Raftsman's journal. (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, March 30, 1859, Image 1
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. l.i i It V, n TTT