swamp, by the mild and elevating influences of Christianity; the chief aim of the following work will be, to trace the circumstances that gradually have led to the present attitude of a people who are great and prosperous.

The earlier settlers upon the North American continent brought with them the lights which intellect and experience had, through progressive ages, diffused over the western world. The happiness of the daring few, who had exchanged persecution for liberty, allured emigrants from every portion of central and western Europe, until, in time, the few scattered bands grew into a vast and mighty people; who, bearing for awhile the yoke of foreign domination, at length became impatient of misrule, and bursting their fetters, asserted and conquered a right to be admitted into the brotherhood of nations.

But long ere this result had been attained, a gradual tendency to cohesion of the separated members of the great Transatlantic family, encouraged aspirations for liberty that penal laws were powerless to suppress, and coercion fanned into an unquenchable flame of patriotism. We shall proceed, however, in the first place, to trace the geogra phical divisions of the country, and then follow the progressive growth of territory under the monarchical and republican governments-taking the several provinces or states in the order of their original settlement.

The continent of America, situated between the 16th degree of north latitude and the Arctic Ocean, by which it is bounded on its northern side, is enclosed on the east by the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico; on the south by the same gulf and Central America; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The coast-line being deeply indented with gulfs, bays, and inlets, gives a length, from Hudson's Bay to the Florida channel, of about 4,800 miles; and from thence to Panama, about 4,500 more. On the Pacific side, the whole length, including the coasts of the Gulf of California, has been computed at 10,500 miles; but of the extent of the northern and eastern shores no conjecture has yet been hazarded. Taking it, however, at a probable length of about 3,000 miles, a coast-line is given of some 22,800 miles. Any estimate of the area of a region so irregularly shaped, must be exceedingly conjectural; but it is generally computed to comprise, in round numbers, about 8,500,000 square miles. De Bow, superintendent of the Census Bureau at Washington, has given the entire area as embracing 8,373,648 square miles; of which, 3,306,865 belong to the United States: the remainder being divided as follows:-British America, 3,050,398; Mexico, 1,038,834; Russian America, 394,000; Danish America, 384,000; and Central America, 203,551. As the object of this work is necessarily confined to the portion of this vast territory known as the United States of America, it is not necessary to refer further to the other divisions mentioned as constituting the aggregate of the great northern continent.

The nucleus of civilisation, which at first appeared only as a bright speck on the western horizon, was encompassed by all the magnificent wildness of nature, and all the untameable ferocity of savage life. This nucleus, however, progressively expanded over the vast area around it. The dense forests have yielded to the axe of civilisation; the ploughshare has upturned the beautiful and wide-spread prairies; the mighty rivers teem with floating palaces, laden with the fruits of the land, and the people in motion; the tomahawk, the scalping-knife, and the war-club, have become but relics of a past savage age; the symbols of Christianity, and the temples of learning, are now scattered over that vast country. To the free and unlimited exercise of religious faith,

and the general diffusion of knowledge without price, is to be ascribed the prosperity of the American nation.

The precise order of the colonisation of the United States, might be considered, progressively, according to the dates of the charters; but we deem it best to consider them respectively, having in view their relative organisations. We shall, therefore, proceed at once to give a brief notice of the whole domain of the United States as it now exists, including the states and territories.

VIRGINIA. The province of Virginia, one of the southern states of the American Confederacy, was first discovered in 1584, although not colonised until 1607. The first discoveries were made in that part now within the state of North Carolina, adjacent to the Ocracock inlet. The first settlement was formed in May, 1607, and called James Town, upon the banks of the James River-called by the Indians, Powhatan River. this time there were no limits to Virginia; but subsequent charters narrowed its territory: so that, at the beginning of the war of 1775, it only contained the territory of the state as now held, and the state of Kentucky, then called Fincastle County.

Prior to the declaration of independence, in 1776, the colonies formed armies, and defended themselves against every invading foe. Even after the formation of the united army, under Washington, Virginia organised an independent home service, for the especial protection of its frontiers. General George Rogers Clarke had command of the western division; and his successes north of the Ohio River, at Fort Vincent, Kaskaskia, and Cahokia, gave to Virginia, at the close of the war, by the treaty of peace in 1783, the whole north-west territory, now known as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota. This vast region was held by conquest; and, at the treaty of 1783, it was conceded-solely, however, through the resolute and determined course of Mr. Adams, one of the American commissioners. In 1784, Virginia ceded the north-west territory to the Confederation, formed as a perpetual union in 1781; and, in this change of jurisdiction, among the conditions was one, that not more than five states should be formed out of the ceded domain; and another, that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory;" and "provided always, that any person escaping into the same, from whom labour or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original states, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labour or service as aforesaid."

On the 1st of June, 1792, the state of Kentucky was admitted into the Union by the consent of Virginia, passed in 1789. By these relinquishments, the domain of Virginia was reduced to its present boundaries. Its area is estimated at 61,352 square miles. The area ceded was about 280,000 square miles.

No state in the Confederacy presents a greater diversity of surface than Virginia, from the mountains of the interior, and the rugged hills east and west of them, to the rich alluvions of the rivers, and the sandy flats on the sea-coast. It has also, probably, a greater extent of mountainous country within its limits than any other state; although the general elevation of it is inferior to that of New Hampshire and North Carolina-the highest land, White-Top, in Grayson County, being clevated not more than 6,000 feet above the sea-level. Virginia has been divided into the following geographical sections-1. The Tidewater district, bordering on the Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay;

highest parts. 2. The Piedmont district-more varied and elevated in surface than the first-named section. 3. The Valley district, which is entered by ascending the Blue Ridge, the spur of the great Alleghany chain on the east, which passes from Maryland into Virginia, near Harper's Ferry, about fifty miles north-west of Washington. This district is crossed by the different ridges of the Appalachian great chain. 4. The Trans-Alleghany district, lying west of the mountains so designated. This portion of the state is mostly hilly, and occupied by outlying spurs of the Alleghanies.

The mountains extend across the middle of the state, in a south-west and north-east direction, forming a belt of from 80 to 100 miles in width. The Blue Ridge forms, as before stated, the eastern barrier of the mountainous region; and the Laurel, Green Brier, and Great Flat-Top Mountains, the western. The Cumberland Mountains are on the boundary next Kentucky, and the Valley district is a table-land, elevated from 1,200 to 1,500 feet above tide-water. Virginia abounds in mineral treasures of the more useful sorts, and is not without a share of the precious metals: its gold mines are found in Fluvanna, Orange, Spotsylvania, Goochland, and Buckingham counties; and, according to the latest report of the secretary of the treasury, the gold received at the different mints of the United States, the produce of Virginia, since 1792, represented a value of nearly $2,000,000. The copper mines of Virginia are also productive, and an inexhaustible supply of coal lies within its bosom; the area of the coal region being estimated at 21,195 square miles-probably below the actual extent of it.

Virginia is distinguished for its fine navigable waters. Among them are the Chesapeake, which has its outlet in that state, and receives in its bay the waters of most of the rivers on the Atlantic slope of the territory: the Potomac, navigable, by the largest ships, to near Washington city, a hundred miles from the bay: the Rappahannock, navigable to Fredericsburg, for vessels of 140 tons: the York, and its branches, navigable for large ships, to York Town, forty miles: the James, and its principal affluent, the Appomattox; the former navigable to Richmond, and the latter to Petersburg, for vessels of 100 tons. The Chowan and Roanoke, with their numerous tributaries, rise in the south of the state, and find an outlet in Albemarle Sound, in North Carolina. Two branches of the Shenandoah drain the northern portion of the valleys of the Alleghanies. The Monongahela, Little Kanawha, Great Kanawha, Guyandotte, and Big Sandy rivers, drain the north-western slope of the state, and empty into the Ohio; and the Holston and Clinch rivers, with their smaller branches, rise in the south-west of the state, and pass off into Tennessee, to join the river of that name. This state is celebrated for its medicinal springs, which rise amongst the mountains of its central counties, between the Blue Ridge on the east, and the Alleghany Range on the west. The most noted of these are the Berkeley, in Morgan County; the Capon, in Hampshire; and the Shannondale, in Jefferson County. The passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge at Harper's Ferry, Madison's Cave, and the Chimneys in Augusta County; the natural tunnel in Scott County, through which the stream passes under an arch of 70 feet in elevation, with twice that thickness of superincumbent earth; the Falls of the Potomac, near George Town; the Weyers' Cave, seventeen miles northeast of Staunton, extending for about 2,500 feet beneath the earth's surface, and draped with sparkling stalactites, are objects of unfailing interest. Besides these, the greatest natural curiosity of Virginia is the Hawk's Nest, about nine miles from the White

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Sulphur Springs, on New River, where there is a perpendicular cliff, towering 1,000 feet above the stream, and producing an effect of sublimity even greater than that of Niagara itself. There is also a natural bridge over Cedar Creek, in Rockbridge County, probably formed either by the action of water during a long course of ages, or by some convulsion of the earth, which has produced a fissure, about 90 feet in width by 200 feet in height, to the centre of the arch, which is 40 feet in thickness. High up on this imperishable work of the Great Architect of the Universe, the undying name of Washington appears, as it was engraved by the hand of him who owned and immortalised it. Lastly, the Peaks of Otter (mountain summits between Bedford and Bottetourt counties) rise 4,260 feet above the level of the sea, and afford one of the grandest views to be found in the United States. Looking to the east and south-east from this elevated spot, the whole extent of the country, to the distant shore of the Atlantic, is spread like a variegated carpet at the feet of the spectator, and exhibits the beauties of nature in all their diversities and magnificence.

From the character of its topography there is great variety in the climate of this state. The low lands, near the coast, are hot in summer, and mild in winter; and the central or mountain counties have a cool and salubrious temperature. In the culture of tobacco, Virginia has always surpassed the other American states; and was the first in which its growth was encouraged by the hand of civilisation-the manufactured product being for some time used as the currency of the country. For the amount of flax produced it has ever been the second state in the Union: its other staples are Indian corn, wheat, oats, live-stock, butter, rye, wool, peas, beans, Irish and sweet potatoes, buck-wheat, rice, cotton, hops, wine, hemp, silk, and molasses.

Like the other states of the south, Virginia has engaged less in manufacturing than in agricultural pursuits; though, of late, the former has been yearly gaining more attention, and enlisting more capital.

At an early period, Virginia improved her means of communication. M'Adamised roads were constructed to various divisions of the state. Local roads were regularly improved by the aid of the inhabitants' labour. Canals were built; rivers made navigable by the process of slack-water-that is, by the construction of dams and locks, so that shoal streams are made to be navigable for boats and steamers. A system of railways has been devised; and, ere long, the extremes of her vast territory will be united by well-constructed railroads, of which there are, at the present time, many in successful operation.

Virginia has contributed her full share to the roll of American worthies, and especially claims for her own the illustrious name of Washington. Amongst the statesmen, jurists, and warriors, to whom she has also given birthplace, may be enumerated Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Lee, Patrick Henry, Clay, Marshall, and other great men who have occupied conspicuous positions in the progress of the Confederation. Upon her soil several important events of the revolution took place; the surrender of Cornwallis at York Town, in October, 1781, which virtually terminated the War of Independence, being not the least prominent among them. The presidential roll of the United States is inscribed with the names of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, Tyler, and Taylor; each of whom was a native of Virginia, and, by his wisdon.

NEW YORK.-Verrazzano, the Florentine navigator, it is believed, landed upon the American coast, within the present state of New York, in the year 1524. In 1609, the English navigator, Henry Hudson, in the service of the Dutch, entered the harbour of New York; and he ascended the beautiful river that bears his name, as far up as where Albany is situated. Some four years subsequently, a trading station and a fort were established at Fort Orange, on the banks of the Hudson, where Albany is situated. About the same time, New Amsterdam (now New York) was established on the south-west point of Manhattan Island. A fort and trading station were erected; and the fur business was carried on under a patent, procured from the Dutch statesgeneral. These settlements were considered as forming a colony, and was styled New Netherlands. In 1625, Peter Minuet was created the first governor of New Netherlands. At that time successful efforts were made to extend the settlements by emigration. In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived at Fort Amsterdam, as governor. The present New York was then called New Amsterdam. Stuyvesant was a man well fitted for the station to which he had been appointed. He had much experience as an executive, and his administration was efficient. He laid claim to all the lands between Cape Henlopen and Cape Cod. The right of the Dutch to these lands was subsequently disputed by the English; and, through an arbitration, considerably reduced in extent. Charles II., king of England, disregarded the claims of the Dutch to New Netherlands; and, in 1664, granted to his brother, the Duke of York and Albany, all the mainland of New England, from the St. Croix to the Connecticut and Hudson rivers, "together with the said river, called Hudson River; and all the lands from the west side of Connecticut River to the east side of Delaware Bay." This grant included all of the present state of New Jersey. At this time, the settlement on Manhattan Island was changed, in name, from New Amsterdam to New York, in honour of the Duke of York. There were about 3,000 inhabitants: many of them, on account of the change in proprietorship, returned to Holland. Colonel Nichols was the deputy-governor; and, through his efforts, many English emigrants were induced to join the new colony. Difficulties then arose between the Dutch and the English, and they continued for some years; but they were ultimately settled by the Dutch separating themselves, and fixing their homes at other places upon the Hudson river. The English, a more commercial people, held to New York. About 1678, the province of New York contained twenty-four towns, villages, and parishes. The annals of New York, as a province, abound with incidents of great interest: it increased in wealth and inhabitants to an extraordinary degree; and it soon became imperial as to population and wealth.

During the century preceding the war of 1775, New York had to contend with great difficulties. The French and Indian wars required her fullest energies of defence. Besides these, the government was in a continual contest with respect to her boundaries. The present state of Vermont was claimed by New York and New Hampshire; and both states pressed their titles to the same domain. The question was finally settled by the organisation of a new state in 1791. The territory between the Hudson river and the Delaware bay, became the state of New Jersey. After the relinquishment of its title to Vermont, by legislative enactment in 1790, the area of the state of New York was reduced to the present boundaries, estimated at 47,000 square miles.

The soil of New York was early saturated with the blood of the white man; and the