Newspaper Page Text
who did not laugh at it, said it was deplor
able that a man of such merit should be
tainted with a vice so degrading as avarice.
Even his friends were moved by it, and
some of them went so far as to remonstrate
with him publicly ; but the only reply be
Sive was by shrugging bis shoulders, and
en, as every thing is quickly forgotten at
Paris, people soon ceased to talk of this.
Ten years had passed away. One day
the Court of Cassation, in its red robes, was
descending the steps of the Palace of Jus
tice, to be present at the public ceremony.
All at once, a female darts from the crowd,
throws herself at the feet of the Procurcur
General, seizes the end of hit* robe, and
presses it to her lips. The woman is look
ed upon as deranged, and they try to drag
her away.
“ Oh, leave me alone, leave mo alone,”
she cries, “ I recognise him—lt is he—my
preserver ! Thanks to him, I was able to
bring up my large family. Thanks to.him,
my old age is happy. Oh, you do not know,
you —one day—l was very unhappy then
I was advised to bring an action against.
a distant relation of my late husband, who,
it was said had possessed himself of a rich
heritage that ought to have como to my
children. Already I had sold half my goods
to commence the action, when one evening
I saw enter my house a gentleman, who
said to me, “ Do not goto law ; reason and
morality are for you, but the law is against
you. Keep the little you have, and adJ to
it these 3,000 francs, which are truly yours.”
I remained speechless with surprise ; when
I would have spoken and thanked him, he
had disappeared ; but the bag of money
was there, upon my table, and the counte
nance of that generous man was engraven
upon my heart, never to be erased. Well,
this man—this preserver of my family—is
here! Let me thank him before God and
before men!”
The Court had stopped. The Procurcur
General appeared moved, but conquering
his emotions, he said—
“ Take away this good woman, and take
care that no harm conjes to her—l don’t
think she quite right in her muni.”
He was mistaken—the poor woman was
not mad—only she remembered, and M
had forgotten!
The Freebooters. —Numberless are the
stories told of the banditti infesting the high
roads of Mexico, and not a lew of them
glow with singularity and interest.
A solitary Frenchman was once traveling
alone in a diligence from Penbla to Mexi
co, with some five or six hundred dollars in
specie, which he resolved to defend so long
as he had life. He carried with him the
best double-barrelled gun he could find, and
had cartridges made to fit his piece, each
containing a full charge of buckshot, which
lie determined the robbers should pocket
before they got his gold.
Somewhere about midnight, when the
moon was kindling into burning silver the
tlic diligence suddenly discovered,
upon turning a bend in the road, a large
party of rancherous about fifty yards in ad
vance. The solitary traveler was immedi
ately informed of the fact, and the terrified
driver pulled up his horses at once. The
Frenchman asked if it was not possible to
secrete his money in the diligence, but the
trembling driver gave answer in the negative.
At once preparing himself for war, the
Frenchman swore they should not get his
money without a fight, and he was soon rea
dy for action. Both barrels of his gun were
loaded, and he coolly drew his ramrod and
held it between his fingers, while he took
two more cartridges from his belt and plac
ed them between his teeth, in ordei to facil
itate him in reloading. Then cocking his
piece, and seeing that the robbers were not
advancing, he commanded the cowardly
driver to resume his seat, and the diligence
slowly proceeded. Calm as a block of stone
he awaited the event.
When within a few paces of the rascals,
who were ten in number, nine on horse
back and one afoot, the driver was com
manded by the robbers to stop, and lie did
so. One of the freebooters then came to
the side of the diligence, deliberately open
ed the door, and ordered the passenger out,
but the muzzle of a gun was at the robber’s
breast, and the instantaneous reply lie re
ceived was a charge of buckshot in his
heart! A wild shriek sprang up fearfully,
and started away in the moonlight among
the mountain echoes, as the freebooter gave
a convulsive death-bound, and fell dead on
the road !
