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CANOVA’S FIRST ATTEMPT,
at txx katm-mbc* or * IDIS DI!rHEB
- Ur from the rich police of the Fallen,
at Possaquo, in the Venetian States, was a
little oottage. ... .
Tt beonged to the, aged Pasino, a mason.
One evening, weary Lilith his toil and eager;
to rest, l’asino had thrown himself upon hts
pallet and was sonnd agleep in -five Ininuteß
like those only for whom hard work earns
the blessed privilege of sound sleep. •.
Suddenly a lorn! noise of knocking kick
log* pounding shaking, and other extraordin
ary* commotion, was the door of the
cottage, which not being originally very strong
and being of any tiling rather than recent
construction, would certainly have sprang
from its hings, had not Pasino hastened as
fast as his veuecalile legs would carry him,
ans|jlst without some feats as to who might be j
hie visitor to open the door. _ i
In spiteScf the darkness, which prevailed
out of “doors as well as within, the good ma
son could distinguish the beautiful face ot a
toy gleaming-through the darkness, - ———
i* your name, and what do vou
want 1” demanded Pashto, in a surly voice,
such as was justifiable, considering what a
nice nap he had been waked fiom.
Antonio, and 1 want to come in, replied
the boy answering both questions in one
breath, as they had been asked.
“ What Antonia, and what do yon want to
come in for?” returned the mason, who
seemed determined to condense matters as
much as circumstances admitted of.
** I am your grandson, grandpapa.”
You! I declare it is my littte Antonio !
What brought you here!” exclaimed the
mason, suddenly changing his tone of voice,
taking the boy by the hand, lifting him from
the ground, and “despite the dalkness en
deavoring to read his little dimpled face the
motive for his nocturnal visit.
Well why don't you speak ? Why did
yon leave your mother? Is she sick? Did
you make her angry ? Did sbo send you
away from her ?”
••No grandpapa I took myself off.”
•• You took yourself off! Upon iny word !
What did you do that for ?” replied the old
man, re-entering the hut, and striking a Hint
in order to light a lamp. “ You took your
self off did you? Santa Madonna! why did
you leave your mother ?” -
The flint having struck fire, I‘asino lit a
lamp, which be placed near the child, and be
gan again assidiously to examine his face.
Then he preceived, for the first time, that he
was crying, and that he had a little bun
dle tied to the end of a stick, which was
slung over his shoulder.
•* I could iTot stay another moment at
home,” said the child, throwing down his
bundle, and pitidiing the stick after it. “I
was no longer the master in mv own house—
another person had taken my place, and un
dertaken to order me about. Oh ! that
Venetain is a horrid rascal ! - If I were but
ten years older—-only ten yeais older, grand
jmi, L would have shot him as dead as —as
last years fish ! yes indeed, giafidpn ! 1 de
clare I would ! Oh dear! I wish I was a
litrte more thatreleven years old !”—, •
“ Well I never heard anything to match
this child since I was horn !” said the grand
father, laughing at his tremendous explosion
of boyish anger, and kissii g little Antonio.
“So you’re determined to be ‘master in your
own house.’ Good ! liravo! I like that !”
and the worthy mason laughed till his old
sides shook.
The child looked intentlyht him with his
large serious, and iiitcnsly brilliant black
eyes, and a singular gravity spread itself
over his lovely face, giving it an appearance
of premature pathos and sensibility.
*, My father wlipn he dying left me an on
ly child, to my mothers care ; so that you see
grandpa, I am the head of the family now.”
Hero the noble child stood erect, lifted bis
bead haughtily, and putting his little hands
behind him, as he had seen his father do lie
began to take large strides up and dowu tbe
narrow room.”
Pasino laughed till his sides ached, then
recovering his breath by degrees, lie replied :
“ And a fine family it is, certainly. A
splendid establishment, to be sure! Four mis
erable acres of land, a little clay and a little
straw! Ifyou had a palace like the Falieri,
you might take on airs!” The old man by
this tfinc was so interested’ in contemplation
of his handsome little grandson, who was the
pride of his heart, that he had forgotten that
it was midnight, and that he had had but
little sleep.
“The Falieri! the Falieri! anwered the
boy shaking his slendid curls back from his
shoulders,with a toss of his head which made
the brown locks glitter like gold in the feeble
lamp-light, “One may boos lower birth than
the Falier, and be a man of courage !”
S‘Tell me, Antonio,” said Pasino, wiping
away the tears which laughter caused to run
down his chefiks, “ don’t you want some sup
per ?”
“ No, Pur not hungry.”
