fillip
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BY S. J. ROW.
CLEARFIELD, PA., "WEDNESDAY," APRIL 10, 1861.
YOL. 7.-KO. 32.
- AN INDEPENDENT FARMER.
Let sailors sing of the windy deep,
Let soldiers praise the armor.
But in my heirt this toast I'll keep,
The Independent Farmer;
"When first the rose, in robe of green,
Unfolds its crimson lining,
And 'round bisc-ottago porch is seen
The honeysuckle twining.
When banks of bloom their sweotness yield
To bees that gather honey,
J Ie drives his team across tho fiold,
Where skies areoft and balmy.
Tho black-bird clucks behind his plow,
The quail pipes loud and cleaily,
Yon orchard hides behind its bough
The home he loves so dearly ;
The grey old barn whose doors unfold
His ample-store in measure,
Wore rich than heaps of hoarded gold,
A precious, blessed treasure ;
But yonder in the porch there staada
His wife, the lovely charmer.
The sweetest rose on all the lands
The Independent Farmer.
To bim the Spring conies dancingly,
To him the Summer blushes,
The Autumn smiles with mellow ray,
He sleeps Old Winter bushes ;
Jli cares not how the world may move,
No doubts nor fears confound him ;
His little flock are liked in love,
And household angels round him ;
lie trusts in God. he loves his wife,
Nor grief, nor ill may harm her
lie's nature's nobleman in life
The Independent Farmer.
A STOEY FOE THE LITTLE FOLKS.
THE WONDERFUL INKSTAXD.
"This was a long and difficult piece of work.
said Edward Muller tho copyist as he folded
up nearly thirty full sheets of manuscript. "It
lias takeu me many hours,-and I have written
as neatly as I could; so I hope the Govern
ment Sectctary will pay me well for it.
ought to have at least four dollars for my la
bor. But he lives near our house and I will
ioon find out my remuneration."
"Oh," replied Gertrude, his wife, "I dohope
ne win pay you oeiierman lie uas been doing.
You know it is very hard for us to get along,
though it must b- confessed we have no chil
dren to support."
"Take courage, my dear wife, we have nev
ci hh5m;u a single meat, arm you ana i are
well provided with clothing for the winter
The wages I shall get for this piece of copying
will no doubt be enougli to buy a cord of wood
and a half gallon of lamp oil. And we don't
owe a penny to any person. Really we have
no reason to complain : many people are much
worse off than we are."
So saying Edward made ready to call with
his manuscript at the house of the Secretary.
Ashe took lowr. his hat, he saw the thumb
worn volume of his favorite rfuthor, Thomas a
Kenipis; and opening it at one of. the best
chapters, he placed it upon his wife's lap that
fche might rtad it in his abseuce. These were
the first words her eyes fell upon : "There are
many people who are impatient; vexed if mat
ters do not occur according to their wish. It
is not always in our power to make our way
smooth; it is God's to give when he will, to
whom he will, and as much as he will aud uo
more."
Gertrude was much encouraged, and a new
light seemed to have sprung up in her soul.
She could read no more : it was enough to
think about that day, that tee human beings
have no right to meddle, with God's business.
Edward had not gone two blacks before he
met a messenger with a large letter addressed
to him. The charge on it was a dollar, and
he paid it, though he had but twenty-seven
cents left. Important news was there for that
poor man's benefit. His rich uncle who lived
in Prague was dead. He had stinted himself
to a?iass wealth, and had no nearer relatire
than Edward .Muller, and leaving no will, the
copyist fell heir to all his estate. He was no-
tinea to come to Prague within a week and
lake possession of the inheritance.
"A rich man ! A rich man ! these are very
eirange words tor me to utter of myself. But
what shall I do with this writing that I have
been commissioned to do ? 1 will go and take
it to Secretary Shutz, as he appointed the
time for me to call. I would prefer to iro
jiuuic urji anu leu uertrude about our unex
pected lortune ; but then i would be later with
my business than I promised. Duty first aud
lileasnre aftenvards."
When he reached the Secretaiy's house a
uisiressing scene presented itself. There lay
the Secretary dead and cold and his little girl
was playing on the floor. The weeping wid
ow was almost bewildered with grief, and the
city magistrates were there to take possession
of what property was left, in view of the ten
thousand dollars which they suid the deceased
secretary had defrauded lrom the government.
