goods for the quarter increased 50 per cent. over the previous one, and the exports of foreign goods were small, while the dutiable imports declined 50 percent. from the corresponding quarter of the previous year, and the revenue fell also 50 per cent. The month of January shows the same low average

of customs. The result of this has been a great increase of the national debt, composed of money borrowed to spend; a disorganization of the party in power; and no alternative but to modify the tariff, the only one of its measures remaining," the idea of a national bank being obsolete."

The Battle of Lake Erie; or, Answer to Messrs. Burges, Duer, and Mackenzie. By J. FENNIMORE COOPER. Coopers town: H. & E. Phinney. 1843.

This controversy may now be considered at an end. Mr. Cooper has performed an operation analogous to that of the Niagara in the battle itself. He has not come into "close action" till rather late in the day, perhaps, but after he has once fairly entered the enemy's line, scarce more than a single broadside of his heavy metal has been necessary to settle the question. The origin of this pamphlet is after this wise: In his Naval History of the United States, Mr. Cooper has adopted the version of the history of the battle contained in the official documents of the time, without regard to Com. Perry's subsequent retraction of all then stated in his report favorable to the conduct of Com. Elliott, his second in command. He took no notice of the violent controversy which afterwards arose; for the reason that, while a thorough investigation of it failed to convince him of the truth of the imputations brought against Elliott, he was satisfied that it was not yet ripe for history. His history was attacked with great vehemence on this ground, chiefly by Mr. Burges of Rhode Island, who claimed the victory of Lake Erie as peculiarly belonging to "the maritime affairs of Rhode Island," and by Mr. Wm. A Duer, late President of Columbia College, and Lieutenant A. Slidell Mackenzie-both the latter being by marriage connected with the Perry family. Mr. Mackenzie was the author of a severe review of the Naval History in the North American, and of a highly interesting Biography of Perry, in two volumes, published in the Harper's Family Library. Mr. Cooper was very roughly handled in all these publications, on the imputation of having written his account of the battle of Lake Erie in a spirit of hostility to the fame of

Perry, and of partizanship in behalf of Elliott. It is a fact very little creditable to Mr. Spencer, the present Secretary of the Treasury, that in his capacity of Superintendent of Common Schools in the State of New York, he refused a recommendation of the Naval History into use in the common school libraries, on the ground of an imputed controversial character on this point of history, while he did extend that recommendation to the Life of Perry, a book which, though in general amply worthy of the selection, was in this same respect avowedly and pervadingly controversial. In defence of the truth and fairness of his history, Mr. Cooper adopted a proceeding, somewhat novel indeed, but crowned in its result with a triumphant success. He instituted a suit for libel against Col. Stone, the editor of the paper in which had appeared the review of the book written by Mr. Duer,—a snit which was eventually, by consent of the parties, referred to arbitration. The umpires (selected by Col. Stone) were three of the first members of the bar of New York; and the case was defended by eminent and able counsel; Mr. Cooper, on the other side, appearing for himself. If the maxim be in general true, that he who appears in court as the advocate of his own case has "a fool for his client," it was signally reversed in the present instance. In this new field of intellectual effort, Mr. Cooper reaped a more brilliant triumph, perhaps, than any of those which had yielded him his former laurels. The investigation occupied several days; the whole question was explored, to its most hidden cranny; all was done that inge nuity and eloquence could effect, to sustain the criticism against the Naval History; yet Mr. Cooper succeeded in extorting, even from a previous opposite prejudice on the part of his judges, a decision as conclusive as it was unanimous in favor of his truth and accuracy as a historian. His own summing up in

the case was represented by those who had the fortune to hear it, as one of the finest forensic displays that had been witnessed for many years at 'he New York bar. Like the actor who, at the conclusion of one of Mirabeau's greatest efforts in the Convention, lamented that he was only a statesman, and that so great an actor had been lost to the stage and the world, one of Mr. Cooper's own judges, we have understood, expressed his regret that the bar had lost what literature had gained in his person.

For our own part, we had long been convinced of the truth of that version, of this controverted point, to which it must now be impossible for history longer to shut its eyes. Having closely examined the evidence on both sides, a number of years ago, we became satisfied that a most extraordinary delusion of popular prejudice possessed the mind both of the public at large and of the profession which would seem peculiarly interested and best qualified to judge. The case will deserve a conspicuous place in the "Curiosities of American Literature" yet to be written. It has been generally regarded as involving an issue between the comparative merits of Perry and Elliott for conduct in the action; but such is far from being the That justice to Elliott which claims for him an acquittal from the charge of cowardice or treachery in the fighting of his ship, does not withdraw a single leaf from the chaplet of Perry's glory; and it ought rather to be a subject of general satisfaction—even to those who have most strenuously maintained the opposite side of the controversy-that the tarnish should be wiped from the country's escutcheon, which would rest upon it if such imputation were true against its second in command on such a day.

case.

