America. The Hieroglyphics 
 contain the history of Egypt, but, to understand the 
 history, you must be able to read the characters. 
 
 To a great extent, London is England ; and to a 
 still greater extent is the London press the press of 
 England. There is nothing of this kind in America. 
 The capital is a nominal one, and there is no metropolis. 
 Americans, with their wonted love for big phrases, are 
 apt to talk of New York as the metropolitan city ; 
 but it is big talk only. New York is the most 
 wealthy, the most powerful, and the most important of 
 the many capital cities which the Union possesses. 
 New York stands to Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, 
 St. Louis, Chicago, or New Orleans, much in the 
 same relation as Liverpool does to Hull, Birming 
 ham, and Southampton. She is a more important 
 city than any of them, but in no sense whatever is she 
 their capital. The New York papers have a wider 
 circulation than those of any other town out of their 
 
30 THE AMEEICAN PRESS. 
 
 own district, out in no part of the Union, except in 
 New York, are they the newspapers of the place. If a 
 foreigner wished to study the politics of the agricultural 
 counties, I should recommend him to read the Morning 
 Herald, or some other metropolitan organ of bucolic 
 conservatism. I should never think of advising him to 
 take in the Somersetshire Sentinel, or the Suffolk 
 Standard. But if you want to learn the politics of 
 the Eastern, or Western, or Southern States, the last 
 place you would look for them would be in a New 
 York journal. From the facts that New York is the 
 great port of departure for Europe, that the commercial 
 relations of the Old and New Worlds are chiefly carried 
 on through New York, and that the New York papers 
 contain the latest news, its journals are, naturally 
 enough, the only ones which reach Europe. But an 
 Englishman, who reads the New York press alone, knows 
 as much and as little about the sentiments of the other 
 parts of the Union as an American would know about 
 the politics of Kent and Cambridgeshire who read 
 nothing but the Liverpool Albion. 
 
 The absence of a metropolis, and of a metropolitan 
 standard of thought and refinement, tells upon the 
 American press much as it tells upon American lite 
 rature and education and refinement. According to my 
 view, it tells unfavourably on the individual, but favour 
 ably upon the average. The New York press, which is 
 the nearest approach to a metropolitan one, is most 
 
THE AMERICAN PRESS. 31 
 
 decidedly inferior to the English, but then the local press 
 is superior in much the same proportion. Thus, when 
 the low standard of the New York press is taken, not 
 altogether without reason, as a proof of the absence of 
 high mental culture in the United States, the relatively 
 high standard of the local press ought fairly to be taken 
 as evidence of the extent to which education is diffused. 
 Before, however, I enter on the general characteristics 
 of the American press, I must speak of the New York 
 press, by which alone America is unfortunately judged 
 abroad. And first, then, on the principle of honour 
 to whom honour is not due, of the New York Herald. 
 I have no doubt myself that the Herald, in spite of 
 many assertions I have heard made to the contrary, 
 has far the largest circulation of any American daily 
 paper. Away from the North, it is the only New York 
 paper that you come across frequently ; and I have 
 seen two people reading the Herald for one I have 
 observed reading any other newspaper. Each of its 
 rivals admits it to be the second in circulation. It 
 contains, too, always all that class of advertisements 
 which are intended to catch the eye of the million ; and 
 advertisers are pretty sure to know what is the best 
 channel for their advertisements. One week, when 
 there was unusually stirring news, the Herald boasted 
 that their circulation reached 113,000 ; and therefore I 
 suppose its average sale would be 100,000. What 
 its political influence may be, it is more difficult to 
 
32 THE AMERICAN PEESS. 
 
 ascertain. Every educated American you speak to on 
 the subject rejects indignantly the idea that it has 
 any political influence whatever ; but still, I find they 
 all read it. I saw enough of political life in America 
 to convince me that all public men, to say the least, 
 preferred its friendship to its hostility. I remember 
 on one occasion, which, for obvious reasons, I do not 
 wish to specify, I was invited to a small half-political, 
 half-military reception, given by an officer, with whom I 
 happened to be acquainted. The party was a very select 
 one ; but, to my surprise, I met there the correspondent 
 of the New York Herald with his family. The cause of 
 my surprise, I need hardly say, was not at a newspaper 
 correspondent being present in truth, there is no coun 
 try where any sort of literary repute is more honoured 
 than in America but simply, that I knew the gentleman 
 in question was not received into any kind of society at 
 the town where he was stationed ; and that I myself 
 had been cautioned by a resident against being seen in 
 his company. The cause of his presence I discovered 
 afterwards. He had asked for a ticket, and our enter 
 tainer being anxious to rise in public favour, was afraid 
 of being attacked by the Herald in case of refusal. 
 This incident I only mention in illustration of a well- 
 known fact. The Herald is a power in the country ; 
 and though it can do little to make or mar established 
 reputations, yet it has great opportunities of pushing a 
 new man forward in public life, or of keeping him back ; 
 
THE AMERICAN PEESS. 33 
 
 and such opportunities as it has, it uses unscrupu 
 lously. It made its first start in journalistic life by 
 levying black mail on public men, through threats of 
 private exposures, and the old informer spirit still 
 clings to it in the days of its comparative respectability. 
 The real cause, however, of the Herald s permanent 
 success, I believe to be very simple. It gives the most 
 copious, if not the most accurate, news of any American 
 journal. It is conducted with more energy, and pro 
 bably more capital; and also, on common topics, on 
 which its prejudices or its interests are not concerned, it 
 is written with a rough common sense, which often 
 reminds me of the Times. It has too, to use a French 
 word, theflaire of journalism. Mr. Raymond, the pro 
 prietor of the .New York Times, once remarked, half 
 laughingly and half in earnest, to a gentleman who told 
 me the story, " It would be worth my while, sir, to give 
 " a million dollars, if the devil would come and tell me 
 " every evening, as he does Bennett, what the people 
 " of New York would like to read about next morning." 
 The story hints clearly enough at the true cause of 
 the Herald s success. 
 
 The politics of the Herald have fluctuated con 
 stantly. There are but two principles to which it has 
 always proved faithful ; one is to support the existing 
 administration ; the other is to attack and insult the 
 country of Mr. Bennett s birth. Wherever Mr. Bennett s 
 character is known, the opinions of the paper carry no 
 
 D 
 
34 THE AMERICAN PRESS. 
 
 weight whatever; and his character, like that of all 
 public men in America, is known and commented on in 
 New York to a degree which an editor s private cha 
 racter could never be subjected to in England. Still it 
 is impossible that any large proportion of the hundred 
 thousand purchasers of the Herald can know or 
 care much about the character of James Gordon 
 Bennett; and therefore I have no doubt the in 
 fluence of the Herald, pandering, as it does, not with 
 out real ability, to the prejudices and vanity of the 
 American people, is no unimportant element in the 
 political world. 
 
 As to Mr. Bennett s social position, all parties are 
 agreed. The Herald is a very valuable property ; and 
 its net profits are said to vary from 20,000 to 30,000 
 annually. With the one virtue, too, that a Scotchman 
 can never get rid of, Mr. Bennett is not personally 
 extravagant, and is reputed to be now a man of very 
 large fortune. Still, in New York society, he is not 
 received, or even tolerated. Not long ago, at a watering- 
 place, near New York, where he took up his abode, the 
 inmates of the hotel he had honoured with his company 
 told the landlord that he must choose between Mr. 
 Bennett s custom and theirs and Mr. Bennett left. 
 Probably, just as the devil is painted blacker than 
 nature, so the editor of the Herald may possess some 
 redeeming qualities ; but, as yet, the New York world 
 has not discovered them. The result of Mr. Bennett s 
 
THE AMERICAN PRESS. 35 
 
 social disrepute, whether deserved or not, is that re 
 spectable literary men do not like being connected with 
 the Herald; and its writers are generally men who, for 
 some cause or other, are not on good terms with 
 society ; and even they, as far as my observation went, 
 are not proud of the connexion. 
 
 Of the utter unscrupulousness of the Herald, I will 
 only quote one example, which happens to have some 
 slight independent interest of its own. Mr. Russell, 
 during his stay in America, was the object of the most 
 rancorous abuse, on the part of the Herald ; partly, 
 because he had given personal offence to the editor, by 
 declining his invitations ; still more, because he had 
 given offence to the American public. There happened 
 to be some private theatricals given at the British 
 Embassy, in which Mr. Russell played the part of Bom- 
 bastes Furioso. The next day, the following account 
 appeared in the Herald : 
 
 " During the representation of Bombastes Furioso, 
 " one or two amusing incidents are said to have oc- 
 " curred. After the delivery of the lines by Bombastes, 
 " (LL. D. Russell), (lies like the deuce, was, by the 
 way, on another occasion the Herald s interpretation 
 of these letters) 
 
 " Whate er your Majesty shall deign to name 
 Short cut or long to us is all the same. 
 
 " A wag on the back benches, audibly added : 
 
 " So from Bull Run the shortest cut you came. 
 D 2 
 
36 THE AMERICAN PEESS. 
 
 " Sensation, and a general turning round of heads 
 " to detect the interpolator. He was non est" 
 "After the tremendous apostrophe to Distaffina 
 
 " By all the risks my fearless heart hath run 
 
 Kisks of all shapes, from bludgeon, sword, and gun ; 
 By the great bunch of laurels on my brow 
 
 " there came again, from the same quarter, this un- 
 " expected completion of the quotation : 
 
 " A chaplet of leeks would fit it better now. 
 
 "Renewed agitation. Suspicious glances directed 
 " towards a rollicking-looking clerk in one of the de- 
 " partments. Big drops of perspiration chased each 
 " other down the face of the perplexed Bombastes. 
 " When he came to the passage 
 
 " In some still place I ll find a gloomy cave ; 
 
 There my own hands shall dig a spacious grave ; 
 Then, all unseen, I ll lay me down and die, 
 Since 
 
 " All my prophecies events belie, 
 
 " again added his indefatigable tormentor. 
 
 " This put the climax to Bombastes troubles. The 
 " well-bred audience could no longer restrain their mer- 
 " riment. So discomforted by it was the burly warrior, 
 " that he could scarcely muster strength enough to 
 " attach his boots his gage of battle, to the tree. His 
 " tormentor took pity on him, and let him gurgle out 
 " in peace his last adieus to the world." 
 
THE AMERICAN PKESS. 37 
 
 this story was not put in as ben trovato, but 
 as a deliberate, serious narrative of fact. From begin 
 ning to end, it was a lie, with not one single word 
 of truth in the whole story, except that Mr. Russell 
 acted Bombastes, and, for that matter, acted it very 
 well too. 
 
 Day after day there is a sort of triangular duel be 
 tween the editors of the Herald, the Tribune, and the 
 Times, in which personalities or, what in any other papers 
 would be considered, gross libels are freely bandied to 
 and fro. In this warfare the Herald, being utterly, 
 instead of only partially, unscrupulous, comes off an 
 easy victor. As a specimen, I can only spare the space 
 to quote one short leader in the Herald, which struck 
 me as a gem in its peculiar class of journalism. It is 
 headed "Poor Greeley playing Jacobin," and runs thus : 
 
 " Poor old silly Greeley cries out for a traitor, weeps 
 " salt tears for a traitor, howls like a hyena for a traitor, 
 " shouts for all the universe to bring him a traitor. 
 " What does he want of a traitor ? Why, Greeley wants 
 " to be blood-thirsty he wants to be a little Robes- 
 " pierre. He wants to hang a traitor with his own 
 " hands. Let him come down to our office, and we ll 
 " give him a shilling to buy a rope since the Tribune 
 " is so poor and then he may hang himself to the 
 " nearest lamp-post, and thus at once satisfy his desire 
 " to hang a traitor, and greatly gratify the loyal 
 "public." 
 
38 THE AMERICAN PRESS. 
 
 In the advertisement department the Herald has 
 one or two specialities of its own. Like almost all 
 American papers, its columns are disfigured by " catch 
 the eye" advertisements. Every variety of inversion 
 and perversion of which type is capable, is adopted to 
 attract notice. There was one advertisement constantly 
 repeated, which used to impress me as a triumph of 
 genius. The words were short and simple enough 
 " Buy Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, with 
 all the news of the war" It would puzzle an ordinary 
 English compositor how to make this extend in small 
 type over the whole of one column, but like Columbus s 
 method for making an egg stand on one end, the solu 
 tion of the puzzle was wonderfully simple, and consisted 
 solely in dividing the advertisement into three para 
 graphs. Buy Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaper 
 with all the news of the war and repeating each 
 paragraph, line below line, some score of times in all. 
 The Broadway saloons, where " the prettiest waiter-girls 
 in the world afforded intellectual recreation to the cus 
 tomers," were especial patrons of the Herald, and 
 showed a peculiar fondness for this sensation typogra 
 phy. The Herald, too, was the organ of the astrologers, 
 and of searchers after matrimony. In one copy I hap 
 pened to take up at hazard, I picked out the following 
 specimens. Under the heading "Astrology" the list 
 was unusually small, and only contained seven advertise 
 ments, of which two samples will be enough. 
 
THE AMERICAN PRESS. 39 
 
 " Astrologists. Great excitement Read ! read ! ! 
 " The beautiful Madame Henri, whose wonderful and 
 " exquisite mode of reading the future destinies of 
 " thousands are (sic) daily creating the wildest furor. 
 " This lovely young lady is, without exception, the 
 " most accomplished in her line of business. She will 
 " write the name you marry, show their likeness, give 
 " good luck, and her lucky numbers are sure to 
 " draw a prize. Her rooms are at 80, West Broadway, 
 " corner Leonard, name on the door." 
 
 Again. "Astonishing Madame Morrow, seventh 
 " daughter, has a gift of foresight, tells how soon and 
 " how often you will marry, and all you wish to know, 
 " even your very thoughts, or no pay. Lucky charms 
 " free. Her equal is not to be found. Her magic 
 " image is now in full force, 184, Ludlow Street, 
 " below Houston. Price 25 cents. Gentlemen not 
 " admitted." 
 
 The matrimonial column, on the other hand, was fuller 
 than usual, and contained half-a-dozen offers of marriage, 
 of which, for the sake of gallantry, I will only quote 
 two from ladies. 
 
 " A young widow lady, with means to support herself, 
 " wishes to make the acquaintance of a gentleman with 
 " a view to matrimony. None but persons of intelli- 
 " gence and refinement need address Mrs. E. Harland, 
 " Station A, Spring Street." 
 
 The next lady is suspiciously silent as to means, 
 
40 THE AMERICAN PEESS. 
 
 but more positive as to age. She says that " a young 
 " lady not over twenty-five years of age would like 
 " to open a correspondence with some gentleman 
 " possessed of an affectionate disposition, and a fair 
 " share of the world s goods, with a view to matri- 
 " mony. One who can appreciate a woman s good 
 " feelings may address Jennie Edwards, Station G, 
 " Broadway." 
 
 Moreover, the Herald has, or rather used to have 
 when I first came to the States, a column headed 
 "personals," of a most extraordinary character. To 
 judge from a perusal of it, you would suppose that 
 whenever a gay Lothario met a soft-hearted Dulcinea in 
 the streets, it was the etiquette not to address her per 
 sonally, but to publish an advertisement in next day s 
 papers, expressive of admiration and the desire for fur 
 ther acquaintance. In plain words, assignations, which 
 charity alone bids one suppose were virtuous, were 
 daily made in the columns of the Herald. The way 
 in which the " personals " were extinguished is a curious 
 comment on the principles by which the Herald is 
 guided. In one day s paper there appeared an adver 
 tisement even more flagrant than usual, purporting to be 
 from a lady making an assignation to meet a friend at 
 the reception room of a well-known hotel. The Tribune 
 got hold of this, and in a bitter article pointed out how 
 the advertisement, besides its intrinsic immorality, was 
 calculated to injure the character of the hotel, and 
 
THE AMEKICAN PRESS. 41 
 
 would therefore expose the publisher of the paper to 
 an action for libel. No reply was made to this attack, 
 and no formal notice was taken of it, but from that day 
 forth the " personals " were discontinued or confined to 
 bond fide inquiries for absent friends. There are two 
 peculiarities about the Herald, which might be copied 
 with advantage by our English press. The first is, that 
 all advertisements are carefully classed under headings, 
 so that you always know where to look for what you 
 want ; the second is, that after every military movement 
 plans of the locality in which the movement occurred 
 are published on the front page. They are very roughly, 
 often very inaccurately drawn, but still they are suffi 
 cient to make the accounts of the movements intelli 
 gible to the reader. 
 
 With all its faults, the Herald is the most readable 
 of the New York papers. The New York Times is, in 
 a literary point of view, a feebler edition of the Herald, 
 without its verve. It is the organ of the moderate 
 Republican party, of whom Mr. Seward and Mr. Thurlow 
 Weed are the leaders in the State of New York ; and 
 as this party has never yet been able to look the 
 slavery question boldly in the face, their organ shares in 
 their indecision, and their consequent want of vigour. 
 It is supposed to be more or less favourable to Eng 
 land, and so, perhaps, it is relatively to the other 
 papers, but, actually, I should say that the less pre 
 dominated over the more. It labours, too, under the 
 
42 THE AMEEICAN PRESS. 
 
 general stigma of jobbery, which hangs over the whole 
 Seward-Weed Republican party in the State politics of 
 JSTew York. 
 
 The Tribune carries more weight by its individual 
 opinion than any paper in the city. Whatever Mr. 
 Greeley s faults may be, he has the reputation of personal 
 honesty ; and even the exposure of the Gumming and 
 Cameron contract jobs, in which undoubtedly the 
 Tribune party were mixed up, did not suffice to 
 shake public belief in the integrity of the Tribune, 
 as long as Greeley conducts it. It is better printed, 
 more thoughtfully written, and more carefully got 
 up than any of its cotemporaries. Moreover, the 
 simple fact, that it both knows and dares to speak 
 out its own mind on the slavery question, gives its 
 writings the force which attends strong conviction. 
 But there is a doctrinaire tone about its articles 
 which makes them heavy reading, and when it takes 
 to invective, as it does frequently, it is scurrilous with 
 out being pointed. 
 
 So much for the only three American newspapers 
 whose names are at all known in England. As you 
 change your district you change your paper; and, in 
 every district, you will find some one or more leading 
 papers, which are in their own district what the Herald 
 is in the district of New York. The Boston Post, the 
 Philadelphia Enquirer, the Cincinnati Gazette, the 
 Louisville Journal, and the Chicago Tribune, have 
 
THE AMERICAN PRESS. 43 
 
 each the leading circulation in the States of Massa 
 chusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois 
 respectively. 
 
 In truth, the most remarkable feature about the 
 American press is its quantity rather than its quality. 
 The American might be defined as a newspaper- 
 reading animal. I have never been into any American 
 town where there was not more than one daily paper. 
 Even in the quietest of towns, boys run about the 
 streets hawking newspapers. In every railway train 
 there is a lad, who passes through the cars constantly 
 with newspapers to sell ; and in every hotel a newspaper 
 stand is as acknowledged a part of the establishment 
 as the bar. In its broad characteristics, the American 
 newspaper, like almost every other American institution, 
 is fashioned on the English, not on the Continental 
 model. It resembles our newspapers in the unwieldy 
 size of the sheets, in the immense quantity of news 
 given, in the great space occupied by advertisements, 
 and in the fact, that the leading articles are practical 
 comments, not abstract essays. Here, however, the 
 resemblance between the American and the London 
 press ceases. An American paper is a sort of cross 
 between a county newspaper and a penny journal. Read 
 ing is so universal an acquirement here, that a far larger, 
 and also a far lower, class reads the newspapers than is 
 the case with us ; and, therefore, the degree of education 
 found in the newspaper-reading public is probably lower 
 
44 THE AMERICAN PRESS. 
 
 than in Great Britain. Thus (I am not speaking 
 now of a few class journals, but of the ordinary news 
 paper,) you never meet, in an American paper, with 
 literary or scientific reviews of any research, or with 
 any article which evinces much reading on the part of 
 the writer, or pre-supposes much on the part of the 
 reader. On the rare occasions, when a French quota 
 tion is made, it is generally printed wrong, and always 
 accompanied with a translation. You seldom, if ever, 
 come upon an article which might not have been written 
 right oif without any reference to books or authorities. It 
 is obvious, too, that the public, of even the best American 
 papers, has not passed beyond that stage of intellectual 
 development in which the mind takes pleasure in a 
 column of varieties. The editor of the Louisville 
 Journal, Mr. George D. Prentice, is supposed to have 
 a special talent for manufacturing facetiae, and as 
 the Prenticeiana are quoted throughout the Union 
 papers, I shall give the reader a fair impression of what 
 American varieties consist of, by quoting half-a-dozen 
 of his facetiae, which lie in the paper next at hand to 
 me while I write, I pick out the ones about the war, 
 as having something of more permanent interest : 
 
 " A man was arrested in London lately for stealing a 
 " picture from a dealer. When caught going out of the 
 " door, with the article under his arm, he said he was 
 " an admirer of the fine arts, and only wanted to take 
 " the picture home to examine it more closely. When 
 
THE AMERICAN PEESS. 45 
 
 " Floyd is caught, the ingenious rascal will have some 
 " similar plea in abatement of his debts." 
 
 " The Atlanta (G a) Confederacy quotes the con- 
 " fession of a surgeon in the Confederate army, that 
 " they are whipped on all sides, and hell is to pay. 
 " Walk down to the counter then, and pay your in- 
 " debtedness." 
 
 " The Charleston Mercury thinks that the Cotton 
 " States have a right to cry aloud when all their slave 
 " property is at stake. No doubt it is a case of great 
 " cry and a good deal of wool." 
 
 " A correspondent says that Beauregard made a very 
 " good moral address to his army the other day. Pro- 
 " bably, he thought his troops so demoralised, that they 
 " needed a little moralising." 
 
 " Beauregard certainly surprised us at Shiloh, on the 
 " first day of the fight ; but we surprised him a good 
 " deal more on the second." 
 
 "We guess the New Orleans Picayune (penny) 
 " feels now as if it were hardly worth its name," 
 
 And so on. But if the reader is not tired of reading 
 Prenticeiana, I am of copying them. 
 
 An immense proportion of the American papers 
 are sold by the street newsvendors. It is on this chance 
 circulation, that the newspapers mainly depend ; and 
 out of a given number of copies sold, a very small 
 percentage, indeed, is sold to regular subscribers. The 
 inevitable consequence of this condition of things is to 
 
46 THE AMERICAN PRESS. 
 
 encourage the sensation system of newspaper-headings 
 and paragraphs, which offends our taste so constantly, 
 There is a carelessness about the writing, which to me 
 is indefensible. Apparently, leaders are written without 
 the proofs being revised. Constantly one stumbles on 
 sentences which do not construe ; while clerical errors 
 are allowed to pass, for not correcting which, the reader 
 of any respectable English newspaper would be dis 
 missed on the spot. Then, again, all the news is broken 
 up into short paragraphs, with appropriate headings in 
 large capitals, in a way which, though convenient to 
 readers in a hurry, is almost fatal to good writing. 
 Both paper too and type are usually very inferior to 
 our own. 
 
 There are two popular impressions as to the American 
 press, prevailing in England, both of which I think 
 erroneous. The first is, that it is a very cheap press ; 
 the second, that it is a very scurrilous one. To sub 
 scribers it is undoubtedly cheap ; and you can, or rather 
 could, get any daily paper in the United States by sub 
 scription, for somewhat under a penny a day, excluding 
 delivery. But it is not so with casual purchasers. In New 
 York alone can you buy the Herald, for instance, in the 
 streets for two cents. In Washington its price was five 
 cents ; and in the West, you are charged ten cents. The 
 price of a single copy of any local paper is always five 
 cents, except in the very large towns, where it sinks to 
 four or three cents. Thus as the vast majority of readers 
 
TtiE AMERICAN PEESS. 47 
 
 buy their papers from day to day, the price they pay 
 varies from twopence to threepence, and upwards. In 
 fact, if you take into account the quantity of matter 
 you get in an English paper, the English high-priced 
 press is in reality a cheaper one than the American, 
 and the penny press is immeasurably so. In all proba 
 bility, the new taxes, to be imposed on newspapers, will 
 raise their prices still higher even if the hopes of the 
 Herald are not realized, and the whole cheap press 
 crushed for good. 
 
 Perhaps my next assertion may appear even stranger, 
 and that is, that one great merit of the American press 
 is its comparative freedom from private personality. 
 The virulent and discreditable invectives with which 
 Bennett and Greeley besmire each other and themselves 
 in the Herald and Tribune are not fair illustrations of 
 American journalism. It is of the essence and nature 
 of one local paper to attack another, but in all the 
 American papers I have met with, I have never seen 
 personal attacks from one editor to another, equal 
 either in virulence or bad taste to what I have seen in 
 English country papers. It is true, that public cha 
 racters of any kind are attacked politically, with a vehe 
 mence we can hardly appreciate ; but this is due to 
 the nature of political life in America, of which I shall 
 speak elsewhere. The American papers have not learnt 
 yet the difference between declamation and strong 
 writing, and, therefore, their attacks on political enemies 
 
48 THE AMERICAN PEESS. 
 
 are perfectly astonishing to us, from the violence of their 
 invective. But, still, if you examine closely, you will 
 see, that even in declamations against public men, allu 
 sions to their private relations are but rare. On the 
 other hand, attacks on individuals in private life are 
 almost unknown. It is a curious fact, which I never 
 saw noticed in any account of America, that the 
 accounts of law cases and police reports which appear 
 in all the American papers are infinitely more curt and 
 meagre even than those in French journals. The names 
 of the parties to a suit, and the result of the trial, is 
 given, but, except in cases of great public interest, 
 rarely anything more. In England, if you are un 
 fortunate enough to get involved in any case, either 
 as principal or witness, which involves any disgusting 
 details, or any ridiculous episodes, your name is hawked 
 about the country, and you are stamped for ever, with 
 having been connected with some queer trial or scandal. 
 If you object to the hardship of an innocent man being 
 subjected to a moral pillory, you are told that the free 
 dom of the press demands the sacrifice. Now here, in 
 a perfectly free country, with a free press, there is no 
 thing of the kind. Public opinion is opposed to raking 
 up the private affairs of individuals for the amusement 
 of newspaper readers ; and the newspapers do not 
 publish the gossip of the police courts, simply because 
 the public does not wish for it. In cases of great 
 interest, like the Sickles affair, or the Webster murder, 
 
THE AMEEICAN PKESS. 49 
 
 full details are given, but in ordinary daily life, the 
 newspapers exercise much less social tyranny than they 
 do with us. 
 
 I have spoken freely about the faults of the Ameri 
 can press ; but still, in Yankee phrase, it is a great 
 institution. The individual developments do not rise 
 to so high a standard as our own, but the average 
 development is higher. In every town and village 
 where you travel you find a press, which gives news 
 copiously, and, on the whole, fairly ; which treats of 
 practical questions with shrewd good sense and fair 
 writing ; and which discusses national topics as much, 
 or more, than local ones. When you consider that this 
 press is read by the whole neighbourhood, and is the 
 organ of the class which, in England, would consist of 
 agricultural labourers and over-worked mechanics, you 
 realize more than in any other way the general educa 
 tion of the American people. It is something, too, that 
 this people s press should be perfectly unobjectionable 
 in a moral sense, and should be free from petty person 
 alities ; that, in fact, if it cannot soar, it also does not 
 grovel. 
 
 Of course, if I chose, I could pick out hosts of eccen 
 tricities, and what we should call absurdities, in Ame 
 rican journalism. But, after all, whether you spell 
 traveller with two " 1 s " or one, whether you call a 
 leader an editorial, and whether you talk of " posting 
 up a bill " instead of settling an account, are all ques- 
 
 E 
 
50 THE AMERICAN PEESS. 
 
 tions of taste, about which there is no use disputing. 
 The larger and, I hold, the truer view is, to look upon 
 the American press as a vast engine of national edu 
 cation, not over-delicate in its machinery, but still 
 working out its object. As such, it is, indeed, the 
 press of a great and a free people. 
 
NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 51 
 
 NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 IT was always a trouble to me in America, choosing 
 where I should go next. It was not the embarras de 
 richesse, but the embarras de pauvreU. One place 
 was so marvellously like the other, that it was hard to 
 decide why you should go to one place in preference to 
 another. I always have had the keenest sympathy for 
 the ass in the fable, who was unable to make up his 
 mind between the two bundles of hay that hung on 
 either side of him. Hay is excellent food and well 
 deserves eating ; but when bundle of hay number one is 
 the exact counterpart of bundle number two, how is an 
 irresolute ass to decide which best deserves munching ? 
 This was my own state of mind, I confess frankly, with 
 regard to my route in America. The country is well worth 
 seeing how well worth seeing I never knew till I had 
 travelled over it ; but still, one American town is just 
 as well worth seeing as its neighbour, and not more. 
 Columbus (Ohio) is extremely like Springfield (Indiana), 
 and both are the very counterparts of Lafayetteville 
 
 E2 
 
52 NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 (Missouri). All are worth visiting, but why should you 
 give the preference to Springfield over Columbus, or to 
 Lafayetteville over both? This is a dilemma which I 
 could never get out of, and whose solution perplexed me 
 from the day I entered the States to the day I left them. 
 The first time the problem presented itself to me in 
 all its difficulty was on leaving New York. I had in 
 tended to go from thence to Boston ; but the question 
 was propounded to me, whether it was not better to go to 
 Washington first instead. If the solution had been left 
 to my unassisted powers of decision, I should probably 
 be residing at this present moment in the Everett House, 
 New York, making up my mind where to go next. 
 Happily, I had two motives which decided the course of 
 my journey. In the first place, it was cold bitterly cold 
 in New York. Most European travellers visit Ame 
 rica in the summer, and therefore their books convey no 
 impression of the cold which prevails in winter. The 
 winter of 1862 was an unusually mild one so, at least, 
 I was told by everybody ; and New York, from its vici 
 nity to the sea, is a comparatively warm city. All I can 
 say is, that, till I came to New York, in the January of 
 1862, I never knew what cold was. The houses were 
 beautifully warmed ; but the contrast between the heat 
 indoors and the frost out of doors only made the cold 
 more painful. As to sleighing, experto crede, it is a 
 mere mockery of pleasure. If you want to experience 
 it, as an American writer said, you have only to stand 
 
NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON. 53 
 
 for an hour in a draught, with your feet in freezing 
 water, and your numbed fingers tinkling a string of 
 bells. At any rate, it requires a warmer-blooded being 
 than myself to enjoy the pleasures of an American 
 winter. New York was too cold for me already, and I 
 dreaded the notion of a place like Boston, where New 
 York was counted warm by comparison. 
 
 Moreover, the advance of the Grand Army of the 
 Potomac was expected daily. It did not take place 
 till weeks after I arrived in Washington ; but, at that 
 period, I had been too short a time in America to make 
 allowance for the difference between promise and per 
 formance ; and when I read, day after day, that the 
 army was on the move, I was seized with a fear that 
 I should be too late to catch a glimpse of the war. 
 
 So, from all these causes, I travelled southwards 
 instead of northwards. It is not my intention, as I have 
 said before, to write a diary of my journeys. And of 
 this journey in particular I have little to say, except of 
 one adventure that befel me, illustrative in many ways 
 of American habits. I started by the mail-train for 
 Philadelphia, where I arrived at two o clock or there 
 abouts on a cold winter morning. With an English 
 man s dislike to parting with my luggage, I had kept my 
 baggage cheques with me instead of consigning them to 
 the care of the freight agent who collects them en route. 
 Whether I was sleepy whether I had not made up my 
 mind which hotel I should go to or why, I forget ; but 
 
54 NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 so it was. My impression is, that knowing nothing of the 
 town, I had resolved to go to the hotel which sent up 
 the best omnibus to the station. When I arrived, there 
 was no omnibus, no private carriage of any kind, nothing 
 but the street railroad car, waiting to convey passengers 
 across Philadelphia to the Washington railroad. It is 
 not the custom for passengers to look after their own 
 luggage on American railroads, and it was with the 
 greatest difficulty I got my trunks together in time to 
 get a seat on the step of the car. I asked the conductor 
 to recommend me to an inn, but found that the car did 
 not pass any hotel on its route. The man was civil, as all 
 American conductors are, but he could do nothing for 
 me as he had to keep with the car ; so he set me down 
 at the corner of a street, and told me that if I followed 
 it for four blocks, I should find an hotel. I don t know 
 that I ever felt a more helpless individual than on 
 that winter morning, at two o clock, in the streets of 
 Philadelphia. I had a most indistinct notion of which 
 way I was to go. Whether four blocks meant four, or 
 four hundred, or four thousand yards, I was unable to 
 guess. There was not a soul about the streets, and I 
 had a huge portmanteau, two large carpet-bags, a bundle 
 of heavy wraps, and an umbrella, to transport with me. 
 I sat upon my trunk for some time looking at my bags 
 in the hopes that somebody might appear, but in vain. 
 There was no hope, and so I roused myself to exertion. 
 Necessity is the mother of invention. I carried my trunk 
 
NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 55 
 
 ten yards, then left it and returned for the bags, then for 
 the wraps and umbrella as a light easy task, and so on 
 ad infinitum. My rate of locomotion was extremely 
 slow ; and all along I was haunted by an equal fear of 
 meeting a thief or a policeman. The former might have 
 robbed me with the most perfect security ; the latter 
 would have arrested me for a thief who had stolen the 
 luggage I was dragging about. However, in the maio 
 street of Philadelphia at two A.M., I met neither thief 
 nor policeman, nor living soul ; and after an hour s 
 labour I reached an hotel, considerably the wiser in the 
 art of American travel by the night s experience. 
 
 But while I am speaking of travelling in the States, 
 let me say, once for all, what I have to say of railway 
 travelling in America. Some lines are better than 
 others. As a rule, the Western lines are inferior to 
 the Eastern ones ; and the Southern to either. Still, in 
 their broad features, they are very much alike. The 
 through fares are cheap. Thus, you can go from New 
 York to Chicago, a distance of upwards of one thou 
 sand miles, for four pounds ; but the way-fares are 
 three-halfpence a mile. The arrangements about 
 luggage are exceedingly good. As soon as you arrive 
 at the station, you show your ticket to the luggage- 
 master ; he takes off a string he holds in his hand a 
 number of leather straps, attached to brass plates about 
 the size of a crown piece, on which the name of your 
 destination and a number is inscribed. These straps he 
 
56 NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 passes through the handles or cordings of your luggage, 
 fastens them by passing the strap again through a slit 
 in the plate, and hands you plates, which are the 
 counterparts of the ones attached to your luggage. 
 You keep these counterparts, and, in exchange for 
 them when produced, receive your luggage at the end 
 of your journey. For all main stations, however, you 
 will find it more convenient to give them up to the 
 luggage agent, who comes round to collect them. 
 After that, you have no more trouble in the matter, 
 but are sure to find it at any hotel you mention, 
 almost as soon as you can get there yourself. But, 
 of course, this entails an extra charge of a shilling or 
 so a package. Practically, a foreigner gains nothing by 
 trying to look after his luggage himself; and Americans 
 are wonderfully careless about small expenses, so that 
 they care little for the additional charge. 
 
 These arrangements are common to all American 
 lines ; and so, too, day after day, the company you 
 meet with in the cars, and the incidents of your journey, 
 are much the same. You take your seat in a long, 
 open car, about the length of two English railroad 
 carriages fastened together, and with all their compart 
 ments knocked down. The seats are comfortable 
 enough, with leather or horsehair cushions, and backs 
 of a like texture. It is wearisome, however, especially 
 
 night, to have no back high enough to lean your head 
 upon ; but, what is a real luxury in a long journey, you 
 
NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON. 57 
 
 can move from one carriage to another at any time, and 
 can walk up and down in the broad passage between 
 the seats. As to the sleeping cars, I can express no 
 opinion. I have travelled in them when the night was 
 cool and the passengers were few, and have found them 
 most comfortable. I have travelled, also, when the 
 passengers were many and the night hot, and have been 
 glad to sacrifice my money and escape from them as I 
 would from Pandemonium. If you are not particular 
 as to fresh air, you will find them comfortable enough. 
 If, like myself, you would sacrifice anything to pure air, 
 you had better save your money and pass the night in 
 the ordinary cars, even at the risk of spraining your 
 neck if you do happen to fall asleep. 
 
 The daytime goes by not unpleasantly. Every half- 
 hour or so a boy passes through the car with a can of 
 iced water, out of which you can have a drink for 
 nothing, if you don t mind drinking out of the public 
 glass. At other times he brings apples, oranges, and 
 sweets for sale, together with bundles of the latest 
 papers and magazines. It is an odd trait, by the way, 
 of the national character, that if the sale of the news 
 boy s wares is flat, he will come and lay down a copy of 
 his magazines or illustrated papers alongside of every 
 passenger in the car, and leave it with him for half an 
 hour or more. You may read it meanwhile, and if you 
 return it to the boy on his coming round again he will 
 thank you all the same. Most of the passengers, of 
 
58 NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 course, return their copies, but, every now and then, 
 some one, who had no intention of purchasing before 
 hand, becomes interested in a story he has taken up, 
 and buys the book or paper. There is nothing, abso 
 lutely nothing, to hinder any one from appropriating the 
 work without paying for it. But in this, as in other 
 matters, it is the custom to repose great confidence on 
 the average honesty of the public, and that confidence 
 is rarely found to have been misplaced. Indeed, all the 
 arrangements for taking tickets, letting passengers in 
 and out, and for loading and unloading luggage, are 
 more simple and perfect than those in use on any of 
 our European railroads, all of them being based very 
 much on the assumption, that, as a rule, the passengers 
 don t find it worth while to cheat the conductors, and 
 the conductors don t find it worth while to cheat the 
 company. 
 
 At the intermediate stations you only stop for a few 
 seconds. The system of breaks is so excellent one 
 break being applied to every wheel that the train is 
 stopped without difficulty ; and the instant, almost, the 
 train has stopped, you hear the standard cry of " All 
 on board ! " and then again the train is in motion. Three 
 times a day at some roadside station you are summoned 
 by sound of gong to a meal, which is called breakfast, 
 dinner, or supper, according to the hour, but which is 
 the same everywhere and at all times. You eat plenti 
 fully of beefsteaks, broiled ham, poached eggs, pastry 
 
NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 59 
 
 without end, and cakes ; drink milk, or tea, or water 
 never beer or any spirituous liquors ; are waited on by 
 neat, clean-looking girls ; liquor afterwards at the bars, 
 if you are so inclined ; pay two shillings invariably for 
 your repast, liquor not included ; and then take your 
 seat again, and sleep, or read, or talk, till the next 
 feeding time arrives. So the day passes on. 
 
 Every traveller in every foreign country must have re 
 marked how very like, at first, everybody you met was 
 to everybody else. In America, I think, this feeling wears 
 off less rapidly than in other lands. Especially in the 
 Western States, the uniformity in the dress and appear 
 ance of your fellow-passengers is wonderfully striking 
 nobody is shabbily dressed, very few are handsomely 
 dressed, and everybody is dressed respectably. If you 
 took a railway excursion train in England, filled it 
 almost wholly with second-class passengers, suppressed 
 the first and the third class, increased largely the pro 
 portion of commercial travellers, and of that class we 
 hear so much of, and see so little of, at home the " in 
 telligent mechanic," eliminated utterly everybody who 
 looked poor, according to our English ideas of poverty, 
 and added an unusual number of lovely young girls 
 and faded, middle-aged women, you would form an 
 average car s company in America. I don t mean to 
 say far from it that you never meet people in the 
 trains who might ride without comment in our English 
 first and third classes ; but there are two classes of 
 
60 NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 people whom you never meet, or think of meeting, at 
 home, except in a first or third class carriage, respec 
 tively. To these classes there is nothing corresponding 
 in the living freight of an American car. I do not 
 know that a railway journey in America is a very lively 
 operation; there is not much conversation, the carriages 
 are too noisy, and there is too little privacy for confiden 
 tial communications. Moreover, the Americans are not, 
 to my mind, a communicative people in travelling. 
 Throughout the whole of my travels in the States, I 
 never recollect making an acquaintance with a fellow- 
 passenger, of the kind I have made hundreds of in 
 Europe ; and on the only occasions on which I can re 
 call a passenger having commenced a conversation with 
 me without my speaking first, I discovered that my 
 interlocutors were settlers from the Old World. Every 
 body, however, in the railway cars, almost without ex 
 ception, is quiet, well-behaved, and civil ; and there is 
 little or nothing of that offensive selfishness so often 
 exhibited amongst English travellers in the attempt to 
 make oneself comfortable at the expense of everybody 
 else s discomfort. The universal politeness, too, shown 
 to women is very remarkable. If a woman enters the 
 car, and the car is full, some gentleman or other is 
 sure to get up and make room for her. It is no matter 
 whether she is young or old, pretty or ugly, richly or 
 poorly dressed, she is a woman, and that suffices. If 
 I were asked whether I consider railway travelling in 
 
NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON. 61 
 
 America as comfortable as in Europe, my answer would 
 be, that that depends on circumstances. An American 
 car is not equal to an English first-class carriage in 
 luxury, or cleanliness, or society. On the other hand, it 
 is comfortable as compared with our second-classes, and 
 luxurious as compared with our third. Indeed, I should 
 say about American railways as I should about most 
 American institutions : If you are able to drive about 
 in hansom cabs, to travel always in first-class express 
 trains, and to give a shilling to the porter at the station, 
 then, as far as comfort of locomotion goes, you had 
 better stop at home. If, on the contrary, you belong to 
 the great public, to whom sixpences and shillings are an 
 object, who rarely travel first-class, except in an excur 
 sion train, and who have been known, under the rose, 
 to go third-class in parliamentary trains, then you are 
 better off, far better off, in American travelling than 
 you are in English. The million, in fact, fares better in 
 the New World than it does in the Old. 
 
 Of the country through which my route lay, I say 
 little. In the first place, I travelled through most of it 
 at night ; in the second, I shall say what I have to say 
 of American scenery when I come to my journeyings in 
 the West, where the characteristics peculiar to Ameri 
 can scenery are infinitely more marked than in the 
 East. The whole country, indeed, of Pennsylvania re 
 minded me more than anything of England run to seed. 
 The fields were more sprawling, the houses were more 
 
62 NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 loosely built, the roads were rougher, and the towns 
 were more straggling ; but otherwise the resemblance 
 was very close. If you can conceive our midland coun 
 ties flattened out, magnified indefinitely, and diffused 
 loosely over an area of tenfold their own, you will 
 picture Pennsylvania to yourself. 
 
 It was upon the banks of the Susquehanna river that I 
 came first upon the track of the war. Between Penn 
 sylvania and Maryland, between the free North and 
 the slave South, the great deep river, wider than the 
 Rhine at Dusseldorf, rolls as a frontier line. The top- 
 heavy looking steam-ferry, which, in defiance of all one s 
 preconceived ideas of the laws of equilibrium, carries 
 train, cars, rails, passengers, luggage and all, with 
 scarcely a break of continuity, from one bank to another, 
 transports one not only into a new State, but into a new 
 country. The whole aspect of the scenery changes : 
 the broad, thriving, cheerful expanse of carefully tilled 
 fields, dotted over with the villa-like farm-houses, gives 
 place to long, straggling, red-brick towns, half villages, 
 half cities; to broken-down fences; to half-ploughed, 
 hopeless-looking fields, where the negro labourers are 
 toiling listlessly ; to dreary tracks of mud, which stand 
 where roads ought to be ; and to wide stony spaces of 
 meagre brushwood. The restless activity I witnessed 
 everywhere north of the Susquehanna was exchanged 
 for a sort of fussy idleness. By the house doors, and 
 in the streets through which the train passed slowly, 
 
NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 63 
 
 there stood men hanging about idly, loitering languidly, 
 with their hands deep-buried in their trouser-pockets, 
 watching tumble-down carts struggling spasmodically 
 across the deep-rutted roads, and loafing visibly. 
 
 In this dull winter-time, too, Maryland looked all the 
 drearier for the traces of the war, visible on every side. 
 I passed along the same line again in the first burst of 
 the early summer, when the war had moved on far away 
 southwards ; and, except for the look of poverty and 
 decay, which even the rich summer foliage could not 
 hide, I should scarce have recognised it for the same 
 country. Hitherto I had hardly been able to realize, 
 from the outward look of things, that the Union was in 
 the midst of a civil war ; but here in Maryland the 
 evidence was only too palpable. At Havre de Grace, 
 the river station on the southern side of the Susque- 
 hanna, we passed the first camp, and the dingy greyish 
 blue-coated Federal soldiers came running alongside 
 the train to ask for stray papers from New York. Then, 
 at each station as we passed further south, the train 
 became fuller and fuller with soldiers, and the small 
 roadside camps grew more and more frequent. In 
 Baltimore the streets swarmed with troops, and south 
 of this again, on to "Washington, we seemed to pass 
 through a conquered country. In the grey glimmer of 
 the evening we could see the white tents of the camps 
 pitched on the hill-slopes that overhang Baltimore. 
 Every roadside station was occupied with troops ; at 
 
64 NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 every bridge and crossing there were small outposts 
 stationed; and along the line at short distances there 
 were sentinels at watch to protect the rails. The 
 nearest forces of the enemy lay some fifty miles away 
 across the Potomac, and with the vast Federal army 
 before Washington, it could not be against the Confede 
 rates that these precautions were taken. It is true that 
 the maintenance of this single track of rails, the one 
 means of communication between New York and 
 Washington, was of vital importance, and, therefore, no 
 precaution was too great to take, if necessary. On the 
 other hand, the maintenance of the same line north of 
 the Susquehanna was of equal importance, and yet there 
 it was left unguarded. The inference is a very obvious 
 one Pennsylvania is a Free State, and loyal ; Mary 
 land is a Slave State, and therefore disloyal. 
 
 It was thus, as I entered Washington, that the bear 
 ing of the slave question upon the war was practically 
 brought home to me. Before, then, I speak of Wash 
 ington, it is time to say something of that great 
 issue. 
 
THE FREE NEGRO. 65 
 
 THE FREE NEGRO. 
 
 IT is strange to me, looking back on my sojourn in the 
 States, to think that I could have written some sixty 
 pages without coming on the question of the everlasting 
 Nigger. It was the fashion amongst English critics, 
 at the time I left England, to state that the whole 
 Secession question had no direct bearing on, no imme 
 diate connexion with, the issue of slavery. As to the 
 letter, there was some small truth in this assertion ; as 
 to the spirit, there was none. Many of my readers, 
 probably, have visited at some time or other a friend 
 labouring under a mortal disease. Neither he nor you, 
 perhaps, spoke of it ; every allusion to illness of any 
 kind was studiously avoided ; you talked, and laughed, 
 and gossipped, as though the idea of death had never 
 crossed your minds ; and yet both you and he felt all 
 along that this idea was ever present that it was the 
 key to every word you uttered, the burden of every 
 spoken phrase and unspoken thought. When the 
 cholera was raging in Venezuela, the panic-stricken half- 
 
 F 
 
66 THE FREE NEGRO. 
 
 breed Governor had a notice placed in every room of 
 his palace " No one is to mention here the name of 
 cholera ; " but I suppose the Venezuelans thought and 
 talked of little else notwithstanding. So, after a 
 like fashion, this negro question was the one thought 
 which pervaded everything throughout the whole of the 
 Secession period. Officially, no doubt, the connexion 
 between slavery and secession was sometimes denied 
 more often kept studiously out of sight ; but, in society 
 of all kinds, in the press of every shade and colour, 
 from the pulpit of every sect and denomination, you 
 heard of nothing but secession and slavery. You might 
 as soon have ignored the existence of secession as 
 ignored the existence of the slavery question. I am 
 not writing now a work on slavery I had not the 
 opportunity for doing so had I wished it : T am seeking 
 rather to convey the impressions left upon me by my 
 sojourn in the North during the Southern insurrection. 
 If I succeed in conveying those impressions faithfully, 
 the question of slavery must crop up in these pages at 
 all times and all places, in season and out of season. 
 
 Before entering, therefore, on this question, it will be 
 well to say a few words on my own feelings with regard 
 to the " peculiar institution." Morally, I do not look on 
 slavery, nor even on the slave trade, as being a sin apart 
 or different from all other sins. Whether you work men 
 to death in a tailor s slop-shop ; whether you burn Arabs 
 alive, as Bugeaud did in Algeria ; whether you degrade 
 
THE FKEE NEGKO. 67 
 
 men to the level of beasts, as the Bourbons did in Naples ; 
 whether you shoot Hindoos from the cannon s mouth, 
 in order to add the prospect of everlasting damnation 
 to the pangs of death, as we did in India ; whether you 
 drill human beings into soldier-slaves, like that modern 
 hero-god of Mr. Carlyle s worship ; or whether you 
 kidnap negroes, sell them by auction, deny them the 
 rights of men, and scourge them with the lash, like the 
 planters of the South, you are, in my judgment, sinning 
 about equally against the moral law of God. Slavery, 
 however, has one peculiar guilt, which few, if any other, 
 of the hundred modes of human cruelty and oppression 
 can be justly charged with. It is a gigantic, almost an 
 isolated, attempt to reduce oppression to a system, and 
 to establish a social order of which the misery of human 
 beings is to be the fundamental principle. It is for this 
 reason that every honest man, who hates cruelty and 
 loves justice, is bound to lift up his voice against slavery 
 as an accursed thing. It is thus that I think of it, let 
 me say once and for all ; and thus, as far as lies within 
 my power, that I mean to write of it. 
 
 Let me add also, as I am now, in American parlance, 
 " entering my record," that it is a conviction that the 
 existence or the downfal of slavery was inevitably con 
 nected with the success or failure of Secession, which 
 created my deep sympathy with the Federal cause. 
 I admit freely, as I shall endeavour to show ere long, 
 that besides slavery there were many great issues 
 
 F 2 
 
68 THE FKEE NEGKO. 
 
 depending on the struggle between North and South. 
 I believe that, putting slavery out of the question, the 
 cause for which the North was fighting was the cause 
 of freedom, of national existence, and of the world s 
 progress. Still, I hold strongly to the American con 
 fession of faith, " that a people possesses an inalienable 
 " right to choose its own form of government ; " and 
 therefore, madly mistaken as I believe the South to have 
 been in separating from the Union, I should yet have 
 hesitated, had it not been for the issue of slavery, as to 
 whether the North was justified in attempting to recon 
 quer the seceding States. If Earl Russell had modified 
 his famous dictum by saying that the North was fight 
 ing for empire (and freedom), while the South was 
 fighting for independence (and slavery) , he would have 
 uttered a whole truth instead of a sorry half one. 
 Such, at any rate, is my belief ; and, having confessed it, 
 the reader will understand better much that I have to 
 say. 
 
 Having this keen interest in the whole question of 
 slavery, the position of the Negro in the Free States 
 was a subject which I was anxious to investigate. To 
 an Englishman, it is a new sensation, almost the only 
 new sensation in America, to enter for the first time an 
 hotel where one is surrounded by negro servants. I 
 recollect well the first evening that I dined in the New 
 World. It was at the Everett House in New York, one 
 of the best hotels let me add, in recollection of my 
 
THE FREE NEGRO. 69 
 
 friend Mr. White of that ilk in the States. I was 
 seated waiting for my soup, in that calm state of enjoy 
 ment which every well-organized human being must feel 
 after a long sea-voyage in sitting at a table which does 
 not rock, when the folding-doors leading from the 
 kitchen to the dining-hall were flung open, and a 
 troop of negro waiters marched in together, two 
 abreast, paced up the rooms in step, bearing the soup 
 tureens aloft, solemnly parted to the right and left, 
 deposited their burdens, and then took each his ap 
 pointed station, in order to lift up the lids of the 
 tureens at one and the same moment on a given signal. 
 This was my first experience of negrodom. Trivial as 
 the incident may seem, there was in it a love of stage 
 effect, a sort of dramatic talent, which belonged to a 
 far other race than that Anglo-Saxon one of ours. 
 So, throughout my stay in America, I could never look 
 upon a negro face without a strange attraction. The 
 coloured people form so marked a contrast to everything 
 and everybody you see around you. Living, as one does, 
 in a bustling, toiling, sallow, washed-out world of men 
 and women, it is pleasing to the mental as well as to 
 the physical eyesight to turn to the negro folk, with 
 their unwonted complexion, varying from the darkest 
 ebony to the faintest tinge of saffron, with their strange 
 passion for gaudy colours, assorted somehow with a touch 
 of artistic feeling, with their deep, wistful, melancholy 
 eyes, and, above all, with their indescribable air of phy- 
 
70 THE FREE NEGRO. 
 
 sical enjoyment in the actual fact of life. If I were an 
 American painter, I would paint nothing but the peculiar 
 people. No doubt this feeling wears away. If gipsies 
 were an institution in England as negroes are in America, 
 if we had a gipsy camp squatted down in every village, 
 we should, as a nation, see very little romantic or pic 
 turesque in the Romany race. Negroes, like gipsies, 
 are all very well as isolated figures in the social land 
 scape, but they are out of place as a perpetual back 
 ground. Still, with all this, I have often wondered at 
 how very little the Americans I met with seemed to 
 know about the negroes who lived amongst them. I 
 tried frequently to obtain information from persons in 
 terested in the negro question, as to the prospects and 
 position of the free negroes, but without much success. 
 The truth is, the negroes, slave or free, are a race apart, 
 in both North and South. A black Ruth might say to 
 a white Naomi, " Thy God shall be my God ; " but the 
 promise that " Thy people shall be my people " would 
 be uttered in vain. 
 
