freshment. At last I approached to the bar, and ventured to ask for it. The master of the ceremonies, without speaking, placed a small basket of biscuits and a plate of cheese before us as we stood. We were amused, as well as disappointed; and, as we seemed to be without choice, we partook of the supply that was offered. We thought, at least, that the little set-out had been for us; but while we were busy with it, two or three gentlemen came up, and, without permission, or without seeking a separate Knife or plate, claimed a share. We asked for a glass of wine; a glass was literally supplied, and the decanter restored to its place. When our repast was over, we still waited in the bar-room, and must nave shown some of the awkwardness of strangers. At length our host was conscious of this, and came with an apology for having forgotten to show us to a sitting-room. We were then introduced to a handsome withdrawing-room, which was open to other residents at the hotel. only sufficiently inclined to ensure a good drainage, and of course supplies great facilities for the transit of goods. At present, Liverpool does by far the greatest amount of business; but, because New York has more home trade, there is with it greater show of mercantile activity and life. This city is really worthy of the reputation she has for the frequency of the fires. There were six to my knowledge in ten days. They appear to arise partly from wood being the common fuel, which is less safe than coal; and partly from flues being carried through frame-buildings, which is very hazardous. Some, however, as with ourselves, are intentional; persons of bad principle and embarrassed circumstances abuse the benefit of insurance, and seek to save themselves by fire, reckless of whom they destroy. In the afternoon of the day, we were kindly waited on by Drs. Cox and Peters, and the Rev. W. Patton. They came as a deputation from the Third Presbytery, which was then in session. They stated that they were instructed to invite us to attend its sittings, and to accept of accommodations which had been made in Mr. Patton's family, in expectation of our arrival. We accepted the invitations in the spirit in which they were given; and were refreshed by intercourse with brethren whom we had known and esteemed in the Father Land. LETTER II. While I give you this incident as illustrative of 'nanners, you are not to suppose that the other arrangements of the house were on a level with this: they were excellent. But the case was, our appetite was out of time. The breakfast hour was past, and the dinner hour was not come; and the American inn, while it provides bountifully for periodical hunger, has no compassion for a disorderly appetite. There is one hour, one table, one meal, one summons; and if you are ready, you may fare very well; if you miss the opportunity, you must digest the consequences as you can. It was interesting to see how readily the American, with his love of freedom, submitted to these restraints, while John Bull insists on naming his own dinner, at his own table, at his own time, and in his own room. He has certainly more independence in his habits, if not in his opinions, than his transatlantic bre-name of the body, with affectionate respect. We were glad to observe their methods of business.liar in our committee meetings. Several subjects They are similar to those with which we are famiof ordinary interest. were discussed and disposed of; but they were only thren. MY DEAR FRIEND-On the following day, according to the previous arrangement, we changed our habitation, and did honor to the invitation of the Presbytery. There were about thirty persons preWe were received by the Moderator, in the sent. license. His examination at this sitting was theoIn the afternoon a young man was on trial for his logical. He read a theme which discovered fair talent and true piety. It was pretty closely discussed. I could see that the examiners we not quite agreed among themselves. This circumstance gave an unnatural perplexity to the subject, as well as to the person examined. He obtained, however, the favorable suffrage of his brethren. After disposing of our snack and our host. e na turally desired to see something of the wou around us. We walked up the Broadway. It is every way the principal street: its width is about that of Piccadilly, and its length about two miles and a half. It meets the eye well. The straight line it offers to the sight is relieved, in some measure by the foliage of trees and the towers of churches, while it conveys to the imagination a sense of magnitude and importance beyond the reality. My first impressions from the objects were such as these. The haritations, from frequently having the Venetian or other shutters closed, as the readiest mode of excluding the sun, affected me painfully, as service on the Sabbath after our arrival. I had We had declined all application for ministerial though death had entered them. The ordinary signs of health could not be so prevalent as with suffered so much in the voyage as to leave me unfit us; for I was continually saying to myself, How casion for hearing, which I foresaw it would be more