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guise, lest the world should pity me; the
worms will have little to riot on when my body
is laid in the grave”
Exhausted with her emotions, poor Marian
Bunk back upon her couch. I watched be
side her till she slept, and then pondered over
her story, and blessed God for my own hap
pier lot. Beauty, brilliant talents,and wealth
had been Marian’s dower and now not yet in
the full bloom of womanhood, she was pining
for the grave to rest in ! while I, with none
of her advantages, was a happy wife and
mother, and surrounded by friends who loved
me the more that 1 possessed nothing which
could awaken their envy.
As the season drew to a close I returned to
my happy home ; and Marian, her child, and
husband went to Boston for the winter. One
letter only reached me from he r, for the exer
tion of writing had become too great for her,
Then came another letter bearing a black
seal: it was from a mutual friend, and 1 read
in it, “our poor Marian is dead. After
gradually wearing to a skeleton, her shattered
frame and wasted strength yielded readily to
the summons which called her from us, and
her spirit passed quietly and early to the
silent land.”
They buried her as she wished, by the
side of her father, and her weary soul, sus
tained at the last by its new-born hope of im
mortality, is at rest “ where thewicked cease
from troubling.”
popular Sales.
THE
BIRD-CATCHER AND HIS CANARY.*
Ir the town of Cleves, an English gentle
man was residing with a Prussian family
during the time of the fair, which we shall
pass over, having nothing remarkable to dis
tinguish it from other annual meetings where
people assemble to stare at, cheat each other,
and divert themselves, and to spend the year’s
savings in buying those bargains which would
have been probably better bought at home.—
One day after dinner, as the desert was just
brought on the table, the traveling German
musicians, who commonly ply the houses at
these times, presented themselves, and were
suffered to play ; and just as they were mak
ing their bows for the money they received
for their harmony, a bird-catcher, who had
rendered himself famous for educating and
calling forth the talents of the feathered race,
made his appearance, and was well received
by the party, which was numerous and be
nevolent.
The musicians, who had heard of this bird
catcher’s fame, asked permission to stay; and
the master of the house, who had a great
share of good-nature, indulged their curiosity
—a curiosity, indeed, in which every one
participated; for all that we have heard or
seen of learned pigs, asses, dogs, and horses,
was said to be extinguished in the wonderful
wisdom which blazed in the genius of this
bird-catcher’s canary.
The canary was produced, and the owner
harangued him in the t following manner, plac
ing him upon his forefinger:—“ Bijou, jewel,
you are now in the presence of persons of
great sagacity and honor ; take heed you do
not deceive the expectations they have con
ceived of you from the world’s report. You
have got laurels; beware then of erring. In
a word, deport yourself like the bijou—the
jewel—of the canary birds, as you certainly
are.”
All this time the bird seemed to listen, and
indeed placed himself in the true attitude of
attention, by sloping his head to the ear of
the man, and then distinctly nodding twice
when his master left off speaking; and if ever
nods were intelligible and promissory, these
were two of them.
“That’s good,” said the master, pulling off
his hat to the bird. “ Now, then, let us sec
ff you are a canary of honor. Give us a tune.”
The canary sang.
“ Pshaw! that’s too harsh ; ’tis'the noteof
a raven, with a hoarseness upon him; some
thing pathetic.” The canary whistled as if
his little throat was changed to a lute.
“Faster,” says the man—“slower —very
what a plague is this foot about, and
“l ls httle head ? No wonder you are out,
w hen you forgot your time. —
that's a jewel—bravo! bravo! my little
man!” J
From Pratt’s Gleanings—a work now rarely seen.
S®©^KM 8 BIT IFIB.
All that he was ordered or reminded of did
he do to admiration. His head and foot beat
time—humoured the variations both of tone
and movement, and “ the sound was a just
echo of the sense,” according to the strictest
laws of poetical, and (as it ought to be) of
muicial composition.