 Everywhere and at all seasons the coloured people 
 form a separate community. In the public streets you 
 hardly ever see a coloured person in company with 
 a white, except in the capacity of servant. Boston, 
 indeed, is the only town I visited where I ever ob 
 served black men and women walking about frequently 
 with white people. I never by any chance, in the Free 
 States, saw a coloured man dining at a public table, 
 
THE FKEE NEGRO. 71 
 
 or mixing socially in any manner with white men, or 
 dressed as a man well to do in the world, or occupying 
 any position, however humble, in which he was placed 
 in authority over white persons. On board the river 
 steamboats, the commonest and homeliest of working 
 men has a right to dine, and does dine, at the public 
 meals ; but, for coloured passengers, there is always a 
 separate table. At the great hotels there is, as with us, 
 a servants table, but the coloured servants are not 
 allowed to dine in common with the white. At the inns, 
 in the barbers shops, on board the steamers, and in 
 most hotels, the servants are more often than not 
 coloured people. Anybody, I think, who has travelled 
 in America, will agree with me in saying that they 
 are the pleasantest servants in the country, and that 
 he would always go by preference to a house where 
 the attendants were negroes. But where there are 
 black servants, you hardly ever find white ones also, 
 except as overseers. White servants will not associate 
 with black on terms of equality. I recollect a German 
 servant-girl telling me that she had left a very good 
 situation in New England, because she had been desired 
 to take her meals with a coloured servant, and she 
 " felt that that was wrong." I hardly ever remember 
 seeing a black employed as shopman, or placed in 
 any post of responsibility. As a rule, the blacks you 
 meet in the Free States are shabbily, if not squalidly 
 dressed ; and, as far as I could learn, the instances 
 
72 THE FREE NEGRO. 
 
 of black men having made money by trade in the 
 North, are very few in number. 
 
 I remember one day in travelling through the State 
 of Ohio (Ohio, let me add for the benefit of English 
 critics, is a Free State), that I was seated by one of the 
 shrewdest and kindliest old farmers it has been my lot 
 to meet. He had been born and bred in Ohio State, 
 and dilated to me as a stranger, with not unnatural 
 pride, on the beauty and prosperity of that rich garden 
 country : " There is but one thing, sir," he ended by 
 saying, " that we want here, and that is to get rid of 
 the niggers." I was rather surprised at this illiberal 
 expression of opinion ; for my friend, though a staunch 
 Union man, had been talking with unwonted good sense 
 and moderation about the- folly of adopting extreme 
 measures of vengeance towards the South ; and I ques 
 tioned him about the reasons of his antipathy towards 
 the coloured people. I was answered by the old story. 
 The free blacks did not work, and preferred doing 
 nothing. Half the thefts and crimes in the State were 
 committed by free negroes. Not content with having 
 schools of their own, they wanted to have their children 
 admitted to the free white schools ; and, for his own 
 part, he shrewdly suspected that the schoolhouse of his 
 town, Lebanon, which had just been mysteriously burnt 
 down, had been set on fire by free negroes out of spite. 
 But the great grievance seemed to his mind to be that, 
 in defiance of the laws of Ohio, there had been recently 
 
THE FEEE NEGRO. 73 
 
 some few intermarriages between white men and black 
 women. " It don t answer, sir," he concluded by saying ; 
 " it isn t right, you see, and it isn t meant to be." 
 
 These sentiments express, undoubtedly, the popular 
 feeling of the Free States towards the free negro. Like 
 most popular feelings, it has a basis of truth. In every 
 Northern city, the poorest, the most thriftless, and 
 perhaps the most troublesome part of the population, 
 are the free negroes. Give a dog a bad name, and 
 he will not only get hung, but he will generally deserve 
 hanging. The free negro has not a fair chance through 
 out the North. The legislation of the country is as 
 unfavourable to the status of free blacks, as the social 
 sentiment of the people. It is a much-disputed point, 
 what were the ideas of the authors of the American 
 institution with regard to the negro. The most 
 probable solution seems to me to be, that though, 
 undoubtedly, they contemplated the possibility of the 
 negroes becoming freemen, they never admitted the 
 idea of their becoming citizens of the United States. 
 There is no distinct statement in the Constitution as to 
 what constitutes American citizenship ; but you see 
 clearly that the Indians, though born under the Ame 
 rican Government, were never designed to become 
 citizens, and, in like manner, the strong presumption is 
 that the negroes were not either. Certainly, as a matter 
 of fact, a free negro citizen does not enjoy the full 
 rights of citizenship. No coloured man can hold any 
 
74 THE FREE NEGRO. 
 
 Government appointment, however humble, under the 
 United States. During the last session, a bill of Mr. 
 Sumner s was passed through the Senate, allowing the 
 Government to employ coloured men as mail-carriers ; 
 but even in a Republican House of Representatives, 
 the bill was rejected by a large majority. About 
 State legislation, with regard to the free negro, there 
 is no ambiguity whatever. In three States alone, 
 Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire, are co 
 loured men allowed to vote on an equality with white 
 citizens. In New York, where there is manhood suf 
 frage as far as white men are concerned, a man of 
 colour must possess a freehold estate of not less value 
 than 50, clear of all debt, before he can exercise the 
 right of voting. In no other State can a coloured 
 citizen vote at all ; and under no State government are 
 black men practically allowed to hold office of any kind. 
 The free schools of every State are closed to coloured 
 children ; and in the district of Washington, under the 
 direct authority of the national government, free blacks 
 were taxed till the other day to support the free schools 
 for white children. In the Eastern States, intermar 
 riage between blacks and whites is permitted by law, 
 but in few, if any, of the other States. In several of 
 the Western States, free negroes are forbidden to settle 
 within the limits of the State ; while in the border 
 Slave States of the Union, proposals have been made 
 recently to expel the free negro population altogether. 
 
THE FREE NEGRO. 75 
 
 Under such conditions, it would be strange if the free 
 negroes were, as a class, an industrious or a respectable 
 part of the Northern population. That a proscribed 
 pariah people, forbidden to mix on terms of equality 
 with the ruling race, should not afford by their conduct 
 some excuse for their treatment, would be an unex 
 ampled fact in the world s history. 
 
 As far as the North is concerned, the free negroes 
 form too small a part of the population to be a source 
 of real trouble. According to the census of 1850, in 
 which the free coloured population was classified sepa 
 rately from the white, the whole number of free coloured 
 persons in the then United States was, in round num 
 bers, 435,000. Of these, only 198,000 were settled 
 in the Free States. New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 
 the great commercial and manufacturing States, had 
 127,000 ; Ohio and Indiana, the two frontier States of 
 the North, 37,000. The New England States, the head 
 quarters of the Abolitionists, held about 23,000 ; while 
 the whole of the North-western States only contained 
 11,000 in all. As the white citizens of the Free States 
 numbered 13,324,914, in 1850, the proportion of free 
 men of colour would have been barely one-and-a-half 
 per cent. No doubt, these numbers had increased 
 actually during the ten years up to 1860 ; but the rela 
 tive proportion of coloured men to white had de 
 creased considerably. From these figures some very 
 obvious conclusions may be drawn. From choice or 
 
76 THE FKEE NEGRO. 
 
 necessity, a very large majority of the free negroes 
 remain in the Slave States, after emancipation. In the 
 free North, it is only in the great cities that they can find 
 occupation or a living for there is no question that New 
 York, Jersey City, and Philadelphia, contain some nine- 
 tenths of the coloured population in the States to which 
 they respectively belong. New England seems to be 
 unsuited for the negro race, probably from the length 
 and severity of its winters. Ohio and Indiana owe the 
 large numbers of their black population to the imme 
 diate proximity of the Slave States. And practically, 
 either from natural causes or from adverse legislation, 
 the North-western States afford no home for the free 
 negro. Somehow or other, the climate, or the social 
 conditions of the free North, are not favourable to 
 the increase of the coloured race. In 1790, in the 
 seven States of New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Is 
 land; Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Penn 
 sylvania, in which at that period slavery existed, there 
 were 40,370 slaves, to say nothing of free men of 
 colour, while the white population numbered 1,452,828. 
 In 1850, the free coloured population of these States, 
 in which slavery had been gradually abolished, amounted 
 to 139,206, while the white population had reached 
 6,909,826. Thus, while the whites in sixty years had 
 more than quadrupled their numbers, the men of colour 
 have increased little more than threefold. 
 
 It is a charge very commonly brought in England 
 
THE FKEE NEGRO. 77 
 
 against the Free States, that when they abolished 
 slavery, they sold their slaves to the South. It is 
 possible this may have been done in individual in 
 stances, but it is obvious that it cannot have been in 
 any sense a State measure, from the fact that the 
 census in every State shows an increase in the number 
 of coloured people, in the years immediately succeeding 
 the act of emancipation. The explanation, therefore, 
 for the comparative unproductiveness of the negro 
 race in the North, must be sought in natural causes. 
 Poverty, hardship, and disease, have checked successfully 
 the natural fertility of the race. Mr. Seward, in talking 
 over this subject, told me that when he was a child in 
 his father s house, there were as many black as white 
 people in the household. Circumstances had enabled 
 him to keep a record of all the inmates of the house 
 hold whom he had known as a child ; and now, after 
 some fifty years, while the members of the white 
 family were numbered almost by hundreds, he could 
 count on the fingers of one hand, the descendants and 
 the living members of the black people. This testimony 
 was corroborated by all Americans in the North I had 
 the opportunity of speaking to. The majority of the 
 slaves in the North were household servants, and were 
 kept as articles of luxury, not of profit. In truth, 
 north of Mason and Dixie s line, the negro is an exotic, 
 and can be kept in existence only by an artificial system 
 of culture. 
 
78 THE FEEE NEGRO. 
 
 It is impossible to obtain any statistics as to the 
 amount of intermarriages which have taken place in 
 the Free States between blacks and whites. It is the 
 universal belief amongst Americans that such inter 
 marriages are rarely fertile, and are invariably productive 
 of similar consequences, to those which attend the 
 repeated intermarriage of near relatives. How far this 
 belief is based on physiological evidence, or how far the 
 fact, if fact it be, may not be accounted for by the 
 climate of the North being unfavourable to the develop 
 ment of the mulatto, are questions concerning which 
 I could never satisfy myself. It is certain that if the 
 mixed race were a productive one in the North, the pro 
 portion of quadroons ought to be much larger by this time 
 than that of mulattoes ; whereas the barest traveller s 
 observation will convince you that such is not the case. 
 For every quadroon you meet, you see two or three mu 
 lattoes. The actual number of mixed marriages I gather 
 to be very small. Amongst the higher classes, the re 
 lative social position of blacks and whites, quite apart 
 from the question of colour, would be a bar to inter 
 marriage ; while amongst the poor, and amongst persons 
 of the same average rank of life, as the free negro, the 
 prejudice against colour is naturally even more violent 
 and unreasoning than amongst men of education. The 
 connexions, legal or illegitimate, which arise between the 
 two races, are almost, without exception, between white 
 men and coloured women. Even in the lowest houses of 
 
THE FREE NEGRO. 79 
 
 ill-repute in the Free States, no coloured man is allowed 
 to enter. Unfortunately, perhaps, the white male sex is 
 more catholic in its tastes ; and of the mixed race, a 
 very large proportion are the illegitimate offspring of 
 white fathers and coloured mothers. Of late years, 
 however, such connexions are grown less frequent, 
 partly from an advance in public morality, partly from 
 an increased repugnance amongst the white race to any 
 idea of amalgamation with the black. 
 
 Now, without wishing for one moment to justify this 
 state of feeling in the Free States, I have my doubts, 
 whether we English are, of all people in the world, the 
 best entitled to condemn it. Wherever our Anglo-Saxon 
 race has spread itself, it has shown an uniform in 
 tolerance of an inferior race. The treatment of the 
 native Irish by the English settlers, of the Chinese in 
 Australia, of the New Zealanders by the colonists, and 
 of the Hindoos under the Company s rule, are all deve 
 lopments of the same national instinct. That this im 
 patience of an inferior existence is a low trait in our 
 national character, I admit freely and fully ; but then 
 I am somewhat of a sceptic as to the truth of the 
 Yankee and Kingsley creed, and plead guilty to occa 
 sional doubts, as to whether our Anglo-Saxon race, in 
 the Old World and in the New, is altogether and in all 
 respects the finest, and grandest, and noblest on the 
 face of God s earth. All I state is, that however in 
 consistent the facts may seem, a great portion of the 
 
80 THE FEEE NEGEO. 
 
 Northern people do unite a very genuine dislike to 
 slavery, and a readiness to make great sacrifices for 
 Abolition, with an extreme distaste to any kind of con 
 nexion or amalgamation with the free negro. You must 
 take the good in this world with the bad ; and I own 
 I must doubt whether, under like circumstances, the 
 masses in England would take a much more humane 
 or liberal view of the negro question than the masses do 
 in America. The longer I lived in the States, the more 
 I became convinced that America was, to use a mathe 
 matical metaphor, the complement of England. The 
 national failings, as well as the national virtues of the 
 New World, are very much those of the mother coun 
 try, developed on a different and a broader scale. 
 
 In these remarks, I have assumed throughout that 
 the negro belongs virtually to an inferior race to that 
 of the white man. Many abolition friends of mine, 
 whose opinions I value highly, consider this assump 
 tion erroneous, and repudiate it indignantly as form 
 ing some excuse for slavery. The force of this argu 
 ment was always unintelligible to me. If the negro 
 was as much below the white man in intellectual de 
 velopment as he is above the Australian savage, this 
 is absolutely no reason why he should be bought and 
 sold like a chattel, forced to labour and then robbed 
 of the fruits of his own labour, scourged like a dog 
 at the caprice of his owner, denied the right of edu 
 cation, or marriage, or liberty, and reduced at the 
 
THE FKEE NEGEO. 81 
 
 very best to the level of a well-pampered beast of 
 burden. The weaker the negro is by nature, the less 
 able he is to help himself, the more he needs the enjoy 
 ment of law and civil freedom, which form virtually the 
 sole protection in this world of the feeble against the 
 strong. Such at any rate is my belief. Even if this belief 
 is mistaken, there is still no good in refusing to acknow 
 ledge facts. No candid observer can, I think, fail in 
 coming to the conclusion, from his own observation and 
 the universal testimony of impartial critics, that the 
 negro is not intellectually, possibly not morally, as highly 
 developed as yet as the white man. The Uncle Tom 
 school of Abolitionists have injured a great cause by 
 throwing over it a veil of romantic unreality. The evils 
 of slavery are not exposed by an attempt to prove 
 that " the black man is as good as the white man, 
 and better too." The Abolition Party would have had 
 far more power if they had accommodated their theory 
 about slavery to the facts, instead of moulding facts 
 to suit their theory. No cause in the world, not even 
 so good a one as that of emancipation, is strengthened 
 by a suppressio veri. 
 
82 THE SLAVE-TRADEK GORDON. 
 
 THE SLAVE-TRADER GORDON. 
 
 ON the 21st February, 1862, for the first time in the 
 annals of New York State, and I believe for the first 
 time in the annals of the United States, a slave-trader 
 underwent the penalty of death for having been en 
 gaged in the slave-trade. The case was a remarkable 
 one in itself remarkable still more as an illustration 
 of the change in public feeling which had passed over 
 the popular Northern mind since the outbreak of Seces 
 sion. At the period of my first visit to New York, it 
 was the great incident of the day. In the opinion of 
 those best competent to judge, this execution was one 
 of the severest blows yet struck against the whole 
 system of slavery. It is on this account that I have 
 recorded its general outline. 
 
 It is now more than forty years ago if I am not 
 mistaken, in the year 1818 that the prosecution of 
 the African Slave-trade was declared an act of piracy 
 by the Federal Government, and, as such, punishable 
 by death. Practically, the Government contented itself 
 with this abstract enunciation of principle, and never 
 
THE SLAVE-TRADER GORDON. 83 
 
 endeavoured to turn theory into practice. It is only 
 just to state that the slave-trade had been, of late years, 
 an unimportant item in the commerce of North America. 
 Partly owing to the absence of a home-market, partly 
 to the vigilance of the British cruisers, and still more 
 to the obloquy which attended any person supposed to 
 be engaged in the traffic, the trade had been, relatively, 
 but little prosecuted. It is just also to admit, that 
 such slave-trading as there was, was carried on by 
 Northern and not by Southern men. The North had 
 far greater material facilities than the South for en 
 gaging in the traffic. The interests of the slave-breed 
 ing States were steadily opposed to any importation of 
 African slaves, and also with the South, it was a point 
 of honour to have nothing whatever to do with the 
 slave-trade. It is to the credit of human nature, if not 
 of human consistency, that most individuals or nations 
 addicted habitually to any sin, have some peculiar de 
 velopment of that sin on which they look with exagge 
 rated aversion. Slavery was the sin the South had a 
 mind to : for the slave-trade they were not inclined, and 
 damned it accordingly. Be this the right explanation 
 or not, it was by Northern Yankees that the trade was 
 mainly carried on, and New York was the headquarters 
 of the traffic. The whole affair was kept very secret. 
 There were in New York a certain small number of 
 mercantile houses, surmised, rather than suspected, to 
 be engaged in the African Slave-trade perhaps a score 
 
 G2 
 
84 THE SLAVE-TBADEK GORDON. 
 
 or so in all ; and every year a few vessels sailed from 
 the port to trade with Africa, nominally for produce, 
 but in reality for slaves. The Anti-slavery Party, to 
 their credit, kept a keen look out for all vessels en 
 gaged in the trade, and resolved that the law against 
 slave-trading should not be allowed to fall into disuse 
 for want of protest. Whenever their agents could as 
 certain that a vessel was about to sail on this errand, 
 they gave information to the State authorities, but 
 always without effect. Under the "rowdy" Govern 
 ment of the Woods and Kennedys which, till within 
 the last few years, disgraced New York the police were 
 notoriously venal, and it was worth a slaver s while to 
 bribe liberally. The more respectable authorities of the 
 State all belonged to the extreme Democratic Party, 
 and were unwilling to do anything which might offend 
 the pro-slavery interest, or, still more, strengthen the 
 hands of the Abolitionists. More than all too, public 
 opinion was not in favour of vigorous measures. There 
 was a general though unexpressed conviction that the 
 slave-trade between Virginia and the South differed 
 only in name, not in substance, from the slave-trade 
 between Africa and Cuba ; and that the country which 
 recognised the former as a " peculiar institution," could 
 hardly be very severe in suppressing the latter. In 
 deed, the connivance of the North in the slave-system 
 of the South had so demoralised public feeling on the 
 whole subject, that the refusal to allow British cruisers 
 
THE SLAVE-TRADER GOEDON. 85 
 
 to stop vessels engaged in the slave trade whilst sailing 
 under the American flag, was regarded as a national 
 triumph. The result of this state of things was that 
 slavers were generally allowed to escape unarrested ; and 
 even if they were brought to trial, either the juries 
 refused to convict, or else the punishment inflicted, on 
 the plea of insufficient evidence or of extenuating cir 
 cumstances, was extremely light. 
 
 Impelled by the remonstrances of Foreign Powers, 
 rather than by any pressure of public feeling at home, 
 the United States Government, towards the end of Mr. 
 Buchanan s Presidency, had begun to employ a little 
 more activity in suppressing the African trade ; and in 
 the autumn of 1860 a slaver, loaded with a cargo of nine 
 hundred slaves, and commanded by Captain Gordon, 
 was seized off the coast of Africa by an American man- 
 of-war. The slaves were landed in Monrovia, and the 
 captain of the slaver was sent to New York the port 
 from which he had sailed for trial. The case was a 
 very bad one. The negroes had been packed with more 
 than usual disregard for life, and treated with more 
 than common inhumanity. Of the nine hundred and 
 odd shipped on the " Erie," three hundred died before 
 the vessel reached Liberia. No excuse could be made 
 for the captain personally : he was a New-Englander 
 from Maine, of a very respectable Presbyterian family, 
 and a man of education. This was the fourth slave- 
 trip in which he had embarked, and in two out of the 
 
86 THE SLAVE-TRADER GORDON. 
 
 four he had made enormous profits. At the time of his 
 seizure he hoisted British colours, and subsequently 
 alleged that two Spaniards found on board the " Erie " 
 were the real owners of the ship, on which he was only 
 a passenger. But there was no doubt as to his real 
 guilt. Still, when he was brought to trial in New York, 
 in October, 1860, little idea was entertained that the 
 legal penalty would be inflicted. The State Prosecutor s 
 district-attorney, Mr. Roosevelt, actually stated, in his 
 speech for the prosecution, " that if the prisoner was 
 " found not guilty which was highly probable of 
 " piracy, or even if the jury found him guilty, such an 
 " outside pressure would be brought to bear upon the 
 " President as would compel him to pardon him. In 
 " either case, the prisoner would go scot free." There 
 is little doubt that this statement, however extraordi 
 nary a one for a prosecutor to make, was substantially 
 correct : and Gordon would have escaped had not his 
 counsel tried to quash the case on a technical objec 
 tion, that formal notice of the pleadings had not been 
 given by the United States Government to the State 
 authorities. The objection was not admitted as fatal, 
 but the trial was postponed in order that the error might 
 be rectified. Meanwhile, Buchanan was succeeded by 
 Lincoln : the Democratic officials were replaced by 
 Republican ones. The Secession Movement broke out, 
 and popular feeling in the North generally, and in New 
 York especially, became Anti-slavery instead of Southern 
 
THE SLAVE-TRADER GORDON. 87 
 
 and Pro-slavery, as it had been hitherto. This change 
 proved fatal to Gordon. The new district attorney took 
 up the case, and pushed it on vigorously. At first a 
 conviction seemed hopeless, as the officer in command 
 of the "Erie" when sent as a prize-ship to New York, 
 on whose evidence the whole case against the prisoner 
 rested, had joined the insurgents in the South. How 
 ever, for once, the prosecution was in earnest. The 
 sailors who had served under Gordon were traced out, 
 and, by their evidence, the fact of his having been the 
 virtual commander of the vessel while engaged in the 
 slave-trade was clearly established. There could be no 
 reasonable doubt as to the evidence. The jury brought 
 him in guilty of piracy, and the court sentenced him to 
 death. 
 
 Still, little apprehension was felt, either by the con 
 demned culprit or his partisans, that the sentence would 
 be really executed. It was believed that the long delay 
 in the trial, the fact that the laAV had never yet been put 
 into force, and, above all, the supposed unwillingness of 
 the Government to take any step which would place 
 them in direct opposition to the slaveholding interest, 
 would prove adequate grounds for the remission of the 
 capital sentence. The prisoner was not wanting in 
 powerful friends : and the whole influence of the slave- 
 trading community was exerted vigorously, though un 
 obtrusively, in his favour. But public sentiment proved 
 too unanimous to get up any popular demonstration in 
 
88 THE SLAVE-TRADER GORDON. 
 
 his behalf. Not a New York paper of any weight could 
 be found to advocate his cause ; and even the Herald 
 only dared to support him by passing the whole matter 
 over in suspicious silence. The prisoner s counsel went 
 to Washington, and employed every argument that could 
 have weight with the Government ; but, after a careful 
 consideration of the case, the President refused to in 
 terfere with the action of the law, on the ground that 
 the case was clear, and that it was his duty to see the 
 laws executed. I have reason, too, to know that Mr. 
 Seward did his best to support Mr. Lincoln in this de 
 termination. Speaking to me about the case shortly 
 afterwards, the Secretary of State remarked, emphatically, 
 that the Republican Administration would have merited 
 the condemnation of every honest man if, whatever else 
 it had left undone, it had not put a stop to the slave 
 trade ; and in this, as in every other instance, the resor 
 lution was acted up to. With a mercy which, at best, 
 was a very doubtful one, a reprieve of a fortnight was 
 granted, in order that the prisoner might prepare for 
 death. During this fortnight the President was exposed 
 to the most influential and painful solicitations from 
 the friends and relatives of the prisoner for a commuta 
 tion of the punishment ; and a last appeal was made to 
 him at a time when he was distracted by grief at the 
 approaching death of his youngest and favourite child. 
 On this occasion, however, Mr. Lincoln, in his own 
 language, had "put his foot down," and exhibited a 
 
THE SLAVE-TRADER GORDON. 89 
 
 resolution which it would have been well if he had dis 
 played in other matters. 
 
 When this appeal failed, the prisoner s counsel started 
 a technical objection to the execution, on the ground 
 that by the State law of New York, no condemned 
 culprit could be executed till he had been imprisoned 
 for a year after judgment was passed upon him ; and 
 that therefore Captain Gordon, though an United 
 States prisoner, tried and sentenced by the Federal 
 law-courts, could not be executed in the State of New 
 York by the State authorities, except in accordance 
 with the State laws. The objection was an ingenious 
 one, and two years before would probably have stayed 
 the execution, but at that time the whole doctrine of 
 State rights was out of favour : and the judges before 
 whom the application was made, decided that if this 
 appeal were correct/, it would follow, as a logical conse 
 quence, that the sentences of the United States courts 
 could never be carried out in any State, unless they 
 were in accordance with the local legislation of that 
 State a consequence which manifestly would not be 
 admitted and that therefore the appeal must be dis 
 missed. After this, as a last attempt, an endeavour 
 was made to summon a mass-meeting in New York, 
 to protest against the sentence being carried out. The 
 following placard was posted during the night all over 
 the city : " Citizens of New York, come to the rescue ! 
 " Shall a judicial murder be committed in your midst, 
 
90 THE SLAVE-TKADEK GOBDON. 
 
 " and no protesting voice raised against it? Captain 
 " Nathaniel Gordon is under sentence of execution for a 
 " crime which has been virtually a dead-letter for forty 
 " years. Shall this young man be quietly allowed to be 
 " made the victim of fanaticism ? " The placard ended 
 with a summons to the people to attend a meeting in 
 the afternoon, at the Merchants Exchange. The police 
 were ordered to remove this document by the civic 
 authorities, as tending to bring the Government into 
 disrepute ; but a sufficient number of the placards was 
 left upon the walls, either purposely or through careless 
 ness, to make the fact of the meeting generally known. 
 I was present at the hour appointed, and barely a 
 couple of hundred people were assembled. A good 
 number were obviously idlers like myself. Several 
 whom I knew personally were strong anti-slavery men, 
 who had come to protest against the meeting in case it 
 seemed likely to be influential ; and the majority were 
 rowdies, with a lot of very ill-looking Greek and Portu 
 guese merchants. No signature was affixed to the 
 requisition, and no one volunteered to preside at the 
 meeting. After about an hour s delay the assemblage 
 had dwindled down to some hundred persons, and then 
 an unknown stranger got up, without giving his name, 
 and stated that he had never heard of the meeting till 
 a quarter of an hour before, but that he was opposed 
 to staining this glad season when Washington s birth 
 day and the late Union victories were on the eve of 
 
THE SLAVE-TRADER GORDON. 91 
 
 celebration by a public execution. This appeal elicited 
 no response, and the meeting broke up. 
 
 With this fiasco the last hope was gone, and the un 
 happy prisoner made up his mind that the end was 
 come. Every precaution had been taken to hinder him 
 from committing suicide ; but, by some means or other, 
 he procured cigars loaded with strychnine, and attempted 
 to kill himself by smoking them : the poison, however, did 
 not act rapidly enough, and he was unable to conceal 
 his agony. Remedies were applied, but towards morn 
 ing his strength began to fail. The execution had been 
 fixed, by his own wish, for two o clock, but it was feared 
 he would not live till then ; and, in obedience to their 
 duty, the authorities of the gaol had him executed in 
 the courtyard of the Tombs Prison, at noon. Very 
 few persons were present : and when I passed the prison 
 an hour afterwards, there was no sign of excitement, 
 except the collection of a small crowd of Irish, who 
 were waiting to see the body carried out. 
 
 The story is a painful one, and the circumstances of 
 the execution still more so. Horrible as the man s 
 crime was, it is impossible to feel pity for him : yet, 
 the fact that a slave-trader was hung in New York, the 
 headquarters of the American Slave-trade, and hung 
 amidst the approbation of the public, was a gain not 
 only to America, but to the world at large. 
 
92 WASHINGTON. 
 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 IT was with an odd sensation of being for the first 
 time in a strange society, of dwelling in a slave-owning 
 city, that I became acquainted with the metropolis of 
 the United States. 
 
 To a stranger, Washington must be a quaint residence, 
 even in ordinary days. Had it progressed at the rate 
 of ordinary Northern cities, it would have been by this 
 time one of the finest capitals of the world ; as it is, it 
 was built for a city of the future, and the future has 
 not yet been realized. It is still, as it was once called, 
 the city of magnificent distances. On two low hills, a 
 couple of miles apart, stand the white marble palaces of 
 the Houses of Congress and the Government Offices. 
 At their feet stretches the grand Potomac, just too far 
 off to be visible as a feature in the town ; and across 
 the low, broken, marshy valley between them runs the 
 long, broad, irregular Pennsylvania Avenue, a second 
 hand Broadway out at elbows. On either side hosts of 
 smaller streets branch out for short distances, ending 
 
WASHINGTON. 93 
 
 abruptly in brick-fields or in the open country ; and that 
 is all. If the plan of the city had ever been carried 
 out, the Capitol would have been the centre of a vast 
 polygon, with streets branching out from it in every 
 direction. But owing to a characteristic quarrel be 
 tween the Government and a private landowner, which 
 could never have occurred except in an Anglo-Saxon 
 country, the plan was abandoned ; the city sprawled 
 out on one side only of the intended polygon, and left the 
 Capitol stranded, so to speak, at the extremity of the 
 town. So Washington has not the one merit of Ameri 
 can architecture symmetry. The whole place looks 
 run up in a night, like the cardboard cities which 
 Potemkin erected to gratify the eyes of his imperial 
 mistress on her tour through Russia ; and it is impos 
 sible to remove the impression that, when Congress 
 is over, the whole place is taken down, and packed up 
 again till wanted. Everything has such an unfinished 
 " here for the day only " air about it. Everybody is a 
 bird of passage at Washington. The diplomatic corps is 
 transitory by its very nature. The senators, represen 
 tatives, and ministers, reside there for two, four, possibly 
 six sessions, as the case may be ; and the fact of their 
 being in Congress or in office now is rather a presump 
 tion than otherwise, that they will not be so again when 
 their term expires. The clerks, officials, and government 
 employes are all, too, mere lodgers. The force of ne 
 cessity compels each Administration to reappoint a few 
 
94 WASHINGTON. 
 
 of the subordinate clerks who understand the business 
 of the office ; but still, every official may be turned out in 
 four years at the longest, and most of them know that 
 they probably will be dismissed at the end of that period. 
 There are no commercial or manufacturing interests to 
 induce merchants or capitalists to settle here. The 
 growth of Baltimore, and the filling-up of the Potomac, 
 have destroyed what small prospect of commercial great 
 ness Washington may ever have indulged in. There is 
 nothing attractive about the place to make any one, not 
 brought there by business, fix on it as a place of resi 
 dence. With the exception of a few landowners who 
 have estates in the neighbourhood, a score of lawyers 
 connected with the Supreme Court, and a host of petty 
 tradesmen and lodging-house keepers, there is nobody 
 who looks on Washington as his home. 
 
 Hence nobody, with rare exceptions, has a house of 
 his own there. Most of the members of Congress live in 
 hotels or furnished lodgings. The wives and families of 
 the married members (whose names are marked in the 
 Congressional Directory, with a row of crosses corre 
 sponding to the number of womankind they bring with 
 them) come to Washington for a few months or weeks 
 during the session, and for the time of their stay a fur 
 nished house is taken. In consequence, there is no 
 style about the mode of living. The number of private 
 carriages is very few ; and people are afraid of bringing 
 good horses to be ruined by the rut tracks (for they are 
 
WASHINGTON. 95 
 
 not worthy of the name of roads) which serve the 
 purposes of streets in Washington. Public amusements 
 of any kind are scanty and poor. There is a theatre 
 about equal in size and merit to those of Margate 
 or Scarborough in the season ; at the Smithsonian 
 Institute (the barbarity of whose designation I am afraid 
 is due to its English benefactor) there are frequent 
 lectures, which, when they are not political demon 
 strations, are about as interesting, or uninteresting, as 
 lectures on the Glaciers and the Tertiary Formation, et 
 hoc genus omne, are at home ; and there are occasional 
 concerts, dramatic readings, and pictorial exhibitions. 
 But this, with the visit of an occasional circus, is all. 
 
 The city, in fact, is an overgrown watering-place. 
 The roads appear to have been marked out and then left 
 uncompleted, and the pigs you see grubbing in the main 
 thoroughfares seem in keeping with the place. The 
 broken-down ramshackle hackney-coaches (or hacks, as 
 they are called), with their shabby negro drivers, are 
 obviously brought out for the day, to last for the day 
 only ; the shops are of the stock Margate watering-place 
 stamp, where nothing is kept in stock, and where what 
 little there is is all displayed in the shop-windows. The 
 private houses, handsome enough in themselves, are ap 
 parently stuck up anywhere the owner liked to build 
 them, just as a travelling-van is perched on the first 
 convenient spot that can be found for a night s lodging. 
 
 The grand hotels, too, which form a striking, if not an 
 
96 WASHINGTON. 
 
 imposing feature in most American towns, are wanting 
 in Washington. Even according to the American stan 
 dard, there is not a decent hotel in the whole place. 
 Willard s and the National are two huge rambling 
 barracks where some incredible number of beds could 
 be run up ; but it is hard to say which is the shabbiest 
 and dirtiest internally ; and externally, neither of them 
 have any pretensions to architectural grandeur. Of the 
 lot, Willard s is the best, on the principle that if you 
 are to eat your peck of dirt, you may as well eat it in as 
 picturesque a form as possible. The aspect of this hotel 
 during the time that the army was encamped before 
 Manassas was indeed a wonderful one. At all times 
 Willard s is the house of call for everybody who has 
 business in Washington. From Dearly morning till late 
 at night its lobbies and passages were filled with a 
 motley throng of all classes and all nations. With the 
 exception of the President, there is not a statesman or 
 general, or man of note of any kind, in Washington, 
 whom I have not come across, at different times, in the 
 passages of Willard s. Soldiers in every uniform, pri 
 vates and officers thrown together in strange confu 
 sion ; Congress-men and senators, army contractors and 
 Jews ; artists, newspaper writers, tourists, prizefighters, 
 and gamblers, were mixed up with a nondescript 
 crowd of men, who seem to have no business except to 
 hang about, and to belong to no particular nation, or 
 class, or business. In the parlours, there was a like 
 
WASHINGTON. 97 
 
 confusion. Half a dozen rough-looking common soldiers, 
 with their boots encased in deep layers of Virginia mud, 
 would be dozing with their feet hoisted on the high 
 fenders before the fire. At the tables gentlemen, dressed 
 in the mouldy black evening suits Americans are so 
 partial to, would sit all day writing letters. Knots of 
 three or four, belonging apparently to every grade of 
 society, would be standing about the room shaking 
 hands constantly with new comers, introducing every 
 body to everybody "more Americano" and adjourn 
 ing, at intervals, in a body to the bar. Upstairs, on 
 the floor above, splendidly-dressed ladies were strolling 
 at all hours about the passages, chatting with friends, 
 working, playing, and flirting with smartly-bedizened 
 officers and gay young diplomatists. 
 
 In fact, barring the presence of the ladies, an ingre 
 dient we had little of there, I was constantly reminded 
 of Naples in the Garibaldian days, and, notably, of the 
 Hotel Victoria. There was the same collection of all 
 sorts of men from every country, the same Babel of 
 languages, the same fusion of all ranks and classes, the 
 same ceaseless conversation about the war, the same pre 
 ponderance of the military element, the same series of 
 baseless contradictory rumours, and the same feverish 
 restless excitement. Constantly, too, I came across well- 
 remembered faces, and was saluted by acquaintances 
 whose names I had forgotten, but whom I recollected at 
 the camp before Capua, and more frequently still about 
 
 H 
 
98 WASHINGTON. 
 
 the cafes of Naples. What were they doing here? 
 why they were employed here ? what their rank might 
 be ? were all mysteries I did not care to fathom. I was 
 content to answer by the expressive Italian formula of 
 Chi lo sa ? It is good, I suppose, fishing in troubled 
 waters. 
 
 As to the public buildings of Washington, they add 
 little to the splendour of the town. Of the Capitol, 
 I shall speak presently. The Treasury, a sort of white 
 marble Madeleine, would be magnificent if it were 
 finished. The White House is beautiful on a moonlight 
 night, when its snowy walls stand out in contrast to the 
 deep blue sky, but not otherwise. As to the Post 
 Office, Patent Office, Smithsonian Institute, and the 
 unfinished pedestal of the Washington monument, I 
 must refer the curious to any handbook of travel. 
 I am ashamed to say that I never visited either the 
 curiosities of the Patent Office or of the Smithsonian ; 
 and I am still more ashamed to add that I do not 
 regret my shortcomings. Stock sight-seeing is an amuse 
 ment that, from some mental defect, I have an invincible 
 aversion to. 
 
 Possibly this description does not do full justice to 
 Washington. On a fine bright spring day, when the 
 wooded banks that line the south side of the Potomac 
 were in their early bloom, I have thought the city looked 
 woridrously bright ; but on nine days out of every ten 
 the climate of Washington is simply detestable. When 
 
WASHINGTON. 99 
 
 it rains, the streets are sloughs of liquid mud ; and, 
 by some miraculous peculiarity I could never get ac 
 counted for, even in the paved streets, the stones sink 
 into the ground, and the mud oozes up between them. 
 In a couple of hours from the time the rain ceases, 
 the same streets are enveloped in clouds of dust. In 
 spring time, the contrast between the burning sun and 
 the freezing winds is greater than I ever knew it in 
 Italy ; and in summer, the heat is more dead and 
 oppressive than in any place it has been my lot to dwell 
 in. I had many friends in Washington, and my recol 
 lection of the weeks I spent there is a very pleasant one ; 
 but, as a place of sojourn, Washington seems to me 
 simply detestable. 
 
 I recollect Mr. Hawthorne saying, that his impression 
 on leaving Washington was, that if Washington were 
 really the keystone of the Union, then the Union was 
 not worth saving ; and in this opinion I cordially agreed 
 with him. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 CONGRESS. 
 
 CONGRESS. 
 
 THE one fact which redeems Washington from the 
 imputation of being the ugliest capital in the world 
 is the presence of the two grand white marble palaces 
 of the Treasury and the Capitol, frowning at each other 
 like old German castles, from the summit of the two 
 hills that inclose the valley of the quondam Goose 
 Creek and present Tiber. Still, in its external shape, as 
 a matter of bricks and mortar, it was a constant wonder 
 to me that the Houses of Congress were not grander 
 than they are. The position, design, and material of 
 the Capitol are all magnificent, and yet, somehow or 
 other, it is not, to me at any rate, one of those build 
 ings which, like St. Peter s, or York Minster, or the 
 Madeleine at Paris, stand apart in a traveller s memory. 
 The grand, half-finished front fagade is turned away 
 from the city, owing to the fact that the building was 
 planned before the town was built. So, as a matter of 
 fact, nobody enters, or ever will enter, by the front 
 entrance except to see the facade ; and all persons on 
 
CONGRESS. 101 
 
 business approach the Capitol by the back door. The 
 completion of the edifice is suspended for the present, 
 because funds are short and the architect is away at 
 the war. The whole building has still an untidy, 
 unfinished, almost tumble-down, appearance. The 
 immense iron dome, which will vie in magnitude with 
 that of St. Peter s, and which, like the Roman cupola, 
 you can see for miles and miles away, rising grandly 
 over that hilly campagna country, is still a bare frame 
 work of beams and girders, surmounted by a crane, 
 ominously resembling its brother of Cologne Cathedral. 
 Blocks of unhewn marble lie on every side, scattered 
 about the pleasant grounds which lead from the Capitol 
 to the foot of the steep hill on which it stands. The 
 niches are still without their statues, and the grand 
 entrance without its giant doors, which visitors to Rome 
 must remember so well in Mr. Rogers studio ; while, 
 in many parts, the staring red-brick walls are still with 
 out their marble facings. Even when the building is 
 completed, I think the effect inside will always be dis 
 appointing. Vast as the Capitol is, there is a want of 
 great, open spaces in it ; and you wander through end 
 less passages, and richly-roofed corridors, and stately 
 staircases, without coming across one point of view 
 which leaves a strong, definite impression on your mind. 
 There is, too, a characteristic absence of artistic pro 
 priety about the whole arrangements. The great centre 
 circular hall is blocked up with a scaffolding, on which 
 
102 CONGRESS. 
 
 a number of second or third-rate historical pictures are 
 exposed to view, some of them for sale. Amongst them, 
 by the way, there used to be a portrait of President 
 Buchanan ; but when the troops were quartered here, at 
 the outbreak of the war, for the defence of the Capitol, 
 a Western regiment destroyed the portrait by squirting 
 tobacco juice over it, leaving the other pictures un 
 touched. a And a vile indignity, too, sir," said an 
 Abolitionist, who told me the story, " that was for the 
 tobacco juice." Again, in the main passages fruit- 
 stalls are allowed to stand, where apples, and nuts, and 
 lager beer are sold to the outside public who have 
 not the right of entree to the Congress refreshment- 
 rooms, at which brandy cocktails and Bourbon whisky are 
 administered to thirsty orators. In another hall there 
 is a stand for the sale of guide-books, maps of the 
 buildings, and commemorative medals ; and farther on 
 there is a little bazaar of Indian bead-work and mocas 
 sins. In spite of these defects of taste, the arrange 
 ments of the building are wonderfully comfortable ; and 
 the rooms and passages, though less gorgeous than those 
 of our own Houses of Parliament, are, I think, in reality, 
 more convenient and luxurious. Show is entirely sub 
 ordinate to comfort, in a way it is not with us. Like 
 everything in America, the whole building is new, pain 
 fully so ; and the one relic of antiquity is found in the 
 old Senate Chamber, where the Supreme Court now 
 holds its sittings. This was about the only part of the 
 
CONGRESS. 103 
 
 old Capitol which was not burnt down by our troops in 
 1814; and in the mantel-pieces and cornices you still 
 see the friezes of the consul in his car, and the lictor 
 with his fasces, which marked the classic French taste 
 of the early Republican era. Otherwise, the whole 
 edifice looks as if it had been opened yesterday. There 
 is one constant charm, however, about the Capitol, that, 
 from its shape and its elevated position, every room 
 faces to the light, and commands most lovely views of 
 the Potomac and the hills that gather in round Wash 
 ington on every side. 
 
 So much for the outer building. With regard to 
 Congress itself, one s first impression is inevitably un 
 duly favourable. To any one who has experienced the 
 dreary waiting in the gallery of our own House with a 
 member s order, and the still more dreary discomfort 
 when at last you do make your way into the close, incon 
 venient pen, the mere facility of access is enough to put 
 you into good humour. I cannot conceive any intel 
 ligent being, arrived at years of discretion, subjecting 
 himself to the annoyance of a visit to our own Houses 
 of Parliament except as a matter of business ; and I 
 should think little of the intelligence of anybody curious 
 in such matters who did not go constantly to the debates 
 in Washington. Without any one to stop you or ask you 
 your business, you go up the long staircases, and pass 
 through folding doors into the public gallery, where, I 
 should think, there must be room enough for some 
 
104 CONGRESS. 
 
 thousand persons, and where you sit as luxuriously on 
 stuffed benches with padded backs as if you were a 
 favoured inmate of our own Speaker s Gallery. It is 
 true the company you find around you, like that of 
 all places of public resort in America, is mixed in its 
 composition. Irish workmen, with ragged coats, will 
 be sitting next to Broadway swells, in the most 
 elaborate of morning costume ; and by the side of 
 officers, in the brightest of uniforms, you will see 
 common soldiers, in their grey serge coats, with the 
 roughest of beards and the muddiest of boots. If 
 you are fastidious, however, you can easily, supposing 
 there is no great crowd in the house, get admission into 
 the ladies gallery, where you have choicer company and 
 a better view. For my own part, however, though I 
 was kindly given the right of entree into the reporters 
 gallery, which is an admirable one for hearing, I pre 
 ferred the public ones, because you could change your 
 seats from one part of the long galleries to another, and 
 so always get a full view of the speaker, in whatever 
 portion of the house he might happen to be standing. 
 The company, too, like every crowd I ever met with in 
 the North, was perfectly civil and well behaved. 
 Indeed, during many visits which I made to Congress, 
 I never heard the least disturbance or breach of order 
 on the part of the gallery. If there had been, however, 
 I hardly know how it would have been suppressed. 
 With an Englishman s feeling about the relative 
 
CONGRESS. 105 
 
 importance of the two Houses of Parliament, his first 
 visit will probably be to the House of Represen 
 tatives. The room is rectangular in shape, with sides 
 of an unequal length ; rather low in height for archi 
 tectural effect, and surrounded on every side with 
 galleries, supported on light iron pillars. With the 
 exception of the two small compartments set apart for 
 the press and the diplomatic corps, the whole of this 
 gallery is open to the public. In the body of the house 
 the seats of the members, with desks placed before 
 each of them, are arranged in semicircular rows round 
 the raised platform, on which the Speaker s chair is 
 placed, and in front of which the clerks of the House 
 are seated. The defect of the arrangement, as far as 
 the public is concerned, is, that as the speakers turn 
 towards the Chair in speaking, it is difficult to get a 
 front view of their faces, and it is by no means an easy 
 thing to follow a speaker whose back is turned to 
 wards you. Moreover, the constant buzz of conversation 
 amongst the members makes it difficult to hear a 
 speaker who does not happen to be near the place in 
 which you are seated. 
 
 My first impression was that there was a want of life 
 about the whole concern, compared with our House of 
 Commons. It recalled rather a meeting of the House 
 of Lords on a full night, when a dull speaker is on his 
 legs, and the peers are anxious to divide and get home. 
 In the old days, before Secession, as a matter of custom, 
 
106 CONGRESS. 
 
 the Democratic members sat on the right of the Chair, 
 and the Opposition, whether they were Whig, Fede 
 ralist, Know-nothing, or Republican, on the left. Since 
 the Southern Democrats seceded, and the remaining 
 fractions of the old parties had become merged, more or 
 less, in the great party which supported the Government 
 and the Union, this custom has fallen into abeyance ; the 
 seats have been set further apart to cover the spaces left 
 empty by the members of the seceding States, and the 
 representatives sit in any part of the hall, where the 
 number assigned to them by ballot may happen to place 
 them, without much regard to party. This absence of 
 any line of division between the members, and the 
 fact that no expression of applause or dissent is per 
 mitted, give a dull air to the assembly. The scene 
 looks like a lecture-room where the class is paying no 
 attention to the lecturer. Some of the members, not 
 many, have their legs sprawling over the desks ; some 
 are sleeping in their chairs ; and the majority are 
 writing or reading, or talking in low voices to their 
 neighbours. The representatives have their hats off, 
 and are dressed, for the most part, in the seedy black 
 suits Americans affect so much. The majority are men 
 advanced in life ; young boyish legislators, of the 
 "Dundreary" type, are things unknown here. The 
 House seems composed of business men, slightly bored 
 at an unprofitable waste of time. Thus the ordinary 
 demeanour of the assembly is more staid, if not more 
 
CONGRESS. 107 
 
 dignified, than that of our Parliament. The only dis 
 tinct sound which interrupts the somewhat droning 
 tones of the orators voices is the constant clap-clap 
 of the members hands, as they summon the boy-pages 
 to run on errands. These boys are, indeed, an institu 
 tion of the place. They come and go with wonderful 
 quickness ; and when nobody wants them, with that 
 sans-gene so peculiar to all American servants, they sit 
 upon the steps of the Speaker s platform, or perch them 
 selves on any member s desk that happens to be vacant. 
 With regard to the merit of the oratory it is difficult 
 to judge. There is not a single speaker of great emi 
 nence in either house at present, and there was no de 
 bate, while I happened to be at Washington, of especial 
 interest. In truth, a debate in our sense of the word, 
 is hardly known there. There being no Ministry to 
 turn out or rather there being a Ministry which has no 
 direct connexion with the discussions, and which can 
 not be turned out the peculiar interest which attaches 
 to a great debate with us, where the fate of an Admi 
 nistration depends on the issue, is altogether wanting. 
 Speeches are delivered to be printed and circulated 
 amongst constituents, rather than to influence the audi 
 ence to which they are addressed ; and, indeed, the 
 newspaper summaries are ordinarily so meagre, that any 
 member who wishes for a full report, is obliged to have 
 his speech reprinted. Probably, in consequence of this, 
 the custom of reading speeches, or referring constantly 
 
108 CONGRESS. 
 
 to memoranda, is very common, and mars the effect of 
 the discussions. There is an amount, too, of unimpres 
 sive gesticulation which becomes painfully monotonous. 
 I saw one member, who during a speech of an hour, 
 kept advancing and retreating constantly up an open 
 space of some twelve feet in length, like the Polar bear 
 at the Regent s Park gardens ; another, who always 
 sidled from one desk to another ; a third, who swung 
 his arms up and down with the regularity of a wind 
 mill ; and a fourth, who kept turning like a teetotum 
 towards every part of the house in turn. The con 
 stant accentuation, too, of unimportant words, and the 
 frequent misplacement of the right emphasis to the 
 wrong place, makes long listening to an American de 
 bate wearisome to an Englishman. Still, the one 
 remarkable feature is the marvellous fluency of the 
 speakers. Everybody has the gift of speaking the 
 power, at least, of stringing words together without a 
 hitch. I never heard an American member of either 
 House stutter, or hem and haw, as nineteen-twentieths of 
 our speakers do when in want of a word. And this is not 
 solely because the speeches are prepared beforehand. 
 I have constantly heard members interrupted in their 
 speeches, and unexpected questions put to them, yet 
 they always replied with the same perfect self-posses 
 sion, and almost fatal fluency of language. Whether 
 this arises from the fact that, "unaccustomed as I am 
 to public speaking," is a phrase no American out of his 
 
CONGRESS. 109 
 
 teens could use with truth, or whether, as I think, it 
 is due to some characteristic excitability in the race, 
 which supplies words at command, I cannot say. The 
 fact is certain, that though I never heard anything in 
 the way of American parliamentary oratory which rose 
 to the height of eloquence, I never heard so much 
 average good speaking in any English assembly. 
 
 I was told by persons qualified to judge, that I saw 
 the Houses of Congress under unfavourable circum 
 stances, and that, in happier times, I should have heard 
 much of keen discussion and sterling eloquence. It is 
 true that the interest of the nation was fixed upon the 
 army, not upon Congress, as in former days ; and that 
 Congress suffered, as all popular assemblies will do, 
 from the absence of public interest in its proceedings. 
 It is true, also, that the fusion of all parties into the one 
 great one, which supported the Government, rendered 
 the debates comparatively tame and colourless. Still, 
 with all this, I doubt whether, even in the palmy times 
 of the American Congress, in the days of Clay and 
 Webster, and Douglas and Calhoun, an Englishman 
 would not have experienced the same sense of unim- 
 pressiveness about Congress. I defy any rational being 
 to take much interest in cards unless he is playing for 
 money ; and American parliamentarism always seemed 
 to me a sort of playing for love at politics. The stake 
 with us is the power of changing the Ministry, but 
 where a division leads to no practical result, as far as 
 
110 CONGEESS. 
 
 the speakers are concerned, there must inevitably be a 
 certain tameness about the proceedings. Having made 
 this confession, I must state, on the other hand, that 
 judging from my own experience, I should say the 
 American House of Representatives (as I saw it when 
 cleared of the Southern members) was a very quiet and 
 orderly one. The English notion that it is a public 
 bear-garden, is a mistaken one. Mutatis mutandis, 
 making allowance for the absence of high culture which 
 prevails in a new country, I should say that Congress 
 relatively stands high in moderation and decorum. 
 However, it is fair to mention one or two incidents 
 which occurred during my stay. 
 
 Senator Wade, of Ohio, had made a hustings speech 
 attacking the democratic party in these words : 
 
 " I accuse them of a deliberate purpose, to assail, 
 through the judicial tribunals, and through the Senate 
 and House of Representatives of the United States, and 
 to overawe, intimidate, and trample under foot, if they 
 can, the men who boldly stand forth in defence of their 
 country, now imperilled by this gigantic rebellion. I 
 have watched long, I have seen it in secret, I have seen 
 its movements ever since that party got together with a 
 colleague of mine in the other House, as Chairman of 
 the Committee of Resolutions, a man who had never any 
 sympathy with this republic, but whose every breath is 
 devoted to its destruction, just as far as his heart dare 
 permit him to go." 
 
CONGRESS. Ill 
 
 The colleague alluded to was a Mr. Vallandigham, of 
 Ohio, the leader of the small, democratic, forlorn hope 
 in the lower House, who had lately presided at a meet 
 ing, the object of which was to reconstitute the party. 
 This gentleman not unnaturally resented the imputa 
 tion, and two or three days after, the following scene 
 occurred in the House of Representatives : 
 
 " Mr. Vallandigham (after quoting the above pas 
 sage) : I am here in my place in this House, and as a 
 representative, 1 denounce, and I speak it advisably, 
 the author of that speech as a liar, a scoundrel, and a 
 coward. 
 
 Mr. Blake (Ohio) wished to note a personal expla 
 nation in reply to Mr. Vallandigham. He understood 
 the latter to say that the remarks quoted were not made 
 in the Senate, and therefore his colleague had de 
 nounced Senator Wade as a liar, scoundrel, and 
 coward, under false pretence. 
 
 Mr. Vallandigham asked that the words be taken 
 down by the clerk. 
 
 Mr. Blake would modify his language to the 
 following effect : His colleague uttered his remarks 
 under a false declaration, that they were not made 
 with reference to a member of Congress. 
 
 Mr. Vallandigham asked that that language should 
 be taken down by the clerk. 
 
 Mr. Blake wanted Mr. Vallandigham s words taken 
 down, with a view to subsequent action. Both his col- 
 
112 CONGEESS. 
 
 league and Senator Wade were well known in Ohio, 
 and where the latter was known his character needed 
 no defence from the remark of his colleague. 
 
 Mr. Vallandigham replied that he, too, was well 
 known in Ohio, and referred to the fact, that the ver 
 dict of the city in which he lived was recently returned 
 in his favour by a change of vote, since last October, of 
 640. He was ready to meet his colleague elsewhere or 
 anyivliere. 
 
 Mr. Blake wished to know what he meant by else 
 where ? This was the place to settle disputes ; he 
 knew of no other. 
 
 Mr. Vallandigham replied : In the district of 
 Columbia, Ohio, anywhere outside of this House. He 
 had read from a printed speech a foul and infamous 
 libel on his character. He did not mention Wade as a 
 senator, but as an individual. He had been branded 
 for years past, and he threw himself back firmly and 
 decidedly on his rights. When Wade recalled his 
 words, then he (Vallandigham) would take back his. 
 
 Mr. Blake replied: He felt that Ohio was shame 
 fully insulted by his colleague s remarks, and further, 
 he believed three-fourths of the people of that State 
 would speak of Vallandigham as Mr. Wade had. 
 
