APPENDIX

The wedding of the waters of Lake Erie, with those of the Hudson, is to be solemnised on the twenty-sixth instant, and we are happy to observe that marriage feasts are making ready in every part of the State. It will be seen, by another column, that a banquet will be prepared in our own village, and that servants have gone forth to invite many guests.

As the conclusion of this gigantic work draws near, the enthusiasm of the public spreads far and wide. Loud and deep will be the shouts of triumph which rend the air when the signal gun announces the work is completed!

The rapidity with which this immense work has progressed, is a matter of profound astonishment. The opinions of learned men, the estimates of experience, the computations of science, and even the visions of fancy, have all been disappointed in the time required to accomplish the great work of the age.

In eighteen hundred and eight, a resolution was first submitted to the Legislature, by Joshua Forman, Esq., of Onondaga, on the subject of the Erie Canal. Mr. James Geddes surveyed the whole route in eighteen hundred and nine. In eighteen hundred and ten, the first commissioners were appointed, and in eighteen hundred and eleven, they submitted a favorable Report to the Legislature. The Legislature of eighteen hundred and twelve appropriated a sum not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, to commence the work of internal improvements! During this year unsuccessful applications were made to the General Government, and the several western States and Territories for assistance. In the mean time the public opinion was divided, both as to the practicability and the expediency of the project. A great proportion of the people thought it an extravagant, if not an idle project, and all concurred in the opinion that if ever completed, it must be by the posterity of the generation which commenced it. It was uniformly spoken of, by the learned and the ignorant, as the work of fifty or an hundred years. So strong and settled was the conviction that this work could not be accomplished within the brief space allotted for life, that almost every person would have said, I desire to live no longer than to see this Canal completed.

In eighteen hundred and seventeen, commissioners were appointed to commence the work, and the ground was first broke at Rome, on the fourth day of July, of that year. As late as the Session of eighteen hundred and nineteen, and after many thousand dollars had been expended, a strong effort was made to arrest the work, and a large minority of the House of Assembly actually voted against making any further appropriations! When the engineers -were surveying the route, and told the farmers, upon whose lands they were sticking their stakes, that, in a few years, boats would pass their doors, they either laughed at what they conceived a hoax, or stood amazed at the splendour of the project.

But all fears were soon dissipated - every obstacle yielded to the strong arm of enterprise; the lofty forest - the dense swamp - the rugged hills - and the solid rocks, all gave way to the muscular and untiring power of industry. The Work is finished! Our brightest, highest hopes, are all consummated. Let the shouts of triumph be heard from Erie to the Atlantic, and from the Atlantic resound back to Erie. Let the air itself be made vocal with our pæns of exultation and gratitude.

At twenty minutes past eleven o'clock this morning, the joyful intelligence was proclaimed to our citizens, by the roar of artillery, that the great, the gigantic work, of uniting the upper Lakes with the ocean, was completed, and that exactly an hour and twenty minutes before, the first boat from Erie had entered the Canal, and commenced its voyage to New York. This proud intelligence having been communicated in the same manner to Sandy Hook, and notice of its reception returned to the City, the return salute was commenced at Fort La Fayette, by a national salute, at twenty-two minutes past eleven, and the sounds of our rejoicing sent roaring and echoing along the mountains, and among the Highlands, back to Buffalo, where it was doubtless received long before this paper went to press.

The salute having been received at Albany, without a moment's delay was continued along the banks of the Hudson in the following order:--

After the national salute from Fort La Fayette, at thirty minutes past eleven o'clock, a repeating gun was fired from Fort Richmond, and followed at Governor's Island, and at the Battery, New York, at thirty-one minutes past eleven o'clock, A.M., and the firing was then continued up the river, as follows:--

Thus in the short space of eight years, has a mighty work been accomplished by New York, unaided and alone, which will for ages stand high in rank among the wonders of the world.

