difference, of selfish distrust, and, perhaps, of treacherous friendship and insidious hypocrisy. First in the smiling pageant, approaches the child, rich (O how rich, beyond the wealth of princes!) in the possession of its primers and playthings, wondering why all the bustle of preparation for the feast, and inquiring, with characteristic simplicity, the meaning of the unusual prodigality and ceremony, which everywhere meet and enchant its unaccustomed eye. Next, the troop of school-boys, with limbs all life and elasticity, and hearts all harmony and gladness, drunk with their dream of liberty and release from study; mingled with the less happy but perhaps more fortunate boys, whose lot compels them to labor for their bread, with well-strung nerves and bodies invigorated by health and exercise-bounding, to find their home, over fields and meadows, over brook and path, with hearts as unconcerned and steps as light as the roe or the young hart on the mountains of spices. The apprentice,-the implements of his handicraft laid by, and the stinted portion of his daily simple subsistence forgotten, his eyes glistening with exultation and his breast heaving with the fullness of anticipation,-rushes along to meet, at home, the anxious parent, proud of the boy's advance in a trade that will make him independent, and the younger child, who wonders if a year can have wrought so astonishing a transformation, and almost doubts his identity. Now approach the brother and the sister, whom a few months of separation have rendered more affectionate-the friends whom difference of employment or variety of pursuit had partially estranged the lovers, whose impatient hearts, though blessed with frequent and delighted intercourse, welcome the return of Thanksgiving as the day when hope and love are to find their consummation-the day which is forever after to be more sacred in their calendar than all the year besides. But the images too thickly throng" too fast they crowd," for the powers of description. In the midst of the gay and glorious assembly, are the father, the mother, the patriarch bowed with years, and she who has been the nurse of generations, partaking of the general joy and congratulation, nor murmuring that, while such a scene engages and employs their faculties, the wheels of time do not more rapidly bring on the promised period of translation to another and more enduring heaven. An anonymous modern writer has beautifully said-"There are moments in existence, which comprise the power of years-as thousands of roses are contained in a few drops of their essence." The remark is no more beautiful than just. I once witnessed an incident which made me feel its truth, though long before the sentiment itself was written. In one of the largest villages in the easterly part of Connecticut, a woman was left a widow, with ten children, all but one of whom were under twenty years of age. The family had once enjoyed a competence, and looked forward to years of ease and plenty. Toward the close of the revolutionary war, the father, thinking to make a profitable speculation, disposed of a large and profitable stock in trade, and received in payment what, at the time was called cash, but which turned out shortly to be worthless paper-bills of the old "Continental Currency." These bills were laid up in his desk and soon began to depreciate in value. The deterioration went on from day to day, and in a few months the bubble burst, and the fund which had been hoarded to educate a family would not buy them a breakfast. At this moment the father died. I will not trace the history of this family through its days of destitution and poverty. It is sufficient to state that the children were scattered in various directions, and engaged in various employments, till at length all were gone, and the mother left alone, dependent on friends for a bedroom, and on the labor of her hands for her own subsistence-a precarious dependence, for, to other misfortunes had succeeded the loss of health. In process of time, one of the sons having completed his apprenticeship, hired a house for his mother, and lived with her, while he followed the occupation of a shoemaker. Thanksgiving Day came; and with it returned an opportunity to indulge in its peculiar rites, which they had not enjoyed for ten years. The two youngest boys, who lived at a distance from each other and from the parent, CAME HOME TO KEEP THANKSGIVING. The festive preparations were completed-the table was spread-around it stood a mother and three sons who had not been assembled together before within the remembrance of the youngest of the group. The grateful and pious mother lifted her heart and her voice to the widow's God, and uttered a blessing on that kindness which had not broken the bruised reed, and that goodness which had remembered all her sorrows, and permitted her once more to see so many of her orphan children assembled about her. Her expressions of gratitude were not finished, when the tide of affection and thanksgiving which swelled the heart, overpowered the physical faculties; her bosom heaved with strong convulsions, her utterance was choked, the lips could not relieve by words the emotions which filled the soul-she faltered, and would have fallen, but that the elder son caught and sustained her in his arms. Tears at length came to her relief, and the earthquake of the soul was succeeded by those grateful and affectionate sensations, which can find no parallel but in a mother's heart. It is near forty years since this incident took place. The scene is now as fresh and bright to my imagination as it was at the moment of its occurrence. Eternity cannot obliterate its impression from my memory, and, if it could, I would not accept of eternity on that condition-for that widow was MY MOTHER. THE INDIAN SUMMER. A GLIMMERING haze upon the landscape rests; And the slant sunbeams glisten mildly through The fields are dressed in Autumn's faded green, P. B. MONTHLY RECORD. DECEMBER, 1831. POLITICS AND STATISTICS. UNITED STATES. NEW-YORK TARIFF