VOLUME 1.
The American Citizen,
T* pobtlNhd everv Wednesday in the borough of Butler,
by THOMAS FOSIKSO* A C. E. ANDERSON- on Main street,
opposite to Jock s Hotel—office up stairs ID the brick
©TIIKTIV occupied by Eli Yetter, aa a store
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For the Citizen.
A TR BUTF TO A. LINCOLN.
When all fhe great ones of the earth.
Are ranged to sh< W then moral worth,
When every patriotic name.
HIGH on the golden wall of fame,
1-traced bv History's glowing hand,
Through countless age* there to stand:
True to her culling, then will she,
Vphehl by Hncre/1 Liberty,
fcet Lincoln'* *tar along with them,
lu glory's glittering diadem.
In vain may men betray their trust,
And strive to trample in the dust,
To ■*tra< , i"e the unsullied name,
Of liiin who gently holds therein,
Of gorerument in Washington;
Protecting every loyal son,
That fr lom Rends upon the field,
To make the spawn of treason yield,
'Tls folly now to urge the claim
Of any new aspirant* name.
How conld we USE the put riot cold.
WHO stands like Jackson did ol old,
Defying treason's bloody hand,
Now prone to waste our goodly land.
What has he done to rouse our shaine,
Or cause our hatred TO his name,
Nothing** vet of which 1 know,
UNLET* perchance he's moved too slow,
YET had lie moved too 112 tt 1 wean,
lU'-H *1 dyed would have been our hillsides green.
Men rare and rant, and storm I see,
A U»ut the " one term" policy.
" one term," 'tis but a poor excuse.
For those now striving to reduce.
The fame that Lincoln's name has won,
For patriotic deed'* he d«Hie,
ftnppoee you NOW he would retrace,
And liing L»*ck in our very face,
The praises we to him hnve given ?
No! soouer fall the star* fr -m heaven.
Pome would his righto .in acts forget,
Because they in hi-> cabinet,
Got riot N feat, and this I W- RT N,
IN why they'r venting forth their spleen;
And some weak hearts have fainted quite,
BECAUSE across their " wee short" SIGHT,
Bv devilish, skillful hands is spread,
Tue slime of Mr. Copperhead :
Not of manlini'SM enough huve they,
To brash the filthy oosto away,
Yet, too much loyalty It seems,
To Join in their nefarious schemes.
So ashamed of Al»o without a causo,
They've marie a short " political pauso,"
But when we make our banners fly,
In glittering light ulong the sky,
And shout aloud Abe Lincoln's name,
They'll join the train ami shout the same,
Finn •. firmly stand, Abe Lincoln's friends.
You've got the odd*, y mil gain the ends:
Stand firmly. traitors quake with fear,
W lien evet Lincoln's name they hear.
" SUCCESS AND FAILURE.
A SEKWO.X:
Ily Ix'ev. lUrrick Johnson, J\iitor of the Thiol JYetbyte- j
rid* Church Pittsburgh.
"1 therefore Ro run. not AS uncertainly; so fight I, not
AS one that beuteth the air."—lST CORINTHIANS ix.2TT.
Truer auto-biographic words were nev
er spoken than those of the apostle con
cerning himself. No man ever had a bet
ter conception of life than Paul, the ser
vant of Jesus Christ. No man ever seem
cd to measure, with a clearer eye and a
fuller comprehension, life's grand inter
ests. No man ever succeeded beyond
this faithful preacher of righteousness.—
ITe ran for a goal and reached it. lie
fought for a prize and won it. He aim
ed at success and succeeded. Almost
alone, ,in the great and wicked city ol
Rome, in prison, in chains, with the un
principled, murderous, Jfero hard-by in
the palace, thirsting for the blood of Chris
tians. with the certainty of an unjust sop
tence before him. to be followed by the axe
of the lictor or the sword of the cxecu
tionei. the Christian hero wrote these tri
umphant words : '• lam now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure i.«
at hand. I have fought a good fight, 1
have finished my course, 1 have kept the
faith ; and henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous judge, shall give uie
at that day." And yet, how many who
saw that small troop of soldiers silently j
threading their way through the dust and
tumu t of the busy crowd, conducting the
venerable apostle out beyond the gate to
be beheaded, imagined the life thus inglo
riously ending, a success ? How many do
you suppose, thought that victim of the
bloody Nero other tliau a poor religious
fanatic, whose hot, unreasoniug zeal in be
half of a sect, had brought him to the
block of the executioner'! Yet look now.
