tle more, I tried to get him upon the father, and endeavored to extract from him some further particulars of his-history than I had been able to gather from Mr. Bulkley. But if he knew any thing about him, he kept his own counsel, for I got nothing by my cross-examination. He lived like a gentleman, he said, with nothing observable or distinguishing about him. He had, himself, been brought into contact with him, from the circumstance of his being employed by the British Government in the dispensation of the bounties of the Crown to the families of the loyalists. He was the accredited agent through whom the friends of many of those that had suffered in the Revolution reached the beneficiaries-especially those of them who had returned to America, or settled in the provinces. He possessed the confidence of the ministers, and was eminently fitted for this business by his personal knowledge of almost all those unfortunate exiles, reaching back in many cases to the very time of the emigration. Markham's own father having belonged to this same category, he had had some intercourse with him at the agency in London, on his part, and in consequence of this had received friendly attentions from him when he came into the neighborhood of Walford Hall, on the occasion above recited. All this was natural enough, and I could not gainsay a word of it. Indeed, I believed it was all literally true; but I was by no means so sure that it was quite the whole truth. Markham, too, seemed to be entering into the conspiracy to mystify me about these people, whose affairs were, certainly, no business of mine. But, then, if people attended only to their own affairs, a stupid world we should have of it!

Nor was this the only share he had in my mystification. Not long afterwards we were just returning from a ride, and were proceeding towards the livery stable, which was connected with the Exchange Coffee House,-at that time the chief hostelry that Boston boasted,just as the New York stage-coach drove up to the door of the hotel. Every body who visited Boston at that time will remember that the passage-way in front of that house of entertainment was very disproportionately small, when compared with its size and pretensions; so much so, that we were interrupted in our career by the sweeping round of the four horses, and had to pull up for a moment. But that moment was sufficient. For, just before my eyes, sitting on the coach-box, was the identical interloper whom I had last seen emerging, like a water-god, from

I

the waves of the Quasheen! There could not be a doubt of it. Though I had seen him but for a moment, the circumstances of that sight sufficed to stereotype his looks upon my memory for ever. should have known him if I had met him on the top of Mount Hecla. He looked at me from under his shaggy eyebrows (which, however, did not hinder his being a very well-looking fellow), as if he had seen me somewhere before. But I do not think he recognized me, as he probably took much less notice of me than I did of him. His scrutiny of my countenance, however, was over the moment his eyes glanced at my companion. He, evidently enough, recognized him, and derived no particular satisfaction from the recognition. He was, very clearly, not a man to be easily taken aback, and one that had a tolerable command of his countenance; but he could not control the expression of surprise and displeasure that was extorted from him by the suddenness of the encounter. Markham's face showed less equivocal marks of dislike, if not of surprise, as became his younger years and less disciplined facial muscles. He muttered an indistinct comment on the occasion which did not reach further than my ears--which being the case, and as it involved an adjective or two which might justly grieve godly ears, I shall forbear to put it upon permanent record. He on the coach-box made a kind of a motion of the nature of a salutation in the direction of the brim of his hat, which Markham acknowledged by the faintest perceptible swaying of his head, and then turning away, rode on through the arch

that led to the stables.

"That gentleman doesn't seem to be fond of you, Markham," said I as naturally as I could, "who may he be ?"

"O, he's a countryman of mine," he replied, "that is, he is my countryman and yours too. He's a half Yankee, as well as myself. We are not over fond of one another, as you suspect."

"And his name is Smith, is it not?" I put interrogatively.

"Smith!" he answered, "what do you mean by that? Do you suppose every Englishman is named Smith ?"

"Why, it is a tolerably generic name, I answered, "but I had a more specific reason for supposing it to belong to him, for I have been told so by a landlord of his."

“For God's sake, what do you mean, Osborne ?" he demanded in strong surprise, "where have you ever seen him? He surely doesn't pass here by that name!"

I then stated that I had met this per

sonage, whoever he might be, in the neighborhood of Wensley, when fishing, not long before, and that I had accidentally learned from the landlord where he lodged, that he rejoiced in the general appellation I had applied to him. Of course, I made no mention of my cousin Eleanor's name in the business, and seemed to know no more of him than I have just related. Why shouldn't I have my little mystery, too? And I rather imagined that he would have given all I wanted to know in exchange for what I had to tell. But my lips were sealed, of course, as to all that had passed between them in my presence, and Markham had to spell out the mystery as deep as he could, without my assistance.

"This is very strange!" said Markham, half to himself; "what could he have been lurking about there for, under a nom de guerre!" And then addressing himself to me, he went on, "The man's name is Ferguson, and I am almost as much at a loss as you to account for his chang

ing his name without royal license. But Englishmen have a character to be odd, and, possibly, this is the form which Mr. Ferguson's oddity takes unto itself. At any rate," he went on as if talking to himself again,-"we will hope there are not many Englishmen like him. He's a black sheep!

