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himself, avowedly, the character of editor, and sustained the work with little external aid. Of the first four volumes, three-fourths of the articles are known to be wholly from his pen.

In 1819, Mr. Tudor published Letters on the Eastern States; in 1821, a volume of Miscellanies; and in 1823, the Life of James Otis, a most instructive and interesting piece of biography, which may indeed be regarded as a history of the times. In the same year, he conceived the design of purchasing the summit of Bunker Hill, and erecting thereon a monument commemorative of the battle. Not having the means himself, he communicated his views to some wealthy friends, and the result was the organization of the "Bunker Hill Monument Association."

In 1823, he was appointed Consul at Lima and the ports of Peru, the duties of which office he discharged with singular ability. There he remained till, in 1827, he received the appointment of Chargé d'Affaires of the United States at Rio Janeiro, where he died on the 9th of March, 1830, of a fever incident to the climate.

In William Tudor, the qualities of the gentleman and the man of business, of the scholar and the man of the world, were so manifestly and so happily blended, that, both in public conduct and private intercourse, his character commanded universal respect and confidence. And when we look at the part he took in sustaining the "Monthly Anthology," at a time when we hardly had any literature of our own, and subsequently as the founder of the "North American Review," and the chief writer of its earlier volumes, we must say that to no one is the cause of American literature more deeply indebted.1

INFLUENCE OF FEMALES ON SOCIETY.

From an accurate account of the condition of women in any country, it would not be difficult to infer the whole state of society. So great is the influence they exercise on the character of men, that the latter will be elevated or degraded according to the situa tion of the weaker sex. Where women are slaves, as in Turkey, the men will be the same; where they are treated as moral beings, where their minds are cultivated, and they are considered equals, the state of society must be high, and the character of the men energetic and noble. There is so much quickness of comprehension, so much susceptibility of pure and generous emotion, so much ardor of affection, in women, that they constantly stimulate men to exertion, and have at the same time a most powerful agency in soothing the angry feelings, and in mitigating the harsh and narrow propensities, which are generated in the strife of the passions.

The advantages of giving a superior education to women are not confined to themselves, but have a salutary influence on our sex.

Read an excellent sketch of his life in "The History of the Boston Athenæum," by Hon. Josiah Quincy.

The fear that increased instruction will render them incompetent or neglectful in domestic life, is absurd in theory and completely destroyed by facts. Women, as well as men, when once established in life, know that there is an end of trifling; its solicitudes and duties multiply upon them equally fast; the former are apt to feel them much more keenly, and too frequently abandon all previous acquirements to devote themselves wholly to these. But if the one sex have cultivated and refined minds, the other must meet them from shame, if not from sympathy. If a man finds that his wife is not a mere nurse or a housekeeper; that she can, when the occupations of the day are over, enliven a winter's evening; that she can converse on the usual topics of literature, and enjoy the pleasures of superior conversation, or the reading of a valuable book, he must have a perverted taste indeed if it does not make home still dearer, and prevent him from resorting to taverns for recreation The benefits to her children need not be mentioned; instruction and cultivated taste in a mother enhance their respect and affection for her and their love of home, and throw a charm over the whole scene of domestic life.

CHARACTER OF JAMES OTIS.

James Otis was one of the most able and high-minded men that this country has produced He was, in truth, one of the masterspirits who began and conducted an opposition which at first was only designed to counteract and defeat an arbitrary administration, but which ended in a revolution, emancipated a continent, and established, by the example of its effects, a lasting influence on all the governments of the civilized world. He espoused the cause of his country not merely because it was popular, but because he saw that its prosperity, freedom, and honor would be all diminished, if the usurpation of the British Parliament was successful. His enemies constantly represented him as a demagogue, yet no man was less so; his character was too liberal, proud, and honest to play that part. He led public opinion by the energy which conscious strength, elevated views, and quick feelings inspire; and was followed with that deference and reliance which great talents instinctively command. These were the qualifications that made him for many years the oracle and guide of the patriotic party. It was not by supple and obscure intrigues, by unworthy flatteries and compliances, by a degrading adoption of plebeian dress, manners, or language, that he obtained the suffrages of the people, but by their opinion of his uprightness, their knowledge of his disinterestedness, and their conviction of his ability. He vindicated the rights of his countrymen, not in the spirit of a factious tribune, aiming to subvert established authority, but as a Roman

senator, who became the voluntary advocate of an injured province. He valued his own standing, and that of his family, in society, and did not wish a change or a revolution. He acknowledged a common interest with his countrymen, and sacrificed in their support all his hopes of personal aggrandizement. Had he taken part with the administration, he might have commanded every favor in their power to bestow; in sustaining that of his native land, he well knew that his only reward would be the good will of its inhabitants, and the sweet consciousness of performing his duty; and that he must be satisfied with the common lot of great patriotism in all ages,-present poverty and future fame.

