jjY GEO. "'W • .TS.-%
KEff SEMES.
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Autumn Thoughts.
BV FRANCIS HENNOCH.
The leaves are falling! let them tall;
"l is 11-av.u's supreme decree Unit all
That live must ifie ,
y l.ttle while tlie*ir glory shone,
K little more and they are gone,
in death they lie.
Had we no death, what then were birth?
I camherer on this pleasant earth
Where all is lair:
Through death alone is found the room
for budding hope, for mental bloom,
Ami manhood rare.
]>eny us death—d-stroy the chance
Oi'-kul mature, the proud advance,
Of intellect;
Controlling, conquering every plan
That mars th* onward march ol man
To high respect.
Where men. like granite columns, stand,
Obstructive of the good and grand—
I), welcome death !
They boast they change not ! while they sjv ak.
Their hearts are stayed : their power how weak — ■
lloiv false their laith !
The bar once broken—soon the tide
Of new opinion, deep and wide,
Resistless flows;
As age iriist yield to eager youth,
So fa he hood ilies before the truth,
And wisdom grows.
Man, proud oflife! while living heed
The mvriad lives that die to feed
Thv mortal part ;
And vv.ier. the immortal soul takes wing,
Those mvriad forms again will spring
From brain and heart.
The life which earth and air bestow#
liiiibU up the fabric ol the lose ;
Then, earth to earth!
The flower, matured, gives up if. seed;
The leaves dissolve-—dissolving, feed
A second birth.
The husk of flesh, the si.ell of clav.
Must to th' imperial soul give way,
And let it fly — 1
Emancipated chy rsalis—
From coils of pain, to boundless bliss—
To never die!
What we call death, is only change
Of life, permitting soul's to range
Unfettered, free.
Through all lite regions God hath made,
In glorious sun or sombre shade.
Eternally.
Thou body, brace thyself for -trife !
Thou soul, prepare thyself for 11fed
And whatsoe'er
Thy noblest nature feels is right,
For ir, unhlenching, boldly light;
F'or God is there.
Religious Bigotry and Intolerance.
There is no evil so blighting in its influence
upon society as religious fanaticism. lis terri
ble effects are visible in ail ages ot tire world
and upon everv page of history. Vv iule it is
overthrowing; the judgment ot men, it perverts
the natural affections, and corrupts every ave
nue to tin* heart. They who are affected by
its unhallowed, but ardent stimulus, in sinceri
ty ol nund believe, that they are in possession
of the highest moral sentiment : and, that their
-fellows rnav enjov the same holv advantage, in
the arrlor of their enthusiasm, they urge it up
on them even bv nrii ans of tiie (ire, the rack
and the jihbet. A religion that needs to be
sustained bv such contrivances, is unworthy ol
Christian consideration, and should be left to
perish in the brain of him who contrived it—
the Father of Lies. If we cannot exhibit a
belter life than the fanatic and a more whole
some doctrine than he entertains, we are bad
calculators and worse reasoners. Shall we per
secute a man because his mind has not been
cast in the same mould with our own! or be
cause his nervous organization is subject to par
ticular sensations? Sceptics without number
have been made, from the very fact that they
cannot realize tile truth of a religion w hose vo
taries would carry conviction to the brain, by
subjecting the body to the most cruel tortures.
Jle who has lived-w ithout Cod in the wot Id,
would be most happy to die without one, and
il all who wished there was none, at the same
time believed it, the world would be endowed
with atheism. There is no system of religion
so forlorn, so gloornv or so fatherless, that there
will not hi' attempts on the part of its advocates
to create proselytes. But are we to drive a
man from his home, deprive him of his civil
lights, or put him to death, on account of the
absurdity of the doctrines he entertains? Rea
son is not to be consumed by fire, nor over
whelmed by force. As an example to others,
mut be persecuted or destroyed.
I is as absurd as the doctrine, which,
il ieitaHHMLwili have few followers, and
f ,J 'Ust own weakness. The <%^-
pions of and fanaticism have always fol
lowed the evil yxample of persecuting their fel
low man because of a difference of opinion, and
probably will do so to the end of time ; but the
intelligence of the world has discovered, that
such fanatics have only lent importance to that
which wag absurd, interest to that which was
forbidding, and light to that which was the es
sence of darkness. There are some systems of
religion, which can communicate neither illu
mination nor warmth to the soul, except
bom those faggots which a mistaken zeal has
lighted up for its destruction.
I he moralist who expects to find perfection
• n the human mind, knows very little of our
imperfect nature. A painter might as readily
hope to discover it in our bodies. To render
the single picture of HILK.N faultless, five of
the most beautiful and well formed virgins in
the East, were made to contribute their charms j
by Zeuxis, and yet the picture lacked perfec- I
tion. We can conceive in both mind and b<>-;
dv, the possibility of much greater excellence, j
and have, therefore, no superior reason to he ;
proud of either. The kind of Christianity which j
is of any value, is that ot a jimciiail character, i
It may be fashiSnuble to indulge in that sort, j
which seeks to acquire money by every kind of
rapine, in order to squander it in every species
of revelry hut w hen the balance is struck, the j
latter will be found bv far the most unprofita- j
ble. We can all understand file conduct ol j
men much better than their creed, and have a
clearer knowledge of the depravities of the dis-!
cipie, than of the teachings of the preceptor.
The Almighty is as merciful in his restric
tions as he is in his bounties; and has pre- :
scribed unto himself one eternal and immutable
principle of action—that of producing The high
est ultimate happiness bv the best means possi
ble. And it may be, that the* wonderful and
complicated microcosm—(he heart of man—is ■
governed by u single principle—the pursuit of
apparent good—but the means resotted to in.
order to arrive at that beneficent point is often
the most pernicious and reprehensible. Win n
tile idea seizes upon the mind of the zealot that .
he is called upon to do Clod service, all com
mon modes of reasoning are perverted and all j
general principles destroyed. One who knew
human nature well, has said that the victim of
tlie fanatical persecutor will find, that the
stronger the motives for meicy are he can urge,
the weaker will he ins chance ofohtainifig it
Mr the merit of his destruction w ill he supposed
to l is-* in value, in proportion as it is effected at
the expense of every feeling, lot!i ot justice ami
humanity. The truth ot this proposition is,
spread broadcast over every page ot religious
persecution.
This w ill he found to be the case as lar l ack
as history runs, and if we take the Bible for our
guide, up to the earliest period oi the formation
of communities. This fact would indicate, that
although customs are as various a- the tints of
compb xion, and systems of o-Jigic n as opposite
as we can imagine, stii! man in all climates, in
all countries, and in ail ages, is essential I v the
same c.ieature, ami prone to persecute his fellow
for non-conformity with the prevailing doctrine
of conscience. This tact will also prove
that there is something radically wrong in our
svstem of religious education lor it cannot lie
in a government which haves the question of
conscience between man and his Maker—nor
in our lav school instruction—for here every
scholar meets, or should meet, ofoi c.wh,.ii
ground, to be instructed from books which are
not sectarian in character.
Even Abraham, although he left Ids country
and kinsmen, in order to worship tile true God,
ami establish a pure religion, in accordance
with the dictates of his own concience and the
light h had received, smote w ill) the sword,
the diverse nations around him, as much for
their difierence of cm d as for their capture of
his brother. The nation that he 1 amd'-d not
witsfanding that they possessed a holier celigion
and lofti. r precepts than the world beside, split
into a multitude of sects, and persecuted each
other to (h<* death. The Pharisees condemned
the Saducees, arid the latt>*r tin* former, while
both assailed the Essem s, and the three war
red against the IF rodians and the Canlonites.
The Samaritan and the proper Jew, though nc
know (edging the same find, and having similar
ceremonies, were rancorous in their hatred < I
each other, for the most trivia! cause, and gloat
ed with savage ferocity over everv opportunity
fur veng-ance. The altais of each, consecrated
[ to tlie same living God, were frequently desecra
ted and often destroyed in their relentless feuds,
! while thousands of both sett, were swept to
death at the I and of the other—and all. as they
I believed, for the glurv of the Almighty. Tin ir
own evil passionsanl mistaken judgments or the
selfish motives of their Priests and Rulers, made
acts which would disgraces .Moloch, precede
in popular respect, the sublimity of that holy
| doctrine wT.ich required us "to do unto others
as we would they should do unto us;*' but
these erroneous views were seldom a matter of
question. Many of the Prophets are remem
bered more tor their persecuting: spirits than b>r
the Godlike qualities of their characteis. As
i earl v as this age of the world, religious instruc
{tion, Was strongly tinctured with the bigotry
| and intolerance of tin* present day.
But the Christian era arose, and the meek
| and lowly author of our religion, condemned in
' all the glowing fervor oi Truth, the prevailing
I errors of his times. The short and simple sen
! fence spoken to the woman taken in adultery,
j conveys a loftier moral to the mind than all the
j precepts that Sage or Prophet ever conceived,
j It stamped the character of the religion he
I taught with the pure essence of Divinity, and
installed an age of liberality, charity and bene
volence, among the children of men. "Go and
sin no more," was a holy conclusion to the char
itable requirement of "let him who is without
sin throw the first stone." With these land
marks continually before the eyes of contending
sects, and a proper observance of their bearing,
t the bitterness of sectarian strife would soon
I cease to exist, and we should rapidly become a
band of brothers, conscious of each others de
' frets,- but struggling to correct apparent er
j rors, by the gentle and suasive power of Truth
i and Reason.
We all turn with horror from the ten gener- j
al persecutions of Nero, Domifan, Trajan, An- !
ton in us, Severus, Maximian, Deciu.s, \aleiian,
Aurelian and Diocletian, and read with sadden- j
ed hearts the story of those bloody butcheries.'
With mournful pleasure we trace sufferings of j
fiie two young Christian mothers, Perpetua and
Felicities, and go with them to their martyrdom,
glorying in their fortitude. We bless the hero-j
ic constancy of the Tlieban Legion, who, when
they were ordered to march to Gaul to assist in j
extirpating their christian brethren of that Pro-
BEDFORD, PA. FRIDAY MORNING, DEC. 22, 1854.
vince, determined unresistingly to die to the
last man, rather than persecute their fellow
Chiistians. And yet the Christians of Caul dif
fered in the non-essential poitions ol their creed
and ceremonies, in a much greater degree than
do the various Christian sects by w hicb we are
now surrounded. The Theban Legion had the
true principles of Christianity in their hearts,
and though ordered to he decimated again and
again, to final extermination, for refusing to des
troy their Christian brethren, they stood fast by
the holiness of those principles, and died with
out a murmur to the last of their Legion, at the
hands of their fellow soldiers. Their noble re
ply to the Emperor Maxirniam, should be worn
next the heart of every living Christian. "H
is needless lor you to look any further for per
sons of that denomination—we, ourselves are
such, ami glory in the name. \\ e saw our
companions fail without the least opposition or
murmuring, and tho't then; happy in dying for
the sake of their teligion. We had rather die
wrongfully, and by that means preserve our in
nocence, than live under a load of guilt. What
ever von command, we are ready to suffer.—
We confess omselves Christians, and therefore
cannot persecute Christians A This was the
kind of heroism which tested onr holv leiigmn,
and established it upon a foundation vvl;ich can
iii ver bp shaken. It nerved the martyrs who
followed them, as did the example of Ignatius,
Poiycarp, J•. >till Martyr, In nffiis, and others,
the Tticban Legion. it was promulgated with
charity, and maintained with se]f-d.-vntion. —
These were the (,'liristian traits nt character
which wrung from the a|k.state Julian, as his:
life ebbed awav, the exclamation, "O Galilean ! ,
thou hast conquered."
From the time oft he Arian controversy, self
styled c!u islians have leeri ready to persecute!
and destroy each other for forms and c< ren o- j
nies which have not the remotest connection j
with real Ciristianiiv. The color ot a cravat 1
in our day of religions degeneracy, is sufficient |
to anathematize its wearer. A sermon spoken j
or u sermon read, will produce the same effect, j
and sever a church in twain. How much!
Christianity can reside in tie* heart, when ab
surdities like these can disorganize a rongrega- 1
tion, and array brother against brother. AII I
these things prove incontestihlv that our coi- |
leges of reiigi us learning are tar from being
pure. Tfmv set up a standard of Christianity, !
and then clothe it in forms which are deemed
of more consequence than the essence ot the
religion which tin v j rofos to teach. Aiming at
reducing the thoughts of men to a fixed confor
mity, the priests made at these colleges, with
out distinction of creed, nurture in their hearts
a feeling of malevolence against all who refuse
coHriftscion n if-.eir 1.-ich!i-u*-. sietf.- is Vi Seii
tiered in the bosom ot families, and the pulpit |
rt sounds ith doctrines that would more befit a ,
Jove than Jesus. Society tfl time becomes con
vulsed, and !lie sacred principles of our holy
religion are invoked to justify the tiring oi a j
temple dedicated to the Almighty, or loexcuse
a blood v homicide. Such teachings are institu
ted by the devii, and transmitted to our schools,
of religions instruction. We shall refer to this
subject again.— Pennsylvininn.
"M hriliii'tr IncUhat.
We gather from rumor the following facts,
in which we have been greatly inteiested :
A few days since, Mr. Davenport, oi Sir 1 -
hyville, Tc (in., went down into a \*>-ll which 1
he was engaged in digging, and a negro who,
remained at the mouth of the well hearing hi
groans, ran to the street cry ing out that a man
was dying in the well. A young gentleman
chanced to he passing at the moment, and in
stantly ran to the well, pulled oil his C 0..:, audi
climbing down by the curbing till within about
ten (i i-t of the bottom, when lie encountered the |
stream of poisonous air which had broke intoj
the well, and finding he was likely t>> tall,
jumped to tile ground, lie found Mr. D. up-'
parent I v dead, and immediately made a rope or
chain last around the lib-less body, which was
drawn up by the people who had assembled at
the well. Scarcely had he done this, however,'
\s hcu hf became unconscious, and sunk to the
ground. Tho.se about tin* mouth of the \w||
iindif.tr tliat the body drawn up, though seem
ingly dead, shoved some f.iiiit signs ol remain
ii>rr vitality, Mere bosilv engaged in endeavoringj
to restore the suspended animation, forgetting)
for the time, that some one had gone into the
well, and it was not til! physicians had arrived}
with a crowd of the citizens, and the first ob
ject of their anxiety had began to breath*again,,
that they were reminded (probably by the ne-j
gro)that a voting man, a stranger, had gone'
down to rescue this man, and was now doubt
loss- a corpse at the bottom of the well. What
could be done Who was there brave enough,
now that the danger was fully known, to ven
ture into the \ ery jaws of death.? I'hey !• t
down a light, hut it was instantly extinguished,
'i'hey threw down burning shavings, hut they
only tilled the pit with suffocating smoke.j
Meantime the question was asked again and
again who it was went down? No one coule.
answer, till a lady present, exercising her wo
man's wit, (aught up his coat =and pulled out
some papers from the pocket. I hey were note.-j
of a sermon. The young man was the newly;
chosen Baptist preacher, Mr. Faulkner, a mat
who has in a few weeks won the hearts of th-1
people in a most remarkable degree, and whos'
promise of future usefulness has seldom beet j
equalled. When this was made- known ther*.
was a silent pause. .No one Mould go into th*|
we!! : but among the physicians who had galls j
ered at the first alarm, was Dr. Earksdale, i
deacon in the Baptist church, of which M| 1
Faulkner is pastor, and at whose hospital)!*
mansion the young man made his home. H?
instantly stripped and prepared to enter, h
answer to the remonstrances of friends who fet j
that he was descending to almost certain deati,
he said, "This young man is a stranger—he si
residing under tnv roof-—I am in a degree re
sponsible for his life. I will af least try o
Freedom of Thought and Opinion.
save his life, though T die in the attempt." They
let him down, but the suffocating vapor, mixed
with the smoke, compelled him to desist for a
time. He was drawn up, got some fresh air,
waited till the smoke had subsided a little, and
then went down again. He passed a chain
round the body, but could not fasten it for want
of a little stick to pass through a link to lock it.
They threw down stick after stick, but the poi
son had taken hold on his brain —his head reel
ed, his breath tailed, and he could not find
them ; lie could only call out that he was dy
ing;. They drew him up and laid him appa
rently dead beside the other. He soon revived,
however, and explained in what condition he
had left the young man. Air. Griffith, a strong
minded and strong bodied mechanic, and most
worthv citizen, volunteered to go down, carry
ing with him a suitable stick to tasten the'
chain around the bod v. The work was quick
ly done, and lie was drawn lack without hav
ing suffered great inconvenience. When Mr.
Faulkner was drawn up, after lie had been in
the well more than an hour, he was apparently
gone past all hope, but the anxious and perse
vering efforts of his friends, aided by the best
medical skill, were blessed at length to his re
covery. Life came slowly back, arid he is
now, though still feeble, able to walk about.
Jn a few days he will be as well as ever. The
others are aI jo doing well. I).
It the bystanders, in cases like the above,
would dash into the well a few buckets of wa
ter, he might descend to the assistance ol his
friend with impunity. Such accidents are gen
erally caused by a collection of Carbonic Acid
Gas, the poisonous effects of which are removed
by throwing in water.— Tenn. Baptist.
J'rom itie il lafunjiiu (Itl.) Ffulrxvtaii.
Eighteen Years a (apfivc an rug the In
dians.
We w. re v isited, a few b>Y. ago, by a man
hv.the name of Joseph Harney, who says that
be is in search of a son, whom lie supposes to
live somen, here near Alton. lb* made his es
cape, on the oth of May la-t, from the Flat
Head Indians, near the Flat Head river, in Ore
gon. He staled that he has been with this
tribe of Indians eighteen years. We listened
I>r some length of time to bis history, many
portions of which are truly thrilling. He uas
taken prisoner in 183"), on the* upper Missouri
river, while in the employ of a fur company.
He is a native of France, and speaks English
pool !y : but we give what be communicated to
us as nearly as pi ssible. He was with a man
Ue th" n.n." rn' John ii obi-it.son, both of whom
were captured. They attempted to defend them
selves, and killed two ol the jndians, but they
w ere overpowered—there being twenty-five In
dians to contend with. They were secured hand
and foot, and placed on ponies, and started to
Fit* northward, traveled live weeks, when they
i ame to tlie hunting ground of (be tribe, where
thev were given up to the chief, who shook
hands with them, and manifested much joy at
tm ir capture. They were unbound and confin
ed in a hut, where they were fl-d, but not al
lowed to escape. The chief ode them his
two daughters if they would marry and remain
with tiie tribe. Finding escap" utterly impassi
ble for tie' time, the terms were accepted, and
th" marriage took place. The (roils of this
marriage w ere two children, bolii of which are
s'.ili living, a daughter sixteen, and a son four
teen, both of" which he left with the tribe.—
Two wars ago, Koherston attempted to escape,
but was retaken, sculped, and burned ahve, leav
ing three children with the tribe. S ven years
ago, Harney attempted to escape, but was recap
tured and would have been put lo death but tor
tin- interposition of his wile, who was the
daughter of the chief, During the time of his
captivity, Harney states, that he was engaged
with his tribe in three battles—two with til-
Black Feet, and one >vith n tribe the name of
which we do not know—in one ol which lie
says over seventy Black Feet were killed.
The most of lhe time ol his captivity he liv
ed on the head of the Columbia- river, and at
times as lar up as the head of Flat Head river.
During this eight" , n years, he saw neither salt,
lin-ati, | aitali es, coffee, tea, or anything of the
kind, living up n meat ol moose, deer, skunk,
rattlesnake, turkey, prarie hens, See. At the
time lie made his escape he was near Lake Su
perior about sixty miles from a trading post of
Urn American Fur Company. The chief (his
father-in-law) was a doctor, and on the lath ol
May left, and while he was gone, Barney suc
ceeded in making all the Indians dead drunk
with the whiskey which he had just received,
giving one and a halt pint to each Indian. Al
ter they were asleep, he took his how and ar
row, tomahawk, pipe, two and a hall pounds of
tobacco, flint and steel, and two pounds ol neat,
being all there was in the hut. He started and
traveled all night, having his dog along: the
next morning lie killed his dog, to prevent his
returning to give a clue to his trace.
About 11 o'clock the same day, when about
thirlv-five miles, was overhauled by his father
in-law's (the chief's) dog which he killed with
his how and arrow, and carried the carcass aw ay
from the path and concealed himself in the
brush : while lie was thus concealed the chief
muttered to himself, in his language —"I will
pass this mountain, and at the loot of it 1 will
lake to the lei! hand." Overhearing this, Har
ney availed himself of this information. Foi
ls,wing the chief to the mountain, he found, sure
enough, that he had taken the left hand road,
which he ascertained by tin- tracks of his pony.
He continued his journey to the east until about
two hours before daybreak on the next morning,
when he sat down, fatigued and hungry ; alter
daylight he killed a rattlesnake eight feet four
inches in length, which lie roasted anil ate lor
breakfast. He kept on in the same direction,
when about tive o'clock he was overhauled by
his brother-in-law'sdogt he killed it immediate
ly and passed on. On the next day, about live
o'clock In was overhauled by anotucr be-
longing to the tribe, which he despatched in the 1
same manner as the others: after which he pro
ceeded without any molestation, travelling four
days without daring to build a tire only in day
time. He was seven weeks travelling before he
came to anv tribe of Indians, during which time
lie had spent one week in despair, not travelling
or expecting ever to reach a habitation or
w liites.
At the end of the above time he came to a
tribe which he calls the Tomahawks. He was
kindly treated by them. For fear of being ta
ker: again, he assured them that he belonged to
the Flat Heads, and was in search of two crazy
Indians who had made their escape. After
asking some questions in English concerning the
"crazy Indians," lie departed, and after nine
rniles' travel, came to the Missouri river. He
made a raft of legs and crossed over. Travel
ling due east, he continued his journey nine
weeks before he arrived at White Lake, in Min
nesota, during all of which time be had subsis
ted upon game, which In* killed with his bow
and arrow . He remained there three days,and
sold his accoutrements for clothing, and then
made his way for this State. He aimed here
in the cars.
Harney is a man of considerable intelligence,
arid seems to have a vivid recollection of nearly
all that passed during his captivity. He seems
familiar with Indian lite, and gives many of
their signs fur determining courses, cures for
diseases, £,e. He would like to see his children
again, but would rather fin ego the pleasure than
to go back and remain with the tribe, lie was
married soon after he came to this country, and
lived in Otsego county, New York, where his
wife died, after which he was employed by the
Fur Company.
He is sixty-three years old, but still seems
active and hardv. He describes the country
where he has been as being the handsomest he
ever saw. Truly, lie lias "seen the elephant,"
and if his sforv is correct, he can tell of more
trials, tribulations, and adventures than any one
now living.
A ISEAITiFIL STORY.
The most beautiful and affecting incident we
know, associated with a shipwreck, is tlie fol
lowing ;
The Grosvenor, an East lodiaman, homeward
bound, goes ashore on the coast of Caflraria.—
ft is resolved that (he officers, passengers, and
crew, in number one hundred and forty-five
souls, shall endeavor to penetrate on foot, across
trackless ties, its infested bv wild beasts and
cruel savages, to the Dutch settlement at tin*
Cape of Good Hope. With this forlorn object
bi'fi>r. t Win th-- v final!*.* separated into two par
ties, never more to meet on earth.
