Newspaper Page Text
L. LINCOLN VEAZET, EDITOR.
Friday- Morning, Maroh 18,1860.
Judge T'Tia'bet’a Leoture.
The third lecture of the season before the
Young Men’s Christian Association, was de
livered on Wednesday night last, to a very
large audience, by Hon. Eugenius A. Nis
bet of Macon. His subject, “Self Control,”
wasyl is cussed in a manner at once impres
sive and eloquent. He seemed too deeply
impressed with its solemn importance ever
to indulge in flights of fancy, or plays of
humor. It was pervaded by sentiments of
high toned morality—or we should rather
say of sincere piety. Its style was singular
ly chaste, beautiful and ornate, elegant in
thought, and felicitous in diction. Judge
N. is one of the few who amid the arduous
duties of the bar and bench, has retained a
fondness for literary studies, and in them
has won a reputation little inferior to that
which his legal abilities have gained. He
is too a living illustration of his theme. He
HVs been eminently successful as a practi
tioner of law without prostituting his mor
als, and has passed through the temptations
from which so few come forth intact, still
preserving the character of a sincere devo
ted Christian. Such men are an honor to
any age or country.
Medical and Literary “Weekly.
The above is the title of anew paper, de
signed to be published in this place, by Drs.
V. H. Talliaferro and A. G. Thomas. Its
objects, as set forth in the prospectus, are
“ to expose Quackery in all its forms, and to
show the impropriety of using nostrums under
any circumstances whatever. They will at
tempt to lay down and explain the Laws of
Health as founded in pure Medical Science;
and whilst they acknowledge the impossi
bility of teaching the masses how to treat
disease, they hope to be able to do much
good, both in instructing them in the ope
rations of the Laws of Hygiene, and in warn
ing them against the untold injury which
results from the pretensions of Quacks, and
their ruinous nostrums. They will also fur
nish their patrons with the most important
Items of the general News of the times, and
promise to devote themselves to the build
ing up of a pure and Scientific Literature.”
With such a range of topics before them,
we have no doubt that the gentlemanly pro
prietors will make an interesting and use
ful journal, in which endeavor we tender
them our best wishes. The first number
will be issued on the 7th May next. Price,
S2 a-year, in advance.
Success.
“ Industry and perseverance will win suc
cess in any occupation.” So runs a proposi
tion which we often hear stated as an axio
matic truth. Though rendered striking by
its terseness, and plausible by its inculcation
of a wholesome idea, it yet conveys an in
correct impression. Great as is the impor
tance of these qualities—and they are in
dispensible—they do not always insure suc
cess. Exist in as high degree as they may
unless they are attended by other qualities,
and all the contingent circumstances event,
uate rightly, failure will still be possible.
Especially is this true of those vocations
which are classed, by way of distinction, as
professions. These, of all occupations which
men pursue, require the most untiring ef
forts, and yet, are never rendered indepen
dent by all exertions. Accordingly, we find
that professional life is a great lottery, in
which there are fully as many blanks as
prizes. Many of these who have had “M.
D.” or “ Esquire” appended to their names,
are, at best, but drones in society, and often
mere vagabonds, who gain a precarious sub
sistence by the art of sponging, or, still more
infamously, by their winnings at the gaming
table. This has resulted, not so much from
a want of industry and perseverance, as from
deficiencies in other respects and the fail
ure of favorable circumstances. When they
first sat out in their career, they might have
determined that, whatever these qualities
could accomplish, should be done. They
probably mastered, in all its details, the
science to which they were devoted. But
as they thus appropriated the contents of
one volume after another, no raps of pat
ronage were heard at their door. The little
capital with which they started, melts away
before their daily expenses. Too proud to
seek popularity, or unfitted to win it, they
are seldom afforded an opportunity of dis
playing their natural powers, or the knowl
edge which they have acquired. Finding
that their application has failed to gain
them favor, they soon despair, and laying
aside all of their profession but its name,
resort to some other means of support.
lt is possible, and, indeed, it is too often
the case, that merits of a very high order
pass unrecognized and unrewarded. The
press of professional men is so great, that
those who can not scramble and wire-work,
are crowded out and pass unnoticed. That
some must fail, will appear evident from
their number, and the amount of business
which they are to share. Were it equally
divided, each one’s portion would be but a
small remuneration for his labors—a very
low per centage on the capital invested.
But some, from an exhibition of superior
skill, from popularity or from some other
circumstances, will get more than their pro
portionate share; of course others must get
less, and, as is frequently the case, some
none at all. He who is blessed with abun
dant means and pursues his profession
merely as a pastime, can be open-handed
and independent, never adopting any course
which his conscience disapproves, and never
degrading his dignity by a stoop. But those
who depend on their vocations for their
bread, must resort to chicanery and wire
pulling, if they wish success.
Believe us, young man: you are taking
a step of fearful importance when you de
cide upon entering a profession. Before
it is made, you should subject yourself to a
rigid examination, and carefully note the
ground upon which you tread. It is not
enough that you are gifted with high endow
ments of intellect, and are possessed ot pa
tience and energy. All these you will need
in the hard struggle you are about to brave.
You must have a self-confidence, bordering
on presumption, to push you forward into
notice, combined with a plausible manner
which will deceive the senses of the people
while it flatters their vanity. If your self
examination convinces you that you are not
possessed of those qualities which will in
gratiate you into public favor, turn away
from the professions and seek some calling
for which you are more fitted. For, in such
a case, nothing but a stroke of luck, which,
though within the range of possibility, you
have no right to expect, can save you from
failure.
