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DEVOTED TO SOUTHERN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, NEWS, LHERATURk, AGRIC SIENCE ADTERS WILLIAM LEWIS, - POREOS .* JOHN S. RICHARDSON, J., PRPRIETORS. VL__V___________1ERMS-- 1 CN ADVANC VOL. VIII._ SUMTERVILLE, S. C., A UGUST 10, 1854. THE SUMTER BANNER. IS PUULSIur.D Every Wednesday Morning BY Lewis & Richardson. TE ERMS, --TWO DOLLARS in advance, Two Dollars and Fifty Cents at the expiration of aix months or Three Dollars at the end of the year. No paper discontinued until all arrearages are PA 10, unless at the option of the Proprietor. . , Advertisements inverted at SEV1'NTY FI : Cents per square, (12 lines or less,) for the first, and half that statn for eachi subsequent insertion, (Oflieial advertisetents the same each time). W The number of insertions to be marked on all Advertisements or they will be published until onered to be discontinued, and charged accordingly. . 27ONE DOLLAR per square fora single insertion. Quarterly and aMonthly Adivertise menta will be charged the sante as a single in sertion. and semi-nonthly the sameas uew ones Fro:n the Columbia Banner. FIRST PRIZE TALE. IIOIUA E L ALLS COT ; -oR TIlE SHOT IN TIME. A STORY OF MARION'S MEN. BY J. W. ELWVIN. CHAPTEI I I. [CONTINUED FROM LAST lSsUE.] CHAPTER II. " Oh that We, In those blest woods where first you won my soul, Had passed our gentle days far from toil And din of war! Such is the wish of love Of love that with delightful weakness Knows no bliss and no ambition but itself." The evening repast was over, when Dora Singlet.on immediately retired to her apartment but not to sleep. Her pathway had ceased to wind among roses, and care and anxiety were heavy at her heart. .The old family mansion, where she still dwelt with her step-father-a man of moody and sullen temper, whose treatment was not always tenpered by that kindness and consideration which should have been the lot of one so tender and young-was orte of those pietaresque buildings of that style so pleasing to our ancestors sone gene. rations ago, but which have altogether disappeared in this utilitarian age. It was a quiet and dignified looking old mansion, somewhat quaint in its ap pearance and style, yet sufficiently ca pacious to have conveniently sheltered under its pyramidal roof some two or three generations of those prolitie days. Antiquaetd cupboard,s; with shelves well hidden by neatly Umiinelled doors that reached even up to, the ceiling, filled tip here and there the corner of im apartment, while doors innumerable ppened into mysterious closets on evo. ry side. Dora had retired into her bed chan jer in the second story of the building the wd ils of which were decorated with portraits of her fither and nothier,,tiat seemed to look down fondly upon the beautiful and untriended orphan. A small silver lamp of exquisite work 2nanship shed its clear light over her beautiful features, pale indeed, yet wondrously itir, so that she scarcely seemed a being of earth. H1er glance had in it that strangely tacinat ing pow er that belongs only to beauty of a rare and high order of perfectiou. It was only such as could belong to a p.roud, and generous, and sensitive nature, that seemed wvithout an eff'ort to reach tho hearts of' all others, while it be trayed not event in a moment the se crets of its own. All the magic grace of nature lived with her and seemed to dwell in the air sihe breathed. HeIr hair, of at very dark shade, yet hot wholy black, was tastefully bound in the becomningv Grecian knot, and 4vh~ere it was gathered fronm the nieck it formed a lovely contrast with the dazzling white skini beneath. Iher firms, left bare to the elbow, or but slightly concealed from view by unldersleeves of'a most delicate textture afull and most temptingly round. eid, and her small band, on tho fingers of which glittered a single ring bearinig at gem of the first water, was of' aristo c.ratic loveliness. Dora had not lingered long over the trifle on which te was sewing, when * she cast it aside with a sigh, blew out be-r lamp, glided across the apartment and thlrowinig open the easement, stood dpon the balcony on the front of' the Izansion. 