Tilt': RLIPLES,-:JOIJRNAL.
VOLUME VII.
44ajLiM!2 .. NL=!1 . i .‘ A . tA
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY MORNING
BY HASKELL & AVERY.
Terms :
One copy per annin, in advance, $l.OO
Villagesubscribersperannum,inadvance,l.2s
RATES of ADVERTISING.—Oue square, of
twelve lines or less, will be inserted three
times for one dollar; for every subsequent
insertion, twenty-five cents will be charged
Rule, and figure work will invariably be
charred double these rates:
LV'Tliese terzns will be strictly adhered to
MOM PUTNAM'S MAGAZINE.
THE ZAV;NIS OF VAN-HY.
TAANSLITED FROM TIII: CHINESE Sr Tly-KIN
The eminent Chinese philosopher and
traveler Tay-Kin has recently returned
to his native country from a long jour
ney through the remote and unknown
-regions of Central Tartary. and notwith
standing the revolution which is 'now
ravaging China, has succeeded in pub
lishing the results of his observations.
They are so graphically and forcibly
expressed that the volumes have had an
unprecedented circulation ; and the most
enlightened critics of Pekin and Shan
ghai do not hesitate to call the work,
which, in the original flowery Chinese,
is entitled Light from Dark Places, the
the undoubted Uncle Tom of Chinese
literature. This praise, we presume, is
awarded to the book on account of its
prodigious rale, rather than frOm any
essential resemblance to the celebrated
American romance ; for, although we
have carefully perused the old volume
which has fallen into our hands, wo do
not find—except possibly in the title—
any reason for comparing it with Mrs.
Stowe's novel.
The immense popularity and interest
of that work may be inferred from the
fact that the Emperor of China has,
,according to the most credible rumors,
frequently suspended operations against
the rebels when he came man absorbing
passage ; and, on one occasion, in the
eagerness of perusal, he was known to
have burned the imperial mouth by
omitting to cool the tea, which he sipped
as he read. The history of the means
by which the odd volume has fallen into
our hands shows how the book has be
witched the nation, for it fellinto a chest
of superior Gunpowder from the trein
bling, hands of a laborer who was en
gaged in packing the tea, and endeavor
ing at the same time surreptitiously to
devour the Light from Dark Place:.
Ile immediately buried it in the tea
leaves that it might not be discovered, by
the lynx eyes of the overseer, who tiould
not have refrain(d from ordering the
extreme punishment allotted to such
neglect of duty. " Whoever," says the
first section of the first statute of the
Code of Confucius concerning the pack
ing of tea, "shall fall asleep while at
work. he shall be immediately awakened.
But whosoever shall be detected in the
reading of novels or any other/xciting
books, excepting always the prolusions
of the priests, he_ shall incontinently lose
his cue." To this wholesome fear of
the cue, therefore, we are indebted for
our knowledge of the present volume,
from which we propose to lay extracts
before our readers."
It has long been conceded that there
are no more interesting works than those
which treat of the life and customs of
foreign lands. The Arabian Nights
have an exhaustless charm for every ,
generation ; " for man," in the words of
Confucius, " is always man." These
tales deal with a fairy and impossible
realm. Their scenery and figures have
sufficient resemblance to the world with
which we are familiar to arouse our
sympathy and profoundest interest, yet
without ever rising into a consciousness
of absolute reality. In this sole respect
the great work of Tay-Kin may be
called superior to the Thousand and
One Nights. For, although he describes
the customs of countries far beyond the
influence of Cbristianity,and into which
the bowie-knife has not yet cut a way
for civilization, yet he tells his story so
simply and naturally that the reader
could almost fancy the whole thing to be
within a day's journey upon the railway.
At the same time, for enlightened read
ers like ourselves, who live in the midst
of humane and noble institutiods, in a
lend where social prejgdices never com
pel to crime, and where public opinion
respects true manliness of character se
wisely as to know that it cannot be af
fected by passionate slander,—in a coun
try where it is universally conceded by
the practical men, that the good name
earned by an upright life cannot be tar
nished by a single word spoken in anger
Ly an enemy ; for readers so fortunate in
all this as we are, the extracts which
we have selected from the Chinese work
will have all the charm of an incredible
romance.
