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VOLUME C?NO. 43. ABBEVILLE C. II, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 25, 1859. WHOLE NUMBER 203
From Dickens' Household Words.
A CHILD'S DREAM OF A STAR.
There was oncc a child, and he strolled
bout a good deal, and thought of a number
of things.?He had a sister who was a
child too, and liis constant companion.
These two used to wonder all day long.
They wondered at the beauty of the flowers,
they wondered at the height and bhieness j
of the sky, they wondered at the depth of
tho bright water, they wondered at tlio
goodness and the power of God who made
tho lovely world.
They used to say to one another some- j
times; "Supposing all the children upon !
earth were to die, would tho flowers, and j
the water, and the sky bo sorry ?" They j
believed they would be sorry. "For," said j
thoy, "the buds are the children of the !
flowers, and the little playful streams that
gambol down tho hillsides, are the children
of the water, and the smallest bright specks,
playing at hide and seek in tho sky all j
night, must surely be tho children of the i
stars, ami they would all bo grieved to see
their playmates, the children of men, no
more.
There was one clear shining star that
used to conic out in the sky before the rest^
near the church spire, above the graves. It !
was larger and more beautiful, they thought,
than all the others, and every night they
watched for it, standing hand in hand at a
window. Whoever saw it first, cried out*
"I see the star!" And often they cried out
both together, knowing so well when it
would rise, and where. So they grew to be
such friends with it that before laying down |
in their beds, they always looked out once
again to bid it good night; and when tbev
were turning round to sleep they used to
Bay, "God bless the star !"
But while she was still very young?oh,
Tery. very young?the sister drooped, and |
came to be so weak that she could no long- (
er stand in the window at night, and then j
the child looked sadly out by himself, and (
when he saw the star, lutned round and said
to the patient pale face on the bed, "I see
the star!" and then a smile would come (
upon the face, and a little weak voice used
to nay, "God bless my brother and the slur!"
And so the time all came too soon ! ;
when the child looked out alone, and when
there was no face on the bed ; and when
there was a little grave among the graves, '
not there before, and when the stars made I
long rays down toward him as be saw it '
through his tears.
v? ? 1
lmubu I aj o ucto au ui "?u vuvj ^
seemed to make such a shinning way from
earth to Heaven, tliat when tho child went
to his solitary bed, he dreamed about the
star, and dreamed that lying where he was,
he saw a train of people taken up that
sparkling road by angels. And the start
opening, showed him a great world of light,
where many more 6uch angola waited to receive
them.
All these angels, who were waiting turned
their beaming eyes upon the people who
were carried up into the star ; and some
came out from the long rows in which they
stood, and fell upon tho people's neck and
kissed them tenderly, and went away with
them down avenues of light, and were so
happy in their company, that lying in his
bed he wept for joy.
But tliere was many angels who did not
go with them, and among them one he
knew. The patient face that once had laid
upon the bed was glorified radiant, but his
heart found out his sister's among all the
host.
His sister's angel lingered near the entrance
of the star, and said to the leader
among those who had brought the people
thither:
"Is ray brother come?"
And he said "No"
She was turning hopefully awav, when
the child stretched out his arms and cried,
"Ob, sister, I am here! Take me !" and
then she turned her beaming eyes upon
him, and it was night; and the star was
shining into the room, making long rays
down towards him as he saw it through his
tears.
From that hour forth the child looked
out npon the star as on the home he was
to go to, when his time should come; and
he thought that he did not belong to the
earth alone, but to the star too, because of
bis sister's angel gone before.
^here was a baby born to be a brother to
the child ; and while he was so little that
he never yet had spoken a word, he stretched
bis'tiny form out on his bed, and died.
the child dreamed of the opened
ir, and of the company of angels, and the
train of people, and the rows of angels with
(heiribeaming eyes all turned upon those
people1? faces. , |
? "Said his sister's angel to the leader, "Is
my1 brother come f
And he said, "Not that one, but an*
? tA*the child beheld his brother's angel in
bar >irms, he cried, "Oh, sister, I am here t
Takfenfe!" And aba returned and smiled
upon biro, and the star was shining.
lie grow to bo ft young man, and was
busy at his books, when an old servant
came to him and said, "Tliv motlier is no
more. I bring her blessings on her darling
son I"
Again at night he saw tlio star, and all
that former company. Said his sister's
angel to the leader. ''Is mv brother come f"
And he said, ''Thy mother!"