for it; and besides, I was anxious to improve an ocill that man looks. The shops are not at all Eng-difficult to secure as our stay advanced. On the lish; they are Parisian; indeed, nowhere but in England can you meet with that shop-front which is so indicative of wealth, or the security of property, and of tact for catching the eye of the hasty passenger. The ladies, who were using the Broad-count. It was an affecting thing, after traversing way as a promenade, struck me as of less stature than ours. Those who aspired to fashion, used Parisian dresses; and they had a mincing tread, which was meant to be Parisian, but is certainly not so; it is affectation, and therefore disagreeable. New-York is the counterpart of Liverpool; they have grown remarkably together. At no very distant period, they both had some 5,000 inhabitants; they have advanced almost thousand by thousand, and are now nearly equal in population. In point of site, Liverpool has the advantage. It springs boldly from the water, and, by its various elevation, presents more, picture to the eye; while for water conveyance, and the mere purposes of business, the advantage is with New-York. It stands on a plane morning of the day we attended at Laight-street which Dr. Cox affectionately offered on our acchurch, and united in the thanksgiving and prayers time to an act of worship, in a strange land, with "No more a stranger or a guest, In the evening of the day we went to the opening of a free church. Of the nature of this class of provision for the religious wants of the people, I shall have occasion to speak in another connection. It was to be opened by a protracted meeting, running through the week; and Mr. K., an active revivalist preacher, was to take the service. We had reason to expect that, at such a time, he would try the effect of the anxious seat. resistance as well as they could. But I must offer a different picture to your attention. You are aware that the time of our arrival in New-York was one of great excitement. Without indulging in political opinion, it may be under stood that this excitement was created by some deThe exterior of the church was void of all taste; cided measures recently adopted by the Governbut it was large, and apparently well built. The ment relative to the National Bank. Those meaground floor was fitted up for schools: the superior floor was the area of the church; and although this sures, whether good or ill in their issue, had so was at an elevation of some twenty steps, there mercantile houses were prostrate in insolvency, and shaken public credit, that two hundred and fifty were above it two tiers of galleries, and these runtheir vibrations were felt in the remote parts of Euning along three sides of the place. It would accommodate 2000 persons; and I suppose 1500 might and it was proposed to make a matter of local and rope. A municipal election was about to happen, be in it. The service was good; the sermon very limited interest the test of opinion on the policy of good. I had been led to think that I might hear the General Government. The polling for the city some statements which might be deemed extrava-elections is taken in the different wards, and it usugant; but there was in this exercise nothing of the ally occurs not only without danger to the peace, kind. The preacher was evidently pious and truly but without interruption to business. On this occain earnest: his statements were plain and scriptur- sion, however, there was a riot in one of the wards. al: his appeals were popular, appropriate, and di- The losing party, with its other losses, as is usual, rect to the conscience and the heart. The impres lost its temper; and when it could not succeed in obsion was strong and general on the people. taining votes, set itself to breaking heads. Some twenty persons were seriously hurt in the affray. A slight show of military power prevented farther evil. If these things were to happen, I was not sorry to see them, as they throw up national character; but the good citizens were greatly scandal never happened, they said, in the republic before. When the sermon would have closed with us, I observed that the preacher was giving his remarks a new direction; and I was speedily led to conclude, that he was about to try the anxious seat.He attempted to justify the measure, and then to challenge the people to use it, as a means and ex-ized that such scenes should disgrace them as had pression of religious decision. The persons occupying the two seats immediately before the pulpit were requested to vacate them, that the anxious might use them. Then a pause occurred. Two or three females, by degrees, appeared on the end of the seat. The preacher, with some of the awkwardness of disappointment upon him, renewed his address; and urged the young persons, and especially the young men, to decision, and to this mode of expressing it. Another pause was made; but no young men came. Dr. L., the minister of he church, renewed the appeal; and employed rests in different parts of it, as if waiting for signs of Compliance; and when he saw that no greater effect was likely to follow, he changed the terms of the