A deeply seated interest in China,
dating from the time when we are first
conscious of haring eaten meat, and long
and profound study of the willow-pattern
plates which illustrate its history, have
qualified us, we flatter ourselves, to pre
sent atranslotien so aCCUritte and so often
DEVOTE) TO THE PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRA-CY, AND THE DISSEMINATION OF MORALIT - Y. LITERATURE, AND NEWS
cauched . in the familiar English idiom,
that we are induced to hope the reader,
as his eye passes along the page, may
gradually forget that he is reading of
regions so remote and of a race so bar-
barous, and confess with a throb of ap
proval or condemnation the power of
Tay. Kin. -
We must premise that our traveler had
been absent more than a twelvemonth
from China, traveling toward Yan Ky, a
district of whose people and customs
only the vaguest rumors were current in
the polished circles of Pekin. We
commence our extracts with the opening
of the thirteenth volume,—for to each
month of his journey the philosopher
allotted a volume.
I, Tay-Kin, was now turning south
ward from Thibet, and at sunset of the
tenth day, Whang, my faithful inter
preter and guide, pointed toward an
irregular ridge of dark mountains that
glistened in the fading light, and said
sententiously :
" The Bif-Tek Mountains in Yon-
Ky !"
Is that truly Yan-Kyl I asked my
self musingly, abandoned to that pleas
ing melancholy which the first sight of
famous places is sure to occasion. Do I
really behold Yan-Ky-?
As I strained my eyes pensively to
ward that illustrious land, I recalled the
words of my friend the mandarin and
philosopher Tom-mo, who sat upon the
top of the great wall of China dangling
his heels, as I passed out of the northern
gate toward Thibet, and shouted after
me, as he waved his cue freely, like a
banner, over the landscape :
" Hi ! hi ! so you are going to travel !
Givfmy love to the Grand Lama Go
ing to'lian-Ky I Hi ! hi ! In Yan-Ky
a well-developed woman is an indecorum!
Mind your cue I"
And so the lingering winds blew me
Tom-mo's paternal . counsel until dis
tance drank his voice.
As Irc 0nt,..41 Irnrs-Kg T_
opened my eyes and my ears and pro
ceeded to absorb krowledge. When
night fell we encamped outside the chief
city of the country, and next morning
passed through the gates. As we were
slowly advancing along the street to the
great Khan for strangers, I observed a
man of lofty mein who stood by the
wayside curling a heroic moustache. I
was so struck with *his warlike aspect
that I summoned Whang, and pointing
out the man of lofty mein inquired his
name and position. "He is, probably,
the lord of Yan-Ky," I said to Whang.
"That," replied Whang -deferentially,
"is Zay-ni, which, being interpreted
into Chinese, signifies the Soul of
Honor."
He had scarcely done speaking when•
a smaller man, whom a vivid fancy
might have mistaken for an off shoot of
the Soul of Honor, a sucker,• approached
me, and, bowing courteously, said :
" Zay-ni requests me to invite you to
name time and place, and weapons."
What is this ?" demanded I, in per
plexity, of the faithful Whang.
Zay-ni," explained my interpreter,
or the Soul of Honor, conceives that
the character of your glance toward him
demands the arbitration of the duello."
I do not understand," I responded
plaintively, upon which the Twig, or
Sucker, snufred the air impatiently, and
said :
You are no Mandarin !"
" You are perfectly correct in your
remark," answered I, "1 am only Tay-
Kin, the Philosopher, traveling upon a
tour of observation."
The Twig withdrew toward the Soul
of Honor, whose moustache glowed
along his lip like a permanent declara
tion of war ; and I rode quietly along
with Whang toward the Khan for
strangers, much meditating. .
At length I said to him :
• " I shudder, my dear Whang, with
vague apprehension. What may not be
true of a land which Tom•mo's parting
remark was descriptive? Have we not
fairly penetrated the outer regions of
civilization, or should not a philosopher
say, the very •heart of barbarism ? Was
ever such welcome before offered to in
nocent philosopher? 0 Whang! is not
Yan-Ky the Barbary of which we read?"
" My friend," returned Whang, fum
bling in his crimson silk tobacco-purse,
" before lighting the pipe of discussion
let us smoke that of narration." So
saying, he piled upon the Gozeht the
the weed of Tumbak from Persia, and
we sat silently inhaling and expiring
that aromatic smoke. Then I ventured
to ask my friend and guide :
What is that duello to which the
Twig referred ?"•
Whang smoked for some time without
replying; at length he said :
It in a venerable and honored insti
tution of Yan•Ky, condemned by the
public opinion, and cherished by the
private opinion of the Yan-Kyse. They
who invoke its arbitration upon slight
cause, like our friend Zay-ni, are held
in contempt, being supposed to eat fire.
