, 1853-10-29
Social PeCularitieS.

~ 20 "a lOil'lh WHICH udS SOmtllllltS uttn
made by foreign tourists in this county,
that there is less personal freedom of opin-
ION and conduct in the United States than
in perhaps any other country. lftru,, the
fact would seem to exhibit a remal kabe
anamoly. This is perhaps the only civli-
z d country in the world, in which entire
freedom of thought and expression is toltra-
ted and encouraged by Government. It is
the peryading idea of our institutions and
our whole system is based upon it. This
is, indeed, the palladium Of civil liberty,
and the only security we enjoy for the sta
bllity Of our political system.
And yet there is some considerable show
Of truth in the remark. There is despot-
ism here which is as universal, as peIvading,
as mcddlesomc and prying, as rigid and in.
exorable as the Argus-cyed and Briaerean
headed police of Austria and France. 1t
true that we can feliciiate ourselves upon
an exemption from police spies and political
agents, from arbitrary imprisonment, and
from thousand other annoyances which
render the lives of the people of the last
mentioned countries, one long agony No
man, here, can be dragged from his bed at
dead Of night and hurried off to exile or
dungeon, to ally the jealous fears of a sus-
picious and conscience stricken dcspot. We
are not infested by that vcrmin of inform
crs which hang upon the body polite in
those countries, eating into its ritals, and
sucking its life blood From evils and
scourges of this description We are happily
exempt: and we cannot be too grateful to
the patriots and sages to v'ilom, under
Heaven, We owe this blessing,
But we have still our Despot, as yigilant,
rs relentless, as oficious, as the most jcal-
Gus, outocracy Of the Old World. Like
other great and overshadowing powers, he
has grown from very small beginnings to
mighty dimensions, and is cont nually mag
nilying himsrlf-cxpanding the area of his
dominion, and cncroaching upon az terri
to.ics When we read about a King Of
Prussia, or a Russian Emperor, with the
careful parsimony Of miserly father, grave
y determining the amount Of pocket money
and travelling expenses which gentleman
is permitted 10 carry with him in his foreign
travels, wo think il inlolorable. But we
have in this country, King who is scarce
y more scrupulous in poking his long nos
into peoples private affairs, than was Fred
erick the Great of Prussia. lie not only
determines how often and how far his liege
subjects shall travel, what company they
shall keep, sc: &C., but invades the bou-
doir and the dressing room, insists upon die
taling the number, color, style, and price
of your wife's dresses and handkerchieGs.-
lie fixes with scrupulous cxactness the
number and quality Of cigars you may
smoke-thc size and number Of "horns y
you may take, and the quantity Of water
you may mix with your liquor; and in a
word, the routine Of liic's duties and pleas
ures are determined with mathematical ac-
curacy, and enforced with unreIaxing Sc
verify. He takes upon himself the exclu-
sive care of the morals and manners of his
subjects and will tolerate no deviation,
under the heaviest penalties, from the stap-
dard he sets up.
Our readers Of course understand that we
allude to that sharp old fellow, ycleped, the
Public. lie has been for long time slowly
and insidiously, but surely and irresislibly
usurping the various departments Of social
and private life, until his supreme and uni
vcIsal dominion is submitted 10 without
4 question, and with cheerful aud unhcsiIa
ting obedience. II is not our purpose 10
preach scdition, or foment rebellion against
the pragmaiical old tyrant, for we think his
sway, though somcwhatstern and relentless,
is in many respects attended with sautary
results But the rise OF this great Power
has produced changes and revolutions in The
condition of social life which arc not among
the least marvcls of history, and has exhib
iled phenomena worthy of the most careful
study Of the philosopher. A few of those
social peculiarities TO which it has given
birth We shall, from time to time, notice anl
drscribc.- Cincinnati Commercial.
" Prosperity is no just scale advrr
s'ty Is the only true balance 10 wrigl
friends.