ed as sentinels at the portals of our lips, and com- to allude to them. What were his motives and mit all that passes them to their indelible tablets! | inducements to yield to an enemy which robbed Gentle, but, perchance, not altogether impeccable, him of the fairest prizes of life, I know not; but Reader! you start at the thought of having all I cannot but think that his peculiar personal apyour unguarded utterances registered and perpetu-pearance had something to do with it. ated, for "conscience doth make cowards of us His head was large and expressive, with dark all;" but presently recovering your self-posses- eyes and white waving locks, and resting upon sion, you dismiss the thought as a mere bugbear broad shoulders, with the smallest possible apolof the imagination. Be it so away with the ogy for a neck. To a sturdy and ample frame fear of these supernatural eaves-droppers; let the were appended legs and arms of a most disproporearth hide them! But are you sure that nature, tioned shortness, and "in his whole aspect, there by one of her laws, has not subjected you to a was something indescribably elfish and grotesque, tell-tale apparatus, giving an unlimited and irre- such as limners do not love to paint, nor ladies to pressible echo to every syllable you utter? Plunge look upon. He reminded you of a spy-glass shut your hand into the English channel, and you raise up, and you wanted to take hold of him and pull the level of the sea, however imperceptibly, at the him out into a man of goodly proportions and Cape of Good Hope. Plunge an exclamation into average stature. It was difficult to repress a silence, and you disturb silence at the extremities smile at his appearance as he approached, for the of the universe, if there be any truth in the theory elements were so quaintly combined in him that he of Dr. Babbage, that as sound is communicated seemed like one of Cowley's conceits translated and renewed by perpetual undulations of the air, into flesh and blood. Personal defects may be set it never dies, becoming gradually audible in the aside in various ways. Commonplace natures bedistances of space, as it ceases to be heard at the come insensible to them from mere obtuseness of point of its original emission. Oh! if all our feeling. A great man rises disdainfully above oaths and imprecations, all our angry and unchari- them. A meek and self-renouncing spirit bears table outbursts, all our expressions of falsehood, them gently and serenely. But poor Coleridge folly, and ribaldry, have been constantly carried was none of these. He was clever, ambitious and on the wings of air, in all their unabated sinfulness and loudness, to the throne of heaven, I know not how we could evince a proper sense of our past utterances, except by the future and constant reiteration of the word-" pardon! pardon!"

From the Transcript.

HARTLEY COLERIDGE.

IN your paper is an extract from an article in the London Examiner upon the late Hartley Coleridge, bestowing no more than his due meed of praise upon a man of fine powers, with whom "the stage darkened ere the curtain fell." It was my fortune to make the acquaintance of Mr. Coleridge, during a visit of a few days at Ambleside, in the month of September last, and it may not be without interest to your readers to hear immediately of a man with such personal and inherited claims to observation and regard. He lived in a small cottage on the banks of the lake of Grassmere, about a mile from the residence of Wordsworth, in the midst of a region of singular beauty and grandeur, "meet nurse for a poetic child." His life was that of a recluse, mostly divided between solitary walks and solitary studies. He seemed to have no personal relations with the families of the gentlemen resident in the neighborhood, and he rarely crossed the path of the tourists who at certain seasons of the year swarmed like autumnal leaves in that lovely region. This arose from no inherent unsocialness of nature, but more than anything else, from the consciousness of his unfortunate habits, and the sting of self-reproach which they left behind. These habits were a matter of general notoriety, and it is no violation of the honor due to the dead, 11

CCLVIII.

LIVING AGE. VOL. XXI.

aspiring, of a sensitive organization, seeking to be loved, honored and esteemed, but not endowed with those great original powers which win without effort and subdue without strife. Without knowing anything about it, I have no question that the consciousness of personal defects, which is an element so noticeable in the poetry of Pope, had its influences upon the life of Hartley Coleridge, and made him offer less resistance to the assaults and temptations of an inherited tendency.

His manners were like those of men accustomed to live much alone, simple, frank and direct, but not in all respects governed by the rules of conventional politeness. It was difficult for him to sit still. He was constantly leaving his chair, walking about the room and then sitting down again, as if he were haunted by an incurable restlessness. His conversation was very interesting, and marked by a vein of quiet humor, not found in his writings. He spoke with much deliberation and in regularly constructed periods, which might have been printed without any alteration. There was a peculiarity in his voice not easily described. He would begin a sentence in a sort of subdued tone, hardly above a whisper, and end it in something between a bark and a growl. I recall a few of his remarks, which may serve to illustrate his style of conversation, though such things lose half their flavor without the characteristic looks and tones of the speaker. I had been with a party of friends to see a church in the neighborhood, very beautifully situated, but occupied on Sunday by a very dull preacher. This happened to be on Tuesday. "Tuesday," said Mr. Coleridge, "is a very good day to see Church," in a very quiet tone, as if making an obvious remark. But, as it did not convey its

From the N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.

mander-in-chief of the forces of the United States upon the Pacific, and the highly esteemed personal friend of General Taylor.

