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1$ 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.