Variety' tin; very pite of lid',
Tii-t jjius it all its flavor.
HIULLlltiilHit: 1UU..
'!l t'lllou'ti!; notice of th'w l ite work of Mr.
f'viw, is t.ikttt from the Iat number of the
jAiinu ijmut Stfimjic lirfoiiiwu, mi atly con
duitTtl moi!. f'iMilcil in New-York.
W'e commenced the perusal of this
work with no ordinary anticipations
We recollected tout the author was not
only au American, but a citizen of our
own state. Our national pride, there
fore, and our local partialities, were
alike enliited in his favour. We re
collected too, that he had already been
admired for the beauty and grace of
his compositions, his humorous delin
eations of character, and the general
simplicity of his style and what was
still more, that he had found favour in
the ejesi.f the English literati, and
had been tolerated, if not praised, by
the Scotch Beyiewers.
W'e confess, also, that the appear
ance of the volumes, (two handsomely
printed octavos,) and the price the au
thor is said to have received for the
fnanuscript, (to say nothing of the
price of the volumes themselves,) had
Xio lifde agency in exciting our imagi
nation as to the merits of the work.-
We took up the book, therefore, pre
disposed to admire, and almost prede
termined to applaud. But a perusal,
we are compelled to say, has in some
measure shaken our faith, and abated
the ardour of our feelings. But, let
us not be misunderstood. The book
has, indeed, fallen short of out expec
tations, but is nevertheless a very con
siderable book ; and we doubt not, will
he read by many with eagerness, if not
with delight : For fashion is s arbi
trary and as capricious in the library,
as she is at the toilet, and often influ
ences the mind, while she disfigures the
body. If, however, we did not con
sider the work before us, as possessing
a merit independent of fashion ; as
containing something to admire as well
as to censure, we should suffer it to
pass without the labor of a comment.
There was an error, we think, in
not giving to it the name of its prede
cessor; for it m formed of the same
sort f materials, and is in shape and
character and substance the sime.
Bracebridgc Hall is, indeed, nothing
more or less than a continuation of the
Sketch Book. Its title, therefore, is
injudicious. It leads the reader to an
ticipate something new ; and, to the
Votaries of fashion at least, a disap
pointment, in that particular, is apt to
be fatal.
It seems to be a conceded point, that
the reputation of a living author can
not be stationary. He must advance
in merit, or he will be supposed to de
cline. In othet words, he cat. not sus
tain his reputation, by barely equalling,
in the lame line of composition, that
hich he has already produced. He
must either cultivate a new field, or
produce a richer harvest from the old.
)ur author ha clone neither. And of
this fait he appears to have been sensi
ble. For in bis introductory chapter,
he miciptes no praise on the score ol
novelty; and endeavours to apologize
for his travelling over bratrn ground,
and dwelling upon topics that are trite
3?mI mmnn place, by urging his pe
it liar fondness for things "which he
lud read so much about in the earliest
l As. that had been put into his in
fant hands," and the overflowing de
light, with which he contemplates eve
ry object of the old world, whether it
be Fentrrn Abbey, Conway Castle, or
Mr. Newberry's print shop ! This in
troductory chapter, by the bye, is the
worst in the whole book. It has too
much of the nurserv in it, too much of
artificial feeling and laboured simplici-
It was our intention to have, said
something in relation to the language
and style of the work I fore us, and
with this view, we had noted manv ex
ceptionable passages : we shall, howev
er, content ourselves by simply remark
ing, that the merit of the composition,
consists in its grace rather than in its
pvrilij. Such words a n juvenatcam
such phrases as "perilous to dinus
irr," 'champion his country," "t ham-
pi n hr rtchts ol the people, "to
tjn !i(y the damp of the night air,"
n nucit i onfdn-g, c;c. !sc. are rer-
tni v a remote from puiitv, as they
ar- from good t.utc. Upon the whole
we are apprehensive, that these vol
umes will add but little to the reputa
tion rf the author. They embrace,
indeed, t variety of E jects, and con
tain manv sensible observations and
just le.lcitiuii:; : but the nbjcctJ wai'.t
importance, the obs t vations novelty,
and the reflections force. The stories
mat ate introduced, are composed ol
(he ordinary romanre materials, and
not very skilfully combined. They
excite but little interest, and make but
a faint impression, i he work, how
ever, contains much jrenuine humour
many picturesque descriptions, and
is recommended by a style, rrmarka
Ue for its simplicity and graceful ease
EXTIUCT
I'rom MiaJ Wright' View of Society and Man
ner m America, &c.
