u
-
i ii
VOL. 5.-NO. 3L
BY S. B. ROW.
CLEARFIELD, PA., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 1859.
Ft Ml M M n M M n n H
BE CABEFTXL OF YOTJIt KOITEY.
When life is full of health and glee,
Work, work, as busy as a bee !
And take this gentle hint from me
Be careful of your money !
You'll finf it true, that friends are few,
When you are short of money !
The single grain east in tho mould
May spring and give a hundred fold,
More precious than its weight in gold!
Be careful of your money !
The grain you sow to stacks may grow ;
lie careiui oi your money:
ut do not shut sweat Mercy's doors.
iVhen Sorrow pleads or Want implores:
To help to heal Misfortune's sores,
Bo careful of your money !
To help the poor who sock your doors,
Be careful of your money !
Would you escape the beggar's lot,
The death-bed of the tippling sot.
And live in sweet contentment's cot?
Be careful of your money !
And if you need a friend indeed?
Be careful of your money !
ELENNEBHASSETT'S ISLAND.
BT W. E. W ATKINS.
In these days of biographies, autobiogra
phies, and "lives and times" of departed ce
lebrities, it is somewhat dangerous to occupy
hitherto universally conceded grounds, lest
some ambitious author preceding you may
have disentombed the subject, and smoothing
his asperities, and discovering virtues which
the world had been blind enough to call vices,
he may suddenly convert the traitor into a pa
triot, and the murderer into a noble-souled
benefactor. To reach this desperate goal, old
landmarks are displaced, virtue assumes a dis
gusting wantonness, and innocent personages
suffer moral and intellectual depreciation. A
work recently issued from the press partakes
of this character. ,. In it a futile, thougti stren
uous effort is made to palliate the crimes ot
Aaron Burr, and throw around them a garb ol
virtue. Waiving all reference to tho career
of Burr in the United States Army, to bis po
litical course and contest with Thomas Jeffer
son, and his duel with Alexander Hamilton,
we shall only incidentally notice his connec
tion with Blennerhassett's Island and its oc
cupants. "Previous io his retirement from the Vico
r residency, in March, 1805, Burr had formed
the design of seeking a home in the south
west. Little more than a year before Louisi
ana bad been annexed, and then offered a wide
field to an ambitious man. Encouraged by
some acquaintances, he projected various po
litical and financial speculations. In April,
lie repaired to Pittsburg, and started on a
journey down the Ohio and Mississippi. On
the way curiosity led him to the house of Her
man Biennerhassett, and he thus accidentally
made the acquaintance of a man whose name
has become historic by its association with
his own."
Concerning the nativity of Blcrinerhassett,
histories do not agree. Some allege that he
was born in Englaud in 1707, and others that
he was an Irishman by birth ; but all agree in
saving that his parents were Irish. He was
educated for the bar, though Lis scientific at
tainments were not neglected. In subsequent
years, his experiments in chemistry, and his
ntudv of botany and astronomy, served to en
liven, and even render happy, many an Lour
that otherwise would. In bis retirement, nave
worn heavily upon him.
Some time before leaving his native coun-
1rv. Biennerhassett led to the altar his gifted
and beautiful bride, a grand-aangmer oi gen
eral Agnew, who was with Woll'o at Quebec.
In an eminent degree, she possessed many of
the qualifications of a true woman. Setting
aside her remarkable personal beauty, which,
when combined with a soul imaging forth rare
womanly virtues, is often too lightly estima
ted: with an intelligence, ana even erudition,
which are scarcely to be met with, she threw a
charm into conversatian that universally called
forth th's encomiums of the favored partici
pants. Reared in the lao of luxury, instruct
ed in all that dignifies womanhood, and in her
nature possessing a spice of romance and poe
try, she was not long in deciding to quit her
native isle for the unknown, and because un-
irv,vn ri.nrmincr. scenes of the western woria.
Judging that in the American forests he would
find the solitude most congenial to the pur
suit of his favorite studies, and also being
strongly imbued with republican principles,
Biennerhassett fled from the storms of his own
ommtrv. to find renose and quietness in ours
Tn 179S ha nurchased and began to make
improvements upon the beautirul island now
called "Blenncrhassett's," situated in the O-
hio river, near the mouth ot tne i.uwe ivn
tiawha, and about two miles below where tho
town ot ratKersourg, v irgmia, uu. oia..u
This island, as it then appeared, has been va
riously described, and in all a uniformity is
beerved in ascribing a rareness of beauty and
correctness of taste in its whole appearance
wsr has thrown around it a beauty only sur
passed by that of Eden ; and though all evi
dences of its former glory may fade from the
island, this eloquent description, as an imper
ishable monument, wiH still remain.