The delicate features and black hair and eyes of the lady by his side (Mrs. Smith) show her

of the ship, reclines a young gentleman, already an eminent merchant at San Francisco, who is connected with some of the first families in your city, where he is now returning with his lately married and interesting lady. The binnacle light shows two gentlemen in low but earnest conversation. One of them is a tall, powerful man, of about thirty-six years of age. The other possesses a more compact and smaller frame, though still a large man, and is, perhaps, three or four years older. Both are evidently energetic, intelligent, and fearless men. The former is William P. Bryant, Chief Justice of Oregon, the latter Gen. Adair, Collector of the port of Astoria. The large and agreeable family of the last named gentleman accompany him to Oregon. Several military gentlemen, with their families, four or five merchants, who are about commencing business in California, a number of foreigners, mostly from Peru and Chili, who are attracted to that country by the rumored riches of the gold regions, and two or three missionaries, constitute the residue of the group. From the quarter-deck we descend by five or six steps to the main deck. We find it difficult to cross it without stepping upon some of the numerous recumbent forms that are extended around. The awning is kept over this deck through the night, and thus sleeping accommodations are furnished for many who would otherwise be destitute. Amidship, on a mattrass, reclines a gallant officer of the army, assiduously attended and fanned by that delicate lady by his side. He has been attacked by the dangerous coast fever, and owes his rapid recovery in no little measure to the kind attention of his lady, albeit unused to the denials of a sea voyage. A little beyond this sick group is another. The Rev. Mr. Douglass, of your city, was attacked with the fever at Panama, and still labors under its debilitating effects.

BY SEA AND LAND, TO CALIFORNIA. Mazatlan, Feb. 15, 1849. THE ship California, the first vessel in Messrs. Howland & Aspinwall's line of Pacific steamers, took on board her passengers on Tuesday, January Louisiana origin. Just beyond, on the same side 30th, and the next day dropped down to the island of Toboga, thirteen miles from Panama. This island is a conical mass of lava, of apparently no very remote origin, and towers to a height of fifteen or eighteen hundred feet. On the east side it appears as if the walls of the crater had been broken away, and a deep ravine down the side of the mountain and a narrow plain at the base had been formed by the last eruption. The ravine and the plain at its base are watered by several springs which gush from the sides of the mountain, and here, where the choicest fruits of the tropical zone grow in profusion, flourishes the little village of Toboga. The scenery is a fine combination of contrasts; the top of the mountain is a barren rock of lava; the houses at the base are scattered among luxuriant cocoa-palm, orange and mango trees, and the whole is surrounded by the calm blue waters of the sea. Having taken in provisions and water, on the morning of the 1st of February anchor was weighed, and with a flowing sheet the ship sailed down the bay of Panama; during the ensuing night we doubled Cape Mola, and the next morning found us on the waves of the Pacific. In the gulf of Tehuantepec we encountered a fresh wind, and the ship was retarded by a rough sea, during which she proved herself an excellent seaboat. With this exception the navigation has been smooth, and the voyage quite as pleasant as could be expected with so large a number of passengers. Let me endeavor to bring before you a bird's-eye glance of the ship and her passengers during the evening. In the distance, at the east and north can be seen the dim outline of lofty mountains, showing the direction of the coast. The ship is steaming at the rate of about seven miles an hour, and as she rises and falls upon the surges, the tall spars describe wide areas between the eye and the concave above. On the narrow quarter-deck are scattered twenty-five or thirty gentlemen and ladies, From the main deck we go forward. Everysome of them conversing in a low tone, but the where the ship is crowded; the passages on each majority enjoying in silence the cool balmy breeze side of the machinery, the upper and lower forwhich has followed the warmth of a tropical day. ward decks, the long steerage extending from the The light of the binnacle shows the motionless bows far aft on both sides of the engine-all are figure of the man at the wheel, and suffices with full, and many of the berths are occupied by two the soft radiance of the stars to give a distinct im- passengers each. From the steerage we ascend pression of every group. Just beyond the helms- to the deck above the machinery, and between the man on the starboard side of the ship sits a gentle-wheel-houses; an awning has been spread over man who has long been motionless, as if absorbed in deep thought. The thick, brownish, sandy hair, the square countenance, the bright, merry, searching gray eye, and the firm, rather thick-set figure, convey the idea of an independent and intelligent mind, a kind and quiet disposition, a keen observer and (if worth the trouble) manager of men, and, when aroused, a determined and unflinching cour age and an inflexible resolution. This is General Persifor F. Smith, Governor of California, com

this, and between thirty and forty persons live and sleep here. They are the lower class of Peruvians who were taken on board at Callao. The state rooms and cabins are all crowded to their utmost capacity, and of course the passengers are deprived of many of the conveniences to which they are accustomed. The writer of this article obtained his ticket very early in New York, and yet has had no berth on the ship, and neither sheet nor pillow since he left Panama, and had he not

From the N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.

mander-in-chief of the forces of the United States upon the Pacific, and the highly esteemed personal friend of General Taylor.