A mighty cry of joy went forth through
nil the star, because the mother was reunited
to her two children. And he stretched out
his arms and cried, "Oh, mother, sister, anil
brother, lam beru? Take me?" And
they answered him, "Not yet;" and the star
was shilling.
lie grew to boa man, whose hair was
turning gray, and ho was silting in his chair
by the fireside heavy with grief, and with
his face bedewed with tears, when the star
opened once again.
Said his sister's angel to the leader, "Is
my brother come?"
And he said, "Nay, but his maiden daughter."
And the man who had been the child
saw his daughter, newly lost to him, a celestial
creature among those three, and lie said,
"My daughter's I read is on my sister's bosom,
and her arm is around my mother's neek,
and at her feet theie is the liaby of old
time, and I can bear tlie parting froin her,
God be praised ?"
And the star was shining.
Thus the child came to be an old man.
and his once smooth face was wrinkled, and
his steps were slow and feeble, and his back
was bent. And one night as he lav upon
(lis bed, his children standing round, he
cried, as had cried so long ago, "I see the
I'ar."
They whispered to one another, "ho is
lying."
And he said, "I am. My age is falling
rrom me like a garment, and I move to
ward the star as a child. And oh, my
"ather, I thank thee that it has so often
jptMiiMj 10 receive iiiose aear ones wuo now
iiwait me?"
Ami the star was shining; and it shines
upon his grave.
Eye Sight.
Milton's blindness was the result of overwork
and dyspepsia.
One of the most ottiiiient American divines
having, for some time, been compelled
to forego the pleasure of reading, lias
spent thousands of dollars in vain, and lust
years of time, in consequence of getting |
in l i
lip owicuii iii'iu c* wium U aiuuj ilij;
by artificial light, llis eyes never got
well.
Multitudes of men and women have
made their eyes weak for life, by tho too
free use of the eyesight in reading small
print and doing fine sewing. In view of
those things, it is well to obsevere the following
rules in the use of the eyes:
Avoid all sudden changes between light
and darkness.
Never begin to read, or write, or sew, for
several minutes after coming from darkness
to a bright light.
Never read by twilight, or moonlight, or
of a very cloudy day.
Never read or sew directly in front of the
light, or window, or door.
It is best to have tins liglit fall from above I
obliquely over the left shoulder.
Never sleep so that, on first waking, the
e ves shall open on the light of a windotf.
Do not use the eye-sight by light so scant
that it requires an effort to discriminate.
Too much light creates a glare, and pains
and confuses tho sight. Tho moment you
are sensible of an effort to distinguish, that
moment cease, and take a walk or ride.
As tlie sky is blue and the earth green, it
would 6eem that the ceiling should be a
bluish tinge, and the carpet green, and the
walls of some mellow tint.
The moment you are instinctively promp
ted to rub the eves- that, mmnnn* CMCO "v.
ing (liem.
If the eyelids are glued together on wak*
ing up, do not forcibly open them ; but apply
the saliva with the finger?it is the
speediest diluent in the world?then wa?h
your eyes and face io.warm water.?Hull's
Journal of Health.
^ ?
A Quaker lately popped the question to
a fair Quakeress, thus: "Hum?yea, and
verily, Penelope, the spirit urgeth ami
moveth me wonderfully, to beseech thee to
cleave unto me, flesh of my flesh, and bone
of my bone 1"' "Hum?truly, trulj.Obediah,
I^AII *
tuvu nonw ??"OCIjt omu, mm llirtBIIIUri) 88 It
i? not good to be alone, I will sojourn with
tbee I"
Capt. John Travis, the great pistol bhot
has gone to Huntsville, Ala., to display his
skill in the use of that weapon. He proposes,
at the place named,among other exploits,
to shoot at a half dollar in the bands
of a boy who travels with bim.
We have heard, in onr days one of the
first counsel at the bar mention that on
one oooaaioit, he had called a^the shop of
the elder Sugden, when the latter, In the
course of some familiar small-talk of which
barbers are so fond, remarked, "I've sent
my son to be a lawyar, sir, I hope no offense,
but I've tried bim at my own profession,
and be hadn't tbe genius for it.
TNOIDENTS OF THE
MEXICAN CAMPAIGN,
DV A MEMBER OF THE I'ALMKTTO REGIMENT.
Incidents of the March to Jalapa,
AM) BATTI.E OK THE CF.nitO GOItllO.
