portrq.
THE LONG AGO.
Oh r a wonderful stream is the river Time,
As it runs through the realms of tears. ,
With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme,
And a hreader sweep, and a surge sublime,
MAnd'hiends with the ocean of years.
how the wintery. are (trifling late finices'of snow,
And the summers Me buds between,
And the year in the sheaf—so' they'come and thcs• go,
On the river's breast. with its ebb and flow, •
As it glides in the shadow and sheen.
Then" is a magical isle up the river Time,
Whore the softest of airs are playing:
There's a cloudless sky and a tropical clime;
And a snag as.nwent an a vesper chime,
And the Junes with the roses are staying.
And the name of this isle is the Long Ago,
And we bury our treasures there:
There are brows of beauty and blossoms of snow—
Therrre heaps of dust, hut we loved theft' so!
There are trinkets anti tresses of hair.
Their are fragments of songs that nobody sings,
And a part of an infitnt's prayer;
'there's a lute unswept, and a harp without strings—
Them are broken vows, and Mores of rings,
And the garments that she used to wear.
There are hands that are waved when the fairy shore
Ry ho mirage is lifted in air:
And wo sotnethnes hear, thron.uh the turbillent roar
Sweet valves we heard in the days glow before,
When the wind down the river is fair.
Ohl remembered for ave . be the blessed isle,
"r' All the day of tiro till olott—
When the evening conies a ilh Its Ilea Wing smile;
And our eyes are Omaha! to slumber an bile,
alllay that ••greenwood" of soul to In sight I
c'inr 31 i~~tz~rll
r E'rniu ntivanco siteols of Dr. arlswold's
REMOVAL OF THE SEAT OF GOV
ERNMENT.
There was no subject lwfore the first Con
gress which produced - droper - fecling•orm-ore
warm debate, than that of the permanent es
tablishment of the seat of Government. Un
the twenty first of October, 178:1, the old
Congress, insulted at Philadelphia by a band
of mntineers whom the state authorities were
unable to put down, adjourned to Princeton,
where it occupied the hall of the college, and
finally to New York, where it assembled in
the begigning of 1785. The question con
tinued in. debate, not only in Coakress, but
in the public: journals and private corresprtii,
donce of all parts of the country, and was
brought before the convention for forming
the constitution at Philadelphia, but by that
body referred to the federal Legislature.
It was justly considered that extraordinary
advantages would accrue to any city which
might become the capital of the nation, and
it is not surprising therefore, that a sectional
controversy arose which for a time threatened
the most disastrous consequences. The eas
tern states would have been satisfied .with the
retention of the public business in New
York, but Pennsylvania wished it to be c 011.,/
ducted on the banks of the Delaware, and
Maryland and Virginia, supported very gen
erally by the more southern states, were not
less anxious that the centre of the republic
should be on the Potomac.
Efforts were made to postpone the coined.
•eration of the subject another year, but a
gainst this all the southcra parties protested,
as New York in the meantime would lie likely
to strengthen her influence, and it was con
tended that the danger of selecting any large
eity'was already apparent in the feeling man
ifested in favor of the present metropolis by
persons whose constituents were'unanimous
ly opposed to it. Dr. Rush, in a letter to
General Malenberg, aller:,tbe passage of a
bill in the House of Representatives for the
establishment of the seat of Government on
the banks of the Susquehanna, wrote: "I
rejoice in the prospect of Congress leaving
New York, it is a sink of 'Political vice,"
and again, "Do as you please, but tear Con
gress away from • New Yin-k - in any way; du
not rise without effecting this business.
"---
Other persons whose means of judgment
were much better than those of Dr. Rush,
believed with Walcott, that "honesty was in
fashion" here, and Nr. Page, a member from
Virginia, sagacious, moral, and without loca
iaterest, except in his own state, declared
that New York was superior to any place he
knew ''for the orderly and decent behavior
of its inhabitants." As to Philadelphia, the
South Carolinians found an objection in her
Quakers, who they said, "were eternally
dodging southern members with their schewes
of emancipation."
