The Southern museum. (Macon, Ga.) 1848-1850, December 02, 1848, Image 2

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wpsmwm EDITED AND PtBLISUED WEEKLY, BY M'li.JLl.l.fi it. Z/.1 /CillSfP.'W [FOR THE SOUTHERN MUSEUM.] Tlic Rriile of Ui ath’ “Thy bride ! never whilst this fair cheek Retains its light of gold, Or lives this lustrous eye undiramcd, Or this young heart unsold. M v hand shill feel a .Monarch’s touch. And Ia Monarch’s bride : My realms, the continent around, My home, the earth so wide !" Thus mused a uiaid ofhaughty speech, And never fir rowed bfow ; Whose look proclaimed the inward thought And firmly studied vow. And thus, while grand and floating dreams Os wealth and rich display, Kept her enwrapped in those bright worlds Which soon would pass away : Behold ! in that secluded bower Within whose shade she came, A youth in ardor's springing tide, Possessed of love’s bright flame, Ushered himself beneath her feet, And opened there his heart, Confessing what hut love can own, And lovers' tongues impart : “No wealth or fume I bring to llice, Maid of the bright blue eye ; My name is not a conq’ror’s wreath Asyet, unborn to die ; But stalwart arms, unknown to fear, A heart in wisdom bold, Whose love for tlice is riches store, A world itself of gold ! “Reign thou, Cleora, in this soul, Alone uphold-thy sway : Its warm affections will endow A wreath of fadeless hay. Time’s path is dark ; with energy And oft redoubled care, Perhaps the day’s not far when I The Monarch's crown may wear!” “Never !” she said in haughty tone, “I’ll be no mortal’s slave, , 'Tis sweeter far to open hero, And fill my youthful grave. My nod shall boa million’s law, And my displeasure pain ; My smile shall he for years of toil Reward enough for gain. “Then hark thee ! trouble never more One thy superior born, Nor think thy love’s ambitious hopes Will e'er return unshorn. I’ll never marry thee, thy name Shall never me deride : For I was destined to a crown, I'll be a Monarch’s bride “Alas', vain beauty ! mystic dreams Like thine, a vapor prove, For wealth and fortune never heir The purity of love. Another’s hand will press thy brow, It cannot he more true, Another’s heart must call thee won : Bull must cease—adieu!”. Years rolled along in sombre trace, And autumn’s sun had set, And on the horizon afar Its glorious tints stood yet. The flowers of spring had faded long, The lily lived no more, And nature, drooping with fatigue, A sullen aspect wore. Still one remained, in by-gone days Cleora, young and fair, But now we 11 stamped by lengthened time : Her hopes and looks were bare ! The rose had left with dying spring Which bloomed upon her cheek, And all the lustre of her eyes xWas now hut vision weak. She stood, a remnant of the gay, The belle of other days ; O e who hud listened oft and long To hear the flatterer’s praise ; One who had looked, in ages gone, For wealth and fortune’s bow, But white and ghastly with the print Os fading beauty—now. At last 7ie came, the Monarch catne, 'Tvvas winter’s cheerless hour : “I claim thee for my waiting bride, I’ll shew thee all my power. Kings and coui tiers bow them down, And empires do I sway ; The world doth own me conqueror, I lead in honor’s way. “I'll take thee to my palace halls, Where thine own worth shall reign, And every wish shall prove success, And naught desire in vain.’’ So took he in his chilly arms Cleora, once the fair, » And bore her through the thick, cold storm, The diadem to wear. And soon he halted, then around Her lifeless figure threw His frozen cloak, then laid her down Within a mansion new— Whose walls with pallid white were strewn Around on every hand— Then kissed he fondly her cold cheek, And loosed his grappling band. He turned away, the heavy sods Fell lumb'ring on her form, And now Cleora’s visage felt Nor wind, nor cold, nor storm. The trees stood nodding round her grave, And each in moanings tried To give its anguish vent, and said : 1 Alas ! thou art Death's bride !” .1 W. F. H. “These lines were suggested by reading an ar ticle in a recent number of the “Southern Lite rary Gazette,” written by Mrs. Hentz, entitled “The Victor Monarch's Bride.” LOST ARTS. BV WENDEI.I. PHILLIPS. “Ours is an extraordinary age.” Our age, its wonders and improvements, are the standing theme. They are like the man w hom Coleridge mentions as taking off his tiat with respect when speaking to himself. The age vaunts much of its achievements in science *nd literature, and yet in these very boasts has been outdone ages since, hv nations passed away. Every new de velopment of science, and every new research throwing light upon the arts of the ancients, prove them to have been in possession of many now'entirely lost, and that they peiformed won ders which we not only do not equal, but cannot even perceive how they were performed. Even oh the hitherto accoun ed new world, like Ro binson Crusoe on his island, we have discover ed in the ruins ofCentral America,the foot-prints of a nation long sunk in oblivion. These traces show that,they too, like the people of the East, were in possession of arts now lost. These arts e:tn be considered under four divisions, to w it, Glass, Colors, Metals, and then miscellaneous articles and facts. 