Newspaper Page Text
THE
Romance of History.
ELFRIDA, THE STAR OF DEVONSHIRE.
BY W. W. WOODSON.
Edgar, the Saxon, ascended the throne in
The beginning of bis reign was
disturbed by contests with his factious nobles,
who aspired to independent sovereignty in their
extensive dominions. But the young king was
of too warlike and ambitious a nature to per
mit these great feudal lords to defy his prerog
ative, undone after another they were forced
into submission.
In these wars, waged against his rebellious
vassals, the king was ably seconded by his fa
vorite, Ethelwald. This young noble was no
less distinguished for the graces of his person
than his prowess in war. In return for his em
inent services, the grateful monarch had offer-
ed to bestow upon him the richest of the great
fiefs ot the crown; but as the acceptance of the
proffered dignity would have necessitated his
residence in a distant portion of the realm, it
was decliped. Being deeply attached to the
person of his royal master, and devoted to the
gallantry and gayety of the Saxon court, Ethel
wald chose to remain as a “landless lord” in at
tendance on his sovereign. He was no less a
favorite with the ladies of the court than with
his master, and the gallant and gifted earl, for
such was his title, might have formed a bril
liant alliance, had he been so inclined. But
while charming and agreeable to all, he had nev
er been induced to pay court at the shrine of
any particular fair one.
Edgar, too, was still unmarried. Pressing
affairs of state, and the wars in which he had
been engaged, had not left him time to think
of marriage, but as peace and quiet now reign
ed throughout the kingdom, the propriety of
seeking a partner for his throne suggested it
self.
Rumors of the wondrous beauty of Elfrida,
daughter of the great Earl of Devonshire, had
reached his capital, and he determined to send
a trusty agent to the castle of the earl, who
might learn by personal observation whether
the lady was really as beautiful as she was rep
resented.
The king selected Ethelwald as his agent in
this delicate mission. The young earl was bit
terly opposed to the king’s marriage, for he
clearly foresaw in such an event he would lose
his position as the royal favorite. He there
fore ridiculed, as far as he dared, his master’s
project of dispatching an envoy into Devonshire,
for the purpose of passing judgment on a la
dy’s charms. But finding that Edgar was de
termined upon the step, he set out upon the er
rand with the best grace he could. Arriving
at the castle of Devonshire, he was received
with all the honor due to his rank and the high
position he held in the Saxon court.
Ethelwald was a keen judge of female loveli
ness, and he was forced to confess that Elfrida
was well worthy of the extravagant encomiums
that were everywhere passed upon her beauty.
She was certainly the most beautiful woman
he had ever beheld. He found, too, to his
infinite surprise, that she was possessed of
much grace of manner, and all those feminine
accomplishments, which were necessary to con
stitute a fine lady of the period.
Ethelwald at once determined, if possible, to
win her for himself, and applied himself, with
all the arts at his command, to make a favora
ble impression on both father and daughter.
Nor was this a difficult task. His handsome
person and agreeable address was highly pleas
ing to the lovely but rustic maiden, and he
soon gained her consent to a union. The fath
er, too, was not averse to a ^son-in-law, who,
though he possessed not the great domain,
which some of Elfrida’s suitors laid at her feet,
yet being the favorite of his king, the road to
preferment in both honors and lands was open
to him. Besides, Elfrida was his only child,
and heiress to his own broad lands, a fitting
dowry for a queen. So that he need not be act
uated by merely mercenary motives in selecting
a husband for his only child.
Ethelwald’s proposals were therefore accepted,
and he returned to court and reported to the
King that the beauty of Elfrida was greatly
overrated; that it was only the great wealth to
which she was heiress that had given rise to the
wild rumors in regard to her beauty; that, reared
in the seclusion of her father’s castle, she was
wholly uncultivated, and possessed none of
those graces which would be indispensable in
the partner of his throne.
The King, accepting the report of his trusted
envoy, gave the matter no further consideration.