the Roman emperors are all dead. The
great empire of the Cwsars has long been
a thing of the past, severed and destroy
ed. The detestable Nero is remembered
only to be execrated and abhorred. But
what multitudes praise God for the toils,
aud chains, aud fortitude, and martydom
of Paul of Tarsus. He, himself, wears
the crown of the ransomed, and millions
on millions of hearts have been thrilled
and inspired by the contemplation of his
successful life. He had a right to say, 1- I
therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so
fight I, not as one that beateth the air."
He draws his illustration from the Grecian
games. His meaniug is, I know at nhat
1 aim ; it is not a matter of doubt, or a
running at hap-hasard; the goal and crown
are in view; and I make it the great and
grand point of my life, so to live that there
may be no room for uncertainty as to the
result. And in the conflict, lam not as
one missing his aim, so that the blows are
spent in the empty air. Paul spoke the
truth. Every blow that he struck, told.
He did not exert himself, and spend his
strength for naught. He got a conception
of succew, aimed at it, and succeeded.
AMERICAN CITIZEN.
But Buccess! what is it? And failure !
what is that ? It is important, before con
sidering the causes of successes in life and
canvassing the means and methods by
which it may be secuml.to havesome dis
tinct idea of what it is.
Unto what do we wish to attain, when
we talk about attaiuingsuccess in life?—
It is as essential that we start out with
some definite conception, as that the sculp
tor should, before putting his chisel to the
marble, or the artist before putting h's
brush to tht canvass. To succeed in be
ing successful, we must know what the
object is at which we aim; else ye shall
only run with uncertainty and spend our
strength in beating the air. What, there
fore, is the true and just import of the
phrase; success in life ?
1. I answer, in the first place, success in
THIS life, is not necessarily success in life.
If men were brutes, and the death of the
body ended the life of the soul, then by
no possibility could this statement be true.
If man had no future, if across the grave
there stretched no immortality, then our
estimate of success or failure would be
based solely on the records of time, and
tho computation of eternal interests would
not enter into the account. Rut life has
no such limits. Death changes; it docs
not annihilate. The grave is a passage
way, not a resting place. We go through
the doors of the sdfulchre —we do not tar
ry there. 'Room, gentle flowers' my
child would pass to heaven," said one, as
they put aside the beautiful blossoms and
broke the sod to make a place for the dead
babe. Oh, yes ! our tombs arc but gate
ways into tho great hall of the universe
of Ood. We are pilgrims on the earth.
The abiding places are all beyond the riv
er. Wc are. and cannot die.
Success in this life, therefore, is not
necessarily success in life. Both worlds
must he taken into the account. All of
life must be thought of when we compute
the gain and loss. Men count the mo
ments when they should count the ages.
They look this side of the grave when
they should look beyond it. Time, sense,
the world, wealth, place, fame, the breath
of human applause, these absorb them.—
Kternity, spirit, Christ, heaven, hell, re
alities that are everlasting, the smile of an
approving God—these are unthoughtol
and forgotten.
True success, then, is an interest se
cured that death cannot rob us of—that
we need not part with when we die All
else is disastrous failure. The best of
life, the most of life, well nigh all of life
is on the other side of what we call death.