1. Glass. — This was for a long time believed to he a modern invention. Within fifty years four quarto volumes were written in Italy, to prove, in opposition to the assertion of Pliny, that the article waif unknown to the ancients, and on the very day that these volumes were published, a warehouse wasopened in Pompeii, filled with cut, wrought, pressed and stalled glass, far more beautiful and perfect than are now manufactured. There is glass found too among the ruins ofSouth America. In the Museum of Florence, I have seen a piece of glass, w hich was long supposed to he a gem, an inch square by a quarter of an inch thick, on which was re presented birds which could he seen equally well on both sides, and their plumage so perfect that the microscope shows in it no fault or want of finish ; and though it is apparently a mosaic, it is impossible to detect where or how it is put to gether. The art oftnaking them so is not known and vve cannot even imagine how it could he done Pliny tells of a drinking glass which could he folded so us to occupy a small space, and which was destroyed, audits construction kept a secret by its inventor, because his mon arch would not offer him what he considered a sufficient sum for the invention. The moderns, with all their arts, cannot equal the beautiful stained glass of the middle ages, iuferior as this was to that of Egypt. 2. Colors —ln these the ancients ccrtain’yfar surpassed the moderns. Sir Humphrey Davy made many efforts to analyze the celebrated Tyrian purple of the East, hut these efforts were without success. He declared he could not dis cover of what it was composed. The Naples yellow, too, though less known, was much used, and (he art of making it is now entirely gone. The Tyrian purple is the color of many houses of Pompeii, and they look as fresh as if just painted. The colors of Titian are as vivid and baautifulas when first laid on hv the artist,while those of Sir Joshua Reynolds already look chalky and dead. And Sir Joshua himself confessed, after tnakinO it a study of his life, that he had never been able to discover how Raphael and the other great artists had been able to preserve the brightness and beauty of their paintings. But if wo marvel at these artists three centuries hack, what shall wo say to those paintings found in the tombs of Eg' pt, more than two thousand years old, and yet kept fresh and bright, though buried for that time beneath the ground in the damp, dark cavesofthe East? The very wife of Solomon is found here, just as she was painted on the eve of her departure from her father's home to share the throne of Judea, and not only is color of her garments preserved, hut the bloom is on her checks and lips, and the lustre iri her oyeus it was then. There are paintings, too, as far hack its the time of Moses ; a portrait suppos ed to he Niro, the king who drove the Israelites into the Red Sea ; and even the colors of this are pet Cecily preserved. 3. Mila’s. —Of the use 1 of these the Scriptures make very early mention. In the days ol'Aloses gold is spoken of as put and sometimes kept in a liquid state, w hile it is beyond our power to re duce it to a powder. The corner stones of the Pyramids are so sharp as to break the skin of the hand when passed over them, and so hard as to resist the sharpest steel. The French found great difficulty in carving two lines upon the obelisk now iu La Place Concorde; yet the an cients have covered till the facades with figures. According to history, they had an art, now lost, of making copper, (one oftlic softest of uietals,) harder than steel, and it was out of this that they made their tools. The famous Delhi blades, as it was well known, are unrivalled. They would cut off'the heads of a row of hob-nails, placed one after another, without dulling their edge; and-yet so pliable that the point could bo made to touch the handle. Then the warrior, too, im patient to wait for his sword to he cooled in the usual way, snatched it red hot, and waving it in the air, thus gave it its temper. They tried in Paris lately thus to temper steel, hut without success. Scott gives a description of the sword of Richard, which cut