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POETRY.
TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN.
Purple flower, autumn’s child,
Blooming in beauty, lone and wild,
Slowly matured by sun and shower,
To reign awhile in fleeting power^r-
Yet bashfully in that brief space,
Hiding from view thy lovely face,
Veiling thy imperial tinge
Beneath a modest robe of fringe;
. When summer days are long and bright,
Thy lovely form ne’er meets the sight,*—
But when October guides the year,
And points to seasons cold ana drear,
It gracefully his pathway strews,
. And smiles beneath his 'shiv’rings dews.-
Thus buds of virtue often bloom
The fairest mid the deepest gloom,—
Their latent loveliness concealed,
And not one embryo tint revealed.
Till left by fortune’s sunny beam
To ripen in affliction’s gleam.
Juvenile Miscellany.
Now blame we most the nurslings or the
The children crook’d, and twisted and de-
e c
* formed
Through want of care; or her, whose wink
ing eye,
And slumbering oscitancy mars the brood?
The nurse no doubt. Regardless of her
charge,
She needs herself correction; needs to learn
That it is dangerous sporting with the
world,
With things so sacred as the nation’s trust,
The nurture of her youth, her dearest
pledge.
EPIGRAM.
First in the grape the wine’s red hue*
Next in the bottle, glows:
But last, and most, and longest too,
O Cotta, in thy nose.
ETYMOLOGIES.
Hoosick.—On the borders of the
stream, now called by this name (as
tradition saith) there formerly dwelt
a good old lady, of rather a gossiping
disposition, and who was possessed oi
an insatiable curiosity to learn, and an
unconquerable desire to be the first
to communicate, all the wonderful
<tews iu the vicinity. Among other
things, she was prodigiously fond of
hearing of the lamentable cases of
sickness far and near, and seemed to
live on the pains and aches, the
“gripes and grumbles” of her fellow
creatures. With this fondness for the
sad and horrible', she never failed to
run out when the doctor was passing,
and bawl as loud as she could—“Doc
tor who's sick?” This she repeated so
often, that at length the man of medi
cine grew tired of her importunities,
and invented a hundred stories of ira- 1
possible and improbable cases, with
which he amused himself and ridiculed
the old woman's love of the marvel
lous, bnt which she swallowed with
the same avidity as she did the West
minster Catechism.
At one time he told fier he had been
to see a patient who had the Mortal
Borborigmus, and that he had cured
him completely by taking out his “in
sides” and washing them in soap suds
and vinegar. “Is it possible, Doc
tor!” exclaimed the old woman,
“well, I hope the man will have a
clean conscience after this.”
At another time the doctor told her
he had called to see a child that was
born without any tongue. “O me!”
cried the old lady, “how will the poor
thing ever talk?—is it a boy or a gal,
Doctor?” “A girl,” he replied.—
“Ah, well,” said she “I ant a bit a-
feared then but what it will talk well
enough.”
On a third occasion he told her he
had been to visit a woman who was
bitten by a rattle snake. He said the
patient was a great snuff taker, & she
was one day picking up black berries,
the*snake, which was concealed a-
mong the briers being, highly enraged
at the smell of the snuff, sprang from
his lurking place, and seized the wo
rn m by the end of the nose. “O lord!”
•ejaculated tha sympathizing listener,
and giving her own nose a thorough
wipe, “did’nt it kill the woman?”
“No, by Jove,” returned the doGtor,
“but it killed the snake.”
But to return to the etymology.—
The doctor from being 60 often ques
tioned by the old lady, “who’s sick?”
at last began to call the neighborhood
of her residence who's sick; and w)*en
asked by his own neighbors, “which
way are you riding to-day, Doctor?”
Would reply jocularly, “I’m going to
who's sick.” This appellatiou was at
first caught from the doctor, & fami
liarly used by his neighbors, and after
wards by those more remote; and
thus not only the neighborhood of the
inquisitive old lady, but in process of
time tbe whole stream and the valley
on its borders, came by a slight alter
ation in the spelling, to he called by
the name of Iloosick.
POLLOK, THE ENGLISH PO
ET.
The Rev. Robert Pollok was
born at Murhouse, parish of Eagles-
hani, (N. B.) Oct. 19, 1798. His
father still occupies the same farm,
and is esteemed as a very worthy and
intelligent person. Robert was the
youngest of the family; and his early
days were spent on the farm with his
father in such labors as the seasons
called for. He was always fond of
of reading: and the winter’s evenings
were employed in this manner. He
is not known to have made any at
tempts at poetry when very young.—
At seventeen years of_ age he com
menced the study of the Latin lan
guage; and a few months after this
he produced the first poem which he
is known to have committed to paper.
