ever. It was in the spring of 1850 that we had the pleasure of knowing Sir Jamsetjee at Bombay. He bears the marks of age in the whiteness of his hair, and the slight tremulousness of his hand; but his expression is quick, and his manners kind and genial, for his heart is warm, and his mind as clear as He lives surrounded with all that should accompany old age, honored by his people, loved by his family and friends, and with the delightful consciousness of the success of his efforts to alleviate misery, and to increase happiness. He has acquired the glory which is best worth having, glory of good deeds. "Quid enim est melius, aut quid prestantius, bonitate et beneficentia?" man. the We know of no parallel in the records of biography to the benevolence of this Parsee merchant. The lavish spendings of Herodes Atticus, though greater perhaps in amount, are of little value when compared in character with those of this One of the great rewards of such wise liberality, is, that its example may stimulate other men to similar excellence. We are accustomed to speak proudly of the generosity and the charities throughout our country. But we have little real reason to be proud in this respect. Our pride has arisen from our taking a false standard of comparison. We have compared what we have done with what other nations have omitted to do. We have forgotten that we are the most prosperous community that the world ever saw, and that we should be more blameworthy than any other people were we less liberal. While the laws which regulate the acquisition and the possession of property are so ill understood as they at present are all the world over, benevolence is not simply a duty, it is a necessity. More than anywhere else, it is a necessity in a republic like ours. Benevolence is dictated. by the most refined selfishness, as well as by virtue. have learnt that expensive schools are the cheapest institution of the state; we have yet to learn that the prevention of pauperism, at any cost, is cheaper than the care of it when it exists; we have yet to learn that the truest pleasure which wealth can afford is in spending it so as to promote the happiness of others. Nor ought our rich men only to be called on to be benevolent. The portion of our community which is too poor to be charitable is very small. The duty is the same to every man, to give to others according to his means. Let every one in his own way devote a portion of his possessions, it matters not whether it be his labor, his money, or his thoughts, to the good of others. Whatever he does for their happiness will return in tenfold happiness to himself, for benevolence is the most divine of virtues. M.4. Force, ART. VII. The Life of HERMAN BLENNERHASSET; comprising an Authentic Narrative of the Burr Expedition, and containing many Additional Facts not heretofore published. By WILLIAM SAFFORD. Chillicothe, Ohio. Ely, Allen, & Looker. 1850. ALONG the whole length of the Ohio river, in its endless succession of beautiful landscapes, and its many points of historical interest, Blennerhasset's island is perhaps the only spot which is sure to arrest the attention of the voyager on the stream. In the long, narrow, flat island, covered with a few ill kept farms, with one or two mean houses and straggling trees, there certainly is nothing to attract notice; yet not a steamer passes it but that a group collects on the hurricane deck, to ask for the "shrubbery which Shenstone might have envied," the "music that might have charmed Calypso and her nymphs," and the "wife who was said to be lovely even beyond her sex, and graced with every accomplishment that can render it irresistible." The name of Blennerhasset has invested it with a charm. Yet Blennerhasset was remarkable neither for any thing he did, nor for his ability to do any thing; nor were his misfortunes greater than what often happen to men as worthy as he, in every mercantile community. The elegant mansion, however, which he erected, and the scholastic life which he led, in a remote wilderness, throws an air of romance over him, while his connection with the schemes of Aaron Burr gives notoriety to his name, to which his misfortunes lend a melancholy interest. Herman Blennerhasset belonged to a family of some note among the gentry of Ireland, who traced their lineage back to the reign of King John. The residence of his parents was Castle Conway, in the county of Kerry; but he was born in Hampshire, England, in the year 1767, while they were making a visit to some relative. He was educated carefully at Westminster school, and afterwards at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated with great credit. Soon after graduating, he began to read law at the King's Inns, in company with his relation and college friend, Thomas Addis Emmet, with whom he was admitted to the bar in the year 1790. Before attempting the practice of the law, he spent some time in travelling over France and the Netherlands. He saw France suffering with the throes of the Revolution, and returning to Ireland, he found it rent with factions. His means were too ample to require him to submit to the drudgery of practising law. He was averse to taking part in the political warfare of the country. All his tastes inclined to a life of retirement and repose, which was impossible in Ireland at that time. The death of his father, in 1796, leaving him in possession of a large fortune, he resolved to emigrate to the United States, where he could pursue his favorite studies in quiet, at the same time that he could gratify his wish to live in a republic. Selling his estate to his relative, Baron Ventry, he went to England to prepare for the voyage. He met there Miss Margaret Agnew, daughter of the lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Man, and granddaughter of General Agnew, who fell at the battle of Germantown. This lady is said to have been remarkably beautiful. She was tall and graceful; she had a very clear complexion, regular features, deep blue eyes, and dark brown hair. She was an accomplished French and Italian scholar, and thoroughly acquainted with English literature. Her manners fascinated all who conversed with her. She was, withal, an accomplished housewife, instructed by two maiden aunts in all the mysteries of pastry and needlework. Blennerhasset met, saw, and conquered. They were married; a large library, together with an excellent set of philosophical apparatus, was bought, and, in 1797, they arrived in New York. After spending some months in New York, they crossed the Alleghany mountains, and reached Marietta in the fall of the same year. Before the winter was over, Blennerhasset selected for his home an island in the Ohio river, fourteen miles below Marietta. The Mississippi valley was then almost an unbroken wilderness. The forty thousand settlers in what is now the State of Ohio only dotted the shores of some rivers with scattered germs of civilization. Pittsburg, the great mart of the valley of the Ohio, had scarcely fourteen hundred inhabitants. Marietta was a mere village; Cincinnati counted a population of six hundred; Louisville was still smaller; and Chillicothe had not been surveyed two years. In this great wilderness, Blennerhasset chose the spot perhaps the most agreeable to his tastes. The island secured solitude whenever it was wished; while the village of Belpre on the Ohio shore, settled by retired officers of the army of the Revolution, Marietta, colonized by a company of highly educated New Englanders, and some of the families of Wood county, the adjoining county on the Virginia shore, afforded sufficient society. The island is long, and, about the middle, quite narrow. Blennerhasset bought the upper portion, containing about one hundred and seventy acres, and reared there the home which tradition and oratory have invested with the interest of romance. The traveller sailing down the river, when some miles distant, saw the white walls of the house gleaming through an opening which had been cut through the trees on the head of the island. Except this white speck, all looked as wild as nature had made it. But on landing, a gateway was seen, ornamented with large stone pillars. Beyond, a well graded road with a gentle slope led through the forest trees to the general level of the island. There spread a lawn of several acres, from which every stump and root had been removed, and where clumps of shrubbery variegated the smooth-shaven green. Facing the lawn was a spacious mansion, presenting, with its wings, a front of one hundred and four feet. Beyond the house was a garden as large as the lawn, where devious paths, amid arbors covered with trailing vines, and the mingled hues of native flowers and exotics, together with choice wall fruit, were in strange contrast with the forest that waved its heavy boughs upon its borders. Beyond was an orchard and a kitchen garden, together with a farm of a hundred acres. The house was furnished in a style which then had no parallel beyond the mountains. The hall was a noble apart ment, constructed on acoustic principles, that Blennerhasset's excellent playing on the violincello should be marred by no echo; the walls, painted with a dark tint, the gilded cornice, and massive furniture gave this room quite a stately air. To this, the rich curtains, gay carpet, elegant furniture, and large mirrors of the drawing-room presented a pleasing contrast. In the dining-room, the sideboards were magnificent with plate. The chief peculiarity of the mansion, however, was the wing which contained the study. There, the ancient classics, the standard works of modern literature, a full collection of the recent French and German philosophers, a good telescope, a solar microscope, and a good collection of chemical and electrical apparatus, formed the implements of this pioneer in the wilderness. The owner of the mansion was tall and slender in person, and stooped slightly. He had a marked though not a handsome face, which generally wore a grave expression. He was not a man of strong will or firm purpose, but was honest, kind, and confiding. Many of his generous acts are still remembered in the neighborhood. His unsuspecting honesty laid him open to frequent impositions. From a dread of earthquakes, he built the house of wood, instead of the fine stone which abounds near the island. And so great was his fear of lightning, that he closed the house and lay on a feather bed whenever there was a thunder storm., He studied for amusement, without ever becoming an adept in any branch of science. His knowledge of medicine was enough to enable him to administer doses to all his poor neighbors, and to fancy constantly that he was suffering from some dangerous illness. His only recorded experiment in chemistry was unfortunate; conceiving that beef, if kept a sufficient time in running water, would be converted into a good substitute for spermaceti, he tried the experiment. But the fish of the river had so little respect for his science as to nibble the meat away before the experiment was finished. His music was more admired than his experiments in science; some pieces of his composition are still remembered in Marietta. He was most at home with the old classic writers; and it is said that he could repeat a considerable portion of the Iliad from memory. He was excessively fond of such sport as the island afforded, shooting at quails and other small birds. His |