and lasting in the religious world has been the influence of Wesley's calm strength of mind, than that of the vehement flashing of his brilliant contemporary. There is sometimes a happy union of rude but unaffected energy with plain and momentous truth, - a combination of that ardent feeling which bears the hearer forward in its strong rush, yet offers him no violence, with the unforced and simple movements of the heart on the great topics of religion. In this species of excellence no one, we are inclined to think, has surpassed M. Bridaine, the celebrated French preacher. *

Let the preacher, then, carry to his work a mind strongly built up and well furnished, a heart penetrated with some adequate sense of the everlasting power of spiritual truth, a conviction that he is called to do his part in one of the greatest agencies which God has appointed man to exert on his fellow-men; let him cherish large and generous views, far above the hot and vaporous region of sectarian strife, and a true love of doing good by advancing the cause of spiritual improvement; let him remember that he comes with the word of life to beings, who have an eternal interest at stake in the truths he shall utter; under such impressions let him pour out his heart naturally and freely, - and he will be an effective speaker for every valuable purpose, - he will in fact be eloquent, though criticism may have no compliments for him. There is a difference between the admired speaker and the really eloquent preacher; for the saying of one of the ancient orators was wise and true, - " If you have leisure to praise me, I speak to no purpose."

From "The Memoirs and Confessions" of Reinhard some excellent hints may be drawn for the formation of a true taste on this subject. The translation of this book and of "The Plan of the Founder of Christianity," as far as we have compared it with the original, is faithful to the author's meaning. It has some faults of language; the expressions are not unfrequently careless and ill chosen; and there is a general want of neatness and precision in the style. The

* An interesting account of this extraordinary man is given by Cardinal Maury in his "Essai sur l'Éloquence de la Chaire," Tome I. p. 85. an excellent work which, we believe, is not so much known and read among us as it deserves to be.

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notes, additions, and illustrations are for the most part valuable, and indicate a spirit of research highly praiseworthy. We cordially express our acknowledgments of the service the translator has rendered, by introducing these works and their excellent author to our religious public.

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ART. IX. - Indian Biography: or an Historical Account of those Individuals who have been distinguished among the North American Natives, as Orators, Warriors, Statemen, and other Remarkable Characters. By B. B. THATCHER, Esq. In 2 vols. New-York. J. & J. Harper. 1832. 18mo. pp. 324 and 319.

THOUGH there is no department of history that ought to interest the descendants of the "pilgrim fathers" more than that which treats of the unfortunate race of whose domains they are in present possession, there is none that has been so much neglected. There is no lack of Indian histories, indeed, such as they are; but we may safely say that no reader can form a distinct idea of the history of any tribe from any one of them. It is only by attentively studying the histories of the several states, Hubbard, Mather, and countless other authorities, and by laboriously comparing them, that we can learn any thing of the Powhatans, the Six Nations, or any of the great Indian confederacies. It is true, we all know that certain persons called Tecumseh, Pontiac, and Metacom have lived, opposed the whites, and died, but that is all. Not one in fifty, even of the better informed classes, can tell when and where these distinguished men were born, to what tribes they belonged, or what were the prominent points in their history. Warriors as brave, orators and statemen as wise and eloquent, as any recorded by Homer, have but lately figured in the land we inhabit; their bones have not yet been resolved into their native dust, and their words and deeds remain without a record; or if, indeed, they have been recorded, it has been in such a manner as has increased the obscurity fast gathering around the memories of the forest kings. In these circumstances

we acknowledge an obligation to Mr. Thatcher. He has ably filled a hiatus in American history, by collecting and arranging all that is worth remembering of those whom we have displaced.

We would not say that this "Indian Biography" has no faults; but as, in noticing a work of no merit or improper tendency, it is a duty to point out these and dwell upon them, so in a performance of talent and utility, it is a pleasure to show the small proportion they bear to its good qualities. While we say that the book before us has some pages which resemble a critical disquisition more than was needful to render them amusing, we are free to acknowledge that there was no possible way, in such instances, to come at the positive truth. By selecting his preferred authorities, and adopting their conclusions, the author might have misled his readers. His best course, and that which he has followed, was to give all versions of the story, so that the reader might judge for himself.

We also object to the too liberal application of titles to Indian chiefs; but this is a defect common to all preceding historians. We think that petty rulers of petty communities should not be called kings and emperors. These titles are associated with ideas of regal pomp and power which no Indian dignitaries, save those of Mexico and the Incas, ever enjoyed. We observe, too, that some of the Western chiefs are called Sachems, an appellation by which they were never known to their followers or to the whites. These, as well as a few other inaccuracies, are, indeed, but trifling errors; and we mention them rather in the hope of seeing them amended in a future edition, than with a view of detracting from the estimation in which the work will be held.