The brave Frenchman had another car
tridge in his discharged barrell .instantly,
and the same preliminaries were observed
as before for quick reloading. Had the
whole ten men beset the door of the vehi
cle, the Frenchman would have shot down
every one of them. They possibly may
have had some vague notion of that fact, for
in thirty seconds after the robber fell there
was not one of the other nine in sight, end
our hero in the diligence reserved his te
maining nine fires and preserved his gold.
Clerical Oratory. —A minister’s stylo
should be simple, dignified, and if he can so
make it, elegant. At any rate, it should be
generally correct. Mark you, we do not say
that every sentence must lie as still’ and
starch as a nctv cap in a milliner’s window. —
Nothing like it. Let it he free and appar
ently unstudied ; and if occasionally broken
in its connexion, in an extemporaneous har
rangue.no matter. It is the nature of such
speaking to porduce such ruggedness. Hut
by all means avoid vulgarisms. The drop
ping of an idea, before it is half developed—
the announcement of a text, that is not once
referred to in the discourse—are ail evils, to
be avoided carefully, and at all times :—but
by all means avoid vulgarisms At the liar—
iti the hall of legialation—or in the pulpit,
the greatest blemish to good speaking, is ati
indulgence in that most difficult of all defects
to remedy, tho use of habitual vulgarisms.
Nothing is more common—nothing is more
annoying—noristheie anything for which
there is less apology.
Why are red haired men the best sol
diers T Because they always carry their
fire-locks on their shoulders !
A fragmrtitfor the Ladies. —“ Thy grand
mother,” said my uncle Toby, addressing
himself to young Arabella, just from Lon
don, and who was playing the battle of Mar
engo, on the piano—“thy grandmother,
child,” said he, “used to play on a much bet
ter instrument than thine.”
“ Indeed,” said Arabella, “ how could it
have been better ? you know it is the most
fashionable instrument, and is used by every
body that is any thing.”
“ Your grandmother was something, yet
she never saw a pianoforte.”
“ Hut what was the name of this instru
ment ? had it strings, or was it played by
keys ?”
“ You must give me time to recollect the
name ; it was indeed a stringed instrument,
but was played by the hand.”
“By the hand alone 1 How vulgar; but
I protest I should like to see one, and papa
shall buy me one when I return to London.
Do you think that we can obtain one ?”
“ No, you will not probably find one in
London, hut doubtless they may he found in
some of the country towns.”
“ How many strings had it ? Must one
play, with both hands ? and could one play
the double bass 1”
“ I know not whether it would play dou
ble bass, as you call it; it was played by
both hands, and had two strings.”
“ Two strings only ? surely you are jest
ing, how could good music he produced by
such an instrument, when the piano lias two
or three hundred ?”
“ Oh, the strings were very long, oneabout
14 feet, and the other might be lengthened
at pleasure, even to 50 or rnoie.”
“ What a prodigious deal of room it must
take up, but no matter, I will have mine in
the old hall, and papa may have an addition
built to it, for he says 1 shall never want for
any thing, and so does mamma. Were the
strings struck with little mallets like the pi
ano, or were they snapped like a harpsi
chord ?”
“ Like neither of those instruments, as 1
recollect; hut it produced a soft kind nfhuin
miug music, and was peculiarly agreeable
t<) the llUSOcilJd auU i t’luiluua u/’lltt |/v i form
er.”
“Oh, as to pleasing one’s husband or re
lations, that is all Dicky, in the Haun-ton,
you know ; but I am determined to have one
at any rate. Was it easily learnt, and was
it taught by French or Italian masters'?”
“ It was easily learnt, but Frenchmen and
Italians scarcely dared to show their heads
in our country in those times.”
“ Can you not possibly recollect the name?
llow shall we know what to enquire for ?”
“ Yes, I do now remember the name, and
you must enquire for a spinning wheel.”
An Incident and its Moral. —Going to
dinner the other day, we saw a little codger
about two years old, sitting in a wheel-bar
row and trying to wheel himself. It struck
us that many people in this world are often
caught in the same act, as we shall always
think hereafter.
When we see a politician striving torot
fice, taking the lead in all matters calculated
topromote his success, writing his own puffs,
and calling all his own meetings, he is sit
ting in a wlieelbanow and trying to wheel
himself.
