property of the inhabitants from any ill usage on the part of his own men; he even rescued some captives from the Indians who infest Northern Mexico; he saw that everything got by his soldiers from the Mexicans was fairly paid for; in fine, he kept his division in such excellent subordination that not a single family was obliged to flee at their approach, or had occasion to dread the outrages which so often-we had almost said invariably-attend invasions, whether gratuitous or provoked. It is said, that in December last, when suddenly called from Parras to relieve the threatened position of General Worth, his sick soldiers were received into the first families to be attended; and that the ladies of that city who had not forgotten the rescue of the captives, nor the sacred protection which had been extended to themselves, begged it as a privilege to receive into their houses, and to watch over, the invalids, whose lives might have been jeoparded by the forced march that was necessary to reach Saltillo before the period designated for Santa Anna's arrival!

General Wool's troops complained at first of the fatigues attending their long marches, and of the strict discipline which he enforced-and these complaints were no doubt all the louder that they were volunteers; but they at length learned that this very familiarity with hardship, and this strictness of discipline, secured their safety and success.

In the Peninsular war, Wellington's light division, under General Crawford, was perhaps as fine a body of soldiers as ever entered the field. They fired the first and last shot in almost every engagement. As an advanced guard, they were unrivalled; and their expertness, steadiness, endurance and confidence in themselves arose from Crawford's rigid, but admirable drilling. They complained bitterly of their general's seemingly unnecessary severity, and his insisting on a straight forward march, when they might, (without harm, as they thought,) have consulted their ease by turning so far aside. But in the end, he who was originally regarded as unnecessarily severe became universally beloved. Wherever he led, his men were willing to follow, because he had taught them obedience; and in teaching them, had also inspired them with an unbounded trust in his own genius. So it was with General Wool. Those who at first grumbled at his apparent hastiness came at last to find that he had been all along acting for their good, and for the efficient service of their country. was Crawford who, on perceiving that a commissary was likely to disappoint him in the forwarding of provisions for his men, threatened to hang that functionary up to the nearest tree. The commissary laid his complaint before the duke of Wellington. The duke asked-"Did he really say so?" The commissary, expecting redress, replied-" He did, my lord." "Then," answered Wellington, "I would advise you to have the provisions up; for if General Crawford said so, by Jove he will do it!" Here was, on Crawford's part, an instance at once of care for his

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brave followers, and of stern strictness in exacting the fulfilment of orders. It must, also, have been by the union of unwavering firmness in discipline and tactics, with a constant regard to the interests of his command, that General Wool was able to accomplish so much with the western volunteers.

We now come to the great battle of Buena Vista, in which General Wool acted a most conspicuous part. It was he who chose our army's position, arranged our forces for the battle, and directly conducted their operations in the field. These duties he performed to the entire satisfaction of his commanding general, the army and the country. In fact, General Wool had formed his opinion of the course which our army ought to pursue, independently of any orders received from his superior; and General Taylor, whose views exactly coincided with his, felt such confidence in General Wool as to entrust him with what may be called the executive command in the engagement. He was to be seen everywhere through the field animating, superintending, directing. In the discharge of his duty, he exposed himself to every danger, and won the admiration of the troops by his valor, while he led them to victory by his example and his generalship. General Taylor, in his despatches, bears ample testimony to the services of his second in command. There never were on the field of battle two generals more united in opinion, feeling and action. All was harmony between them. And when, after the conflict, they rushed into each other's arms, on a field where more than three thousand men lay dead or wounded, mutual admiration, joy for the victory, and sorrow for the slain, mingled in one overpowering gush of sympathy. It was a picture on which the whole army, then in array for a third day's combat, looked with joyous surprise, and burst into cheers-three cheers, thrice repeated.

We cannot imagine anything more to the credit of both generals than the warm, unenvying testimony which each bears to the other's merits in their official accounts of the battle. Happy is the country where chiefs are thus united, in honor preferring one another! That country has already pronounced its highest encomium on the noble conduct of the two commanders; nor, at the same time, does it forget that on a field where they were opposed by five to one, every officer and soldier who did his duty was a hero.

We had made numerous extracts from public documents with regard to the conduct and character of General Wool; but these we withhold, at least for the present. Suffice it to say that they are unanimous and enthuisastic in his praise. The journals of the day have vied with each other in proclaiming his merits; and public bodies-among whom are the legislature of his native state, and the citizens of Troy-have passed resolutions, expressive of their admiration of his actions and their appreciation of his eminent talents. There may exist various opinions on our war with Mexico; but in one respect it has been useful: it has assured the

Americans, and shown to the world that when it is necessary for us to take the field, we have both men and leaders to maintain our cause.

We do hope that peace may soon settle on our land, and that we may be long permitted to pursue our career of industry, undisturbed by the feverish desire of that which some men regard exclusively as glory. Yet, believing that the best guaranty for the continuance of peace is the conviction in the minds both of ourselves and others that we have full power to protect and avenge ourselves in war, we rejoice in the development of military resources and skill which the present war has occasioned.

THE GRAVE OF AARON BURR.

I.

The day is closed; the moon sails up the sky

And spreads her silvery sheen o'er hill and glade ;
While here I stand, and gaze with pensive eye

Upon the sunken mound where Burr is laid.
No tomb-stone marks the spot, nor cypress shade
Waves mournful round to call the stranger here,
Sad memories come-sad memories will not fade,

Of whom no cherished thought can now endear,
Ah! grows more foul his name as circles year on year.

