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Selected poetry.
HOW MAY WAS FIRST MADE.
’ BY THOMAS MILLER.
As Spring upon a silvery cloud
Lay looking on the world below,
Watching the breezes as they bowed
The buds and blossoms to and fro,
She saw the fields with Hawthorns walled ;
Said Spring, “ New buds I will create.”
She to a Flower-spirit called,
Who on the month of May did wait,
And bade her fetch a Hawthorn spray,
That she might make the buds of May.
Said Spring. “ The grass looks green and bright
The Hawthorn hedges too are green,
I II sprinkle them with fiowcis of light,
Such stars as earth hath never seen :
And all through England's girded vales,
Her steep hill-sides and haunted streams,
Where Woodlands dip into the dales,
Where’er the Hawthorn stands and dreams,
Where thick-leaved trees make dark the day,
I‘ll light each nook with flowers of May.
Like pearly dew-drops, white and round,
The shut up buds shall first appear,
And in them be such fragrance found
As breeze before did never hear; .
Such as in Eden only dwelt,
When angels hovered round its bowers,
And long-haired Eve at morning knelt,
In innocence amid the flowers ;
While the whole air was every way
Filled with a perfume sweet as May.
And oft shall groups of children come,
Threading their way through shady places,
From many a peaceful English home,
The sunshine falling on their faces ;
Starting with merry voice the thrush,
As through green lanes they wander singing,
To gather the sweet Hawthorn-bush,
Which homeward in the evening bringing,
With smiling faces, they shall say,
There’s nothing half so sweet as May.
And many a poet yet unborn
Shall link its name with some sweet lay,
And lovers oft at early morn
Shall gather blossoms of the May,
With eyes blight as the silver dews,
Which on the rounded May-buds sleep ;
And lips, whose parted smiles diffuse %
A sunshine o’er the watch they keep,
Shall open all their white array
Os pearls, ranged like the buds of May.
Spring* shook the clouds on which she lay,
And silvered o’er the Hawthorn spray,
Then showered down the buds of May.
EDI TORT I) E P ART MEN T.
ATHENS, SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 1849.
The New Administration.
Ours is not a political Journal, and we have faith
fully promised to eschew politics of every complex
ion—but surely the accession of anew President to
the Executive Chair —an event that, like Leap
Year, occurs not ofteuer than every fourth year
may well claim our passing notice, especially as we
shall treat the affair more lightly—that is, in a
stronger and clearer light —than most of our contem
poraries It is exceedingly disrespectful to the late
excellent Chief Magistrate to speak of him as hav
ing been poked, out of office, as some of the newspa
pers do. They doubtless think themselves justified
in thus poking fun at the influential party which
four years ago called him to preside over the Na
tional Council—but we would respectfully remind
them of the fable of the frogs and the boys. It is
the fashion, wc know, to worship the rising star, and
to forget and undervalue that whoso light has depart
ed. This is not, however,altogether generous.. Mr.
Polk has closed an administration of no ordinary
character. Among other things, he administer cd
sundry bitter doses to the Mexican Government , and
proved himself a skilful physician. Observing that
the habits of the Mexican people were shockingly
bad, he sent a Taylor to mend them, and the duty
was so admirably performed, that his gratitude
would have known no bounds, had not the people, in
the excess of their enthusiasm, taken the duty of re
warding this service out of his hands, by bestowing
upon the faithful servaut the highest honor in their
power, in which power, wc presume, they only anti
cipated the generous intentions of the late President.
All honor then, say we, to him who, while he was
discharging the Executive duties with the utmost
S®®ITSI SIE El 0a U¥HIE AIE ¥ ®AB£lf IT IE *
fidelity, yet had the forethought to appoint his suc
cessor, and the magnanimity to cover him with the
mantle of renown!
In the recent elections, the largest share of the
canvass very properly fell to the lot of a Taylor,
who will make excellent use of it. Seated on the
Presidential board, he will take the most judicious
and careful measures for the national Outfit. That
he will suit every one, is hardly to be expected ; for
though large and noble his will, his means are not
so ample. We hope, however, that if a very large
number of eager applicants fail to get large shears
in the spoils, they will yet experience, during his
term of service, the satisfaction of never wanting a
dish of goose and a plate of labbage.
For our part, we are dispo-ed to look hopefully to
i the new Administration, and to anticipate an im
provement in the appearance of things, under the
skilful hand of the great Taylor. May he succeed
in repairing all defects in our National habits . and
may our country be clothed , by his wisdom and skill,
in a robe of resplendent beauty—the admiration of
all nations—a pattern to the world.
©nr <£ossti) Column.
We feel the force of “A Life Subscriber’s” re
! marks upon our recent announcement of a change of
form, and think it proballS that there are many who
would say with him —“ I fear you will diminish the
permanent value of the ‘ Gazette’ by giving it the
| newspaper form —it will be less generally preserved
; for binding.” That this is true, we admit, and it
was with an extreme degree of reluctance that we
yielded our consent to the proposed change. We
must say, however, that since we have done so, our
conviction that it will be a judicious change, is an
abiding one. It will give us more room, and will
also enable us to shew in a more satisfactory man
ner “ the form and pressure of the age.” We shall
gain in general interest what wc sacrifice in individ
ual character, and our paper, as “revised and en
larged,” will doubtless find three readers to one in its
present shape and with its present exclusive charac
ter. rtereafter, we shall be able to adopt the some
what enigmatic motto of a once flourishing Journal:
“ No pent-up Utica contracts our powers—
But the whole boundless contiueul is ours!”
“ A Life Subscriber is assured that we. will not (as
he seems to fear) diminish, by one iota, the care
and labor wc have heretofore expended on the “Ga
zette.” On the contrary, we will bring to our sec
ond year’s labours our undivided energies, and wc
| are already making arrangements to secure the’ser
-1 vices of co-laborers in the wide field to which wc
shall find ourself introduced, after the first of May.
How many of our esteemed readers will allow us to
regard them as “ life subscribers'’ ? .... Shut
out, to a great extent, from the privileges enjoyed
by our metropolitan readers, of attending the Con
certs of distinguished performers and singers, we
highly prize an occasional opportunity, such as was
afforded us a few nights since at the Town Hall, —
i Mr. Sloman, the distinguished vocalist, gave two
entertainments, consisting chiefly of Comic Songs
and Recitations, which were so irresistibly mirth
provoking, that we were betrayed from our Edito
rial propriety, and actually found our foot accompa
nying very heartily the feet and canes of a merry
audience, in a tempest of blows upon the floor. Mr.
Sloman was in excellent voice, and in the best of his
comic veins. “ The Musical Traveler,” “ The Sev
en Ages,” and “ The London Newspapers,” [not to
omit the “ Comic Bluebeard,”] were given in the
happiest manner, and received with immense ap
plause An amusing anecdote was related
to us by a clerical friend, the other evening, of an
aged minister who was officiating for the first time
at a public service of a congregation, who had been
accustomed to having the “ hymns lined,” as it is
i termed. The venerable man could not sec distinct-
I ly, and designed to dispense with singing. To an
nounce his purpose, he arose and said —
“ My eyes are dim, I cannot see” —
and immediately the chorister commenced singing
the line to the tune of “ Old Hundred.” Surprise
and mortification rendered the minister almost
speechless, but he managed to stammer out —
“ I meant but an apology.”
This line was immediately sung by the congrega
tion, and the minister, now quite excited, exclaim
| ed —
“ Forbear, I pray—my sight is dim;”
but the singing proceeded, and the couplet vfcis fin
ished by his troubled and beseeching explanation—
“ I do not mean to read a hymn!*’
i Strange as it may seem, this was also sung with
much energy, and the worthy old gentleman actual
ly sat down in despair Those of our read
ers who desire to secure a faithful miniature of them
selves or of their friends, either on ivory or by the
Daguerreotype, are referred to the advertisement of
Mrs. Blanchard iu our Business Department, who,
we doubt not, will afford them complete satisfac
; tion We have departed from a general
rule, in publishing a long serial Tale, in the Trans
lation of La Roulette, completed ih this number. —
We hope, however, that the interest of the story
will be a sufficient apology. Those who look for
moral lessons in fiction, will probably find one, suffi- i
ciently and terribly distinct, impressed upon the his- *
tory of Juiian Menard. ..... Our neighbors of
the “Southern Whig” exhibited good taste in se
lecting the beautiful Poem entitled “Georgia,” for |
their last number, and we are surprised that they !
should have failed to “render unto Caesar the things
that are Caesars.” Many of our exchanges, by the
way, copy our articles without giving us credit for
them. This is too bad, for as we have but little
cash, if we can’t get “credit,” how are we to get
along 1
Notices to Correspondents.
C. ll.—We shall publish “ The Indian Mound”
in our next number. Accept our best thanks for
kind words and kind favors.
T. S. T.—We must respectfully decline the “ Ode
to a Cigar.”
E. J. C.—K. K. K.
L. M. C.-Wc can supply you with a complete
file of the “Gazette.”
“Q in the Corner.” —Perhaps we will put you
there in an early number.
£l)c Sim erica UcrtoMcnl Ur css.
The Schooleellow, for March. Athens. W. C.
Richards.
This beautiful little Magazine was issued prompt
ly the first day of the month, and surpasses in the
variety of its contents and the beauty of its engrav
ings both of the preceding numbers. It contains
twelve original articles and as many pictures, be
sides several .choice selections.
We indulge in no vanity when wc say that
this little work ought to have a cordial reception
from the girls and boys of the South. The first
Quarterly Part— containing 96 pages and 30 en
gravings, is now ready in neat half-binding. As
an inducement to teachers to form clubs in their
Schools, twelve copies are sent for Ten Dollars—
and if desired they will be furnished to one address
— free of postage the whole year.
Littell’s Living Age. No 251, March 10. Bos
ton. E. Littcll & Cos.
Wc have nothing but commendation to utter of
this excellent Eclectic, which is always on our table
a little in advance of its date —and from whoso nu
merous pages wo derive Aveekly gratification of no
common kind. It is no puff iu the ordinary accept
ation of the word —to say that tho subscriber to the
“ Living Age” gets a rich return for his invest
ment.
A Friend of the Family. Savannah. E. J.
Purse.
We have received the first number of a neat little
weekly paper, bearing the above name, and bailing
from tho press of FT J. Purse of Savannah. It is
hardly fair to judge an enterprize of the kind from
its first appearance—which may exhibit deficiencies
that will bo supplied in subsequent numbers. A
greater variety of subjects would make the paper
more attractive.
As “A friend of the Family” comes under the
description of Cowpcr:
“ The folio of four pages —happy work
Which not e’en critics criticize” —
we ought not perhaps, to ask what scene is designed
to be portrayed in the central vignette of the title 1
If, as we suppose, it is the Rock Mountain of De-
Kalb—then, in the name of Nature and of Art, do
we protest‘‘it is a libel most unnatural!” Wc
fear that the engraver must have unhappily fallen
in with a lithographic caricature of the noble scene
—which we met with a year since and which, in the
very shadow of the gigantic Mountain itself, was
hung up as a “ sac simile j” but which had really
less resemblance to the original —than to the Pyra
mid of Cheops!
With exquisitely beautiful and truthful pictures
of the Rock Mountain at command, why did the
designer copy that miserable fancy sketch 1 But a
truce to fault-finding :
“ Tho head and front of its offending
Hath this extent; —no more
and cordially wishing its projector a success which
yet seems more than doubtful, we commend tho
journal to the attention of our readers
The Knickerbocker, for February, 1849.
lias failed to reach us. Is the “ Department” to
blame 1
The Western Literary Emporium. St. Louis.
Stowell, Haskell & Greene.
This is a well filled Monthly—cheap and attrac
tive. In looking over its pages we have beenstruck
with the sterling character of its articles. They are
all truly excellent —without being stupidly grave—
or foolishly light. It is edited by Mr. J. M. Stowell
who evidently knows what a Magazine ought to he
and makes it so. It is most cordially welcome to
our exchange list.
American Reprints.
The London Lancet. New York: Stringer &
Townsend.
We took occasion, in a recent notice, to commend
this periodical to tho attention of onr medical read
ers, and shall only say of tho March number, that
it displays no less research and learning, combined
with practical instruction, than any of its predeces
sors. It is, in our opinion, the cheapest and most
valuable Reprint of Medical Science and Literature
offered to the American Medical Profession, and de
serves a liberal support.
The London Quarterly Review. Am. Ed., vol.
XXXI, No. 1, for January, 1819. New York :
Leonard Scott & Cos.
We have been exceedingly interested in this num
ber of the “ London Quarterly,” ever one of the
ablest and most liberal of the British Reviews. The
first paper is a detailed account of tho “ London and
North-western Railway,” and a more attractive ar
ticle we have seldom read. Familiar as we have
been for years, with rail-way operations, we are ab
solutely astonished at tho account given of this
splendid work, of its station-houses —some of them
covered with over an acre of plate glass !—its innu
merable trains of carriages—its thousands of porters,
clerks, &c.—its “wagon hospitals”—its coach de
partment—its locomotive factories —its flying post
offices, &o. If we did not know it to bo true, we
should very readily regard it as an “Arabian
Nights” story. Some extracts from this remarka
ble paper will appear in our columns, to afford our
readers an idea of English Rail-way operations. A
Review of Lavard’s book on “ Nineveh and its Re
mains,” is full of intorest, and makes us look with
eagerness for Mr. Putnam’s American Edition, al
ready announced-as in press. A spirited paper on
“ Vanity Fair,” and “Jane Eyre,” will repay pe
rusal. Papers on “ Austria nnd Germany,” and ou
“Public Instruction in Franco,” possess much val
ue—and the concluding notice of “ The Castlereagh
Papers” will interest those rcuders who are familiar
w ith tho character and services of the distinguished
nobleman whose name they bear.
Blackwood’s Magazine, for February. New
York: Leonard S'cott & Cos. t
An excellent number of the ablest Magazine in
the world. “ The Caxtons” interest the reader a;:
much as ever, and the story does credit to the pen of
its great author. We have, also, “ Statistical Ac
counts of Scotland,” a fine paper on “ The Cos
sacks,” an nppreciatory Review of Mrs. Jameson's
“Poetry of Sacred and Legendury Art,” some
“ American Thoughts on European Revolutions,”
[which we incline to think are more English than
American,] un instructive article on “Dalmatia
and Montenegro,” a capital notice of “ Dr. Beattie’s
Life of Campbell”—itself a spirited Review of the
life and genius of the poet. These are followed by
“Tho English Universities and their Reforms”—a
beautiful Poem by “ Delta,” [Dr. Moir,] and a brief
paper on “ The Carlists in Catalonia.”
©uc Booh liable.
tjf Publishers and Authors who desire to have tJ Fr
Books noticed in this Gazette are requested to send cop
ies to Editor through Stringer Townsend, New-York
’ or Carey &. Hart, Philadelphia.
-
Industrial Exchanges and Social Remedies, with
a Consideration of Taxation. By Dav. Parish
Barbydt, Author of “ Letters from Europe.”—
One vol. 12 mo., pp. 238. New York. Georg*
P. Putnam.
This volume is devoted to a view ot Free Trade
and Protection, in thoir economic and social rather
than political aspects. The author was a member
of the first Congres des Economistes of Nations,
assembled at Erussels, in 1847, and brings to the dis
cussion of this important subject considerable talent,
extensive information and a very de
gree of candor. He advocates entire freedom of ex
changes. Among the topics touched upon are :
Consumption, Capital, Land, a Home Market for
our Cotton, Farmers, Protection, California Gold.
’ Free Banking, Cost of Protection, Socialisms, Free
Labor, Indirect and Direct Taxation, &c. The
; work is well written, and is worthy the attention of
those who are interested in the questions discussed
Elements of Agriculture : For the use of Prim
ary and Secondary Schools. From the French ot
L. Bentz and A. J. Chreteen de Roville, By h.
G Skinner. Philadelphia—Carey &. Hart.
This little manual will doubtless be acceptable to
teachers who have long desired an Elementary work
on Agriculture—that pursuit which occupies the at
tention of so large a portion of the people. It ap
pears to be well adapted to its purpose—embracing,
in a series of questions and answers, the first priu
ciples of Agriculture. It is highly approved by the
Translator—himself no small authority iu such mat
ters
{so~The above Books are dold by W.'N White.
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