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cherish a taste for the higher developments of Ge nius in books. Some men affect to despise Taste, aQ index of a weak mind in its possessor. llow lamentable the proof they thus afford of their own destitution of mental strength Taste moulds, di r ets, purifies, Talent and bkill; and even Genius, unallied to Taste, is so erratic as to dazzle and be wilder those who contemplate its exhibitions. It is, in our opinion, ore of the most important parts of education to cultivate the tastes of the voung —to give them, as far as possible, ready and • uS t conceptions of the true, the beautiful, the real in Nature and in Art, as well as of the Ideal; and no system of education is commendable even, where there is no attention paid to the development of a correct Taste. t ( CTfjc 3Literar ffffi’otTfcr. Necrology. —The Rev. Nathaniel Kendrick, D. ]).. President of the Madison University, N. York, expired at his residence on Monday, the 11th ‘inst. Another great and good man has gone to his re ward. The loss will be deeply felt and deplored by the University, and by the Denomination which fos ters it. He was universally revered and beloved, lie died at an advanced age. Professor Lane, of Emory College, died on the 20th instant, after a protracted illness. His death will be severely felt by the Institution. General Gleanings. —The Anniversary Oration before the Literary Societies of the University of Georgia, delivered by Henry R. Jackson, Esq., A. M., will be published early in the ensuing month. William Ilowitt has been discharged from the Court of Bankruptcy, and Howitt’s Journal has parsed out of his hands. His debts amounted to 915,000, for which he made a compromise satisfac tory to all his creditors. <£)itr CKosotp ftolnmn* Who would not be an Editor —to have the plea sure of receiving occasional billets-doux, on scented paper with roses on the corner, enclosed in painted envelopes and daintily sealed with device-wafers — such, indeed, as could only come from the hands of beauty l Now, we arc not going to tell our readers the contents of all that we receive of this nature —we rather guess not! but there are some among them which we are quite willing they should see —in print. Here is one for example. The device which fasten ed the envelope was a bird in a cage. The cliirog raphy is as delicate as the track of a sparrow upon the virgin snow! It is dated Sept. 18: Dear Mr. Editor: You cannot conceive how my heart flutters while I sit down to copy for you some stanzas that I penned yesterday in praise of my pet canary, one of the most beautiful birds that ever folded its head under a sheltering pinion. I dare not hope that they will be deemed worthy of a place in your delightful Journal, which, let me tell you, is my favorite of all the papers Pa takes ; but lam anx ious to have your opinion of them, even if they are not printed. I have never yet published a single 1 iece, although 1 have written a common-place book half full. I have often thought, however, that it must be very charming to see one’s name in the pa pers as an author; and I can but “ make an effort,” us Mrs. Chick advised poor Mrs. Dombey to do. I am sure you will be indulgent, and if my offering must go into that hateful Balanm-box you tell of, you will at least consign it to oblivion without re jecting it in your “Notices to Correspondents.” I should die if you were to say there, “ Fanny, is re jected.” I send you my first offering with much trembling, and with it the fondest wishes for the •abundant prosperity of yourself and our dear “Ga zette,” of Your friend, Fanny. Now, dear reader, we put it to you, as a candid person—could you, as an Editor, resist such an ap peal as this 1 If so, you must be some incorrigible old bachelor, who has either never loved, or loved in ‘aia, some “bright particular star.” IVe can’t — >hat is certain. How could Fanny imagine that we should reject her offer ! If we were not already fast bound in vinculo matrimoniae, we might be happy t () put a serious construction on the words of her Rote. As it is, we will take it as it was meant; and so far from being “rejected,” our fair and lovely ‘dend shall have a seat at our table, and be welcome there again and again. Here is the offering she Rmkes: MY BEAUTIFUL BIRD. BY FANNY. Ay, ruffle thy plumage, my beautiful bird, And let thy sweet carol of welcome be beard; Tis I who approach thee with morning's pure light, - o see how my darling haß fared through the night. t by matin-song gladdens my heart as it pours in a tide of sweet music that heavenward soars; t" r I fancy the notes to be tributes of love— *’or an His gOQd gifts _ to the GIVER above! 