THE STAR OF THE NORTH.
IT, If. jacby, rrtfridir.]
VOLUME 10.
OOAIB
rmtiDn BVEHY wsbmiDAT IT
WM. H. JAI'OBY,
Offirt on Main St., 3rd Sqmrt below Market,
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OR I GIN A LP O ET R Y.
TOE DYING CHRISTIAN.
DT LILLUFF.
•Tis evening's calm and sacred hour,
I feel the sweet, the maggic power,
Of unseen spirits hovering near—
Spirits from ft heavenly spnere — •
From round tho great white throne they come
To guide my woary spirit home.
Tho world is fair, and bright, and gay,
Flowers aro blooming round my way;
Fond friends surround wcre'er I roam,
Boar are the sweet delights of homo.
Earth's choicest treasures bid mo. stay,
Vet gladly would I wing my way—
From earth, with all its joys ana pains,
To heaven whero my Redeemer reigns.
'Tis hard to sever each fond tie,
And thus, in life gay morn, to dio,
Earth's pleasures tempt us, but alas!
They're transient—asa flash they pass,
Like mist, they hover round us, noar,
Wo grasp thorn—and they disappear-
The woalth of earth was never given
To draw our souls away from Hoavon,
But lent us, while below we dwell,
To use, but not to love too well.
Then let us fix our hopes, our love,
On things abiding, things above,
That when from earth we're called to part,
We'll meet death with a willing heart.
My breath grows short, my pnlse is low,
My fluttering spirit soon must go,
Will soon be free from pain and eare,
In heavenly glory soon will share.
With faith, to heaven I lift my eye,
And calmly breathe my parting sigh,
May the stone that marks my ashes, tell
The passer by, that (< All is well."
BUCK IIORN, March 1858.
Major Brown's Coon Story.
u 1 was down on the crick this morning,"
said Bill Gates, "and 1 seed any amount of
coon tracks. 1 think tht.ri agoin' to be pow
erful plenty this season."
" Oh, yes," replied Tom Coker, "I never
hearn tell of the like before. The whole
woods is lined with 'em. If the skins is
only a good price this season, I'll be worth
somethin' in the spring, sure's you live, for
I've jest got one of the be6t coon dogs in all
Illinois."
" You say you never heam tell o' the like
o' the coons 1" Put in Major Brown, an
old veteran who had been chewing tobacco
in silence for the last ball'hour, "Why you
don't know ennything 'bout 'em! If you'd
a come hero iorty years ago, like I did,
you'd a thought coons! I jest tell you, boys,
you couldn't go amiss for 'em. We hardly
ever thought of pesterin' 'em much, for
their skins weren't worth a darn with us—
that is, we couldn't get enough for 'em to
pay for the skinnin'."
" I recollect one day I went out a bee
huntin'. Wal, arter I'd lumbered about a
good while, I got kinder tired, and so I
leaned up agin a big tree to rest. 1 hadn't
much more'n leaned up afore somethin'
gave me one of the allliredest nips about
the seat o' my briches 1 ever got in my life.
1 jumped about a rod, and lit a runnin', and
kept on a runnin* for over a hundred yards,
when think, sez I, it's no use runnin', and
I'm snake bit, but runnin', won't do enny
good. So I jest stopped and proceeded to
examine the wound. I soon seed it was no
snake bite, for thar's a blood-blister pinched
on me about six inches long.
" Think, sez I, that<ather gits me ! What
in the very dence could it a bin 1 Arter
tbinkin' about't awhile, I concluded to.go
back, and look for the critter, jess for the
curiosity o' the thing. I went to the tree
and poked the weeds and stuff all about;
but darned the thing could I see. Party
soon 1 sees the tree has a little split a run
nin' along up it, and so I gits to lookin' at
that. Dreckly I sees the split open about
halt an inch, and then shet up agin; then 1
sees it open and shet right along as regular
as a clock a tickin'."
