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A UTHORS. ** An author! 'Tls a venerable name! How few deaerve it, and what numbers claim! Unbleat with sense above their peers refilled, Who shall stand up, dictators to mankind ? Nay, who dare shine, it not In Virtue’s cause? That sole proprietor of Just applause.” That erudite, colossal-brained Jupi ter tonans in the realm of English let ters, Dr. Samuel Johnson, declared that 41 the chief glory of every people arises from its authors.” Os course he meant —he could only mean—good, wise, pure-hearted and noble-minded au thors, whose works are wholsesome in their effects upon the minds and hearts of their readers. He meant writers whose pens are a potent force in hu man life for the promotion of virtue in all its forms, and who help Civilization in the achievement of whatsoever is best, truest and most beautiful, within reach of the human soul. In this sense Dr. Johnson’s declaration is axio matic. Deplorable indeed is the fact, that the high duties of authorship are often neglected, and the power of the pen made to serve ignoble purposes. How lamentable it is that Genius should suffer himself to become the slave of Vice, the dupe of Craft, the hired drudge of Falsehood! Thus degraded, how deep the shame of authorship— how vilely shorn of its glory! The greater the power, the persuasiveness, the beauty of argument and rhetoric employed by Genius in his fallen estate, the more pernicious will be the work, the more deleterious the influence ex ercised upon the life of the age, the darker will be the shadow cast upon the history of the people among whom he fulfills his evil purposes. With this exception duly considered, the rule, as stated by Dr. Johnson, that “the chief glory of every people arises from its authors,” is irrefutable. Nothing can be nobler than the majesty of noble thoughts, filled with wisdom derived from heavenly sources, brilliant with the inspiration of genius, arranged in harmonious order, embellished with the graces of language, and given to the world, as a precious heritage, in the permanent form of books, which are, as Mrs. Browning tersely says: “The only men That speak aloud for future times to hear.” Quaint, child-hearted Charles Lamb, whose sensitive temperament embraced all nature with the tendrils of affection, and to whom the commonest enjoy ment of the senses was a blessing to be devoutly grateful for, speaking of say ing grace before dinner, remarked: “Why have we not a form of grace for books, those spiritual repasts —a grace before Milton, a grace before Shake speare, a devotional exercise proper to be said before reading ‘the Faery Queen’?” Good books are, under all circum stances, a blessing for which we can never be thankful enough. A home that is without them lacks one of the main elements of genuine domestic happiness. The light that radiates from a good book shines with a steady flame; the darkest cloud of misfortune can not deprive us of its warmth and lustre; nay, the light becomes brighter by contrast with the surrounding gloom. There is no selfishness in the counsel given by a good hook ; it is not influ enced by the poverty or wealth, the humble or exalted rank, of him who asks. Good books are the friends of ingenuous Childhood, the bosom com panions of Manhood’s ardent prime, the solace of the retrospective heart of Old Age. They are the same gems of truth, in the palace or in the hut—no matter what their setting may be; and, borne aloft by the magical power of genius to the pinnacle of some grand, sky-piercing thought, beggar and prince—looking from that standpoint into the illimitable beyond of Time and Eternity—become profoundly con scious of the fact that, as souls, they are equals, and that “the rank is but the guinea’s stamp, The man's the gold for a’ that.” The author of a good book is a bene factor of mankind. He is a creator of ideas, and ideas are deathless. There fore, he has a just claim upon immortal ity. Greater is he than the victor in a hundred battles; mightier than the conqueroi of a nation. These men overcome the material only; they con trol bodies; their success is confined to the perishable. But the Power whose symbol is the pen is limitless; it con trols the human will by divine and in disputable right; its victories are the victories of peace, which are worthy of far higher renown than the victories of war; its field of operation is the in conceivably glorious world of the spiritual; it does not destroy bodies— it builds up the souls of men. What soever is best in the work performed by this Power is beyond the reach of decay; it is so deeply bedded in the heart of Humanity, that it becomes in dissolubly a part of it; it is a deathless thing, blest of Heaven forevermore. Time touches only to adorn it, just as the invisible fingers of the passing Years clothe with beauty the forms of venerable ruins, hiding the destructive effects of the elements with fresh and fragrant greenery, and adorning their rugged fronts, night and day, with the glory of Summer blossoms, or the daz zling jewelry of the Winter-King. Who, then, can refuse to pay homage to this transcendent Power? What man or woman, divinely commissioned to wield the sceptre of creative Art, will not acknowledge the force of Words worth’s claim for its excellence? In Secular Editorials—Literature— ?