This imported demon of fanaticism is not, however, exclusively employed against the Union; it has another and still deeper purpose, namely, to crib and circumscribe the freedom of individuals, by substituting its own usurped authority, its own hair-brained will, in place of those civil laws and political institutions originally devised for the protection of their rights, and the direction of their conduct as men and citizens. It is aiming to impose the laws by which they are to be governed, and to dictate. to the legislative power. It aspires to become, not only the spiritual, but the political dictator; to mould our civil polity; to establish a new system of moral and religious duties; to make what has been heretofore considered innocent an offence against the law of God and man; and to brand our forefathers as instruments in inflicting on their posterity "the greatest curse that ever fell on the heads of mankind."* It makes them "men stealers," "dealers in human flesh;" for nearly all the people of New-York, in good circumstances, at some time or other held slaves. True, they were very honest people-aye, and read their Bibles too. But though cotemporary with, and actors in the glorious drama of the Revolution which established our freedom, they had not the remotest idea of the distinction betwixt right and wrong-they had not the happiness of being the cotemporaries of William Lloyd Garrison, Abby Folsom and our transcendental senator, whose conscience is above all laws, except of his own creating. They saw not these burning and shining lights which dim the lustre of the Saviour of mankind and his Apostles, and show as clearly as the meridian sun, that they were ignorant of their highest duty, or regardless of its performance, when they so studiously abstained from denouncing" the greatest curse that ever fell on the heads of mankind.” It was reserved for the inspired abolitionists, to make the astounding discovery, that what had been considered innocent from the earliest ages of the world, and practiced by all mankind, without distinction, Jews, Mahometans, Pagans, and Christians, was a crime of so deep a dye, that the stain must be effaced at the cost of the sacrifice of every temporal blessing. That it was that sin for which even repentance cannot atone, or reparation procure pardon. That, in short, it imposed an obligation superior to all others combined, on those who were perfectly innocent of all agency in its commission, to offer up their country as an atonement, and their fellow-citizens as victims.

The space allowed in this Review will not permit us to discuss this most important subject thoroughly, in all its bearings, on the great universal interests of human society. Had we room, we would trace more distinctly and methodically, the consequences of this deep-laid conspiracy to subjugate one race of mankind, under pretence of emancipating another; and to render the reason, the experience, the laws, and the great principles of justice and equity, subservient to the freaks and dogmas of fanaticism, by subjecting the powers of the state to its control, through an alliance with political hypocrisy and ambition. The union of church and state will be nothing to this. The state will become the tool of the church, and the despotism of priests a substitute for that of kings. The boasted freedom of action and will, now only restrained by legal and constitutional barriers-the light of reason, and that innate sense of justice, which is implanted in the heart of man,

See declarations of abolitionists without number.

as the condition of his responsibility for his actions, will give place to other masters. We shall be governed in good time-not by human laws, but fanatical creeds-not by well-understood statutes, and long-recognized principles, but by the dream of Isaiah,* or the Pandects of Leviticus, interpreted by a self-created judge, and enforced by a self-created power. There will be no personal liberty but what is sanctioned by the Twelve Tables, and no political rights but such as are drawn from inspired writers, interpreted by those who have not a particle of inspiration. The friends of the Union must do something more than cry out-"THE UNION MUST BE PRESERVED," if they wish it to last. They must make war against fanaticism and hypocrisy, instead of with each other; they must look to the Constitution, which is the sole bond of that Union, instead of fanatical dogmas, as their protector, and watch-light, and guide; they must not only refrain from all association with the fanatics, but openly and honestly oppose them, even at the hazard of losing their worthless support, which can only be obtained by sacrificing the Union, and the loss of which will be amply remunerated by a rally of all who love their country more than their party. In short, they must cease their aggressions on the equal rights of the constituent members of this magnificent confederation-the admiration and the hope of the world-and come back once more to those great principles of justice and equity, which were implanted in the heart of man, as his guides in the great task of self-government; which are as immutable as their Divine author; and which ordain, among other things, that no man, and no body of men, has a right to violate a contract solemnly and voluntarily made, under pretence of benefiting others who were not parties to the instrument. Let them do this, and then "the Union WILL be preserved." The real foes to the Union are not in the South, but the North. The North is the aggressor, and will justly be held responsible for ALL the consequences, be they what they may.

