will never consent that it shall forfeit the high place which it has obtained among the magazines of the day, or make it a vehicle for ministering to the gratification of base passions and a corrupt taste. We do not conceal that we hope ultimately to make our work a source of pecuniary profit to ourselves; but united with that motive we have another, and a higher, in view. We seek as from the beginning we have professed to do, we seek to encourage and promote an elevated standard of public taste, and thus to aid in counteracting the injurious influence of much that is called periodical literature. The best mode of accomplishing this has appeared to us to be, to furnish at the lowest possible price a work which shall always be possessed of interest, but every page of which shall tend to ennoble the mind, to improve the taste, and to purify the heart, of readers in every condition of life. With this design we commenced the publication, and with this design we shall continue to carry it on; and we are encouraged to do so by the communications which have reached us from various highly esteemed correspondents, expressing the hope that no consideration will induce us to lower the tone of the work. If, however, this aim of the Daguerreotype is to be accomplished, the sphere of its influence must be extended far beyond its present limits, and that through the coöperation of those whose views on these subjects coincide with our own. It is very true that we have no reason to complain; for, considering that no extraordinary means have been used for promoting the circulation; that it has stood indebted to no puffing, and has rested entirely upon its own merits; that even the legitimate modes of making it known have only been employed in a few localities;considering, we say, these circumstances, our list of subscribers is perhaps larger than we had a right to anticipate. But these very circumstances prove what might be done if greater efforts were made; and we do not, therefore, we hope, ask too much if we invite all those who wish well to our publication, all who have at heart the important objects for the advancement of which we are laboring, to exert their influence in their respective localities, and, by promoting the success of the Daguerreotype, promote in some small measure the moral and intellectual culture of their fellow-citizens. Translated for the Daguerreotype. THE POWER OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. constitution have been what she is; but we do not now purpose to investigate the reasons which have induced the Emperor to constitute himself the champion of autocracy, but to examine whether the power of Russia is really as great as it is daily affirmed to be. There is no empire in the world which is uni- | to show that England would never without her versally regarded with so much suspicion as that of the Autocrat of all the Russias. And yet Russia takes the greatest pains to banish the terrors which fear and hatred, those frequently inseparable sisters, have called forth among all who are not Russians. No expense is shunned; hundreds of thousands are scattered with prodigal liberality in order to win over public opinion in the civilized countries of Europe; panegyrists are rewarded with truly imperial generosity; but all works which evince any sympathy with Russia, only inflame the hatred which exists; they have injured rather than raised her in public estimation. The personal appearance and manners of the Emperor, and of all the members of the imperial family, exercise an imposing influence upon all, whether friends or foes; more than one anti-Russian has been won by the amiability and majesty of the Autocrat; at least temporarily. Germany, Italy, and not least England, have more than once had occasion to admire the lavish and almost extravagant generosity of the Ruler on the shores of the Neva; not only were surprise and wonder manifested, but even public opinion seemed for a time to change in favor of Russia. But a few weeks only elapsed, and the old hatred of the colossus of the North awoke again in all its strength. If we ask what are the causes which have called forth this hatred, especially in England, and with scarcely less of vehemence in Germany and France, we find principally the two following. First, the magnitude of the Russian empire, and the external power which it thereby possesses; and secondly, the absolute principle which the autocrat of all the Russias seeks to maintain in its integrity. At a period when all civilized nations are striving for representative governments, the monarch who opposes this, the favorite idea of the age, with all the might which is at his command, cannot claim to be regarded with affection. But the Emperor Nicholas has more than once openly declared that there are only two forms of government which he can respect, the autocratical and the democratical; and these in their purity and without any constitutional admixtures; he has even spoken with contempt of all constitutions, and has affirmed that a country with a representative government has never accomplished any thing great. It would be easy And first, let us consider the enormous territorial extent of the Russian empire. It is true that the area of the lands which it includes amounts to not less than one thirtieth of the whole surface of the earth, and one seventh of the dry land; they embrace portions of three quarters of the globe, and are more than twice as large as Europe. At no period, as far as history reaches, has there existed an empire of such enormous magnitude; the Roman empire, when on the pinnacle of its greatness, included all the