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EDITOR’S DEPARTMENT. Athens, Saturday, September 9, 1848. A Medley on Music. The power of Music is so universally acknow ledged, that the poet represents Orpheus as moving the trees, stones and floods, by this agency ; and it i< only to be regretted that this is a pretty fable, dnce, if Music could move such like objects in our day, with what delightful rapidity and harmony our grand Internal Improvements might be urged for ward. Imagine, for a moment, a modern Orpheus, in the person of a Rail-road Contractor —the cele brated Mr. Whitney, for example—proceeding to <;rade the track to the Pacific by the mere magic of his strains. With what delightful unison would all parts of the great opera move on ! There would be no bars to his progress—no cliff's that he would not scale and bring low ; and thus, pursuing the even tenor of his way, he would charm all obstacles out of his path, and pause not until he would plant his staff in rest, at the extremity of his lines ! Then, too, let us suppose another Orpheus as engineer on this Music-made road. How easily would he propel the loaded trains, by merely drawing his bow ! and how delightful it would be for the passengers to dance all the way to Oregon—infinitely exceeding the won derful feat of the school-boys, who, beneath the whip of their master, as we were told in boyhood, were wont “to dance Out of Scotland into France!” Hut, alas ! the story of Orpheus is a fable ; and .Music can only move such immaterial objects as men’3 souls and passions. We ought to except, it is true, the influences it exerts upon the marching sol dier —the feet of the merry dancers, and of the pit audience at the crowded theatre; but, after all, these are only motions of the sole ! and do not destroy the footing we have assumed. There are some men who “ have no music in their I*ollls but of this class, the “ gude man” of the Scotch poet certainly was not an example —for, ac-’ cording to the testimony of his wife, “ His very foot had music in’t When he came up the stair 1” We have encountered individuals who could not tell Old Hundred from Yankee Doodle, at least without an ear-trumpet, and who could not, for the life of them, see why Music was made at all, not withstanding the positive testimonj* of the Poet on the subject: “When Music, heavenly maid, was young.” Shakspeare, in very unmelodious strains, says of such a man, “Preposterous ass! that never read so fur, To know the cause why music was ordained.” Wc rejoice to be exempt from the Poet’s assum tion, since we know well that Music was ordained ‘ikepriests and deacons, for the service of the church; kilt it was so charming and delightful, that the world fell in love with the maiden, and ever since she has been move thought of and cared for, out of the church, ■han in it. Even when she is admitted to the sanc tuary—which was her native home —she is so badly treated, and subjected to such disguises, thaj she j would scarcely dread execution by the common i hang-man more than by her avowed friends. She is minently devotional ; but when she would soar heavenward in pure extaey, someone, who has never read the gamut from A to C, seizes on her expaud d wings and drags her flat to the earth. Whether ‘his proceeding be natural or not, there can be no wanner of doubt that the author of it is a natural; and it would not be necessary to look very sharp to Discover such in almost every congregation. For )ur P a H> we would most cheerfully consent to “Tax not so bad a voice To slander music any more than once!” ‘ ‘ ],Jll Sh, it its owner still persisted in uttering the 1 ‘ I, it would be sound justice, we think, to make 11 P a y a heavy penalty for every counterfeit note he issued. * his subject is too large to be compassed in an odi- a "> and might well demand a volume. We find V moreover, so crescendo, that we sear 4 it may be u ” f° s t°P without too much abruptness, if we f at once bring all its parts to a grand finale ! MUSLIM 3a II “if ££A Si ¥ S JOL % & 71? £ * A Vindication. We recently received a letter from a subscriber for whose piety and Christian character we entertain a high regard, and it was with some surprise that wo read the following passage concerning the Ga zette : — “ From the levity of its contents I have re gretted the EFFECTS OF MY CHILDREN READING IT ! !!” The exclamation points together with the italics and capitals are our own, dear reader, and we think them appropriate—they express, at least our honest aston. ishment at such a charge against the Gazette from such a source. Now we have prided ourself not a little on the purity and high moral tone of our pa per—nay good men and wise men too. have congrat ulated us upon its delicacy and propriety. We have jealously excluded any article, however amusing and ‘ taking,’ which was not perfectly free from indeli cate allusions —and we claim to have kept the Ga zette, as it was commenced —an organ of polite lit erature and sound morality. Where then, in the name of common sense, does our clerical friend find cause for apprehension that his children will be in jured by reading its pages 1 Because, forsooth, of its exceeding levity ! A column or two of each num ber is devoted to articles and scraps of humor ! This we suppose is the great bugbear that frightens our friend. Ilis children will laugh over these columns, and so injure their minds ! Seriously—we defy our correspondent to produce the weekly literary paper, that contains fewer frivolous articles than the Ga zette. We will not contend that there are none which contain more brilliant ones —but simply that none less frequently minister to a foolish taste. Our w it and humor sparkle from the high and pure sour ces of a Hood —a Holmes —a Neal. Our fictions, original aud selected, have all of them conveyed val uable truth —designed “ to point a moral and adorn a tale.” Our *• miscellany ” has been made up of choice pas sages from books, and journals, embracing valuable practical philosophy for the people—hints to the working man, and instructive analects. Surely our worthy censor does not expect a Literary Journal to be filled up with theological discussions —long- winded homilies, etc. We do not publish a Reli gious Journal —and yet we venture to say that any intelligent young person may gather more valuable instruction —more intellectual aliment —more pure and innocent pleasure from the weekly pages of our Gazette —than from some so-called religious news papers, and particularly from one which we could name, and we should not wonder at all, if this very paper is received into the family where the effects of the Gazette are so much dreaded. We respect fully suggest that if this be the case, the former will serve as an antidote to the latter. By its inherent and fearful gravity—except when spiced with bitter ness —it will counteract the levity of the Gazette, aud the poison will be neutralized. We are somewhat indignant, it will be seen, that our Journal should be regarded as a dangerous visit or to any family, and especially when we know that it is generally esteemed a pure and pleasant guest — a family companion in many instances, read aloud by the daughter or the son to the family circle. — Dear friends —who have thanked us for the delicacy and purity of our paper —think again, it will, per haps, injure yourchildren !! Ye clergymen of every name, who have bid us God-speed in our humble la bors, are ye not supporting a source of moral defile ment 1 and ought ye not to exclaim of it, “ Procul, O ! procul, este profanum 1” We write “ more in sorrow than in anger.” We fear our clerical friend regards our paper with the eye of prejudice—not the growth of his own honest well-meaning heart, but the bantling of meanerspir its, who officiously and without his authority, viola ted the rules of courtesy, in an act which led to the correspondence that has induced us to make these remarks. We earnestly hope that he may not real ize his fears about “ the effect of his children read ing” our paper. Wc cannot help thinking they will be the wiser and the better for it. tJTfje SinterCcan fHoutfjln s3tess. The Colkmbian Magazine, for Sept.. 1848. New York: J. S. Taylor. We received some of the September Magazines so early in the previous month, that we supposed we might have been overlooked in the distribution of the Columbian. It came, however, on tho second day of the month —a promptitude quite as strict as we can desire, and, as if to answer our complaint of its apparent tardiness, the Editorial department con tains some judicious thoughts on the impropriety of ante-dating monthly journals, and issuing in August what is really designed for September. We ac knowledge the justice of this, and really think that it would be better for the monthlies to time their is sues, so that the first of the month would bring them to all parts of the country. The Columbian is an excellent magazine. We do not design to puff it, for it is unneeeessary. The present number is a very attractive one. The prin cipal frontispiece is a fine steel engraving of the ex quisite tomb of Mademoiselle Canda, a beautiful and ! accomplished young lady of New York, who was killed by being thrown from a carriage at night, while returning from a festival nearly four years ago. This plate is one of a series illustrative of articles contributed by the Editor, entitled, “ Glances at Greenwood,” the Pere la chaise of New York. Mrs. Joseph C. Neal, Miss Mclntosh, and others contrib ute to the number, and it is only justice to say that the tone of the articles is pure and elevated. <s>ur CSosstp Column. I I The dog