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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