invitation, and begged all those who wished to be prayed for to come forward. He then gave out a suitable hymn; and while this was singing, the congregation began to disperse; and many serious persons, as might be expected, went before the pulpit to join in the proposed act of prayer. It was by this time nearly ten o'clock, and we left with the congregation. The Whigs, as the friends of the Bank strangely called themselves, although they had not the majority of votes, considered that they had gained the victory; and they were resolved on a Whig celebration. I readily accepted a ticket of admission, as it enlarged my field of observation. I must endeavor to place it before you. The place of celebration was the Battery; and the manner was by a collation and speeches. The Battery stands on a slip of open ground at the end of the Broadway and butting on the Hudson river. It is now dismantled; not being used for purposes of defence, but for those of recreation and amusement. When we arrived many thousand persons were assembled within and without; and it was after delay, and with difficulty, that we succeeded in making an entrance. We ascended to the bulwarks, which are built in a circle, and are usually a promenade, but which were now fitted up with a gallery of seats, and filled with spectators. We looked on a circular area of large dimensions, which was also crowded with people. Opposite us was the port by which we enThis, then, was the first occasion on which I saw tered, and over it some rooms which had been prothe anxious seat employed; and if employed, I can vided for the officers formerly on duty here. On hardly conceive of its being with less extravagance the roofing, parapets, and abutments, were flags, or more sagacity; but it was certainly a failure. wooden guns, and a rigged vessel surmounting This dumb show was animated Without deciding here on the abstract merits of painted waves. this measure, its adoption in this instance was assur- by a number of spectators, whose ambition could edly bad. The sermon had shed seriousness over be satisfied with nothing less than the highest point; the congregation, and had produced tenderness on but their presence gave a ludicrous air to the whole, many; and had they been allowed to retire at a as there appeared to be men sitting in the ocean, suitable hour for reflection in their closets, one and upholding a vessel which should have held could not avoid hoping that the effect would have them. A balcony was prepared before the winbeen most happy. As it was, I had deep regret.-dows of the rooms I have named, for the speakers; When it was felt, indeed, by the people, that the seat was to be used, there was a sensible excitement produced, which the novice might commend, but which the judicious would deprecate. I could perceive that a large portion of the people were excited to see how others would act in this crisis, and were thus relieved from thinking of themselves; while another portion, composed of such as had been affected by the discourse, feared that they should be overcome by the alarming appeals usual to such occasions, and by diverting their attention, stopping their ears, or a suppressed shuddering, a band of music was beneath, to fill in the pauses; colors were displayed in all directions, and were floating gracefully over the many headed multitude. Immediately over us, and opposite the rostrum, was the national flag, with its dark blue field and brilliant constellation of twenty-four stars; and above it, that all the decorations might not be void of reality, was a living eagle, placed on a perch and fastened by the leg, as the emblem of liberty! At this moment there was a pause in the regula engagements; but the good people were by no means idle. The Americans, who are quick to dine, had finished their refreshments. Many were | On the whole, it was a meeting highly creditable evidently ready to attend to such addresses as might be made; but many also, who sat down to eat, rose up to play. These were giving themselves to all manner of practical jokes. Hats and the remnants of bread were flying about; ladders were made of human shoulders to convey water, and glasses, and bread, from those in the area to those in the galleries; while in the centre of the picture a far more earnest group were surrounding and surmounting some barrels of beer, the contents of which they were exhausting with alarming speed. A cry was made for silence and attention. The music stopped; but the multitude seemed little dispcsed to listen. A carman, with his frock on, came to the balcony. The fellow-feeling which the more noisy had with him disposed them to attention.That class of persons in New-York is thriving and respectable; and this man was one of the best of his class. He had the good sense to make a short speech; and he uttered himself with plain sense, stout honesty, and especially with decision on the Whig side of the question. Trade, and of course, carts and wagons, had a vital interest in it. When he finished, hurrahs rang round the bulwarks, and ascended into the air; and that nothing might be wanting to the scene, the man who had the care of the eagle twitched the