ed with forests of oak and larch, growing while men sleep. Her
borders are crowded with workshops, and her skies are dark with the smoke
of their chimneys, and the air rings with the sound of their hammers. Her
docks are filled with ships, and her watchful guardians are on every sea.
Her eyes are open to profit by every invention. And her strong colonies,
overlooking all waters, give new vigor and a better distribution to her
naval resources. A mighty naval power she is, and, for good or evil, a
mighty naval power she is likely to continue. The great revolutions in
warfare, which in our day are proceeding with such wonderful rapidity, may
for a time disturb this supremacy; but in the end, the genius of England,
essentially maritime, and as clear and strong on the sea as it is apt to
be weak and confused upon the land, will enable her to stand on her own
element, as she has stood for centuries, with no superior, and with
scarcely a rival.

* * * * *

OUR GENERAL.

An officer on General Butler's staff, residing constantly, while in New
Orleans, under his roof, having had direct personal observation of him
during the entire progress of the "Ship-Island Expedition," may perhaps be
pardoned for putting on record in this magazine some characteristic traits
of the man whom this war has brought so prominently, not only before our
own people, but also the people of Europe.

In the execution of this task I shall confine myself to the mention of
incidents of his administration at New Orleans, and the relation of the
inside history (the history of motive and cause) of many of his public
acts which elicited from the European press and the enemies of the Union
in our own land the bitterest abuse,--believing that in so doing I offer
stronger proof of the injustice of their attacks than I could possibly
furnish by any attempt to argue them down. And that the patience of my
readers may not be unnecessarily taxed, I shall proceed without further
introduction to the consideration of OUR GENERAL in New Orleans.

* * * * *

One of the first difficulties which General Butler found in the way of the
restoration of the national authority in that city was the attitude of the
foreign consuls. Under the leadership of Mr. George Coppell, who was
acting for the British Government in the absence of the consul, Mr. Muir,
they tacitly declared an offensive and defensive war of