• Vernacular Yan-Ky
t Eastern pipe.
COUDERSPORT, POTTER COUNTY, PA., KAY 19, 1854.
They being grave and honorable
men, of long and unsullied lives, invoke
its aid to settle the passionate difference
of a moment, are held in universal ven
eration, and receive services of gold and
silver, or the equivalent admiration of
all Yan-Kv."
Truly ?" asked I.
" Remember that you are in a remote
and savage land," replied Whang, "nor
be surprised when you hear the priests
of Yan-Ky preaching the doctrine of the
circular square. Perpend ! It is an
institution holding neither by
_logic, tiu
manity, nor common sense, but by the
mystery of honor, of which words can
give no account. Honor belongs not to
men, like nobility, justice, truth, &c.,
but to gentlemen—one - of the inexplica
ble institutions of Yan-Ky. With the
gentleman, the nose is the most sacred
part of the -person," continued Whang
complacently.
How ?" interrupted I, fearful-that I
was losing my senses, and shuddering
•as I remembered that I was 'distant many
months' journey from the most distant
prospect of the Great Wall.
- " The gentleman and the soul of hon
or," resumed Whang, "are held to be
synonymous in Yan-Ky. If I render
the word gentleman in pure Chinese,
you have, he who respects his nose. It
is the man who always carries that mem
ber before him, like the imperial banner
of the Celestsal Emperor, and defies the
world to criticise - or touch it. The Yan-
Ky doctrine of the nose is subtle, and
not easily explained. It presents strange
illustrations. It often appears by proxy.
Sometimes, for instance, it may be rep
resented by a remark. We will suppose
that I declare the day to be pleasant.
Into that remark I am held figuratively
to put my nose. You, 0 Tay-Kin, in
stantly shout offensively, that I am wil
fully misstating the fact of the weather ;
that, in truth, it' is an unpleasant day.
Now, figuratively, you are held to
have put your hand into your remark,
conflicts with mine, is—
clearly enough—your hand, by proxy,
pulling my nose, or sacred member, by
proxy. At this point, the question of
fact drops out of the discussion, and
without reference to the state of the
weather, we each proceed to show that
we we were each in the right ; or, in
other words, we go out to defend our
honor, which is the figure of speech
used to express the nose on such occa
sions. If I succeed in destroying. you,
I demonstrate by the argumentum ad
hominem, as Confucius says, that the
day is pleasant." •
" But if I shoot you I replied.
"Ah ! in that case the day is not so
clear;" rejoined. Whang, emitting a
heavy cloud of smoke.
"But observe," he continued, "if we
only shoot, whether damage is done or
not, honor is held to be satisfied ; the
nose is put in its right place again. I
agree in the most gracious manner, that
I intended to remark that the day was
unpleasant. - You insist
.that the first
syllable of your adjective was superflu-•
ous. We pay profound homage to each
other's noses, and Yan-Ky, with loud
acclaim, receives us as. twin souls of
honor. This case involves the principle
of the duello. It is an appeal which
may be as decently invoked in the small
aspersion, as in the large defamation,
since, as the Souls of Honor justly, de
clare, a lie given impeaches honor,
whether a mill or a million be involved
in the question of fact. In truth, the
original fact has nothing to do with the
decision. It is a matter of the nose.
My dear Tay-Kin," said Whang, " the
history of the father of Zay-ni, whiCh I
shall now relate, is the best illustration of
the subtle doctrine of the nose, or of a
life regulated by what is called in Yan g
Ky, the Code of Honor, which is the
practical contradiction and denial of the
Law of Confucius, and of the Eternal
Order of Things."
Whang refilled the Gozeh, and, after
smoking quietly for a few moments,
during which my memory recurred re
gretfully to China and Civilization, he
thus commenced : e
The family of Zay-ni, which is one
of the largest and the inost respected in
Yan-Ky, is descended from the king of
some emerald island far beyond the Lost
Atlantis, of whom it is recorded that,
from time to time, he requested the lead
ing men of his kingdom to tread upon
the tail of his coat,—an expression of
which there is no equivalent in Chinese.
From extreme youth; he was carefully
instructed in the orthodox doctrine of the
nose ; and, if any companion ridiculed
its shape or color, he instantly vinir
cated it from reproach."
"In what manner ?" I asked.
~ By transforming his cot
means of a few magical anion by
~oltes, into a
, and then . ' cantin g '
wine-butt, claret
from' his note," '
Whang, pl umed the aerious
w hil e L ed into a more intolera
ble perplexiwvith every sword he ut
tered.
"Ana what proved him, to be the
Sou l -, Honor ?" I asked faintly.
r/hang did. not condescend to reply.
i , As the youth grew, he disclosed a
new way -of proving the propriety of
his name. If any Man brushed him
roughly in passing, or looked at any
lady of Yait•Ky, or trod upon his foot
instead of his coattail, in passing, Zay
ni instantly called him to account;:and
if prompt reparation was not made,
demonstrated that he was the Soul of
Honor."
By = ?" inquired I, doubtfully.
"By shooting him dead," replied
Willing, sententiously, and,. I ' believe,
according to the strict idiom of Yan•Ky.
But the wife and children .of ' the
dead ?"
"O Tay-Kin," responded Whang,
" whoever undertakes to live in Yan-Ky,
where the nose is held sacred, must not
entangle himself with domestic alli
ances, for he can sever tell when, where,
'nor in whli.ktrape, the injured nose may
present itself, and demand satisfaction.
The principles of the nose, or, ns they
as they are generally called, the Code of
Honer, declare, that the fact that wife
and children depend upon the tongue of
a man, is a profound reason for his hold
ing it fast, and not suffering it to wag
against his neighbors."
"True," I answered; "but if jour
tongue wags against me, thereby expos
ing your wife and children, it may be
well enough that you and your family
suffer. But why should U and my
family suffer, who are entirely innocent,
and are wagged against? or why should
the decision be left to a chalice which
may punish the offended, and let the
offender free ?"
" 0 Tay-Kin," replied INhang, " you
do not understand the sublime mystery
ot the nose. Rather be silent, therefore,
and listen. Long after 'Lay-ni was a
full-grown man, which in Yan-Ky is
upon the completion of the sixteenth
year, he was one evening assisting at
the frequently-recurring fete of Hele
an-to, the great god of the Yan-Ky
nobility. In the midst of his devotions
.to that deity, while he was performing
the priestly function with a solemnity
annlenglotts sauness oeyona all praise,.
another
another of the absoibed devotees encoun
tered him suddenly, and for a moment
they both tottered, but fortunately neither
fell. Now during the performance of
the solemn rites of Elele-an-to, the en
tire person of the devotee partakes of
the sacred inviolability of the
. nose, and
violently to touch the body is an aggra
vated assault upon that member. Zay
ni, therefore, having concluded . the cus
tomery genuflexion to his partner, who,
in these Hele-an-to ceremonies, is always
of; the other sex, slipped smilingly into
an adjoining apartment, and there met
the young Spoonski. He requested
Spoonski to inform Klumski, who had
encountered him, that he demanded an
apology for his awkwardness. Klums.
- Id, whom every body in Yan-Ky re
spected and loved, and who bad recently
married a yqpnv, wife, who, with her
infant, was kindly attached to him, said
to Spoonski, that he was sorry that he
had harmed Zay-ni, and rearetted the
encounter, but that he-considered Zny-m
to be a very foolish fellow to demean him
self so like an emperor •, •adding, that he
feared Zay-ni was in the habit of eating
fire, and cherished too exclusive a re
gard for his nose ; and that; for his part,
he should as soon consider a man who
eat fire as much beside himself as he
who only drank it : and precisely •as
much to be avoided, and treated as a
dangerous neighbor.
" When Spoonski repeated this mes
sage to Zay-ni, his wrath was un
boCfnded.
"'He pilei insult upon insult,' said
Zay•ni. He then departed to find his
friends, while his nose, angrily flaming,
led the way like a burning torch.
"'He bumps me : he says he is sorry
in an insulting manner ; and .my • out
raged nose is ready to drop,' cried Zay
ni, fiercely. •By acknowledgin g his
regret in 2 such a manner, he mak es his
oflense a deliberate insult, which if
endured I should ill 'deserve to be called
the Soul'of Honor.'
"'Perhaps you were hasty," said one
"'He is a coward !" said Zay-ni,
the large Yan-Ky manner. _ an
u,But his wife and child,"
other. Zay-ni,
"'But my nose !' kindled and
while that sacred ay- •
•
flamed with ardosughtful of his friends
" In vain ti r rigs of the wise men, and
quoted thsn-a's of Confucius. Zay-ni
the co ne. air, and said :
snuffrn• , yes ; that's all very well : but
,e understand that kind of thing, you
know. - Do you suppose.' am a woman?"
