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JCHORUS.

Of Pompey and Cesar unknown is the tomb,

But the Type is their forum-the Page is their Rome.
Blest Genius of Type!-down the vista of time,

As thy flight leaves behind thee this vex'd generation,
Oh! transmit on thy scroll, this bequest from our clime,
The Press can cement, or dismember a nation.
Be thy temple the mind!

There like Vesta enshrin❜d,

Watch and foster the Flame, which inspires human kind!

CHORUS.

Preserving all arts, may all arts cherish thee;
And thy Science and Virtue teach man to be free!

AMERICAN SCENERY-FOR THE PORT FOLIQ,.

THE WOODLANDS.

OF this beautiful villa to give an adequate description, the powers of genius should be united with the ardour of enthusiasm.

The grounds, which occupy an extent of nearly ten acres, are laid out with uncommon taste; and in the construction of the edifice solidity and elegance are combined. The building is of stone, and in the Doric order; the north front is ornamented, in the centre, by six Ionic pilasters, and on each side with a pavilion; the south front by a magnificent portico, twenty-four feet in height, supported by six stately Tuscan columns.

At the entrance, by the north door, where there is a vestibule sixteen feet in diameter, a corridor leads on the east side to a fine oval dining room thirty feet by twenty-two, and another on the west to the library, a square room with two bows, thirty feet by eighteen. In this latter apartment, among other models of the art, are three excellent paintings which must always be viewed with pleasure, and ought not to pass unnoticed: a portrait of Andrew Hamilton, the first of this family who settled in North America, and whose fame for eloquence and profound legal knowledge will be long remembered, a masterly copy VOL, II. 3 M

by Wertmuller, from an original by Sir Godfrey Kneller; the second is a whole length figure of the late James Hamilton, by West; and the other a highly finished picture of St. Ignatius at prayers, by Murillo.

With these two rooms communicate two others of smaller size, which may be justiy called two large cabinets of gems. "On every side the hiring canvas speaks." The walls are decorated with the works of several of the ancient painters, from the Italian, Dutch, and Flemish schools, many of which are of great merit. Those perhaps most conspicuously eminent are four very fine paintings by Gerhard Douw, a delicious fruit piece by Van Huysum, and a Holy Family by Schudt. Let it be mentioned, however, to the praise of a living artist, Wertmuller, that, compared with all these fine specimens of the ancients, his exquisite picture of a half length Danac, ranks among them as proudly preeminent. From either of these cabinets the entrance is to a grand saloon, possessing local advantages unusually attractive. It measures forty-three feet by twenty, and seventeen feet in height. One end of it is graced by an admirable figure of Antinous, in statuary marble, and the other by a beautiful group of Apollo in pursuit of Daphne with Peneus at her feet, executed in bronze, in a style worthy the Grecian sculptors.

If thus far the eye has been pleased from viewing these fine productions of art, how much more will it be gratified when contemplating the prospect that bursts upon the sight from the centre of this saloon! The verdant mead, the spacious lawn, Schuylkill's lucid stream, the floating bridge, the waves here checked by the projecting rock, there overshadowed by the inclining trees, until by meandering in luxuriant folds, the winding waters lead the entranced eye to Delaware's proud river, on whose swelled bosom rich merchant ships are seen descending fraught with the vast surplus of our fertile soil, or others mounting heavily the stream, deep laden with the wealth of foreign climes.

Such are, in part, the beauties of this delightful scenery, and had the view terminated with high lands, or some o'crtowering mountain, no prospect could have been more perfect.

