About The sunny South. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1875-1907 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1887)
THE SUNN* SOUTH, ATLANTA, wiMjmttn EVERY SATURDAY. BUSINESS OFFICE21 MARIETTA ST J- H. BEALB, - - - - - - f-PITOR, Terms: Xwo|oHm per Annum On® dollar fw Si* Month® Advertising: r Line. Serenty-tiv® cent* pw Inch. XBa i JVflnlacribarc should si ways «ire the nsme of tkn soitoffice to which their papers are sent- Sen«Hi* datamand inacnrsciee are apt to follow a £* Bre Wj mt rule Among thousands of snbscnoers it is IHodt to find a particular name without a certain knowledge of the ptwtoffice address . n . If you wish your paier discontinued or changed ufidiaaa a card to this office and not to traveling figBUi and name both offices. TO CONTRIBUTORS. fHV as plainly at possibit on on® side of Vie P^r, and me paper of medium might. Do not roll yarn MSS. Fold them flatly, a rolled page it U nftm both to reader and printer. lASter tier popes it meet preferred. It it well to write the name ^ Si MSB. at the top of each page; the pages I be carefully numbered according t° thtiT u ttyumet The writer’i real name and res- I SmU bl written on the MSS., as letters are tmmttmte'.misplaced. If a nom de plume <a used. Uthaedd be written directly under the title. It must li iflif1nr"ir —whether pay m expected for MSt. ant in. Wt cannot return MSS., nor be responsible for tatae, when tent in voluntarily, unless specially re- I Co do so'.and In such eases stamps must be The writer should always keep a copy. ■ all letter® .concerning the paper and make •“ b * U * to J. H. SEALS * CO.. Atlanta. Oa The Insane Gone to Europe. It most be that Europe affords better ad vantages for the insane, as Miss Vanzandt goes Northern Capital Uneasy. Capital rests uneasy at the North, amid strikes and revolt, and seeks investment at the South. We welcome it; so long as it is the tweana of developing our beautiful Southland. Railroad Combinations Mean Usur pation. By the system inaugunated by these greedy monopolies are usurping and abusing the rights sovereign and independent States. Is it not a tendency to absolutism and anarchy, that now threatens the country? The High Hat Reform Club. Nearly six thousand years ago reason was dethroned, and fashion has ever since held unlimitted sway. This honorable club had just as well dart straws against the Eurocly- don, as to ask Miss Elvira Slommins, who stands six feet in her shoes, to desist from wearing a stove-pipe. A Scarcity of Timber in Less Than Two Decades. And now lumber companies are coming South. The vast areas of public land will be entered by sections and'townshjps. Southern people who are fortunate enough to own valu able timbered land, which has so long suffer ed depreciation, will sell when offered what seems to them a good price. When these com panies once get possession then the timbered lands cannot he bought at any price, hut the timber will be felled, manufactured into lum ber and sold. In all probability, in less tb twenty years, wi.Vrt'.l,!,afl ^be 1 ▲ Renewed Heart. No; it is not of the great central organ, whose alternate expansions and contradictions send the life fluid bounding through all the system that we are about to speak. This indeed does suffer waste and decay, and sometimes early, and sometimes later “the golden bowl is brok en,” and then balm nor syrup may bring it renewal. Nor are we about to speak of the sentiments and affections which are wont to be called “the heart.” This too, though a poet has asserted the contrary, is chil ed aifd with ered by the world’s cold breath, and then no wand of magician can restore its freshness. We are not going to tell how one whose eyes have ceased to gladden at sights of beauty, and to whose ears mellifluous sounds fail as grating discords, has come again to enjoy with keen relish whatever is pleasant. We have heard of no such restoration. But here has just been sent to us a little heart-shaped token of remembrance, given to us long years ago by a much esteemed friend. It was not costly —though made in the days when the blockade was most severe, the procurement of even its simple materials was not easy. But that it was made by the hands of the kind friend who presented it, gave it a value beyond all price. As however, the summers passed, the moth found its way to it, and before the ravages of his destroying tooth had been discovered, it was almost an utter ruin. Now it comes, re newed by the sk Uful taste of another most dear friend, into even more than its former beauty, and henceforth to be more prized, as sociated as it is with two most noble, true hearted women. How fragrant is it with pleasant memories! It brings up vividly in the recollection two years of life, which though disturbed, as we can never forget; by many an anxiety, we have still sit down as happy. Though day by day we were hearing horrible reports from the cruel war then raging, and though in continual experience of the priva tions which it entailed, the little household of which we were a member, contrived to have no small amount of enjoyment. With rigid parsimony we gathered every item of the pleasurable that the circumstances permitted. All the amusing incidents of our little circle were told over and over and laughed at again and again. How fresh in our memory now is that bundle of old letters which were now and then drawn forth that we might drive away dullness by the writers odd conceits. As we look upon this little memento, we seem floated back over a tide of years and are living again with those who were school boys and school girls a quarter of a century ago. Many of them have gone over the river and are now numbered with the silent majority. Others, ageing in the hard struggle for existence, are the anxious parents of grown up sons and daughters. She whose musical laugh made all the house glad when her hands were fashion- ing this keepsake now sits a sobered if not saddened grandmother. The joys of those idyllic days can come to us no more; but the memory of them will be a never dying pleas ure. , , necessity to those now living in the great pint Technological Schools a Blessing to the Race. The industrial schools are for the purpose of encouraging and building up the producing element of a country. The literary colleges have a tendency to encourage and build up the consuming element. Nine-tenths of the boys that leave their Alma-maters full fledged A. Ms., are dwarftd in stature, or have physically weakened by hard study and close confine ment. They have shattered nerves and weak muscles. We hope to see these evils remedied by introducing into college-life healthful and useful pursuits. We hojie to see the youth come forth strong and vigorous, with active brains and brawny muscles. In the industrial school youths will be taught that labor is en nobling and not degrading. It is as honorable to be a good mechanic