On the morning of tlio 171li of April, Gcti.
Quitman's Itrigadc was ordered to march for
Juhipn, with a view of concentrating all the
avuilnlile forces of the army in the vicinity
of the Cerro Gordo. Our tents were taken
down and placed in the transportation wagons
together with our camp kettles, provisions.
i . 11.111 I o. ,....11 ?.1.1 !.. I--. I
last time we ever saw them. It was stated h^soine
that the wngons broke down, and by others
that our tents were thrown out to make
room for our officer's baggage, which :3 all I
know about the matter.
| From the village of Virgnra, tlie road debouched
to the left, and passes several streams
in succession spanned by bridges of solid masonry.
I5.yoiid the water courreS, the country
gradually ascends and the road passes over immense
hills of loose sand, covered ".villi a dense
' foliage. At .1 distance of seven miles from the
Gulf and several hundred feet above Vera
Cruz, we entered upon a prairie of varied and
. beautiful land-capes. At. 12 o'clock we brought
U|> at a stock f.irui entirely deserted; 011 the
premises was a well, sunk through tlie lime
stone rock of fabulous <l?;|iili. Now its Apparatus
was destroyed, ami its shaft partially filled
in with timber ; we were RuflVrii g for water
at the time which the dust and insupportable
heatof the sun greatly served to aggravate. In
the afternoon we with joy descried a settlement
looming iu the distance, where probably
we could find a stream or well of water. A
native stood l>y the door of a hut dealing it
out to all that came. These people keep supplies
of water in their houses iu large barrels
or jars, that it may become cool and purified.
The (Nopal) or common prickly pear with us.
an insignificant plant, iu this climate attains
the size and beauty of a large tree. I have
seen several which would measure three ft-et
around their trunks. The natives call lite
fruits Tocoruit; they not only eat the fruit, but
also the tender leaves of the young trees.
These plants tre now in full bearing, and four
crops ure sent forth annually. The fruit is delicious
and nothing couH possibly compare
with it in flavor. The country now changes
iU aspect, and on this side, and on that are
I sunken spots ; the dry beds of la C3 and
ponds. The woods present forests of palm and
our own I'almetto ; the former now in the sea
son of bearing, and hanging to their lower
limbs are bunches of nuts, which if taken off
would reach a bushel each.
After a most fatiguing march of 15 miles, we
| halted at a place calledSunta Fe on the bunks
of thu St. John's river. It was late in the evening
when the column closed up, and many
wagons had broken down which occasioned delay.
A little while before we came up. the ad
vanced guard of Tennessee mounted men had a
brush with some Guerrillas, who were in ambush
at the bridge. The Tennesseans had two
men slightly wounded. The Lancers got the
worst of it us usual, nnd were glad of tlie opportunity
of leaving as soon as possible. In
the mean time we discovered two dead bodies
of our men, belonging to some of the advanced
divii>ionsof the arniv. who had been wav-lnid.
shot end robbed. Wc buried llieoi, tluit is we
dug up Bvmo dry dirt and covered them partially.
April 18lb.?\V"e are ordered to remain in
camp for the day, for what purpose I should
not. This '-ntirc* country is said to belong to
the estate of Gen. Santa Anna, which is known
as the Manpo Jc Clavo, from a fragrant slubber}-.
growing spontaneously in the vicinityI
thought it was a species of Verbena. Du
ring the da}* some of the mounted men paid a
visit to the General's residence. They described
the building ns being a very elegant affair,
with fl.tors of polished marble. They
brought with them on their return a wooden
leg of ilie General, as a memorial of their visit.
We enjoyed some rare sport in fishing
for cat-fish ; we could see them in numbers in
the deep clear water, as they were not shy.
Tho3e who could not raise the proper kind of a
hook, substituted a pin in its stead and all were
abundantly rewarded for their enterprise. During
the day some very important discoveries
were made with regard to certain insects,
whether they were bugs, worms or miscrocopic
aniiimlcultc, 1 could not determine. The first
intimation we had of their presence was a woeful
pain in the heels and loes of our feet. Upon
further examination we found the greater part
the flesh gone, and iu its stead were deposited
scores of minute ovaries. After pressing them
out a few times the wounds in my case soon
healed up. But how long they would have
continued their ravages, but for his timely
remedy I am unable to say, JTO. 2. paid they
were worse ^Hyn any cancer, and would cat up
a live man in hulf the time. Having dispatched
a hearty meal of such luxuries as chaoce so
opportunely offered we spread our blankets onee
more in the shade of the tropics for a abort siettaIn
the mean time another entertainment was in
store for us, not on our bill of fire. The arrival
of an express brought the intelligence of
Geo.Scott's great victory at the Cerro Gordo ;
a mountain pass 60 miles from Vera Cruz.
