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have been favorably received heretofore as the
editor of the Orion Magazine.
Its pages are graced by the contributions
of several distinguished literateurs, amongst
whom Charles Lanman and Mary E, Lee, are
best known to our readers. Success attend
our literary cotemporary. —Great West , Cin
cinnati.
The Southern Literary Gazette, is the
title of a well conducted quarto journal, quite
in the form and style of the old “New-York
Mirror,’ 1 issued once a week at Athens, Geo.
by the editor and proprietor, Wm. C. Rich
ards, Esq., whose editorship of the “Orion”
monthly Magazine reflected so much credit
upon his taste and judgement. The “Gazette”
bids fair to do much towards extending the
literature of the South. We hope often to
hear through its columns from Mr. Legare
and Mr. Jackson. Both these gentlemen are
true poets. — Knickerbocker.
11ITP ®1 9 S lISIPAIEf MIEOTo
ATHENS,....SATURDAY, JULY 22, 1848.
A Week away from Home.
Although we are both willing and happy to ac
knowledge ourself of that class who weary not of the
home-circle, and to subscribe most heartily to the fa
miliar sentiments of the song :
“ Be it -ever so humble there’s no place like home;”
still we availed ourself recently of an occasion for ab
sence with a feeling of relief and pleasure, referable
doubtless to the monotonous and exacting routine of
editorial labor, that Sysipliean task to which there
is no cessation.
In our last number we gave our readers a brief ac
count of the proceedings of the State Temperance
Convention. When that body closed its delibera
tions, and the hundreds of delegates took up their
respective lines of march, we, with the members
from Cobb and from Cass, from Paulding and Floyd,
and Walker, took our seat in the rail-road car, fitly
named the “ Pioneer,” since it was the first to peue
trate the Cherokee region—so recently terra incog
nita to our people.
At a rapid rate we sped onward —now through
deep cuts and anon over high embankments —and it
was with a sensation somewhat akin to apprehension
that we hung over the waters of the Chattahoochee,
—more than a hundred feet below us, —a distance
easily trebled by imagination. The bridge of the
Chattahoochee is over two thousand feet in length.
The country over which the Western and Atlantic
Rail-road passes exhibits such constant and violent
transitions f om hill to hollow—from mountain to
valley—that the road is one of the most gigantic and
costly enterprises of the South. Its immense value,
however, to the trade of the State far outbalances
the expense at which it has been constructed.
At Marietta we lingered for a day,—affording us
time to look around in one of the pleasantest villages
in the State of Georgia. In the vicinity, and as an
admirable back-ground to the visitor’s first view of
the place, rises the lofty and picturesque Kennesaw,
a mountain peak standing forth as an advanced sen
tinel on the bo.ders of the mountain-region stretch
ing to the northward. Marietta is rapidly increas
ing in population and in social refinement. The con
tinual accession to its numbers of intelligent and
wealthy planters from the seaboard, of South Caro
lina especially, imparts ever new energies to its
trade, and heightens the attractions of its social char
ter. Its pulpits,—four in number, —are regularly
supplied by an intelligent ministry. Mr. Scott, the
amiable rector of the Episcopal Church, is also man
aging an excellent school for young ladies, where the
best advantages are afforded to the pupil. Another
excellent seminary under the charge of Col. Alden
gives to Marietta unusual facilities for the education
young ladies. There are two papers published in
the place:—the Advocate , (Democratic,) and the
Helicon , (Whig.) There are two spacious Hotels,
nnd both of them well kept—the Howard House, by
McConnell, and the Marietta Hotel, (completely
renovated,) by Ileggie & Cos.
*n the vicinity of this village are, we believe, sev
eral manufactories—the truest indications of a peo
ple s prosperity.
~-Gur next advance took us to Dalton, which is
SQsinasi&Ei @ashtftfe.
the present terminus of the road, and 100 miles from
Atlanta. We reached the place in the cool, grey
twilight, and exceedingly pleasant was the last hour
of the journey. Crossing over the rapid Oostanaula
on a noble bridge supported by several piers of na
tive granite, (a handsome variety abounding in the
vicinity,) we sped along and presently found our
course running side by side with the beautiful Con
nesauga, embowered with large and drooping trees,
interlaced with vines whose dense foliage was imper
vious to the slanting beams of the sun, but neverthe
less glanced and brightened in his rays with a glad
some sheen.
