joint influence of nature and art rendered beautiful, attractive, and consoling.

The situation of Mount Auburn, near Boston, is one of great natural fitness for the objects to which it is devoted. It may be doubted whether any spot, which has been set apart for the same purposes in Europe, possesses half the interest in its original features. In a few years, when the hand of taste shall have scattered among the trees, as it has already begun to do, enduring memorials of marble and granite, a landscape of the most picturesque character will be created. No place in the environs of our city will possess stronger attractions to the visiter. To the mourner it offers seclusion, amid the consoling influences of nature. The moralist and man of religion will 'Find room

And food for meditation, nor pass by

Much, that may give him pause, if pondered fittingly.'

We regard the relics of our deceased friends and kindred, for what they have been, and not for what they are. We cannot keep in our presence the degraded image of the original frame, and if some memorial is necessary to soothe the unsatisfied want, which we feel when bereaved of their presence, it must be found in contemplating the place, in which we know that their dust is hidden. The history of mankind, in all ages, shows that the human heart clings to the grave of its disappointed wishes, that it seeks consolation in rearing emblems and monuments, and in collecting images of beauty over the disappearing relics of humanity. This can be fitly done, not in the tumultuous and harassing din of cities, not in the gloomy and almost unapproachable vaults of charnel houses;-but amidst the quiet verdure of the field, under the broad and cheerful light of heaven,-when the harmonious and ever changing face of nature reminds us by its resuscitating influences, that to die is but to live again.

ART. VIII-Sparks's American Biography.

The Library of American Biography. Conducted by

JARED SPARKS. Vol. I. Boston. 1834.

THOSE, who have been in the habit of regarding the Americans as a plain, matter-of-fact, unimaginative race, may be disposed to question the truth of the remark, that there has never been a people, whose fortunes were invested with a more romantic interest. Nothing could be more full of exciting and sometimes almost startling change, than the great panorama of our country's progress, from her birthday to the present hour. We have before us the spectacle of two races, of opposite and very striking characters, brought into collision in the way best fitted to display their peculiar traits, and under circumstances requiring the exertion, of their highest energies: of a handful of resolute individuals, erecting in the desert, not merely a temporary asylum for their own security, but the firm walls of a mighty and enduring empire, destined to exert a most momentous influence over the interests of the sons of men; of cities, lifting their spires and turrets amidst the gloom of the scarcely trodden forest; of the rich treasures of commerce, rolling in abundance to a shore, known only within a few generations to the charts of the adventurous mariner; of armies, marching forth to meet the hosts of powerful nations on the spot, where, but a century ago, the dead repose of the wilderness had been unbroken by the sounds of strife. These are but a few of the circumstances, which constitute the strongly marked peculiarity of our national progress; yet even these are quite unlike any thing else, which history had ever exhibited before, and are of far higher interest and attraction. Our fortunes have not resembled those of the Eternal City, whose towers were reared with the rewards of rapine, and whose dominion was sealed exclusively with blood: they are not like those of England, rising by the painful and slow gradations of successive centuries from the very depths of barbarism :but they are those of a nation, starting from an advanced point to enter on the race of glory, and unfolding all the moral and physical capacities demanded by its new position, in the precise manner, and to the full extent, in which they were required.

A national condition, thus novel in its aspect, must naturally give occasion to an exhibition of character, not often witnessed in the stages of national advancement. The scene of action is a vast one, and requires more than common energy in the personages of the drama. In such an enterprise as the building up of an empire, the erection of a noble and comprehensive system, without any charts to guide those who are employed in the achievement, without any models which they are to imitate, it is not enough, that the leaders should be gifted with commanding power: the centurions, the captains of fifty, and the captains of ten, must rely upon their own resources for the execution of their subordinate, but most important duty. They must have understanding to devise, as well as hands to execute; in those exigencies which constantly occur, where the file affords no precedent, their talent must find its own way, and they must meet every change of circumstances with whatever of spirit and ability, they are able to command. And it will be found, on the most cursory examination of our history, that every kind and degree of capacity have actually been displayed. At an early period, we see the high-souled chivalry of Smith,-the far discerning wisdom and fixed resolve of Winthrop,-the stout heart and vigorous arm of Standish,— and the various qualities of an almost countless host,—all employed, each in its appointed sphere, in accomplishing the different portions of the same great task. Coming down to later times, to the period of the Revolution, we are presented with even more striking illustrations of the force of individual character; they crowd upon the recollection of all who are familiar with our history.