countries which were then known, but yet its extent can scarcely have been one fourth of that of the Russian empire, which stretches over two hundred degrees of longitude, and reaches from the icy regions of the North Pole to beyond the thirty-eighth degree of north latitude. But this huge colossus ceases to be terrible when we reflect, that its territory of 360,000 geographical square miles contains but little more than sixty millions of inhabitants; and is still less imposing when we consider of what kinds of men these sixty millions are composed. In the more civilized countries of Europe there are on the average from three to four thousand inhabitants to the square mile, while in the Russian empire the same space is occupied by less than two hundred. The scantiness of its population is of service when a powerful enemy crosses its boundaries, and endeavours to traverse its wide prairies and uncultivated tracts; the numerous irregular troops, known by the name of Cossacks, are then highly useful; and, either voluntarily or under compulsion, swarm around the enemy. Even if Russia then gives up to the enemy the few towns which lie in his road, it will not yet be conquered; even if its capital is lost, the Russian, almost like Abdel-Kader in the desert, finds in the eastern steppes a safe refuge, where he can quietly wait until the enemy, destitute of provisions, is obliged to commence a retreat; nowhere can he find the necessaries of life, and to procure them from Germany or from the seashore would require almost as strong an army as that which has to contend against Russia. Was it otherwise in the year | ble to them than to the Turks. Russian officers 1812? Was the army of Napoleon annihilated solely by the bravery of the Russians? They take great pains to ascribe to the patriotism and valor of the Russians what was due to higher causes; but can there have been any patriotism, when even in the immediate neighbourhood of Moscow, and in the capital itself, whole troops of Russians committed greater acts of violence than did the French invaders? Can there have been any valor when all the armies of Russia were unable to arrest the rapid, victorious march of Napoleon to Moscow, and only then triumphed, when hunger, cold, and misery became their allies? If York and the Prussians had not arisen, the year 1813 might not have been so propitious to Russia. have acknowledged that the entire army would have been lost, if peace had not ensued, and that it was only rescued from its desperate condition by the inopportune cowardice of the Divan at Constantinople. It is said that in 1812 there were, including the irregular troops, a million and a half of soldiers in arms; but though Russia made the most strenuous exertions not more than one half of this force really existed; then, as now, the moiety was only there on paper. It is equally difficult to say with any degree of accuracy what the amount of her forces is at the present day; she has from seven to eight hundred thousand men on paper: but it is probable that, inclusive of all the Cossacks, Bashkirs, Nogyars, and other barbarous nations, they do not exceed half a million. Although it is said that out of five hundred inhabitants only one is every levy would be attended with very great difficulties, and a third would probably be impossible. In the spring of 1846 it was found necessary to dissolve an entire corps in order to fill up the ranks of the regiments which were engaged in the war on the Caucasus. But it would be very different if Russia should be called upon to maintain a foreign war for several years. It is true that she has great resources at her command. She alone has suc-year chosen by lot to serve as a soldier, a second ceeded in converting her soldiers, and to a certain extent her officers, into a machine, which the engineer, the commander, has only to touch in order to give to it the necessary motion. It is also true that during more than a century Russia has been the conqueror in every war in which she has been engaged, and that during this period scarcely a year has elapsed which has not seen an addition made to the extent of her empire. But the times have changed; encroachments, at least on the western boundary, are no longer possible; there is not another country, like Poland, so miserable within itself, that Russia could fix upon it her longing eyes. Prussia and Austria are her western neighbours, and both stand in an attitude of defence, sufficiently prepared to repel every attack. Only if Germany should again be disunited, if Austria should rejoice over the humiliation of Prussia, or Prussia over that of Austria, would it be possible that, with the aid of a crafty policy, Russia could be victorious in such a contest. But even in that case it would be necessary that the contest should be a short one; for Russia is wholly unable to carry on a long war beyond the limits of her own territory; even if it were requisite to reinforce but once the troops which had already marched into a foreign country, innumerable difficulties would ensue. The pages of modern history present no instance of Russia having carried on a war of long duration. With Napoleon she fought on each occasion but for a short time; more recently she has been engaged in war with Persia and with Turkey; but although these countries have for many years been far from flourishing, the situation of the Russian forces at Adrianople was such, that a speedy peace was even more desira But Russia cannot even employ this force of half a million against a foreign enemy. The Caucasian lands require an army of a hundred thousand men; a similar force must always be