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182
at and sunk its teeth into the por
ridge stick , which was employed to force open
its jaws! After resting himself a little, and
giving the gratified shepherd, in addition to
the fish, a coin for his purse, our friend re
sumed his pilgrimage, highly diverted with
the strange and unexpected sport he had met
with.
A PRETTY LITTLE STORY.
“ Cast thy bread upon the waters, and af
ter many days it will return to thee —this
is a Scripture truth, which, like all truth has
been verified a thousand times. The follow
ing little story may serve to illustrate the ver
ity of this text. Allow me to premise that
my story is a true one in all particulars—
Some thirty years since, a lad of one of our
Eastern States about ten years of age, was
sent by his employer to carry a basket, heav
ily ladened with wares, to a purchaser. Whilst
staggering under its weight up a somewhat
steep hill, a gentleman of about thirty years
proffered his assistance, and beguiled the te
diousness of the way by pleasant anecdote,
good advice, and kind words. They parted
—fifteen years passed away —the senior of
these two, now nearly fifty years of age, sat
in his study with melancholy countenance,
and heavy heart. His door opened, and his
young and fascinating daughter just bloom
ing into womanhood, entered to announce that
a gentleman, an old gentleman, desired to see
her father. “ Shew him in my darling daugh
ter,' 1 said the father, “ and do you my child
leave us to ourselves.” She obeyed. The
old gentleman entered —“ Well Sir,” was his
salutation —“have you considered my propo
sition .” “ I have—and have determined,
happen what may, I will not force or sway,
by any act of mine, the will of my child.— j
She shall be left to her own free choice.”
“ Then, Sir. to-morrow, by 3 o'clock, your
property must go into the hands of the Sher- 1
iff, unless you find some friend to pay the
twenty thousand dollars.” This he said with
a sneer, and coldly bowing he left the house.
The poor father's heart was racked. lam a
beggar—my daughter is homeless, —I have
no friend to offer assistance in this hour of my
severest trial.
Jn the midst of these bitter reflections, again
his daughter entered, introducing a gentleman
of some twenty eight years of age—a stran- ,
ger.—“ Am 1 in the presence of Mr. GV’
was his opening remark —which being affir
matively answered, he continued by saying
—that he was a successful merchant of New
York—had heard of the misfortunes of Mr.
G„ and come on purpose to ask the amount
of his liabilities, that he might loan the neces
sary funds to relieve his wants. Nor was he
shocked at the mention of the large amount
of twenty thousand dollars. He handed him
his check, which was duly honored—the fa
ther was once more a happy man —his daugh
ter was not houseless—he had found some
friend to pay, despite the sneer of his hard
hearted creditor. “ But, pray, Sir,” said the
agitated father, “to what am I indebted for
this unusual —this munificent kindness, from
an entire stranger'?”—“Perhaps you have
forgotten.” was the reply, “thatsome eighteen
years since, you aided a friendless boy of ten
years of age, to carry his loaded basket up
the hill, that you gave him good advice, and
kindly words. lam that boy. I followed
your advice —I have lived honestly—l have
gained wealth, and now, after many years,
have come to return to you, kind sir, ihe bread
which then you cast so freely upon the wa
ters.”
It is said, gentle reader, that our young
friend caught a glimpse of a beautiful girl of
nineteen as he passed through the entry, and
that he called again, and still again, and won
at last the heart of the old man's daughter—
-1 say —this is said —and I know it is truly
said. —City Item.
SOURCES OF MORAL STRENGTH.
What is radically false can give no strength.
Women have a great deal of modesty, delica
cy, and feminine refinement, but they are not
taught the principles from which these ought
to spring as natural fruits. Certain qualities
are praised, but it is like children who make
a garden by sticking full-blown flowers into
the ground and expecting them io keep their
bloom. Those who instruct them do not go
to the real principle which shall teach them
to discern right from wrong, nor give them
any strong truths by which to guide theirsteps
amongst the temptations and delusions which
beset them ; therefore we find that all the talk
they have heard about “graceful modesty”
and “female delicacy,” does not enable them
to stand against the stem realities of a strong
temptation ; propriety cannot swallow up pas
.sion.—The I.bjf-Sisters.
