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and clinging to the side of the one which carried Robespierre, she screamed in his ear in tones of almost fiendish exultation, "Murderer of all my kindred, descend to hell, covered with the curses of every mother in France!" During this hour of agony and torture not a murmur, not a word, escaped him he was suffering his martyrdom for the faith by which he had lived and for which he died, and who shall say that in the proud endurance of that suffering there was no heroism displayed! Only for a moment did physical pain conquer that stoic indifference and iron resolution. It was when his turn came to mount the scaffold. The executioner tore the bloody bandage from his face, his shattered jaw fell upon his breast, and a deep agonizing groan from the victim sent a chill through every heart. It was his last exclamation. The axe fell, and the echo of his death cry of agony was lost in the thunder tones of acclamation which resounded through the Place de la Revolution. A poor man approached his lifeless corpse, and pointing at it with his finger, exclaimed, "Yes, Robespierre, there is a God!"

So died Maximilien Robespierre. "O, unhappy advocate of Arras, wert thou worse than other advocates? Stricter man according to his Formula, to his Credo and his Cant, of probities, benevolences, pleasures-of-virtue, and such like, lived not in that age" So speaks Carlyle of him. His poor landlord, the cabinet-maker in the Rue Saint Honoré, loved him; his brother died for him. May God be merciful to him and us. Who, then, shall say that his was a character of unmingled evil; that it was softened by none of those virtues which ennoble humanity; that no glimpses of a better nature ever lit up that dark and unfathomable heart? A single passage from the pen of that friendly biographer, to whom we have more than once alluded in this sketch, gives us a view of Robespierre, in his private and social relations, far different from what his public career discloses. It is the passage in which he speaks of the impression which the society of Robespierre had left upon the mind of one with whom he was intimately associated-the sister of the woman to whom he was betrothed. "This young lady," says Lamartine," has survived for more than half a century, since that period, without having once recanted her entire devotion to Robespierre, and without having comprehended the maledictions of the world against this brother of her youth, who appears still to her memory so pure, so virtuous, so gentle !"

We repeat, in conclusion, that history, which has nailed him to the pillory of the world's scorn, for the crimes of others as well as his own, has not yet meted out to him impartial justice. It has portrayed him as an unnatural monster, not as a man with human passions of good and evil. We have endeavored to show that he was a stern zealot and a fanatic rather than a systematic hypocrite. He had a sincerity and a faith in him, such as it was. He believed in the people, in human reason, in virtue. By this belief his actions were guided; from it sprang even his errors and his crimes; he lived in it, and he died for it. It is not true, as has been related of him, that he had amassed a fortune by the revolution, and was seeking means to enjoy it, by retiring from public life. We have the authority of Napoleon for saying, that he died not worth a sou. Three little rouleaus of twelve francs each were found in his desk at the time of his death. They were the remains of his monthly pay of 360 francs, as a member of the committee of public weifare, and constituted his whole fortune.

AMERICAN HISTORY..

We have the testimony of Lord Bacon, that "Histories make men wise." When we are able to judge between true and false history, this declaration of the great philosopher needs no qualification. Many books, purporting to be history, are mere lifeless masses of dates and events which seem especially calculated to stupify. Histories, free from errors of narration, from the bias of party feeling, from the prejudice of sectarianism, from the blindness of national vanity, are rare. Those which give us any real idea of the living spirit of past ages-of the social life of the people, of the nature of the government, of national as well as individual habits of thought, of the moral culture of the governors and the governed, of the causes that lead either to the growth or decay of empires,-in fine, of all those strings which go to make up individual, social, national existence,-are rarer still. Historians thus far have devoted their greatest energy to descriptions of the stirring events of revolutions, and to narrations of national conflicts. We have many histories of nations at war, but few of nations in times of peace. Few historians, in narrating human events, have taken any pains to show us the progress of the human mind. If we except the attempts of Guizot, there scarcely exists such a thing as philosophy of history. If the "wisest of mankind" had said that histories are written to make fools of men, he would have spoken almost as truly.

This work of Mr. Goodrich has been some time promised. It is a neatly printed, elegantly bound volume of about nine hundred pages. In these days of cheap publications, we are glad to see a book, the external appearance of which entitles it to civil treatment, at least till we have examined the contents It is a history of the Western Continent, from its discovery to the present time. The "more than three hundred engravings" with which it is "illustrated," may be interesting to some. In spite of the conviction at almost every page, that it is little more than a compilation, we have read it with much interest. Those who have not time to read Bancroft's, Prescott's, and the histories of many others who have separately written of different portions of America during particular periods of time, will find it in many respects valuable. The size of the book, when we take into account the variety and extent of subjects treated, can by no means be a serious objection. It will be to many a new source of historical information; yet, when we consider its great want of originality, we cannot regard it as a very great addition to our historical literature. We have many thanks for the author's industry, though we have no very high respect for his ability as a historian. The book is well arranged for reference; its general accuracy may be relied upon; still, the writer is but little animated with the grandest of all historical subjects.