There was another very. exciting proposi
tion at Jim same time before Congress, re
specting which the supporting interests were
in a different direction. The Carolinas,
Georgia and Virginia, were nearly as much
opposed to the assumption of the' state debts,
as New England and New York were to c.
tablishing the seat of Gaernment in such $1
posiiiiin ~That nine of' the thirteen stet/
should be north of it; and Air. Hamiltori
setting an example of 'compromises for th
germinating statesman of Kentucky then :1
pupil of the venerable Wyllie, Proposed , mi
arrungemept which resulted in the selectio
for &feral puricoses of Conogoltengue, r;v
Potomac, now known as tile
Columbia. Hamilton' and Robert Morris,
,both strong advbeates for the financial mea
sure, agreed that if some of the southern
members were gratified as to the location, of
the location of the national capital, they,
might be willing to yield tke other point
and two or three,votes would be sjifficient to
change the majority in the Hons i e of Repre
sentatives. Mr. Jefferson had not been long
in the city he was ignorant of the secrets of
its diplomacy;,-and complains that he was
most innocently made to "hold the candle,"
to this•intrigue, "being duped into it," as he
'says "by the Secretary of the Treasury, and
made a tool for forwarding his schemes, not
then sufficiently understood." Congress had
met and adjourned from day to day without
doing anything.- The members were too
much out of humor to do business together.
As Jefferson was on his way to the Presi
dent's one morning, he met in the street
Hamilton, who walked him backwards and
forwards in Broadway for half an hour de
scribing the temper of the legislature, the
disgust of the creditor states, as they were
called, and the danger of disunion, ending
with an appeal for his aid and co operation,
as a menibc r of the Cabinet, in calming an
excitement, and, settling a question which
threatened the existence of the government.
Jefferson proposed that Hamilton should
dine with him the next evening;' and prom
ised to invite another friend or two thinking
it "impossible that reasonable men, consult
ing together coolly, could fitil by some mu
Jual sacrifices of opinion to.form a compro
mise which was to save the Union." The
meeting and - - the discussiow took - place, - and
it was fifially decided that two of the Vir
ginia members who had opposed that should
support the assumptioirbill, and that, to allay
any excitement which might thus be produc
ed, Hamilton and Morris should bring snfli-.
cient influence from the north to ensure the
permanent establishment of the, government
on the" Potomac, idler its continuance in
Philadelphia for ten years, during which pe
riod public buildings might be erected and
such _other preparations made as should be
necessary for the proper accommodation of
persons engaged in public affairs. Morris
had hitherly strongly advocated the claims
or Philadelphia to be the permanent metrop
olis, and he i ow shrewdlyc;ilcludell, Presi
dent Duer observes, that if the public offices
were opened in that city they would continue
there, as, but for the silent name of Wash
ington, whose - Wishes on the subject were
known, would have been the case. Dr. Green
'mentions that some person who was in com
piny with the President during the discus
sion, remarked, "I know very well where the
federal city ought to be." "Where, then,
would you put it?" inquired Washington.—
The fellow mentioned a place,and *as asked
-Why are you sure it should he there?" For
the most satisfactory of all reasons,
swered; "because nearly the whole of my
property lies there and in the neighborhood."
The insole nt meaning was, of course, that
Washington favored the location of the cap-
ital in its present site because it was near
his estate. The people of New York were
disappointed snit vexed et the result, and
and they accordingly exhibited their spleen a-
gainst Morris, to whoa► it was in a large de
gree attributed, in a caricature print, in wbiell
the stout Senator from Pennsclvania was
seen marching off with the federal Hall elicit
his shoulders, its windows crowded wits
members of both houses, encouraging m
anathematizing this novel mode of deports
Lion, while the devil front the roof of the
Paulus hook ferq house beckoned to him it
a patronizing manner crying "'This Way
13 0 61 )‘ :7
In a letter frorq Philadelphia, dated the
tenth of A ugast, it is said, "Some of th e
blessings anticipated from the removal of
Congress to this city tire already beginning
- to he apparent ; rents of houses have risen,
and I fear will continue to rise, shamefully;
even in the outskirts they have lately been
increased from fourteMi, sixteen and eight
een,pounds, to• twenty-five, twenty;-eight and
thirty. This is oppressive. Our markets.
it is expected, will also be dearer than here
toffire. Whether the advantages,_ we, shall
enjoy from the removal will lai - equivalent to
these disadvantages, time alone will deter
mine. lam convinced, however, if things
go on in this manner, a very great majority
of our citizens will have good reason to wish
-the government settled at Conogocheagne
lung beffire, the ten years are exjiired." On
the seventh pf September, Olivet Wolcott
referred to this rise in rents, in a letter to
his wilet."l have at length been in Phila
delphia," he says, "and with much difficulty
have procured a house, in Third street, wide!'
is a respectable part of the city. The rent
is one hundred pounds, which is excessive,
being nearly double what would have been
exacted before the mattee of residence was
determined."
