Transcriber's Note:
The index included at the beginning of this first issue referenced
articles in all issues of Volume 10. Corrections to the actual
published page numbers were made without comment, but published
articles not included in the original index have been added,
surrounded by [brackets].
The external references include:
Vol. 10, No. 2, August 1837--p. 97-184.
Vol. 10, No. 3, September 1837--p. 185-272.
Vol. 10, No. 4, October 1837--p. 273-368.
Vol. 10, No. 5, November 1837--p. 369-456.
Vol. 10, No. 6, December 1837--p. 457-560.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Yours Truly, Henry Russell.
ENGRAVED FOR THE KNICKERBOCKER MAGAZINE.]
THE
Knickerbocker,
OR
[Illustration]
NEW-YORK MONTHLY MAGAZINE.
VOL. X.
NEW-YORK:
CLARK AND EDSON, PROPRIETORS.
1837.
NEW-YORK:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM OSBORN,
88 WILLIAM-STREET.
INDEX.
A.
American Antiquities, with Drawings, 1, 116, 273, 457
Album Sonnet, 10
Anniversary, The, by Rev. THOMAS DALE, 115
Anacreontic. By G. B. SINGLETON, 193
A Farewell. By Miss M. E. LEE, (S. C.), 216
A Mother's Grief: A Sketch from Life, 225
An Album Fragment. By J. H. BRIGHT, Esq., 227
A Few Thoughts on Funerals, 229
A Few Thoughts on Phrenology, 417
A Practitioner, His Pilgrimage, 422, 510
Anacreontic, 436
B.
Bristol Academy, Taunton, (Mass.), 93, 553
Balloon Adventure, 342
'Bianca Visconti,' By N. P. WILLIS, Esq., 353
C.
Comfort Makepeace: A New-England Sketch, 62
Changes of Fashion, 82
COOPER'S 'England,' 350
Confessions of a Catholic Priest, 449
D.
Death of ROB ROY, 27
Duchess de LAVALLIERE, 61
Death-Bed Remorse, By PERCIVAL, 258
Début of Miss HILDRETH, 266
Death of SOCRATES, 285
E.
EDITORS' TABLE, 87, 180, 265, 353, 450, 546
Emblems. By W. G. CLARK, 104
Edward Fane's Rosebud, 195
Eyes and Lips, 225
Editing and Other Matters, 233
Exquisites, 317
Example in High Places, 525
Ernest Maltravers, 538
F.
Francis Mitford, 12, 208
First English Testament, 87
Foreign Correspondence, 182
FOURIER'S Eulogy on LA PLACE, 272
Fatal Balloon Adventure, 342
Floral Astrology. By Prof. LONGFELLOW, 498
G.
Gazetteer of Missouri, 456
Geographical Distinctions of Color, 499
Glance at the Olden Time, 546
H.
Heiress, The, 11
Hunting Song. By HACK VON STRETCHER, 491
Human Life, 105
[Hope], 509
J.
June. By W. H. C. HOSMER, 40
Juba, 126
J. HUNTINGTON BRIGHT, Esq., 265
K.
'Knickerbockeriana,' 94
Knickerbocker Hall, 184
L.
LITERARY NOTICES, 68, 174, 259, 348, 447, 538
LITERARY RECORD, 94, [184], 368, 455, 557
Letters from Palmyra, 68
'Live and Let Live,' 86
Love and Reason, 116
Life of BAINBRIDGE, 179
Lay. By 'IONE,' 251
Lockhart's Scott, 259, 544
Lines. By the Author of 'Lacon,' 300
Launch of the Neptune, 356
Landscape Gardening, 366
Literature of the Great West, 366
Lines in imitation of BURNS, 386
Lament of the Last of the Peaches, 446
Lines to Rosalie, 479
Life, 491
Lay of the Madman, 516
M.
My Mother's Grave, 67
Memoirs, etc., of LAFAYETTE, 174
Midshipmen's Expedients, 179
Mark! By PATER ABRAHAM A SANCTA CLARA, 200, 296
Mohegan Language and Names, 214
Mr. and Mrs. TOMPKINS. By R. C. SANDS, 468
Mirabiliæ Naturæ, [Geographical Distinctions of Color], 499
Memoirs of BURR, 540
N.
New-York Review, 184
Nature: from the German, 207
New-York Mercantile Library, 272
Napoleon. By Rev. C. C. COLTON, 284
Notes of a Surgeon, [106], 286
Nahant. By J. H. BRIGHT, Esq., 320
Newspaporial, 363
New-York College of Physicians and Surgeons, 367
Nurseries of American Freemen, 369, 480
O.
OLLAPODIANA, 162, 436, 518
Ornamental Gardening, 311
Our Village Post Office, By Miss SEDGWICK, 425
Old Age. By Rev. C. C. COLTON, 490
Our Birth-days. By Hon. Judge MELLEN, (Me.), 513
Oceola's Challenge. By J. BARBER, Esq., 527
P.
Pocahontas: A Tragedy, 180
PETER PARLEY'S 'Book of the United States,' 184
Poems. By WILLIAM THOMPSON BACON, 352
Parting Stanzas. By JOHN AUGUSTUS SHEA, 480
R.
Religious Charlatanry, 20, 136
Random Passages of Foreign Travel, 41, 147, 240, 330, 387, 527
Reminiscence, [Stanzas. By G. B. SINGLETON] 301
Retrospection. By H. GATES, Esq., 347
Reply of Mr. S. KIRKHAM to GOULD BROWN, 358
Rory O'More. By LOVER, 545
S.