'Ihere, leaning upon the ~lender railing which encompassed it, Joith h'brohad upon her palm, she ly~ifed aroad npo the dim lanadscape w hich spread ont before her. All was now p.acemful and serene. hel llowlinug st'o'in; wh'had hovered 4bove but a few hours before with wmgtis of appall ing blackness, had pass td away with his host of su1tpherious p ~ uds, anid tihe bright stars were -7 ' ~ul~ng ca-hntly on the sky, while the 1lighJt mo,- -, rapidly ascending thte sluI~rn hiOriMApobred down A m el low and leaf to glisten like burnished silver. The prospect before the maiden was beautiful indeed. The house, which was situated upon a gently sloping hill, commanded a fine view of the sur rounding country, and on every side but one, lay extended fields, with nothing to impede the view. To the left of the avenue, which led off direct ly from the noble mansion, was an uncultivated forest, which extended to the east and the north as fir as the eye could reach, where. the pine and the oak mingled their foliage together, and where many a gentle stream curled on over snowy sands under the impene trable shade. The landscape thyt spread out before the maiden was quj etand lovely. A flood of yellow Ii rested upon the broad scene, and' reflected back from field and for sii soft lights and shadows, It was one of those calm and glori. ous nights of oriental brightness, when every sound is still, and every voice hushed to repose-when the beauty of Eden seems to revisit the earth, and banish for a season its corroding cares and consuming sorrows. Dora had a heart to feel all the beauty of the hour. The poetry of love was with her, and her thoughts were away with the young soldier of his country, who had been content to turn away even from her, and undego the toils and privations of the camp for the noble cause of independence. She loved him with that generous and un calculating devotion, that in one of her temperamet.t and blood, almost amounted to idolatry. Though meet. ing but rarely, and latterly only by stealth, yet his image was continually present to her mind. Of late there had been many. causes at work to diminish the peace and happiness of the maiden. The coun try was overrun by prowling ban ds of tories, and nowhere throughout the whole State was there a band of patri ots sufficiently formidable to stand against the invader or to appear in arms. he tidy art dor Mferiun, w-h;,,1, still refused to disL..d.;, could scarcely he called an exception to this rule; for pert up in the fastness of the swamp it lay hidden from the enemy, while its locality was a myster) even to the most undoubted patriots of his own party. As the maiden leaned over the bal ustrade, the full light of the moon shining down softly upon her beautiful figure, that seemed still more voluptu ous as she stood exposed to the influ. ence of that bewitching light that soft ens even the downy cheek of beauty, and gives perfection to its loveliness, one might almost observe the tear drop flashing across her bright eyes, while she mused alone on her young hopes, the fruition of which seemed yet so distant. Around h.r, throughout the whole land, the foot of the invador trod triumphantly upon the soil, and even the. most hopeful of the patriots began to tremble at the prospects of subjugation. Well did she know the fate that awaited her lover should the invader finially triumph over a pros trite country. IIer hopes would then be but, a delusive dream, and her heart, wjdpwed ini its afletion, break with its burden, or beat on through a sad existence, maddeied b'y its bereve ment. Besides these anticipations of evils, as yet distant anid onliy covijecturdil, there were more immvediate causes of agilety and angyance which harass ehepece, and .wer,o fruitful of miuch unecasiness anid distress, from which she determined to free herself, ev'en though it should be necessary to resort to the mast energetic measures. 11cr homve had ofrlate beeni frequiently 5 isit~ed by tho leaders of the royalists -muosthy, if not altogether, imen of abanidoa.ed charaicters anid dissolute habits--who could nowv with impunityv veniture abroad, anvd boldly, too, in' a country where there was~ no longer pmower to keep themv in wholesome awe; and mocre than onie of these mvilitary freebooters laud cast glances of afdvit: ration and covetous ex pecttitions upon the rich heiress of Suter. F'oremnost amnong' these, and espe eiavlly detessed by Dora, was the tory herder Ilarrisoni, who regarded her as a prize well wcni by hais unserupulous devotion to the cause of the mother country. P'atienvtly had lie borne her withering scorn avid her freely mani fested detestation of his character, in the presumiptuous hope that the finval hour of triumph would wring fi om her however reluctantly, a convsent to wed lhim. le had becomie a frequvenyt guest at her father's house, whe courted the society of the bloody anid viek man wbom his more courageous 0 e abhorred. The gentle Dora was leaning oar the balustrade and nursing upon thve nmournful cireumustanices that darkened the sunshine of her hiappi~eers, and bit ter where her meditations as she called to) mind her unfriended anid desolate situvationu sincelhe stood isolated