A Friend of the family. (Savannah, Ga.) 1849-1???, September 21, 1850, Image 1
Mi MTIBIIiLI
VOLUME 11.
§>tkM fnftrtj.
THE LOVE OF NATURE.
Where the green banners of the forest float,
Where, from the Sun’s imperial domain,
Armour’d in gold, attentive to the noto
Os piping birds, the sturdy trees remain,
Those never-angered armies; where the plain
Boasts to the day its bosom ornaments
Os com and fruitag •; where the low refrain
Os sea*ide music song on song invents,
Laden with placid thought, whereto the heart as
sents,
Often l wander. Nor does the light Noon,
Garrulous to man’s eye, declaring a!l
That Morning pale (watched by her spectre
moon,
Or solemn Vesper, a'ed near the pall
Os Dav) holds unrevealed; nor does the fall |
Os curtain on our hitman pantomime,
Toe sweeping by of Day’s black funeral
Through Night’s uwe-strickcn realms, with
tread sublime,
Chiefly delight my heart;beauty pervades all lime.
Morning: the Day i< innocent, and weeps;
Noon: she is wedded and enjoys the Earth ; ;
Evening: wearied of the world she sleeps.
Night watches till another Day has bii th.
The innocence of Morning, and the mirth
Os Noon, the holy calm of Eventide,
The watching while Day is not. there is dearth j
Os j"y within his soul who hath not cried :
‘I welcome all, O God, —share all Thou wilt pro
vide!”
Idcrttit Cole. j
=—-—•- ■
THE POWER OF MERCY.
Quiet enough, in general, is the
quaint old town of Lam borough
Why all this busile to day ? Along
:he hedge-bound roads which lead
to it, carts, chaises, vehicles of every
description are jogging along filled
with countrymen ; and here and
there the scarlet cloak or straw bon
net of some female occupying a
chair, placed somewhat unsteadily
behind them,contt asts gaily with the
dark coats or grey smock-frocks of
the front row ; from every cottage
of the suburb, some individuals join
the stream, which rolls on increa
sing through the streets till it rea
ches the castle. The ancient moat
teems with idlers, and the hill op
posi'e, usually the quiet domain
of a score or two of peaceful sheep,
partakes of the surrounding agita
tion.
The voice of the multitude which
surrounds the court-house, sounds
like the murmur of the sea, till sud
denly it is raised to a sort of shout.
John West, the terror of the surroun
ding country, the sheep-stealer and
burgler, had been found guilty.
‘What is the sentence?’ is asked
by a hundred voices.
The answer is, ‘Transportation
fur Life.’
But there was one standing aloof
on the hill, whose inquiring eye wan
dered over the crowd with indescri
bable anguish, whose pallid cheek
grew more and more ghastly at
every denunciation of the culprit,
and who, when at last the sentence
was pronounced, fell insensible up
on the green-sward. Tt was the
burgler’s son.
When the boy recovered from his
swoon, it was late in the afternoon;
he was alone ; the faint tinkling of
the sheep bell had again replaced
the sound of the human chorus of
expectation, and dread, and jesting ;
Jill was peaceful, he could not un
derstand why he lav there, feeling
so weak and sick. He raised hitn
seli tremulously and looked around,
die turf was cut and spoilt by the
trampling of many feet. All his
life of the last few months floated
before his memory, his residence in
his father’s hovel with ruffianly com
rades, the desperate schemes he
heard as he pretended to sleep on
his lowly bed, their expeditions at
night, masked and armed, their has
ty returns, the news of his father’s
capture, his own removal to the
house of some female in the town,
the court, the trial, the condemna
tion.
The father had been a harsh, and
brutal parent, but he had not posi
tively ill-used his boy. Os the
Great and Merciful Father of the
fatherless he knew nothing. He
deemed himself alone in the world.
\Tt grief was not his prevailing
feeling, nor the shame of being
known as the son of a transport. —
It was revenge that burned within
him. He thought of the crowd
which had come to feast upon his
lather’s agony; he longed to tear
H-D. „
Dniotcft tn literature, Incnre onjt Art, tjj t Inns nf Crtnpcrnnre, (Diiii Itllotitsjjiji, Bnsnnrtj unit feral Untdligrnrr.
them to perces, and he plucked sav
agely a hand full of the grass on
which he leant. Oh, that he were
a man ! that he could punish them
all—all, the spectators first, the con
stables, the judge, the jury, the wit
nesses, —one of them especially, a
clergyman named Levlon, who had
given his evidence more positively,
more clearly, than all the others.—
Oh, that he could do that man some
injury, but for him, his father would
not have been identified and convic
ted.
Suddenly a thought occurred to
him, his eyes sparkled with fierce
delight. 4 I know where he lives,’
he said to himself; ‘he has the farm
and parsonage at Millwood. I
will go there at once—it is almost
dark already. I will do as as 1 have
heard father say he once did to the
Squire. 1 will set his barns and his
house on fire. Yes, yes, he shall
burn for it, he shall get no more fa
ther's transported.’
To procure a box of matches was
an easy task, and that was all the
preparation the boy made.
The autumn was far advanced.
A cold wind was begining to moan
amongst the almost leafless trees,
and George West’s teeth chattered,
and his ill-clad limbs grew numb as
lie walked along the fields leading
to Millwood. ‘Lucky it’s a dark
night; this tine wind will fan the
flame nicely,’ he repeated to him
self.
The clock was striking nine, but
all was quiet as midnight ; not a
soul was stirrring, not a light in the
parsonage windows that he could
see. He and a red not open the gate,
lest the click of the latch should be
tray him, so he softly climbed over;
but scarcely had he dropped on the
other side of the wall before the
loud barking of a dog startled him.
He cowered down behind the hay
rick, scarely daring to breathe, ex
pecting each instant that the dog
would spring upon him. It was
some time before the bov dared to
stir, and as his courage cooled, his
thirst for revenge somewhat subsi
ded also, till he almost determined
to return to Lnmborough ; but he
was too tired, too cold, too hungry,
besides, the woman would beat him
for staying out so late. What could
he do? where should he go ? and as
the. sense of his lonely and forlorn
position returned, so did also the
affectionate remembrance of his fa
ther, his hatred of his accusers, his
desire to satisfy his vengeance; and
once more, courageous through an
ger, he rose, took the box from his
pocket, and boldly drew one of
them across the sand-paper. It
flamed; he stuck it hastily in the
stack against which he rested, —it
only flickered a little and went out.
In great trepidation, young West
once more grasped the whole of the
remaining matches in his hand and
ignited them, hut at the same instant
the dog barked. He hears .the gate
open, a step is close to him, the
matches are extinguished, the lad
makes a desperate effort to escape,
but a strong hand was laid on his
shoulder, and a deep cahn voice in
quired, ‘ What can have urged you
to such a crime?* Then calling
loudly, the gentleman, without re
linquishing his hold, soon obtained
the help of some farming men, who
commenced a search with their lan
terns ail about the farm. Os course
they found no accomplices, nothing
at all but the handful of half-con
sumed matches the lad had dropped,
and he all that time stood trembling
and occasionally struggling beneath
the firm but not rough grasp of the
master who held him.
At last the men were told to re
turn to the house, and thither by a
different path was George led till
they entered a small, poorly fur
nished room. The walls were cov
ered with books, ns the bright flame
of the fire revealed to the anxious
gaze of the little culprit. The cler
gyman lit a lamp and surveyed his
prisoner attentively. The lad’s eyes
were fixed on the ground, whilst Mr.
Leyton’s wandered from his pale
pinched features to his scanty ragged
attire, through the tatters ot which
he could discern the thin limbs quiv
rering from cold or fear; and when
at last impelled by curiosity at the
long silence,George looked up, there
was something so sadly compassion
ate in the stranger’s gentle look, that
the boy could scarcely believe that
SAVANNAH, GA., SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1850.
lie was really the man whose evi
dence had mainly contributed to
transport his father. At the trial he
had been unable to see his face, and
nothing so kind had ever gazed up
on him. His proud bad feelings
were already melted.
‘ You looked half-starved,’ said
Mr. Leyton, ‘ draw near to the fire
you can sit down on that stool whilst
question you ; and mind you answer
me the truth. lam not a magis
trate, but of course can easilv hand
you over to justice if you will riot
allow me to benefit you in my own
wav.’
George still stood twisting his
ragged cap in his trembling fingers
and with so much emotion depicted
on his face, that the good clergyman
resumed, in still more soothing ac
cents ; ‘ I have no wish to do you
any thing but good my poor boy ;
look up at me and see if you can
not trust me: you need not be thus
frightened. I only desire to hear
the tale of misery your appearance
indicates, to relieve it if 1 can.”
Here the young culprit’s heart
smote him. Was this the man
whose house he had tried to burn ?
On whom he had wished to bring
ruin and perhaps death ? Was it a
snare spread for him to lead to con
fession ? But when he looked on
that grave compassionate counte
nance, he felt that it was not.
‘ Come, m v lad, tell me all.*
George had for years heard little
but oaths, and curses, and ribald
jests, or the thief's jargon of liis fa
ther’s associates, and had been con
stantly cuffed and punished; but
the better part of his nature was
no: extinguished; and at those
words from the mouth of his enemy,
he dropped on his knees, and clasp
ing his hands, tried to speak; but
could only sob. He had not wept
before during that day of anguish ;
and now his tears gushed forth so
freely, his grief was so passionate as
lie half knelt, halt rested on the
floor, that the good questioner saw
that sorrow must have its course ere
calm could be restored.
The young penitent still wept,
when a knock was heard at the door
and a lady entered. It was the cler
gyman’s wife, he kissed her as she
asked how he had succeeded with
the wicked man in die jail?
‘He told me,’ replied Mr. Ley
ton, that he had a son whose fate
tormented him more than his pun
ishment. Indeed his mind was so
distracted respecting the youth that
he was scarcely able to understand
mv exhortations. He entreated me
with agonizing energy to save his
son from such a life as he had led,
and gave me the address of a wo
man in whose house he lodged. I
was, however, unable to find the
boy in spite of many earnest inqui
ries.’
‘ Did vou hear his name ?’ asked
the wile.
‘ George West,’ was the reply.
At the mention of his name, the
boy ceased to sob. Breathless he
heard theaccunt of his father’s last
request, of the benevolent clergy
man’s wish to fulfil it. He started
up, ran towards the door and endea
vored to open it; Mr. Leyton calm
ly restrained him,‘You must not
escape,* he said
‘I cannot stop here. I cannot bear
to look at you. Let me go !’ The
lad said this wildly, and shook him
self away.
‘ Why, I intend you nothing but
kindness,’
Anew flood of tears gushed
forth ; and George West said be
tween Ids sobs,
‘ Whilst you were searching for
me to help me, I was trying to burn
vou in your house. I cannot bear
it.’ He sunk on his knees and cov
ered his face with both hands.
There was a long silence, for Mr.
and Mrs. Leyton were as much
moved as the boy, who was bowed
down with shame and penitence, to
which hitherto he had been a stran
ger.
At last the clergyman asked, —
‘ What could have induced you to
commit such a crime?’
Rising suddenly in the excite
ment of remorse, gratitude, and
many feelings new to him, he hesi
tated for a moment, and then told
his story ; he related his trials his
sorrows, his supposed wrongs, his
burning anger at the terrible fate
of his only parent, and bis rage at
the exultation of the crowd: his
desolation on recovering from his
swoon, his thirst for vengeance, the
attempt to satisfy it. He spoke
with untaught, child-like simplicity,
without attempiing to suppress the
emotions which successively over
came him.
When he ceased, the lady has
tened to the crouching boy, and
soothed him with gentle words
The very tones of her voice were
new to him. They pierced his
heart more acutely than the fiercest
of the upbraidings and denuncia
tions of his old companions. He
looked on his mercitul benefactors
with bewildered tenderness. He
kissed Mrs. Leyton’s hand then
gently laid it on his shoulder. He
became faint and staggered. He
was laid gentle on a sofa, and Mr.
ancl Mrs. Leyton left him.
Food was shortly administered
to him, and after a lime, when his
senses had become sufficiently col
lected, Mr. Levton returned to the
study, and explained holy and beau
tiful things, which were new to the
neglected boy: of the great yet lov
ing Father; of Him who loved the
poor, forlorn wretch, equally with
the richest, and noblest, and happi
est ; of the force and efficacy of the
sweet beatitude, ‘Blessed are the
Merciful for they shall obtain Mer
cy.’
I heard this story from Mr. Ley
ton, during a visit to him in May.—
George West was then head plough
man to a neighboring farmer one of
the cleanest, best behaved,and most
respected labourers in the parish.
Already, writes the Paris corres
pondent of the London Literary Ga
zette, is the full effect of the new
law on the Press beginning to make
itself felt, although it has only been
in operation a very few days. A
semi-literary, semi-quizzical weekly
publication, called La, Silhouette,
has had the extreme good luck, by
neglecting to have its sheets duly
stamped, to incur penalties to the
tune of 6000/. sterling— not a farth
••. , i
ing less. Being a non-political and
very harmless journal, it thought
that it need not get stamps put on a
poor romance, published piecemeal
in the fcuiUeton form. Judge, then,
of the dismav into wffch unforLu
nate editors and proprietors were
plunged, when the tax-office crew
presented a ‘little account’ for six
thousand pounds penalty. The
immediate annihilation of the jour
nal was, of course the consequence.
Other literary, quasi-literary, and
theatrical journals, are also in the
agony of death ; and a whole host
of scientific periodicals, deeming it
impossible to live under the law,
have ‘not stood on the order of their
going, but gone at once.’ As for
the political papers, they are bear
ing up as well as they can ; but the
best of them are awfully discourag
ed ; the second best, feeling the
ground rickety, are trying to bribe
the public to subscribe by offering
bv wholesale what they call premi
ums of books;’ and the third best
never very stout on their legs, are
turning their faces to the wall, as
the preliminary to giving up the
ghost as decently as possible. The |
poor provincial journals are, howev
er. it! the most pitiable plight, —they
arc literall y dropping off like rotten
sheep. The extra stamp placed
on journals which publish romances
in their feullletons \3 making news
paper proprietors exercise all their
ingenuity to evade it, without letting
their readers perceive it. Thus
some of them give biographies,
couched in as dramatic a form as
possible ; others give travels ; others
fall back on reviews, written in
sprightly style ; some give the text
of popular comedies, and so on.
But sooner or later this sUpercherie
will be seen through ; and it will
remain to be ascertained whether
that somewhat cross and always
very exacting animal, the subscrib
er, will be content at being deprived
of his usual daily feed of trashy ro
mance.
Kossu'h's Habits in Exile. —Kos-
suth is said to divert the hours of his
captivity by educating his children,
laboring in a little garden within
the walls of the fortress, and by in
dulging in an occasional game of
kittles with the companions of bis
political and military struggles.
A Column from Arthurs Home Gazette.
FRAd-MENTS OF THOUGHT,
Br Carleto.v SsYMotft McKks.
How fearfully wretched must he
be, who, oppressed and unfortunate
in this world, has no higher hope,
no expectation of the enjoyment
which the good shall have in abet
ter!
T here is much in life oppressive,
there is much delightful; they are
the happiest who can smile at its
disappointments and enjoy its true
pleasures, forgetting the painful, re
membering the blissful hours of the
past, while they look even among
the storm-clouds for the rainbow of
peace.
When thou beholdest a miserable
outcast, struggling with destitution
and degradation, thou lookest upon
a fellow-immortal, whom the Crea
tor has endowed with a priceless
spirit and an unceasing being.
When an object is to he attained,
stop not when one obstacle has been
surmounted, or one purpose accom
plished. Let not a single advan
tage suffice, but pursue unwaver
ingly each succeeding passage as
it opens and promises a nearer ap
proach to success.
What pleasure we feel when we
meet with those who know how to
appreciate us, who can sympathise
with our earnest desires and cheer
us onward to the accomplishment
of our true destiny.
To undying fame and unfading
honor, the passage is not often by
a single stride, hut by successive
gradations, on a rugged, and per
chance a stormy way. Day suc
ceeding day, and night following
night, must the aspirant struggle for
a name, a place, a remembrance.
He who has genius to project
great works, should have also ener
gy to attempt their execution. No
ble actions are the productions of
firmness, energy, ancl exalted
thoughts.
The greatest beauties of this
world must be but faint shadows
of the glories of Heaven. It is in
the temple we look for the most
noble attractions rather than in the
portico.
Envy and discord would destroy
the most joyful paradise. Love and
harmony, are they not the essential
elements of Heaven ?
There are many loud in their ex
pressions of sympathy, whose hearts
are almost untouched by feeling,
while there are others whose si
lence betokens the depth of their
sensibililies.
Pain, disquiet, persecution or sor
row, cannot daunt the noble mind,
bent upon fulfiling a noble purpose.
Live to make some impression, to
act some part well, to increase the
happinessof some being, to improve
thy own mind, to win thy own sal
vation.
When we see all around us fad
ing. falling, passing, it seems strange
that we do not ofiener direct our
gaze to the glories which are unfad
ing, the habitations which never fall
to ruin, the beauties .which never
pass away.
What unsuspected thoughts,
what unforeseen words, what un
looked-for actions, crowd upon the
pathway of our existence in a single
day!
THOUGHT3 AND SENTIMENTS.
Nothin? is more frightful than ac
tive ignorance.
The man who likes widely for
the most part, likes truty.
It is always safer to err in favor
of others than of ourselves.
Sown thoughts grow to things,
and fili that field, the world.
Mere art perverts taste, just as
mere theology depraves religion.
The beautiful in art is the beauti
ful in nature moulded by humanity.
Alcohol—a clothes-brush cele
brated for destroying the coats of
the stomach.
Every man ought to aim at emi
nence, not by pulling others down,
but .by raising himself.
Martyr—that which all “religions
have furnished in about equal pro
portions so much easier is it to die
for religion than to live for it.
He who is left to himself has
many difficulties to struggle with ;
but he who is saved every struggle
is in a still more unfortunate posi
tion.
Epitaph —giving a good charac
ter to parties on their going into a
. # ir
j new pface, who sometimes had a
very bad one in the place they have
just left.
Man dies, but not one of his ac
lions ever dies. Each is perpetua
ted and prolonged for ever by inter
minable results, affecting some be
ings in every age to come.
The desire to be loved is human
nature in its purity. It is the first
impulse of the opening heart, and
it lives and breathes in tire bosom
of all until the hour ofdeath.
Affectation cannot excite sympa
thy. How can you feel for him
who cannot feel for himself? How
can he leel for himself who exhibit#
the artificial graces of studied lati
tude.
Revenge.—a momentary triumph
of which the satisfaction dies ul
once, and is succeeded bv remorse ?
whereas forgiveness, which is tho
noblest of all revenges, entails a
perpetual pleasure.
It is, indeed, at home that everv
man must be known by those who
would make a just estimate either
of his virtue or felicity; for smiles
and embroidery are alike occasion
al, and the mind is often dressed
for show in painted honor, and tic*
ti i ‘us benevolence.
A despotic government is an in
verted cone resting upon a point,
and liable to lie toppled dowu bv*
the smallest movement. A popu
lar government is a pyramid, the
firmest and most enduring of all
forms.
The North British Review, in an
article on the Literary Profession,
has these reflections on an econo
mical use of vitality among writers l
‘ Literary men are sad spendthrifts,
not only of their money, but of
themselves. At an age when oilier
men are in the possession of vigo
rous faculties of mind and strength
of body, they are often used-up, en
feebled, and only capable of effort
under the influence of strong stimu
lants. If a man lias the distribu
tion of his own time—if his literary
avocations are of that nature that
they can be followed at home——if
they demand only continuous effort,
there is no reason why the waste of
vital energy should be greater in
his case than in that of ilie follower
of any other learned profession. A-.
man soon discovers to what extent
he can safely and profitably tax his
powers. To do well in the world
ho must economize himself no less
than money. Resi is often a good
investment. A writer at one time
is competent to do twice as well as
at. another ; and if his leisure be well
employed, the few hours of labor
will be more productive than the
many, at I lie time ; and the faculty
of labor will remain with him twice
as long. Rest and recreation, fresh
air and bodily exercise are essen
tial to the author, and he will do well
never to neglect them. But there
are professional writers who cannot
regulate their hours of labor, and
whose condition of life it is to tp;’ at
iiregular times anil in an irregular
manner. It difficult, we know,
for them to abstain from uling
themselves up prematurely. Ue
peated paroxysms of fevet wear
down the strongest frames; and
many a literary man is compelled
to live a life of fever, between ex
citement and exhaustion of die
mind. We would counsel all public
writers to think well of the best
mean so f econom izin g t hem selves—
the bes* means of spending their
time off duty. Rest and recreation,
properly applied, will do much to
counteract the destroying influences
of spasmodic labor rtt unseason
able hours, and to ward off prema
ture decay. But if they apply ex
citement of one kitld to repair the
ravages of excitement of another
kind, they must be content to live a
life of nervous irritability, and ta
grow old before their time.”
In the warerooms of a celebrated
Parisian goldsmith there are now
exhibited a crown, a sceptre, a wand
of justice, anil a sword of state,
manufactured expressly for the Em
peror of Havti, at a cost of nearly
£20,000. If Barnum could man
age to catch him!
A young fop, about starting to
New Orleans, proposedta purchase
a life-preserver. “Oh, you don’t
want it,” said the clerk, “a hag of
wind won’t sink.”
NUMBER 29.