CONVENTION. On the 26th of October, 1831, a convention of delegates, friendly to a system of protecting duties assembled in the city of New-York. There were elected from the state of Maine 4; New-Hampshire 20; Vermont 9; Massachusetts 63; Rhode-Island 30; Connecticut 63; NewYork 182; New-Jersey 48; Pennsylvania 106; Delaware 7; Maryland 32; Ohio 2; Virginia 2; District of Columbia 1. Total 569. Most of these delegates were present at the sitting of the Convention. The Convention was organized by the election of the Hon. WILLIAM WILKINS of Pennsylvania as President; Hon. JOSEPH KENT of Maryland, JAMES TALLMADGE of New-York, GEORGE BLAKE of Massachusetts, and LEWIS CONDICT of New-Jersey, as Vice-Presidents; Hezekiah Niles of Maryland, Robert Tillotson of New-York,Joshua W. Pierce of New-Hampshire, and Charles Paine of Vermont, as Secretaries. Messrs. Kent and Condict, elected vicepresidents, and Mr. Tillotson, elected secretary, did not take their seats in the convention. This convention continued in session until one o'clock on Tuesday, Nov. 1, when it adjourned sine die. Its most prominent proceedings only can briefly recorded. be The following gentlemen were appointed a committee to prepare an Address to the People of the United States affirming the constitutionality of the tariff laws; Messrs. Moses Emery of Maine, Samuel Grant of New-Hampshire, Heman Allen of Vermont, Warren Dutton of Massachusetts, Samuel D. Hubbard of Connecticut, Nathan F. Dixon of Rhode Island, Daniel Kellogg of New-York, Joseph C. Horn blower of New-Jersey, Charles J. Ingersoll of Pennsylvania, Andrew Gray of Delaware, John P. Kennedy of Maryland, John McLure of Virginia, George Endly of Ohio, and Peter Force of the District of Columbia. On Monday, Oct. 31, Mr. Ingersoll of Pennsylvania, chairman of the committee, presented and read to the Convention, an Address, prepared in obedience to their instructions, which was received with acclamations, unanimously accepted, and ordered to be printed. The Address was understood to be the joint production of Messrs. Dutton, Ingersoll, and Kennedy. The following gentlemen were appointed a committee to prepare a memorial to Congress, enforcing the propriety of continuing the protection to home manufactures whatever may be done in regard to foreign products, viz. Messrs. Joshua Wingate of Maine, Robert Rice of New-Hampshire, Mark Richards of Vermont, Alexander H. Everett of Massachusetts, Benjamin Cozzens of Rhode Island, Samuel B. Sherwood of Connecticut, Jesse Buel of New-York, John S. Darsey of NewJersey, Joseph Hemphill of Pennsylvania, E. J. Dupont of Delaware, Luke Tiernan of Maryland, William Lambdin of Virginia, and Holland Green of Ohio. Mr. Everett, chairman of this committee, subsequently reported, in part, that, as the basis of the contemplated memorial will be founded on the general reports which will be made to this convention, by the different committees, it is deemed inexpedient to prepare a memorial until after the rising of the Convention. The report, after discussion, was accepted, and the permanent central committee instructed to appoint a committee to present the memorial to Congress. Committees were appointed to consider and report on the following subjects, viz. 1st. Upon the production and manufacture of iron. 2nd. Upon the growth and manufacture of wool. 3rd. Upon the growth and manufacture of cotton. 4th. On cash duties. 5th. On the culture and growth of silk, hemp, and other agricultural articles used in the manufactures of our country. 6th. A committee to devise ways and means to defray the expenses of the convention. 7th. On the production and manufacture of leather. 8th. On the production and manufacture of lead. 9th. On the production and manufacture of copper. 10th. On the state of chemistry as connected with manufactures and the arts. 11th. On the manufacture of hats and cabinet ware. 12th. On the production, manufacture, and consumption of sugar. 13th. On the manufacture of glass and earthenware. 14th. On the manufacture of paper. The following resolutions were adopted, viz. That a permanent committee of correspondence and statistics be appointed (to communicate with the several state committees hereinafter to be provided for) whose duty it shall be to collect and disseminate information, from time to time, and, as soon as convenient, in relation to the statistics of the United States, concerning agriculture, manufactures and the mechanic arts, as combined with, or united to, the interior or exterior commerce and navigation of our country-showing, as far as possible, the general effects of the protecting system on its population and prosperity; the number of persons employed in the several branches of industry, (designating the sexes and ages) with the average or aggregate of the wages earned and the value of the commodities produced by them-the amount of capital variously invested or employed, and the bearings of the several great branches of productive labor upon one another. That the aforesaid permanent committee shall appoint (with the approbation of the convention) the several state committees as they think most expedient, and generally arrange the mat ters submitted to them, that the cbjects of this convention may be accomplished. That a committee be appointed to report upon the currency of the country, as affecting or affected by the protecting system. That a committee be appointed to collect and publish information on the culture of madder, woad and weld, and other vegetable dyes, used in our manufactories. And that all reports made to the gov ernment, shall be delivered to the central committee, and also, that all reports of committees of the convention not prepared in season to be presented at this time, shall be sent to the central committee, to be collated, revised, and published by them at their discre tion. Some of the committees above-named made partial reports; others were unable to obtain, in season to report to the convention, the facts desirable to embrace in their respective reports. The