During this period, however, apart from the two works to which I have referred, we look in vain for any original literature worthy of special mention. A history of Canada written by William Smith,[20] a son of an eminent chief justice of New York, and subsequently of Canada, was published in excellent style for those days as early as 1815 at Quebec, but it has no special value except to the collector of old and rare books. Bouchette's topographical and geographical account of Canada[21] illustrated the ability and zeal of an eminent French Canadian, who deserved the thanks of his country, but these well printed books were, after all, mere compilations and came from the English press. Pamphlets were numerous enough, and some of them had literary skill, but they had, in the majority of cases, no permanent value except to the historian or antiquarian of the present day who must sift out all sorts of material and study every phase and incident of the times he has chosen for his theme. Michel Bibaud wrote a history of French Canada,[22] which no one reads in these days, and the most of the other works that emanated from the Canadian press, like Thompson's "War of 1812,"[23] are chiefly valued by the historical collector. It was not to be expected that in a relatively poor country, still in the infancy of its development, severely tried by political controversies, with a small population scattered over a long stretch of territory, from Sydney to Niagara, there could be any intellectual stimulus or literary effort except what was represented in newspapers like the _Gazette_ of Montreal--which has always maintained a certain dignity of style in its long journalistic career--the _Gazette_ and the _Canadien_, of Quebec, the _Nova Scotian_ of Halifax, or displayed itself in keen contests in the legislatures or court-houses of a people delighting always in such displays as there were made of mental power and natural eloquence. From a literary point of view our American neighbours had, during this period, left us away behind, in fact no comparison can be made between the two countries; laying aside the original creation of Sam Slick. Towards the close of the eighteenth century Belknap published his admirable history of New Hampshire,[24] while the third volume of Hutchinson's history of Massachusetts appeared in 1828, to close a work of rare merit alike for careful research, philosophic acuteness and literary charm. That admirable collection of political and constitutional essays known as the "Federalist" had attained a wide circulation and largely influenced the destinies of the union under the constitution of 1783. Chief Justice Marshall illumined the bench by his great judicial decisions which have won a remarkable place in legal literature, on account of their close, acute reasoning, breadth of knowledge, insight into great constitutional principles, and their immediate influence on the political development of the federal republic.