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He then changed the conversation; and as it was plain he wished to avoid the subject, I could get no more satisfaction from him about it. And as this was the last time we were to be together, previous to my return to Wensley, I had no further opportunity of recurring to it. At parting, however, he promised me, of his own accord, that he would certainly beat up my quarters before very long; until what time I was perforce compelled to adjourn my curiosity. We parted that night, and the next day Whitefoot carried me safely to Parson Bulkley's door, at which we were, both of us, joyfully received both by master and man.

MR. PIERCE came into power with the

best opportunities for doing good of any of our later Presidents. Not since Washington inaugurated the constitution, or Jefferson gave a proper democratic direction to its functions, has any chief magistrate had a fairer chance for distinguishing himself, or of imparting a new and noble impulse to the energies of the country.

The auspices of his advent to which we refer were these,―a virtual dissolution of the old parties by which former administrations have been held in check, and a general willingness of the whole people to enter upon a new, original, and generous policy. We say, a dissolution of the old parties," because the whig party had virtually abandoned its distinctive grounds as an organized body,—a fact which has since been abundantly confessed by its leading exponents,—whilst the democratic party, though it nominally adhered to an alleged scheme of doctrine, admitted the most heterogeneous elements into its canvass, and by rejecting its well-known leaders, and accepting an almost unknown candidate, deserted the strict line of principle for a make-shift.

We infer, consequently, from these facts, a disposition on the part of the electors of both parties to relinquish the issues which had, for some years, divided them, with a

view to initiate a different order of things. Nullifiers, seceders, free-soilers, barnburners, hunkers, hards, softs, and Webster and conservative whigs, all voted for the Baltimore nominee, who had been preferred to Cass, Marcy, Buchanan, and Douglass, and who was subsequently chosen. over General Scott. The rigid demarcations of parties were not drawn, and there was a ready and almost universal acquiescence in the result.

The successful competitor therefore had no very embarrassing antecedents: as he had never openly solicited his position, as he had made no pledges to insure the result, as he was indebted for success, specifically, to no clique or faction, and owed no allegiance but to the great leading principles of Democracy; he entered upon his career apparently untrammelled by commitments, or secret connections, or party debts. He was no more, nor less, when elected, than the first executive magistrate of this democratic republic, and, in the determination of his course, had no sinister influences to consult; nothing but the broadest and best suggestions of democratic truth. No man, no set of men could say to him, "You were our candidate exclusively, and we elected you, and you are thereby bound, in the distribution of your patronage, and in the shaping of

your measures, to regard solely our interests and wishes. We are your creator, or, which is the same thing, you are our puppet and tool; and we mean that you shall do as we say, or we shall charge you with recreancy, ingratitude, and the violation of contracts."

No man, nor set of men could have addressed him thus, because he was able, with the utmost propriety, to reply, "Not so: inasmuch as my election was, under the circumstances, the act of a majority, variously composed, which expects me to be the President of the nation, and not of a faction; past differences appear to have been waved, if not forgotten. My political life dates from the 2d day of November. As a young man, a comparatively new man, for whose sake the old notabilities were thrust aside, and old party issues kept in the background, I have but one obligation, and that is to Duty, under the present circumstances of the country, and according to the best lights that my mind can discover. I am clearly absolved, then, from all sinister, collateral, and restrictive ties, and must look only to the welfare of the whole people."

Admitting this to have been the case, let us ask, What were the duties of a free President of the United States; of one chosen to initiate in some sort a new era, forgetting, like St. Paul, the things that were behind, and pressing forward to the prize for the high calling of God? What policy ought he to have adopted, what measures should he have made the distinguishing objects of his administration?

The ancient topics of division, as we have said, were kept perdu, if not obliterated altogether, because the subjects themselves had been settled. The doctrines of a national bank, of a protective tariff, of internal improvements by the federal government, &c., though not completely and definitively determined upon a strict scientific basis, had yet passed out of the active discussions of the day; the people had pronounced upon them, and there was no longer need of keeping them in agitation. But new questions had arisen of immediate and pressing concern; other questions of large promise loomed in the distance; and besides the controversies actually up, or soon to advance, there was a general lurking impression, among men of all shades of opinion, that the Government, both in its domestic and foreign policy, was called upon to take a conspicuous and decided stand.