The two volumes, of which it consists, form the fortyfifth and forty-sixth numbers of Harpers' "Family Library." We consider them, to say the least, not inferior to any part of that series. They make a component, indispensable part of our history, which has never been fully brought forward before. The characters they commemorate were not inferior, in all that constitutes true nobility, to the worthies of the heroic ages. They exercised a powerful influence on matters in which we are intimately concerned, and that influence has not yet ceased to be felt. There is scarce a township in New England that does not contain some memorial of their greatness. It may not be matter of regret that their noble qualities availed them not; we may rejoice that their patriotism and valor had no effect; we may, perhaps, feel no sorrow that their race has wasted utterly away; but while we enjoy the fatness of the land they left us, and remember how it was acquired, we are bound to preserve some record of their names, their actions, and their misfortunes.

The first volume contains the history of the Virginia and New England Indians, and proves that history, if it shows forth examples, does not "teach by example." From Sassacus to Black Hawk, the Americans have played one and the same game with the Indians. It is a sad philosophy which thus teaches to exterminate and not to save. The first volume of this "Biography" tells a melancholy tale. Of all the great men therein celebrated, two only did not suffer by their proximity to our fathers. Massasoit escaped, probably because they were not strong enough to injure him, as did the Mohegan Ulysses, Uncas, by being the instrument of the wrongs they did to others. What is the story of the rest? The Pequods, a nation of four thousand warriors, feared and respected by all their neighbours, were exterminated on slight and doubtful provocation. Their chief, Sassacus, "all over one god," as the savages styled him, was driven into exile, and ruthlessly slaughtered to give the colonists pleasure. Alexander, son of the chief who succoured and protected them in their utmost need, they apprehended and treated with great indignity on a mere suspicion; and this unworthy treatment occasioned a malady, of which he soon died. We see proof whereon to found a reasonable belief that his brother Philip never would have begun that war, which desolated the colonies, and ended in his own death and the annihilation of several tribes, but for the insults and encroachments of those whom his father had cherished. Miantonomo, the high-spirited chief of the Narragansets, was put to death at the instigation of the colonists, or at least with their consent and approbation. Canonchet, his son, was slaughtered in cold blood, being a prisoner of war. Aspinet, who returned good for evil, nevertheless came to a causeless death by English hands, and Jyanough, "the Courteous Sachem of Cummaquid," perished in like manner. "Insulted, threatened, pursued by an enemy whom no restitution could satisfy, and who suspected equally his caresses and fears, he fled in consternation, and died in despair." A yet more revolting feature of the picture is the cruelty of the invaders, who put their captives to death or sold them into remediless slavery.

It tells well for the author of this work, that he looks on such things as he ought. With him injustice is injustice, and murder is murder, by whomsoever committed. He seems to have a very clear conception of character, and has perspicuously defined individual differences of it. We never before had so definite a conception of the bonhommie of Massasoit, the haughty Miantonomo, the fiery Canonchet, the selfish and crafty Uncas, or the far-seeing Pontiac. He has given his veritable materials a good deal of the interest of romance. His tale of general oppression and barbarity is often enlivened by interesting description, and by traits of heroism and genius. We would especially instance his history of the Five Nations as the best extant, and as having as much attraction as the best popular tales, even for the general reader.

We trust that we shall not incur the suspicion of what we most abhor, that is, of premeditated puffery, if we add to the catalogue of the merits of this work. It has evidently been carefully written, a rare merit in an age like this, when books succeed each other so rapidly as to suggest the belief that a patent has been taken out for some machine to manufacture them. To be sure, their quality is such as might be expected. Mr. Thatcher has not conformed to the prevailing fashion, for which we thank him heartily. He has done the best the case permitted, to make his book perfect. He appears to have had an unlimited access to books. We believe he has quoted some hundreds of authorities. No fact has escaped him. We have ourselves entered rather deeply into the study of his subject, and have, therefore, some right to judge.

We do not complain of this work because it does not enter into minute details. We consider excessive minuteness a blemish, unless in a work of mere reference. Perhaps the "Indian Biography" might have suited some persons better, had they contained all the Indian treaties ever made, and all the things ever said by or of the Indians; but if they had, they would not have been so useful, so agreeable, or so much read, as doubtless they will be. The author has search