THE STAR OF THE NORTH. B. W. Wearer, Proprietor.] -VOLUME 8. THE STAR OF THE NORTH | PUBLISHED EVERT WEDNESDAY MORNING BY R. W. WEAVER, OFFICE—Up sinirt. in the new brick build ing, MS the south tide of Main Street, third square below Market. TERMS j —Two Dollar* per annum, if paid w:thin-iix month* from the time of sub scribing ; two dollar* and fifty cent* if not paid within tbe year. No subscription re oeived for a le*a period than six month* ; no ■discontinuance permitted untii all arrearages are paid, unless at the option of the editor. ADVERTISEMENTS not exceeding one square Will be inserted three times for One Dollar and twenty-five cents for eacb additional in sertion. A liberal discount will be made to those who advertise by the year. rhK MISNOMEIIB OF THE DAY. Miss Fortune's no fortune at all, Mits Rich cannot master a guinea, Mias Little's a little too tall, Miss Wise is completely a ninny. Miss Black ia as white as the snow, Miss Green is as red as a cherry, Miss Brown's rather greenish or so, Whilst Miss While is ss brown as a berry. MM Ichbald'a fine head of hair, Hare baa got none on her noddle; Miss Yonng ia old, wrinkled and spare. Miss Lightbody scarcely can waddle. Mies Heavyaide bounds like a roe, Mis* Wild i* grave, dull and uncheery; Mia* Still ia accounted the go, Miss Grave is excessively merry . Miss Sharp haa got blunt as they say, Miss Dark ia prodigiously bright ; Miss Night has been turned into day, And Miss Day is to marry a knight. Then here ia a health to them all, Good luck to them sleeping or waking; If 'tis wrong a fair maid to Miss-call, Yet there's surely no sin in Miss taking. AW ALPHABET OF SELF-MADE MLR. The following from Hoosehold Words give in * briet apace the names and characteris tic* of eminent living characters who have raited themselves to distinction by their own exertions. To begin with the letter A, and dash has tily and skippingly on through the alphabet— we fiod that Anderson, the popular Danish novelist, was the son of a robler, and educa ted at a charity school; and that he tried for yeara to gain a living by - various handicraft trades, being frequently on the very brink of starvation. Berangnr, the celebrated French lyric poet, neglected by his vagabond father, a poor tailor, and was a gamin on the streets of Paris till promoted lor a lime to the digni ty of a pot boy. Elihu Burrilt, as all know, waa a blacksmith's apprentice. Carlelon, the Irish novelist, who now enjoy m pension of £2OO a year, is the eon of a peasant and begged bis way to knowledge. Rafael Car rara, President ol the Republic of Guatamala began life aa a drummer-boy aDd a cattle driver. Mr. Cobden ia the son of a small farmer, and entering a warehouse in London when a boy, rose through its various grades of service. Sir William Cubitt was a work ing miller, then a joiner and then a mill-, wright. Dumas, the French novelist and dramatist, is tbe illegitimate son of a planter and a negress, and was in all but starvation in Paris, till he hit upou the way to distinction. Farada, tbe eminent chemist is the son of a poor blacksmith, and began his career as the apprentice ot a bookbinder. Millard Fill more, late President of the United States, was first a ploughboy, then tried the trade of a clothier, and was then apprenticed to a wood carder. The present Emperor of Hayti was born a slave. Herring, the animal painter, began the profession of art with sign-boards and coach panels. Jasmin, the Burns of the south of France, is the son of a tailor, arid the grandson of a common beggar. Mr. Lindsay, M. P., the great shipowner, left his borne in Ayr with 3s. 6d. in bis pocket, (o push hi* fortune, aa a ship boy ; he worked his passage to Liverpool by assisting in the coal-bole of a steamer; and for a part of the time after he arrived, begged during the day, and slept in tbe sheds and street at night.— Lough, the distinguished sculptor, began the world in the capacity aa a ploughboy. Mill ie, the inventor of the wel! known rifle, was a private soldier. Robert Owen was a ehop bov to a grocer, and then a draper. Johan nes Ronge, the leader of the German Cctho lie movement, sheep when a boy.— Stanfield, the distinguished landscape paint er, was • cabin boy, and tbe ship-master was his first patron. Their*, tha well known hia torian, and ex-minister ol France, is the son of a poor blacksmith, and was aducaled gra tuitously at the public school of Marseilles. Thomas Wright, the Manchester prison phil anlhropist, waa a weakly worker in an iron foundry for forty-seven yeera, till a large sum of rpooey wae raised by a subscription to cqgtite h ' m 10 fy on hi* philanthropies! labors. There i( enoouragamant here, we faney, for the poor, the down-hearted; and likewise rebuke for those who are continually harping on lbs wrong* of tbe indigent end impassa ble barrier* between high and low. VoLTAiac.