Before concluding, however, we must express our regret that Mr. Cooper has not confined his attention to the historical question under discussion, but has unnecessarily, and, rather to the prejudice of his case, been led by the heat of controversy to introduce allusions, even cruel in severity and bitterness, to the recent unhappy event with which the name of his principal antagonist has been so painfully connected. All this might have been omitted, ou ht to have been omitted, and we doubt not it will hereafter be a subject of regret to Mr. Cooper himself that it was not omitted.

This is an exceedingly clever imitation of the light and humorous eight-line stanza which Byron introduced into English poetry from the Italian. It was one of Mr. Simms's earlier youthful productions, having been written, as is mentioned in the preface, "at a time when the two famous productions of Lord Byron, Don Juan, then of recent publication, was a subject of constant remark and criticism, particularly in connection with the premature and lamented fate of the unhappy writer." Having been left unfinished at the time, in the capriciousness of youth, the manlier spirit of later years made the author reluctant "to bestow any further labor upon a performance the plan of which is so obviously unoriginal." We have therefore here only four cantos-though we are not left without an intimation that possibly the completion of the story here so happily begun, may yet hereafter be given to the world. It is founded on the well-known expedition of Ponce de Leon into the wilds of Florida, in quest of the fountain whose waters were reported to possess the power of renewing and perpetuating youth. The brave old knight is exhibited with much humor in the ridiculous attitude of courtship to a bright-eyed and bright-witted beauty, who amuses herself at his expense, and finally packs him off, at once to quaff the elixir draught of the fabled fountain for his own benefit, and to bottle up a dozen, like Congress water, for hers, to perpetuate those charms which have so bewildered the valiant veteran. Two specimens will better serve to give the reader an idea of the success with which Mr. Simms has caught the style which he so frankly owns that the ambition of boyhood thus prompted him to emulate, at the same time that it aimed to shun its licentiousness of utterance and malignity of mood. They are taken from the third canto; the first consisting of its opening stanzas:

"And Ponce hath left the spot which gave him

birth;

Wept he at parting? Was there in his eye That dewy bright antagonist of mirth,

That seeks for sympathy, but no reply?

Or did he vainly dream hat any earth

Could yield him that his own could still deny,Could aught restore of those dear memories, Which never die though all enjoyment dies.

He did not weep, though bitter was his plight,
But at the stern he sat, as in the west,
In a full blaze of undiminish'd light,

The sun went down behind a billow's breast; Then gazing back, with fond but far'ing sight, For the faint shore-line on the sky impress'd,

He made that sad discovery of the heart,
The worst of mortal pangs, is that to part.
To sever from the known and loved before,

The field of boyhood's hope, and young delight; Each scene so dear to youth's confiding core,

When first the dawn of life broke blue and bright,

The morning triumph, when the cup runs o'er;
Hope in its first fruition; day and night
Commingling with joint glories to persuade,
That lovelier world than this was never made.
How strangely beautiful the well-known places,
About to lose them. With what sense the eye,
Taught by the yearning heart, reseeks, retraces,
Restores and renovates, what it must fly:
Tutored by memory, how affection graces,
Field, flower and shrub, gray rock, and mountain
high,

With beauties which the heart hath dwelt on

never,

Till told that it is losing them forever.

The old knight's forehead sunk upon his hand, While the rough sea-boy, in his roughest tone, Bade them survey, for the last time, the land

Too fondly cherish'd, far too dearly known; Now narrow'd to a stripe of ocean strand,

Like dusky riband now,--now seen, now gone;-He gazed, and sickened as he gazed,-his eye Shut, as 'twould seek to shut out agony. He did not heed the shadows, nor the chill

Of evening, that now gather'd round his frame; Sick as he was, at heart, he lingered still,

And found a grateful music in the scream Of one lone land-bird, that had used the will,

And wing, too, of the wildest, and still came Lingering about them until day had gone,When it flew off, and they went on alone. Yet, while it scream'd above him,-while the seas Answer'd in murmurs,-and, along the sky, Wheel'd the pale moon,-and gathering on the breeze,

Rose the wild sound of ocean mystery; (Strange sound that well with wandering heart agrees,)

His feelings, saddened to intensity, Grew into utterance, and with a tongue, Made musical by anguish, thus he sung.'

The band he leads on his wild enterprise is a motley assortment of desparadoes enough, assembled under the banner that

-bore the sign, Constantine's wonder, Much used in every age to lead to-plunder.

