The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1848-03-04
REVIEW.


p ished aathor Of "The Past and its Legacies.
We have read the manuscript with great pleas
u,e. The work IL written in beautiful style,
and contains many fine descriptions. The au-
IL or has kindly given us permission to present
aportion Of the work to our readers.
Levenworth, like a man OF
sense, strove to interest himself in everything
that could cause diversion Of his feelings
Among tho passengers were men Of intelligence
from various portions of the vast region, In
which he expected to make his future home.
Tie knowledge which he gained Of the climate,
resources, and rapid improvement of the Ohio
valley, in particular, convinced him that II
would be at no very distant time, the heart of
the great republic, the centre of population and
power in North America. II struck him that
the physical grandeur of the West, brought
within the grasp of the dilatsd conception, by
distances, had given to the most cultivated of
his new acquaintances an unusual enlargement
of ideas. They had certainly, a sublime con-
tempt Of space. A voyage from Louisville to
New Orleans, or Gslena, through thousands Of
miles of forest and prairie, was spoken of with
as much nonehaIsaee us holiday trip Of pleas
urs in the Eastern States. The views of even
| commonplace men respecting the capabilities
and destinies Of the West, put to shame the
most glowing conceptions of the most poetical
imag nations in q different state Of society 1t
also occurred to him that the peculiar freedom
and originality Of thought and expression pecu-
liar to America, where active and sagacious
people, have found themselves in new circum-
stances, were more strikingiy developed in the
West, than in other parts of the country which
10 had visited 1t was difficult indeed, TO con-
ceive of more complete emancipation, not only
| from the prejudices Of older communities, but
also, what seemed less desirable, though equally
| inevitable in a newly settled country. from all
those beautiful associations which cluster
around particular localities and ancient nsttu-
tions--the dwelling places of ancestors, and the
venerable names Of history. Here that poetical
enthusiasm, which, in other countries, fingers
upon the past, was turned towards the future,
for every where man has his highest being not
chisfiy in the passing moment, but in memory
or hope. Across the narrow isthmus Of the
present, are thrown mysterious lights and shad-
owi', from the eternity past, and the eternity to
come.
lie listened with wonder To accounts Of the
marvellous growth of Cincinnati, remarked the
commercial activity Of the "City of the Falls"
whore nature herself has marked out the site Of
great metropolis, and admired the number and
size Of the steamboats, that ploughed those low
er waters, where not thirty years before, the
prolonged howl Of the wolf from shores cover
cd with unbroken forests, was the only sound
that disturbed the night-watch of the lonely
to transport the scanty produce of these re-
giors. IL has been justly said, that our coun-
try is great poem. This westward progress Of
population, christianity, literature, and liberty,
which can never be arrested, until it shall have
reached the Pacific, and the great republic, the
mghtiest offspring and clearest representative
Of the best tendencies Of modern society, shall
confront the worn out relics Of the ancient civ
LIZA ion Of Asia, and spread the white wings Of
"er commercial ana naval power over both
OCEANS ~ha' Is out al epic Poem' written by
Tue mana OIL providence on the face OF the globe.
Such thoughts often passed through the mind
Of Lsvenworth, during his voyage of nearly a
thousand miles. on the "h~--'ir.-i -s---,, IL
also looked forward with lively interest to the
;unction with thu M;..;..,.., IT..
stream. WAS in his ;m.,;n.,;on ~ So
Iims,, If all n,,,,.I oh;..,. IT.
of the numbsr and m,a,;,,d. ., -. ,,;h.,.-s..
roaring ,brooob u..,d. ., Mt. 50 -
dan f,rss,. NJ .,,..,. - -,
IN BY that majestic sooS which ,o,l. -, -.
mysterious course through the Wilderness and
solitary Mac. as wall a. n. h,,n,. :, .,r;,,.-a
man, extorting tribute from tina shady o,s,. of
the Alleghanies, from those limpid Lakes IN.
sumner-home of the wild fowl. which liza ann.
bosou,ed in the grssp nrair;ss Of IN. No,,h IA.
mirro,s Of s;lvsr I, f,.n.. Of .,.,a f.
those ,ublims ni,n,cl.s Of tina w., r.. ,,,,-
,rckI, ont from und., snow-dr;f,. ,h,, h..
bssn r;lsd nm =, ,h. III. :, I.--,-..
the st,rms of ,ho,...a -,
,ho,r,,, os
cr.,, g.. :. ..s., A anu "'s""ay VI
IN. all, '" ''''",
ho,nd,... VI
as a &, .nh,.n, g. ,,..,-t.
amn,,. .,,,.L " ''
'.""s nc was '0'a mat the boat was
- "N''' ms imagination had
,A'' ine ohio mad spread