order of its progress. One of our newspaper critics compares the Uncle Tomific, which the reading world is now suffering from, to the yellow fever, which does not strike us as a very apt comparison, because the yellow fever is confined wholly to tropical climes, while Uncle Tom, like the cholera, knows no distinction of climate or race. He is bound to go; and future generations of Terra-del Fuegians and Esquimaux, will be making Christmas presents at this season of the year, of Uncle Tom's Cabin in holiday bindings.

Not the least remarkable among the phenomena that have attended the publication of Uncle Tom has been the numerous works written expressly to counteract the impressions which the book was supposed likely to make. This is something entirely new in literature. It is one of the most striking testimonials to the intrinsic merit of the work that it should be thought necessary to neutralize its influence by issuing other romances to prove that Uncle Tom is a fiction. Nothing of the kind was ever before deemed necessary. When Mrs. Radcliffe was bewitching the novel-reading world with her stories of haunted Castles there were no romances written to prove that ruined Castles were not haunted. But Uncle Tom had scarcely seen the light when dozens of steel pens were set at work to prove him an impostor, and his author an ignoramus. Some dozens of these antiUncle Tom romances have been published and many more of them remain in obscure manuscript. We have had the pleasure of looking over a score or two, which were seeking a publisher, and nearly all of them were written by women, upon the principle of similia similibus. The writer of one of these unpublished antiTom novels had made a calculation, the innocent ingenuity of which tickled our very midriff. She had ascertained that one hundred and fifty thousand copies of Uncle Tom's Cabin had been sold, and she calculated that every reader of that romance would be anxious to hear the other side of the story of domestic slavery, and her romance being the silver lining of the Southern institution, she came to a publisher with a modest proposal based upon a certain sale of one hundred and fifty thousand copies of her work. But this good lady had not made a greater mistake than the majority of our reviewers who have assumed that the "golden joys" of Mrs. Stowe's authorship were all owing to her having sung of Africa. Most unaccountably they imagine that it is the subject, and not the manner of its treatment, that has fascinated the reading public. But a more effete subject,

more

one of which the public were heartily wearied, which was more unwelcome to ears polite than that of slavery, it would not have been easy to select. Whoever touched it was sure of that cruelest of all martyrdoms contemptuous neglect. The martyr age of anti-slavery, as Harriet Martineau called it, had passed away, and the more fatal age of indifference and contempt had succeeded. The public had been inundated and surfeited with anti-slavery sentiment in all possible forms, from the fierce denunciations of the Pilsbury Garrison school, down to the mild objurgations of Lucretia Mott. Every possible form of literary composition and pictorial embellishment had been devoted to the subject, and no one either needed, or desired, any further enlightenment about it, when Uncle Tom's Cabin was announced to the world of novel readers. The chances were a thousand to one against the success of the book. And yet it has succeeded beyond all other books that were ever written. And the cause is obvious; but, because it was obvious and lay upon the surface, it has been overlooked, there being an opinion among most men that truth must lie a long way out of reach.

"When I am reading a book," says Dean Swift, in his Thoughts on Various Subjects, "whether wise or silly, it seems to me to be alive and talking to me." This is the secret of the success of Uncle Tom's Cabin; it is a live book, and it talks to its readers as if it were alive. It first awakens their attention, arrests their thoughts, touches their sympathies, rouses their curiosity, and creates such an interest in the story it is telling, that they cannot let it drop until the whole story is told. And this is done, not because it is a tale of slavery, but in spite of it. If it were the story of a Russian Serf, an evicted Milesian, a Manchester weaver, or an Italian State prisoner, the result would be the same. It is the consummate art of the story teller that has given popularity to Uncle Tom's Cabin, and nothing else. The anti-slavery sentiment obtruded by the author in her own person, upon the notice of the reader, must be felt by every one, to be the great blemish of the book; and it is one of the proofs of its great merits as a romance, that it has succeeded in spite of this defect. If Mrs. Stowe would permit some judicious friend to run his pen through these excrescences, and to obliterate a flippant attempt at Picwickian humor, here and there, Uncle Tom's Cabin would be a nearly perfect work of art, and would deserve to be placed by the side of the greatest romances the world has known. It has often