" Think, sez I, all creation can
this mean ? I know'd I d got pinched in the
•plit tree, but what in thunder was makin'
it do it 1 At first 1 lelt orfully scared, and
thought it must be somethin' dreadful; and
then again I thought it moutn't. Next I
thought about hants and ghosts, nd about
ruunin' home and sayin' nothin' about it;
and then I thought it couldn't bo enny on
'em, for I'd never hearn tell o' them a pes
terin a feller right in open daylight. At
last the true blood of my ancestors riz up in
niy veins, and told me it 'ud be cowardly to
go home and not find out what it was; so I
lumbered for my axe, and swore I'd find out
all about it, or blow up. Wben I got back
I let it into the treo like blazes, and pqrty
soon it cum down and smashed into flinders
—and what do you think 1 Why it was ram
med and jammed smack full of coons from
top to boltom. Yes, sir, they's rammed in
so close that every time they breathed they
made'the split open."
Scene,—A fashionable city party—low
necked dresses a prominent feature—Miss
addresses her country cousin:
" Coz Sam, did you ever see such a glo
rious sight before 1"
" Never since I was weaned," replied
Sam blushing.
CTA Dublin paper contains the follow
ing advertisement: To Let—the upper part
of a cellar—to a small family rent low. P.
S. Privileges on the sidewalk for a pig.
BLOOMSBURG* COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY. MARCH 31, 1858.
A RACE WITH A WIDOW,
" Merciful Jehosaphat and big onions,
what a lime I've had with that widder.—
We chartered an omnibus for two on Ghrist
mas, and started. Widder said I, where
we go to ? She blushed, and said she did'nt
like to say. I told her she must say."
" Well Jehuel, if you insist upon it and T
am to have ray choice, I had rather go to
church." x.
" What fer, widder ?" said I.
" Oh, Jehuel how can you ask me?"
" Cause I want to know," said I.
" YVell—(blushing redder than beef) —
it is such cold weather now, and tho nights
aro awful cold, and oh. Jehuel I can't
stand it!"
" Oh, pshaw, widder spit it out what do
yon mean V
The widow riled. She biled right over
like a quart of mik on the fire and burst out
with—
" If you can't understand me, you'ro a
heartless brute so you are."
" Hold your horses !" said I. What's all
this about? lam not a brute, nor never
was, ami if a man called me that I'd boot
him sure."
And then biled right over, and unbutton
ed my coat collar to keep me from bustin'
off my buttons. The widder saw 1 was go
ing to explode, or else collapse my wind
pipe, and she flung her arms around my
neck, put her lips to mine, I cooled right
down.
"Jehuel, dear!" said she, in an insinua
tin' way, and a voice as sweet as a hand or
gan, " Jehuel, honey 1 want to go to church
to get mar—no I can't say it all, you finish
the word, Jehuel, sweet."
" What word, marm?"
" Oh you stupid Jehuel, dear, I mean the
word marriage love."
"Married, widder!" said I, "did you
mean that ?"
" Indeed I did, Jehuel, love !"
" Look here marm, my name isn't Je
huel Love, nor Jehuel Dear, nor Jehucl
Sweet. I'd have you know. And I won't get
married to nobody but one, and you are not
the she."
Oh, pewter pennies, but didn't she rave !
She made one dash at me, I dodged, and
she went butt up against the upper end of
the omnibus. Crash went the comb, and
smash went that bran new bonnet that I
didn't buy for her, and down she went with
her face in the straw. But in a moment
6he rose again, arid made one more dash
at me. I dropped—she went over mt and
butted the door of the omnibus. The strap
broke and out 6ho went—her gaiter boots
higher than her head as she struck the
pavement.
" Drive on !" I yelled to the driver.
" Woman overboard !" cried a passing
sailor.
" Stop that White Coat—breach of prom
ise—reward—Herald—published," shriek
ed the widow, in tones of moral agony while
tears of blood streamed from her beautiful
pug nose.
" Drive on ! drive on !" 1 shouted.
" Where to 1" asked the driver.
" To the devil—to Harlem—to Macomb's
Dam—anywhere so that we escape matri
mony and the widder."
He started, so did the widder, and then
we had it up the avenue, the bus having
the start of about a hundred yards. Foot by
foot the widder gained. Thinks I, Jehuel,
you are a goner, 1 thought it best to lighten
6hip. So first I hove overboard the straw.
Still she gained on mo. Then overboard ,
went the cushions. But still she gained.
More team, driver, for mercy's sake
more team !" I yelled.
" We arc going faster than the law allows
now," he answered." Thirteen miles an
hour."
