our liberal institutions, has, more than all other causes combined, waked up the spirit of the Old World. The radiance of our well-adjusted freedom is melting away the icy fetters that have, from time immemorial, frozen to moral numbness the larger portion of Continental Europe. The name of America sounds like that of heaven on earth to the voluntary exiles who leave their fatherlands in the confidence of finding, for themselves and their children, a better country, fulness of bread, and the rights of their own sweat. The eyes of their kindred follow them to our shores. The news of our advancement, our state papers, the issues of our unshackled press, go back, despite of the keenest surveillance, with their endorsement to their native hamlets. Political philosophers and ardent philanthropists come westward, that they may study our recent but vigorous systems, as the Greek once went to the older land of the Nile. A strong word, distinctly spoken here, echoes through hut and palace, cabinet and camp, of distant but anxious listeners. O! then, let us work now, that we may work for the stupendous future; let us work for our country, that we may benefit the world!' Such are a few of the thoughts in this excellent address, which we cordially commend to a wide public acceptance.

LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS OF MARYLAND: An Oration delivered at the Second Commemoration of their Landing, celebrated May 15, 1849, under the auspices of the Philodemic Society, of Georgetown College. By Z. COLLINS LEE, Esq., etc. Baltimore: JOHN MURPHY AND COMPANY.

WE remember to have read in the National Intelligencer' daily journal a chaste and fervid account of the celebration at St. Inigoes, the particulars of which are recorded in the pages before us, and we welcome with the more pleasure therefore the pamphlet which we are about to commend to our readers. The proceedings were opened by a prayer from the Rev. Dr. PISE, of this city, which strikes us as one among the most comprehensive, eloquent and beautiful exercises of the kind we remember ever to have heard. Of Mr. LEE's address, we may say, in brief, that is remarkable for its clear synopsis of historical facts and their admirable collocation, and for a style simple and eloquent; the whole evincing, in matter and manner, that the orator wrote from a full mind and with a practised pen. Mr. LEE establishes the fact that while the Puritans of New-England fled from religious intolerance only to become more intolerant themselves in the new home which had been vouchsafed them, and the founders of Virginia cultivated the reigning religious prejudices of the English crown, the founders of Maryland organized and sustained a government under which, as under the Dutch rule in New-York, all classes of men, of all religious denominations, worshipped GoD in their own way, without molestation. These facts reflect the highest honor upon the Pilgrims of Maryland. We regret that our space limits us to the following glowing passage:

'SCARCE two hundred years have rolled away since the Rock of Plymouth, and the heights of Jamestown were pressed by the Pilgrim feet, and St. Mary's and Maryland consecrated to human rights; now thirty commonwealths, bounded by the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, are before us, united in a common bond, and flourishing under the same bright banner, and crowded with nearly twenty millions of freemen. What a spectacle for the world to admire! what a cause of self-gratulation to us!

The Mayflower,' the 'Dove and the Ark,' laden with the seeds of liberty, touched then with drooping sails, savage and inhospitable shores; now from the same strands the moving palaces of steam, and the countless ships of commerce, arrive between cities of astonishing wealth and population.

Our national resources, too, physical and political, and the giant strides of our people already proclaim, even to the Rocky Mountains, the sway of civil institutions and the glories of freedom. Hurried before their resistless march, the red man and his countless tribes has been

driven from his hunting ground and his council fires, and places which knew him once shall know him no more forever. Amid the portentous changes of the past, the Church, under whose wings this State was founded, has preserved her integrity and union; to her must America be indebted for the preservation of much that is valuable in arts and letters; and truly has England's last historian said, 'that the Catholic church many times has been compared by divines to that ark of which we read in the book of Genesis, but never was the resemblance more perfect than during that evil time when she rode amidst darkness and tempest on the deluge, beneath which the great works of ancient power and wisdom lay entombed, bearing with her that feeble germ from which a second and more glorious civilization was to spring.'

We remark in the pamphlet under notice a well-written and feeling tribute to the memory of the Rev. Mr. CARBERY, of St. Inigoes, whose piety, unostentatious charity, and cordial hospitality, had made him widely beloved by the society which he graced and honored.

FRONTENAC, OR THE ATOTARHO OF THE IROQUOIS: a Metrical Romance. By ALFRED B. STREET. New-York: BAKER AND SCRIBNER.

