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Southern Field and Fireside.
VOL. 1. {'"KSSSEr*}
[For the Southern Fluid *an<l Fireside.]
MEMORY.
I wandered erst, along the shore of Life;
Its breezes softly fanned my childhood's brow;
I watched the ocean-birds on skimming wing,
And listed to the ripples’ murmuring flow.
A store of gathered shells was in my grasp;
But a» the swift-winged moments speeded by. ,
They, one by one, fell from my careless clasp,
And I passed gaily on, unhecdingly.
Youth's crown was on my brow. With buoyant step,
I trod Life’s sun-lit shorestill on, still on!
And soon of Childhood's store, my gathered shells,
The last had dropped. They were all gone, all gone !
Forward! still forward! And when Time had writ
The record, on his page, of many a year.
When I had seen Earth's hopes and blessings flit,
And shed o’er Joys departed, many a tear,
An Angel came, and placed within my hand
A casket fair, inwrought with tiny cells;
And there, as in a lairy nest, were laid
The treasures lost—my childhood's ocean-shells!
And they, with fairy music, sang to me
In plaintive murmurs, as of far off seas
The low sweet voice, when with the sparkling waves,
In frolic mood, disports the ocean-breeze.
And would’st thou know the name of these bright shells ?
And would’st thou know the burden of their song?
And who the Angel fair that gently came,
And rendered back the treasures lost so long ?
ttic itiitvti **"**— -i* l u' liannir —y
Os girlhood's joys they whisper pleasantly I
And she, of Angel form, who to my gaze
Gave back the shells, Is Whlte-robett Memory !
LiLLT-BKLL.
[For the Southern Field and Fireside.]
THE WHITTINGTON CLUB.
No. 7.
- Bishop. —Have you seen the 9th volume of
Appleton's New Cyclgpoedia ?
Whittington. —Yes, and I think it sustains ad
mirably the reputation oi the volumes preceding
it. This Cyclopmdia promises to be a great and
valuable work. It is somewhat original in its
plan, which has, so far; been ably, and what is
more unusual, impartially executed. The am
plest justice to the genius and achievements of
all sections of our country, appears to be the in
fluencing principle and motto of the publishers.
Southern writers have invariably been engaged
to treat of Southern themes ; and thus, almost
for the first time in the history of American lit
erature, the intellect and the performances of
our people have received their dues of acknow
ledgment and commendation.
Bishop. —Of course you have heard the objec
tions urged against the work, on account of the
alleged black republicanism of it*editors ?
Whittington.— Certainly; but we need not re
vive the discussion of a question, which arose
last week, when you produced your criticism up
on Godwin's History of France.
Bishop. —Just as you please, although you
have not converted me to your opinion yet.
Whittington.— 11 A wilful man maun hae his
way,” as the Scotchman says; the light, how
ever, will doubtless visit you on the subject, be
fore you die. As for the ninth volume of the Cy
clopedia, I would observe, that so far as I have
been able to examine it, the contributions by
John Esten Cooke on a variety of topics—bio
graphical and political —are, to my taste, among
the most entertaining and satisfactory papers in
the book. I refer especially to the Lives of
Patrick Henry and of .Washington Irving. The
former is written with remarkable care, and with
a sustained and contagious enthusiasm. The
subject is evidently a favorite one with Mr.
Cooke, and he has labored upon it con amore.
His analysis of Patrick Henry’s mind, and the
causes of his peculiar success as advocate and
orator is just, philosophical and acute. How
well he expresses bis views upon the extraordi
nary combination of powers possessed by that
eloquent man, the “mouthpiece,” as he terms
him, “ of the Revolution."
No less striking, and, probably, no less true
than the description qf Henry’s genius and mor
al resources, is the picture which follows, of bis
personal appearance. I beg that you will read
both passages at your earliest leisure.
In reference to Henry’s private habits, Mr.
