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255 ed on the cradle are from the antique legend, which has been revived for this occasion: “ Gif Leverpooles good maior sd ever bo Made fatherre off nVaibYaltee, Thenne sal be giften by ye townmenne tree, Ano silverre craddle too hys fair ladye.” The cradle is a fairy-like model of a value of $l2O. Placed under a glass case it forms a superb ornament for the drawing room. The general form of the body is that of the nautilus shell. On one side is chased, in high relief, a group of figures, representing a mother placing in the arms of its father their new-born child. Supporting the medal lion on which the figures are placed are two angels, with expanded wings; and issuing iiom beneath them, and under the medallion, are beautiful scrolls of poppies and lillies, emblems of Sleep and Peace. On the top of the scroll or apex sits the genius of Liver pool; and at the foot stands the liver, the ancient bearing in the arms of the town. YOUR HANDS, Look to your hands, young man, and tell us, what they were made for. Were they made to be hooped like kegs, and to hang dangling by your side ? Why not put them to some use ? What if your father is rich ? Will he always remain so ? Who knows that you will receive a cent of his property, even though he should die before you ?—which is not at all probable from his active habits and your idle life. Why not put your hands to some profitable use, as nature designed them ? They are admirable things to shove a fore plane, push a shovel, or draw a hand cart. Now, they are of no manner of use, and at times, they play the mischief with you; for they will occasionally handle a few dollars which your parents have earned to cast them to the four winds. Take a word of advice, Just begin to make a right use of your hands, and one word for it, you will be happier and healthier. The prospect is that you may be of some little service to mankind, and every trifle helps, you know, in such a world as ours. There—that’s right —move your hands and put them to use. Work for fun at first, if you please, and you will soon love it better than to be idle. We shouldn’t wonder if you yet made a smart man. Heaven help you to keep your good resolution. > —i SMITH O’BRIEN A POET. The following lines are said to have been written by Smith O'Brien, to a young lady who presented him with a bouquet of flow ers, while standing in the dock, a prisoner of State: Sweet girl! who gave in danger’s hour, To lift my soul, a beauteous flower, And by thy bright, yet modest eyes, Cheered me with softest sympathies; Oh ! may thine eyes ne’er shed a. tear! Oh! may thine heart ne’er know a fear ! Thus from his dreary solitude— Thus speaks a prisoner’s gratitude. WILLIAM S. O’BRIEN. 1 i - BEAUTIFUL EXTRACT. I saw a mourner standiug at eventide over the grave of one dearest to him on earth. The memory of joys that were past came crowding on his soul. “And is this,’’ said he, “all that remains of one so loved and so lovely! I call, but no voice answers. 0! my loved one will not hear? O death! in exorable death! what hast thou done ? Let me lie down and forget my sorrow in the slumbers of the grave!” When he thought thus in agony, the form of Christianity came by. He heard the song and the transport of the great multitude which no man can number, around the throne; there were the spirits of the just made perfect—there, the spirit of her he mourned! Their happiness was pure, per manent and perfect. The mourner then wiped the tears from his eyes, took courage, and thanked God; “all the days of my ap pointed time,” said he, “will I wait till my change comes; and he returned to the duties of life, no longer sorrowing as those who have no hope. As long as you live, seek to learn: do not presume that old age brings wisdom. t I Take care how you speak all that you know. In the presence of the stars,, nothing on earth is great, nothing in the breast little.— Richter. i > Women love strength without imi tating it; men, tenderness without returning it .—Richter. §© © OIEIS El ILinrStEAtEY ©ASHYYtg. Growing Old. —Are you growing old 1 Let not the thought disturb you. You have enjoyed the sunny spots of youth—the ac tivity of manhood and the sober evening of life. Now the shadows lengthen in your path—the sun declines in the west and you are drawing towards the tomb. Be of good cheer. The thought that you have passed an active life—that you have added to the welfare and happiness of three generations —must be consoling to reflect upon. With true Christian courage persevere in the race you have begun, and in a few days you will reach the end of your pilgrimage. In a world of bliss shall you reap the rewards of a life of virtue. Repine not, then, aged sire. Lift up your head and your heart. A moment of darkness may be yours, but soon the unclouded plains of heaven will burst upon your vision. And gathered to your fathers, you will enjoy the presence of Him, which is better than life, and partake of those pleasures of which the heart can form no conception.— Boston Olive Branch. Presidential Ages. —The President elect of the United States was born on the 24th of November, 1784, and is therefore in his sixty fourth year. He is, with the exception of General Harrison, elected at 67, the oldest President ever chosen. Mr. Polk, elected at 49 was the youngest. It is a fact rather re markable that among the twelve candidates that have been called to fill the Presidential chair, (General Taylor included.) five were fifty-seven years old at the time of their nomination; the average of these ages being fifty-seven years and a half. General Cass and Mr. Van Buren, both born in 1782, were two years older than their opposing candidates. 