''"- i-i j E fEJ 1 l- A "l v gccsi'mnmiiMi htm miKnitmu'wrnj.-; The whole art ok Government consists in the art of. being honest. Jefferson. VOL. 2. STRODDSBTJRG. MONROE COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1841. No 3g! -2?r THEODORE SCJIOCM TERMS. Two dollars per annum in adrnnty-Two dollars nnd a quarter, half yearly. and if not paid bdRre the eud o: the year, Two dollars awl a half- Those who receive tfwir papers by a carrier or stage drivers employed by tiwpropne tor. will be charged 37 1-2 nt.s. per year, extra. ; No papers discontinued until all arrearages are wid, except at the option of the Editor. ID Advertisements not exceeding one square sixteon line?) .vill be inserted three wceksfor one dollar . twenty-five cents f r every subsequent insertion ; lamer ones in proportion. A uberalduconut will be made to yoarlv ;iti vcrtiseisit IE? All letters aaciresseu to uic suitor iuusi oe poftpre POETRY. From 'The Gift for 1&12. Snow. BY MRS. SIGOURNEY. llow'quietlyjthe snow comes down, WJien all are fast asleep, And plays a thousand fairy pranks O'er vale and mountain steep. How cunningly it finds its way To every crannv small, And creeps through even the slightestjink In window, or in wall. :v To every noteless hill it brings A fairer, purer crest Than the rich ermine robe that decks The haughtiest monarch's breast. To every reaching spray it gives Whate'er it3 hand can hold A beauteous thing the snow is, To all, both young and old. The waking day, through curtaining haze, Looks forth, with sore surprise, 'To view what changes have been wrought Since last sheshut her eyes; And a pleasant thing it is to see The cottage children peep FronTout the drift, that to their eaves Prolongs its rampart deep. , The patient farmer searches ' ! His buried lambs to find, And dig his silly poultry ouf, "Who clamor in the wind; How sturdily he cuts his way, Though wild blasts beat him backj. And caters for his waiting herd "Who shiver round the stack. Right welcome are those feathery flakes To the ruddy urchins'' eye, As down the leng, smooth hill they coast, "With shout and revelry, Or when, the moonlight, clear nd cold, Calls out their throng to,play Oh! a merry gift the snow is For a Christmas holiday The city miss, who, wrapp'd in fur, Is lifted to the sleigh, And borne so daintily to school Along the crowded vay,,jp ' Feels not within her pallid cheel? The rich blood mantling? warm, t Like her who, laughingfsnakes lhe sn From powdsred trs and form A tasteful hand the' snow'lih For on the stoned paheU 1 saw its Alpine landscapes tied With arch and sculptured fane, "Where high o'er hoarv-headed' cliffs The dizzy Sirnploh wound, Ani eld ca:kcdrals-xgachcd their towers' With Gothic tracery bound. 1 think it hath a tender heart, For 1 marked it while it crept ' To spread a sheltering mantle where The infant blossom slept. " It doth to Earth a deed of love . , Though in a wintry .way; And her turf-gown will be greener For the snow that's fallen' to-day.-ilartfordi Co?irt. To 2uy Sweetheart. Your lips! how temptingly they pout! They're luscious as wild cherries Red as a Turkey Gobbler's snout, And sweet as Huckleberries!" The Head So IStSBra. The following report of a case meanly tried before the Criminal Court of St. Lotus, is full of interest. To veang men particularly the re lation addresses rtself tcith pecaliar foice and directness, and it is for their benetit that We re peat through our cotamns the voice of warning -Which it utters:- ST. LOUIS CMWINAL COURT. From the tx. Jotite TrntutsA. Stale Indictment for pass- vs jog counterfeit jCvgusius V. Junes. ) miney. The defendant in this cs& wo, probably . tfrenty-eight years of age, but w,rrje the appear. areicc of at least thirty-five, lie had r;d.n:iy price 'fcpcii fi"e lofc'ng ma?i insiaiure h? vas ometbiitV&yr sx cci andliis strongly markttd c 'ures and tfVViflU1 forehead gave evidence' rea l PRINTED AND PUBLISHE of. more than ordinary intellect. Bui you could clearly discover that he had become a prey lo the monsier intemperance the mark of the beast a .is stamped upon his countenance, which gave u a vind and unnatural glare. He was placed in ihe box, wjih others who were lo be arraigned upon the indictments preferred against them. All the others had plead hot guilty, (as is tistuil) and a day was set fieir trial. The defendant was lold to slamfiipand the clerk read to him ihe indictment which charged him wiih having, on the 10th rfay oi' August, passed to one Patrick Gtieal, a Counterfeit bill purport ing to be issued by the2d Municipality oi the city of New Orleans, for the sum of three dol lars; and upon being diked the question, guilty or not guilty? he replied, guilty guilty!' Then, turning lo the jbourt, he remarked that, as this was the last tme he ever expected