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44
LITERARY.
WILLIAM \V. MANN, Editor.
The Southern Field and Flrealde
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SATURDAY JULY 2, 1559.
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make any more engagements of that kind.
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to Tup. Southern Fielp asd Fireside. Sec Prospectus.
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NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
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OUR PRIZES.
The Committee of Award has commenced its labors,
and their decision relative to all the prizes, except, per
haps, that for the best Novelette, will, we hope,be known
in time to present their announcement in our number of
next Saturday. One of the prize poems will probably be
published on that day.
We regret that the |>oem entitled “Were I a Bird."
having been already published, is, by our rule, debarred
from the lists of competition.
We have received, during the week, the following ar
ticles, to be in eomja-tltion for the several prizes:
Love versus Ambition—Novelette.
The Doomed Bride— “
The Gipsey's Charm — “
Essay on Novel-Writing.
Biography—its Art and Artists—Essay.
Literature —Essay—bv Tom Jew ley,
The Future—Essay—by same.
Madeline —a Poem.
Our Fireside—a Poem. *
The Creek Maiden—a I’octtl.
The Water Sprite~-n Poem.
Lines Addressed to Miss S. M, E.
Tallulah —a Poem.
The Pilgrims of Mount Vernon.
Rain Jewels—a Poem.
Charles Lamb's Suppers, and Dr. Holmes’ Breakfasts
—an Essay.
Oconee— by Kaluftoxoma.
Angel, or The Iron Andirons.
Woman—her True Destiny and Training—Essay.
Three Years of Heart-History—a Novelette.
Maurice Cummings—a Novelette.
The Bracelet of Pearls, or Light in Darkness.
The Sword of Wallace.
Party Spirit
Who Am I ? or One Night with Yellow Fever.
Saturday Evening.
Nervous Headache.
What is Our Life ?
Conclusion of the Siege of Pandora.
Aliene, or The Recovered Treasure.
AAA
TO CORRESPONDENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS.
We have some doubts whether the real name of the
writer acconi[iaiiies the poetical communication sent us.
commencing with
“ We mark the still and qnictair.’’
We would be glad to be assured on this point The lines
have not yet been read by us, and will not be, but will
be rejected without reading, if the author's name has not
been communicated. Our correspondent w ill understand
why we speak thus peremptorily.
The following communications have been received this
week:
Hidden Sorrow — by Carlos.
Life's Dark and Sunny Spots—by Mrs. Y.
Translations from the Spanish and Italian —by AY. C.
Wildr.
Dreaming*— by Leola.
AYhat the Moon Shines on—by AV. E. S.
Lines to a Young Lady at Church.
To Cousin P.—by Evelynn.
A Sketch —by P. E.
The Minstrel's Lament—by Mrs. 9. I. E.
“Little Goodey Coarse Shoes," received some time
since, as also “ Childhood's Home,” from a writer in Mis
sissippi, we have read, and would like to publish, but the
names of the authors have not been made known to us,
and we cannot give the poems place in our columns until
the rule is complied with.
We are sorry that place cannot be found in our columns
for the Lines Written for Miss W.'s Album—The Mock
ing Bird—My Brother's Wist—The Rich Man and Laz
arus—Oh! AVhcn will the Morning be Here?—lsn't it
Strange?—AA'reath of Memory—lines beginning “This
World of Waves tome is Drear"—Oh! Sing me that
Sweet Air—A Christian's Death —The Lost Ship—The
Field and Fireside —and History, an essay, by T. T.
The friend who sent us “The Daughters of Erin,” by
AYm. Smith O'Bhif-n, will please accept our thanks.
Proud the Mortal.
Though Thou Forget.
Ah ! Bright are the Glances.
I Think of Thee Often.
Paul and A T irginia—Prose Essay.
My Child—by Novissimus.
Recollections of Lucy Jones.
—
England and Liberia.—About twelve years
ago Liberia declared itself to be a free, sove
reign and independent State. Our government
was the first to which its Commissioner, Presi
dent Rotierts, came to invite an acknowledg
ment ofLilteria's nationality; but then, as since,
the cold shoulder policy was shown. England
not only promptly and cordially recognised her
just claims, but sent Mr. Roberts home in one of
her first class men-of-war, and most kindly pre
sented the young Republic witli a small naval
vessel, the Lark, to help to suppress the slave
trade and to promote the interests of humanity
on the western coast of Africa. The Lark has
done excellent service, and needing considerable
repair, the British' Government has again
evinced its sincerity and good intentions to
wards the colored race, by replacing it with the
Quail, a much larger and superior sailing vessel,
in complete order. We learn that the latter
went to sea from Plymouth on the 16th of May,
for Monrovia, where she is very much required.
