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?From the Cincinnati Weekly Times. MARRIAGES AND HOMES. _ . . BY, ^TELLY.- MARSHALL MCAFEE. ? ? ?"! . - - ? "TTT" Every woman entertains - her own positive, peculiar, and distinct ideas upon these two subjects, Marriages and Homes. ? Mine, .if candidly expressed in these mod? ern times, may, seem bizarre .and..outre, but they t can, ,-at least, claim ;tfre distinction of being the moral. and social convictions of an intelligent human-being. To give full expose of my opinions I will probably find myself assuming, in my essay, the-form . of a minister's sermon?with a "secondly" and "thirdly," and, for aught I know, a ."fifthly" and "sixthly," before the "lastly" comes, for the subjects are two whose bare contemplation awakens.my thought, and fires my.ieart with a divine glow. Somewhere?a long while ago?I read a paragraph not longer than my . little finger, but it was so full of condensed soul and sense that I committed it to memory. It ran thus: "Six things are requisite to create a 'happy home.' Integrity must be the architect, and .tidiness, the upholsterer. It must be.warmed by affection,!and lighted up with cheerfulness, -and industry .must be the ventilator, renewing the atmosphere, and bringing in fresh salubrity day by day; while over all, as a protecting glory and a canopy, nothing will suffice except the glory of God." This. paragraph awakened me to. a sincere study pxsocial and marital relations as tbey do, and as they should, exist; and my study has enabled me to crystalize into an esssay the convictions born of that profound contempla? tion. Of course, I confine myself within the strict jurisdiction of the feminine sphere; and I do this consciously and advisedly, because I know what ought to be required of men. As a con? sequence I address.my own sex,.collectively and individually. Young ladies engrossed with the idea of bridal veils, and orange blossoms, and hand? some trousseaux, seldom if ever give a thought, nnless vaguely, to the happiness and Content? ment.that is to-come?or is not to come?as a life-long crown of glory, after the marriage ceremony and honeymoon are over and gone. . Sometimes they choose lazy men ; sometimes they fall in love with a moustache, or a fast young man who dances gracefully and rides horseback well, whose pantaloons are fashiona? bly cut, whose boots are always well polished, whose hair is pomaded and artificially curled, and who perfumes himself with Low's and Bazin's,.andLubin's extracts, as Rimmel per? fumes his gilt-edged paper and embossed en? velopes?to distraction ; who loafs around and is afraid to work, for fear of spoiliug his hands or his clothes,- who is always "going out to see a man';" who dislikes water as much as a dog does when afflicted with hydrophobia; and , who has abolished the Seventh Commandment ninety-nine and one times; en bref, a good for-nothing dandy, who, once wed, is likely to make his wife unhappy as long as she lives. Others "fall in love" with street-corner watching gentry, or such ilk as hang around church doors on Sunday "to see the girls come out." If girls of eighteen had only the experience and judgment that generally comes to them by the time they are twenty-five, these loungers would disappear from the face of the earth like frogs when the first snow falls. But, alas! they have not, and consequently the severe and bitter recipe will never be given them as a curative te3t. Modern demoiselles do not know how to make such parlor knights "stand in the cold" nor how to give them "the mitten." And so they marry lazy, flippant, good-for-nothing young men, and settle themselves down, sooner or later, to lives of sorrow, disappointment and chagrin, instead of urging them first to go to work earnestly and honestly, and endeavor to be sober and industrious in order to win them. A woman selecting a husband, or being sought as a wife, ought to know before she yields her heart or hand, whether the suitor has a profession or a trade; whether he is a skillful artisan or a thrifty, industrious farmer ?up early and late,.able to do his own work, and not ashamed of it either; whether his "hobby" is to complain of "hard times" instead of struggling to brighten them; whether he knows how to manage a fortune if he has one; ? whether he works six days in his profession, and on Sunday rests, and goes to church to praise God. If they would take the trouble to find out these things, they would -never have cause to regret their marriage?they would always love , end _r.espect their nusbands; and, moreover, never lack a well-provided home. But they don't take the trouble I They go on, as they will probably continue to do while the earth revolves on its axis, estimating a young man's worth by the nicety of the tailor's fit, the length and silkiness of his moustache, and .his ability to talk opera and soft non? sense. One fact, if. generally known, is too often forgotten, and that is, that love and confidence are the foundation stones of perfect domestic bliss; that without these all is chaos and doubt and despair, and happiness is a myth lingering only in the heart's Utopia. There is a trite aphorism about Love flying out _at the window when Poverty comes in at the door. There is no truth in this where the affection existing is genuine; and, indeed, there is never need for more fortune than that which insures comfort. Those person* who marry with moderate