fromr the world. and w1ithv scarce ne ric,.. to whom she could unburden herself with a hope of sympathy. As she stood looking out upon the scene before her, suddenly the neighing of a horse reach. ed her ears from the road which pass. ed along at right angles to the avenue about half a mile distant. Again the sharp shrill neigh rose upon the air like the clear blast of a clarion, and Dora imagied she could almost hear the tramp of her lover's steed along the firm and trodden highway. She gazed intently down the long avenue, taxing her eye-sight to the utmost to distinguish the horse or rider through the gloom as he p;e he poirt where the evenue intersocted the highway. Iis the ~-r shir ~i'dli vg e'.mne," Th imi'rct t aiden, asv' liar hand she shadea her eyes fr ho strong glare of the moon, and gi&N intently down the avenue. A momelt more and she beheld the moonlights glistening upon the sleek coat of a t'pow. erful animal, as he turned oftfrom the highway, and entered the avenue lead ing to the house. " God be praised, it is indeed he," site exclaimed, as she recognized the well known steed of her lover. "Mi chael comes," and retiring to her cham ber, she relighted her lamp, and waved it thrice joyfully at her window, to tell her lover that she had watched for and discovered his coming. Then casting herself upon her knees and burying her fhee ir. her hands, wept tears of thankfulness and joy, for the safe return of one who was dearer to her heart than life itself. Some ten or fifteen minutes had elapsed, and this beautiful woman still knelt with her face buried in her hands-; when suddenly a rustling was heard an'ong the leaves of the oak that grew near her window to the right of the portico, and a slight jar ring among its boughs, and a grating against the trunk, such as would be caused by one elimbing from below. She rose to her feet, and a glance through the open window served to re. man, who had ascended the tree to the height of the window, and was now making his way along a bough that projected to within a few inches of one of the corner pillars of the balcony. In her surprise, her first impulse was to scream aloud, but the voice of her lover, whose quick eye had already discovered her, disarmed her fears for herself, and she now began to be se riously alarmed for the peril in which his seeming rashness had involved himself. The limb upon which he u as slowly making his way to the balcony was near thirty feet from the gravelly court beneath, and seemed quite too frail to support even the weight of a s!cnder stripling, much less one of the robust frame of Michael ; but while she stood petrified by astonishment and terror, great waq her delight to find her lover gradually nearing the column, then casting his arim around it, and finally releasing his hold of the bough, leap lightly to the balustrade, and at length stand safe and secure upon the balco ny. With a cry of joy she flew through the open door, and ihiling into his arms, releived her overrought feel ings by a flood of tears. "I am come," were the first words of her lover, as lie pressed her to his bosom, "but as seldom as we met, dear Dora, I find the country so unsafe for me, that we must, meet to part al miost ini one breath." "Not so soon, I trust, Michael ," answered Dora hastily ; "I haive so much to say to you, Itndt am so unhap,. py here, that I would follow you to thme camp, arid be even your servant thterc) rather thtan we should part again.' "I hope, mny dear Dora," anisweredl Michael, as lie led her from the balco ny into her chamber, "thait old Isaac Whorton has not, forgotten the kind ness dime you ?,' " Not that, Michael. not that," shte responded quickly, as sihe marked the flush of anger and1( surp~rise that, flashed over the earnest featuters of hatar lover, "biut out- neighborhood is no longer what it once was. Traitors walk openly abroad now, and even here in this stronghold of whliggery as it odec6 was, but five imiles distani, from this very spot, thme tories are to have a grand meeting on the day aller to inOrrow." "Ilahi! say you so !" replied Micha el eagerly, while a gleamt of joy flashed from his eyes. "WVhere uateet they, and how heard you news so iimportani, and welcome as this ?' " Welcome ! indeed to mec it is far otherwise !" responded the thin woijpan, while her cheek grew a shade pal' "I myself heard their leaders der this very roof~heni they Ligigly "old of the preparations th tad'inade *frthe rendezvou of.