WeJiope that the Quail will have a safe passage
and prove even more useful to the successful
Americo-Liberians than her predecessor.
Philadelphia Ledger.
ixeot jot wmmmm*
[Written f>r the Southern Field and Fireside.]
LETTERS from my log cabin.-no. l
Writing " Letters from under a Bridge" was
doubtless a very pleasant pastime to Mr. X. P.
Willis, when the thermometer ranged from nine
tv to ninety-five degrees. He might, jierhaps.
have enjoyed it at a lower temperature —provid-
I ed the clouds dropped down no rain, and the sun
j shown out brightly upon the sparkling and lim-
I pid waters —taking it for granted there must be
i water, where there was a bridge high enough to
: give to an essayist, a poet, and a dramatist of
Mr. Willis's proportions, room to write letters. —
It was a good while ago, that I was delighted
with the very pleasant “ Letters from tinder a
Bridge," from the pen of this favorite and much
j admired author. I was somewhat younger, too
; *—and to my rs.ther unsophisticated mind it
! appeared a singular place for a gentleman to
: select for the purpose of writing letters. But I
j am older and wiser now: and have discovered
! that things are not always precisely as they are
written. And I have learned furthermore, that
: Sir John Falstaff, in his notable commentary
' upon the predilection of the world in general
and Prince Hal and his youthful associates in
particular, is hut an early discovery of what lias
since been so elaliorately confirmed in the lapsus
1 lingua, individually, and I may almost say,
! collectively, of the’ Prince Hals, Bardolphs, 4c.,
i of the nineteenth century.
1 cannot say. however, that my admiration of
: Mr. W’s taste, in the selection of a spot to write
*• Letters," is any greater now than it was then ;
but as tastes are one of the phenomena in na
ture not fully accounted for, the exercise of a
little charity will be commendable. It is also
politic that I should exercise it, lest the place
chosen by myself, for a like purpose, (not so
much from preference, I may say.) should lie
come the subject of criticism. If that shall
hereafter come to pass, what old Mr. Hardcastle.
in Goldsmith's agreeable Comedy, “ She Stoops
to Conquer." 1 remarks in regard to a certain dish
in the bill of fare for dinner —“ To men that are
hungry, pig with prune sauce is very good eat
ing"—l shall allege similarly, as to Log Cabins—
“To people avlio have no better, they are very
good things." And I doubt not many an owner
of a princely mansion lias met with genuine
hospitality, and sound, sweet, refreshing rest
within the walls of a log cabin, with its usual
covering qf " five feet slab-boards.” Log Cabins,
though they have had their day, are not entirely
ignored among us yet. They are the pioneers
of a more finished architecture—and their hardy
occupants, when thoroughly aroused, have been
known to rally and make a President for this
Republic,
I have written thus ihueh (111,111 some sort, ,
prefatory and apologKticnl (I dislike apologies, \
however, except Avhei! injury has been dortb-.) to j
whatnmy be forthcoming in future nhinbcfs ULuer
the same head: and iij which I shnil endeavor to
give to the readers of l.Vu Southern Field and j
Fireside" some sketches, grave or gaj’, as the ]
case may be, of “Home Circles ,” and “Scenes in
an Ex-Metropolis." One of the latter I am about
to relate. .
1 have heard it somewhere stated, that on
one fine Sunday morning, about the beginning of
the present century, the Prince Regent of Eng
land, afterwards George IV., rode into Hyde
Park, surrounded by a splendid retinue of nobles
and gentlemen, dressed in the ample style of
the full pantaloon and frock-coat, and thus imi
tated the dress of the present age. It is well
known that he had the reputation of being one
of the handsomest men, as well as the most ele
gant and accomplished Prince of his time. Os
course, such a debut, in such a dress, and in such
a place, could not fail to attract attention, aud
be sure to accomplish an instantaneous revolu
tion in the costume of the period. The makers
and venders of “ Canton crape small clothes and
Fair Top Boots,” soon found their “ occupation
gone." as the eager followers of the fashions
which royalty patronize sought to ensconce their
obedient persons in habiliments of more ample
proportions than “tights, "with “buckled knee
and silken stocking.”
