t
THE STAR F'THWTHORH
IF, 11. JACOBT, rroprieler.'
Truth and flight tod and onr Country
Two Dollars per Annan.
- -TV
BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY DECF.MBKR 5, 18(50.
NUMBER 48
"VOLUME 12.
A
STAR OF THE NORTH
MBUSHIB KVIRT WED5E3PiT BT
W3I. II. JACOBY,
Office on Bluin St., 3rd Square lelow Market,
TERMS : Two Dollars per annum if paid
within fix months from tlie time of subscri
ting : two dollars and fiUy cent it not paid
withii. the year. No subscription taken lur
period than six months; no discon
tinuance permitted until all arrearage are
paid, unless at the option o." the editor.
. . . 1 - iff r if -
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One square, twelve lines, mree umes.ji
Every bubsequent insertion,
Due square, three months 3
One year,
00
25
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no
GOOD ACTIONS.
T MBS. tOKRlCT C. FUXCIS.
Believe me, all itood action
Are garnered np in Heaven.
A"d yield to earth a hundred foli
Ot rotl reviving Uaveu.
We can not with our vision,
E're see the blest return,
No more than we in goblets
The sunshii.e bright can urn.
B-M we can feel it presence,
Like soft distilling dew,
Pres on our sense gently,
Pulfing our heart-firings through.
Turning each thonsht to pureness,
To pat'ence meek, each fiah.
Throwing net lope's false thing.
Truth's robe of sober dye.
Winning the onl to labor
For finis- word and deeJ,
fuch a will give to Heaven
Again the t-recimis seed.
Ficm BI'icLeooti's Mngatine
ICE-WRECKED.
Weliad hardly crossed the Atlantic, and
were reginning to lok eagerly for our first
ight of the New World, when a sudden
change occurred in the temperature, and
the balmy day ol April were followed by
I.I ml cutting almost ai winter.
At length we entered the boad estuary or
in St Lawrence, and then the mystery was
oived, for its entire surface was checkered
with masses uf ice; evidently the broken
up covering of the river above being sw.pl
1 y (he current out to pea. Nothing could
exceed the beauty of the ice fields as they
f!ahed and sparkled like gigantic gems in
their celling of azure feu. Many were of
treat ie a'so. like floating inlands, and trie
heaped up blocks upon their surface gleam
ed from a distance like cities of dazzling
eynal.
The wind was in our favor, and onr good
nip sped up the gulf, threading her way
through the channels of the floating, ice
field, while, hour after hour, her pas-en-t'er
flood watching with ctiwea'ied eye
the splendid c-ne around them. Even
whei night came there was the fame eager
throng of gazers, for lhoe large frozen
plains gH'tered in he moonlighl with a
strange spectral beauty none ol us had ever
een before
AtVr time, a ma of ice larger lhan
common appeared floating down. Subse
quently we learned that it was part of the
cone the spred forms every winter before
the Falls of the Montmorency. On it came,
ttleamii.g palely against the deep bine fky
like a castle of spotless marble, rising in
mwr and turret, and massive buttress, and
:. I k.. mn.i ,LHca(-ii Irarprv
nil.CIICll UJ hid - j
Every eye was fixed upon it in breathless
admiration, as it swept majestically by,
until, as it passed between u and the wind,
ty its loftiness it momentarily becalme.l us.
Fuddenly the stationary ship received a se
vere shock, which vibrated noi only thro'
SA.1I.her limbers but through every one of the
hundred and forty human beings who form
ed her human Ireigh'. Never shall I for
get the fhrieks of terror that followed, as
women, well nigh frantic with fear, clasped
their children to their bosoms, believiug
that the ship had struck a rock and thai
heir last moment had come. A cry from
the bow that it was bnt a blow from the ice,
somewhat relieved their fears, and they
mood qoietly by while the helm was put
down and the sails drawn round in ihe ef
fort to free us from the huge mass of ice
-which siill lay across the vessel's way.
- nressin? and crating audibly against her
timbers. A minute more, and above the
diu ol blocks and cordage, and the stamp
ing of men's feet, there arose a wild cry
that echoed far and wide over the snrrouud
ing ice-fields, and through every cranny of
the neighboring ice castle, "The ship is
Visjking !"
