Mrs. Stowe in England.The landing of a princess, with all the etceteras of courtly splendor, on the shores of old England, could not produce a greater sensation, nor awaken a deeper and wider interest, than has the arrival of the authoress of "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN," in that country.—We shall give, in our next paper, extracts from the copious comments, and the lengthy and interesting proceedings, attending the progress of our eminent benefactress. Some of our American papers affect to feel very much scandalized because Mrs. Stowe is receiving considerable sums of money from English people; and some have had the hardihood to impute mercenary motives to her because she receives them. JONATHAN is peculiarly conscientious on this point. To love money, it would seem, is an unpardonable sin in his eyes; and for any of his daughters to manifest such a love, is to bring upon his venerable head deep humiliation!—Our neighbor of the American says: "It is known that Mrs. STOWE's book has won for her great popularity in England, and it is therefore not surprising that she should take an early opportunity to visit that country. Incense is pleasant to most people, and Mrs. S. may be pardoned for wishing to inhale it on European ground. But incense alone is not what she seeks. Her pocket, as well as her nostrils, is open. Already has her book brought her a fortune; nevertheless she accepts without scruple a purse filled with penny contributions of English women! There is nothing like thrift." It may relieve the American to learn (what, by the way, is the simple truth) that the contributions which Mrs. Stowe is receiving, as he says, from Englishwomen, are not intended, exclusively, for her purse, or for that of her family. She receives them, simply, as a means of continuing those good works which have already distinguished her as a Christian philanthropist. The money which she receives is to be, in part, appropriated to the establishment of some institution, which shall be of effectual and permanent benefit to the colored people of the United States. If it be degrading for Americans to receive money from Englishwomen for such a purpose, how much more degrading is it that Americans do not, of themselves, contribute their money for such a purpose. There are, at this moment, two colored young ladies, at Oberlin College, being educated at the charge of Harriet Beecher Stowe; and these two ladies were snatched from a fate worse than death. They were intended, by American refinement and civilization, for the NEW ORLEANS MARKET, where their youth and beauty would have commanded the highest prices. It is to enable Mrs. Stowe to prosecute a work of benevolence already begun, that donations are made to her in England; and she is no more to blame for receiving them than Father Mathew was for receiving the thousands of dollars he did in this country. The cause in which Mrs. Stowe is engaged is not an American cause, nor a national cause, but an universal cause—one which appeals to the heart of universal humanity.—It is, therefore, as proper for an Englishwoman as for an American, to espouse it, to aid it, and to co-operate with those of every land, and of every nation, who labor to make that cause triumphant. |