down steel with the same facility. The cannons oftlic British in India, it is well known, soon become honey-combed by dampness of the dew, so as to be totally useless in war. The lines of Byron on the rust upon the steel efthe warrior, are according to truth, though that warrior had lain hut one night be neath the open sky. Necessity has been to the East Indian the mother of invention lie will take the cast off hoop of an English cask, and make a sword of it equal to the best Parisian blade. The pliability of the steel of the ancients was wonderful, hut that of their bronze was more so. 4. Gems of the Ancients, their Cameos , S, c. — The imitation ofgcnis is truly wonderful. An instance is cited of a vase preserved in a church at Genoa, believed since the middle ages to he pure emerald ; declared by the priests to have been presented by the Queen of Sheba to Solo mon, and to have been the very vase from which Christ drank tit the wedding in Gallilee ; held in such veneration that ail were forbidden to touch it on penalty of death. He mentioned one who had just escaped this penalty for trying to touch it with a diamond. Coming near to it as he did, he thought ho perceived bubbles in it, which proved it to have been glass. This vase in the time of Buonaparte, was removed from the church in Genoa to the museum in Paris, and there was subject to an examination which proved it to he a false gem. It has since been returned to its place ; hut still it is by the priests declared to ho an emerald, and the vase presented to Solomon, and used by our Saviour. The full beauty and perfection of many gems in the museum of Italy, can only be seen by the aid of the glass, and one is therefore handed to the traveler at the door. So that it seems the ancients must have known and used the micros cope, else how could they have done work which cannot he seen without its aid ? There isevidonce too, of their use oftlic tel escope ; they are said to have seen ships at a great distance by the aid of an instrument, and without such aid it is impossible to conceive how the astronomers of Babylon could have gained their extensive knowledge of the stars The stories of Herodotus have been deemed so incredible that he has been styled the father lies, in contradistinction to the father of histo ry. Yet science has discovered many of these stories to be nor only possible, but probable. For instance, the story of Archimedes having set fire by means of a glass to the enemy’s fleet, laying at a great distance, has not only been proved by actual experiment probable, but that the result must have followed from the observ ance of the conditions stated. Science and re search may hereafter prove all his seeming lies to he indeed truths. The Marquis of Worcester had a discovery in his mind which lie could not carry out, but would sometime, he declared, be brought into use, and by which a tea-kettle ot water might be made to blow up an enemy's fort. When the steam engine was really dis covered, this assertion, then deemed so absurd, was considered prophecy. Even so may the progress of science prove the assertions of Hero dotus true. There was also a liquid fire which could he thrown into the enemy ’s ships at a dis tance to destroy them. This was used by the Norwegian pirates as late as hut the art ot making it is now unknown. The Mechanical Arts. —The French consider ed it so great a feat to place the Obelisk, which was one solid piece of stone, on hoard a vessel, and then convey it from thence to La Place Concorde ; to raise it from a horizontal to a perpendicular position ; that they deemed it worth recording on its base, with representations of the machines by which it was done. And yet this obelisk had been drawn front quarries, and thus raised, ages before, and by mechanics now unknown. It is well know n that in the tombs of Egypt were representations oflhc various arts then practiced. A distinguished decipherer ol the hieroglyphics thinks he finds . there the re presentations of the five mechanic powers, the lever, &c. Even new patterns of dress, and new patterns for shawls, are taken from those tombs. Their cloth, too, cotton ann linen, aqd even tnuslin-de-laine, were fopnd there of su perior quality. Most of the mummy cloth was indeed coarse, hut some lias beeq found of great fineness, even five hundred threads to a square inch. The porcelain of the Egyptians was very rich and beautiful ; and here we have evidence of commerce in vety early times. There is found in Egypt much of the China poicelairt, so that there must have been commeice between those two distant nations. Canals, a boasted modern invention, was made and used by the very ancients, if not for travelling, at