When we see a business man trusting
every tiling to his clerks, and continually
seeking his own amusement —always absent
from his counting house, and yet expecting
to get along, he’s “ sitting in a wheelbarrow
and trying to wheel himself.”
When we see a professional man better
acquainted with every thing else than his
profession, always starting some new scheme
and never attending to his calling, his ward
robe and credit will soon designate him as
“ sitting on a wheelbarrow and trying to
wheel himself.”
When wc sec a mechanic run halfa square
every day to borrow a newspaper, and may
be have to wait ten or fifteen minutes be
fore lie enn have it, we shall suspect that
the time he loses would soon pay the sub
scription and consider him as “ sitting on a
wheel-bairow and trying to wheel himself,”
Wheeling Times.
A bold Preacher. —The boldness of Sam
uel Davies, (a qualification so important that
even St. Paul requested the Christians to
pray it might be given him) will lie illustra
ted by a single anecdote. When President
of Princeton College, he visited England
for the purpose of obtaining donors for that
institution. Tho King (George 2) had a
curiosity to hear a preacher from the “wilds
of America.” He accordingly attended,
and was so struck with his commanding
eloquence that he expressed his astonish
ment so loud as to he heard half way over
the house, in such terms as these; “ lie is a
wonderful man !” “ Why he heats my
Bishops !” &c. Davies observing that the
King was attracting more attention than
himself, paused and looking his Majesty full
in the face, gave him, in an emphatic tone,
the following beautiful rebuke, “ When the
lion roarcth, let the beasts of the forest trem
ble : and when the Lord speaketh, let the
kings of the earth keep silence.” The
King instantly shrunk hack in his seat like
a school boy that had been rapped over the
head by his master, and remained quiet dur
ing the remainder of the sermon. The next
day the monarch sent for him, and gave him
fifty guineas as a donation for the institution
over which he presided, observing ut the
same time to his courtiers, “ He is an hon
est man, an honest man.” Not one of his
silken bishops would have dared to give
him such a reproof.
Severe Retorts. —A coxcomb, not very re
markable for the acuteness of his feelings or
his wit, wishing to banter a testy old gentle
man, who had lately garnished his mouth
with a complete set of false teeth flippantly
inquired—“ Well my good sir, I have often
heard you complain or your masticators—
pray when do you expect to be troubled
with the toothache?”
“ When you have an affection of the heart
or a brain fever,” was the reply.
Not less ready and biting was the retort j
of the long eared Irishman, who, being ban
toringly asked—“ Paddy, my jewel, why
don’t you get your eares cropped ?—They
are too large for a man !” replied—“ And j
your’s are too small for uu ass.” ‘
©<d ip mHi ift st sa as®is il il Asrsfo
Important industrial Movement. The
Result attained. —While the Doctrine of
Association —which, in the sphere of prac
tical interests, is based upon a system of
Joint Stock Poverty, Unity of Interests and
Concert of Action lias been advocated in
theory in the North, some of its principles
have been applied practically in the South, j
in the construction of a great woik of In
ternal Improvement.
General Abbott 11. Brisbane, of Georgia,
a gentleman of distinguished attainments
and high standing, has constructed a Rail
road seventy-six miles in length, between
the Ocmulgee and Flint Rivers, with a force
of one hundred end fifty laborers, who, in
stead of being paid a paltry amount of wages
for their labor, which are generally squan
dered as soon as received, in a useless and
often pernicious manner, have taken the
Stock of the Railroad for llieit labor, and
are now the principal owners of the Road.
This important work connects the Atlan
tic with the Gulf of Mexico, an object which
the General Government has desired to ac
complish for the last twenty years, but with
out having executed it.
’ Gen. Brisbane, while engaged in survey
ing routes for a communication of the kind,
under the late Gen. Bernard, had his atten
tion called by that great Engineer to the
importance and feasibility of the route up
on which he has constructed his Road. Fif
teen years latter —that is, in 1839 —Gen.
