SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.

Amerman. A Narrative of Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. By Richard I. Cleveland.

Prarrow, Num. W.Iiiam Laogsbawe, the Cotton Lord. By Mrs. Stone, Authoress of " The Art of Needlework." In two volumes. Bentley. PicestoLoor.

The Anatomy of Sleep; or the art of Procuring Sound and Refreshing Slumber at

Will. By Edward Mous, M.D., 2,4c. &c. Churchill.

CLEVELAND'S VOYAGES AND COMMERCIAL

ENTERPRISES.

Tors addition to Mr. MOXON'S cheap publications is a reprint, we imagine, of an American work, narrating the adventurous career of an American fortune-seeker, between 1795 and 1825. The scenes it embraces are pretty much the land and sea of "the habitable world" : France during the time of the Republic ; the Mediter- ranean and Naples under the Empire, when MURAT, by NAPOLEON'S orders, entrapped neutrals into the bay, and then confiscated vessel and cargo ; the Isle of France under Jacobin rule ; the Dutch and Spanish settlements, as well as India and China, when the great companies were the monarchs and monopolizers of these regions ; the whole Pacific line of Spanish America under the old Colonial system and during the struggle for independence ; Africa and the Western Indies at the time when the world was at war ; and Northern Europe as the meteor-like career of NAPOLEON approached its close. The matter of the work consists of the ob- servations made by Mr. CLEVELAND during his voyages, and a narrative of his mercantile speculations, including his enormous profits, his still more enormous losses, and his various adventures whilst playing his commercial game against the elements, the posi- tive colonial laws of mother-countries, and the interpretation of rival belligerents on the rights of neutrals,—for game it was, except when he was beguiled into Naples.

In its general structure and character, A Narrative of Voyages and Commercial Enterprises resembles DANA'S Two Years Before the Mast, and has something analogous in its style, being equally plain, though we question whether it is equally simple, having occasionally something of the Brummagem-refinement which dis- tinguishes American writers. In other respects, Voyages and Com- mercial Enterprises is very different. Mr. DANA'S book was more nautical and individual, unfolding the economy of a mer- chant-ship, the labours and hardships endured by private sailors, their habits at sea, and adventures on shore. Mr. CLEVELAND had been too long familiar with nautical life for it to have much prominence in his mind ; it was as natural as his own existence ; and when on shore, he was, in Major Dalgetty's phrase, "occu- pied with matters of more importance" than sailors' jollities and such-like affairs. There is, however, an individuality of another kind in Voyages and Commercial Enterprises, the individuality of " a merchant-adventurer" watching the results of great events, though quite incapable of comprehending them beyond their action on sup- ply in proportion to demand, and their consequent effects upon profits; ready, reckless, yet calculating the chances, and prepared at a moment's notice to undertake a voyage "as far as winds can waft or waters roll," if there is a good prospect of running a cargo, either by open management or under the rose. Superadded to this general character, and perhaps increasing its lights and shadows, is that of the enterprising Yankee, bent upon going ahead at a rapid rate, prompt at quitting one enterprise to take up another which promises greater profits ; and though elegaic under reverses, not cast down by them, but abandoning the wreck as soon as it is clear there is nothing worth saving, and casting about for another under- taking. These things give a pervading character and interest to A Narrative if Voyages and Commercial Enterprises. Besides the motion and variety springing from a rapid change of place and of fortune, there is a curiosity in observing the great profits made in disturbed periods, and an interest in tracing the still greater risks. After various voyages as sailor and skipper, RICHARD CLEVELAND found himself at Havre de Grace, in 1797, master of himself and two thousand dollars. With this sum, increased by the contribu- tions of friends "on half-profits," he purchased a cutter-packet of thirty-eight tons, that had been built to ply between Calais and Dover ; and sailed, with five hands and himself, for the Isle of France. Calling at the Cape, however, he sold vessel and cargo, at a satis- factory profit ; and shipped himself and property, first for Ba- tavia, and next to Canton, where he purchased a vessel, and an assortment of goods for the fur-trade with the Indians on the North-west coast of America. Struggling against the current and the monsoon, (which every one at Canton declared impossible,) and against a worse internal enemy—a mutinous and rt.ffian crew the outcasts of many a nation, only deserters from other vessels being then obtainable—he reached his destination ; returned to Canton in safety; and, after other commercial enterprises to the Isle of France and the North of Europe, his two thousand dollars of 1797 had grown in 1801 to forty-five thousand dollars. Another voyage in- creased this sum, in 1804, to seventy thousand dollars—a profit of thirty-five times the amount of the original capital in seven years ! But mark the end. A wreck of one vessel, and the confiscation of another by a British Vice-Admiralty Court, (the nature of the ad- ventures and the circumstances of the voyage preventing an in- surance,) swept away every farthing, except about four thousand dol- lars eventually received to compromise an appeal. Similar results, great profits but greater losses, inasmuch as the losses came at once and the profits by degrees, followed the whole of Mr. CLEVE- LAND'S very arduous exertions ; and here is the sum total.