means are generally the ones who taste the cenanthic ether of life. No matter which one ; brings the "lucre" to the domestic treasury, so I that the hearts are in the right place. And j certain it is that such domestic bliss is founded upon a rock. Happiness is another name for love; for where love is there is happiness also; and with these there is contentment too, for J true love inspires forbearance and gentleness; and these domestic qualities ever and always flood a home with eternal sunshine,.bright und visible and blessed as the smile of God! A young woman leaving the tender arms of the parents who have hitherto cherished her and guided Jier footsteps, to go to safe and honorable protection iu the very bosom of love and honor, should lay aside, at once, and for? ever, the hauteur, and passion, and selAcon sideration, that often stamps her character in girlhood, and ever after have the merit of her husband in view with unalterable reverence and delight. She should reflect that marriage to a true man has a eucharistic meaning. She should remember that marriage imposes upon her the gum of obligation to him. Does he not confer upon her, independence, distinction, and, dear? er than all, felicity? She should even moder- j ate her Private ejepeqses, and proportion her! general expenditures, not only to the standard of his fortune, but his wishes. In her sphere of action as a wife, there are sacred duties she should never forget. There is a sanctity in the , condition of wiiehood; there is a diguity in the character; there is a solemnity in the vows that should ever be lovingly remembered. Society holds a wife amenable for her exam? ple, for the honor and happiness of her hus? band ; and God holds her amenable for the rich talents entrusted to her care and improve? ment, for no woman can be true to any man while false to herself! ?No matter what the maze of pleasure may be, no matter what the whirl of passion, no true wife should for a day be oblivious to the fact that there is a record which will sooner or later, appear in terrible evidence against her for her least omission. If wives, as a class or in? dividually, would study these precepts, there would be fewer after-tragedies because of meet? ing affinities, getting divorced and remarrying. And yet there is a great deal of heroism in this world! There are men who go home to reck? less and careless wives, and to ill-kept houses, who never utter one word of complaint there, never one word of reproach, nor yet to the world; and there are women - who screen the faults of their husbands, even from their own children, and bear the burden of neglect with saint-like fortitude! They love on, and hope on, to the end. Who among us doubts that when God sets his seal on their foreheads we shall know what heroism their silent lives con ? tained ? Age has much to do with the loss or success of happiness. I have always contended this point. I do so still. I think a man ought to be fully ten years older than his wife. There are many reasons, in justification of this practice. The most forci? ble one under consideration is that the sexes in America do not bear their ages equally. Say a man of twenty-three years marries a lady of the same age. When he is forty-five he is in the prime of life; when she is forty five she is generally faded, cross and jealous? especially of the inference that might be de? duced from their suggestive respective appear? ances. Of course there are limits to such a rule, and they should be drawn. For instance, a very old man perhaps had better not marry at all; but if he is determined to embitter the lives of his relations, I think the most sensible alliance he could adopt is the venerable cus? tom of wedding his house-keeper; the only drawback being that of the association which he enters into with the housekeeper's relations and connections, if he be an "aristocratic" gentleman. But, of all others, the subject of money is the most difficult to lay down a law upon?as a matrimonial consideration. It may be taken for granted, though I do not positively assert it, that girls are not in the least grateful to be married without it; for the very reason that it is human nature?masculine, as well as femi? nine nature?to believe that we are chosen and accepted for our intrinsic merits. ? Now, a portionless girl is pretty sure to be? lieve that her attractions in other respects quite account for the circumstance of a husband not wanting a dower with her ! But still, to put the argument on a low ground, it is unquestionably not the best policy to get married simply for a fortune. The cases where men have paid off their debts by this process do not look well when closely investigated; for, after the debts are paid off, there is still the wife to live with, who will never forget the boon she has conferred. A suitable woman, with money, has an ad? ditional charm, especially if she belong to a class who do not regard it as the one aim, ob? ject, and result of life. A good man and a worthy husband will know how to treat, and will treat a good and worthy wife with love and respect. Her image is reflected in .him. No matter how great a man he may be, no matter how austere and strong-minded he may be, so that he loves her ! It is then, when inspired with divine passion and divine tenderness for her, that he feels her influence every day. A power within him, which otherwise might have slumbered un? known or forgotten, is