—One evening Voltaire and Pi ton, who were mortal enemies, met at the house of a mutual friend, and early the next morning Pi ton got up and wrote the word 'villain' upon Voltaira's door. The latter no* tioed it, when be eame from bit room, and gueeaiog who inscribed it, be eoogbt pi ran, and shaking bim oordially by the hand, thanked bim for showing him ap much cour tesy, as to leave his (Piron's) name a: his door so early in the morning I OT Intelligent conversation ia the great charm of man, tba finest tolao* oi intellectu al labors, and the simplest yet most effect ual and deljghtfol mode of at once resting nod invigorating the mind, whether wearied by etndy or depressed by struggles with for tone. BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY. PA., WEDNESDAY. JULY 23, 1856. LETTER FROM WM. B. REED, ESQ. ARGUMENTS FOR OLD LIME WLIKM. Below is tbe lettei (read at tha recent Democratic meeting at Wilkinaburg) from that distinguished and able leader of the Old Whig party, Wnt. B. Reed, Esq., of Phila delphia, in which he gives his reason* for supporting Buohanan end Breckinridge in preference to tbe illiheral and aectional can didates of the opposition : PHILADELPHIA, June 80, 1866. GENTLEMEN I have had the honor to re ceive your letter of the 90lh inat. It would, I assure you, give me great pleasure to have the opportunity of saying to my fnllow-citi zens of Allegheny county why 1 support the nomination of Buchanan, earnestly and ac tively. But engagements here entirely pre clude it. I should have peculiar satisfaction in being among you now because my laat visit to Pittsburg wea on a very different er rand. 1 was there, two years ago, as a member of what waa fupposed to be the Whig State Committee, with an earnest anx iety on my pari to save from insult and de feat your fellow citizen, George Darsie, a man of high character and unquestioned in tegrity, and who I thought, (and the event showed how truly,) waa about to be sacri ficed because his birth place and very early childhood happened to be abroad. With what follows, I need not trouble you; but within ike next year I found myeell obliged by mere 'self-respect publicly to re nounce all active connection with this Com mittee. My reasons ate before my fellow oittzens—and I leel no little pride in the rec olleclioti that I did not wait for its moment of decay and discomfiture to express my an tsgouism. to that unconstitutional and anti- Republican party known as the Know- Nothing organization. When I said what I thought about it, it was in its full power of mischief. It is not necessary to speak of it now. Its honest adherents, (and there were not a few,) are leaving it. Its managers and designers and contrivers ought never to be forgiven for having disfigured the political history of the country by the tradition, as it has- now become, ol a party which proscri bed a man's religion and drew distinctions between those whom the Constitution apd laws make equal. It destroyed the old Whig rarly utterly and completely; and when I am now asked to vote for Mr. Fillmore, as still a Whig, or for Mr. Douelson as a Democrat, I have a plain answer, that, as I understand it, each ol these gentlemen became an adhering Krow- Nothing or a technical "American," passed the several degrees of the order, and took its foolish and wicked oaths. If this be so— and it has been openly asserted and never denied—if Mr. Fillmore, an ex President of the United Stales, ever took an oath or obli gation to exclude or aid in excluding a man from public trust, simply on account of his religion or hi* birth—it in taking that obli gation be had to purge himself from all sym pathy or connection with catholics or for eigners, however innocent and respectable, then I cannot as a gentleman or an Ameri can citizen vote for Mr. Fillmore. There haa died in this city within the last two months, one of our most venerable a resident here for more than half a century, though born abroad and a Roman Catholic. I followed him to his grave. Hia whole heart waa loyal to hia adopted country, and true to tbe faith of his ancestors. Two of his sons, my personal and political friends, professing the same religious opinions with their father, for years represented this oily in the Legislature of the Slate with honor to themselves and their constituency, and yet if they and he were alive now. they would find' themselves by (hia new ritual proscribed and disqualified. I refer to this as a most striking, and to my immediate fellow-citizens tamiliar illustration of the practical and inevitable fruits of this organi zation. Well may we be grateful that a party professing such principles has passed away I 1 beg your pardon for troubling you with this reference to it. Those who were once Whigs, ere, on Ihe on Ihe other hand, asaed to vote for Fremont and Dayton, not as Whigs, bat as what are called "Republicans ;" for it seems to be assumed, (and perhaps