In vain did the disconsolate Madame Shutz
declare her husband's innocence ; in vain did
ucF'ai mem 10 mat child which must not
oniy be impoverished but disgraced, bv such
alienious charge. Edward saw her distress
and extremity, and he thanked God he could
assist her. So he gave his bond on the spot
for the entire sum, and the officers departed.
He was to pay the deficit just thirty days hence.
''Jlay God bless you ! may God bless you !"
exclaimed the widow when she witnessed his
noble generosity. "The time will come when
dear husband's innocence will be proven
"id the money shall be returned:"
Both the officers and Madame Shutz were
astounded that poor Edward Muller could give
Ms bond for the smallest sum of mouey. Ev
erybody knew how indigent he was and that
jie could barely do enough copying to support
is wife. Still nothing was said, but he had
ground for his beneficence. It was the hap
piest day of his life when he found it in his
power to do a good act toward a suffering fel-ow-Deing.
May all who read this narrative
"e as kind a h..i i. !,...! i
i it i i u
fort f the he fe,t ln filing his good
K,"1I!e Gertrude when he returned to his
han T e 1 That can b6 imagined, per
Wh my pen has 110 Power t0 describe it.
fJrt t,le pleasure quieted down a little, and
din r herself had thanked God for provi
tin , vlhem 80 bountifully, the great ques
' t0 be settled was, "How should Edward
hithnfy toPay hs expenses to Prange,
r e n,Qst 6 to take possession of his
great wealth ?"
toll! I'rw that was a hard word for them
lars m 11 mast bo done es thirty do1"
forth &tbe borroweJ. .It was easily raised,
ttodm re Was Dot a man ia the whole city who
uia not trust Edward Moller for anv amount
uinnoa 1 .. ... - . i
himself'
--vj.. ai lne entl of three dava he founds
"i-uie Mlut Star Hotel at Prague,
Having rested and taken some refreshments,
he commenced the search of his uncle's dwel
ling, several hours passed by before he could
fiud it. At last he found it in a very dirty
and obscure alley. The door was ajar and no
body in the house. Truly it did not look like
a rich mau's house, but I have intimated that
its owner was a miser and that explains all.
Every article of tho homely, broken furniture
was covered with thick dirt. I do not think
the floor had been swept for a year. Loose
papers and old rags were scattered about eve
rywhere. But not a sign of money could be
found save a few coppers in an old vest. Ev
ery coiner was searched and nothing was vis
ible that was worth taking away.' Four days
did Edward continue the search, and finally he
had to give up his task without success. The
last day he was there a neighbor called in aud
told bim that bis uncle sold all his houses and
lands the previous year, and having put the
money lor them in a large chest, he set out
for Egypt; he only returned the other day
ana tne fever was on him of which he died
no Drought nothing back with him except
tnese out rags and papers you see scattered
about. I hat was melancholy news for Ed
ward, but it was vain lor him to remain longer
No one can tell how heavy his heart was when
he went home again and had to tell Gertrude
that all their hopes were blighted.
"And did you bring nothing lrom your un
cle's house 7" she asked m a tone of sadness
".Nothing save this inkstand, though it is
hardly worth its weight in oak leaves.
thought I would bring it home as a memento of
our rich relative. It is of very thick glass
and is hard ebony wood. Gertrude, isn't this
widow bhutz's daughter?"
"Ah, yes, Edward. Her poor mother died
ot a broken heart while you were at Prague,
and no one would take her child, owing
her father's defrauding the government. So
I went and brought her here. I think we cau
manage to support her."
"A noble act, Gertrude; it repays me for
my disappointment. We have stern duties to
meet. The ten thousand dollar bond I can
never pay ; the thirty dollars 1 borrowed can
not be returned immediately. What we shall
do our Heavenly Father only knows. May
he help us to bear whatever fate awaits us
r i i ......
jMiwara ana ins wne curtailed their expen
ses to their real necessities. They resolved
to drink no more tea or coffee, and only eat
meat twice a week. They both worked night
and day to supply their wants. But the time
was at hand when the bond must be paid.
Where w ill the money come from ? That was
a question of hourly conversation and medi
tation. They could think of but little else,
and dreamed about it every night. Still they
believed God would deliver them and preserve
their littlo home to them. Finally the dread
ful day came and three officers presented them
selves at tho poor man's cottage. Edward in
vited them in and told them all that happened,
lie implored their mercy another month, an
other week ; but all to no avail. They said it
was not in their power to show any leniency,
they were servants of the law and had to obev
its commands. So they commenced to pack
up fhe various articles of furniture preparatory
to taking them to the auction room.