--■ ‘ Domestic and Foreign Intelligence. —— ~~ * ... ... the fine sonnet addressed to the artist Haydon, he says: “High is our calling, friend! Creative art (Whether the instrument of words she use, Or pencil pregnant with etherial hues) Demands the sei vice of a mind and heart Heroically fashioned." It may come to pass, in the course of time, that it will be impossible to ascer tain precisely the paternity of a work, or the name and birthplace of the au thor, or to state the particular circum stances under which the work was con ceived and written. Every authentic trace of these things may pass from the memory of man, buried under the gray dust of the mouldering ages; yea, the substance of the work may have wasted away to a single and tiny gem in the world’s treasury of Legend and Song, yet its spiritual effect will be intact; with protean adaptability it may have assumed a thousand different forms, but in each the light of its truth will shine as brightly, the fragrance of the thought will be as fresh and sweet, its ability to move the heart will be as potent, as in the golden day of its birth within the soul of the author. The trophies of war are worthless; the flames of implacable hate will shrivel the blood-flecked laurels; the tears of orphans and widows will, eventually, turn the wine of victory into the gall and poison of remorse— and its monuments are curses in stone. Science would achieve her triumphs in vain, but for the preservative power of literature, which embalms in humble “printer’s ink” the precious results of the discoveries made in the arcana of Nature. Brief would be the triumph of impassionate oratory, and circum scribed the power of speech in thrilling the hearts of a people and directing the course of empire, did not the omni present pen catch the silver-ringing words as they fall from the melodious tongue, and rescue them from oblivion by fixing the celestial images they por tray imperishably upon the printed page. Talk of the might of imperial scep tres! The might of one word is some times immeasurably greater, and be comes *‘A voice that in the distance far away Wakens the slumbering ages.” Crowns and banners are the trum pery of a passing masquerade. They amuse for a time. They cause the idle to stare and to wonder; they flat ter the vain. Ignorance adores them as symbols of divinely derived might, and of mysteries that must be dreaded but can never be solved. The crafty use them for the accomplishment of selfish schemes of aggrandizement— the wise alone despise them. Measured by the conceit of lofty sta tion, how great is the difference between the bare-footed churl, who drives his master’s cattle afield, and the crowned and purple-robed monarch, sitting upon histhrone! Indeath—howequal! Nay, placed in the scales the churl’s dust may outweigh the monarch’s. Talk of glory in connection with the empty pomp of fortune, or the perilous accidency of political exaltation, or the unsatisfying, cloying fruits of wasted riches! Ah, such glory is “Figured in the moon; they all wax dull And suffer their eclipses in the full." The glory of the mind, only, is true glory. Thought, the child of the Soul, is immortal. The sceptre of Fame is the pen. Wise Doctor Johnson! well hast thou said - “The chief glory of every people arises from its authors.” The Woman’s National Christian Temperance Union, with its twenty four auxiliary State Unions, is the lar gest society ever composed exclusively of women, and conducted entirely by them. It has not less than two thous auxiliaries in as many different towns. It is a union of Christian women of all churches for the purpose of educat ing the young; forming a better pub lic sentiment, reforming the drinking classes; transforming, under the power of Divine grace, those who are enslav ed by alcohol; and removing the dram shops from our streets by law. ' ♦ ♦ • "■ The Presbyterian General Assembly, at Buffalo, took advanced ground on the temperance question, although a con servative minority stoutly opposed the action. A permanent committee on Temperance consisting of 15 men (8 ministers and 7 laymen, among them Hon. Wm. E. Dodge and Rev. Dr. Cuyler), was appointed to report a plan for active church temperance work. It was also reaffirmed that each local church session decide the ques tion of using grape juice instead of fer mented wine, and declared that women may speak before Presbyterian synods. ATLANTA, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JULY 2,8, 1881. NEW BOOKS. —Horne Grounds. By Alexander F. Oakey. New York : D. Appleton & Co., publisher. A pleasantly-written and well-illus trated little volume giving directions for the tasteful and practical