II.

The evening breeze sighs through the bending grass

That springs luxuriant on this lowly mound,

Its plaintive moans but strike the ear, alas!

And leave faint impress on the heart to wound.
Life's varied deeds had stainless virtue crowned,
And on each act her golden signet set;

Here might the willow droop o'er hallowed ground,
Or columned marble rise to note the debt

A nation owed to him whom now no cares beset.

III.

Neglected grave! from thy low turf-sealed vault

Come monitory tones that quicken thought;

Wrecks on life's stream, the wayward helms men's fault,
Are beacons set mid shoals with danger fraught,
Here, who may come, let each, a lesson taught,
Run o'er the links of memory's pearly chain,

Note every thread the web of life inwrought,
Cleanse all its parts till clear of every stain.
Thus shall he honored live, and dead, his deeds remain.
Princeton, N. J., July, 1847.

IRELAND.

NO. I.

In estimating the character and condition of a nation, there is nothing which leads to greater mistakes than the vanity or thoughtlessness of men who imagine that, during a rapid tour through the country, they can gather sufficient knowledge to form an accurate and comprehensive opinion. Or if there be any thing productive of still grosser blunders, it is the dogmatism of prejudice or partizanship which, sitting complacently at home, and feeding its error on partial reports, ventures to pronounce, quasi ex cathedra, a judgment upon questions involving elements so complicated and so hard to trace.

What people have been more unjustly treated in this respect than the citizens of these United States? Persons landing on our shores with European ideas and predilections, cleaving our majestic streams at the rate of half a dozen leagues an hour, rushing with rail road speed from city to city, eating, as they hasten along, a few meals at our hotels, spying out the characters and oddities which, through all lands, are met with in public conveyances and places of common resort, recording at last, as the general rule, what at first attracted attention by its singularity as an exception, fastening oft times and fattening, like flies, on spots of corruption, seeking aliment for their preconceptions in sayings and doings which take a temporary savor and color from these preconceptions themselves; or, on the other hand, desiring to render a favorable, perhaps a flattering account of us and our ways-resolved to be encomiasts instead of faithful witnesses, and therefore seizing on every circumstance that appears to justify commendation, while all of an opposite tendency are either designedly or rashly overlooked, admiring by wholesale and indiscriminately as a compensation for the ignorant or interested vituperation of others-persons so situated and so minded pretend to have learned our national character and to fully understand our social state, and returning home, expatiate with all the confidence and consideration of experienced travellers on subjects which demand the utmost patience of research, depth of reflection, and impartiality of judgment. The actual result of such presumption ought not to surprise us. Neither is it to be wondered at that total strangers to America, receiving this crude and distorted testimony, should think of us still more erroneously than their informants. The latter may have encount ered, even in their flying visits, some reclaiming truths which they conceal or endeavor to explain away; the former are only the second hand recipients of evidence, which, originally questionable, loses none of its fallaciousness in the transition. Vires acquirit eundo.""

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There are but two ways of knowing a people and estimating the causes of their prosperity or adversity. The one is by such fair and minute investigation and comparison of the reports of all parties as a sagacious and conscientious historian employs; the other is by real, bona fide, residence and observation in the land. One sided speculation and special pleading-running commentaries and bulletins a vapeur will by no means answer the purpose.

And particular care, in sifting, weighing and determining, is necessary where the condition of a country has become a subject of particular concern, and the administration of its affairs has been matter of earnest or angry discussion. The peculiar connection of Ireland with Great Britain, the prolonged wretchedness and turbulence of the Irish people, the eager watching, by other powers, of British strength and British weakness, the repeated looking of Ireland to foreign quarters for sympathy and succor-all these have surrounded that region and its inhabitants with an interest that perhaps does not belong to any other nation under heaven. Moreover, the frequent and fierce debates on Irish affairs in the imperial parliament; the almost oriental fervor of Hibernian declamation met and maddened by the sturdiness of matter-of-fact John-Bullism; the stirring names of liberty and bondage; the exciting sounds of freedom and oppression which have mingled so largely in the controversy; and the fire of sectarian zeal flaming between the two islands, but burning still more fiercely in the midst of Ireland herself, where Saxons and protestants, have, by domestication and intercourse, become infected with Celtic ardor and popish intolerance, these things, while augmenting the interest, likewise increase the difficulty of the points at issue, and call for the greatest caution and coolness on the part of those who undertake to arbitrate in them.

But of all nations there are two which, in judging of Irish affairs, require to be specially on their guard. These two are France and the United States of America. The continued hostility of France and England, and the memory of attempted fraternization between France and Ireland during the French revolutionary war, tend strongly to bias the decision of Frenchmen on the question of Irish complaints; while, besides allowing for the disturb ing influences of rivalry and unforgotten conflict, it behoves us Americans to make ample allowance also, for the peculiar jealousies which undoubtedly exist between us and our Alma Mater. and which, as in lover's quarrels, only demonstrate, after all, our mutual admiration and attachment.

Keeping these principles in view, therefore, and having had considerable acquaintance with Ireland and the Irish, we propose to lay before our readers some information on the state of that unfortunate and perplexing country, some account of the sources of her trouble, and some suggestions for her amelioration.

At any time this theme would be one well calculated to arrest and occupy the mind. Surely no man can contemplate without