been spoken of by critics as deficient in artistic ability, but it is to its masterly construction, or artistic quality, that it is indebted for its popularity. The overplus of popularity given to the work by its anti-slavery sentiment is not much greater than the loss of readers from the same source; but the evangelical sentiment of the book, the conversions to holiness through the influence of Uncle Tom's preaching, which the London Times cavilled at, is a greater cause of its popularity with the religious classes, we imagine, than the anti-slavery sentiment which it contains. For the religious sentiment of Uncle Tom is in strict accordance with the theology of nine-tenths of the Christian world. In all the great requisites of a romance it is decidedly superior to any other production of an Ameri

can pen.

There are not, in Uncle Tom's Cabin, any of the delicacies of language which impart so great a charm to the writings of Irving and Hawthorne, nor any descriptions of scenery such as abound in the romances of Cooper, nor any thing like the bewildering sensuousness of Typee Melville; but there are broader, deeper, higher and holier sympathies than can be found in our other romances; finer delineations of character, a wider scope of observation, a more purely American spirit, and a more vigorous narrative faculty. We can name no novel, after Tom Jones, that is superior to Uncle Tom in constructive ability. The interest of the narrative begins in the first page and is continued with consummate skill to the last. In this respect Thackeray is the first of cotemporary English novelists, and Bulwer deserves the next mention. But the commencement of all of Thackeray's stories is dull and uninviting, while Bulwer, who opens briskly, and excites the attention of the reader in the beginning, flags and grows dull at the close. Mrs. Stowe, like Fielding, seizes upon the attention at the outset, and never lets it go for a moment until the end. It matters not by what means this is done, it is the chief object aimed at by the romancer, and the greatest artist is he who does it in the most effectual manner; if the writer of fiction fails in this point, he fails altogether. And the same may be said of every other writer; the mind must first be amused before it can be instructed.

In no other American book that we have read, are there so many well-delineated American characters; the greater part of them are wholly new in fiction. The mischievous little imp Topsy, is a sort of infantine Caliban, and all the other darkies are delineated with wonderful skill and

freedom; and each page of the book is like a cartoon of charcoal sketches. It has been objected to Uncle Tom, that all the whites are impossibly wicked, and all the blacks are impossibly good. But nothing could be further from the truth than such an assertion; the most amiable of the characters are some of the slave owners, while the most degraded and vile are, of course, the slaves. There is no partisanship apparent in the narrative proper, and if the author did not, occasionally, address the reader in her own person, greatly to her own prejudice, we should hardly suspect her of anti-slavery leanings.

An ingenious writer in the Literary World has done Mrs. Stowe the favor to point out an instance of undeniable, but, we presume, unconscious plagiarism, on her part, for which she should feel herself under great obligations to him. He proves pretty clearly, that the weakest part of Uncle Tom has been borrowed from Mrs. Sherwood. Little Eva is, unquestionably, nothing more than an adaptation of the Little Henry of the English lady; and, for our own part, we think it very creditable to Mrs. Stowe that such is the case. The little Nells, little Pauls, little Henrys, and little Evas, are a class of people for which we care but little. Dickens has much to answer for in popularizing the brood of little impossibilities, who are as destitute of the true qualities of childhood as the crying babies which are hung up in the windows of toy-shops. One Topsy is worth a dozen little Evas. But it is a proof of the genius of the author, that every character she introduces into her story is invested with such a distinct individuality that we remember it as a new acquaintance, and feel a strong interest in its fate.

We have heard of almost innumerable instances of the power of Uncle Tom, but one of the finest compliments that has been ever paid to its fascinations was from a Southern Senator and a slave-holder. Somebody had persuaded him to read the book, and, on being asked what he thought of it, he merely replied that he should be very sorry for his wife to read it. A friend of ours was sleeping one night in a strange house, and being annoyed by hearing somebody in the adjoining chamber alternately groaning and laughing, he knocked upon the wall and said, "Hallo, there! What's the matter? Are you sick, or reading Uncle Tom's Cabin ?" The stranger replied that he was reading Uncle Tom.