WE shall divide our review of this elaborate poem of Mr. STREET into two parts; for the reason that, receiving it after our 'Literary Notice' department proper had been mainly filled, we have not space for the extracts we have selected, with their accompanying comments, in a single article. We give therefore in the present number the interesting chapter of history upon which the poem is founded, and in our next shall afford our readers the means of judging of the admirable manner in which the poet has wrought up his matériel:

'IN the month of June, 1696, Count FRONTENAC, then Governor-General of Canada, assembled an army at Lachine, a few miles from Montreal, for an expedition against the Iroquois, who, from the earliest settlement of the province, had been inimical to the French.

'The army consisted of the regular troops, the habitans or militia of the province, and some of the Indian tribes, who were the allies of the French, and who entertained an hereditary hatred against the Iroquois, by reason of their nations having, in former times, been conquered by the Confederacy. FRONTENAC, with this army, ascended the St. Lawrence, in batteaux and canoes, carrying with him, in addition to light arms, cannon, mortars, and grenades. Making the customary portages, he reached Lake Ontario, coasted its eastern waters, ascended the Oswego River, crossed Onondaga Lake, and encamped upon its borders. He then plunged, with his forces, into the vast wilderness, in search of the Iroquois. Arriving at the principal castle or village of the Onondagas, into whose particular canton or country he had penetrated, he found it deserted. Pushing farther then into the wilderness, FRONTENAC discovered nothing of his wild enemies, and finally, in disappointment, he retraced his march. On his return path, however, the Iroquois waylaid his steps, killed a number of his men, and did not cease their attacks until he had entirely left their territory.

'The Iroquios at that time consisted of five nations, viz.: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Senecas, occupying a territory which they figuratively called their Long House,' extending from east to west over what is now the State of New-York, from the Lakes Erie and Ontario to the Hudson River.

'These Indian nations had banded themselves into a League or Confederacy, at first for a protection against their common enemies, continuing it afterwards for conquest. The time of the formation of this League is not known, but is supposed to have been ages before the white man appeared amongst them, and it has given birth, on account of its value and importance, as well as its being involved in the mist of uncertainty, to a wild mythology concerning it amongst themselves.

'When CHAMPLAIN first came to Quebec, he found the Confederacy at war with the Hurons and Adirondacks, then warlike and powerful nations. Having allied himself to the Adirondacks, he joined them in an expedition against the Iroquois; and, by reason of the fire-arms he carried, then totally unknown to the warriors of the Confederacy, he was the means of defeating the latter on the borders of the very lake which now bears his name. This kindled an animosity against the French on the part of the Iroquois, which was never forgotten. Receiving, a few years afterwards, fire-arms in their turn from the Dutch, who, in the meanwhile, had penetrated the forests along the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers in New-York, the confederated warriors commenced their attacks upon the French at every post and settlement. So serious did their inroads become, that at times the very province itself was in jeopardy. And not only did these warlike savages annoy the French, but they turned their arms against all the neighboring tribes, driving the Hurons and Adirondacks, their former rivals, from their villages and hunting. grounds, and absolutely extirminating many of the savage nations around them. Pushing their conquests in all directions, they at length mastered every Indian tribe residing not only in NewYork, but every other, as far as Carolina to the south, and the Mississippi to the west. The Governors-General of Canada made frequent incursions into their territory or Long House, but

those incursions only served to stimulate the wrath of these haughty and powerful savages, without weakening their strength or diminishing their power. That strength and power had arrived at their height when FRONTENAC took the reins of command for the second time, in 1689. The Iroquois had now assumed so threatening an attitude, that this stern and proud noble thought it advisable to penetrate their fastnesses and crush them, if possible, at a blow. Hence the expedition above detailed, which was, however, as fruitless as those of the former Governors-General DE LA BARRE and DE NONVILLE.

