AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. pDDEIsiIED KVERV THOEBD.iWuonMIKq. DX ' John B. Bratton. terms SoDgonipiiON.—Onb.Dollar and-Fifty Cents, hiiid in advance; ; Two Dollars it,paid within tho ve’ar- and Two Dollars and,Fitly Cents, if not. baid within thb year! Those terms will bo rig idly adhered to in every instance. No sub scription discontinued until all arrearages ,are nnid unless atihc option of the Editor. V -Advbktisejif.nts —Accompanied by the cash, hnd not exceeding onosquare, will be inserted throe times for One Dollar, and twenty-five cents tor each additional insertion. Those of a great tor length in proportion. ' JornPEiNTiNO-r-Such as Hand-bills, Posting bills, Pamphlets, Blanks, Labels, &c.,&c.,exo cntqd with accuracy and at the shortest notice. |M(aL TP SABBATH. Fresh glides the brook and blows the gale, •' Yet yonder halts the quiet mill, The whirling wheel; the rushing sail, How motionless and still. ’Sixdays of toil, poor .child of Cain, ' , ■Thy strength the slave of want may. bo. The seventh thy limbs escape thb chain— A God hath made thee free. . Ah, tender was that law that gave This holy respite to the breast, To breathe tho gale, to watch the wave, And know the wheel may rest! ' But where the Waves the gentlest glide . What imago charms to lift thine eyes, •The spire reflected on the tide Inyitos thee to the skies. , ” To teach the soul its nobler worth’ '■ This rest from mortal toil is given, ’ ; Go snatch the brief reprieve fromcartli, And pass, a giiest to Heaven.. They tell thee, in their dreaming school. Of power from old dominion burled, When ricli-and poor, with jnster rule, Shall share the altered world. Alas! since time itself began, That fable hatn but fooled t|ie hour, Each ago that ripens power in Mair- But subjects Man to power. Yet every day in seven, at least, ■ . One bright republic shall bo known; Man’s world awhile hath surely ceased, , When God proclaims His Own ! Six days may rank divide the poor, Oh, Dives, from the banqit hall; The seventh the Father opes the door. And holds His feast for all, GENTLE WORDS, A young rose in summer time Is beautiful to mo, ’ And glorious the many stars That glimmer on the sea., . Brit gentle words and loving (marts, . And hands to clasp my own, Are better titan the brightest flowers, : Or stars,that ever shone. The sun may warm the grass to life. The flow the drooping flower 1 And eyes grow bright and watch the light Of autumn’s opening hour —~ But words that breathe of tenderness, And smiles wo know are true, Are warmer than the summer time. And brighter than the dew. ■ It is not much the world can give, . With all its subtle ait, . And gold or gems, are not the things ■ To satisfy the heart; • But oh ! if, those who cluster round The altar and the hearth, . Have gentle words and loving smiles, , How beautiful is earth. . : 3®lscrflaii^nsf;. For the Volunteer. SOUTH MIDDLETON EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE. This Institute met at'the Kcd School House, on Saturday,' Nov. 27th. at 10 o’clock', A. M. All the officers, five School Directors and four teen teachers present. Absent. Vf. P. Stuart, on aoiiouht of-a peculiar engagement. On.motion p The minutes of preceding mee ting were read and adopted. Adjourned until 1 o’clock, when.the proceedings were opened by Mr. Gohr, .who delivered an excellent inspi ring address ; subject: “Onward.” . The spea ker very eloquently refered to the.works of na ture now as ever “Onward.” Literary and scientific discoveries, the Mechanic arts and va rious professions are “ Onward." . The progress of foreign missions, the general spread of Chris tianity, sustained by brave hearts and willing hands, despite opposition and discouragements, are still “ Onward and concluded with an ar dent appeal to the teachers, to lot “ Onward” be their steady guide and watchword, let their labors be ever so toilsome ! t , Miss. Beistline then read an original “ es | soy,” entitled the “ secret of teaching." This production treated the subject as it should.— I It pointed out some duties which but few inex { . perienced teacher- have yet discovered—to aso- I, ertain the capacities and dispositions of pupils I end to instruct them accordingly : thereby sa ving the teacher from impatience and petulance; to deal mercifully with the erring, and forbear ingly with the dull: exciting the ambitious and encourtging those who strove to learn. As this instructress has as yet resorted to; no species of coporeul punishment in her school, the Es say” indicated her method of teaching and ...... School discipline. S' ' “ Geography”, was then taken up, Mr, Mosser opened with a brief illusion to the indis jvjpensable importance of Globes, and outline j' : 1 juapsr and the difficulty of-teaching map-ques- V'’ tions without them ; and amusingly refered ip ng- the old-timed, nonsensical, method of teaching E it, exclusively, with the use of the book and |fc Mias. Miss Kenyon exhibited her method ol ,jteaching with the use of thfe IJlackboard, draw ® ihg and okctching. to impress the'various form m and locations .of Divisions and sub-Divisions, as 'ffi .did Mr, Breckbill.; ’ “C . WV Milos then exhibited his' method ol | (teaching Map Questions by requiring his schol ‘ars first to.point out the localities and printed © .answers tin the maps, to prevent the usual fou "tine of learning names merely from the initials, which follow each question in the book ; and & .then requiring his pupils to recite the same the i| second time, without the use of the Allas. He R also remarked : that to impress the mind more at|. indellieiblv. his pupils draw “ Outline Maps” Wlonco a week j and to render the exercise more attractive, permit them to paint each map. the qualification necessary to commence ,;the,study of'Geography, were discussed by the teachers generally. One essential qualification, §hat the scholar should be a tolerably good rea- Sf, in order to a correct pronunciation of Qco- and names. ■ This subject was •aSS? u ' ) ’ 011 account of some of the teachers ?i®W 0 ? e ' n s ?h OO V studying it. One teach , experience, having twenty-seven :” '9®^l are °? ’"S ro ' l > remarked : that he had a ; j the qualiUcationa to pursue ' yas r under the impression that it was P a . rcnts , to whether or not they was glad that the WM brought up. that his duty was mrjJSm* known, and would attend to having them t ;;(. ( ,, with books, if their parents co-oper- i; s iEnglißh Gramniier was then taken up Mosser opened by reference to the import- °f instructors teaching it by example and That teachers should always them •tMß||veB guard against improprieties of expression 'Hjpheir daily intercouso with their scholars ; •‘Hut all vulgarisms and cant phrases should be ’ pjpSpountonanced and corrected by him. it'TjMr. Brechbill then gave his views on animraii BY JO3N B. BRATTON, VOL. 45. his method of teaching it, and the inference was,, he has the' right view of the subject. His plan is well calculated to give his pupils a thorough knowledge of this study, with the use of analytical exercises, calculated to unfold the thinking powers, rendering it attractive and pro-: fitablc.by Black Board exercises, occasionally in parsing and correcting. t Bliss Kenyon then-made known her meth od of teaching grammer—the Blackboard being used by her also in parsing and analysing sen tences. Miss Kenyon being one of the best teachers in tho township, of long experience in advanced scboolft her instructions in the branch cannot but be fully appreciated by her pupils, as the Institute was highly .edified by her re marks. W., Miles having been called on,- remark-, ed: that to instruct advanced scholars in En glish Grammer, his method is to take Etymo logical parsing, Syntax and Punctuation togeth er, and gives his first class alternate lessons in each. That parsing alone does not constitutes knowledge of Grammer, whoever advances no further, will leave the schools without receiving any practical benefit. Ho contended that he who can parse well, and understand the Gov ernment of language, is, fully qualified to cor rect false Syntax, under most of tho rules and notes, as laid down by our authors ; and also to learn and to apply the rules of punctuation, so useful to the writer, and to scholars who attend, to Composition cxcicises. He concluded by writing off h number of sentences bn the Black board, drawing a diagram of curved lines (with the rules numbered thereon,) representing Gra mutical Government, and suggested it as a meth od of parsing. English Grammer not : being a prominent study in most of the schools, and not taught at all in some, but few of the rest of the teachers participated. The Assistant Secretary then, called over the list of absentees since (he organization of the Institute. The teachers were required by the school Directors to give an account of their absence—some were exo’used —others not. owr ing to their excuses being too- frivolous. Pen ally ; That they be required to put in tho lost lime, but riot on Saturdays. The business for next meeting before the Institute. Mr. Burn was selected to deliver an address. Miss Bell to prepare an “ Essay,” and, the branches, “ Penmanship” and “ English Grammer.” , Mr, Wagner suggested his school house and on motion that it be held at the York road School house, it .was opposed, as being a viola tion of the bye laws, which requires the mee tings to be held in houses of •• prominent local ity,” and was likewise an imposition on a ma jority'of the teachers to walk a long distance and return home after night—the motion pre vailed. „ . On motion : That the. thanks of the In stitute .be tendered to Messrs. J. M. Good, D. Wolf, U. Brechbill, and to Mr. Horner, for their, hospitality to the members, and also to Messrs. Zinri, Cornman, Bratton and Porter, to the edi tor of the Mechnniesburg Gazette and Shippens burg News for their kindness in publishing the proceedings. Oni motion ; pub lished’iu all life County papers. Adjourned:-tttv meet'fln Saturday December 11th. , • ■ . ... tV. MILES, Secretary. From , the N. Y. Mercury. A NICE LITTLE RIDE. BY GEORGE' ARNOLD. I was formerly a great admirer of steam en gines, and especially of locomotives, but I have got bravely over it. I carried this admiration to an excess—it be ing almost a monomania with me to be around railroad depots, and to watch the trains coming in and going out. ' , Not that I am of a mechanical turn of mind, at all—far from it—[ could never make any thing in my life—not even a boot-jack, although I Once worked on one for three days, broke two saws and a gimlet, cut my left hand half, oft, and had to give up, after all! The steam engine was always a-mystery to me—l would'as soon try to comprehend the principle of the gyroscope—and I never knew the name of any of its parts, except the piston rod, cylinder, and governor : yet I loved to sit and watch the thing at work, wheezing and clanking, with its slow, even, slcady motion— ah, it was a great fascination to me! „ But the greatest pleasure I knew was to have a good swift ride on a locomotive. Prom my almost constant presence at the depots, I know all the engineers on the line of the Slingwheel and Firepan Railroad—an unbroken track of two hundred odd miles, over the oars, on the lender, or perched gidily upon that trembling, shaky machine, the iron horse. , My gay season was the close of a Presidential campaiga, when the election returns had to bo carried through by lightning express—usually an engineer and myself, on a single locomotive. Other people were interested in the election, and excited about its result—l was only interested inmyricle, and excited about my rate of speech Once, I remember, I carried the dispatches, and made splendid time. I left Slingwheel at eight o’clock in the evening, and, at quarter past ten, arrived at Watcrbutt —a way station, just one hundred and thirty-five miles from Slingwheel. A large party’ had assembled to hear the news : but I forgot it all. and ns the