Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

118 METHODISM. In the early period of the history of Metho dism, some ot Mr. Wesley’s opponents, in ihe excess of their zeal against enthusiasm, took tip a whole wagon load of Methodists, and carried them before a magistrate. W hen they were asked what these persons had done, there was an awkward silence ; at last, one of the accusers said:— “Why they preten led to be better than oth er people ; and besides they prayed from morning till night.” The magistrate asked if they had done anything else “ Yes, sir,” said the old man, “’an't please your worship, they “converted” my wife. Till she went among them, she had such a tongue! and now she is as quiet as a lamb.” “Carry them back, carry them back,” said the magistrate, “and let them convert all the scolds in the town.” ARTIFICIAL MARBLE. There is an establishment in London where sculptors may work in chalk, and it he after wards convertible into the hardest marble while every mark of the chi-el is preserved. The inventor is Mr. Wm. Hutchinson, who has secured a patent and he can make Plas ter of Paris, Bath lire stones, and other sorts of stone, chalk, woo l, pasteboard, and infact, every other material is rendered as hard a* metal, receiving the most brilliant polish, and made absolutely imperishable from atmos pheric action. The purposes o w hich this patent can be applied, are innumerable. The first inea of the patentee was the in duration of tiie softer and more common and almost useless stones for the purpose of paving; but so complete was his success that he soon took a loftier View, and has rendered the operation not on ly applicable to all common purposes for which stone and slate are used in building— such as paving, internal an 1 external, win dow sills, cisterns’ fittings of dairies, &c., but now applies the operation to all the higher works of art. Plaster of Paris casts, of the most elaborate designs, in bust, relievos, arch itectural ornaments, fonts and oramentai floor ing for churches, trellis work for balconies, ornamental inkstands, &c., are ren lered im perishable by the operation of the elements, ?tnd as hard and tough as metal. A slab of soft fine sand stone, so soft that it might he rubbed into powder by the ban 1 — was rendered as hard as granite, and rung like a hell; numerous Pla.-ter of Paris orna ments and busts, metamorphosed into bronze, granite, and party-colorel marbles —iraiu, water and gass pipes, ma le from Bath stone, chalk or paper, hard as granite, an 1 polished internally like marble ; in fact, the results of the operations are said to be most extraordi nary, and one of the greatest discoveries of the age. An Exquisite Bull. —A Mr. Pollard, one of the Baltimore Reformed Drunkards, recently, in a speech before a temperance as semblage, made the following unique bull: “Fathers,” exclaimed he, with the most ar dent en hn siasm, “you have children; or if you ha os not. your daughters may have. ” A Wagoner’s Toast. —The fair sex:— The Jack-screw of the United States, and the Wheel Horse of all creation. • ~t ©roup of Hneciro*tco. ANECDOTES OF PHYSICIANS. Sir Richard Jebb.— This physician was very rough and harsh in manner. He said to a patient, to whom lie had been very rude, “Sir, it is my way.” “Then,” replied the patient, pointing to the door, “ \ beg you will make that your way.” Sir Richard was not very nice in his mode of expression, and would frequently astonish a patient with a volley of oaths. Nothing used to make him swear more than the eternal question “ What may I eat ?” “Pray, Sir Richard, may I eat a muffin'?” “Yes, ‘madam, the best’ thing you can take.” “Oh dear, lam glad of that. But, Sir Richard you told me the other day that it was the worst thing I could eat !”—• “What would be proper for me to eat to-day ?” says another lady. “Boiled turnips.” “Boil ed turnips! you forget, Sir Richard, I told you I could not bear boiled turnips. “Then, madam, you must have a very vitiated appe tite.” Sir Richard being called to see apa tient, who fancied himself very ill, told him ingenuously what he thought, and declined prescribing, thinking it unnecessary. “ Now you are here,” said the patient, “ I shall be obliged to you, Sir Richard, if you will tell Rie how I must live, what I may eat, and what not.” “My directions as to that point,” replied Sir Richard, “will be few and simple. § © ©if SLS iiil Da il if 1 mISA IB ¥ © Hi. You must not eat the poker, shovel, or tongs, for ihey are hard of digestion; nor the bel lows, because they are windy ; but anything else you please!” The Late Mr. Abernethy. —l have heard my uncle, in adverting to his attendance at a medical debating society, mention a witty re tort which occurred in a discussion at one of its meetings between two young surgeons, one an Irishman, the other a Scotchman. — The former maintained that cancer never oc curred in a woman who had borne children. The young Scotchman vehemently opposed this doctrine, and mentioned the case of a la dy, who twice had twins, and yet had cancer afterwards. To this apparent conclusive evi dence the Irishman immediately replied, ‘Ah, by my soul, hut don’t you know that’s an exception to the general rule, where’s the wonder in Cancer following Gemini. It al ways does ?”