And the pious labors of these gentle missionaries for the conversion of the savages, are thus related:

"The voyage was a long one: for the breeze
Shot forth on opposition's wings to stay
Their gallant vessels, which, o'er unknown seas,
And inanaged by dull pilots, made their way;
But, at the ending of some ninety days,

The western continent before them lay; Blue skies, broad forests, deep and boundless waters,

And naked Indians, husbands, wives, and daugh

Had you but seen him as he shot them down,
Praying the while the Virgin's kind assistance!
That Christian soldier, happy in his frown,
Soon preach'd the truth in spite of all resistance,
The converts, promised all a heavenly crown,

Were sent apart, in prayer, a little distance, Then shot,-these converts fresh from paganism, Thus rendered safe 'gainst heresy and schism.

Ah! pious Ponce, how pleasant were thy cares!
And yet how strange the savage should refuse
The blessed boon of faith thy hand prepares,
And in his maddest desperation choose
Rather the solace of his heathen prayers,

His woodland temple, fresh with nightly dews, To thy new creed, enforced by shot and rack, Pikes cross'd within the abdoinen and back.

Poor wretches! that could never understand. Till slain, how very greatly they were wrong; How they rebell'd against a heav'nly hand,

In peace too heavy and in war too strong; Looking with evil eye upon the brand

That slew-and cursing to the last the tongue, That ordered the dread sacrifice-not knowing How pleasant was the journey they were going. Or if converted-thus the argument-

With souls already well prepared for heaven, With a full faith in every sacrament,

Their truth made sure, their evil deeds forgiven; They might-how strong the fear-with human bent

Fall from the faith, if farther time were given; 'Twas mercy that, first fitting for the altar, Provided, the next instant, shot and halter."

A Treatise on Food and Diet, with Observations on the Dictical Regimen, suited for disordered states of the Digestive Organs; and an Account of the Dieta ries of some of the Principal Metropoli tan and other Establishments for Paupers, Lunatics, Criminals, Children, the Sick, &c. By JONATHAN PEREIRA, M.D., F.R.S., and L.S. Edited by CHARLES A. LEE, MD. One Vol. 8vo. pp. 300. New York: J. & H. G. Langley, 57 Chatham-street. ($1.00). 1843.

Among the many subjects engaging the attention of physiologists, it is evident enough that there is none of greater practical interest and importance, than that of Food and Diet. This is a topic which practically concerns every individual of the human family; and we are glad to see the publication of a work like the present, which treats of the subject both in a scientific, as well as practical manner. This treatise of Dr. Pereira differs, in some important particulars, from all which have preceded it. In the first place, it contains a very full account of the chemical elements of food; the facts being derived from the recent researches and experiments of Bousingault, Liebig, and Dumas; a department, moreover, which preceding writers on diet, have either altogether passed over, or but incidentally alluded to,—and in no

work with which we are acquainted, has it been systematically treated. Another peculiarity of the present work, is the increased space devoted to the consideration of alimentary principles, the number of which the author has thought proper to considerably augment. Instead of adopting the classincation of Prout, viz., the aqueous, saccharine, albuminous, and oleaginous alimentary principles, Dr. Pereira has followed one of his own, which appears to possess important advantages over all others. Great pains appear to have been taken in the preparation of tables, representing the proportion of some of the chemical elements, and of the alimentary principles contained in different foods. Another new and important feature of this treatise is the chapter on dietaries, which the author states, "has been rendered necessary by the discussions which have been going on, for many months past, in the public journals and elsewhere, respecting the amount of food proper to be supplied to paupers, prisoners, and others. The subject has in this way forced itself upon the attention of all grades of society; and professional men and others must have long felt the want of a work, giving an account of the dietaries in use in various public establishments in this country, as well as in the Navy and Army." We perceive that the editor has added much useful information on the subjoct of "American Dietaries," in the appendix.

As we merely design, in the present notice, to indicate the publication of this very important work, we shall defer to another number, a more full review of its contents. We shall, therefore, close by quoting the following remarks from the American Preface, in the justice of which we fully coincide:

treatise; and, as such, we commend it to the favorable consideration of the public, as no less of adapted to inform the physician and man science, than to interest and instruct the general reader.

The Despatches of Hernando Cortes, the Conqueror of Mexico, addressed to the Emperor Charles V., written during the Conquest, and containing a narrative of its events. Now first translated into English from the original Spanish, with an introduction and notes. By GEORGE FOLSOM, One of the Secretaries of the New York Historical Society, Member of the American Antiquarian Society, of the Archaiological Society of Athens, &c. &c. New York: Wiley and Putnam, 161 Broadway. London: Stationers' Hall Court. 1843. large 12mo. pp. 431.

