THE STAR OF THE NORTH. Weaver & Gilmore.] VOLUME 2. Till? STAR OP THE NORTH i> published every Thursday Morning, by Weaver & Gilmore. OFFICE— Up stairs in the New Brick building on the south side of Main street, third square below Market. Ycnxts :—Two Dollars per annum, if paid within six fnbnfltß Ttbnt the time of subscri bing; two dollars -and fifty cents if not paid within the year. No subscription received for a less period than six months : no discon tinuance permitted until all arrearages are paid, unless at the option of the editors. ADVERTISEMENTS not exceeding one square, will be inserted three times for one dollar, antl twenty-five ceutsfor each additional insertion. A liberal discount trill be made to those who ad vertise by the year. BEAUTIFUL LINES. We clip the fallowing beamjful lines from the selections in Willis' Home Journal, where they wcro without credit. The spea kers are a dying girl and her lover. The ardent passion manifested by the youth, suggests to the girl several imagios under which she supposes that he will personify her after death. The stanzas are in the form 1 of a dialogue—the girl suggesting the par ticular images in succession, the lover res ponding.—Pittsburg Pest. "Even as a flower 1" "No, fairest; bo not to me as a flower; The uncertain sun calls forth its odorous breath; The sweetest perfume gives tho speediest death; The sport and victim of a summer hour. Fairest, be not a flower I" "Even as a star?'' "No, brightest; be not to me a star, 'Tii one of millions, and the hurrying cloud Oft wraps the glitt'ring splendor in a shroud. Morn pales its lustre, and it shines afar. Brightest be not a star!" "Even as a dove 1" "No. purest: bo not to me as a dove. The spoiler oil breaks in upon his rest, Robbing the downy joys ot its soft nest, And plunging silence through its native j grove. Purest, be not a dove!" "Even as a rock V' "No, my most faithful; be not a rock. It mocks the embracing wave ; or stands alone In loveless dreary waste unknown. Senseless alike to fortune's stniie or shock. Changeless, be not a rock I" "Even as—myself?" "My soul's best idol, be but as thyself; Brighter than a star, fairer than a flower, l'urer than a dove, and in thy spirit's power Steadier than rock ! Yes, bo thyself, thyself—only thyself/'* Written for the Star of the North Perplexities oi a Matt with n Family. ST "EXPERIENCE." CHAPTER I. When I was a young man, it ever now and then occurred to me that I ought to provide for myselt a helpmate. I thought my char acter and position in the world would entitle me to look for a lady with at least a dower of graces and talents. Miss Alden, flip par aon's prettiest and youngest daughter, would do: but she was garrulous, trifling, and too thoughtless. Jane Siddoti was pretty and sensible, but then her seven sisters were the wildest, harum-scarum set that ever mortal pndured to troop around him; her brothers -vet.9 professed gamblers, and if I married Jane, tho whole family would be a life-long annoyance, charge and disgrace to me.— Mary Forsyth was of a fine and wealthy fa mily, but stupid and a little tho shortest of female mortals, while I measured six feet three in my stockings. Miss Rank was con fessedly the "smartest" of our village ladies, but it was very easy to discover that she was a prude, brim full of coqtietlry and aftecta • tion. Ellen Winy, the landlord's daughter, always met mo pleasantly, hut then the com pany of her mothor was not to be endured, and her father was a vidian aud a drunkard. But I was young and full of romance. I to dislike any body on account of discreditable relatives. 1 argued to convince mysell a thousand times over that the sins of tho parent should not bo visited upon the child. I was an enthusiast ;;i every thing, and believed most sincerely in whai my pre ceptor, Doctor Gordon, called the perfeetibii iiy of human nature. I commenced court ing the favor of Ellen Wray, and much as I despised her father, avoided quarrelling with him. 1 believe she reciprocated iny attach ment for her, and so we confirmed to meet— t to live faster and happier—she to become , every day more amiable, agreeable and lov ing. Tho Doctor hinted that I neglected my studies, and some of my friends teased me about-Old Boniface, but I cared for neither. Tho retired back parlor of her father's house was where on. most interesting meet ings took place. I had made hergifuof some valuable books, and allowed Old Boniface