BY S. B. EOW.
CLEAKFIELD, PA., "WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1858.
VOL. 5.-N0. 17.
n
I 2
For the "Raftsman's Journal."
LINES, TO LOGAN.
Dear friend, permit iny musa to bring
. Her lowly olF'ring to thy feet ;
Thy north in humble strains to sing,
Thy muse in admiration greet.
"Within thy soul forever dwells
- The spirit of .true Poesy ;
Thy heart, responsive, ever swells
With soegs of sweetest melody.
'Oh. could my muse, like thine, portray
Koch thought, aud feeling of the soul,
'Twould rise above this humble lay
High as the lightning's voices roll.
Thy muse, in lofty strain, can soar
I p to the realms of joy above,
And to the great Creator pour
its song of gratitude and love.
Sometimes, the voice of friendship lends
Its gentle softness to thy lyre,
Anon, the wrong of injured friends
Arouses thy indignant fire.
Now, fond affection strikes the strings.
And breathes a soft and dulcet strain,
Then, bitter disappointment wings
Each burning line with grief aud pain.
Thou canst, as with the painter's art.
Depict each scene of care and strife
Each passion of the human heart
Each joy and woe of human life.
My feeble muse would fain he just,
1'ut abler hards shall praise thee when,
".Ajhei to ashes, dust to dust,'
We've mingled with tho earth again ;
To them 1 leave the pleasing task.
And now may good thy life attend,
Then fare tkee woll ! One boon I ask,
Accept this tribute from a friend.
L.E Clairb
DARKNESS AND DAWN.
A UOMASTIC INCIDENT.
Sows years ago, while making a brief so
journ in tho city of Bristol, I set out one ve
iling with a lriend for a stroll through the
city. We had visited several places of inter
est, and we were on our return to our hotel,
when in passing through a dark and narrow
street, a female, closely muffled in a coarse
shawl which, thrown over her head, was
drawn around her face, so as to conceal all but
her eyes hurriedly crossed over from the op
posite side ot the way, and accosted us in
accents of despair.
"Gentlemen, lor the love of Heaven, give
tine money ! My mother is dying of hunger,
and I have not wherewith to purchase a mor
sel of food !"
We were both struck with the tono of her
voice, for, though agitated by a feeling of des
peration, it bad a peculiar sweetness, and her
language was that of one both educated and
refined.
'Do not think me inquisitive," said my
friend, in a kindly tone, as he drew forth bis
purse, "if I ask what misfortune has brought
j on to this 7 for it is evident you are no com
mon applicant for charity 7"
Oii .' no sir no !" she said, shrinking back
into heaself, as it were ; "I never asked for
charity before ; and though I have not tasted
food lor two long days, I would sooner perish
than ask for it myself now; but I could not
ac her die, aiy only friend oh, I could not
see her die V
"Here," said my companion, placing a sum
in her hand which I immediately doubled.
She clutched the money like a miser, and
for a moment or two was completely over
powered by her emotions. Then, Ivith a chok
ing effort, she gasped forth
'Thanks gentlemen.! may Heaven bless
you."
She turned away, and took two or three has
ty steps, and then, stopping suddenly, she
looked around, and added
"l'ou asked what misfortune brought me to
this. I shall seem ungrateful it I refuse to
tell."
"Never mind," said my friend ; "the re
cital will give you pain, and therefore I pray
you, consider the question unasked."
"Your noble generosity overpowers me, sir."
she rejoined, in a tremulous voice, '-and my
pride shall give way. If you have a few min
utes to spar, come with me, aud you shall
know all."
"Nay," said 1, "do not let us intrude upon
your sorrows, unlessyou think we can be of
iurther assistance, l'ou ara welcome to the
little we have given, which should be doubled
if we had more to spare, but we have no right
to claim your secret in return."
She buried her face in her shawl, and lurst
into tears.
"Ahts!"she sobbed, "if all mankind were
thus generons, how many a miserable being
might now be happy ! Come with me, and
bear my story ! I know I can trust you, and
I shall rest easier by knowing 1 have convin
ced you I am no impostor."
We assured her that we did not for a mo
ment doubt of her being the victim of some
terrible misfortune; but as we might be ot
further service to her we would see her safely
home, and she might then relate her story or
not, as she should think proper. ,
"Follow me," she said, and set off at a
nick walk down tho street, we keeping at a
respectful distance behind, and I for one,
feeling an uuusual curiosity to know some
thing more of her.