It was an appalling announcement; and
onfortuaately it was a true one. The ice
hud struck us heavier lhan we thought, and
ilii hard, sharp edge, keen and resistless as
that of a knife, pressing against the bow oJ
onr vessel undefended as Bhe was by the
doable timbers needed for ice encounters
had cut them completely through, to that
tba water rnshed in with the foce and ra
pidity of a cascade.
What a rearful scene of terror and con
fafion ensued i the shrieks and laments
tons of women, the crie of children and
the silent anguish of men, as they beheld
the fears and danger of those dearest to
them. On none did the blow fall heaver
than ott me J for I had a delicate wife on
board, aud f my two little ones, the youn
gtr was an invalid. Meanwhile, no time
w;n lost. There tsras no space to lower the
"fcflau, and the pale, terrified passengers
wore turriiJ'y passed down, by the bow-
?rst,
ii3oa t3 tee.
It was touching to fee
eomo snatch a
clcak;
cr wrapper as they
departed without ever. that. A few provis
ions were next sent down, quickly follow
ed by the crew ; and then we stood a
wretched, cowering group, upon the ice
field that had wrought us so much evil,
wa'ching for the last moment of the good
ship that had brought us more than two
thousand miles. It was not long in coming.
Suddenly the bow bent low, as if to ealute
the waves, and the stern rose high into the
air; then, with a rapid forward movement,
the stately ship parsed silently down into
the bosom of the deep, every tall mast and
tapering yard iu iis place, and every sail
spread to its utmost, and gleaming whitely j
in the moonlight, until each iu its turn pass
ed from our fight. For a lew moments
there was a troubled bortex, and then the
moonlit sea ro'led placidly on, and the gen
tle night wind swept over the f pot, leaving
no trace of the fearful shipwreck which, in
carce ten minutes from the time the ice
struck onr devoted vessel, had left us ex
posed anJ helpless upon the broad sea, our
only refuge that desolate field of ice hard,
inhospitable and shelterless.
That night was one of infinite suffering
te hardy men ; what, then, must it have
been to the teeble and helpless 1 A few
Iooe planks and spars had been thrown
over from the ship, and the scramble to ob
tain them was like a struggle for gold I
wa fortunate as to secure ore, and on it I
placed my poor wife and elder child, rolled
together iu our only cloak ; while through
the livelong night I passed to and fro be
side them, with '.he little one wrapped in
the brea-t of my coat, striving in vain to
still its rriesjand as 1 -walked, my feet
clung to the frozen pavement beneath them,
and The cold shot up through my limbs
like an icy fire, causing intolerable pain
As the night passed on the cold increas
ed, or else we felt it more ; and many times
as 1 looked on the shivering beings crouch-
i.T around me, I thought that few of them
c . . . . t i. -
W(
ould survive lid morning. iui tuauKs,
under Providence to the officers of the ship,
trnn on P.i mil nrsnort inieiai. r..u i
lowances or spirits, the day dawned upon
all .-avo a few small children, my own dear
bale among them. And truly, when around
us, dotted here and there by silvery ice
fields, but uncheered by a single sail, and
thought of our desolation our misery, and
probable fate, I felt that it was mercifully
called away from the evil to come. But
the mother could not feel so, and amid her
own sufferings, her tears fell fast on the
sweet p'ueid face that would never weep
again.
With the morning, the ship's company
and pa-sei.gers were mustered, to ascertain
if any were missing, and great was oar con-s-ernation
to find that Mr. Grant was ab
sent. Every inquiry was made, and every
search among the crevices and craanies of
onr rugged ice raft , but all in vain. In
the confusion and mi-ery of the night, none,
had mi.ed him, nor was any trace of htm
to be found, and we were at length com
pelled to believe that our kind friend and
master had either perished in the wreck, or
else in his passage to the ice.