April 19th.?resumed our march with
lighter spirits and renewed vigor. We crossed
the river over a beautiful bridge of solid
masonry. In proximity to this, water course,
are magni6cent forests, which cover this
country with perpetual foliage. Anon, we
itruie vaiieys carpeted wnn luxuriant
Or amino, and sprinkled with horses and horned
cattle almost wild ; and now emerging from
scenery, ever wild and beautiful, we approach
a country barren and sterile, from the lotal absence
of moisture and longeontinued droughts.
Most couspiouous among the tinted shrubbery,
are trees laden with fruit not unlike our common
plum. We ate them as a grateful luxury,
and found relief from the pangs of protracted
thirst. In the afternoon the country began to
assume a more fertile appearance, conveying
the impression that we w?#e in the vicinity of
water, and we were sot disappointed, for a
two mil* drag, brought as to bold stream,
its course being marked by those noblo forest*
only realized in tlic tropics. While we were
rcclining in the shade, tin* Mexican officers made
prisoners at Ccrro <jonl?, passed by under a
strong escort of V. S. D.
From the stream wo travelled over a road
beautifully macadamised, the country gradually
assendiny and still barren. We have not
seen a human habitation to-day. At 3 o'clock
I*. M., we came to a village of well constructed
houses, situated on the bank of n large stream,
J'anso </'. Ofi'jos. l'rom the village we ascended
15IHJ feet in the distance of two miles, when
wc were landed on mi immense tnlil-nn Tl...
road was dug in the inouiitaiii side and walled
in right ;und left. We saw here another dead
hodv, the victim t?f Guerrilla warfare. Kartlier
on we passed several more dead bodies.
They had nothing on but shirt and pant*, with
the pockets turned out. These men evidently
belonged to the Northern regiments. I
j saw one that I know had on the uniform of
: that section ; if men lingered behind iu the
j villages and drank Mexican whiskey, Uioy
were either killed on the spot or v.'ay-laid afterwards.
I don't say that these men did this,
hut, I knew others wlia did get tipsy and demeaned
thcms.dVes accordingly, who never
joined our ranks again. These things occurred
011 every subsequent march ; I have been
inilf.i behind on the march and I was unvariably
treated civilly, because I never gave the
natives cause for personal revenge.
Karly in the iftcrnoon wo terminated our
days march at the Antigua Uiver, Pucntas Nacional.
The bridge is a noble structure thrown
some throe hundred yards across the stream ;
this road from Vera Cruz to the Capitol was
constructed 100 years nt?o, by a company of
! merchants at a cost of $3.00ii,Cl<J0. At tlie mouth
of tli is river Ferdinand Cortez first landed and
commenced n settlement called " the rich city
of the true crors The river in its descent
pusses deep down the elitfs and ledges of the
rocks wild and abrupt, which in this season of
perpetual summer, areevcr adorned with many
plants and (lowers holli rare and beautiful,
llere an artist might sit and sketch the beauties
of nature in their wildest mood, and hurinoniously
blend their.'sterner parts with the
music of the waterfalls*; and perhaps fall
asleep in the mean tiuic as 1 am now ubuutto
do.
(fo ee continued.)
^
How to Tell. a Lawyer.?A few days
since a gentleman, being beyond tho limits
of his neighborhood, inquired of a pert
negro if the road lie was travelling led to a
certain place. Cuflee y:tve the required
-information, but seemed curious to know
who the stranger was, and his occupation.
For the fun of the thing the traveller conrinded
to humor ebony a little, and the following
dialogue ensued :
"Mv name is , and as to the business
I follow, if you are at all smart, you
can guess that from my appearance?can't
you tell that I am a timber culler?''
"No, boss, you no timber cutter."
"An overseer, then ?"
"No, sir, you no loolc like one."
"What say you to mv beini? a doctor?'1
"Don't think so, boss, (ley lido in Sulky."
44Well, liow do ycil think I will do for a
preacher ?"
"t sorto 'spools you is dnt, sir."
"Pshaw, Cuffoe, you are a greater fool
than I took you for?don't I look more like
a lawyer than anything else?"
"No, sir-ree, Hob, you don't dat."
"Why, Cuffee?"
"Why, now you see, boss I's been rid in1
wid you for a mile, and you haint cusscct
any, and you know lawyers ulieays cusses."
Gold.?Wo saw on Moiulay last n beautiful
mill rich l?f troM un Kit ? ..Kil l
i ? ! ?? y "j ovmiim
j upon ii fail-in about sevf-n miles from Lit in pluce.
There wi.tc three jiiec.-*, wh ieh had seemingly
been cut from each oilier in order to getth?
rock out, arid weighed about 'J7 pennyweights.
Being pure gold, without any observable impurities
of rock or gravel, they sold for near
their value, $25. This is perhaps the largest
nugget of gold ever found in our State.
Laurennvitlc Herald:
^ > ?
Cellars.?There ought to be do cellai
in any family dwelling. The house should
be one or two feet aliove the ground with f
trench around it a foot deep, so that the
surface of the earth immediately under the
floor sould be always kept dry to the depth
oft-*veral inches, and there should be open
spaces in the "under pinning," so as to allow
a free circulation of air at all times.
i ?
A glutton of a fellow who was dining al
a hotel, in the course of the battle of knive!
and forks, accidently out his mouth, which
was observed by a Yankee opposite, who
bawled out?" I say Mister, don't make
that hole in your countenance any larger,
or we shall all starve."
Robert Hall did not lose hi# power 01
retort even in madness. A hvpobritical
coiiuoicr wiui ins mi^iorinneH once viniefi
him in tlio innd-house, and said, in a winning
tone, "What brough you here, Mr,
Hall?" Hall significantly touched hi* brow
with his finger, and replied, "What'll nevei
bring you, sir?too much brain."
Family all gathered around a cosy fire
Affectionate littleftlaughter with ear ache, in
deep reverie, "Mother." saysshe, "my ear?
have gone to where I have never been !'
"Where to, my child ?" asked the fond
mother. "To aching" (Aiken,)wan her rc
ply. Mother looks with profound attoniab'
ment at her precocious daughter.
A gentleman passing through one of the
public offioas/was affronted by some of tb?
clerks, and was advised tp oomplain of it to
tb? principal, which he did thus:
**1 bave been abMed by tome of -the rascals
of this place, nnd I oome to aaauainl
you of it, as I am told you are the prioeipalV
[Full TIIU IKItKI'KMtENT rntSS.]
Tho Home that I left Long Ago.
II V MR*. ABUT.
I dreamed that I paused by n thick, waving
WOO'l,
And a glen with wild Roses o'ergrown,
1 wandered through green, moasy paths, till
I stood
Uy the dwelling Mint once was inv own.
Aroutid it the ivy still lovingly twined ;
The streamlet still murmured In-low ;
Again was I welcomed by friends true and
kind
To the Home tlmt I left long ago.
I need not the soft soothing spell of the night,
To bring this loved spot to my eyed;
In gaily decked mansions, illumined with
light
I see tin: fair Phantom ariar;
And oft, amid beautiful fountains and bowers,
Ill the lands where tlm orange-trees blow,
1 sigh P.>r the meadows, the brooks and the
llu\t"er3
Of the Home that I left long ago.
O'er memory's mirror no shadow lialh come
To dim thut dear dwelling of love ;
Yet hope ever points to a glorious Home,
Of brightness and gludness above,
My thoughts calmed and chastened, depart
not in quest
Of the gauds that the world can bestow ;
Then blaine not my weakness, if sometimes
they rest
Osi the Home that I left long ago.
^ m
A Word To Young Men.
If* ..111 I <?
m c wow i nave a woki wiui some 01
these young men who are just taking the
initiatory degrees in a course of life, which, if
well followed, must speedily bring them to
disgrace anil ruin. We would beg them to
stop while it scarcely requires an effort.