-4hei ragged fol lowers at the old field on TIarcote. A grand( supper is to be prepared for their traitorous guests. New weapons are to b'e distributed to their followers with an unsparing Mmad, and provis ions) clothing and mone vstowcd upon all who will join them. The whole country is astir; and the noto rious Tynes, who is to take command, is already in the neighborhood with a number of active and audacious follow ers." "On my soul, Dora," exclaimed Michael, with an anirmated gesture, "this will be noble news for my corn. inander. But had the rascally tories no fear that Marion would hear of their gathering, and be an unbidden guest '" " Indeed they do ;not," replied she. "Nor do they drea@'t of danger now. Marion is believed to be far distant, and too feeble, even if aware of their purpose, to venture abroad to oppose them." " On my soul they are fools as well as cravens !" mutt'!red Michael, dis. dainfully. "No longer since than morning I left my brave general with two hundred as gallant soldiers as ever fought under the banner of freedom. Conyers, panting for the fight, is in the camp with a full troop, and we hear ready at a word to rush down upon the enemy like a thunderbolt. But I am astonished beyond nieasure that our scouts, ever wont to be prompt and vigilant, failed to gether and transmit to Marion intelligence of this gathering." g " Perhaps they. ;.may have been among those good .nd reliable whigs who were captured and sent oil' under guard to Camden," answered Dora. "Before a word was whispered abroad of the intended gathering, every man even suspected of being friendly to his country was at one"'nm oil' to prison." "If* all have indeed tillen into the power of the tories, there is an epau letted traitor in our camp," answered Michael sternly; "Marion has scouts abroad that you would scarcely dream of; and such as the tories could never suspect, unless they are betrayed. None but his ollicers are permitted to know the names of his scouts, and they are only trusted with the secret when the good of the public service has befallen his scoeus, and to do so, I must trust you with their names, which otherwise not even torture could wring from my lips. I trust you, but let the silence of' the grave forever af'. ter rest on their names." "Speak on, Michael," answered the maiden, "I would die sooner than be trav themt.' Michael drew yet nearer to her, and sinking his voice to a whisper, as though lie feared the walls had ears, spoke slowly and solemnly." "Rich bourg, .Jat ison, A ues-can you tell inc aught of them ? they are our scouts, loyal and trusted. (.od granlt. they rnay be safe !" " No wonder that you failed to hear front them," repliesJ Dora. ".Jamison and Ames have been sent iln irons to Catmden; but poor 1tichbourg preferred a better fate. lie died at his own doo2r battling like a lion with those who were sent to arrest him." " May ie rest in peace," respontded Micheal .solemnly "lie was a brave soldier ; and an honest man. But we have one scout yet left, a brave and loyal old mani, as true as steel to the cause of his adopted country. W'hat bad tidings have you to tell tme of' old Archly Kerr." "Old Arehy Kerr !" asked Dora, with a start of surprise ! that taciturn, moody and sellish old muan, whom nto whuig will trust. and11 whomi tory as he is, even his owni party av'oid an. I dis like ? You ~jest, Michteal, indeed you but jest inl speakinlg thus of'that inis anllthrlie reicmcl use. "iOn miy word *i do niot," respJolnded( her lover gravely. "I )ld Archv~ Ker for realsons that do honor to his~ heart, has beetn conitenit to eiinhare the ill will and conltempi lt f' those w~ hose devotiomn to their counltry does not evenI equlal his oven. Too priould, indeed too tiuchl of' a christianl, to) pra'ctice impi ~ositioni 0o' deceit, evein lfor the priomlotion of ai righteous cause, he wo"uldl sooner' tear his tongue f'romn his throat thanui suil'r it to belie his cotiv~ictions. '1 huts is honesty has kept himil aloof' fr'om thie tories, though reputed as suc'h hiself. Amid he will nrot contsor't with our own par'ty, lest, he miay diraw thle suISpicion of' thle roytalist, party upon himself, amid thus dimiinish his opplortulnity' of ren. derintg assistance to Mariion. 'l'The lea ding whigs of' the district have a huii dred titmes dentounced himii to M~arion as one w~ell worthy of' thbe halter, but, our general has onlty siltiled in lie quiet, way peculiar to himui, and Oh! b'elcive me, onie of the ntoblest hiearts that, ever beat, 0one the muost stern and uinyi'eldiing in its integrity, throbs un der the couirse jeirkini of' that devoted patriot. TVell me, Dora, has he~ too tall6n into the power' of' the tory par'. ty V' "No, icithael, nto!" aniswyered she. "Archy Kerr is su coirdially detested by the whigs, tihat lhe would be the last mnan the tories would suspect. 