Dalton is a pretty place. We speak not only com
paratively, as for instance with Atlanta, but positive
ly. It is beautifully situated—its streets are wide,
well graded, and free from disfiguring stumps of the
forest trees. The “ City” has not it is true, much of
the air or bustle of places whose claim to the title is
older and less equivocal. The houses, moreover, do
not indicate permanence or wealth. They are small,
omni-shaped and parti-colored. The only exception
is a huge unfinished brick edifice in the very centre
of the principal street of the town. As we first saw
it in the deep shades of the evening it appeared co
lossal. It is certainly a spacious and ambitious struc
ture, but alas ! it stands roofless and windowless —a
mere shell! It is deeply to be regretted that the en
terprise which planned it should have failed of means
to complete it. The population of Dalton is jjabout
twelve hundred. It supports a very neat and spirit
ed paper, the editor of which has recently been el
bowed out of his neutrality into the advocacy of Tay
lor and Fillmore —not a little to the indignation of
his dear “ five hundred friends” who go for Butler
and Cass. One of the days we spent in Dalton was
the “ day of rest,” and had we been in the depths of
the forest it could not have passed more quietly. A
neat though small house of worship, occupied by va
rious sects alternately, was filled in the morning by
an attentive congregation. During all our stay in
Dalton, we saw nothing of that immorality which
generally stigmatizes new towns, and especially rail
road termini. The citizens are sober, courteous —
and —we hope —prosperous.
The distance from Dalton to Tunnel R idge is about
seven miles. The road is graded and ready for the
laying of the track to this point. Here, however, a
mighty work has to be accomplished before the wa
ters of the Tennessee River shall he united to those
of the Atlantic by iron bands. The tunnel through
the Ridge will be 1400 feet in length. The ap
proaches on both sides are nearly completed, and by
the time this article is read, the process of tunneling
may have been commenced. It will be a slow and
laborious progress through the rocky bosom of the
mountain, but the work goes bravely on, day and
night, and it is not impossible that by the first of Oc
tober, 1849, the road will be opened to Chattanooga.
The cost of this road has been great, owing to the
deep excavations, lofty embankments, and bridges,
on the whole route. The cut through the Alatoona
Mountain is one of the deepest in the world; and as
one rides through the narrow gorge with the jagged
sides of the chasm overshadowing him he cannot help
paying a tribute to human energy and industry.—
The road is in excellent condition, and appears to be
progressing rapidly under the attentive management
of Chief Engineer Mitchell, whose vigilant eye is ev
er upon it. We were gratified to have the company
of Gen. Mills, the efficient superintendent of trans
portation.
—Returning homeward, we spent a day in Cass
ville, which lies two miles from the rail-road. The
village was enlivened by a political convention from
the fifth Congressional District. We have a feeling
memento of our stay there in the memory of a severe
attack of facial neuralgia which did not add to our
enjoyment. Cassville has a name suggestive, now at
least, of Democratic preferences ; and the fact that
its only paper —the Pioneer —carries the Baltimore
flag at its mast-head, is perhaps slightly indicative
of the same. In the vicinity of Cassville is a some
what remarkable cavern. The country is thickly
populated by an intelligent people :—the soil is rich
and fertile, especially upon the Etowah river, where
also are are the famous Iron Works of Cooper, Stroup
& Wiley.
Our journey, from Cassville home, was as weari
some as twenty-four hours of rail-road travel in hot
and dusty weather could well make it.
Franklin College Commencement.
By an advertisement on the last page it will be
seen that the annual festivities of our State Univer
sity commence the first week in August. The ad
dress to the prize orators expected from the Hon. 11.
W. Hilliard, will, in consequence of the inability of
that gentleman to be present, be delivered by the
Rev. W. B. Stevens, D. D. Our friend, Henry R.
Jackson, Esq., delivers the address before the Socie
ties, and, we doubt not, will sustain his high reputa
tion. At the annual meeting of the trustees, the va
cant chair of History and Belles-Lettres will be fill
ed, and we doubt not that a high regard to the dig
nity and importance of the post and the demands of
the College will influence and control the aotion of
the board.
<Dur (Gosstp Column.