An English traveler named Ashe, who was
i.ur in TWlfi. thus describes the island :
"The island hove in sight to great advan
tage from the middle of the vcr, from wnicn
f view little more aneeared than the
simple decorations of nature trees, shrubs,
flnopn. of everv nerfume and kind. The next
rtriint of view on running with the current, on
the right band side, varied to a scene of en
chantment. A lawn, in the form ot a fan in
serted, presented itself, the nut forming the
center and summit oi tne lsiauu, aim mo mv.
segment the borders of the water. The Jawn
.contained one hundred acres of the best pas-t..-
inLnrrwd with flowering shrubs and
slumps of trees, in a manner that conveyed a
strong conviction of the taste and judgment
of the proprietor. The feouso ne into view
the instant I was signifying a wish that such a
lawn had a mansion. It stands on the imme
diate summit of the island, whose ascent is
very gradual; is snow white; three stories
high, and turmshed with wings wnicu unci
the adjoining trees, confine the prospect, and
intf-rceDf the sieht of barns, stables, and out-
otfices. which are so often suffered to destroy
..he effect of the noblest views of England.
Alas! that so fair a picture should have ever
been marred so brilliant a sun should nave
set forever in the murky clond of sudden
doom! As we have before intimated, in the
midst of all this happiness and peace, Aaron
Burr auneared. Defeated in his political as
pirations in tho east, he projected a magnifl-
pent expedition against aiexico, ami mo c
tabllshmcnt there of an empire, which was to
include the States west of the Alieghenies ;
subsidiary to this, and connected with it, was
a plan for the colonization of a large tract of
land upon the Washita. Introduced to tho
civilities of tho hospitable possessors of the
island by the high rank which be bad heH,
"he soon finds bis way to their hearts by the
dignity and elegance of his demeanor, the
light and beauty of his conversation, and the
suductive and fascinating power of bis ad
dress." "The conquest," continues Wirt, "was not
difficult. Innocence is ever simple and credu
lous. . . . Burr, winding himself into the o
pen and unpracticed heart of Biennerhassett,
found but little difficulty in changing the na
tive character ot that heart and the objects of
its affection. By degrees be infuses into it
the fire of his own courage; a daring and des-.
pcratqhirst for glory ; an ardor panting for
great enterprises, for all the storm,and bustle,
and hurricane of life. In a short time the
whole man is changed, anil every object of
his former life is relinquished- No more he
enjoys the tranquil scene ; it has become flat
and insipid to bis taste. His books are aban
doned. His retort and crucible are thrown
aside. His shrubbery blooms and breathes its
fragrance upon the air in vain; he likes it not.
His ear no longer drinks the rich melody of
music: it longs for the trumpet's clangor and
the cannon's roar. Even the prattle of his
babes, once so sweet, no longer affects him ;
and the angel smile of his wife, which hither
to touched his bosom with ecstacy so unspeak
able, is now unseen and untelt. Greater ob
jects have taken possession of bis son. His
imagination has been dazzled by visions of
diadems, of stars and garters, and titles ot
nobility, lie has been taught to burn, with
restless emulation, at the names of great he
roes and conquerors. Ilis enchanted island is
destined soon to relapse into a wilderness ;
and, in a few months the beautiful and tender
partner of his bosom, whom he lately 'permit
ted not the winds ot summer to visit too
roughly,' we find shivering at midnight on the
banks of the Ohio, and mingling her tears
with the torrents that froze as they fell."
So powerful was the influence of Burr, that
soon the entire west was in a state of excite
ment. Under various pretences, and for dif
ferent ends, men enlisted in this conspiracy.
A premature arrest of Burr was made at Lex
ington, Kentucky, and he was defended by
Hon. Henry Clay, having first the assurance,
on the honor of Burr, that ho was engaged in
no design against the laws and peace of his
country. Although Burr was acquitted, there
was an armed force in bis service, at that time
occupying Blennerhassett's Island, and a largo
numberof boats had been builton the Mus
kingum, and were then at Marietta, laden with
provisions and stores.