We are led by these considerations to regard the work before us with more than common interest. It would be a very superfluous task, to explain the qualifications of Mr. Sparks for the labor which he has undertaken; apart from any others, the peculiar nature of his pursuits, the results of which are already before the public in many valuable forms, is such as to afford him unusual facilities for its proper execution. His plan embraces the lives of all persons, who have been distinguished in America, from the date of its first discovery to the present time. The completion of this scheme, as he very justly observes, would embrace a perfect history of the country, of its social and political progress, its arts, sciences, literature, and improvements of every kind; since these re

i

ceive their impulse and direction from a comparatively few eminent individuals, whose achievements of thought and action it is the province of the biographer to commemorate. A hint of such a result,' he proceeds, would certainly not be ventured by the editor, if he were not permitted to rely on the aid of a large number of coadjutors, whose names might afford a pledge of its attainment.' Whatever may be thought of the practicability of this scheme, in its full extent, no one can doubt its value, even should it be but partially executed; and if any thing were required to demonstrate its importance, we should find it in the volume, which is already finished. It is precisely such as we had wished and hoped to see; and it affords a happy augury of the character of those which are to follow. They will supply a very important deficiency in our literature. We do not mean to intimate, that the biography of eminent individuals in this country has been very much neglected; on the contrary, a vast number of memorials, from the kingly pyramid to the lowly headstone, have been already reared in memory of the honored dead; but there are many others, to whom a nation's gratitude is due, and to whom this debt of justice has not yet been paid; there are many, whose history is not yet recorded, or if it be so, not in such a form, as would be likely to survive them long. In the very volume before us, we find the lives of four individuals, of original character, of strong and peculiar traits, of decided claims to notice and remembrance, whose names required this commemoration, to give them their just place in the public view. We shall endeavor to give our readers an idea of its contents, by borrowing from it a brief sketch of the history of these individuals, together with such extracts as our limits will permit.

The first in the series is the biography of General John Stark, the well known hero of Bennington, whose adventures are here related by Mr. Edward Everett, with his usual elegance; and the account of them is full of interest. General Stark was one of those men of iron, formed by the harsh discipline of border warfare, who are insensible to fear, and indifferent to danger. He resided in early life at Derryfield, now Manchester, in New Hampshire. At the age of twenty-four, while on a hunting excursion at a distance from the English settlements, he was taken prisoner by the Indians, and soon overcame their prejudices and commanded their respect by the

exhibition, partly from policy, and partly from his habitual contempt of peril, of those qualities which they recognised as the highest virtues. Several curious anecdotes, illustrative of this fact, are related in the volume. He was soon after ransomed; but he remained long enough in the somewhat unpleasant society of the Indians, to acquire a full acquaintance with their habits and character, and a familiarity with suffering and privation, which qualified him for the rough service in which he was subsequently to engage. In 1754, the Seven Years' War began: the great school, as Mr. Everett very justly terms it, in which were trained the leaders of the Revolution. An expedition against Crown Point was included in the plan of campaign for the following year, and Stark received the commission of lieutenant in a corps of rangers, enlisted for this purpose. He continued in the service until nearly the close of the war; rose very early to the rank of Captain; and exhibited throughout, in some very critical emergencies, the cool sagacity and daring bravery, which were among the leading traits of his character. The following anecdote sufficiently illustrates his possession of the former quality.

'In the month of March, 1757, Fort William Henry was saved by the forethought and vigilance of Captain Stark, then, in the absence of Major Rogers, acting Commander in Chief of the rangers. While going the rounds on the evening of the 16th, he overheard some of his rangers, planning a celebration of St. Patrick's (the following) day. A large portion of this corps was, like himself, of Irish origin. Knowing that there were also a great many Irish among the regular troops, he justly foresaw the danger to which the post would be exposed, at the close of a day to be spent in excess and intoxication. He accordingly gave directions to the sutler that no spirituous liquors should be issued, except by authority of written orders from himself; and when applied to for these orders, he pleaded the lameness of his wrist, produced by a wound, as an excuse for not giving them. In this way, he kept the rangers sober. The Irish troops of the regular army, forming a part of the garrison, celebrated the day with their accustomed license and excess. The French, acquainted with the Irish custom, and calculating upon the consequent disability of the garrison, planned an attack for that night. They were, however, repulsed by Stark's sober rangers, while the stupified regulars were coming to their senses.'-p. 34.

At the opening of the Revolution, Captain Stark did not

VOL. XXXVIII.-NO. 83.

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