Cooke informs us that he indulged in none of
the vices of high living, then so prevalent —that
he was singularly temperate and frugal, rarely
drinking anything but water, and thus present
ing the strongest possible contrast to his con
temporaries.
Bishop. —l can perfectly understand how it
was, that a man Eke Patrick Henry, should
care nothing'for the pleasures of the table, or,
indeod, for any sensual gratification. Favored
by God with a robust frame, and an ardent tem
perament, circumstances plac«d him in the
midst of events the most momentous and ex
citing* Patriotism, as developed in V* nature,
was in itself a tremendous stimulant, Hiding,
in fact, admittting of no other stimulant, arti
ficial in its character.
Whittington.—l think that you are right
Bishop! It is ouly to the man of feeble body
or mind, whose existence is burdensome, or
aimless, that stimulants of a dangerous kind
can ever naturally appeal, as powerful and
overcoming temptations. I say naturaJhj, for, of
course, any man, the most robust and sprightly,
can cultivate a passion fbr “ strong drink,” for
opium, hasheesh, or any of the innumerable
agents of destruction which exist in the world.
* * * By the way, Hal, speaking of cyclo
paedias, &e., Ac., what is your opinion of AlH
bone's Dictionary of Authorst
Bishop. —l regard it as a full and candid
work, invaluable as a production for literary
references. It differs lrom the “ Cyclopaedia ” of
Appleton, inasmuch as the purpose of the com
piler is to introduce the names of distinguished
authors only. Beyond this department of letters
the “ Dictionary” does not pretend to go; but
the work strikes me as being quite as able and
conscientious of its kind as the more ambitious
publication you have justly commended.
Whittington. —l have been reading a singu
lar volume of poems, issued some months ago;
the name of the author is Sydney Dobell ; have
you encountered his work?
Bishop. —No! But I remember to have seen
several notices of it in the prominent English
Reviews.
Whittington. —Mr. Dobell is a remarkable
writer, whose life and poems are both worthy
of consideration. He was bom in England,
(but the exact spot has not been designated],
upon-Apm J-n, iunr~TTrs Ta'JSrTTTCTfn, w«
descended from a younger branch of an ancient
Sussex family, notable as cavaliers in tho days
of King Charles. This branch had, we are
told, maintained the intellectual tastes that
distinguished the original stock, and the names
of several members figure in Allibone’s Dic
tionary. The family is, beyond question, one
ot the oldest in Great Britain, for the arms
now borne by them were confirmed by Camden
in 1604, a circumstance which proves that
they must have been granted long before that
period. John Dobell, the immediate progenitor
of Sydney, was, like his son, an author.—
He produced a book, said to be able and origi
nal in plan ana execution, called “Man Unfit to
Govern Man." He married a Miss Julietta
Thompson, daughter of the famous London
reformer in politics and religion, Samuel
Thompson. Os this marriage there were
ten children, of whom Sydney being the eldest
son. The poet’s earlier years were spent at
Peckham and at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.
When nearly twelve, Sydney entered his father’s
counting house, in which he served as a clerk for
upwards of eleven years. In 1844, when about
twenty, he married a daughter of the Cam
bridgeshire house of Fordham, one of the most
ancient families in the realm. We find him soon
after, lodging, with his wife, among tho roman
tic ranges of the Cotswold hills; here he began
his drama of*“ The Roman," which w»s subse
quently completed at Coxhome House, in Carl
ton Ring’s, a beautiful valley near Cheltenham.
During this time he was released from business,
and became a sleeping partner in his father’s
firm. As soon as this arrangement was con
summated, Sydney Dobell went to Switzerland,
and there it was that he commenced his second
elaborate drama, published not long afterwards,
as “ Balder .” Upon tho appearance of this
work, in 1853, Mr. Dobell visited Edinburgh and
other parts of Scotland. Forming the acquaint
ance of Alexander Smith, he entered into a lit
erary partnership with him, the result of which
was the composition of a brief volume, entitled
“ Sonnets on the War," i. e., the allied war against
Russia.