They may imagine that their pecadillos
are unknown outside of their companions,
and that they are suffering nothing from
. these indulgences lint they are vastly
mistaken. "A man is known by the company
lie keeps." An esteemed contemporary,
the Baltimore Patriot, and on this
subjects, remarks that if a lad of twelve and
upwards is generally found in the company
of his sisters and "cousins," and associating
and affiliating with the gentler sex accompanying
them to lectures and places of rational
amusement and instruction, mixing in
the social and domestic circle?found at all
times participating in the agreeable hearth
entertainments, but above all, habitually in
the house of worship on the Lord's day, it
is proof positive that such an ohe will grow
up to be respected bv everybody?will be
h useful and valuable citizen in society,
and ten to one become a consistent Christain
in all his walk and conversation. On
the other hand, let this youth habiluallv
associate with the rowdy el uses?run with
the "mesheen" ?smoke in the streets?shun
female society ?tipple at the low grogeries
?use profane language?absent himself
C ?1 . .1 1 I ..Til f. I
iroui ui? ^ancillary, anu now long win 11 ue
bulb re his name will be in ihe police nnnnls
and appear in tlio daily journals among the
arrested and convicted. Like begets like, and
effects follow causes as certainly a3 the rising
and setting of the sun.
We do not say that evcfry boy who attends
the Sabhalh School when quite young will,
invariably, become a good man and useful
citizen ; but we do say, that if a boy will
continue to walk in the path suggested in
the foregoing part of this artic le, he cannot
fail to become a good man. These Sundayschool
boys who ,;turn out bad.'* have done
so because thov are not dutiful. Thevfre
qucnt the schools under a sort of necessity
placed upon tliem by llieir parents lo get
tlierii from llieir government?not that thev
are as anxious for their ultimate good so
much as to bo relieved from the care of them
at homo?hence, "away to tho Sabbath
School." Parents of such are often forgetful
of their responsibility to their children,
and too regardless of the fatal consequences
1 .likely to result from this negligence on their
part. 13ut this is only the eieeption to the
rule, and we repeat, that if proper attention
. is paid to youth in the cultivation of their
moral and social qualities, which rcievc the
approval, nt least of all well thinking persons,
the chances are as a thousand to one,
that the man will be law abiding and trust
wuituy hi an lulling.
1 This theory, then, being true would it not
: bo well for parents and pastors, teachers nhd
1 taught to more direct attention to this subject
than they have ever beforo done?
1 We have lectures on music and science,
philosophy and physic, ill of which are
right and proper, but how seldom is it that
the moral education and training of youth
t is discussed ? In the literary institutions
i every regard is paid to the cultivation of
1 the head, and every endeavor strained to see
\ who will recieve the highest diedal at commencement
day ; while the heart culture is almost
if not altogether neglected. The boy
from the graduating class with a shining
I medal hanging from his button bole, to go
I forth into the world of temptation and de.
ceit, unprepared to meet and successfully re.
sist allurement. Indeed, his education has
r been more to fit his mind, to obtain the re
wards, than to prepare hiimolf for the faithful
discharge of duty in the use of the
means to insure the reward. He for'
gets that a boy gradually grows to be the
i man, and the man to be great and good?
' that the really admirable is not in the tinI
sal and trappings. but iikthe mind and heart,
> gradually and judiciously educate to dbow
* forth the exterral that which is. good in the
internal It is well and truly said that.
Worth makes the man,
* The want of itths/aUoto
i Sqdigsbt was once asked by a roung,aspirant
for literary fame, wb^t be should eat
to make him think. The joker recomment
ded a red pepper; whieb the aspirant swaU
* lowed, and icsttedfaiely tbotlgm?-of wither.
Anonymous Journalism.
Newspaper writers in France are required
to aflix their signatures to tlieir published
articles. It is the opinion of many that this
regulation, which in France is a compulsory
measure of imperial policy, might well be
? xtoi d d, not by law, but by voluntary custom,
to the wings of journalists every where.
There are very lew things, if anything, in
which it would not be equally honorable
and profitable for men to lake the responsibility
of all .statements made and opinions expressed
by them. '1'he plea in defence of all
coticcalmnt is expediency, and surely, expediency
is but a poor substitute for honest
candor. 'There are no mysteries with honest
men,' says Sheridan ; and wo doubt
whether right can ever be so much in subjection
to wrong as to be under the necessity
of lighting it with its own weapon of
deception.
A signed article appears boldly, with all
tliQ authority, and no more than the authority
conferred upon it bv the name appended
to it. If it be true and meritorious, its author
recieves jusi praise; aim 11 11 nc laise or slanderous,
or in any way coiiteinptable, its author,
and no oilier, reeievcs his just reward
of contempt; or, if need bo, legal punishment.
An anonymous article is like an anonyinous
letter?a stab in the dark, instead
of an open challenge, if in disparagement
of its subject; and, if ir. praise, ineffectual
at.d unserviceable, as having no credit nor
responsibility.