" On making an estimate of my losses in the twenty years between 1805 and 1825, I find their agregate amount to exceed 200,000 dollars ; although I never possessed at any one time a sum exceeding 80,000 dollars. Under such losses I have been supported by the consoling reflection that they have been exclu. sively mine, and that it is not in the power of any individual to say with truth that I have injured him to the amount of a dollar.

" With a small annual sum from the Neapolitan indemnity I have been en- abled to support myself till this wan on the point of ceasing by the cancelling of that debt; when I was so fortunate as to obtain an office in the custom- house, the duties of which I hope to perform faithfully, and in peace, during the few remaining years, or months, or days, which may be allotted me on earth."

As the first and perhaps the heaviest loss overtook Mr. CLEVE- LAND in consequence of a seizure by an English Admiral, (if we rightly understand the name in one place, and the blank in another, by Lord COCHRANE ) he is naturally very sore with belligerent inter- ference with neutrals, and still more with the individual officer to whom he traces his ruin. Although he appears to have had some doubt himself about the speculation, and to have grounded his chief reliance as to its legality upon his having been dismissed by one or two English cruisers before he fell in with the fleet, yet, if his facts are true, he was unfairly treated by the subordinate judge and agents ; and, as the case was eventually compromised, we sus- pect he had some right on his side. But this should not render him foolishly unjust. The English confiscation might be an arbi- trary act by an unscrupulous and mercenary admiral, assisted by an agent and a vice-judge of a kindred spirit ; but the result of the case, however unfortunate to Mr. CLEVELAND, shows that justice was still obtainable in the British home tribunal. The Neapo- litan seizure was an open violation of the law of nations, aggra- vated by the fact of a treacherous invitation. But ulterior justice, or the chance of it, was out of the question ; and this Mr. CLEVE- LAND says he prefers. There is no doubt one great distinction : at Naples there was an insurance—the loss fell upon the under-'.. writers ; and our author is not the only one whose notions of what is right are biassed by results upon his own pocket.

Let it not be supposed that we are excusing the seizure of the property of unoffending merchants, whilst engaged in fair and regular trade. Such conduct, like sudden embargoes, is a great national crime, inflicting misery on numbers, without any cor- responding advantages ; ruining only individual merchants, and only profiting individual captors, whose minds it stimulates with the hopes of booty, and degrades the spirit of the soldier or sailor to that of the buccaneer. But on the other hand, it must be admitted that an unfair and clamorous outcry is often made by the speculating or gambling merchant, who enters into an under- taking with a full knowledge of the risk, because it promises enor- mous profits in consequence of that very risk. SuCh men are as selfishly immoral as the governments they condemn ; for they em- bark in a game where they would keep their winnings but not pay their losings ; and when the throw has gone against them, they would clamour nations into war to revenge the losses on their gaming transactions, or in the hopes of retrieving them by the de- vastation of mankind.

We do not say Mr. CLEVELAND is the worst of this class, or that he is even very conspicuous in it ; for the mercantile advocates of the Opium War far exceed him in all ways. But several of his voyages were of a questionable character, to say the least. The seizure of the first cargo at the Cape may be received on his ex- planation, which succeeded in recovering his property ; but in India, to cover his transactions, he became a Danish citizen, and his expeditions to the Spanish settlements were intended to evade or break through their colonial laws. Nor did he always stop here; for once, when in difficulty, he had planned a scheme to seize a frigate by force, carry her to the Republicans, and revolutionize the country by her means ; and when he had no excuse whatever, the following was the principle of his habitual conduct.

COMMENTARY ON DOING UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD THEY SHOULD DO UNTO YOU.

Something ought to be said, if not to justify, at least to extenuate, the under- taking and prosecuting an enterprise for the success of which violence and stratagem were requisite. It is notorious that no civilized people on the face of the earth were ever subjected to so degrading a state of vassalage as the Creoles or native inhabitants of Spanish America. It is equally notorious that they were sensible of it, and were grateful to those strangers who supplied them with clothing at half the ordinary prices demanded by their own merchants— who sympathized with them and made known to them the course which their countrymen had taken, in precisely similar circumstances, to achieve their in- dependence. As it respected our intercourse with this people viewed sepa- rately from the government, it WAS precisely in conformity with the golden rule of "doing unto others as, in like circumstances, we should have others do unto us." Hence we lost no opportunity of confirming the advocates of free govern- ment, and convincing the wavering of the self-evident proposition, that govern- ments were instituted for the happiness of the people, and not exclusively for that of the rulers; that all power of right belongs to and emanates from the people, whose servants the rulers are. Consequently, when by force, strata- gem, or any other manner, this relation between people and rulers had become reversed, it was a palpable usurpation on the part of the latter; which it was proper and becoming to resist under any circumstances, but more especially when the usurped power was used to oppress and enslave.

In these remarks we do not enter into the question of smuggling, either upon a great or a small scale ; still less are we considering the propriety of evading commercial laws which are impolitic, im- proper, and most probably tyrannical. All we say is, that persons embarking in such undertakings, with a view to their own profit, should in case of failure be content to bear their own losses. But religionists are not the only persons in the world who desire the crown without the martyrdom.

From the character of the work, it is one which requires reading to appreciate the simple attractiveness of its truth and nature, or at least the perusal of some entire voyage. Extracts can only convey an insufficient idea of it ; for though particular parts may be striking enough, its effect depends upon the general whole. Here are some miscellaneous passages.

ILAN GEORGE AND THE COMPASS.

Decidedly the most important personage of my foremast hands was the Black man George, who had dared to embark on our second voyage, after having shared in the disasters of the first. In his appearance, capacity, and dialect, George was the veriest Negro that can be imagined. For honesty, fidelity, and courage, he may have been equalled, but can never have been sur- passed. He stood about six feet and three inches, was rather slender, very awkward, and of much more sable hue than common, but with an expression of countenance mild and pleasing. With simplicity of character approximat- ing to folly, he united a degree of self-conceit which led him to believe that be could do whatever could be done by another, and in some cases to suppose be could make great improvements; an instance of which occurred before we had been out a week. In his previous voyages, George bad been cook, and had therefore nothing to do with the compass; but now, having to take his regular torn at steering, he was greatly puzzled with its unsteadiness. He could steer in the night with tolerable accuracy, hy giving him a star by which to steer ; but the compass appeared to him to be calculated only to embarrass. With a view of remedying this difficulty, George had taken off the corer to the till of his chest, on which having marked the points of the compass, and pierced a hole in the centre for the pivot, be brought it aft, and with great appearance of complacency and expectation of applause, placed it on deck before the helms• man, with the proper point directed forward to correspond with the course; and then exclaimed, " Dair, mans, dat compass be teady ; George teer by him well as anybody."

FIDELITY OF A SLAVE.

This simplicity and conceit was more than redeemed by his tried fidelity and heroic courage, of which the following is a remarkable instance. George had been a slave to some planter in Savannah ; and one day, being in the woods with his master, they encountered an Iniian, who was hunting. Some dispute arising, the Indian, having the advantage of being armed, threatened to shoot them. In consequence of this threat, they seized him and took away his gull; but after a little while, and with urgent entreaties and fair promises from him, they were induced to return it ; first taking the precaution to dip it into water to prevent an immediate use of it. This served again to rouse the anger of the Indian, who immediately took the readiest means fur drying it. In the mean time, George and his master had entered a canoe, and pursuing their way in a narrow river or creek, had got a long distance from the spot where they had left the Indian; when, on looking back, they perceived him running after them on the bank. On arriving abreast of them he immediately took aim, which George perceiving, threw himself, as a shield, between his master and the ball, and was so severely wounded that his life was for many weeks despaired of. After a confinement of six months, he entirely recovered ; and as a reward, his master gave him his liberty.

INDIAN SENSIBILITY TO ETIQUETTE.

Being so nearly on the point of leaving the coast, and therefore fearing no bad consequences from an exposure of our weakness, I acceded to the earnest solicitations of this young warrior to come on board. This was the only one of the natives whom we had admitted on board since being on the coast. We invited him into the cabin, and gave him a glass of wine, which pleased him so much that he soon asked for another. Having made me a present of a very fine akin, I made a return of a shirt, jacket, and pantaloons, which he imme- diately put on, and appeared to be well satisfied with the figure he made, and much pleased with the dress. But the friendly feelings I had inspired suffered a momentary interruption by my careless and apparently rude manner of giving him a handkerchief. Being on the opposite side of the cabin from that on which I was sitting, I threw it into his lap ; when, instead of taking, he allowed it to roll down on the floor, his feelings so much wounded that he actu- ally shed tears; nor was it without considerable effort that we persuaded him that no insult was intended, by assuring him that it arose from my ignorance of the etiquette which custom had established among them.

DOING THE SPANIARDS.

While lying between the Spanish vessels of war where our ship was first anchored, I had a good opportunity of noticing the absence of proper and ordi- nary discipline. During more than a month, I paced the Beaver deck every Bight, often until the middle watch had nearly worn away, and observed that more than half the time the sentries were so deficient in vigilance as to be hailed several times before answering. Perceiving the advantage that might result if I could substitute my answer for that of the sentry on board our ship, I often took the trumpet, and found my " alert° " to he as current as that of the Spanish sentry. I noticed also that a great number of men were sent away in the launches every night, to guard some weak points at the eastern extremity of the town. With a view of ascertaining the feasibility of rendering nugatory oar guard of twenty soldiers, I tried the experiment of giving them a can of grog mixed with a little laudanum, which put them all into en profound a sleep for several hours as to give us entire control of the ship; a circumstance which was concealed from their superiors by my " alert° " passing for that of the proper sentry.

FIRST KNOWLEDGE OF A BRITISH MAN OF WAR.

As the Andromache, English frigate, was on the point of sailing for that port, I succeeded with her commander in obtaining a passage; and having pro- cured a passport from the Viceroy, I embarked, and sailed on the morning of the 3d August.

The beautiful manner in which the ship was gut under way, made a strong impression on my mind, from an exhibition of discipline which I had never be- fore seen. When the marines were dismissed after the morning parade, the colours hoisted, and the national air, "God save the King," played, every offi- cer and man being at his station, and the capatern manned, a signal was made by the captain to -heave ahead; the cable came in briskly ; the anchor was soon tnpt and up ready for hooking the cat. While the ship was swinging round, the men who had been stationed for the purpose at the shrouds of each mast, on a signal given, ran up simultaneously to cast loose the sails, while the requi- site number were stationed below to sheet home and hoist up; so that almost in a moment the ship was under a crowd of sail, and swiftly leaving the port ; and all this effected without a word being spoken, and as if by the effect of magic.

We arrived at Valparaiso, after a delightful passage of twenty-four days. I cannot allow the pleasant time I spent on board this frigate to pass without some notice, and without acknowledging the erroneous impretoions [bad imbibed of a British ship of war. In common with many others, and especially. those, like myself, whose reminiscences were of a date as remote as our revolutumary war, I had imagined an English man-of-war to be a small epitome of hell, where tyrannizing over the crew constituted the principal enjoyment of the officers.

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That there were great abuses of this kind n the Navy, from a very early period, Up to the alarming revolt under President Parker, I have no doubt, any more than 1 have that abuses have occasionally existed since; but on board the An- dromache there was never any unnecessary severity.

SPANISH-COLONIAL PRIMITIVENESS.

As the Beaver was doubtless the first foreign ship that ever had a royal li- cence for trading coastwise, as she was a remarkably fine ship, had beautiful ac- commodations, and was always kept in the neatest order, her fame along the coast was very great. And at all these small places she was thronged with visiters—men, women, and children, who came from many miles distant to see the ship, and who always expressed themselves delighted with (what they con- sidered) the beauty of the cabin and its furniture, the whiteness of the deck, and the attention to cleanliness in every part. The Commandante of La Bar- ranca and his three very pretty daughters, from eighteen to twenty-four years old, happened to be on board one day at our dinner-hour, and I invited them to sit down with us. Their awkward mode of handling the table utensils was evidence that, although they were people of the first respectability, they were accustomed to live in very primitive style, being evidently entirely unaccus- tomed to the refinements of such superfluous articles as plates, knives, and forks. They endeavoured, however, to do as we did; the father and one of the daugh- ters succeeded tolerably well, but the other two girls seemed to consider a plate, knife, and fork for each to be needless. They therefore placed a plate between them ; and one of them taking the knife and the other the fork, they endeavoured the one to cut while the other held the meat with the fork. But this mode of proceeding did not succeed ; the beef was too hard, or the knife was too dull, or there was a want of adroitness; and they were finally compelled to accept the aid of their next neighbour, which they did with great compla- cency, being all the time in high glee at this novel mode of taking their food.