Meanwhile mar.y were the eager eyes
continually scanning the horizon in the vain
search for a friendly -ail. As the day wore
on, the sun shone out brilliantly and his
beams flashed in a thousand dazzling rsys
on our ice raft, until we were almost blir.d-
! ed
by thir radiance, let tney sneu a
warmth through our chilled Uames lor
which we were most thankful, and in many
apots they rnelied the ice, which ran in lit
lie rills, enablit.g us to quench our
unrsi
without filling our mouths with ice. Twice
a day a little buiscnit and raw pork were
distributed to us. and thus sadly and suTer
ing passed the day, till a second night of
misery fet in This proved lar worse than
the first, for, ere long, wi'd gusts began to
howl over the ocean wastes ont among
which we uow had drifted ; and heavy
waves lashed and raged around us, and
dashed themselves against our refuge and
taough Ihey had not power to put it into
motion, we knew :.ot how soon they might
sweep over it or fhatter it in pieces. It was
a fearful night, and eo exhausted and de
pairing did it leave us, that we scarce could
rouse ourselves lo exertion, until a sailor's
cry of -Sail ho !" awoke fresh hope.
How many tearful eyes brightened and
heavy hearts throbbed quick and gratefully,
as they watched that eail speed on towards
us before Ihe last breath of the expiring
gale! As fche drew near the only fear was
least she should nor have space for all
Nearer aud still nearer she came,nntil we
could see ihf men upon ber decks, and
then she passed us by, unobserving or on
heeding the signal we had placed upon a
spar, and ihe dark group of human beings
clustered around iu If unheeding, Heaven
forgive them, for it was a fearful depth of
despair into which lo fling back so many
ol their iellow creatures. , The woman sank
down too heart-stricken for words, and the
men lifted up their voice and bitter indig
nation at the cruelly that could thus leave
women and children to perish. Death in
one of his most fearful forms did indeed
seem pressiwg close upon us, for our scanty
stock of food was exhausted. Many flung
themselves at full length upon the ice, and
utterly indifferent lo all outward object ;
while others prayed earnestly over the dear
one for whom all earthly hope is passed..
Suddenly a loud fhout rose above the
plash of ihe waves and murmur of sorrow
ful voices, and echoed cheerfully over our
frozon resting pace. Every eye turned
j seaward, and there, butja fewjathorns fr"T
unpreceived. Her bulwarks were filled with
sympathizing faces and to our feeble cheer
of welcome there came back so hearty a;
response that it sent a glow through oar
shivering frames. I
Never was kindness greater than we poor
ice wrecked voyagers received from the
i -i .i.-. .! '
crew anu passengers oi inai p.iijj-ciuwucu
though she already was. To their care and
attention we owed not only our own lives,
but those of the dear ones who seemed
about to die ; and never can we feel fully
grateful for their good offices, or the many
sacrifices they made in our behalf.
The ship was westward bound, and on
our arrival in Canada, the account of our
misfortunes brought us many offers of em
ployment. Years have passed since and
the world has gone well with us, but noth
ing can erase from our mind 4 the haunting
remembrance of the days and nights of snf
iering we passed upon that fearful ice field.
Strange Romance.
The St. Louis Bulletin says We have
been placed in possession of the outlines of
a strange story, which has almost too much
Muuchauseu about it to seem true, yet, we
are informed, it is substantially correct. In
the rummer of 1853, John Hardcvick, a poor
mechanic of Pittsburg, was induced by the
gold evcitement then raging, to try his luck
in the mines of California. He accordingly
left his wife ant1 two children behind, and
took passage around the horn for the E!
Dorado. On arriving there his money had
given out, and he was obliged to go to work
at a mere pittance, to keep from starving.
He made his way, however, as fa.t as he
could, and, having entered into partnerhip
with another man, commenced the working
of a claim Hardwick prospered, ai.d be
gan to think that, at the end of the year, he
would be able to go home wi h a large pile
of dust. Human calculations are some
times wrong, air JlardwicK s calculations
were wron for he was taken sick and
ramp nonr death's door.
When he got well his partner had de
parted, and taken with him the earnings of
both. The poor man was almo-t dis
couraged. He had been away from home
eighteen months, and had sent nothing back
to his family. He wrote to his wife, giving
her a true statement of his condition She
never received the letter, and consequently
he never received any letters from her
Hardu ick wenl to work again, but the limes
grew hard ami he earned but little. He fre-
quenlly wrote to his wife, but she, strange
to say, never received a single line from
him. It is needless to go through every
particular of his history suffice it to say,
that, hearing nothing from his wife, he con -
eluded that she was clad to get rid of him,
and would not trouble herself to write to
him. He therefore determined lo stay in
California till he was rich, and then return
to the Atlantic States. He set himself to
work assiJnonsly. and male money. His
business relations were such, after a few
years, that he could not leave California,
but stayed and accumulated a handsome
fortune.
