Brave Phineas of Iranistan stood,

Like Gulliver, of ancient Lilliput

Received the charge destined for thy young blood;

Then begged for quarters—which he haply got

The Hero of the Woolly Horse looked on,

When safely ye were caught within the mesh, And sat as proud as King of Babylon

Then Shylock-like prepared to weigh the flesh!

Remembering the victory of Heth,

The capture of the Mermaid, tail(le) and all!
The Ghost of Calvin Edson-starved to death-
Why should this breast-work ruse his soul appall?

Oh! that the Swedish Nightingale could wing

Her way across the broad Atlantic flood!

And in the ear of bashful Barnum sing

The plaintive song of "Babies in the Wood!"

Alas! this "slaughter of the Innocents"
Out-Herods Herod in its foul design,

And "Young America," from this time hence,

Must be, oh! shame! rated with "fattened swine."

R. D. P.

PURITANISM AND ABOLITIONISM.

As has long been anticipated by men of sober reason and experience, the seed so industriously sown by the Abolitionists is beginning to bear fruit, and the harvest about to be gathered. In Massachusetts, and throughout all the East, we see the helm of state in the hands of senseless, infuriated fanatics, as ignorant of the first principles of law as regardless of the authority of the Constitution, the only tie that binds this confederation together in one common bond of union. In Boston, which boasts of being "the cradle of Liberty," the head-quarters of the "Solid Men," we see a law passed placing the authorities of the State in direct conflict with the provision of the Constitution, and the prerogatives of the general government. The laws are not only forcibly resisted, but the judges persecuted for obeying them; the sanctity of the domestic fold has been outraged by legislative intrusion; the decencies of society violated in the persons of innocent and defenseless females; and the private rights of citizens invaded by legislative and municipal acts, such as the most despotic of Eastern tyrants would not dare to impose on his slaves.

The spirit of Puritanism, which, while asserting toleration for itself, has at all times been intolerant to others, has again revived in its dregs, divested of that piety which is the only poor apology for persecution; and what was once the overwrought zeal of sincere conviction, has now become the bastard progeny of political and sectarian hypocrisy. The "old Blue Laws," which had been so long a by-word of ridicule, and of which the posterity of the Pilgrims themselves were ashamed, have some of them been dug up from the dark dungeon of bigotry, and others will doubtless follow in their train. The forty or fifty wolves in sheep's clothing who have stolen into the Massachusetts fold, will doubtless not stop here. They will never rest until the State is prostrated at the foot of the

Church, civil laws made completely subordinate to ecclesiastical, and the decrees of councils and conventions supersede all temporal jurisdiction. This was the case in the days of Cotton, Hooker, and Davenport, men who, while exclusively governed by their own stubborn will, paid no more respect to the opinions or feelings of others, than the high-priest of the Jews or the prophet of Islamism. To such an extent was this clerical despotism carried, that the community of Boston had, for a considerable period, no other laws but those of the Twelve Tables expounded by the oracles of the priesthood.* It was then a complete hierarchy; has been little else ever since; and is becoming, if possible, more so than in the golden age of Governor Dudley, in whose pocket-book after his death was found the following choice specimen in his own hand-writing, the poetry of which is equal to the sentiment:

"Let men of God in courts and churches watch

O'er such as do a TOLERATION hatch,
Lest that ill egg bring forth a cockatrice
To poison all with heresy and vice."

The primitive Puritans in a great measure rejected the statutes, and held that no magistrate could exert any authority beyond the judicial laws of Moses, which were of course to be understood as Senator Sumner interprets the Constitution, exactly to suit himself, without regard to legislative precedents or judicial decisions. Thus every man became, in fact, his own lawgiver, since to interpret the law is equivalent to making the law. There was, however, always some great bell-wether in Boston, such as the Reverend John Cotton, or the Reverend Increase Mather, whose dictum governed the whole flock; or if any strayed out of bounds, they were treated like Roger Williams, Mrs. Hutchinson, the Quakers and Anabaptists. The truth is, there has never been any thing like a frank and liberal toleration of religion in Massachusetts; and much of the extravagance now exhibited in that State may, undoubtedly, be traced to religious bigotry, spiced with no small sprinkling of rank hypocrisy. This is a dangerous combination. When the raving fanatic is guided by the cold-blooded, calculating, selfish hypocrite, whether in religion or politics, it is time for sober, rational, well-meaning men to look to the preservation of themselves and the State. If Massachusetts preserves her present hostile attitude towards the United States, either a

* See Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts.

majority of the other States must take the same ground and coërce the minority, or she must walk out of the Union, for to remain in it and defy its laws, is an absurd impossibility. This is the alternative now presented by the recent act of the Massachusetts Legislature, nullifying the Fugitive Slave Law and the Constitutional Compromise.