 Mr. Hutchins (Republican, of Ohio), offered a resolu 
 tion, setting forth the offensive language used by Mr. 
 Vallandigham of Mr. Wade, characterizing it as a viola 
 tion of the rules, and a breach of the decorum of the 
 
CONGRESS. 113 
 
 House, and concluding by declaring Clement L. Vallan- 
 digham is deserving of, and is hereby censured by, the 
 House. 
 
 Mr. Sheffield (Democrat, of Rhode Island,) moved 
 that the House adjourn, as the attendance was thin. 
 
 Pending the resolution, the House adjourned." 
 
 Nothing came of the matter, either here or elsewhere. 
 Mr. Blake and Mr. Vallandigham, when the night s re 
 flection had brought coolness to their heated blood, 
 confessed that their language had been over hasty, 
 and that they had only called each other liars in a 
 parliamentary sense, and there the quarrel ended. 
 
 About the same time there was another personal 
 quarrel on a point of order. No speaker in the House 
 of Representatives is allowed to speak more than an 
 hour, unless the House consent unanimously to an ex 
 tension of the time. The objection, therefore, of any 
 one member is sufficient to veto the extension. It is 
 needless to say that in the middle of an impassioned 
 harangue it is provoking to be pulled short up by the 
 striking of the clock ; and, as a rule, members are 
 allowed to finish their speeches. On an occasion when 
 Mr. Roscoe Conkling, of New York, was speaking on 
 the Tax Bill, a dispute of this kind arose, of which I 
 quote the printed report : 
 
 "Mr. Conkling asked the Speaker what time re 
 mained to him ? 
 
 The Speaker replied, eighteen minutes. 
 I 
 
114 CONGEESS. 
 
 Mr. Dawes, (Republican, of Massachusetts) : The time 
 will be extended to the gentleman. 
 
 Mr. Washburne, (Republican, of Illinois) : I object 
 to that. 
 
 Mr. Conkling : I knew that. And do you know how 
 I knew it ? Because the member for Illinois is the only 
 man in this House surly enough to interpose objections 
 in such a case. 
 
 Mr. Washburne rose to reply, when Mr. Ashley 
 called the member to order. 
 
 Mr. Washburne, (excitedly) : I call the creature to 
 order. 
 
 The Speaker demanded the preservation of order. 
 Mr. Conkling : The member from Illinois under 
 stands the rules of the House, and must understand 
 that this is not the place for personal altercation. He 
 knows the proper place for that is outside these walls. 
 
 Mr. Washburne, (excitedly) : Yes, sir, and I am 
 ready for it. 
 
 Mr. Conkling: No individual in this House better 
 knows than the member from Illinois that I stand by 
 what I say, until I am convinced that I am in error ; 
 and, therefore, there is no necessity for any interrup 
 tion here." 
 
 This affair also ended in smoke, moral, not actual. 
 The above were the two most glaring specimens of 
 brawls in Congress while I was there ; and it would not 
 be difficult to match them by incidents which have 
 
CONGEESS. 115 
 
 occurred not so long ago in our own Parliament. The 
 fact is, and it is worth noting, that the rowdy element 
 disappeared from Congress with the secession of the 
 slaveholding Democrats. 
 
 So much of the House of Representatives. The 
 Senate is more interesting to a stranger, from the simple 
 fact that you can hear and follow readily what is going 
 on, which you cannot do in the Lower House. In shape 
 and arrangement, the building is the counterpart 
 of the representative chamber, only smaller. With so 
 scant a number of members at its fullest diminished 
 as it is now by the absence of the seceding senators 
 and with the widely-parted rows of arm-chairs, fronted 
 by the small mahogany tables, the aspect of the Senate 
 is not a lively one. It seems impossible that with 
 such an audience any actor could work himself into a 
 passion ; and the whole look of the scene is so very 
 staid and decorous, that it is hard to realize the stormy, 
 passionate discussions which have taken place within 
 these walls ; harder still to imagine that bludgeons 
 and fire-arms could ever have been wielded amongst 
 men so sober and respectable-looking. 
 
 To me it was a surprise to learn how very much of 
 the business of both Houses is conducted secretly. On 
 all executive questions, that is, on questions of the 
 appointment or dismissal of public officials, &c., the dis 
 cussions are held with closed doors. Then too the real 
 business of both Houses of a deliberative character is 
 
 I 2 
 
116 CONGEESS. 
 
 carried on in the committee rooms, where no strangers 
 or reporters are admitted. Whenever leave has been 
 granted to bring in a bill, it is referred, before discussion, 
 to the standing committee appointed to investigate the 
 class of subjects on which legislation is proposed. If 
 the committee reject the bill, their vote is not final ; but 
 the rejected bill is laid upon the table, and it requires 
 a two-thirds majority to remove it from the table, or, 
 in other words, to resume its consideration. This, of 
 course, is rarely done, and, practically, the framework 
 and substance of every measure is discussed in the com 
 mittee rooms, not in the open House. The party in 
 power in either House manages the selection of the 
 committees, so that one of the party should always 
 occupy the chairmanship, and that the majority of the 
 members should belong to their own side. It is in the 
 committee rooms that the real work of legislation is 
 done ; and members go into the House, as I have often 
 heard Congress-men declare, to deliver speeches, or 
 write their letters. With all this, with the early hours 
 (generally from noon to five), with the fresh air and easy 
 seats, the position of a member of Congress must be, 
 to my mind, a more comfortable one than that of an 
 English M.P., not to mention the 600?. a year of salary, 
 with the mileage, stationery, and franking perquisites. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 117 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 
 
 I EECOLLECT talking about the Constitution of the 
 Union, not long after my arrival, with an old diplo^ 
 matist from one of the Scandinavian kingdoms. He 
 had lived for some fourteen years in the States, and was 
 as shrewd as northern diplomatists generally are. " I 
 suppose," he said to me, "I have studied the Government 
 " of this country as much as most men ; and yet, to the 
 " present day, whenever I disagree with an American on 
 " any question of politics, he always settles the argument 
 " by telling me that a stranger can never understand the 
 " institutions of his country." Subsequent experience 
 proved to me that the remark was a just one. Amongst 
 all Americans, even the most intelligent and impartial, 
 there is a settled conviction that, just as the knowledge 
 of the books of Veda is confined to the Brahmins, so* 
 the power of interpreting the mysteries of the American 
 Constitution is reserved to the native-born American. 
 Yet, judging a priori, the subject would not seem to 
 be surrounded with extraordinary difficulties. There is 
 
118 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 no unwritten constitution, as with us. A hundred 
 clauses or so, written in the clearest and most forcible 
 of English, describe and define the powers and limits of 
 the Government. There is no hazy past, no dim tradi 
 tion about American history ; while, as to the manner 
 in which the theory of the government has been reduced 
 into practice, we have the evidence, not only of written 
 records, but of men still living, whose recollections date 
 back almost to the days of the Revolution. 
 
 That the American Constitution is very imperfectly 
 understood abroad, I admit freely. That it is so fre 
 quently misunderstood I believe to be, in great measure, 
 the fault of the Americans themselves. From the time 
 of Washington to the present hour, every political 
 struggle in the States has been based upon contend 
 ing interpretations of the Constitution ; and a very 
 simple subject has been obscured by the rancour of 
 rival factions. Though the letter of the Constitution 
 has been seldom, if ever, violated, its spirit has been 
 constantly modified, if not disregarded ; and a very 
 casual perusal of its contents shows that the practical 
 development of the system has been very different from 
 what its authors intended it to be. Moreover, there 
 is a tendency in the American mind to surround the 
 founders of the Republic, their acts and their works, 
 with an unreasoning and, I think, an exaggerated 
 respect. As the ablest of living American novelists 
 once said to me, "We are always struggling painfully to 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 119 
 
 create a past;" and so, just as over-zealous divines 
 obscure the simplicity of the Bible by trying to find too 
 much in every word, American commentators on the 
 Constitution endeavour to invest it with the attributes of 
 an almost inspired wisdom, and, by so doing, render it 
 unintelligible. That the Constitution was a compromise 
 of wonderful ability, and that, on the whole, it has been 
 attended with extraordinary success, no candid inquirer 
 can venture to deny ; that it was a work of high abstract 
 merit, or of great legislative sagacity, may reasonably be 
 doubted. Having pleaded guilty to this heresy, let me 
 endeavour to give such an outline of the American Con 
 stitution as may render my view of it intelligible to the 
 English reader. 
 
 How it arose that such differences existed in cus 
 toms, laws, and policy, between the different States 
 which formed the original Union, is a question of history, 
 and of obscure Colonial history, into which I need not 
 enter. The broad fact is obvious, that at the time of 
 the Revolution the thirteen States which succeeded in 
 establishing their independence were distinct and inde 
 pendent communities, anxious to extend rather than 
 curtail their individual freedom. It was the pressure of 
 necessity, not any abstract desire for unity, which caused 
 the formation of the first Confederacy. In the words of 
 Justice Storey, the Revolution " had nourished a spirit 
 " of resistance to all external authority ; and (the States) 
 " having had no experience of the want of some general 
 
120 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 " Government to superintend their common affairs and 
 " interests yielded anything reluctantly, and deemed the 
 " least practicable delegation of power quite sufficient 
 " for national purposes."* In accordance with this 
 principle, the Articles of Confederation commenced with 
 the declaration, " That each State retains its sove- 
 " reignty, freedom, and independence ; and every power, 
 " jurisdiction, and right which is not by this Confedera- 
 " tion, expressly delegated to the United States in Con- 
 " gress assembled."-)- By these articles, Congress, which 
 represented the Central Government, had no executive 
 powers, or, more truly, it had no means granted to it by 
 which it could carry its executive powers into effect. It 
 was owing to this radical defect that the whole system 
 broke down utterly, and the Confederacy would probably 
 have fallen to pieces of itself, had it not been for the 
 wisdom and the energy of the statesmen who conducted 
 the Revolution. It was not in obedience to any popular 
 demand for a more effective union, but by the influence 
 exercised by the founders of the Republic, that the 
 Articles of Confederation were replaced in 1787 by the 
 Constitution of the United States. Most of the com 
 ponent States were indifferent to the idea of a closer 
 union ; many of them were absolutely hostile to it. The 
 conditions, then, of the problem, which the authors of the 
 Constitution had to solve, were arduous enough. The 
 
 * Storey on the Constitution, p. 29. 
 t Articles of Confederation, No. 2. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 121 
 
 utmost freedom and variety of government in internal 
 matters was to be united with perfect unity of govern 
 ment in external relations. The same Constitution 
 which, on the one hand, deprived the States of certain 
 sovereign powers, had, on the other, to confirm them 
 in the possession of powers almost equally sovereign. 
 Added to all this, the framers of the Constitution had no 
 power whatever, except that of persuasion, to enforce 
 the adoption of any system they framed on the States 
 which were to be subject to it. Such a system, there 
 fore, must be devised as would not only conciliate the 
 interests, but also not offend the prejudices of thirteen 
 distinct and almost rival States. Given these conditions, 
 it is a marvel that the problem was solved at all not 
 that it was solved, as I hold, but imperfectly. 
 
 If you once realize this idea, that the Constitution of 
 the United States was a compromise, the apparent con 
 tradictions contained in it become intelligible.* The 
 
 * It is a curious illustration of this compromise character, which 
 pervades the whole Constitution, that if you seek the staunchest expo 
 sition of the centralized aspect of the Constitution in opposition to its 
 federative one, you must look for it in the speeches of men like Patrick 
 Henry or Jefferson, who were opposed to the adoption of the Consti 
 tution, on the ground of its interfering with State independence ; while, 
 on the other hand, the champions of the Constitution at that day make 
 admissions, in order to render its acceptance palpable, which, taken 
 singly, seem to me almost to establish the State rights doctrines. 
 (See discussions in Eichmond Convention of 1788.) 
 
 The distinctive character of the Constitution can hardly, to my 
 mind, be better defined than by the words of Mr. Madison, in advo- 
 
122 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 States, broadly speaking, surrendered the rights they 
 had not enjoyed under the old system of Colonial 
 government, and, therefore, attached little value to ; 
 while they retained jealously every privilege they had 
 either held, or had conceived themselves entitled to, as 
 Colonies. In the celebrated Declaration of Rights, 
 issued in 1774, there is hardly a single power claimed 
 for the States from the British Government which is not 
 reserved to the different States intact by the Constitu 
 tion ; while the powers exercised by the United States 
 Government are almost identical with those which, by 
 implication, this document concedes to the Imperial 
 authority. In all our Old World communities, the Con 
 stitution rests upon the basis of certain rights, ceded 
 either by force or choice, from the Government to the 
 
 eating its adoption in the Virginia Convention : "It (the Constitution) 
 is of a mixed nature ; it is in a manner unprecedented. ... In some 
 respects it is a government of a federal nature ; in others it is of a 
 consolidated nature." 
 
 Equally explicit, too, is the language of the Address in which 
 Washington submitted the draft of the Constitution to the considera 
 tion of Congress: "It is," he states, "obviously impracticable, in 
 the federal government of these States, to secure all rights of inde 
 pendent sovereignty to each, and yet provide for the interest and 
 safety of all. Individuals entering into society must give up a share 
 of liberty to preserve the rest. The magnitude of the sacrifice must 
 depend as well on situation and circumstances as on the object to be 
 obtained. It is at all times difficult to draw with precision the lines 
 between those rights which must be surrendered and those which may 
 be reserved ; and on the present occasion this difficulty was increased 
 by a difference among the several States as to their situation, extent, 
 habits, and particular interests. " 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 123 
 
 governed. In America the exact converse has taken 
 place, and the Constitution exists by virtue of certain 
 rights ceded by the governed to the Government. With 
 us the presumption, to say the least, is, that any power, 
 not expressly ceded to individuals or corporations, 
 belongs to the Government ; while here it is not a 
 matter of presumption, but of certainty, that any unde 
 fined power does not belong to the Government, whoso 
 ever else it may belong to. According to an amendment 
 to the Constitution, passed very shortly after its forma 
 tion, " The powers not delegated to the United States 
 " by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, 
 " are reserved to the States respectively, or to the 
 " People."* To show how this system works, one 
 example will suffice. When railroads were introduced, 
 there could have been no constitutional difficulty in 
 England, if it had been thought desirable, in the State 
 undertaking the construction and working of the lines ; 
 but it would have been absolutely impossible for the 
 American Government to do this without an alteration 
 in the Constitution. 
 
 The limits upon the powers of the different States 
 are, indeed, so few in number, that it is worth while to 
 quote them. 
 
 With regard to foreign relations the restrictions are 
 positive : " No State," it is provided, " shall enter into 
 
 * Amendments to Constitution, Art. X. 
 
124 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 any treaty, alliance, or confederation ; grant letters of 
 marque and reprisal ; or, without the consent of Con 
 gress, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace ; or 
 enter into any agreement or compact with another State, 
 or with a foreign Power ; or engage in war unless actually 
 invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit 
 of delay." * 
 
 With respect to internal government the only restric 
 tions actually laid down are " that no State shall coin 
 money ; emit bills of credit ; make anything but gold 
 and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; pass 
 any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law im 
 pairing the obligation of contracts ; or grant any title 
 of nobility." Again, no State shall, without the " con- 
 " sent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties on im- 
 " ports or exports, except what may be absolutely 
 " necessary for executing its inspection laws ; and the 
 " net produce of all duties and imposts laid by any 
 " State on imports or exports shall be for the use of 
 " the Treasury of the United States ; and all such laws 
 " shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
 " Congress."f 
 
 These are all the express restrictions on State autho 
 rity. Besides these, however, there are others implied, if 
 not expressly stated, by the Constitution. The United 
 States guarantee to each State in the Union a repub- 
 
 * Constitution of United States, Art. I. Sect. 10. 
 t Idem. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 125 
 
 lican form of government,* and therefore, by implica 
 tion, no State has the power to establish a form of 
 State government not republican in name at any rate. 
 Moreover, " the citizens of each State are entitled to 
 " all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several 
 " States ; "f and thus no State can pass laws placing 
 its own citizens on a different footing from those of 
 any other State. Coupled with this restriction is the 
 famous Fugitive Slave Law clause, which asserts, " that 
 " no person held to service or labour in one State, 
 " under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, 
 " in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be 
 " discharged from such service or labour, but shall be 
 " delivered up on claim of the party to whom such 
 " service or labour may be due."* 
 
 Subject, then, to these restrictions, the power of each 
 State within its own jurisdiction is unlimited at least 
 in theory. To what an extent this authority has been 
 wielded in practice, I shall examine in a following chap 
 ter. For the present, I wish to speak only of the powers 
 conferred by the States on the Central Government ; 
 but, as a broad principle, it should be borne in mind 
 throughout what I have to say, that just as the capital 
 of Washington was chosen and built to suit the country, 
 instead of the country being arranged to suit the capital, 
 
 * Constitution of United States, Art. IV. Sect. 4. 
 t Constitution of United States, Art. IV. Sect. 2. 
 J Idem. 
 
126 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 so the Constitution was designed to suit the States, not 
 the States to suit the Constitution. 
 
 The powers, such as they are, allotted to the Supreme 
 Government, are jealously denned. The executive, legis 
 lative, and judicial departments are perfectly distinct, 
 and vested in the hands of distinct though not inde 
 pendent bodies. Every member acts as a check on, 
 and is checked by, some other member. The Constitu 
 tion thus recognises four "estates," to use an analogous 
 English word : the President, the Senate, the House of 
 Representatives, and the Supreme Court. The different 
 functions of Government are distributed amongst these 
 different "estates." For full and precise details, I 
 must refer the reader to any copy of the Constitution, 
 or, if he desires a more careful research, to the works 
 of Mr. Justice Storey and Mr. Hickey. The outline 
 that I can give him here must obviously be of the 
 scantiest. 
 
 The executive power, then, is divided between Con 
 gress (by which name the Senate and the House of 
 Representatives are properly termed when acting 
 jointly), the President, and the Senate. Thus Congress 
 alone can make war, raise taxes, coin money, raise 
 loans, and perform several other executive functions 
 of minor importance. The President has no power 
 to interfere with the execution of any of these func 
 tions, except by interposing a veto, which veto becomes 
 null and void in case the measure vetoed is passed 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 127 
 
 again in Congress by a majority of two-thirds. The 
 one single power the President can execute, proprio 
 motu, is that of pardon. He is also Commander-in- 
 Chief of the Army and Navy, though with a limited 
 power of appointing his subordinate officers. The 
 powers of making treaties, appointing ambassadors, 
 ministers, judges of the Supreme Court, and officers, 
 rests, as a rule, between the President and the Senate. 
 The President has the right of initiative, and proposes 
 the appointment or dismissal of any official, or the 
 formation of any treaty ; but no appointment is valid 
 unless it receives the sanction of the Senate. 
 
 The distribution of the legislative functions is more 
 simple. The President has nothing to do with law 
 making. He may recommend measures to Congress, 
 and he may require a measure to be reconsidered, by 
 refusing to sign it after its first passing; but this is 
 all. The subject measures on which Congress is allowed 
 to legislate are, taxation, national debt, currency, natu 
 ralization, foreign trade, postal regulations, copyright, 
 offences on the high seas, war, army and navy supplies, 
 rules for the regulation of the services, and dealings 
 with the Indian tribes. On all such subject measures, 
 " Congress has power to make all laws which shall be 
 " necessary and proper for carrying into execution the 
 " foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this 
 " Constitution in the Government of the United States, 
 " or in any department or officer thereof." Moreover, 
 
128 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Congress has powers to make any laws whatever on 
 any subject with regard to the district of Columbia, 
 or to the forts or arsenals which are the property of 
 the United States. 
 
 These powers may appear ample enough, but a little 
 consideration will show that the number of subjects on 
 which Congress cannot legislate is enormous. On ques 
 tions of religion, education, railroads, poor laws, slavery, 
 and social reform, it has no power to legislate, because 
 they are matters which do not come within its province. 
 On the social life of the country it has no powers of 
 legislation ; on the political life but few ; and in short, 
 broadly speaking, the national life of the country is the 
 only one which comes under its jurisdiction. Even in 
 matters on which Congress is competent to legislate, 
 its powers of legislation are not unlimited. No law 
 passed by Congress is valid, if it violates the compact 
 entered into by the Constitution between the United 
 States and the several States ; and whether any law is 
 a violation of this compact or not, is a question on 
 which the Supreme Court has to decide. For example, 
 if, after the suppression of the insurrection, Congress 
 were to pass a law decreeing that import duties should 
 be levied on all goods entering the port of New 
 Orleans, such a measure would be simply null and 
 void according to the Constitution, as no State can be 
 taxed separately. 
 
 The judicial functions are not so much divided in 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 129 
 
 their allegiance. The Senate has the sole power of 
 trying cases of attainder; but, with this exception, 
 the jurisdiction over all cases, both in law and equity, 
 arising under the Constitution, the laws, and the 
 treaties of the United States, belongs to the Supreme 
 Court alone. The judges hold their office during good 
 behaviour ; but they can only be removed at the pro 
 posal of the President, and with the sanction of the 
 Senate. 
 
 The position of the Ministers is singularly undefined. 
 They are very much what our heads of departments 
 would be, supposing we had no Cabinet. The Pre 
 sident may require them to report to him on any 
 subject within their department, but can issue no in 
 structions to them, except in as far as his nominal 
 Commandership in Chief may give him power to do 
 so. With Congress, they have no direct connexion ; 
 while with the Senate, their only official connexion 
 is, that the sanction of the Senate is necessary to 
 their appointment or dismissal. While in office, they 
 are practically independent in the exercise of their 
 powers, subject to the laws and the Constitution. They 
 are responsible to nobody except the law, and have 
 no account to render. The power of appointing their 
 subordinate officers rests with themselves, or with the 
 President, as Congress may determine. 
 
 Each State has two senators, holding office for six 
 years, and a larger or smaller number of representatives, 
 
130 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 according to the relative size of its population. Each 
 representative is elected for two years only. The Legis 
 lature of each State elects its senators ; but on what 
 conditions, and subject to what qualifications, are 
 matters within the decision of each individual State 
 while the members of the House of Representatives are 
 chosen directly by the electors of each State, accord 
 ing to the electoral qualification adopted in that State. 
 The President is still nominally chosen by a double 
 election. Each State appoints, in any way it thinks fit, 
 a number of electors equal to the total number of its 
 senators and representatives, and these electors select 
 the President. Practically, however, these electors are 
 mere delegates, and have only to nominate the can 
 didate already chosen by their own State. The result 
 of this system of nomination is that the election 
 of the President depends upon the choice of the ma 
 jority of the population, not upon the choice of the 
 majority of the States. Thus, in the Presidential 
 elections, the vote of the single State of New York 
 would neutralize those of the five States of Delaware, 
 Louisiana, Maryland, and North and South Carolina. 
 Yet, in the Senate, the vote of any one of the States 
 would counterbalance that of New York. Supposing 
 there had been no Secession after Mr. Lincoln s elec 
 tion, there would have been a President, representing 
 the population of the United States, opposed to slavery, 
 while the Senate, representing the States, would have 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 131 
 
 had a pro-slavery majority, or, at any rate, a minority 
 so numerous as to paralyze all action. If, as is prob 
 able in this event, the President and the Senate had 
 come into open collision, it is difficult to see how the 
 Executive Government could have been carried on. 
 
 This hypothesis illustrates what I conceive to be the 
 vital defect of the American Constitution. The system 
 is so carefully poised and counterpoised that any dis 
 turbance in the political machinery stops its working ; 
 and when the disturbance occurs, there is no undefined 
 authority to deal with unforeseen accidents.* According 
 to our European theory of republics, the people is the 
 ultimate source of all power ; and, possibly, Americans 
 may assert that this is the case also in the theory of 
 their government. Unfortunately, there is no means, 
 no constitutional means, of appealing to the people. It 
 is true that the Constitution may be, and has been, 
 amended, but then it is by an appeal to the States, not 
 to the people ; and a minority of one-fourth of the 
 States can preclude action. The truth is, the essence 
 of the American Constitution is that it is a Federation, 
 not that it is a Republic. If some of the States were 
 
 * This defect is commented on by Patrick Henry in his celebrated 
 speech on the British debts case, delivered in 1791. The following 
 words read now almost prophetical : " Is this one of the precious 
 fruits of the adoption of the federal Constitution, to bind us hand and 
 foot with the fetters of technicality, and leave us no way of bursting 
 them asunder, but by a declaration of war and the effusion of human 
 blood?" 
 
 K 2 
 
132 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES* 
 
 constitutional monarchies, others despotisms, and 
 others oligarchies, there is no abstract reason why the 
 Government of the United States should not remain 
 almost unaltered, and, possibly, work better. The safety 
 of the system lay in the conflicting interests, in the variety 
 of Governments of the different States. Gradually State 
 lines have grown to have less social importance, while, 
 politically, they have become more and more powerful. 
 Railroads, commerce, and intercourse have broken down 
 the isolation of the separate States. From community 
 of interests, of position, and of institutions, the New 
 England, the Western, the Pacific, and the Southern 
 States have severally become welded together, but every 
 tendency to union amongst the parts promotes, for a 
 time at least, disunion in the whole. The centripetal 
 force which could keep one State from flying out of the 
 orbit is not adequate to keep within its attraction masses 
 of States. The central force must be increased ; but the 
 necessity for this change is more easily pointed out, 
 than the mode of accomplishing it. One fact is certain, 
 that the work of unification, essential to the main 
 tenance of the Union, can never be carried out per 
 manently while North and South are divided by the 
 fatal question of slavery. 
 
 To repeat, then, what I stated before, the Constitu 
 tion of the United States is, in my judgment, neither 
 more nor less than a compromise of great ability a 
 political make-shift of wonderful success. The dura- 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 133 
 
 tion of the Union is due not so much to the merits 
 of the Constitution as in the practical wisdom with 
 which it has been worked. In France, the logical 
 absurdity of the compromise would have been demon 
 strated in a month, and its existence terminated in a 
 year. In America the good sense and moderation of 
 the people has enabled the compromise to work without 
 breaking down for three generations. The proud boast 
 of the " Esto perpetua " is not likely, I think, to be 
 realized in the letter, but it may well be in the spirit. 
 The grand preamble which heads the Constitution 
 " We, the people of the United States, in order to form 
 " a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
 " tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote 
 " the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty 
 " to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish 
 " this Constitution " has a purport deeper than the 
 compromise it prescribes. Such words as these are 
 not written upon sand. 
 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 THE study of the American State Constitutions is not 
 in itself an interesting one. A government, debarred 
 from the exercise of all imperial functions, loses the 
 dignity which the possession of supreme power confers 
 in itself. One defect of the whole American system of 
 government appears to me to be, that the prizes and 
 opportunities of State politics are not sufficiently grand 
 to secure the services of the highest class of politicians ; 
 and yet the powers wielded by the State Governments 
 are so enormous as to require almost the very highest 
 class of legislators for their due execution. Moreover, 
 the relations between the systems of the State and 
 the Central Governments act not altogether beneficially 
 towards the latter. Every member of Congress must, 
 in accordance with the Constitution, "be an inhabi 
 tant of that State for which he shall be chosen." 
 Whether rightly or not, the word "inhabitant" has 
 always been interpreted as identical with citizen. Thus, 
 if you want to enter Congress, you must enter it as 
 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 135 
 
 senator or as representative from the State of which 
 you are a citizen. Two consequences result inevitably 
 from these conditions. A man who desires to enter on 
 public life must make his name known as a local politi 
 cian must rise to Congress through the ante-chamber 
 of local State politics ; and, even after he has obtained 
 entrance to Congress, must study the politics of his 
 State as the condition of his political existence. This 
 necessity for every national politician to be also a State 
 politician undoubtedly deters many men of education 
 and position from entering on public life. The talents 
 fitted for the great arena of the National Assembly are 
 not always those best qualified to succeed in the petty 
 struggles of local legislatures. Again, the second and 
 more hurtful consequence is, that a public man has no 
 career before him, unless his politics are those of the 
 majority of his own State. A pro-slavery man, who 
 happened to be a citizen of Massachusetts, or an anti- 
 slavery man of Maryland, would have no possibility of 
 being returned to Congress. Take a case like that of 
 Caleb Gushing, Mr. Pierce s Attorney-General. Here 
 is a man of really remarkable ability, of great energy, 
 and long experience of public life. So much even his 
 most bitter enemies and he has many will allow. 
 Yet General Gushing has practically little more chance 
 of being returned to Congress than the writer of these 
 pages. He would be the very best representative for a 
 State like Maryland, by which, I mean, that even in the 
 
136 STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 view of his antagonists, he would be the most moderate 
 and most desirable kind of representative that Maryland, 
 at present, is ever likely to return. Yet he cannot be a 
 member of Congress for any State but Massachusetts ; 
 and his democratic opinions and antecedents disqualify 
 him from election in Massachusetts as long as the 
 Republican party is in power. So, for the best years, 
 probably for the remainder, of his life, the United States 
 have no chance of obtaining General Cushing s services. 
 Of course, he, or any man in a like position, might 
 emigrate to another State, and begin his political career 
 anew, but there are few men who, by the time they have 
 obtained public distinction, are either able or willing to 
 start life again on a new platform. In truth, the State is 
 an " imperium in imperio " in the system of the United 
 States. Absolute powers on all questions of life and 
 death, law-making, taxation, regulation of religion, social 
 relations, and political institutions, are conceded to it 
 within its own limits. The diversities in the Consti 
 tutions of the several States are as great as in their 
 climates. Subject to the restrictions I mentioned in the 
 preceding chapter, the power of the States is un 
 limited. If New York chose to restrict the qualification 
 of an elector to persons possessed of a million dollars, 
 and to reduce the Government to an oligarchy; if 
 Massachusetts declared marriage void and illegal ; if 
 Louisiana confined the franchise to Roman Catholics ; 
 or if Wisconsin passed an agrarian law, the Federal 
 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 137 
 
 Government would have neither the right nor the 
 power to interfere. Of course, these are extreme eases, 
 but if you wish to appreciate the real condition of the 
 United States, you must realize, first of all, the extreme 
 abstract independence enjoyed in all internal govern 
 ment by the several States, and, secondly, the real 
 extent to which this independence has been asserted. 
 
 The features of resemblance are very numerous. The 
 Constitutions of the original thirteen States were all 
 adopted about the close of the War of Independence, 
 before the Constitution of the United States was in 
 existence. At that period, in the first triumph of success, 
 there was probably more unity of sentiment throughout 
 the States than has ever existed either before or since. 
 In those days, too, the reaction in favour of classical 
 republicanism, which ushered in the French Revolution, 
 was at its height in America. Like all French theories, 
 it was an exotic in an Anglo-Saxon country, and a very 
 short-lived one ; but, for a time, it operated powerfully, 
 and has left its impress on the external forms of the 
 State Constitutions, as well as in the names of Capitol 
 and Senate. Moreover, seventy years ago there was no 
 foreign element worth speaking of in the original States ; 
 and, therefore, under this superficial coating of French 
 classicalism, there lay a deeper and more uniform ground 
 work of British traditions and British prejudices than 
 you would find at the present day. Quaintly enough, 
 as it seems at this moment, one of the favourite topics 
 
138 STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 of invective against the British Government in the 
 revolutionary days is their employment of German 
 soldiers. From all these causes the outward forms of 
 the different State Constitutions are much more alike 
 than they would have been if founded some years later ; 
 and, naturally enough, the new States, as they became 
 incorporated with the Union, adopted a similar form of 
 Constitution to that which existed in the older States. 
 
 In every State, then, the outline of the Constitu 
 tion resembles closely that of the United States. 
 There is a Governor, a Senate, and a House of Repre 
 sentatives ; and the executive, legislative, and judicial 
 functions are divided much in the same way. In each 
 existing State, trial by jury, the habeas corpus, freedom 
 of speech, freedom of petition and of the press, are 
 guaranteed as a Bill of Rights by the Constitution. In 
 no State as yet is there a State religion established by 
 law. Whether a State can legally do so is a question 
 which will come up to a practical issue when Utah de 
 mands admission as a State, and as far as the letter of 
 the Constitution goes, there is little doubt that she may. 
 
 To show how the system of separate State Govern 
 ments works, I will choose out a few prominent ques 
 tions of government, and show how they are dealt with 
 by the Constitutions of six States : Massachusetts, Ohio, 
 and New York as free States ; South Carolina, Louisiana, 
 and Kentucky as slave States. 
 
 Take, for instance, the electoral qualification. In Mas- 
 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 139 
 
 sachusets to be an elector you must have resided one 
 year in the State, have paid some local tax or other 
 assessed within two years of the date of election, and 
 be able to read and write. In New York there is man 
 hood suffrage obtained by one year s residence in the 
 State. The same is the system adopted in Ohio, 
 Louisiana and Kentucky. In South Carolina, the 
 property qualification was removed by an amendment 
 to the Constitution passed six years ago ; but a non-resi 
 dent elector has still a right to vote in any electoral 
 district where he holds a freehold property of not less 
 than fifty acres. In Massachusetts, coloured people 
 vote on an equality with white citizens. In New York 
 a coloured voter must possess property of the net value 
 of 50?., and must have been resident in the State for 
 three years. In Ohio, and, of course, in the three Slave 
 States, the blacks have no votes at all. 
 
 There is the same difference with regard to the 
 qualifications necessary for being a member of either 
 house of legislature in the several States. In all the 
 States I am speaking of, with the exception of South 
 Carolina, any elector may be a member of the Senate 
 or the House of Representatives, supposing him to have 
 resided in the State for a stated period, varying from 
 one to five years, In South Carolina, on the other 
 hand, every senator must own a freehold estate of the 
 value of 300?. clear from debt ; and every representative 
 must possess "in his own right, a settled freehold 
 
140 STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 " estate of 500 acres of land, and ten negroes, or of a real 
 "estate of the value of 150?. clear of debt." The dura 
 tion of the Senates varies from two to five years, and of 
 the Houses of Representatives from one to two years. 
 
 The modes of election for the executive and judicial 
 offices are various, both in form and principle. In 
 Massachusetts the governor is elected by select men 
 elected themselves by all citizens qualified to vote, and 
 the judges are nominated by the governor, and hold 
 office during good behaviour. In New York, Ohio, 
 Kentucky, and Louisiana, both governor and judges are 
 elected for a stated period, and directly by the State 
 electors. While in South Carolina, the executive and 
 judicial officers are chosen by the joint vote of both 
 houses of the legislature. 
 
 Each of these several States has a series of provisions 
 in its constitution peculiar to itself. In Massachusetts 
 there is a council elected to assist the governor with 
 their advice, consisting of nine senators, chosen jointly 
 by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Till 
 the year 1820, every person who held office under the 
 constitution was obliged to swear that he believed in the 
 Christian religion. In New York the State may never, 
 except in the case of war, contract debts or liabilities ex 
 ceeding one million of dollars ; the credit of the State 
 may not be loaned to any person or undertaking ; and, 
 subject to the provisions of the constitution, the common 
 law of England is distinctly declared to be in force. 
 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 141 
 
 In Ohio, both lotteries and duels are expressly forbidden 
 by the constitution, while the administration of justice 
 is to be provided for "by an uniform mode of proceed- 
 " ing, without reference to any distinction between law 
 " and equity." Every officer in the State of Kentucky is 
 required to take an oath on assuming office, that he has 
 never been engaged in a duel, either as principal or 
 second. The Assembly also is expressly denied any 
 power of emancipating slaves without the consent of 
 their owners, and is bound to pass such laws as shall be 
 requisite for hindering free coloured people from emi 
 grating into the State. In Louisiana, lotteries, duels, 
 and divorces are interdicted by the constitution. All 
 laws are to be promulgated both in French and English ; 
 and for all elections by the people, vote is to be taken 
 by ballot. Finally, in South Carolina, ministers of any 
 religious denomination are disqualified, while exercising 
 their ministerial functions, from sitting in the assembly, 
 and the legislature is formally required " to pass laws 
 " for the abolition of the right of primogeniture, and for 
 " giving an equitable distribution of the real estate of 
 "intestates." 
 
 These are only a few instances of the varieties in the 
 constitution of the different States picked out at hazard ; 
 and some of the States, such as Maine, Wisconsin, and 
 Kansas, would furnish more striking examples. Still, 
 these will serve to give the reader an adequate impres 
 sion. The real differences in the institutions of the 
 
142 STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 States are found not so much in their several constitu 
 tions themselves, as in the laws passed under these 
 constitutions. Thus the law of divorce in the dif 
 ferent States varies from a complete prohibition, as in 
 Louisiana, to a power of separation by mutual consent, 
 as in Wisconsin. A man may be legally married in one 
 State, while this very marriage would subject him to 
 punishment for bigamy if performed in another. It is 
 possible for a man who has changed his State to have 
 two families in two States, each of whom is illegiti 
 mate by the laws of the other. 
 
 One State has no legal, or political, or commercial 
 connexion with another, except in as far as all the 
 States are connected together in these respects by their 
 common allegiance to the United States. A New 
 Jersey writ does not serve in New York ; debts con 
 tracted in Pennsylvania cannot be recovered, unless by 
 special contract, on property belonging to the debtor in 
 Delaware. A deserter from the state militia of Indiana 
 cannot be claimed when he has crossed the Ohio into 
 Kentucky. The famous fugitive slave law may seem a 
 contradiction of this rule, but it is in reality an illustra 
 tion of its force ; it is expressly provided by the Consti 
 tution, that " no person held to service or labour in one 
 " State under the laws thereof, and escaping into another, 
 " shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein 
 " be discharged from such service or labour, but shall 
 " be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such 
 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 143 
 
 " labour or service is due." Were it not for this provi 
 sion, a Maryland slaveowner would have no more right 
 to recover a fugitive slave in Maine, than he would have 
 to arrest a runaway debtor. If a murder is committed 
 in one State, and the murderer effects his escape into 
 another, he cannot be put on trial for the offence as 
 long as he remains out of the State in which the offence 
 is committed. Extradition compacts, however, exist 
 between the different States, and the legal difficulty 
 is evaded by the police officers of the State in which 
 the criminal has taken refuge, conducting him to the 
 frontier, where he is delivered to the officials of his 
 own State ; but if any State refused to deliver up 
 fugitive criminals from other States, there is no power 
 by which delivery could be legally enforced. Indeed, 
 during the rowdy government which disgraced New 
 York some years ago, it was notorious that the police 
 would, for an adequate bribe, give any offender time 
 to leave the State, before executing their warrant for 
 his arrest. A writ of the United States runs through 
 the whole of the Union ; but a murder or felony 
 committed in one State of the Union is not a matter 
 of which the United States Court has power to take 
 cognizance. It is true that in the famous " John 
 Anderson" case, the United States government ap 
 plied for his surrender from the Canadian authorities 
 on the charge of his having murdered in the act of 
 escape a citizen of (I believe) Virginia, but this was 
 
144 STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 because by the Constitution the power of the Supreme 
 Court extends to controversies " between a State or a 
 citizen thereof, and foreign States." * The converse of 
 this rule does not hold good, for Ity an amendment to 
 the Constitution passed shortly after its adoption, " the 
 judicial power of the United States shall not be con 
 strued to extend to any suit in law or equity, com 
 menced or prosecuted against one of the United States, 
 by citizens of another State, or by citizens and subjects 
 of any foreign State." f Thus, when Mississippi repu 
 diated her bonds, no foreign holder could sue the State 
 through the courts of the United States, but his only 
 chance of redress lay in the courts of the repudiating 
 State. 
 
 From these considerations it is not difficult to form 
 a general impression of the extreme and manifold 
 complications that may arise between the rights of 
 the several States and the rights of the Union. The 
 Slavery question has been for many years the pro 
 minent and all absorbing one in this country; and 
 therefore foreigners are apt to look upon it as the 
 only one at issue between the States. But the truth 
 is, it is only one of many questions ; and if it could 
 be settled to-day, by to-morrow there would be some 
 other vital question on which the conflicting and in 
 consistent principles of the Supreme Government and 
 
 * Constitution of United States, Art. III. Sect. 2. 
 t Ibid. Amendment XL 
 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 145 
 
 State sovereignty would come again to issue. If this 
 civil war should be so settled as to give a final death- 
 blowto the States Rights doctrines, the necessary changes 
 in the governmental system of the States may be car 
 ried through without difficulty. If, on the other hand, 
 it is patched up without deciding whether the Central 
 or the State principle is supreme, the whole question 
 will, after the lull of a few years, be again brought 
 to trial. 
 
146 CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES. 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES. 
 
 COMPLICATED as the whole governmental system of the 
 United States is through the anomalous and often antago 
 nistic rights granted by the Constitution to the States and 
 to the Supreme power, there is a still further element 
 of disturbance added by the question of the Territories. 
 The whole slavery struggle has been so intimately mixed 
 up with this Territorial question ; and the whole future 
 development of the Union will depend so much on its 
 solution, that this brief expos of the American Con 
 stitution would be incomplete unless I tried to make 
 this question of the Territories intelligible to the reader. 
 Even before the Constitution was formed, the Terri 
 torial difficulty had already made its appearance. When 
 the original colonies were formed, the interior of North 
 America was almost a terra incognita ; and by their 
 original charters, many of the States claimed that their 
 territory extended to the Far West, and was, in fact, 
 bounded only by the Pacific Ocean. Virginia and 
 North Carolina in particular, laid claim to almost 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES. 147 
 
 boundless possessions towards the West. Probably, 
 as a matter of sentiment, the States which had no 
 such claims to establish, would have cared very little 
 at that time to whom belonged the nominal authority 
 over remote and unknown forest lands ; but even as early 
 as 1780, the ownership of the frontier districts had be 
 come a source of wealth. Virginia especially had sold 
 grants of her Western territory to emigrants, and car 
 ried the proceeds to her own exchequer. The States 
 which had no unknown territory to sell, contended, 
 with some reason, that the profits derived from these 
 Western territories, which had been rescued from the 
 British dominion by the common efforts of the thirteen 
 States, ought to be devoted to their common use. In 
 deed, several of the States refused to subscribe the 
 Articles of Confederation till some arrangement was 
 made as to the limits of the undefined territories. 
 Maryland was especially prominent in her opposition 
 to the claims of Virginia. In the instructions given 
 by her Assembly to the delegates appointed to the 
 Congress of the United States in 1778, she put forward 
 strongly the evils that would ensue from admitting 
 the right of Virginia to dispose of her undefined lands. 
 " Virginia," it is stated, " by selling on the most mode- 
 " rate terms a small proportion of the laud in question, 
 " would draw into her treasury vast sums of money, 
 " and in proportion to the sums arising from such 
 " sales would be enabled to lessen her taxes. Lands 
 L 2 
 
148 CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES. 
 
 " comparatively cheap, and taxes comparatively low, 
 " with the lands and taxes of an adjacent State, would 
 " quickly drain the State thus disadvantageous^ cir- 
 " cumstanced of its most useful inhabitants. Its wealth 
 " and its consequence, in the scale of the Confederated 
 " States, would sink of course. A claim so injurious to 
 " more than one-half, if not to the whole of the United 
 " States, ought to be supported by the clearest evi- 
 " dence of right." The report then proceeds to inform 
 the delegates that they will betray their trust if they 
 accede to the Confederation without having this ques 
 tion previously decided on an equitable footing, and 
 adds a prophecy, which reads strangely now in these days 
 of Secession, " Although the pressure of immediate 
 " calamities, the dread of their continuance from the 
 " appearance of disunion, and some other peculiar cir- 
 " cumstances, may have induced some States to accede 
 " to the present Confederation, contrary to their own 
 " interests and judgments, it requires no great share 
 " of foresight to predict that, when these causes cease 
 " to operate, the States which have thus acceded to the 
 " Confederation, will consider it no longer, binding and 
 " will eagerly embrace the first occasion of asserting 
 " their just rights, and securing their independence." 
 
 Happily for the Union a spirit of conciliation pre 
 vailed, and in order to induce the outstanding States 
 to enter the Confederation, New York, Virginia, and 
 North Carolina, consented to have their respective 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE TEERITORIES. 149 
 
 territories defined, and to cede all lands lying beyond 
 their western frontiers to the United States. In 1787, 
 shortly previous to the adoption of the Constitution, the 
 famous Ordinance was passed for the government of 
 the Territories north-west of the Ohio River. By this, 
 which has always been considered as a part of the 
 Constitution, an arrangement was made, whose terms, 
 broadly speaking, were as follows: In the first in 
 stance, the Territory was to be governed by authorities 
 appointed by and responsible to Congress, whose power, 
 as far as the territory was concerned, was absolute. As 
 soon as the territorial district numbered five thousand 
 free male inhabitants, these inhabitants were to have 
 the right of electing an Assembly. Every elector, how 
 ever, was to possess fifty acres of freehold land, and 
 every representative two hundred. The Legislative 
 Council was to be elected by the legislature, on the 
 plan that two members were to be elected to fill every 
 vacancy, and of these two nominees, Congress was to 
 choose one. The Governor was still to be appointed 
 by Congress ; and he was to have a veto on all laws 
 passed by the Council and Legislature. All legislation 
 too, by the Territorial Assembly, was subject to certain 
 limitations. The equal division of property amongst 
 the heirs of intestates, freedom of religion, trial by 
 jury, writ of habeas corpus, and equal representation, 
 were rights guaranteed by Congress to the territories, 
 and all legislation of the Territorial Government incon- 
 
150 CONSTITUTION OF THE TEERITOEIES. 
 
 sistent with these rights was ipso facto null and void. 
 By an amendment of Jefferson s, slavery was also ex 
 pressly prohibited in the North-West Territory; and 
 therefore it was not in the power of the local govern 
 ment, so long as the district remained a territory, to 
 establish it by law. 
 
 Whenever any of these territorial districts had a free 
 white population of 60,000 males, it was to have the 
 right of claiming admission into the Confederacy " on 
 " an equal footing with the original States in all respects 
 "whatever." It was to be at liberty also "to form a 
 "permanent constitution and State government, pro- 
 " vided the constitution and government so formed shall 
 " be republican and in conformity to the principles con 
 tained" (in the ordinance).* 
 
 This ordinance was not incorporated into the Consti 
 tution of the United States. The wording of the Con 
 stitution simply gives power to Congress to dispose of, 
 and make all needful laws for the regulation of, the 
 United States territory ; and also gives power to Con 
 gress to admit new States into the Union. Practically, 
 the new States have been admitted in accordance with 
 the general principles laid down in the ordinance ; but 
 the great questions still remain unsettled, whether a 
 Territory which contains the due number of inhabitants, 
 and accedes to the above conditions, has a right to 
 
 * " An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United 
 States north-west of the River Ohio." 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES. 151 
 
 claim admission into the Union? and, further, sup 
 posing Congress to refuse its consent, what is the poli 
 tical status of the Territory in question ? 
 
 At the time when the Union was formed out of 
 the thirteen original States, Massachusetts was the 
 only one in which slavery did not exist, though in 
 New Hampshire and Rhode Island the number of 
 slaves was so small as to be of little account. At that 
 time, therefore, the slave-owning interest was the pre 
 dominant one in Congress. Slavery, however, was a 
 decaying institution in the Northern and Eastern 
 states; and, though abolition was an idea hardly 
 broached at that period, there was great jealousy 
 between the Southern and Northern States, on the 
 subject of taxation. The Constitution, in its nature of 
 a compromise, shirked every dangerous question that 
 could be avoided, and nowhere defined what were the 
 political relations of a slave to the State. Representa 
 tion and taxation were to be proportioned to popula 
 tion, and so at once the dilemma arose, whether 
 slaves were to be regarded as population or not. At 
 last a compromise was come to the most illogical of 
 any recorded in political history by which a slave was 
 to be counted for purposes of taxation and represen 
 tation as three-fifths of a white citizen. The com 
 promise, like most compromises, satisfied neither party. 
 The North justly considered that the South was under- 
 taxed ; the South, not without reason, considered the 
 
152 CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES. 
 
 North had more than its due share of representatives. 
 This grievance was not long in coming to a practical 
 issue on the territorial question. 
 
 By 1820, the whole relations of the Slave and Free 
 States had entirely changed. Of the old States, New 
 Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
 and Pennsylvania had altogether abolished slavery; 
 while, in New York and New Jersey, slavery was 
 abolished prospectively. Of the new States admitted 
 to the Union, Vermont, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and 
 Maine were free ; and Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, 
 Mississippi, and Alabama were slave-holding. By this 
 year, too, the growth in population of the Free States 
 had completely outstripped that of the Slave States. 
 The population of the Free States was 5,143,476 to 
 4,371,921 in the Slave. Thus, the Free States had 
 already a decided majority in the House of Represen 
 tatives, with the certainty that this majority would in 
 crease year by year. In the Senate there were twelve 
 Free States to eleven Slave ; and, therefore, it became 
 of immense political importance to the South to coun 
 teract the inevitable predominance of the North in 
 Congress, by increasing the number of Slave States. 
 
 The "irrepressible conflict" between Slavery and 
 Freedom came for the first time to an open issue in 
 this year of 1820, when the Territory of Missouri claimed 
 admission as a State. The House of Representatives 
 passed a bill introduced for the purpose, coupled with 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE TEEEITOKIES. 153 
 
 an amendment, that Missouri should be a Free State, but 
 the Senate rejected the bill on account of the amend 
 ment. The difficulty as usual was got over by a com 
 promise, which established no principle. Missouri was 
 admitted, with permission to adopt slavery or not, as 
 she chose. And, in order to reconcile the Free State 
 party to this concession, slavery was declared illegal in 
 all Territories of the United States north of latitude 
 36 30 . If slavery was morally wrong, it was as much 
 wrong in latitude 37 as in latitude 35. If it was 
 politically objectionable in northern latitudes, the de 
 gree of latitude was strangely chosen, as Virginia, Ken 
 tucky, and Missouri, lay entirely north of the forbidden 
 line. In fact, the Missouri compromise always reminded 
 me of the story of the drunkard who promised to take 
 the pledge on condition that the abstinence society 
 would supply him brandy for a week s debauch. Still, 
 for a few years, the compromise staved off the dis 
 sension. It was not till 1849 that the old quarrel 
 burst forth again, on the proposed admission of 
 California. 
 
 In spite of every effort of the South, its relative in 
 feriority in population had still further increased during 
 these thirty years. Of the new States admitted since 
 the Missouri compromise, and in accordance with its 
 provisions, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas, were slave- 
 holding ; but Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa, were 
 free. The number of the Slave and Free States was 
 
154 CONSTITUTION OF THE TEKKITORIES. 
 
 still exactly equal ; and as the South was always more 
 politically united than the North, its influence in the 
 Senate was still the predominating one. But the popu 
 lations of the Free and the Slave States were now respec 
 tively 13,342,327 and 9,612,969 ; so that, in the House of 
 Representatives, the South was in a decreasing minority. 
 Minnesota and Oregon had both been admitted as 
 Territories ; and as they both lay north of the Missouri 
 line, they were certain to claim admission very shortly 
 as Free States. The supremacy of the South was 
 threatened in the Senate, and it was at this moment 
 that California demanded admission under a free con 
 stitution. There can be little question that, according 
 to the spirit of the Missouri compromise, California 
 could only be admitted as a Free State, for but a very 
 small portion of her territory, and that almost unin 
 habited, lay south of latitude 36 30 . On the other 
 hand, the South felt that the compromise had not ful 
 filled her expectations; that, in fact, it was a losing 
 bargain. The truth is, the South has never been 
 able or willing to admit the fact that the reason of 
 her want of prosperity, as compared with the North, 
 is due solely to those natural causes which make free 
 labour more productive than slave ; and has, in con 
 sequence, constantly endeavoured to rectify the laws 
 of nature by artificial legislation. In 1820, it was 
 believed that the Missouri compromise would restore 
 the balance of power, and make the Slave States 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES. 155 
 
 as influential in the Union, as they had been in 1790. 
 By 1849 the error of this calculation had been dis 
 covered ; and the South now believed that it was the 
 existence of the Missouri compromise which marred 
 the development of her prosperity. The Southern 
 members, therefore, opposed the admission of California 
 as a Free State, and threatened secession in case of her 
 admission, probably with more sincerity than was then 
 imagined. At any rate, the North was alarmed, and a 
 new compromise was come to, after months of angry 
 dispute, even more illogical than the Missouri one. 
 By this, the Clay compromise, California was admitted 
 as a Free State ; but Utah and New Mexico, both 
 north of latitude 36 30 , were admitted as Terri 
 tories without any inhibition of slavery ; while, in the 
 same spirit of giving with one hand and taking with 
 the other, the slave trade was abolished in the dis 
 trict of Columbia, and the fugitive slave laws were 
 enacted. 
 
 This further concession to the South only patched 
 up a peace for four years. In 1854, the Kansas- 
 Nebraska bill roused the old feud. The South insisted 
 that, in violation of the Missouri compromise, Kansas 
 should be a Slave State, and only gave way when 
 Douglas proposed a third and final compromise, that 
 Congress should relinquish any power of determining 
 the conditions on which a new Territory should be 
 admitted into the Union, but should leave it to the 
 
156 CONSTITUTION OF THE TERRITORIES. 
 
 people of each territory " to regulate their own affairs 
 in their own way." 
 