Every heart has its secret sorr"** whi*h
the world knows not ; and centimes we j
call a man cold when he a ° j
Country Life.
About country life, novelists and poets
have written “much that finds no counter
part in reality. Their descriptions are
drawn more from the paintings of fancy
than from any thing which they have seen
to exist. Thus they have painted forth the
countryman as enjoying happiness in its
highest and purest form—retired from the
world’s busy din, unharassed by envying the
more fortunate, and unmolested by ignoble
strivings for power and position. In watch
ing over his flocks that pasiureupon flowery
meadows, or in cultivating the productions
of the field and witnessing their changes
until, when matured, they are ready to be
garnered, he spends his days in varied, but
ever delightful employment. The plow
man returning from the toils of the day,
when evening gathers her dusky shadows
over the earth, to meet the cheering smile
of his wife and the prattle of his children;
the maiden, with cheeks more rosy than
the crimson blushings of sunset, carolling a
merry song, as she poises on her head the
well-filled milk-pail, the Christmas plays
around hot log fires, where every face glows
with intense happiness, are poetic visions
which rise up before us at the name of coun
try. There are thrown around them dra
peries brilliant with a thousand dyes, which
it only requires a slight acquaintance with
its realities to convince us are but the fila
gree colorings of fancy: The scenes are
real, and are often found in sweet, attrac
tive beauty; but they are not so free from
those dark lines that mark all things earthly
as the description would imply.
But, stripped of all the charms thrown
around it by imagination, there is still much
attractiveness and beauty about country
life. Its occupations, though not always
the most lucrative, are the most healthful
and independent which men pursue. Its
pure air and free exercise imparts vigor to
the body, and stirs every part to the exercise
of its proper functions. Thus is it that her
countrymen constitute a nation’s strength.
In times of public danger, when threatened
by foreign foes, it is upon them that she re
lies for the formation of her armies and the
manning of her fleets. The denizens of
cities—the cadaverous student emaciated to
ghostly thinness by unnatural confinement,
or the idler who lias swelled to aldermanic
proportions by luxurious living—may be
equally patriotic, but can not be so efficient.
Those who are accustomed to handle the
axe or reaping hook, can with most effect
wield the sword and bayonet.
The independence which characterizes
the pursuitsof country life, is a quality which
renders it particularly desirable. The far
mer depends on none but God for the suc
cess of his business. He plants, and if
Heaven sends rain and sunshine, he gathers
the fruits of his labors. No enemy can cause
the clouds to withhold their showers, make
the sun to close his warmth or ruin with
blighting mildews. He never watches with
anxiety for the indications of popular favor,
or trembles at a patron’s frown. Free and
untrammeled, he can think, speak and act
as he pleases, unconfined by any restraints
save those which politeness imposes. He
has in his own hand the material from
which his exertions can procure his subsis
tence, and no man’s displeasure can take
away his bread.
The amusements of the country, like its
occupations, are pure and harmless, promo
tive of physical and moral health. There
are no conversions of night into day; no
dancing in air-tight rooms of stove-like hot
ness ; no gaming parties; no theatres to
tickle the fancy with obscene jests, and leave
upon every listener the stains of moral cor
ruption. The lads and lasses who indulge
in a merry* dance upon the green sward,
know nothing of the immodest attitudes of
the Waltz or Schottisch. Not. indeed, that
they are always confined within these limits
of strict propriety ; but even in their most
perverted form, the amusements of the
country are not so bad as some which are
considered quite innocent among the fash
ionable circles of cities.
Though, to its inhabitants, it does not
wear that garb of freshness and novelty
which it presents to one accustomed to brick
walls and dusty streets, the country possesses
a beauty too variable ever to become dull
by familiarity. Here nature parades her
most splendid glories, and offers her rarest
mysteries for man’s contemplation. He can
here watch the growth and decay of vege
tation, and survey, in all their greatness,
the majestic machinery of the elements.
He attends with interest to the bursting of
the seed, the unfolding of the bud, the
blooming of the flower and the ripening of
the fruit. He walks with nature, holds con
verse with her as a familiar companion, and
learns to love her as his cherished mother
and most faithful friend. By her discourse
his sympathies are enlarged to a wider range,
for he learns to consider all mankind as his
brethren ; the powers of his mind are ex
panded, for he drinks in inspiration from
the purest of all fountains ; his soul is ele
vated, for he models himself after a higher
and nobler standard of moral excellence.
He has learned, by a self-taught philosophy,
“to look, through nature, up to nature’s
God.”
But country life affords its dark scenes —
its ignorance, crime, miseries, woes and mis
fortunes, as does all the world beside. Yet,
of these, there is far less than in crowded
cities, where all the bad passions of human
nature find exercise and development.
There may be mote ignorance, but there is
less moral degradation. There may be less
of the grace, polish and external gloss of re
finement, but there is more of its real essence.
In rural districts, where the competition of
trade has not produced selfishness, nor the
increase of wealth engendered pride, we
would look for nature’s true nobility. They
yield obedience to the rules of no social
philosophy, and act as their consciences and
their Bibles direct. They do not stifle their
feelings by rigid forms, and conceal hollow
hypocrisy behind a decent exterior. By
their enlarged benevolence and true hospi
tality, they prove that the country is not
less productive of generosity, liberality and
warmth of heart than of independence and
health. .
We often hear of a want of words, but
seldom of a want of ideas; yet, we venture
the assertion, that the former is by far the
more frequent want of the two. Constituted
as we are, ideas must come to us clothed in
words, and, as a general thing, these very
words are the best which can be employed
in giving expression to our thoughts. ’lhe
connection between the two is so intimate
as to be inseparable. But if they could,
words would be much oftener without ideas,
than ideas without words.