disposition of the surroundings of our homes. It includes: The general arrangement of grounds; walks and drives; lawns and grass-plots; planting trees; fences and gates; summer-houses, shelters, etc., etc. —The Home Garden. By Ella Rodman Church. New York: D. Appleton & Co., publishers. Flowers, practical planting, poetry, flower-pots and floral philosophy, ire quite agreeably blent by the writer. The prose and poetry of garden life and labor find brief and appropriate ex pression. The illustrations and general make-up of this “ Home Series ” is up to the usual high Appleton standard. —Manual of Commercial Correspondence in French. By Prof. H. M. Monsanto. New York: D. Appleton «fc Co., publishers. The object of this little work is to show, at a single glance by practical illustration, those technical forms of expression and idiomatic phrases which constitute the chief difference between two languages. Technical terms and peculiar forms of speech are best un derstood when presented in connected discourse. It will be found a valuable hand book for students in commercial col leges. —Dyspepsia: How To Avoid It. By Jos eph F. Edwards, M.D. Philadelphia: Pres ley Blakiston, publisher. This is another of the useful series of “American Health Primers,” issued by this publisher. They are well written and eminently helpful. This book re lates to food, digestion, how to cook food, and how we ought to eat —the latter is a most important theme, con cerning which there is a lamentable amount of baleful ignorance among all classes of people. To throw light upon a dark subject is the purpose of this booklet. —Anthropology: An Introduction To The Study of Man and Civilization. By Edward B. Tylor. 1). C. L.. F. R. S. With Illustra tions. New York : D. Appleton & Co., pub lishers. A very interesting book. Full of valuable knowledge for student or gen eral reader. Helpful in a clear, direct way, to our understanding of what man is, according to the researches of science. A good comprehension of the general science of man will be profita ble to kwowledge-seekers in every branch of education. The work is not allowed to go beyond the reach of the averagely well cultivated mind into the vague sphere of hair-splitting abstrac tions, hedged by high and sharp tech nical terms familiar only to the special ist. It is sound, good, lucid, every-day reading. The author has had the help of emi nent scholars and scientists, and in the small compass of his work has con densed a really surprising amount of valuable, entertaining and instructive matter. The book is well made and handsomely printed. —The Rise and Fall of The Confederate Government. Bv Jefferson Davis, Vols. I and 11. New York : D. Appleton & Co., publishers. Through the courtesy of Mr. Geo. F. Bolles, General Manager Subscription Department Georgia and adjoining States, No. 40 Marietta street, Atlanta, we are in receipt of this work. Stated in a general way, the object of the dis tinguished author is, through this book, to show that the Southern States had rightfully the power to withdraw from the 'Union; that the denial of that right was a violation of the letter and spirit of the Federal compact, and that the war waged by the Federal govern ment against the seceded States was in disregard of the limitations of the Con stitution, and destructive of the princi ples of the Declaration of Indepen dence. He has sought, also, to furnish valuable material for the future histo rian, and to correct misapprehensions that have grown out of misrepresenta tions as to the acts and purposes of the people and the government of the Confederate States. It is an eloquent plea by the great chief of the Secession movement for a just verdict by the world as to the course, conduct and consequences of the war, the author hoping that the reader “will admit that the South, in the forum of conscience, stands fully acquitted for the deplora ble fact of the war, for the cruel manner in which it was waged, for the sad physical and yet sadder moral results it prodiiced.” The work is certainly a most valua ble one, both on account of the promi nence of its writer, and for its relation of events of extraordinary historical interest, and its portraiture of the dis tinguished military and political men who took part in'the great drama of 1861-5. No recent book has excited as much general interest, at home and abroad, or has been as thoroughly reviewed and criticised as this, and over no other have the critics been more at variance. As indicating, somewhat, the extremes of this criticism, and the consequences to which all extreme views naturally lead, we append a few lines from an elaborate review in the columns of the New York Sun, and a paragraph from The Athenxuni, a leading periodical of England. The Sun review holds that Mr. Davis’ book will “outlive every thing that has thus far been wiitten on either side, and that the work is pro foundly impressive because of the breadth and quality of intellestual force displayed.” The writer says the book