'Three weeks sin1ce he was takent down by a fever, aund riow lies da'ngerously sick, and so unipopular is his name, that I believer-nay, now I fear-he is left to die almost companionless." " God forbid 1" ejaculated Michael tfervently; "he is too firm a friend to his country to merit such a fate. Were it not that what you have told merenders it necessary that I should return to the camp without the loss of an hour, I would even hasten to his bedside this night. I conjure you, by all you hold sacred, suf'er not that noble servant of his country to feel that he is neglected; visit him your self, tell him that like himself you live but for your country. He is the friend, the confidant and the scout of Marion, and never does our general change hus camp without directly informing Kerr by a trusty messenger of his change of quarters. lie would part with his last morsel of bread to fIed a sufTering soldier, and as his means are scanty, the old hero may even now fel the pinehings of actual want. You should go provided with such things as a sick man may actual ly need, and whisper this in his' ear, that inl forty-eight hours M- rion him. self will stand by his side. Ahi! Dora, devotion like his should not go unre warded." " Indeed it shu1l not," answered she, with much emotion. " For the love lie has borne his country, I myself will watch over him as a daughter, and see that his wants are all supplied." [TO nE cONTIeEn.] Boyhood ofDistinguishred Meicn. Dryden displayed no evidence of more than ordinary intelligence until he reached mature manhood ; Johnson says of Goldsmith, that he was a very idle scholar, and much fonder of ball and leap-frog than of books. The most interesting thing told of him as a child by his biographer is, that once, in the midst of a storm of thunder and lightning, he climbed a trees and .when asked by his parents why he did -so, replied, whispering,.'Iha' the lighting '-**..~ hontfi~. ntF1 r ih,( to see where it was coming frt,1. --4his story, if correct} -furnishes us withi;an illustration of the manner in which the young mind Jclightsto seek informa tion for itself in its own -way. 'erhaps a still more characteristic anecdote is that told of Smeaton, the architect of the Eddystone Light-house, who, when a boy in petticoats, was one day dis covered on the top of his father's house, ims the act of fixing the model.ofa wind miill, which he had constructed. But.tlie great majority of the most distinguished men-especially those distinguished f'r their power--have beea altogether ndistinguished intheir boyhood. Sir Isaac Newton, perhaps our greatest mnan, stood very low in his class at school though he Was very imnd of mechanical pursuits, and of drawing various natural objects. Sir David Brewster says of hirn that "when he arrived at Trinity College, he brought with him a more slender portion of science than falls to the lot of ordinary scholars ; but thid state of his acquiremuents (cufitltrubs his biog rapher) was perhaps not unfhvor'file to the development, of his mental powers. Uinexhausted by premature growth, and invigorated by healthful repose, his mind was the better fitted to make those vigorous and rapid shuots which covered with foliage and fruit the g. nial soil to w~lhch it had Ube'n transf'er redl." The distinguished Sir' Humphry Da v-y said of hirnusel: "I consider it f'ortu nate that. I was left so much to myself when a child, and put upon no partic ular' plan of' study ; and that I enjoyed so nmuchi idleness at Coryton's school. I perhaps owe to these circumstances the little talents that I have, and their peculiar application. WVhat I am, I have made muiyself. I say this witho'ut v'anity, antd ini pure shoplllicit~y ofhte~rt.' And it is so in fetet. Every ninui who achieves greatitess doe~s so, not through his acquirenirents tinder teachers when. a boy, but through his self educationi af'ter lie lhas become a man. .. WVe miight adduc~eani inmmense num her of' instances of positively stupid boys who have became distinguished and highly usef'ul men. For instanuce, Isaae Barrows, the great divine, was ini his boyhood chiefly distinguished by his propensity for fighting, in which lie giot rany aL bloody nose ;and his fiitin er used to say, that if' iit pleased dioel to take fr'onf film any of' his childien, lie hoped it, iiight be Isaac, who was the least promising of' them all. And that prodigy of' learning, Dr. Adam Clark, wh1en a boy, was nev'er happier than when "'rolling large stones about," car'itig iioting for' learniing oJr redding of alny sort. iut at th's kind of worls hie becanite " uncoimmaonly h'ardy,"' thiougli hius futher proclaimed him to be a niost, "grievous dunce." Thantks to Adam Clark's p~ow~er of' rolling about the large stones, in his boyhood, lie was af'ter-wards