Newspaper Page Text
LITERARY
gtfupame dtrusalf J
PFiNFIELD, GSOHGX/1.
I LINCOLN VEAZEY, JSsesm
“Thursday morning, april 29,1053.
BIOGRAPHY has of late years received more
than any other class of writing.
Almost half the books that have been published
in this country during the last decade are of a
biographical form; and from its decided popu
larity with the reading public, we may suppose
there will be no diminution for the future. 7/hen
a from slight acquaintance with him
self that he is not a philosopher, and learns by
bitter experience that ho is not a poet, he turns
to writing either novels or biography. Some, un
fortunately for the cause of truth, make a com
mingling of the two, and thus produce a class of
works which no one can fully beliove or wholly
discard.
Did every one who undertakes to write biogra
phy entertain proper notions of what it requires,
ttfere would be much fewer scribblers in this field;
for is*is far from being one of inviting aspect to
an indolent student. Much laborious work
should be done before a line is written. Records
are to be consulted, authorities examined, all po6-
sable information gleaned from every source and
facts eliminated from the mass of hearsays and
traditions by which they are obscured. These
rcseai’clies should Bb made wivh a patient zeal,
carefully restrained from rising into enthusiasm.
When all this lias been done, (and it is indispen
sible to the production of a work of any worth,)
the biographer may begin to study lIOW lie nifty
present these facts in the most impressive man
lier. That few have the pmdence and industry
■to undergo this labor, is ft lamentable fact which
may be assigned as a cause for the comparative
rarity of excellence in works of this class.
, Critics express an endless diversity of opinion
as to what is a good biography. All are agreed,
however, that it is much more difficult to write
the history of a life unmarked by events, than
of one full of incidents. The reason is obvious. ’
Any pne could scribble long chapters about Na
poleon, because there is much to be told; but to
write three large volumes about a man, the
greatest event of whose life was a visit to a market
-town a score of mile3 from his home, requires
much ingenuity and high powers of invention.
u demands that kind of skill which can throw a
charm around the most trivial incident and make
i-evelsiious from the soul-history of the man.
When such powers as those aro brought to the
tusk, the memoirs of one who has passed his
days ill quiet seclusion, “far from the noisy crowd’s
ignoble strife,” may be rendered as entertaining
.as those of the warrior or statesman.
Tho truth is, there aro multitudes of biogra
tints written which can be neither of interest or
profit to the world. Many of them are tokens of
affection with which tho surviving seek to honor
the memory of the dead. This is an indulgence
of individual frelings at public expense. If Smith
feels proud that his friend or relative has spent a
life of usefulness and honest industry, he is at
.liberty to write an epitaph of any length and
iiave it inscribed on his tombstone. But he
should not insist upon every one to read three
hundred pages of fatiguing nonsense about what
the poor man did, and what he did not do. In
reading such a book, we generally have our res
pect for the subject diminished at every page;
and at its conclusion, we are unable to decide
which has tho larger share of our contempt, the
hero or the author.
* is a quality so rare in biography,
that ft * s nevcr expected. Even her more staid
Ind di Tniricd sistev - History, ofton ver Y PevcoP
tiblyttinctured by hero adoration, national pre
judice or P art Y B P irit - Eut most b 5o £ ra P hers
begin their work with the deliberate design of
finding much 10 praise and little to condemn.
It is not wonderfu. 1 ’ then, that many of the per
amages which they describe are more like the
fancy-drawn pictures Ot a romance than the truth
ful portraits of reality.
life written by an avowed
those whose claim to greatneU 3 the unanimous
verdict of tho world has a,ckm.''wledged, could
they arise from their graves, woi' ld bo moved
with just indignation at the injustie* 9 nave
received from their well-meaning admift >rs *
Biographers are much more apt to be too pro
lix than too concise; indeed, we know of no vr° rk
Yin which this latter fault prevails. Asa general
rule, if a man’s history can oo told in half-a-doaen j
pages, it is best told in that space. When mixed
‘up with hundreds of pages ot tho writer s senti
* mental reflections, it loses all its pithiness and
moral force. Some authors seem determined at
the outset to write a book of a ejertain size; and
1 hence, lay under contribution every kind of mat
. ter that Will swell its bulk. The Life of Dr. Johu
eon, by Boswell, that “ Prince of Biographers, ,r is
very diffuse without being very tedious; but there
are few men whoso every word and action could
be thus minutely described without creating dis
gust- _
gusu
The biographies of boiu© men are necessarily
histories of the times in which they lived. The
drama which they acted on the world’s stage can
not be represented without the introduction of a
multitude of other characters. Thus, a life of
Cromwell would be a. history of the civil war in
England; that of Washington, of the war of
American Independence; thakof Bonaparte, of
the French Revolution. He who would attempt
such works on a less expended scale, would mey
’ itably mar their beauty and detract from their
completeness. Os some other men, the biogra
phies would have nothing to do with any save a
very limited number within the immediate cir
cle of their influence. Some great geniuses, who
really deserve that their words and deeds should
be published, have revolved for the whole period
of their lives in nut shells, beyond which they
were never known. He who shall write a history
of the life of Samuel Rogers, extending as it did
over more than nine-tenths of a century, will
have little occasion to mention the great actors
who played important parts during that time.
He will have to tell of the gay, sportive fancy and
good-humored wit which rendered, his Breakfast
table a scene of intellectual feasting, and describe
the bright coterie of poets that were wont to as
semble there.