In fine, he was a man of powerful genius and ardent temper, with wit and humor that never failed: as an orator, he was bold, argumentative, impetuous, and commanding, with an eloquence that made his own excitement irresistibly contagious; as a lawyer, his knowledge and ability placed him at the head of his profession; as a scholar, he was rich in acquisition, and governed by a classic taste; as a statesman and civilian, he was sound and just in his views; as a patriot, he resisted all allurements that might weaken the cause of that country to which he devoted his life, and for which he sacrificed it. The future historian of the United States, in considering the foundations of American independence, will ⚫ find that one of the corner-stones must be inscribed with the name of JAMES OTIS.

CAUSE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

The following authentic anecdote on the origin of American taxation may be gratifying to persons who are fond of tracing the currents of events up to their primitive sources, and who know how often changes in human affairs are first put in motion by very trifling causes. When President Adams was minister at the Court of St. James, he often saw his countryman, Benjamin West, the late President of the Royal Academy. Mr. West always retained a strong and unyielding affection for his native land, which, to borrow a term of his own art, was in fine keeping with his elevated genius. The patronage of the king was nobly bestowed upon him; and it forms a fine trait in the character of both, that, when a malicious courtier endeavored to embarrass him, by asking his opinion on the news of some disastrous event to America, in the presence of the king, he replied that he never could rejoice in any misfortune to his native country; for which answer the king immediately gave him his protecting approbation. Mr. West one day asked Mr. Adams if he should like to take a walk with him, and see the cause of the American Revolution. The minister, having known something of this matter, smiled at the proposal,

but told him that he should be glad to see the cause of that revolution, and to take a walk with his friend West anywhere. The next morning he called, according to agreement, and took Mr. Adams into Hyde Park, to a spot near the Serpentine River, where he gave him the following narrative:-" The king came to the throne a young man, surrounded by flattering courtiers, one of whose frequent topics it was to declaim against the meanness of his palace, which was wholly unworthy a monarch of such a country as England. They said that there was not a sovereign in Europe who was lodged so poorly; that his sorry, dingy, old brick palace of St. James looked like a stable, and that he ought to build a palace suited to his kingdom. The king was fond of architecture, and would therefore more readily listen to suggestions which were, in fact, all true. This spot that you see here was selected for the site, between this and this point, which were marked out. The king applied to his ministers on the subject; they inquired what sum would be wanted by his majesty, who said that he would begin with a million. They stated the expenses of the war, and the poverty of the treasury, but that his majesty's wishes should be taken into full consideration. Some time afterwards, the king was informed that the wants of the treasury were too urgent to admit of a supply from their present means, but that a revenue might be raised in America to supply all the king's wishes. This suggestion was followed up, and the king was in this way first led to consider, and then to consent to, the scheme for taxing the colonies."

FRANCIS S. KEY, 1779-1843.

FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, the son of an officer in the army of the Revolution, was born in Frederick County, Maryland, August 1, 1779. He studied law, and in 1801 established himself in his profession at Fredericktown; but, after a few years, he removed to Washington, D. C., and became District-Attorney for the city, where he lived till his death, January 11, 1843.

A small volume of Mr. Key's poems was published, with an introductory letter by Chief-Justice Taney, in 1857. Besides that stirring national song by which he is chiefly known, it contains many pieces of very great beauty.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER.1

I.

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hail'd, at the twilight's last gleaming?

In 1814, when the British fleet was at the mouth of the Potomac River, and intended to attack Baltimore, Mr. Key and Mr. Skinner were sent in a vessel with

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming;
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
Oh, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

11.

On that shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses ?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner; oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

III.

And where are the foes who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war, and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?

Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution;
No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

IV.

Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto, "In God is our trust;"

a flag of truce to obtain the release of some prisoners the English had taken in their expedition against Washington. They did not succeed, and were told that they would be detained till after the attack had been made on Baltimore. Accordingly, they went in their own vessel, strongly guarded, with the British fleet as it sailed up the Patapsco; and when they came within sight of Fort McHenry, a short distance below the city, they could see the American flag distinctly flying on the ramparts. As the day closed in, the bombardment of the fort commenced, and Mr. Key and Mr. Skinner remained on deck all night, watching with deep anxiety every shell that was fired. While the bombardment continued, it was sufficient proof that the fort had not surrendered. It suddenly ceased some time before day; but as they had no communication with any of the enemy's ships, they did not know whether the fort had surrendered, or the attack upon it had been abandoned. They paced the deck the rest of the night in painful suspense, watching with intense anxiety for the return of day. At length the light came, and they saw that "our flag was still there," and soon they were informed that the attack had failed. In the fervor of the moment, Mr. Key took an old letter from his pocket, and on its back wrote the most of this celebrated song, finishing it as soon as he reached Baltimore. He showed it to his friend Judge Nicholson, who was so pleased with it that he placed it at once in the hands of the printer, and in an hour after it was all over the city, and hailed with enthusiasm, and took its place at once as a national song.

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