tails. It would consume far too much of your time, to | ducted with great ability. Our own Commonwealth, dwell upon those details; but it is worthy of remark, that Mr. Webster, in a speech recently delivered in the United States Senate, estimates, upon satisfactory data, the annual value of the manufactures of Massachusetts alone, at upwards of one hundred millions of dollars. If this be true, and there is no reason to doubt it, what surprising proof does it exhibit of the creative powers of American industry!

-

so long neglectful of ornamental literature, may now
boast of a periodical, which has concentrated the rays
of some of the finest intellects in the country. Of the
multiplication of American books and authors, it would
be tedious to speak. Some years since, it was taunt
ingly asked by the Edinburg Review, "Who reads
an American book ?" That question was propounded,
however, in the spirit of petulance, and not in the sin-
cerity of truth. There is not a department in science
or literature, in which our young and vigorous republic
has not produced her competitors for fame. In Meta-
physics and Divinity, the name of Jonathan Edwards
alone is a tower of strength. In Philosophy, who has
not heard of Franklin and Rittenhouse, and of Godfrey,
the inventor of the quadrant, to say nothing of others,
both living and dead, who have won distinction? In
Jurisprudence, the opinions of Chief Justice Marshall,
and the legal disquisitions of Story and Kent alone,
(if these were all the illustrious names in that depart-
ment,) would be sufficient to redeem us from reproach.
In History and Biography, a long catalogue of distin-
guished authors might easily be adduced if necessary.
The Life of Washington, by Jared Sparks, is one of
the most pure and beautiful specimens of biographical
writing, ever produced in any age or country; and
Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, will be read with ad-
miration even in the immediate vicinity of the Edinburg
Review. The various departments of Natural History,
have been explored with untiring zeal and talent, by

Next in order, may very properly be considered the almost magical effects which a few years have produced in the condition of the country, and in the facilities of intercommunication by means of railways and canals, and the employment of steam power in navigation. Scarcely thirty years have elapsed since the first steamboat was launched upon our waters, and now, of our numberless rivers, bays and lakes, where is there one, which does not bear upon its bosom these winged messengers of commerce? A few years ago, and a railway was not even known by name to one in ten thousand, now, it is estimated that there are nearly one hundred, either finished or in a course of completion, besides nearly three thousand miles of canal navigation in the whole Union. States and cities, which were once far asunder, and knew each other only by report, are now brought into constant and easy intercourse. Barriers and obstructions, apparently insurmountable, have been levelled and removed. The ardent, and almost profane, wish of the lover, that time and space might be annihilated, in order that he should be brought to the object of his idolatry, seems not so extravagant as for-native Americans, and Audubon alone, by his great merly; and the famous carpet of oriental fable, on which, he who stood, might be suddenly transported to distant regions, without any other effort than simple volition, appears not so much the figment of romance, as it did in the days of childhood.

work on Ornithology, has placed himself side by side, with the best naturalists in Europe. In the field of Romantic Fiction, if it be true, that we have produced no one writer who can dispute the palm with Sir Walter Scott--none who can rival the masterly sketches of What mighty efforts have been made, particularly character-the loftiness-pathos-and inexhaustible ferin the last quarter of a century, in the cause of Ameri-tility of that Shakspeare of novelists ;--we may, nevercan education, science and literature? At the era of in-theless, boast of names which have won golden opinions dependence, there were not more than six or seven universities and colleges in the United States,--now, there are at least fifty. At that time education was almost exclusively confined to the wealthy,-now, it is diffused in a thousand channels by means of academies and primary schools, and sheds its influence alike upon the cottage and the palace. In New England alone, with a population of about one-sixth of the Union, there are no less than ten thousand free schools in active operation.