Surely to fail there, togo in the bitterness
of disappointment, poverty-girt and pov
erty-stricken. with unrealized expectation
and blasted hopes through all the ages, is
not to succeed. Paul, the Apostle, wa
Saul of Tarsus once ; the foe and prose
cutor and slayer of the vile Christian
logs. lie had learning, talents, reputa
aou. He was held in high estimation
lie was honored by his nation ; he was oil
the high wave of popularity, but if he had
died so, think you the starred crown that
now rests eternally upon his brow would
ever have been placed there? No. He
would have been, at the last, as one that
beateth the air. Every blow thathestruck
at the Church would have recoiled with
terrible force to weaken and crush his own
spirit. Every martyr's death unto which
he consented, would have given the suf
ferers place in the commonwealth ofhea
eti—•• citizenship in the democracy of ev
erlasting life," while the heavy liukswould
thus have been added to the chain by
which he in the end would have beeu
bound in eternal bondage to Satan. But
jie changed all this, lie came to view life
in its relation to God and eternity, and
turning his back upon worldly honors,
leaving the proud place with which his
countrymen had honored him, he took up
the despised and execrated cross, and with
the same wealth of resources and resist
less energy and fiery zeal that he had liv-,
ed for this world, he lived for both. Hu
man applause did not greet him now;
scorn instead and poverty, opprobiuui and
hate. He was hunted, arraigned, impris
oned, whipped, tortured, murdered. But
did he fail? To human eye, then and
there, he did. But that triumphant avow
al "I have fought a good fight, I have fin
ished my course, I have kept the faith,"
echoing from his prison walls until it has
gone round and round the world, has con
vinced us all that he did not fail. He
pressed toward the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,
and he won it. And any achievement
that comes short of this, taking life in its
truest and highest sense is failure. Suc
cess in life, is success in the whole of life.
11. Again, success iu life, is in charac
ter rather than in reputation. He who
forms a good character, who builds him
| self up of materials that will stand the
■ fiercest fire of temptation and comes out
I from it unconsumed and unhurt, he is Uu
" Let us have Faith that Right makes Might; and in that Faith let us, to the end,dare to do our duty as we understand LINCOLN.
BUTLER, BUTLER COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 1864.
ly successful. A man may achieve a great
reputation, and yet his life be the saddest
of failures. Reputation that has no bas
is in moral character is ephemeral. Char
acter is as lasting as life. Reputation is
the child of circumstance. It may be
made in a day and in a day destroyed.—
It is affected by the popular breeze.
It is not in our own keeping. Charac
ter, however, is not born in an hour. It
is a thing of growth and culture. We
build it up. It is in no wise affected by
the favoring or opposing windsof circum
stances. And when once firmly estab
lished, it is as enduring as the eternal hills,
to achieve a character, therefore, well-pro
portioned, completed, perfect, is to achieve
success.
A man may be great without being
good ; and popular without having much
merit of any kind. Many whom the world
are accustomed to call great, have no bet
ter title to that distinction than the fallen
spirits—great in talents and great in wick
edness and crime. To be popular, to be
celebrated, to be famous, is in itself noev
idence of success. The unprincipled
demagogue is popular with his party. —
The bold pirate-captain is popular with his
piratical crew. The low buffoon ; s )x>j, u .
lar with the rabbi" that shout their huz
zalis over his profuuo squibs and jests.—
isut in r,u this, popularity or reputation
indicates nothing so much as an utter
worthlessness of character. To call this
success in life is to degrade our moral na
ture and insult the God that made us. —
But a good character is a priceless posses
sion, though it give us no name. It is a
good thing togo into eternity with. Tho'
it bring us no revenue of praise from hu
man lips this side the grave, it may give
us the gladness and joy of praise beyond
it, and from Him whose very smile is hea-
Ill: And this leads me to say. thirdly,
that apparent failure is often trucsucccss.
Success is not so much a matter of out
ward conditions, as many are led to sup
pose. Wc are deceived 2>y appearance.