At the next corner of the street was an oil
lamp, which threw out a dim light ; and stand
ing near it, in a listless attitude, we observed
a man in the garb of a sailor, and evidently
just from sea. As our unknown guide drew
near bim, I noticed that she seemed much
agitated ; and on coming up to him, to our
surprise, and apparently bis, she stopped and
with a wild cry, she suddenly threw out-hcr
arms, clasped bim around the neck, and ap
peared to swoon upon bis breast.
"See!" said my friend, making an abrupt
halt; "we are duped; this is some trick;
that girl is an injposter !"
"Impossible !" returned I, unwilling to, be
leive that such grief and misery as she repre
sented could be a base counterfeit. Vila!
see !"
As I spoke, the sailor, as. ii in great sur
prise, partly unwound the arms of the un
known from his nook, raised ber bead, and
looked first curiously and then wildly into
her face, which we could see, even from where
we stood, was palo and beautiful. The next
moment ho uttered a wild cry ; and quickly
throwing bis arms around her now lifeless
from, he exclaimed :
"Mary ! my Mary !"
Jt seemed to be all that be could utter, as
he fairly tottered with his fair burden, and for
.a fen-moments wc stood dumb with amazement.
"What's this 7 what's the meaning of this 7"
be now demanded, looking fiercely at us.
"Well, it that is acting, it is the best I ever
saw," muttered my companion, as we hastened
forward and gave a hurried account of all that
we knew of the matter.
"Merciful Providence ! is it possible 7 " said
the man,-looking alternately at us and at the
fair creature in his arms, and clasping his fore
bead as if to collect his scattered senses.
"Mary !" he continued, at short intervals ; "my
wife ! my dear wife ! And my mother too !
Starving I"
He continued to repeat these expressions
like one overpowered by some terrible shock,
and who knew not what be was saying ; while
we stood looking on, too much astonished to
think of offering him an' assistance.
At length, with a sort of gurgling gasp, the
poor creature opened her eyes ; and looking
wildly and fondly into the manly face of hiui
who supported her, she murmured :
"Charles ! Charles ! is this you 7 in life in
death or in a dream 7"
I pass over the wild, frantic, passionate ex
clamations on both sides, as each began to re
alise the truth the one that he had found a
loving wile in the depths of misery the other
that she had regained a fond husband at the
moment of all others when she most needed
bis aid, counsel, love, and support.
"Come," whispered my friend, touching my
arm, "let us withdraw ; their meeting should
be sacred lrorn the intrusion ot strangers."
Though deeply curious to know something
of their history, I silently acquiesced in his
proposal; and quietly departijg, we returned
to our hotel, musing upon the uncertainties,
vicissitudes and romance of life.
Two days after, as I was sitting on the
piazza of the hotel, I saw the sailor passing
along the street, and curiosity prompted me
to address him. The moment he saw me, he
came bounding up, grasped my hand, aud burst
into tears.
"Heaven bless vou !" be exclaimed, in a
choking voice ; "Heaven bless you and youi
friend ! and so siys Mary. I've been hunting
for you all over the city, sir, but feared I'd
never see you again. Here ! let me pay you
back your money ; and will you be so kind,
sir, as to accept these two rings for yourself
and friend 7"
J. took the money for I saw if I did not he
would feel very much hurt; but fearing bis
circumstances might not justify him in mak
ing a present of so much value, I attempted to
decline Hie rings. It was of no use he would
take no denial and so I reluctantly accepted
them, thanking bim in behalf of my friend,
who was absent. I then drew from him bis
story, which I will give in a few words.
He and his wife were both natives of a small
village en the Avon, and had often played to
gether as children. His own father was then
in good circumstances, but subsequently lost
his property and died soon after, leaving him
self and mother to struggle along as best they
might.
Among those believed to be friends in pros
perity, but who forsook them in adversity, was
the father of his present wife ; but though
change of fortune separated the youth and
maiden, it only increased an attachment which
had begun in childhood.
For years, however, they- did not meet ; and
during that time the narrator became a sailor,
and acquired suflicient means to purchase a
cottage for his mother, leaving a small balance
on mortgage, which his next voyage was to
clear off. While at home, he and his Mary a
gainmet; aud conscious of a mutual passion,
and knowing her parents would not consent to
the union, but were most anxious to ally her
to a wealthy suitor, they took advantage of an
opportunity, and were privately married.
Charles Delaine, for such was bis name,
then took leave of his wife, and shipped for a
whaling voyage, intending it should be bis
last cruise. While absent, his wife's parents,
discovering the, secret of her marriage, dis
owned and drove her lorth, and she took refuge
with his mother.
Together the widowed mother and wife
struggled along, anxiously looking for the re
turn of their only friend ; but he came not at
the time expected, the mortgage was fore
closed, the property sold ; and almost penni
less, they repaired to Bristol, hoping to be able
to maintain themselves by the needle.
1 need not prolong the story it is an old
tale. Sickness and misfortune followed them,
tl.ey failed to procure sufficient worK for their
necessities, and on the night when the wife
appealed to us they were in a starving condi
tion. Charles had just returned from his
cruise, and at the very moment when his Mary
so unexpectedly met him, he was thinking of
home, which he expected to reach the next
day. He had been prudent, the voyage had
been more than usually profitable, anil his
share, he said, would enable him to start in
business.
"Come what will," he concluded,"I'll never
leave my dear mother and Mary again, while
we live. They're happy now, thank God ! and
it shall be the aim of my life to keep them so."
He urged me to come and see him and his
now happy family, and bring my lriend ; and
then invoking upon us the blessing of Heaven
he wrung my hand, and turned quickly away,
to conceal the emotions he cared not to dis
play. "Ah! such is life, in this world of selfish
and unselfish humanity," mused I, as I watch
ed his retreating footsteps, till a turn in the
street concealed him from my view. We
never met again.
How Spirits get their Liqcor. Judge Ed-
munds. in a recent lecture, disclosed the sin
gular means by which rowdy spirits get their
mm and tobacco in the other world. He said :
"I once bad a spirit come to me who had
been addicted to the use of tobacco, and the
first want he experienced on entering into a
spiritual existence was a desire ior that. I bad
au interview with a spirit who was a arumta
while living here, and he asked me for a drink.
I asked, 'What good would ardent spirits doyou
now ?' and he said: 'I can drink it thro' you."
That is to say, the ghost made of the erudite
Judge a species of worldly "straw," tnrou,gn
which to suck bis ghostly cobler 1
Full religious liberty in Denmark has been
wanted dissenters. They can form associa
tions, choose their pastors, open chapels and
schools, hold periodical meetings, make pro
selytes, with no restraint, no hindrance, no in
terference by Government. The character of
citizen is wholly disiinct from that of believer.
The members of the Diet and the public offi
cers are not subjected to any test whatever ;
thev cced not belong to a particular church.
STOLEN SECRETS.
Contrasting the manufacturing arts of our
own daysvith those of times gone by, one of
the most prominent things which strike a re
flective mind, is the diminution of secret pro
cesses. For the most part a manufacturer
tries to hold his monopoly now by the force of
capital, which' gives him a mercantile, advan
tage over his neighbors ; by carefully select
ing skilled artisans ; and by makiag himself
acquainted with the latest discoveries of sci
ence bearing upon his manufacture. There
are very few secret manufactures now, in the
old, and I would add, objectionablCense of
the term "secret." There is no longer a des
ecration of the namo of God by putting arti
sans on their oath not to reveal what they
know a practice common enough eveu as late
as the end of the last and the beginning of the
present century.
The reader must not imagine that desire of
gain was the sole object, on all occasions, of
carrying on a manufactory in secrecy. On
the contrary, the royal manufactories of por
celain in Europe, were long carried on in a
spirit of exclusivcncss to which the annals of
manufacturing industry amongst private indi
viduals can hardly furnish a counterpart. His
Majesty of Saxony was especially circumspect.
Not content with imposing an oath of secrecy
on all employed in bis workshops, he would
not even abate an iota of his kiudly suspicion
in favor of a brother monarch. Neither king
nor king's delegate might enter within the
tabooed walls of Meissen, tho seat of the Sax
on pottery manufacture, and where the beau
tiful specimens of true porcelain, known by
the misnomer of "Dresden porcelain," were,
and indeed still continue to be, manufactured.
The history of secret manufactures is very
unfavorable to the hopes of those persons who
trust, by hemming in their proctss, and en
vironing them with a quickset fence of judi
cial oaths, to retain the secret indefinitely.