Apart from all considerations of the subject, or motive, of Uncle Tom's Cabin, the great success of the book shows what may be accomplished by American au

thors who exercise their genius upon American subjects. Imitations of foreign and classical literature, though equal to the originals, will not command success. The American author or artist who is ambitious of success must confine himself to the illustration of American subjects. Cooper made his first essay upon foreign ground and failed. He then came back to America, with no better talent than he carried abroad, and succeeded, having first secured a reputation by the use of a home subject, and then succeeded with foreign materials. But Irving always wrote as an American even when his theme was foreign. There is yet remaining an uncultivated but rich field for American genius. Our first novel of society has yet to be written. We are daily looking for the appearance of our native novelist who shall take his place by the side of Irving, of Cooper, of Melville, and Hawthorne, and Mrs. Stowe. Like the sister of Fatima, we can see a cloud in the distance, but we cannot make out the form of the approaching genius. There are steam-presses and paper-mills now erecting to welcome him. Our aborigines, and sailors, and transcendentalists, and heroes, and slaves, have all had their Iliad, but our men and women of society are yet looking for their Fielding, their Bulwer, or their Thackeray.

Some of the foreign correspondents of our daily papers, in commenting on the popularity of Uncle Tom in Europe, account for it by saying that the English are glad of an opportunity to circulate a book which shows up our country to disadvantage. But we do not perceive the force of this argument. We do not think that any degree of hatred to our institutions could induce the people of Great Britain to read a dull book. Besides, there have been dozens of books published about slavery, which throw Uncle Tom's Cabin completely in the shade in their pictures of our domestic institutions. In fact, Mrs. Stowe's book gives a much more agreeable picture of Southern slavery than any of the works we have seen which profess to give the right side of the tapestry. A desire to degrade America surely cannot be the reason why the representation of dramatic scenes in Uncle Tom have proved so attractive in our own theatres. our part, we think that the actual effect of Mrs. Stowe's romance will be to create a much more indulgent and forgiving spirit towards the people of the South than has prevailed in England heretofore. Our last presidential election certainly did not afford any reason to believe that the minds of our countrymen had been at all influenced by Mrs. Stowe's enchantments.

For

THE invention of new motors has always

been a source of fruitful inquiry. Many ingenious and useful applications of mechanical force have been contrived for the one great object-the propulsion of vessels upon the ocean, and of carriages on the land, by means of a power, which, possessed of the force of Steam, should be at once more economical, less dangerous, and of more easy and general application. To effect this object, skilful mechanists have directed their attention to the development of those powers of nature by means of which man conquers the world to his will. There is much that is curious in the thought, that so simple an agent as water, when subjected to the action of heat, should create an instrument capable of revolutionizing commerce, and of bringing the ends of the earth together. There is something much more remarkable, if the idea can be carried to perfection, of which there seems now little doubt, in the employment of the air we breathe, and without which we cannot live, to feed the lungs of the iron monster, which conveys us rapidly from port to port, and serves to

spread abroad and strengthen the ties of civilization.

The Caloric Ship of Captain ERICSSON marks a new era in the history of navigation.

An experiment it can scarcely be termed, for it is the result of twenty-five years of research and experience. Its triumph or its defeat will settle a question which has attracted the attention of the world, and its final issue is to determine the future of ocean navigation.

In its outward appearance, the caloric ship does not so greatly differ from an ordinary steamship, as might be imagined, in consequence of the total change in its propelling power. The most perceptible alteration upon her decks is the presence of four handsome, symmetrical funnels, placed at nearly equal distances from each other, and occupying the place of the unsightly and smoke-begrimed pipe of our large steamers. Two of these chimneys are attached to the upper cylinders of the engines, and the remaining two serve at once for ornament and the escape of heated and impure air from the engine-room.