ready for action in the Polish provinces, and fifty thousand are required for the defence of the southern boundary in Asia. In order therefore to bring even a quarter of a million into the field, Russia would have to leave the Eastern provinces entirely unprotected; and this is a force to which either Prussia or Austria could oppose one of equal strength. It must also be remembered that there are only three roads in Russia, namely, from Tauroggen to Riga, from Petersburg to Moscow, and from Petersburg to Warsaw, which are at all times passable; and with respect to railroads she is yet more behind her western neighbours; so that it would be a work of time and of very great difficulty, to send, if it were necessary, reinforcements to join an army engaged in foreign warfare. It is necessary, however, that we should say a few words respecting the soldiers of whom the Russian army is composed. The regular troops consist almost entirely of Russians, Finns, Poles, Germans, and Jews. During the long years of military service the men sprung from these different races entirely lose their nationality; the Jew, the German, and the Pole is merged in the Russian soldier, and becomes, like the native Russian, a part of a great machine. Russians are proud of this circumstance, and think that it makes them the best soldiers; but the boasted | but the government has to pay for it from eight valor of the Russian soldier exists only in imagi- to ten. nation. It is true that he is whollly passive, and with unbounded apathy will let himself be pushed to the mouth of a cannon. The recruit bids an eternal farewell to his family; great as before had been his dread and his detestation of a soldier's life, these feelings are speedily changed into complete indifference. From the moment in which he becomes a recruit, the Russian ceases to live for himself, for his family, and for nature. It fortunately happens that his naturally submissive temper, and a certain degree of fatalism usually gives him strength to endure all the toils, privations, and hardships, to which, in war and in peace, he is equally subjected. Where the issue of a battle depends upon the preponderance of a mass, and where a skilful general knows how to make good use of his forces, a Russian army derives a great advantage from this submissiveness; but as soon as the contest becomes more complicated, and victory depends upon the skill of the subordinate leaders, or the bravery of individual soldiers, it will seldom be successful. History affords one example of a Russian army extricating itself from a very precarious situation; but this is a splended exception, and there will not soon be another Suwarow. The irregular troops are, as we have already mentioned, of the greatest service, when an enemy has penetrated into the interior of Russia, but in a foreign war would be much less useful. All these hordes are brave, so long as they are successful, and especially so long as there is abundance of booty; but as soon as fighting begins in earnest, they take to flight, and often throw the main army into confusion. But war costs money, and is more expensive to Russia than to any other country. Tables have been constructed showing the cost of each soldier in different states; and Russia in these calculations appears to have very cheap soldiers. But a closer examination proves that the advantage is not so great as it appears to be. It is true that the Russian soldier, and even the Russian officer, receive less pay than, for instance, the Prussian; but in the first place they are exempted from the universal taxation, which accordingly falls so much the heavier upon the nation, and in the next place no account has been taken of the impositions which are notoriously practised by the government employés, and which amount to a sum equivalent to the entire cost of the army. The colonel of a regiment generally becomes a rich man in the course of two or three years. A pound of salt meat can, for instance, be purchased for four kopeks, Russia is however said to be very rich, and in late years her gold mines have been extraordinarily productive. It is a question whether the whole of this treasure really exists otherwise than on paper, as has been found to be the case with the schools entered in the report of the Minister of public worship. But admitting that the gain is as great as is represented, we must remember that Russia requires an enormous income to defray the expenses of her civil and military administration, and that the industry of the people yields no return as it does in the other countries of Europe. To judge of the wealth of Russia we need only remark that she has not even been able to furnish the necessary capital for the construction of a railroad from Petersburg to Moscow. She has a few enormously wealthy families, but on the other hand, in no other country, with the exception perhaps of Ireland, is there such utter destitution and poverty; and she is wholly without those middle classes which constitute the strength of other nations. Lastly, there is one more circumstance to be considered, which detracts from the power of the Russian empire; we mean the want of patriotism and public spirit. Patriotism in the true sense of the word requires a certain degree of education, an education which cannot be found in Russia, except among the very highest ranks, and among the few families in the middle classes who are of foreign extraction. But even supposing the Russian peasant to be able to read and write, how can he have any love for his country when he may any day be sold and sent to a distance of hundreds of miles. He generally, if well