Jehosaphat how the widder run ; she
hove off her bonnet and camo up hand over
hand. A thought struck me, and so I off
my coat and flung it right down iu her
path. She sprang on it like a panther, and
tore it to pieces. Oh how they flew. 1
wept to seo it go, but lile is sweeter than a
coat, and my tailor is making mo a new one.
Hero we gained full two hundred yards, but
on she came again. Once more 1 could see
the green in her eyes—merciful Moses,
how I felt.
" Drive," said I, " kill them horses or get
another mile out of them."
" Will you pay for them 1" he said.
"Yes, yes," said I, " only Bave me from
the widder."
By cracky wo did slide ; the widder no
longer gained, but held her own beautifully.
Thus we had it—out past the Red House—
through Harlem—where Capt. Graham at
tempted to catch us. he probably supposing
that we were running away with some bank
fund.
My only hope was reaching Degroot's
ahead of her, for I knew they would hide
me. We were on the bridge, and, oh, Mo
ses, the draw was up, and a sloop going
through. " Driver," said I, "jump that
bridge and I'll make your fortune for life,
sure as you're born.'*'
" I'll do it or dio !" he cried. And he did
it. The widder jumped after us, tell into
the Harlem river, and hasn't been heard of
since.
XW Some poetaster wrote the following
for the Hartford Review, but it almost killed
him
Long is the moon
That brings no eve ;
Tall is the com
That no cob leaves;
Blue is the sky
That never looks yeller;
Hard is the apple
That never grows meller;
But longer and bluer and harder and tall,
Is my lady love—my adorable Poll.
"IF I WERE A MAN."
Don'tl wish that I were aman ! Wouldn't
I set tlic beaver-batted population an exam
ple of brilliant perfection 1 Wouldn't I
make myself generally agreeable to all the
ladies, and talk to 'em as if they had souls
above bonnets! What a glorious man I
should make !
I wouldn't stand on the hotel steps and
puff clouds of villaneous tobacco smoke in
to the eyes of all the pretty girls that go past,
nor spit on the pavements to spoil their lit
tle shoes and injure their tempers.
I wouldn't set my huge heel down on the
trains of their silken dresses, to tear 'em
half off; and I think—l'm not quite sure,
but I thinks —l'd knock down the first brute
who dared to complain of the circumfer
ence of their garments!
And when they come into a car or omni
bus, I wouldn't stick my nose into a news
paper, or look abstractedly out of the win
dow, nor get up grumbling, " Always the
way with women !" Not a bit of it! I'd
spring up like a patent India-rubber-ball,
and if the old batchelor on the right-hand
side, and the spruce clerk on the left-hand
side, didn't congress themselves into the
smallest possible space, to make room for
the crinolines, I'd know the reason why !
And then, when I get married (for to
what end was I created, if not to pay the
milliner's bills of some blessed little bit of
womankind, j wouldn't I make a model hus
band ! Do you suppose I should bother her
sweet life out of her, by grumbling because
a paltry button had dropped off a shirt col
lar, or a string off a dickey? Do you think !
I'd explode like a camphene lamp every
time 1 found a rip in my gloves ? I'd like
to see myself stooping to any such little
ness.
I wouldn't consult the almanac every time
she bought a new bonnet, to see just how
many weeks she had worn the old one ;
and I wouldn't snarl like a cross tiger cat
whenever the coffee happened to be cold
or the bcaf-steak raw, just as if 1 wanted her
to abase herself in dost and ashes, and burn
up her rosy little face before the kitchen
ftre tvhile I sat with nry heels on the table,
reading the paper in the next room. I
wouldn't use profane language when she
asked me to button up her sweet little gai
tor-boots, or fasten her gloves, or even to
carry her parcels down Broadway, on a
rainy day—which last I consider to be an
infalliable test of patience and meekness.
I wee-K.ln't gorge myself with wine and
oysters and cigars at a fashionable down
town restaurant, while tny wife dined at
home on cold mutton, and then look as
black as an over-charged tliuddercloud,
when the grocer's " little bill" came in ; I
wouldn't expend a small fortune in dia
mond shirt-studs, extravagant broad-cloth,
and fancy canes and then mutter about
"hard limes" when she ventured to ask
me for half a dollar to buy check for the ba
by's aprons !