“But you must be hungry! You have
come on foot all the way from your mother’s
house.” * .
i A great journey, to be sure! three miles
Pshaw, that’s nothing!” and Antonio stretch
ed his legs with an air of a “man” who was
accustomed to such achievements, and consid
ered them mere trifles, unworthy of mention.
“Well! now tell me how you got away,
and why you went so suddenly, and all about
it} ”,
“Well! Grandpa,” said the child, drawing
a long breath, as if to inhale sufficient breath
tocuable him to relate a narrative several
hours’ long, “ Yoh know Mamma has (narried ;
again, and that her new husband, in that lior- j
rid ngly Paesillo* • What first hurt my feel
ings was her not being called Signora Gnu-
Ova any move. • Signora Canova,’ now how
pretty that sounds! W bat a nice narna- it is!
Is it not Grandpapa ?”
“ Yes ! Well! go on V, “
“ Besides, it is my name—my own name,
and it is shameful for a mother to have one
name and her son another.”
“ Well ! well! Finish your story, for lam j
going to sleep again in spite Af my self, and
I think I had better go back to bed.” So,!
keeping his eys open with an immense effort j
tbe old man climbed slowly into bed again.
“Well, besides that, as soon as Master|
Paesillo set foot in the house, there was an
end'to any thing like peace. Everything!
changed entirely. In the first place nobody
took the. Ipast notice of me, or curled tny hair.j
I bad to do the best I could ; pud Ira If. the
1 timo my clothes .were on wrong side before.*’
(The poorciiiii) iii fact,as the saying is, “look- :
ed as if his clothes had been'flung at him.”)
** I had no longer uice little tit-bits for diuucr
nor any latrgQ lamps of ‘garlic, or the bigest
onion, or the bigest olives. _ Those were for
Master Paesillo, nnd I might take what I
could get. Then when I got angry, nsbody
took any pains to quiet me ; if I pouted I j
I was left to pout. Pouting of all-things, you ;
know .Grandpa, is thomost tiresome in the
world, when nobody cotiies to you, and says :
•What is the matter, litßh Antonio V comb
and get some nice supper, or snmo good din
net.’ No, not any tiling of that kind. It
was, on the contrary, this way : * Yon don’t
: choose to dine; let it alone then—you don’t
want your supper; please yourself, sir.’
iSo I did neither one thing n>r another.
! I took a solemn resolution. I said to myself,
j ‘ I have a Hear old grandptf, who is all alone •
by himself who loves little children, who lets
me do just ns 1 please when I go to see him ;
well! I will go to him! there, at ‘least, 1,
shall be master!’ Y'ou imven’t gone to sleep
j Grandpa,have yon ?” Antonio now stood on 1
tip-toe, in order to peer into the high bed
where his grandfather lay.
“No. I’m not asleep, my boy. Y'ou must
go to bed ; there is nice fresh layer of straw
iti the ciVffffeT, and sincc yon- are so resolute
ubont being master, 1 will teach yon some of
these days to be a master mason.”
“Oh ! as for that,l rnn not ambitious to he
one!” replied the boy. “It is not at nil
amusing.”
“ Yon will see—you will see what a nice
trrde it is.”
“ Pooh ! nothing from morning till night
but laying one stone over another, and So on
all the week, and the year round.”
“ You would like to handle marble, I sup
pose, most noble Prince, instead, of building
with stones.”
“ Well, marble is white and pretty, and l
much nicer to handle thau stones,” replied
Antonio:
“There, goto sleep,you saucy fellow, and
let me have my nap out.”
On the morrow, Pasiuo awoke Antonio,
aud after each had addressed a short prayer
and taken a short repast, they set out to go
to the Falieii palce where for several days
past the mason had been working on a wall
which had been scaled by robbers, aud injur
ed by the shots which had been fired after
them.
But the poor old mason endeavored in vain
to keep a siriet watch over his grandson, and
repeated to him in vain, “ mix this mortar;
pick off this lime ; pile these bricks ; arrange
these stones ; or fill this hod.” As soon as
! his back was turned, Antonio made a Punch
iuello with the mortar, or a nymph with the
lime, and only used his grandfather’s trowel
to shape the clay of which lie constructed
all sorts of faces. As he was slight and del
icate, and as grandfathers are almost always
of the same way of thinking as their grand
sons,Pasino only pretended to be angry, An
tonie would say :
“ But, Grandpa, you see I am tired to
death.”
“ Well, but what arc you so busy at work I
upon, then.”
“ A Virgin Ylary with a child Jesus in her
nrms.”