The delicate features and black hair and eyes of the lady by his side (Mrs. Smith) show her

of the ship, reclines a young gentleman, already an eminent merchant at San Francisco, who is connected with some of the first families in your city, where he is now returning with his lately married and interesting lady. The binnacle light shows two gentlemen in low but earnest conversation. One of them is a tall, powerful man, of about thirty-six years of age. The other possesses a more compact and smaller frame, though still a large man, and is, perhaps, three or four years older. Both are evidently energetic, intelligent, and fearless men. The former is William P. Bryant, Chief Justice of Oregon, the latter Gen. Adair, Collector of the port of Astoria. The large and agreeable family of the last named gentleman accompany him to Oregon. Several military gentlemen, with their families, four or five merchants, who are about commencing business in California, a number of foreigners, mostly from Peru and Chili, who are attracted to that country by the rumored riches of the gold regions, and two or three missionaries, constitute the residue of the group. From the quarter-deck we descend by five or six steps to the main deck. We find it difficult to cross it without stepping upon some of the numerous recumbent forms that are extended around. The awning is kept over this deck through the night, and thus sleeping accommodations are furnished for many who would otherwise be destitute.

BY SEA AND LAND, TO CALIFORNIA. Mazatlan, Feb. 15, 1849. THE ship California, the first vessel in Messrs. Howland & Aspinwall's line of Pacific steamers, took on board her passengers on Tuesday, January Louisiana origin. Just beyond, on the same side 30th, and the next day dropped down to the island of Toboga, thirteen miles from Panama. This island is a conical mass of lava, of apparently no very remote origin, and towers to a height of fifteen or eighteen hundred feet. On the east side it appears as if the walls of the crater had been broken sway, and a deep ravine down the side of the mountain and a narrow plain at the base had been formed by the last eruption. The ravine and the plain at its base are watered by several springs which gush from the sides of the mountain, and here, where the choicest fruits of the tropical zone grow in profusion, flourishes the little village of Toboga. The scenery is a fine combination of contrasts; the top of the mountain is a barren rock of lava; the houses at the base are scattered among luxuriant cocoa-palm, orange and mango trees, and the whole is surrounded by the calm blue waters of the sea. Having taken in provisions and water, on the morning of the 1st of February anchor was weighed, and with a flowing sheet the ship sailed down the bay of Panama; during the ensuing night we doubled Cape Mola, and the next morning found us on the waves of the Pacific. In the gulf of Tehuantepec we encountered a fresh wind, and the ship was retarded by a rough sea, during which she proved herself an excellent seaboat. With this exception the navigation has been smooth, and the voyage quite as pleasant as could be expected with so large a number of passengers. | Amidship, on a mattrass, reclines a gallant officer Let me endeavor to bring before you a bird's-eye glance of the ship and her passengers during the evening. In the distance, at the east and north can be seen the dim outline of lofty mountains, showing the direction of the coast. The ship is steaming at the rate of about seven miles an hour, and as she rises and falls upon the surges, the tall spars describe wide areas between the eye and the concave above. On the narrow quarter-deck are scattered twenty-five or thirty gentlemen and ladies, From the main deck we go forward. Everysome of them conversing in a low tone, but the where the ship is crowded; the passages on each majority enjoying in silence the cool balmy breeze side of the machinery, the upper and lower forwhich has followed the warmth of a tropical day. ward decks, the long steerage extending from the The light of the binnacle shows the motionless bows far aft on both sides of the engine-all are figure of the man at the wheel, and suffices with full, and many of the berths are occupied by two the soft radiance of the stars to give a distinct im- passengers each. From the steerage we ascend pression of every group. Just beyond the helms- to the deck above the machinery, and between the man on the starboard side of the ship sits a gentle-wheel-houses; an awning has been spread over man who has long been motionless, as if absorbed this, and between thirty and forty persons live and in deep thought. The thick, brownish, sandy hair, sleep here. They are the lower class of Peruthe square countenance, the bright, merry, search-vians who were taken on board at Callao. The ing gray eye, and the firm, rather thick-set figure, state rooms and cabins are all crowded to their convey the idea of an independent and intelligent utmost capacity, and of course the passengers are mind, a kind and quiet disposition, a keen observer deprived of many of the conveniences to which and (if worth the trouble) manager of men, and, they are accustomed. The writer of this article when aroused, a determined and unflinching cour-obtained his ticket very early in New York, and age and an inflexible resolution. This is General yet has had no berth on the ship, and neither sheet Persifor F. Smith, Governor of California, com- nor pillow since he left Panama, and had he not

of the army, assiduously attended and fanned by that delicate lady by his side. He has been attacked by the dangerous coast fever, and owes his rapid recovery in no little measure to the kind attention of his lady, albeit unused to the denials of a sea voyage. A little beyond this sick group is another. The Rev. Mr. Douglass, of your city, was attacked with the fever at Panama, and still labors under its debilitating effects.