1 Sympathy. —lt is sweet to turn from the chilling and heartless world—the world that so often misjudges our motives—to seek in some sympathizing heart for consolation—to find congenial souls that can feel our sorrows, can share our joys, can understand and ap preciate the feelings which actuate us. In sorrow, how consoling is the blessed voice of sympathy. In our greatest trials it light ens our burdens—making smoother our path way before us, and pouring a healing balm into our wounded hearts, and our lesser afflic tions are forgotten in its presence. PjUosojjljß for tl)c people. HINTS FOR PIANISTS. Have your piano forte tuned at least four times a year by an experienced tuner; if you allow it to go too long without tuning, it usually becomes flat, and troubles the tuner to get it to stay at the concert pitch, especially in the country. Never place the instrument against ail outside v/all or in a cold or damp room, particularly in a country house; there is no greater enemy to a piano forte than damp. Close the instrument im mediately after your practice; by leaving it open, dust fixes on the sound board, and cor rodes the movements, and if in a damp room, the strings soon rust. Should the piano forte stand near or opposite the win dow, guard, if possible, against its being opened, especially oil a wet or damp day; when the sun is on the window draw the blind down. Avoid putting metallic or other articles on or in the piano forte; such things frequently cause unpleasant vibrations, and sometimes injure the instrument. Artificial Preparation of Ice. —After numerous trials made by M . B. Mujlink with dirierent salts, for the purpose of converting water contained in a tin vessel into ice, dur ing their solution, he ultimately gave the preference to a mixture of four ounces of nitrate of ammonia, four ounces of sub-car bonate of soda, and four ounces of water. This mixture in three hours produces ten ounces of ice, while with the mixture of sul phate of soda and muriatic acid, he obtained ice only after seven hours. Changes in Solid Forms. —The gradual change of form of a body which still con tinues solid, is a problem at which many are confounded, because they cannot imitate the great experiments of nature. On a grand scale, it does not hold; but, in a smaller way, the barley sugar, which, in course of time, becomes crystaline and dull, presents an ex ample of change of structure without any alteration of its solidity ; an 1 copper coins, buriod in the earth, becomes oxidized without losing their impressions. $2P* Pay your debts, and your neighbors will pay theirs. EDITOR’S DEPARTMENT. ATHENS, SATURDAY, DEC. 16, 1848. VALUABLE PRIZES! The Editor of the Southern Literary Gazette , be ing desirous of developing and encouraging Literary Talent in the South, lias resolved to offer tbe 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 bible. THE SECOND PRIZE For the second best Poem, Ten Dollars, All competitors must send in their MSS. before the first day of February next, 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 be 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 communications relating to the prizes must be addressed, post-paid, to the Editor. COMMITTEE OF AWARD. The following gentlemen have kindly consented to act as Judges upon the articles offered in compe tition for the above prizes: Professor JAMES P. WADDELL, Dr HENRY HULL, JAMES W. HARRIS, Esq. j The California Gold Fever. i We shall offer no apology for making this theme ’ the subject of our leading article this week, since it lis the absorbing topic of the day. Our exchanges | are filled with letters and paragraphs, couched in I such glowing language and revealing such dazzling pictures of the gold-gathering in California, that 1 their readers may be pardoned for running crazy ! upon the theme. Nor is it surprising to us to hear ! that already four thousand persons are employed in the alluring toil—that vessels touching at Monterey, in the vicinity, are immediately deserted by their crews, all of whom are eagerly engaged at twenty j dollars a day by the enthusiastic capitalists employ- | cd in the labor. All this we can readily believe— j and we give credence to the reports of the extrava . , gant prices a deed and obtained in that region for 1 all the appliances of life and labor. Thitj is all doubtless, true to the letter. The matter for doubt is the reality of the discovery which has given riso to this wonderful immigration of laborers, and these j extravagant rates of toil. That there are extensive ; gold regions in California, is certain; but we are slow to belfbve that the United States have been ! fortunate enough to annex to their territory another ’ Pern. We do not say that the reports which reach us of the amount of gold daily collected are false we only suggest that they should he received with ; caution an l with much allowance. ; The tendency of the age is to violent exaggera tion. It matters little what may be the subject of report, provided only the scene be remote enough to ! give coloring to otherwise vain representations—ten : thousand rumors are immediately set afloat, some by design, others in mere wanton .