Gretchea, tiie little adopted girl, became
frightened at the officers, and in running by
the table knocked otf the inkstand that Ed
ward had brought from Prague. The ink flew
all over her clothes and the inkstand was bro
ken by its fail. The sun was shining brightly
through the window, and amid the fragments
there shone the most beautiful object that any
one there had ever seen. It was a magnifi
cent diamond! , It told its own story. Tho
wealth lLat Edward Muller's rich uncle had
taken away was exchanged by him for that
diamond, and he had concealed it in the ink
stand between the glass and the wood. Its
possessor was now the richest man in the
kingdom. The chief officer interrupted the
egal proceedings and beckoned to his com
panions that it was time for them to leave.
The family were alone.
lhenrst thing done in that household was
the singing of Martin Luther's grand hymn,
"A sure fortress in our God." They each
kneeled in prayer, and littlo Gretchen al
ways lovelier because she was the instrument
of deliverance folde1 her hands as directed
and tried to speak her prayer. But she could
not, and the falling tears catching in her
brown curls looked like dew-drops on tho flow
ers of Spring. Sho ras in reference to the
things of this life, what many a little child
can be in regard to the more important mai
mers of eternity, The lngel of Salvation.
A Terrible Romance. In the year 17CG,
a young girl of very prepossessing appearance
from one of the interior provinces of France,
was placed at Paris in the service of a man
depraved by all the vices of that corrupt me
tropolis. Smitten with her charms, he at
tempted her ruin, but ivaa unsuccessful. In
censed at his defeat, he determined on re
venge, and, in furtherance of his design, se
cretly placed in her trunk articles belonging
to him, and marked with his name. He then
denounced her to a magistrate, who cansed
her to be arrested, and tho missing articles
being found in her possession, she was brought
to trial. In her defence she could only assert
her ignorance of the manner in which the
property came into her trunk, and protested
her innocence. She was found guilty, and
the sentence of death was pronounced upon
her. The hangman's office was inefficiently
performed, it being the first attempt of the
executioner's son. The body was delivered
into the hands of a surgeon, by whom it had
been purchased, lie immediately conveyed
it home, and was proceeding to dissect it,
when he perceived a slight warmth about the
heart. By the prompt use of proper remedies
he restored the suspended animation. In the
mean time ho had aeut for a trustworthy priest,
and when the unfortunate girl opened her
eyes she supposed herself in another world,
and addressing the 'priest (who was a man of
marked and majestic countenance,) exclaim
ed : "Eternal Father, you know my innocence;
have pity on me !" ln her simplicity believ
ing she beheld her Jlalier, she continued to
sue for mercy, and it was some time before
she realized she was still in the land of the liv
ing. The surgeon and priest, being fully con
vinced of her innocence, she retired to a vil
lage far distaul fioia the scene of her unjut
punishment. The community subsequently
became acquainted with Ler story, and tile au
thor of her misery became an object of re
proach and contempt, though it doos not ap
pear that any attempt was raado to bring bim
to justice.
SUGAR IN LOUISIANNA :
The introduction of the sugar culture into
Louisianna affords another illustration of tho
successful migration of the world's great sta
ples from one locality to another. Two ves
sels on their way to that colony with troops,
stopped at Uispaniola in 1751. The Jesuits of
that island obtained premission to put on
board of these ships, and to send to the Jesu
its of Louisiana, some sugar canes, and some
negroes familiar with the cultivation of the
plant. The canes were planted on ground
which is now a densely populated portion of
.New-Orleans, where they grew and flourished
for many j'ears, but no effort was made to ex
tend the cultivation, or to produce sugar in a
large way. Tho canes were retailed in the
markets as an article of luxury. Here the'
attracted the notice of Dubreuil, one of the
wealthiest planters in the colony, who culti
vated them to some extent, built a mill for
grinding them, and attempted to make sugar,
but failed entirely. This failure confirmed
the general impression tiiat sugar could not
be produced in Louisianna, and no further ef
fort was made on a large scale, until 1794,
when the wide-spread destitution of the colony
drove the people to the introduction of some
new agricultural staple. Up to this period,
the result of agriculture among the colonists
bad been very insignigcant, notwithstanding
the extraordinary fertility of the soil. Rice
and corn were raised in quantity sufficient for
home consumption, but none for export ; and
the supplies of produce of other kinds which
decended the Mississippi constituted tho great
dependance for food. Indigo, then a staple
production of all Southern America, had been
suddenly attacked by an insect which devour
ed the leaves with incredible rapidity, and
left nothing standing but tho naked stem of
the plant. In 17'J3 and '91 the ravages of this
insect were so general and complete, that the
whole province was thrown into a state of con
sternation and despair, uotton was then un
known as a commercial stnple, as the gin had
not been invented. It was evident that some
new article of production must bo discovered,
The sugar-cane had been extensively cultiva
ted near New-Orleans only on a single planta
tion, where, also, every attempt to produce
sugar had failed. In this emergency, Etienne
de Bore undertook anew the hazardous enter
prise. I hough pt moderate means, and past
middle life, ancf though warned by wife and
friends of the dsnger ot becoming impoverish
ed, the strong resolve of his energetic mind
could not be shaken. He planted canes, built
mills, and in 1795 his first extensive trial of
the sugar culture reached a demonstration.