engineer slacked up a little. I only screamed out in answer to their questions : "A mile a minute, clear through 1 Go ahead, Jake!” And off wo went again, leping the inhabi tants of VVaterbutt.in total darkness as wheth er they were enjoying the reign of , a whig or a Deiitocrat! . But my great ride, and my last, was about a year ago. It was a pretty tall experience, of its kind, and has, I am pleased to say, entirely cured one of my predilections for “ranking big time.” When compelled to travel, now-a-days I always go in a quiet little wagon of my own, and never emulate anything (aster than eight or ten miles an hour. ' the speed, and I had no desire to go faster. The wind, too, was becoming almost insupportable, in spite of the iron apron, and altogether, the only desire I felt, was that X might die quickly, and easily, without pain. How long 1 went at this tremendous speed, I cannot imagine. It seemed a year —an age— but I don't think it could hare bcenquite that. Probably about two hours, but my suspense magnified the minutes into months, and it rcal- Having occasion to get a small job of gun- *7 T, ce . m T c^ , a . 3 s * never s - tO P; smithing done, I called on this young man. and But I did. _ . „ found him at work on his engine. We fell into ; After a ume, I found myself losing sensat on conversation on. the subject and ho represented «" '»? 1 could , "° l ™^ r rn f “ l , e his condition and his expectations so vividly lo Randles in front of rap..™ «*“ brace «in mo. that my heart was warmed toward the en- dc s ,n y feet - 80 } w “ s “ , . IIU e s “, rp " B °j C , n ternriso The idea of rnakimr a tnn on that ceive a cold, wot sensation overcome me. and to curiouslookhig skeleton truck, at unheard of Aid myself cl l eav i n B l a^ od y rate, took possession of me at once, and, i and going down, down, down slower learning that he only wanted about a thousand ; motion than I had experienced for some time. . dollars, I agreed Jo the money, if he A shock against my feet convinced.me that I would allow mo to accompany him oh the first | was at the bottom of a river, or lake, and upon trip. i striking out to swim, I was delighted to feel | I need not say that ho gladly promised, and [that I arose toward tho surface. Notwithsta , u y There was a young machinist who-lived’at Slingwheel, and who had quite an inventive ge nius. He had, for several years, been engaged on a model of a great engine, which was to supercede all others, and create a perfect revo lution in the world of locomotion. It was a steam-carriage, but of an entiiely new plan and principal, arid he was very sanguine of its success, it ho could only get money to complete it. ,4 that I lived in a state of extraordinary excite ment from that day forth, until the machine was completed. It was a strange affair to look at, resembling a reaping machine, a trotting sulkey, and a, pa tent cqfiee-mill, about equally. 'The young ma chinist explained to me. that this model was merely for a test of the principle, and that a larger one built more carefully, would go much faster. • “I do not expect this one to get more than twelve thousand revolutions per minute, for its balance wheel.” said he; and that would only give a speed of one hundred and seventy-eight miles-per hour, on a good road. ”■ ... I bad an idea that this would do for ordinary travelling, and inwardly prayed for the night of the trial to come. It came—one Wednesday night, when, for some reason or other, there were to be no trains through, either way, and I hastened to the shop where the model stood, in perfect readiness for the track. With little trouble we rolled it down to the rails; and placed its wheels upon them, for it weighed but a few pounds morethan a common hackney-coach. We then took our places on a sort of buggy-seat, with strong handles in front, to hold on by—the machinist pulled a string, and off we dashed, beginning with a jump .of some twenty feet, and a slide of ten more, before the wheels got fairly to revolving. The lights of the village gradually lengthen ed out into long ribands of flame, as we flew through the suburbs, and by the time I could catch my breath, some similar ones, appeared, gliding swiftly past. “What lights are those ?” I asked. “Tarbuoket Station.” replied he. ■ . “But Tarbucket is, five miles from Sling wheel.” . n “Yes, and we have been nearly three minutes on the road.” . “Pretty, good speed 1” “Yea, but I am going to try it a little fas ter.” , This conversation was held at the very top of our voices, for no ordinary sound could have been heard, at the rate at Which we were going. The 'wind seemed blowing a gale, although I had remarked, bbfore wo started, how very still the night was. ■ My companion how turned a small crank, with a ratchet upon it, which was attached to the machine, just in front of him, and a sheet iron cover arose toward us, in a slanting direc tion, so as to break the wind —already about as strong as we could stand. “Hold on your hair,” said he,“andlook out riot to move abou t. I am going to let her. do her prettiest now !’■’ . . With this ho suddenly drew ont something like tin organ-stop, and.Lrealized, for the first time in my life, how the inhabitants of a comet must, (eel, when Under full headway. I had been able 16 sec occasional objects, be fore, at no great distance from the road, and could make out the horizon very well. But non- everything was blank. Sky, earth, woods, water—all were a plain mass of gray indistinct ness. I We have probably passed Spearmint Bridge!’ he eight, ilnriutcs!" Tl/ewords came very.faintly to my.ear, and, I began .to wish that I could see something, if It was only so as to know where we Were, and how fast wo had really coine. I began to feel just a little uncomfortable—it seemed something awful, to be sitting there in that silence, seeing I nothing, and knowing nothing, except thUt we were liable to go out of the world at any mo ment, at the rate of nearly two and a half miles a minute! , While these thoughts were passing through my brain. I heard a faint sound like a steam whistle, arid almost at the same moment saw a flash of light, apparently under our wheels, and fell a slight jar. ~ *T am afraid we have run over sobaothmg ! yelled my companion. “What do you think it is?” I shouted. “Probably a locomotive!” he replied. I asked no more questions. Again I saw him pulling out the little ivory knob I had before noticed, and immediately after, .1 found my seat sliding out from under me. I knew that ourspeed was increasing and grasped the handles with all my strength. A strange, humming noise occasionally attracted my attention, and puzzled me much, until; I found that it only came when I had ray inouth open. It was the wind playing into my mouth, as into the aperture of a humming top, and as it became louder and louder, I that our rate was gradually augmenting in swiftness. . As we progressed,, it grew darker, also, un til! could but just make out the form of my Jehu, dimly looming up beside me. It was quite impossible to make our voices - heard now, and. notwithstanding my monomania, for fast travelling, I .confess that my situation was hardly a pleasant one. I did not mind the going much, but! thought that I had good reason to fear the consequences of a sudden stoppage ! Onco more the machinist’s hand sought the knob, and he raised himself up a little, as if to look over the iron coyer, or apron, when his hat, I presume, must have caught the wind and gone ofl. for I saw him throw his arm toward his head, arid as 'tlie engine' darted forward," everything became dark as pitch. ' I was terrified now, in good earnest. Icould stand the darkness and the silence, so long ns I could make out' the form of my companion, but now I could see nothing, and my terror got the better of me. I put out my hand to press the machinist’s arm, as a signal for him to slacken, when judge of my feelings—he wag not there! My hand slid along the seat, to the further end,’without',, meeting with anything, and I comprehended that he had falfcn overboard, when heraised his ;o catch his hat! This would have been a very shocking occur rence, and I should have been horrified by the probable awful nature of hjs death, had I not been so much occupied, with the thoughts of my own—as I now judged, no very, remote event! Totally alone, then, in thick darkness and utter silence; I sat and awaited my doom. I knew absolutely nothing of the modus oper and} o( governing or regulating the engine ex cept that lo : pull out the little knob, increased \ 'V “ OTO COUNTBr —MAT IT ALW-XT3 BB 'BIOIIT —DOT RIGHT Oil WRONG, OUJI COUNTRY.” CARLISLE, PA., DECEMBER 1858. ding the confused state of all my. faculties, I could see, on getting above 1 the waves, that I was several rods from shore—say about three hundred feet—in the bay, near Firepan—the end of my, journey—some two hundred and eighty miles from Slingwheel ! ■ : . With considerable trouble—for I was stiff and sore—l swam to the rai|rpad dock, and, climb out of the water, asked a bewildered depot hand how I came tnere.; 1 “Shurc, sir; said'he, "T don't know; but I’m after belavin’ ’twas the 1 devil that fetched ye!”,- , ’ By dint of close cross questioning, I learned that he was.*‘jist a-sitlm* on his truck, a-smo kin’ his dhudheen,” when he heard a singular noise, such as he had never heard , before, and immediately after,' saw a.tremendous splash in the bay, many yards from ithe end of the long dock. - ,- The trulh was plain. "3Ty infernal machine had run the whole length, of the road, and, stopping for nothing, bill; shot : over the dock The fall into.lho water had saved my .life,'and I was spared to tell'this story', which I feel pretty confident no oho will believe. I" spent the next two weeks at Firepan, in a, raging fever, and as soon-as I recovered suffici ently, I started but to look rfor the remains of the unlucky machinist, ®*! to learn what it was we had run over. , I discovered that the latter was a locomotive and tender, which had : heen found the next morning, smashed tp fragments, with the engi-; neer and fireman both killed. The accident was attributed to a whirhyind. as the pieces of the wreck were scattered rods apound. As for the machinist, Fcould find nothing of hiin save a few shreds of Cldthing, and a little' blood rested on the rails.; I spoke of this to an old engineer who accompanied me on my search, and remark.ed,thaiT thought it strange that I could not discover his body anywhere about. ■'• ' " ' “Well,” said .the, engineer, ejecting a quid, “you say you was a goinUwo miles m a minute and belter ?” "K:; ‘.‘Yes—as near as I can,guess.” “Well, you see., when-ypu come to grease the track with a man’s body! it dont last long, f guess you wont flnd'nbtnoreof him than that!” In Summer days I till tiip ground, And tug, and toil, aadrgot my bread,. No interval can there by found Between my laber and my bod. My 'wife declines to knit by night, And I to read by candlelight. . But when tbo south receives the sun. Beyond the equinoctial line— When ail my Summer vf3rk is done, Substantial pleasuresilion are mine. Then Jane begins to knit at night, And Ito read.by candle-light. I’m then content, and ngver sigh. Nor fly from homo'sqjno bliss to find; — ■ And Jane is pleased as Wfl as!— - .It so completely feaslJ r J—'i' mind, . : ■ . To ait her down to kKv(-A-. night, *• ‘And; t : For when f rond, ahe,nfvr(wb heirs, ; And ivhat she boafs.Bbo : |ries to.soaq ; . ■; When aught to faer.obsearp appears. Then I explain it—-Iffican Oh t how she loves to knit by night. And hear mo read by candle-light I THE FIRST STATS PRISONER. BT GRANT TlKknonN. - ' ,| I landed in New York, afono 1784, by trade a rough nailmaker, jw the 22d year of my age. In October following, (at '(Tmt time the Park wasoutof town, and only 80,000 inhabitants.) With ten thousand fools, some bigger-and some smaller than myself, we stood watching the vibrations of the rope and the, iron hook, during two long hours. Then the sheriff stood on the scaffold and read a reprieve. • I- confess I . was very much disappointed. 1 expect to seen ban ging, but no hanging was there. The man was Noah Gardener. Ho kept a large shoe store in New York, He committed forgery, which at that time, was death Jby the laws of these United States. The State prison of New York was in the course of erection at this time: this was the first prison erected in the whole for reform, iustea.d of hanging, The Society of Friends were the chief promoters of this humane system.. One room in the prison was near .ready . to. receive criminals. The Friends procured from the Governor a commu tation from deat.h to the Stile prison for life. Being 'a shoemaker by trade, 1 gave him a stool, wax. lasts and awls, and here commenc ed the State prison shoe manufactory. Next court, six vagabonds were sent to keep him company, theca he learned to make shoes. I visited the prison three years after this. In ond large room sat-three hundred shoemakers. Noah was provost marshal, walking through the ranks with cane in hand; punishing,evil do ers and' praising them that did well; Seven years having,passed over him. the Friends Wai ted on the Governor. “ Friend,” said they, “seven years‘ago, you would.havo hung this man ; now* here'S a reformed member saved to society.” He' received ’ah-unconditional-pardon, and came out. The Friends found him a store- on Pearl Street, found him pjoney, endorsed his notes, arid gave him their custom. Immediate ly he was in a thriving way] He joined the So ciety of Friends, and said ttiee and thou--with the best of them.. He had f wife, and children arrived at maturity, : i . ; - His journeymen were clmfly men of families,' and wrought their own houses. One day be gave a.'man a pair of-boots. * ‘ Now friend,” says he,.“ thee must bring home these boots on fourth day evening.” Says,the man you shall have them. : The boots did not come home till fifth,day evening. Noah was wroth. . He gave the man a 1 long lecture on the evils of disap pointment and want of purietualityv -When he drew up to breathe, the map replied: r , • • Sir, I am a poor man: nave three children, the youngest, forty-eight years old. I had to tend to my wife and cook for my children; 1 It was not in ray,power to finish the boots soon er.” Noah still .continued m magnify the hor rors of disappointment. The man grew an gry ; the Scotch blood boiled in his veins; he .struck the counter with his* fist like a sledge hammer. “ I know,” says ho, “ it’s a terrible tiling to'bo disappointed. I remember going up to the park to see you hung,' and I never was so disappointed in ray life when I, saw the re prieve!' • Now this was a knock down argument, as an Irishman would say. It was a case ip point, as they say in court; and a fact beyortd all con troverfly.'as they say in Cotigress. Noah, was dumb; he opened not his mouth; He gave the man another pair to make, kept him in employ ment, treated him kindly, but as, the man said, he never heard the word disappointment drop from his lips thereafter. Noah went on prospering and to One day he borrowed various sums of money, and obtained a number of endorsements. The bills he ebauged for gold: the endorsements he got shaved in-Wall street.', That night ho was [off for parts unknown, taking with him n dear WINTER AMUSEMENTS, sister, the wife of a young friend to cheer him on the way. The story is true to the letter, and being the first subject of state prison re form, the day dreamers of the present time may settle the question whether hanging or state prison reform is the surest way of curing aeon isumnte villain,. His faimily and friends never heard from him. A Caution to Young Med. A young medical student from Michigan, who had been attending lectures in New York for some time, and considered himself exceedingly good looking and fascinating, made a deadly onset on tho heart and fortune of a blooming young lady who was boarding in the same,house with him. After a prolonged ..siege; the lady, surrendered. They wore married on Wednes day morning. Tho same afternoon tho “young wife” sent for and exhibited to the astonished student a “ beautiful little daughter” three and a half years of ago. . “ Good Heavens I then you were a widow, 1 ’ exclaimed the astonished student. “Tes, my dear, and this Is Amelia, myyoung est ; to-morrow, Augustus, James and Reuben will arrive from the country, and then I shall have all ray children together once more.” . The unhappy student replied not a word; his foblings wore too deep for utterance. Thonoxt day this “ otherdarlings” arrived. Reuben was six years old, James nine, Augustus a saucy hoy .of twelve. They wore delighted to hear they had a “new papa,” because they could now live at homo and have all they wanted. The “new papa,” as soon ns lie could speak, remarked that Augustfls and James did not much resemble Reuben and Amelia. “ Well, no,” said the happy mother; “ my first husband was quite a different style of man from my second—complexion, temperament, color of hair and eyes—ail different.” . This was too much. Ho had not only mar ried a widow, but was her third husband, and the astounded step-father of four children. “But: her fortune,”-thought ho, “ tbat will make amends.” He spoke of her fortune. “ These are my treasures,” says she, ih the Roman matron stylo, pointing to her children. Thb conceit was now quite taken orit of tho Michigander, who, finding that ho had made a complete goose of himself, at,once retired to a farm in his native State, where he. could have a efianee to render his ,“ boys” useful, and make thorn sweatier thb deceit practiced upon him by. their mother- Tho Dickens Scnndcl.' The London-’iFowu Talk thus discusses this subject: : ■ In tho! literary world very little is stirring, except the gossip on the domestic affairs of Charles Dickens. Probably his explanatory let ,ter, published a month ago, and flill of myste rious allusions, has excited as much curiosity in America as hero. The facts dimly alluded to are these : About twenty-two years ago Mr. Dickons, then a clerk, married a pretty and am iable young girl, (whoso parents opposed tho match, as far beneath her,) and took her homo to obscure lodgings in Furnival’a Inn. , For some years they-lived happily together; but Mr. Dickens having become a groat man, fluttered and courted, finds thatllls domestic fo i-iieUyiiaibo^-be'SrtritTfteHwiuld--lie' dbSieed. Tw<v jpr three years ago ho gave a dinner tp his liter | ary friends on tho anniversary of ins wedding day, and in proposing (ho health of his wife, stated that ho had-never seen a shadow of ill; 1 temper over-her in his fife. This equality of I disposition does not satisfy hinp Sbo is not intellectual. He reads his works to her, and she, absorbed in needle-work; inquires abstractedly what ho means' by some of bis most brilliant passages. In short, sho is hot a companion to him, so the brilliant novelist and actor separates on the ground of “ incompatibility” for her whom he vowed before God to love and cherish, and from henceforth their lives have separate ends. The eldest child, a youth of about twenty, has cho sen to follow the fortunes of his mother, while mo daughters remain with their father. Mrs. Dickens’ s/stor has gone to “ keep house” for Mv. whole affair is very repugnant to of matrimonial constancy, and has not enlarged Mr. Dickens’ circle of admirers, Scaffold Conversions.— ThoFredericksburg Recorder has an article on the extraordinary con versions which murderers are wont to profess before the day of execution arrives, and which are duly paraded by flic press before the public. It says: “ Now wo do not doubt the power of God to convert the most hardened wretch that Overpaid the penalty fho law affixed to his crime. Nor do wo mean to intimate that it is hot the duly of a Christian minister,,to.carry the tidings of sal vation oven into fhe glopmy.coli of the felon.— ,Yet wo are free'to confess that wo have not the slightest confidence in the conversion of ono in a thousand of those who under the gallows, pro fess that they are resigning.mortality for glori ous immortality beyond the grave. Aye, there is a fearful responsibility resting upon the pul pit and the press for giving publicity to such scenes. What is the result of it ? Why, the ignorant are thereby encouraged to tile commis sion of the most atrocious crimes, because, if found out, they are induced to believe that be. fore the day of execution, with the aid of a min ister, they can ho prepared for an entrance into Heaven.” Tub Negroes sent sack to Arnica nv the U. S. Snip Niagara. —The London Times has n letter, from St. Vincent, Cape do Verds, sta. ting that-the Niagara put in there on the 22d of October. It appears that of the 271 which the Niagara took on board at Charleston, C 7 died before the ship reached the Cap do Verd Islands. Dr. Ranncy, the agent, describes the condition of the negroes as follows : •‘They are extremely filthy, and much prefer nudity to dress. Wo have adopted the plan of having a largo hose turned on them twice a week, with strong men at the engine. They appear well enough satisfied with the hath, hut cannot, even by the lash, which wo are com pelled to employ freely, be made to observe any other sanitary or decent habit.. ’ It requires a good largo crew of men to keep the spar dock, where they are located, clean. When clothing was put on them in Charleston, of which the negro- slaves of that city contributed several dray-loads, they immediately tore it off, and rolled and basked in the sun. “ I know but few cases in which they mani fest any, sympathy for ono another, except to help scratch each other’s backs. They give no attention or sympathy whatever to the sick and dying. When ono is dead the body may lie for hours among them, in immediate contact, unnoticed. But ns soon as the sent has fled, they stent the blanket of the.doceased, and most unceremoniously proceed to appropriate his bread, spoon and bag. During the process of burial they never riianifest the slightest Concern. A more stolid, brutalized, pitiable set of beings I never beheld.” : [xy A little girl, after attending a party, was asked by her mother how she enjoyed her self. •• Oh,” said sho, “ I oxn jull of happi ness. I couldn’t be any happier unless I could grow.”, ' - O” I toll yeti, Susan, that I will commit shicide if you won’t have me. ” “ Well, Benjamin, as soon as you have giv en me that proof of your allection, I will believe that you love me.” , m Most young men doubtless flatter themselves that they are each competent to choose a wife for himself, and that the counsel of the old folks is wholly unnecessary to success in the pleasant enterprise. Yet wo venture to say they will lose nothing by reading- the following wholesome advice of one speakiog from ago and experience. Seine of our readers may herein find something that will benefit them. They may obtain some hints that may cause them to mend their'mannera in some respects. But the advice: Now, John, listen to me, for I am older than you, or,l couldn’t be your mother. Never do you marry a young woman,.John, before you contrive to drop in at the house where she lives, at least four or five times before breakfast.— You should notice' whether her complexion is the same, or if the morning wash and the towel have robbed her of her bloom. You should take care to surprise her, so that you may see her in her morning dress, and observe how her hair looks when she is not expecting you. If possible, you should hear the mofning conver sation between her and her mother. If she is ill natnred pr snappish to her mother, so she will be to you. depend on it. But if you find her up and dressed neatly in the morning, with the same countenance, the same neatly com bined air,'the same ready and pleasant answers to her mother, which characterize her appear ance and deportment in the evening, and par ticularly if she is lending a hand to get the breakfast ready in good season, she is a prize, John, and the sooner you secure her t(fyour self the better. " Grafting the Grape Vise.— We have nicl with many experienced persons who have never seen tlm grape vino grafted. The process is so easy fhat thousands who are anxious to possess the newer varieties, should especially lake care of their old roots and insert scions of the now. .No clay or covering of the grafted part is neces sary, beyond the 'natural soil,; below which the graft is to bo inserted. Saw off your stock, and put in your scion with two or three buds, wedge fashion, as in the cleft grafting of fruit trees, and then cover up inches, leaving one or two buds, above ground; where the stock is very largo, and inconvenient to split, a gimlet hole, so made as to bring the two barks together, an swers. The sprouts of the old stock, as they spring up to rob the graft must bo pulled Off.— Grafts often bear some fine clusters'lliofirstsea son of their growth, and many more the second year,/' In this way, the old stocks of wild grapes removed, from the woods are very usofui.with duo care. We have lately seen an old Catawba vino that was wanted for shade forty feet off, laid down for a year till it had rooted well, and then was grafted.with perfect success, and fruit ed the first season. A Fact. —Some newspaper in speaking of the light literature of the present day, with truth fulness, says: , “ You may read many of the eastern weeklies XorJi year and yobwili-scaircfilylind a fact which will inake'you wiser or better—all fiction, ro mances. lies, velvet and little fiends equipped.in smiles and crinoline, bigscoundrcls in epaulettes and with, a love of a moustache, turning the brains and stealing the beans of simpering mai dens, the every day history of life ingeniously belied and genteelly outraged ! and yet it al ways ends beautifully I” Hundreds of persons who think that they can't afiord a home paper in the courseof a year spend three or four .times the amount in this worthless and abominable trash- Mrs. N.iocly bought a foot pan the other day. When she came home, she found Biddy, the servant girl, cooking griddle cakes on it. This is the same young lady who was sent to a dry goods store for a bed comforter, and return ed with a clerk. 1C?” The court room m Danbury, Conn, was crowded the other day to see justice done be tween a lady and gentleman, from Westport, the former claiming to have been damaged $OOOO by a kiss from the latter. Seventy witnesses were present. The split was healed without the aid of lawyers. C 7" Josh was brought before a country squire for ‘stealing a hog,’ and three witnesses swore they saw him steal it. A wag volunteer ed ns counsel for Joe, who addressed the squire thus: ‘•May it pease your honor I have twelve wit nesses to swear that this man did not steal the hog." The squire arose with great dignity, and said aloud. ■ If there are twelve who did sec him, do it. and three that did, I discharge the prisoner. Clear the room.” O’ Some ugly fellow thus pronounces : ‘‘lf you are ever threatened, with a handsome man in the family, just take it clothes pounder while he is yet in bed and battering head to a a pum ice. From some cause or another, handsome men are invariably asses ; they cultivate their hair and complexion so much, that they have no time to think of their brains. By the time they reach thirty, their heads add bands are equally soft. A “lady” was detected, a few days since, in Cincinnati, in pocketing a package of gloves, in a store. When charged with the theft, she burst into tears, and tendered a $2O bill in pay ,mcnt. The. merchant took but $5, and gave her $l5 change, but on counting the cash at night, that $2O bill was found to be a counter feit. “Phancy the phcelinks" of that shop keeper. O’ Mr. Sam’l Redsecker, of Donegal town asbip, Lancaster county, has a horse which lacks two months of being 38 years old, and is still in pretty good condition, able for his allowance ot oats aniLhay, and docs duty yet in shafts and under the saddle. O’ A clergyman in. Lebanon was recently 'fined $l5O for marrying a couple, the female being under age. The reverend gentleman was certainly wrong, but the lather of the bride, who accepted Ins share of the fine, must have been “hard up for small .change.” * O’ A lazy fellow down south spells Tenn essee after this fashion—lOso; and spells An drew Jackson thus —&ru Jaxn. We once knew a man named cd John Hole who wrote his auto graph by making a J and sticking his pen thro' the paper for Hole. .O’ A colored woman, the oldest person in Illinois, was burned to death in her cabin, near Dixon, on Friday week. She was one hundred and twenty years old. 0= If a man were to set out calling every, thing by its right name, ho would be knocked down before he got to the corner of the street. try- Girls sometimes put their lips out pou lingly. because they are angry, and sometimes because their lips are disposed to meet yours half way. ||f; AT S2,OOPEB ANNUM N(f. 26. Good Advice to young Men. (Dbtr hat Patience is a plaster lor all sores. ■ OS” Short reckonings make long friends. tfcy Life—A gleam of light extinguished by the grave.' - -- .. • - By general consent, the term of gen'efa tion is now understood to bo thirty years. ' - - prettiest lining for a bonnet Is a” smiling face. • True worth, like tbo rose, will blush at its own sweetness. Man—A bubble on tho ocean’s ■ rolling; wavo. . . , OS’” Oh, who on earth would lovo to live. Unless b‘o lived to lovd I OS” Wore it not for tho tears that tilled onr eyes, what an ocean would fill o'uf hearts. OS” Tho Indy who knit her brows, has com. mcnccd a pair of socks. Uneducated Critics.— Owls sifting In Judg ment on tho light. ’ - ■ ' V3~ All mon ; if they work not as in a great Taskmaster’s eye, will workwrong. CG7“ They only have lived long who have lived virtuously. , ' OS” Tho man who had a cloud upon his brow 1 has since boon mist.' :: 1 D?