The enemy soon advanced up the
shores of the lake to the river Saranac,
at the mouth of which stands the vil
lage of Plattsburg, backed and flanked
by the forest, whose dark interminable
line it sweetly breaks w ith itsr.eat and
cheerful dwellings, overlooking the sil
ver bosom of a circular bay which re
ceives the waters of the river. Con
tinual skirmishes now took place be
tween the enemy and flying parties of
militia, "00 of which soon collected
from the surrounding forests. The
State of Vermont, which lines the op
posite shores of the lake, then poured
forth her mountaineers. Scattered
through a mountainous country, it
might have been thought difficult to
collect the scanty population ; but the
cry of invasion echoed from hill to hill,
from village to village some caught
their horses from the plough, others
ran off on foot, leaving their herds in
the pastures, and scarce exchanging a
parting blessing with their wives and
mothers, as they handed them their
muskets.
" From the prey sire, hose trembling hand
l.'ouM linn II) buckle on f i brand,
To the raw boy, whose shaft anil bow
Were yet scarce terror to the cm,
Kaeli valley, eac It wfjucstereil glelt,
Musten il hi little horde of men,
'I hat met, a torrents from the height
In highland iLilc their lrcaiit unite ;
Still gitlieriii); a they pour a!we;,
A voice more loud, a tide more btrong."
Their guns on their shoulders, ,n
a powder-flask at their side, sometimes
i ration in their pockets, crowd after
crowd poured into Burlington, and all,
as a friend who Ind witnessed the
scene, described it to me, " came at a
run, whether on their own legs, or of
their horses."
The beautiful little tow n of Burling
ton cover the breast of a hill on the
oppoaite shore, and somewhat higher
up the lake than Plattsburg. Here
every boat and canoe was in requisi
tion ; troop after troop hurried to the
shore, and as the scattered crowds
poured into I'lattsburg, they collected
in lines on the Saranac to resist the
passage of the enemy, or struck into
the woods, with orders to hirrass their
rear.
The fleet was row equipped; and,
when that of the enemy appeared in
sight, moored in a line across the en
trance "of the bay ; with such breath
less alacrity had the Americans pre
pared to meet this encounter, that one
of the vessels which then entered into
anion, had been built and equipped in
the space cf a fortnight eighteen days
previous to the engagement, the tim
ber of w hich it was ennuructed had
been actually gi owing in the forest up
on the horr:i of the lake.
The British flotilla, tinder the com
mand of Captain Downie, mounted 95 i
guns, stud upwards of a thousand men ;
the American, under Com. Macdon-j
ough, 8o guns, and nearly eight hun
dred men. The first exchange fur,
cannon between the fleets wai the big-,
nalof the armies on land. A desper-
ate rot.uici ensueu. i ne Driti-.n twice
attempted to force the bridges, and
twice were driven back ; then, filing up
the river, a detachment attempted to
ford ; but here a volley of musketry
suddenly assailed them from tie
woods, and forced them to retreat, w ith
loss.
