of the anti-republican monopoly feature of the system, as it has hitherto existed-comprise the substance of the views which have often been denounced as ultra and impracticable, as entertained by Col. Benton. The constitutional currency for the minor purposes of life-credit paper for the larger operations of commerce, for those who choose to use its facilities with their eyes open and the privilege of choice-is acknowledged by all the divisions of the democratic party who have followed united under the flag of reform of the late administration, as the common creed; the only difference of opinion is as to the mode of carrying it into effect-a difference of opinion which need not, and cannot, long remain a subject of serious party division. We have devoted a former article to the life and character of Nathaniel Macon, one of the purest, wisest, and best democrats, both in theory and practice, that have ever lived. The confidence of such a man would be alone a sufficient testimonial of integrity and patriotic worth to any member of the great party of which he was long one of the most venerated patriarchs. Between him and Col. Benton there subsisted the most cordial friendship. In Mr. Macon's will was a bequest to Col. Benton of a pocket-knife that had been given him by his old friend John Randolph. There are some circumstances connected with this famous knife which attach a peculiar interest to the bequest, and which we shall be excused for detailing. The universally pacific character of Mr. Macon is well known; and the good old man was wont frequently to say that he had passed through the whole course of his active life without a personal collision with any one of his fellow-citizens. To this there was but one single exception, when he was compelled to use a weapon in defence, not of himself, but of his friend Randolph. The occasion was at the theatre in Philadelphia, in 1799, when several officers of the army made a personal assault on the Virginia orator, against whom they were (naturally enough) exasperated, for having denounced them in debate, in one of his well known speeches of slashing sarcasm, as "a pack of ragamuffins!" Mr. Macon, drawing a small pocket-knife, instantly sprang upon the assailants, whom he routed from the contest; and it was in allusion to this incident, so strongly illustrative of his friendship, that Mr. Randolph presented him with this larger knife. It has "Nathaniel Macon" engraved on the handle; and seems designed for the most substantial purposes. There were few things about his house that Mr. Macon prized so highly as this relic of his Virginia friend, of which he frequently spoke, recounting the various uses to which it might be put; adding sometimes that it was a particularly good knife to "rip up" things, and was worthy of belonging to a man of work and courage; and therefore he bequeathed it to his old friend, Benton, who had likewise been the friend of Randolph. In all the domestic relations of life, Col. Benton is a remarkably exemplary man; he is highly fortunate and happy in his family. He mixes little in general society, being but rarely tempted by any of its attractions from his own fireside, his family, studies, and the public business to which his zealous attention is unremitting. In person he is large, robust, of florid complexion, and powerful frame, capable of enduring fatigue, both mental and physical, under which but few other men could bear up. His reputation has been frequently assailed, with reference to his early youth, with slanders utterly false and base, of which he has never condescended to take the slightest notice,-imitating, in this self-confident scorn of such unworthy assailants, the example of the great founder of his political school, Jefferson. One remarkable trait of his public life deserving of notice is the elevation of his ambition above the attractions of office. No one can doubt that during the late administration, his wish could have readily commanded from Gen. Jackson, to whom he rendered a support made, by their peculiar personal relation, so honorable to both, almost any such gratification within the gift of the latter. He has always, however, preferred to any other the seat which he has so long occupied in the Senate of the United States, as the post (during all that time) of the highest usefulness to the cause of his principles, and therefore of the highest honor. In the style of his oratory, Col. Benton is forcible, and very effective in the powerful struggle of debate. His manner is rhetorical, and he is at times too diffuse. He is often singularly happy in his metaphorical illustrations, in which he is very abundant, though he is sometimes hurried, in the flow of his language, into metaphors which, once entangled in them, it is not easy to manage very gracefully. A progressive improvement in his oratory has, however, been very evident within the last few years, his taste being purified from some bad habits of style by which it was formerly disfigured. He may be said literally, according to the well known maxim of Cicero, to have made himself, as an orator, having had to struggle against the apparently natural disadvantage of an incorrect and false taste. We have heard the remark made by one of his friends, that his best speech will not be delivered for ten years yet to come, and that he will have attained the age at which Cicero achieved his highest triumphs, before he will have brought out all the capacity of eloquence within him. He is laborious in preparation of his materials, as he is usually luminous and forcible in their arrangement and use. Some of his best efforts have, however, been entirely extemporaneous. He has that faculty indispensable to greatness, a strong memory; and his extensive reading, and particularly his familiarity with all ancient and modern history, often supplies him with happy and striking illustrations of his positions. But his great strength consists in the sincere force of his own convictions; in his unhesitating confidence in the eventual support of his opinions by the verdict of the public judgment; in the firmness and earnestness of his own will; in the accumulation of facts which he brings to bear upon his subject, driving his nail home with repeated blows of