fire, which collected crowds of people together, and subjecting them to the exciting causes of the disease, gave to it an impulse which in a very short time seemed to extend to every part of the city." However, the citizens seemed to say, "a 'plague' upon your croaking, we are determined to see the launch." And see it they did, the only fever apparent was one of excitement, from which the "malignant" mortality list did not afterwards appear to be increased. The North Carolina was a seventy-four-gun ship, 196.3 feet in length, 53 feet beam, and in depth 22 feet, the cost of constructing the vessel, including labor and material, being $431,852. She being considered of immense proportions, fears were entertained by many that the depth of water at the launching-ways would be insufficient to launch the vessel safely, and we quote from the New York Daily Advertiser of September 5th, 1820, a communication written by a ship-builder of Gotham, in which he gives his views upon the subject: "Having observed from the notices given in the Philadelphia papers that the 7th of September was the time decided upon for the launching of this important ship, from a knowledge of the practice usual in such cases of fixing upon a time when the tide is higher than commonly, I was led to expect such a tide on the day appointed. From these considerations I have been induced to find the comparative height of the high tides of the 7th and 22d of the month. Not knowing the actual rise of the tides at Philadelphia, I had to content myself with discovering their comparative elevation on the days above mentioned; the result for the 7th was 42, and for the 22d was 56; that is, the height of the former to the height of the latter is as 42 to 56. So that the height of the tide on the 22d will be one-fourth of its whole quantity greater than that of the 7th. It may, however, be a fact that it requires no more than an ordinary tide for conveying this mighty fabric with ease and safety to its destined element. If so, what has herein been said and done must pass for innocent speculation, but if an unusual elevation of the tide waters should be deemed more proper for the undertaking, the 22d of the month would have been in a high degree preferable to the day appointed. The time of high water at Philadelphia on the 7th instant will be at 1h. 50m. P.M., and on the 22d at 1h. 46m. P.M.; the launch on either day should therefore take place between threequarters past one and one-quarter past two in the afternoon.". It would appear that Naval Constructor Humphreys let the advice contained in the foregoing communication "pass for innocent speculation,' as the day of launching was not changed to the 22d, but on the 7th, at twenty minutes after two o'clock, the stately craft slid from her cradle into the bosom of the Delaware. On the following day Commodore Murray issued the following circular: "The Commandant of this Navy Yard feels it as a duty incumbent upon him to express his entire satisfaction in the conduct of the officers attached to the Yard, as well as those on the station, and also the officers and men of the Marine Corps,' for strict attention to the orders of the day in the launch of the United States ship North Carolina, so ably organized and conducted by the Naval Constructor, and it affords the highest gratification. to learn that in the assemblage of such a vast concourse of citizens collected upon the occasion not one accident occurred or the least confusion or dissatisfaction took place, all the spectators being accommodated in viewing the noble ship gliding into her destined element." In consideration of the satisfactory manner in which the shipwrights and other employés of the Yard conducted themselves on the occasion, a holiday was given to them all. The Philadelphia Gazette, in speaking of the launch, says: "The concourse of spectators in the Navy Yard and on the surrounding eminences, on board the various steamboats and other vessels. moored in the river, was immense, exceeding, on a moderate calculation, forty thousand souls. The vessel descended into her element in a most majestic style, amid the roar of cannon, music from several fine military bands, and the acclamations of the assembled multitude. It gives us pleasure to add that, notwithstanding this vast assemblage, no accident of the slightest nature occurred." From the time of the laying of her keel until the day of launching was one year and seven months, which in those days was looked upon as marvellous in the way of expeditious shipbuilding. After remaining at this Yard for some months, she was sent to Norfolk in charge of Lieutenant E. A. F. Vallette for the purpose of being fitted out at that port. From 1825 to 1827 she was at tached to the Mediterranean squadron as the flag- free." 1837 to 1839 as the flagship of Commodore H. E. Ballard, after which she returned to New York, where she has since been employed, under various commanders, as the receiving ship at that Navy Yard until October 1st, 1869, upon which day she was sold by the government to private partiesmaking the career of this ship as a man-of-war forty-seven years, during which period it has been stated that she cost less for repairs than many another vessel of much less tonnage. OUR NATIONAL SOBRIQUET. THE early French colonists of Canada called their neighboring colonists, south of them, Anglais, which, in French, is usually pronounced Anglé, although some put a broader sound on the last vowel. As the French grew to mix with the Indians who bordered on their colonies, as well also with numerous tribes from the interior whose hunting excursions often extended to the haunts of the pale faces, the Indians being unable to pronounce the word Anglais, called it Yankais. By this title the colonists south of Canada came to be known. Between the French, Indians and English the word was finally corrupted into its present form of Yankees. The words Yankais and Yankaise are, however, still heard occasionally in some seaports of France -though not very commonly used-to distinguish some American goods. gin with the song of "Yankee Doodle" which was introduced during the French and Indian war by a Dr. Shackburg, of the British army. When the British army was encamped on the Hudson, recruits came pouring in from the surrounding country in fantastic dress and various equipments. Their singular appearance excited mirth among the well trained British regulars, and suggested the song of "Yankee Doodle" to Dr. Shackburg's mind, which he at once wrote out and recommended to these mottled reinforcements as a celebrated martial air. The origin of the tune, however, can be traced back to the reign of Charles I. Whatever may be the facts of the origin of the word Doodle, it is true that our forefathers accepted both the name and the song, and that about a quarter of a century after Dr. Shackburg made his kindly contribution to our epic literature, Lord Cornwallis and his troops marched into the However prudent a government may be it can-American lines to this same tune of "Yankee not restrain its subjects at home, individually, from a feeling of arrogance towards those born in its colonies. It is the difference between metropolis and province. This quality or condition is prominent with Anglo-Saxons and Castilians. Some say, it was the prompting of this feeling among the English metropolitans-coupled with the apprehension that Anglais might sometimes be confounded with Yankais-with the consequent desire to make the name unmistakably distinctive, that they affixed the word Doodle. Another authority says that Doodle had its ori Doodle." Spain, also, has a nickname for the people of Mexico and all Spanish America-Guachinango. The stubborn persistence with which the Cubans prosecute their war for independence, coupled with the war of the Yankee colonists for their freedom, suggests the vague possibility of an alienating influence growing out of these royal epithets-a sort of patriotic undertow-which contributes some unseen force to the current that finally cuts the sand from under the feet of national arrogance. If we consider our appropriation and use of the word Yankee we can find no reason in history why 1Author of "Gold, and Free Banks," ," "The Grangers," etc. it should have any more directness of application to New England than to any other section of the United States. It is true that New England has contributed early and largely through its hardy whalemen and its trading vessels, in floating the American flag upon every sea, and in impressing its peculiarly patient, orderly, industrious and commercial habits upon the whole country; still it is not New England alone who is responsible for our Yankee sobriquet any more than it is New England alone who has made the Republic. New England may be the head; it is not the father. The Middle and Southern colonies and States have contributed their quota of brawn which has gone forth with the muscle of New England bearing our star of empire westward. The Puritan precision of Massachusetts, the Quaker conservatism of Pennsylvania, the Religious tolerance of Maryland-as evinced in 1634 by the Catholic leaders, Sir George Calvert and Lord Baltimore-and the chivalric qualities of the Southern colonies, have all blended to form the character of the Republic whose manifest destiny is apparently unbounded. Whatever use we may make of the word Yankee among ourselves, it is certain that whenever it comes to us from abroad-whether with satire or praise or otherwise-it falls upon us alike and equally. We cannot, either historically or logically, reduce the word to provincial application; nor did it have any such use or meaning in its inception. Outside of the United States all persons who are born in the land bordering north on the British colonies, and south on Mexico, are called Yankees. One can hardly fail to observe, when travelling in Europe, that the Englishman takes care to demonstrate to every man he meets, that he was not born on the banks of the St. Lawrence, by not blowing words through his nose, even to such extent that he aspirates a sound when he should not. He makes this his distinguishing mark between himself and the Yankee, and to him every man born in America is a Yankee. The people of Spanish America do not reason unjustly in questioning the propriety of applying the word American exclusively to the people of the United States. They find force in the suggestion that it would hardly be correct for any one nation of Europe to be known exclusively as Europeans. A black man, born in Savannah or Omaha, and going from Missouri or Texas, as a teamster, to Chihuahua, Mexico, is known there as a Yankee, because he speaks English-even if he does not sound his r's nor blow "nuffin" and "sah "' through his nose. In the interior of Mexico he is called a Guinea Yankee-not yet a Saxon nor an American, but still a Yankee. Fairly and literally the sobriquet is national, or nothing, in its application. Whatever it is, it is the only gift that the Republic ever accepted from abroad. Whether it was thrust upon us by accident or arrogance we adopted it and made much of it. Whether it clings to us through habit or through want of a better name, we may yet make the most of it. Who knows but that ere our history shall fold down another hundred years, we may call our country, officially and historically, Yankee-land, our Republic and our manners Yankish, and all our men and women Yankees? What if the sobriquet had an obscure origin, to be used by our British patrons as synonimous with humility, or poverty, or satire? The name of the Romans had as humble an origin as the straw adorning their helmets, and yet our highest laudation in more modern times has found shape in “the noblest Roman of them all!" What if it were thrust upon our uncovered brows as a brand or stigma? May there not be that within the heroic elements of the Republic which may transform it into a diadem of renown! What if it were created with a primitive or provincial implication, merely to distinguish the hornyhanded tiller of colonial soil from the loyal subjects of a royally descended prince or ruler? Princes descend from slaves;" and the royal ancestor was at some time a sturdy rover, slaughtering men and preying upon the spoils of battle, and, like William the Conqueror, acknowledging no law but "The good old rule, the simple plan, That he should take who had the power, What if the glory of the Republic were born in the shadow of its unharrowed hills? The glory of empires was born in the valley of death. What if the jean vestments of Yankees were spun of toil? The purple robes of Princes were woven of carnage. SCULPTURE POPULARIZED AND UTILIZED. ART