Newspaper Page Text
198
timacv with Plato ; and he is, when he will,
one oi his bright Republicans. In lighter, gay
er moments, German makes him the rollick
ing co-mate of Faust or Wallenstein. And j
this, too, for life!
OUR OWN LITTLE RAILWAY ONCE,
MORE !
The half-yearly meeting of shareholders
in our pet Railway at Kensington, has just
taken place, and the usual clamour was got
up for the working of the line. Not satisfied
with the Great Western having bought it, the
shareholders call upon that Company to work ;
it. But Messrs. Glyn, Brunei., and Saun
ders, think they have done quite enough in
setting a couple of creepers to run upon the
Line. We think so too: for we do not quite
see the use of re-establishing the communi
cation between the Scrubs of Wormwood, j
and the shrubs of Warwick Square, or send
ing a lot of guards and policemen rattling
backwards and forwards between Shepherd's
Bush and the Hand and Flower, bringing
nothing but misery in their train.
We understood that there was some talk ’
of an extension branch; but we found on in
quiry, that the rumour arose from the old el- !
der at one of the stations, who has been send
ing forth several new T branches from his trunk
line. We believe the Electric Telegraph is
let out for the purpose of drying clothes : and
an Act will be applied for, to give the con
cern the name of the Great Kensington Clothes !
Line, in the next Session of Parliament.
1 mm >
LOST, A PLANET,
Oh, yes! Oh, yes ! This is to give notice,
that the Planet called Neptune has abscond
ed, and it is not known where. He went out
one night last month, and has not been seen
since. It is supposed he has gone to meet the
Comet, or that the vagabond is busy star-ga- ;
zing. In either case, any astronomer who
meets him in his walks is requested to keep I
his eye upon him, as the said Planet is ab- j
sent without leave, and has no right to be
awav sky-larking.
All letters to be sent (pre-paid,) to Mon
sieur Leverrier, at the Observatoire, Paris.
The said Planet answers to the name of Nep
tune, winks very much, and never keeps long
in the same place. Long live the Zodiac!
THE VEGETARIANS.
w e see by the papers that there is a socie
ty existing in Manchester, that devotes its
entire energies to the eating of vegetables,
and the members meet occasionally for the
purpose of masticating mashed potatoes, and
munching cabbage-leaves. “ Sweets to the
sweet,” is a popular maxim, and “Greens to
the green,” may fairly be applied to the Vege
tarians. At one of their recent banquets, a
party of 232 satdown to a couple of courses,
in which sage and onions, beet-root, mush
rooms and parsley, were the principal luxu
ries, Joseph Brotherton, Esq., M. P., the
gentleman who is always wanting to get the
House of Commons to bed by 12 o’clock,
was in the chair, and proposed a series of
toasts, which were drunk in plain water, and
as several odd fish were present, they no
doubt felt themselves quite in their element.
We do not quite understand the principle up
on which these gentlemen object to animal
food; but if health is their object, we do not
think that will be promoted bv the mixture of
messes they sat down to the other day at
Manchester.
In addition to their sage and onions, they
disposed of several dishes of plumb-pudding,
in itself as heavy as plumbago—almonds and
raisins, cheesecakes, custards, grapes, goose
berries, sago, figs, and flummery. There is
something very infantine in the pretended
simplicity of this fare, for none but a parcel
of overgrown children would sit down se
riously to make a meal upon sweet stuff.—
We look upon the vegetarian humbug as a
mere pretext for indulging a juvenile appetite
for something nice, and we are really asham
ed of these old boys who continue, at their
time of life, to display a puerile partiality for
pies and puddings.
■i i
Write and Wrong.— There is to be a
Grand Lottery of Books at Paris, at which
the grand prize is to be 10,000 Limes de Ren
tes. This may be all very well for the Pub
lishers, but we do not see* what the Authors
are to get by it. We suppose the Publishers
will pocket the Rentes , and the Authors-will
be left to fall upon their Livres! It scarcely
required a lottery to prove this.
■— 1 ■ >
Qiert.—Are not the French going to the
d---l fast enough, without calling a cab—eh ?
( Cabei!)
s®nn?ffinnßKi a* a f.s ie && v ©assitir©*
£l)c tDorking jKan.
THE ARTIZAN.
RY william and. Gallagher.
The (lay is past; —‘the quiet night
Toward its midhour weareth on ;
His work-shop has been closed for hours—
A good day’s labor done.
The toil is hard that brings him bread,
And sometimes scant supply—
When drops awhile his manly head,
And glistens his full eye.
Yet from the trial shrinks he not,
For he lias youth, and strength, arid Will ;
And though his toil is ill repaid,
Bends daily to it still,
lie sometimes nittrmurS —but his pride
Checks his expression at its birth—
That blessings, to his class denied,
Surround the drones of earth.
Ills calling sometimes takes him where
Wealth, worth, grace, beauty, all unite;
And lovely tones arrest his ear,
And lovely looks his sight;
Ar.d much he thinks—and half he sighs—
Yet ere his welcome work is done,
lie longs for home, and Mary’s eyes,
And for his prattling son.