The number of distinct species of insects
already known and described cannot be es
timated at less than two hundred thousand
—there being nearly twenty thousand bee
tles alone now known, and every day is ad
ding to the catalogue, most of which may
I Bteseen in the collection of the British Mu-
LITERARY GEORGIA CETJSADEE.
Xll visions.
Every one has had these deceptions of
the sight which bring some imagery before
the eyes for a moment, and then melt into
air, as unaccountable in their passing away
as in their appearance. This is experien
ced more particularly when the mind is
strongly excited in regard to some object,
and this object mingles itself into the vis
ion. It is thus that the dagger seemed re
ally before Macbeth, courting his grasp,
when his imagination was excited by his
prospective murder, and in the same way
may be explained the appearance of a green
oasis with shady palms, and running
streams to the thirsty traveller on the des
ert. There is, after great difficulty, in be
coming convinced that these are more de
ceptive illusions, having no real existence.
Precisely in point we find in Blackwood, a
case taken from Prof. Draper’s Human
Physiology, where it is narrated by the phy
sician to whom it occurred :
When he was five or six years old, he
dreamed that he was passing by a large
pond of water in a very solitary place. On
the opposite side of it there stood a great
tree, that looked as if it had been struck by
lightning; and in the pond, at another
part, an old fallen trunk, on one of the
prone limbs of which there was a turtle
sunning himself. “On a sudden, ” says he,
“a wind arose, which forced me into the
pond, and in my dying struggles to extricate
myself from its green and slimy waters, I
awoke, trembling with terror. About eight
yeais after, while recovering from an attack
of scarlet fever, this dream presented itself
to me again, identical in all respects. Even
up to this time I do not think I had even
seen a living tortoise or turtle; but
distinctly remembered there was the pic
ture of one in the first spelling-book that
had been given me.” This fact of never
having seen a turtle is worth noticing, be
cause Kirch meier also had never seen Ster
benk’s cash-box ; but he, of course, heard
it described with some accuracy, and the
description sufficed for his imagination, as
the spelling-book picture sufficed for the
boy’s dream. “ A dozen years elapsed,”
continues the narrative : “I had become a
physician, and was now actively pursuing
my professional duties in one of the South
ern States. It so fell out that one July af
ternoon I had to take a long and wearisome
ride on horseback. It was Sunday, and ex
tremely hot; the path was solitary and not
a house for miles. The forest had that in
tense silence which is characteristic of this
part of the day: all the wild, animals and
birds seemed to have gone to their retreats
to be rid of the sun. Suddenly atone point
of the road I came upon a great stagnant
waterpool, and casting my eyes across it
there stood a pine-tree blasted by lightning,
and on a log that was nearly even with the
surface a turtle was basking in the sun.
The dream of my fancy was upon me ; the
bridle fell from my hands; an unutterable
fear overshadowed me as I slunk away from
the accursed place.”
For years the horror of that moment was
upon him, and although business often led
him in that direction, he always went by
another path to avoid that stagnant pool
and blasted pine tree, which he had seen
(as he believed) in broad daylight. At last
reflection—he being a reflecting man—came
to his aid. He asked himself whether it
was not more probable that he should, for
the third time, have dreamed this dream,
than that the dream itself should actually
have come “Have I really seen the
the blasted pine tree and basking tur
tle ?” he said. “Are a weary ride of fifty
miles, the noontide heat, the silence that
could almost be felt, no provocatives to a
dream ? I have ridden under such circum
stances many a mile, and have awoke and
known it, and so I resolved, if ever circum
stances should call me into those parts
again, I would satisfy myself as to the mat
ter.”
Accordingly, some time afterwards he
\isited the well-remembered spot. There,
sure enough, was the stagnant pool, but the
blasted pinetree was not there. He sear
ched all round, but not a stump or trace'of
any tree having grown there could be found,
and he rightly concluded that, as he was
falling asleep, the glimpse of the water had
incorporated with his dream, and in reality
he had dreamed, but had not seen the vis
ion which so deeply moved him. Suppose
this physician to have been an unreflecting
man, and he would at any time have been
ready to swear solemnly to having seen, in
broad daylight, the thing which we know
he could not have seen.
Teasing.
Teasing is a species of joking in which
one party enjoys all the fun, at the other’s
expense. Though not indicating any ill
will, and often indulged in with the most
hearty good nature, it is yet the source of
much annoyance to the person upon whom
it is inflicted. When repartee can He em
ployed to parry the thrusts and thus divide
their force, such exercise of wit may prove
mutually agreeable. But when one is kept
under the keen lash of ridicule without
ability or opportunity to reply, only patience
or obtuse ness can preserve his equanimity
The infliction becomes all the more severe,
because he is conscious that nothing is said
which would justify his anger.
Many persons who have a great fondness
for teasing, are unacquainted with how it
should be done, and often wound the feel
ings of their friends quite unintentionally.
They do not notice with a care sufficiently
scrupulous, the points upon which they can,
and those upon which they cannot bear to
be joked. Hence, they unheedingly apply
their aarcasm to wounds already sore and
bleeding. To do so is a cruelty which, no
one of clear perception or right principles
would perpetrate. Asa general rule, a man
should not attempt to tease any one for
whom he does not entertain kindly feelings,
for otherwise, his remarks may assume the
form of ill-natured sarcasm. In such cases,
offence is both intended and given.