 Up to the time of the outbreak of the insurrection, 
 no new State had claimed admission to the Union, and 
 the principles on which territorial legislation are to be 
 based still remain unsettled. Had it not been for the 
 war, the question would ere this have been brought up 
 again by the demand of Utah for admission as a State. 
 According to the Douglas compromise, the fact that she 
 chooses to regulate her own affairs with regard to poly 
 gamy in her own way, is no more reason for opposing her 
 admission than that she chooses to regulate her affairs 
 with regard to slavery in her own manner. So, too, if 
 the Union should be consolidated again, it is certain 
 that Mexico and probably Cuba will come under its 
 dominion. It is difficult to see by what extension of 
 the territorial system these new acquisitions could be 
 governed. They could not be admitted as States, and 
 there is no power in the Constitution to hold them as 
 Colonies. I cannot doubt that, even without this war, 
 the " manifest destiny" would very shortly have led to 
 an alteration in the relations between the United States 
 and its Territories ; or, in other words, to an alteration 
 of the Constitution. 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 157 
 
 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 IT was on an icy-cold night that I first heard Wendell 
 Phillips. I mention this fact not for its intrinsic im 
 portance, but because it serves to show that I entered 
 his lecture-room under unfavourable circumstances. 
 For some days before, Willard s Hotel and Pennsylvania 
 Avenue had been placarded with notices that Wendell 
 Phillips was to lecture at the Smithsonian Institute. I 
 had made up my mind to go, but in the evening I had 
 gone in to the house of some kind friends of mine 
 where the cigar-case was always ready, and the flask 
 of monongahela was always full. Sitting there over the 
 fire, talking politics, as was our custom, I felt less and 
 less inclined to go out into the bleak, rainy night to hear 
 what I expected was the harangue of a mere "sensation" 
 orator. Amongst the company was Caleb Gushing, the 
 most anti-abolitionist, perhaps, of Northern Democrats ; 
 I happened to mention to him that it had been my 
 intention to go and hear Wendell Phillips, if it had not 
 been for the inclemency of the weather. His answer 
 
158 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 to me was (and for that as well as for many pleasant 
 evenings I shall always feel grateful to President 
 Pierce s late attorney-general), "it is an opportunity 
 you ought not to lose." This remark, coming as it did 
 from an old political antagonist of the anti-slavery 
 orator, induced me to alter my resolution, and through 
 the dark, ill-lit, ill-paved streets of Washington I 
 groped my way, in spite of the snow and rain, to the 
 Smithsonian Institute. 
 
 This building, which, by the way, was founded by 
 an Englishman, is about the chilliest and most cheer 
 less of scientific institutes that it has ever been my lot 
 to enter. It was full early when I reached the place, 
 but the hall was crammed so that it was with difficulty 
 I could find standing room. Upon the platform there 
 was Vice-President Hamlin, looking in the half-light 
 as if the Southern story was true, and his dusky com 
 plexion really bore traces of negro origin. There was 
 there also Charles Sumner, resting his head as usual 
 upon the stick grasped between his knees ; half-a-dozen 
 members of Congress, the two secretaries of the Presi 
 dent, Mr. Hay, and Mr. Nicolay, and a good number of 
 the minor Washington notabilities. The audience itself 
 contained a large proportion of women, but the majority, 
 I should say, were young men. Amongst the crowd, too, 
 I observed a fair sprinkling of coloured persons seated 
 side by side with the white hearers. I may mention 
 that I was present at several other lectures at the 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 159 
 
 Smithsonian, and that on this occasion alone was there 
 anything approaching to a crowd. 
 
 The orator was introduced by Professor Pierpoint, 
 the President of the Institute, in a half-apologetic tone, 
 requesting a lenient hearing for the speaker, if he should 
 say anything calculated to shock the feelings of his 
 audience. 
 
 After this address, Wendell Phillips came forward a 
 spare, slight man, with scanty, greyish hair, dressed in 
 colours of almost quaker-like sombreness. My first im 
 pression was that he looked like a cross between a dis 
 senting minister and a country doctor. His air was 
 that of a man old before his time, worn out by anxiety 
 and disappointment : the one sign of genius was the 
 high, narrow forehead, and the one attractive feature 
 was the wonderful sweetness of his smile. It was in a 
 low, hesitating tone that he began to speak. Gradually 
 his voice acquired volume, and somehow or other, with 
 out an apparent effort, or without raising his voice 
 above the tone of ordinary conversation, he seemed to 
 fill the room. A very few sentences convinced me that 
 I was listening to no ordinary speaker. I have heard 
 many orators, in many countries, but I can truly say 
 that Wendell Phillips is the only one whom I could 
 have listened to, standing, for two hours, without a 
 sense of weariness. His speech, as I noted it at the 
 time, and as I gathered from the summary of it pub 
 lished afterwards, ran as follows : 
 
160 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 " My friends, I have not come here to bring you any 
 thing worthy of the journey, I have only come here, as 
 I sincerely believe ; to say l amen to the brave words 
 which have of late been uttered in yonder Capitol. I do 
 not make any pretensions as a speaker. I have talked 
 a little on anti-slavery, but, as Dr. Johnson remarked on 
 a similar question, / have only been able to do de 
 cently well what nobody else considered worth 
 doing at all. But I have come here to-night very 
 willingly, because, if a word of mine, or any number of 
 words, any amount of effort, could add one atom of 
 possibility to the chance that this war should carry com 
 fort to the hovels of Carolina, I should deem my whole 
 life an abundant success. I have no other object in 
 life, as far as I know, than to make this Union, which 
 I have sought honestly to sever, mean justice to nine 
 teen millions of people, and who, I think, at this 
 moment are willing it should be so. If any eifort that 
 I could make to-night would contribute toward that 
 result, I would make it with more than cheerfulness 
 with the utmost enthusiasm. 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, as an abolitionist and I am little 
 more devoted for thirty years towards having the 
 negro recognised as a man in these thirty-four States, I 
 confess to having no other interest in politics than that 
 this Union should do the negro justice, should do itself 
 the credit, to show it is educated up to the point of 
 doing that justice. 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS, 161 
 
 " I repeat, as an abolitionist, I have no great interest 
 in this war that is, I take no interest in the choice of 
 paths by which the Government shall lead us, because, as 
 far as I am able to study events and results, I honestly 
 believe that whatever this convulsion does, or fails to 
 do, one thing no man, no party, can prevent its doing, 
 and that is, shaking off the chains of every negro on the 
 continent. I do not mean that any man intends it, for 
 I don t care what man intends* When a person gets 
 into the rapids of Niagara it doesn t matter much what 
 he intends ; he will go over. (Loud cries of That s 
 so. ) In my view, the system of bondage in these States 
 has received its death-blow at the hands of its friends, 
 I do not believe that slavery can survive the effects of 
 this convulsion. As an abolitionist simply, I feel just 
 as much at ease in looking at this war as I do when 
 looking at Rarey with Cruiser in his hand. N"o matter 
 for the red eyes and panting sides of the brute, he will 
 go down. So, I know all the brutes south of us will go 
 down to destruction ; and I base my opinion on two or 
 three very patent facts. In the first place, the plea that 
 has been thrown in our teeth for the last ten years is, 
 that Cotton is king. The overseer made his whip longer 
 so as to extend over the Senate of the United States. 
 
 " And now as to the political question. It was the 
 North at the feet of the South. I have no wonder that 
 the South despised her; she never met in yonder Capitol 
 
 M 
 
162 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 a man from the North who had a backbone until within 
 a few years. She had cause, indeed, to despise us. 
 Despising us, she tried an experiment in miniature. 
 Missouri pitted herself against Kansas. The South 
 threw down the gauntlet of a single State, and the North 
 responded with a single State also. She sent her pea 
 sants, her farmers, west of the Mississippi. They went 
 as peasants and as farmers. The civilization of the 
 North, which means ploughshares and schoolhouses, 
 took the field in a Territory against bowie-knives and 
 bludgeons, which represent the South. They were fairly 
 matched. John Brown, the most influential American 
 in aiding our civilization (hisses and counter-cheers), 
 John Brown went to Kansas, a farmer with the best 
 stock, and owner of the best orchard west of the Missis 
 sippi. He carried, as pledges of a good citizen, the 
 prizes he had won in the agricultural fairs of Ohio. He 
 didn t even own a gun or a fowling-piece. He planted 
 his trees, advertised his stock, and it was not until 
 Missourians came across the border and destroyed his 
 orchard, and stole his cattle, that the old man went out 
 and bought a musket. The history of Kansas since is 
 written too patent to need repeating. She has crushed 
 Missouri under her feet, and has taken her seat in the 
 Senate of the United States as a representative of free 
 life and free labour. What Missouri did to Kansas the 
 South does to the North to-day. 
 
 " I trust, further, for the suicide of the slave system, 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 163 
 
 to the fact that the South has re-enacted Missouri, and 
 the North is re-enacting Kansas to-day. Educated and 
 understanding the slave power, educated and knowing 
 how far and how much it must resist, and what must be 
 its means of resistance, we should rise to the importance 
 of the moment, and seize the golden opportunity for 
 for ever wresting our beloved land from the insidious 
 influence of the slave propagandists. Every cannon 
 fired to-day is a better anti-slavery lecturer than a 
 thousand men like myself. Every cannon that Halleck 
 has fired, or McClellan has heard for he has never 
 fired one* is a better anti-slavery speech than was ever 
 made in yonder Senate, or Faneuil Hall, for it teaches 
 the Northern people the meaning of the crisis, and leads 
 them up to the responsibility of the hour. 
 
 " But my hopes are based on another consideration. 
 For the first time, the gates of the Holy of Holies have 
 opened, and we have heard a voice from the sanctuary 
 of God. From that Cabinet, before which, in impres 
 sive and utter confidence, the nineteen millions of the 
 North bow to-day, we have heard a voice. It is the 
 message of Abraham Lincoln to the Border States (the 
 audience here rose on their feet, and gave three cheers 
 for the President) a message of which I hold the practi 
 cal amount to be this : Gentlemen of the Border States, 
 now is your time to sell ; if you do not sell now, and the 
 exigencies of the Government require your property in a 
 
 * This was spoken in March. 
 M 2 
 
164 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 few months time, don t say I did not give you warning/ 
 That is a very remarkable document, that message of 
 the President. I am not practically acquainted with 
 rail-splitting, but I am told that, in taking a large log, 
 the first thing you do is to apply a small wedge. Well, 
 this measure is a very small one, but it is a wedge for 
 all that. The negro preacher said, If I found in the 
 Testament a command to go through that stone wall, I 
 should go at it. Going at it is my part ; getting through 
 it is the Lord s. Well, now, I hold to this in some 
 measure in regard to this emancipation. Going at it is 
 the President s part, and getting him through it is the 
 people s part. Now, if I am here for any peculiar 
 purpose, it is to persuade you, my friends, to help the 
 President through. In other words, seriously, as an 
 abolitionist, I go back to the year 1823, when, in obe 
 dience to the request of Clarkson, Wilberforce, and 
 others, George Canning sent out his celebrated resolu 
 tions to the legislatures of the West India Islands. 
 That was the first voice from the English Government ; 
 for the first time the Government spoke. They said 
 slavery ought to be ameliorated, and that they looked 
 to the legislatures of the Islands to adopt the necessary 
 measures. That was all they sought. A very tiny 
 wedge ! It went to the Islands, however, and stirred up 
 a great deal of excitement ; and hence came the martyr 
 dom of John Smith, that thunder-bolt which Henry 
 Brougham raised, and hurled across the Atlantic at the 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 165 
 
 slave system of Jamaica. It went down eleven years 
 afterwards. I look upon this message of the President 
 in the light of George Canning s resolution. It is the 
 first voice from the Government a very pregnant one. 
 " The anti-slavery sentiment, and I say it with all due 
 respect, has conquered the Cabinet. You here think a 
 great deal of your city of Washington, you have a right 
 to. But I am one of the people I come up here from 
 the millions. I look upon you as a rebel camp, nothing 
 more nor less. You are in rebellion against your former 
 masters. The tyrants of slavedom have borne the sway 
 here for forty years, and you have now rebelled and 
 driven them out. Thus you are rebels, indeed! The 
 question of the hour is, whether you have the ability, 
 whether you have the knowledge of government which 
 will enable you to take possession of the helm. Brown- 
 son said, with epigrammatic emphasis, We do not want 
 any more men on the Potomac ready to die ; we want 
 men there willing and ready to kill somebody. What 
 I would say, in the same sense, is this : the North has 
 given you 700,000 men ready to die ; we do not want 
 that. De Tocqueville said of a similar struggle to this 
 a struggle betwixt the nobles and the people (and 
 this is exactly our attitude to-day) The nobles went 
 down, not because they were not willing to die, but 
 because they were not fit to govern. What the South 
 is called upon to show to-day is, her fitness to govern, 
 not her readiness to die ; she has shown that already. 
 
166; WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 " Now, the reason why I think so much of the Presi 
 dent s Message is, because I read in it fitness to govern. 
 I do not think he has entered Canaan, but he has set 
 his face Zion-ward. I love the Constitution ; though I 
 have cursed it a hundred times, and I shall curse it 
 again if it does not mean justice. I have laboured nine 
 teen years to take nineteen States out of this Union ; 
 and if I have spent any nineteen years to the satisfaction 
 of my Puritan conscience, it was those nineteen years. 
 The child of six generations of Puritans, I was taught 
 at a mother s knee to love purity before peace. And 
 when Daniel Webster taught me that the Union meant 
 making white men hypocrites and black men slaves 
 that it meant Lynch law in the Carolinas, and mob law 
 in Massachusetts that it meant lies in the pulpit, and 
 gags in the Senate when I was told that the cementing 
 of the Union was returning slaves to their masters, in 
 the name of the God I love, and had been taught to 
 honour, I cursed the Constitution and the Union, and 
 endeavoured to break it, and, thank God ! it is broken 
 now. But when last summer I saw, or fancied I saw, 
 that this Union could not exist unless it meant justice ; 
 when I fancied I saw nineteen millions of people already 
 drifting with a current as inevitable as that of Niagara, 
 and when, to-day, I hear the voice of the President, as 
 I believe, uttering the same sentiment, I cannot but 
 accept the whole thirty-four States. I am a Yankee 
 born, and will buy Union at any time at a fair price. 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 167 
 
 " The first line of the President s Message recognises 
 this crisis. It says in effect Gentlemen of the Border 
 States, release your slaves, we will pay you for them. 
 The Constitution in peace gives him no warrant ; the 
 Constitution in war gives him an absolute warrant, even 
 to pour out the treasury of the United States at the 
 feet of Kentucky. He recognises the Constitution ; he 
 recognises the fact that in war-time the Constitution is 
 the root of the power of the Government, but that its 
 branches spread beyond all constitutional limits. When 
 the emergency of the State requires it, he can do any 
 thing. He can interfere with slavery to any extent ; he 
 can trample it under his feet, or he can buy it out. 
 
 , " The President, in his Message, has opened the door 
 of emancipation a foot, and, if he holds out and con 
 tinues in the right, I shall be able to drive right through 
 with a coach and six, with William Lloyd Garrison as a 
 driver ; that is, the President recognises what I believe to 
 be the constitutional right of the Government, to do any 
 thing to save the State. He recognises the right to throw 
 the cargo overboard to save the ship. In other words, it 
 was heretofore believed that he hadn t emigrated from 
 Kentucky that he hadn t got his eyes opened yet any 
 wider than would enable him to see the limits of the 
 State of Kentucky alone.* That Message proves that 
 he takes in the whole Union ; that he sees the necessity 
 
 * Lincoln, though a naturalized citizen of Illinois, was born and bred 
 in Kentucky, and married to a Kentucky lady. 
 
168 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 of the hour. He says, virtually, Gentlemen, it may 
 be possible that we cannot conquer with the cannon ; 
 we shall have to conquer with emancipation ; and I, 
 Abraham Lincoln, announce that if that exigency comes 
 upon me, I am ready to adopt it. He treads as far 
 on the thin ice as he dares do ; let us assure him that 
 the ice is strong, and bid him go a-head. I value this 
 Message, not because Mr. Lincoln speaks, for he can 
 neither preserve slavery nor kill it. It does not lie 
 in the power of any single individual to do either. It 
 lies in the Government in the public. What I desire 
 is to impress you with a deep conviction of the respon 
 sibility which rests upon you as a part of the nineteen 
 millions. You cannot expect the President to do this 
 work alone. We are his right hand and his left. How 
 much will you do ? He has come out from the Cabinet, 
 and held out his hand. To how much will the people re 
 spond? I, for one, say, Go on, old man, I am with you/ 
 " I think that we are too much accustomed to 
 make light of the crisis. We think the South is broken 
 and battered out : she doesn t draw much water. 
 Donelson and Henry have been surrendered, and our 
 troops are moving backward. We begin to regard 
 them as powerless and foolish. Yes; for I used to 
 read in the Herald and Tribune, in regard to the 
 MerrimaC) that she was so severely battered out and 
 loaded down with iron, that she couldn t float. Southern 
 folly had made the same mistake in science so our 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 169 
 
 newspapers asserted that she had in statesmanship. 
 They tried to establish a Confederacy, but it wouldn t 
 float, and now they had a vessel that was in the same 
 condition. But one day she steamed down to Fortress 
 Monroe, and frigates lay in wrecks on either side : what 
 stayed her destructive progress? Being, so to speak, 
 a soldier down in the trenches, I know but little of 
 the doings of the Cabinet, but I think if we had de 
 pended solely upon the defence that was provided 
 from the White House or the Admiralty, we should 
 have been but badly off. But the people sent down 
 the little Monitor. They got her up, and paid for her 
 themselves to spite the Administration, and flung her 
 right into the face of the navy. She went down and 
 came out victorious. This is a significant fact, a repre 
 sentative fact. It is the people coming up with their 
 impulsive, instinctive, and ready common-sense, making 
 up for a deficiency of the Government ; and, I believe, 
 the anti-slavery sentiment of to-day is like the round 
 house of the Monitor, it spreads itself on all sides, and 
 nothing can get out of reach : that is the meaning of 
 the President s Message. 
 
 "So, to-day, as an Abolitionist, with this evidence 
 of the willingness of the Government with this re 
 sponse of the more than willingness of the people 
 with this rebuke of l Cotton is king with this educa 
 tion of the North to the crisis, I believe that the back 
 of slavery is broken. Whether you think that the stars 
 
170 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 and stripes mean liberty or not, the slaves know that 
 such is their meaning. The slave will recognise in that 
 old flag the emblem of freedom, and, flocking to its 
 standard, will refuse to be driven from beneath its folds. 
 As an Abolitionist, therefore, I have no considerable 
 interest in this war. The only interest I have is as a 
 citizen ; is as a man with some feeling of responsibility 
 for the institutions of the nineteen States. It is as such 
 that I survey the operations of Government, and count 
 and scrutinize them in regard to their influence on the 
 issues of this war. I think there are two paths leading 
 out of it : one is the path of peace, radical, profitable, 
 solid, and permanent ; the other is the path of peace 
 obtained through compromise, second-rate power, and, 
 in the end, disaster. 
 
 "The action of the Government which to me is the 
 most promising for the future of this Union is the 
 restoration to command of John C. Fremont. The 
 Herald, supported by the bankerdom of the North, 
 indicted him for inefficiency and lack of integrity. The 
 Grand Jury met at the White House, and wrote igno 
 ramus on the indictment.* That I read, I think, in the 
 act of the President in sending him to the mountains. 
 If John Brown cannot have the mountain, I know of 
 no one to whom its care would be better entrusted, 
 than John Fremont. My first choice would have been 
 
 * This was just after the appointment of Fremont to the command 
 of the army in the mountain district of "Western Virginia. 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 171 
 
 John Brown, but I bow to the dispensation of Provi 
 dence and Virginia, and take John Fremont. We have 
 many bright spots on the battlefields of our history, 
 but the brightest spot in our history is not on the 
 battlefield. It was when a successful general, on the 
 eve of victory a thousand miles from the Capitol, 
 sheathed his sword at the bidding of the Government, 
 and came back to submit in silence to gross suspicion. 
 The charge of his bodyguard at Springfield was a gal 
 lant deed ; but it falls before the Roman silence the 
 more than Roman submission of the general. We may 
 say now to the proud courts of Europe, Democracy 
 breeds heroes. Never, since Washington, has man been 
 privileged by God to do such credit to republican in 
 stitutions as that general at the height of his triumph, 
 when he bowed his head and came .back in silence. All 
 hail, John Fremont ! we thank you for vindicating 
 Democracy. 
 
 " As a citizen, not as an Abolitionist, I am anxious 
 which path Government takes in this war. I care very 
 little about the technicalities of the Constitution 
 very little indeed. I think Daniel Webster was a very 
 bad lawyer, though a great statesman, when he said, " If 
 one section of the Constitution is voluntarily broken, 
 there is no obligation on the other to abide by it." 
 He knew well that, in strict legal phrase, the sections 
 were not parties to the Constitution; and he knew 
 quite as well that one wrong does not justify another. 
 
172 WENDELL PHILLIPS, 
 
 He was aware of the fact that the Constitution was 
 no partnership it was a Government resting upon the 
 people ; but he knew also that there did underlie 
 this Constitution a great compact, a great compromise 
 between rival institutions. He knew that in the time 
 of 1787, the South, essentially a nobility, essentially 
 an aristocracy an aristocracy based on skin, an aris 
 tocracy based on race, based on money! that they 
 made a compact with the North, essentially a Demo 
 cracy, and that that compact was virtually this : Slavery 
 is a sin, slavery is an evil, slavery is a weakness ; the 
 country is in perilous circumstances ; we, in fact, dare 
 not trust God; justice seems to be a sin. Now we 
 cannot believe that doing right is sinning we cannot 
 rise to the level of that Christianity of yours, but we 
 make a compromise : If you let slavery be at peace, 
 if you allow her to come under the normal and per 
 sistent influence of free ideas, if you will assimilate 
 her among other institutions of the country, we grant 
 you so much : we will advise the father to forget his 
 children, the husband his wife, the mother to sacrifice 
 her cradle we will grant it all : and the compensation 
 shall be, that you shall keep that system quiet under 
 the broad influence of free ideas ; and our reward shall 
 be, that in the ultimate result, as an atonement for this 
 temporary injury, our ideas may mould, assimilate, and 
 gradually melt away this abnormal institution. That 
 was the essential compact. Our fathers said We can t 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 173 
 
 make justice the existing law of the land, but we will 
 plant the seeds that shall produce it in the future. The 
 South said We will remain in, and we will keep quiet. 
 The North said We will trust to the inevitable, the irre 
 pressible conflict of ideas. So we have gone along for 
 thirty years. Now slavery breaks this bond. South 
 Carolina takes her four hundred thousand bondsmen 
 out of the reach of Massachusetts ideas : she breaks 
 the pledge that she had made to Massachusetts. The 
 Pilgrim State went down on her knees and returned 
 Anthony Burns. What was the equivalent ? The equi 
 valent was, that if you leave slavery under our general 
 Influence it will melt away. Now South Carolina tries 
 to take her four hundred thousand bondsmen out of the 
 reach of this general influence. Well, last spring I said, 
 Go. I didn t then entertain the same opinion of the 
 North as I do now, and that was the reason for my say 
 ing, Go. And I think to-day, that unless this war result 
 in liberty, it would be better if she had gone infinitely 
 better. Unless within twelve months, or twenty-four, 
 Maryland, Delaware, and half Virginia are Free States, 
 and we be enabled to look east and west of this marble 
 Capitol on free-soil, would to God that that building 
 with this City of Washington had been shelled to ashes ! 
 for it is nothing but a bribe tending to keep the 
 North quiet. 
 
 " And now I say, to all who are responsible for the 
 future, the question is whether liberty or slavery shall 
 
174 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 rule this great continent, and South Carolina knows 
 it she has the statesmanship to know it. She said 
 to Massachusetts in 1835, Abolish free-speech. What 
 she really meant was that she could not live with free- 
 speech, and she cannot. The real question is to 
 day as to what extent she can trample free-speech 
 under her feet. The South is as sincere as we are in 
 this struggle. Ten millions of people grapple twenty 
 millions by the throat, and literally, enthusiastically, 
 and from the bottom of their hearts believe they are 
 fighting for an idea that holds the salvation of the 
 world. I honour South Carolina for her sincerity there 
 is no doubt as to her believing what she says : she wants 
 to have her ideas govern the continent. Our fathers 
 fancied those ideas and our own could be moulded 
 together. They tried it, and I am willing, for one, that 
 they should have tried the experiment for two genera 
 tions perfectly willing. They tried, under the Constitu 
 tion, to see whether Massachusetts and South Carolina 
 could live together. They united us in a bond of parch 
 ment. They put powder and fire into a cannon, screwed 
 up at the muzzle, and hoped thus to assimilate the two. 
 Mr. Webster died supposing those ideas had been assi 
 milated, but the convulsion has come and caused an ex 
 plosion. We stand to-day amongst the pieces, and, almost 
 till now, the Cabinet say, and the Democratic Party say, 
 and the weak-kneed Republicans re-echo the words: 
 Put the pieces carefully back in their places put the 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 175 
 
 same powder, the same fire inside say the Constitution 
 backward instead of your prayers, and there will never be 
 another convulsion. Now I don t believe it. It is no 
 caprice. This war didn t spring out of the ground. It 
 is nobody s fault neither my fault nor John Calhoun s. 
 It is the inevitable result of the seeds which our fathers 
 planted seventy years ago. It is a struggle between 
 the slaveholders and the people. Every nation has 
 faced it once in its life. England faced it when the 
 Cavalier and the Puritan came in contact at Naseby ; 
 France faced it nearly a hundred years ago, and it is 
 not ended yet. We have begun it. This is its epoch of 
 battle. The South comes up to the southern bank of 
 your Potomac, without either men, munitions, or money 
 nothing but an idea ; and the North goes up with men, 
 munitions, money, and major-generals, and the only 
 thing she lacks is an idea. This contest is one betwixt 
 the slaveholders and the people> it never will or can 
 cease. Yonder Congress may make what truces they 
 please the Democratic Party may intrigue what com 
 promises they please ; but it never will cease, any more 
 than any other war of ideas ever did, until one or the 
 other goes under. 
 
 " I do not believe that Democracy is on trial. What I 
 believe is on trial to-day, is the effort of our fathers to 
 have Aristocracy and Democracy dwell together in the 
 United States. I believe they tried to mould into our 
 Democracy an alien institution ; and, for one, I thank 
 
176 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 God that 1861 comes up to the record and says it is a 
 failure that the slave-clauses of the Constitution are 
 buried beyond resurrection. I do not believe, however, 
 that it is an experiment ; I believe it is done and settled. 
 Friends, let me say one thing further. You may ask 
 me what I demand of Government : I will tell you. I 
 am not going to criticise it does not belong to me. I 
 would not criticise the various schemes by which yonder 
 Senate means to meet the ultimate result they are all 
 indifferent to me : whether the elaborate and, as I think, 
 sound system of Mr. Senator Sumner, or the profound 
 philosophical analysis of our situation which Mr. Con- 
 way of Kansas has given us, be adopted by Govern 
 ment (and they are identical in many respects), I don t 
 care. And it seems to me that as slavery began this 
 war for without slavery it never would have been the 
 Government has a right, through the rebellion, to smite 
 slavery to the dust. I want it done, I don t care what is 
 the method. I thank God he created Beauregard (if 
 He did) ; I thank every South-Carolinian who has come 
 up to the southern bank of the Potomac, because, in my 
 view, they have given Government a right to abolish 
 slavery by law. Abraham Lincoln sits to-day sur* 
 rounded by thunderbolts which South Carolina has 
 forged for him. He has but to lift one and hurl it at the 
 system, and it is a victory to-day and peace for ever, 
 Now, therefore, if you will allow me a few minutes, I 
 desire to tell you how I, one of the people, arrive at 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 177 
 
 this conclusion. I believe, with John Quincy Adams, 
 that the Government has the power and authority 
 to abolish slavery by the Constitution I mean by the 
 Constitution now. 
 
 " I cling to the Constitution to-day, because it has got 
 into that position which means justice. It cannot live, 
 in my opinion, unless it does mean justice : it has no 
 other source of life but justice. It is a neck-and-neck 
 race between Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, 
 which shall get the negroes on his side. Davis is on the 
 other side of the Potomac uttering his words, and the 
 President is on this side, in Washington. I think Con 
 gress has the right to abolish slavery, while Congress 
 has done away or the Government, for I do not wish 
 to make any distinction, any odious distinction ; I say 
 while the Government has done away with my right of 
 habeas corpus, I could be sent to Fort Warren for 
 making this speech, and you for listening to it. The 
 Government has put its hands into our pockets, and, by 
 the legal-tender clause, has taken out ten dollars out of 
 every hundred of the value of every acre in New 
 England. That is a very despotic measure, but it is a 
 good one : it saves the Union. The Government has 
 allowed up to this moment every general of a division to 
 return fugitive slaves, if he fancied it necessary. That, 
 certainly, finds no warrant in the Constitution ; still, I 
 bow to the military despotism. The Government goes 
 to Charleston, fills up the harbour with stones in the 
 
 N 
 
178 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 service of the Union : I, for one, have no cause of com 
 plaint to utter. But if Congress has tampered with 
 land, has tampered with habeas corpus, has tampered 
 with our Southern ports, why can it not act in a similar 
 manner in removing the causes of this rebellion ? why 
 can it not tamper with the laws that bind the negro to 
 his master ? But I myself go further than this doctrine 
 of the Constitution. I have very little respect for 
 parchment. I remember that slavery has ruled this 
 Government for sixty years. I remember that when 
 Jefferson wanted the mouth of the Mississippi, he said, 
 and John Quincy Adams concurred, There is no right in 
 the Constitution, but America needs it/ He purchased 
 it, and to-day it is the jewel in our Western Colonies. 
 Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin will pour out their 
 blood thicker than the waters of the Mississippi, before 
 they would surrender it. And to-day the North has 
 said, We own down to the Gulf, and we will have it in 
 spite of the Carolinas. 
 
 " When slavery believed she needed Texas, she stole it, 
 and added it to this Union. And this is said to be con 
 stitutional ! The weapon slavery has forged for me for 
 seventy years, shall I not use it ? Shall despotism do 
 great things illegally for two generations, and liberty do 
 nothing at all according to law? This constitutional 
 maxim, which the South has taught me, and carried 
 into execution, while she held me bound like a spaniel to 
 her footstool, in order to build up the Union, have I no 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 179 
 
 right to take it, and forge it into a weapon in the service 
 of justice ? Is the Union all on one side ? May the South 
 fight with free feet and free hands, while we must go 
 into battle with General McClellan having both feet 
 and both hands bound ? No ! I say, all that the Con 
 stitution has given us for seventy years I claim to-day 
 I claim it in behalf of the negro, who has been ground 
 down for seventy years under its exercise. My fathers 
 promised the 400,000 negroes of the Carolinas that 
 they would not quit them until they saw them free. I 
 don t intend to. They promised them the ultimate 
 influence of Massachusetts ideas before they would let 
 them go. I believe to-day in the rightful constitutional 
 power, according to the strictest letter of the law and 
 according to the repeated precedents of all administra 
 tions, that what the time finds necessary and what the 
 future acquiesces in is law. I claim that to-day. Any 
 thing that a nation finds necessary, it is bound to adopt 
 in order to save itself. 
 
 " Why, gentlemen of Washington, you have spent for 
 us two million dollars per day. You bury two regiments 
 a month, two thousand men by disease, without a battle. 
 You rob every labouring-man of one-half of his pay for 
 the next thirty years by your taxes. You place the 
 curse of intolerable taxation on every cradle for the next 
 generation. What do you give us in return ? what is 
 the other side of the balance-sheet ? The North has 
 poured out its blood and money like water; it has 
 
 N 2 
 
180 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 levelled every fence of constitutional privilege, and 
 Abraham Lincoln sits to-day a more unlimited despot 
 than the world knows this side of China. What does 
 he render to the North for this unbounded confidence ? 
 Show us something, or I tell you that, within two years, 
 the indignant reaction of the people will hurl this 
 Cabinet in contempt from their seats, and the devils 
 that went out from yonder Capitol for there has been 
 no sweeping or garnishing will come back seven times 
 stronger: for I do not believe that Jefferson Davis, 
 driven to the Gulf, will go down to the waters and 
 perish, as certain brutes mentioned in the Gospel did. I 
 believe that when he finds the battle won t serve him, 
 he will accept compromise. I believe that it is possible 
 that the Democratic Party of the North may work so 
 far on public indifference, that even President Davis 
 may consent to come back into the Senate of the United 
 States. Yes, it is possible that even this convulsion may 
 pass by and we reap nothing that we may go through 
 all this expense of blood and treasure, and, politically, 
 may reap nothing. I do not mean that you can stop 
 ideas. I think, however, you have lost the golden 
 moment. When John Brown took possession of Harper s 
 Ferry, and on that Sunday held it in his right hand 
 when the disheartened town believed that there were 
 two thousand men in arms on the mountains, he might 
 have gone to the hills, and there made his preparations, 
 and then, instead of Virginia only trembling, the whole 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 18 | 
 
 South would have trembled. He sat down with Colonel 
 Washington in endeavouring to conciliate friendly slave 
 holders. Monday s sun rose upon him. the golden hour 
 of his actual purpose was gone, and God lifted him to 
 a gallows that made him the most influential man of 
 his generation. 
 
 " I think it possible that the Government may, in the 
 same way, have lost its golden opportunity that all we 
 may gain from this war will be its influence on ideas, 
 unless you will rouse the Government to a full sense 
 of its responsibility. I never shall believe that the 
 Government is aware of it until its organs use a dif 
 ferent tone in regard to the black race. We are all 
 looking and wanting to know about experiments with 
 the blacks. The Government is said to hesitate what 
 they shall do with the negroes. Well now, as an 
 Abolitionist, all I want is that you shall fight. Go right 
 down into the Slave States, encamp a hundred thousand 
 white men in South Carolina, and I venture to say that 
 one hundred thousand black men would rally to their 
 assistance. The South, in despair, would initiate Eman 
 cipation, and thus Liberty would come. You see I 
 believe in the blacks. All I want you to believe is that 
 black men have the same feelings and are influenced by 
 the same motives as white. The general opinion in 
 reference to the negro is, that he is a very incomplete 
 being, and that we have got to complete the creation 
 that we shall have to expend a whole treasury and 
 
182 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 a vast amount of brains in taking care of him. All you 
 are required to do is to leave the negro to look after 
 himself. I am tired of hearing about the negro ex 
 periment. What I beg you to remember, citizens of 
 of this great Republic, is that we ourselves are an 
 experiment according to the European standard. What 
 the negro is among races, Democracy is among Govern 
 ments. We are the negro of Governments. 
 
 "My text, then, is seize your opportunity. All 
 nations grow up by seizing their opportunities. All 
 statesmen are great, not by honesty, but by ability. I 
 don t doubt the honesty of the Cabinet : they mean well 
 they mean very well ; and, meaning well, will save their 
 souls up there, but it won t save the Union down here. 
 We want ability we want a policy. I don t be 
 lieve in subjugating South Carolina. If Major-General 
 McClellan could plant the stars- and-stripes either at 
 Charleston, Montgomery, or ISTew Orleans to-night, the 
 work would only be begun. You have your elephant, 
 what are you going to do with him ? This is no short 
 work. There are two things you cannot do. You 
 can t save slavery, however much you try : you can 
 destroy slavery with a very little indifference, but you 
 cannot save the Union without long years of trouble. 
 God demands of us an atonement commensurate with 
 our sins. For seventy years we have planted un 
 righteousnesswe have got .to gather the harvest of 
 trouble. You cannot get out of this war without a 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 183 
 
 long and toilsome trial. All the virtue and statesman 
 ship in the world won t save you ; the poison has en 
 tered the whole public mind. The South is honest 
 honest to the backbone. I believe in her honesty to 
 make up one portion of the effect of Emancipation. The 
 South-Carolinian, who has come up to Manassas, leaving 
 his wife and children to the care of his slaves, honestly 
 believes that they, the slaves, would fight for them ; he 
 thoroughly believes it ; it is the record of all slavery in 
 all ages. In San Domingo, when the French Commis 
 sioners proclaimed Emancipation in order to avert 
 invasion, a planter had armed his slaves, and trusted 
 them, until that majestic word, liberty, was pronounced, 
 and he saw them shrink from his side. He addressed 
 them in an affectionate manner, asking them if it was 
 possible that they, who had been in his family for up 
 wards of thirty years, could now desert him ? Their 
 answer was, Yes, massa ; though we love you much, we 
 love our freedom more. So it is. God has planted 
 common-sense so deep that all slavery cannot reach 
 down to root it out. 
 
 " If the North has any right to predominance in this 
 Union, it is because she has the ability to show, and 
 ought to show, that she loves justice and civilization. 
 Standing in this position, when you conquer the Caro- 
 linas, you carry with you the seeds of conversion. 
 Carolina can never be one with Massachusetts until you 
 make her like Massachusetts. To save the Union, 
 
184 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 don t conquer Carolina convert her, change her ideas, 
 apply a policy ; and let that policy be the education of 
 the ignorant, the relief of the oppressed, the instil 
 ment of a love for the Union into the breast of the 
 deluded, and the emancipation of the slaves. Suppose 
 Abraham Lincoln to-day should conquer South Carolina, 
 what does he gain ? He has not uttered a word that 
 the blacks can respond to. The poor whites hate him ; 
 the slaveowners hate him, of course ; in fact, there is 
 no one in South Carolina that does not hate him. Will 
 anything be gained, by conquering, on the policy pur 
 sued at present? But suppose, on the contrary, the 
 policy of Emancipation should be adopted, the blacks 
 will thank him from the bottom of their hearts, and 
 render him all the assistance in their power. I would 
 send 100,000 men into South Carolina, and force our 
 Government into a policy: and when the yellow-fever of 
 the South drove out our men, I would garrison the forts 
 with acclimated negroes under white officers, and hold 
 them against the world. The loyal slaveholder, if there 
 be any such, would, no doubt, give us his sympathy and 
 his co-operation. Better that he should be allowed to 
 put his hands into the Treasury up to his elbows rather 
 than that this money should be wasted on rascally con 
 tractors. As to the inveterate slaveholders, estimated 
 at four thousand, let them be colonized rather than the 
 four millions of slaves. I wish them no worse fate than 
 this, for I am opposed to capital punishment. 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 185 
 
 "So you see that my policy includes all the ele 
 ments. I should put conversion behind my cannon- 
 balls. In other words, I love Carolina : she has stood 
 side by side with Massachusetts she supported our 
 fathers in the dark hours of the revolutionary struggle : 
 God bless her ! I would give all the brains that New 
 England schools have given me, in order to keep the 
 pledge of my fathers of Massachusetts. When the re 
 cord of this Republic is written, I would have it said, 
 that in 1862, in our struggle, she kept the promise of 
 her youth ; that she did justice to the negro, and to the 
 white man of the South giving to one liberty and to 
 the other all the benefits of our republican institutions. 
 Why should we not ? Let us put Europe to shame. 
 
 " And now, at last, the golden hour on the clock of the 
 century has struck. Up ! men of ideas up ! children 
 of the Puritans in the nineteen States ! Seize the golden 
 moment ! Hurl at the system the thunderbolt the hour 
 has given you I Proclaim justice to Carolina ! bless her 
 with liberty and prosperity ! Have but one race from 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific one race for ever, as indi 
 visible as the granite that underlies this continent, to 
 rule this magnificent inheritance, and have no nation in 
 Europe that dare dictate to us how we shall fill our 
 harbours " 
 
 I have given this speech somewhat at length, because it 
 seemed to me the ablest popular statement of the views 
 of the Abolitionist Party that I came across in America. 
 
18(3 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 Of all the anti-slavery men that I met with, Wendell 
 Phillips was, in my judgment, the only one who faced the 
 question logically, and was prepared to admit, even to him 
 self, that if the Union could not be maintained without 
 preserving slavery, then the Union was not worth main 
 taining. The majority of the party laboured under the 
 fatal weakness, from their own point of view, that, hold 
 ing slavery to be a national sin, they yet could not re 
 concile themselves to the conclusion, that the Union had 
 been hitherto the stronghold of the very system they in 
 veighed against. They were always seeking to serve 
 both Freedom and the Union, and, seeking this, they 
 failed to preserve either. I do not wonder at their 
 weakness, but I wonder all the more at the mental in 
 dependence of the few who, like Wendell Phillips, were 
 able to rise above the influences, amongst which they 
 were reared and bred. 
 
 The mere perusal of this summary, meagre and broken 
 as it inevitably is, can hardly give the reader any impres 
 sion of the effect produced by it on the audience. No 
 doubt the circumstances under which it was delivered, 
 the state of passionate excitement with which his 
 audience were then hourly expecting to hear tidings 
 from the army of the Potomac, had much to do with it. 
 There was something impressive, too, in the reflection, 
 which every one of the hearers must have made for 
 himself, that, twelve months before, the orator could no 
 more have delivered such an address in the capital of 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 187 
 
 the Union than a Christian could go into the Mosque 
 of St. Sophia, and there preach against the doctrines of 
 Mahommedanism. Even as it was, there was known to 
 be risk of an assault upon the speaker; and the im 
 pression that, in some sense, he carried his life in his 
 hands, amidst a population half of whom were inter 
 ested in slavery, gave a somewhat similar excitement to 
 the performance, to that which forms the real attraction 
 of Blondin s exhibitions. 
 
 Still, with all this, even after the sensation had passed 
 away, it seems to me that, as a mere oratorical display, 
 the address was a very remarkable one. It was curious 
 to notice how the audience warmed beneath its deli 
 very. During the first few minutes, the speaker was 
 interrupted with occasional hisses, but gradually he 
 appeared to acquire the mastery over his hearers, and 
 to be able to work upon their feelings as he chose. 
 The political parts of his speech the attacks upon 
 McClellan, the eulogy of Fremont, the sneers at Eng 
 land, and, above all, the prognostications of the future 
 of America created immense enthusiasm, compared with 
 that which greeted the purely anti-slavery portions of 
 his speech ; but, towards the end, the excitement had 
 grown to such a height that there was nothing, I think, 
 which Phillips could have said, which would not have 
 been cheered enthusiastically. The charm of the speaker 
 consisted in the perfect self-possession, the lucid fluency, 
 and the never-faltering sequence with which his words 
 
188 WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 
 were spoken. His delivery reminded me of that of 
 the Bishop of Oxford, accompanied, however, with an 
 apparent earnestness which I never was fortunate 
 enough to see exhibited in any speech of the English 
 prelate. How far the speech was absolutely im 
 promptu, I was not able to satisfy myself. No notes 
 were used, but then, with a speaker who, like Wendell 
 Phillips, lectures perpetually on the same subject, it is 
 impossible but that a great part of what he says one 
 night should be a repetition of what he has said before. 
 Much of it, however, must have been spoken for the 
 occasion, and on the spur of the moment. I remember 
 one passage, that I have not quoted in my summary, 
 because I was not able to recall the order in which it 
 was spoken, which created a great sensation. The bill 
 for the abolition of slavery in the district of Columbia 
 was at that time being passed through Congress, and, 
 though its passage was certain, yet it had been delayed 
 by the opposition of the Border State Democrats. 
 Wendell Phillips was speaking of his personal hatred to 
 slavery : " I have never," he said, " set foot on slave 
 ground." There was an expression of disapprobation 
 from the back benches, which recalled to his mind 
 the fact that Washington was still a slave territory. 
 " No ! " he went on, " I am wrong ; I have this day, 
 for the first time, and, I hope, for the last, set foot 
 on ground where my fellow-men are slaves, and for this, 
 if for no other cause, I bear no love to the men whose 
 
WENDELL PHILLIPS. 189 
 
 obstinacy has caused me to forego the resolve of my 
 life." Passages like these read tamely afterwards, but, 
 at the moment, they produced an effect upon the 
 audience which was absolutely startling ; and when he 
 finished speaking, after two hours or more, the audience 
 still lingered in their seats, as though they were un 
 willing to break the spell. 
 
190 THE PEOCLAMATION AND 
 
 THE PROCLAMATION AND THE BORDER 
 STATES. 
 
 I HAVE often heard it asserted, and I have seen the 
 statement constantly repeated in the English press, that 
 slavery had nothing to do with the questions at issue 
 between the North and South. I can only say, that 
 during my residence in Washington, I heard little talked 
 about except the question of slavery. At the time I 
 arrived there, the chief discussion was, whether the 
 President would or would not issue a proclamation 
 advocating emancipation. At last, after much hesita 
 tion, Mr. Lincoln published the manifesto of the 6th 
 of March, proposing gradual emancipation throughout 
 the Slave States. The gist of that proclamation lay in 
 the first paragraph. " The United States ought to co- 
 " operate with any State which may adopt a gradual 
 " abolishment of slavery, giving to such State pecuniary 
 " aid, to be used by it in its discretion to compensate 
 " for the inconvenience, public and private, produced by 
 " such change of system." This step, unimportant as it 
 
THE BORDER STATES. 191 
 
 may appear, was the first of that long series of measures 
 which has culminated in the final decree of abolition. 
 It is as such that I write of it. 
 
 I remember, at the time the proclamation appeared, 
 speaking to Mr. Sumner upon the subject. He pointed 
 out to me the imminent danger lest the state of feeling 
 existing between England and America should sooner 
 or later lead to a war between our two countries ; and 
 suggested, as the only hope he could see of escaping 
 the calamity, that England should join America in 
 crushing out what he then conceived were the last 
 struggles of the insurgents. To this remark my answer 
 was one which I conceive most Englishmen would have 
 made, that, with our Government there was no possi 
 bility of such a step being taken, unless the country was 
 strongly in favour of the North, and that the only way 
 to rouse public feeling in England in favour of the North 
 was to convince Englishmen that the war was being 
 carried on for the bond fide abolition of slavery. Mr. 
 Sumner s reply was, " Is it possible that England can fail 
 " to see that this war is being carried on for this object 
 " after the publication of the President s message?" 
 
 Now there is no question that England did fail to see 
 this. I suspect that most Englishmen, who, like myself, 
 hate slavery, read this message at first with disappoint 
 ment. " Is this all ? " was my conclusion at its perusal. 
 Here, at the crisis of a nation s fate, when, for the first 
 time, the power is in the hands of the North ; when the 
 
192 THE PROCLAMATION AND 
 
 South, in popular opinion, was soon to be at the mercy 
 of the victorious Union, the utmost that the Govern 
 ment proposed was, that the status quo should be 
 restored as regarded slavery, coupled with an abstract 
 resolution, that if any Slave State, of its own free will 
 and good pleasure, chose to abolish slavery, the United 
 States Government should assist it in its good intentions 
 by pecuniary aid. Such, I own freely, was my first im 
 pression. But subsequent conversations with American 
 politicians led me to believe that the Emancipation 
 Message, as it was called at the time, was capable of a 
 far higher and more hopeful construction. Subsequent 
 events, I need hardly say, have convinced me that, 
 in this instance, second thoughts were the best. 
 
 In the first place, then, this step was the furthest 
 one which the President at the time could take consist 
 ently with the Constitution. The great mistake which 
 foreigners appeared to me to make in arguing about 
 America is the assumption that the Government, if it 
 likes, can do everything. Assuming that the Crown, 
 the House of Lords, and the House of Commons, or, in 
 other words, the Government of England, were agreed 
 together, it is hard to say what measures they might 
 not pass legally. And I observe that Englishmen 
 generally assume that, practically, the American Go 
 vernment could do the same. Now, the vital defect 
 of the Union seems to me to be that it exists by means 
 of, and in virtue of, a written Constitution, and that by 
 
THE BOKDEK STATES. 193 
 
 this very constitution the absolute as well as the relative 
 powers of the different bodies in the State are so clearly 
 defined, that, in cases not provided for by the Constitu 
 tion, Government action is paralyzed. 
 
 The States which composed the Union, in the words 
 of Justice Story, "yielded anything reluctantly, and 
 " deemed the least practical delegation of power quite 
 " sufficient for national purposes." This, to my 
 mind, is the key to the whole American Constitution. 
 The- course of events, the progress of civilization, has 
 gradually increased the practical power of the Central 
 Government, but the legal rights of the component 
 States remain unimpaired. Now, if there are two privi 
 leges clearly guaranteed by the Constitution to the dif 
 ferent States, they are the right of each State to 
 regulate its domestic institutions, and the existence of 
 the Fugitive Slave Law. To amend the Constitution 
 requires a majority of three-fourths of the legislatures or 
 conventions of the States composing the Union ; and, 
 therefore, if the Government of the United States wished 
 to abolish slavery in the different States, they must either 
 have declared that the consent of the insurgent States 
 was not required, which was tantamount to confessing 
 that the Union was at an end, or else they must have 
 broken through the Constitution, in strength of which 
 alone they had any legal existence. The State of New 
 York might to-morrow re-establish slavery as an institu 
 tion consistently with the law, and, by the same law, the 
 
 
 
194 THE PEOCLAMATION AND 
 
 Federal Government can no more abolish slavery in 
 Georgia, proprio motu, than it can place an export 
 duty on any single article exported from any State in 
 the Union. No doubt the war power might have 
 covered, as it has since been made to cover, any breach 
 in the letter of the Constitution, but at this period, both 
 in the opinion of the President and the people, the time 
 for the exercise of this ultima ratio had not arrived. 
 
 In ordinary years, before the Revolution, this excuse 
 for inaction was valid enough ; and I think now that 
 we in England were unjust to the Government of the 
 United States in throwing upon it the obloquy of up 
 holding slavery at a time when it was absolutely power 
 less to deal with it in the Slave States, except by 
 overthrowing the Union, or by trampling under foot the 
 very Constitution in virtue of which it had its being. 
 With the insurrection, however, a new state of things 
 came in. If advantage was not taken of this opportu 
 nity, the blame, if blame there was, must rest with the 
 American people, not with the United States Govern 
 ment. The Government throughout has followed, and 
 not led. Had any man of genius arisen at this crisis, 
 had there been a Cromwell, a Mirabeau, or a Jefferson, 
 the result might have been far different. But neither 
 Lincoln, nor Seward, nor, still less, McClellan, were 
 men to shape a nation s destinies. The one principle 
 which the President adhered to constantly, was, that he 
 was placed in office to carry out the will of the people. 
 
THE BORDER STATES. 195 
 
 It was with the people, and the people alone, that the 
 real decision of policy rested. The national vote which 
 brought Lincoln into power was a vote against the ex 
 tension of slavery, not a vote against its maintenance. 
 When the insurrection broke out in force, and the nation 
 awoke to its danger at the attack on Fort Sumter, the 
 popular cry was not to abolish slavery, but to preserve 
 the Union. The preservation of the Union was the 
 overwhelming national instinct. It was this instinct 
 which attempted to suppress the insurrection, and 
 which, if possible, will suppress it in the end. It is only 
 by working on this instinct that any of the political 
 parties in the States can hope to achieve their ends. 
 
 Both of the extreme parties have failed hitherto to 
 achieve their object. The pro-slavery faction has one 
 great argument with which they seek to work on 
 public opinion. The secession movement (so they 
 allege, and with justice) is due to a belief in the South, 
 whether well or ill founded, that slavery was in danger 
 from the abolition cry in the North. Renounce this 
 abolition theory, convince the South that slavery is not 
 in danger, and there is an end of secession. In the 
 early stages of the insurrection, this party had great 
 weight ; but their policy was unsuccessful, partly because 
 the pride and principle of the North refused to follow 
 their counsels heartily, still more, because the South 
 rejected madly the last overtures of conciliation. It 
 was during their temporary success that the resolution 
 
 O 2 
 
196 THE PROCLAMATION AND 
 
 of Congress, proposing still further to limit its own 
 power with regard to legislation on slavery, was pro 
 posed and carried. The success of the abolitionist 
 party, pur et simple, has hardly been more decisive. 
 A sort of political John the Baptists, preaching in the 
 wilderness, the number of their followers has fluctuated 
 according to the apprehension of the coming danger. 
 Their text is as simple as it is earnest. Slavery is the 
 one cause of secession. Between the Free North and 
 the Slave South there can never be union as long as 
 slavery exists, and therefore, for the sake of the Union 
 (not so much, remark, for the sake of the sin), slavery 
 must be suppressed. Obviously the strength of such 
 a cry varies inversely with the probabilities of simple 
 military success. Whenever the fortunes of the North 
 seemed lowest, the abolition cry has been most power 
 ful. At the time when this proclamation was issued, 
 and it seemed likely that the insurrection would be sup 
 pressed without any pronunciamento as to slavery, the 
 abolition appeal had lost half its weight. The Union 
 victories for the hour suspended the progress of the 
 anti-slavery sentiment. " Six months ago," I remember 
 a friend of McClellan s saying to me about this period, 
 "we were all abolitionists, now we are all for the Union." 
 What the numerical strength of the pro-slavery and 
 abolitionist parties was when secession broke out, it is 
 impossible to ascertain accurately. I am convinced, 
 however, that either of them formed a very small minority 
 
THE BORDER STATES. 197 
 
 compared with what might fairly be called the great 
 Union majority. That majority had no political organ 
 ization, and was probably composed pretty equally out of 
 the democratic and republican parties. We should be 
 unjust of accusing it of any sympathy with slavery ; we 
 should be doing it more than justice in asserting that 
 it had any deliberate purpose of suppressing slavery. 
 To account for this almost universal acquiescence in 
 the maintenance of the status quo, the following facts 
 should be borne in mind : The popular instinct, more 
 acute and intelligent than we can conceive in Europe, 
 taught the people that any outspoken decision on 
 slavery would have alienated the loyal Slave States, 
 and thus retarded, if not destroyed, the prospect of 
 restoring the Union. Again, any vigorous action as to 
 slavery was inconsistent with the Constitution ; while 
 the whole strength of the North, at the first outburst of 
 the war, lay in the fact that it was upholding the Con 
 stitution. In England we have been accustomed to 
 assert that during this insurrection revolution as yet it 
 is not the Federal Constitution has been frequently 
 violated. Whether this opinion is right or wrong in the 
 abstract, it matters not : it is enough to say that it 
 was not the opinion of the Americans themselves. To 
 the written letter of the Constitution they clung with a, 
 to me, surprising tenacity partly, I fancy, because the 
 national reverence for the founders of the Union is a 
 matter of almost religious sentiment, partly because of 
 
198 THE PKOCLAMATION AND 
 
 a general conviction that strict, unswerving adherence 
 to the Constitution is the one bar to a rule of unbridled 
 democracy. It was for this cause that the chief oppo 
 nents of any unconstitutional action on the subject of 
 slavery were the native Americans, while the German 
 emigrants were the staunchest supporters of Fremont 
 and revolutionary measures. The fear of alienating 
 the Border States, the dread of revolution, and the 
 respect for the Constitution, were the great principles 
 which then actuated, and still actuate, the policy of the 
 majority. The Union before all, and above all, now and 
 for ever, one, and indivisible, was their watchword and 
 their rallying cry. 
 