And then the old mason, who could not
perceive that the wonderful production w: s
anything more than a shapeless lump of:
clay, would exclaim about the beauty of the
Virgin,or the gracefulness of the child Christ, i
and pretended that his grandson would one i
day be a famous artist, able to build palaces, j
perhaps even a splendid palace for the great,
Falieri family. “ .Stranger things than that i
have happened, **“ said lie.
The little statue, although moulded in |
rough clay, was executed with a wonderful i
degree of artistic genius. The face of the i
Virgin was moulded with exquisite symme-1
try ; the limbs of the, child were in good
proportion, and the drapery of the huger 1
figure arranged in folds, which seemed to be ‘
formed of some light and graceful material, j
The old mason was no ennnoiseurin statuettes,
or he would have arrested his little grand
son’s hand, as from time to time, dissatisfied i
with his work, or finding some new idea in]
his ever ready imagination, Antoino demol- !
ished the pretty models, one after another,:
saying eacli tune he destroyed one, “ I wish
1 were a mail!” Finally after he had eon- j
structed a devil, of clay, which he called
Master Paesillo, and which he embellished
with a pair of large horns, and a forked tail,
the two repaired to their humble home, An
tonio carrying in his hand the devil of clay,
winch he, scolded at, and threatened to beat,
from time to time, an 1 at last went wearily to
bed, assuring his grandfather that he had not
known so happy a da}’ since the original of,
the statuette had first made acquaintance
with his mother’.’
Now, one fine day, the feast-day dedicated
to a celebrated saint, 1 think it was St, Ce
cillia, the Duke Falieri gave a great enter
tainment. Many were the frying-pans filled
with dainty bits of meat —many the spits
loaded with ducks, turkeys, • and J
chickens, strung on one after nother; above i
all, in the pantries were preserves, cakes, j
confections, ripe and picketed fruits of all:
kinds, enormous melons, huge bunches of
grapes, and all the luxuries of the Italian |
soil. Antonio, who had left “the breach in
the wall to glide in among the boys who
were turn ng the spits, and the cooks, the
major-domos,, and the waiters, smacked his
pretty lips, and opened’Miis eyes and nostrils, ■
staring at every dish, and smelling the deli- 1
cions opors which arose from them ; so that j
it was a pleasure to see he looked while ad-1
miring the grand preparations for the fuast.
In spite of the fine nppeqgance presented
by the dishes, the major-domo, suddenly, j
just as the dishes were going up,gave himself
Ia hard thump on the forehead, and another
! in bis stomach, as if he had been suddenly”
atteckted with colic, and exclaimed :
“1 am a ruined man! a dishonored wretch! ]
By San Pietro, my patren saint, I have noth
ing to do now bat to kill inyself 1 Wretched
Flfitro! what will become of yen! Ob!
Santa Madonna! what will be thought of
you / unluckey Pietro, you down, you stu
pid beast! lazy ass! donkey?’ mule! idiot,
I that you are! A goose would have’ had more
sense ! your honor is gone, and with it that
of the illustrious house of the Falieri!
Precisely on the -•pot where the unhappy
major-domo was making his speeches of des
j pair, the head pf the I'alierpamiljr happen- j
; ed to be passing by ; he heard the last clause ,
! of the oration delivered by tbe major-domo,
and came hurriedly down in tbe pantry, in
■ order ToknoaTlhe exact nature of the dan
ger which threatened the honor afiris house.
He entered, just as Pietro, #fao had thrown |
himself *nto her cliair, in an attitude of des
pair, was swollowing a large glass of brandy,
which oqe of bis scullions presented respect
samo time, •
“ What is the matter ?” inquired the Duke,
stopping directly before the maio^-doWm.
“Beat me my Lord me 1” x
---■ claimed the latter making haste to swallow
the remains of bis braudy; and unluckily
lie just missed strangling himself, by the way
of hastening the execution which he seemed
so nniously should take place,; for
haste, distress, or whatsoever cause it might
be, the last swallow went awry in the major
domo's throat, and lie was seized with an un
controllable congli, which prevented him from
finishing his sentence.
The Duke-looked around upon all the per
sons 4 agseuibled in particular at the little
Antonio Cauora, as if he thought he would
be most likely to hear from him, in ns few
words as possible, the cause of such violence
demonstrations ot despair. , *
But no onto could inform him, for all were
ignorant of the ? incohercnt words and threats
of scuicide, which Pietro had been utertug.
When the worthy man's cough was a lit
tle quieted,, the lkuke said :
“ I \Y’ill you explain to/ne, Pietro, how my
honor happeus to bo .compromised’ with
yours!”