In the meantime, Mrs. Hardwick, think
ing her husband was dead, after three
year", married another, and emigrated to
St. Louis. Her name became Mathews.
Her two children, of whom John Hardwick
was father, died, and all traces of John
were oblitera ed, except from a very re-
mote corner of her heart. Mrs. Mathews
was a good wife to her second husband, so
, :ar as we learn, ana uore mm two cnuuren.
Mathews was in the grocery trade, and
throve well, but about a year ago he was
taken sick with a fever, and died, leaving
Mrs. Mathews and the children without a ,
protector, as she thought, but with a sung
income. .
John Hardwick, tired of California life, j
and tired of bnsiness, too, collected together .
his effects, which amounted lo a nice for- j
lune, and started for home by ihe overland ;
route. He arrived in ihis city two weeks j
ago, and remained a few days lo rest before j
i taking ihe cars for Pittsburg
One morning, while walking through
n.n.,.1ii.air - mfirlftft M r 1 1 i ril iv n Ir ftiiw
. ... ; . . . , ... r
laminar luce, it was me nrn laminar lace ;
1A li i , I t: aar cirtfA lia Ik i I lo f 1 n Tra iipirn t
and that face belonged to a woman. He
quickened his pace, and came up to the
stall where the lady was about to purchase
a beefsteak. Mr. Hardwick's heart beat
wildly beneath his waistcoat. Could it be
possible ? No. "What should Jane be do
ing in St. Louis V thought he. He was
abont lo turn away, when the lady raised
her head, and their eyes met. "John Hard
wick, as cure as I am living !" exclaimed
she. "Jane, is it you!" said John. It
proved to be both of thern.and after mutual
explanations, Mr. Hardwick accompanied
the lady home, carrying her market-basket
for her. Two children met them at the
door. They were blue-eyed and rosy
cheeked just like those John had left be
hind, and just as large but they did not
have features like John's. "What matters
it," thought our hero "my two children
are dead, and these are rent to take their
places I will be a father to them." Mr.
John Hardwick was as good as his word
He helped Mrs. Mathews formerly Mrs.
Hardwick, and destined to be again to
dispose of.her. property;" then calling a
clergyman, they had the matrimonial link
tied again strong and fast In two days
they started for the East, where, we hope,
in Pittsburg, or some other delightful lown.
My renny Dip.
Whai was it ? A tallow candle, to be
sure. The gas wouldn't burn, the kerosene
strangled me with its nnxiou odor, the
I fltii.l rt iif I Aro. 1 tw.rnl f.fiiA nnrl Irani mil
, f , , . k . . ho5t b,ack.
, . h k ,g BJ, with
'
want of light ; that palpable gloom which
reems to beat like a roomful ot palpitations
of the heart around you, above you, about
you, everywhere; that visible nothing,
which holds the tables, the chairs, the por
'.rails you are familiar with, yet hides them
in its black veil from your view ; that
empty fullness through which yon thrust
out your groping arms, then shrink back,
oppressed with a presence you can nei her
hear, see nor feel.
Milly,' I said to my little maid, 'run
somewhere and get me a light.'
She ran to the grocer's wife, and came
back with a penny dip in a brass candle
stick. As she placed it on my table, went out
and shut the door, the little boy in bronze
on my mantle raised his hammer and struck
the figure of Time twelve ringing blows on
the heart. It was midnight.
The candle burned clearlv. I renmed
the old vo'ume of German legends I was j
reading, and as 1 laid my finger on a para
graph, and paused to ponder on the possi
bility of ppirits returning to earth to wreak
vengeance on foes, or work weal to friends,
I heard a deep figh at my elbow.
I lurned and beheld the ghost of my
grandmolner. j
I knew her from her resemblance to her
portrait. She wore the same white cap
with its wide border plaited round her face
the same prim dress with which I had
grown familiar in the picture.
She died twenty years ago. I was named
for her.
I drew np the rocking chair for the ahot.
She sat down . in it. A pillow conld not
have sank there more noiselessly than she
did. She kept ner tiam)s In ltie same jiosl- j
tion on her breast, that somebody tied them t
twenty years ago.
She fixed her keei black eyes upon me
beautiful eyes, which I had always ad
mired in the portrait. None of her de
scendants had such eyes.
