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B©HSP©iB 9 S MIPAOTMIBOT. J , ATHENS, SATURDAY, AUGUST 26,1848. j The Value of Books. I It has been said by someone, that to be ignorant j at the present day, is not so much a misfortune as a crime; and we think that no argument is necessary to illustrate and enforce the truth of the sentiment, j Most assuredly, ignorance is now criminal, and, as a general rule, the man who lives in ignorance, and dies in ignoiance, will have a fearful account to render for neglected opportunities and slighted privi leges. It is unquestionably true, that no man can live in the neglect of his mental nature, without ex periencing consequent evils, any more than he can live in the neglect of his body without paying the penalty of physical suffering. It is the bounden du ty of every intelligent being to improve and elevate, to the highest possible degree, the faculties and powers with which he has been endowed ; and, since the intellectual nature of manissuperior to his physi cal organization, it necessarily follows that the claims of the former upon his attention are paramount. We pursue the argument no further, but seek, in a brief mariner, to urge the importance of cultivating a taste for reading as one of the chief means of intellectual development. Books are the reposiHries of thought, the exponents of science, the store-houses of know ledge ; from which may be gathered precious wis dom, to cheer the heart, illuminate the understand ing, elevate the soul, enliven the affections, and give vitality and energy to all the powers of human na ture. It is from books that the student derives the noble lessons that incite him to noble exertions. All that is great and glorious in the history of the world, has been preserved for our admiration in books; and words are vain to express their value or their influ ence upon all the relations of society, and upon man’s future destiny. That there are evil books—fountains of pollution, degrading to the intellect and destruc tive to the soul of man —weakens, in no degree, the force of our position. The value of water is not di minished one whit by the ( vistenee of impure or bit ter fountains. The air we breathe is not the less a blessing of inestimable worth, because there are found noxious and deadly gases. We might multiply these illustrations, but it is needless. The authors and readers of impure books will share the sad fate of him who distils and drinks poisonous waters, or who generates and inhales deleterious vapors. Ihe existence of evil books only exalts the value of the good, as the pure air and clear water are increased iu value by comparison with deadly miasma and im pure fountains. A taste for reading, then, .should be instilled into every mind; and the time to accom plish this is the season of Y outh —for universal testi mony is borne to the difficulty, if not the impossi bility, of achieving it in after-life. The precious season of Youth, unimproved by much judicious and careful reading, the golden opportunity, is lost and can hardly be recovered. It is to the young, then, and to those who have youth in their charge, that we now appeal, and urge them, by every consideration of present and future good, to learn the love of books. This may not be done, either wisely or effectually, by indulging in too much light reading—the staple of the cheap issues of the press. As well might the hungry man attempt to satisfy the demands of his appetite, vigorous and by consuming the bon-bons, syllabubs, and pastry, which succeed a substantial dinner, as for any one to undertake the supply of his intellectual wants, with the froth and frivolity of fictions and romances. He may, it is true, feed so long on these as to have impaired the powers and destroyed the true appetite of his mind — so that it now surfeits itself on trifies, and cares for no other food—just as the glutton may have destroyed his real appetite by sweets and delicacies, until he pampers an enfeebled body by such vanities. There is, at the present day, an abundaut and ex haustless supply of useful, instructive and elevating hooks, furnished at a price which renders them easi ly accessible to all classes. None are so poor as not to have it in their power to command a small and well-selected library; and none who have any per ception of the value of knowledge and mental cul ure, will willingly forego such a source of improve ment and delight. A good book is a treasure beyond pnee. It is a never-failing source of gratification; and when it is remembered that a day’s wages of an §©©IFS S& Ei LJTSiiAAT ®AS lIHF g ♦ industrious laborer will buy several instructive vol umes, the force of the sentiment with which we be-i? gan this article will be apparent. In conclusion—for we have reached our usual lim its —we commend all who