4 Earlisle gerqlb.
Suterrkiting gkittt.
DR. DODDRIDGE'S DREAM.
Dr. Doddiidge was on terms of very inti
mate friendship with Dr. Samuel Clarke, and
in religious conversation they spent very
many happy hours together. Among other
mittters, a very favorite topic was the inter
mediate state of the. soul, and the probability
that, nt the instant of dissolution, it was not.
introduced into the presence of all the hea
venly hosts, an,the splendors around the
throne of God. One evening, after a con
versation of this nature, Dr. I)oddridge re
tired to rest, with his mind full of the sub
ject discussed, and in the "visions of the
night" his ideas were shaped into this beau
tiful form :
He dreamt that he was at the house of a
friend when he was taken dangerously ill.
By degrees he seemed to himself to grow
worse, and at last to expire. In an instant
he was sensible that he had exchanged the
pri,son-hou . se and sufferings 'of mortality for
a state . of liberty and happiness. Embodied
in a slender atrial form, he seemed to float
in a region of pure light. Beneath him lay
the earth ; but not a glittering city or village,
the forest or sea, was visible. There was
naught to be seen below, save the melancholy
group of his friends, weeping around his
lifeless remains. Eimself thrilled with de
light, he was' surprised at their tears, and
attempted to inform them of his happy
ehange, but by some mysterious power utter
ance was. denied ;_and as he anNiously leaned
over the mot:ruing circle, gazing .1;wolly upon
them, and struggling to si'mak, he rose upon
the air, their 11.1rms beeatne more and more
indistinct, and gradually hated awa y from
his sight. Reposing upon golden clouds, he
found himself swiftly mounting the. sides,
with a venerable figure at. his side guiding
his mysterious movements, and in whose
countenance he remarked lineaments of
youth amid age were blended together, with
an intimate harmony, and mUjesty, •and
sweetness. They traveled together through
a vast region of empty space, until at length
the battlements of a glOrious edifice. shone
in the distance ; and as its forth rose bril
liant and distinct among the far off shadows
that .flitted athwart their path, the guide in
formed him that the palace he beheld for the
present was to be his mansion of rest. Gaz
ing upon its splendors, he replied, that while
on earth he had often heard that it could not
enter into the heart of man to, conceive the
things which God had prepared' for those
who love him ; but, notwithstiinding, the
building to which they were then rapidly
approaching was superior to anything which
he had actuAly before beheld, yet its gran
deur had not acceded the conceptions which
he had Ibrmed. The guide made no reply—
th6'y were already at the door, and entered.
The guide introduced hint into a spaeionj,
apartment, at the extremity of which stood
a table covered with a snow-white cloth, a
golden:Cup, and a clustet: . of grapes, and then
said that he must, now leave him, but that lie
must remain, for he would receiVe in a short
time a visit from the lord of the mansion,
and that during the interval before his arri
val the apartment would furnish him with
sufficient entertainment and instruction.—
The guide vanished and lie was left alone.
'Lean
He now began to examine the decorations
of the room, and observed that the walls
were adorned with a number of pictures.
Upon nearer iineetion he found, to his as
tonishment, that they formed a complete
autobiography of his own life. here he saw
upon the canvas that angels, though unseen,
had ever been his familiar attendants ; and .
that, sent by God, tlieklad sometimes saved
him from imminent peril. He beheld him-
self first represented as an infant just expir
ing, when his life was prolonged b}• an tinge
gently breathing into his nostrils. Most of
the occurrences here delineated were per
tbetly familiar to his recollection, and un
folded many things which: he had never
before .perfectly understood, and which hltd
perplexed him with many doubts and much
uneasiness. Among others, he'was particu•
larly struck with a picture in which he was
represented as, falling from .his horse, when
death would have been,inevitable, had not an
angel received him in his arms, and brokeU
the force of his descent. These merciful
interpositions of God filled him with joy and
gratitude, and his heart overflowed with love
as he surveyed in theta all an exhibition of
goodness and mercy far beyond all that he
imagined.