a hammer that tells whenever it strikes. He is not generally esteemed a pleasing speaker, we believe, by the frequenters of the Senate galleries; but in that body itself he often carries great weight, and there can be no doubt that his speeches within the last six or eight years have told with a more abiding effect on the mind of the country at large than those of any other individual. EPITAPH. FROM THE GREEK ANTHOLOGY. Δάκρυά σοι καὶ νέρθε διὰ χθονός, Ηλιοδώρα, κ. τ. λ. TEARS, Heliodora, still—for tears alone To soothe this wrung heart's bitterness remain- Fall'n in the dust it lies, all soil'd and crushed! But, fount of universal life, ah mother mild, EUROPEAN VIEWS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. M. DE TOCQUEVILLE. THE distinguished German historian, Heeren, has bestowed the honor of a notice on the first volume of Mr. Bancroft's excellent History of the United States, in which he remarks that the publication of that work is very opportune, at a time when our country has become an object of general curiosity and attention throughout Europe. That such is the case is amply shown by the number of books upon our manners, institutions, and history, that are constantly appearing in Europe, and are received with the greatest avidity. We have before us several which have come out within the last year or two, including those of De Tocqueville, Beaumont, Chevallier, Grund, and last though not least, Miss Martineau. We propose, in this and our following numbers, to take some notice of these publications; beginning with that of M. de Tocqueville, entitled Democracy in the United States, decidedly the most remarkable and really valuable work that has yet appeared upon this country from the hand of a foreigner. As this comparative distinction may not, however, convey any very enviable praise, we will add, in evidence of its high appreciation in Europe, as a work of genius and philosophical observation, the testimony of M. Thiers, well known as a man of the highest political as well as literary eminence, who is reported to have said publicly in his place in the Chamber of Deputies, when Prime Minister of France, that he thought himself happy to have lived in the same age that produced this book. Although this may be referred to equally as a specimen of French hyperbole, yet, from such a source, on such an occasion, it was evidently no unmeaning compliment. Sir Robert Peel, also, and other high English authorities, have expressed themselves with equal emphasis. In this country, on the other hand, it may well be a subject of surprise that it has received but little public notice; a singularity, in respect to a work of its character, which may be accounted for, partly by its being written in a foreign language, and in a rather abstract and scientific form; and parily, perhaps, by the fact, that while its general scope and spirit are, on the whole, very favorable to our institutions and character, it is not enlivened by any admixture of that attractive sauce piquante of scandal and abuse, which has secured for so many trashy productions a notoriety, with which the whole country has rung, during the allotted term of nine days for the existence of such ephemera. There is nothing, however, more important to us, in the way of political information, than the observations of a truly intelligent foreigner, upon the structure and operation of our government; and we have thought that we should render an acceptable service to our readers, in bringing this work under their notice, although it has been already for some time before the public. M. de Tocqueville, it will be remembered, is one of two commissioners, the other having been M. de Beaumont, who were sent out some years ago to this country by the French Government, to examine our prisons and penitentiaries. On their return to France, they made an able and satisfactory report to the govern ment upon the subject, which was published in a pretty large octavo volume; and which has already produced an extensive reformation in the prison discipline of the enlightened country for whose benefit their observations were made. Each of them has since published a separate work, embodying observations of a more general kind on the social and political institutions of the country, and the manners of the people. That of M. de Tocqueville is the one now before us; and it is said that he has been encouraged, by the success of this work, to retire from the law, for which he had been educated, and devote himself exclusively to literature. The most valuable results may be anticipated from his future labors; and we look forward with particular interest to the appearance of another work on this country, which he announces as in preparation, and which will form the sequel of his Democracy in the United States. In point of style alone, this is a work of uncommon merit. M. de Tocqueville's manner seems formed on that of Montesquieu, and he writes with great beauty, force and elegance; while, at the same time, he avoids entirely the inflated and rhetorical tone, which is the besetting sin of the best French writers of the present day. Apart from the mere choice of words and forms of language, the style of this work is also highly worthy of commendation for its uniform tone of dignity, seriousness, and good faith. In this, as in most other respects, it contrasts advantageously with that of the great majority of foreign works on this country, in which the gravest interests of society are habitually discussed with the flippancy of the worst newspapers. M. de Tocqueville has been led into errors, not always unimportant, in part by the prejudices of some of the circles of soci ety into which he naturally fell-in part by the mere effect of the imperfect observation and hasty generalization, which, to a certain extent, are almost unavoidable in this kind of writing. But there are no faults in his book which are not entirely consistent with great powers of thought and language, the most upright intentions, and an uncommon freedom from the class of prejudice to which the race of travellers are more particularly liable. The general object of M. de Tocqueville is to ascertain the results of the principle of democracy, as applied to practice in the United |