wine at the table of Charlemagne ?

Well may

we be proud of our native land and turn with fond affection to its rocky shores. The spirit of the Pilgrims still pervades it, and directs its fortunes. Behold the thousand temples that nestle in its happy valleys and crown its swelling hills. See how their glittering spires pierce the sky, and seem like so many celestial conductors, ready to avert the lightning of an angry heaven. The piety of the Pilgrim Patriarchs is not yet extinct, nor have the sons forgotten the God of their Fathers.

18

THE PILGRIM FATHERS.

BY J. W. STANTON, ESQ.

O, Lord of Life and Light, to Thee,
The Pilgrim Fathers bent the knee,
And we our joyful voices raise,
To our Almighty Maker's praise.

We come to consecrate this day
To LIBERTY, and honors pay,
To Puritan and Huguenot,
Whose deeds may never be forgot.

Our fathers braved the winter sea,
To found an empire for the free;
They left a shore oppression trod,
And here sought peace to worship God.

Old Plymouth Rock! there let it stand,
The Mecca of our forest land,

And yearly may our hearts repair,
To cherish freedom's spirit there.

Forever, from that glorious urn,
May freedom's holy incense burn,
And unborn millions feed the fires,
Enkindled by our patriot sires.

The church and school-house side by side, Our country's blessing and her pride, While upward, Lord, they point to thee, The Pilgrim's monument shall be.

Immortal honors earth proclaims,
For those great souls, who wrote their

names,

In virtue, on their country's page,
The light and glory of their age.

Let storied column rear its head
To chronicle the mighty dead,
And ever hallowed be the sod,

Where bowed the Pilgrim hearts to God.

THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO.

BY J. H. WHITAKER, ESQ.

NEITHER poet nor prose writer can describe with accuracy in the natural world, what is taken at second hand. Scenes and objects must have been noted by the eye of taste and close observation, before clear ideas of them can be conveyed in language. Without such personal examination, vain are the attempts of the narrative writer to describe accurately, graphically, or justly. He must approach his task also free from the influence of local and national prejudices; he must be a lover of his race and a lover of truth; his style must be free and graceful; striking or pleasing incidents which have occurred to him in the course of his travels may be related; customs and institutions discussed and occasional episodes, when they serve to illustrate the subject, do not detract from the unity of plan of such a composition.

The object of the writer of a book of travels is

or should be two-fold-first to interest and then to instruct his readers; to describe scenes vividly, and philosophize and moralize with the air and feelings of a friend, rather than the authority of a master. He is supposed to have himself visited the country which he undertakes to describe; has witnessed the operation of novel institutions and laws; has seen society under various aspects and has acquired new and perhaps important facts in the history of his race. He does not wish to withhold from the world the information which he has acquired in his wanderings, but is ready to impart it for the benefit and gratification of society. This is a just and liberal spirit, worthy of the scholar and philanthropist; and if he execute his task with skill he is entitled to thanks and praise exactly in proportion to the merits of his production.

Time, in its onward march will yet regenerate Mexico. The traveler who visits its lovely landscapes, after the lapse of years will probably have a very different tale to tell than the one we have been perusing. A long period must however pass away ere it present a spectacle like that of the free and enlightened Republic which we are happy to call our country-a country