Summer Evening. By Rev. Dr. PISE, 19
Stories from Real Life, 92
Stanzas. By W. G. SIMMS, Esq., 146
Scandinavian Literature and Antiquities, 185
Song of the Ship. By H. R. SCHOOLCRAFT, Esq., 200
Sonnets by 'QUINCE,' [50], 228, 435
Sonnet, 310
Stanzas. By J. H. BRIGHT, 105, 311
[Serenade. by J. J. CAMPBELL], 213
Slavery in the United States, 321
Scourge of the Ocean, 348
Sadness, 376
Sonnet. By W. G. SIMMS, Esq., 387
Songs of Our Fathers. By 'IONE,' 406
Stanzas to a Belle. By PERCIVAL, 497
T.
The Heiress, 11
The Poet, 33
The Blue-Bird of Spring, 60
The Nobility of Nature, 97
The Backwoods, 126
[The Soul], 135
The Waves. By G. Z. ADAMS, Esq., 161
To the New Moon, 173
The American Wild Rose, 194
The Red Man, 224
The Sea Rover, 239
The Chief of His Tribe, 252
THE DRAMA, 268, 364, 554
The Birchen Canoe, 295
The Foster-child, 301
The Sea, 316
Thaptopsis, 317
'The Times,' 329
The Blighted Flower, 341
'The Times that tried Men's Soul's,' 356
The Dead Husband, 407
[The Dying Boy], 416
The Token, for 1838, 447
The Encaged Bird to His Mistress, 467
[The Soul's Trust. By G. P. T.], 468
The Poor Relation, 491
[To a Lock of Hair], 504
The Coming of Winter, 526
V.
Vanity: A Tale of Tight Boots, 29
Vive La Bagatelle!, 126
Vocal Music, 366
W.
Who would be a Scholar?, 35
Wilson Conworth, 51, 217, 378, 504
Wild Flowers, 84
Y.
[Yesterday], 232
Young Love. By PERCIVAL, 377
THE KNICKERBOCKER.
VOL. X. JULY, 1837. NO. 1.
AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
NUMBER ONE.
'CHAOS of ruins! who shall trace the void,
O'er the dim fragments cast a lunar light,
And say 'here _was_, or _is_,' where all is doubly night?'
CHILDE HAROLD.
EVERY enlightened American regards whatever relates to his native
land, with an affection as strong as it is ennobling. Conscious
of its extent and resources, he looks abroad upon its variegated
landscapes, its towering mountains, and its mighty rivers, with
a glow of noble pride and enthusiasm. Unequalled in richness,
fertility, or grandeur, each inspires him, in like manner, with
feelings of joy and exultation. He reverts to the history of his
countrymen, with emotions not less dear and animating. The early
struggles of his ancestors, their ultimate triumph over the enemies
of his country, and over obstacles well nigh insurmountable--their
onward march in social and political happiness, the freedom and
excellence of their institutions, and the high distinction now
sustained by the republic among the governments of the earth--all
dwell upon his tongue, in accents of lofty praise and patriotism.
Such sentiments are alike worthy and characteristic of an American;
but while we thus cheerfully ascribe them to our countrymen, as a
general and laudable peculiarity, we cannot avoid the reflection,
that one prominent subject among those claiming their attention--one
which should equally inspire them with pride and enthusiasm--is most
singularly overlooked, or wholly neglected. We allude to _American
Antiquities_. This subject, not immediately connected with our
national prosperity, seems strangely to have escaped observation.
Every thing else with us has been onward; but this has been left for
the inquisitive admiration of strangers. With the fresh and animating
incidents of our history we have alone been busied. Beyond these,
there exists a deep and illimitable _hiatus_, into which Curiosity
has yet but slightly peered.
Now that data are affixed to our brief historical period, and the
occurrences of yesterday, in comparison with the actual history
of our land, have settled down into a succession of well-known
events, it becomes us to look back into those of long-lost time,
and to inquire into the memorials of our country's antiquity; to
glance at what it _was_, rather than what it _is_. Here the field
opens into boundless extent, and the mind becomes bewildered by the
strange and diversified objects which it presents. Unlike any other
in the 'world's wide range,' it is seen to be crowded with unique
monumental relics, such as men of modern date had little dreamed
of. No where else do the same curious and magnificent remnants of
ancient art start into view. Britain has her antiquities, but her
archæologists find them associated with a people to whom history
had before introduced them. They are furnished with keys by which
to gain access to the relics of by-gone times. The Druids and the
Romans are known to them; but who were they who raised the tumuli of
western America, or the Pyramids of Chollula and of Papantla? The
antiquities of Egypt, wonderful as they are, point with an index well
defined, to their origin; but who can decipher the hieroglyphics of
Tultica?--who read the buried monuments of Anahuac? Egypt has her
history told--if not distinctly upon her storied columns--in language
which we are little disposed to doubt. The tablets of Rositta have
revealed to inquiring antiquarians a flood of light; and the secret
volumes inscribed upon the huge and elaborate piles of her arts, have
suddenly opened to the wondering gaze their richly-stored contents.
They said, emphatically, 'Let there be light, and there was light!'
But no revelation has burst from the tombs of our western valleys.