“ Bravo ! bravo !” re-echoed from all parts
of the dining-room. The musicians declared
the canary was a greater master of music than
any of their band.
“And do you not show your sense of this
civility, sir ?” cried the bird-catcher with an
angry air. The canary bowed most respect
fully, to the great delight of the company.
His next achievement was going through
the martial exercise with a straw gun, after
which, “My poor Bijou,” says the owner,
“ thou hast had hard work, and must he a
little weary; a few performances more, and
thou shalt repose. Show the ladies how to
make a courtsey.” The bird here crossed his
taper legs, and sunk and rose with an case
and grace that would have put our subscrip
tion assembly belles to the blush.
“ That will do, my bird ! and now a bow,
head and foot corresponding.” Here the strip
lings for ten miles round London might have
blushed also.
“Let us finish with a hornpipe, my brave
little fellow; that’s it—keep it up, keep it
up.”.
The activity, glee, spirit, and accuracy with
which this last order was obeyed, wound up
the applause (in which all the musicians join
ed, as well with their instruments as with their
clappings) to the highest pitch of admiration.
Bijou himself seemed to feel the sacred thirst
of fame, and shook his little plumes, and car
rolled an Io paean, that sounded like the con
scious notes of victory.
“Thou hast done all my biddings bravely,”
said the master, caressing his feathered ser
vant : “ now, then, take a nap, while I Ufke
thy place.”
Hereupon the canary went into a counter
feit slumber, so like the effect of the poppied
god, first shutting one eye. then the other,
then nodding, then dropping so much on one
side, that the hands of several of the compa
ny were stretched out to save him from fall
ing; and, just as those hands approached his
feathers, suddenly recovering, and dropping
as much on the other. At length sleep seem
ed to fix him in a steady posture, whereupon
the owner took him from his finger, and laid
him flat on the table, where the man assured
us he \vould remain in a good sound sleep
while he himself had the honor to do his best
to fill up the interval. Accordingly, after
drinking .a glass of wine, in the progress of
taking which he was interrupted by the cana
ry-bird springing suddenly up to assert his
right to a share, really putting his little bill
into the glass, and then laying himself down
to sleep again, the owner called him a saucy
fellow, and began to show off his own inde
pendent powers of entertaining. The forte
of these lay chiefly in balancing a tobacco
pipe, while he smoked with another; and
several of the positions were so difficult to be
preserved, yet maintained with such dexteri
ty, that the general attention was fixed upon
him.
While the little bird was thus exhibiting,
a huge black cat, which had been no doubt
on the watch from some unobserved corner,
sprang upon the table, seized the poor canary
in its mouth, and rushed out of ihe window
in despite of all opposition. Though the
dining-room was emptied in an instant, it was
a vain pursuit; the life of the bird was gone,
and its mangled body was brought in by the
unfortunate owner in such dismay, accompan
ied by such looks and language, as must have
awakened pity in a misanthrope. He spread
himself half-length over the table, and mourn
ed his canary-bird with the most undissem
blcd sorrow.
“ Well may I grievd for thee, my poor lit
tle thing!—well may I grieve! More than
four years hast thou fed from my hand, drunk
from my lip, and slept in my bosom! I owe
to thee my support, my health, and my hap
piness! Without thee, what will become of
me? Thou it was that didst insure my wel
come in the best companies! It was thy
genius only made me welcome ! Thy death
is a just punishmsnt for my vanity; had I re
lied on thy happy powers, all had been well,
and thou liadst been perched on my finger, or
lulled on my breast, at this moment! But
trusting to my own talents, and gloryfying
myself in them, a judgement has fallen upon
me, and thou art dead and mangled on this j
table! Accursed be the hour I entered this
house! And more accursed the detestable
monster that killed thee ! Accursed he myself,
for I contributed ! I ought not to have taken
away my eyes when thine were closed in
frolic ! Oh, Bijou ! my dearest, only Bijou !
would I were dead also!”
