Southern literary gazette. (Athens, Ga.) 1848-1849, November 04, 1848, Page 206, Image 6

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206 bombarded the giant, Pride, in his most for midable castle, forced him to capitulate, and taken him captive—in a word, who has sub dued every thought, every impulse, every feeling, every aspiration to the supreme do minion of his will—has displayed a lofty generalship, a glorious heroism, and has earn ed laurels in truth immortal. “He that con quereth himself, is greater than he thattaketh a city.” GMcctic of tVit. THE FISHERMAN. BY JOHN <i. SAXE. There lived an honest fisherman, I knew him passing well, Who dwelt hard by a little pond, Within a little dell. A grave and quiet man was he, Who loved his hook and rod ; So even ran his line of life, His neighbors thought it odd. For science and for books, he said He never had a wish ; No school with him was worth a fig, Except a “ school of fish.” The single-minded fisherman A double calling had — To tend his flock in winter time, In summer fish for shad. In short, this honest fisherman All other toils forsook, And though no vagrant man was he, He lived by “ hook and crook.” All day that fisherman would sit Upon an ancient log, And gaze into the water, like Some sedentary frog. A cunning fisherman was he, His angles were all right, And when he scratched his aged pod, You’d know he’d got a bite. To charm the fish be never spoke, Although his voice was fine, He found the most convenient way Was just to “ drop a line.” And many a “ gudgeon” of the pond, If made to speak to-day, Would own, with grief, this angler had A mighty “ taking way.” One day, while fishing on a log, He mourned his waut of luck, When suddenly he felt a bite, And jerking —caught a duck. Alas ! that day the fisherman Had taken too much grog, And being but a landsman, too, He couldn’t “keep the log.” In vain he strove with all his might, And tried to gain the shore ; Down, down ho went, to feed the fish He’d baited oft before 1 The moral of this mournful tale To all is plain and clear ; A single “ drop too much” of rum May make a watery bier. And he who will not “sign the pledge,” And keep the promise fast, May be, in spite of fate, a stiff Cold water man at last! THE SAILOR IN COURT. The following scene occurred during the examination of tne mate of the ship Prince of Wales, in a case of damage sustained by her in consequence of being run foul of by the barque Lady Elizabeth, in the Downs. Mr. Waddy. —“You have already stated that the wind shifted in the evening. Pray at what time did the wind shift?” “ The latter part of the dog watch.” “ I ask not during which dog’s watch it was, my question refers to time. What hour was it when the wind shifted ?” “About three bells.” “ Three o’clock, eh ?” “ I never said three o’clock,” returned the witness, marking the lawyers mistake. “ I said three bells—half past five—four to six,” reiterated Waddy. “ What a precise specifi cation of time, well, then, sir, at three bells, how was the weather then ?” “Greasy, looking to the sou’west. Sun, too, looked wild and watery. Anyone, with half an eye, could a seed a storm was brew ing.” “ When the Lady Elizabeth cast anchor, did she take a position properly apart from the Prince of Wales?” “ She did—but ” t‘Come, sir, let’s have no buts—answer the question direct.” “ Well, then, I saydj when one takes into account sarcumstances as might deceive the best men in taking up a distance, I must say as how the barque might have taken up a worse berth.” “ In what way could that deception arise ?” ’ “In consequence of our buoy’s not watch ing at the time.” “The boy not watching at the time —a la */y young dog—now the murder’s coming s©®itisasafia a*airssasi ©asstfita* out,” said Waddy, exultingly \ and then desir ing the witness to reply direct to the next question which he was about to put to him — and, above all, to beware of any kind of pre varcation, he thus proceeded : “ I ask you, sir, as a seaman on your oath, would matters have gone the wrong way with the Prince of Wales, had there been a prop er watch upon deck ?” The absurdity of this question, added to the pompous, declamatory tone in which it was delivered, excited so much noise and mirth among the nautical portion of the audi ence, that it became neccessary to eject from court a couple of Sunderiink skippers. Under the restoration of order and the repeti tion of the question, the witness replied : “ There was a watch upon deck.” “My Lud,” said Waddy, turning to the Bench, “ this is positively the grossest case of prevarication I ever met with. Do you persist in swearing”—interrogating the wit ness—“that a proper watch had been on deck when the wind shifted ?” “ I do,” replied the mate, in a firm and de termined tone. “Do you come here to insult our common sense ? Is it possible you possess sufficient effrontery to tell these intelligent gentlemen” —at the same time pointing to the Jury— “that in a vessel situated as the Prince of Wales was, and bad weather coming on, the watch should have devolved on a dumb ani mal ?” The witness looked blank. “Do you hear, sir,” vociferated the bul ly‘ T “I does’nt understand you,” replied the deponent, with perfect composure. The question was shaped anew : “ I ask you, sir, whether it was fitting to entrust a vessel exposed to the elements, as well as the privateers of the enemy, to the vigilance of a dumb animal—to the watch of a dog ?” “ There was ne’er a dog on board,” said jhe witness bluntly. “And yet, gentlemen of the jury, the wit ness has had the audacity to assert upon oath that the wind shifted during the latter part of the dog’s watch.” “Bili, let’s bolt,” said an auditor, address ing a brother tar in the rear of the Court.