Somehow, mysteries of this kind have gener
ally oozed out, either by applying to them the
test of science which is fair and proper
enough or through the unguarded garrulity
of workmen, or still more frequently, by theft
the secret being stolen like any other valu
able commodity. It is concerning a. few of
these stolen trade secrets that 1 have a little
to write ju.st now.
Next Temple Bar there is a chemist's shop
of very old standing. A proprietor of it, in
times gone by, enjoyed the monopoly of the
manufacture of citric acid. More favorably
circumstanced than the generality of secret
manufacturers, bis was a process which did
not require a number of workmen; if I right
ly apprehend my information, be conducted
the process himself. One day, having gone
into the laboratory, and advanced the process
through the necessary stages, the sole posses
sor of the secret came out, and, locking the
door after him, doubtless thought the secret
was perfectly safe. How should it not be safe
when the door was locked, and the windows
carefully blinded 7 Alas! there was a chim
ney, and of that chimney the manufacturer
took no heed : so a chimney sweep one wide
awake in chemical matters slipped down the
chimney, saw all he wanted to see, and then,
returning whence he came, departed, carrying
with him the secret of making citric acid.
The manufacture of tin plate originated, so
far as the English are concerned, in a stolen
secret. Few readers need be informed, that
tin pans, canisters and other wares, are only
called tin-ware by courtesy. They are really
made of tin plate, that is, thin sheets of iron
covered with tin by dipping. Now, in theory
it is a vcrjeasy matter to clean the surface of
a piece ofiion, then dip it into a bath of
molten tin, and remove it, enveloped with a
covering of the latter metal ; in practice, how
ever, there aro so many difficulties to be en
countered, that we English did riot manage to
surmount them until a countryman of ours
went to Holland, insinuated himself surrepti
tiously into a tin-plate manufactory, made
himself master of the secret, and came away
with it.
The history of cast steel presents us with a
curious ins'anco of a manufacturing secret sur
reptitiously obtained the more objectionable
in this case, that the secret-stealing thief op
erated under tho cloak of an appeal to philan
thropy. . i.
Perhaps the very first chemical Investiga
tion I remember to have been concerned in,
was one day, when, a little boy at school, I
tried, in company with other boys, whether
our knives were made of iron or steel. Our
plan of procedure was this and it is less ex
ceptionable than many processes of schoolboy
analysis sometimes are. On each blade we
poured a drop of spirit of salt, allowed it to
remain there a few seconds, and afterwards
washed it away. If the spot disclosed a black
mark, giving the notion of charcoal, we con
cluded the blade was steel; whereas, if the
spot were bright and metallic-lookinz, we con
cluded the blade to be of iron. Well, I say,
our chemistry was not so bad after all, and
that experiment will serve to impress on the
memory of the reader something that I wish
to be impressed there respecting steel. The
main distinction between iron and steel is,
that one holds carbon, or the matter of char
coal, whereas the other does not. The'amount
of carbon is very trivial, and is imparted by
heating iron bars, for long periods together,
surrounded by powdered, broken charcoal in
a box. Having regard, then, to this operation
it seems natural enough that the outer portion
of each bar should b-.-come more "steelified."
(if I may be permitted to coin an expressivo
word,) than the internal portions. Now, steel
of this sort, though used for many purposes,
is objectionable lor others. 1 o give an exam
pie : it is by no means good for the manufac
ture of watch-springs ; nevertheless, before
the invention of cast steel, to which the read
er's attention is presently to be directed,
watcl. -springs had to be made of it.
There lived at Attercliffo, near Sheffled a
bout tho year 1760, a watchmaker named
Huntsman. He was very much dissatisfied
with the quality of fteel of which watch
springs were made in his day, and he set-hiin-
self to fhe task of thinking out the cause ot
its inferiority. Mr. Huntsman correctly inter
red that tho imnerfection of such watch-
springs as came in his way was referable to
the fact of the irrezular conversion or "steel-
ification" of the metal of their manufacture.
"If." thought he, "I can melt a piece of steel.
and cast it into an ingot, tho composition of
the lattershonld beregnlarand homogeneous."