It is quite evident that the efforts of this conspiracy of fanaticism are systematic and progressive. If they gain their point in the questions now at issue, they will not stop here. They will cut deeper; they will cut to the very bone. They will demand of their tools in Congress, and the State Legislatures, the "instant emancipation of all the slaves in the United States, without compensation to the planters." Next, that they shall be instantly admitted, not only to political, but social equality; next, they will find some text of Scripture, or invent some fanatical dogma, which will enforce the duty of amalgamation, perhaps on the great principle, that the pride of man being an offence against God, it will be salutary to bring it down by a due mixture of degradation, that will make him ashamed of himself. By becoming less manly and intellectual, he will also be more easily governed, without the aid of that dangerous instrument called human reason, which is a sad stumbling-block in the way of fanaticism.

When this triumph over the intellect and reason of men is obtained, then all the rest will be perfectly easy. Every law, and every institution

The Book of Isaiah, from whence the abolitionists draw their sole Scriptural authority for ostracising the people of the South, commences thus :--"The Dream of Isaiah," &c., &c.

The

of society, will become a shuttlecock, and the battledores fanatical dogmas. There will be no other landmarks than these-no other lights to guide us to the haven of rest, but the blue lights of fanaticism. civil rights of the citizen will consist only in the indulgences vouchsafed him by fanaticism; and if any man, any community, or any section of the Union, demurs to its dictation, they will be expelled from the ranks of their fellow-creatures, and become Ferae naturæ, to be hunted at pleasure by the bull-dog terriers of fanaticism. Innocent amusements, suitable to the years and the condition of different classes; blameless recreations at such periods of leisure, as fall to the lot of those who labor for their daily bread, "few and far between ;" and all those little relaxations so indispensable to restore the elasticity, and give new vigor to the bow, will, one by one, be filched from the mechanics and laborers, under pretence of being contrary to the law of God, or the authority of a text of Scripture, interpreted so as to violate his attributes of justice, mercy, and charity. We shall be immersed in gloom and superstition; our only recreations will be at midnight conventicles, and our only excitements the phrenzy of fanaticism. We shall have no code of morals but what is propounded by dogmas; no tenets of religion, no standard of faith, and no political rights, but what are conceded by the tender mercies of fanaticism. Let the people of the North look to it in time, or they will find, when too late, that they have only cast off the despotism of kings for that of the church-not the good, old, moral church, but of a new-fangled sect, whose principles are too sublimated for an association with reason, and too refined for an "amalgamation" with that extremely vulgar attribute called common sense, which is what Mr. Webster calls an obsolete idea," altogether too rustical and barbarous for this transcendental age.

A PORTRAIT FROM LIFE.

"An honest man's the noblest work of God !"—-POPE

THERE is intelligence of thought and mind,
Imprinted on that brow and beaming eye;
Blending real sympathy with human-kind,

Like Hope, the heart from sorrow's pang redeeming!
The resolution of a daring soul,

In the achievement of doing good!

A patriot spirit spurning the control

Of tyrants' thraldom in ensanguined feud!

A heart benignant, trusting in our God.
Who hath seen nobler attributes bestowed;

For gentlest woman, tenderest impulse, feeling
Affection's homage, teeming with a love

All worldly thought, and earthly things above!
Creating for itself a future world of bliss,
More hallowed, and immortal-

More chastely pure than this.

JOHN C. CALHOUN.

THE sad, though not wholly unexpected announcement of the death of JOHN C. CALHOUN, which reached us early last month, calls upon us for a tribute of respect to the many virtues and genius of the illustrious deceased. Such a tribute cannot be more honorably, or more appropriately paid, than by presenting a brief sketch of the career of Mr. Calhoun, accompanied with such reflections upon his public services and character as the occasion is calculated to suggest.

