Much might be said of the writings of Edward Everett, who, during the four years he edited the North American Review, supplied full one half the articles it contained. His style is captivating, and many of his papers, particularly those written with care, are masterly compositions.

A prominent southern writer of this class, whose name is but little known in Europe, Hugh S. Legare, has left some scholastic essays on legal and general subjects. His paper on Moore's Life of Byron, published in an early number of the Southern Review, which he edited; and who, like Everett when in the chair of the North American Review, wrote half its contents, is more discriminating and quite as forcible as the Essay of Macaulay on the same subject. Of writers whose articles belong to the Belles Lettres of America, this period is prolific. The names of Irving, Paulding, Dana, Fay, Prescott, Tuckerman, Poe, Willis, Choate, Wilde, Hawthorne, Cheever, Mitchell, Longfellow, Bryant, Brownson, and a host of others, scarcely less distinguished among male writers; of Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Stephens, Miss Gould, Mrs. Child, Mrs. Kirkland, Miss Leslie, Miss Mc Intosh, Mrs. Sigourney, Miss Planche, Miss Sedgwick, Mrs. Stowe, and other equally familiar female authors, fully sustain the truth of this statement.

We have referred before to the improvements effected by Americans in English School Books. This is a marked feature of the period now under consideration. We are aware that those who occupy lofty seats in the world of letters may be disposed to sneer at us for considering these a part of a nation's literature; but when their practical effects are weighed, they must be regarded in any but a contemptuous light. England at this day receives many excellent compilations from America. A list of such in both the lower and the higher branches of education could be made which form the basis of many English school books now in use. We have shown in a former chapter what Lindley Murray did in this way, and it is worth recording that Woodbridge's School Geography, still published in England, was introduced into this country by Mr. Goodrich, or Peter Parley, in 1823, and it served as a starting point, or new era, in the character of such works in England. This class of American school books is among the best of their kind in the world, and would do credit to any nation. Those of Mitchell and Smith are the most valuable. Morse and Adams, whose works were popular in the early part of this century, gave way to Olney and Willard, who in their turn have been nearly superseded by Mitchell, Smith, and others. The simplicity of these books, the vast amount of instruction they contain, and their comprehensive scope, must command approbation from all but the most prejudiced. The Atlases are remarkable for their beauty and accuracy. They are not mere outlines of countries, sketched upon a surface without reference to either longitude, latitude, or the division of zones; but possess all the excellencies of carefully-prepared maps which have been executed with an eye to entire accuracy in all that pertains to geography. Mitchell's School Geography and Atlas have, in the space of 15 years, passed through many editions, and in 1852, upwards of 350,000 copies of his various geographical works were sold, and more than 250 persons were constantly employed in their production.

The spelling and reading books for children exhibit a care for youthful instruction deserving the warmest commendation. These are arranged in regular

series, commencing with the lowest elementary branch of learning, and gradually advancing to the perfection of their kind. And it is proper to say that these are everywhere in use. At the close of the last century the New England Primer was extensively used; but it was superseded by Dilworth's Spelling Book, which, in its turn, was obliged to yield to Webster's more valuable compilation.

The subject of English Grammar has been simplified by Greenleaf, Webster, Kirkham, and Gould Brown. Mr. Greenleaf's book is one of the clearest to the youthful mind ever published. That by Mr. Kirkham is wonderfully concise, and has been widely popular. The large work of Gould Brown, however, is the most elaborate of its kind, and although it is too complicated in its arrangements for elementary instruction, as a searching production on English Grammar, it must be regarded as an able contribution to the philology of the age.

In this department of literature America is entirely independent of Great Britain, and her text books in this branch of education are not surpassed by those of any country. Many of these are class books in England; and among them we may name Professor Anthon's admirable series of Latin and Greek Classics, the truly scholarly Hebrew and English Dictionary of Gesenius, by Professor Robinson, and the excellent Latin-English Dictionary of Mr. Andrews, founded on the celebrated work of Dr. Freund. In fact this last-named work reminds us that the students of Great Britain have received many valuable educational works of German scholars through the hands of American editors, without being aware of the fact.

The great majority of the school books in the United States are by American authors, and more of this class of books are produced annually in the United States than in all Europe. Even at this date, more than 1,000,000 of Webster's Spelling Book are sold yearly.

