PAGE

Lines to Ella. By M. S. SEWARD,

Lines to Kossuth. By Mrs. H. M. PERLEY,

Little Sleeper (The). By J. CLEMENT, 212

Loyalist of the Vendée (The),

Locket (The): An Ancient Ballad. By RICH-

ARD HAYWARDE,

Lines. By WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, 447

Lament for SA-SA-NA. By W. H. C. HOSмER, 513

Literary Quakers: BARTON and the How-

ITTS,'

Lines to Fanny. By A. 8. M.,'

Leaf from the Life of a London Author (A), 537

390 Unus et Alter. By a New Contributor,

400

ART. I. THE VOYAGEUR. BY THE AUTHOR OF TALBOT AND VERNON,'.

II. PARTING STANZAS. BY N. H. JOHNSON, ESQ.,

.

III. THE NORTHERN LIGHTS. BY LUDWIG VON MUDDLEBRAINZ,

IV. WOMAN AND FAME: A STORY OF INNISFIELD,

V.

VI.
VII.
VIII.

IX.

XI.

LINES: 'OUR PATHS DIVIDE,'

STANZAS: LONELY HOURS,

CHARLOTTE MAY. BY FRANCIS COPCUTT,

UNUS ET ALTER. BY A NEW CONTRIBUTOR,

AN EPISTOLARY DAY-DREAM,

SCHEDIASMS. NUMBER FIVE. BY PAUL SIOGVOLK,

STANZAS: THE LAKE OF SCHROON,

XII. ANGEL EVE, OR THE CELESTIAL MESSENGER,

XIII. THE FUDGE PAPERS. BY THE AUTHOR OF REVERIES OF A BACHELOR,'

XIV.

SCOTIA, LAND OF LAKE AND MOUNTAIN,'

XV. SKETCH-BOOK OF ME, MEISTER KARL. BY CHARLES G. LELAND, Esq.,

XVI. FAIRY-LAND. BY WILLIAM BELCHER GLAZIER, ESQ.,

XVII. ANN ELIOT: WIFE OF THE APOSTLE OF THE INDIANS,'

XVIII.

XIX.

XX.

STANZAS: ABOUT THE SEX,'

A SEQUEL TO SAINT LEGER. BY RICHARD B. KIMBALL,

THE ANGEL IN A MAIDEN'S EYES,'

LITERARY NOTICES :

1. DREAM-LIFE: A FABLE OF THE SEASONS,

2. SCHOOLCRAFT'S MEMOIRS OF WESTERN INDIAN TRIBES,

3. TAYLOR'S INDICATIONS OF THE CREATOR, OR THE FINAL CAUSE,

4. THE GOLDEN LEGEND. BY H. W. LONGFELLOW,

5. THE LAND OF BONDAGE. BY REV. J. M. WAINWRIGHT,

EDITOR'S TABLE:

1. SOCIETIES FOR AMELIORATING THE CONDITION OF THE RICH,

2. CARLYLE ON COLERIDGE: A CONVERSATIONAL BORE,'

4.

3. REMINISCENCES OF THE LATE JAMES MONTGOMERY,

GOSSIP WITH READERS AND CORRESPONDENTS,

1. A LAUGHABLE INCIDENT AT A FUNERAL: A SPIRITUAL RAPPING' BY THE ED-
ITOR OF THE BUNKUM FLAG-STAFF.' 2. MODERN 'TOM-AND-JERRY-ISM IN
LONDON: THE MIDNIGHT WATCH. 3. A POETICAL COUNTERPART TO 'REVE-
REND LANCELOT LANGLEY LING.' 4. 'LINES TO AN OYSTER: BRINGING COALS
TO NEWCASTLE. 5. MR. P. P. DUGGAN, THE ARTIST. 6. RHAPSODY OVER A
GLASS OF PUNCH. 7. LAKE SCHROON: ASSAULT ON OLD PRISCIAN.' 8. AN
INDEPENDENT 'B'Hoy,' WITH AN ILLUSTRATION: ANECDOTE OF THE ELDER
MATTHEWS. 9. OUR ARTISTS AND THEIR DOINGS. 10. NEW IDEA OF A 'GEN-
TEEL FAMILY. 11. AN ERROR CORRECTED: LETTER FROM MR. WASHINGTON
IRVING. 12. ARCHEOLOGY OF NURSERY-RHYMES, WITH 'SAMPLES.' 13. MR.
GEO. HARVEY'S ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE FOREST WILDS AND UNCULTIVATED
WASTES OF OUR COUNTRY.' 14. EFFECT OF EARLY ASSOCIATION SINGULARLY
ILLUSTRATED. 15. A DEAD-SET' AT OUR GASTRICS: LUSCIOUS PICTURES OF
COUNTRY PROVANT.' 16. THE PASSING SHADOW OF THE OLD YEAR. 17. THE
STUCK-UPS, OR THE SHABBY FAMMERLY. 18. LIFE IN DEATH: A REVOLTING
SCENE. 19. 'SONG OF THE MERMAIDS,' BY 'FLORENCE.' 20. THE RULING
PASSION STRONG IN DEATH.' 21. A LAUGHABLE FIX: THE BORROWED SHIRT.
22. ICE-BERGS, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 23. THE JUVENILE ALMIGHTY JACK-
KNIFE, ITS USES. 24. A LAUGHABLE IRISH BLUNDER. 25. CANINE LA-
TINITY: THEODORO HOOKо.' 26. A HARD JOKE-TAKER. 27. A POETICAL
GEM. 28. A WORD TO CORRESPONDENTS. 29. JOSEPH WATKINS, THE FOR-
GETFUL CONVERT.' 30. MUSIC OF LEE AND WALKER, PHILADELPHIA. 31. Ex-
TRACT FROM THE BUNKUM FLAG-STAFF EXTRA-ISS00. 32. A SOLILOQUY BY
TELEGRAPH. 33. RARE GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS: MESSRS. JEROLIMAN AND
COMPANY. 34. ILLUSTRIOUS MCGUIRE, THE EXILE.' 35. FOURTH ANNUAL
BENEFIT OF THE DRAMATIC FUND ASSOCIATION. 36. PLEASANT ADVERTISING
READING: RICH AND RARE BRITANNIA WARE. 37. EXPLANATORY. 38. THE
EVENING MIRROR' DAILY JOURNAL: NEW TYPES. 39. MR. SQUIER'S NEW
WORK ON NICARAGUA: HOLIDAY PUBLICATIONS. 40. THE AZTEC CHILDREN.
41. QUAINT AND CURIOUS EPITAPHS: A BIG CISTERN. 42. A MODEL HUS-
BAND. 43. DEFERRED ARTICLES. 44. WELL, WHAT OF Us?' 45. BRIEF
NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1852, ET