Next to the pulpit and the school-room, the newspaper and periodical press may be said to exercise an all powerful influence on the feelings and opinions of men. During the revolution, it is ascertained that there were only thirty-seven newspapers published in the United States, whilst, at this time, the lowest estimate would reach two thousand. In periodical literature, our progress has been equally remarkable. A century has not passed since Benjamin Franklin attempted to establish a magazine in the city of Philadelphia; but even under that great man's auspices, it lingered through a feeble six months' existence. Even at the commencement of the present century there was scarcely a publication of the kind deserving the name; whilst now, in the various states of the Union, there are a hundred at least, and many of them liberally sustained, and con

even from the British public. The graphic pictures of Cooper and Kennedy-the polished style of Irving— the humor and truth of Paulding, and the simple but pathetic morality of our country women Miss Sedgwick and Mrs. Sigourney, have, each in turn, been applauded by the literary world; nor should the name of Bird by any means be omitted, whose historical novels, descriptive of the conquest and scenery of Mexico, have certainly never been surpassed in this country, nor probably, by the great Scottish magician himself. In Poetry too, who can deny but that some of our bards have evinced decided excellence? Which of you have not been occasionally soothed by the pensive muse of Bryant, or thrilled by the splendid lyrics of Halleck, or charmed by the sparkling effusions of Willis? It is true, that America never has, and probably never will produce a Homer, a Shakspeare, or a Milton; but these were mighty men who stand alone in creation, luminaries of genius, around whom lesser orbs are destined forever to revolve.

With respect to the growth of the fine arts, in a soil so long supposed to be uncongenial, let those who are curious to inquire into details, read the lives and labors of American artists, as depicted in the volumes of Dunlap. England owes much of her own reputation, as a patroness of the arts, to the genius and perseverance of

our Benjamin West; and the young British Queen we are recently informed, has not disdained to have her features transferred to the canvass by our countryman Sully. But it is in eloquence, in its most comprehensive sense, in the powers of oratory, as displayed in the pulpit, at the bar, and in the senate-that divine art, which carries captive the passions, and enchains the reason of men—that magical spell which enabled Demosthenes

"To wield at will the fierce democracy,"that wonderful faculty, by which the immortal Tully persuaded and controlled an empire, or by which Henry dispelled the illusion of British invincibility-it is in eloquence, that America, by her free institutions, has acquired an undisputed pre-eminence. The hired emissaries of England, who, after enjoying our hospitality, have returned home to revile our institutions and ridicule our manners, have some of them had the candor to acknowledge that American orators were almost equal to the same class of men in Westminster Hall and the two Houses of Parliament. They think that our Clay, Webster and Preston, are not altogether contemptible; and this is an important concession, coming from that

quarter.

But whatever opinions may be entertained here, or in civilized Europe, of the merits of our orators and statesmen, our poets and philosophers-all will concede, that America has produced one man, whose equal, in every respect, has never been recorded in the annals of time. Of him, it might be said, without poetical exaggeration,

that he was

"A combination, and a form indeed,
Where every god did seem to set his seal,
To give the world assurance of a man."

Of him, it may with truth be said, that human nature,
uninspired of Heaven, could not have reached a higher
degree of excellence. If his fame was not so brilliant
as that of Alexander, Cæsar or Napoleon, he had a
title to greatness which they did not possess, in a life so
spotless, that even suspicion has never tarnished its
purity. How pre-eminent indeed must have been the
character of WASHINGTON, who, though he had wrested
from England the fairest jewel in her crown, extorted
from British statesmen the tribute of admiration! In the
language of the illustrious Fox, "he derived honor less
from the splendor of his situation, than from the dignity
of his mind; before him all borrowed greatness sunk
into insignificance, and all the potentates of Europe
became little and contemptible."

all ages and countries, the multitude have occasionally exercised the right of dethroning their rulers, and overturning their governments, but this has generally been attended by violence and bloodshed; whilst here, on the contrary, the people, if they choose, may pull down their government, as a man may demolish his house; and, indeed, with no better reason; for the power is the same, whether it is thought that the foundations are rotten, or the architecture merely distasteful.

2d. In the principle of perfect political equality, by which we mean, not that equality that fanatics and visionaries have imagined to exist, but the equal participation in legal and constitutional rights. In Great Britain, where there is far more political freedom than in the rest of Europe, there are, nevertheless, odious distinctions in rank and privilege, which doom one portion of society to perpetual inferiority.

3d. In perfect religious liberty, and the entire separation of church and state. In some parts of Europe, there exists what is called toleration; but this is in fact not the opposite, but the counterfeit of intolerance. To permit the existence of what are called heterodox creeds, implies a pretended right to enforce uniformity, when required by state policy or caprice. In America, we reject all right of interference whatsoever by the civil magistrate in matters of conscience.