There is a solitary child among the passen
gers, a little bov seven vears old, who has no
relation there ; ami when the first party is mov
ing away he ciir-s after some member of it who
has feen verv kind to him. The crying of u
child might he supposed a little thing to men in
such great extremity, hut it touches thorn, and
he is immediately taken into that detachment:
from which time forth this child is sublimely
marie a sacred charge. He is pushed on a little
craft acioss broad rivers hy the swimming sai
lors; they carry him hy turns through the deep
sand and long grass, he patiently walking at all
oilier times: he shares with such putrid fish as
tliey find to eat: they lie down and wait for him
when the rough carpenter, who becomes his o
pecia! friend, lugs behind. Beget i v lions and
tigers, hy savages, hy thirst and hunger, hy
death in a crowd of ghastly shapes, they never
—oh, Father of ail mankind, thy name blessed
fir it I forgot this chid. The captain stops ex
hnnsteri, and his faithful coxswain goes hack and
is seen to sit down t v his side, and neither ofthe
two shall he any more beheld until the great
hot II;:VT hiit, as the rest go oil for their lives,
thev take the child with them. The carpenter
dies of poisonous berries eaten in starvation : and
the steward, succeeding to the command of the
party, succeeds to tin-sacred guardianshipui the
child.
(lod knows all he does for the poor baby. He
cheerfully carries him in his aims when he
himself is weak and ill ; how lie feeds him when
he himself is griped with want ; how he folds
it is ragged jacket arnfnid him, lavs 11 is little
warm lace with a woman's tenderness upon his
sunburnt breast, soothes him in iiis sulieringe,
sings to him as re limps along unmindful of dis
own part bet! and bleeding feet.
Divided for e lew days from the rest, they
dig a grave in'He sand and burv their good
friend th' cooper—these two companions alone
in the wilderness—solitary wilderness—and the
time conies w hen they are both ill, and beg their
wretched partners in despair, reduced and few
in number now, to wait by them one day. They
wait by thein one day : they wait by them two
da\s. On the morning of the third they move
very softly about in making their preparations
for the resiimj tion of their journey, for the child
is sleeping by the fire, and it is agreed with one
consent that he shall not be disturbed until the
last moment. The moment comes ; the lire is
dying : and the child is dead.
HN faithful friend, the steward, lingers but a
little while behind him. His grh f is great.—
He staggeis on for a few days, down in the wil
derness, and dies. But he shall be reunited in
his immortal spirit—who can doubt it ?—w ith
the child, w here lie and the poor carpenter shall
be raised up with the words, "Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto the least of these, ye have done
unto me."
SINGULAR PHENOMENON NEAR VERA Cnrz.—
A curious phenomenon has lately been witnessed
in the port of Veta Ciuz. For several days in
the beginning of this monlh the shores ol the
harbor and neigborhood were strewn with dead
fish cast up from the sea. So great was the
quantity that serious liars were entertained
lest disease should follow from stifh a mass of
putrefaction. Bodies of troops were turned out
each day, who gathered the fish ami buried
them on the spot. A general older was issued
T Earns, $2 PEIS YEA R.
VOL. XXIII, NO. 19.
commanding all those residing in the vicinity
to take the same steps lor the prevention of dis
ease. An order was also issued prohibiting the
sale of fish.
T!iis phenomenon continued for several days,
and at last gradually disappeared. It is inter
esting to naturalists, and we therefore give the
following explanations of Mr. Adoiphus Hege
wiscis, a surgeon in the military hospital, re
sulting from experiments made bv order of the
commandant. In the appearance of the tish
the first thing that struck the attention was the
-inflamed and protruding state of the eyes, such
as ordinarily takes place in singulation. This,
the doctor says, was not, as might he supposed,
the result of putrefaction, for the case was the
same when it had not commenced. On open
ing the fish, the intestines were observed Jo he
much distended with a gas, which on testing,
proved to be carbonic acid gas. A decomposi
tion of the contents of the intestines showed
the presence of no poison, either mineial or veg
etable.
