RETURN TO DELAWARE. Oh! bright to my eye was the billow that burst, In childhood, my country I learned to adore. The gifted and glorious, the favored and free! Oh! death to the dastard, and chains for the slave, Who'd refuse to preserve, or perish with thee. Green home of my youth, still as bright to my eyes Are thy flowery fields, and cloud-covered hills! And bright as the sunlight, that lumines thy skies, Is the light in my mind, which fond memory fills. Now brighter and brighter, yon dim shore appears 'Tis the halcyon of hope, 'tis the beacon of bliss; And Affection has opened her deep fount of tears, For, oh! there's no home so happy as this. In fancy I see the gay beautiful bower, Where the minstrel to woman in boyhood sung; Where adorned by her hand with a fanciful flower, The harp of his happy heart often has hung. Sweet land of philosophy, land of the fair, ever. MILFORD BARD. CURRENTE-CALAMOSITIES: TO THE EDITOR. By the Author of "The Tree Articles." NO. XI. MY BOOKS UNPACKED. I resume my pen, this month, still surrounded by my unpacked library, which is not yet quite set up, howWe, dear reader, like learned Bellario and the fair Portia, in the play, will yet "turn o'er many books together," before all is set to rights;" and, in the meantime, take we up, as promised last month, this edition of BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER, which opens at the mark we left, with the TRAGEDY OF " VALENTINIAN." Of all the works of this literary copartnership I think I have been most pleased, upon a careful perusal, with this play. It bears the name of Fletcher alone, and was first printed in the year 1647. I do not award it so high a meed of praise as a mere dramatic production; for its plot is irregular and ill-contrived, and it seems to inculcate no very important general moral. But as a poem, it is unrivalled by any other work of its authors. The introduction of the Emperor's parasites opens the way for many indelicate allusions: yet, in this respect, the play, compared with others, is certainly among the least exceptionable. A general murders his best friend, for trying to prevent his revolt, in revenge for the rape of his wife by the Emperor, Valentinian. That monarch is poisoned by a servant of this friend; and Maximus assumes the purple, is married to Eudosia, the relict of Valentinian, and is put to death by her, she believing him false. But, as I have already said, the play derives no interest from its plot, but from the general tone and style of its poetical execution, and the deep knowledge of all the phases, and all the workings of the human heart, which is manifested throughout the whole, by its authors. The meeting of Decius, Maximus, and Lucina, after the visit to the Emperor, affords a scene of great power; the concealment of his indignation, by Maximus,-his bitter agony from a breaking heart,-his terribly passionate and scornful irony, make the reader shudder and weep, at once. The first extract I shall make, (and in quoting, I shall entirely disregard the course of the story,) is a description of Lucina (the wife of Maximus,) by Chilax, a pander to Valentinian, who had been employed to carry her off. He is addressing the Emperor : "She has in her— All the contempt of glory, and vain seeming The purest temple of her sect that ever And another heartless pander to the monarch's unholy lust thus strikingly paints her: "I ask'd her, After my many offers, walking with her, And pointed to a Lucrece that hung by,— This is certainly "a gem of purest ray serene." Ardelia and Phorba, courtezans, are employed by Valentinian's wicked tools, to aid in this despicable plot against Lucina, who thus addresses them: "If ever ye had fathers, and they, souls ; Died, worth a noble deed, that should be cherished; To this heart-searching appeal Ardelia only remarks, "So godly! This is ill-breeding, Phorba!" "Take heed! you were better Maximus thus addresses his wife, Lucina, after the hellish design of Valentinian had been forcibly accomplished: "Go, Lucina! Already in thy tears, I have read thy wrongs:Already found a Cæsar. Go, thou lily, Thou sweetly-drooping flower! Go, silver swan, Can any thing be more fine than this? And again; "And when he weeps, as you think, for his vices, Here is a song from the last act; the beauty of the language, the smoothness of the rhythm, and the imaginative tenderness of which are peculiarly striking. "Care-charming Sleep thou easer of all woes, Who, of all the poets, has transcended this? Lucina She sleeps! "Licinius. We are no gods, sir! If she be dead, to make her new again! Planting of worts and onions,-any thing And rise a great deal honester! My garments, The character of old Decius, the victim to the monarch's cruelty, and a martyr to "as much goodness as could die, and excellence as could live,” is finely drawn. The following extracts are from his dying speech, addressed to one of his friends, Phidias: "This I charge ye, (Because ye say, ye loved old Decius aye :) Be there No annals of Decius, but 'HE LIVED.' I have mentioned that the Emperor was poisoned by the servant of that friend himself had murdered; and my last extract is his dying speech. It is a mighty conception of the author, this! Imagining the parting thoughts and horrid blasphemies of a wretch whose life had been devoted to the worship of his own senses; whose hand had been raised only to distress,-whose tongue had been made vocal only to damn,—his eye Valentinian. She cannot die! She must not die! Are those looking but to wither, is indeed a stupendous effort I plant my love upon but common livers? Their hours, as others', told them? Can they be ashes? That I am all that is? The