[2]. This animal was a common seal, phoca vitulina, vulgarly called sea-dog. The sea-lion is another species of seal.—T.
[3]. See Art. 32 of the Constitution of North Carolina.
[Whatever may be the condition of the statute on this subject in North Carolina, it can be little better than a dead letter or nullity, since it is so entirely inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States. We do not recollect to have read of any instance in which this offensive peculiarity has been productive of practical disadvantage. It is unquestionably a blemish that calls for removal.—T.]
The 31st article excludes from the senate, the house of representatives, and the state councils, all members of the clerical profession, without distinction of faith or sect, so long as they continue in the exercise of their pastoral functions.
[4]. This is a common but inaccurate saying; an oblique shot will certainly glance from the skin of the alligator, but one striking perpendicular to the surface will as certainly penetrate, if within a proper distance.—T.
[5]. This is another very common and ancient error, which has been repeated from the days of Herodotus, who said it of the Egyptian crocodile, to the present. The deceptive appearance is produced by the manner in which the lower jaw is articulated; the joint being situated very far back, when the mouth is opened, casual observers easily mistake the part actually moved. See the article Alligator, in the lately published Encyclopædia Americana.—T.
[6]. See the fable of the ass disguised in the lion’s skin, as related by Æsop, Phædrus, or Lafontaine, in explanation of this allusion. T.
[7]. See the excellent work of Captain Hugh M‘Call, published in 1811, entitled “The History of Georgia.”
[8]. In speaking of the morals of New Orleans, it is but just to discriminate between its permanent and fluctuating population. Being the only mart to a vast extent of country, and the most frequented port on the Gulf of Mexico, it always contains a large number of individuals of the rudest and most licentious class, who can scarcely be said to belong to any country, are certainly of no religion, and are of every shade of colour. It is therefore by no means surprising, that gamblers, brawlers, and stabbers, should be numerous where such a class abounds, more especially, as New Orleans tolerates, by license granted, numerous establishments openly devoted to gambling and all its consequences.—T.
[9]. Since the establishment of steam navigation, boatmen rarely return by land. They pay a trifle for a deck passage; find their own provisions, and aid the crew to bring wood, &c. on board, at the stopping places.—T.