or farmer, as it is to be an able lawyer, or physician. Permanent progress teaches that there must be close sym pathy between brain and muscle. A Check on Extravagance—The Only Tiemedy for the Credit and Mort gage System. Sc long as the poorer classes of farmers con tinue to give exorbitant credit prices for what thej reall; lo not need, so long will their condition be deplorable. Those that have prospered since the war are those that dis pensed with the luxuries and many of the comforts of life, till they could afford them They would eat bread, go barefooted and drink branch water, rather than give a mort gage. They were willing to walk till they could afford to ride. But the less provident will persist in buying what they want, wheth er they need it or not. The merchant is only too glad to sell to them on time; for on the credit basis rests his largest profits. He must be secured. The collaterals must amount to three times the principal of the debt. The merchant in rating his percent allows liberally for lossage. The poor honest man must suf- fer, because the defaulter skips. When econ omy supplants extravagance, the poor become thrifty; vice versa they suffer. The Consumption of Tobacco. It is stated that the consumption of tobacco in Great Britain in 1841 was thirteen and three-fourths ounce per head, and that it is now twenty-three ounces. The Pall Mall Ga zette, of London, assumes that (10 per cent, of the male population exceeding 15 years of age have acquired tbe habit. On this basis it finds the number of smokers to be about 11,150,000, and the average capitation consumption of to- bacco about eigbt pounds three ounces. This is hardly an extravagant figure, as it is only equivalent to two and a half ounces per week per smoker. In mcney value it represents an individual expenditure of, say, 2 giuneas per annum, or a gross sum of £12,015,000, or about $<>4,000,000. Two other peculiarities are mentioned by that paper in connection with the consumption of tobacco—namely, that half a gallon of spirits and something more than half a barrel of beer was consumed for each pound of tobacco cleared by the ex cise authorities. While the yearly consumption of tobacco hag increased from 23,000,000 to 53,000,000 of pounds since 1841, the Gazette claims that the United Kingdom is still a long way behind other countries, except Italy, in the use of it. In Belgium and Holland the average per head of the total population is as high as 84 ounces; In Switzerland, 82; Austria, 80; Germany, 72; United States, 50; and so on, Russia approxi mating most nearly with 24 ounces, while Ita ly consumes 22 ounces. Forgotten Books. We have never believed what we used to read about the immense libraries of ancient times—how hundreds of thousands of volumes were destroyed at this or that conflagration. Before the days of the printing press, writers were not numerous, and books wijre necessar ily scarce. Now, however, of the making of books, there is no start, anij. the work is tver going on. For more tha* two centuries. Vol umes of all sizes qj,d upon all manner of sub jects have, bo' e ' n offered to the reading world, !ich day adds to the number. Of these iy far the more are wholly forgotten. They may be found in the large libraries whtre spe cial effort has been made to collect all works that are extant, bu; they remain outhe shelves Imreild.' itie fscrtuat iliey were overwritten, or that their writers ever lived is known only to a few curious researchers. Very many of these forgotten books never had any life. The days and nights spent in anxious labor over their production were spent in vain. The hope of fame and fortune which urged the authors on in writing, re-writing, revising and printing ended in cruel disappointment. Oth ers had life. Perhaps they were snatched up from book-sellers counters by eager readers, and poured over with unflagging interest while the light of coming day paled the lamp’s beams. But they had their day and died. They are sometimes referred to as books whicli our an cestors delighted to read, hut grown too old fashioned for our generation. There are oth er books of great reputation which are sel dom moved from the library shelves. No one would think of challenging their worth. No one with pretensions to literary tastes would like to admit that lie is ignorant of their con tents. Yet they stand venerated and unread. That a book lias been forgotten, is some proof that it did not deserve to live—hut by no means an infallible proof. Many literary works of decided worth have failed of winning a large or long popularity. Just what it is that will give a book vitality no one can very clear ly indicate. As a general rule, it may be said that if one has something worth writing and can express it in a clear and agreeable style, his book will meet with favor. But there are exceptions to this on both sides. Sensible and agreeable books have died—some books that it seems a fearful punishment to have to read, continue to be talk about and bought if they are not it ad. The pleasant, healthy stories of Richardson and Smollett are rarely looked into now save by some curious explorer after tbe antique, while the harsh, rugged jargon of the Sartor Kesartus continues to be praUed by the few who can understand it and the many who cannot as though it a model of style and a monument of wisdom. Pig Iron from England. Yes, that’s what is told us. “The Shickle, Harrison & Howard Iron Company, of St. Louis, in consequence of their inability to ob tain sufficient supplies of pig iron from the South has contracted for ten thousand tons of number three from a Middleborough, England, foundry fer immediate shipment via New Or- leans.” And why should they complain of “their in ability to obtain sufficient supplies of pig iron from the South?” Is it because the demand on the South is increasing beyond our ability to supply, or is it because the discrimination in freight against us is so heavy that we cannot compete with the English products? It must be owing in part to the latter, for we find that the price of the English iron, duty included, on the wharf at St. Louis is about $21 per ton, which ie said to be one dollar less than the present quotations on a similar grade from the South. Now, if the South, with all her unparalleled advantages, protected by a tariff duty, can not compete with England in the production of pig iron, her case is indeed a hard one— and if hers is hard, then what of other iron- producing localities in this country? But we do not believe the demand exceeds our capac ity—now do wc believe the duty to be too low. Our candid opinion is that the freight rates are against us, and that the railways are getting the lion’s share of the profits growing out of the development of this industry. It is to bp hoped that through the faithful execu tion of the Inter-State Commerce Act this un just discrimination will be crushed out, and the South be enabled to reap the full benefit of her natural advantages, and of labor faith fully and hopefully expended. The Good Time Coming. The signs of the times are, unmistakably, that the two great sections of this great coun try, so recently in such intense and deadly an tagonism, are last coming to a better under standing; and that their business and social relations will soon be more cordial than ever before. This is indeed gratifying to all patri ots—to all true lovers of our common country. And it is pleasin • to know that Georgia was the first southern State to open up the way leading to a permanent and profitable recon ciliation—a way through which the North might become acquainted with the extent and superiority of our natural resources and with our people. This way was opened up when, at the sug gestion of the Superintendent of the Western & Atlantic railway, in 1869, thirty odd South ern railways agreed upon a twq-cents a mile rate throughout the South for prospecting ex cursionists from the North, having surplus capital to invest. The good results which have flowed from this patriotically devised movement can scarcely be over-estimated— never, perhaps, fully known. Since that time many and leqgthy lines of railway have been built—principal anong them that from Atlanta, Ga., to Charlotte, N. C., and that from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Cin cinnati, Ohio, and quite a number of great fairs held in the South. The construction of the railways male the fairs possible and prof itable by facilitating travel and transportation, and aided in bringing the intelligent and lib* r- al minded of the sections into agreeable asso ciation and closer companionship. The long- buried sentiment of a common nationality was revived and mutual appreciation stimulated. One of the most potent agencies, probably, in bringing about this auspicious result, was the Great International Cotton Exposition at Atlanta, Ga., the latter part of 1881—the out come of the concerted action of a few progres sive, public-spirited Georgians, and a few lib eral and far-seeing representative men of the North. Here were brought together and ex hibited specimens of the agricultural produc tions of nearly all the States—specimens of the workmanship of the great manufacturing establishments of the North—and a grand ex hibit of specimens of all the minerals and the woods used in the industrial arts, indigenous to the Slates of the South. A prominent fea ture of the Exposition was the exhibition of the “Kingly staple” in the various stages of its growth and manufacture, culminating in pick ing, ginning, spinning and weaving the cotton into cloth, ,-u d making the cloth into suits for the Governors of Connecticut and Georgia, all in one day. Here was an experience and a triumph gratifying to all patriotic citizens of ail sections of the Union. But it was the extent and variety of the magnificent display of minerals that created the griaust interest—we might say excite ment. If the South was jiardonably proud of her display, the North was no less astonished, astounded! The North had not dreamed of the existence of sucli mineral resources—such a variety distributed over such a vast expanse of territory so rich in metals and practically inexhaustible. The practical business men of the North perceived in this unexpected revela tion, a field—vast and fabulously enriching— for gigantic enterprises, and the profitable em ployment of their fast accumulating surplus capital. And now comes the South’s grand opportunity. She had the land and the natural resources, and latent business capabilities, which, in the absence of necessity accompa nied by indifference to opportunity, had re mained undeveloped. Increased facilities, affording more rapid and frequent intercom munication, with the fairs promoting direct contact and fraternal association and inter- course, combined to unite the brain and money of the North, with the brain, resources i can be growgdgtg{;_.;t, and latent business capabilities of the South in a common effort, whicli lias resulted in pro- duciug the encouraging “Big Boom” in the South over which she now exultantly rejoices. All the people, therefore—North and South, and East and West—rejoice in “the good time coming,” when National unity, harmony and real fraternity shall everywhere prevail, and all sections be glad and proud that—happy and prospering themselves, they are contrib uting to the happiness and prosperity of all the others. GA, SATURDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 5, 1837. Nursery Prattle and the Origin of Language- Mr. Horatio Hale, an eminent philologist, advances, in a late number of Science, a new and novel theory concerning the origin of Ian- guages. No puzzle in science has been greater than how to account for the great number of languages known to the world, of which there are about two hundred. Mr. Hale thinks that ais theory solves this perplexing question; and the solution is to be found, according to Mr. Hale, in what he calls “the language-making instinct of very young children.” His discov ery of this theory appears to be the result of some observations made by a woman, which he claims gave the key to the whole mystery. There were bom near Boston, in 1860, twin boys who were peculiarly devoted to each other. Thay began to talk at the usual age, but the language they talked was not even so near to English as is usual in such cases—in fact it was not English at all. They made up a jargon of their own, and entirely refused to speak anything else. Their motht r could not really understand it, but only guessed at what was essential. Yet they perfectly understood one another; so that it wai, for all purposes of communication, a complete language. At last they were gent to school, where they learned English as a foreign tongue and forgot their childish prattle, only one word of which, un luckily, was preserved. The matter was not made public till eighteen years afterward, when it was described by Miss E. II. Watson, of Boston, in an essay on the origin of lan guage, prefaced to her edition of a work by her father, -the late George Watson, on “The Structure of Language.” Miss Watson did not herself observe the children, but had the facts afterward from the mother, and her state ment attrac, cd little attention. It happened that between the occurring of these facts, and their being recorded a series of more exact observations was made and published by Dr. E. R. Hun, ol Albany, N. Y., which Mr. Hale calls “a clear and scien tific account” of something more of the same kind. It was a language contrived by a little girl four and a half years old in connection with her brother of three, and with this lan guage the children had talked witli the greatest rapidity and fluency. Further inquiries have shown, Mr Hale says, that this phenomenon is not unusual, and the theory he founds it upon is very si tu ple. The only question is, indeed, whether it is not too simple. Suppose, he thinks, a fam ily of children—in whom the language-making instinct is thus strong—to be suddenly placed, by s une social or physical catastrophe, in a position of entire isolation, where the parents presently die. If the children arc very young they will also die; but if they are old enough to survive—whicli would be particularly easy in a tropical country—they will grow up speak ing a wholly new language, not derived di rectly from any other. In time, should other wanderers join them, the language will be ac cepted by these also. The children of the lit tle colony will grow up hearing no other. In time philologists will get hold of it—by which time it will have worked out a grammar and inflections of its own—and tley will vainly speculate whence it came. There is nothing intrinsically impossible in such a situation; and if it be said that it would be one of ex treme rarity, it must be remembered that the world is very large and that two hundred such instances would account for all the entirely distinct stocks upon the face of the earth. Is Sorghum a Failure. Mary and Martha. Not the gentle sisters who were the personal friends of our Savior do we mean to speak of now, but of two women whose characters are scarcely less worthy of our admiration—the mother and wife of George Washington. These were women after the Bible pattern—quiet, sensible, prudent, pious, shunning rather than seeking notoriety, and looking after the home liest details of practical life with a dignity that made them sublime. About two such wouien the liistriographer could find little to say. The duties of a faithful wife and mother, such as both these noble women were, lie hidden away from the gaze of the curious. Of Mary, the moiher of our illustrious first President, little indeed can be said. As Mary Ball, she was brought up by her parents in a plain, sensible way, such as fitted her for practical life, and prepared her to be useful, and in the main happy. There is no exaggeration in attributing to her influence the formation of a character to which the whole range of profane history pre sents no parallel. Of the beautiful and gifted Martha Dandridge, who became the wife of the great hero and statesman, it is no faint praise to say that she was in every way worthy of ibis high destiny. Though reared in a re mote province, far away from the centres of intelligence and fashion, the vigor of her in tellect was such that when combined with the goodness of her heart, it enabled her to fill with credit, her position as first lady of the land. But rank and splendor were not what her heart coveted. With true wifely devotion she gave herself to the work of helping her illustrious husband in the great duties to which he was called. For his sake, she en dured the tiresome routine of conventionali ties which were incumbent upon her as the President’s wife. But all the time she was piuing foT the ease and quiet of her Virginia home. This she was not permitted long to en joy. In less than three years after his retire ment, the death of the greatest of great men, left her a widow, and in a little over two years more, she followed him to the tomb. All that can be told of these two good women is told very pleasantly by Benson J. Lossing in a beautiful volume just issued by Harper and Brothers. We do not claim that it presents anything new. The descriptions and incidents were all in our literature before, but scattered perhaps through a hundred volumes. Here we have them in a neat compact form, and set forth in a style of type and binding that ren ders it a handsome addition to the parlor libra ry. * * And Making; Pies is Woman’s Work. [Pittsburg Chronicle Telegraph.] “O, dear, this pie isn’t cooked at all,” said Mrs. Snaggs. “i’ll have to scold Mary Ann for it.” “It will be of no use,” replied Snaggs. “It is impossible for her to make pies that are properly baked.” “Why, I’d like to know?” ‘Because woman’s work is never done, you know.” Mr. Peter Collier, formerly a chemist in the Agricultural Department, has been discussing at Chicago the merits of sorghum or Chinese sugar cane, and declares that sugar can be made from the juice of this cane at a cost of one cent a pound, but those who have tried the experiment have found that it cost considera ble more than that price. Mr. Collier also sta ted that the seed from an acre of the cane is as valuable as the corn or small grain raised on the same amount of land. He declared this seed is used in China and India instead of rice, and is preferred by the natives, and that the foliage that can be gathered from an acre of land is as valuable as the grass or clover that and further that the crushed stalks furnish excellent fuel for heat- ing purposes. Mr. Collier evidently believes in the great value of the Chinese sugar cane The Chicago Times takes issue w ,th him, and declares that certaiu very poor Chinese and Hindoos may eat the seed instead of rice or bread made from the meal, but che people of this country would not so use it, and that hors es and other animals do not like tbe seed or the meal; that the crushed stalks make very- inferior fuel; and that at least a hundred es tablishments put in operation in the West with the most approved machinery for the manufacture of sugtr have failed, and adds: “A notable instance of this kind was at Champaign, Illinois. Large buildings were erected, the best sugar apparatus was import ed from Germany and France, and the ser vices of skillful manufacturing chemists em ploye!. The concern never paid expenses, and at the end of the second year’s operations was closed, a dead loss to the stockholders. Reports from various countries indicate that there is no longer any profit ill making sugar anywhere. Sugar cane has become the fash ionable crop in all tropical and semi-tropical countries as wheat has in all temperate coun tries. Sj much cane sugar is produced that the great markets of the world are overstocked with it. The production of beet sugar was for many years fostered by the Governments of France* and Germany, chiefly for the purpose of affording occupation for the people, till these countries now have more sweets than they can dispose of at home. During the past two y ears good, light brown sugar has sold in England for a penny a pound, and it has been so plenty that many farmers have fed it to cat tle and pigs they were preparing for market.” Sumptuary Laws. Chancellor Green, of Cumberland Univer sity, Lebanon, Tern., says in the Cumberland Presbyterian: “There is a great deal of non sense these days about sumptuary laws. The Romans incorporated in their twelve tables certain provisions against wastefulness of prodigals and unnecessary expenditures at fu nerals. Afterward, in the time of the empe rors, there were laws to check extravagance in dress, furniture and food. In the middle ages, in England and France, there were sim ilar laws. The act of the British Parliament, 10, Edward III. went so far as to prescribe the number 6f dishes for dinner and supper, and what they should contain. In Massachu setts, in colonial times, the law undertook to regulate economy in dress and the price of commodities, etc.” The learned Chancellor might have included his own State. About 1787 tavern rates were established by the County Court of Davidson county, as follows: “One-half pint of whisky, such as will sink tallow, two shillings; bowl of toddy, made with loaf sugar and whisky, three shillings and six pence; one quart bowl punch, with fruit, ten shillings; dinner and grog, four shillings snd six pence.” At a later period the tavern rates were fixed as fol lows : State ol Tennessee—Davidson County Court, July Sessions, 1820: When the tavern rates for this county are established as fol lows : Jamaica spirits, per half pint, 37 1-2 cts.; wine, per half pint, 50 cts.; French brandy, per half pint, 371-2 cts.; whisky, per half pint, 12 1-2 cts.; breakfast and supper, each, 25 cts.; dinner, 37 1-2 cts.; lodging, per night, 12 1-2 cts.; stabling for a horse twenty- four hours, 50 cts.; single feed for a horse, 12 1-2 cts.; as to the town of Nashville, and in the courty they are established as follows, to- wit: Liquors, tae same rates as in town; breakfast, dinner and supper, each 25 cents; lodging, per night, 62 cents; stabling for a horse twenty-four hours, 37 1*2 cts.; single feed for a horse, 12 1-2 cents. Nathan Ewing, Clerk. M. Eude, a civil engineer of Paris, hat just presented to the Academy of Sciences the de tails of a scheme to cut a gigantic canal through Syria and Persia, thereby uniting the Mediterranean with the Persian gulf. Cotton Manufacturing in tbe South. “Toe directors of the Sumter, S. C., cotton mills have declared a divic end of seven per cent on the capital stock, and also passed ten per cent to the surplus.” We clip the above from an exchange. I r . is “confirmation strong as proof of Holy Writ,” of what has long been believed by the most intelligent of our Southern people—that cotton manufacturing could be profitably engaged in the South. And why not? And the best informed among us also be lieve that the cotton manufacturing machinery —all of it—can and should be made in the South. And why not? We have the ores from which to manufac ture all the metals, and we have all the various woods, of the very best quality, used in the construction of such machinery. Capital will secure the skilled labor, and the machinery can be manufactured as cheaply here as any where in the Union. All the material is close at hand and actually surrounded by the cotton fields—so that transportation, a heavy charge, would be saved. Then why should not the South manufacture all the cotton manufactur ing (and all other) machinery she may need? The item above quoted—as well as what we know of the phenomenal success attending this industry at Graniteville, S. C., and at Augusta and Columbus, Ga., and many other places in the South—so clearly demonstrates the practi cability and profitableness of cotton manufac turing in the South that argument would be wasted in an attempt to prove it. But when we mention something additional in regard to certain localities in < leorgia, and perhaps in other Southern States, the surprise will be that the South is not dotted all over at short intervals with immense and profitable cotton manufactories. The “additional” is this: There are localities in Georgia—and probably in other Southern States—where the ore to make the iron and the steel, and all the various woods needed to make the machinery, are found alongside the rivers flowing through cot ton plantations whose falls would supply all the motive power needed to propel all the ma chinery. So that it is possible to gather the cotton and dump it iu the seed at a door at one end of the factory, where it can be ginned, carded, span and woven into cloth, and deliv ered, baled and ready for the market from a door at the other end of the factory. We can and should make all our cotton man ufacturing machinery in the South and manu facture more of our cotton. From an Invalid’s Chair. BY REV. W. J. SCOTT. ’Tis pleasant to peep through “the loop-holes of retreat” at the on-goings of the outside world. It softens the one painful sense of iso lation to watch the moving accidents of flood and field, and the less stirring incidents of the forum and the marketplace from some cosy ingleside. There is moreover sometimes, a posi ive enjoyment in seclusion even if behind the bars. The prisoner of the bastile who, af ter his brief experience of jiersmal liberty, earnestly desired to re urn to his old cell, is not ail altogether exceptional instance. Sterne’s sentimental grief over the imaginary woes of the caged Starling were nearly, if not quite, as silly as his moralizing* over the “deal ass.” In the ante-Nicene age, thousands of devout Christians fled to the dessert of the Thebaid as a refuge from a bustling world, of whose strife and vanity they were heart sick and weary. Even in our own day many a heart lias breathed the prayer of Uowper: “Oh! for a lodge in some v»st wilderness.” The writer once heard a learned jurist who was in no mis anthropic mood, express a desire to spend the evening of life in some quiet monastery. By the way, these old monks with their shaven heads and hempen girdles were not such gloomy ascetics as we are wont to imagine. If Friar Tuck be mythical there is yet abun dant historical evidence that all these monas tics were not as rigid as St. Francis of Assissi. Not a few of them were fond of good cheer and by no uu t»us auuicteu to 'tneir pota tions.” Be it said to their credit, however, that they were famed for hospitality and like deeds of charity, and that to them we are largely in debted for the preservation of ancient litera ture both classic and patriotic. It is worthy of note likewise that some of the master pieces of literature were written in durance rile. Bunyan had his immortal dream of Christian and bis pilgrimage when in Bed- fqrd jail. Sir Walter Raleigh did his best lit erary work in the Tower of London. All the great productions of genius aro the fruits of soul travail and were born in the midst of suffering and sometimes imprisonment. The death of Chief Justice Jackson was a calamity to church mid State. His disease (pneumonia) rarely yields to medical treat ment when the patient, is on the shady side of fifty. In connexion we recall an incident re lated in Dr. Marion Simms’ book, “The Story of My Life.” That world renowned geolog st was taken ill in New York in the 65th year of his age. An eminent New York physician was summoned to his bedside. After a thor ough diagnosis Dr. S. asked him about tho trouble With evident reluctance the attend ing physician replied: “I fear it may be pleuro-pneumonia ” “That means,” rejoined Dr. Simms, “that I shall die about next Wednesday.” The physician encouraged him to hope that the disease might be abated, and that if disap pointed in that, his well-preserved system might survive the shock. He did recover by the help of great professional skill and careful nursing, and for ten years was the medical ad viser of the crowned heads of Europe. Breakfast as a social event is hardly known on this side of the Atlantic. The writer was well-nigh forty years of age before he was a participant of such a repast. It was iu the “Classic City” of Georgia with such notables as Dr. Lipscomb, Col. W. L. Mitchell aud Hon. Asbury Hull, as “mine host.” We re member these occasions with intense pleasure after the lapse of a score of years. . As con- versationalists the two first named gentlemen had few peers. Their fund of information was inexhaustible. They were never pedan tic, but both of them, like Coleridge, excelled as Monoloquists. Asbury Hull was eminent ly judicial in his intellectual character. His perceptive faculties exceeded his reflective powers. His opinion on any subject within the wide range of his reading or observation, was almost invariably wise and trustworthy. Recurring to monastic life I have seen it sta ted that when Charles 5th was at the monas tery of Yuste in Spain, his breakfast con sisted of potted capus garnished with sugar, milk and spices. This was certainly a dainty meal for one who had solemnly renounced the flesh with the carnal desires thereof as well as the vain pomp and glory of the world. The breakfasts, however, to which I have made special reference, were not intended to tickle the palate of Epicures. The salient fea'ure was the discussion of art, literature, and sometimes current events. Such reunions are far more enjoyable than the Longfellow clubs and Browning societies which obtain in purely fashionable circles. But as the French say, “Chocun a lou gout.” In regard to Longfellow, the verdict of pos terity will not be favorable to the so-called lau reate. Edgar Allen Poe, whose critical esti mates were well nigh infallible, was not moved by malice or envy when he charged him with plagiarism and wrote him down as at heart a skillful rhymer. Some of his most popular lyrics will not bear the test of enlightened scru tiny. Even bis Hiawatha is but a rhapsodical rendition of Indian legends that are more inte resting in the prow of Schoolcraft than in the verse of the New England bard. His best pro duction is his Evangeline, and that will barely outlive the century that witnessed its birth. Fifty years hence Longfellow will be as little read as Joel Barlow’s Columbiad. “If this be treason, make the most of it;” if it be heresy, order up the fagots and the familiars, for we spurn the thought of recautatiou. MUSINGS OF MY EVENTIDE. Subsequent Reflection of Re-reading the Vicar of Wakefield; Moral Benefit of the Book; Brief Crit icism of Goldsmith; his Place in English Litera ture; General Re flections. BY REV. A. A. LIPSCOMB, D. D. EIGHTEENTH PAPER. No dictionary maker has or ever will have a moral or legal right to spell one “sacque ’ and the other “back”. It makes a man’s bacque ache to see how the English language is han dled. No less than 4,000 immigrant girls were helped by Father John J. Iiiordan, the Castle Garden missionary, during the year 1886. In a former paper (No. 10), I disenssed the effect of the re-reading of the Vicar of Wake field on my home-memories, and especia.ly the indebtness to ir y mother tor making me acquainted with the rare merits of this book. She was my earliest commentator and clitic of literature, and, among her many good of fices in behalf, I rank this as entitled to par ticular commentation. But I reserved for this essay a notice of certain other impressions which I received, and, as these seem bent on perpetuating their kindly influence, I am in. clined t> put them on record. How can a writer help being an auto-biographer? In sensibly to himsel:, a writer introduces his own experience into hiB pages and no; infre quently they are his best pages. Goldsmith and Dickens are notable instances of this per sonal quality in their books, and but for it, these books would have lacked their finest flavor. Literature that does not show a positive experience ol life beneath its thoughts and i mages, is shallow. Nor can I conceive how one can be vivid and morally communi cative as a writer unless he follow the advise of the old divines to the young preachers: “Preach what you know to be truth by personal experience ” That is the way to be earnest and graphic wheth-r by voice or pen and, siy what we will about genius, the coloring mat ter in all pictorial writing and speaking is the element taken from one’s private heart. There fore, I shall not ask to be forgiven because I indulge in these self-revelations often, indeed, wt show vanity in our efforts to hide it from view. To be honest, I mus; promise, that this summer of 1886 I was m t in a good humor either with the world or myself, two things which I ave a close affinity witli each other. 1 was in a very nervous condition; and my nerves rebellious enougli when I most need their sj m- pathy and helpfulness, were rebels rampant, even cruelly insistent on their myriad ways of discomfort and doggedness. I could not follow St. I’aul, who kept his body under. Mine kept me under in petty tyrannies, and I must confess that if I was not a downright nuisance to others, I was a very unpleasant burden to myself. The tyranny of tiie weak is intolerable; and “our often infirmities” are a calamity that is keenly painful when the body is not a muscular stronghold of our religion. No doubt, the soul or spirit is the citadel of Christianity, but, depend upon it, there are many times when the battle of life has to be fought behind the outer entrenchments. And, last summer, I had precisely this sort of a con flict. 1 am growing in the belief that the body is a mighty factor in our goodness. And this season, I found out that the Vicar of Wakefield was a fine tonic for my nerves and greatly aided me to keep under the body. Later in the year I began on l’rof. Horsford’s “Arid Phosphate,” an excellent invigorator for nervous people, but I think that the Vicar did me more good than the Professor. Books have their place in physiolofy and pathology as well as phosphates. Yea, indeed, the Vicar lifted me out of my morbidness. His serenity of good nature, bis unfailing cosy temper, his juy in the little things ot daily life, his tender oenevolencc; what a picture Goldsmith has given of his father and his father’s fireside, both in the “Deserted Village” and in the Dr. Primrose of the Wakefield story: “Pleased witli his guests, the good man learned to glow. And quite forgot their vices in their woe; Careless their merits or their faults to scan, His pity gave ere charity began.” Now, may I not dawn that this was a moral and spiritual effect directly or indirectly Ipyjmht^bout by the Holy ^Spirit of God? tering my belief under these sacred words,' surely 1 am not heterodox when I argue that this was a wind from the right quarter, a wind from the salty sea and vital with ireshness, a tine aura from the better sphere, delicately lifting from my brow the heavy locks that drooped and fanning my Hushed cheeks with a coolness m ist delicious? Alas! we are too narrow in our Christianity, and—thanks to God—as I get older I see more of the blessed spirit in forms and methods that my eyes, too near-sighted, had failed in younger days to de tect. Far from thinking that Goldsmith him self, or the Vicar measured up to the standard we rightly hold to be “evangelical,” I yet can hope that, at least, the dear old Vicar had a sweet, simple religiousness which was exquis itely lovely of its kind. Anyway, it is certain, that tbe sketches of goodness so ad mirably given in Dr. Primrose found ready access to my depressed spirits and sent them bounding alertly through my clogged arteries. Are there not secret pathways for the spirit, that we know nothing of till experience dem onstrates in rare moments of illumination the presence of the Highest? These are eras in soul-life. They come “without observation.” They come spontane ously. They come as unexpected witnesses and attest themselves and their mission. And, hence, I have intimated, that the words “Blow- eth where it listeth” have a meaning for my threescore and ten, which they had not when I was a young man. Books are insp rers as well as teachers, and, in some instances, more powerful as inspirera than teachvrs. In this case, the Vicar of Wakefield quickened anl exalted iny emotions and affections. For this, I felt thankful. I feel thankful yet, and I know not a greater blessing to an old man than to be conscious of a grow.h in liberal sentiments and catholic feelings. And I have concluded, that the re-reading of the Vicar has given me a “revised version” of the passage First Cor. xiv., 10 “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.” Ah, truly, most truly! None of them without signification. I do not suppose that Dr. Goldsmith, working in the domain of literary art, had any set pur;Rise to write a religious book, but he “worked more wisely than he knew,” and I may venture to say that iu making me ashamed of my petty sullenness, he wrought something in me which I consider akin to a religious benediction You know that Miss Mulock has written a very clever volume, entitled “Sermons out of Church.” A woman, she is of real genius—a woman of true and fervent piety. My good woman; you never did anything, (and you have done great things in “John Halifax” and in “A Noble Life,”) you never did a better thing than m this lay-preaching out of church. I have said that we narrow Christianity too much, meaning by this that many of us con fine its import to the culture of a faculty or a set of faculties, instead of giving fair and full play to our whole nature. “What is the chief end of man?” asks the good old Catechism; and it answers well and wisely, “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” But how may we glorify Him? What are the scope and extent of the poweis we have for His glorification? Has not intellectual, asthetic, emotional development a place in the schedule of dutiful activity? Truth is expansive. It is expansive like stesm, and like steam, it is also put to new uses as the human race advances. But, again, the expausiveness has its dangers and calls for watchful engineers lest we have an explosion. No doubt Dr. Goldsmith is extravagant in some of his incidents. At times they are im probable if not impossible, touched by the su perstitions of the ‘ old goblin-house at Pallas.” But the characters are “faultless in their draw ing and exquisite in their conception.” holds a prominent and commanding position in English literature, and, to borrow tbe lan guage of the greatest of all novelists: “We bless the memory of an author who continues so well to reconcile us to human nature.” I can testify to the truthfulness of this critical observation of the eminent authority just quoted.. It comes “home to my conscience aud business;” and looking back on my re- recent experience of the happy rescue from a spasmodic attack of moral bile and unhealthy secretions, I must take the liberty of declar ing that this reconciliation to human nature in the offices of intercourse and companion ship, is no unimportant element in our recon ciliation to God. So then 1 am a believer in the hygeine of good books; and I mean by good books such as are suited to your moral state when your temperament has invaded your soul in seasons of ill health. Satan is a fearful devil to a mac when he can take advantage of a bad condi tion of stomach and brains. Aside from this, our ideas and their attendant emotions do create their reflexes in bodily feelings, and ei ther originate or enhance physical sensations. My own experience has often asserted the fact that trains of pleasant and inspiring thought* act as an alternative and tonic on my bodily organs. X connot say that they are always as operative as weather, diet and medicinal agents; not always indeed; but nevertheless at certain times and in some moods, very potent in working bodily changes. Dr. Tuke, in his remarkable book, “Influence of the Mind up on the Body,” gives many authenticated in stances of the wonderful effect of ideas and emotions on the physical system; and he did well to take old John Hunter’s lamous words for the motto of his volume: “There is not a natural action in the body, whether involun tary or voluntary, that may not be influenced by the peculiar state of the mind at the time.” This re-reading of tbe Vicar of Wakefield led me into quite a realm of discursive think ing, for which, I must admit a special fond ness. I noticed particularly that the best class of books have the power of re-adjustment to our periods of life and their special experien ces, or, it may be, that this re-adap ation is subjective rather than objective, a susceptibili ty in us while the book is identically the same. No doubt, the real change is inourimpression- ableness. We, ourselves are different and thiB personality of difference, by one of those illusions we are always practising upon our selves, transposesjthe logical necromancy frutn the volume as object to our own minds are subject. Not only is this true of hooks, but of many other things. Great changes occur in ue and we attribute them to the outer world;and, in the blindness of discontent and impati -nee’ we find fault in the men and society when the lapse of years, with their mysterious power ol novelty to work changes both in our senses and sensibilities, is the real I’roteus who or dains the astonishing alterations. I remember going back to the Potomac ami the scenes ot my youth after a taenty years’ absence. The natural scenery was apparent y changed; the hills were smaller, the river was neither sc beautiful nor so picturesque, and the festoon ing ivy on the venerable colonial churches seemed to have shrunken in its grace and sweep of foliage. Not so; the years had changed me, not the scenery. But when I re-read the old books, I am abundantly compensated in other ways. Memory is an aid here and im agination assists in reproducing, so that the reprodu ttion of old impressions is accompan ied by vividness of light and enlargement of vision. I am sure that the re-reading the past summer of the Vicar and certain other books had an effect on my nervous system and on my moral state, that was far more than sentimen tal and emotional. It is now winter, dreary and dismal winter, and I am in no mood to say with Jenmiie Thompson, “ Welcome, kindred glooms; congenial horrors, hail”; and the images seem to me the very bombast of irony. But while the poetry jars upon me, in these unwelcome days, I recollect how the autumnal season was surpassingly beautiful and inspir ing, and no doubt made such to me in pan by the Vicar of Wakefield. Modern Shams in Society. Nothing is so clearly apparent to the intelli gent observer of modem society as the many deceptions and the false glitter which it con tains. There are social circles into which one may enter where the false and deceptive find no place, but these are in the minority. Glance at the average society of to-day, and there is but little in it that is really what one supposes it to be. How often is it that m find men and women carrying impressions ot wealth and station far beyond tlieir real in come! Dignity is found to be only pretension, refinement an artificial gloss, ai d intelligence but a verbal display. White satin dresses are worn where the plainest muslin is scarcely within the wearer’s income; broadcloth, vhere the simplest business-suit, if honestly paid for, would almost be a < raft upon the revenue received. F’lowers are worn in profusion, jewelry loaned, and carriages hired by those to whom the acquirement of the necessities of daily life is a struggle. Society, instead of being made a great compact designed to pro mote the good of man and woman, is used only as a cunning contrivance to palm oS un real virtues, and give to the unsophisticated wrong and injurious impressions. Host aid hostess share in the general deception with tlieir guests, although neither is conscious ci the other’s deceit. The china on tlie tabieof the hostess is admired and its possession el- vied byher guest, while th<y forinej in retjlTT, the gorgeous garments of her guest. The guest knows not that the china is loaned, the hostess is ignorant of the unpaid bill of the dressmaker. The furniture, heavy portieres, and expensive draperies are examined with admiration, and so fixed becomes the atten tion of the guest upon the embellishments of the lion e of her hostess that no room is left in the mind for a suspicion of a plan of purchase commonly known as the “installment.” Tlie young man, with only a cursory knowledge of the cost of feminine apparel, regards wliat is only inexpensive silk or satin as the richest goods the market affords. The young lady, in turn, silently calculates her chaperon’s in come by the flowers he sends, the liveried car riage in which he escors her to the reception, and the full-dress suit in which he is arrayed. Her untrained mind knows not the existence of places where a lunch may be had by a mod est indulgence in beverage, and establishments where clothing is sold for a night.—Brooklyn Magazine. The Value of Southern Mineral Lands. The Alabama boom grows daily. Three days ago t wo pieces of property were bought by one syndicate in that State for the sum of $6,000,000—the largest transaction of the kind ever known in the South. While this Annis ton purchase is the largest single one of its kind, it is but a sample of scores of others throughout every portion of Alabama and Tennessee. Some idea of the movement can be formed from the fact that the real estate transactions at Chattanooga exceed $300,000 a day. There has been with all this activity a natu ral rapid increase in the value of property, 200 per cent and more in a few weeks. There are those who fear that such a startling advance is dangerous and that too large an element of speculation enters into it. This is by no means necessarily so. The reason of the advance in A abama mineral property is that it has been hitherto held at in finitely too large a figure and its true value has been only lately recognized. There was first complete ignorance of the mineral wealth of the State, during which time Alabama coal and iron lands were worth no more than any other lands in the South. Then came the pe riod of development, when the Alabama furna ces were competing with those of the North and East. There were many who believed that this boom was merely a temporary one, and that Alabama could not permanently compete with Fennsylvania. Time has compelled the abandonment of all these doubts. The test has been thoroughly made and the Pennsylvanians themselves, those moet interested in the iron industry of the State, frankly acknowledge the supremacy of Alabama and Tennessee in the cheap manu facture of iron. It is this that has given the impetus to the present Alabama boom, and which will force the mineral land of that State up to its true value. The advance in valne shows simply a recognition that the State is progressing and will progress even more rapidly than it has done. The purchase s by syndicates, compa nies and individuals ought to be followed by the erection of new furnaces and the estab lishment of new industries, far better for the State than mere real estate transfers, which add nothing to its wealth.—ATeio Orleans Times-Democrat. Spontaneous Combustion. A correspondent of the Chicago Tribune calls attention to a spontaneous combustion in the origin of fires, which he thinks is usually un derestimated as a cause of conflagrations. He says: A little experience of my own may be suggestive. Having occasion to stain some wood-work in my store after business hours, 1 mixed the stain in boiled linseed oil and wiped the work off with large rags. These oily rags I rolled up in a tight ball some live inches in diameter and threw them on the floor at the rear end of the store. Fortunately I stopped to do some writing, for at the end of half an hour I began to smell burning paint. I hunted for the cause out-doors aud in, up- stairs and down, and finally, stumbling over the rags, the ball broke opeu and revealed a mass of fire. The iuside of the bunch was ail a live coal. The next day, to convince doubt ing Thomases, I tried the experiment over again, and in three-quarters of an hour had a brisk fire started by spontaneous sombustion.