The style is very simple. It is neither terse nor flowing. It is nowhere very animated; often quite tame. It has none of the strength of Bancroft's style-none of the splendor of Prescott's. Mr. Goodrich, however, nar

*A Pictorial History of America; embracing both the Northern and Southern Portions of the New World. By S. G. Goodrich. Illustrated with more than three hundred engravings. Hartford: Published by House & Brown. 1848.

rates with great perspicuity. Whatever he relates, he makes perfectly clear. We are never troubled to understand him, either from obscurity or depth of thought. He cannot claim any of the highest qualities of a philosophical historian, although he has many of the most valuable ones of a compiler, industry in the examination of authorities, much prudence in avoiding controverted points, and no small degree of skill in selecting what is really interesting. His work cannot be considered a single history, but rather a number of histories bound in the same volume. The relation of the different parts is none too clear. To trace the causes which have produced the great civil and political difference between the northern and southern portions of America, seems to have been entirely foreign from his purpose. He has not sufficiently regarded the influence which the English revolution had on the American colonists. From his allusions, he seems to have forgotten the splendor of the Spanish nation during the reign of Philip II.

Although each separate part of American history may have been written perhaps better, yet we have in Mr. Goodrich's book a uniform picture of the Western Continent, which enables us to judge better of the comparative condition of its northern and southern portions. His want of imagination has led him to speak of the adventures of Cortes and Pizarro with as little enthusiasm as of the landing of the Dutch in Brazil; of the romantic history of the Incas, as coolly as of the length of a river or height of a mountain; of the landing of the Pilgrims, as tamely as of Rolfe's marriage with Pocahontas; still, the whole story is uniformly told by a single person, so that we may compare the two portions of the continent with better hope of success.

Whoever desires to learn, on the one hand, those causes which are sure to degrade and enslave a people, or, on the other, those which have a tendency to elevate and make a nation free, should study well the history of the Anglo-American and Spanish-American population. To ascertain the causes which have produced the great difference between the two races, will be the reward of a most interesting historical study. The prosperity of one class is as wonderful as the adversity of the other. A course of most curious events has favored the healthy growth of freedom among the Anglo-Americans. A course of equally curious events has brought upon the Spanish-Americans nearly every civil and political calamity.

The Spanish-American republics, if indeed republics they may be called, are in a state of political anarchy. They are most wretchedly goverr.ed. They have only a vague idea of freedom. None of them has succeeded in practically establishing a free government. As colonies, they separated from Spain, because the parent state was too weak to rule an infant. At one time, they are dupes of blind leaders; at another, slaves of wily despots. They were dazzled by the military genius of Bolivar, who in the end sought to establish a dictatorship. They have tamely yielded, in another place, to the most despotic rule of Dr. Françia. The condition of a people could scarcely be worse. The worst political despotism in Europe would be indeed better than their nominal republicanism.

Their moral condition is as bad as their political. Real Christianity is almost unheard of among them. Their religion is Catholic, of which they would seem to know little more than the external form, however valuable it might be. They are as benighted in this respect as the Spaniards were in the seventeenth century, when all the rest of Europe was feeling the influence of the Reformation. The entire want of established moral character

among the people, is a result which might be expected from a mere nominal Christianity. Errors which have grown into their mental constitution, they seem no more able to put aside than parts of their physical organization. Their political anarchy has a tendency to choke the growth of vital Christianity. The hand of oppression is removed from them, because the arm of the oppressor is unnerved. They know not what to do. They look like men standing in darkness, bleared by the sudden appearance of light into which they dare not go.

The people are also almost entirely destitute of intellectual culture. Institutions of learning scarcely exist among them. Education of the youth is almost entirely neglected. Hunting-dogs are more numerous than books. The press, for the most part, is under the control of those whose interest it is to keep the people in ignorance. If any more bold and just than the rest undertake to advocate the people's rights, they are rewarded by the assassin's dagger. It is entirely useless to talk about establishing a free government among ignorant men. They understand neither their duties nor their privileges. They are haunted with bewitching day dreams of glory, while they are veered about by every wind that blows.