will live long after the rejoinders of those upon whose conduct and policy Mr. Davis passes judgment, have been forgotten, and concludes by saying that this work “ belongs to that very small but precious class of narratives, wherein events of great significance and mag nitude are chronicled by a chief actor and eye-witness. It belongs to the category of which the writings of Thu cydides, Xenophon, and Ciesar, have been reckoned heretofore the most emi nent examples, and what it may lack in comparison with them as regards the graces of literary treatment is more than compensated by the incomparably greater moment of the theme.” To the contrary The Athenieum says: “The work of Mr. Jefferson Davis will disappoint some readers and weary others. Those who turn to his vol umes for revelations will find that he has little that is new to tell, while those who hope to get from him a concise and clear view of the organization of which he was the soul and the chief, will be repelled by the vast amount of dissertation with which he cumbers his pages.” —Year Book. City of Charleston, 8- C. This is a well bound volume of over three hundred pages, for a copy of which we are indebted to J. 0. Lea, Esq., of the City Treasury department of Charleston. It is a valuable history of the famous “City by the Sea,” with full statistical information gathered from all the municipal departments. There is a concise review of the city’s ancient and modern status, of its commerce and finances, with maps of the old and the new city. The volume has been compiled with great care and labor, and is a monu ment to the enterprise and prosperity of the citizens, reflecting credit upon the city government under whose aus ces the work has been perfected. To the City Treasury department especial praise is due for the fine show ing made by this important branch of the city government. The Mayor gracefully acknowledges this fact in his report, saying: “I cannot close this review of the affairs of the Treasury department without expressing my great satisfaction at the intelligent, painstaking and laborious services of Mr. Campbell and his polite and oblig ing assistants, all of whofn I commend to the kindly regard of the City Coun cil.” An old Kentucky law makes it possible to sentence a man to impris onment for life on his third conviction of grand larceny. The first time that this extreme penalty was imposed in many years was in the case of Elijah Carter, who stole a dozen pigeons, and the Court of Appeals has just decided that the statute is unconstitutional, because the punishment is unusual. Private letters from Russia show that that unhappy country is confront ed by a fresh difficulty. Thirty thous and Grieco-Uniates, forcibly converted to Orthodoxy in 1875, have refused to recognize the new faith, and have re sumed their old form of worship, in spite of the threats of the local authori ties. The total number of Gneco- Uniates driven into the Orthodox fold was a quarter of a million, and if these join the malcontents, as they are ex pected to do, a fresh thorn will develop in Russia’s side in Poland. —Symptoms of an outbreak of fanat icism between Hindoos and Moham medans have manifested themselves at Lahore and elsewhere in India, not withstanding the efforts made by the leading men of both religions to smooth over the differences. The Hindoos are the aggressors, and have given much of fence by publishing a pamphlet, which is simply a violent and silly attack upon Mohammedanism. So far the Moham medans have shown remarkable pa tience under circumstances of the most wanton provocation; but it is doubtful how long they will do so. NOTES. —Yellow fever is ravaging the West India Islands. —lntensely hot weather is prevail ing in France. —Dean Stanley, the eminent English divine, scholar and author, is dead. —The English House of Commons is still wrangling over the Irish Land Bill. —The famous Indian chief “Sitting Bull” has surrendered to the govern ment, with two hundred of his people. They are at Fort Buford. —Another plot to assassinate the Czar of Russia has been discovered. The Nihilist upon whom the lot fell to murder him committed suicide. —The New York Legislature, after weeks of political labor, succeeded in electing Elbridge G. Lapham to the U. S. Senate vice Conkling resigned. —The French invasion of Tunis has caused great excitement among the native tribes. The entire Arab popu lation of the country, it is feared, will soon be in open rebellion. —A statue has recently been found in a mound on the Egyptian Govern ment railway line. It is believed to be 4,568 years old, and if this is confirm ed it will probably be one of the oldest known statues in the world. This statue is about being removed to Cairo. —Two hundred thousand dollars have been subscribed to the Atlanta International Cotton Exposition. —The black measles are almost epi demic in certain districts about Macon. A number of deaths have occurred recently. Chalybeate Springs Hotel.—The attention of invalids and pleasure seek ers is called to the advertisement of this popular hotel at the Chalybeate Springs, Meriwether county, Ga. The waters are excellent, and the accom modations are all that could be desired. —At the session of the Georgia Teachers’ Association, a committee consisting of Messrs. W. B. Bonnell, W. H. Baker, A. B. Niles,B. M. Zettler and 8. C. Caldwell, was appointed to secure funds for the proper publication of the “Mallon Memorial Volume,” to be issued by the Association. —Marks’ Folding Chairs. —We call the attention of our readers to the advertisement of the Marks’ Adjusta ble Folding Chair Company, New York. These chairs, for solid comfort, either in sickness or as adjuncts to elegant leisure, are unsurpassed. If you want to get the cosiest chair in the world, get the Marks’ Chair. —Columbus Female College.—The attention of parents and guardians is called to the advertisement of this popular College. No institution in the State excels it in its advantages for a comprehensive study of the arts and sciences. The social and religious associations are of the very best, and the health and comfort of students are specially cared for. The faculty is large, and embraces teaching talent of the highest order. Write for further particulars to the President, G. B. Glenn. —We note with great pleasure the election of Prof. G. J. Orr to the dis tinquished position of President of the National Teachers’ Association, in ses sion in our city last week. It is a well deserved honor. Mr. Orr will fill the position with great ability, and with profit to the high interests of which the Association is the conservator and representative. His faithful and fruitful services in the cause of education in Georgia, as State School Commissioner, are well known and universally acknowledged. We are glad to see such men deservedly honored in their day and generation. —The Oratorio of Daniel.—Last Friday night, and Saturday afternoon, the fine Oratorio of “Daniel, or the Cap tivity and Restoration of Israel,” was pre sented to large audiences at DeGive’s Opera House by a number of ladies and gentlemen of our city. This grand musical composition has been dramati cally reset by Lieutenant G. N. Whist ler, U. S. A., now stationed at McPher son Barracks, Atlanta. Prof. Schultze, of the Southern Musical Conservatory, was Director of Music for the occasion, and a number of our leading vocalists took part. The Oratorio was eminent ly a success, and delighted the select audiences present. We are glad to note the publication of a card requesting another perform ance for the benefit of those who failed to witness the two performances last week. We hope the managers and participants will gratify our citizens by another rendition of the Oratorio. GEORGIA NEWS. —Columbus is to have extensive water-* works. —There are fifteen prisoners in the jail at Seale. —The Rome ice factory will probably not lie completed before next summer. —Mr. A. T. Hough has been elected Pro fessor of Book-keeping in Emory College. —A prohibition petition, asking for a pro* bibition law for Polk county, has over 1,100 signatures, —The summer session of the Georgia State Agricultural Society will beheld in Rome, beginning August Ist. —Douglasville Star: “The ladies manifest much interest in the restriction of the sale of spirituous liquors m this county.” —The colored hands employed on brick works in Albany have struck for higher wages. They were receiving $2 50 per day. —The Chattahoochee Cana! Company is organized, subscription books are open, and a preliminary survey will be made in a short time. —Dooly county shows an increase of $77,459 in taxable property this, over last rear. The total value of the property is $1,605,688. —Montgomery county: The corn crop is estimated at about one-half, but if we can get rain soon the cotton crop will do a little better than that. —Several cases of sunstroke, resulting fatally, have occurred in this Slate — a rare occurrence. The “heated term” has been unusually severe. —The citizens of Seale are taking steps toward the erection of a school-house. A committee to solicit and collect subscriptions has been appointed. —Prof. W. P. McKennie, of Opelika, Ala-, has been elected superintendent of the pub lic schools of West Point in the place of Col. A. P. Mooty resigned. —The Cotton Exposition building in At lanta will be one of the handsomest struct ures in America—seven hundred and twenty feet length, ninety six feet depth, cross wings four hundred feet length and ninety-six feet depth. —lrwinton Southerner and Appeal: “The crops of cotton and corn throughout this section give promise of a more abundant yield this season than for seven or eight years past. If this promise can be realized, it will put our farmers firmly on their feet.” —The city of Savannah has given to the Central railroad the land occupied now by the water-works, on condition that the road move the works to their new site and con nect them with the city. The laud gained by the company is very valuable to