exerted by her loving words, and her womanly dependence upon him for strength. In the language of Buhver: "Her imnge glossed in his soul, lures him ou to those in? spiring toils by which man masters men." To the potent iufluence of either a wife's or a-mother's .love, how many of our greatest .statesmen and sublimest heroes attribute their success in life. It is not woman alone who must have some? thing to love. Man needs the same stimulant to raise him from the state of thraldom in which the cares and anxieties of an every-day life usually plunge him. Waat friend can take with him the place of a wife? Who can ad? minister consolation as she does, so free from suspicion or the hope of interestedness other than that of a holy and tender desire and deep anxiety to make him happy? Let all the world forsake arid abandou him, let trials come upon him, let calamities befall him, yet in her presence, and crowned with her fond affection, a harbinger of love and truth and devotion can always be found. Some women forget that men have a yearn? ing for.disinterested love. Ah ! once convince a man that he is beloved for himself, indepen? dent of his wealth, or his station, or any of the advantages of which he may be possessed?let him see, I say, that he is beloved for himself, and you can make him your slave for life I Men are more generous than women?they are more susceptible, more confiding, more tender, more faithful, more sincere I Bless a good man, or even a bad one, with a noble woman for a wife, and you will see that he is capable of performing things that would discourage him nad he not some one to offer him those little words of consolation and cheer, that have lightened the burden of many a life. "Never mind the odds against you ! I'm here, I believe in you, I love you !" A man who possesses the affection and the respect of his wife, founds his domestic life upon a rock which withstands all storms. Aud the fault will lie at his own door if he fails to attain eminence aad honor. But if a man marries, and, by deed or incompatibility, dis? covered too late?fails to possess or to retain her love; if there are no loving eyes to watch for his coming, no loving arms to" encircle his neck, no loving lips to give him greeting when he retires from the care? and toils of the day, I let woman rest assured that to that man ambi? tion and hope and peace and contentment are lost mirages that float above the desert-sands of a barren and sterile life?a life that has no "beyond" brighter than the grave. And now about a house. In the first place it should not be too large ; a husband should never be able to hide away from the smile or the kiss of his fresh young wife. Nor should it be too elegant for the "wear and tear" of every-day life. The more sun? light the more joy. It should have no dark? ened state chambers?no company elegance. "Everything for thee and me" should be the happy thought whatever door opened or closed. There should by all means be a pet bird, a pet cat and a pet dog about the premises. Those attach ono to domestic life. There should be flowers, too?all perfumed, such as roses, lilies, violets, mignonettes, pinks, spice pinks, that have the breath of Eden in them, and heliotropes. A green fig for your exotics j they continually remind one of selfish, heartless women! They should not even be seen about a happy home. There should be a swinging window (if the home is in the city,) for my young people are j too poor to have a conservatory, where winter and summer the breath of the blossoms should come. The rooms should be orderly, neat, and sweet ?with a sort of "dried lavender," thymy, country smell about them, that would take the man's heart in faucy out into fresh green fields and brpad meadows, with sky-larks and blue skies, and brown butterflies and grasshoppers, and breezy red and white clover, and humming bees?with the woman he loves by his side. In the economic management of a home, nothing should be left to the servants. A wife's touch, a wife's love, should be seen and felt in everything. Her table should be ex? quisitely clean, with only a little silver on it, and that pure?only a little glass, and that cut ; and the china should be pure, white and fine, the napkins and linen snowy, the food deli ciously palatable and always deliciously served. A wife's attention to the minor details of her household can readily effect all this. Her neg? ligence, be it ever so slight, is observable. Only the service of capable servants should be accepted. Housekeeping as I am to-day, I had rather be my own domestic than have an untidy or a careless menial about my premises. Nothing should escape a matron's eye, and yet her government should be un main de fer quantce dt velours. Nor should any woman marry until she is capable of governing a household?en bref, of making her presence of love, and system, and ability felt through a gentle and irresisti? ble influence No man will think less of his wife because she is iuterested in the management of home affairs. When a man of sense marries he wants a wife?not merely the social devotee, the beau? tiful artist, who plays and sings and dances and paints and promenades! He wants a companion?one who can comfort and console him in his gloomy hours; one with .whom he can counsel; one who has reason, appreciation, reflection, judgment and feeling 1 One who knows how to share his sorrows; one whose heart is always glad when he is