V
v. .
1 '
BY JOHN G. GIVEN.
MIS OE L L A II 2 O U S
Pctlicoats a Ttst of Womanhood.
Mrs. Swisshelm editress of the Pitts
lWg Saturday Visitor, makes petticoats
the test of womanhood, and will hear of
WO compromise nor coalition with the oth
,r .sex, except upon the entire abandon
ment by the ladies of. the pantaloons.-
Mrs. Swisshelm defines her position in an
article commenting upon Mrs. Fanny Kem
ble's reported appearance in public places
attired like a man. The following is an
extract from her protest:
"But we cannot still believe she dresses
really like a man. If we did, we should
think very little of her. Most likely,
her rambbling, fishing, exercise costume,
so much talked about, is some fanciful im
mitation of boy's surtouts something like
tho short dresses and drawers worn by
missis. Mrs. Butler certainly has too
much sense too much taste to appear
in straight coat and pantaloons. Our long
wide skirts are indeed a great impediment
in rural exercises. We have often felt
this in walking through wet grass, getting
over fences, and clambering round rocks.
A short dress, and some substitute for pan
taloons, would be a great convenience in
such excursions, provided the costume
was sufficiently marked and distinguished
from men's apparel. It would be too hu
miliating to be met and mistaken for a man
We should a great deal rather be arrested
as a sheep thief. We shall use all our in
fluence to preserve man's right to his pan
taloons inviolate. They ought to be his,
and his only, for they are too ugly for any
body else to wear.
"But the best distinction between the
sexes is the beard.. Why do not all men
wear the beard, or some part of it? A
smoothly shaved or beardless man meets
our ideas of manhood about as well as a
square shouldered, shingle shaped woman
meets our notions of womanhood. There
is very little difference between the men
tal formation of man and woman, still there
is a difference; but the physical structure
is another matter. Nature has made the
lines of difference very marked and strong
and the more perfect the developement of
either, the greater the dissimilarity. A
Venus with the muscles of a Hercules
would be a fright. Art should not inter
fere with natuie's arrangements. Let m en
look like themselves, and women like wo
raan. Let nwji'keep their distinct apparel
their strength, and their ugliness in wel
come. Nobody wants either unless in
deed Mrs. Butler has taken a fancy to their
clothes; and if she has, she should be court
martialed, and deprived of her woman's
commission.
Poetry of a Steam Engine.
There is to our thinking something aw
fully grand in the contemplation of a vast
steam engine. Stand amid its ponderous
beams and bars, wheels and cylinders, and
watch their unceasing play; how regular
and how powerful! The machinery of a
lady's Geneva watch is not more nicely
adjusted the rush of the avalanche is not
more awful in its strength. Old Gothic
cathedrals are solemn places, preaching
solemn things; but to him who thinks, an
engine room m-.y preach a more solemn
lesson still. It will tell him of mind
mind wielding matter at its will mind
triumphing over physical difficulties man
asserting his great supremacy intellect
battling with the elements. And how ex
quisitely complete is every detail! how
every little bar and screw fit and work to
gether. Vast as is the machine, let a'bol1 be
but a tenth part of an inch to0 long or too
short, and the whole fabric is disorgan
ized. It is one complete piece of harmo
ny an iron essay upon unity of design
and execution. There is a deep poetry
in the steam engine more of the poetry
of motion than in the bound of an antelope
more of the poetry of power than the
dash of the cataract. And ought it not to
be a lesson to those who laugh at novelties,
and put no faith in inventions, to consider
that this complex fabric, this triumph of
art and-science was once the laughing
stock of jeering thousands, and once only
the waking fantasy of a boy's mind as he
sat, and in seeming idleness, watched a
little column of vapor rise from the spout
of a tea kettle!
Singular Ignorance. A countryman
being in Buffalo lately and after being
shown the sights by a friend, suddenly
asked" But wheie is the Buffalo plat
form?" The gentleman accompanying
him explained with some difficulty in
restraining himself, that the staging put
upon that occasion had been takendown
after the performance was over!
CPThere appears to be a great gath
ering about these premises," said a pretty
damsel, as she put on her new skirt.
4Yer,' quickly added her cousin, "and
4 great bustle too."