Fresident Jetlerson issnea a proclamation
denouncing tho enterprise and warning the
west against it. Ills proclamation readied
Ohio about the first of December, and soon
after, by the orders of the Governor of that
State, the boats on Ifip Muskingum were seiz
ed. At the same time the Virginia militia, of
Wood county, lying opposite Blennerhassett's
Island, took possession of the mansion of
Biennerhassett. The owner, however, suc
ceeded in effecting his escape down the Ohio
in one of his boats.
Biennerhassett was subsequently arrested,
and during the trial of Burr at Richmond be
was placed in the Virginia penitentiary, lie
was afterward set free, but was nearly ruined
in fortune by the advance he made to Burr.
When the Virginia militia took possession
of the island in 1800, the mob spirit ran riot.
and great injury was done to the grounds, and
tho dwelling and its furniture. In Isll the
work of devastation was completed by a fire,
which destroyed the mansion.
Such is the mournful history of this once
beautiful spot. Of its present appearance. Miss
Forbes, in a private letter says : "it was witn
mingled emotions of awe and pleasure that I
stood on the ground which but a few years
aso. was the theater or sucn inruiing events.
The rank weeds grow, and the young corn
moves with a rustling sound on the pot where
stood that happy home, and where the plea
sant voices of its inmates rang out upon the
perfume-laden air, little dreaming of the dark
clouds that were even then gathering in the
horison of their future. I thought ot the van
ity of human hopes, of earth's broken trust,
and the short life of all that is most prized on,
earthjtill the sunlight looked sad,and the bree
zes, seemed to say, as they swept over tha spot,
"Alas for life if this ba all
And naught beyond, O earth 1"
The fingers of time have not been idle. Noth
ing remains of all the beautiful grounds and
buildings but a few stunted friut-trees, part ot
a hedge, the ruins ol a cellar, out of which
grows a tall tree, and a largo well, eight feet
wide, the curb or mouth of which is cut from
a solid rock. The spot where the house for
merly stood is a desolato wilderness of weeds
and brush, and the remainder of the ground is
covered with orchards and fields of grain.
The surface is uneven enough to banish any
appearance of monotony. From the Ohio
shore its appearance is beantilul. It is cover
ed along the edge with beautiful groves of
willow and water-maple,which droop their long
branches over the water, forming bowers of
shadow t haunts for the spirits of the past
while far above the tall sycamo:e lifts its
white arms aloft as if to grasp the quivering
sunbeams above. I have seen it at the close
ol a summer day, when the setting sun was
filling all the air'with a halo of brightness, lie
reflected in the clear, still waters below like
an emerald set in gold, and it reminded me of
that other island of which we all know, "The
Isle of the Long Ago."
We need not follow Blcnnerhasset through
his subsequent painful vicissitudes. We draw
a veil over his sorrowful career. On the .Isle
of Guernsey in 1821,wearied with the turmoil
of life, he sank to his eternal rest. The hoarse
surges that forever beat the island's rock
bound coast, sing his mournful requiem.
A sadder biography is that of his-faithful,
heart-broken wife. Returning to this country,
she preferred claims against the United States
Government for spoliations upon their proper
ty by the militia, but before the claim could
be considered, about thirty-four years ago, in
the city of New York, she closed her eaithly
existence. .
Half an ounce of soap boiled in a pint of
water and put on with a brush while boiling
infallibly destroys the bugs and their eggs.
Scotch snuff put on the boles where crick
ets come out will destroy them.
THE VALUE OF A BIT OF KNOWLEDGE.
In the course of our miscellaneous reading,
we came across the following good story,
which illustrates the value of a bit of practical
information, when applied at the right time :
In the Piazza before St. Peter's at Home
stands the most beautiful obelisk in the world.
It was brought from the cirens of Nero where
it bad lain buried for many ages. It was one
entire piece ol Egyptian marble, 72 feet high,
12 feet square at the base, and 8 feet square at
the top, and is computed to weigh above 470
tuns, and it is supposed to be 3000 years old.