happy; one who, by her pure influence, can purify his heart, also, and develope all that is good in his nature; one who can strengthen his prin? ciples ; who is capable of self-denial; who can educate his children and govern his household; one who is the mistress of his intellect, as well as his passions, the treasurer of his happiness as well as his honor, the mother who serves as well as the wife who loves him 1 A woman who devotes herself to fashion and frivolity can have no secure grasp upon the affection of her husband. She may be the belle of the ball; the queen of the drawing room ; the object of admiration at the opera, but she is not lit for a helpmeet to a man who is sensible and refined, and domestic in his tastes, and pure in his principles and in his heart. It should be the joy and the delight of every true wife to do all things for her husband 1 She should endeavor to be elegant, chaste, charming, refined, delicate, tender, passionate and loving?and all for him ! She should hover near him when he is at home, minister? ing to his every want?her hand should natu? rally lie in his as a bird nestles in her own nest, the safest; she should be all and everything to him. That man does not live, and never did live, who was able to resist the loving, refined and gentle influence of a pure, peaceful, intel? ligent and affectionate woman. The most beautiful picture that has ever been made of a true woman was the descrip? tion that Sir John Mclntosh gave of his own wife : "She was a woman who by tender man? agement of my weaknesses gradually corrected the most pernicious of them. Though of the most generous nature, she taught me economy by her love of me. During the most critical period of my life she relieved me of the cares of my affairs, and preserved order in them. She gently reclaimed me from dissipation ; she propped my weak and irresolute nature; she urged my indolence to useful and creditable exertions, and was perpetually at baud to ad? monish my heedlessness and improyidence. To her I owe whatever I am ; to her whatever I shall be. In her solicitude for my interest she never for a moment forgot my character. Her feelings were warm and impetuous, but she was placable, tender and constant. Such was she whom I lost when a knowledge of her worth had refined my ardent love to a sincere friendship." Ah I can any woman have lived in vain whose husband pronounces such a panegyric over her death ? Let every woman, every wife, remember this gem ! "The sunlight that follows a shipwreck is not less beautiful, though it shines upon the remnants of the broken bark; what is saved is so much more precious than that which has been lost. The domestic circle is too small to allow of rupture; it is always too precious to make excusable any neglect to prevent or to healjdisturbances. Thereare enough to minister by hints and reports to domestic unhappiness ; and, unfortunately, the best under such circum? stances are much prone to mistake, and thus misrepresent motives ; and trifles, with no di? rect object, are magnified into mountains of unintentional offense. Let us guard against it! Delicate relations are like the polish of costly cutlery; dampness corrodes, and the rust, though removed, leaves a stain." A Locomotive on the Rampage.?A very extraordinary railroad accident occurred at Altoona, on Saturday, the 14th instant. A locomotive, standing in the yard of the Penn? sylvania Company, was waiting at the cinder pile to be cleaned, when a laborer jumped on her and attempted to move her a short distance backward. In so doing he ran the locomotive against another one behind, inflicting severe damage. He started the engine forward, and, in a few seconds, losing control of her, jumped off, leaving the throttle valve wide open. The engine rapidly increased her speed and dashed ! through the roundhouse, demolishing a heavy wooden door in her cour.se. From the round? house she followed a light iron track, used for small truck cars, into the large machine shop, where over four hundred hands are employed, breaking another heavy door in her way. Run? ning through the immense shops, the engine inflicted great damage. One man, walking along the track in the shop, was instantly killed, and another, running a drilling machine, was fatally injured. A number of valuablo machines were damaged, and a scene of confu? sion followed. After running the whole length of the shop at a rate of twenty-five miles an hour, the engine came in contact with another door, demolishing it, Beyond the door was a trench between the machine and boiler shops, about three feet deep and fifteen wido. The engine ran directly over this obstruction, leap? ing the three feet with the utmost ease, and finally landed in the boiler room, where she ! ended her course in a badly demoralized con? dition. Six thousand dollars is the estimate J of the damage done by this little piece of care? lessness. Earthquakes. In view of the excitement at Bald Mountain, N. C, a little earthquake history will, perhaps, be relished. The number of important earth? quakes is set down at 7,000, up to the year 1861, of which we have any reliable account. It is estimated that this is but a small propor? tion of the real number that have taken place; tor the early records are so very meagre that of 7,000 stated only 787 occurred previous to the year 1500, while , there is a catalogue of 3,340 which occurred from 1S00 to 1850, or one in