'WE CO WHERE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES POINT THE WAY;
The Bolllc Trick More the Queen- '
The following, from the Caledonia Mer
cury, throws into tho shade Blitz, Ilerr
Alexander, and we do net know but it
goes ahead of the old gentleman himself.
"On Monday, prince Albert's birth-day,
during the festivities at Balmoral, the wi
zard of the north, professor Anderson,
was present, and was asked if he would
perform the fiat they had heard bo much
of hi having done successfully, 'The In
exhaustible Bottle.'
"On receiving the royal command to
perform it, he called for a champaigne bot
tle, and handed a large number of glasses
round, and asked lord Portman what he
would drink. His lordship replied, whis
key; whiskey was poured out. Air. An
son preferred brandy which he got. Sev
eral demanded wine, which passed freely;
and one of the proprietors of the royal
distillery, Mr. Begg, thinking to baffle the
professor, asked him if he would give him
j a glass of his best Lochnager whiskey.
I No sooner said than done; and the Loch
nager whiskey became in great demand.
A large number of additional glasses were
distributed, and some called for Irish
whiskey, numbers brandy, the Highland rs
patronized Mr. Begg; when Lord John
Ilusscl, perhaps like Mr. Begg, wished to
: try the wizard's skill, asked for a glass of
rum, wnien was immediately supplied,
and his lordship pronounced it excellent.
The london portion of the domestics and
police called for gin, which was freely
poured out of this extraordinary bottle;
and the wizard was returning to his seat,
when his royal highness, anxious to test
the bottle presumed, as he was'returning,
that it was exhausted asked him if more
could be poured out. Glasses were bro't
for her majesty and prince Albert, and on
being asked what they preferred, requested
Begg's best Lochnager, which immediate
ly ran forth, and her majesty and the
prince, tasting it, acknowledged its purity;
and the wizard gave the bottle to the
prince, and asked him to look if it was
empty it was. Mr. Anderson brought
some water, and in the prince's hand, fill
ed it, ordered glasses, and asked the prince
what wine he preferred. Port was se
lected. The prince poured out port, then
milk, then champaigne, then broke the
bottle, and in it was discovered a beautiful
turtle dove.
Philadelphia Lawyers Beaten.
The following card of a new "beginner
in the Law," is so decidedly original, that
we publish it free of charge. Mr. Coxson
must be well read in the Levitical code
more so, it is fair to presume, than in llo
man pandects. But read his card:
Our Country, oar Laws, our Side.
John K. Coxson, attorney at law, tenders
his professional services to the citizens of
Jefferson county and the public generally.
He can be found at his office in Punx
satawney, Jefferson Co. Pa. Collections
entrusted to him of money Will be attended
to promptly in any part of the State, and
shall be placed immediately in the hands
of good collecting officers.
He will council on all matters touching
the laws of God or man, taking no fees
for the former; for its fruits of peace yield
a sufficient reward; its summary is love
thy neighbor as thyself, and owe no man
anything. By strict obedience to this first
code, most likely you will never call on
him for council on the second; but if you
desire to leave the quiet waters of peace,
and to tempt the troubled seas of discord
and commotion, he will stand your pilot
through hells of strife, and waft you gent
ly over yawning elements of hungry ruin,
howling to swallow wrecked estates, that
when you have once more set your foot
on terra Jirma, like Moses and Aaron,
you will rejoice over Korah, Dathan and
Abiram, or like Miriam over the host of
Pharoah, that horses, chariots and every
thing pertaining unto them, except what
the law allows them, are engulfed into the
Ked Sea.
J. K. Coxsox.
Oct. 1, 1849.
Vox Popttli. That maxim is of earth,
of fallible man which says, 'The voice of
the people is the voice of God. It may
be, but with equal probability it may be
the voice of the devil. That the voice of
ten millions of men calling for the same
thing, is a spirit, I believe; but whether
that be the spirit of heaven or hell, I can
only know by trying the thing called for
by the prescript of reason. Even then
that knowledge must be infinite, embracing
the whole cycle of God s universe. Bet
ter said, by the same, 'Public opinion is
the average prejudices of the community.'