Brisbane decided upon undertaking the work
himself. He availed himself of a Charter
granted by the State of Georgia a number
of years before, of which he became the
proprietor. He collected in the city of
Charleston thirty Irish laborers, who were
thrown out of work by the difficulties of
the times, and led them to the field of ope
rations ; there were a great many obstacles
to surmount at the commencement, hut by
energy and perseverance they were over
come, and tlie number of laborers was soon
increased to a hundred and fifty. ’1 lie
General furnished the means of support —
that is,food and clothing—for the men while
they were engaged, and they took Stock,
oa wo ctaio.l, liir iheir work : some of them
possess two thousand dollars worth of Stock.
The time which they have been engaged in
constructing the work is twenty months,
and the sum of money which lias been re
quired to support the men is but $15,0C0.
Here is a grand result: seventy-six miles
of Railroad built with a cash capital of 815,-
000, and the Laborers owners of the Road!
The cars will he run for a time on wooden
rails, which have been laid down, and with
horses, at the rate of ten miles an hour, un
til, out of the profits of the Road, iron rails
can be substituted.
This is, however, but a part of General
Brisbane’s operations : there belong to the
Road 175,000 acres of land which tho La
borers can go upon and cultivate : in the
settling of this land, the principle .if Unity
of Action and Interests and Association
will he applied. Tracts of land of 6,000
acres will he laid out, on which from one to
land will be appraised at a fair valuation,
and will, together with the improvements,
he represented by Stock divided into shares;
which will lie sold to the colonists as they
can purchase it. The principle of Associa
tion, with its immense economies and com
bination of action, will he applied in the
mode of building, living and household sys
tem. The land will be cultivated with or
der, unity and concert of action by the mem
bers of the Colony.
Let Real Estate be represented by Stock,
and subjected by the unitary and combined
system of cultivation, instead of the miser
able, mismanaged, incoherent system of isola
ted families, and the greatest improvements in
Agriculture will be introduced. The stock
may he sold and change hands, but the land
itself would remain under the control of a
body of intelligent Agriculturists and cul
tivated with the same older and system.
The whole tract of 175,000 acres is situ
ated three hundred feet above the level of
the rivers; tho soil is good, and the climate
salubrious and perfectly healthy. It pro
duces the Sugar Cane, the Vine in the great
est perfection, Fruits and Vegetables of all
kinds, Mulberry, Silk, &c. &c.
A caviler asks, very fairly—Will there
not he danger that this principle will he
abused by visionaries and schemers to the
injury of the Laborers who will be set to
work on unprofitable undertakings from
which they will realise nothing ? We an
swer that theie is such danger; and this
fact will suggest to Laborers the importance
of precaution and investigation before lend
ing their aid to any particular enterprise of
the kind; hut if they should occasionally
be misled, they will still do far better than
under the former system ; for now the La
borers finish one Canal or Railroad and pack
up their rags for a weary march to another
with hardly the means of reaching it in ma
ny instances; while a suspension often
brings them to the verge of famine; but
under the co-operative system they will at
least he sure of work and abundance while
the work is constructing ; and then, if it be
not a folly or a fraud, they will have earned
and saved something handsome for the fu
ture. They cannot do worse than they gen
et ally do now ; they will probably do infi
nitely better. Is not the idea worthy of
general consideration ?
We will publish to-morrow a communi
cation, addressed by Gen, Brisbane to the
Fourier Association, which will give some
further information on the subject.— N. Y.
Tribune.
An irregular Discourse. —Some time ago,
a Scotcli clergyman was piously holding
forth to a primitive congregation in a rural
district ofthecounty. The good man, either
from laziness or a defective memory, was in
the habit of writing down the heads of his
discourse, and each head was written on sep
arate slips of paper. Unperceived by the
man of God, the wind carried off one of his
slips containing his Thirdly. Os course
when he came to thirdly,—thirdly, thirdly,
reiterated the good man, but could proceed
no further. An aged matron, perceiving
the dilemma of her worthy pastor, and know
ing the cause, at last rose up and said, ’’l’m
gayin muekle mistain, sir, if I did na see
thirdly fleen not at the wast door no very
hmg sync, sir.”