Much engineering skill was required to remove
and erect this piece of art ; and the celebrated
architect, Dominico Fontane,was selected and
engaged by Pope Sextus V. to carry out tbe
operation. A pedestal, SO feet high, was built
for its reception, and the obelisk brought to
its base. Many were the ingenious contrivan
ces prepared for the raising of it to its last
resting place, all of which excited the deepest
interest among the people. At length every
thing was in readiness, and a day appointed
for the great event. A great multitude assem
bled to witness the ceremony ; and the Pope,
afraid that the clamor of the people might dis
tract the attention of the architect, issued an
edict containing regulations tobo kept, and
imposing tha severest penalties on any-ono
who should, daring 'the lifting of the gigantic
stone, utter, a single word: Amidst suppres
sed ejtcjtement ot feelings and breathless si
lence, the splended monument was gradually
raised to within a fow inches of the top of the
pedestal, when its upward motion ceased ; it
hung suspended, and could not be got further;
the tackle was too slack, and there seemed to
be no other way than to undo tbe great work
already accomplished. The annoyed archi
tect, in his perplexity, hardly knew how to
act, while the silent people were watching ev
ery motion of his features to discover how the
problem would be solved. In tho crowd was
an old British sailor, be saw the difficulty and
how to overcome it, and with stentorian lungs
he shouted "Wet the ropes !" The vigilant
police pounced on the culprit and lodged him
in prison ; the architect caught the magic
words, he put this proposition in force, aud
the cheers of the people proclaimed the suc
cess of the great undertaking. Next day the
British criminal was solemnly arraigned before
his Holiness; bis crime was undeniably prov
ed,and the Pope in solemn language pronounc
ed his sentence to be that he should receive
a pension annually during his lifetime.
These little facts stored up from observa
tion, can never do the owner any harm, and
may someday bo of great utility; and this
story only proves the value of remembering
small things as well as great ones, for noth
ing that i useful is too insignificant for man
to know, and there is no knowledge that has
not its use.
C0KKTJPTI0N OF MA NX EES.
Under this head tho Philadelphia North Jl
merican, one of the most conservative and
substantial papers of the couutry, has the fol
lowing upon the growing corruption of man
iit rs and morals in high life in this country.
Uttered by us it might perhaps be called
abuse, but in the North Jlmtrican we trust it
will be called a correct criticism and profited
by accordingly. After speaking of the power
of the press and the demoralizing intlucnce
of corrupt literature, it says :
Women have in this country a great ad
vantaze. which is forfeited only by their own
consent. As a sort of divinities, or at least
the priestesses of social religion, they are ap
proached only wilh kindness, and honor, until
their claim to consideration is lost. It is not
accident which has given them the high posi
tion which they have hitherto possessed.
And it is not accident which, in some classes
of society, is depriving them of tho conserva
tive power which they have wielded so happi
ly. Our fathers prided themselves upon re
publican simplicity ; but the boast ol many
in this generation has been superiority to such
an antiquated notion. We have sought rather
the importation of foreign follies.
We have commended the intellectual ele
vation of our women in overcoming old fash
ioned prudishness, and in looking with as
much composure as any blase European upon
beautiful enormities, and elegant liberties of
pseudo high life.
In art aud literature a downward progress
bas been manifest. A fetling of latitude a
mounting, if not to licentiousness in lact, to
tbe enjoyment of the contemplation oHts
phases, has been increasing. In literature
ladies weep over and admire heroines, any one
or whose traits would exclude a living woman
from society, even now. Highly wrought
tales and exqnisite pictures of passion are pre
sented for their admiration. Music and tbe
drama, pen and pencil, furnish to the educated
and, by courtesy, the. refined, the same enjoy
ment which coarser tastes Dud in less elaborate
performances. We condemn, in no measured
terms, the vulgar dish, but when genius pre
sents us with something flavored with epicu
rean skill, we forget how bestial, and exclaim,
how beautiful!
With this corruption of taste, comes of ne
cessity a corruption of manners, and a dan
gerous freedom or intercourse, uecorum
lorms the outworks of virtue. When the ap
pearance of evil is disregarded, evil itself
loses its forbidding character, uur lasniona
ble life is takinir too mnch the air which bas
caused the borrowing from courts the title of
courtesan for a woman no where presentable.
And while the sovereign lady of our ancestral
land !s with woman's virtue, and woman's
tact, purging her court of the legendary at
mosphere ; we, republicans of the new world,
would seem to be reviving the looseness of
manners which marked the age when a man of
pleasure was the highest style of courtly ele-
...... -1
gance, and woman laughed and aamirea wune
she faintly said "fie !"
We do not charge that this demoralization
is universal. There are communities in wliich
the people are so far behind the age that they
still call things by their right names ; where
men do not repel the suspicion of being cor
rect in principles, lest they should be thought
mean spirited, and whero women do not dis
guise their natural disgust lor uceuuuuiiCM.
But the poison of a false estimate of genius
has permeated the social body to a much grea
ter extent than it Is pleasant to admit for our
great cities, and in our political capital the
brilliant scum floats uppermost till some hor
rid affair scatters the flashy veil which has
covered, without concealing, corruption. In
New York, especially, the unfortunate ren
dezvous of foreign adventurers, and the great
central point for the importation of foreign
airs, social developments of a strange charac
ter are painfully frequent. New York has its
sound society, its real wealth of worth without
pretense, its sober citizens who never get iuto
the newspapers. So has Washington. So
have all our cities, though the abominable
placards which disfigure tbe street corners
might lead a stranger to fancy that nine in ten
of the inhabitants break the decalogue daily,'
and especially disregard the seventh com
mandment. These nuisances in the way of periodicals
onght to be abated, says everybody. But
they are no worse than many other matters
less offensive, only because less gross ; and
more mischevions as they are defended by the
dangerous apology of genius. It is time
that the latent strength of the nation imposed
a censorship, not upon the issues of the press,
but upon manners and taste. We want not
Voltaire's sarcastic libel on his own country
men "the airs of a monkey and the heart of a
tiger," to bear even tho color of an applica
tion here. In fine, we want more true hearted
politeness and high honor, and less pretentious
snobbishness, and glided folly.
How Weeds are Produced. Prof. Buck
mau, of England, has recently made some
careful investigations as to the amount of seeds
of weeds contained in seeds sold as clean, and
we will state a few of the results obtained, as
they cannot fail, we think, to interest our
readers. The Professor found "in a pint of
clover-seed, 7,G00 weed seeds; in a pint of
cow-grass seed, 12,500; In broad clovsr, 39,
440 ; and in two pints of Dutch clover, sever
ally, 25,5G0 and 70,400 weed seeds. Suppo
sing these samples to be sown, here were seeds
enough to stock the land with weeds for many
years. The farmer often goes to the cheapest
market and gets weeds for corn, and so pays
exceedingly dear for what he considers a cheap
bargain." If this be true in relation to Eng
lish farming, how much more so must it be to
America, when it is well known much less
pains is taken in preparing grain for market,
as well as in the selection of seed and the gen
eral cultivation of the soil. In purchasing
seed grain, turnip seed, grasses, etc., farmers
often display a want of judgment and ordinary
prudence, by selecting such articles as are
cheap, or rather low priced, for that is not
really cheap which is not genuine ; and we
can conceive no greater pest in the agricultu
ral neighborhood, than "a cheap seed store,"
in the but too common acceptation of the term.
The fecundity of some weeds is truly aston
ishing. Prof. Buckraan has counted 8,000 seeds
in a single plant of black mustard, and in a
specimen of charlock, 4,000 seeds. The com
mon stinking camomile produces 40,000 ; and
the burdock, 20,000 seeds ; and tbe seed of a
single plant of the common dock produced
1,700 little docks.
A Queer World. The dissatisfaction that
pervades the human family is truly marvelous.
We met a genius yesterday ,wbo was deploring
that he hadn't been educated for a newspaper
reporter, while a day or two previous we over
heard a newspaper reporter bestowing left
handed blessings upon bis parental relative,
because he didn't bring him up upon Black
stone and Chitty. That this is a queer world
nobody can doubt, who looks closely at mat
ters and things in general. In this wcrld,
everybody except the writer of this aiticlc
wants to be somebody else. The lawyer would
like to be judge, while the judge places bis
heart on the office of governor. Mr. Scissors,
the clerk, envies Mr. Crayon the artist. The
merchant works bis body to emaciation, and
his soul into outer darkness, for the purpose
of enjoying life upon a farm. Mr. Cauliflow
er, the agriculturist, doesn't believe in ma
nure carts, and attempts to find contentment
in tho excitement of the metropolis. The
sailor supposes that being ashore is but an
other name for ease and plenty. The plough
boy takes a very different view of tho world,
and, after reading a yellow covered novel,
about the "Avenging Pirate," comes to the
conclusion that the only way to taste beatitude
in this world, is to steal a Baltimore clipper
and shoot "niggers" on the coast of Africa.
All these things forte us to the conclusion
that the human family is a queer institution.
The moment they are pleased they become
dissatisfied. North American.
A Large Fisn. Old Joe Philips was an aw
ful story teller. When a stranger came to his
tavern, if he appeared at all credulous, old
Joe would talk a long yarn to one of his village
acquaintances, but talk at the stranger. A short
time since, a stranger came into his bar room
with rod, line, and other fishing paraphernalia,
when Joe seized a friend, and startled him by
the question "Did you bear about that big
fish Col. Potter caught, to day, in the river?"