world's my creature; The trees bring forth their fruits, when I say "Summer!" Here is a masterly description of honest poverty, exulting in its superiority over hypocritical and empty greatness: it is addressed to one of the minions of courtfavor, by Pontius, a centurion, who had been cashiered by one of the Emperor's generals. "I am poor, And may expect a worse; yet digging, pruning, Mending of broken ways, carrying of water, of human genius! He is dying of poison, and says, as life is fast ebbing away, "Gods! let me ask, what am I, that ye lay A murderer-a hated Cæsar: Oh! Are there not vows enough-and flaming altars- And when that fails, the BLOOD of thousand captives, Here, while the volume is open before me, I may as well transcribe three beautiful stanzas from the same fine pens. "Hence, all your vain delights! Wherein you spend your folly: But only melancholy! Oh! sweetest melancholy! A look, that's fastened to the ground! Are warmly hous'd, save bats and owls;- Then, stretch our bones in a still, gloomy valley, couth shape and size, lie scattered around me; and the profound stillness of the summer's night, is only broken by the deep-mouthed baying of the faithful watch dog. Imagination pictures to herself the ghosts of my ancestors, frowning upon the degenerate apostacy of their renegade descendant, who, forsaking the time-honored occupation of his forefathers, would call in question the wisdom of that philosophy which would entail upon the child the avocation, sentiments, and opinions of his parent. In the estimation of these venerable sages, book-learning should be left exclusively to the wealthy and high-born; to the plain farmer, so far from being a sine qua non, it but served to distract his attention with a thousand theoretical hypotheses, utterly at variance with the safe and advantageous prosecution of his calling. Science and agriculture were as diametrically opposed as light and darkness; the latter capable of receiving no assistance from the former, nor of reflecting any light upon her researches. Science was to be cultivated by the pale-face man of letters in the silent retirement of his chamber, whilst agriculture, like the mechanical arts, could only be advantageously pursued by him whose life had been practically devoted to its study. The expression of opinions so The following lines are from "The Queen of Co-wide of fact, might at this day excite some surprise, rinth," by the same poets, and having copied them, we will put BEAUMONT and FLETCHER on the shelf. "Weep no more, nor sigh, nor groan,- Gentlest fair, mourn, mourn no moe." My next shall be a continuation of this subject, but more various in its topics, and of a somewhat lighter strain. At present, adieu l New York, October 1, 1839. J. F. O. but my countrymen are not now what they were some seventy years back, though I am not entirely satisfied but that many still afford practical illustrations of this same doctrine. The condition of our country at that time was such, as to afford few comparative facilities for the attainment of an education, and those few were solely within the reach of the aristocratic and wealthy. The stirring events of the Revolution, and the consequent excitement produced upon the minds of the people, caused to some extent a suspension in the operations of the social system. After the conclusion of that struggle, the entire change which had been effected in government, produced a change almost equally perceptible in the manners of the people. Though the artificial distinctions in the various grades of society, which existed in England, had never been recognized in Virginia, yet the line of demarkation between "distin LETTERS FROM OUT THE OLD OAK. guished families" and the residue of the community, NO. II. My dear Messenger,-Discarding every thing like formality, you perceive I already assume the style of an old and intimate acquaintance, and in place of the coy distant address of Mr. Editor, have adopted the more social and affectionate one of my dear Messenger. I have often imagined, from the writings of the author, we might form a correct idea of the character of the man; such I am sure was the case with Byron; and if Willis's delineation of the right-amiable Mrs. Bulwer be true to life, I have not been mistaken in my estimate of her ladyship, from a perusal of the dedication af fixed to her Cheveley, or the Man of Honor. Well, I was about making an application of this dictum to myself, but I will leave this to your more intelligent readers, and pass on. Night sits enthroned in darkness, and one solitary star, riding high and wan in its distant sphere, is holding its lonely vigil over the page upon which your correspondent embodies the fleeting reflections of an idle hour. A few old dusty volumes of un was clearly defined and well understood. Old family mansions, whether protected by the law of entails or not, descended regularly from sire to son, whilst the right of primogeniture secured the entire landed estate in the hands of the eldest born. Under our republican system, however, these laws, which hitherto had virtually debarred the middle ranks of society from the hope of making any permanent acquisition of real interest were abolished, and others enacted in their stead, suited to the increased exigencies of society, and tending to facilitate the transfer of real property, as the conveniency of families or the wants of the individual might demand. Industry and economy were now left free to acquire, and an opportunity presented "the many" of building up baronial estates similar to those already existing, or at least of participating in the wreck of such as were ready to decay. Money, therefore, became the great desideratum, and wealth, not education, the legacy which the parent was most desirous of bequeathing the child. These causes were not of a local or sectional character; but perhaps their influence operated to a greater extent in the tide water sections of Virginia than elsewhere. Be this as it may, in each year, bears on its bosom to the beach, a boon some cause existed to produce the effect. The productive resources of our State have not been developed; nor has the cause of education been sufficiently advocated or attended to. My county, in common with others, has suffered from the neglect of matters so important and essential to national improvement and national prosperity. which would lend verdure to sterility, and cause the wild flower to bloom more luxuriantly and beautifully. Her surface is white with the merchantman's canvass, and each breeze may waft some portion of the productions of our soil to the first marts of our country. Internal improvements we need not. The voice of our represen tative is never heard in the hall of our legislature asking an expenditure of public funds for the construction of rail roads or the excavation of canals. The Rappahannock and Potomac, fair sisters, with their numerous creeks and inlets, are Nature's highways; we ask not of Art the exercise of her wand, or the display of her powers. A proper application of the means, which our locality presents, will develope resources amply sufficient, and Plenty, fair goddess, blending her blessings with the graces of our land, cause the home of Washington to become the Eden of Virginia. Sæpe, malum hoc nobis, si mens non læva fuisset De cœlo tactas memini prædicere quercus ; Sæpe sinistra cava, prædixit, ab ilice cornix. Incessant and eternal motion, is, however, the law, not less of rational than inanimate nature. Looking to inanimate nature alone, there is not a shrub, or flower of the field, but that would serve to impress it upon the mind. The most usual and familiar phenomena testify to the truth of the assertion, with an impressive emphasis, which man can neither mistake nor question. "It is indelibly imprinted upon the face of the earth, in The cause of agriculture, nevertheless how important revolution and in change; indelibly, also, on that of soever it may be to us, is not one upon which I look the heavens, in never-ending exhibitions of wonder and with so much interest, as that of education. “Animi of beauty." So intimately blended is it with all the imperio, corporis servitio, magis utimur," says Safunctions of organized animate beings, that motion may lust; the one excelling the other as the gods were well be said to be typical of life, whilst its absence is to superior brutes. The sentiment has lost none of its the unerring emblem of death. Nor is it the law of beauty or force, from its antiquity, whilst the truth of matter alone. It is equally applicable to mind. Nei- the old Roman's assertion would be well sustained ther the one nor the other can ever remain at rest. Pro- by the testimony of the nineteenth century, in which gress or retrograde it must. It is the stern command of of a truth, arma cedant toga, concedat laurea lingu. At inexorable, unyielding destiny. Nations, like indivi- no period in the history of mankind, has intellectual duals, are its subjects, and under the influence of its acquirement been more highly appreciated than now. operations their history is but unending revolution. Genius has never been cheered on her pathway with Thus has it been with us-many of the customs of our more thrilling plaudits, nor has her brow been encircled forefathers lie buried in their graves. Time has intro- with a greener wreath, than that with which America duced innovation, and change succeeded unto change. is ready to reward her. In the best days of Augustan Even the very sports and amusements of the young are literature, when Mæcenas had drawn about the throne not what they once were. The condition of society of the Cæsars those living and undying lights which yet has been improved. A thousand presses are daily send- clothe it in glory and splendor, Intellect was not more ing forth their winged messengers, laden with the cho-highly prized, more richly rewarded. The field for her sen arcana of science; seminaries, academies, and col- labors is illimitable-the necessity for her exertions coleges have been instituted; and the increasing demand eval and coeternal with the existence of man. Consider. for the productions of intellect and genius, must ulti-ations of high moment call on the American, with pecumately lead to results corresponding to the efforts made. liar emphasis, to extend and disseminate every facility The operation of these causes has not been entirely un- which our country can afford, for the promotion of inproductive. Their influence has been felt; and so long formation. Upon this pillar rests the question of man's as they continue to operate, improvement must be the capability for self-government,-the experiment of our consequence. As a citizen and son of Virginia, proud ancestors, founded on this presumption, is dependent of her honors, and alive to her interests, I reiterate the upon the wisdom of their descendants for its final comcompliment paid the editor of the Farmers' Register, pletion. The cause of education is onward in its proby one of her congressional representatives-"That he gress, et sic semper esto. has done better service to his State, than all her politi- Westmoreland County, Va. cians combined, for the last twenty years." My county has not remained stationary amid the buzz of revolution and of change. The dissemination of correct views, and sound