least'to convey merchandise and burdens. Descriptions of a canal across the valley of Goshen are spoken of by the French and English engineers, which has been filled up with sand ; and again, in modern times, in a great overflow of the river, has been filled with water. There is unotlier, occupying part of the space between the Thebes and its quarters, over the rest oftlic space s a road, answering in a great measure to our ail roads, being evidently leveled by art and pivcd with immense blocks of store. These are not all the details prepared, hut sufficient for i.lus tration. Are we then superior in nothing to the ancient nations? Yes; and principally in this—that learning is not buried in the tombs, nor hidden in the erupts of churches. It does not now live 'apart from the world iu the sacred cloister, or behind the coif of the monks ; nor is it kept for kings and princes; but it goes forth among 'he people and works for them and receives from them in return ; it “casts its bread upon the wa ters and after many daysit returns again.” I’lie art once employed upon the pyramids is row making habitable the hanks of the Mississippi, and all the great Western rivers, and rendering their inhabitants prosperous and happy. Where too, among the ancients shall we find hospitals ? Where do we find men associated for the relief of their fello .v men ? Iri this tiling wo are su perior, but not in arts and sciences. And yet to iead to these modern results hut one slop was necessary ; and for centuries the world was, .as it were, on the point of making the step. The step was taken ; Printing was and scovered—and it has revolutionized the world. MACON , G A . SATI RD \Y MOR NING, DEC. 2, 1 f t< (Pi” Messrs J. P. Robinson, and .1 K. Har mon, are authorized to receive subscriptions for the Southern Museum, in any of the South- Western Counties of Georgia. o*We forward the present number of the Southern Museum to several of our friends, with a view- of obtaining for it their support. We disclaim, however, any desire of forcing the paper upon any, therefore, whilst wo shall he thankful for any patronage which may he extend ed to us, we respectfully request those who are unwilling to aid us in the enterprise, to notify us of the fact by returning the paper to this office; otherwise their names will be entered upon our subscription list. 'S’o She Bu'adiug I’iihlir, It is an old and hackneyed custom, in the con. duct of newspapers of every grade, for the edi tor to appear before his readers in the first issue, in order to make a salutatory address. For the very reason, that this is the usual mode of com mencing the first volume of a paper, we beg leave to differ from this common course, and therefore will content ourselves with a very few remarks as to what the readers of the Southern Mi si i m may expect the sheet not to he.; leav ing what it will he, a mutter open for considers, t ion in the progress of its publication. We know full well, that it is far preferable toexceed one’s promises than to fall below them ; and ns we shall promise little, we hope to make the paper worth a great deal; whereas, should we promise a sheet unparalleled, and fail to comply with the obligation, we should do violence to our own feelings, and justly merit the displeasure of our friends. The Museum shall never become a source of scurrilous abuse, or the medium of parly invec tive ; nor shall it, in the presentation of politi cal events, express any biassed opinions, hut, aiming at hare facts, vve shall present them with out comment, leaving those interested to form their opinions for or against as the case may bo. Personal satire shall he avoided ; and while a vituperative sectional feeling shall not obtain with us, our columns will be purely Southern) devoted, as they should he, to the maintenance of Southern rights. The interests of the Farmer shall not he neglected ; nor shall the man of business return profitless from the perusal of its colnmns. In short, in claiming the patronage of all, we hope to benefit all, so far as we can, hv using our best exertions to render our paper in structive, beneficial and amusing to the different classes of the community. Congress. —The second session of the Thir tieth Congress, commences at Washington, on Monday next. It will lie one of interest, espe cially as the question of the establishment of a Territorial Government in California and New Mexico, and with it the propriety of permitting slavery therein. It is said by several of the let ter writers from Washington, that a united ef fort will bo made at an early day to adjust this difficulty by extending to these Territories the Missouri compromise line. Literature and Criticism. The