CONNOISSEURS, who are observers of men and things as well as of art, cannot but notice that often rough, crude, inartistic pictures, pictures which actually offend their nicer taste, appear to appeal successfully to the popular eye, reach the popular heart, and win widespread admiration, while gemma præclara et eximia of art scarce win a glance of the merest approval, or at best receive but a flat, careless commendation. tured family," as I have said-one of them a writer of excellent fiction, and another a wellinformed and 'discriminating literary critic, while all four were well-educated and well-read. The simple fact is that, as a people, Americans are too practical and utilitarian in their tastes and ways to attain much knowledge of the finer characteristics of the fine arts, and a pure gem of art often fails to interest them because they do not I recollect attending, some years since, a really excellent exhibition of Paintings and Statuary, as the escort or guide of a highly intelligent and cultured family, a family born and reared in the American Athens, and deservedly eminent among a large circle of the elite of Boston society; I attempted at first to act the part of guide, because I had been distinctly selected for that role; but, finding that my taste and theirs could not accord, I soon subsided into an interested observer of my guiding companions. A noble Rubens, a perfect Reynolds, a grand Bierstadt, and other masterpieces of the most eminent masters, were passed with generally but a careless glance; one of Sully's studies of grace and beauty provoked an insipid "That's pretty! Don't you think so, Bertha?" and a very indifferent "Yes! quite pretty!" An inimitable Kensett admitted of a ten seconds' pause and a nod of approval, and a Lake George scene by T. A. Richards actually gained a semi-hearty verdict of Very pretty!" But I was not so much pained at the slighting of my favorites, as I was astonished at the enthusiasm evinced over a daub which should have been excluded from the Gallery, and the warm eulogy unanimously (by the four critics who made up the family) bestowed on an impossible fancy badly painted by-(I omit the name, as the painter has since become an artist incapable of producing another equal to this), and above all was I wonder-struck and rendered speechless when I was appealed to to tell my com- If my above remarks are accepted as correct, panions" What does that superb painting repre- my readers will readily understand why sculpture sent?" the superb painting being an apparent tra- has so long been a sort of select art in this counvesty of a wild scene in some unknown (to me at try, with a small number only, and those chiefly least) world, with a marvelous grouping of human in our larger cities, who could appreciate its speand other animals. cial beauties and admire its grander features. This family was "a highly intelligent and cul- Sculptors have themselves largely to blame for the comprehend it, while, precisely for the like reason, a picture far less meritorious or even destitute of merit from a critic's standpoint, will afford real pleasure and excite enthusiasm. It may be that an improved era of art taste is about to open in this country; at least, the generous efforts making to found public galleries in our principal cities I cannot but hope will result in some advancement in the popular education in the fine arts. lack of popular interest in their art. They have devoted their talents too much to the production of classic figures and groups-mythological deities and heroes, historic personages of long-past ages, and ideal creations in harmony with the sublime fancies of poets and dreamy artists-such have been their favorite themes, and such cannot be favorite themes with the practical, utilitarian American masses. They have had their appreciative admirers, their hearty eulogists, and their wise patrons; but their admirers, eulogists and patrons have been few, too few. Of late years, some of our American Sculptors have been learning practical wisdom or imbibing the American sentiment, and have turned their attention to subjects, no less worthy of their best efforts, though better calculated to achieve popularity and profit. While I admire the noble sculptures of the great artists, even when their subjects are of the kinds I have spoken of above, I cannot but feel a special delight when I see an American subject, treated by an American master-artist, the result being an American masterpiece which appeals not only to my critical taste as an art connoisseur, but to my inmost national feeling, my mind and heart, as an American. I may be tempted some day to attempt a review of the Sculptural Art in America, but my present purpose is to speak very briefly of an American artist who is entitled to the gratitude of every American for the noble work he is accomplishing in popularizing and utilizing Sculpture. He has at sixteen years of age, he was employed for about two years in a dry-goods store in Boston; then turned to civil engineering for a time, but soon quit this in consequence of some injury to his He then, at Manchester, New Hampshire, became an apprentice to the trade of a machinist, at which he worked for eight years in all, at the close being for a time superintendent of a railroad repair-shop in the West. During all these years he found his recreation in making clay sketches. He longed to devote himself to sculpture, but for years it seemed impossible. At last, in 1858, he made a trip to Europe to learn what he could of that branch of art. But he had no taste for classic styles, and saw little encouragement to attempt the development of his own style, and reluctantly. determined to continue modeling only as pastime, and to resume business; accordingly he entered a surveyor's office in Chicago, as draughtsman. He could not, however, subdue his longing for artwork, and learning of a peculiar method of casting intricate figures, he modeled his group of "A Slave Auction," resigned his situation, and went to New York in December, 1859. He learned the art of casting from an Italian, mastering all its details. Shortly after this, the War broke out, some of his little "war groups" brought him into notice, and his statuettes have since gained him fame and very satisfactory pecuniary returns, Mr. Rogers has made a "new departure," |