about five days. A writer in the Popular Science Monthly, for March, 1872, says: "The means of detecting and recording shocks are now so perfect that, when applied in all parts of the globe, they will, doubtless, fully justify our statement, that in no instant of time is the earth's crust free from vibrations." The seis? mograph is the name of the instrument used for this purpose. Earthquake shocks are not uncommon in America. Many persons now living will re? member the terrible shock of 1812, which made the bells in Richmond ring over the frightened city, and shook the houses in Columbia. [The fissures in the wall of the College buildings are to be seen to-day, gaping witnesses of that ter? rific shock.] On the 1st of June, 1638, eigh? teen years after the landing of the pilgrims, there occurred the first earthquake in New England, of which we have any authentic record; in 1663, 1755, and many times since, portions of Canada, New England and New York were convulsed by earthquake shocks. A great earthquake took place at New Madrid, Missouri, in 1811 and 1812, the shock continu? ing many months. The ground rose in huge waves, which burst, and volumes of water, sand and pit-coal were thrown as high as the tops of the trees; the forests waved like stand? ing corn in gale of wind, and an area seventy miles long by thirty wide was submerged and became a swampy lake. California is the most volcanic region in North America. The crust of the earth there has been shaken with more or less violence countless numbers of times; but further than the cracking of walls, tumbling of chimneys, and the overthrow of shaky buildings, little damage has been done by them; and they are so common on the Pacific slope, that they have lost half their terrors. The most fearful earthquakes recorded in history are: At Antioch, in 426, when 250,000 persons perished; at Lisbon, in 1655, which destroyed -60,000 people ; the Calabrian earth? quake of 1783, which buried 35,000 men, wo? men and children out of sight forever, in one awful hour; and the one at Arequipa, in 1868, which engulfed 40,000 persons. Von Tschudi says that "no familiarity with earthquakes can blunt the feeling of insecuri? ty. The traveler from the North of Europe waits with impatience to feel the movement of the earth, and with his own ear to listen to the subterranean sounds ;*but, soon as his wish is gratified, he is terror-stricken, and is prompted to seek safety in flight." The Charlotte Observer gives the following as the latest from Bald Mountain : A gentleman just from Old Fort and Marion says the low rumbling noises in Bald Mountain are not exaggerated, but that the stories about rocks breaking open and smoke issuing from them are untrue. Nothing of the sort has oc? curred. The noises heard first in Bald Moun? tain have extended to Stone Mountain, a neigh? boring peak, and in this last the rumbling is much more audible and perceptible. A gen? tleman slept on Sunday night not a great dis? tance from Stone Mountain, and the noise and shaking were so violent as to wake him. The place has been visited, within the past few days, by Professor DuPre, a scientific gen? tleman of Spartanburg, S. O, who has made an examination of the mountain. He says no fears need be entertained of a volcanic erup? tion, on the general principle that the spot- is too far located from the sea to render it proba? ble. [In the centre of Thibet, more than 1,000 miles from the sea, there are two extra? ordinarily lively volcanoes.] The Professor, however, does not pretend to account for the phenomenon, and looks upon it as something wonderful. The commotion in the mountain can be felt as far off as Marion. The religious feeling among the people living about the mountain is represented as beyond description. More than 200 persons have pro? fessed religion, and the work contiuues. The Athens (Ten nessee) Post, of the 20th, says: A heavy shock of earthquake occurred at Chattanooga, between 1 and 2 o'clock Wednes? day morning. The disturbance was sufficient to shake the walls of the taller buildings and startle people from their slumbers. The com? motion along Lookout is said to have been fearful. The Broaddus Family. Very famous has the Broaddus family been in the annals of the Virginia Baptists. The contemporary and peer in eloquence of Father Kerr, was Andrew Broaddus, of Caroliua. We doubt whether, in the ministry or out of it, his superior as an orator was to be found in the State in his day. He has left a son, Andrew Broaddus, D. D., known as "Andrew Broaddus, Junior." He also has a son Andrew, who is a preacher, and a son Luther, who is pastor in Edgcfield, S. O, and a third son, recently li? censed to preach. There was another Andrew B., a brother of Dr. Wm. F. Broaddus, who began to preach late in life, and in the esteem of his wife, made a very poor preach of it. He wanted to go to Kentucky, but she did not wish to leave her friends. But one day, after he had made a specially bad failure in trying to preach, she told him that if he was going to keep on disgracing himself in that way before her friends, she would go to Kentucky, so to Kentucky he went, and thus when, in after years, he returned to Virginia, he was known as "Kentucky Andrew." We preached with him much in the array, and it gives us pleasure to testify that, notwithstanding his unprom? ising beginning, he became an able and emi? nently useful minister of Christ. Rev. W. F. Broaddus, D. ?., still