4th. We differ from Europe, including Great Britain, in the almost unlimited freedom secured to the press and to private individuals, in animadverting upon the conduct of our rulers. . We hold the doctrine that error of opinion may be tolerated, when reason is left free to combat it. Free as England is, a publication there, intended to bring monarchical government into contempt, would be treated and punished as a libel; whilst in America, we may if we choose, hurl the thunders of the press against republicanism itself, with perfect impunity.

5th. This country is particularly distinguished by the freedom it allows in private pursuits and professions, and by abolishing all distinctions in the transmission of property. Even in Great Britain there are regulations innumerable which shackle the efforts of industry; and their laws of property devolve the estate upon the eldest son, though an idiot, in exclusion of younger brothers and sisters.

I now call your attention to the probable future destiWhat nies of this nation, and the dangers which await us. shall we be at the end of the next half century-a mere span in the life of a nation? Can we penetrate the mysterious veil which hides from us the future? Can we unroll the sibylline leaves, and read the history of unborn generations? There are some things, undoubtedly, which, without the aid of prophecy, may be term

Such then, gentlemen, is the rather imperfect sketch which I have endeavored to present to you, of the con-ed the predictions of reason and experience; and these, dition of our country up to its present period of existence. Before I attempt to lift the veil of the future, or venture a prediction of what we shall be, even in the lifetime of some of the youngest of my hearers, permit me to point out some of the more striking peculiarities by which we are distinguished from modern civilized nations.

if they do not reach, nearly arrive at absolute certainty. From the well known augmenting principle of population, for example, in a country whose capacity to produce the means of subsistence is almost unlimited, we may safely conjecture, that at the end of fifty years from the present time, our boundaries will contain at least seventy millions of people. Reasoning either from And, 1st. Our institutions differ essentially from those the past, or from well established principles of political of Europe, in the principle of self-government, or popu- economy, there is every probability of such a result. It lar sovereignty. The right of the people to build up, is almost morally certain that our increase in wealth modify, or totally destroy the political fabric, is here re will be commensurate with the march of population. cognised as a part of the organic law. It is true, that in | Agriculture will improve, and bring forth her immeasu

man.

guidance of untrammelled reason, it has frequently dethroned reason itself, and inculcated principles totally subversive of human society and morals. So far from being, as it should be, the "vital fluid of organized liberty," it has sometimes become its deadliest bane, by enlisting in the unholy cause of infidelity. It has not only been employed as the instrument for severing the social bond, but of weakening that adamantine chain which binds the soul of man to its Creator.

rable products for the sustenance and convenience of raigns the powerful transgressor; we find it also, when Commerce will expand its power and resources, in evil hands, the frightful engine of falsehood and corand pour into our lap the riches and luxuries of every ruption-scattering abroad its envenomed shafts, and clime. Manufactures will go on extending and multi-shedding its blighting mildew on the fairest reputations. plying their powers of production, and adding materi- Even learning-another name for wisdom--philosoally to the national wealth. The various portions of phy--science-even that has been sometimes perverted the country will be linked together by railways, and to the worst of purposes. Assuming the specious canals, or by some other as yet undiscovered means of connection, in a degree, which may be easily inferred from the hitherto rapid progress of internal improvement. Palaces will rise on the borders of the great northern lakes, and flourishing cities will lift their spires in the now pathless wilds of lowa and Oregon. Richmond will be larger than Baltimore now is; Baltimore will swell to the dimensions of Philadelphia, and Philadelphia and New York will surpass London and Paris in wealth and population. These are not idle reveries, but sober substantial calculations. We shall also, undoubtedly, increase in knowledge; for whilst I do not belong to that Utopian school, which believes that there are no limits to human improvement, it is clear that the vast regions of science are not yet fully explored. The inventive ingenuity of our countrymen-especially in applying the principles of philosophy to the useful and mechanic arts-will as much surprise succeeding ages, as we have been surprised at its past rapid development. It is also beyond all question, that if effects which flow from their natural causes are not counteracted by some strong antagonist principle, the increase of power and riches will be followed by an increase of luxury, and its train of attendant evils.

