Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1859-09-23
English Views Of New England.

English Views Of New England.
The following estimate Of New England
is made by The London Atheneum in a rc-
view Of Palfrey's History Of New England
New England may be considered the
soul Of the great Republican eonfederaey.
IL is not the mos, wealthy part Of the Amer.
lean territory. II is not, perhaps, the mos,
picturesque. IL il certainly not the most
noisy. Neither the capital Of trade nor the
capital OF politics i. built within It's hounda-
rics. IL has not more roads. railways.
ships. ;olegraphs, canals. than ITS neiehbor
nor more prosperous commcrce or a no.
bier agriculiure-its history is not more
chivalrie, nor ITS connection with great
events or splendid men more close. Sections
Of country further South may boast II hav.
ing sent Up more noticeable men to the great
assemblies OF the country. Virginia Ia.
more romantic past, New FORK more gor-
geous present. Yot within the territories
loosely designated New England. are found
the intellectual and moral forces which
make the Union what it Is In the eyes Of
Europe. There lies the spirit Of perma.
nant dominion. New England is to tie ,liw
and serious part Of the States, as the coun.
try TO the south is the plastic, volatile, and
frivolous. Boston is Edinburgh, ns New
York !, Paris, and Philadelphia is Geneva.
New England is, in fact. Old England.
"Peopled by some OF the very best men
ever sent on; from the moth,rland. IL has
renamed pure in motive and in blood.
Scarcely any admiSture has taken place.
No Lord Chief Justice Pophams ever pour.
ed into this territory the refuse oi jail. and
stews. Few emigrants Of foreign stock ever
turned into IL. The climate !. dry and
sharp. the Landscape is no, brilliant, the
soil il not rich. Thus the same causes
which had drawn the Pilgrims to Plymouth
as refuge, KEEP, away from the bleak rock
their more worldly followers in the wake of
emigration. No wild vines. or palmetto
fruit, or dazzling birds allurcd the naviga-
tor Of It's inhospitabe coast. No tabled
gold mines-no reported pearl hsheriss-
drew the daring who made haste TO be rich.
The sky looked cold and dull. The soil
barely promised corr. and maize. To step
on its shore was to encounter toll. want and
care in every shape which savage nature
presents at first interview to man. But
the settlers who threw themselves on the
rock sought in their new home not fortune,
but irccdom-not gold and pearls, but God.
They came alone, they remained and
multiplied 'lone. In the three or Tour mil
lions which a few years ago made up the
population Of New England, no foreign cle-
men, was visible in name or vintage. The
thousand. had in six or seven generations,
multiplied into millions; but multiplied
without mixture OF race or transformation
Of character, just rs they might have done
IN Yorkshire or EAs, Anglia. While New
York, under the influence ola immense ir.
ruption Of Irish, Franks, and Germans, con.
tinued without. pause like the first lowing
Of tho SaIons into Britain, sunk into luIu-
~ or rose into crime, the les snowy coun.
try TO tho north remained in,act-kept IL,
own moral boundarie'-and preserved the
rigid and fcrVent character Of it, people re-
markedly free from change or stain. Thus
a nation, as it were, simple, solid, and sta.
bic, grew up within another nation open to
infinite fluctuations Of thought. obcying ey-
cry impulse Of tho moment. splendid, eI.
perimen,al, and productive in its march OF
more snowy events and exceptional men.
Bot wha, is gained in speed is los, in pow.
er. The solid mass OF New England char.
acter weighs far more in the des,lnies OF
America than tbs noisy smartness and eph.
emeral success Of New York"