treated, is attached to his master, but he has no idea of those higher qualities which patriotism requires. And even the more refined Russians appear to be incapable of those lofty deeds of self-devotion, which patriotism has called forth among all civilized nations, and in all times. General Passek and Colonel Schulze, who have within the last few years played so conspicuous a part in the Caucasian war, are cited as instances to the contrary; both were Germans, whose hearts could not have glowed with love for a country, the national character of which is so different from that of their own. How in fine can there be any idea of patriotism among the numerous Germans, Frenchmen, and Englishmen, who are in the Russian service, and who have especially distinguished themselves in war? How can there be Russian patriotism among the Georgians, Finns, Poles, and all the other heterogeneous nations who are subjects of the Emperor? From all these considerations it will be sufficiently clear that, great as is the power of the Russian empire, and vast as are its resources, it need not be an object of terror to the other na tions of Europe, so long as these continue true to themselves and to their own best interests. — Berliner Literarische Zeitung. THE PROSE WRITERS OF AMERICA. This volume presents a fair opportunity for estimating the degree of progress, and the existing amount and value, of American literature. The New World would seem to have started with many advantages: the language, the experience, the literature of England had been realized, as it were, for her benefit, and were so much capital available as the basis of further enterprise. Little, however, for a long time was done with it. One great want seemed, like that of Hunger, to absorb all other considerations. The means of political and social life had to be secured before the rarer luxuries of mind and heart could be indulged; and accordingly, while the national intelligence was busy in erecting the requisite public institutions and carrying out a system of commercial speculation, it lacked both time and inclination for the encouragement of philosophy and art. This slow progress becomes the more remarkable when compared with German development. German literature, like American, traded first on English authorship. The Teutonic poets in and about the period of Klopstock drew their inspiration confessedly from English sources. They had not, however, the advantage of themselves writing in the same language, they had to conquer the differences of idiom and whatever else impeded the transfusing of the spirit of one tongue into another; yet, the German having once received the impulse, prepared to compete, as described by Klopstock in his well-known ode on 'The Two Muses,' with the English mind, and succeeded in establishing a rivalry-not, indeed, to be feared, yet commanding profound respect. We turn to America, and ask in vain for her Klopstocks and Kants, her Stolbergs, Schubarts, Bürgers, Vosses, Höltys, Gotters, Lessings, Herders, Wielands, Werners, Schillers, Goethes,to say nothing of her Schellings and Hegels. We find in America worshippers and imitators of these writers, and also of English bards and sages, such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Carlyle; but not men who take the same unequivocal standing as original thinkers and doers in the field of literary emulation. The obstacles to American literary progress have been many. Some are of a social and political character,- others of a merely mercantile description. The refusal of the American government to protect the copyright of foreigners has, in particular, had an almost fatal reaction on the native author. While the American publisher can get English books from England for nothing, he will scarcely deem it worth his while to pay for those of home manufacture. This "even-handed justice" operates still more to the injury of the trans-atlantic writer than might have been expected. American bibliopoles refuse not only to purchase, but even to publish, his book. They combine against him to suppress his production-it being their evident interest to prevent competition with the fame of foreign authors. It behoves, therefore, the American littérateur to advocate to the fullest extent an equitable law of international copyright; and we gladly recognize in the work before us the presence of this argument wherever the subject admitted of its introduction. The American mind, as we have seen, is essentially of a dependent character, and refers to Europe for authoritative origin. The American writer has looked commonly to the English for his model and exemplar. "England," says Mr. Griswold, "has continued to do the thinking of a large class" in the United States; a class consisting, according to the same writer, “of men who have arrogated to themselves the title of critics"-"our sham sort of men," he adds, "in all departments." Mr. Griswold himself is an evidence of the truth of his own charge:— his very "speech bewrayeth him"- the turn of expression italicized smacks of Teutonic-Anglican Carlyleism. Mr. Griswold desires something truly American, and opines that American institutions, with the political conflicts involved, are favorable to literary production; and sees, indeed, nothing but the want of a proper law of copyright to impede the natural effect of their influence. He deserves great credit for his bold assertion of principle. But he has conceived an idea of national literature which would deprive us of its main characteristics, having set forth its claims on the ground of its being national in spirit rather than subject. A national literature |