question is often asked, Why are the people of the South so negligent in the cultiva tion of Literature ? and yet, although the an swer has been claimed by a great many writers, of all classes, the mass of the people have yet to he enlightened upon the subject—an effectual remedy lias yet to he applied to the acknowl edged evil. The question, “Who reads an American hook is, we believe, fir less appli cable to the interest manifested in our publica tions iu England, than the one, Who reads a newspaper? among the inhabitants oftlic “sun ny South.” Tins is the great foundation of the evil which lias long fettered the mental energies of our citizens, and forced them, m point of in tellectual commerce at least, to bow the knee of obeisance to the more liberal and independent spirits of the North. It is our intention here, so far as our limits may permit, to enter into a calm and truthful exposition of the reasons which we assign for this lamentable ignorance ot nearly all classes of Southern society, and in so doing, we deprecate all intention of cast ing i< reproach upon the land of our birth. \\ e presume it to he an incontestable point that the vehicle, or rather the distributive pow er, by which Literature is given to the world, is the press. This assumption being true, we then class the products of this great power in their legitimate spheres, as hooks, newspapers and pamphlets. The first, being naturally more difficult to procure, are proportionally less common among us. It is true, we find the novel, the romance, the essay, and the hook of poetic gems gracing the centre tables of our parlors, and standing out in hold relief upon the shelves of our libra ries; still, it is nevertlic ess the case that the dust is often suffered to accumulate upon tlielid ß of hooks worthy our perusal, while those of a light, ttifling, and unprofitable character are the constant companions of our leisure hours. The press of the United States is daily teeming with volumes of execrable stuff', bred in the foul im aginations of fantastical idealis's, who have seized upon the frailty of nature, and appropri ated to their sustenance the proceeds of minis tering to the depraved appetites of man. And, at the same time that they cloak their narrow minded and selfish ends under the ostensible virtue of guarding others from the vices and in discretions of their heroes and heroines, they very gravely and impertinently pen a tribute to morality—planting a feeble spark of virtue in the mind of the reader, to he extinguished hv the irresistible torrent of destructive and poison ous examples embodied in their productions.— And why is it that there are so many of these au thors extant? the reply is tin easy one : it is the taste of the people which makes the author, and they who live by mental labor are driven from the field of pure and genuine Literature, by the want of patronage, and the consequence is, they must either gi\e tip their voTalion, or accommo date their writings to the prevailing channel of corruption. If a work of fiction appears, it must ho filled with the relation of the wonderful adventures of some modern Blue Beard, or chronicle the win ning graces and irresistible charms of a beautiful courtezan, whose aristocratic birth and associa tion prevent her 'mingling with the common herd, to which companionship her remarkable experiments in love and “affairs of the heart” so justly entitle her. This work, hearing an inge nuous title and hypocritical face, escapes the notice ofthe parent, and passes into the hands ol the young person, (by whom works of fiction are most appreciated,) to he conned at the hour of midnight, when the mind has and desires no restraint from counteracting influences, but sips in silence, and with growing avidity, the draught of a fearful and boundless poison. Thus it is that these base pretenders for Literary honors encourage a taste they should condemn, and foster an e\ il they should endeavor to extinguish; while the minds of reading persons, strengthened by this ready acquiescence to their will, be come fortified in an enthusiastic and vigorous at tack upon the better principles of our nature.