string and made the bird flap its wings over the assembly. But heroics did not long suit them; they eagerly returned to gossip, or to sport, or to the barrels in the centre of the court, which were still rising in popular favor. Another call was made, and one of their orators came forward. He had no doubt claims on them, from his zeal in the cause, but he could have little to oratory, or the people would have been more sensible of it. He raised a stentorian voice; but in vain. Those at the windows and beneath him gazed and shouted; but his words died in his own atmosphere, and could not subdue the conflicting sounds in the distance. This gave a new character to the picture. Speech-making and sport, the grave and the gay, were so mixed and opposed, as to make the whole, to an eye like Hogarth's, exceedingly amusing and comical; while the numbers of the meeting, the beauty of the thronged amphitheatre, opening only into the bright blue heavens, saved it from the trivial, and made it interesting and delightful. I observed it for some time; and then, as the more respectable portion of the assembly was moving off, I prepared to leave with it. I soon found myself moving with a body which had become processional, walking in order, and three or four abreast. It was understood that the celebrated Daniel Webster was at a house in the neighborhood, and the procession moved in that direction into the Broadway. The people gathered about the residence and cheered him. He advanced to the window. He could not have been heard in a speech, and therefore contented himself with bowing, and throwing out at the top of his voice a few short sentences as watchwords to the party. They received them with hurrahs, and passed on in order. The procession must have been quite a mile in length. to those who composed it. I saw not a single person intoxicated; nor did I hear afterward a single squabble, or of a pocket spoiled of its contents. It is remarkable, too, and indicative of a great sense of feminine propriety, that I saw not within or about the place a single female. It was feared that the meeting might provoke the Tories to come and create a disturbance; but they were satisfied with the mischief they had already done, and remained quiet at the West End of the town. The evening of this celebration day was spent at Mr. T.'s. I wish it accorded with my plan to give you a sketch of the party which we had the gratification of meeting. Suffice it to say, that though it was composed of the friends of temperance, there was no want of elegant refreshments; that though composed of religious persons, it was cheerful and refined; that though composed of the two sexes, there was no want of ease in the intercourse or variety of the conversation; and that though composed of Americans, there was no lack of good-breeding or benevolent attentions. In fact, that it was the reverse of every thing lately held up to ridicule under the denomination of "domestic manners," and equal to any thing to be found, of its own grade, in the parent country. LETTER III. MY DEAR FRIEND-I must now take you with me to Washington, without pausing to expatiate on the Hudson, or Philadelphia, or Baltimore, in our way. A more favorable opportunity will occur for a brief notice of them. Among the advantages of our speedy passage was the redemption of time; and of the time so redeemed I was anxious to make the best possible use. It appeared to us that no appropriation of spare time could be better than that of employing it for a visit to the capital, and the Congress which was then sitting; since it would not be possible to have a well-balanced opinion of the country we were visiting, in total ignorance of the character and proceedings of the American Parliament. It took us three days to overcome the distance. The first two days we travelled by steamboat, or rail-road, and very pleasantly. The last day was mostly consumed in going from Baltimore to Washington; we were nearly seven hours in going less than forty miles, and sometimes with six horses.The road, though the highway to the capital, was exceedingly bad; in many parts it was several inches deep in dust and sand, and in others it was clogged with loose stones as big as our paving-stones. No excuse could be offered for this, except that they were constructing a rail-road, and so were disposed to consign it to premature ruin. This was the first time of using their stage coach, and it calls for notice. It is very like the single bodied coach which you have seen in France. It is heavy and strong, to meet the condition of the roads. It carries no outside passengers; but it has three seats within, and each seat receives three persons. To atone for the want of external accommo As this was the first, so it was the largest assem-dation, it is open all round, from the elbow upwards, blage of this interesting people, which I witnessed and the roof takes the appearance of a canopy. If while in the States. There was less of dignity and you wish to be enclosed, there are sliding shutters, gravity about it than I had been led to expect from partially glazed, to the doors, and leather curtains so grave a people; and there