— “By the Lord Harry, there’s no standing that squinting beggar’s lubberly lip.” The Judge had already decided that the witness was bound to state distinctly the des cription of the watch that had been left upon the ship’s deck. The witness said : “ James Thompson, my Lord, had charge of the deck during the whole of the four-to six watch. A better seaman never puddened an anchor, hauled out a weather earing, or took lead of helm in hand.” “Then how comes it,” asked the lawyer, “that this super-excellent seaman was not as competent to prevent the Lady Elizabeth run ning on board the Prince of Wales as the boy of whom you boast so much ? (Some brat of his own, no doubt,” added Waddy, aside to the Jury.) The witness not appearing to understand the question, the Judge requested Mr. Waddy to repeat it. “I ask the witness, my Lud, if the boy, whose dexterity in taking up a distance, he extols so much, could have prevented the dangerous proximity of the Lady Elizabeth to the Prince of Wales, why then, I ask, as a mere matter of precaution, was not this matchless, quick-sighted lad put on the watch ?” The mate remained mute. “ Put it more directly, Mr. Waddy,’ said’ the Judge. Waddy bowed to the Bench. “Why was not the boy put upon the watch ?” “ Because ’t wanted bleeding,” was the reply. “ Had you a surgeon in the ship ?” At this question, the assumed gravity of the witness was put to the test. It was with great difficulty he could restrain from laugh ing aloud; he. however, answered in. the ne gative. “ No surgeon in the ship ?” “ Sartainly not.” “ Then how,, sir, can you take upon your self to give an opinion upon a medical point. Pray, sir, have you made physic, as well as seamanship, a study ?” “I can’t abide physic—never took a dose in my life.” “ Then upon what grounds do you assert that the boy wanted bleeding ?” “Cause U was full of water.” “Gracious heavens!” exclaimed Waddy, with extended arms, “ was ever greater igno rance betrayed ? My Lud, the jury never can receive such testimony. Who everheard of resorting to depletion in a dropsical case ?” “ I say it again,” replied the witness, look ing at Waddy full in the face, “the buoy wanted tapping.” “ Never, nevei was there an instance of such gross prevarication. Note this, gentle men of the jury, he first swears that the boy wanted bleeding, and now that he finds him self in error, turns from the operation of bleeding to that of tapping.” “Well, I say so still; bleeding’s just as proper a form as tapping. Now take the turns out of that if you can,” said the mate, in a tone of defiance. “I can’t suffer you to be insolent to coun sel,” said the Judge, addressing the witness in a peremptory tone. “I’m not insolent, my Lord; but where’s the man, my Lord, as can bear to be bullied and badgered by a lubberly lawyer, as does’nt much as know the mainbrace from the Cap tain’s breeches ?” This burst of oflended feeling excited in the Court a sensation not to be described. — The sons of the sea were seen to rub their huge hands with evident delight, whilst ex pressions of surprise, and scowls of indigna tion, betrayed themselves in the tell-tale fea tures of the members of the bar. — English paper. Newspaper 2tnalects. USEFUL FACTS. Varieties of Milk. —As far as we know no nation uses the milk of any carnivorous animal. There is no reason for believing that the milk of this order of animals would be either disagreeable or unwholesome; but the ferocity and restlessness of the creatures will always present an obstacle to the ex periment. The different milks of those ani mals with which we are acquainted agree in their chemical qualities, and is confirmed by the fact, that other animals besides man can be nourished in infancy by the milk of very distinct species. Rats and leverets have been suckled by cats, fawns by ewes, foals by goats, and man, in all stages of his existence, bas been nourished by the milk of various animals, except the carnivorous. The milk of the mare is inferior in oily matter to that of the cow. but it is said to contain more su gar, and other salts. The milk of the ewe is as rich as that of the cow, in oil, but con tains less sugar than that of other animals. Cheese made of ewe milk is still made in Eng land and Scotland, but it is gradually being disused. The milk of the ass approaches that of human milk in several of its qualities. To this resemblance it owes its use by inva lids in pulmonary complaints, but it has no particular virtue to recommend its preference, and is only prescribed by nurses. Goat’s milk perhaps stands next to that of the cow in its qualities; it is much used in Southern Europe. It affords excellent cheese and but ter, its cream being rich, and more copious than that from cows. Camel’s milk is em ployed in China, Africa, and, in short, m all those countries where the animal flourishes. It is, however, poor in every respect, but still, being milk, it is invaluable where butter is not to he procured. The milk of the sow re sembles that of the cow, and is used at Can ton and other parts of China. The milk of the buffalo is also like that of the cow, though the two animals belong to different species. Every preparation of milk, and every sepa rate ingredient of it, is wholesome ; milk, cream, butter, cheese, fresh curds, whey, skim med milk, butter-milk, &c. Butter-milk and whey will undergo a spontaneous vinous fer mentation, if kept long enough, and alcohol can be distilled from them. The Tartars, it is well known, prepare large quantities of spir ituousdrink from mare’s milk.