His design in this discourse is to "commemorate some of those virtuous and enlightened men of Europe, who, long ago, looking with a prophetic eye towards the destinies of this new world, and regarding it as the chosen refuge of freedom and truth, were moved by a holy ambition to become the ministers of the most high, in bestowing on it the blessings of religion, morals, letters, and liberty." In pursuance of this design he presents biographical sketches of ten or twelve distinguished men, most of whom were the active benefactors, some only the ardent well-wishers of America. There is also a digression upon the character of our puritan fathers, and another urging the claims of their Dutch ancestors upon the gratitude of the citizens of New-York. Under the last head Irving is severely rebuked for his Knickerbocker's History of New-York, "in which," says our author, "it is painful to see a mind, as admirable for its exquisite perception of the beautiful, as it is for its quick sense of the ridiculous, wasting the riches of its fancy on an ungrateful theme, and its exuberant humor in a coarse caricature." The first character portrayed is that of Las Casas, who is highly eulogized, and from whose memory Mr. Verplanck attempts, (unsuccessfully, as we think,) to wipe away the imputation of his having, in mistaken philanthrophy, originated the plan of negro slavery. The last subject of eulogy is Louis XVI. who deserves not the obloquy so often poured upon him in republican harrangues, but our warmest gratitude for his efficient services in our revolution, and our sympathy in his dethronement and death, of which that event was the moving cause. We cannot forbear laying before our readers, in our author's happiest style, the rare picture of a patriotic, virtuous, and pious king.

"The historian will never lose sight of the meek and steady virtues of the patriot king. He will describe him, in early youth, in the midst of a corrupt and sensual court; forming his conscience and regulating his life by the mild and holy precepts of Fenelon; surrounded by bigoted or heartless politicians, yet glowing with affection for his people, and eagerly co-operating with the virtuous Turgot and other enlightened friends of freedom in reforming old abuses and lightening the burden of his subjects. He will relate that he staked every thing on this vast and bold experiment of regulated liberty and representative government; and at last voluntarily yielded up his life in that cause rather than purchase it at the expense of the blood of his countrymen. He will portray him, as the danger thickened, summoning all his virtues to his heart, and rising greater and greater in the hour of calamity.

"Finally, the historian will paint the sorrows and the consolations of the prison -or rather, he will tell that touching story in the plain words of those who saw and loved him to the last: and then, as he follows the king to the place of his death, accompanied by his last and faithful friend, the venerable Abbe Edgeworth, he will insensibly catch that good man's pious enthusiasm, and with him, forgetting the wrongs of the patriot, and the sorrows of the husband and the father, in his veneration of the saint and the martyr, he will exclaim at the foot of the scaffold, Go, Son of St. Louis, ascend to heaven.'

The third discourse in the volume is an address on the uses and value of the fine arts, in which there is no connected train of thought, no point proved, no new views produced or old views made clearer, but barely a miscellaneous collection of very good and very well expressed ideas on subjects connected more or less remotely with the fine arts.

The fifth place is occupied by an anniversary address before the literary societies of Columbia College. Here Mr. Verplanck again turns biographer, and presents a series of finely drawn sketches of the character

of some of the most eminent deceased alumni of the college. The chief of these are Hamilton, Jay, Chancellor Livingston, and De Witt Clinton.

Then comes a speech on the Law of Literary Property, made at a dinner given at New-York to the author, on account of his agency in procuring the act of Congress, passed during the session of 1830-31, for the amendment and consolidation of several acts for the protection of copy-rights to books, prints, &c. The speech contains a succinct history of the attempts at amendment; and concludes with the annunciation of the following pointless toast:

"Our Authors and Artists-Their country recognizes and protects their rights of intellectual property. It is their high privilege to repay that protection a thousand fold, in their country's glory, and the freedom and virtue of her sons."

The volume closes with an Introductory Lecture before the Mercantile Association of New-York. If this have a subject, a cursory perusal has not enabled us to eliminate it. The middle of the lecture, relates to the pre-eminent means of intellectual culture enjoyed by young men in this age and country; and, perhaps, the author considered that as the general subject of it. But he finds himself unable to close without reverting to his favorite pursuit of sketching character; and he accordingly gives, at considerable length, the characters of Franklin, Priestley, Richards, and Roscoe.

Memoranda of a Residence at the Court of London. By Richard Rush, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America, from 1817 to 1825.

