by no means what we mean when we speak of equal representation, has begun to be held synonymous with liberty, although no reflecting person believes an instant in the propriety of the synonyme. No error is so dangerous as one which is founded upon too flattering an opinion of human nature, and a great moral absurdity is sure to do more harın than a thousand common absurdities. The belief in the perfectibility of the human species is an amiable weakness, certainly, with which no one would quarrel, if it did not extend itself beyond its proper sphere; but when legislators are called upon to shut their eyes upon history, to blind themselves to the reflection that human nature, in similar circumstances, has generally proved itself much the same, and in the pursuance of an abstract and impossible good, to neglect the means of really benefitting their country and of saving it from impending and terrible evils, no one who loves his country will deny that all such principles, too widely propagated, become practically dangerous to the state. No evil is more pernicious than that which always results from the pursuit of an abstract but impossible good. A great many modern innovations upon our original institutions-and here we have no more reference to the extension of the elective franchise than to many other subjects already hinted at are the more dangerous, because they derive their being and their strength from what may be termed the moral vanity of the nation. Tell a people that they are perfectible, and it will not be long before they tell you they are perfect, and that he is a traitor who presumes to doubt, not their wisdom simply, but their infallibility. The tendency to destroy the great barriers which separate the executive, legislative, and judicial departments from each other, and to reduce government to the crude and shapeless mass in which it existed before its vital elements were separated by a true political chemistry; the disposition to extend the right of suffrage without regard to property, education, religion, or even nationality; the growing favor which the pernicious right of instruction-a doctrine which strikes at the root of the whole theory of representation-has obtained; the increasing coldness and even jealousy with which the higher departments of literature, science, and art, are regarded; the proneness of the people to despise all subjects which cannot be treated of and comprehended by every one, in a course of six lectures "useful knowledge society"-the unwillingness to ac

at a

knowledge a high domain of science and art, which is not to be trodden by every footstep, but the dwellers wherein ought to be respected and honored by every civilized people-the want of a proper love and reverence, in short, for the beautiful in art, the profound in science, the permanent in literature; these are all indications of much that is evil, mixed up with, fortunately, more that is good in the national character, or rather the national humor as now exhibited. But they are indications which should inspire us with watchfulness not with dismay. We believe that there is as much injury done by those who despair of the republic, the instant their eyes are opened upon the dangers which beset her course, as by the fool-hardy and self-confident pilots, whose rashness would drive the ship upon the breakers before the voyage is fairly commenced. The character of a nation, like the statue of Janus, has always two faces, which point in exactly opposite directions. So long as we look well at the features of both, and kneel in adoration before neither, we shall be safe enough. We have, therefore, gone a little out of our way, to bring forward each indications really worthy of the traveller's attention, because really ominous in themselves, and to prove that the faith which we have expressed in the high destiny of the republic, has not blinded us to the dangers to which she is exposed. But we are again slipping beyond our limits. We meant merely to suggest some of the materials for a traveller's observation and augury, not to "try conclusions" ourselves. As the reader, after what we have repeatedly observed, will understand that we intended to present specimens only, and not a complete collection, of subjects, we will leave the rest to his candor.

Moreover, we have left ourselves no space for a minute examination of the works of Chevalier and De Tocqueville. We do not regret it, however, because almost all that we have hitherto said, has a general reference to the spirit of their works, and the strong general recommendation which the whole tenor of our remarks has been intended to convey, was all that we contemplated at the commencement. We do not mean that all the important subjects to which we have alluded, or those equally important, which we have passed over in silence, have been investigated in either or both of these works. We do mean to say, however, that they are the first travellers who have approached the subject with the proper philosophical spirit, with a due appreciation of the

magnitude of the subject, and above all, with intelligence to separate the original and significant characteristics of the country from the accidental and the trivial ones-with a quick perception, in short, of the true points of the subject, and with consummate ability to grapple with them.

Although, therefore, we do not attempt an analysis or a critical examination of either of these works for the present, we must in conclusion, make a single remark upon each of them separately, because we have hitherto spoken of them both in conjunction.