No Champolion, Young, Rossellina, nor Wilkinson, has preached the
mysteries of Copan, Mitlan, or Palenque. No! Thick darkness still
hangs over the vast continent of America. No voice answers to the
anxious inquiry, 'Who were the Tultiques?' no lettered tablet is
found to reveal the authors of the noble vestiges of architecture and
of sculpture at Mitlan, Papantla, Chollula, Otumba, Oaxaca, Tlascala,
Tescoca, Copan, or Palenque! The veil of oblivion shrouds, and may
perhaps for ever shroud, these relics of an ancient and innumerable
people in impenetrable obscurity. The researches of Del Rio, Cabrera,
Dupaix, Waldrick, Neibel, Galinda, nor Corroy, are yet known to have
developed the secrets of the buried cities of Central America, though
they have labored for many years, 'silent and alone,' amid these
massive fragments of ancient greatness.
'Cypress and ivy, weed and wall-flower grown,
Matted and mass'd together, hillocks heap'd
On what were chambers, arch-crush'd columns strown
In fragments, chok'd-up vaults and frescos steeped
In subterranean damps, where the owl peeped,
Deeming it midnight: temples, baths, or halls?
Pronounce, who can; for all that Learning reaped
From her research, hath been, that these are walls:
* * * 'tis thus the mighty falls!'
The train of reflections which springs from a review of these
magnificent specimens of skill, genius, and toil, is peculiarly
exciting. If, in the vast field of observation which this continent
presents, there is one subject that more than another claims
attention--if there is one which is calculated to inspire an American
with admiration and enthusiasm--it is the antiquities of his country.
It may in truth be said, that were we to pronounce what are the
great and peculiar charms of this 'new world,' we should say, at
once, its antiquities--the antiquities of its buried cities--its
long-lost relics of a great and ingenious people--the sublimity of
ages that every where surrounds us, and the strange associations
which, rush upon the mind, as we view ourselves in connection with
an unknown and extinct species of men. Which way soever we turn our
eyes, we behold the mighty remnants of their arts, and the wide
waste of their mental and physical creations. We every where see the
wonderful labors of those who, in times long gone by, gloried in
these stupendous achievements, but whose might and inventions are
told only in their far-spread destruction; a people, in short, of
whom history has not left a solitary wreck behind! To describe the
antique arts of such a people, strewed as they are over United and
Central America, or buried for thousands of years beneath venerable
forests, is a task which ages only can accomplish. An approach to
this, therefore, is all our most ardent hopes can at present realize.
Curiosity has indeed been awakened by the little which has lately
been brought to light. The ambition of the learned has been excited,
and the enthusiasm of the antiquarian enkindled; yet these are but
the things of yesterday. The most industrious research, and the
lapse of many years, are required, to develope the hidden treasures
of art with which our continent abounds. For three hundred years
have the most extraordinary of these slept in Central America, among
strangers from another, not a _newer_ world, as they had before
slept for many thousands! Even now, comparatively little is known of
their character. Sufficient, however, has recently been disclosed,
to excite our wonder and admiration. In truth, had we fallen upon a
new planet, crowded with strange memorials of a high order of genius,
that for an indefinite time had survived their unknown authors, we
should not be more amazed, than we are in gazing upon the anomalous
relics of American antiquity.
America has been called '_the new world_,' and we still designate it
by this really unmeaning title, when, in point of fact, it is cöeval
with the oldest. We are authorized, from its geological structure, to
consider it the first great continent that sprang from 'the depths
profound,' and are justified in believing, with Galinda, that it
exhibits stronger proofs of senility, as the residence of man, than
any other portion of our world. At another time, we shall speak more
definitely of these facts, and present the evidence on which they are
founded.
We have said that the subject of our antiquities has peculiar and
important claims upon every American; but that these claims have
been overlooked or disregarded. This will have appeared strikingly
obvious to those who, in Central or United America, have had the
satisfaction to examine the unique specimens of remote antiquity
which characterize our continent. While the homage of the world
has so long been paid to the monumental piles of transatlantic
antiquity, and while voyages and pilgrimages have been performed to
far distant quarters of the earth, to obtain a glance at oriental
magnificence, and the ruined arts of primitive nations, here we find
ourselves surrounded by those of a still more remarkable character.
The wondrous cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Elephanta, Thebes, and
Petra, are not more the subjects of just admiration than are those
of our own America. The former have acquired universal notoriety,
from the enthusiastic descriptions of numerous travellers, while the
latter are possessed of all the charms of novelty. The first are
confined to well known localities, and are intimately connected
with a distinctive people, with dynasties, events, customs, and
ceremonies, familiar to all who are acquainted with antiquarian
literature. In fact, they tell their own stories, so that he who
runs may read. Not so with the antiquities of America. These stretch
from the great lakes of the north and west, to Central America,
and the southern parts of Peru, on the south; from the Alleghany
Mountains, on the east, throughout the great valleys, to the Rocky
Mountains, on the west; and from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic,
through all the wide transverse central range of our continent.
How immense this field of observation, and how rich in objects of
antiquarian research! With what associations does the scene inspire
us! Standing at any point in this vast space, and looking back
through the long lapse of ages, a thousand thrilling emotions crowd
upon us. If this spot, perchance, be in the midst of the massive and
almost illimitable ruins of Palenque, who so insensible as not to be
aroused by the scene around him? Here, strewed in one indiscriminate
mass, lie the wrecks of unknown ages of toil and of mind. Here dwelt
millions of people, enjoying happiness more complete than that of
any other, since man made a part of creation. Surrounded by the most
luxuriant soil, the purest air, and, in fine, by every gift of nature
that ever blessed our earth--politically and socially constituted by
laws the most mild and effective that were ever devised--this city,
unsurpassed in magnitude by any other of the eastern continent, may,
in truth, be thought the great paradise of the western world. But
the reflections arising from a glance at this part of our subject,
though now seemingly irresistible, would follow, more appropriately,
perhaps, the description; and so it may be with those arising from a
view of the extraordinary relics of antiquity which every where meet
the eye in the great western valleys of United America.