The “new fashion,” under the auspices of such
patronage, soon became the rage; and in due
course of time some goodly vessel moved by
the “uncertain ocean winds,” plowed her tedious
way across the Atlantic to New York, and intro
duced it to the astonished gaze of the ancient
inhabitants of Gotham. The result, though not
a matter treated of by historians, is generally very
well known. Yet, let it not be supposed that
the new style of dress assumed its reign with
out opposition—not by a great deal It was
violently inveighed against.in many instances:
and there were many of the staid, stern, wor
thies of '76, Avhose opposition to it was like that
of the pious, though eccentric parson's to a cer
tain burving-ground in his parish—“he would
never be buried there as long as he lived.”
They would not wear the new fashion as long
as they lived —they would not forsake the old
continental dress ; they lived in it, gloried in it,
and died in it. But their opposition, though it
waxed warm, was vain! The tide of innova
tion swept like the flood of a Mississippi cre
vasse, and they were overwhelmed.
Now, it so happened, that a shrewd Yankee
tailor, who had come South some years previous,
and located in the old seat of Government of
Georgia, while it was the recipient of the assem
bled wisdom of the State, and who had built up
a good custom there, was in New York, select
ing the “latest styles,” when the new fashion
made its appearance. Thomas Draper, or
“Dapper Tom,” as his friends sometimes called
him, was quick to see where to turn a “nimble
penny," as well as to please his customers. He
perceived iu the new fashion the means of creat
ing a sensation iu the town of his adoption.
For although the 'Sceptre had departed from it,
with manytpf of the land, yet there
remained a gootW circle of wealth and fashion,
that clung faithfully to its fallen fortunes.
Tom Draper hastened, therefore, to pack up a
small, but select assortment of cloths, suitable
to the market and the fashion, and posted home,
armed with the patterns for “cutting and fitting”
the new style of habiliments for creation’s lords.
Arriving safely, after three weeks A'oyage, his
first consideration Avas how to introduce them to
the greatest advantage : for it should be borne
in mind that our forefathers were not so ready
to catch at every whim and fancy in the way of
dress as their descendants of the present day.
Tailors and milliners were not such autocrats
as they have become since—ruling the people
according to the price of button-holes, or the
number of flowers upon a lady’s dress. There
was a sort of conscientious scruple with our !
fathers in the matter. “As our fathers, did, so I
do we,” was a motto that seemed to constitute a
part of their religion. It was no wonder then, 1
that Tom Draper weighed in his own mind care- i
fully, the means best calculated to introduce the j
new fashion successfully.
There lived in this goodly old town, among j
other worthy citizens, a dashing, frolicksome, |
fashionable young lawyer, of good family—being |
of pure republican stock, whose name was Reck- I
law Ligrive. It was said by some, that lie took \
more pleasure in drinking the healths of his cli- J
onts than pleading their causes. but there were
others who said that he was loath to do either.
And it lias been bountifully proven to the writer,
that lie was a warm friend, a social companion,
and a' high spirited gentleman, (though some
t times over hasty and headstrong in his acts,) by
which qualities he won a large circle of attached
friends, and exercised over them great influence.
With a considerable fortune, and a reasonable
practice, he was enabled to indulge his humors—
dress fashionably, gallant the girls, and go to all
the balls.
Tom Draper determined to make ‘"Rick,” as
everybody called him. his sign-post. Accord
ingly, a few days after his return, lie took Li
grive up stairs to his private room over his shop,
and showed him the fall cut of the new fashion,
and proposed to make him the first suit; and
that he should lie the first to appear in public,
; with the "wide trousers strapped over his boots.”
Ligrive jumped at the offer—it suited him
exactly: for he loved display, and had the Tanity
and ambition to be the ‘‘observed of all observ
ers.” in the article of dress. He was a true
Sir Walter Raleigh in his way. "Swells" were
not exactly known in those days, but Rick would
I doubtless have made a very proper one.
"Bythe lord Harry!” he exclaimed as he
surveyed the design of the “ coat, vest, and
pants,” with the admiration which an enthusias
! tic architect would the diagrams of some stu
pendous edifice that was to immortalize his
i name. "By the lord Harry 1 wont I cut a fig
| are!” And sure enough he did, as the sequel
; will show.