lives in Fredericksburg, Va., now an old man, and al? most blind. We have never known a lovelier or more interesting man, and if his life is ever faithfully written, it will be seen that not more than one, if one, of all his cotemporaries has been more widely useful than he. We know and love the dear old man, and could tell a hundred good anecdotes of him, if we had space. Dr. John A. Broaddus, of our Seminary at Greenville, is the son of Edmund Broaddus, who was distinguished as a politician in Va. He was a brother of Dr. Wm. F., although the former spelt his name with one d while the latter retains the two d's of the family. Dr. John A., through respect for his lather, omits one d in spelling his name. The last named Broadus is the first man of the family. We doubt whether we have his superior as n scholar in all the South, and as a preacher, Dr. Jeter ranks him with Hall, Beecher, and Spurgeou as one of the great preachers of the world.? Biblical Record. ? A young lady in Ohio committed suicide because she broke her pretty nose. The Bastardy Law. We notice among the criminal cases report? ed at the last term of the court at Greenville, says the Walhslla Courier, that two cases of bastardy were tried, one resulting in acquittal, the other in conviction of the parties charged. We had believed the law as it now stands was a dead letter, as in 1872 Judge Orr, at Pickens, virtually so decided, as he had previously done at other places. We will not say that the de? cision so rendered was correct or otherwise, not having investigated the subject. Believing the law a Dad one, furnishing a premium to prosti? tution, and at the same time failing utterly in its pretended beneficent purposes, we were con? tent with the ruling, and our people were moving on without suffering the evils and wrongs of the law. Without in any way im? pairing public morality or exposing private chastity, the expenses of such suits were saved to the country. In the case at Pickens at the July term, 1872, Judge Orr granted an order discharging the prisoner, on the ground that the Court of Sessions, if any jurisdiction, had only jurisdiction on appeal, and in the course of his remarks intimated that, as a conviction in the Court of Trial Justice would impose a penalty exceeding the jurisdiction of that Court, it could not try the case. The Constitu? tion gives to justices of the peace, individually or jointly, as the Legislature may provide, original jurisdiction in all cases of bastardy. As yet no provision has been made tc carry this into effect, the jurisdiction of Trial Jus? tices being limited to $100 as to actions on contract or tort, and also penal offences pun? ishable by fine only. We quote the above from the Courier after Pickens Court in July, 1872, as our then recollection of the views of the presiding Judge. We presume from the trial of cases at Green? ville, than Judge Cooke takes a different view of the law, and as bastardy is certainly still a statutory offence, it would seem more conso? nant to reason, that some court should have jurisdiction of it. At any rate we cau deplore the existence of such a law, and express the hope of its repeal. On the propriety of a bas? tardy law, we subjoin the following extract from an editorial in the Greenville Republican, which perhaps better expresses our views than we could ourselves : "There is, however, a class of cases which have a most immoral and pernicious effect upon the community, and as we can see no good result to be derived from them, it would in our judgment be wise and well if they were done away v?ith. It is impossible that a case of bastardy should be tried without drawing to the Court room a throng of men and boys who come to gloat upon the lechery of the testimo? ny, and who go forth with thoughts of evil, and perhaps their minds poisoned; certainly not improved. "The avowed purpose of this statute is to protect the community from the expense of supporting the child, and if the paternity is established by a verdict of guilty, the father is required to give a bond for the protection of the county, and on his failure to do so, execu? tion issues. If the execution be returned nulla bona, it is practically the end of the mat? ter, except the saddling upon the county of a heavy bill of costs, aud this is generally the result. We believe it were far better that these costs should be saved, and when necessa? ry that the county should support the child until it can be bound out, rather than suffer the moral detriment to the community. The incentive to prosecute is invariably either the malice of a jealous woman or a desire to make money out of her own shame, and the testimo? ny is necessarily unreliable. A proper statute for the puuishraent of adultery might subserve public morals, but the bastardy law is in its every effect demoralizing and degrading ; aud such we must believe is the judgment of every right thinking man who attended the present session." Change Needed. That man must be either very dull or a very careless observer, who does not see that things are in a tangled condition in South Carolina. The people of our State are extensively en? gaged iu agriculture, or, to speak more correct? ly, agriculture is the only avocation of the people. Notwithstanding this fact, the people are by no means skilled agriculturists. To say that no system of tilling the soil has been adop? ted by the people, would be saying too much ; because, for perhaps a century there has been in existence a system of farming which is rigidly, except in a few isolated cases, scattered over the State, practiced to-day by all classes of people. We cannot better describe that system than by saying, that it is a system of destruction. A large farmer in South Carolina resembles an English lord in one particular. Both have large farms. There is this great difference. An English farm is cultivated in the best possible manner. The land itself is regarded as valuable property. Every means is resorted to in order to increase its fertility. In South Carolina, land is not regarded as per? manent property. It is considered property for so long a period of years as it can be worn out and rendered unproductive. In all the cotton growing States the idea of wearing out the soil seems to be prevalent. A farmer buys a plantation with the determinatian of wearing it out, and then buys another and treats it in the same way. It was possible once, when la? bor was property, to carry on this system of destruction ; but at present it is impossible. Every thing seems to indicate the necessity of a change in the system of farming in this State. Any man who will make an examina? tion of the farms of the State generally, will discover that the houses, fences, and, in fact, improvements of all kinds, are in a dilapidated condition. This is not all. For several years fine crops have been made, and fair prices real? ized, and yet money is scarce, aud times are hard. Every year seems to increase the pres? sure, and bri'ng us nearer the point of breaking down. If the present system continues to he practiced for a few years, startling results will be made. Vast numbers of men will be forced to pass through an ordeal that tries men's souls. A large amount of property will change hands, and that, too, under circumstances by no means pleasant. The change J^ccessary is simply that each in? dividual conform to the new condition of things. The negro is free, and is using his freedom in such a way that it is of but little advantage to the State, and less to himself. He has politics and office on the brain, and rags on his back, j and emptiness in his stomach. Both the negro I an his former master have mistaken the mean | ing of the word freedom. The whole country is experiencing the consequences of this mis? take. The property holder must learn that he is dependent upon the laboring class, and the laboring class must learn that it is dependent upon the property holder. This radical i change is absolutely necessary to the prosperi? ty of the country. It is of far more impor? tance than politics. So soon as this change is made, a change in politics will take place.? Xurhvillc Enquirer. ? A burglar who was found under a man's bed in Philadelphia excused himself on the ground that he was looking for his dog. The Post Office. The traveler who passes on our great lines of thoroughfare from one city to another has no doubt of the fact that we live in an age of rail? roads and steamboats. And yet horses carry the mails three miles where railroads carry them one. Even Massachusetts, so covered with a network of railroads that there are few towns in the State that do not receive a daily visit lrom the locomotive, has 146 stage-coach routes to 64 of railroads. Curiously enough, the cost per mile in the two cases is almost ex? actly the same; the average cost of the trans? portation of mails per mile in the cars being eleven cents and six mills; by horse, eleven cents and eight mills. Of course, the cars carry a mail many times larger than that .of the coach, so that the cost per letter is much less. Throughout the whole country, steamboats carry the mails 16,762 miles; railroads 63,457 miles; and horses, 175,991 miles. But the rail? road is gradually gaining possession of all the important routes. In 1S70 the cars carried the mails 43,727 miles ; in 1S73, 63,457 miles ; a gain of nearly fifty per cent, in four years. And the mails are increasing in weight and magni? tude at a yet faster ratio. Sixty-rive years ago the mails for the South left the New York post office carried by one man, were rowed across the ferry, and then placed under the boot of the stage. To-day, from ten to twelve tons of mail matter enter and leave the New York post oilice from the South. It is but a century since Post Master General Benjamin Franklin so increased the speed of the mails that, while it had taken six weeks for a letter to go from Boston to Philadelphia and return, it then took but three. To-day it takes but one week for letters to pass from the shores of the Atlantic to those of the Pacific. If the postal service continues to expand the next century as it has done the last, and science shall discover no more rapid means of transmission, passengers must be left out of the mail trains. Letters and papers will exhaust the capacity of the steam engine. Our oceanic mail;; increase at a yet faster rate. Over a thousand tons of letters and papers now cross the Atlantic; a gain of fifty per cent, within the last three years. ? The difference between a sparse and thickly settled population is best shown by the fact that of three nations each having between thir? ty and forty millions of population, Germany has 5,720 post offices, Great Britain less than 12,000, and the United States 33,240. This sparseness of population, requiring letters to travel long distances on