Very often newspaper and magazine articles
recieve a degree of attention which they
may not deserve, because supposed to be writ
ten by some favorite writer; and, oil the
other hand, articles of great merit fail to attiact
attention, simply because attributed
lo authors of inferior ability. All such
misjudginent would bu at once avoided by
the adoption of a custom of placing the responsibility
of good or bad writing where
it belongs, by publishing in all cases the
name of the writer.
Literary histoiy present numerous illustrations
of the injury of literary concealment,
not only to poor authors, but to literature
itself. Many an obscure writer has wasted
on the desert air, the sweetness of the flowers
of his mind, when, if known as the author
of even a single verse or line of promise,
he might have planted the paradise of
unilving thought an ever-blooming tree for
the intellectual delight of all succeeding ages.
The merit of Virgil's first poetical effort, anonymously
published, was, /or a time, ap
propriated bv another. "Thus, ye bees,"
said the poet, in his retort on the bold plagiarist,
"do ye gather honey, but not fur
yourselves." Who can toil how much injustice
has been done; and how much has
Iteen lost to the world of mind in the misappropriation
of the great thoughts and
words of others ?? Washington Globe.
Tom strikes Dick over the shoulders with
a rattan as big as your little finger. A
lawyer, in l?is indictment, would tell the
story as follows: ?
"And that whereas the said Thomas, at
the said place, on the year and aforesaid
in and upon the body of the said Richard
against the people of the State of Pennsylvania,
ahd its dignity, did make a most
Violent assault, and inflicted a great many,
and divers blows, kicks cilfls, thumps
bumps, contusions, gashes, hurls, wounds
damages, and injuries^ in and upon tlu
head, neck, breast, stomach, hip?, knees,
shins and heels of said Richard, with divers
sticks, canes, poles, clubs, logs of Wood
stones, daggers, dirk?, swords, pistol^ cul
lasses, bludgeons, blunder bussess, a?u
boarding pikes, then and there held in th<
I hands, fists, e.lavVs, and clutches of him, tlx
j said Thomas J"
| A census of the population of Rome hai
j just been completed, from which it appear!
j that the total of the inhabitants is aboui
one bundled and eighty thousand thret
hundred fthd fifty-seven?a figure at about
which the city has remained for the last tw<
hundred and hlty years
m m
" Tnking ilu*ni one with another," saic;
the Rev. Sidney Smith, " I believe mj
congregation to be most exemplary observers
of tho religious ordinances; for tht
poor keep all the fasts, and the rich all tht
feasts.
Nearly all the suicides in this country
are by foreigners. Yankees rarely, if ever
make away themselves; for nearly even
one thinks he has a chance of becoming
President, and at any-^rate, his curiosit)
prompts him to livo on, just to sco what Ik
will come to.
< ?
An awkward man attempting to carve t
goose, dropped it on the floor.
" There, now '."exclaimed his wife, "we'v<
lost our dinner."
" Oh, no, my dear," Answered he, u iti
safe; I have got my foot upon it."
Tue Western New York papers record
the marriage, at Plattsville, on the 10th inst
at 7-2 P. M. of John Bivens and Miss M
A. Turk, and in the same issue nnnunoe th<
death of the bride at 0 o'clock on the sarai
evening, of hemorrhage of the lungs.
The Senate of New York, has passed i
bill prohibiting the admission of boys in tbi
New York Theatre# when unaccompanied
Doob of every kind, setters, pointers, bulk
Newfoundlads, mastiffs, and terriers, are al
lap dogs?when drinking.
A year and a half ago, four young ladie;
in Cincinati, were married at the same houi
Two have ?ii>pe seperated from their but
bands, and tbe other two are trvinr* in am
' ' J "'9 ? O
sdpfirfttod*
^ i ?
Rnntifios wrote a letter to his lore,
And filled it full of warm ajjd-keen deairc
He hoped to raise a ltarae~and-?o he did
Tbe lady pot his aonsaoM ia tha flfet
Mr. Spurgeon?His Sermons.
Peihaps no divine, and certainly none bo
young, lias occupied so much of the publio
mind within the past year or two on both
sides of the Atlantic, as lias Mr. Spurgeon,
a Baptist minister of London. For some
time past he has been expected on a visit
(o the United Slates, and our readers will
no doubt be interested in the following by
one who heard him preach and visited him
at home. It is from the Foreign correspondence
of tho North Carolina Presbyterian :
Since mv arrival in London I hare had
tho pleasure of hearing Mr. Spurgeon twice,
and have also had the privilege of a private
innmew witi? mm. l hist heatd bun in
Music Hall, in Surry Garden, on which
occasion the congregation probably numbered
nine thousand, and though the services
lasted about an hour and a half, I saw
net a single individual leave the house until
they closed, though there were probably two
thousand or more standing the whole tiuie.
Every eye seemed to be fixed upon the
speaker, and the vast congregation seemed
fully to realize that they had met for a holy
purpose.
| The sermon was not what would generally
be called eloquent. It was not very
logical, nor did it abound in figurative language;
aud there was nothing liko vehemence
in its delivery. But I have rarely
board a more impressive discourse. It contained
the very marrow of the Gospel, conveyed
in language that a child could perfectly
comprehend, aud what seemed to ma
of the most importance, the speaker seemed
determined that his hearers should understand
that ho was addressing them individ
ually. There is a point of manner and n
quiet earnestness in his delivery, combined
wilh some originality of expression, which
arrests nnd holds the attention of every
hearer. In his prayers one cannot but feel
that ho istaddressing a present God. His
tone is subdued and conversational, as if
addressing the Uoly One, face to face, yet
full of lowly reverence and deep humanity.
In the brst sermon I heard from him,
, there was nothing to create a 6mile; but
in the second, which was preached to his
own people, a large portion of whom are
of the lower classes, there were soma ex'
pressions which would be distasteful to a
I more cultivated audience. For instance,
speaking of Christians becoming vain, he
remarked that a number of his people bad
manifested a good deal of solicitude qn his
account, and assured him that they prayed
that the attention he received would not
make him vain, though they were, at the
same time so stiff that they could not bend
their knees without taking out their back
bonpRi
I could not but feel thankful after hear*
ing that God had raised up such a man?
For three years ho has continued to collect
a larger congregation than, perhaps, could
be drawn together by any one individual
in the world ; and yet it is generally conce
. (led tlint lie is not a man of vurv extraordi>
nary ability. Hundreds of preachers of
. the Gospel have equal powers, and yet no
" one can draw such a congregation from
1 every class of society. Is there not much
5 reason to fear that too much attention is
; gi ven to the prepcration of pulpit csflay*,
that too great effort is made to preach fine
sermons, elaborate discourses, and that
. there is much too little of simple clear and
t, strnight-forward Gospel teaching?
J I felt after hearing Mr. Spurgeon as porlinps
many others have felt. What it to
) I _ i I i _ _ r i r
ijiiiucr uuiiureus 01 clergymen irom preacning
as great sermons as he? Let tbem lay
| aside tiieir manuscripts and ure as be does,
' the simplest Anglo-Saxon words, and
' deliver them in the same earnest and point'
ed manner and I doubt not they will pro*
duce something of the same impression.
A PRIVATE INTERVIEW.
' I was very mueh pleased with what I
saw of Mr. S. in. private. I was particularr
ly impressed by bi6 simple hearted earnest
piety, and much gratified to find him diei
posed to acknowledge that there was mueh
more zeal among other bodies of Christians
k his own, especially in the Established,
Church, of which I bad been inclined to
) think he bad a low opinion. lie told mo
that most of his sermons were prepared in
s fifteen minutes, and that he rarely ever
spends as much as an hour on one discourse.
I He says be makes great use of the old dv>
< vines, and can sometime makes a balfdo*en
sermons out of as many of their pages.
TTo tioa a tforn arw?AAnlvl?
3 **v ?UIJ ngivoovio lUtlllllCI IU HKP
social circle and a bright boyish face, an?
seems to be blessed w1(b a splendid phjrsr9
cai constitution. Ordinarily be feel* strong
enough to preaob thirteen sermon# a week
one of which is always published, bejqg
| taken down at the time it is preached bjjp 4
stenographer. He seems aoxious to make
a visit to Amerioa, but is unwilling to takfp
'? London till his large new church & *?rrfjf
* Some evenings since be bad a tea-drieltfag
t in his obapel, on wbioh occasion abOQi fewr
tboutoffid dollars "trai* subscribed for tt*
new building. , .
< 1 ? r i- H
There is a Yankee wlraee
skarp,that after ueing apocket
chief for a week, it is fofl of holes.