bus and his whole crew partook of the sacrament, and confessed themselves, after the devout manner of the ancient Spanish voyagers, when engaged in any important enterprise; and on the morning of the 3d of August, 1492, the intrepid navigator, bidding adieu to the Old World, launched forth on that unfathomed waste of waters where no sail had been ever spread before. It is impossible to peruse the story of Columbus without assigning to him almost exclusively the glory of his great discovery; for, from the first moment of its conception to that of its final execution, he was encountered by every species of mortification and embarrassment, with scarcely a heart to cheer, or a hand to help him. Those more enlightened persons, whom, during his long residence in Spain, he succeeded in interesting in his expedition, looked to it probably as the means of solving a dubious problem, with the same sort of vague and skeptical curiosity as to its successful result with which we contemplate, in our day, an attempt to arrive at the Northwest Passage. How feeble was the interest excited, even among those who, from their science and situation, would seem to have. their attention most naturally drawn towards it, may be inferred from the infrequency of allusion to it in the correspondence and other writings of that time, previous to the actual discovery. Peter Martyr, one of the most accomplished scholars of the period, whose residence at the Castilian court must have fully instructed him in the designs of Columbus, and whose inquisitive mind led him subsequently to take the deepest interest in the results of his discoveries, does not, so far as I am aware, allude to him in any part of his voluminous correspondence with the learned men of his time, previous to the first expedition. The common people regarded, not merely with apathy, but with terror, the prospect of a voyage that was to take the mariner from the safe and pleasant seas which he was accustomed to navigate, and send him roving on the boundless wilderness of waters, which tradition and superstitious fancy had peopled with innumerable forms of horror. It is true that Columbus experienced a most honorable reception at the Castilian court; such as naturally flowed from the benevolent spirit of Isabella, and her just appreciation of his pure and elevated character. But the queen was too little of a proficient in science to be able to estimate the merits of his hypothesis; and as many of those on whose judgment she leaned deemed it chimerical, it is probable that she never entertained a deep conviction of its truth; at least, not enough to warrant the liberal expenditure which she never refused to schemes of real importance. This is certainly inferred by the paltry amount actually expended on the armament, far inferior to that appropriated to the equipment of two several fleets in the course of the late war for a foreign expedition, as well as that with which, in the ensuing year, she followed up Columbus's discoveries. But while, on a review of the circumstances, we are led more and more to admire the constancy and unconquerable spirit which carried Columbus victorious. through all the difficulties of his undertaking, we must remember, in justice to Isabella, that although tardily, she did, in fact, furnish the resources essential to its execution; that she undertook the enterprise when it had been explicitly declined by other powers, and when probably none other of that age would have been found to countenance it; and that, after once plighting her faith to Columbus, she became his steady friend, shielding him against the calumnies of his enemies, reposing in him the most generous confidence, and serving him in the most acceptable manner, by supplying ample resources for the prosecution of his glorious discoveries. Northwest Passage: The desire to find a practicable passage to China by the north of the American continent was the cause of many Arctic expeditions in our century. The passage is so difficult as to be unavailable for commercial purposes, but the desire to discover it has given rise to much geographical knowledge. Then felt I like some watcher of the skies From KEATS's Sonnet on Chapman's Homer. MR States. 58. ADAMS AND JEFFERSON By Daniel Webster DANIEL WEBSTER DANIEL WEBSTER (Jan. 18, 1782-Oct. 24, 1852) was a man great in different walks of life: he was a great lawyer and a great statesman. Probably, however, he will be chiefly remembered, not merely as a striking personality or as a wonderful orator alone, but as a great public character, as one of those who has fitly voiced the sentiment of a whole people. His greatness as a lawyer can be appreciated by a few only; his position as a statesman was bitterly opposed by some of the purest souls of his time and has been unfavorably judged. But time will hardly rob him of having been for a long time the representative voice of the United States in matters of statecraft and history. His orations on great events and on great characters will always impress many who would not care for the speech on the White murder or on Henry Clay's compromise. Such a speech is that commemorating the deaths of Adams and Jefferson, who died on the same day, and that July 4. R. ADAMS and Mr. Jefferson, fellow-citizens, were successively Presidents of the United The comparative merits of their respective administrations for a long time agitated and divided public opinion. They were rivals, each supported by numerous and powerful portions of the people, for the highest office. This contest, partly the cause and partly the consequence of the long existence of two great political parties in the country, is now part of the history of our government. We may naturally regret that anything should have occurred to create difference and discord between those who had acted harmoniously and efficiently in the great concerns of the Revolution. But this is not the time, nor this the occasion, for entering into the grounds of that difference, or for attempting to discuss the merits of the questions which it involves. As practical questions they were canvassed when the measures which they regarded were acted on and adopted; and as belonging to history, the time has not come for their consideration. It is, perhaps, not wonderful, that when the Constitution of the United States first went into operation, different opinions should be entertained as to the extent of the powers conferred by it. Here was a natural source of diversity of sentiment. It is still less wonderful, that that event, nearly contemporary with our government under the present Constitution, which so entirely shocked all Europe and disturbed our relations with her leading powers, should be thought, by different men, to have different bearings on our own prosperity; and that the early measures. adopted by the government of the United States in consequence of this new state of things should be seen in opposite lights. It is for the future historian, when what now remains of prejudice and misconception shall have passed away, to state these different opinions and pronounce impartial judgment. In the meantime, all good men rejoice, and well may rejoice, that the sharpest differences sprung out of measures which, whether right or wrong, have ceased with the exigencies that |