His labor hath been slight, to-day,
And wife and child before him sleep;
And he had passed the half-spent night
In study close and deep.
The lamp burns dim—the fire is low,
The book is closed wherein he read ;
But wildly swell the streams of Thought,
Its fountain-pages fed.
With eyes fixed calmly on the floor,
But varying and expressive face,
lie cons the lesson o’er and o’er—
The history of his race:
And much lie finds of word and deed,
Whose virtue is example now;
But more that makes his bosom bleed,
.. And darkens o’er his brow:
But chiefly this it is that fills
The swelling volume of his mind ;
The countless wrongs and cruelties
That have oppressed his kind:
But as he reads Life’s riddle still,
He feels, with sudden change of mood,
The stern, the indomitable will,
That never was subdued.
The will, not to destroy, but build !
Nor the blind Might, of old renown,
Which took the pillars in its grasp,
And shook the temple down;
But that whose patient energy
Works ever upwards, without rest,
Until the pierced and parted sea
Bolls from its coral breast.
In the dim fire-light, for awhile,
ilis tall form moveth to and fro ;
Then b} r the couch of those he loves,
lie stops, and bendeth low.
Oh, holy love ! oh, blessed kiss !
Ye ask not splendor—bide not power —
But in an humble home like this,
Ye have your triumph-hour!
PERPETUAL MOTION A PERPETUAL
NOTION.
Mechanics seem to be as far from solv
ing the question relative to a perpetual mo
tion, as they were two thousand years ago ;
and yet many of them are still troubled with
the old mania. No reasoning will deter
them from the pursuit. I suppose the rea
son why those that know better do not en
deavor io stop this kind of speculation is,
that they think as Bishop Wilkins did two
hundred years ago, when he compared them
to the man who dug the vineyard for a hid
treasure, who, although he did not find it,
yet made the ground more fruitful. But
working at models of this kind is certainly
a very expensive and tedious way of study
ing the science of mechanics. Reading and
attending lectures with experiments, are much
better. The Academy of Sciences in Paris
have resolved that they will have nothing to
do with pretended discoveries of a perpetual
motion. They have decided that the inven
tion is impossible, and that all attempts at
the discoveey of it are a mere waste of time.
The quadrature of the circle, and the trisec
tion of an angle, are also, in their opinion,
problems impossible of solution.
There is a wide difference between a per
petual motion and a self-mover, which latter
is, indeed, what the former term is used to
signify.. Jffie former moves perpetually, and
may be any human contrivance put in mo
tion by the ebbing and flowing of the tides,
the waters of a never failing cataract,, varia
tions of the atmospheric pressure,.the expan
sion and contraction of. metals and other bo
dies; in fact, any motion that the great Au
thor of. nature has- made, will,, if we can hook
our machine to it, serve this purpose. But
the latter—a selfimover—-show me one, if
you can? I will enclose-it in a box ; and
ask this question—Does this machine move
without the aid of any cause beyond the lim
its of this box, and vet, aftes it has moved
for a definite length of time, \till it appear as
likely to continue as it did rtt first ?
There tire only t\to kinds of motion with
which we are and
chemical. In dll mechanical operations, there
is a loss of power. In the steam engine, it
is common to allow one third of the power
of the steam for the friction of the engine.—*-
One pound of power applied to any machine
whatever, will not raise a pound Weight
through as much space as itself descended.
Motion occasioned by chemical action must
come to a stand; for the materials acted up-,
on are continually undergoing decomposition,
or are altered in such a manner that they do
not return to their former state, and in. the
same place.
In illustration of this, take the steam en
gine for an example. The luel of the fire is
acted upon chemically, and is decomposed ;
and no art can return it to its former state.
So of the water in the boiler : although the
steam will return to the state of water, yet
some of it will he decomposed, and form an
oxide on the sides of the heated metal; and
another portion will escape beyond our reach.
Gunpowder is a source of great power, but
the materials of its composition are dissolved
in one discharge. For fear of being tedious,
I will conclude with a brief quotation from
Mr. Banks:—“ When a man tells me he can
construct a water wheel in such a manner
that, when once put in motion, it shall raise
water to keep itself moving, or that he has
constructed a pump in such a manner that
one man may do the work of ten, I pay the
same attention to him as if he told me he
could create a system of worlds, and com
mand them to move.” — Claxton.
Newspaper Analects.
EXPANDING THE CHEST.