Suddeidy his attention was arrested by a
tap at the door. The lord of the mansion
had arrived ; the door opened and he enter-
ed. So powerful] and so overwhelming :, and
withal of suelr - singular beauty was his
licaranee, that he sank down at hi feet, emu.
o\erconio by his nuijestic prksoiice
His Lord gently raised him from the ground,
and taking his hand led him forward to the
table. lie pressed with his fingers the juice
of the grapes into the golden cup, and after
having drank himslf, presented it to - --him,,
saying. 'This is the new wine in my father's
kingdom.' No Bowler had he partaken, than
all uneasy sensations vanished, perfect love
now cast out fear, and he con : versed with his
Saviour as an intimate friend. Like the sil
ver rippliegs of the slimmer sea, he heard fal
ling from his lips the grateful approbation,
•Thy,labors are over, thy work is approved,
rich'ilnd glorious is thy reward.' Thrilled
with an unspeakable bliss, that glided over
his spirit, and. slid into the very depths of hiR
soul, he suddenly saw glories upon glories
bursting into' view. The doctor awoke.--
Tears of rapture from his joyful interview
were rolling down his cheeks. Long did the
lively impression , of this charming dream re
main upon his mind; and never could he
speak without emotion ofjoy and tenderness.
31115iflanrouli.
CURIOUS PREDICTION.
Swissbelm, writing'about some , pre.
diction in reference to the Eastern War,
makes the following remarks. Dr. Wils;iti
of whom she speak;, was a learned and
worthy inn, who pever spoke from mere im
pulse or enthusiasm, but always from deli be
rate and intelligent convictions of the truth
of what he uttered.
'Six years ;tyo• we heard Rev. Dr. Wilson,
j-then of Alli:glietly City,- and Professor- of
jTheology, in the Reftirmed Presbyterian
Church, say, that in les; than ten years a
war would break out in Europi , , between
Russia and the Western Powers—a war which
would be one, of the must terrible 'ever re
corded•on the annals of history,'and which
by its wholesale slaughters would carry the
name of Christendom with a thrill of wonder
to the most remote and barbarous nations,
Awaken a curiosity about civilization that
would prepare the way for the introduction
of the Bible and ChriStianity into those be
nighted lands; whose people would be taught .
by the'rnurs of war, to respect the arts of
eivilization.t- This declaration was made a
gain and again in public, from the pulpit, -
and was - the-result or a life time sindy of the
prophecies of the Bible.
The war then tiniliought, is now begun,
and the aged preacher always said the West
' ern Powers would be victorious-=that the
teeth of the great Bea'r would be forever
broken, and with them the powers of the
Pope. We heard this same man predict the
Mexican war years before it began, and tell
what its (.11(1 would be. lie also predicted
the great tire of '45 in Pittsburgh, and we
incline to think his gift of second sight was
more reliable than
,that of the maker of this
old statute, and that the Russians will nut be
inasters of Constantinople. From the first
wail' bout proposed hostilities between Rus
sia and Turkey, ,we have been in the habit
of telling our friends to buy their flour, for
it would be $l5 or 'lO per barrel before it
would be $5 again; so we still think it will
be, for we are of opinion our preacher saw
far into the prophecies already written. lie
said this war would take place—would be
very terrible and general, and that it was the
last war before the universal peace of the
Ensie
THE POWER OF SILENcsi—A good woman
in New Jersey was sadly annoyedl i by a terma
gant ncighbor,who often visited her and pro
yolaa quarrel. She at last sought the coon•
sel of her pastor, who added sound common
sense to his other good qualities. Having
heard the story of her wrongs, he advised her
-
to seat herself in the 'cliiinney cornet• when
next visited, take the tongs in her hand,
loot: steadily into the fire, and whenever a
hard word came from her neighbor:s lip,s,
gently snap the tongs, without uttering tf
word.
A day or two afterwards the good woman
came again to her pastor, with a bright and
laughing face, to cominunicate the effect of
this new antidote for scolding. The troubler
had visited her, and as usual commenced her
tirade. Snap went the tongs. Another vol
ley.. Snap. Another still. Snap. ''llo speak
I shall split if you don't speak l' And away
she went cured of her malady by the magic
power of silence.
It is hard work fighting a Quaker. It is
poor work scolding a dead wan, It is profit.
less work beating the air. One-sided contra=
yersies•do not last long, and generally end in
'victory for the silent party.
111P,..The woodthan who "spared Mal tree',"
has run short of Wood ; and is almost split
ting with vexation to thials how "green" he
was. He now "axes" a,donation from the
gentleman nt whose regnest his destraet~ve•
iess NVilti S1ll“;11
POTATOES AND - PROGENY.
•
Dr. Rif:genii° tells with great good humor
an anecdote in the New York Union, which
we before heard verbally. It is all about a
certain Lady Middleton, who contrary to her
most earnest wish, was unblessed with any
children. After an absence of several years
with her liege lord in Englap.dra returned
with him to reside fora short time on one of
their Irish estates.. As the carriage drove up
to the mansion, she noticed several flue lOok
ing children about the gate, and having
learned that their Mother was the wife of
the gate porter, she determined to interrogate
her relative to the cause of her fecundity.