to appear in court, ho ivould be glad if he could be allowed to make'afew remarks. The Judge told him to proceed After a pause, in which he was evidently ecdeavoring to calm his feel ings, he proceededas follows: May it please lip Court In the remarks 1 shall make I will hot attempt to extenuate my crime or ask at your hands any sympathy in passing sentence upon me. I know that I have violated the laws of my country, and justly de serve punishment nor would I recall the past, or dwell upon tjfe biller present, for my own sake. A wish ti do good for others is my on ly motive. I shall, with he indulgence of the court, give a brief narrative of mv life, with a hone ihat i those young mm around me may take warning'311 ,imea be witnessed at any of the two hun bv it, and avoft the rock upon which I have ! dred dram sllMPs of 'our cll-v whcre wretched spin. I was torn of respectable parents, in the State of New Jersey, and during my childhood, received even attention that fond parents could bestow uponpn only son. It was early dis covered that J had a fondness for books and my father, although in limited circumsiances, de termined to gire me a liberal education. I was sent to a higl school in the neighborhood, and such was my) progress, that at twelve years of j ai,a sce ller bek,re Mie uleU- r"r a ume 1 lel1 ago, my preceptor declared me qualified far i lhe appeal, and resolved to comply with her re college, and I accordingly entered one of the I W1' a,ld accordingly took passage on a steam oldest universities of the country. Here I dis- i bl)llt f,,r lhal purpose. For two days 1 refrain- tincuised mvself that, at sixteen. 1 -raduated with the second honorsof the institution, and jrciurr.cd home with ihf brilliant prospect of citrrBCt thjit Inv hffnrH rw T sntin :ififr cfiin. menced the sludy of thl law, and whenjonly in my twentieth year, I obtained license to practice. Acting upon the ad)ce of friends, I deter mined to try my lortme in tne west, i ac cordingly arranged my pairs for departure ear ly in lhe fall of 18331 I will not detain you with an account of nivseparation from those 1 hRld most dear suffio it to say, that I receiv ed the blessings of nf parents, and in return, promised faithfully anl honestly to avoid all bad company, as well as lieir vices. Had I kept my, promise I shoull have been saved this shame, and been freejrom the load of guilt that hangs around me c-niinually, like a fiendish vulture, threatening Jo drag me to justice, for ill T T I crm:es us yet unrelated, jjui, 10 return, l ts Jt J HUlliLi nut v uu iiuu wuvii J 14 1 1 shine and where nrupathway had been strewed wiih flowers, lo try 7iy fortune among strangers, znd tt) . ry my strecih in .buffeting ;he siorms and icnipesis of ihworld With a light heart I looked forward & the future; and taking the usual route I soonreached Wheeling, where 1 took passage on ;fboai lor LuiiiavjlleJ Or. the bat a game of c.fus was proposed for amusc- iment, and aj:liou'n I had promised faithfully to avoid such tiling still I argued to myself, there was no harm in Maying a game for amusement. Accordingly, joined the party, and we kept up the arausemu most of the way down. Af ter we left Cininnati, it was proposed itf bet a bit at a gamc,lnerely, as it was said, to make it interesting.! My first impression was to leave the tabli but 1 was told that it was only a bit that 1 ould not lose more than one or two dollars. This argument prevailed, lor 1 lacked moralpourage to do what was right. 1 feared my companions would say I was stingy of a little li'mey. Influenced by these feel ings, 1 playi; and, as the fates would have it, I won. Btire we reached Louisville, wo had twice dotiLcd the stake, and I found my luck enabled mpo pay my passage out of my win nings, ltlvas the first time ever 1 had bet money, an! my success ruined me. Again I played, aiv was again successful: and in short, I continuJ to play for amusement, until 1 had acquired thirst for gambling. 1 settled in a thriving yugu in Tennessee, and commenced i tie praciic of my profession under flattering atispiceeand my first appearance in a'criminal court wi highly complimented, and I soon be came laiwn throughout the circuit. Things wont (J thus for more than a year, and I be lieved itiyself fairly on the road to fame and fortun I occasionally played cards; but 1 consoid myself with the idea that 1 only played with Chtlemen for amusement. Oil night I accompanied some yoting men to a innbliiiff shop, and for the first time in my life saw a Faro Bank. My companions com meied belting, and I was induced to join them, aitl?Ugb I- did not understand the" game. Again I played with success; and when we left the Hflttse, was more than two hundred dollars winner. None of my companions had been fortunate and it was insisted that I was the lucky man, and that 1 must treat. We accord ingly repaired to my room, where I ordered wine, and before we broke up we were alt deeply intoxicated. With me ,it was the first lime, and the next day I resolved that 1 would never play cards again. I adhered to the de termination lor nearly three months, when 1 yielded to the entreaties of my dissipated associates.