“ Because my feast, which is a feast wor*.
thy of being set before the Pope, himself,
thg Doge of Venice, or any other illustrious
power, is destroyed, annihilated, by a piece
of forgetfulness on my part, a mistake for
which 1 wjpild hang myself, if I had a rope
ncartft hand.-” *
“ What can you have forgotten, of so im
portant and indispensable a nature?”
“The first course is perfect, my Lord
Duke ; the smaller side dishes, the principal
, dishes, all are ot an elevated character nnd
elaborate finish ; the second course surpasses
the first in its artistic combinations and its
Unsurpassable taste; the third again leaves
both the others far behind, if that be possi
ble, in the choice selection, the taste, the ar
chitecture, the aristocratic perfection which
predominates in it; but tiie dessert, the des
sert! Oh! my Lojrd Duke, the middle dish
on the right side, the dish which is to be
placed nearest the temple'of wax and sugar
representing the Coliseum, the crowning dish
of the table, whicti is to make the right side
of the table, (where His Highness, my Lord
Duke of Saugriani will sit,) the most attrac
tive feature’ of the entertainment, the side
dish, my Lord Duke, that right side dish is
forgotten 1”
“ Well, what a fuss for nothing,” said lit
tle Antonio to himself, ns ho sat smiling ma
liciously in one coruer of the pautry ; “ why
don’t you make another then ?”
“ C*n4t*4MA be replaced?” asked the Duke.
“ It will be a matter of infinite difficulty,
indeed 1 may say oue of a perfect impossibil
ity,” answered the mnjor-douid.
“ Bali! Erect a pyramid ; a pyramid of
sugar ! or a tower of fruit, or a pile of col-
ored confectionery, or a or something.”
“It is exactly that something which enn
| not be found at this late liour.a-y Lord Duke;
we have but a single half hour before us.—
i The company is pouring in already.”
! “If somebody would but listen to me,”
j said Antonio to himself, though quite audi
j bly, “ I know what I would do.”
“ What are. we to do ? what is to be done?”
j muttered the Duke to himself, laying his’fin
! gcr along the side of his nose, iu a deep rev
! cry of scientific research.
| “Air! if the architecture of the repast
: was not so noble, so refined, so delicate, so
’rdogant, Tso indescribably superb, wc might
i possibly—but no ! we should be compromis
ing ourselves!”
“ Did you not speak of architecture, Pic
] tro ? lu that case we had better consult Fa
: sitio, who is a mason, an architect, an artist,
! and who may possibly get us out of our dis
; f cully. What are you laughing at ? Anto
nio, my child, what are you muttering to
j yourself? Come, do you go and find your
grandfather, bunt for him every where, and
bring him here.” * •
j Laughing in his sleeve as he went,Antonio
I (whose beauty the Duke admired, and often
! praised,) ran off and returned running, drag
ging after him the old Pasino, whom he pull
| ed along by his leather apron.
After hearing an explanation of the diffi
i culties in question, the old Pasino shook his
head, and twisting liis thin, hard hands in
ami out of his cotton cap, which ho had ta-.
i ken off in deference to the Duke,* (the head
of the family of the illustrious Falie
ri”) he said :
“ With all due respect, your Gracious
Highness, I beg leave to reply, if it were |
raising a wall, or building a church, or knoc
ing down a house, that was in question, or
______ if • 2**
“ It is a dish,Grandpa, a grand dish for the
right,side of the table, where his Gracious
: Highness, the grand Duke of Sangriani, is
[going to sit,that we Want,” bawled little Arr
tonio, in a tone of voice lond enough to have
f betn audibe to his venerable grandparent
I bad the old man been as deaf as a post.
“ I understand that, grandson,” said old
I Pasino, twisting about bis cotton cap moro
mercilessly than before.
j “Vtell,” you are not half so smart as you j
ought to be, considering that you know how
; to build palaces, and construct churches, and
raise- walls, and knock down houses. Why,
1 wonder at you, Grandpa ! Can’t you tell
us how to construct a dish, a side dish, a sim
ple dish ?”
i “ Hush; child, don’t speak so loud and
! make so much noise about things that you
j don’t understand, you will displease his Gra
cious Highness.”
Antonio stamped his foot and turned away,
abashed by tbe reproof he had received, hut
still muttering to himself, “ if someone would
, only listen ko ine.”
The Duke Falieri, who for some time li.ad
been gazing at the spiritual, animated, sym
metrical, and beautiful countenance of the
masons grandson, was struck with the singu
lar character of genius which it expressed.—
ThosO who arc faintliar with the. pictures of
Antonio Canova, the great sculptor, do not
need to be told that his face was Os that
j high order which combines genius with beau
ty. It Absolutely sparkled'with inteleet, and
already the boyish features began to Assume
those fiue aqualine proportions which distin
guished them hi latter years. No ono could
have seen the eyes of this remarkable face
i without turning to look again, sUcb was their
inspired expression. The contempt which
| this puerile discussion awokejin his mind,was
at this moment expressed iu his face, snd
his childish brow shone with sucß extraordi-i
nary assurance, his mouth wore so canning a!
smile, and the dimples in the corners of his i
,cheoks as he met the Duke’s eye, sakl soj
• plainly, “ why don't you consult me, ytmr
tbo wish to interrogate him.
“ Well, if we littensip yoa. what advice
will you give us r’ saiq the Duke, pinching
Aptonio’s ear and pulling Ida glossy curls in
sn affectionate manner. ,
“ Will, then, my Loud Duke,” replied An
tonio, (as red .as a cberty at having been
overheard by the Duke,) “if Master Pietro
will onlY give me a lump of fresh dough,
such as he makes his cakes with—”
“ Your Gracious Highness should not lis
ten to that magpie of a child,” said Pasino,
making signs to his. grandson to bold bis
tongue.
“ Not only do T listen,” said the Duke,
smiling as lie replied “ but I desire Pietro to
follow Antonio’s advice iu regard to the mis
sing dish. Still further,l wish that it should
be a surprise to my guests; Antonio, I give
you permission to do whatever you choose,
but if yon fail, sirrah, what will yo*u give
me ?” * Hero the Duke deepened his voice,
pretender! to thnnder at Antonio, and to
assume a stern, frowning look.
“My two cars.” replied Antonio proudly,
making a graceful bow.
•’ Well; i agree.” Amd the. Puke depart
ed to receive his guests.
The feast vas magnificent, like all those
given, from time immemorial, in this opulent
family; when the dessert was about to be
served, the duke regaled his friends with the
history of the missing dish, and the presump
tuous attempt of the mason’s beautiful grand
son,
Then the dessert was put by degrees up
on the table, and you should have seen tbe
eyes of the guests opened to their greatest
extent, and their necks stretched as far as
possible in order to see every dish enter
which was set npon tbe table. As if on pur
pose, nr because poor little Antonio had per
haps failed, the corners of the table were
garnished, the middle almost filled up, and
still the wonderful dish did not appear. Soon
there was nothing to put on but that single
dish, and the impatience of the guests knew
no bounds.
At last the major-domo appeared ; he bore
an enormous dish, covered with a splendid
velvet cloth, embroidered in gold. The
napkin was raised, and a cry of admiration
burst from every one.
It was a superb Lion, moulded in dough,
and baked so as to be of the color of bgonsc. j
Evei'j - limb was perfectly modeled, and it
seemed about to leap from tbe dish iu among ‘
the guests. All immediately recognized tbe
delicate compliment Conveyed to the Duke of
Sangriani, in honor of whom the feast had
been given, for the arms of bis house were a
rampant Lion.
“ Bravo 1 bravo I” cried one and all;
“ where is the modeler? where is the little
artist ? where is tbe little sculptor ?”
“ Where is the artist ?” cried the Duke in
a lou'd, distinct voice.
And then, between the fat legs of Pietro,
the cook,peeped up a pretty little child’s face,
blushing rosy red, and bright with pleasure,
already glowing with the brilliaut fire of ge
nius, extraordinary, indeed, at so tender an
age
lie was passed from the arms of one bean- {
tiful Indy to another, kissed, petted, and ca- j
ressed. Jewels of value were attached by
his lovely admirers to his humble dress, and
he was not suffered to depart till both him-)
self and Pasino Imd made s hearty meal of
the remains of the feast.
The. Duke was too much the friend of the \
fiue arts, and too enlightened ns it regarded !
them, not to perceive in this childish master- 1
piece indications of the most eminent talent. I
Begging Antonio from his grandfather, lie 1
took him himself to VeniceV where lie caus
ed the most celebrated master to instruct him.
Then, fouryoars later, the young protege of
the Duke went to Rome,loaded with letters
of recomendation to the illustrious lords and
potentates of the capital of the Christian
wo.ld. ,
Suffering himself to be gnilcd by that in
spiration which distinguishes remarkable
men, the first letter which Antonio carried to j
its nddrcss.was one to Signor Volnpto, whose
pnpil lie was ambitious to become.
Volnpto kept at Rome a brilliant school of
design, from which the most distinguished
pupils had been sent forth. The first friend J
and companion met by Antonio, on entering 1
tbe studio, was a young man like himself,
named Raphael.
Later, Antonio Canova, (enving his friend
to continue career ns a painter,
abandoned the pencil for the chisct; ‘ His >n- j
: spiration again called him to tlio most eleva
ted occupation.
In 1782 the Venetian ambassador, Julia
no after a feast given to Rome's most noble
lords, invited his guests to go with him to a
saloon which bad not yet been opened. Ho
showed bis friends ft group in marble, iu'st
finished by an artist whose uamo be- with
held.
It was Theseus conquering the Minotaur.
The group was, with one accord, pronoun
ced to be tlie choicest work of art in Rome.
“My Lords!” exclaimed Juliano with a
look of protid satisfaction, “ the artist of this
work is my countryman. Antonio Canova,”
continued he, (seeking out a young man who
modestly aloof,) “ come and receive the
congratulations which you deserve.”
Canova was the most celebrated sculptor
of his age. When any one visited him at
his studio, he never failed to tell the story of
his fortunes, or to revive his own grateful re
membrance of his first master, Volupto.
Hence we learn to struggle against snch
misfortunes as. may assail Os in youth.—
With resolution, toil and patience, fame may
always be achieved. •
And thus by The humblest means is gen
ius brought to light. The diamond Is a brill
iant jewel,'the rarest of all precious stones;
but it must be sought for in the dark -and
dangerous mine Florkkcb AvEnkl.
scrupulous delicacy nr regard to dxas
. LETTERS.
Every Post master, once a quarter, return
all the fetters for which he can find no claims
ant to the Department at Washington. A
confidential clerk breaks the seal of all these,
and opens them but does.not read, a line.
He simple Ascertains if there is anything
in them. Js there is not, they are without,
further trouble placed away for burning, and
ail consumed- by fire in an oven prepared
forsthe purpose, so that nothing shall escape.
If, however, there is any sum of money, or
| any valuable, however trifling,“the letter and
I contents are handed over to another clerk,
j who simple examines the name and addreaa,
and then encloses the whole back’ to the wri
, ter. *Phe rest of the fetter lie is forbidden
to read. ’lf the writer cannot he found? the
InatT"” rt er"t
fifty five dollars a year is general tlma re-1
cearvfd is about ten thooaand letters, Mr about
on an average, five dollars a letter. Os tbis
From tb Brunswick HmH , *
In my communication of the 14th mat-,
relative to the suit brought against the B. 4b
P. 11. R. Go. by Messrs. Jones dt Haves, I
stated that the contract with Messrs. Jones
4b Hayes provided that payment should be
made, one third in cohdjtional notes, and
two thirds fn the stock of the company—this
was an error—the contract reads thn#: “op
on the acceptance of this proposition by said
Company, if they should do so, then the
said company shell pa) over to tho under
signed such notes as Ate available in the
handa of the company which may fall due
at Alapaha as part payment tor their work
and the balance to be credited to the under
signed as cash stock paid in by them.
CHARLES 8. SCHATTER.
Chief Engineer B. 4b’ F. R. R.
1 Dec. 31,1858.
* ■■■ ■
asT.AnTa ntsmgn . --
A bill increasing the salaries of the Gov
ernor and Judge of the Supreme Court,
notwithstanding the previous failure’of the
measure in the Iloaae,has become a law. It
raises the salary of the Governor* to 84000;
Judges of the Supreme Court $3,500 each;.
Judges of the Superior Court $2,500.
the ktokan you in nobway.
Bayard Taylor writes home to the New
York Tribune the following account of a
visit to thin natural curiosity :
“ There were still ten miles to the Riuksp
and consequently no time to be lost. Tho
valley contracted, squeezing the Maan be
tween the interlocking bases of the moun
tains, throhght which, fn the course of un
counted centuries, it had worn itself a deep
groove, cut strnight nnd clean into the heart
jof the rock. The loud perpetual roar of its
j vexed waters filled tiie glen—the only sound
, except the bleating of goats, clinging to the
steep pastures above us. The mountain
, walls on either iiand were now so high and
I precipitous that the bed of th< valley lay,
wholly in shadow, and on looking back, its
farther foldings were dimly seen through
purple mist. Only the peak of the Gonsta,
which from this point appeared as an entire
and perfect pyramid, fifteen hundred feet in
perpendicular height above the mountain
platform from which ft rose gleamed with a
| rich bronze lustre in the setting snn. The
valley was now A mere ascending gorge,
along the sides of which out; roads combed.
Before us extended a slanting, shelf, thrust
out from the mountain, and affording room
for a few eotages and fields, but all else was
naked lock and ragged pine, From one of
the'hnts we possed a crippled distorted from
crawled out on its hands and knees to beg of us,
It was a boy of sixteen, struck with another
and scarcely leas terrible ftirtn of leprosy.
In this case, instead of hideoua swelling and
fungous excrescences, the limbs grndunlly
f dry up and drop off piecemeal at the joints.
Well may the victims of both these torms of
hopeless disease curse the hour in which they
were begotten. I know of no more awful
example of that visitator of theaina of the
parents upon the children,which almost always
attends confirmed drunkeness,filth and licenti
ousness.
“When we reached the little hamlet on
the shelf of the mountain, the last rays of
I the sun were playing on tho summits above.
! Wc bad mounted about two tl>ousand|feetsince
leaving the Tind Lake, and the dnsky
valley yawned far beneath us, itr termination
invisible, as if leading downward iuto a lower
world. Many hundred feet below the edge
of the wild little platform on which we stood
thundered the Maan in the cleft,the bottom of
which the sun has never beheld. Beyond
this the path was impracticable for horses ;
S we walked, climbed or scrambled along the
side of dizzy steeps, where, in igeny places
a false step would have sent us to the brink
of gulfs whose mysteries wo had no desire to
explore. After we had advanced nearly two
miles in this manner, ascending rapidly all
the time.a hollow revereb ration nnd a glimpse
of profouniler abysses ahead revealed the
neighborhood of the Buikan. Ah at one*
| patches of lurid gloofn appeared through the
opening of the birch thicket we were tliead-
I itig, and we came abruptly upon the brink of
the great chasm into which the river fails;
The Biukau lay befottr us~*a miracle of
spravey splendor, an apparition of unearthly
loveliness, set in a framework of darkness
and terror, befitting the jaws of %ell. Be
fore us, so high against the sky as tc shut
out the color of sunset, rose the top of the
valley—the level of the Hardanger table
land, on which a short distance further, lies
the Mios-Vand, a lonely lake, iu which the
Maan Elv is born. The river first'eomes in
to sight a mass of boiling foaw, shooting
around the corner of a line of black cliffs
which are rent tor its passage, curves to tlue
right as it descends, and then drops in a'sin
glo full of five hundred feet- into a hollow
cauldron of bare black rock. The water
is already foam as it leaps from the summit,
and the successive waves as they are whirled
into the air and feel the gusts which forever
revolve around the terrible abyss drop*iuto
beaded fringes in falling, and go fluttering
down like scarfs of the richest lace. It is
not water, but the spirit of water. The
bottom is lost in a shifting, snowy film, with
starry rays of fiam radiating from its heart,
below which, as the cloud shifts, break mo
mentary gleams of porfect emerald light.
What fairy bowers of some northern Undine
are snggested in those sudden flashes of silver
and green 1 In that dim profound,which ho
tnan eye caif but partially explore, on which
human foot shall never be set, what secret
still lie hidden ! And trrouod
this vision of perfect loveliness rise the aw
ful walls, wet with sprsy which never dries
and crossed by ledges of dazzling turf, from
the gulf so fcr below* our feet, until still far
ther above our heads, they lift tbeir irregular
corniceeagainst the sky 1
“ I do not think I am extravlgant when I
say that the Bhikan-Foss'the most beauti
ful cateract in the wolrd. 1 .ooked upon it
with that involnSnary suspension of the
breath and quickening of the Dulse, which
is the surest rccngnization.of Beauty. The
whole scene,with its Iteadth and grandeur of
form, and its snperbagloom of coloring, en
shrining this one glorious flash of grace and
m
tcinatie ili uL* nlfc'Tt,
me, owe who had so quiet and complete ms*
trolof berehild. Bnt the secret of the lat
ter I soon learned. One evening af^ffaUd
#ttd
“ Willie, did yow not see that pretty little
kitten in the street to-day. \ f
“ Yea, F did,” lie replied { “ I wish t had
her; wasn’t she pretty /'• *
“ Yes, rerjf; now don’t yen want me te
buy the kitty for you ? Perhaps the man
will sell her.”
“ O, yea, mother, do buy her.’’
... “Well,.then he a good bey while I am
gone thus saying, she dosed the door, hut
lie immediately called her back.
“ Don’t go till morning, thou I can go
with you; wont yoo stMT J”, „
“No, Willie 1 the man wont mil it if I
flont go to-night; so be a good
He aaidte* mote, but quietly lay down.