to swindle me out of all my pocket money ; for I was then yet a credulous, simple soul, inexperienced in the plots of the world. One day I came into the back parlor at Wray's when no one was in. Setting down at the table I entertained myself by looking over .the books, paintings, drawings, tic. In lac ing aside an album, a loose sheet accidental ly fell out, and feeling myself a privileged person, I had the curiosity to glance at it, for at first I thought of no such thing as reading a nolo discovered as this had been. But elite* I have learned more of the frailty of human natare 1 venter* to say that no young BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1850. man ever accidentally found an open note addressed to his lady love, which he did not read if he was alone when he first touched it. And so, being only mortal, when I saw that I had in hand a note marked to "Miss Ellen Wray," curiosity convinced propriety that reading it would not be an unpardona ble sin. I easily convinced myself, (1 think I took it as an axiom,) tha a wife should have no secrets from her husband, and from this, in some way, I deduced the conclusion that 1 might at least read one open note direc ted to Ellen, when I had found it where there was not the least evidence that she herself had intended it to be strictly private. So 1 read the note. It ran thus : DEAR ELLEN- I have just arrived here with my sister, and will greet you with a kiss to-mor row evening ; if you will meet me at Mr 3. Jay's, and if Mr. Poe can spare your compa ny. lam sick to see you, and he must not he jealous of my love, since I have the old est claim. FRANCIS EATON. Rural Retreat, Juno 20th, 1818. Another sheet was folded along with the first, and upon it I just glanced at the sen tence — "I shall be so happy to meet you" and saw Ellen's signature to her writing. Tho top of the sheet was torn off, and a blot upon it; but there was proof enough that this was the answer to her lovor's epistle, and that she had sent him a clean copy of it. I threw down the letters ami was frantic. "Fooled," exclaimed I, and rushed into the street. Strolling along and using tho ivory heail of my cane as a socket, I muttered— who the devil can Francis Eaton be ? It could not be a trick, for the note was writ ten in a largo heavy hand, and certainly not by Ellen. The villiitn, to talk of a kiss to her, and to make sport of duping mo! I did not swear exactly to shoot him or to drown myself, but I was beside myself. Meeting my young friend and fellow student Jones, he accosted me with— "Well Poe, they say that girl Ellen of yours is a great one to be letting every nice young man kiss tier in the dark." 1 felt as if I was in a pillory. At the dinner table Doctor Gordon's lady tauntingly it seemed, adverted to the charms of Ellen Wray, and when I smothered my annoyance by sullen silence, she closed by saying in a sly way— "And I've heard several young men com pliment her, as having the finest, pouting, and most tempting lips of any young lady in the village." Well,thought I, so then I'm a fool and every bod) knows it. I counted up how often I had met young Harvey, aud how of ten Mr. Linn alone iri her company in the back parlor. I sat down to write a letter upon business, aud when attempting to pen the date, involuntary wrote — "O vanity of vanities, all is vanity 1" I tried another sheet, and this time in a mistake wrote— "O frailly, thy name is woman 1" 1 counted up the very cents out out of which Old Wray had swindled me—went down street—quarrelled with him like a pi - pirate—called him a scoundrel and a vidian, and about half threatened to flog him. I though, of boeoining a hermit, a reduce to escape the corruption of the world. 1 thought of writing a book upon the depravity of mankind. And, in fact, I thought of ev ery thing to make mo wretched. In the evening, for relief from the misery of solitary reflection, I went over the way to spend an hour with Mr. Stine and his family 1 had just got into an earnest conversation when two ladies were ushered into the room and, before I could recognise faces, I heard the voice of Ellen Wray— "Mr. Poo, allow mo to introduce you to my cousin Miss Frances Eaton. She wrote to me a few days ago that she would be at Mrs. Jay's this evening, and I have in sisted upon her going down to our house to see the rest of her cousins." I have never since been jealous, but I m ike all my children learn to writs plain and dot their i's. The Retort Discourteous. At a convention of clergymen, not long since, it was proposed by one of the mem bers, after they had dined, that each man should entertain the company with some in teresting remarks. Among the rest, one drew upcn his fancy and related a dream. In his dreaiZ? he went to heaven, and ho described the golden s.\ reel 'r the river of silver, etc. As he concluded, ot.O of i-'te divines, who was somewhat noted for his penuito'.'* "ltd money saving habits, stepped up to ?he nar rator and equired jocosely : 'Well, did you see anything of me in your dream!' 'Ye;, I did.' 'lndeed ! what was I doing ?' 'Y"U were on your knees.' 'Praying, was 1 ?' 'No—scraping up the gold!' ty The California Constitution. —The lib eral journals ot England speak in terms of great praise of the constitution recently a dopted by the Califortiiane. They say that it is one of the most judicious instruments ol government ever devised; and that its pro visions, with the exception of those which limit suffrage to the white man, are marked with the highest wisdom. PRACTICE.— I 'Madam you said that your son was a physician, has he much practice ?' 'Why, yes, eir, that has a practice oi smoking cigars.' For the Star of the North. BENTON AND HERESY. As your excellent paper is the political cy nosure for the tegion of country where it is visible, every little aberation in its revolution (lor the pole Star actually revolves about a centre.) should bo explained, or some small barque that guides its course by ts light might bo wrecked by a trilling variation in its course. Now, that bright little luminary occupied a place when last visible a little out of its true position. In descanting very sen sibly upon tho proper use and misuse of Legislative instructions, nn error, to the wri ters understanding, was committed, which, as he was placed in a position a little ditlet ent from the editor, to enable him to detect the mistake, ho feels bound respectfully to note. Mr. Benton is spoken of, as ffldjg the object of unmerited attack from the fljpisla tnre of Missouri and as being assailed im properly by a largo portion of the citizens of thai State, and hence tinder the necessity of stumping the State to vindicate himself against a factions attark. Now the writer ol this communication has no doubtefct your sincerity in writing the editorial alluded to, but respectfully believes its author to be la boring under a misapprehension. Mr. Ben- I ion, as the writer understands, has within the last two years changed his position, and from a radical democrat, which character he has so well and proudly bore for the last thirty | years, become a latitudinnrian—as wild and ] wilder than anv Whig or Federalists—advo- j eating the "free which is only another name forabolttion—and the most ex- j travagant schemes ot internal improvements ; by tho Federal Government getting up schemes of rail roads across the Rocky moun tains, mote than 3000 mileß in extent, one ! line of which is estimated at 80,000,000 ol 1 dollars, all of which must be made aud up- j held by the old lax-ridden States, and other j extravagant schemes, all of which expenses in the end will have to be footed by the old ! solid Slates of the Union. Besides tyr. Ben- j ton's sons-in-law are retained and employed in highly important stations under the admin-' istratiou of General Taylor, which tact alone proves that Col. Benton's family are receiving at least, aid anJ comfort from the enemy ot < democracy. Besides, General Atchison, his colleague, and as sound a democrat, the wri ter believes, as breaths the air of Missouri,"l has taken directly opposite grounds to that assumed by Mr. Benton. The writer knows that the name of Benton carries with it, Irom his past labors, a power and weight—but no man's past deputation should give him a claim on the support of the Democratic peo ple when he abandons the principles upon which his former popularity was built.— ! Henrv Clay commenced a pure aud radical | democratic career—but be abandoned that bright career —changed sides of the great po litical contest that always has and a.ways will he waged between Aristocracy and De mocracy—and tho democrats left him—for they loved the principles of freedom ami jus tice better than fickle man. They kept their ( oyes steady on the pole Star of the democra tic cause and let Mr. Clay go and reap the reward of his inconstancy. So let us reason in respect to Mr. Benton and any other frail mortal who may find it convenient to sustain democratic principles while they aro prospe rous and then abandon them when danger seems to threaten, or ungovernable passion prompts to revenge The writer believes that the Legislature of Missouri and the people of j that democratic common wealth are vindica ting the integrity of the democratic cause a gaiust the flagitious attacks of Col. Benton. A. Dry Goods. Tho following incident occurred, as we leant from good authority, in one of our store i the other day "Buy any butter here 1' said a country cus tomer who walked into a dry good's store on Market square, and looked much like a character who knew a vast ileal more about himself than he cated to tell. 'No sir,' replied the merchant, 'we don't wish to hue any.' 'Want to buy any oggs ?' 'No air, we Keep a dry goods store here.' 'So I Wall then, maybe you'd like to buy some chickens—fat as pigs aud a mighty sight nicer tu.' 'No sir, I tell yon wo don't deal in any thing but dry goods.' 'Could'nt I sell you a nice hind quarter ot pork I' '1 tell you sir, we deal in dry goods exclu sively here.' •Wal, what'll you give for dried peaches V TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR,— ""The Mirror says .- A queer typographical error ocCl'fred very lately, which shows how great a change a type may make. The editor was warmly eulogizing tho otiieial conduct of a public man and said that 'lie had lived down his enemies. The compositor, however omit ted the v. so that the sentence read he had lied down his enemies.' I W A lady told her servant girl to look at a vane upon a Bteeplu near her house, aud see which way the wird was. The vane had beett taken down, lor ttte purpose of re pairing it ; but the girl obeyed her mistre>6 and beholding nothing but the rod upon which she had been accustomed to see the vane, told her mistress that "the wind was right up and down." Never regret whet is irretrievably lost. Truth and Right—God and our Country. For the Star of the North. MATT Kit Or TASTE. BY SECRETAIRE. N. I'. H'illisis a most singular fellow, hav ing very peculiai notions on most tilings, and just as singular a niannerof tolling litem. — Not lorm since, I came across an article from his pen, in praise of fat, large "V tun en And in spite of having a very hail caso, he does certainly invest them, with particular charms and makes them absolutely bewitching.— Now I thought '.his a most unccbnntablepen {JuuU ; but possibly, Mr. Willis I'-inks that the more of a good thing, Mti 'uW-r. Now, CJeorge (lordon Noel Byron says that of all things, he hales a dumpy woman. For the sake of nationality 1 should like to agree wit IKMr. Willis; but my own unbiassed in dividual opinion coincides with that of Lord Byaou. In takir.g a wife my motto wonld be. unless I alter my notion, of two evils, choose the least. No doubt all this is a mere matter of taste, and the imagination may cer tainly invest the earthly goddess, whether she ho fat or lean, with every thing necessa ry to constitute a man's happiness. Rut notwithstanding what 1 have said upon this subject, upon second thought I believe that Shakspcare, at least by implication, is against me; supporting Mr. Willis, with the whole weight of his characteV ; for it will be recollected, that Desdemoim was a woman, fill of most blessed conditions. Now, if a woman were large, and tS.'Jf blessed, she would unquestionably have the advantage o ver any, who minht serve as an emplifica tion of old king Pharaoh, loan kine. Still, considering the risk one has to run in a' case of this kind, 1 mean getting a wife, a medi um would be perhaps the safest. After all, I love a neat, nice, tidy, little woman. One of those pretty, petite, fairy like croaluros, who flutter round you with a smile, ami presently leave you to sigh. There is a happiness coupled with this misery.— Ah ! 1 feel that 1 love the v ery sand in which tire imprinted her delicate little foot-marks. The dew, brushed from the grass by her, in her morning work, is blessed above all other dew. The sun, as he rises over tho moan j tains, joys 'o see Iyer sweet morning face,anil I presses, as I should like to do, a burning kiss upon her ruby lijis—gives a brighter 1 lustra to l.or "•*. 