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only when we find an able Southern
paper we shall puff it a little stronger
a little higher —we shall endeavour to
make southern men resonable, and sub
scribers to it.
We have said this much because we
wish to see a “novus ordo rerum”—be
cause we desire to see smiles upon the
countenances of Southern Editors in
place of frowns, we wish to hear laugh
ing—in place of dismal groaning, se.
evidences of prosperity in place of mis
fortune. We wish to do away with the
idea that an Editor has no business
marrying or giving in marriage—at
tending a party or going to church in a
new coat. Southern Editors work
hard, toil hard, labour hard—they
should be rewarded. Literary men
ought to be encouraged—there is no
doubt of it. Will you not assist in
doing it then? Will you not assist in
giving to the South a literature of he’
own —will you not help in digging the
chanel in which shall run the great
stream of Knowledge. If we cannot
make a river, let us make a small stream
—then another, then one more, until
a majestic river rushes onward in it>
pride and strength, until by its waters
it shall start refreshing fountains every
where bubbling up brightly, quenching
the thirst of thousands—rejoicing the
hearts of millions.
cT'ljc litcrrii Mar.
THE OLDEST CHRISTIAN HYMN.
In Paed, Lib. 111., of Clement, of Alexan
dria, is given (in Greek) the mo t aneien
hymn of the Prim tive Church. It was, then,
(one hundred and fifty years alter the Apostles,)
asserted to be of much earlier origin. It may
have been sung by the “ beloved disciple ” be
fore he ascended to his reward. The following
version will give some imperfect idea of its
spirit:
Shepherd of tender youtd !
Guid'ng in love and truth,
Through devious ways;
Christ, our triumphant King !
We come thy name to sing,
And here our children bring,
To shout thy praise.
Thou art our Holy Lord !
The all-subduing Word!
Healer of strife!
Thou didst thyself abase,
That from sin’s deep disgrace,
Thou mightiest save our race,
And give us life.
Thou art Wisdom’s High Priest!
Thou hast prepared the feast
Os holy love;
And in our mortal pain,
None calls on thee in vain.
Help thou dost not disdain,
Help from above.
Ever be thus our Guide!
Our Shepherd and our pride,
Our staff and song!
Jesus! thou Christ of God !
By thy perennial word,
Lead us where thou hast trod.
Make our faith strong.
So now, and till we die,
Sound we thy praises high,
And joyful sing;
Infants, and the glad throng,
Who to thy church belong,
Unite and swed the song,
To Christ, our King.
Lesson for Sunday, September 15.
GOD AN INCORPOREAL AND IMMORTAL
BEING.
“ God is a Spirit.’’—John iv., 24.
He is an incorporeal being. All
corporeal beings consist of parts, and
so are capable of separation, addition,
or diminution ; but this would be in
consistent with the perfection of the
Almighty, or the nature of spirits,
which do not consist of perishable ma
terials. When bodily members are
ascribed to God, they are not to be
taken literally, but according to their
true scope and intent, which is in a
clearer form to set forth and illustrate
the various acts and perfections of the
Di vine nature, to which these members
of the body bear some faint resem
blance. lhus, the eyes and ears of
God signify his omniscience; his hands
and arms denote his power; and his
face, the manifestation of his favour.
W e must not conceive of God as hav
ing a body, or any corporeal members,
as some have done, who only ground
their opinion on the literal interpreta
tion of many figurative expressions in
Scripture. Our conduct would evince
the basest ingratitude to God, if, be
cause he is pleased to stoop to our
weakness, we degrade him to our in
firmities.
He is an invisible being. The
proper object of sight is colour, which
arises from the various positions of
particles of matter, th t cause the se
veral reflections of light; but a spirit
has neither parts nor matter, and con
sequently must be invisible. The Al
mighty can by his infinite power make
visible appearances, as he did of old;
but these were not visions of his es
sence, they were merely outward re
presentations, which he formed to no
tify his presence for special purposes;
but as to his own exalted nature, he is
the invisible God.
He is an immortal being. A spiritu
al nature neither has, nor can have in
it, any principles of corruption, or ten
dency to decay. The very idea of a
spirit conveys to the mind something
imperishable, and not affected by ma
terial substances. This eminently ap
plies to God, who is unchangeable in
his nature, whose years cannot fail, and
who alone is possessed of original and
independent immortality. How affect
ing is it to think of the millions of the
human race who are destitute of that
revelation which discovers to man the
knowledge of God, and unfolds to his
view the glories of immortality ! Let
us pray that the light of truth may
speedily dissipate the darkness of er
ror. It God is a Spirit, then he re
quires spiritual worship, and we should
seek, above all things, to be spiritually
acquainted with him—to have his fear
before our eyes, his grace in our hearts,
his image on our souls.
A Little Heathen Boy and his
Sisters. — “I was much affected,” says
the Rev. Mr. French, a missionary
among the Mahrattas, in India, “by the
following incident which occurred in the
temple at Pimpulwundee. A little
boy, about ten years of age, accompa
nied by two girls smaller than himself,
his sisters probably, came to pay their
devotions. The little boy, in a state of
almost entire nudity, first washed the
idol with water, and then put a little
ted paint on his forehead, shoulders,
and breasts. This being done, he took
r< ?‘ n I t * le little girl some small flowers,
Vr ich he laid in various places on the
idol; and, to crown all, he threw, after
severa ineffectual attempts, the idol
>ung taler than himself, a string of
flowers over his head. Having finished
this part ot the ceremony, the three
pitiaole little creatures commenced cir
cumambulating and bowing to the
senseless object which they had thus
early been taught to regard as their
rod. I was much affected, I say, in
witnessing this scene, and was led to
reflect how different are the circum
stances and prospects of the dear child
ren of my native land. There the in
fant mind is trained in the principles ot
virtue and salvation. Here it is initiat
ed into the mysteries of iniquity, and
swallowed up in the darkness and su
perstition of idolatry. But it is a
blessed thought, to be apprehends
only by faith, however, that the infants
of India shall one day speak forth the
praises of Immanuel. The Lord hasten
chat day in his own good time.”