His neighbors, both far and near, had visited
him and watched his progress and preparations
with the keenest interest. Every discourage
ment had been set afloat, because all doubted
his success. When the grinding of the cane
was to begin, the inhabitants gathered around
the sugar-house in crowds, to be present at the
failure or success of the experiment. They
waited with impatience for the moment when
the man who watched the coction of the juice
should determine whether it was ready to
granulate. When that moment arrived, the
excited spectators hold their breath, apparent
ly conscious that it was a question of ruin or
prosperity for them all. The sugar-maker
suddenly announced that granulation had ta
ken place, when each one of the impatient by
standers pressed in to witness for himself the
long doubted but anxiously desired fact. The
most perfect granulation had taken place, and
the great problem had been successfully solv
ed. Bore was overwhelmed with congratula
tions, and the sugar culture of Louisiana es
tablished as a staple which immediately revo-
tioniztd her pecuniary condition. This hist
crop ot sugar liore sold lor !t.lz,uuu, a large
sum in those days. Such is the narrative giv
en by Gayarre, a decendant of Bore. Other
accounts allege that sugar had been previously
produced in considerable quantity. But it is
certain that only eight years after Bore's great
experiment no less than eighty-one sugar e
states were in operation on the delta alone,
and tuut the export from New-Or!eaus had
grown in 1834 to 100,000 hogsheads,"' worth
$0,000,000, all of which, as the tables inform
us, went to ports within the Union. It would
thus seem that to Bore is duo the honor of
showing that the ereat West India staple
could be profitably domesticated in Louisiana.
Our acquisition of that region undoubtedly
gave enormous and rapid expansion to the
business. In 1858 and '59, Louisiana receiv
ed $29,000,000 tor her sugar crop. The fact
of this great staple being thus permantly do
mesticated among us affords additional evi
dence that human energies will ultimately
triumph when directed to provide for human
wants that no region can maintain the world
in bondage to it lor its production and that
the cultivation even of cotton will in a lew
years become so diffused over free-labor
countries that those who now produce it by
expensive slave labor must in the great con
test be driven to the wall.
Had Hist There. Judge C , a member of
one of our best families, and himself occupy
ing a high position at the bar, as well as soci
ally, was going up the river last fall on a slow
steamboat; and of course entered into all tho
familiar compauionship common to travellers
thrown together for a week with nothing to do.
There was one man aboard who, learning the
Judge's nam ; announced tiiat it was the same
as his own. and instantly claimed kin with him.
The Judge thought differently ; but with per
fect good nature answered the innumerable
genealogical inquiries propounded to him,
while at each reply the bore would exclaim,
"Why, sir, we're kin as sure as I'm alive !"
At length the fellow bacame unendurable
with his pertinacity and questioning ; and lo
sing all patience, at last Judge C turned up
on his tormento with the abrupt remark : -
"Well, perhaps we are relations. Aro you
a white man ?" ;
"White man!" shouted tho bore, leaping
from his chair ;' , I'd like to see the man who
would say I wasn't!"
"Ah !" continued the Judge, very quietly,
"well, my father was a mulatto !" '
You may rest assured that Judge C was
tormented no more on that trip, nor even re
cognized by the man who was so lately claim
ing relationship with him, while the other
passengers enjoyed the joke immensely. ;
The congregation of a church in Youngstown
were recently edified by a discourse against
the sinking ot oil wells, on the ground that
God intended these oil deposits for some great
general conflagration, which was being inter
fered with by the well borers." ; i-.U i
AN INCIDENT IN THE REVOLUTION
A surgeon in the American army relates
this story : A simple girl was instrumental in
saving the life of Washington. I can speak of
n now, as it can do no harm. It was about the
middle of June, 177S, and while the General
was at New 1 ork, waiting the approach of the
British troops, that the girl came to Francis,
ner present husband, whome she considered in
the light of a royalist, and informed him as a
secret she had overheard, that there was a
plan in operation among the government men
to destroy the rebel leader as she termed the
commander-in-chief by poison, which was to
bo. plentifully mingled with grean peas, a fa
vorite vegetable of his, on the following day,
ai j&icnmona Jim, tne headquarters, where he
was to dine1. Francis went immediately to
Washington, aud acquainted him with the
danger that threatened him. The General,
Laving listened with careful attention, said :
; "My friend, I thank you ; your fidelity has
saved my life to what reserve the Almighty
only knows. But, now, for your own safety.
I charge you to return to your house, and let
not a word of what you have related to me pass
J'our lips; it would Involve you in certain ru
in ; aud Heaven forbid that your life should
be forfeited or endangered by your faith to me.
I w ill take the necessary steps to prevent, and
at the same time discover the instrument of
this wicked device."
The next day, about two hours before din
ner, he sent for his guard, told him of the plot,
and requested that he would disguise himself
as a female, and go to the kitchen there to
keep a strict watch on the peas until they
should be served for the table. The young
man carfully observed the directions he had
received, and had not long been upon his post
before the unfortunate T. II., another of the
General's guards, came to his door, looked
anxiously In and then went away. In a few
minutes after he returned, and approached the
hearth where tho peas stood, and was about to
mingle the deadly substance, when he sudden
ly shrunk back as though lrom the sting of the
forked tongued adder, his color changing to
the pale hue of death, and his lirnbs quivering
apparently with fear, evidently horror-strick
en with his own purpose but soon, however,
the operation of the more powerful Incitement
urged forward his hand, that tremblingly
strewed the odious bane, and be left the kitch
en overwhelmed with conflicting passions, re
morse, and confusion.
"Harold sleeps no more the cry hath reach
ed his heart ere the deed be accomplished,"
said the youth on duty, in a voice not devoid
of pity, as he looked after the wretch.
"What ! T. II. ?" said the General, sorrow
fully, upon receiving the information, "Can it
As possiblet-so young, so fair, so gentle, lie
would have been the last upon whom a suspi
cion of that nature could have fallen by right
of countenance. You have done well," said
he to the youth before him. Go join your com
rades, and be secret,"
The young man went accordingly, and Wash
ington letuined to the piazza, where several
general officers were assembled, among whom
was the heio of Saratoga, who was waiting for
further instructions from Congress before he
departed for Canada. In a few minutes dinner
was announced, and the party was ushered in
to a handsome room, where a sumptuous board
was spread, covered with all the delicacies of
the season. Washington took his scat, and
placed General Wooster on his left. When
the remainder of the officers and company
were seated and eager to commence the duties
of the table the General said very impressively :
"Gentlemen, I must request you to suspend
your meal a moment. Let theguard attend to
me."
All was silence and amazement. The guard
entered and formed a little toward the upper
end ot the apartment. Washington, having
put upon his plate a spoonful of peas, fixed
nis eye on I . II.
"Shall I eat this vegetable " he asked.
The youth turned pale, and became dread
fully agitated, while he faintly uttered :
"I don't know !"
Here II. raised his hand, as if by an involnn
tary impulse, to prevent their being tast-ed
A chicken was then brought in, that a conclu
sive experiment might be made in the presence
of all those witnesses. The chicken eat of the
peasand immediately died, and the wretched
T. H.4 overcome with horror and remorse, fell
lamting, and was borue from the apartment.
I he IIeabt. Let any one, w hile sitting
down, place the left leg over the knee of the
right one. and permit it to hang freely, aban
doning all muscular power over it. Speedily
it may be observed to sway forward and back
through a limited space at regular intervals.