1 A beautiful piece of English “ Navy Blue”
broadcloth was unrolled, the first probably ever
introduced into the town ; Ligrive's measure
taken fora full suit, and Tom Draper undertook,
i himself, the task of making the articles, as it
not only required skill, but it was determined
between them to keep the matter a profound
secret until it should be ready to be heralded by
; the wearer in person. This was no easy matter,
though; for customers were constantly coming
: and going, and Tom was often forced to leave
: his work rather abruptly, when there was dan
-1 ger of an inquisitive friend looking in to see what
new styles he had. On his own account, he
cared not if it was discovered; but he soon ]>er
eeived the greatest auxietj' on the part of his
friend Ligrive, lest the secret should become
known. He was constantly dropping in to see
the progress of the suit, and that all was safe.
No iiappy girlish fancy ever anticipated more
delight in going to her first Ball—or aspiring
politician more painfully pleasant anxiety about
his success on his first nomination for Congress,
than our friend Reek did about the progress of
and jiis appearance in, the new fashion suit of
clotlieS; . *
tlfi had d very faithful old servant, of whom it
&uid be truly said, he had “grown gray in the ser
vice of the familyand to whom lie was in the
habit of telling all his secrets, for he often re
ceived the best advice from his old servitor—
but this he could not tell. Sancho had been his
father's body servant in the Revolution, and
partook largely of the proud, stiff dignity which
. characterized some of the old cavaliers of "16.
I “ Like master, like man." Any departure from
| his conception of dignity, on the Dart of his
I young master, was looked upon by him as a
' letting down of the family. He stood behind
1 his young master’s chair at the table, the same
■ as he hail stood behind that of his old master's.
I He was a faithful, honest, IriilWul specimen of
I the servants of the old style. Sanclio watched
j Mr. Reek’s actions w ith a jealous eye—not for
i the purpose of criticising his morals—not at all;
: but to sco tu«t bo maintained tho dignity of the
I Ligrive family. Gambling, drinking, and roy s
: tering with his young friends, was but the life
: led among the free bloods of the time, and Sancho
l saw nothing in that; the father had done so be
| fore him, and he was a gentleman. Ail that he
i required was that Mas’ Iteck should do it like a
gentleman. If it was a part of his duty, some
times, to put his young master to bed after two
o'clock in the morning, in an orderly manner, it
was nothing more than part of the duty he had
! performed for his old master. “De men ob de
Rev’lushun, sah, hab de dignity,” Sancho was
wont to say—“ dey lib like gentlemen, dey fout
like gentlemen, and dey get drunk like gentle
men ; and, sah, dey bow to delady wid dor hat
under der arm!’
(concluded next week.)
Value of Iron. —Locke declared that, if the
use of iron were lost among mankind, they
would unavoidably return to the savage state.
At the same time, he styles the person who lirst
made use of iron, the “ father of arts and author
of plentyfor of iron all tools are made, and
with the tools thus made, man tills the earth,
builds houses, makes clothes, constructs steam
engines, builds railroads, constructs steamboats,
ships—in fine, does all the business of eivilisod
life.
The progress of civilization may be noted by
j the greater or less use of iron. At first, the only
| implements for digging, cutting, hewing, or any
i like purpose, were made of stone. The London
! Quarterly lteview, in an article which led us to
: indite these reflections upon the value and uni
| versality of iron, says there is a museum at Co
! penhagen, in which the parallelism between the
! advance of civilization and the advance in the
! working of metals is illustrated by articles taken
i from ancient burying grounds. The first tools
were sharpened stoiife; for man was then a sav
age, and his wants pcern few. This “ stone pe
riod ” is succeeded iby a copper period; for cop
per requires, comparatively, but little smelting,
and is often found entirely pure. This is called
the “ bronze period ” —a period, we believe, to
which our ludians never arrived. In the “cop
per period," tillage was practiced, and the other
arts with tools of copper, at the same time that
I gold became known and esteemed. Last of all
j came iron.
It is inconceivable to what different purposes
iron can be applied, when no other material, nor
all other materials combined, could answer the
purpose—a cambric needle aud a Nasmyth ham
mer; the peacemaker, carrying a two hundred
pound ball, and the most delicate surgeon’s in
strument ; the anchor of a seventy-four, and one
| of Rodger's razors; the huge engine, and the
j mainspring of a watch; that all things, contrast
' ing so much in quality, appearance, size, delica
cy, and use, should be made of the same mate
rial, is passing strange.