was more of English for the other openings; a provision that may do animation, humor, and audible expression of opi- very well in the summer, but which must be far nion, than I looked for, and more, certainly, than is from comfortable in the really cold weather. When usual. It is, however, to be remembered, that this we took our seats the vehicle was not full: and as was not a deliberative, but a commemorative occa- the day was very hot, we hoped not to be crowded; sion; and there was no crisis directly before them but before we had cleared the skirts of the town, to point the speeches or to quicken the attention. I three men, rough and large, sought admittance. We were quickly found out by Mr. Post, the excellent minister of the first Presbyterian church, and he insisted on our removing to his dwelling; urging that it was against usage in America to allow clergymen to stay at an inn. We met his kindness with returning confidence, and passed several days in his family-days to which my memory will always revert with pleasure. Myself and an elderly lady occupied the back seat, | long, which would, indeed, be fine, if it were susand the stoutest of the three directed his movements tained by a fine growth of timber, or fine lines of towards us. We retired into our corners, and left habitations. him what room we could in the middle. He showed some desire for the outer seats; but this was not regarded, and he took his place. I soon saw that he had the abominable habit of chewing the "noisome weed," and began to fear for myself and the good lady; and he as soon began to look about him for relief. He looked on my side; I sat forward and looked very grave; he looked on the lady, and regarding her as the weaker sex, he put his head forward and spat across her face into the road. Nobody, not even the lady, seemed surprised at this, though she must have been annoyed. It was so often repeated as to induce her to change seats with him; and I fear it must be said that the annoyance was the more readily renewed in the hope of such an issue. . On the whole, it was an unpleasant ride. The country was not interesting; and, what with the heat of the day, the dust of the road, the crowded state of the coach, and our slow progress, we were rendered weary and unwell. We were glad to be set down at Gadsby's hotel, which is very large, has good accommodations, and would be all you could desire, if somewhat cleaner. Our first concern was to visit the Capitol, and become acquainted with the Congress, and our friend was anxious to secure to us every advantage. The Chamber of Representatives is always regarded as the chief object of sight. It is indeed highly imposing. It is a very large room, with its roof sustained by twenty-four fine marble columns of grand dimensions. The President, or chairman, has a raised and canopied seat in the centre of the straight line, with more glitter about it than you would find about the British throne; and the desks and seats of the members diverge from it in radiating lines. A gallery runs behind the pillars, through the course of the half circle. The general impression was not on the whole pleasing. Less than one-third of the place was occupied; and the In the morning I did not find myself much re-empty space and large proportions of the room give freshed by rest. The glass had dropped down from a diminutiveness and insignificance to the persons 80° to 70°, and being chilly and feverish, I deter- present. mined to take a tepid bath, and was directed to an establishment at the back of the hotel for that purpose. It was certainly a poor affair for such a place as Washington. An old woman, with the occasional help of her daughter, was in attendance. She showed me to a room. It was a mere closet, with a wooden bath, a brick floor, and no fire-place; and the passage was the waiting room. She began to supply it with water; but I saw she had no guide to the heat. I said, "I want it at 90 degrees."-"It will do, sir," was her reply. Unsatisfied, I said, "Have you no thermometer?"-"O no; it was broke some time ago." "It is a strange thing," I said, "to have a bath establishment and no thermometer!" "O," she cried, "I'se can tell, as is used to it -It's blood heat-I know it's blood heat." And so saying she left me. I tried it; it was 96° or 98°. This was not all. Another gentleman came and ordered a bath. The cocks leaked; so that when the hot water was turned on his bath from the main The celebrated Colonel Crockett made an adpipe, it began to flow into mine, and I was in dan-vance on this vicious usage, and it would be a great ger of getting hotter than I wished. There was no bell; and my only remedy was in quitting it earlier than I designed. There was not much of interest in this house at the time. But I heard one speech that was certainly long, and that was considered to be good. The speaker rose from his desk; his speech lay written before him; he delivered it, however, without much reference to the document, and with a strong voice and energetic manner. But it was all a forced effort, and of necessity it was such. No one listened to him, and he seemed to expect no one to listen. It was