able to roll alA~ut Irge: thtoughts in his manirood. Napoleott and WVellington worebo dull boys. The former is described by the Duchess de'Abrantes, who knew him intimately when a child, as "hav ing good health, and in other respects he was like other boys." And she adds: "My uncles have a thousand times assured me that Napoleon, in his boyhood, had none of that singularity of character attributed to him." Phcniomacana oft'Iep. Tartini, a celebrated violin player, is said to have composed his famous Devil's Sonata from the inspiration of a dream, in which the 1)evil appeAred to him and challenged him to a trial of skill upon his own fiddle. A math ematician, in like manner; .is often engaged in the solution of prbblems, and has his brain full of Newton, Euler, Euclid, and Laplace ; while a poet is occupied in writing verses, or indeliberating uipen .the strains of such bards as are most fimiliar to his spirit; it was thus in a dream that Mr. Coleridge composed his splendid fragments of Ku.bla Khan. The following is the account he himself gives of the circumstance: . In the summerof the year 1797, the author, then in .ill. hoalth, had retired to a lonely farm house- between l'or lock and Linton, on the- Exinoor - con fines of Somerset and Devonshire. In consequence of a slight indisposition, an anudyne .had beetn prescribed,. from~ the cfifects of. which he tell asleep in his chair at the rionent tljat he was reading the following seitence,. or words of the same substance, in "Pur cha's Pilguimage.. "Here the Khan Kubla.:comn manded a paluce to be built, and a stately gar den thereunto. And thus ten miles of.tertile ground were enclosed with a The author continued for about three hours in. a profound sleep, at least of, the. axternal senses, during which time he- had thi most vivid con. fiderce,-that he could. not have com posed .less thian from two to three hun dred lines ; if that indeed can be called --omuosi tion in whmi'1h all the images rose up before him as things, with a parallel production of the correspond ent expressions, without any sensation or consciousness of eIlbrt. On awakening, lie appeared to him self to have it distinct recollection of the whole ; and taking his pen, ink, and paper instantly and eagerly wrote down the lines that are here preserved. At this moment he was unfortunately called out by a person on. business from Iorlock, and detained by him above an bour; and on his return to his reout, fiUnd, to his no sumal stir pri-e and mortification, that though he still retained some vague and din re collection of the genes al purport of the vision ; yet, with the exception of some eight or ten scattered lines:and images all the rest had passed -away like the images on the surface of a stream into which it stone-had been cast, butt alas ! without the after restoration of the latter," Dreams being. prgduced -by the ab tive state of such organs as. are disso ciated from, or have not symptithised in, the general slumber, partake of the character of those whose powers are in greatest vigor, or fitethest removed from the somnolent state.. A person's natural character, there fore, or his pursuits in life; by strength. ening onte inculty, make it less suscep tilbie, thani suchl as are weakei-, - of being overcome by comnple.te sleep; or, if it be overcome, it awakes moure rapidly from itgbdormnant ,sta.te; and e~lhibits its proper chirticteristics in d reamsm. Tfhus, the misier dreams of Weldth, the lover of' his mistres;-the mnusic~ian ol melody, the philosolber.scienace, the merchant of.trade, and . Ale debter of dans11 and bailifis. dut Im<e mnannier, a blioleric man ofteit is passinate in his slcee) ; a vicious mlan's inind is filled with wicked actions ; a virtuous mn's with deeds of benevolence ; a humor ist's w ithi ludicrous~ ?deas. IHow to Breed. Tattlers. If you wish ,to cultivate a gossip pizng, meddling;,'. ndous spirit inl yodi( 1m'ildrenf, be sure wifen they comle hmomew treim a church, a visit, or any other place wvhmere you do' n'ot accomi. paumyf thtem, to ply tfieriu n-iil questions codnrun what every body said anid ddadif' you lind any thing in all this to censure, always do it, rri ttteir hean lug. You many rest assuired, if you pursnme a bourse di this kind, they wtil not retuhi to foui enfaden with intelligence; and rathier tlium it should be uninter-esting, they wil:, by degrees, lern t6'embellh hr such a mainner as shalt not flu?? t i l forth remarks, and expm'essiotis of wonder from you. Yotr will th'us gradually rendur the spirit of Euriosity-which is so early visil'16 in children, and wvhich, if rigfitly directed, may be made the itistrumecnt of emnichi and onlargitig their nminds-a *vehi