Those in easy circumstances, or who pursue
sedentary employments within doors general
ly use their lungs but little—breathe but lit
tle air into the chest, and thus, independently
of positions, contract a wretchedly narrow
small chest, and lay the foundation for the
loss of health and beauty. All this can be
perfectly obviated by a little attention to the
manner of breathing. Recollect the lungs
are like a bladder in their structure and can
be stretched open to double their ordinary
size, with perfect safety, giving a noble chest,
and perfect immunity from consumption.—
The agent, and the only agent required, is the
common air we breathe, supposing however,
that no obstacle exist, external to the chest,
such as lacing or tying it around with stays,
or tight dresses, or having shoulders lie upon
it. On rising from the bed in the morning,
place yourself in an erect posture, your chest
thrown hack, and shoulders entirely oft the
chest; now inhale or suck in all the air you
can, so as to fill the chest to the very bottom
of it, so that no more air can he got in ; now
hold your breath and throw your arms off’be
hind, holding in your breath as long as possi
ble. Repeat these long breaths as many
times as you please. Done in a cold room it is
much better, because the air is much denser
and will act much more powerfully in expan
ding the chest. Exercising the chest in this
manner, it \vill*become very flexible and ex
pansible, and will enlaige the capacity and
size of the lungs.— Sci. American.
1 i
YANKEE ACCOMMODATIONS.
On the first evening of the recent Conven
tion, a teamster drove up to the door of one or
the principal taverns, and asked for “lodging
for himself and horse.” The landlord said
that he could not accommodate him, every
bed in the house being taken up. “Well,”
said the teamster, “ I am not at all particular,
I will put up with part of a bed,” “ Part of
a bed, replied our host, “oh, why, my dear
sir, there is not a bed in the inn that has not
two in it already, and some three and four.”
“Well can’t you let me sleep in that are
parlor ?”
“ No, we are a going to make up seventeen
beds there to-night, and they are all engag
ed.” v
“ Well, now, that is curious. Can't you
give me a buffalo skin and let; me lay down
here in the entry? We shall, be up all night,
and I don't want any folks, cluttering and
sprawling about tlie floor where people are
passing all the time.”
“Well, you are an accommodating fellow,
any how, I don’t think,’’ said the teamster.
“ Wonder if you've got a tavern license !
Tell, you what, mister,, you.have got no beds,
no buffalo skins, no nothing? Well, that
aint your fault just. now,.exactly: but,” con
tinued, he, looking at the rack where a mul
titude-of cloaks and surtou.ts were suspended
“ wboj will you take to let me hang on one
of them are pegs ?“
The laugh was fairly thrnfed against the
landlord, —the company present interceded
and the teamstdr ivas entertained for the
llight.
EDITOR’S DEPARTMENT.
ATHENS, SATURDAY, OCT. 28, 1848.
VMTMIBM IPM3IBB ?
The Editor of the Southern Literary Gazette, be
ing desirous of developing and encouraging Literarv
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,
Oil A COFY OF harper’s SPLENDID PICTORIAL BIBLE.
THE SECOND PRIZE
For the second best Poem, Ten Dollars,
All competitors must send in their MSS. before
the 15th day of December ensuing, and they must
come, if by post, pre-paid. They should be legibly
written on one side of a sheet only. The authors’
names must be sent in separate sealed envelopes,
which will not be opened until the prizes have been
selected—when the successful competitors will he 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 in the
last number for the present year, and the publication
of the First Prize Tale will be commenced with the
New Year.
The articles offered in competition will become
the property of the Editor, and those which are
deemed worthy will appear in the Gazette.
All communicatious relating to the prizes must be
addressed, post-paid, to the Editor.
OCr* Committee announced in our next.
Special Notice.
We are not given to dunning, and intend todo as
little of it as any contemporary; but we have a word
to many of our Subscribers, as much for their ad
vantage as for ours. It is this: On the 4th day of
next month, the six months will have expired, du
ring which Two Dollars will be received in full
for the first year’s subscription, beginning with No
1. By our published terms, all subscriptions unpaid
after six months of the year will be raised to Two
Dollars and Fifty Cents.
Now we assure our kind friends and patrons, that
all we want for our paper is Two Dollars from
every one; but we must insist on receiving that
amount within the six months, or thereafter the ex
tra half dollar will be charged.
Need we say to the true and generous friends of
Literature in the South, that our’s is a task hard
enough, in all conscience, under the best auspices,
but doubly hard and unthankful when the poor pit
tance we require from each one is withheld for
months after it is due. We would never ask for our
dues at all, if we could get along without them.—
But wo cannot, and we expect every S. L. G. —
which may bo interpreted Subscriber to the Litera
ry Gazette—to do bis duty. We claim no more and
no less. We beg of each one as a favor , however,
that he will endeavor to add to the stability of our
enter prize by increasing its. circulation.
Subscribers in the country and in village*
where there is no Agent, will'please remit by mail-
The payment to local or travelling Agents within
the limits, will bo sufficient-. We beg leave tonnrae
the following gentlemen as local Agents:
Savannah—George C. Griffen and Mr. Ilarmon.
Augusta—Eli Mustin.
Mneon—J. J. & S. P. Richards.
Charleston, S C.—John Russell.
Beaufort, S. C.—T. J. Wells.
Milledgeville—Otis Childs.
New York City—C. M. Saxton, 205 Broadway.
Philadelphia—-Caroy & Hart.
Boston—Gould, Kendall & Lincoln.
Sparta—C. W. Dußose.
Atlanta—.las. McPherson & Cos.
Darien—James E. Townsend.
Dalton—W. L. High.
Marietta—A. J. Ilansell.