It is very strange that the execution of the task here so satisfactorialy performed by Mr. Folsom should have been reserved to the present day; that we should never before have had in an English form these valuable and interesting records of an event so important in the history of the New World, from the same hand which had on the very field of battle to lay down the sword of conquest for the pen of its narrative. There have been two German translations of them, the one printed at Augsburg in 1550 and the other at Heidelberg in 1779; and one French one by the Vicomte de Flavigny in 1776, which is, however, exceedingly imperfect and mutilated. Mr. Folsom in his preface gives a specimen in which a half-page of the original is compressed by Flavigny into scarce half a dozen lines-a process of condensation very far from beneficial to the work. We have read them with a far deeper interest than any romance could awaken-constantly reminded of the parallel contributive to auto-historic literature (if we may make the word) of Cæsar's Commentaries. There is a straight-forward honesty and simplicity of style in them, which affords the amplest assurance of veracity; and the reality of every scene comes out very vividly, though drawn in few and natural strokes, before the imagination. The first of the series of Despatches (four in all) is not known to be in existence. No trace of it has been found, either in print or manuscript, in Spain or in Germany The second, third and fourth are therefore all that can be given; though Mr. Folsom supplies the place of the first by a well-written introduction, giving such a narrative as other sources of authority have rendered

possible, of the events to which it must have related. Truly we are much indebted to that gentleman's intelligent research, and his just appreciation of the historical interest of these documents, for this trans. lation. For our present number we content ourselves with this simple mention of its publication, reserving the intention of making it hereafter the subject of a more extended notice.

Selections from the Writings of Mrs. Margaret M. Davidson, the Mother of Lucretia Maria and Margaret M. Davidson. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard.

These selections come to us in a handsomely-printed volume, whose general style is creditable to the Philadelphia press. It is got up with taste without pretension, and is just such a book as it should be. Mrs. Davidson now appears before the world in the train of her remarkable daughters, desiring to retain toward them, in their literary lives, the same companionship which made their physical existence so dear to her. Coming, not as an aspirant for literary fame, but as the mother of two girls whose writings place them high in the roll of American genius, she is not a subject of literary criticism, but claims and has our cordial, grateful welcome for their sakes, whose minds she did so much to develope. We have examined her volume with feelings of the highest respect, and have read the greatest portion carefully. An extremely delicate sensibility and a love of beauty appear throughout, in true harmony with a deep religious spirit. Love for her Maker, for her family, and for nature, per vades her writings. Her versification is easy and graceful, and seems the natural dress of pure and simple thoughts rather than a language composed for them. To all who remember her daughters with pleasure, and by this we would intend all who are acquainted with their writings, we recommend this book as a companion to the others; indeed, as necessary to a complete understanding of their remarkable gifts.

Exercises of the Alumnae of the Albany Female Academy, on their Second Anniversary, July 20, 1843. Albany: printed by C. Van Benthuysen & Co. 1843.

We have read with much pleasure this report of the very interesting occasion to which its title refers. It seems t' at the young ladies who have passed through

their course of education at the excellent institution in question, constituting its "alumne," have adopted a resolution of meeting once a year, as well to brighten the links of the chain of memory and affection, as to contribute what they may find in their power to do towards the promotion of the general cause of female education. One of the features of this highly agreeable, and doubtless beneficial institution is, that a selection is made, by suitable judges, of the best literary productions in several departments contributed by the members within the year; which are then published, constituting in some sort the "transactions" of the society of young ladies. The pamphlet now under our hand is accordingly compos d, besides a very good address by the lady president, of a poem, by M ss Eliza Whitney, of Philadelphia; an esssay on education, over the signature of “Mary Grafton;" a vivid sketch of the Empress Josephine in French, by Miss Delinda McCormack, of Oswego, New York; and an admirable tale, entitled "Home Education," by Miss Mary E. Field, of Hadd m, Conn. Though the last named occupies more than two-thirds of the whole, its length is but another recommendation, being a prolongation of the pleasure it yields. As the production of a very young person, even though she may have somewhat over-colored the truth of nature, it is indeed surprising, for the wise goodsense pervading it, very agreeably conveyed in much graceful simplicity of style, and in a well-combined and interesting narrative.

A Spanish Grammar; being an attempt towards a new method of teaching the Spanish Language. By Julio Soler. New York: printed by R. Rafael, 49 Liberty-street. 1842.

Mr. Soler is known as one of the most

successful teachers of his noble language, fulfilling creditably the duties of its professorship in both the University of the City of New York and in the Rutgers' Female Institute. The Grammar which he has been led to prepare, to meet the wants suggested by his own extensive experience, appears, on such slight examination as we have been able to give it, well adapted to its object; and with the accompanying volumes of translations and phrases, and the aid of an efficient instructor, to afford every desirable facility for the acquisition of a well-grounded knowledge of the language.