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accounts of his travels, there are no farther biographical materials from his own pen; and the supply from other sources is very scanty, and may consequently be stated within a small compass. But before the few facts which have been collected are detailed, the following description of the personal and mental qualities given of a man who holds so distinguished a rank in the literary world, by one of his contemporaries in early life, will perhaps be acceptable. It occurs in a letter written by Heinse to Gleim while Göthe was at Dusseldorff, which place he frequently visited during the years 1774 and 1775:- We have Göthe here at present. He is a handsome young man of twenty-five; all genius from top to toe, power, aud vigour;-with a heart full of feeling, a spirit of fire eagle-winged, qui ruit immensus ore profundo." What is here said of the mind of Göthe appears still to be the general opinion of his countrymen. The author of the Lexicon above referred to, observes, that the account given by Heinse of his external appearance is confirmed by the testimony of all who knew him in his youth. Indeed," adds Joerden, "if we judge of him by what he now is, he must have been a remarkably fine-looking man. Old age has not impaired the dignity and grace of his deportment; and his truly Grecian head, large penetrating eyes, and elevated forehead, continue to rivet the attention of all who look on him."

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Charles Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, while hereditary prince, visited Frankfort: where Göthe, as has already been stated, was introduced to him. The result of the impression made by this meeting on the young prince, was the invitation of Göthe to Weimar; whither he went in the year 1776, and where he has since, with the exception of the time occupied by his journeys in France, Switzerland, and Italy, continued almost constantly to reside. Immediately on his arrival he was appointed a member of the Legislative Council, with a seat and vote in the Privy Council. In 1779, he became actually a member of the Privy Council, and in company with his patron undertook a second journey to Switzerland, where he had previously travelled in the year 1773 with the Counts Christian and Frederick Leopold Von Stolberg. On his return from his last Swiss tour, Goëthe devoted much of his attention to the business of the dutchy of Weimar. In 1782, letters patent of nobility were granted to him, and he was made President of the Council of State. Between the year 1774 and this period, however, several of the author's works were published; for the Duke was very far from wishing, by the appointments which have been enumerated, to divert the exercise of talents he so highly esteemed, from literary to political labour.

In 1786, Göthe undertook a journey to Italy; in visiting various parts of which, the island of Sicily included, he spent nearly three years. His stay at Rome occupied a considerable portion of his time; and with a mind stored with classical reminiscences and associations, he returned to Weimar in 1789. In 1792, the Duke of Weimar having joined the Prussian army which entered Champagne, Göthe accompanied him, and was a spectator of the events of that extraordinary campaign, in which the Prussian veterans, led by the Duke of Brunswick, were compelled to fly before the raw levies of Republican France. It is said, that since that period, our author has constantly lived at Weimar. In 1808, he received the cross of the Legion of Honour from the Emperor Napoleon; and in the same year the Emperor of Russia conferred on him the order of St Alexander Newsky.

Weimar has been called the German Athens; a distinction which it in some measure merits, on account of the number of learned men there gathered together by the government, the liberality and enlightened views of which are worthy the imitation of the rulers of larger states. This little town is surrounded by elegant houses and delightful gardens. Ettersburgh, the Belvedere, Wilhelmsthal and Ilmenau, are to the Germans what the Portico, the Academic Groves, and the banks of the Cephisus and the Ilissus, were to the Greeks. Before the arrival of Göthe, Wieland, Bode, Musæus, and Bertuch had shed a lustre over this retreat of the German Muse. Herder and Schiller more recently joined the author of Werther. Weimar became the capital of a literary republic, which Knebel, Emsiedel, Segesmund Von Seckondorff, Bottiger, Bahrdt, the brothers Schlegel, Madame Wollzogen, and Amelia Imhoff, contributed, with the great characters already mentioned, to render illustrious. All whose names were distinguished in art or literature, obtained a flattering reception at Weimar, and were detained, at least for a time, as welcome guests in that temple of the muses. Göthe was ever the soul of these assemblages; but less occupied with his own personal fame and superiority, than with the ardent desire of establishing the glory of his country, he devoted his whole life to promote the advancement of German literature, and the interests of those who seconded his efforts. He was constantly the warm friend of Herder and Schiller; whom, had his heart been less generous, he might have regarded as his rivals. His memoirs have shown how much Herder tried his patience; and to Schiller, whose melancholy and often peevish disposition may be attributed to impaired health and excessive occupation, he constantly manifested the indulgence and attention of an affectionate brother. His merit in these particulars is universally acknowledged by his countrymen; and it is a merit which is not always due to superior geniuses. One individual alone attempted to interrupt the harmony that prevailed at Weimar. He wished to gain admittance to this sanctuary of literature; but his character excited distrust, and his proposals were declined. His wounded vanity avenged itself by a libel, which occasioned an individual, whose name he had assumed, to forfeit his situation. This agent of discord was the unfortunate Kotzebue.

It must indeed be admitted that Göthe seems to have always regarded his varied powers of mind, and his rank in society, merely as means by which he might be enabled to accelerate the advancement of science, literature, and art in Germany. He has been constantly engaged in stimulating and encouraging talent of every kind, and in publishing works which have exercised a powerful influence over the public mind of his country. He has left no path of literature untrodden. The dramatic art in all its branches, epic poetry, detached poems of every description, novels, travels, the analysis and theory of the polite arts and literature, criticism, epistolary correspondence, translation, memoirs, and works of science;-in short, Göthe's genius has embraced every thing. He appears to have neglected no task by which he conceived he might open a road to improvement, or hold out new lights to guide the steps of adepts in the pursuits of human knowledge; and there is no work, however trivial, of this Colossus of German literature, in which the extravagant admiration of his countrymen does not recognise the impress of originality and genius.