— In the majority of instances, these worthless and baleful volumes are the visitors of the parlor, and the objects upon which the the young and the gay, the romantic and the impure, engross their idle moments. Books of history are mere chronological facts, to be appealed to in proving, in learned arguments by the lovers of novels, the date of some incident, portrayed by a late publication of an European re-print. Metaphys ical works, in the common parlance of the dav, are for the old and the dying, as grave subjects are only fit for the hour of approaching dissolu tion. Poetical writings are merely bought for the purpose of affording a change ofconversation, and to embellish the collections of the library Thus, the books we read arc few of them wor thy our attention, and canno, be said to consti tute a part of true Literature. Now let us exam ine the newspaper press. Our newspapers are, almost without excep tion, identified with one or the other of the political parties now distracting the country ; and, as they are every year engaged in a political canvass, in National or State elections, pictu ring forth the claims of some aspirant to civil power, or declaiming against an opposing influ ence; and ns, in the heat of an exciting politi cal campaign it is unreasonable to suppose tha 1 the milder and more refined interests of Litera ture can he advanced, it is useless to look to the partizan press for the advocacy of those princi ples which so deeply concern the man of letters. This being the case, then, vve are forced to draw this conclusion : that neither the books read by the people, nor the productions of the partizan press are at all calculated to promote the cause of genuine Literature—for the former adap tiiemsclvcs to a corrupted taste, and the latter aim at the elevation of an entirely foreign and irrelevant interest. What then, it behooves ua to enquire, can create a pure and exalted Lite rary taste among us ? Why, let the distinctive parties support their respective advocates ; let the light and trifling support the fountain-head of profitless and impure fiction : but let those who desire to see the mental products of the South worthy of our talent and the ago, rally around the Literary periodicals and newspapers now in progress in this section of the L'nion— give them the aid of a generous purse ; cheer them with the marks of their esteem and appro bation ; assist them with the endeavors of their own minds—and then we shall see, as these or gans increase in interest and patronage, the flood tide offalse Literature ebbing, and the pen as' stiming its high prerogative in the progression of the mental abilities, and in the exultation of hu man reason and human tiappincss. But are these the only barriers to the progress of Literature ? Would that they were! Ilu 1 alas! we have among us the descendant of an ancient and esteemed patron of letters, disfig ured by the hand ofcriine, and apostatized from the devotion of-its ancestor. We refer to that detestable system of monopolizing thought, knovvn in modern times by the unmerited name of Criticism. Every man is, according to the false theory of the present day, born a critic, and, as a free, sovereign citizen, it is his right to exercise this function upon all occasions. He who dares to deny this privilege is cried down as an anti-republican—an enemy to free institu tions! Shakspeare is to he tested in the cruci ble of some ambitious wight, whose shallowness ofintellect debars him from the comprehension ofthe beauties and the profoundness of that sub lime author. He w hose mind is incapable of creating a reputation, hopes to gain notoriety by cavilling about the defects of popular writers; and, guided by no other desire than an enviou ß and sordid self-aggrandizement, lie uses every means in his power to crush the buddings of the infant mind, by pointing out the faults of its pro ductions to the public gaze ; leaving the occa sional beauties to he discovered by some more lenient eve. Were there but one case on record to appear in condemnation of these hypocritical blockheads, that would he alone sufficient to cast eternal infamy upon such Literary stock jobbers. Who does not recognise, in the death oftheyoung, hut lamented Keats, a crime al. most unparalleled in the history of tic deprav ity of the human heart ? As soon as his first poetical productions appeared, he was attacked with all the fierceness and rapacity of such wild brutes, and received the whole calibre of their scurrility and abuse, because seine of his friends chanced to belong to an opposing party faction! And tints the splcndoi of an intellectual star was Cwiipscd ere its light had reached the me ridian of life, and a young, transcendunt genius was buried, at twenty-four years of age, by the hands of a debased, vile crew of ignoble critics ! The history of this transaction is but the public transcript of a thousand, which remain in the shades of oblivion. It cannot he expected that the mind can arrive at perfection without the practical exercise of its qualities; nor should the effusions of youth furnish a criterion for the advancement of age. The crude thought may be shnpen into beautiful symmetry and grace, if the artizau he encouraged and rewarded for his labor. It is not'tile office of the ci ilic to separate the beautiful font the unseemly, but to guard the minds ofthe people from impure and vicious writings. This done, his duty is peiformed ; he ow es none other to the Literary world. But how often do vve sec “instances of mnl practice in the strictures of these nien ! A wav with such criticism ! Let the critic guard our Literature from corruption, and leave the merits and de merits of an author to be decided by the reading public. The opinion of one man, prompted, it may be, bv selfish and unworthy motives, should not he taken as infallible truth, without a careful and unprejudiced examination of the premises. Let this ciass of Literary aspirants, then, abandon the ide of harping themselves into notice upon tho merits of others; cultivate their own minds; encourage every worthy at tempt to excel—and the cloud which now over hangs tho Literary sky will vanish, and innu merable and brilliant stars, of the first magni tude, will deck its spacious firmament. Edu c ation. —The reader will find an interest ing article on this subject, on the third page of this paper, from the pen of Mrs. Sigourney. Let this truth never be forgotten, that every boy and girl in the country should have their heads, their hearts, and their hands educated. By the proper education ofthe head, they will he taught vvliat is good, and what is evil—what is wise and what is foolish—vvliat is right and what is wrong. By a proper education ofthe heart, they will be taught to love what is good, wise and right, and to hate what is evil, foolish,and wrong; and by a proper education of the hands, they will be enabled to supply their wants, to add to their comforts, and to assist those around them. The highest objects ofa good education are to rever ence and obey God, and to love and serve man kind ; every thing that helps us in attaining these objects is of great value, and everything that hinders us is comparatively worthless. When wisdom reigns in the head and love in the heart, the head is ever ready to do good; order and peace smile around, and sin and sor row are almost unknown. Making Sugar in Georgia. —We under stand that Col. G P. Harrison, of Chatham County, has made a very satisfactory experi ment in boiling the juice ofthe Sugar-cane-, in to a good article of syrup and sugar. This en terprise is worthy theattention of our, fin tiling friends, and vve hope soon to see our markets supplied with these articles, of home manufac ture. They will furnish remunerating prices in lieu ot 5 cents per pound for Cotton. How long before vve shall be enabled to chronicle another essential mean of developing the varied resour ces of our State ? ICT’It is probable the lighting of Savannah river, provided for by the latC/iacts of Congress, will be completed during the present month. Locomotive Speed. —The Lowell Courier says that anew engine, having driving wheels \of six and a half feet in diameter, capable of running a mile a minute, lias been recently built for the Boston and Lowell Railroad. uj 1 Seven hundred and three persons have died in N. Orleans, of Yellow Fever, the past summer. Very few of them are Americans. ILpTlie cotton crop ofthe United States,las* year, was worth $05,000,000. South Western lttiil Routl. It gives us much pleasure to learn, front an authentic source, that the work upon this im portant Road is rapidly progressing. Thirty five miles are under contra?t, and the grading is nearly half done far that distance. The su perstructure is also contracted for, upon twen ty-five miles, and, it is estimated, that this portion of the Road will be completed in about 12 months. It is the expectation ofthe Compa ny, very soon, to let out another part of the Road to a suitable depot on the western side of Flint River. The public may reasonably ex pect the cars to run to this station in 18 months. When the Road is completed thus far, it will bring a large amount of Cotton to Macon and Savannah, which has hitherto been sent totlie Gulf ports, and, at that early day, the Stock holders and the people will begin to realize the fruits ot the enterprise. Much has been said about this work j many have been the advan tages predicted to flow from it; and now wo look with anxiety to the ti ne, when the last remnant of opposition to it will he broken down by the practical triumph and success of the ex periment. This we are firmly convinced will he done, and it is our opinion, that ifthere has been any miss-statement in regard to the bene fits likely to follow its completion, it has been in under-rating them. The Road wall pene trate the heart of ti e richest cotton-growing country in the South, the products of which have