The issue cf the day w as felt by both
parties to depend upon the naval en
gagement, then raging in the sight of
both armies. Many an anxious glance
was cast upon the waters by those sta
tioned rear the shore. Fur two hours
the conflict remained doubtfil ; the
vessels on either side were stript f
their sails and rigging; staggrrinf. and
reeling bulks, they still gave and re
ceived the shocks that threat! ned to
submerge them. The vessel of the
ct mmodore was twice on f;re, her can
non disnv unte d, ar d her sides leak
ing ; the enemy was in the same con
dition. The battle for a mr nur.t seem
ed a drawn one, when both attempted
a manoMre which was to decide the
clay. With infinite difficulty the Amer
ican sh'p veered about ; the enemy at
tcmp'eu the same in vain ; a fresh fire
poured upi.1 Ler, uad she struct. A
shout then awoke upon the shore, and,
rinii g along the American lines, swell
ed for 4 moment above the roar of bat
tle. For a short, space the Crituh ef
forts relaxed ; but men, as if nerved
rather than disnnajed by misfortune,
the experienced veterans stood their
ground, and continued the fight till
darkness constrained its suspension.
The little town of Burlington, dur
ing those busy hours, displayed a far
different, but not less interesting scene ;
all occupation was interrupted ; the
anxious inhabitants, lining the heights,
and straining their eyes and cars to
cntch some signal that might peak the
fate of a commit upon vhich so much
depended. The distant fire and smoke
told when the fleets were engaged.
The minutes and the hours dragged on
heavily ; hopes and fears alternately
prevailing j when, at length, the can
nonading suddenly ceased ; but still,
with the. help of the telescope, nothing
could be distinguished across the vast
waters, save that the h: wreath of
smoke had died away, and that life,
h nor, and property, were lost or sav
ed. Not a sound was heard. The citi
zens locked at each other without
speaking ; women and children wan
dered along the beach, with many of
the men of Vermont, w ho had contin
ued to drop in during the day, but
found no means of crossing the lake.
Kverv boat was on the other shore,
and all were still too busy there to
ferry over tidings of the naval combat.
The evening fell, and still no moving
specks appeared upon the waters. A
dark night, heavy w ith fogs, closed in,
and s me w ith saiMened hearts slow ly j
sought their homes ; while others still
lingered, hearkening to every breath.
pacing to and fro distractedly, and
wildly imagining all the probable and
possible causes which might occasion
this silspenif . Were ihey defeated-
some wouM have taken to the ho its ;
were they successful, s 'me wuld have
burned to bring the tidings. At elev
en a night, a shout broke in the dark
ness from the waters. It wai cue of
triumph. W.s it frrm frirncls or en
emies? Again it brake loudr t : it was
recognized and re-echoed bv the lis
teners on the beach, swelled tip the hill,
and Victory, victory !" rang through i
the village. I could not describe the j
scene as it wai described to me ; but '
you will suppose how the blood eddied
from the heart ; how young and old
ran about frantic ; bow thev laughed,
wept, sang, and wept again. In half
an hour, the little town was in a blaze
of light.
The brunt of the battle was now
over ; but it still remained doubtful,
whether the invaders would attempt to
push forw ard, in dt spite of the loss of
their fleet, and of the opposing ranks
of militia, now doubly inspired by pa
triotism and good fortune. At day
break, the next morning, were found
only the sick, the wounded, and the
dead, with the military scores and mu
nitions of war. 1 he seige had been
raised during the night ; and the bag
gage and artillery having been sent
back, the army were already some
miles rp their way towards 'he fron
tier. The skirmishing that harrassid
their retreat, thinned their numbers
less than the sudden desertion cf 500
men, who threw down their muskets,
ard sprang into the woods. A few of
these sons of Mars ar now thriving
farmers in the state of Vermont ; oth
ers fared with more or less success,
according to their industry and their
morals.
ere a u t
inn k nsn nrm.
JWIV WOI.tOTT alia l'ETKR P1NPAR.
Woltf tt w as a man of vigorous on
stitution, and tasked that blessing to
the utmost in the gratification cf sen
sual appetites. His convivial talent
was great, hut not suited to the most j
virtuous sex, nor even to the moral or
refined nf our rougher kind. At the
festive board he was a gt.uimand, and
how long his propensities for promis
cuous gallantry (alas! the word) weie
indulged or stimulated beyond the pe
riod for better thing?, may be gathered
from the circumstance t f his having
been pn secutrd, when above seventy
years f age, for criminal conversation,
or, wc believe, for attempted criminal
corve nation, with the young wife of
a friend, a t.tilor, to win m he obtained
familiar access under pretence of pre
paring her for the st;ige, with a mania
for w hich she w as struck. Damages
were given in the King's Bench Court,
but re er paid ; and we know not w he.
iher the lady w is exactly fitted for pub
lic life or not by her venerable tutor
She was ritliei a fuie woman, and a-3
the husband was concealed somewhere
while Pindar fell into the snare, it wan
generally thought that the matter was
planned to entrap him. lie was sadly
annoyed by the denouement.