In the spring of ’SB, our poet took Cleeve Tow
er, a small fort near the highest point (1150
feet) of his favonte Cotswold Hills, where he
now resides, overlooking an English landscape
of eighty miles by fifty.
Bishop. —Why, you spoke as if there had been
something remarkable in this young man’s life.
I confess the details seem to me extremely bald.
Whittington. —l did not mean to say that his
biography presented any startling incidents; I
merely designed drawing your attention to the
unusually favorable circumstances under which
Mr. Dobell lias thus far been permitted to prose
cute his artistic labors. Even the toils of his
counting-house career appear to have been light;
and you cannot fail to remark that the best years
of his early manhood have been passed among
scenes of exquisite natural beauty, the influ
ence of which ought to have been genial aud in
spiring in the highest degree.
Bishop.— Ought to have been! but were they ?
Whittington. —The few critical notes I am
about to read to you, will show: “ Mr. Dobell’s
mind, if I may so express myself, seems to be
.divided into two distinct compartments, one of
them presided over by a veritable ‘imp of the
perverse,’ a spirit, affected, unnatural, ‘ not to
be endured,’ whilst the other is governed by a
genius, vigorous, beautiful and true. ‘ The Ro
man’ and 1 Balder’ are, upon tho whole, origi
nal and striking poems, but the unity of art in
both of them is defective. After passages of re
al sublimity, the reader fc affronted by a page or
two of the obscurest, most detestable rant.
“ Again, when we come to oxamino Mr. Do-
AUGUSTA, GA., SATURDAY, MAY 12, 1860.
bell’s miscellanies, this strange inequality of
power in conception and execution likewise, be
comes still more glaringly apparent.
“ Between the piece, for example, called ‘An
Evening Dream,’ with its union of contempla
tive pathos, and stirring martial music, —and,
such a miserable abortion (one among many
similar specimens of doggerel)—as the rhymes
entitled ‘Wind,’ there is an almost unlimited
interval. How the author of the fiist noble
poem could have penned the second, surpasses,
I confess, my comprehension. As an instance
of the depth of inanity to which a man of ge
nius may descend, pray listen to the following
‘ Oh! tho wold, the wold.
Oh! the wold, the wold.
Oh! the winter stark,
Oh! the level dark.
On the wold, the wold!'; Ac. •
And in this strain, Mr. Dobell, who really is a
poet, goes on for some eight or ten stanzas.
‘ Even poor Matt Lee never wrote verses more
thoroughly absurd. Mr. Dobell’s ‘ Sonnets on
the War,’ are decidedly the' best of his minor
performances. The burning imaginative power,
the terse, forcible rhythm, and the delicate, often
prefound feeling which they exhibit, could not
be too highly “commended. In illustration of
my remarks I would cite, and especially suggest
for your perusal, the two sonnets entitled
‘ L’Avenir,’ and ‘ The Army Surgeon.’
———■♦» i —i
ORIGIN OF PROVERBIAL EXPRESSIONS.
explanatipns given as to the origin of this term.
The most plausible seems to be the following
by Charles Knight, who says:
“I have always thought that the phrase,
‘ Mind your p’s and q’s,’ was derived from the
school room or the printing office. The forms
of tho small ‘p’ and ‘q’ in the Roman type, have
always been puzzling to the child and the print
er’s apprentice. In the one, the downward
stroke is on the left of the oval; in the other, on
the right. Now, when the types are reversed,
as thpy are when in the process of distribu
tion they are returned by the compositor to his
case, the mind of the young printer is puzzled
.to distinguish the ‘p’ from the ‘q.’ In sorting
pi, or a mixed heap of letters, where the ‘p’
and the ‘q’ are not in connection with any other
letters forming a word, I think it would almost
be impossible for an inexperienced person to
say which is which upon the instant. ‘ Mind
your ‘p's and q's' —l write it thus, and not
‘ Mind your P's and Q’s, —has a higher philoso
phy than ‘mind your toupees and your queues,’
which are things essentially different, and im
possible to be mistaken. It means, have regard
to small differences; do not be deceived by ap
parent resemblances; learn to discriminate be
tween things essentially distinct, but which
look the same; be observant; be cautious.”