never, to any extent, been brought to this market or that ofthe seaboard, but have found their way, by a slow and unccrta n medium, to less profitable marts upon the Gulf. An ex tended patronage from the farming population, consequent upon the shipment here of their sta ple products, will enable our merchants to of fer inducements to them, which the present I mits of trade will not permit. The “Maffitt Con i roversv.” —Rev. J. N. Maffitt, a Methodist Minister, and an au thor of great celebrity, at the North, is the sub ect of a considerable discussion in s omc of the Northern newspapers at the present time It appears, as far as vve have been able to under stand tho matter, that Sir. Maffitt, ”"wlio is an elderly gentleman, married, some three or fl»ur years ago, a young lady of sixteen or seventeen years ot ago. Before the marriage, as ho says in a let.er to Mrs. M , dated August, 1847, du ring a temporary separation from licr, i;c? innrlc •'til exposition of his sufferings, tVr., vjwn his knees, and warned her, “again and again, of the tremendous responsibility” she was “about to take upon herself, in becoming his wife, and also, vvliat he would require of her in that capacity. This, however, lie had no idea of doing, until lie was informed by “certain per sons, ’ that l ‘she lured him distractedly,” and then, of eotir-c, bo felt a “correspondent inter est in bur tin that account.” Having indulged in those preliminaries, the letter got s on to re proach her lor misconduct, in going “out alone, without her mother or some person older than herself,” and neglecting to barn to play, du ring his absence, “at least one tune upon the piano, and, instead of working with her nee dle, as she had promised him heliiro their en gagement, for ripping and leuring about, and f°r being lazy, prudish, indolent and impudent, conducting herself with the greatest impropri ety towards himself and her relations. At the close of this extremely humiliating and wither ing epistle, he lays down certain rules and com mands, a promise to comply with w hieh waste he the signal for their rc-union. Accordingly, in her reply, Mrs. M. manifests the deepest penitence, and pledges the most utter submis sion t > his will. Subsequent to this inimitable correspondence, the parties lived together lor several months, when they again parted, and, a short time ago, .Mrs.. M. died, as it is said, of a broken heart. Tho matter is now subject of dispute, as to who was most to blame in the affair. Upon the whole, we regard it ns an un called for publication of private domestic affairs, and, from the present tone of the disputation, vve very much doubt whether the friends of ei ther party will realize tiny additional estimation of their respective virtues, in the public mind, or be enabled to fasten the wrong upon the husband or wife, alone. For the sake ofthe relatives of tho deceased, and the respectable connection to which Mr. Maffitt belongs, we think the matter should have been suffered to remain within the circle of those acquainted with the facts, as being unlikely to result in any good. It furnishes strong evidence against those mercenary and ill-fated marriages which take place between young women and old men. It is to be hoped that few sueli cases will ever he recorded in future. Let the young look well to their future happiness, and nip in the bud file unworthy plans of gold-blinded parents and' friends, and the public car shall never again he saluted by a similar narrative. Turpentine. — One hundred and ten barrels of Turpentine were recently produced near Mo bile, Ala.,and sold in that market for $3 per bar rel, cash Cannot this article be obtained in abundance at but a trivial cost from the inex haustible pine forests in the lower part of Geor gia? Wc think itcan,andno doubt if it were undertaken would yield a handsome profit to those engaged in its production, besides render ing valuable thousands of acres of land, which now arc comparatively worthless. We see tho experiment has been made within a year or two past by some of the citizens of the lower coun ties, and the article was readily disposed of at a remunerating price in the Savannah market. In these days of light and progress, itwillbe some lime before the supply oftl is article will exceed the demand. UTBerry, the Democratic candidate, has been elected Senator in Orange District, N. ( ~ by a majority of seven votes. This gives the Demo crats the Legislature of that State, by one ma jority. Waddell, his opponent threatens to contest his election. The Legislature of that State is now in session. O’ Santa Anna’s liquor canteen, two leet long, mounted with silver, and made of Mexi can ox-horn, is in Philadelphia.