history justifies it,J that nothing is easier for a Whig than to change his name. If be does it in a certain direction, and calls himself a Know Nothinir, or a "Republican," it is all very well; but if he choses, in the exercise of a manly discre tion, stimulated by local pride, to act with the Democratic party, as I certainly mean to do, there is no end to the denunciation he receives. Mr. Fremont I do not know per sonally, and what I have read of him in duces me to think he is a gentleman of en lire personal respectability, of rambling, ad venturous habits of ITfe, and large specula tive wealth. My gallant townsman, Dr. Kane, has done quite as much in the way of adventure, endured as mnoh hardship, gained as large a scientific fame in the cause of hu man charity, and yet I am not aware that he has any immediate aspirations for the Presi dency. He is not a rich man, and lives in Philadelphia. Mr. Dayton Ido know, and have known him long and well, and among all the asperities of politics, it is very pleas ant to have tho ohanoe of bearing testimony, (valueless though it may he,) to his high so cial and intellectual position. He is worthy of any honor the nation can bestow on him, although thla time hia fair ambition cannot be gratified. Mr. Dayton stands on the Re publican platform; having within teu years, as a Senator, voted against eatonding the Missouri Compromise Ihre to the Pacific ocean, aod in favor of the Wilmot Proviso, on the lest question, if I mistake not, record ing his vote ngsinsl those of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. Under these circumstan ces, I tee no especial claim this ticket has on Whig fidelity. But let me in candor ask, how can any conservative or National man, especially any Pennsylvanian, vole for the Republican nom inees. This is a question I should be glad to put and have answered in your hearing. The nomination was made in Philadelphia, and I had some opportunity of observing the influence under which it was made, and the manner in whioh it has been received. Had the Convention been left to merely disinter- ! ested impulses, it would have nominated John McLean, of Ohio, of whom it may at | least be said, he ia a tried public man. Still, i though supported earnestly and heartily bv Pennsylvania, and perhaps for that very rea- j •on, he had no chance, was first withdrawn, j and then defeated. The managers and fa natics had determined on another nomina tion, and of course Pennsylvania was thrust aside, Iter delegates sullenly firing guns of dismal acquiescence over their burled candi date. Mr. Fremont was nominated, and will be sustained, I fear, by the fiercest and most sectional fanaticism. I do not care to reler to individuals, but no one will question that the leading and most active men in that Convention were gentlemen who are proud ' to call themselves ''Abolitionists." You know the opinion of the representatives from Western Pennsylvania. I can answer for j those from the East. Tltey are generally avowed and extreme, and in my opinion un- 1 constitutional nnli-slavery agitators. But the spirit that actuated the Convention Was nut disguised. It waa very boldly avowed.— i There now lies before me a copy of a Phi la delphia newspaper, published at the time, and friendly to lite Republican c\use; which records that at the time of the nomination, a delegate, (Mr. Lovejoy, of Illinois) said "he proclaimed himself an Abolitionist —he thought that the party had tha disease, nnd, before itfe campaign waa through, it would break out all over;" and then, at this cuta neous prophecy, there was "tremendous cheering" in the Convention! Now, gentle men, it ia useless to disguise what sentiment predominated in this body, which now claim* my allegiance and that of other con servative men. I must resolutely decline ell such companionship! lam bound by no euch duly*. I never will vote for any man who is put forward as a mere sectional can didate. IT MAY NOT BA UNINLARAATING IN YNN IN KNNW how this sectional nomination has been re ceived here in Philadelphia, the metropolis of the Slate. Certainly not with enthusiasm, for it seems to me that the men of business here, let the severance of ancient party ties be as painful as it may, will be slow to sus tain sectional candidates, to endorse by their votes extreme Abolition or anything which looks like Abolition—to put in jeopardy the great commercial interests they have been so long striving to ceate, and to run the risk of four yesra of turmoil and disturbances on this hateful question of slavery with all its adjuncts. Their sober second thought ia teaming them that Mr. Buchanan uttered safe and to them congenial doctrine when, eo truly, and yet so simply, "Most will it be for our country if thisagi laitoWvere at an end. During its whole pro gress, it hat produced no practical good to any human being whilst it haa been the source of great and dangerous evils." This is exactly what I believe Jo be the prevalent sentiment in Philadelphia at this moment, and I shall be much disappointed if every days reflection does not strengthen if. But conservative men have seen other influences at work which are no where so repugnant to public feeling as here in Philadelphia. They think they see in (he management nf tha Re publican canvass already the ne ol means that ate wholjy illegitimate. Ido not refer to the innocent attempt to revive the rr.ueical tactics of ancient day*, though I can hardly rep-eas a smile at the idea of some of my Republican friends hereabout* becoming melodious. All this ia innocent enough.— But worse agencies sre at work. There is now before me a letter from Hon. Charles Sumner, endorsing the Fiemont nomination, in which 1 find the following remarkable language: "Our declaration (of principles) pays Mr. Sumner, appeal* to the foreign born, who re joicing in the principles of American citi zens will not hesitate to join in this holy en deavor to vindioate them against the aggres sions of an oligarchy wore than any tyraiuM from which they have fled. In this there is evory motive to Union, and ery motive to exertion. 'Now or never— now and for ever.' Such was the ancient war cry* which embroidered on the Irish flag, streamed from the castle of Dublin, and rosouiidad through the whole land, arousing a generous people to a new strug* gle for their ancient rights, and this war cry' may be fitly inscribed upon our banner row. Arise now, or our inexorable slave driving tyranny, will be fastened upon you—arise now, acd liberty will be secured lorever." Now this may ba considered proper Sena torial rhetoric, but I know no language strong enough to eondemn such an' appeal to out class of our population, or so disloyal a com parison ef our Southern brethren with the batchers and tyrants of Europe. To ap ap peal it mutt be ineffectual, for the natural ised citizens knows too well such florid professions usually (Era. He knOwe too that at the very moment tbeae words of awkward flattery were written, Mr. Sumner's candidate, Mr. Fremont, has been pronounced to be in full eoramnnion with Truth and Right God and our Country. the American order, bat accepted an Ameri can (the North American) semination, and is on the ticket at this vary lime with your townsman Governor Johnston aa Vice Presi dent, whose fidelity to the strictest Ameri canism oo one can question. But to sober minded and conservative men, the sorrow must be and ia moat sincere on teeing a cause such a* that which Mr. Stunner and hia parly espouse thus promoted. No where will there be greater revolt than here In Phil adelphia, where the olaas of citizens referred to have been often pelted and persecuted to (he top of.their bent. I have thus, gentlemen, writtec to you very much aa I should have talked to you—plain ly ar.d unceremoniously—giving my resßona for refusing my support, or rather my vote to two of the candidates before the people. My individual opinion*, are, I am quite aware, of no value—ibey eat) only seem to be entitled to lar aa Ibsy represent others who have heretofore acted with me. 1 believe there are thousands who think aa I do. Having thus defined my opinions, it is hardly necessary for me to say why I vote fit Mr. Buchanan, and why I am willing to do anything in my power to promote his election. 1 look to him and Mr. Breckin ridge as the candidates who, if elected, will give the country what it most needs, repose, and repress tlioioughly and completely all sectional agitation on this distressing topic ol domestic slavery. I find in Mr. Buchan an, and especially his recent public career, of our teprvsentsiiie abroad, an assurance that lie will secuie with foreign nations hon ornble peace. I regard him as eminently sale and conservative statesman. But lam proud to say that his being a son of Pentt- T>) }*NUIU—MIILO (CVIM OIHARTIFFFLIT!CIIOUT-W would hare entitled him to my tote, for I think this greut Commonwealth has waited long enough, and been postponed olten enough, and that now whdn the choice is one of her most distinguished citi zens for the Nation's honor, that I'ennsylva nians at least should rally to his support. I have no doubt they will, and if there be any humble service that I can render to promote this result, my fellow citizens have a right to it. If the course ( now feel it my duly to pursue be inconsistent with former political conduct and opinions, it is an infttnsistency lam rather proud of—but if it be consonant, aa I think it is, with leelincs of State pride and local loyal'y, which have been tho con trolling influences of my public life, I see no reason to moral that they coiuinna in operate on me pow that for theMiret time for seventy years we have a chance of doing something for Pennsylvania. I have the honor to be with great regard, Respectfully and truly