understood by both parties that he was using the house as a medium of speech to his constituents across the Alleganies; and they seemed content to have it so. It is in this way that the floor is occupied here for two or more days together; and that the most important business of the state is postponed or neglected, while the house is afflicted with speeches which none will hear, and which are meant to be pamphlets that, with few exceptions, none will read. was now leaving to visit his constituents; and as he could not then deliver his speech, he begged to know whether he might publish it as a speech intended to have been delivered in the Congress. People were so uncandid, however, in the colonel's case, as to think this was a mere trick; and that he wanted to impress the public with a belief that he had sought an opportunity to make an important speech, but had not been able to find it, when in fact he had no such speech to deliver. relief if his proposal were acted on. It is said he rose and claimed the notice of the chair, and stated that he had many times tried to obtain the floor, but Washington is well placed on a fork of the Po-had been so unfortunate as not to succeed; that he tomac. The plan of the city is magnificent; it is laid down in right lines, answering to the cardinal points of the compass, and these are intersected by diagonal lines to prevent a tiresome uniformity of aspect. It is a city that is to be, however; and is never likely to become what was intended, as its distance from the sea, and other disadvantages, deny it the benefits of commerce. While it is waiting to be something better, it appears less than it is. It is computed to have a population of 30,000 persons; but from the width of the streets, with a comparative meanness of the buildings, and from the scattered and unfinished state of every thing, you would think 10,000 the utmost amount. There is, too, a want of timber about here, which gives a nakedness to the picture that does not please you, and leaves you in doubt whether it is a city shrinking from its dimensions into ruin, or ascending upwards to life and magnificence. The only buildings of importance are the President's house and the Capitol; and these are connected by an avenue some 120 feet wide, and about a mile and a half The Senate Chamber is of far less size, and of no pretensions; but it is well adapted to its uses, and therefore gives the eye satisfaction. All the interest, too, at this time, was here. The larger house had agreed to sustain the President in his measures against the Bank; but in the Senate, some strong resolutions had been adopted against them. The President sent down a protest on the subject, and the excitement was raised to the highest. The occasion called up all their best speakers; and if they spoke with less preparation, they spoke under those present impulses which throw out a man's best thoughts in his best manner. It was really a fine opportunity. Were it not that one is aware what confusion will arise among shrewd men, by the action of strong party prejudices and sudden excitation, it would have been concluded that this deliberative body had very small knowledge of the laws of debate. The discussion soon turned from the principal subject to a point of order, and strange to say, it was two days in disposing of this point of order. The party opposed to the protest proposed some resolutions to the effect that the protest be not received, and for reasons contained in the protest. Their object was to prevent the protest being entered on the records; but their resolutions made it necessary. The other party saw this error, and proposed, as an amendment, that the word not be omitted, and for reasons contained in the protest; so that which ever way they dealt with it, they would do what the objecting party wished to avoid-place the protest on the mi nutes. None of them could see their way out of this! They contended that the protest was received, and that it was not received; that no amendment could be proposed which was a contradiction to the original proposition: they applied to the chair; they applied from the chair to the senate; and from the senate back again to the chair; till they were more than thrice confounded. It was pleasing to find that a number of the members were formed into a Temperance Society; and that a smaller number were accustomed to meet weekly for religious exercises. Many of the elder members too, whose minds are certainly not under a religious influence, have, since the days of Jefferson, come to a conclusion that religion is essential to the stability of their institutions. This is salutary. Before leaving the Capitol, do you expect that I should sketch it? It stands on a swell of land, which is so abrupt on one side as to have the effect of being artificial. The inclination should be made far less acute. The erection is of very large dimensions, approaching, though still very distant, to our St. Paul's. It is composed of two wings and a centre; and the centre is graced with steps, portico, and dome. The columns of the portico are too slender; and they are made to look more so, from the oppressive flights of steps