The attention is next excited by the grounds, in the arrangement of which the hand of Taste is every where discerned. Foreign trees from China, Italy, and Turkey, chosen for their rich foliage, or balmy odours, are diffusely scattered, or mingled with sweet shrubs and plants, bordering the walks; and as the fragrant path winds round, openings, judiciously exposed, such as the situation of the lands and riveis best admits, diversify the scene. At one spot the city, with its lofty spire, appears; at another, a vast expanse of water ; at a third, verg

dure and water, happily blending, form a complete landscape; and again another, where the champaign country is broken with inequality of ground. Now, at the descent, is seen a creek, o'erhung with rocky. fragments, and shaded by the thick forest's gloom. Ascending thence, towards the western side of the mansion, the green-house presents itself to view, and displays to the observer a scene, than which nothing that has preceded it can excite more admiration. The front, including the hot-house on each side, measures one hundred and forty feet, and it contains nearly ten thousand plants, out of which number may be reckoned between five and six thousand of different species, procured at much trouble and expense, from many remote parts of the globe, from South America, the Cape of Good Hope, the Brazils, Botany Bay, Japan, the East and West Indies, &c. &c. This collection, for the beauty and rich variety of its exotics, surpasses any thing of the kind on this continent; and, among many other rare productions to be seen, are the bread-fruit tree, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, mangoes, different sorts, sago, coffee from Bengal, Arabia, and the West-Indies, tea, green and bohea, mahogany, magnolias, Japan rose, rose apples, cherimolia, one of the most esteemed fruits of Mexico, bamboo, Indian god tree, iron tree of China, ginger, olea fragrans, and several varieties of the sugar cane, five species of which are from Otaheite. To this green-house, so richly stored, too much praise can hardly be giThe curious person views it with delight, and the naturalist quits it with regret.

ven.

To the honour of the tasteful proprietor of this place it must be observed, that to him we are indebted for having first brought into this country the Lombardy poplar, now so usefully ornamental to our cities, as well as to many of our villas. To him we likewise owe the introduction of various other foreign trees which now adorn our grounds, such as the sycamore, the witch elm, the Tartarian maple, &c. Although much is done to beautify this delightful seat, much still remains to be done, for the perfecting it in all the capabilities which Nature, in her boundless profusion, has bestowed. These improvements, it is said, fill up the leisure, and form the most agreeable occupation of its possessor; and that he may long live to pursue this refined pleasure, must be the wish of the public at large, for to them so much liberality has ever been shown in the free access to the house and grounds, that of the enjoyment of the fruits of his care and cultivated taste, it may truly be said, Non sibi sed aliis.

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FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE MARKETS OF PHILADELPHIA.

PHILADELPHIA has been building about one hundred and twenty years; the dwelling houses have gradually multiplied to about twelve thousand. The ground within the precincts has increased in value, from nothing, to prices, in some situations, equal to ten dollars for every square foot. Buildings, twenty-five feet in breadth by fifty in depth, and forty in height, have increased in their annual value or rent, from forty dollars to twelve hundred. The ground composing the scite, and appendage of these buildings, has thus been made to produce an income of a dollar for every square foot, and a space of ground, composing about thirteen hundred acres, which, a century ago produced a rent of a few hundred dollars, has finally, by the progress of the country in population and riches, been made to produce a clear rent of not less than two millions of dollars: the real value, therefore, cannot fall short of thirty-three millions of dollars, or twenty thousand dollars an acre.. These are very curious and surprising facts; the series or progress of which may be easily perceived in its commencement and close: but it would be very difficult to trace with accuracy, step by step. This task must be reserved for the men called antiquaries, of which, it is somewhat surprising, that so few have yet sprung up in our own country.

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The public buildings of this city may be divided into public and municipal halls, theatres, churches, exchanges, public offices, prisons, banks and halls of particular societies or trades. The first and second seem to form necessary appendages of every town, since the business of the town must be transacted in some public building, and markets for provisions must be held in some public place. They were very naturally united in the early period of this city. The good old fashion of their own country induced the early colonists to fill up the middle of a street with their market place. For this purpose they laid a wooden roof formed into an elliptical arch in the inside, with lath and plaister, and covered on the outside with cedar shingles, on two rows of low brick square pillars. The intervals between the pillars in the same. Tow were partly occupied by platforms for butchers and herb women, to whom they were rented by the city from year to year. The breadth o between the rows was about twelve feet, was paved with brick laid on their broadsides, and forming oblique and intersecting lines.

They naturally chose for the situation of their market, the broadest street, which, being the middle one, and running with undiminished breadth through the whole extent of the place from east to west, was

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