 The question at issue, moreover, was not one of prin 
 ciple only, but of immediate action. The capture of 
 Fort Donelson and the evacuation of Nashville had 
 restored the Western portion and the capital of 
 the State of Tennessee to the Union, before either 
 people or Government had decided upon, or even 
 dreamed of deciding upon, any policy with regard to the 
 manner in which the seceding States should be dealt 
 with after subjugation. " Sufficient unto the day is the 
 evil thereof," has been throughout the one principle of 
 national policy, and, possibly, it may prove a wise one. 
 There is a story reported of Blondin, that when some 
 one asked him how he ever had the nerve to proceed, 
 when he reflected on the long stretch of rope over which 
 he has to pass, he answered, " I never think of anything 
 
THE BORDER STATES. 199 
 
 except how to take the step before me." So it has 
 been with the North ; and thus, when the condition of 
 Tennessee called for some immediate action, there was 
 no policy prepared. To re-establish the power of the 
 Union was the one thing which a nation could see its 
 way to, and so Andrew Johnson, a Tennessee slave 
 holder, was appointed Provisional Governor ; all ques 
 tions as to the domestic institutions of the revolted 
 State or its relations to the Union were left to decide 
 themselves ; and the status quo was re-established. 
 
 It was hardly to be expected that a Government like 
 that of the United States should do more than side with 
 the decision, or rather the indecision, of the nation. 
 This is what Mr. Lincoln did. His proposition, he 
 stated explicitly, " sets up no claim of a right of 
 " a Federal authority to interfere with slavery within 
 " State limits." In other words, he recognised the con 
 stitutional existence of the revolted States, and their 
 continued possession of a right, as States, to deal with 
 their own domestic institutions. 
 
 The step, small as, at the time, it may have seemed 
 to us, was a great step forward. For the first time in 
 the history of abolitionism, a distinct, if not a feasible 
 plan was proposed for the emancipation of the slaves. 
 For the first time, also, in the history of the United 
 States the expediency of Abolition was announced as a 
 principle of Government. The delenda est Carthago 
 was uttered, timidly and apologetically if you will, but 
 
200 THE PEOCLAMATION AND 
 
 still officially. On the eve of expected victory, the 
 President called upon Congress to declare that the 
 abolition of slavery was in itself desirable, and that the 
 Central Government ought to aid in its extinction. A 
 leading Abolitionist said to me at the time, " It has 
 taken us two months constant pressure to induce the 
 President to issue this message." The sensation with 
 which it was received throughout the States showed the 
 importance popularly attached to its issue. 
 
 To understand the feelings with which the nation 
 entered on this, the first step in the Abolition pro 
 gramme, it may be well to quote some expressions of 
 the different organs of political opinion in the North 
 upon this edict, uttered at the time of its appearance. 
 
 Let me quote, first, a paragraph from an article pub 
 lished at this period on the subject of the Message from 
 the New York Tribune, the organ of the moderate 
 anti-slavery party : " No one who has not thoughtfully 
 " and carefully and earnestly considered President 
 " Lincoln s proclamation will be likely to realize how 
 " admirable and comprehensive are its suggestions, and 
 " how surely their adoption will conduce to national 
 " integrity and internal peace. Look for a moment at 
 " the question of negro expatriation, which is one of the 
 " chief difficulties of our position. There are many 
 " worthy and good men, and ten times more of the 
 " other sort, who hold, that whenever slavery is abolished 
 " the negro should be sent out of the country. We 
 
THE BOEDER STATES. 201 
 
 " have much charity for this opinion, for we once held 
 " it, but we are now convinced that it is an error. That 
 " the negro race, wherever free, will gradually migrate 
 " southward, colonizing the less populous West Indies, 
 " Central America, and the adjacent portions of South 
 " America, we believe. Climate, soil, natural pro- 
 " ducts, ease of obtaining a rude yet ample subsistence, 
 " and the ready fraternisation of blacks with the Indian 
 " and mongrel races who now exist in those regions, 
 " and who are nowise above our Southern negroes in the 
 " social scale, not even in their own opinion, will all 
 " attract them that way. But if slavery were ended to- 
 " morrow, we are confident that even South Carolina 
 " would be in no hurry to expel from her soil the most 
 " industrious and productive half of her people ; that 
 " portion amongst whom drunkards and profligates are 
 " scarce, while its office-seekers, bar-room loungers, and 
 " pot-house brawlers have yet to be developed. A State 
 " can spare its idlers far better than its workers, and it 
 " is only from dread of their influence on the slaves 
 " that a slave-holding people ever desire the expulsion 
 " of their free blacks. Were slavery dead this day, 
 " even the Carolina aristocracy would prefer, as 
 " labourers on their plantations, the negroes to whom 
 " they are accustomed, and whose manners are re- 
 " spectful and submissive, to any immigrants by whom 
 " they could be promptly replaced. It is quite likely 
 " that in time white labour would demonstrate its 
 
202 THE PKOCLAMATION AND 
 
 " superior energy and intelligence by driving out th6 
 " black. But for the present the Carolina planters 
 " would generally hire their ex-slaves more satisfac- 
 " torily to themselves than they could replace them 
 " from any quarter. 
 
 " The President s proposition leaves this whole sub- 
 " ject to the respective States. If any State chooses to 
 " exile its negroes, it will do so. The nation will not 
 " meddle with the matter in any way. When slavery 
 " dies the national peril is averted, and the national 
 " concern ceases. All beyond is remitted to local dis- 
 " cussion and control. So with regard to paying for 
 " slaves, the nation extends pecuniary aid to the States 
 " in order to rid itself of a great danger. But it has 
 " nothing to do with paying for slaves. . . . Nor do 
 " we believe the payments to the States would be at all 
 " so heavy as seems to be generally supposed, though 
 " we trust it will be liberal ; for it is just as certain 
 " as that air is lighter than water that the banishment 
 " of slavery from a State largely enhances the value of 
 " its land. The census shows that the arable soil of a 
 " Free State is worth double to treble that of a Slave 
 " State, there being no other ground of disparity ; and 
 " it would be most unjust to ignore this fact in settling 
 " the cost of emancipation. ... In fact, were slavery 
 " abolished to-morrow, and three hundred million dollars 
 " fairly apportioned among the Slave States, in payment 
 " for their supposed losses by such abolition, they would 
 
THE BOEDEK STATES. 203 
 
 " every one be richer and stronger next day nay, they 
 " would sell for more at auction as soon as the country 
 " is quieted than they ever yet were worth. But we do 
 " not here raise the question of how much, nor consider 
 " how far, the compensation accorded is to be affected 
 " by rebellion. Let all such questions be decided in 
 " due time, while we improve the present in one unani- 
 " mous and hearty rally around President Lincoln, for 
 " the speedy restoration of the Union, and the final 
 " overthrow and demolition of whatever can raise even 
 " a doubt of its perpetuity and internal peace." 
 
 Such being the judgment of the Abolitionists, let me 
 now take an article from the New York Herald of the 
 same date, as an exposition of the views of the pro- 
 slavery democrats. It should be remembered that the 
 Herald has always prided itself upon being an organ of 
 the Administration for the time being. Thus, though the 
 one political principle to which it has been uniformly 
 faithful is a hatred to Abolition, yet the fact of its 
 assumed Government connexion caused it to deal more 
 tenderly with the President s edict than it would 
 naturally have done. 
 
 The President s proposal is dismissed with the follow 
 ing lukewarm approbation : " The measure will most 
 " probably prove agreeable to the Conservative feeling 
 " of the North and South alike, substituting, as it does, 
 " a moderate and practical view of the question of 
 " Emancipation in place of the extreme and impracti- 
 
204 THE PROCLAMATION AND 
 
 " cable views of the Abolitionists." This faint approval 
 was designed by the Herald to give greater force to 
 an attack it then proceeded to make in the following 
 words on Senator Sumner s proposal to confiscate the 
 slaves belonging to the revolted States, which was then 
 before the Senate. 
 
 " The progress of the debate is developing the Con- 
 " servative Constitution loving sentiment in Congress. 
 " It is a struggle of law and order against anarchy and 
 " revolution. The observations of Senator McDougall, 
 " of California, are well worthy of the attentive conside- 
 " ration of the whole people ; and their indorsement by 
 " Mr. Cowan is a most gratifying evidence of patriotism 
 " amidst the fierce passions of party spirit. Shall we/ 
 " says the latter gentleman, l stand by the Constitution, 
 " or shall we open wide the field of revolution, and go 
 " back to the doctrines of feudal ages, and introduce 
 " feuds which centuries cannot quiet ? This is what 
 " the bill proposes. The passage of such a bill will 
 " make the whole Southern people our enemies. The 
 " scheme of colonization is entirely impracticable. . . . 
 This covers the whole ground ; and what is Mr. 
 " Cowan s opinion about emancipation ? He says : I 
 " protest against that section of the bill for freeing the 
 " slaves, as an entire departure from the principles of 
 " the Constitution, and especially impolitic at this time : 
 " because we are in a war, we ought not to make a law 
 " which was unconstitutional before. What have the 
 
THE BOKDEE STATES. 205 
 
 " negroes done to secure freedom at this time, when the 
 " course of their masters seems especially to invite 
 " them to strike for liberty ? Nothing ; they simply 
 " rely on their masters with a sort of blind instinct. 
 " This is the language of a patriot ; and if all men in Con- 
 " gress had only so spoken and acted from the beginning, 
 " neither civil convulsion nor disunion would exist to-day. 
 " There is one great result produced by this war. The 
 " eyes of millions of men at the North are open to the 
 " real character of the negro, and they have discovered, 
 " from the experience of our troops and generals, what we 
 " have so long proclaimed to them in vain, the natural 
 " inferiority of the negro to the white man, which can no 
 " more be removed than the colour of his skin by any 
 " amount of legislation. It is the negro s nature to be 
 " the servant of the Caucasian race. He relies on his 
 " master, says Mr. Cowan, with a sort of blind instinct. 
 "It is evident, therefore, that that part of the bloody 
 " programme which contemplated servile insurrection is 
 " already exploded. The negro is happier and better off, 
 " physically and morally, socially, and religiously, under 
 " the mild, Christian servitude of his white master at the 
 " South, than he ever was in any other condition since 
 " the dawn of creation, or ever will be till the coming 
 " of the millennium. To leave the negro to himself, and 
 " put him into competition with the white man, is to 
 " destroy him as effectually as our civilization has de- 
 " stroyed the red man of the forest. Servitude is the 
 
206 THE PKOCLAMATION AND 
 
 " negro s normal condition. It is calculated to preserve 
 " the race from extinction, and to render it happy and, at 
 "the same time, subservient to the happiness of the 
 " white man. That white men should wage a war of ex- 
 " termination against white men, to change the condition 
 " of blacks for the worse, is an absurdity too great for the 
 " common sense of any people, and much more of the 
 " intelligent and practical people of the United States. 
 " Mr. Lincoln recognises the fact, and therefore, even if 
 a the fanatics in Congress should succeed in carrying 
 "their bill, it will be met with his veto. 
 
 " It is evident, however, by the President s Message, 
 " that Mr. Lincoln thoroughly understands the whole 
 " question involved in this stormy agitation on the 
 " confiscation of property in the rebel States, and that 
 " he has taken a sensible and Conservative view of it, 
 " which, while it will undoubtedly provoke the indigna- 
 " tion of the Abolition crew, will be received with satis- 
 " faction by the Conservative element both in the North 
 " and South." 
 
 Besides the Abolitionists and the Democrats, there 
 was a third party of the more moderate Republicans, 
 whose chief representative was Mr. Seward, and who 
 were disposed to look very jealously on any proposition 
 to interfere with the domestic institutions of the sece 
 ding States. Just at this time a great emancipation 
 meeting was held at New York, at which Mr. Mont 
 gomery Blair was invited to attend. This gentleman, 
 
THE BORDEK STATES. 207 
 
 the Postmaster-General in Mr. Lincoln s Administration, 
 is a Maryland man. By one of the political combina 
 tions so universal in American politics, he had been 
 selected by the Republican party to fill this post on Mr. 
 Lincoln s accession, not because he held anti-slavery 
 views himself, but because it was believed that, out of 
 personal connexions, he would support Mr. Chase, who 
 did. The result, however, proved that on all questions 
 connected with slavery he sympathised far more strongly 
 with Mr. Seward than with the Abolitionist portion of 
 the Cabinet. His dereliction of strict anti-slavery 
 principles had long been surmised; and in his letter 
 declining to attend the above-mentioned meeting, he 
 stated very distinctly the grounds on which he differed 
 from his more Republican colleagues. It was in the 
 following words that he expounded his views : 
 
 " No one who knows my political career will suspect 
 " that I am influenced by any indisposition to put an 
 " end to slavery. I have left no opportunity unim- 
 " proved to strike at it, and have never been restrained 
 " from doing so by personal considerations ; but I have 
 " never believed that the abolition of slavery, or any 
 " other great reform, could, or ought to be effected, 
 " except by lawful and constitutional modes. The people 
 " have never sanctioned, and never will sanction, any 
 " other ; and the friends of a cause should especially 
 " avoid all questionable grounds, when, as in the present 
 " instance, nothing else can long postpone their success. 
 
208 THE PROCLAMATION AND 
 
 " There are two interests in slavery the political 
 " and property interests, held by distinct parties. The 
 " rebellion originated with the political class. The 
 " property class, which generally belonged to the Whig 
 " organization, had lost no property in the regions 
 " where the rebellion broke out, and was prosperous. 
 " It was the Democratic organization, which did not 
 " represent the slaveholders as a class, that hatched 
 " the rebellion. Their defeat in the late political 
 " struggle, and in the present rebellion, extinguishes at 
 " once and for ever the political interest of slavery. . . . 
 "It is not merely a question of constitutional law or 
 " slavery with which we have to deal in securing per- 
 " manent peace. The problem before us is the practi- 
 " cal one of dealing with the relations of masses of two 
 " different races in the same community. The cala- 
 " mities now upon us have been brought about, not by 
 " the grievances of the class claiming property in slaves, 
 " but by the jealousy of caste, awakened by the Seces- 
 " sionists in the non-slaveholders. It is this jealousy of 
 " race which is chiefly to be considered. Emancipation 
 " alone would not remove it. It was by proclaiming 
 " to the labouring whites who filled the armies of re- 
 " bellion that the election of Mr. Lincoln involved 
 " emancipation, equality of the negroes with themselves, 
 " and consequent amalgamation, that their jealousy was 
 " stimulated to the fighting point. Nor is this jealousy 
 " the fruit of mere ignorance and bad passion, as some 
 
THE BORDER STATES. 209 
 
 " suppose, or confined to the white people of the 
 " South. On the contrary, it belongs to all races, and, 
 " like all popular instincts, proceeds from the highest 
 " wisdom. It is, in fact, the instinct of self-preserva- 
 " tion, which revolts at hybridism. Nor does this 
 " instinct militate against the natural law, that all 
 " men are created equal, if another law of nature, 
 " equally obvious, is obeyed also. We have but to 
 " restore the subject race to the same, or to a region 
 " similar to that from which it was brought by violence, 
 " to make it operative. And such a separation of 
 " races was the condition which the immortal author of 
 " the declaration himself declared to be indispensable 
 " to give it practical eifect. A student, not living in a 
 " community where divers races are brought together 
 " in masses, may stifle the voice of nature in his own 
 " bosom, and, from a determination to live up to a 
 " mistaken view of his doctrine, go so far as to extend 
 " social intercourse, but few, even of such persons, 
 " would pursue their doctrines as far as amalgamation, 
 " and other legitimate consequences of their logic. 
 " Indeed, for the most part, such persons in our 
 " country, like the leading spirits in Exeter Hall, are 
 " so far removed by their circumstances from any 
 " practical equality with working people of any race, 
 " that they have little sympathy for them, and nothing 
 " to apprehend for themselves from the doctrine of 
 " equality. Not so with the white working-man in 
 
 P 
 
210 THE PROCLAMATION AND 
 
 " a community where there are many negros. In such 
 circumstances, the distinction of caste is the only pro 
 " tection of the race from hybridism and consequent 
 " extermination. That this jealousy of caste is the in- 
 " stinct of the highest wisdom, and is fraught with the 
 " greatest good, is abundantly attested by its effects on 
 " our own race, in which it is stronger than in any 
 " other. We conquer and hold our conquests by it. 
 " The difficult question with which we have to deal is, 
 " then, the question of race ; and I do not think it is 
 " disposed of, or that our difficulties will be lessened by 
 " wholesale emancipation, even if such an act was con- 
 " stitutional. It would certainly add to the exaspera- 
 " tion of the non-slaveholding whites of the South, and 
 " would unite them against the Government, and if so, 
 " they would be unconquerable. As matters now stand, 
 " we can put down the rebellion, because the people of 
 " the natural strongholds of the Southern country are 
 " with us. It is chiefly in the low-lands, accessible 
 " from the ocean, and navigable rivers and bays, that 
 " treason is rampant. The mountain fastnesses, where 
 " alone a guerilla war can be maintained, are now held 
 " by Union men, and they are more numerous, more 
 " robust, intelligent, and independent than the rebels. 
 " It is chiefly the more degraded class of non-slave- 
 " holders, who live in the midst of slavery, who are 
 " now engaged against the Government. But the non- 
 " slaveholders of the mountain and highland regions, 
 
THE BORDER STATES. 211 
 
 " whilst for the Union, are not free from the jealousy 
 " of caste ; and the policy I object to would, I fear, if 
 " adopted, array them against us. Nor could we succeed 
 " in our object, even if they were finally subdued and 
 " exterminated, if we had to leave the negros on the 
 " soil ; for then other whites would take the country 
 " and hold it against the negros, and reduce them 
 " again to slavery, or exterminate them. I am morally 
 " certain, indeed, that to free the slaves of the South, 
 " without removing them, would result in their massacre. 
 " But this antagonism of race, which has led to our 
 " present calamities, and might lead to yet greater if it 
 " continues to be ignored, will deliver us from slavery 
 " in the easiest, speediest, and best manner, if we re- 
 " cognise it as what it is the real and invincible cause 
 " of trouble and deal with it rationally. We have but 
 " to propose to let the white race have the land intended 
 " for them by their Creator, to turn the fierce spirit 
 " aroused by the Secessionists to destroy the Union to 
 " its support, and, at the same time, to break up the 
 " slave system, by which the most fertile lands of the 
 " temperate zone are monopolized and wasted. That is 
 " the result which the logic of the census shows is being 
 " worked out, and which no political management can 
 " prevent being worked out. The essence of the contest 
 " is, whether the white race shall hold these lands, or 
 " whether they shall be held by the black race in the 
 " name of a few whites. 
 
 r 2 
 
212 THE PROCLAMATION AND 
 
 " The blacks could never hold them in their own 
 " name, for we have seen how quickly that race has 
 " disappeared when emancipated. Experience proves 
 " what might have been inferred from their history, 
 " that they have not maintained, and cannot maintain, 
 " themselves in the temperate zone, in contact and com- 
 petition with the race to which that region belongs. 
 " It is only when dependent that they can exist there. 
 " But this service-relation is mischievous, and the com- 
 " munity so constituted does not flourish and keep pace 
 " with the spirit of the age. It has scarcely the same 
 " claim to the immense area of land it occupies which 
 " the aborigines had ; for, though the Indians occupied 
 " larger spaces with fewer inhabitants, they did not 
 " waste the land as the slave-system does. No political 
 " management or sentimentalism can prevent the natural 
 " overthrow of such a system in the end any more than 
 " such means could avail to preserve the Indian posses- 
 " sion and dominion. This rebellion, like the Indian 
 " outbreaks, is but a vain attempt to stem the tide of 
 " civilization and progress. The treachery, falsehood, 
 " and cruelty perpetrated to maintain the possession of 
 " negros, scarcely less than that of the savages, mark 
 " the real nature of the contest. Nevertheless, I believe 
 " it might have been averted, if we had adopted Jef- 
 " ferson s counsels,* and made provision for a separation 
 
 * In 1780 Jefferson introduced a bill before the Legislature of 
 Virginia, proposing that, after a certain period, all negroes born 
 
THE BOEDER STATES. 213 
 
 " of the races, providing suitable homes for the blacks 
 "as we have for the Indians. It is still essential, in 
 " order to abridge the conflict of arms and to fraternise 
 " the people when that is past, to follow out Jefferson s 
 " advice. This most benevolent and sagacious of states- 
 " men predicted all the evils which it has been our 
 " misfortune to witness, unless we should avert them by 
 " this, the only means which, after the most anxious 
 " consideration, he could suggest. No statesman of our 
 " day has given the subject so much reflection as he did, 
 " or possesses the knowledge or ability to treat it so 
 " wisely. Let us, then, listen to his counsels ; by doing 
 
 within the State should be free, and afterwards, at an adult age, 
 be transported to some foreign country. The measure was never 
 passed, and forty years afterwards, but a few years before his death, he 
 wrote the following passage concerning it : "The principles of the 
 " measure were agreed on in the Committee ; that is to say, the 
 " freedom of all born after a certain day, and deportation at a proper 
 " age. But it was found that the public mind would not yet bear 
 " the proposition, nor will it bear it even at this day (1821). Yet 
 " the day is not distant when it must bear and adopt it, or worse will 
 " follow. Nothing is more certainly written in the Book of Fate 
 " than that these people are to be free ; nor is it less certain that 
 " the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. 
 " Nature, habit, and opinion, have drawn indelible lines of distinction 
 " between them. It is still in our power to direct the process of eman- 
 " cipation and deportation peaceably and in such slow degrees as that 
 " the evil will wear off insensibly, and their place be, paripassu, filled 
 " up by free white labourers. If, on the contrary, it is left to force 
 itself on, human nature must shudder at the prospect held up. We 
 " should in vain look for an example in the Spanish deportation or 
 " deletion of the Moors. This precedent would fall far short of our 
 " case." SMUCKER S Life of Jefferson, p. 95. 
 
214 THE PEOCLAMATION AND 
 
 " so we shall establish a fraternity among the working- 
 " men of the white race throughout the Union, which 
 " never has yet existed, and give real freedom to the 
 " black race, which cannot otherwise exist. Nor is it 
 " necessary to the restoration of harmony and prosperity 
 " to the Union that this policy should be actually and 
 " compulsorily put in force. It is only necessary that 
 " it should be adopted by the Government, and that it 
 " be made known to the people that it is so adopted, in 
 " order to extinguish hostility in the hearts of the masses 
 " of the South towards the people of the North, and 
 " secure their co-operation in putting an end to slavery. 
 " No greater mistake was ever made than in supposing 
 " that the masses of the South favour slavery. They 
 " did not take up arms to defend it. The fact that 
 " they oppose emancipation in their midst is the only 
 " foundation for a contrary opinion. But the masses 
 " of the North would be equally opposed to it if the 
 " four millions of slaves were to be transported to their 
 " midst. The prohibitory laws against their coming, 
 " existing in all the States subject to such invasion, 
 " prove this. On the other hand, the intense hostility 
 " which is universally known to be felt by the non- 
 " slaveholders of the South towards all negroes ex- 
 " presses their real hostility to slavery, and it is the 
 " natural form of expression under the circumstances. 
 
 " It needs, therefore, but the assurance, which would 
 " be given by the mere fact of providing homes for the 
 
THE BOEDER STATES. 215 
 
 " blacks elsewhere, that they are to be regarded as 
 " sojourners when emancipated as, in point of fact, 
 " they are, and ever will be to insure the co-operation 
 " of non-slaveholders in their emancipation. Nor would 
 " it require any immediate, universal, or involuntary 
 " transportation, or that any injustice whatever be done 
 " to the blacks. The more enterprising would soon 
 " emigrate, and multitudes of less energy would follow, 
 " if such success attended the pioneers, as the care 
 " with which Government should foster so important 
 " an object would, doubtless, insure ; and, with such 
 " facilities, it would require but few generations to put 
 " the temperate regions of America in the exclusive 
 " occupation of the white race, and to remove the only 
 " obstacle to a permanent union of the States." 
 
 These three views will give a fair impression of the 
 state of feeling with which the North entered upon the 
 question of Emancipation. I believe, myself, that a very 
 large majority of the Northern people were represented 
 fairly by Mr. Blair. I have entered elsewhere into the 
 question of how far that antipathy to the negro race 
 was reasonable or otherwise. As a matter of fact, the 
 North, and Mr. Lincoln himself, dreaded the prospect 
 of unconditional emancipation. The Tribune, which 
 advocated emancipation on anti-slavery grounds, ex 
 pressed the opinion of a small minority. The Herald, 
 which supported the "peculiar institution" on pro- 
 slavery arguments, represented a still smaller one. The 
 
216 THE PEOCLAMATION AND THE BORDER STATES. 
 
 general feeling of the North upon the subject was an 
 equal desire to make an end of slavery, and to get rid 
 of the negro. 
 
 But throughout all these different opinions one desire 
 reigned predominant, and that was, the desire to main 
 tain the Union, The Herald was ready to sacrifice 
 slavery, Mr. Blair to give up deportation, and, I almost 
 fear, the Tribune to forsake emancipation, in order to 
 preserve the Union. It was by appealing to this na 
 tional instinct that each party sought to carry out its 
 ends ; and if the Abolitionists have triumphed, or will 
 triumph, it is solely in virtue of the fact that circum 
 stances have given weight to their appeal. I remember 
 at this time a leading Abolitionist saying, in the pre 
 sence of myself and of several Kepublican senators, 
 " My only hope for the abolition of slavery rests upon 
 the wilful obstinacy of our opponents, not the resolution 
 of our supporters." The event, I think, has justified his 
 words. 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 217 
 
 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 No man, we all know, is a hero to his own valet ; and 
 thus, whatever there may be of heroic amongst Ameri 
 can public men, is hard to discern from the proximity 
 at which you view them. American majesty has no ex 
 ternals to be stripped off, and you see her public men 
 always en deshabille. Accessibility seems the especial 
 and universal attribute of American statesmanship. 
 There is never any difficulty about seeing anybody, from 
 the President downwards. Of course, the overwhelm 
 ing pressure of State business during the civil war 
 rendered public men more chary of their time than 
 they would have been otherwise. But even then, the 
 readiness with which Washington politicians received 
 visits from strangers, and the openness with which they 
 discussed public questions and the characters of public 
 men, were to me perfectly astonishing. No doubt, as 
 would be the case everywhere, a well-accredited 
 foreigner is treated with less reserve than a chance 
 
218 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 native visitor. But I was many times in the company 
 of men holding high official positions in Washington, 
 when strangers, not only to myself, but to most of the 
 gentlemen in whose company I was, happened to be 
 present, and yet the conversation was as unguarded 
 as if we had been all friends, on whose discretion 
 complete reliance could be reposed. And this state of 
 things, I think, is due, not so much to the perfect 
 social equality prevailing in the States, as to the 
 general good-nature so common with Americans. In 
 consequence of the total want of solidarity to use a 
 French word, existing between public men, everybody 
 seems to stand on his own merits, to expect no 
 support from, and to acknowledge no responsibility 
 towards, his own colleagues, whether in office or 
 in Congress. If a casual stranger were to ask Earl 
 Russell whether he was really on cordial terms with 
 Lord Palmerston, or if Mr. Gladstone were to state in 
 a public room that he had absolutely no opinion of Sir 
 Charles Wood, these remarks would hardly be stranger 
 than many I have heard made of and by public men 
 in America. With such a state of things, gossip is an 
 institution of the country. Before you have been a 
 week in Washington, you may learn the private his 
 tory, friendships, and antipathies of every public man 
 in the place, if you choose to listen to the talk you 
 hear around you. With regard to the President himself, 
 everybody spoke with an almost brutal frankness. Poli- 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 219 
 
 tically, at that time, Abraham Lincoln was regarded as 
 a failure. Why he, individually, was elected, or rather, 
 selected, nobody, to this day, seems to know. One 
 thing is certain, amidst many uncertainties, that the 
 North had no belief that his election would lead to the 
 secession movement. Had this belief been entertained, 
 a very different man would have been chosen for the 
 post. Whether, under such circumstances, a Repub 
 lican candidate would have been chosen at all is doubt 
 ful, but there is no doubt that Lincoln would not have 
 been the man. As it was, the North desired to make 
 a protest, and the name of Lincoln was as good a one 
 to protest in as any other. It was for his negative, 
 not his positive qualities that he was chosen, and the 
 wonder is, that his positive merits have turned out as 
 decided as they have done. A shrewd, hard-headed, 
 self-educated man, with sense enough to perceive his 
 own deficiencies, but without the instinctive genius 
 which supplies the place of learning, he is influenced by 
 men whom he sees through, but yet cannot detect. " An 
 honest man" may be the "noblest work of God," but 
 he is not the noblest product of humanity, and when you 
 have called the President " honest Abe Lincoln," accord 
 ing to the favourite phrase of the American press, you 
 have said a great deal, doubtless, but you have also 
 said all that can be said in his favour. He works hard, 
 and does little ; and unites a painful sense of respon 
 sibility to a still more painful sense, perhaps, that his 
 
220 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 work is too great for him to grapple with. Personally, 
 his aspect is one which, once seen, cannot easily be 
 forgotten. If you take the stock English caricature 
 of the typical Yankee, you have the likeness of the 
 President. To say that he is ugly is nothing : to add 
 that his figure is grotesque is to convey no adequate 
 impression. Fancy a man six-foot high, and thin out 
 of proportion, with long bony arms and legs, which, 
 somehow, seem to be always in the way, with large 
 rugged hands, which grasp you like a vice when shaking 
 yours, with a long scraggy neck, and a chest too narrow 
 for the great arms hanging by its side ; add to this figure, 
 a head cocoa-nut shaped and somewhat too small for 
 such a stature, covered with rough, uncombed and un- 
 combable lank dark hair, that stands out in every direc 
 tion at once ; a face furrowed, wrinkled, and indented, 
 as though it had been scarred by vitriol ; a high narrow 
 forehead ; and, sunk deep beneath bushy eyebrows, two 
 bright, somewhat dreamy eyes, that seemed to gaze 
 through you without looking at you; a few irregular 
 blotches of black bristly hair in the place where beard 
 and whiskers ought to grow ; a close-set, thin-lipped, 
 stern mouth, with two rows of large white teeth ; and a 
 nose and ears, which have been taken by mistake from 
 a head of twice the size. Clothe this figure, then, in a 
 long, tight, badly-fitting suit of black, creased, soiled, 
 and puckered up at every salient point of the figure 
 and every point of this figure is salient put on large, 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 221 
 
 ill-fitting boots, gloves too long for the long bony fingers, 
 and a fluffy hat, covered to the top with dusty, puffy 
 crape ; and then add to all this an air of strength, phy 
 sical as well as moral, and a strange look of dignity 
 coupled with all this grotesqueness, and you will have 
 the impression left upon me by Abraham Lincoln. You 
 would never say he was a gentleman : you would still 
 less say he was not one. There are some women about 
 whom no one ever thinks in connexion with beauty, 
 one way or the other and there are men to whom the 
 epithet of "gentlemanlike" or "ungentlemanlike" ap 
 pears utterly incongruous, and of such the President is 
 one. Still there is about him a complete absence of 
 pretension, and an evident desire to be courteous to 
 everybody, which is the essence, if not the outward 
 form, of high-breeding. There is a softness, too, about 
 his smile, and a sparkle of dry humour about his eye 
 which redeem the expression of his face, and remind 
 me more of the late Dr. Arnold, as a child s recollection 
 recalls him to me, than any other face I can call to 
 memory. 
 
 On the occasion when I had the honour of passing 
 some hours in company with the President, the gather 
 ing was a very small one, and consisted of persons with 
 all of whom, except myself, he was personally acquainted. 
 I have no doubt, therefore, that he was as much at his 
 ease as usual, and yet the prevailing impression left upon 
 my mind was that he felt uncomfortable. There was a 
 
222 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 look of depression about his face, which, I am told by 
 those who see him daily, was habitual to him, even 
 before the then recent death of his child, whose loss he 
 felt acutely. You cannot look upon his worn, bilious, 
 anxious countenance, and believe it to be that of a 
 happy man. In private life, his disposition, unless 
 report and physiognomy both err, is a sombre one ; but, 
 coupled with this, he has a rich fund of dry, Yankee 
 humour, not inconsistent, as in the case of the nation 
 itself, with a sort of habitual melancholy. 
 
 It was strange to me to witness the terms of perfect 
 equality on which he appeared to be with everybody. 
 Occasionally some of his interlocutors called him " Mr. 
 President," but the habit was to address him simply as 
 " Sir." There was nothing in his own manner, or in 
 that of his guests, to have shown a stranger that the 
 President of the United States was one of the company. 
 He spoke but little, and seemed to prefer others talking 
 to him to talking himself. But when he did speak, his 
 remarks were always shrewd and sensible. The con 
 versation, like that of all American official men I 
 have ever met with, was unrestrained in the presence 
 of strangers to a degree perfectly astonishing. It is a 
 regard for English, rather than for American rules of 
 etiquette, which induces me to abstain from reporting 
 the conversation that I overheard. Every American 
 public man, indeed, appears not only to live in a glass 
 house, but in a reverberating gallery, and to be abso- 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 223 
 
 lutely indifferent as to who sees or hears him. This 
 much I may fairly say, that the President asked me 
 several questions about the state of public feeling in 
 England, and obviously, like almost all Americans, was 
 unable to comprehend the causes which have alienated 
 the sympathies of the mother-country. At the same 
 time, it struck me that the tone in which he spoke of 
 England was, for an American, unusually fair and candid. 
 There are, perhaps, one or two Lincolniana which I may 
 fairly quote, and which will show the style of his con 
 versation. Some of the party began smoking, and Mr. 
 Seward, who was present, remarked laughingly, " I have 
 " always wondered how any man could ever get to be 
 " President of the United States with so few vices. The 
 " President, you know, I regret to say, neither drinks 
 " nor smokes." " That," answered the President, " is a 
 " doubtful compliment. I recollect once being outside 
 " a stage in Illinois, and a man sitting by me offered 
 " me a cigar. I told him I had no vices. He said 
 " nothing, smoked for some time, and then grunted out, 
 " It s my experience in life that folks who have got no 
 " vices have plaguey few virtues. " 
 
 This reminds me, by the way, of the almost incredible 
 manner in which stories are coined about Mr. Lincoln. 
 Some time afterwards, in the West, I travelled with a 
 gentleman, who professed to be an intimate personal 
 acquaintance of the President. After telling me a 
 number of anecdotes to illustrate his reputed free and 
 
224 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 easy manner, he told me that he had once been present 
 in a Western law court, where Mr. Lincoln was engaged 
 to defend a prisoner for murder. He came late, apolo 
 gized to the judge for his detention, owing to his having 
 over-slept himself, and then stated that he was never 
 comfortable until he had smoked his morning cigar, and 
 proposed, with the judge s permission, that they should 
 have cigars all around. The permission being granted, 
 he proceeded, with his cigar in his mouth, to defend his 
 client. Now, unless I had had personal reason for 
 knowing that Mr. Lincoln was not a smoker, I should 
 certainly have recorded this with a variety of other 
 similar anecdotes, as gospel truth, coming as they did 
 on such apparently indubitable evidence. From all that 
 I saw and heard myself, I have no doubt that Mr. 
 Lincoln would say hosts of things which seem to us 
 utterly undignified, but he is the last man to say any 
 thing which would seem undignified to himself. Unlike 
 most Western politicians, he was noted for not being 
 "hail fellow well met" with every bar-room lounger that 
 he came across. He is a humourist, not a buffoon. 
 
 But to return to our interview. A gentleman present 
 happened to tell how a friend of his had been expelled 
 from New Orleans as a Unionist, and how, on his ex 
 pulsion, when he asked to see the writ by which he was 
 expelled, the deputation, which brought him the notice 
 to quit, told him that the Confederate Government had 
 made up their minds to do nothing unconstitutional, 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 225 
 
 and so they had issued no illegal writ, but simply meant 
 to make him go of his own free will. "Well," said Mr, 
 Lincoln, " that reminds me of an hotel-keeper down at 
 " St. Louis, in the cholera time, who boasted that he 
 " had never had a death in his hotel. And no more he 
 " had, for, whenever a guest was dying in his house, he 
 " carried him out in his bed and put him in the street 
 " to die." At another time, the conversation turned 
 upon the discussions as to the Missouri Compromise, 
 and elicited the following quaint remark from the Presi 
 dent : " It used to amuse me some (sic) to find that 
 " the slaveholders wanted more territory because they 
 " had not room enough for their slaves, and yet they 
 " complained of not having the slave-trade because they 
 " wanted more slaves for their room." 
 
 While I am talking of these Lincoln anecdotes, which 
 used to fill the columns of the American newspapers, 
 let me mention a few which I have reason to believe 
 authentic. Shortly after Mr. Cameron s resignation, an 
 old acquaintance called upon the President, and, after 
 American fashion, asked him point-blank why, when he 
 turned out the Secretary of War, he did not get rid of 
 the whole Cabinet. "Well, you know," was the 
 answer, "there was a farmer, far West, whose fields 
 " were infested with skunks, so he set a trap and 
 " caught nine ; he killed the first, but that made such 
 " an infernal stench that he thought he had better let 
 " the rest go." Again, at the first council of war, 
 
 Q 
 
226 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 after the President assumed the supreme command-in- 
 chief of the army, in place of McClellan, the General 
 did not attend, and excused himself next day by saying 
 he had forgotten the appointment. "Ah, now," re 
 marked Mr. Lincoln, "I recollect once being engaged 
 " in a case for rape, and the counsel for the defence 
 " asked the woman why, if, as she said, the rape was 
 " committed on a Sunday, she did not tell her husband 
 " till the following Wednesday ? and when the woman 
 " answered, she did not happen to recollect it the 
 " case was dismissed at once." The wit, indeed, of 
 many of these anecdotes is too Aristophanic to be 
 quoted here, but there is one other which will bear 
 repeating. When the rebel armies were closely be 
 leaguering Washington, two gentlemen insisted, late 
 one night, on seeing the President, in order to inform 
 him of a plot they had discovered on the part of some 
 government officials for communicating with the enemy 
 by means of signals. The President listened atten 
 tively to their story, which was clearly of the gobe- 
 mouche order, and on inquiring what remedy his 
 informants proposed, was told, after some hesitation, 
 that the best plan would be to replace the traitorous 
 officials by loyal men like themselves. " Gentlemen, 
 " gentlemen," was the President s comment, " I see it 
 " is the same old, old coon. Why could you not tell 
 " me at once that you wanted an office, and save your 
 " own time as well as mine ? " 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 227 
 
 Stories such as these read dull enough in print. 
 Unless you could give also the dry chuckle with which 
 they are accompanied, and the gleam in the speaker s 
 eye, as, with the action habitual to him, he rubs his 
 hand down the side of his long leg, you must fail in 
 conveying a true impression of their quaint humour. 
 This sort of Socratic illustration is his usual form of 
 conversation amongst strangers, but I believe in private 
 life he is a man of few words, and those simple 
 ones. Let me close my description with one remark 
 he made of a more reflective character, and which, 
 though perhaps not of great value in itself, is curious 
 as coming from a man who has achieved distinction. 
 Speaking of the fluency of American orators, he said, 
 " It is very common in this country to find great 
 " facility of expression, and common, though not so 
 " common, to find great lucidity of thought. The com- 
 " bination of the two faculties in one person is un- 
 " common indeed ; but whenever you do find it, you 
 " have a great man." 
 
 For very obvious reasons the public press of the North 
 was, at this period, almost unanimously, in favour of 
 Mr. Lincoln. The Republican papers could not criticize 
 their own nominee the champion of their first triumph 
 without damaging their own party. The Democratic 
 journals were afraid of driving the President into the 
 arms of the Republicans, and therefore outvied their 
 rivals in the ardour of their encomiums. From these 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 causes, to judge from the language of the press, you 
 might have supposed that the whole hope and confidence 
 of the country was reposed in " Abe Lincoln." But the 
 truth is, that the talk then current of proposing him for 
 re-election was not a genuine one, and that when the 
 President leaves the White House, he will be no more 
 regretted, though more respected, than Mr. Buchanan. 
 When Wendell Phillips described him as " a first-rate 
 second-rate man," he uttered one of those epigrammatic 
 sarcasms which stick to their victim for ever. 
 
 So much for Mr. Lincoln. At the time when I was 
 in Washington, Mr. Seward did not stand high in 
 popular favour. His career as Minister is curiously 
 illustrative of the working of American politics. When 
 Mr. Lincoln s administration was formed, Secession 
 was not believed in as a serious contingency, and the 
 ministers were selected by, or rather chosen for, the 
 President, not as the fittest men to grapple with the 
 situation, but in order to satisfy the conflicting sections 
 of the political party which had carried the Presiden 
 tial election : New York was the head-quarters of the 
 moderate pro-slavery, or, more fairly speaking, un-anti- 
 slavery Republicans, and Mr. Seward and Mr. Thurlow 
 Weed were the leading politicians of the party in New 
 York State ; the latter gentleman being supposed to 
 be the Moses, and the former the Aaron of the partner 
 ship. To satisfy this section the most influential one 
 of the Republicans, Mr. Seward was appointed Secre- 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 229 
 
 tary of State ; he was the one man of sterling ability 
 and thorough energy amongst the ministers ; and, 
 partly by talent, still more by sheer self-assertion, 
 became for a time almost a dictator in the Cabinet ; 
 he had, too, the merit of first recognising that the 
 North was in earnest, and his passport system, his 
 arrests, and his suspension of the habeas corpus, 
 ill-advised, perhaps, as they may have been, were, at 
 the time, welcome to the nation as a proof that the 
 Government was in earnest also. If he could have 
 kept from writing despatches, he would have remained 
 invincible ; but, after all, explain it as you will, the 
 beau role in the Trent affair was not that of the 
 United States, and the Americans are too sharp a 
 people to be able long to delude themselves with the 
 flattering unction that they had won a great diplo 
 matic victory : hence the Secretary of State suffered, 
 perhaps unjustly, as the scapegoat for the national 
 humiliation. For a time, General McClellan became, 
 practically, the chief person in the State and in the 
 Cabinet ; and on his comparative decline in popu 
 larity, Mr. Stanton, the Secretary of War, directed the 
 Presidential policy ; but after every reverse, sooner or 
 later, the Secretary of State has re-established his 
 position by virtue of his intellectual ability. 
 
 My first reflection, I remember, at meeting Mr. 
 Seward, was one of wonder that so small a man should 
 have been near creating a war between two great 
 
230 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 nations a man, I should think little over five feet and 
 a half in height, and of some sixty years in age, small 
 made, with small, delicate hands and feet, and a spare, 
 wiry body, scanty, snow-white hair, deep sunk, clear, 
 grey eyes, a face perfectly clean shaved, and a smooth, 
 colourless skin, of a sort of parchment texture. Such 
 were the outward features that struck me at once. 
 He was in his office when first I saw him, dressed in 
 black, with his waistcoat half-unbuttoned, one leg over 
 the side of his arm-chair, and a cigar stuck between 
 his lips. Barring the cigar and the attitude, I should 
 have taken him for a shrewd, well-to-do attorney, 
 waiting to learn a new client s story : you are at your 
 ease with him at once; there is a frankness and 
 bonhommie about his manner which renders it, to my 
 mind, a very pleasant one. In our English phrase, Mr. 
 Seward is good company. A good cigar, a good glass 
 of wine, and a good story, even if it is tant soit peu 
 risqutf, are pleasures which he obviously enjoys keenly. 
 Still, a glance at that spare, hard-knit frame, and that 
 clear, bright eye, shows you that no pleasure, however 
 keenly appreciated, has been indulged in to excess 
 throughout his long, laborious career ; and more than 
 that, no one who has had the pleasure of seeing him 
 amongst his own family can doubt about the kindliness 
 of his disposition. It is equally impossible to talk 
 much with him without perceiving that he is a man of 
 remarkable ability; he has read much, especially of 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 231 
 
 modern literature, travelled much, and seen much of the 
 world of men, as well as that of books. His political 
 principles seem to me drawn from the old Whig school of 
 the bygone Edinburgh Review days, and you can trace 
 easily the influence that the teaching of Brougham, and 
 Jeffreys, and Sidney Smith have had upon his mind. 
 What struck me most in conversation with him was 
 a largeness of view, very rare amongst American politi 
 cians. The relative position of America with respect 
 to Europe, and the future of his country, are matters 
 he can discuss with sense as well as patriotism. That 
 his intellect is practical rather than philosophical, and 
 that he is unduly impatient of abstract theories, I am 
 inclined to suspect. In other words,, he is a man of 
 action rather than thought a politician, not a re 
 former. The stories circulated over here so freely 
 about Mr. Seward s being a man addicted to intem 
 perance, I am convinced, are utterly unfounded. Con 
 viviality has not gone so much out of fashion across 
 the Atlantic as it has with us, and the Secretary of 
 State is a man not likely to be more rigid in his 
 observance of social rules than the society he lives 
 amongst ; but whatever Mr. Seward s indulgences may 
 be, or may have been, they are never of such a nature 
 as to incapacitate him from the discharge of his public 
 duties. It is reported that not long ago some politi 
 cians of influence and of strict Puritan principles urged 
 the President to remove the Secretary of State on the 
 
232 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 ground of incompetency, to which application the 
 answer was made that a man who worked three times 
 as many hours, and did three times as much in one 
 hour as any of his colleagues, could hardly be in 
 competent, whatever else might be his failings. 
 
 Mr. Seward s conversation is not epigrammatic, and, 
 though pleasant and sensible, has not much in it which 
 will bear repeating. He talked to me on one occasion for 
 a length of time upon the possibility of re-constructing 
 the Union, and the purport of his remarks resembled very 
 closely the gist of Mr. Blair s letter, which I quoted in my 
 last chapter so much so, indeed, as to suggest to me that, 
 in all probability, the speaker had dictated the document. 
 The great point on which he laid stress was, that English 
 critics failed to appreciate the difference between slavery 
 as a social and slavery as a political institution. The 
 two, in his opinion, were totally distinct. The effect of 
 the present war he was speaking then in last March 
 had been to destroy the political power of slavery. The 
 Southern politicians had taken up the advocacy of " the 
 peculiar institution," not for love of the system, but in 
 order to establish their political predominance. When 
 once it became clear that slavery was a decaying institu 
 tion, no party, either North or South, would identify its 
 fortunes with their own. The Democrats, or whatever new 
 organization corresponded to the defunct Democratic 
 party, would give up slavery, just as the English land 
 owners have given up protection. Henceforth, every 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 233 
 
 man who wished to rise in political life, would profess 
 anti-slavery opinions, for exactly the same cause as 
 hitherto he might have professed pro-slavery ones. The 
 rising generation would assume Christian antipathy to 
 slavery as part of their political creed, and the support 
 of the system would be confined to a small and decreas 
 ing minority. This view, of course, was based upon the 
 idea that in a fair fight the power of the Slave States 
 would have succumbed to that of the Free States, and 
 that, therefore, the whole prestige of slavery would be 
 gone. When once the supremacy of the North was 
 clearly established, the South, so he held, would recon 
 cile itself to its fate. People in this world do not 
 continue long fighting for a cause that is absolutely 
 hopeless ; and, if it could be proved that the cause of 
 slaver} 7 was hopeless, its adherents would fall away from 
 it with marvellous rapidity. In America public opinion 
 changes with a suddenness which older States can 
 scarcely credit ; and, therefore, the fact that at this 
 moment the South appeared to be unanimous in favour 
 of slavery, was no reason that, in a few months time, 
 the majority, even of the Slave States, might not have 
 reconciled themselves to abolition. Of the future of 
 the negro, he did not speak sanguinely. Right or wrong, 
 he obviously shared the ordinary American opinion as to 
 the impossibility of the black and white races associating 
 on equal terms. By the action of the same laws, which 
 had operated already in New York and New England, 
 
234 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 the negro would die out unless protected by the artifi 
 cial legislation of the slave system. His own observa 
 tion throughout life had led him to the conviction that 
 the climate and habits of the North were fatal, in 
 the long ran, to the health and prosperity of coloured 
 citizens. In his own house, he could recall, when a boy, 
 half a dozen members of different negro families [eman 
 cipation did not take place in New York till 1820] ; but 
 at the present moment, though he had kept in sight the 
 negroes of his father s household, and their descendants, 
 he did not believe that there were three or four of them 
 left ; while the white members of the same household, 
 whose history he had also followed, now counted the 
 number of their descendants by hundreds. In the colo 
 nization project, as it appeared to me, he had little faith ; 
 and he obviously looked to the solution of the negro 
 question by the gradual dying out of the black race, as 
 soon as emancipation had really begun to work. 
 
 Probably the most striking-looking of the ministers 
 is Mr. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury. His head 
 would be a treasure to any sculptor as a model of 
 benevolence. His lofty, spacious forehead, his fresh, 
 smooth countenance, his portly figure, and his pleasant, 
 kindly smile, all seem to mark the stock old philanthro 
 pist of the stage, created to be the victim and providence 
 of street-beggars. One wonders how so kind-looking 
 a man can find it in his heart to tax anybody; and 
 I believe this much is true, that a man of less ability 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 235 
 
 and sterner mould would have made a better financier 
 than Mr. Chase has proved. Mr. Blair, though a Mary 
 land man, is the only one of the ministers who has what 
 we consider the characteristic Yankee type of face the 
 high cheek bones, sallow complexion, and long, straight 
 hair. Of Mr. Gideon Welles, the Secretary for the 
 Navy, who expressed such premature approval of Capt. 
 Wilkes, there is little to be said, except that he wears a 
 long white beard, and a stupendous white wig, which 
 cause him to look like the heavy grandfather in a genteel 
 comedy, and that there is such an air of ponderous deli 
 beration about his face, that you ask yourself whether 
 the "modern Rip-Van-Winkle," as the Herald used 
 to style him, has ever clearly realized, in so short a 
 time as one year, that America is in a state of civil war. 
 Mr. Stanton was laid up with illness most of the time 
 that I was in Washington, so that I saw but very little 
 of him. In look, he is the least distinguished of any of 
 the ministers, and the expression of his face is by no 
 means a pleasant one. Mr. Bates, of Missouri, the 
 Attorney-General, is a shrewd, quiet lawyer, very much 
 like elderly legal authorities in other parts of the world. 
 Americans complain constantly that we know nothing 
 of their public men. The complaint is hardly a fair one, 
 as there are barely half a dozen English statesmen to 
 whom Americans attach the slightest individuality ; 
 and the names of our minor celebrities, such as Lowe 
 and Layard, would convey as little to American ears as 
 
236 NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 those of Colfax or Conkling would do to us. Amongst 
 men not in power at this period, the one, I own, that 
 impressed me most was Caleb Gushing, known, and 
 that not altogether favourably, to the English public as 
 Attorney-General under President Pierce s administra 
 tion, during the Frampton difficulty. From his con 
 nexion with the old Democratic party, and his reputed 
 sympathy with the Secession leaders, he was out of 
 favour with the country and the Government, and, above 
 all, with his own State of Massachusetts, where a bitter 
 personal prejudice exists against him. Having had the 
 pleasure of meeting him frequently and intimately, I 
 found him to be a man of extreme acuteness, and 
 immense and varied reading, and, indeed, one of the 
 pleasantest companions whom it has been my fortune 
 to meet with in life. While the war lasts, he has little 
 chance of re-entering public life. But I am much mis 
 taken if a man of his power and ability does not, before 
 long, play an important part in the politics of his 
 country. 
 
 This record would be incomplete unless I were to say 
 something of Mr. Sumner. He is too well known in 
 Europe to need much description. Many of my readers 
 are acquainted, doubtless, with that great, sturdy, 
 English-looking figure, with the broad, massive fore 
 head, over which the rich mass of nut-brown hair, 
 streaked here and there with a line of grey, hangs 
 loosely; with the deep blue eyes, and the strangely 
 
NOTABILITIES OF WASHINGTON. 237 
 
 winning smile, half bright, half full of sadness. He is 
 a man whom you would notice amongst other men, and 
 whom, not knowing, you would turn round to look at as 
 he passed by you. Sitting in his place in the Senate, 
 leaning backwards in his chair, with his head stooping 
 slightly over that great, broad chest, and his hands rest 
 ing upon his crossed legs, he looks, in dress, and atti 
 tude, and air, the very model of an English country 
 gentleman. A child would ask him the time in the 
 streets, and a woman would come to him unbidden for 
 protection. You can read in that worn face of his old 
 before its time the traces of a life-long struggle, of 
 disappointment and hope deferred, of ceaseless obloquy 
 and cruel wrong. Such a life-training as this is a bad 
 one for any man, and it has left its brand on the senator 
 for Massachusetts. There are wrongs which the best 
 of men forgive without forgetting, and, since Brook s 
 brutal assault upon him, those who know him best, say 
 they can mark a change in Charles Sumner. He is more 
 bitter in denunciation, less tolerant in opposition, just 
 rather than merciful. Be it so. It is not with soft 
 words or gentle answers that men fight as Sumner has 
 fought against cruelty and wrong. 
 
238 ME. EUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 
 
 MR. RUSSELL AND MR. STANTON. 
 
 IT is one of the unfortunate elements in the relations 
 between England and America that the Americans 
 should combine such an almost morbid desire for 
 English appreciation, with such a fatal ingenuity in 
 offending English taste. There probably has been no 
 action on the part of the American Government which 
 created such disgust, and such reasonable disgust, 
 throughout England, as the treatment of Mr. Russell. 
 I am not going in any way to defend the conduct of the 
 Washington Cabinet. I only wish to point out the 
 facts which render the act less inexcusable than it 
 may appear on this side the Atlantic. Let me say at 
 starting, that I trust no word of mine will be under 
 stood as written in disparagement of Mr. Russell. It 
 is superfluous to say that I have the highest admiration 
 for his remarkable literary ability. To any one who 
 knows him it is equally superfluous to add, that even a 
 very slight acquaintance is sufficient to create a feeling 
 towards him of genuine friendliness. My whole object 
 
ME. RUSSELL AND MR, STANTON. 239 
 
 is to state what I believe to be the true state of the case. 
 The actual circumstances of the refusal on the part of 
 the Government at Washington to allow Mr. Russell to 
 accompany the Army of the Potomac were given in his 
 own correspondence. Nothing could be more accurate 
 or temperate than his statement which he published in 
 the Times. There are some points on which, I consider, 
 he does more than justice to his adversaries. The fact 
 of his approaching departure to join the expeditionary 
 force was, as I can testify, a subject of common conver 
 sation in Washington society for days beforehand, and 
 it is incredible to me that the Secretary of War should 
 not have been aware of the fact, and that, therefore, 
 the delay in informing Mr. Russell that he could not be 
 allowed to prosecute his journey till he was actually on 
 board the steamer, which was to convey him down the 
 Potomac, should not have been purposely intended as a 
 petty slight. There is also, to my mind, something in 
 conceivably small in the excuse put forward by Mr. 
 Stanton. The order which professed to exclude all 
 newspaper correspondents whatever, was simply issued 
 in order to exclude Mr. Russell, and as soon as this 
 object was accomplished, was rescinded, as far as Ame 
 rican correspondents were concerned. That this expla 
 nation of the Secretary of War s conduct is the correct 
 one, was proved by a statement in the New York 
 Tribune, of April 6th, which at that period was Mr. 
 Stanton s especial organ : " It turns out," the Tribune 
 
240 MB. KUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 
 
 wrote, "that the order from the War Department pro- 
 " hibiting all correspondents from accompanying the 
 " army was framed merely for the purpose of excluding 
 " Russell. . . . Secretary Stanton s order of prohibi- 
 " tion has been revoked." Finally, I consider that the 
 commonest courtesy to a stranger and a gentleman, re 
 quired that Mr. Russell s repeated personal and written 
 requests for an interview should at least have been 
 honoured with an immediate reply from the War Depart 
 ment. 
 