which lead to them. The smaller domes and semicircular lights in the roof, are dissights which might readily be avoided. It is, however, with these and other faults, a grand building, and every where in the distance, has a very striking effect. There is, in its principal front, a monument which was prepared in Italy. It is not only unworthy of Italy, but of America. Were the names not on it, it would say nothing; and, worse than all, it stands in a basin of The President's house is the reverse of the Capitol; and the two places might be supposed to indicate the genius of the people. It has no pretensions; but is a plain erection in the Grecian style; and, in size and aspect, resembles greatly the modern dwelling of our country gentleman. It is however, not unsuitable to the claims of Washington, and the other provisions made for the chief magis The Senate is now unusually rich in distinguish-water. ed men. In this, and some following discussions, we heard most of them: Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Clayton, Leigh, Ewing, Frelinghuysen, and Forsyth. I should like to give you a sketch of these men, as they dwell in my memory, but opportunity fails me; and perhaps I might do them some injustice if I attempted any thing more than general impression, from such slight opportunities of knowing them. Suffice it to say, Clay's strength is in popu-trate by the constitution. lar address; Webster's, in cool argument; Calhoun's, in his imagination, and his weakness too; Frelinghuysen's, in his truly Christian character; Ewing's, in his stout honesty, notwithstanding his pad taste and false quotations; and Forsyth's, in his vanity-certainly, in my eye, the very image of self-complacency. On the whole, I was much gratified in becoming acquainted with the Congress of this great empire. Yet I must candidly admit, that it fell somewhat below my expectations. In its presence I was not impressed, as I think I should have been in the presence of the men who signed the Declaration; and my eye wandered over the assembly, anxiously seeking another Washington, who, by his moral worth, mental sagacity, and unquestionable patriotism, should, in a second crisis, become the confidence and salvation of his country; but it wandered in vain. Such a one might have been there; the occasion might bring out many such; but I failed to receive such an impression. Nor do I think, on the whole, that the representation is worthy of the people. It has less of a religious character than you would expect from so religious a people; and it has also less of an independent character than should belong to so thriving a people. But as matters stand, it is now only a sacrifice for the thriving man to be a member of Congress; while, to the needy man, it is a strong temptation. In this state of things, it is not wonderful that the less worthy person should labor hard to gain an election; or that, when it is gained, he should consider his own interests rather than those of his constituents. The good Americans must look to this, and not suffer themselves to be absorbed in the farm and merchandise; lest, on an emergency, they should be surprised to find their fine country, and all its fine prospects, in the hands of a few ambitious and ill-principled demagogues. | Our kind friends had taken care to supply us with many letters of introduction for Washington, and among them was one for the President. If we had intended, we had no occasion to use it. An intimation was made by one of the household that the President would have pleasure in receiving a call from us. It was of course accepted. It was in the evening of the day; and Mr. Post was with us. We were received with respect, but without formality. The President is tall; full six feet in height. He stoops now, and is evidently feeble. The thermometer was at 72 deg., but he was near a strong fire. He is sixty-eight years of age. He is soldierlike and gentlemanly in his carriage; his manners were courteous and simple, and put us immediately at ease with him. He conversed freely; chiefly of the older country, as interesting to us. He expressed pleasure at the growing intercourse between the countries; at the arrival of ourselves as a deputation in evidence of this; and at the prospect there was of continued peace. He spoke of the Banking question also without reserve. He thought there was a resemblance between the state of the moneyed interest in America, and its state with us in 1825, and was desirous of information. We conversed of it freely, and for some time. Without judging his opinions, with which, as they are political, I have nothing to do in this cominunication, my impression was, that he held them with a strong conviction that they were right, and beneficial for the country. After remaining about half an hour, we took our leave, with very pleasant recollections of our interview. Some days afterward we received an invitation to dine with the President. By this time the excitement on the Bank question had risen very high; and it was reported that his dwelling was guarded by troops, from fear of assault on his person. Instead of which there was less of form than before. |