§®©tms iE ei &air&le && ¥
THE AMERICAN NAVY.
Our national navy has been nearly sixty
1 years in existence. In that space of time the
number of individuals who have entered that
service in various capacities is 5,758, of these
1504 or 28 per cent, are still in employment.
Os the residue, 1635 have resigned, 423 were
dismissed or cashiered, and 383 have been
discharged, principally in the reduction to a
peace establishment, and three have deserted ;
making 2444, or rather more than 42 percent
of the whole, for these classes. Os 545 noth
ing is known as respects their existence, and
they might probably be included with those
registered as uead by sickness or old age,
which class reaches without them to 994.
The residue, of 240 have lost their lives in
the service. Os this number, those killed in
duels or by assassination otherwise, was 27 ;
accidentally killed 7 ; drowned 67 ; lost at
sea 87. And the most remarkable feature of
these statistics is, that the whole number kill
ed in action during that entire period, was
but 52, not one man out of one hundred of
the aggregate. This is at variance with all
preconceptions on the subject.— Cist's Adver.
< t
Dr. JOHNSON'S OPINION OF EDITORS.
The great “ literay Colossus ” speaks as
follows of the difficulties and perplexities of
editorial life :—“ I know no class of the com
munity from whom so much disinterested be
nevolence and thankless labor are expected
as from editors of newspapers. They are
expected to feel for every one but themselves :
to correct public abuses, and private ones al
so, without giving offence ; to sustain the
difficulties of others, without regard to their
own ; to condemn improper measures of ev
ery one and no one at the same time. They
are expected to note everything that is im
portant or extraordinary ; and notwithstand
ing the diversity of men’s opinions, their no
tice must be calculated to please every one
and at the same time offend no one.”
FOLLY OF THE SWORD.
When the bom and bred gentleman, to
keep to coined and current terms, pays down
his thousand pounds or so, for his commis
sion, what incites to the purchase % It may
be the elegant idleness of the calling ; it may
be the bullion and glitter of the regimentals;
or. devout worshipper ! it may be an un
quenchable thirst lor glory. From the mo
ment that his name stars the Gazette, what
does he become I The bond-servant of war.
Instantly, he ceases to be a judge between
moral right and moral injury. It is hisduty
not to think, but to obey. He has given up,
surrendered to another, the freedom of his
soul: he has dethroned the majesty of his
own will. He must be active in wrong, and
see not the injustice : shed blood for craft
and usurpation, calling bloodshed valor.—
He may be made, bj the iniquity of those
who use him, the burglar and the* brigand :
but glory calls him pretty names for his prow
ess, and the wicked weakness of the world
shouts and acknowledges them. And is this
the true condition of reasonable man ? Is it
by such means that he best vindicates the
greatness of his mission here ? Is he, when
he most gives up the free motions of his own
soul—is he then most glorious ? —]). J err old.
Influence of Knowledge. —It is an un
worthy prejudice that is raised against scien
tific pursuits, that they dwarf the soul, and
render it unfit for the contemplation of moral
! and religious things. One might think that
Babbage’s triumphant reply to Whewell
could not be readily overthrown ; a reply to
! the taunt that the mathematics unfitted men
; for religious thought, made by this man pre
| eminent as a mathematician, and before that
time unknown in any other light, made by
his simply writing a book on religious topics,
j illustrated by those very mathematics; a book
j the fervor of whose eloquence, the depth of
whose wisdom, the ingenuity and power of
! whose arguments, and the thrilling interest
1 of whose thoughts, might well put to shame
the Sermons and oratory of every pulpit in
| Christendom.— City Item.
