230 AMERICAN MONUMENTS. the sale of public lands; one for the preservation of patents; and a department for registering the copyrights of authors in the United States. 941. Was General Washington's natural temperament calm and collected? When Gilbert Stuart, an English painter, remarked to him that his head and countenance indicated the possession of strong passions, he replied, "that it was true he was extremely subject to violent ebullitions of anger, which required the greatest vigilance and constant struggles to subdue." This victory over nature reflects more honour and merit on so great a soldier and statesman, whose conduct in public and private life was marked by undoubted purity, and equally free from corrupt, sordid, or mean motives. 942. Which of the American cities is called "The Monumental City?" Baltimore. The most important public monument is "The Washington Monument;" a noble Doric column of pure white marble, with a colossal figure of Washington on its summit, of the same material. 943. Which is the second monument of consideration? "The Battle Monument," erected by the Americans in memory of their countrymen who fell at the battle of North Point, when the British attacked Baltimore in 1814. Its effect is striking, though the design is incongruous. The base is Egyptian, rising to the height of about twenty feet from the ground, characterised by the lessening breadth of the square mass as it ascends; on each front is an Egyptian doorway; the whole is surmounted by a deep overhanging cornice, with the winged globe and other Egyptian symbols. Above this base rises a column which represents a CITY OF BALTIMORE. 231 Roman fasces, on the bands of which are inscribed, in bronze letters, the names of those who fell in the battle it commemorates. At the angles of the base are four griffins, and on the summit of the fasces is a figure called "The Statue of the City," holding a wreathed crown for the honoured dead, whilst the American eagle is placed at her feet. 944. Describe the third monument? This is "The Armistead Monument," erected in the Gothic niche of a building near the city spring, and set apart to the memory of the brave Colonel Armistead, who conducted the defence of Fort M'Henry at the entrance of the harbour, against the British, on the 13th of September, the day following the battle of North Point. 945. Is Baltimore famous for its springs and fountains? Yes, they add to its beauty and convenience. The city spring is enclosed by an iron railing, and covered by a dome supported by pillars; it is surrounded by trees and foliage, and has a pleasing effect. 946. Describe the other fountains. The western fountain is in another quarter of the town, similarly covered with a dome supported by columns, and is used for the supply of ships in the harbour of Baltimore with water. The eastern fountain is much larger, and adorned with more architectural beauty. It has an Ionic colonnade, open all round, supporting a roof over the spring, which is enclosed by iron railings. The centre fountain, in front of the market, is also an ornament to the spot. These fountains are a combination of beauty and utility; and the refreshing coolness of their atmosphere, the sparkling brilliance of the waters, the soothing murmur of their falling 232 HISTORY OF PENNYSYLVANIA. sound, and the air of freshness, luxury, and repose, all sources of enjoyments, are in themselves sufficient recommendation. 947. For what is Pennsylvania remarkable? For the symmetry of its plan, the neatness of its buildings, the air of repose and contentment, and its numerous institutions of benevolence, all bearing the impress of its founder,-the names Pennsylvania and Philadelphia indicating the benign spirit in which these appellations were conceived. 948. Trace the leading incidents of the history of the settlement of the state of Pennsylvania. In 1680, Charles the Second granted a charter to William Penn, for the settlement of Pennsylvania and Delawar, in consideration of a debt due to his father from the crown, which had not been paid, in consequence of the shutting up of the exchequer by the Earl of Shaftesbury. The conditions on which "the proprietary," as Penn was styled, held his vast and valuable grant, was the payment of two bear-skins annually, and a tribute of one-fifth of whatever gold and silver might be discovered in the province, which tribute was to be the personal property of the king. In 1682, Penn, accompanied by one hundred Quakers, left England, in three ships, headed by Colonel Markham, a relative of Penn, as deputy governor of the province. In addition to the English settlers, there were 3,000 Swedish and Dutch in the adjoining territory of Delawar, and subsequently an augmentation of numbers, of no less. than 2,000 persons of education, substance, and strong attachment to civil and religious freedom. In 1682, Penn summoned his first provincial parliament at Chester; and shortly after, the interesting negociation of a treaty with the Indians for the purchase of their MARRIAGE OF LOUIS THE SIXTEENTH. 233 land was commenced by commissioners appointed for the purpose; which treaty was ratified by Penn in person. 949. What was Penn's parentage and education? His father was an admiral in the British navy, under the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell; and in 1664, he made the conquest of Jamaica, and first added that valuable island to the British colonial possessions. He was subsequently unfortunate in an expedition against St. Domingo, for his failure in which, he was imprisoned by Cromwell in the Tower of London, and never again employed under the commonwealth. At the restoration of the Stuarts he commanded at sea in the Dutch war of 1665, with the Duke of York; but in 1668 he was impeached by the House of Commons for embezzlement of prize money, though this was never prosecuted to an issue. His son, William, was a student at the University of Oxford, but at sixteen he embraced the doctrines of the Quaker sect, which led to his expulsion from the University. He afterwards abandoned these notions; but visiting Ireland in 1666, he again associated with Quakers, and made an open, public, and solemn profession of his determination to adhere to their principles. 950. Was the marriage of Louis the Sixteenth and Marie Antoinette Joseph Jane of Lorraine, Archduchess of Austria, celebrated under fatal auspices? Yes; proper precautions not being taken to prevent the pressure of the crowd assembled at the festival of Paris, fifteen thousand persons died of suffocation. This melancholy event deeply affected the Dauphin, and he for several months appropriated a part of his revenues to the relief of the bereaved. The 21st day of the month was singularly ominous in the eventful reign of this monarch. On that day, in April, 1770, he 234 BASTILE DESTROYED.-FRANCE A REPUBLIC. was married; on the 21st of June the fête took place. The grand fête on the birth of the Dauphin was held on the 21st of January, 1782. On the 21st of June, 1791, his flight to Varennes; on the 21st of September, 1792, the abolition of royalty was decreed; and on the 21st of January, 1793, his execution. 951. What was the fate of his noble queen? Marie Antoinette, daughter of the renowned Maria Theresa, and Francis the First, Emperor of Germany, was tried by the revolutionary tribunal, confined in the common prison of the Conciergerie, and perished on the scaffold, a victim to the unprovoked barbarity and insolence of demagogues. 952. When was the Bastile destroyed? July 14th, 1789,-an outrage not to be lamented, save for its contempt for existing authorities, and the cruel murder of the governor, the Marquis de Launay. Louis the Sixteenth had positively declared on his accession, that he would never sign a lettre de cachet, and he had faithfully adhered to his oath. Seven prisoners, placed there by his predecessors, were liberated. 953. When did France assume the form of a republic? Immediately on the deposition of Louis the Sixteenth. The execution of that monarch, in the eighteenth year of his reign, and the fortieth of his age, is a memorable event in the annals of France: half a century has elapsed since the melancholy cavalcade of condemned royalty passed in gloomy silence, through files of revolutionary soldiers, to the scaffold erected in the Place Louis Quinze; but the demoralising principles of the revolution still degrade the character of the nation, and countless multitudes have suffered, victims to that tyrannic scourge, called "The Government of the |