days are over gentle reader, and the fer vent heat of Summer has abated. While we write ! this, we are reminded of the advent of Autumn, by I the shrill whisperings of a cool wind that tosses wild ly the already sere leaves of the shade trees—and in a few weeks more verdure will have been succeeded by the brown hues of the advancing Fall. The “ mel ancholy days ” are at hand—the days when Nature predisposes the soul of man to a mood of thoughtful sadness. There is, to us, a touching and peculiar tenderness in the cadences of the autumnal breezes. They seem to be the uttered regrets of Nature that her bright days are over —that her glories are de parting. They are her sighs breathed out in con sciousness of her speedy thraldom to Winter. The poets have made this season the appropriate text of admonition to man. It is full of gentle warnings —reproaches to him, it may be—for suffering the summer of life to pass without having matured all | those fruits which should have crowned the autumn | and winter of his age. We would merely remind our ! readers of those teachings—and hope that Autumn will bring to them lessons of w isdom well improv ed Punch, in his recent issues, has been growing merry over the new aspect of affairs in Ire ; land, and he is most unmercifully poking fun at “ Meagher of the Sword,” and his compatriots O- Brien, Gorman and others. We uo not suppose, | however, that our kind friend Punch —the embodi j merit of the humanitarian principle in England, is any more the foe, or any the less the friend, of Irish Reform, that he caricatures Meagher as the Bobadil of Ireland, or O’Brien as its Abd-el-Kader. Punch has a quick eye to the ludicrous whenever it appears, and surely the recent affairs at Boulagh and else where, apart from the results to the cause of the in surgents, have afforded food for his humor —which we are pleased to take with a firm belief that he will still be glad to strike an effectual blow for the suffer ing people of Ireland in the right way, and at the right time. In the same spirit which we attribute to him, we copy this week some of his travesties, purely for their excellent wit. Os such is the Fight of the Kitchen Garden. Punch is “ down,” also, upon the new army regulation of the “ shell jacket” or “round-about” for the soldiers, as will be seen j by that pathetic poem in our columns entitled, “ The Officer’s Tear.” At the same time, he apologizes j for it in the following words: “ Much as the shell jacket may be objected to as a disfigurement to the British officer, it is, unquestionably, an excellent coat for action, as the wearer will certainly never show the enemy his back!” .... We have re cently constructed, for our own special use, a “ Co nundrum Machine,” which wo think, when in per fect operation, will turn out about one per minute. We propose shortly to make liberal offers for the sup ply of our contemporaries in this important article. It is hardly fair to exhibit the fruits of the enter prize, while it is yet immature, but, nevertheless, we subjoin a handful, which we have just taken in their rough state from the delivery-trough of the machine. They have not been through the polishing and point ing mill. It is proper to add, that the machine re quires but little expenditure for raw material. As in other cases, however, like begets like, and the na ture of the manufactured article is like that of the original supply. In the present instance, we threw into the receiving-box a lot of the refuse material of our office, such as pi, waste paper, and a few quoin jto pay the toll! With all duo allowances for the imperfect working of the machine, behold its first fruits: Why is the letter X, “ condensed,” like news by I the Telegraph 1 j Because it is X-pressed, (expressed.) Why is a newspaper like the Mosaic dispensat ion 1 Because it is made up of types. Why is paper so subject to consumption 1 Because it is laid in damp sheets. What type is a boy who is slow at his alphabet like 1 Long-Primer. When is a type not a type 1 When it is A-gate. Why is a compositor like a physician I Because he thrives by his cases. What type is most serviceable in a revolution ? j Canon. When is a printer in trouble 1 When he is “ out of ‘ sorts.’ ” Why is a printer like an inveterate hunter ? Because he gives up all his work for the chase. Why is a printing-press like a crowd 1 Because it’s a pressure, (press sure.) There, they will do for a specimen. We inteialto get up a lot with extra finish to send on for prizes, so soon as that illustrious patron of the Conundrum, the “great and good John Donkey,” resames pay ment ; for We cannot believe that he has brayed h! last not withstanding he has been missed from the “ rack” for some time Among the street specta cles of our quiet town, wc noticed, to-day, a bract* of Indians practising with the bow and arrow, for the amusement of a crowd of lookers on; and at another time, a “ live Mexican,” diverting himself and the citizens, by throwing the lasso, which he does with’ much expertness, and greatly to the annoyance of the servant men and boys, as they burry past him, only to be caught by the neck, or by the ancle, and “ brought to,” not all standing, but some of them at full length on the ground ! Ono of the Indians is a licensed Methodist Preacher, and carries his hymn book printed in the singular character of that once noble tribe of red-men, the Cherokees. Alas for them, that they are now almost extinct! ... A revival of religion has been in progress in our town for a fortnight past, exhibiting itself less in violent excitement, than in that deep-toned solemn feeling which becomes the house of God and the character of truo Christianity. How much do those mistake the true nature of spiritual exercises, who suppose them to be accompanied, necessarily, with intense physical emotion. As in nature, deep streams flow the most quietly ; so in Grace—the most profound convict ions of sin, aud the deepest emotions of joy are generally unmarked by mere animal excitement. We delight to see a work which is confessedly th e fruits of the Holy Spirit—aud not the wild turbu lence of human passions, leaving behind no lasting tokens of good, Religion is solemn, earnest, and in some sense awful —and men should approach it ■ as they would the dread presence of its Author: they should embrace it with mingled love and rev erence—cherish it as dearer than life—aud make their lives sublime by the perpetual development of its power on their hearts. . . Mr. Rufus W. Griswold tho Editor of the New England Weekly Gazette, published at Hartford, takes us to task for address ing him as a Reverend, protesting that he bears neither that nor any other title, prefix or suffix. He adds, that if we mistook him for the Rev. Rufus W. Griswold, we shall be now undeceived, and that if we designed the appellation as a joke we were rath er hard upon him ! Really, brother Griswold, we wore in an error—and plead guilty to supposing yo* and our old friend Rufus Wilmot, *• one and indivis ible.” We, of course, stand corrected —as all errors of the press ought to be—and are glad to learn that if you aint the other Griswold, you are one of’em. We are glad of your acquaintance, any how, and console ourself by the reflection that if we did miss an old friend we have found a new one, and hence forward you shall be, as you wish, plain Rufus W. Griswold, uor will we reverence you in the least! . . Several notices to Correspondents will appear next week. MARRIED, At VV alton, N. Y., on Monday, August 28, by tin* Rev. Silas Fitch, Mr. William N. White, of this place, and Miss Rebecca, daughter of Caleb Bene dict, Esq., of Walton. (Due Uoofc Satie. C'yP Publishers and authors who may wish to have their Books noticed in the “ Literary Gazette” will please send copies for the editorto Burgess, Stringer it Cos., N. York, who will send a parcel to him every week, by express. Wiiat I Saw in California: being the Journal of n Tour in the years 1846-7. By Edwin Bry ant, late Alcalde of St. Francisco Ouevol. 12mo pp. 453. New York: D. Appleton & Cos Books of travel have a peculiar charm, and espe cially if the author has those requisites of a good traveler—the power of close observation and indomi table ‘good humor. The inind of the reader is then interested at once, and he surrenders himself to com panionship with the author—shares his pleasures and his dangers—sympathizes with him in all his priva tions —rejoices in all his successes, and in short be comes, as it were, one with him in his journeys. We have found our excellent friend, the Alcalde |of St. Francisco, a most charming companion lie j has interested us and amused us, and, more than 1 this, he has much instructed us concerning a region of country little known, but possessing the double claim upon our attention and study of groat inherent, attraction and recent accession to our own expansive territory. We shall hereafter afford our readers a glimpse t the book in the Department commenced in this week’s paper ; and now we will barely add, that it contains graphic narrations of all those adventures which tho daring emigrant ar.d boldsoldier would be apt to encounter in California, and in times of war. The style is graphic—the incident abundant—the narrative succinct and agreeable. The sad and hor rible fate of the emigrants of 1846, of whom thirty - six perished in the mountain-snows, is absolutely harrowing to the feelings.. The surviving actually ate the dead bodies of their associates, andoneof the emigrants devoured two children in two successive days! Or>-A number of other notices arc? unavoidably crowded out of this number. 143