And 1 rather think I'd go shopping with
her too, when she hinted to that effect, in
stead of inventing excuses about Smith, or
Brown, or the club—aye, and pay her bills,
too, without screwing up my month as if I
had the cramp in my face ! And if she
looked into a shop window and admired a
thirty-dollar collar, I'd walk straight in and
buy it for her, instead of feigning to be ab
sorbed in the signs opposite, and " forget
ing to hear" what she said.
When I came home at night, I wouldn't
make a bear of myself, behind the evening
paper and answer savagely, when she tim
idly asked what I was reading, " Women
can't understand politics !" No, indeed !
I would read her all the anecdotes, play
with the children, pull the pussy's ears, and
tell her how becoming her new silk was.
That's the way to keep the woman good
natured, take my word for it; arid what pret
tier sight is there in the world than a good
humored woman 1 Mind, 1 don't ask the in
corrigible old bachelors; first, because it
isn't any of their business, and second, be
cause they're not judges of the article. But
put the question to any sensible fellow be
tween the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight
and see what he ll say!
I'd make a point of always asking my
wife's advice, before I went to vote, and
doing just as she said about it—then I'd be
sure to bo always right. And if any bach
elor friend of miuo had the impudence to
ask me to an oyster supper, without inclu
ding my wile in the invitation, do yon sup
pose I'd go 1 Ask my mother-in-law about
that.
I wouldn't go to evening parties., and flirt
desperately with other ladies, and talk about
"my poor, dear wife, whose ill health pre
cluded her enjoyment of society," when I
knew very well that she was sitting at home
alone with the cat, and crying her eyes out,
over one of my ragged old coats.
Good gracious, what a wide field for im
provement there is among the benighted
sons of Adam! It puts me completely out
of breath to think of half tho relorms I'd
make. Oh, if I only wore a man
SHIRELY.
iz A young lady recently remarked that
she could not understand what her brother
George Henry, saw in the girls, that he
liked them so well, for her part, she would
not give the company of one young man
for that of twenty girls.
W The following question is now before
the Sand Lake Debating Society. " Which
do women like the best—to be hugged in
a polka, or squeezed in a sleigh!" We
shall issue the decision in an extra.
Truth and Eight Cud M uar Country.
The Tyrant Sway.
BT 0. P. MORRIS.
The heart that owns thy tyrant sway,
What'er its hopes may be,
Is like a bark that drifts away
Upon a shoreless sea!
No compass left to guide her on,
Upon the surge she's tempest-torn—
And such is life to me!
And what is life when love is fled I
The world, unshared by thee,
I'd rather slumber with the dead,
Than such a waif to-be!
The bark that by no compass steers,
Is lost, which way so'er she veers—
And such is life to me 1 •
THE STOLEN KNIFE.
' Many years ago, when,a hoy of seven or
eight years thofe was d-Sr thing* which 1
longed for more than anything else, and
which 1 imagined would make me supreme
ly happy. It was a jaeWnife. Then I
would not be obliged to borrow father's ev
ery time I wished to cut a string or stick, but
could whittle whenever I choose, and when
ever 1 pleased. Dreams of knives, bows
and arrows, boats, &c , all manufactured
with the aid of that shining blade, haunted
me by day attd night.
It was a beautiful morning in June, that
my father called me, and gave me leave, if
I wished to go with him to the store. I was
delighted, and taking his hand, we started.
The birds sang sweetly on every bush, and
everything looked so gay and beautiful, that
my heart fairly leaped for joy. After our
arrival at the village, and while my father
was occupied in purchasing some articles
in a remote part of__the store, my attention
was drawn to a man who was asking the
prioe of various jack-knives which lay on
the counter. As this was a very interesting
subject to me, 1 approached, intending only
to look at them. 1 picked one up, opened
it, examined it, tried the springs, felt the
edge of the blades with my thumb, and
thought 1 could never cease admiring their
polished surface. Oh! if it were only mine,
thought I, how happy I should be ! Just at
this moment happening to look up, I saw
that the merchant had gone to change a bill
for his customer, and no one was observing
me. For fear that I might be tempted to do
wrong, I started to replace the knife on the
counter, but an evil spirit whispered, "Put
it in your pocket; quick!" Without stop
ping to think of the crime or its consequen
ces, 1 hurriedly slipped it into my pocket,
and as Ji did.so. feu# a. sliinr.c bur-'
tiittg on my cheek; but the store was rather
dark, and no one noticed it, nor did the
.merchant miss the knife.