“It Smells of the Lamp." —This was an ex
pression of contempt and reproach applied to
Demosthenes by rival orators envious of his
excellence and distinction. Demosthenes was
Doted for the great labor and extreme care with
which he always prepared himself before appear
ing upon the rostrum, before the people. His
speech, it was said, smells of the lamp,” {lou
hjehnou ■ ozei). In Plutarch ( Demosthenes ) is
found the following passage in relation to this
subject. After noting the constant laborious
preparation of Demosthenes, tho biographer
says:.
“Hence it was concluded that he was not a
man of much genius; and that all his eloquence
was the effect of labor. A strong proof of this
seemed to be, that he was seldom heard to speak
anything extempore, and though the people often
called upon him by name, as he sat in the as
sembly, to speak to the point debated, he would
not do it unless he came prepared. For this,
many of the orators ridicufed him; andPytlieas
in particular told him, 1 That all his arguments
smelled of the lamp.’ Demosthenes retorted
sharply upon him—‘Yes, indeed; but your
lamp and mine, my friend, are not conscious to
the same labors.’ ”
■‘ To Eat Humble Pie." —The humble pie of
former times was a pie made out of the “ am
bles” or entrails of the deer, a dish'of the
second table, inferior, of course, to tfae venison
pasty which smoked upon the dais, and there
fore not inexpressive of that humiliation which
the term “eating humble pie” now painfully
describes. The “ umbles” of the deer are con
stantly the perquisites of the gamekeeper.
“ The Wise Jfen of Gotham." —ln Thoroton’s
Nottinghamshire, vol. i, pp. 42, 43, the origin of
the general opinion about the wisdom of these
worthies is thus given, as handed down by tra
dition :
“ King John intending to pass through Goth
am towards Nottingham, wa3 prevented by the
inhabitants, they apprehending that the ground
over which a king passed was forever after to
become a public road. The king, incensed at
their proceedings, sent from his court, soou
afterwards, some of his servants to inquire of
them the reason of their incivility and ill treat
ment, that he might punish them. Tho villagers
hearing of the approach of tho king’s servants,
thought of an expedient to turn away bis ma-
jesty’s displeasure from them. When the mes
sengers arrived at Gotham, they found some of
the inhabitants engaged in endeavoring to drown
*an eel in & pool of water; some were employed
in dragging carts upon a large barn, to shade
the wood from the sun; and others were en
gaged in hedging a cuckoo, which had perched
itself upon an old bush. In short, they wore
all employed upon some foolish way or other,
which convinced the king’s servants that it was
a village of fpols.”
‘God tempers the wind to the shoi'n lamb." —
This saying is from Sterne’s Sentimental Journey.
He, however, takes it from tho French: ‘‘-4
brebis tondue Dieu mesure te vent ." It appears
to be of some antiquity, as it is to be found in
somewhat different versions in a collection of
proverbs published in 1594—“Dieu mesure le
froid d la brebis tondue.” “Dieu dontrc le froid
selon la robbe.” ’
‘‘Goesar's Wife must be above Suspicion." —The
origin of this proverb may be found in Plutarch
(title Julius Ccesar). In Rome, the annual festi
val in honor of Bona Dea (Good Goddess), Patron
ess of the Women, was held at the house either
of the Praetor or Consul. When Ciesar was
praetor, the anniversary fete was celebrated at
his house. No man could be present on these
occasions. The master of the house himself
went out, leaving the women alone. Pompeia,
Cesar's wife, was directress of the feast.
There was a ‘fast,’ wealthy young man of the
*»)HIW Wi,* WrlWrtie, ViiViH—» CUnjiiiiß hp
notoriously dissolute,but adored by the women—
a “dear little fellow,” whose name town-talk
had already connected lightly with Pompeia's.