Inflexible adherence to principle may cost
a man his wealth, his position, his very
life, yet the world neverafter all when the
record is at bust made up, writes such men
failures. Togo to the grave with intelli
gence, virtue, integrity—with cheerfulness
of mind, contentment under the allot
ments of Providence, and faith in God,
though poor and neglected, though mis
understood and misrepresented and ma
ligned, though laughed and jeered at be
cause your purposes have seemingly come
to naught, and failed of accomplishment,
is to be successful. The futureshall hon
or the seed of such a life, and God will
make the fruitage glorious. He always
has. Look at Bunyan. Look at John
lluss. Look at Paul, once the pride of a
nation, ending his life there on the block
>f an executioner. Look at Jesus, win
had claimed to be equal with God, ano
had boldly declared his purpose to estab
lish a kingdom, and had openly avoweti
bis power over death, dying there upon'-an
ignominious cross between two thieves.—
Oh. if ever there Was apparent failure in
this world, it on Calvary, where he
who had claimed to save others, seemed as
if he could not save himself. It did cer
tainly appear to huuiau view as if his
cause was lost. And yet that very death,
that seemingly fatal end of all the hopes
that had been centered in Jesus of Naz
areth. was the grandesttriumph this world
ever witnessed. And iu all the universe
of Ood there will be no other crowued
with so complete and perfect success, as
he whose life ended amid such overwhelm
ing evidence of apparent failure and loss
there on the middle cross of Golgotha.
The most unfavoring and unpropitious
outward circumstances may therefore be
consistent with the truest and highest suc
cess. To possess intelligence and virtue,
to have an inflexibly moral character and
to secure the best and truest happiness
both of this life and of that which is to
come —this is success; this is to be like
i'uul, "to so run not as uncertainly, aud
to so fight not as one that beateth the air.'
And this rules out of course, "all low and
vicious pleasures; all grasping after great
wealth; all greediness after worldly hon
or ; all dishonesty and falseness in the'
business and intercourse of life; all in a
word that is forbidden by conscience and
the word of God as wrong in principle or
in act, and derogatory to the true diguffy
and destiny of man, as asocial, moral, ac
countable and immortal subject of the di
vine government."
But let me not' be understood as advo
cating a sickly, sentimental, do-nothing
piety, and recommending that to you,
young men, as my idea of success in life.
Far from it. My object is to impress up
on you the vital importance of keeping
both worlds in view while you arc dwell
ers and workers only in this. Whatever
else you do, if this bo not done, your best
achievements here, your most applauded
successes will seem at the last, and to no
one else more certainly than to yourselves,
follies stupendousand eternally to be regret
ted, while conscience and the Word of
God will brand your lives failures. But
to be merely pi us is not all. Paul lost
no vitality by becoming a Christian. He
laid aside none of his native energy and
force of character, no element of his roy
al monhood, when he took up the cham
pionship of the Cross. And had he fol
lowed an other calling than that of the
ministry this would still have been true
While, then, it is to be remembered that
there can be no true success in life unless
that success pertain to the whole of life
here and hereafter; and while both worlds'
are thus to be kept in view, you are to
bear in mind that God has placed you in
this—that this is a world of realities, a
busy, bustling, stirring world, with grand
opportunities forusefulness in it, and high
responsibilities and holy trusts that wealth
and honor ancl worthy achievements in the
various walks of life are not to be shun
ned but sought and sought with r.ll the
ability and appliance God has given vou ;
yet always a\iu everywliete with
supremo regard to his will and not to man's
and with reference to eternity as well as to
time; so that though you fail of them your
life shall not fail.
Now, how is true success to be achiev
ed ? What are the means and methods of
its attainment!
My first remark is, that success will
never come to you, young men, without
your own personal agency. Under God
you are the carvers of your own fortunes
—tho arbiters of your own destiny.—
From the highest end at which it is pos
sible for you to aim, down through all the
minor and subordinate ends that may be
worthily set before you for attainment,
this is true- Success in life depends up
on yourselves. How many, with refer
ence to religion not only, but everything
else, are ruined utterly and forever by
neglecting this cardinal and fundamental
truth, and relying on some other agency
.than their own for success. As regards
spiritual things, what multitudes have
failed and lost their all in losing them
selves, through waiting God's time or look
ing for some outside circumstance or mys
terious external influence that should some
how compel them to enter the kingdom.