We soon started for home, my father giv
ing me a parcel to carry. As we walked
along, my thoughts continually rested on
the knife, and I kept my hand iu my pocket
all the time from a sort of guilty fear that it
would be seen. This, together with carrying
the bundle in my other hand, made it diffi
cult for me to keep pace with my father.—
He noticed it and gave me a lecture about
walking with my hands in my pockets.
Ah! how different were my thoughts then,
from what they were when passing the same
scenes a few hours before. The song of
the birds seemed joyous no longer, but sad
and sorrowful, as if chiding roe for my wick
ed act. I could not look ray father in the
face, for I had been
broken one of God's commandments, and
become a<f/u?/ As these thoughts passed
through my mind, I could hardly help cry
ing, but concealed my feelings, and tried to
think of the good times I would have with
my knife. I could hardly say anything on
my way home, and my father thinking I
was either tired or sick, kindly took my
burden, and spoke soothingly to me, his
guilty son. No sooner did we reach home,
than I retreated to a safe place, behind the
house, to try the stolen knife.—A had picked
up a stick, and was whittling it, perfectly
delighted with the sharp blade, .which gli
ded through the wood almost of ffself when
suddenly 1 heard the deep, sudden voice of
my father, calling me by look
ing up, saw him at the window directly over
my head, gazing down very sorrowfully at
me. Thfe stick dropped fraja my hand,
and with the knife clasped iu trie other, I
proceeded into the house. I saw byhislooks
that my father had divined all. I lound him
sitting in his arm chair, looking very pale,
walked directly to his side, and in a low
calm voice, he asked me where I got the
knife. His gentle manner and kind tone
went to my heart, and I burst into tears.—
As soon as my voice would allow mo, I
made a full confession. He did not flog me
as some fathers would have done, but rep
rimanded me in such a manner, that, while
I felt truly penitent for the deed 1 loved him
more than ever, and promised never, never
to do the like again. In my father's com
pany, I then returned to the store, and on
my knees begged the merchant's pardon,
and promised never again to take what was
not my own.
My father is long since dead; and never
do I think of my first theft, without blessing
the memory of him whose kn:d teachings
and gentle corrections have made it, thus
far in my life and forever, my last.— Moore's
Rural Ncto Yorker.
Ey A lady wishing%e service of a dyer,
was referred to an excellent workmau.—
The lady asked:
•"Are you the dying man?
"No ma'am, I'm a living man—but I'll
die for you.
lair A young lady who lately gave order
to her milliner for a bonnet; said, "You are
to make it plain, but at the same time smart,
as 1 set in a conspicuous place in church."
TOE WILD GOOSE.
A DANGEROUS FEAT-
Many a daring adventure had Aleck Brent
in his lonely quarters by Pawah lake. Du
ring Indian times it was esteemed a coura
geous thing for the noted braves to lurk
Aleck's cabinet and wait for the scalp ; but
every such attempt proved a miscarriage,
and every miscarriage cost an Indian life or
two. So they learned discretion at length,
and sought other war trails, wherein there
was less danger.
Then Aleck remained unmolested, and
was allowed to grow grey-headed, and in
due time to disappear altogether from the
field of human action without further inter
ruption.
The history of this man, hermit yet hos
pitable, taciturn yet full of interesting lore,
is* the history of a race whose fortunate des
cription immortalized Cooper. They are
fading fast away, and to find them, even
now, requires a journey far beyond the
ultima thule of cockney travelers and city
sportsmen. The reader will not complain,
especially ho who loves wild romance and
startling peculiarities of character have long
romained fading and useless in my memor
andom book.
Many a daring adventure had Aleck Brent
in his lonely quarters; of such was the fol
lowing.
The lake by which his cabin was pitched
was a horrid pool; in summer the head
quarters of alligators, water moccasin snakes
and gar-fish ; in winter, backed by the Miss
issippi river, until it frequently backed Al
eck clean out of his little home and drove
him to the hills. Why he lived in such an
aguish spot none could say. Probably it
was for the convenience of the fish, which
were abundant, and to be handy to the deer
and bear that came down to the lake to
drink. But whatever the cause, there lived
Aleck; summer and winter, for thirty years,
fishing when he choose, hunting a day or
two in the week—just long enough in fact
to knock down a fat buck or bear—and
drinking the lake water until its very slime
was relished as sauce piquante to a French
man. With this introduction enters the
story of the Wild Goose.
One rainy, bleak March clay, Aleck found,
upon examination of his larder that his pro
visions were out. Bread he had never cared
for, and there had been so much wet weath
er, that the hunter who was getting rheu
matic ironi a lifo of continued exposure,
had kept within doors, smoking his pipe,
till the last piece of dried venison gave out.
So with an ill-natured growl, he shouldered
an old gun that had done him service since
a boy, and took the way to his favorite deer
haunts. But the deer were closely housed
and did not afford him a single shot. Wear
ied and wet, he took back with the uncom
fortable prospect of sleeping supperless,
when his eyes fell upon a large gander that
had pitched into the lake some sixty yards
from shore, and was swimming temptingly
abont, quite regardless of his propinquity.
With but little reflection Aleck leveled
his piece, and had spread the bird headless
upon the water, before he had time to think
how he was to gel it out.
The alligators were so abundant that a
dog could not swim across without being
picked np, and even the deer were frequent
ly packed attempting a passage.
But night was coming on, his canoe was
a mile off at least, and it was the gander or
no supper.
Aleck stripped his bucksins for the at
tempt. He attached his hunting knife by a
throng to his neck, took a stout chunk for
support and a club for defence, then boldly
plunged in. The first dash nearly chilled
him to the heart; but be reached ihe prize,
fastened it around him, and started back.—
Scarcely had he turned, however, when he
was startled by a well known sound, and a
glance over his shoulder assured him that
an old soldier, a bull alligator, to use the
expressions of the frontiers, was upon his
track, length ten or fifteen feel, teeth long
enough to carve him at a nip, stomach suf
ficiently capacious lo hold every ounce of
him, and an appetiie to match all three.—
It is unnecessary to remark upon the velo
city wilh which Aleck's fins were moved,
following this interesting discovery. Dan
ger may sometimes render men reckless,
but the prospects of such on ending to his
wild goose adventure only rendered Aleck
swift; he had seen a (ellow hunter dissec
ted at his very side when their canoe was
upset, and the sight was one of unmitigated
horror.
The alligator struck twice to his once, and
the race was a short one. Aleck tossed the
bird Irom his back, and to his great satis
faction the reptile stopped a moment to
smell it, which slightly delay saved his life.
But he had only reached the top of the bank
as his pursuer thrust his ugly nose high up
on the mud at his feet. His gun being al
ready loaded—for when did genuine hunter
fail to load before leaving hie tracks?—gave
him now an advantage and an opportunity
for revenge, and as the alligator, stimulated
to unwonted rapacity by his long winter's
fast, came on up the bank in his clumsy
way, the enraged hunter, putting the muz
zle of his piece into his very mouth, fired a
ball down the throat he hud so narrowly
escaped, a mode of operation that killed
him as quick as such hardy chaps ever
die.
Will the reader believe me, that Aleck
Brent was reckless enough to plunge again
into the lake and bring out the bird—even
while his enemy was floundering half dead
upon the shore, and hundreds more were
within the sound of his voice!
The only journeys he ever made to the
settlements were two each year, to the
nearest store, fifty miles distant. These
were for the purpose of exchanging a pack
of bear skins for powder and lead.
| 1 met him upon one of these excursions,
and accompanied ;him home. Nothing
could be more dismal than his locality, un
less it was dwelling. The cabin consisted
of a single room about 12 feet squaro, made
of poles and covered with bark. The in
terior was thickly hung round with skins,
many of them large and valuable, among
which I recognized those of a panther, wild
cat, for, bear and deer. A fine festoon of
Indian scalps gave evidence of tho barbar
ous tastes contracted from so long a resi
dence nigh the aborigines
Amongst these,'of which lie was partic
ularly proud, he pointed out the top knots
of several distinguished braves.
His bed was more luxuriant than the most
fastidious city dame can boast, being com
posed of swan feathers and swan skins
dressed with the feathers on. And here
through the cold wet months the old man
burrowed : a string of dried venison and a
few flooces of dried bear meat for his food;
a gourd of lake water for .his supply of
drink : his patched yet faithful rifle hard by,
and the panther might scream upon his
very roof pole, he cared not. The wolfs
howling through ihe long nights never dis
turbed his slumbers.