'In the meanwhile the Confederacy (its good-will and friendship having been transferred by the Dutch to the English) proved itself as faithful to CORLEAR, the name it gave to the English Governor, as hostile to YON-NON-DE-YOH, its title for the Governor-General of the French. Consequently, in 1776, when the war of the Revolution broke out, true to their old friendship, the Iroquois sided with England. This led to the expedition of SULLIVAN, the American General, into the heart of their country. SULLIVAN desolated their fields, destroyed their villages, and exterminated the warriors they brought against him. From this period they began to decline. With the return of peace, civilization commenced hewing down their forests, and taking possession of their hunting-grounds; and the unwelcome sight of the Pale-face met them in every direction beside their beautiful streams and romantic lakes. Their Long House, to use their own pathetic language, was broken open at both ends, and the storms of destruction made it desolate for ever. The Mohawks abandoned their lovely valley in a body, and settled upon Grand River, in Canada, on territory granted them by the British Government. The rest of the Confederacy, although it had been previously increased by the accession of the Tuscaroras, a reclaimed original tribe, gradually diminished, and has still continued to waste away, until now only a few individuals remain, haunting their smiling valleys, and hovering around their sparkling waters, miserable spectres of the former greatness of the Iroquois.'

It will be obvious to the reader what a fine field our poet has chosen, and they will soon have occasion to see how well he has cultivated it. A portrait of the author, on steel, accompanies the volume, which is printed from the London edition.

WOMEN OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: a Series of Portraits, with Characteristic Descriptions by several American Clergymen. Edited by WILLIAM B. SPRAGUE, D. D. New-York: D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.

THIS is one of the most beautiful volumes to which the American press has given birth. It is a positive luxury to run one's eye over the large clear types, impressed upon snow-white paper, firm as Bristol board, and in pages with amplest margin. There are eighteen original designs, engraved in the highest style of the art of celature, many of which are of marvellous personal beauty. Nothing superior to MIRIAM,' The VIRGIN and the Infant SAVIOUR,' and ' BATHSHEBA,' has ever appeared in any American or English work. The accompanying sketches, by eminent pens, are exceedingly well executed. In the illustration of the VIRGIN MARY we find the subjoined quaint and beautiful passage from one of the ancient forms of the Church of England, 'The Goolden Letanye of the Lyf and Passioun of our LORD IESU CRISTE,' introducing his blessed MOTHER at the cross:

By the grete compassion of thi hert, that thou haddist wen bering the Crosse thou mettist thi blyssid modir making most sorowe and lamentacion:

By thi hevy chere and the goyng up of hey mounte of Calvarie where thou wert crucified:
Bi that cold sittyng that thou sattyst pitiously, full of wondis in the colde wendes, so aby.
dynge until thi Crosse was redy:

For the lyftyng up of thi most holy body on the Crosse, and the sore braysyng thereof, that
gave to all partyes of thi body an uncredible peyn:

For the sworde of sorowe that went throught the soule of thi blysid modir, and her grete
compassion and teeres that standyng by the Crosse lamentably she shede:
'Inclyne most swete Jesu to us.'

We can conceive of no more appropriate and beautiful gift-book than 'The Women
of the Bible.' What will especially strike the admirer of the externals of the volume
will be the beauty and variety of its binding. We saw one copy, inlaid with rich and
tasteful devices in pearl, which would form a present worthy a princess of the realm;
and others which, although less expensive, were scarcely less beautiful. Scarlet, pur-
ple, and blue with gold, are among the very elegant adornments of this very elegant book.

'PUBLIC SENTIMENT.'-We are indebted to an officer in the American army, from whom our readers have more than once had the pleasure to hear, for the following illustration of the force of public sentiment:' 'Attached to the second division of General WooL's column, that left San Antonio, Texas, for Presidio, in the month of November, 1846, under the command of Inspector General C-, was my old friend, Major B—, of one of the staff departments. The Major had but recently been appointed in the army; and having, during a considerable portion of his life, been engaged in the laudable occupation of either editing a political newspaper or serving the State in high official station, had become so much accustomed to refer all questions to public opinion, and to yield to its decisions, that he sometimes forgot, in his new capacity, that he had subjected himself to an entirely different code of laws, under which implicit obedience to orders, whether agreeable or otherwise, is the ruling principle.

'It is well known to those who have travelled in Texas, or who are acquainted with her productions, that in many parts the cactus family in great variety abound; that there they flourish in all the luxuriance of a tropical clime, and that much as they are to be admired, they must at all times be approached with the greatest care, for they are armed to the teeth, and ready to inflict the severest punishment upon those who do not treat them with the utmost respect. Beautiful as they are, and worthy of admiration, wo betide the man who allows himself to be brought into violent contact with them! It would be a meeting not easily forgotten, and leave behind the most painful impressions.