Among these questions were the following: Whether the Pacific Railroad, the most stupendous industrial enterprise of this, or any other age, was to be carried into successful operation, and by

what means? Whether, in the repleted condition of the treasury, the public lands of the United States were to be made free to all settlers,-thereby proclaiming to the world, for the first time in its history, one of the most important and fundamental truths of political economy, that there is no value in land, but only in the labor by which it is cultivated and improved? Whether the government was to be restored to the only just and democratic method of raising revenue, which is, by direct taxation? Whether that oppressive monopoly and nuisance, the Post Office establishment, was to be reformed according to the spirit of the age, brought up to the actual requirements of the business community, or abandoned altogether? Whether the vast number of executive appointments, which have given to the President a more than imperial power, which render our political controversies a mean and degraded scramble for office, and which have already undermined the integrity of the electoral body, ought not to be immediately relinquished to the people? Whether the expensive and useless system of diplomatic intercourse, now maintained for no other apparent purpose than to furnish places for the reward of partisan leaders, should not be restricted, and altered into a more effective service,—and that should help to create democrats abroad instead of feeding and fostering aristocrats at home ?-and, finally, Whether the young republic now advanced to the position of the first power of the world, is to make itself felt as such throughout the world, the dread of tyrants, and the hope of the oppressed in all lands, or whether, pursuing only a material success, aiming only at an outward splendor and prosperity, without the high, noble, and expansive spirit which is the justification and highest grace of prosperity, it shall harden into obdurate selfishness, or gradually sinking into effeminacy, welter like another Dragon of Wantley, in the filth of its own corruptions?

These, we repeat, were among the questions presented to every politician and statesman, in or out of place,―to every citizen,—and with which a new administration ought to grapple, if it designed to make itself a character. They are the questions of the day, and demand solution.

We shall not undertake to discuss them in detail, but we shall indicate the views which we think the nation, or its directors, are bound to adopt, by expressing a single and master truth. Every nation has a peculiar character, and a peculiar destiny, and the instincts of its people are the surest interpreters of

what that character and destiny are designed to be. The conclusions of great men, deduced from their reading and experience, the speculations of newspaper editors, derived from local and personal influences, the suggestions of cabals and cliques, looking to the triumphs of special interests, may possess a limited significance and value, but they cannot guide a whole people in the right way. They more often divert action from its true course, and lead all those who trust to them into morasses and quagmires. But the spontaneous, native, untaught and unsophisticated impulses of the masses, are a more genuine inspiration, and far more certain guide.

Now, the whole history of this country, as well as its natural position, and the instincts and peculiarities of the people, show that it was designed to be a straightforward, fair, upright and outright DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC,-clearly distinguishable from all other nations, no less in the spirit of its people than in the structure of its government,—and set apart by circumstances and by time,-or in other words, by the Providence of God, for the manifestation, on the highest scale, of the truth, the beauty, and the goodness of that creed which recognizes the equality and brotherhood of the human race. Other nations that have gone before us, have had other objects to accomplish in the developments of history; have been forced to play other parts in the shifting glooms and splendors of the social drama; but it was reserved for this nation,-blessed be the Lord for it!-to determine and mould its own character; to organize the democracy,

-to make the people their own governors, the sources of power, as well as the objects of its exercise,-the judges and efficient agents of their own best welfare. If it does not accomplish that, if it recurs to any of the antiquated and effete formularies of the past; if it becomes the mere echo, or servile imitator of European examples, it may grow into a splendid offshoot, but can never be an independent, self-subsistent, original nation. True democracy is our glory; while the mere attempt at it, the vague image and shadow of it, must inevitably be our disgrace.

If it is asked what true democracy means, we answer in a single phraseThat condition of society in which the individual is left to work out his own destiny, as far as he can do so, without infringing the natural rights of others. This expresses the full meaning of the word, and is the most pregnant, inspiring, beneficent, and lofty conception of the poli

tical relations of men that was ever uttered. It proclaims to all mankind their inherent rights,—their freedom, and their equality, and guarantees them the broad universe for the display of their powers, opening every motive to action, stimulating every energy, appealing to every generous desire; and then, in the end, crowning exertion with the richest guerdons of success, the consciousness of a position conquered for one's self, and the smile of Heaven. A democratic administration, therefore, if it would be more than an echo of old and effete party organizations,-whose professed principles are the mere husks of doctrines outgrown, and whose rallying cries are the shallowest and most nauseating cant,should make the prevalence of this living, active, vitalizing democracy its cardinal object, removing every obstacle in its way, and enlarging its scope by every practicable effort.

The administration of Mr. Pierce, though it has been for eight months in power, has made no formal declaration of its policy, and we care not, therefore, to criticise it in respect to the questions we have indicated. It has, however, taken many occasions for showing the spirit in which it means to approach its great responsibilities, and these we shall note. We have no disposition to prejudge its case; indeed, we have been willing to indulge the most sanguine hopes of its future career; yet we are compelled to say, reluctantly, that thus far we find in what it has done, no evidences of a large, magnanimous, and true-hearted statesmanship. On the contrary, we do find the most unmistakable signs of a narrow, petty, superficial, and intolerant partisanship, alike wanting in judgment and dignity, and utterly unworthy of this people, both in the ability and tone with which affairs have been conducted. The government has been managed, and not administrated, as we shall see by recurring briefly to its pro

minent acts.