Our geographical knowledge has been increased by the explorations and publications of Frémont, Kane, Herndon, Bartlett, Maury, Wilkes, Wells, Williams, Squier, and Commodore Perry. The works of these gentlemen have mainly resulted from expeditions of the American government in the cause of science, and their narratives are always instructive. Herndon's Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, Frémont's Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon, and California, and Commodore Perry's Narrative of his recent visits to Japan, record some of the most interesting geographical discoveries within the last forty years.

Due prominence should be given here to the Physical Geography of the Sea, by Lieut. Maury of the American navy, as it is not only an aid to navigation, but a contribution to modern science unique in itself. This valuable work was published in 1855, and a second edition, revised and enlarged, was almost immediately printed. Lieut. Maury had before contributed much to the cause of navigation and geography, his wind charts having been long recognised as reliable aids to the mariner. The many excellent maps published in the United States, and charts of the American coasts executed under the care of the government from actual surveys instituted by itself, are a few of this description of our additions to geographical illustration for which we are indebted to America.

There are several phases of American literature which do not enter into the bibliography of any European nation, and we have therefore been obliged to create headings which will describe them. These all belong to the present period. Of them Freemasonry is the senior. This institution has been elucidated to the fraternity by many writers, and a very able work on the Analogy of Masonry with Christianity, was published at Jackson, Mississippi, in 1850, which as a literary performance, apart from the interest of its subject, is a remarkable book.

Spiritualism is not calculated, so far as our judgment goes, to add much to our intellectual delights; but the rapid rise of this mystery, and the wonderful increase of its believers in the United States, are subjects of history, and the literature it has already produced is as remarkable a phase of intellectual life as is the subject of Spiritualism itself. We do not profess to any very high regard for the followers of this new light in our world of spiritual darkness, and look upon many of the books which it has given birth to as the offspring of diseased brains; and yet, others of these works are so well written, and withal, with such an air of truthfulness and conscientiousness on the part of their authors, that we are obliged to look upon them with a charitable eye, and if we cannot receive them as dissertations upon metaphysical phenomena, we can regard them as "curiosities of literature," and illustrations of the strange directions the human mind is occasionally induced to take.

Another equally peculiar subject of American authorship is Mormonism. The book of Mormon itself is a very indifferent attempt to unite the sensual phases of the Bible and the Koran, and, as a work, possesses neither elegance nor grammatical correctness. Still, it has given birth to commentaries and expositions, some of which are valuable. And many of the narratives and records of this extraordinary delusion have merits not easily disallowed.

When the madness which produced these shall have expired, and expire it will, as certain as the advance of intelligence, these histories of its existence and conquest will form a curious phase in the literature of America, which the philosopher who may write its history in future years will not pass carelessly by.

Those who have turned their attention to humorous literature in the United States, have in the main succeeded, and the reader is compelled, in spite of himself, to give way to laughter when perusing The Big Bear of Arkansas, and the extravagant sketches of unsophisticated genius which go to make up Georgia Scenes. The humour of these is genuine. It comes up without effort, and there is a freshness, a spontaneousness about it, which compensates for any absence of conventional refinement the over-fastidious European is apt to seek in such productions. These books are the types of this class of American writing, and are as free from European taint as the air from which they come. There is a smell of the fresh forest about them, the midnight lamp is incapable of imparting. Washington Irving probably set the example in this line of letters, unconsciously we allow, in his Knickerbocker History of New York, and in his truthful sketch of Rip Van Winkle.

A very excellent History of the Arts of Design in the United States, by William Dunlap, was published in 1834, in two octavo volumes, which contains a succinct account of all American artists in every department of design who had made themselves a name up to that time. This work is carefully

written, is unusually accurate in its statements, and is a deserved tribute to the Fine Arts in the United States.

The Agricultural literature of the United States is both extensive and valuable. There are more journals devoted to this science published in the Republic than in all the world besides. This fact gives promise of future achievements in rural literature no other nation is likely to equal. The Federal Government publishes an Agricultural Report yearly of the greatest practical value, which consists in the main of carefully-prepared observations on the products of all parts of the country, on experiments in Agriculture, the introduction of new methods of farming, improvements in implements of husbandry, and the increase of crops, as well as of accurate statements of the success or failure of experiments on new seeds, fruits, and vegetables. It also contains descriptions of experiments on various descriptions of live stock, and is in reality a faithful contemporaneous history of farming in all its branches throughout the United States.

