J3LLAS PER ANNUM INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. TOWANDA: Thursday Morning, February 14, 1861. (Original fbdru. [Written for the Bradford Reporter.] THE SUNSET BY THE SEA. BY SYBIL rXUK. n beauUfal, so beautiful, That sunset by tbe sea, Ths red light pouring richly d&wa O'er rock, aud flower, aud Bali acting all the brilliancy. So grandly at our feet, — The glowing waves cauio breaking up 1b music wild and sweot. Oh, reverently I seemed to stand Within a minster dim ; And gloriously the ocean-chant,— A grand cathedral hymn, Swept o'er my heart-strings boarli® all Ju vague nurest away, And leaving sunshine whore the pall Of gloomy shadows lay. The epleudor of that autumn ak/ The glory and the light, Att mirrored on my sonl this day In beauty warm and bright. Again I see the islands fair. And o'er the orimson SOB, The white sails drifting proudly out I.lke sea birds strong and free. But rediuutly the glory died Proni out the brilliant west, Aud then the deep in< twi ght brought A J ream of home and rest; fci.il lingering!/ ho tarried limit fcosiue the restlea* dtvp, U'uti! the night had folded c'..e litr purple wings of sleep. Tiwa homeward underneath the start, And through the dusk we came, Tl dark waves chanting solemnly Their jubilant retrain ; And faithfully ha* memory kept That sunset .by the sea, The crimson sweeping richly dowu O'er rock, and flower, and tiee. &MKEV,ULU, L'B. [Written for the Bradford Reporter.] BESONE FROM MY STIRIT THOU WEIOST OF YEARS. Hegsne from my spirit, thu drear weight of years I Unburden mine eyelids, thou shadow of tears ! Unfetter my heart, thou cold cankering chain 1 Sweet sunshine, steal Into its chambers again ! Tor 1 meet with the joyous and happy to-night, Ami lain woukl I gather a gJinifwu of the light WLich has vanished away from uiv cloud-curtained sky ai Tosih, and its fairy-land scenes have gouo by. I Bit. how shall the spirit, earth-burdened aud sad I Brest sway from its thralidora, and learn to be glad ? ■ ?-. hwrt which distrust, and dark sorrow has chilled I v-g-.he sunlight of faith, and of comfort, bo tilled? J Lai .nd, sweetest music, enchantment and power I To Hi! up the moments, and gladden the hour, ■ Vita ao mingling tone trom the far away nbore lif taw dream land where music and revel are o'er ■ jrs, with red lips, the fond love-lighted srailo D 'Y.me Innocent sweetueaa might well nigh beguiia I '< seraphs of light, from the region of bliss I dwell iu the rapturous love-smiles of this. Ist no Munching come over their rose-tinted bloom Till tliey mock in their paleness the hue of the tomb, AI in watching some lip for au answering smile le nurk in its wrealhiug. but falsehood and guiie. *"*'B t.-derly, trustingly, hope lighted eyos, * •. radiance seemingly caught from the skies, Iflirre each glittering star in the blue azure sea hsoms a loving guardian of destiny. Kevp steadfast your gaie on the Heavenly sphere* TW weary and heavy with darkening tears, At each prrs.ige of promise foreshadowed there | Snail vanish away in the depths of despair. I '"ad ye gaily, yet softly, witli light airy feet, [ * pathway with fragrance of roses is sweet, Iv the i -heries of pleasure the spirit entrance, bfegsmlsil along in the frolic aud dance. F'ta-r, U"t away, gristed, dejected, forlorn, I v? torn and bleeding, from thistle and thorn, I se< n 'mid the res that bloomed in tho way ■pi r ved ; like earth-phautoaw, which lure W> bc [ trwy. poison t* mixed in the banqueting cup -2 "h. -!i in iu fulness this evening we sup, '' lie hid in the festival bowera driak in the fragrance, and gather the flowers. f vfenst of the soul, in rich bounty be spread, •' chtof enjoyment its radiance shed •r the heart, that the mourning, life-weary, and sad, •' !MT f, m , rrow , !IC I ] eßrTl ( 0 (, e glftd. m my spirit, thou drear weight of yeara! 1 ' sr. m.rie eye-lids, thou shadow of tears I I ray heart, thou cold, cankering chain 1 I ***• '"rash:ne, u-al iuto its chambers again ! Px. Him* Lorisg. 1 1 *KXTLK ANNIE—Some one Rays he loves " j!l ? called "Geutle Anuie." There is P'M.ng outside the pale of human affections p" f .ove. L\"e would fear the mau who did r We too, love the song, and con weakness—but yon wont say anything P ' Yin ?—for the gentle girl herself ; l ' le sou* entirely out of the question, e song jg indeed sweat, and while list- Iv d °- ltS wortls > w hen snug by some sweet, j to.ee, we have often pictured in our j - "gentle heroine—gentle and sweet as i u-(. a ' f ~re. e t s ' st cr, long since gone home but ler ■ ' n onr memor J. as w remember ltv morn of our existence, when laying mi,', °L ' ier l ''' n white hand, in a low sweet f,.,' >! 0 ta hore.— Stop!" said he iu faint tones.—Tell me where I am! What country is this ?" They answered "New-Jersey." Scarcely had the name been ut tered, when the wretched strauger let go the rope, ejaculating as he did so—"I guess I'll float a little fartherl" Ho was never seen again. MARRIAGE.—PeopIe have different opinions of the value of marriage, according as tliey are more or less habituated to the operation— as witness the following, from one of the Indi ana papers—all about the "discount" ou second marriage. A lady apparently about thirty, entered a justice's office and asked for the eqnire. I called, squire,' she said, ' to engage your ser vices this evening. I am about to be married.' The squire bowed, and smiled encouraging ly. ' Might I ask,' continued the lady, ' what your fee is ou such occasions ?' ' Oue dollar, madam, iu the office.' ' And how much if you go to the house V 'Five dollars.' Too much—entirely too much said the lady, quick ly—'l have been married before. The first time I would not have hesitated at twenty dol lars, but I think two dollars quite enough.'— The squire consented to tie the knot for two dollars, and the lady handed him her card, and requested him to be prompt, and swept out of the office as if it was an affair of every day. A FEMALE SLAVE'S IDEA OF THE ELECTION OF LINCOLN.—A Mississippi correspondent of the St. Louis Democrat relates the following anecdote : " A negro man from a neighboring planta tion has been courting onr cook for a long time : he came in the other evening, and sit ting down beside her began : " What, Lincolu is 'lcetcd, and now you'll see : you'll see." " Well, what'H I see ?" said she. " Never mind, you'H see." " Well, what'll I see ?" " You'll see ; you'il see." " Yes," said the cook, exasperated beyoud all patieuce, " I'll see more Diggers licked than ever ; that's what I'll see." HEAVEN.—"Where are yon going P' said a young gentleman to an elderly oue in a white cravat, whom he overtook a few miles from Little Rock. "I am going to Heaven, my son ; I have been on the way eighteeu years." "Well, good-bye, old fellow, if you have been traveling toward Heaven eighteeu years and got no nearer to it thau Arkausas, I'll take another route." FRESH ROLLS EVERY MORNING—RoIIing to the other side of the bed for a fresh snooze. VOL. XXI. —iXO. 37 educational Department. SPEAK GENTLY. Speak gently ; it i* better far To rule by love than fear : Speak gently let no har.h worJs mar The good we might do here. Speik gently—love doth whisper low The vows that true hearts bind. And gently friendship's accents flow - Affection's voice is kind. Speuk gently to the little child. Its iove be sure to gain— Teach it in accents soft and mfld ; It may not long remain. • Bpeak gently to the young, for they Will have enough to bear ; Pass through this life as best they may, : Tis full of anxious care. Bpeak gently to the aged one ; Grieve not the care-worn heart; The sands of life are nearly run- Let such in peace depart. Bpeak gently, kindly to the ponc- I-d no harsh tone lie heard ; They have enough they must endure Without an unkind word. Bpc-uk gently to the erring—know They must have toiled in vain ; l'erehance unkiuduess made them s— Oh! win them back again, bpeak gently! He who gave his life To bend man's stubborn will, When elements were tierce with strife. Said tojthc-iD, " Peace ! be still."- bpeak gently—'tis a little thing Dropped in the heart's deep well; The good, the joy which it may bring Eternity shall tell! Etudy a Child's Capacities, If some arc naturally dull, aud yet strive to do well, notice the effort, and do not censure the dullness. A teacher might as well scold a child for being near-sighted, as for being I naturully dull. Some children have a great ! verbal memory, others are qnite the reverse. ! Some minds develop early, others late. Soma : have great powers of acquiring, others of : originating. Some may appear stupid, because their true spring character has never been touched. The dunce of the school may turn out in the end, tho living, progressive, won der-working genius of the age. la order to exert the best spiritual influence we must understand the spirit upon which we wish to exert that influence. For with the human mind we must work with nature, and not against it. Like the leaf of the net tle, if touched one way, it stings like a wasp ; if the other, it is softer than satin. If wa would do justiee to the human mind, we must : find out its peculiar characteristics, and adapt ourselves to its individual wants. In conver j satiou on this point with a friend, who is now the principal in ono of our best grammar schools, and to whose instruction I look back with delight—" your remarks," said he, " aro quite true ; let me tell you a little incident which bears upon the point: " Last summer, I had a girl who was ex ceedingly behind in all her studies. She wa at the foot of the class, and seemed to care but little for her books. It so happened, that as a relaxation, I let them at times during school hours unite in singing. I noticed that this girl had a remarkably clear sweet voice, and I said to her, " Jane, you have a good voice, and you may lead in the singing." She brightened up ; and from that time her mind appeared to be more active. Her lessons wero attended to, and she soon gained a high rank. " One day, as I was going home, I ovortook her with a school companion. " Well, Jane,* said I, "you are getting along very well, how happens it you do so much better than at the beginning of the quarter ?" "I do not know why it is," she replied. "I know what she told me the other day," said her companion. " And what was that ?" I asked. " Why she said s/ie was encouraged." Yes, heje we have it—she was encouraged. | She felt she was not dull in everything. She had learned self respect, and thus she was eiv | couraged. j Some twelve or thirteen years ago, there was in Franklin school an exceedingly dull • boy. One day the teacher wishing to look out a word, took up the lad's dictionary, ami on opening it, found the blank leaves covered with drawings. He called the boy to him : " Hid you draw these ?" said the teacher. " Yes, sir," said the boy, with a downcast look. " I do not think it is well for boys to draw in their books, and I would rub these out If T were you ; but they are well done ; did ever take lessons ?" "Xo, sir," said the boy, his eyes sparkling. "Well, I think you have a talent for thli thing. I should like to see you draw me something when you arc at leisure, at hern®, and bring it to me. In the mean time SM how well you can recite your lessons." The next morning the boy brought a pie* turc, and when he had committed his lesson-, the teacher permitted him to draw a map.— The true spirit was touched. The boy felt he was understood, lie began to love his teach er. He became animated and fond of hii books. He took delight iu gratifying hia teacher by his faithfulness to his studies, while the teacher took every opportunity to encour age him iu his natural desires. The boy be came one of the first scholars, and gained the medal before he left the school. After this he became an engraver, laid up money enough to go to Europe, studied the works of old masters, sent home productions from his own pencil, which found a place iu some of tho best collections of paintings, and is now ono of the most promising artists of his years iu the country. After the boy gained the medal, he sent the teacher a beautiful picture as a to ken of respect ; and while he was an engraver, the teacher received frequent tokens of con tinued regard ; and 1 doubt not to this day, he feels that that teacher, by the judicious encouragement lie gave to the natural turn of the mind, has had a great moral aud spiritual effect ou his character.