blossoms to his genial beams, than the little humming-bird is seen advancing on fairy wings, carefully visiting every opening flower-cup, and, like a curious florist, removing from each the injurious insects that otherwise would ere long cause their beauteous petals to droop and decay. Poised in the air, it is observed peeping cautiously, and with sparkling eye, into their innermost recesses, whilst the ethereal motions of its pinions, so rapid and so light, appear to fan and cool the flower, without injuring its fragile texture, and produce a delightful murmuring sound, well adapted for lulling the insects to repose.

***

The prairies, the fields, the orchards and gardens, nay, the deepest shades of the forests, are all visited in their turn, and everywhere the little bird meets with pleasure and with food. Its gorgeous throat in beauty and brilliancy baffles all competition. Now it glows with a fiery hue, and again it is changed to the deepest velvety black. The upper parts of its delicate body are of resplendent changing green; and it throws itself through the air with a swiftness and vivacity hardly conceivable. It moves from one flower to another like a gleam of light, upwards, downwards, to the right, and to the left. In this manner it searches the extreme northern portions of our country, following with great precaution the advances of the season, and retreats with equal care at the approach of autumn.

THE MOCKING-BIRD.

It is where the great magnolia shoots up its majestic trunk, crowned with evergreen leaves, and decorated with a thousand beautiful flowers that perfume the air around; where the forests and fields are adorned with blossoms of every hue; where a genial warmth seldom forsakes the atmosphere; where berries and fruits of all descriptions are met with at every step; in a word, it is where nature seems to have paused, as she passed over the earth, and, opening her stores, to have strewed with unsparing hand the diversified seeds from which have sprung all the beautiful and splendid forms which I should in vain attempt to describe, that the mocking-bird should have fixed its abode, there only that its wondrous song should be heard. But where is that favored land? It is, reader, in Louisiana. It is there that you should listen to the love-song of the mocking-bird, as I at this moment do. See how he flies round his mate, with motions as light as those of the butterfly! His tail is widely expanded, he mounts in the air to a small distance, describes a circle, and, again alighting, approaches his beloved one, his eyes gleaming with delight; for she has already promised to be his and his only. His beautiful wings are gently raised, he bows to his love, and, again bouncing

upwards, opens his bill and pours forth his melody, full of exultation at the conquest which he has made.

They are not the soft sounds of the flute or the hautboy that I hear, but the sweeter notes of nature's own music. The mellowness of the song, the varied modulations and gradations, the extent of its compass, the great brilliancy of execution, are unrivalled. There is probably no bird in the world that possesses all the musical qualifications of this king of song, who has derived all from nature's self. Yes, reader, all!

No sooner has he again alighted, and the conjugal contract has been sealed, than, as if his breast was about to be rent with delight, he again pours forth his notes with more softness and richness than before. He now soars higher, glancing around with a vigilant eye, to assure himself that none has witnessed his bliss. When these love-scenes are over, he dances through the air, full of animation and delight, and, as if to convince his lovely mate that, to enrich her hopes, he has much more love in store, he that moment begins anew, and imitates all the notes which nature has imparted to the other songsters of the grove.

THE WOOD-THRUSH.

This bird is my greatest favorite of the feathered tribes of our woods. To it I owe much. How often has it revived my drooping spirits, when I have listened to its wild notes in the forest, after passing a restless night in my slender shed, so feebly secured against the violence of the storm as to show me the futility of my best efforts to rekindle my little fire, whose uncertain and vacillating light had gradually died away under the destructive weight of the dense torrents of rain that seemed to involve the heavens and the earth in one mass of fearful murkiness :-how often, after such a night, when, far from my dear home, and deprived of the presence of those nearest to my heart, wearied, hungry, drenched, I have been obliged to wait with the patience of a martyr for the return of day, silently counting over the years of my youth, doubting, perhaps, if ever again I should return to my home and embrace my family: how often, as the first glimpses of morning gleamed doubtfully amongst the dusky masses of the forest-trees, has there come upon my ear, thrilling along the sensitive cords which connect that organ with the heart, the delightful music of this harbinger of day!-and how fervently, on such occasions, have I blessed the Being who formed the wood-thrush, and placed it in those solitary forests, as if to console me amidst my privations, to cheer my depressed mind, and to make me feel, as I did, that man never should despair, whatever may be his situation, as he can never be certain that aid and deliverance are not at hand.