As near as the spirit of his disordered mind
can be translused, such was the language
and sentiment oi the forlorn bird-catcher,
whose despa ring motion and frantic air no
words can paint. Ile took from his pocket a
little green bag of faded velvet, and drawing
from out of it some wool and cotton, that
were the wrapping of whistles, bird-calls, and
other instruments of his trade, all of which
he threw on ihe table, “as in scorn,” and
making a couch, placed the mutilated limbs
and ravaged feathers of his canary upon it,
and renewed his lamentations. These were
now much softened, as is ever the case when
the rage of grief yields to its tenderness—
when it is too much overpowered by the effect
to advert to the cause.
It is needless to observe that every one of
the company sympathised with him; but none
more so than the hand of musicians, who,
being engaged in a profession that naturally
keeps the sensibilities more or less in exer
cise, felt the distress of the poor bird-man with
peculiar force. It was really a banquet to see
these people gathering themselves into a knot,
and, after whispering, wiping their eyes, and
blowing their noses, depute one from amongst
them to be the medium of conveying into the
pocket of ihe bird-man, the very contribution
they had just before received for their own
efforts.
Having wrapped up their contribution, they
contrived to put it into the poor man’s pocket.
As soon as he became aware of what they
had done, he took from his pocket the little
parcel they had rolled up, and brought with
it, by an unlucky accident, another little bag,
at the sight of which he was extremely agi
tated, for it contained the canary-seed, the
food of the “ dear lost companion of his
heart.”
There is no giving language to the effect
of this trifling circumstance upon the poor
fellow; he threw down the contribution-mon
ey that he brought from his pocket along with
it, not with an ungrateful, but a desperate
hand. He opened the bag, which was fast
ened with red tape, and taking out some of
the seed, put it to the very bill of the lifeless
bird, exclaiming, “No, poor Bijou! no; thou
canst not peck any more out of thishandthat
has been thy feeding-place so many years—
thou canst not remember how happy we both
were when T bought this bag full for thee !
Had it been filled with gold, thou liadst de
served it!”
“It shall be filled--and with gold,” said
the master of the house, “ if I could afford
it.”
The good man rose from his seat, which
had been long uneasy to him, and gently tak
ing the bag, put into it some silver, saying, as
he handed it to his nearest neighbor, “ Who
will refuse to follow my example? It is not
a subscription for mere charity ; it is a tribute
to one of the rarest things in the whole world ;
namely, to real feeling, in this sophistical,
pretending, parading age. If ever the pas
sion of love and gratitude was in the heart of
man, it is in the heart of that unhappy fellow;
and whether the object that calls out such
feelings be bird, beast, fish, or man, it is alike
virtue, and—ought to be rewarded.”
£l)c tUorkmg fflan.
MECHANICS’ ASSOCIATIONS.
Mechanics’ Institutions, besides being good
schools for the education of the intellectual
faculties of the individual, ought to provide
equally, if not more fully, for the cultivation
of the moral parts of his character. This, it
appears tq us, is the most important element
of the man—that which tends to make him a
good member of society. Further, by bring
ing him up to this standard, there is much
reason to believe that his intellectual faculties
will be more susceptible of elevation, more
easily awakened, and more vigorous in their
efforts. The error, which many founders of
Mechanics’ Institutions, fell into was the as
sumption of an intelligence which no previous
training had awakened ; they appealed to a
wrong standard, they measured the capabili
ties and tastes of the laboring man by a stand
ard which existed only among persons, who
had enjoyed, from childhood, means of instruc
tion more complete than was sought to he pro
vided for the working man for the first time
in the middle of his life. This error was na
tural. Let us now improve by experience ;
most of our Mechanics’ Institutions are com
posed of working men —let them study their
own wants, the wants which they know r to
be most felt by their order, laying aside that
the details of science alone are appropriate
subjects of attention, and that amusement is
folly, and mirth iniquity, let them, in fact,
study to furnish to their institutions the larg
est possible amount or sound instruction com
bined with the highest possible amount of
cheap and innocent excitement. In this their
duty consists, and in this will be found the
success they desire, and to do this we have
always pointed. With scientific subjects we
have always combined a moral and cheering
encouragement in the pursuit of happiness,
by the practice of noble actions. By such
means our mechanical classes alone can be
elevated. —Saentijic American.