For nearly forty years Mr. Calhoun has been engaged in the service of the Federal Government. His fame is national. It belongs not to South Carolina alone, but to the entire Union. We might, indeed, call him "the illustrious Southerner," as he styled Washington in his last speech in the Senate; but we can also speak of him, and so will history speak of him hereafter, as the illustrious American. The whole Union has a right to be proud of that distinguished name which has now become historical. Mr. Calhoun, though strong in his Southern sympathies, was not sectional in the narrow and partial acceptance of that term. True, he loved the South-he was devoted to her interests-he stood forth ever as the champion of her institutions, when he believed them unjustly assailed. The very prominence of his position, and the greatness of his talents, made him more than ever "the illustrious Southerner." He was regarded as the chosen champion of Southern rights-at once the Ulysses and the Ajax-the head to conceive wise councils, and the strong hand to fight the battle. This endeared him to a large portion of the Southern people, particularly the people of his native State, which never failed to sustain him in every emergency. But his affection for the South and his native State, was not conceived in that exclusive spirit of sectionalism, whose narrow vision is bounded by a geographical line. His was a nobler and more expansive patriotism. It was co-extensive with the Union, entirely and thoroughly American. The whole American people-the woodsman from beyond the Mississippi, as well as the planter from the fertile savanna of the South-even the pioneer from the wilderness territory of the far West; all have the right to regard him, with his illustrious cotemporaries of an age that is passed away-with Madison and Monroe-with John Quincy Adams and Gallatin, not to speak of one or two of his distinguished colleagues who still survive as an American Statesman, and one of those whose great names properly belong to the history of the whole Republic.

Mr. Calhoun expired on the 31st of March last, at the city of Washington, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. Like the venerable Adams, he died in the service of his country-almost like him, too, struck down in his seat in the National Legislature. He delivered his last great speech, through the lips of his colleague, upon the floor of the Senate, but a short time before his death. It is a great and masterly speech, bearing upon it the marks of careful and most elaborate preparation, and evincing not the slightest decay of his compact and vigorous intellect. The Earl of Chatham was carried, wrapped up in flannels, to the House of Lords, a dying man, to make that last noble appeal, in the midst of

which he was struck down, and borne away to the chambers of death. Mirabeau was five times in the tribune on the last day of his stormy public career, although the fire of disease was consuming his vitals, and never had his genius shone more resplendent. As he finally descended the tribune, he whispered to the friend on whom he leaned, "take me away from this," and was carried to his bed of death, and his ephemeral restingplace in the Pantheon. Like these great men, the mind of Mr. Calhoun in his last public effort, shone brightly out amid physical weakness and decay, and his intellectual faculties continued with unabated vigor to the end. But how unlike the stately and Ciceronian periods of the English orator, or the impassioned and ostentatious eloquence of the French tribune, is the calm and nervous logic, and unpretending simplicity of this last great speech of the American Statesman! Chatham tottered into the House of Lords in all the consciousness of his dignity, fully sensible of the proud eminence of his position. Mirabeau went to the French Assembly with more than his usual egotism of character, to confound his enemies, to dazzle the spectators, and to come down from the tribune, as he declared, either dead or victorious. Calhoun took his seat in the Senate weak and emaciated with disease, without display or ostentation— without a single effort to catch the breath of popular applause, and apparently unconscious that the eyes of the people of thirty sovereign States were upon him, and solely to discharge what he felt to be a solemn duty. The contrast is striking and characteristic.

A full history of the life of Mr. Calhoun, will be the task of some future biographer. Our present limits forbid the attempt. The materials for such a history are rich, varied, and copious. They lie plentifully strewn through our public archives during a period of thirty-nine years. Mr. Calhoun entered Congress in 1811, and has remained in the public service almost without cessation from that day to the present. The period of his public life embraces the history of two foreign wars, two separate acquisitions of territory, each of which in itself is an empire; important treaties and negociations of every description, the charter of a national bank and its final overthrow, the compromise tariff act, and the Missouri compromise. A minute history of his services, with a collection of his best speeches upon these momentous questions, would be a political history of the government. It would require volumes, where we have only pages at our command, and we shall, therefore, not enter here upon the task. It is enough to say, that upon every issue he occupied a prominent and an influential position. In the arena of debate, whether in the Senate or House of Representatives, he found no champion of intellectual strength greater than his own; and though he sometimes encountered an opponent more fully clad in complete steel, and though occasionally a Parthian arrow from a flying adversary would find upon him a vulnerable spot, yet the point of his spear, driven with unerring skill, rarely failed in return to reach the fleetest archer of them all, or to pierce the strongest armor of proof. Upon the floor of the Senate, that splendid arena of intellectual combat, where his last years were spent, his greatest triumphs were achieved. It was here that he was best known, and most illustrious. Him, among the first, the curious eye of the stranger was wont to seek on entering the Senate chamber,