 On all these points I should, if I had been subjected 
 to the same treatment, have spoken more bitterly than 
 Mr. Russell did at the time, or has done since. But, 
 in justice to the Government, it should be understood 
 that the act was Mr. Stanton s individual one, not the 
 collective one of the Cabinet. The most extraordinary 
 feature about the American Government in foreign 
 opinion is the utter absence of any solidarite between 
 its component parts. It is possible, and, from what I learnt 
 privately, I believe certain, that Mr. Stanton s decision 
 to deny Mr. Russell the right of joining the army was 
 not communicated to, and stiU less sanctioned by, any 
 other member of the Ministry. I have reason to know 
 that both the President and Mr. Seward expressed per- 
 sonal regret at the occurrence, though they admitted, 
 reluctantly, that it was not a case in which they were 
 justified in over-riding the judgment of their colleague. 
 I know, too, that the influence of General McClellan, 
 
MR. RUSSELL AND MR. STANTON. 241 
 
 which at the time was rapidly on the wane in Wash 
 ington, was exerted in Mr. Russell s favour. The credit 
 or discredit of the act was due to Mr. Stanton, and 
 Mr. Stanton alone. The slight, it is also fair to add, 
 was a slight to Mr. Russell as correspondent of the 
 Times, not as an Englishman. Mr. Russell himself 
 repeatedly expressed his sense of the unvarying courtesy 
 and consideration he had received in the North, both 
 officially and privately. In common, too, with every 
 other Englishman who has visited America during 
 the war, I am certain he would join with me in bearing 
 witness to the fact that, far from one s character as an 
 Englishman exposing one to annoyance, it is, in itself, 
 almost a guarantee for a kind and hospitable reception. 
 Whatever animosity there exists towards England, does 
 not extend, as yet, to Englishmen as individuals. 
 
 The motives which induced Mr. Stanton to take 
 such a step were much canvassed at the period in 
 Washington. The assigned reason was obviously a 
 mere pretext. No letters of Mr. Russell could possibly 
 have afforded valuable information to the enemy. 
 Within a day or two of the date of this order Mr. 
 Stanton stated publicly that the Federal army must 
 be in Richmond before another fortnight, and therefore 
 any intelligence communicated to the Confederates five 
 or six weeks after date could not have been expected 
 to be of damage to the Federal expedition. Moreover, 
 the information received by the Confederates was so 
 
 R 
 
242 ME. RUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 
 
 accurate and copious, that they had no need to look 
 for it in foreign newspapers. The frontier-line between 
 Secessia and the North is too long a one, and the 
 sympathizers with the South in the Border Slave 
 States are too numerous, for news to be kept from 
 passing. A small circumstance came under my own 
 observation which convinced me of this notorious fact. 
 Just after McClellan had landed at Yorktown, 
 a party of senators and their friends went down to 
 Fortress Monroe ; the fort stands on a peninsula con 
 nected with the mainland by a narrow strip of land, so 
 that any unauthorized communication would appear 
 to be impossible ; yet on the morning following their 
 visit, a full report of the party and their doings ap 
 peared in the papers published at Norfolk, which was 
 then in the possession of the Confederates. Moreover, 
 while the American newspapers were allowed to report 
 progress day after day, it is absurd to suppose that the 
 files of an English journal could add to the intelligence 
 of the enemy s progress received by the Confederates. 
 Mr. Stanton never obtained in his own country the esti 
 mate for ability which at one time was assigned to him 
 by English critics. His sole claim to distinction was that 
 he possessed, or rather was presumed to possess, reso 
 lution and energy. He owed his popularity to the 
 fact that he had acuteness enough to perceive that 
 in revolutionary times the most determined party was 
 certain to gain the upper hand, and that, perceiving 
 
MR. EUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 243 
 
 this, he threw all his influence into the scale of the 
 anti-slavery Republicans. There were, of course, all 
 kinds of rumours as to the motives of his apparent 
 animosity towards Mr. Russell ; the common impres 
 sion was, that he took offence at some comments on 
 himself in the Times correspondence. I was told, 
 indeed, by one who moved much behind the scenes of 
 political life at Washington, that the antagonism at this 
 period between the Secretary of War and the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief was much stronger in appearance than 
 in reality, and that it was owing to some allusion as 
 to the existence of a private understanding between 
 McClellan and Stanton that Mr. Russell fell under the 
 latter s displeasure. For my own part, I much doubt 
 the truth of any of these stories ; nor do I believe that 
 the act was due to personal pique. Mr. Stanton was 
 then bidding for the next Presidency, and the main 
 object of Mr. Russell s expulsion was to gain popularity, 
 and make political capital for the Secretary of War. 
 That the step should have been a popular one is not 
 altogether so unnatural as it may appear to us. 
 
 The impression formed in America of Mr. Russell s 
 letters was based much more on general ideas than on 
 actual perusal. Washington is the only capital I have 
 ever lived in where there was not a single reading- 
 room, or hotel, or coffee-house which took in an English 
 newspaper. During the whole of my journey, New 
 York and Boston were the only towns where I could 
 
 E 2 
 
244 ME. EUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 
 
 get a sight of the Times. The American newspapers, 
 during the latter part of Mr. Russell s sojourn, never 
 copied the Times correspondent s letters in full. All 
 that they gave from time to time were short, and often 
 garbled, extracts, quoted with a view of exposing mis- 
 statements of fact, or erroneous prophecies, which the 
 editors believed they had discovered in Mr. Russell s 
 correspondence. Most unjustly, too, he had the credit 
 of inspiring, if not of writing, every ill-natured or 
 disparaging remark that appeared in the Times on the 
 subject of America. Moreover, the New York Herald 
 pursued " Bull Run Russell," as it used to style him, 
 with a virulence rare even in that journal. The stories 
 daily circulated about him refuted themselves by 
 their very inconsistency. Sometimes, he was stated 
 never to have been near the battle-field of Bull 
 Run at all ; sometimes, to have seen the whole battle, 
 and deliberately falsified his account ; and, finally, 
 to have caused the defeat by creating a panic 
 through the rapidity of his flight before the battle 
 commenced. Still, according to the old proverb, 
 "if you throw mud enough, some of it is sure to 
 stick;" and, undoubtedly, Mr. Russell was injured in 
 popular estimation by the libels of the Herald. There 
 was a general, though unfounded impression, among 
 the American people, that his whole mission was to 
 misrepresent their country, depreciate their victories, 
 vilify their public men, and support, indirectly, the 
 
ME. EUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 245 
 
 cause of disunion, by creating an unfavourable feeling 
 towards the North throughout England. The removal, 
 therefore, of Mr. Russell was, in itself, acceptable to 
 the North ; and with that confusion between brag 
 gadocio and courage so natural in an untried nation, 
 which understands neither its true weakness nor its real 
 strength, the manner in which Mr. Stanton contrived 
 to dismiss the Times correspondent appeared to the 
 popular Yankee mind rather a fine act of devil-may-care 
 dignity. That this should be so, is not a pleasing or 
 creditable trait of the American people. Still, in judging 
 of it, we ought to remember (what Englishmen rarely 
 seem to me to remember at all) that this is a civil 
 war, and different in its whole nature from any war that 
 we have known in our own country during modern times. 
 Supposing, during the Indian Mutiny, there had been 
 an American correspondent with the British army, whose 
 letters created a sensation throughout the world, and 
 who was supposed to take the side of the Sepoys, and 
 to doubt the massacres of Cawnpore, or the justice of 
 British vengeance ; I ask any candid Englishman, how 
 long he thinks that correspondent would have been 
 allowed to remain unmolested ? 
 
 I have expressed freely my views with regard to Mr. 
 Russell, as I did at the time, at the risk of giving 
 offence to my American friends ; and, therefore, I may 
 fairly add, that it is unjust if the opponents of the 
 North argue from the fact of Mr. Russell s dismissal 
 
246 ME. EUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 
 
 either that the Government of Washington was afraid 
 of the truth being known, or that virtual freedom of 
 the press did not exist during the civil war. The whole 
 nature, indeed, of the censorship exercised over the 
 press has been extremely exaggerated. Personally I 
 hold an opinion, which is shared in by many Americans, 
 that the censorship system was a fundamental mistake. 
 It was impossible to hinder the enemy from obtaining 
 information ; and if the nation had known fully what 
 the army was doing, I believe the increase in the 
 national enthusiasm throughout the North would have 
 more than compensated for any loss in military action. 
 The war must be considered a popular volunteer war, 
 not as a regular military contest a fact to which the 
 Government were then but gradually opening their eyes. 
 It is only very slowly in America that, in every depart 
 ment, new modes of thought and action are developed, 
 so as to suit the genius of the New World. The first 
 tendency of the American mind is to try, in every case, 
 the remedies and systems of the Old World. That a 
 people s war might be conducted with a perfectly free 
 press was too go-a-head an idea for an Anglo-Saxon 
 country to grasp at once, and so, there being a war, 
 it was supposed that there ought to be a censorship 
 of the press as well. 
 
 At the accession of Mr. Lincoln, the telegraph office, 
 like every other institution in the district of Columbia, 
 was filled with Secessionists, and it was discovered that 
 
ME. EUSSELL AND ME. ST ANTON. 247 
 
 all messages sent by the Government were telegraphed, 
 in duplicate, to the South ; in consequence, the direc 
 tion of the telegraph was taken into the hands of the 
 War Department. When McClellan assumed command 
 of the army, he sent for the correspondents of the dif 
 ferent American journals, and informed them that their 
 being permitted to remain at Washington was condi 
 tional on their not sending news of any military move 
 ments without authorization. It should be remembered 
 that at this period the outposts of the Confederate 
 army were within sight of the Capitol. There was no 
 revision exercised over a correspondent s letters, but he 
 wrote on parole, and at risk of dismissal. No despatch, 
 however, could be forwarded by telegraph without pre 
 vious perusal by the Government authorities ; and this 
 censorship was carried out with great rigour. It was 
 found out after Mr. Stanton s accession to office that 
 the Tribune was allowed free license to use the tele 
 graph. The proprietors of the other American news 
 papers remonstrated in a body, and the right of tele 
 graphing at all was removed, in consequence, from all 
 correspondents of the press at Washington ; so that no 
 intelligence could be " wired," according to the American 
 phrase, except such as the War Department considered 
 fit to communicate. When the advance of the Potomac 
 Army became imminent, Mr. Stanton stretched still 
 further the limits of his authority, and required written 
 despatches of correspondents to be submitted to Govern- 
 
248 ME. RUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 
 
 ment approval before transmission. This rule, however, 
 referred only to military matters ; on political questions, 
 and on the political bearing of military measures, there 
 was perfect freedom of discussion, as far as the Govern 
 ment was concerned. On one or two occasions, some 
 of the Ministers, including Mr. Seward, tried to sup 
 press the publication of comments on political topics 
 which were not in accordance with their own views ; 
 but the press always resisted the attempt, and with 
 success. No doubt, on military movements, the censor 
 ship was absolute. For a fortnight after the Army of 
 the Potomac had left Washington, and sailed down the 
 river to Fortress Monroe, no distinct statement of the 
 fact was allowed to appear in the New York papers. 
 What possible use there could have been in not men 
 tioning a circumstance known to every soul in New 
 York, who had any interest in finding it out, and 
 known at Richmond as soon as at Washington, is a 
 question hard to answer ; but any step which had the 
 appearance of energy was very welcome at that moment 
 to the American people. 
 
 Nobody who read the Northern newspapers could 
 entertain any doubt as to their perfect freedom of 
 speech, with regard to the institutions and statesmen 
 of the country. In political matters there was a reck 
 less license of discussion which sometimes made me 
 regret the absence of a censorship. Whatever inter 
 ference there was with the freedom of the press came 
 
ME. RUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 249 
 
 from the tyranny of public opinion. How far a news 
 paper advocating openly secession views would have 
 been tolerated in the North is a point on which it is 
 difficult to form an opinion. At the outbreak of the 
 war, Benjamin Wood s paper, the Daily News of New 
 York, which was supposed to favour secession, was 
 refused conveyance by the Government mails, a refusal 
 which proved fatal to its existence. The only promi 
 nent instance of mob interference with the press was 
 after the fall of Fort Sumter, when a mob collected 
 round the Herald office, and were only prevented from 
 pulling the place down by Gordon Bennett s coming 
 forward and displaying the Union flag from his windows. 
 I suspect the law would have gone hard with any editor 
 who laid himself open to the charge of treason, by advo 
 cating secession outspokenly ; and an American jury 
 would probably have awarded slight damages for any 
 assault on his person or property. Still, I feel that if 
 there was an invasion of England, I would not give 
 much for the safety of any newspaper which proposed 
 submission to the French. When a free people is 
 excited and almost unanimous, there never can be per 
 fect liberty of opinion for a dissentient minority. It 
 may be urged, with some reason, that though hitherto 
 freedom of the press has been allowed in political 
 matters, yet the censorship on military discussions is 
 the first step to a general censorship. This question is 
 connected with the wider one, as to the possibility of a 
 
250 ME. RUSSELL AND ME. STANTON. 
 
 military dictatorship, which should be discussed sepa 
 rately. Let me only say, that the safety of the country 
 from this danger, if it exists at all, lies in the size of 
 the army. The army itself is too vast to acquire the 
 military esprit du corps. A Napoleon, with a compact 
 force of one hundred thousand men, might be a source 
 of peril to free government, but, in America, the volun 
 teers have amounted to from six to seven times that 
 number. They have been drawn from every class of 
 society, and are connected with the several interests of 
 every separate State, and, above all, they have never 
 had a general abler than McClellan. " Freedom of the 
 press," wrote Jefferson, " freedom of the person, under 
 " the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by 
 " juries impartially selected, are the principles which 
 " have guided our steps. Should we wander from them 
 " in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to re- 
 " trace our steps, and to regain the road which alone 
 " leads to peace, liberty, and safety." This, in spite of 
 the eccentricities of Mr. Stanton, was, and is still, the 
 creed of the great majority of Americans. 
 
GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 251 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 
 
 THEEE are some things an author has a right to 
 assume. I am perfectly justified in asserting, as a fact, 
 that the earth moves round the sun, though, in company 
 with nineteen-twentieths of my readers, I am utterly 
 unacquainted with the grounds on which Galileo s dis 
 covery was established. So I do not consider it neces 
 sary to prove to my readers that slavery is a bad thing. 
 If their knowledge of the world, and their experience 
 of their own hearts, does not teach them what tyrants 
 we should all be if we held irresponsible power over 
 our fellow-creatures, let them study the records and 
 evidence of the anti-slavery reports in the days before 
 emancipation ; and if they are not convinced that 
 slavery is an evil to master as well as slave, I hardly 
 know what to say to them. As to the people if there be 
 any such in England who boiidjide believe the stories 
 such as I have read in Blackwootfs veracious pages, 
 of slaves with gold watches, and monies in the savings- 
 banks, and an intelligent preference for slavery, I can 
 
252 GLIMPSES OF SLAVEEY. 
 
 no more argue with them than with lunatics of any 
 other description. 
 
 It is not necessary at least, I hope and trust it is 
 not necessary to demonstrate the evils of slavery to 
 the vast majority of my readers. During my residence 
 in the States, I had neither opportunity nor inclination 
 to make researches into the cruelties of the slavery 
 system. The sight of misery one cannot in any way 
 relieve is a very painful one ; and personally I have such 
 a hatred of slavery, that, while in the Slave States, I 
 always preferred to give myself the benefit of the 
 doubt, and try to fancy, as long as it was possible for 
 me to do so, that the negroes I came across were free 
 negroes, not slaves. I see little good in quoting the 
 individual cases of cruelty or barbarity which I heard 
 reported privately. I had not the power to trace out 
 the truth of any particular instance, and I doubt the 
 use of quoting exceptional instances. Like every 
 traveller, however, who keeps his eyes open, and who 
 is willing to see what passes before him, I caught some 
 glimpses of the slavery system. Let me point out a 
 few which are matters of public notoriety, resting on 
 unquestionable documentary evidence, not on hearsay 
 report. There may be little, perhaps, of novelty in 
 them, but there are some facts which should be kept 
 before the world in season and out of season ; and of 
 such, in my mind, are the facts about slavery. 
 
 Of course we all know, or if we do not know it is 
 
GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 253 
 
 not for want of telling, that the slaves are contented 
 and happy, and have no wish for freedom. It may be 
 so ; but if so, it is hard to explain why the papers of 
 the Slave States are filled with advertisements of run 
 away slaves. Every day, for instance, in the Baltimore 
 Sun, which I used to see constantly at Washington, 
 there appeared a row of advertisements, of which the 
 following may be taken as types : 
 
 "3d March, 1862. 
 
 " 25 dollars (57.) reward. Ran away, March 2d, from 
 " the farm of Mrs. S. B. Mayo, in Anne Arundel county, 
 " negro boy, John Stewart. He is 19 or 20 years of 
 " age ; 5 feet 9 or 10 inches high ; very prominent 
 " mouth and large front teeth ; light complexion ; has 
 " a stupid look when spoken to ; his father lives in 
 " Annapolis. Any one who will arrest and secure him 
 " in jail can receive the above reward. 
 
 " T. H. GAITHER, Howard Co*." 
 
 Mr. Gaither is the owner of John Stewart, of light 
 complexion, and had hired him to Mrs. Mayo. Doubt 
 less, on his delivery at home, the misguided lad would 
 have the fatted calf killed for him, in honour of the 
 prodigal s return. 
 
 "13th March, 1862. 
 
 " 200 dollars reward (40Z.)- ^ an awa J fr m tne su ^~ 
 " scriber, living in the upper part of Calvert county, in 
 " September last, my negro man Thomas, who calls 
 
254 GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 
 
 " himself Thomas Jones. He is about 5 feet 6 to 9 
 " inches high ; dark chestnut colour ; stout and well 
 " built ; very likely ; large white teeth ; with full suit 
 " of hair (plaited when he left home) ; the whites of 
 " his eyes show very much when spoken to ; had on 
 " white fuiled (sic) cloth peajacket, dark cloth panta- 
 " loons, and cloth cap. I have no doubt that he is in 
 " or about Washington or Bladensburgh, as he left a 
 " day or two before Colonel Cowdin s regiment left ; 
 " or, if in Baltimore, he is with the Jones or Kayes , 
 " his free relatives. I will give the above reward, if 
 " taken out of the State of Maryland or the district 
 " of Columbia; one hundred dollars if taken in the 
 " district of Columbia, or any county of the State 
 " except Calvert ; and fifty dollars if taken in Calvert 
 " county. In either case, to be delivered to me or 
 " secured in jail, so that I get him again. 
 
 " JONATHAN Y. BARBER, 
 
 " Friendship A. A. Coy" 
 
 It is melancholy to reflect, that six months absence 
 from the delights of home should have failed to con 
 vince Thomas of his mistake. What can one expect 
 of a human being valued at 40Z. sterling, and provided 
 with cloth pantaloons, who prefers the society of mean 
 free men of colour to involuntary servitude, and who, 
 reversing the example of Mr. Herbert of Clytha, 
 has actually the audacity to appropriate the name of 
 
GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 255 
 
 Jones ? It is really pleasant to consider that Jonathan 
 Y. Barber, of Friendship, does not yet despair of 
 Thomas s repentance. It is not every slave who has 
 been demoralized by permission to use a surname, as 
 the next advertisement will teach us : 
 
 "20th March, 1862. 
 
 " 180 dollars (36?.) reward. Ran away from the 
 " subscriber, near Bladensburgh, boy Anthony, com- 
 " monly called Toney. He is 5 feet 5 inches high ; 
 " very black ; short hair ; gram countenance when spoken 
 " to ; with a small scar over one of his eyes. Went 
 " away with a black jacket and United States buttons 
 " on it, casinet pants, and yellow gauntlet gloves. I 
 " will give 180 dollars to any one who will bring him 
 
 " home to me. 
 
 "FIELDER MAGRUDER." 
 
 Probably a short experience of the sorrows of free 
 dom will amend " Toney s " moral nature, and teach 
 him to look pleasant when spoken to by Fielder 
 Magruder. 
 
 But to me the saddest of all these exhibitions of 
 human depravity was contained in an advertisement 
 which appeared for days together. It was as short as 
 it was sad : 
 
 "15th March, 1862. 
 
 " Ran away from the subscriber, 13th March, negro 
 " woman, Ellen, aged about forty years, and her boy 
 
256 GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 
 
 " Joe, aged seven years. They are both yellow colour. 
 " Ellen has a defect in one eye ; Joe is bright yellow. 
 " I will pay a liberal reward for their arrest. 
 
 " JOSHUA M. BOSLEY." 
 
 At last the advertisements stopped. Was the search 
 given up as useless ? or, was the liberal reward earned 
 and paid ? God knows. 
 
 Down in the Southern States, the course of proceeding 
 was more business-like. In Utopia it is clear that it 
 will be the finder of a purse, not the loser, who adver 
 tises it. If it were certain that we all followed the 
 Christian precept of doing to others as we would that 
 others should do to us, we should be aware that every 
 one who found our lost property would leave no stone 
 unturned to restore it to us. It is pleasing to find that 
 in the chivalrous slaveholding South there is an ap 
 proach to Utopian honesty. It is the finders of stray 
 human property there, not the losers, who advertise the 
 fact. There is an obvious economy of labour about 
 this arrangement. It is much cheaper for the Post 
 Office to publish a list of unclaimed letters, than for 
 every person who expects a letter which has been mis 
 directed to advertise for its discovery. So it is with 
 slaves in the South. Any slave found straying is sure 
 to be committed to jail; so that there is no necessity 
 for a lost slave to be advertised for. Every slaveholder 
 is always ready to do his dutv. 
 
GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 257 
 
 So, in the Slave States, the number of advertisements 
 for runaway slaves are few, but the number of adver 
 tisements of runaways committed to jail are plentiful. 
 In Tennessee, I observed, in one day, in one paper, 
 thirty advertisements of commitments to jail, which ran 
 as follows : 
 
 "Committed to jail of Davidson county, 21st April, 
 " 1862, a negro woman, who says her name is Lucinda, 
 " and belongs to William Donalson, of Davidson 
 " county. The said woman is about 28 or 30 years 
 " old, dark copper colour. The owner is requested to 
 " come forward and prove property, and pay charges as 
 
 " the law directs. 
 
 " JAMES M. HINTON, 
 
 "Sheriff and Jailor, D.C" 
 
 Of these thirty human chattels committed to the 
 jail of Nashville till their owners could come forward and 
 prove property, three were women, twenty-four were 
 men, and the rest were, according to their own state 
 ment, fr ee men of colour. This latter fact is worth 
 noting. Read as follows : 
 
 " Committed to jail of Davidson county, 4th April, 
 " 1862, a negro man, who says his name is Joe Bart- 
 " lett : said boy claims to be a free man of colour ; 
 " about 24 years old ; says he lives in Henry county, 
 " Kentucky ; light copper colour, scar on the right 
 
258 GLIMPSES OF SLAVEKY. 
 
 " side of the neck ; weighs about 175 or 180 Ibs.; 6 feet 
 
 11 1 inch high. 
 
 " J. M. HINTON, 
 " Sheriff and Jailor, D.C" 
 
 Now, this advertisement is dated 20th April. If 
 Joe Bartlett s story was true, here was a free man, a 
 native of Kentucky, no more subject to the laws of 
 Tennessee than I am to the laws of Russia, imprisoned 
 for sixteen days, on account solely of a " light copper- 
 colour." Truly a benevolent custom. If Joe Bartlett 
 is a slave, he is restored to the tender care of a fond 
 master ; if he is free he remains in prison, in involun 
 tary servitude, till he can prove his freedom ; and when 
 he does prove it, he has no claim for compensation, or 
 redress for his captivity. On the contrary, he, Joe 
 Bartlett, has to pay the costs which the State of Ten 
 nessee has incurred in imprisoning him ; and, if he 
 cannot, well then he is provided with an owner, who 
 can pay for him, and, slave or free, he is sold back into 
 slavery. It is a benevolent custom, startling perhaps 
 in itself, but inevitable to the "peculiar institution." 
 The necessity is obvious. There exists amongst slaves 
 a peculiar malady called " drapetomania." In plain 
 English, slaves are addicted to an inexplicable and un 
 accountable malady, which, without cause or reason, 
 prompts them to run away from their masters. If 
 slaves are to be of any value, as property, this disease 
 
GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 259 
 
 must be remedied, if it cannot be cured. For the pro 
 tection of the slave (and the slaveholder) any slave 
 found at large suffering from this malady (of which 
 absence from home without written authorization from 
 his owner is the invariable symptom) must be confined 
 in jail, by any good white Samaritan, who should find 
 him in danger of falling amidst thieves. Granted 
 this conclusion, a second follows. Another symptom 
 of drapetomania is a tendency on the part of the 
 sufferer to repudiate his home, to deny his lord and 
 master, and to degrade himself by the assertion that he 
 is a free man. There is no possibility of discovering 
 the truth or falsehood of these statements by internal 
 evidence. If the man of colour has not papers with 
 him, to attest his freedom, he must, in the interest of 
 runaway slaves, be treated as a slave. Here follows a 
 third conclusion ; that the captive, if free, must pay 
 the cost of his own captivity. If the State had to pay 
 the expenses, State authorities would be slow to commit 
 men of colour to jail, who might prove to be free men, 
 and hence drapetomaniacs might be allowed to carry 
 out their madness to their own destruction. In a 
 Christian state, this idea cannot be thought of. In all 
 legislation somebody must suffer. It is better that one 
 innocent free man should be sold into slavery, than that 
 a hundred slaves should escape into freedom. Given 
 the peculiar institution ; the imprisonment of Joe 
 Bartlett, and his sale into slavery for the expenses of 
 
 S2 
 
260 GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 
 
 his own imprisonment, is a logical and righteous con 
 sequence. "Qui veut lefin" says the French proverb, 
 " veut les may ens. Slavery may be a good thing ; 
 but if it is good, so are the many peculiar consequences, 
 of which Joe Bartlett s case is one, which follow inevi 
 tably from the peculiar institution. Of the runaway ad 
 vertisements, there is one trait worth recording. In no 
 Free State is there a single newspaper, however pro- 
 slavery in its politics, which will publish hue-and-cry 
 advertisements of escaped slaves. In no Slave State 
 is there a paper that will refuse to publish them. 
 By the Fugitive Slave Law, a runaway slave may be 
 captured in free Ohio, just as well as in slave Kentucky, 
 but no Free State newspaper can be found to promote 
 the practical execution of the very law, which, as a 
 matter of theory, it may defend in its columns. 
 
 I have seen lately, in certain English pro-slavery 
 journals, a statement based upon the evidence of intel 
 ligent and high-minded Southern gentlemen, that the 
 separation of negro families by sale is practically un 
 known, and forbidden, if not by the letter of the law, 
 by the moral sense of the community. The statement 
 in itself is improbable. Anybody who chooses to think 
 upon the subject must perceive, that for one purchaser 
 who wishes to buy a whole family there must be dozens 
 who want to purchase some one member of it, and that, 
 therefore, far higher prices can be realized by selling a 
 slave family retail instead of wholesale. This being so, 
 
GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 261 
 
 the temptation for a needy slaveowner to divide families 
 must be enormous ; and if division of families was really 
 forbidden by the moral sense of the public, it is pretty 
 certain that the possibility of public sensibility being 
 outraged by the unscrupulousness of any embarrassed 
 slaveholder would be removed by a law interdicting 
 divided sales. In no Slave State does any such law 
 exist. As to the evidence of candid, intelligent, and 
 high-minded slaveowners, it must be taken for what it 
 is worth. Where evidence is conflicting one must 
 judge by inherent probabilities. Let me give two 
 particles of evidence on the subject which came under 
 my own knowledge. A friend of mine, by no means an 
 Abolitionist, resided for some time in the Slave States 
 The subject of slavery was an unpleasant one, which he 
 avoided ; but on one occasion his host, a slaveowner, 
 began to complain to him of the calumnies circulated 
 against the South, and asserted that in the whole course 
 of his experience he had never known an instance of a 
 mother being separated from her children. My friend 
 naturally enough believed the statement. On the very 
 same day, however, it happened that some of the family 
 began talking about a little negro boy of theirs who 
 had been drowned a short time before, and describing 
 how shocked they were when the poor child s corpse 
 was carried up to the plantation. My friend asked 
 whether the mother s grief was very terrible to witness ? 
 " Oh," answered his informant, " the child s mother 
 
262 GLIMPSES OF SLAVEEY. 
 
 belongs to Mr. , who lives at the other end of the 
 
 State, so that we know nothing about her." The fact 
 seemed difficult to reconcile with his host s assertion of 
 the morning ; and so, prudently enough, he did not 
 ask for an explanation of the inconsistency in the two 
 stories. The accuracy of this story I can answer for ; 
 and it is corroborated by an incident which happened 
 to myself. One day, after the retreat of the Confede 
 rate army from Manassas, I fell in, near Alexandria, 
 with a party of runaway slaves, working their way 
 northwards. They asked our party about the road, 
 and we put a few questions to them in return. One of 
 them, the least helpless-looking of the lot, was a young 
 worn woman carrying a child of some three years old. 
 She was going to Washington, so she told us, to look 
 after her husband, who, she believed, was in service 
 there, though it was two years since she had been 
 parted from him. Of course I shall be told this case 
 was an exceptional one ; I only hope it was ; but, 
 somehow or other, all cases of cruelty are always ex 
 ceptional. 
 
 If breaches of the law or of public sensibility are 
 exceptional, it can hardly be assumed that the laws 
 themselves are exceptional. I have before me the 
 Maryland code of slavery, which, till last April, was 
 in force at Washington. If you want to know 
 what slavery is by law, note the following specimens 
 of slaveowners justice: "No negro, or mulatto 
 
GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 263 
 
 " slave, or free negro, or mulatto born of a white 
 
 " woman shall be admitted and received as 
 
 " good and valid evidence in law, in any matter or thing 
 " whatsoever depending before any magistrate within 
 " this province, wherein any white Christian person is 
 " concerned." * This Act is not a dead letter. During 
 the present session of Congress a bill was passed by 
 the Senate, authorizing coloured persons to be employed 
 as letter-carriers by the Government. The bill was 
 thrown out by the House, upon the ground that, in a 
 Slave State the evidence of a coloured man could not 
 be received, and that, therefore, if a white post-office 
 servant was to steal letters in a Slave State, it would 
 be impossible to prove his guilt by the evidence of 
 coloured letter-carriers. 
 
 Again, in order to suppress the assembling of slaves, 
 it is ordained, that in case the constable shall find at any 
 house within his district any slaves not belonging to the 
 house, and not authorized by his master to be present, 
 then " it shall and may be lawful for the said constable," 
 and he is by this act required, to whip every such negro 
 on the bare back, at his discretion, not exceeding thirty- 
 nine stripes.")* With the view of protecting the white 
 man in execution of his duty, it is further ordained, that 
 " if it shall so happen at any time that any negro, or 
 " other slave, shall strike any white person, it shall and 
 
 * Maryland, Act 1717, c. xiii. 2. 
 t Ibid. 1719, c. ii. 2. 
 
264 GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 
 
 " may be lawful, upon proof made thereof, either on th e 
 " oath of the party so struck, or otherwise, before any 
 " justice of the peace, for such justice to cause one of 
 u the negro s or other slave s ears so offending to be 
 " cropt."* The penalties against any attempt to escape 
 are equally severe : " Where any slave shall be guilty of 
 " rambling, riding, or going abroad in the night, or 
 " riding horses in the day-time without leave, or running 
 " away, it shall and may be lawful for the justices of 
 " the county-court, and they are hereby obliged, upon the 
 " application or complaint of the master or owner of 
 " such slave, on his, her, or their order, or on the appli- 
 " cation or complaint of any other person, who shall be 
 " anyways damnified or injured by such slave, imme- 
 " diately such slave to punish, by whipping, cropping, 
 " or branding on the cheek with the letter " R," or 
 " otherwise, not extending to life, or so as to render 
 " such slave unfit for labour."^" 
 
 It was found, however, that the justices did not always 
 pay due regard to these last provisions, and that the 
 owners of slaves were shy of subjecting themselves to 
 the loss .of their property, and that, therefore, many 
 guilty slaves escaped punishment through their masters 
 neglecting to commit them to justice. It was, therefore, 
 enacted, that in case any slave should be condemned to 
 
 * Maryland, Act 1719, c. ii. 4. 
 t Ibid. 1751, c. xiv. 2. 
 
GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 265 
 
 death, his value should be appraised by the court, and 
 the amount due paid over at once to the owner, at the 
 public expense. 
 
 These are some of the provisions of the so-called 
 Black Code of Maryland, still in force in that State, 
 and, till within a few months, in force at the Capitol. 
 I am told that these provisions have fallen into disuse. 
 Why, then, are they allowed to disgrace the statute 
 book ? And yet more, why did the Southerners in 
 Congress always resist with success any attempt to 
 modify the code on the part of the Anti-Slavery 
 Party? 
 
 This legislation dates, undoubtedly, from Colonial 
 days, when the whole of our English law was pervaded 
 by a spirit of brutal ferocity. It was adopted, however, 
 by the United States Government as the law for slaves 
 in the District of Columbia, in 1801, and was never re 
 pealed till the abolition of slavery. The following, how 
 ever, are somewhat later commentaries on its practical 
 working, supplied by the legislation of the Washington 
 municipality. By an act passed in 1827, for the better 
 discipline of the coloured population, free blacks or 
 mulattoes are prohibited from giving a party at their 
 own house without permission, from gambling or being 
 present at gambling, and from being at large without 
 permission after ten o clock at night, on penalty of being 
 fined. All slaves found offending against these pro 
 visions " may be sentenced to receive any number of 
 
266 GLIMPSES OF SLAVERY. 
 
 " stripes, not exceeding thirty-nine, on his or her bare 
 "back."* 
 
 By the same act, any negro or mulatto found at 
 Washington, and who shall not be able to establish 
 his or her title to freedom, shall be committed to jail 
 as an absconding slave, f 
 
 There is a still more recent act of slavery legislation. 
 The act against assemblages of coloured people was 
 found insufficient, and the following was passed : 
 " All secret or private meetings, or assemblages what- 
 " soever, and all meetings for religious worship, beyond 
 " the hour of ten o clock at night, of free negros, 
 " mulattoes, or slaves, shall be, and they are hereby 
 " declared to be, unlawful," under a penalty of six 
 dollars fine for each offence, if the offender was a free 
 man or colour, or of flogging on the bare back if the 
 offender was a slave. By this law, therefore, passed 
 only twenty-six years ago, eight years after we passed 
 the Catholic Emancipation Bill, any female slave who 
 attended a prayer-meeting of any kind after ten at night 
 was sentenced to be flogged on her bare back, with any 
 number of stripes not exceeding thirty-nine. 
 
 I need say no more. These are a few of the glimpses 
 of slavery, which caught my eye, unwillingly, during my 
 residence in slavedom. Thank God, that as far as 
 Washington is concerned, I have been writing of the 
 past! 
 
 * Act 1827, 4. f Tbid . 10. 
 
ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 267 
 
 ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 
 
 BEFORE I part with Washington, it may be well to say 
 something now, once and for all, as to the feeling 
 entertained by Americans towards England. In the 
 metropolis of the Federal States this feeling is exhi 
 bited in its most rational and least offensive form. 
 There is no mob at Washington, no strong commercial 
 interest, and more of cosmopolitan sentiment about its 
 temporary residents than is found in other parts of the 
 North. There is no doubt, strange as it may seem to 
 us, that the feeling against England is strongest in 
 those parts which are most akin to the mother-country. 
 In New England, and in Boston, there is far greater 
 animosity expressed towards this country than in New 
 York, or in the West ; why this should be the case, I 
 will speak of presently. 
 
 Let me state, first, without comment of my own, the 
 case of America as against England, as I have often 
 heard it given in substance by men of education, well 
 acquainted with Europe. The sins, then, alleged 
 
268 ENGLAND AND AMEEICA. 
 
 against us, are rather of omission than commission. 
 We are blamed, not so much for what we have done 
 as for what we have left undone. The recognition of 
 the Confederates as belligerents is believed, whether 
 justly or not, to have inflicted incalculable injury on 
 the North, by raising the hopes of the insurgents in 
 foreign intervention, and thus giving the rebellion a 
 tenacity of life, which it could not otherwise have 
 acquired. But still, candid Americans do not profess 
 to believe that this step was deliberately taken by our 
 Government with a view to injure the North. The 
 unfortunate precipitation with which our proclamation 
 of neutrality was issued four-and-twenty hours pre 
 viously to Mr. Adams expected arrival, created, not 
 unreasonably, a good deal of annoyance. It is a pity 
 that an act which, whether well advised or not, could 
 not fail to be offensive to a nation preparing to fight 
 for its existence, should have been done in such a 
 form as to give unnecessary offence. Our subsequent 
 proceedings with regard to privateers are admitted by 
 temperate critics to be the logical and inevitable conse 
 quence of our having once admitted the belligerent 
 character of the South, while, with regard to the 
 Trent affair, it is owned, though reluctantly, that 
 England was in the right, even if she exacted her full 
 right to the extreme letter. It is not for what we did, 
 but for the manner in which we did it, that we are 
 condemned. To understand this feeling, it is necessary 
 
ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 269 
 
 to appreciate the estimate which the Americans form 
 themselves of the history of the insurrection. 
 
 When secession first began (I am giving, let me re 
 peat, the opinions I heard constantly expressed, without 
 now endorsing them as my own), the country was utterly 
 unprepared for war, disbelieved even in the possibility 
 of war. The Government was still in the hands of 
 men who supported secession, passively in all cases, 
 actively in most. The North was divided among itself, 
 and even in the Free States a numerous and powerful 
 party looked with distrust and dread on the incoming 
 Administration. The fall of Fort Sumter startled us, 
 so Northerners would say, out of a dream. We had 
 had no serious foreign war for half a century ; the very 
 idea of a civil war was as strange to us as it is to you 
 a soldier was almost unknown in our streets : what 
 troops, and ships, and ammunition we had, were chiefly 
 in the hands of the insurgents. We had few generals 
 or statesmen, and of those we had, we could not tell 
 who was faithful to our cause. Under these circum 
 stances we claim it as a credit that we did not despair 
 of the commonwealth. When the nation once awoke 
 to the consciousness that the existence of the Union was 
 at stake, and the Capitol itself in danger, there was 
 neither delay nor doubt. From every portion of the 
 North volunteers flocked to the defence of the country ; 
 from every class and state, men left their homes, forsook 
 their businesses, and risked their lives at the call of 
 
270 ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 
 
 duty. In four months time we, who on the fall of Fort 
 Sumter had not 12,000 available troops, had raised, 
 without conscription or compulsion, 500,000 men in 
 arms, undisciplined if you will, but still prepared to 
 fight. Unused to war, and over-confident in the force 
 of numbers, we pushed on to action hastily ; fortune 
 did not favour us. Partly from mismanagement, partly 
 from ill-luck, still more from want of training, we en 
 dured a succession of repulses, inflicted in a manner 
 most disheartening to the spirit of the people ; still, 
 not for one moment did the North despair we were 
 confident in our strength and in our cause. Through 
 out the long months of trying inaction, the country 
 consented to bide its time ; and even when things 
 seemed darkest, there was no cry for submission or 
 compromise ; no voice heard except to demand re 
 sistance to the death. In the midst of our troubles 
 we found ourselves in a position in which, whether 
 from our own fault or not, we had to choose between a 
 galling act of national humiliation, extorted from us by 
 a foreign power, and the surrender of our hopes of 
 restoring the Union. Here, again, there was no hesi 
 tation ; we were ready to submit to anything, sacrifice 
 anything, sooner than fail in maintaining the integrity 
 of our country. This was the unanimous voice of the 
 nation, and we acted on it ; as we have begun, so we 
 shall continue till the end. We may be mistaken in 
 our views the end we are fighting for may not be 
 
ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 271 
 
 worth the struggle, but, right or wrong, the resolution 
 of the North is a matter of which, as a nation, we are 
 justly proud. When our trouble began, we reckoned 
 confidently on the moral support, if not the actual aid, 
 of England. Our resolution to stop the advance of 
 slavery was the cause and occasion of the insurrection : 
 we were fighting in such a war as England has waged 
 many a time, in order to maintain our empire, to pre 
 serve our honour, and to establish free government. 
 We believed that you, of our own race, and faith, and 
 language, would judge us fairly, if no one else did, and 
 would wish us God speed ! We imagined that old 
 grudges had been forgotten, on your side as well as 
 ours, but we found ourselves mistaken. Xot only did 
 your Government make haste to disavow any appear 
 ance of sympathy with our cause, by recognising the 
 South as belligerents with unwonted promptitude, but 
 the people of England repudiated at once all fellowship 
 with our cause. Every disaster of ours was magnified 
 by your press, every success was derided, every effort re 
 fused acknowledgment ; we were ridiculed in your public 
 prints, treated as degenerate, held up by you to the 
 contempt and laughter of the Old World, and offered 
 counsels of submission, which you yourselves would have 
 regarded as an insult. It was not only by the press of 
 England that we were so treated : your statesmen, and 
 writers, and politicians openly prognosticated the down 
 fall of our country, and rejoiced in the prospect of our 
 
272 ENGLAND AND AMEEICA. 
 
 dismemberment. In your society sympathy was with the 
 South from the beginning, and even the few public men 
 and the few organs of popular opinion that advocated our 
 cause, did so rather on abstract principles than from any 
 avowed sympathy with a great people fighting in a cause 
 which is great and noble. We have been taught a bitter 
 lesson. It is by ourselves alone, against the wishes, if 
 not in spite of the efforts, of England, that the Union 
 will have to be saved. 
 
 How much in this estimate there is that is false and 
 unreasonable, I need not dwell on. Unfortunately it is 
 only too moderate an expression of the condition of 
 American feeling at the present day, with regard to 
 England. It is not, however, so unnatural a one as it 
 may seem on this side the Atlantic. In the first place, 
 the Americans, from their isolation, immensely over 
 estimate the relative importance of their own affairs. 
 That American politics are only one, and not the chief, 
 of the many influences that operate on our Govern 
 ment and people, is a fact they can hardly realize. 
 The general ignorance of Englishmen about American 
 affairs, they believe to be either affectation or else wilful 
 blindness. If you try to explain to them that English 
 feeling has been, not unreasonably, outraged by the 
 language of the New York Herald, and by the series 
 of slights, to use the mildest term, offered us by suc 
 cessive Federal Governments, they answer you, with 
 truth, that the New York Herald does not represent 
 
ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 273 
 
 American feeling, and that the slights offered to England 
 were, invariably, the doing of Southern statesmen, for 
 whom the North cannot justly be held responsible. 
 But when you proceed to urge that it is not reason 
 able to expect the English nation should understand 
 these explanations instinctively, or should appreciate 
 the difference between different journals and conflicting 
 parties, they obviously cannot believe that Englishmen 
 are, as a class, unacquainted with the real working or 
 private history of American politics. They look upon 
 the popular opinions of England with regard to America, 
 as if they were those of a community thoroughly con 
 versant with American affairs, and caring for, or think 
 ing of, little else. In fact, both in England and America, 
 the extreme similarity between the two nations is, para 
 doxical as it may seem, the cause why they understand 
 each other so little. With regard to a foreign nation, 
 they would both make great allowances for different 
 standards of thought and feeling. But two people so 
 like each other can make little allowance for the points 
 of unlikeness. When the Scotch laird thanked God that 
 his French guests had left the room, " because they were 
 " no better than the brute beasts of the field, and never 
 " took a drop more than they wanted," he qualified the 
 condemnation by the remark that, " perhaps, as French 
 men, they knew no better." Had they belonged to an 
 English-speaking nation, the excuse would not have 
 been proffered so readily. 
 
274 ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 
 
 It is difficult also for Englishmen to appreciate the 
 almost morbid anxiety which Americans feel for the 
 judgment of England. The invariable question which 
 every American asks you, before you have talked to 
 him ten minutes, "how do you like the country?" is 
 utterly unlike in tone to the manner in which a French 
 man might ask you a similar question, with a supreme 
 conviction that it was morally impossible you should 
 not like France ; or to the mode with which an English 
 man would ask it, with absolute indifference whether 
 you liked England or not. The truth is though I am 
 afraid my Northern friends will dispute the truth of 
 my remark England is the real arbiter of opinion to 
 whom educated America looks up. The affectation so 
 common there of being like the French, is an affecta 
 tion only. They speak less French, they read less 
 French, they know less about France, than we do our 
 selves. More I cannot say. Their tone of thought is 
 English, their literature is English, and their history 
 is English also. Thus it is that even in spite of their 
 avowed professions, the good opinion of England is a 
 matter of so keen an interest to them. And thus it is, 
 also, that they have felt so bitterly the coldness, to say 
 the least, of English opinion on their behalf. " We 
 could stand," I remember reading in the New York 
 Tribune, "the railing, abuse, and systematic depre- 
 " ciation of the British journals. It is their affectation 
 " of candour, of impartiality, of sublime exaltation 
 
ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 275 
 
 " above such paltry matters as American discussions, 
 " that aggravates us. Such trifles are all remembered 
 " over here, and will, in due time, be requited." There 
 is, I fear, too much truth in this outburst of hostility. 
 In private life, as far as my experience goes, men resent 
 real personal injuries far less bitterly than they do ill- 
 natured speeches ; and what is true of individuals, is 
 true of nations also. 
 
 Moreover, this utterance of the Tribune confirms the 
 fact, to which I have before alluded, that the greatest 
 bitterness towards England is entertained by the Repub 
 lican party. The abstract and somewhat sentimental 
 hostility to slavery, which had been the fashion in 
 England ever since the time of West Indian eman 
 cipation, and which rose to a climax in the days 
 of the Uncle Tom mania, was appreciated in the 
 North at more than its real value. The moral opinion 
 of England had always been the great argument on 
 which the Abolitionists based their cause, as against 
 their own countrymen. In a war wherein slavery was 
 at issue, they had always believed that they should 
 have the support of England, and had expressed their 
 belief constantly and confidently. It was a cruel dis 
 appointment to them to find that these assertions 
 were ungrounded, and that the great patron of the 
 anti-slavery cause, whose example they had always 
 quoted, and whose opinion they had taught others 
 to reverence, stood aloof from them when sentiment 
 
 T 2 
 
276 ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 
 
 had to be exchanged for action ; and the reaction 
 of feeling among this party was proportionate to the 
 extent of their previous pro-English sympathies. I recol 
 lect a lady, who was a very strong Abolitionist, telling me 
 that just before the secession of South Carolina, she 
 was talking to Mrs. Jefferson Davis about the absurdity 
 of the Secessionist scheme. On remarking that the Con 
 federacy could have no hopes of support from England, 
 on account of our known hostility to slavery, Mrs. Davis 
 
 answered " My dear Mrs. , you don t know Eng- 
 
 " land as well as I do. She dislikes slavery very much, 
 " but she loves cotton a great deal more, and before 
 " six months are over, we shall have all England sympa- 
 " thizing with our cause." And my friend concluded by 
 saying, " I never felt so much sorrow in my life as when 
 I found that I was wrong and Mrs. Davis right." I 
 quote this instance as illustrative of a state of feeling 
 which is almost universal in the Abolitionist party ; and 
 I hardly think it is so monstrous as our English critics 
 appear to assume, that men like Ward Beecher and 
 Wendell Phillips should surpass other American orators 
 in the vehemence of their feeling against England. 
 
 How far the existing and, I fear, increasing sentiment 
 of hostility which the tone of England has, reasonably or 
 not, produced, will prove a lasting one, is very hard 
 to judge. For my own part, I believe and hope that 
 the very susceptibility to the blame or depreciation of 
 England, which has created such bitterness of feeling 
 
ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 277 
 
 amongst Americans, will also render them, perhaps, un 
 reasonably susceptible to any reaction of feeling on the 
 part of the mother country ; and if, at last, England 
 begins to admit, what I feel more and more convinced 
 is the truth, that amidst much exaggeration and absur 
 dity, the struggle between the North and South is a 
 grand cause grandly fought for, then there will be a 
 return of the same kindly feeling as was exhibited, 
 not three years ago, when the Prince of Wales visited 
 America. 
 
278 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 THE outlook for the future of America occupies far 
 more attention amongst foreign observers than it does 
 at home. The crew of a vessel labouring beneath a 
 hurricane, are not likely to devote much attention to 
 the consideration of what they are to do when they get 
 safely into harbour ; and so, in like manner, in the 
 midst of this insurrection there is little time or care to 
 think of anything but how it can be suppressed. After 
 all, what is to be done, or rather what is to happen 
 hereafter, is still a matter of abstract speculation ; and 
 the Americans, as a people, have an Anglo-Saxon dis 
 taste and incapacity for abstract speculation of any 
 kind. The men by whom the country is ruled and 
 represented are, as a body, shrewd, self-made men, 
 with very little appreciation for the philosophy of 
 government. Though the average culture of America 
 is probably higher than that of any country in the 
 world, yet, at the same time, any very high degree of 
 intellectual culture is uncommon. There are no public 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 279 
 
 men here of the class of Mill, Gladstone, or Lord 
 Stanley ; and if there were, their influence on the 
 country would be very limited. It is a land of workers, 
 not of thinkers. 
 
 Still, making all allowance for this, and for a natural 
 reluctance to face the belief that the Union is not in 
 itself a remedy for every^evil, it seemed strange to me to 
 observe how little thought there appeared to be in the 
 public mind about the inevitable future. The future, 
 too, was not only inevitable, but appeared so near at 
 hand. The prevalent belief at this time was, that the 
 South was at its last gasp. All the plans of the Go 
 vernment, during the spring of 1862 (and in saying this 
 I am not expressing merely a private opinion, but an 
 official conviction), were based upon the idea, that by 
 the end of June, at the very latest, the insurrection 
 would be so far suppressed as to present no further 
 military dangers. At this time, a stop had been put to 
 further enlistment, contracts for army supplies were 
 curtailed, and sufficient funds had only been provided 
 to meet the current military expenditure for some ten 
 weeks more. Within three months it was expected that 
 the Federal Government would have to re-organize its 
 rule over the revolted States ; and yet neither Govern 
 ment, nor Congress, nor people appeared to have any 
 definite idea or prospect of how that re-organization 
 was to be effected. The truth is, the country was drift 
 ing towards peace just as it drifted towards war. In 
 
280 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 order to understand the history of the crisis through 
 which America was passing, it may be well to say some 
 thing here of the political speculations which were rife 
 at the period when the " Army of the Potomac " had set 
 forth in its full pride and strength, and when the sup 
 pression of the insurrection was believed to be imminent. 
 The only political question towards which public 
 attention had been directed, so far as to form any defi 
 nite ideas regarding it, was that of the Negro. The 
 subject, indeed, was an unwelcome one, but still it 
 forced itself upon the public mind. Almost every day, 
 amongst the petitions presented to Congress at this 
 period, there was a request, from somebody or other, 
 begging the House to leave the negro alone, and attend 
 to business. There was something almost pitiable in 
 the painful anxiety expressed by newspapers, and poli 
 ticians, and the leaders of private society, to ignore the 
 question of the everlasting negro. Abolitionists were 
 unpopular, because they kept on thrusting the wrongs 
 of the negro upon unwilling ears ; pro-slavery men 
 were unpopular, because they kept dinning the rights 
 of negro ownership on an unsympathetic public ; and 
 the men who were popular were the prophets of the 
 "Seward stamp," who spoke pleasant things, and who 
 recommended the people to wait upon Providence (or, 
 in stock phrase, "Not to interfere with its manifest 
 interposition") for the ultimate solution of the Negro 
 question. Still, the question cropped up at every 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 281 
 
 moment. Runaway slaves came constantly into the 
 Federal lines ; large districts were deserted by their 
 owners as the Northern armies advanced ; and the 
 plantations which could not be destroyed, together 
 with the slaves who could not be removed, were left to 
 the charge and embarrassment of the United States 
 Government. "What shall we do with them?" was 
 the question that everybody in the North was asking 
 unwillingly, and to which nobody could find an answer. 
 Meanwhile, it was growing daily clearer, that beyond 
 the slavery question difficult enough in itself there 
 lay the Negro question, almost more difficult to grapple 
 with. 
 