‘port, but all ex aggerated as they fly, like the accumulative snow ball, until they become almost too wonderful for be lief. Thus has it been, we fear, with the California j Gold and we shall not bo at all surprised if, in the end, there should be found much less of the shilling mcial than is at prose .t supposed te exist. We are told that a week’s labor is never m . , ed with less than some thousands of dollars—tl ‘ runaway sailor fills his vast trowsers’ the )el low grains, or perhaps with solid bars— that you have only to scratch up the sand with v. fingers to get at the precious dust! Millio ° UI the lowest figures in the we may reasonably expect to hear next that the f me of the Region has been discovered, pronitiat i* and induced to shew the way into caverns filled with gold and sparkling with diamonds! By allaeco * a pedlar with a load of tin basins might speedily e ’ change his stock for its weight in yellow gold a ‘\ for a few weeks’ actual labor receive enough mo to load up his wagon, and enable him to come baTk to the States and set up for a veritable John Jacob* The adventurers in that El Dorado— “ Gold ! and gold, and nothing but gold- J he same auriferous shrine behold— Wherever the eye can settle!” Verily may we now expect to realise the exqu site fable of Hood, in his story of Miss Kilwan*. segg,” who was baptized in “ a bowl of American gold— NV on by Raleigh in days of old, In spite of Spanish bravado,”’ and of whose father it is said by the poet, that he had— “ Gold andgold! and gold without end Le had goldto lay up and gold to spend— Gold to give and gold to lend, And reversions of gold in futuro. In wealth his family revelled and rolled Jlimsch and his wife, and his sons so bold’ And his daughters sang to their harps of gold O bella, eta del’ oro !” ’ But to look at the subject more seriously. We repeat that we have no doubt there is gold in Cali fornia, and we cannot help believing the respectable testimony of C 01. Mason, military commandant in that country, who writes, officially, many things, that from an anonymous source we would discredit— and who really “ thinks” that $50,000 worth of gold is collected daily! As this is not a declaration, but an inference, of the worthy Colonel’s, we must take the liberty of suggesting, that one-half the amount is a very extraordinary sum—that is all! Mr. Polk, in his recent Message to Congress, re commends the establishment of a branch Mint in California; and we think the suggestion a very im portant one. Whether the reports we receive are, or are not, greatly exaggerated, there can be no doubt that much gold will be obtained there; andif no facilities are furnished by our Government for coining it, it will find its way chiefly to the Mexican and South American Mints, and thousands of beau tiful eagles and part eagles will be lost to our coun try. The recommendation of Mr. Polk is highly judicious and praiseworthy therefore, and we hope Congress will act upon it promptly. It has yet to be proved that gold mines area bless ing to any territory. The history of gold regionsis certainly unfavorable to such a conclusion, and the history ot owners of gold mines is generally quiteas iatal to the argument. Ibis, however, will not be regarded by those who have the glittering goal in view, and they must reap the harvest, though it should prove one of disappointment. N\ e think it not amiss to utter a word of warm to those who may bo tempted by the “ Arabian Night -like tales they have heard of California gold, to go thither in quest of Fortunatus’ pur.se.-- Let them be assured that they will not find it. The surest way to make gold is to pursue diligently the calling in which Providence has placed us. To “do with our might whatever our hand findeth to.do,”is the secret ot prosperity. The love goldis toopow erful a passion tq be allowed to. get the mastery ol the soul. And yet, wo can scarcely understand how a man can throw himself into, the midst of the fever isn excit ement of California, without yielding hisi self to the master passion, and sacrificing all noble principles to the groed of gold 1 Our Prizes. We have been several time? remonstrated with for allowing so brief an interval to elapse between the announcement of our Prizes and the day of award. In several instances this has prevented writers from entering the lists, whom we should gladly see at our intellectual tourney. To obviate this objection, and to afford to all who desire it an opportunity to com pete for the prizes, we have resolved, with the ap probation of the gentlemen composing the Commit tee of Award, to postpone the loading of the & 1 cks, a id the decision on their merit, until the sh-t day ofFeb’y., 1849. Wo will take this occasion to assure our readers that these Prizes are offer ed in good faith, and will be bestowed by tbe honorable Committee witho’* 0 favor or prejudice. We have seen, in some of tho Northern Journals, an article reflecting severely on the system of Prizes as pursued by some of the larg* newspapers in that section—and if what is allege*! of them be true, they deserve to be denounced. t* beg leave, however, to remind our readers that if some are dishonest, all are not necessarily so, a®* l 11 such a practice does obtain in the North, it