Autobiographies fire rare; yet, sufficiently nu
merous to authorize their recognition as a class of
literary productions. None have ever attained
even a medium rank in point of merit. They
Are either the immediate offspring of inordinate
self-love, or betray bo much of that principle as
to render them worthless as histories. They are
written with the express view of forestalling the
Y opinion of the world, with regard to the charac
ter of the writers, and, of course, anything like
truthfulness or candor cannot be expected. It is
a matter for our wonder and regret, that some
who possessed talents much above mediocrity have
been induced by egotism oi* vanity to leave tp the
world their estimate of themselves. None,'how
ever, have failed to produce a more unfavorable
impression than they would otherwise havAdone.
To posterity, the biographer 3b under a far
greater weight of responsibility than the histo
*2* D - 089 Ixm to describe r Atonal
| and record national glory, while the other has to
I deal with individual character alone. From the
I vast number of names that crowd tho historic
| P R gc, the reader may select his own model by
which to shape his conduct, while the deeds of
the wickod speak the language of warning. But
the biographer must hold up to view for admira
tion or contempt a'single personage. If ho is
recreant to his duty; if he bestows praise where
it is undeserved, and thus presents the example
of the vicious ns worthy ©f imitation, thereby be
getting a thirst for fame without virtue, he will
have a fearful penalty to pay, when arraigned at
the bar of eternal justice.
—■—
We return our thanks to Hon. Joshua Hill for
tho copies of a number of speeches.
The weather, since Thursday last, has been un
pleasantly cool, and two or three mornings there
were slight frosts. About 3 o’clock on Sunday
evening, a cold rain set in, which continued with
but little intermission, until twelve the following
day. At the time of writing, (Tuesday morning,)
there is a promise of clearing off, and we hope
spring will soon resume her sway.
The Augusta papers announce the death of Ed
ward Garlick, an old and much esteemed citjzen
of Burke county. lie had been Clerk of the In
ferior Court of that county for a long term of
years, and had held tho oftfee of Ordinary since
its creation.
©■■— ■ ——
The Southern Cultivator, is edited with an ability
equal, if not superior, to any similar journal in
our country. Its columns are always filled with
matter appropriate to the season. Published by
W. S. Jones, Augusta, Ga., at SI.OO a-year.
Crockett, the principal in the murder of
Landrum, vrliich occurred near Atlanta a
couple of weeks since, has been airested. lie
was taken near Talledega, Ala. by the officers
who pursued him, and has acknowledged liis
guilt, making a full confession of all the circum
stances. It seems that they knew nothing of
Landrum, and the only motive for attacking him
was to get his money, which, when obtained,
they found amounted to only jifty-fivc cents. Sueh
an atrocious Set of cold-blooded villany should
be punished with all the rigor of the law.
Perim a small island in the Straits of Babel
Mandeb, is just at this time one of the most
important points on the globe. It is owned by
the Ottoman Government, but has been occupied
for several years by the English, who are inter
ested in holding it, as it is an impassable barrier
to the canal route contemplated by the French,
across the Isthmus of Suez, flie French Govern
ment is now engaged in negotiations with, both
the British and Turkish Governments to effect
its abandonment by the former; and it is thought
by thoso who have read tho signs of the times,
that a continued occupation by the British will
produce a rupture between tho two powers, which
were latelyjoined in such a close league of amity.
-
TnE Fly Leaf, the neat little periodical, pub
lished by the senior class of College Temple, New
nan, Ga., has been changed from a semi-annual
to ft quarterly. It has suffered no 1033, either in
the beauty of its mechanical execution, or the
chase tastefulness of its literature, by the shor
tened time in which it has been gotten up. AVe
are gratified to know that the young ladies have
met with sueh encouragement in their efforts, as
to authorize this change.
A bill has passed both houses of the Maine leg
islature in relation to marriage, which repeals the
existing law, and requires that parties'intending
marriage shall deposit a notice ot their intention
with the clerk of the towns in which they respec
tively reside, and he to enter the same in a book
kept for that purpose—said notice to remain on
file five days; at the end of which time, it no
legal objections are interposed, the clerk can
issue a certificate, when the parties can bo mar
ried.
Tuts may be as unpopular among the masses,
as another Maine Lazo has ,beeh proven to be; but
we nevertheless think it calculated to produce
some desirable results. It would, without a doubt,
prevent many hasty, ill-advised and ruinous
matches, and render the instances of filial diso
bedience in the matter of marriage far less fre
quent.
EXTENSIVE reading is antagonistic, rather
than promotivc of independence of thought.
Few persons will peruse books winch are known
to combat their previously formed opinions, and
accordingly, they seldom fail to adopt what they
read. It is from this cause that the whole world
has become divided, in this respect, into only two
classes —leaders and followers. A few master
jninds do all the thinking for the human race.
There is an ease in following which renders it
always preferable to indolent spirits. Opposition
requites an amount of energetic labor, which none
but those who have strong wills of their own ever
undertake. There are researches to be made,
investigations to bo instituted and all the argu
ments brought up whieli will give to their reason
ing the stronger appearances. With many, too,
there is a distrust of their own judgment. Peo
ple who think and reason for themselves, seldom
become bigots. - They know so well the dimness
of the light by which they are guided and the
uncertainty of each step, that they are little dis
posed to blame others for not adopting their
opinions. Had men in all ages have thought for
themselves, history would have been saved the
foul stain which bigotry has loft on her pages.
There is a pleasure in independent thought
which, were it not a duty, would render it still
desirable, ft relieves one of those multiform
vacillat ions and waverings to which those who
are dependent on others for their opinions, are
always subject. A man who relics upon his judg
ment may bo often erroneous, but seldom incon
sistent. What is his opinion on a given subject
to-day, will be no less his opinion to-morrow, or
next month or next year. For this, he will be
just as apt to give a good reason as if he had
read a dozen volumes to strengthen his position.
We would not discourage reading. It is the
duty of all to read, as it is a species of mental
training which nothing else can supply. But one
should not rely exclusively on this means of im
provement. Thinking is more indispensable than
reading, and does far more toward giving the
fully developed proportions tp ; the mind which
its Creator designed it should attain.
J. Charlton, of Georgia, has been
appointed an Assistant Surgeon in the U. S.
Navy. ** ,
jggr-The chairs of the New Hall of Representa
tives, at Washington cost S7O each and the desks
S9O each.
H§gThpi deposits in the New York banks are
about two millions larger than ever before known.
The amount of specie is $31,530,000.
—
®gpA man in Chicago, worth $20,000, who also
owns five houses on Milwaukee avenue bias seven
or eight girls in his employ, begging and steal
ing. ..
g2gTTexß papers represent the cotton crop in
that State, as very promising, except in some lo
calities where the Grasshoppers have committed
serious ravages on the young plant.
THE amount of wisdom comprised in a single
short sentence is often a .matter for pur won
der a'nd admiration . This is exemplified by those
maxims which havo obtained currency in all ages
and among all nations, and which acquire addi
tional authority as they grow older. Short and
pithy, they gain a ready hold on the memory,
and thus become “ household words ” even among
the uneducated classes. In tho North _British Re
vkw ia anpssay oh the’subject of Proverbs —from
which we make an extract ot a paragraph about
Utterance aad TJnderatfiadiag. A
Tho gift of utterance does not always accompany
j the gift of understanding. Although, there may
be exceptional instances, like the merry mon
arch, - *
“ Who novsv said a foolish thing, . .
And ne.vor.diJ a wise one ;”
we have no doubt that most people havegotmoro
wisdom in their heads than they have ever been
able to put into their wordsr There are many
who pas- through li e judiciously, usefully, hon
orably, who have’ never uttered one memorable
saying.’ Mute sages, dumb philosophers, saints
dwelling in eilence, they let their light shine, and
they manage their affairs with discretion, but they
give forth no oracle3. Hereafter they will be re
membered, not for the good things they have
done. It will be their “works,” not their words,
which will “follow them.” ‘
Such practical men, however, are often quick
in recognizing their-own principles of action when
enunciah. and bv Others; and whether it be a forci
ble observation in a sermon, a pithy sentence in
a play, or a happy hit in the harangue of a pub
lic speaker, they hail with delight a maxin, in I
which their own minds ai*e‘ so vividly reflected,
and which exhibits so well the relatione of their
Own procedure. “That man speaks sense,” is
their instant response to the saying which gives a
key to so many of their own actions, and the
truth of which a life time’s experience enables
them to countersign. “It is just what I myself
have often thought,” and not without of certain
self-complacency, they, treasure up tho dictum,
and procure from, time to time its portable and
much-comprehending phyloscphy.
For purposes oT instruction, we think few form3
of speech more admir; bly adapted. We fully
concur with the writer in regard to
Proverbs in the Pulpit,
At this moment we do not recollect having
ever heard a proverb quoted in the pulpit—those
of Scripluro excepted, and even them but rarely.
In one respect, this is well. So far as it is tho ob
ject of sanctuary services to edifv the devout, an‘d
raise to an an eleuation, still higher mindsalready
spiritual, it is hardly possible to keep at too great
a distance all that savors of this poor world — its
shabby ways, and its low concerns. But this is
the only end of pulpil ministrations. Most of the
sermons to which it has been our lot to listen,
have been addressed to thoso that aro “without,”
rather'than to thoso that are “•within.” Tho
preacher evidently assumed that quite as many
of his hearers were careless or unconverted as
Christian; and with this assumption, we have
sometimes thought that tho object of the earnest
speaker might have been all the better gained
by an occasional descent to their own level — by
speaking to them not in theological phraseology,
but in tho vernacular language of the country, and
by drawing facts and Illustrations, not so much
from a region which, alas 1 ia to the unbeliever
little more than a Utopia, but from objects which
their own eyes havo seen and their own hands
have handled; as well as by founding ar
guments or inferences, not on propositions which
they dimly comprehend, but on premises which
they themselves concede. In such a case, where
for the Jifbment, the preacher merges the pastor
in the evangelist or missionary, he could not find
better precedents than the addressee delivered
long ago on the hills of Galilee and in Roman
court houses; and where, from aceo ; ted axioms
and experiences of their own, stepping-stones
were constructed to aid doubters or disbelievers
in their passage over to the realms of faith. Hap
pily and wonderfully, counterparts to the things
unseen are on every sido of us—at cur feet and in
our hands; and a wise steward will, from time to I
time, bring out of his treasure new examples; i
and no less happily, traces of the Divine auto- !
graph still remain, on the ruined tables of man’s !
heart, and doubt mingled with much error) j
these fragments of primeval ethics float about in
the proverbs, of all nations; and, whether express
ly quoted or indirectly indicated, few proofs
should be more cogent than the coincidence of
the voice from heaven with the still small voice
within. The case should be very clear when the
light of revelation first pointed out; and it is not
easy for the self-condemned judge to escape,
when tho parable reaches its moral, and disclo
ses, “Thou art the man !”-
Rev. Dr: Kidder and Rev. J. C. Fletcher, are
the joint authors of a work lately published
on Brazil and the Brazilian p in which is found a
fine description of
A South American Forest.
“ In the months of April and May (October and j
November in Brazil), only the autumnal tints of
our gorgeous North American woods can compare
with the sigiit of the forest of the Serra dosOrgoee.
Then the various species oi’ the Lauras are bloom
ing, and the atmosphere is-loaded with the rich
perfumes of their tiny snow-white blossoms. The
Cassia then put forth their millions of golden flow
ers, while, at the same time, huge trees—whose
native names would be more unintelligible, though
less pedantic,.than t heir botanic terms of Sasian
dra Fontanesia and others of tiie Melastoma tribe—
are in lull bloom ; and, joining rich purple to the
brightest yellow, present together with gorgeously
clotned shrubs, * flowers of more mingled hue j
than her (Iris’s) purpled scarf can show.’ From
time to time, a silk cotton tree (the Chorisia -spe
ciosa) shoots up its lofty hemispherical, top covered
with thousands of beautiful large rose-coloured
blossoms, which gratefully contrast with the
masses of vivid green, purple and'yellow, that
clothe the surrounding trees. Floral treasures
are heaped on every side. Wild vine3, twisted
into most fantastic forms, or hanging in graceful
festoons—passion flowers, trumpet flowers, and
fuchsias in their native glory, tree ferns whoso ele
gance of form is only surpassed by the tall, gently
curved palmetto, winch is the very embodiment of
the line of beauty—orchards, whose flowei'3 are of
as soft a tint as the blossom of the peach-tree, or
As brilliant as red spikes of fire, curious and ec
centric epiphytes draping naked rocks, oi the de
caying branches of o’d” forest monarchs, all form
a scene enrapturing to the naturalist; and bewil
dering, with its richness, to the unitiated, who
stilt appreciate the bcauty'and the spendor that
are scattered on every side, by the Hand Divine.
The overpowering sensation which one experien
ces, when entering an extensive conservatory
Tilled with the choicest plants, exotics of the rar
est description, and odour-laden flowers, is that
(multiplied a thousand fold,) which filled my
mind as 1 gazed, for the first time, upon a land
scape, with its tiers of mountains, robed in such
di apery as that described'above; and yet there
was such a feeling of liberty, incompatible with
the sensation expressed by the word ‘overpower
ing;’ tha tit is impossible to define it. In the pro
vince of M'mas Gcraes, from a commanding point,
1 once beheld the magnificent forest in bloom;
and as the hillsand undulating plains stretched far
away to the horizon, they seemed toi be enveloped
in a fairy mist oi pprplg and of gold.”
¥IIO can read the following extract from one
of Spurgeon’s Sermons without admitting that
he is possessed of pulpit eloquence of the highest
order. It,is on
The Beginning. f
“ Can any one tell me when the beginning was ?
Yeats ago we thought the beginning of this world
was when Adam came upon jt, but, we have dis
covered that thousands of years before that, God
was preparing chaotic matter to ihuke it a fit
abode for man ; putting races of creation upon
it, who might die and leave behind the traces of
Hi handiwork and marvellous skill before He
tried His hand upon man. But this was not the
beginning; for revelation points us to a per kM ere
this world was fashioned-to the days when the
morning stars wore begotten ; when like uvop?
of dew from the fingers of the morning, stars
and constellations fell trickling from the hand of
God ; when by His own lips Ha launched forth
ponderous orbs, when with His own hand He
sent comets like thunderbolts, wandering through
tile sky to find one day their proper sphere. W e
go back to years gone by, when worlds were mad®
and Systems fashioned, but we have not even ap
proaefed the beginning yet/, • ,
Ui#l wo go to the time when all the Universe
sfoplfn the mind of God, as yet unborn, until wo
entjf the eternity where God, the Creator, lived
alo® ( everything sleeping with Him, all creation
rea flF£ * n Hie mighty gigantic thought w© have
not guessed the beginning. We may go back, if
may use such strange words, whole eternities and
yet never arrive at the beginning. Our wing,
might be tired, otir imagination would die away.
Gould it out-strip the lightning’s flash in majesty
and rapidity, it would soon weary itself ©ro it
eould get tojthe beginning. But God from the be
ginning choose His people ; when the navigated
other was yet unfanned by the -wing of a single
angle, wheir s' t ace was cheerless oy else unborn,
when Universal silenee reigned, and not a voice
or whisper checked the solemnity of silence,
when there was no being and no motion, and
naught but God Himself, alone in His eternity ;
when without the song of an angel, without the ‘
attendance of oven the cherubim; long ore the!
jiving creatures were born, or the wheels of the
chariot of Jehovah were fashioned ; even then,
in the beginning was the Word, and in the begin
ning God’s people were one with the Word, and
‘in the beginning he chose them unto eternal
life.’” y
nett proceeds of Mr. Everett’s Wash
ington Oration in Charleston, were one thousand
seven hundred and eighty-one dollars and forty
eight cents—and of his Charity Oration, six hun
dred and thirty-seven dollars and nine cents.
a€?*Thc Press, the Pulpit and the Petticoat:
The,first spreads the news ; the second religion :
and the last spreads —all over the pavement.
fgyLook not mournfully into the past—it can
not retnrri. Wisely improve the, present— it i3
thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future
without fear and with a manly heart.
figyGovernor Powell and Major McCullough,
the Utah Peace Commissioners, or rather the-per
sons sent by the President to counsel and advise
with military Commanders in Utah, arrived at St.
Louis on the 16th inst, on their way to the army
under Col. Johnston.
’
a@~Tho Alexandria Ornette speaking of the
sale of Mount Vernon to the Ladies’ Mount Ver
non Association says that SIB,OOO of the purchase
money has been paid in cash. Mr. Washington
retains possession until a payment of $75,000 is
made which will probably take place in a few
months.
HTTlie growing wheat crop throughout tho
mighty west is described as being very promising.
A large breadth of land was sown, and if no dis
aster occurs to it before harvest timo, the crop
will be immonse. All of our Tennessee exchan
ges represent the growing wheat crops in their
respective countios as being exceedingly promis
ing-
js@**Houses in the centre of London adapted
to tho occupation of professional gentlemen, and
containing from twelve to sixteen rooms, with
water conveyed by pipes to the various apart
ments, and other modern conveniences, rent for
two hundred and fifty dollars. The samo ionises, if
pleasantly situated in Augusta, would command a
rent from five tb seven hundred dollars,
JSSgfO. A. Lochrane and John H. Steele havo
both retired from the Editorial management ot
the Atlanta Intelligencer & Examiner. J. W.
Duncan is now Editor and proprietor.
SST’G. A. Miller, Esq., has retired from the
editorial chair of the Columbus Enquirer, and is
succeeded by John 11. Martin, Esq.
A Fair Portion. —Carrie A. Clark thus writes
to the Louisville Journal :
I bring thee a heart, love—a stainless heart,
As fresh and as pure as the mountain’s snow.
Still echoing back, with a cheerful strain,
Tho song you taught it long ago.
f Tie an humble thing,
‘ The gift I bring—
Yet, my all, mv fortune and my store,
And I bring it thee—l can bring no more.
A man may as well expect to grow stronger by
always eating, as wiser by always reading. Too
much overcharges nature, and turns more into
disease than nourishment. It is thought and di
gestion which makes books serviceable, and gives
health and vigor to the mind. Books well chosen
neither dull the appetite nor stain the memory,
but refresh the inclinations, strengthen the pow
ers, and improve under experiments.'’ By reading,
ft man, as it were, antedates his life, and makes
himself contemporary with past ages.
Always suspect a man who affects great softness
of manner, and unruffled eveness of temper, and
an enunciation studied, slow and deliberate.
These things are unnatural, and bespeak a degree
of mental discipline into which he that has no
purpose of craft or design to answer, cannot sub
mit to drill himself. The more successful knaves
are usually of this description— as smooth as
’ razors dipped in oil, and as sharp. They effect
the innocence of the dove which they have not,
in order to hide the cunning of theserpent which
they have.
All things have some kind olj, standard, by
which the natural goodness of them is to be
measured. We do not therefore esteem a ship
to be good, because it is curiously carved, painted
and gilded, but because it is fitted for all the pur
pose of navigation, which is the propper end of a
ship. It should bo so likewise in our esteem of
men, who are not so much to be valued for the
grandeur of their estates or titles as by their in
ward goodness and excellence.
It is with men as with trees; if you lop off their
finest branches, into which they wero pouring
their young life-juice, the wounds will be healed
over with some rough b 033, some odd excrescence;
and what might havo been a grand tree, expand
ing into liberal shade, is but a whimsical, mis
shapen trunk. Many an,irritating fault, many
an unlovely oddity has come of a hard sorrow,
which bn3 crushed and maimed the nature just
when it was expanding into plenteou3 boauty,
and the trival, erring life, which we visit with
our harsh blame, may be but the unsteady motion
of a man whose best limb is withered. — Black
wood ‘
“Titat Will Do.”— “That will do,” is a phrase
of modern invention. The ancients knew of no
such expression, or the Egyptians would never
have raised the pyramids, nor the Greeks and
Rom anß displayed that love of the beautiful which
led them to - impart a poetic grace even to the
meanest utensils for household use, as tho re
mains of Pompeii fully testify.
“Thatwilldo,” is the excuse of mediocrity, un
able to soar to better things.
“That will do,” is the pelf-dispensation given
by the lazy painter, who glosses over the want of
anatomical correctness by a showy color ng.
“ That will do,” is the besetting sin of archi
tects, who lay their shortcoming to the want of a
favorable site, or an Italian’ clime.
“ That will do,” applied to household matters
is equally bad, and more annoying to friends than
when applied to dress.
You may expect ill-cooked dinners in any
house where the heads adopt this maxim.
“That will do,” has conjured up a hostol inef
ficient teachers. -
“ That will do,” is tho enemy to all excellence,
and would sap the conscience of the most virtu
ous man alive; if ho hearkened to its dictates.
Moralists and others must bear in mind that noth
ing will “ do” but the very best point of virtue,
or they wilLrun risk when the great day of reck
oning shall come, and the recording angel will
not say in their favor—-” That will do!”— Arthur's
Home Magazine.
Too many persons seem to use their relig’on as
a diver does his bell, to venture down into the
depths of worldlinobS with safety, and there
grope for pearli? with just as much of heaven’s air
as will keep them from suffocating, and no more;
and Borne, alas 1 as is at times the case with divers
i are euffotated in the experiment,
! OH. OI <303 SFJTJEpTIONS.
j • > 0 HE RIVER.” , ‘VI
i Tha following beaufifai and paflictic ponm is worthy
: of bornv committed to foemory. you rood if with
! OUt Wtif* f
L 4 T ‘ “ ‘’ \ -• • ,-j
Over {he rival- they to ms—
Loved one’s wly ye crossed to the further awe;
The gleam ottMir .snowy robes Lsee, ’ - ,’ i
But their veiwa are lo3t by the dashing tide.
There's ose rvith ringlety of sunny gold,-
’And eyes, ilie reflection of Heaven’s own blue;
He. crossed injrbe twilight gray and cold,
And the pale mist him from mortal view.
We sa.y not the angels .that met hinuthcre.
The gjite ofthe city vve'coula not see ;
Over the river, over the river,
My -brother stands writing to .welcome me !
Ovcr-the riyei-the boatman pirle
Carried another, the household pet;
Her brown curls, wjtved in the gentle gale—
Darling Mintaie! I sec her j et!
Lhe crossed on her bosom ser dimpled hands.
. And fearlessly entered the phantom bark :
We .watched if- glide from the silver sands.
And nil our sunshine grow strangely dkrk.
_ We know she in sole on the further side,
Where ail the ransomed apd angels be:
Over the river, the mystic fiver,
My childhood’s idol is waitingior me.
Lor none, return from those quiet shores
Who cross with the boatman cold and pale;
We hear the dip ofthe golden oars,
Anulo ! they have passed from our yearning hearts;
-They cross the stream and are gone fsr bye ;
Wc may not sunder the veil apart
That hides from our vision the gates of day.
We only know that their barks no more
May nail with us o’er fifes stormy sea, “
Yet somewhere. I know on the unseen shore,
They watch and beckon, and wail for me!
And I sit and think when the sunset’s gold- -
Ts flushing river, and hill, and shore,
I sliall one day stand bv the water cdhl,
And list for the sound oi the boatman’s onr,
I shall watch fora gleam of the flapping sail ;
I shall liear the boat as it gains the strand ;
I shill pas from Sight wi'h the boatman pale.
To the better shore of the spirit land.
I shall know the loved who have gone before.
And joyfully mveet will the meeting be.
When ovQrtho river, the peaceful river,
The Angel of Death shall carry me.
[Peterson 1 s Ma/satiine.
fleag o tiio Absent
BY It. VIRGINIA FRENCH.
“ O’er the far blue mountain.
O’er the dark sea foam ;
Come thou “long parted one,
Come to thy hoiije.”
My Love, when you are far away.
Some shadow from a mlaty sphere
Hangs o’er the“ Indian summer” day—
- It could not fall if you were hero,
I look abroad—the autumn trees
Like banners to the sky are tost,
And thro’ them sweeps the lonelv breeze.
And sigh, as if .for ecfttcthitig lost.
And when the stars come at night
I gaze into tho twilight skies,
Ah’t id my wont lo sock the light”
Os love within your darkening oye?.
When sblily. sweet affect ion’s beams -■>
Steal upward fro n their-deeps afar.
And glow to mine, until it ecejna
Within them God Inis lit a star!
Then when I ary my childlike prayer
With low-bowed heart, and bended knee,
I turn —co su-rq to. find you there—
And start, and wonder can it bo
That I in vain at close of day
Have listened for your foot Maps free,
Th- t you arc sleeping far away,’
So far from love, and home, and me.
Thro’ the still chrtml c’ sos my soul
Your voice, with feeling warm and deep,
Re-echos, tit its sweet control
Like music lulls my balmy sleep.
Then in the land of dreamt* how oft
My hand is fond clasped in thine,
While round me ever, close and soft,
Thy strong;, protecting arms entwine.
My hand is on your brow and cheek,
That touch you now- so well may ken.
And little words I have to speak,
“Os love and joy—l say them then.
And wild dove in her downy nest
Beneath the forest’s sheltering dome.
No lira If so sweetly sinks to rest
As I —upon thy bosom’s home.
•—••• .—c —- J ~
A writer in the Kew York Gazette. describing a
melting with sfevorai of Britain’s gifted literati,
“draws the Mousing picture of the gifted Tom
Moore: ■
Moore is much younger than I expected to find
him. I dont know his ago, and if 1 did, I might
not be disposed tq name it,hero. I have never
•seen an engraved likeness of him, or any other
representation that would have enabled me (as
in‘the ease of Willington. or Brougham) to pick
him out of crowd at first sight, lie is a_ small
sized, dapper handy” -personage—a smiling, L
would almost say a laughing expression of coun
tenance,with a fanny eye, on Irish nosfe—a Mili
sian turn up—rather a retreating forehead, and, ;
but for a .peculiar line from tho brow above the
temple, ami running back to the hair upon this ;
part of the head \ “ the dome of thought and pal- :
ace of the mind,” one would bo at a loss to trace
phrenological indications of the genius Which
marks him as tho first Lvric. .Boot of the age.
But there he. sat, cuttfing muffins, cracking jokes
and sipping tea—chatting find laughing, and
apparently totally unconscious t hat his fingers had
scratched on paper lines and sentiments which
had been read and sung, and would continue to
bo rend and sung, in all quarters of Urn world so
long as language end sentiment, thought, feeling
and music, contribute to human happiness and so
cial enjoymtnt. Ass'l sat next him. 1 looked at him
—1 watched the very twingling of his eye—tire tone
of his voice, .and the motions of his writing fingers:
and I sometimes found myself perplexed and con
fused in themingled feelings of doubt and surprise,
that from this little budget of unassuming humani
ty, flowed that stream of conception, thought and
feeling, which finds its way to all hearts in our
climes—from tho Canadian Boat Song on the St.
Lawrence, to the Vale of Cashmere
£oni,-Horst's.— There arc apartments in the
soul which have a glorious look-out; from whose
windows you can see across the river of death,
and into the shining city beyond ; but how often
are these neglected for the lower one, which
have earthward-1001-ing windows. There is the
apartment of Veneration. Its ceilings are fres
coed with angels, ancl all exquisite carvings adorn
its walls; but spiders have covered the angel
ceiliun and (lust has settled on the delicate
mouldings. The man does not abido there. The
door of ‘Consciousness is rusted so it cannot be
onenod Hopobaslmtone downward-looking win
dow, and Faith and Worship are cold and cheer
lggj. these arc shut up in most soul-houses.
In the lower apartment you shall hear in some not
and wassail—for the passions never keep bent,
but- are always holding Carnivals—and m others
siens and lamentations of wounded hopes, and in
others the groaning of disappointed ambition, and
in others bickerings and strifes, while in 0.-hei
tivtro are sleep and stupidity. Bcecl i*-
rwnumm:*a a Wife.—Raikes tell thisstory in
hl£™rJlqwl <•* on ol I
the Duke is married to a handsome wife, and
bothai-e sincere Iv attached to each other. The
other night they had dressed for a ball to winch
they were invited, and the moment ol departure
made her appearance in such a bqwih h
iigffitU and looking eo
that the Husband wm seized witu ftof
jealously, and without any ie. un,, n.-
or ill will to his wite.hu! merely 4.0-pie,oit others
from the enjoyment of such a sight, 0 ‘ er > ,
liberalely tore her gown lit pieces hom hei bacK.
Mtmv English ladies would have sued foi a sc t
oration. 1 asked how the young Frenoh Marque*
bore tlie disappointment, I lie answer v\ as- he
was llattored beyond measure and proud of this
proof of her husband’s admiration, and in i apt,
said the narrator, “ there was something beauti
ful and sublime in this flash of sentiment, i
had so little poesy in my nature that it strucK
me as very ill-bred, cruel, and exceedingly 6
fi3h.
“dlollo Brittan,”’ the lively travelling corres
pondent of the New Orleans Picayune, in a recent
letter thus refers to Mobile:
At half past ten o’clock A. M., wc landed at
Mobile—t? pleasant cotton city of some thirty
thousand inhabitants—where the people Uvq in
cotton houses—ride in cotton carriages. They
buy cotton, sell cotton, think cotton, oat cotton,
drink cotton, dream cotton, iney marry cotton
wives, and unto them are born cotton children.
In enumerating the charms of a fair widow, they
begin by saying she makes so many bales cotton.
It Is the great staple—the sum and substance of
Alabama. It hoe made Mobile and all it* citi
iaeae. j *
| TdARMER’S COLU3VTN.
y, r 11 ■ -r-——-
s*■ ‘ cotMjiGeoiAi,
; . -yu, April -23, 4, P. M.-COTTON.—Th
dav loot 267 bales, at the following p&rtrc
:- • .at9:l2atlo i;53 nt 10J; satl2; 85 at 12* ;
*• t/. .1: lebis at 12a cents. The accounts per Canada
-•• My. ;. roCoived until after the close of business
• is-u t. Y7e continue'our quotations of yesterday :
Cs&stssrojf, April 23. — COTTON — The transac
ts; - • 100ted.2. 3.50 bales, as fellows;. 14 at 10*; 58 at
l&h Aio at 11; 275 nt 113 ; 36 at Hi ; 86 at 114; 31 at
18,?*$$'St lyl ; 55at Kg* 221 at 12*; 70 at 124; 116
ta m ; 190 at Lif; and 583 hales of Middling Fair at 13
cents. - *, ‘ * ;
A:?C‘7im. April 27.—COTTON.—Sales to-day 364
t; -v tv. prices qs follows: Sat 9; lat 9*; Sat 12; 14
r t-;i at 11*; 21 at 11$; sat 111; 57" at 12; 3at
lIBH ■/;” tit 12j-i 13 at 124 cents. Receipts 451 bales.
—— ——* ■ ■ --
J/erseers and tation Management.
Dr Cloud —Dear Sir: —Permit me to introduce
ihjryslftp you, by informing you that I have been
an att&Ativo vender of your valuable journal for
ssyevalyears. Our State Agricultural paper, the
Flarder and Mechanic ; has also received a share of
such as I could spare from the business of the
plantation. My own experience in the business
; of overseeing, and the little time 1 have been able
to give io the reading of agricultural papers hqa
i taught me the utility of these works to those who •
i; follow the business of overseeing. I would there
! fore recommend to all employers to furnish their
i overseers with one.,or two papers of this kind,
i The cost is small, and men are apt to take most
interest in reading such matter as concerns the
I business in which they are engaged. Although
book s alone cannot teach a man the business of
f planting, yet a good agricultural paper will give
every overseer many useful hints in plantation bus
iness during the year, if he will readfit with atten
tion. I have been overseeing for sixteen years—*
fouiteen years in this county, and most of the
time in the prairie lands. When I came to Mis
sissipi I found that the overseer who could have
the most cot ton bales ready for market by Christ
mas, was considered best qualified—consequently
every overseer gave bis whole attention to cotton
bales, to the exclusion of everything else.
Six years ago I commenced business for my
present employer. His first request was that pro
visions in abundance should be made on the plan*
1 tation—corn, meat, &c-—to provide means of liv
in< well; ond then, what cotton could be made
! with duo allowance for the care of the property.
He wanted his negroes taken care of, and espec
i iaily the young negroes. His motto was to take
, ‘tare of what he had as the surest way of getting rich.
; Os course I had to change my mode of doing bus
! iness : for I had been one of the cotton bale over
seers, because most of the planters wanted large
Crops of cotton, and this was the standard by
which, they judged of the merits of an overseer.
! For tho last six years I have been trying to be
; a fanner. I had to turn my attention to corn,
! hogs, potatoes, pumpkins, and garden veg-
I ©tables; to taka care of and raise little negroes.
W e have women to cook for them, and due at
tention is given to their cleanliness and comfort.
Under this treatment we seldom lose one, and
have nearly a3 many about the houses as in the
field ; always providing them with plenty to eat
—bread', meat, vegetables and molasses.
The field liapds have not loss than four, and
sometimes Jive pounds of clean meet per week,
for each hand, Ono-third of this is given to the
t ock every day to be boiled for their dinners,
with plenty of vegetables; the remaining two
thirds they either cook for themselves, or oarry it
to the cook to bo prepared for them. It is made
the duty.of two women to wash on every Friday
for all the negroes; and by the use of the Knuck
klo wa -’iiivg machine, they can wash for all on
the plantation in ono day.
Wo have hut little Doctor’s bills to pay, and
have not lost a field hand in the six years from
disease. ‘
The following is the number of bales of cotton
made, and tho quantity of pork raised to the
hand each year—-bales averaging 500 pounds;
let year, B bales cotton and 400 lbs. pork.
2d “ 5 i: ‘ “ 900 “
fid “ 5.J “ 900 “
4th “ 10 “ “ “ 800 “
sth “ 7* “ “ “ 750 “ “
6th b il “ “ 700 “
The sale of the surplus of corn, fodder, meat,
potatoes, &c., has contributed much towards de
fraying the expenses of the plantation. The lim
its, of this sheet will not permit me to give all the
details. The average yield of cotton for the six
years is not extraordinary, nor did, the quantity
of ground < o the hand exceed ten acres, except
one year. But it becomes a matter for the con
sideration” of planters in the Southern country,
■whether moderate crops of cotton, with good cul
tivation, and a proper and diligent attention in
taking care of property on plantations, will not
enhance the wealth of tho planters in a greater
degree, than the driving, exhausting mode of
•cultivation practised in some sections of our coun
try. In other words, whether more farming and
less planting is not the true policy of the Southern
planter.
If you tlf ink this worth an insertion in your
paper, you can give it a place.
Very respectfully yours,
Wm. H. Cook.
Lowndes Count;/, Miss., 1858.
Tuf, Plow.— Someone—it sounds very like Tay
lor the poetical author of “January and June”—
thus speaks of iho progressed this long-time prom
inent and indispensable implement: “One can
not fail to bo impressed with the truth that the
Plow, though unqUicked by the'Telegraph, and as
yet undriven by steam, has yet kept pace,
strangely enough, with the progress of the age.
Where are the old-fashioned affairs, with timber
enough ip them to make a mill? Where is the
hugoTbeam, that used to r .b many a barn of one
of its chief features, and the grim old share, that
it took two forges and foundries to make? The
superfluous wood is hewn away ; the mass of metal
has become a rare-surgical instrument in fashion
and finish. Xhero is grace in the very handles;
I the adze and the axe, and the old dull ‘ drawing-
I knife’ that used to hang in the shed, have given
! place to the plane, the file, and sand-paper and
the brush, in a word the tinker has made way
for the artist, and the plow of to-day isthe pro
duct thereof. We have always entertained a se
cret wonder at that absurd people away in the
‘drowoy East.’ who set up one of the old-fashioned
red-ochred plows that somebody was good enough
to send them —set it up and warship it But we
should not (yonder so much, if they should do it.
now. since the plow has become a light, in fact
almost mi elegant implement.”
Sowing Clover. —An experienced farmer writes:
Last spring'l sowed a iieid of spring wheat
dragged in well; then with a hand sower, sowed
on clover and timothy seod both mixed ; brushed
in with a light brush and at harvest the clover
was very thick, and so high that the reaper
topped the most of it in cutting the g.'aip, which
was a fair crop also. Persons who were used to
raising clover, said they never saw a better stand
the, fust year than this was. It would have been
n ppod fall crop of hay ; but I pastured it, which
amply paid me for the time, and seed, though I
.expected to keep it for meadow. The timothy
made a poor show last season. Perhaps it may
come out better this year. But expeience teachee
me that fall sowing is the best for timothy.
White Wash.—“ Take abarrel and slack a bush
el of fresh ourned lime in it, by covering the lime
with boiling water. After it is slacked, add cold
water enough to mako it the consistency of good
white wa c m.’ Then dissolve in water and add one
pound of white vitriol (sulphate of zinc) and one
quart of fine Salt. Tdgive the white wash acream
color,>add ono half pound yellow ochre, in pow
der. To give a fawn color, add one lourth of a
pound of Indian red. To make a handsome gray
c-tone color add one half pound Frenoh Blue, and
ono fourth of Indian red. A drab will be made
by addiiig one half pound of burnt senna, and
oiie fourth pound of Venitian red. For brick or
stone instead of ono bushel of lime, use a half
bushel ol hydraulic cement.”
Scattering Salt on Apple Trees.— D. E. San
born. of Andover, sends to the Editor of the Ad
vertiser of that town, a specimen of Porter apples
gathered from the tree on the 19th of November,
which he thinks were kept on the branches throw
ing salt on them. The editor after having tasted
the apples, remarks that “ whether from the salting
or gathering.it imbibed such a delicious flavor,
wo do not know ; but this we do know, that it
was one of the best apples that we have
ever tested. We think the experiment worthjt
urther trial.”
Mode of Increasing the Potato Crop.—An
English writer says, by carefully removing the
buds as they appear on the potato the erop
of large Ones is very much augmented. The tjfcr
ory is plausible, and worthy of a fair trig).