them. —Cherokee’ Advance: “The crop pros pects all over the county were never better. Our farmers are diligently at work, and they are promised a rich reward for their labors. Corn is looking just as well as could be ex nested, and there is a splendid stand of cot ton.” —Newnan Herald: “Consumption is alarmingly on the increase among the ne groes. Dr. C- D. Smith says that he never knew of but two cases before the war, while now it is quite common among them. There are several cases in Newnan now in the last stages of that disease. Dissipation is the cause.” —The capital has been subscribed to build a railroad between Live Oak aud Rowland’s Bluff. The Waycross Reporter says: “The work will be commenced at once, and by the first of October,—the distance being twenty three miles, —the scream of the locomotive will resound its echoes on the banks of the placid Suwannee.” —The Georgia State Horticultural Society will hold its sixth annual Convention and exhibition of fruits, vegetables and flowers in Atlanta on the 4th and sth of August next. Fruit-growers, progressive farmers, and all who are interested in the pursuit of horticulture, are cordially invited to attend, and earnestly solicited to contribute fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc., to the exhition. The Southern Express Company has generously agreed to earry, free of charge, all articles intended for exhibition, aud such articles may be sent by express up to Wednesday, August 3d, inclusive, addressed to Dr. Samuel Hape, for Horticultural Society, Atlanta. —North Georgia Citizen: “There has been a great improvement in this section of the’ State within the last two years. For a long time after ‘grim visaged war’ stalked through the country, decaying houses, barnes and fences marked the course of revolution. It was natural that such a result should follow, as a greater portion of the labor was per formed by slaves, who were liberated by the war. A new system of farming had to be inaugurated, as a new epoch had dawned on a land where blight had followed bloom. By slow decrees the agricultural interest im proved. Lands all over this section which, for years after the war were uncultivated or poorly cultivated, are now yielding crops worth annually from twenty to twenty-five dollars per acre. Good wagons, mules, horses and other improvements indicate growing prosperity.” —Rome Courier: “Thefollowinglist will readily convince any person that railroads are having a boom. The present Legislature is asked to charter these: Atlanta aud Ala bama railroad, passed; Rome and Chatta nooga railroad, passed; Rome Southern railroad, in direction of St. Marks, Fla., with branches; R ome and LaGrange railroad. tWo hills, same title; Richmond County railroad: Rome and Atlanta railroad; Cumming and Suwannee railroad; Buena Vista railroad, passed; Logansville railroad; Rome aud Carrollton railroad; Kingston, Welaska and Gainesville railroad; Logansville railroad, second bill; Tennille and Wrightsville rail road; Covington and Ocmulgee railroad; Covington and North Georgia railroad; Covington and South River railroad; Haw kinsville aud Florida railroad; Gainesville, Jeffersonville and Southern R.R; Brunswick and Pacific railroad, extending from Macon to Atlanta; Bek railroad and Union railroad, both to encircle Atlanta for transfer purposes; Cleveland and Lula railroad. Some of the above named roads to form links in very important through lines, while others are simply small local enterprises.” —Scene in the Georgia House of Repre sentatives : Mr, Northen, of Hancock, moved to suspend the rules that he might submit a memorial. He was aware that it was an unnatural proceeding, but he was sure it would be received with pleasure. “I hold before me the evidence of the work of the Christian women of Georgia. While we have been trying to build up the material resources of the State, they have gone into our homes and found there ruin and sorrow. Strong men found humble; young men with brilliant intellects and high hopes wrecked before life's morning is passed; little ones crying, ‘God pity us in our desolation.’ For such women—our wives aud our mothers— can I ask toe much of the gallant men of Georgia? They come to bring j>y where there had been sorrow. They come to bring sunshine where there had been darkness They eome as the harbingers of that day, when the angels shall again proclaim peace and good-will to man. I move that by a rising vote the rules of the House be suspended, that this memo rial for a geueral local option law may be displayed and then referred to the Special I’ommittee on Temperance.” [Applause on the floor and in the galleries.] The memorial was sent up in a large bas ket, which it filled. It was run out all the aisles and then there was enough left to car pel a good sized room. The petition was 600 feet long. It contained 30,000 names, coming from every county in the State. The unrolling of the petition created quite a sen sation, and as it was unfurled there was continued applause.