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) Eldorado; or, Adventures in the Path of Empire. By BAYARD TAYLOR. London: Richard Bentley. 1850.

) Personal Adventures in Upper and Lower California, in 1848-9. By W. R. RYAN. London: William Shoberl.

BLOWING bubbles is a remarkably pleasant| stime. We were all engrossed with it here ew years ago; and sundry indisputable guments were used for the purpose of owing why ours should be exempt from fate of bubbles in general-that of burst. Facts, however-and so much the worse them-have contradicted this ingenious ory. Our bubbles have burst; our rockhave come down sticks. It remains to be n whether the more dazzling ones that ve attracted so many longing looks to the er side of the world, are to prove equally substantial. Opinions differ widely about s; and to ascertain the precise value of per California to its present owners, and world at large, would, at this stage of its gress, be no easy matter. Men's views I representations are influenced by their erests and prejudices at all times. But re especially are these apt to lead them

1850.

appearance of this region in an entirely new character, that of a gold-producing country. Astonished, bewildered, elated, with the prospect of gold for the having, it cannot be wondered at if many, with the best intentions in the world to be cool in their judgment and correct in their estimate, have begun by seeing double at least. And we must say that your sanguine people, who make no allowance for fiction, are about as great mischiefmakers as can be. While, if the honest and right-minded may be thus misled, and frequently are so, it must be borne in mind that there is always another class prepared to take advantage of this state of mind, and, knowingly, to foster extravagance of expectation, from any probable source of gain, in order to serve their own selfish ends. We have seen enough of this at home, and our "slang" has been enriched with terms to describe such men. It is unpleasant to re

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