'I could not come,' she s ai !, in deep
sepulchral tones, 'in ga light. Ghosts and
' gas-light are at war ahvays. As for kero
j sene oil, we groan in spiri: at its use. How
, mortal noses can, night aher night, inhale
the odor it omits, is a wonder. It is worse
i than brimstone. We have put our cold lips
under your chimneys, and blown our
! ghastly breaths into the flame. We have
peen the chimneys blacken with smoke,
Utl aprr:mnts 'fill Jwith disgusting fri
grance People only said the lamp is in
a draught. .They moved it and bore with it
We shall have to
yield. Kerosene is a
Ghrtsts are oUI fashion-
modern discovery.
d. To be out of date is to be out of mind.
Your tallow candle pleases me. We ghosts
like the light of other days around us. We
ahvays, in the body, burned taliovv can
dle
The fine eyes of my grandmother gazed
at uiy penny dip steadlaMly lor a moment,
She seemed to see visions and dream
dreams.
My dear,' she said, yon are the first of
the family thai
has returned to candies
since the innovation of gas
You are in- i
tietied to your dip for my presence How .
hollow 1 would have looked under a clian-
delier how (bloodless, how white ! As it
is, I think I am looking very natural, am I
not?'
She glanced up at her portrait and waited
my rply.
A little pale, grandmother,7 I said, 'but
tell me, dear madam, if your pursuits in the
other world are of such a nature that they
admit of your returning to this at any
time?'
By no means. 1 am permitted to ap-
pear in this sphere but seldom. My influ-
ence I can make felt oftener. I have not
j been seen before 6ince my coffin lid was
. .1. -
i closed. I
come to ten you mere more a
yell in Pandemonium. I looked in to pee
whence it came. I found the great cham-
ber assigned to little children, and which is
always full of little ones of all sizes and
ages, the scene of great commotion. In
fants were crawling into corners; three
year old toddlers were tottering out of the
way. Older ones were hastily finding
seats, and all faces wore a listening expres
sion. A small voice was saying :
'It was no fault of mine that brought me
here. I, who am now but five years old,
might have lived to be fifty. Nature, un
fortunately, gave n.e a very fine physical
development. My chest was round and
full, my skin clear, my limbs finely mould
ed. Mv birthplace was in a cold climate.
My tender mother, proud of her offspring,
bared my neck and arms in the chid
winters, when her rose bushes and vines
were packed in warm straw and thoroughly
protected from every blast. I was brought
down to be viewed by company, and ex
posed to different temperatures as I went
from room to room. My mother, wrapped
in eolt velvet and comfortable tilks, did not
suffer. I became a great trouble in the
house. My beauty faded. I lingered on
from monili to rnonlh, and died at last, at
five Years old. of consumption. , My mother
cried over my iittiW'golfin: 1 knew. batJifJXe--
'I was trotted to death,' cried a more pi
ping voice, as the first speaker sat down
'A woman was hired expressly to take care
of me, and she took care that 1 should not
want for exercise. Her days and nights
were spent in keeping me going up. up,
tippy,' and 'down, down, downy.' That
unknown wonder, perpetud motion, was to
be found in my nurse's knees Every bone
in my poor little body wa racked, every
ounce of flesh was sore My fond went
down milk and came upcheeso. If I cried,
I was trotted ; if 1 screamed, I was trotted ;
if I was still. I was tro'ted I became little
better than a human churn, from which the
butter had be-n taken and the sour milk
left standing. My brains turned to bruises,
my blood to whey, my bones grw so sharp
they almost pierced the knees which trotted
them. As I began to cut teeth, my tongue
was constantly jolted between my jaws, and
nf Ijeini? hit olT. 1 tiared not '
. . - o
whine, lot I knew ihe penalty ; I began at
lal to calculate how long the tor'.ure could
possibly continue. Warm weather was
coming on, and t thought one or the other
of us must soon give up the ghost ; and
as my nurse's exertions were almost super-
j human, I imagined that perhaps I might
outlast her. One unlucky day, however,
my mother entering the room unexpectedly
I smiled at her. I had never done bo ue
fore
'The daring!' cried my parent, 'see. it
knows me.'
'Poor thing, rather,' snid the nnrse, 'it
has wind on its stomach !'
Forthwith she proceeded to trot it out.
Every thump of her foot on the floor was, I
knew, a nail in my coffin I felt I should
never smile again. My laithful nurse con
tinued her efforts, and I was trotted out of
existence upon the poor old woman's knee.'
As the speaker ceased, one of the older
occupants ol the room descried me, said
mv grand mother. 'He at once made room
for rr.e to enter, and begged me to remain
awhile and hear the remarks. I confuted,
and took a seal r.ear the entrance
4. , . ,
h'.tle fellow, risMni; Irom Jn
. .nit ii . i
... . .
i seat, witli lus iiie eyes an ihuuiimhh, .mu
hi curls matted together, 'died of delirium
tremens. At the age of six months, I was
a confirmed drunkard. I had not been a
very quiet baby, and every time I was un
easy, a little liquor was administered lo do
me good. I did not waM wine but waier.
was naturally a very thirty clu'd, and
everything that was put between my
speechless hps increased my thirst. My
mother milk was sweet, the panada given
me was swe-t, and if now and then I was
blessed with a draught of goat or cow's
milk, it was warmed and sweetened first,
to make it as much like my mother's as
possible. I used lo crj , No other way do
we poor babies have of expressing our
feelings, and the cha.ices are ten to one
that we will be misuiuler.-tood To stop
j n,y crying, was put to the breast; this, at
I B)Cj, times would indignantly refuse.
T.eil there would be a commotion. 'Nurse,
j rny ,noI,er would say, 'what shall we do
i w j, juin y The nurse was a stout, hearty,
old woman, who always maie a pracun; wi
taMin" whatever was provided for her
, . ..i
! charge. Her sovereign remedy was liquor
j I was taken, and a spoonful administered
j at a time. At first I rebelled I strangled,
kicked and coughed. The firm hand held
; the spoon to my little tongue, and down
j e..t its contents in p..e ... .
little the dose was increased, i soon hkc
.1.!.. f.. ofl.r u IpiV
it. II was given me icauuj,
moments or wild glee, I fell into a drunken
i .-,.1 i ni.2 rnnnv
stupor, which gae mj j
opportunities of enjoying themselves, as
my sleep was sure to be long af;d sound.
'At length muiii-a potu assailed me.
During my whole life no one had ever
thought of -riving me a single spoonful of
i j j haJ craved the cooling, cheer
- i. r ....ir' Nrw. 1 no
in", reiresnmg uiuj " -i
longer cared for it. In rny wildest frenzies
I was accused of having the colic ; down,
na went the fiery drink, until finally
j wa3 literally burnt out. 1 was notinng
a cinder within, a she'd withont My
! sl0mach was cooked to a crisp, my intes-
j ,ines were shrivelled my lungs no longer
l I f,,l, nt.li'
, niied witn pure air, oeicueu ium.
j rj. fumes that had consumed me. I
j jied was good for nothing. I hope
whatever form my dut is destined lo take
on earth, it will not be watered, a wuea i
inhabited it, with alcohol.'
As this, speaker ceased, there arose a
wail ol sympathy, 6uch as had at first
attracted me to the pandemoniac chamber;
as it subsided, another little figure had taken
the stand
'My legs,' he said, 'brought me out ol the
world. My mother labored under the
strange delusion that her child was born a
Highland laddie of American parents in
America I was dressed, or left undressed
rather, in short plaid slocking, reaching to
the calf of my leg, and an elegant kilt reach
ing just to the knee. My limbs were
moulded in cherubic forms, and when ex
posed in the nursery were pretty. But the
nursery was too narrow a field in which to
display my beauty. On bitter cold days 1
was walked out over the icy streets, the
keen wind chapping my flesh and chilling
my blood till my knees looked like twin
nutmeg -raters painted purpe. l used to
look at my mothers long comfortable skirt
and thick leggins drawn up over warm
hose, and wondered if she could survive a
fahion such as I wore if adopted by her
.0.M.1.I I .
s
victim was a sacrifice to a fashion farted
since my day. 1 know that your father
was dressed in such a ridiculous style when
a little boy, for with my own hands I knit
his warm woolen stockings and saw that hi"
comfortable little trousers came well over
the instep of his little calfskin shoes.
The r.ext speaker was a dream faced
little girl, who trembled as she rose and
said :
'I am an opium eater. My death war
rant was written on the label of the first
bottle of Godfrey's cordial brought into
my mother's house. A few drops at firs-t
sufficed to hush my feeble cries. Then
Godfrey's cordial would not do. A few
J drop of mere laudanum were administered.
Soon 1 would not go lo sleeo without it.
Then my nurse would give me a small
opium pill in my hands. Of course I was but i
little trouble. I was a deep sleeper, but my
digestion became impaired; too much sleep
weakened me, and I knew no natural slum
ber. My eyes became Mice those of a sleep
walker, full of dreams when wide awake
I lot my appetite ; my head srew full of
pain ; my baby heart was always achi-ig.
1 closed my eyes one day forever on the
home where I felt I could be litt'e loved
when my low walls were never permitted
to appeal to those aronnd me, but were
hushed at c nee ; where my blue eyes were
scarcely ever permitted to look around in
the world ir. which they had been opened,
and where, instead of proper care and
food and eercie. the baleful pill and ener
vating sleop were all that were offered me.
There are many parents who seem to think
children must pass their childhood out of
the way, and only cet in the way when
they have become, in spite of all sorts of
ill-treatment, useful or ornamental mem
ber of society.
''I his chi'd was still speaking' said mv
grandmother, 'when I rnhed ont. I had
been a mother once, and I could not listen
lo ihee innocents in that fearlul waning
rhamber. recapitulating the woes that had
sent them there, any longer.
'I felt impellei to revisit earth. I came
In no light could I make myself visible to
you until your tallow candle was brought
in.
'My 'ear, remember what I have told
you. Some of these days you may be a
! mother. Ie more than careful of the ?a
cred charge of little children. Think far
them feel for them. Do nor, ease your
cares, sink them into unnatural slumbers
or give them over to selfish nurses. Upon
you hangs their live- in a great measure
the r happinessf l oth here and hereafter
I beg you will give--'
Just at this moment the cock crew loudly.
The voice a: my elbow was still. I looked
aronnd the rocking chair was empty, the
ghost had vanished. Bl ickirnoiVs t'agozmt.
AN EMBLEM.
A lit tl. brown seed,
Very ugly indeed,
Lay as'eep in th col. I wet ground j
And the bleak wind- blew,
And the dead leaves fie
To earth with a rustling sound.
And all winter long
The tempet i. song.
Sounded dismally o'er i's bed,
But t'ie sliiuib'ring seed
fJave it no more hefd
Than it it were utterly dead.
But th April came,
And the winds grew tame ;
The heavens nude love to the earth :
One stny sunbeam
Br ke thro' the drearn
Of the seed, iu it lonely dearth.
Is started at firt,
1 hen rinaily burst
Its fetters in grateful glee ;
And upward grew,
Ti;l it saw the blue
Of heaven's immensity.
I am like that seed
A ugly, indeed.
Unable lo feel or to see :
Life's bleak wind blow,
It clouds hang low,
But Thou 01 the tun to me !
A drunkard, on hearing that the earth
was round, said that accounted for his roll
ing off so often.
The easiest and best way to expand the
cnesi is ;o nave a goon large ueaii iu u , i
saves the cost of gymnastics.
A writer asks if any one can inform a
poor man the best way lo start a nursery ?
Certainly. Get married.
A Story w riter says, "he will climb the
starry ladder of ambition, and drive his ene
mies back into a sheet of darkness."
Bather flighty that.
A yoi'ng lady in our town is so refined in
her language, that she never uses the word
'blackguard,' but substitules 'African senti
nel.' A toukg lad recently ran away from home
and went to a tavern, where he was found
by a friend, with a cigar in his mouth.
"Why did you leave home?" asked his
friend. "Oh, confound it," said he, "lamer
and mother were so saucy 1 couldn't stand
il any longer, and I quit 'em."
Cukb for Colds. Punch gives the follow
ing excellent cure for a cold : ,
'Put your feet in hot water,
As high as yonr thighs ;
Wrap your head round with flannel
As low as your eye
"Dixie's land.".
The most popular tune, since the pnbli
catiou of 'Old Folks at Home,' in the Uni
led State, is the plantation negro melody of
Dixie's Land.' Throughout the Eastern
S'a'es it is creating a perfect furore. It is
pl-yed and sung everywhere l7 bras -bands,
string bands, orchestras and reni
ders is whistled by ragged urchins in tb
streets and by caliopes on steamboats, and
forms on of the chief attractions in the tria
ble al soirees of parlor.