1 -ove thee, my bird, and ’tis pleasure to 6ee 1 f v bright eye so tenderly beaming on me, S© © TEHE i&iffl 2a i] TfiE IB A S' tf ® TriF & ♦ With a lustre that never to others appears— As if thou would’st say, “I am thine and not theirs!” The sheen of thy plumage is fairer to me Than the brightest of gold or the topaz can be; I know that the world would but laugh at my choice— Let it laugh—while I may in my treasure rejoice! Thou art a sweet solace to me every day— For with song thou dost charm iny slight troubles away; And I cannot be'sad while thy gay voice is heard, So, dearly I prize tliee, my beautiful bird! We arc upon the verge of the Fall, gentle reader—not the Fall of Niagara, but the Fall of the Year; only one more step, alas-a-rfay / and things will come to a summer-y close with all of us. In connection with this close, it will be not amiss to think of other clothes not quite so summery ! We must all experience a change, whether we ivool or not! The seas on which we are about to pass, will be subject to wind and storm, and it behooves us to become well-fitted for the encounter. Let us see to it that all deficiencies be promptly re-dressed, and so shall the Fall not prove our destruction! . . . . To our fair correspondent who enquires “why the delightful papers under the title of “ The Listener,” are discontinued,” we reply, that it is in conse quence of the severe indisposition of the author — which disqualifies her from the task of preparing them. They will he resumed as soon as possible. We doubt not our readers will welcome once more our correspondent E. F. G., the first of whose “ Letters from Scotland” will be found in the present issue. We have on hand the second of this series, embracing the writer’s impressions of Edin burgh, which we shall publish in our next. The Letters from the “ Highlands” cannot fail to grati fy the reader, and we hope to receive one in season for No. 23, as the letters on hand bear no later date than August 10th. In this connection we may state that we shall probably have Letters from the Con tinent in the Winter The present age may be properly termed the Age of Queries —for there is ever before the public mind some important ques tion, that agitates either the whole mass, or very large portions of it. Who dees not remember many of these, as for example —Who struck Billy Patter son 1 Who is the man in the claret-colored coat 1 Will salt-petre explode 1 Do tea-kettles sing 1— Now each and every question of this kind has lost its significance in our region, in the more pertinent and absorbing query— Will it ever rain ? We think it possible our readers may consider this a dry ques tion. So it is ; but in all nations, it has ever been a matter of solicitude to know something of the next reign —and human nature does not change much. — It is a difficult matter to arrive at a definite conclu sion on this subject, on account of the dust that is perpetually thrown into our eyes when we set our selves to investigate it. We arc disposed to think that it will rain, both here and in France, in the course of time, but we may have to wait for the so lution of the question until the next fall. <Tf)e American ;s3moMcal Jkcss. The Excelsior. A Journal of the Sons of Tem perance. Boston^ The editors of this handsome weekly, Messrs. Slack & Ycrrington, must answer to two serious charges which we are about to prefer against them, or else stand convicted of inconsistency. The first charge is, that notwithstanding their avowed hatred to “ spirits,” they publish every week an exceed ingly spirited Journal—the temptations of which cannot well be withstood; and the second charge is, that while they profess to think it exceedingly wrong for a man to get “high,'” they unblushingly adopt as their motto, “ Higher /” and what is worse, act up to the sentiment. These “ facts are submit ted to a candid world,” what can our brethren of the Excelsior say in justification of themselves 1 — We are curious to know. The Yankee Blade. Matthews Stevens & Cos. Boston. The “ Blade ” commenced anew volume on the 26th ult, and of course the present is a favorable op portunity to subscribe. Our Yankee ‘Blade,’ unlike blades in general, grows brighter and keener with use and age. May it continue long to carve the rich meats of literature, to the complete satisfaction of tens of thousands —and may we never fail to get a slice. The Scientific American. New York: Munn & Cos. The fourth volume of this invaluable Journal commenced last week, and the occasion should be improved by all who desire a perfect Encyclopaedia of Mechanical Science, to subscribe for the Scien tific American. Each number contains several wood cuts, illustrating new inventions, and we do not know where else one-half the amount of valua ble information it contains can be had for its price, which is only Two Dollars per annum. Weearnest ly advise our scientific and mechanical readers to send on their subscriptions at once. The Musical Gazette. Boston ; A. N. & C. Johnson. We tender our thanks to the publishers of this beautiful journal for a complete file oft he current, volume. Tho Musical Gazette is the only journal of the kind on our