Nor have we all the uses to which iron can
be appropriated, been even j'ct fully understood.
Every day and year seems to bring forth a new
one. A century ago, lie -would have been a
bold man who would have ventured to predict
that the time would come when houses would be
built of iron, and when it would be used, to the
exclusion of every other material, in the construc
tion of ships and bridges.
—
The average income of the Mexican Church
is twenty-five millions a year, while the revenue
of the national government of the republic is on
ly fifteen millions.
Content hangs not so high but that a man on
the ground may reach it.
PERSONAL , Ti
The Philadedpiiia Enquirer says that Rem
brandt Peale and Thomas Sully, the eminent
Philadelphia artists, are engaged in painting
each other’s portrait. Mr. Joseph Harrison, a
j wealthy and liberal gentleman of this city origi
j nated this enterprise, aud has commissioned j
each of the venerable artists to do this service i
for the other. Mr. Peale lias recently entered.
upon ihs eighty-second year, and this month
■ Mr. Sully will be seventy-six.
Leigh Hunt , in the Spectator, relates the fol
lowing anecdote of Charles Lamb:
“It is surprising what a reserve of dulness
and pedantry there is in the corners of some ,
person’s understanding, who are not otherwise j
without cleverness. A gentleman of this kind j
was once dilating superfluously on the virtues
of honesty, in a company in which Charles
Lamb was present, smoking liis pipe. At the i
close of the harangue, Charles, taking the pipe
out of his mouth, said with an air as grave ns
if he was going to dispute the gentleman’s con
clusion: “Do you mean to say, then, that a
thief is not a good man?’ The other, surprised
at first at the wording of the question, looked,
nevertheless, as if he was so bent on seriously
maintaining that point, that it is believed he
would actually have done so, had lie not been
prevented by an irresistible burst of laughter
from the rest of the persons present.
Herr Leopold de Meyer, as a piano-forte player, j
is one of the wonders of the age. - Os this the ;
profession generally have been long aware, but i
the public were not fully enlightened until
Tuesday, when a concert was given at the Han- j
over-square Rooms. Nearly every piece selected
for performance was of his own composing. His 1
powerful finger, rapid execution, and dashing
style—now raising a thunder-clap of chords,
and anon dealing them out in the faintest whis
pers—created no less an amount of astonishment
than delight. The facility that he lias discovered
in travelling the mysterious ins and out 3 of the
keyboard are truly wonderful.
Both the playing, as well as the composition
of Herr Leopold de Meyer, are strongly impress
ed with the stamp of individuality; in proof of
which we need only cite his “Airs Hongrois”
and “ The Mermaid”—pieces that can scarcely
be played with effect by any person other than
himself. It is somewhat late in the day to at
tempt an analysis of the doings of this extra
ordinary artist. His fume is European, and iiis
works are regarded as the productions of a mast
er who lias founded a school,
Loudon Athenaeum.
A CORRESPONDENT of the Ijondon Athenaeum ,
writing from Rome, says:
“ Miss Hosmer's knowing little Puck, perched ;
on a mushroom, with a nettle hi one hand, and j
a lizard in the other, is almost too well known ;
to need description. The Cenei, mournful and
despairing. Hung on a couch in utter prostration,
the night before her execution, her rosary trail
ing on the ground. scarcely held by the listless
hand, is full of deep feeling. One wonders to
see such mature works from such bauds.”
Miss Hosmcr IB living ill Rouie with Miss
Charlotte Cuslihian, with whose name all our
j readers are familiar.
Miss Hosmer’s name is familiar to all lovers
of art in this country. The daughter of a physi
cian now residing at Watertown, Massachusetts,
Miss Hosmer was born in that town some twenty
seven years ago, and was educated at Miss
Sedgwick’s school at Lenox. Her taste for art
developed itself at an early age, and as soon as
j she reached womanhood she repaired to Rome,
and entered Mr. Gibson's studio as a pupil.—
Under the guidance of that renowned master she
i fulfilled her youthful promise; her first work—a
head of Medusa, for Mr. Appleton of Boston—was
deservedly lauded by the critics. Since then
she lias executed various statues of remarkable
merit, among others a Beatrice Cenci, which at
tracted great attention last year.
She is now engaged on a statue of Zenobia—
which will be seeu in our engraving. Letters
from Rome tell us that it will vindicate Miss
Hosmer’s claim to a very high rank among the
sculptors of the day.— Harper's Weekly.
The Maryland Picture. —A Paris letter says:
Mr. Edwin White, an American artist, who has
been residing for some years in Paris, returns to
the United States in about ten days, with his
much admired picture of “ General Washington
Resigning the Commaud of the American Army.”
It is painted for the Seriate House at Annapolis,
where the scene described took place, aud at
the expense of the State of Maryland. The can
vass is about nine by fourteen feet; it contains
about tliirty portraits, besides many imaginary
figures, and, as a composition, 1 think it will be
esteemed as highly as any in which the person
of Washington lias ever been made the promi
nent feature.
The Rome correspondent of the London Athe
naeum describes an interesting work in the stu
dio of Mr Randolph Rodgers, the American
sculptor. It is a model of a pair of doors to be
cast in bronze for the capitol at Washington.
It is a government commission. The subject,
singularly suitable, is the discovery of America
by Columbus. There are nine compartments,
each a graceful picture; the chef-d'oeuvre is the
lauding on the shores of the new world, which
forms the principal subject, and dominates over
the whole, being beneath tlie arch and extend
ing over both doors. The dtlier group represent
the most striking incidents in the history of the
great Genoese. The model has been sent to
Munich to be cast, and lias excited great admi
ration among the German artists. Should the
projected exhibition take place in London in
1861, the doors will be sent thither previous to
their departure for America.
M. de Lamartine cannot bo flattered by tell
ing him he is a great poet, or a great orator—
his weak point is to be considered a great mana
ger ; how weak the point is, liis six ’ hundred
thousand dollars of debts show. M. Tiieophile
Gautier is afraid to go to sleep unless he has
somebody’s hand in liis; sleep is so much like
death, lie says.
•
An excellent bust of Emerson, has been
made by King, the Boston sculptor, of which
small copies in plaster will be sold. The artist
is said to have done full justice to the ample
nasal protuberance that Emerson possesses, and
has slighted no peculiarity of liis countenance.
Ox one occasion the great Prince Esterhazy,
who scattered diamonds where he walked, came
to see him. Aberxetiiy was at lecture, and not
visible. The Prince waited, fuming. lie rang
and called. Three times “ the Prince” was an
nounced by the servants, who were more afraid
of Abernethy than even the great Hungarian
Prince. It was just Sylla and Charybdis over
again. At the third announcement, a black
cloud gathered on Abernethy’s brows; lie slam
med his book to me, and said—
“ I will come to the Prince 1”
“Mr. Abernethy,” said the Prince, “do you
know who 1 am you have been keeping here ?
I am the Prince Esterhazy.”
“And I,” said the Doctor, “am John Aber
nethy, and this is my man James. James,
show the Prince the door.”
FUN, FACT, AND PHILOSOPHY.
A Candid and Conscientious Witness.—A
witness, on entering the box, had a Testament
presented to him, but he declined to be sworn.
Being asked his reasons for refusing, he naively
replied : “I'll tell a lie wi’ ony mon i’ England,
i but I’ll not swear to it.”
A Costly Book. —The Providence Journal
adduces facts and figures to show that Major
I Emery’s report upon the Mexican Boundary
Commission has cost the national treasury three
times as much as all the books in the Astor li
brary, or more than three hundred thousand dol
! lars.
The English Language.—The difficulty of
applying rules to the pronunciation of our lan
guage may be illustrated in two lines, where
the combination of the letters ough is pronounced
\ in no fewer than seven different ways, viz.:
Though the tough cough anti hiccough plough me through
0 or Uft 8 (lark bough my course I still pursue.
Depend on Yourself.— Most young men
consider it a great misfortune to be born poor,
or not to have capital enough to establish them
selves at their outset in life in a good and com
fortable business. This is a mistaken notion.
So far from poverty being a misfortune to them,
if we may judge from what we every day be
hold, it is really a blessing; the chance is more
than ten to one against him who starts with a
fortune.
1 Villains seldom train vines over cottage doors.
If you do when you are alone what you are
i unwilling to do in the presence of your acquaint’
| ances, you respect them more than you do your
| self.
How is it proved that Adam was orthodox in
his sentiments ? Because his belief was un
doubtedly Eve-angelical.
“Woman, lovely woman!”said Brown; “wliat
is the world without woman? Yes, if there
| were no women in the world, we should all be
miserable! They are the primeval cause of all
happiness I”—“No doubt,” put in that cynic
Robinson ; “for they are the prime evil them
selves.”