During the visit of the Prince of Wales lo
the St. Louis Fair, it was alternated with
'God Save the Queen.' 'Yankee Doodle
'Hail to the Chief,' 'Hail Columbia,' and
other national airs of the two countries.! At
the late Douglas demonstration, at Indian
apolis, there were eight brass bands present.
vieing with each other in performance of
this 'taking' melody.
An amusing ai.ecdote is tolii in regarJ trt
it which happened lately at the St Louie
theatre. The orchestra played it, when the
curain rose and the play began. The cry
Dixie' run through the house from pit to
gallery, completely drowning the voice of
the actor. He made several ineffectual at
tempts to be herd, and left ihe stage.
The old manager appeared, flushed
with anger, and, in at excited voice, ex
claimed :
'Gentlemen, what means all this ill
mannered confusion ? W hat do you wantl'
Immediately a hundred voices cried oat
'Dixie.'
'Well, yon can't have it. You've had
'Dixie' once :o night, and you'll have 'Dixie
no more.'
He retired to the green room, and th
ac'or again appeared. But it Tas no use.
A dealening shout for 'Dixie' met him from
the audience, and after stammering and
stutiering for a few minutes, he left the
stage. The certain dropped, the orchestra
plajed 'Dixie,' and the play progressed
without further interruption.
KlSSfXC THE 1 1 AN D-O.M ICS T GrBLS. A di-
tinguirdied candidate for an office of high
trust in a certain State, who is 'up to a
thing or two," and has a keen appreciation
of life beauty, when aboct to set off on an
electioneering tour recently, said to his wife,
who was to accompany him for prudential
reasons:
My dear, inasmuch as this election is
complicated, and the canvass will be close,
I am anxious to leave nothing undone that
would promote my popularity, and so I
have thought it would be a good plan for
rne to kiss a number of the handsomest
giiU in every place where I may be honor
ed with a public reception. Don't yoa
think il would be a good idea V
'Capital !' exclaimed the devoted wife,
and to make your election a sure thing,
while you are kissing ihe handsomest girls.
I will kis an equal number of the hand
somest young men !'
The distinguished candidate, believe, has
not since referred to this pleasing means o
popularity. A witness called to give testimony in a
town court, about a shirt, came to the poiut
very abrjpily as follows :
'Mother said that Sal said that Polly said
tht Bob told her that he had seen a ma
that seen a boy that seen a feller that run
through the street with a red striped flannel
shirt of a white color all checker, and our
gals won't lie ! for the old woman has licked
'em a hundred times for lyin'.'
We, de pnderscribed darkies, bein' a
kurner juray ob disgust, to eit on de body
ob the nigger Sambo now dead and gone
before us, had been sittin on de said nig
ger aforesaid, did on de night ob da four
teenth ob November come to his fate by
fallin' from de said ribber, whar we find he
was drowned, and afterward was washed
on de said ribcr 6ide, whar we spoae h
froze to deff."
Tiik fol owing classic speech was made
at a meeting in one of the lower wards of
Troy. With such argumen's to back him,
there cannot be the thaddow ol a doub. that
the "smart man" will be elected :
" Fellow-citizens !"' When ca:s in the
dead hour of the night howl round your
houses and butchers charge the enormous
sum of twelve cents a pound for ' nech"
then feller ciizens it is time to elect a ma
for constable.
A i.ittlk fellow, eight years old, who
was without a relative in the whole world,
was asked by a lady if he did not have fears
as to whether he would get along in life
The child looked up with perplexed and
inquiring eye, as if uncertain ol her mean
ing, and troubled with a new docbt. 'Why,'
said he- 'don't you think God will take care
of a feller, if he pots his trust in Htm, and
does the best he can ?'
A goose thai sees another drink will do
the same, though he is not thirsty. Th
custom of drinking for company, when
drinking is dispenab!e and prejudicial,
seem to be a case of the same kind, aud to
a man, feathers only excepted, upon a loot
ing with a goose.
Soms wag took a drunken tellow, placed
him in a coffin, with the lid to that he could
raise it, placed it in a graveyard, and
waited to see the effect. After a short time)
the fumes of the liquor left himandjut