Ethelwald, having waited some time to prevent
any suspicion of his treachery, suggested to the
King that while Elfrida’s charms had been
greatly exaggerated, still her great wealth made
her a very suitablo match for a poor earl like
himself, and begged the King’s permission to
pay his addresses to her. This was very readily
granted, and the ardent young lover posted off
to Devonshire, where his marriage with Elfrida
was soon after solemnized. His young and
lovely countess had fully expected after her
marriage to follow her husband to London, and
she had anticipated the greatest pleasure from a
participation in the splendid gayeties of the
court. She was vain of her wondrous beauty,
and had looked forward to many a triumph over
the ladies attached to the court of her sovereign.
Her mortification was therefore intense, when
her husband, who had such powerful reasons
for keeping her away, declined positively to take
her to the city. She looked upon his refusal as
an injury, and never forgave him for it.
The whole story of Ethelwald’s duplicity at
length reached the ears of the King, and his
fury knew no bounds. Dissembling his resent
ment, however, he announced to Ethelwald his
intention to pay him a visit. The poor man, in
great trepidation, stammered his thanks for the
honor, and begged permission to go on before
and put the castle in order for the reception of
His Majesty.
The request being granted, he set out at once,
and arriving at the castle, fell on his knees and
confessed to his wife the whole story of his
treachery to his offended King, and implored
her, if she had any regard for his safety, to con
ceal her beauty as much as possible from the
eyes of the King. He pleaded his great love as
an extenuation of his wrong, and left her under
the impression that she would be obedient to
his wishes. But Elfrida was as vain and ambi
tious as she was beautiful, and at once imbibed
the bitterest resentment against her husband
for his daring to step between her and a crown.
In order to be revenged, therefore, she ar
rayed herself in splendid attire, and hightened
with all the arts at her command her natural
charms. She entered the room in which her
royal visitor was seated, leaning on the arm ot
her father, who had been informed of the whole
matter, and who was as indignant as herself-
Ethelwald saw at a glance that he was lost; she
had never before seemed so lovely, and the sus
ceptible King took no pains to disguise his ad
miration. He said nothing, however, toexciti
the fean of his quondam favorite, but a few days
later the murdered body of that uufortuuate
nobleman was found in a wood adjacent to the
castle. Some say that the irate monarch stabbed
him with his own hand; others that he was assas
sinated by the retainers of the earl of Devon
shire. Be that as it may, there was now no
obstacle to the marriage of the King and the
widow countess, and this event was soon after
celebrated with the greatest pomp and splendor.
ANCIENT AND MODERN
Heroes.
THRILLING DEATH SCENES.
BY SIDNEY HERBERT.
Heroism, I am constrained to believe, is not
of modern birth, nor confined to any particu
lar race of people. From the earliest days of
creation down to the present time, men have
stood forth in sublime attitudes of heroic valor,
unflinching fortitude, and patient suffering,
teaching to .those around them, less brave and
strong and enduring, lessons so fraught with
noble inspiration that cowards became heroes,
the weak-kneed grew firm of foot and strong of
arm, and the faint-hearted threw doubt and
fear to the winds, and bravely and patiently
strove for the victory that could oDly come
through the endurance and valor and hopeful
ness of their own undaunted spirits.
In his very interesting and timely sketch of
the military genius, services and death of the
lamented General Albert Sidney Johnston, G. S.
A., published in the Detroit Free l J ress, Col. I.
W. Avery states that the heroic death of that
gallant soldier “ savors of antique glory.” My
purpose, therefore, is to show, by example, what,
in the light of sacred history, may properly be
called “antique glory,” and by comparison of
the two examples, ascertain if the modern glory
is not, in all respects, equal to (in fact does not
surpass in grand characteristics) the “antique.”
The ancient warrior whom I have selected—
King Ahab—was a mighty conqueror, and died
with a fortitude unsurpassed in the annals of
history; and yet he comes down to us character
ized as a “weak” man. Not so with the modern
example, General Johnston, the pure, strong
man and fearless and faithful soldier.