"'Your sex seems to be a little uncer
tain,' said the oldest friend. " You say
that you are not a woman; but is this the
conduct of a man •
So said a few of the thoughtful and
the best. But Yan•Ky at large said
that it'was a pity Klumski should- have
criticised the conduct of Zay.ni. No
man should make remarks. concerning
his townsmen which he is not willing to
stand by. Klumski, on the other hand,
said that he had made no remark that
he was net willing to stand by ; and
begged to repeat, that ile• considered
Zay-ni to be a very foolish fellow. Upon
which repetition, 7 41 " 7-ni sent Spoonski,
summoning Klum.t4to_the duello.
.qt is a great said Yan-Ky ;
but really, what, con a man do ?, My
dear, (addressing his wife,)_ it is most
time for temple . -service: you had better
get ready.'-
"And thereupon Yan-Ky decorously
went to the temple, and heard the priests
read the laws of Confucius, and expound
the behest of the
. Eternal Order of
Things ; and coming out of the temple,
said, each man to the other,
am ,very much opposed to the
duello. You knoW we hove laws against
it. But in this case, whit can a man
do ?'
"Klumski; however,.smiled, and re
turned this answer to Zay-ni, - that lie
had considered him a foolish fellow, and
had therefore called 'him so when occa
sion arose ; but that now he had taken
such pains to prove it to all the world,
that he trusted' there would be no longer
any difference of opinion.
"'Because you are a fool,' said he,
sternly, I shall not be one; not even if
all Yan-Ky, obeying its old, stupid
superstition, undertakes to be foolish,
and condemn me. Their tacit opinion
justifies your conduct, thereby giving
the measure of the worth of their opin
ion. I prefer to be right with , myself,
and with Confucius, and Iwith the wise
and brave, who perceive the Eternal
Order of Things, rather than with those
who support-Zapni in his theory of the
nose.' "
"Alas! my honored Wang," inter
rupted I," I seem to be listening to sto
ries of animals,,and not of men. Who
would have dreamod. that upon the same
globe . with our placid and discreet Chi
na, there could have existed a nation of
such moral savages, the law of whose
religion, and whose staute:-book, was set
aside by dull, unreasonable, and inex
plicable superstition ? Wonderful is
travel ! "But pray. nrortorri h
story or Gay-nt, the Soul of Honor." •
(CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK.)
A STREET , DIAL oouE.—Regular—" I
go for lettink people 'do as they choose
about slavery—that's my Democracy.
If they want it, let them have it, and if
they don't want it, let them do without
it.- Why isn't that right ?"
Independent." You conld n't, suit
me better; only you must carry out the
principle to the end. Some favor the
plan of allowing a part to have slaves
or not, as they may think best, and com
pelling the rest to' be staves, whether
they. like it or lump it. But the true
rule is to let every -ono decide for him -
self, first, whether he will have slaves if
he can get them, and secondly, whether
he shall be a slave, if any one is willing
to take hint in that capacity. 'Let the
People decide for themselves,' is my
motto ` not one for another, but every
one for himself. Why isn't that true
Democracy ?" •
Here 'lndependent' looked up and
saw nothing of 'Regular' but his coat
tail, horizontally extended.• turning the
next . street-corner in double quick time.
—N. Y. Tribune.
laP Whenever we have asserted that
the National Administration has been
perverted from its original aims, to fos
ter the designs of Slavery, we have been
charged. with " sectionalism," "abolition
prejudice," ac., &c. We offer an
opinion on the same "subject from the
Charleston (S. O.) Courier, a leadiv,
slaveholding organ . ,tick
The various occasions ceFcl the
Southern Interests have
,Qh - st import
mastery in Congress, or s{ well worthy
ant advantages, whici'who erroneously
the consideration Qfction of the General
suppose that I' been, on the whole,
Goyernmenitvery. The truth 'is, that
adverse litment, although hostile, in its
oury, Cli c —,
to domestic_ Slavery, and
iMing into being with a strong bend to
ward abolition, yet afterwards so changed
its policy that its ', action, for the most
part, and with only a few exieplions,
has fostered the Slave-holding interest,
and swelled itfrom six to fifteen States,
andiron) a feeble and sparse popula
tion to one of TEN . MILLIONS I"—Mbany
Journal.
The Dublin Nation has quite turned
upon its old friend John Mitchel• It
says:
His brain appears to. have been
turned, his heart to have grown hope
lessly malcontent in exile, and he sees
the world again • only to scoff and sneer
and make; it echo with his egotism.