* If tbo mind is not laid out and cultivated liko a garden, it will bo overgrown with weeds. O'?” The man who reached the height of po liteness has suddenly disappeared,in a cloud. Anger, liko a bnrricano on tho ocean, rolls tho heavy surges of affliction over the tem pest-tossed, soul. • Ah Irish Verdict.—ltt a case of suicide af Galway, tho coroner’s jury returned a verdict - of “ Deliberately done away with I” A coquette is said to bo an imperfect in carnation of Oripid, as she keep's her beau, and. not her arrows, in a quiver.' The good heart, the tender feeling, and tho pleasant disposition, makes smiles, love, and sunshinii everywhere. Free and Ease. —Tho following appears nppp the clerk’s record in Oastlebar: «• Voted that the March meeting be In April.” - OS’” N ewton made one Of his first scientific expcriincHts at the age of sixteen, on , Septem ber 8,-1058, tho day.of the great storm, when Cromwell died. ' ■ • KF” Why is a- drummer tho fastest man in the world 7 Because Time beats all men, but tho drummer beats tinfo.' - 02?“ A Cobblers has demonstrated the immor tality of thb soil I; by putting cast-iron bottoms on a pair of boots. . 1 ' ' ; US’* Epitaph on a woman struck by lightning. She died of thunder sent from heaven. In 1777. OS 5 ” Afflictions are t the same to the sohl .as the plow to fho fallow ground, the pruning knife to tho vine, and the furnace to the gold. US’” Work so'{hough, thou wort to live for ever—worship as though thou wert to die pre sently. . tt?* Beauty nipped, in the waist is like a rose nipped In tho bud. ,It is the shortest lived, and falls offl.tho"quickest.' The politicians have; thrown mo over board,’* said a disappointed office-seeker, hilt I have strength enough loft to swim to the other side.” , . Humboldt tells us that, he met, one day, in his travels, with a naked. Indian, who bad painted his body so as to represent a bine jack et, and trowsors with black buttons. K 7” It is more difficult to forgive an injury from a friend than from an oriemy. Toiir favo rite dog flying at you, pains .you more than a sjmilar assault from a strange dog. ; OS’” Tho rich are inclined to believe that they are superior to other men, and other men do all they posslbly can to fortify them in that belief. C?-In the anatomy of fho hand, wo find that tho muscle by, which wo shut it is much strong er. (hnn tho one by which we open it, and this holds true ok to giving and receiving. tE?” Why is a young man bagging his sweet heart like an epicure who permits his wine to leak away 7 Because he is waisting what ho loves. Foolish, ain’t he 7 . .... A Philadelphia Street Beggar was ar rested last week for drunkenness. His greasy, tattered waistcoat was found literally lined with bright halt eagles carefully sewed into the gar ment. 05” When yon have lost money in the streets, .> every one is ready to help you look for it j but when' you have lost your character, every one leaves you to recover it as you cun. 02?” II rich, it is easy to conceal bur wealth; but, if poor, it is by no means easv to conceal our poverty. It is lass dillicult to' hido.a thou sand guineas than one hole in our coat. H 5” A professional beggar boy, some ten years of ago, ignorant of the art of reading, bought a card toput on his breast, and appear ed in the public streets as a “ Poor widow with eight small children.” ' 05” An attorney about to furnish a bill of costs, was requested hyiiis client, a baker, to , make it as light as possible. ' , “ Ah,” replied the lawyer, “that’s what you say to your foreman, but it is not the way that I make my broad.” ■ 05” A Scotchman who had put up at an inn was asked in the morning how ho had slept. “ Troth, man,” replied Donald, “'nae very weel either, but I was raucklo bettor off than the bugs, for do’ll a one o’ them closed an e’o the halo nichtl” 05” A beautiful little blue-eyed girl of three years old, was nestled in her mother’s arras, at twilight looking out at the stars. “ Mother,” said she, “it is gutting dork.” “And what makes it dark,” asked her mother. “Because God shuts his eyes,” replied the little one. 05” A certain . Irish attorney threatened to prosecute aDublinprintarforinsertingthedeath of a Hvingpcrson. The menace concluded with the remark that “no printer should publish a death unless informed of the fact by the party deceased.” ■ 05” It is tbo opinion of a western editor, that wood goes further when left out of doors, than when well housed. Ho says some ol liis went half a mile. 1G” The boy upon loot cannot bear to geo tho boy who is riding. And so it is with envy of,a larger growth. Wo always cry out “cut be hind,” in hope of seeing some hanger-on, more fortunate than ourselves, knocked off his reach. An English paper, speaking of the Ame rican light pleasure wagon, says that tho wheels consist of Ibur circles of cheese rind, filled in with spider webs. D 5 -” He who is passionate and hasty is gene rally honest. It is your cool dissembling hypo crite of whom you should beware. There is no deception in a bull dog. It Is only a cur; that slips up and bites you when your back is turned. tA philosopher was asked IVom whom ho received ins first lesson in wisdom. He re plied, “From the blind, who never take o'step until they have first felt tho ground in front of them.” “ O'?" Knowledge may slumber in thh memory, but it never dies; it is like the doownousp in the ivied tower, that sleeps while winter lasts,, but awakes with tho warmth of spring. 0?-Ho that is good, will infallibly hotter, and ho that f* bad, will a 8 certainly, bp come worse ; Tor vice, vfrfuo and time are threo things that never stand still. Tub True Genteeman. —Ho is couriebps and affable to bis neighbors. As tho sword of tho best tempered metal is most flexible, so tho truly generous are most pliant apd courteous la their behavior to their inferiors. OS'" “ Taking them one with another,” said, 'the Rev. Sidney Smith, “I believe my congre gation to bo most exemplary observers of the religious ordinances; lor the poor, keep all the fasts, and tho rich all the feasts. ' ;
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers