are as much in the dark as before. The Travels of Duke Bernhard of Saxe Weimar Eisenach, which have just been published (although we could have wished that their contents had been given to the world at an earlier period), give us the results of an attentive and impartial observer of manners, society, and economy, in many parts of the United States. As he had previously travelled through England, and almost all the countries of Europe, he is, of course, free from those prejudices that always tinge the remarks of a traveller warm from his native land.

When the scion of a royal stock voluntarily relinquishes the attractions and privileges of his high station, and submits himself to the rough treatment of criticism, he is justly entitled to indulgence, which should not be granted to men in a lower! sphere; but the house of Weimar are literary property, and it must be more gratifying to the good sense of the Duke, that his remarks and observations should be judged according to their real worth, than that his work should be loudly lauded, with the damning qualification-pretty well for a royal author. He has shown very naifly, in several passages, that he is by no means insensible to, or regardless of, the outward marks of respect paid to birth and rank, and we like him the better for it, for these advantages are only railed at, or affected to be despised, by those who can never attain them; but in his varied intercourse with the world, he has learned to consider them as externals, and not the only substantials of life. One of the most interesting features in these vo lumes, is the laudable desire of knowledge and instruction which they display in every page; no object is so minute as to escape his attention, but all things are observed and described with the indefatigable perseverance of a German traveller.

The MS. was intrusted for publication to Luden the historian, who, as he informs us in a preface that appears to us written in an affected tone, has altered nothing, but merely omitted, at the Duke's suggestion, those parts which alluded to his private affairs. The work, indeed, in several passages bears manifest marks that it was not written for the press. The author tells us that he had no intention of publishing his observations, but committed them to paper for the gratification of his own family; several other persons, however, having read them, expressed a desire of seeing them in print, and he could not with propriety refuse their request.

< Respecting either the cause or object of the undertaking itself, I have nothing to say. The idea of the voyage to America has accompanied me from my childhood. I wished to see the New World and its inhabitants, their mode of life, and institutions, manners, and customs. The more I saw of the Old World, the greater was my desire to behold the New.'-vol. i. p. 8.

The affairs of Europe at length enabled him to obtain leave of absence from the King of the Netherlands, in whose service he is, and on the 6th of April, 1825, he sailed for England, in the Pallas,

one of the King's yachts. The vessel touched at several English ports, which are minutely described. At Portsmouth, on the 1st of May, he saw the chimney-sweep gala, and a fight between two boys, which was conducted as decorously as any duel.' From the unfavourable state of the weather, the Pallas did not leave Falmouth for America until the 18th of June, amidst the waving adieus of the young ladies, to whom the officers of the Pallas were by no means disagreeable."

The passage across the Atlantic was tedious, and the Prince suffered the usual penalties of a sea voyage, for the vessel was not well built, and slingered sadly. The water now and then came in, and choosing, on one occasion, precisely the most inconvenient hour of the day for one of its unwelcome visits, the contents of the dinner table were knocked about in sad confusion, and the sauer kraut terribly salted. As the intruding element was no respecter of persons, his Highness was sent, not in the most gentle manner, into a corner of the cabin.

'On the 28th, the roughness of the sea did not abate. I remained in my hammock till four o'clock in the afternoon, and passed the time as well as I could in reading, and heart-breaking reflections on the condition of man at sea in bad weather.'-vol. i. p. 58.

They soon after met with a ship with one hundred and thirty Irish emigrants on board, who were in great distress from want of provisions. Assistance was given from the Pallas, to which the Duke contributed out of his own stock. It was afterwards discovered that the master, Nicholls, had not distributed the provisions among the poor Irish, but kept them all himself. It affords some consolation to learn that the fellow was dismissed.

On arriving in America, our traveller describes the towns, curiosities, public buildings, &c., with his usual minuteness. Any thing like a connected account of his progress through the different states and the Canadas being, of course, out of the question, we shall select such passages and observations as are of general interest, either for the description of the country they contain, or as tending to unfold the personal character of the Duke. Throughout his journey, he directed his attention in a particular manner to the prisons, and his remarks on this subject show that he has studied it with the feelings and attention of a philanthropist.

A statistical account of the prison at Boston gives us the following results: Between the years 1805 and 1824, 1816 malefactors had been received. Of these, 1103 had been released at the expiration of their confinement, 298 had been pardoned, 15 had escaped, and 102 had died; remainder, 298. Of the 1103 who had been dismissed, 213 had been committed a second time, as had 24 of those who had been pardoned.

Of the 298 who remained in the prison, 54 were black or coloured men, and 59 white foreigners, viz. 13 English, 17 Irish, 8 Scotch, 4 from Nova Scotia, 2 Canadians, 1 from the Cape of Good

Hope, 3 West Indians, 2 Italians, 1 from Cape Verd, 1 Portuguese) and 1 German.

The whole expenses of the establishment amounted to 57,622 dollars; whereas the receipts from the produce of the labour of the prisoners amounted to 58,834 dollars, leaving a profit to the state of 1,212 dollars.

In Northampton, we learn that the people are very pious, and go to church three times a week, besides Sunday. A Bible formed part of the furniture of all the bedchambers of the inn. A curious mode of delivering the letters is customary here. The coachman throws them on the ground before the houses to which they are addressed, or if he should not happen to pass close to them, he leaves them in the nearest street.

The Duke visits the fall of Niagara, but does not attempt a laboured description.

'At Manchester we took up our quarters at the Eagle tavern, and immediately hastened to the fall on the American side. The roaring of the waters directed our steps. We came suddenly upon the precipice, and beheld the immense mass of water, rushing impetuously downwards, with a dreadful noise, to a fearful depth. It is impossible to describe the view; it is impossible to convey the mingled feeling of weakness and sublimity that arises in the human breast at the sight of this stupendous work of nature. We can only wonder, admire, and adore. The rocks on both sides are very steep; there are, however, covered wooden steps, by which we descended to the lower part of the stream, but the spray caused by the foam of the fall deprived us of the beautiful view we had anticipated. We, therefore, soon re-ascended, and enjoyed from above the contemplation of the majestic and sublime.'-vol. i. p. 132.

In company with some gentlemen of the Pallas,

'We went to Goat Island, to which two convenient wooden bridges have been recently thrown over the rapids. . . . . . The Indians, who formerly inhabited the country, esteemed the island sacred, and said that the great Manitto dwelt there. And how could the great Spirit reveal himself more awfully than in the overwhelming force of the vast waterfall.'vol. i. p. 133.

We extract, likewise, the description of the passage of the last rapid. There is a stillness in the Duke's conduct which speaks in his favour, and forms a striking contrast with the noise and bustle of the scene around him.

'We had now to pass the last and most dangerous of the rapids. The waves rose very high, and we glided over the dangerous spot with inconceivable swiftness. By the side of the rapids is a canal, with locks, for vessels going up the stream. To any one who views these rapids from the shore, it appears impossible that a boat could venture in them, without being instantly swallowed up. The wind blew strong, but favourable. We met a steam boat with a corpse on board; its flag, on this occasion, was half masted. This is considered a bad omen. Another steam boat passed quickly by us, and excited our desire to rival her in speed. But suddenly we heard and saw a dreadful storm approaching over the lake. We tried,

in all haste, to pull down the two sails; the smaller was fortunately taken down, but the tackle of the two larger being entangled, it was only half down, when the storm burst over us. We observed near us a buoy, pointing out a dangerous rock, which we ought to avoid, on our left, but the storm drove us with our half sail directly towards it. Six men could scarcely guide the helm. The sail was half in the water-we saw the moment of our destruction at hand. There was no order in the vessel,' the sailors knew better than the master, and every thing was in dreadful confusion. I thought it best to be silent- to resign myself to Providence, which watches over me and my fate. At last a sailor climbed the mast, and cut the rope, so that the sail could be taken down; and we fortunately passed the dangerous point.'-vol. i. p. 146.

Sir Francis Burton, Lord Dalhousie's locum tenens, received the Duke on his arrival at Quebec, with the distinction due to his rank. Sir Francis was very popular; but Lord Dalhousie, says our traveller, had, in the general opinion, alienated the affections of the people from himself and the government, and thereby increased the influence of the opposition in the Canadian House of Assembly.

1

We had met Bishop Plessis (the Catholic Bishop of Quebec) at Sir Francis Burton's, and noticed him as a polished and cultivated man.: He is the son of a butcher of Montreal, and has risen solely by his own merits. Some years ago he made a journey through England, France, and Italy, and was appointed by the Pope, Archbishop of Canada. The English government, however, refused to confirm the title; because, as Archbishop, he would have taken precedence of the Anglican Bishop in the Canadian Parliament. The Catholic clergy are held in high esteemwhich they deserve, from their talents (bildung) and the services which they have performed. The English government confirmed all the prerogatives and emoluments which they possessed before the conquest of the colony, and thus secured their co-operation.'-vol. i. p. 156.

At Saratoga, celebrated for its waters, the whole fashionable world collect; for they are as strongly infected with the mania of journeying in the summer to watering places, as in other countries. High Rock Spring may be considered the parallel to the celebrated Grotto del Cane, for if an animal be placed over it, it expires in half a minute.

Provided with a letter of introduction from the Governor, our traveller visited the Platonic sect of the Shakers, of whom he gives an interesting account. The greatest cleanliness, unequalled,' says the Duke, 'in any establishment that I have seen, except the Hospital at Boston, prevails throughout.' The colony at present consists of about 600 members, who are divided into families of 100 each. If a family wishes to enter the sect, the husband and› wife must adopt the peculiar doctrines of the Shakers, and the children be educated according to their principles. They also receive orphan children, although scandal sometimes ventures to point out the parents. The Duke adds, rather naifly' of course, if the principles of these people were to become general, which

heaven forbid the world would soon become unpeopled. It might however be advantageous in overpeopled countries, to introduce missionaries of the sect, and favour proselytism."

Every family has its shop, in which it exposes for sale articles made by its members. They are very successful in their treatment of cattle, and make good butter and cheese. Their swine in particular are excellent; and it is quite a pleasure to go into a Shaker's pigstye. They have likewise a garden, in which they excel in the culture of plants and roots used in medicine. In their place of worship, each member has a space of four foot square allotted for his or her saltatory exercises, which are performed with great zeal.

The Duke visited the military schools at Westpoint, and gives in detail the course of studies there adopted, but we have no room to extract it: nor did it appear to us to possess much novelty. The Cadets have a band, paid by the Government; and the inhabitants of the United States, of course, think theirs the best military music.

Every one to his taste,' says the Duke; but I must confess that, in my opinion, even the celebrated military music of the English Guards, as well as that of the Americans, is far inferior to the music of the Netherlands, or of Germany.'-vol. i. p. 185.

Our readers will, doubtless, recollect the anecdote of Themistocles, in which every man assumed to himself the first place for valour, but assigned to him the second. Our traveller writes con amore of Westpoint, perhaps delighted by a spot so congenial to his military habits and education, and this spirit is preserved to the end of the chapter. We have only room for the following observations, which we extract without comment :

At the little town of Tappan, the unfortunate Major André, condemned by the council of war as a spy, was executed and buried. His remains were disinterred a few years ago, by order of the English government, carried to England, and, if I mistake not, deposited in Westminster Abbey; whilst the remains of General Fraser, who fell like a hero, at the head of the King's troops, lie without a monument in the old redoubt near Still Water. The tree that grew over André's grave was likewise sent to England; and, as I was told, planted in the King's Garden, behind Carlton Palace.'-vol. i. p. 188.

We learn that it is very difficult to go through the streets of New York in a carriage on Sunday, as chains are thrown across them before all the churches, to prevent communication. This circumstance gives rise to the singular remark, that the Land of Freedom has likewise its chains.'

"In New York, as in all places where English manners prevail, it is the custom for the ladies to rise at the dessert, and the gentlemen remain to drink; but no one is obliged to do so contrary to his inclination. The ladies are seen no more, and every one goes when he pleases. The