Ir is said, that a gentleman in England, in order to gain possession of his wife's property, confined her in a mad-house, under pretense of insanity, until she became really a maniac.

1. STAY, jailer, stay, and hear my woe!
She is not mad who kneels to thee;

For what I'm now, too well I know,
And what I was, and what should be.
I'll rave no more in proud despair;
My language shall be mild, though sad:
But yet I'll firmly, truly swear,

I am not mad; I am not mad.

2. My tyrant husband forged the tale,

Which chains me in this dismal cell;
My fate unknown my friends bewail;
Oh! jailer, haste that fate to tell;
Oh! haste my father's heart to cheer:
His heart at once 't will grieve and glad
To know, though kept a captive here,
I am not mad; I am not mad.

3. He smiles in scorn, and turns the key;
IIe quits the grate; I knelt in vain ;
His glimmering lamp, still, still I see;
"T is gone, and all is gloom again:
Cold! bitter cold! no warmth! no light!
Life, all thy comforts once I had;
Yet here I'm chain'd, this freezing night,
Although not mad; no, no, not mad.

4. 'Tis sure some dream, some vision vain ;
What! I, the child of rank and wealth?
Am I the wretch who clanks this chain,
Bereft of freedom, friends, and health?
Ah! while I dwell on blessings fled,

Which never more my heart must glad,
How aches my heart, how burns my head;
But 't is not mad; no, 't is not mad.

5. Hast thou, my child, forgot, ere this,
A mother's face, a mother's tongue?
She'll ne'er forget your parting kiss,
Nor round her neck how fast you clung;

They'll make me mad; they'll make me mad.

6. His rosy lips, how sweet they smiled!

His mild, blue eyes, how bright they shone!
None ever bore a lovelier child:

And art thou now forever gone?
And must I never see thee more,
My pretty, pretty, pretty lad?
I will be free! unbar the door!

I am not mad; I am not mad.

7. Oh! hark! what mean those yells and cries?
His chain some furious madman breaks;
He comes; I see his glaring eyes;

Now, now my dungeon grate he shakes.
Help! help! He's gone! Oh! fearful woe,
Such screams to hear, such sights to see!
My brain, my brain, I know, I know,
I am not mad, but soon shall be.

8. Yes, soon;

---

for, lo you! — while I speak,
Mark how yon Demon's eye-balls glare!
He sees me; now, with dreadful shriek,
Ile whirls a serpent high in air.

Horror! the reptile strikes his tooth

Deep in my heart, so crush'd and sad;
Ay, laugh, ye fiends; I feel the truth;
Your task is done! -I'm mad! I m mad!

CLXXVII.

IMPORTANCE OF THE UNION.

FROM WEBster.

1. MR. PRESIDENT. I am conscious of having detained you and the senate much too long. I was drawn into the debate with no previous deliberation, such as is suited to the discussion of so grave and important a subject. But it is a subject of which my heart is full, and I have not been willing to suppress the utterance of its spontaneous sentiments. I can not, even now, persuade myself to relinquish it, without expressing once more, my deep conviction, that, since it

respects nothing less than the union of the states, it is of most vital and essential importance to the public happiness.

2. I profess, sir, in my career hitherto, to have kept steadily in view the prosperity and honor of the whole country, and the preservation of our federal union. It is to that union we owe our safety at home, and our consideration and dignity abroad. It is to that union, that we are chiefly indebted for whatever makes us most proud of our country. That union we reached only by the discipline of our virtues, in the severe school of adversity. It had its origin in the necessities of disordered finance, prostrate commerce, and ruined credit. Under its benign influences, these great interests immediately awoke as from the dead, and sprang forth with newness of life. Every year of its duration has teemed with fresh proof of its utility and its blessings; and, although our territory has stretched out wider and wider, and our population spread further and further, they have not out-run its protection or its benefits. It has been to us all a copious fountain of national, social, and personal happiness.

3. I have not allowed myself, sir, to look beyond the union, to see what might lie hidden in the dark recess behind. I have not coolly weighed the chances of preserving liberty, when the bonds that unite us together shall be broken asunder. I have not accustomed myself to hang over the precipice of disunion, to see whether, with my short sight, I can fathom the abyss below; nor could I regard him as a safe *counselor in the affairs of the government, whose thoughts should be mainly bent on considering, not how the union. might best be preserved, but how tolerable might be the condition of the people, when it shall be broken up and destroyed.

4. While the union lasts, we have high, exciting, gratifying prospects spread out before us, for us and our children. Beyond that, I seek not to penetrate the vail. God grant, that in my day, at least, that curtain may not rise. God grant, that on my vision never may be opened what lies behind. When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious union; on states dissevered, discordant, +belligerent; our land rent with civil +feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood.

5. Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign of the Republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original luster, not a stripe erased or polluted, not a single star obscured, bearing, for its motto, no such miserable interrogatory as, What is all this worth? nor those other words of delusion and folly, Liberty first, and union afterward; but every where, spread all over, in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea, and over the land, and on every wind, and under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart-Liberty AND Union, now and forever: one and inseparable!

1. THE person of Washington was commanding, graceful, and fitly proportioned; his +stature six feet, his chest broad and full, his limbs long and somewhat slender, but well shaped and muscular. His features were regular and symmetrical, his eyes of a light blue color, and his whole countenance, in its quiet state, was grave, placid, and +benignant. When alone, or not engaged in conversation, he appeared sedate and thoughtful; but when his attention was excited, his eye kindled quickly, and his face beamed with animation and intelligence.

2. He was not fluent in speech, but what he said was †apposite, and listened to with the more interest as being known to come from the heart. He seldom attempted *sallies of wit or humor, but no man received more pleasure from an exhibition of them by others; and, although contented in seclusion, he sought his chief happiness in society, and participated with delight in all its rational and innocent amusements. Without austerity on the one hand, or an appearance of condescending familiarity on the other, he was taffable, courteous, and cheerful; but it has often been remarked, that there was a dignity in his person and manner not easy to be defined, which impressed every one that saw him for

This

the first time, with an instinctive deference and awe. may have arisen, in part, from a conviction of his superiority, as well as from the effect produced by his external form and deportment.

3. The character of his mind was unfolded in the public and private acts of his life; and the proofs of his greatness are seen almost as much in the one as in the other. The same qualities which raised him to the ascendency he possessed over the will of a nation, as the commander of armies and chief magistrate, caused him to be loved and respected as an individual. (Wisdom, judgment, prudence, and firmness, were his predominant traits.) No man ever saw more clearly the relative importance of things and actions, or divested himself more entirely of the bias of personal interest, partiality, and prejudice, in discriminating between the true and the false, the right and the wrong, in all questions and subjects that were presented to him. He deliberated slowly, but decided surely; and when his decision was once formed, he seldom reversed it, and never relaxed from the execution of a measure till it was completed. Courage, +physical and +moral, was a part of his nature; and, whether in battle, or in the midst of popular excitement, he was fearless of danger, and regardless of consequences to himself.

4. His ambition was of that noble kind, which aims to excel in whatever it undertakes, and to acquire a power over the hearts of men by promoting their happiness and winning their affections. Sensitive to the approbation of others, and solicitous to deserve it, he made no concession to gain their applause, either by flattering their vanity, or yielding to their *caprices. Cautious without timidity, bold without rashness, cool in counsel, deliberate but firm in action, clear in foresight, patient under reverses, steady, persevering, and self-possessed, he met and conquered every obstacle that obstructed his path to honor, renown, and success. More confident in the uprightness of his intention, than in his resources, he sought knowledge and advice from other men. He chose his counselors with unerring sagacity; and his quick perception of the soundness of an opinion, and of the strong points in an argument, enabled him to draw to his aid the best fruits of their talents, and the light of their collected wisdom.