THE MODERN EXAMPLE.
“ I know of nothing,” writes Col. Avery,
“more characteristic in the history of this great
war than Johnston’s heroic death. It savors of
antique glory. Every circumstance was redo
lent of chivalry. It illustrated alike his mili
tary genius and his knightly spirit.”
“On Sunday, the Gth of April, 18G2, John
ston, with his eager army, began his fateful
fight. It was a complete surprise in the misty
Sabbath morning of a splendid army, in luxu
rious encampment, unsuspecting danger.
Never fought a surprised force more gallantly,
nor was one ever handled more skillfully thus
taken unawares. But the attack was irresisti
ble. With supreme daring Gen. Johnston urg
ed on the onset. He handled his army with
brilliant impetuosity. Wherever there was a
pause in the onward movement he led the charge
in person.
“To those who saw him that day, as the writer
did, in all the glorious fervor of that delirious
success, mounted upon a magnificent steed, his
massive figure seeming to enlarge to gigantic
size with the ardor of battle, his noble face
aflame with his indomitable spirit of fight, he
was the ideal embodiment of the fiery essence
of war. He threw himself with reckless indif
ference into danger. The entire line of the en
emy was in retreat a little before noon.
“Johnston pressed the fierce pursuit of the
broken foe. Oblivious of peril from the swarm
ing bullets of the retreating but still fighting
enemy, he rode swiftly in advance. It was in
this supreme moment of victorious onset, a de
cisive triumph seemingly in his grasp, that the
fatal bullet struck Him; a small wound under
the knee severing an artery. He never heeded
it, but sweeping on in the rush, exclaimed to
one of his officers, ‘ We will water our horses in
the Tennessee river to-night.’
“An aide perceiving blood on his clothes, ask
ed him, with deep anxiety, if he was not woun
ded. He answered, in the exalted ardor of his
feelings, removed above the sense of pain, ‘only
a scratch!’ Even then the life-blood was flow
ing from his deadly wound, and his moments
were numbered. But his great soul was in the
battle heat, and self was sublimely forgotten.
. . . . He began to reel in the saddle—dying!
Ho was lifted to the ground. His boot was full
of blood, and the life current pouring out be
yond recall. He never spoke again.
“Removed to a ravine out ot the merciless
bullets’ course, he was dead in a twinkling!
Stimulants were applied in vain. The grand
old man was gone from this world of strife, and
the Southern people mourned the heaviest be
reavement they had yet suffered in the mighty
struggle. Take it all in all, with all its acces
saries, and the late war, (as full as it was of ro
mantic events) shows no more dramatic picture
than the ‘ taking off’ of this heroic chieftain.
It was a fit exit for the royal soldier to thus ex
pire in the crimson tide of such a triumph!"
THE ANCIENT EXAMPLE.
From the above modern example of how hero
ically a true and brave soldier can meet his death
amid the rush and roar of battle, let us turn
back far beyond the birth of the great “Prince of
Peace,” and gaze upon a similar picture, hallow
ed by “antique glory” and the presence of Israel’s
God—the death in battle of the mighty Ahab,
King of Israel,
“Ahab,” says the Rev. D. O. Kellogq, D. D.,
“died heroically in battle. He had long waged,
war with the Syrians. When his army lay on
the hill-sides, like ‘two little flocks of kids,’ and
the Syrian host with its chariots filled the coun
try, he undauntedly led his infantry against the
foe and routed them. In his victory he was mag
nanimous, and the Syrians has it for a kind of
proverb that the rulers of Israel were ‘merciful
kings.’
“At last, after many a hard fight, Ahab rolled*
the tide of war away from the heart of his coun
try to its eastern frontier, in Gilead. Thither
he went with his army to recover the city of Ra-
motli from the Syrians. Such was the Syrian
sense of his bravery and generalship, that they
thought the field would be won as soon as Ahab
should fall. So the command ran through a
squadron of that army to fight with none but
Anab.
“The Israelite king, to avoid this danger and
render futile the scheme, went disguised into
battle. Fiercely raged the conflict, and unyield
ing each line breasted the blows of the foe. In
the heat of the conflict an archer drawing his
bow at a venture, shot his arrow into the joint
of Ahab’s corselet and gave him a mortal wound.
“With no outcry the king turned his chariot
to the rear, and there, lest the news of his hurt
should dispirit his soldiers, he stayed himself
up and remained on the field. All that after
noon the blood trickled down within the corse
let, and congealed in pools on the chariot floor.
The king grew weaker and weaker, but his reso
lution changed not. Mortal distress took hold
upon him, but he would not yield. His forti
tude was the bulwark of his country, the shield
of his army, and it should not be wanting.
Night began to fall and separate the combatants,
and as the strife ceased they looked and beheld
the king’s eye had glazed—the brave general
was dead.”
"Kimball House, Feb., 1878.
Nature has given women two painful but
heavenly gifts which distinguish them and
often raise them above human nature—com pas
sion and enthusiasm. By compassion they de
vote themselves; by enthusiasm they exalt them
selves. —Lamartine.
Gold must be beaten, and a child scourged.
—Ben Lira.
SOCIETY GOSSIP.
Parties, Balls, Dinings, Marriages,
and other Amusements.
LIFE IN THE SOUTH.
—ylanta, ga.
The “Mistletoe Bough” will be given Tuesday
evening at DeGive’s. Two ladies of acknowl
edged ability have given their entire attention
to the management; and they never fail in any
undertaking. The proceeds of the entertain
ment will be donated to the completion of the
First Methodist church of this city,and we trust
that our people will give them the encourage
ment that their efforts deserve.
There was a very delightful Hop at the Mark
ham Monday evening. Two Macon belles were
the attraction.
Atlanta has been unusually gay this week; de
lightful attractions at the theatre, while balls
and parties have followed in rapid succession.
The Misses Brockenborough add very much
to the attractiveness of Pryor street.
The Anderson matinee, Wednesday evening,
despite the horrid condition ofAiie streets, was
largely attended by both sexes.
We found such violent oppositions to the “M.
A. S.,” that we had to change its name. Why,
some of the gentlemen actually looked horrified
when we mentioned it. Yet the purposes of the
“Sans Souci” are virtually the same.
The Macon Telegraph says: “Henry Rich
ardson is fast making an enviable reputation as
an accurate and ready reporter." Now we are
willing to all the clever things said of this gen
tleman, but contend that he is sometimes rather
more “ready” than “accurate.” How cruel of
him last Sunday, to state so positively that a
brilliant young lady was seriously contempla
ting going upon the stage. Wonder who she
can be ?
We had the pleasure, yesterday, of seeing an
exquisitely colored * photo” of Mary Anderson.
It was—of course—executed by our talented
artist, Mrs. Oliver. We should be proud to have
such rare talent among ns, and should encour
age it.
It is a loss to any community^/hen such men
as Gen. Garlington removes from its midst.
Atlanta will always be happy to welcome him
back.
Wonder what became of all the valentines
sold in this city. No one admits having received
any, yet the news dealers report large sales.
The most delightful event of the week was
the reception of the “Sans Souci Social Club,”
Thursday evening, at the residence of Mr. J. W.
Fears, on Pryor street. Excellent music, fair
women, chivalrous and elegant men—what more
could we desire to make an evening perfect.
The Club is under the management and chaper-
onage of six of our most popular matrons,
while Mr. Terry Towns is Treasurer, with charm
ing assistants, Misses Taylor and Lowry; Miss
Ellis is Secretary. The mombers will be notified
of the time and place of the next meeting.
The Hon. G. J. Elkins, of Washington county,
Ga., was recently married to Miss Clara J.
Shackelford, one of Atlanta’s most accomplished
young ladies.
All About Women.
Miss Mary Bowers, a daughter of Mrs. D. P.
Bowers, made her first appearance before the
•footlights hist ’reek at the 56e*»Vpark> Theatre,
Brooklyn. Mrs. Brown played Leak, and her
daughter Madeline.
Aimee appeared last week for the last time in
New Orleans, in “La fille de Madame Aogot”
and “La vie Parisienne.”
Olive Logan writes a very interesting letter
to the Cincinnati Enquirer, containing spicy
but good-natured gossip about Mrs. Hirch’s —
Lord, Miss Hannah Rothschild, and concludes
with a dissertation of American Notions in Eng
land.
The young ladies of Nashville give Neck-Tie
parties, served up with oysters and coffee.
Mrs. Agnew, of New Orleans, will soon make
her debut as “Juliet,” and her career is watch
ed with interest by a large circle of friends.
Mrs. Dorset, of Minneaopolis, has just been
admitted to practice law in all the courts of the
State of Minnesota.
Madame Modveska “Camille” is said to make
hundreds a week. ’Tis said when she is called
before the curtain she does not wear the stereo-
t> ped smile of the actress updta her face, but
simply goes to the front with the same expres
sion of countenance she wore during the play.
Madame Firmin-Didot, a woman of co asider-
able talent, and widow of the eminent French
publisher, has just died at the age of eighty-one.
The new Queen of Italy, Margaretta, is one of
the most beautiful women of royal blood in Eu
rope. She is twenty-six, and eight years the
senior of her husband, who is her cousin.
Janauschek exhibited her jewelry in one of
the Main street establishments, and they, of
course, attracted immense attention from men,
women and children.
All About Men.
Senator Harris, of Tennessee, who has been
confined to his bed for several days in Washing
ton, is improving,
Mr. Charles L. Flannagan, late of the Wash
ington National Republican, will shortly be
married to Miss Fanny B. Ward, the fashion
writer of that paper.
Hon. Carey Young, of Tennessee, was taken
seriously ill a few days since, with a threatened
attack of meningitis. V
Cardinal MeCloskey, accompanied by his
secretary, Rev. John W. Farley, sailed for
Liverpool last Saturday, to attend the conclave
at Rome.
Offenbach makes Don Quixote the hero of his
new opera bouffe.
Mr. W. W. Corcoran, the great Washington
banker, has recently given 85,01)0 to the Vir
ginia Historical Society.
Longfellow says if he responded to all the
requests sent him for his autograph and his
“photo,” he would spend a third of his income
just in these trilies.
It is to be regretted that Col. Wm. H. Cham
bers, of Alabama, will not permit his name to
go before the Democratic Convention for Gov
ernor.
Dr. Seymours has been confirmed as Bishop
of the new Diocese of Northern Illinois.
“All Sorts.”
The Yale boys are publishing a daily newspa
per “for amusement.” We like their candor,
but really that is of course the only dividend a
new journal can expect.
’Tis told of Mary Anderson that while she
was in Nashville several weeks since, that upon
discovering a mouse in her dressing-room, she
screamed loud enough to create a panic behind
the scenes, and here some man laughs at it, and
says she can go on a stage and bulldoze any
first-class Macbeth. Suppose she can; yet she
is a woman, and consequently afraid of a mouse.
Shreveport, Louisiana, and Little Rock, Ar
kansas, both are to celebrate Mardi Gras.
Here comes theYreport that they are actually
selling maideittiiatirmpVn Racine, Illinois, to
the highest bidaersyjtftie auctioneer conducted
the sale like an honest man, but he must have
felt discouraged: for the highest price paid was
twenty-five cents, although the young lady was
beautiful, and warranted to be without false
teeth, false hair, and altogether an eligible
match.
The Amateur Minstrels of Macon, Georgia,
have canceled their engagement with Colum
bus. What a pity ! Columbus has been sigh
ing for the minstrels. She is fearfully jealous
of Atlanta and Macon.
During Mardi Gras in Memphis, Sothern will
appear in his great roles of Dundreary and the
Crushed Tragedian.
' The entire State of Kentucky seems to be
aroused on the Temperance question. John B.
Gough has been lecturing in Louisville, while
there is noble work being accomplished every
day in all parts of the “blue-grass country.”
Talbotton, Georgia, is becoming aggressive.
It wants a telephone, a county fair and a public
library—all this right away. She isn’t willing
to wait. Why don’t John Gorman get all these
things for his native county?
Skating has beenjrevived.and is in some cities
quite a fashionable amusement. Ten years ago
it was all the rage, but the statements of the
physicians that it was injurious, put astop to it.
Even the church-going infants of Toledo are
precociously wicked. On a recent Sunday, “a
child grabbed all the coin on the contribution
plate. She was finally convinced that the date
for resumption had not yet been reached.
Why should the Floridians bo so fortunate?
How tantalizing it is to read of their delicious
fruits and vegetables, lovely flowers and de
lightful weather. The orange orop has been re
markably fine, and the natives predict even a
finer field next year.
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, in his sermonjlast
Sunday, spoke of the late Pope as “that dear
and good old man, who had just gone to Heav
en from the Pontifical chair. When Pius IX
died,” said Mr. Beecher, “that instant God’s an
gels bore him gently as a little child in the arms
of its mother, into the presence of his Savior.
It was not because he was Pope, but because a
new heart had been given him. The nature of
the Pope was all love.”
■ • ♦ » • ■ ■
Beautiful Thoughts.
Cultivation to the mind is as necessary as
food is to the body.—Cicero.
Choose always the way that seems the best,
however rough it may be. Custom will render
it easy aDd agreeable.—Pythagoras.
Truth comes to mortals gently, tenderly and
sweetly, filling them with a peace that passeth
understanding. Error clouds, affrights, angers
and debases the soul. By their respective fruits
we may know them.—Jarves.
Mistakes rule the world, or very nearly so.
Religion, politics, love, are alike their sport.
We call the result to ourselves fate, destiny, or
any other name which will assuage wounded
amour propre, or our disappointment in finding
out, after a long and weary travel, that we have
mistaken our road for want of proper attention
to the signboard.—Jarves.
Whatever expands the affections or enlarges
the sphere of our sympathies—whatever makes
us feel our relation to the Universe and all that
it inherits in time and eternity, to the great and
beneficent Cause of all, must unquestionably
refine our nature and elevate us in the scale of
being. —Channing.
Men must endure their going henoe, even as
their coming hither ; ripeness is all.—Shak-
speare.
I have heard that death takes us away from
ill things, not from good. I have heard that
when we pronounce the name of man we pro
nounce the name of immortality.—Emerson.
The earth flourishes, or is overrun with nox
ious weeds and brambles, as we apply or with
hold the cultivating hand. So fares it with the
intellectual system of man. If you are a parent,
then, consider that the good or ill dispositions
and principles you please to cultivate in the
mind of your infants may hereafter preserve a
nation in prosperity, or hang its fate on the
point of the sword.—Horace Mann.
Life, to the man of wisdom, is the harbinger
of those benefits which Time’s sickle cannot
mow down or the chemistry of death impair;
or lessons which, whether heeded and treasured
up or not ii our early years, are the primal
causes and necessary rudiments of an eternal
education. The wise man thinketh that the life
of this world, like a golden harp ot' infinite
magnitude, yieldeth to the use made of it;
music floats out from its vibrating wires, or dis
cord goes rolling and winding through the tis
sues of being, just as we play upon it.—A. J.
Davis.
For Science the volume of inspiration is the
book of Nature. Confronting all, it needs no
societies for its dissemination. Infinite in ex
tent, eternal in duration, human ambition and
human fanaticism have never been able to tam
per with it. On the earth it is illustrated by all
that is magnificent and beautiful, on the heavens
its letters are suns and worlds.—Draper.
O ! it is the saddest of all things that even one
human soul should dimly perceive the beauty
that is ever around us, “a perpetual benedic
tion !” Nature, that great missionary of the Most
High, preaches to us forever in all tones of love,
and writes truth in all colors, on manuscripts
illuminated with stars and flowers.—Mrs. L. M.
Child.
Men say their pinnacles point to heaven.
Why, so does every tree that buds, and every
bird that rises as it sings. Men say their aisles
are good for worship. Why, so in every moun
tain glen and rough sea-sliore. But this they
have of distinct and indisputable glory—that
their mighty walls were never raised, and never
shall be, but by men who love and aid each
other in their weakness.—liuskin.
Carlyle on the Book of Job.—I call the book
of Job, apart from all theories about it, one of
the grandest things ever written with a pen.
One feels, indeed, as if it were not Hebrew—
such a noble universality, different from noble
patriotism or sectarianism, reigns in it. A
noble book! All men’s book! It is our first,
oldest statement of the never-ending problem,
man’s destiny and God’s ways with him hereon
earth. And all in such free, flowing outlines;
grand in its simplicity, and its epic melody,
and repose of reconcilement. There is the see
ing eye, the mildly understanding heart. So
true every way;.true eyesight and vision for all
things, material things no less than spiritual;
the horse—“hast thou clothed his neck with
thunder ? ’—he laughs at the shaking of the
spear. Such living likenesses were never since
drawn. Sublime sorrow, sublime reconcilia
tion; oldest choral melody as of the heart of
mankind; so soft and great as the summer night,
as the world with its seas and stars ! There is
nothing written, I think, in the Bible or out of
it, of equal literary merit.
When fanatics and bigots are permitted to
moald the religious ideas of youth, infancy
mast suffer, not only from spectral torments,
but it must also imbibe notions of the Divinity
which change him from a father to a monster.—
Jarves.
The idea of bringing all men on an equality
with each other has always been a pleasant
dream; the law cannot equalize man in spite of
nature.— Vanvenargues.
The borrower runs in his own debt—Emer
son.
Phrenological Department.
BY PROF. J. M. GARST.
INTRODUCTORY.
The Phrenological Department of the Sunny
South will be devoted exclusively to the science
of life and mind as based upon the principle
that the brain is the source or seat of all the
powers that belong to the animal organism,both
physiological and psycological.
The leading principles of phrenology, as dis
covered by Gall,and as taught by his followers,
will be in a great measure adhered to, but at the
same time, many errors in the popular system of
phrenology will be pointed out—new truths will
be developed and new discoveries will be given
to the world—the result of twenty-five years ex
perience in the practice of phrenology. It was
held by the late distinguished S. R. Wells, who
has written and published more on the science
of phrenology than any other man in this coun
try, that phrenology, as he taught it, is estab
lished beyond reasonable controversy. But this
position cannot be sustained. It is a well-known
fact that phrenology is in its infancy, and there
fore must be very imperfect as a complete sci
ence of mind. Indeed, it cannot be supposed
that the founders of a system so vast and com
prehensive in all its bearings, could Lave done
little more than lay the foundation upon which
future generations could build a complete struct’
ure.
Since the days of Gall and Spurzheim, but lit
tle advancements have been made in phreno
logical science. The system in general use at
the present day is substantially the same as that
practiced by those illustrious pioneers in the
field of mental science. But the spirit of the
age demands tnat phrenology should keep pace
with the rapid strides that are being made in
every department of physical science. The ob-
I jects, therefore, of this department are two-fold:
| First, to teach the well-established principles
! of phrenology; second, to correct errors that
have been incorporated into the popular system
; of phrenology, and to offer new facts and im-
I provements that will tend to the development or
j complete science of mind.
Questions with reference to the teachings of
i phrenology on any subject are solicited, and will
| be promptly answered in this department. All
persons asking questions, whatever may be their
peculiar opinions, will be treated with proper
respect. No prejudices in favor or against any
established doctrine, or creed, or party, or sect,
will be indulged in, but every question will be
answered in the light of scienee, regardless of
popular opinion. The following subjects, in
reference to which phrenology is a sure guide
to truth, are suggested for questions: Love,
courtship, marriage, government and education
of children, general education, national govern
ment, religion, materialism, spiritualism, mag
netism, psychology, hygiene, medicine, insanity.
The editor of this department is alone respon
sible for the opinions expressed here; and, as he
aims to express the broadest, most liberal and
scientific views on all subjects be hopes that
no one will become offended if he should here
find teachings contrary to what he has been
taught to reverence as truth.
How a Wife Cured her Husband of an
Over-Fondness for Liquor,
I A woman residing in this town becoming tired
I of the constant potations of her husband, deter-
i mined to try a desperate remedy to cure him.
One night he came staggering into the house
; and said that he was a Very sick man, and in a
j moment or two he was comfortably settled on
the sofa in a drunken sleep. His face was a red-
! dish purple, his breathing heavy, and altogeth-
! er he was a pitiable object.
The doctor was sent for post haste, and mus
tard applied to his feet and hands. When the
doctor came and telt his pulse, and examined
him, and found that he was only drunk, he
said.
“He will be all right in the morning.”
But the wife insisted that he was very sick,
and that severe remedies must be used.
“You must shave his head and apply blisters,”
she urged, “or I will send for one who will.”
The husband's head was accordingly shaved
closely and blisters applied. The patient lay all
night in a drunken sleep, and notwithstanding
the blisters, it was not till near morning that he
began to beat about, disturbed by pain. About
daylight he waked up to a most uncomfortable
conscience of blistered agonies.
“What does this mean?” he said, putting his
hand to his blistered head.
“Lie still—you mustn’t stir,” said the wife,
“you have been taken very sick.”
“I am not sick.”
“Oh yes, you are; you have brain fever. We
have worked with you all night.”
“I should think you had,” groaned the vic
tim; “what’s the matter with my feet?”
“They are blistered.”
“Well, I’m better now—take off the blisters,
do !” he pleaded piteously.
He was in a most uncomfortable state—bis
head covered with sores, and his feet and hands
were still worse.
‘•Dear,” he said, groaning, “if I should ever
get sick in this way again, don’t be alarmed and
send for a doctor, above all things, don’t blister
me again.”
“O, indeed I will—all that saved you were the
blisters, and if you ever should have another
such sp dl, I should be more frightened than
ever, for the tendency, I am sure, is to apoplexy,
and from the next attack you would be likely to
die, unless there were the severest measures
used.”
He made no further defense; suffice to say, he
has never had an attack since.
Better Times for the Farmer.
The American farmer certainly needs encour
agement; the encouragement of a better market,
and a better financial system than the bankers
and brokers, assisted by the government, have
given him. The Agriculturist thinks that he will
have his chance soon, viz:
“ The experience of the past few years goes
to show, that there will be no danger of * over
production’ in the future. We need not fear to
raise as large crops as we can. The foreign
market is large and steady, and will need all we
can produce in the way ot grains, meats, provis
ions, and dairy produce, to supply it. The low
prices of the past few years have brought this
about, and therefore have not been by any means
an unmitigated evil. While we have been de
pressed and troubled by a reduced income from
our farms, which has sorely embarrassed those
who have been in debt, this has been the means
ot stimulating farmers generally to do better by
their tarms than they had formerly done. In
no previous period has stock been so much im
proved as during the few years jnstpast, and we
have in consequence, found a market in Eng
land for meat, which has saved our home
market from demoralization. At no time before
the present has there been so much of artificial
fertilizing, and never before such anxious inquiry
about the possibility of enlarging the crops, and
using the most effective economy in forming
operations.
Jonathan Swift — ‘A project for extracting
sunbeams out of encumbers.’
Washington Irting—'Free livers on a small
scale who are prodigal within the compass of a
guinea.’ (