He tried, and he succeeded. Tho fame of
Huntsman's steel became widely spread; but
the discoverer took care not to 'designate it
by the name cast steel, under which it is now
lami!iar!y known : that was his secret. -
About tho year 1770, a large manufactory
of this peculiar steel was established at At
lerclifle. . The process was ' wrapped in secre
cy by every means which the inventor could
command. None but workmen of credit and
character were engaged, and they were forbid
den to discloso the secrets of the manufacture
by a stringent form ofoath. At last Hunts
man's secret was stolen in the following man
ner: One night in midwinter, as the tall
chimney of the Attercliffo steel-works belched
lorth its smoke, giving promise of a roaring
fire within, a traveller, to whom the desire of
placing himself near a roaring fire might seem
a reasonable longing, knocked at the outer
door of Mr. Huntsman's factory. It was a
bitter night ; the snow fell fast, the wind howl
ed across the moor; nothing, then, could be
more natural than that the tired wayfarer
should seek a warm corner where he might
lay his head. He knocked, and the door was
opened. A workman presented himself,whom
the wayfarsf addressing, humbly begged ad
missiou. "No admission here, except on business.'
The reader may well fancy how this inti
mation fell upon the tired traveller's ear on
such an inclement night. But the wodman,
scanning the traveller over, and discovering
nothing suspicious about him, grauted the
request, and iet him in.
Feigning to be completely worn out with
cold and fatigue, the wayfarer sank upon the
floor of the comfortable factory, and soon ap
peared to have gone asleep. To go to sleep,
however, was very far from lass intention : the
traveller closed his eyes all but two little
chinks. Through these two little chinks he
saw all he cared to see. He saw workmen cut
bars of steel into little bits, then place them
in crucibles, and the crucibles in a furnace.
He saw the fire urged to its extreme power ;
and, lastly, be saw workmen clothe themselves
in wet rags, the better to protect themselves
against the terrible heat, and drawing out the
glowing crucibles with enormous tongs, pour
the liquU contents into a mould. Mr. Hunts
man's factory had nothing more to disclose:
this was the secret of cast steel.
It would be easy to extend the list of man
ufacturing secrets disclosed in the dishouest
way indicated above : the subject, however,
is so unpleasant to dwell upon, that 1 am sure
the reader will rejoice, with me, that the cir
cumstances under which manufactures are uow
mostly carried on, neither afford the opportu
nity nor the inducement to theft, such as I
have described. Firstly, tho legislature no
longer permits an indiscriminate administra
tion of oaths, whence men cannot be bound
down to secrecy as heretolore ; secondly, the
principles on which branches of manufactur
ing industry depend arc for the most part so
clearly indicated, that the discovery of a se
cret resolves itself into the perfectly legiti
mate endeavor of fathoming it by the direct
application of science.
Animal Heat Carbon end Oxygen.
In an able lecture, delivered by the Rev. Dr.
Storrs, of Brooklyn, in the Cooper Institute,
in November, on "The Influence of Climate
on Civilization, ".he seemed to attribute much
of the vigor of the uorthern races to the food
required by their climate. The idea convey
ed seemed to be an endorsement of the popu
lar theory of animal heat, which is inculcated
in all the common books on physiology. These
compare the lungs to a furnace, in which air
and carbon are brought into chemical union in
producing heat. This theory is simple, aud
somewhat beautiful, but not correct. The com
bustion of our food-fuel does not take place in
the lungs, in the same manner that the fire is
produce in the furnace; the food of man is
not led into his lungs, neither does the oxygen
of the air combine with the food or carbon in
the lungs, but passes i ito the blood through
their membrane tissue ; carbonic acid and
moisture being given out in exchange. AH
our food undergoes a chemical change, before
it reaches the lungs in the form of blood, and
the warmth of the body comes from the organ
ic processes'which make and unmake the ani
mal tissues. These facts which should ba fa
miliar to all, lay the axe at the root of the
common furnace theory of animal heat.
Man requires the same elements for his food
in all climates. The northern races eat much
fat, which is almost pure hydro-carbon ; the in
habitants of tropical climates eat gums and su
gars, which are just as rich in carbon. Some
castes of Hindoos in India live exclusively on
vegetables ; the Cattres of hot South Africa are
the greatest beef gormandizers in the world.
The temperature of man is y deg. in all sea
sons, in the hottest and coldest climates. A
change of this uniform temperature of the hu
man body is the sign of disease. Man pre
serves his standard temperature in the tropical
and arctic regions in virture of the peculiar
organism which adjusts itself to Varying cir
cumstances, but the means by which it does
this is still involved in much obscurity.
A Case of Wixe. A Kentucky lawyer on
circuit was asked to dine with the Judge.