This is altogether one of the most interesting of the very many new books of the present year. It is, we believe, unique. We have never before seen a sketch of life and manners at Court by a republican. Mr. Rush places us behind the curtain, and makes us familiar with premiers, dukes, and princesses. He gives us a good outline of the mode of life, the relative rank, and the privileges of the corps diplomatique at St. James's, and of the etiquette observed by them and towards them. He takes us now to a dinner at Lord Castlereagh's, then to the wedding of the Princess Elizabeth, then to the Queen's drawingroom. And, wherever he goes, he talks about America, as uniformly as Ulysses inquired about Ithaca; for we no sooner find him seated at a dinner-table, or standing in a drawing-room, than he makes such remarks as these: "Our conversation was chiefly about the United States;" "conversation turned upon the United States ;" "spoke of the institutions of the United States," &c. A diplomatic functionary from this country must needs make up by talking largely about it for his utter inability, on account of his small salary, to honor it by splendid equipages or magnificent entertainments. In this last way we suspect that Mr. Rush did very little. He does not mention giving even a single dinner, though the diplomatists in general seem to be a dinner-giving race. We are glad to find that magnificence is not essential to the respectability of an ambassador in London; and are much pleased with the spirit that pervades the following remarks:

"The policy of my government being to give to its public servants small salaries, the latter act but in unison with this policy, in having their establishments

small. It is not for those, honored by being selected to serve the republic abroad, to complain. Nor, with the English, do I believe, that the consideration attaching to foreign ministers, is dependent upon the salaries they receive. However large these may be, and sometimes are, in the persons of the representatives of the imperial and royal governments of Europe, they are still so much below the wealth of the home circles in London, as to be no distinction, supposing distinction to be sought on that ground. The surpassing incomes in the home circles, and habit of expenditure, with the ample accommodations by which the many who possess them live surrounded, incline their possessors to regard such official strangers, as objects, rather than agents, of hospitality. It may be otherwise in capitals on the continent, but this is the general relationship which the diplomatic corps holds to society in London; the result of its own state of manners as well its riches."

Lord Castlereagh was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs during the whole of Mr. Rush's residence in London; and it was with him chiefly that the latter transacted the business of his mission. An outline of the negotiations conducted between them is interwoven with the narrative of Mr. Rush's private life. The subjects of negotiation, especially impressment and the fisheries, are discussed with great ability; and the mission terminated advantageously for the United States.

A personal narrative, unless very outreè, offers but little opportunity for minute criticism. We shall not attempt it; but shall close our brief notice of this book, in a way much more acceptable to our readers, by quoting from it the description of a royal wedding.

"April 8. The Princess Elizabeth was married last evening to the Prince of Hesse Homberg. The cabinet ministers, foreign ambassadors and ministers, officers of the royal household, persons in the suite of the royal dukes and princesses, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishop of London, the lord_chancellor, the lord chief justice, and a few others were present. The Prince Regent was not there, being ill. Our invitation was from the Queen, given through the Earl of Winchelsea, nearly three weeks before.

"We got to the palace at seven o'clock. Pages were on the stairs to conduct us to the rooms. The ceremony took place in the throne room. Before the throne was an altar covered with crimson velvet, on which was a profusion of golden plate. There was a salver of great size, on which was represented the Lord's supper. The company being assembled, the bridegroom entered with his attendants. Then came the Queen, on the arm of the Duke of York, with the bride and royal family. All approached the altar. Her majesty sat; the rest stood. The marriage service was read by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Duke of York gave the bride away. The whole was according to the forms of the church of England, and performed with great solemnity. A record of the marriage was made. When all was finished, the bride knelt before the Queen to receive her blessing.

"The consent of the king (or regent) and privy council, is necessary to the va lidity of a royal marriage in England. There is another mode, where the party intending to marry, and being of the male branch, is of the age of twenty-six. In such case, a record of the intention on the books of the privy council will authorize the marriage at the expiration of a twelvemonth, unless parliament interpose an objection.

"Soon after the service was performed, the bride and bridegroom set off for Windsor, the rest of the company remaining. The evening passed in high ceremony, without excluding social ease. From the members of the royal family, the guests had every measure of courtesy; but the whole demeanor of the Queen was remarkable. This venerable personage, the head of a large family, her children at that moment clustering about her; the female head of a great empire, in the seventy-sixth year of her age,-went the rounds of her company, speaking to all; no one did she omit. There was a kindness in her manner. from which time had struck away useless forms. Around her neck hung a miniature portrait of the king. He was absent-scathed by the hand of heaven; a marriage going on in one of his palaces-he, the lonely, suffering tenant of another. But the

portrait was a token superior to a crown! It bespoke the natural glory of wife and mother, eclipsing the artificial glory of queen. For more than fifty years this royal pair had lived together in affection. The scene would have been one of interest in any class of life. May it not be noticed on a throne?

"Tea was handed. The Queen continued to stand, or move about the rooms. In one was a table of refreshments. I went to it with Major General Sir Henry Torrens, an officer distinguished by service and wounds, whose acquaintance I had made at Lord Bathurst's. He was of the establishment of the Duke of York. On the table were urns and tea-kettles of fretted gold. Sir Henry recommended me to a glass of what I supposed wine, in a flagon near me; but he called it king's cup, given only at royal weddings.