The Spanish-American population are in triple darkness,-in political,, moral, and intellectual night. If the people had the means of becoming educated, they would in time overcome their other difficulties. Men in intellectual darkness can be neither Christianized nor civilized. In the Spanish-American states, political disorganization and religious superstition prevent the people from receiving intellectual light. Their ignorance prevents them from bettering their political condition, or seeking much practical good from the existing form of religion. Such being the case, we cannot expect that they will make much progress towards enlightened government, until they are roused from their lethargy by some foreign influence.

As a natural result from these causes, the people lack energy and enterprise. Their territory is exhaustless in physical resources; the soil is fertile; the climate, for the most part, is good; but they neglect the true Sources of national prosperity. The indolent people prefer hunting to tilling the earth. When we consider their natural advantages, they can hardly be said to have any commerce. They have a coast extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of California. Ports are numerous and safe. No position could be more favorable for commerce to every part of the world. Their rivers afford every facility for internal commerce. The Amazon, with its tributaries, has 50,000 miles of navigable waters-10,000 more than the Missouri; the La Plata has 20,000; the Oronoco has 8,000. No part of the globe has such facilities for internal navigation. All these advantages are neglected. The people, possessing the most inexhaustible Sources of wealth, are pitiably poor.

While this is the condition of the Spanish-American states, the prosperity of our country is unexampled. Our government is better than all others adapted to the wants of a free people. The people are living under the government, happy, prosperous, contented. They are industrious, moral, and intelligent. Christianity has a strong hold on their hearts. There are more institutions of learning in our country than in any other of equal population. Freedom of the press is enjoyed. More newspapers are printed and circulated among us than in all the rest of the world. The activity of our people is unsurpassed. The soil is made to yield its fruits in the richest abundance. Our manufactures vie with those of Europe.

Our lakes, rivers and coasts are teeming with busy commercial life. Our sails whiten every sea. Our flag is respected in every part of the globe. American energy and enterprise are without a parallel. There is scarcely a spot upon the earth which does not bear proof of our people's industry. Improvements in every art show the superior skill of our operators. The steam palaces which float upon our waters, the railroads that intersect every part of the country, the telegraphic lines that bring in close proximity the confines of the Republic, are proofs of the inventive genius and the practical talent of the Anglo-American race. All these things combined, constitutes the most admirable character of our people, establishes the great glory of our institutions, and makes our nation envied by the world.

The inquiry for the causes of this difference is a subject of great interest. It concerns alike the statesman, the historian, the literary man. By diligent study we shall be able to find the sources of uneasiness in those collective bodies, which in all ages have been called governments. We shall be able to see something of those grotesque figures, sometimes fattened to lazy corpulence; oftener starved to haggard leanness; now gorged with blood; in turn mangled and bleeding; rarely inflated with success; often humbled, meditating inquisitions, star-chambers, and death; every now and then treading out the life of the people with huge iron heels; in the lapse of centuries laying their own brawny necks down for the infuriated people, madly to play at the sport of the guillotine; many times blindly storming in the midst of chaotic confusion; once in the course of ages smiling upon the people in acknowledgment of man's native independence.

It is necessary for us, in the first place, to inquire what was the difference in the character of the nations from which adventurers went to the New World. In the next place, we must look for the causes in the countries settled, which had a tendency to produce so great a diversity.

Colonies usually retain the characteristics of the nations from which they spring. The Spanish character is still seen in the Spanish-American. The weak government of Spain has transmitted many of its worst constitutional diseases to the Spanish-American states. On the other hand, the settlers in North America carried with them the English character. The constitution, which has been the glory of the English people, lives a new and more perfect life in our political institutions. This was the original cause of difference. Many causes in the New World have operated to make this difference great as possible.'

To the genius of Columbus must be attributed the discovery of the Western continent. No nation can rightly lay clain to the honor of having extended patronage. The discoverer obtained the most pitiable supply for a voyage of discovery, only after being repulsed again and again. His success was not owing to the efforts of the Spanish government. With scarcely a single friend to second his proposals, he prevailed against the opposition of silly prelates and ignorant courtiers. Although he was received with much applause at Barcelona, after his discovery of the New World, yet his splendid success only roused the hatred and jealousy of the Spaniards. After four voyages of discovery, he was at last entirely neglected. The death of Isabella, who had patronized and protected him, deprived him of his last resource. Overwhelmed with calamities, disgusted with the ingratitude of those whom he had faithfully and successfully served, declining in age, and broken in heart, he lingered a few years longer in poverty and neglect, making from time to time a fruitless appeal to the honor and justice of those who had given him "chains for a crown, a prison for a world,”

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