The Committee of the Corporation of the City of New York, assisted by the Sub-committees, representing the Merchants and Citizens -- the several Mechanic Societies -- the Military -- The Fire Department -- The Literary and Scientific Institutions -- the Members of the Bar, and other Associations, have agreed unanimously to commemorate the Great State Work, which unites the waters of the northern and western Lakes with the Atlantic ocean, in the following manner:--

        1. The Grand Salute, which is to begin at Buffalo, on Lake Erie, precisely at ten o'clock A.M. on the twenty-sixth of October, when the first boat enters the Canal from the Lake, will be continued, in rapid succession, from Buffalo to the City of New York, and so down to Sandy Hook, and forthwith returned by cannon, of the largest calibre, from Sandy Hook through the City of New York to Lake Erie - making, in distance, a grand total of one thousand and eighty-eight miles.

        2. A National Salute will also be fired from the battery, the moment that the line of cannon shall have announced that the boat has left the Lake, and safely entered the Canal. One hour and twenty minutes is allowed for the information to reach New York, and the like time to acknowledge at Buffalo that we have received it.

        3. Alderman Davis and Alderman King, in behalf of the Corporation of the City of New York, have repaired to the seat of the Government of this State, and will from thence proceed to Lake Erie, and communicate to our fellow citizens, through their Committees, the measures that will be adopted on this great occasion by the City of New York, and the high satisfaction that the Corporation will receive by meeting our fellow citizens of the north and of the west, and along the whole line, and from every part of our State, in the waters of the City of New York.

        4. On the day that the Canal boat enters the waters of the Hudson River, she will be met by a steam boat, despatched from this City by the Corporation, which shall render to the Canal boat, her consort boats and canoes, with the aborigines from Lake Erie, every facility in passing down the Hudson River, to our City.

        5. Upon her arrival within the waters of the City of New York, a Committee of the Corporation, in a steam boat, bearing the large flag of the City, will meet her, and tender to her and to her passengers, the hospitalities of the City.

        6. It is expected she will reach our City by day break of Friday, the fourth of November. The precise day will be announced, so as to notify the whole City. Arrangements will have been so made, that she will pass the North battery precisely at seven o'clock, A.M. of the morning of her arrival. She will then receive a national salute.

        She will then proceed slowly down the river, attended by steam boats, pilot boats, and barges, all splendidly decorated. Upon passing the battery, to proceed up the East River, she will again receive a national salute. Pursuing her course along the east side of the City, she will pass the ship yards, Corlaer's Hook, the upper ship yards, and dry dock, stopping at the navy yard, where she will again receive a national salute. A frigate will there be dressed for the occasion. At the navy yard, the Officers of the United States Navy, who are the invited guests of the Corporation, will join the Canal boat, and proceed to the battery. The whole flotilla will reach the Battery precisely at nine o'clock A.M. where they will be met by the Mayor, the Corporation, and their guests.

        While the Canal boat, attended by the steam-boats, the pilot boats, and the barges, are passing the City, through both rivers, the Corporation, with their guests, will assemble at the City Hall, for the purpose of joining in the Grand Aquatic Display; and the merchants, the citizens, the military officers off duty, and all the Societies, will prepare for the Grand Procession through the City.

        1. Charles Rhind, Esquire, assisted by the Committees of the Marine and Nautical Societies, the sea captains and captains of steam boats, the harbour masters and wardens of the port, and the Committee of the pilots and bargemen, will station the whole line of boats, and direct the order in which they shall move. All boats which unite in the procession, and carry passengers, will conform to the regulations prescribed by Mr. Rhind, assisted by the Nautical Committees.

        2. To enable Mr. Rhind, assisted as aforesaid, to conduct the whole line of boats to the ocean, and return them to the Battery by three o'clock, P.M. so that the whole aquatic party may unite in the Procession of the citizens and societies, the Corporation will assemble in the City Hall, at eight o'clock, A.M. where their guests will meet them punctually, and proceed on board the boats at the Battery, precisely at nine o'clock, A.M. By this hour it is respectfully requested that all the ships and vessels in the harbour be suitable decorated.

        3. The whole Aquatic Procession will leave the Battery for the ocean precisely at nine o'clock, A.M. A national salute will then be fired from the Battery. They will pass Castle Williams, when another national salute will be fired. As the Procession passes Fort La Fayette towards the ocean, it will again receive a national salute, which will be repeated as the Procession returns to the City.

        As the flotilla approaches the ocean, it is expected that a deputation from Neptune will be sent to know who the visitors are, and the object of their coming. Upon being informed, it is anticipated that a skilful pilot will be sent to conduct it to his dominions.

        When the fleet is met by the monarch of the deep, his Excellency, the Governor, will unite the waters of the Lakes with the ocean.

        Dr. Mitchill having obtained the pure waters of the Elbe; the sacred waters of the Ganges, the overflowings of the Nile, the waters of the Amazon, the Oronoco, the La Plata, of Columbia River, of the Thames, the Seine, the Neva, the Tagus, and from every quarter of the Globe; will unite these waters with the ocean, as an emblem of our commercial intercourse with all the parts of the world.

        The Honorable C.D. Colden will present to his Honor, the Mayor, at the request of the Committee of the Corporation, a written Memoir upon the importance of the subject. This Memoir will be deposited in the City Archives.

        After this, the whole fleet, disposed in due order, will then return from the ocean to the Battery, and anchor in line, precisely at three o'clock, P.M. There they will receive another national salute.

        4. The line of boats being formed close to the Battery, the Societies will pass them upon the broad paved circular walk, along the margin of the water, and receive from the Corporation those demonstrations of respect which are so eminently due to so great, industrious, and patriotic an assemblage of our fellow citizens.

The Sub-committee appointed to proceed to Buffalo, for the purpose of tendering and receiving congratulations in behalf of the Common Council of the City of New York, on the completion of the Grand Erie Canal, and to invite a Committee from each of the Towns and Villages on the route to unite with the citizens of New York in celebrating that happy event,

                REPORT,

That, on the nineteenth of October last, they proceeded on their mission to Buffalo, and travelled principally by land, in order to obtain a more perfect view of the western section of this great and flourishing State; and their minds were filled with mingled emotions of pride and gratitude at beholding the fertility of its soil -- the grandeur of its scenery, -- the enterprise of its inhabitants, and their progressive improvement in all the arts and sciences that can exalt our natures, or contribute to the comforts and elegancies of life, which so far surpassed the many glowing descriptions of that enchanting region, that any representation that may be attempted of it, must fall far short of the reality. The enraptured eye of the traveller turns with delight from one scene of natural beauty to another, in a constant succession of endless variety. At one moment it glances over a wide range of cultivated farms, with their neat dwellings and spacious out-buildings, at once indicating the comfort and wealth of the proprietors; at another, it views a majestic river, pursuing its course through fertile valleys, and bearing on its bosom the sails of commerce and the products of industry: here are seen herds of cattle, spread over extensive fields of grain, grazing on their delicate blades, to check their excessive luxuriancy, whilst others fed on the distant mountain side, or in the rich meadows below. A recent frost had tinged the foliage of the forests with the variegated colours of autumn, well calculated to produce emotions "painful, yet pleasing to the soul." From a scene so delightful the attention of the traveller is suddenly arrested by the sight of a City, sprung up as if by magic, on a spot where lately a desert frowned, and the wild beasts roamed unmolested, save by the chance arrow of a savage huntsman; here regular streets are lined by substantial brick or wooden buildings, many of which are magnificent in extent, and adorned with all the chaste elegance of Grecian architecture. Nor had the inhabitants confined themselves to the construction of private dwellings alone; but justly considering in what true wealth and happiness consist, have erected, in each town and village, some elegant and spacious edifice devoted to learning, and not unfrequently two or three beautiful churches pointing their lofty spires to the heavens.

Through such a country your Committee were reluctantly urged on to Buffalo, in four days. On their arrival they were received by a Committee of the village, consisting of Judge Wilkeson, Captain Joy, Major Burt, Captain Dox, Doctor Stagg, and Messieurs Potter and Wells, and were greeted with a cordial welcome by the intelligent and grateful inhabitants of Buffalo. Here your Committee procured two barrels of the pure waters of Lake Erie, to be commingled with those of the ocean, and two logs of native red-cedar and one of birds-eye maple, were put on board the Canal-boat for the purpose of being made into boxes to enclose medals for the different guests.

In the course of the day the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor arrived, and were received with due honor by the inhabitants.

The dawn of the twenty-sixth was ushered in by a revellie from a band beneath our windows; and soon after the military were formed, whose appearance and discipline, it is believed, are not excelled by any in the State. At ten o'clock they escorted the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and other guests, on board the Canal boat, "Seneca Chief," destined for New York: then those cannon, which so lately sounded our country's glory on the Northern Lakes, proclaimed the accomplishment of a work which, under the circumstances which attended its commencement and progression, stands unrivalled in the annals of the world: at this signal we started in the first boat, amid the cheers of an assembled multitude, to traverse a new path from the Lakes to the ocean, and in every countenance was depicted a deep felt gratitude to Heaven, for having opened to them a source of wealth and prosperity, the extent of which cannot yet be conceived by the mind of man.

On reaching Black Rock, intelligence was received that General Porter, with his party, had started the preceding evening, in an elegant boat, richly laden with the products of the west, intending to join the party at Albany, and thence to proceed to New York.

Passing on we stopped at Lockport, and the various towns and villages on the line of the Canal, at the precise hours previously appointed, and of which all were fully apprized. Those towns and villages vied with each other to honor the Chief Magistrate, to whom, and other enlightened statesmen, under the auspices of a divine Providence, they felt indebted for the great blessings resulting from the union of the ocean, with the great western waters, in anticipation of which they already had enjoyed a pleasing foretaste. It is needless to add that your Committee, as the representatives of the City of New York, received their full share of all the honors and festivities prepared for the occasion, nor did your Committee fail to impress on the minds of their western brethren, the generous sentiments which the citizens of New York entertained towards them; and to assure them that the Corporation of New York, in common with their fellow-citizens, deemed the completion of the Erie Canal an event calculated to exalt the character of the State, and to promote its best interests, not only as it affords the means of extending its commerce, but that it will bring together the citizens from the remotest corners of the State, and thus enable them to cultivate that friendship and mutual good feeling which the citizens of New York are so desirous of promoting, and which is so necessary for cementing our Union. In behalf of the Common Council your Committee invited the citizens of each city and village through which they passed, to appoint a Delegation to join them in celebrating the happy event, assuring them that on their arrival at our shores, they would find a people with open arms and open hearts to receive them.

It was particularly gratifying to your Committee to find that those sentiments were invariably received with the utmost cordiality, and as heartily reciprocated. To give even an outline of the splendid entertainments at the different cities and villages at which the boat stopped by appointment, would be impracticable, as they occurred in such rapid succession, that it precluded even the possibility of taking note. At each place, however, some distinguished individual congratulated the party in behalf of his fellow-citizens, which was reciprocated, in an appropriate manner, by his Excellency, the Governor. The approach of the party was announced at every stopping place by the discharge of cannon, and the military attended to escort them to some hotel, at a short distance from the landing, where tables spread with sumptuous viands and choice wines were prepared for their refreshment, and numbers of citizens united to render these entertainments agreeable. In the night time were super-added illuminations, rockets, displays of fire-works, and transparencies, descriptive of the happy occasion they were intended to celebrate, and also to pay a deserved compliment to the distinguished individual who had contributed so much towards its completion.

Your Committee would fain give a brief description of the hospitalities received by the party at Rochester, Utica, and several other places, but this would be doing injustice to other villages, whose exertions were not less honorable to themselves, nor less acceptable to the party. At Rochester, after partaking of a splendid entertainment, the party received a most valuable accession; an elegant boat had been built for the purpose called the "Young Lion of the West," freighted with the native products of their soil, and many valuable articles manufactured by their artists, with several rare animals from the forests. In company with this boat, having on board a Committee of the most distinguished gentlemen of that village, your Committee proceeded on their route.

Although the hurry of the jaunt admitted of little rest, yet the constant succession of new scenes, added to the unabated exertions of each gentleman of the party, to contribute his share towards increasing the happiness of all, was more than equivalent for its loss.

But amid this boundless scene of pleasure, one unhappy accident occurred, at Weedport, which it becomes the painful duty of your Committee to notice. The patriotic citizens of this place had made every preparation for suitable rejoicings, and amongst the rest cannon had been planted on the margin of the Canal, and two sober and discreet mechanics selected to manage them; on the approach of the boats guns were fired, and whilst the Governor and party were seated round the festive board, the sad intelligence was announced that the two gunners were blown to atoms in their attempt to re-charge a gun. This accident tended not a little to mar our future pleasures, and is here stated in the hope that it will call forth not the mere sympathies, but something more substantial, form a humane and generous community, for the benefit of their surviving widows and children.

On arriving at Albany, on the second of November, we were joined by a Committee of our brethren, Alderman Wyckoff and Mr. Hone; and here great exertions were made to do honor to the occasion. A handsome procession was formed, and marched to the Capitol, where an ode was sung; and an eloquent petition made to the throne of grace by the Reverend Mr. Lacey, after which our worthy colleague, Mr. Hone, in behalf of the corporation and citizens of New York, delivered an elegant congratulatory address, followed by Mr. James, Chairman of the Albany Delegation, and the Lieutenant-Governor, in his peculiar happy manner, reciprocated their congratulations on behalf the western Committees. The procession again formed, and proceeded to the New Bridge, where a sumptuous entertainment had been prepared by the citizens of Albany, for themselves and their guests, and of which they partook. The guests were then conducted to one of the most splendid hotels, and there received every attention that the Albany Committee had prepared for them. On the following morning (November third,) six steam-boats, dressed with the flags of different nations, were put under the direction of your Committee, at whose invitation the numerous guests of the Corporation repaired on board, at about ten o'clock, among whom were, besides the Committees of the west, the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of the State, Generals Stephen, Solomon, and Jacob R. Van Rensselaer, Simeon De Witt, Mr. Geddes, Hon. A.S. Conklin, the Treasurer and Comptroller of the State of New York, together with a most respectable Delegation from Albany.

On the voyage down the Hudson this splendid fleet was greeted by a discharge of cannon at every town and village on its banks; at night the public and private buildings of each village were brilliantly illuminated; in some, rockets were discharged, and in others bon-fires were kindled, to demonstrate the joy of the inhabitants. These exhibitions were the more grateful because it was evident that the inhabitants rejoiced not so much on their own account, as on that of their western friends, with whom they were now to be more closely united.

On arriving at West Point, about the middle of the night, the officers of that post, upon special invitation came on board the fleet, and brought with them an elegant band of music. The fleet had been expected to pass the garrison at an earlier hour, and every preparation had been made by its Commander to pay suitable honors to the distinguished citizens on board, but owing to the lateness of the hour these honors were paid in advance, and before the appearance of the fleet. The officers proceeded with your Committee to New York, as guests of the Corporation, and it was pleasing to witness the heartfelt gratulations which they exchanged with their fellow-citizens on the joyous occasion. Your Committee would do injustice to their own feelings were they to omit acknowledging the obligations they were under to Mr. Charles Rhind, and Captains Lockwood and Wiswall, for the very able manner in which they conducted the fleet down the Hudson; under the immediate command of the former, aided by the two latter gentlemen the entire flotilla was kept in regular order, varying its positions at pleasure, by means of signals; nor are your Committee under less obligations to those gentlemen for their care and attention in providing rich entertainments on board the fleet for the guests of the Corporation. Thus circumstanced, your Committee need scarcely add that a more happy party never traversed that river, since its first discovery by the great and enterprising navigator whose name it bears.

The sun rose upon the morning of the Fourth of November, through an unusually clear and cloudless sky, and it seemed as if the beneficent smiles of Heaven were shed upon the accomplishment of the great work which had been achieved under its own auspices. At seven o'clock the fleet arrived at the North Battery, where it was greeted by a national salute; at this moment the steam-boat Washington, bearing the standard with the arms of the City appeared in view, making its even and rapid course towards the flotilla. On coming up it was found that the Committee of Arrangements of the Corporation of New York, had gone out to meet and welcome their guests, and your Committee now found all the assurances they had given to their fellow-citizens of the west, more than realized; pleasure beamed in every face, and gave at once a passport to the heart. What followed is reserved for other and abler hands to describe. Your Committee now close their Report, by adding a list of the gentlemen invited by them as guests of the Corporation, viz.:--

        Which is respectfully submitted,

ELISHA W. KING        
WM. A. DAVIS.            

        New York, Dec. 10, 1825.

ADDRESS

OF

GOVERNOR CLINTON

UPON

MINGLING THE WATERS OF LAKE ERIE WITH THE ATLANTIC.

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"This solemnity at this place on the first arrival of vessels from Lake Erie, is intended to indicate and commemorate the navigable communication, which has been accomplished between our Mediterranean Seas and the Atlantic Ocean, in about eight years, to the extent of more than four hundred and twenty-five miles, by the wisdom, public spirit, and energy of the State of New York; and may the God of Heavens and Earth smile most propitiously on this work, and render it subservient to the best interests of the human race."

ADDRESS

OF

PROFESSOR MITCHELL.

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The Governor having poured into the Bay the keg of Lake Water, and concluded his observations, Dr. Mitchill was invited by the Recorder, pursuant to the order of business, to perform the next part of the ceremony. This consisted of an effusion of waters from various bottles, derived from several European rivers, significant of the connexion between our North American States, by navigation and commerce, with the countries through which they respectively run; though, in mingling these samples from abroad with the stream of the Hudson, there was a more particular allusion to the trading and social intercourse between New York and the cities on their several banks.

The waters from the Elbe, the Thames, the Seine, and Tagus, having been thus disposed of, though various others were on hand, the solemn act was followed by an address in the following words, from Doctor Mitchill to R. Riker, Esq. as the representative of the Common Council and Chairman of the General Committee of Arrangement.

"The present is a day memorable in this eventful age. Let it be scored white in the calendar for ever. The celebration now held is a sequel of that which took place a little more than two years ago at Albany; then, in the figurative language allowed to poets and orators, the LORD OF THE SEAS wedded the LADY OF THE LAKES.

"Man delights in types and symbols. They are often very useful and significant. The ring presented to the bride is a token of her husband's earnest affection and plighted love; a handful of soil, and a cutting from a tree received from the granter of an estate, give rightful possession to a purchaser; the olive-branch is the emblem of peace; in the rite of baptism, the application of pure water to the body is intended to denote the state of the soul under newness of life; and, on the late occasion, the mixture of the briny fluid from the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, with the saltless water of the Canal, was an emblem of the consummated union between the high and mighty parties.

"The imagination possesses a sort of creative power -- it can vivify and enliven every thing. Johnson wrote of Shakspeare,

              "Each shade of many-coloured life he drew;
              "Exhausted worlds and then imagined new."

It is an admirable trait in the constitution of the human mind. Fact, in many instances, acquires illustration from fancy. Fable, ever since the instructive invention of Jotham, and the moral compositions of Pilpay, has been acknowledged to be one of the agreeable and impressive modes of conveying truth; and fiction, even in the grave proceedings of the law, is resorted to for the purpose of happy elucidation.

"Hence the ancients, in consideration of the great importance belonging to rivers, elevated them to the rank of deities, and constructed temples near their sources, where the figure of the presiding one was placed. His posture was that of reclining on an urn, from which water gushed: a grotto was generally the seat of it. Thus, the Tiber, the Nile, the Tigris, the Danube, and the Po, among numerous other streams, were considered as having a tutelary genius of exalted rank, sung by the bards, and even figured by the sculptors. The river-gods were attended by beings of a nymph-like character, called Naiads. It was a modern and happy improvement in these matters to ascribe a female form and attributes, to the chief allegorical personage of the fountains, and to distinguish her by the becoming title already mentioned.

"Under similar impressions it has become customary to portray personified Liberty, with her staff and cap; Hope, with her anchor; Faith, with her cross; Temperance, with her pitchers; Justice, with her sword and balance; and even Death itself, a negative power, or non-entity, with a dart, and the power to strike. So Time has his scythe and hour-glass; Janus, or Space, his four faces; and the Soul of Man the shape of a butterfly.

"It was no wonder that the Ruler of the Deep should have become enamoured of our incomparable Belle; it was natural enough he should, during the years of assiduity it cost him to win her, have composed stanzas like these--

            "On the wings of the wind that Atlantic supplies,
                "And the flood of the river as upward it goes,
            "I forwarded tributes of tears and of sighs,
                "Bidding breezes and waters convey her my woes:
            "But wretch that I am! behold Auster return,
                "Declaring how weary he threw down his load.
            "And the stream which the Hudson effused from his urn,
                "Ebb back the whole freight that my fondness bestowed."

"Since the nuptials were celebrated, she has taken time to arrange her lands and tenements, with their appurtenances, and to superintend many internal and domestic concerns of peculiar moment. These, having been completed, she now comes forth, as a lawful and virtuous partner, to behold and possess the domain of her august spouse. This is the liquid expanse now open before us, equal to three-fourths of the surface belonging to the terraqueous globe; in it she has full jointure and dower, which should any pirate, freebooter, or disturber of any kind, dare to invade, the wrong will be avenged by ten millions of freemen, who owe her homage, and are ready to assert her rights, with all the courage, strength, and blood, that may be necessary. These are the citizens who, by that combination of labour and skill called Industry, have rendered the quaking bog arable, and the solid upland navigable.

"She has been received with a most cordial welcome. Her progress through an artificial river, more than three hundred miles long, was unexampled. At her annunciation obstacles of every kind disappeared. Was an excavation necessary for her accommodation? -- the rocks disparted and made room. Was an embankment required? -- the ground rose to its proper elevation. Were locks and reservoirs necessary to go up and down declivities? -- they sprung into being and performed their functions. What happened to Homer's Juno before, might almost be said to have again befallen this divinity of ours--

            "Touched by her secret key the doors unfold;
            "Self-closed behind her shut the valves of gold."

Was water demanded to facilitate conveyance? -- the ponds and brooks joyfully furnished their stores. During her journey, the voices of freemen all along the line, uttered shouts of gladness. The mouths of cannon told in strong accents her majestic movement. Illumination, song, and dance, honored the dignified march.

"And, what an accompaniment was there? Michigan, and Huron, and Erie sent their flotillas. Greenbay and Chicago now consider Michillimakinac and Detroit, heretofore frontier posts, as but places of refreshment on the voyage. She arrives rich in friends and produce. Never was there an indication of so much wealth and fortune brought by a wife to her husbands; the farm, the mine, and the manufactory, send their diversified and invaluable products; and, what is more, cultivated man, in the image of his Creator, attends in his best mood and array, to witness and assist the exhibition.

"Appear then, thou Monarch of the boundless Main, who, being immortal like thy helpmate, never waxeth old, and gaze at the spectacle! a procession through this estuary or arm of thy dominion, in boats, vessels, and floating structures, never equalled in kind or equipment, by any aquatic expedition, for the distance of more than fifty leagues. The sail and the oar were not enough to urge the moving mansions along -- the irresistible force of steam was made auxiliary in the work, or rather it may be said to have performed the part of a principal. Such was the appearance that it brought to mind Virgil's notice of the Roman fleets at Actium--

            "It seemed as if the Cyclades were free;
            "Were raised once more, and floating in the sea."

"Advance, I pray, and salute thy visiter. Thy attention is also solicited, surrounded as thou are by Nereids, with their corals, and by Tritons, with their shells, to the intelligence newly arrived from distant climes.

"Offerings, of amicable meaning, meet us here. The foreign river-gods, on hearing that this celebration was meditated, have begged leave to join their libations to ours. Their petition has been granted.

"The ELBE, whose water has been poured out and united with that of the Hudson, has been informed that his donation was most acceptable; that it was considered a token of the commercial connexion subsisting between the noble rivers; and, that, in the pacific relations of the two hemispheres, it was prophesied, for a long time, there would be no interruption. He was requested to tell the Bohemian, Saxon, Prussian, and Danish Kings, -- the cities of Dresden, Hamburg, Altona, Bremen, and all the towns situated on or near his banks, that the kindest feelings existed towards them.

"The THAMES, whose fluid is famous for its potable qualities, as well as for brewing and dyeing, was told that his contribution had been well received and applied. The mingling was understood as the sign of a cement between nations which ought never to have been divided; but having been separated by destiny, ought, nevertheless, always to cultivate the best relations. He was instructed to proclaim from his residence, near the confines of the Severn, to the learned bodies of Oxford -- to the Royal House at Windsor -- to the commercial and high-minded inhabitants of London -- to the naval constructors and heroes at Deptford, Greenwich, and Chatham, and to all others within his reach and influence, that his meaning was perfectly comprehended and duly appreciated.

"The gift of the SEINE, that affords drink to the metropolitans of a most polished and important nation, has been cordially accepted, and similarly employed. His genius has been informed, at his abode, away behind the calcarious basin of Paris and the formation of quartzybuhr, when our manufacturers of flour procure the material for their preferable mill-stones, that he was honored in grand form, on this auspicious day.

"The contribution of the TAGUS has been received and disposed of like the preceding samples. A message has been forwarded to his residence, beyond the mountains of Estremadura, to this effect; and he has been instructed to inform the people who speak the Castilian tongue, from Biscay to Andalusia, how we entertain the expectation that the valiant Spaniards may soon experience a happy deliverance from their commotions. A corresponding expression of sentiment has been directed to the Portuguese. To both was extended the sentiment, that as we might be accommodated with certain productions of theirs, and themselves with certain articles of ours, the parties were sufficiently apprised of the reciprocal accommodation, to forbid, without the gravest cause, even a suspension of the intercourse.

"Turning from the Eastern hemisphere to the Southern section of the Western, the offerings of the Oronoko, the Amazon, and the Plata, entreat an incorporation with our liquid element; their presidents, seated high on the snow-capped and cloud-covered Cordilleras, have been already told that we are not wholly uninformed of the regions their floods penetrate on their route to the vast receptacle of waters; that we hail their emancipation from European dependence; and that we look forward to the time when their almost illimitable countries shall be inhabited by a self-governed and virtuous people.

"In performing those acts of the day, there is another occurrence too memorable to be omitted. As in the celebration of religious rites, the water, in the hands of pious and qualified ministers at the altar, becomes consecrate and holy, so, the several portions of aqueous element employed in these ceremonies have become renovate and republican. Strange as it may seem, the operation has not ended here: the virtue infused with them (and although heretofore possessed by our own, never with so strong a tincture) has spread from this spot by a combination of mechanical impulse, chemical attraction, and diffusive propagation, through the whole mass of waters, with an electrical rapidity and a magnetical subtilty, that authorises me to pronounce the circumfluent Ocean republicanized!

"IT IS DONE!

"Sire! he who now accosts you, has no contrivance to conjure up new associations of ideas, nor to utter them in phrases novel, or unheard before; yet, if he did possess that power, he would tell you how this recently-imparted influence would henceforward co-operate with its phosphorence to render it luminous, and with its salinity to continue it wholesome; -- he would portray freedom pervading the billows, and rolling with every wave to the shores, and trace its workings upon the compacted continents and scattered islands comprehended within its embrace. Had he the ability, he would observe that this renovating and regenerating spirit would rise, by exhalation, into the atmosphere, and impart some of its qualities; -- that it would inpregn the clouds, and descend in rains and dews; -- that it would enter the vegetables and animals which constitute the food of the human race; -- and that, finally, the frame of man himself would be gradually so modified and mended by it, that at length even the sable and savage tribes dwelling in the tracts bordering on the Senegal, the Gambia, and the Congo, shall lay aside their ferocity, and enjoy, as we do ourselves, LIBERTY UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE LAW.

"It does not occur to me that much more remains to be said. It may however, be solicited after this testimony of our allegiance that leave be granted us to depart, that the brilliant assemblage now present, may join their friends and fellow-citizens, occupied during the time we have been here, in processions and rejoicings on shore, and who anxiously wait the communication of the message you may vouchsafe to authorise.

"I pronounce this connection -- Blessed; for perpetual and incalculable will be its benefits."

After which Mr. Colden made his communication, &c. &c.