Eight numbers of his paper still leave a
doubt whether the writer is a little in
sane, or a good deal possessed of a
devil.
A married gentleman, present at a
rapping circle, being informed that the
power depended wholly on the will,
begged that his wife might try it, es he
had never seen anything resist her will.
NUMBER L
The Lady Philanthropist.
Mrs. Ames was sitting in her front
room when she saw approtiching Mrs.
Armstrong, livery pallid spirited lady,
who took a wonderful - Interest in all
reforms and benevolent enterprises, est
pecially those undertaken for the beitefi•
of people at a distance.
.. Jly dear Mrs. Ames," she com
menced, .. I am the agent of a sewing
circle just established, the object of
which is to provi e suitable clothing for
the children in P conjs. lam told
that they arc in tha.hl • of going about
in a state of nature, whic you know is
dreadful to contemplate."
-.Perhaps they are used to it."
"But that's no reason wh - • we shouldn't
improve their condition. So we have
agreed to hold meetings two evenings
in a week with this objeeit in view.
Will you join ?"
" I'm afraid I can't. • I should -be
obliged to neglect my own children, as I
presume will be the case with some who
attend. Look, for example. - at that boy
in the street • He has a hole is each
elbow, and his clothes are covered with
mud. I preiutne his mother belongs to
some of these , benevolent' associations,
ajitt—hasn't time ,to attend to her own
thildren."
"Mrs. Ames!" asked her visitor
rising with indignation, "do you mean
to insult me ?"
Insult you !", was the astonished.
reply; "of course not. What makes
you think so ?" • •
"Do you know who that boy is, of
whom you speak ?"
No, I don't : but I should like to."
" You would ? Well ma'am your
curiosity shall be gratified. He is:cny
son—George Washington Jackson Arm
strong! What have you to say to that ?"
" Say, why nothing. Only it's un
fortunate for the poor boy that he wasn't
born a Patagonian."
Mrs. Armstrong, without a word of
.., the room with the
majesty of a queen.
She is still canvassing for the sewing
circle in behalf of the Patagonians,
while George Washington Jackson is
permitted to roam tit will through the
streets, on condition that - he will not
venture within sight of Mrs. Ames'
window.
MORAL.—Philanthropy, like charity,
should begin at home, though there is
no occasion for its ending the:
Cain.
The following paragraph from the
Louisville Courier, of Saturday, sug
gests the heading of this :
MOVEMENTS OF MATT WARD.—We
have already noticed the arrival of Matt
Ward - and brother at Cannelton, - - Ind.
They had been in town but a short
time, before, as we learn from - the
Huntsville Eagle, a commettee of cit
ieens waited upon them and desired
diem to leave the place. Thereupon
they went to Judge Huntingdon's, 801
distance in the country ; and aftert'uas
took passage in the Eclipse ft-- Arkan
sas. When the steamer "r".thed lij
derson, a large crowd
,ollected
wharf and ordered Ors 6 off
captain Eclipse
with his boat and -;argP•
passed Paducah Thur§ (Vag tbond shalt
"A, wanderer an A He finds no
thou bck'is \ the
~ F place, no refuge, no
rest, no wherever ho goes Yen,
continuin sues him. His case is not
geancet .of Prometheus, bound to the
likr but like that of Orestes pursued
,7 the Furies.—Clcveland Leader.
Au honest Man—With a Qualifica
lion.
Judge W., who has been for many
years a worthy occupant of the Federal
bench in Michigan, fell into conversa
tion a few drys since in a barber's shop,
‘i-ith a plain, substantial looking and
rather aged stranger, from the neighbor
hood of Tecumseh. The Judge being
formerly well acquainted in that vicinity
took occasion t ask after certain of its,
citizens.
"You know Mr. B, do you ?" said
the Judge.
-Very wellr was the reply.
He is well, is he ?"
quite well," was the reply—when
Judge W. remarked, • .
Mr: B. is a very fine man."
Yes," said the old farmer, rather
cautiously, a fine man 'to: a lawyer—
you know we don't expect a gm* dell
of them t"
LAND OWNERS IN FRANCE.—.-The tax
books for the year 1854, show that
12,000,000 of the inhabitants, or one in
thret3, own land, with or without build
ings upon it. It may_ be safely said,
that in no country, and at no period, has
there been such a general subdivision of
the soil. Some of the lots are very
small, but nevertheless the holder - is a
landed proprietor, and proud of the title.
We hope our next Congress will dis
close what proportion of this country are
owners of the soil they cultivate,
tinguishing North from South.—Trib..