At the table, the Judge, as was his custom,
asked a blessing, and shortly afterwards rose
from the seat and took from the sideboard a
bottle to Old Bourbon, of which he invited his
guest to partake, partaking freely himself,
as is his custom. After dinner was over, the
lawyer said :
"Judge will you premit nie to ask you a
question 7"
"Oh, certainly," replied the Judge, "what
is it?";,
"I observed," said the lawyer, "that after
you asked a blessing, you set on tho bottle.
Now I wish to know whether you were ashamed
to ask a blessing on the liquor, or whether you
thought it was good enough without 7"
The Judge took the case under advisement.
Something New roa thb Lames. A patent
has just been issued at Washington to a gen
tleman of New York city, who, it seems, has
made petticoats his study, for an cutire new
skirt, of the expansive and collapsivo variety,
that will infallibly torment all the men and en
rapture all the women. It is made of white
horse-hair in open work, and so pliable are the
hairs, through their saturation with some new
material, which is also patented, a full skirt of
forty hoops, all the essential oj elasticity, full
ness and strength, can be carried within a
muff, occupy scarcely more space than a port
monaie, and in an instant adjusted to the per
son, expanding a robe lo a diameter of six or
seven feet, giving tho wearer the agreeable
and imposing circumference of from nineteen
to twenty-one feet.. Lad ies moving in the first
circles w ill wear ttreni, of course.
A PLEA FOR SHAMS.
A late number of Blackwood contains a spi
cy article with the above title, directed at the
popular writers of the day, whose universal
cry is, that everything, as society Is at present
constituted, is a "sham." Those authors who
rail at established customs, call them false and
contrary to nature, and prate about "conven
tional usage," are taken in hand in a very a
musing and effective style. The writer says:
"Our commonest and most innocent habits,
measured by these gentlemen's standard, will
be found exceedingly nnveracious. Are e
all to walk about as in a palace of truth, and
repudiate all the recognized courtesies of so
ciety because they are shams 7 Am I to say
to my good neighbor, Mr. Tomkins, whenever
1 meet bim. 'Tomkins, you are a bore, and you
ought to know it; I can't waste my precious
time talking to you about the weather, or even
about Mrs. Tomkins; I have more important
subjects than these to talk about, and more a
greeable people to talk to ; so I wish you a
very good morning, or rather, I mean to say, I
don't care whether you have a good morning
or a bad one. I don't wish you any harm, but
I want to get rid of you !' Or when I meet
Smith at the Folkestone station on bis autumn
trip he in his nautical costume and Mrs. S.
in her round hat am I to accost them in the
sincere language of my heart 'Weil, for two
sensible middfe-aged" people, you have con
trived to make the greatest guy of yourselves
I ever saw in my life !' I am sure this would
be a veracity; but would it be an improve
ment, on the whole, on the conventional type
of our actual conversation under the circum
stances? 'Good morning, Mr. Tomkins; hope
1 see you well ; these easterly winds,' &c, &c.
'How are you, Smith 7 fond of boating as ev
er, I see; and Mrs. Smith looking teaWy
quite,' &c. It's a sham ; I know it is ; per
haps she knows it is; but if she does, she
knows it to be a friendly one. Were I to go
back to my veracities, I might prefer, being in
company with a fastidious friend, to cut the
Smiths altogether. The truth is, we live in a
world of shams and conventional itles, if you
prefer calling things by ugly names. All civ
ilized life is a state of convention ; ask the lo
gicians. There is no reason, in the intrinsic
nature of things, why ii-a-t should spell 'hat.'
All forms of conversation are pure conven
tionalities. - Why do we shake hands 7 What
ceremony can be more absurd ? The Pacific
Islanders rub noses ; so do sheep. Of the two,
therefore, the latter may be the more natural.
Dr. Livingstone's friends, the Bakolos, by way
of paying their respects, lay down upon the
ground and slapped their thighs with their
hands loudly and energetically. Unpleasant,
Dr. Livingstone thought it, and so, perhaps,
should we; but you see nature seems to dic
tate no universal forms of politeness; the
forms which do suggest themselves to others,
seem to ns as unmeaning or ungraceful as ours
may to them. No wise man among us laughs
at his British ancestors for painting themselves
blue ; is it a mark of such superior wisdom to
ridicule the outer coating of society in this
nineteenth century 7
"Be real, we are told be genuine, be true ;
say what you will, do what you will, only let
it be a truth, and not a falsehood. It sounds
very grand ; not quite so new a gospel perhaps
as its apostles fancy ; this 'living according to
nature' was a favorite dream of old. Only
poor human nature, not being itself perfec
tion, is forced to be content with a more elas
tic rule. If we were angels, then to say all
we think would be very well, and to act accord
ing to nature would follow of course ; but as
things are in this far from angelic world, there
arc a great many thoughts w hich we shall do
well to hide if possible even from ourselves,
and a good many actions which we must dis
guise as we can with a little decent hypocrisy.