- , I now played with varied success, and in all cases found an excuse for resorting to ihe wine bottle. If I loit, I drank to drown sorrow; if I won I treated my good fortune. Thus I pro gressed upon my downward course, until drink ing and gambling, became my chief employ ments. 1 All my friends who were worth pre serving, abandoned me, until my only associ ates were drunkards and gamblers, when al most reduced to want, (for 1 had left off busi ness) I received a letter informing me of the. death of my father that lather that watched over my -early years who loved me so lender ly And did I act as an affeciionate child! No. Vice had destroyed ihe human feelings of my heart, and .left only the animal passions and ap petites; as ihe letter contained check for $500, a part of my poor father's hard earnings, I drowned my grief that night in Bacchanalian revel, and in a few days 1 was again penny less. 1 will not dwell upon the every day scenes of ihv life, which were such as mav at longs to their suffering wives and children. But, to pass on. For nearly three years I have been a drunken, wandering outcast. Six months ao I received a letter from mv dear mother, enclosing S100, and informingnie that she was fast sinking with disease, and entreat ing with all a mother's feeling, to come home eu ,rom ,,(luor: ulu "V rai uecame insupport able at length my appetite .overpowered my better felings, and I approached the bar and demanded the liquid fire. I was soon inloxi- j c:i,ed when 1 ,liidly sollShl l'e gambler's table and before the boat reached Louisville, I was stripped of every cent. Thus all hope's of see ing my dying mother were cut off, I remained at Louisville, several weeks: in which time 1 learned that my mother had died, and that her last breath was spent in prayer for her wretch ed child. From Louisville I shipped on board the steamer Brazil, as a deck hand, and came to this place, where I was discharged for drunken ness. Let every young man reflect upon this picture. I, who had moved in the first circles of society had been the guest of distinguished public men, and a favorite among the literati of our country was now turned off as unfit for a deck hand on a steamboat! yet intemperance had done this much. I loitered about the city for several weeks and was sometimes engaged in posting up the books I of some dram shop, for which 1 was paid in j the liouid fire, kent for ihe accommodation of; customers. U:ie evening 1 leil in company with a man whu has lately been lodged in jail for passiu counterfeit money. We' played cards and I won from him the ihree dollar bill in question. The next day I ieuriK-d that it was counterfeit, and did not offer to' pass it for several days. But at last I got out of all em ploytnent. 1 had no other money I could meet with no one who would imile me to drink. My appetite ua's kko u rging fire within mo. I could not endure it. I sought a dram shop offered the bill it was accepted; and when found, a few hours after, by ihe officers of jus tice, I was beastly drunk. The evidence of guilt was conclusive; and before my brain was cleared of the intoxicating fumes, 1 was lodged in' jail to await my trial. 1 am now done. 1 have not detained the Court with any hope or wish that clemency would be extended to my case. But with a hope that my example may be a warning to other young men that those who hear me may, when ask ed to play a social game oj cards or drink a so cial glass, think of my fate and refrain. They may feel themselves secure they may believe that they can stop when they please; but let them remember that L argued thus until 1 was lost. Here the defendant sunk doun and ap peared to be very much affected; and for a few moments' silence reigned throughout the Court House.- At length the Judge, who is as much distin guished for the qualities of his heart as ho is for learning as a Judge, proceeded in a brief but appropriate manner to pass sentence on the defendant, putting his punishment in alio Peni tentiary down to the shortest time allowed by law. s - t n Quills are things" that' arc sometimes taken from the pinions' oT one goose, to spread abroad the o-piili3H6!' another. Translated from the Spanish. I Elie "STeliow Serpent iscovevy oi tfou Guac Plant. One hundred and fifty years since, a mulatto slave followed the current of the Orinoco, ir. the vicinity of Guyana, and not far from the place where ihat river empties into the Atlan tic Ocean. ' Wandering by chance many days in those hot regions, the slave traveled with the uneasi ness and caution of a man who, in the midst of savannahs abounding in poisonous reptiles, be lieves he might rest his foot, when least ex pected, on the scaly body of a serpent. .He ex amined with much care every tree; each thick el of brambles appeared to him as many shel ters for wild beasts, where enemies, the color of which might be confounded with the foliage,, lay in ambush. Suddenly he paused: he cast himself upon ihe ground, and pressed the earth even to the joints of his limbs. Without motion, relying on the Indian fig-tree as the only defence, he awaited the result of what he saw. Without the convulsive trembling which agitated hia body, any one would have believed that he was dead. He had just seen the most terrible of all the serpents, whose race i yet found in those re gions. It was not certainly a monstrous animal one of those colossal reptiles which, when sleeping on the banks of a river, or in the dense woods, presents to' the traveler the aspect of the trunk of a tree, thrown lo the ground by a tem pest. Neither did it possess the gigantic propor tions which the European people so much ad mire when they contemplate the skins stuffed wiih straw of some of the kings of Ohio. It was the Yellow Serpent. Whoever has sn en its littleness, and exam ined its thin body, could not believe that so ' wcak a reptile could kill a partridge, although its bite will kill a man in such a manner that, the wound being made, death ensues in less than three minutes. The slave knew it and trembled. His immobility was complete. For the whole American empire lie would not have dared to raise his eyes. He would have given ten years of his life to have found himself far from such a frightful enemy. Neither did the ser- pent move, liaised up in his coil ne ovenooK- ed the grass of me savannah, with his head doited wiih spots of the color of ochre, of yel low and orange; his eyes, like velvet; and blue as the clouds of that region, sparkled and ap peared to emit sparkles of fire like a brilliant stone. He breathed the air with voluptuous ness, and offered, little by little, every part of his body to the burning rays of the sun. For a man ignorant of ihe danger to stop in the proximity of this reptile, it would be a real pleasure lo contemplate its delicateness, the expression of its eyes, and the grace of its movements. t The serpent did not delay long in beginning to leap, drawing in the air rapid circles, producing a weak sound like silk com ing in contact with a wall. The slave trem bled more and more, when he heard a strange noise which he believed came from the grass, which shook with force. His imagination pre sented an entire family of serpents, ready to cast Themselves upon him. Fear obliged him to enlarge his sight. What was his astonish ment on seeing thai the serpent sustained a ter rible contest with a bird! He then knew that his life was not threatened, and blessed Heav en, in the sequel disposing him to flee : when, seeing that the reptile had lost the greater part of iis" vigor, he wished to be present at the end of that strange combat. His post was not now dangerous, and curi osity detained him. The combat continued' with ferocity. The bird kept in constant motion his sharp talons, and wounded the serpent deeply with his point ed beak. The serpent, being much exasperated, drag ged itself through the grass, and divided the air in all directions, appealing to its whole force and cunning, throwing himself toward the river to avoid the blows of his enemy. But the bird followed him in the air without stopptngbetween the grass, to the brink of the river, and attack ed him each time with renewed rage. Oul)' now and then the bird granted the ser pent a kind of truce. It left the place of com bat covered with blood, and flew with rapidity to a shrub near by. He picked some of the leaves, and swallowed wiih haste some pieces of bark of the same true, and returned to the attack with the greatest courage. The slave observed all, and could not con ceive how i: was that the serpent was almost dead, aiid the bird full of life in spite of having his body covered with wounds. He asked him self what species of bird was venomous enough to kill the yellow serpent: ho was lost in con- jecture, and uoiieved iiimsett to be in a dream. o doubt remained: the serpent lay without motion, being dead. The bird also was ca?t down his wings hung down, and his respirar lion was painful; he made an effort, flew toward the shrub, eat some of the leaves with singular voracity, shook his wings and returned to the field of battle:1 he rested a short lima on the ldead body ofthe serpent, cleaning-his' ISldbcl'v beak on his plumes, and. causing the air to r'&? sound wiih a shout of joy, directed his flight toward the South. It was a beautiful morning in autumn the people hurried with much confusion to the pub lic squaro. This was arranged in the saino manner that we sre ours to-dav at the bull-bait-iugs; the multitude occupied all the steps- and . seats, and a military band executed popular, music before what might be called the steps of the Governor. The Governor did not cause the:'n' to wait long. A profound silence reigned. A man approached a line, the centre of the square, pushing with his hands a cask, which he rolled to the same place. This man also carried on his left shoulder a portmanteau. He was the mulatto slave of the Orinoco. He saluted the people, opened the sackjand took out a Colttbar. It was an innocent reptile, a friend of the birds, and frequently met with in the walks and yards. The people began to hiss, and it was only after much trouble that order was re-established. The slave threw away the Colubar with disdain, and made a gesture that he would explain the circumstance. "This is an intrusive reptile, and was here' without my knowledge." He turned to open his portmanteau, and drew, out a black serpent, whose bite occasions cruet pains, without causing death. The public ex pected something' more: they were notdiaap pointed. The slave bared his left arm, and dnew to it the head of the serpent, which; immediately caused the blood to flow. The slave placed the manteau which was full of leaves, upon the ground. He ate. soma of the leaves, and set himself about continuing his exposition. Very soon the slave raised above his head a viper, the sight of which astounded the multi tude. The bite of that reptile causes a slow death, but inevitable. The slave excited its rage by pressing its neck wiih his finger; he applied it to his right arm, and showed to the spectators two cfife-p wounds. He yet lacked the principal, the last proof. He made a sign to the people, and they, re strained their applause. In that moment the mulatto had arrived at the height of his exultation. The humble and; despised slave had just elevated himself by the force of energy and boldness, to a point to which no man had dared; and by that act gained the ascendency over that numerous people, who contemplated his looks with religious silence. But the admiration was complete wh'en that man exposed to the sight of his spectators the terrible yellow serpent of the coast of Orinoco. He held the reptile by the back of its head in such a manner that it could not wound him, .un til he was convinced that the people had recog nized its nature. He exposed his breast, first swallowing some of the leaves in the portman teau;' he irritated the reptile which became fu rious, and bit him immediately ever his heart.. A general shout of horror resounded through the whole square. The slave smothered the serpent between his hands, and tranquilly went to seat himself upon a stone. The exhibition was concluded. One hour passed two hours and the slave lived. They then asked him his secret, and he pointed to the portmanteau: they wished to know in what manner he made the discovery, and then he opened the cask by the same side, and drew out .a black serpent, and from tho other side a bird whose wings were shortened The people witnessed a combat which t'ie poor mulatto learned to explain at the risk of liis life, in the savannahs of Guayana. The' bird killed the serpent, and finished by consul ming tho leaves in lhe portmanteau. America, from that time, has one scourge Iss's in its vast plains and interminable woods. The Governor approached the slave, and? de clared him free, in the name ofthe people, con ceding the title of citizen, and assigning him an annual rent of $5,000, and gave tho hrub, whose miraculous powers he had first witness ed, the nair.s ofthe bird which had retealed it to the world calling it Guaco. The leaf of the Guaco figures lathis day ou all the tables of that country. Many naturalists inoculate themselves wiih this marvelous antidote, the op. jy means of pre serving themselves from the. bites ofthe terri ble reptiles which infest i'uat part of America. Cincinnati Republican. The Way to make Wood go Farthest. A neighbor of ovirs informs us that wood .ri? further when left out of doors than when woU housed; sor.ie of his having gone upwards of a quarter, of a mile in one night. A hook appeared in London some years since, without title-page, designation, or prin ter's name, consisting entirely of a list of men notorious about town for running in debt and not payin-; or as the phrase among them is, not caring who sutlers. It contains 4,000 of such names, groatly to the annoyance of many, yh.i4 were thus, perhaps shamed into honesty
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