290 [Assembly 



fourteen days. All was then a preparation for merriment, uproar and 

 license, and every parish in the metropolis discharged its population 

 into Smithfieldj as into a vast reservoir. 



"Thither went the man of ton from the West End, hoping to 

 exchange the more fashionable, but not much better diversion, for 

 some vulgar intrigue; thither went the anxious citizen and his more 

 anxious dame, and his half-delighted, half-terrified striplings, to drown 

 the cares of a whole year amid the uproar and confusion of a day; 

 on one side was seen the sleek country grazier, or blue-aproned 

 butcher, elbowing his way through the crowd to settle a bargain in 

 hay, sheep, or bullocks; and on the other, the vintner, with his 

 wheelbarrow of Geneva.* Here too, came the thimble-rigger with 

 his table, and bear ward with his monkey and dancii^ bear; the 

 robber, the thief, the buHy and the pick-pocket, in the 'sure and cer- 

 tain hope' that where so much business and so much folly were min- 

 gled together, they would reap a plentiful harvest. Every thing that 

 would allure the fancy or the palate, might be purchased for a tri- 

 vial sum, amid the avenues of show-booths, and lanes of stalls, while 

 the roar of rival show-men, the brayings of trumpets, the rattling of 

 drums, the hammering of gongs and cymbals, were enough to make 

 every brain reel that was not well fortified by nature against such 

 numberless, portentous concussions." 



We have thus far partially alluded to fairs as they now and have 

 formerly existed in the old world, and we are impressed with the con- 

 viction, that however varied from those we are accustomed to, not- 

 withstanding their grossness and apparent want of order and refine- 

 ment, they nevertheless have shown a certain degree of sentiment 

 which carries with it the associations of pleasure, prosperity and con- 

 tentment. It will thus be seen that the fairs of Europe were more 

 especially intended for the sale and interchange of various commodi- 

 ties. The fairs of the American Institute, we need hardly remind 

 you, are founded on entirely different principles, and in a new coun- 

 try, their main object is directed to advance the good works of the 

 native artizan, and to give publicity to the labors of the ingenious 

 workman, to offer a proper stimulus and encouragement to the dis- 

 plays of agriculture and horticulture, to improve the breed of cattle, 

 to open their library and resources to the citizen and stranger, to ad- 

 vance the discoveries in science and art, and to elevate every species 

 of useful American enterprise. 



*A liquor distilled from the juniper-berry. 