Many excellent State Agricultural Societies exist. These generally publish Annual Reports: the most valuable of which are those of the New York State Agricultural Society. There are about sixteen of these volumes, and they contain a plainly-written account of all that is valuable in Northern Agriculture, as now practised. The reports and transactions of the Southern Central Agricultural Society of Georgia set forth in a concise manner the progress and improvements in the cultivation peculiar to that region. These are valuable publications, and record facts connected with a part of the United States which has ever been and ever must remain preeminently agricultural. The cultivation of the soil has always received the attention of the ablest minds at the South, and the best work on the subject of Calcareous Manures yet published in the Republic is of Southern origin. It is the production of Edmund Ruffin, a Virginia gentleman, who has given almost his entire life to practical Agriculture, was first published about 1837, is replete with sound information, is a standard authority with intelligent farmers north and south, and is a credit to any literature, being written in a pure and captivating style.

Robert R. Livingston, George Clinton, and Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, have each written ably on the subject of Agriculture, and the remarks of the latter, written and published before Liebig was born, are by some believed far more correct than anything that has emanated from him.

We could enlarge alike our list of subjects as well as that of our books; but what has been done we consider sufficient for the purpose we have in view. Enough has been shown to convince the sceptical that America has not only a literature of her own, but that she has, within the short period of eighty years, created a literature which will not readily die. Since 1820, she has done wonders. The vast, the rapid change for the better in the style and scholarship of American writers in the past thirty-seven years must strike every intelligent mind familiar with American literature. Freedom from common-place expression, from pedantry, from mere words barren of ideas, is almost everywhere visible; and we discover, instead of long platitudes pregnant with verbosity, clear, bold, and vigorous writing-where words are the vehicles of thought, instead of sounding ornaments substituted for ideas.

It is a delicate question whether it is the more difficult task to create a

literature in a language new to letters, or to build up a literature for a new country in an old language already rich in intellectual treasures. In the first case a free field, unknown and unreapt, is open to the mind, rich in flowers sighing to be gathered; while in the other the soil is preoccupied, and the labourer must plant under the umbrageous shade of gigantic trees, whose roots have everywhere penetrated the soil, drawing from it the vitality it contains. And although this last is true of America, she has found it in her rugged and hardy nature to plant between the permeating roots of the literature of the mother country, and produce a growth of new works, which, if not so sublime as those of the parent country, are such as no candid Briton who loves his race can regard with other than feelings of pride.

CHAPTER VII.

FOREIGN WRITERS IN AMERICA.

In the preparation of the preceding chapters we have sedulously kept in view the fact that many foreigners in America, mostly natives of Europe, have added to the literature of the country during the American period, or from 1770 to the present time. And although the majority of these have had their tastes formed and been educated to a great extent in the United States, and may justly regard themselves Americans in principle, feeling, and preference; and notwithstanding their writings are essentially American, still we conceive it proper not to rank them as native authors for obvious reasons, and shall therefore consider them under the expressive and respectful head of FOREIGN or COLLATERAL WRITERS.

The majority of this class who emigrated to the United States at an early period subsequent to the Revolution, were men of highly cultivated minds, possessing a just estimate of the good in literature, and a sense of true elegance of style, which, being imparted, did much to sustain a high tone of thought and expression among Americans given to letters. On the other hand, several of these persons, whose influence was unquestionably great over certain minds, displayed a coarseness of style, by no means worthy of imitation, which did much to lower the general taste, and corrupt for a time the clear current of the nation's youthful literature. Much of the vulgarity discoverable in the secondary class of American journals of this day, may be fairly attributed to this influence. It was adopted in newspaper articles, and being adapted to partisan purposes, proved a tempting but pernicious example. Paine's vigorous and sonorous style is blemished with vulgarity; and Cobbett's bold invective, although glowing with fervour, has an insidious tendency to corruption not easily resisted.

It was natural the earliest of these emigrants should participate in the party controversies of the times. Paine, who was undoubtedly the most remarkable man among them, early turned his mind to this description of writing, and his pamphlet of Common Sense was published in January, 1776. So