 I am no great believer in Providence doing for any 
 body what one ought to do oneself ; but still I think 
 that, without much decided action on the part of the 
 Government, there was, in the event of Northern suc 
 cess, a necessary solution to the mere slavery question. 
 Either (and this was the view of the most far-sighted 
 American politicians I met with) the insurrection would 
 be speedily and hopelessly crushed, or else it would hold 
 out for some time longer, with varying success. In the 
 latter case, there would be an end to slavery at once 
 a rough and sharp one. The vindictiveness of the North 
 would be roused, revolutionary measures would be re 
 quired, and the first and chief of these would be com 
 pulsory emancipation. The result, I need not say, has 
 ustified these anticipations. In the former event, the 
 
282 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 decline of slavery would be less rapid, but not less 
 certain. Hitherto, slavery had been the badge and cry 
 of the great ruling political faction in the country. Any 
 man who wanted power, and office, and success in public 
 life, was obliged to put on slavery colours. With the 
 election of President Lincoln the supremacy of this 
 party was broken, and anti-slavery views became the 
 political creed of the winning side, just as pro-slavery 
 views had been formerly. As a political party, the 
 slave-faction had lost its power, and it was the con 
 sciousness of this fact which impelled them to Secession. 
 Still, if they had abided by constitutional measures, this 
 party would always have possessed strength, from the 
 fear that, if driven to extremities, the South might 
 secede, and, under the influence of this fear, might 
 possibly have recovered the reins of Government. Now, 
 supposing the insurrection to be crushed, they will have 
 played their last card, and failed lamentably. Hence 
 forth there will be no terror for the North in the threat 
 of secession. The South will not fight again a battle 
 that has been fought and lost, and the slaveholders 
 will be a small and declining faction in the State. 
 Every ambitious politician, and every office-seeker who 
 wants patronage, will profess anti-slavery views. With 
 a free Government, such as the American, the influence 
 of public opinion is overwhelming ; and with the tide of 
 public opinion set dead against slavery, State after State 
 will throw off the degradation attached to the institu- 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 283 
 
 tion, and the system will fall to pieces by its own 
 adherent weakness. 
 
 The objection to this optimist view is, that it does 
 not take into account the extraordinary social influence 
 of slavery. As long as slavery exists in a State, the 
 pride of race makes the maintenance of the institution 
 popular, even with the very classes who suffer most 
 from its inevitable consequences. Not one white man, 
 perhaps, in ten or twenty, even in the most populous 
 of the Slave States, owns negro property ; but then, 
 every non-slaveowner looks forward to the possibility 
 of enrolling himself amidst the privileged class. More 
 over, the meanest and poorest of white citizens in a 
 Slave State belongs to the ruling caste. He is the 
 recognised superior of the whole coloured population, 
 and the more wretched his own condition is, the more 
 highly he values the one dignity belonging to him, as 
 a white man, in a slave-country. Undoubtedly, the 
 popular sentiment, even in the most loyal Slave States, 
 was bitterly averse to any measure which could place 
 the negro on an equality with the white man. Thus 
 in Kentucky the staunchest of the Border Slave 
 States, and in which, within the last ten years, the 
 white population has increased in a ratio of more than 
 three to one to the slave the State Legislature, in 
 answer to the President s proposal of a scheme for 
 voluntary and compensated emancipation, passed a re 
 solution, " That any person who advocates the doctrine 
 
284 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 of the abolition or emancipation of slavery in the 
 State of Kentucky, either directly or indirectly, or who 
 sympathizes with the same, shall be disfranchised for 
 life, and requested to leave the State within ten days." 
 Happily, the majority of forty-eight to twenty-nine, by 
 which this resolution was passed, was not sufficient to 
 make it valid ; but the fact shows the strength of the 
 anti-abolition sentiment. Still, in spite of this and 
 many similar indications, I think it probable that the 
 view quoted above (which I know to be that of leading 
 American statesmen) is substantially correct, and that, 
 as a system, slavery is doomed, supposing always the 
 insurrection to be finally suppressed. 
 
 But when slavery is abolished, what is to become of 
 the slaves ? There are three solutions possible for the 
 Negro question : Amalgamation with the white race, 
 emigration or enforced colonization, or settlement in 
 the States where they are stationed at present, as a 
 free population of distinct race. The first of these 
 solutions is, at first sight, the obvious one to a philo 
 sopher. Unfortunately, instincts of race are too power 
 ful to admit of its adoption. It is hard for an European 
 to quite appreciate the intensity of American feeling 
 about colour ; but still, when an American asks you the 
 usual question, whether you would like your sister to 
 marry a negro ? I own that candour would force most 
 Englishmen to answer in the negative. A black brother 
 can be tolerated, but a black brother-in-law is an idea 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 285 
 
 not pleasant to the Anglo-Saxon mind. And if you 
 plead guilty to this weakness in a hypothetical case, 
 it is not difficult to understand the aversion with which, 
 in real life, a proud hard race, like the American, re 
 gards the notion of any infusion of black blood in their 
 veins. That a negro should ever sit in Congress, is to 
 the Yankee intellect a sort of reductio ad absurdum 
 a moral anomaly, from the contemplation of which 
 even the New York Tribune shrinks reluctantly. 
 Moreover, even supposing this aversion to be removed, 
 there seemed to be physiological objections to any 
 amalgamation of the races. Those persons who have 
 studied the subject most profoundly, all agree that the 
 mixed race is not a healthy one. The intellectual 
 capacity of the mulatto is very great, but his physical 
 power is inferior to that of the pure white or black 
 man ; and with each successive intermixture, the race 
 becomes feebler and, as a rule, dies out with scrofulous 
 diseases. Physiology is a science which has been so 
 little studied in America, and the whole subject of 
 amalgamation has been obscured by such a variety of 
 conflicting prejudices, that it would be unsafe to attach 
 implicit confidence to the above assertions. As a prac 
 tical matter, however, it is sufficient to say, that this 
 belief as to the deterioration of the mixed race is 
 universally entertained in the North, and thus any 
 statesman dealing with the Negro question, has to 
 assume this doctrine as an acknowledged truth. 
 
286 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 Colonization on a large scale presents enormous 
 practical difficulties in its execution. The expense of 
 transporting or providing for four millions of people, is 
 a gigantic task, which it must take scores of years 
 before America is in a position to undertake. More 
 over, the negroes, like most nations whose intellectual 
 faculties are but imperfectly developed, have strong 
 local attachments, and have absolutely no desire to quit 
 the home of their birth, cruel as that home may have 
 proved to them. There remains, then, as the sole 
 alternative, the settlement of the black race, in the 
 existing Slave States, as a free population. The political 
 difficulties, of which the advocates of slavery talk so 
 much, do not seem to me insuperable. There is no 
 reason why, after emancipation, the several States 
 should extend the franchise to the coloured population ; 
 and I fear there is little hope that the blacks would 
 agitate to obtain political rights for themselves. With 
 the exception of three or four of the Eastern States, 
 coloured citizens have not the right of voting in any of 
 the Northern States ; and except as a matter of abstract 
 justice and logical consistency, about which the Ameri 
 cans trouble themselves very little, the free negro might 
 as well remain disfranchised for the present. The 
 difficulty is a social one. In the Northern Hemisphere, 
 the negro is an exotic, and does not flourish except 
 under an artificial system. Now, though nobody is 
 more adverse to slavery than I am, the logic of figures 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 287 
 
 compels me to admit that, from the rapid increase of 
 population in the Slave States, the slaves must, on the 
 whole, have been kept in physical comfort. An amount 
 of work was abstracted from them, which no induce 
 ment but force would urge them to undergo ; and in 
 return for this, they were, as animals, treated with 
 consideration. Remove the necessity of bondage, and, in 
 a northern climate, where his energies are deadened, the 
 negro will not, as a rule, work enough to keep him in 
 more than bare existence. I have my own doubts 
 about the truth of our received English doctrines as to 
 the dignity of labour, and as to work being the one essen 
 tial end and aim of human existence. It seems to me 
 possible that, even in this world, Lazarus, when the 
 sun shone upon his rags and sores, and the crumbs 
 thrown out to him were sufficient for the day, may 
 have been as well off as Dives, with his hardly earned 
 riches. Still, as a matter of fact, one cannot doubt 
 that a people to whom work is naturally distasteful, 
 cannot stand a chance, on the same soil and under the 
 same conditions, with a race which works for the sake 
 of work itself, as well as for gain. Supposing emanci 
 pation take place, the stigma to be removed from 
 labour, and free white labourers to pour as they would 
 into the Slave States, black labour would not, I think, 
 stand the competition, and would gradually be driven 
 out of the field. The probability seems to me that, in 
 the event of abolition, the fate of the American negroes 
 
288 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 will not be unlike that of the Indians. A portion will 
 move gradually further south, till they reach a climate 
 where white labour cannot compete successfully with 
 their own. Those left in the existing Slave States will 
 slowly die out, by a diminution of their prolific powers, 
 and will disappear with more or less of suffering. It 
 seems as though, by some inscrutable law of Nature, 
 the white man and the black cannot live and work to 
 gether, on equal terms, on the same soil. Where the 
 white man comes, the black man has disappeared 
 hitherto, and I fear that America is not likely to prove 
 an exception to the rule. 
 
 The difficulties of the problem are indeed fearful, 
 and I own that the abolitionist solution is the simplest 
 if not the most philosophical. The Negro question 
 they say virtually, if not avowedly is one with which 
 we have nothing as yet to do. When it comes upon us, 
 we must do our best to alleviate the working of natural 
 laws, over which we have no control. Meanwhile, for 
 the sake of any ulterior consideration, we have no right 
 to maintain a system which is an outrage on the laws of 
 God and man. The Negro question we must leave to 
 Providence, but the Slavery question is one we can deal 
 with, and are bound to deal with, for ourselves. And 
 this, like all simple solutions, commends itself to the 
 plain popular instinct. 
 
 The never-ending Negro question is only the most 
 pressing, perhaps not the most difficult, of those the 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 289 
 
 country has to deal with. Throughout almost all Eng 
 lish speculations on American affairs, there runs a con 
 stant assumption that the United States Government 
 resembles our Old World Governments, and possesses 
 unlimited powers of action, if only it chooses to exert 
 them. Now the truth is, that by the very nature of its 
 Constitution, the powers of the Government are so 
 strictly denned, that in all cases not provided for by the 
 express letter of the law, it has no authorized means of 
 action. Thus in Europe, the refusal of the Federal 
 Government to recognise formally the fact that the 
 Confederates were belligerents, appeared dictated by a 
 childish reluctance to acknowledge an unwelcome truth. 
 In reality, it was constitutionally impossible for the 
 North to admit the belligerent character of the South. 
 The Federal Government has power by the Constitution 
 to suppress an insurrection in the supposed interest of 
 the insurgent State it has no power whatever to make 
 war upon a State. In order to keep within the Consti 
 tution, it was essential for the Federal Government to 
 assume the theory that the insurgent States still form 
 part of the Union. Yet the adoption of this theory 
 involves inconceivable difficulties in practice. If the 
 States are still within the Union, they must be dealt 
 with by the laws of the Constitution. Thus, to quote 
 one simple instance, the insurgents must be tried in 
 their own State, by a jury taken from the State ; and 
 no Southern jury would ever convict an insurgent 
 
 U 
 
290 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 of treason. Again, all taxes, by the Constitution, must 
 be uniformly imposed on all the States. It would 
 be therefore impossible, if the war was over, to tax 
 the insurgent States, so as to make them bear the 
 expenses of the war. These are no theoretical diffi 
 culties, but practical and pressing ones. During the 
 height of the war, a cavalry officer with whom I was 
 acquainted made an expedition into Virginia. He 
 was in extreme want of horses to mount his men, and 
 seized fifteen horses belonging to notorious rebels ; but 
 on reporting the fact, he received orders from head 
 quarters to restore the horses at once, as there was 
 no constitutional authority for seizing the property of 
 insurgents : and yet at this time the Federal Govern 
 ment was purchasing horses right and left, at prices 
 ranging from two hundred dollars and upwards. This 
 scrupulous regard for the theory of the Constitution 
 may seem inconsistent with the practical character of 
 the American mind ; but, in fact, the adherence to the 
 letter of the Constitution is a matter of practical rather 
 than abstract interest. If the broad principle is once ad 
 mitted that the welfare of the Commonwealth overrides 
 all State interests and justifies any stretch of power, then 
 the doctrine of State rights is virtually defunct in the 
 North as well as in the South-in the Slave States of 
 the Union as well as in the Slave States of the Con 
 federacy. The Border Slave States, therefore, fight 
 against any recognition of this doctrine, which would 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 291 
 
 be fatal to the existence of slavery ; and even the Free 
 States of the North are unwilling to do anything, or 
 permit anything to be done, which may involve the loss 
 of their separate independence. Added to all this, the 
 whole nation has been taught, so long and so sedulously, 
 that the Constitution is the great bulwark of their 
 liberties the grandest triumph of legislative power, 
 that they cannot yet, and dare not yet, realize the 
 truth, that this Constitution has been tried and found 
 wanting. 
 
 Still, with all this, all Americans of reflective minds 
 whom I have talked to, admitted that the nation would 
 shortly have to deal with a work for which the machinery 
 of its Government is not adequate. They allowed too, 
 though generally with reluctance, that the machinery 
 would have to be modified ; but how, or in what direc 
 tion, they could form little idea. The possibility of a 
 military revolution, which was much canvassed in 
 Europe, was not a contingency even thought of in 
 America. You cannot live any time in the North, 
 without coming to an instinctive conviction that a mili 
 tary despotism is not an event upon the cards. To 
 any one who knows France, it would be impossible to 
 prove, by any amount of arguments, that she was ever 
 likely to adopt the government of an aristocratic 
 oligarchy ; and so you perceive, possibly without being 
 able to state your reasons for it, that the whole nature 
 and genius and development of the American people 
 
 U 2 
 
292 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 (I am speaking of the North) is opposed to military 
 rule. The moral tendency of the present civil war has 
 not been to create a prestige in favour of military 
 rule. "The great lesson of this war," said an old 
 American politician to me, "will be the power of self- 
 " government. The people has done everything, the 
 " Government nothing ; the people has led, and the 
 " Government has followed." Whether this view is 
 altogether correct or not, it is the prevailing one, and 
 will have its influence on the destinies of the nation. 
 Then, again, this war has brought forth no Dictator, 
 either political or military. As an old Polish exile, 
 who had fought in every European revolution for the 
 last forty years, remarked to me : " There is one good 
 " thing about this revolution, and that is, we shall have 
 " no fathers of the country, no saviours of society left 
 " when the war is over." The gigantic size of the 
 army is in itself a protection for the future against an 
 undue exercise of military power. As far as I could 
 learn, of the 672,000 men who had been in arms 
 up to last spring, under 100,000 belonged to the re 
 gular army. Amongst the volunteers the regular 
 military spirit has not, and could hardly have, been 
 developed. With officers chosen from amongst them 
 selves, and in many instances by themselves, they are 
 not likely to merge the volunteer in the soldier. The 
 great majority of the volunteers look forward to 
 returning to their former pursuits the moment the 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 293 
 
 war is over. " And then/ as one of the privates said 
 within my hearing, "the first thing we shall do is 
 " to show our officers we are as good as they 
 " are." The regular army, with its strict discipline, 
 poor pay, and slow promotion, will present little at 
 traction to the disbanded volunteers, in a country 
 where labour can command its own price ; and the 
 wild life of the Backwood States will attract those 
 restless spirits who cannot live without excitement. 
 Still, though the volunteer army will disband itself, 
 yet its members will be scattered throughout the 
 States, and their knowledge of war would present a 
 strong obstacle to any attempt of the military power to 
 encroach on the liberties of the country. Besides, the 
 enormous extent of the territory of the United States 
 is, in itself, a fatal bar to any military dictatorship. 
 If France, with an area of 208,000 square miles, is 
 presumed to require an army of half-a-million to main 
 tain a military rfyime, what would be the force re 
 quired to keep up a like system in America, with 
 its 3,250,000 square miles of territory, where every in 
 stitution and custom is opposed to centralization? I 
 have often heard the Federal Government sneered at 
 for the bulk of its unwieldy army ; but the truth is, 
 that the territory of even the Southern States is so. 
 vast as to require an enormous army to occupy it 
 in any way. The English officers who came down to 
 Washington to inspect the army were always very con- 
 
294 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 fident in their assertions that it would have no chance 
 against a small force of well-trained troops. I agree 
 with them so far, that I think it possible that a French 
 army of 50,000 men might march from New York to 
 New Orleans, and defeat every force it met on its path ; 
 but when that was done, no vital result would be pro 
 duced ; and with 50,000 men, it would be impossible 
 to occupy more than a single State. 
 
 For all these reasons, I doubt the possibility of a 
 military dictatorship being amongst the eventualities of 
 the United States. Nor, as I before stated, is any 
 apprehension of it entertained in America. The loose 
 talk one reads in the New York Herald, and other 
 papers of the same class, -about military dictatorships 
 and Napoleonic regimes, are of the nature of sensation 
 paragraphs. The literary taste of America is not highly 
 developed, and to the ordinary newspaper reader vehe 
 mence of language is identical with powerful writing. 
 A skirmish is always either the most disastrous defeat, 
 or the most heroic victory, ever witnessed in both hemi 
 spheres, and a discharge of cannon always shakes the 
 earth to its very foundation. In the same way, a 
 dictatorship is talked of when, in our more sober lan 
 guage, we should speak of an energetic Government ; 
 and the term is understood not to be used in its simple 
 signification. 
 
 A more reasonable fear for the stability of the 
 Government, and one more generally entertained by 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 295 
 
 Americans, is derived from the vast influx of the 
 foreign emigration. It was to this fear that the short 
 lived Know-nothing Party owed its existence, and there 
 is no doubt that the native Americans still look with 
 fear on the strength of the foreign element. The new 
 settlers" are men who know neither Washington nor his 
 works ; who have, most of them, strong revolutionary 
 traditions if not principles, and who have little respect 
 for the Constitution in itself. The fact, however, that 
 the powerful Know-nothing organization broke down 
 by its own weakness, is a proof that this fear had no 
 strong hold upon the country, and I think with 
 reason. The power of the Anglo-Saxon element in 
 absorbing the other foreign elements is something won 
 derful. Of those Americans who know the name of 
 their grandfathers, a vast proportion will tell you that 
 they have foreign blood amongst their ancestors ; but 
 by the third generation there is no trace left, except 
 physically, of foreign parentage. The only two races 
 who preserve a marked individuality are the Irish and 
 the Germans about the negroes I am not speaking 
 now ; and the children of Irish settlers bora in the 
 North soon lose every trace of Ireland, except an 
 hereditary dislike to England. A friend of mine told 
 me that a priest went once to an Irish neighbour of 
 his, and asked him for a subscription to found Catholic 
 schools in the parish. The Irishman, who was well-to- 
 do, readily agreed ; but when the priest added, that he 
 
296 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 hoped he would send his own children to the Catholic 
 school, he refused point-blank. "They must go," he 
 said, "to the public schools, for I can t have them 
 learn to speak the brogue." This feeling is a universal 
 one : and the natural desire of Irishmen that their 
 children should become genuine Americans, operates 
 strongly against the efforts of the Catholic priesthood 
 to keep them apart from Protestant influences. The 
 Germans, no doubt, keep their individuality much 
 longer, especially in the outlying districts of the 
 West. Still, they are an orderly, law-loving people 
 naturally ; and they have shown so little talent for 
 organization at home, that it is not likely they will 
 develop it in America. Moreover, the extreme dis 
 proportion, as yet, between the area and the population 
 of the United States, has scattered the settlers so 
 widely, that any combined action on their part is 
 almost impossible. No doubt in New York and Phila 
 delphia, where the lowest class of emigrants always take 
 up their abode at first, the influence of the German 
 and Irish population is very powerful, and in some 
 respects alarmingly so. But as long as the State 
 system endures, neither New York, nor Pennsylvania, 
 nor any individual State or town, can rule the country; 
 and the influence of a mob in any one of these cities 
 does not extend, at the farthest, beyond its own State. 
 The probability too is, that the present troubles will 
 greatly check the tide of emigration, and thus give time 
 
POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 297 
 
 for the existing foreign population to be thoroughly 
 absorbed in the native one. 
 
 I do not believe, therefore, that the only two forces 
 which could effect a revolution in the Government 
 the power of the army, or the influence of the foreign 
 element are likely to be called into action. Supposing 
 the Union to be restored, the Government must be 
 changed somehow ; but the change would, I think, be 
 an orderly and a gradual one. The difficulties of 
 restoring the status quo in the insurgent States will 
 convince the popular mind of the necessity of a more 
 united and centralized Government. To secure this 
 end, the States would have to surrender many of their 
 individual rights. The one clearest result of this war 
 has been to bring the people of the States together 
 to give them common recollections, common interests, 
 and common dangers. This, in itself, must lead to a 
 more real Union. Again, for years to come, the country 
 must be subject to a heavy taxation. The inevitable 
 necessity of keeping up a large standing army will 
 cause a much heavier expenditure than has been the 
 case hitherto. This taxation will create a far keener 
 interest in the management of the Central Government 
 throughout all the States : and probably the conviction 
 will become general, that a system of thirty-four sepa 
 rate Sovereign Governments is a very expensive and 
 cumbrous one. The tone of politics will be wider and 
 more national ; and with a higher tone, a higher class 
 
298 POLITICAL SPECULATIONS. 
 
 of men (morally, I mean, rather than socially) will be 
 entrusted with the direction of State affairs. Such, at 
 least, were the hopes of those Americans who seemed 
 to me to judge most philosophically of the political 
 future, and the results that the war would produce 
 upon it. 
 
AMERICAN SOCIETY. 299 
 
 AMERICAN SOCIETY. 
 
 I MAY say without vanity, that during my sojourn in 
 the States I had considerable advantages in entering 
 society. I was amply provided with letters of intro 
 duction : I came at a time when foreign travellers were 
 rare ; and also, from an impression that my sympathies 
 were more Northern than those of the bulk of my fellow- 
 countrymen, I was received with, perhaps, undeserved 
 kindness. Still, my great passport to society consisted 
 in the fact that I was an Englishman. That this 
 should have been so, is a fact which throws a good 
 deal of light on American Society. 
 
 An American once said to me : "I always envy you to 
 " whom England is a home ; but, then, I think you ought 
 " to envy us for our feelings when we visit England. 
 " To you, after all, it is only a country, more or less in- 
 " teresting, where you make and spend your money : 
 " to us it is a sort of enchanted land, where everything 
 " that is old to you is new to us. You look upon Eng- 
 " land as a husband looks on his wife ; we see her as a 
 
300 AMERICAN SOCIETY. 
 
 " lover sees his mistress." The words were spoken 
 half-jestingly, but there was still a good deal of truth 
 in them. The average of educated Americans know 
 as much about English literature, and more, perhaps, 
 about English history, than the average of educated 
 Englishmen. Their language, their history, their litera 
 ture are those of England. There are few who cannot 
 remember relatives that have come from the Old Coun 
 try who do not know of some town or village in the 
 United Kingdom in which they have something of a 
 personal interest. A visit to Europe and, above all, 
 to England, is the great dream of all Americans who 
 have not crossed the Atlantic the holiday-time, as it 
 were, of life to those who have performed the journey. 
 I always found there was no subject on which Americans 
 talked so willingly as about the recollections of their 
 foreign travels. No doubt this sentimental feeling 
 about England grows weaker with each succeeding 
 generation, and, like all sentimental feelings, it gives 
 place to the action of interests and passions. I often 
 fancied that those Americans who entertained the feeling 
 most strongly, were the most hostile to England. Indeed, 
 my chief fear of a war with America arises from the 
 fact, that Americans care too much, not too little, about 
 England. The existence, however, of this national feel 
 ing is strong enough to create a very kindly sentiment 
 towards individual Englishmen : and probably there is 
 no country in the world where an English traveller 
 
AMERICAN SOCIETY. 301 
 
 meets with so much kindness and so much cordiality, 
 in virtue of his nationality, as he does in America. 
 
 Certainly, I found it so in my own case. I know that 
 other English travellers tell a different story. Fellow- 
 countrymen of mine have related anecdotes to me, of 
 rude speeches and offensive remarks made to them 
 purposely in the States, because they were Englishmen. 
 I suspect, in most of such instances, the narrators were 
 to blame. If you are offended because a waiter offers 
 to shake hands with you, or a bar-keeper asks you to 
 drink with him, or a labouring-man speaks to you 
 without your speaking first to him well, you had better 
 not travel in America ; but if you are willing to take 
 people as you find them, you will get along very plea 
 santly. Speaking for myself, I can say that, during all 
 my travels, I had never once an offensive or impolite re 
 mark made to me. The only occasion on which I ever 
 met with anything like impoliteness, was in the smoking- 
 room of a fashionable hotel in New York. A number 
 of old gentlemen sitting round the fire were talking 
 politics and abusing England ; I was smoking silently, 
 and it struck me they were talking at me. Now, I am 
 by no means an enthusiastic believer in our English 
 doctrine, that whatever England does is right ; and, 
 also, I made a rule to be a listener to, not a partaker 
 in, political discussions. But still there is a limit to 
 patience, at any rate to my patience ; and at some re 
 mark about the mingled folly and knavery of English 
 
302 AMEEICAN SOCIETY. 
 
 policy, I spoke out strongly and, I fear, somewhat 
 rudely. At once I was answered by a polite expression 
 of sincere regret, that anything should have been said in 
 my presence that could have given offence ; and, there 
 upon, the subject was dropped at once. The incident 
 was trivial in the extreme, and the only reason why I 
 remember it is because it was the sole instance of 
 anything approaching to incivility I met with in the 
 States. 
 
 To a stranger, there is something wonderfully plea 
 sant about the first blush of American Society : the 
 manners of your hosts appear to an Englishman so 
 frank and cordial; people seem so glad to see you, 
 and so anxious to make you feel at home. And I 
 believe that the appearance is not assumed. Life, 
 hitherto, has flowed very easily for the American 
 people. The country is so large, that there is room 
 for all and to spare : the battle of life is not an ardu 
 ous one, compared to what it is in older countries. 
 The morbid dread of poverty, which is the curse of 
 English middle-class existence, is almost unknown in 
 the New World. If the worst comes to the worst, and 
 an American is ruined, the world lies open to him, and 
 in a new State he can start afresh, with as fair pros 
 pects as when he set out in life. The desire to provide 
 for one s children, and to secure them a similar position 
 in life to that which the parent occupies himself, is 
 almost unknown. Public opinion does not require the 
 
AMEEICAN SOCIETY. 303 
 
 father of a family to do more than give his children a good 
 education. As a rule, the daughters can always marry, 
 and the sons can make their own way. Equal division 
 of property amongst the children of a family is en 
 forced by custom, though not by law. In the New Eng 
 land States, it has become very common for any wealthy 
 citizen to leave a considerable sum towards some public 
 object ; and any one who fails to comply with this cus 
 tom is hardly considered to have acted correctly. The 
 result of this state of things is, that saving is very 
 uncommon amongst the middle classes in America. 
 Everybody, as a rule, spends the full amount of his 
 income, and, in consequence, there is much greater 
 luxury in Northern households than would be seen in 
 English families of the same amount of wealth. Hos 
 pitality, therefore, is given very readily, and the wheels 
 of life run more easily than they do with us. I was 
 struck constantly with the extreme good-nature of the 
 Americans in their private and social relations. I 
 attribute it, not so much to the national character 
 which, owing to the climate, is a somewhat irritable 
 one but to the comparative absence of the sordid 
 cares and petty considerations which the fierceness of 
 our struggle for existence, and the exorbitant value 
 attached by us to the respectability of wealth, give 
 rise to perpetually in a densely-peopled country like 
 our own. 
 
 Paradoxical as the statement may seem, I think I 
 
304 AMERICAN SOCIETY. 
 
 have never known a country where money was less 
 valued than in America. " The worship of the al 
 mighty dollar/ which we are so apt to consider a 
 characteristic of the Americans, cannot justly be 
 charged to them in the sense in which we understand 
 the phrase. The absence of all social distinctions, and 
 the fact that there are no established positions to 
 which birth, and rank, and station give an acknow 
 ledged entrance, render wealth the chief standard of 
 distinction. In consequence, the natural ambition of 
 every American is to acquire wealth, and thus dis 
 tinguish himself in the only career which is practically 
 open to the vast majority. Anybody who has known 
 anything of Quakers will understand the working of 
 the causes that I have attempted to describe. There 
 is no body of men more liberal than the Society of 
 Friends, and yet there is none more eager in the pur 
 suit of money-making. So it is with the Yankee race. 
 Money-making is the chief object of the nation ; but 
 they value the possession of the " almighty dollar" rather 
 as a proof of success in life than as an end of existence. 
 The mere ownership of wealth is less valued there than 
 with us. The man who has made his own money is 
 infinitely more respected than the man who has inherited 
 it. Millionaires are rare in the second generation ; and 
 the bare fact of wealth gives a man fewer advantages 
 in the North than in any Old World country. 
 I doubt, too, whether the accusation of extravagance, 
 
AMEKICAN SOCIETY. 305 
 
 which is brought so frequently against the Northerners, 
 is a just one. Money is spent freely, just as it is made ; 
 but, with the exception of New York, I was never in 
 any American city where the style of living could com 
 pare for extravagance with that of the wealthy classes 
 in the Old World. Americans in Europe are not, in 
 this respect, fair specimens of their nation. They 
 come over here for a holiday, and their expenditure is 
 regulated on a holiday scale. But at home, the mode 
 of living is in most respects remarkably simple. This 
 is due, partly to the extreme difficulty of getting ser 
 vants, and the impossibility of keeping a large house 
 hold of domestics, but still more, I think, to a certain 
 inherent simplicity of taste. Hours are much earlier 
 than with us equipages are few in number ; and dwell 
 ing-houses, though eminently comfortable, very seldom 
 possess any claim to splendour or magnificence. In the 
 article of dress, and also in the dainties of the table, 
 Americans will go to an expense that English families 
 of the sa.me rank in life never think of indulging in. 
 In New York, especially, the ladies must spend what 
 we should consider an extravagant amount on Parisian 
 toilettes. I hardly ever remember to have been present 
 at a dinner-party in America where champagne was not 
 distributed almost as plentifully as malt-liquor would 
 be with us ; but in other respects, there is but little 
 ostentatious expense visible to a stranger. 
 
 In a moral as opposed to a material point of view, 
 x 
 
306 AMERICAN SOCIETY. 
 
 the most striking feature about American Society is 
 its uniformity. Everybody, as a rule, holds the same 
 opinions about everything, and expresses his views, 
 more or less, in the same language. These views are 
 often correct, almost invariably intelligent and credit 
 able to the holders. But still, even at the risk of 
 hearing paradoxes defended, you cannot help wishing, 
 at times, for a little more of originality. I believe that 
 this monotony in the tone of American talk and opinion 
 arises from the universal diffusion of education. Every 
 body is educated up to a certain point, and very few are 
 educated above it. They have all learnt the same 
 lessons under the same teachers, and, in consequence, 
 share the same sentiments to a degree which it is diffi 
 cult to an Englishman to appreciate beforehand. This 
 monotony is infinitely more striking in the men than in 
 the women. Ninety-nine American lads in a hundred 
 go through exactly the same system of training. Up to 
 eighteen or nineteen, they are carefully, if not very 
 deeply, grounded in all the branches of a good ordinary 
 English education. Then they go into business, and from 
 that time their intellectual self-culture ceases. Unless 
 they happen to travel, they have very little time for read 
 ing anything except the newspapers. The women pursue 
 their education even after marriage, and are in conse 
 quence better read and more intellectual in their tastes 
 than English ladies. In the long run, however, the 
 national tone of mind is always derived from the male 
 
AMEEICAN SOCIETY. 307 
 
 sex, and therefore the prevalent tone of America is not 
 that of a highly-educated society. I do not mean to 
 say, for one moment, that there are not hundreds and 
 thousands of men of really first-class education in the 
 Northern States. On the contrary, some of the most 
 thoroughly-educated men it has been my lot to meet 
 with have been Americans. I am speaking of the mass, 
 not of individuals. This opinion of mine, if it is cor 
 rect, explains a fact which otherwise would seem dis 
 couraging : I mean the small share taken by educated 
 men in our sense of the word in American politics. 
 The truth is, that if America were governed to any 
 great extent by politicians of classical education, the 
 country would not be fairly represented by its rulers. 
 It is not the case, that the fact of a gentleman having 
 received a refined culture is any disqualification to him 
 in the eyes of the constituencies. On the other hand, 
 it is a very small recommendation. I do not deny that 
 this is, in itself, an evil ; but the true nature of the evil 
 is not that men of education are disqualified from enter 
 ing a political career in America, but that they form so 
 small a class that they possess no political influence. 
 Just in the same way, there is no doubt that, relatively 
 to the period, there were more highly-educated men in 
 the Union half a century ago than there are now. The 
 early settlers in any new country bring with them a 
 higher degree of individual culture than they can impart 
 to their children. In the same ratio, however, that the 
 
 X2 
 
308 AMERICAN SOCIETY. 
 
 education of the individual decreases, the average edu 
 cation of the mass increases, and, on the whole, the 
 general tone of the nation gains in consequence. My 
 friend Mr. Holmes once said to me: "We should 
 " find it very hard to match five thousand American 
 " gentlemen with five thousand English ; but we could 
 " match five million ordinary Americans against the 
 " same number of your countrymen, without fear of 
 " the result." This explanation I believe to be the 
 correct one with regard to the intellectual development 
 of America. 
 
 The truth is, the great mistake that we English make 
 in judging of America is the assumption that the New 
 World ought to be the reproduction of the Old Country. 
 We expect our social system, our hierarchy of castes and 
 rank, our forms of thought and feeling, to be repeated 
 amongst a people growing up under conditions totally 
 different from that in which we have been trained for 
 hundreds of generations. Every departure from our 
 own standard we consider to indicate moral degeneracy, 
 while in reality it is only a symptom of development. 
 No one who has lived in America can avoid coming to 
 the conclusion, that the Anglo-Saxon frame is gradually 
 modifying itself to a form suited to the new conditions 
 of climate and temperature under which it is called 
 on to exist. What is true in the physical is true also in 
 the moral world. By degrees, the imported civilization 
 and culture of the Old World are developing themselves 
 
AMEEICAN SOCIETY. 309 
 
 into new forms and aspects. What will be the ultimate 
 social system of America it is impossible to say. Never 
 yet in history has a nation grown up under circumstances 
 where all men have started equal, and where want and 
 poverty have been practically unknown. That the pro 
 duct of these conditions will be a remarkable one, we 
 are beginning to see already. I recollect a common 
 Irishwoman I once travelled alongside of in the States, 
 saying to me, when talking about her experience of her 
 new home, " This is a blessed country, sir ; I think God 
 made it for the poor." And I have often fancied that 
 this saying might be the clue to the future history of 
 America. 
 
 I have been asked frequently, whether I should like 
 to live in America ? and to this question my answer has 
 always been, that that depends entirely upon circum 
 stances. Men of highly educated tastes, used to the 
 social pleasures of the Old World, will not find their 
 wants gratified as easily and as fully in a new state of 
 society as in an old. In fact, in plain English, if your 
 tastes and your habits are those of men whose income 
 is counted by hundreds, you had better stop where 
 you are. But the man who has his living to earn 
 is better off, in almost every respect, in America than 
 he is in England. The very circumstances that render 
 the United States unattractive as a residence for the 
 man of wealth and refinement, are a positive boon to 
 those who possess neither of the attributes ; and I am 
 
310 AMERICAN SOCIETY. 
 
 afraid that in this world the latter class is larger and 
 more important than the former. 
 
 These reflections on American Society would be im 
 perfect if I said nothing as to the great charm which 
 surrounds all family relations in the North. Compared 
 with Europe, domestic scandals are unknown ; and 
 between parents and their grown-up children, there 
 exists a degree of familiarity and intimacy which one 
 seldom witnesses in this country. If family life is the 
 foundation of all permanent good in the social system, 
 then, in spite of its present defects and shortcomings, 
 the outlook for the American society of the future is a 
 very bright one. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 R. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS. 
 
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 
 ABDY. A Historical Sketch of Civil Procedure among the 
 
 Romans. By J. T. ABDY, LL.D. Regius Professor of Civil Law in the 
 University of Cambridge. Crown 8vo. cloth, 4*. 6d. 
 
 ACROSS THE CARPATHIANS. In 1858-60. 
 
 With a Map. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 ^ISCHYLI Eumenides. 
 
 The Greek Text with English Notes, and an Introduction, containing an 
 Analysis of Miiller s Dissertations. By BERNARD DRAKE, M.A., late 
 Fellow of King s College, Cambridge. 8vo. cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 AIRY. Mathematical Tracts on the Lunar and Planetary 
 
 Theories. The Figure of the Earth. Precession and Nutation. The Calculus 
 of Variations, and the Undulatory Theory of Optics. By G. B. AIRY, M.A., 
 Astronomer Royal. Fourth Edition, revised and improved. 8vo. cloth, 15. 
 
 AIRY. Treatise on the Algebraical and Numerical Theory of 
 
 Errors of Observations, and the Combination of Observations. By G. B. 
 AIRY, M.A. Crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. Gd. 
 
 ARISTOTLE on the Vital Principle. 
 
 Translated, with Notes. By CHARLES COLLIER, M.D., F.R.S., Fellcw 
 of the Royal College of Physicians. Crown Svo. cloth, 8.. 6d. 
 
 ARTIST AND CRAFTSMAN ; A Novel. 
 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 6*. 
 
 BACON S ESSAYS AND COLOURS OF GOOD AND EVIL. 
 
 With Notes and Glossarial Index by W. ALOIS WRIGHT, M.A. Trinity 
 College, Cambridge. With Vignette of WOOLNER S Statue of LORD BACON. 
 4s. 6d.; morocco, 7s. Gd.; extra, 10$. 6rf. Large paper copies, cloth, 7*. 6d. ; 
 half morocco, 10*. Gd. 
 
 BAKER. Our Volunteer Army; a Plan for its Organization. 
 
 By JAMES BAKER, B. A. late 8th Hussars, Lieutenant-Colonel, Cambridge 
 University Volunteers. Crown Svo. boards, 2s. With a Map of Volunteer 
 Rendezvous in the United Kingdom. 
 
 BEASLEY. An Elementary Treatise on Plane Trigonometry : 
 
 with a numerous Collection of Examples. By R. D. BKASLEY, M. A., Fellow 
 of St. John s College, Cambridge, Head-Master of Grantham Grammar School. 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 3*. 6rf. 
 
 BIRKS. The Difficulties of Belief in connexion with the 
 
 Creation and the Fall. By THOMAS RAWSON BIHKS, M.A., Rector of 
 Kelshall, and Author of "The Life of the Rev. E. Bickersteth." Crown 8vo. 
 cloth, 4*. &d. 
 
 BIRKS. On Matter and Ether; or the Secret Laws of Physi 
 cal change. By THOMAS RAWSON BIRKS, M.A. Crown Svo. cloth, 5*. Cd. 
 3,000. A 
 
2 MA.CMILLA.N & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 BLANCHE LISLE, and Other Poems. 
 
 Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 BOOLE. The Mathematical Analysis of Logic. 
 
 By GEORGE BOOLE, D.C.L. Professor of Mathematics in the Queen s 
 
 University, Ireland. Svo. sewed, 5s. 
 
 BOOLE. A Treatise on Differential Equations. 
 
 By GEORGE BOOLE, D.C.L. Crown Svo. cloth, 14s. 
 
 BOOLE. A Treatise on the Calculus of Finite Differences. 
 
 By GEORGE BOOLE, D.C.L. Crown Svo. cloth, 10*. 6d. 
 
 BRETT. Suggestions relative to the Restoration of 
 
 Suffragan Bishops and Rural Deans. By THOMAS BRETT (A.D. 1711). 
 Edited hy JAMES FENDALL, M.A., Proctor in Convocation for the Clergy 
 of Ely. Crown Svo. cloth, 2s. Gd. 
 
 BRIMLEY.-Essays, by the late GEORGE BRIMLEY, M.A. 
 
 Edited hy W. G. CLARK, M. A., Tutor of Trinity College, and Public Orator 
 in the University of Cambridge. With Portrait. Second Edition. 
 Fcap. Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 BROCK Daily Readings on the Passion of Our Lord. 
 
 By Mrs. H. F. BROCK. Fcap. Svo. cloth, red leaves, 4s. 
 
 BROKEN TROTH, The. A Tale of Tuscan Life. From the 
 
 Italian. By Philip Ireton. 2 vols. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 12s. 
 
 BROOK SMITH.-Arithmetic in Theory and Practice. 
 
 For Advanced Pupils. Part First. By J. BROOK SMITH, M.A., of St. 
 John s College, Cambridge. Crown Svo. cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 BUTLER (Archer).-WORKS by the Rev. WILLIAM 
 
 ARCHER BUTLER, M.A. late Professor of Moral Philosophy in the 
 University of Dublin : 
 
 1. Sermons, Doctrinal and Practical. 
 
 Edited, with a Memoir of the Author s Life, by the Very Rev. 
 THOMAS WOODWARD, M.A. Dean of Down. With Portrait. Fifth 
 Edition. Svo. cloth, 12s. 
 
 2. A Second Series of Sermons. 
 
 Edited by J. A. JKREMIE, D.D. Regius Professor of Divinity in the 
 University of Cambridge. Third Edition. Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 3. History of Ancient Philosophy. 
 
 A Series of Lactures. Edited by WILLIAM HEPWORTH THOMPSON, 
 M.A. Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Cambridge. 
 2 vols. Svo. cloth, II. 5s. 
 
 4. Letters on Romanism, in Reply to Mr. Newman s Essay 
 
 on Development. Edited by the Very Rev. T. WOODWARD, Dean of 
 Down. Second Edition, revised by the Ven. Archdeacon HARD- 
 WICK. Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 BUNYAN. The Pilgrim s Progress from this World to that 
 
 H iS i R Com , e -. By JOHN BUNY AN. With Vignette, by W. HOLMAN 
 HUNT. 18ma clothj 4s 6d . morocco pla . 7g 6d ex lQs 6d 
 
 m large paper, crown Svo. cloth, 7s. Gd. ; half-morocco, 10s 6d 
 
MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 3 
 
 BUTLER (Montagu). Sermons Preached in the Chapel of 
 
 Harrow School. By the Rev. H. MONTAGU BUTLER, Head Master of 
 Harrow School, and late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Crown 8vo. 
 cloth, 7*. 6d. 
 
 BUTLER. Family Prayers. 
 
 By the Rev. GEORGE BUTLER, M.A., Vice-Principal of Cheltenham 
 College ; late Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. Crown 8vo. cloth, red edges, 5s. 
 
 BUTLER. Sermons Preached in Cheltenham College Chapel. 
 
 By the Rev. GEORGE BUTLER, M.A. Crown 8vo. cloth, red edges, 7*. 6d. 
 
 CALDSRWOOD. Philosophy of the Infinite. A Treatise on 
 
 Man s Knowledge of the Infinite Being, in answer to Sir W. Hamilton and 
 Dr. Manse!. By the Rev. HENRY CALDERWOOD, M.A. Second 
 Edition, Svo. cloth, Us. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL CLASS BOOKS. 
 
 Uniformly printed and bound in 18mo. 
 
 I. An Elementary Latin Grammar. By H. J. ROBY, 
 
 M.A. Under Master of Dulwich College Upper School; late Fellow 
 and Classical Lecturer of St. John s College, Cambridge. 
 18mo. bound in cloth, 2s. Gd. 
 
 II. Euclid for Colleges and Schools. By I. TOD- 
 HUNTER, M.A. F.R.S. Fellow and Principal Mathematical Lec 
 turer of St. John s College, Cambridge. ISmo. bound in cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 III. An Elementary History of the Book of Common 
 
 Prayer. By FRANCIS PROCTER, M.A. Vicar of Witton, Norfolk; 
 late Fellow of St. Catharine s College, Cambridge. 
 18mo. bound in cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE. Cambridge Scrap Book : containing in a 
 
 Pictorial Form a Report on the Manners, Customs, Humours, and Pastimes 
 of the University of Cambridge. With nearly 300 Illustrations. Second 
 Edition. Crown 4to. half-bound, 7s. 6d. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE. Cambridge Theological Papers. Comprising 
 
 those given at the Theological and Crosse Scholarship Examinations in the 
 University. Edited, with References and Indices, by A. P. MOOR, M.A. of 
 Trinity College, Cambridge, and Sub- .varden of St. Augustine s College, 
 Canterbury. Svo. cloth, 7s. &d. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE SENATE-HOUSE PROBLEMS and RIDERS, 
 with SOLUTIONS :- 
 
 1848 1851. -Problems. By N. M. FERRERS, M.A. and J. S. JACK 
 
 SON, M.A. of Caius College. 15*. 6d. 
 
 1848 1851. Riders. By F. J. JAMESON, M.A. of Caius College. 
 
 7s. 6d. 
 
 1854 Problems and Riders. By W.WALTON, M.A. of Trinity College, and 
 C. F. MACKENZIE, M.A. of Caius Col 
 lege. 10s. 6d. 
 
 1857 Problems and Riders. By W. M. CAMPION, M.A. of Queen s College, 
 and W.WALTON, M.A. of TrinityCollege. 
 8s. 6d. 
 
 1860 Problems and Riders. By H. W. WATSON, M.A. Trinity College 
 and E. J. ROUTH, M.A. St. Peter 
 College. Is. 6d. 
 
4 MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH PRIZE POEMS, which have 
 
 obtained the Chancellor s Gold Medal from the institution of the Prize to 
 1858. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE Cambridge and Dublin MathematicalJournal. 
 
 The Complete Work, in Nine Vols. 8vo. cloth, 71. 4s. 
 
 ONLY A FEW COPIES OF THE COMPLETE WORK REMAIN ON HAND. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE SENATE-HOUSE EXAMINATION PAPERS 
 
 1860-61. Being a Collection of all the Papers set at the Examination for the 
 Degrees, the various Triposes and the Theological Examination. Crown 8vo. 
 limp cloth, 2s. Gd. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE YEAR-BOOKandUNIVERSITY ALMANACK, 
 
 FOR 1862. Containing an account of all Scholarships, Exhibitions, and 
 Examinations in the University. Crown 8vo. limp cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 CAMPBELL Thoughts on Revelation, with special refer 
 ence to the Present Time. By JOHN M LEOD CAMPBELL, Author of 
 "The Nature of the Atonement and its Relation to the Remission of Sins 
 and Eternal Life." Crown 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 CAMPBELL. The Nature of the Atonement and its Rela 
 tion to Remission of Sins and Eternal Life. By JOHN M LEOD 
 CAMPBELL, formerly Minister of Row. 8vo. cloth, 10*. 6d. 
 
 CATHERINES, The Two; or, Which is the Heroine? A 
 
 Novel. 2 vols. crown 8vo. cloth, 21*. 
 
 CHALLIS. Creation in Plan and in Progress: Being an 
 
 Essay on the First Chapter of Genesis. By the Rev. JAMES CHALLIS, M.A. 
 F.R.S., F.R.A.S. Crown 8vo. cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 CHILDE. The Singular Properties of the Ellipsoid and 
 
 Associated Surfaces of the Nth Degree. By the Rev. G. F. CHILDE, M.A. 
 Author of Ray Surfaces," " Related Caustics." 8vo. half-bound, 10*. Gd. 
 
 CHILDREN S GARLAND. From the Best Poets. Selected 
 
 and Arranged by COVENTRY PATMORE. With a vignette by T. WOOLNER 
 18mo. cloth, 4s. 6d. ; morocco plain, 7*. 6d. ; extra, 10s. 6d. 
 
 CHRETIEN.-The Letter and the Spirit. Six Sermons on 
 
 the Inspiraiion of Holy Scripture, Preached before the University of Oxford. 
 By the Rev. CHARLES P. CHRETIEN, Rector of Cholderton. Fellow and 
 late Tutor of Oriel College. Crown 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 CICERO.-THE SECOND PHILIPPIC ORATION. 
 
 With an Introduction and Notes, translated from Karl Halm. Edited with 
 coirechons and additions. By JOHN E. B. MAYOR, M A. Fellow and 
 Classical Lecturer of St. John s College, Cambridge. Fcap. Svo. cloth 5s. 
 
 CLRK.-Four Sermons Preached in the Chapel of Trinity 
 
 z#*sssvs.*?d 
 
 CLAY. Our Convict Systems. 
 
 EV - W L " C ^ AY Author of the "P in Chaplain," Svo. 
 
MACM1LLAN CO. S PUBLICATIONS- - 
 
 CLOUGH. The Poems of Arthur Hugh Clough, sometime 
 
 Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. Reprinted and Selected from his unpub 
 lished Manuscripts. With a Memoir by F. T. P^LGRAVE. Fcap. 8vo. 
 cloth, 6s. 
 
 CLOUGH. The Bothie of Toper -Na-Fuosich, A long 
 
 Vacation Pastoral. By ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH. Royal 8vo. cloth 
 limp, 3s. 
 
 COLENSO.-WORKS by the Right Rev. J. W. COLENSO, 
 
 D.D. Bishop of Natal : 
 
 1. The Colony of Natal. A Journal of Ten Weeks Tour 
 
 of Visitation among the Colonists and Zulu Kafirs of Natal. With a 
 Map and Illustrations. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 2. Village Sermons. 
 
 Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 2*. Qd. 
 
 3. Four Sermons on Ordination, and on Missions. 
 
 ISmo. sewed, Is. 
 
 4. Companion to the Holy Communion, containing the 
 
 Service, and Select Readings from the writings of Mr. MAURICE. 
 Fine Edition, rubricated and bound in morocco, antique style, 6s. .; 
 or in cloth, 2*. 6d. Common Paper, limp cloth, 1*. 
 
 5. St. Paul s Epistle to the Romans. Newly Translated 
 
 and Explained, from a Missionary point of View. Crown 8vo. cloth, 
 7.v. Gd. 
 
 6. Letter to His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 
 upon the Question of the Proper Treatment of Cases of Polygamy, as 
 found already existing in Converts from Heathenism. Second Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. sewed, Is. 6d. 
 
 COTTON. Sermons and Addresses delivered in Marlborough 
 
 College during Six Years by GEORGE EDWARD LYNCH COTTON, D.D. 
 Lord Bishop of Calcutta, and Metropolitan of India. Crown 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 COTTON. Sermons : chiefly connected with Public Events 
 
 of 1854. Fcap. 8 vo. cloth, 3*. 
 
 CROSSE. An Analysis of Paley s Evidences. 
 
 By C. II. CROSSE, M.A. of Caius College, Cambridge. 24mo. boards, 3*. fid. 
 
 DAVIES. St. Paul and Modern Thought : 
 
 Remarks on some of the Views advanced in Professor Jowett s Commentary 
 on St. Paul. By Rev. J. LL. DAVIES, M.A.; Rector of Christ Church : 
 Marylebone. 8vo. sewed, 2s. Gd. 
 
 DAVIES.-The Work of Christ; or the World Reconciled to 
 
 God. Sermons Preached in Christ Church, St. Marylebone. With a Preface 
 on the Atonement Controversy. By the Rev. J. LL. DAVIES, M.A. Fcap. 
 
 Svo. cloth, G.v. 
 
 DAYS OF OLD : Stories from Old English History of the 
 
 Drui ls, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Crusades. By the Author of "Ruth and 
 her Friends." Royal 16mo. cloth, gilt leaves, 3s. Gd. 
 
 DEMOSTHENES DE CORONA. 
 
 The Greek Text with English Notes. By B. DRAKE, M.A. late Fellow of 
 King s College, Cambridge. Second Edition, to which is prefixed 
 AESCIIIXES AGAINST CTESIPHON, with English Notes. Fcap. Svo. 
 cloth, 5s. 
 
6 MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 DICEY Rome in 1860. 
 
 By EDWARD DICEY. Crown 8vo. cloth, 6*. Cd. 
 
 DREW. A Geometrical Treatise on Conic Sections, with 
 
 Copious Examples from the Cambridge Senate House Papers. By W. H. 
 DREW, M.A. of St. John s College, Cambridge, Second Master of Black- 
 heath Proprietary School. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth, 4s. Gd. 
 
 DREW. Solutions to Problems contained in Mr. Drew s 
 
 Treatise on Conic Sections. Crown Svo. cloth, 4s. Gd. 
 
 EARLY EGYPTIAN HISTORY FOR THE YOUNG. With 
 
 Descriptions of the Tombs and Monuments. By the Au;hor of " Sidney 
 Grey," etc. New Edition, with Frontispiece. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 FERRERS. A Treatise on Trilinear Co-ordinates, the 
 
 Method of Reciprocal Polars, and the Theory of Projections. By the Rev. 
 N. M. FERRERS, M.A. Fellow of Gonville and Caius College. Crown Svo. 
 cloth, 6s. 6d. 
 
 FORBES Life of Edward Forbes, F.R.S. 
 
 Late Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh. 
 By GEORGE WILSON, M D. F R.S.E and ARCHIBALD GEIKIE, F.G.S. 
 of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Svo. cloth, with Portrait, 14*. 
 
 FROST. The First Three Sections of Newton s Principia. 
 
 With Notes and Problems in illustration of the subject. By PERCIVAL 
 FROST, M.A. late Fellow of St. John s College, Cambridge, and Mathe 
 matical Lecturer of Jesus College. Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. Gd. 
 
 GARIBALDI AT CAPRERA. By COLONEL VECCHJ. 
 
 With Preface by Mrs. G ASKELL, and a View of Caprera. Fcap. Svo. 3s. Gd. 
 
 GILL. The Anniversaries. Poems in Commemoration of 
 
 Great Men and Great Events. By T. H. GILL. Fcap 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 GOLDEN TREASURY SERIES. 
 
 Uniformly printed in 18mo. with Vignette Titles by T. WOOLNER, W. HOL- 
 MAN HUNT, J. E. MILLAIS, &c. Bound in extra cloth, 4s. Gd. ; morocco 
 plain, 7s. Gd. ; morocco extra, 10s. Gd. each Volume. 
 
 1. The Golden Treasury of the best Songs and Lyrical 
 
 Poems in the English Language. Selected and arranged, with Notes, by 
 FRANCIS TURNER PALGIIAVE. 
 
 2. The Children s Garland from the Best Poets. 
 
 Selected and arranged by COVENTRY PATMORE. 
 
 3. The Pilgrim s Progress from this World to that which is 
 
 to Come. By JOHN BUNYAN. 
 
 *** Large paper Copies, crown Svo. cloth, 7s. Gd. ; or bound in half 
 morocco, 10s. Gd. 
 
 4. The Book of Praise. From the best English Hymn 
 
 Writers. Selected and arranged by ROUNDELL PALMER. 
 
 5. Bacon s Essays and Colours of Good and Evil. 
 
 With Notes and Glossarial Index by W. ALOIS WRIGHT, M.A., Trinity 
 
 ffiiSSfi^w. 1 * 11 " paper Copies crown 8vo - 7s - 6d - or bound in 
 
 GEIKIE.-Story of a Boulder; or, Gleanings by a Field 
 
 SBRCHIBALD GEIKIE I11UStr3ted 
 
MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 7 
 
 GRAY. The Luggie and other Poems. 
 
