Newspaper Page Text
IT TF.fi ARY
- temperance (Erusailer.
PENFIELD, GEORGIA.
L. LINCOLN A EAZEY, Editor
THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 22, 1858,
ARE WE A HAPPY PEOPLE? The frequen
cy with which this adjective is applied to
themselves by Americans, might lead one to re
turn a ready affirmative to this query. In fourth
of July Orations, Thanksgiving Sermons, lauda
tory essays on our power and greatness, and in
Buncombe Speeches upon all occasions, nothing
is more common than the mention of us as a hap
py people. But what of the loose manner in
which the expression is used, and the natural
inclination of people to .consider their condition
better than their neighnor’s we must allow’ a con
siderable abatement from what the words would,
in their fullest sense, imply.
We are possessed of many blessings and sur
rounded by many circumstances which should
render us contented and happy. We have a fer
tile country, wdiere every man is free to earn his
bread by labor, untrammelled by the tyranny
which monied capitalists impose. Every one can
engage in the occupation to which the bent of
his genius directs him, in the confident assurance’
that a few years of industrious application to his
employment will give him a competency for old
age. Enterprising in character and of industri
*ous habits, our people have been eminently sue- I
eessful in whatever they have undertaken. The
unparalelled progress they have made in conquer
ing a wilderness and in carrying the refined com
forts of civilized life to spots lately occupied by
the hut of the savage, has excited the wondering
admiration of the world. But these very char
acteristics, though essential to success in every
enterprise, are among the chief causes of our un
happiness. The mastering desire of being en
gaged in something that will pay, involves the
American in continual speculations, which of
course produce endless anxieties and harassing
cares. The English gentleman is content to live
a life of luxurious idleness, hunting, fishing and ■
playing chess, upon his income of five thousand a j
year, accruing from an entailed estate. Not so ‘
our countryman. No amount of wealth, however
large, will ever render him satisfied. If the dying j
parent leaves his heir a million, five out of ten j
will spend their lives in hard labor and comfort
denying parsimony to make that million two. ;
With a rare aptitude for making money, our peo-,
plo seem to have a constitutional aversion to ex- j
changing it for anything like real happiness.
No people can be liappy who keep their ener- j
gies continually bent on the practical business of
Hfe. The ancients, deeply sinsible of this fact,
had in every city some place of public amuse
ment, and oft-recurring festivals relieved them
from the tension of their mental and physical
systems which their occupations produced. But
this the Americans appear to have ignored. Hav
ing set themselves to w’ork for the accomplish
ment of a certain end, there is no pause, no in
termission. When the hqly stillness of the Sab.
bath comes, and the bell calls them to the house
of worship, they may obey its summons. But not
seldom, when the knees bow’ and the lips syllable
words of prayer, the mind is far away upon fields
and ledgers, briefs and prescriptions. It is to this
unremitted application to business that our peo
ple are indebted for their recognition everywhere
by their clouded brow’s and care-worn countenan-
Wealt]i, as gives the means of comfort and
ease, ought to produce contentment; yet, ki
truth, national wealth is no index of the happi
ness of a people. A few centuries since, the mines
jo f Peru and Mexico poured into the lap of Spain
an unprecedented heap of treasure, which ren
dered her of a sudden the richest nation in the
world. But this golden stream surely, though
slowly, undermined the bulwarks of her power.
The sons of the hardy conquerors of Granada, who
tpKlelimbpd the heights of the Andes and sounded
the tocsin of war amid the palaces of Montfeuma,
degenerated under the corrupting influences of
luxury, until they became the most slothful, un
warlike and unhappy nation of Europe. Such
are the effects of a superfluity of wealth upon any
country. Accordingly, we find that as our peo
ple become richer - they grow more discontented;
and we are not surprised when we hear the old
lament that the days of primitive simplicity have
jqrever past, when poverty was the lot of all, and
prudence a necessary virtue. As yet, we have
jaot attained a degree of wealth that renders lux
ury a national evil, but sufficient to be an impor
tant element of unhappiness. Why is this? Not
because riches naturally and inevitably produce
misery, but because in our eagerness to acquire
the art of making money, we have neglected the
’far-more desirable art of converting that into hap
piness.
Much is undoubtedly owing to constitutional
temperament. The lazzaroni of Italy, in the
balmiest of climates and amid scenery that in
spired the lofty genius of a Raphael and. an An
gelo, draws out a life of brutish enjoyment, ignor
ant alike of sorrow and shame. Let the Span
iard have a guitar in his hand and two pence in
his pocket, apd he would not change his condi
tion to sit on the throne of the Ctesars, or to revel
in the gay pleasures of Cordovan palaces. But
make an American poor, and you make him mis
erable. It is net the comforts and ease which
riches bring that he especially craves. There is
pertaining to them some idea ol magic power
which is never clothed in words and which never
takes a real form, yet, constantly urges him on
in the pursuit.
A love of novelty, one of the most striking
traits qf the American character, is a fruitful
source of unhappiness. They seldom remain con
tented in one position for a length ol time, even :
though at first it gave unmixed satisfaction • This j
loudness soy something new keeps them perpet
ually changing or anticipating change, and im
pels many to adopt a stylo of living beyond their
means. The young Miss who has spent a lew
v quarters at a boarding school finds the country
too dull, and persuades papa to take a house in
town, for which his tastes arc as much unsuited
as his income is inadequate. The farmer settles
in the woods, and after years of hardships, suc
ceeds in collecting around him the necessaries and
some of the comforts of life, when he hears of
some more fertile land a few miles to the west
ward, and breaks up and hurries off to fight his
battles over again. The merchant, lawyer or
physician will break evei’y tie of friendship in
order to attain a situation a little more lucrative.
Such is the moving and removing that for a man
to live in one place for the whole period of a long
life, is so rare a thing as to be matter of wonder.
free and liberal character of our political
institutions seems to render them well calculated
to promote the happiness of a people; and so
are. Yet, there are some parts of our Gov
ernmental Constitution, the practical working
pf >yliich pu c|uces effects precisely the reverse.
Ths apparent instability qf the whole fabric is
a source of uneasy anxiety to every patriot. The
frequency of elections upon which important re
sults hang, keeps the public mind havrassecl by
thq most painful suspense. Scarce has one cloud
of political trouble melted harmlessly away, when
| another is seen rising in lowering darkness,
j With the introduct ion of every important bill in-
Ito our National Council, tlie mass of the people
i are terrified bytlirea toning rumors of disruption
and civil war, industriously spread by the design
ing men who manufacture all our cries. The
generation which is now transmitting to its sue
cessor the noble inheritance of a matchless con
stitution, knows not but in less than a year it
will be scattered to the winds and the soil
drenched with fraternal blood. The throne of
Louis Napoleon erected on a slumbering volcano
within which the repressed fires roll in seething
waves, is scarce more insecure than the fabric of
American power in this day of hot-headed, malig
nant fanataci-m.
From a review of all these facts, one must come
to the conclusion that we are not that happy
people which our orators and newspaper para
graphists claim us to be. Yet, that we are not
so, is a fault—not a misfortune. In the means of
happiness, we are second to no nation on the
globe, while in many important particulars we
are far superior to them all. A wide extent of
fertile territory, yielding every variety of product
necessary for subsistence or comfort, free and lib
eral institutions, a government —one of the best
which the world can boast—a dissemination of
knowledge, which, for thoroughness and univer
sality, is elsewhere unknown, religious freedom
in its fullest sense, without a reserving clause,
are some of the rare, inestimable blessings which
we enjoy. Yet, with all these high advantages,
we are to-day the most discontented, if not the
most unhappy, people on whom the sun shines.
A cold snap visited us last week which threat- ;
ened very seriously the longer existence of fruits ;
and vegetables. It passed off, however, with |
material injury, and we have now beautiful and
growing weather.
Arthur's Home Magazine for May received. This j
number completes the charming tale, “ The ‘
Young Governess,’'” by T. S. Arthur, which has :
been continued for some six months. Four !
copies of this monthly may be had for Five Dol
lars.
Mrs. B. M. Sanders, of our village, has sent to
our office several stalks of wheat headed out, and
measuring three feet in height. Her crop of
wheat is very promising and remarkably forward
—nearly all being now in head. Mrs. S. has ac
quired the reputation of being a most thorough,
systematic and energetic farmer, and no one
who passes by her beautiful when Mi eld will be ;
disposed to dispute her claim to the title.
Godey’s Lady s’ Booh for May presents rare and
varied attractions. It docs no dishonor to the
“excelsior” which he claims for a motto. (Sub
scriptions may begin at any time. Price, 53.00 a
year.
#
A native Japanese, Samuel Si there, was J
baptised at Madison University, in New York, by j
Prof. Harvey, a few days ago. He is to return to
Japan as a Missionary.
Both houses of the Virginia Legislature
have passed a bill providing for the employment
at the discretion of the Governor, of free negro
convicts in the Penitentiary, on the public works
and to make the same disposition of slaves sen
tenced to transportation. This bill will relieve
the States South of Virginia from the sale into
their limits of slaves convicted of felony.
Tiif. Public Buildings at Washington.— A cor
respondent says—
“ It must be remarked that these Government
buildings which are in oourso of improvement at
such an enormous expense to the country, and
which are to be future monuments of our great
ness, besides expresions of the advanced taste
and architectural skill of our time, will also tend
to create a deeper interest among the people in a
seat of government which is costing them so much.
They also tend to silence the race of greedy, pov- \
erty-stricken brawlers for disunion, who cannot
afford to abandon it, and who, I am happy to ob
serve, are growing loss numerous, less conspicu
ous, and more generally despised with every de
monstration they make. Their voico is scarcely
even now heard.”
ffTMMENSE as is the fame of Washington, we
_L arc unwilling that it should be shared with
Edward Everett.”
This is the concluding sentence of an editorial
notice of Hon. Edward Everett in the Savannah
Georgian, which is the strangest mixture of pane
gyric and abuse we have ever seen. One line is
praise which would he extravagant, were it bes
towed on someone less deserving, and the next,
some unjust and ungenerous censure. This we
conceive to be unworthy of any one who lays
claim to patriotism or liberality of sentiment.
Mr. Everett cannot be expected to have agreed
with us of the South upon every question of poli
tics, and some of his words and deeds may de
servedly meet our disapproval. But is it not a
very improper time to express this censure, when
he comes among us, not as a politician, but as a
private man to lay his stone upon the cairn of
one whose memory every American mqst delight
to honor? lie who can bring up petty accusa
tions against such a man at such a time would not,
in point of bigotry, be an unworthy associate of i
Sumner, Banks or Greely.
But, however unwilling the Georgian may be, j
the fame of Edward Everett will be embalmed j
and perpetuated with that of the father of his 1
country by this noble effort of genius. It will;
rise above the criticisms of those who can sec no j
merit in it, because its author may, at some time !
in the past, have spoken something which a
Southerner eould not endorse. Mr. Everett’s
political career is not a perfect model of consis
tency ; his name in history may not be unspot
ted ; but his oration on the life and character
of Washington coidd cover a much greater mul
titude of faults.
Disturbance at a Baptism. —The rite of bap- j
tism was adminstered on Sunday, at Providence, j
to over fifty persons. At Thurbcr’s Pond, where i
number of persons from the I ourth Baptist;
Church wore immersed, about three thousand per-1
sons were assembled, half of whom were Irish, as
Miss < arroll, who was converted from-the Catlio
lie to the Protestant faith some time ago, was one j
of the persons to bo baptized. On entering the ;
water says the Providence Journal, she wasinsui- \
ted with cries of “kill her,” “drown her,” Ac.,
the crowd being with difficulty kept behind a
roue which was drawn to keep them from the
shore After the ceremony, the carriage which
conveyed Miss Carroll to her residence was fol
lowed by a large crowd of Irish Jhc presence
of the police, however, prevented any further dis
turbances.
How disgraceful docs such an exhibition of
bigotry appear in this age, which claims to be
enlightened. The world seems slow in learning
practically that every man should have a right to
his own opinion. Religious freedom is vouch
safed to every citizen of our land, and the secu
lar arm is not raised to bind the schismatic to the
stake; but the spirit of Bonner and Beaton burns
fiercely in many a breast.
jj@KThe Georgia Railroad and Banking Com
pany have declared a dividend of three percent,
|3P"Many men want wealth —not a competence
alone, but a jive-story competence. Everything sub
serves this; and religion they would want at a
sort of lightning rod to their houses, to ward off,
by and by the bolts of divine wrath.
MANY persons arc in the habit of supposing
that things really arc what they would have
them be. This is a prolific source of error. T.hey
sometimes work themselves up into, such a state
of belief by the intensity of their desires, but
more frequently fall into it imperceptibly to them
selves. So usual is it, however, for men to see
things through the medium of their wishes, that
the clause, “ I hope it may not be- so,” often
added to some gossipping report, is always un
j derstood to man exactly the reverse.
A young man meets a lady in society, perhaps
I amid the crowded hall where pleasure holds her
; gay revels. His admiration is won by the peer
: less beauty that has moulded every feature, and
the nymph-like grace that marks her every move
ment. In the warm glow of his youthful imagi
nation, he pictures forth a soul as lovely as that
outward form, and worships her as its possessor.
In humble adoration he bows before her, and his
heart thrills with an untold joy when he is ac
knowledged as her accepted lover. When too
late he finds that she, upon whom he lavished
j the richest affections of his nature, was but a cre
| ation of his fancy. He formed his ideal of what
| she should be, and in the fervor of his feelings,
imagined she was so.
; A lady forms an attachment for a young man
, whose only marks of merit are a fine appearance
; and an easy address. Beyond this, she knows
nothing of his antecedents or private character.
But a charitable imagination is ready to fill the
void of her ignorance, and invests him with every
manly virtue. The wonderings of a gossiping
public, the admonitions of her friends and the op
position of her parents are all disregarded. She
weds him, and during years of bittor anguish la
ments her fatal error.
Men frequently make statements even in the
deliberative coolness of Witten composition,
which are utterly at variance with truth. This I
is not done from any disposition to promulgate !
falsehood; it is done in a spirit of sincere lion;
esty, but they allow themselves to be deceived by
their prejudices. From this cause some of the
grossest errors in politics, morals and religion have
been advocated and sustained by those who truly
believe what they profess. Thus it is throughout
the world that men are continually deceiving
and being deceived because of this inveterate pro
pensity to think things are what they wish them
to be.
“ Devils damned firm concord hold,
Men only disagree of creatures rational,”
SAID Milton in his sublime song. Whatever !
truth the remark may contain, in regard to |
the satanic hosts, of whom it was spoken, it is ;
eminently true of the dwellers on our sphere.
Bad men can be linked together by stronger
bands than ever connect the. virtuous. Pirates,
smugglers and robbers of every class will stand
by each other with a faithfulness which neither
threats or bribes can induce them to break.
Sometimes they prove false and traitorous, but
these arc rare exceptional cases.
Honest men often condemn with much severity
vices in others of which they are guilty. Act
ing as they do in opposition to the dictates of
their right judgment, they conceive no prejudice
in favor of their own course of conduct. Not so
with the wicked. They will defend, extenuato
and excuse those who resemble them in moral
complexion. They will spare no pains in screen
ing each other from justice, and will not scruple
to disregard their duties, as citizens, to discharge
the obligations which their companionship im
poses.
“Birds of a feather will Hock together,” is an
adage as old as our language. True to the letter
is it in its general application to mankind; yet, it
always struck us as more true of the vile and
worthless than of any other class. There seems
to be some mysterious magnetism that draws
them together with the most assured certainty,
and he who seeks to hold communion with such,
needs no credentials to introduce himself to their
acquaintance. These he carries in his face, in
every word and deed.
j&@rA man named Robinson was sent to the
penitentiary four years, by the Court in session
this week in Atlanta.
4®*Tlie largest room in the world is the great
tobacco store at the London docks. It is said to
cover six acres, and all under one roof.
jggpA terrible storm of rain and wind passed
over Auburn, Ala., on Sunday last, destroying
property to a great extent.
pj&r'Tlie Episcopal Bishopof New York con
firmed five hundred and fifteen persons in the week
ending Easter Tuesday.
Thomas alias Spaulding, has been
convicted in New York of kidnapping a free ne
gro and selling him as a slave in Richmond, Va.
Courier states that the gross receipts of
the Washington lecture of Edward Everett in
Charleston, amount to one thousand nine hun
dred and four dollars.
jjgy-The first railway In Turkey, that from
Smyrna to Aidin, which will be about 70 miles in
length, and which will open out the rich plateau
of Asia Minor, has begun under very favorable
auspices.
gfsgrTlie Columbus Enquirer learns from the Sex
ton of that city that there has not been a death
within the corporate limits since the Pftli of Feb
ruary last. Columbus contains a population of
near ten thousand.
—
fIT*A new Post Office, called Midway, has
been established in Jackson county, upon the
river road leading from Athens to Jefferson about
9 miles from the former place. John Kinney is
Post Master,
|WThe Rev. R. L. llreck, pastor of the Pres
byterian church in Macon, has been induced by
the earnest entreaties of his congregation and a
proffer to increase his salary, to withdraw his let
ttr resigning the charge.
gtgKTwo men named Jones and Cobb luivo been
arrested in Atlanta, on suspicion of commit ing
the assault on Samuel Landrum, from which lie
died.
B3F“ Jesse Stowers, a citizen of Columbus, made
an attempt to commit suicide, by shooting him
self in a tit of delirium tremens lately. The ball pen
etrated his left breast, but ho was alive at Inst ac
counts.
| jgigpTho Boston Post declares that the editor
who threatened to write two oolumns a week
about Kansas, unless his delinquent subscribers
paid up, says that every one has squared up his
account, and three hundred and seventy pdid for
one year in advance.
J3f"A number of Free Masons have formed an
association in Philadelphia for the purpose of
orecting a monument to the memory of Dr, Kane
on some public*gv° und in that oity. It is to be
of marble and one hundred feet in height. It is
oxpeotedtbat the work will be completed and
dedicated with Masonic honors in about three
years. Lady Franklin, the widow of Sir John
Franklin, has written a letter offerlug to contri
bute to the fund.
ffWlt is said in Washington that George F.
1 Morris, of New York, the amiable and accom
plished poet and song writer, has been presented
> by nearly all ?the:delegation of New York as a
suitable candidate for the Consulate at London,
■ England.
i
, learn from the Columbus Sun, that on
Saturday evening last, an affray occurred at Mid
. way, Barbour county, Ala., between Mr. Beasly
and Wm. Pickett, in which Beasly received a
i stab at’the hands of Pickett, causing his death in
a short time.
A man named Lee, charged with abduct
ing slaves, has been convicted at Norfolk, Ya, on
four indictments and sentenced to receive fifty
stripes, publicly laid on, at the rate of five a day,
and to be confined in the penitentiary for twenty
five years
Flora is walking abroad and with lavish hand
scattering her rich adornings, varied in thousands
of hues, over field and woodland. Appropos of
this most lovely season of flowers, we find these
little poetic gems in Unssct’s Magazine.
LILY, KALMIA AND AZAL.T.A.
Not a flower
But. hath its moral. Oh ! your Turks were light,
Who wrote theirloves in flowers. They have a speech,
In hue and form and scejit, which, would we learn,
Were all so many lessons for the soul,
No less than heart. Now look on yonder fillies—
The pictures of complacent vanity,
Beautiful idiots swimming with the stream.
And for a perfect show of mirth and beauty,
Behold the Kalmia, the Azahea !
THE PATAYA.
Ah! She seems,
t So supercieilious in her gracefulness,
So proud in harmony of beauty—like
The bine-eyed damsel slender at sixteen.
With all love’s roses glowing in her cheeks,
And all love’s fires enkindling in her heart,
Yet check'd by modesty and prudent fear,
Simply erect and,, proud as she appears,
Not wanton.
JBSUA certain man went to a Dervish and pro
posed three question : First—“ Why do they say
that, God is omnipresent ? Ido not see Him in
any place—show me where lie is. Second—Why
is a man punished for crime, since whatever he
does proceeds from God ? Man has no free will,
for lie cannot do anything contrary to the will ot
God, and if he had power he could do everything
for his own good. Third—How can God punish
Satan in hell fire, lie is formed of that element?
and what impression can fire make tin itself?
The Dervish took up a large clod of earth and
! struck him on the head with it. The man went
j to the Cady and said:
j “ I proposed three questions to such a Dervish,
i who (lung a clod of earth at my head which
! made my head ache.”
! The Cady having sent for the. Dervish, asked j
of him : “ Why did you throw that clod of earth j
at his head, instead of answering his question ? ;
The Dervish replied :
“ The clod of earth was ail answer to his speech, j
Ho says lie has a pain in his head—let him show
that to me and J will make God visible to him.
And who does he exhibit a complaint against ?
Whatever I did was the act ol‘God, and I did not
strike without the will of God. Wliat power do
I possess? And as he is a compound of the :
earth, how can he suffer from that element ?
——i
Gratuitous. —Most of the ‘advice’ afloat is writ- f
ten for wives alone, but tlio following is to the ;
other side of the house, and meets with our
hearty sanction : “ When your wife begins to ,
scold,” let her have it out. Put your feet cosily |
before the five place, 101 l back in your chair, light j
one of your best cigars, and let the storm rage on !
—say nothing, make no reply to anything.”
Well a little more advice if you please. Hav
ing placed yourself in that position, reflect wheth
er you deserve the thunder about your ears, and
if so (which is probably the case,) put your feet
gently down, cease your lolling, put out your
cigar, kiss your little wife, and endeavor to be a
better husband. That’s the way we would do if
we had one.
Wendell Holmes on Controversy—“ If a fel
low attacked my opinions in print, would I reply ?
Not I. Do you think I don’t understand what
my friend, the Professor, long ago called the liy
dorstatic paradox of controversy ? Don’t know
what that means ? Well I’ll tell you. You know
that if you had a bent tube one arm of which was
the size of a pipe stem, and the other big enough
to hold the ocean, water would stand at the same
height in one as in the other. Controversy equal
izes fools and wise men in the same way, and the
fools know it.”
Telegraphing. —lmprovement follows improve
ment in this wonderful field of science. Edward
Ilighton, Civil Engineer of England, has recently
obtained a patent for, first sending telegraphic
messages both ways through one and the same
wire at the same instant, without in any way in
terfering with each other; secondly, for prevent
ing the destruction of a wire in the sea or under
ground ; and thirdly, for mending a„ telegraphic
wire in mid-ocean without l'aising it out of the
mud. New telegraphic instruments have also
been constructed, intended for the use of railroads,
fire arms, and police stations. The instrument is
fixed in a small box provided with a dial and
pointer. The alphabet is marked on the dial and
around the latter keys arc arranged in a circle.
A merit claimed for this invention is, that any
person, without previous experience, can readily
forward and receive messages. On touching a
key, the pointer moves to the corresponding let
ter on the dial. The power employ eel is electric
ity, and all clock work machinery is dispensed
with. An ordinary ticket agent, conductor or
engineer, or any pei’son who can read*, can ope
rate the instrument as i*eadily as an accomplished
telegrapher.— Baltimore American.
The Leopard’s Attack. —The power of a Leop
ard is in proportion to his weight. I have seen a
bullock with its neck broken by the Leopard
that attacked it. It is the popular belief that the
effect is produced by a blow of the paw. This is not
the case. Few Leopards rush boldly to the at
tack, like a dog. They stalk their game, and ad
vance croucbingly, making use of eveiy object
that will afford them covei’, until they are within
a few bounds of their prey. Then the immense
power of muscle is displayed in the concentrated *
energy of the spring. He flies through the air
and settles on the throat, usually throwing lx is
own body over the animal, while his teeth and
claws are fixed on the neck ; this is the manner
in which the spine of the animal is broken, by a
sudden twist, and not by a blow. The blow from
the paw is, nevertheless, immensely powerful, and
one stroke will rip open a bullock like a knife, but
the effects of the wound are still moi’e to be
dreaded than the force of the blow. Thei’c is a
peculiar poison in the claw, which is highly dan
gerous. This is caused by the putrid flesh which
they are constantly tearing, and which is apt to
cause gangrene by ivioculation. — Burkcr’s Wander
ings in Ceylon.
The Evil op a Bah Temper. —A bad temper is
a curse to tlxe possessor, and its influence is most
deadly wherever it isfoxxnd. It is allied to mar
tyrdom to be obliged to live with ouo of a com
plaining temper. To hear one eternal round of
complaint and murmuring—to have every pleas
ing thought scared away by their evil spirit—is a
sore trial. It is like the sting of a scorpion—a
perpetual nettle, destroying your peace, render
ing life a burthen. Its influence is deadly; and
the purest and sweetest atmosphere is oon lami
nated into a deadily miasma wherever this evil
genius prevails. It has beou said truly that while
wo ought not to lot the bad temper of others in
fluence us, it would be as unreasonable to spread
a plaster of Spanish flies upon the skin and not
expect it to draw, as to think of a family not suf
feririg because of the bad temper of any of its in
mates. One string out of tune will destroy the
music of an instrument, otherwise perfect—so if
all the members of a church neigliboi’ood and fam
ily do not cultivate a kind and affectionate tem
per, there will be discord and every evil work.
Ex-President Pierce writes from Madeira that
the climato of that Island continues to prov
highly beneficial to the health of Mrs. i lerce.
It has been estimated, says a paper,
that double the quantity of ice has been ou * JJjf
year than during any former season.- •
of Medford, has housed four hundred and fifty
hundred thousand tons at Spot Pond; and othex
parties have cut one hundred thousand on.
moie.
, LADIES’ OLIO.
Not at Home.
BY MRS. M. A. DENISOV. -*-*•*--
Mrs. G rancor, Mrs. Dr. West, and .Mrs. Leo, all
happened to meet at the residence of Lawyer
Grand, one morning. They were fashionable
women, and of course making fashionable calls.
Mrs. Grand’s first impulse was to be “not at
home,-’ as she felt somewhat indisposed, but on
second thought contrived to infuse a little
animation inty her pretty features, and crept
down stairs. The ladies, however, were so cordial
and so chatty, that Mi’s. Lawyer Grand did not
regret having made the effort,
i . Conversation for once took an unexpected turn
i instead of wasting exclamations upon that Mrs.
! Upham’s extravagant bonnet, of Miss Smith, the
little flirt’s new moire antique, the theme was.
“Notat home.”
Mrs. Granger declared she could see no harm
in such a very little white lie, for in one sense
people were not at home—to ccmpany! She found
it a most convenient thing for bores, and if she
had a headache, or wanted a day for herself, she
did not scruple to use it.
“ I shall remember that 1” said Mrs. Lee, laugh
ing.
“Oh ! to my intimate friends 1 am, of course,
always at home,” replied Mrs. Granger, blushing
scarlet—“but now confess, you dear piece of
property, that you use this subterfuge occasion
ally. You certainly cannot always see your im
mense circle of visitors at home.”
“I certainly cannot; but I believe I never sent
that message to the door but once, and for that
once,” she continued, a painful look crossing her
sweet face, “ I shall never forgive myself. It was
more than three years ago, and when I told my
servant that morning to say, ‘ Not at home’to
whoever might call, except she knew it was some
intimate friend, I felt my cheeks tingle, and the
girls look of surprise mortified me exceedingly.
But she went about her duties, and I about mine,
sometimes pleased that I had adopted a conveni
ent fashion by which I could secure more time to
myself, sometimes painfullly smitten with the re
proaches of my conscience.
“The day wore away, and when Mr. Lee came
home, he startled me with the news that a very
dear and intimate friend was dead.
“‘ It cannot be,’ was the reply, ‘for she ex
acted of me a solemn promise that I would, alone,
sit by her dying pillow, as she had a secret of
groat importance to reveal to me. You must be
misinformed; no one has been for me’ here
suddenly a horrible suspicion crossed my mind.
‘She sent for you, but you were not at home,’
said Mr. Lee. innocently; then he continued, ‘I
ain sorry for Charles, her husband; he thinks her
j distress was much aggravated by your absence,
: from the fact that she called ; your name pite
i Olisly. lie would have sought for you, but your
servant said she did not know where you had
gone. 1 am sorry. You must have been out
longer than usual, for Charles sent his man over
I here three times.’
“Never in all my life did I experience such
! loathing of myself, such utter humiliation. My
| servant had gone further than I, in adding falsc
j hood to falsehood, and 1 had placed it out of my
power to reprove her by my own equivocation. I
felt humbled to the very dust, and the next day
1 resolved over the cold clay of my friend, that I
would never under any circumstances say, ‘ Not
at home!’ ”
“ But did you find out the seerct ?” asked Mrs.
Granger.
“ Never; it died with her. It was in relation
to a little child in the family, and I have always
I felt a painful consciousness that I might have re
! ceived information by which the poor little thing
! could be greatly benefitted.”
Mrs. Granger untied her delicate bonnet strings
i and took to fanning herself with a lace handker
! chief. Mrs. Grand immdeiately arose and offered
I her a gorgeous Indian fan that lay on a little ta-
I ble near.
“ That reminds me,” said Mrs. Dr. West, “of a
! similar circumstance that occurred in my hus
; band’s practice. When wo first moved into the
i city, wo wove very intimate with the family of
j Justice Allen. They lived in the suberbs in a
! beaut iful mansion. The doctor called there quite
| often as a friend and acquaintance. Mrs. Allen
had but one child, a son, some five years old, a
little angel in appearance and disposition, and as
complete an idol as ever Shared the love of two
devoted hearts. One day my husband rode by
there, and as was his wont stopped a moment.
Anew servant who did not know him met him,
and told him the mistress was not at home; so he
rode off again. Home two hours after he came
home, and was surprised when I told him that
J udge Allen’s man had been after him long ago;
that Mrs. Allen was nearly crazy, and the child
dying, having accidentally swallowed poison. He
hurried back. The house was thronged with doc
tors, and little Eugene lay just breathing bis last.
He ascertained what time the accident occurred
and found that, had he not been misinformed at
the period of his first visit, he could easily have
saved his life. When Mrs. Allen learned that he
actually stood before her door at the very mo- I
ment she discovered that her child was .ill, her
reasoft forsook her, and she has never since fully
recovered. She li ad given strict orders that morn
ing that she was at home to no one; and, unfor
tunately,a physician could not be found till nearly
an hour too late.”
“ Dear me,” said Mrs. Granger, petulantly,
“what can one do when one’s visiting list is so
large?” and she drew the folds of a magnficent
cashmere shawl. “One would not like to send
down an excuse; for my part I don’t see how
you get along.”
“I do very well without resorting to a false
hood.”
“Oh! dear me; you can’t call it a lie!” ex
claimed Mrs. Granger, much mortified.
“Then what is it ?”
The calm, quiet tone quite nonplussed Mrs.
Granger. She pulled at her glove uneasily—
“ Why! it is—-why certainly—not exactly a lie!”
and then she hesitated.
“What else can you call it? Suppose I should
tell a friend who might happen to ask me, that
I had not visited Mrs. Grand to-day.”
“Why! of course it would be false.” Mrs.
Granger was growiug fidgety.
“Well, and where is the difference if Mrs.
Grand has sent word that she was not at home ?
Certainly wo should have felt bound to believe
the correct ness of the message.”
Mrs. Grand made a nice little mental promise
that perhaps she never would do so again.
“Besides.” chimed in Mrs. Lee, “I think it
leads to loss of confidence in one's friends. We
cannot tell those who would wantonly deceive
us, from others who for worlds would not give us
a false impression.”
“I must say I” exclamed Mrs. West, resolutely
buttoning her gloves, “it is an ugly way of dis
playing one’s partiality. For instance, I take
particular pains to call on Mrs. Granger to-day.
Sho is ‘not at home.’ I regret it, leave my card,
and to-morrow meet Mrs. Leo and Mrs. Grand,
and understand from them that they spent a de
lightful hour with Mrs. Granger. At the very
time that lady was not at home to me, they were
chatting quite cosily in her parlor.”
Mrs. Granger couched slightly, and became very
busy fingering her twitching her bonnet
strings, and manoeuvring in various ways previous
to retiring. 1, meantime, a silent and unseen
listener, jotted down the foregoing. Pephaps it
will not bo amiss to think of it.
Buss-osoriiY—Thojancients counted three kinds
of kisses: Basic., that between friends and rela
tives. Oscula, the kiss of veneration. Sua.xia, the
kiss proper—that between lovers. The monks
of the middle ages-- great theorists—divided the
kiss into fifteen distinct and separate orders . J.
The decorous, or modest kiss. 1 he diplomat
ic, or kiss of poUcy. 3. The spying kiss, to as
certain if a woman had drunken wine. 4. lfic
slave kiss. 5. The kiss infamous-a church pen
ance. fi. The slipper kiss, practised tow aids ty
rants. 7. The judicial kiss. 8. ‘l ie feuda kiss.
9 The religious kiss, (kissing the cross.) 10.
The academical kiss (on joining a solemn broth
erhood.) H. The hand kiss. 12. the Judas
kiss 13. The medical kiss—for the purpose of
healing some sickness. 14. The kiss ot etiquette.
15. The kiss of love—the only veal kiss. But
this Weis also to bo variously considered, viz: given
by ardent enthusiasm, as by lovers; by matnmo
nial affection: or lastly between two men-an
awful kiss, tasting like sandwiches without butter
or meat.
Woman’s soft haud my infant cradle spread,
Hor gentle cares bedecked my bridal bed ;
By woman let my dying hours bo nurst—
Her love tho last fond solace as the first.
An editor who has probably suffered some,
tells people how to stop a paper. He says: “ call
at the office and fork up arrearages and order it
stopped like a man, and not refuse to take.it out of
the Post Office and sneak away like a puppy.
FARMER’S COLUMN*
COMMERCIAL.
Charleston, April 17, 1 P. M.—COTTON—-Hol
ders arc unyielding, and prices aro full with a good de
mand. Sales to-day 1,000 bales at 12 to 12Jcent*.
Savannah, April 17.—Sales of Cotton 658 bales. The
market is quiet, but prices are unchanged. ..
Augusta, April 19.—COTTON—The transaction*
to-day amounted to only 182 bales: 23 at 105,2 at 11,
35 at 111, 97 at lli, 5 at Ilf, 12 at 12, 6 at 12* cent*.
Receipts 921 bales.
Remedy for Leaks. —A correspondent of the
Lynn News says:
“ Some years ago I had a leaking ‘ L.’ Every
north-east storm drove the water in. I made a
composition of four pounds of rosin, one pint lin
seed oil and one ounce red lead ; applied it hot
with a brush - to the part where the L joined the
main house. It has never leaked since. I then
recommended the composition to my neighbor,
who had a Lutheran window which leaked badly,
lie applied it, and the leak stopped. I made my
water cask tight by this composition, and have
recommended it for chimneys, windows, &c., and
it has always proved a cure for a leak.”
Economy in Bread.—Twenty-six pounds and
thirteen ounces of good bread have been made
from fourteen pounds of flower and one and a
halt pounds of rice, by the following method:
| feTie up the rice in a thick linen bag, allowing
it ample room to swell; boilfor three or four hours,
till it becomes a smoothe paste ; mix this while
warm with the flour, adding the usual quantity
of yeast and salt; allow the dough to rise near
the fire, and divide into loaves. It is affirmed on
high authority that flour thus treated will yield
fifty per cent, more bread than by the ordinary
method.
Calomel a Remedy for Pear Blight.—A corres
pondent of the Country Gentleman, writing from
Illinois, says they cure that scourge of the pear
tree, ‘fire blight,” as it is called, by carefully rais
ing the bark on the body of the tree, inserting a
small portion of calomel, and binding the bark in
its place; a double dose for a man to be given a
good sized tree. He has never known it to fail
when applied before more than half of the tree
| has been affected.
Tree Planting. —Thousands of trees will be lost
! that were planted last month,’ for the want of
■sufficient cutting back. Those who plant shade
and ornamental trees are too anxious to have a
perfect tree at once, and are loth to cut off beau
tiful limbs covered with evergreen foliage. It is
utterly impossible to take up a tree of any pre
tentions, without mutilating its roots and cutting
: its feeders. Each leaf and limb as it originally
stood, had its feeding mouths; but in taking it
up, those mouths were mostly destroyod, and the
leaf and limbs can receive no more nourishment
until new ones are formed; cut back the limbs in
proportion to the loss of roots, for notwithstand
ing the roots may appear to be entire, hundreds
of fibres are gone which must be re-formed before
the tree can show signs of growing life; out back
the limbs, even now it may not be too late to save
the tree. Hedges are often lost in the endeavor
to make a perfect hedge at once. Don't be
afraid to clip hedges, or cut back young trees
when you are planting them, you gain more growth
than you lose.— Cotton Planter.
Spring Chickens. —Spring chickens are edwaya
in active demand from May to September, in
the vicinity of all our cities, and the larger towns.
Qf course they are profitable to the farmers and
small landholders and cottagers who breed them.
This is a good month to set the hens, and hatch
them out. For this purpose, a warm hen-house,
and coops in sunny places are required. Let the
eggs be kept in a proper temperature, till the hen
is ready to sit on them. Thirteen is the proper
number for a clutch of chickens. When hatched
if milk curds can bo had, this is their best food.
If not, soaked bread for the first few days, and
after that, Indian meal well cooked, like mush
for your own table. Raw meal, wet up in the
usual way, is harsh and scourging for their deli
cate stomachs. When a few weeks old, chopped
cabbage, “sives,” and other tender vegetables,
are to be added, and sour milk is the very best
drink they can have. We would, by all means,
entrust the early chickens to woman's care. She
seems to possess the necessary instincts—worth
all the boys and men in the country. We have
known a Scotch, Dutch, or Irish washerwoman's
cottage, surrounded by a close wall, alive with
early chickens, when the gentleman’s and far
mer’s premises would scarcely supply a fowl for
the table before September. Don’t keep the
•‘big” breeds for “S2)ring chickens” either. A
close, compact, early matured fowl is the thing
for this purpose. In most large towns a plump,
fat chicken, the size of a quail, will sell for as
much in May or June, as a full-grown one will in
October; and if they only know you have them,
the tavern keepers and “peddlers will be after
them every day in the week. To the habit these
latter peoplo haveof confining them in close, fil
thy coops for days together, we enter our protest.
It is cruel to the chickens. It poisons and de
files the taste of the flesh. It makes them poor.
Exercise, good air, and plenty of good food they
should have, till wanted for the table; and every
one who keeps them on hand for immediate use,
should be well provided with yards, and roosting
accommodation. To make chickens edibly per
fect they should como upon the table plump,
j uicy, and full of their own natural gravy. * * Plump
as a partridge,” is the term which should always
be truthfully applied to the early chicken; and
if they be not so, half their excellence is lost,
while, if in perfection of flesh, they are a positive
luxury.— American Agriculturist.
Religious Instruction of Slaves.
One of the most interesting features of the re
cent meeting of clergymen and elders in this
city, was the statements made by them respec
tively, touching the condition of the slaves within
the Presbytery which each represented. It has
been over and over again charged by abolitionists
that planters retained the submissive obedience
of their , slaves by denying them all moral and re
ligious instruction. This body of respectable gen
tleman has given the lie to that.
Among other narratives was that of I)r. Gaines,
a Virginia planter, the owner of about one hun
dred slaves, and a most excellent elder of the
Presbyterian church. This gentleman detailed
at much length and with interesting minuteness,
his mode of instructing his slaves in moral and
religious duties. For more than eight years, to
assemble every Sunday morning, when he would
engage with them in singing and prayer, in read
ing and expounding to them the Bible, in teach
ing them to read—not neglecting while admon
ishing them of their duties as slaves, to inform
them what are the obligations upon him as their
master and owner. While he thus occupies an
hour or two every Sunday morning, his wife in
structs the littte negroes under the age of twelve.
The consequence of this instruction, according
to the testimony of this gentleman has been that
his slaves, as they make progress in correct ideas
of Christian duty, acquired by reading the Bible
or otherwise, improve in industry, obedience, af
fection for the master and mistress, Ac., &c
Southern ('‘then.
-
Movkv— Money is a queerinstitution. It buys
provender, satisfies justice, and heals wounded
honor. Everything resolves itself into cash from
stock jobbing to building churches. Childhood
craves pennies, youth aspires to dimes, manhood
is swayed bv the mighty dollar. The blaoksnnth
swings the sledge, the lawyer pleads for his client,
and the judgo decides the question for life and
death for his salary. Money makes the man,
therefore the man must make money, if he would
bo respected by fools - T for the eye of the world
looks through golden spectacles. It buys Brus
sels carpets, lace curtains, gilded cornices and
nice furniture, and builds marble mansions. It
drives us to church in splendid equipage and
pays the rents of the best pew. It buys silks and
jewelry for my lady. It commands the reßpeot
of gaping crowds, and insures obsequious atten
tion . It enables us to be charitable, to send bibles
to the heathen, and relieve domestic indigence.
It gilds the rugged scenes of life, and spreads
over the rugged path of existence a velvet carpet
soft toour tread—therude_ scenes of tumoil are en
cased in a gilt frame. It bids care vanish, soothes
the anguish of the bed of sickness, stops short of
nothing save the grim destroyer, whose relentless
hand spares none, but levels all mortal dittinc-t.
tion, and teaches poor weak humanity that it is.
but lust. Thus weath pauses on the birlph Os eter-.
nity,the beggar and the millionaire rest side bysido
beneath the sod, to rise in equality to. answer tb*
final summons.
Dr. Boyntom the scientific lecturer, is deliver
ing a course of lectures on Geology in Macon.