principles, relative to agriculture, must introduce improved systems of cultivation. Every facility here, which the farmer could wish or desire, Nature has placed within his reach. A country origi ginally fertile, remarkably champaign, and intersected with numberless streams capable of boat navigation, needs only the hand of industry and enterprise speedily to approximate the favored Eutopia, as pictured by the dreaming visionary. The very rivers which bathe her shores and beautify her scenery, may be made to afford inexhaustible supplies of the finest manures. Yea, every wave of the majestic Potomac, for some months A FRAGMENT. NUGATRITE. Oh! when in Death's arms, this fond bosom reposes, MILFORD BARD. THE FOREST. Ye dear old Forests! how I love, And through your bowers of laurel stray. To muse beneath your leafy plumes, While slow and deep the breezes sigh; How oft I've hasten'd to your bowers, A sister's hand has touch'd those flowers, And He who heeds the mourner's cry, Ye dear old Forests! I have wept, And smil'd and pray'd, your shades among, And ye have listen'd while I swept My wild harp to the unstudied song. And when I sleep the dreamless sleep, ENTHUSIASM. LYDIA JANE. As the action of wind upon fire, so oftentimes is that of enthusiasm upon the flame of action or admiration. It is made to burn brighter for awhile, but only to go out the sooner. Enthusiasts taking up strong likes and dislikes, if they are once convinced of a flaw in the character of a person whom they had admired, immediately give them up forever, and frequently go exactly into the opposite direction. Such is the fate of a political favorite-admired and caressed for a season, whilst the enthusiasm in his favor lasts-and when it has burnt out, or when he has gone counter to his admirers in the slightest respect-abused and maltreated, as a man without principle, and as an enemy to his country. Williamsburg, Va. VOL. V.-92 THE REV. MR. CHAPIN'S ADDRESS. We have been anxious long since to give place to Mr. Chapin's Anniversary Address, delivered before the Richmond Ly. ceum in April last, and have only been prevented from doing so by the numerous demands upon our pages. The address itself has lost none of its freshness or importance by delay. It inculcates in singularly felicitous language the great and important truth, that Intelligence (by which is meant the clear per ception of truth and duty universally diffused,) is essentially requisite to the prosperity of a nation. By prosperity Mr. Chapin means all that "relates to a nation's progress, happiness, and safety ;" and with these definitions it will be found, that he has very conclusively proved his main proposition. Few, however, are willing to contest this great truth in the abstract, for the same has been long since demonstrated by reason, as well as by his torical experience. The difficulty lies in carrying out our own convictions into practice, or in cordially uniting for the purpose of establishing and diffusing the only preventives to national decay and dissolution. What boots it that we know of some sovereign specific against contagion, if we madly neglect its use? If universal education, moral and mental, be necessary to perpetuate free government, and men are convinced of the fact, why are our law-makers so listless and indifferent on the subject, or why are the members of society generally so little disposed to make even small sacrifices, to insure so grand a result? The question, perhaps, is not so easily answered; yet we fear that the great prevailing and controlling sin of the present age, is the desire to grow rich. Whilst we acknowledge that such a desire, moderately cherished, is beneficial to society, we believe nothing is so pernicious when it becomes inordinate. It deadens all the finer feelings, contracts the social and domestic affections, and extinguishes the spirit of patriotism. We com. mend Mr. Chapin's address to general perusal. Besides the excellence of its doctrine, it contains many passages of rare beauty and eloquence.-[Editor So. Literary Messenger. ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS, Delivered before the Richmond Lyceum, in the Capitol, April 3d, 1839.-By Rev. E. H. Chapin. Gentlemen of the Richmond Lyceum : I presume that you have already anticipated, from the occasion, the general strain of remark which I shall employ at this time. The anniversary of an institution like yours, calls for some topic of an intellectual and moral nature, and such, whatever specific grade it may occupy, is the character of the address to which, for a brief portion of time, I request your attention. And here permit me to say, that I feel my own inadequacy to the full accomplishment of the duty required by the present circumstances. Such an opportunity as this, should ever be possessed by the giant and master spirits of the age-the skilful and industrious laborers in the great cause of progress-who are out in the field of humanity, toiling in the sunshine and blessing the shower, removing obstructions, opening the goodly soil and scattering abroad and afar the seeds, we trust, of a rich and glorious harvest for their country. It needs such men as these, who can lay bare all the sinews of a subject, and show its full force and importance; and I feel, therefore, I repeat, my inadequacy to the task now assigned me. I will only premise farther, that I shall advance no novel topic, nor indulge in any startling theory or singular and ingenious argument-content with the fact, that the publication of essential, and, it is to be feared, much-neglected truth, however trite it may be, is better than the exhibition of many finely wrought and beautiful devices. |