The Express.
London, England, 1850-02-11 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Iltsperos, or Travels in tit! ►Vest. 13y Mn. Houston. 2 vols.

Parka. 18.50:

Lively as these volumes are, still we have had so
,many good works on America lately that we should
not in this busy time of the year have turned aside to
notice them, but that no other writer has given such
fresh ar.d full accounts of Texas, or indeed of
New Orleans, as Mrs. Houston. This part of
the United States is generally reserved for
the tail end of a traveller's story. Texas
he generally eschews, and in New Orleans stays as
short a time as a tourist's decencies admit. Mrs.
Houston, however, has been at home in these regions,
describes them with minuteness, and dwells on them
with pleasure. She gives not an unfavourable account
of slavery near to New Orleans, in a material point
of view, except, indeed, when blacks are owned by
blacks, and that is represented as the severest servi-
tude. But, grant au morale, she says:
The paucity cf religious instruction, the want of a
minister of the gospel, and the entire Oman of religious
observances are the most crying evils of the slavery system.
The ebiAren on the plantations ass not christened, marriage
is • civil mouse; and when a negro dies he is buried gene-
rally like a dog in a hole in unconsecrated ground. Yet the
slaves have a strong wish for religious instruetion, and are
very apt to select a preacher amongst each other, though
this is sot encouraged by the planters.
The atrocities of slavery when out of sight, are
freely admitted, and indeed depicted by the authoress,
who nevertheless believes in the probable duration of
a system which produces twenty millions sterling
annually.
There is a lively sketch of Peter Parley, which we
would gladly quote, as well u a " stump speech,"
which we cannot resist.
Ararrious, our republic is yet destined to re-annex South
Miseries, to occupy the Ragan possessions, as wcU as those
British colonist which the old thirteen colonies won from the
French on the plains of Abraham—all rightfully ours to re-
occupy. Fantail Hall was the cradle of the republic, bat
whar, whar will be tossed timber en h for its coffin?
Scoop all the water from oat the Atlantic , and its bed
would not afford a grave sufficient for its corpse. And yet
America is still in the gristle of boyhood. Europe—what is
Europa? She is towbar —nothing—a circumstance—a
cypher—a land absolutely ideal. We have faster steam-
boat', swifter locomotives, lupe creeks, bigger plantations,
better mill privileges, breeder lakes, higher mountains,
deeper satsuma loader thunder, forkeder lightning,
b men, ban:ornate wee-men, more money than Eng-
land der have.
Essentials are looked to in these volumes es well as
superficial,. There is a good account of Lowell and
the cotton spinneriee of the north, as of the sugar
plantations of the south. It is a work of lively
description, fair feeling, and universal observation.

DARING UIGTIWAT HOBBErtT.—On Thursday even-
ing last, as Mr. W. H. Apperley, land agent, was returning
from Abergavenny towards Hereford is kis gig alone, he
was stopped by three men in the palish of Llangua, at a
lonely hart of the road near the river, but elevated some
sight or ten feet above the stream. Upon Mr. Apperley
perceiving the intention of the one man who was foremost,
he began to Hog his hone. The men having caught the
reins, and Mr. Appals), continuing to nee the whip, the
hone and gig were brosght slam from the opposite side
against the hedge upon the ' side of the road. Mr.
Apperley now observed the other two men coming to moist,
and that resistance was useless; end having a sum of money
upon his person, he leaped from the gig over the fence down
into a strip of land admining the river, the field being here
=ay foot below the road; &bast before he regained hie
feet, he heard the horse and gig roll over the fence also.
He ran for assistance, end found Uwe men et home in •
cottage net three hawked yarda distant, who immediately
returned with hiss; they found the hams and gig (the
latter doubtless upset in its passage over the knee) neer the
river. The highwaymen had evidently followed the gig
down to the plums, and ransacked the contents where it then
stood; the driving-box was broken open—bat, only an
taking papaws, they were thrown down as was the lamp-
box ; the only booty, therefor, they obtained, was a letter-
came, in which were setae tracings of Rap, valuldionsof
land, a rental book, and about five or cis French ease,
tibia from the rattle, they*, doubt thought • prise. For-
tunately, not the Meat damage wee sustained by either
hone, gig, or harness. Mr. Appleby having sent a oom-
mnsication to the police at Abergavesay, proceeded upon
tinagsozney to Hereford. Mr. Apperley upon nearly all co-
travels with a six-barrel pistol, but naUramately had
left it at home on this occasion, not evade( to be desaukad
is Absraavaaay so lato.—liarforsi Journal.