—Memoirs of Abernethy. Dr. Fothergill and the Quaker, —A Quaker apothecary, meeting Dr. Fothergill, thus accosted him: “Friend Fothergill, 1 in tend dining with thee, to-day.” “ I shall be glad to see thee,” answered the doctor; “but pray, friend, hast thou not some joke?” “No joke, indeed,” rejoined th° apothecary, “hut a very serous matter. Thou hast at tended friend Ephraim these three days, and ordered him no medicine. I cannot at this rate five in my own house, and must live in thine.” The doctor took the hint, and pre scribed handsomely for the benefit of his friend Ephraim, and his friend Leech, the apothecary! The Lost Dog.—A physician of Montpel lier was in the habit of employing a very in genious artifice to bring h mseif into notice with the public. When he came to a town where he was not known, he pretende 1 to have lost his favorite dog, and ordered the public crier to offer, with beat of drum, a re war 1 of twenty-five louis to whoever should find it. The crier took care to mention all the titles an ! academic honors of the peripa tetic physician, as well as his place of resi dence. He soon became the talk of the town : “Do you know,” says one, “that a famous physician has come here—a very clever fel low, of high academic honors ? He must be rich, for he offers twenty-five louisfor finding Ids log?” The dog vms not found, but pa tients v’ere. traces of (Stand. A GERMAN COUNTRY SEAT. [We copy the following article from the Boston Musical Gazette, presuming 1 hat it will interest many of our home realers when we inform then that the “exiled German gentle man” mentioned by the author is Professor Lehman, formerly of our State University. [Editor. From Aix-la-Chapelle, I went by diligence to Cologne. The moment the coach reached the hotel in this fanned city, the passengers were beset by boys, who hal the genuine co logne-water to sell. The vociferous little fel lows forcibly reminded me of State street in Boston, where a similar set of urchins are al ways on hand with their newspapers. I was intrusted by an exiled German genlteman, a professor in one of our colleges, with a da guerreotype for his sister, the wife of a weal thy merchant, resident in Cologne. On the evening of my arrival, I called and left the miniature. [ rang the door bell, and was ushered by the servant into a room near the door. T had been seated a few moments when a little girl, say nine years old, entered the room an l sauntered towards the window, casting sheep’s eyes at me. Thinking to a muse her by the words of (to her) an outlan dish tongue, I said to her, “Can you speak English?” “Oh yes, sir,” said she, “I can speak English as well as I can German, and ma sent me to ask you out to tea.” I went out to tea, and found the table set under a large tree in the garden, under which tree sun dry lounges and armed chairs gave indications that the garden was the most frequented sit ting room “in the house.” 1 received a press ing invitation which would accept r.o denial, to accompany the family to their country seat, on the hanks of the Rhine, about twenty miles from Cologne, whither they intended re moving for the season, on the next morning. I accordingly embarked early the next morn ing with them, and spent three days amid the most charming scenery on earth. * The coun try seat was at the foot of a mountain which rises abruptly to the height of perhaps twelve hundred feet, called the Drachen-fels. This mountain is the first elevation of any kind which can be seen in ascending the Rhine, from the ocean. Between its base and the North sea a distance nearly four hundred miles, the country is perfectly level. The prospect from the top of the Drachen-fels (Dragon’s Rock) is therefore very extensive. As there are no fences, walls or hedges in Germany, the fields of grain extending as far as the eye could reach, spread out a living landscape, the like of which I never saw be fore. The Drachen-fels is the first of a range of mountains and hills between which tha Rhine flows fora hundred"miles; every moun tain and hill has an old castle on its top, about which many a tale of olden time is told. On the top of the Drachen-fels is the remnant of a stronghold of some robber chief, im pregnable until gun-powder was invented. — The country seat of which I have spoken is on ihe opposite bank of the river from Bonn, the birth place of Beethoven, which town I of course visited. During the time I remain e l with thisfamily, many visits were exchang ed between the occupants of the various vil las in the vicinity. On the first evening a garrulous old lady called on my hostess, who entertained me with numerous rapidly spoken stories, of which I could understand about as much as I could of a Hebrew dissertation. — Towards the close of her visit, she accident ally learned that I ha 1 come to Germany to study music; she immediately began question ing me upon my studies as heietofore pursu el, and wound up a discourse on the best seminaries and teachers, by going to the pi ano and selecting from a cor l of sheet music a very difficult composition of Ferdinand Ivies, who she said was born in that neighborhood. There were several ladies in the room, and I readily understood that the old grand-mam wanted to make an examination of my profi ciency. I glanced at the piece and saw amaz ingly quick that with a month’s hard practice on it, I could scarcely have played it, and the i lea of being requested to play it at sight was overwhelming. The ol 1 lady never con descended to ask me whether I had seen it before or not, but continue 1 coolly descanting on the merits an 1 peculiarities t)f the piece, the cold sweat meanwhile beginning to start from my forehead, as I awaited the dread re nuest to perform it. She placed the piece on the piano, adjusted the music rack, altered the stool, took