The alligators might splash the moss lake
or build their mud heaps by the very side
of his walls, or bellow in rage upon the ad
jacent sand bar, old Brent heard lliem not,
or only heard them as the dweller in city
walls hears the ordinary sounds of the
thronged streets. Nothing was of interest
to attract his attention, except the voice of
man, and this for obvious reasons the gray
hared hunter did not often hear.
My visit was protracted to a week, and
when I oflercd him the parting hand, a
convulsive twitching of his face answered
the words of thankfulness and real esteem
with which I acknowledged his hospitality.
And now by the side of a Camanclie war
helmet, in my cabinet of curiosities, hangs
the top-knot of a huge Creek warrior; slain
by old Brent in his. days of youthful strife,
and presented me as the highest token of
esteem that he could entertain towards his
fellow men.
A PRIMATIV* REPUBLICAN INSTITUTION.—
The Baltimore "Exchange" says that the
Maryland State House at Annapolis, is a
venerable structure, to which the modern
improvements have not been applied. In
the council chamber and immense hickory
fire warms the applicants for office who are
want lo approach, in fear and trembling,
its temporary tenant. In the Senate cham
ber below, a corresponding fire place, of the
amplest dimensions, sheds its cheerful blaze
upon the wisdom of the State assembled in
that hall. The conscript lathers of the low
er house and library, are heated by a fur
nace, whilst the comptroller and court of ap.
peals still cling lo open fires and hickory
logs. No gas illumines the dark places in
this ancient pile—but whenever night sess
ions are held, hundreds of spermacetic
candies, which once extinguished, though
half burned, never appear again within those
walls, shed their ineffectual glare upon the
congregaied wisdom of the Slate. A soli
tary watchman, who takes his round when
he pleases, is the only guardian of this anti
revolutionary edifice, and the invaluable
ercords within it.
FACTS FOR THS CURIOUS.—If a tallow can
dle be placed in a gun and shot at a door, it
will go through without sustaining injury ;
and if a inuskcl ball be fired into the water,
it will not only re-bou nd but be flattened as
if fired against a solid substance. A mus
ket may be fired through a pane of glass—
making a hole the size of the ball without
cracking the glass : if the glass be suspend
ed by a thread it will make no difference,
and the thread will not even vibrate.
In tho Artie regions, when the thermom
eter is below zero, person can converse
more than a mile distant.—Dr. Jameson as
serts that he heard every word of a sermon
at a distance of two miles. A mother has
been distinctly heard talking to her child
accross water a mile wile wide.
PoSTRY
I gave her a rose—and I gave her a ring,
And 1 asked her to marry mo then;
But she sent them alt back—the insensible
thing,
And said she'd no notion of men.
I told her I'd oceans of money and goods,
And tried her to fright with a growl ■
But she said she was not brought up in the
woods
To be scared by the screech of an owl.
I called her baggage and everything bad—
I slighted her feature and form,
'Till at length I succeeded in getting her
mad,
And she raged like a sea in storm,
And then in a moment I turned and smiled,
And I called her my angel and all,
And she fell in my arms like a wearisome
child,
And exclaimed— " Jf'< will maiy next fall f
*ar"Toii, said an impudent wag to a
conceited fop, "I know a beeutiful girl who
wishes to make your acquaintance."
"Devilish glad to hear it—delightful and
beautiful appearance, 1 suppose, eh V
"Yes, very much so. She thinks you'd
make a capital playmate for her pretty little
poodle dog."
Excit fop, shockingly sold.
WAn exchange paper says that the
most dignified, glorious, ai>4 lovely work or
nature is woman—the next, man— and
1 thirdly the Berkshire pig.
[TWO Dollars per Annum.
NUMBER 12.
SPBI.VG.