 By DAVID GRAY. With a Memoir by JAMES HEDDERWICK, and a 
 Prefatory Notice by R. MONCKTON MILNES, M.P. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 GROTE. A Few Words on Criticism, Being an Examination 
 
 of the Article in the Saturday Review of April 20, 1861, upon " Dr. Whewell s 
 Platonic Dialogues for English Readers." By JOHN GROTE, B.D. Professor 
 of Moral Philosophy in the University of Cambridge. 8vo. paper cover, Is. 6d. 
 
 GROVES. -A Commentary on the Book of Genesis. 
 
 For the Use of Students and Readers of the English Version of the Bible. 
 By the Rev. H. C. GROVES, M.A. Perpetual Curate of Mullavilly, Armagh. 
 Crown 8vo. cloth, 9s. 
 
 HAMERTON. A Painter s Camp in the Highlands; and 
 
 Thoughts about Art. By P. G. HAMERTON. 2 vols. crown 8vo. cloth, 
 21s. 
 
 HAMILTON.-On Truth and Error : Thoughts, in Prose and 
 
 Verse, on the Principles of Truth, and the Causes and Effects of Error. 
 By JOHN HAMILTON, Esq. (of St. Email s), M.A. St. John s College, Cam 
 bridge. Crown Svo. cloth, 5*. 
 
 HARE-WORKS by JULIUS CHARLES HARE, M.A. Some- 
 
 time Archdeacon of Lewes, and Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen. 
 
 1. Charges delivered during the Years 1840 to 1854. With 
 
 Notes on the Principal Events affecting the Church during that period. 
 "With an Introduction, explanatory ol his position in the Church with 
 reference to the parties which divide it. 3 vols. Svo. cloth, II. Us. 6d. 
 
 2. Miscellaneous Pamphlets on some of the Leading Ques 
 
 tions agitated in the Church during the Years 1S45 51. Svo. cloth, 
 
 125. 
 
 3. The Victory of Faith. 
 
 Second Edition. Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 4. The Mission of the Comforter. 
 
 Second Edition. With Notes. 8vo. cloth, 12s. 
 
 5. Vindication of Luther from his English Assailants. 
 
 Second Edition. Svo. cloth, 7s. 
 
 6. Parish Sermons. 
 
 Second Series. Svo. cloth, 12s. 
 
 7. Sermons Preached on Particular Occasions. 
 
 8vo. cloth, 12s. 
 
 8. Portions of the Psalms in English Verse. 
 
 Selected for Public Worship. 18mo. cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 *** The two following Books are included in the Three Volumes of Charges, 
 and may still be had separately. 
 
 The Contest with Rome. 
 
 With Notes, especially in answer to Dr. Newman s Lectures on Present 
 Position of Catholics. Second Edition. Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 Charges delivered in the Years 1843, 1845, 1846. 
 
 Never before published. With an Introduction, explanatory of his 
 position in the Church with reference to the parties which divide it. 
 6*. 6d. 
 
8 . MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 HARDWICK. Christ and other Masters. 
 
 A Historical Inquiry into some of the chief Parallelisms and Contrasts 
 between Christianity and the Religious Systems of the Ancient World. With 
 special reference to prevailing Difficulties and Objections. By the Ven. 
 ARCHDEACON HAIIDWICK. New Edition, revised with the Author s 
 latest Corrections arid Prefatory Memoir by Rev. FRANCIS PROCTER. Two 
 vols. crown 8vo. 
 
 HARDWICK. A History of the Christian Church, during 
 the Middle Ages and the Reformation. (A.D. 590-1600.) 
 
 By Archdeacon Hardwick. Two vols. crown 8vo. cloth, 2 Is. 
 
 Vol. I. Second Edition. Edited by FRANCIS PROCTER, M.A. 
 
 Vicar of Witton, Norfolk. History from Gregory the Great to the Excom 
 munication of Luther. With Maps. 
 
 Vol. II. History of the Reformation of the Church. 
 
 Each volume may be had separately. Price 10s. 6d. 
 ** These Volumes form part of the Series of Theological Manuals. 
 
 HARDWICK. Twenty Sermons for Town Congregations. 
 
 Crown 8vo. cloth, Gs. Get. 
 
 HAYNES.-Outlines of Equity. By FREEMAN OLIVER 
 
 HAYNES, Barrister-at-Law, late Fellow of Caius College, Cambridge. 
 Crown 8vo. cloth, 10s. 
 
 HEDDERWICK. Lays of Middle Age, and other Poems. 
 
 By JAMES HEDDERWICK. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. 
 
 HEMMING An Elementary Treatise on the Differential 
 
 and Integral Calculus. By G. W. HEMMING, M.A. Fellow of St. John s 
 College, Cambridge. Second Edition. Svo. cloth, 9s. 
 
 HERVEY. The Genealogies of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 
 Christ, as contained in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, reconciled 
 with each other and with the Genealogy of the House of David, from Adam to 
 the close of the Canon of the Old Testament, and shown to be in harmony with 
 the true Chronology of the Times. By Lord ARTHUR HERVEY, M.A. 
 Archdeacon of Sudbury, and Rector of Ickworth. Svo. cloth, 10s. Gd. 
 
 HODGSON Mythology for Latin Versification: a Brief 
 
 Sketch of the Fables of the Ancients, prepared to be rendered into Latin Verse 
 for Schools. By F. HODGSON, B.D. late Provost of Eton. New Edition, 
 revised by F. C. HODGSON, M.A. Fellow of King s College. Cambridge. 18mo. 
 bound in cloth, 3s. 
 
 HOMER. The Iliad of Homer Translated into English Verse. 
 
 ?? ,? WRIGHT, M.A. Translator of " Dante." Vol. I. containing Books 
 I XII. Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. Rd., also sold separately, Books I VI. in 
 Printed Cover, price 5s. also, Books VII-XII, price 5s. 
 
 HOWARD.-The Pentateuch; or, the Five Books of Moses. 
 
 Translated into English from the Version of the LXX. With Notes on its 
 Omissions and Insertions, and also on the Passages in which it differs from 
 T -\ U ^ ed Version - B y the Hon - HENRY HOWARD, D.D. Dean of 
 , i i C in Wn ^ V ;T Cl0th - GENESIS > lvol.8s.6d.; EXODUS AND LEVI 
 S, 1 vol. 10s. 6d.; NUMBERS AND DEUTERONOMY, 1 vol. 10*. 6d. 
 
MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 9 
 
 HUMPHRY. The Human Skeleton (including the Joints), 
 
 By GEORGE MURRAY HUMPHRY, M.D. F.R.S., Surgeon to 
 Addenbrooke s Hospital, Lecturer on Surgery and Anatomy in the Cambridge 
 University Medical School. With Two Hundred and Sixty Illustrations 
 drawn from Nature. Medium 8vo. cloth, II. 8.?. 
 
 HUMPHRY.-On the Coagu ] ation of the Blood in the Venous 
 
 System during Life. 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 HUMPHRY. -Observations on the Limbs of Vertebrate 
 
 Animals, the Plan of their Construction, their Homology, and the Comparison 
 of the Fore and Hind Limbs. 4to. 5s. 
 
 HUMPHRY. The Human Hand and the Human Foot. 
 
 With Numerous Illustrations. Fcap. 8vo. cloth. 4s. 6d. 
 
 HYDE. How to Win our Workers. An Account of the 
 
 Leeds Sewing School. By Mrs. HYDE. Dedicated by permission to the 
 Earl of Carlisle. Fcap. Svo. cloth, l,v. 6d. 
 
 JAMESON. Analogy between the Miracles and Doctrines 
 
 of Scripture. By F. J. JAMESON, M.A., Fellow of St. Catharine s College, 
 Cambridge. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 2s. 
 
 JAMESON. Brotherly Counsels to Students. Four Sermons 
 
 preached in the Chapel of St. Catharine s College, Cambridge. By F. J. 
 JAMESON, M.A. Fcap. Svo. limp cloth, red edges, Is. Gd. 
 
 JUVENAL Juveual, for Schools. 
 
 With English Notes. By J. E. B. MAYOH, M.A. Fellow and Classical 
 Lecturei of St. John s College, Cambridge. Crown Svo. cloth, 10*. 6d. 
 
 KINGSLEY.- WORKS by the Rev. CHARLES KINGSLEY, 
 
 M.A. Rector of Eversley, Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen, and Professor of 
 Modern History in the University of Cambridge : 
 
 1. Two Years Ago. 
 
 Third Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 6*. 
 
 2. "Westward Ho!" 
 
 Fourth Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 6s. 
 
 3. Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet. New Edition, with a 
 
 New Preface. Crown Svo. cloth, 4s. Gd. 
 
 4. Glaucus ; or, the Wonders of the Shore. 
 
 New and Illustrated Edition, containing beautifully Coloured 
 Illustrations of the Objects mentioned in the Work. Elegantly bound 
 in cloth, with gilt leaves, 5s. 
 
 5. The Limits of Exact Science as Applied to History. 
 
 An Inaugural Lecture delivered before the University of Cambridge. 
 Crown 8vo. boards, 2s. 
 
 6. The Heroes: or, Greek Fairy Tales for my Children. 
 
 With Eight Illustrations, Engraved by WHYMTER. New Edition, 
 
 frinted on toned paper, and elegantly bound in cloth, with gilt leaves, 
 mp. IGmo. 3s. Cd. 
 
 7. Alexandria and Her Schools : being Four Lectures 
 
 delivered at the Philosophical Institution, Edinburgh. With a Preface. 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 5;>. 
 
 8. Phaethon; or Loose Thoughts for Loose Thinkers. 
 
 Third Sdition. Crown Svo. boards, 2s. 
 
10 MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS 
 
 KINGSLEY. The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn. 
 
 By HENRY KINGSLEY, Esq. Second Edition, crown 8vo. cloth, G*. 
 
 KINGSLEY Eavenshoe. 
 
 By HENRY KINGSLEY, Author of " Geoifry Hamlyn." Second 
 Edition. 3 vols. 31*. Crf. 
 
 KINGTON History of Frederick the Second, Emperor of 
 
 the T Romans By T. JL. KINGTON, M.A. of Balliol College, Oxford, and the 
 Inner Temple. 2 vols. demy 8vo. cloth, 32s. 
 
 KIRCHHOFF. Researches on the Solar Spectrum and the 
 
 Spectra of the Chemical Elements. By G. KIRCHHOFF, Professor of Physics 
 in the University of Heidelberg. Translated by HENR if E. ROSCOE, B. A. 
 Professor of Chemistry in Owen s College, Manchester. 4to. boards, 5$. 
 
 LATHAM The Construction of Wrought -Iron Bridges, 
 
 embracing the Practical Application of the Principles of Mechanics to 
 Wrought-Iron Girder Work. By J. H. LATHAM, Esq. Civil Engineer. 8vo. 
 cloth. With numerous detail Plates. 15s. 
 
 LECTURES TO LADIES ON PRACTICAL SUBJECTS. 
 
 Third Edition, revised. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7s. Gd. By Reverends F. D. 
 MAURICE, PROFESSOR KINGSLEY, J. LL. DAVIES, ARCHDEACON 
 ALLEN, DEAN TRENCH, PROFESSOR BREWER, DR. GEORGE 
 JOHNSON, DR. SIEVEKING, DR. CHAMBERS, F. J. STEPHEN, Esq., 
 and TOM TAYLOR, Esq. 
 
 LORD. The Highway of the Seas in Time of War. By 
 
 HENRY W. LORD, M.A. Barrister-at-Law; Fellow of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. Crown 8vo. stiff cover, Is. 
 
 LUDLOW and HUGHES.-A Sketch of the History of the 
 
 United States from Independence to Secession. By J. M. LUDLOW, Author 
 of "British India, its Races and its History," "The Policy of the Crown 
 towards India," &c. 
 
 To which is added, The Struggle for Kansas. By THOMAS 
 HUGHES, Author of "Tom Brown s School Days," "Tore Brown at 
 Oxford," &c. Crown 8vo. cloth, 8s. 6d. 
 
 LUDLOW.-British India; its Races, and its History, 
 
 down to 1857. By JOHN MALCOLM LUDLOW, Barrister-at-Law. 2 vols. 
 fcap. 8vo. cloth, 9*. 
 
 LUSEINGTON.-La Nation Boutiquiere: and other Poems 
 
 chiefly Political. With a Preface. By the late HENRY LUSHINGTON, 
 Chief Secretary to the Government of Malta. Points Of War. By 
 FRANKLIN LUSHINGTON. In 1 vol. fcap. Svo. cloth, 3. 
 
 LUSHINGTON- The Italian War 1848-9, and the Last 
 
 Italian Poet. By the late HENRY LUSHINGTON. With a Biographical 
 Preface by G. S. VENABLES. Crown Svo. cloth, 6s. Gd. 
 
 MACKENZIE. The Christian Clergy of the first Ten Cen- 
 
 V^n 8 ?,T^ heir lnfluence on European Civilization. Ey HENRY 
 cloth 6* 6d SCll lar f TrinUy College > Cambridge. Crown Svo. 
 
 MACMILLAN S MAGAZINE. Published Monthly, Price 
 
 V lutne L t0 VL a;e now read y handsomely bound in cloth, 
 
MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 11 
 
 MACMILLAN. Footnotes from the Page of Nature. A 
 
 Popular Work on Algae, Fungi, Mosses, and Lichens. By the Rev. HUGH 
 MACMILLAN, F.R.S.E. With numerous Illustrations, and a Coloured 
 Frontispiece. Fcap. 8vo. cloth. 55. 
 
 MACMILLAN S SERIES OF BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. 
 
 Handsomely bound in cloth. Three Shillings and Sixpence each. 
 
 1. Our Year. By the Author of "John Halifax." With 
 
 Numerous Illustrations. Gilt leaves. 
 
 2. Professor Kingsley s Heroes; or Greek Fairy Tales. 
 
 With Eight Illustrations. Gilt leaves. 
 
 3. Ruth and Her Friends. A Story for Girls. Gilt leaves. 
 
 4. Days of Old. Stories from Old English History. By the 
 
 Author of " Ruth and Her Friends." Gilt leaves. 
 
 5. Agnes Hopetoun s Schools and Holidays. By the Author 
 
 of " Margaret Maitland." Gilt leaves. 
 
 6. Little Estella, and other Fairy Tales. Gilt leaves. 
 
 7. David, King of Israel. A History for the Young. By 
 
 J. WRIGHT, M. A. Gilt leaves. 
 
 8. My First Journal. By G. M. Graik. Gilt leaves. 
 McCOSH. The Method of the Divine Government, Physical 
 
 and Moral. By JAMES McCOSH, LL.D. Professor of Logic and Meta 
 physics in the Queen s University for Ireland. Seventh Edition. 8vo. 
 cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 McCOSH The Supernatural in Relation to the Natural. 
 
 By the Rev. JAMES McCOSH, LL.D. Crown Svo. cloth, 7s. Gd. 
 
 M COY. Contributions to British Palaeontology; or, First De 
 scriptions of several hundred Fossil Radiata, Articulata, Mollusca, and Pisces, 
 from the Tertiary, Cretaceous, Oolitic, and Palaeozoic Strata of Great Britain. 
 With numerous Woodcuts. By FREPEHICK McCoy, F.G.S., Professor of 
 Natural History in the University of Melbourne. Svo. cloth, 9s. 
 
 MANSFIELD.-Paraguay, Brazil, and the Plate. 
 
 With a Map, and numerous Woodcuts. By CHARLES MANSFIELD, M.A. 
 of Clare College, Cambridge. With a Sketch of his Life. By the Rev. 
 CHARLES KINGSLEY. Crown Svo. cloth, 12s. Gd. 
 
 MARSTON. A Lady in Her Own Right. 
 
 By WESTLAND MARSTON. Crown Svo. cloth, 6*. 
 
 MASSON. Essays, Biographical and Critical; chiefly on the 
 
 English PoetS. By DAVID MASSON, M.A. Professor of English 
 Literature in University College, London. Svo. cloth, 12s. Gd. 
 
 MASSON. British Novelists and their Styles ; being a 
 
 Critical Skelch of the History of British ProseFiction. By DAVID MASSON, 
 M.A. Crown Svo. cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 MASSON. Life of John Milton, narrated in Connexion 
 
 with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of his Time. Vol. I. 
 with Portraits. 18s. 
 
12 MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MAURICE.-WORKS by the Rev. FREDERICK DENISON 
 
 MAUUICE, M.A. Incumbent of St. Peter s, St. Marylebone : 
 
 1. Dialogues between a Clergyman and Layman on 
 
 Family Worship. Crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. 
 
 2. Expository Discourses on the Holy Scriptures : 
 
 I. The Patriarchs and Lawgivers of the Old Testa 
 ment. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. 
 This volume contains Discourses on the Pentateuch, Joshua, 
 Judges, and the beginning of the First Book of Samuel. 
 
 II. The Prophets and Kings of the Old Testament. 
 
 Second Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 This volume contains Discourses on Samuel I. and II., Kings I . 
 and II., Amos, Joel, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habak- 
 kuk, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. 
 
 III. The Gospel of St. John; a Series of Discourses. 
 
 Second Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 IV. The Epistles of St. John ; a Series of Lectures 
 
 on Christian Ethics. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 3. Expository Sermons on the Prayer-Book: 
 
 I. The Ordinary Services. 
 
 Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5s. 6 /. 
 
 II. The Church a Family. Twelve Sermons on the 
 
 Occasional Services. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 4. Lectures on the Apocalypse, or, Book of the Revela 
 
 tion of St. John the Divine. Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 5. What is Revelation ? A Series of Sermonson the Epi 
 
 phany ; to which are added Letters to a Theological Student on the 
 Bampton Lectures of Mr. MANSEL. Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 6. Sequel to the Inquiry, " What is Revelation ?" 
 
 Letters in Reply to Mr. Hansel s Examination of "Strictures on the 
 iiampton Lectures." Crown Svo. cloth, 6s. 
 
 7. Lectures on Ecclesiastical History. 
 
 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 8. Theological Essays. 
 
 Second Edition, with a new Preface and other additions. Crown 
 Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 9. The Doctrine of Sacrifice deduced from the Scriptures. 
 
 With a Dedicatory Letter to the Young Men s Christian Association. 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 10. The Religions of the World, and their Relations to 
 
 Christianity. Fourth Edition. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
MACM1LLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 13 
 
 WORKS by the Rev. F. D. MAURlCE-continued. 
 
 11. On the Lord s Prayer. 
 
 Fourth Edition. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 2s. Gd. 
 
 12. On the Sabbath Day : the Character of the Warrior : 
 
 and on the Interpretation of History. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 13. Learning and Working. Six Lectures on the Founda 
 
 tion of Colleges for Working Men, delivered in Willis s Rooms, 
 London, in June and July, 1854. Crown 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 14. The Indian Crisis. Five Sermons. 
 
 Crown 8vo. cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 15. Law s Remarks on the Fable of the Bees. 
 
 Edited, with an Introduction of Eighty Pages, by FREDERICK 
 DENISON MAURICE, M. A. Fcp. Svo. cloth, 4*. 6d. 
 
 Miscellaneous Pamphlets : 
 
 I. War ; How to Prepare Ourselves for It. A Ser 
 mon. Fcap. Svo. sewed, 2d. 
 
 II. Death and Life. A Sermon. 3n faemoriam c. fc.ut. 
 
 8vo. sewed, 1*. 
 
 III. Plan of a Female College for the Help of the 
 
 Rich and of the Poor. Svo. Gd. 
 
 IV. Administrative Reform. 
 
 Crown Svo. 3d. 
 
 V. Sermon preached to the 19th Middlesex Rifle 
 
 Volunteers. Fcap. Svo. sewed, 2d. 
 
 VI. The Name "Protestant:" and the English 
 
 Bishopric at Jerusalem. Second Edition. Svo. 3s. 
 
 VIL Thoughts on the Oxford Election of 1847. 
 
 8vo. Is. 
 
 VIII. The Case of Queen s College, London. 
 
 Svo. Is. 6d. 
 
 IX. The Worship of the Church a Witness for the 
 
 Redemption of the World. Svo. sewed, Is. 
 
 X. The Faith of the Liturgy and the Doctrine of 
 
 the XXXIX Articles. Two Sermons. Crown Svo. sewed, 
 2s. Cid. 
 
 XI. The Sacrifices which we owe to God and His 
 
 Church. A Sermon Preached at St. Peter s, Vere Street, n 
 Sunday, November 2, 18G2. Crown Svo. sewed, Gd. 
 
H MACMiLLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MAXWELL -The Stability of the Motion of Saturn s Rings. 
 
 By J. C. MAXWELL, M.A. Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Uni 
 versity of Aberdeen. 4to. sewed, 6*. 
 
 MAYOR Cambridge in the Seventeenth Century. 
 
 2 vols. fcap. 8vo. cloth, 13*. 
 
 Vol. I. Lives of Nicholas Ferrar. 
 
 Vol. II. Autobiography of Matthew Robinson. 
 
 By JOHN E. B. MAYOR, M.A. Fellow and Classical Lecturer of St. John s 
 College, Cambridge. 
 ** The Autobiography of Matthew Robinson may be had separately, price 5*.6d. 
 
 MAYOR.-Early Statutes of St. John s College, Cambridge. 
 
 Now first edited with Notes. Royal 8vo. 18,?. 
 
 ** The First Part is now ready for delivery. 
 
 MELIB(EUS IN LONDON. 
 
 By JAMES PAYN, M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5*. 
 
 MERIVALE.-Sallust for Schools. 
 
 By the C. MERIV ALE, B. D. Author of " History of Rome." Second Edition. 
 Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 *#* The Jugurtha and the Catilina may be had separately, price 2*. 6d. each, 
 bound in cloth. 
 
 MOOR COTTAGE.-A Tale of Home Life. 
 
 By the Author of " Little Estella." Crown 8vo. cloth, 6*. 
 
 MOORHOUSE. Some Modern Difficulties respecting the 
 
 Facts of Nature and Revelation. Considered in Four Sermons preached 
 before the University of Cambridge, in Lent, 1861. By JAMES MOOR- 
 HOUSE, M.A. of St. John s College, Cambridge, Curate of Hornsey. Fcap. 
 8vo. cloth, 2s. 6rf. 
 
 MORGAN. A Collection of Mathematical Problems and 
 
 Examples. Arranged in the Different Subjects progressively, with Answers 
 to all the Questions. By H. A. MORGAN, M.A., Fellow of Jesus Col 
 lege. Crown 8vo. cloth, Gs. &d. 
 
 MORSE. Working for God, and other Practical Sermons. 
 
 By FRANCIS MORSE, M.A. Incumbent of St. John s, Ladywood, Bir 
 mingham. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 MORTLOCK-Christianity agreeable to Reason. To which 
 
 is added Baptism from the Bibl?. By the Rev. EDMUND MORTLOCK B.D. 
 Rector of Monitor,, Newmarket. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 
 3*. 6a. 
 
 NAPIER-Lord Bacon and Sir Walter Raleigh. 
 
 Critical and Biographical Ivssays. By MACVEY NAPIER, late Editor 
 cloth 7? Q < j b " rijh Ret}iew aml rthe Encyclopedia Briiannica. Post 8vo. 
 
 NEWTON The Zoology of Ancient Europe. By ALFRED 
 
 NEWTON, M.A. Fellow of Magdalen College, Cambridge. Svo. sewed, Is. 
 
 NORTHERN CIRCUIT. Brief Notes of Travel in Sweden, 
 
 Finland, and Russia. With a Frontispiece. Crown Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
M ACHILLAS & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 15 
 
 NORTON. The Lady of La Garaye. By the Hon. Mrs. 
 
 NORTON, with Vignette and Frontispiece, engraved from the Author s 
 Designs. New and cheaper Edition, gilt cloth. 4s. 6d. 
 
 O BRIEN. An Attempt to Explain and Establish the Doc 
 trine of Justification by Faith only, in Ten Sermons on the Nature and 
 Effects of Fai h, preached in the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin, By 
 JAMES THOMAS O BRIEN, D.D. Bishop of Ossory. 8vo. cloth, Hs. 
 
 ORWELL The Bishop s Walk and the Bishop s Times. 
 
 Poems on the Days of Archbishop Leighton and the Scottish Covenant. By 
 ORWELL. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 OUT OF THE DSPTHS.-The Story of a Woman s Life. 
 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 OXFORD, CAMBRIDGE, and DUBLIN MESSENGER OF 
 
 MATHEMATICS. A Journal supported by Junior Mathematical Students, 
 and Conducted by a Board of Editors composed of Members of the Three 
 Universities. Vol. I., 7s. Gd. 
 
 PALMER. The Book of Praise : from the best English 
 
 Hymn Writers. Selected and arranged by ROUNDELL PALMER. With 
 Vignette by WOOLNER. ISrao. extra cloth, 4s. Gd. ; morocco, 7s. 6d.; extra, 
 10s. Gd. 
 
 PARKINSON. A Treatise on Elementary Mechanics. 
 
 For the Use of the Junior Classes at the University, and the Higher Classes in 
 Schools. With a Collection of Examples. By S. PARKINSON, B.D. Fellow 
 and Assistant Tutor of St. John s College, Cambridge. Second Edition. 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 9s. Gd. 
 
 PARKINSON.-A Treatise on Optics, 
 
 Ciown Svo. cloth, 10j. Gd. 
 
 PARMINTER. Materials for a Grammar of the Modern 
 
 English Language. Designed as a Text-book of Classical Grammar for the 
 use of Training Colleges, and the Higher Classes of English Schools. By 
 GEORGE HENRY PARMINTER, of Trinity College, Cambridge; Rector 
 of the United Parishes of SS. John and George, Exeter. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 PAULL-Pictures of England. By Dr. REINHOLD PAULI. 
 
 Translated by E. C. OTTE. Crown Svo. cloth, 8s. Gd. 
 
 PEROWNE.-"Al-Adjrumiieh." 
 
 An Elementary Arabic Grammar. By J. J. S. PERO\V"NE, B.D. Lecturer 
 in Divinity in King s College, London, and Examining Chaplain to the 
 Lord Bishop of Norwich. Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 PERRY Five Sermons preached before the University of 
 
 Cambridge, in November, 1855. By CHARLES PERRY, D.D. Bishop of 
 Melbourne. Crown Svo. cloth, 3s. 
 
 PHEAR Elementary Hydrostatics. 
 
 By J. B. Phear, M.A. Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. Second 
 Edition. Accompanied by numerous Examples, with the Solutions. 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 5s. 6d. 
 
16 MAC MI I JAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 PHILLIPS. Life on the Earth : Its Origin and Succession. 
 
 By JOHN PHILLIPS, M.A. LL.D. F.R.S. Professor of Geology in the 
 University of Oxford. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. cloth, 6*. 6d. 
 
 PHILOLOGY. The Journal of Sacred and Classical Philology. 
 
 Four Vols. 8vo. cloth, 12s. 6d. each. 
 
 PLAIN RULES ON REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND 
 
 DEATHS. Crown 8vo. sewed, Id. ; 9d. per dozen ; 5s. per 100. 
 
 PLATO. The Republic of Plato. 
 
 Translated into English, with Notes. By Two Fellows of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge (J. LI. Davies M.A. and D. J. Vaughan, M.A.). Second 
 Edition. 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 PLATONIC DIALOGUES, THE. For English Readers. 
 
 By W. WHEWELL, D.D. F.R.S. Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, 
 Vol. I. Second Edition, containing The Socratic Dialogues. 
 Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 7s. 6d. Vol. II. containing The Anti-Sophist Dia 
 logues, 6*. Gd. Vol. III. containing The Republic. Fcap. 8vo. cloth. 
 7s. 6d. 
 
 PRATT. Treatise on Attractions, La Place s Functions, 
 
 and the Figure of the Earth. By J. H. PRATT, M.A. Archdeacon of 
 Calcutta, and Fellow of Gonville andCaius College, Cambridge. Second 
 Edition, Crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. 6rf. 
 
 PRAYERS FOR WORKING MEN OF ALL RANKS; 
 
 Earnestly designed for Family Devotion and Private Meditation and Prayer. 
 Fcap. 8vo. cloth, red leaves, 2s. Gd. Common Edition, Is. 9rf. 
 
 PROCTER A History of the Book of Common Prayer: with 
 
 a Rationale of its Offices. By FRANCIS PROCTER, M.A., Vicar of Witton, 
 Norfolk, and late Fellow of St. Catharine s College. Fifth Edition, 
 revised and enlarged. Crown 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 PROCTER, An Elementary History of the Book of Common 
 
 Prayer. By FRANCIS PROCTER, M.A. ISmo. bound in cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 PUCKLE. An Elementary Treatise on Conic Sections and 
 
 Algebraic Geometry. With a numerous collection of Easy Examples pro 
 gressively arranged, especially designed for the use of Schools and Beginners . 
 By G. HALE PUCKLE, M. A., Principal of Windermere College. Second 
 Edition, enlarged and improved. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7s. Gd. 
 
 RAMSAY. The Catechiser s Manual; or, the Church Gate - 
 
 chism illustrated and explained, for the use of Clergymen, Schoolmasters, 
 and Teachers. By ARTHUR RAMSAY, M.A. of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. Second Edition. 18mo. 
 
 RAWLINSON.-Elementary Statics. 
 
 By G. RAWLINSON, M.A. late Professor of the Applied Sciences in 
 ElpMnstone College, Bombay. Edited by EDWARD STURGES, M.A. 
 Rector of Kencott, Oxon. Crown 8vo. cloth, 4 S . Qd. 
 
MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 17 
 
 RAYS OF SUNLIGHT FOR DARK DAYS. A Book of 
 
 Selections for the Suffering. With a Preface by C. J. VAUGHAN, D.D. 
 Vicar of Doncaster and Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen. 18mo. elegantly 
 printed with red lines, and bound in cloth with red leaves. New Edition. 
 3s. Gd. morocco, Old Style, 9*. 
 
 REICHEL . The Lord s Prayer and other Sermons. 
 
 By C. P. REICHEL, B.D., Professor of Latin in the Queen s University; 
 Chaplain to his Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland ; and late Don- 
 nellan Lecturerin the University of Dublin. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7*. Gd. 
 
 ROBINSON. Missions urged upon the State, on Grounds 
 
 both of Duty and Policy. By C. K. ROBINSON, M.A. Master of St. Cathe 
 rine s College. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 3s. 
 
 ROBY. An Elementary Latin Grammar. By H. J. ROBY, M.A. 
 
 Under Master of Dulwich College Upper School ; late Fellow and Classical 
 Lecturer of St. John s College, Cambridge. 18mo. bound in cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 ROBY. Story of a Household, and Other Poems. By 
 
 MARY K. ROBY. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 ROMANIS. Sermons Preached at St. Mary s, Reading. 
 
 By WILLIAM ROMANIS, M.A., Curate. Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 6*. 
 
 ROSSETTL Goblin Market, and other Poems. 
 
 By CHRISTINA ROSSETTI. With Two Designs by D. G. ROSSETTI. 
 Fcap. 8vo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 ROUTH. Treatise on Dynamics of Rigid Bodies. 
 
 With Numerous Examples. By E. J. ROUTH, M.A. Fellow and Assistant 
 Tutor of St. Peter s College, Cambridge. Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. Gd. 
 
 ROWSELL.-THE ENGLISH UNIVERSITIES AND THE 
 
 ENGLISH POOR. Sermons Preached before the University of Cambridge. 
 By T. J. ROWSELL, M.A. Rector of St. Margaret s, Lothbury, late Incum 
 bent of St. Peter s, Stepney. Fcap. Svo. cloth limp, red leaves, 2s. 
 
 ROWSELL. Man s Labour and God s Harvest. 
 
 Sermons preached before the University of Cambridge in Lent, 1861. Fcap. 
 Svo. limp cloth, red leaves, 3s. 
 
 RUTH AND HER FRIENDS. A Story for Girls. 
 
 With a Frontispiece. Third Edition. Royal 16mo. extra cloth, gilt leaves, 
 3*. Gd. 
 
 SANDARS.-BY THE SEA, AND OTHER POEMS, 
 
 By EDMUND SANDARS, of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Fcap. Svo. 
 cloth, 4s. Gd. 
 
 SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE; or, The Long 
 
 Vacation Ramble of a London Clerk. By the Author of " Tom Brown s 
 School Days." Illustrated by DOYLE. Eighth Thousand. Imp. 16mo. 
 cloth, elegant, 8s. Gd. 
 
 SEEMANN. Viti : an Account of a Government Mission to 
 
 the Vitian or Fijian Group of Islands. By BERTHOLD SEEMANN, 
 Ph.D. F.L.S. With Map and Illustrations. Demy Svo. cloth, Us. 
 
 SELWYN.-The Work of Christ in the World. 
 
 Sermons preached before the University of Cambridge. By the Right Rev. 
 GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN, D.D. Bishop of New Zealand, formerly 
 Fellow of St. John s College. Third Edition. Crown Svo. 2s. 
 
18 MACMILLA.N & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 SELWYN. A Verbal Analysis of the Holy Bible, 
 
 Intended to facilitate the translation of the Holy Scriptures into Foreign 
 Languages. Compiled for the use of the Melanesian Mission. Small folio, 
 cloth, 14.?. 
 
 SIMEON Stray Notes on Fishing and on Natural History. 
 
 By CORNWALL SIMEON. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 SIMPSON. An Epitome of the History of the Christian 
 
 Church during the first Three Centuries and during the Reformation. With 
 Examination Papers. By WILLIAM SIMPSON, M.A. Fourth Edition. 
 
 Fcp. Svo. cloth, 3s. Gd. 
 
 SLOMAN. Claims of Leibnitz to the Invention of the 
 
 Differential Calculus. By DR. H. SLOMAN. Royal Svo. cloth, 8s. 6d., 
 
 SMITH. A Life Drama, and other Poems. 
 
 By ALEXANDER SMITH. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 2*. Gd. 
 
 SMITH.-City Poems. 
 
 By ALEXANDER SMITH, Author of "A Life Drama," and other Poems. 
 
 Fcap. Svo. cloth. 5s. 
 
 SMITH. Edwin of Deira. second Edition. By ALEXAN 
 DER SMITH, Author of " City Poems." Fcap. Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 SMITH. Arithmetic and Algebra, in their Principles and 
 
 Application: with numerous systematically arranged Examples, takenfrom 
 the Cambridge Examination Papers. By BARNARD SMITH, M. A., Fellow 
 of St. Peter s College, Cambridge. Eighth Edition. Crown Svo. 
 
 cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 SMITH. Arithmetic for the use of Schools. 
 
 New Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 4*. 6d. 
 
 SMITH. A Key to the Arithmetic for Schools. 
 
 Second Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 8s. Gd. 
 
 SMITH Ex :rcises in Arithmetic. 
 
 By BARNARD SMITH. With Answers. Crown Svo. limp cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 Or sold separately, as follows; Part I. Is. Part II. Is. Answers, Gd. 
 
 SMITH. An Outline of the Theory of Conditional Sentences 
 
 in Greek and Latin. For the use of Students. By R. HORTON 
 SMITH, M.A. Fellow of St. John s College, Cambridge. Svo. 25. Gd. 
 
 SNOWBALL.-The Elements of Plane and Spherical 
 
 Trigonometry. By J. C. SNOWBALL, M.A. Fellow of St. John s College, 
 Cambridge. Ninth Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 7s. Bd. 
 
 SNOWBALL Introduction to the Elements of Plane Trigo 
 nometry for the use of Schools. Second Edition. Svo. sewed, 5s. 
 
 SNOWBALL. The Cambridge Course of Elementary 
 
 Mechanics and Hydrostatics. Adapted for the use of Colleges and Schools. 
 With numerous Examples and Problems. Fourth Edition. Crown Svo. 
 
 cloth} i>s. 
 
 STORY -Memoir of the Rev. Robert Story, late Minister 
 
 of Roseneath, Deluding Passages of Scottish Religious and Ecclesiastical 
 History ^during the Second Quarter of the Present Century. By R. H. STORY. 
 ifTOWfi ovo. Cloth, 7s. Gd. 
 
MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. Hf 
 
 SWAINSON. A Handbook to Butler s Analogy. 
 
 By C. A. SWAINSON, M.A. Principal of the Theological College, and 
 Prebendary of Chichester. Crown 8vo. sewed, Is. Crf. 
 
 SWAINSON. The Creeds of the Church in their Relations 
 
 to Holy Scripture and the Conscience of the Christian. 8vo. cloth, 9s. 
 
 SWAINSON.-THE AUTHORITY OF THE NEW TESTA- 
 
 ME XT; The Conviction of Righteousness, and other Lectures, delivered 
 before the University of Cambridge. 8vo. cloth, 12s. 
 
 TAIT and STEELE. A Treatise on Dynamics, with nume 
 rous Examples. By P. G. TAIT, Fellow of St. Peter s College, Cambridge, 
 and Professor of .Mathematics in Queen s College, Belfast, and W. J.STEELF, 
 late Fellow of St. Peter s College. Crown 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 TEMPLE. Sermons preached in the Chapel of Rugby 
 
 School. In 1858, 1859, and I860. By F. TEMPLE, D.D. Chaplain in 
 Ordinary to her Majesty, Head Master of Rugby School, Chaplain to Earl 
 Denbigh. 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 THEOLOGICAL Manuals, 
 
 I. History of the Church during the Middle Ages. 
 
 By ARCHDEACON HARDWICK. Second Edition. With Four 
 Maps. Crown 8vo. cloth, 10s. Gd. 
 
 II. History of the Church during the Reformation. 
 
 By ARCHDEACON HARDWICK. Crown Svo. cloth, 10*. 6d. 
 
 III. The Book of Common Prayer : Its History and 
 
 Rationale. By FRANCIS PROCTER, M.A. Fifth Edition. 
 
 Crown 8vo cloth, 10s. Gd. 
 
 IV. History of the Canon of the New Testament. 
 
 By B. F. WESTCOTT, M.A. Crown Svo. cloth, 12,?. 
 
 V. Introduction to the Study of the Gospels. 
 
 By B. F. WESTCOTT, M.A. Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 %* Others are in progress, and will be announced in due time. 
 
 THRING. A Construing Book. 
 
 Compiled by the Rev. EDWARD TURING, M.A. Head Master of Up- 
 pingham Grammar School, late Fellow of King s College, Cambridge. Fcap. 
 Svo. cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 THRING. The Elements of Grammar taught in English. 
 
 Third Edition. ISmo. bound in cloth, 2s. 
 
 THRING.- The Child s Grammar. 
 
 Being the substance of the above, with Examples for Practice. Adapted for 
 Junior Classes. A New Edition. ISino. limp cloth,! s. 
 
 THRING. Sermons delivered at Uppingham School. 
 
 By EDWARD THRING, M.A. Head Master. Crown Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 THRING.- School Songs. 
 
 A Collection of Songs for Schools. With the Music arranged for four Voices. 
 Edited by EDWARD TURING, M.A., Head Master of Uppingham School, 
 and H. RICCIUS. Small folio, 7s. Gd. 
 
20 MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THRUPP. The Song 1 of Songs. 
 
 A New Translation, with a Commentary and an Introduction. By the Rev. 
 J. F. THRUPP, Vicar of Barrington, ]ate Fellow of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7s. Gd. 
 
 THRUPP. -Antient Jerusalem : a New Investigation into the 
 
 History, Topography, and Plan of the City, Environs, and Temple. Designed 
 principally to illustrate the records and prophecies of Scripture. With Map 
 and Plans. By JOSEPH FRANCIS THRUPP, M.A. 8vo. cloth, 15s. 
 
 THRUPP. Introduction to the Study and Use of the 
 
 Psalms. By the REV. J. F. THRUPP, M.A. 2 vols. 8vo. 21*. 
 
 THRUPP. Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship. 
 
 Selected and Edited by the REV. J. F. THRUPP, M.A. 18mo. cloth, 2s. 
 limp cloth, Is. 4d. 
 
 THUCYDIDES, BOOK VI. With English Notes, and a Map. 
 
 By PERCIVAL FROST, Jun. M.A. late Fellow of St. John s College, 
 Cambridge. 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 TOCQUEVILLE Memoir, Letters, and Remains of Alexis 
 
 De Tocqueville. Translated from the French by the Translator of" Napoleon s 
 Correspondence with King Joseph." With Numerous additions, 2 vols. crown 
 Svo. 21*. 
 
 TODHUNTER.-WORKS by ISAAC TODHUNTER, M.A. 
 
 Fellow and Principal Mathematical Lecturer of St. John s College, 
 Cambridge : 
 
 1. Euclid for Colleges and Schools. 
 
 18mo. bound in cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 2. A Treatise on the Differential Calculus. 
 
 With numerous Examples. TMrd Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 
 10s. Gd. 
 
 3. A Treatise on the Integral Calculus, second Edition. 
 
 With numerous Examples. Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 4. A Treatise en Analytical Statics, with numerous Ex 
 
 amples. Second Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 10s. 6d. 
 
 5. A Treatise on Conic Sections, with numerous Examples. 
 
 Third Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 7s. Gd. 
 
 6. Algebra for the use of Colleges and Schools. Third 
 
 Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 7s. Gd. 
 
 7. Plane Trigonometry for Colleges and Schools, second 
 
 Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 8. A Treatise on Spherical Trigonometry for the Use of 
 
 Colleges and Schools. Crown Svo. cloth , 4s. 6d. 
 
 9. Critical History of the Progress of the Calculus of 
 
 Variations during the Nineteenth Century. Svo. cloth, 12s. 
 
 10. Examples of Analytical Geometry of Three Dimensions. 
 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 4s. 
 
 of 
 
MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 21 
 
 TOM BROWN S SCHOOL DAYS. 
 
 By AN OLD BOY. Seventh Edition. Fcap. 8vo. clotli, 5s. 
 COPIES OF THE LARGE PAPER EDITION MAY BE HAD, PRICE 10.. 6d. 
 
 TOM BROWN AT OXFORD. 
 
 By the Author of " Tom Brown s School Days." Second Edition. 
 3 vols. crown Svo. 111* 6d. 
 
 TRACTS FOR PRIESTS AND PEOPLE. 
 
 By VARIOUS WRITERS. 
 
 The First Series, Crown Svo. cloth, 8s. 
 The Second Series, Crown Svo. cloth, 8s. 
 
 Supplementary Number to the Second Series, price Is. Noncon 
 formity in the Seventeenth and in the Nineteenth Century. I. English 
 Voluntaryism, by J. N. LANGLEY. II. The Voluntary Principle in 
 America. By an English Clergyman. This number can" be bound up 
 with the Second Series. 
 
 The whole Series of Fifteen Tracts may be had separately, price One 
 Shilling each. 
 
 TRENCH Synonyms of the New Testament. 
 
 By The Very Rev. RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH, D.D. Dean of West 
 minster. Fourtli Edition. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 TRENCH.-Hulsean Lectures for 184546. 
 
 CONTENTS. 1. The Fitness of Holy Scripture for unfolding the Spiritual Life 
 of Man. 2. Christ the Desire of all Nations; or the Unconscious Pro 
 phecies of Heathendom. Fourth Edition. Foolscap Svo. cloth, 5*. 
 
 TRENCH. Sermons Preached before the University of Cam 
 bridge. Fcap. Svo cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 
 TUDOR. The Decalogue viewed as the Christian s Law, 
 
 with Special Reference to the Questions and Wants of the Times By the 
 REV. RICHARD TUDOR, B.A. Curate of Helston. Crown Svo. cloth, 
 106-. 6d. 
 
 UNDERWOOD. Short Manual of Arithmetic. 
 
 By the REV. C. W. UNDERWOOD, M A. Vice-Principal of the Liverpool 
 Collegiate Institution. Fcap. Svo. limp cloth, 2s. Gd. 
 
 VACATION TOURISTS; or, Notes of Travel in 1861. 
 
 Edited by F. G ALTON, F.R.S. With Ten Maps illustrating the Routes. 
 Svo. cloth, Us. 
 
 VAUGHAN. Sermons preached in St. John s Church, 
 
 Leicester, during the years 1855 and 1856. Ky DAVID J. VAUGH AN, M.A. 
 Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Vicar of bt. Martin s, Leicester. 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 5s. (id. 
 
 VAUGHAN. Sermons on the Resurrection. With a Preface. 
 
 By D. J. VAUGHAN, M.A. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 3*. 
 
 VAUGHAN. Three Sermons on The Atonement. With a 
 
 Preface. By D. J. Vaughan, M.A. Limp cloth, red edges, Is. Gd. 
 
 VAUGHAN. Sermons on Sacrifice and Propitiation, preached 
 
 in St. Martin s Church, Leicester, during Lent and Easter, 1861. By D. J. 
 VAUGHAN, M.A. Fcap. Svo. cloth limp, red edges, 2t. 6d. 
 
22 MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS, 
 
 VAUGHAN.-WORKS by CHARLES JOHN VAUGHAN, D.D. 
 
 Vicar of Doncaster, Chancellor of York, and Chaplain in Ordinary to the 
 Queen: 
 
 1. Notes for Lectures on Confirmation. With suitable 
 
 Prayers. Fourth Edition. Limp cloth, red edges, Is. Gd. 
 
 2. Lectures on the Epistle to the Philippians. 
 
 Crown 8vo. cloth, red leaves, 7s. 6d. 
 
 3. The Book and the Life : Four Sermons Preached before 
 
 the University of Cambridge in November, 1862. Crown Svo. cloth, 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 4. The Three Tabernacles. A Sermon Preached at the 
 
 Opening of St. Peter s School Chapel, York. Crown Svo. 1*. 
 
 5. St. Paul s Epistle to the Romans. 
 
 The Greek Text with English Notes. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 
 cloth, red leaves, 5s. 
 
 6. Memorials of Harrow Sundays. 
 
 A Selection of Sermons preached in Harrow School Chapel. With a 
 View of the Interior of the Chapel. Third Edition. Crown Svo. 
 cloth, red leaves, 10s. Gd. 
 
 7. Epiphany, Lent, and Easter. A Selection of Ex 
 
 pository Sermons. Second Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, red leaves, 
 10s. 6d. 
 
 8. Revision of the Liturgy. Four Discourses. With an 
 
 Introduction. I. ABSOLUTION. II. REGENERATION. III. ATHANA- 
 SIAN CKEED. IV. BURIAL SERVICE. V. HOLY ORDERS. Second 
 Edition. Crown Svo. cloth, red leaves, 4s. 6d. 
 
 9. The Joy of Success corrected by the Joy of Safety. 
 
 An Ordination Sermon preached in York Cathedral. Fcap. Svo. 
 sewed, 2d. 
 
 10. Lessons of Life and Godliness. A Selection of Sermons 
 
 Preached in the Parish Church of Doncaster. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 11. The Mourning of the Land, and the Mourning of its 
 
 Families. A Sermon Preached in the Parish Church of Doncaster on 
 the Death of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort. Second 
 Edition. Fcap. Svo. sewed, 2d. 
 
 12. The Revised Code of the Committee of Council on 
 
 Education Dispassionately Considered. An Address to the Clergy of 
 the Deanery of Doncaster. Third Edition. Svo. sewed, Is. 
 
 VOLUNTEER S SCRAP BOOK. 
 
 By the Author of "The Cambridge Scrap Book." Crown 4to. half-bound, 
 
 u. 
 
MACMILLAN & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 23 
 
 WAGNER. Memoir of the Rev. George Wagner, late of St. 
 
 Stephen s, Brighton. By J. N. SIMPKINSON, M.A. Rector of Brington, 
 Northampton. Third and Cheaper Edition. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 5s. 
 
 WATSON AND ROUTH.-CAMBRIDGE SENATE-HOUSE 
 
 PROBLEMS AND RIDERS. For the Year I860. With Solutions by H. 
 W. WATSON, M.A. and E. J. ROUTH, M.A. Crown Svo. cloth, 7*. 6d. 
 
 WESTCOTT. History of the Canon of the New Testament 
 
 during the First Four Centuries. By BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, M.A., 
 Assistant Master of Harrow School; late Fellow of Trinity College, Cam 
 bridge. Crown Svo. cloth, 12s. 6d. 
 
 WESTCOTT. Characteristics of the Gospel Miracles. 
 
 Sermons preached before the University of Cambridge. With Notes. By 
 B. F. WESTCOTT, M.A., Author of "History of the New Testament 
 Canon." Crown Svo. cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 WESTCOTT. Introduction to the Study of the Four Gos 
 pels. By B. F. WESTCOTT, M.A. Crown Svo. cloth, 10*. 6d. 
 
 WILSON. Counsels of an Invalid: Letters on Religious 
 
 Subjects. By GEORGE WILSON, M.D. late Regius Professor of Technology 
 in the University of Edinburgh. With Vignette Portrait, engraved by G. B. 
 SHAW. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 4s. 6d. 
 
 WILSON. Religio Chemici. 
 
 By GEORGE WILSON, M.D. With a Vignette beautifully engraved after 
 a Design by NOEL PATON. Crown Svo. cloth, 8s. 6d. 
 
 WILSON. -Memoir of George Wilson, M.D. F.R.S.E. 
 
 Regius Professor of Technology in the University of Edinburgh. By his 
 Sister. Svo. cloth, with Portrait, 14s. 
 
 WILSON. The Five Gateways of Knowledge. 
 
 By GEORGE WILSON, M.D. , F.R.S.Ejegius Professor of Technology in 
 the University of Edinburgh. Second Edition. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 2s. 6d. 
 or in Paper Covers, Is. 
 
 WILSON. The Progress of the Telegraph. 
 
 Fcap. Svo. Is. 
 
 WILSON. Prehistoric Man : Researches into the Origin of 
 
 Civilization in the Old and the New World. By DANIEL WILSON, LL.D. 
 
 Professor of History and English Literature in University College, Toronto; 
 Author of " Archaeology and Prehistoric Annals of Scotland," &c. 2 vols. 
 demy Svo. With numerous Illustrations. 28s. 
 
 WILSON. A Treatise on Dynamics. 
 
 By W. P. WILSON, M. A., Fellow of St. John s, Cambridge, and Professor of 
 Mathematics in the University of Melbourne. Svo. bds. 9s. 6d. 
 
 WITT The Mutual Influence of the Christian Doctrine, 
 
 and the School of Alexandria. By J. G. WITT, Fellow of King s College, 
 Cambridge and Member of the Hon. Society of Lincoln s Inn. Crown Svo. 
 cloth, 25. 6d. 
 
24 MACMILLA.N & CO. S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 WOLFE.-ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ORIGINAL 
 
 PSALM AND HYMN TUNES. For Four Voices. By ARTHUR 
 WOLFF,, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Clare College, Cambridge. Oblong 
 royal Svo. extra cloth, gilt leaves, 10*. Gd. 
 
 WOLFE. Hymns for Public Worship. 
 
 Selected and Arranged by ARTHUR WOLFE, M.A. ISmo. cloth, red 
 leaves, 2s. Common Paper Edition, limp cloth, Is. or twenty-five for If. 
 
 WOLFE. Hymns for Private Use. 
 
 Selected and Arranged by ARTHUR WOLFE, M.A. 18mo. cloth, red 
 leaves, 2s. 
 
 WORKING MEN S COLLEGE MAGAZINE. 
 
 Monthly, 2d. Vol. I. II. and III. (185961), handsomely bound in cloth, 
 2s. Gd. each. 
 
 WORSHIP OF GOD AND FELLOWSHIP AMONG MEN. 
 
 A Series of Sermons on Public Worship. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 3*. 6d. 
 
 By F. D. MAURICE, M.A. T. J. ROWSELL, M.A. J. LL. DAVIES, M.A. 
 
 and D. J. VAUGHAN, M.A. 
 
 WRIGHT. Hellenica ; or, .a History of Greece in Greek, 
 
 as related by Diodorus and Thucydides, being a First Greek Reading 
 Book, with Explanatory Notes, Critical and Historical. By J.WRIGHT, 
 M. A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Head-Master of Sutton Coldfield 
 Grammar School. Second Edition, WITH A VOCABULARY. 12mo. 
 cloth, 3*. 6d. 
 
 WRIGHT. A Help to Latin Grammar; 
 
 or, the Form and Use of Words in Latin. With Progressive Exercises. 
 Crown Svo. cloth, 4s. Gd. 
 
 WRIGHT The Seven Kings of Rome : 
 
 An easy Narrative, abridged from the First Book of Livy by the omission of 
 difficult passages, being a First Latin Reading Book, with Grammatical 
 Notes. Fcap. Svo. cloth, 3s. 
 
 WRIGHT. A Vocabulafy and Exercises on the " Seven 
 
 Kings of Rome." Fcap. Svo. cloth, 2s. Gd. 
 
 *** The Vocabulary and Exercises may also be had bound up with "The Seven 
 Kings of Rome." Price 5*. cloth. 
 
 Yes and No ; or, Glimpses of The Great Conflict. 
 
 3 vols. crown Svo. cloth, M. 11s. QJ. 
 
 YOUNG. On the History of Greek Literature in England. 
 
 From the Earliest Times to the End of the Reign of James the First. By 
 SIR GEORGE YOUNG, B.A. Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. Crown 
 
 Svo. boards. 2s. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE; AND 23, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, 
 LONDON. 
 
 AND TAYLOR, PKINTfcUS, BREAD STREET HILL. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 RENEWALS ONLY TEL. NO. 642-3405 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 UCLA 
 IRTERLIBRARY L< 
 
 INTERLIBRARYLOAN 
 
 NOV 2 1969 
 
 1 IMIW OF TAI IF RFRtf 
 
 
 
 UNIV. Ur vnLlr., DCfipN. 
 
 
 
 
 NOV 2 5 1992 
 
 rttJ 9 Ia7u 
 
 IMTTP-^t iftDAtn 
 
 . 
 
 in i C.K LiDKAKi 
 LOAN 
 
 
 UCLA 
 
 
 INTERLIBRARY LC 
 
 m*w m 26 91 
 
 BBTD LD OCT 1 6 72 -3 PM 2 8 
 
 LD21A-60TO-6 69 
 (J9096slO)476-A-32 
 
 General Library 
 University of California 
 
:. BERKELEY LIBRARIES 
 II II I 
 
 Hill 
 
 C03flS3bS3S 
 
 YB 50497 
 
 * 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY