v.
VOL. 5. NO: 27.
CLEARFIELD, PA., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 1859.
BY S. B. EOW.
CHOICE POETRY.
For the "Raftsman's Journal."
Mr dear miEXD Row : You hare published
man j letters from J. K. C. of Kansas, lie went
there from Clearfield county, to assist in establish
ing Freedom in that Territory. None knew him
but to love him. He was received as a member
of the Mount Pleasant Church, during a rery great
and rcmarkablo outpouring of the Spirit thero.
and was baptixed. In a letter recently received
from him. by bis former Pastor, he enclosed the
following lines. In these lines he alludes to the
above facts in a very pathetic and devotionalstrain.
The letters above alluded to, gave great satisfac
tion to your numerous readers, and especially to
the many friends of John. The following lines
will make their hearts leap for joy and tenderness.
Many, I know, will consider them as very com
forting, for they love John, and their "little
church" dearly. Yours sincerely, Louax.
LIXES BY J. It. C. OF KANSAS,
TO HIS FOUSICK PASTOR.
Alone, a wanderer, I oft have prayed
A brother's love to share ;
And when we met, you were to me
An answer to my prayer :
My weary heart, with hope and joy,
O'erflowcl like summer showers.
And rested in your wealth of love
As on a bed of flowers.
And when, with solemn words. your nana
Was prc;od upon my brow ;
O how my spirit thrilled to feel
That seal ; I feel it now.
Again as in the dawn of life,
JJut with a sweeter power.
lid heaven's approving brightness shine
I'pon me at that hour.
'Twfs like the joyous summer-time,
With singing birds around ;
When voices from the spirit land
Respond to every sound ;
When flowers and winds, imbued with life,
So sweetly, gently woo ;
And all the stars look down and smile,
As if they loved us too.
But since that time dark olo:i Js have rolled
lletwcen uie and the sun ;
Long weary years have counted out
Their moments, one by one ;
Yet still, where'er I turn my steps.
My heart is ling'ring there :
Above that little church, a light
eems hanging in the air.
1'va wandered far, I've wandered long,
lJut find no place of ret ;
O brother! brother! let my soul
Repose upon thy breast ;
For like a child returning back.
No more from home to part.
From earth's remotest bounds 'twill coma
To nestle on your heart.
Then be. when other friendships fail,
A brother warm and true.
Ar.d leaving faithless ones, my soul
hall fondly turn to you :
Around you all her claspings twine,
From other Iriendships riven.
And feel, still feel, that love is not
All lost this side of heaven.
THE GAME OF .MORRIS;
OB, LOVK IX A MAZK.
At the age of twenty-five, Charley
sound in health, whol in heart, and
Morris,
lull in
pockets, esteemed i:tiaseli ami not without
reason one of the luckiest fellows in exist
ence, which belief naturally induced a very
comfortable and contented state of mind
When, therefore, it occurred to him, one tine
summer afternoon, to lose his way in the heart
i.f a tangled and not particularly pleasant piece
if woods in a romantic section ol the state 01
New York, he viewed the matter quite philo-
notdiicailv. merely remarking to himsell
"Well, Charley, old fellow, you have made
k precious tool tt yourself, and prohahiy nave
aii opportunity of trying the luxuries of a moss
bed and stone pillow, unless something snouia
turn up in the shape of shanty or (arm-house.''
And he trudged utidautingly on over fallen
trunks aud tangled brushwood, till, the trees
suddenly receding, and the uneven path wide
ning into a passable road, he came in view of
what the juvei.iles call "a lady on horseback."
The nppearanco which they presented was
decidedly peculiar ; for the lady, like most ol
her sex, having a will of her own, while the
horse, an ugly brute, was evidently net lack
ing in the same quality, it so happened that
the two did not agree. The quadruped, hav
ing the advantage of superior strength, had
planted himself in the middle of the road, and
converted himself into a sort of whirligig, re
volving with a rapidity that, made Charley
dizzy, while the leiniuino alternately pulled
disconsolately at the reins, and belabored the
refractory brute with her riding whip.
I sav feminine, because that was really all
Charlcv was able to decide concerning her per
sonality. He saw a trim little figure, and heard
a voice whoso silvery tones would have melted
the heart of anvthing,save the animal on which
h was mounted. But an enormous bonnet,
a cross, in shape, between a Quaker hat and
those In which the stricter members of the
Methodist sect delight to array themselves, ef
fectually concealed her feature, and it was
onlr when Charley, gallant by naturo and prin
ciple, rushed to the rescue, that he discovered
that, instead of being tte deacon's wife or a
inveterate old maid, as he feared, it was a
charming brunette, with sparkling eyes anu
rosy cheeks.tbat deepened considerably in hue
when he politely offered to assist her by lead
ing her horse to her place of destination.
"No trouble at all, nia'm," he responded
to some laintly urged objection on the part of
the lady. "I am only a forlorn bacheldY, in
search of some mythical personage named
farmer Hopper."
"Why, that's my father!" exclaimed the
damsel, and then was silent, blushing at her
own vivacity. .
' This was a delightful discovery ; for, thero
being a tradition current in Charley's family
That ho had injured his precious health over
l.is studies, (though 1 suspect punch and the
a co of spades would have been the more cor
rect reading.) his fond father had billetted him
for a niontfri sojourn in the country at the
bouse of the aforementioned farmer Hopper,
who was an old and esteemed friend and cor
respondent. And Charley.who would have pre
ferred Newport prSaratoga decidedly .was nota
littlo charmed to find bis exile was to be cheer
ed by the presence of this pretty little maiden.
Being charmed, it may be presumed be was
charming. At any rate, bis fair companion
continued to blush, (bewitchingly, as Charley
thought, who was not accustomed to any such
variation, of color in his redowa and polka
partners.) till they reached the gate that lea
to the farm house. This was a substantial
building, with an air of thrift and comfort,
from the exquisite taste with which flowering
vines and creepers had been trained over its
roo-b nails and aronnd the broad, vcllrcour-
ed piazza. The kitchen was in that state of
nicety and polish, that Charley involuntarily
began to have misgivings about bis boots.
The yellow painted floor fairly shone. Not a
mote of dust was to be seen on the carved
work of an immense chest of drawers, that was
evidently the pride of the establishment, nor
on the high-backed instruments ot torture, fa
cetiously termed by our ancestors chairs, stan
ding stiffly about the room, r rom the wide
chimney-place came a grateful odor of pine
and'henilock boughs, and, on one side of the
hearth, sat, in a comfortable rocking chair, a
comely black-eyed matron, peeling apples,
whom Charley rightly concluded to bo the
mother of tho household.
This lady received tho newcomers with a
'Well, Grace," directed to her daughter, and
so suspicious a glance at Charley and his dus
ty habiliments, that Grace leU called upon to
explain ; in attempting which, either through
fear of Charley or her mother, or irom a lacK
of properly developed logical powers, she in
volved herself and her story in such a tangle
that, when she concluded, it was quite evident
that her mother was in doubt as to wheLher it
was the horse or Charley that "wouldn't go."
Whereupon, Charley came to the rescue, rela
ting the affair in a rattling of his own, that
made the old lady smile in spite of herself.
And, before she knew it, he had possession of
the tray and apples, and was peeling away with
as much gusto as tho' that had been the voca
tion to which ho had specially directed his at
tention since his earliest days. When a band
of young Hoppers came tumbling tumultuous
ly into tho kitchen, Charley straightway knew
each individual low-head by his or her proper
name, and, in five minutes was on the most
confidential terms with them all. He heard
how Jack climbed the elm tree, and Kitty had
found four little speckled eggs in the field,
and Nellie had two black-and-white kittens in
the barn, all with a gravity and interest that
quite overcame any lingering doubts and pre
judices of Mrs. Hopper.
The sturdy old farmer, who soon alter mad
his appearance, was not so easily won. He
was accustomed to entertain very slight and
contemptuous opinions of young men in gen
eral, and students in particular, who were, he
said, "A parcel of crack-brained, godless
young fools, who might better be planting
corn, or guiding the plow .than learning heath
enish lingo half of them couldn't understand."
But the old gentleman bad a hobby, to wit:
the raising of fine cattle ; and the artful Char
ley was not long in discovering it. Now, it
had happened once to' him to be ill and conva
lescent at a lonely country tavern, without
companions or books to while away the hours,
except a large treatise on the art above men
tioned, which, in sheer desperation, ho read
lrom beginning to end. Now he reaped the
reward ot his labors.
Fir.st he advanced an opinion on the sub'
ject.which be was quite sure the farmer would
contradict: then defended it warmly, bringing
to bear on bis astounded opponent the longest
words ind the most scientific terms he could
recollect ; then gracefully lowered his Hag and
surrendered, yielding to the farmer's superior
experience and clearness of perception ; men
appealed to him on certain knotty points,
which his unassisted wisdom was quite unable
to solve, till the delighted old gentleman clap
ped him on the shoulders, saying:
"You aro a clever lad, after all, though yon
be a student ; and' if your father would give up
this silly notion of making you a lawyer, ana
would send rnii down here to me, I would
make a man of you."
Miss Grace all the while sat with downcast
eves, iu the corner, knitting away very do
niurelv. till her mother cave the signal to set
the table.
It had never occurred to Charley, when he
hail Been some pug-nosed, red-armed Nora or
Bridget stamping about the dining room, mat
there could bo any grace in the act of laying
a table-cloth.or refinement in the arrangement
ot the dishes. But tho trim little figure, and
dear little feet, and plump little hands, made
,.nit n littlii noeni out of this prosaic house
hold dutv : and once, when ho caught a l
guish glance of the dark eyes, he had nearly
disgraced himself by
cert himsell uy answering "xca: "
the wronsr place
'Twas a royal supper. Such golden butter
and snowy bread, and tempting biscuits ; such
Ti.itnrs of luscious corn, and dishes ot peacn
anrl pmm. and elorious pies, and amber-
" ----, .,.,
hued sweet-meats, and cake ot urace s own
-i i Lr inir.
Charley, sitting next that young lady, and
iltrrnatelv at her and out of the vine-
covered porch.at fields smiling in the slanting
ravs of tho sun. and hills just darkening with
.i.. .....i.. r.f tniliffht. vowed he was iu
IUVJ ' ll I J. I V. - o
no-wii... r.-irt;ikin"- of nectar and amhrosia.
Just then the door opened, and thero sidled
lnn-r individual, with flaming
i.. rmnb lrl st i n i ninieu se stooping hhoul
ders. colossal hands and feet, and a perpetual
i,, loavinf leer on his heavy features.
t i..- ;nf..rvrinr nprtnn.i?e. having been in
Charier under the euphoniou
name of Joshna Skeels, proceeded to make
.: lr .i,.n..Mo t.ir v,.ntinc himsell OH the
and devouring an lm
n.intv nfthn tenmtine edibles before
him between each gobble, grinning admira
i.i.. . v.!. fjir nrinhlnr. to her no small vexa
tion and to the intense amusement of Charley
t .,mi,ir iinvver. irave placo to wrath
ivu r,nnr va cleared away, and GracJ
once more at liberty to return to her knitting,
the elegant Joshua established his chair and
bis lanky person in such a position as to form
a barrier between her and the rest or the com
pany.and opened a conversation in a loud whis
per, that was unavoidably audible to Charley.
"I say, Gracie," he commenced, "who is
this ere chap ! Takes great airs, don t he ?
Grace's answer was inaudible.
"Oh ! Going to stay here long 1 nope not.
Spoil all our fun if ho does, won't he ?"
'Confound the bruto 1" muttered Charley,
under bis breath.-
"What's the matter, Gracie T" persisted the
undaunted Joshua. "Got tho sulks this eve
ning, cb T Seo here, now. I bro't ye some
thing. Got it real cheap, too. The pedlar I
bought it of asked me a shilling; but I told
him we weren't so green down this way, and
beat hitn down to sixpence !"
And after fishing out a jack-knife, a piece of
string, a lump of chalk, an old bandanna, and
a quid of tobacco, frm tho depths of his
pocket, ho finally captured and held out to
ward Grace a small cake of shaving soap.
"Well, why don't you take it?" said Josh
ua, as Grace sat motionless. . "It's real good ;
I told tho Elan'itwas for a young--lady, and
he said iie knew you'd like it."
"By Jove !" exclaimed Charley, "this is too
much." and ho sat off in a shout of laughter, in
which he was joined by the rest of the company.
"Well, now, I'd like to know what you are
laughing at? I suppose that's city polite
ness!" said Joshua, turning on Charley.
"Oh ! oh !" groaned Charley, "you forgot
the razors I"
Another burst of laughter, and Joshua rose,
indignant.
Wa11 T in't a e-oinir to at.iv in here to be
laffghed tt. There's Hetty Van Orden, just
as pretty as some other folks I know of, ard
don't give herself half as many airs. She
lives a deal nieher, too I"
In spite of Mrs. Hopper's expostuiatory
'Now, Joshua, stay a moment !" tie departed,
slamminz the door violently behind him.
"I don't know what's the matter with josnua
to-night:" said the good lady, apologetically.
I have known hi in since he was .no bigger
than Johnny here, and never seen him act so
before, lie is thought to bo a very nice young
man."
But Charley "was destined to be astonished
by further developments in the -economy ot
Joshua. On the following morning, as he was
sauntering idly along the pleasant green lane,
whistling softly to himself, ana thinning 01
Grace Hopper and that unlicked cub, as he
mentally termed Joshua, ho encountered me
obiect of his thoughts, to his own intense dis
gust and the evident embarrassment of that
extraordinary person, who seemed, at first,
about to pass him. with a sulky nod; but
changing bis mind, he halted, stood irresolute,
and finally called out.
"Halloa, you ! I ssy, mister, looK here !"
Charlev wheeled suddenly around, so as
to face him.
"You see, mister," said Joshua, shifting
from one foot to the other, "being as you are
stranger, I thought I'd just give you a
warning, that you needn't bo taken in."
"Much obliged," said Charley.
"So." continued Joshua.gathering courage,
"if you have any notion after Gracie Hopper,
you might as well know it's no nse. Her
father and mine laid their heads together a
bout us when we weren't neither of us 'knee-
high to a grasshopper,' and I calculated
Gracie will be Mrs. Joshua Skeels afore an
other spring comes around."
"But aro you certain or the la-iys consent i
asked Charlev.
I am certain of her father's and mine,"
returned Joshua, "and that's more to the pur
pose. Our lands will join nicely together,
and farmer Hopper nver breaks his word.
Here Charlev was seized with a violent de
sire to collar the interesting Joshua, and treat
him to a summary thrashing ; but ho was, by
this time, quite conscious that, awkward and
stupid as his adversary appeared, he was quite
as dangerous as contemptible, so Charley
prudently suppressed his wrath, and played
the cool and dignified.
"Infinitely obliged, Mr. Heels ah, bum
Skeels, I mean. To be sure, the trouble was
quite unnecessary on your part, though, as
the littlo girl is tolerably good-looking, I
might hare taken a tancy to flirt with her."
And ho walked off, leaving Joshua greatly
disconcerted nt the indifference with which
his communication was received.
Meantime, Charley was raging; Charley
was boiling over; Charley was etlervescent.
That awkward, lounging compound of pig and
bear: that incarnation of mean cunning ana
vulgarity, marry that dear little, roguish,
sparkling, Grace? Caliban and Miranda;
Beauty and the Beast ! And, then, the fel
low's impudence ; as if farmer Hopper, to say
nothinir ol Grace, wouldn't prefer him, of
c, ' -
course !
He revolted, more than ever, at tho idea, as
be sat watching her, some hours after busily
rniininiinilinir those delicious destroyers of
digestion, termed pies. How he wished that
he was a lemon, to be squeezed by those taper
fingers, or a peach or an apple, to be pared
f he nrobablv spelled it paired). That delight
tul littln creature marry Joshua Skeels, and
make pies for him to eat ? Never!
So ho ask'd her, one day, to take charge of
him, his morals, and his shirt-buttons tor lite,
and Grace consented, if father and mother
were willing.
Mrs. Hopper, being not only willing, but
dclizhted. Charlev. fortified by her approba
tion and that of her daughter, marched off to
attack the farmer, not however, it must ho
confessed, without some degree of trepidation
The old gentleman heard him attentively,
but with an expression that Charley found it
impossible to decipher. When he had finished:
"Well, Charley," he said, "I am sorry for
you. x You are a clever chap, and I'd like you
for a son-in-law well enough ; but, tho fact is,
I promised Gracie, long ago, to Joshua, or
rather to his father, who is a likely, well-to-do
man. The young fellow is not exactly what I
could wish for Gracie's sake, but it is likely
he'll improve after marriage, and 1 have pass
ed mr word, you know
Charlev remonstrated, but the father was
inexorable ; and, in appearance, our hero sub
mitted to the decrees of fate. But he vowed
a mighty vow, and registered it privntely
that Grace Hopper should never be Grace
Skeels, and then commenced cudgeling his
brains for means of preventing this so-much-dreaded
catastrophe. Three days he travail
ed, and many were the abortive ideas ho bro't
forth. On the fourth, came the remedy, nee
Minerva, springing from his head, armed for
war, in the shape of an epistle that he indited
and mailed with a chuckle, and then went a
bout his ordinary occupations with a compla
cency refreshing to behold, though somewhat
astonishing to every one except Grace, who
was in the secret.
That young lady informed her father that
she had received a letter, announcing the
speedy arrival of an old schoolmate of her's,
one Miss Julia Elliot, who made her appear
ance a d-.iv or two after, and proved to be
what Charley called a "stunner" a tall, mag
nificently-developed woman, with glorious
flashing eves, and large, handsome features,
and such a ringing laugh, and a smile that
was even sweeter than her laugh, because it
rnvnaled such faultless teeth.
In half a dav. she was at home in the farm
house, and on the -best of terras with every
thing and everybody belonging to it, down to
the very dogs ana cnicKens.
Jnuhii nn thrt first evening of their acquain
ir.. wa rather shv of this city bojle, whom
i.. rnr;A mnst be. to use his own elegant
phraseology, 'stuck up bill the way iq which
ch railed him "Mr. Skeels." and looked at
). lm from under her dark eyc.lashts, and asked
his advice, and appealed to him for assistance,
aad said.M'itty things, andpretendod to think,
be said them, with such good faith, that be
actually thought so, too ; and, above all, the
marked preference that she awarded him over
Charley (who was quite as distracted about
her as he bad ever been about his Grace),
thrilled the ungainly lout with delight. . Graco
always sulked in the corner, and answered in
monosyllables, and never raised her eyes
from her knitting when he honored her with a
visit. And here wasajady from the city,
with twice as much motley and ten times as
much beauty, who preferred him to all her
city beaux for had she not told him so ? and
cared nothing for that puppy of a Charley,
whom Grace was quite welcome to marry now,
if she liked.
But here arose a new difficulty. Grace
would not relinguish her claims on bim ;
Charley was infatuated about this new beauty,
whom she heartily wished bad never entered
the house, and she did not intend to lose
Joshua, too. He had tormented her every
evening lor tho last two years, and now he
should marry bcr.
Old Farmer Hopper stormed, and finally
called in old Mr. Skeels, who informed his son
that, if he married the city lady, ho needn't
look to him for a cent. But, as the elegant
Miss Julia observed, "that as nothing, for
she had fortune enough for both."
"By Jove !" said Charley, "you are too bad.
Here yon c"-me to mo and forbid me to fall in
love with Grace, and say you are going to
marry her; and tho first splendid woman that
comes along you lay yourself out to fascinate
her, and get her in that state of infatuation
that she won't even look in my direction. I
don't know what vou call such conduct in the
country, but, in tho city, we f.hould consider
it rather unprincipled !"
Whereupon, Joshua informed rum inai ne
was welcome to Grace, who never cared for
him, nohow. But, as lor Miss Jnlia, he must
pive un all thouzhts of her. as nothing but
death should pirt them.
Here the farmer interfered, declaring mat
he threw bis daughter at no man's head.
That, since Joshua cared so littlo about her,
he shouldn t have her on any terms ; ana cnar
ley,who, in despair of winning Miss Julia, had
renewed his attentions to Grace, was shortly
afterwards united to her, in "the presence of
numerous witnesses," as the marriage certifi
cates have it.
Mr. Skeels and Miss Elliot officiated as
groomsman and biidesmaid. The ceremony
concluded. Charley stepped up to Miss Jnlia,
and begged to rectify a slight mistake made in
the introduction of that lady, by presenting
her to tho company under her real name ot
Mrs. Julia Morris the mother of threo chil
dren, and his brother's wife.
The consternation of Joshua and the wratn
of farmer Hopper may bo imagined j but, as
Graco was fast bound in tho chains of matri
mony, and her husband was secretly far more
acceptable to bim than his intended son-in-law,
his indignation was speedily appeased,
and the ruse by which Charley obtained his
wife, came soon to be regarded with compla
cency by all, save the unfortunate victim of,
what Charley termed, bis mystification.
THE WINDS.
The ancients believed that the winds issued
from a cavern at the command of Jove, and
that thev were tinder the control of four dei
ties, to whom the rhanicians, ureeks ana
others erected temples. We now, however,
know that wind is merely air in a state of mo
tion, and that by waving the hand to and fro.
or blowing our breath, we may produce wind
on a small scale. hen the air, at any par
ticular place, is heated by tho direct action of
the sun's rays or radiation, it rises because of
its liehtness. and cold air from the surrouna
ing localities rushes in to fill its place. A
common door will illustrate this ; if we par
tially open the door of a warm room and hold
a lieht near the ton. tne uaroe wui oo oiown
outwards bv the heated air escaping: and if
we hold the light near the bottom, tho name
will be blown inwards by the cold air that is
rushing in to supply the place of the heated
air that has escaped. In particular parts of
the tropical regions, where the air becomes
highly heated by the sun, there is a constant
rushing of air to these points, from east to
west, and this causes the trade winds, so called
because taken advantage of by merchantmen
on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They blow
in the same direction for months together.
This local action of the sun on vast areas of
land and water produces several other Impor
tant winds, such as the monsoons, which blow
from the south to the north, being trade winds
turned round by the heat of land lying within
tho tropics ; the simoon is a burning blast that
rushes over the Arabian deserts, carrying on
its wings fine sand, and destroying all that
venture to oppose its power. TlUo harmaiian
is a cold dry wind frequent in Africa and is
nearly as dangerous as tho simoous. The si
rocco visits Italy, with a hot, moist and relax
ing blast from the African shoies ot tne Medi
terranean : and itkirlwinds and to-nadoes are
common to all climates, but most destructive
in hot ones. Notwithstanding the seemingly
terrible nature of theso winds, they, with the
milder ones, have important parts to play in
the great economy of uatnre, in dispersing tho
clouds over the surface of the earth, and puri
fying the atmosphere from noxious vapors and
effluvia: they aiso disperse the seeas 01 plants,
and, as aids to civilization, impsl ships across
the seas, and move machinery.
A Good Hit. During a recent trial at Au
burn, among the witnesses was about as ver
dant a specimen of humanity as one would
wish to meet wtih. After a severe cross exam
ination, the counsel paused, and then putting
on a look of severity, with an ominous shake
of the head, exclaimed :
"Mr. W itness. has not an eflort been made
to induce vou to tell a different story J"
"A different story from what 1 cave tola,
sir?" inquired tho witness.
"That is what I mean," said the lawyer.
"Wal, sir, several persons have tried to get
me to tell a different story from what I have
told, but they could not," replied the witness.
"Now. sir. upon your oath," said the law
yer. "1 wish to know wno tnose persons are.
"Wal, I guess you have tried about as hard
as any of 'em," was the answer. . - -.
The witness was allowed to take bis seat.
A Good LES80N.--John Percy sned the Al
banv Evening Journal fortbe moderate nra
of $1,300,000 for alleged libels'; bnt the jury
failed to see the point of the joke, and told
Mr. Percv ha mnst not only do without tSe
I dime.,, but pay the coat of rresecu.ion
LIFE IN THE NORTH.
We find in the Pittsburg Trvt Press, the an
nexed synopsis of a lecture recently delivered
in that city by the great American traveller
Bayard Taylor. It is full of interest, and will
abundantly repay the reader for the time spent
in its perusal :
Mr. Taylor commenced with a beautiful pic
ture or the impression that a journey in Egypt
had made uKn him, depicting the eternal har
vest that was eTer visible, tho light, beauty,
and redundunt vitality. He said it seemed as
though life was the language of all creation,
and death could only happen as an unaccount
able accident. He gave an account of an in
terview he had on the Nile with a fellow coun
tryman, who bad just returned from Iceland
and said that, his description of tho land of
snow and ice incited him to extend his obser
vations thither, and experience the contrast
thus presented.
The lecturer remarked that the natural long
ing of mankind was towards the tropics. Tho
ancients had an Arcadia in the North, but it
was an imaginary one. The great stream of
human emigration was towards the West and
South. A few lateral streams had been turn
ed by chance obstacles towards the North.
No other j-urney he had ever made, so fully
convinced him as did this, that however full
the knowledge received from tho record of the
observations of others, Nature has fresh as
pects of many a varied form for him who will
use his eyes. The only misgivings he had in
undertaking the exploration, was of the in
tense depression of mind which the climate
and the face of nature might produce upon
him. Ho had thoroughly tested bis physical
endurance in the torrid zone, and therefore
had no fear that it won Id fail him.
The lecturer described his journey from
Southern Sweden, and bis impatienco to reach
the extreme cold of the arctic region, until he
was perfectly satisfied with a temperature or
forty degrees below zero.
On Christmas day he was quite satisuea to
find his nose and the mercury frozen together.
Dav after dav the sun described a more de
pressed arc. The fines or the sky were tnose
of the sunset and sunrise blended together.
The twilight colors of the sky defied descrip
tion, and nothing in the skies of Greece or of
Italy could be compared with them, i ne lan
tastic dancing of light in the Aurora Borealis,
impressed him far less than the unclouded
splendor of day. All the common objects of a
Lapland landscape were transmntea into mar
ble. Not a speck of green was visible. He
had looked over twenty miles of landscape
which seemed like a world carved into purest
alabaster, possessing a riebness of detail that
confused the eye. The lotus, palm, and feath
ery bamboo were nothing beside them. But
to see through the peculiar atmosphere was a
beauty, solemn and touching. Jt was -as if
God had designed it in the absence of warmth
and life. But the sublimity and terror of the
Northern winter was equal to its beauty.
Nothing could be moro drcar7. When the
cold crept over the limbs and sought the seat
of life, the white landscape looked ghastly and
forbidding. Take off your mittens, and the
air seemed to crush the hand like a vice of
iron. It was the breath of death, and you
must do energetic battle with It to save your
life. Your breath deposits ice as soon as it
loaves the mouth. The hair becomes as white
as snow, and you only can keep the eye lrom
freezing by constant winking. Your horse,
though black as ebony, becomes as white as
foam. Enter a warm apartment and you are
surrounded by a cloud ot steam. This weath
er he endured for two days, travelling on an
open sled. The wind was fortunately at his
back, or he could not have borne it. Dr. Kane
had described to him that tho effect of a tem
perature of 47 degrees below zero was to make
him and his men delirious. But be (Mr. Tay
lor) found that he and his companion endured
tho cold weather of the North about as well
as the natives themselves, although he would
not like to try it a second winter.
In Norland, one of the ancient nomes oi tne
Scandinavians, ho was struck with the splen
did animal health of the people. They were
very friendly and hospitable, but possessed
so much reserve that they might bo thought
cold. A word of affection was rarely beard in
the North. Mild and quiet as they appeared,
they were no milksops, but warm and ener
getic when aroused. They were cold only
through superior self control. They were
true and faithful always. Love was silent with
them, becanse it was eternal. Tho women,
without being beautiful, had clear and beauti
ful complexions. Ho didn't believe they knew
there was such a thing in existence as a ner
vous svstcm.
In Finland there was a difference of phy
sique and something ol tno oriental in iue
manners of the people. The Finnish language
was far more rich and melodious than the
Swedish, which had been called the Spanish
of the North. He had beard no language so
full of melody. They were a more picturesque
people. They were more passionate, imagi
native, but thero was a singular aosence oi le
gendary lore among them. They possessed
the most extravagant forms and variety of de
votional feelings. He found the Finns as
moral and honest as the Swedes. While both
sexes use the vapor bath at tho same time, and
saluto with an embrace of the right arm, they
vet regard a kiss as indelicate in the extreme.
One lady said if her husband should attempt
such a thing she would box his ears.
But the Laps were the natural and appropri
ate inhabitants of this region. Where they
came from was not known. Seen in their
snows, it did not appear that they came from
anywhere, but, in the language of Topsy,
growed there. A sick Lap in a foreign land
once said, "Give me a pillow of snow to lay
my bead on, and I shall be happy." - He could
find but littlo evidence of Mongolian blood a
mong them. It was the restless bleod of a no
madic tribe that bad retarded theircivilization
Mr. Taylor describes tho reindeer as invalu
able to the inhabitants of that region, furnish
ing bira with food, clothing, etc., but pro- j
nouncing bim to bo the most provoking ant- ,
ma! in existence. All he knew was to jump !
and run, when harnessed, and tnrn round and
stand as long as be chooses. Few travel mor
than fifteen miles an hour, and yet many make
one hundred and twenty miles in a day. Man-
aging a reindeer am ..v, ,,-...
like guiding sturgeon In a rough sea; do
what you would, you could not prevent him
from turning .round and looking at you with
niost provoking coolness; as much as to say,
'what are yon going to do about it f" It sel
dom shows any affection, and in it was fatly
exemplified the truth that the sagacity of as
animal was in proportion to its affection.
Th fruwi f ha reindeer was a white, mar
ble-like moss, dug from under tho mow by t
hoofs, and not by ita anttera, rnrnisbed it for
that purpose, as Prof.Owena had recently aald.
Describing the effect 1- traveling behind
reindeer, with the stillness of death, the lec
turer related his feeling as though be a lo
sing bis identity. Be aaid ije asked himself
"if be really waa the man who bad lectured
before literary societies and large audiences
in a land where steamboats exploded, oyatera
were opened, and woman's rights meeting!
were held. "",. ,."
The remarkable features of the northern cli
mate were minutely detailed. He spoke of a
"forest" of ash trees to which lie was direct
ed, and which be cam near walking over
without seeing them. '
Referring to some cf tho best garden patch
es which he saw, he said : In them a few co
mageous cabbages were trying hard to grow j
some fool-hardy potatoes were endeavoring to
come up ; and some forlorn looking cows were
prospecting for grass, and turning with resig
nation to tho strings of fish heals bung up to
drv for their winter food.
The glory or the midnight was magnificent
ly portrayed. The effects of perpetual sun
shine were described, and among them wa
the sensation of being wound up forever in
stead of once in twenty-four hcwirs. The sen
sation, which he experienced when first ho re
turned to uigbt, waa most grateful. He felt
that uigbt covered bim as a mother would br
child, and he slepl sweetly.
The social influences, too, of this continual
dav were noted. No scholar trimmed bis
midnight lamp; no lover sang to bis lor
"meet me by moonlight alone;" no assasaia
applied tho deadly weapon, by stealth, upon
bis unguarded victim. Morally as well a
physically there was safety in light, and dan.
ger in darkness.
The lecturer closed with reflections upon
the character of the people or the Arctic re
gion. Science and civilization would never
receive anv aid from beyond- the sixtieth par
allel of north latitude. The people bad strong
love for each other, and holy love to uoa.
These were vital to their nature. Those who
staid at home would tever know how much
good there was in the bnman race; No race
or men, as no individual, was totally bad.
Everywhere the love of the Creator la his
creature, was visible in him, as well as in the
provisions for him.
How Coffle c ame ifi bs Used. At the time
Columbus discovered America, coffee had nev
er been known r used. It only grew in Ara
bia and Upper Ethiopia. The discovery of ita
use as a driuk is ascribed to the superior of a
monastery in Arabia, who, desirous of pre
venting tho monks from sleeping at their noc
turnal services, made them drink the infusion
of coffee, upon the report of some shepherds,
who observed that their flocks were more live
ly after browsing on tho fruit of that plant.
Its reputation rapidly spread through the ad
jacent countries, and in about two hundred
rears reached Paris. A single plant, brought
there in 1614, became the parent stock of all
the coffee plantat ions in the West Indies. The
extent of consumption can now hardly be re
alized. The United States alone i annually
consume at the cost of its landing from four
teen to filtccn millions of dollars.-- You may
know the Arabia or Mocha, the best coffee, by
its small bean and dark color. The Java and
East India, the next in qnality, is a larger
bean and of a pale yellow color; The West
India Rio has a blue greenish grey tint.
The Duck Trade of Virginia his fallen off
greatly. During the winter ot 185G-57 there
were over one hundred thousand ducks killed
near to Norfolk; 99,000 ot these fell into th
bands of the hucksters and were shipped ; th
whole number, 50,000 pair, produced the sum
of $25,000. This winter the number killed
will not exceed ten thousand, 6,000 pair of
w hich, ow ing to a scarcity of canrass-backa,
and the poor carcasses of the red-beads, sprig
tails, black ducks, &c, will not- bifng over
$2,000, showing a falling off of $2S,000 in th
duck trade of 1858-69, when compared with
the cold term of winter before: Inst. These
figures are given from reliable data, and show
Conclusively that, while some few may suffer
during the rigorous cola ot a -severe winter,
still there are essential benefits to be gained.
A Sir prise Paett all Aeockd. The Wor
cester, Mass., Transcript relates that a young
lawyer ot that city, one evening last week,
called on a young lady to take her to a place
of entertainment, when she went lip stairs to
"fix" for tho occasion. Soon bearing loot-
steps on the stairs, h stepped into the dark
entry, and as the coming feet reached the last
stair he threw bis arms round ber waist and
placed bis lips in dangerous proximity to her
cheeks. A push, a slap and a scream fright
ened him into one corner of the entry, when
the advent of the old folks with a lamp en
lightened bin to the fact that he bad. bees
kissing tho "black b.rt comely" Dinah, whose
descending steps he bad mistaken for those of
his loved. He'll be-very apt to know next
time who he "surprisca'.'.ia the dark.
- .
The Richmond Enquirer bs recently devo
ted some attention to the Cuban bobble, out
of which it takes the wind completely. It de
clares the acquisition utterly impracticable i
the thirty million bill a delusion ; the idea of
making the Gulf of Mexico a mare clans,
and Cuba the gate, in tho face of the other
islands in possession of the European powers,
absurd; and the acquisition of Cuba, even if
practicable, with three quarters of a million
of free negroes, and surrounded by fro is
lands, undesirable.
The failings of good men are commonly
more published in the world than their good
deeds; and one fault of a well-deserving man
will meet with more reproaches ' than all hia
virtues praise; such is the force of ill-will
and ill-nature. . , '
Most ot the divorce cases and cnicido ac
counts which appear in our exchange papers,
are associated in some manner with tho spirit
knocking business. - The facts are so palpable
that they cannot be overlooked. . .
A married lady out west nearly broke her
neck, a few days since, while learning to
skate; since then, there has been an. extraor
dinary demand for skates by married men.
I'm gettiog fai," as the loafer said when
be was stealing "lard."
!
t.
TTT"