She therefore, next day, made her way down
to the porter's lodge, and 'commenced her
inquiries.
" Whose children are these, my good wo
man?"
"All my own, my good lady."
"What I three infants of the same nge?"
"Yes, my lady, I had three the last time."
" How long are yotinia . rried?"
"Treel i i years, your ladysiiii)."
"AAA how many children have you?"
"Seven, my lady."
At last came the question of ':iittestions,
how she came to have the children ? The
poor woman, not well kOowing what this cat•
eillisrn meant, and not well knowing how to
wrap up in delicate words her idea of cause
and effect, blushed and grew confused, and
at last, for want of something better to say,
replied:
" I think it must be the potatoes, my lady.",
This unfolded a theory of population quite
new to Lady M., typo eagerly demanded—
`• The potatoes! Do you eat many of
them?''
011, yes, lady, very seldom we have bread,
and so take potatoes all . the year round."
Greatly agitated with her new information,
the lady further asked:
"And where' do you get the potatoes?"
"We grow them M our little garden, iiy
lady, sure Pat tills it."
" Well," s'ai'd Lady Middleton, " send me
up a cart-load of these potatoes. and the
steward shall pay you well for them."'
Shortly after her ladyship rose to leave the
house, and indeed had left it, when the ma
tron- ran after her, and blushing as she put
the question, asked :
Ah, then, my lady, is it to have' children
that you want to get the load of potatoes?"
It was the lady's ttiiit to blush, as she con
fessed that it-was:
" Because, I'm thinkin', my lady, in that
ease Pat had better take the potatoes to you
•
himself!"
hirrnEmen.—lt was Gen. Taylor,
we believe, %vim said the American \•ulna.
tcers that fought with him in Mexico, h a d
One faili9g—"they never knew when they
were beaten." That peculiar killing seems
to be largely participated in by the Mexicans
themselves, for we read now, in the ]:co de
Comercio, of Vera Cruz, "that Don dvro h j.
mo Corona, GoVernor of Coahuila, and a
brother of the Governor of Vera Cruz, has
asked permission of the Supreme Goccqn
unent at Mexico to have' a monument erected
on the battle field of Angostura (or Buena
Vist a , as we call it,) in commemoration of
of the glorio4 i victory obtained by the arms
of !!Mexico, headed by his serene hi:ditiess
Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna ON er the
North American Invaders!"
This is good. Hurry up the next
ment to the splendid Mexican aelfievenu nts
at Chertamseo, Cerro Gordo, Palo Alto, Mon
terey, ete.. ete.T Let it he a monument of
brass. The next time we get into a war with ••
our neighltas, our Generals should should
see to it that they are so thoroughly flogged,
as to leave no manner of doubt in their,
min - as as to the fact.
As 'qxrrits.tr. MAcmse is being con :
strneted at - .Messrs. Armstrong &- Cos., the
pittenteed of the' Hydraulic ,Crane, at their
extensive Iron Works on the Tyne, (I:ng.)
for the purpose of blowing to fragments the
vessels now sunk in the mouth of..the harbor
- This apparatus is composed
"Of eylinders twenty-five in number, and emit
consists of three concentric water tight cyliii•
' tiers, placed one within the , other. The in
nermost cylinder will be' filled with line gun•
powder, the space between that and the next
with blasting powder, and the outer one will
be vacant. A galvanic wire will be inserted
in the innermost one, and will be placed in
communication with a battery at the surface.
The effect of the explosion is stated to be
prodigious. Au experiment is to be tried
upon a sunken wreck before these cylinders
are shipped for the Crimea, which is named
as next week. • The largest cvlitiders'weigh
threetons, and when charged four tons.
vtasys Kxow Nornixos."---A
young gentleman, who is quite a ladies' man,
found himself the other evening, rather un
expectedly, in company with a large umulai
of ladies, and wieihing to make himself as
agreeable as possible, withoitt knowing exac
ly what to say, he commenced the conversa
tion in his most bewitching style by sayit
" Alt,l ladies Pin glad to see you. Really, there
are so Many of you together here, that I am
afraid'you mnst he all Know 'Nothings l "
" Oh. no indeed, replied one of them rather
tartly, I shit, Yin a widow."
ME
ZZ.I
-~=