Trusting, by these preliminary observations--not, we hope, indulged
at too much length--to have awakened attention to the importance
of our subject, we shall pass to particulars, which seem to us to
possess no common interest. It should be sufficient to induce popular
research, when it is remembered, that these facts are connected with
the most interesting portions of the history of man--with great and
signal epocha of the world; that they involve the relative condition
of the intellectual and moral state of our species, with their
comparative local and general happiness, during all time.
Aside, however, from the associations which the subject of
antiquities generally excites, our own antique arts will be seen to
have peculiar and striking characteristics. They are not hackneyed,
like others, but come to us with all the freshness of romance. They
are singularly unique; and, what is not less important, they reveal
to us a hitherto unknown people, which, amid the world's alarms,
the wars and revolutions that have destroyed a great proportion of
the human population, have quietly remained for thousands of years,
if not from the origin of man, on this continent. Of these strange
people, not a scrap of recorded truth is known to have been left us.
Not a traditionary story, nor a symbol, is yet brought to light, that
clearly tells us, as we have long anxiously hoped, of the manners
and customs of this large division of our race. Their arts, it is
true, develope extraordinary facts, and, in the very language of
the people, reveal faint records of their character and origin; but
to us they are a sealed book; and so they must remain, until some
bold and gifted spirit, with untiring research, removes the veil.
This lack of historical evidence, however, does not add essentially
to the interest of this subject. It gives an additional spur to our
inquiries; it incites us to an examination of the only testimonials
which yet remain, of the numbers, character, and origin, of these
lost nations.
Aside from the _historical_ interest of American antiquities,
the ingenuity and magnitude of those specimens of art already
discovered, are well calculated to inspire national admiration. We
need only turn, in proof of this position, to the extraordinary
works on Paint Creek, and Licking River, in Ohio, Mount Joliet, in
Illinois; the Great Mounds at St. Louis, in Missouri; the ruined
walls and cities in Wisconsin and Arkansas; the three hundred
tumuli of the Mississippi, or the stupendous pyramids of ancient
Mexico and Tultica, some of which exceed in dimensions the largest
of Egypt; and the vast ruins of immense Tultican cities. Surely,
these are enough to convince us, that American antiquities are not
less worthy of admiration, and of philosophical inquiry, than those
of the eastern continent, the descriptions of which have so much
astonished the learned world. A knowledge of the principal monuments
of Egyptian antiquity is now deemed essential to a fashionable
education, particularly to a liberal one; yet few Americans,
professedly fashionable or literary, avow an acquaintance with the
antiquities of our own country. This far-fetched knowledge, at the
sacrifice of that which relates to ourselves, is ridiculous, and
ought no longer to be imputed to our countrymen. That it is a just
imputation, is sufficiently apparent, in the surprise manifested
by distinguished strangers, who make inquiries of us respecting
our antiquities, and who have made voyages across the Atlantic for
the sole purpose of examining them. Of the recently discovered
antiquities of Central America, little is known which has not come to
us through a foreign channel. The ambition displayed by scientific
men in Europe, in exploring these ruins, is worthy both of them and
of the subject. Since the first voyages were undertaken, for the
investigation of these relics, great anxiety has been manifested
by the learned in France, England and Spain, to gain a knowledge
of the facts which enthusiastic explorers might disclose. These
facts have now been before us for many years; and yet not an effort
has been made either to explore them ourselves, or to procure the
results of those ambitious inquirers, in this country. Of the three
voyages of discovery by Dupaix, the twelve years' devotion among
these antiquities by Waldrick, the archæology of Neibel, or the
discoveries of Del Rio, little or nothing is here known. Few among
us have ventured a league out of our way to obtain a sight of those
relics which more immediately surround us, notwithstanding the great
interest of the subject, the important facts which it involves, and
the local feelings which, in this country, it might be supposed
natural for us to manifest. Is not this indifference a national shame?
The first step in our inquiries is marked by peculiar developments;
and each successive remove will be seen to advance in interest. The
nature of the subject leads us first to investigate the history
of the ancient Tultiques, the most recently discovered, though
most remote, people of our continent. These are to be distinctly
understood as independent, and more ancient than the arts and the
population of Mexico. The half-buried cities, still extraordinary
fabrics, existing among the wide-spread piles of huge architectural
fragments, and the singular specimens of antique workmanship, to
which our attention is at the outset attracted, are found on the
eastern portion of Central America, and south of the Gulf of Mexico.
Surprising as is the fact, these remained unexplored by the Spanish
conquerors, until toward the close of the last century; or, if at
all noticed, they excited little attention or curiosity among the
invaders previous to that time. They were intent only on conquest
and plunder; their minds were absorbed in the treasures with which
the newly-conquered country was stored; and all inquiry was for the
buried resources of nature, or the acquired riches of the people.
Gold dazzled their eyes, bewildered their judgment, and inflamed
their passions, at every point of their unrighteous conquests.
The swarms of desperate and adventurous priests, battening on the
spoils of victory, were only content in the grossest luxuries, or in
destroying, 'for the sake of _the_ holy religion,' every vestige of
antiquity which fell in their way. The manner in which this '_holy
zeal_' was carried out, and to which we shall hereafter allude, is
revolting to reason, and sickening to humanity.
Thus in the early history of Spanish discovery, or aggression, every
nobler purpose was sacrificed by the clergy and the soldiery to their
base idols, and every Christian virtue made subservient to wanton
indulgence, or cruel bigotry. In view of this, it is not surprising
that the singular ruins of ancient Mexican and Tultican cities should
have had little attraction for the selfish and barbarous victors,
or that many curious and antique relics should have disappeared
before the superstitious phrenzy of religious zealots. It is more
than probable, that the monumental ruins of Chiapa, of Yucatan,
and particularly those of the great Palenquan city, were, in fact,
unknown to the European invaders, and to their descendants, until
about the time we have mentioned.
From Vera Cruz, the first city they built in the reputed new world,
at the head of the Mexican Gulf, they pursued their triumphant way
around a south-easterly branch of the Cordillera Mountains, directly
to the great valley and city of Mexico. Hence the antiquities spoken
of were left far on their left. The subsequent conquest of Peru,
under Pizarro, led them still farther from these scenes of ancient
greatness. In the conquered territories themselves, crowded as they
were with magnificent specimens of primitive genius and wealth,
they may be supposed to have had a field sufficiently large, and
objects numerous and valuable enough, for their cupidity, while
the innumerable vassals--before, the proud and happy lords of the
finest country under heaven--afforded them ample scope for robbery
and tyranny. These ruins, then, being removed from the first
settlements of the Spanish, is one reason why they were not made
known to Europeans at an earlier date. The natives themselves, from
a just reverence for the relics of their ancestors, and a religious
regard for the objects of their worship, withheld all intelligence
respecting them from their cruel tyrants, and the occupants of
their favored soil. At length, however, the facts in relation to
the Palenquan city were revealed by some Spaniards, who, having
penetrated into the dreary solitudes of a high and distant desert,
discovered, to their astonishment, that they were surrounded by the
remains of a once large and splendid city, the probable capital of an
unknown and immeasurably remote empire! These facts were communicated
by them to one of the governors of a neighboring province, who, on
ascertaining the truth of the representations from the natives, wrote
to his royal master, the king of Spain, to induce him to command an
exploration of these strange ruins.
Another reason why the world was kept in ignorance of the
antiquities of Tultica and Mexico, or, as the whole was anciently
called, _Anahuæ_, is attributable to the gross misrepresentations
of Robertson, the historian, who, as every one knows, wrote the
history of the conquest of Mexico. This writer says but little of
the Mexican arts that is calculated to excite astonishment; and what
_is_ said by him, plainly evinces the strangest ignorance of facts,
or an unpardonable and wilful perversion of truth. He says, in fact,
that 'there is not in all the extent of New Spain, any monument or
vestige of building more ancient than the conquest.' 'The great
Temple of Chollula,' he says, 'was nothing but a mound of solid
earth, without any facing or steps, covered with grass and shrubs!'
He also says, that 'the houses of the people of Mexico were but
huts, built of turf, or branches of trees, like those of the rudest
Indians!' Robertson, in these rank mistatements, could not, we think,
have had the plea of ignorance; for the account of the conquerors
themselves was a full contradiction of his assertions. From the facts
before him, therefore, we are compelled to conclude that prejudice,
incredulity, or a spirit of wilful perversion, dictated these
erroneous statements. Our descriptions will hereafter show _how_ wide
from truth these statements are. The high reputation of Robertson
as a historian will hardly atone for the errors here fixed upon
him. It might be thought that prejudice or incredulity caused the
Spanish inhabitants of the neighboring places to be so long silent
on this subject, inasmuch as they can hardly be considered likely
to have formed a correct opinion of the remoteness of the Tultican
monuments, if they had noticed them, or speculated at all upon their
origin. Whatever cause contributed most toward our ignorance of the
antiquities we are about to describe, nothing will appear half so
strange as the inconsistency and otherwise singular conduct of the
Spanish authorities on this subject.
Conformably to the information communicated by the Governor of
Guatemala, the King of Spain, in 1786, thirty years subsequent to
the discovery of the ruins, commissioned, under the direction of
that functionary, Don Antonio Del Rio, captain in his majesty's
cavalry service in that province, to proceed with despatch, and the
requisite means, to the exploration of the great ruins of the city
of Ciudad del Palenque--signifying the city of the desert, called
_Otulum_, from the name of a river running near it, which we shall
hereafter notice--situated in the province of Ciudad Real Chiapa.
This city was three hundred and thirty leagues, or one thousand
miles, distant from the city of Mexico, about two hundred and forty
miles from Tabasco, south of Vera Cruz, north-east of Guatemala,
and fifteen miles from the present town of St. Domingo Palenque. It
was situated on an elevated plain, now covered by an ancient and
umbrageous forest, extended for _thirty miles_ along the plain,
was _two miles wide at its terminating point_, upward of _sixty
miles in circumference_, more than _ten times larger than the city
of New-York_, and contained a population of probably near _three
millions of inhabitants_!
----'There is more
In such a survey, than the sating gaze
Of wonder pleased, or awe that would adore,
* * * or the mere praise
Of art and its great masters.'
The approach to the magnificent ruins of this great and ancient
city was made by Del Rio from the village of Palenque. This latter
place, we are led to conclude from Don Domingo Juarros, was an
ancient village of Tzendales, as it was within the kingdom of that
people; but of the time of its settlement by the Spaniards, we are
not informed. It has been ascertained, that the first settlement
made in the province, was by Diégo Mazariegos, as early as 1528,
when he established the village of Ciudad Real, the present capital
city of the Intendency, with the view of keeping in subjection the
inhabitants of the province, which he, with much difficulty, had
recovered from the natives. In the province were numerous Indian
villages, filled with the peaceful owners of the soil, when invaded
by the more cruel and barbarous Spaniards. St. Domingo Palenque is
on the borders of the Intendencies of Ciudad Real and Yucatan. It is
now the head of a Catholic curacy, and enjoys a wild but salubrious
air. It is distinguished from its having within its jurisdiction
the vestiges of the great city to which we have alluded, which is
now called by the Spaniards, in contradistinction to the name of
the above village, 'Ciudad del Palenque,' from which it is distant
but a few miles. This antique city is also called, by Juarros,
_Colhuacan_, probably for better reasons than any that have been
assigned by others in giving it a different appellation. Much
difference of opinion still exists as to the ancient name of this
wonderful city. Professor Rafinesque contends, with much assurance,
that he has found, beside the name of the city, the true key to all
the extraordinary hieroglyphics to be seen there. Its real name,
according to this antiquarian, was _Otulum_, from the name of the
river washing the borders of the city.
From Palenque, the last town northward in the province of Chiapa,
says Del Rio, taking a southerly course, and ascending a ridge of
high land that divides the kingdom of Guatemala from Yucatan or
Campeachy, at the distance of six miles, is the little river _Micol_,
the waters of which, flowing in an easterly direction, unite with the
great Tulija, bending toward Tobasco. After passing the Micol, the
ascent begins, and at one-and-a-half miles from them, the traveller
crosses another stream, called by the natives, 'Otulum,' which
discharges itself also into the Tulija. Immense heaps of ruins are
here discovered, in every direction, which render the travelling very
difficult for nearly two miles! At length you gain the height on
which yet stand fourteen massive stone buildings, still indicating
the condition in which they were left by the people who, at some
remote age, dwelt within them. These, astonishing as it must seem,
have withstood the ravages of time for thousands of years; and now
present to the curious a character unlike that of any structures
which have come down to the present period of the world. Some are
more dilapidated than others; yet many of their apartments are in
good condition. It was impossible for the enthusiastic explorer to
proceed to an examination even of the exterior of these singular
buildings, until the thick and heavy forest trees, the piles of
crumbling fragments, and the superimposing earth, had been removed.
Two hundred men were therefore obtained among the natives, who, with
various implements, proceeded to the laborious work of removing the
many obstructions upon, and immediately surrounding, the remaining
buildings. All the means necessary to the execution of this difficult
part of the enterprise could not be made available. In about twenty
days, however, the task of felling the forest trees, and of consuming
them by fire, was accomplished. Some of these trees, according to
Waldrick, who has since distinctly counted their concentric circles,
were more than _nine hundred years of age_! The workmen now breathed
a freer air, and viewed the massive structures, disencumbered of
the dense foliage which had enveloped them. From the summit of
the mountain, forming a ridge to the plain, these buildings were
presented at its base, in a rectangular area, three hundred yards in
breadth, by four hundred and fifty in length, in the centre of which,
on a mound sixty feet in height, stood the largest and most notable
of these edifices. During a part of the time employed in prosecuting
the work, a thick fog pervaded the plain. This may have arisen from
the retention and condensation of vaporous clouds in this region,
more than five thousand feet above the level of the sea. On the
clearing away of the forest, however, a pure atmosphere existed, and
the venerable relics stood boldly in view.
From the central temple, (for such it was,) was seen stupendous heaps
of stone fragments, as far as the eye could reach; the distance to
which they extended, being traversed, was more than eight leagues!
They stretched along the base of the mountain in a continuous range.
The other buildings, which so long resisted the devastating influence
of time, were seen upon high and spacious mounds of earth, and all
surrounding the principal _teoculi_, or temple, above-mentioned.
There were five to the north; four at the south; three at the east,
and one at the west; all built of hewn stone, in the most durable
style of architecture. The river Micol winds around the base of the
mountain, at this point of the ancient city, and was here nearly
two miles in width. Into this descend small streams, which wash the
foundations of the buildings. Were it not for the forest, a view
would here present itself, calculated to excite the beholder with
the profoundest emotions. Here and there might be seen the crumbling
remnants of civil, sacred, and military works. Walls, columns,
tablets, and curiously-sculptured blocks, fortifications, passes,
dykes, viaducts, extensive excavations, and subterranean passages,
broke upon the sight in all directions. Even now, the observer sees
many of these specimens of art diversifying the scene before him. The
bas-reliefs and hieroglyphics fill him with wonder and enthusiasm.
The field of research and of speculation seems, indeed, unbounded,
which way soever he turns his eye.
The natural beauty of the scene is also unrivalled; the waters sweet
and pure, the locality charming and picturesque; the soil rich and
fertile, beyond any other portion of the globe; and the climate
incomparably genial and healthful. Natural productions teem in wild
and luxuriant profusion. Fruits and vegetables, which, under the
hand of cultivation, undergo the happiest modifications, are every
where seen in the greatest abundance. The rivers abound with numerous
varieties of fish and molusca, and these streams being large, afford
every facility for navigation, in almost every direction. The people
are presumed to have maintained an active and peaceful commerce with
their neighbors, whose ruined cities have recently been discovered
in different directions, and which we shall hereafter have occasion
more particularly to notice. The great Tulija opens a passage for
trade to the province of Tabasco, on the sea-coast of Catasaja. The
Chacamal, falling into the great Usumasinta, presents a direct route
and easy passage to the kingdom of Yucatan, where it may be supposed
was their principal depôt of commerce. The rivers afforded them short
and uninterrupted communications east, north, and west. The primitive
inhabitants of the province of Yucatan, from the similarity of the
relics there found, and from the obvious analogy of their customs and
religion to those of Palenque, were in the closest bonds of alliance
with their Chiapian neighbors. Indeed, from all the evidence we are
enabled to collect in relation to this people, they must have enjoyed
a felicity more pure and substantial than that of any other nation on
the face of the globe.
In the opening of our next number, we shall present a brief
description of one of the principal structures to which we have
alluded, as having so long outlived their Palencian founders;
satisfied that these noble relics, which have come down to us through
gray antiquity, must possess deep interest to all inquiring minds;
connected as they are with a people, all records of whom are lost to
the world.
AN ALBUM SONNET.
LADY! I thank thee that I here may wreathe
My name with many whom thou lovest well;
Though not in 'words that burn, or thoughts that breathe,'
Can I the wishes of my bosom tell:
But there is nothing I need ask for thee,
Of aught to maiden's heart most deeply dear;
Yet there is one thing I need wish for _me_--
It is, to keep my memory fadeless here.
This much I know thou wilt to me accord,
Although I give thy clustering hair no flattering word,
Nor praise the flashing of thy clear, dark eye,
(Though praise them as I might, I should not lie;)
Here then I leave these wishes of my heart--
May I be unforgot, and thou just such as now thou art!
G. P. T.
THE HEIRESS.
'THE passion which concentrates its strength and beauty upon
one object, is a rich and terrible stake, the end whereof is
death. The living light of existence is burnt out in an hour,
and what remains? The dust and the darkness!'
L. E. L.
ENDOW'D with all that heart could wish,
With all that wealth could bring,
I 'mov'd amid a glittering throng,'
A vain and worshipped thing.
From myriads who beset my path,
My heart selected thee;
Though lips of love thy follies nam'd,
Those faults _I_ could not see.
That wealth was mine, I heeded not,
And cared not to be told;
To one I deem'd of priceless worth,
How mean a gift was gold!
My beauty was a brighter dower,
And worthier far to be
The vain oblation of the hour
That saw me pledged to thee!
Thy bride--for thus was plighted faith,
And pledge and promise kept;
I smil'd deridingly on those
Who look'd on me, and wept:
I dar'd my doom; that reckless smile,
Its memory haunts me still,
Recurring 'mid each change to add
Intensity to ill!
Amid each change--and change to me
Has been with evil fraught,
Yet long I vainly sought to gild
The ruin thou hadst wrought;
Beneath the stern, unjust rebuke,
Love's holy silence kept,
And at a cold and thankless shrine,
I worship'd while I wept!
I learn'd to look upon the brow
Where stern indifference sat,
But love--the love a rival shared--
I could not witness that!
I saw thee on another smile,
I mark'd the mute caress,
And blush'd in agony to think
I could not love thee less!
The shaft has entered!--other hand
Had vainly aimed the blow;
With thee I had unshrinking met
A world of want or wo;
With thee I fearlessly had dar'd
Each form of earthly ill,
And 'mid the desert, bird and flower
Had gaily met me still.
The shaft has entered!--even thou
Wilt weep to learn my fate;
Oh, would that I could spare the pang
Which then will come too late!
Alas for life, which from the past
No closing light can borrow,
Whose story is a tale of sin,
Of suffering, and sorrow!
REBECCA.
FRANCIS MITFORD.
NUMBER TWO.
LONDON!--in solid magnificence--in all that the most visionary dreams
of wealth can imagine--where is her parallel! Paris may surpass her
in grace; the never-ending sound of joy that echoes through the
streets of the French metropolis, may pleasingly contrast with the
commercial solemnity which pervades her; but she alone has achieved
that imperial crown which cities like her only can wear, and which is
only to be won by centuries of untiring enterprise.
Five thousand a year in London is no great things. A man may, to
be sure, appear among the great world, by its aid; but it can only
be in _forma pauperis_. If he seek to imitate those by whom he is
tolerated, he is ruined. Thus fared it with our hero. A desire
to appear even as a star amid the constellations by whom he was
surrounded, led him to ape, still at an humble distance, their
extravagances. But this was enough to destroy him. His house, his
horses, and his chariot, in due time came to the hammer, and for the
benefit of his creditors. But still Mitford had a thousand guineas
left. Though reduced to poverty, he did not despair; but the source
to which he looked was a delusive one. He turned to gaming, and
invoked the spirit of chance.
Oh, Gaming!--of all vices thou art the most seductive, for thou
assailest us through our avarice. What the merchant feels, when his
ship is on the seas--what the broker feels, while the rise or fall
of stocks is yet undecided--that delightful agony of suspense, which
flattering Hope whispers may be decided in his favor--all this the
gambler feels, while yet his stakes are on the table. From other
vices a man may be divorced. The bottle he may relinquish--women he
may forswear--but gambling, never!