1 will quit, or I sh&.l have all the little girls in love with me. One of the G'hals. We were, not long since, much amused by a couple of Hoosier girls who rauie on board the steamer, , at the little town of , Ml. Vernon, la. They had evidently never | bee* a thousand miles from home, and were i making their first trip on a steamboat. ! At dinner our ladies were honored with a ! seat at the head of the table, and the eldest I one, with her usual independence, cut her j | bread into small pieces, and with a fork rea ' ched over and enrolled each mouthful in the i dressing of a plate of beef steak before her. i The passengers-preserved their gravity tlur ! ing this operation by dint o' great effort.— ! Perceiving that her sister was not very for ! ward in helping herself, .-be turned round to j her and exclaimed, loud enough to ie heard | by hall of the table— "Sal dip in the gravy— I Dail pays as much as any on em I" This was ! billowed by a general roar, in which the cap j tain led otf. The girls arrived at their place J of destination, before supper, and w hen they left the bout all hands gave three cheers tor the girls of the Hoosier State. On ! FOR A BOOT-JACK.—A countryman re cently arrived at one of our third rates hotels, laie in the evening, and inquired for a boot jack. "Boots" soon appeared with one of the cast-iron pattern. „ 'How do you s'pose I'm going to get ofT my boots with that tiling?' ejaculated the conn- ' | irymati. 'Boots' eyed the countryman's pedalextre- | rnitios lor a lew moments iu\d ihen scratch ing his head, said: 'Dal am a tact! he. ho, yaw!'he shouted. 'What the mischief are you laughing at, you ihuuder-cloud V demanded the country man. 'Nuflin—nuflin—only I advise you to go to de crotch ob de street, and dar you can pull otf item hoots! Yah! yah ! yaw !' and tho darkle vanished. INCORRIGIBLE.—A lad named John Meyers was brought before Alderman Buchanan, on Saturday, charged upon the oath of his mo ther, with having become associated with such evil company as to render him entirely beyond her poWer of correction, and at times so incorrigible that he was only fit to be left alone in the street. The magistrate sent him to the House of Reluge. - —- ———— Never believe that which 6eems improb able. Never expose your disappointment to the Lworld. 111 T - E Always speak well of your friends ; but of your enemies, speak neither goor nor evil. Sell at small profits—for cash—and make it known through the newspapers. Be ashnrned of nothing but yournown er i rors. ILet the business of all others alone and at tend to your own. MR. AND MRS. BATTLE J QR, MOUSE vs. RAT. Mr. and Mrs. Battle, were a fond and lov ing couplo in the town of N , who, for about a twelvemonth had dwelt as "one flesh" injaw matrimonial, and whose union tints far, if a shade less blissful than that of the turtle doves, hail afforded an example of conjugal felicity as edifying, to say the least, as the generality of matches. It happened one winter evening that, having exhausted all their usual theme of chit chit, they had been sitting in silence for some ten minutes together, luxuriating in "uncommunicating muteness" of fishes, when suddenly, with piercing Shriek, Mrs. B. sprang from her chair, and jumped upon the side table, cry ing out at the top of her lungs, " Lord cf Mercy I Oh, ihat horrid being I Kill him, Mr. Battle, kill him The husband quick as thought, seized the poker, ami though half frightened out of his senses, raised it firmly over his head and placed himself bolt upright in an attidude of defence. For some moments he stood speechless, with mingled wonder and awe; then casting a glance at his wife, who stood leaning against the wall, pale, shivering and half frantic with terror, he at length recov ered his wife and the use of his tongue so far as to ask, in a voice somewhat faint and husky— "Who—where—what is he?" "There 1 there ! husband, don't you see ? there! Itisnomau—it's a horrible great mouse. Oh dear, I shall faint away, certain! There he comes again this way. Merciful heavens! Oh! oh 1" Mr. B. breathed a little more freely, after thiß last piece of information, for to say the truth, he was by no means a Hercules in strength of stature, being only four feet ele ven in h:s boots, and weighing but just one humired and five poujpls, even after dinner.) and as he supposed it some house robber or cut-throat who had hid himself in the room, that had caused his wife's freight, his knees had begun to knock together a little, a la BeUhazzarf notwithstanding his great show ot bravery. But now regaining with marvel lous quickness the use of all his limbs and faculties, he advanced