Each funnel is a perfect cylinder, thirty inches in diameter, rising only five feet above the paddle-boxes, and resting upon an octagonal pedestal, tastefully carved and ornamented. The whole is painted white, with the exception of a cast-iron ring, near the top of each of the pipes, which is carefully gilded. The general effect of the four white, plain and cleanly pillars upon the deck is very pleasant. Near each pair, the pipes standing two and two, is an air-shaft. This is intended to supply a constant current of cold air to the engine-room, and descends to the very bottom of the vessel, carrying down a vast volume of fresh air to supply the waste engendered by the consumption of the furnaces. In consequence of this happy arrangement, the fire-room is kept at nearly the same temperature as the upper or hurricane-deck. The difference between this and the similar apartment of the ordinary steamships is very striking. There is a manifest improvement in the application of this ventilating-shaft, in the simple fact, that all danger of fire is obviated through the coolness of the spot where the flame is generated. But the shaft is not alone useful in this way. Being so constructed as to form a continuous "well" from the top to the bottom of the vessel, the open space thereby afforded is made available as a location for the pumping apparatus. The brakes of the powerful force-pumps with which the ship is supplied project from the side of the shaft upon the deck, and may be there worked by the crew with the utmost possible convenience. A large amount of pipe is, of course, required to draw the water that the ship may make, to so great a height, but the pumps are sufficiently powerful to complete the work. The mouth of each of these shafts is carefully covered with oiled canvas, though light is admitted by means of a netting surrounding the edge of the pit. The uses to which the shafts are put are remarkably appropriate and simple. They are indispensable auxiliaries of the system of ventilation, which this ship possesses in an eminent degree. The deck is perfectly free, fore and aft, and affords a pleasant place of promenade, if the passenger possesses the requisite strength of nerve.

In her build, the Ericsson is a fine specimen of naval architecture. No vessel has gone out of the port of NewYork her superior in beauty, strength, and, we may perhaps soon add, in speed. The engines being situated in the centre of the ship, the midship section of the vessel is formed quite unlike the steamships. The floor has a gradual rise, greater than is usual in vessels of this

description; the wave-line is applied judiciously; the bow cuts the water smoothly and rapidly; and the run is marked by a peculiarity of construction which gives the ship an easy rest upon the water. The flooring is entirely solid from stem to stern. To give additional strength to the timbers, the entire frame is firmly braced by bars of iron placed diagonally, and securely bolted to each other and to the ship. With these advantages, and the tidy masts and rigging, unsoiled in the longest voyages by smoke or gases, the ship always presents a clean and fresh appearance, which places her in striking contrast with her rivals. The peculiarities of build and finish we may not here particularize more closely. They are best judged by observation, and their advantages will be determined by experi

The owners of the vessel are a company of gentlemen of wealth and influence, among whom is JOHN B. KITCHING, Esq., a prominent merchant of this city. Her builders were Messrs. PERRINE, PATTERSON and STACK, of Williamsburgh; the engines were constructed by Messrs. HOGG and DELAMATER of New-York.

The principle involved in the construction of the Caloric Engine, it is already well known, is the application of air in a state of expansion to the uses for which steam has long been employed. To explain the mode in which Capt. ERICSSON accomplishes this undertaking is a comparatively easy matter, but to make it thoroughly intelligible to all, is more difficult. The account, however, may be given in the simplest manner.

The engine-room is paved with corrugated cast-iron bed-plates, extending over its whole area. The apprehensions of leakage from bolt-holes through the bottom of the ship, as in steam-ships, are not entertained here, in consequence of this improved method. The plates are cast with a corrugated surface, so that the footing of the firemen and attendants may be secure, even when the ship careens. The danger of fire from casual falls of coals from the furnaces, or from a too

great temperature, is also obviated by this arrangement, for two reasons: 1. That there is not a crevice in the iron flooring through which fire may obtain access to the wood-work. 2. That there is no fire sufficiently furious to heat even the iron that surrounds it to any dangerous degree.