"Increase of power begets increase of wealth;
Wealth, luxury, and luxury excess;
Excess-the scrofulous and itchy plague,
That seizes first the opulent--descends
To the next rank contagious, and in time
Taints downward all the graduated scale
Of order-from the chariot to the plough."

It is a lamentable truth, that in the constitution of man, the blessings by which he is surrounded are capable, if misused, of being turned into the bitterest curses. In the natural world, we perceive that the elements which sustain life and enjoyment, may become the active agents of destruction. The sun itself, the fountain of light and heat-the very atmosphere we breathe the gentle breezes of summer-may become the sources of pestilence. So in the moral world-the choicest gifts of Heaven, if ignorantly or wickedly perverted, are frequently changed from healthful aliment into consuming poison. What, for example, can be a more precious boon to man than liberty;

""Tis liberty

I know it is thought by some, that there are certain unmixed benefits which, are neither attended nor followed by evil. The easy, extended, and general intercourse, for example, which in progress of time, will prevail, between wide-spread portions of the Union, by means of internal improvement, has been considered as promising unadulterated good. I cannot entirely concur in this opinion. Great and obvious advantages will doubtless be the result. Asperities and prejudices which now exist in different sections of the Union, will be softened down and subdued. The comforts, necessaries, and luxuries of life will be more generally dif fused, and the stock of useful and practical knowledge will be greatly increased. On the other hand, there are evils to be anticipated from the perpetual locomotion and friction of society, which will probably counterbalance all the advantages. It will engender a restlessness of spirit-a constant desire of change--habits of expense disproportionate to means-an aversion to labor--and especially agricultural labor, which repays so tardily. It will introduce strange fashions and new vices into regions which are now untainted, by reason of their seclusion. It will, perhaps, rob domestic life-"The only bliss

Of paradise that has survived the fall"—

of much of its quiet, security and repose.

From what has been said, you will probably infer, that I consider the continued existence of our Republic as uncertain. I do. I cannot subscribe to the oftrepeated dogma, that it is treason to despair of our free institutions; on the contrary, I think it is folly to expect that they will escape the common destiny of created things. It is far better indeed for their immediate security and preservation, to consider (paradoxical as it may seem) that they must ultimately perish. Individual man, is conscious of his own mortality, and why therefore should he think that the mere work of his hands is immortal? The knowledge that the term of natural life is limited, obliges us to adopt all the And yet how thin is that partition-wall which divides means and precautions which usually conduce to lonrational freedom from licentiousness and anarchy, and gevity. So ought it to be with the political body. A how quick is the transition from anarchy to despotism! conviction that the Republic will sooner or later perish, Look at that "chartered libertine," the press, whose will, if any thing will, stimulate us to the use of all exemption from all restraint is considered as at the those powerful means and cheeks which are likely to foundation of Republican Government. With all its prolong its existence. The merest tyro in history and purifying and enlightening tendencies, how often does politics, knows that a people can only continue free, it cast a malignant and disastrous influence upon so-so long as they continue virtuous; and the experience ciety? If, when conducted by honorable and virtuous of mankind fully demonstrates, that nations, as well as men, it maintains the cause of truth, and fearlessly ar- individuals, have sometimes passed from a state of

Which gives the flower of life its lustre and perfume,
And we are weeds without it."

ing and sordid appetite for wealth-a growing desire | for perpetuating our free institutions; and it is honorable for luxury and ostentation-an inordinate craving for sensual, in preference to moral or mental enjoyment an habitual disregard of social and religious duty--a tendency to faction and to violent extremes, whether of relentless hatred or idolatrous admiration of public men; if he sees any or all these things, he will endeavor to counteract them by every just and reasonable means, not incompatible with rational freedom.

to you to have set so excellent an example to the youth of this city. We, Virginians, though somewhat social in our habits, and fond of conversation, are not remarkable for associations exclusively literary. Clubs, we have innumerable; some to promote the pleasures of the table; some for acquiring the dexterous art of throwing the discus; and others, for improving the breed of that noble animal, the horse. Our own imBut with all the labors of the Divine, the Moralist, provement we generally leave either to solitary effort and the Legislator, if the people of this country wish or the chances of fortune. Notwithstanding such disto preserve their freedom, they must take care how couraging examples, you have laid the foundation of a they elevate to office ignorant and vicious men. If Society, which I trust will fully reward you by its benesuch a practice should unhappily prevail, there will be fits. In process of time, you will communicate a porno more certain prelude to political corruption and tion of your own ardor, to those who are now cold and death. If profligacy and crime be rewarded by popu- indifferent; and it is not among the least gratifying lar favor, virtue must either sink appalled into retire-subjects of remark, that your proceedings have already ment, or listen herself to the seducing whispers of inte-inspired an interest in the minds of the gentler sex. rest and ambition. If ignorance shall usurp the seats of wisdom, the schoolmaster's lessons will be needless, and the halls of learning will become desolate.

Go on then in the path in which you have been treading. Your example will kindle an honorable emulation in others, and we may hope that the day is not far distant, when our beautiful metropolis will abound in insti

MUSIC.

Indeed almost every man and woman in the Republic, in a greater or less degree, has some share in the res-tutions, having for their object the intellectual advanceponsibility of preserving it; and there is no rank or ment, true glory, and real happiness of our people. condition in society which has not its peculiar duties to perform in order to promote that object. The rich and educated classes especially, are bound by every obligation, to aid in the elevation of those who are less fortunate. Society must be improved and equalized, not by the agrarian process of reducing to the lowest, but by raising to the highest level. States, as well as individuals, must practise justice, cultivate harmony, encourage knowledge and virtue, suppress vice, and recommend simplicity and economy by example.

That our political annals should, occasionally, exhibit instances of gross departure from these sacred principles is deeply to be lamented; and among them all there is not one which will fix a more lasting stigma upon the American name, than the course pursued by our gov. ernment towards the Cherokee nation. The conspiracy of kings, which led to the partition and ruin of Poland, was scarcely a more execrable outrage upon human right, than the miscalled treaty of New Echota, which was ratified by an American Senate, and by which, an unoffending and peaceful people, were sacrificed to the rapacity of a band of speculators.

Mysterious Music! o'er the realms of feeling
'Tis thine to reign supreme: thy witching voice
On the charmed ear, melodiously stealing,

Can melt to tears, or bid the heart rejoice.

Some strains there are-may they be mute forever!
I would not hear them-it would seem profane;
They bring to mind the loved, the lost, who never
Shall in this world breathe sounds of song again.

With their soft notes, awakened mem'ries gleaming
With hues too strangely blended-sad, yet sweet-
Before me rise, of eyes once bright and beaming;

Eyes that on earth mine never more shall meet.
Tones of sweet voices hushed; the kindly greeting
Of hands once clasped in mine; soft cheeks of bloom;
Hours full of bliss, pure, exquisite and fleeting,
Now with the silent past, and in the tomb.

Thou hast, oh Music! airs the deep, the thrilling,
Meet for the spirit-stirring trump and drum;
With pride and hope each soldier's bosom filling,
That bid him to the combat fearless come.

And the slow dirge above that slain one, seeming

It is hardly less to be wondered at, that that same illustrious body, (the United States Senate,) should still | more recently have refused the grant of an acre of ground, for the erection of a monument to the father of his country. The lofty pyramid, it was thought, would obstruct the prospect from the capitol,-as if an American Congress could have constantly before them, an ob. ject more likely to purify and inspire their deliberations. Notwithstanding this slight to the memory of one who was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," I would earnestly recommend to all who hear me, to study diligently the life and writings of that incomparable man. A visit to the falls of Nia-With clash of swords and thundering cannon's roaring, gara may awaken sublime emotions, but a pilgrimage to the shades of Mount Vernon will rekindle the embers of patriotism when almost extinct.

Finally, gentlemen of the Lyceum, if my humble voice can encourage you in your useful labors, I beg you to persevere. Your Society is a part of the great plan

Fit requiem for the brave; though mournful, grand;
That breathes of noble deeds, of banners streaming
O'er those who died for their loved native land.
When the dark, crimson tide of war is pouring,
His country's battle-cry is in his ear,

And death or conquest only can be dear;

The warrior feels the shrill-toned bugle swelling-
Its martial numbers, fires his gallant heart;
Before his vision floats his own loved dwelling-
His arm is steel-that strain hath done its part.