'As the route of the army lay through a section of country where they were always in sight, it was a difficult matter to lay out encampments, for which there are certain rules not to be departed from, unless under very peculiar circumstances, without throwing some portion of the troops in rather unpleasant proximity to them. Accordingly it so happened that for several nights in succession the Major was obliged to pitch his tent upon a large prickly-pear bush. If a bed of this description be not likely to calm the nerves of the mildest man, what effect must it have produced upon my friend, who was, it must be confessed, rather of the irritable order! The Major was probably disposed at first to expostulate with the commanding officer and obtain relief in a quiet way; but how approach him who was known to be a staunch rigid old soldier, stern withal, and not easily moved from his plans, was the question. He bore his sufferings for a while with the patience of a martyr ; but human endurance has its limits, and the painful recol

-

lections of his bed-fellow of the previous night- a noble cactus made him fairly boil over. Something must be done; he could bear it no longer. But what was that something? Could he appeal to the Colonel in command? That was not to be thought of; for the chances were that his answer would be more pointed and leave behind a sharper sting than the thorns of the cactus themselves. In this dilemma he bethought himself of speaking to Captain D————, acting assistant inspector general, to whom was assigned the duty of going on in the advance, with a small escort, and selecting the best grounds for encamping. He accordingly rode up to the Captain, just as he was about to start, and with a vivid recollection of the efficacy of public meetings; the appointment of chairman and secretaries; the introduction, discussion and passage of resolutions, and their happy adaptation to his present predicament; in his bitterest tone thus addressed him: Captain D. -, it is my intention, Sir, to go on to-day in the advance; and I shall make bold to give my opinion, unasked, respecting the manner of laying out our encampment; for in my humble judgment, public sentiment has been decidedly opposed to the positions heretofore selected!'

6

'Whether the Major was permitted that night to pitch his tent upon a bed of soft musquite-grass, I cannot say; but certain it is he was long afterward known by the name of 'PUBLIC SENTIMENT.''

LIGHTNING MINISTERS OF JUSTICE. We remember reading a striking article in a London Magazine, commencing, 'Them's the Cords that hung Tawell;' the remark of a boorish passenger in the cars, as he pointed to the telegraph-wires, by which a murderer had recently been arrested and executed. But we have seen nothing on this subject more forcible than the following, which we take, from internal evidence, to be from the pen of THOMAS CARLYLE:

'GOD's lightning pursuing murder is become a true and active thing. What was a figure of speech is now a working minister. A phrase in the mouth of poetry, is now a familiar presence; a household retainer, doing errands. We have brought devastation into servitude; we have made a bond-slave of destruction. Thus, Murder has hardly turned from its abomination; scarcely set forth upon its shuddering flight, when the avenging lightning stays the homicide. 'Marvellous is the poetry of our daily life! We out-act the dreams of story-books. The Arabian tales are flat, crude gossip against the written activities of our social state. SINBAD, with his wonders, so many glories about him, is become a dull fellow, opposed by the electric workman -the Clerk of the Lightning.

'Murder, with its black heart beating thick, its brain blood-gorged, reads the history of its damnation. Hundreds of miles away from its ghastly work, Murder in the stupidity of deepest guilt-for the greater the crime the greater the folly that ever as a shadow accompanies and betrays it - Murder, with forced belief in its impunity, reads its own doings chronicled and commented upon in the newspaper sheet; and so far away from the victim's grave; the retreat so cunningly assured, the hiding-place so wisely chosen-Murder draws freer breath, and holds itself secure!

'And the while, the inexorable lightning- the electric pulse-thrills in the wires and in a moment idiot Murder stammers and grows white in the face of Justice. In the marvellousness that sublimates the mind of man, our Electric Tales make poor work of the Arabian. SOLOMON'S Genii may sleep in their brazen kettles. They are, in truth, the veriest smoke compared with the Genii of the Wires.

'In the contemplation of this last atrocity- -a horror that, traded upon, seems to taint the wholesomeness of daily life; for, in every variety of utterance, Murder cries to us in the public streets in this last great wickedness, there is matter for sad congratulation, for mournful