The improvement of the new motor thus begins at the very foundation. The cylinders composing the Caloric Engine are four in number, placed in pairs, one above the other. Their position is not side by side, but lengthwise of the vessel. The largest cylinder of each pair is termed the working cylinder; and the upper, or smaller, the supply cylinder. The dimensions of these cylinders are immense. As already stated, each of the working cylinders is 168 inches, or fourteen feet, in diameter; and the supply cylinders have each a diameter of 137 inches, or eleven feet five inches. It was at first doubted whether cylinders of such a magnitude could be properly made, those of the Collins steamships being only 90 inches in diameter; but the experiment has succeeded admirably. Persons are not wanting who will now undertake to manufacture twenty feet cylinders, if need be. The weight of this entire mass of iron is about four hundred tons. The workmanship is beautiful, and reflects credit upon American skill and enterprise. The capacity of the cylinders is such that 34,272 cubic feet of atmospheric air per minute, are drawn into the engine when only fourteen strokes per hour are made; so that in the space of sixty minutes the aggregate volume of air which passes through the engine is not less than 2,056,320 cubic feet. The weight of air is in the ratio of 13 cubic feet to the pound; so that, according to this calculation, the vast volume of sixty-eight tons of atmospheric air goes through the cylinders every hour, effecting a wonderful ventilation. The furnaces through which the requisite amount of heat is applied to set the machinery in motion, are located at the base of the working cylinders. A comparatively small amount of fuel is required for consumption during long voyages, and it is confidently asserted that the ship will be able to take on board a sufficient quantity of coal,anthracite only being used, on account of its greater cleanliness,-to take the vessel to and return her from any European port, and even to Canton. This is another advantage, of which we shall come to speak by and by. The engine, then, works simply as follows: The furnaces having been lighted, the air contained in the working or lower cylinder presently becomes heated, forces up the piston within, and escapes through a series of

valves provided for this purpose. Each cylinder has a piston, fitting closely to it, but so contrived that both always work together. As the air escapes from the lower cylinder, the piston contained within the cylinder descends by its own gravity, drawing the upper one down with it. The upper piston, in its descent, pulls open a series of valves, each some two feet in diameter, placed in the top of each of the supply-cylinders. The opening of these valves causes the instantaneous admission of a volume of cold air. As the piston ascends, these valves close, and the confined air, now unable to escape in the way it entered, finds vent in another set of valves, through which it passes into a receiver. From this receiver, it is to pass into the working or lower cylinder, to force up the working piston within it. In order to perform this duty, it is compelled to pass through an apparatus called the regenerator, which is nothing more than a series of wire-nettings placed close together to the thickness of twelve inches. The meshes of this network of iron being fine, and the distance through the mass very considerable, the air, in its passage from one side to the other, is distributed in an infinitude of small cells, and is thus placed in intimate contact with a metal surface which is peculiarly sensible of appreciation or depreciation in the amount of caloric that may exist in its vicinity. Upon this part of the apparatus is based the grand feature of the Caloric Engine. The idea of the reiterated employment of heated air was long the subject of experiment by Capt. ERICSSON. It was ascertained, by himself and others, that atmospheric air and the permanent gases acquire or part with a given degree of heat, in passing through a given extent of space; or, in other words, that a volume of air, in passing through a space of, say, six inches in the fiftieth part of a second, is capable of acquiring or evolving about 400° of heat. The simplest philosophical principles are therefore combined in the production of the caloric engine, namely, the radiating properties of heat, and the affinity of metals for caloric. The result of Captain ERICSSON'S observations leads him to adopt the "regenerator," as the truest and simplest exponent of these powers. In its manner of operation, the regenerator is speedy and certain. Its warmer surface is of course nearest the fire below; its cooler side is fanned by the current of air which enters from above. As the heated air leaves the working-cylinder of the engine, it necessarily enters the regenerator, by which it is deprived of its caloric, and is expelled with but thirty degrees of heat; whereas,