(Stranger pricked up his cars.) "No," said
friend. "Biggest sturgeon ever caught any
where," continued Joe. "You don't say,"
said friend. "Yes," said Joe, "when I came
away he hadn't caught all of him, though he
had about six feet of him ashore !" 'Gra
cious," said friend, "how much did he weigh?'
"Three hundred pounds," said Joe, with deci
sion, "and he made nine barrels of oil." "Nine
barrels ol oil," inquired tho stranger, advanc
ing, "did you say nine barrels?" "Yes,"
said Joe fiercely, "I said nine barrels, is that
anything strange sir ?" "Oh no beg par
don," said the stranger, musingly, "only I
was thinking it a little singular that you could
extract twenty-seven hundred pounds of oil from
three hundred pounds of fish!" and gathering
up his fishing utensils, left. Joe wilted the
meeting let out at once, scene shifted to tbe
bar room-Joe treating the crowd, and three
men patting him on the back. Joe hasn't told
a story since fact. Buffalo Republican.
The Virginia Democracy. We are at a loss
to know whether the Virginia Democracy en
dorse or repudiate the President. The State
convention which nominated Mr. Letcher for
Governor, adopted a resolntion pledging the
Democracy of Virginia to "rally to the sup
port of the Administration." and Mr. Letcher
endorsed the platform, yet the Richmond En
quirer says : "We have yet to see the first Vir
ginia Democrat who fails utterly to denounce
the leading measures of the President's mes
sage ;" and that paper adds that "an endorse
ment of the message by Mr. Letcher would
inevitably insure his defeat."
Wood ashes and common salt, wet with wa
ter, will stop the cracks of a stove, and pre
vent the smoke from escaping.
Oat straw is best for filling beds; should be
changed, once a year.
FOOLS AJTD THEIE USES.
We find in the Baltimore Exchange tho fol
lowing synopsis of a lecture recently delivered
before the Library Association of the Metho
dist Episcopal Church of that city, on the sub
jectof "Fools and their Uses:"
The lecturer commenced by saying that the
lsl of April or the 14th of Feb'y. would either
have been a more appropriate day for the dis
cussion of his subject, but that no day would
be wholly unseasonable, so universally preva
lent was folly. He felt no embarrassment ari
sing out of the time, but he was overwhelmed
by the vast magnitude of the theme which ran
through all ages and literature, and embraced
the whole human family from the days of Ad
am. The subject ot the lecture embraced ev
erybody. The general predominance of the
fools was shown by the frequency with which
allusions to them were made in the Bible.
The word in its various combinations occurred
5C8 times in the plays of Shakespeare. The
old French epigram was, indeed, true
The world of fools has such a store,
That he who would not see an ass.
Must bide at home, and bolt his door,
And break his looking glass.
There did not seem to be any inequality- in
the sexes in point of the extent and degree in
which they seem to bo fools. Though the
first great folly was committed by a woman,
yet in the parable of the ten virgins, at least
five of them, we are told, were not fools. The
lecturer here defended the gentl.-r sex against
the imputations of intellectual inferiority, and
declared that it was hers always to inspire, if
not always to act, and though she had neither
written the Novum Organum, nor painted the
Transfiguration, she had performed a noble of
fice in elevating and purifying tbe vision and
heart of man.
It was worthy of remark, that nations as
well as individuals were fools. If a gallery of
paintings existed which represented the fool
ish incidents in the history of nations, irwould
far surpass in extent those which contain the
history of their glories. The tower of Babel
was not the only magnificent folly of the past,
although that work was the cause ol the con
fusion of tongues and afforded mankind, in
stead of one, many tongues, in which to use
the word fool. The Cresars in their magnifi
cence and glory had their Babel of universal
dominion,- and thcx great work of Gibbon's
was nothing but the story of their folly.
Tho condition of Spain once as compared
with her condition now, presents a strikitig ev
idence of the folly of a nation. Her grandeur
ind greatness have departed owing t the fol
lies of which she was guilty. England, too,
was of those nations which had not been ex
empt from the general rule. Passing by tbe
great South Sea bubble, and the license of the
restoration, the course which she pursued to
wards the thirteen colonics, and by which she
lost the brightest'and most valuable jewel in
her crown, was a standing evidence of her fol
ly. I ranee, however, was pre-eminent in the
list of-nations for the wildest and most reck
less exhibition of the fool. Her history is a
history of follies. China was tbe oldest and
most constant fool of nations. Flattering her
self that she is the wisest and most enlight
ened and purest of all people she still re
mains in profound ignorance and foolish iso
lation. Our own history is not without evi
dence of folly. The story of Dickens, and at
a later day that of Jenny Lind, tell too truly
of the folly of our people. True, our country
had never been guilty of any ruinous act of
folly, and it was to be hoped that the greatest
which could take place, that of a dissolution
of the Union, never will occur.
Not only nations, but large divisions of time,
were classed among fools. Cat lyle had styled
the 18th century a great fool; and as be dif
fered with that gentleman, and intended to
notice bis remarks on the lth century, he
would read them. The lecturer here read a
portion of an article by Car lyle, in which the
latter sneers at the 18th century as one given
up to folly, and which had not been distin
guished by any great or grand actions. The
lecturer said that Carlyle had entirely over
looked the services of the philanthropist How
ard, when he said there was nothing grand in
that century ; and then asked if there was
nothing grand in the labors and struggles of
the Wesleys, and ol Whitfield, surrounded as
they were by trials, and subject to persecutions
from which they came forth as refined gold ?
Or was there nothing grand in the successful
efforts of. thirteen colonies to throw off the
shackles of tyranny J . Was there nothing
grand in the character of Washington, whose
fame will live when that of other men, who
were distinguished in the centuries in which
they lived, will be forgotten as a folly, or re
membered as worse J Carlyle, he said, bad ig
nored all these; and in styling the 18th centu
ry a fool, had committed a folly himself.
The lecturer then said, that but few great
men bad ever lived who had not at some pe
riod of their lives, and frequently when at the
very height of their greatness, been guilty of
this weekness. Napoleon had sacrificed the
holiest and purest affection at the shrine of
ambition, and Bacon and Angelo had given ex
hibitions of folly, which almost challenged
parallel. The lecturer said that it was an old
proverb, "He is a wise man who speaks little."
Lecturers who talked by the hour, would stand
an excellent chance of being classed among
the unwise, if judged by the rule of the pro
verb. Men, however, could not be judged
safely by this rule. The power of speech is
one of the principal differences between man
and beast, and while the exercise of the facul
ty was proper when used to convey wisdom, it
too frequently occurred that where there was
the roost talk there was the least sense. It
was no evidence to find a man silent. The
lecturer related an incident told by Coleridge,
who bad noticed in a stage coach : a man who
had little to say, but whose appearance was
that of a deep thinker. They stopped at a ho
tel to dine, and the stranger remained silent
until the apple dumplings were brought upon
the table, when he exclaimed with a livid
grin, "Them's the jockies for roe." Some
excellent talkers were fools in some respects,
and the lecturer illustrated this remark by re
ferring to Goldsmith. Follies are endemic
and epidemic, but who the chronic crew were
it was most difficult to tell. They were found
everywhere, and under all circumstances, in
every class of society. They were of no day
or age, but now, always here.
The Vcs of fools were many. The genuine
fool was certain to take the popular side of a
question, and some eminent man bad recom
mended that men engatred in a government
should always have a loot near them, so that
they might judge tbe public pulse on qnestions
oi policy. Tbe fool was a benefit in affording
amusement ; they aro the merry Andrews o
society, and furnish tbe material of many ad
hour of entertainment. There conld be ntf
Punch, if there were no fools. Many great c
vents have taken place, which were not bro't
about by design, but which followed the action
of fools, and thus humanity baa been benefit
ted, and the causes of civilisation and liberty
advanced. But their greatest use was to act
as teachers and warn us to beware of folly.
r.pn P.nrnivii. Father MoodV Was aQ
A Vl.iir.v M. -
eccentric man. He bad in his congregation a
Colonel Ingraham, a wealthy farmer, who bad
kept back his large stock of corn from tbe
market in hopes of raising the price. Tha
pastor heard of it and resolved to make a pub
lic attack upon the transgressor. One Sabbath'
..... ...a . I . -.1.1 l.J-.K . 111.
no read n is text, "lie tnaj, huuviuu
rnrn ffi nnnl shall curse him: but bleSS-
ings shall be upon tbe bead of bim that selletb
It." l'rov. xv. Ho. UOl. ingranam couiu uui
but know to whom reference was made, but
he held op his head and faced his pastor with
a look of stolid unconsciousness. Father
Vrtfwli. vont on with verv stronir remarks, be
came still warmer, and touched the Colonel
.... . . .!! 1 1 .J
still more closely, wno, nowever, sun neio up
hi. hnnrl unnarontlv dptprmind not to feel."
.rt.-. .-j
At last tbe preacher lost all patience, and
cried OUl: "OOlonei lugrauaui, juu
that I mean vou ! why don't yon bang down
your head ?"
Axisai Life. The following is a scale of
tho average duration of animal life from the
most celebrated writers on natural history:
A bare will live ten years, a cat ten, a goat
eight, an ass thirty, a sheep ten, a dog from
fourteen to twenty, an ox twenty, swine twenty-five,
a pigeon eight, a turtle dove twenty
five, a raven one hundred, a partridge twenty
five, an eagle one hundred, a goose one hun-"
dred and fifty.
Tbe Davenport Gazette calls attention to the
coincidence that seventy-six members of the
House voted against the homestead bill. What
is still more remarkable, the seventy-six per
sons in favor of raising the rates of postsg
were almost identically the very seventy-six
men who voted against the homestead bill ;
and of these seventy-six, all were Administra
tion men.
The' affections of some men are like wells,
stony on the outside, narrow, yet deep within,
not flowing forth like a river to seek thirsty
souls far and near, and gladden God's earth,
nor gushing and around like a fountain in
the sun, for all who seek them, but useful,
notwithstanding, and very precious cadi' to
some individual or household.
It is stated that when Mr. Stephens; of
Georgia, was asked why be retired from Con
gress and public life, be said frankly that "ho
was on the train, (the Democratic,) and as a
smash up was certain, be would get off at the
first station." What will be the fate of poor
J. B., who is on the engine and cant get off?
Some lucky chap says, if there is a heaven
on earth, it is on a soft conch by your own
fire-side, with your wife on one sido and a
smiling baby on the other, a clear conscience,
plenty to cat, and a knowledge that yon aro
out of debt and don't fear tho printer, tailor,
sheriff, or the devil.
Fanny Fern, writing ol Every-day Things,
says: "Talk about the 'curiosity of women!'
Show but a strip of white stocking above your
boot, or a bit ot an embroidered skirt, or a
Balmoral, and yon may lead a New Yorker by
the nose all over Manhattan, although all Wall
street stand waiting for him.
Which is ocr Wat? What guide must wtf
choose, to arrive at felicity 1 Imagination
leads us astray ; Desire runs too fast ; Keasoa
creeps too slow, and Pleasure flies too qnickly.
Virtue can alone hold tbe torch to light our
steps to happiness.
Large Family. A Gorman naturalist has
described GOO species of flies, which he bas
collected witbin a district of ten miles in ex
tent. Thirty thousand different kinds of . in
sects which prey upon wheat havo - been col
lected. Potatoes should never be used for seed i a
the soil in which they grow. The same seed
continued in the same soil, would deteriorate
Farmers will always do better to dispose of
their whole crop, and buy new seed each year.
Suits are about to bo commenced by fbet
Cherokecs who were driven from Texas many
years ago for the lands granted to them by
Mexico. These lands compose the richest
and the most fertile portion of Eastern Texas.
There is no fortune so good but that it may
be reversed, and none so bad but it may be
bettered. Tbe sun that rises in clouds may
set in splendor, and that which rises in splen
dor may set in gloom.
An Ark is now being built by a roan out
West in anticipation of tbe next flooj of
tears, shed by bis wife when be refuses to take
her to the opera. He thinks he can' weather
be storm.
Mrs. Jones complained in the" evening that
the turkey she bad eaten for dinner' did not
set well! "Probably," said Jones, "it was
not a hen turkey !" He got a glax of water
in bis face.
Nothing remains so long in the memory as
wrong deeds. They are nettles which cannot
be ploughed out ot sight, but will spring up
with fresh stings at every disturbance.
An Indiana pork operator lately lost $15,
000 in a Cincinnati faro bank. He desired to
go the whole hog, probably, and got "stack,"
Mynheer Drinkebbff makes a distinction"
thus: "Too much whiskey is too much, but
too much lager bier is shoost enough."
Roast beef, serenity of mind, a pretty wife,
and cold water baths, will make most any man
"healthy, wealthy and wise." - . ,
The Chattanoga, Tenn., Gazette says th
peach trees are in blossom in that region. '
Green should be the prevailing color of bed
hangings and window drapery. - t -
A bit of soap rubbed on tbe hinges of a door v
will prevent their creaking.
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