The locomotive engine built by Mr. Stephen
son, in 1825, has been placed on'a pedestal in
the town of Darlington, England, in front of the
station of the Stockton and Darlington railroad.
This engine was in its day, considered a mirac
ulous achievement. Its first trip was from Shil
; don to Stockton, a distance, of twenty miles,
; which it accomplished in five hours. It weighs
only eight tons, while engines now weigh about
twenty-five.
W earing Rings. —When a lady is not en
gaged, she wears the ring on her first finger—if
engaged, on her second—if married, on her third
—and if she intends to remain unmarried, she
| wears the ring on her fourth finger.
In a recent pistol target shooting at Peoria,
111., the ladies entered the list, and took six out
of the nine prizes.
In any controversy the instant we feel angry,
we have already ceased striving for truth, and*
begun striving for ourselves.
Virtue and happiness are mother and daugh
ter.
Troubles are liko babies—tiiev grow bigger
by nursing. Don’t meet troubles half way, for
they are not worth the compliment.
With what “ net ” is a man soonest caught ?
Net profits.
And a woman ? A coronet.
• Thf. Spiritualists at Sturgis, Mich., have built
and consecrated a Gothic temple, costing six
thousand dollars.
Cincinnati claims the liohor of having tho
largest Chess Club in the Union. It has one
hundred and sixty members.
The income of Dr. Chapiu's church, in New
York, from pew rents, is seventeen thousand
dollars. He has a comfortable salary of six
thousand dollars.
“ W hat is the origin of tho Cap of Liberty ?”
The cap among the ancient Romans was an em
blem of liberty. When the owner of a slave in
Rome had resolved on making him a free man,
he presented him with the piletts or cap. Tho
right to wear the pileits in public was all that
was necessary to constitute the former slave a
Roman citizen. The Romans borrowed this
custom from the Phrygians.
The Atlantic telegraph, though buried in tho
sea, and at present motionless, is not supposed
to be quite dead. It ouly sleepeih—according
to the motion ofthe more sanguine of its stock
holders. Stimulated by a British govemmeut
guarantee of eight per cent, on a capital of nearly
three million of dollars, the company has revived,
and is about to expend one hundred thousand dol
lars in resurrecting the old cable, as well as tho
necessary sum to lava new one of an improved
description in July, ’ 1860. We can only say,
with Dickon’s reticent hero, “Barkis is willing.”
but invests nothing in a sinking fund.
A friend is one who jumps down and puts
on the drag when he finds that you aro going
down hill too fast.
To wait too long for a guest is a breach of
politeness towards all who have arrived punc
tually.
Difficulties. —Difficulties are clearly God's
own intervention, to try our tempers, and prove
the metal that is in us. Without them, life
would be neither a struggle nor a trial, and man
would run his race, leaving no marks to distin
guish his course from that of other men. Diffi
culties, which are the plea of the timid and lag
gard, the excuse of the idle, and tho shoal on
which the multitude wreck their richer argosies,
are the sport of the bold and the spur of the per
severing. The earnest, manly spirit looks upon
the difficulties that hinder the coward and slug
gard, as opportunities for distinction. Fortune
and renown wait upon their vanquishment. Who
has made a name in the world without con
quering difficulties?
A base wretch, in tho form of a man, was, a
few weeksl since, introduced to a lovely and con
fiding girl of sixteen. He pressed her hand,
and said in a thrilling tone, that he thought the
“ recent sleighing had rendered the ladies more
lovely than ever.” She blushed, and said “very.”
Her parents considered the matter as. settled,
but he basely deserted the young lady, .after ad
dressing this pointed language to her,, and has
never called at her house since.
A writer in a Philadelphia paper, describing,
a fashionably dressed young gentleman, says
that he wore “ a blue necktie, knotted with tlie.
graceful ease of one of Macaulay’s sentences."
Who says we are not a literary peopla,?
At a trial, recently, the jury returned the
following verdict: “Guilty, with' some little
doubt as to tvhether he is the man."
A pretty toy has been invented in. England,
called the kaleidoscopic top. Tho idea is to
blend the primary colors by rapid motion, and
then break them by an intervening .card, cut in
to patterns.
Nature is a pattern maid of all work, and
does the best when least meddled with. She
knows her work, and does it, if left alone.