In October, 1813, when seventeen
years of age, he entered the Univer
sity of Glasgow, where he studied
five years at the end of which
time he obtained the degree of
Master of Arts. While at College,
he was a very diligent and exemplary
student, and distinguished himself so
far as to have several prizes award
ed him by the suffrage of bis fellows:
besides the regular exercises, he com
posed a number for his own pleasure
and improvement, and several of these
were poetical. Before lie lmd finish
ed his curriculum, his health was con
siderably impaired. In the autumn of
1822, he entered the United Secess
ion Divinity Hall, under the care of
Dr. Dick. Here his discourses at
tracted considerable notice, and call
ed forth some severe criticisms from
his fellow-students. A mind like his
could not submit to the trammels of
common divisions; the form of an es
say suited better the impetuosity of
his genius; aad he occasionally in
dulged in lofty descriptions, both of
character and external nature. In
May, 1827, he received license to
preach from the United Secession
Presbytery of Edinburgh. During
his previous trials, lie was employed
in superintending the printing of his
poem. His public discourse is said
to have produced a powerful sensa
tion. His text was, “How long halt
ye between two opinions? If the
Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal,
then follow him.” Some descriptive
parts, respecting those who serve
Baal rather than God, are said to
have been awfully grand. He preach
ed only three other times, when lie
was obliged to retire from public ser
vice. His labors had been too great
for his constitution, in which the seeds
of consumption had long before been
sown. By some medical gentlemen
of eminence in Edinburgh, he was ad
vised to try the effects of a warmer
climate: Italy was his intended re
treat; and, after providing himself
with letters of introduction to some
learned men on the Continent, he set
out accompanied by a sister. He had
got as far as the neighborhood 'of
Southampton, when, overpowered
with the fatigues of travelling, he was
compelled to desist. He here fever
ed, and after a few days expired, far
from the scenes of his birth and his
studies. Mr. Pollok’s death was
that of a true saint; his last moments
being characterized by patience, re
signation and faith.
Mr. Pollok’s habits were those of a
close student: his reading was exten
sive; he had great facility in composi
tion; and is said tohaVe written near
ly a thousand lines weekly of the last
four books of the “Course of Time.”
He had projected a prose woik of
some magnitude—a review of Litera
ture in all ages—designed to show
that literature must stand or fall in
proportion as it harmonizes with
Scripture Revelation. But all that
we can now look for, is a posthumous
volume, for which we are glad to un
derstand there are ample materials in
the poems, essays, and sermons found
among his papers.
When Dr. Dwight entered upon'
the presidency of Yale College, a con
siderable proportion of the students,
it said, were infidels; and so proud of
the distinction, that they assumed the
names of the principal English and
French infidels, and were more famil
iarly known by them, than by their
own.
Now the infidelity of these young
men was not the result of careful
examination of the subject, for they
were profoundly ignorant of it; as was
proved by the fact, that in the first
discussion of th* subject by the Presi
dent, they wereashamed of their prin
ciples, and renouaced them; but from
that natural bias against religion which
we say is characUrestic of young and
inexperienced mindi. It was the mere
overflowing of pricre and self-conceit;
and this is the source whence it al
ways springs.
There are some ylung men in this
city, we are told, whoaffect to be in
fidels; mere striplings\n age and mere
dolts in knowledge; ani there are ma
ny, we know, who hate very loose
and sceptical views of tie doctrinos of
the Bible. But if these persons
would only search for the origin of
their sentiments, the/ find that they
spring from a cause which is as great
a reproach to their understandings as
it is to their hear/s. They have nev
er taken pains to examino the subject:
they are grossly ignorant of it; they
are sceptical and unbelieving just be
cause the/ are ignorant of it, and do
not like that their appetites and pass
ions should be under the restraints of
religion.—Hawes.
WHY SOME MEN ARE INFID
ELS.
I don’t believe the Bible, said i
little boy not ten years old, and bro’l
up in a Christian family in Hartford
I don't believe the Bible, said he to
his associates, looking very wise and
big. What principle was at work
here? The same precisely that made
Vohaire and Hume, and Paine infidels
It was the workings of a depraved
heart—the natural aversions of the.
mind to the duties and restraints ol
religion..
subjected to the arfcltfstfy control ef
the will, assume that position which is
dictated by the power of gravitation;
in a word, the whole man declining
farther intercourse with external na
ture, retires with himself, and heed
less of the material creation around
him remains for hours, as if in a trance.
If such be some of the effects of alko-
hol, who can wonder that it has been
called golden drink, or that poets have
ehaunted its praises?
This however is not all. It posses
ses, more than any other invention of
man, the power of transforming char
acter; but what is worthy of particu
lar notice, is, that all its good transfor
mations are transitory, and nearly all
its bad ones permanent. Does it give
momentary strength to the feeble, its
habitual use, makes the strong man
weak. Does it inspire the coward
with desperation, it can break down
the heart of courage, and reduce the
manly spirit to the imbecility of child
hood. Does it make the poor man
rich in imagination, it makes the rich
man poor in reality. If it occasional
ly excite a flood of sympathetic tears,
and unclench the fist of avarice, it re
laxes benevolent exertion, and renders
the mind habitually less sensible to
to the sufferings of others.—Professor
JWussey's Address.
THE PRAISES OF ALKOHOL.
More than nine hundred years ago,
an Arabian Chemist discovered by
distillation, a pungent and warming li
quor, to which was given the name of
Alkohol, and which we call ardent
spirit. This, a modern writer asserts,
is the aqua divina., or water of the E-
lysians fields, invented by Democritus,
and lie maintains that the term alkohol
has nearly the same import with gold
en liquor, applied by some of his
countrymen to the precious invention
of the Greek philosopher. This li
quor was brought into Europe at the
time of the Moorish conquest, soon
came into general favor, and now ex
erts an important influence over a
great part of the civilized world.
It is the object of the following re
marks to examine the claims of this
article to the extensive patronage and
confidence it has acquired.
When taken in small quantity into
the stomach, it diffuses its influence
over the whole body; a fresh impulse
is given to the living powers, the coun
tenance lights up with pleasure, and
the mind acts with new interest and
vivacity.
Under the influence of a larger dose
of the exhilarating fluid, sensibility
and sympathy unfold themselves.—
Tears fall as a pensive association
crosses the mind, or a tale of common
suffering is told, the benevolent af
fections flow out upon all surrounding
objects, and the whole world is not
too large a sphere for the exercise of
the generous sentiments which swell
the bosom. The mind disburthened
of cara, and disregarding the past and
future, sees no impediment to the
boldest and most extravagagant enter
prise; and rioting in the luxury of pre
sent existence, scarcely acknowl
edges a superior in the universe.
Here the distinctions of society begin
to disappear. The idle and half star
ved vagrant is transformed into a lord,
and surrounded with pomp and plenty;
and the miserable outcast, who has
tenanted a prison for his crimes, im
agines hirasejf on a throne, clothed
with power sufficient to direct the
destinies of a nation or ef the world.
The lover of alkolol sometimes re
sorts to poetry and song in the expres
sion of his ecstacies, but as the effect
of the etherial liquor deepens, hb
sings or shouts inarticulate responses
to music or voices which seein to
come to him from a distance, but
which are occasioned by the violent
beating of the arteries of his own
brain.
If the corporeal part of man, in this
happy condition, be inspected, it pre
sents phenonmena which correspond
with those of the mind. The whole
face is swollen, the forehead and tem
ples patched with red and white, the
cheeks of a deep crimson, the nose
tipped with ruby, the corners of the
mouth drawn down, and the under lip
inclined to drop; the eyea, bloodshoF
and glassy, roll upward under their
lids, and the body and limbs, nq longer
* From the Naw York Courier.
THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE.
The day of thy doom is recorded on high:
The storm of thy ruin envelopes thy sky 1
For the voices of thousands ur.ite,
The spirits of thousands combine,
To dash thee in dust from thy towering
height,
And thy glory to darkness consign!
Founded by the sword, and sealed
in blood, this mighty fabric is about
to fall by the same means which es
tablished it. The descendant of vic
tors must be prostrated by a mightier
victor, the powerful crescent must
be lowered before the more powerful
cross. Humbled as Turkey is about
to he, she has one consolation that
does not always attend the fallen; she
has been great. For nearly five hun
dred years, from the time of Otliman,
their annals tell of conquest gained,
and power upheld. In the first centu
ry of their national existence, they ex
tended their empire from the hanks
of the Euphrates to those of the Dan
ube. Checked for awhile', in their
impetuous career, by the strong arm
of Tamerlane, defeat only served to
inspire them with new resolution, and
their fortunes were soon re-establish
ed. In 1453, their intrepid Mahom
et II. planted his standard on the walls
of Byzantium; he extended his con
quests to Bosnia, and the Crimea, and
his navies ravaged the coast of Italy.
In the beginning of the 16th century,
Syria, Egypt, and the Sultanat of the
Mamelukes, yielded to this resistless
power, and the knightly valour of the
brethren of St. John was no protection
for their favourite Rhodes. Soon af
ter, we see Soliman II. assaulting the
walls of Vienna; but here the Otto
man march was again checked. The
conquest of Candia and ef Bagdad be
long to the subsequent history of the
empire. The decline of the Ottoman
power may be dated from the year
1793, when Austria and Russia were
both forced to niako a treaty, which
disgraced them, and which redounded
to the advantage of the Turk. From
this time, Turkey has been the loser
in the contests with her neighbours;
and now, unless there be some unex
pected and extraordinary interference,
the whirlwind must pass over this col-
lossal nation, and the long-triumphant
and long-upheld standard of Mahomet
must lie prostrate in the dust.
From the “Conversations Lexicon.?
TURKEY.
Dardanelles are the four strong cas
tles built on the European and Asiatic
coasts of Hellespont, opposite to each
other and commanding that strait,
which is ab6ut twelve leagues long
and called from them the strait of the
Dardanelles,-so that they are looked
upon as the key of Constantinople.—
Their name is probably derived from
the old city of Dardanum. The en
trance to the Hellespont is defended
by two castles, which are called the
new castles, because they were built
(subsequently to the two others call
ed the old castles*) in the middle of
the 17th century, under Mohammed
the 4th, t® afford protection to the
Turkish fleets against the Venetians.
The distance of one from the other is
about two miles and a quarter. Four
hours’ sail farther to the north lie the
old castles, built by Mohammed the
2d, immediately after the .conquest
of Constantinople, which are not more I
than 1500 yards apart. Farther oJ
still, the channel becomes narrower I
and at an hour and a half ’s sail f ro ,J
the old castles, two promontories ap.l
pear suddenly about 750 yards distant!
one from the other, and form that!
strait rendered famous by Leander’gl
nightly visit to Hero, by Xerxes’
bridge, and by Solyman’s passage up.]
on a bare raft. This is provided with I
no fortifications. It leads into th«|
sea of Marmora, at the north-easternf
end of which lies Constantinople, the]
capital df the Ottoman Empire, upm
another channel, which connects the
Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora,
The negligent Turks confiding in the
celebrity of the castles of the Dardan
elles, have taken so little chre to keep
them iti a state of defence, that in|
1770 they were completely in ruins,
and upon the Asiatic side there wan]
but a single battery standing, and that!
half filled with rubbish. On the 20th 1
of July of that year, when the squad
ron of the Russian Admiral, Elphin- ]
stone, consisting of three ships of the
line and four frigates, in pursuit of
two Turkish ships of the line, appear
ed before the first castles, the Turk
ish batteries, from want of ammunition,
were obliged to cease firing after one
general discharge of their ordnance,
and Elphinstone sailed by without re- I
ceiving more than a single shot. But
the other ships not followi»g him, he
contented himself with continuing his
course, not minding the Turkish bat
teries, and cast anchor in the channel.
From hence he returned to his fleet,
notwithstanding a contrary wind, with
drums and trumpets sounding, as much
to conceal his own fear, as to deride
the weakness of the Ottomans. Ad*,
miral Duckworth, an Englishman, on
the 19th of February, 1807, with
three ships of the line and four frigates,
together with fire ships and gun boats,
effected a passage through the Dar
danelles without loss, and appeared
on the next day before Constantinople,
which till then had never seen an ene
my’s fleet. Their presence was in
tended to influence the negotiations
then in progress, but was of little a-•
vail, for the Turks during the course
of the discussions, under the direction
of the French Ambassador Sebastiani,
were zealously employed in fortifying
Constantinople, and repairing the cas
tles of the Dardanelles, so that Duck
worth, on the 2d of March, could not
return without loss, &c. according to
his own confession; if he had removed
eight days later, his return would have
been altogether impossible.
Commodore Bainbridge, in ’the A*
merican frigate George Washington,
passed the Dardanelles under cover
of the smoke of a salute in February,
1801. This is the only American ship
of war that ever passed the Strait*
OLDEN TIMES.
The following are from the record#
of the town of Springfield:—
“It is also ordered, yt ye exercise
of trayning shall be practiced one clay
in every month; and if occasion doe
sometimes hinder then, the space of
tyme shall be observed another tyme,
though it be two days after one another.
And yt this tyme oftrayning is refer
red to ye direction of Henry Smith,
who is chosen by mutual consent to be
serjeant of the company, who shall have
power to chose a corporal for his as
sistant. And whosoever shall absent
himself without a lawful excuse, shall
forfeit twelve pence; and yt all above
15 years of age shall be counted for
soldiers, and the tyme to begin the
first Thursday in December next.”
“January 8,' 1646.—It is agreed by
the plantation with John Mathewes,
to beate the drum for the meetings
for a years space, at 10 of the clock on
the lecture dayes, and at 9 o’clock on
the Lord’s dayes, in the forenoon® on
ly, and he is to beate it from Mr.
Moxons to R. Stebbins house; and ye
meeting to begin within half an hour
after; for which his payns, lie is to
have 4d. in wampum of every family in
the town, or a peck of Indian corn if
they have not wavipum.”
To destroy the Weevil among Corn-
—Lay fleeces of wool which have not
been scoured, on the grain; the oily
matter attracts the insects among the
wool where they soon die, from whqt
cause is not exactly known. M. B.
C. Pyrandeau related to the Philo-
mathic Society of Paris, that his fa
ther had mode the discovery in 1811,
and had practised it on a large 6calc,
scinco.—Bull Dee. S donees i.