had gone before it. I am induced now to mention the circumstance without going into much detail, in the hope that it may produce some useful inferences; and lead many worthy men in some parts of the United States, to receive with greater caution, some of the vilifying statements that have been made against this quarter of the country.

A weekly newspaper in Boston, one of those ephemeral journals, which rise in all parts of the country, like the autumnal exhalations from our swamps, often as virulent, but fortunately of as short duration; gave in a series of numbers some remarks on an American edition of Bigland's history, and took for their motto a sentence from the North American Review, noting the article from which it was taken, which was a review of the work entitled "the United States and England ;" one of the answers to the Quarterly Review. I wrote the long article upon this book, with an intention of corroborating the statements of the New-York pamphlet, from which copious extracts were made, and of which I spoke in favourable terms, as I thought it deserved. In concluding my remarks, I said, referring to the libel in the Quarterly Review, "we hope that the indignation," &c. as the sentence will presently appear in a quotation, it is unnecessary to transcribe it here.

This sentence so quoted, caught the eye of a New York editor, and in the genuine spirit, of" uncandid dulness," he applied it to the American work, and not to the British Review. The opportunity to calumniate the people of Boston, and the first number of a new literary Journal, was not to be overlooked.

The following effusion appeared in consequence in the New-York National Advocate.

NEW-ENGLAND POLITICS.

"The Boston politicians tenaciously adhere to the distinctive appellation of New-England, for the section of the country they inhabit, as though they derived more honour from the land from which they descended, than from that in which they were born and reside. But they are still more inflexibly attached to the politics of old England when opposed to those of our own country, than to the name, as different from that of the United States. Thus we

see them boasting of being New-England men, while they pretend to be ashamed that they are Americans, and in all cases affecting the honour and interest of the two countries, giving old England the preference to the United States.

"Our readers have heard and read of "The United States and England," the production of genius and patriotism, drawn from a gentleman of this city, to repel a furious, wanton and malevolent attack on this country in the British Quarterly Review. And how should an able and worthy champion of native character and manner, be treated, but with gratitude and respect! Yet we find a Boston publication, a thing called the North American Review; saying of this respectable and popular work :

We hope that the indignation this libel has excited among men of all parties in America, may create some sensation in England; and that it may be treated eventually with the scorn it merits !'

"Here is North American sentiments with a vengeance! What pensioned hireling of a British ministry, or toad-eater to the pure and exemplary prince regent, would have said more, of an American production, called for by the reputation of his country, and properly modelled after the example set by the British libeller of us- -who no doubt is justified by these Bostonian vipers in all his insolent abuse and profligate vulgarity of style, since it is levelled at the United States !

"If these Anglo American scribblers, these English bastards and spaniels in literature and sentiment, escape a richly merited reward of public scorn and execration, it must be by a rapid descent into the tomb of oblivion which kindly receives all such mushroom reptiles and shelters them from the lash of justice."

This quotation is inserted without any alteration, except putting a few words in italics-where truth, and decency receive so many outrages, grammar of course will be treated with little respect, and one or two slight offences against the latter, may be overlooked. These remarks were republished in the National Intelligencer, and some ardent writer sprang forward with a threatening series of numbers, in which the character of these " Boston traitors" was to be unmasked and displayed. Probably he soon discovered his mistake, for only the first number came out, but neither in that paper, nor in the New-York, nor Boston one, did the slightest explanation or acknowledgement appear, though the last of these, and probably both the others, must have known what an egregiously malignant representation, they had so widely circulated.

I have quoted only the part immediately relating to the North American Review, but it was followed in the same strain with abuse of Boston and the citizens of New-England generally. The whole communication was closed with this exquisite query: "Is it the character of these people the Editor of the Essex Register is so fearful the Olive Branch will injure?!!"*

The powerful influence of the French revolution and the universal interest it excited in all civilized countries, not only pervading the literature of every nation, but marshalling all the world in its contagious quarrels, had for well-known reasons an extraordinary dominion in this country. Political sympathies and antipathies gave a bias to all our opinions. In addition to which, we were so young in the career of literature, we ran so much risk of adopting barbarisms both in taste and sentiment, from the passionate vehemence of party feelings, and the presumption of rash pretenders, that many sound scholars saw no other mode to avert the threatened evils, than to shew unlimited deference to the great standards of English learning. In following this course, they sometimes confounded the ideas of time and space; and blended the respect that was due to what was consecrated by the former, with a defe

The late learned Dr. Bentley of Salem, edited gratuitously and most industriously, the Essex Register, a "republican" newspaper. Being struck with the mischievous character of the "Olive Branch" he deprecated its injurious tendency, and thus exposed himself to this taunting reproof from those, who were its admirers from the most natural motives.

rence to opinions protected only by the latter, which might be often prejudiced, interested, and unsound. The danger that might thus arise is obvious; it may be compared to the apprehension that is felt in some countries respecting those who believe in the papal supremacy, which if it could be confined to spirituals would be almost a matter of indifference, and is only dreaded on account of its opening a passage, to the insidious entrance of political influence and the possession of temporal power. The admiration that was so justly felt for the illustrious names of English literature and politics in past ages, was often blindly given to their living descendants, whose infirmities were invisible at a distance. These feelings sometimes produced a little too much severity in judging our own productions, and rather more submission to foreign criticism, than impartial justice would have dictated in either case. The consequence was occasionally, a want, or rather a suppression, of national feeling and independent judgment, that would sooner or later have become highly injurious.

To counteract the tendency of this state of things, which if I have not succeeded in describing very clearly, will still be understood by many persons, was one of the chief motives in establishing this Review. The spirit of the work was national and independent as regarded foreign countries, yet not falling under the dominion of party at home; and the tone of it, in these respects, is I think different from that of any preceding journal. This tone it has always preserved, with one or two slight exceptions, and I do not know how far my vanity will be