History of Massachusetts, from 1764, to July, 1775: when General Washington took Command of the American Army. By Alden Bradford, Secretary of the Commonwealth. Boston. 1822. 8vo. pp. 414.

History of Massachusetts, from July, 1775, when General Washington took Command of the American Army at Cambridge, to the year 1782, (inclusive), when the Federal Government was established under the present Constitution. By Alden Bradford. Boston. 1825. 8vo. pp. 376.

THE history of Massachusetts, from its first settlement by the pilgrims in 1620 to the year 1750, by Hutchinson, and continued by Minot to 1765, is in these volumes brought down to 1782, the period of the settlement of the federal government on its present basis. Few commonwealths of equal extent and duration can boast so complete an account of their origin and progress, and we have an honest pride in believing, that few have so well deserved it. The little party on board the Mayflower, who, in December, 1620, did "solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine themselves together into a civil body politic," gave a pledge to the world, that the territory of which they were about to take possession, should be the abode of civil liberty and equal rights; a pledge which their posterity have amply redeemed. With sure and steady steps the sons of the pilgrims have marched in the van of the army of freedom, bearing down, or turning aside every obstacle to its progress. If the world delights to honour in individuals that firmness of purpose, that unconquerable will, which, steadily directed to the accomplishment of one great object, pursues it through every difficulty and at every hazard, we may well be permitted to glory in belonging to a community, which, for two centuries, has been distinguished by a similar character. The history of this community does not show us the occasional struggles of a people infuriated by oppression, and wielding the weapons of ignorant and savage despair, alternating with abject submission to debasing tyranny. It does not tell us of a degraded populace, now crouching under the lash of a driver, and now seizing a favourable opportunity to fly at his throat. We are not told of the varying fortunes and alternate predominance of a cruel aristocracy, and a factious and fierce democracy. These things

belong to the history of the nations beyond the Atlantic. Our annals recount the deliberate commencement, persevering defence, and glorious establishment of a system of government founded on principles, which nature and reason approve,-a system with which oppression and insurrection, thrones and mobs are alike incompatible, and under which, power can seldom be abused, or resisted. Philosophers have supported the liberties of mankind with the pen, and heroes have defended them with the sword. Our fathers wielded both weapons with equal readiness and power. While the question was a peaceful one of right, they wrote down their antagonists; and when it came to be a question of might, they demonstrated, that the ultima ratio of the British ministry was as feeble as their former arguments.

Some of our readers may possibly be surprised, that we should thus dwell on a subject so trite, and tell over a tale so often told, as that of the wisdom, foresight, and valour of our ancestors. They may think that we are labouring to deserve the reproaches, which have been lavished upon American vanity, and regret that the periodical presses of this country should thus continue to furnish occasion for foreign sarcasm. We shall be sorry if any should entertain sentiments of this kind, but are unable to agree with them. We might have some doubts about the policy of defending the claims of the Columbiad to immortality, or contending for the euphony of our New England christian names, but we have none with respect to the expediency of sounding the praise of those whose efforts and sacrifices have procured for us the blessings we now enjoy. We believe that a portion of the time of the public of these states could not be better employed, than in contemplating the actions of those exalted characters, which have shed such lustre on our country. We think it the duty of every individual in this republic to study its annals, and that the performance of this duty will be its own reward. We are, therefore, ready to welcome any trustworthy publication on this subject, and shall think these remarks were made to good purpose, if they have the effect of inducing a single individual to peruse the works which stand at the head of this article, who would otherwise have been ignorant of much that they contain.

The official situation held by the author of these volumes during ten years, enabled him to draw his materials from the best sources. He had the best opportunity of becoming ac

quainted with the authentic documents relating to his subject. To these qualifications were added an intimacy with the tradi tions of the country, which is possessed by few, and an extensive acquaintance with distinguished individuals, who had taken an active part in the proceedings of the state, during the revolutionary war. The first volume is the more interesting of the two. Soon after the commencement of the proceedings, which are the subject of the second, the history of Massachusetts becomes subordinate to that of the United Colonies generally. The theatre of warlike operations was removed to another portion of the union, and the detail of the exertions of this particular state have a less animating interest. They ought, however, to be generally understood. Her contributions of men and money, far beyond her just proportion-the immense burdens upon her citizens-and the industry and energy of her government, are related with great minuteness and accuracy. The first volume has been long before the public, and we shall not notice it further. Upon the second, as the proper object of this article, we offer a few remarks.

We sometimes, in the course of the work, meet with expressions, which belong rather to the spirit of the times, than to the impartial historian. Thus, on the first page, we read of the "attack by a detachment of the British army upon the defenceless citizens of the province at Lexington and Concord." The citizens had no regular army, it is true, but they were in possession of military stores, which it was the object of the British expedition to destroy, and those actually attacked were in arms. The epithet defenceless, must be, morcover, received with exception, since they did defend themselves, and that to good purpose. The spirit with which the troops, on this and another occasion, were resisted, produced a powerful effect upon the British officers. The salutary dread, inspired by the result of these attempts, had a great share in producing their subsequent inactivity, during the siege of Boston. In this siege, if it can be so called, ten thousand regular soldiers were, for eight or nine months, cooped up in that city, suffering extreme privations, from which they made few or no efforts to relieve themselves; and that by a body of ill-armed, undisciplined militia, with a very inadequate supply of ammunition, and four brass field-pieces. The real situation of affairs in the American army, in all probability was pretty well known to the British commandant, through the treacherous communications of Dr Church. But the army had suffered too severely

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