exchange list, since the N York Musical Times was discontinued. It is we conceive, a matter of great importance to sustain an organ of musical information and criticism in one or more of our principal cities, and up to this time Boston has probably been preeminent in musi cal talent —especially in church music. The Gazette is elegantly printed, in the quarto form. It contains, besides letters from various parts of this Country and Europe, essays on Church Mu sic, critical notices, and generally miscellany, two or three original pieces of music adapted for church service. Another interesting feature we observe, is, an account of all the great organs that are in exist ence. We commend the Gazette to lovers of Music—and especially to those interested in the vocal and in strumental services of the Sanctuary. The price is only one dollar per annum. (Due SiSocft STnI)Ic. The Oak Openings, or The Bee Hunter; bv J. Fennimore Cooper, Esq. In two volumes. New York. Burgess, Stringer & Cos. Most cordially do we welcome Mr. Cooper once more to a field of adventure, kindred to those where Deerslayer and the Pathfinder, won the public ad miration. In tho work before us, we discover not a little of the early charm of the author’s subjects and style, and “ The Bee Hunter” was already a favor ite with us, before we had followed his fortunes to the close of his eventful history The “ Oak Open ings,” which give title to this work, areforest glades in Michigan, the beauty of which affords fine mate rial for Mr. Cooper’s descriptive powers. In one of these remarkable forest prarics, on the Kalamazoo, Ben Boden, the hero, followed the occupation of a Bee Hunter, and is first introduced to the reader in company with three other men, who are also promi nent in the future story. Ben Boden has a soubri quet, by which he is best known —Le Bourdon. Os the other men, one only is a white man, by the name of Gershom —a sort of sutler to the Indians and sol diers of that region. The two others were Indians, one a Pottawattamie chief, named Elksfoot, and Pigeon’s-wing, an Ojebway warrior, or, more com monly, a Chippewa. We are subsequently intro duced to Gershom’s wife and sister —the latter Mar gery Waring, being the heroine of the tale. The story is of the time of the Canada war, immediately after the surrender of Detroit by Gen. Hull. The “ Bee Hunter,” when on his way to the settlements with his canoe well freighted with honey, ignorant of the breaking out of the war, falls into Gershom’s company, and subsequently becomes so interested in Margery, that he resolves not to desert the family in the wilderness. Then commences a series of ad ventures with the Indians, who had “ dug up the hatchet,” and vowed extermination to the “pale face Yankees.” The interest of the story turns up on the connection, with the family, of a renowned Indian chief, named Onoah—The Tribeless—and in English, Scalping Peter. Os great influence among his red brethren, he contrives to win the confidence of a good missionary—Parson Amen—and a brave British Corporal, Flint, who regard him as an ally. Through these men, he is soon on friendly terms with our friends at Chateau du Miel —Bourdon’s resi dence in the Oak Openings, commonly called Castle Meal. His purpose is to betray them all, and take their scalps—for while he is a noble Indian, he is impressed with the necessity of exterminating the pale-faces who are overrunning the hunting grounds of the red man. The attachment that springs up between Bourdon and Margery—or Blossom, as she is called —is a sufficiently agreeable love story to spice the book. Hunting adventures, and such like forest scenes, are narrated with Mr. Cooper’s usual skill. The missionary is a truly pious man, and confides deeply in treacherous Indian Peter, whom he regards with peculiar interest in connection with a theory of his, that the Indians are the ten lost tribes of the children of Israel, and Onoah, the Tribeless, is to boa future leader of these Jews! Parson Amen is full of this theme, and at a great Council of Indian Chiefs, held in a beautiful Opening, near Castle Meal, at which Peter presides—the missionary de clares his news to the red men with but indifferent success, for they nearly all repudiate the idea of hav ing ever been “palefaces,” as the Jews were. But we hasten with our brief analysis of the book. While the inmates of Castle Meal are living in comparative peace—despite the hints of Pigeon’s wing, a true friend to the Bee Hunter, who knew Peter’s intention of destroying them —Margery is winning the stem Chief’s affection by her kindness and attention, and he inwardly exempts her from death. At this time, Le Bourdon is called on to exhibit his skill in bee hunting to the Indians, and he manages in the exhibition to impress them with an idea of his super-natural power over the bees, — and succeeds in bringing even Peter into the toils of superstition. Then, in the noble mind