The treatise on "Democracy in America," by M. de Tocqueville, is by far the most important of the two, and is, indeed, one of the most profound and eloquent political treatises which have appeared for a long time. It is not a volume of travels, but an inquiry into the spirit of our laws. It is a searching examination of the great political institutions invented or adopted in America for republican purposes-a treatise upon the executive, legislative, and judicial machinery by which a great nation has been enabled thus far to govern itself. This is the intention of the work, and the writer has accordingly ascended philosophically and logically from an inspection of the organization and practical polity of the township, up to a full and profound analysis of the great federal institutions of the country. In doing this, he has uniformly spoken with singular impartiality, and those who take up the work with the expectation of finding in it an eulogy or a condemnation of the republic will be equally disappointed. Mistakes he has sometimes made, unquestionably, and sometimes drawn false deductions from his facts, but these are generally upon incidental or comparatively trifling topics, while the whole spirit of his work is as just as it is philosophical.

The work of M. Chevalier-of which we are gratified to see an admirable translation by an accomplished scholar of Boston, Mr. T. G. Bradford-is by no means of the same importance as that of M. de Tocqueville, although its author is perhaps a man of equal intelligence. He has not attempted a work of the same class. It is not the chief result of his visit to the country, but a secondary, although most successful adjunct to the task which he was selected by his government to fulfil. He was sent by M. Thiers, then minister of the interior, to examine the railroads of this country; he accomplished the object of his mission, and he wrote a book

besides. His work is accordingly not a treatise, but merely a collection of letters. They ramble from one subject to another with little attempt at order, and as they often discuss topics of particular and immediate interest-the state of parties, the questions in congress, the bank crusades, the results of elections, and the like-they will prove quite as entertaining to the general reader, as the more elaborate work of De Tocqueville. It will be observed, however, that although M. Chevalier has not attempted a complete work upon America, he has discussed with great eloquence a great many important but isolated points; and at the same time. he has never fallen into the common error of wearying his readers with trifles. He has proved himself capable of writing an admirable work upon the subject, if he should choose to write a complete one-for the spirit of his work is philosophical, and the style singularly vigorous and brilliant. We always regret, however, to see talent thrown away, and we fear that this may have been somewhat the case with these letters. A profound thinker does himself injustice when he writes a rambling and discursive book. Any one can go along with a chattering, lively writer, who hops from subject to subject, to be sure, but who keeps pretty near the ground, and seldom hazards a bold flight; but it is difficult to keep pace with a mind which strides with breathless rapidity and seven league boots over the whole world of thought, but whose erratic course is directed by caprice or accident quite as often as by system.

ART. VI.-1. The Rural Life of England; by WILLIAM HoWITT, author of "The Book of the Seasons," etc. Illustrated with Wood Engravings, designed and executed by SAMUEL WILLIAMS. London: 1838. Longman and Co. 2 vols.

2. Rural Sketches; by THOMAS MILLER, author of "A Day in the Woods," etc. With Twenty-three Illustrations.

London: 1839. John Van Voorst.

THE Bible, in its different versions, has been described as the best safeguard of the purity of different languages-the standard by which the lawfulness and good taste of words and phrases are to be tested. Admitting this, we would give to nature, the other chief companion and teacher of men, a like authority over thought and feeling. It is here that errors are rebuked, and excesses discountenanced. Nature preserves the identity and the individuality of its various races and tribes, and by the relation in which each stands to her, and the use which each makes of her, she becomes both a teacher and an historian. The artificial life of cities receives the just reproach conveyed by this epithet, as well from the care-worn and fashion-worn occupant of the town house, when freed merely for a day or a week out of his prison house, as from the farmer who forms all his appetites and habits after the productions and operations of nature, eating and drinking that which he himself has seen to come from the fertile earth, and rising and resting with the birds. Yes, even the French professor of modes and fashions, if hard pressed for an argument, will make a last and desperate appeal to natural forms and motions, to justify his distortions. The different views entertained of nature by men, form the best landmarks in history; the superstitions connected with it are of the earliest origin, have the strongest influence, and leave ineradicable traces. Its operations form divisions of time for all races and generations. Its eras, as marked in the heavens or upon the face of the earth, suggest the festivals and solemnities of christians as well as of the heathen. Its mightier agents which the savage idolizes as the greatest powers of which he has knowledge, are objects of really