yours, • WM. B. REED. The River and Hnrbor Bills. The passage through both bouses of Con gress of the three river and harbor bills, by majorities which overruled the objections of the President, baa already been announced in our columns. It waa not in the power of President Pierce to find in the constitution the authority for the appropriations made by these bills, and in the contcienliouadischarge ol bis official duties he returned them to Con gress with hia objections. These bilia were passed and sent to bim for Syirsanction at a time and under circumstance* well calcula ted to teat his firmness of purpose* The re sult fully confirmed hi* claim to those high moral attributes which distinguish the truly great (talesman- He looked not to his per sonal interests—he considered not his pros pecla of political promotion—be followed the convictions of his judgment, and lelt the con sequences to the country. More than two tbirda ol each House of Congress have arri ved at different conclusions from him, and the bills are now lews of the land. Ii li noi to oar purpose 10 revive the dis cussion as to the constitutional issue of in volved in the disagreement between the President end Cnngres*. No one has ever investigated this question who did not feel the embarrassments which lay in the way of a sati-fiietniy conclusion. The ablest and purest of our statesmen, have -arrived ai dit ferent results, and the question is as far from a satisfactory solution now as it was thirty yesis ago. As the matter now stands, appro priations for works of internal improvement depend chiefly upon the discretion of mem bers. In the midst of the difficulty of agree ing upon any constitutional rule for the de termination of such appropriations, we have long thought that 100 little attention has been directed to the expediency of opening the federal" treasnry for objects of internal ira provament. We hope oar fears may be unfounded; but we do not fear that the passage of the three bills referred 10 will form precedents, the force of which will involve the government in en amount of expenditures that will prove burdensome to the lax payers. When Gen. Jackson interposed hie objections to the Ma ysville road bill, and saved the country from en additional debt of twe hundred millions of dollars, the devottoeto duty which im pelled him to this dead of moral heroism was not until iba papular mind was brought l "its "sober second thought." If some future Democratic President shell be oonetraiaad by a like aense of poblic doty to interpose in like manner, be will refer with sustaining force to the noble precedents found in the acta of Jscksoa, Polk end Pierce. Washington Union. (V Salvador Itorbide, the son of the for mer Emperor of Mexico, was recently drown ed at Tepio, Mexico, while bathing. Science, "Art nub JDiecowetn. MANUFACTURE OF LETTER ENVELOPES—Jt is estimated that the number ol envelorifc made in the city of New York alone, ia week, ia at least 4,000,000. The process of manulacture may b* brief ly described. A ream of paper, or -about five hundred sheets, is placed under a knife of a shape corresponding with an envelope when entirely opened, which is forced down by a powerful screw-press, worked by a hand-lever. The pieces cut out, slightly adhering at the edges, from the action of the knife, resemble a solid block of wood until broken tip. The flap ia afterwards stamped by a similar process, a boy being able to prepare 50,000 per day in ibis man ner, taking one, two or three envelopes at each movement of the hand. They are then taken by one hundred girls, seated at long tables, by whom they are folded and gum med. A single girl will apply (he gum to 60,C00 or 70,000 in a day, from 6000 to 7000 may be folded in the same time. In these processes, the girls acquire great celerity and skill, being stimulated by tbe wages offered, which vary from twelve to thirty cents for each 1000. The envelopes are uext count ed, banded and packed. Some varieties are embossed, or otherwise decorated, requiring additional labor. The establishment of which we are now speaking consumes not far from twelve tons of paper per mouth, in the sin gle article of envelopes. This quantity of paper, at ten cents per pound would cost $2 500. The machines employed to make envelopes are very curiously constructed.— Edcli piece r.f paper,, upon being cut into the proper shnpe, ia placed on a kind of ar tificial hind, which conveys it overall aper ture of the lis. of An orJiuary lal:or, whan a plunger drives it through, gumming and folding it in the process. It then falls into a box, which Dy revolving at intervals, is grad ually filled up with packages of twenty-five, ready for u>e. These machines average 20,- 000 envelopes per day, and are capable of turning out eighteen per minute. The busi ness is in some danger of being overdone.— For some time past it haa doubled almost every twelve months, until a very large cap j ital is embarked in it, and competition has ; reduced tbe profits to a very low figure. FRENCH PATENTS.—Among the French pa tents recently granted, is one to Mr. M. Cas tets, of Paris, for the extraction of a substance lor sqpplying the place of quinine; the inven tion consists in submitting the seeds of the plants called canine to processes similar to those employed to obtain quinine from chin chona bark, by which means a substance is obtained having properties similar to, and which may be used as a substitute for, qui nine. A patent lias also been granted to M. Le Groa, cf Paris, for a mode of preserving all kinds of limber. A compound for this purpose is made by using a solution of hy drochlorate of manganese, resulting from the manufacture of chlorides of lime, and of the bleaching liquid (failed ley. This salt is neu tralized by an admixlureof a sufficient quan tity of chalk, carbonate of chalk, or oxyde of alumina; this solution is poured into a suitable vessel, and the wood put into the vessel, with its ends remaining out; a hori zontal immersion does not produce the de aired effect; it must remain forty-eight hours. This composition is said to preserve tbe wood well. Timber, and all kinds of wood, may be thus treated. A SCIENTIFIC TEST FOH COFFEE.—At a re cent meeting of the British Association of Science, Mr. Horsley called attention lothe use of bichromate of potasb, in analyzing adul terated samples ol coffee. With diluted so lutions of pure coffee, this salt produces an intense deep porter brown coloration, whilst upon dec-ootions of chicory no effect is pro duced. He advised the following procedure: Take equal parts of chicory and coffee, and decoct litem in difierem quantities of water. Filter, bottle and label the liquids. Teke a leesponnful ol the chicory, and dilute it till it is brown cherry color; boil it in e porce lain dish, with a fiagment of chtyslalized bictirome. The color will be scarcely deep ened. II a similarly diluted solution of cof fee is thus treated, a deep brown tinge is obtained. By operating with mixed liquids a scale of colors may be obtained indicating the properties of the two substances. If a lew grains of the sulphate of copper be add ed, both decoctions yield a precipitate; that from chicory being a clay yellow, and that from coffee a sepia brown. Mixed decoctions yield intermediate tints. HELIOPLASTIN ENGRAVING rhia new pro ceaa of engraving photographa, invented by M. Poitevin, reals upon the property which i gelatine has, when dried, impregnated with a ohromate, or bicrotnate, and subjected to the action of light, by which it loses its properly ol' swelling in water. A layer of solution of gelatine, of more or less thick ness, is laid on a plane surface, such aa glass, ia allowed to dry, and then placed in a solu tion of bioromate, whose base has no direct aolion on the gelatine. It is again dried,and then influenced through a photographic neg ative or positive picture, in the focus of a camera. After the iinpressiofh-'ia received, and which will vary according to the inten sity of the light, the layer ia put into water; then all parts which have not received the influence of the light, swell and form reliefs, while those that were affected by the light absorb no water and remain as depressions. This surface is then transposed npon metal plates, either by monlding in plates or by eleotrotyping. FACTS in SPAttTA. 111STOKY. The education of the young ladies ot Sparta waa totally different from that in every other' state. They were exclusively trained to be come wive* and mother* of warriors and he roes, and not to ba mare housekeepers and noreas. In other Greek cities the spinning of wool, like the crochet in modern Britain, was tbe serious and constant occupation of the female mind. Lycurgus, however, justly considered that spinning and weaving were best left to the slave. "How is It possible," he thought, for mothers brought up in such occupation* to rear a healthy and a hand some progeny—the lofty mission and proud duly of every free daughter of Sparta!'' He therefore introduced bodily exercises for tbe Spartan maider.s analogous to those of the Spartan youths; and the beanty of the women soon becaiye the general theme of praise throughout Greece; and especially they were famous for fine shapes and masculine vigor. Thus were formed the heroines ot a Sparta; they would sooner sea their son* dying a! their fest than turning their backs on an en emy or failing their duty to their country; they who said to their sons, when marching to battle, "Disgrace not yourselves by aban doning your shields; either to return wlih thenunr else upon them!" When a foreign lady said, "the women of Sparta are the only woman who rule the mer.;" the wife of Le onidas justly replied, "yes, and the women of Sparta are the only women who are moth er* ol men." We al last romp to