Mitford was in the habit, since the decadence of his fortunes, of
visiting those palaces of vice which, in defiance of the severest
laws, rear their pernicious heads in the most public portions of
the British metropolis; the more seductive, because they put forth
all the blandishments of the most refined elegance--mirrors, Turkey
carpets, the most exquisite wines, and last, though not least, a
_cuisine_ over which Ude himself might have presided without a blush.
It may be said, 'Why are not these houses put down?' It must be
responded, that in a free country, abuses of liberty will always
take place. No good is inseparable from its concomitant evil. The
magistracy once upon a time determined to be firm. Some of the gaming
houses were attacked; the iron doors were forced; the barred windows
were escaladed. Some of the proprietors, and twenty of the votaries,
were captured, together with the guilty instruments of their
occupation.
From Bow-street they were released on bail. The case came on to be
tried at the Clerkenwell Sessions.
What an array! Three clergymen, two lords, sundry merchants and
gentlemen, indicted for a misdemeanor, subjecting them to the
discipline of the tread-mill! The usual forms were gone through; the
prisoners pleaded not guilty. What sane culprit ever does otherwise?
Counsellor Phillips closes for the defence, urging the usual
clap-traps of 'Liberty of British subjects,' 'violation of private
rights,' etc. 'Shall it be said, gentlemen,' continued he, 'that we
shall not transact what business, or enjoy what amusement, we please,
in our own houses, without being subject to the interference of the
armed myrmidons of the police? Gentlemen, it is the duty of every
citizen to resist such gross encroachments on his rights. For my
part, were my house assailed, I would do what I have no doubt you
would, defend my threshold to the last drop of my blood, and with a
pistol in one hand, and a dagger in the other, deal merited death to
the aggressors.'
The jury were wonderfully tickled. Verdict, 'Not guilty!'
On the foundation of this verdict, rose Crackford's palace, at which
in one night a million has changed hands, and the average never falls
below three hundred thousand! Whoever doubts the lamentable, nay,
hideous consequences often resulting from this fatal passion, should
ponder well on the following, too well authenticated to admit of
skepticism.
A lieutenant in the army, a most meritorious officer, strongly
attached to play, found himself suddenly plunged by this addiction
deeply in debt. His resources, save the scanty means derived from his
commission, had long been swallowed up. Nothing was left, except to
sell his commission, and then what fate awaited his lovely wife and
three children! In the horror of the thought, an idea seized him, as
guilty as it was desperate. A certain nobleman, of singular habits,
he was informed, would traverse a little-frequented part of the
country, on a stated night, bearing with him a large sum of money,
the produce of his rents. The lieutenant determined to rob him.
Lord S---- was rolling tranquilly along in his carriage, enjoying the
most placid state of mind, and felicitating the country at large and
himself in particular, on the very great security with which nightly
journeys could be made on the high roads, and which his lordship, in
no inconsiderable degree, attributed to the legislative wisdom of
his ancestors. At this moment, a horseman, enveloped in a capacious
cloak, and mounted on a heavy charger, rode against the leaders with
such force as to bring them to an instantaneous stop. To fell the
postillion and coachman, open the door of the carriage, and present a
pistol at his lordship's head, was the work of a moment.
'Your money or your life!' cried the robber, in a tone of assumed
roughness.
Lord S----, if he had all the dignity, had also inherited all the
courage, of his ancestors. He replied by pulling a trigger at the
speaker's head. The weapon missed fire.
'Such another attempt will cost your lordship your life. Deliver
instantly all the money your lordship has in your carriage.'
'On my word, young man, you are very peremptory; and though I cannot
say I admire your proceeding, yet I suppose I must comply. Here is a
purse containing fifty pounds, and here are two diamond rings, which
I have just now disengaged from my fingers, to their very sensible
inconvenience.'
'This, my lord, is not sufficient. I know you have a sum of three
thousand pounds placed under the right seat of your carriage.
Despair, my lord, has driven me to this desperate purpose. That sum
you must deliver up, or I shall stop at nothing to obtain it.'
'Really, Sir, your precise information as to my affairs is admirable.
Here, then, is the box containing three thousand pounds--as I should
be extremely sorry to embrace the alternative you insinuate.'
'Your lordship will excuse the inconvenience to which I have been
forced to subject you, and be assured I only accept this as a loan.'
'My good nature is extreme, and I will even extend it so far, on one
condition; which is, that you favor me with a meeting, this day three
months, at the entrance of the Coliseum.'
'If your lordship will pledge me your honor not to adopt any
unpleasant measures, and not to refer to this untoward event, I
certainly will.'
'My honor is pledged,' said his lordship, his hand on his right
breast.
'And I will comply,' replied the robber, riding off with his booty.
'Jasmin! Turquoise!' exclaimed his lordship to his discomfited
coachman and postillion, 'if your brains are not knocked out, pray
re-mount and proceed.'
The 'interlocked,' who happily happened not to be in the predicament
suggested by his lordship, obeyed orders, and the carriage proceeded.
* * * * *
THE appointed time for meeting had nearly arrived. Lord S---- was
entertaining a distinguished colonel at his mansion in Belgrave
Square. His lordship related to him the event, and the robber's
promise. The colonel laughed at the idea of the meeting. 'Do you
really think,' said he, 'your highwayman is so ambitious of the
halter as to be punctual?'
'I am persuaded,' said Lord S----, 'that something extraordinary
must have driven that young man to this perilous step. My idea is to
reform him. You must come with me.' The colonel consented.