As regards what is great and good and
worthy to be possessed in this world, what
prizes have been lost through failure ol
direct personal effort. Birth, wealth and
social position are often relied on, but
these can no more command true success
than Satan could in his war in heaven.—
Some young men are constantly dreaming
of a favorable turn in the wheel of for
tune ; some look for success through the
influence of influential friends; some de
spair of it, and let go all effort because
■ hey hove not these adventitious surround
ngs; but they succeed who resolve and do
llosolution is well nigh omnipotent. No
ble and worthy resolution, nobly aud wor
thily carried out, or sought to be carried
out, will seldom fail of bringing a young
man to the object at which he has aimed ,
will never fail of making life successful.
There is very much of strength in a
resolute and determined purpose. Re
solve that you will be worthy of esteem,
young men; that wherever God places
you, no matter on what spot of this wide
earth, however near or remote from your
wish or hope, and in the midst of what
ever favoring or opposiug circumstances,
there you will serve Him and your gener
ation ; there you will stand aud labor, con
tented to stand and labor until, in llis
providence, you are given another field ( ;
there you will surmount all obstacles, and
rise in tjie world, and that resolution will
make you the master of circumstances
and surely crown with success. The
mould of a man's fortunes, says Lord Ba
con, is in his own hands. It is true ol
time. It is true of eternity. Whether
our lives shall be a failure or not, depends
upon ourselves.
A clear, well-defined knowledge ofmor
ol distinctions, and inflexible, unbending
regard for them, are among the important
means of success in life. Thoroughly set
tle your convictions of right and wrong,
and abide by them, though the heaveus
fall. Views of duty should not be vague
and fluctuating, deprived from the max
ims of a pliant morality, bnt fixed and im
movable as given in the word of God and
the utterances of an enlightened con
science.
Custom and usage wield a vast influ
ence in the marts of trade and conformi
ty thereunto is something advocated. 1
am well aware, as a necessity, if a young
man just commencing business would be
successful. Is this true? Must a stand
ard of morals be adopted more lax and
pliable than that of the gospel, in order to
fchow a good balance sheet in the annual
U>ttlemen£ ? I think not. God is not
guilty of the great wrong and crime of
placing us where even the slightest de
flection from the line of rectitude and
moral uprighteousness is unavoidable in
order to success. He neither is tempted
of evil nor tempteth he any man. Usage
may sanction the deflection. There may
be certain rules according to which this
or that branch of business is understood
to be conducted, yet which are not drawn
up with the strictest regard to moral dis
tinctions; but God, you may be sure,
makes approving recognition of no such
convenient morality. And that being
true, no extent and respectability of cus
tom on this broad earth, no amount of so
phistical reasoning, no pica of necessity
whatever, can convince me that it is the
road to true success in life. Custom is a
dangerous rule of action. Adopted, it
may give promise of moreimmediate gain
—it may temporarily run up the profits;
but independently of custom, independ
cntly of the will and law; of man • there
are such t'v.bgs as truth and falsehood,
right and wrong. These are in their ra
ture eternally obligatory upon every mor
al being in every relation of life. Noeir
cunistances can possibly be imagined where
it would be right to disregard them.—
And the setting aside of the eternal rules
of rectitude is unauthorized aud sinful,
and will iu the end inevitably result in
failure. Settle your convictions of right
and wrong, then, in tho clear light of a
good conscience and God'sword. and make
unalterable commitment of yourselves to
Let no ulluriug bait of tempora
ry interest, no fair promise of large gain*-
swerve you from one hair's breadth. You
may be pronounced singular; you may be
deemed over-scrupulous; for awhile you)
rigid adherence may bear hard upou you
possibly you may see fortune flowing int.
yous neighbor's lap that might have been
turned into yours had you yielded but i
little to the usage of the world; possibly
he may find a more expeditious way topo
sition and wealth. Rut religious probity
and religious rectitude will ultimately
make you friends even in this wicke
world; and these will bring you honor,
fortune and material success. But even
if these fail, yon will have tho precious,
priceless possession of an approving con
science, and the smile of an approving
God. And, mark my word, the hour in
coming when you will esteem these oi
mose value tliau the wealth of a thousand
worlds—when to possess them will be eter
nal success, and to want them will be ev
erlasting failure.