A submersion of the intestines and fish in
slacked lime caused the evolution of large
quantities of carbonic acid gas. He judges
therefore, that the death of these fish had arisen
from asphvxia, caused by this gas having been
envolveci during the submarine volcanic erup
tion : and, in support of his opinion, refers to
Humboit's Casinos, page 221. He also refers
to a similar phenomenon, which took place in
the Mediterranean in IS2I, when large quan
tities of fish were similarly thrown upon the
shores of Corfu, Cophalonia, and the coast of Al
bania. and bv their decomposition, caused a
plague, which carried off a large number of the
inhabitants.—,\"w Orleans Delta, November
I '
lumtDun i'oisrtesifs-
It is the little every day courtesies of life
which betray the true Christian and gentleman;
those kindnesses and forbearances, which he
lias an opjiortuuitv to practice every hour ot his
life. Tin y are the unfailing indices of charac
ter. They are more eloquent of virtue than all
great actions or high sounding professions- The
heart from which they do not continually flow,
like sparkling streams adown the hill side, is
barren of all true excellence. That religion
which consists merely in gilts to the church
treasury : scrupulous attendance upon church
meetings: unqualified adherence to creeds and
creed-makers : firm belief in original sin (which
is not so original a thing after all): harsh judgjf
n.t'nts of the wicked : and great devotion to the
far off heathen : but which sets at naught thai
sweet charities of !ii'<\ and makes no account
t]±* common amMutieg of society, is
sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. The
hearty "■How d'ye do." "I'm glad to see you,"
"How's your wife," "Good luck to you," and
all other greetings which are interchanged by
pnssers-hv, fall upon the heart like good seed,
attd give growtlt 1o all those gentle affections
and humble virtues, which are to the mind
what the luxuriant under-growth ot shrubs and
dowers is to the earth. The smile of kindness
which you bestow upon the care-worn laborer,
falls like sunshine upon his heart and warms all
his faculties into new life and beauty. The
word of comlbrt which you speak to the home
less wanderer goes deep into his soul and kin
dles a new fire among its decaying embers,—
The mark of esteem and reverence which you
extend to the aged man on whose brow is writ
ten, in deep characters, the history ot many
sorrows, recalls to his mind the faded hopes and
joys of vouth, and causes Ids pulse to beat with
renewed vigor, and his eyes to glisten with un
wonted brilliancy. The look of sympathy shed
upon the child of sorrow, or the word of conso
lation whispered into his ear. extracts the poi
son from his cup of sorrow, and tinges with the
golden fines of hope the cloud which beshadovis
his path.
In the hallowed precincts of home, how
much depends upon the countless and nameless
acts of a kindly spirit! How often a kind word
or a reproving smile will extinguish the spark
of harsh feeling which else had been fanned by
the rude breath of passion into a devouring
flame! By warding off' an unkind expression
of hasty wrath with a forbearing and forgiving
look, how easily we disarm all anger and restore
the soul to serenity and love. Is there a quar
rel— a fierce dispute—a war of words in the
family circle ; how easy one gentle spirit will
subdue the rude elements, and make the thought
less destroyers of domestic peace hang their
heads with shame.
Yes, it is these words of kindly remembrance,
sown along the dastv thoroughfare of earth,
which make the poetry of iife, and which, fall
ing upon a heart which has been broken up by
vicisitudes, takedeeji root, and soon garnish the
mind with flowers of personal beauty.
"DIED IN THE H.IKNKSS." —Rev. Joshua T.
Ifussel, a Baptist clergyman at Jackson, Miss.,
recently closed a very eloquent address before
the Bible Society with these words:—"Millions
who are now around the Throne oi tlod, singing
the song of Moses and the Lan.b, have been
saved by the influence of this book." While
uttering these words, he looked up as if he had
a vision of what he described, and paused a
moment, and saving "I have done," sat down,
and was immediately seized with a fatal attack
of apoplexy.
gy.\ few weeks asm a trial was held in Lebonon,
in this State, which shows the character of Kn.ow-
Nothingism. A hole! keeper was indicted for selling
liquor to minors and drunkards. A witness was
brought upon the stand, and he refused to testify
against the hotel keeper, because, he said, it would
subject iiini to punishment by the order. Thus it
will be seen that the oaths of the association are
paramount to the oaths administered in t ourt, and
ihat they refuse to testify in Court/or fear of risking
their souls' salvation. Who, then, we ask, are to
get justice in this country I—lintlrr Herald.
As the lovely cedar is green throughout the
barrenness of winter, so shall the f'hristian a
lone flourish amid the winter of death, and
bloom in immortality.