Olodius, who was yet a beardless youth, thought
he might pass into the house upon occasion of
this fete, in woman’s apparel, undiscovered; and
in fact, taking the garb and instruments of a
female musician, ho looked very like one. He
entered; but his gaucherie promptly caused his
detection, —and the startling cry of “ a man in
the'house 1 a man in the house 1" spread horror
and consternation through the apartments.—
The ceremonies were suspended, and the ladies
all immediately went home, and told their hus
bands what had happened.
Os course there was great scandal in Rome
next day. Folks would talk. Human nature
does not seem to have altered much since then.
A bit of scandal in good society was almost as
much relished in Pagan Rome some eighteen
hundred and fifty years ago, as it is in a Chris
tian town of now-a-day. “ The abominable lit
tle wretch 1” said one. “ What impiety 1" Baid
another. “What impudence!" a third. One
“feared that - Pompeia did kuow something,
about it, beforehand." Another “hoped that,
after all, it was only impertinent curiosity and
youthful Indiscretion on his part, and that if
Pompeia did know about it, she didn’t mean any
harm either. “How daring! Is henotcliarm
ingl” Os course, it was a young man who said
that.
One of the tribunes impeached Clodius of im
piety, sacrilege, and what not; and on the trial
much worse things came out against him than
even t\jp present charges. Ciesar had divorced
Pompeia immediately after the flare-up; but
Clodius was acquitted.
“ C.csar, (says Plutarch) wherfcalled on as a
witness at the trial, declared he knew nothing
of what was alleged against Clodius. As this
declaration appeared somewhat strange, the ac
cuser demanded why, if that were'the case, he
had divorced his wife? 'Because,' said Ciesar,
1 I would have the chastity of my wife clear even
of suspicion !' Some say Cicsar’s evidence was
according to his conscience; others, that he gave
it to oblige tho people, who were set upon sav
ing Clodius.’ 1
We find, also, in Suetonius (Jul. Cmsar, 74),
the following passage having reference to the
same subject:
“The name of Pompeia, the wife of Julius
Ciesar, having been mixed up with an accusation
against P. Clodius, her husband divorced her ;
not, as he said, because he believed the charge,
but because lie would have those belonging to.
him as free from suspicion as from crime."
THE EARLIEST MENTION OF^tTANO.
It cannot be altogether to com
municate the date when tbe#iiowk-<]ge of Gua
l no and its fertilizing qualities first became known
in Europe. There is mention cf this substance
in the translation of the Spanish Jesuit, Joseph
de Acosta’s Mur all and Morall Ilustorte of the
East and West Indies. Acosta had resided sev
enteen years in Peru, and his work was first
printed at Seville in 1590. The extract (at p.
311)is as follows: .
“There are other birdes at the Indies, contra
rle to these, of so rich feathers, the which (be
sides that they are ill-favoured) serve to no oth
er use but for dung: and yet perchance they are
ofjio less profite. I have considered this, won
! dering at the providence of the Creator, who
| hath so appointed that all creatures should serve
than. Ir. some islands or pharts , which are
joyning to .he coast of Peru, wee see the toppes
of the mountains all white, and to sight you
would take it for snow, or for some white land:
but they are heapesa)f dung of sen lowle,which
I Two Dollar* Per Annum, I
1 Always In Advance. t
go continually thither; and there is so great
abundance as it riseth many elles, yea, many
launces in height, which seems but a fable.—
They go with boates to these islands, onely for
the dung, for there is no other profit in them.
And this dung is so commodious and profitable
as it makes the earth yeelde great aboundanee
of fruite. They call this dung guano , whereof
the valley hath taken the name, which they call
Limnguana, [ Lunaguana in the original J in the
valleys of Peru, where they use this dung, and
it is the most fertile of all that countre. The
quinces, poungranets, and other fruites there, ex
eeede all other in bountie and greatnes: and
they say the reason is, for that the water where
with they water it passeth by a land compassed
with'this dung, wijich causeth the beautie of
this fruite. So as these birds have not only the.
flesh to serve for raeate, their singing for recrea
tion, their fouthers for ornament and beautie,
but also their dung serves to fatten the ground.