read these paragraphs to cultivate a taste for reading, and, our word for it> they will be not only the wiser, but the happier, for their pains. We will, on some early occasion, sug gest a course of reading for a young man of limited time and means, to derive solid and pleasing instruc tions. The Agricultural Fair. The special Report of the State Fair at Rock Mountain, which we expected for our Journal, not having come to hand, we must make such brief re-, cord of it as the imperfect notices in our exchanges will allow. The number of persons in attendance was probably over ten thousand, but the attractions in the way of novelties and specimens of skill, do not appear to have equalled public expectation. This may be accounted for perhaps by the usual exaggera ted nature of anticipation, and also by the infancy of such exhibitions in our region of country. We doubt not, that each successive fair will be more attractive than the preceding ; and their influence on the pro gress of Arts and Manufactures in the South, cannot fail to be marked and important. From the South ern IVhig, we learn that four premiums were awar ded to citizens of this town, a fact which we chroni cle with sincere pleasure. They were as follows : To Messrs, llodgson, for a splendid four horse coach; to Van Houten &. Barrett for a superior buggy ; to Barry & Fagan for a pair of elegant boots, and to the Athens Manufacturing company for the finest specimens of cotton yarn. We cordially repeat the language of our contemporary —* 4 We are truly proud to record the success of our respected friends in their several branches of domestic industry, and hope the day is not far distant when Georgia, which is des tined to become the great Empire State of the South, may be one of the foremost manufacturing States in the whole Union. Let domestic manufactures be fostered and encouraged among us, and then will our people become really independent and truly prosper ous.” £ije 2Ltterar ff&’orUL The New Series of Washington Irving’s complete works will he commenced on the first proximo, with his “ Knickerbocker’s History of New York.” The admirable story, now appearing in Black wood, called “ Tho Caxtons —a Family Picture,” is attributed by the knowing ones to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. J. Fennimore Cooper’s new novel, “The Oak Openings,” is about to appear from the press of Burgess, Stringer & Cos. Geo. P. Putnam announces for next month, “ The Life, Letters, and Literary Remains of Keats,” by Monckton Milnes. Prof. Stuart, the distinguished Linguist and Theo_ logian, has resigned his post at Andover, in conse qr* > \ce of ill health. Elje SlTSorlir. The Present Crisis in Ireland. The long expected “ crisis” in Irish affairs has ar rived, and, at the latest dates from England, civil war was raging in various portions of Ireland. Some accounts represent the Rebellion as completely crush ed in the outset, while from others we are led to infer that the victories of the Government forces must be repeated, before the oppressed are effectually and for ever overcome. The revolution began at Balingarry, by an attack of the populace on the police. It re sulted in the overthrew of the former, with considera ble loss of life. The Government has offered a boun i ty for the arrest of O’Brien, Meagher, and several others, who are reported to have fled, with many of the insurgents, to the mountains. The 4 Felon’ and | ‘Nation,’ organs of the disaffected, have been sup pressed by a withdrawal of the stamp privilege. A large military force occupies the whole disaffected 1 region of the province. The insurrection may possi bly assume the nature of a guerilla warfare; but, ; even in the fastnesses of the mountains, the insur- I gents could not long be secure, especially in tJie ap ! proaching season of rigor, when cold and hunger will [ stare them in the face. We cannot find, in the re ports already received, any indications of hope for | the poor, down-trodden sons of Erin. The Orange men and the soldiery will maintain the integrity of tho Government against the factions. Affairs on the Continent. Pakis. —There are no reasons to apprehend an early disturbance of the quiet which prevails in this city, under Cavaignac’s administration. The Mod erate Party in the Assembly seems to be gaining ground. The trial of the insurgents continues at the military tribunals. There are 9,000 prisoners now lying in durance in Paris, implicated in the June In surrection. Russia. —A subsidence of the Cholera in St. Pe tersburgh is announced, though, on the 14th ultimo, there were 312 deaths in that city from this scourge, our (Sosstp Column* Dear Reader, we wish you could have been with us, the other night, at the house of a friend, in our sister State of South Carolina, to have witnessed a wedding-scene; the like