her seat on it, to see if it was fixed right for me, smoothed the piece out very carefully, and— played it herself! fo retgn dorresponbence. For the Southern Literary Gazette. LONDON LETTERS. —No. 8. London, July 20, 1848. My Dear Sir, —A fortnight's absence from this city, passed most delightfully on the “ Isle of Wight,” must be my apology for missing the regular packet ot the 15th inst. Nor can 1 now send you a letter of the cus tomary length, as I have suddenly resolved on an excursion into the highlands of Scot land, with a charming party of my own country-people, not long arrived from ihe Uni ted States. I have not, it is true, much prep aration to make, for a bachelor, like myself, should be found ever “up and doing—with a heart for any fate!” Nevertheless, cer tain things are necessary to be done, and as the party have decided to take the Rail-way for Liverpool, this afternoon, I have little time enough to do even nothing in. My sojourn on the “Isle of Wight,” was a refreshing one. The transition from the hotair of the pent up streets of London, to the fresh and invigorating breezes that I inhaled every morning at Cowes or Yar mouth, or at some interior hamlet, was a luxury beyond description. You are aware X hat this Island lies to the Southward of Hampshire, and is readily accessible, in a few hours, by the Rail-way to Southamp ton. and thence by packet to Cowes. The salutary elfects of its climate, and the'beauty cl its scenery, attract large numbers of visi tors during the summer. When I left London for the Isle of Wight, thought it exceedingly probable that before I returned, “ Irish affairs” might reach their crisis, and some eventful blow have been struck. It is not 60, however: and, to use an Hibernicism, things remain pretty much a* they were, only more so ! “ The crisis is at hand,” says your friend, as he meets you on ’Change ; and the opinion is but the echo of the popular expectation. The crisis is at hand ! The insurgents are arming in every quarter, and the Lord Lieutenant has already “proclaimed” Dublin and sundry regions in Cork and Waterford. Conceive, if you can, the excitement which prevails throughout Erin. The clergy, seriously frightened, are calling on their flocks to shun the clubs, and all the while the clamorous power of the dis affected is arraying itself against the more si lent, but gigantic power of the government. Its conflict is inevitable; but what will be it* results, I can only imagine. If the Irish peo ple were “ of one heart an l of one mind,” in this movement, I believe the blow that must come would sever the alliance that now exist*, between England a i l her unhappy sister.-*- The united opposition of Ireland could not he effectually resisted; but who does not know that the people of Ireland are divided against themselves? Anl the emphatic lan guage of Holy VVrit has declare 1 that “a house divided against itself shall not stand.” The power of Englan 1 will, in all probabili ty, prevail, because Irishmen are not true to themselves and their country. Meanwhile, we are all in a state of breath less anxiety. At no period of the last six months, so prolific of excitement in England and Europe generally, has there been mort manifest interest and solicitude here than at present. The “ chartist demonstra l ion” was nothing in comparison. Every one waits and watches for “further intelligence from Ire land.” There is some trouble at Lverpool even now, in consequence of the for nation of Irish Clubs, occasioning a for the establishment of a considerable military force in that city. 1 have nothing of great interest to tell yon of Paris. Under the judicious yet rigorou* sway of Gen. Cavaignac, order is maintained. Business is reviving, anl the shop-keepers are re-opening their migazim. The places of amusement, too, are once rn >re presenting their attractions, and this may help to divert the popular attention from the dangerous clubs recently so paramount in Paris. The Finance Committee of the National Assembly has rejectel a proposition to confiscate tire property of the fallen Kin ;. Plots and conspiracies are yet rife in Paris, and the continuance of martial law is leemed absolutely necessary. Tin volcan )is not m actual eruption, but its fires are only smoth ered, perhaps, to break on at a moment’* warning. If the N itionil Ass-e nbly can make a goo I and perm neat give raiment out of the existing elements, they will perform a miracle deserving the admiration of th? world ! Our Minister mile a very felicitous speech at a large Agricultural Mieong, hell i t York on the 13th inst., at which the Earl of Yar borough presided. This meeting was held almost in the shalow of the towers of York Castle, on the bank of the “slow-winding Ouse.” Mr. Bancroft was loud iy called on, and his allress, as reportel in the Times’ drew repeated applause. The Oxford Professorship of Modern Lan guages has been offerel to M. Guizot, and de cline Iby that distinguished French man. The offer itself was seized on by Punch as ground for a merry travestie, anl, accordingly, be announced a “new faculty” fir Oxford, fu el u ling many of the Frenchmen, who have played such prominent parts of late. I only remember, now, that Louis Pliillippe was proposed as Professor of Modern History and Citoyen Lamartine as Professor of Poetry. I may, very likely send you a dispatch from Edinburgh, if I should remain there long enough to look about me, but you need no! expect to hear from me at London, for a1 least a month. So I bid you adieu, and **** • Truly yours, E. F.