Counting the number of those motions for any
given time, they will bo found to agree exactly
wiin tne Dealings ot tne pulse. Jvery one
knows, that at a fire, when the water from the
engine is forced .through bent hose, the ten
dency is to straighten the hose;-nd if the
bend be a .sharp.' one, considerable force is
necessary to overcome the tendency. Just so
it is in the case of the human body. Tho ar
teries are but a system of hose through which
the blood is forced by the heart. When the
leg is bent, all the arteries within it are bent,
too, and every time the heart contracts, the
blood rushing through the arteries tends to
straighten them ; and it is the effort which
produces the motion of the leg alluded to.
u unout sncn occular demonstration, it is
difficult to conceive the power exerted by that
exquisite mechanism, the normal pulsations
of which are never percei ved by him whose
very fife they are.
i oor J'ellow! it is not an . uncommon
thing to hear city-bred exquisites say they
do not , like the country. They ; cac endure
Nature for a week or so ; but after that she is
a bore. They find rural life so fearfully dull
no theatre, no restaurants, .no politics, no
small talk, nobody to admire the well-cultiva
ted moustache and latest novelty in tailpring,
no hotel porticos to review the pretty girls
from, no fashionable churches and sensation
preachers, no soul to make a little private bet
with, no cards, no billards, no clubs, no chan
ces for a "lark," no coquettes framed in win
dows over the way to make dumb love to, no
anything, In short, but woods and fields and
waters, and other natural trumpery. Now
don't sneer at these people. They are really
very much to be pitied. Just as much so as
if they lacked the usual complement of limbs
or senses. Indeed, they are more to be com
miserated than if thus physically afBicted, for
it is better to go about the world with a crip
pled" body than a half-paralyzed aouL'. '
WAKING UP FB0M WINTER SLEEP.
Hybernation, or winter sleep, is a condition
beautifully devised by the Creator to idemni
fy certain animals for the loss of their neces
sary food during tho winter time. Nutrition
being arrested, all the other vital functions
are either suspended, or are carried on at low
steam preasure, so to speak. This is tho case
with respiration and the accompanying evolu
tion of animal heat. Animals may be likened
to furnaces in more than a figurative sense.
Food furnishes fuel, and the breath supplies
oxygen for the support of combustion. Du
ring ordinary sleep, the combustivc function is
notably lowered. The human system is so
delicately organized, that it cannot sink into
the deep torpor of cold, and be afterwards re
vived ; but the long w inter sleep of some ani
mals is no more extraordinary to them thau
the few hours' nightly rest to each of us.
Let us take some examples. The bat lives
upon insects and nothing else. Where were
the insects in winter? Either dead or torpid
nyoernatiug too hidden away in minut
holes and corners, whither the bat could not
follow them even if he were about and stiring
so what more sensible thing could the bat d
than go to sleep also, and remain sleeping un
in springtime comes again, inetrog is an
iuFect-feeder too, which he, no more than the
bat can obtain in winter; so the frog goes to
sleep. In the north of France and Germany
there are pretty little frogs of green color
and which live on trees. Many attempts have
been made to naturalize these pretty things in
England, but without much success. The
very mildness of insular winter kills them
The degrees of cold we experiunce is usually
not enougn to send mem into deep winte
sleep. The economy of their furnace combus
tion is not brought down sufficiently low to do
without food entirely; and, on the other hand
food they cannot obtain. So the result is that
the pretty tree-frogs die. As frogs eat in
sects, so m their turn do snakes eat frogs
and the latter not being complaisant enough
to hop about in winter-trmc, what more sensi
ble thing could a snake do than go to sleep
too i tor a similar reason the spiny hedge
hog sleeps soundly too ; as people who have
found him in his w inter-quarters can testify.
One of the most curious of foreign hyberna
tors is the little .North American animal call
ed the "prairie dog." Prairie dogs congegate
in immense heard ; and whilst summer-time
lasts, they are active enough. As winter ap
proaches, however, and before cold weather
actually sets in, the prairie dogs build them
selves housts, and getting under shelter o
the same, fasten up the doors securely, aud
take their long winter-nap. In late winter, or
very early spring, whilst suow is yet on the
ground, and the prairie land is tormented by
icy, howling winds, the prairie-dogs may be
noticed, in the morning of some bitter cold
day, opening their doors, poking out their
noses, and not apparently finding things as
pleasant as they might have wished, retiring
once more. Again they close their mansion
door, and go to sleep. The time had not ar
rived for comming out, indeed, but the little
prairie dogs will not be deceived. Some in
dication of a good time coming they precei ved.
lheir instinct led them not astray. The Indi
an and the backwoodsman, noticing the sign,
are able to predict that fair weather is near at
hand, having trusted to the sure instinct of
the prairie dogs
Hybernation
must only be accepted as a
relative term, w hilst some animals admit of
being frozen outright, and thawed again with
out damage to their constitutions, others are
by no means so tolerant of lowered tempera
ture. A human individual, having sunk into
the sleep of cold, is generally frost-bitten at
once, in some prominont and exposed part.
1 he rose is the most likely organ to sutler
after which come the fingers and the toes
If the sleeper be aroused at once, incipient
frost-bites may frequently be cured by jndi
cius friction, with ice or snow at first ; the ob
ject being to supply warmth by degrees. But
if the first frost-bite touch any internal organ,
the seal of death is impressed. Instances
have been known of tho congelation of fijh
bodily, 'in the ice of a pond, the creatures
having been restored to motion, without dam
age, by judicious thawing. Stranger, still
examples are on record of the freezing of in
sects into a block of ice, which latter beinj
laid Doiore a lire and thawed, the insects
buzzed away. Between these extreme cases,
and intolerence of cold experienced by hu
man beings, comes hybernation, properly so
called
hven amongst hybernators, there is a great
difference. Our pretty little friend, the squir
rel, furnishes us with an example of what may
be termed modified hybernation. The squir
rel is a good economist, as is well known.
He keeps a bright look-out at the commisa
riat stores. In autumn, when the hazel-nuts
have ripened, the little fellow may be seen
busily carrying tho tawny treasures, one by
one, m his mouth, and depositing them iu
some mysterious' hole. In that hole is a com
fortable, nest furnished with great care, and si
capacious larder besides it. In this larder he
hides the nuts, to be nipped at frugally in
winter-time, when the sun shines more bright
ly than usual, and ha .rouses to see what is
doing in the world. A tame squirrel, living
in a warm room, hybernates slightly, or not
at all. A sleepy fellow he will perhaps seem,
not quite so lively as in the summer, but that
is all. . . . .
To rouse a hybernati ig animal from its
winter sleep is a very dangerous operation.
Hedge-bogs are particularly iutolerant of this
treatment; in fact, the rough-looking hedge
hog is a very delicate fellow. Thus dealt
with, the animal generally dies, furnishing one
of the many examples of the beautifully poised
relations of vitality to external circumstances,
as determined, for beneficent purposes, by Al
mighty wilL : -
A man who bad won a fat turkey at a raffle,
and whose pious wife was very inquisitive a-
bout bis method of obtaining the poultry, sat
isfied her scruples at last, by way of the witty
remark that "the shakers gave it to him."
An English lady of rank recently tied her
legs together and jumped from the tower of a
church near the gambling ppa of Hamburg.
Her injuries were fatal. . Desperate-losses at
roulette inspired the act. -
A pegging machine is iu use in Now Eng
land, with which a woman's shoe is pegged in
ten seconds, and the stoutest brogans, with
double rows of pegs, in thirty seconds. - The
wors is well done, too. . , .
t ;
OUR ATTACHMENT TO LIFE.
The young man, till thirty, never feels prac
tically that be is mortal. He knows it, in
deed, and, if need were, he could preach a
homily on the fragility of life ; but he brings
it not home to himself any more than in a hot
June we can appropriate to our imagination
the freezing days of December. But now
shall I conless a truth? I feel these audits
but too powerfully. I begin to count the prob
abilities of my duration, and to grudge at the
expenditures of moments aud shortest periods
like misers' farthings. In proportion as the
years both lessen and shorten, I set more count
upon their periods, and would fain lay my inef
fectual finger on the spoke of the great wheel.
I am not content to pass away "like a weaver's
shuttle." Those metaphors solace me not, nor
sweeten the unpalatable draught of mortality.
I care not to be carried with the tide that
smoothly bears human life to eternity, and re
luctant at the inevitable course of destiny. I
am in love with this green earth the face or
town and country the unspeakable rural sol
itude and tho sweet security of streets. I
would set up my tabernacle here. I am con
tent to stand still at the age at which I am ar
rived to be no younger, no richer, no hand
somei. I do not want to be weaned by age,
or drop, like mellow fruit, as they say. iuto
the grave! Any alteration on this earth of
mine, in diet or lodging, puzzles and discom'
poses me. My household gods plant a terribly
fixed foot, and are not rooted up without blood.
They do not willngly seek Lavinian shores.
A new state of being staggers me. Sun and
sky, and breeze and solitary walks, and sum
mer holidays, and the greenness of fields, and
the juices of meats and fishes, and society, and
the cheerful glass, and candle light, aud fire
side conversations, and jests, and Irony do
not these things go out with life 7 Can a ghost
laugh, or shake his gaunt sides, when you are
pleasant with him Life and Remains of
Charles Lamb.
Drive Ox. The best advice to the yonng
man just setting out in the world, is to "drive
on." In other words, live energetically.
Whatever you undertake, do it with a will.
And do it well. Do it, as far as possible, in
the completest manner. In this way alone can
an efficient, useful and successful career be ac
complished. "Drive on." But not reckless
ly. We suppose that whoever gives this short
article a perusal, will understand that it is ad
dressed to young men who think before they
act; who are, in short, possessed of a little
common sense, such as every young man
should strive to obtain, and without which he
will be poor, indeed. Davy, or David, which
iu all the same, as of old, was a shrewd fellow
once said, "Be sure you are right, then go
ahead." WThether or not Crockett gave utter
ance to the saying, it contains a great truth
and the wisest of counsel. It means simply
this study aad know w hat is best, what right,
what honorable, what useful, what profitable
in life, and then drive on, neither to the right
or left. Why so many young men fail in life ?
Why they look upon the retrospect with so lit
tle to rejoice over and so much to regret, is to
be found in the fact that they have not started
right, and driven on as they ought. Their en
ergies have been spent in the wrong direction,
and have proved fruitless or good. They have
failed either to comprehend the true purposes
and ends of life, or have allowed themselves
to cowardly evade them. "Drive on" should
be the motto of all vounnr men. Let them.
know themselves, know what they purpose iu
life, and they will have none but themselves
th blame if they do not succeed.
Frost " Music . I was once belated in Canada
on a fine winter day, and was riding over the
hard snow on the margin of a wide lake, when
the most faint and mournful wail that could
break a solemn silence seemed to pass thro'
me like a dream. I stopped my horse and
listened. For some time I could not satisfv
myself whether the music was in the air or in
my own brain. I thought of the pi je forest
which was not far ofF; but the tone was not
harp-like, and there w as not a breath of wind.
Then it swelled and approached ; and then it
seemed to be miles away in a moment ; and
again it moaned, as if under my very feet. It
was in fact, almost under my feet. It was the
voice of the winds imprisoned under the pall
of ice suddenly cast over them by the peremp
tory power ot the frost. Nobody there had
made air boles for the place was a wilderness :
and there was no escape lor the winds, which
must moan on till the spring warmth should
release them. They were fastened down in
silence ; but they would come out with an ex
plosion, when, in some still night, atter a
warm spring day, the ice would blow up, and
make a crash and a racket from shore to shore.
So I was told at my host's that evening, where
arrived with something of the sensation of a
haunted man. It had been some time before
the true idea struck me, and meanwhile the
rising and falling moan made my very heart
thrill again.
Leavixo noME. We can conceive of no
picture more interesting than one which might-
bo drawn from a young man leaving his home,
he scene of all his earthly associations, to try
his fortune in a distant country, setting out a
lone for the "forest." A father on the de
cline, the downhill of life, gives his parting
blessing, involing the best gifts of Heaven to
rest on his beloved offspring, to crown all his
effort with complete success ; tears gnsh from
his eyes, and words are forbid utterance. A
kind, most affectionate mother, calling after
him as he is departing from the parental abode
and with all the dangers to which he is to bo
exposed rushins into and nressinff un'on . her
mind, she says, "Go my son remember Cre
is a right and a wrong way." Her advice is
brief. Language Is inadequate to the exprea-
ion of the feelings that then crowd on the
mind of a virtuous child. Every reader has a
case of this kind, and may have been the bud-
ject of one in some respects similar. Here
may ba found eloquence more toucning to
whom it is delivered than eveq the orations of
Cicero or Demosthenes?.
Tl e -Nashville" (Tenn,) Patriot, pnblishc
the Montgomery Constitution, and makes this
brief but comprehensive editorial comment:.
'The affair appears to have been gotton up f or
the purpose ot conferring "life-memberships"
on hungry office seekers.
"Jenny," said a Scotch minister,, stooping
from the pulpit,- "bare ye got a preen about
ye "Yes, rpinieter." "Then sick it into.
that sleeping brute by your side." .