07" A young lady engaged in writing,
observed to a clergyman present that she
was a Scribe; To which the man in or
ders, with a sagacity and clerical discern
ment truly, creditable, replied, 'And fair I
see, (Pharisee.)
EBENSBURG, THURSDAY,
Terrible A (Tair in Boston.
Awful Murder cf Dr Parkmaa.
- The disappearance of Dr. Parkman,
well-known in Boston for his wealth and
eccentricities, and which was mentioned
about two weeks since,-has resulted in the
supposition that he was cruelly, brutally
and wantonly murdered,- and his remains
or a portion of theni, destroyed. - The
good city of Boston has been harrowed by
the details of the supposed murder. Up
to Friday, of last week, the most frightful
rumors were circulated. All sorts of re
ports had been flying from tongue to
tongue, and the police were dragging ri
vers and scouring woods in search of him,
when of a sudden it was asserted that he
had been murdered by Professor Webster,
of the Medical College, and his remains
partially burnt. The high standing of the
parties their social position, moving in
the most fashionable circles of Boston
their advanced ages, the victim being 60,
and his supposed murderer 55 years of
age all tended to increase the excite
ment. Suspicion haa rested upon Professor
Webster by persons employed at the Col
lege, owing to the fact that Dr. Parkman
was known to have called there about a
note of the Professor's for S125, which he
held. Dr. Parkman was not seen to leave
the College, and a Mr. Littlefield stated to
the other professors that Mr. Webster had
been locked up in his own room for a
length of time that aroused his suspicions.
A secret plan was laid to search the apart
ments, which was commenced by break
ing through stone and brick walls under
the chemical room, occupied by Professor
Websler. There, in the well of the water
closet, was found part of a human body
the intestines having been taken out. The
search was continued, and parts of two
legs were discovered. The head, hands
and feet were gone. In the ashes in the
fire place, particles of gold, teeth, &zc,
were found, which were identified by the
dentist, as those belonging to Dr. Park
man; this was' confirmed by the discovery
of a jaw bone- A pair of trowsers belong
ing to Professor Webster, withbllood up
on them, was also found, and in a tea
chest, covered with minerals, other mutil
ated remains; a saw with which it is
thought the head was cut from the body,
was also found. Of course, these eviden
ces being found in the apartments of
Prof. Webster, to which only himself had
access, were sufficient tocause his arrest.
The officers of the law proceeded to his
house at Cambridge, and there found him
bidding adieu to o gentleman who had
been visiting there. The officers told
him they wished him to proceed to the
College anil aid in searching for the re
mains. He complied readily, but instead
of conveying him to the College, the car
riage in which he was placed, proceeded
direct to the Lcverett street jail. This
seemed to surprise him, and he asked the
officers the meaning of it. lie was in
formed of what had transpired at the Col
lege, and the effect upon him is described
as appalling. The next day he was con
veyed to the college, to witness the putting
together of the mutilated remains. Vari
ous stories were published of his manner
on that occasion, but the truth is, he was
perfectly calm, though quite feeble from
the effects of his arrest, and having passed
the night in jail.
In addition to the foregoing, we find in
the Boston papers of Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday, long accounts of the state
of things there. They do not, however,
contain any additional particulars, further
than that the family of the late Dr. Park
man had taken the mutilated remains
found in the College, and had them buried
with due ceremony -satisfied of their
identity. Professor Webster was arraign
ed on Monday, and committed by the
Court to await the decision of the Grand
Jury for the January term. He was at
tended by his counsel and friend. Frank
lin Dexter, Esq. He is represented to
have gained his equanimity, and to con
verse quite freely with hi friends. His
family, at his residence in Cambridge,
consist of a wife and three daughters, the
youngest of whom is 10. His eldest
daughter, aged 23, is married to Mr. Dab
ney, the present Consul at Fayal, and is
abroad with her husband. Those at home
are merged in the deepest despair, at the
position in which the father and husband
is placed. Those who best know Pro
fessor Webster, do not believe him guilt'
of the crime, and suspicion has occasion
ally rested upon others, but upon exami
nation it proved to be unfounded. Others
assert that if the remains were those of
Dr. Parkman, they were placed where
found for the purpose of entrapping Prof.