*W P>® *w*n yo Child TANARUS”
said I, after we had gained the street; “if
you but knew the injury you are doing, rod.
would take a different course.”
* >yn7 V* *b* repeated, why what harm
have I done f* l did not tell him I tnotdd
see the man—l only asked him if i thomM.”
“But you gave him to understand tbpt
you would. He is not old enough to detect
the difference now, but he soon will be.
Then 1 fear you will perceive your error too
late. You have yourself grafted a thortr Ik
the young rose, which will eventually pierce
you v most bitterly. You cannot break off
the thorn, nr club the point, to make it leas
pierciug. (in your return he wilt not see
the kitten, therefore you will have to invent
another falsehood to conceal the Site.”
We had now gained our friend’s door,
which ended our conversation. During
evening site looked gayer than usual; my
words had little or no effect upon her. She
did not think her little one was’ doing all be
could to keep awake to see (be coveted kit
ten on her return, wondering what muds
“ mother gone m long.” It was lute ere I
reminded her we ought to return. But little
was said during our’ homeward walk. She
went noiselessly into the room supposing her
boy asleep; but bo beard her, and said :
“ Mother,hi that yoo 1 Hare yon brought
the kitten I I kept awake to see it, and 1
was so sleepy 1”
“No, my dear; the man would not soil
hat.”
“Why wont be mother?’’ be naked with
quivering lips. **7’*?? •’Ti'fJhT
“ I don’t know; I suppose be wants bar
to catch rats and mice.”
“ Did to aay so, aeteftnr#’
** lie did not aay jmt that, bnt I TtiTffo
Ism manat u, 1 *
1183 7tKllfft 4M rss. ■ ,-f -■ iiifc
“ I did want it so bad, mother.” The Bt
tlelips quivered, and tears started to Ms
oyes. lie rubbed them with hk little buds,
winking very fast to keep them back, but
they would coroe; at last he foil asleep with
the pearly drop, glistening on his rosy
Ihe mother’s glistened, also. As she kelt
to kirn them away, bo murmured softlv in
his broken sinmber, “ I did want it *o bod.”
She turned her dewy eyes toward tor say
ing :
“ You have led me to see my error. Nev
er will 1 again, let what will U the conse
quence, deceive my child to pieaae myself.”
Mother are yon practicing the same de
ception ? If you are, pause and think of
the consequences ere it is too late. Does it
not lessen yonr confidence in a person when
you find out they have been deceiving you 1
Will it not also that of your children in j wn,
when they become old enough to detect it t
Besides, it would"be very strange if they
themselves did not imitate you in things of
more importance.
It is the pride end joy of e mother’* heart
to gain and retain the entire confidence of her
child, and it is in her power to do so if Am
but exercise that power by precept and ffft*
, ample.—A'. V, t/ulcpndnL :
a TXAam romwarr- mnwa Mr*
- wari.
Several weekr ago a rumor was prevailing
in onr city that a man w s turned to stone for
blasphemy. The scene of the frightful me
tamorphose was first* located in Perry £*XM|ty
then in Mifflin County and again in Cumber
land County, each with a different version,
until finally, for want of some confirmation
of its truth by the public press of thoee oouu
tu s, came to the conclusion to regard it as an
idle fabrication. A late number of The Hol
idaysburg Standard however, contains a no
tice Os a circumstance somewhat similar hi
its details to the above mentioned- rumor,
which Occurred in Huntingdon county, amt hi
it bears a plausible stamp we transfer &• to
our columns. That paperSeys.
“For some days past there has hern a sin
gular story afloat in this community. Wheth
er true or not, we are prepared to soy, but
the information comes from such a reliable
source that we are free to aay there meat ha
something in it. It appears that one day
last week a man in the neighborhood of Mt.
Union, Iluntingdo n County white cleaning
grain, suddenly discovered that the weevil
had destroyed the part of it. Tbia
so exasperated him tha£ be blasphemed the
Saviour in such a wilful,malicoos and wicked
manner that,that will not bear prmting. .He
left tbe barn and went to the booze, Where
he seated himself iu a chair, when bo Imd
remained but a few minutes beftyre he turned
to hit wife and asked her what she said. She
replied thatshe had aot spoken. “ I thought,”
saidhejMhat I heard somebody saythat I
unable te risa or speak, with bis eyes rolling
and moving hi# body.
His family .ft is said, has left the house, where
he remained seated in the chair on Saturday
laat I W het ■*■---■*— hi 1 m m e-iis'sihsaara
■a i wnas • corn oie warning to waspnemers
“ f — I “i
Never accuse ether# te excuse yourself.