Heathen parents take their very
young children to the temple of one
idol and teach them how to bow and
kneel, and wash, and paint, and perform
•he other ceremonies which are re
quired in the worship of that idol. At
mother time they take them to tht
emple of another idol and teach them
iow to worship that, and so on through
ill the multitude of their idols; and
hus they train their children up to al
the wickedness and fidelity of idol
worship.
(glimpses of linn Dunks.
THOMAS CAMPBELL.
From Beattie’s “ Life and Letters of Thomas Campbell,”
lately published by the Harpers.
THE YOUTHFUL DEMOCRAT.
Early in the spring of this year, and
in acknowledgement of his exemplar}
conduct, Campbell obtained a few days
‘eave of absence from College. He
had just completed the first sketch of
a prize poem, and laid it aside for fu
ture consideration. Another object
had taken strong possession of his mind;
and the holidays, just granted, encour
aged the hope of his being enabled to
realize a pleasing, and long-cherished
object of ambition. This was a visit
to Edinburgh, during a time of great
political excitement, when the trial of
Muir, Gerald, and others, for high trea
son, was expected to take place. At
this trial Campbell was present; and
no circumstance of his life ever made
so powerful an impression on his mind,
as what he heard and saw on that oc
casion. The whole scene within the
Parliament House—the judges on the
bench —the prisoners at the bar —their
looks—their eloquence—their indig
nant repudiation of the charges brought
against them—their fervent appeals to
the jury—their sentence —their solemn
protest and despair,—all seemed to
haunt his imagination in after life, like
a reality which nothing could efface.—
in detailing the circumstances which
preceded the Poet’s visit to the capi
tal, I have again recourse to his own
manuscript, in which I find some do
mestic traits of an affecting nature. It
commences with a short sketch of the
political aspect of the country at this
stirring period ; particularly of France,
the wretched condition of which Boileau
had so briefly but admirably predicted:
“Dfichirant & l’envi leur propre republique;
Lions contre lions; parents contre parents,
Combattent iollement pour le choix des tyrans!”
Os the great events which were now
hastening to their consummation, and
forcing the public mind into the most
painful apprehensions as to their re
sults upon the whole fabric of civilized
society, Campbell, though comparative
ly a tyro in the school of politics, was,
nevertheless, a keen and attentive ob
server. “By this time,” he says, “the
French Revolution had everywhere
lighted up the contending spirits of de
mocracy and aristocracy ; and being, in
my own opinion, a competent judge of
politics, 1 became a democrat. I read
Burke on the French Revolution, of
course; but, unable to follow his sub
tleties, or to appreciate his merits, I
took the word of my brother demo
crats, that he was a sophist. No doubt
my principles—if I may so call my
puerile opinions—got a check from the
atrocities of the French Jacobins ; and
my hatred hung balanced between them
and the allied invaders of France, who
brought forth all the evil energies of
that kingdom, and eventually created
the Salamander Napoleon. But al
though 1 wept at hearing of the execu
tion of Louis, and the fate of his
Queen and Dauphin, with the same sin
cere regret as 1 now read them in the
page of Ip story ; I was, nevertheless —
boy as I certainly was—possessed, even
then, w'th an opinion which I have
above all, the death of Louis, were
signal calamities to the friends of peace
and liberty in England, and were equal
ly signal advantages to its bitter ene
mies.
“ It was in those years that the Scot
tish Reformers, Muir, Gerald, and oth
ers, were transported to Botany Bay
—Muir, although he had never uttered
a sentence in favour of Reform stronger
than W illiam Pitt himself had uttered;
and Gerald for acts which, in the opin
ion of sound English lawyers, fell short
of sedition. I did not even then ap
prove of Gerald’s mode of agitating
the Reform question in Scotland, by
means of a Scottish convention; but I
had heard a magnificent account of his
talents and accomplishments; and I
longed insufferably to see him; but the
question was, how to get to Edinburgh.
“ While thus gravely considering the
ways and means, it immediately occur
red to me that I had an uncle’s widow
in Edinburgh—a kind-hearted elderly
lady, who had seen me at Glasgow,
and said that she w'ould be glad to re
ceive me at her house, if I should ever
come to the Scottish metropolis. 1
watched my mother’s mollia tempora
sandi —for she had them, good woman
—and eagerly catching the propitious
moment, 1 said, ‘ Oh, Mamma, how I
long to see Edinburgh !—lf I had but
three shillings, I could walk there in one
day, sleep two nights, and be two da\ s
at my aunt Campbell’s and walk back
in another day.’ To my delightful sur
prise she answered, ‘ No, my bairn ; I
will give you what will carry you to
Edinburgh and bring you back ; but
you must promise me not to walk more
than half the way in any one day,’—
that was twenty-two miles: ‘ Here,’
said she, ‘are five shillings for you in all;
two shillings will serve you to go, and
two to return ; for a bed at the half-way
house costs but sixpence.’ She then
gave me —I shall never forget the beau
tiful coin !—a King William and Mary
crown-piece. 1 was dumb with grati
tude ; but sallying out to the streets, I
saw at the first bookseller’s shop, a print
of Elijah fed by the ravens. Now, I
had often heard my poor mother say
ing confidentially to our worthy neigh
bour, Mrs. Hamilton—whose strawber-
SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE.
ries I had pilfered —that in case of my
father’s death, and he was a very old
man, she knew not what would become
of her. ‘ But,’ she used to add, ‘ let
me not despair, for Elijah was fed by
the ravens.’ When I presented her
with the picture, 1 said nothing of its
tacit allusion to the possibility of my
being one day her supporter ; but she
was much affected, and evidently felt
a strong presentiment.” His mother’s
presentiment had its literal fulfilment
every reader will mark and feel the beau
ty of a passage, to which no commen
tary can do justice.
“ Next morning,” continues Camp
bell, “ I took my way to Edinburgh,
with four shillings and sixpence in my
pocket. I witnessed Joseph Gerard's
trial, and it was an era in my life. —
Hitherto 1 had never known what pub
lic eloquence was ; and 1 am sure the
Justiciary Scotch lords did not help
ne to a conception of it—speaking, as
‘hey did, bad arguments in broad
Scotch. But the Lord Advocate’s
speech was good—the speeches of Laing
and Gillies were better ; and Gerald’s
speech annihilated the remembrance of
all the eloquence that had ever been
heard within the walls of that house.
He quieted the judges, in spite of their
indecent interruptions of him, and pro
duced a silence in which you might
have heard a pin fall totheground. Al
the close of his defence he said, “ And
now, gentlemen of the jury—now that
I have to take leave of you for ever,
let me remind you that mercy is no
small part of the duty of jurymen ;
that the man who shuts his heart on
the claims of the unfortunate, on him
the gates of mercy will be shut; and
for him the Saviour of the world shall
have died in vain !’ At this finish I
was moved, and turned to a stranger
beside me, apparently a tradesman, I
said to him. ‘ By heavens, sir, that is a
great man !’ ‘Yes, sir,’ lie answered ;
‘ He is not only a great man himself,
but he makes every other man feel
great who listens to him.’”
A PRACTICAL JOKE.
A respectable apothecary, named
Fife, had a shop in the Trongate, with
this notice in his window, printed in
large letters — u Ears pierced by A.
Fife ,” —meaning the operation to which
young ladies submit for the sake of
wearing earrings. Mr. Fife’s next-door
neighbour was a worthy citizen of the
name of Drum , a spirit-dealer, whose
windows exhibited various samples of
whiskey, rum, and other stimulating
liquors. These two industrious trades
men had long lived upon terms of mu
tual goodwill; but very shortly before
this epoch, jealousy in trade appeared
to have made them rather shy in their
intercourse. More customers were
caught by the palate than by the ear;
and this did not escape Mr. Fife’s ob
servation. They were both well known
to the students ; and every one wished
to see them once more united in the
bonds of nighbourhood. Campbell af
firmed, in spite of appearances, that
they were naturally inseparable. This
opinion he broached to his brother Dan
iel ; and so much were both interested
in the matter, that they went into the
Trongate, and took a more than com
mon interest in looking at the spirit
and drug shops. They were soonjoin
ed by a third party —afterwards a most
grave and learned Senator, —who en
tered warmly into their feelings, and
gave them some friendly hints. A thin
fir deal was then found by Daniel, on
his father’s premises, and prepared, by
a rather hasty process, for the end in
view. Thomas, even then, had a turn
for printing, and to him was confided
the task of imparting to the timber cer
tain letters and words, which were to
be expressed in dramatic language.
By twelve o’clock the same night
their plan was ready for execution, and
they stepped quietly into the street,
carrying the plank with them. Even
then it was scarcely dark ; but there
were no gas-lights, and few’ lanters in
those old-fashioned nights, and they
proceeded without molestation to the
Trongate. The only man who could
have seen them was Duncan M’Alpin
—but Duncan was orly a “watchman,”
and not obliged to see those who had
no wish to be seen.
Next morning, by five o’clock, there
was quite a mob of the early popula
tion in the Trongate—many of them
laughing heartily, and pointing to the
shop of Mr. Drum, and that of his next
neighbour, Mr. Fife. Amongthecrowd,
Campbell and his two associates were
enjoying the scene, and the complete
success of theirnight’sadventure. One
head after another was popped out of
the casements opposite, till at last Mr.
Drum himself, and then Mr. Fife,
opened their doors, to ascertain the
cause of all the laughter and talking.
The cause was soon manifest—for, ad
vancing a few steps into the street, and
looking up they saw a long sign-board,
stretching from window to window of
the two contiguous shops, with this
inscription from “ Othello,” in flaming
capitals:—
“ The spirit-stirring Drum, th’ ear-piercing
Fife.”
Hitherto, indeed, they had pursued
very distinct callings ; but, to their ut
ter surpiise. a sudden co-partnership
had been struck during the night, and
Fife and Drum were now united in the
same martial line. A great sensation
was produced—the partnership was
dissolved on the spot; the false stand
ard was demolished, and diligent search
made for the sign-painter. A grave
charge was set up ; Campbell was at
last found, and openly accused as prin
cipal in the “ lettering and all three
were menaced with line and imprison
ment. The sentence, however—which
caused no little mirth even among
those who pronounced it —was commu
ted to a severe reprimand ; and, when
it was finished, Campbell muttered with
Parolles:—
“ I'll no more drumming : a plague of all
Drums!”
GLENARA.
The poem of “ Glenara” was sug
gested to Campbell by the following
tradition : —Maclean of Duart, having
determined to get rid of his wife, “El
len of Lorn,” had her treacherously
eonveyed to a rock in the sea, where
she was left to perish with the rising
tide, lie then announced to her kins
men “his sudden bereavement,” and in
vited them to join in his grief. In the
mean time, the lady was accidentally
rescued from the certain death that
awaited her and restored to her father.
I ler husband, little suspecting what had
happened, was suffered to go through
the solemn mockery of a funeral. At
last, when the bier rested at the “grey
stone of her cairn .”
“ ‘ I dreamt of my lady, I dreamtof her shroud,
Cried a voice from the kinsmen, all wrathful
and loud ;
‘ And empty that shroud and that coffin did
seem!
Glenara—Glenara ! now read me my dream !’
0 pale grew the eheek of that chieftan I ween,
When the shroud was unclosed, and no lady
was seen!”
The inquest was brief. Maclean, it is
addded, was instantly sacrificed by the
Clan Dougal, and thrown into the ready
made grave.
LOCHIEL.
Having been criticised and approved
in the circle of his private friends, the
new poems of “ Lochiel” and “Hohen
linden” were pronounced to be worthy
of his reputation. Calling one morn
ing to consult Mrs. Dugald Stewart on
a point of some family interest,he took
out his manuscript of Lochiel and read
it to her. She listened in mute aston
ishment. But as soon as he had closed
the last couplet, she rose gravely from
her chair, walked across the room, and
laying her hand gently upon his head,
said, “ This will bear another wreath
of laurel yet!” and without another
word returned to her seat. But she
was evidently much moved; and “this,”
said Campbell, “ made a stonger im
pression upon my mind, than if she had
spoken in a strain of the loftiest pane
gyric. It was one of the principal in
cidents in my life that gave mo confi
dence in my own powers.”
“ Lochiel’s warning” and “ Hohen
linden,” were intended for the new quar
to edition only ; but, at the request of
his friends, they were printed unony
mously, and dedicated to the Rev. Mr.
Alison.
In the subsequent editions, “Lochiel”
was considerably enlarged and im
proved. The passages sot found in
the original manuscript,and which I beg
leave to subjoin, are those marked, by
inverted commas:—
Lochiel, Lochiel, beware of the day
When the Lowlands shall meet thee in battle
array !
For a field of the dead rushes red on my sight,
And the clans of Culloden are scattered in
fight.
“ They rally, they bleed for their country and
crown ;
“ Wo, wo to the riders that trample them
down!
“ Proud Cumberland prances, insulting the
slain,
“ And their hoof-beaten bosoms are trod to
the plain.
“ But hark ! through the fast flashing light
nings of war,
“ What steed to the desert flies frantic and far?
“ ’Tis thine, oh Glenuliin ! whose bride shall
await
“ Like a love-lighted watch-fire all night at
the gate.
“ A steed comes at morning: no rider is there;
“ But its bridle is red with the sign of despair!”
* * * *
Proud chieftain ! whose towers on the moun
tain shall burn, &:c.
was thus extended and improved:—
“ Oh, crested Lochiel! the peerless in might,
“ Whose banners arise on the battlement’s
height,
“ Heaven’s fire is around thee, to blast and to
burn,”
Return to thy dwelling, all lonely return !
For the blackness of ashes shall mark where
it stood,
And a wild mother scream o’er her famish
ing brood !
False wizard, avaunt! I have marshalled
my clan:
Their swords are a thousand ; their bosoms
are one !
They are true to the last of their blood and
their breath,
And like reapers descend to the harvest of
death!
“ Then, welcome be Cumberland’s steed to
the shock!
“ Let him dash his proud foam like a wave on
the rock !
“ But wo to his kindred, and wo to his cause,
“ When Albin her claymore indignantly
draws ;
“ When her bonneted Chieftains to victory
crowd—
“ Clan Ronald the dauntless, and Moray *he
proud”—
All plaided and plumed in their tartan ar
ray, &c.
*****
Down,soothless insultor! I trust not the tale;
For never shall Albin such destiny meet,
So black with dishonour, so foul with retreat!
“ Tho’ my perishing ranks should be strewed
in their gore.
“ Like ocean-weeds heaped on the surf-beat
en [MS. tempested shore,”
Lochiel, untainted by flight or by chains,
While the kindling of life in his bosom re
mains.
Exulting shall join in the victor’s acclaim,
Or look to yon heaven from the death-bed
of fame! [End of MS.
“ Shall victor exult, or in death be laid low,
“ With his back to the field and his feet to
the foe !
“ And, leaving in battle no blot on his name,
Look proudly to heaven from the death-bed
of fame !”
With respect to the often-quoted
lines —
’Tis the sunset of life gives me mys ical lore,
And coming events cast their shadows be
fore —
the following anecdote is preserved :
The happy thought first presented itself
to his mind during a visit at Minto, the
previous summer. Ile had gone early
to bed, and still meditating on the
wizard’s “ Warning,” fell fast asleep.
During the night he suddenly awoke,
repeating—
Events to come cast their shadows before !
This was the very thought for which
he had been hunting during the whole
week. He rang the bell more than
once with increased force. At last sur
prised and annoyed by so unseasona
ble a peal, the servant appeared. The
Poet was sitting with one foot in the
bed and the other on the floor, with an
air of mixed impatience and inspira
tion. “Sir, are you ill ?” inquired the
servant. “ 111! never better in my
life. Leave me the candle, and oblige
me with a cup of tea as soon as pos
sible.” He then started to his feet,
seized hold of the pen, and wrote down
the “happy thought;” but as he wrote,
changed the words “ events to come,”
into coming events , as it now stands in
the text. Looking to his watch he ob
served that it was two o’clock ! —the
right hour for a poet’s dream; and over
his “cup of tea”—he completed the first
sketch of Lochiel.
ON THE WARM WEATHER.
Said John, (to James referring,)
“ Pray tell us, what is stirring ?”
Quoth James, (in sweat up to his knees,)
“ Every thing, except the breeze /”
[iV. O. Bulletin.
SAME SUBJECT, CONTINUED.
Oh ! there’s not in the wide world a pleasure so
sweet,
As to sit near the window and tilt up your feet;
Pull away at the “ Cuba,” whose flavour just
suits,
And gaze at the world ’twixt the toes of your
boots, [ Yankee Blade.
“Do you drink hale in America ?”
asked a cockney. “No; we drink
thunder and lightning said the Yan
kee.
(Original
For the Southern Literary Gazette.
To Thomas Carlyle, Esq., the Hero Writer .
“ My friend, brag not yet of our American
cousins! Their quantity of cotton, dollars,
industry and resources, I believe to be almost
unspeakable; but I can by no means worship
the like of these. What great human soul,
what great thought, what great noble thing
that one could worship or loyalty admire, has
yet been produced there ? None ! They have
begotten, with a rapidity beyond recorded ex
ample, eighteen millions of the greatest bores
ever seen in this world before ; that, hitherto,
is their feat in history.”— The Present Time,
p. 22.
Millions of bores! cries Tom Carlyle,
From Yankee land have burst,
The bastards of democracy
In ballot-boxes nurs’d.
The aeolist turned constable,
Arrests us on our way ;
He says that we’re a set of nobs,
Not knowing night from day.
With entities —non-entities—
Concrete ideas—he yet
Has nothing more original
Than some old saws reset.
Our feat in History 1 Let him
Anatomy review ;
About his nation’s sacral part,
He’ll find a feat or two.
Great souls, great thoughts, and noble things,
Are common with us, very ;
And this he’ll find, if he will read,
Our Noah’s Dictionary.
Bores, did you say! indeed we are ;
We’re boring westward too ;
Our Congress will soon pass a bill
To bore the world straight through.
And when the shaft has done its work,
Then look out for your thrones,
For I can tell you, Tom, there’ll be
A shaking of dry bones.
RUSTICUS.
Roswell, Ga.
*
For the Southern Literary Gazette.
LINES
ON THE DEATH-BED OF A YOUNG LADY.
Pensive as a zephyr sighing,
With perfume laden from the west;
Lovely as an infant lying
Within its mother’s lap to rest.
And gentle as a youthful maid,
Ent’ring the hymeneal bower
With lily-cheek, as when she’s bade
At the altar tell love’s power.
Serene as when Night’s royal queen
Unclouded traverses the sky,
And placid as the silver stream,
Gliding beneath her canopy.
Calm as the sea, when Jesus’ pow’r
Its troubled waters hush’d to sleep ;
Silent as the midnight hour,
When hov’ring spirits vigil keep.
Beautiful as Sol declining
Deigns to kiss the murmuring wave,
In ripen’d glory far outshining
What meridian splendour gave.
She meekly lay in Peace array’d,
Resign’d to her Creator’s will;
Nor dreaded Death, nor felt dismay’d,
Assured that Faith would conquer still.
She smiled—and then she wing’d her way,
Tho’ bound to earth by dearest tie;
The angels sung their ransom lay
As Jesus took her soul on high.
Erewhile from some bright little star
That decks the jewel I’d robe of night.
In love she’s look’d down from afar,
With pure, unspeakable delight.
Now lave with tears no more her tomb,
Nor sing in grief her requiem lay ;
She lives where sweetest flowers bloom,
Nurtur’d by perennial day. T. S. S.
Charleston, July, 1850.
(Original fenijs.
Forthe Southern Literary Gazette.
EGERIA:
Or, Voices from the Woods and Wayside.
NEW SERIES.
CXXVI.
Fitness of Laws. The laws and in
stitutions of a people, while they con
template the probable destinies of that
people, and the performances of which
they are capable, must, at the same
time, suit and address themselves to
their existing condition. No govern
ment can be durable, the people of
which arc not prosperous! We bold
this to be inevitable. It does not ab
solutely need, in order that this result
should be reached, that the govern
ment, per st , should be in any respect
defective. It may be, in all respects,
a very perfect and symmetrical ma
chine. Its grand defect lies in its want
of fitness. It is enough that it does
not suit the people. A benevolent go
vernment may be a curse, while a ty
ranny in turn may be a blessing. These
terms are simply conditional. In a
certain condition of the Hebrews, God
gave them rulers who scourged their
vices by the exercise of others more
atrocious. The sins of many were
chastised by the superior despotism of
the one! At another period, when they
were better prepared for the advent of
a higher truth, and a more lovely civil
ization, he vouchsafed them Christ! —
I suspect that Cornelius Sylla knew,
much better than the historians, what
sort of laws suited the Roman people
in the turbulent days of the Marian
faction. In those days, Tarquin would
be a more suitable ruler than Numa
Pompilus. Such a man as Caius Ma
rius would have been spurned from the
Comitia in the primitive times of the
Republic—when the public virtues
were yet in full vigor of their youth,
and the popular mind had not been
corrupted by the introduction of for
eign luxuries and the capricious des
potism of standing armies. Yet, Ma
rius and Sylla, monsters of cruelty
though they were, had, respectively,
their beneficial uses. Tyranny, in fact,
wherever it successfully establishes it
self, is the necessary growth of a rank
moral condition of the people; and,
even where it does not establish itself,
but merely starts up at periods to pro
voke uproar and to be cut down with
out struggle, it is yet beneficently pro
vided, that it may keep the people
constantly watchful of their virtues and
constantly solicitous in their protection
The rank weeds that poison the fields
of the farmer, having no obvious uses,
may be, in like manner, put there, in
order that he may be compelled to in
dustry, and kept from flagging over his
daily tasks. The cases are st rict moral
parallels, and of most valuable counsel.
The histories of nations present us with
the same corresponding truths; and we
must conclude, therefore, among other
things, that we make our own tyran
nies—we are, substantially, our own
tyrants
“ Thus are we slaves and victims. Thus we
make
The Tyrant who o’ercomes us. He is but
The creature of our want—growing at need—
The scourge that whips us for decaying virtue
And chastens to reform us.”
It will be difficult to find, in the history
of any nation, where the people are
moved bv the virtues of thrift and in
dustry, the case of a successful tyranny,
even for the briefest period. If this be
the fact, what follows from it? Many
things, indeed, each valuable in its place
to know—but one thing in particular—
which is, that the overthrow of the in
dividual tyrant, does, by no means,
imply the overthrow of the tyranny.
There is a succession, as regular as it is
certain, so long as the people them
selves remain the same. The tyrant is
but the representative form of tyranny
—an embodyment to the eye of that
rank despotism which was foul and
festering in each man’s heart. Until
that be purged out, the tyranny runs
on and must prevail. We hear a great
deal of the patriotism of Brutus in the
murder of Caesar! Yet, of what avail
to Roman freedom was the death-blow
which Brutus struck in the Capital ?
a death-blow, not to the oppression,
but to its simple and natural agent!
The answer to this question is a whole
some commentary. It is furnished by
the long and ghastly line of the Caesars
—none half so noble as the original
whom they had slain—which followed,
with the certainty of upward-flving
sparks—an armed and bloody host,
more awful than that which gloomed
and glared upon the seared eye-balls of
Macbeth! That very blow of Brutus
helped to perpetuate the tyranny. The
work had to be done anew and by
meaner workmen—mere butchers—
bad men—men of straw—stocks and
stones only—but with just enough of
will and passion of their own as to
keep them busy. The death of Julius
Cajsar facilitated the progress of the
tyranny, by putting off the day when,
by the recuperative morals of the peo
ple, not yet exhausted, they might have
availed themselves of the crisis brought
about by their own indifference or sen
suality. It certainly deprived the ty
ranny which scourged of all its grace,
its nobleness, and the redeeming some
thing of an educated humanity.
From the Charleston Medical Journal.
QUASI-DENGUE.
We are called upon to record the
prevalence, in our midst, of an epidem
ic of Quasi-Dengue, or break bone
fever, which began about the last week
in July. From early in June up to
the third week in July, the weather
had beeu unprecedentedly hot; the
thermometer ranging higher, during
that time, than has been known to oc
cur in this city, for many years past.
Bilious remittent fevers of mild grade,
caused, probably, in a great measure,
by long exposure to the high solar heat,
prevailed during the greater part of Ju
ly, but disappeared on the appearance
of the epidemic, or rather they lost
their distinctive character by being
merged into it.
Occasionally the invasion of the dis
ease is proceeded by a few symptoms,
such as slight headache, smarting or
heavy feeling in the eyes, a general
sense of weariness or soreness, and
weakness, &c.; but in the great major
ity of cases, it is sudden, the headache,
pain in the back and limbs, and smart
ing of the eyes, or even severe pain in
the ball, extending into the head, come
on simultaneously with fever. The
pain in the head is chiefly in the fore
head, extending from one temple to
the other, and is generally; at first,
shooting or darting, but afterwards be
comes throbbing; the eyes are red and
watery, with more or less soreness in
the balls, and intolerance of light :
the pain in the lumbar and sacral re
gions is very severe, in some cases, in
tolerable ; there is more or less dull,
heavy pain in the muscles and joints of
the upper and lower extremities : there
is anorexia; in most cases, the tongue is
covered witli a whitish fur, the bowels
constipated ; in some cases, soreness
at the junction of the abdominal mus
cles with the ribs; little thirst, great
nervous and consequently muscular
prostration. The fever, after continu
ing for from twelve to thirty-six or for
ty eight hours, subsides either slowly , a
moisture bedewing the surface, or sud
denly from a critical perspiration. In
a certain number of cases, the fever,
instead of being continued, assumed a
remittent or intermittent character.
Such was the ordinary train of symp
toms exhibited at the commencement
of the epidemic. In exceptional cases,
an eruption was noticed, appearing
first on the face and neck, and af
terwards extending to the trunk and
extremities. At first, before the na
ture of the affection was clearly ascer
tained, it was difficult to decide, for the
first few hours, whether the disease
was scarlatina or not, inasmuch as some
redness of sauces, difficulty of degluti
tion, &c., were observed, along with
the other symptoms. But that which
was the exception has now (22d Aug.)
become the rule ; for it is almost as
rare to meet a case without eruption, as
at first with it.
The eruption varies in intensity and
general character. In most cases, it is
a diffused, uniform redness, very simi
lar to that of the smooth variety of
scarlatina; in a few, it makes its ap
pearance in patches, of greater or less
size, somewhat like the eruption of
measels, with intervals of sound skin;
in a still smaller number, we have
found it to come on one or two days
after the fever, headache and other dis
tressing symptoms had subsided, and
then to be confined to the legs and feet,
from the knee to the tips of the toes,
and, at a distance, looking like skin
that had been allowed to become
dirty.
The uniform, diffused eruption, is
readily effaced by pressure; so is the
second variety, or that in patches, men
tioned above ; but in the last, the red,
or rather, in some cases, purple hue,
cannot be effaced by pressure continued
even a long time. It appears to be a
true stasis of venous and arterial blood
in the minute capillaries of the skin,
consequent, perhaps, upon a depression
of the nervous power of the cutaneous
surface. This variety gives rise to a
tingling or itching, which causes the
patients to scratch the affected part. In
a small number of the latter cases, we
have observed spots closely resembling
purpura simplex. The first two varie
ties of eruption generally come out
simultaneously with the fever, or in a
few hours after, and last from one to
three days ; but the last does not dis
appear generally, under a week or ten
days. We have, in some cases, seen
the diffused eruption occupy the hands
alone, beginning abruptly at the wrist,
and extending to the tips of the fin
gers.
The convalescence from this disease
is tedious, protracted ; the restoration
of the appetite and strength being very
gradual. In some cases,ten days ora
fortnight after the subsidence of all the
symptoms, the individuals could not
stand up long enough to dress them
selves.
Relapses are not frequent; those that
have occurred have been due to the
subjects going out too soon, and
thereby suffering from nervous exhaus
tion.
The complications are neither nume
rous nor common; slight soreness of
the throat as above stated, pleurody
nia, diarrhoea, are occasionally noticed.
These, however, ought rather to be con
sidered as symptoms of the disease
itself, than as separate and distinct af
fections.
In not an inconsiderable number of
cases the liver has been involved, as
denoted by the yellowish brown fur on
the tongue, and the dark, tar-like evac
uations.
Abortion, as far as we have learned,
has not happened in a single instance.
All are equally liable to it, the
young and the old; even infants of one
or two months are not exempt. Chil -
: dren, as a general rule, suffer less than
adults ; the disease in them is of short
er duration, and the convalescence
more rapid ; and the younger the child
the less severely is it affected.
As the epidemic progresses, the
rheumatic symptoms become more
prominent; the pain, stiffness, and
swelling of the joints being very com
mon ; also, the pains of the muscles in
the neighborhood of the joints, of the
calves of the legs, &e.
With the exception of the dengue,
(to which this disease bears a close af
finity, if it be not a modification of it.)
it is the most general epidemic that has
ever visited this city. We venture
the prediction, that not more than one
in ten of the population will escape it.
We have heard it estimated that, out
of a population of about 45,000, com
posing Charleston proper and the Neck,
or suburb, there are, at this time, (22d
August) from ten to twelve thousand
persons sick. The streets are compar
atively deserted. It is well known that
during the prevalence of an epidemic,
all diseases are apt to assume the live
ry of the epidemic; but in this instance
there appears to be an almost com
plete suspension of all other diseases.
One would naturally suppose that of
such an immense number affected, a
certain number would die ; the mortal
ity, however, must be very slight; for
we have given ourselves the trouble to
inquire minutely into the circumstances
attending the death of every person
currently reported to have died of the
fever, and we have not been able to re
fer death, in a single instance, to the
disease per se. That a few may occur
before the epidemic shall have ceased,
is probable, but no death from it has
yet come to our knowledge.
But we must draw this brief and
very imperfect sketch to a conclusion.
We hope to enlist the services of an
abler pen than ours, to give a complete
history of it when it shall have disap
peared. We have designedly omitted
to touch upon the treatment, as it is in
general very simple, and as, perhaps,
each practitioner arrives at the same
end by different means We shall
merely state that the grand desidera
tum is to induce a free action in the
skin, which organ seems to be chiefly
at fault, and afterwards to rouse the
energies of the nervous system.
From this short description, our rea
ders will not fail to perceive its close
resemblance to. if not its identity with,
the dengue that, commencing in the
W est India Islands, visited the south
ern portion of the United States in
1828. That was considered by some
as a catarrho-rheumatie fever with erup
tion ; to which the term dengue was
attached. Dr. Copland, from a care
ful consideration of the symptoms du
ring that epidemic, and the similarity
of symptoms of epidemics observed in
the East Indies, has given it the name
of scarlatina arthritica.
ftliscdlnmj.
THE AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPE
DITION.
The New York Herald publishes an
interesting letter from one of the officers
of the expedition sent out to search for
Sir John Franklin, from which we make
the following extract:
U. S. Brig Advance, June 24 1850.
Whalefish Island, Western Coast of Greenland.
Lat. 68 59 N., lon. 53 13 W.
We arrived here this morning at 9
o’clock, after a passage of thirty-two
Jays from New York which was rather
long, owing to unfavourable winds we
had.
On our arrival here we found an En
glish bark at anchor ; she is a store ship,
having brought stores and coal out for
the squadron, which, by the way, sailed
from here yesterday, consisting of two
barks of about 300 tons each, carrying
sixty men, and steamers of about 100
tons each, with from forty to fifty men;
they are all bound in search of Sir John
Franklin. The bark sails in about a
week for England, which will give us
all a fine opportunity to write, the only
one I am afraid we shall have for
time to come. We have been
fortunate in sending letters thus fi
I boarded a vessel off NewfoundilJj \
bound in to St. Johns about tl
of this month. We all sent
by her. They went from St. Johns?!
steamer to Halifax, and from th*, ■ 1
the United States.
After leaving New York, We k
company with the Rescue, bv keer*’ -
under short sail, until the 19tli ult Y ‘ i
finding it impossible for her to ke’e, ?|
we made sail and lost sight of he/;?
few hours. The days, after ] eav ?
New York, gradually grew longer ,/ 1
til the 16th of this month, (in GOY 1
50 min. N. lat.) when we could rea l
say, we had constant day, so much / I
that we were able to steer with.? ]
lighting the binnacle lamp, a thin.,
never saw before ; but now we hat
sun shine the whole twenty-four hour
we have not got used to it yet. ~
hardly know when turning ‘in tb L
comes. You have no idea how strai? I
it appears to come on deck at midniY I
(or rather what ought to be midnight 1
and find it broad day light, with tl? J
sun up. W e still discriminate on! i
twelve hours from the other, by callfo, I
them night and day, and appropriate I
the part we call night for sleeping. „' r I
rather a portion of it.
After leaving the coast of Newfound-1
land, we fell in with no ice until
were about to make the coast of Greer-1
land, when we found the icebergs
great lumbers. We made Greenland!
on the 21st. It certainly is the ruo-t|
dismal, rocky barren country 1 ever!
saw or ever expect to see. This morrJ
ing we met so many and such larg J
bergs, that we had to keep strict watch!
to steer clear of them ; however, 1
managed successfully, and came into!
the harbour of Whalefish Island, with!
a fine breeze, and anchored at 9 o’clock. 1
1 expected to find something of a town.!
and when we came in I asked where it|
was, and was shown two shantiesati.il
half a dozen Esquimaux mud huts. In I
one of the shanties the Governor lives I
he is a Dane, sent out here by govern-1
ment, as a kind of missionary, &c. •
he came on board ship this afternoon. 1
The Esquimaux are ugl v and greas\
Men, women and children all dress ]
alike, in sealskins. Their dress is a i
short jumper, with a hood to it for a I]
cap, pantaloons coming down to the H
calves of their legs, with boots to meet I
—all made of sealskins, with the hair I
on ; we are each going to have a suit I
before we leave. I bought a pair of I
sealskin stockings, which are very nice I
and warm ; the only objection to them I
is, that they are not properly cured.— 1
To-morrow the doctor and 1 are going |
to Luiely, a small town on the island 1
of Disco, about twenty-five miles from (I
here, to see what information we can I
pick up.
27. 1 arrived a few hours since from I
Luiely, after a passage of six hours.- 9
On our arrival, 1 found the Rescue hall
arrived, and that we sail tomorrow!
morning. At Luiely we found rather 1
more of a town than at these islands, j
About fourteen Danes live there, and 1
one hundred Esquimaux We were i
treated with the greatest kindness hv J
the inspector at Luiely, who is a kind If
of governor-general of all these island s . I
The principal thing we went after I
was seal-skin clothing for the officers
and me. We succeeded in getting
about fifty dollars worth, or about
dozen suits. I have a fine coat made
of young deerskin, a pair of pantaloons
of seal skin, stockings of the same, and
large boots made of Esquimaux dog’
skin. My chances of keeping warn
are very good. The inspector at Luie
ly, who has been out here four year
told us that we would not feel the cold
as much at twenty degrees below zero
here as we would at five or six degrees
at home. The inspector, Mr. Olriek.
is going home to Denmark to remain I
this summer, and when we came away |
he gave us every pair of pantaloons |
he had of seal-skin, except the pair he 1
had on, and most of his coats, saying I
he could get more when he returned, j
We expect to go to a place called j
Uppermarik, about two hundred miles 1
from here ; from there we go to Mel- |
ville Bay, thence across to Lancaster
Sound, to Cape Walker, from Capel
Walker we shall try to get up to Mel- 1
ville Island, and as much farther as we
can. We expect to winter at Melville J
Isle ; but that of course will depend J
very much on circumstances. Thisisthe |
last opportunity we shall have of writing
for a long time, unless we have the H
good luck to fall in with a whaler bound j
either home or to Eegland.
Your ever affectionate brother,
W. S. LOVELL.
STRIKING TEMPERANCE MOVE
MENT.
‘•The interval of repose, however, in
the luxurious city of Damascus, aid
the general abundance of the fertik
regions of Syria, began to have their
effect upon the Moslem troops, and the
good Abu Obeidah wns especially scan
dalized at discovering that they were
lapsing into the use of wine, so strong
ly forbidden by the prophet. He men
tioned the prevalence of this grievun
sin in his letter to the Caliph, who r> and
it in the Mosque, in the presence of h- ?
officers. “By Allah,” exclaimed the
abstemious Omar, “ these fellows are
only fit for poverty and hard fare; wha
is to be done with those wine bibber?
“Let him who drinks wine, repi
Allah promptly, ‘''•receive twenty let”
nadoes on the soles of his feet!
“Good, it shall be so, rejoined t
Caliph; and wrote to that effect to ta
Commander-in-chief. On receiving l,l
letter, Abu Obeidah forthwith sUI |
moned the offenders, and had the : ‘
ishment publicly inflicted for the eO *
cation of his troops. He took ova? 11 ;
to descant on the enormity of d'<
fence, and to exhort such as had !e “
in private, to come forward like g Ol ,
Moslems, make public confession,
submit to the bastinado in token “}
pentance; whereupon many “In’
indulged in secret potations, nmu’ :
his paternal exhortation, avow'd
crime and their repentance, n f
set at ease in their consciences j
sound bastinadoing , and the h ,ltfp
ness of the good Abu Obeidah. I
It must always be noted, |
ever stern and strict may ,
laws and ordinances of Onw>, 1
rigidly impartial in enforcing
and one of his own sons, ha\ in F
found intoxicated, received the *
bastinadoes on the soles °f ( 1 ■. 0 f
which he had decreed for 0 e ”‘ , fji .
the kind.” — Mahomet and his
sors ,”