How fearful, dear reader, is the desolation which
has swept over the gay metropolis of France, a re
cord of which we have in the graphic letter of our
London Correspondent this week. We were not it
is true altogether unprepared for the intelligence,
after the tidings brought by the Caledonia, For
weeks past, moreover, we have anticipated a terrible
struggle, but its ferocity, long continuance, and un
paralleleddestructiveness we had not imagined. The
details afforded us in the London papers of the 30th
June and Ist of July, are more like the distempered
fancies of a maddened brain, than the sober records
of the historian. Alas! for the French People and
the French Kepublic, with such fresh indications of
a reckless spirit, what room is there for hope that
their great experiment can succeed 1 We fear there
is none, for although the government is triumphant,
it is a question of deep import, will there not be ma
ny repetitions of this spirit of revolt I and the next
may be successful, as the past would inevitably have
been had the insurgents possessed themselves of the
Hotel de Ville, apparently even in their grasp ! .
. . . . The dispensations of Providence are
frequently inexplicable. They fall with a sudden
and crushing weight upon some unthinking victims,
and with their desolation bring no power of vision by
which by which they may discover the puipose of
the stroke. Since our last number was issued, Ben
jamin J. Burke an intelligent lad of fourteen, who
was employed in our office has passed away from the
earth. On Monday afternoon while bathing in com
pany with other boys, in the river, he exhausted
himself by swimming and suddenly sunk in the mid
dle of the stream, when, after a somewhat protract
ed search his body was recovered the vital spark had
fled forever, and the sad tidings of his untimely
death smote upon the hearts of his parents and his
brothers like the knell of despair. Benjamin was a
boy of quick parts, of playful disposition and of an
enquiring mind. We have often said of him, that
with careful training he would make a talented man!
Alas ! how little we imagined his career would be so
very short. Poor Benny ! wo drop a willing tear
to thy memory ! At the recent com
mencement of the University of Pennsylvania, the
honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred
upon the Bev. Wra. B. .Stevens, M.D., Professor of
Rhetoric, Belles Letters and History in Franklin
College, and Rector elect of Ft Andrews Church in
Philadelphia. This accomplished gentleman will,
we regret to say, leave our town early in August, to
enter upon his clerical duties in the city of brother
ly love. He will bear with him our warmest wishes
for his prosperity We are pleased to see
that Mr.Wyly C. Adams, of this place, has been ap
pointed 2d Lieut, in the 2d Reg. of Artillery, and we
trust his further promotion will not bo long delayed.
. . . .With the number for the Ist inst. the London
Punch commences its fifteenth volume—and a capital
beginning he has made—surpassing himself if that
be possible. His “ Birth-day Ode to Himself,” is so
excellent that we shall present it to our readers next
week. Punch amuses himself highly with the Re
form measures of Hume and Lord John Russell,
w tom he represents as tw r o children in frocks and
pantalets, each hugging its doll—Hume’s a whop
per, labelled “ Reform Bills and Russell’s more
wieldy image stamped “ Rate P clause”—while
the following dialogue ensues :
Hume. “ Ah ! My doll’s bigger than yours!”
Russell. “ A great ugly thing ! It isn’t half so
pretty as mine!”
To complete the caricature, a toy “ lion,” with a
crown on its head, is lying helpless on its back at the
feet of the doll-nurses! The Buonaparte mania in
France is also capital grist for Punch’s mill. Under
the head of “ Places Wanted,” we find the follow
ing card :
As Emperor or President, in a place where a
large standing army is kept, by a young man of im
perial principles, and who can be well recommended
by—himself. Is willing to revive the glories of the
Empire and to make Europe generally uncomforta
ble. References to respectable conspirators in Bou
lougne and Strasbourg. Was six years in his last
situation —the fortress of Ham. Letters, post-paid,
to be addressed to Louis Napoleon, Paste Restunte,
London.”
Notices to Correspondents.
“Inez,” We will publish your Poem with pleas
ure. Could you doubt that it would be acceptable
to us or to our readers 1 On the contrary, we thank
you with all our heart.
J. S. T. Surely you jest in offering us your verses
for publication. At all events you just don’t make
us believe that they are fit to be published. Faith,
if ever we saw a worte line than the third in your
first stanza!
“The stars shine splendid in the sky,
The moon is very bright,
But much brighter than these was my Sally's eye
As it beamed on me last night!”
T. W. L. We should certainly have published
your essay, but it is mislaid, and we have not been
able to find it. Can you not replace it and continue
your favors J
<E)ur ttoofc Cable.
ry* Publishers and authors who may wish to have their
Books noticed in the “ Literary Gazette” will please send
copies for the editor to Burgess, Stringer 4t Cos., N. York,
who w ill send a parcel to him every week by express.