Diligence and faithfulness in one's call
ing, is another cause of success in life.—
To whatever honorable pursuit a young
man gives himself, to that lie should de
vote the best of his energies assiduously
and untiringly. If under an employer,
lie should make that employer's interests
conscientiously his own. For the time
being they are his own, and to be tlior
mgly indentified with them is the dictate
dike of policy and duty. It will open, as
nothing else, doors of future enterprise
ind bring to his hand every facility ol
prosperity. And having chosen for him
self an occupation, he should determine
steadily to rise, and excel in it. It was
the modest conefssion of Newton that he
owed his success, as a philosopher, more
to ]>aticnce and attention than to any orig
inal superiority of mind. Excellence and
eminence may be the otlieraide of moun
tainous obstacles and discouraging cir
cumstances, but diligentia omnia vine it.
said Cicero, —diligence conquors all things.
There are various other elements that
might be named, all entering into the
problem of success and failure, such as
he improvement of time, the acquisition
of knowledge, the choice of com [pinions.
But I pause to speak very briefly, before
closing of only one : a deep and practic
al conviction of responsibility to God.—
Nothing short of this can arm the young
man against the wiles of the devil, and
make him steadfast in the path of
and assure him of true and fiual success.
Webster once said, the greatest and most
important thought that ever entered his
mind, was the thought, of his individual
and personal responsibility to God. This
great truth once fully apprehended and
lodged in-<he soul, is a means of safety, a
source of power, an inspiration to duty,
an incitement to exertion and a pledge of
triuirtph. The great Edwards left it when
he wrote this as one of the resolutions of
his life : "Resolved, that I will do what
I think to be most for God's glory and my
own good on the whole, without any con
sideration of the time, whether now or
never so many myriads of ages hence."
Failure, with such a resolve faithfully and
prayerfully kept, is just as impossible as
for God to fail; for by his nature awl his
oath he stands pledged that such shall not
fail. And this brings me to the point for
which I started. &'uccesi in life hat ref
erence to all of life. This groat thought
of personal responsibility takes us uwnj
across the valley of the shadow of death,
and puts us in connection with everlasting
realities. It flashes light on earth's scenes
and makes them luminous, by borrowing
rays from the throneof God and the judg
ment. It corrects our decisions. It rights
our conclusions. It helps us to put a true
estimate on events. It pricks the bubble
of some successes and proves them vani
ty. It puts some apparent failures high
on the roll of victories, and crowns the
ucroes of them with eternal honor.—
Deeply imbedded in our hearts, fixed there
as an ever present and controlling tho't,
it will enable ever}* one of us to say, with
Paul, "So run I, not as uncertainly; so
fight I, not as one that beateth the air."
Yea, to say that, even when the world
might be ready to shout that our cause
was lost, just as theyjexultingly shouted
around tlie cross when Jesus gave up the
ghost. Success at the cost of truth or
uonor, or any other right and noble thing
—success purchased by the least deflec
tion from the path of moral rectitude is not
success. Failure that comes from keep
ing faith with principle, from unbending
regard to conviction—failure that is ours,
because we will do no wrong, is no fail
ure. The statesman who said, " I would
rather be right than be President;" the
merchant who said to a Southern custom
er, "We sell our goods, not our princi
ples ;" the reformer who said, "Unless ]
ltu convinced by the testimony of Scrip
ture, I cannot and will not retract. Here
I stand. I can do no other, so help me
'itod;" and the Christ who said, "If 1
have done evil, bear witness of the evil;
if well, why smitest thou me." These all
succeeded ; while Pilate, and Nero, and
Pope Leo X, and many another of theso
•alled great ones of theearth, though back
:d by empires and thrones, ignominiously
l'ailed.