boldly in the direc tion idicated by Mrs. B's finger, and with a courage aud presence of mind worthy of an Alexander, Mcoeeded by the aid of the po ker in stretching a most ferocious looking rat lifeless on the floor. After a few moments, peace and order were again restored, and Mrs. B. having sSc ceeded, hy an astonishing degree of self control, in quieting her nerves, was again seated at her wotk table, busily plying her needle, when a loud tinkling of the door bell was followed by the announcement to Mr. Pry. Pry had popped in, as he said, 'to see how they all did and and have a little social chat;' but as it turned out (unfortu nately for the peace of our excellen couple) he was just in season to hear from Mrs. Battle's hps a relation of wtjat she cal led her 'frightful adventure with the mouse.' 'No, my dear,' interrupted Mr. 8., 'a rat.' 'Excuse me, my love, but 'twas a mouse.' 'But I do assure you madam, 'it was a rat.' 'I beg your pardon, sir; notwithstanding you assure me, lam quite sure it was a mouke.' 'Don't tell me, Mrs. Battle ; do you think I'm a fool, not to know a rat Irom a mouse, aud in my own house too ?' 'Keep cool, Mr. Battle; don't get huffy be cause I spoke a word Some how or other, lately, I can never open my lips before you, but you must fly into a pet. And ther. you must be twit—twit—twitting me always a bout your house, as if yeu were lord of ev ery thing here, and 1 were only your humble servant. I declare Battle, you are cross as a Bear and as unreasonable as you can live." 'Mrs. Battle, you are enough to prooke a saint. Three times you have contradicted me, and ' 'Ail because I said a mouse wasn't a rat. A mouse ain't a rat, and you know it Bat tle.' 'Mrs. Battle, there's no standing this—No! —nor I won't stand it any longer. I will have a divorce, it there's one to be had in the country. I won't live with such a ter magant. No I won't Mrs. Battle, and that's the long and short of it." Here Mrs. Battle fell back in her chair, and burst into a flood of tears. Pry, finding matters getting a little too hot; ciept slyly out of the room, and run for home as if from a hornet's nest. Mr Battlo paced the room hurriedly to and fro, for tho space of five minutes or more, with blanched cheek and lip quivering with rage, and finally seat ed himself by a window, and with an air of affected concern began to whistle Yankee Doodle. He had b :en seated hut three or four minutes, when his wife, suddenly rais ing up, came across the room, threw her arms affectionately about his neck and bu ried Iter head in his bosom. _'My dear husband.' 'My dear wife.' 'I have offonded—deeply offended you. Can you forgive me ?' 'Yes dear, a thousand times.' 'How foolish I was to dispute with you, dear one, about such a trifle.' 'Yes, it was very foolish in both of us. But never mind thank Heaven ; we've come to our senses again. Kiss me darling—there ail's made up. Ain't we happy now ?' 'Yes, my love. Clouds will come some times, but thank Providence they are all gone now. We couldn't have expeted sun shine always. Oh, won't we have the pre . cious times together, hereafter loving each other so tenderly 1 There—it does seem to me as if I were at this moment perfectly, happy. 'Blessed wife, kiss me again, darling. There—we've had the last of our quarels— havn't wo dear one V 'Yes, dearest. And if we were going to quarrel again—which never canbe— it would be about something of mofe importance— wouldn't it, love? The more I think of it, the more foolish it appears, quarrelling about so triflir.g a thing as a mouse.' 'lou forgot, my dear; a rat, you mean.' 'No my dear, I mean a mouse.' 'How can you, over aud over again r '4 was a rat ? D'ye think I've no eyes?' 'I say what 1 mean, Mr. Battle; and I mean, just what I say. To say that was a rat, is the most als ird thing I ever heard. A rat, indeed !' 'Absurd or not, Mrs. Battle, I tell you, you are a simpleton. You don't know beans from a broomstick!' 'Then it's becauso I've lived so long with you, Battle. I don ; beliovo you over saw a rat. Every-body knows they have round tails, like a tile. But I'm an abjure woman, and I won't put up with such treatment any longer. 111 goitome to my father's. We'll see then, how some folks will get along Aud I will tell you, Battle, it was a mouse." •And I tell you, Mrs. Battle, it wasn't a mouse.' ' 'Ttvas a mouse.' ' 'Twas a rat.' 1 "Twas a mouse.' 'Rat.' , 'Mouse.' 'Rat.' -jM 'Mouse.' 'Rat.' 'Mouse,' 'Ra