Characteristic Anecdote. Alexander
[lamiltou was once applied to as counsel by
i man having the guardianship of several
orphans. These infants would, on their
corning of age, succeed to a large and valu
able estate, of which there was some mate
rial defect in the title deeds. I his fact,
and the manner in which it happened, was
known only to the guardian, who wished to
employ Hamilton as counsel, to vest in him
self the title of the estate. He related the
whole affair circumstantially, and was re
quested by his lawyer to call again before
he would venture to give his advice in a
matter of so much importance. On h:s se
cond visit, Hamilton read over to him the
minutes of their previous conversation that
lie had reduced to writing, and asked him if
the statement was correct. On receiving
jan answer in the affirmative, Hamilton re
plied : “ You are now completely in my
power, and I look upon myself as the future
guardian of the unhappy infants. Take my
advice ; settle with them honorably to the
|ast cent, or I will hunt you from your skin
like a hare.” It is proper to add that this
advice was punctually followed. — U. S.
Gazette.
T. Hood vs. Ghosts. —Ghosts, says Tom, j
be hanged ! No such thing in nature ; all
laid long ago, before the wood pavements.
What should they come for? The colliers
may rise for higher wages, and the Chart
ists may rise for reform, and Joseph Sturge
mav rise for his health, and bread may rise ;
but that the dead should rise only to make
one’s hair rise, is more than I can credit.—
Suppose yourself a ghost. Well, if you
come out of your grave to save a friend, how
are you to help him ? And if it is an enemy,
what is the use of appearing to him, if you
can’t pitch into him.
Politics. —The Richmond - Whig, after
some excellent and pertinent observations
upon a special case, thus remarks upon the
subject generally : —“ We end, then, as we
begun —that politics are, are in this country,
a huge briar-patcl), through which the small
est creatures make their way with least harm.
Rabbits and reptiles, (things that can creep
and wriggle,) get along best. Any thing
larger, unless fenced with the skin of a jack
ass, has to take the clearing tools, (the briar
hook and grubbing hoe,) and will come out
at last with an empty belly, and a plenty of
nothing but scratches.”
Hanging in Chains. —Two Irish laborers
being at the execution of the malefactors on
the new scaffold before Newgate, one says
to the other, “ At rali, Pat, now ! but is there
anv difference between being hanged here
and being hanged in chains ?” “ No, hon
ey !” replied he, “ no great difference : on
ly one hangs about an hour, and the other
hangs all the days of his life.”
Munchausen Revived. —A Vermont paper,
in giving an account of a late snow storm,
-♦a!i->k f !mt n stnufi driver wfio found it imnos
sible to proceed further with the vehicle, de
tached a horse from it, and on his return
was thrown into the snow, by the animal
stumbling; on getting up, he found the
cause to have been the horse’s stepping one
foot in the chimney of a two story house !
The editor does not state whether the driver
stopped to cook his breakfast.
Female Ingenuity. —Miss Jane Craighend,
a young lady of this borough, has recently
completed a quilt, which for beauty and in
genuity exceeds any thing of the kind wc
have ever seen. It is composed of 6,521
pieces all of the same size and shape, hut
each one of different, pattern. Anyone can
judge of the work there is on it, as (veil as
of the patience of the lady who made it, from
the fact that it was commenced sixteen years
ago, and has occupied the most of her lei
sure moments ever since.— Harrisburgh
Chronicle.
The Prospect in England. —A letter to
the New York Courier, dated London, Oc
tober 21st, says:
The truth is that the last three days have
been wintry cold, and the thoughts of the
approach of winter in the midst of a dis
tress of the population so extensive, appears
to appal almost every mind. The abundance
of potatoes is certainly a great salvation—
but to almost millions to whom the winter
is approaching without prospect of even
partial employment, there is no consolation
in the cheapness of the lowest food, when
clothing,[coals, and other equally indispensa
ble things cannot possibly be obtained. A
gentleman of excellent abilities and largely
engaged iri commerce returned this morn
ing from Yorkshire, and says that his friends
in various parts of that manufacturing coun
ty view the approach of winter “ with dis
may.”