O, young men, wlicn you think of suc
cess and failure, look to the Great White
Ihrone. Let the judgtueut and eternity
flash light on your path. The most of
you have, doubtless, seen Thomas Colo's
series of pictures representing " The Voy
age of Life." lie attempted another al
legorical series, eutitlcd "The Cross and
(lie world," but died before they were com
pleted. A friend of the painter, howev
er, has given a graphic and eloquent des
cription of tliom, aud the word picture
furnishes me impressive illustration with
which to close my subject. The eye of
the beholder first strikes the bold termin
ation of a chain of mountains, with crag
gy peaks lost in the clouds. To the left a
straight and narrow path takes its way up
a rugged gorge, down which their beams
a silvery light from a bright cross in the
sky. To the right a gracefully winding
way leads down into a gently uudulating
and pleasant vale. Stretching forward
through delightful landscapes, it finally
fades away and leaves the eye to wander
m to dim pinnacles and domes of a great
city.
Two youths, companions in the travel
uf life, havingcame tothe partingof their
road, are earnestly directed to the shining
cross, while one heeds the direction, the
the other, caught by the enchantment of
the earthly prospect, turns his back upon
the cross, and speeds forward upon the
pathway of the world."
Let us first follow the pilgrim of the
cross. " A wild mountain region opens
on the view. It is an hour of tempest
Black clouds hang overhead; a swollc..
torrent rushes by, and plunges into the
abyss. Thoatormsweepingdown through
:crritic chasms, flings aside the angry cat
aract, and deepens the horror of the scene
below. The pilgrim, now in the vigor ol
manhood, pursues his way on the edge ol
a frightful precipice. It is a moment ol
imminent danger. But gleams of light
l'rom the shining cross break through the
storm, and with steadfast look, and renew
ed courage the lone traveller holds on his
perilous and narrow path."
We turn now to the pilgrim of the
world: Here is a broad expanse. On the
right are the gardens of pleasure. On
tjie left is ihe temple of Mammon. Be
neath its dome, a curiously wrought foun
tain throws out showers of gold, which is
eagerly caught up by the votaries below,
far distant, in the middle of the picture,
a vision of earthly power and glory rises
upon the view. Splendid trophies of con
quest adorn the imposing gateway; suits
of armor, gorgeous banners, and the vic
tor's wreath, colonades and piles of archi
tecture stretch away in the vast perspec
tive and suspended in the air at the high
est point of human reach, is that glitter
ing success, the crown. The picture sym
bolizes the pleasure, the fortune and the
glory of the world."
But the next, is of the Pilgrim of the
Crow) at the end of his journey. "Now
an old man on the verge of existence, he
catches a first vi#w of the boundless and
eternal. The tempests of life are behind
him; the world is beneath his feet. Its
roeky pinnacles, just rising through the
gloom, reaoli not up into his brightness;
its suddeu mists, pausing in the dark ob
scurity, ascend no more into his serene
atmosphere. He looks out upon the infi
nite. The Crow, now fully revealed,
pours its feffulgence over the illimitable
j scene. Angels from the presence, with
j palm and crown of immortality, appear in
NUMBER 21.
the distance and advance to meet
Need I interpret the picture? Shall I
speak the word ? SfccESS 1 '
And where now is the other pilgrim?
Desolate and broken, descending agloomy
vale, he pauses at last on the horrid brink
that overhangs the outer darkness. Col
umns of the temple of Mammon crumble,
trees of the garden of Pleasure moulder
on his path. Gold is as valneless as the
dust with which it mingles. The phan
-10 nof glory—a baseless, hollow fabric—
flits under the wing of death, to vanish in
a dark eternity. Demon forms are gath
ering around him. Horror struck, the
pilgrim lets fall his staff and turns in de
spair to the long neglected and forgotten
* ross. But veiled in melancholy night,
behind the mountain peak, it is lost to his
view forever!" Need I interpret thispic
ture ? Shall I speak the word '< FAILURE !