of the Chief, Bourdon is exempted from death, and with Indian finesse, he plans his marriage to Margery, and the parties, nothing loath, are at once united by Mr. Amen in a glade of the forest. At the Council next held, Peter tries to influence the braves to spare the Bee Hunter and his squaw— but the dark tide of passion which ho bad hitherto stirred in their breasts, is not now so easily resisted, and some of his enemies among the Chiefs, so warmly resist his plans, that he is obliged to yield, and tho sentence of death is passed upon the scarcely sus pecting victims of Castle Meal. Peter is to bring the victims to the altar, and the good Parson and the brave Corporal arc first led by him to their fate. The scenes of their respective deaths are in the best manner of the author. The Parson died in the no blest exhibition of fortitude, praying for his enemies and persecutors. Upon this beautiful incident turns all the subsequent interest of the story. The heart of Scalping Peter is touched by this wonderful •ex hibition of forgiveness, and from that hour the fierce, revengeful Indian, thirsting forthe blood of the pale faces, is changed, gradually, by the influences of the Iloly Spirit, into a penitent, humble, loving Ch is tian. There is nothing strained in this conversion, ft is wonderful—God-like—and its fruits are consis tent. From that moment, Peter resolves to save the survivors, and his great mind is now divided between its new spiritual existence and the rescue of his pale face friends. The successful flight of tho party down the Kalamazoo, and across the Lake to American settlements, under the guidance of Peter and Pi geon’s-wing—the wonderful escapes from detection in the midst of hundreds of Indian scouts, present scenes equal to the best of the author's earlier ef forts. We confess to have been deeply interested in this last work of “ the great American Novelist.’’ It is worthy of his fame. The glimpses of forest life and of Indian warfare, are “ to the life.” The peculiar art of the Bee Hunter is described with a zest altogether charming, and wo could al most share the superstition of tho red men, as wo followed Le Bourdon through the singular and yet simple processes of “ luring the bees to their hive.” There are many exhibitions of the author’s view* and opinions of society and government occurring incidentally in the narrative. Some readers will find fault with these, while others, with whom we agree, will admire their independence and conserva tism. The absence of thought and food for reflec tion, cannot be charged against the book. It is a philosophical, as well as descriptive novel—peculiar ly American, and fraught with a varied interest of style, material and design. We commend it to our readers, as altogether worthy of their perusal, and with an apology for the length of this notice, taka leave of the book. Napoleon and the Marshals of the Empire. In two volumes, with 16 portraits on steel; pp. 348, 372. Philadelphia: Carey & Hart. These handsome volumes were prepared for the en terprising publishers, as a set off against Headley's Napoleon and his Marshalls—the publishers of which latter work had previously forestalled a contempla ted work of Carey & Hart on Washington and his Generals, by issuing Headley’s work under that ti tle, in a manner that rather interfered with the es tablished courtesies observed among authors and publishers. The Washington and Generals of the Revolution, issued by Carey & Hart, was received by the public with great favor, aud almost univer sally pronounced to possess higher merit than Head ley’s book. The present work is, we think, equal, if not superior, to the former. We have beenmucJi pleased with the vigor und beauty of the style, while there appears to l* strict historical accuracy unblemished by any of the vagaries of Mr. Headley. There are twenty-eight biographies and sixteen fine steel plates of the great military heroes of France. The author has entered into the spirit of his work, and exhibits, we think, an enlightened and unpreju diced judgement in his estimates of character amt actions. The book will gain more lasting reputa tion than that of Ileadley. A Warning to Wives. By the author of “The Marrying Man,” “The Jilt,” &c. New-York. H. Long & Brother. This is decidedly a clever book, and ladies partic ularly will find it not only entertaining, but instruc tive. The plot of the story is effectively managed, and the moral excellent. We do not hesitate to commend it to our readers. Notices to Correspondents. T. H. C. Your favor is at hand, and shall re ceive early attention. Our rules prescribe the in sertion of your advertisement in the Editorial De partment. We will publish it three weeks tor three dollars. Alton. —Y r our last favor was marked for inser tion and sent to the Printing Office, where ft baa been mislaid ; and we shall be obliged to you eithe r to send ns a copy, or something in its place 167