Hall’s Opinion of a Sermon. —A conceit
ed minister having once delivered a sermon
in the hearing of Mr. Hall, pressed him, with
a disgusting union of self-complacency and
indelicacy, to state what lie thought of the
sermon. Mr. Hall remained silent for some
time, hoping that his silence would lie right
ly interpreted; but this only caused the ques
tion to be pressed with greater earnestness.
Mr- Hall at length said :—“There was one
very fine passage, sir.*’ “I am rejoiced to
hear you say so. Pray, sir, what was it ?”
|“ Why, sir, it was the passage from the
I pulpit into the vestry.”
JJljilosopljß for tljc people.
BUTTER MAKING.
Lord Clarendon recommends the following
mode of making butter:—Put as much milk
as cream in the churn. This he says improves
the color of the butter. Put as much hot wa
ter around the churn as wall raise the tem
perature of the whole to 62 ° or 63 ° F. —
This will always insure the butter to come
in from 20 to 30 minutes, which will be of
better quality than if it were longer or short
er in churning.
1 ■ i
THIRST.
Thirst is the instinctive feeling by which we
are admonished of the necessity of taking li
quids into the system to repair the waste which
the body has sustained, and to assist in the
solution of the aliment that has been taken.
Hence we are thirsty after excessive perspi
ration, and after the use of dry food. This
sensation appears to reside in the throat and
sauces; but it is not always connected with
the dryness of these parts, as in many cases,
the tongue is perfectly dry, while little thirst
is present. In such cases, drink should be
frequently offered, although the patient does
not ask for it. Thirst is borne with much
greater difficulty than hunger. It is evident
ly much under the power of habit; those
who frequently indulge in drink, increase the
craving for liquids. Children should not be
suffered to take drink every time the fancy
strikes them. The intensity of this sensation
is morbidly increased in a great variety of
diseases, especially in feverish complaints,
of which it is one of the distinguished symp
toms. It is best relieved in fevers, and oth
er ailments, by gruel, toast-water, vegetable
acids, or fruits. —The state of the stomach,
and its contents have much influence on
thirst. Severe pain, or great terror, cause
thirst.
HOW TO SHOE A VICIOUS HORSE.
A recent continental traveller relates the
following ludicrous mode of shoeing a horse
in Germany : ‘As soon as breakfast was
over I generally enjoyed the luxury of riding
about town, and in passing the shop of a
blacksmith the manner in which he tackled
and shod a vicious horse amused me. On
the outside of the wall of the house two rings
were firmly fixed, to one of which the head
of the patient was lashed close to the ground;
the hind foot to be shod, stretched out to the
utmost extent of the leg, was then secured by
the other ring about five feet high, by a cord
which passed through a cloven hitch, fixed
to the root of the poor creature's tail. The
hind foot was consequently very much high
er than the head ; indeed, it was exalted, and
pulled so heavily at the tail, that the animal
seemed to be quite anxious to keep his other
loot on terra Jirma. With one hoof in the
heavens, it did not suit him to kick ; with
his nose pointing to the infernal regions, he
could not conveniently rear ; and as a heavy
hand was constantly pulling at his tail, the
horse at last gave up the point, and quietly
submitted to be shod.”
ECONOMY IN LINEN WASHING.
A correspondent of a Dundee pnper writes
as follows : “ After many experiments made
; by myself and others, I find that a little pipe
i clay, dissolved among the water employed in
| hashing, gives the dirtiest linens the appear
| ance of having been bleached, and cleanses
I them thoroughly with about half the labor,
and a saving of full one fourth the soap.--
The method adopted was to dissolve a little
of the pipe-clay in the warm water in the
wash tub, or to’rub a little of it, together with
the soap on the articles to be washed. This
process was repeated as often as required, un
til the articles to be washed were made thor
oughly clean. All who have made the ex
periment have agreed that the saving of soap
and labor are great; and that the clothes are
improved in color, equally as if they were
bleached. The peculiar .advantage of em
ploying this article with the soap, is, that it
gives the hardest water almost the softness
of rain water.”
| TO REMOVE INDELIBLE INK,
Wet the part stained with a strong solu
tion of hydriodate ol potash in water, which
will convert the black oxide of nitrate of sil
ver which is of a light straw color and will
not be noticed without close inspection.