There is no more disagreeable person on earth
than the man who always speaks his mind ;
and whose mind, be it observed, is almost al
ways unpleasant."
Again he remarks :
"Skin a Russian,' it is said, 'and yon will
find tho Tartar underneath.' The proverb
may be true, in many senses, of the English
man as well as of the Russian. Strip many
of us to the core, and even our most intimate
friends might fail to recognize us. But is it
absolutely necessary to go through this raiser
able process ? Are we not all the prettier to
look at, and quite as good for use, for a little
outside 7 Does not nature herself give us a
lesson is this, that she conceals under a fair
smooth outside the system of nerves, and
sinews, and bloodvessels, which when uncov
ered, make but a ghastly show 7 Let us pro
test, then, in the name of common se&c and
comfort, against this philosophy of tho dis
secting room. Let us neither anatomise
others, nor submit to be thus operated upon
ourselves. Let the play of life proceed. Let
us lend ourselves with a good grace to its illu
sions ; many of them are pretty and pleasant ;
few of them are very mischievous ; at any rate
we shall gain little by looking behind the
scenes. That young lady in the silk and
spangles is not a real sylph ; granted ; but she
looks very nice. Why trace ber home to
the -coarse beef-steakes and porter of her mor
tal supper 7 If the gallant before us is not all
the hero he personates, still less is that a real
devil who comes in with the red fire. We are
all worse and better than we seem."
They Sat. A more sneaking, cowardly and
fiendish liar than "They say," neer existed.
That personage is a universal scape goat for
personal gossip, envy and malice ; without
form of flesh and blood, when invoked, and
yet stalking boldly in every community. The
character is a myth, and yet real : intangible.
and yet clutching its victims with remorseless
power. It is unseen, and yet from an exhaust
less quiver wings its poisoned arrows from day
to day. And no. mail is proof; no character,
position, or sex escapes; no sanctuary is too
sacred ; no name is bulwarked against its as
saults. When one base heart wishes to assail
another person's character or motives, "They
say" is always invoked. That is the assassin
who strikes in the clond the Thug who haunts
the footsteps of the offender, and tortures from
careless word or deed, an excuse for the sti
letto. Men dare not always reveal their own
feelings. With smiles and pretended friend
ship, they present the envenomed shaft as
coming from "They say." Be sure, reader,
that when some villainous tale is told you, and
the narrator cannot give an author more tan
gible than "They say" for it, that the alander
is the creation of the heart by your side, and
reeking with the poison of envy and hatred,
and earnest with a wish, to have the falsehood
of "they say" bud Into reality, and become
current coin in the community.
TnE Axistad Case. Some'twenty years ago'
two Spaniards attempted to convey their slaves
by water from one part of the island of Cuba
to another. They chartered a vessel for this
purpose, but as soon as they were out of sight
of land the negroes mutinied and took pos
session of the vessel. The negroes knew
nothing of navigation, and the vessel finally
found its way into Long Island Sound, and
waslormally taken possession of by the Rev
enue Cutter and bronght into New Haven,
where the cases were tried, and the Court de
cided that thev were entitled to their freedom,
nr.d ihpv we nbsenilpntlv set at liberty
Afterwards the Spanish Government elaimed
from our Government remuneration ior mo
loss which its citizens had sustained by tho
decision of the Connecticut Court, and tho
liberation of the Africans. Our Government
recognizes this claim, and has several time
urged the attention of Congress to the subjects
If taken up at this session, as recommended
by the President, it will occasion much de
bate, and prevent the consideration of other
and more important business. '
Heat rttOM tue Sis. An eminent profes
sor has announced as a fact not to be disputed,
that were the distance between, our planet and
the sun diminished, the access of solar beat,
would convert her waters into air, while the
rich stores ol metal garnered in her bosom'
would become brazen rivers,discharging them
selves when the race was run into the vacant
depths of the ocean. It the distance were in
creased, the difference, from the directly op
posite effects, would be no less decided. Tho
diminution of solar heat would cause the air
to liquify, turn the sea into a crystal, and
bind the great continents of the earth in per
petual frost. As it is, however, the distribu
tion of heat is regulated with unerring pre
cision. Indeed, the mind can conceive no
scheme of measurement so acute, no balan
cing of cause and effect so mathematically
exact, as to the adjustment by relative position
of the quantity of heat which tho earth re
ceives from the sea. It is governed by an -ternal
law.
Sisgclae Accidext. The Watertown (NY
Y.) Journal says that the engineer ot the train
from Potsdam, a few days since, while cross
ing Holton Bridge, near Antwerp, observed
the singular spectacle ot a man hanging from
one of the beams thereof. The train was
stopped and the matter looked into. The
man had evidently been dead but a little
while. It was inferred that the man, while
crossing the bridge, with the strap of his car
pet bag around bis neck, stumbled and fell.
He pitched on one side of the beam and the
bag on the other. The bag balanced the man,
and the strap being strong and fast, around his
neck, there was no help for him, and in this
singular position he was found. There was
no clue about hiai that indicated his name or
home. He apjeared to be a poor wayfarer,
and was probably under the influence of liquor
when he met his mishap.
Siberia. Siberia has been civilized by the
exiles sent thither, and by voluntary emigra
tion from Russia, till nearly four of the five
millions of inhabitants of that region are Eu
ropeans or of European descent more fortu
nate than their western kinsmen in this, that
there is not a serf among them. Siberia is
fast becoming a place of great commercial im
portance. Its proximity to Oregon and Cali
fornia will give it a trade which will make it
one of the most active portions of the great
Russian empire. The ice used in San Fran
cisco was formerly obtained from the United
States. It now comes from Siberia, affording
constant employment to half a dozen ships.
In five years from now the trade between Si
beria and California will be a matter of im
portance. Fashionable Society. Some one truly
says that "society," is a nuisance, in a 'fash
ionable" sense. It is nothing more or less
than a stiff series of absurd and cold formal
ities. It has no heart, any more than the
Rock Gibraltar has. The password to it is
"money," and if you've got that, or can
make the world think yon have, "go. in !"
Brush up your beaver never mind about
brushing up your character and "go in!"
Learn the set speeches of polite gossip, dress
in "good taste," pretend to great respect for
a sectarian creed, and keep up a fashionable
outside show, and you shall safely pass with
the genteel elect. Society is "fearfully and
wonderfully made !"
Caxcemi acaix Convicted. Cancerai, the
Italian burglar, who murdered a policeman,
has again been convicted of the offence in the
Criminal Court of New York city, but this
time only for manslaughter in tho first degree.
He has been tried four tmes for the same
crime, been twice convicted of murder, and,
three times has had new a trial granted on the
ground of informality. The facts of the case
are that the prisoner broke into a shop, rifled
the money drawer of its contents, was, vpon
his exit, discovered by a policeman, and, tak
ing instantly topflight, was pursued. He turn
ed, and deliberately shot bis pursuer, who sub
sequently died from the effects of the wound.
Goto asd Sllyek.. The consumption of gold
and silver at the present day for household
purposes Is enormous, its application haung
increased rapidly since the discovery of gold
in California and Australia. The amount of
gold and silver annually taken from the mines
of Europe is valued at twenty-five millions of
dollars. In America, the yield is computed
to be one hundred and forty-six millions, and
Asia produces twenty-five millions. Africa
has no silver mines, but produces gol4 to the
amount of nearly three millions of dollars.
Australia is also without silver, but produces
about two hundred millionsof gold.
PnrtAxrnRor-ic. The late Hon. John ST.
Niles, of Conn., who, during the latter year
of his life, was considered insane, devised by
his will the sum of $20,000 as a fund, the in
terest of which was to be annuallv expended
by a committee of the citizens of Hartford in
assisting heads of families, particularly poor
widows, in the payment of rents and the pur
chase of fuel. It would be well if a few more
such crazy people lived in this world.
The campaign of 18G0, as far as Penngylva
nia is concerned, will probably be one of the
most exciting that has ever transpired. In ad
dition to President aad Vice President, a- Go
vernor will be elected, and the Legislature
chosen then vlll have to elect a C S. Senator..
y