Webster. He has not, however, attempt
ed any explanation, and we confess, from
all we have seen, appearances arc strong
ly against him.
The supposed remains o( Dr. Parkman
were buried from the residence, No. 8
WHEN THEY CEASE TO LEAD, WE CEASE TO
DECEMBER 20, 1819.
Walnut street, on Thursday morning. A
large concourse of persons were present,
mostly attracted by curiosity. The funer
al proceeded to Trinity Church Cemetery,
where the remains were deposited in a
vault.
From the Boston Herald of Tuesday;
One of our reporters visited Cambridge
last evsalng, and ascertained that on Sat
urday night Marshal Edwards, in conse
quence of apprehensions by the Mayor,
that an attack might be made upon the
the residence of Professor Webster, on
Garden street, assembled 25 special po
lice men, who were directed to patrol near
the house, without exciting suspicions of
their object. No attempt, however, was
made to molest the innocent occupants of
the house, which is not owned by Prof.
Webster, but by Jonas Wyeth, Esq.
Our reporter also learned some facts in
relation to the personal history and family
relations of the Professor. He is the son
of the late Redford Webster, Esq., for
merly an affluent resident of the north part
of Boston, where he died some time about
the year 1831, leaving about 8 10,000,
which, we learn, is conveyed as a life es
tate to Professor Webster, and at his death,
to his children. Young Webster, while
in College, was not considered passionate
or fractious, but rather chicken-hearted, as
one of his college mates expresses it. He
was nervous but not quarrelsome. After
he had graduated, he went to Europe, and
finished his medical education in England
and Scotland. On his return from thence,
about the time of his father's death, he
stopped at the Azoras, and became ac
quainted with Miss Hinckley, now his
wife, at the port of Fayal; she was then
residing with her father, who held the
post of American Consul at that port. He
married her there, and returned to Cam
bridge, and lectured at the college for a
year or two, when he was elected profes
sor, in the year 1837.
Since then he has resided in Cambridge
and I123 lectured upon chemistry, geology,
.-nin.-.vr-'logyj j&jtjpaibnd'ge and in U.I chy,
and was in -T&ipt of a salary, and from
tickets to his lectures at the medical col
lege, at the time of his arrest, of from two
to three thousand dollars, which from his
carelessness about money matters was in
sufficient for his wants, and kept him al
ways in debt. His family' now consists
of a wife and four daughters, ihe youngest
sixteen years of age, and the eldest about
twenty-three. The oldest is married to
Mr. Dabney, the present Consul at Fayal.
The other three daughters reside at Cam
budge, and with their mother, are in deep
affliction on account of the arrest and sus
picions of their husband and father. The
feeling entertained among the citizens of
Cambridge, who best know Dr. Webster,
is, that he is innocent of the charge on
which he has been arrested, or that if guil
ty, some unknown provocation must have
induced the fatal attack. Our reporter
called last evening at the jail, and ascer
tained that the professor had passed a quiet
da)r, having partaken of his meals regular
ly, and being free from that alternate ex
citement and gloom which characterized
him for some 24 hours after his arrest.
How to tell tiic Hour of Day!
Seat yourself at a table. Attach a piece
of metal (say a shilling) to a thread. Hav
ing placed your elbow on the table, hold
the thread between the points of the fore
finger; and allow the shilling to hang in
the centre of a glass tumbler; the pulse
will immediately cause the shilling to vi
brate like a pendulem, and the vibrations
will increase until the shilling strikes the
side of the glass; and suppose the time of
the experiment be the hour of seven, or
half past seven, the pendulem will sirike
the glass seven times and then lose its
momentum and return to the centre; ifyou
hold the thread a sufficient length of time
the effect will be repeated; but not until a
sufficient space of time has elapsed to con
vince you that the experiment is most com
plete. I need not add that the thread
must be held with a steady hand; other
wise the vibrating motion will be counter
acted. At whatever hour of the day or
night, the experiment is made, the coinci
dence will be the same.
tSIn a certain district in the Highlands,
one day, some years ago, the bell-man
made the following proclamation: 'O yes!
