stretched silken cords over crevices where the wind came into houses in which he sojourned, and thus provided himself with the music of the winds; once, happening to pass one such house again, after a lapse of several years, he found it deserted on account of the strange and melancholy sounds heard within it, which it was thought could proceed from no mortal hand. Scarcely any mention can be found of Franklin in any quarter, which does not illustrate the practical and searching turn of his extraordinary mind. This writer seems to think that he had too much to lose by the Revolution, to be hearty in the cause of his country, and says that he was slow in making up his mind to sign the Declaration. He was habitually cautious no doubt, and not likely to share the overwhelming enthusiasm of the day; but his country owes him too much to complain, if he did not anticipate all the success by which that bold measure has since been justified and perhaps, if the prospect seemed to him less encouraging than to others, there was the more merit in his sacrifice than in theirs.

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It is painful to read the account here given of Robert Morris's great mansion,' and to see how those financial talents, which were so important to his country, failed to save their possessor from ruin. He purchased a whole square for ten thousand pounds, on which his palace was to be erected. The estimates of his architect deceived him; he spent immense sums upon the foundation only, and when the walls were completed, and the costly furniture already imported from abroad, he was a ruined man, and was often heard, as he looked upon the work, uttering imprecations upon his architect and his own folly. It was taken down by the creditors, and the materials sold, leaving the arches of the foundation, which were so massive and firm that they did not attempt to remove them. This distinguished man, upon whose ability his country leaned with confidence during so many years of trial, passed the close of his life in a jail!

An account is also here given of Charles Thompson, the well known secretary of Congress, to whom the Indians, who by sore experience have acquired much insight into character, gave the name of the man of truth.' His father, a widower, died upon the passage to this country, leaving him to the charge of the master of the vessel, who proved false to his trust. By persevering exertion, he contrived to get an education, and was employed by Dr. Franklin as teacher in the

academy, an employment which he afterwards abandoned for mercantile adventures. He was induced to study Greek, from having bought part of the Septuagint at an auction sale; he did not know what it was, and all the auctioneer could tell him was, that it was printed in outlandish letters. When he was able to read it, he was anxious to procure the whole; but the booksellers' shops afforded no copy; it happened, however, that two years after, in passing the same auction room, he found the auctioneer engaged in selling the remnant of the same copy. It is well known that he afterwards published a valuable translation of the Septuagint, and collected materials for a history of the Revolution.

We have several incidental notices of Antony Benezet, so well known for his generous philanthropy. It would seem from an incident here mentioned, that his benevolence was by no means confined to the race of man. An old friend, who visited him one day, found him engaged in feeding rats in his area, where they would come at a call, and gather round him like chickens. The friend expressed his wonder at seeing him thus patronising such troublesome vermin; 'Nay,' said Antony, 'I will not kill them; you make them dishonest by starving them; I make them honest by feeding them; for being so fed, they never prey on goods of mine." He carried this feeling so far as to abstain from animal food. When the French neutrals, as they were called, were banished by severe state policy from Acadia, and distributed among the colonies, where, to their latest day, the remembrance of their wrongs and sorrows was fresh in their souls, Benezet exerted himself to the utmost to relieve their wants and educate their children. The fervor of his written pleading in behalf of the injured, is universally known.

We have no room to follow the author in his notice of James Logan, the patriarch of the settlement and the friend of Penn, a man of liberal, enlightened, and accomplished mind; nor of John Bartram, the self-taught botanist, a gentle lover of nature, whose establishment before the Revolution is described by Hector St. John; the host, with family and slaves, all met at the same table, the Africans being arrayed at the foot, opposite to the guest and their master. His passion was first inspired by the sight of a daisy, on which his eye fell as he rested from ploughing under a tree; from this time he devoted himself to the study, and acquired the distinction of being called, by

Linnæus, the greatest self-taught botanist in the world. His employment was favorable to health and happiness, for he died at the age of seventy-six, and his son, who inherited his tastes, property and collection, lived to the age of eighty-three years. One of the oddest specimens of human nature which the city ever afforded, was Benjamin Lay, who, like Jonas Hanway in England, was so fanatical in his opposition to the use of tea, that in the time of the Friends' general meeting, he took a large box of china belonging to his wife into the market place, where he began to break the pieces separately with a hammer, bearing his testimony all the while. The people, thinking this a needless waste of property, fell upon him in a body, bearing their testimony in their own way, overset him, and carried away his ware, to be used by those whose conscience was less particular. The spirit of another Friend, Samuel Foulke, was equally stirred, when he saw an advertisement in 1743, by S. Kinnett, proposing to teach the noble art of defence, and also dancing.' Upon this friend Samuel took the pen, saying, 'I was surprised at his audacity and brazen impudence, in giving those detestable vices so high encomiums. They may be proved so far from accomplishments, that they are diabolical.'

