Mr. Smith is one of the noblest men that America has ever produced; and is especially remarkable for his profound appreciation of that sublime command of our Saviour, “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”  Where he treads no angel of sorrow follows.

He is a man of vast estates—­a millionaire.  He is also what in America is termed a land reformer.  He believes that every man should possess an inviolable homestead.  He himself possesses by inheritance millions of acres in the Northern and Eastern States of America; and shows his sincerity and consistency by parcelling off from time to time such portions of these lands as are available, in lots of forty or fifty acres each, and presenting the deeds thereof, free of charge, to the deserving landless men, white or black, in the region where the lands in question are located.  He also long since vacated the splendid Peterboro’ mansion, into possession of which he came on the death of his father; and now resides, himself and family, in a simple cottage near Peterboro’, with only forty acres attached.  His sympathies are not bounded by country or clime.  He sent into Ireland, during the famine of 1847, the largest single donation that reached the country from abroad.

He was elected to the United States Congress a few years ago, as one of the members for New York, but resigned his seat after holding it only a year—­probably feeling outraged by the manners and morals, not to say superlative wickedness, of so many of his associates.  Whatever may have been the cause which induced him to resign, he did well to give up his post.  Nature had evidently not set him to the work.  Of great ability, winning eloquence, and undoubted moral courage, his heart and temper were too soft and apologetic to deal with the blustering tyrants who fill too many of the seats of both houses of Congress.

Mr. Smith is truly a great orator.  He has in an eminent degree the first qualification thereof—­a great heart.  His voice is a magnificent bass, deep, full, sonorous; and, being as melodious as deep, it gives him enviable power over the hearts and sympathies of men.

In personal appearance he is extremely handsome.  Large and noble in stature, with a face not only beautiful, but luminous with the reflection of every Christian grace.

He is now engaged in the care of his vast estates, and in his private enterprises, scarcely private, since they are all for the public good.  He is sixty-two years of age.  A true Christian in every exalted sense of the term, long may he live an honor and a blessing to his race.

Having accepted the invitation of this gentleman, I prepared to leave the South.  On making arrangements for a passage from Norfolk to Baltimore, I found that the “Free Papers” which every man of color in a slave state must possess, in order to be able to prove, in case of his being apprehended at any time, that he is not an absconding slave, were of very little avail.  I must needs have a “Pass” as well, or I could not leave.  However I obtained this document without much trouble, and as it is a curious specimen of American literature, I will give it.  It does not equal, to be sure, the “charming pages” of Washington Irving, but it is certainly quite as illustrative in its way:—­