I What a magic word! How we delight to
anticipate thy coming through the long and
dreary winter months 1 We have awaited
thee with anxiety. Thou art here at last.—
We salute thee; we bid thee welcome.—
Thou contest to infuse joy and gladness in
to every heart ; thou art the harbinger of
many good things in embryo ; thou coinest
decked and adorned like a youthful maiden,
with floral beauiies entwined about thee
All nature rejoices ; the feathered songsters
are glad ; they sing with sweeter notes ;
they delight to bask in thy warmth ; in
harmony and love they select their mates,
and begin to build their nests together ;
they toil and care for their young, showing
all the maternal fondness that is possible for
a kind and tender parent to exhibit. Shall
man—.intellectual man—fail to profit by
their example 1 We trust not. Thou infu
ses! new life and vigor in the vegetable
kingdom. Everything therein bids theo
welcome, and puts on a gladsome appear
ance at thy approach ; even the emerald
turf is made to smile and greet thee ; even
the equatic animals rejoice and sing thy
praise. •
Spring, iike youth, is a season of antioi
! palion. It is then that everything looks
! charming and lovely ; it is then wo should
dig, piant and delve. We anticipate much,
and it is well that we do, for what is life
without anticipation ? In truth, it is the joy
of life itself, although we often anticipate
much that is never realized. Who can walk
abroad on a lovely morning in May, when
every tree and shrub is robed and adorned
with the wedding garment of floral beauty
—when the senses are greeted at every turn
by vegetable odor of the most enchanting
kind—when the grass itself is made to
smile with joy—when the very insects are
humming their notes of gladness, and greet
ing spring—we say who can, and not leel
his pulse beat with a quicker stroke, and
his heart leap with joy, and feel gratified to
the beneficent Creator for all the beauti
ful and lovely things that He in his his good
ness bestowed upon man, to cheer to en
courage, to gladden his heart, and to bring
forth grateful ■emotions that will brighten his
labor in hi? journey through life ? Who can
doubt that spring is an emblem of eternal
joy and felicity ? We do not. We say that
the man who can walk abroad and behold
all these and not appreciate them in some
degree.is unworthy to be called c man ; bebas
a defect,in his nature that he ought to be sor
ry lor. How kind of the Creator to bestow
upon man so many rare gems of floral beau
ty with which he may embelish, adorn, and
beautify his home. What is more lovely,
when one is traveling, than to see a cottago
nestled among honey suckles and climbing
roses? How inviting to the traveler! How
it bespeaks intelligence and virtue for the
inmates 1 How it denotes the abidng-placo
of industry and contentment! Alas !' we
are sorry to say thai in some parts of our
country—even the old parts—those that
have beep settled for more than two hun
dred years, there is but little of this taste to
,be seen. One may ofton travel for a wholo
1 day in someofthe interior towns, and scarce
ly meet with any thing better than a com
mon May rose. These things ought not to
bo so, and we are sure they will not long re
maiu ; plenty of good examples exist in va
rious parts of the country, and fashion is
I fast doing its work, nothing can long with
stand her sway, as it is generally irresista
ble. In a few years it will be as rare to sea
a cottage without honey-suckles and climb
ing roses as it is now rare to see, old-fash
ioned short pants and long stocks. Who
would wish to live without flowers ! Where
would the poet fly for his images of boauty,
if they were to perish forever ? Aro they
not the emblems of loveliness and inno
cence, the living types of all that is pleasing
and graceful? We compare young lips to
the rose, and the white brow to the radiant
lilly; the winning eye gathers its glow
from the violet, and the sweet voice is liko
a breeze kissing its way through the flow
ers. We hang delicate flowers on the silk
en ringlets of the young bride, and strew
her path with the fragrant bells when she
leaves the church. We place them around
the marble face of the dead in the narrow
coffin, and they become symbols of our af
fectum—pleasures remembered and hopes
faded, wishes flown and scones cherished
the more that they can never return. Still
we look to the far ofT spring in other valleys
—to the eternal summer beyond the grave,
when the flowers that have faded shall again
bloom in starry fields, where no rude winter
can intrude. They come upon us in spring,
like the recollections of a dream, which
hover o'er us in sleep, peopled with shad
owy beauties and purple delights, fancy
broidered. Sweet flowers! that bring bo
fore our eyes scenes of childhood—faces re
membered in youth, when love was a stran
ger to himself. The mossy bank by tho
wayside, where we so olten sat for hours
drinking in the primrose with onreyes ; tho
sheltered glen, darkly green, filled with tho
perfume of violets, that shone in their in
tense blue like another sky spreud upon tho
earth ; the laughter of merry voices ; the
sweet song of the maiden—the downcast
eye, the spreading blush, tho kiss ashamed
at its own sound— are all brought hack tho
the memory by a flower. FIORA,
HT "You have destroyed my piece of
mind," said a desponding lover to a truant
lass.
"I can't do you much harm, John, foe
'twas an amazingly small piece you had,
anyway."