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history of the Ivory Christ. It is of unquestionable authenticity. The execution of such an image, by one who had never attempted any thing of the kind before, nor studied any anatomical models, nor acquired even a theory of the art, is a triumph of genius equal to the Iliad, and little less than miracle!

more.

X. TRINITY CHURCH.

(1845.)

THIS is pronounced the finest specimen of sacred architecture in the country. The style is Gothic; the material, red sandstone. It has no gallery, except a small one in front, for the organ and choir. The chancel is large and beautiful, with the pulpit at the left. There are a hundred and thirty-nine pews, calculated to seat about a thousand persons, and room enough unoccupied for nearly as many The towering colonnade of sixteen massive pillars, supporting the arched and beautifully wrought ceiling, presents a most imposing spectacle, producing in the beholder an impression of solemn grandeur; to which the party-colored light, streaming through the lofty windows of stained glass, and distributed in a thousand magnificent forms throughout the edifice, adds a splendor almost sufficient to delude one into the belief that he has entered the gateway of the New Jerusalem. As I surveyed

the vastness of the work, with its manifold and wondrous beauty, I mentally exclaimed, "Is not this place grand enough for a God!"

Much has been said, and much has been written, about extravagant expenditures upon Christian churches. I will not say that the money might not be better applied. But, surely, if any thing merits all the magnificence that wealth and art can give, it is Christianity. Why should not Christ have as splendid a temple as Moses? Must Paganism and Mormonism monopolize

"The princely dome, the column and the arch,

The sculptured marble, and the breathing gold;"

while the only true religion on earth dwells in unsubstantial edifices, totally void of taste, and scarcely adapted to convenience? Is it a mark of humility, to sing hymns to God in hovels, while we build. costly mansions for ourselves? Alas! it indicates a very different principle. How long shall we hear the cant of clutching avarice-is it any thing else?-against all splendor, all taste, in religion! Perhaps I am not as spiritually minded as some of my friends; but I can see nothing in convenience and comfort, nothing in a certain degree of magnificence, incompatible with the purest devotion. I think churches ought to be made attractive, impressive, in their architecture and appendages. I think I should love to worship beneath these solemn arches, within this glorious colonnade,

"With storied windows, richly dight,
Casting a dim religious light;"

looking up through the gold and emerald, the rose and violet, to Him who of old set the many-colored token of his covenant in the cloud; and listening to an organ whose powerful tones, with the blended harmony of its vocal accompaniment, should awaken a respondent anthem in my soul, and give me some faint conception of the chant of the "hundred and forty and four thousand," "as the voice of many waters and mighty thunderings," "upon Mount Zion!"

But the entrance into the vestry was the opening of the seventh seal. The first object that attracted my notice was the murdered Alexander Hamilton, in bas-relief, upon the wall, his noble characteristics frozen upon his brow; awakening a train of associations which runs back through the history of our country, a golden thread in the web of our national politics. On the opposite side reclines the venerable Bishop Hobert, rendering up his spirit into the hands of an angel, that bends, with outspread wings, to receive, and bear it to Abraham's bosom. Between the two stand the twelve apostles, looking down upon us as if they would say, "We came out of great tribulation, and washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." These are but a few of the more prominent figures. The place teems with monuments of the worthy dead. I stood in the presence of the past, and communed with the great and good of other years.

Having finished the survey of the interior, we ascended the tower. My strength was not sufficient

to carry me to the highest accessible point, which is two hundred and fifty feet from the pavement, and to be reached by three hundred and eight steps, though this is far below the top of the spire. From the elevation to which we attained, the view is indescribably imposing. It is glorious to look down upon the manikins that throng the pavement beneath; then to lift the eye along that mighty thoroughfare, Broadway, which seems but a narrow ditch, swarming with pigmy men, and horses, and vehicles, apparently the toys of children; and on either side the interminable field of walls and roofs, with its innumerable chimneys, steeples, towers and domes, stretching away to the north, till lost in the misty distance; and on the other hand, the harbor and the bay, with their thousand masts and snowy sails, the adjacent islands, Brooklyn, the Jersey shore; and beyond all, the vast and variegated landscape, reaching to the horizon all around, except in one direction; and there, the ocean—

"Dark, heaving, endless, boundless and sublime!"

XI. NEW YEAR'S DAY IN GOTHAM.

(1846.)

THE sun rose clear and cold upon a morn of Sabbath stillness. Shops, stores and offices remained unopened, and no sound came up from the street, save the shrill cry of the milkman, and the baker's

faithful bell, with the rattling of their light wheels over the frosty pavement. But within doors business flew apace, in preparation for the "New Year's Call." The long table stretched through the parlor, laden with delicacies, and beautified with flowers; and gay young creatures, in their best attire, waited, with eager joy, to greet their friends. It was not long before here and there a muffled form was seen, hurrying along to pay the expected devoir; and by nine o'clock the sidewalks teemed with gentlemen, rushing in every direction, as if the city had been surprised by an invasion. Then the happy faces within beamed still more brightly, and tongues became eloquently loquacious, and nimble feet were hurrying to and fro, "and all went merry as a marriage bell.”

Receiving no calls myself, I have nothing to do but sit at my window, watch the crowd, and make my observations. And what am I to think of this New Year's ceremonial? All vanity? No! Dig where you will, you shall find water, if you only dig deep enough. The springs of affection, it is true, are often concealed by the glittering gauze work of fashion, and many conventional restraints are imposed upon the outgoings of the heart. Ceremony circulates a vast amount of counterfeit coin, and it requires more than a noviciate to distinguish the real from the spurious. Still there is much of true friendship and affection, even in the convivialities of the New Year's festival. The

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