of which is probably iot recorded in the annals of matrimony. Our friend is a clergyman, and, on the evening in question, he in formed us, at the tea-table, that he had been called on to do the irrevocable for a very singular couple, and expected them to appear that night. The bride to-be was the daughter of a lazy, good-for-nothing man, in the neighborhood, who lived upon her indus try, and had forbidden her to marry the man ot her choice —a poor, but industrious fellow —because ho would thou be compelled to do something for his own support. He had even gone to the barbarous excess of beating her, and, in order to avoid his still unap peased anger at her determination to be married, she had been obliged to leave her home and hide herself in the woods. The bridegroom made known these facts to our clerical friend, who readily consented to place the persecuted woman under the protection of her lover; and the latter promised to “hunt up Betsy, and fetch her to the house soon arter night, fall.” We waited, after our evening meal, until past the usual bed-time, but the candidates for matrimo ny did not appear; and at length the lady of the house retired, and we were on the point of doing so, when the barking of the bouso-dog announced visit ors. It was now eleven o’clock, and we scarcely looked for the bridal party. They came, however, four in number, and were ushered into the parlor of the cottage. Mrs. C reappeared to witness the ceremony, before which we must take a peep at the visitors. The two females were striking con trasts to each other ; the one very tall and of mas culine appearance, and the other below the average size. The two men were scarcely less ill-matched; the one was apparently a boy, about sixteen, and the other a well-grown man. The whole party, on en tering the parlor, passed around and shook hands with each of us, without uttering a word; after which, they plumped themselves into the chairs pro vided for them. The females were dressed in what were once white gowns, but which were so bedrag gled with dew and dust as to give them a saffron hue. The party looked troubled and bewildered. Presently, Mr. C .approached and requested them to rise. They did so, and lie commenced tho ceremony. When he came to the part which re quires the joining of hands, he was about to unite the couple standing in the middle of the line —the small woman and the large man—when, by the evi dent perplexity of the party, he discovered that something was wrong, and it appeared that the ex tremes of the line were the actual candidates for bri dal honors. Accordingly, the parties changed pla ces, and our boyish hero stood by tho side of his Amazon sweetheart. With infinite difficulty, our friend proceeded with the ceremony, and made them “one flesh.” After the benediction was pronoun ced, they all sat down with the utmost gravity—the bridegroom twirling on his fingers the new hat which he had bought for the occasion, and which comport* ed badly with his old coat, contracted pants and brown boots. Smothering our merriment, we waited their further motions, and, in a few minutes, the bride addressed her husband as follows: “ Jemes, I think as how we mought as well put out.” “ I’m ready, Betsy, when you say the word.” With that they rose, and, once more shaking hands with all of us, in perfect silence they departed. They must have heard, we fear, the merry peal of laughter which rung out, unrestrainedly, before they could have got outside of the little garden, in front of the cottage. Thus ended a midnight wedding in South Carolina—a veritable history, upon our edi torial word and honor! .... The author of “All About” pleads the pressure of unavoidable en gagements and labors, as an apology for the tempo rary suspension of his papers under that title. We regret very much that it is so, as we have now sev eral scenes engraved and ready for the press, so soon as the MS. can be furnished. He promises, howev er, an early resumption of his pen in our service, and we shall welcome him very cordially, especially as his next field of illustration is in the Carolinas. . . . . We clip the following pretty conceit from the last number of the Literary World: IMPROMPTU. They say that dreams of Angels tell Sweet tidings to the lover true; 1 ask of you, love—say they well.'’ My dreams this moriiing told of you ! We regret that we cannot treat our readers to Punch's illustrations of the “ Cold Earth Cure,” as they appear in his budget of July 29th. They are capital, indeed, representing the patient in all the stages of his immersion in the ground—first up to the arm-pits, and, finally, up to the neck—leaving only a resemblance to a cabbage above the ground ! We hope to find room for the letter-press next week. As an illustration of Truth on Tomb-stones, Punch gives us the epitaph of a Clown, which ransitnply, “ Here r ~ r ■.Y-P'lT 1 Notices to Correspondents. Stephenia. Your article is on file for publication, and will appear very soon. Alton. By an oversight, your poem was not put in type early enough for insertion in the present num ber, and stands over until next week. P. S. M. Wo return your MS. as directed. J. A. T. We design to introduce “ Uncle Simon” to our readers at an early day—perhaps next week. P. Q. We know it is impossible to please every body ; so we have adopted the rule of trying to please ourself , and if wo succeed in that, we ‘rest from our labors’ every Saturday night with a grate ful spirit. Phil. Your rhymes are positively shocking!— Who but yourself would have attempted to mako feature and sweeter jingle 1 We must let our read ers see how you succeed in the attempt— *- “ Oh ! lowly Susan tlmu to mo Art than the rose-bud sweeter, Thy eyes are brighter than the stars, And charming is each feature!” We recommend you to try a stanza, and introduce the following equally perfect rhymes: poet—goat ’ <Dur Book Cable* Orta-I \dis, and Other Poems. By J. M. Leg are. Boston: William D. Tickuor &. Cos. A volume of poems by a Southern Poet, is almost a phenomenon, and our readers will allow us a little more than the usual space for noticing such a pro duction. We scarcely open the pages of a New En gland or Northern Magazine or Review that wo do not observe notices of new collections of verse of which the majority, as might be expected, are tolerable only, and therefore, intolerable —while to the few bo longs the meed of praise. It the South were equally prolific of poetry, we might, in our capacity of Re viewer, have acquired a skill in dissection, pruning, or whatever it may be criled, such as is exhibited in our more favored contemporaries. As it is, however, we cannot, if we Avould, deal harshly with an obhv tion so rare as that which is tho subject of our no tice ; and it was with kind and tlmnklul feelings to ward its author that we opened his little volumo and glanced eagerly over its dainty pages. Our purpose is not to subject the poetry of Mr. Legarc to critical analysis, or to enter into any elaborate review. A candid notice of his book is what we aim to give—and if it be in a tone of praise, it will bo but a sincere tribute to the actual and not ordinary merit, which his verse exhibits. Mr. Lc gare’s poetry is marked by a studied quaintness— amounting to a positive affectation, to which we are disposed to object. We admire quaint thoughts, pretty conceits and novelties in verse when they aro evidently the outspeaking of tho poet’s mind —when they are natural, in other words. Perhaps Mr. Lc gare does not ajfect the peculiarities of his verso— but we confess they seem not exactly “ to tho man ner born.” We discover them in the structure of his stanzas —in the frequent inversions of his style— in numerous obscurities of sense —and, we add more over, in occasional departures from the established laws of verso-making. The titles of some of his poems are obnoxious to this charge. The title of the book is taken from the name of a clever specimen of Latin versification on the last two pages of the volume. With equal fit ness the author might have called it “ Qua) Pul chrior”—and perhaps with even mure, “ Ornotbolo goi,” which is the longest piece in the book. Tho annexed stanza is from a poem to a Lily. “ Thou in the lake dost see Thyself: So she Betjolds her image iu her eyes Reflected. Tints did Venus rise From out the sea” Have we not here a defect ive picture from the mis use of it preposition 1 The maiden does not see “ her image” reflected in but to her eyes, in the lake. The general tone of these Poems is lofty and yet tender. They appear to be chiefly personal, a vein which is not often worked to the popular admiration. There is, however, a grace and delicacy about them, which cannot fail to charm the reader. Wo think some of them are very beautiful. For example— “ Haw Blossoms,” “ The Reaper,” and “A May Morn.” The second of these will be found entire in our “Southern Eclectic.” Mr. Legare’s poetry has certainly the charm and merit of originality. He is no servile imitator ; and in despite of a few manner isms, he writes well and worthily. We hope he will attempt higher themes than those which have hith erto engrossed his verse. His muse should sour—iG t it is not in rustic haunts and shady nooks that she will find her truest inspiration. In concluding the brief notice of the very neat vol ume before us, we heartily recommend it to our rea ders as highly deserving of their regard. It con tains true poetry—the indigenous growth of our own sunny land. The people of the South should foster every man of genius in her borders—and by so doing, she will, by and by, make to herself a name among the wise and learned. 127