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Returning to the chief rooms, the Princess Sophia Matilda, pointed out to Mrs. Rush and myself, the paintings; also the representation of a bird from India formed of precious stones, so as to resemble beautiful plumage, with other objects of curiosity or taste in the palace. She did more--she spoke of Washington. She paid a spontaneous tribute to his virtues. None but Americans can know how this would fall upon the heart! To hear his immortal name pronounced with praise in a palace of George III., and by a princess of his family, had a high and touching value. Mentioning this princess, I add, that myself and family afterwards experienced her obliging civilities, in ways, the remembrance of which is cherished with grateful pleasure.

"At ten, the company came away."

A Collection of the Familiar Letters and Miscellaneous Papers of Benjamin Franklin, now, for the first time, published.

As regards eye-sight, the human race are divided into three classes, near-sighted people, far-sighted people, and people whose eyes are as they should be; and we may make a similar classification with regard to the mental character of our fellows. We see some whose minds are constantly engrossed by objects near at hand, by humble and familiar objects, who can perceive these in their full or more than their full proportion; but to whom all beyond, great truths, far-reaching relations, general laws and important results, are shrouded in impenetrable mist. This is by far the largest class. Then there are some, whose mental vision is constantly strained to its utmost keenness, who can look deep, and high, and far, to whom objects immense and obscure appear in well-defined proportions; but who are blind to the daily occurrences, the daily duties, and the common-place relations of life, who are dead weights upon all the minor machinery of society, and who, while the path of their spirits is among the clouds, fairly cumber the ground on which they vegetate. These are vulgarly called great men, but, notwithstanding all their services to science and to literature, they are great nuisances; for their example leads new aspirants after greatness to commence their career by neglect of duty. The truly great man is, in our apprehension, a much rarer phenomenon. He, only, deserves that name, to whom, great and small things, things terrestrial and spiritual, things visible and invisible, duties, pleasures and privileges, appear each in its just proportions, each in its full importance. To this third and small class, Dr. Franklin indubitably belongs. In this we have always assigned him a high rank, and the chief value of the work before us, is, that it confirms him in that rank. These letters are such as delicacy and justice ought to have kept forever unpublished. They make the reader shudder for the fate of his own unburned letters; for there is hardly any man, who

can spell decently and write grammatically, whose every-day epistles are not as well worth printing as Franklin's Familiar Letters. These are simply letters to near relatives or intimate friends, such as every man must write from time to time to save appearances, or will write frequently from the promptings of affection. They generally relate to family affairs, often trivial, often delicate, often of the most unedifying kind. Nor does the circumstance, that they are discussed by his pen, magnify their importance. He treats trifles as trifles, expresses his regards, and makes friendly inquiries as any other printer would have done, and gives good advice as sparingly and modestly as every wise man ought to. If Franklin had belonged to our second class of great men, his (so called) familiar letters might have been interesting from their eccentricity and irrelevancy. Thus, had he been a Byron, he would have berated his mother instead of reverencing her gray hairs; or, had he resembled Tom Moore, we should have found a donation of cash to his relatives enveloped in half a dozen lines of highly wrought poetry, rather than in a letter stating the simple fact that the money was sent. But for the very reason that they are just what they should be, the major part of these epistles will be deemed not worth the perusal.

These letters, as we have already observed, show the true greatness of the author's mind. In the last number of the North-American Review, a high value is attached to this volume, as relieving Franklin's moral character from the charge of selfishness and irreligion. That he was, throughout life, a selfish man,-that he governed his appetites, obeyed the laws, and served his country, because he deemed it his best policy so to do,we have never doubted. We discern traces of supreme selfishness in the very letter quoted in that journal, as proof positive of his generosity. We will quote the entire letter, since it will serve as a fair specimen of the volume.

"I wrote a few lines to you yesterday, but omitted to answer yours relating to sister Douse. As having their own way is one of the greatest comforts of life to old people, I think their friends should endeavor to accommodate them in that, as well as in any thing else. When they have long lived in a house, it becomes natural to them; they are almost as closely connected with it, as the tortoise with his shell; they die, if you tear them out of it: old folks and old trees, if you remove them, 't is ten to one that you kill them; so let our good old sister be no more importuned on that head. We are growing old fast ourselves, and shall expect the same kind of indulgences: if we give them, we shall have a right to receive them in our turn.

"And as to her few fine things, I think she is in the right not to sell them, and for the reason she gives, that they will fetch but little; when that little is spent, they would be of no further use to her; but perhaps the expectation of possessing them at her death, may make that person tender and careful of her, and helpful to her to the amount of ten times their value. If so, they are put to the best use they possibly can be. I hope you visit sister as often as your affairs will permit, and afford her what assistance and comfort you can in her present siuation. Old age, infirmities, and poverty, joined, are afflictions enough. The neglects and slights of friends and near relations, should never be added. People in her circumstances are apt to suspect this sometimes without cause; appearances should therefore be attended to, in our conduct towards them, as well as realities. I write by this post to cousin Williams, to continue his care, which I doubt not he will do.