unfrequent routes, makes the cost of transportion far heaver here than in Europe. In England, the maximum distance a letter can be carried is less than seven hundred miles; in America, from Maine to Alaska, is five thousand miles. And this is one of the principal reasons why Germany nets a profit from her post offices of three million dollars a year, England a profit of rive million, and the United States has a loss of nearly six million. The English post office stands at the head of Lho postal world for the certainty of its letters; as the Duke of Wellington once said, "The English post office is the only one in Europe I which can be said to do its work." For.in stance, when the first meeting of the Evangeli I cal Alliance was held in London, many years ago, a prominent president of a Western col lego, who crossed the Atlantic in a sailing ves? sel, was surprised to find a letter awaiting him at his lodgings. It had left home after him, but carried by steam, it hau passed him on the way. As he had not known, when he left home, where he was to stay, he was curious to find out how that letter' had discovered his rooms before he had found them himself. And inquiry developed the fact that the letter being uncalled for for a day or two, the postal au? thorities noticed that it came from America, and was addressed to a reverend divine. Sur? mising that it might bo for some attendant at the meeting of the Alliance, inquiry was made, the residence obtained, and the letter forwarded to await his arrival. It may be doubted if the post office authorities elsewhere would have taken so much trouble about a single letter. The English post office is also one of far greater flexibility than our own, or any other, and more ready to try improvements. It adop? ted a penny postage ten years before we com? menced a three cent one; it abolished the frank thirty years before us. It has adopted the tel? egraph as a branch of its service; it issues some 15,000,000 money orders a year; it in? sures lives, and grants annuities; it maintains a savings bank, conterminous with the boun? daries of the kingdom ; and it licenses all the I dogs?500,000 of them!?all the male servants, carriages, horses and mules, armorial bearings and guns in Great Britain and Ireland. So ca? pacious and paternal a post office department we have hardly a right to expect; we are au? thorized, however, to look for as certain a de? livery of letters and papers. The United States does indeed stand next to England in this re? spect. From a grand total of 915,000,000 letters annually, England sends 3,500,000 to her dead letter office! With a somewhat smaller num? ber of letters, the United States sends 4,400,000. ?Appletoris Journal. Insanity Rare Among Savages.?"If -we may rely on the observations of travelers," says the Journal of Menial Science, "there has always been comparatively little insanity among savages." Admitting this to be the case, it is not difficult to guess at the reasons of their comparative immunity. In civilized society there are three principal causes to which we may trace nearly every mental disorder, viz., hereditary predisposition, intem? perance, and mental anxieties. Now, savages are almost exempt from the operation of these three causes. They do not poison their brain with alcohol until the white man introduces it to them. The weak in mind and body are not carefully attended to and kept alive as among civilized people; if they arc not actually des stroyed, by natural or artificial means they are got rid of, *o they do not themselves swell the numbers of insane in their own generation, nor increase them in the next generation by propagating their kind. Again, savages do not intermarry in the same family; among them the prohibition of marriage extends often to distant relatives, persons having the most distant blood affinity being forbidden to marry. It can scarcely be doubted that the reason of such prohibition was their experience of the evil? resulting from the inter-marriage of relatives?an experience which, distinct as is the lesson which it teaches, has not yet availed to check the intermarriages of first cousins among civilized people. Lastly, the savage has few and simple wants springing from his appetites, and these he gratifies. With him there is no eager strain? ing beyond his strength after social aims that are not intrinsically worth the efforts they cost, no disappointed ambition from failure to compass such aims, no dejection from the reaction which follows the realization of an overrated ambitious passion, no anxious sense of responsibility; he has no lifelong hypocricies to keep up, no tormenting remorse of conscience, no painful reflection of an exaggerated seif-conciousness; in short, none of the passions that constitute the chief wear and tear of civilized life. IMPROVED Bridle?A bridle consisting of a single strap has recently been pateuted. A loop passes around the neck, the two parts meeting together at the top of the head, behind the ears, turning down between them and pass? ing through a buckle; thence down the face one upon the other to another buckle, from which the parts seperate and pass down each cheek to a loop or ring in the bit, and thence extend, in the manner of the reins, over the back of the neck where they join together. To adjust the bridle, or to apply or remove it, the upper buckle or loop is simply moved up or down on the strap.?Live Stock Journal.