O yes! O yes and that's three times
you'll a betak' notice, that there will be
nae Lord's day here next Sunday, as the
laird's wife will hae a muckle washing,
and she wants the kirk to dry the clase
in.' -
Chicago is said to be the largest
beef-packing market in the Union. The
amount already packed there this year is
reported at 00,000 barrels, some 20,000
beef cattle having been killed in the last
seven weeks.
FOLLOW.
Ecmarkatle Reck in Lake Superior.
One of the most remarkable rocks of
.which we have any knowledge has lately
been, discovered in the middle of the Inland
Sea, Lake Superior. By a gentleman
who has lately returned from Copper
Harbor, we learn that a shaft of trap rock
has very lately bc-ini discovered rising in
the lake from 150 o 200 miles from land
and ascending above the water a distance
of not above four feet. What renders it
more extraordinary, is that it stands en
tirely alone; and all around it so far as
examinations have been made, no bottom
has been reached by any of the lead lines
used on the lakes; and the point of the
rock itself does not extend an area of more
than six or seven feet square; and so far
as observation of it has extended, it does
not appear to enlarge in size as it de
scends. It has alread', he states, become
a source of alarm to the mariners who na
vigate the lake, who take especial care, in
passing, to give it as wide a berth as pos
sible. It is too small too remote and danger
ous to admit of alight, and therefore its
removal will doubtless pertain to govern
ment. A single blast from a bore of suffi
cient depth would do it; but the surface' of
the rock being so near that of the water,
and the space so narrow as to forbid any
regular lodgment for workmen, they would
have to be attended constantljcby a vessel
of sufficient size to resist any sudden
storm on the lake; and would also have to
be kept constantly under wa', as no har
bor or even bottom lor an anchor is with
in a day's sail.
The discoverers relate that the rock ap
pears to be a place of general resort for
the salmon trout of those lakes, as they
found them in almost incalculable num
bers; and having during their short stay
caught several barrels with no other in- j
strument than a rod of iron, on one end ol
which they turned a hook.
They tried with all the lines on board
for soundings immediately round the rock,
but.wjthcnt success. Such a vatoluy-n,
could it be exposed to vieV, would laugh
into ridicule Cleopatra s .Needle, Pom
pey's Pillar, the Colossus of Rhodes, or
any production of ancient or modern art.
Detroit Free Press.
The Power of a Vote. One single
vote sent Oliver Cromwell to the long i
parliament, harles Stewart to the scaf
fold, revolutionized England, and made
Great Britain free.
Four votes in the city of New York,
made Thomas Jefferson President of the
United States; one vote gave us the tariff
of 1842, and gave us Texas: made war
upon Mexico, slew thousands of our peo
ple, and purchased California with their
blood, turned thitl'fer the tide of emipra-
, - - 0
tion, and will change the destiny of the
world.
Definite Answers. Wc had to laugh !
at reading the answers, 4to a correspond
ent' in the Bunkumville Flag Staff. He
asks about the 'Falls,' and the editor says:
'How many gallons of water goes over
the Niagara in an hour we dono, as we
have no slate. Howsever, a good many,
we do think, and probably more than we
think. A friend of ours has made a cal
culation how many miles all creeping
tilings in God's world would creep in one
hour, provided they took it easy. And
the total summum bonum, if we remem
ber right, was extremely much.'
A Royal Argument. Frederick the
Great was very fond of disputation; but
as he generally terminated the discussion
by collaring his antagonist and kicking
him, very lew of his guests were disposed
to enter the arena against him. One day,
when he was even more than usually dis
posed for an argument, he asked one of
his suite why he did not venture to ex
press his opinion on some particular ques
tion. 'It is impossible, your majesty,'
was the reply, 'to express an opinion be
fore a sovereign who lias such strong con
victions and who wears such thick boots.'
rTThc freshmen at old Dartmouth
made themselves quite merry over the fol
lowing conundrum:
'Why is the sophomore class, studying
trigonometry, like the scribes and phari
seesofold? Because they are a wicked
generation seeking after a sine, &c.'
The sophs retorted by the following;
'Why. is the freshman recitation room
like that remarkable tree whose leaves
quiver in the slightest breeze? Because
it is an ass-pen (aspen.)'
n?JA Mr. Hughes announces himself as
a candidate for agent of the Stale of Indi
ana before the next Legislature, and con
cludes by holding out an inducement as
follows:
"If elected I 'stand the oysters,' if brat
1 slope."
VOL. G. ISO. 11.
BlilitarY Glory.
There is something inexplicable in the
reverence paid by men to honors won in
battle. The world's history appeals, in
deed, lo be preserved rather in the history
of batde fields than in any other way. It
is very true that thestruggle gf man with
hisfellotr martha-sbeen incessant, and the
contest for power -offamc' make up the
daily current of political events; but that
will hardly account for the fact that whilo
a?few men worship at old shrines ofleam
ing, and do homage to the divinity dwel
ling in them, by far the greater portion of
the race are better satisfied with viewing
battle fields, and relics of hard blows, bat
tered swords, and like evidences of man's
hatred to man. Few who visit Greece
care to search out the favorite resorts of
the old philosophers; but all rush to Mara
thon or Thermopylae. Even in countries
made interesting by modern events, few
care to remain for any length of time in
the houses of great or good men, or to
tread on ground hallowed by the footsteps
of departed worthies, while the mass pour
steadily to Waterloo, to Culloden, Mars
ton Moor and a hundred similar places,
renowned. as soil fertilized by the blood
of men. If further illustration of the fact
that men worship military glory, were
needed, it maj' be found in the attention
paid to soldiers who have fought bravely,
compared with that paid to men who arc
only known as giants in intellect; but no
proof is required.
An illustration is afforded by an anec
dote of Kosciusko in his retirement, not
long before his "death. He then resided
in a cottage in a village of France; and du
ring the invasion of France, a Polish
regiment passed through the village.
Some outrages M'ere committed by the
soldiery, and Kosciusko, an old and feeble,
man, came out of of his cottage and ad
dressed them. -When I was a Polish
soldier, saidhe, 'we did not do thus.
4 Who are you, that speak so boldly J'
asked an officer very rudely.
I am KosciuskOjJ was the quiet v'Ayt
The natue run from rank to rank, from
corps o corps, until it grew to a shoot of
intense devotion, and the inarch abandoned
all gathered in a mass around the veteran
defender of Poland. .V. J". Journal
of Commerce.
.2 Pretty Conceit Some one says of
the roses how they became red:
'They were all of pure and spadess
white when iu Eden, they first spread out
their leaves to the morning sunlight of
creation. Eve, as for the first time she
gazed upon the tintless gem couid not sup
press 'her admiration of its beauty, but
stooped down and impressed a warm kiss
upon its snowy bosom. The rose stoic
the scarlet tinge from her velvet lip, and
yet it wears it.
It would be too bad to mar the beauty ol
so sweet an idea; but it is said that white
handkerchiefs arc frequently made red now
a days by rubbing them over 'rosy cheeks.'
Sunday Globe.
m'Mr. Jukes, how are you? You
look well.' 'Yes, I hold my own pretty
well.' 'And somebody else's too, accor
ding to my figures,' muttered a grocer,
who caught the remark as he passed by.
tjf An Irishman and a negro were tight
ing a few days since in Philadelphia, and
while grasping with each other the Irish
man exclaimed:
You black vagabond, holler eiiuff! I'll
fight till I die."
So will I!' sung out the negro. 'I al
ways does,"
rr'How docs the thermometer stand?'
asked a father of his son. 'It don't stand
at all sir, it hangs,' was the reply. 'Well
but I mean how high is it.' Uustabout5
feet from the floor,' 'Pooh! you fool
how does the mercury range?' 'Up and
down perpendicularly.'
nMen generally look with distrust
upon each oilier. The wealthy one, like
a dog in the possession of a good bone,
watches it jealously, aud snarls if a lean
half starved cur approaches within smel
ling distance.
How is it possible to expect that man
kind will take advipe when they will not
so much at take warning.
Fortunes Favorites 'The favorites
of Fortune' are like men on horseback.
The power tbe speed the activity the
curving and prancing, are in the dashing
charger, whose beautiful proportions and
gay trappings set off the man. All the ri
der has to do is to set on his horse with
ease, and to be carried about to admiration
who, if he happens to catch a fall ten
chances to one, lie baeqks Ins neck,- .2
mrricrn Cabinet