General Books

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN RAILWAYS. The condition of our railways, and their financial prospects, should interest all of us. It has become a common remark, that railways have benefited everybody but their projectors. There is a strong doubt in the minds of many intelligent persons, whether any railways have actually paid a return on the capital invested in them. It is believed that one of two results... more...

'THE CONSTITUTION AS IT IS—THE UNION AS IT WAS.' This has been a pet phrase, in certain quarters, ever since the rebellion broke out. The men who use it are doubtless well aware of the prodigious power of such cries adroitly raised. The history of their influence over the unreflecting masses in all ages would be one of the most curious chapters in the history of human nature. The phrase has... more...

HANOVER TERRACE, REGENT'S PARK. "The architectural spirit which has arisen in London since the late peace, and ramified from thence to every city and town of the empire, will present an era in our domestic history." Such is the opinion of an intelligent writer in a recent number of Brande's "Quarterly Journal;" and he goes on to describe the new erections in the Regent's... more...

The Engraving on the annexed page is, perhaps, one of the greatest antiquarian treasures it has for some time been our good fortune to introduce to the readers of the MIRROR. It represents the original SOMERSET HOUSE, which derived its name from Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, maternal uncle to Edward VI., and Protector of the realm during most of the reign of that youthful sovereign. The time at... more...

The fourth annual meeting of the Northern Nut Growers Association was held, in conjunction with the meetings of the American Pomological Society, the Society for Horticultural Science, and the Eastern Fruit Growers Association, in the new National Museum building at Washington, D. C, during "Fruit Week," November 17 to 22, 1913, the meeting of the Association being on the 18th and 19th. The... more...

THE CAUSES OF THE REBELLION. No other nation was ever convulsed by an internal struggle so tremendous as that which now rends our own unhappy country. No mere rebellion has ever before spread its calamitous effects so widely, beyond the scene of its immediate horrors. Just in proportion to the magnitude of the evils it has produced, is the enormity of the crime involved, on one side or the other; and... more...

EMANCIPATION IN JAMAICA. The luminous summary of statistical facts published in the March number of the Atlantic Monthly for 1862, has, in a few pages, conclusively settled the question whether emancipation in the smaller islands of the British West Indies has been a success or a failure. It applies the standard of financial results, which, though the lowest, is undoubtedly the best; for the defenders... more...

INTRODUCTION. To relate the history of the Philadelphia magazines is to tell the story of Philadelphia literature. The story is not a stately nor a splendid one, but it is exceedingly instructive. It helps to exhibit the process of American literature as an evolution, and it illustrates perilous and important chapters in American history. For a hundred years Pennsylvania was the seat of the ripest... more...

THE CONSTITUTION AND SLAVERY. There are two sections of the United States, the Free States and the Slave States, who hold views widely different upon the subject of Slavery and the true interpretation of the Constitution in relation to it. The Southern view, for the most part, is: 1. The Constitution recognizes slaves as strictly property, to her bought and sold as merchandise. 2. The Constitution... more...

AMERICAN FINANCES AND RESOURCES. LETTER NO. III. OF HON. ROBERT J. WALKER. London, 10 Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, December 3d, 1863. It is generally believed, even when the American rebellion should be suppressed, that there would be a great loss of wealth and resources on the part of the United States. As an economical question the great truth is not disputed by me, that, as a general rule, wars by... more...