Southern literary gazette. (Charleston, S.C.) 1850-1852, June 29, 1850, Image 2

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in those days. The victorious leader shall assemble the people atter the bat tle, and address to them a speech in the church. So runs the above prophecy, accord ing tothe concurring testimony ot many peasants of that country. It was long ago printed in a small pamphlet, in the convent at Werl. Hut at the removal of the convent, all its books were lost or destroyed. The tradition, however, remained among the peasantry, and has even penetrated into France ; for when French (troops?) came to Werl, they inquired for the Birch-Tree. In Pome rania also, natives of Westphalia, when quartered there, have been questioned about its position, it stood long be tween Holtum and Kirch-Hemmerde, villages lying between Unnaand Werl. When it withered, anew one was. by royal order, planted on the spot. This proves that the government knew ot the the prophecy or tradition, and telt an interest in it. The people believe so firmly in the prophecy, that the peas antry near Werl even opposed the in troduction ot new hymn-books, under the impression that they were the pie dicted new books. Bremen, Hultum, Budberg, and Sbndern are villages near Werl. A crucifix stands at Holtum between two young lime-trees ; and a brook there flows from west to east. With one more extract we close our notice of the article. A prophecy, of date 1022, concern ing certain months of a year not named. The month of May shall earnestly prepare for war. But it is not yet time. June shall also invite to war, but still it is not time. July will prove so cruel, that many must part from wife and child. In August, men shall every where hear of war. September and October shall bring great bloodshed. Wonders shall be seen in November. At this time the child is twenty-eight years old, (the powerful monarch) whose wet nurse shall be from the east. He shall do great things. Prophecies of the “ Powerful Mon arch:”— One prophet says — 41 1 Ie shall be of un ancient noble house, and descended from the top of the rocks. Ilis mother shall be a twin. He will be Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, (the Ger man Empire.) Ilolzhauser says, ‘He shall be born in the bosom of the Catho lic Churchhis name shall be, ‘The Help of God.’ We have now given a sufficient sketch of some of the more curious and definite popular German prophecies.— The Curate of Dortmund adds a con siderable number of others, more vague, mystical, and in some cases theological, which we omit, as not adapted to our present purpose ; and others, not bear ing on Germany, of some interest—es pecially a long one concerning Italy, by the Fraciscan monk, Bartolomeo da Saluzzi—which want of space prevents us from discussing at this time. Lei us now consider the foregoing prophecies in general. We must admit, as it seems to us, that there exists in Germany unfulfilled popular prophecies the authenticity of which is respecta bly attested and generally admitted. We further observe, that, taking the w T hole of them, as far as known to us, we can trace the following points per vading t he entire series, more or less:— 1. A great war after a peace, about this time. 2. It is preceded by political convul sions, and lesser wars. 3. The East and North fight against the South and West. 4. The latter finally prevail, under a powerful prince, who unexpectedly rises up. 5. The great struggle is short, and occurs late in the year. 6. It is decided by the battle of the Birch-Tree, near Werl. 7. After horrible devastations, and murders, and burnings, caused by this war, peace and prosperity return. 8. Priests are massacred and become very 7 rare; but 9. One religion unites all men. 10. All this takes place soon after the introduction of railways into Ger many. 11. The present King of Prussia is the last. 12. The “powerful prince” from the South becomes Emperor of Germany. 13. France is, about this time, in wardly divided. 14. The Russians come as enemies to the Rhine, the French enter Germa ny as friends—without entering into further details. * (general ißelertie. CENTRAL AMERICA. W e make the following extracts from an article in the April number of the Westminster Review , entitled “Junction of the Atlantic and Pacific.” Island of Manzanilla. —Speaking of the proposed Panama railway, the writer says: The explorations for this survey have led to the discovery of large groves of mahogany, and rich mineral deposits, “ the knowledge of which,” it is repre sented, “will be highly important to the company in locating lands under their grantand with regard to the proposed terminus of the railway on the Atlantic side, on the island of Manzanilla, in Navy Bay, we have the following char acteristic speculations, which might, perhaps, be taken as nothing more than a rhapsody, were it not for our experi ence of the way in which these Ameri can visions are apt to produce their own realization. “ The harbour is accessible at ail seasons, and with any wind perfectly secure, and capa ble of containing 300 sail. Os the island, Mr. Norris, the chief engineer of the Chagres divi sion, says, ‘ in ten years 1 predict the whole will be covered with houses, and the inhabitants enjoying perfect health, with every luxury of a southern clime.’ He add-, ‘I do consider it the most eligible and perfect site for a city of any size I have ever seen.’” Nicaragua Ship Canal. —After ex pressing, with the utmost confidence, the opinion that the Canal will go on certainly and speedily to its conclusion, the reviewer says: At the same time, although the view is thus bright, there is no great likeli hood that it will attract any amount of English money. Faith, the great ele ment. of all enterprises, has been de stroyed in this country for many vears to come; and not only is there no dis position to enter upon the scheme among ourselves, but there is a strong tendency to suppose that others would be equally timid, and to doubt if the Americans would or even could carry it out without “the aid of British capi tal.'’ Such has been our step from the sublime to the ridiculous, that we have come to look upon the expenditure du ring the next twelve years of a sum of £4,000,000 (which is a little more than half the amount of the railway calls for the month of January, 1847), upon the grandest public work that mankind has ever contemplated, as something that is really appalling from itstemeri tv. and that is only to be carried out by a congress of capitalists from all the nations of the earth. In the United States, however, the feeling is very dif ferent ; and every year vast works are quietly undertaken there, and carried to completion in a way which would surprise those numberless people who are too apt complacently’ to believe that all the world stands still except when funds are sent from London, — They have enjoyed prosperity since 1839; and although, of course, after so long a period, their turn for a run of madness must be approaching, there are at present no signs of it, and no appre hensions of its arrival for two or three years. They are quite prepared, there fore, to look confidently at any rational project, however abroad, and nothing could be presented to them which would more enlist their commercial aptitudes, their hard energy, and practi cal benevolence, or their patriotic pride. “ 1 would not speak of it,” said one of their writers, a few years back, “with sectional, or even national feeling ; but if Europe is indifferent, it would be glory surpassing the conquest of king doms to make this greatest, enterprise ever attempted by human force entire ty our own.” CAPABILITIES AND DESTINY OF CENTRAL AMERICA. That Central America possesses in herently all the essentials to attract a dense and vigorous population, is a fact that has rarely been doubted by those Europeans or Americans who have visited the country, and all the publica tions before us tend to confirm it. The researches of Mr. Stephens showed that it had been largely peopled by an abo riginal race of a remarkable character, and the size of its towns and its archi tectural remains gives evidence of com parative prosperity under the old Span ish dominion. Leon, the principal city 7 of Nicaragua, was formerly noted for its opulence, and once contained 50.000 inhabitants, who were among the most peaceful iuid industrious people of the country; while it has now, it is said by Mr. Baily, not more than one-third of that number, and half the place is in ruins. This is simply owing to the wretched revolutionary contests that have gone on without intermission since the declaration of independence, and which are invariably got up by a handful of military vagabonds, who would be swept away in the course of four-and-twenty hours, or who, rather, would never dare to show their faces if a hundred Englishmen or Americans were in the district to stimulate the well-disposed to confidence. With regard to health, the varied productions of Central America give the best evidence that whenever the country shall be opened up by roads and steamboats, and all the locomotive appliances of modern science, there will be no condition of person who may not, by ordinary attention to the natural laws, enjoy in this territory all the phy sical power of which his constitution may be capable. Wherever it is pos sible to reach, by a few hours’ journey, districts in which wheat, barley, and all the ordinary fruits and vegetables of Europe may be grown in perfection, there can be little fear that anything will be wanting in the way of climate to insure the preservation of bodily vigour. Even in the present state, Central America, on the whole, has no bad reputation regarding health, al though the advantages offered by its configuration in enabling the innabi tants to vary their climate according to their requirements, might as well not exist, since roads can scarcely be said to be known, the best rate of progress being about twenty miles a day, and mule paths through thick woods, with out resting-places at night, being usually the only features of a traveller’s track. \ et, on the banks of the San Juan, and in other parts of Nicaragua, there are elevations that would afford the most beneficial sites for farms and re sidences; while in Costa Rica, San Sal vador, and indeed in all the States, table lands more or less abound, where any condition of climate may be ob tained in a few hours. In Guatemala may be seen fields of wheat and peach trees, and large districts “resembling the finest part of England on a magni ficent scale.” Valuable mineral and thermal springs are likewise distributed over the various localities, and there are other adjuncts of a curative kind, which may possibly be found to yield extensive results, and to present even a temptation to some classes of inval ids, Amongst these is an animal called the manatee, between a quadruped and a fish, about ten feet long, weighing from 500 to 800 lbs., affording excel lent food, and possessing a medicinal quality apparently analagous to the cod-liver oil, it being alleged to be strikingly effectual as a speedy cure for scorbutic or scrofulous disorders. “The blood is said to become purified, and the virulence of the complaint, thrown to the surface of the body, quickly dis appears.” “Although Central America,” ob serves Mr. Baily, “occupies the middle space between the equator and the tropic of Cancer, consequently lying within the torrid zone, the temperature may be said to be relatively mild, and, taken altogether, it undoubtedly is sa lubrious;’ and this, it must be remem bered, is the testimony of an English officer, who has resided in the country from choice during the best part of his life. The places most prejudicial to health, lie on the northern coast and the Mosquito shore, where endemic and intermittent fevers are not unfre quent. The Pacific coast is exposed to a temperature equally high, or nearly so; but is much more salubrious, and seldom visited by epidemic or conta gious diseases. After giving brief descriptions of the principle features of the several Central American States, the writer thus pro phecies : In glancing at these leading character istics of the various states of Central America, the reader will speedily have SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE. arrived at the conclusion that, in the hands of Anglo-Saxon settlers, they would long ere this have ranked amongst the most beautiful and prosperous por tions of the earth. But until now there has been work for the race in higher latitudes, and it will be from the pre sent year that their rise will date. The nature and rapidity of that rise will, we believe, be such as has never yet been witnessed in any analogous ease. Emigration from the United Kingdom has hitherto been confined to swarm-- of the poor, going out to fight the bat tle of life in untilled solitudes, where they might best enter upon it with un burthened limbs; and although their progress has been wonderful, and they have caused cities and states to rise up as if by magic, there have still been rough elements in the whole proceed ing which have left room for us to con template the possibility, under more favourable circumstances, of an equal ly rapid progress, coupled with a far higher and finer civilization. All sepa ration of classes is bad, and the true system of emigration, where the temp tations for it exist, is that where the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, go together. But the rich and intelligent will go only from choice, and they demand as inducements a brighter sky, a more genial climate, and facilities of communication. New Zealand, from its possessions of the two first recommendations, has already attracted many, but its distance and solitariness are fatal objections. Cen tral America promises to fulfil every required condition. In a short time the active spirits from New York and Boston, who are even now infusing new life and hope into Jamaica, from mere ly calling at that island in their way, and stirring up its inhabitants to the resources at their feet, over which they have hitherto blindly moved, will have displaced the spirit of anarchy by that of enterprise. There will then be abundant work for the labourer, and temptations for all classes, even to the highest. The merchant can seek no broader field than one where lie can deal with the meeting commerce of two worlds, together with every variety of teeming produce at his own door. The agriculturist, the fisherman, the miner and the engineer, will likewise find greater stimulants and rewards than can be met elsewhere. The artist will be incited by scenery which in its con densed grandeur and prolific beauty, from the mountain Ysaleo in Salvador, which burns incessantly as a natural lighthouse on the Pacific, to the frosty table-lands of Guatemala, combines, like the soil and the climate of the country, every feature that is otherwise only to be witnessed by extended wan dering. The naturalist, the geologist, the astronomer, and the antiquarian will here also have anew range; and the man of so-called leisure, who in his way unites the pursuits of all, will pro portionably find the means of universal gratification. And in the narrow confines which hold these advantages the people of ev ery land and government are destined to meet on common terms. The Rus sian from Behring’s Straits, the China man, the African from Jamaica, the New Zealand sailor, the Dutchman from Java, and the Malay from Singa pore, will mingle with the Mestizoes and Indians of the country, and each contribute some peculiar influence which w ill be controlled and tempered to the exaltation of the whole by the predom inant qualities of the American, the Englishman, and the Spaniard. Is it too much to suppose, that under these circumstances a people may arise whose influence upon human progress will be of a more harmonious, and consequent ly of a more powerful, kind than has yet been told of?—that starting at the birth of free-trade, and being themselves indebted to a universal commerce for their existences, they will constitute the first community amongst whom restrictions will be altogether unknown; that guaranteed in their independence by Great Britain and the United States, and deriving their political inspirations from a race amongst whom self-govern ment is an instint, they will practically carry out the peace doctrines to which older nations are only as yet wistfully approaching ; that aided and strength ened by the confiding presence of peo ple of every creed, the spirit of Chris tian toleration will shine over all, and win all by the practical manifestation of its real nature ; and finally that the union of freedom, wisdom and tolera tion may find its happiest results in the code of internal laws they may adopt, so that amongst them, on the luxuriant land hitherto made desolate by the sole principle of bloody retaliation, the re vengeful taking of human life may nev er be known; and that they may be the first to solve the problem—if amongst those who profess Christ’s doc trines it can be called a problem—of coupling the good and reformation of the offender with the improvement and safety of society, and the exercise to wards both, not of a sentimental, but of a philosophical and all-pervading love? To Remove Ink Stains from Paper and Linen. —Take oxalic Acid one drachm ; Cream of Tartar (Bitartrate of Potash) half-a-drachm ; Salts of Sor rel (Quadroxalate of Potash) one drachm ; put the whole into a phial w ith about a wine-glassful of water, in which the materials will nearly dissolve. Apply the solution to the ink stains with a camel-hair brush or a feather. If the stains are upon paper of a delicate texture, or valuable prints, the parts should be washed afterwards with clean water, to remove the acid, using the brush lightly, so as not to abrade the paper. If upon linen, it may remain till “the next wash.” This inode of removing blots from letters and other manuscripts, we consider superior to “scratching out,” at all times unsightly; the part, however, cannot be written upon after this treatment without the new ink mark disappearing like the original. This solution has no effect whatever upon printing or lithographic inks. ■ ■ A Reduced Fair.— We know a young lady, who, in her horror of Old- Maidism, has engraved at the bottom of her cards, “No reasonable offer will be refused.” A Nice Book for a Rainy Day. — A country gentleman, when he came to return a book, was asked what he thought of it? “Oh! the style is very good,” he said, “but I think there are rather too many figures.” He had been lent, by mistake, a Railway Guide. (Original |3nrtrij. For the Southern Literary Gazette. MY BROTHER’S GRAVE. O’er thy lone grave, in Western wilds. The prairie grass is waving fret 1 . And winds above a requium sing. Murmuring thro’ the tall pine tree. The Autumn’s richest tints are there. The cheering sun, the clear blue sky : But not a heart that knew thy worth E’er breathes above thy grave a sigh. O’er thy for grave, my brother, dear. The wild fox takes its stealthy tread. And in the soft, still summer night. The fierce wolf howls above thy head. No loving hand, with friendly care. The wild weed plucks from ofT thy grave; But in their rank luxurience there, All mournfully they darkly wave. I murmur not that thou art gone, I know full well “ God called thee home.” But oh! I grieve that thy dear form Lies in that Western Prairies gloom. LUCY. For the Southern Literary Gazette. THE WOODS. I pine, I pine to be away, In green woods bowers alone, Where soothingly the breezes play. In low and mellow tone. I cannot bear, I cannot bear, This endless human voice; I would away, where wild flowers are, And only birds rejoice. I’m weary, weary of the smiles That move the lips alone ; Oh! what are vain, deceitful wiles To true affection's tone! 1 cannot calmly sit aid think While others are artund, Or break the sordid earthly link By which my soul is bound. The woods,the woods r so cold and dark. Should be my home for aye, With not. a human eye to mark My wild and bounding way. Oh! freely, freely would I weep, With no cold eye to nee, O’er treasured mem’ries buried deep. Os things that used to be. FREDONIA. (Original fentjs. For the Southern Literary Gazette. EGERIA: Or, Voices from the Woods and Wayside. NEW SERIES. LII. Moral Progress. Patriotism declaims a great deal about our moral progress, but is it so sure that we are making any? Novelties of invention do not establish the fact of moral superiority. They simply confirm an old truth that the worldly capacities of man are al ways equal to his necessities and actual condition. Our discoveries merely seem to keep pace with our enlarging empire and the wants that anew con dition will naturally exhibit. These necessities are really not of a kind to bring out into more ample exercise the moral energies of which our nature is susceptible. They address themselves to our economies, rather than to our genius, except where the latter is in spired by the ambition to gratify ani mal passions or to overcome physical impediments. Our progress seems to be mechanical and animal, rather than moral. In morals, 1 suspect that the age is pretty much where it was a thousand years ago. In what is the morality of the British conquest over the Chinese, superior to that of the Norman sea-chivalry in the time of Charlemagne? How is the Christianity of French conquest in Algeria, superi our to the ordinary moral exhibitions of the British, French, Spanish and Italian, during the reigns of Louis the Twelfth, Henry the Eighth. Charles the Bold, Ferdinand the Catholic and Pope Julius IJ—or any reigns in Europe for three hundred years before? And the moral progress depends upon just such comparisons. Does the question show other results when it relates to purely intellectual matters? The exact sciences move in natural progression— we may venture to say this, though with some hesitation, since it is difficult to say how much of the ancient inher itance our own barbarous progenitors destroyed—but for the inexact, which are the truly moral portions of the mental nature—those which we may not group in a square or reckon by figures—those which involve the attri butes of taste, and appeal to the agency of the imagination—these are, if not absolutely retrograde, scarcely more advanced than they were in the days of Homer. The centuries seem to move in a circle rather than to advance, and we do little more than retrace their ancient movements. Our discoveries are such as we frequently find to have been used three thousand years ago. The ages seem to propose to them selves no goal to which they advance with steadfast direction. We set off, every now and then, with a fresh im pulse, as if the ground was new and the pathway yet to be laid open, but find ourselves, after a while, at the well known starting place. We meet at every step, the traces of some former progress, if not of our own. Old re cords freshen at every step, and, like the traveller in the Arabian legend, we find the barriers recede as we advance, but still enough remain to show that they at least are impassable. Time will not suffer us to escape him. He travels still in our company, and our defeats only declare his limitations no less than our own. Our stages are his also, though our seasons vary, and we have still a hope, which he does not pretend to share. Indeed, Human Life, it must not be forgotten, is nothing more than human life. That we are not all human, is a fact which does not seem much to interfere with our merely human progress. Here are our metes and bounds—here rise our alps. Thus far may we go and no farther. Life makes but little progress out of the path of time. ‘The Everlasting-to-be which hath been,” is the destiny more inflexible in the eye of mortal ambition than any of the rest. It does not seem to forbid improvement, but it prevents advance. In vain do we enumerate our achievements. We share them only with the past. Our books, our arts, our sciences, our skill, our valour, our songs, our seers —they are those of the buried ages. The giants who have gone before ns in point of time, have gone before us in achievements also. We have superceded them with others, but are we sure that we have surpassed them in their inventions'? If we have found some things of our own, we have lost some of theirs, which were proba bly quite as valuable, and certainly quite as much suited to their wants as the present are to ours. And who shall pretend to say that our very dis coveries have not simply arisen be cause of our ill success in retracing theirs. What, in fact, have we to brag of? Nothing, perhaps, unless in some vague conviction in our times, not of reception in theirs, of a universal hu manitv. To have discovered man, as an estate, is something. Otherwise, the ancients are still our tutors, our models and our masters. We copy their labours, while we clamor for their immortality. We strive for the eminence, and lo! we find old names written on our monuments. We are like the Pioneer, who, exploring what he deems an unknown wilderness, finds, suddenly, to his horror and surprise, the gashes in the tree, of the very axe w hich he carries upon his shoulder. LIII. Passions and Virtues. To survive the passions, without having matured the virtues,is to expend our capital with out taking the customary securities. LIV. Love. Better love in vain than leave the heart unemployed. Hlnrkrii THREE LITTLE GIRLS. Gottwalt swore in his journal, that there was nothing in the world more lovely, more heart-touching, than the sight of three such pretty, delicate creatures, all of the same height; with their little caps and aprons and little round faces, and nothing to regret, but that they were only drillings, and not fifthlings, sixthlings, or even hundred lings. He kissed them before the whole room, and blushed deeply ; it was as though he had touched with his lips the tender, pale young mother. But chil dren are always the truest Jacob’s lad der to the mother’s heart. Such very little girls are also an electrical pre server for youths, who have not courage to stand before grown-up maidens; a beautiful conductor and non-conductor, presented uneonsciouly lor the moment of danger, they secretly and gladly wonder how they can caress a little thing so like a young maiden. The little girls were soon at home with Walt. Asa twin himself, he was, he thought, more nearly related to the drillings, than the other guests in the room. To the great joy of the mother, he gave them some money, for which she bade them give him three kisses. But W alt held back ; he would not al low them, so early in life, to antici- j pate the time when such precious ; things would be made the subject of | barter.— Rich ter. GREEK BEAUTY. “ Since, therefore, beauty was thus i desired and prized by the Greeks, no thing was concealed which could en- j hance it. Every beautiful person sought to become known to the whole nation by this endowment, and especially to please the artists, because they decreed the prize of beauty; and for this very reason, they had opportunity of seeing beauty daily. Beauty was an excel lence which led to fame ; for we find that the Greek histories make mention of those who were distinguished for it. Some persons were even characterized by a particular name, borrowed from some beautiful portions of the body; thus Demetrius Poliorcetes was named, from the beauty of his eyelids, charita ble-pharos, that is to say, ‘on whose lids the Graces dwell.” It appears, indeed, to have been a belief, that the procreation of beautiful children might be promoted by the distribution of prizes for beauty, as there is reason to infer from the contests of beauty which were instituted in the remotest ages by Cypselus, King of Arcadia, in the time of the Heraclidee, on the banks of the river Alpheus in Elis ; and also from the fact that, at the festival of the Phi lesian Apollo, a prize for the most ex quisite kiss w as conferred on the youth ful. Its assignment was subject to the decision of a judge, as was probably also the case at Megaro, at the tomb of Diodes. At Sparta, and at Lesbos, in the temple of Juno, and among the citizens of Parrhasia, the women con tended for the prize of beauty. The regard for this quality was so general and so strong, that, as Oppian declares, the Spartan women placed in their sleeping rooms an Apollo, or Bacchus, or Nereus, or Narcissus, or Hyacinthus, or Castor and Pollux, in order that thev might bear beautiful children ” . [ Winckleman. PACKED UP AND DIRECTED. The author of some modern farce makes one of his heroes, an accom plished Parisian duellist, console a foreign coxcomb whom he has chal lenged, by promising to have him “neat ly packed up and directed.” Some what after this fashion, men appear to be dealt with in society. Because an individual sees fit to connect himself with a certain association, manifest an interest in a specific object, or tempo rarily display, with more than ordinary force, a particular principle of his na ture, he is at once classed, newly bap tized with a party name, enrolled, sev ered by an artificial distinction —in a word “packed up and directed.” An imaginary badge is affixed to him as significant as the phylactery of the pharisee, the star of courtly honour, or the coloured ribbon denoting academic or knightly preferment. To all the general interests and purposes of social life, he is proscribed. The usual method of answering the question, “ What sort of a person is ?” is to designate the body political, scientific, or otherwise, to which the individual is attached. A fashionable votary refers you to the “circle,” a religionest to the “sect,” and an intellectualist to the “schooleach “packs up and directs” that most diverse, spontaneous and free of human results —character, according to his whim. — Tucker man. A SIMILE. Upon yon mountain’s distant head, Where spotless snow’s forever white, Where all is cold, and still and dead— Late shines the sun’s departing light. I But far below those icy rocks, The vales, in summer bloom arrayed— Woods full of birds, and fields of flocks Are dim with mist, or dark with shade. ’Tis thus, from warm and kindly hearts, And eyes where generous meanings burn, Earliest the light of life departs, And lingers with the cold and stern. [Bryant. ■ .Hilda ‘ifinrtlj liiiuttiing. When a porcupine is irritated, he erects his quills, but does not dart or shoot them. Black rats tire tamed in Germany, and a bell being put about their necks, they drive away other rats. A toad was found at Organ in France, i in a well, which had been covered up for 150 years. It was torpid, but re vived on being exposed. Leuwenhoeck reckoned 17,000 divi sions in the cornea of a butterfly, each of which he thought a separate crys talline lens. Spiders, dzc., are equally provided for. The planet Mercury has a swifter motion in its revolution round the sun, than that of an\V>ther planet; it being more than thirty miles during each beat of the pulse. A fish in Java called the jaculator, catches flies and insects by squirting from its mouth some water, and seldom misses its aim at the distance of five or six feet, bringing down a fly with a single drop. Spiders have four paps for spinning their threads, each pap having 1000 holes; and the fine web is itself the union of 4000 threads. No spider spins more than four webs, and when the fourth has been destroyed, they seize on the webs of others. Bats and Dor-beetles.— These ani mals, flitting about late in the evening, in spring or autumn, foretel that the next day will be fine. But if bats re treat early to their hiding places, utter ing their peculiar squeaking cry, bad weather may be anticipated. Food is generally dear in Paris. Meat is very dear in all shapes and forms. Cheese 8d to 20d (British) a pound; bacon, 8d to 20d. Nothing in food is cheap but bread, fruit and vege tables, on which the poor, therefore, wholly live. Vegetables are cheap, plentiful and varied. Horse flesh is a legalised substitute for ox beef. Few insects live more than a year in their perfect state, but often much longer in their larva state. Their first state is the egg, then the caterpillar, than the chrysalis, or pupa, and finally the perfect and procreative form. But in these changes there are infinite de grees and varieties of transition, all which constitute the pleasing and very instructive study of entomology. S. B. Spaulding, of Brandon, Vt., has discovered anew mineral paint, capa ble of taking a great variety of shades, and growing brighter by the action of the atmospheie and weather. Although the material is expensive, so small a quantity suffices, that for two dollars enough can be purchased to cover the surface which w ould require a hundred pounds of white lead. A green for blinds, of equal durability, has been discovered by him. Mr. Remington, of Montgomery, has discovered that by the simple addition of a wheel at the bow of a steamboat, connected with the wheels amidships, shuffles the resistance of the water; and the inventor is confident that with his improvement, boats can be made to ascend a current as rapidly as they can descend —and that in either case the resistance will be reduced to that of the atmosphere. In leaden coffins it is customary to j make a number of holes underneath the coffin plate, to give egress to the j gases, which would else, by their accu-1 mulation, first bulge and then burst the ’ coffin. When this precaution is ne glected, considerable danger ensues to the grave-diggers, who have on many occasions been seized with asphyxia, or even killed on the spot, by the poison ous gases emitted from a suddenly-burst coffin. To escapedhese hazards, they not uufrequently “tap” the coffins and let out a jet of gas, w hich, being ignited, burns from ten minutes to half an hour. Bodies have sometimes been found in coffins in different positions to the ordinary one in which they are placed; but this is no sign of their having been buried alive. “The motions observed in corpses have arisen,” says the author of an article in the Quarterly Review , on The Signs of Death, “from the gene ration of gases;” and upon the authori ty of M. Deverge, physician to the Morgue at Paris, lie states that the bodies laid out in that dreary spot, for recognition, often make contortions with their faces and movements of their limbs. Violent and rapid diseases, which kill speedily, are favourable to the generation of these gases; and fre quently the bodies of those who die of them exhibit symptoms the most pain ful to witness —such as bleeding at the nose, mouth and ears, vomiting, &c. 51 (feolilrt of DEPUTATION. A FARCE, AS PERFORMED AT HER MAJESTY’S CABINET THEATRE, DOWNINO-STREET. Scene —lnterior of the Premier’s Official Residence. Time—Noon. Discovered in an uneasy chair, The Premier. Premier (solus). Hm ! Another de putation. The greatest of all political arts, is the art of saying nothing with a grace, and being courteous with no meaning. Just twelve. Here they come. [Door is thrown open, and the De putation., consisting of Brown, Jones, and Robinson, Black, W hite, <ind Green, d’c. dr., duly announced, enter. Bows are interchanged. Brown. \our lordship is no doubt aware that a meeting of the most om inous magnitude has been held at — Premier. Pardon me; I’m aware of I nothing of the sort. Pray don’t assume j that 1 know anything. Brown. Why, my lord, our meet ing was reported—eight columns of it : 111 Jones. Eight ? Ten ! Brown. lam corrected—ten columns in the newspapers of— Premier. 1 never read the newspa pers. Brown. As you please ,my lord ; nevertheless, at that meeting a memo rial was adopted ; a memorial rehears ing all the grievances of the land ; a memorial, a copy of which I have the honour to lay before your lordship. Premier (running over the memorial). Hm ! Ha! Os course, 1 never shirk the responsibility of the executive gov ernment ; but—pardon me —I can't agree with your memorial. You say here we have done nothing—now, I think, we have done everything. There is no reason that this slight variation of opinion should create any difference be tween us; by no means. 1 was always for toleration —let us continue to en joy our own sentiments —it is the privi lege of a free country ; and the- glory of Englishmen. Jones. As for opinion, my lord ; my opinion is, that there are no real opin ions in the House of Commons reflect ing the opinions of the people of Eng land as at present constituted. Premier. You see, there are two sides to that question; the negative and the affirmative; both of course can’t be right; then, again, it is impossible that both can be wrong. Robinson. 1 assure you, my lord, I am in the habit of travelling a good deal in cabs; and there is not a cab man—if you come to talk about oats —that isn’t against free trade. Oats to be sure are cheaper ; but then, because they’re cheap, people want to ride for nothing. Brown. My lord, with ali respect for my friend Robinson, 1 must say we do not at this moment wish to launch into the great sea of oats. There’s a time coming for that. But I may be allowed to observe to your lordship— especially as you never see the papers, and may have heard exaggerated re ports —that though there were certain frank-hearted farmers who talked of j raising cavalry, and having a good stand-up fight with the authorities, for wheat at 50s. —that nevertheless, good souls ! they never meant it. The J words sounded a little strong —but on ly fizz and froth, my lord ; no real trea son my lord—nothing like it. Premier. I assure you, Mr. Brown. I have been too long in public life— j have contested too many elections, not to treat with extremest tolerance the ebullition of public feeling. When on the hustings, a bad egg has with me gone for a bad egg, and nothing more —and a dead cat has been a dead cat, i and there’s an end. As I say, ebulli- ‘ tions of public feeling.—evidences, a little strong to be sure, but still only evidences, of the blessings of our in com parable constitution. Robinson. My lord, many of us are magistrates, and however we may coun tenance foul language at a public meet ing—such as the last—we never fail when on the bench to mulct offenders in the sum of five shilling. Premier. Sir, I have no doubt of it; and with respect to the subject of this memorial, all I can say is, if we’ve been mistaken in our policy, we are evident ly wrong. If, on the other hand, we have not been mistaken—if we have not hazarded reckless legislation, why, then, it is more than probable we are right. Brown. My lord, we are penetrated by your lordship’s condescension, and i thank you heartily for— Green (aside, and pulling Brown’s skirts). Arn't you going to say some thing about the Colonies ? Brown (aside to Green). No; I j thuoght that was you. Green. Well, then, my lord, allow me to say, that whilst you cut off'ne groes from the West Indies, you can’t i shut up the slave market of The Bra zils. You — [The Premier bows, and all the j Deputation , except Green, moves towards the door. Green. Allow me to say that the fight of freedom and slavery is in the Englishman’s tea-cup, and— [ The Premier bows, and Green seeing himself about to be de serted, joins the Deputation, who immediately withdrew to the King's Arms when having de nounced “ the Traitor of Tam worth,” they adjourn to three cheers, which they “Register. 1 register.” END OF FARCE. The Railway Gastronomic Regen erator. —Since Soyer’s resignation, the most liberal offers have been made to him by several Railway Companies to join their Board of Directors. The object of securing such a celebrated chef de cuisine as Monsieur Soyer is evidently to have the benefit of his skill in “ cooking their accounts.” Geography for Young Ladies.— “Where’s Hatcham ?” enquired a young lady upon meeting with the name of that town in a newspaper. — “Why, you stupid!” indignantly ex claimed her brother, “ Hatcham is the first stage after Engham to be sure,” and the young lady believed it. Down on the Nail.— The Nailmak ers, we are sorry to say, have joined in a very extensive strike. The only strike we should have been glad to hear of among the Nail makers, would be their having hit the right nail on the head. ___ ; gMtnft altar. the SOUL’S “The Soul’s Passing” is the title of a touch ing poem in the London Athenaeum. \ | lu band is looking upon the searce cold form f his dead wife: Take her faded hand in thine Hand that no more answereth kindly See the eyes, were wont to shine, Uttering love, now staring blindly; Tender-hearted, speech departed Speech that echoed so divinely. Runs no more the circling river, Warming, brightening every part: There it slumbereth cold forever No more merry leap and stait, No more flushing cheeks to blushing— In its silent home the heart! Hope not answers to your praying! Cold, responseless lies she there ; Death, that ever will be slaymg Something gentle, something fair, Came with numbers soft as slumbers— She is with Him otherwhere. Lesson for Sunday, June 30. GOD’S CHILDREN “ All thy children shall be taught ot’ the . —j shall be the peace of thy ’ What glorious things are spoken of Zion. her enemies shall be confounded, her friends exalted, her subjects in creased, and her God glorified. Our text is one out of a rich cluster of pro mises respecting the prosperity of the church. Let us contemplate believers in three ways. The character they bear. They are God's children. Observe The change they experience. It is a radical change, the heart being the sub ject of it. They are born again, reno vated by Divine grace, created anew in Christ. The conduct they display. They have the feelings and dispositions of children, and yield a dutiful obedience to the Di vine commands. The glories they anticipate. Being children they become heirs. They have much in possession, and more in pro pec-t. By the designation of children we are reminded of their present im perfections. They are children in know ledge, grace, and holiness; but soon they shall attain to the stature of a per fect man. Tiie instructions they receive.— They are taught of the Lord. The les sons are important, the means are sim ple, and the Teacher is Divine. The best lessons are learnt, not in the schools of the philosopher, but at the feet of Jesus. The blessing they enjoy. “Great shall be the peace of thy children.”— There is the enjoyment of peace in themselves, and the pursuit of peace with each other. Nothing can equal that serenity of mind which results from reconciliation with God. It is no! like the stillness that precedes the raging storm, but resembles thefaceof nature, cal :n and serene, on a fine sum mer’s evening. “Thou great and good, thou just and wise. Thou art my Father and my God ; And I am thine, by sacred ties, Thy son, thy servant, bought with blood.” (Biiitnrs’ Ikpnrtnirnt. WM. C. RICHARDS, Editor. D. H. JACQUES, Associate Editor. (Tljnrlrsfnn, #. €.: SATURDAY MORNING, JUNE 29, 18JJ NOTES ON THE NORTH; FROM THE EDITOR’S POCKET BOOK. CHAPTER 111. Travel from Philadelphia to New York- Leap of the Locomotive — Broadway — Strut Merchants —Anew “ Wrinkle" — Street Sweepers — National Academy of Design— The. Art Union—Miss Cushman's Farewell. The amount of travel between Philadelphia and New York is so great, that there are no fewer than six daily lines between the two cities. Os these, three are by steamboat and railway, on what is called the Camden and Amboy route; two are mail trains, upon a line of railway, also belonging to the Camden and Amboy Company, as far as Brunswick, in New Jersey, and the sixth is a steamboat route, down the river tqd bay and outside the Capes By one of the first named lines, leaving the city at half-past seven, we took our departure, oni pleasant June morning, and crossing the rive: in a steam ferry-boat, entered a comfortable cat at Camden. New Jersey does not abound u the picturesque, but green meadows and bloom ing fields are always attractive. At Hightstown, about half way to New York, after the usual stay of two or three min utes, we were further subjected to a very un usual detention of three hours, by the uncere monious descent of our locomotive into the creek which flows through the village. In its downward course, it carried with it the and the luggage crates, scattering the latter in j various directions and half burying itself in tie bank of the stream. When the Engineer dis covered that the locomotive was “olf the track. , and must go off the bridge, he instantly re I versed his engine and sprang off himself, threb} escaping with slight injury. Notwithstanding j the crash, the roar of the escaping steam, and; all other incidental signs of destruction, the j damage after all was insignificant, being sum I med up in the following items: a battered loco-1 motive and tender, and half a dozen crates o! luggage turned topsy-turvey, but not otherwise deranged! It was certainly a narrow escape I from a serious catastrophe, which, however, if I an exceedingly rare occurrence upon this road I Another locomotive from Berdentown conveyed I us safely to South Amboy, where we embarked I on the steamer John Potter, and arrived in th-’ I city to a late dinner. We found Broadway a-1 much obstructed as ever with paving-stones SB I -1 pyramids of building material. The R I pavement is extending down in front ol TriniP-1 below which have been erected of late set era I blocks of elegant wholesale stores, imparting I quite anew aspect to that part of the city. “ I encountered, moreover, the usual throng? street hawkers, the news-boys with the “ E- Xir 1 Sun, Herald, Tribune and Express.” the can boys, the tooth-pick and pocket comb mer chants, and the men who hold out at the come* - I a stick supporting a dozen or score of I watches, hanging on gilt chains, fr a ?i*P tuC< I a piece! We discovered, moreover, a ne '’ j ‘ wrinkle,’ consisting of six and twelve ineu aD w one yard measures of brass, for three pence, si* I pence and one shilling respectively- -^ s I weather had fortunately been pleasant for 80111 I days, we were spared the common pantomim I of “ sweeping the crossings,” which every ‘ lslt ° J must remark as a feature of Broadway i J weather, for probably not one has escap'd 1 appealing look of the young girls, who, ha ■ footed and little more than halt clad, pb 11 I brooms in the vicinity of the principal 1 and stop every other second or two, to hold “ I their hands to the passer-by, who saves t * boots at their expense ! We have been not little amused to observe the effect of these mu®