Some persons acquire such a fondness for
teasing as materially to detract from the
pleasure of their companionship. They
never seem so happy as when subjecting
someone to this species of torture, and the
more annoying it is to their victim, the more
intense is their enjoyment. They seem un
conscious that they are playing the ungen
erous part of the boys in the old fable—
amusing themselves by inflicting suffering
upon others. With the general require
ments of politeness they are acquainted, and
to them yield an approving assent. But
they imperceptibly fall into this very impo
lite habit by not considering that their own
gratification was not the only purpose for
which they were endowed with wit and
given tongues.
Correct Speaking.— We advise all young
people to acquire in early life the habit of
using good language, both in speaking and
writing, and to abandon as early as possi
ble any use of slang words and phrases. The
longer they live the more difficult the ac
quisition of language will be; and if the
golden age of youth, the proper season for
the acquisition of language, be passed in its
abuse, the unfortunate victim of neglected
education, is very properly doomed to talk
slang for life. Money is not necessary to
Erocure this education, every man has it in
is power. He has merely to use the lan
guage which he reaps, instead of the’slang
which he hears; to form his taste from the
best speakers and poets of the country ; to
treasure up choice phrases in his memory,
and habituate himself to their use—avoid
ing, at the same time, that pedantic precis
ion and bombast which show rather the
weakness of a vain ambition than the pol
ish of an educated mind.
PERSONAL.
The health of Bishop* Soule is becoming
extremely feeble.
Gen. Walker, accompanied by Col. Yon
Natzmer, left New Orleans on the sth inst.,
for California.
Capt. Archibald Me William, an old
and much respected citizen of Charleston,
died in that city, lately.
Mr. Blondel de Culenbrock has been ap
pointed Minister from Belgium to the Uni
ted States.
Hon. J. Glancey Jones was received at the
Court of Vienna, on the 24th ult., as Uni
ted States Minister. •
Rev. Dr. Bethune, of New York sailed
for Naples on Saturday last, with his-fami
ly, to be absent six months.
Hon. Eli S. Shorter, representative in
Congress, for the second District of Alaba
ma, positively declines a re-election.
Prof. O. M. Mitchell, the celebrated as
tronomer, has accepted the appointment as
director of the Dudley Observatory.
Hon. Henry S. Geyer, ex-Senator from
Missouri, died on the sth instant, at St.
Louis.
Col. Joseph Bond, a wealthy and much
respected citizen of Macon, was killed at
his plantation in Terrell county, on the
11th, by Lucius Brown.
John G. Saxe, the best humorous poetli”
ving, has anew volume in the press of
Ticknor and Fields, entitled, “The Money
King, and other Poems.”
“ Owen Meredith,” the author of several
volumes of poems, turns out to be Mr. Ed
ward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Sir Edward’s
only son.
Alexander Hume, a Scottish music com
poser, of much ability, died lately in Edin
burg. He composed the beautiful melody
to Burn’s “Afton Water.”
Margaret Snyder, only fourteen years
old, committed suicide at Baltimore, on the
9th inst., by drowning herself, the cause
being a chastisement her father had ad.
ministered for not attending church.
J. Buchanan Henry, Esq., the nephew of
the President, and up to this time his pri
vate secretary, will remove in a few days to
New York city, where he designs to prac
tise law.
Marion Harland, (Mrs. Terhune,) author
of “Alone,” “Moss-side,” etc., has removed
from the South, and is living at Newark
New Jersey, where her husband is pastor*
elect of the First Reformed Dutch Church.
Wm. H. Hull, for many years a resident
of Mobile, and a native of Augusta, Ga.,
died in New Orleans on Saturday, the 27th
ult. He was a brother-in-law of the Hon.
John Forsyth.
• Mr. Raleigh Smith, overseer on the plan
tation of Mr. David Alexander, near Mc-
Kinley post office, Marengo county, Ala.,
was murdered by one of the negroes on the
place, on the 26th ult.
Dr. Wm. Newton Mercer, of New Or
leans, has made an additional donation of
two thousand five hundred dollars to the
Maryland Agricultural College. The ag
gregate amount of his contributions is now
seven thousand five hundred dollars.
For the Literary Temperance Crusader
Ignorance and Vanity—Our National
Sins.
The Romans had a maxim that “obsequi.
ousness produces friends, truth, hatred,” and
it is truly humiliating to the lover of hones’
ty and rectitude to acknowledge that the
truth of the maxim is still apparent.
Men are, in an unenlightened state, the
slaves of ignorance and vanity. Vile syc
ophants and those who have more brains
than virtues have so long imposed on their
ignorance, and flattered their vanity, that
it has at length become almost absolutely
necessary to resort to humbuggery, in order
to secure success. There is a class of men
who are not only willing to be duped and
imposed upon, but they absolutely demand
it. Let the lawyer tell his t lient who knows
that he is in fault, that his cause is a good
one, that the law is on his side, and that he
will gain the suit, and though he lose it,
and thereby, involve himself to ten times
the amount, still he regards the pettifog
ger as a friend, and pays him well for his
services. But the honest lawyer who tells
him that he is in fault, and must lose, he
regards with suspicion instead of gratitude.
Let the teacher tell the parent that his
child has been advanced too rapidly, that
it does not understand the rudiments of
English Grammar, through which it has
been rapidly hurried, and the book laid
aside, or that it does not apply itself with
sufficient diligence andjseal and it is at once
taken away from him and put under the
charge of some Monsieur Bombastes, or
Prof. Sapiens, who initiates it into all the
mysteries and abstruse irregularities of the
English language in twelve days and leads
it triumphantly through the science of
numbers in a fort-night. He tells Mr. Cre
dulous that Master Charlie is a Newton in
embryo, and Mrs. Vanitas that darling lit
tle Fanny is a prodigy. And these arrant
humbugs are landed to the sky, while hon
est merit is allowed to starve.
And it is greatly to be feared that this
vile hypocrisy has invaded the sacred desk
and put on the white robe of religion. The
minister who should stand upon the pro
montories of time to point the wayward tra
veller to the heaven of a blissful eternity
has forgotten his high calling and stoops to
pander the whims of his parishioners. In
stead of preaching Truth, Temperance,
Charity and Humanity—instead of telling
them of the magnitude of their own sins
and dragging from the deep recesses of their
hearts their unholy schemes to get lucre he
preaches the deprevity of other men in oth
er days and declaims about the superiority
of this age to all others. This is the Rev.
Mr. Policy, who glories in preaching to
crowded houses and in the applause of the
multitude rather than that of his own con
science. But let the meek and faithful la
borer in his masters vineyard “ascend the
holy rostrum,” andj preach the Gospel , and
he is at once left to preach to empty pews
and reverberating walls.
Happily, all are not chargeable with the
sin. Many of our countrymen are too wise
to be duped by such arrant designers and
many of our publio functionaries are too
honest to resort^to artifice in order to secure
success. Upon these devolves the duty of
eradicating the evil from society. And to
such posterity will build monuments of mar
ble, while he.Avho acts from policy alone
will die “unwept, unhonored, and unsung.”
I ALPHA.
(For the Literary Temperance Crusader.)
Change.
Creation began with change, and the last
act in the drama of Time will be a change.
The Ruler of the universe, while the “ earth
was without form, and void,” commanded
the dark masses of chaos to roll off, and the
ocean and dry land to appear. “ Darkness
covered the earth,” but at his summons the
black clouds vanished, and the bright sun
of Heaven illumined the world. And ever
since, as time has been rolling on in cease
less ages to eternity, innumerable changes
have been taking place. Man, after his
creation, multiplied, and by his agency,
empires sprang into existence, arts and
sciences prevailed, and all seemed to be
tending to the climax of earthly glory and
renown. But where now that grandeur and
magnificence, luxury and pomp? Where
now that innumerable throng; that glory
and renown ? “ ’Tis mentioned only in
song.” Pestilence, with its infectious breath,
swept off the inhabitants by myriads.
Thousands upon thousands have perished
amid the mighty din of battle. Earthquakes
have engulfed whole cities and their in
habitants, until death seemed to sport with
the sons of men as the rude blast sports with
the seared leaves of autumn. One genera
tion has passed away to its long home, to be
succeeded by another more fleeting, until
passing away seems to be the burden of
creation’s song. Behold man ! To-day, he
may roll in pomp and luxury; to-morrow,
he may lie at the rich man’s gate, clothed
in the rags of the mendicant. To-day, hon
ored and sung; to-morrow, an exile on a
barren rock. “A thousand mourners deck
the pomp of death to-day ; the breathing
marble glows alone to decorate its memory,
and tongues are busy of its life ; to-morrow,
worms in silence and in darkness seize their
prey.”
The question arises, whence all these
changes—these strange anomalies ? To
look around us, there would seem to be an
overruling power delighting in injustice and
anarchy. Some may account for them by
chance; but nature proclaims a God, where
omniscience and omnipresence are display
ed. The good and evil occurring can not
be attributed to blind chance. “If God
made the world, he governs it.” How pre
sumptuous, how arrogant, then, is man.
It seems, because he is created greater thap
all things animate or inanimate —lord of all
he surveys, that he becomes insane. He
would hurl Jehovah from His thone, rea
son entirely away the idea of a God, and
build up a theory upon his own frail super
structure. He should know “ that by a cer
tain law forces exhaust themselves, impulses
die,” and if more than mortal or chance did
not uphold, all would rush into confusion
and riot. Still, the unseen power sustains
the universe. Sun, moon and stars still
shine ; worlds still career through space;
man still lives and dies; good and evil still
exist. That which he, in his stolidity, calls
chance, is but the eternal spirit. These
grand and impressive changes ate but ex
hibitions of an all-wise power, the purposes
and intentions of which are not clearly re
vealed to mortal ken. ’Tis a theme of too
great magnitude for short-sighted man to
perfectly comprehend. Remove the veil
that intervenes, and he would be stupified
and speechless. Can the finite grapple with
the infinite? Can ignorance and supersti
tion combat with omnipotence and omnis
cience? Can the temporal eclipse the eter
nal ? No. These mysteries and anomalies
are not to be satisfactorily solved by human
pow T er. Deformity seems to exist to a mar
velous extent upon earth. A moral blight
seems to be settled upon the world. Yet,
the only conclusion, in accordance with
truth, seems to be, that “ whatever is, is
right.” To explain it upon ether grounds
is folly. Changes and anomalies will still
continue, and what seems now inexplicable
and marvelous will, at some future time,
be clearly understood. Man is to be the
instrumental and God the efficient cause of
terminating creation, travail, and ushering
in a glorious revolution. While the world
is rapidly hastening on to its sublime close,
its speedy annihilation, let the scoffer scoff,
let the infidel oppose his slender arms to
the breastplate of omnipotence, and the
atheist proclaim no God, still, will there be
heard in thunder tones or in the still, small
voice the mighty truth that, “ wliavever is,
is right.” MUTATUS.
Greorge .A.vigu.stu.9 S.xla..
The wrilin gs of this gentleman are so po
pular in England and America that we
think that a few particulars concerning his
literary career, which have been related to
us by a friend who knew him familiarly in
Paris, cannot but be interesting to our rea
ders. He is of Portugese descent, as his
name would indicate, and is now about thir
ty-seven years of age. He has considerable
artistic skill, and when first thrown upon
the world supported himself by his pencil
and graver. About eight or nineyears ago,
however, he found himself in London with
cut employment, and without friends who
could be used. Reduced to his last half
crown, and having vainly endeavored to
borrow enough to get him through his diffi
culties, he resolved to try his hand at liter
ature. He bought three or four sheets of
paper and repaired to a coffee house near
Drury Lane Theatre, where he wrote a full
and literal account of his adventures du
ring his two days’ attempt to borrow a few
shillings. He then enclosed his manuscript
with a note to Mr. Dickens, him
if he thought the paper worthy of admission
to the pages of the Household Words, to for
ward whatever he felt willing to give for it,
without delay, to the writer’s address at the
above mentioned coffee house. The anxie
ty with which he inquired after each post
delivery, for letters, was not of long dura
tion. Mr. Dickens answered very promptly
with what seemed to the young author a
most liberal remittance, and from that time
Mr. Sala was enrolled in that corps of able
writers, who, under their gifted head, have
made the Household Words one of the most
popular of the English weeklies. Dickens’
judgment of Mr. Sala’s ability as evinced in
his acceptance of the first contribution, has
been ratified by the unanimous voice of the
general reading public of England and Am
erica. There is a freshness about his style
which is very uncommon in this age, and a
directness and freedom from sentimentali
ty. His style has evidently been modelled
upon that of Dickens, and his success is
borne witness to by the fact that several of
the articles contributed by him to the
Household Words have gone the rounds of the
newspaper press in this country as the work
of the author of Pickwick and Copperfield.
In the summer of 1856, Mr. Sala visited
Russia and gathered the materials of the
entertaining’ book by which he is best
known. “A Journey Due North.” He
has, since the commencement of his litera
ry career, resided alternately in London and
Paris.
We have recently published many arti
cles from the pen of Mr. Sala, who is con
tributing to various publications, and hav
ing received assurances that his writings
are acceptable, we shall from time to time
give our readers his latest efforts. He is
now writing a serial entitled “Make Your
Game,” which is fresh, sparkling and orig
inal.
Some men are as covetous as if they were
to live forever ; and others as profuse as if
they were to die the next moment.
CLIPPINGS.
The population of Hayti, at this time, is esti
mated to be seven hundred and fifty thousand-
Harvard University has a fund of one million
nine thousand six hundred and thirty-six dollars,
nearly all of which is safely and profitably inves
ted.
The Jackson Monument, at the battle ground,
New Orleans, has reached the height of seventy
feet, and has cost S3O, 800.
Many politicians boast they can’t be bought,
when they are really so worthless that they can’t
be sold.
Talent never displays itself without making an
impression on the feelings of those whom it ad
dresses ; if it is not warmly loved, it is hated.
A tailoi advertises to guarantee his customers
“good fits.” If he doesn’t give them fits by his
tailoring, he probably will by his charges.
We often hear of a man “being in advance of
his ape,” but never heard ofawomaninthesame
predicament.
The United States Sub-Treasury atNewYork
dispatched from that city, on the 15th inst. SSOO
- in specie for New Orleans.
The more seldom a barrister gets a chance to
plead, the loneer he talks when he does get one.
the lex* brief the more he is briefless.
It is an old saying that Time waits for no man
—but the fair sex would have us believe that he
is gallant enough to wait for the ladies.
_ Good nature is the very air of good mind, the
sign of a large and generoussoul, and the peculiar
soil in which virtue prospers.
“Biddy, did you put an egg in 1 his miserable
c offee to settle it ?” “Yis, mum, I put in four’
jist for cause they wor so bad I had to use more
of ’em.”
Leave all your grievances as Napoleon did his
letters—unopened for a week—and it is astonish
ing how few of them, at that time, will require
answering.
“May I come to see you this evening, Miss I”
“No.” “To-morrow evening ?” “No.” “Some
time or other ?” “No.” “Well, you area young
lady of decidedly negative qualities.”
Queen Victoria has in a single ring a gallery of
family portraits, each a mere photographic speck,
but under the magnifying glass, displaying the
finish and all the delicacy of a large portrait.
The people of Vicksburg have voted by a ma
jority of 168, to tax themselves SIOO,OOO in aid of
the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas Rail
Road.
It is said that in two provinces in Denmark the
women a right to vote, and that in a late
election they cast several votes lor a female can
didate.
A Yankee being asked how it happened that
his sweetheart had given him the mitten, repli
ed, “I was such a fool that I praised her so
much she got so proud she wouldn’t speak to
me.”
Very touching and beautiful were the words of
the old schoolmaster, as life passed away. “Itis
growing dark —the school maybe dismissed.”
Down to the very gates of an unseen world, he
carried his love and regard for the children whom
he had trained.
A few days ago, a lawyer gave an insult to the
Judge of the Court ol Common Pleas, at Logans
port, Ohio, while on tho bench, whereupon, the
Judge at once got oft’ the bench, and going into
the bar, gave the lawyer a very severe drub
bing.
“You can’t even tell who made the monkey,
forallyou pretend to know so much,” said an
impertinent fop to a clergyman, who had reprov
ed him lor profanity. “Yes I can,” said the cler
gyman. “Well, then, who made the monkey?”
“He who made you.”
One day Jerrold was asking about the talent of
a young painter, when his companion declared
that the youth was mediocre. “The very worst
ochre an artist can set to work with,” was the
quiet reply.
The next national Fair of the United States
Agricultural Society will be held either at St.
Louis, Peoria or Chicago, the propositions from
those cities having been selected from those pre
sented tor the considerations of the Society.
Gilbert Hunt, the old negro whosavedso many
ladies at the burning of the Richmond Theatre
on the night ot December 26th, 1811, is still liv
ing in that city, having pursued the avocation of
blacksmith for more than three-score years.
A mulatto named Wries, employed in the Chat •
ity Hospital at Paris, is obtaining great celebrity
for the cure of cancers. He undertakes the most
desperate cases, and with wonderful success, and
and receives fees of fabulous amount.
Jones does not dot his i’s nor cross his t’s.
His talk is n<) less laconic; he never uses the
personal pronoun I. Lately, in reply to the
question, put in rather an impertinent tone,
“Where were you born?” he replied. “Know
where and you may find it.”
A wit having been asked by another person
whether he would advise him to lend a certain
friend of theirs money, said, “What ! lend him
money ? You might give him an emetic, and he
wouldn’t return it.”
“Why don’t you wheel that barrow of coals.
Ned ?” said a learned miner to one of his sons.
“It is not a very hard job ; there is an inclined
plane to relieve you.” “Ah,” replied Ned, who
had more relish for wit than work, “the plane
may be inclined, but hang me if I am.”
The Illinois House of Representatives has a
curious custom. Near the close of the session,
the roll of the members, if called through once or
twice, and, as the name is called, each member
has a right to call for the consideration of one bill
and to have it put on its passage. Many private
bills are thus reached and passed.
A California paper states that an express man
in that Slate, who was chased by.eight wolves on
the 20th of January, dropped his letter bag, ran
to a pine stump, and set it on fire. The wolves
tore up the mail bag, eat up the express man’s
dinner, and then, being frightened by the blazeof
the pine wood, ran away. This is taking the
stump to some advantage.
In a church a person entered a pew, and belie
ving he had a got a good seat, unfortunately sat
down upon the dress of a lady who happened to
be highly erinolined. In an instant he rose to
his feet and begged the lady’s pardon in these
words : “Yere pardon mem, but I’m feardl’ve
broken your umbrella.” “Nothing wrong,’ said
the lady blushing.
A pennv-a-liner never uses the word eat, but
defines it thus : “To insert nutritious pabulum
into the denticulated orifice below the nasal pro
tuberance, which, being masticated, peregrinates
through the cartilaginous cavities of the larynx,
and is finally domiciliated in the receptacle for
digestible particles.” In this way, lie turns
three letters into five lines. He knows his
trade!
In Italy, a lover at a ball places two fingers on
his mouth, which signifies to a lady, “You are
very handsome, and I wish to speak to you.” If
she touches her cheek with her fan, and lets it
gently drop, that signifies, “I consent ;” but if
she turns her head it is a denial. At a ball in
Par’s, to take a lady out to dance with her is on
ly indifference, to place yourself near her is inter
est; but to follow her with your eyes in the dance
is love.
Do you remember the story of Frederick the
Great and the sentinel, on the very cold wintry
night ? “Why don’t you smoke?” the king, in
cognito, says. “Against orders—musn’t” sen
tinel replies. “Oh, but you may, I give you
leave.” “Can’t help it, I musn’t.” “I tell you,
fool, that I will bear you harmless. lam the
King” What does the sentinel answer to this?
“The king be ” he says ; “what would my
captain say f” Moral: Always obey your im
mediate superior.
A. Happy Heart for Me. ‘
BY MRS. M. S. DANA SHINDLEB.
Would’st thou be happy-hearted ?
Then always speed the right;
For ’tis only sell-approval
That can make this world look bright.
Let others boast their splendor,
Their wealth and pedigree,
Let them scorn the poor and lowly,
But a happy heart for me!
Would’st thou be happy-hearted ?
Then love thy brother man !
Walk o’er life’s pathway humbly,
And do all the good you can.
Let others hoard their treasures,
Hard-hearted let them be ;
They are welcome to their pleasures.
But a happy heart for me !
[Life Illustrated.
A. LITTLE BLACK BOY.
The object that immediately attracted
our attention, as having caused the merri
ment which had disturbed our discourse,
was the cabin-boy, a little negro fellow of
apparently about eight or nine years of age.
His dress consisted of coarse thick linen
trousers, a blue-and-white checked shirt
open at the throat, a black tarpaulin hat,
and a pair of low-priced pumps without
stockings. The shirt and trowsers had evi
dently been recently donned, in a clean
state; but they were far from being so now.
Certain large patches of grease and black
ing very much marred their neatness. The
facd and hands were also pretty well plas
tered, in large and frequent spots, with the
same materials. The boy was a genuine
specimen of the Ethiopian race, having a
jet-black face, a broad and flat nose, large
fleshy lips, the under one of which protru
ded a little beyond the other; teeth large
and somewhat projecting, and as white as
ivory: and a mass of wooly hair that, by
frequent use of a coarse-comb, was made to
stand out some inches from his head.
This queer-looking little fellow was stand
ing in a circle of the passengers, in a high
state of angry excitement. He held in his
right hand a greasy-mouthed brown stone
jug, and in his left a tin can, the bottom
and sides of which were smeared within
with some black compound. These vessels
he was shaking with passionate vehemence
at his scoffers, while his eyes rolled furious
ly from one to the other of the passengers,
as every now and then the laugh was renew
ed in different quarters. Several times he
made an effort to speak to the captain, but
was unable to do so on account of the vio
lence of his excitement. At length his pas
sion found vent in words.
“Jes look er here, cap’n,” he said, “jes
see what somebody’s gone un done. Ebery
blessed drap uv de ile spilt, ebery bit uv de
blackin’ done all wasted. Un dere’s my
cuddy, dat wus so clean, all smeared ober
and ober wid de ile un de blackin’. Un jes
see my shirt and trousers, dat 1 put on dis
ebenin’ so clean to wait on de table in; jes
look at um now—spilet fureber; neber git
dat dirt out in dis worl’. What d’ye think
uv dat dare now ? Dese ladies un gem’lin
wouldn’ lass so if dey had deir shirt un trou
sers all greased un dirtied ober and ober in
dat dare way, 1 s’pose.”
The captain had joined with the passen
gers in the laugh at the little black fellow’s
vehemence, and at the queer figure he
made; but his laugh did not appear to me
entirely hearty. Probably he sympathized
with the boy’s vexation a little, on accoun
of the waste of the oil being his own 10.-s
The blacking was probably the little ne
gro’s property, and a speculation of his owi
in his capacity of boot-black for the passen
gers. So after a while he requested silenc
while he investigated the affair.
“Who’s gone and spilt them things, ’Pos
sum?’ he asked. ‘Who d’yer think could’e
done it?”
“Dat’s jes what I cum fur ter find out
sail,” said ’Possum. “Dere wus er gen’luu
down here in de cabin dere when de squal
come, er tryin’ fur ter stuff hisses away
inter de cuddy. I s’pose he mus’ ’er don(
it.”
“Did yer see what kind er lookin’ pusson
that gen’leman was, ’Possum ?” asked the
captain, with a sly leer at Mr. Wilson, and
a wink at the rest of us.
“I wus too much took’t up wid der squal
sail, ter make any obserwe,” was the an
swer ; “but dere wasn’t but one gen’lum
down deie den, un, in course, he must ’er
ben de pusson, sah. Seems ter me Marster
Wilson dere looks like ’um.”
“It couldn’t’er been Mr. Wilion,’Possum; 1
Mr. Wilson’s a man er sperm.” And the
captain lengthened his face out in order to
look very serious.
“Why times er squalls is the werry time
for his sperrit to show ii.sef. He oilers has
the mos’ sperrit jes when a vessel is hove
down by the wind right on ter her beam
ends. Ain’t it so, Mr. Wilson ? Why, you
told us so yerself this very arternoon.
Didn’t yer?”
Mr. Wilson, as we could still see, although
the twilight was fast growing dim and min
gling with the soft moonlight, turned red in
the lace and looked away: thin he straight
ened himself, put his hands into his pock
ets, and made an effort to whistle.
“Why, you see, captain,” he at length
said—‘why, you see the fact is—that is, I
mean I went down into .the cabin to see if
I could find a smelling-bottle or something
of that sort for my wife, who was sick, you
know.”
“Os course, yer done it fur that,” said the
captain, “un yer was naterally in a mighty
hurry. We all saw yer was in such a hurry
that yer was nigh on ter failin’ overboard.
But you don’tgitskeered un do them things;
Tom Smith’s the man fur that. Un yer not
coming back tell the squall was over is na
terally accounted for by yer waitin’ fur ter
try fur ter wipe up the spilt ile and black
in’ with the tail of yer new broadcloth frock
coat.”
Mr. Wilson succeeded in putting a stop
to the captain’s banter by promising to pay
damages, and thoroughly pacified theyoung
African by presenting him with a half dol
lar, which sent him, grinning and bowing
and pulling a lock of hair on his forehead,
back to his duties below deck.
“I say, little follow,” I asked, slipping a
small silver coin into his hand, as he passed
me at the cabin door, ‘why do they call you
’Possum ?”
“ ’Cause I’se fond of ’simmons, sah,” was
the laconic reply, as he plunged down the
steep cabin steps.
Titled Cooks. —Prince Talleyrand, that
consummate diplomatist, whose dinnershad
a European reputation, did not amuse him
self, it is true, with holding the handle of
the frying-pan. but was accustomed to visit,
his larder every morning. And have we
not still more august examples? The love
ly and unfortunate Marie Antoinette de
lighted in making her own creams and
cheese at Trianon. Who again does not
know the history of the omelette at Mal
maison? The Empress Josephine was amu
sing herself one day with her ladies of hon
or with the manufacture of an omelette,
and, at the most interesting moment of the
operation, Napoleon entered unexpectedly.
Seeing the embarrassment the Empress ex
perienced in turning the omelette, he took
the pan from her hand, saying, “I will show
you, ma bonne amie, how to turn an ome
lette ; this is the bivouac fashion.” And
at the same moment he gave the pan that
little twist so well known to all cooks, but
the disobedient omelette, instead of return
ing to the frying-pan, fell right into the tire,
to the great delight of Josephine, who, tur
ning to her august spouse, said to him, with
a charming smile, “Your majesty is not at
the biv;ouac now ; you understand much
better how to gain battles than to turn ome
lettes.”
The term “putting your foot in it,” ii
seems, is of legitimate origin. According tc
the “Asiatic Researches/’ a very curious
mode of trying the title to land is practiseo
in Ilindoostan. Two holes are dug in th<
disputed spot, in each of which the lawyer
on either side put one of their legs, and re
main there until one of them is tired, o
complains of being stung by the insects, i
which case his client is defeated. In thi
country it is too generally the client, an
not the lawyer, who “puts his foot in it.’^B
“Conquer Your Prejudices!” —Savefl
two marriages between whites and bfl
occurred in Massachusetts last year LB