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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