This was among the last ucti of
VVolcott's career which furnished con
versation for the town. He lived for
some years in (iooch-street, where he
once narrowly escaped being burnt to
death, together with the old woman
who attended him in his blindness : the
bed-curtains of this domestic having
caught f.re, the blaze was luckily seen
by a hackney-coachman on the stand
opposite the house, who h:shed in, in
time to save Pindar and his house
keeper, and found the former amid all
his infirmity endeavoring in vain to
subdue the flames with a hearth rug.
From Gooch-strcet he removed for
country air to Somers' town, where
his salubrious retreat was most nox
iously situated near a stagnant and of
fensive pool. Here he died on the l.Tth
of January, after a lingering, but not
painful illness, in his 81st year. It is
said that he dictated verses within a
few days of his death : he had contri
buted slight productions to the period
ical press within a year or two prece
ding. Heport also states that many of
his earlier and unpublished jeux (Pcs
prit are preserved in Cornwall by his
ancient acquaintances or their descend
ants. What rank may be assigned to him
as a Poet, it is not our province to de
termine. When the pure shall be se
parated from the impure in his works ;
the soundly critical, the ea-y lyrical,
the humorous, the doggerel, the vulgar,
and the profane, there will remain, in
our opinion, a residuum which w ill long
maintain powerful claims upon the ap
plause of mankind.
iiii leiBiiir mo the pU)H.
A younjr, lady in the west of t'.nghncl,
n;imed Miss (Iracc Lord, by her uncom
mon beauty and accomplishments, had be
come the object of attrniion to numerous
suitor. The younjr lady constantly re
ferred them to her father, who, bci.-j; of
a w himsical temper, as w I a much at
tached to the society of his daughter, for
a long time gave no one a favorable re
caption. At length a young man, who
had remarked that the father was a great
humorist, after experiencing a refusal,
addressed him in writinp;, in the follow
ing words, from the ersion of the 67th
Psalm :
Have merry on me, IrJ,
Ami grant to mc thy Cnur.
The expedient suet eeded, and" he b
t.iincd the youni; lady with the paternal
consent.
Ail Visum.
The folly of vten measuring themtchn
t'tj tht mschti-
Extract from a sermon hy the Kv. Dr. Cai
urns, on the fully of mm meaMirtnj; thcmscUei
by themselves from 2 Corinthians I'
ll may be remarked, by way of illus
tration, that the habit condemned in
the text is an abundant cause of that
vanity which is founded on a sense of
our importance. If, instead of meas
uring ourselves by our companions and
equals in society, we brought ourselves
into measurement w ith our superiors,
it might go far to humble and chastise
our vanity. The rustic conqueror on
some arena of strength or of dexterity,
stands proudly elevated among his fellow-rustics
w ho are around him. Place
him beside the returned warrior, w ho
can tell of the hazards, and the achieve
ments, and the desperations of the
great battle in which he had shared the
renown and the danger; and he will
stand convicted cf the humility of his
own performances. The man who is
most keen, and, at the same time, most
skiitui in the busy politics of his ioi-
poration, triumphs in the conscious
ness of that sagacity by which he has
battled and overpowered the devices of
his many antagonists. But take him
to the high theatre of Parliament, and
bring him into feuowship with the man
who has there won the mighty game
cf superiority, and he will feel abash
ed at the insignificance of his own ta
mer and homelier pretensions. The
richest individual of the district struts
throughout his neighborhood in ill the
glories of a provincial eminence. Car
ry him to the metropolis of the empire,
and he hides his diminished head un
der the brilliancy of rank far loftier
than his own, and equipage more splen
did tlnn that by which he gathers from
his surrounding tributaries, the hom
age cf a respectful admiration. The
principle of all this vanity was seen U
the discerning eye of the Apostle. It
is put down for our instruction in the
text before us. And if we, instead ol
looking to our fiuperiority above the
level of our immediate acquaintance
ship, pointed an eye of habitual obser
vation to our inferiority beneath the
level of those in society who were
more dignified an tr more accomplished
than ourselves, such r. habit as this
might shed a graceful humility over
our characters, and save us from the
pangs and the delusions of a vanity
which was not made for man.
And let it not lie said of those, who,
in the more exalted walks of life, can
look to few or to none above themr
that they can derive no benefit from
th principle of my text, because they
are placed beyond the reach of its ap
plication. It is true of him who is on
the very pinnacle of human society,
that standing sublimely there, he can
cast a downward eye on all the rankn
nnd varieties of the world. But,
though in the act cf looking beneath.,
him to men, he may gather no saluta
ry lesson of humibty the lesson should
come as forcibly upon him as upon any
of his fellow mortals, in the act of
looking above him to Ciod. Instead
of comparing himself with the men of
this world, let him leave the world and
expatiate in thinight over the space of
immensity, let him survey the migh
ty apparatus of worlds scattered in
such profusion over its distant regions ;
let him bring the whole field of the tri
iiinphs of his ambition into measure
ment with the magnificence that is
above him, and around him, above
all. let him rise through the ascending
series of angeh:, and principalities, anil
powers, to the throne of the augusr.
Monarch on whom all is suspended,
and then will the lofty imagination of
his hear: be cast down, and all vanity
die within him.
Now, if ail this be obviously true of
that vanity which is founded on a sens;?
of our importance, might it not be ai
true of that complacency which is
founded on a sense of our worth
1 Should it not lead us to suspect the
i ground of this complacency, and f
fear lest a similar delusion be mislead
ing us into a false estimate of our ow n
righteousness ? When we feel a suf
ficiency in the act of measuring our
selves by, ourselves, and comparing
ourselves among ourselves, is it no:
the average virtue of those a-ourd ur.
that is the standard of measurement?
Do we not, at the time, form our esti
mate of human w orth upon the char acter
of a man as it actually is, instead
of forming it upon the high standard
of that pure and exalted law which
ti lis us whit the character ought to be ?
Is it not thus that many arc lulled into
security, because they are as good or
better than their neighbors? This mav
do lor earth, but the question we w ant
to press is, will it do for Heaven ? Ir
uny carry us through life with a fair
and equal character in society, and
eve n w hen we conic to d'e, it may gain
us an epitaph upon our tombstones.
But after death, cometh the judgment ;
and in that awful day when judgment
is laid to the line and righteousness to
the plummet, every refuge of lies w ill
be swept away, and every hiding-place,
of security he laid open.
Under the influence of this delu
sion, thousands and tens of thousands
are posting their infatuated w ay to a
ruined and undone eternity. The good
man of society lives on th? applause
and cordiality of his neighbours. He
compares himself with his fellow-men ;
and their testimony to the graces e f
his amiable, and upright, and honor
able character, falls like the music of
paradise on his ears. And it were al
so the earnest of paradise, if these his
flatterers and admirers in time were to
be his judges in the dav of reckoning.
But, alas ! they will only be his fellow
prioners nt th bar, Th eternal Son
of (tod will preside over the solemni
ties of that day. He will take the
judgment upon himself, and he will
conduct it on his own lofty standard of
examination, and not on the maxims
or the habits of a world lying in w ick
edness. O ye deluded men ! who car
ry your heads so high, and look so safe
and satisfied amid the smooth and
equal measurements of society, do
you ever think how you are to stand
the admejsuremcnt of Christ and of
his angels? and think you that the
fleeting applause of mortals, sinful as
yourselves, will carry an authority
over the mind of your judge, or pre
scribe to him that solemn award which
is to fix vou for eternity ?
1'roverb A wise man changes his mind, lu.
ft fool never jtill