eo of mischief, whilch shl serve only t~o impoverish and tiarrow tem. . . A Ghost Story. In all ages, persons of weak intel eets have believed in 'apparitions, yet ve may confidently'.affirn,' that stories )f ghosts are mistakes or impositions, md that they may always be detected ay proper .exercise of the 'rnental hculty. In all situations of this kind. here is manifestly -an endeavor . mike the events as supernatural, won lerfitl, and us well attested as possible, o prevent the suspicion of trick, mid . silence all objections 'which might Je made to their credibility." In icom plianlce with this custom, we will re count ia story of a ghost, which seems Lo possess all the requisites. - At a town, in the west of England, wenty-liour.- persons were accustomed ao assemble once' a- week, to drink, smoke tobacco, and-talk pulitic. Like the ecademy of Ruben, at Antwerp, - ach member had his peculiar chair, and - Lhe president's was more elevated than 'he rest. As one of the members had been in a dying state for some time, his-chair, whilst he was absent, re 'simed vsant. When the club met on the us:r1 night, inquiries were niaturally nade after their associate. As he lived in the adjoining house, a pirticular friend went to inquire after him, and rett ned with the melancholy intelligence that he could not survive the night. -This- threw a glooni on .the oni puny, and all elforts to turn the bon verzation from tile sad subject before them were ineffectual. About mid. ight thn dccr opcned; and ihe furm,, in white, of the dying or the lead man, walhed into the room, and taok his seat in his accustomed chair. 'There he reniined in silerice, ind ii silence was lie gazed at. The apparl= tion continued a suflielent time irijtho chair to assure all who were p-esent of the. reality of the vision. At length he arose, and stalked towards the door, which he dpnted, as it giig-. went out and shut the door afte hinii, After a long pause, some orie, ;at hist, .. - had the resdlntion to say, "if oihly one of us had seei'thi, 'he would ndif hive -oen believed, but-it is impossible that so many can laye been deceived.' . .a The company, by degrees, recoere4 their speech, and the wliola -*eriveta. tion, its niay be imagined, was upon the dreadful object which had engaged their attention. They broke up, and went loie.,, In the morning, lnq'iiry was made if ter theii- sick fiend. It was answered by an account of his death, which hap pened nearl.y about the time of his appeartinee in the club root. There could be little doubt before; but now nothing could be more certain than t.l' apparition, which had been simultane ously sehmi by so many persons. It is unnecessary to say, that such a story spread over .the country, and found credit even from infidels; for in this case, all reasoning became super fluous, wheti opposed to a plain fact, attested by - three-and twenty witness. es. Tb assert the doctrine of the fixed laws of nature,. was ridiculous, when there were so. uary people of credit to prove that they night be unfixed:-i Years rolled on, and the story w almost forgotten. One of the club stns .at apothecary. ., In the course of his practice, he was . called to atn old woman, whose busi ness it was to atttendl sick persons.- j~ She told himt that she could leave the world witht a quxit cotnscience, but' for otto tumig, which lay upon herimind. whocse gh ot a eenisomuchtalker of? Iwas his nurse. On thte night of his death, I left the room for some thing I wanted. I am sure I had not been absent long; but. at my return, F fotund tihe bed without my patient ! lie was delirious, aind I teared thait ho had thrown himself out of the window. I was so frightened that I had no powa er to stir; but, after some time, to my great. astomishment, he entered the room, shivering, asd his teetht ehatter, ing, laid himself dowmn on the bied and died ! Considering my negligentce as thec' cause oft his death, I kept, this a secret fihr tfear of what might, be done to m Thought I could hate contradicted all thme story (of the ghost, I dared *not to. do it,. I knew by what had happened~ that it was huo himself who had becd in the club-room,, (perhaps r ecollectingA it was the tmght ot nmeet.ing;). but I hope God atnd tihe poorn gentleman's friends will fotrgive mte, and I shall die Contented." 'lFen~NICAL OBmTUAar.-Ali KuI isI, paper thus chronieles the deati ~a printer, named George WVomie'ock: "Ihe was the *(of his profession, the the type of honesty, the ! of all, and although the gy- of deathl has put a. to his existenee, every ? of his life, was without a j1. Thme exIercises of S'outhCamtllna Femt Instituteoat IBarhamviille. will be reaum on the first Thurmmy in rctobe.