Among the reminiscences which the author has collected from all quarters, are sundry local anecdotes of the Revolution. A lady of his acquaintance describes the entrance of the British under Cornwallis into Philadelphia. His suite took possession of her mother's house. She says, ' my mother was appalled by the numerous train which took possession of her dwelling; for a guard was mounted at the door, and the yard filled with soldiers and baggage, and I can well remember what we thought of the haughty looks of Lord Rawdon and the other aid-de-camp, as they traversed the apartments. My mother desired to speak with Lord Cornwallis, and he attended her; she told him how impossible it would be for her to stay in her own house, with such a numerous train: he behaved with great politeness, said he should be sorry to give trouble, and would provide other quarters.' We are told that General Howe, while he remained, seized a lady's coach and horses, and kept them for his own use. The old officers were uneasy at his conduct; but his companions, who had influence with him, were the most idle and dissipated officers of the army. Lord Howe was much more sedate and

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dignified than his brother. Sir William Howe was a fine figure, six feet high, and well proportioned; in appearance he was not unlike General Washington; his manners were graceful and affable, and he was much beloved by his officers. Sir Henry Clinton was short and fat, with a full face and prominent nose; reserved in his manners, and not so popular as Howe. Lord Cornwallis was short and stout; his hair somewhat gray; his face well formed and agreeable, his manners remarkably easy; he was much beloved by his men. Col. Tarleton was rather below the middle size, strong, heavily made, but uncommonly active; his complexion dark, his eye small, black, and piercing. The British officers gave a splendid and fanciful fête on the occasion of Gen. Howe's return to England. Major Andre, who published an account of the 'Meschianza,' as it was called, was the life of the company.

In a

We see one fact here recorded, which shows how attentive the fathers of this settlement were to everything that tended to public prosperity and improvement. So early as 1725, James Logan, writing to the proprietaries, recommends the culture of silk in the country, and speaks of attempts which had already been made, as promising great success. letter of the following year, he speaks of some which has been sent to England, and says he is glad that it proves so good: he doubts not that the country will in time be able to send large quantities abroad. Such was his reasonable expectation, and yet after the lapse of a century, the country is but just beginning to turn its attention seriously to the subject, which is treated as if it were almost entirely new. Governor Gordon, in 1734, says that the tree is natural to our soil, and the worm thrives well; he anticipates that silk will soon become an important article of trade. In 1770, the subject was taken up with much interest; and, as might be expected, Dr. Franklin, then in Europe, urged it upon the attention of his countrymen. Funds were subscribed, and a filature opened; in the next year, 2300 pounds were brought to it to reel. The Queen patronised it by wearing a gown of American silk, and everything promised well; but the interest seems afterwards to have declined, and those who are now endeavoring to recommend it to the public attention, are obliged to go over the whole ground again.

We feel bound to give credit to the industrious author, for the information which he has here collected. Much of it no

doubt appears trifling, but a great part of that which seems unimportant throws light upon the manners, fashions, tastes and feelings of the day, and therefore affords materials, which the future historian would find valuable in his estimate of character, which is after all the most important subject of historical investigation. We are glad that the fine city of Penn has found such an honest chronicler as Griffith;' but we trust that it will not prevent some other hand from giving a popular account, from its beginning, of one of the most judicious, happy and prosperous settlements, ever made in this or any other country.

ART. V.--Law School at Cambridge.

1. A Lecture, being the ninth of a Series of Lectures, introductory to a Course of Lectures now delivering in the University of Maryland. By DAVID HOFFMAN, Iur. Utr. Doct. Gottingen. Baltimore. July, 1832. 2. Remarks on the Study of the Civil Law. From the American Jurist, No. III. Boston. July, 1829. 3. An Address delivered at the Dedication of Dane Law College in Harvard University, October 23, 1832. By JOSIAH QUINCY, LL.D., President of the University. Cambridge, 1832.

We notice with pleasure the three pamphlets which we have placed at the head of this article, as promising evidences of an enlightened zeal in promoting the study of general jurisprudence, and particularly of the Roman Civil Law, in this country.

The first of these pamphlets contains one of the course of lectures on the various branches of the law, which the author has been delivering for a number of years to his students at Baltimore. The second, which appeared for the first time in the American Jurist, is a review of two foreign works on the Civil Law. The third is an Address by the President of Harvard University, delivered at the dedication of the Dane Law College. These three pamphlets, though they differ from each other in the special subject of which each of them treats, agree in spirit, in the great object to deliver the study of the Law from profes