SAMUEL HUESTON,

IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THR

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK.

THE KNICKERBOCKER.

VOL. XXXIX.

JANUARY, 1852.

Me Cast

THE

VOYAGEUR.

BY THE AUTHOR OF TALBOT AND VERNON,' 'THE GLENNS," TO.

No. 1.

'SPREAD out earth's holiest records here,
Of days and deeds to reverence dear:
A zeal like this, what pious legends tell?'

THE shapeless knight-errantry of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, rich as it was in romance and adventure, is not to be compared, in any valuable characteristic, to the noiseless self-devotion of the men who first explored the Western country. The courage of the knight was a part of his savage nature; his confidence was in the strength of his own right arm; and if his ruggedness was ever softened down by gentler thoughts, it was only when he asked forgiveness for his crimes, or melted in sensual idolatry of female beauty.

It would be a curious and instructive inquiry, could we institute it with success, how much of the contempt of danger manifested by the wandering knight was referable to genuine valor, and what proportion to the strength of a Milan coat and the temper of a Toledo or Ferrara blade. And it would be still more curious, although perhaps not so instructive, to estimate the purity and fidelity of the heroines of chivalry; to ascertain the amount of true devotion given them by their admirers, ' without hope of reward.'

But without abating its interest by invidious and ungrateful inquiries, we can see quite enough—in its turbulence, its cruelty, arrogance and oppression-to make us thank Heaven that 'the days of chivalry are gone.' And from that chaotic scene of rapine, raid and murder, we can turn with pleasure to contemplate the truer, nobler chivalry, the chivalry of love and peace, whose weapons were the kindness of their hearts, the purity of their motives, and the self-denial of their lives.

The term 'voyageur' literally signifies 'traveller;' but by this modest

In common use, this word was restricted so as to indicate only the boatmen; the carriers of that time; but I am writing of a period anterior, by many years, to the existence of the trade which made their occupation.

เ

name are indicated some of the bravest adventurers the world has ever seen. But it is not in its usual, common-place signification that I employ the word, nor yet in that which is given it by most writers on the subject of early French settlements and explorations. Men are often affected by the names given them, either of opprobrium or commendation; but words are quite as frequently changed, restricted or enlarged in meaning, by their application to men. For example: you apply the word soldier to a class of men; and if robbery be one of the characteristics of that class, 'soldier' will soon come to mean 'robber' too. And thus, though the parallel is only logical, has it been with the term 'voyageur. The class of men to whom it is applied were travellers-voyageurs; but they were more; and as the habits and qualities of men came in time to be better understood than the meaning of French words, the term, used in reference to Western history, took much of its significance from the history and character of the men it assumed to describe. Thus, un voyageur means not only a traveller, but a traveller with purpose; an adventurer among the Western wilds; a chivalrous missionary, either in the cause of science or religion. It includes high courage, burning zeal for Church and country, and the most generous self-devotion. It describes such men as Marquette, La Salle, Joliet, Gravier, and hundreds of others equally illustrious, who lived and died among the dangers and privations of the wilderness; who opened the way for civilization and Christianity among the savages; and won, many of them, crowns of martyrdom.

They were almost all Frenchmen. The Spaniards who came to this continent were mere gold-seekers, thirsting only for wealth; and if they sought to propagate Christianity, or rather the Christian name, it was only a sanguinary bigotry that prompted them. On the other hand, the English emigrants came to take possession of the country for themselves. The conversion of the natives, or territorial acquisition for the mother country, were to them objects of barely secondary importance. They believed themselves persecuted- some of them were persecuted-and they fled it was only safety for themselves, and the rich lands of the Indian, that they sought. Providence reserved for the French chevaliers and missionaries the glory of leaving their homes without compulsion, real or imaginary, to penetrate an inhospitable wilderness; to undergo fatigues; to encounter dangers, and endure privations of a thousand kinds, enticed by no golden glitter, and covetous of no riches, save such as are laid up in heaven!' They came not as conquerors, but as ministers of peace, demanding only hospitality. They never attacked the savages with sword or fagot; but extending hands not stained by blood, they justified their profession by relief and love and kindly offices. Sometimes, indeed, they received little tracts of land; not seized by the hand of power, nor grasped by superior cunning, but possessed as the free gift of simple gratitude; and upon these they lived in peace, surrounded by savages, but protected by the respect inspired by blameless and beneficent lives. Many of those whose vows permitted it, intermarried among the converted natives, and left the seeds of many meliorations in a stony soil; and many of them, when they died, were as sincerely mourned by the simple children of the forest as if they had been chiefs and 'braves."