following gentlemen were appointed a PERMANENT CENTRAL COMMITTEE, to whom the several sub-committees abovenamed are to forward the result of their inquiries, for purposes of publication. Messrs. Niles, McCulloh, Evans, T. Ellicott, Kennedy, Maryland; Carey, Merrick, Ingersoll, Pennsylvania; Tibbetts, Tallmadge, Schenck, New-York; Hubbard, Connecticut; Cozzens, Rhode Island; Dutton, Brown, Dwight, Massachusetts. Mr. Lynch from New-York, in compliance with instructions from the delegation of the city of New-York, begged leave to state, that several citizens of the city of New-York were desirous, with the leave of the Convention, to defray the expenses attending its sitting here, to the end that the entire fund already collected may be appropriated to printing and other future expenses of the Convention, at the discretion of the central committee; and he moved that permission be granted. some words from Col. Dwight, expressive of the sense of the Convention, in regard to the kind treatment they had received from the citizens of New-York, Gen. Lynch's motion for the permission required was agreed to. After Mr. Ellsworth of Conn. moved a vote of thanks to the Corporation of the city of New-York, for the accommodations which they had furnished to the Convention; accompanying the motion with the following remarks :-“ Mr. President-The citizens of New-York, through their honorable delegation, have, with a liberality as generous as it was unexpected, offered to pay the expenses of the Convention during its sittings. Though strangers, desirous of making compensation, we find ourselves among friends, whose kindness can only be remunerated, by the expression of our grateful acknowledgements. We have enjoyed the convenience of this spacious hall and the rooms adjoining, by the kindness of the honorable Corporation of the city of New-York-we cannot do less, and are not allowed to do more, than to tender them the assurance of the gratitude we feel for the favor they have conferred on us. Permit me, therefore, Mr. President, to offer this resolution, which I trust will meet the entire approbation of this Convention. The motion was agreed to. Mr. Roberts of Pa. presented a resolution, authorizing the central committee to call a meeting of the friends of the American System in the year 1832, if they deem it expedient, at such time and place as they may see fit. Agreed to. Mr. Sibley, of Mass. after having made some preliminary remarks, in which he stated that attempts had been made to sow discord among the members of various sections, and of various party sentiments,-offered a preamble and resolution setting forth that the Convention met with one object, and acted with one object; and that they viewed with contempt the efforts to produce discord. This resolution was seconded and supported by Mr. Everett, and adopted. Mr. Crowninshield having made a motion for adjournment, the president, before putting the motion, addressed the convention as follows: Gentlemen-The moment of our separation being at hand, I feel myself called upon to say something to you; but, though accustomed to public speaking, I, on this occasion, feel myself at a loss for modes of expressing my feelings. I shall ever cherish the memory of my meeting with you, as one of the happiest circumstances of my life. If, on other occasions, in other stations, I shall be able to make use of the information I have borrowed from you, I shall be truly happy; but, I will add, that I shall never, I hope, use it to overthrow the interests or happiness of any section of the union. I received the honor bestowed on me in my appointment to preside over your deliberations with unfeigned diffidence ; and, in the administration of the office, I am sensible that I should have failed, had I not received from you aid and support, for which I tender you my hearty acknowledgements. Wishing to each one of you a safe return to your families, I bid you farewell. God bless you. The Rev. Mr. Schroeder made ́a prayer, and the Convention adjourned sine die. LITERARY CONVENTION. A body of gentlemen from various parts of the United States, assembled at the city hall in New-York, on Tuesday the first day of November-the principal object of which was to form a national society for the promotion of science and literature. We have seen no perfect list of the gentlemen composing the Convention. At the first meeting, the Convention was called to order by the Rev. Dr. Wainwright, when Mr. Gallatin moved that the Hon. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS be requested to take the chair; which was unanimously agreed to, and he thereupon was conducted to it by Mr. Gallatin and Dr. Matthews. On assuming its duties Mr. Adams expressed his thanks for the honor conferred upon him, by calling him to preside over the deliberations of that body. It is a situation, said he, for which I am conscious that many individuals present are more competent than myself; and this for many reasons, and especially because they are better acquainted with the objects of the Convention, and the previous proceedings to advance them, than myself. The information I possess in relation to them is necessarily limited, and recently obtained. I understand its general objects, however, to be to advance the literature of our country, and promote the interests of education; and they are certainly as important as any that can engage the attention of Americans. On motion of Dr. Matthews, Mr. GALLATIN and Lieut. Gov. LIVINGSTON, were appointed Vice-Presidents of the Convention, and took their seats. On motion of Dr. Matthews, JOHN DELAFIELD, Esq. of the city of NewYork, and Professor JOCELIN, were appointed Secretaries of the Convention. The Convention held a session of five days. After discussion, the following Constitution was adopted. ARTICLE I. The Society shall be denominated, "The National Society of Literature, Science and the Arts." II. The Society shall not exceed two hundred members in the United States, twenty in other parts of America, and twenty in foreign countries. |