The inaugural address was well enough in its way, for, as nothing is expected of that formality but common-place congratu lations and vague generalities, nobody was disappointed. It was, perhaps, too sophomorical and inflated in style, and abounded too much in what is vulgarly termed "Fourth of July clap-trap," but it was not, on the whole, worse than some of the inaugurals by which it had been preceded; a great deal of it was unexceptional, because insignificant, or what no man disputed. It is enough, in all cases, for the chief magistrate to execute the laws as he finds them, and not to

make a parade of unneeded zeal. His eath of fidelity to the constitution, 'was a sufficient earnest of his determination to uphold the Union, without the rhetorical surplusage of a promise.

In the selection of his cabinet, Mr. Pierce exhibited neither wonderful shrewdness nor wonderful strength. It was not such a cabinet as a man of earnest purpose, clear conviction, or strong reliance upon his own principle would have chosen. It was one which rather evinced a weak desire of conciliating all factions and interests. It was composed on the plan of reconciling contrasts and harmonizing opposites. A New England whig, who had achieved the bad eminence of shining in the councils of John Tyler, and who had but recently been converted to the socalled democratic party; a New-York conservative, identified with no great measure, but intimately connected with the machinery of party management, which had long been the opprobrium of New-York politics; a Southern seceder, notorious for extreme and violent opinion; a Western free-soiler, and unknown men from parts that one does not care to charge his memory with,-formed together a compound that instantly suggested to the newspapers the famous description by Burke of the speckled and checkered cabinet of Lord Chatham,—“ a piece of diversified mosaic, a tesselated pavement without cement; here a bit of black stone, there a bit of white; patriots and courtiers, king's friends and republicans," so that the colleagues whom he had assorted at the same board, stared at each other, and were obliged to ask"Sir, your name?"-" Sir, you have the advantage of me!"-"Mr. Such-a-one, I beg ten thousand pardons." Mr. Marcy and Mr. Cushing, it is true, were sagacious and able men, particularly skilled in party tactics and secret manoeuvres, but the others were undistinguished, or only distinguished in very circumscribed localities. Had they been young, as well as obscure men, the country might have hoped to find in them some as yet undiscovered freshness of talent; but as they were not young, and still obscure, there was no chance of escape from the settled conviction of their mediocrity. Had they been men of matured and certain opinions, either out-and-out conservatives, or outand-out abettors of Young America, their appointment would have furnished a clue to the probable course of the new administration; but they were neither one nor the other; and from the day of their advent at Washington, until the present time, the country has floundered in a sea of conjectures as to the destinies of the

future. Now a great man,

-a man clearly discerning his position, forecasting the end from the beginning, resolved to control events, and not to allow the winds and tides of circumstance to shape his course, surrounds himself with men of the same clear, energetic, decided character. He does not make the noodles and nobodies that he may scare up any where, his chief agents.

It has, unfortunately, become the first work of an administration in this country, to distribute the offices within its control. The odious practice of political proscription, originally justified by Mr. Marcy, under the barbarian military maxim, that "to the victors belong the spoils," -a soft translation of the vae victis of ancient brutality,-has been carried to such lengths, that politicians almost universally consider the emoluments of office as the rightful reward of partisan services. One hears them speak of their claims to this place or that, with as much familiarity and confidence as a man refers to an estate that had been left him by will, or a laborer to the wages that are his due. They make a few ward speeches, get their names on committees, spend money at the grog-shops where voters assemble, subscribe largely to the expenses of an election, vote the regu lar nomination, and then forthwith insist that they have earned a collectorship, or a place as chargé d'affaires. they are refused by the appointing power, they feel themselves both injured and ag grieved. They tell over their numerous services to their friends, speak of the ingratitude of the great men they have helped to make, and threaten rebellion and uproar, until they are finally appeas ed by promises for the future. It scarcely matters what their capacities, what their characters, what their social relations may be; they may hail from the purlieus of Mercer-street or the Five Points, they may lead notorious bands of violent men, they may be under criminal indictments-but as they have established a claim upon their party, that party must provide for their payment, must se cure them a place, as the guerdon of past, and the gauge of future fidelity.

If

Need we attempt to describe the disas trous effect of such a system upon all the functions of public life? Does it not attack political virtue at its source; corrupt the integrity of the electoral body; inflame controversies, which should be the conflict of great principles, into intemperato and violent personal hatreds; convert popular suffrage into a farce, or what is worse, into a falsehood and a fraud; introduce the most unworthy agents