BOOK ed than the matter; but it is the form which is principally LXXX. the subject of taste. Again piquancy in conversation sup poses a certain persiflage, a latitude in opinion, which allows every thing to be said on every subject, provided it is said well. This kind of freedom, which appertains perhaps to a corruption of existing institutions, is singularly inapplicable to a country in which all moral duties are positive; and whatever is positive admits neither of speculation nor discussion. The American, silent and reflecting, occupies himself very little with the effect of what he says. "Briller dans la societé," is to him an unmeaning phrase; his politeness is no reflection of his feelings, but an artificial form he has borrowed to hide a vacuum; and what should have induced a sensible people to borrow a trapping so unsuited to their character? the vanity, probably, to rival the nations of Europe in manners as well as in arts and power. Accomplishments among females are in the same predicament with politeness among the males; they are cultivated upon a principle of vanity to imitate the ladies of Europe; but they seldom enrich the understanding, or give elegance to the manners.* This applies however to the wealthier classes. It should not be forgotten that the great body of the people are superior to those of any European country in every thing relating either to morals or conduct. Their situation denies them refinement; but they never betray that clownish and downcast air which marks the degraded condition of the peasantry of the old world. They are better informed, and more active in their habits, as well as more independent in their circumstances; they have that reliance on themselves which gives to their manners the charm of being unconstrained and natural, and that manliness of character and self respect which elevates them above mean practices, and degrading vices. An American artisan or labourer does not feel that rank, office, or wealth, is necessary to entitle him to open his lips. He never forgets that he is a man, and that those around him are nothing more. *Hall's Travels, page 290. Delaware is the (a) least populous State in the Union, and BOOK the smallest in extent except Rhode Island. Its soil is but LXXX. moderately fertile; it has little shipping; but its manufactures are considerable. Area 2060 square miles. Population 72,749 in 1820. Delaware. In our progress southward, Maryland is the first State Maryland. in which slavery exists to any considerable extent, for in New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, the slaves are few in number, and constantly decreasing. It is here also that the system of husbandry peculiar to the southern States begins. The staple of Maryland is tobacco, a plant to which the farmers of the States farther north are almost strangers, and which is here cultivated by the labour of slaves. The negroes work in sets; the seed is sown in beds of fine mould, and transplanted in the beginning of May. The plants are set at the distance of three or four feet from each other, and are tilled and kept continually free from weeds. When as many leaves have shot out as the soil will nourish to advantage, the top of the plant is broken off to prevent its growing higher. It is carefully kept clear of worms, and the suckers which put up between the leaves, are taken off at proper times, till the plant arrives at perfection, which is in August. When the leaves turn of a brownish colour, and begin to be spotted, the plant is cut down, and hung up to dry, after having sweated in heaps over night. When it can be handled without crumbling, the leaves are stripped from the stalk, tied in bundles, and packed for exportation in hogsheads containing 800 or 900 pounds. No suckers or ground leaves are allowed to be merchantable. About 6000 plants yield 1000 pounds of tobacco. Maryland, considering its extent and population, ranks high as a commercial State. Its commercial capital, Baltimore, has had a more rapid growth than any town in the United States, or perhaps in the world. In 1750 it (a) [By the last census, that of 1820, the population of Delaware exceeded that of Illinois, and also that of Missouri.-AM. ED. BOOK Consisted of half a dozen of houses built round the head of LXXX. the bay; in 1790 its population was 13,503, and in 1820, Virginia. 62,738. It has an excellent harbour, and a greater amount of shipping than any port in the United States, except New York and Boston. Its merchants are distinguished by hospitality, polished manners, an extraordinary spirit of enterprise, and a strong attachment to republican principles. Maryland was first settled by a colony of Catholics in 1634, who had the credit of establishing a full religious toleration at an early period. It still contains a greater number of persons of this denomination than all the other States put together. Annapolis, the seat of the government, contains 2260 inhabitants. The population of the State in 1820 was 407,359, including 107,398 slaves. Area 10,800 square miles. Virginia, the first in order, and the most powerful and populous of the southern States, includes a surface larger than that of England, and greatly diversified in soil and climate. The eastern coast is poor and sandy, and rather unhealthy; the valleys between the ridges of the Alleghanies are fertile and salubrious, and inhabited by an uncommonly tall and vigorous race of men. West of the mountains the climate is temperate and agreeable. The upper country raises excellent wheat; tobacco is extensively cultivated between tidewater and the mountains; and rice, with some cotton, grows near the coast. The first civilized settlement made in the United States, was on James River, in this State, in 1607. The adventurers, who increased from year to year, were reduced, in consequence of the scarcity of females, to import wives by order, as they imported merchandize. It is recorded that ninety girls, "young and uncorrupt," came to the Virginia market in 1620, and sixty in 1621, all of whom found a ready sale. The price of each, at first, was 100 pounds of tobacco, but afterwards rose to 150.* What the prime cost was in England is not stated. The illustrious Washington, the brightest model of a Morse I. 470. patriot in ancient or modern times, was a native of Virgi- BOOK nia, which boasts of giving four Presidents to the United LXXX. States out of five who have held office since the present constitution was established. Washington was born in 1732, appointed Commander in Chief in 1775, elected President in 1789; he retired from that office in 1797, and died in 1799. Virginia is but indifferently supplied with the means of education; but in 1811 the legislature set apart a sum, which has been increased by subsequent grants to a million of dollars, for founding schools, academies, and a university. If the latter is established on the large and comprehensive plan projected, it will be one of the most perfect institutions of the kind. (a) Virginia is deficient in churches, but religion is making progress. The most considerable sects are the Baptists and Methodists. The Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Friends, are next in numbers. The Virginians are firm republicans, polite, frank, hospitable, generous, and high-spirited; but they are accused of pride, indolence, irascibility, and other bad qualities, nourished by the existence of slavery. Estimating by the amount of its exports, in 1820, Virginia holds only the eighth rank among the commercial States. The exports consist chiefly of tobacco, flour, Indian corn, pork, lumber, coals. Its manufactures are chiefly domestic, except those of iron, lead, and small arms, which are on a considerable scale. Richmond, the chief town, is beautifully situated at the falls of James River, and contained 12,067 inhabitants in 1820. The population of the State in 1790 was 747,610, and in 1820, 1,065,366, the latter number including 425,153 slaves. Area 64,000 square miles. District. Between Maryland and Virginia lies the Federal District Federal of Columbia, comprehending a space of ten miles square, which forms the seat of the federal government, and is placed under its exclusive authority. Nearly in the centre of this district, on an angle formed by the Potomac and another (a) [The University of Virginia was organized in March, 1825, and by the September following it had admitted 116 students.-AM. ED. BOOK stream, is the city of Washington, the nominal capital of the LXXX. United States. It is laid out on a regular plan, with a refer North ence to the inequalities of the ground, so that the public edifices, and the large squares and areas, generally occupy sites which command extensive prospects. Ships of burden can come up to the town; and by the Potomac and Shenandoah the city communicates with an extensive and fertile back country. Notwithstanding these advantages, the slow growth of Washington has disappointed the Americans much. The population of the Federal City in 1820 was only 13,247, and that of the District, including Georgetown and Alexandria, 33,039, of whom 6,377 were slaves, and 4,048 free persons of colour. The Capitol is not yet completed, but is allowed to be a very fine building. It contains chambers for the Senate and House of Representatives, apartments for the Supreme Court of the United States, the national library, &c. The President's house is a handsome building, furnished at the public expense, and especially appropriated for the residence of the Chief Magistrate. North Carolina resembles Virginia in climate, soil, and the character of its population. The alluvial tract along the coast is low, sandy and barren, abounding in swamps, which produce cedars. The coast is covered by a line of sand banks, which render access to the bays and rivers extremely difficult, and are the cause of numerous shipwrecks. The potato is indigenous in this State, and is supposed to have been conveyed from hence to Ireland in 1587 or 1588.* The North Carolinians are mostly planters, and live from half a mile to three or four miles from each other on their plantations. In the upper country they are farmers. There is no general provision for the support of schools in this State, but education, as well as morals and religion, has been making progress since the late war. The legislative power is vested in a Senate elected by the landholders, and a house of Commons elected by all that pay taxes. The Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, are the predominant sects. This State has few manufactures except of the domestic kind: and Morse I. 502. |