Whether the other New-England States will follow suit, or whether New-York and Pennsylvania will recover their senses before it is too late, remains to be seen. We greatly fear the former, but cherish an inspiring hope of the latter. The Legis lature of the State of New-York, previous to its adjournment, passed a series of resolutions which, if ever made the basis of legislative action, will place her by the side of Massachusetts in direct opposition to the Constitution of the United States. The same Legislature lately enacted a sumptuary law, which, independently of all other objections, is an infringement on the rights of person and property, has already produced the most lamentable consequences, and rendered the law no longer a rule of action. The opinions of lawyers have been invoked beforehand in its interpretation; and the judges who are eventually to decide on its construction, have already given so many different extra-judicial opinions, that it must be evident when the law comes to be executed, it will have as many adverse interpretations, as the most profound metaphysical abstraction. What is law in one place, will not be law in another; what in one court is considered innocent, will be held criminal in the adjoining district; there will be no general rule of action, and the already "glorious uncertainty of the law," be gloriously aggravated. Men will no longer have any guide in the enjoyment of their civil and social rights, or the practice of their duties, and "chaos come again." When we see such resolutions and such laws passed by the Legislature of New-York, and representatives elected to Congress pledged to act on their principles, there is too much reason to fear that State will follow in the wake of Massachusetts, and sink into a pliant tool of fanaticism. Another legislative body, like that which has lately separated, never we hope, to meet again, will place NewYork in an attitude incompatible with her present position in the Union.

The "Keystone State," the central arch of the Union, and the bulwark of Democracy, has also left the beaten track and wandered into the devious paths of Know-Nothingism. The proceedings of her Legislature during the Know-Nothing rule, though not so extreme in their disorganizing principles and

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their inroads on personal rights as those of Maine, Massachu setts, and New-York, are equally fanatical, and almost equally incompatible with the relations subsisting between the Government of the United States and the different members of the Union. If persisted in, it will be utterly impossible to preserve this great confederation of States in any thing like that harmony which is indispensable to their prosperity and peace. The time will come when, as is often the case in domestic life, divorce will be the only alternative to perpetual dissension, and eternal separation the only refuge from eternal broils.

The doctrines and practice of Puritanism are equally intolerant with those of Abolition, both in religion and politics, and their present union is perfectly natural. Neither the Puritan or the Abolitionist is content with the enjoyment of his own freedom of opinion unless he can impose it on others. His only idea of toleration is dictation; and what he means by liberty of speech and thought is universal acquiescence in his own dogmas. There has never been in practice any other liberty in Massachusetts, since though theoretically every citizen may have possessed equal rights, and been eligible to civil distinctions, we believe we may venture to assert, that never since the landing of the first Pilgrims, down to the present moment, has there been a Roman Catholic elected to any office by the people, or appointed to any responsible situation by the government. There may have been exceptions with regard to Episcopalians, and some other denominations of Christians, from political considerations, but we apprehend they were very rare, until the late fusion, which sprinkled the legislature of Massachusetts with reverend divines, who, though they never agreed in one single point of faith, have become miraculously amalgamated in political doctrines. This old spice of Puritan bigotry has contributed to that spiritual pride and clannish egotism, so conspicuous in the descendants of the Pilgrims, and which, by an almost irresistible sympathy, connects them together in all situations and under all circumstances. Yet the New-England hive is always full and always swarming. No class of people are so prone to emigration, and they are found in every part of the United States. But wherever they go they are sure to combine together, and act in concert for the furtherance of their own peculiar opinions and interests. They have no national feelings, and if they recall with a proud satisfaction the events of the Revolution, it is not so much because it achieved the independence of the United States, as because they claim to have been the great instruments in its attainment.