The iodide of silver is soluble in a solution
of hyposulphite ol soda, and by washing in
; a strong solution of it the iodide of silver will
! be discharged altogether.
How TO CLEAN THE CHIMNEYS OF L.AMPS
When the chimneys of lamps become foul
or covered with a white crust, rub the inside
with whiting and strong vinegar ; and then
rinse with clean water, and wipe perfectly
dry. J
How TO TAKE INK FROM FLOORS.—Scour
the place with sand wet with spirits of vitriol
and water. When the ink is extracted, wash
the floor with strong pearlash water, and put
the vitriol labelled where children cannot have
access to it.
EDITOR’S DEPARTMENL
dru'-iHI
ATHENS, SATURDAY, OCT. 14, 1848.
vM.miMjpiensM ?
The Editor of the Southern Literary Gazette, be
ing desirous of developing and encouraging Literary
Talent in the South, has resolved to offer the sum of
One Hundred Dollars, in prizes, as exhibited in
the annexed schedule:
THE FIRST PRIZE
For the best Tale of the South, . . Fifty Dollars.
THE SECOND PRIZE
For the second best Tale, . . . Twenty Dollars.
THE FIRST PRIZE
For the best Poem Twenty Dollars,
OR A COPY OF harper's SPLENDID PICTORIAL BIISLE.
THE SECOND PRIZE
For the second best Poem, ..... Ten Dollars,
OR A COPY OF harper’s PICTORIAL SHAKSPEARE.
All competitors must send in their MSS. before
the 15th day of December ensuing, and they must
come, if by post, pro-paid. They should be legibly
written on one side of a sheet only. The authors’
names must he sent in separate sealed envelopes,
which will not be opened until the prizes have been
selected —when the successful competitors willbe an
nounced. The articles will be submitted to the ex
amination and decision of a Committee, composed of
several gentlemen of distinguished character, whose
names will be announced in due time. The award
of prizes may be expected to be made known iu the
last number for the present year, and the publication
of the First Prize Tale will be commenced with the
New Year.
The article.? offered in competition will become
the property of the Editor, and those which are
deemed worthy will appear in the Gazette.
All communications relating to the prizes must be
addressed, post-paid, to the Editor.
A Leader.
Ye have twice nibbed our pen, gentle reader;
for, he it known unto you that we have eschewed all
sorts of metallic pens—steel, silver, and even gold,
and returned to our first love, a “ grev goose quill.
Well, as avc Avore saying, we have fAvice nibbed our
pen, and some score of tipnes dipped it into the ink
stand, with the vieAV of preparing an article for ‘
own’ department. In plaiu truth, Ave want a leader
Without one, avc cannot present our forces before
the enemy —by whom Ave mean our friends —howev*
er efficient those forces may he. What could tlie
army of Italy have accomplished without its great
leader I And, reasoning from the greater to the
hs<, what will our Eclectics—cur Glimpses into
Bookdoin—our Letters —our Essays—our Poems—
our own Gossip, too —what will all these do, without
“a leader 1” But it is useless to argue the impor
tance of “ a leader,” Avh'en Ave have in the recent
disastrous events of the Irish rebellion such glaring
proof that every thing depends upon it, and that if
the leader be missing the battle is lost. Now, we
are very far from attaching any importance to those
articles, of Avhich avc are obliged to furnish one a
week to occupy the advance of our position; and
yet, dear reader, it is not always the easiest task in
the world to perform this apparently simple duty.
We are sometimes at our wit's end —Ave do not wisl
to he understood as even intimating that its teth
er is a very long one !—as to what shall be the char
acter of our leader. It is much so to-night, as avc
have protracted our sitting into the
“ Sma 1 hours avunt the ’twal,”
and are yet without a leader, though we go to pres?
to-morrow. If ay e were c>’ lied upon to prepare