Peep of Day; or a series of the Earliest Religi
ous Instruction the Infant Mind is capable of re
ceiving. 1 vol., 18 mo.; pp. 228.
Line upon Line : a second series of the Earliest Re
ligious Instruction, etc. etc. 1 vol., pp. 254.
Precept upon Precept ; a third series of the same.
New-York: Leavitt, Trow & Cos.
We do not know the author of this beautiful eerie*
of books for children, but whoever she be—for we ar®
assured it is a lady—she deserves the thanks of all
good parents, and the love of all good children.—
From an intimate acquaintance with thA, and from
the concurrent testimony of many of our friends deep
ly interested in the question, we are prepared to pro
nounce these works invaluable. We feel satisfied
that we cannot too highly commend their pure, sim
ple and beautiful lessons, drawn almost entirely from
that fountain of truth —the Bible. The lessons ar®
accompanied by appropriate hymns and short poems,
and also with neat engravings. Let us earnestly
recommend parents to give these precious books to
their children. The present edition is very hand
somely printed and bound in fancy muslin.
Poetical Works of William Collins. A New
Edition. 16m0., pp. 144. New-York : Leavitt,
Trow & Cos.
Collins has his numerous admirers, and
but pretty edition of his poems will probably in
crease their number. It contains Dr. Johnson’s life
of the poet, and also the admirable critical remark*
of Dr. Eanghornc. Os the odes, poems and eclogue*
themselves it is useless to speak.
The Instructive Reader ; or a Course of Reading
in Natural Histoty, Science and Literature. By
W. D. Swan. Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowpertb
wait & Cos.
This handsomely printed and neatly bound volume
is just the thing that our schools have needed, and
we will give our reason for the opinion. The Reader*
now in use are most of them objectless, save for the
single purpose of affording the scholar a succession
of words and sentences. They have no higher aim
—they blend no valuable truths with their reading
lessons. In this book there is a twofold object, and
its importance will be readily acknowledged. While
the pupil learns to read—he acquires a fund of use
ful knowledge in Natural History, Scieuce and Lit
erature These great and noble themes are instilled
into his mind with the rudiments of his mother
tongue He imbibes valuable truth with his daily
reading ; and he will not readily forget those truth*.
We beg our scholastic friends to examine this Read
er, and they will, wo think approve the verdict w®
render.
A Memoir of Mrs. Henrietta Shuck, the first Fe
male Missionary to China. By Rev. J B. Jeter,
1 vol., pp. 251. Boston: Gould, Kendall & Lin
coln.
The amiable and pious subject of this memoir wa*
a Southern lady—the first female in the Soufhwh#
went as a missionary to foreign lands, and the first
in America who went to China. There she spent
eight years in self-denying toil for the spiritual good
of others, and then laid down her life on the same al
tar where she had offered her faithful services. Con
nected with the memoir there are graphic and inter
esting sketches of the “ central flowery land,” which
cannot fail to interest the general reader, as the me
moir must the pious reader.
A Funeral Oration, occasioned by the death ctf
Thomas£ole, deliverd before the National Acad
emy of Design New York, May the 4th 1848, by
William Cullen Bryant, NewYork : D. Applo
ton & Cos.
This is indeed a beautiful and noble tribute paid
by living to departed genius! The great poet
speaks to the memory of the great painter, and w®
who read his glowing words feel our bosoms thrill
with great emotions, of mingled sorrow and satisfac
tion; sorrow that the illustrious painter has forever
laid aside hjs magic pencil, and will no more be see*
upon the fair earth whose beauties he loved to depict,;
and satisfaction that one so worthy to be his eulogist
as Bryant has paid such truthful and tender and ap
propriate homage to his noble brother artist. Glad
ly would we transfer to our page3 copious extracts
from the oration before us; but our limits iorbid. and
we present merely the closing passage.
“ Withdrawn I have said —not
translated to a state of larger light, and nobler beau
ty and higher employments of the intellect. It is
when I contemplate the death of such a man as Cole
under such circumstances as attended his, that 1 feel
most certain of the spirit’s immortality. In his case
the painful problem of old age was not presented, in
which the mind sometimes seems to expire before
the body, and often to wither with the same decline.
He left us in the mid-strength of his intellect, and
his great soul, unharmed and unweakened by the
disease which brought low his frame, amidst the bit
ter anguish of the loved ones who stood around him,
when the hour of its divorce from the material organs
had come, calmly retired behind the veil which hid®*
from us the world of disembodied spirits.”
87