The choice is yours, young men, and
you must make it. Chooso ye, which it
shall be.— Pittsburgh Commercial.
THE STORY ABOUT MRS. WHITE.—
The N. Y. Tribune publishes the fol
lowing: We have the highest author
ity for the following statement in con
nection with the story that Mrs. M.
I odd \Vhite(asisterofMrs. Lincoln)
was permitted by the President to
carry cotraband goods South: Mrs.
White went south with only the or
dinary pass which the President gives
to those persons whom ho permits '
to go. The President's pass did not
permit Mrs. White to take with her
anything but ordinary baggage, nor
did she attimpt to take anything
more. The President's pass did not
exempt her baggage from the usual
inspection; and her baggage c/i(f under
go the usual inspection. Gen. But
ler found no contraband goods or let
ters in her baggage. She did not in
sult or defy Gen. Butler; nor was
there anything in her words or ac
tions which led him to suspect that
she was either a rebel spy or emissa
ry, or that she was violating any of
the rules under which persons are
sent through the lines. Aa the Cop
perhead papers throughout the coun
try are quoting the Tribune as au
thority to sustain assertions never
made through our columns, we hope
they will give this statement u spee
dy and wide publication.
QUEER PAPERS. —Tho paper having
the largest circulation—the paper of to
bacco.
Paper for roughs—Sand paper.
Papers containing many line points—
The paper of needles.
Hule paper—The French press.
I lie paper that isl'ull of rows—The pa
per of pins.
Spiritualist s paper—(W trapping pa
per.
I'apcr illustrated with cuts—Editorial
exchanges.
Drawing paper—The dentist's bill
A taking paper—The sheriff's warrant.
The paper for the family—The AMER
ICAN CITIZEN.
TIIE CAPITAL NOT TO HE REMOVED.—
'I he House of Representatives at Har
risburg on Wednesday night decided by
a vote of 19 yeas to 71 nays, that the cap
ital should not be removed from that city
to Philadelphia. At the same session, by
a vote of 54 yeas to 36 nays, it resolved
to purchase the Coverly Mansion for tho
use of the Governor ofthe Commonwealth,
the consideration being the transfer to
Airs. Coverly of the old Fxecutivc Man
sion and the payment of 820,000 donated
for the purpose by the city of Ilarrisburg.
The Representatives from this county
without exception voted',nay" on the re
moval question. It will be remembered
that our Senators voted the other way.
MASSACHUSETTS —In the State Leg
islature on Saturday last, the Committee
on Federal Relations reported a scries
of resolves in relation to national affairs,
favoring the prosecution of the war and
pledging the resources ofthe State in its
support; recommending an amendment
to the Constitution abolishing slavery,
and declaring that the President has dis
charged the duties of hisoffice with fideli
ty. sagacity and courage, and his adiniu
istration deserves the confident of the pub
he.
CaT" In the late battle at Pleasant IT ill,
says a correspondent, General Banks, while
encouraging his troops in the midst of a
.'ailing lire, had his coat pierced with a
>ullet. Gen. Frank in munofuvcred his
roops with great skill, and while leading
lis men on' Friday he had two fine horses
hot frotn under him, while a miu'ic ball
grazed his boot.
GEN. SEYMOUK.—A Washington
lispatch sjiys that Gen. Seymour has
been ordered to that city, and that he
will probably be dismissed the ser
vice.
®0t»All day on Suwlay last, at
Dubuque, we learn "the heavens
were black witft wild pigeons flying
northward." That must have been a
! dark day.
DSaj" The greatest fall on reoord
was the fall of Satan. Tho next
greatest was the fall of Adam. The
next will be the fall of the Southern
rebllion
t&T In one llhodo Island regiment are
fourteen brothers named Postly. Four
of them are twins. Their average bight
is six feet two inches.