The which hath bin so appointed by the sover
aigne Creator for the service of man, that he
might remember to acknowledge and be loyall
to Him from whom all good proceedes."
There is a mention of this substance in 1610,
in a little work then printed, called the Art of
Metalls, translated from the Spanish.. Although
the title pago of that edition does not mention
the name of the translator, he is known to have
been Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich. At
page 16 is tho passage alluded to :
• Cardanua. amongst his curiosities, makes
found); they were fain to dig very deep mines
to come at it It was white; and after they had
separated the plate it contained, they manured
their tilth-fields with the earth, which were put
in heart thereby for one hundred years after.
Out of islands in tho South Sea, not far from the
city of-Arica, they fetch earth that doth the
samo effect as the last afore-mentioned. It is
called Guano (i. e. dung); not because it is the
dung of sea-fowls (as many would have it), but
because of its admirable virtue in making
ploughed ground fertile. And that which is
brought from the island of Jqueyque is of a dark
gray colour, like unto tobacco ground small.
Although from other islands near Arica they
get a white earth, inclining to sallow, of the
same virtue. It instantly colours water Where
into it is put, as if it was the best ley, and
smells very strong. The qualities and virtues
of this, and of many other samples of the new
world, are a large field for ingenious
discourse philosophically upon, when they shall
bend their minds to the searching out of truth,
rather than riches.”
THE WANDERING JEW.
The legend of a Jew ever wandering and
never dying, evezf from the crucifixion of Christ
to this day, has spread over many European
countries. The accounts, however, as in full fa
bles, disagree. One version is this: When Je
sus was led to death, oppressed by the weight
of the cross, he wished to rest himself near the
gate at the house of a shoemaker named Ahas
uerus. This man, however, sprang forth and
thrust him away'. Jesus turned towards him,
saying, “ I shall rest, but thou shalt move on
till I return.” And from that time he has had no
rest, and is obliged, incessantly, to wander s
about.
Another version is that given by Mathias Pa
risiensis, a monk of tbm 13th century : When
Jesus was led from tho tribunal of Pilate to death
the door-keeper, named Cartafflious, pursued
him from behind with his foot, saying, “ Walk
on Jesus, quickly; why dost thou tarry?” Je
sus looked at him gravely, and said, “ I walk
on, but thou shalt tarry till I come.” And this
man is still alive, wanders from place to place,
iu constant dread of tb* wrath to com*-.
A third legend &*Ms that this w*ndenng Jew
falls sick every-® imdred year* but recovers and
renews his strength; hence it is that, even after
so mapr'centuries, h® does not look much older
thiur a Septuagenarian.
Thus much for the legends. Not one of the
ancient authorities makes t>Tt:ri mention of an
account. The first wio reports some such thing
is a monk of the 13tli century, when, as is
known, the world was filled with pious fiction,
even to disgust However, the story has spread
far, so that it has become a proverb, “He runs
about like the Wandering Jew.” But when
their evidence is examined by the test of histori
cal credibility, it is found that some impostor
had made use of this fable to impose upon sim
ple minded people for some purpose of his own.
However, the legend is not altogether untrue;
there is a wandering Jew who royes about Eu
rope, every century. This imperishable being
is—prejudice against the Jews. — [Jewish Chro
nicle.
Mu. PitEscorr s bequest to the Library of
Harvard College has taken efleet by -the trans
fer to that institution of two hundred and eigh
ty-two volumes, some of them MSS., and oth
e’rs of great variety, forming the entire collec
tion of his original materials for the “History or
Ferdinand and Isabella,”
Auose —Unwelcome truths.
NO. 51. i