The wood-thrush seldom commits a mistake after such a storm; for no sooner are its sweet notes heard than the heavens gradually clear, the bright refracted light rises in gladdening rays fron beneath the distant horizon, the effulgent beams increase in their intensity, and the great orb of day at length bursts on the sight. The gray vapor that floats along the ground is quickly dissipated, the world smiles at the happy change, and the woods are soon heard to echo the joyous thanks of their many songsters. At that moment all fears vanish, giving place to an inspiriting hope. The hunter prepares to leave his camp He listens to the wood. thrush, while he thinks of the course which he ought to pursue; and, as the bird approaches to peep at him, and learn somewhat his intentions, he raises his mind toward the Supreme Disposer of events. Seldom, indeed, have I heard the song of this thrush, without feeling all that tranquillity of mind to which the secluded situation in which it delights is so favorable. The thickest and darkest woods always appear to please it best. The borders of murmuring streamlets, overshadowed by the dense foliage of the lofty trees growing on the gentle declivities, amidst which the sunbeams seldom penetrate, are its favorite resorts. There it is that the musical powers of this hermit of the woods must be heard to be fully appreciated and enjoyed.

DANIEL WEBSTER, 1782-1852.

THIS most distinguished of all American statesmen and orators, the son of Ebenezer and Abigail Webster, was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, on the 18th of January, 1782. It was early remarked that he had uncommon endowments, and in his fourteenth year he was placed in Phillips Exeter Academy, at that time under the care of Dr. Benjamin Abbot, to prepare for college. He entered Dartmouth College in 1797; and when he graduated in 1801, a high future was predicted for him by the more sagacious of his classmates. He immediately entered upon his legal studies, and, in 1805, began the practice of his profession in the village of Boscawen, whence he removed to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in September, 1807. Here he resided nine years, enjoying the friendship and profiting by the rivalry of such men as Samuel Dexter, Joseph Story, Jeremiah Smith, and Jeremiah Mason.

It was in the extra session of the thirteenth Congress, which met in May, 1813, that Mr. Webster commenced his political career, as a representative from New Hampshire. He was placed on the Committee of Foreign Affairs,-an evidence of the high estimation in which he was held, our country being then at war with Great Britain. He delivered his maiden speech on the 10th of June, 1813, and at once assumed a front rank amongst debaters. His speeches-chiefly on

topics connected with the war-were characterized by masterly vigor, and by an uncommon acquaintance with constitutional learning and with the history of the Government.

In August, 1816, Mr. Webster removed to Boston, and took the place which belonged to his commanding talent and legal eminence. In 1818, he made his brilliant and powerful speech in the celebrated Dartmouth College case, which ranked him among the very first jurists of the country. In 1820, he was elected a member of the convention for revising the Constitution of Massachusetts. In December of the same year, he delivered his eloquent Discourse in Commemoration of the Landing of the Pilgrims. Two years afterwards, he was re-elected to Congress from Boston; and on the 19th of January, 1823, (little more than a month after he took his seat,) he made his celebrated speech on the Greek Revolution, which gave him high reputation as a statesman and an orator. In this, as in his Plymouth oration, he showed his warm sympathies on the side of freedom. In 1825, he delivered an oration on the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument, and, the next year, a eulogy upon Adams and Jefferson, both of which are among his happiest efforts.

In 1828, Mr. Webster took his seat in the Senate of the United States, in which he remained twelve years. During this time, the most important questions were considered, and measures of the highest moment were brought forward, in the discussion of which he always took a leading part. In 1830, he made what is justly considered the greatest of his Congressional efforts,-his reply to Colonel Hayne, of South Carolina. This gentleman, in a speech on a resolution moved by Mr. Foote, of Connecticut, relative to the survey of the public lands, had indulged in some personalities against Mr. Webster, had commented with severity on the political course of the New England States, and had laid down, in an authoritative manner, his views of the doctrine of "nullification." Mr. Webster felt it his duty to defend himself, to vindicate New England, and to point out the fallacies of "nullification." This he did in a speech which, for beauty, perspicuity, and strength of style, for sound logic, keen sarcasm, true patriotism, and lofty eloquence combined, has hardly its equal in the English language.

In 1839, Mr. Webster visited Europe. His fame had, of course, preceded him, and he was everywhere received with the attention due to his character, talents, and eloquence. On the accession of General Harrison to the Presidency, in 1841, he was appointed Secretary of State. While in this office, he was the means of settling the Northeastern boundary question with Great Britain, and the result of his labors, on the whole, met the approbation of the public. About this time, his fame as a public man received its first stain in his "Creole Letter" of instructions to Mr. Everett, then our minister to England, demanding of the British Government some slaves which had escaped to one of their islands.2 It need

It has been thought by many, fully competent to judge in the case, that he here made a great mistake, and gave to England what, according to the terms of an early treaty with her, she had no right to,-a large slice of the State of Maine, (about five thousand square miles,) which never, probably, would have been given had the disputed territory lain on our Southern confines.

2 The brig "Creole" sailed from Richmond in October, 1841, with one hundred and thirty-five slaves, bound for New Orleans. When a few days from port, the slaves rose, murdered a passenger who claimed the ownership of most of them, took possession of the vessel, and steered her for the port of Nassau, in the Bri

hardly be said that the demand was never complied with. Mr. Harrison's cabinet was broken up in 1842; but Mr. Webster remained in office till the spring of 1843, during which time steps were taken which led to the recognition of the independence of the Sandwich Islands by the principal maritime powers. With the commencement of Mr. Polk's administration, in 1845, Mr. Webster returned to the Senate of the United States, in which he continued through 1850. In 1846, he opposed our infamous Mexican war, but, with an inconsistency unworthy of his great powers, voted for supplies to carry it on.

On the 7th of March, 1850, he made his celebrated speech on the "Compromise Measures," including the infamous Fugitive Slave Bill. When the news first came that Mr. Webster had given his support to that bill, the people of the North could hardly believe it. But when the news was confirmed, the scorn, the mortification, the indignation that were felt, can only be realized by those who were conversant at the time with public affairs. The speech itself, in point of style and argument, is altogether the weakest of all his efforts. How could it be otherwise? How could Daniel Webster, with his great heart, true humanity, and giant intellect, be eloquent in supporting such a measure? But this was not the worst, even: he went about from place to place,-to Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, &c.,-endeavoring to show the people the rightfulness and the constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Bill. Alas, that such a mind should have labored in such a work !2

In June, 1852, the Whig Convention met at Baltimore, to nominate a candidate for the Presidency. That he was immeasurably superior to any of the names before the Convention, in every great quality requisite for a President, no one ever

tish island of New Providence. It is deeply to be regretted for Mr. Webster's fame that he should have penned such a letter to our minister as he did, demanding of England a surrender of these slaves,-a letter so weak in argument and so unfeeling in sentiment. Let us suppose that a number of Englishmen, taken by the Algerines and reduced to slavery, had found such means to escape as did the slaves of the "Creole," and had taken shelter in our country: what would our Government say to a demand from Algiers to give them up?

1 It was soon after he had delivered this speech, that Whittier wrote his poem entitled "Ichabod," justly admired for its deep feeling, regretful tenderness, and sublime pathos.

2 The following remarks show the light in which this portion of Mr. Webster's history is viewed from the stand-point of liberty by that eminent Christian jurist, Judge Jay, who loved truth above all other things; whose writings, it has been justly remarked, "are uniformly characterized by the candor of a philosopher, the accuracy of a statesman, the courtesy of a gentleman, and the charity of a Christian;" and who well understood the meaning of the words of the Apostle that "charity rejoiceth in the TRUTH:"—

"Of all the traitors to the cause of humanity, Mr. Webster is to me one of the most revolting. After the most solemn pledges never to consent to the introduetion of slavery into the Territories, he refused to apply the Wilmot Proviso to New Mexico and California, under the impudent pretext that to apply it would be to re-enact the laws of God,' it being physically impossible that slavery could exist in those Territories. Afterwards, becoming desperate in the Presidential canvass, he went about making speeches in favor of the Fugitive Slave Law, and insulting every lawyer who denied that it was constitutional. But his most heinous sin was his arming this law with the terrors of constructive treason. The Christiana treason trials were instituted in obedience to orders from the State Department, and Castner Hanway was tried for his life for levying war against the United States, because he refused to aid in catching a fugitive slave!!"