Green. —“ Let go the jib there ! let go
that jib quick,” bawled an eastern skipper
to a green hand, when his craft was caught
in a squall. “ 1 aint a touching yet jib,”
replied honest Jonathan.
“ How far is it to ?” “ Why, it’s
eight miles.” “Eight devils! Why, a
man told me, a mile hack, that it was only
six.” Well, seeing that you are an old man,
and your horse looks tired, and you seem
impatient, we’ll call it three.”
“ Is that clean butter ”? asked a grocer of
a boy who brought a quantity to market.
“ I should think it ought to be,” replied the
boy, “ for mai m and Sail were more Ilian
two hours picking the hairs out on it last
night.”
A lady in Calcutta asked Colonel Iron
sides for a mango. As he rolled it along
the table, it fell into a plate of kiss-mists, a
kind of grape very common in the East In
dies, upon which Dr. Hunter, a gentleman
as eminent for his wit as for his profession,
neatly obsei'ved, “ How naturally man-goes
to hiss-miss.”
“What do you suppose the world think
of us ?” inquired a young man of Dr. John
son. “ Why I suppose,” says the Doctor,
“ that they think me a bull-dog, and you a tin
kettle tied to my tail.” ,
Self-Devotion in Low lAfe. Wc take the
following from on English Journal, and
commend it to the attention of our readers
as one of the noblest instances of heroism
on record : . 1
“A few weeks ago two miners, v erran and
Roberts, were at work in South Caradon
on anew shaft (whichis intended to be sunk
perpendicularly, through a granite country
to intersect the lodge at the depth of 140
fathoms.) The present depth is about 10
fathoms, and they had prepared a hole for
blasting, the fuse inserted, tamped up and
all ready for firing. On these occasions the
men are drawn up by a windlass, and as
they are only three in a eorps, there is only
one man at the brace, and he can only draw
up one at a time; consequently, after the
whole is ready one man is drawn up and
the kibble lowered ready to receive the last
man, who has to put fire to the fuse, and
then both men at the windlass draw him up
with the utmost speed, in order that all may
get out of the way when the explosion takes
place, which is sometimes so violent that
large stones are thrown up at the top, car
rying with them part of the roller and wind
lass to a considerable height. It unfortun
ately happened that as the safety fuse with
which tho hole was charged was longer than
was necessary, they inconsiderately took a
sharp stone to cut it off, ami ignition imme
diately commenced. ’They both Hew to the
kibble end cried out to the man at the brace
to “ wind up;” but alas! after trying with
all his might, lie could not start them. At
this awful moment (when the furious hissing
of the fuse assured them that their destruc
tion was within a half minute’s march of
them) Verran sprang out of the kibble, ex
claiming to his comrade, Roberts, *Go on,
brother, I shall he in Heaven in a minute !’
consequently, Roberts was drawn up, and
Verran threw himself down, and placed his
poor devoted head under a piece of plank
in one corner of the shaft, awaiting the mo
ment when he should be blown to atoms.
Just as Roberts got to the brace, and was
looking down with trembling apprehension
on the fate of poor Verran, the whole went
off’ with a-trememlous explosion, and a small
stone struck Itobeits severely on the fore
head as he w'as looking down the shaft. To
the inexpressible surprise and joy of the
men at the brace, they heatd Verran cry
out, ‘ Don’t be afraid, lam not hurt!’ Rob
erts immediately descended, and found that
the great burden of the blast was thrown in
every part of the shaft except the corner
where poor Verran was coiled up. T his
extraordinary circumstance has produced a
considerable sensation throughout the dis
trict. Not only do they view the escape as
a miraculous interposition of Divine Provi
dence, but the conduct of Verran as a noble
instance of what a real Christian will do in
a moment of extremity.”
“Come, gather round the blazing hearth,
And with reflection temper mirth ”
The Immortality of the Soul. — Whenev
er we look on the works of Creation, we see
marks of change and decay. “ Passing a
way,” is written on all earthly things. The
flying clouds, the flowing liver, the fading
-leaf—all have a voice that reminds man of
his changing state. We feel that we are
born to die. Life passed in a few changing
successions of events, and we ate gone.—
The strongest bodily frame must yield to the
conquerer, death, and return to its mother
earth. The limbs once vigorous and active,
must become motionless; the eye, once
sparkling with intelligence, and animation,
must be closed nevermore to weep orsmile;
the voice that once uttered sw’eet or thrill
ing tones, must be hushed in silence. This
we call death. One follows after another
till all are gone. But, are we never to live
again ? Is the long slumber never to he
broken ? Shall we aftei having bid fanvell
to the loved, and lovely, never greet them
again? Neveragainsee their countenances,
which have by their love and purity glad
dened our hearts ? Wc shall. This life
does not comprise the whole of our exist
ence. “ Beyond the dark vaults of thetomb,
for those who are holy like angels,” there
is a life that ever lives. Though our bodies
moulder in the dust, yet,
“These ashes poor, this little dust,
Our Father’s care shall keep.
’Till the last angel rise and break
The long and dreary sleep.”
Our blessed Savior has himself passed
through the dark valley, and shed upon its
path, the light of Heavenly hope. “ Be
cause He lives, we shall live also,” and where
He is, we shall ever be.
The fact, that beyond the grave, our bod
ies are to be reunited to the spirit that now
inhabits them, is otie of deep interest and
importance ; especially, as we consider that
union is everlasting. We would look with
wonder on a being—if such a one there
were that was destined to spend a thousand
or a million of years upon the earth ; but
with how much greater wonder should we
each look upon ourselves, who are to spend
an eternity in the world of spirits ! Who
can estimate thisduration ? Could we count
the particles of sand that cover the sea shore,
or the atoms that compose our world, and
that of all other worlds, we should still be
unable to grasp more than a fraction of the
boundless term of life before us. We can
simply say, it will be without end.—Port
land Tribune.
Vanity. —A man who is proud of his pro
perty will sometimes call himself poor, that
you may soothe his fancy by contradicting
him. A great beauty will likewise pretend
to believe that she makes an ordinary ap
pearance ; and,
“ In hopes of contradicion, oft will say,
Methinks 1 look most horribly to-day/’
The most effectual way to mortify such
persons, is to pretend to believe them, and
to acknowledge that there is some truth in
their assertions.
Genius. —Know that nothing is trifling in
the hand of genius, and that importance it
self becomes a bauble in that of mediocrity ;
The sheperd’s staff of Paris, would have
been an engine of death in the grasp of Achil
les : the aspen spear of Peleus could only
have dropped from the effeminate fingers of
the curled archer.
Marriage. —One of the most remarkable
features of this extraordinary institution is,
the successive changes it undergoes in th e
course of itshistory. When the young hus
band and wife enter upon their new relation,
how little do they foresee what is before
them. As they take possession for the first
time, of their newhouse, andenjojr its cheer
ing aspect, its regularity and quiet, and its
expression of domestic peace and joy, how
little do they nnticipnte r the deep and yet
unseen fountains of joy and sorrow which
lie in their future way 1 In a few years how
changed ! One after another has been add
ed in various ways to the company which
began only with two, until at length they
find themselves presiding over a numerous
circle of children and relatives, and domes
tics; the father and mother both involved in
responsibilities, from which they would have
altogether shrunk bad they anticipated them
at the beginning. In a few years this hap.
py circle must be broken in upon and scat
tered. Death comes in and makes one and
another his prey ; others gradually arrive at
maturity, and leave their father’s roof to seek
other homes, and to return no more to the
ark which sheltered them at first, and, at
last the father and mother are left alone to
spend their declining years at their solitary
fireside to look back upon scenes of activi
ty, and trial, and enjoyment, which can nev
er return. Such is the outline of the histo
ry of thousands of families.
Arabian Sayings. —Man may find a re
fuge from the most ferocious beasts; but
there is no refuge from wickedness of>
men. How many have escaped the lion,
and yet you will not see one man uninjured
by another ! Re indulgent, and exact not
the whole amount of that which is yopr due.
Spare the unfortunate; for the generous
man never requires full payment. Avoid
excess in every thing, and keep a medium ;
efforts well directed are fortunate in their
commencement and their end. * * *
Let Sulairnan know that 1 can dispense with
his assistance ; that 1 am rich, though pos
sessing no wealth; the treasure which I
husband is my honest pride ; believing, as
I do, that none ever die of mere poverty,
and that no state of life can continue un
changed. True wealth comes from a pow
er subject to no weakness; and with all the
craft of the cunning, you cannot increase
your store. Poverty consists not in the
want of money, but of soul; that we well
know; and riches are in the mind, not in
the purse. * * * “ The mansion of
your friends is near,” said they: “how
strange, then, that you should he in sorrow!”
“What avail the mansion and theirnearness,”
I replied, “if the hearts themselves draw
not near.”
The Awful State of a Wicked Man. —"A
wicked man is like one that hangs over a
deep pit by a slender cord, which he holds
with one hand and is cutting with the other.”
A gentleman much addicted to profane
swearing accompanied a pious miner to see
one of the mines in Cornwall. During his
visit to the pit, he distressed his companion
by many profane and abominable express
ions ; ami as they ascended together, find
ing it a long way, he flippantly said, “ as it
is so far down to your work how far do you
suppose it is to hell ?” The miner prompt
ly replied, “ I do not know how far it is to
hell, sir; hut I believe that if the rope by
which we are drawn up should break you
would he there in one minute ?”
A Beautiful Thought. —Shortly after her
arrival in Ireland, where Mrs. Hemans died,
she was extremely unwell. When among
the mountain scenery of the fine county of
Wicklow during a storm, she was struck liy
one effect in the hills*. It was produced by
a rainbow diving down into a gloomy moun
tain pass, which it seemed really to flood
with its colored glory. “I could not help
thinking,” she remarked, “ that it was like
our religion piercing and carrying brightness
into the depths of sorrow, and of thetomb.”
All the rest of the scene around that one
illuminated spot was wrapt in the profound
est darkness— Evan. Mag.
Death Os A Child. —A beautiful child was
about to die. Disease was fast becoming
death. The ties of the spirit had not grown
strong with years, and therefore the body
permitted its departure without a severe
struggle. They told the boy that he was
dying. “ Give me, ma, my catechism,”
said the child. It was the only thing with
which he connected religion. Its simple
truths had been taught him. The catechism
was brought ; his trembling hand took it
and laid it on his bosom ; the fear of death
was overcome; the child slept in Jesus.—
Ch. World.
Secret Sorrow. —There are more secret
than known sufferings. Men sleep beside
each other and dream, but rarely does the
one know when the dreams of the other are
painful, otherwise he would awake him.
It is temper which creates the bliss of
home, or disturbs its comforts. It is not in
the collision of intellect that domestic peace
loves to nestle. Her home is in the forbear
ing nature —in the yielding spirit—in the
calm pleasure of a mild disposition, anxious,
to give and receive happiness.
Sorrow for the Dead is the only sorrow
from which we refuse to be divorced. Ev
ery other wound we seek to heal—every
other affliction to forget; hut this wound we
consider a duty to keep open. This afflic
tion we cherish and brood over in solitude.
Have you never seen a bird perched upon
the lower branches of a tree, disturbed from
his resting place by some noise of approach
ing peril, and tempted to fly a little higher,
and again by receiving alarm, a little high
er, till he reaches the top-most bough, then
spreads his wings and flies away? It is ea
sy to apply this to the troubles of the Chris
tian, and the happy effects which they have
in raising the grounds of his repose, or in
making him near the safer resting place, till
having reached it, he only waits the final
signal to soar on high !
A man is taller in the morning than at
night, to the extent of half an inch or more,
owing to the relaxation of the cartlidgcs.