PRIZE ESSAYS BY WORKING MEN.
A clergyman in Edinburg, has proposed
several prizes for essays, on the temporal ad
vantages of the Sabbath to the working clas
es. The competitors were to be working men
in the strictest sense of the expression. The
number ot working men, engaged at some
kind ot handicraft from morning to night, who
have entered the lists on this occasion, is not
smaller than nine hundred and fifty. This is
creditable to the intelligence of the working
classes of Scotland whose population is only
about that of this State. — lit.
SCIENCE AND ART.
Art is the application of science to useful
purposes. Science is the head to conceive,
art the arm to execute. They are together in
emblems, as sisters. Science is the elder, and
it is her province to lead art, the younger.—
Science assumes that she is less liable to
stumble, and claims that art should follow.
But it must be confessed, that the great romp
often gets ahead, and frequently finds shorter
and more eligible routs in which her elder sis
ter is glad to travel. Net they love each oth
er, and 1 heir path is the same, and their jour
ney is ever onward. Around them the forest
falls, and the rays of the sun come in upon
the bosom ol the earth. Cottages spring up,
and flowers blossom. The neighboring woods
echo to the ring of the anvil, and thenoiseof
the saw-mill for the wild wood stream is dam
med, and throbs like a great artery with a flut
ter-wheel for a heart. Together, they have
done wonders. They have timed the arrows
of light, and have split the sunbeam into rain
bows. They have marked out paths on the
restless ocean, and measured its tide. They
have stolen from the moon the secret of its
motion, and betrayed the mystery of her eclips
es. It is thought they had hung a pendulum
to the clock-work of the universe, and regis
tered its motions upon a dial.
3 Column (Erecteb to iTttn.
■ i
BURSTS OF ELOQUENCE.
One of our exchange papers has gathered
up the following “ impassioned bursts of elo
quence” for the “ ediiumcation” of his read
ers. We copy it from that valuable family
paper—the New England Washingtonian.
“Your honor sits high upon the adorable
scat of justice, like the Asiatic rock of Gibral
tar; while the eternal streams of justice like
the cadeverous clouds of the valley, How
meandering at your feet.”
This reminds us of the commencement of a
speech of a lawyer in New Jersey —“Your
honors do not sit there like marble statues, to
be wafted about by every idle breeze.”
Another Western orator commenced his
harrangue with—“ The important crisis which
were about to have ariven, have aroven.”
Another. “The Court will please to observe
that the gentleman from the East has given
them a learned speech. He has Roamed With
old Romulus, Soaked with old Sociates;
Ripped with old Euripides, and Canted with
; old Canthrades, but, what, your honor, what
i does lie know about the laws of Wisconsin'?”
A young lawyer in one of our own courts
commenced a defence as follows:—“May it
please your honor, the Deluge has passed
over the earth. The Ark has rested upon the
mountain, and the rainbow of justice shines
as beautifully upon my colored client as it
does upon any one in the court, includingthe
jury.”
A Slight Mistake. —ln an old English
print, the following ridiculous blunder was
caused in the whole edition, by the omission
of the letter c, at the beginning of a word in
the third line, which was printed as follows:
When the last trumpet soundeth,
We shall not all die ;
But we shall be hanged
In the twinkle of an eye.
1 —i
A Fair Warning.— A lady with artificial
checks, was seen promenading Chestnut street,
Philadelphia, the other day with the follow
ing label, attatched to her dress by a mischiev
ous boy, who owed her a grudge for pushing
him into the gutter:
“Beware or the Paint.”
69