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PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY. VOLUME I. ftoetnj. From the Telegraph and Messenger. To lt Marim de Harlem,” UNIVERSITY, GA. I. Oh darliug! When these pages lie before you All wet with the warm tears I shed to night, Recall that cruel verdict I implore you, From which my soul shrinks back in wild affright. ii. Forgive me, that the shadow of my sor row E’er stood and knocked impatient at your door; It’s gone, you know—l think it left the morrow But brighter—and ’twill cross your path no more! hi. Alas! lam so weary of this pleading— Begging for bread and getting but a stone; You will not listen to my interceding— You turn unto my prayer deaf ears alone. IV. Yon call me cold! God only knows how burning Within my heart live memories of the past; While the pale phantom of- that dream returning, Forever mocks me with “It could not last!” v. You call me false! My fault was too sin cerely To think love’s joy and matchless glory mine; And pour out all my soul’s sweet incense, merely To find I’d worshipped at a broken shrine. VI. Alas ! alas! if I had but the power To wake again love’s echoes in my heart, I'd stir its lonely depths this very hour, And every slumbering chord in rapture start!' VII. It may not be! the strings are broke for ever, That once woke sweetest music at thy touch; , Ah, who, in death’s corruption can dis cover Features, they ever loved in life so much VIII. Do vou remember once I told you sadly 41 ‘You’re looking through glass darkly’ —see, oh see!” No, no, you thrust the warning from you madly, And answered back, “ It must not, can not be.” IX. Ah well! persist in your unjust reviling— And call me cold and heartless if you will — • But while with words your fancy thus beguifing, j think your heart must hold one mem'ry still. X. It’s hard—and yet I think that I can bear it, At least I’ll try—whatever grief may come; God sees the mist and from your eyes will tear it, And then, at last, you'll know me as I am! CLIMBING THE HEIGHTS. ATHENS, GA, APRIL 30,1870. xi. This letter is the last that ever blotted By tears, shall leave my hand to seek your sight; Oh may your thoughts of me be all un spotted— Darling, farewell! I bid you “ Life’s good night.” lonk. February 24th, 1870 wl jPriftu*. Origin of the Digits. [continued.] We have long been of the opinion that the origin of the characters used to represent the Digits, is directly traceable, -in both the Homan and Arabic systems, to the national signs and with the fingers and hands to express numbers. Thus one was first denoted by one finger raised ; and hence written in both systems by a vertical mark. Two was denoted by two fingers raised, and hence written in the Roman system by two vertical marks. In the Arabic sys tem, we imagine these marks were wiiUeji horizontally instead of ver tically. 'IToV, If we write two par allel horizontal lines rapidly and connect the extremities, as would be done by writing the lines rapidly, we plainly approximate to the pre sent shape of the figure 2. The an gular points having become rounded off by the attrition of use. The Ro mans naturally expressed 3 by three vertical marks, significant of the three fingers. Tho Arabs wrote their three lines parallel and hori zontal. By writing them rapidly without raising the pen, we approxi mate to the figure 3, which by the rounding attrition of ages assumed its present form. Before we take up 4, let us look at 5. The natural sign for five was the whole band raised, the thumb and the four fingers.— With the thumb outstretched and the fingers together, we plainly have the Roman Y. And it is possible, by wri ting this Y rapidly, beginning at the left, then we finally produce the pre sent 5. But let us not omit 4. Now four is one from five, so instead of holding up the four fingers, it may have been represented by one hand outstretched as for five, and then one finger thrown on one side to sig nify one taken from five, as one fin ger held on the opposite side meant one added to five ; hence come tho symbols IV and YI. Thus in accor dance with the same idea of one from five, suppose we write tho vertical mark just through the Y instead of by the sido of it, and wo plainly have our present figuro 4. We can furnish uo proof that this theory is true; but it appears to us very phi losophical that the natural signs should as near as possible, have been imitated in the written characters. One more illustration of this theory. Ten was first expressed by both the hands elevated, and then we conceive, as this was awkward, by both hands clasped of crossed , and hence X for this symbol. The origin of the oth er characters of the Roman system is obvious; but it would appear lan ciful to account thus for the figures 6,7,; 8 and 9; still we are at no loss to account for them, when we refer to the form of the characters used in the earliest records. They have great ly changed as used at present. There is a point here worthy of notice. The ideas expressed by the Arabic digits and their combinations, are expressed in a written language understood, as far as we know, by all people on the globe who have a writ tec language. They thus constitute the only universal language known. One go to Russia or China, and done word of ,thf spos ken or written language, and yet perfectly comprehend the characters and method of solving any problem in arithmetic. For he would find them to be exactly the same he had been used to in his youth. The uni versal adoption of this system has arisen no doubt, from its simplicity, and its wonderful power of express sing every possible number conceiv ed by the mind, with so few charac ters. The power added to a charac ter by giving it a relative value, as well as an absolute one, could be used in our written language no doubt with groat advantage. This absolute and relative power of a word is some what used in the German, and can be illustrated from other languages. The Ancients indulged much in speculative Arithmetics. They spent much time in discovering properties of numbers, much more curious than uselul, and between these properties and the moral qualities they delight ed much to dwell upon the fancied resemblance. According to the Plato nic Philosopher—“ Arithmetic was not to be studied with gross und vul-* gar views, but in such a manner as plight enable men to attain to the contemplation of tho nature of num bers; not for the purpose of doaling with merchants and but for the improvement of tho mind. The numbers three and seven attrac ted much attention, and every de partment was searched for ternary and septenary combinations. An TERMS--$2.50 PER ANNUM. NUMBER 6. old Monk, Lucas de Burgo Sancti Se pulchri, the author of the first print ed treatise on Arithmetic, in refer ence to the number three, says— “ There are three principal sins, ava rice, luxury and pride; three sorts of satisfaction for sin, fasting, alms giving and prayer; three witnesses in heaven, Pater , Verbum, et Spiritus Sanctus. Three times the Priest says Agnus Dei , and three times Sanctus 7 and if we will consider all the acts of a devout Christian worship, they are found in ternary combination.- There are three Furies, three Fates, theree Virtues. Fides , Spes et Char itas. There are three things which are in no esteem—the strength of a porter, the advice of a poor man, and tho beauty of a beautiful woman.”— (Shame on tho old Monk !) The collection of trinads which old Brother Lucas de Burgo, (peace to to his ashes ! for being the author of the* first printed Arithmetic, though we confess to his want of gallantry), in connection with that which bio confreres collocted, would fill vols The number seven was also a great favorite for cornbinationsof this kind. It was supposed to be the key to the order of the Universe, and obtained a mystical reference. There wero seven cardinal virtues, seven deadly sins, seven sacraments, seven days,, seven planets, seven metals, &c. In deed, so great was this belief in the permanency of these combinations,, that upon this ground alone, a cele brated astronomer in the time of Ga lileo, denied the possibility of his dis covery of the satellites of Jupiter.— Arguing after this manner, that we have seven domiciles in the head two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, and one mouth, there were seven metals, seven planets, and that the week was divided into seven days and named after the seven planets; hence the discovery of any new planets would cause all this system to fall to the ground —therefore it could not be true! This is only one of the many instances where great devotion to speculative Arithmetic so blinded the intellects of its votaries, as to retard the advancement of truth. Among the many hundreds of in stances of the opposition of igno rance and superstition in the advance of truth —an opposition which, is too often, unfortunately, made in the name of religion, there occurs a very curious and amusing one relating immediately to tho subject of Arith metic. The difficulty occurred to the same old Moiak from whom wo