— Laing's Notes of a Traveller. BENEFIT OF ACTION. So far from complete inaction being per fect enjoyment, there are few greater suffer ings than that which the total absence of oc cupation generally induces. Count Caylies, the celebrated French antiquary, spent much time in engraving the plates which illustra ted his valuable work. When his friends asked him why he worked so hard at such an almost mechanical occupation, he said— “Jc grave pom- nepas mependre” —M engrave lest l should hang myselt. When Napoleon was slowly withering away from disease and ennui together, on the rock of St. Helena, it was told him that one of his old friends, an e.x-colonel in the Italian army, was dead.- “ What and isease killed him ?” asked Napo leon. “That of having nothing to do,” it was answered. “Enough,” said Napoleon, “even had he been an emperor.” 21 Column Crcctctr to Jam Di© IT a Purpose.— An honest old farmer had an unruly bull, which had a remarkab'e love for him “in a horn” and a singular penchant for giving his acquaintances and friends a “ lift in the world.” One day the old farmer was driving the bull home much against his inclination, and getting enraged he suddenly hoisted the old man across the fence into the road, but fortunately only slight ly hurting him. The old man gained his e quilibrium, and then he saw the enraged an imal sawing the air with his head and neck and pawing the ground. The good old man looked steadily at him a moment, and then shaking his fist at him, exclaimed—“ Co nfound your apologies yon needn’t stand there, you tarnal critter, a bowin’ and scra pin’—you did it a purpose, darn you.” Not at Home.— When Cibber once went to visit Booth, and knew that he wa.3 at home a female domestic denied him. He took no notice of this at the time; but when in a few days afterwards Booth paid him a visit in re turn, he called out from the first floor that he was not at home. “ How can that be ?” answered Booth, “ do I not hear your voice ?” “To he sure you do,” replied Cibber; “but what then ? I believed your servant-maid, and it is hard indeed if you won’t believe me. n 1 ■ i Clerical Joke. —-At the meeting of the church the pastor gave out the hymn com mencing with “ I love to steal awhile away,” when the chorister commenced singing, hot owing to some difficulty in recollecting the tune, could proceed no farther than “ I love to steal,” which he did three or four times in succession, when the clergyman, in order to relieve him from, the dilemma, waggishly re marked, that it was “ very much to be regret ted,” and added, “let us pray.” ■i ■ i A Troublesome Congregation. One Sunday when the Minister of Udney entered the kirk, he was no less surprised than in dignant to find that “ daft, (half-witted) Jamie Fleming” had taken possession of the pul pit. “Come doon, Jamie,” said his rever ence. “ Come ye up, sir,” answered Jamie ; “they’re a stiffneckit and rebellious genera tion, sir, an’ it will tack us baith to manage them.”— Liverpool Standard. A Strong Sermon. —A man in an East ern city, somewhat noted for wrestling, spar ing, and kindred physical feats, having been persuaded to enter a church on the Sabbath, and “sit out ” along doctrinal discourse, was asked, on retiring after the service, what he thought of the sermon. “ Think ?” said he: “ why, if I couldn’t preach a better sarmont than that, with one hand tied behind me, you can take my hat!” A Parisian author has translated Shakspeare’s line, “ Out, brief candle !” in to the French, thus, “ Get out, you short can dle!” This is not as bad as the translation of an exclamation of Milton’s by a French man, who rendered “Hail ! horrors, hail!” thus, “ How d’ye do, horrors ?-• how d’ye do ?” Stammering, (says Coleridge) is some times the cause of a pun. Someone was mentioning in Lamb’s presence the cold lieartedness of the Duke of Cumberland, in restraining the duchess from rushing up to the embrace of her son, whom she had not seen for a considerable time, and insisted on her receiving him in a state. “ How horri bly cold it was,” said the narrator. —“Yes,” said Lamb, in his stammering way, “ but you know he is the Duke of Ctt-cum-ber land. JSkST 4 “A splendid triumph of science,” said Mr. Muggins to his wife; “ a Mr. Hartford has given a boy anew lip, which he took from his cheek.” “That’s nothing, pa; I saw the new doctor take two from our Patty s cheek the other day, and the operation did not seem to be painful either.” “I can’t see the use of people’s quar reling,” said Mrs. Partington; “ it’s very strange that they can't live together as neigh bors, in peace and concordance, without all this bitterness and antimony'. Why, I habit ed with Deacon Bess in the same house fur forty years, and never a word of anger pass ed between us. He was a neighbor,” sighed she. In the last ejaculation how much of regret was embraced. Another word and all its beauty would have been lost. — Bost. Love, like the plague, is often com municated by clothing and money.