the moat interesting topic of all, namely, the Spartan marriage*. Mar.y of the laws ol Lycurgu* in connection with this auhjeot would undoubtedly meet with the apnrobalion of the fair aex ol moJ em times, and would equally as undoubtedly contribute to the happiness of all the presem bachelorhood of Britain. The time for mar riage was fixed by siatnte; thatol the men at about thirty or thirty five years; that of the ladies al about twenty or a little younger. All men who contmne unmarried after the ap pointed lime were liable to a prosecution; and all old bachelors were prohibited from being present at the public exercises of the Spartan maidens, and horrors paid to aged. "Why should 1 give you place," cried a young man to an unmarried general, "when you have no child to give place to me when I am old 1" No marriage portions were given with any of the maidens, so that neither poverty should prevent a gallant, nor riches tempt him to marry contrary to his inclina tions. The parents of three children enjoy considerable immunities, and (hose with four paid no taxes whatever—s regulation which all married men with large families will readily admit to be wise and equitable.— Every marriage was preceded by a betrothal, as in Greek cities, but the marriage itself was performed by 'he young Spartan carry ing off his bride by a pretended education and for some time afterward the wife contin ued to reside with her own family, and only mat the husband on atolen occasions. This extraordinary way of spending the honey moon was first introduced by Lycurgus to prevent the husband from wasting too mnch of his time in his wife's society during the first years of their marriage; and in order to economise the bride's charms, it wss custom ary for her bridesmsid to cut off all her liuir on the wedding day, so that for some time at least her peisonal attractiona should in crease with her years. Ml AIM" PRACTICE. Some five years since, two well known Al abamians left this city to seek their fortunes at Washington. We will call them Mr. A. and Mr. B. Mr. A. got a contract from the government, and made a snug little pile— some forty thousand dollars worth of real estate. While acquiring (his properly, Mr. A. contracted about &7000 worth of debts, two thousand five hundred of which belong ed to Mr. B. Mr. A. is not any more honest than the la*' allows. So he thought he would get rid of "those cussed bores," his creditors, by makjng over his property to his niece, a fino looking young lady, aged about eigh teen. He accordingly went to a lawyer, made out the papers, and assigned the whole of his real estate to his niece, the inlefesting young lady already spoken of. Having con cluded his arrangements, he thought he would go south and look at the country.— This look place Isst summer. During hie his absence in pursuit of quietness and cot-1 ton fields, Mr. B. ascertains all about the as signment, and goes in for making things square. He commenced operations by court ing the niece aforesaid, and finished up by marrying ber. When Mi. A. relurne from Georgia, he finde that he has been done— that B. has not only got thirty-seven thous and, but five hundred dollars worth of real estate in addition. Mr. A. is now swearing in eight sj llables, and insists that is a con spiracy. He talks of writs, Itw and red tape, but ae the statutes will not allow a man to take advantage of hie own wrong, we fear he will have to "grin and bear it." It is not neceesary for us to sty that Mr. B. feels first rate over the achievment, while the niece cannot understand why her uncle should give her forty thousand dollars worth of real es tate, and then fly iolo a passion just because •he bestowed it on her husband. If we are not mistaken, (hie is the best piece of sharp practioe that has turned up this season. City Offlcert Resigning. —The municipal of ficers of Mobile, Ala., are all of the Ameri can party, but as the course of the Presiden tial canvsss has tendered tbem unwillingly to support tbe party ticket for the Proeidenoy, the Mayor and City Attorney have resigned. The City Counoil accepted the resignation of tbe latter, bat requested tbe withdrawal of tha former. [Two Dollars pr Annas. NUMBER 27. Mr. Clay spehk#—-Iteor Baa. • > We find in Ihe Lexiagton Qbstnur and Reporttr, a letter copied from the Kentucky Statuman, which we publish with great sac isfaction. It is from James B. Clay, a son of Henry Clay, the great American States man, whom all men delight to honor. This letter is the best refutation that could be made of the stale slanders now attempt ed to be revived by a venal partisan press, relative to the unfounded charges against Mr. Buchanan—charges denied by Henry Clay himself, by his biographer, and now by the public generally. The high personal regard which these distinguished statesmen ever entertained for each other, also effectu ally disproves these malicious fabrications. Mr. Clay, in announcing his determina tion to vote for Mr. Buchanan, assumes a position which is alike honorable to himself and the powerful party of which his honor ed father was the acknowledged leader. From the Kentucky Statuman. MH. F.DITOS :—I desire, through your cour tesy, to correct p statement made in the Statesmen of the 4th inst,, which does great injustice to two of my friends, and political brothers, the Hon. Joshua F. Bell, of Boyle, and the Hon. Wm. B. Kinkcad, of Kenton, and which moreover is untrue. The article to which I refer, states "that resolutions ox pressing the confidence of the Whigs of Kentucky in Mr. Fillmore, and saying he waß worthy of their support as in 1848," were rejected by the votes of sixteen coun [ ties to one, in the State Convention held at Louisville, on the 3d inst.,and that Mr. Belt and Kinkeud advocated them. It is undeniably true that such resolution* were offered in the Convention by Col. Hop kins, of Henderson, and it is also true that they were laid upon the table by a vote of sixteen counties to one. But it it is not true that either Mr. 801 l or Mr. Kinkead vo ted lor them; on the contrary both gentle men opposed them, as I have reason to be leive they would have done resolutions to endorse any one but a true old line Whig for the office of President. It was, also, at the express desire and reqnest of Mr. Kin kead that Mr. Adams withdrew his motion, to the effect "that the Whigs of Kentucky have undiminished confidence in Millard Fillmore." It is, however, but candid to say, that every member of the Convention understood that Mr. Bell and Judge Kinkead preferred Mr. Fillmore to either Buchanaa or Mr. Fremont; neither of them made any attempt to do and unjust a thing, as to commit an old line Whig Convention to the endorsement of anybody but a Whig. There is also a statement copied into the Oburvtr and Reporter of the sth inst., "that I had been heard to say, that I was for Bu chanan," I may have said that Mr. Buchan an was not my candidate, or was not my choice for the Presidency; but I have not said that I should not vote for him. I pre fer Mr. Fillmore personally, and if he stood on the same principles he did in 1850 I would vote for him in preference to any man I know. But I expect to cast my vote for that candidate who in my opinion may have the best chance to defeat the candidate of the Black Republican party, and, at pres ent advised, I think Mr. Buchonan has the best chance to do so. I wish it, neverthe less, to be distinctly understood, that if f shall think it my duty to vote for Mr. Bu chanan I shall vote as an old Line Whig, making a ohoice of what he believes to be evils, for the good of the country; and that whenever the Whig standard shall again be raised, adhering always to the principles which I have been instrumental in asserting at Lexington, and at Louisville, on the 3d of July, I shall be ready, fairly, honestly and fearlessly to battle against those princi ples and practices of the Democratic party which conflicts with our own views. I feel sure, Mr. Editor, that your readers will not do me the injustice to attribute to me too great a desire to force myself before the notice, in venturing to correct misrepre sentations affecting my friends and myself, however well I may know the little impor tance that may be a'tached to any opinions ol mine. I hope the Observer and Reporter will also do me the favor, as well as justice, to copy this letter. I am sir, respectfully, &o , Your obedient servant, JAMES B. CLAY. ASHLAND, July 8, 1856. ATMOSPHERIC AIR consists of about 78 per oent. of nitrogen or azotic gas, 21 per cent, of oxygen, and not quite 1 per cent, of car bonic acid or fixed air; and such is the con stitution when taken into the lungs in the act of breathing. When it is expelled from them, however, its composition is found to be greatly altered. The quantity of nitro gen remains nearly the same, but eight or eight and a half per cent, of the oxygen or vital air have disappeared, and been re placed by an equal amount of oarbonic acid. In addition to these changes, the expired air ia loaded with moisture. Simultaneous ly with these occurrences, the blood col lected from the- veins, which enters the lungs of a dark color and unfit for the sup port of life, assumes a florid red hue, and acquires the power of supporting life. BT Thackeray, on his first visit to tbla country, was introduced in Charleston, t*. C., to Mrs. C—, one of the leaders of society there. Thinking to be witty, be said—"l am happy to meet you, Mrs. C——; I've fteard Madam, that you were a fast woman." "Ob, Mr. Thackeray," she replied, with one of her most fascinating sAifes, "lire mast not believe all we hear. J heals heard, sir, that you uerta gentleman." The English wit admitted, afterwards, that be bad tbe worst of it.
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